Monday 4th September 2017

Weak Transmission Stalls Generation of 700MW at Egbin As United States restates commitment to ‘Power Africa’ Ejiofor Alike The feeble transmission infrastructure wheeling generated power to the national grid has stalled the

generation of 700 megawatts of power in the 1,320 megawattcapacity Egbin Power Station in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of Egbin Power Plc, Mr. Dallas Peavey, has said.

This is coming as an eight-member Congressional delegation from the United States has restated the country’s commitment to ‘Power Africa,’ a US initiative

to add over 30,000 megawatts of cleaner, more efficient electricity generation capacity, and 60 million new homes and business connections in Africa.

Peavey spoke to journalists at the weekend after the plant’s tour by the Congressional delegation led by Senator Christopher Coons, who is a member of

the Appropriations, Foreign Relations, Judiciary, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Ethics committees. Continued on page 10

George, Daniel in War of Words over PDP National Chairmanship… Page 10 Monday 4 September, 2017 Vol 22. No 8173. Price: N250

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Ohanaeze Petitions Buhari over Appointments in NNPC

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

CELEBRATION OF CULTURE...

R-L: Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona; Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; his wife, Olufunso; and Deputy Governor, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga; during the 2017 Ojude Oba Festival in Ijebu Ode... yesterday

The Igbo apex socio political organization, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari, asking him to review the recent reorganization at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which it said was lop-sided against the Igbos. It said the new set of management appointments Continued on page 10

Enough is Enough, Osinbajo Tells Separatist Agitators Southern leaders unveil five-point agenda for restructuring Buhari's trip to US is fake news, says Mohammed

Omololu Ogunmade, Wale Ajimotokan in Abuja and Gboyega Akinsanmi in Lagos Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday challenged Nigerians to abate the growing separatist agitations and debates about

the unity of Nigeria, tasking them to rather channel their energies and resources towards building a great nation. Osinbajo made this remark

while representing President Muhammadu Buhari at a feast in commemoration of the Eid-El Kabir celebration in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said it was time citizens stopped promoting talks on the division of Nigeria but should rather concentrate on how Nigeria will attain

11 Killed in Borno IDP Camp...

the level God has designed it to be. "Our energies and resources shouldn't be spent again on the debate about division. Our

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manifest destiny is to be a great nation, not to be a nation where we are talking about division. We must focus our time, our energies and our resources on being that great Continued on page 10

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George, Daniel in War of Words over PDP National Chairmanship

Tobi Soniyi and Segun James Two top contenders for the post of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national chairman, Chief Bode George, a former deputy national chairman; and Otunba Gbenga Daniel, a former governor of Ogun State; at the weekend exchanged hot words over their bids for the party’s top post. The party has zoned the post of national chairmanship to the south while the presidential ticket is zoned to the north of the country. The South-west is favoured to produce the party's national chairman

because it is the only zone that has not occupied the position. Both George and Daniel as well as the party’s 2015 gubernatorial candidate in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, are the leading contenders from the region. At a caucus meeting of PDP leaders in the region to resolve the crisis in the Lagos State chapter of the party, which was hosted by Daniel, someone who attended the meeting told THISDAY that Daniel asked George to forget the idea of running for the party's national chairman in order to save the South-west from losing the post to either the South-south or South-east. Daniel, who is also an

aspirant for the position, told George that since the position had been zoned to the South, a rival from the South-south or South-east would easily beat George to clinch the position, a situation that would be a loss for the South-west, the only geopolitical region that is yet to produce a leader of the party till date. The source said Daniel’s advice resulted in a shouting match between the two leaders as he cited George’s age and alleged controversial past as reasons the former deputy national chairman should consider stepping down for a much younger politician to shepherd the party to the 2019 general election.

OHANAEZE PETITIONS BUHARI OVER APPOINTMENTS IN NNPC by the Federal Governmentowned oil firm was clearly done in favour of the North with the South-east totally ignored in the process. The reorganization at the NNPC saw the approval of 54 new senior managerial appointments in what is seen as the first major overhaul of the establishment. None of them is from the South-east. In a statement at the weekend, signed by its President General, Chief John Nwodo, Ohanaeze said that it was appalled at the consistent and unrepentant disdain for the South-east by the Buhari-administration as copiously displayed in the recent reorganization at the NNPC. It said that it had thought that after the president's declaration in a broadcast recently that Nigeria’s unity was settled and not negotiable, he would take all necessary

actions in his governance to achieve it. But it regretted that the NNPC shake up had not shown that the administration was walking its talk. Ohanaeze said: "The Buhari administration as shown in the new managers just announced tilting clearly in favour of the North with South-east totally ignored as has always been the case since Buhari administration came to office is not intended to achieve the desired cohesion in an already fragmented nation. "This brazen disregard, marginalization, and noncompliance with the Federal character provisions in our Constitution are the causes of lack of confidence, which our youths have seen in our present governance structure," it pointed out. It warned: "As long as President Buhari continues to live out his speech abroad that

his government will favour those who voted 97% for him against those who voted 5% for him, so long will the dissatisfaction and unrest in our polity subsist." The group said what had happened was absurd and stood reason on its head. "There is no oil well anywhere in Northern Nigeria. Four of the five states in the South-east have proven oil resources some of which provide our nation's revenue yet our people are not found fit to be adequately represented in a key corporate institution like the NNPC,� it said. It pleaded: “Ohanaeze is, therefore, urging the President to revisit this recent reorganisation exercise in NNPC in the name of God and in the spirit of the on-going festivity being celebrated in this season and in the promotion of unity and good governance."

WEAK TRANSMISSION STALLS GENERATION OF 700MW AT EGBIN

Some of the other members of the delegation, who were also accompanied by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Stuart Symington, include Senator Gary Peters of Michigan; Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado; Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware; Representative Terri Sewell of Alabama; Representative Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania; Representative Barbara Lee of California; and Representative Frederica Wilson of Florida. Peavey said 700 megawatts were stranded as a result of weak transmission infrastructure. Peavey, who noted that gas was no longer an issue as the plant had more than enough gas to generate 1,320 MW, added that over 700 megawatts were stranded, while the plant generated only about 600MW. During the visit by the US Congressmen, Egbin was generating 599MW against its 1,320MW generating capacity. While Units 1 and 3 were generating zero megawatts,

Unit 2 was generating 175MW; Unit 4 was generating 203MW; Units 5 and 6 were generating 110MW and 111 MW, respectively, against each unit’s capacity of 220MW. Peavey attributed the poor generation to lack of transmission capacity to wheel the generated power to the national grid. “We need to work together with the federal government to evacuate the power because we have over 700 megawatts stranded. We are working with the TCN to get that done; we are working with the United States; World Bank, IFC, Sahara Group and all the stakeholders to get the power out of the plant,� he explained. According to him: “The challenge is this plant is 35 years old and the cost of replacement of those parts and doing the job has changed. You know that these parts were manufactured by the Japanese and to get those parts has become a challenge. “So, we are working

with the United States to find replaceable parts; we are looking to re-engineer some parts of the system to upgrade and improve it. So, we are working with the government of the United States and all the stakeholders to make it happen,� he explained. Peavey added that gas was no longer a challenge, stressing that the plant had more than sufficient gas supplies to be able to generate power at the full capacity of the plant. “The issue is the evacuation of the power and that is why we are working with the TCN to make that happen. We are working hand-in-hand with TCN; we have 700 megawatts of stranded capacity. We are generating almost 600MW right now, this minute but we have the capacity to generate 1,320MW,� he said. Peavey told the US Congressmen that prior to the privatisation of the plant in November 2013, generation was below 240MW per hour due to the dismal operational state of the units, adding that at

He told the former military governor of old Ondo State that most of the young politicians who now control all aspects of activities in the party do not want George as national chairman and that he should rather play a fatherly role in the race. Daniel insisted that the South-west would never choose George as a consensus candidate as was done during the botched convention that was held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, last year. According to THISDAY sources, Daniel gave the advice after George had insisted that the 22-man caretaker committee set up by the National Caretaker Committee be increased to

40 for peace to reign in the party in Lagos State. A source said that this was done to placate George as time ticked towards the national convention of the PDP tentatively scheduled for December. George was said to have replied that Daniel’s advice was not in good faith because he was also an interested party. He, therefore, rejected the advice. George told Daniel that he would run and would rather lose gallantly than chicken out before the race. He said that he would not succumb to any blackmail especially from Daniel. He challenged Daniel to a test of popularity to determine who between

them was more popular and acceptable as leader of the party. George told those at the meeting that what PDP needed was a leader who could take the party to the next level and would ensure that the party wins in the 2019 general election instead of another mediocre. He, therefore, told Daniel to meet him in the field instead of engaging in an emotional blackmail. The 40-man committee is expected to plan and form caretaker committees both at the local government and ward levels in the state in order for the state chapter of the party to participate in the December elective convention.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, OSINBAJO TELLS SEPARATIST AGITATORS

nation that God has called us to be," he said. He further described Nigeria as a great nation, blessed with human and natural resources which he said some other nations of the world had to embark on a long journey to see. According to him, the country is so blessed to the extent that people hold the opinion that one of every four or five black persons in the world must be a Nigerian, as he went spiritual, pointing out that God conceived Nigeria as a nation blessed with the diversity of resources and ideas. He insisted that it was time to put paid to protracted controversies which characterise Nigeria's experience, insisting that Nigeria is a country ordained by God to remain eternally united. He emphasised that

Nigeria was so rich both in human and natural resources to the extent that God conceived it to be a honey pot to other African nations which he said would have to depend on it to survive. Arguing that he was confident that Nigeria would never disintegrate, Osinbajo said God designed the country to be a preeminent black nation that is rich in culture, commerce and technology. "I am one of those who are extremely confident that our nation will remain united because I am convinced that God's plans and purpose for Nigeria are that we would be the preeminent black nation in the world. "This is a nation that will show forth in culture, in technology and in commerce, God's investment in the black race. This is why today, some people say out of four blacks, some say five, one must be a

Nigerian. That is not a mean attainment at all. "That nation that God has in mind is a diverse nation, diverse in resources, in ideas, in opinions - kind of nation that we have, where there is an argument about something everywhere. Before you get tired of that lone argument, another one arises and before you finish with that one, there is yet another one. "This is the type of country that God has ordained where we have a diversity of opinions, diversity of ideas. People are saying their own things here and there. But, He has also planned that this country will remain together and that we'll be a nation that is gifted just as we have the oil, the gas, and the most arable land space than most continents. "This is a country that has

its lowest point, only two of the six units were partially operational. He added that the total overhaul of Units 4, 5 and 1 by the new owners allowed each of these units to peak at its 220-MW original installed capacity, stressing that the plant had never undergone a major overhaul of this kind in its 35 years of operation. Peavey also noted that the new investors successfully restored the operation of Unit 6, which had been out of operations for 10 years. He also identified the other achievements of the new owners of Egbin Power Plc to include the upgrading of the Distributed Control System (DCS) to Units 4, 5 and 1 to the latest modern technology available; and the major overhauling of the demineralisation plant. Other achievements include; restoration of the water treatment and waste treatment facility; replacement and installation of the Turbine Vibration Monitoring Systems, which assists in regulating the speed of the turbine in an

event of excessive vibration to avoid a catastrophic failure as had previously occurred; and the repair and replacement of the entire facility Fire Protection System that had been out of service for almost 20 years. Peavey added that with the completion of the remaining unit overhauls, Egbin would be operating at a minimum of 95 per cent of its installed capacity for Nigeria. He, however, disclosed that the debt owed the plant by the federal government for power generated stood at N125 billion as at August 1, 2017. On what informed the visit of the delegation from the United States to Egbin Power Plant, the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Sahara Group, Mr. Tonye Cole, said Nigeria always needed to always showcase the fact that it was always moving forward and not stagnant. He said: “The privatisation exercise happened threeand-a-half years ago and we have actually moved forward in the energy

space completely. So, one of the best ways to do it is not just to talk about it but for people to come and see it themselves. We can talk about what we have achieved but if they don’t see it, they won’t believe. One thing I can assure you is that the delegation that has come here and seen this will go back and they will be bigger advocates for Nigeria moving forward because they know that whatever they discuss about Power Africa and investment in the power sector that they have seen that there are people on ground, who are actually doing it. Our whole objective was to make sure that this was achieved and I think we have achieved that.� In his brief remarks, Senator Coons said the visit was part of the efforts of the United States to ensure the success of ‘Power Africa,’ adding that the US recognised that power was a significant challenge in Africa, particularly Nigeria. “We want to see what the US-Nigeria partnership has to offer,� Coons said.

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Security Agents Arrest Insurgents in Kano Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano Security agents on Saturday arrested some suspected insurgents in Kano and moved them to Abuja on Sunday morning for interrogation, the state Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has said. “The security agents also confiscated arms and communication gadgets from the alleged terrorists even as they divulged very useful information,� the governor added, appealing to citizens in the state to be more security conscious. Ganduje spoke while receiving the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, who paid him the traditional Hawan Nassarawa homage, at the Government House in Kano on Sunday. He explained that the arrest was made possible by special security network that was facilitated by local community intelligence gathering, pointing out that the government would sustain its commitment towards protecting lives and property of the people. The governor explained that as part of the effort by his government to assist security

agencies to do their work efficiently, vehicles worth millions of Naira have been purchased and distributed to the Army, Civil Defence, Federal Road Safety Corps as well as Hisbah Guards. “We have also built 10 security dormitories, each capable of housing 60 security officials to help the police in surveillance along the major highways coming onto the state capital,� he said. The governor further stated that his administration, in conjunction with security agencies, had taken concrete steps to end criminal activities within Falgore forest, pointing out that so far, the Nigerian Army had established a training facility for soldiers in the forest. Ganduje also told Sanusi II that his administration had committed huge resources to the provision of public infrastructure like metropolitan roads, rural access infrastructure, hospitals and classrooms among others, requesting for the sustained support of the Emirate Council to forge ahead. Speaking earlier, the Emir Sanusi II, urged the government to focus more

Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai on economic development, especially alleviating the current hardship being faced

by Nigerians. He also urged political leaders to caution their

supporters against causing public disturbances, saying it was also imperative for them

to generate more employment opportunities for the teeming youths in the country.

of 1999, and canvassed the restructuring of the country, saying it was not concerned about the system but the actual conduct of government and the way it was formally organised in terms of its power relations and territorial structures. The group also canvassed the need to institute resource control and fiscal federalism, which it said, was at variance with the principle of derivation stipulated in section 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution. It said the provision countered to the principle of fiscal federalism, noting that it was the source of much of the agitations about resource control. “Fiscal federalism requires that mines and minerals including oil fields, oil mining, geological surveys and natural gas should be a residual matter with the exclusive competence of the regions or states,� the SLT said. The group then demanded that section 162 should, in its entirety, be expunged from any new constitution and be made a residual matter in accordance with the requirements of fiscal federalism. It emphasised the importance of restructuring the territorial structures of the Nigeria in a way that powers would be taken away from the centre and be given to the 36 states of the federation or to bigger territorial structures based on regions or zones. However, it proposed a federation of eight regions comprising North-West, North-Central, North-East, South-West, South-East, South-South, Middle Belt (to be made up of Kwara, Kogi and Benue States) and Mid-West (consisting Edo and Delta States). It noted: “A structure based

on the existing 36 states raises the questions of the viability of the state. Viability in this context should not be viewed entirely in terms of economics. It should also be considered in relation to other issues: a separate constitution; a separate police force; a separate machinery to conduct elections for the political functionaries.� It gave three main reasons why restructuring could not be effectively and meaningfully by amendment to the 1999 Constitution, arguing that the best way to achieve it is to promulgate a new constitution that would be adopted by the people at a referendum. The SLT said the 1999 Constitution was unitary in nature, explaining that having a single constitution for a federation contradicted the principle of federalism. It argued: “It is a manifest contradiction to conceive of a government, whether in a federal or unitary system, without a constitution.� The group, therefore, lamented the subversive consequences of the contradiction of a single constitution for a federal system.

fake and ludicrous news that claims that President Buhari is due to leave Nigeria for the USA on Monday to condole with President Trump over the floods in Houston.'' He said an old NTA News video being circulated on the Social Media claims that Buhari had already left for the UN General Assembly in New York. ''This is a 2015 NTA News video that was repackaged to look current, and to give the impression that the president left Daura, where he is celebrating Eid-el-Kabir, directly for New York,'' Mohammed said. He said Nigerians should disregard any news credited to any account in his name, neither on Twitter nor Facebook, adding: ''Numerous parody accounts have been opened in my name on the two platforms when indeed I have no Twitter or Facebook accounts.'' Mohammed recalled how the same parody Twitter account which was used to disseminate the fake news about the president's purported trip was employed to circulate a fake report that he sharply criticized Senator Dino Melaye for attending the Notting Hill Carnival in the UK. He said these two instances highlighted the dangers posed to the polity by the purveyors of fake news and disinformation and vowed that the federal government would soon fish out those behind them. ''Fake news disinformation and hate speech are the antics of the naysayers, those who are pathologically opposed to this administration. That is why we are urging Nigerians to be more discerning and to double check any information emanating from the social media,'' Mohammed said.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, OSINBAJO TELLS SEPARATIST AGITATORS all of what other countries will travel and spend money looking for the sort of resources that we have. "All of the tourism resources that we have, people will travel everywhere looking for it. It is a nation of men and women so creative and prosperous, that we will feed the entire continent and create opportunities for the world," he stated. The vice-president disclosed that the president was unavoidably absent at the event because he had to celebrate this year's Eid-El Kabir in his Daura country home which he said he had not visited in the last one year. Reflecting on the essence of Sallah and its application to Nigeria today, Osinbajo challenged Nigerians to cultivate the spirit of the sacrifice made by Abraham when he willingly prepared to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Explaining that Abraham expressed his willingness to make that sacrifice because he considered it a necessity to fulfil his own destiny, the vice-president said, even so, all Nigerians, irrespective of their religious and ethnic leanings, must realise the necessity to make sacrifices that will help the country attain its own destiny. "Mr. President is unable to attend because he is celebrating Sallah at home in Daura. He has not been in Daura for over a year now. So, this is an important home going for him. The significance of this celebration was the willingness of Abraham to make the great sacrifice of possibly the dearest thing to him, his son Isaac. "Obviously...it was a willingness to make a great sacrifice and Abraham was able to make that sacrifice.

And he made it in order to be able to fulfil his own destiny and the destiny of his people. "The message today is that our nation's elite, Muslims, Christians and all ethnicities must recognise that we also must make sacrifices, the sacrifices that are necessary to attain the destiny that God has brought unto our people. All the different ethnic groups are important in that arrangement. On every ethnicity, incredible minds, brilliant and creative people doing all manner of things," he stated. He submitted that Nigeria's current travail is an indication that like a woman in labour, the time of its breakthrough is at hand.

Southern Leaders Unveil five-Point Agenda for Restructuring Meanwhile, the Southern Leaders of Thought (SLT) has unveiled a five-point agenda for restructuring Nigeria in line with the principles and tenets of what it calls true federalism, which it argues, is key to ensuring the country’s survival against the forces of division and conflict inherent in its heterogeneous nature. The SLT, a forum of eminent Nigerians, also rejected the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and demanded a new constitution that would derive its authority, legitimacy and validity from the people rather than a decree of the military. These were contained in a 22-page document obtained by THISDAY from the SLT Secretariat in Lagos at the weekend, in which it accused the National Assembly of making itself part of the

problems standing in the way of the restructuring of the country by seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution. The document signed by Prof. Benjamin Nwabueze, on behalf of other members of the group, specifically outlines a five-point agenda that seeks restoration of true federalism; restructuring of the territorial structures of Nigeria; instituting fiscal federalism; removal of factors impairing true federalism; and a new constitution to be adopted by the people at a referendum. The group comprises former Secretary-General of Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; Chieftain of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; Convener of Yoruba Assembly, Gen. Alani Akinrinade; former governor of Cross Rivers; Mr. Donald Duke; former governor of Akwa-Ibom, Obong Victor Attah; and Chairman of the National Democratic Coalition NADECO, Rear Admiral Ndubusi Kanu (rtd). Other members include a businessman, Chief Harry Akande; a renowned political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi; a professor of International Law, Prof. Akin Oyebode; former President of Ijaw National Congress, Prof. Kimse Okoko; former Managing Director of Daily Times of Nigeria, Chief Tola Adeniyi; and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Solomon Asemota. It said: “The 1999 Constitution is not a democratic constitution. Indeed, it is a constitution only in a loose sense of the word, but not in the strict, generally accepted sense of an original act of the people by which a state and its government are constituted.� It, therefore, contended that the 1999 Constitution was an imposition on the people through Decree 24

Mohammed denies news of Buhari's trip to the US The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has urged Nigerians to disregard as fake, news being circulated via a parody Twitter account and an old NTA news video that President Muhammadu Buhari had travelled to the United States. Mohammed in a statement in Lagos on Sunday said one of the numerous parody Twitter accounts in his name, @MohammedLai, @ “was used to disseminate the

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

AFRICAN STATES AND CAPACITY FOR DEVELOPMENT

Emmanuel Nnadozie canvasses the need for governments and development partners to do more to fund capacity development on the continent

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hat Africa is a well endowed region of the world, a continent said to have a ‘golden hand,’ is a fact. But that our continent is not fully taking advantage of its weight and worth in gold, to transform itself and be the development wonder of the world, is an major issue to ponder. This issue of why Africa is not yet fully taking advantage of its potential to completely achieve its own development, is a serious challenge to overcome, one that we have decided to address as Africa Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) prepares for its 26th Board of Governors Meeting in Accra. Being held under the theme: “Enhancing access to and absorption of development resources in Africa,� the two-day event opens with a high level meeting, September 4. The BoG meeting is organised under the patronage of Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo and will be attended by finance, economic development and planning ministers from across Africa, development partners from North America, Europe, and Australia; as well as top officials from the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank, among others. Thus, we shall have in Accra an ensemble of minds and voices capable of making a difference to the way Africa has been doing business in the past decades. This particular BoG meeting is coming at a crucial time when African countries are striving to implement the AU Agenda 2063 and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but are faced with inadequate human and institutional capacity to effectively implement these plans. Therefore, funding capacity development strategies is no longer a choice for Africa but a must. How quickly African leaders make the right choice on this issue, I want to repeat, especially in supporting the comprehensive work done by capacity development organisations and think tanks, and particularly the work of ACBF (which this January was officially designated as the AU’s Specialised Agency for Capacity Development), will highly determine the pace of implementation and success of Agenda 2063 and the other development plans. The September 4, 2017, meeting will hence provide an opportunity for key development actors to reflect on the means for effectively financing Africa’s development agendas and how to build related capacities. It is important that this is done, and done well, because Africa can no longer afford to ignore the critical need of funding capacity development on the continent. However the problem, as ACBF has often reiterated, is beyond the availability of funds or even the access to such funds. The main problem is inadequate human and institutional capacity to effectively implement the plans put together by African countries.

THE INADEQUACY OF HUMAN RESOURCE IS PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR AFRICA’S CONTINUED IMPORTATION OF ‘EXPERTS’ FROM ABROAD, PAYING THEM HUGE SUMS OF MONEY TO DO THE WORK THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE AT LOWER COST BY LOCAL ‘EXPERTS’ IF THEY WERE AVAILABLE

At ACBF, we have always said – based on the findings of our empirical research – that funding, or access to funding, may be a challenge to Africa, no doubt about that; but that many African countries have had (and continue to have) funding for development projects but lack the human capital, effective institutions and the right mindset to effectively absorb and those resources to achieve their development objectives. The inadequacy of human resource is partly responsible for Africa’s continued importation of “experts� from abroad, paying them huge sums of money to do the work that could have been done at lower cost by local “experts� if they were available. I speak with conviction that it is time African countries developed a radical mindset change that leads to the prioritising of funding for capacity development. For, unless we can slay the ghost of the capacity deficits, it will be difficult to implement Agenda 2063 and SDGs. Therefore, as we approach ACBF’s 26th BOG, I want to offer the following four reasons why African states must raise their game in funding capacity for development: One, the institutional capacity deficits on the continent affect every level of African life. They affect the AU Commission and its organs and prevent them from effectively coordinating the continental development agenda. They affect regional economic communities (RECs) and inhibit them from effectively playing their role as building blocks of the continental development architecture and accelerating regional integration. The deficits also affect national institutions and take away their ability to align national development plans to continental and global agendas. Moreover, they affect Africa’s ability to retain, harmonise and fully utilise the capacity that it may have already sweated to acquire. Two, the continent has an acute shortage of the critical technical skills necessary for accelerating its industrialisation and socio-economic transformation. An ACBF study on capacity needed to achieve the first 10-Year Plan of Agenda 2063 has shown that the continent lacks over 4.3 million engineers and around 9,000 mining specialists/engineers. It is therefore imperative that Africa invests more in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, but we cannot do so without raising our game for funding capacity development. We must also pay attention not just to capacity building but also to capacity retention, capacity harmonisation and capacity utilisation. In fact, if African countries can build, retain and fully utilise Africa-specific critical skills they would go a long way in providing a potent solution to the mass perilous migration of millions of their youth who constitute an important asset for the transformation of the continent. Three, achieving “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa� as stated in the aspirations of Agenda 2063, must be driven by Africa’s own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena. Professor Nnadozie is the Executive Secretary, African Capacity Building Foundation

LAGOS STATE PUBLIC SERVICE AND SUCCESSION PLANNING

R

Akintola Benson-Oke writes that succession planning is important for ensuring the continued success of any organisation

od Drury, the chief executive officer of Xero recently wrote an article in the Huffington Post recounting how the organisation recently dealt with a development that underlined the importance of succession planning. He started by writing that, “succession planning is critical to the ongoing health and longevity of a company.� He then proceeded to recount as follows: “This week, our succession plans were put to the test with the unexpected announcement that our Chairman, Chris Liddell, was leaving to take up a role in the White House. With little notice, we were able to quickly manage what could have been a significant hit to our governance structure, all without missing a beat. Successfully managing such an important and visible change demonstrated the importance of continuously looking to the future and scenario planning for unexpected changes, so we are prepared for sudden exits, accidents or to seize opportunities. “We were officially notified of Chris’s new role on Wednesday, when the announcement was made by the Office of the President-Elect. By Thursday, we had convened a board meeting, talked through our options, made a decision and announced to the stock exchange that Graham Smith, long-serving Xero Board member, would step into the Chairman position�. He then proceeded to state what made such a swift and satisfactorily effective response possible. He wrote, “For us, we are constantly thinking about succession, even at the board level. In this situation, our plan was for Graham to step into Chris’s role when he eventually retired or should a situation arise prior. At these times, we assess the combination of expertise and experience of our Board of Directors and make appointments to complement the team as a whole.� During the process leading up to crafting the plan, he noted that “It was interesting to explicitly have the conversation with key people of ‘what happens if you can’t turn up to work tomorrow?’ Often it’s just

not talked about but having that conversation was very healthy, and all of our team quickly embraced the concept of identifying successors.� Furthermore, he noted that, “we also insist our people take breaks. It’s a great test for the business if key people can be out of the office, and off email, for a few days or weeks and it continues to run smoothly. Even I do it. I often think, ‘who is the person I’d be most concerned about not being here?’ and ensuring that person takes some leave so we know they have the team to cover themselves.� Indeed, as the Association of Professional Staffing Companies, APSCo has noted, Succession planning is vitally important for ensuring the continued success of any organisation, in identifying and developing the talent which will fill your critical roles in the future, or in times of crisis. “Organisations of all sizes are now focusing on succession planning to ensure the leaders of the future are in place. It would be very bad business to not have succession plan for the future.� A strong succession plan can identify and put together an agenda to train and mentor the right people to step into leadership positions. Typically, businesses would put together short, medium and long term succession plans. Succession plans should also form part of a structured Business Continuity Plan. The association also advised that, “increasingly, succession planning should be a consideration not just for high-level senior managerial roles, but also for technical roles requiring a great deal of expertise. If there’s just one person in an organisation-critical position with the breadth of knowledge to keep that business moving – for example, a high level scientist or technical position – then this needs to be looked at too. “Succession plans, in particular for small and medium sized businesses, don’t need to be complicated or even formal, but the interested parties do need to know that they are involved and a plan should be put together to ensure they are in the right position to take the helm should the worst happen.� In crafting a plan, the association notes that “every internal move need not be upwards – it’s often prudent to move promising people sideways to

enable them to learn the breadth of the organisation rather than just their niche part. Not only will this give them the tools they will need to take over, but also provide more senior management with insights on how that person deals with working outside of their traditional role. Concluding, the association noted that, “succession planning . . . should sit right at the heart of the organisation’s objectives, and is particularly prudent in a time where experienced hands are reaching retirement age, taking with them years of knowledge and working relationships, which can and should be handed down before they enjoy their well-earned retirement.� Notwithstanding the above-enumerated importance of succession planning for organisations, Donald Delves notes that, “yet many companies fail to give the matter sufficient attention, even though the need for in-house candidates with essential skills to lead the organisation may be greater than ever.� He then noted that as leadership turnover at many large organisations averages about once every three years, companies that lack qualified succession candidates are forced to hire from the outside. Thus, the posture of many organisations is to be reactive, not proactive. Boards at reactive organisations find themselves conducting searches for a CEO or C-suite executives – an undertaking that most directors find extremely challenging. Though executives in senior positions at other companies may be proven products, bringing them in does not guarantee successful leadership. Moreover, hiring from the outside can have negative consequences. Chief among these is spiraling executive compensation. Inadequate succession planning is probably the single most significant factor leading to outsized executive compensation. To attract executives from other companies, recruiting organisations must match or exceed their existing packages and compensate them for risks involved in leaving a known environment for one with unknown challenges. No matter how diligent candidates are in evaluating suitors, there are limits on how much they can know about the condition of

a new company before accepting a position. Because of these risks, outsiders usually need a severance agreement carrying substantial contingent benefits. Citing these dynamics, proxy advisory services stress the importance of succession planning and criticise boards whose lack of preparation forces them to pay premiums for outsiders. Yet, if boards promote the wrong in-house candidates and performance lags, large institutional shareholders criticise them for not bringing in proven products. Organisations that make succession planning a perennial goal are better able to maintain performance while satisfying the demands of stakeholders. Another inherent downside of poor succession planning is that even the best outside candidates are hampered initially by the fact they are new with the organisation. It can take months for outsiders to adapt to large, complex organisations – a costly interval in today’s high-speed environment. In this opening address, I have sought to give an overview of the practical approaches that are now regarded as best practices globally in the area of succession planning. While most of the ideas are sourced from business-focused organisations, I am confident that this training will focus on how they can be suitably adapted to benefit the Lagos State Public Service. Without doubt, the value to be derived from them is not quantifiable. But, as always, we must take great pains to carefully domesticate them taking care to avoid importing practices that are not workable under our peculiar circumstances. Beyond this, however, we must be challenged to aspire to the high standards of governance that the citizens now expect from the government. As the ones responsible for the formulation and execution of government policies, the officers of the civil service will extensively benefit from this training. I urge you to wholeheartedly embrace this training and open your minds to the new ideas that will be proposed. Dr. Benson Oke, is Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions

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EDITORIAL THE BENUE FLOOD AND MATTERS ARISING The latest flood points to the fact that we have not done enough in managing the environment

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hile torrential rains have, in recent weeks, wreaked serious havoc on lives and property in several parts of the country, nowhere has the impact been as damaging as Benue State. According to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), no fewer than 110,000 people in 24 communities including Makurdi, the state capital, have been displaced by flood. The scale of the disaster is such that, in some of the affected 14 local governments, almost whole communities, markets and farmlands were submerged. Even the state radio station was not spared. Aside creating refugees of homeless citizens, there are fears of epidemic diseases with this new challenge wrought by nature. “The damage by flood disaster so far is massive; the state alone cannot bear the financial burden involved in tackling it,� said Governor Samuel Ortom. “Many communities have been washed away, while farms have equally been swept off. We want the federal government, individuals and organisations THE ISSUE OF THE to assist�. We join in his ECOLOGICAL FUND call for private organisaMANAGEMENT STILL tions and well-endowed NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED individuals to come to NOT ONLY FOR THE SAKE the aid of Benue, as they do in other parts of the OF ACCOUNTABILITY world, so as to prevent AND TRANSPARENCY, what is fast becoming a BUT ALSO TO humanitarian tragedy. INSTITUTIONALISE Yet, as bad as the IT FOR NECESSARY situation may seem INTERVENTIONS IN TIMES today in the state, the LIKE THIS worst is not over since climate change is creating a situation where too much water comes at an unexpected time, or in unexpected places and causing serious problem. Unfortunately, the management of the country’s environment has left much to be desired, even when there are statutory Federal and State Ministries of Environment, including agencies that are supposed to

Letters to the Editor

ensure a sustainable preservation of Nigeria’s ecosystem. The most galling in the strings of woeful performance of Nigeria’s environment sector is the mismanagement of the Ecological Fund. Meanwhile, we agree with the Benue Commissioner for Water Resources and Environment, Joseph Utsey that the federal government should include the state among those to benefit from the N1.6 billion ecological fund. That may well happen since President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to immediately mobilise personnel and resources to assist the victims. He also assured that the federal government would make available any assistance needed to enable the state government and the affected communities cope with and surmount the impact of the flooding.

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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.

OPTIMISING SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN SMSE

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e have vast numbers of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in any given economy but their impact in national economic development is relatively low due to low operational efficiency. Implementation of supply chain management system in SME will reduce operational cost and increase efficiency. Implementing an effective supply chain management system in SME has an important role to play in order to ensure economy growth and development. The bottlenecks experienced by SME needs to be identified and eliminated in order to enable them to develop. Supply chain management is the process of integrating all the components of production and supply processes. It is the management of the flow of goods and services as required by the final consumer. Application of the below models will help in eliminating the challenges facing efficiency and effectiveness of a supply chain management system in SME. Firstly, the product and consumer integration while the second, production and supply integration. The product and consumer integration: it describes how best the activities involved in delivery of the right quantity of products, with the required specification at the prescribed time gets to the consumer in the right condition. Here is how to get started. Firstly, for a start-up or existing business Research and Development (R&D) is necessary for identification of products needs in the consumer market. This will give a view of products trends in the new and existing market and allow SME’s to quickly understand what the market needs. This stage is very imperative as it will assure SME’s that the goods being produced will move in the market.

owever, the issue of the ecological fund management still needs to be addressed not only for the sake of accountability and transparency, but also to institutionalise it for necessary interventions in times like this. Established to mitigate the various environmental challenges in the country by empowering state governments, the fund has become a public till where state executives dip their hands for private use. In recent past, we have had to raise pertinent questions about the misuse of the fund but it does not appear as if the relevant authorities are paying any attention. On the whole, time has come for the government to become more accountable in the management of the environment. The era of impunity should be done with and in earnest. The Federal Ministry of Environment should also sit up and adopt more proactive measures to ensure that mitigation of environmental degradation is a continuous task. State governments should also put in new systems that entail protection of the ecosystem in line with cleaner environment. While we implore all the critical stakeholders to come to the aid of Benue State as it tries to deal with the current challenge of flooding, it is also our hope that the authorities would see it as another wake-up call for the proper management of the environment.

Furthermore, identification of products needs in accordance to the market request. Once the specification is well-defined it will be communicated to other sections in the value chain system. And this will ensure production is in line with the exact quality of product required by the market. Thirdly, a market survey needs to be carried out to ensure the volume in projected production is what the capacity of the market can consume at every point in time. This survey will enable high inventory turnover, which will ensure quantity produced is what the market can consume at every point in time. The production and supply integration: it describes how best the activities involved in production starting from procurement of raw materials to the point of supply. Below are the necessary steps in achieving the bottom line. Firstly, the identification and detailed definitions of items and quantities that needed to be produced. Goods must be in line with the agreed specifications of the market request. The bottom-line is to have the required quality of materials, as any flop in this stage will affect the entire value chain. Secondly, procurement of materials must be in accordance to the production plan and scheduling. More so, storage condition and shelf life of each material has to be considered in purchasing and storing of materials. Furthermore, the issuance of raw materials has to be done in line with the required components that are needed to make the intended specification of the finished product. An enterprise resource planning technique will be deployed to manage inflow and outflow of raw materials. Adekola Oduguwa

SENATOR MISAU AND THE POLICE FORCE

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t was truly courageous of Senator Isah Misau to blow the lid off corrupt practices in the Nigeria Police Force. This courage to speak out is commendable because it is usually not the norm for Northerners to speak out against a system that overwhelmingly favours fellow Northerners. That is why, over here in the North, there is overwhelming support for the TSA, the EFCC, the ICPC, the NYSC, the federal police system against a mooted state police system, Nigeria’s continued “unity,� non-restructuring, etc. Presently, there are states that are considered areas of “plush postings or assignments� for any police officer because of the cozy and “egunje� arrangements that abound there and these states are usually identified as the following: Anambra, Imo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Ogun. With respect to

other federating states, no insult is intended here but economically those other states cannot match the aforementioned states for ease with which capital move and the availability of cash on demand. A careful examination of the posting pattern in the Nigerian Police Force indicates that, somehow, these states have mostly Northern Hausa-Fulani police officers as their Commissioners of Police to the exclusion of the indigenes of those states who usually get the “crumbs� as Police Public Relation Officers. What Senator Misau told Nigerians was that this state of affair is heavily flawed and skewed to favour the highest bidder and when that bidder was not forthcoming then the kith and kindred of the ruling class gets the meat. Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna

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POLITICS

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

M O N D AY D I S C O U R S E

In the Spirit of Eid-el-Kabir The Sallah celebrations provide President Muhammadu Buhari with a new opportunity to put in place an all-inclusive government that will give the people a sense of belonging, writes Tobi Soniyi

Buhari...assures Nigerians of their safety

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ince Nigeria became independent on October 1st, 1960, even before then, one fact has always been constant: no one can successfully govern Nigeria unless the person truly sees all Nigerians as his families. To a great extent, all coups and counter-coups, the civil war and deadly ethnic clashes across the country occurred and recurred because Nigerians don’t see themselves as brothers. They don’t see themselves as brothers because leaders who should lead by examples and bring the people together as a people have continued to play one ethnic group against the other. They have always hidden under their ethnic identity to run the country. When there is crisis, our leaders always pitch their tents with their kinsmen even when their kinsmen are wrong. In essence, Nigeria has not been lucky to have a leader that is truly patriotic and national in his approach to governance. Indeed, the country has been unfortunate to have leaders who exploit divisive tendencies to govern. Even the constitution, which we now operate was written by military ursurpers who deliberately set some booby traps in the document with the hope that the people would find it unworkable and thereby provide them with the opportunity to seize power. This is why a new government is usually seen by those who do not vote for the political party that wins election as ‘their government’. Unfortunate, leaders who emerge from such elections end up confirming the suspicion of

those who do not vote for them by choosing to leave them out of the new governance. So, those left out will be waiting for an opportunity to form their own government and leave out others who do not support them. Nigeria has been going this circle and today, because the Buhari’s administration has gone to the extreme in leaving out those not from his ethnic group and those who did not vote for him, the people have responded with the clamour for restructuring. The Deputy Senate President, Dr Ike Ekweremadu succinctly captured this when he said: “All these point to the fact that there is widespread dissatisfaction over how Nigeria is presently constituted and run. The South East region, in particular, has, no doubt, been at the worst receiving end of the structural imbalances with ripples of disequilibrium in

The world itself can never be governed by force. Never by fear. Even, never by power. In the end, what governs is the mind. What conquers is the spirit.

the distribution of resources and opportunities since the end of the civil war in 1970. This, as we know, are at the root of the disquiet and agitation by various groups for a sovereign state of Biafra. “Although the Biafra agitation has been with us even during the regimes of former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, and Goodluck Jonathan, it was managed, through tact and semblance of inclusiveness. Thus, after Ralph Uwazulike’s arrest and release from detention by the Yar’Adua administration, the agitation withered greatly. It was even much less noticeable under the Jonathan Administration because the South East was given a greater sense of belonging. “Therefore, the renewed and aggravated agitations across the South East, the hero status of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the growing pro-Biafra sentiments in the South East, and the widespread feelings of alienation and disgust with the Nigerian project since after the 2015 general election can be traced to the mistreatment of the region, which graduated from marginalization to exclusion, based on the 97 percent and 5 percent policy of the present administration.” Rather than looking elsewhere for the growing clamour for restructuring, those in government must ask themselves the question: “Is there anything we are doing that is fuelling this agitation?” An honest answer will help the president to make a u-turn by bringing everyone on board.

Red Flags at the Beginning In his congratulatory message to Buhari on May 10th, 2015, the late Alhaji Maitama Sule made a passionate appeal to the president-elect to do justice to all Nigerians and to make sure that he is president for all Nigerians. Here is how he put it: ‘‘What has recently happened to Nigeria is an act of God. Nobody expected that the elections would be peaceful. Nobody expected that the elections would not lead to the disintegration of the country. “Behind crisis anywhere in the world is injustice. The solution to that crisis is justice. The world itself can never be governed by force. Never by fear. Even, never by power. In the end, what governs is the mind. What conquers is the spirit. And the weapons of the mind that conquers the spirit are justice and fair play. Don’t compromise justice with anything. “Mr. President, I am not asking you to, and I know you will not discriminate against any part of Nigeria, but am only asking you to do justice to all the parts of Nigeria. Justice will bring about peace. Do justice to us. Do justice to them. Do justice to everybody” However, as it turned out, the president did not heed this advice as he left no one in doubt, right at the beginning of his administration, that he would not be able to live to the high expectation Sule admonished him to. CONT’D ON NEXT PAGE

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POLITICS

MONDAY DISCOURSE

IN THE SPIRIT OF EID-EL-KABIR During Buhari’s visit to the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) as part of his state visit to the US after his inauguration, President Emeritus of The Fund for Peace, Dr. Pauline Baker, asked Buhari how he would ensure security, amnesty, peace, and inclusive development in the Nigeria Delta region. The president’s response was not only disappointing but shocking. He said: “I hope you have a copy of the election results. The constituents, for example, that gave me 97 percent (of votes) cannot in all honesty be treated on some issues with constituencies that gave me five percent”. The video of Buhari’s response to Baker went viral even as his aides made frantic efforts to play down the gaffe or explain it away. Had the president not gone ahead to implement that statement, no one will be talking about it today. After making his first set of appointments which largely were people from the HausaFulani extraction, the president defended his decision thus when he was confronted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa Service: “If I select people whom I know quite well in my political party, the people I have confidence in and I can trust them with any post, will that amount to anything wrong?” The president went ahead to appoint only Muslims of Hausa-Fulani extraction as heads of security and military institutions. With this, the president set in motion the factors that revived agitation for restructuring. We Have Been Here Before But we had been here before. Just like Ekweremadu pointed out in the quote cited above, the South-east enjoyed a considerable sense of belonging under the administration of Dr Goodluck Jonathan. Unfortunate, the people of the South-west were not so lucky while Jonathan was president. Except for the then minister for agric, Akinwumi Adesina, nobody from the south-west was appointed into any position of relevance. For those who think being a minister for agriculture is a bid deal, the point is that when critical decisions about the country are to be taken, the minister for agric will not be there. This largely explained why Jonathan lost face in the south-west. His decision to bring Musiliu Obanikoro as minister of state for defence and the appointment of Jones Oladehinde Arogbofa as chief of staff to the president proved to be too little late. Today, Buhari is playing the same game against the south-east and it behoves on all of us whether from the south-west or the north to speak out against injustice just like our beloved elder statesman, Maitama Sule said before his death. Yesterday, it was the south-west, today it is the south-east. The good thing about this country is that people who truly love this country, the nationalists in the true sense of the words, are in every zone. They are many in the north and in the south. These are people Buhari should be listening to and not the sycophants in his government. In this wise, one must commend a former governor of Kaduna State, Abubakar Umar, for warning the federal government against re-arresting the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, for flouting his bail conditions. Umar said the move to re-arrest him is a ‘dangerous and politically unwise’ effort that could backfire. He also warned the Buhari administration to stop seeing Kanu ‘as a common criminal.’ According to him, re-arresting Kanu is not the smartest way out of the delicate situation. He said: “Kanu is a bitter young man fighting for a fairer deal for his Igbo kinsmen. His seeming militant approach is the result of the strong-arm tactics with which the federal government deals with him.” He cited a quote by Usman Danfodio in which the famed Islamic scholar and founder of the Sokoto Caliphate used to preach against inequality. “One of the swiftest ways of destroying a kingdom is to give preference to one particular tribe over another, or to show favour to one group of people rather than another, and to draw near those who should be kept away and keep away those that should be drawn near.” Umar said Buhari had in his words and actions kept the people of South-east marginalised, a development that contributed to the seeming popularity of secessionist campaigns across the region.

Nwodo...kicks against plans to re-arrest Kanu

He said: “Many Igbo genuinely feel marginalised since they belong to the category of those who gave Mr. President only 5% of their votes and appeared to have fallen out of his favour,” Excerpts from the statement by Umar will suffice. “Buhari’s insistence that the unity of Nigeria is a settled issue is a nationalistic wish and is no surprise coming from a veteran of a civil war fought to keep the country one. “However, this does not take into account the mood of the nation as indicated by the growing agitations for self-determination, restructuring and many other similar demands. If indeed the president is able to ignore and silence those agitators, it will be a case of suspended animation. “All indications are that Nigeria has become so polarised that it requires a strong personality like Buhari to sustain its fragile unity. Needless to say that this does not bode well for the survival of the nation. “Most Nigerians are convinced of the need to maintain Nigeria’s unity, cognisant of the enormous benefits all sections drive from a large, diverse and resource rich country. “The federation also provides a security umbrella to all the federating units which enhance their survivability and prosperity. It is difficult to see how any of them can fare better out of the federation. But the fact that there are growing agitations for self-determination, restructuring and other similar demands speak gravely of the way the federation is being governed.” Umar warned that Nigeria’s unity could only be guaranteed when all its citizens feel they are getting a fair deal and when all its component parts are treated justly and equitably. “Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Adeyanju and other similar agitators might seem like felons or even anarchists. But as often happens over humanity’s turbulent history, appearances can be deceitful. One man’s terrorist could well be another man’s freedom fighter. “In any event, despite what the security agencies might feel, there is nothing to fear from Kanu. He and his compatriots are people who love their country dearly and are willing to take a risk with their lives while blowing a whistle on some of our bad habits. It will be a tragic mistake to treat them as common criminals. It is evident that they are fighting a cause millions consider entirely legitimate. “Until our democracy learns to accommodate dissent, vigorous, robust, even if inconvenient, it will be incapable of serving our common good,” he added. People like Maitama Sule, Abubakar Umar,

In the ears of Nigerians, such assurances are beginning to sound hollow. The president must go beyond mere rhetorics.

Balarabe Musa and many of them across the country have continued to give hopes to the youths that Nigeria will be great and they deserve commendation. Spiking Up Tensions When we commend people like Umar, we must also condemn people like the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, who shocked the world when he said that Arewa youths who gave ultimatum for the Igbos to leave the north were not arrested to avoid security breach but in the same breath asked court to revoke Kanu’s bail to pave way for his re-arrest. The AGF’s statement had left many wondering whether we live in the same country and whether we are all under the same law. Elsewhere, that divisive statement would have earned a sack from the cabinet. Since Arewa youths can not be arrested, the federal government should apologise to Kanu for arresting him in the first instance. There is hardly anything he did that the Arewa youths have not done. While the country was slowly walking back to peace, the decision by Malami to have Kanu’s bail revoked reignited the heat again. Immediately, the Igbos socio-cultural organisation, Ndigbo kicked. In a statement, the president of Ohaneze, John Nwodo, warned the Attorney-General of the Federation, to respect his oath of office, and beam his attention on other urgent national matters. “I am amazed that the distinguished attorney is prepared to contest the superiority of the provisions of the constitution on fundamental human rights of freedom of movement and freedom of association over an erroneous judicial proclamation violating those rights. “A few hours ago under the watchful eyes of the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum and in total defiance of the Head of State’s proclamation of the rights of a citizen of Nigeria to live anywhere in Nigeria and to do business anywhere in Nigeria, the Arewa Youths, pretending to withdraw their quit notice, gave qualifications to the Head of State’s proclamation, issuing conditions for enjoyment of citizenship status. “These same Arewa Youths are supposed to have been arrested on the orders of the Governor of Kaduna State and the Inspector General of Police for acts of treason, conversion and sedition. As the chief law officer of the Federation, the Attorney-General looks the other way. He does not go to court to seek an order of arrest or prosecution.” Ohaneze warned Malami not to exacerbate the already tense situation in the nation by commencing a legal action which portrays him as biased, insensitive and misdirected. IPOB also issued a furious statement in its reaction to the AGF’s decision. It described the move by the federal government to re-arrest Kanu as a dangerous path of intimidation, which smacks of ‘state sponsored terrorism designed to silence free speech and infringe on rights to peaceful assembly.’ The group noted that before the federal government decided to make a move to arrest its leader, it must first go to court to obtain

a court order or else it will be resisted by millions of IPOB members. The media and publicity secretary of IPOB, Emma Powerful, while reacting to the call said the government must also approach the courts to grant its prayers and not try to subvert the legal process by arresting without the permission of the court. “We wish to place the whole world on notice regarding the illegal and wholesome undemocratic moves by government to re-arrest our leader Kanu who committed no crime known to the laws of the Nigerian state. This dangerous path of intimidation, smacks of state sponsored terrorism designed to silence free speech and infringe on our rights to peaceful assembly”. “Merely asserting that Kanu is a threat to the Nigerian government is not a crime unless accompanied by legally definable crime or offence. The Buhari led administration must know that threats and more threats heaped upon intimidation after intimidation ‘do not wash’ with IPOB. Before Buhari decides to make a move to arrest our leader, he must first go to court to obtain a court order or else it will be resisted by million of IPOB members. “Kanu is spiritually and mentally prepared for this epic battle. He is not afraid of being locked up without trial as long as his personal physician will be allowed to visit and attend to his medical needs. In dictatorial and totalitarian regimes such as we have under this APC government, outspoken critics are often imprisoned without trial, so this undemocratic and illegal approach to resolving the thorny issue of Biafra self-determination championed by IPOB is to be expected.” No doubt Kanu has violated his bail conditions and contrary to Nwodo’s assertion, the constitution allows Kanu’s fundamental rights to be curtailed. Nevertheless, it is unfair to subject Kanu to trial if similar threats by Arewa youths went unpunished. Time for the President to Walk the Talk The president does not miss a chance to harp on the unity of Nigeria and to call on everyone to work for and uphold the country unity. Last Friday in Daura, Katsina State, the president said he was always pleased to see the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) achieving the purpose of national unity that inspired its creation since 1973. Speaking to journalists at his country home after the Eid-el-Kabir prayers, Buhari said the NYSC scheme had over the years continued to pursue the purpose of integrating the country, noting that the diversity of cultures remained Nigeria’s greatest strength. “I am always pleased to see corps members in Daura and other parts of the country. From the postings, we get to learn more about other cultures,’’ he said. The president said the large number of corps members in Daura, mostly from the southern part of the country, was an indication that the dream of a unified Nigeria remained a reality. Buhari noted that graduates from the north, who served in the southern states, also learnt a lot from the diversity that had made Nigeria a unique country. Recalling his experience of working in various parts of the country as an army officer, Buhari said that serving in some southern parts of the country like Lagos and Ibadan were very rich experiences. How come a president that relishes his experiences working in the southern part of the country could not come out categorically to denounce Arewa youths for giving Igbos ultimatum to leave the north? Last Saturday, the president repeated his earlier statement that Nigerians have the constitutional right to live, work and raise their families in any part of the country without restrictions. Receiving the Governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Bello Aminu Masari, at his country home as part of the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations, Buhari reiterated that the federal government would guarantee the security of everyone in the country, and ensure protection of all from harassments by reasons of their states of origin, tribes or ethnic backgrounds. The president said: “Every Nigerian has a right to live, work and thrive in any part of the country, irrespective of their backgrounds.’’ In the ears of Nigerians, such assurances are beginning to sound hollow. The president must go beyond mere rhetorics.

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

POLITICS

Why APC Remains a Hard Sell in S’East The All Progressives Congress remains unattractive in the South-east geopolitical zone, no thanks to some of the anti-people policies being implemented in Imo State, writes Iyobosa Uwugiaren The national secretariat of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is troubled by the unfolding events in Imo State, the only state the ruling party controls in the South-East geopolitical zone. A very strategic state to the ruling party, as calculation over 2019 general election slowly unfolds, the national leadership of the party planned to use the state to market the party to the south-east’s electorate, but the actions of the state governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, seem to be hindering the party’s scheming. ‘’Imo State is very strategic to our party in our political calculation towards 2019 general election; we thought we could use the only state we control in the south-east to sell our party to the electorate in the zone, a very hostile zone to APC. But the way the governor is managing the affairs of the state is not helping us’’, a member of the national executive council of APC from the north told THISDAY in Abuja. ‘’To be frank with you, until recently, when Senator Ifeanyi Ararume rejuvenated the APC’s structures in wards, local and state levels, our party was almost dead in Imo State. There was a lull in the party; virtually all our party executives in the state were side-lined and rendered useless.’’ The national executive member who spoke on the condition that his name would not be disclosed because he was not authorised by the party to speak on the issue added that with mounting unpopular policies and programmes, non-payment of huge salaries/pensions for over 10 months, the alleged award of contracts to cronies, side-lining of the party structures in the state, the seeming nepotism in the management of the affairs of the state and the recent killings during the relocation of traders, the image of APC-led government in the state has nosedived. A close political associate of the governor and immediate past commissioner of information, culture and tourism in the state, Dr. Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe, attested to the crisis enveloping the APC government in the state in an interview with THISDAY. “APC as a party has problem in Imo state; there are no meetings at the state, local and ward levels. It was like the party was dead. The party members are more like people in opposition; that is how APC in Imo State was until Araraume came and energized the party’’, Ajumbe stated. ‘’If you hear about APC now, it is because Araraume took a bold step last December to revive the party. The party members withdrew themselves to fate.” He said that saved for the crisis that enveloped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently, many of the APC members would have joined the opposition party. ‘’As I speak with you, if you know those who are in APC, sample their opinions and you will find out that those supporting Ararume -- from the party hierarchy, are about 70 per cent’’, Ajumbe added. Okorocha’s poor management of the party aside, the recent bloody incident that led to the killing of three people in Owerri, the state capital, has further compounded the image problem of the state government. Three people reportedly died in Owerri when some youths protested the pulling down of the main market in the state capital, Eke Onunwa market, on the instruction of the governor. A young boy was killed allegedly by a stray bullet fired by security operatives deployed to maintain order in the area, and this worsened the situation. Unconfirmed reports said two others also died. Against stiff opposition by the traders, the state government issued an evacuation order advising them to relocate to a new site to make way for development at the market site. But the traders said the new market was still at a foundation level. In the past two years, the people resisted government’s plan to relocate the market from the city. The people see the market as their ancestral heritage and had instituted a court case against the government to stop the relocation.

Ararume...working to keep APC alive in Imo

Despite the people’s opposition, the governor demolished the market. The action of the government has attracted criticisms from civil society groups, prominent citizens and human rights organisations. The national secretariat of APC also viewed the demolition as a heavy blow to the image of the party. An amalgamation of trade unions, the United Labour Congress (ULC), has called on Okorocha to resign, while advising the military to investigate the soldiers responsible for the violent measures taken to forcefully evict traders from the market. In a press statement signed by its president, Comrade Joe Ajaero, ULC said the state government should have allowed the court to decide the case challenging its decision to demolish the popular market. ULC said: “We condemn this as barbaric, unconscionable and out of sync with the dictates of modern societies that thrive on strict adherence to the rule of law and natural justice. This, once again, is a national eyesore that leaves a deep gash on our collective conscience as a people and as a country. “We are aghast at the continued militarization of governance processes and the deployment of high-handed and violent methods in attempting to settle disputes arising out of government decisions that the people consider wrong-headed or ill-advised.’’ The trade union said any governor that could not subject himself to the dictates of the law should lose the right to continue in office, saying the governor has become a threat to democracy and democratic practices. ULC said it did not see any reason, no matter how well thought out, for the governor to embark

The people see the market as their ancestral heritage and had instituted a court case against the government to stop the relocation.

on self-help and lawlessness in a matter that is before courts. The opposition party has also condemned the demolition of the market. The PDP, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Dayo Adeyeye, called for an immediate investigation of the incident. “We condemn the forceful demolition of the popular Eke Ukwu market and violent eviction of traders in Owerri by the Imo State Government using men of the Nigerian Police Force and other security agencies during which three people including a 10-year-old boy were extra-judicially murdered and several other people were injured’’, the party stated. PDP said the violent eviction of the occupants of the market was even more condemnable because it was carried out in violation of a pending order granted by the state high court restraining the state government from demolishing the market and evicting the traders. It accused the state government of promoting and pursuing anti-people policies. “This action, sadly, follows a pattern of the use of the apparatus of state security to forcefully and violently carry out evictions of ordinary Nigerians from valuable property in blatant violation of court orders. “As much as we acknowledge the need for development and the construction of critical infrastructure, these ideals must be pursued within the confines of respect for the rule of law as well as in a humane manner that preserves the dignity of indigent Nigerians while giving them viable and affordable alternatives regarding where to live, grow and trade.’’ On his part, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, who is from the state, faulted the deployment of men of the armed forces in matters relating to the internal security of the state. Ihedioha said the action was not only provocative but an orchestrated action to cow, intimidate and forcibly take over Ekeukwu market for obviously selfish objectives. The immediate past Director-General, Consumer Protection Council, Imo State Chief Kingsley Ufere, is also not happy with Okorocha. ‘’Many people believe that Rochas has not done well in the last two years or thereabouts; and that his inability to perform might work against APC in the next election, unless a credible person is put forward as the candidate of the party. I agree with them’’, the APC chieftain

from Ideato North Local Government Areas, told THISDAY. ‘’I am talking as an insider. I left the government, because I felt he was not doing well.’’ The governor however disagreed with critics saying that he had denied himself rest in order to make the state one of the fastest growing in the country. While inspecting some of his on-going projects in the state recently Okorocha said, “My interest is to make sure that by the time I finish my second term, Imo State must have been developed more than it is now. ‘’I find it difficult to sleep now because I want to change the entire face of Imo so that people from all over the country will come and relax. This will be my joy. If you look at the current urban renewal programme, we are constructing three tunnels, two flyovers and eight lane roads to enable us open our state for transformation to take place. ‘’ But Chief Paul Emeziem, also a chieftain of APC, told THISDAY that he could not say whether the governor’s projects were qualitative or quantitative, Emeziem said: ‘’The governor talks about his projects; but I cannot assess whether the projects are qualitative or quantitative. Again, the costs of those projects and contractors executing them are not known to us. ‘’He has not carried the people along. People are complaining; everyone wants a sudden change. He has looked aside from what people feel; he has not carried the people along; he does not understand that some people’s lives depend on government. Many people have not received their salaries and pensions for months.’’ The President-General of Olu-Okigwe, a socio-cultural group in Imo state, High Chief Chiedozie Anyanwu, shared Emeziem’s view, accusing the governor of running the state like his private business. ‘’The governor’s so-called projects are selfserving; they are not people-oriented projects. He has abandoned everybody who helped to bring him to power. He is running the state with his entire family. ‘’His brother-in-law is the chief-of-staff; his sister is the deputy-chief-of staff, the deputy governor used to be his general manager in his private business.’’ Anyanwu accused the governor of destroying APC in the state with his ‘anti-people’ programmes and policies. Others APC members who are very disenchanted with the state government include former Mayor of Owerri zone, Hon Lambert Nnodi and Chief Emeka Iroka. They told THISDAY that APC would lose the state in the next general election unless the national leaders of the party move very fast to work with Araraume to revive the party. Anyanwu stated. ‘’Do you think the pensioners, civil servants will vote for APC? Do you think they will help you again? They will not. Is the civil service that is almost dead? Is it the retired permanent secretaries or is it the traders or artisans who have been relocated. Some of them have left their businesses and now riding Keke (bike), tell me who will vote APC in the state?’’ However, the Imo State Deputy Chairman of APC, Chief Nzekwe, told journalists that APC remained very strong in the state. He said: ‘’If people are involved, there are certain things you must see in a party. When you don’t see competition and political manoeuvring, it means there is no democracy. ‘’These things exist in every political party. That doesn’t imply crisis or fight. Politics is a game of interest. Sometimes interest can be collective or individual.’’ He said efforts were being made to bring everybody on board in the general interest of the party. He added, ‘’The problem is that not everybody in the state is supporting one particular person. And that is politics for you. Our party is not like what you see in the PDP, where one person will say he is the overall leader.”

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MONDAY, Í˛Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ Ëž T H I S D AY

FEATURES

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

Ikot Ekong-Ntafre Opolum-Ikot Iwang Road constructed by NDDC

NDDC’s Giant Strides

Segun James writes that the Niger Delta Development Commission is making a significant impact in the infrastructure and manpower development of communities in the Niger Delta

F

ollowing the dark days of confusion and ineffectual execution and supervision of projects embarked upon by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the situation seems to have brightened up. This so much was admitted by Delta State governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa when he congratulated Nsima Ekere, the Managing Director of the commission recently. In his congratulatory message, Okowa extolled the astute leadership qualities of the NDDC boss towards repositioning of the commission. He said: “Obong Nsima Ekere deserves an enviable place in history for the giant strides recorded by the board and management of the NDDC since he assumed office. On behalf of my family, the government and people of Delta State, I felicitate with the Managing Director NDDC Obong Nsima Ekere on his achievements so far. I pray he will not rest on your oars. “The immeasurable and invaluable contributions you have made to national development are indelible in the minds of Nigerians. Your life symbolises the assured reward for single-minded commitment to the ideals of diligence, humility, perseverance, focus and dedicated service,� he extolled. Okowa stressed that the NDDC boss is a patriotic Nigerian with the political dexterity and drive to reposition the NDDC as a beacon of hope for the Niger Delta. He expressed his appreciation to Ekere for all the NDDC’s interventions programmes in the state while urging the management and board to continue in their drive towards repositioning the NDDC. Until President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Ekere as the head of the NDDC, the commission had been enmeshed in crisis; fumbling from

one confusion to the other without apparent sense of direction and clear cut knowledge of its role in the scheme of things, given the fact that most of what it was inaugurated to do are exactly what the state and local government councils are also doing. The situation is made worse by the fact that there were no synergy between the commission and the state governments, a situation which made for duplication of efforts as the state and the NDDC sometimes embarked on the same projects in the same locality without the knowledge of the other party.

According to statistics, the NDDC has committed itself to 890 projects and 62 emergency repair works across Akwa Ibom State. Of the 890 projects, the agency has completed and inaugurated160 while 281 already completed are awaiting inauguration. Records also show that 340 out of the 890 projects are still on-going, while 62 are yet to commence

Today, this apparent confusing state has been corrected. This may indeed be the reason for the praises showered on the managing director by Okowa, a technocrat himself who appreciates the good work that Ekere is doing in the NDDC. The lack of information about the workings and accomplishments of the NDDC in the oilrich but underdeveloped region has provided an avenue for critics and cynics to feed the people with lies and half-truths resulting in the commission’s usefulness being unjustly queried. Since his appointment, Ekere, who in his determination to ensure that all the abandoned projects embarked by the commission are completed, has earned for himself praises from all stakeholders in the region. In spite of this, however, the NDDC under successive managements has continued to actualise its core mandate for which it was established by the Olusegun Obasanjo-led federal government in 2000. This it has done through the provision of critical life-touching projects and interventions in various communities of the nine states under its purview. Of note is the fact that these projects are evenly and fairly sited, after a proper need assessment has been carried out by the commission. Ekere, upon assumption of office as Managing Director/CEO of the NDDC, pledged to accelerate the pace of infrastructure and manpower development in the Niger Delta without recourse to political, ethnic or other parochial sentiments. Conscious that time was of the essence, and also that the people expected so much from him because of his pedigree and track-record of excellent performance, Ekere set his hands to the plough to ‘work the talk’. In Akwa Ibom for instance, the commission

has projects in many communities and towns in the state. This is in addition to other forms of humanistic interventions which promote the economic and social well-being of the people. According to statistics, the NDDC has committed itself to 890 projects and 62 emergency repair works across Akwa Ibom State. Of the 890 projects, the agency has completed and inaugurated160 while 281 already completed are awaiting inauguration. Records also show that 340 out of the 890 projects are still on-going, while 62 are yet to commence. These projects, which cut across various areas of human endeavours, including buildings, roads, electricity, healthcare; education, water, bridges and many others, have positively impacted on the lives of the people as well as given them the sense of belonging. Some of the major projects of the commission in the state include the 12.5km Okoita-Itu-Mbak Atai-Ikot Ntuen-Mkpeti-Oku Iboku Road in Itu, the 10.125km Ididep-Ekpenyong-Ikot Etim Afaha Itiat Road in Ibiono Ibom, the 30km Nsasak junction-Akon road in Essien Udim and 6.7km Iwuochang-Okorutip Road project with 600m bridge span bridge. Others are the 4.9km Oku Iboku internal roads in Itu, construction of a community centre at Ibiaku Ishiet along Airport road, renovation of hostels, dinning and kitchen at Methodist Boys High School, Oron, maintenance/dredging of creek at Esit Eket and Okoroitak in Ibeno, on-going construction of a specialist hospital at the main campus of the Akwa Ibom State University, Ikot Akpaden, Mkpat Enin local government area. The NDDC has also intervened in the area of erosion and flood control as evident in the flood control work executed at Ekpene/Obuk

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

FEATURES

Massive bridge project constructed by NDDC at Iwochang in Ibeno LGA, Akwa Ibom State

Renovated hostel facilties at Methodist Boys High School, Oron

Solar powered street light in Esit Eket LGA

Ididdep-Ekpenyong, Ikot Etim Afaha Itiat Road Ibeno Ibom

Afaha community in Eket and shore protection works at Eastern Obolo, Ibeno and Ikot Abasi and the building of embankment at the Naval Base in Mbo Local Government Area. According to Effiong Eduno, a native of Mbo, the construction of the embankment at the naval base is of paramount importance to fishermen and inhabitants of the community as the river is said to have the largest natural depth of water capable of accommodating big vessels. In the area of education, the commission is building model schools in the nine states of the Niger Delta. This is in addition to the provision of scholarships to students of secondary and tertiary institutions from its catchment areas. The commission is said to be performing creditably in the area of human capacity development through women and youth empowerment programmes, skills acquisition trainings and investment in agriculture, in addition to free medical care to indigents of communities in the state. The commission has expanded electricity projects in communities; the agency has linked Ukpum Ette clan in Ikot Abasi Local Government to electricity from the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON). It has also provided street lights in Ikot Abasi urban. In the same vein, it has given solar lights to Uquo in Esit Eket, Nsit Ubium and Ukam in Essien Udim Local Government Area among other electricity projects. The commission has within the last six months engaged in massive and capital intensive emergency repair works in hitherto damaged and impassable roads and streets within Uyo metropolis and other areas in the state. Official figures indicate that the 62 emergency repair works done by the commission include Udo Eduok/Itiam street, Enoidem and Wiliam Streets, Vision Avenue at Nsukarra Offot, Senator Ibok Essien street at Shelter Afrique, Akpan Essien street and environs, Clement Isong Street and environs at the Federal Housing Estate and Ukana Offot Street all in Uyo, the state capital. Others are Uko Eshiet Street and environs, School road and environs, Nsentip and environs, Nkemba Street/environs and Apostolic Church road, Nsukarra Offot. Ndarake Eshiet, a native of Iwuochang in Ibeno Local Government Area, expressed his appreciation to the NDDC for constructing the 6.7km Iwuochang-Okorutip Road project with 600m bridge span bridge. Eshiet said life was hellish and unbearable for his people before the bridge was constructed

as it was almost impossible for people of his community and other adjoining communities to move around and access other parts of the state. “I must confess that before this bridge was built life was very difficult for us. We didn’t have access to other places. There are many villages around here besides my village, but movement of people and goods was impossible. “We are fishermen; getting our fishes outside our communities for people to buy was a herculean task. There was no development of any kind. Before the bridge, it was very difficult to access medical treatment for our sick because you can’t even leave this place to get treatment in hospitals in Ukpenekang or other places. Due to this challenge, so many of our people died. But the story has changed now. The bridge has brought visitors and development to our communities. Our sufferings have been substantially reduced and all I can say is that we are grateful to the NDDC,” he explained. David John Ikwo, another native of Iwouchang said with the NDDC bridge, accidents resulting to deaths and other losses from boat mishaps are now a thing of the past. “The bridge has really helped from boat tragedies which usually occurred in the past. Boats used to capsize leading to deaths and loss of valuable properties. And before dead bodies are recovered it usually took up to three days to four days. I thank God because we don’t

The NDDC has also intervened in the area of erosion and flood control as evident in the flood control work executed at Ekpene/Obuk Afaha community in Eket and shore protection works at Eastern Obolo, Ibeno and Ikot Abasi and the building of embankment at the Naval Base in Mbo Local Government Area

Ekere...working the talks have such sad experiences again. “The problem we are having now is lack of electricity. Most times we experience blackout up to a week and that affects our businesses and comfort. We urge the NDDC to still intervene as it seems it’s the only government agency that appreciates us,” he noted. In Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area where the NDDC has completed the 10.125km IdidepEkpeyong-Ikot Etim Afaha Itiat Road project, life for natives of the three communities which the road traverses, is a lot merrier and better. At Essien Udim Local Government Area, the NDDC has worked on the 30km Nsasak Junction-Okon-Ikot Uko Road leading up to Obusu in Abia State. This road has a 120m span bridge. Perhaps what has elicited more gratitude from the people is the emergency repair works carried out on major streets across Uyo, the state capital and other major towns in the state. Since this was done, social and commercial activities in many streets in Uyo have improved tremendously. There is no doubts that the contributions and commitment of the commission in the development of the state will continue to resonate with the people of the state, as they are beginning to experience a

proactive and collective developmental initiatives targeted at the very core needs of the people. With bold leadership and a clear action plan, Ekere is committed to changing the way things are done in the commission. His target is to ensure efficient management of the resources available. Being an astute administrator, the commission boss ordered a projects audit as soon as the board was inaugurated. He also gave ultimatum to all contractors working for the commission to return to site immediately or face prosecution. To show that he meant business, he approved the sum of N3billion for the payment of some outstanding debts to contractors handling projects in the commission. He also directed the immediate payment of all outstanding scholarship fees for beneficiaries of the 2016 NDDC Overseas Post Graduate Scholarship scheme. The managing director expressed disappointment that beneficiaries of the scheme were facing unfortunate hardship due to delays in remitting both the tuition fees and upkeep allowances, a situation he insisted, will never happen again. Ekere has left no one in doubt that the new management team has a sustainable strategy to turn around the fortunes of the commission. With an ambitious goal, he is confident that the right steps are being taken and shall remain focused on the objectives. On the renewed focus on the future of the commission, the managing director said the new board was committed to tackling the root causes of the numerous challenges besetting the commission and by extension the Niger Delta region. He said that after a careful review of the issues, the new board is implementing what it calls the 4R strategy of: Restructuring the balance sheet which currently has about N1.2 trillion worth of on-going projects; Reforming the governance systems to ensure that as an organisation, they comply with extant rules and regulations and prevent mistakes of the past from recurring; Restoring the core mandate of the commission by ensuring that they have a properly prepared set of Master Plans for the nine states that make up the NDDC and Reaffirming the commission’s commitment to doing what’s right and proper. He also hinted that the NDDC would soon set up a specialised Niger Delta Development Bank for the youths and other people of the region to access funds, while assuring that the terms would be friendly.

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IMAGES

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

L-R; Representative of Minister of Trade & lnvestment, Bunmi Adeoye; Representative of Lagos State Commissioner for Youth & Social Development, Mrs Rasheedat Umar; Chief Technoogy OďŹƒcer, Microsoft Nigeria, Mr. Hakeem Adeniji-Adele; Deputy Operating OďŹƒcer, The Future Project (TFP), Bukola Adebakin and Executive Vice Chairman, TFP, Mr Olumide Makanjuola at the launch of Accelerate labs, a 1-year TFP program to provide training and funds for young Nigerian entrepreners in Lagos....recently ABIODUN AJALA

L-R: Spokes Person, National Association of Polytechnic Student (NAPS), Comrade Mohammed Eruyi; Managing Director/CEO, Halogen Security Ltd., Mr. Wale Olaoye and Chief of Sta, National Association of Polytechnic Student (NAPS), Comrade Oluwasegun Taiwo presenting the National Outstanding Leadership Award 2017 to Olaoye during the courtesy visit to Halogen Security Ltd. in Lagos... recently.

L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Alhaji Gbolahan Lawal; President, Nasirul Lathi-l- Faith Society (NASFAT), Alhaji Kamil Bolarinwa; Legal Adviser , APC, Barr. Muiz Banire, SAN; Alhaji Ade Rufai; and Alhaji Tajudeen Seriki, during the Eid-El-Kabir Festival celebration prayer at Old Secretariat, GRA, Ikeja recently. KOLAWOLE ALLI

L-R; Chairman NIPR Lagos, Mr Segun Mcmedal; Director Press Relations, Ministry of Information, Mrs Chinenye Priscillia Ihuoma; Principal Consultant NECCI Consluting, Mrs Nkechi Ali-Balogun and, Lead Consultant, Addefort Limited, Mr Olabamiji Adeleye at the 4th Lagos NIPR Stakeholders’ Conference in Lagos...recently

L-R; Admin/Acct, PR Redline, Olumide Oladimeji;Managing Director ,Mr. Lekan Ishola receiving the most outstanding Public Relations Consultant of the year Award from the Publisher/Editor-in-chief, Prestige International Magazine, Wale Abiodun at PR Redline oďŹƒce in Lagos...recently

L-R: Immediate Past President, Rotary Club of Maryland, District 9110, Babatunde Ojo; Wife of Oyo State Governor, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi; President, Rotary Club of Maryland, George Ikpekhia; hs wife, Adetayo and Ogun State Governor, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, at the installation ceremony of Ikpekhia as the 16th president of Rotary Club of Maryland in Lagos... recently ETOP UKUTT

R-L: Manager, Marketing & Sales, Sona Agro Allied Foods Limited, Mr. Sandeep Sharma presenting products gift to students of Sparkling Minds Educentre, Ilupeju, Lagos: Miss Moyinoluwa Adefuye, Master Elijah Olayinka and the Head teacher, Mrs. Olufunmi Adefuye during the students’ visit to the company at Sango Ota, Ogun State... recently.

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L-R: Executive Director, Commercial, Benin Electricity Distribution Plc., (BEDC) Mr. Abu Ejoor; Delta State Commissioner for Urban Renewal, Mr. Ilolo Oghenekaro; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Benin Electricity Distribution Plc, Mrs. Funke Osibodu; Managing Director of Thames Energy, Mr. Akpovi Oyo and the President General of Isoko Nation, High Chief Iduh Amadhe, during the signing ceremony of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ,BEDC Thames Energy and Delta State Government to build 20MW Power Plant for Ozoro in Isoko LG Delta State at BEDC Head Office, Benin...recently

Anxiety Grips Investors as More Companies Opt for Voluntary Delisting Goddy Egene There is a fresh anxiety among investors in the Nigerian stock market as they are apprehensive that more companies may exit following a renewed move by companies to delist from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The NSE disclosed that two firms, Paints and Coatings Manufacturers Nigeria Plc, which got listed seven years ago and Avon Crowncaps & Containers Nigeria Plc have applied to exit the Exchange. Both companies have entered scheme of arrangements with their respective shareholders that would lead to the delisting of the entire shares of the companies from the NSE.

CAPITAL MARKET THISDAY checks revealed that many investors are getting worried over the development, which they described as discouraging. According to them, more firms may follow the route since most of them are finding it highly challenging to meet the post listing obligations. “Besides, some of the companies have realised that one of the major reasons for listing, which is access to equity capital, is not forthcoming due to investor apathy amidst the current economic realities. I know of companies that got listed so as to raise cheaper funds. But that has not been achieved. Yet they are required to maintain certain

minimum standards, which are quite expensive to keep. So instead of working only for the regulators, some of companies are seeing exiting as the better alternative,” a leading shareholder told THISDAY. He expressed worries over the decision of Paints and Coatings Manufacturers that got listed seven years ago to delist, saying there must be some reasons for that decision. “Paints and Coatings Manufacturers, for instance, may have found out that it is getting costlier to remain a listed firm without realising the initial objectives of its listing on the exchange. It is also worrisome that a company like Avon Crown Caps that has been in the market for a

while is exiting the market,” the investor added. Paints and Coatings Manufacturers listed 792,914,256 ordinary shares on the NSE at N3.90 each in 2010. However, the shares have plunged below N1.00 as at the close trade last Thursday. The company had ended its half year to June 30, 2017 with fall of 56.8 per cent profit before tax. Only recently, Ashaka Cement Plc voluntarily delisted from the NSE. According to the company, its delisting became necessary as it was violating the free float provision of the exchange. The directors explained that the Lafarge Africa Plc currently holds 84.97 per cent Continued on page 24

Foreign Airlines’ Funds Repatriation Weakens the Economy Chinedu Eze Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Chief Allen Onyema, has said that one of the major factors that contribute to the low value of the naira is the over $1billion, which foreign airlines repatriate yearly from the country and almost the same amount which the country’s airlines spend overseas for major maintenance of their aircraft. Onyema said that the failure of Nigeria to repatriate the airlines’ fund because of the economic recession in 2016 and 2017, should be a reminder that the country should evolve ways to reduce the amount

AVIATION of money repatriated by empowering local airlines to operate international routes and to facilitate the establishment of major maintenance, overhaul and repair (MRO) facility in Nigeria. He lamented that while Nigeria has huge population of travellers, the country imports every aircraft spare, imports aviation fuel and also imports technical personnel, adding all these, worsen the pressure on the naira. The Air Peace Chairman remarked that airlines are diplomatic tools, which

countries use to not only project their image in the international community but leverage on to develop and grow their economy and because of this, every country protects its airline industry from being ravaged by foreign competitors. He cited example with the US, which is the home of aviation in the world, and noted that when Middle East carriers eroded the market of US airlines, the US government had to introduce policies that today curtailed the in-road of such airlines like Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad and others, which started recording losses after losing some of their

US market. Onyema urged government officials to bear it in mind that every decision they take, impacts on the nation’s economy, adding that they should take it as a point of duty to eliminate the exploitation of Nigerian passengers by foreign airlines through exorbitant fares by supporting domestic airlines to join the international and regional market. He also condemned the too many opportunities given to foreign airlines by the Nigerian government to operate multidesignation in the country, citing example Continued on page 24

The Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim has emphasised the need for improved financial literacy. Ibrahim said this at the Chartered Institute of Bankers’ (CIBNs’) graduates induction and prize award day in Lagos recently. The NDIC boss pointed out that the banking environment was witnessing rapid changes, including the forces of globalisation of banking; economic uncertainties; advances in information and Communication technology (ICT), such as block chain technology and virtual currency which bankers must grapple with. He also noted that the current economic situation which most developing countries, including Nigeria were facing underscored the need to pay greater attention to issues such as financial literacy, consumer protection, sustainability and innovative financial services solutions. He gave instances such as mobile money, agency banking, virtual currency, which must be harnessed and integrated into the nation’s financial services industry to enhance the role of banking system towards economic growth and development. In all, 46 members of staff of the NDIC graduated from the Chartered Banker/Master in Business Administration (CB/MBA) Programme at Bangor University, Scotland. The graduates also earned themselves triple qualifications of MBA, Bangor University; Associate, Chartered Institute of Bankers, Scotland the oldest professional banking institute in the world) and Associate, The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (ACIB).

Samsung Unveils Galaxy Note 8

Samsung Electronics has unveiled the latest addition to its Galaxy Note family, the Galaxy Note 8. The device was formally unveiled at the company’s unpacked event, which held on the 23rd of August, 2017 in New York, USA. Blending an advanced S Pen with superior viewing experience, the Galaxy Note 8 provides users with a unique and powerful mobile experience. According to the Managing Director of Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Changwook Lee, the new Galaxy Note 8 introduces the most refined Note experience to-date by combining the latest technology that users expect from Samsung’s Galaxy series. “In 2011, we introduced the original Galaxy Note and launched a whole new smart device category. Its larger screen size and iconic S Pentechnologyinitiatedanewstandardinsmartphoneculture,”Leesaid. The undeniable success of the category strengthened our conviction that consumers want higher quality features on their devices and they want those new features to positively impact their quality of life, Lee added. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 enables its users to tell the stories of their lives through dynamic and seamless expressions of their passions across work, play and life experiences.

Lafarge Trains Bricklayers, Technicians

In furtherance of its commitment to provide sustainable housing solutions to stakeholders and curb the increasing incidences of building collapse in Nigeria, Lafarge Africa Plc, a member of the LafargeHolcim Group, has organised a training workshop for bricklayers and technicians in the construction and building industry. The training, which was flagged off in Shagamu, Ogun State, was aimed at ensuring that construction workers and artisans, are empowered with latest building techniques. The constant training of bricklayers and artisans is an integral part of Lafarge Africa Plc’s operations in Nigeria. In 2013, Lafarge began training of block makers and artisans in 2013, setting a record as the first cement manufacturer in Nigeria. Presently, it has also leveraged on a comprehensive research on building collapse from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). The SON report revealed that poor quality building materials and incompetent workers account for most collapsed building in the country. Speaking at the event, the Technical Service Manager Bukola Adebisi, said there was need to constantly improve the knowledge of the trainees with modern trends as well as safety precautions. He added that most individual home builders in Nigeria rely on bricklayers for most of the construction decisions.

“It is a known fact that the exorbitant cost of funds in our market is partly responsible for the high cost of service delivery by Nigerian Oil and Gas Service Providers and this feeds into the unacceptable high cost of our crude oil production” Minister of State for Petroleum,

Dr. Ibe Kachikwu

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

24

BUSINESSWORLD ANXIETY GRIPS INVESTORS AS MORE COMPANIES OPT FOR VOLUNTARY DELISTING

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. They noted that was not improbable that given 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. FOREIGN AIRLINES’ FUNDS REPATRIATION WEAKENS THE ECONOMY

with Ethiopian Airlines, which operates five destinations in Nigeria. He noted that in addition to that, there is rumour that the Nigerian government wanted to give the East African carrier management contract to take over Arik Air. According to Onyema, Arik Air’s goodwill and opportunities are worth more than $12 billion, besides its assets, so if Ethiopia wants to manage the airline, it should put such amount of money down before it is given the opportunity to manage the nation’s major airline. “Ethiopia Airlines should not be allowed to come through the back door to ravage our country. We have capable Nigerians that can run Arik Air, so Ethiopian Airlines expressing interest to take over Arik Air’s management is not to the best interest of the country. This is similar opportunities that are given to other international airlines like Air France and Lufthansa, which operate from Abuja to Port Harcourt and back to Abuja before they take off to their country everyday; meanwhile, they still operate their Lagos destinations,” he said.

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Jonathan Eze

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

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

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (AgriBusiness)

NEWS

FAAN Director Petitions Presidency over Undue Redeployment Chinedu Eze

For what she described as unfair treatment and discrimination, the former Director of Human Resources and Administration at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Hajia Salamatu Umar-Elumah has petitioned the Presidency, alleging undue removal from the agency after 17 years in service. Umar-Elumah was posted from FAAN to Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) in a recent re-organisation carried out in the industry by the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika. But Umar-Elumah had objected to the new posting pointing out that it would be injurious to her career and gratuity when she retires in the next eight years. In the petition she wrote to the presidency protesting, she described the deployment as “subtle attempts at truncating my career by the Authorities in the Aviation Sector of the Federal Ministry of Transportation.” She explained that in 2000, she sought and applied for employment with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria through a job placement advert by the then Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and after the rigorous recruitment exercise, she was eventually employed and appointed an Assistant General Manager. “The essence of my petition is anchored on a recently released posting instruction vide letter Ref No: MCA/0146/S.22/Vol. Tc/91 and dated 18th August 2017 from the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Abuja. The letter,

which was signed by the Director, Human Resources Management of the Ministry, directed that based on the directives of the Minister of States, Aviation, I should immediately proceed and resume at the Accident Investigation Bureau as Director, (HRM),” she explained in the petition. Umar-Elumah said in as much as she wished to remain loyal to constituted authority, she noted that in the deployment letter, “the posting instruction under reference is not only a breach of Public Service Rules and Guidelines on postings, but also, an attempt at sustaining the frequent irregularities with regards to the subject matter

based on indisputable facts. She said she applied and got recruited by the FAAN in 2000 and at the time of her recruitment, she agreed with the terms and conditions of her employment as a full-fledged staff of FAAN. According to her, “to the best of my knowledge, FAAN still remains an independent/autonomous corporate entity established by an Act of Parliament”, adding that the establishment Act of FAAN had not been amended to warrant the ministry’s action on the subject matter in contention (wrongful posting/deployment) of a pensionable, career officer to another independent entity). Umar-Elumah also noted that by the public service rules and

extant regulations on redeployment, the conditions under, which an officer may be redeployed include: secondment to another scheduled government agency for two years in the first instance and another two years and no more; on transfer of service to another scheduled government agency based on need, request and other reasons so adduced; and the resignation of a serving officer who wishes to be engaged by another government agency. She said in the petition that there was never a time she was transferred or went on secondment to any agency within or outside the aviation sector and that her record of service and career antecedents were all

domiciled with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria. Umar-Elumah expressed the belief that the “purported posting instruction in contention smacks of outright mischief and an attempt at broad day victimisation to enhance my sudden and premature removal from office through whatever means possible”. She therefore prayed the presidency to declare that the recently released posting instruction is “ultra vires, null and void and of no effect”, even as she called for the immediate cessation of all attempts at victimising her by some yet-to-be-identified officials in the Ministry of Aviation and FAAN.

FOR FOOD SECURITY

L-R: Mr. Ebenezer Boluwade of Agric and Export Finance Department, Sterling Bank Plc; Coordinator, NatnuPreneur, Mr. Adewole Gbolade and AdelanaOgunjirin of Agric Finance Unit, Heritage Bank Plc, at the Heritage Bank-NatnuPrenenur Press Conference on Food Security Initiative held in Lagos...recently

Akwa Ibom Attracts N9.2bn First Syringe Company in Nigeria

MainOne Highlights Importance of Routing Local Internet Traffic within Africa

Goddy Egene

MainOne, a connectivity and data centre solutions company, with footprint across West Africa, has reiterated the importance of internet traffic domiciliation as a key requirement for growing the internet ecosystem in Africa. Speaking at the just concluded African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF), MainOne’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Funke Opeke, challenged the continent’s leading internet players to exchange traffic on the continent, noting that this would significantly lower costs and improve performance. Delivering her keynote address at the forum, titled ‘Vision 80/20 by 2020’, which approached the goal set by AfPIF to route 80 per cent of Africa’s internet traffic on the continent by the year 2020, Opeke examined the internet landscape in Africa and expressed her dissatisfaction over the current ecosystem of routing over 80 per cent of the internet traffic from Nigeria abroad, incurring expensive transit costs and increasing service latency. According to her, transactions initiated in Africa typically leave the sender for a long journey outside the continent, usually to Europe, America or even Asia before returning to target recipient.

Investor confidence in the Nigerian economy is rising as Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Company Limited (JSM) is getting set for production in Onna Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Foreign investors have staked an initial amount of about $30 million (about N9.2 billion) in the factory that is located on four hectares of land in Awa Village. According to the Managing Director of JSM, Mr. Zubeyir Gulabi, the company will be the largest syringe manufacturer in Africa, saying the JSM will not only make Nigeria self-sufficient in syringe production but also a net exporter. Gulabi said upon inauguration this month, will start production with initial capacity of 350 million units with a target to double this to 700 million units within the first year of operation. Speaking on the choice of Akwa Ibom, the JSM boss said the investment friendly policies of the Akwa Ibom State government and the enormous potential of the Nigerian economy with its huge market informed the decision to locate the company in the state, “You know that investment and money are like a fly that can easily run but Akwa Ibom investment policy convinced my investors to come here. The main attraction is the policy making. The federal

government is also helping fully by providing what we are asking for the sector. Nigeria has an important future; that is what we believe. This factory is not for the next two to three years, it is for the next 50 years and beyond,” he said. Gulabi, who is a Turkish explained that the company has been designed for scalable expansion and diversification of its products, noting that while it will concentrate on the production of the main product-Syringe in the meantime, the company could end up with about 20 products going forward, He pointed out that the factory was built on principles of local contents policy of the government with two-thirds of the raw materials available in Nigeria and Nigerian and Akwa Ibom indigenes expected to form 90 per cent of the employees. He said that while the company has devised its own marketing strategy as a private business, it hopes to benefit from the friendly policies of the government, including the executive order that prioritises purchase of made-in-Nigeria products by government institutions. “We have known Nigeria for a long time. Nigeria needs this product, this product is a very strategic product for Nigerian national interest. Nigeria is the main market and West Africa countries are the secondary market,” he said.

Emma Okonji

She used the illustration of a bank down the road from the sender, with the response traveling all the way back the same tortuous route to the sender. She inquired why an end-user who requests to access his records in a bank down the road would want their banking transaction to travel from Lagos to London, when it is feasible to interconnect this traffic, and revealed that this process of routing traffic outside the continent increases internet costs and delays content delivery to the region by approximately 150 milliseconds. According to Opeke, “Africa needs to retain more local traffic within the continent to drive more value from the internet. This can be achieved by leveraging robust Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and access via local interconnection points and local data centres, which provide a platform for different networks to directly interconnect with other operators and exchange traffic, guaranteeing lower bandwidth costs, quicker access to more content providers and carriers and lower latency for local markets.” She explained that until a few years ago, internet capacity in Africa was low with few high-speed networks and data centres to provide users the connectivity and content they desired. According to her, this narrative is changing, as Africa’s

growing fiber network density and increase in world-class data centres makes it much easier for content providers and over the top (OTT) operators to host and serve data locally. Opeke said MainOne’s data centre company, MDXi had addressed these concerns by hosting the Nigerian Internet Exchange and launching an open interconnection service to facilitate collaboration and peering within its Lekki data centre. She also shared the company’s strategy towards deepening regional integration and digital transformation of West Africa with submarine access to data centres in Lagos and Accra, interconnecting all major operators, and a new data centre coming up in Sagamu, Nigeria, and its intent to extend its submarine cable to Cote D’Ivoire. During the panel session that followed, industry experts queried why Nigeria, with the largest number of investments in subsea cables in the region, has failed to produce digital oil by taking its rightful place as the internet hub for West Africa. They urged for regulatory incentives to increase private and public peering at local exchanges to boost internet traffic, which is guaranteed to create and improve the ease of doing business across the continent and boost economic growth.

T H I S D AY Ëž MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

25

BUSINESSWORLD

MARKET REPORT

Stock Market Reverses Gains on Weak Investor Sentiment Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie

recorded in the index. Sectorally, three appreciated while two fell. The NSE Insurance Index gained the most, up 1.4 per cent on account of price appreciation in Continental Reinsurance (+5.0 per cent) and AXA Mansard Index (+2.6 per cent). The NSE Oil & Gas Index followed, adding 0.9 per cent due to gain by Total (+0.8 per cent). Similarly, appreciation in Dangote Cement (+0.2 per cent) buoyed the NSE Industrial Goods Index by 0.1 per cent. On the flip side, the NSE Consumer Goods Index fell 1.0 per cent just as the NSE Banking Index shed 0.2 per cent.

The stock market continued on the downward trend recording its third consecutive negative weekly performance last week as the bears remained in charge. Investors’ sentiments remain weak at the market, as they ignore positive results being declared by some companies. Considering the huge capital gains recorded during the bullish period that lasted between May and July, many investors continued to sell in order to lock in profits. This sell pressure has made the market to remain bearish for the past three weeks. The market had signalled some improvement towards the end of the previous week gaining 0.19 per cent on Friday. However, the bears resurfaced on Monday and extended sell-offs throughout last week. As a result, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (ASI) fell by 3.12 per cent to close at 35,504.62, while market capitalisation ended at N12.237 trillion. Apart from the ASI that went down, the NSE Consumer Goods Index shed 2.8 per cent, followed by the NSE Industrial Goods Index that depreciated by 2.4 per cent. Similarly, the NSE Banking Index fell 2.3 per cent.. However, on the positive side, the NSE Insurance Index appreciated by 1.9 per cent while the NSE Oil & Gas Index closed 0.29 per cent higher. Daily Market Performance Having shed 0.74 per cent the previous week, the market remained bearish on Monday with the ASI depreciating by 0.90 per cent to close at 36,317.31, depressed by decline in shares of Dangote Cement, Nigerian Breweries, GTBank, Zenith Bank, and United Bank for Africa. Investors traded 348.11 million shares worth N3.25 billion in 3,276 deals on the first day of the week. The three most actively traded sectors were: Financial Services (291.61 million shares), Oil and Gas (28.54 million shares), and Consumer Goods (12.87 million shares), while the three mostly actively traded stocks were: Custodian and Allied Insurance (190.55 million shares), Oando (27.37 million shares) and Access Bank (14.94 million shares). In terms of sectoral performance, two of five sectors closed higher. The positive side was led by the NSE Oil & Gas Index, advancing by 0.3 per cent following renewed interest in Total (+9.1 per cent). The NSE Insurance Index rose 0.2 per cent on the back of price appreciation recorded by Continental Reinsurance Plc (+3.9 per cent). Conversely, the NSE Banking Index led the losers, going down by 1.6 per cent following profit taking in GTBank (-3.0 per cent) and Zenith Bank (-1.3 per cent). The NSE Consumer Index closed 1.4 per cent lower, while the NSE Industrial Goods Index shed 0.2 per cent. The negative trend continued on Tuesday, driving the index further down by 0.42 per cent to close at 36,165.93, while market capitalisation ended lower at N12.47 trillion. Losses recorded by Dangote Cement, Nigerian Breweries, FBN Holdings, Guinness, and UBA were mainly responsible for the decline. Investors lost a total of N52.2 billion. However, investors in banking stocks gained as the NSE Banking Index appreciated by 0.3 per cent consequent on positive sentiment towards GTBank (+0.8 per cent) and Stanbic IBTC (+1.3 per cent). But the

NSE Industrial Goods Index and NSE Oil & Gas Index emerged the top losers, declining by 0.5 per cent apiece. Similarly, the NSE Consumer Goods Index followed with 1.6 per cent following decline in Nigerian Breweries (-1.1 per cent) and Guinness (-1.4 per cent) while the NSE Insurance Index closed 0.01 per cent lower. Profit taking activities continue to depress the market on Wednesday as the ASI depreciated 1.48 per cent to close at 35,629.13. Investors traded 239.90 million shares valued at N2.93 billion in 4,371 deals. The three most actively traded sectors were: Financial Services (205.43 million shares), Consumer Goods (11.80 million shares), and Conglomerates (10.89 million shares). In the same vein, the three most actively traded stocks were: Fidelity Bank (42.81 million shares), Sterling Bank (39.15 million shares) and Access Bank (33.02 million shares). Four sectors declined while appreciated. The lone gainer was the NSE Insurance Index which rose by 0.3 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index led the losers, down 1.8 per cent on account price depreciation in Dangote Cement (-3.8 per cent) . It was followed by the NSE Banking Index with 0.8 per cent, while the NSE Oil & Gas Index slid 0.5 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index closed 0.1 per cent. The market maintained its negative performance on Thursday, which was the last trading of the week leading

to a decline of 0.35 per cent to close at 35,504.62. The depreciation recorded in the

TOP TEN BROKERS

share prices of Lafarge Africa, Nigerian Breweries, GTBank, Nestle, and UBA was mainly responsible for the loss

(BY VALUE)

BROKER

AS AT LAST FRIDAY VALUE % VALUE

STANBIC IBTC STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

14,721,416,399.50

25.48

RENCAP SECURITIES (NIG) LIMITED

13,854,491,319.76

23.98

CSL STOCKBROKERS LIMITED CHAPEL HILL DENHAM SECURITIES LTD - BRD

4,958,816,154.62 2,948,684,237.00

8.58 5.10

EFCP LIMITED

2,825,742,533.88

4.89

1,955,833,911.81

3.39

FBN SECURITIES LIMITED APEL ASSET LIMITED - BRD

1,949,523,279.59

3.37

VETIVA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LTD

1,189,684,244.24

2.06

PRIMERA AFRICA SECURITIES LTD

1,112,797,401.64

1.93

604,920,382.81 46,121,909,864.85

1.05 79.84

CARDINALSTONE SECURITIES LIMITED

TOP TEN BROKERS

(BY VOLUME)

AS LAST FRIDAY VOLUME

%VOLUME

567,723,582

18.66

325,181,027

10.69

RENCAP SECURITIES (NIG) LIMITED

256,633,819

8.44

FBN SECURITIES LIMITED TRUSTBANC CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED

118,890,369 94,737,361

3.91 3.11

MORGAN CAPITAL SECURITIES LIMITED

85,714,899

2.82

CARDINALSTONE SECURITIES LIMITED

83,809,354

2.75

EXPRESS PORTFOLIO SERVICES LIMITED

78,682,066

2.59

BROKER STANBIC IBTC STOCKBROKERS LIMITED CSL STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

READINGS INVESTMENTS LIMITED - BDR

73,217,048

2.41

CHAPEL HILL DENHAM SECURITIES LTD - BRD

60,397,447

1.99

1,744,986,972

57.36

Market Turnover Meanwhile, investors traded a total 998.973 million shares worth N11.455 billion in 13,626 deals were traded last week as the market opened for four days because Friday, was declared public holiday to commemorate Eid -el-Kabir celebrations. The market turnover lower than the 1.538 billion shares valued at N24.218 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 19,187 deals. The Financial Services Industry led the activity chart with 838.247 million shares valued at N5.134 billion traded in 7,884 deals, thus contributing 83.91 per cent and 44.82 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Consumer Goods Industry followed with 45.589million shares worth N3.225 billion in 2,759 deals. The third place was occupied by Conglomerates Industry with a turnover of 35.563 million shares worth N60.673 million in 627 deals. Trading in the top three equities namely, Custodian and Allied Plc, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc. Also traded during the week were a total of 86,063 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N838,754.79 executed in eight deals compared with a total of 390 units valued at N6,511.60 transacted the previous week in five deals. Similarly, total of 12,244 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N12.374 million were traded in 11 deals, compared with a total of 3,657units valued at N2, 866,267.62 transacted two weeks ago in nine deals. Price Gainers and Losers A look at the price move chart showed that 19 equities appreciated compared with 32 shares of the previous week, while 48 stocks dipped as against 40 price losers of the previous week. Cutix Plc led the price gainers with 24 per cent, trailed by Continental Reinsurance Plc with 13.9 per cent. Total Nigeria Plc added 13 per cent, while Fidson Healthcare Plc appreciated by 6.0 per cent. Custodian & Allied Plc and May & Baker Nigeria Plc garnered 5.2 per cent apiece. PZ Cussons and NewRest ASL appreciated by 4.9 per cent. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc, just as Vitafoam Nigeria Plc chalked up 4.4 per cent. Conversely, Double 11 Plc led the price losers with 14.2 per cent, followed by First Aluminium Plc shed 12.7 per cent. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and C & I Leasing Plc went down by 9.9 per cent and 9.7 per cent in that order. Other top price losers included: Morison Industries Plc(8.8 per cent); Guinness Nigeria Plc (7.3 per cent ); FCMB Group Plc (6.9 per cent); Linkage Assurance Plc (6.9 per cent);UBA (6.1 per cent) and Nigerian Breweries Plc (5.2 per cent).

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

26

BUSINESSWORLD

INSIDE BROAD STREET 20.38%) and 22.20% (from 22.39%) respectively. “This week, we expect maturities via secondary market worth N135.41 billion viz: 345-day bills; hence, we look forward to further financial system liquidity ease and resultant decline in interbank rates,” Cowry Assets analysts stated further.

A view of Lagos financial district

AKINWUNMI IBRAHIM

Employment Index Rises on Growing Business Activities Obinna Chima The employment level index in Nigeria’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 51.5 points in August, indicating growth in employment for the fourth consecutive month. According to the latest PMI, of the 16 sub-sectors, seven recorded growth, four remained unchanged while five sub-sectors recorded decline in employment level over the preceding month. Also, the business activity index moderated to 56.1 points in August 2017, indicating growth for the fifth consecutive month. The index grew at a slower rate, when compared to its level in the previous month. The report showed that 12 sub-sectors recorded growth in business activity; three remained unchanged while three declined in the review month. Also, at 54.9 points, inventories index grew for the fifth consecutive month, and at a faster rate when compared to its level in July 2017. Thirteen of the 16 subsectors recorded growth, one remained unchanged while two sub-0sectors recorded decline in inventories. On the other hand, the non-manufacturing PMI report showed business activities and new orders grew at a slower rate; but employment level and inventories grew at a faster rate in August 2017. “The composite PMI for the non-manufacturing sector stood at 54.1 points in August 2017, indicating growth in non-manufacturing PMI for the fourth consecutive month. “Of the 18 non-manufacturing sub-sectors, 15 recorded growth in the following order: utilities; public administration; information & communication; finance & insurance; health care & social assistance; agriculture; accommodation & food services; electricity, gas, steam & air conditioning supply; transportation & warehousing; repair, maintenance/washing of motor vehicles; wholesale trade; educational services; professional, scientific, & technical services; arts, entertainment & recreation; and

MARKET INDICATOR water supply, sewage & waste management. “The real estate, rental & leasing; construction; and management of companies sub sectors recorded contraction in the review period,” it added. Also, the new orders index at 53.5 points grew in August 2017 for the fifth consecutive month. Precisely, of the 18 sub-sectors, 12 reported growth; one remained unchanged while five recorded decline. The employment level Index for the nonmanufacturing sector stood at 54.4 points, indicating growth in employment for the fourth consecutive month. Fifteen sub-sectors recorded growth in the review month, one remained unchanged while two recorded declines. “At 52.3 points, non-manufacturing inventory index grew for the fourth consecutive month, indicating growth in inventories in the review period. “Eleven subsectors recorded higher inventories, 2 remained unchanged while 5 subsectors recorded lower inventory in August, 2017,” the report added. Forex Market Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last week injected a total of $547 million into the forex market. However, despite the intervention, the interbank exchange rate (NIFEX) remained unchanged at N330 to a dollar. In other segments, Cowry Assets Management Limited, in a report revealed that the naira appreciated week-on-week at the Bureau De Change and Parallel market segments by 1.36 per cent and 1.35 per cent to N362 to the dollar and N365 to the dollar respectively. It however depreciated at the Investors & Exporters’ forex window (I&E) by 0.03 per cent to N359.67 to the dollar. In the forwards market, the spot contract

depreciated week-on-week by 0.02 per cent to N305.85 to a dollar. However, the 3-month, 6-month and 12-month forward contracts appreciated week-on-week by 0.27 per cent, 0.34 per cent and 0.10 per cent to N377.4 to the dollar, N397.17 and N435.18 to the dollar respectively. Cowry Assets Management’s analysts anticipated that the week, the CBN would continue to intervene in the interbank segment and increasing investor confidence would lead to further stability of the naira/dollar exchange rate. The market did not open on Friday and Monday because of the public holiday declared to celebrate the Eid-el-Kabir. Interbank Money Market Last week, the CBN auctioned treasury bills via primary and secondary markets totalling N211.77 billion, viz: 91-day bills worth N26.14 billion (Stop Rate (SR) fell to 13.30% from 13.42%); 182-day bills worth N30 billion (SR fell to 17.36% from 17.40%); 364-day bills worth N137.00 billion (SR fell to 18.52% from 18.53%); 175-day bills worth N18.58bn and 177-day bills worth N0.05 billion. A part of these was offset by matured treasury bills worth N88.14 billion. However, the Nigerian Interbank Offered Rates (NIBOR) fell across all maturities. Specifically, NIBOR for overnight funds, 1-month, 3-month and 6-month fell week-on-week to 9.03 per cent (from 11.32), 19.09 per cent (from 19.88%), 21.39 per cent (from 22.71%) and 22.77 per cent (from 23.61%) respectively. This was as the impact of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee’s (FAAC) disbursement of N467.8 billion to the three tiers of government last week was felt by the financial system. Similarly, the Nigerian Inter-bank Treasury bills True Yields (NITTY) fell for all the maturities– yields on the 1-month, 3-month, 6-month and 12 months maturities fell to 17.01% from (18.28%), 19.66% (from 20.30%), 19.48% (from

Bond Market Also, prices of FGN bonds traded at the over-the-counter (OTC) segment fell for most maturities amid sustained profit taking. The 20-year, 10% FGN JUL 2030 paper, the 10-year, 16.39% FGN JAN 2022 debt and the 5-year, 14.50% FGN JUL 2021 debt depreciated week-on-week by N0.06, N0.31 and N0.69 respectively; corresponding yields rose to 16.62% (from 16.61%), 16.47% (from 16.37%) and 16.77% (from 16.51%). However the price of the 7-year, 16.00% FGN JUN 2019 appreciated by N0.34 with the corresponding yield falling to 16.67% (from 16.89%). Elsewhere, FGN Eurobonds traded on the London Stock Exchange appreciated in value for all of the maturities amid sustained bargain hunting. But the 10-year, 6.38% JUL 12, 2023 and 5-year, 5.13% JUL 12, 2018 bonds appreciated by $0.74 (yield fell to 5.24% from 5.39%) and $0.14 (yield fell to 3.29% from 3.49%) respectively. In addition, a 10-year FGN bond worth N20 billion matured in the just concluded week; hence, a boost in liquidity was anticipated, with attendant increase in bond prices at the OTC market this week. Fitch Affirms Nigeria’s Rating Fitch Ratings last week affirmed Nigeria’s long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B+’ with a “negative outlook”. The international rating agency in a statement explained that Nigeria’s rating was supported by its large and diversified economy, significant oil reserves, its net external creditor position, low external debt service ratio and large domestic debt market. These, it stated, were balanced against relatively low per capita gross domestic product (GDP), an exceptionally narrow fiscal revenue base and a weak business environment. According to Fitch, the negative outlook reflected the downside risks from rising government indebtedness, the possibility of a reversal of recent improvements in foreign currency (FX) liquidity, and a faltering of the still fragile economic recovery. Fitch had forecast that the Nigerian economy would grow by 1.5 per cent in 2017 and 2.6 per cent in 2018, following the country’s first contraction in 25 years in 2016. GDP growth continued to contract in 1Q17, but by less than in the previous four quarters. “The recovery will be driven mainly by increased FX availability to the non-oil economy and fiscal stimulus, as higher oil revenue and various funding initiatives have raised the government’s ability to execute on capital spending plans. “However, the FX market remains far from fully transparent, domestic liquidity has also become a constraint, and the growth forecast is subject to downside risks,” it noted. Power Sector Loan The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, last week explained why Nigerian banks still have not made provisions for most of the power sector loans, despite the fact that most of the loans taken by investors who bought up the federal government’s assets in the electricity sector almost four years had defaulted on their loan repayments. He said if the banks were to make impairment charges on the loans it would be counterproductive, as the power sector was systemically important and critical to the growth of the Nigerian economy. Wigwe, who said this during an interview on ARISE News Channel, the sister broadcast station of THISDAY Newspapers, described the issues surrounding the power sector privatisation as very important and urged the federal government to look into the issues and create some form of reprieve for investors that had staked their funds in the sector. “There is a problem in that value chain and there is also a problem with the pricing of their product which everybody needs to look at. There is a problem in terms of access to gas also,” he explained.

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APPOINTMENT / AWARDS

Ericsson Named Leader of Microwave Vendors Independent market research firm, IHS, has published its new Microwave Network Strategies and Vendor Leadership report: Global Service Provider Survey, which highlights operators’ perceptions of microwave equipment suppliers. The report surveyed a significant global sample of operators, representing 23 per cent of 2016 worldwide telecom capex. Ericsson has extended the leadership in key vender selection criteria it secured in previous years of the report, and now leads in eight out of the ten categories. This year, 67 per cent of respondents named Ericsson as the top microwave manufacturer,

ten points ahead of the closest competitor in the category. 62 per cent of respondents said they currently had Ericsson microwave equipment installed in their network. On top of this, 90 per cent of service providers had a familiarity with Ericsson microwave offerings, more than any other supplier. Head of Product Area Network Infrastructure, Ericsson, Nishant Batra, said; “Microwave is playing an increasingly important role in facilitating the rapid expansion of LTE and future 5G networks, and by 2021, we predict it will connect 65 percent of all radio sites. Mobile backhaul and microwave specifically are key areas for us and this report

reflects our commitment to be the leading microwave provider. By investing in the right portfolio for our customers, we have enabled them to reduce total cost of ownership and provide the capacity and performance expected from top performing networks.” Most importantly, respondents ranked ten criteria for selecting microwave manufacturers. In order of importance, the criteria are: product reliability, price-to-performance ratio, service and support, pricing, product roadmap, solution breadth, security, management solutions, technology innovation, and financial stability. Ericsson is the leader in

eight out of ten categories, including: product reliability, price-to-performance ratio, service and support, product roadmap, solution breadth, security, management solution and technology innovation. Prepared by Research Director, Mobile Backhaul and Small Cells, IHS Market, Richard Webb, the report recognises Ericsson as a long-term pioneer of microwave and states: “This survey shows that Ericsson’s reputation in the market remains rock solid and… it remains perceived as the leading vendor in most categories in this year’s survey, extending further its leadership position,” the report said.

COURTESY VISIT

L–R: Chief Technical Officer, VDT Communications Ltd, Mr. Victor Omoyeni; President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Olushola Teniola and Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications Ltd, Mr. Biodun Omoniyi, during a courtesy visit to VDT Communications by ATCON team in Lagos...recently

Quantum Global Bags Award Quantum Global Group has announced that following major successes in its global development and portfolio growth plans, it has been awarded the ‘Fastest Growing Investment Company in sub-Saharan Africa 2017’ by International Finance Magazine. Founded in 2007, Quantum Global Group is focussed on the African development space, particularly in the fields of corporate finance advisory, asset and private wealth management, real estate and investment consulting. As part of the wider Group, Quantum Global Investments Africa Management (QGIAM), which manages the Group’s seven sector focussed Private Equity funds, have invested in a wide variety of portfolio companies and initiated several ground-breaking greenfield and brownfield projects in key sectors such as Agriculture and Infrastructure. Commenting on the award, Quantum Global Founder & CEO, Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded Fastest Growing Investment Company 2017 by International Finance

Magazine. The past year has demonstrated consistent and strong returns over multiple funds and is a testament to our approach, our partnerships across the continent as well as our clients’ satisfaction. “The growing success of Quantum Global Group is based upon bringing together employees who are passionate about Africa, positively contributing to the continent’s investment narrative, whilst also supporting the wider development agenda. Through private sector leverage, Africa is one step closer to meeting its development goals through the creation of jobs, industry, contributing toward national growth, as well as encouraging a favourable investment environment for other investors.” Beyond the development of industry clusters through innovative greenfield and brownfield projects, Quantum Global Group’s strategy focuses on maximising investment value and returns through its specific local expertise and sectoral active management approach for its African-based and global investors.

Teachers Make Strong Push to Win Maltina Awards As entries closed for this year’s Maltina Teacher of the Year, organisers of the initiative, Nigerian Breweries Plc, has said the edition attracted entries from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The Corporate Affairs Adviser, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Kufre Ekanem, who disclosed this recently as the panel of judges met to commence assessment of the entries, said that over 300 valid entries were received, compared to 176 received in 2016. According to him, “all 36 states and the FCT will be up in battle for the third edition of the Maltina Teacher of the Year.” Ekanem maintained that although hundreds of entries were received, they were shortlisted and validated by the stringent project assessors after a thorough and painstaking scrutiny ahead of the assessment by the panel of judges. The panel of Judges, chaired by Prof. Pat Utomi also includes other distinguished members of the academia and one of Nigeria’s seasoned broadcaster. According to Ekanem, “The valid entries will now be subjected to further scrutiny and thorough assessment process by

the Panel of Judges to pick the State Champions. “From the State Champions, the 10 best entries will thereafter be invited for another round of assessment where the panel will further subject the 10 finalists to rigorous scrutiny in order to determine the Maltina Teacher of the Year for 2017. “On October 12, 2017, the winners will be announced and celebrated at a grand event in Lagos. Like last year, the Maltina Teacher of the Year 2017 will receive N1 million instantly, plus N1 million every year for the next five years. The package also includes a developmental training opportunity abroad and a block of classrooms built at the school where the winner teaches. “It is our hope that through the Maltina Teacher of the Year initiative, we can inspire this nation to accord our teachers their deserved credit and bring back respect to the teaching profession in Nigeria,” Ekanem stated. The MTOTY initiative with prizes worth N50 million annually is executed on the platform of NB/Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund.

PathCare Laboratories Wins NHEA Award Organisers of the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Award (NHEA) 2017, have announced PathCare Laboratories, the Internationally Accredited Laboratory (ISO 15189), as the Private Laboratory Service Provider of the Year for the fourth time running. The NHEA, the “Oscars” equivalent of the Nigerian Healthcare recognition, is presented by Global Health and it is the leading Nigerian Healthcare award honouring excellence, innovation and qualitative improvement in Nigeria healthcare system. Chairman, Board of Directors, Prof. Ibironke Akinsete, the doyen of Nigeria’s healthcare industry, also received the 2017 NHEA Lifetime Achievements Award, in recognition of her distinguished career and passionate commitment to excellence and quality healthcare, especially in the areas of women and AIDS. Speaking on the awards, Chairman, Board of Directors, Prof. Ibironke Akinsete PathCare Laboratories, noted that the awards for her and the organisation is more than a recognition but a call for further commitment to the health care system in Nigeria. Akinsete further revealed that, there is always a huge responsibility on you when you are spotted and call out in every sphere of life but the health care system is unique for the kind of role the health care practitioners plays in general

wellbeing of human endeavor. She pledged the company’s commitment to promoting health care system through quality care and services. The company’s continued recognition was attributed to its commitment to saving lives through accurate and reliable results, the pursuit of excellence, exceptional service delivery, technological advancement and commitment to innovation. Established in 2004, PathCare Laboratories is known for high international standards and have continued to provide clients with full spectrum of tests for healthcare, insurance, environmental analysis and agricultural screening. The PathCare Laboratories has the distinction of being the first laboratory in West Africa to attain International Accreditation (ISO 15189). This provides the assurance of international acceptability and is an attestation to the accuracy and reliability of their results. It operates under a solid ICT (Information and Communications Technology) structure and pioneered using Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solutions in West Africa. Winners in other categories of the 2017 NHEA include JNC International Limited who won the Innovative Healthcare Service Provider of the Year, while Eye Foundation was recognised as the Eye Care Service Provider of the Year awards respectively.

Tecno Mobile Bags Pan African Mobile Phone of the Year Tecno Mobile, at the 2017 edition of the Titans of Tech Awards, held in Lagos recently, was announced as the Pan African Mobile Phone Brand of the year. According to the organisers of the award, Tecno Mobile has over the year showed strong commitment to transforming state of the art technologies for emerging markets. Other mobile brands nominated in the same category included InnJoo, Infinix Mobile and Samsung Mobile. The Titans of Tech Awards is designed to celebrate Hi-tech most important movers and shakers, Pioneers, Innovators, men and women, organisations and institutions who blazed the trail and used ICTs to improve the way of life in Nigeria. The Tech giant, according to Head, Project Management of the award, Dr. Henry Emeka Obidi, has also built a strong relationship with its customers giving them world class products and support and helping them stay connected all the time. Reading the citation during the award ceremony, Obidi said that Tecno is famed to revolutionise the Africa mobile phone market with the introduction of dual SIM Smartphones. “It is not surprising therefore that Tecno mobile phones are in high demand

across Africa and particularly in Nigeria. “The Company’s vision to deliver the best technologies to the end users just as it continues to impact Nigerian communities through projects that touch lives, gives credence to its quest to be Nigeria’s Mobile Phone Brand of Choice”, he told the gathering. Receiving the award with excitement, Senior Marketing Executive, Offline Events and Sponsorships, Tecno Mobile Nigeria, Richard Ugochukwu, said: “Tecno is fully established in over 40 African countries, with the largest Market share in Africa’s fastest growing Economy. This is a result of our commitment to continuously deliver World class, quality devices for every African consumer. Irrespective of your social class, there is a smartphone for everyone and we are happy to say that these efforts have ensured we remain among the Top Three Mobile Phone Brands in Africa.” “This Pan-African Award is a testament to this commitment and we are ever grateful to our consumers for taking the Brand to unprecedented heights. This award is dedicated to all Africans, and we thank the organisers of Titans of Tech Awards for the recognition,” he told the capacity audience.

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Influencing and Negotiating in Turbulence and Prosperity These Executive Minds (TEXEM) is a leading UK based company that specialises in delivering value adding educational programmes that addresses the needs of executives of organisations in the African private and public sector. TEXEM, UK invites you and other executives in your organisation to its upcoming Executive Master Class: Influencing and Negotiating for Value Creation in Turbulent Times and Prosperity (2 days) 6th -7th Sept 2017, at the Intercontinental Hotel, Plot 52, Kofo Abayomi St, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. Delivered by renowned faculties carefully chosen, based on their excellent skills sets, combined experience of about eighty years and unparalleled expertise in leading and influencing in over fifty countries. For more information, please visit www. texem.co.uk

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Some benefits of the Programme Every organisation engages in influencing and negotiating daily, but few succeed at it. For organisations to excel, there is an urgent need for leaders to become aware of the various influencing and negotiating strategies for value-creation for multiple stakeholders. Thus, it is necessary for executives to hone their ability to plan, analyse, and deliver superior influencing and negotiating outcomes successfully. This programme will enable participants to engage in Faculty: r (FOFSBM 4JS /JDL 1BSLFS different real life influencing Formerly Commander-in-Chief, and negotiating situations that Land Forces. Senior Associate will lead to the assessment of Fellow at Royal United Services personal hindrances and potential drivers of interpersonal Institute.

encounters, structural problems such as misaligned frames or poor management of the entire process and ineffective communication. The training aims to empower senior executives with the tools and practical experiences, which they require to identify and transform the analytical challenges associated with influencing and negotiating. Thus, upon completion, delegates would have developed a symbiotic, systemic and persuasive mind set. Also, senior executives would have enhanced their leadership quotient, learned how to make better decisions and improve their communication skill sets that they require to attain and sustain strategic goals. Cost: N1,050,000.00 i.e. ÂŁ2100 (covers study materials, meals during programme, group picture and certification). Themes include: 1. Decision-making prejudice, value based agreement. 2. Understanding and managing positions, interests and options. 3. Influence and persuasion,

leading contentious negotiations. 4. Winning Strategies for successful influencing and negotiations. 5. Improve skill sets on how to facilitate change, develop competence; on persuasion as well as how to engage internal and external stakeholders for optimal results. Upon completion of this programme, delegates would have successfully challenged their assumptions and mindsets around negotiation such that they would move from; adversarial to sustainable collaboration and from a winning to problem-solving outlook. Testimonials “Highly interactive and very practical. High profile speakers with excellent pedigree and track record of professional achievements. Provided networking among participants�. %BZP #BCBUVOEF 4FOJPS Partner, Ernst and Young, Nigeria) “It has been fantastic been in Manchester and having this course organised by TEXEM.

We have had wonderful lectures and wonderful colleagues. The organisers have been simply very great and very supportive. I will definitely come back again, again and again. I want to recommend to all organisations in Nigeria that they should sign as many people up for this course as possible - they will never regret it�. $IJFG +BNFT ,BUVHXB m 'FEeral Commissioner, Presidency “I regard the These Executive Minds Executive Education programme as the best I have attended in recent times. Not one of them, but the very best as it was humanly perfect.� Previous TEXEM delegate, Peter Atolo Irene, CEO, International Energy Insurance. For more information, please contact Dr. Alim Abubakre via alim@texem.co.uk: +447983128450 Babatunde: via- 09060724518 & babatunde@texem.co.uk What sets TEXEM apart from the competition? Its unique selling points, they include: r (PPE SFQVUBUJPO JO

offering tailored, relevant and context-rich executive education programmes which are relevant and has an impact on the bottom line. r /FUXPSL PG LFZ TUBLFIPMEers in Europe and North America that TEXEM have worked with in the past, which the company could deploy towards delivery of executive development programmes. r *NQSFTTJWF USBDL SFDPSE PG customer satisfaction with 60% of her delegates being repeat customers-This is commendable for a company that offers an intangible service. r 6OEFSTUBOEJOH PG UIF challenges that organisations face and committed, distinguished advisory board, which have a passion for the growth of Africa. r (SFBU OFUXPSLJOH PQportunities with very senior executives as participants have over six hundred years of experience of participants and faculties in every programme thus steepening the learning curve of participants via peer to peer learning moderated by world renowned Professors and professionals.

Oni Tasks Private Investors on Youth Emancipation, Initiative Nigeria Breweries invests N30m to empower 100 Artisans in South-west Ugo Aliogo

CAPACITY BUILDING

L-R: Mr. Weyinmi Jemide of Saacrose Associates; Chief Executive of Economic Associates, Dr. Ayo Teriba; and Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex A. Okoh at a retreat for sta of BPE held in Abuja... recently

StarTimes Slashes Price of 2-in-1 Combo Decoder Emma Okonji Nigeria’s Digital Pay TV company, StarTimes, has announced an unprecedented downward review of its 2-In-1 Combo Decoder prices from N13,900 to the all low new price of N5,900. While launching the 2 in 1 Combo Decoder last year, StarTimes had noted that it was the first of its kind in Nigeria and a move to change the Pay TV landscape in Africa and offer surplus entertainment access to subscribers. Speaking on the new price TMBTI "DUJOH #SBOE BOE .BSLFUing Director, StarTimes, Qasim Elegbede, said the new decoder price slash was a deliberate move to avail all Nigerians the oppor-

tunity to access digital television and entertainment with a decoder that combines both antenna and dish and offer channels on both at very affordable prices. He added that StarTimes would continue to offer subscribers the best in class of pay TV experience with world class channels for drama, sports, kiddies, news, music and religion. “We are keen to continuously enhance access and improve digital television experience for our subscribers,� Elegbede said. According to him, “As a digital TV company, StarTimes’ desire and commitment is to ensure Nigerians continue to enjoy the best of digital television entertainment and experience with a plethora of exciting programs in high

definition (HD) images at very pocket-friendly bouquet rates. “The Combo Decoder offers multiple accesses to subscribers to enjoy both digital terrestrial and digital satellite television channels and offerings on the same decoder and grant ease of access to switch between the options conveniently.� #Z EFGBVMU CPUI UIF EJHJUBM terrestrial television (DTT) and direct to home (DTH) viewing have comparative BEWBOUBHFT #VU XJUI $PNCP StarTimes subscribers enjoy the combined strength of both. DTT is embraced as a model for its affordability, low weather interference, portability, more local channels, easy to set up and mobile friendly while DTH is desired for its sharper and

clearer images, higher number of international channels, resilience and widespread strength in remote areas. StarTimes Content Marketing .BOBHFS #PTF "EFXBSB TBJE “On StarTimes, Nigerians can enjoy fantastic movie channels like ST Yoruba, Iroko 1, Iroko 2, AMC Movies and Series, ST Zone, Orisun, ST :PSVCB BOE #PMMZXPPE DIBOnels like Star Plus and Zee Cinema. Music channels like ST music, Nigezie and MTV #BTF EPDVNFOUBSZ DIBOOFMT MJLF *%9 /BU (FP (PME /BU (FP 8JME BOE %JTDPWFSZ 4DJFODF OFXT DIBOOFMT m "M +B[FFSB ##$ BOE #MPPNCFSH 45 /PWFMB 8B[PCJB 'PY +JN +BN /JDLFMPEFPO #BCZ 57 Fine Living and many more.�

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has charged private investors in the Southwest to play an active role in youth emancipation initiatives in order to support the youths who he identified as strategic to the progress of Nigeria. He disclosed this recently at Ile-Ife, Osun state at the unveiling of the Isedowo, an empowerment campaign embarked upon by (PMECFSH POF PG UIF QSFNJVN alcoholic brands of Nigeria #SFXFSJFT 1MD Ogunwusi stated that with this initiative, they are calling on other investors in the Southwest to come to their aid, stressing that since the investors make their profits from the region, there is a need for these investors to give back to the people. He applauded Nigeria #SFXFSJFT GPS PSHBOJTJOH TVDI community partnership initiative and sponsoring artisans to the tune of N30 million, pointing out that it would benefit participating artisans across the Southwest zones. The Ooni also noted that N300, 000 each would be given to 100 selected artisans, adding that this initiative would promote unity amongst Yoruba speaking states. Ooni said: “It is very important for corporate organisations to see this as a wake-up call because (PMECFSH B QSPEVDU PG /JHFSJB #SFXFSJFT IBT DIBMMFOHFE BMM PG them. We need to work with our artisans to make life better for them. I want to implore our youths to be forthright in what they are doing. They should focus on cutting corners because

some day help will come for them. We should support the youths who are the future of this nation through initiatives such as this. We are focused in what we are doing. We are not going to lose focus irrespective of any challenges in supporting the youths and every youth emancipation programmes. We cannot continue to rely on government for everything.� In his remarks, the Marketing %JSFDUPS /JHFSJB #SFXFSJFT 1MD Franco Maggi, stated that the Isedowo is a platform designed to equip young Yoruba men and women with the support needed to grow their business ideas. He also stated that as Nigeria number one culture-centric beer CSBOE (PMECFSH JT FYUFOEJOH its connection points beyond culture and traditions to supporting entrepreneurs from the South-west. Maggi further explained that there would be selection and screening of participants and their business ideas across the South-west after which the top 100 participants would be rewarded with a grant of N300, 000 each. He added: “Your Majesty, (PMECFSH JT LOPXO BDSPTT UIF Southwest as a leading supporter of culture and tradition, while also helping the youths to achieve their potential. In 2017, we expanded our traditional music talent hunt show which focused PO 'VKJ NVTJD UP JODMVEF +VKV music and christened it Ariya Repete. The competition elicited wide participation and support from across the Southwest and produced winners who have been rewarded with cash prizes and recording deals.�

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Kachikwu: Boosting Oil Revenues to End Recession Nathan P. Ajene writes that the efforts of the Petroleum Ministry under Dr. Ibe Kachikwu are producing positive economic and financial outcomes for Nigeria IN THE BEGINNING… When President Muhammadu Buhari gave Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu marching orders to take charge of the dysfunctional, opaque NNPC in August 2015, the oil sector and national revenues were in turmoil. The previous year had witnessed one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the global oil industry marked by turbulent and crashing crude prices. But the worst was yet to come. A year later, in August 2016, the combination of rising militancy, bunkering and massive vandalisation of pipelines forced a steep reduction in oil production, down to 1.1 million barrels a day according to the Trading Economics, an international platform for economic research. Along with low oil prices, this deep cut of more than 50% cut in production constituted a double jeopardy to the highly challenged economy. Given the reality of Nigeria’s mono-product economy and lack of savings, the best solution to the oil induced economic crisis would obviously come from improvements in the key factors that caused the problem. Working with his teams at NNPC and, later, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Kachikwu focused laser-like, on achieving this. One of the first priorities he focused on was to engage and mobilise members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to take collective action by implementing production cuts in order to shore up and stabilise global oil prices. The minister of state for petroleum resources was one of the first persons at the international level to push for this strategic measure to check the glut in the market which caused the steep plunge in oil prices. Despite initial opposition from countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, Kachikwu along with other OPEC members pressed on with a strong international lobby for cuts that were eventually accepted by both OPEC and non-OPEC members like Russia. The imposition of production quotas which took effect in – have successfully pushed up oil prices from the historic low of about $28 to $50 per barrel. Kachikwu didn’t stop there. To ensure that the country is not negatively affected by the cuts, Kachikwu leveraged his network within OPEC to secure exemptions for Nigeria on two occasions in recognition of the country’s unique situation. This meant that unlike other OPEC members who were expected to cut their oil production output, Nigeria retained its production quota of 2.2 million barrels per day. This was an enormous and much needed reprieve for an economy in distress. Kachikwu’s role in the emergence of Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo as OPEC Secretary General has also strengthened Nigeria’s capacity to influence the policies of the global oil industry

Kachikwu

in a way that protects its interest. At the local level, Kachikwu’s efforts have been as impactful. He has been in the forefront of promoting peace efforts in the Niger Delta to check militancy and reduce incidents of pipeline vandalism. From constant engagement of elders, community leaders, stakeholders and youth groups to initiation and implementation of development programs, sometimes in partnership with state governments, international development partners an atmosphere of calm, understanding is gradually setting in despite pockets of issues that arise periodically. This regime of diplomacy and constant engagement has lowered incidents of production disruptions and led to a strong boost in oil production levels. From a historic low of 800,000 barrels per day in September 2015 the country is now producing as much as 2.5million barrels. In specific terms, Kachikwu facilitated the historic meeting with Niger Delta leaders and representatives under the platform of the Pan Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF) with the President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2016. Since then the PANDEF platform has taken the position as the central point of contact on Niger Delta issues with the federal government. He also played a key role in the town hall meetings that Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo has been holding with host communities of oil producing states to ensure security and protection of infrastructure as well as development of the Niger Delta region. The peace efforts are part of a larger 20-point plan of

the ministry of petroleum resources that is being supported by the Acting President to bring permanent peace in the region. The plan aims to create about 100,000 jobs in each of the states, attract private sector investment to areas that promote peace, build infrastructure and invest in education programs for youths to reduce the attraction of militancy. Other aspects of the 20-point plan include the domestication of oil and gas business opportunities to achieve greater participation of the people of the oil-producing region. Additionally, Kachikwu’s proactive engagement of international oil companies operating in the region has also helped to improve security. The successes recorded include significant reduction in militancy, decrease in instances of pipeline vandalisation and a substantial increase in the daily crude oil production recorded by the country when compared to the same time last year. Kachikwu has also put in place a system for financing oil and gas operations without putting pressure on lean government revenues. A good example is the introduction of a private sector-led funding regime for joint venture oil and gas operations to replace the decades old cash call system. Under the cash call system, government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which holds the government’s interest in the six JV operations with International Oil Companies (60% with ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total, Agip and Elf, and 55 per cent in the JV operated by Shell) was required to contribute to the

approved annual budget for all programmes in accordance to its equity holding, while profits and losses were similarly shared. This arrangement never worked as planned and the country defaulted on several occasions racking up arrears of $6.8billion from 2010 to 2015. Under the new scheme the government would no longer contribute directly to the JV projects from budgetary provisions. Rather its contribution is structured to be funded by banks under an arrangement that will allow them to recover their monies while the federal government will only collect dividends from the profits. To ensure a fresh start, Kachikwu facilitated a settlement of the $6.8billion cash call arrears with international oil companies in a landmark deal that will save the country about $1.7 billion. HIGHER OIL PRICES + RISING PRODUCTION VOLUMES = MORE REVENUE Along with other measures in the economic reform strategy of the Buhari administration, the efforts of the Petroleum Ministry under Kachikwu are producing positive economic and financial outcomes for the country. The country’s depleted purse has been experiencing a significant boost from higher oil earnings as a result of stable global oil prices (which now hover over $50) and a huge increase in local production capacity which has now hit a high of 2.5 million barrels per day. This has led to a steady rise in the country’s foreign exchange reserves which recently peaked at $31.22 billion, the highest in two years. Though still significantly below

pre-crisis levels, this gradual turnaround in the finances and revenue profile of the country is impacting the economy in two major ways. First, the robust foreign exchange reserves are giving the Central Bank the firepower that it requires to provide liquidity in the foreign exchange market, a move critical to stabilising the value of the naira. Between February and April this year, the CBN leveraged the reserves and injected a cumulative sum of $3.61 billion into the foreign exchange market. As a result of such interventions the naira has remained relatively stable for about seven months, hovering at about N363 to dollar in the parallel market. At a more fundamental level, the improved financial position of the country driven by a surge in oil earnings is boosting government’s efforts to get the country out of recession through increased funding of capital projects and other strategic initiatives in the 2017 budget. Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics show a steady pattern of recovery in key macroeconomic indicators traceable to the improvement in revenues and other factors. In June, inflation rate stood at 16.10 percent, the lowest seen in 13 months. Analysts estimate that it would fall further to 15.96% in July. The Production Managers Index (PMI) which indicates the level of manufacturing activity and the health of the economy is also growing at its fastest pace in two years, signaling significant expansions in the economy. According to NBS the index jumped to 54.8 in July, from 52.9 in June because of the fast pace of expansion in both output and new orders despite some decrease in for-export orders. In addition, the deceleration in the gross domestic product has also slowed down significantly from 1.6% in fourth quarter 2016 to 0.6% in 1st quarter 2017. The state of uncertainty is gradually changing to that of stability and predictability. While this is yet to translate in practical terms to lower food prices in the markets, more money in people’s pockets to spend, there is a reasonable basis for optimism that if sustained and complemented by other efforts of government, the picture would soon change in visible ways. Under the leadership of President Buhari and Acting President Osinbajo, Kachikwu’s leadership of the oil and gas industry in the wake of the drastic fall in oil prices in late 2014 have contributed to the rally in global oil prices, increased oil production and significant improvement in the overall health of the economy. As a result, the country is in a much better place than it was when the Game Changer was appointed two years ago. Nathan P. Ajene is a public affairs analyst based in Abuja

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PERSPECTIVE

Big Data and Digital Technology In this article, Nsikan Essien enumerates the huge benefits of big data and digital technology and how Nigeria can take advantage of it “In the new world, it is not the big fish which eats the small fish, it’s the fast fish which eats the slow fish” – Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum A quick glance at the statement by Klaus Schwab on the rapidity with which companies need to re-invent some aspect of themselves to survive might lead to the conclusion that agility is everything. In the context of implementing Big Data and other digital technologies, which I will refer to as Digital Technologies from this point, it brings us to an obvious corollary, summarised by Didier Bonnet, Senior VP at Capgemini as “the only wrong move when it comes to Digital Transformation is not to make any move at all.” However, when that viewpoint is completely adopted, without a recognition of the implicit nuance, it leads to snap decisions and technology fatigue, scenarios in which organisations can end up locked into bad architectural choices and unfavourable returns on their significant investment in technology. Survival therefore means a combination of agility, wise choices and patience (including the financial conditions favourable to patience). As the first of those is a recognised fact and the last is a well-worn path of discussion, I will focus on wise choices with Digital Technologies and what that could look like today. To get to that, we need to start a little further back. In the aftermath of the Industrial age, a new kind of worker emerged, the Knowledge Worker (also referred to as the WhiteCollar Worker). The primary capital of these individuals was, and is, knowledge. Engineers, scientists, accountants, lawyers, administrative workers, and to a significant extent, managers and business owners. The increase in numbers of this new breed of workers grew with the level of automation of the once majority blue-collar work. By the late 90s, entire companies existed with most of their profit not generated by any manual labour or operation of heavy machinery. Combine this with the rapid development of computers and the growth of the internet and there were the makings of the current information age. I suppose that begs the question, what do most whitecollar workers do? Broadly speaking, I propose that white collar workers in an organisation do two things. The first is to use information to generate top-line growth by creating value where there was initially none, perhaps in the form of a new product, service or some modification of previous versions of a product or service. The second is to generate bottom-line growth by using information to optimise the existing operational capacity of the organisation given their existing customer base. In either case, and on either end of the spectrum of organisational size, information is used to influence decisions and actions at an executive level. Even industrial organisations have a

Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu

sizable proportion of their workforce in offices, gathering, storing, transferring and processing information to aid the decisions and actions of their directors. To put it in the words of GE’s CEO Jeff Immelt, “industrial companies are in the information business whether they want to be or not.” Enter Digital Technologies. At a fundamental level, all Digital Technologies are about information flow to solve problems. Digital Technologies enable us to gather, store, transfer and process information to either answer queries and/or to execute actions. In line with these functions, Digital Technologies can be thought of as being part of a very complex and interconnected network and belonging to one or more of three coarsely defined categories: Client-facing Devices, Specifications and Enterprisefacing Devices. Client-facing Devices are tangible objects and systems that are the primary means of gathering data from customers and their surrounding environment. As these are the way in which information is introduced into the Digital Technology ecosystem, they tend to be the most numerous of the three groups. Examples of these include Smartphones, Personal Computers, Smart Sensors and Wearable Technologies. Specifications are intangible systems that describe relationships between various kinds of information and specify how information should be processed and transferred e.g. Software Development Languages, Protocols, Data Pipeline Services, Block-Chain technology, Big Data technology and Artificial Intelligence systems. Specifications can be thought of as the logic behind Client and Enterprisefacing Devices. Enterprise-facing

Devices, are tangible objects and systems that are, as the name suggests, managed by enterprises and provide platforms on which storage, transfer and processing of information happens. Examples of these are servers, radio networks, cable networks, and cloud technologies. Now that we have eaten our greens, what does all of this mean to the wider-world and to Nigeria? I’ll answer that by looking specifically at a technology that currently seems to occupy the centre of the world’s stage, Big Data. In the context of the framework outlined earlier, Big Data is a specification. It is a toolset containing various primitives whose main goal is to enable the processing of large volumes of data that come in a variety of forms, each with a different level of veracity and at significant velocities. A toolset with the ability to ingest enormous amounts of data and make sense of it to support better decision-making is a very powerful one. It is, after all, the role that hundreds of white-collar workers play together in organisations. Although this suggests that a percentage of jobs could be replaced by this technology, the maturity of the technology and our use of it means that is currently not the case. In enterprises where this technology is more mature, Big Data technology is used as an enabler for existing knowledge workers who currently do a lot of analysis, hence the terms Big Data & Analytics or Data Science. Rolls-Royce takes this approach as part of its Engine Health Monitoring Service, which forms an integral part of its “power-by-thehour” service contracts. Despite being a very powerful toolset, Big Data is useless on its own. Without Client-facing devices, to

gather information from multiple sources, and Enterprise-facing devices to transport, store and process information according to the Big Data specifications, the tool-set brings no benefits. How could we apply this to Nigeria? As Nigeria is a country with a lot of challenges and Big Data technology is fundamentally about processing information to uncover insights into viable solutions, the options are limitless. For private sector enterprises, there are many ways of using this technology to understand areas of value creation for existing and new customers. Consequently, in the public sector, there are many ways to increase operational efficiency and value creation for its customers, the Nigerian public, using this technology. In either sector, the same series of steps would be needed to realise the vision. The first is to understand which challenges are related to information flow. Simply put, it would only be applicable to use cases where the problems arise from an absence of understanding, as opposed to negligence. Second, to understand what parts, in relation to the previously defined categories, of the digital ecosystem we have and which we might need. Third is to consider, with the view of long-term maintenance and future expansion, what our sourcing strategy for the skills needed to operate this technology might be. It is worth noting that for technology that could easily become fundamental to an era, it is necessary to develop some level of internal expertise. Fourth would be testing these systems with human supervision on shortterm pilot studies and finally rolling them out across a use case in its entirety. Another step which should happen alongside the exploration of using Big Data and other digital technologies in Nigeria is to consider the effects on employment. By this I mean in cases where the technology suite to be employed necessitates the removal of a job, public and private enterprises need to consider the reskilling of members of their population. This is because although the implementation of these technologies could bring significant economic benefits, the consequent disruption could cause social problems that would be more difficult to address. Given the vast opportunity space before us in Nigeria, how do we create an environment that fosters rapid growth and maturity in the implementation of Digital Technologies? The first would be to nurture the local enterprises that are already making progress by engaging them in business incubator and accelerator programs. For these to work successfully, we would need to attract international technology enterprises and engage them in strategic partnerships as mentors. The second would be to strengthen our tertiary institutions’ abilities in this field by investing in faculties that can advance digital technological frontiers as well as help faculties of other disciplines to understand areas of intersec-

tion. Success on this step would also mean partnering our tertiary institutions with local enterprises as an effective way of aligning our education with industry best practice. The last step would be to prioritise digital education in primary and secondary institutions by making it an essential part of the curriculum. As the level of investment needed to create a conducive environment for Digital Technologies is quite high, it is therefore, naturally, the role of our government to do this. However, in the presence of a void, the responsibility will then fall to the able members of the private sector with the knowledge and resources to support this. In the absence of any shoulders to bear this responsibility, the consequence is very clear, we will pay through the nose for the soon-to-become essential products and services that Digital Technologies provide. We live in the era of information and knowledge workers and consequently, all enterprises are dependent on Digital Technologies for their survival. This era is a fast-paced one and keeping up with the latest developments, like Big Data, in an effective way requires us to think about their application as part of a wider network of older and newer technologies designed to help us gather, store, transfer and process information. For Nigeria, the opportunities to apply these technologies are endless but harnessing them requires an investment into fostering the right environment and strategic partnerships with international organisations. The future is a moving target, we can neither blink nor stand-still. About the Author: Nsikan Essien is a programme manager within the Civil Aerospace division at Rolls-Royce. He holds a Master’s Degree in Aerospace and Aerothermal Engineering from Cambridge University. Prior to his current role, he worked in Rolls-Royce’s digital business arm as a developer and an engineer and is currently working towards a qualification in Full Stack Web Development and Software Engineering. All opinions expressed in this article are the author’s. Abstract: Big Data and Digital Technologies are rapidly transforming how businesses, communities and individuals operate & coexist. Despite the rapid growth there is an overwhelming sense, on a global level, that an unprecedented step change approaches. One that could redefine our long-held notions about fundamental issues like employment, security and education. As the times change it is important for a nation like Nigeria not to be left behind. In order to take advantage of these technologies we need to understand: what they do, the potential benefits and risks they present, the tangible steps business can take to utilise them, the role our institutions and governments must play and finally, the future of the technologies themselves.

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CITYSTRINGS

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

Adebowale (wearing blue) during a training session with the women Ezeemo (3rd left) inspecting flooded compound in Ezira Village

Ezira Threatened by Floods Half of the entire Ezira Community in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State, was recently sacked from their homes by severe floods, writes David-Chyddy Eleke

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esidents of Ubaha Ezira community and environs especially those living along and around Ezira Umuomaku, Enugu Umuonyia Road had close shaves with death recently. These were occasioned by a severe nocturnal rainfall which submerged their buildings and also pulled down most of it, leaving the members of the community homeless. Most of the members of the community who recounted their experience to THISDAY said it was the most devastating experience they have ever had. Ozoemena Ikwukeme from Ubaha Ezira, an indigene of the community who was obviously still in shock when our reporter arrived the community said the rain started at about 5p.m., and poured late into the night. This he said gave rise to flood which pulled down his wall and destroyed his property including his documents and those of his wife and

kids. He said he was yet to get a full grasp of the damages he incurred from the flood

I am a large scale farmer as well as a staff in the Works Department of Orumba South Local Government and my documents are lost forever. All the certificates of my wife and my kids are lost. So are my efforts for the season. I am devastated

which includes more than 30 bags of rice he recently harvested and all his documents and those of his family members. He said, “I am a large scale farmer as well as a staff in the Works Department of Orumba South Local Government and my documents are lost forever. All the certificates of my wife and my kids are lost. So are my efforts for the season. I am devastated. The activities of Arab Contractors, a construction company handling drainage work in the community was responsible for the incident. If the contract was real and not a political fraud, the contractors should have completed a standard drainage system along the road to channel the flood.” Members of the community who could not stand the devastation quickly formed a rescue team consisting of youths, which divided themselves and went round the village that night to help victims rescue their properties.

The rescue team also rescued women and children from their flooded residences. The group was said to have worked all through the night around the village in the houses of victims, until the morning hours when it announced that no life was lost to the flood. A victim, 78-year-old Emmanuel Onyeleme, who spoke to our reporter on the incident also put the blame on the doorstep of the contractors. He observed that the occurrence was the first of its kind, and that such devastation had never been witnessed in the community. He lamented that the flood was severe because the only drainage along the road, which was built through community effort was blocked by the contractors on the excuse that they were going to build a bigger drainage. He said that six months into the contract, the company has not been able to build the drainage to channel flood water, and the only existing drainage has remained

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CITYSTRINGS

One of the flooded compounds in Ezira

Ezeemo (right) talking to Arab Contractors working on roads in Ezira

blocked. He said: “We now live like refugees in our hometown. Government should take responsibility for this because they contracted these Arab Contractors who were doing a sloppy job that led to the catastrophe. They should construct a proper gutter along this road so that subsequent rains would not submerge us completely. And they should pay me for these damages,” he said. Another Victim, Emma Nwakuba, whose wall was also pulled down by the flood was furious at the contractors questioning the governor’s sincerity in the contract. “I want to ask the governor whether he gave this road to be truly built or as a political strategy. All these Arabs did was drive around for six months now without doing any meaningful work on the road. We have a lot of strong youths who are idle and can be employed to build the gutters. But they won’t. It is quite frustrating and we are suffering as a result,” he lamented. Also, Ubaha Ezira village chairman, Jude Umunnakwe in an interview said it was disheartening that such had to happen. He also confirmed that he had spear headed the building of a drainage system which controlled flood before the Arab Contractors blocked it without providing an alternative.

He begrudged that the contractors could not complete up to half a kilometre of drainage system. “I appeal to the state government to hasten the contractors if they truly want

I want to ask the governor whether he gave this road to be truly built or as a political strategy. All these Arabs did was drive around for six months now without doing any meaningful work on the road. We have a lot of strong youths who are idle and can be employed to build the gutters. But they won’t. It is quite frustrating and we are suffering as a result

to do this job or quit so the community can return to status quo they were at before they came in,” he said. Meanwhile, members of the community have hailed the Peoples Progressive Alliance gubernatorial candidate in Anambra State, Mr. Godwin Ezeemo for the support he has given to the people of the community since after the incident. Ezeemo who visited the community on hearing of the incident called on the Anambra State Government to hearken to the cry of homeless Ezira indigenes that had to be evacuated from their homes as a result of the flood. He also advised the contractors working on the road to increase the specification of the drainage as the incidence has shown that a larger capacity alone can handle the flood in the area. Ezeemo condoled with the victims and commended the villagers for coming out en mass to help one another in the evacuation exercise. He also commenced intervention process to ameliorate the suffering of the flood victims by giving out undisclosed sums to the victims. Ezeemo who was shown round the community while inspecting the damage by Chief Edison Umeh, the president general of Ezira Improvement Union told journalists that he could not enter his compound during the

incidence because of the flood as his entire compound was submerged. “I had to go sleep in a hotel till the next day.” He said he would talk to the government to speed up the work saying that more rain falls might cause further damage, especially as more rainfall have been forecasted to come within the season. Earlier, Ubaha Ezira Village chairman, Jude Umunnakwe appreciated Ezeemo for his intervention noting that he was the first individual or corporate body to come to inspect the damage and offer helping hand days after the incidence. He extolled him for paying attention to the plight of his people, saying that the taste of the pudding is in the eating; inferring that Anambra people will fully enjoy him when he wins the governorship seat of Anambra. An official of Arab Contractors who elected to speak under the cover of anonymity told THISDAY that his company did nothing wrong to cause the flood, saying the drainages it is building were according to the specifications given it by Anambra State Ministry of Works. He however promised that the company will step up work to ensure that it finishes the job and lay the minds of the indigenes of the area at rest as more rain is expected within the year.

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INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

North Korea Nuclear Threat: Mattis Warns of ‘Massive Military Response’ Pentagon chief James Mattis says any threat to the US or its allies by North Korea will be met with a “massive military response”. His comments came after a national security briefing with President Donald Trump about the secretive communist state’s latest nuclear test. Pyongyang says it has successfully trialled a hydrogen bomb that could be loaded on to a long-range missile. The move has drawn international condemnation. North Korea has defied UN sanctions and international pressure by developing nuclear weapons and test missiles that could potentially reach the US. But speaking to reporters outside the White House, Defence Secretary Mattis said the US had the ability to defend itself and its allies South Korea and Japan, adding that its commitments were “ironclad”. “Any threat to the United States or its territories - including Guam - or our allies will be met with a massive military response, a response both effective and overwhelming.” The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss an international response, according to the US mission. Meanwhile, President Trump has warned that America may stop trading with any country that does business with the North. What has happened? The first suggestion that this was to be a far from normal Sunday in the region came when seismologists’ equipment started picking up readings of an earth

tremor in the area where North Korea has conducted nuclear tests before. The US Geological Survey put the tremor at 6.3 magnitude. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said there was no doubt this was North Korea’s sixth nuclear test, calling it “unforgivable”. Then North Korean state media confirmed this was no earthquake. It claimed the country had conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, detonating a hydrogen bomb that could be loaded onto a long-range missile. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was pictured with what state media said was a new type of hydrogen bomb. Hydrogen bombs are many times more powerful than an atomic bomb. They use fusion - the merging of atoms - to unleash huge amounts of energy, whereas atomic bombs use nuclear fission, or the splitting of atoms. Analysts say the North’s claims should be treated with caution, but that its nuclear capability is clearly advancing. Officials in China, where the blast was felt as a tremor, said they were carrying out emergency radiation testing along the border with North Korea. What has the reaction been? Denouncing the test as “hostile” and “dangerous”, President Trump described the North as a “rogue nation” which had become a “great threat and embarrassment” to China - Pyongyang’s main ally. He also said South Korea’s “talk of appeasement” was not working and that the secretive communist state “only understands one thing”.

“The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea,” Mr Trump later said in a tweet. North Korea relies on China for about 90% of its foreign trade. South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for the “strongest possible” response, including new UN Security Council sanctions to “completely isolate” the country. China, meanwhile, also expressed “strong condemnation” and said the state “had ignored the international community’s widespread opposition”. Russia urged all sides involved to hold talks, saying this was the only way to resolve the Korean peninsula’s problems. UK Prime Minister Theresa May said the “reckless” new test represented an “unacceptable further threat to the international community”. She called on world leaders to come together to stop North Korea’s “destabilising actions”. What does the test tell us? South Korean officials said the latest test took place in Kilju County, where the North’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site is situated. The “artificial quake” was 9.8 times more powerful than the tremor from the North’s fifth test in September 2016, the state weather agency said. Although experts urged caution, this does appear to be the biggest and most successful nuclear test by North Korea to date - and the messaging is clear. North Korea wants to demonstrate it knows what makes a credible nuclear warhead.

Frankfurt WW2 Bomb Defused after Mass Evacuation Bomb disposal experts in Frankfurt have successfully defused a massive unexploded bomb from World War Two, officials have announced. The news was greeted with spontaneous applause among some of about 65,000 people who were evacuated to enable experts to make the bomb safe. Many residents are now awaiting permission to return to their homes. The evacuation on Sunday morning was the biggest in post-war German history, involving hundreds of officials.

Police checked every designated house with heat-detection technology to make sure everyone was out. The evacuation area in the Westend district included hospitals, nursing homes and Germany’s central bank. There are believed to be hundreds of thousands of unexploded wartime bombs across Germany. Police early on Sunday morning cordoned off the 1.5km (1 mile) evacuation area as residents carrying luggage vacated the danger zone.

A few stragglers who were slow to move may be prosecuted, local media reported. Many residents made the most of the day, either by visiting relatives or enjoying a day out in a different part of the city. Police told local media that the evacuation took place on schedule even though a handful of residents - for various reasons - were not initially prepared to vacate the area. The 1.4 tonne British bomb was found on a building site on Wednesday.

Texas Governor Appeals for Aid for Harvey Recovery The governor of Texas said Sunday that the “long haul” of recovery from Hurricane Harvey was just beginning, appealing to Congress to provide tens of billions of dollars needed for reconstruction. In the nation’s fourth-largest city of Houston, which was devastated by record-setting rainfall, many residents whose homes had flooded returned over the weekend to begin removing soggy drywall, soaked carpets and ruined possessions. A week of flooding damaged 40,000 to 50,000 homes in Houston and sent tens of thousands of people fleeing to emergency shelters. “The rebuilding process, this is where the long haul begins,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said

on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is where we come to the part where Congress plays a role.” The White House has asked Congress for $7.85 billion for Harvey-related “response and initial recovery efforts,” calling it a “down payment” on the long-term cost of recovering from the record flooding. In the end, Abbott said, recovery will cost “well over $120 billion, probably $150 billion to $180 billion.” White House budget director Mick Mulvaney has said the administration will later seek an additional $6.7 billion for disaster relief. The storm was blamed for at least 42 deaths, with The Houston Chronicle saying the toll of people

who died or were feared dead was more than 50. Yet Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner urged people who had been planning on travelling to Houston not to cancel their trips, saying the city was now 95 percent dry. “I want to be very clear. Yes, it was a very serious storm, historic, unprecedented, but the city of Houston is open for business.” “And so if you have a conference, convention, concert, any of those things that were planning to come to this city, we are still ready to welcome you,” Turner said, adding that city employees would be back at work on Tuesday, following the US Labor Day holiday on Monday.

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NEWS

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

Kanu: Buhari, Not I Should Be Detained for Disobeying Court Order ACF spokesman asks FG not to dialogue with IPOB leader Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has said President Muhammadu Buhari and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura, should be detained for disobeying court orders. In an interview with The Sun, Kanu recalled how the federal government refused to release him after the court ordered that he should be set free. He told those calling for his arrest to demand that the president be detained. “President Buhari was the one who broke the laws; he disobeyed the direct court order to release me unconditionally, not once, but twice.” “Honourable Shuaibu of Wuse magistrate court granted me bail, Buhari did not release me. Justice Ademola granted me unconditional bail, Buhari and his cousin, Lawal Daura, refused to honour that court order. “They are the ones who should be detained for flagrant disobedience to court orders. I want the northern Arewa irredentists to call for the arrest of Buhari and Daura for flouting court order after court order asking for my release. “It smacks of hypocrisy and absolute cowardice that people who could not rise up in defence of the law when a court made a judicial pronouncement are now clamouring for my arrest because they believe it is easy to do so. Before now, Nnamdi Kanu is Igbo, he is a Biafran and can be arrested and nothing will happen but that would not be anymore, it would no longer happen,” he said. Kanu also boasted that the country would burn if the federal government re-arrest him. Last week, the government

approached a court in Abuja to seek the revocation of Kanu’s bail on the grounds that he had violated the conditions under which he was released. Binta Nyako, a judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who set the agitator free after 18 months in detention, ordered him not to grant press interviews and to avoid being seen in a crowd of more than 10 people. But Kanu has since violated the bail conditions. In the interview, the IPOB leader, according to The Cable, wondered why no attempt has been made to arrest the Arewa youths who gave the quit notice to the Igbo resident in the North. Kanu said: “Quote me verbatim. If I’m rearrested, this country will burn, I assure you.” ”From where that oil money they depend on, they can no longer have access to it. I assure them that. This is not an empty threat. ”We’re IPOB, we don’t abandon our own.” Asked why he has been violating the bail conditions, he said: “Are you talking about an illegal and unconstitutional bail condition? A bail condition designed to emasculate and basically render IPOB impotent? Does anyone seriously think I’m going to stand for IPOB to be rendered desolate? “I can’t allow that to happen. I have not violated any laws unknown to the Nigerian judicial establishment. I have not committed any offence; no crime whatsoever. I said no crime. It is a violation of my right to ask me not to speak; to ask me not to be in a congregation of not more than 10 people, an absolute violation of articles enshrined in the constitution that I expect all and sundry to be rising up in defence of, not trying to justify the erosion of my fundamental human rights to speak, to be heard and

Atiku Hails Niger DeltaYouths for Reversing Quit Notice Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described the reversing of the counter quit notice issued by the Niger Delta youth groups to persons of Northern and South-western descent to leave the South-south region as a step in the right direction. In a statement signed by his media office and made available to THISDAY yesterday, he reminded Nigerians that the country is too old and too big to fail. “Just as I commended Arewa youths for listening to good counsel and withdrawing the ill advised quit notice to people of Igbo origin to leave the North before October 1 or face consequences, I similarly applaud Niger Delta youths for rescinding their counter quit notice to persons of Northern and South-western descent to quit the South-south region. Atiku said the news could not have come at a better time as when Nigeria defeated Cameroon 4-0. “The Super Eagles scored four goals and none of those goals were scored in the name of Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba or indeed under the

aegis of North or South. Each and everyone of those goals were resoundingly for Nigeria. “No one disowns a child when he or she is almost 60. Nigerian is too old and too big to fail. Instead of divisions, what we must do is restructure our federation till it more closely resembles the almost perfect union that our founding fathers chiseled together at the various pre Independence conferences. “There is enough in Nigeria for everyone’s need and to meet every bloc’s aspirations. What we need is not uniformity but harmony. Just like an orchestra, we may all sing differently, but when our voices are blended, together, they give off a richer more melodious symphony than would ever have been possible if we were to sing individually. “I urge all Nigerians to be hopeful. To be great, every nation must go through struggle. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, if you are going through struggles, keep going. We will go through and emerge better than before. This is my promise to Nigeria,” he said.

to associate.” He insisted that the Anambra State governorship election will not hold, calling on his supporters to boycott the exercise. The IPOB leader said: “I gave a speech in Aba, Abia State, on Sunday and I made it absolutely clear that the boycott stays. “We must boycott the election in Anambra State. It is our civic responsibility to do so and that’s what we are going to do – total and absolute boycott, to let the whole world understand the strength of IPOB on the ground, in Anambra State.” Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Anthony Sani, has said any attempt to dialogue with Kanu, will translate to rewarding bad behaviour with recognition. Kanu has been accused of promoting hate speech in the course

of his quest for the sovereign state of Biafra. In an interview with PUNCH, Sani warned against any move to hold talks with Kanu or his camp, saying such would bring about dire consequences. He also condemned Kanu’s use of “uncouth language capable of incitement. “He (Kanu) even used the word ‘zoo’ to depict Nigeria and in blithe disregard for the fact that this same term was used in Rwanda to cause ethnic cleansing with dire consequences. “There are countries where agitations for the split have taken place without the resort to the use of foul language and hate speech as we have experienced with IPOB. “While I agree that dialogue is preferred to an altercation in a democracy which is a contest of ideas and reasons, your position

is a matter of judgment. “Those who encourage dialogue in the case of IPOB ignore the dire consequences of rewarding bad behaviour with recognition and a form of concession. We must discourage threats and intimidation in a democracy which is a contest of ideas and reasons. It is not a bullfight.” Sani, according to The Cable, also restated the position of ACF that the quit notice issued by the Arewa youths in the North cannot be compared with Kanu’s “threat to Nigeria’s unity.” He said the notice was due to the youths’ “frustration arising from the activities of IPOB – more so now that they have been persuaded to withdraw the notice to quit; which they have withdrawn.” “That underscores the impression that the two offences do not have the same weight nor can it be

treated the same way,” he added. Sani accused Igbo leaders of “tactically endorsing” IPOB’s use of hate speech in their quest for Biafra. He added that it would be “most unfair” to accuse northern leaders of shielding the Arewa youths as the leaders “did not support the notice to quit (issued to the Igbo.) “For example, the ACF said even though it appreciated the youths’ frustrations with the activities of IPOB, the forum did not support the notice to quit because it was unconstitutional and illegal. “Hate speech is a serious issue capable of splitting the country through avoidable conflagration or war. Yet, Igbo leaders have tended to tacitly endorse the hate speech by the IPOB through their reticence until very recently – and despite their knowledge of dire experiences of civil war.”

PROJECT INSPECTION

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (second right); Director, Highways, Construction and Rehabilitation in the ministry, Mr. Yemi Oguntominiyi (right); Project Manager, Reynolds Construction Company Nigeria, Mr. Harley Vakin (second left); and Director Highways, South-west, Mr. Emmanuel Adeoye (left); during the inspection of the ongoing rehabilitation work on the failed sections of the Apapa-Iganmu and other selected roads in Lagos....weekend

11 Killed in IDP Camp in Borno Cholera kills seven

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

Eleven persons were killed at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Banki, Borno State, a border town with Cameroon, a member of the civil society organisation (CSO) told journalists yesterday in Maiduguri. The CSO member, Mr. Ibrahim Tom, while speaking with journalists after his return from the border town, said 11 persons were killed, three persons injured and four boys abducted by Boko Haram insurgents from the IDP camps in the town. Tom, who claimed that he was on the entourage with officials of Borno State Emergency Management Agency (BOSEMA) and the Caretaker Chairman of Bama Local Government Area to the area on Saturday, said: “I went to Banki in the afternoon with Bama LGA chairman and SEMA to follow up on the incident in Banki. According to report from both the

military and IDPs leaders, 11 people were killed, three injured and four boys abducted.” It was earlier been reported in some media that suspected members of Boko Haram sneaked into the IDP camp in Banki town and murdered at least 18 youths at about 11p.m. on Friday and forcibly took away many others. The report had claimed that the insurgents during the attack, did not use guns or bombs, but swords and sharp knives to carry out their dastardly acts. Tom said during the visit, it was learnt that the insurgents also looted food items from the IDPs. He said the foodstuffs were later recovered by the military. Tom said there was an urgent need to deploy more police to the area in order to improve community relationship and to strengthen security around the camp. He said: “Community policing among the IDPs themselves is

essential to minimise infiltrators.” Meanwhile, cholera has killed seven persons at the IDP camps in Maiduguri Also, there are threats that more lives could be lost in the camps as the outbreak of the disease has been reported in the town. This was disclosed by the Medical Director of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Anna Cillers, who stated that seven persons were killed by cholera at IDP camps in Muna and Dala Lawanti cholera treatment centre. She said 100 patients have been discharged in the last three weeks after receiving treatment for the disease at the MSF centre in the town. Cillers who briefed journalists on measures put in place to prevent the further spread of cholera in Maidugurin metropolis and at IDP camps in the town, said over 200 patients were admitted at the Dala treatment centre, since the outbreak of cholera last month. She said: “In the last 24 hours

in Maiduguri metropolis, we have received over 50 patients at MSF’s Cholera Treatment Unit at Dala. The total number of patients admitted from the start of the outbreak till now is over 200 with 100 patients discharged and seven people died.” Cillers said the MSF is working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and other organisations to respond to outbreaks and diagnoses of cholera in the metropolis and resettlement camps. On containment of further spread, she said: “We have already established a 40 bed Cholera Treatment Unit (CTU) in Dala, which has so far admitted 70 patients. MSF has also set up an Oral Re-hydration Point (ORP) in Muna camp as well as constitute a team of 14 community health workers who are helping to find new cases and trace community members who may have come into contact with affected patients.

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Keep Quiet, Allow Us to Fix Nation’s Economy Back, APC Tells PDP Hammed Shittu in Ilorin The National Publicity Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, at the weekend said it was high time the opposition party, Peoples Democractic Party (PDP) kept quiet on the current state of the nation’s economy . He, however, advised the PDP to allow the ruling APC government to tackle the economic difficulties that the PDP government had inflicted on the people of the country. Abdullahi who disclosed this in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, while speaking with journalists shortly after hosting Sallah get-together luncheon with Kwarans, said: “I think if you create a problem and other people are trying to solve it, the least you could do is to keep quiet, not continue to lay claim to any superiority. The economy of Nigeria did not collapse. “If you recall even before the last administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria has started borrowing money to pay salaries. And so many people, including former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, and our own Sanusi Lamido Sanusi warned at a time that whoever took over from Jonathan was going to face a very tough time running the economy. It wasn’t the APC that created the situation. “So, APC inherited a situation and tried to make the best of what we have found. Then, you also have to ask yourself the kind of revelation that is coming forward. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has reported

how much money it has recovered in loots. “Then, you ask yourself, how did it happen? How did it happen that so much money can be stolen from the system? Those must have implication for the economy. If an individual is said to forfeit permanently amount to the tune of £17millon, the kind of figures we hear is even enough to wrap your mind around it. “So, if you take those kinds of money out of an economy, it must have an impact. How did it happen that those monies were stolen during a PDP government, and they created a situation, now you are saying that people (APC) destroyed the economy. “If APC destroyed the economy by doing what we are doing, what did PDP do by allowing the kind of mind boggling stealing that happened in the last two years, repair the economy? “I think it is ridiculous some of these arguments we hear. But I don’t think it is one of the conversations I want to indulge in, saying that PDP did this and that, because that is what they want to happen. I think they should focus on what the job of opposition is. My worry is that I listen to a lot of PDP statements and I read them, I have this disturbing feeling that it is driven largely by vengeance. “On true level, these people took us out of power and then we want to go back as quickly as possible. Or these people were very good in propaganda, let us use the same weapon and throw the same propaganda. I see vengeance in most of their comments. But I think they should remember that we have a country.

Kwankwaso, Ganduje Supporters Clash in Kano Former SSG, others wounded Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano Many people, including a former Secretary to Kano State Government of former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Rabiu, Suleiman Bichi and younger brother to Kwankwaso, Mr. Sani Kwankwaso, were seriously wounded at the weekend in Kano in a political clash. The incidence occurred at traditional Hawan Daushe in Kano Emirate Palace when the two political camps of Kwankwaso and incumbent state Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, clashed. An eyewitness told THISDAY that crisis erupted when members of the Kwankwasiyya movement who are loyal to Kwankwaso thronged the Hawan Daushe venue in their thousands with their movement symbol of redcap, a situation which provoked the supporters of Ganduje who began with verbal attack before dangerous weapons were freely used to attack each others. However, the media aide to Kwankwaso, Hajia Binta Spikin, alleged that on arriving at the palace by member of Kwankwasiyya, the police officers present pushed them back using tear gas canisters and other devices, forcing the supporters to scamper for safety. “We just saw people hitting us with cutlasses, heavy sticks and

other dangerous weapons. Then I fell down and my eyeglasses broke. “Somebody from his behind hit the former SSG, Bichi, with a cutlass and another moved forward to stab him but Kwankwaso’s younger brother used his hands to block it and they nearly cut his hands.” The eyewitness accused Governor Ganduje of being behind the attack, saying he was the one who mobilised the police and the thugs. In his reaction also, The state Commissioner of Information, Mr. Mohammad Garba, said the governor was not even in the state when the violence occurred. He said the governor and his team travelled to the neighbouring Katsina State to pay Sallah homage to President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura and that when the governor and his team returned to Kano, the emir’s palace was peaceful and the Hawan Daushe held peacefully. It was learnt that the former SSG is receiving treatment at the Murtala Muhammad Hospital, while others were at various hospitals in the state. The police spokesman in Kano, Magaji Musa Majia, confirmed the incident, stating that investigation had been commenced by the command to find out those behind the incident.

“Last week or so, when the president hosted our both parties, APC and PDP, he said we need a country first before we can even claim to belong to a political party. To everyone’s commendation, PDP Caretaker Chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, said the same thing, that opposition is not a licence to madness. Even though

we are in opposition, we have a duty to support our government and our country. I think that is a spirit. So, if he is saying that, I think his party men need to listen and see the need for us to support the government.” Abdullahi therefore said: “The mandate the APC has is not two years, it is four years; we are just

midway. So, they should wait until after the four years. So, if we don’t perform, Nigerians know what to do.” The ruling APC spokesman, who was Commissioner for Education in Kwara State, also said Nigerian candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions are being unnecessarily burdened

by asking them to write JAMB examinations. Abdullahi said as it is being done in other climes, the candidates should be allowed access to university and other tertiary institutions after having their O’Level requirements and should be ranked based on their levels of performance.”

YOUR MAJESTY

Former Vice President and Waziri Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar (left), and Lamido Adamawa, Dr. Barkindo Aliyu Mustafa, when the former vice president led other members of the Adamawa Emirate Council on Sallah homage to the Lamido, at his palace in Yola, Adamawa State.... weekend.

Sani Urges Buhari to Reshuffle Cabinet John Shiklam in Kaduna The senator representing Kaduna Central senatorial district, Shehu Sani, has called on President Muhammadu, Buhari to purge his cabinet of hyenas, jackals and wolves in his efforts to move the country forward. Sani who described the hyenas, jackals and wolves as elements within the cycle of the presidency, said they have personal interest other than that of president. The human right activist and

politician who spoke with journalists who paid him a Sallah homage said the need for the president to overhaul his cabinet now more than ever before cannot be overemphasised. Sani who is the Senate Committee Chairman on Local and Foreign Debts, described those he wants sent packing as “the mafias that exists within the presidency whose intents are different from that of the president himself, but they are part of what is called presidency.” According to him, “One thing

the president needs to do which is very important is a need for him to take a proactive stand in order to reset his presidency by looking at his cabinet in its totality. Those who have failed should be shown the way out and those who have not been able to perform satisfactorily should be replaced or reshuffled. “But it is time for president to throw some people out of his cabinet and change the portfolio of some of them so they can help him to perform better. There is mid term fatigue that exists and the only way

out is to bring in capable hands. “If the first appointment into office was to appease the political interest, I think the president now should appoint those who are capable of delivering the mission, the vision and the programme of his own administration.” Sani who is also the President of Civil Rights Congress (CRC) in Nigeria further said, “There is a message I’m sending to the president to fumigate and disinfect the presidency in the general interest of his own government

Kogi Confirms Female Patient with Lassa Fever Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja The management of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Lokoja yesterday disclosed that it had discovered a female patient with Lassa fever. The Head of Clinical Services (HCS) in the hospital, Dr. Jones Taiwo, who disclosed this to journalists, said the female patient had been

transferred to the Irrua Specialist Hospital in Edo State for further test to confirm the disease. He, however, said clinical tests carried outbyFMCshowedsymptomsofLassa fever on the patient. However, the Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Dr Saka Audu, while reacting to the news, said the female patient had been confirmed positive of Lassa fever at

the Irrua Specialist Hospital where she was transferred to. He pointed out that the state government was working towards tracing all those who might have had contact with the patient. He noted that the state Rapid Response Team (RRT) was on top of the situation to curtail the spread of the disease. “It is a sad incident but our RRT

has commenced thorough contacttracing and monitoring. “Community sensitisation and education is currently ongoing and by God’s grace, we hope to arrest the spread of the disease. “We will continue to inform and educate the public as RRT works assiduously to contain further spread of the disease. We, therefore, appeal for cooperation

Ahmed Lauds FG on Agriculture Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, has lauded the federal government on its renewed efforts on agriculture in order to reposition the nation’s economy for sustainable development. Ahmed disclosed this in Ilorin during the yearly Sallah homage by the Chairman, Kwara State Traditional Council and the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, at Government House, Ilorin. He said the agricultural

programme of the federal government is a focal point for diversification of the Nigerian economy. The governor who noted that the youths in the state have embraced agriculture, said the state has since commenced sustainable agricultural programme under the Off-Taker Demand Driven Scheme with the determination to translate it into wealth creation for the teaming youths. Ahmed urged Local Government Transition Implementation

Committees (TIC) in the state and the in-coming local government authorities to embrace agriculture as a major economic activity for driving the economic affairs of their areas noting that reliance on federation allocation and 10% state IGR is no longer enough to support activities in the councils. The governor challenged local government councils, especially those in urban environments, to take advantage of their environment to improve their IGR in order to be able to pay salaries and meet

other necessary obligations. He therefore promised that “Our administration would continue to service its people in terms of human capital development and provision of sustainable Infrastructure across the state. The road construction programme would resume immediately after the rainy season.” Earlier, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Gambari, commended the governor for development across the state and enjoined all and sundry to live in peace and harmony, love and tolerate one another.

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FG: We Lost over N100bn to Two Illegal Mining Companies in Plateau The federal government has said the two illegal mining companies

– Solid Unit Limited and Geotess Nigeria Limited – which were

PDP Tackles FG on Slow Response to Benue Flood Mark seeks assistance for Benue Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned what it described as slow and unprofessional approach adopted by the federal government disaster response agency, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to the massive flood that occurred in Benue State. In a statement issued yesterday by the Head of Publicity Unit, Chinwe Nnorom, the opposition party urged both the states and federal governments to be more proactive by taking adequate steps to put in place mechanisms that would curtail such level of disaster in other flood prone areas across the country. “We condemn the slow response of NEMA on the disaster, we wonder why NEMA, an agency created by the federal government with the mandate to respond speedily in times of emergency will wait for the so called “Presidential Directives” before performing its duties,” it said. PDP said report has it that the flood disaster which occured few days ago has displaced more than 110,000 citizens of the state and destroyed hectares of farm lands. The PDP statement said: “In view of the above, we consider NEMA’s action unfortunate and unprofessional. We therefore advise all agencies of government whose duty it is to provide emergency services to do so promptly in order to save lives. “We call on both the States and Federal Governments to be more proactive by taking adequate steps to put in place mechanisms that will curtail such level of disaster in other flood prone areas across the country. “We sympathise with the

government and people of Benue State over the devastating flood that wrecked havoc on farmlands and displaced thousands of inhabitants in twenty four communities including Makurdi, the Benue State capital. “Finally, we pray for the souls of all those that lost their lives to rest in peace and console all the affected families to bear this irreparable loss.” Former Senate President, Senator David Mark, has urged the federal government to help Benue State out of the present flood disaster that ravaged some parts of the state. Thousands of citizens have been rendered homeless as hundreds of houses and other properties were submerged by the flood largely influenced by the torrential rainfall. Mark sympathised with the government and people of the state, describing the disaster as monumental. He therefore urged NEMA to intervene by bringing relief materials for the thousands of citizens already displaced by the flood. The former Senate helmsman also enjoined organisations and good spirited individuals to render assistance to the flood ravaged communities in the state. He, however, counselled citizens to adhere strictly to town planning rules and regulations for buildings as part of measures to prevent reoccurrence of such disaster. Benue was one of the states ravaged by flood in the 2012 disaster believed to have been orchestrated by the release of water from the Lagbo dam in Cameroun.

Niger Delta Group Tasks FG on Contract to Clear Waterways Sunday Okobi The Niger Delta Volunteer Forces (NDVF) has called the attention of the federal government to the bidding contract to identify, locate, mark and remove wrecks in the Nigerian waters. In a statement issued yesterday by the President of the group, Mr. JC Godon, NDVF stated that as a matter of urgency, the government should consider those who bid for the job and publish the list of those who scaled through the process for the sake of transparency and fairness “as this will help to reduce the high rate of unemployment in the Niger Delta region.” The group stated that the the federal government make the bidding open, it will boost

the anti-corruption drive of President Muhammadu Buhari administration, “as urgent measures will have to be put in place to ensure that the project is a reality and in order not to experience hanky-panky in the allocation of the job.” NDVF said: “It has also come to our notice that the corruption in the award of contacts in the maritime sector is quite alarming, and therefore, was as a group for positive change, call for the attention of the federal government, ministry of transport, House of Representatives and the Senate to immediately look into this menace to avoid further complications as well as salvage the already bad situation of the economy.”

shut down in Zurak, Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State last month had illegally taken out minerals worth over N100 billion in the past few years. The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this during a meeting with staff of the ministry in Abuja. Sixteen Chinese nationals and eight Nigerians allegedly involved in massive illegal mining were arrested in Zurak, on August 15. After the two companies were shut down, Fayemi and Babagana Monguno, National Security Adviser (NSA), visited some illegal mining sites in the richly-endowed lead/zinc belt. The Chairman of Solid Unit

Limited in the state, Usman Abubakar, was also declared wanted for allegedly engaging in illegal activities. At the meeting with staff of his ministry, Fayemi said the huge scale of illegal mining by the two companies in Wase was tantamount to “economic terrorism.” He added that government was determined to confront anyone or group that is out to sabotage the economy through illegal mining and other means. Fayemi, according to The Cable, said the scale of illegal mining perpetrated by the two blacklisted companies and their foreign collaborators was humongous. He said they used very sophisticated equipment,

including a tunnel with rail track and other heavy machines for their operations. “The arrested Nigerians have been in active connivance with foreigners to carry out massive illegal mining in the state thereby depriving the country of revenue,” he said in a statement signed by Olayinka Oyebode, his media aide. The ministe added: “Their unwholesome activities have also led to environmental degradation and abandoned mine pits.” He said the leadership of the ministry carried out the operation that led to the closure of the illegal mining sites. “We didn’t want to leave

anything to chance, so it was done discreetly,” he said. In response to a question by one of the workers, Fayemi said the ministry would adopt its own whistleblowing arrangement in order to encourage more information on illegal mining activities in the sector. The minister, however, added that the ministry would continue to guide and provide both technical and financial support to genuine artisanal and small scale miners, who abide by the rules and regulations guiding the sector. Zurak is a key location of substantial mineral deposits notably lead, zinc, copper, tin, wolframite, tantalite and other base metals.

SALLAH HOMAGE

L-R: Olusin of Isanlu Isin, Oba Solomon Oloyede; Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Dr. Ali Ahmad; Emir of Ilorin and Chairman, state Traditional Council, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari; Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed; and his deputy, Peter Kisra, during a traditional Sallah homage to the governor by Emir of Ilorin, at Government House, Ilorin...yesterday

Ekweremadu Promises Completion of Ongoing Constituency Projects Damililola Oyedele in Abuja The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has assured constituents on the completion of all projects attracted by him. This came on a day he also announced the arrival of underground water drilling equipment, a move he said was geared towards providing immediate succour to various communities in Enugu West senatorial district facing the challenge of lack of portable water. Ekweremadu spoke during an interactive session with all the Town Union presidents in the senatorial district at his Enugu residence

yesterday. The senator assured the people that in addition to the efforts by the Enugu State Government to address the rural infrastructural needs of the communities, provisions had also been made in the 2017 Appropriation Act for new projects and completion of ongoing ones in the senatorial district and beyond. He requested communities which infrastructural needs were yet to be given to look forward to the 2018 national budget. On the problem of portable water in Enugu West senatorial district, Ekweremadu said: “As I speak with you, the drilling equipment for the Enugu West Water for All Programme, which were imported

from Turkey, have arrived in Lagos. “We will move them from community to community for the water programme to provide immediate succour to our people. And I want to assure you that no community in Enugu West will be left out.” He, however, expressed displeasure over the poor maintenance of projects by some beneficiary communities. The Deputy Senate President called on the town union presidents to set up infrastructure maintenance committees where they did not exist, while also strengthening the already existing ones to ensure proper maintenance and protection of facilities in in

their communities. Ekweremadu also urged the local government councils to embark on rural development projects, no matter how small, to compliment the efforts by the federal and state governments to accelerate development in rural area. Speaking, the Deputy Governor of the state, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, extolled the deputy senate president for taking developments to the grassroots. She described the interactive session with Town Union Presidents as democracy in action, assuring them that the the state government would not relent in the provision of democracy dividends to the people.

Edo LG Pensioners Get over N212m in August The commitment made by the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, to continue to cater to the needs of pensioners who are the state’s senior citizens, has again been demonstrated with the payment of N212,879,888 million naira to local government pensioners. According to Obaseki, the state will continue to accord its pensioners the respect they have earned and deserve, in the

scheme of things in the state. He explained that the over N212 million was for the month of August and urged Edo pensioners and workers to support the ongoing reform embarked upon by his administration in key areas such as education, primary healthcare, infrastructure, security, job creation and industrialization, among others. The governor tasked the heads

of local government areas to creatively harness the huge human and natural resources that abound in all parts of the state for the good of all Edo people. He promised that the newly commissioned BUA Cement company and the Edo Fertilizer and Chemical Company Limited have started impacting positively on the economy of the state through the creation of jobs,

access to affordable fertilizer by farmers and the emergence of several allied businesses. Edo State exited the committee of civil service states last week, when the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, inaugurated the 60,000 metric tonnes fertilizer plant in Auchi and the two million metric tonnes BUA Cement plant in Okpella in the state, setting the stage for huge industrial activities in the two key sectors of the state.

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SERAP Asks Buhari to Seek ICC’s Arrest Warrant for Alison-Madueke Chiamaka Akumka A civil society organisation, SocioEconomic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to seek arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to bring the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, before the court on allegations of corruption against her. It urged the government to consider her offence as crimes against humanity and serious enough for it to sanction her prosecution before the court. The organisation also urged the government to “pursue civil

actions to ensure that all the funds allegedly stolen by her are fully recovered and duly accounted for.” In a statement dated September 3, 2017 and signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Timothy Adewale, the organisation said: “The allegations of corruption against Alison-Madueke suggest the manifest failure of the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan to protect Nigerians from such heinous crimes. Your government now has the responsibility to take bold action to sufficiently redress this injustice committed against Nigerians, and the significant long-term damage for the

NNPC Crashes Petrol, Cooking Gas Prices Nationwide The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said sustained strategic intervention in the efficient supply and distribution of petroleum products has led to significant fall in the prices of petrol, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, nationwide. In a statement yesterday, Ndu Ughamadu, spokesman of the corporation, said a national survey by oil and gas forum, NNPC’s weekly TV programme, indicated that in the last few weeks, the price of petrol has fallen steadily from N145 per litre to between N142 and N143 per litre in some stations across the country. He said the study showed that NNPC mega and affiliate stations across the country are selling the product for N143 per litre, while the pump price range from between N142 and N145 per litre in some major and independent marketers in Lagos, Abuja, Sokoto, Enugu, Delta and other major cities. “One of the respondents in the survey and a manager at an independent fuel retail station in Abuja, Mohammed Abdullahi, said the station currently sells petrol at N142 per litre in line with the prevailing market situation in order to sustain the turnover of the business and to attract more motorists to the station,” the statement read. “Another independent marketer in Mosimi, Emeka Ikechukwu, said the going ex-depot prices of PMS had dropped from N138 per litre in most depots to N133.28 in NNPC depots and between N130 and N131 per litre in private depots. “However, the situation is slightly different in Aba and Umuahia in

Abia State and Calabar in Cross River state where most independent fuel stations as well as major marketers selling the product at N145 per litre. “The survey also showed a similar trend of drop in price for cooking gas with the average price for refilling 5kg cylinder at N2,215.96 from the former price of N2,500. “The study further revealed that states with the lowest average price for the 5kg LPG refill were Kaduna and Niger at N2,000; Kogi at N2,005; and Oyo at N2,033.33.” Ughamadu also said the prices of cooking gas has also reduced. “At the NNPC Mega and retail stations nationwide, a 12.5kg of cooking gas that was sold for N4,500 a few months ago is now sold for N3,800 while other retail outlets sell the same quantity for N4,000,” he said. “NNPC has sustained its interventions through sustained improvement in the supply of the products and remodeling of distribution channels to address sufficiency issues across the country.” He added that the corporation had stepped up the resuscitation of some of its “critical pipelines and depots” such as the Atlas Cove – Mosimi depot Pipeline, Port-Harcourt Refinery – Aba depot Pipeline, Kaduna – Kano pipeline and the Kano depot which have enhanced efficiency in products distribution. Ughamadu said efforts were ongoing to revamp and recommission other critical pipelines and depots across the country to further push down the prices of petroleum products for the benefit of consumers.

Catholic Priest Murdered 24 Hours after Kidnap A Catholic priest in Imo State, Cyriacus Onunkwo, has been murdered by unknown gunmen. The state Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, confirmed the development Channels TV yesterday. Onunkwo was said to have been abducted from his vehicle in Orlu, a town in the state on Friday morning. Following a manhunt, a body was discovered in the bush in Omuma village in Orlu east local government area, still in Imo, on Saturday.

The commissioner, according to The Cable said the corpse had been identified as that of the priest. He also said investigations were ongoing to unveil Onunkwo’s killers. There are speculations that he may have been strangled as his body had no gunshot nor stab wounds, according to the police. They also said his car was discovered intact, with nothing removed from it. The police said they have not made any arrest in connection with the incident.

country.” The organisation said: “By pursuing international warrant of arrest for Alison-Madueke in order for her to be brought before the ICC, your government would be showing to Nigerians that it is indeed determined to match its stated commitment to combat grand corruption and its debilitating effects with concrete and bold action.” SERAP’s request followed growing allegations of corruption against Mrs Alison-Madueke and the recent disclosure by the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had recovered about half a trillion naira from her. Several court orders have also seized millions of dollars from

bank accounts and forfeiture of several houses both in Nigeria and abroad linked to her. The statement read in part: “SERAP believes that as important as it is, the recovery of alleged stolen public funds from Alison-Madueke is far from adequate to redress the crimes against humanity that have been committed against Nigerians. The allegations of corruption clearly suggest the exploitation of Nigeria’s natural resources to the detriment of its people, and are serious enough to meet the requirements of crimes against humanity, thus bringing her within the jurisdiction of the ICC. “Pursuing this case before the ICC would also help to deter grand corruption and its devastating effects on Nigeria and contribute to the development of case-law in the field

of corruption and citizens’ socioeconomic rights, and ultimately advance the right of Nigerians to restitution, compensation and guarantee of non-repetition. Such bold initiative would also improve public confidence in the fight against corruption. “We also urge your government should urgently propose legislation that would characterise the kind of corruption allegedly committed by Alison-Madueke as crime against humanity within our national laws, and thus allow Nigerian courts to directly hear those cases. “In this case, the inhumane acts committed against Nigerians take the form of grand corruption, and taking away our commonwealth for her personal benefit, the corrupt acts apparently took place over an extended and critical period

during the government of former President Jonathan. Alison-Madueke knew or ought to have known that such level of alleged corruption by her would cause or contribute to or aggravate the suffering of marginalized and vulnerable Nigerians, denying them access to the basic necessities of life. “The fact that such enormous crimes could went on for such a long time without any form of redress is an affront to universal human rights of Nigerians to their natural wealth and resources. SERAP believes that causing unspeakable hardships or aggravating the suffering of large numbers of Nigerians ought to constitute an inhumane act of a nature amounting to a crime against humanity, for which the most appropriate forum of redress is the ICC.”

GOVERNOR OF THE PEOPLE

Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, flanked by corps members when he hosted them to sallah feast in Sokoto.....weekend

Gunmen Assassinate Makurdi Electronic Dealer George Okoh inMakurdi Gunmen yesterday assassinated a popular electronic dealer, Toochukwu, also known as Sunny Kris, in Makurdi, the Benue State capital The incident occurred at about 8p.m. while it rained heavily. According to the state Police Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, who confirmed the incident on phone to THISDAY, the deceased had returned home from his shop which is located along Benue Crescent, hub of electronic

dealers and distributors in Makurdi, when some persons broke into his house, robbed him and his wife of undisclosed amount of money. “After robbing him, they left and Sunny hurried to go and report the incident at the ‘B’ division Police station. But unknown to him, the robbers trailed and shot him off Inikpi Street,” Yamu stated. An eyewitness who pleaded anonymity, said the deceased while he was being pursued by the gunmen, shouted for help but it fell on deaf ears even as people who heard gunshots scampered

for safety. “I was at a beer parlor around the area drinking with some friends and heard heavy gunshots and people ran helter-skelter for their dear life. When I got to where the incident happened, the deceased was being rushed to an undisclosed hospital,” he said. Commenting on the incident, Governor Samuel Ortom, lamented over the assassination of Toochukwu, describing it as devilish.’ The governor reiterated the

resolve of his government to secure lives and property of all Benue people. “I will not fold my hands and allow hoodlums take over the State. We will pursue and fish them out. I urge residents to assist us report the where about of these robbers,” Ortom appealed. This is the second murder in less than two weeks after the senior special assistant the to Ortom on Knowledge Economy, Tavershima Adyorough, was assassinated in his resident by gunmen

Nigerian Navy Reaffirms Commitment to Protect Nation’s Water Ways Okon Bassey inUyo The Nigerian Navy has expressed satisfaction with the activities of men and officers of the navy jubilee at Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The Commander of the Nigerian Navy Jubilee Formation, Commodore Saidu Garba, said operations of the navy have drastically reduced the nefarious activities of pirates and other criminals on the nation’s territorial waters. Garba spoke at the weekend while inaugurating three newly built bungalows donated to the naval personnel in the area

by the authorities of Ikot Abasi council area. Lauding the government and the people of Ikot Abasi for the donation, the commander reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigerian navy to protect the nation’s waterways as well as not relenting in carrying out its onerous constitutional duties and ensure the reduction of criminal activities is achieved along the nation’s territorial water “I want to thank you for this kind gesture in providing accommodation for our personnel and choosing the Nigerian navy here at Ikot Abasi as your strategic

partner in the task for keeping our maritime environment safe for maritime trade “The navy acknowledges the immense contributions of the people of Ikot Abasi and your local government council in supporting our operations over the years, so we thank you.” he stressed. Garba said through the symbiotic and robust relationship that has existed between the navy and it’s host communities of Ikot Abasi, the state government has donated a big parcel of land and school complex for the establishment of a naval college in the state. The commander expressed

gratitude to the state Governor, Udom Emmanuel, for his numerous assistance to the navy in the state and thanked the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibom Ete Ibas, for his numerous support. On his part, the Chairman, Transition Committee for Ikot Abasi Local Government Area, Mr. Ubong Uquang, who was represented by the Director of Works in the council, Amos Bernard Akpanudoh, commended the navy for leaving up to their responsibility by curbing the activities of criminals in the area, and assured them of more support.

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Niger Delta Youths Plan to Sue Dangote over Location of Refinery Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Youths in the Niger Delta region have threatened to take legal action against Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, over the location of his proposed refinery in Lagos instead of the region. The youths, under the aegis of Niger Delta Youths Leaders Administrative Council (NDYLAC), said the location of the refinery outside the Niger Delta region contravenes the Nigerian Content Act. In a statement issued yesterday in Port Harcourt and jointly signed by Magnus Uche and Pobewei Abie, chairman and secretary respectively, the NDYLAC said the location of the world’s biggest refinery in Lagos other than the Niger Delta region where the raw materials are sourced amounted to “continuous enslavement of the people of the Niger Delta area”. They argued that the US$18billion which has been sunk into the laying of subsea oil and gas pipelines alone to connect the raw materials from the region to Lagos would deny the unemployed youths more than 5000 jobs, thereby increasing the rate of poverty in that part of the country. Describing the proposal as

“anti-Niger Delta”, NDYLAC vowed that it would “take every legal means to ensure that Aliko Dangote rescind his decision of citing refinery in Lagos. “Our people have suffered untold hardship over the years and this cannot be allowed to continue again. “The intention of Dangote in collaboration with the Nigerian government to deny us of another opportunity of improving the economic situation of the Niger Delta by taking the refinery to an already developed Lagos State, is unacceptable and we will vehemently resist the decision in any way legally possible”, the group said. The youth group expressed the fear that if Dangote, who they alleged has not done much in the Niger Delta in terms of industrialisation, was allowed to go ahead with the refinery, it would make him to become “a demi-god in the oil industry thereby subjecting other key players in the oil and gas sector to insignificant participants. They said: “If this is allowed, Dangote will lord it over the NNPC. We cannot allow this enslavement. “It also means that the future of the Niger Delta will continue to be bleak. The pipeline jobs will

be no more. Unemployment will increase while poverty escalate. We need more refineries in the Niger Delta. The Kaduna refinery was supposed to be built in Benin in 1974 but they took it to the north “The US$18billion Dangote refinery can afford us five to six functional refineries in the Niger Delta region. It will create over ten thousand jobs and thereby improve the living standard of the region in general”. NDYLAC also berated the former President, Goodluck Jonathan who laid the foundation for indigenous refinery and failed to take advantage of that opportunity by ensuring that it was located in the Niger Delta region. The group called on the Niger Delta political leaders including the governors, ministers, senators and House of Assembly members in all the states to stand up to the occasion to ensure that Dangote reversed the decision of locating the 660,000 barrel per day capacity refinery outside the region “Our leaders must work together and prevail on Dangote from carrying out this plan. At the same time, they must improve on the general economy of the region,” they said.

Right Group Protests Disconnection of Enugu Council from National Grid by EEDC Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu A human right group, Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), has petitioned the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, over the disconnection of Isi-Uzo council of Enugu State from the national electricity grid for several months now by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC). In a petition entitled: ‘Re: Unlawful Continuous Disconnection of Isi-Uzo Local Government from National Grid; Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has no Right to Deprive Citizens of Nigeria Access to Electricity’, Olu Omotayo, President of CRRAN, described the action of EEDC as not only unlawful but barbaric and criminal as such should not be tolerated in any decent society. The group urged the minister

to prevail on the company to restore electricity to Isi-Uzo Local Government and its’ environs within the next 48 hours failure of which it would approach court of competent jurisdiction to ‘challenge this infamous and dastardly act.’ “We write to you in respect of the above-mentioned matter on behalf of the entire people of Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State of Nigeria who were disconnected from the national grid by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) since June 8, 2017. The rights groups, in a statement at the weekend, stated that EEDC alleged that some youths of Eha-Amufu community in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area, came to its office in the local government and beat up its staff and damaged ladders when the youths came protesting over insensitivity of the electricity company in issuing residents outrageous bills that do not

match their power consumption; flagrant disconnection of electricity supply, among other excesses of the company. CRRAN insisted that the company has no legal right to disconnect any local government or community from the National Grid, stressing that if there is attack on staff of the company, appropriate security agency ought to be reported to for proper investigation and bring culprits to book but not for the company to resort to self help and take law into its hands. “We were further informed that after the protest Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), quickly went to Nkalagu sub-station and disconnected the area. “Unfortunately, Nkalagu substation supplies power to many parts of Enugu state such as Isi-Uzo Local Government, Udenu Local Government, Igboeze North Local Government, Igboeze South Local Government and parts of Nsukka Local Government Area.”

Nigerian Businesses Shortlisted for Shell Global Entrepreneurship Innovation Prize Three Nigerian entrepreneurs have been shortlisted for Shell LiveWIRE ‘Top Ten Innovators,’ a global competition which highlights and rewards LiveWIRE businesses that demonstrate excellence in innovation. The three Nigerians have come up with creative ideas on energy efficiency and access to chemical and paint products, and join 22 entrepreneurs from nine countries to vie for the prestigious prize. A public vote of the shortlisted businesses takes place September 1 to 8, 2017, with the results helping to determine the winners. “We are pleased at the opportunity for the Nigerians to showcase their talent on the global stage using Shell’s flagship

entrepreneurship development programme,” said Igo Weli, General Manager, External Relations, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC.) “SPDC launched the LiveWIRE programme in Nigeria in 2003, providing training, business development services and start-up capital for youth-owned businesses. Our ambassadors have benefitted from this support to make their mark and we call on Nigerians to encourage them by voting for their ideas.” ‘Top Ten Innovators’ is a worldwide competition open to the alumni of Shell LiveWIRE, a Royal Dutch Shell Social Investment Programme, operating in 15 countries, which enables young

people to start their own business and create employment. The shortlisted entrepreneurs have the chance to win a top prize of US $15,000, three Runner-up prizes of US $10,000 or six Merit awards of US $5,000. The programme aims to create role models for other young entrepreneurs, and demonstrate that introducing innovation supports growth and job creation. The Vice President Social Performance at Shell, Joanna Cochrane, said: “Shell LiveWIRE is very important to us, because when we help local entrepreneurs to set up businesses, they create long term sources of income for communities, they create jobs and they help to find innovative solutions to social and economic problems.”

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 4, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Chidoka Slams APC, APGA for Their Silence on South-east Agitation Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Former Minister of Aviation and governorship candidate of the United Progressive Congress (UPP), Osita Chidoka, has taken a swipe at Igbo leaders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for remaining silent in the face of oppression against the people of South-east region. In a statement issued yesterday by the Director Media of his

Campaign Organisation, Viola Ifeyinwa Okolie, the governorship candidate regretted that such, “atrocious silence of Igbo leaders in the APC has emboldened aggression against southeasterners.” The campaign organisation urged the federal government and security agencies to apply caution in handling matters related to agitations by the people of the South-east region. “We also caution against any act that may lead to further

Tambuwal: Nigeria is Better as One Country Mohammed Aminu in Sokoto Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday hosted youth corps members serving in the state to a Sallah feast with a call on them to always strive to build the Nigeria of their dream. Speaking at the event attended by hundreds of the corps members at the Government House, Sokoto, last Saturday night, Tambuwal commended them for their sacrifice and dedication to nation-building. He said despite the challenges facing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme and the nation, the youths should not lose focus as Nigeria will come out of it stronger. “We believe in the oneness of this country. Nigeria is better off and greater as one strong nation. “Every nation and country have their respective challenges. What we are facing in Nigeria is a passing phase, and I believe we shall come out of it stronger. “As youths, you are all talented

in your own rights and as leaders, it our duty to lay solid platforms which will help you all to excel in your chosen careers. In Sokoto, we are happy with your contributions to the development of our state. “For those of you who want to remain here with us after your service year, we will encourage you to stay. For those who want to go back home after your service, we pray to God to return you to your homes safely,” he said. While expressing their appreciation to the governor for his care and concern for their safety and welfare, the corps members described Sokoto as the most peaceful state in the federation. One of the corps members who gave her name as Benedicta and a graduate of Data Analytics from one of the universities in Cyprus, expressed gratitude to the governor for hosting them. “Coming here has changed a lot of negative perception I have about Nigeria, the North and Islam. The people here are humble, hospitable and caring,” she said.

APC Congratulates PDP for Zoning Governorship Ticket to Nasarawa North Emmanuel Ukumba in Lafia North Central zonal Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Zakari Edde, has congratulated the Nasarawa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for zoning its governorship ticket for the 2019 general election to Nasarawa North senatorial district. The APC North Central zonal chairman commended the opposition party’s foresight of zoning its governorship ticket to the northern district of the state last Saturday when interacting with some journalists in his country home, Nasarawa Eggon, headquarters of Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area of the state. “I must say congratulation to my own counterpart, the PDP, that had zoned the governorship ticket to Nasarawa North senatorial district,” he said. Consequently, Edde stated further that “I am also calling on my party, APC, to follow suit so that people will be happy with it. It is good to do the right thing, and I want to say that my party should follow what the PDP has done.” He continued that it was a season of politics, which is democracy in action, and whoever does anything good, he will appreciate him. “It is not my party,

but I like what they have done,” he maintained. Accordingly, the APC chieftain said: “If you talk about how everybody looks at it, whether I like it or not, as a party and at my own personal level, I want the governorship position to be zoned to Nasarawa North senatorial district for some obvious reasons. “Firstly, we have three senatorial districts in the state, Keffi zone has taken a shot as Senator Abdullahi Adamu had done eight years. Nasarawa south now is in its twelfth year, and I think it is only right to be our brother’s keeper for fairness, justice, equity and togetherness as I feel naturally and ordinarily that the seat of governance in the state should be zoned to Nasarawa North senatorial district.” He was however quick to add that the Nasarawa State Governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, had said severally at different forum that for equity, it was better for Nasarawa North to have a shot at the position. Therefore, Edde concluded that he was aware that his party, APC, was doing a lot of calculation to that effect but will be surprised if at the end of the day, the governorship ticket is not zoned to the northern senatorial district of the state.

confrontation with the people and aggravate the already tensed-up situation in the region. “We hold firmly that rather than aggression and force, the time has come for Nigeria to pause and specifically listen to, understand and address the agitations of people of the South-east.” It said President Muhmmadu Buhari had openly agreed, during his recent address to the nation, that there are ‘legitimate concerns’ and that ‘every group has a grievance.’ “The president even acknowledged that “the beauty and attraction of a federation is that it allows different groups to air their grievances and work out a mode of co-existence. “The southeast has legitimate

concerns; concerns that have been with us as a nation, for decades. Officials and agencies handling the matter must understand that this agitation has been a lingering issue, existing long before those leading it today were born. Silencing or subjugating them as individuals do not hold the answers, addressing the issues does. “It is therefore our take that the time has come for stakeholders in our nation to directly address these concerns. One of the ways to work out a mode of peaceful co-existence in a federation is when the underpinning issues of marginalisation, repression and lack of opportunity being raised by any group; are fundamentally

addressed without any forms of ethnic or political colorations. Chidoka said a UPP administration would vigorously pursue the ideology of selfdetermination and right to determine the role of Ndigbo in a Nigeria where no man is oppressed. “We invite all to hold the APC and APGA responsible for the escalation of hostilities resulting in wanton killings of harmless South-easterners in various parts of the country. “While the APGA, a hitherto pan-Igbo party has since become ideologically vacuous and unable to adequately aggregate and explain the views of Ndigbo to other groups in the country, the atrocious silence

of Igbo leaders in the APC has emboldened aggression against South-easterners. “The people hold them directly responsible for the killing of our unarmed brothers and sisters in Onitsha, Aba, Port Harcourt and Ekwulobia. No amount of rationalisation can explain away their guilt and erase this bloodstain on their banners of wickedness and betrayal. “Most atrocious is that these parties in their impudence are further demonstrating their insensitivity to the feelings of the people by fielding themselves for the November 18, 2017 Anambra governorship election,” said

THANKS FOR COMING

Governor of Cross River State, Professor Ben Ayade (left), presenting a souvenir to Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), during a courtesy call on the governor in Government House in Calabar....recently

Osun APC Party Leaders Commend Kusamotu for Empowering Constituents All Progressives Congress (APC) Party chieftains in the State of Osun has hailed the empowerment and philantrophic gesture of a senior Lawyer and a former aspirant of the Federal House of Representatives, Barrister Ayodele Musibau Kusamotu, who recently feted constituents from Odo-Otin/Boripe/Ifelodun federal constituency. Using his foundation, the Ayodele Musibau Kusamotu (AMK), the Ikirun-born politician and legal luminary distributed food items and fabrics to over 5,000 persons both young and old especially women. The distribution was preceded by different traditional dance steps and melodious songs hailing Kusamotu as God sent and as a man who feels the pulse of the common men

in his society. The disabled too were not left behind as they were given special attention towards ensuring that they get their own share of the items. Party Leaders present extolled his virtues biting that he had been empowering the people for over 10 years in spite of the fact that he had never held any political office or appointment at any level. A party Chieftain, Alhaji Fatal Diekola, a former Commissioner of Information, Honourable Sunday Akere, Hon Fatal Bamidele Araba and Bayo Daoudu took turns to appreciate his empowerment programmes. Diekola described Kusamotu as a unique man with heart of gold and urged him to present himself for future elections assuring him that the people would back his

ambition. In the same vein, Akere noted that he has been following the activities of Kusamotu for over a decade adding that heisnotsurprised at his benevolence because his father and Uncles were always caring for the people at all times. Another twist to the event was a gathering of the Peoples Democratic Party Leaders who met him and pleaded that he should contest under its platform boasting that the PDP would be a party to beat in the 2018 election in the State. Responding,Kusamotuthankedthe leaders and his people for the show of affection and for always honouring him with their presence whenever he is in the State. He assured them that he would continue to cater for their welfare in his own little way. He however declared that he had not made up his mind whether

to run or not or the party platform that he would use but promised that whatever the people and his supporters want will be done. His words”:I thank you all for your show of love and affection. Your welfare would continue to be my priority and as my people, I will heed to your call to run whenever you want me to. He urged them to continue to be steadfast and committed to the party’s Ideals adding that he is neither a PDP or APC aspirant for now. “I Am for all of you. My love for you all transcends party divides and you can be assured of my continued loyalty to this course. The foundation for over six years ensures monthly medical care for all the communities twice besides picking up their hospital bills and other empowerment.

Police Boss Intervenes as Delta Community Women Protest Half-naked over Monarch’s Detention Omon-Julius in Asaba Determined to secure the release of their kinsmen from indefinite police detention, over 500 half naked women of Egbudu-Akah in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State at weekend barricaded the entrance to the state police headquarters in Asaba. This may not be unconnected

with the alleged illegal detention of close to 10 people from the community over kingship tussle among two brothers. The police are said to have detained them for weeks over the excuse that they are carrying out investigation, and to restore peace just as an elderly man was said to have died in the police custody over the matter.

The protesters, who besieged the headquarters at about 9 am, caused a heavy traffic grid on the Okpanam Road for over three hours. While displaying placards which bore various inscriptions such as ‘Police are biased’; ‘Release our brothers and sisters to us’; ‘We cannot go to the farm again’; ‘Mr. President come to

our rescue’, among others, the women also chanted songs of disenchantment and called on the federal government to prevail on the police authority to release their people back to them. Spokeswoman of the group, Mrs. Mordi Onyeka, decried the illegal detention of their monarch with 11 other elders for over three months.

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MONDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

WORLD CUP 2018 QUALIFIER

Leon Balogun, Ighalo Doubtful as Eagles Dare Lions in Yaounde Duro Ikhazugbe in Yaoundé , Cameroon

the game in Uyo, we would have a chance, but we lost it and I hope everyone will learn from this.” However, despite that submission by the Cameroon gaffer, Gernot Rohr and his glory seeking Eagles will be the least interested o take the wounded Lions for granted. Cameroon have pride to play for right in from of their partisan home fans. This is why Broos warned Nigeria that honour is what is at stake in this evening battle of Yaoundé. “There is only an honour to defend, there is no importance to this. I just hope my players will have the same mentality that I have - that they will fight till the last minute - to beat Nigeria,” observed the coach who led e Cameroonians to the AFCON 2017 title last February in Gabon. Eagles who arrived Yaoundé at 2pm from Uyo and got chucked into five-star Hilton Hotel, trained later at 6pm at the venue of today’s clash with the Cameroons. All the players were full of optimism to repeat the victory over the

After 90 minutes this evening here in Yaoundé, Nigeria will know whether the ticket to the World Cup 2018 in Russia has become a done deal. Already, hosts, Cameroon and their Indomitable Lions have become dispirited and gutted by the 4-0 defeat they suffered at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo last Friday. Their know that their Russia 2018 aspiration is over. They have nothing to play for now beyond their pride. Even if they win all their remaining three matches including today’s game with the Super Eagles, the best they will end up with is 11 points. This explains why their Belgium born Coach, Hugo Broos, admitted after the Uyo massacre that it was all over for the reigning African champions. “There is no pressure anymore tomorrow (Monday). Nigeria have nine points, we have two points,” Broos stressed, insisting further that: “If we (Cameroon) had won

GROUP B

Team Nigeria Zambia Cameroon Algeria

P 3 3 3 3

W 3 1 0 0

D 0 1 2 1

Udofia Pumps Team with $20,000 per Goal Businessman Aka Udofia has offered the Super Eagles the sum of $20,000 for every goal scored in tonight’s World Cup qualifying cracker against Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions in Yaounde. The young businessman from Akwa Ibom State made the promise as he briefly greeted players and officials inside the chartered ARIK Bombadier CRJ 1000 aircraft just before take –off at the Ibom International Airport, Uyo. “I am a very good friend of the NFF President, Mr. Amaju Pinnick, and I am happy that I am here in time to see you guys before take –off for Yaounde. “I watched the game against the Cameroonians here in Uyo on Friday and I am sure you have the ability to conquer them again in their own territory. I promise to reward you with $20,000 for every goal scored in Yaounde,” Udofia announced to the applause of players and officials.

L 0 1 1 2

GF 9 5 2 3

GA 2 4 6 7

GD 7 1 -4 -4

Pts 9 4 2 1

Super Eagles players in their final workout at Ahmadu Ahidjo stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon last night

Lions this evening. From the training, it was obvious the handlers of the team were going to introduce some players not used in Uyo to the starting line up to take on the Lions. Both Leon Balogun and Odion Ighalo who are still nursing the knocks they received during the Uyo battle may not start. There is the possibility of the introduction of either Israel

based Anthony Nwakaeme or Kelechi Iheanacho for Ighalo. Rohr is keeping the joker of likely replacement for Balogun to his chest. Of course, with the form exhibited by FC IfeanyiUbah goalkeeper, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, is is obvious that he is going to be handed the number 1 jersey.There is the likelihood of Chelsea defender Ola Alina making his debut here while Elderson

Echiejile keeps his left back starting shirt. Troost Williams Ekong is primed for same role in the central defence as he did in Uyo keeping the rampaging Lions at bay. Wilfred Ndidi, Ogenyi Onazi, John Mikel Obi, Victor Moses and Moses Simon and are all sure of starting against the hosts. Eagles’ team doctor is expected to confirm this morning if China based Ighalo

will be free from the knock to add to his goal haul in the qualifying round today. As a result of the comprehensive victory in Uyo, the Super Eagles are on verge of qualifying for Russia 2018: a win here in Yaounde today will send Nigeria to 12 points hoping that Algeria will beat second placed Zambia who is on four points in the other Group B match on Tuesday.

SuperSport’s Agreement on Raw and SmackDown Excites WWE Stars

Femi Solaja, who covered the event courtesy, Multichoice

The recent partnership between SuperSport and the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) late last month was a major highlight of recently concluded Raw and SmackDown event staged at the Barclays centre in New York, USA. Most of the top stars expressed their excitement of the possibility to expand their popularity to other continents via a major satellite television provider, DSTv. Early last month, WWE and SuperSport, Africa’s premier sportchannels provider, had announced a new multi-year agreement to broadcast WWE programming live for the first time in more than 50 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. “It’s a welcome development not only to our prime sport, but it will allow me to expand my coast. It will be a great honour to return to Africa and dazzle my fans out there,” the WWE Champion and Indian born super star, Jinder Mahal

responded with excitement of the proposed initiative. In his own remarks, master of free style kicks and Japanese star, Shinsuke Nakamura, noted that SuperSport involvement is a added value to the height WWE has attained over the years and it’s a welcome development to break new grounds. “It’s an opportunity to make our sport the most popular if over 50 countries in Africa can gain assess to what we do live. In Far East especially my country, Japan, WWE has become very popular and it has been a motivation to young lads out there and same will be the situation for potentials in Africa,” Nakamura noted. The trio of New Day composed of Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, who interestingly have a Ghanaian root all spoke with excitement and ready to flow with SportsSport/WWE partnership. “Aside our winning formula, it’s a great honour to see our exploits been televised live to African homes. The project

will reawaken youths on the continent to embrace the sport just as our follower-ship will also increase,” responded Big E on behalf of the trio. In his own reaction, Nuufolau Joel Seanoa better known by ring name Samoa Joe said “its has always been a great honour for him to compete outside USA and coming to Africa or have a lot of wrestling fans watch our events live is great privilege for us to expand our coast ,” he responded. Earlier this week, DStv and GOtv customers all had access to the world’s biggest wrestling entertainment when SuperSport aired WWE’s top shows Raw and SmackDown in the early hours of Tuesday including WWE specials, WrestleMania and SummerSlam. “We are aware that the WWE Executives are excited to get there foot print on the continent of Africa. Imagine 50 countries and new audience and they are indeed happy to be involved in bringing new wrestlers out of the continent. “A lot of stars that we have

met here spoke about been motivated by the exploits of previous generation of wrestlers and it will be a good investment if through SuperSport, young and talented Africans be motivated to break into WWE circuit. “Although it’s along time project and we hope in the next couple of years, through SuperSport, a lot of Africans can feel the excitement that goes with the sports every Monday night and can also catch up with relay telecast much later in the day,” SuperSport Communication Manager, Clinton van dear Berg explained after the event last week. DStv Premium, Compact+ and Compact customers will enjoy their wrestling drama live while DStv Family and Access will also enjoy same-day rebroadcast of the events which will be available onSuperSport channels S7, S9 and SS10. Viewers can look forward toRaw on Tuesdays and SmackDown on Wednesdays offering both live telecasts and same-day re-airs, as well as all

WWE specials live, including WrestleMania,SummerSlam ,Survivor Series and Royal Rumble. GOtv viewers will have access to thewrestling action on Select 3, available to GOtv Plus customers. “We’re delighted to bring our DStv and GOtv customers yet another sport that’s going to keep them glued to their TV and mobile screens. This addition to our sports offering will certainly bring more value for our customers and ensure that SuperSport remains their go-to World of Champion and home to the world’s biggest sports. This is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that our platformsdeliver only the best entertainment to our customers,” John Ugbe, Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria said earlier before the event in New York. All programs are available with English commentary and on demand. To celebrate the new partnership, SuperSport televised the lastweek’s episodes of Raw and SmackDown on Monday August 28.

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MONDAYSPORTS US OPEN 2017

Sharapova Knocked out by Sevastova Southgate Charges

Maria Sharapova’s first Grand Slam tournament in 19 months ended with defeat by Anastasija Sevastova in the US Open fourth round. Latvia’s Sevastova, the 16th seed, won 5-7 6-4 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in New York. The 27-year-old will play Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals, after the American beat Julia Goerges. Sharapova, ranked 146th after returning from a doping ban in April, was given a wildcard into the main draw. The 2006 champion had played just one match since May coming into Flushing Meadows, with injuries forcing her out of the grass-court season and US Open build-up. She played superbly to upset world number two Simona Halep on the first day of the tournament, and then beat Timea Babos and Sofia Kenin on her way to the last 16. Sevastova proved too strong, however, the 5ft 5in Latvian’s defensive skills and ability to create angles ultimately derailing the Russian. “The first set was very close, it could have gone either way,� said Sevastova. “She played unbelievable

throughout the first and second set and I just kept fighting, running every ball, and just stayed there.� Sharapova ended the match with 51 errors to 42 winners as she pressed too hard in trying to break down Sevastova’s brilliant defence. The Latvian went close to taking the first set after coming back from 4-1 down, but Sharapova clinched it with two magnificent forehands in game 12. The momentum had already begun to swing though, and Sevastova would level thanks to a single break at 2-1 in the second - in one rally lobbing Sharapova twice, prompting the Russian to scramble lefthanded in desperation. A six-minute bathroom break ahead of the decider apparently did not have the desired effect as Sharapova quickly fell 3-0 down. She had said after her opening match that “this girl has a lot of grit�, and it was in evidence as she cut the deficit to 3-2, but in the end Sevastova had too much. Sharapova fought off three match points before a big first serve left the five-time major winner flailing at a return that flew wide after two hours and 17 minutes.

England Players to Ignite Wembley Crowd

Sharapova

FIDE WORLD CUP 2017

Nigerian Star, Balogun Falls to W’Champion Femi Solaja As expected, Nigeria’s International Master elect, Oluwafemi Balogun, proved chess pundits right as he fell to superior knowledge of chess to the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the opening round of the FIDE World chess championship in Tbilisi, Georgia. It was a rear honour for the Nigerian star who goes into the record book as the first blackman to go headlong against any world champion of the game. “No doubt he is a superior player and I’ve learnt a lot from this match. It’s a great privileged to come up against a player of that statue and if not for this pairing at this

championship, I would not have gotten this opportunity,� Balogun reacted last night. In the match monitored by former National Master, Oyeyemi Fawole, the Norwegian Grandmaster, playing in white side of transposed King Indian defense saw the Nigerian made some early resistance before a global audience monitoring proceedings online. After early exchange of materials, the 2010 World chess Olympiad debutant was equally adventurous by developing all pieces except the Queen on the seventh rank and establish minimal hope of biggest upset at that cadre. The World Champion showed shade of his genius in middle game with a complete

control of the proceedings from move 20 onward. When the smoke was cleared in the tail end of the exchanges, the Nigerian was a piece down and with three pawns as against connected five pawns of the highest rated FIDE player. Balogun in a bit to avert early mate threat had to give a rook before the champion brought the tie to a ruthless conclusion on move 39. The world event will end on the 27 of this month. The 128-player knockout tournament features notable players including the winner of the event last year ChampSergey Karjakin and almost all of the world’s best players. The total prize fund is $1.6 million, with $120,000 for the

winner and $6,000 for first round losers. The finalists will qualify for the 2018 Candidates Tournament. The format is six knockout rounds of two-game classical matches before a four-game final. The time control is 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment from move 1. The event has a total of 120 Grandmasters, six International Masters, one FIDE master. Interestingly, while Carlsen is the highest rated player with an elo rating of 2822, his Nigerian opponent is the least rated with 2255 but qualify to participate at the event after wining the Africa Zone 4.4 Individual championship in Liberia early this year.

L-R: World chess champion, Magnus Carlson playing against Nigerian Master, Oluwafemi Balogun yesterday in the opening round of FIDE Chess Cup in Tbilisi, Georgia

Gareth Southgate is keen for his England players to excite the Wembley crowd during Tonight’s 2018 World Cup qualifier with Slovakia. England were underwhelming in Malta on Friday when three late goals gave them a flattering 4-0 victory. They lead Group F by two points and a win over second-placed Slovakia will leave them on the cusp of qualifying for next summer’s finals in Russia. “We have some exciting players and we want to show that,� said Southgate. “We have a responsibility to get the Wembley crowd on their feet but equally, everywhere we go in the world the home crowd give the team a lift. It will be great if we can get the level of support that stadium can bring. “The whole country wants to be at the World Cup. It is a great opportunity for us. “We are playing good opposition so we have to make sure we are tactically prepared, which we will be, but also have belief in the team we have got.� Victory for England today will take them five points clear of their opponents with two games left to play. Southgate felt his side put on a “professional�

performance in the game against Malta, who put up a resilient display until they tired late on to allow England to exert their authority. However, they were criticised for the display, with former national captain Terry Butcher suggesting that they lacked the kind of gifted individuals capable of unlocking the best defences. Southgate expects a much sterner test on Monday, against a side who have won their last five World Cup qualifiers and have Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik and Dinamo Bucharest striker Adam Nemec. In their opening game of the group, England required a 95th-minute Adam Lallana goal to beat the 10 men of Slovakia in Southgate’s predecessor, Sam Allardyce’s only game in charge. “They are a good side with players we respect. The last couple of games we have played against them have been 0-0 and 0-1 in the last minute against 10 men,� Southgate told BBC Sport. “We are all aware of the challenge they pose but we also feel they are a team we can beat. “It is an opportunity. We have a home game to put us within touching distance of Russia, which is exciting. Qualifying groups come down to these type of games.�

Udi Confident of Sunshine Stay in Top Division Sunshine Stars of Akure head coach, Duke Udi has assured teeming fans of the club that the side have escaped relegation in the on-going top-flight after a massive win against FC IfeanyiUbah. The Owena Waves whipped the Anambra Warriors 4-0 in one of yesterday’s Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) matchday 37 clash at the Otunba Dipo Dina Stadium in Ijebu Ode. Ajibola Otegbeye scored from the penalty spot in the 18th minute to give the Akure landlords the lead and only goal in the first half of the clash. Central defender, Kelechi Ogoh scored a brace in the 56th and 71st minute while former FC IfeanyiUbah attacking midfielder, Tope Orelope grabbed the winner for his side in the 80th minute to hand the Akure side the cushioning three points at stake. Udi said his side met tactically and technically sound side but insisted that the Akure outfit were hungrier for the whole the points at stake. “Yes, Sunshine Stars will certainly play in the topflight next season with this massive victory against FC IfeanyiUbah. “I can tell you comfortably that we are completely out of relegation for this season with a game to go at Remo

Stars. “What we need at Remo Stars in Sagamu next Sunday is just a point to successfully put a seal on our top-flight stay. “FC IfeanyiUbah are good side tactically and technically we did not allow them room to operate in the game. “Of course, the game was a-must-win for us but not a-must-win for FC IfeanyiUbah and we are hungrier for victory than the visitors. “We needed the three points badly to have a clear chance to avoid relegation so we went the extra mile in our performance. “Right now we have 100% destiny in our hands going into the final day match at relegated side, Remo Stars. “We always respect our opponents same thing will happen when we square up against Remo Stars, we will never underrate the side despite their poor position on the log. “I think the unity among the players and motivation from the management has helped us tremendously to stay clear of the drop especially since I joined the side,� said the former Osun United coach to supersport. com. Sunshine Stars are 13th on the 20-team top-flight log on 51 points 12 behind league leaders, Plateau United.

Monday September 4, 2017

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Price: N250

MISSILE Falana to Govs “I generate electricity in my home, in my office. So why can the governor of Lagos State not generate electricity for all of us – about twenty million people?” – Mr. Femi Falana asking state governors to challenge the federal government’s monopoly on electricity generation, transmission, and distribution in the country.

ALEXOTTI OUTSIDE THE BOX

alex.otti@thisdaylive.com

Aren’t We Too Many? “A

s for you, be fruitful and multiply; populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it” Genesis 9:7(AMP). A good friend of mine called to share the “good news” of the arrival of his bouncing baby boy. Congratulations Aminu; by the way how many children do you now have, I asked? It is not usual to count our children but since it is you, I will go out of my way to tell you. This is the eleventh one. I will probably do two or three more and reluctantly stop. Aminu, what has come over you? What point are you trying to make? Do you want to have up to 14 children? I queried in quick succession. But as a Christian, you should know better, Aminu retorts. God directed that we should have many children. Aminu ends up with the above Bible quote, reciting it perfectly. As I protested that as a devout Muslim, I had expected him to justify his unbridled child rearing expertise with the Quran, Aminu pointed my attention to the Hadith which says “marry and propagate to make Rasulallah(sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) proud on the day of quiyamah. A Hadith is a report describing the words, actions, and habits of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). From both an Islamic and Christian point of view, it appeared I had lost the argument about population and therefore birth control. Before we delve deeper into the issue of population and birth control, it may not be out of place to set the stage properly. There is still a big debate about how many we are in Nigeria. This debate continues to rage because there hasn’t been any credible population census in Nigeria in the recent times. The first census was done in 1863 and it covered the Lagos colony only. A second one was held in 1871 and subsequently, the colonialists held a census every 10 years. It was not until 1911, that a nationwide census exercise was conducted which put the population at 16.1m. By the 1921 census, the population had grown to 18.7m. A few more head counts held in 1931, 1953, 1963 and 1973. Two more were conducted in 1991 and 2006. One recurring feature in the head count exercises held in Nigeria is that they yielded results that were disputed by large sections of the populace. The 1953 census, for instance, put the population at 31.6m. This result was greeted with widespread controversy as it was said to have understated the population of the country. In 1962, a census was done that produced a figure of 45m. An allegation of over-counting led to the cancellation of the entire exercise and a repeat in 1963. The figure produced in the 1963 exercise was 55.6m. This was accepted in spite of the unrealistic annual growth rate of close to 6% from the 1953 figures. The 1973 census was canceled outrightly by the government for not being transparent. The 1991 census, which was not without its own share of controversy, produced a figure of 88.9m with an annual growth rate of 2.9%. The last one that was held in 2006 generated so much dispute that it was almost aborted. The South East insisted that the questionnaire must include two parameters of ethnic group and religion while the North opposed that. Both sides threatened to boycott the census if their recommendations were not adopted. Eventually, the Northern position prevailed and the census was conducted returning a figure of 140m people. It is instructive that our head counts have always been marked with controversy. If one group did not claim that it was undercounted, it would claim that another group was over counted. The reason for this is political. Politicians are always positioned to take an undue advantage of headcounts. It is understood that the allocation of resources, the creation of states and local governments and other sharing formulae are based on the number of people in the different parts of the country. I can remember people from one section of the country alleging that those from

President Muhammadu Buhari another section counted both animals and humans to make up the huge number reported in the 1991 census. It is important to point out that the word ‘census’ actually means counting everything, as opposed to taking samples. It is therefore strange that key elements like tribe and religion should be excluded from Nigerian census exercises and I am not aware of anywhere else where such key statistics are excluded. The 2006 census was one of the most disputed, with Lagos State conducting a parallel census along with the Federal Government. At the end of the exercise, the National Census produced 9m as the population of Lagos. The parallel census by the Lagos state government produced a population of 17.77m. This dispute ended in the Census tribunal which gave judgement in favour of Lagos and ordered a recount in some Local government areas in Lagos. Even though the recount was not done, Lagos insisted that it was useful to prove that the National Population Commission did not have reliable figures. A lot of people were excited when the erudite chemist and former MD of Nigerian Breweries, Festus Odimegwu was appointed the Chairman of the National Population Commission by the Jonathan government. This was because, given his brilliance and superlative performance in the private sector, Odimegwu was going to do a thorough job. Before he could settle down, he was removed under controversial circumstances. Shortly after his appointment, he had commented that the country had not had a credible census for decades owing to falsification by politicians for selfish reasons. This comment which, by the way, is very true, upset some high ranking politicians who worked for his removal. Bingo! He was shown the way out. The next census which was to be conducted in 2016 has now been deferred to 2018. As 2018 approaches and as funds don’t seem to be available for the successful conduct of the exercise, it is very unlikely that it will hold. Again, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has reportedly advised that 2018 is unrealistic in view of the General elections coming up in 2019. This is without prejudice to the demarcation of enumeration areas embarked on by the National Population Commission last year. The United Nations recommends that Census should be done every ten years to account for changes in demographics and population dynamics. Because we lack reliable data emanating from a credible census, we have had to rely on projections and rough estimates for planning and indeed everything else. According to the National Population Commission, Nigeria’s population is about 183m. On the basis of United Nation’s estimates, the population of Nigeria has been put at about 192.8m as at yesterday, Sunday,

September 3, 2017. This means that about 2.55% of the total world population are Nigerians and we are the 7th most populous country in the world. With this kind of growth rate, it is estimated that we would be nearing 400m people by the year 2050, becoming the third most populous nation in the world with over 4% of the world’s population as Nigerians. A few people are up in arms, disputing these numbers, insisting that our population is grossly overstated. The sad news, however, is that the agitators are unable to come up with a different estimate since no census has been held in the last decade or more. You may choose to slice and dice it anyhow; the truth remains that we are a very large country by population. That we continue to grow by frightening proportions becomes even more worrisome. A lot of people have used religion to justify their procreativity. Some have insisted that what is important is the capacity of parents to provide for the well-being and education of their children rather than the number. Unfortunately, it is a well-known fact that most of the culprits of a large number of children are those who cannot afford it. In the past, it was argued that the logic of having many children was for labour to help with farming. That argument holds no water in the current dispensation where farming has become mechanized. In the world of technology, artificial intelligence, robotics and electric and driverless cars, the larger the population, the more the unemployment figures. We must admit that the issue of overpopulation is not absolute. That a country has a very large population does not necessarily condemn it to penury. After all, China, for instance, has over 1.3 billion people, but most of them are productively engaged. The capacity of the country to manage the large population is what is critical. Since it is clear that we are not in a position to productively engage our people, it would be an act of irresponsibility to continue growing at our current rate. At the moment, most facilities, which are inadequate in the first place, are over stretched. Hospitals are in very short supply, education is more of a privilege than right. Housing is in deficit, power is a scourge, transportation is struggling and most importantly, hunger has become a permanent companion of many of our citizens. Unemployment has become our nemesis and the economy continues to wobble. The question, therefore is, why should we continue multiplying when we know we are unable to provide for even the existing population? My position is that it would be a disaster if we double our population within the next three decades. We must, therefore, do something very drastic if we do not want to witness savagery by that time. Literature links population explosion to several factors. One of them is mortality rate. It is argued that owing to the decline in death rate and the decline in infant mortality rate as a result of rapid improvements in medicine, world population has witnessed an exponential growth. There has also been a sharp rise in birth rates, again attributed to improvements in medicine that have more people being fertile. On this note, some mischievous fellow once quipped that the best form of population control is to replace the first ‘P’ in population with a ‘C’! Migration has also made some parts of the world receive a lot of people that have impacted on the population. Lack of education which has made a few people reject birth control measures is another factor. In the same vein, religious and traditional beliefs have been adduced as reasons why birth control and other measures to reduce procreation are not popular. In our case, the issue of migration and decline in death rate cannot be said to be major reasons why our population is increasing in such an alarming manner. Literature is also replete with population theories

which have either been accepted or discarded. The first attempt to call the attention of the world to the population crises was made by a renowned economist Thomas R. Malthus in 1798. His theory which was later termed pessimistic, simply warned that population was growing in geometric progression while food supply was growing at arithmetic progression. He, therefore, recommended what he called “preventive measures” to manage population growth. These preventive measures include late marriages, birth control, and celibacy. He added that if the preventive measures were ignored, “positive measures” will be the consequence which man had no control over. Positive measures would include starvation, hunger, strife, pestilence, civil war and natural disasters. Both of them would achieve the same purpose but one would be more destructive than the other. After roundly condemning Malthus, many other theories had been propounded which were also criticized until the more popular and acceptable “theory of demographic transition” which is based on the actual population trends of advanced countries. According to this theory, every country passes through three different stages of population growth. In the first stage, the birth rate and the death rate are high and the growth rate of population is low. In the second stage, the birth rate remains stable but the death rate falls rapidly. As a result, the growth rate of population increases very swiftly. In the last stage, the birth rate starts falling and tends to equal the death rate. The growth rate of population is very slow. While this theory is popular with western economists, it has its pitfalls. It assumes that there is a historical trajectory that all the countries of the world must pass through. Science does not support this and the experiences of countries like Singapore that transited from 3rd world to the first world put a lie on that “trajectory”. Without boring readers with theories, one is of the view that there is some sense in taking a look at the Malthusian theory again. Our experience in Nigeria seems to bear him out. Without preventive and deliberate efforts to check exponential population growth, we may be left with no option than the positive measures which will normally spiral out of our control. We are already witnesses to some positive fallouts as if Malthus saw this day in 1798. We are not strange to starvation, hunger, strife, kidnapping, armed robbery, violence and even war. The immediate fallouts may be different, but if you pause and investigate remote and latent causes, you cannot but agree with Malthus. The few facilities provided are already overstretched and deliberate efforts are not enough, nor are resources enough to make additional provisions to accommodate the many more mouths we have to feed. This explains why in spite of the economic growth of the past, we remained a very poor country. Anytime you translate absolute statistics to average numbers, the country begins to plummet towards the worst social and economic quadrants. Per capita income is one statistic that readily comes to mind. With a GDP of $415b by the end of 2016, Nigeria was the largest economy of the 53 African countries and the 26th largest economy out of 190 in the world. By the time you introduce the law of averages into the equation, Nigeria ends up with GDP Per Capita of $2260 and drops to number 17 in Africa and No. 133 in the world. If somehow, the number of people sharing this same GDP increases by a few more million, your guess should be as good as mine. It is therefore imperative that we seriously begin to look at policies to manage the rate of growth of our population. If we fail to do it, the positive force of nature may have to do it for us and in that case, it would be completely outside our control. Permit me to use this opportunity to wish my Muslim readers Barkade Sallah. Eid Mubarak.

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