Monday 18th September 2017

Lai Mohammed: Treasury Looters Sponsoring IPOB 59 members of separatist group to be prosecuted, troops withdraw from Abia Jos curfew relaxed, youths push for dethronement of Kanu’s father

Davidson Iriekpen, Tobi Soniyi in Lagos, Seriki Adinoyi in Jos and Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia In another condemnation of

the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the federal government has alleged that the separatist group was being sponsored by those who had looted the treasury in

order to destabilise the nation.

Making the charge during a press briefing in Lagos yesterday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed

however did not substantiate it.

According to him, IPOB was not set up to further the rights of Nigerians of South-eastern origin or any other group.

He said: “Nigerians must understand that IPOB was not set up to fight for the rights of anyone or group, but as a tool to destabilise the nation, divert attention from the efforts

of the Muhammadu Buhari administration and obliterate the laudable achievements of the administration.

Continued on page 12

Monday 18 September, 2017 Vol 22. No 8187. Price: N250

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NFIU: FATF Threatens to Suspend Its Mission to Nigeria Tobi Soniyi in Lagos

L-R: Magajin Garin of Sokoto, Alhaji Hassan Danbaba; President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; host and former Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde; and Chairman/CEO, Quits Aviation Services Ltd., Mr. Sam Iwuajoku, at the wedding of Lamorde’s daughter, Rabia Ibrahim Lamorde and the groom, Shamsideen Shuaibu Abdulahi, held in Abuja… weekend godwin omoigui

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has threatened to suspend its high-level mission visit to Nigeria scheduled for November 20-21 2017 should the country fail to meet the demands of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs).

The meeting was slated as a fact-finding mission to enable FATF determine whether Nigeria has met the requirements for its readmission into the Egmont

FG Sets Bid Round Guidelines for Award of 46 Marginal Oil Fields

Continued on page 12

Mulls setting aside some for discretionary award to Niger Delta firms, targets $300m revenue

Ejiofor Alike The federal government through the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has set the guidelines for the marginal oil field bid round scheduled to take place later this year or early 2018 and could potentially see scores of investors jostling to acquire 46 oil acreages during the exercise, THISDAY has learnt.

Of the 46 acreages up grabs, it was however gathered that the DPR is considering setting aside some of the oil blocks for discretionary award to firms owned by Niger Delta indigenes, in order to sustain the prevalent peace in the oil-rich region and give its citizens a sense of ownership in Nigeria’s oil wealth.

Though federal government under former President

Olusegun Obasanjo initiated efforts to enthrone open, transparent and competitive bid rounds in the award of oil blocks, the Petroleum Act empowers the Minister of Petroleum Resources to award oil acreages on a discretionary basis, a process that was frequently abused by past military administrations.

According to DPR sources, at least 25 of the marginal

fields in the current bid round are promising and if developed could produce 5,000 to 10,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent (bpoe).

The federal government embarked on the award of marginal fields in the late 1990s after international oil companies (IOCs) had abandoned significant acreages unappraised and left others to lie fallow for many years even

after oil discoveries, largely because the fields were not commercially viable for the oil majors to deploy their expensive technologies and resources.

The first marginal field to be awarded in the country was the Ogbelle field allocated to the Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited in 1999 to promote indigenous participation and build local

capacity in the upstream sector.

After the Petroleum (Amendment) Decree No. 23 of 1996 was enacted to provide the legal framework for the award of the oil acreages deemed “marginal” by the IOCs, the guidelines for farming them out and operation of the fields were developed in 2001 and 2003, Continued on page 12

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PAGE TWELVE FG SETS BID ROUND GUIDELINES FOR AWARD OF 46 MARGINAL OIL FIELDS following which 24 additional fields were awarded to 31 companies.

The 24 fields and the 31 beneficiary companies included Platform Petroleum, which was awarded the Asuokpu/Umutu field in OML 38, Prime Energy and Sufolk Petroleum, which were awarded the Asaramatoru field in OML 11, Bayelsa Oil (Atala field in OML 46), Excel E&P (Eremor field in OML 46), Walter Smith Petroman and Morris Petroleum (Ibigwe Field in OML 16), Independent Energy (Ofa field in OML 30), Millennium Oil (Oza field in OML 11), and Network E&P (Qua Ibo field in OML 13).

Others were Universal Energy (Stubb Creek field in OML 14), Associated Oil and Gas and Dansaki Petroleum (Tom Shot Bank field in OML 14), Sahara Energy and Africa Oil and Gas (Tsekelewu field in OML 40), Frontier Oil (Uquo marginal gas field in OML 13), Guarantee Oil and Owena Oil (Ororo field in OML 95), Sogenal Oil (Akepo field in OML 90), Bicta Energy System (Ogedeh field in OML 90); Britania-U (Ajapa field in OML 90), and Eurafic Energy (Dawes Island field in OML 54).

The rest included Del-Sigma Limited (Ke field in OML 54), Goland Petroleum (Oriri field in

OML 88), Movido E&P (Ekeh field in OML 88), Midwestern Oil and Gas and Suntrust (Umusadege field in OML 56), Pillar Oil (Obodugwa/Obodeti field in OML 56), Energia Limited and Oando (Umusati/Igbuku field in OML 56), and Chorus Energy (Amoji/Matsogo/Igbolo field in OML 56).

The Okwok and Ebok fields were awarded in 2006 and 2007 to Oriental Energy to compensate the company for losing part of OML 115 to Equatorial Guinea, following a boundary adjustment exercise between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.

In 2010 Otakikpo and Ubima fields were also awarded to Green Energy Limited and Allgrace Energy Limited, respectively, to conclude a protracted award process that commenced in 2004.

But of the 30 marginal fields awarded from 1999 to date, only nine fields are producing, while 21 are at different stages of development.

The companies producing from the nine oil acreages are Platform Petroleum, Walter Smith Petroman and Morris Petroleum, Frontier Oil Limited, Britania-U, Midwestern Oil and Gas and Suntrust, Pillar Oil, Energia Limited and Oando, Oriental Energy, and Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited.

Under the guidelines seen

by THISDAY for the current marginal field bid round, interested investors will be required to pay $50,000 each for a Competent Persons Report (CPR).

The CPR will require bidders to provide details of their shareholding structure, names of their directors, track record in the oil and gas sector, audited financial statements, partnership and/or collaboration with indigenous firms, and financial resources to bid and pay for the oil acreages.

After the CPR stage, investors will also pay $15,000 each as data mining fees to enable them gain access to the relevant data on the acreages that will be placed on offer.

At this stage of the process, investors will be availed information on the size of the fields, seismic surveys, and past appraisals conducted by IOCs, among other relevant information.

After the data mining stage, the DPR will commence the technical evaluation of the bids submitted by the firms, during which several investors which fail to meet the criteria will be dropped.

Investors that have passed the technical evaluation process will then be invited to submit their

commercial bids in a process that will be open to the public.

Expectedly, the oil acreages will go to the highest bidders who will be given a timeline within which to pay for the oil acreages.

Where a bidder fails to meet the payment terms, the second bidder (reserve bidder) will be invited by the DPR to take up the block.

THISDAY also gathered from an official of the DPR who preferred not to be named, that successful bidders in the forthcoming exercise will be expected to confirm their willingness to pay $300,000 as signature bonus.

He also disclosed that the federal government was expecting to realise $200 million-$300 million from the bid round.

He added that the indigenous companies, which must have “at least 51 per cent of the beneficiary interest in the company, must be registered solely for exploration and production business�. “This is to avoid the mistakes of the past where companies with no track record in E&P operations were forced into marriages even when they were not compatible,� he said. “The signature bonus shall be paid within 90 days of the

date of the award. Any successful company that fails to pay the signature bonus at the expiration of the 90 days will be issued a revocation notice, which shall last for 30 days. “If the company still fails to pay at the expiration of the 30 days, the allocation will be automatically revoked and it will be offered to the bidder that came second in the bid round,� the official explained.

It was also gathered that the bidders will be expected to submit their Nigerian content plan to demonstrate the commitment of the company in local manpower development and patronage of indigenous service providers.

A senior official in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources also explained that the reason the DPR was considering setting aside some of the oil acreages for discretionary awards stemmed from the need to pave the path for ownership of oil assets by Niger Delta companies. “No decision has been made on how many marginal fields will be set aside for discretionary awards, but the intention is to allow individuals from the Niger Delta to own them. “It is not being done for political reasons, but to pave the path for ownership by Niger

Delta individuals. The intention is to ensure that people from the region own the oil assets, even if it means holding a separate bid round for Niger Delta-owned companies,� he said.

Though the administration of former President Obasanjo significantly curbed discretionary allocation of oil blocks and introduced the open bid rounds, Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 291 was awarded to Starcrest Nigeria Energy Limited on a discretionary basis in the bid round of May 2006 bid, after other bidders, journalists and civil society groups had left the venue of the licensing auction.

The award of OPL 291 to Starcrest, with a $55 million signature bonus, became public after Addax Petroleum, in a regulatory filing, said it had agreed to pay the $55 million signature bonus in full and an additional $35 million to Starcrest for a 72.5 per cent stake in the block to foot Starcrest’s exploration and development costs.

The transaction fuelled a public outcry that forced the federal government to suspend the then DPR director, Mr. Tony Chukwueke, who was also an adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum at the time, Dr. Edmund Daukoru.

the requirements as demanded

by Egmont Group and FATF. The committee has since concluded its work and submitted its report to the presidency.

However, in a recent letter by the FATF to the justice minister, its president, Santiago Otamendi expressed concern over Nigeria’s repeated failures on its FIU, which may lead to the suspension of FATF’s visit to the country.

The purpose of the mission to Nigeria in November is to confirm the country’s level of commitment to its objectives, especially its standards.

The FATF secretariat in France, through a letter dated 29 August 2017 titled, ‘Suspension of Egmont Group Membership Status of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit,’ also stated that the visit would provide FATF member nations with the assurance that Nigeria is ready to undergo a successful mutual evaluation within three years.

The letter read: “I have been

informed by the President of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, Mrs. Hennie Verbeek-Kusters, of the recent suspension of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit’s Egmont Group membership status, following the Egmont Group’s decision of July 5th, 2017. “I would like to share with you our serious concerns regarding the reasons that motivated this decision, notably the repeated failures of the FIU Nigeria to address concerns regarding the protection of confidential information as well as concerns about the legal basis and the FIU’s independence viaa-vis the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). “These issues are indeed core elements of the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework promoted by the FATF recommendations. “These issues could, therefore, have implications on the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s

membership process for the FATF, if not addressed timely and properly ahead of the High-Level Mission originally scheduled for 20-21 November 2017. “The purpose of this visit is indeed to confirm the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s high-level commitment to the FATF objectives, including full and effective implementation of FATF standards, and to provide FATF members with the assurance that Nigeria is ready to undergo a successful mutual evaluation within three years. “In order for this membership process to move forward, I would encourage the Federal Republic of Nigeria to take all necessary measures to address these concerns and ensure that conditions for a successful HighLevel Mission are met before November 2017. “I look forward to hearing from you on the steps taken by the Nigerian Government to further demonstrate your commitment to FATF.�

nation’s psyche by the activities of IPOB would take some time to heal, noting that the past few days had been a trying one for Nigeria as IPOB’s activities reached a crescendo and threatened the unity of the nation. “A ragtag mob that calls itself IPOB and its gullible supporters felt they could seize a large swathe of the Nigerian territory, set up parallel military and para-military organisations, mount roadblocks and even confront the Nigerian military. “Their leader openly solicits for weapons and incites hatred and violence,� he added.

Mohammed blamed IPOB for the incident that happened in Abia State last week, saying no nation in the world would fold its arms and allow people like Kanu to go on the rampage as he had been doing.

He listed some of the atrocities committed by the group to include the formation of the Biafra Secret Service, formation of the Biafra National Guard, unauthorised blockades of public access roads, extortion of money from innocent civilians at illegal road blocks, and possession and use of weapons such as stones, Molotov cocktails, machetes and broken bottles, among others,

which he alleged were used on a military patrol vehicle on September 10.

According to him, IPOB engaged in a physical confrontation with troops at a checkpoint on September 11, during which they attempted to snatch soldiers’ rifles and carried out an attack on a military checkpoint on September 12. “No nation, not Nigeria, will allow that to happen unchallenged. The fact that Boko Haram festered because it was not decisively tackled by the immediate past administration meant we should never again give room for any organisation to threaten the corporate existence of our country,� he said.

While welcoming the decision of the South-east governors to proscribed IPOB, Mohammed said the decision should have come earlier.

He also said IPOB had been writing to other countries in its effort to externalise its lies and propaganda.

He assured the international community that the Buhari administration has no agenda to suppress its citizens for whatever reasons.

He added: “Not even the excesses of some people on

the social media has forced the government to do anything that will stifle press freedom or freedom of expression. “The truth is that IPOB is

NFIU: FATF THREATENS TO SUSPEND MISSION TO NIGERIA Group.

The Financial Action Task Force (on Money Laundering), also known by its French name, Groupe d'action financière (GAFI), is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.

In 2001 its mandate was expanded to act on terrorism financing. It monitors countries’ progress in implementing the FATF recommendations by peer reviews of member countries.

The FATF secretariat is housed at the headquarters of the OECD in Paris.

The threat to suspend its visit to Nigeria was contained in a statement yesterday in Abuja by Salihu Isah, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

He said the latest warning to Nigeria from FATF stemmed from the failure to implement the

Egmont Group’s requirements, which could have serious consequences, as it will begin by suspending its mission to Nigeria.

Nigeria was fully admitted into the Egmont Group in 2007, after operational admittance in 2005, in what was considered one of the biggest achievements of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.

Last July, the group suspended Nigeria as a result of the interference of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the workings of the NFIU. It asked the country to amend its law establishing the NFIU to make it autonomous or get expelled by January 2018.

Besides, Egmont Group’s decision, by consensus, to clamp down on Nigeria arose from repeated failures on the part of the NFIU to address concerns regarding the protection of confidential information specifically related to the status of suspicious transaction report (STR) details and information

derived from international exchanges.

The group, however, expressed hope that the Nigerian authorities would address these concerns to enable it to lift the suspension as soon as possible.

About 354 participants, representing 112 FIUs, were in attendance at the meeting.

The Senate has since passed a bill granting the Nigerian unit autonomy, a move that has been resisted by the EFCC where it is currently domiciled.

Malami’s media aide, however, said in the statement that the federal government would do what was necessary to meet the demands for the autonomy of the NFIU in order to be readmitted to the Egmont Group.

While acting as president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) had constituted a high-powered ad hoc-committee chaired by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes Senator Chukwuka Utazi and mandated the committee to ensure that Nigeria meets

LAI MOHAMMED: TREASURY LOOTERS SPONSORING IPOB “IPOB is being sponsored by those I will call the coalition of the politically disgruntled and the treasury looters. They believe that by sponsoring this group to destabilise the country and trigger chaos, they will realise their ambition of escaping justice and then be free to dip their hands into the nation’s treasury again,� Mohammed alleged.

Mohammed noted that IPOB’s activities became heightened with the advent of the Buhari administration and has been unrelenting since then.

He said the fact that the activities of IPOB picked up since Buhari became the president could not have been coincidental. “Remember that Nnamdi Kanu, who led a protest at the Nigeria House in London against the Boko Haram insurgency and in support of Nigeria’s unity under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, has suddenly metamorphosed into an IPOB monster who would rather set the nation ablaze,� he said.

Mohammed pointed out that IPOB was nothing more than a contraption by those who believe they had lost political power as well as those who had looted Nigeria’s treasury. “It is a tool in the hands of

the corrupt and disgruntled elements to sabotage the Buhari administration. It fights for no one but the corrupt and the disgruntled. “It seeks to set us apart as a people, exploiting our fault lines. Its modus operandi is to trigger conflagration nationwide through attacks and reprisals,� he stated.

The minister also wondered why IPOB decided to up the ante in its violent campaign immediately it was announced that Nigeria had exited the recession.

He said: “Now, instead of the government being given the chance to consolidate on that achievement, it is being distracted and the airwaves have been polluted with the activities of IPOB. “The good news of the end of the recession and its fallout are being replaced in the headlines with the IPOB show of shame.�

He disclosed that the government had seen the trend in the past and warned the public about it. “The starting point was the rise of hate speech, fake news and disinformation. These were used in an attempt to downgrade the achievements of the administration and to

hoodwink an unsuspecting public into believing that the administration has not moved the nation forward an inch since assuming office. “Since 2016, we have been calling attention to the dangers posed by hate speech, fake news and disinformation. Our calls did not gain traction until those behind the campaign sought to overwhelm the nation,� he added.

He described the IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu as the master of hate speech, adding: “No one, including the same people whose rights he claimed to be championing, escaped his vitriolic and primitive attacks.�

He challenged all his sympathisers to scrutinise what he termed Kanu’s incendiary, divisive and inciting speeches, the “name calling and the derogatory remarks about the nation’s leaders�, and demand to know if such did not constitute hate speech. “Leaders of thought and commentators who have shown the inclination to accommodate Kanu and his excesses should say if this is what they expect from someone who wants to lead,� he added.

Mohammed observed that the wounds inflicted on the

Continued on page 56

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COMMENT

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

THE NIGERIAN STATE, BIAFRA AND IPOB Willie Eleje-Abili argues the reason why for the separatist agitation

T

he other day, I went to see a friend of Fulani extraction, whom I hold in very high personal esteem. On walking into his office, after exchange of pleasantries, he motioned me to a seat in front of his desk and casually asked, “What do you think about the IPOB�? Now, I am the lexicographer of a handbook of Igbo glossary and the facilitator of a Quango, known as Igbo Language Renaissance Initiative. Biafra is akin to my mother that gave birth to me, but Nigeria my wife, that I serve with all my strength. If I side either of the two on the sentiment of relationship, justice would have been perverted.

So, I would back the right and face the wrong. If my mother or wife is wrong, I have to face it, for it would catch up with me from behind my back.

The object of this write up is, however, not to vindicate or condemn, for the fact about war is not who is right at the beginning but who is left at the end, so peace is the only end that is justified by all means. But to ventilate my thoughts as it began to race when I left my friends office. The Indigenous People of Biafra debacle fills one with an appalling sense of foreboding. The Nigerian society and state is far more complicated than what obtained in the 1960s: the social fabric is much more interwoven, communication is a lot more suitable for socialisation and mobilisation, population demographics has mushroomed across tribal lines. If they should be a pogrom of any sort therefore, the country will simply implode.

Every civil right of a people should be enjoyed responsibly, and this includes freedom of expression, the grazing rights of herd pastors, the right to political ideology and that of religious faith. The IPOB is a sophisticated acronym, so also is Biafra as a name and fascinating is the flag. But does Nnamdi Kanu as a name ring a bell? Is his role congruous with his physiognomy? Is he peddling propaganda or does he fit into the picture of a charismatic leader that is capable of sharing a powerful vision to sustain? Can his followers claim ownership of his vision such that they can legitimately own the process of bringing it to full effect? For the power of ideology is such that can make a man die for a just or an unjust cause, but does the buck stop at his desk? Is he the piper or a dictator of tunes who are his lieutenants, are they a disharmonic orchestra of frogs? Do they sing songs that only the python would dance, or are they prudent men of understanding and skill, is he discerning of wise counsel?

I share the view that Biafra continues to resonate after 50 years only because of the failure of the Nigerian state

I SHARE THE VIEW THAT BIAFRA CONTINUES TO RESONATE AFTER 50 YEARS ONLY SUPPOSES A FAILURE OF THE NIGERIAN STATE TO DEMONSTRATE REASONABLE HISTORICAL ERUDITION

to demonstrate reasonable historical erudition. But while the Nigerian state would appear to have shown a lack of understanding, the government has learnt to manicure the cob before it becomes a lion. The military intervention in the South East would therefore, probably remain firm, resolute and expeditious, but would certainly come with some collateral damage and the loss of innocent lives is always a tragedy. The strength of the Igbo lies in converting their itinerant entrepreneurship to political capital, but while they are arguably the most populous blacks in their countries of domicile, they are no people of any other nation except in diaspora. On the other hand while there are indigenous to Nigeria, there are Fulani people of the entire North West Africa, from Senegal to Cameroun and Yoruba people of Dahomey and Togo, where they enjoy rights of recognition and citizenship. After the civil war, it was taken for granted that an Igbo would run as running-mate to a Fulani presidential ticket. We had Alex Ekwueme, Ebitu Ukiwe. But it would appear that for arrears of political indiscretion, the sagacious Fulani therefore suffered a loss of confidence. But even at that, if I remember clearly, the running mate of Buhari in his first two attempts were Ogbonnaya Onu and Edwin Ume-Ezeoke. We were given Senate presidential slot, it was squandered in a spree of self-sabotaging perfidy. We had in quick succession, although not in the following order: Evan Enwerem (Imo), Chuba Okadigbo (Anambra), Adolphus Wabara (Abia), Pius Anyim (Ebonyi), Ken Nnamani (Enugu).

Politics is a numerical game, unfortunately as a group the Igbo hardly exist but are genius as individuals. The Igbo for their remarkable human resource has more than any other ethnic group, benefited from a large Nigerian market, so also have they benefited from the diaspora. So why the separatist agitation? Certainly not for a large Southeastern market, or for relative endowment of their gully-ravaged modicum of land in natural resuorces. They probably need a nation state that can pursue their rights and protect their interest globally or to determine the rights of own-self as a people, or to constitute sufficient nuisance value, such that would guarantee what they would regard as a fair and equitable treatment by the Nigerian nation. But, for resource control to apply in isotropy, no, for even if every local government should become a country, it would only substitute one form of perceived subjugation with another and in this age of regionalisation, I do not think that should be expedient though necessary.

NIGERIA’S ECONOMY OF THE FUTURE

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f any past government, at the least in the past 20 years have started the structural shift of the country’s strategic economic fundamentals, as the President Buhari-led government has started recently, Nigeria would be taking its pride of place among the emerging and middle income economies in the MINT (MEXICO, INDONESIA, NIGERIA AND TURKEY) for which she was earlier and optimistically grouped. The avoidable spread of poverty and misery that is ravaging the country currently would have been a thing of the past.

The making of contemporary emerging economies rest on three strategic pillars- agricultural modernisation, infrastructure construction especially transport network featuring road, rail and air and of course power. The third decisive pillar is industrialisation.

These three strategic pillars of modern emerging economy did not receive any appreciable and consistent attention in Nigeria and their conspicuous absence, in the priority consideration of economic planning, at least in the past 20 years, account for the massive structural disconnect that has hampered any meaningful and sustainable economic progress.

Other members of the MINT hopefuls, which invested in these core and strategic economic fundamentals are growing exponentially, creating jobs and lifting millions of their citizens out of poverty. Nigeria’s successive governments before now have been stuck in the comfort zone of simple natural resource extraction especially, hydrocarbon, without any effort at value creation or addition. The accrued rents from simple resource extraction went into funding the reckless lifestyle of the political class and their parasitic surrogates in the business and religious circles.

Indonesia with a population of nearly 300 million spread in far-flung archipelagoes has a solid middle class of about 150 million spread across value creating chains of entrepreneurship,

President Buhari is on the right economic trajectory, writes Charles Onunaiju ICT and engineering professionals. A top member of the political elite and governor, who laid his itching finger to the public purse for a mere $20,000, has been sentenced to prison for the next 10 years. Indonesian courts have no time for the antics of senior advocates and those who hire them to turn justice into an exhaustive mountain climb.

President Buhari and his team have no magic wand to turn one naira into one dollar now notwithstanding their campaign grand standing, but if they can sustain the trajectories of their current economic focus, one U.S. dollars is most likely to worth less than one naira in the next 20 years.

Some major and key milestones include the recent finalisation of the contract to build the Mambilla power plant, which would add about 4,000 megawatts to the current epileptic national grid. The consequence of the project when completed would be a strategic gamechanger to Nigeria’s economic fortunes. Artisans, middle scale industrialists, business start-ups who spend about 30% of their capital into sourcing their own power would be considerably relieved as they become more competitive, and with obvious reduction in their cost of production.

With appreciable stability of Nigeria’s power supply that would follow the completion of the Mambilla power project, Nigeria’s entrepreneurial spirit would be significantly unleashed and the prospects of being a regional manufacturing hub would no longer be a distant dream.

The transport arteries, especially the inauguration of railway lines that the President Buhari has embarked currently, would trigger connectivity that is at the heart of contemporary emerging economies whose effect would be to create an integrated domestic market, enhancing supply and demand chains with powerful incentives for handsome rewards for productive activities.

Already, the Abuja-Kaduna railway line launched

and put to use since July 2016 is making modest economic impacts along its routes. Young men and women who could have been susceptible to anti-social vices of crimes and prostitution and even terrorism are engaged in informal modest economic activities in the more than 10 stations along the railway routes. New communities along the rail transport corridors will emerge, thereby lifting the pressure on the existing human settlements.

The overall impact of a nationwide railway networks, connecting communities, cities and states would have decisive effect on the Nigeria’s economy of the future. In giving the nod to the flag-off of the construction of Lagos-Ibadan-Kano railway line, Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, President Buhari has demonstrated a profound grasp and insight of key element that would build inclusive and sustainable economy of the future. Road and air transport network should also receive such commendable commitment and the implication of a modern transport infrastructure to unleash the momentum of the economic development cannot be overemphasised but would be clearly self-evident very soon.

Of course, the factory floors will have little to process and even the transport networks would be marginally useful if agriculture is not modernised and significantly improved.

The agricultural sector is the chief support infrastructure to industrialisation. President Buhari has demonstrated an uncommon resolve to revive and modernise the agricultural sector and the results so far, are too glaring for anyone to see.

He hit the nail at the point at the recent launching of a multi-billion naira Singaporean invested agroindustrial conglomerate, Olam integrated poultry and feeds mill in Kaduna State. President restated his administration’s “belief that agriculture offers the most viable and all-encompassing option in an attempt to diversify our national economy and it is in this direction that we must feed ourselves

from what we grow and grow what we eat before we can comfortably turn our attention to many key problems of our daily lives�.

This effusive philosophical reflection of President Buhari must be translated into a coherent and implementable policy platform to drive the value-multiplying agro-Industrial sector with implications for sustainable and inclusive growth and even a prospect of more equitably and widely shared prosperity.

Should President Buhari and his team stay focused on the key and major priority areas of rebuilding the economy through agricultural modernisation, industrialisation and infrastructure construction, Nigeria in the next few years would have established the enabling framework for continuous growth, as its other peers in the MINT, the next big thing in global economic growth, following in the footsteps of their BRICS(Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) counterparts.

As soon as a framework for sustainable economic growth is established, Nigeria’s currency, the naira would incrementally acquire more value, created by enhanced productive economic activities. Any other way of shoring up the value of naira, outside the effort of value creation and multiplication through increased and enhanced productivity, would not be sustainable in the long run.

When once Nigeria is transformed to an opportunity and not liability to every Nigerian, the most toxic pressures on the national unity and stability of the country, consisting of separatist agitations, religious fanaticism, horrific crimes like kidnappings and ritual killings would be considerably ameliorated. But for this to happen, President Buhari must stay focus and even engage more robustly on their current economic trajectory.

Mr. Onunaiju is director, Center for China Studies, Utako, Abuja

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍśËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

EDITORIAL STATES AND FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY PLAN

D

The states must devise measures to run on their own steam

espite the recent euphoria that greeted the announcement that Nigeria had come out of recession, the most fervent optimist would concede that the economy is still in the doldrums. This is more obvious in several of the 36 states. That perhaps explains why the federal government has decided to put in place a regulatory and monitoring mechanism to track developments, aside reiterating that consideration for support to these states would be contingent on certain parameters.

At a workshop organised by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) on alternative sources of revenue generation for sustainable development in states and local government councils, the federal government said only states with sound financial discipline would now access further assistance from it. Fiscal discipline, improved revenue generation, rational allocation and efficient use of resources, said Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo “must be strategies adhered to by every THE STATES MUST CLEAN tier of government if UP THEIR FINANCIAL we must return to a SYSTEM AND GO ALL path of sustainable OUT TO COLLECT TAX growth.�

In as much as we FROM THE CITIZENRY AS subscribe to that idea, LAGOS STATE IS DOING SO we wait to see the ADMIRABLY WELL implementation. In 2016, the federal government introduced some 22-point fiscal sustainability plan for states and local governments with a view to enhancing fiscal prudence and transparency in public expenditure. All state governments were expected to abide by the FSP’s strategic objectives around the five key elements of accountability and transparency, increase in public revenue, rationalisation of public expenditure, public financial management reforms, and sustainable debt management. The ultimate objective of the FSP was to ensure that states were on the path of fiscal sustainability.

However, after more than a year of the existence of the FSP, many of these states are still the biggest

source of corruption, waste and mismanagement.

Unemployment has remained stubbornly high even as many of the states are unable to perform routine duties of picking up the bills at the end of the month. Only recently, President Muhammadu Buhari pleaded with the states to pay the salaries of workers at least with some of the refunds from the Paris Club.

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he inability of the states to pay salaries had a year ago attracted the attention of the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a special intervention package. The Debt Management Office (DMO) also helped them to restructure their commercial loans to the tune of N660 billion. There is no sign that all this had any salutary effect.

Besides, the failure of the states has also become a pressing concern in terms of generating internal revenues. Outside Lagos and perhaps Rivers States with impressive IGR, the remaining states rely more on the dwindling allocations from Federation Account to fund their services. This has led their economies to wither and decay. In addition, there are many leakages that needed blocking. This is rife more in the payroll and procurement policies.

It is also insensitive to continue with the generous pensions for ex-governors, many of whom are still drawing hefty salaries from government. Moreover, a situation where a governor appoints 500 personal aides is nothing but sheer irresponsibility. Top officials in some of these poor states are still ferried around in private jets and helicopters mostly to attend unnecessary social events, including marriage ceremonies and birthdays.

However, the chicken is finally coming home to roost with the outright economic bankruptcy of many of these states that now find it increasingly difficult even to pay salaries. Given the foregoing, we endorse the new resolve of the federal government that the states must put their house in order to further access help. They must clean up their financial system and go all out to collect tax from the citizenry as Lagos State is doing so admirably well. The states must be made to run on their own steam.

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LETTER TO PRESIDENT BUHARI My President,

I

bear my heart out in this letter with great respect and humility.

Often times I wonder if you read any of my open letters. However, I write this open letter so fellow Nigerians will understand the ache in my heart.

I was about 17years during the Nigerian civil war.

My youth was scandalised, and since then, I have carried a big scar in my heart. All I saw around me then, was blood, death, and hunger. That war, which could have been avoided was a collateral damage for easterners. Over three million people died - when it could have been resolved on a conference table.

Mr. President Sir, most Nigerians are hopeless, helpless, fearful, aggrieved and have been brutalised by poverty created by the status quo to terrorise my people.

When you came on board I had hoped that yours would be a government that would assist the ordinary people; a government that will turn round the economy and put a smile on the faces of Nigerians.

No, I don’t blame you for the woes that have befallen us, but, truth be told, you have so far spent too much time passing the buck than actually serving the people you struggled

to lead. Two years is enough for us to start feeling like something would happen. I can’t believe that as hard and as many times as you applied for this job and you finally got it, this is the best you can do? Haba, baba!

Now you can see the disadvantage of surrounding yourself with incompetent people. I remember it was your wife who first cried out, warned us that you have been hijacked by the Hyenas, Jackals, and very suspicious people who don’t really care about Nigeria or you. Sir, as a father, please do something to calm down this rising tension.

As a father, it is very wrong to show your children that you have a favourite. Right now, it is clear that we are in a big mess. And sometimes I wonder if you understand how difficult it is for the masses to cope. People even from your village have complained to us (OurMumuDonDo movement); from Sokoto to Owerri, Benue to Delta, hunger everywhere, young people committing suicide, yet the legislators and executives still maintain their obnoxious lifestyle.

There is so much I want to say as a very frustrated Nigerian, but for now what’s uppermost in my heart is to plead with you to intervene in this “Operation Python Dance.� Biko Baba, you should be committed to dousing tensions and promoting peace and unity.

In as much as I am aware that the federal government is

concerned about curbing divisive messages and inordinate agitations within the country, I believe it should be more concerned about safeguarding the lives and properties of all Nigerians in any part of the country.

It is also important to note that though recanted, the October 1 ultimatum issued by some misguided northern youths to the Igbos in the north remains weighty in the minds of many and the atmosphere is hypersensitive to any mishap that could foment such inter-ethnic wahala.

Sir, suffering Nigerians are begging you to quell this tension than steaming up the flames of enmity and discord within the country by using force on harmless citizens.

During The Resume or Resign peaceful protest, Baba, you listened, and that’s why you came back.

On behalf of all frustrated, hopeless, unsafe, hungry Nigerians I beg you, hear our prayer. As a father show some compassion and give us hope that this too shall pass away.

I am proud to say that am discovering exceptional youths who are inflamed by love of fatherland, angered at the rape of our dignity and prosperity, determined to rise up and hold one another, to march down and uphold the dignity and prosperity of all Nigerians.

AreaFada (CharlyBoy), President, All Frustrated Nigerians

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

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

APC: A Party at War With Itself

Internal wrangling, non-compliance with its constitution, and absence of leadership are some of the signals that the ruling party is toeing the same destructive path that led to the downfall of the Peoples Democratic Party, writes Shola Oyeyipo

T

he All Progressives Congress (APC) is indeed an extraordinary party. It is the party that defeated an incumbent.

Not a mean feat in this part of the world.

This was the first time in Nigeria’s political history that an opposition political party unseated a governing party in a general election and one in which power transferred peacefully from one political party to another.

However, it appears that the party was formed for the purpose of defeating Dr Goodluck Jonathan because after achieving this feat, the party has been struggling to remain united.

Apart from its inability to manage itself, the government formed by the party has also not been able to meet the yawning and aspirations of the electorate. This has led many to wonder what happened to a party that promised so much but delivering so little.

Apparently, the party’s strength is also its weakness. Formed in February 2013, the party is the result of an alliance of Nigeria’s three biggest opposition parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) – which merged to take on the ruling PDP. Having achieved the purpose for which it was established, the party appeared not to have given adequate thought to what would happen after the election.

A chieftain of the party in Ogun State, Chief Bode Mustapha warned that his party was beginning to make the same mistake the Peoples Democratic Party made. He said: “Let us face it. When APC was coming, the mantra at that time was ‘Any Other But Jonathan’ (AOBJ), but that had come and gone. Now, the PDP is trying to put its house in order. Now, APC is beginning to make the same mistake that PDP made.”

Mustapha pointed out that one of the mistakes APC is making is imposing candidates and depriving party members the opportunity to chose the person they wanted.

Although the party has continued to manage the various power blocs that are spoiling for a show down by avoiding to hold some of its statutory meetings, this is not a sustainable tactic.

Admirers of the party have waited endlessly for the party to get its acts together, consolidate on its unprecedented 2015 presidential elections victory and bring about the change it promised.

But going by events that have characterised the activities of the party since it assumed power, such expectations are likely to wait much longer because of the discordant tunes within the rank and file of the party.

Indication that all is not well in the APC is evidenced in the fact that the party has continued to flagrantly flout some provisions of its constitution by not holding some of its statutory meetings some of which include the national caucus, the National Executive Council (NEC) and the National Convention For instance, while article 25 of the APC constitution expressly specified that “The National Convention of the party shall be held once in two years at a date, venue and time to be recommended by the National Working Committee and approved by the National Executive Committee,” but the mid-term convention earlier fixed for April 2017 has since been aborted twice, purportedly due to the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari who was away for medical reasons.

The inability of the operators of the party

machinery to hold a convention has no doubt constituted a source of concern for party members, hence the promise by the National Working Committee (NWC) that a national convention would hold not later than the first quarter of 2017 but after the mid-term non-elective convention earlier slated for April had been postponed, no new date has been announced.

Many members of the party are dissatisfied with the way the party is being run while others who wanted to join the party are also being discouraged.

Mustapha again explained how bad the situation is when he said: “Again, having had the experience of being a member of the National Working Committee member of the PDP, while PDP was in power, the national exco meetings were always held, national caucus meetings were always held statutorily, NEC meetings were always held, and we NWC members who were running the party, met every week, but today and I think, what has caused that is because APC was hurriedly put together, without any ideology, without anything whatsoever, just to say, like I said earlier on, Jonathan has to go because the damage done to the economy, and to this nation, was enormous and we didn’t know it was this bad and it was only a snippet of it that we had. So, I agree with you, that the party is being run like a fiefdom.”

The convention is an important platform in the political calendar of every party, not only is it the highest organ of the party, it is

Now the PDP is trying to put its house in order while APC is beginning to make the same mistake that PDP made.

mandatory, provides room for self-reappraisal and re-evaluation. During invention, vacancies at all levels of the party arising from deaths, appointments and others are filled by delegates elected to participate while the national leadership of the party is also elected at the meeting.

The convention also provides a platform for power plays among the party heavy weights especially those with ambition. If it had been held it would have provided an opportunity for the president’s men – the ‘Abuja Boys’ as they are known in some quarters and other notables like former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is already projecting his presidential ambition; former Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is believed to have been edged out of scheme of things in the APC, Senate President Bukola Saraki and former Kano State governor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso to mobilise their base and strategise for future election.

Truth is, whenever the convention holds, these major forces are expected to position their interests. The 2019 presidential election and the soul of the ruling party will be the motivation for the gladiators in the APC and in the light of current events in the party, it is going to be quite intriguing.

In fact, as far back as March 2017, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has watched with dismay APC’s refusal to hold a mid term convention within the stipulated time frame prescribed by its constitution. INEC has kept its silence on the issue, fuelling suspicion as to whether the commission would have the will to take on the ruling party on the issue.

Already, there is a constitutional crisis looming in APC as it struggles to agree on a date for its National Executive Committee meeting preparatory to the now overdue mid term convention.

In what many consider as a direct result of the cold war between the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and some forces within the party, his National Working

Committee has not really been favoured by some power brokers within the party and as such there have been battles of wits for the control of its national secretariat, a situation that would play out when the convention eventually holds.

The Underbelly in APC If there is one thing that political observers of the situation within the APC agreed upon, it is the fact that there is a widespread disaffection within the party. However, many of the aggrieved parties appear to have resolved to stomach their disenchantment till the right time before they speak out. A simple pointer to that was the outburst of the First Lady Aisha Buhari, who alleged that some cabals have taken over the presidency The root cause of the fault lines in the party is simply that the APC started on a faulty note of incompetence in the sharing of the national offices. The problem started immediately after the presidential election when the leadership of the party was unable to collectively arrive at how to distribute the national offices.

An agreement that was worked out by the NWC which allocated principal offices of the National Assembly to the various geo-political zones became contentious and was marred by intrigues. It was because the party failed to take charge that the opposition PDP had the opportunity of participating in deciding how the four top positions in the National Assembly would go. This was what led to the takeover of the leadership of the National Assembly by dissident elements within the system.

While the party preferred the duo of Senators Ahmad Lawan and George Akume for the office of Senate President and Deputy Senate President, the pair of the APC’s Senator Bukola Saraki and the PDP’s Senator Ike Ekweremadu eventually clinched the two leadership positions.

Similar scenario took place in the House of Representatives where the party preferred Hon. CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

T H I S D AY MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

MONDAY DISCOURCE APC: A PARTY AT WAR WITH ITSELF

Buhari, Atiku when the going was good

Femi Gbajabiamila and Mohammed Moguno as speaker and deputy speaker, but they were defeated by the unofficial candidates of the party, Yakubu Dogara and Lasun Yusuf. These developments polarised the APC from the onset and also brought into the fore the fact that the party was constituted by strange bed fellows..

The 2919 Presidential Race Another hurdle that the APC must cross which is capable of exposing the degree of fragile peace in the ruling party at the slightest opportunity is the 2019 presidential election. While it is yet unclear whether or not President Muhammadu Buhari, despite his health challenges would be considering a second term after 2019, there are members of the president’s party who are eyeing his job.

Others who are not seeking to be president fear that if the party presents an ailing candidate it may lose the election. Yet, the shenanigans within the party will not allow such a voice of reason to prevail.

Already former Vice-President Abubakar, who was the second runner up at the last presidential primary of the APC has already tactically indicated his desire to take over from Buhari.

That much the Minister for Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan said when she said that she would rather go with Atiku in the 2019 election.

“Let me tell you today that if Baba said he is going to contest in 2019, I swear to Allah, I will go before him and kneel and tell him that ‘Baba I am grateful for the opportunity you gave me to serve your government as a minister but Baba, just like you know, I will support only Atiku because he is my godfather.

If Atiku said he is going to contest.”

Though the minister later apologised to her party for the opinion which she openly expressed, the truth is that some underground scheming is already on among the party bigwigs who have been left in the cold by the party. As 2019 draws closer, the party risks an implosion.

The Tinubu, Kwankwaso Travails Another formidable power bloc in the APC is the Tinubu-Kwankwaso bloc and both men have had not too good experiences since the last presidential election. The crisis reached it climax on Sunday, September 25, 2016 when Tinubu demanded the resignation of the national chairman, Odigie-Oyegun.

The former governor of Lagos state accused Oyegun of engaging in undemocratic actions in Ondo State, particularly by sending the name Rotimi Akeredolu to INEC against the decision of the appeal panel that recommended a fresh primary for the governorship election in the state.

In what reminds one of efforts by former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to breed new political allies while he jettisoned those that brought him into power, there has been a gradual but well-coordinated plot to reduce

Odige-Oyegun, many party loyalists not satisfied with his leadership style

Tinubu’s influence in the party by forces within the APC as the groundswell towards the 2019 presidential election continues.

In Kogi, Ondo and at the National Assembly levels, Tinubu’s interests were stampeded. Not only that, his former allies like former Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola; former Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi: APC National Legal Adviser, Mr. Muiz Banire with whom he has apparently fallen out, were appointed ministers into Buhari’s cabinet without his input. Those at the helms of affairs seem to have resolved to whittle down his influence in the party he sacrificed so much to bring about and give it electoral victory.

Just as his Lagos counterpart, Kwankwaso, a serving senator has been at loggerheads with his successor, Governor Umar Ganduje in Kano state. In fact, in March last year, the leadership of the APC in Kano State initiated moves to suspend him over what it termed anti-party activities. Kwankwaso who came next to Buhari in the APC primary still has his eyes on the presidency and he is still not a push over in northern politics.

Atiku Cries Out Recently, Atiku Abubakar, accused Buhari’s government which he said he helped into power in 2015 of scheming him out.

Abubakar’s accusations at the government

APC was hurriedly put together, without any ideology, without anything whatsoever, just to say

came same day Aisha Alhassan, said she would support the former vice president even if Buhari runs for election in 2019.

In an interview on the Hausa Service of the Voice of America, VOA, Abubakar said he had been side-lined despite his efforts in making sure that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was defeated in 2015.

He said, “Honestly speaking, I’m still a member of the APC; I was part of all the processes, including campaigns until success was achieved.”

“But sadly, soon after the formation of government; I was side-lined, I have no any relationship with the government, I’ve not been contacted even once to comment on anything and in turn, I maintained my distance. They used our money and influence to get to where they are but three years down the lane, this is where we are.”

He applauded the president on the successes recorded so far in the fight against Boko Haram, but said it was not yet time to celebrate and jubilate because a lot is yet to be done and “the ruling government had failed in many fronts.

“Yes, there were successes but not comprehensive success because the Boko Haram miscreants are still very active, killing our people and many local government councils in Borno and Yobe are under their firm grip.

People cannot dare go back to their dwellings” “This thing baffles me; I never imagined that Nigeria will fight a protracted battle with Boko Haram for five years. At a time, we fought the Biafra war, which was more complicated because of the terrain in the South but the Biafran soldiers were roundly subdued in 30 months. But here we are, fighting an endless battle with the Boko Haram and there’s no end in sight”.

Abubakar said little was achieved on corruption asking “How many people were arrested, prosecuted and jailed? How much was recovered from the looters?”

The Discordant Tune The signal that intrigues will characterise the 2019 presidential election and that the election will be as fiercely contested is seen in how Atiku has said without mincing word that the Nigerian citizens are yet to witness the change promised them by the APC. While the government is still researching and trying to come up with its definition of restructuring, Atiku has aligned himself with Nigerians on the topical issue. Recently, he told a large crowd of academics, students, politicians, and others who were gathered at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), in a lecture organised by the Senior Staff Club of the University that Nigeria had failed to realise her potentials, hence the refusal of the political leaders to restructure the country.

“Restructuring will help to bring the benefits of change we promised the people in the last election which we have not seen,” and “We need

restructuring in order to address the challenges that hold us back; these problems will remain un-addressed unless we restructure” According to him, “Issue of restructuring is beyond resource control; there are more important issues. In my own vision, restructuring will not make some states richer and some poorer; it is a win-win situation for all the States. Nigeria will derive more revenue after restructuring.”

His equally carpeted the APC decision to set up a 10-man committee on restructuring headed by the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, describing it as needless and that having an el-Rufai, with an anti-restructuring posture to head the committee was laughable.

The way stakeholders in the South are making their position known on the topic of restructuring is instructive. The southwest is likely to give massive support to whoever comes with a clear road map to actualising the restructuring agenda. And with Atiku already leading the restructuring debate, the indication is that the APC is like a house divided against itself because there are grievances that will be brought to fore as the move towards the 2019 general election continues.

Even if Buhari is impressed upon to seek a second term and he picks the APC ticket, the process of winning a re-election would be a lot more difficult than it was during first term because from the look of things, he is bound to face some resistance from those that gave him the biggest supports back then.

In the Beginning Prior to the formation of the APC and its victory in the 2015 elections, Buhari had previously contested (and subsequently lost) the Nigerian presidential elections of 2003 and 2007 as the presidential nominee of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the 2011 Nigerian presidential election as the presidential nominee of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

Apart from making Buhari’s dream of becoming a reality, the APC 179 members on January 15, 2015 when the House resumed after a long recess to finally affirm its majority.

The governors who defected to the APC were Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State.

It had been previously reported that Governors Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State and Sule Lamido of Jigawa State were to set to defect from the PDP to the APC; however, both ended up remaining with the PDP. In the 2015 elections, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu ran as a senatorial nominee of the PDP for the Niger State east senatorial district, losing in a landslide to the APC’s David Umaru.

The APC is generally considered to be a centre-left political party that favours controlled market economic policies, and a strong and active role for government regulation

T H I S D AY MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

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MONDAY,SEPTEMBER 18, 2017, Ëž T H I S D AY

FEATURES Death Traps in Edo and Delta

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

Adibe Emenyonu writes on the harrowing experience the people of Edo and Delta pass through as a result of failed roads

L

ast July, the Senate Committee on Works led by its Vice Chairman, Senator Clifford Odia, an indigene of Edo State and of the Edo Central senatorial zone extraction led other members of the committee on a fact finding mission on the state of roads under construction in the state.

Though the visit was one of those regular routine visits usually embarked by government officials, it however afforded communities living within the long stretch of the road especially those around the Ewu in Edo Central Local Government Area, and Ekopma, Esan West Council Area to lament their frustration to the Odia-led team on the state of the road which is in the worst stage of disrepair.

During that August visit in the month of July, spokesman of Ewu community, and a septuagenarian, Pa Jerome Idiata, told the Senate committee point blank that they are tired of burying dead bodies occasioned by the increasing rate of road accidents especially along the notorious Ewu Hill axis of the Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi-Okene Expressway.

He told the committee that shortly before the 2015 general elections, his people were full of praises for the federal government in its decision to make the road a dual carriageway. He however expressed the people's disappointment that what ordinarily should be a thing of joy eventually became a source of sorrow both for commuters and motorists, as well communities living within and along the road.

Pa Idiata is not alone. At Ekpoma, a university town down to Ehor, headquarters of Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo State, the story of frustration and utter neglect is the same.

A community leader at Ekpoma, Ojeme Titus echoed the same sentiment when he said the situation in the area was worsening as all the internal road networks have been destroyed due to diversion of traffic to avoid the badly damaged major road.

The consequences of the Benin-Auchi Expressway is that the failed portion has paralysed businesses within the affected areas which some who could not cope with the situation have been forced to relocate due to lack of patronage.

But for the construction of the IrruaUsugbenu-Igueben-Ujiogba roads in Edo Central district by former Governor Adams Oshiomhole motorists would have opted to pass through Agbor in Delta State to Uromi.

Even at that, that section of the road is nothing to boast of as there are bad portions along the Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi Expressway.

Alternatively, motorists now take longer routes to get to Ekpoma and Auchi by navigating either through the Sobe-Ifon in Ondo State down to Uzeba Road for those traveling to Afuze, Sabongida-Ora and Igarra; while Ekpoma, Irrua and Auchi bound vehicles are forced to go through Isi-Ujiogba-Igueben-Irrua.

These options no doubt have increased transport fares from Benin City to towns in Edo Central and Edo North by over 50 per cent. For instance, fare from Benin to Ekpoma that cost N500 now cost N1,000; while Benin to Auchi which previously attract N700 now cost N1,400. Not only that, traveling from Benin to Auchi that ordinary takes one and half hours, takes close to three hours on arrival.

Just as light vehicles are able to move along these alternative routes, the heavy duty vehicles find it difficult to manoeuvre because communities where the new link roads pass through their area now used cross bars to prevent big trucks from plying to prevent them from damaging the roads.

Against this backdrop, youths in some of the towns and villages took advantage of the ugly situation to make brisk business to

Bad portion of the Ekpoma axis of Benin-Auchi Road

keep soul and body together. A movement to some of the affected areas one could see the youths carrying out makeshift road repairs to get tips from motorists to enable them pass through. Most times those who prove stubborn pay the price by remaining at a place for several minutes or hours until they are able to pay. And while this is going on, other vehicles at their back would be forced

Spokesman of Ewu community, and a septuagenarian, Pa Jerome Idiata, told the Senate committee point blank that they are tired of burying dead bodies occasioned by the increasing rate of road accidents especially along the notorious Ewu Hill axis of the Benin-EkpomaAuchi-Okene Expressway

to remain at a standstill.

It was the quest for these alternative roads that led to the death of 20 persons including a family of five in a ghastly accident during the last Eid-el-Kabir celebration day.

According an eye witness account, 16 passengers were said to have died on the spot, as the bus was severely wrecked, while eight others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

Unfortunately, four out of the eight injured could not make it as they were pronounced dead shortly after arriving the hospital for treatment.

The accident THISDAY gathered, occurred at about 6:30pm when a commercial bus, marked ABD 206XA on its way to Auchi, but had to pass though Isi-Ujoigba Road had a head-on collision with a truck laden with livestock coming to Benin, the state capital.

Confirming the incident, Edo State Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Public Relations Officer, George Otoaviokhai, said the bus had attempted to overtake another vehicle in front of it when it rammed into the truck, marked DRZ347 XA, on the other lane.

He attributed the accident to dangerous overtaking, adding that the incident was avoidable.

"There was a vehicle in front of the bus; the bus was trying to overtake. That was not even needed. The accident was avoidable," Otoaviokhai stated.

The FRSC official could be right in his observation but Ebhalu Ikhile, an indigene of Egoro Naoka, a community in Esan West Local Government Area however, refused to buy the above reason. He said the accident occurred on that faithful day because of pressure on that particular road following the collapse of the Benin-Auch Expressway.

Ikhile said that very accident that consumed the lives of people including innocent children was uncalled for. "Losing 20 persons in one accident which also wiped out a whole family travelling for the Sallah holiday was most unfortunate because of bad state of the major road," he lamented, urging the federal and state governments to do some palliative work to make the road motorable for the mean time.

He described the Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi Road as a death trap and nightmare to motorists and commuters plying it. According to him, a journey that could take about 1.45 minutes now takes between 3-4 hours. Besides, he said several lives have been lost while goods worth billion of naira have been destroyed as a result of the bad state of the road without compensation from government who it is their responsibility to repair the road.

The contract for the state for the dualisation of Benin-Auchi-Lokoja Expressway was awarded in September 2014 to four contracting firms namely: Renold Construction Company (RCC), from Benin to Ehor expanding 47.70km;

21

MONDAY,SEPTEMBER 18, 2017, ˾ T H I S D AY

FEATURES

Onicha-Ugbo Road leading to Uromi

A commercial bus trapped in mud water along the Benin-Auchi Road.

An Okada rider with a passenger meandering bad portion of the road.

Stranded vehicles

Ehor to Auchi, covering 29.20km awarded to Dantata and Sawoe; Auchi to Okene, stretching 26.70km granted to Mother Cat; while the Okene to Obajana overspreading 40km was assigned to CGC Ltd. According to then Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, the total contract sum for the four sections of the road was N75.8 billion to be completed within 36 months.

Unfortunately, the three years scheduled to deliver the road have elapsed and the road still remain a death trap, causing passengers and motorists alike, hardships.

In the past three years, the only semblance of dualisation of the road is the Benin axis covering just 14km out 143.6km stretch of road. This however, cannot be compared to other axis like between Ehor and Ekpoma through to the Ewu Hill, Irrua that have completely cut off.

As the time of filing this report, some

palliative works are being done by the contractor handling the Ekpoma axis of the road, which many termed as a medicine after death. Motorists and residents of the area have expressed mixed feelings as according to them, the contractor apparently appeared because of the visit of the Senate Committee

Losing 20 persons in one accident which also wiped out a whole family travelling for the Sallah holiday was most unfortunate because of bad state of the major road

on Works.

Responding to question, the Project Manager, Dantata and Sawoe disclosed the difficulties facing the construction firm during the rainy season, adding that not much can be achieved. He however, promised that after the palliative measures, they will come back fully during the dry season.

He said work on the dual carriage way became difficult because no mobilisation fee was paid by the relevant authority. According to him, “it is difficult to do major work. As soon as the rains are over, we will come back. What we are doing presently is just to clean up the bad areas in preparation to come back with working materials as soon as the dry season set in."

Odia however countered, disclosing that the sum of N1.3 billion has been advanced to the contractor as mobilisation, only that the contracting firm refused to do what it’s

suppose to have done particularly at the Ewu Hill axis.

"This cannot be true. I’m aware that some amount has been paid. Those sections that are bad is part of scope covering Ewu Hill.

If he says the amount is not enough, that I can understand. But to say nothing was paid is not true," Odia said.

Continuing, the senator disclosed that government directed the firm to come and carry out the palliative work because the communities were angry.

Similar anger is written on the faces of communities living along the Onicha-UgboUromi axis, another federal road which has remained in a state of disrepair for more than three years.

The state of the road which connected Delta State and Edo State to the Northern axis of the country is another death trap which is also crying for attention.

22

T H I S D AY MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

23

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD NIBOR OVERNIGHT 1-MONTH

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Quick Takes Sanusi to Chair IoD Investiture

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, will be the special guest of honour at the 2017 the investiture ceremony of the 15th President and Chairman of Council of the Institute of Director (IoD).

The event, which will be held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, on September, 24 will also have in attendance the Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and the doyen of accounting profession in Nigeria, Chief Akintola Williams and others. The institute said in a statement that the new IoD President, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed, is a professional Investment Manager and seasoned administrator with over 30 years of experience in Project Development and Portfolio Management. It added that the guest speaker at the event is Partner Emeritus, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mr. Rob Newsome, who is presently the Managing Director, Platinum Risk Services (PRS).

Konga Partners Lagos on MSMEs

OUR CULTURE OUR PRIDE

R-L: Head, Sustainability Banking, Chioma Obiakor, representative of the MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo; Chairman, Cross River State Carnival Calabar, Gabe Onah; Deputy Governor of Cross River State, Professor Ivara Esu and Senator Florence Ita Giwa, Leader of Seagull Band, at a symposium, put together by Seagull Band, one of the five bands of the Carnival Calabar, titled “An evening of lecture and stage presentation of the Seagull winning theme of the 2016 Carnival Calabar,” which Heritage Bank was one of the lead sponsors... recently

THISDAY Model Portfolios Generate 12.7 % Return in 12 Weeks THISDAY Model Portfolio, consisting of five different portfolio types constructed individually in conjunction with five leading stockbroking firms in the country with different investment objectives, has generated a total return of N6.3million, about 12.7 per cent on a combined hypothetical portfolio value of N50million deployed 12 weeks ago.

THISDAY Model Portfolio, an initiative of THISDAY Economic and Financial Intelligence Unit (TEFIU), is designed to enable leading stockbrokers and investment houses in the country share their trading skills and methodologies with ordinary investors.

The investment houses involved in the project are Afrinvest Limited, FSDH Securities Limited, Capital Assets Limited, Meristem Limited and Lead Advisory Limited.

The project which began 12 weeks ago ( July 3, 2017) involved asking each of the partner stock broking houses

CAPITAL MARKET in the country to construct a portfolio of 10 stocks selected according to their individual best judgement and using their best and well tested stock selection and investment strategies .

They were then asked to each deploy an imaginary fund of N10million (ten million naira) to invest on the ten stocks in whatever proportions they considered best.

Analysis of the return indicates that portfolio C generated the highest return of N2.1million on the N10million deployed representing 21.7 per cent gain, almost doubling the average return rate of 12.7 per cent from all the five portfolios. Portfolio D generated the second highest return of N1(16.9%); followed

by Portfolio B with a return of N1.2m (12.3%). Portfolio A came fourth with a return of N0.8m (8%) while Portfolio E generated N0.5m (5%) trailing behind all the other four.

What this means is that if each portfolio had actually deployed the N10million available to it, it would have generated the reported return on the investment.

According to the notes sent to TEFIU by the representative of the firm that constructed portfolio A, “The portfolio is made up of majorly non-speculative counters which are projected to outperform general performance of the benchmark index”. The firm also states: “despite, the current weak appetite for equities, we believe these stocks will also benefit from any positive twist in sentiment and may lead to sporadic fantastic gains.”

The note from the firm that constructed portfolio B indicates that “it is a diversified portfolio consisting of value and growth stocks in different sectors of the Nigerian economy in order to reduce the overall portfolio risk for the investors. The selected stocks have strong fundamentals and have history of good divi-

dend payments. Therefore, the portfolio is an ideal investment for large institutional investors, high net-worth individual investors and any investors who desire regular cash flow and consistent investment appreciation.

According to the representative of the firm that constructed Portfolio D, ‘The primary objective of this shadow portfolio type is the preservation of the capital and to also provide stable and moderate returns. The target individuals are investors with low risk appetite such as retirees, pensioners and institutional investors such as cooperatives, schemes, investment clubs and associations”.

From the notes sent to TEFIU by the firm that constructed Portfolio E, ‘this portfolio is created for a medium-long term investor with an horizon of 3-5 years .

We have yet to receive the note from the firm that constructed Portfolio E on the objective(s) Continued on page 24

Analysts Proffer Ways to Sustain Recession Exit, Grow Economy Goddy Egene As the federal government continues to celebrate the exit of the Nigerian economy from recession, financial analysts and economic experts have suggested strategies to adopt so that the economy will not slip back into recession.

The nation’s economy entered into a recession in the second quarter (Q2) of 2016 due to two

CAPITAL MARKET consecutive quarters of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contraction. However, the recovery in crude oil production and price and the introduction of the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) foreign exchange window by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which increased the supply of foreign exchange to end users, helped to pull the economy

out of recession.

After five consecutive quarters of contraction in the Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Nigerian economy has exited the recession. According to the Q2 figures that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released recently, the GDP recorded a growth rate of 0.55 per cent. The growth in the GDP was mainly due to the growth recorded in

Agriculture, Financial and Insurance, Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply, and Mining and Quarrying sectors of the Nigerian economy.

The oil sector, which grew by 1.64 per cent in Q2, 2017, recorded the first growth since Q4, 2015. The growth in the non-oil sector at 0.45 per cent Continued on page 24

Konga.com, has again demonstrated its commitment as a company that employees, customers & society are proud of and depend on as it deepens commerce and trade in Africa by supporting and empowering Micro Small & Medium Enterprises through its collaboration with Lagos State government to host the second Micro Small & Medium Enterprises Exclusive Fair in Lagos which held recently in the commercial city.

Declaring the Fair open, Governor of Lagos State AkinwunmiAmbode, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, described MSMEs as the catalyst to industrialization drive. He acknowledged the importance of MSMEs to the Nigerian economy with the Fair increasing global visibility, productivity and profitability of goods locally made in Lagos.

Shola Adekoya, CEO of Konga Online Shopping Limited while highlighting some of the things that Konga.com brings to the table of this strategic collaboration with Lagos State government for the second year running said it was in Konga’s DNA to be the engine of commerce in Africa by empowering MSMEs to move their businesses to the next level in the smart world.

FAAN Appeals for Patience

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has appealed notified passengers and other airport users that the Lagos State Government has commenced the reconstruction of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Road, Lagos.

The project, which would last for 15 months, is aimed at expanding the road for better service to users.

Appealing for understanding from all while the project lasts, the Authority urged passengers and other airport users plying the road to always leave their homes earlier than usual, so as to be able to get to the airport in good time and also avoid missing their flights.

Specifically, the design of the project includes the reconstruction and expansion of the existing carriage to three-lane Expressway on both directions, construction of two-lane Service Road in both directions, construction of Ramp Bridge to provide a U-turn from Ajao Estate to Airport, construction of a flyover at NAHCO/Toll Gate and drainage works.

Others include the removal of existing Pedestrian Bridge at Ajao Estate and construction of Pedestrian Bridges at Ajao Estate and NAHCO/Hajj Camp, construction of Slip Road to provide access to Ajao Estate, construction of Lay-bys and installation of Street Lights, among others.

Meanwhile, security agencies and other traffic officers have been mobilised to ensure that road users and passengers have relatively hitch free passage while the road is under construction.

The Authority, in conjunction with the Lagos State Government, has put in place necessary measures to mitigate the effect of the construction on the road users while the project last.

“We intend to focus on the repairs of the refineries with all that it takes to ensure that this time, when we are done, by 2019, these refineries will be as good as new”

NNPC’s Group Managing Director,

Dr. Maikanti Baru

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

24

BUSINESSWORLD ANALYSTS PROFFER WAYS TO SUSTAIN RECESSION EXIT, GROW ECONOMY

in Q2 2017 decelerated from a growth rate of 0.72 per cent recorded in Q1, 2017.

However, analysts at FSDH Research have said that to sustain the growth and improve on the recovery going forward, there is the need for the federal government to find a lasting solution to the attacks on farm lands in Nigeria in order to increase production.

“There should also be incentives in the form of tax reliefs and favourable land acquisition laws for the agro-allied industry in order to boost agriculture.

Additionally, there should be more focus on agricultural training and research institutes in the country to increase farm yields. Concrete steps should be taken to involve the private sector in the provision of transport and storage facilities to reduce waste and give farm produce easy access to markets.

Government may also consider tax holidays and reduction to companies that make use of local agricultural raw materials in their production process.

This will increase both human and material employment of local resources in Nigeria,” the analysts said.

Information and Communication contributed 12.39 per cent to the GDP in Q2 and analysts said going forward, it is important to allow for an adjustment in the communication tariff to boost investments and improve facility maintenance.

“In order to support the growth of real estate, government at all levels should partner with real estate developers, both local and foreign, to support the development of mass housing projects for low and middle income earners. These housing units should be made available through long-term financing structures, which should be guaranteed by the government.

This would provide both direct and indirect employment opportunities to Nigerians in real estate, construction and manufacturing sectors. In addition, it will help to protect the revenue of the government against the volatility in the oil industry and ultimately guarantee sustainable economic growth and development,” they 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

THISDAY MODEL PORTFOLIOS GENERATE 12.7 % RETURN IN 12 WEEKS behind it. According to Editor-at Large, THISDAY Newspapers, Ayo Arowolo, “The whole idea is to begin to generate interest from the general public on the stock market when they see how carefully constructed

combination of stocks from experienced fund managers can still generate moderate and consistent returns”.

All the representatives of the partner stock broking firms expressed optimism

the project has the capacity to re-awaken the lost interest in the stock market through this collaborative efforts.

Arowolo also stated that while the summaries of the performances by all the five

portfolios would be reported weekly, detailed reports indicating the component of each portfolio and their individual performances will be done monthly.

Individual investors who are

also interested in knowing more about the components of each portfolio and the investment firms matched with the portfolios they constructed should contact TEFIU as indicated in the table on the next page.

Terminal Operator in Trouble over Arms Importation from Turkey Stories by Eromosele Abiodun Tin-Can Island Container Terminal (TICT), a private terminal operator, may have landed into trouble over its role in the 1100 pump-action rifles intercepted at the Tin-Can Island Port Complex by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

TICT operates berth 3, 4, 4A & 5 at Tin-Can Port with Terminal Operational area with a total length of 764.64meters.

Officers of Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU) had intercepted a 20 foot container with number GESU2555208, containing 1100 pieces of Pump-action rifles.

The container contains 600 pieces of Jojef Magnum Black Pump Action Rifles; 300 pieces of Jojef Silver Black Pump action rifles; 200 pieces of Jojef magnum

plastic single barrels hunting fun pump action rifles.

The Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) had said Customs will hold the terminal operator responsible to explain how the lethal weapon found its way into the terminal examination bay when it was not listed for examination for the day.

The Customs CG also queried how the container found its way into the examination bay with seal cutoff and padlocked even though it was not positioned or listed for examination.

Ali said: “The container was conveyed by a vessel; MV Bella Shuttle. At the point of examination, it was observed that the container was not listed for examination but found its way into the examination bay with the seal of the container

cut and padlocked.

“The container became suspicious and had to be immediately transferred to the enforcement unit.” Speaking further, the customs boss said that, “Already, one officer of the service alleged to have authorised the cutting of the seal and the terminal clerk has been arrested and is undergoing investigation. “Nigeria Customs Service under my watch will do that is possible to fish out all those remotely connected to this devilish importation; we shall bring them to justice”, Ali said He added: “We would now begin to hold even the terminal operators responsible because, how come the container which was not listed and positioned for examination found its way into the groups of those that were supposed to be inspected, the terminal operators must explain

FG Urged to Expedite Action on Lagos Port Access Roads The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and other stakeholders in the maritime sector have called on the federal government to use part of the money being generated by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) from the port to fix the roads leading to the Lagos ports.

The Apapa and Tin-Can Customs commands, the stakeholders noted, generate over N2 billion daily from the ports.

The stakeholders argued that the N100 billion required to fix the roads can be generated by Customs and other government agencies within two months.

The Public Relations Officer of ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto, in a chat with journalists urged President Muhammadu Buhari administration to support the current management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in finding a permanent solution to the gridlock on Apapa/Tin Can Island roads as well as reduce hardships on the users.

ANLCA said that the danger in moving in and out of the Lagos ports and its environs has increased geometrically and urged Buhari to declare emergency on the road. He added there was an urgent need for the federal government to fix the Tin Can

Island road as the NPA, Dangote Group and Flour Mills plc embark on reconstructing the entire Wharf Road. The deplorable state of Apapa roads, he further noted, is hampering access to the Lagos seaports and affecting businesses around the area.

He commended the board and the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for injecting the huge amount of money for the repair of the Apapa Road.

On his part, an importer, Mr. Adeyemi Adeleke said the federal government needs to compliment the laudable efforts of the NPA by taking steps that will eliminate the Apapa gridlock to achieve sustainable result.

“To tackle the problems which we attribute to the poor port access road, the nefarious activities of tanker drivers and operators of articulated vehicles, the Federal Government needs to declare emergency on the road so that we can enjoy the support of other government agencies like the NPA. “Although the roads leading to the ports are in bad shape, but we must also understand that the problem on that road comes from the tankers and containerised truck drivers

who go to the ports to lift fuel and others. So it is necessary to appreciate the bold step being taken by the NPA because it is not the only government agencies generating money from the ports.

We have Customs and others.

Therefore, it is inaccurate and uncharitable for anybody to say that NPA is not doing enough to solve the challenge faced on that road or that the agency has lost the battle.

“The problem from the port was that vehicles that used to park inside the port have been driven out by the concessionaires and they have no option than to park on the road in order to gain access into the port,” Adeleke said.

The President of ANLCA, Prince Olayiwola Shittu had in a chat with journalists, complained that the bad roads were causing avoidable economic losses, accidents and loss of man-hours, on a daily basis.

Shittu said that the bad roads were affecting economic activities and the health of the road users.

“Everyday, importers, clearing agents and other port users sit for hours trying to get in or out of Apapa and it is causing a lot of stress that can lead to various health problems.

because as soon as the containers were brought down from the ship they took charge of them, so somebody would have to explain how the container founds its way out.”

He promised to collaborate with the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Barrister Hassan Bello WCO (World Customs Organisation) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the government of Turkey to nip the scourge of arms importation to Nigeria in the bud.

He said that investigation was still ongoing to determine the importer of the guns. “This time we are going beyond fishing out the importer or our officers that have connived; we would also go after the shipper. It is a global known process that there is no way you can take onboard your ship a container that you

don’t know the content.

“From now on, thanks to the law and we would effect it as it is, all ships that bring in such cargoes would be detained if discovered on our port, if not, we would block them from our system completely, this means they cannot do business with us until they become compliant.

“Through the WCO (World Customs Organisation) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we have to begin to discuss with the Turkish government, because this is becoming too much for us to bear, we discovered after complete profiling that the importation all came from Turkey.”

Effort to speak with TICT proved abortive as text messages sent to the Chief Executive Officer, TICT, Mr. Etienne Rocher were not replied at press time.

NPA Reiterates Concern About Safety of Nigeria’s Territorial Waters The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman has reiterated management’s concern over the safety and security of operations and activities on the nation’s territorial waters.

She said this through the organisation’s Executive Director in charge of Finance and Administration, Mohammed Bello Koko, who represented her when the federal government team for the implementation of the Harmonised Standard Operating Procedure on the Arrest, Detention and Prosecution of Offenders in the Maritime Environment, paid a working visit to the corporate headquarters of the NPA in Marina, Lagos.

Addressing stakeholders during the session, the Managing Director pledged to synergise with the committee in order to holistically harmonise issues from stakeholders towards covering all areas of concern in respect of the subject in the front burner.

She stated that the NPA management was paying premium towards contributing effectively in the area of providing arrested vessels location on the nation’s

waters while calling for swift actions to be taken in order to evacuate such vessels, an activity she said would create a better enabling environment for greater operational efficiency admit a safe and secured environment, restoring sanity at our anchorages.

She added that it would help generate more funds for the nation.

Furthermore, she stated that the NPA was soliciting support from stakeholders on the subject adding that the place of information sharing in attaining a successful task in this respect cannot be over emphasised.

Earlier, the chairman of the committee Rear Admiral FD Bobai informed the NPA management that the committee came as part of sensitisation efforts at parleying with stakeholders to ensure adequate collaboration and cooperation in efforts aimed at coordinating the agenda and targets set before them so as to bring about a safe Maritime Harbours in line with best practices.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

25

BUSINESSWORLD

MARKET REPORT

Equities Market Sheds N326bn on Weak Investor Sentiments Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie

trailed by Jaiz Bank Plc with 4.4 per cent. C & I Leasing Plc chalked up 4.3 per cent, while Newrest ASL Nigeria Plc and Sterling Bank Plc followed with 4.0 per cent apiece. NEM Insurance Plc went up by 3.5 per cent, just as NPF Microfinance Bank Plc garnered 3.5 per cent.

Conversely, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc led the price losers with 8.4 per cent. Conoil Plc and Unilever Nigeria Plc trailed by 5.0 per cent each, while Oando Plc and First Aluminium Plc 4.9 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.

However, the market on Friday reversed all gains recorded during the previous two trading sessions with the NSE Index shedding 1.84 per cent.

As a result, the market declined by 2.65 per cent for the week.

Contrary to expectations that the gains recovery witnessed in the market the previous week would be sustained last week, the equities slipped back into the bears’ territory on weak investor sentiments. In the absence of any major positive news and investors’ continued sell-off to meet obligations of school fees payment, the market shed N325.5 billion.

Specifically, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index fell by 2.65 per cent to close at 35,005.57, while market capitalisation ended at N12.068 trillion. Similarly, all other indices finished lower during the week with the exception of NSE Oil/Gas index that rose by 0.17 per cent.

Daily Market Performance Trading at the stock market resumed for week on bearish note with the NSE ASI depreciating by 0.81 per cent to close at 35,664.94, while market capitalisation closed lower at N12.29 trillion.

The depreciation recorded in the share prices of Dangote Cement, Flour Mills, GTBank, Nestle, and Dangote Sugar caused the negative performance witnessed on Monday. Also, the value of trading fell by 29.51 per cent as investors committed N2.17 billion on 114.76 million shares in 3,232 deals.

The three most actively traded sectors were: Financial Services (78.71 million shares), Construction/Real Estate (10.39 million shares), and Consumer Goods (7.98 million shares), while the three most actively traded stocks were: Zenith Bank (19.83 million shares), Access Bank (12.06 million shares) and UAC Property (10.38 million shares).

The market extended its loss to Tuesday as the index depreciated further by 0.75 per cent to close at 35,397.52, compared with the depreciation of 0.81 per cent recorded the previous day.

Again, the downward trend stemmed from losses recorded in the share prices of Dangote Cement, Access Bank, FBN Holdings, Nestle, and Lafarge Africa Plc. However, the value of shares traded improved, jumping by 165 per cent from N2.17 billion to N5.77 billion staked on 373.49 million shares in 4,193 deals.

The Financial Services sector led the activity chart, accounting for 314.35 million shares, followed by Industrial Goods with 19.73 million shares, while Consumer Goods sector recorded 14.49 million shares.

The most three most actively traded stocks were: Diamond Bank (130.72 million shares), GTBank (50.14 million shares) and Zenith Bank (39.30 million shares).

A further analysis of the market performance on Tuesday showed that all sectoral indicators closed negatively save for the NSE Oil & Gas Index that appreciated by 2.1 per cent. Losses in Nestle (-4.9 per cent) and Nigerian Breweries Plc (-2.4 per cent) impacted the NSE Consumer Goods Index to close 2.2 per cent lower. The NSE Industrial Goods Index dipped 1.9 per cent on account of declines in Dangote Cement (-0.5 per cent) and Lafarge Africa Plc (-3.8 per cent). Similarly, the NSE Insurance Index and the NSE Banking Index shed 1.5 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.

The losing streak was halted on Wednesday on bargaining hunting in shares of bellwether stocks. Consequently, appreciated by 0.19 per cent to close at 35,464.34. Market capitalisation appreciated by same margin to close

higher at N12.22 trillion.

Investors traded 119.89 million shares worth N1.74 billion in 3,015 deals. The most actively traded sectors were: Financial Services (84.77 million shares), Consumer Goods (11.48 million shares), and Oil and Gas (7.68 million shares).

The three most actively traded stocks were: Access Bank (13.88 million shares), Zenith Bank (12.22 million shares) and Fidelity Bank (11.40 million shares).

The market sustained its positive performance for the second day on Thursday as the NSE ASI appreciated by 0.55 per cent to close at 35,660.044. Although the 22 stocks declined in value and 18 appreciated, the gain posted by Dangote Cement Plc made the market to remain in the bulls’ territory. While the market capitalisation added N70 billion to close higher at N12.22 trillion, Dangote Cement accounted for N40 billion. The stock appreciated by 2.4 per cent to close at N213.99 per share.

The leading cement manufacturing firm had on Wednesday confirmed that it had made moves to acquire the entire share capital of PPC Limited, which is South Africa’s leading cement firm. In a notification to the NSE, the board of directors of Dangote Cement disclosed it had communicated its interest to acquire the entire share capital of PPC to the board of directors of the South Africa’s firm.

But the Dangote Cement explained

that the acquisition talks are still at the preliminary stage and the transaction remains a potential transaction,

TOP TEN BROKERS

promising to publish further details.

Meanwhile, Okomu Oil Palm Plc led the price gainers with 5.7 per cent,

(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 In terms of market turnover, a total turnover of 896.618 million shares worth N15.368 billion in 17,048 deals were traded last week, up from 887.024 million shares valued at N17.450 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 16,955 deals.

But the Financial Services Industry maintained the number one spot on the activity chart with 708.046 million shares valued at N7.793 billion traded in 9,164 deals, thus contributing 78.97 per cent and 50.71 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Consumer Goods Industry followed with 56.502 million shares worth N5.509 billion in 3,414 deals. The third place was occupied by Conglomerates Industry with a turnover of 32.439 million shares worth N106.687 million in 744 deals.

Diamond Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc accounted for 336.181 million shares worth N5.680 billion in 2,936 deals.

Also traded during the week were a total of 1,265 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N145,720.20 executed in eight deals compared with a total of 3,000 units valued at N31,590.00 transacted the previous week in one deal.

Similarly, a total of 5,290 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N5.030 million were traded this week in 15 deals, compared with a total of 8,535 units valued at N8.660 million transacted last week in 11 deals.

Price Gainers and Losers Meanwhile, 23 equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than the 28 of the previous week, while 45 equities depreciated in price, higher than 38 equities of the previous week. N.E.M Insurance Plc led the price gainers with 19 per cent, trailed by C & I Leasing Plc with 12.2 per cent. International Breweries Plc chalked up 9.5 per cent, just as Newrest ASL Nigeria Plc and UAC Nigeria Plc chalked up 9.0 per cent and 5.8 per cent in that order.

Transcorp Plc garnered 5.5 per cent and Okomu Oil Palm Plc added 5.5 per, while Seplat and Cutix Plc gained 5.0 per cent each. Transcorp Hotels Plc 4.9 per cent lower.

Conversely, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc led the price losers with 15.6 per cent. Skye Bank Plc trailed with a decline of 11.8 per cent. May & Baker Nigeria Plc shed 10.6 per cent, just as Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc and Linkage Assurance Plc declined by 7.8 per cent.

Other top price losers included: Honeywell Flour Mills Plc(7.3 per cent); Oando Plc (7.0 per cent);Presco Plc (6.9 per cent); Lafarge Africa Plc (5.2 per cent) and Unity Bank Plc (5.2 per cent).

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INSIDE BROAD STREET

A view of Lagos financial district

AKINWUNMI IBRAHIM

Bond Prices Rise on Liquidity Boost Obinna Chima The over-the-counter (OTC) bond prices climbed last week amid boost in liquidity. Specifically, the 20-year, 10% FGN JUL 2030 paper, the 10year, 16.39% FGN JAN 2022 debt, the 7-year, 16.00% FGN JUN 2019 and the 5-year, 14.50% FGN JUL 2021 debt appreciated by N0.66, N0.63, N0.70 and N0.67 respectively.

According to a report by Cowry Assets Management, corresponding yields fell to 16.35% (from 16.52%), 16.26 (from 16.47%), 16.21 (from 16.67%) and 16.35% (from 16.60%).

But Afrinvest Securities Limited attributed the performance of the market to investors’ reaction to lower stop rates at the Treasury Bills Primary Market Auction (PMA) held during the week. Consequently, it stated that yields dropped on bonds across tenors.

The market, according to them, started the weak slow with average yield flat at 16.9 per cent last Monday and Tuesday despite marginal interest in the JUL 2034(4bps), MAY 2018 (-3bps), MAR 2019 (-2bps) instruments.

However, the market turned bullish on Wednesday, as average yield fell by 21 basis points (bps) to close at 16.7 per cent and further by 6bps on Thursday.

Afrinvest added: “We attribute this to lower stop rates on the 181-Day and 364-Day Treasury Bills at the PMA on Wednesday.

This led to increased interest in long duration bonds, with the 20-year and 15-year benchmark bond yields falling 23bps and 17bps week-to-date (WTD) on Thursday.

“The bullish sentiment lingered till Friday as yields further fell 4bps on average across trading bonds to close at 16.6%, down 0.3% week-on-week.

“We expect the market to pullback next week after substantial gains this week as investors take profit and free up liquidity for upcoming PMAs.” During the week, the N100.0 billion

MARKET INDICATOR 7-year Sovereign Sukuk bond was opened for subscription and is expected to close on the 20th September, 2017.

The instrument offers a 16.47% rental rate and will be used for the construction and rehabilitation of key roads across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

Elsewhere, FGN Eurobonds traded on the London Stock Exchange depreciated in value for most of the maturities amid renewed profit taking.

Prices of the 10-year, 6.75% JAN 28, 2021, the 10-year, 6.38% JUL 12, 2023 fell by $0.16 (yield rose to 4.43% from 4.39%), $0.21 (yield rose to 5.12% from 5.08%). However, prices of the 5-year, 5.13% JUL 12, 2018 bonds appreciated by $0.08 (yields fell to 3.22% from 3.29%) respectively.

“This week, we expect bond prices to moderate at the OTC market on the back of expected tightening in the financial system,” Cowry Assets stated.

In a reversal of the bullish trend across the African E u ro b o n d s o v e r t h e p a s t m o n t h, last week’s performance was characterised by profit taking on m a j o r i t y o f t h e i n s t r u m e n t s . Yi e l d on all instruments save for the Gabon 2017 (-12bps), Nigeria 2018 (-9bps), Senegal 2021 (-6bps) and South Africa 2020 (-2bps), declined week-on-week.

Nigeria’s 2032, 2023 and 2021 bond yields rose 6bps, 4bps and 3bps to 6 . 5 % , 5 . 1 % a n d 4 . 3 % r e s p e c t i v e l y.

Also, performance across the Nigerian Corporate Eurobonds was mixed last week.

Specifically, FirstBank’s 2020 received the most buy interest (down 0.5% weekon-week to 9.0%) followed by the Access 2021 (down 0.1% week-on-week to 7.3%).

On the other hand, the largest Diamond 2019 and UBA 2022 bond yields rose 6bps apiece week-on-week to 13.8% and 7.7% respectively.

Diamond 2019 and FirstBank 2021 were the best performing this year with yearto-date returns of +21.8% and +19.1% respectively.

“Although we do not expect this bearish performance to be sustained, we believe investors will be looking towards the conclusions of the US FOMC meeting in the coming week,” Afrinvest added.

Interbank Market In the money market last week, the open buy back (OBB) and overnight rates trended lower on all trading days despite open market operations (OMO) mop-ups by the central bank on four days in the week.

On Monday OBB and overnight rates closed at 22.3% and 23.1% respectively as the CBN offered a total of N40 billion via OMO auctions, but was undersubscribed with only N7.1 billion mopped up.

Continuing, rates trended lower on Tuesday as OBB and overnight closed at 20 per cent and 20.8 per cent respectively even as the CBN floated yet another OMO auction (86-day and 191-day). Similar to the previous day, investor appetite was weak due to low liquidity; hence no sale was recorded on the 86-day instrument while the 191-day was undersubscribed.

Furthermore, OBB and overnight rates moderated 0.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent on Wednesday and further declined on Thursday to settle at 10.7 per cent and 11.3 per cent respectively, following an OMO maturity of N156.7 billion which boosted system liquidity. In all, OBB and overnight closed the week at 11.3 per cent and 12.2 per cent, down 11 per cent and 18.8 per cent week-on-week.

Nonetheless, in the treasury bills market,

activities at the start of the week remained pressured by tighter liquidity levels.

Average rate across tenors opened the week at 17.7 per cent but declined four bps by the close of trade on Thursday following release of the result of treasury bills PMA held mid-week which showed stop rates dropped on longer dated bills auctioned.

Sentiment stayed bullish on Friday due to improvement in liquidity and investor reaction to result of the PMA; hence, rates further dropped seven bps on average to 17.6, indicating a 21 bps week-on-week decline across tenors.

On Wednesday, there was a treasury bills maturity worth N174.1 billion which was rolled over at the PMA. The central bank offered N39 billion of the 91-day (subscription: N23 billion, allotment: N22.9billion), N48.5 billion of the 182-day (subscription: N25.3 billion, Allotment: N25.1 billion) and N86.7 billion of the 364-day (subscription: N338.9 billion, Allotment: N126.1 billion) instruments at marginal rates of 13.3%, 17.4% and 17.8% respectively.

“In the coming week, despite the OMO maturity of N140.9 billion expected to hit the system, we expect money market rates to remain at current levels as the central bank continues with its frequent OMO mop up,” Afrinvest stated.

Forex Market At the Official segment of the FX market, the CBN conducted its weekly SMIS sales with $100 million, offered at a fixed rate of N330/$1 while official rate pegged at N305.95/$1 all through the week. At the Interbank market, the naira appreciated 0.8% week-on-week against the dollar to close at N355.49/$1 last Friday.

At the parallel market, the naira held steady at N367/$1 between Monday and Wednesday but closed lower at N369/$1 on Thursday, indicating a 1.1 per cent depreciation week-on-week.

However, at the I&E window, activities remained robust with weekly turnover put at $803.14 million last week, as against $705.1 million recorded the preceding week.

Notwithstanding, rate opened the week at N359.50/US$1.00 and depreciated on all trading days save for Tuesday where it traded flat, to close the week at N359.78 to a dollar.

At the FMDQ OTC Futures market, current total value of open contracts for the 12 instruments on the calendar stood at $2.6 billion as at Thursday, 14th September, with the soon to mature SEP 20 2017 being the most subscribed at a value of $383.30 million and contract price of N358.50/$1. The least subscribed remains the MAY 30 2018 instrument, currently trading at N363.33/ US$1.00 with total value of subscriptions at US$42.3 million.

Electronic Capital Importation Certificate Desirous of enhancing foreign investment flow into the country, the CBN last week directed banks and other authorised dealers to immediately commence the issuance of electronic Certificates of Capital Importation (eCCI). The central bank stated this in a letter signed by its Director, Trade and Exchange Department, W.D. Gotring, a copy of which was posted on its website.

The letter stated: “In a bid to enhance transparency and efficient processing of foreign investment flows to the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria hereby informs authorised dealers and the public of the deployment of the electronic Certificate of Capital Importation (eCCI) platform.

“Accordingly, the eCCI shall replace the hard copy CCI normally issued in respect of all capital inflows either in form of cash or machinery/equipment.

“Consequently, effective from Monday, 11th September 2017, the processing of Certificate of Capital Importation in Nigeria shall only be done electronically on the eCCI platform. Please note and ensure compliance accordingly.”

A CCI is a certificate issued by Nigerian banks confirming the inflow of foreign capital, either in the form of cash (loan or equity) or goods.

A CCI is usually issued in the name of the investor within 24- 48 hours of the inflow of the capital into Nigeria.

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NEWS

‘Banks Will Lose Businesses to FinTech without Collaboration’ Emma Okonji Given the speed of technology evolution across all facets of the economy, financial experts have warned that banks will lose large chunk of their businesses to financial technology operators otherwise known as FinTechs, if the banks delay any further to collaborate with them (FinTechs).

FinTechs are technology solution providers, whose solutions are currently disrupting the old and traditional ways of financial transactions.

The financial experts therefore advised Nigerian banks never to feel threatened by the emergence of FinTech operators in the financial space, but to rather see them as technical partners in business and make haste to collaborate with them.

The financial experts were of the view that banks could lose greater percentage of their customers to FinTech, should they play down on collaboration. They explained that customers’ tastes and lifestyles are fast changing with technology evolution in such a manner that customers are seeking better technology solutions that will enable them carry out financial transactions from their mobile devices without going to the banking hall and without even opening a bank account. They said such solutions were currently being offered by FinTech, and the way forward is collaboration that will drive efficiency and sustainability.

The financial experts drawn from within and outside the country were assembled together in Lagos for a two-day Disruptive

Innovation conference, at the instance of Interswitch, a major player in the FinTech space.

The experts who spoke at the conference, insisted that the current trend of opportunities for banks was not about building physical bank branches, but by creating banking apps that would bring about ease and comfort to financial transactions adding, the best way to achieve it is by aligning with FinTech to develop new technology apps.

In his keynote address at the Interswitch Disruptive Africa conference, one of the speakers, Brett King, popularly known as ‘King of Disruption’, an Australian entrepreneur and author who co-founded a New York mobile banking company called Moven and published several books, focused more

on artificial intelligence (AI) in technology evolution, and explained that given the rate of technology growth, Africa and the entire globe would soon be ruled by AI technology applications. He advised all sectors, especially the banking sector, to be prepared to embrace the disruptive innovation that would come with artificial intelligence.

King said banking transactions have moved from Bank 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, to 4.0, and advised banks to adapt to the changes through collaboration with FinTech, or lose their bank customers to FinTech players that are already creating apps that enhance banking transactions.

Founder, CWG Plc, Austin Okere, an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Columbia Business School.

EkoBits Academy Students Get Instant Jobs at Graduation Ceremony Emma Okonji Two students out of 37 youths who were trained and certified in basic Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skills, from Ekobits Academy in Lagos, have been offered instant jobs at graduation ceremony.

The free ICT training, was facilitated by Poise Nigeria.

The youths who were selected for free ICT training from Otodogbame, Itedo, Ajiran, Ikate, and Babalola areas of Lagos State, had their graduation ceremony last week at the permanent site of Poise Nigeria, and it was attended by the Human

Resource department of most organisations, who were on ground to interview all the graduates for on-the-spot assessment and employment.

They passed through 13 months intensive training programme in Graphics and Design, Web Design and Development, Work Ethics and Professionalism, Attitude and Behaviour, Business Plan, Photography and Video Editing, Basic ICT Skills and Excellence in Customer Service.

One of the lucky graduates, OpeyemiAdebisi, who was awarded best female student of the programme, was offered immediate employment

at Techpointng as a Graphic Artist. The best graduating male student, OpeyemiAdeshina, also got a job with Gigastream Consulting as the IT and Admin Executive.

During the opening remark at the graduation ceremony, the Managing Director of Techpointng, Mr. Adewale Yusuf advised the graduating students to remain focused, make use the internet positively to develop themselves and be hardworking. The Managing Director of EkoBits Training School, Mrs. Uki Dare also announced the setting up of a new EkoBits location in November at Ikate, Lekki, which will allow the

9mobile Parleys Enugu Customers, Introduces New Prepaid Package Emma Okonji 9mobile has again raised the bar of positive customer experience as the telecoms company hosted its esteemed customers in Enugu and its environs at the quarterly interactive feedback session, called 9mobile Customer Forum. The 9mobile Customer Forum is an interactive feedback session aimed at engaging customers to deepen relationships.

The session provides a platform for valuable engagement with customers through constructive feedback on their experiences from using various services

and products on the 9mobile network.

In a related development, 9mobile has introduced the Moreflex Hybrid Premium Bundles, which is a prepaid package service that offers cost effective roaming experience to customers on voice, SMS and data services. The package is designed to allow subscribers use the flex bundles locally and when roaming in selected countries. Speaking on the new package, Director, Consumer Segment, AdeoluDairo, said: “The new MoreFlex Hybrid Premium Bundles is in

keeping with our promise to constantlyintroduce innovative solutions that break communication barriers for both our data and voice subscribers.”

He added that the new package is a unique product that allows prepaid customers to enjoy roaming functionality while in selected roaming destinations. Dairo explained further that the hybrid bundles are also available to postpaid customers on Classic Hybrid and MoreBusiness Hybrid and such customers can purchase the bundles from their prepaid account.

‘Govt Created Window for Foreign Airlines to Exploit Nigerians’ Chinedu Eze President of National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), Mr. Bankole Bernard, has accused the federal government of being responsible for the high fares charged Nigerian travellers by foreign airlines.

Bernard said that government through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) approves those fares and the fares also reflect the high taxes

government levels on those airlines, which pass the taxes on the passengers, hence the exorbitant fares.

According to the NANTA President, Nigerian travellers are deceived when they are made to believe that the airlines charge high fares in Nigeria but charge relatively low fares in neighbouring African countries without recognising the contribution to these high fares by the Nigerian government.

“I will say that the foreign airlines are not exploiting us. If for any reason we are being exploited, government created the window for us to be exploited. We have civil aviation authority that is responsible for air traffic regulation and pricing regulation. There is a department in NCAA where every airline files their tariff. If an airline files its tariff and you see anything wrong in it, you have every right to oppose it.

academy train up to a 100 youths from more slums in Lagos and other states.

A special recognition was given to Mr. Edafe Mathew Eseoghene for his outstanding dedication and commitment to the students through his mentorship during the 13 months training programme.

EkoBits is part of the network of Bits Schools that offer demand aligned training in creative technology targeted at youth from the less privileged community.

It is an initiative of the Work in Progress Alliance, Oxfam Novib and Butterfly. Since its commencement in Nigeria through Poise.

NCC Sets Up 18-member Inter-agency Committee to Address Industry Issues Emma Okonji The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has inaugurated an 18 member inter-agency committee to address local industry issues and deepen the impact of research and development in the telecommunications sector.

The mandate of the committee is primarily to evaluate research submissions to aid the growth of the sector beyond where it is now. The committee whose membership is drawn from different professions including the academia is chaired by Prof.

Muazu Mohammed Bashir of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar GarbaDanbatta who inaugurated the committee at the headquarters of NCC in Abuja, told the committee that the aim was to find local solutions to the challenges of the industry, which was in tandem with the policy of President MuhammaduBuhari’s administration for Nigerians to find lasting solutions to the challenges facing the country.

Danbatta stated that in order to achieve the goal, the Commission decided to deliberately utilise the capacity found in the academia and to redirect it towards getting involved in research activities that can impact on businesses and society which will consequently bring about the development of new products and services for the industry. The EVC listed some recent developments in the Commission to include the creation of Research and Development Department to consolidate all research activities thereby giving research activities a priority

attention.

Earlier this year, the Commission hosted Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum with the academia involving Vice Chancellors drawn from 61 Universities across the country in consultation with the National University Commission (NUC), where the discussions and contributions of the participants emphasised the importance of relationship between the academia and the industry and how best to benefit from that relationship.

The response to the advert requesting for research proposals from the academia was quite encouraging this year, according to NCC. Records of the Research and Development Department showed that 96 submissions were recorded this year as against 56 of the previous year.

The research topics ranging from issues of pipeline protection to herdsmen tracking among others, justify the efforts of the Commission in making investment into research activities by the academia. The EVC told the committee to give every entry a fair opportunity by critically evaluating every document in order to achieve a fair assessment of every submission. The proposal is designed to meet criteria such as; Clear statement and evaluation of the problem; Proposed solution to the problem; Clear relevance to the telecommunication industry; Coast reasonableness; Schedule of project organisation; Coherent presentation/packaging of concept and Integration of research with education (capacity building of students via implementation of the project in the institution).

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ANALYSIS

Keying into FG’s N100bn Sukuk Goddy Egene writes that the N100 billion Sukuk, a non-interest bond, that is being issued by the federal government will deepen financial inclusion and offer more investors the opportunity to earn returns, among other benefits The N100 billion Sukuk currently being offered by the federal government is a very good opportunity for investors who have been waiting to invest in a non-interest instrument by the government.

While the federal government has been issuing various bonds to raise funds to finance developmental projects and finance budget deficits over the years, some investors, who prefer non-interest bearing investments have not been benefitting. However, the N100 billion Sukuk, which is the first sovereign sukuk to be issued by the government has offered such investors the opportunity to stake their money and reap the benefits. The Sukuk is also help in expanding financial inclusion.

Sukuk are Islamic bonds, structured in such a way as to generate returns to investors without infringing Islamic law that prohibits riba or interest. Sukuk is said to be ‘Shariah compliant’ because it eliminates the interest elements that are associated with a conventional bond.

Sukuk is different from convention bonds in the sense that it represents ownership interest in assets while bonds represent a pure debt obligation due from the issuer. The funds raised from Sukuk issuance must be used only for ethical purposes, whereas bonds can be issued to finance any legal purpose. Also, the sale of Sukuk represents the sale of the holder’s interest in an asset, while the sale of a bond is the sale of a debt.

The N100 billion Sukuk, which opened last Thursday is structured as a lease and yield a 16.47 percent rental rate, payable semi-annually.

Subscription for the bond, which is guaranteed by the government, will close on September 20.

The sukuk is designed for all categories of investors, including retail investors, high net worth individuals, institutional investors such as commercial banks, insurance/takaful companies, pension funds, asset managers, private banks and others. Also, ethically inclined investors, cooperative societies, religious bodies, state investment companies and foreign investors will find it really attractive.

Before the offer was though open , the DMO had embarked on road shows to sensitise investors in order to ensure that as many Nigerians as possible are aware for them to invest in it.

For instance, the Director General of DMO, Ms. Patience Oniha, alongside officials of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing told stakeholders in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja that the debut N100 billion is dedicated to building critical road infrastructure in the country.

It is designed by the government as a revenue source to fund the construction and rehabilitation of key economic infrastructure projects across Nigeria, such as roads. It is intended to diversify the sources of government funding, offer ethical investors an opportunity to invest in government-issued securities, achieve a higher level of financial inclusion and serve as a reference for pricing Sukuk issued by other bodies, especially private sector issuers.

Oniha, at the various stops on the road show assured potential investors that the Sukuk is backed by the full faith of the federal government and was one of the avenues it intends to raise funds for capital projects.

“This is one of several efforts to raise funds for specific projects and this is backed by the full faith of the federal government. This is a rental product to cater for segment of our society that requires such services,” she said.

The Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has listed 25 road projects spread across the six geo-political zones of the country which the N100 billion Sukuk capital will be used for. Some of the projects include the Loko Oweto Bridge, dualisation of a section of the Abuja-Lokoja road, dualisation of the Suleja-Minna road, the dualisation of the Kano-Katsina road (phase 1), rehabilitation of the Onitsha – Enugu Expressway, and the Enugu-Port Harcourt road (section 1-3). Others

Oniha

are the Ibadan-Ilorin Road (Oyo-Ogbomoso), Kolo-Otuoke-Bayelsa-Palm Road (Yenegwa Road Junction), Kaduna Eastern By-Pass and Kano-Maiduguri Road (Potiskum-Damaturu).

Investment and financial analysts are optimistic that the product will open new opportunities and new investments flows following in the pattern set by other financial instruments such as the FGN Bond, Savings bond and the others the DMO had already put on offer. Benefits of investing in the Sukuk, according the DMO, include safety of investment, regular income which are tax free and liquidity because they will be listed and traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange Plc. The Sukuk has been certified as ethically compliant by the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The product is also useful as collateral to access loans from banks.

Assessing the benefits of the financial instrument, the President of Federation of Muslim

Women in Nigeria, Rivers State Chapter, Hajia Maimuna Bello, described it as a bold initiative to cater for a critical segment of the country and urged the DMO to deepen its awareness drive.

In Abuja, a former Executive Director of the NNPC, Ibrahim Waziri, who welcomed the development, expressed the hope that the raised funds would be deployed to the listed projects, and stressed that as an ethical financial instrument, investors are assured of timely rental returns.

Other countries that have issued Sukuk include the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Republic of South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Saudi Arabia.

The DMO had explained that as part of its Strategic Plan, 2013-2017, it has the objective of developing alternative sources of raising finance for development and attracting a wider pool of investors.

“One of these is the issuance of a sovereign non-interest financing products (Sukuk) in the domestic debt market would not only serve

as an alternative source of financing for the government, it would facilitate the mobilisation of idle funds and more efficient allocation of scare resources within the economy. The introduction of Sukuk is not only seen as a means of raising investible capital for the government and promotion of greater financial inclusion but as a part of the plan to fast track the development of infrastructure and engage in purposeful and project-tied capital raising,” DMO said. There are high optimism that the N100 billion Sukuk will be successful considering the huge booming international market for the product. Also, Osun State, which issued N10 billion Sukuk in 2013 had a successful outing as it was 120 per cent subscribed. Historically, the first Sukuk, worth RM125 million, was issued in 1990 by Shell MDS in Malaysia. The market experienced rapid growth culminating in the first issuance of Sukuk in the international markets when the Central Bank of Bahrain issued the first US-dollar denominated Sukuk worth $100 million.

Sukuk issuances across the globe is estimated at about $120 billion, up from just $15 billion in 2008. In June 2014, the United Kingdom became the first country outside of the Islamic world to issue a sovereign Sukuk, highlighting the growing importance of this innovative financial instrument across the world. In that debut issuance, the UK government raised £200 million to build residential buildings. Other countries outside the Islamic world that have issued Sukuk over the last two years include Hong Kong, Senegal, South Africa and Luxemburg.

The five largest Islamic finance markets in the world – Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar – continue to account for over 90 per cent of global Sukuk issuances.

By the end of 2015, total assets under management in the global Islamic finance industry surpassed $2.5 trillion as more and more investors continue allocating their funds to Shariah compliant instruments across the globe.

“There is therefore a huge, unmet demand for Sukuk issuances from high-potential economies like Nigeria, especially in view of the fact that similar issues by peer countries were oversubscribed. Hence, the N100 billion Sukuk being issued by the federal government is a good move that will open the way for corporate bodies that ,ay want to go this route,” an analyst said.

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PERSPECTIVE

Enhancing Financial System Stability Arize Nwobu writes that the Central Bank of Nigeria, under the leadership of Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, has put in place a robust financial framework that would adequately promote stability in Nigeria’s financial system At the 2017 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele notably remarked that the Financial Services Regulation Committee, led by the CBN was structuring a robust financial framework that would adequately promote stability in Nigeria’s financial system.

Considering the key importance of the financial system in driving economic growth vis-a-vis the fast complex systemic interactions in a globalised economy, the development is a laudable demonstration of strategic sensitivity.

Strategic sensitivity, according to Yves Doz, Professor of Strategy at INSEAD, ‘’is the sharpness of perception and attention. It is the capabilities for continuous changes and seeing and framing opportunities in insightful ways.’’ It is one of the components or enabling capabilities of the modern concept of fast strategy.

The financial system, broadly segmented into the money and capital markets and consisting of financial institutions, financial products and financial markets is generally accepted as the lifeblood of the economy, the reason it appears to be the most regulated by government and its agencies to ensure stability.

Financial system instability is detrimental to the economy and is caused by multiple factors with complex dynamics such as, global imbalances, market liberalisation, under regulation/ supervision, poor macroeconomic policies, poor corporate governance, insufficient transparency, moral hazards and irrational exuberance.

Others factors include, liquidity mismatch, non-performing loans, fall in asset prices, equity markets, detrimental exchange rate regimes , complex risks, such as credit risk, interest rate risk, exchange rate risk and contagion, and information asymmetries. The power of information in driving growth in the financial system is immense.

Reports show that banking crisis occur on average once every 20 to 25 years and that the annual probability of a crisis is 4-5 per cent, and that higher capital base and liquidity requirements reduces rate of failure. It is the duty of central banks worldwide to ensure financial system stability but regulatory agencies around the world became more strategically sensitive in the aftermath of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. They have become more concerned about the architecture of international financial system and more alert to recognise changes in the global terrain and act fast as appropriate.

The domino effect of the crisis around the world brought to the fore the pitfall of globalisation which has broken down geographical barriers and presents a common platform for the operation of unequal partners(advanced and developing economies).

Globalisation heightened competition among markets and economies, and with the changing perspectives, it harbours potential threats capable of triggering systemic crisis, thus the need for regulatory agencies to be agile and innovative.

As Harvard economist, Dani Rodrik, noted, ‘’the expansion of globalisation and free movement of capital flows are the reasons why economic crisis have become more frequent in both developing and advanced economies alike.’’ CBN places financial system stability on the front burner, and as Emefiele remarked, ‘’the 2008-2009 global financial crisis necessitated the development of adequate framework and appropriate tools for managing financial stability,

Emefiele

particularly macro-prudential and microprudential policies and crisis management conundrum.’’ In his maiden press briefing, the apex bank governor noted that the core of his vision was to effectively manage potential threats to financial stability and create a strong governance regime that would be conducive for financial intermediation, innovative finance and inclusiveness.

He said, ‘’in this regard we hope to anchor on two main pillars: managing factors that create liquidity shocks and zero tolerance on practices that undermine the health of financial institutions.’’ Also, his predecessor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (now Emir of Kano), anchored his blue print on four cardinal objectives, namely, establishing financial stability, enhancing the quality of banks, ensuring banking sector contributes to the real economy and enabling solution evolution.

Earlier, prior to the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, the apex bank under Professor Chukwuma Soludo evolved the Nigerian Financial System Strategy FSS2020 to enhance stability of the financial system. FSS2020 was strategic, futuristic and pre-emptive as it were. It fortified the banking system ahead of the 2008-2009 fiasco and largely cushioned the devastating

blow the global crisis would have dealt on the Nigerian banking system.

The policy resulted in the emergence of twenty five strong banks with larger capital base from the previously existing eighty nine banks and sixteen of the twenty five new banks joined the league of the top world 100. Nigerian banks were rated by international rating agencies such as Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch for the first time, even as non-performing loans dropped from 23 per cent to 7 per cent.

But, the capital market was not as lucky. The crisis largely contributed to the destabilisation of the market because of its (the capital market) intrinsic nature and operating dynamics. Having built a bubble over time, the market got triggered which led to herding and a massive outflow of speculative funds from the market by both foreign portfolio investors and local investors which resulted in drastic fall in share prices. In the US, the 2008-2009 global financial crisis resulted in the loss of 8.7million jobs, foreclosure of 15 million homes, collapse of some giant financial institutions hitherto considered too big to fail, and wiped out $2.8trillion savings. It led to the evolution of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 2010

(Dodd-Frank Act), which aimed to prevent another financial crisis, protect consumers, rein in Wall Street and big bonuses, end bailouts and too big to fail, create sound economic foundation to grow jobs.

A robust financial system has three basic characteristics, namely flexibility, resilience and internal stability. Among other benefits, it facilitates the smooth flow of funds from surplus to deficit ends, engenders macroeconomic stability which enables businesses to plan conveniently and attracts foreign capital for the greater benefit of the economy.

Recent CBN policies on the foreign exchange market have enhanced public confidence inflow of more foreign capital into the economy. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that the total investment inflows into Nigeria peaked at US$1.7923billion in Q2 2017, US$884.1million higher than Q1 2017, representing 95 per cent increase. And the year-on-year inflow, rose to 43.6 per cent from US$1,042million same period in 2016.

Foreign portfolio investment was noted as the main driver of the inflows. t/XPCV JT B #VTJOFTT +PVSOBMJTU BOE $IBSUFSFE 4UPDLCSPLFS )F XSPUF WJB BSJ[FOXPCV!ZBIPP DPN 5FM

30

T H I S D AY MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

T H I S D AY MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

31

32

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍśËœ 2017

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

FG Commences Sale of N100bn Debut Sovereign Sukuk Nume Ekeghe åÓÞÒ Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂž The federal government has started the sale of a N100 billion ($326 million) debut sovereign sukuk on the local market to fund road infrastructure.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) revealed this yesterday.

The seven-year Islamic bond which is structured as a lease will yield a 16.47 percent rental rate, payable semi-annually.

Subscription for the bond, which is guaranteed by the government, will close on September 20, Reuters reported.

The debut sukuk was originally planned to go on sale in June for three days via book building.

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy has a series of debt issues lined up this year, including a 20 billion naira in “green bond�. The West African country raised $1.5 billion Eurobond in the first quarter and sold another $300 million to its Diaspora.

Nigeria plans to borrow both locally and from offshore sources to help fund a budget deficit worsened by lower oil prices which have slashed government revenues and weakened its naira currency.

The country grew out of recession in the second quarter as oil revenues rose, but the pace

of growth was slow, suggesting a fragile recovery.

The planned sukuk issue will target retail and institutional investors, with First Bank and Islamic wealth manager Lotus Capital managing the sale.

Nigeria is home to the largest Islamic population in sub-Saharan Africa, with about half of its 180 million people Muslims. It is also home to one of Africa’s growing consumer and corporate banking sectors.

The DMO said the bond will be tradable on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and on FMDQ over-the-counter platform and that it may re-open the offer in case of an undersubcription.

The Islamic bond sale is part of plans to develop alternative funding sources for government and to establish a benchmark curve for corporates to follow, the DMO has said.

In 2013, Nigeria’s Osun State issued 10 billion naira worth of sukuk, but no other sukuk transactions followed.

Nigeria’s central bank has been working to set regulatory ground rules for such things as Islamic bonds (sukuk) and insurance (takaful) to try to emulate the success of the industry in Malaysia.

The bank has set up liquidity support systems to its non-interest lenders after it

issued guidelines last year to enhance the quality of sukuk instruments and grant the Islamic bond liquidity status at its discount window.

Islamic finance development has become a centrepiece in many countries in the African region. A number of market development and regulatory efforts have taken place in the region in recent years.

Specifically, Nigeria, Sudan, South Africa and Senegal, Kenya, Morocco and Niger among others have put in place necessary legal and regulatory frameworks to enable Islamic banking offerings in their respective jurisdictions.

According to a report by the Malaysia World’s Islamic Finance Marketplace titled: ‘Islamic Finance in Africa: Impetus for Growth,’ a lot of conventional banks across the continent have started offering Shariah-compliant banking products through Islamic window set-up.

In the sukuk segment, the report showed that countries such as Senegal, Nigeria, Mauritius, Gambia had issued sukuk. A recent milestone in this space was the maiden sukuk issuance by the Africa Finance Corporation, a leading pan-African multilateral development finance institution.

$280m Partnership for Agricultural Transformation Launched Obinna Chima The multi-million dollar Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA) has been launched at the 2017 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF). PIATA is an innovative and transformative partnership and financing vehicle to drive inclusive agriculture transformation across the continent.

According to a statement, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are jointly expected to provide up to $280 million to catalyse and sustain inclusive agricultural transformation in at least 11 countries in Africa,

which will in turn increase incomes and improve the food security of 30 million smallholder farm households.

The PIATA reflects a recognition that greater impact and value can be achieved through a strategic partnership that builds on what has been achieved by each partner across the continent, and pulls them together in ways that help catalyse and sustain transformation at scale. The PIATA is an important collaboration between donors that aligns behind the Malabo agenda agreed to by African Heads of State and Government in 2014.

It signals an enduring commitment to Africa’s transformation agenda. PIATA is but one of various means by which each of the partners are supporting

African countries to deliver on agricultural transformation; its partners continue to provide support through avenues including direct support to continental agencies, government bodies and in-country partners. The partnership will allow partners to align and complement existing efforts, making new investments in developing input systems, value chains, and policy where they will have the most impact.

Speaking at the launch, Managing Director of the Rockefeller Foundation Africa Regional Office, Mr. Mamadou Biteye said: “We are pleased to be part of PIATA. We see it as an opportunity to leverage even more from the partners and their huge networks, for greater impact.

Fidelity Bank Celebrates Export Management Programme Fidelity Bank Plc said it is set to celebrate the first anniversary of its highly regarded Export Management Programme (EMP).

Launched in 2016, the EMP is a sector focused capacity building programme run by Fidelity Bank in partnership with the Pan-Atlantic University and the Nigerian Export Promotions Council (NEPC), to deliver impactful, world-class export management education to aspiring and existing players in the non-oil export sector of the Nigerian economy.

The programme, which prepares participants for effective play in the international non-oil export markets in particular and the larger export markets in general, has continued to raise the bar of capacity building in exports in Nigeria. Its

curriculum was structured to take participants through courses bordering strategically on product development for export; developing linkages with customers in importing countries; understanding the various export processes, accompanying documentation and other requirements in Nigeria and key importing countries; export products storage; quality assurance, branding and packaging, sourcing and supply chain management, logistics and shipping, export finance, business ethics, etc.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo, who gave insights into the rationale behind establishing the EMP, stated that the financial institution remains highly committed to aiding the diversification of Nigeria’s

monolithic economy particularly through import substitution and export promotion. “We finance a lot of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria. A number of these MSMEs have strong export potentials. It was therefore a natural fit for us to partner with the Lagos Business School (LBS) and the Nigerian Export Promotions Council (NEPC) to make this happen given in particular, recent developments in the global oil markets and the impact they have had on the Nigerian economy� he said.

In addition, Okonkwo emphasised the need to boost non-oil exports and build sustainable non-oil exports capability which he affirmed is now at the heart of the country’s diversification strategy.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

DECEMBER 2016 Broad Money (M2)

23,840,392.42

-- Narrow Money (M1)

11,520,166.67

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,820,415.90

---- Demand Deposits

9,699,750.76

-- Quasi Money

12,320,225.75

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

9,353,504.03

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

14,486,888.39

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,774,684.47

---- Credit to Government (Net)

4,595,579.89

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

7,436,917.79

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

-2,841,337.90

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

22,374,718.08

--Other Assets Net

-12,483,409.58

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,837,322.41

--Currency in Circulation

2,179,174.28

--Banks Reserves

3,318,344.71 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

MONEY MARKET INDICATORS (%) December 2016 Inter-Bank Call Rate

10.39

Monetary Policy Rate (MPR

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

13.96

Savings Deposit Rate

4.18

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.53

3 Months Deposit Rate

8.80

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.23

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.76

Prime Lending rate

17.09

Maximum Lending Rate

28.55

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯͲϹ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT THURSDAY, 14, MARCH 2017

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $53.63 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $52.92 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

33

˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

Nigeria’s top 50 stocks based on market fundamentals

15-Sept-17 14-Sept-17

01 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc

% Change

Capitalisation

EPS

1.33

1.28

3.91%

51,498,926,575.25

38.95

37.53

3.78%

128,311,009,456.00

03 Access Bank Plc

9.90

9.70

2.06%

286,386,919,146.90

13.18

04 UACN Property Development Co. Limited

3.05

3.00

1.67%

5,242,187,484.75

05 Flour Mills Nig. Plc

27.40

27.00

1.48%

06 Guinness Nig Plc

96.65

95.40

07 Fidelity Bank Plc

1.30

P/S

Div. Yld Price/ Book Value

Table 1 Market Statistics Mkt Indicators

-43.98

0.83

0.00%

0.57

0.02 1,642.11

4.58

0.68%

11.11

0.76

0.76

5.50%

0.64

-0.90

-3.23

0.79

24.05%

0.15

71,904,098,923.80

3.71

7.82

0.14

6.90%

0.72

Table 3 Top 5 Gainers

1.31%

145,544,093,370.20

-3.06

-25.17

1.12

4.16%

2.94

Stock

1.29

0.78%

37,651,361,399.60

0.39

3.54

0.26

11.68%

0.21

90.30

90.30

0.00%

57,845,309,778.90 -21.86

-4.21

0.52

2.39%

5.47

0.58

0.58

0.00%

4,019,518,598.40

1.48

0.38

0.14

8.93%

0.45

33.00

33.00

0.00%

23,100,000,000.00

2.17

15.89

3.54

3.33%

16.77

11 Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc

8.75

8.75

0.00%

10,995,930,452.50

1.29

6.96

0.70

1.11%

0.90

12 Continental Reinsurance Plc

1.43

1.43

0.00%

14,833,024,366.16

0.30

4.51

0.54

8.96%

0.69

13 Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc

3.60

3.60

0.00%

21,174,711,102.00

1.06

3.35

0.51

3.93%

0.64

14 Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc

21.40

21.40

0.00%

25,591,756,843.20

3.02

6.95

1.67

1.43%

1.50

15 Julius Berger Nig. Plc

30.87

30.87

0.00%

40,748,400,000.00

-2.89

-11.83

0.32

4.39%

0.64

1.90

1.90

0.00%

19,950,000,000.00

0.25

7.57

0.96

2.63%

0.99

170.00

170.00

0.00%

61,301,194,540.00

22.61

7.69

0.67

4.14%

2.92

13.00

13.00

0.00%

34,442,698,914.00

0.91

14.26

1.88

4.23%

4.28

1,205.00

1,205.00

0.00%

955,150,783,660.00

10.00

122.02

5.32

2.38%

31.32

3.22

3.22

0.00%

5,229,984,375.00

0.36

9.51

0.69

5.88%

0.85

66.50

66.50

0.00%

63,435,015,000.00

5.15

12.75

4.36

0.15%

3.68

0.50

0.50

0.00%

5,664,866,202.00

0.03

17.71

3.72

0.00%

1.94

480.79

480.79

0.00%

266,026,065,387.27 -82.02

-5.88

4.21

3.30%

0.71

24 U A C N Plc

15.45

15.45

0.00%

29,677,354,779.15

3.37

4.44

0.38

6.68%

0.38

25 Unilever Nigeria Plc

41.80

41.80

0.00%

158,141,783,250.00

0.81

49.26

2.17

0.13%

12.95

26 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,691,369,126.00

0.18

2.78

0.85

6.00%

0.41

27 Wema Bank Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

19,287,233,040.50

0.07

7.59

0.37

0.00%

0.41

28 Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc

13.65

13.70

-0.36%

163,800,000,000.00

2.01

6.92

0.77

3.60%

2.19

29 Zenith Bank Plc

22.10

22.20

-0.45%

693,862,512,670.60

4.13

5.52

1.41

7.89%

1.02

30 Presco Plc

60.49

60.80

-0.51%

240,174,156,452.05

0.03 2,338.93

3.81

1.90%

6.49

8.85

8.90

-0.56%

321,073,807,949.70

1.99

4.81

0.91

6.26%

0.78

49.97

50.36

-0.77%

227,608,443,445.70

3.71

15.36

1.18

5.26%

1.04

33 Oando Plc

6.05

6.10

-0.82%

72,809,444,308.70

0.29

23.59

0.18

10.95%

0.43

34 Diamond Bank Plc

1.14

1.15

-0.87%

26,402,843,423.52

-0.29

-4.02

0.13

0.00%

0.12

35 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

17.80

18.00

-1.11%

326,622,011,627.00

0.68

26.61

0.56

3.44%

0.53

36 Forte Oil Plc.

47.90

48.80

-1.84%

62,388,844,833.70

3.66

13.66

0.50

6.90%

1.38

37 FCMB Group Plc

1.06

1.08

-1.85%

20,990,873,427.86

0.09

13.13

0.13

8.93%

0.12

38 Skye Bank Plc

0.52

0.53

-1.89%

7,217,756,733.20

-2.93

-0.21

0.05

49.18%

0.08

39 Sterling Bank Plc

1.02

1.04

-1.92%

29,366,226,488.52

0.18

5.86

0.27

8.57%

0.35

40 Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc

39.20

40.00

-2.00%

392,000,000,000.00

2.85

14.20

2.59

0.25%

2.88

41 Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

37.00

37.82

-2.17%

1,088,953,631,288.00

4.49

8.79

2.78

4.48%

2.16

5.60

5.74

-2.44%

201,013,639,635.20

0.16

35.99

0.35

2.55%

0.35

43 Total Nigeria Plc

225.00

232.10

-3.06%

76,392,413,325.00

43.58

5.43

0.28

5.92%

3.41

44 Nigerian Breweries Plc

175.00

180.55

-3.07%

1,387,592,655,400.00

3.58

51.23

4.64

1.96%

8.77

0.54

0.56

-3.57%

6,312,242,488.68

0.19

3.16

0.08

0.00%

0.08

25.00

25.99

-3.81%

25,000,000,000.00

5.69

4.73

1.87

0.37%

0.72

47 Dangote Cement Plc

205.80

213.99

-3.83%

3,506,936,423,949.00

13.34

15.95

4.93

3.76%

4.40

48 Cadbury Nigeria Plc

10.51

11.00

-4.45%

19,739,903,440.40

-0.64

-18.74

0.70

10.77%

2.15

49 Fidson Healthcare Plc

3.04

3.20

-5.00%

4,560,000,000.00

0.50

6.46

0.41

1.56%

0.69

50 Honeywell Flour Mill Plc

1.90

2.00

-5.00%

15,067,375,550.20

-0.40

-5.19

0.35

7.62%

0.50

02 International Breweries Plc

08 7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc 09 AIICO Insurance Plc 10 Cap Plc

16 Mansard Insurance Plc 17 Mobil Oil Nig Plc 18 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc 19 Nestle Nigeria Plc 20 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc 21 Okomu Oil Palm Plc 22 Resort Savings & Loans Plc 23 Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd

31 United Bank for Africa Plc 32 Lafarge Africa Plc

42 FBN Holdings Plc

45 Unity Bank Plc 46 PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc

TOTAL

11,465,730,802,208.60

TOTAL MARKET CAP

12,067,986,059,661.60

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

95.01%

-0.03

P/E

NSE All Share Index NSE Market Cap (N'Trillion) Thisday BGL 50 Index Thisday BGL 50 Market Cap (N'Trillion)

Open Close Change % 14-Sept-17 15-Sept-17 35,660.04 12.29

35,005.57 12.07

-1.84 -1.84

150.16 11.69

147.26 11.47

-1.93 -1.93

Open Close Change % 14-Sept-17 15-Sept-17

Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc International Breweries Plc Access Bank Plc UACN Property Devt Co. Limited Flour Mills Nig. Plc

1.28

1.33

3.91

37.53 9.70 3.00 27.00

38.95 9.90 3.05 27.40

3.78 2.06 1.67 1.48

Table 4 Top 5 Losers Stock

Open Close Change % 14-Sept-17 15-Sept-17

Fidson Healthcare Plc Honeywell Flour Mill Plc Cadbury Nigeria Plc Dangote Cement Plc PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc

3.20 2.00 11.00 213.99 25.99

3.04 1.90 10.51 205.80 25.00

-5.00 -5.00 -4.45 -3.83 -3.81

Market loses 1.84% as week ends

Market pulse on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today - Friday, September 15th, 2017 ended negative as the market closed red. This was further highlighted by negative performance from the NSE Subsectors: Banking, Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas (Save Insurance).

However, trading activities increased in volume as 160.14 million shares worth N2.96 billion in 3,361 deals exchanged hands today. This is an increase from the 128.31 million shares worth N2.73 billion in 3,241 trades were carried out on Thursday. Topping in volume terms are: Fidelity Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and Access Bank Plc; while Nigerian Breweries Plc and Nestle Nigeria Plc ended trading as the most active stocks in value terms.

Brent crude oil price currently sells at US$55.57 per barrel while it close at $55.47 per barrel the previous Thursday from $55.16 per barrel on Wednesday.

The All Share Index (NSEASI) closed negative with 1.84% (-654.47) increase to close at 35,005.57 from 35,660.04 the previous trading day. Market capitalization appreciated in tandem to N12.29 trillion from N12.22 trillion of prior trading day. Similarly, the Thisday BGL 50 Index closes with a increase of 1.93% to 147.26 from 150.16 recorded at the end of the previous trading day, while its market capitalization stood at N11.47 trillion from N11.69 trillion of the previous trading day.

A total number of 11 stocks gained on the bourse today while 29 stocks declined, leaving 56 stocks unchanged. Leading the pack again was Cutix Plc led with a gain of 5.00% to close at N2.73 per share. It was followed by Transcorp Hotels Plc with a gain of 4.95% to close at N7.21 per share. Others on the gainers’ list include: N.E.M Insurance Co (Nig.) Plc, Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc and International Breweries Plc. On the decliners’ list, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc led with a loss of 7.89% to close at N0.70 per share. It was followed by Fidson Healthcare Plc with a loss of 5.00% to close at N3.04 per share. Others on the decliners list include: Honeywell Flour Mill Plc, May & Baker Nigeria Plc and Cadbury Nigeria Plc. Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc emerged the toast of investors as it topped the Thisday BGL 50 Index gainers’ list with a gain of 3.91% to close at N1.33 per share. It was followed by International Breweries Plc with a gain of 3.78% to close at N38.95 per share. Others on the gainers chart include: Access Bank Plc, UACN Property Development Co. Limited and Flour Mills Nig. Plc. On the decliners’ list, Fidson Healthcare Plc led with a loss of 5.00% to close at N3.04 per share. It was closely followed by Honeywell Flour Mill Plc with a loss of 5.00% to close at N1.90 per share. Others on the decliners’ list are: Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Dangote Cement Plc and PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE This report has been prepared by BGL Plc. BGL Plc does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should use this report as one of many other factors in making their investment decisions.

For more details go to www.thisdaylive.com

34

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍśËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

MARKET NEWS

All-Share Index Rises Further as Market Sustains Upward Trend Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie The Nigerian equities market sustained its positive performance for the second day yesterday as the Nigerian Stock Exchange All-Share Index (NSE ASI) appreciated by 0.55 per cent to close at 35,660.044.

The market rebounded on Wednesday after days of bearish trend following inves-

tors’ negative sentiments. The positive trend was extended yesterday, boosted by Dangote Cement Plc. Although 22 stocks declined in value and 18 appreciated, the gain posted

by Dangote Cement Plc made the market to remain in the bulls’ territory. While the market capitalisation added N70 billion to close higher at N12.22 trillion, Dangote Cement accounted for N40

T H E

billion. The stock appreciated by 2.4 per cent to close at N213.99 per share.

The leading cement manufacturing firm had on Wednesday confirmed that it had made moves to acquire the entire share capital of PPC Limited, which is South Africa’s leading cement firm.

In a notification to the NSE, the board of directors of Dangote Cement disclosed it had

N I G E R I A N

communicated its interest to acquire the entire share capital of PPC to the board of directors of the South Africa’s firm.

But the Dangote Cement explained that the acquisition talks are still at the preliminary stage and the transaction remains a potential transaction, promising to publish further details.

Meanwhile, Okomu Oil Palm Plc led the price gainers with 5.7 per cent, trailed by Jaiz

STO C K

Bank Plc with 4.4 per cent. C & I Leasing Plc chalked up 4.3 per cent, while Newrest ASL Nigeria Plc and Sterling Bank Plc followed with 4.0 per cent apiece. NEM Insurance Plc went up by 3.5 per cent, just as NPF Microfinance Bank Plc garnered 3.5 per cent.

Conversely, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc led the price losers with 8.4 per cent. Conoil Plc and

E XC H A N G E

Unilever Nigeria Plc trailed by 5.0 per cent each, while Oando Plc and First Aluminium Plc 4.9 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.

Market turnover stood at 128.31 million shares worth N2.72 billion exchanged in 3,241 deals. In terms of sectoral performance, the NSE Industrial Goods Index led with 1.1 per cent followed by NSE Insurance Plc, rising by 0.4 per cent.

35

˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Greenwich Investment Explains Benefits of Entertainment Fund Chinazor Megbolu In a bid to encourage investment and savings culture within and outside the entertainment industry as well as attract investors to the entertainment industry, Greenwich Asset Management Limited (GAML) has launched the Initial Public Offer for the Nigeria Entertainment Fund to raise N1 billion from the investing public through the issuance of 10,000,000 units

of the fund at N100 per unit.

The fund will invest in the entertainment industry as well other various asset classes.

Speaking at the event organised by the firm recently in Lagos to formally present the fund to a group of entertainers and investors, the Managing Director of GAML, Mr. Dayo Obisan said the fund is to attract investors to the entertainment sector, adding it is the first mutual fund targeting the sector. He

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

explained that a portion of the fund’s assets will be invested in the entertainment industry and thus will contribute to the growth of an already thriving industry.

Obisan also pointed out that the sector has been able to impact the income and lives of participants in the sector especially over the last two decades.

He added that the industry’s contribution to Nigeria’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP) has been

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 14Sept-2017, unless otherwise stated.

on the rise especially over the past five years, and is said to be the third largest employer of labour. While stating the sector is the fastest growing major market globally, he noted that the fund qualifies for securities in which Pension Fund Managers can invest in under the Pension Reform Act. According to him, individual and institutional investors will benefit from the safety, relatively cheaper costs and a good diversification

opportunity the fund offers.

In his opening remarks, the Chief Executive Officer, Film House Cinemas, Mr. Kene Mpkaru said the entertainment industry needs to be better understood by financial institutions in order to create innovative and customised products to suit it, as there are peculiarities which may not allow the industry in the typical model most banks adopt for investment assessment. He maintained

that entertainment, especially the film business is an avenue for revenue generation.

Mkparu cited the success of the movie Wedding Party as an example of the sort of revenues the movie industry will continue to record and hinted that there is a movie currently being concluded, which is estimated to gross over N1 billion in revenue.

He urged investors to take the advantage of the fund to tap into the goldmine known as the entertainment industry.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 169.48 170.14 33.45% Nigeria International Debt Fund 231.60 232.35 9.51% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.80 0.81 13.80% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.76% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 16.70 17.21 35.27% ARM Discovery Fund 355.01 365.71 23.62% ARM Ethical Fund 25.19 25.95 12.76% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.24% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 141.47 142.46 34.50% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.48% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 19.91% Paramount Equity Fund 11.56 11.85 23.47% Women's Investment Fund 95.00 97.43 12.30% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 19.70% FBN CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,129.08 1,130.21 11.32% FBN Heritage Fund 140.11 141.35 25.70% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 20.43% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $110.82 $111.82 7.76% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $110.04 $111.04 7.74% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 149.57 151.74 32.84% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 1.32 1.34 41.49% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.86 2.86 11.48% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 2,829.69 2,872.58 28.79% Coral Income Fund 2,355.45 2,355.45 13.05% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 15.83% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.47% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.04 2.07 21.60% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 17.99%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.12 1.14 13.63% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,041.44 1,041.44 8.31% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 12.51 12.62 29.45% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 18.96% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.18 1.20 18.62% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.78 10.85 3.75% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 17.24% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 118.44 120.59 16.91% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.36 1.36 9.06% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,140.82 2,152.47 16.90% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 164.33 164.33 6.74% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.94 0.95 22.73% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 209.33 209.33 12.01% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 166.93 169.10 28.58% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.69% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 9,227.78 9,328.09 21.64% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.30 1.31 15.94% United Capital Bond Fund 1.39 1.39 14.02% United Capital Equity Fund 0.84 0.86 25.25% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.00% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 12.26 12.44 26.23% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.98 13.12 18.56% Zenith Income Fund 18.43 18.43 11.50%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 129.68

1.01% 4.61%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.56 103.04

10.66 104.97

22.42% 35.97%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS

Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697

Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.24 9.21 16.54 19.32 133.93

4.28 9.29 16.64 19.52 135.93

53.21% 30.83% 39.88% 21.00% 5.77%

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

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MONDAY, ͚΀˜ ͺ͸͚Ϳ Ëž T H I S D AY

NEWS

Aig-Imoukhuede Joins International Advisory Board of Blavatnik School of Govt The Chairman of Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede has joined the International Advisory Board (IAB) of the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.

Making this known at the weekend, AIG in a statement said the invitation to join the school’s IAB was extended to Aig-Imoukhuede by the board’s chairman, The Lord Browne of Madingley on behalf of the board and the school.

Other members of the board include former United States President Bill Clinton and Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google.

The role of the IAB of the Blavatnik School is to advise on the overall strategy of the school and provide strategic advice to the dean and senior management.

The school was founded in 2010 at the University of Oxford

as a global, graduate school with a vision to improve government globally through research, education and engagement across sectors.

The IAB assists the school in building productive relationships with governments, the private sector, and non-governmental organisations around the world. “Mr. Aig-Imoukhuede’s commitment to outstanding public service is an inspiration to all of us,� said Ngaire Woods, Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government. “His initiative has successfully raised aspirations across Nigeria and Ghana among brilliant future leaders to study public policy.

We look forward to having his expertise on the board to help us drive the school’s mission to improve government around the world and deepen our impact,� the statement read.

Members of the IAB also engage with and mentor

students, and support the development of a global scholarship programme that attracts the best candidates from around the world. “It is indeed an honour to be invited to serve on the International Advisory Board of the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford,� said Aig-Imoukhuede. “In education and in the fields of governance, public policy and leadership, the Blavatnik School has clearly differentiated itself as a centre of excellence. “In seeking the right synergies for Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) towards the achievement of our vision of being a catalyst for public sector transformation across Africa, the Blavatnik School of Government stood out as a worthy partner. “It is with a deep sense of responsibility and commitment that I accept the invitation

to join the board and to work alongside its very distinguished membership towards contributing to the overall impact of the school and ultimately achieving our shared vision of improving nations through outstanding public service,� he added.

In addition to the Blavatnik School IAB membership, AigImoukhuede will on October 7, 2017, be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest learned societies and independent policy research centres in the U.S., having been elected in April as one of the academy’s foreign honorary members.

The academy brings together leaders from the academia, business and government to address critical challenges facing the world.

The AIG chairman also in July accepted an invitation from the United Nations Economic

Aig-Imoukhuede Commission for Africa to serve on its high-level panel on migration.

The panel, which aims to provide guidance and support to

policy dialogues on an African perspective on international migration, is chaired by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia.

and sorrow, the Umuahia Youth Movement respectfully write to request the dethronement of Nnamdi Kanu’s father as a traditional ruler of our clan. “It beats our imagination that a man who calls himself a royal father and an elder could not call his son to order but rather encouraged him in his madness that has plunged Umuahia city to a great crisis today. “Sir, recall that Umuahia had been the most peaceful capital city in Nigeria to live and do business in, but just because of one man, we are today facing the wrath of the Federal Government of Nigeria. “Our shops, markets, schools, churches and all banks have been shut down. For the past three days, we have been indoors for fear of being attacked by the military just because of one man whose father is our traditional ruler. “Based on the above, we hereby request he should be dethroned within 24 hours or we will take the law into our hands and dethrone him and even strip him unclad and raze his house. “We appeal to every wellmeaning Nigerian as well to prevail on Governor Ikpeazu to as a matter of urgency dethrone Nnamdi Kanu’s father.�

The group also demanded the continuation of the military exercise (Operation Python Dance II) “as any attempt to withdraw will make the IPOB criminals rob our shops and houses�.

The group assured the governor of its commitment to a united Nigeria and making Abia State great.

curfew, has with effect from Sunday the 17th September, 2017 approved the relaxation of the curfew from 10 p.m. daily to 6 a.m. of the subsequent day until further notice.�

While appreciating the swift response of security personnel in the quick restoration of peace in the state, the governor also commended the widespread community consultative meetings held by various community and religious leaders after the fracas.

LAI MOHAMMED: TREASURY LOOTERS SPONSORING IPOB being sponsored to destabilise our nation. It serves no other purpose beyond that,� he said.

The minister further accused IPOB of engaging in a massive harvest of gory videos from the distant past and from other lands to hoodwink the public, and in particular the international community into believing that its members were the victims of state-sponsored violence.

He urged Nigerians and the international community not to jump to any conclusions on the basis of the videos but scrutinise them.

He also appealed to the media to show greater restraint, accusing a section of the media of sensationalising reporting on IPOB issues, especially since the military was deployed in the South-east for its exercise, tagged Operation Python Dance II. He also expressed gratitude that the crisis had de-escalated, saying since the military has labelled IPOB a terrorist organisation and the South-east governors have proscribed it, it was time to let IPOB go to where it belongs – the dustbin of history.

59 IPOB Members for Prosecution Even as the minister gave the damning verdict on IPOB activities, the new Commissioner of Police in Abia State, Mr. Anthony Ogbizi yesterday confirmed that at least one person – a police officer – was killed in an attack by suspected members of the separatist group in the state.

He also announced that at least 59 suspected members of the now outlawed group were arrested by security personnel last week during the bloody clashes between soldiers and IPOB members, adding that the suspects will be prosecuted for murder, arson and other related crimes.

Ogbizi disclosed this during a press briefing and parade of seven suspected members of IPOB at Ariaria police station in Aba. He said following the proscription of IPOB by governors in the South-east and its declaration as a terrorist group by Nigerian Army, anybody found with Biafran materials would be arrested and prosecuted.

He said they would be prosecuted under the Anti-

terrorism Act to ensure they are properly dealt with.

Re-echoing the pronouncement of the Nigerian Army, Ogbizi stressed that IPOB by its action had shown itself to be a “terrorist group� which must be dealt with.

He said between September 10 and September 14, the Ariaria police station was attacked by suspected members of IPOB who destroyed everything at the station.

According to him, they came with petrol bombs which they used to gain entrance to the station, destroyed property and stole three pump action rifles. “Even some policemen were seriously injured. In fact, as I am talking to you, one of the injured police officers is dead.

Doctors tried in vain to save his life. “Now we have lost a soul and you know what it takes to train a police officer. You know the vacuum that creates. It takes a minimum of one year to train a police officer,� he said.

Ogbizi said the IPOB members also destroyed the property of lawful citizens, adding that their demonstration was not peaceful.

He also alleged that the group attacked a nearby bank to get money to acquire more weapons.

The police boss said about 30 IPOB members were arrested when they attacked soldiers at Isiala Ngwa in Abia and about 29 were arrested in Umuahia, the state capital.

He said suspected IPOB members also attacked military officers and the residences of the Commissioner of Police and AIG Zone 9 in Umuahia.

Ogbizi said that the army recovered several exhibits including the coat of arms of Biafra from the suspects. “As I am talking to you, information reaching me shows that they have started gathering at Nnamdi Kanu’s house,� he said.

Ogbizi called on the people to volunteer information on Kanu’s whereabouts and denied rumours that his father was arrested.

IPOB Rejects Terrorist Tag In defiance, however, IPOB yesterday defiantly rejected the invidious label, saying that the Nigerian Army “has no right or power� to group it alongside other terror groups.

A statement issued by its media and publicity secretary, Emma Powerful, said the decision of the military high command to paint the separatist group with that of terrorism was “laughable and a mockery of the army’s professionalism�.

The proscription of IPOB and tagging it as a terror group has drawn sharp criticism from Ohanaeze Ndigbo which rejected it, as well as from some senior lawyers, including Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who stated that both the South-east governors and army lacked the power to ban IPOB. IPOB insisted that since the inception of its struggle for the restoration of the Republic of Biafra, it had never engaged in criminal or terrorist activities and challenged the federal authorities to make public proof of the allegations and not fabricate lies aimed at demonising the Biafra independence struggle.

The group said it had never taken up arms and has always been a victim of unprovoked attacks by the security agencies who “kill and maim unarmed and innocent civilians who have not been involved in any act of crime or violence since the inception of this struggle for Biafra’s independence championed by IPOB�.

IPOB also faulted the position of the South-east governors for wielding the big stick, saying that “it is very appalling� that the governors should allow themselves to be “teleguided� by the powers that be to clamp down on their people “because they (South-east governors) want re-election in 2019�.

Ikpeazu: Govs Averted Holocaust But in yet another reaction to the bloody clashes in his state last week, Abia state governor Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu yesterday justified the action taken by the South-east governors to douse the tension generated by the clashes between the Nigerian Army and members of IPOB. He also expressed gratitude to God for averting what would have been a bloodbath in the state, following the withdrawal of troops from the streets of Aba and Umuahia.

He said with the action of the state chief executives of the South-east and their Northern counterparts, “what could have been a holocaust has been

averted�.

According to him, the lives of over 11 million Igbos scattered across the states in the Northern part of the country could have been jeopardised if the situation had gotten out of control.

Ikpeazu made this known when he visited the secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abia State council, to sympathise with its members, after the invasion of the press centre by troops last Tuesday. “God has intervened in what could have been the greatest bloodbath in the history of the whole world,� he said, adding that if the face-off had continued, the attendant reprisals would have led to a massive bloodbath.

He regretted that the security situation in Abia had attracted negative attention to the state at a time his administration was putting made-in-Aba products on the global map and concluding plans to establish three industrial parks in the state.

Ikpeazu assured that normalcy had returned to Abia, adding that doomsday prophets had lost the battle.

While he commiserated with journalists over the assault by soldiers, the Abia governor said that though “you didn’t deserve what happened, it is part of the hazards of the profession�.

He also commended the army for demonstrating “rare humility� by apologising for their invasion of NUJ press centre and restoring the damaged items.

Youths Want Kanu’s Father Dethroned In another fallout of the bloody clashes in Abia State last week, a group, the Umuahia Youth Movement, gave Ikpeazu a 24-hour ultimatum to dethrone Kanu’s father – Israel Kanu, traditional ruler of Isiama Afaraukwu in Umuahia.

In a letter addressed to Ikpeazu and copied to Buhari, the group said failure to dethrone the traditional ruler would make them take the law into their own hands.

The youths blamed the current security situation and shutdown of economic activities in the state on Kanu who “could not call his son to order�.

Details of the letter were disclosed in a statement issued yesterday by Ifeanyi Okwudili, the group’s president.

The letter read: “With tears

Lalong Relaxes Curfew Meanwhile, following the return of peace to Jos and its environs after the skirmishes last Thursday between Igbo and Hausa traders, the Plateau State governor Mr. Simon Lalong has relaxed the dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on the Jos-Bukuru metropolis to 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

A statement yesterday from the governor’s spokesman, Mr. Samuel Emmanuel Nanle, said: “The governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong, having considered the improvement in the state of security, since the unfortunate incident of Thursday, 14th September, 2017 which necessitated the imposition of a dusk-to-dawn

Turkey Denies Supporting IPOB In a related development, the Turkish government has denied supporting the secessionist agitations in Nigeria and disowned its citizen, AbdĂźlkadir Erkahraman, who has expressed support for the Biafran agitation.

Erkahraman, who identifies himself as the president of the International Nations Commercial Association in Turkey had visited Kanu in his hometown in Afaraukwu, Umuahia, Abia State last July.

He announced the visit on his Facebook page and encouraged “Biafrans� to “rise up and fight a good fight for freedom�, which went viral.

In response to the development, the Embassy of Turkey in Nigeria issued a statement on its website.

The embassy distanced the Turkish government from Erkahraman’s visit to Kanu.

In the statement at the weekend, the embassy said: “Erkahraman is not a Turkish diplomat or an official representative of the Turkish government. “The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey wishes to inform the Nigerian public about the following: AbdĂźlkadir Erkahraman, a Turkish citizen, has been sharing videos for some time against the Nigerian government and presents himself as a Turkish diplomat. “Mr. AbdĂźlkadir Erkahraman is neither a diplomat nor a civil servant or an official representative of the government of Turkey. “The government of Turkey is committed to the territorial integrity and political unity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Furthermore, Turkey never supports secessionist activities against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.�

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

57

NEWS

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

ICRC: $100bn Required for Nigeria’s Infrastructure Development Kunle Aderinokun, Obinna Chima and Nume Ekeghe The acting Director General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr. Chidi Izuwa, has put the total amount of funds required to provide quality infrastructure in Nigeria over the next six years at about $100 billion.

Izuwa estimated that while about $60 billion would be required for the oil and gas sector; about $20 billion to revamp the power sector; $14 billion for road; and between $8 and $17 billion for rail tracks.

The ICRC boss said this while speaking at the annual conference of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) in Lagos at the weekend.

He pointed out that Nigeria fairs poorly on domestic savings, investments and government spending compared with its peers.

Izuma said the federal government decision to concession most of the port terminals was a step in the right direction.

According to him, Nigeria’s huge gap in infrastructure has over the years diminished economic growth and competitiveness.

“At present, the value of Nigeria’s infrastructure is about 35 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), paling in comparison with 70 per cent for larger economies,” he added.

Izuwa said between 2009 and 2013, Nigeria invested a mere $664 per capita per annum in

Over 50 Perish in Niger Boat Mishap Laleye Dipo in Minna Not less than 50 persons have been confirmed dead in a boat mishap that occurred at River Kaduna, Kiri village in the Munya Local Government Area of Niger State yesterday.

The deceased were reported to have boarded a canoe from Kiri village heading for the market in Zumba village in Shiroro Local Government Area of the state when they ran into a heavy storm.

The canoe was to be overloaded with men, women as well as children numbering

infrastructure or three per cent of GDP, compared with an average of $3,060 or five per cent of GDP in developed countries.

“Less than 56 per cent of Nigerians have access to electricity compared to 80 per cent for developed countries. This level of access translates to an average of 24 hours in a week.

“For over 75 per cent of businesses operating in Nigeria, power supply is a major constraint.

Of the over 10,000 MW of Nigerian power sector generation capacity, between 2,500 to 3,500 MW is available for over 170 million.

“Compares unfavourably with South Africa that generates 50,000 megawatts for a population of about 50 million,” he added.

Izuma pointed out that about 68 per cent of all roads in the country

are in deplorable condition, with only about 18 per cent of Nigerian federal roads paved.

“Experiences from other countries show that primary financing by banks and refinancing through bonds is the ideal model for infrastructure funding.

“Through this model, the focus of commercial and merchant banks in infrastructure financing should be on providing funding up to the pre-commissioning stage of projects.

“Given their strong project appraisal and monitoring skills, and their healthy capitalisation, banks are well placed to take up financing in the precommissioning phase, when project risk is the highest.

“After commissioning, banks must refinance the debt (through

bonds) to long-term investors.

“Refinancing frees up bank funds and enable these funds to be deployed in new infrastructure projects,” he added.

Enumerating the things required to be done to attract private investment into the country, the Chief Executive Officer, Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria, Michael Larbie, who also spoke at the two-day conference with the theme: ‘Nigeria’s Infrastructure: Issues, Challenges and Options,’ said: “Clearer legal and regulatory framework, improved and efficient competitive bidding procedures, consistent sector policies, (e.g.tariffs regimes, rule of engagement), strengthened management of fiscal obligations and supportive regulatory environment are key.

“Government must build a track record of public private partnership (PPP) performance to attract large sums of long-term funding from pensions funds and insurance.”

Also, the Chief Executive Officer of Viathan Engineering Limited, Mr. Ladi Sanni, said there was need for more private capital to give infrastructure a facelift in the country.

Sanni said: “Part of the problem we have in Nigeria is contract sanctity. The judiciary has a role in interpreting the legal framework.

Government needs to demonstrate that private investors can go in to long term investment with them.

“Government bonds limits investment into high risk power project. We would like government to look at the issues of infrastructural bond.”

about 60 whose bodies were yet to be recovered.

When contacted, the Niger State Police Command Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Babalola Adewole, confirmed the incident, saying the command had sent a team of marine police to the area for investigation.

The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Public Relations Officer, Malam Hussaini Ibrahim, confirmed that there were 60 passengers on board, stating that four persons were rescued alive while others were yet to be found.

Two IPOB Members Arrested for Killing Four in Delta Market Sylvester Idowu in Warri Two suspected members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have been arrested by the police in Delta State over alleged shooting and killing four non-indigenes last Friday at Abraka market in Asaba, the state capital.

The suspects, Abraham Ndudi, 24, from Kwale in Delta State and Okereke Ifeanyi, 21, from Ogbaru in Anambra State, were arrested in a hotel, barely 24 hours after the killings at the market dominated by non indigenes.

According to a statement signed by Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Aniamaka Andrew, the suspects were arrested in the early hours of September 16, 2017 for their involvement in the dastardly shooting and killing of four persons at Abraka market, Asaba last Friday at about 10.45p.m.

“The suspects, who were arrested from their hiding place on the ceiling of a major hotel in Abraka, Asaba, where they had fled into in their dire bid to escape arrest, are already helping the police in their investigation,” he said.

Aniamaka disclosed that efforts were in top gear to arrest the third suspect, whose real name is yet unknown but simply identified as ‘Last Burial.’

“It will be recalled that on September 15, 2017, at about 10.45p.m, three armed men, all

in black outfits, suspected to be members of a cult group or IPOB fired indiscriminately into Abraka market, Asaba, predominantly inhabited by non-indigenes of the state and in the process killed four persons,” he added.

Those killed, according to the police spokesman, were Usman Abdullahi ‘m’, aged 45years; Ali Sidi ‘m’, aged 70years; Ibrahim Zubairu’m’ aged 30years and Hauwa (surname unknown), aged 22years, and injured five others who are currently receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba He said investigation has commenced on the incident with a view to finding out the motive behind the shooting and the possible involvement of other conspirators in the unwarranted shooting and wounding of innocent persons.

Aniamaka disclosed that the Commissioner of Police, Delta Command, Zanna M. Ibrahim, has therefore enjoined the non indigenes and indigenes alike not to panic or even contemplate any reprisal, promising that the law will surely take its course.

“The CP commiserates with the relations and friends of both the deceased and injured, and assures them as well as other citizens and residents of the state, that everything humanly possible is being done by the police and other security agencies towards ensuring their utmost safety at all times,” he added.

SAFE TRIP, MR. PRESIDENT

President Muhammadu Buhari, departing the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja for the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York....yesterday Godwin Omoigui

Presidency: Why Buhari Directed Agitations to National Assembly Tobi Soniyi with agency report The presidency has provided insight into why said President Muhammadu Buhari directed restructuring agitations to the legislature, saying he did so because of his belief in due process.

Making this known at the weekend, Senior Special Assistant to President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Sen. Ita Enang said restructuring is a constitutional matter and the legislature deals with constitution reviews and should therefore handle any issue that calls for changes of the law.

Buhari had in his national broadcast on his return from medical leave in London, said that the National Assembly and National Council of State were the legitimate and appropriate bodies to handle issues of restructuring.

The president directed all agitations to both bodies in line with the statutory responsibilities that they have.

Enang said during a forum in Abuja that because restructuring meant different things to different

people and groups, and may require constitutional amendments, only the National Assembly could deal with it.

He said the legislature needed to receive the demands on different aspects of restructuring, debate on them and come out with the best recommendations.

“That is why the president said, ‘Look, we are a government sworn in under the constitution, anything you want done must necessarily be as required by the constitution. I cannot as chief executive, as head of government, do a thing that is different from what the constitution says. I and have no power to amend the constitution.

The person who has the power to amend the constitution is the legislature and they are handling the process.’

“That is why the president said that all agitations for restructuring should go to the legislature,” he said.

The presidential aide said while some people see restructuring as removing control over land from the governors and vesting it in the

federal government, some see it as demand for state police, reported the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

“The man somewhere will say I want to have state police and that is restructuring, and another one will say you cannot have state police.

“His thought is that if you have state police you will use it against your citizens and the interests of the federal government.

“He believes that you may not have the interest of the entire people because you are run by a political party and you will only use it in one way or the other to suit you,” he clarified.

Enang added that some people also viewed restructuring as allowing states to exploit their resources and pay tax to the federal government.

According to him, the man in South-south was of the view that restructuring entails resource control.

“I want to control my petroleum resources. The man in the North will say no, you cannot control it because it is a federal resource taken from the ocean which belongs to all of us.

“Some will say they can control

it because we have solid minerals in the North that they can also control.

“But some will say no, don’t control because if you do, I will control the food I produce and I will use it to deal and bargain,” he added.

Enang advised Nigerians with specific demands to forward it to the National Assembly.

On why the legislature dropped restructuring during the constitution amendment exercise in spite of the serious agitation for it, he said that nobody knew the type of restructuring demand that was presented.

“To my knowledge, most of the people who are quarreling that the legislature did not approve restructuring may not know the level of restructuring that was presented to it.

“However, any bill that was rejected can be represented.

So, let any person who wants restructuring present what aspect of restructuring they want to the National Assembly,” Enang said.

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Buhari Loyalists Split Katsina APC Party endorses El-Rufai, Buhari for 2019 John Shiklam in Kaduna and Ibrahim Shuaibu in Katsina Indications emerged at the weekend that all might not be well in the camp of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Katsina State following the splitting of the party by people believed to be loyalists of President Muhammadu Buhari in the state.

The spokesman of the new group in the party, Alhaji Baba Dahe Kurfi, told THISDAY on phone yesterday that the state Governor Aminu Masari, has betrayed the confidence and trust of the people who voted him into power to provide purposeful leadership, and that the state remains backward in terms of development.

He said the internal bickering is as a result of alleged lack of democratic principles “as the governor has pocketed the party and its leadership without consulting the stakeholders.”

Kurfi said loyalists to President Buhari who had been together with him in the last 16 years which include Senator M.T Liman, Dr. Usman Bugaje, Hon. Abdullahi Machika, Hannatu Musawa, Dr. Mansur Funtua, Hon. Gambo Danmusa, Alhaji Tijjani Zangon Daura and Hon. Sada Ilu were among those who held a meeting at the weekend in Kaduna where the decision to split the party was taken.

“The state government collected bailout and Paris club fund but there was no single project of even N1 billion in the state besides painting of schools which the government embarked on without providing instructional materials for educational development in the state,” the APC chieftain alleged.

He also alleged that the governor appointed the publicity secretary of the party as acting state party chairman instead of following the democratic process.

According to him, “All options are open to us. We will not fold our arms and allow someone to ruin our integrity by promoting

undemocratic attitude in our party.”

It was also learnt that the new group has all the governorship aspirants on the APC platform in the last 2015 elections.

The group also called on the national leadership of the party to take urgent steps to check what it described as the “lack of internal democracy in the party in the state,” warning that if the situation is not quickly controlled by the national leadership of the party, the party risked losing in 2019 elections in the state.

Kurfi accused the state governor of appointing some opposition party members into his executive council, stating that those who were openly known to have voted for PDP in the state were now enjoying the administration.

“What kind of administration is Masari operating in our state?

“This warning is coming against the backdrop of glaring division and needless bickering among the various stakeholders and their supporters over the purported hijack of the party by Masari without consultation.

“It is unfair for our state governor to show clear bias by imposing people of his own choice without consulting the party stakeholders.

Since coming to power, Masari has never consulted the stakeholders of the party for any advice.

“This possible scenario does not augur well for our collective interest as a party, and except something is done urgently by the national leadership, the party would be divided,” he added.

All effort to contact the state acting APC Chairman, Mr. Shitu S. Shitu, proved abortive.

However, the governor’s spokesman, Abdu Labaran Malumfashi, told THISDAY that “we have spoken to some group of journalists here in Kaduna today (Sunday) and all the allegations made were discussed with journalists. So I cannot say anything as we have made our own side clear.”

Meanwhile, a faction of the ruling APC loyal to Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has endorsed him

Okorocha Bans THISDAY,Vanguard Correspondents from Govt House Activities Amby Uneze in Owerri Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, yesterday carried out his threat against journalists operating in the state, banning the Correspondents of THISDAY and Vanguard Newspapers, Amby Uneze and Chidi Nkwopara, from covering government house activities.

The governor did not give any reason for his action other than that the said correspondents do not like him.

Declaring the correspondents as enemies of government for not writing favourable reports to suit his bidding, last Saturday night in a chart with journalists in the state at the government house, Okorocha failed to point out any of the ethics of the journalism profession which the correspondents breached.

He vowed to deal ruthlessly with the reporters if they dare to show face inside government house to cover any of his activities, insisting that he would take it up with their respective headquarters to ensure they are posted out of

the state.

Clampping down on journalists and media houses in the state has been the stock-in-trade of the governor in recent times, as most of the state-based newspaper houses have been having a running battle with him because they demanded from the governor to publicly account for the revenue and expenditure of the state since 2011 when he was sworn in.

This action had led to a petition to the Inspector General of Police by the Independent Newspapers Publishers Association (INPA) in the state where they sought his investigation on the threat to their lives and property.

They also demanded that the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the National Press Council (NPC), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and the Amnesty International (AI) should call the governor to order and respect the rights of journalists and freedom of the press in a democratic dispensation.

and President Muhammadu Buhari for the 2019 governorship and presidential elections respectively.

The decision was taken at a stakeholders’ meeting of the faction which held at the weekend at the Murtala Square, Kaduna.

The meeting which was presided over by the acting state Chairman of the party, Alhaji Shuaibu Idris, was attended by El-Rufai, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, who recently fell apart with the governor, members of the House of Representatives and state House of Assembly, top government functionaries as well as party officials from the 255 Wards in the state.

The meeting “unanimously passed a vote-of-confidence on President Buhari and el-Rufai for their outstanding performance, commitment, and dedication to the development of Nigeria and Kaduna State respectively”.

Idris in an address during the

meeting commended stakeholders for standing by the party in overcoming threats to its unity and progress.

He declared that the party supremacy was non-negotiable, affirming that the party will discipline and sanction members that are working against its progress and unity.

The acting chairman disclosed that the APC in the state will continue to operate an open-door policy and embrace all members who accept its discipline and uphold its manifesto.

Also in his remarks, Governor El-Rufai commended party leaders and members for their efforts, assuring that his government will not compromise on its commitment and dedication to improve education, health and security sectors.

He said the government will continue to implement programmes that will grow the

state economy, attract investments and create jobs.

He admonished party members to remain united and stressed the need for forgiveness in order for the APC to forge ahead.

On his part, Senator Hunkuyi, urged party members to close ranks and work hard for the unity of the APC .

He recommended that the party must work out a framework to encourage a sense of belonging and a road map that will guide it to consolidate its 2015 victory.

Hunkuyi who represents Kaduna North senatorial zone, pledged his commitment to strengthening the party and promoting reconciliation.

According to the communiqué signed by Hon. Samaila Suleiman, Hon. John Audu Kwaturu, Hon. Yahaya Baba Pate, and Lanti Halima Hyet, a former chairperson of Jaba local government area of the state, “It was also resolved unanimously that

there is only one APC leadership in Kaduna State under the leadership of its acting chairman, Alhaji Shuaibu Idris.

“The stakeholders expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the 29th July 2017 Delegates Congress election in the state and affirmed the outcome of the said Delegates Congress to the national headquarters of the party; “The stakeholders also resolved to pursue genuine reconciliation with aggrieved members who, despite their grievances, have shown deep commitment to the progress and stability of the party in the state; “The meeting further affirmed that party supremacy is nonnegotiable, and that members must subject themselves to the constitution and articles of the party, while party shall not condone or tolerate any form of indiscipline, insubordination, or anti-party activities.”

HITECH BANK

L-R: Group Managing Director/ CEO, Diamond Bank Plc, Mr. Uzoma Dozie; Guest Speaker, Mr. Brett King; and Group Managing Director/ CEO, Interswitch Connect, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe, at Interswitch Connect Tech Payment Conference in Lagos...yesterday Sunday Adigun

Saraki to Meet CSOs over Senators’ Pay The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has invited Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to a roundtable over the “contentious” salaries of lawmakers.

Special Adviser to Saraki on New Media, Bamikole Omishore, disclosed in a statement that the meeting would be to give more details on the earnings of senators.

Recently, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) wrote the President of the Senate urging him to

urgently explain to Nigerians if it is true that a Nigerian Senator gets N29 million in monthly pay, and over N3 billion a year.

Reacting to request by SERAP, Omishore, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), pointed out that the Senate had already released budget breakdown and payslips of lawmakers and surprised that some Nigerians were still not clear on the matter.

Omishore said the Senate

was always poised to meet the yearnings of the people and as such the Senate President had agreed to a meeting to provide all details on the earnings.

“The attention of the Office of the President of the Senate has been drawn to demand for more details regarding the earnings of senators.

“Having released the breakdown of the National Assembly budget, the most comprehensive in the history of Nigerian Senate, it seems

the release of pay-slips and National Assembly is yet to clarify earnings of Nigerian senators.

“Senate President @ bukolasaraki has agreed to a roundtable with SERAP and other CSOs to enlighten them and answer genuine questions regarding the matter.

“I will make contact with SERAP and other CSOs for a date convenient for all parties in the next few days,” Omishore said.

Buhari Departs for UNGA in NewYork President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday departed the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja for New York to participate in the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, confirmed the departure on his Facebook page, in Abuja.

Adesina posted: “President Buhari departs Abuja to New

York for 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 17, 2017.’’

President Buhari would during the visit, participate in the general debate where he was expected to deliver the country’s national statement.

The theme for this year’s debate, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), is: ‘Focusing on People: Striving

for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet.’

Adesina, in an earlier statement issued in Abuja last Friday, said President Buhari would also join other world leaders at the welcoming reception to be hosted by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.

The Nigerian leader

would also hold a bilateral meeting with the UN scribe as well as a lunch meeting with President Donald Trump of the United States of America, along with other world leaders.

The president, accompanied by the governors of Zamfara, Ebonyi and Ondo States as well as key cabinet ministers, would transit through London on his way back to the country.

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Nigeria Will Survive Threats of Disintegration, Says Oyegun Nwobodo warns against pitfalls Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has said the country will overcome the current challenges facing it and still forge ahead as a united entity.

He said the powers of darkness has taken advantage of the situation to fight back in such a massive way such that they are beginning to threaten the very foundation of the country.

Oyegun’s explanation came just as the former Governor of the old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo, advised the leadership of the ruling party against taking decisions that would be inimical to the success of the party at the November 18 governorship election in the state.

Speaking at a birthday party organised for him by members of the Inner Circle of Friends, University of Ibadan, at the weekend, Oyegun said the party’s promise of change has not come as quick as Nigerians had wanted due to some challenges on the way.

He urged Nigerians to continue to bear with the party and its administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari, assuring them that the current hardship confronting the people will soon become a thing of the past.

He accused those he referred to as “the powers of darkness”of deliberately plotting to rock the foundation of the nation and to cause it to disintegrate.

“We must bring back peace and unity to country. Yes, these are challenging times. There is no question about it. The foundation of our country is being rocked deliberately. We promised change, but quite frankly, change of the immediacy that we promised has inevitably run against the kind of fight back that we are having

today,” he said.

According to Oyegun, Nigeria has seen its worst days and is now on the verge of economic recovery due to the new economic foundation President Buhari is so laboriously and painstakingly putting together.

“Because we have a man who is thoroughly engulfed in due process and insist on due process, because we have a man as president who insists on fairness, who insists that justice must be given its due place and that everything must take place according to due process, the powers of darkness has taken advantage of this to fight back in such a massive way that they are beginning to threaten the very foundation of our nation. But let me say this. With all the emphasis at my command that change there must be.

“That this country will stay united. But the current new economic foundation that our president is so laboriously and painstakingly putting together, a new country, the foundation for a new economy based on production, not based on the cheap easy resources of oil; a foundation that will sustain this nation, a foundation that will propel this country to greatness, a foundation that is destined to make us the first, the largest and the most potent black country on the surface of the earth is being put together.

“Yes, it has caused pain, stress and there is a bit of hunger in the land. People are hungry and there is no question about that. But if you need to eat an omelette, it is inevitable that you have to break the egg. So, my message to our people nationwide is to bear with us.

“The pride that you feel when you walk out and say you are a Nigerian is backed up by 170 million people and hopefully

backed up by an economy that will bring us back to growth, to stability and development. The pride that everyone will feel is much greater than the attempt to disintegrate us into tiny mini republics. That will not happen.”

While thanking the organisers for the honour done to him, Oyegun who was filled with emotion said: “In some cases, I think it has been a charmed life. In every sense of the word, God has been good to me. Sometimes, I say that God has been partial to me. May God be partial to you.”

Earlier, Chairman of the occasion, Nwobodo, while calling for peace, appealed to all the leaders to call the youths to order, saying “all stakeholders, elders, leaders, religious institutions and education institutions to please call our youths to order. My generation is looking up to you our young leaders to gie us Nigeria of our dream.”

He told Oyegun that “yours is an important position, that comes with enormous challenges; leading a party in government at the most difficult and delicate time in our country.

“As we celebrate you, we pray that God will give you the wisdom to thrive at this time. As you already know, APC is preparing for a test of its might in the South-east, with the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State in November. We also pray that God will guide decision in all matters concerning this election.”

Bauchi State Governor, MohammedAbubakar, who attended the event along with some other APC governors, enjoined Nigerians to live in peace.

“We must learn to live with our brothers. Nigeria is a great country and the greatness is based on the diversity of the country. So, we must keep Nigeria united and be our brother’s keeper. I have told my people to keep the peace and protect our brothers,” he said.

Kalu: IPOB Challenged Nigeria’s Sovereignty Former Abia Governor, Orji Kalu, has accused the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Mr. Nnamdi Kanu of challenging the sovereignty of Nigeria.

For that reason, he justified the deployment of troops in the South-east region to checkmate the activities of IPOB. The current military operation in the South-east, code-named ‘Operation Python Dance II’, Kalu explained, was intended to stem the rising wave of kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes in the area.

He said the current tension resulting from the actions of IPOB leader, Kanu, could have been avoided, if he had respected his bail conditions.

“If Kanu had abided by his bail conditions, all these would not have happened.

“If the court gives an order, you are bound to abide by it whether good or bad. Then you can return to court to challenge the order,” the former governor

said.

Kalu who said he supports the clamour for the restructuring of Nigeria, explained that such a step is not a break-up of the country, and quickly reminded his kinsmen that the break-up of Nigeria will not be in their interest.

He spoke on the side-line of the opening of the 2017 Annual Youth Summit organised by Junior Chamber International (JCI), Ikoyi, in collaboration with Orji Uzor Kalu Foundation at his ‘Camp Neya’ country home in Igbere, Bende Local Government Area of Abia State.

Kalu added that given the huge investments by Ndigbo in different parts of the country, the people of South-east stood to suffer more than any other tribe, should Nigeria split.

Ndigbo, he advised, should stop boxing themselves to a corner because they were serious contenders and members Nigeria.

He, therefore, advised those agitating for the dissolution of

Nigeria to have a rethink and work toward achieving peace and harmony in the country.

“The struggle for Biafra is not a serious one. Those agitating for the break-up of Nigeria should stop.

“Ndigbo should rather struggle for equity and justice so that they can feel safe to live and work in any part of the country.

“It is true that Ndigbo are marginalised but even our own people have at one time or the other also marginalised us.”

Kalu, who is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), lent his support to the call for the implementation of the 2014 National Conference recommendation on restructuring the country.

“Nigeria has grown beyond the level where governors should continue to converge in Abuja every month to share Federal Allocation.”

The former governor also underscored the need for the creation of an additional state in the South-East to bring it at par with other geo-political zones in the country.

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Court Acquits Tom Iseghohi of Money Laundering Charges Davidson Iriekpen The Court of Appeal in Abuja has discharged and acquitted the former Group Managing Director of Transcorp Plc, Mr. Tom Iseghohi.

In a unanimous decision, the court also set aside the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja dated October 20, 2014, which overrule the no-case submission.

In the lead judgment delivered

by Justice Tinuade AkomolafeWilson further dismissed entirely, the 32-count criminal charge of money laundering filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The anti-graft commission had arraigned Isoghohi, the former Company Secretary, Mohammed Buba and Deputy General Manager, Mike Okoli in 2009.

They were tried for fraud and money laundering in connection with the botched acquisition of the Nigeria Telecommunications (NITEL) by Transcorp.

Trial began before Justice D.U Okorowo before it was transferred to Justice Evoh Chukwu.

The first prosecution witness (PW1) was Helen Iwuchukwu, now Company Secretary and former Legal Adviser, Department of Shared Services and Strategic Partnership of Transcorp when the alleged crime was committed.

She testified that her job was to

review and draw up commercial contracts. She said the Department of State Services (DSS) collected all the contracts in her possession for investigation.

When asked under crossexamination if she could tell the court how the accused persons transferred N15 billion to three companies, she said she was not in a position to know.

She also stated that she knew nothing about a company or any contract drawn for Global Employment Solutions Incorporated (GESI) as alleged in counts three and four of the charge.

Five other witnesses testified for the prosecution, with PW4, who was in charge of audit and finance, saying he did not trace any money to the accused persons.

The prosecution could not secure the attendance of former Transcorp chairman Mrs. Ndi Okereke Onyuike to testify despite adjournments.

The fifth prosecution witness, Aminueem Mohammed, an EFCC operative, said he investigated the case but added under crossexamination that the commission did not receive any petition from Transcorp and NITEL against the defendants nor did they complain about missing funds.

Consequently, the defendants filed a no-case submission, urging the court to dismiss the charge

because it established no prima facie case against them.

While adopting their respective written submissions in support of their no case submission, their lawyers argued that the prosecution had not established a prima facie case against the defendants.

Lawyer to Iseghohi, A Ozioko, argued that the prosecution had failed to make out a prima facie case against his client to warrant his being called to enter his defence.

He therefore urged the court to dismiss the charges and acquit the accused person.

About 190 judicial officers comprising Magistrates and Senior Registrars in the employment of the Ondo State were affected by the weekend action of the government which either sacked or suspended them from service.

The action of the government it was gathered, was due to what it termed’ irregular appointments”.

As at Friday, 70 magistrates and Senior Registrars have received either the letter of suspension or termination of appointments while the rest are to get theirs within this week.

THISDAY gathered that most of those affected by the purge in the state judiciary were the Magistrates and Senior Registrars employed by the State Judicial Service Commission (JSC) between 2011 and 2016.

The affected workers were those employed by the two past chief judges of the state, Justices Olaseinde Kumuyi (rtd) and Temitayo Osoba, who were chairmen of Judicial Service Commission when the appointments were made.

A copy of the letter of suspension dated September 13 and made available to journalists was signed by the Secretary of the JSC, IIEF, ZD Egbunu.

The letter titled “Letter of Suspension” read “due to perceived irregularities and lack of due process in your appointment as a Senior Registrar (functioning as a Staff Attorney) in the Ondo State Judiciary within the Judicial Service of the State, the Honourable Acting Chief Judge/ Chairman of Judicial Service Commission has directed your immediate suspension from the Judicial Service pending plenary

Nigeria’s foremost entrepreneur and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has described the debut N100billion Federal Government of Nigeria Sukuk offer as a paradigm shift in government’s effort at seeking alternative funding for critical infrastructure.

Speaking in Lagos when the Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Ms. Patience Oniha, paid him a courtesy visit, Dangote described the Sukuk as a commendable initiative and urged Nigerians to invest in the offer which has the full faith and credit of the federal government.

According to him, though the Dangote Group was doing a lot

consideration and review of the propriety of your appointment process. Meanwhile, you are to handover any government property in your possession to the Chief Registrar, please.”

In response, the Akure Chapter of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) said since the JSC which employed them declare the appointment irregular, the association would wade into it and see what made the appointments irregular.

The Chairman of the NBA, Mr. Tunji Oso said the list of the affected judicial officers was being compiled for necessary interface with the relevant government officials.

Oso acknowledged that JSC which employed the staff could sack them but must follow the laid down procedure affecting their terms of employment.

Nigerians EarnestlyYearning for PDP to Get It Right, Says Bello As the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) heads into its national convention, a public affairs commentator, Emmanuel Bello, said the nation is eagerly waiting to see if truly the party has rid itself of past mistakes and ready to take the lead again.

Bello, a former commissioner for information in Taraba State, said that Nigerians still reserve a measure of faith in the party, in spite of the bad press orchestrated mostly by a virulent opposition media.

Bello stressed that the PDP remains the most inclusive party in

the history of Nigeria’s democracy, judging by its cosmopolitan politics.

Its revival, he said, would put the nation on the path of development and growth again.

Speaking with news men in Abuja, Bello, who is also the current Senior Special Assistant to Governor Darius Ishaku on Public Affairs, said that as soon as PDP gets its acts together, many big wigs, who left the party due to disenchantments, would re embraced it. He said for many Nigerians, the PDP is still the party of choice.

He said, “if you are students of Nigeria’s politics, you would

The same evidence was led by the prosecution in relation to all the 32 counts, meaning that the failure of one will affect the others,” Egwuonwu said.

Lawyer to the third accused person, Sunny Tadi, also urged the court to dismiss the case against his client and discharge him.

Responding, prosecution lawyer, Sylvester Ogbedu, urged the court to ignore the defence’s arguments and hold that the prosecution has sufficiently proved its case against the accused persons.

After listening to their arguments,

Justice Chukwu in ruling, dismissed the no-case, holding that the accused persons had cases to answer.

But the Court of Appeal in setting aside the decision of the Federal High Court, held that from the evidence adduced by the prosecution at the trial, there was no basis for the refusal of the no-case submission.

The appellate court ruled that no evidence was adduced to establish the offence of money laundering against Iseghohi and subsequently discharged and acquitted him of all 32 counts of N15 billion money laundering charge levelled against him.

Dangote Endorses FG’s Debut Sukuk Offer

Ondo Judiciary Sacks, Suspends 190 Magistrates, Registrars James Sowole in Akure

John Egwuonwu, who represented the second accused person also argued along the same path. He added that the prosecution failed to prove the words used in all the counts of the charge.

“When particular words are used in a charge, those words form part of the ingredients or elements which the prosecution must prove to secure conviction.

Failure to prove such ingredients is fatal to the case of the prosecution.

“The same words were used in all the 32 counts. Such words were not proved in the trial.

have noticed that the PDP was the most formidable political machine out there for a long while. Its founding fathers were true democrats. Remember when people like Alhaji Isyaku Ibrahim, late Chief Solomon Lar and the likes were its main inspiration. “ It was an ideological party too which had the masses at heart.

Power was truly in the hands of the people. The burst started when the party started taking people for a ride and becoming bellicose.

Undemocratic strategies like imposition, doctrines of necessities, supplanting, gangsterism”

with the government, the company would invest in the financial instrument as a way to promote infrastructural development.

“I must commend the DMO for having this creativity with this N100 billion Sukuk initiative. It is a right move in the right direction as government seeks for fresh capital to fund infrastructure in the country.

“I want to urge Nigerians to invest in the offer as it is high yielding with 16.47 per cent. It is tax-free and will be beneficial to all who invest, it will enhance infrastructural growth.

“I encourage each and every Nigerian, including myself, to

participate. We as a company will participate,” he said.

“I know we are doing a lot already with government but that will not stop us from investing in this instrument because without infrastructure no economy can grow. That is why I think it is a good investment,” Dangote said.

Speaking earlier, the DG, DMO, Oniha, said she and her team were on the visit to solicit his support for the debut Sovereign Sukuk offer, stressing that the funds will be dedicated solely to road infrastructure.

Oniha explained that the DMO

and the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing have identified 25 major road projects across the six geo-political zones which the proceeds from the issuance of the Sukuk would be used to develop.

She further stated that the Sukuk fund would be applied to critical sections of the 25 road projects to accelerate their completion.

The federal government is offering N100 billion in the first sovereign Sukuk offer with a tenor of seven years, rental income will be paid twice yearly and the principal will be repaid in full at the end of the tenor to investors.

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Analyst: Nigeria’s Economic Growth Fragile after Recession Chinedu Eze Despite the fact that Nigeria has exited recession, the country’s economic growth is still fragile

because it is not based on increase in manufacturing, boost in agriculture or mining but on precarious oil prices and improved production.

This was the submission of

international business analyst, Christian Udechukwu, who spoke on ARISE Television, a THISDAY Newspaper sister broadcast network yesterday.

NUBIFIE Dissociates Self from ULC Planned Strike, Elects New Executive Announces return to NLC Sunday Okobi and Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The National Union of Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees, (NUBIFIE) has dissociated itself from the planned strike being called by the United Labour Congress (ULC).

This position was taken at the just concluded delegates’ conference held in Lagos at the weekend where new executive members were elected to pilot the affairs of the union.

In a statement made available to journalists last Saturday, the newly elected President of the union, Abdulrasheed Lukman, emphasised that “the new leadership of the union stated categorically that the union is not aware of and will not partake in any planned industrial action as called by the ULC. The process of engaging in industrial action is well stipulated in the laws of the land and rules of engagement.

“The union just emerged from its delegate conference, and a new leadership was formed. There are a number of issues begging for attention following series of happenings in our industry, shutting the financial industry at this critical period of our economic life is not an option.”

Lukman further hinted that the congress in session neither discussed nor did it ratify any industrial action, stressing therefore that NUBIFIE dissociates itself from any planned strike being championed

by ULC. The union equally announced a return to affiliation with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), adding that its affiliation with ULC, in the first place, was not in line with the union’s constitution.

According to him, “The affiliation of NUBIFIE to ULC was done out of the context of the procedure and constitution of our great union and the congress in session resolved and passed a resolution for the return of NUBIFIE to its original affiliation, NLC, as contained in the union’s constitution.”

ULC, therefore, directed all its members in the bank and insurance companies to shun any other directive contrary to its position.

Other executive members who emerged at the conference were Deputy President 1, Emmanuel Ogbanje; Deputy President 2, Ibrahim Saidu; Vice President, Thomas Omoaka; National Treasurer, Wasiu Ajila; Deputy Treasurer, Bassey Mbede.

Others were the Signing Trustee, Emmanuel Ederofia; National Trustee 1, Ademola Omodiji; Auditor 1, Samson Adesanya; Auditor 2, Kehinde Mathew; Auditor 3, Osasuyi Edomwonyi; National Female Rep, Omotayo Shonaike.

Meanwhile. the Edo State chapter of ULC at the weekend vowed to shutdown petrol stations across the state in compliance with the

directives of the national leadership of the union to commence indefinite nation wide strike today.

The state Chairman, ULC, Eddy Ossai, said only a contrary directives from the national leadership can stop the union from embarking on the strike as the state council has fully mobilised its affiliate unions.

He said the labour body had at the end of its emergency National Administrative Council (NAC) meeting last Friday urged its members to proceed on nation wide strike come Monday, an aftermath of seven days strike notice following failure by federal government to meet its demands.

Udechukwu said the country was able to get out of recession because of the peace the Vice President, Prof.

Yemi Osinbajo, brokered between the Niger Delta militants and the federal government, noting that the sabotage in oil production reduced oil export to about 1.3 million barrels per day (mbd), which grossly reduced the nation’s revenue from product and forced the country into recession, but today Nigeria exports about 2.1 mbd and this improvement in oil receipts has boosted the country’s economy.

He, however, regretted that in the key areas of the economy like agriculture, manufacturing and power supply, there is not much to cheer and that is why the nation’s economic growth is precarious.

The economist said a boost in power supply could significantly help the manufacturing sector and observed that with stability in the Niger Delta, there is improved gas supply to power gas facilities but unfortunately the country faces challenge in transmission and distribution due to inadequate infrastructure.

According to Udechukwu, stability in foreign exchange due to the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the banks has contributed in improving the economy and the support the agricultural sector is getting from the federal government indicates that in the near future the sector would contribute more to the country’s economy so there should be more investment in agriculture and government

should further encourage big farming, as a move away from the current subsistent farming which dominate the sector.

“There are other challenges like low intensity conflicts in Northwest, currently in South-east and other parts of the country, which create instability but hopefully these will be overcome by government. Currently, strike actions are affecting production in the economy but we are seeing hope in agriculture but we need more big farmers. The country is still largely on subsistent farming.

There is hope that when the key areas of the economy improves, Nigeria’s economy would pick up again. After all, about three years ago Nigeria’s economy was the fastest growing economy in Africa,” Udechukwu said.

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

MONDAYSPORTS

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

WAFU Cup: Eagles in Make or Mar Clash with Black Stars Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Home-based Super Eagles need to step up their game for a must-win encounter with Ghana’s Black Stars in the ongoing WAFU Nations Cup today.

Both fierce rivals clash at the Cape Coast Stadium starting from 6pm (7pm Nigeria time) with contrasting pictures in their heads before kick-off.

Hosts Ghana are comfortable and already have a ticket into the semi finals with six points from their first two matches in the group phase, while the Eagles have only two points and must win to be sure of a place in the last four.

Ghana’s six points have come from wins over Guinea and Mali, who both drew with Nigeria and thus have a point each, but a win for either team (Guinea/Mali) in their game that will run simultaneously at the Ndoum Stadium will knock the Super Eagles out of the running if they fail to defeat Ghana.

“It is a must-win game; we are certainly aware of that.

Definitely, we will look at making a few changes because this is one match we must show character and efficiency at the rear, and middle and the fore.

Not only must we avoid defeat; we must win to make progress in the championship. That demands absolute seriousness

and diligence and only the best legs will do,” observed team coach, Salisu Yusuf, ahead of today’s clash.

The Eagles failed to fly in both group phase games so far, after showing ability in a 2-0 win over Sierra Leone the day after arriving in Ghana for the tournament.

Apart from the pressure on the African Nations Championship-bound Super Eagles to achieve victory (Ghana failed to qualify for CHAN after losing to Burkina Faso right in Kumasi after a 2-2 draw in Ouagadougou), and Ghana’s commitment to pacifying home fans for the pinfall suffered in the hands of Burkina Faso, the 66-year old rivalry between both nations will make it a ferocious affair in Cape Coast.

In the early days of the rivalry, Nigeria won more matches in the Jalco Cup, but Ghana had the upper hand in the Nkrumah Cup and Zik Cup encounters that followed, both trophies named after major pan-African figures Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.

Among the most memorable encounters between Nigeria and Ghana in those 66 years were a 2-2 draw in a 1962 World Cup qualifying match in Lagos in September 1960 (Ghana had won the first leg 4-1 in Accra); a 2-2 draw in an Africa Cup of

N AT I O N A L Y O U T H G A M E S

Nations qualifier in Accra in April 1961 (the first leg in Lagos ended 0-0) and a 2-1 win for Nigeria in a 1970 World Cup qualifier in Ibadan in May 1969 (the return in Accra ended 1-1).

Others include; a 4-2 win for Nigeria in the 2nd All-Africa Games football tournament

opener in Lagos in January 1973; a 3-2 win for Ghana in a World Cup qualifier in Lagos in February 1973 (match was abandoned and later awarded 2-0 to Ghana); a 1-1 draw in a 1978 Africa Cup of Nations match in Accra.

A 2-1 win for Nigeria in

a 1984 Olympics qualifier in Accra in October 1983; a 2-1 win for Nigeria in a 1984 Cup of Nations match in Bouake; a 1-0 win for Ghana in a 1992 Cup of Nations qualifier in Accra in September 1990 and; a 3-0 win for Nigeria in a 2002 World Cup qualifier in Port

Harcourt in July 2001 that qualified Nigeria for the Korea/ Japan finals are some of the thrilling games between both countries which may make the Ghanaians not to take things lightly despite already having of the ticket to the semis in the kitty.

Governor Godwin Obaseki (left) at the dinner for the Falconets and their Tanzanian Under-20 counterparts at the Government House in Benin City …at the weekend

U-20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

Plaudits for Victorious Obaseki Fetes Falconets, Tanzania, Says Edo Open to All Team Delta Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Delta State Government has congratulated members of ‘Team Delta’ for doing the state proud by winning the just concluded 3rd National Youth Games held at the University of Ilorin in Kwara State.

Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Patrick Ukah, in a statement in Asaba yesterday described the victory of the team as further testifying to the determination of Delta sons and daughters to make the state proud through excellence in all spheres of human endeavour.

The statement noted that “what makes this victory more spectacular and very special’ is the fact that the overall winner’s trophy has

been won for keeps by Delta State, having won all three editions of the youth games consecutively.

Ukah commended the athletes for their doggedness, stressing that they held their heads high “in true Delta spirit especially when Ondo State athletes made huge attempts on cutting their lead in the medals table”.

He noted with delight that Delta State came out tops at the end of proceedings with 21 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze medals, ahead of Akwa Ibom State who occupied the 2nd position with 16 gold, 15 silver and 15 bronze medals.

Ondo State finished third with 12 gold, 12 silver and 12 bronze medals during the keen competition.

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, at the weekend hosted the victorious Nigeria Under-20 women’s team, the Falconets and their Tanzanian counterparts to an elaborate dinner at the Government House in Benin City, to foster strong brotherly relationship between the Edo people and their guests.

Obaseki who cheered the Falconets to a 3-0 victory over the Tanzanians at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, congratulated both teams for their spirit of sportsmanship and the level of professionalism displayed by the match officials.

He urged his guests at the dinner to see the soccer encounter as a means for promoting and strengthening the bond of brotherhood

among Africans and not just a competition.

Obaseki explained that his administration was determined to harness all the gains inherent in sports tourism by making the state the preferred destination for sporting events and develop young people who are endowed with talent for sports.

“It is all about promoting brotherhood and Africa.

The purpose of the game is to help us bond better as a continent,” the governor said, and added that as hospitable people, his administration was ready to accommodate as many Tanzanians as are willing to make Edo State their home.

He disclosed that one of the strategies being deployed to boost sports development in the state is to discover those with sporting talent at a young

age.

“Our strategy in our overall plan to make the state number one in sports is to catch them young,” he stressed.

In his response, the High Commissioner of Tanzania in Nigeria, Elias Mwandobo, commended the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) for the warm reception they were given in Abuja and the exceptional hospitality the Edo State government extended to them in Benin City.

Mwandobo also commended both teams for putting up a good performance to the delight of the spectators, noting that the country was ready to play host to the Falconets come September 30 in Dar es Salaam for the second leg of the game.

The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Rt. Hon. Philip Shaibu, expressed his

appreciation for the successful hosting of the match and emphasised that Edo State was not only a destination for business investments but the new destination for sporting activities in Nigeria.

In his remarks, the Edo State Commissioner for Youths and Special Duties, Hon. Mika Amanokha, congratulated the state government for contributing three players of Edo origin to the U-20 female national team.

The commissioner said the state was ready to groom sports loving youths who will represent the country both at national and international competitions.

The Falconets’ 3-0 win was the first leg match in their African qualification campaign for a place in the finals of the 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup to be hosted by France.

After their silver medal exploit at the just concluded 2017 AfroBasket tournament, D’Tigers were scheduled to return Lagos early this morning aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight with the exception of team captain, Ike Diogu, who headed for United States of America due to family commitments.

The delegation led by President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Musa Kida,was expected to

arrive the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos at about 3:30am.

The 2015 champions who were just in camp for about two weeks before their title defence surpassed their pretournament expectations by getting to the finals, defeating continental powerhouses like Senegal and Cameroon in the quarter final and semi final.

Although, Tunisia claimed the FIBA AfroBasket title after beating Nigeria 77-65

in Saturday’s Final in Tunis, D’Tigers and their fans still have something to cheer with Diogu awarded the Most Valuable Player Award.

The D’Tigers captain who led by example emerged the tournament’s leading scorer with an average of 22 points per game while Nigerian guard Ikenna Iroegbu who made his AfroBasket debut for Nigeria was also named in the tournament’s Best 5.

The 34-year old power

forward who recorded a tournament-high also averaged 8.7 rebounds per game at the 16-team FIBA Africa’s most important competition.

Despite the loss against the host, it will be a tournament to remember for Diogu who was the tournament’s highest scorer with a total of 132 points as he powered the D’Tigers to the finals after emerging as the team’s highest points scorer in four of their six games.

Premier League: Man Utd Ruins Rooney’s Return to Old Trafford Silver Winning D’Tigers Back to Lagos from Tunis Romelu Lukaku scored against his former club as Manchester United thrashed Everton to move joint-top of the Premier League with Manchester City.

Wayne Rooney’s return to Old Trafford ended in a dismal defeat - embossed by three late goals - which sent Everton into the bottom three.

Antonio Valencia smashed a shot past Jordan Pickford from 25 yards to put Jose Mourinho’s side into an early lead which rarely came under threat.

Rooney, United’s record

goalscorer, had Everton’s two best opportunities but once he left the pitch with nine minutes to go his former employers hit overdrive.

Lukaku found Henrikh Mkhitaryan to steer home before the Belgium striker bundled in the third himself at the far post, and substitute Anthony Martial added a stoppage-time penalty.

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MISSILE Onnoghen to Judges “As judges, we must be ready to return the judiciary to the golden era that commanded respect and we must not attempt, in any way, to satisfy everybody as our duty is to save who is right and let those who are wrong to be aware� – Chief Justice of the Federation, Walter Onnoghen cautioning judges to always deliver judgements based on constitutional provisions and the rule of law to guide against provoking anarchy in society.

PATIENCEONIHA GUEST COLUMNIST

The Case for Nigerian Sukuk T

he offer for Nigeria’s debut sovereign Sukuk in the sum of N100 billion opened on September 14, 2017. This followed a roadshow, which took the Debt Management Office (DMO), Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the transaction parties to Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kano and Kaduna to engage with prospective investors on the issuance.

This first issuance of a Sukuk by the Federal Government of Nigeria has attracted a lot of interest as well as some questions from the public, hence the need to throw more light on the Sukuk’s issuance.

By way of background, the Sukuk is one of the financial instruments (bonds) used by governments and organisations to raise funds. However, unlike conventional bonds whose proceeds can be used for a wide variety of purposes including recurrent expenditure, funds realised from a Sukuk issuance can only be deployed to assets such as infrastructure. Furthermore, investors in Sukuk receive income, based on those assets rather than interest, as is the case with conventional bonds.

Prior to this time, the FGN had borrowed in the domestic market through conventional bonds namely, Nigeria Treasury Bills, FGN Bonds and the FGN Savings Bond.

The issuance of a new instrument (the Sukuk) by the government at this time is another landmark in the domestic market that is of immense benefit for the FGN, the capital market, investors and the Nigerian populace for various reasons.

One of the three broad strategic objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (2017-2020) is to build a globally competitive economy and one of the plans for achieving this is by investing in infrastructure; thus, every avenue towards developing Nigeria’s infrastructure must be explored. The use of the Sukuk to raise funds to finance infrastructure contributes directly to achieving this objective.

The proceeds from the issuance of the N100 billion Sukuk will be used to construct and rehabilitate 25 roads in Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. These roads have been selected by the power, works and housing ministry because of their strategic economic importance.

The deployment of the Sukuk proceeds to these projects would improve road infrastructure, which because of the multiplier effect of good infrastructure, will translate to many benefits all over the country.

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola

Good roads are important for Nigeria’s economic development; they connect different parts of the country, facilitate trade, provide access to markets for farmers and link remote areas to essential social services such as education and health.

Many of the prospective investors that the DMO met during the roadshow were very interested in the fact that the Sukuk is tied to projects and enquired about the specific roads towards which the N100 billion Sukuk would be applied. The level of disclosure and transparency for Sukuk financing which requires the issuer to present full details of how funds will be utilised gives investors information that will guide their investment decision whilst also

giving them the ability to monitor the utilisation of the Sukuk proceeds after investing, to confirm that funds have been applied as proposed.

To provide additional comfort to investors, the FGN has appointed two trustee firms registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that will, on behalf of the investors in the Sukuk, monitor the utilisation of the proceeds and the quality of work.

The Sukuk also provides an opportunity for the federal government to diversify its sources of funding by introducing a product that is more acceptable to ethical investors who would ordinarily not invest in interest-bearing instruments. The Sukuk effectively provides an avenue for ethical investors

The level of disclosure and transparency for Sukuk financing which requires the issuer to present full details of how funds will be utilised gives investors information that will guide their investment decision whilst also giving them the ability to monitor the utilisation of the Sukuk proceeds after investing, to confirm that funds have been applied as proposed

to also contribute to the development of the nation in a manner consistent with their investment preferences. The Sukuk will thus expand and diversify the FGN’s investor base.

The debut Sukuk offer will also encourage financial inclusion by providing an avenue for non-interest investors to participate in the fixed income market. In addition, it provides an opportunity to further develop the savings culture in Nigeria, particularly among individuals and other retail investors. For this purpose, the minimum subscription amount for this debut offer has been set at N10,000 to make it accessible to all categories of investors.

It is expected that financial institutions, social and religious organisations, cooperative societies, trust funds and retail investors will take advantage of this opportunity.

It is important to add that the issuance of the sovereign Sukuk will also deepen Nigeria’s financial market by increasing the variety of instruments available for issuers and investors. The DMO expects that the sovereign Sukuk will serve as a benchmark for the pricing of future Sukuks that may be issued by other tiers of governments, corporate institutions and multilaterals. For this purpose, the DMO will be extending the developmental role it played in the capital market using FGN Bonds to the non-interest bearing segment of the market.

Significant highlights of the N100 billion Sovereign Sukuk include the rental income, which will be paid to investors in the bond every six months at a rate of 16.47% per annum. It is a safe low-risk investment, as it is a direct obligation of the FGN, which is fully responsible for the payment of the rental income and the repayment of the principal at maturity. It is also backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government.

The CBN has conferred a liquid asset status, meaning that the low risk of the Sukuk and the liquid asset status make it relatively easy for investors to use the Sukuk holdings as collateral.

To encourage the investment culture and mobilise savings, the rental income on the Sukuk is tax-exempt and will be listed on The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange to provide an avenue for investors that may wish to sell part or all of their investment in the Sukuk before maturity. t.T 0OJIB %JSFDUPS (FOFSBM PG UIF %FCU .BOBHFNFOU 0GGJDF %.0

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