Thursday 12th October 2017 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

Tambuwal: North Not Opposed to Restructuring We cannot be stampeded, says Ango Abdullahi El-Rufai: More states will not address imbalance in country Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and John Shiklam in Kaduna Sokoto State governor, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal yesterday dismissed the

widely held perception that the North was opposed to restructuring because it is the biggest beneficiary of the current socio-political and economic structure in

the country. Tambuwal spoke at a twoday conference on “The North and Future of the Nigerian Federation”, organised by the Arewa Research and

Development Project (ARDP) in Kaduna. However, his position went against the grain of his colleagues such as the Kano State governor, Dr.

Abdullahi Ganduje and his Katsina State counterpart, Bello Masari, among others, who had at a recent zonal meeting organised by the All Progressives Congress

Committee on Restructuring, opposed the clamour for the restructuring of the country, saying that they were in favour Continued on page 8

Abuja Lawyer Asks Court to Stop Senate from Inviting Baru… Page 12 Thursday 12 October, 2017 Vol 22. No 8211. Price: N250

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IMF Warns of Heightened Risks as Nigeria Seeks to Increase Foreign Debt Kunle Aderinokun, Chika Amanze-Nwachuku, Obinna Chima and Nume Ekeghe in Washington D.C.

IN RECOGNITION OF NIGERIAN HEROES... L-R: Minister of Women Aﬀairs and Social Development, Mrs. Aisha Alhassan; wife of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola; most outstanding winner 2017 Indomie Independence Day Awards (IIDA), Chibuyim Nnakwe; Head of Tolaram Nigeria, Mr. Pawan Sharma; wife of Edo State governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki; and Chairman, Senate Committee on Land, Housing and Urban Development, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, at the 2017 Indomie Independence Day Heroes Awards ceremony, held in Lagos… recently

As the federal government continues to fine-tune plans to raise additional foreign debt from the international capital market (ICM) and multilateral donor agencies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Nigeria and other low income countries that greater reliance on foreign borrowing may at some point expose their economies to vulnerability, if the funds are not put to good use. The Financial Counsellor Continued on page 8

Intels Vows to Fight Back as NPA Terminates Pilotage Agreement Mulls withdrawal of multibillion dollar investment in Badagry Deep Seaport Eromosele Abiodun The management of Nigeria’s oil and gas logistics giant, Intels Nigeria Limited (INL), has kicked against the termination of its Pilotage

Agency Agreement by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), describing the action as “preposterous” and highly injurious to Nigeria. Intels, in a statement made available to THISDAY

yesterday, disclosed that following the letter from the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) to the Managing Director of

NPA, Ms. Hadiza Bala-Usman, directing NPA to terminate the pilotage agreement, NPA promptly ended the contract on Tuesday, October 10, 2017, without inviting it as the other party to the agreement for

negotiation or due recourse to the terms of the agreement that specify conditions precedents before a party can exit the contract. THISDAY had exclusively reported yesterday that Malami

had written to Bala-Usman on September 27, directing her to terminate the boats pilotage monitoring and supervision agreement that the agency had Continued on page 10

Parents Withdraw Wards from Schools in S’East over Monkey Pox, Military Outreach Concerns... Page 12

T H I S D AY THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017

THURSDAY, ͹ͺ˜ ͺ͸͹Ϳ ˾ T H I S D AY

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Court Orders Permanent Forfeiture of 56 Properties Linked to Alison-Madueke Davidson Iriekpen A Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday ordered the permanent forfeiture of 56 properties situated in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, valued at $21,982,224 (about N6.7 billion) and allegedly linked to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to the federal government. The forfeited properties included 21 mixed housing units of eight four-bedroom penthouse apartments; six three-bedroom

apartments; two three-bedroom apartments; and one fourbedroom apartment, all en suite and located at 7, Thurnburn Street and 5 Raymond Street, Yaba, valued at N937 million and bought through Chapel Properties Ltd. Others are: 16 numbers of four-bedroom terraces, located at Heritage Court Estate, Omerelu Street, Diobu GRA, Port Harcourt, River States, valued at N928 million and bought through Blue Nile Estate Ltd; 13 three-bedroom

apartments with one room maid’s quarter, situated at Mabushi Gardens Estate, Plot 1205, Cadastral Zone B06, Mabushi, Abuja, valued at N650 million and bought through Azinga Meadows Limited; and six flats of three-bedroom and one boy’s quarter, located at Plot 808 (135) Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, valued at N805 million and bought through Vistapoint Property Development Limited. The order was sequel to the motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes

Commission (EFCC) seeking the permanent forfeiture of the properties. The anti-graft agency, while urging the court to grant the motion, argued that the properties sought to be attached were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities. Having listened to the submissions of the EFCC lawyer, Anselem Ozioko, Justice Anka granted the motion as prayed. In granting the motion, the judge, Justice Abdul-Azeez Anka held that since there

was no response to the applicant’s motion on notice for final forfeiture by any of the respondents, despite being served with the hearing notice, he was left with no option than to grant the order. “I have gone through the affidavit attached to the motion for final forfeiture, as well as the submissions of the EFCC counsel, A.B.C. Ozioko. The court has no option, considering the incontrovertible evidence filed by the EFCC, than to grant the application.

“The motion for final forfeiture is accordingly granted as prayed. All parties have a right of appeal,” Justice Anka held. Joined as respondents in the suit are Alison-Madueke (1st respondent), Donald Chidi Amamgbo (2nd respondent), Chapel Properties Limited (3rd respondent), Blue Nile Estate Limited (4th respondent), Azinga Meadows Limited (5th respondent) and Vistapoint Property Development Limited (6th respondent).

growth. “There is a need for urgent actions to front-load fiscal consolidation through mobilising more non-oil revenue. So right now, non -oil revenue collection in the first part of the year was only half of what was budgeted and there is an expectation that the trend might continue for the second part of the year. “And if so, that would continue to widen the deficit and make interest payments to revenue stay very high at around 60 percent which is quiet striking. “So the message is to front-load fiscal consolidation, emphasise non-oil revenue mobilisation and there are certain measures both on the tax and spending that the IMF team has been emphasising on,” Pattillo said. She stressed that for a number of oil exporters such as Nigeria, unless action is taken, “debt which has been rising in many countries is a concern particularly because of the interest payments. “So, if you have continuing rise in debt, the interest payments would rise, then it would consume a large part of any revenue that you collect and you won’t be able to use that revenue for the objectives

of the Economic Recovery and Growth Programme (ERGP) and increasing growth and employment. “So to ensure that you have the ability to use those revenues for enhancing expenditure, there is a need to make sure that debt is sustained and interest to revenue is kept at a reasonable level," she advised. Meanwhile, the World Bank has noted the modest economic recovery in Africa, adding that growth was projected to pick up to 2.4 per cent in 2017, from 1.3 per cent in 2016. According to the Bank’s Africa’s Pulse, a bi-annual analysis of the state of African economies conducted by the World Bank released yesterday, the current projection was below the April forecast of 2.6 per cent. This rebound, said the World Bank, is expected to be led by the region’s largest economies. In the second quarter of this year, Nigeria exited five consecutive quarters of contraction growing by 0.55 per cent, while South Africa emerged from two consecutive quarters of negative growth. Looking ahead, the continent, according to the World Bank, is projected to see a moderate increase in economic activity, with growth rising to 3.2 per cent in 2018 and 3.5 per cent

in 2019 as commodity prices firm up and domestic demand gradually gains ground, helped by slowing inflation and monetary policy easing. “Improving global conditions, including rising energy and metals prices and increased capital inflows, have helped support the recovery in regional growth,” it added However, the report warned that the pace of the recovery remained sluggish and will be insufficient to lift per capita income in 2017. “Growth continues to be multispeed across the region. In non-resource intensive countries such as Ethiopia and Senegal, growth remains broadly stable supported by infrastructure investments and increased crop production. “In metal exporting countries, an increase in output and investment in the mining sector amid rising metals prices has enabled a rebound in activity,” it stated. Headline inflation slowed across the region in 2017 amid stable exchange rates and slowing food price inflation due to higher food production, the World Bank said. It added that fiscal deficits had narrowed, but continued to be high, as fiscal adjustment measures remain partial.

to stay together,” Abdullahi said. But as Tambuwal and Abdullahi made their positions known, El-Rufai again faulted the clamour for the creation of additional states as a means of addressing the perceived imbalance in the country. He said such agitation amounted to enthroning injustice and was akin to seeking to make unequal parts equal in a country that has an unequal population and resource distribution. Speaking at a special public hearing organised for the youth members of the APC on restructuring in Abuja yesterday, el-rufai also faulted the demand for resource control, saying that those behind it were not considering the interest of the entire country. However, the event fell short of expectations in terms of attendance, as not many youths showed up at the event. “The greatest injustice is trying to make equal, unequal and unequal equal, things are not done like that. What do I mean by that: there are those who have said that Nigeria and Unites States of America are the same. “It is just like saying everyone who is six feet, five inches can play basketball. As human beings we are equal but you cannot come and stand here and say we should create nine

states in each zone. “Nigeria is not equal likewise the population and resources so you cannot do that,” he said. On the clamour for the restructuring of the country, El-rufai said that any arrangement that does not factor in the National Assembly, with members of the Senate playing a key role in the process, was bound to fail. He also cautioned those pushing for a separatist agenda and resource control to note that they may have serious hurdles to scale at the National Assembly and the state Houses of Assembly, except they broadened their proposals to address the concerns of other parts of the country. “For those agitating for restructuring, there is a constitutional way for doing it. The National Assembly, including the Senate, which cannot be abolished, is the final hope, for that is where the vote lies. We have a constitutional order, a due process. “To amend the constitution and correct many of the things we are proposing, at least 24 state Houses of Assembly have to approve it; at the National Assembly, the majority in the Senate will always win the vote. “I think one of the mistakes we are making about restructuring is that everyone

thinks of his own and no one thinks of the entire country. “But what we should be thinking of is how does this advance the overall interest of Nigeria, because everyone

IMF WARNS OF HEIGHTENED RISKS AS NIGERIA SEEKS TO INCREASE FOREIGN DEBT and Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the fund, Mr. Tobias Andrian gave the warning yesterday while briefing journalists on IMF’s Global Financial Stability Report titled, “Is Growth at Risk?” released at the IMF/ World Bank Annual Meetings taking place in Washington D.C. The IMF, however, welcomed the effort by the federal government to reduce the country’s infrastructure gap, particularly in the power sector. President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday had sought the approval of the National Assembly for additional foreign borrowing of $3 billion for re-financing domestic maturing debts and the issuance of a $2.5 billion Eurobond/Diaspora Bond to fund the 2017 capital budget. However, Andrian pointed out that the good news was that portfolio inflows to emerging economies, which Nigeria has also enjoyed recently, was estimated to reach $300 billion in 2017. This is expected to further support growth prospects in these countries, he explained. “Borrowing by governments, households and companies (not including banks) in the

so-called Group of 20 exceeds $135 trillion, equivalent to about 235 per cent of their combined gross domestic product (GDP). “Despite low interest rates, debt servicing burdens have risen in several economies. And while borrowing has helped the recovery, it has also created new financial risks,” he explained. According to Andrian, Nigeria and other low income countries have benefitted from easy financial conditions by expanding their access to ICMs. He noted that while borrowing has generally been used to fund infrastructure projects, refinance debt, and repay arrears in some countries, it has also been accompanied by an underlying deterioration of debt burdens as measured by the debt service ratio. Furthermore, he said investors were growing complacent about potential shocks that could cause turmoil in the markets. These include geopolitical risks, a surge in inflation, and a sudden jump in long-term interest rates. He urged central bankers to maintain easy policies to support growth. “But this is breeding complacency and allowing a further build-up of financial

excesses. Non-financial borrowers are taking advantage of cheap credit to load up on debt. “Investors are buying riskier and less liquid assets. If left unattended, these growing vulnerabilities will continue to mount, threatening to derail the economic recovery when shocks occur. “Overseas investment into emerging market and low income economies has increased. The global economic upswing is laying hopes for a sustained recovery and allowing central banks to eventually return their monetary policies to normal settings. “Major central banks can avoid creating market turbulence by thoroughly explaining their plans to gradually unwind crisis-era policies. To discourage riskier lending, financial regulators should deploy so-called ‘macro-prudential’ policies, such as limits on loan-to-value ratios for mortgages, for macro critical objectives,” he added. The Assistant Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF, Mrs. Catherine Pattillo, also in an interview on the sidelines of the launch of the fund’s Fiscal Monitor called on the Nigerian government to increase its pace of reform in order to stimulate

TAMBUWAL: NORTH NOT OPPOSED TO RESTRUCTURING of a fair and equitable Nigeria but not any arrangement that would lead to the alteration of the socio-political structure of the country. Tambuwal’s remark came just as the Kaduna State governor and chairman of the restructuring committee of the APC, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai faulted the clamour for more states as a means of addressing perceived geopolitical imbalance in the country. The Sokoto governor who was the chairman of the occasion, said the North wants restructuring as much as any section of the country, stressing however that as a people, the region would not jump on to the bandwagon of agitations without ensuring that any action taken was inclusive with due respect to procedures and processes that will sustain the outcome. “Therefore, the idea that the North is against restructuring because it benefits the most from the current state of things is circumscribed and patently false. “The fact that some people continue to parrot such a lie only helps to give credence to the flawed argument. Let us be clear: the North wants restructuring as much as anyone else. “However, as a people, we do not easily jump on to the bandwagon because we are always there for the long haul.

We believe that any decision we take must be inclusive and respect procedures and processes so that the outcome is sustainable. “I think we should first, as a country, agree on a mutual definition of the term restructuring. In my view, if restructuring means taking stock of our arrangement to ensure that no state takes a disproportionate amount of the resources, or most of the available space in the education or job sector, or subjugate the others’ culture or religion, or lords it over the other so that the number of the poor and uneducated whose future is circumscribed by their circumstance is shared proportionately, then we are game,” Tambuwal said. According to him, “We all want a country where there is peace and progress, where justice is a given, where all lives are safe and people can pursue their legitimate livelihoods wherever they choose. “I believe each state in this country has areas of comparative advantage and life is a cycle so that what was once the largest revenue earner can in time become less so while something else takes ascendancy.” He noted that Nigerians must look to the future and agree on what in the long run would

benefit all citizens. Tambuwal said only recently, the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Northern Traditional Leaders Council Committee on the Restructuring of the Nigerian Federation which he chairs, inaugurated a technical committee to look at the issues surrounding the calls for restructuring and get the aggregate views of the North and present same to his committee for use during the proposed town hall/public hearings across the 19 Northern states. However, the spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and a former Cice Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Prof. Ango Abdullahi declared that the North could not be stampeded into agreeing to what it is not prepared for. According to him, all the agitations for restructuring were being propagated to blackmail the North. “The West and East want regions, so be it! We are not opposing that and we are not afraid of regional government. “But I see all these agitations as politics of blackmail against the North. No one should stampede us into agreeing to what we are not prepared for. “We are ready to go our separate ways, but it is better

Continued on page 10

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THURSDAY, ͹ͺ˜ ͺ͸͹Ϳ ˾ T H I S D AY

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Aid Workers Flee Borno Town after Boko Haram Attack Army repels insurgents, kills 15 sect members, loses one soldier

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri Aid workers yesterday fled Gwoza in Borno State after the Boko Haram sect launched a deadly attack on the town on Tuesday night. Gwoza, which at the peak of the Boko Haram expansionist reign in the North-east between 2014 and 2015 was declared the headquarters of the “caliphate”, has several aid workers resident and working in the town to bring back normalcy. Speaking to THISDAY yesterday on the phone, John Ali, a resident said: “The attempt by Boko Haram to overrun the town, which was successfully repelled by the Nigerian military had compelled the NGOs in the town to take their leave.” Continuing, he said: “As we speak, all the staff of the NGOs are heading towards the

helipad awaiting helicopters for immediate evacuation to Maiduguri. “The exit of NGOs from Gwoza town would portend danger in terms of food, social and medical needs for the thousand of returnees who are beginning to settle down and pick up the pieces of their lives.” He said many of the residents of the town had decided not to flee, adding: “Despite yesterday’s (Tuesday) incident, though we were frightened, we would not be forced to flee because the Nigerian troops have given us confidence and the commanding officer is fully in control.” A military source revealed yesterday that the insurgents made an attempt to penetrate the town on Tuesday night. The source, who preferred not to be named, said the gun battle between the troops and

Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Tukur Buratai the terrorist went on for more than an hour. He disclosed that the insurgents tried to attack Gwoza from the Yamteke axis with the intention of overrunning the

town again. “It was the same Yamteke axis that the insurgents previously used in penetrating and capturing Gwoza town and the attempt by Boko Haram yesterday was to recapture it again but we resisted and successfully repelled them after three hours of fireworks,” the military source said. “They came in large numbers but we did not let them come into the town as we took the fight to them right there along the Yamteke axis in order to avoid civilian casualties and thank God we succeeded in doing that; we had no civilian casualties in yesterday’s attack,” he added. During the duel with the insurgents, the Nigerian Army confirmed that the sect lost 15 members. A statement issued later yesterday by the Director

Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman disclosed that 15 terrorists were neutralised by the troops during the attack on Gwoza. He said: “Troops of the 192 Task Force Battalion of 26 Task Force Brigade of Operation Lafiya Dole at about 8.35 p.m. on Tuesday, 10th October 2017 displayed their fighting prowess to dislodge the onslaught by successfully repelling a Boko Haram terrorists’ attack at their (military) outpost from the Yamteke axis of Gwoza Local Government in Borno State. “The troops utilising heavy fire power and acts of bravery dealt a decisive blow on the terrorists who attempted to infiltrate their outpost with improvised explosive vehicles and persons bearing improvised explosive devices. “In the ensuing fire fight, troops inflicted heavy casualty

on the terrorists, repelled the attack on their location, neutralised 15 terrorists, captured one Panhard Vehicle Blinde Leger, large caches of various ammunition, destroyed one Toyota Hilux pick up truck mounted with anti-aircraft guns and one gun truck. “Several other Boko Haram terrorists escaped with gunshot wounds. Sadly, one soldier died during the attack and his remains have been evacuated.” He assured the public that the troops remained determined in their task of safeguarding communities and providing a conducive environment for humanitarian agencies to do their work. “In this regard, the populace is encouraged to always provide vital information on suspected activities of Boko Haram to the security agencies in their respective localities,” he added.

boat service revenues would have been directed. According to Bellinato, “Afterwards the account holders, with relative proxies, would remit the respective portions due to the parties, being 30% in favor of NPA and 70% in favor of INL. “In the same letter we indicated our availability to identify the bank, from among the ones indicated by NPA; regarding the reasons of our proposal we firmly reiterated the precariousness of our financial status, mainly attributable to the credits towards NPA and heavily financed by various credit institutions. “Such circumstances rendered alternative solutions to the ones suggested by us unviable, and also taking into consideration the inapplicability of TSA to running contracts in the manner proposed by NPA. “Clearly, deduction of entitlements due to INL from collections under the Agreement, and payment of the balance into the designated NPA account for TSA purposes, would be in compliance with the TSA policy.” Intels maintained that the decision by NPA to terminate the Agency Agreement, which was totally unexpected in consideration of the meetings held by the parties and exchange of letters, was clearly preposterous and the consequences highly injurious to the interests of the company. “Hence, in compliance with the Article 12 of the Agency Agreement between the NPA and INL, we hereby request you to schedule a meeting within seven days from the date of this letter, in order to analyse the residual critical

areas of our relationship and to agree, to the possible extent, on a common solution. “Should this not happen, we hereby notify you that, in accordance with Article 13 of the Agreement, we will refer the matters to arbitration, in order to safeguard our company from the significant damages and other adverse consequences that may result from this rather unbecoming decision. “We wish to reach an amicable solution as soon as possible for this complicated matter so that we can avoid to request for the intervention of the court for the immediate payment of any amount due to us from NPA, also in light of the likely pressure for action from our banks, which we may be compelled to do, despite our unwillingness,” the company stated in the letter. Intels also warned that the “unjustified decision” by NPA would hurt Nigeria’s international credit rating and scare away much needed foreign direct investment. “Among them we cannot avoid to mention Intels itself, which has planned to make the investment for the largest African port in Badagry, for an amount of several billions dollars,” the company stated. According to Intels, “For information purposes only, we recall that on November 8th, 2013 (Art. 2.2) an agreement with the NPA has been signed binding it, without any doubt, to reimburse the investments made on its behalf at FOT Onne - Phase 4B (and also under separate agreement for Eko Support projects) with the 100% of the incomes generated through the pilotage activities, which means that repayment

will be made out of the 72% to be reserved to yourselves under the SOP proposed by NPA. “Given that, it is clear that the said agreement sets the substantial transfer of the receivable in favour of our company, which cannot be disregarded and that only a subsequent agreement as the one the parties are negotiating (70%-30%) may modify, in your exclusive interest. “Our relationship has always been characterised by timely execution of projects undertaken on behalf of NPA as well as operational efficiency, which has variously been acknowledged by NPA. “It is also easy for you to ascertain the regularity and timeliness of the payments made by us on a monthly basis for the lease of facilities and throughput fees, equal to an amount of over 170 million US$ since the award of the concession. “On July 26th, 2017 a joint technical meeting was held with the aim of reconciling the credit/debit balances between our entities, confirming the amounts due to our company. On that occasion, the request to postpone the issuance of a credit note in our favour related to the interests matured on the said amount was raised, for budget and financial statement needs. “We mention this point only to confirm, should it be required, the effective and constructive cooperation existing between our respective entities, which contrasts sharply with your decision as communicated in your letter of today (Tuesday) and makes it even more unexplainable,” the company added.

was flanked by other members of the restructuring committee, advised the youths present against engaging in election vices such as thuggery and ballot box snatching, stressing that they should seek ways of being part of the political engagement and acquiring the experience needed for leadership. Speaking on the poor turnout at the event, El-rufai said: “I wished more of them (youths) came but I recognise that most of you now communicate more in the virtual world than in the real world. “So many of them contacted us on the social media, so I am so far very happy with the

participation of young people particularly when we went for out zonal hearings. “The outing here in Abuja is not as crowded as I expected, but I know they are following us on the social media. We’ve received lots of memoranda from them through various social media platforms, so we have a very fair idea of what the young people of Nigeria are thinking about the future of their country and we will reflect that in our report,” he said. Most of the youths who spoke at the parley, however, expressed support for restructuring and called on the federal government

to do something about the clamour for the devolution of powers, true federalism and resource control. They also canvassed for local government autonomy and state police. One of the youths particularly deplored the state of affairs in the country, saying that hunger, inequality and lack of opportunities to showcase the talent among the teaming youths was the bane of the country. He said a system that does not promote merit and excellence but encourages favoritism and ethnicity was at the root of Nigeria’s problem.

INTELS VOWS TO FIGHT BACK AS NPA TERMINATES PILOTAGE AGREEMENT with Intels, saying that the contract was illegal ab initio. Malami in the said letter had stated that the agreement which had allowed Intels to receive revenue on behalf of NPA for 17 years, was in contravention of the Nigerian Constitution, especially in view of the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy of government. Based on the directive, Intels which was founded over three decades ago by Mr. Gabriele Volpi, an Italian national who also has Nigerian citizenship, and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, stands to lose several millions of dollars in commissions for the monitoring and supervision pilotage services it handles on behalf of NPA on Nigerian coastal waters. Drawing the attention of Bala-Usman to the illegality of the agreement, Malami made it expressly clear that the agreement violated Sections 80(1) and 162(1) and (10) of the constitution, and wondered that the parties – NPA and Intels – did not avert their minds to the relevant provisions when they were negotiating the agreement in 2010. But in a strongly worded response, Intels said yesterday that the termination of the agreement which was conveyed to the firm in a letter signed by the NPA boss on Tuesday, was “clearly preposterous and the consequences highly injurious” to the interests of Nigeria. Intels said the action by NPA would force it to reconsider its multibillion dollar investment at the Badagry deep seaport in Lagos, adding that the investment would have created thousands of direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians.

It said it had invested too much in the country and if the Nigerian government was not prepared to respect the sanctity of its contract, it was ready to head to the courts to challenge NPA’s action. Intels gave NPA seven days from yesterday to reconsider the residual critical areas of their relationship and to agree, to the possible extent, on a common solution, failing which it shall head to arbitration. It further divulged that the NPA was indebted to it to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. In a copy of the letter signed by a Director of Intels, Mr. Silvano Bellinato to BalaUsman yesterday rejecting the termination of the agreement, which was also made available to THIDAY, the company said: “With reference to your letter received on October 10th 2017, allegedly terminating the Agency Agreement between Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and INTELS Nigeria Ltd (INL), we formally contest the contents of the same for the reasons stated below: “On March 15th 2017, we received your letter ref: HQ/ F&A/ED/AD/INTELS/034 in which, in addition to other contents, the following points were stated: “Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) acknowledged a debt towards Intels Nigeria Limited (INL) in the sum of 674,767,415.00 US$ (in addition to the interests accrued in the meantime); “NPA communicated the need to reconcile the sum of 109,000,000.00 US$ for the additional works carried out; “NPA informed INL about the implementation to be discussed in respect of a

‘transit account’ called NPA service boat revenue collection account domiciled at one of the banks indicated by you and the related standard operating procedures (SOP); “NPA confirmed 28% agency commission to INL and the 72% balance to be shared between NPA and INL in the ratio 30:70. “On March 27th 2017, we replied to every point in your letter of 15th March as stated below: “INL took note of NPA’s acknowledgement of debt; “INL declared availability to meet NPA in order to discuss the details for the certification of the 109,000,000.00 US$ for the additional works carried out; “INL requested for postponement of the SOP application. “On April 19th 2017, NPA acknowledged our acceptance of NPA’s proposal in respect of 28% agency commission (already included in the existing running Agency Agreement) and in particular to the 30% - 70% split, respectively to NPA and INL, related to the 72% balance. This would imply that the 30% is to be remitted on a monthly basis to NPA while the 70% is to be applied towards reducing the indebtedness to INL. “Regarding the TSA application, NPA reiterated the strategic importance of such a request. However it is noted that TSA was not part of the existing agency agreement between the parties.” The company said that on May 5th 2017, it replied NPA’s letter of April 19th 2017 proposing the opening of a jointly signed account between INL and NPA in which the

TAMBUWAL: NORTH NOT OPPOSED TO RESTRUCTURING is thinking about his own and no one is thinking of the interest of the country and that is what is happening presently. “Let us think about the interest of Nigeria first before we think of our own interest. “Now, some people say because we have oil, let us have resource control. But we must think of what is in the overall interest of Nigeria. “By that, I mean what works for everyone. Because what works for one part of the county will not necessarily work for the other and so as long as we are from one country we must seek for what is for the common good not the one that serves

one interest group. “You don’t do things like that, you will get it wrong. Otherwise, you will continue to have arguments and there will be no consensus. “You cannot just say that your state is producing oil and you want resource control, because you have to pass such amendments through the National Assembly and all the states that have no oil are more in number than those that have oil and so they will vote it down. “So you had better start thinking about something that works for the entire country not just you,” he explained.

El-rufai also spoke on the plans being put in place to hold transparent local government elections in Kaduna State. He disclosed that so far the state government has spent N4 billion to purchase electronic voting equipment which will be deployed for the council polls. “We have so far spent N4 billion. We are saying that we want to have clean local government elections in Kaduna. We are importing electronic voting materials from China and after that we will start going round the state to educate the electorate on how to use the machines,” he said. The Kaduna governor, who

T H I S D AY THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

Panic in S’East, Asaba as Parents Withdraw Children from Schools over Monkey Pox, Military Outreach Nigerian army allays concerns Seven patients discharged, certified free of virus in Bayelsa Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu, Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba, Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia, Benjamin Nworie in AbakalikiEmmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa and DavidChyddy Eleke inAwka Panic yesterday enveloped the entire states in the South-east following rumours that soldiers from the 82 Division of Nigerian Army were going round schools to inject pupils with monkey pox virus in their ongoing medical outreach in the region. The rumour, which gained momentum just before midday, caused pandemonium as parents rushed to schools to take home their children and wards thereby leading to early closure of schools. Some private school owners shut down their schools to safeguard pupils from any unforeseen mishap and health risk. The South-east states are still smarting from the special military operation by the military tagged: ‘Python Dance’ apparently aimed at checking the excesses of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) agitators. The rumour had it that the military wanted to depopulate the South-east using the medical outreach, especially with tension over the monkey pox virus still raging as a smokescreen. It took the prompt intervention of the state governments and in some cases, the military, to douse tension in the affected states. The rumour which spread like wildfire, THISDAY gathered, started in Anambra State when soldiers stormed a school in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area, to begin the administration

of drugs to indigenes. Rumours however went round the town that the soldiers were in Anambra to inject children with vaccines as was allegedly done in Bayelsa State to infect them with the monkey pox virus. The rumour had caused serious pandemonium in town as some people claimed that over 50 children had died in Nnewi after they were administered with the vaccines, leading parents to rush to the schools of their wards to withdraw them. As early as 10a.m., most schools in the state had sent their pupils home to join their parents, while others shut their gates against visitors, to resist the attempt of anyone coming in to immunise the children. THISDAY however gathered that the medical outreach was not for children but for elderly people, just as the army insisted that there was no truth in the rumour. Colonel Musa Sagir told journalists in a chat that the rumour was false. He stated that he was at the venue of the supposed medical outreach, and that the rumours of dead children were lies as no child had been immunised. Also, the state government called for calm among citizens of the state, saying that there was no truth in the rumour that soldiers were injecting children to death. A statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Solo Chukwulobelu stated that the outreach was a well intentioned exercise, but said it was unfortunate that the military did not announce the exercise or sensitise the people of the state before arriving. In Abia State, a proprietress of a private school on Aba road,

Osinbajo Reiterates FG’s Commitment to Rescue Remaining Chibok Girls Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday reiterated the commitment of the federal government to the release of the remaining abducted Chibok girls, saying it would send a clear message to the world that such criminal acts of abduction would not be condoned in the country. In a statement by his spokesman, Laolu Akande, last night, Osinbajo was quoted as saying: “We want to be able to challenge men and women all over the world about this sort of behaviour, and this is one of the reasons why we are advocating that this kind of conduct must be met with the greatest possible objection and force. “It is very important for us that those girls are returned; anyone who has a friend or child or anyone among the girls recognises that girls are more vulnerable than men, especially when they have been abducted by men stronger and older than themselves, and held in captivity for so long.” “We shouldn’t accept it. We should condemn it for the cowardly and wrongful act that it is, and do

our best to give succour to the ladies who have suffered this particular injustice.” He said the vice president stated this when he received a delegation of girl child rights advocates from various schools in Abuja led by officials from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Save the Children International and the UNFPA in the Presidential Villa, Abuja in commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child. He said the gederal government was working hard to ensure that all the remaining abducted Chibok girls were released and returned home safely to their parents. “We’ve had the unfortunate experience of having over 200 Chibok girls that were abducted. Again, as you know, some of them have been rescued; they have returned and are back home. But there are still some who are still out there, who we are still hoping and working every day to bring back home,” he added. He further said the released Chibok girls were currently studying in the university. “We are happy to report that they are all doing very well, they are very excited about the new opportunities that they have and they are starting their lives afresh with a great deal of enthusiasm,” he said.

Umuahia, had a hectic time controlling the rush by parents and guardians who were there to take away their children and wards. She was seen shouting, “I don’t know you” when she saw a man she apparently didn’t recognise.” Explaining her action, the proprietress told THISDAY that “in this type of confusion, bad people can just enter the school and take away somebody’s child and I’ll be the one that the parents would hold responsible. I don’t want to take chances,” she said. Both the state government and the army high command in the state were taken aback by the vicious rumour but there was nothing they

could do to stop the early closure of schools as parents, teachers and school owners were not ready to verify the rumour before acting on it. When contacted on phone the Principal Secretary to the state governor, Chief Emma Nwabuko, lamented the speed at which the rumour gained ground, insisting that “there is no truth in it.” “The rumour mongers are at it again,” he said in exasperation, adding: “That’s what we’re suffering in this state and what they want to achieve is to cause confusion.” He said he had done investigations and contacted all relevant authorities, including the

state ministry of health and the Brigade Commander of 14 Brigade Ohafia, Brig Gen Abdul Khlaifa Ibrahim, and the answer he got was that no vaccination exercise was being carried out by the army. Nwabuko explained that there was no way a vaccination exercise could take place in schools without the knowledge of the ministries of health and education. The Assistant Director, Army Public Relations 14 Brigade Ohafia, Major Oyegoke Gbadamasi, denied the rumour, saying the originator of the rumour did so to tarnish the image of the army which he said was not engaged in any vaccination exercise.

According to him, the army carried out a medical outreach last week at Ovim in Isuikwuato Local Government Area, adding that it was successful as many people turned up and received medical care. In Enugu State, the situation was not any different as parents invaded both public and private schools to take their children resulting in the abrupt shutdown of virtually all the schools, including nursery, primary and secondary schools. Attempts by some school authorities to douse the raging tension by locking their gates to

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RUBBING MINDS

R–L: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj-General Babagana Monguno (rtd); Minister of State, Solid Minerals, Abubakar Bawa Bwari, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja …yesterday

Abuja Lawyer Asks Court to Stop Senate from Inviting Baru OPEC’s output hit second-highest level in September Ejiofor Alike An Abuja-based lawyer has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to restrain the Senate from inviting the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, over the allegation contained in a leaked letter written to President Muhammadu Buhari by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu. This is coming as crude oil production by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) hit the second highest monthly level this year in September, returning to growth after the oil cartel’s output fell for the first time in five months in August. In the suit Number FHC/ABJ/ CS/953/17, the plaintiff, Johnmary Chukwukasi Jideobi has also asked the court to set aside the October 4, 2017 proceedings of the Senate on the ground that the Senate’s planned investigation is based on the contents of an unconfirmed

document of doubtful origin. According to the originating summons, the counsel to the plaintiff, Ramsey Abuchi Omego wants the court to determine “whether in view of combined reading of Sections 5 and 88 (2) (a) and (b) of the amended 1999 constitution, the investigative powers of the Senate is extendable to the contents of documents with unconfirmed doubtful origin forming the basis of a probe into the activities” of Baru in his management of the NNPC. The plaintiff is also seeking an order declaring the October 4, 2017 resolutions of the Senate as illegal and therefore liable to be set aside. He also wants the court to set aside and void the votes and proceedings of the Senate conducted on October 4, 2017. The plaintiff has also asked the court to issue an order restraining the Senate from acting on the votes and proceedings of October 4, 2017. The defendants in the suit include: the NNPC; the Group Managing Director of NNPC; the Senate

President and the Senate. The Senate had set up an ad-hoc committee to carry out “holistic investigation” into allegations of corruption against Baru, which are contained in Kachikwu’s letter. In a related development, OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report, released yesterday, showed that the cartel’s oil production hit 32.75 million barrels a day in September, up about 88,500 barrels a day from the previous month. The report showed that Nigeria, Libya and Iraq saw the biggest output increases last month. OPEC slightly raised its forecast for world oil demand in 2017 and 2018, and sees a strong market for distillates this winter. It raised its forecast for world oil consumption in 2017 and 2018 for a third-straight month. OPEC forecasts the world’s appetite for oil will grow by 1.5 million bpd this year and 1.4 million bpd in 2018. The cartel raised both forecasts by 30,000 bpd, citing higher-than-

expected demand in China and developed nations this year and an improving economic outlook in 2018, particularly in Russia and China. The improved demand outlook from both OPEC and the International Energy Agency last month underpinned the oil market rally in September. OPEC and other major oil exporters, including Russia, had resolved to keep about 1.8 million barrels per day of supply off the market through March. The goal is to shrink global crude stockpiles and drain a glut that has weighed on prices for the last three years. Nigeria and Libya, both exempt from the production cuts, led the gains with monthly increases of about 50,000 bpd each. Nigeria’s production held above 1.8 million bpd for a second month. The country has said it will consider production limits once its output stabilizes above that level. OPEC gave Nigeria and Libya a waiver because internal conflicts caused big production declines in both countries last year.

T H I S D AY THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͯͯ˜ Ͱͮͯ͵

COMMENT

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

KACHIKWU, BARU AND THE NNPC Nathan P. Ajene argues that Baru’s defence is unconvincing

he attempt by Dr. Maikanti Baru, Group Managing Director of NNPC, to respond to the issues raised in the leaked letter which the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu wrote to the President is unconvincing. It falls far short in terms of facts and logic and reveals huge gaps in his management style in terms of global best practice. In fact, Baru has unwittingly confirmed that Kachikwu is right and that the current leadership trajectory of the NNPC is on a down swing. In the first place, Baru makes the fundamental mistake of personalising issues in his communication. He obviously believes that he is engaged in some kind of public fight for supremacy with Kachikwu. But nothing could be farther from the truth. The Kachikwu letter to the president is forthright, professional and focused. It is anchored on the issues. It clearly details the areas in which Baru’s actions and management style have gone against the letter and spirit of the oil sector reforms. But Kachikwu is not the issue. The issue is due process. The issue is good governance. The issue is nation-building. The issue is maximising the value of the oil industry to the nation. The issue is realising a system which will retain and boost the confidence of local and international stakeholders. In summary, the issue is national interest. In comparison, Dr. Baru’s response contains huge gaps because it fails to address some of the most serious issues in the Kachikwu letter. For instance, there is no word on the unilateral and irregular appointments into top positions in the NNPC by the Baru-led management without consultation with the Board. The silence is telling. It is a clear admission by Baru that his action is irregular and wrong. Over and over again, in his defence, Baru claims that he didn’t bother to consult Kachikwu, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources whose office is just a few metres away in the NNPC Towers, Abuja because he didn’t have to. According to him, it is the NNPC Tenders Board, not the NNPC Board which Kachikwu chairs, that has the statutory right to approve contracts, some of which are billions of dollars in value. But there are two problems with this narrow, legalistic defence. First, the NNPC Tenders Board was appointed by Baru in his capacity as GMD NNPC. That is not wrong in itself; in fact is the normal practice and a legitimate prerogative. But it is clear that anchoring the legitimacy of his actions on the endorsement of the

KACHIKWU IS NOT THE ISSUE. THE ISSUE IS DUE PROCESS. THE ISSUE IS GOOD GOVERNANCE. THE ISSUE IS NATION-BUILDING. THE ISSUE IS MAXIMISING THE VALUE OF THE OIL INDUSTRY TO THE NATION

body appointed by him cannot be an acceptable standard. In fact, it is an assault on due process. Good governance requires that there is a practical and perceptual distance between policy implementation and regulation/supervision. In this instance, Baru has breached the minimum requirements in terms of best practice. Second, section 1, subsection 2 of the NNPC Act gives the NNPC Board overall responsibility for the Corporation. It is therefore a mystery how this responsibility can exclude the board from not being consulted on critical decisions such as the appointment of top staff in charge of vital aspects of the functions of the NNPC with clear implications for the oil sector and the overall economy. Baru’s narrow, legalistic and self-serving definition of his rights are obviously more about the acquisition and deployment of personal power than enhancing the national interest. This is sad and regrettable. The issues revealed in the leaked Kachikwu letter border on the poor, secretive and unprofessional management of the Baru leadership of the corporation which manages the country’s oil resources. The Economic Diversification Programme and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Buhari administration underscore the commitment of the government to a sustainable, non-oil economic future for the country. But the reality is that the oil industry remains Nigeria’s cash cow, responsible for paying both our capital and recurrent bills for at least decade more. More important, oil is the also the gateway to Nigeria’s non-oil future because the foundation for that future will be built by proceeds from oil. Against this background, professional and transparent management of the NNPC is not a luxury. It is an important necessity tied to the country’s current and future economic priorities. Since the advent of Baru, industry watchers local and foreign have observed a relapse into the culture of opaqueness and lack of transparency from which the corporation had begun emerging slowly. The serious procedural and governance issues detailed in the leaked Kachikwu letter show clearly that the challenges are deeper and more serious than thought. Baru’s defence, sadly, has thrown light on the mindset behind these distressing developments. It is a mindset that is narrow rather than expansive, exclusive rather than inclusive, factional rather than collegial. Nigeria’s best interests cannot be served by this mindset and the preferences and actions that flow from it. Ajene, a policy analyst, wrote from Abuja

UYO AND SPORTS TOURISM Governor Udo Emmanuel is doing remarkably well in promoting tourism and national integration, writes Ray Umukoro

ften, in life, we see only the result; we don’t see the processes that birthed the result. It is so with Nigeria’s qualification for the World Cup in Russia next year. The nation buried her differences in one moment of national unity to overhaul a rather stubborn and determined Zambia national team to pick the ticket for the Mundial, the first African nation to do so. And we did it with a match to spare which in itself is historical. Yes, the qualification could have had a nudging of divinity but certain persons and factors prepared the stage for the Eagles’ triumphal flight to Russia. There is the unflinching determination of the players. They showed grit, hunger and a passion to commit all for the good of the nation. They were united in a strongly bonded rousing to national cohesion. Mikel Obi, captain of the team, echoed this force of unity when he said ahead of last weekend’s match that the team would approach the duel with one mind and one spirit: to win and get the ticket such that the last match against Algeria would be a mere formality. Mikel’s sentiments were also echoed by Paul Bassey, an accomplished sports journalist and member of the Akwa Ibom technical and planning team that coordinated activities leading up to the match. Ahead of the match, Bassey told Brila Sports Radio hosts that he saw fire in the eyes of the players during their training. He said the Eagles he watched during their training session were already seeing themselves in Russia. Prophetically, he said it is that hunger in their eyes that would make them fly over Zambia. He was right. Then, there is the factor of the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The decision of the NFF to stick to the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo (symbolically named the Nest of Champions), an architec-

tural masterpiece and one of the best stadia in Africa, is highly commendable. Against the prodding to move the Eagles’ qualifying matches elsewhere, typical of Nigeria’s way of achieving federal character, NFF insisted on Uyo, a city that has become a second home to the players. Good thinking! But much of the credit should go to Governor Udom Emmanuel who seized the opportunity of the availability of the stadium and the peace in the state to promote sport tourism and national integration. His continued willingness not only to host the Eagles but also to play a fatherly role over them was a major ingredient that got the spirit of the players fired up. The Nest of Champions was built by his predecessor, Godswill Akpabio, at the twilight of his eventful eight-year tenure. In some states where the leaders play politics with everything including matters of development, such a sports monument could have been abandoned by the incumbent on the flimsy and hysterical ground that it was a waste of public fund. Governor Emmanuel has turned the stadium into a theatre of opportunities and possibilities in a rare display of the spirit of sports tourism. It is a testament to a leader who keeps his word. At his inaugural ceremony on May 29, 2015, the governor recalled his campaign promise to the people which include: “To leverage and build on the uncommon transformation of the Governor Godswill Akpabio administration; to transform the economy of our state via industrialisation and sustained public-private sector initiative, thereby opening up opportunities for growth and improved living standards. “Others are to promote unity and oneness across the state, with due respect for traditional institutions and the elders of our society; to continuously develop, mobilise and empower our women and the youths

via planned and well-articulated welfare and capacity-building programmes; to give all Akwa Ibom persons (both within Nigeria and the Diaspora) a proud sense of belonging - built on good governance, economic advancement and due respect for the fundamental human rights of all”. The series of sporting events hosted in the state since May 2015 has given fillip to the words of the governor on industrialisation and creating opportunities for growth and development. They also showcase the character of the governor as a leader who believes in the common good as the ideal. Governor Emmanuel is not only humble to admit to the “uncommon transformation” of the state by his predecessor, he also has the good heart to state his commitment to continue in that stride. Every good leadership must address and seek to meet the needs of the people. It is even more so in political leadership especially in Africa where a majority of the people live below the poverty line. The Akwa Ibom model of leadership fits into this mould. It thinks of the people first as the constituents of the state. At the end, it is the common, ordinary people that benefit not a few political elite. Governor Emmanuel’s commitment to continue to deploy the Nest of Champions to showcasing Nigeria’s sporting talents has directly impacted positively on his people. During last weekend’s match, for instance, all the hotels in Uyo were fully booked. But for a stroke of good fortune, this writer would have been without hotel accommodation. Visitors who massed into the state in their thousands also had a good taste of the legendary Akwa Ibom food: from Edikaikong, Afang, Atama soups to the sumptuous Fisherman soup, visitors had a taste of them all. Yours sincerely had a go at Ekpangnkukwo (a steamy porridge of cocoyam and

water yam). Restaurants were buzzing with culinary activities. Money exchanged hands. Bars and pubs brimmed with activities; car hire and other transport services got even busier not forgetting the increased frequency of flights in and out of the state. Some persons even stretched their gastronomic bandwidth to dare a bite of the famed 404 pepper soup (dog meat broth) and some, I must admit, got converted. Dog meat pepper soup is not only spicily delicious, we were told it has the capacity to deal with certain ailments including detoxifying the body especially when washed down with natural undiluted palm wine which the state has in good supply. Yes, Nigeria has qualified for next year’s World Cup but the biggest beneficiaries in the final analysis are the people of Akwa Ibom State. Nigerians living and doing business in Uyo truly got more out of life this last weekend than they usually do. From the corner-shop owner to the big eateries and food vendors, there was a tangible return on investment. At the end, the state government also profits in increased tax returns. This is what happens when good leadership takes the stage. This is lacking in many states across the country. Governors bicker with their predecessors over projects, completed or uncompleted. Some, driven by ego, even abandon such projects despite billions of public funds sunk into it. At the end, it is the people who suffer. In Akwa Ibom, there is continuity in vision, in development and in the commitment to uplift the people. One other state with this model of continuity in development is Lagos. Little wonder both states have become models in people-centric leadership. Congratulations to all Nigerians on the feat made possible by the hospitality of Akwa Ibom State. Umukoro, a blogger, wrote from Lagos

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EDITORIAL THE SHAME OF FEDERAL ROADSâ€Ś1 The East-West road symbolises the tragedy of our peculiar political economy

n many respects, the criminal neglect and complacency over the East-West road is tragic. Awarded in 2006 to Setraco Group at the cost of $1.5billion by the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the 338 kilometre road, which traverses seven states must have gulped twice or thrice the initial contract sum. What is even more tragic is that despite the fact that a son of the region which produces oil, the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, was president for ďŹ ve years, little or no efforts were made to complete this vital road. The East-West road symbolises the tragedy of our peculiar political economy. It is literally the only project around which the Niger Delta Ministry was created with a speciďŹ c regional name tag. And from inception, almost all the ministers manning the portfolio have been indigenes of the Niger Delta. Out of the 11 years that it has taken since the road contract was awarded, ďŹ ve years were under President Jonathan who hails from Bayelsa State, THERE IS AN URGENT the heartland of NEED TO FIND A SOLUTION the Ijaw nation. At TO THE DEPLORABLE every budget cycle CONDITIONS OF MOST OF in recent years, huge THE NATIONâ€™S HIGHWAYS sums of money were voted for the road yet it remains an eyesore with commuters spending several hours every day in agony. In our view, a combination of sickening corruption, crass incompetence and lack of enlightened self-interest by politicians should explain the fact that this road remains incomplete. It is the same combination that has marooned the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) while the Niger Delta remains in a worse state than before it was established. Yet as things stand, to complete this important project and release the full economic potential of that part of the country, the federal government may have to set up a

Letters to the Editor

dedicated fund in the 2018 budget with a time bound extra-ministerial task force. While lamenting the terrible state of the Eleme ReďŹ nery junction section of the road recenlty, the NDDC Managing Director, Mr Nsima Ekere said: â€œIt is so bad that a 10-minute journey on that axis now takes three hours. That section of the road has failed and we will get contractors to the site immediately.â€? He said that over N70 billion was needed to complete the road. But there are questions as to where the money would be sourced, especially when the talk is about the private sector. Which private lender will put their money on such a bottomless ďŹ nancial pit? Besides, under what arrangement would the road be handed over to a private concern after the hundreds of billions of naira already expended by the federal government?

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owever, beyond the East-West road, there is an urgent need to ďŹ nd a solution to the deplorable conditions of most of the nationâ€™s highways. From the Eastern part of the country to the West and the North, travelling by road is now a major nightmare as journeys that should ordinarily not exceed three to four hours become a whole day of horriďŹ c experience. The roads have also become such a danger that in the last ďŹ ve months, the rate of daily carnage has become a major cause for concern. Yet, it is not just that most of these roads are so impassable that is disturbing, it is the fact that the dangerous spots along them have also become convenient operating centres for highway robbers who lay siege on unsuspecting motorists and other road users. This is aside the notorious fact that the poor state of these roads hampers economic activities as several tonnes of farm produce and other products cannot be transported either to the markets or to areas where they are needed. To be concluded tomorrow

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

BUHARI, ECONOMY AND THE NEW THINKING

t is no more news that Nigeria has come out of her worst recession in two decades. But President Muhammadu Buhari said: â€œUntil coming out of recession translates into meaningful improvement of peoplesâ€™ lives, our work cannot be said to be done.â€? The state of the economy is the greatest challenge facing the Buhari government; despite having recorded successes over the last two years in many areas â€“ security, anticorruption war, stability in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, restoration of Nigeriaâ€™s good image in the international community and plugging leakages amounting to billions of naira. The Buhari government inherited an economy which wasted $480 billion between 2010 and 2014; no tangible savings in the Excess Crude Account with corruption ruling every aspect of governance. The Buhari administration has taken precise steps towards the full diversification of the economy to reduce the countryâ€™s continued dependence on oil and to conserve our foreign exchange. One of such steps is the Anchor Borrowers Programme aimed at facilitating commercial banksâ€™ lending to farmers of rice and wheat and other agricultural products. Despite this, the transformation of the agricultural sector into a major income earner for the nation demands more advanced thinking. This writer once advocated for a new agricultural scheme that encourages an all-inclusive participatory technique - where youths, communities, local councils, states, the federal government and the private sector (financial institutions and private investors) will be major participants. Financial institutions and private investors will be the financiers;

governments at all levels will have well-defined roles, while the youths and small scale farmers shall be the primary targets. In addition, the scheme should be designed to be in four categoriesâ€˜export orientedâ€™, â€˜largeâ€™, â€˜mediumâ€™ and â€˜smallâ€™ scales, along with a well-defined timeframe for government to complete handoff from the scheme. The federal government would be the guarantor of funds to be provided by financial institutions or private investors. This will be done through the issuance of federal government bonds. The scheme would work in such a way that local councils and state governments would provide lands and other logistics. The private investors or financial institutions involved are not to give money directly to the government in order to receive the bond certificates, but it would be a kind of barter arrangement where the investors, either financial institutions or private individuals would setup farms and put in place all structures required in a standard farm. Afterwards, a bond certificate equivalent to the cost which is to be determined by both parties and NGOs will be issued to them. This will completely eliminate corruption which is the main cause of failure of most good programmes in Nigeria. To encourage investors to participate in the scheme, before the maturity of the bond, the investor would take a prescribed stake, between 5% and 10% in any of the farms they setup. They will also assist in monitoring progress on the farm. Besides being an added value to the investors, this will also give them rights to shares from the farmsâ€™ profit. Experts in the economy always inform us that variables such as low foreign exchange, the unstable or depreciating value of the

naira, an import-dependent market, a mono economy and the crashed global price of the oil are the main reasons for the unstable prices of goods and services- the main reason most Nigerian are suffering. A study in the CBN Journal of Applied Statistics Vol. 7 No. 2 (December, 2016), stated that â€œinflation in Nigeria was driven by the pass through of import prices to domestic prices via markup pricing by firms. This was aided by domestic inflation being persistent.â€? The experts and managers of our economy are yet to come up with an economic system to keep prices of goods, services and the value of the naira stable. Of recent, when the value of naira suffered constant depreciation, there was debate on whether the naira should be floated or fixed by the government; none of the sides (to float or not to float) won. Nigeria needs to develop home-grown and off-the-shelf approaches to tackle the unstable prices of goods and services and the stability of the naira, import payments and redistribution of wealth. Our economic team needs to be expanded to include other â€˜laymenâ€™ such as the real local players in the markets, social commentators, farmers, etc., â€“ these will increase the pool of opinions in the economic team. Let us look at the monetary system and local and international transactions: why can we not allow other currencies like the dollars, the West African CFA franc, Chinese yen to also be legal tenders in our economy, and asking our international trade partners to make some of their payments in naira? This may be the silver bullet. Zayyad I. Muhammad, Jimeta, Adamawa State

T H I S D AY THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017

POLITICS

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

PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

Nwodo:APCIstheEasiestPartytoBeatinanElection After an assessment of the All Progressives Congress, a former National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo came to the conclusion that the ruling party has not kept a single electoral promise. He spoke with Wale Ajimotokan who presents the excerpts: How is PDP repositioning for 2019 election? Our desire is to elect an executive that will give one, a robust opposition to government of the day, make sure they are on their toes to deliver on their promises to the Nigerian electorate and where they fail, Nigerians will be ready for a change in the next election. The second thing we expect the executive to do is to conduct a transparent national convention at the appropriate time to elect our presidential candidate as well as the candidates of governors in the various states of Nigeria, because there was once a time PDP paraded as many as 24 governors out of the 36 in Nigeria. The membership of PDP has not changed drastically in most of those states. So, we have a very good opportunity once we get the party back and learn from our mistakes, especially the impunity that have characterised elections in the party in the past. To correct those things, we should be able to parade candidates that will be acceptable to those states once more to hand over their destiny to the PDP government. We believe that with the performance of this government today, PDP has a very good chance to get a very good presidential candidate in the next election to win back federal government.

to improve on performance of elections in this country from that time on. And I believe that President Goodluck Jonathan kept that tradition. Elections became much more transparent and better organised. Therefore, I also want to say again that the growth rate of the economy at the time PDP left the office was 7 percent, inflation was one digit, about 9 per cent or eight percent. Today inflation is double that figure hovering around 17 percent. The exchange rate before we left was N160 per dollar. Under this regime, it’s close to N500. How can I explain that other than the strategy the government is using faulty? So, if you look at the 16 years of PDP from when we took over from Abdulsalami to the time Jonathan left, every index in the country had monumental improvement from the day we left. There was nothing we met that went bad. But since we left, everything has gone down. So, I want to be proved wrong that the country is doing badly because PDP left the country in a bad shape. We met the country in the worst shape than we handed over to APC and people know what we handed over to APC. The GDP was growing at 7 percent, anywhere in the world you don’t see any growth of more than eight percent.

PDP is known for zoning political offices. What is the zoning arrangement now? Well, we have just zoned two offices principally for now. The presidential candidate of the party will come from the north and the chairman will come from the south. Of course, the other positions in the national executive of the party have been zoned to the six zones and all the six zones have some offices zoned to them they will now go back again and zone to the states that constitute those zones. And as much as possible, candidates for those offices will be nominated at the state level to come for the convention. Our constitution says we must take zoning and rotation of political offices into consideration in order to carry the whole country along in the party.

But the GDP growth was predicated on oil prices that was making a rally in the global market … …No, there was just what we may call acceptable international indices for looking at the figures. It was the fastest growing economy in Africa and we were looking forward to 2020 to be one of the 20 best economies in the world. Today no one is talking about 2020 anymore. Nobody is talking about we are growing at about 3-4 per cent now. Can you imagine that from 7 percent it was in comparison to anywhere in the world. Something is wrong somewhere. If you say that PDP stole all the money, you may have recovered up 50 percent. So that should bring us back to somewhere. There is no person in the country today who is feeling better because money has been recovered. There is no food on any body’s table because money has been recovered. You don’t see where the money that is recovered is being injected in order to improve the lot of the common man. Is it in road construction or agriculture? Where is the money? So, it is as good as we should have left the money with those who stole it because it is not impacting on the country. They should have built factories and employed people.

Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose is already campaigning for the presidency. Going by what you said, the North will present your presidential candidate, is he trying to contradict what the party’s leadership has proposed? Well, Fayose cannot run. I tell you why. When we formed PDP, it was a battle. The first battle that PDP fought and won as a party was to zone the presidency to the south and those of us from the south made a case that in the First Republic the Prime Minister was from the north; in the Second Republic, the president was from the north; the Third Republic, a Southerner won and the election was annulled. There was no way we would go back to the south and say let us elect a northerner and again without giving the south the slot. It raged on, but eventually a decision was taken that the presidency should come from the south and the chairman of the party should come from the north. That was how Solomon Lar became the chairman and the secretary was zoned to the south, and I filled that slot as the secretary of the party. Now, it did not go down well with some members even after the party had made the decision. And they felt that they must exercise their inalienable right. For example, the Late Abubakar Rimi, former Governor of Kano; he paid for a form to run. I was the National Secretary at the time. I retuned his cheque and wrote him that the party had taken a decision, the candidate can only come from the southern Nigeria. When we went to the convention in Jos, he actually, without having a form, because we did not give him a form, he came to the venue and started to campaign. And then, we had to get some party leaders there to go and counsel

Nwodo

him that we did not want to get the security agencies to manhandle him or embarrass him. And good counsel followed and he stepped down. So that was what PDP did and now we have not only zoned the presidency to the north, we have, following the report of the Ekweremadu Committee, at every other opportunity, re-emphasised that zoning would take place. For anybody else who is not from the north, who is running, the party will not collect his expression of interest money and will not issue him a form, will not collect his money to contest and issue him with a nomination form. The party will not do that. Can you beat your chest and say that come 2019, PDP will bounce back? We owe it to the country, first of all, before owing to ourselves, because there is no doubt that we made mistakes in the 16 years that we ran the country. And that is why we lost the election. Now we have learnt from those mistakes and we have seen that the party that replaced us has not been able to even fulfil their basic electoral promises. They have not been able to do so. We have also seen a lot of

It is as good as we should have left the money with those who stole it because it is not impacting on the country. They should have built factories and employed people

indices in our country going bad as a result of the country being midwifed by APC. Whether you talk about foreign exchange, unemployment, poverty level, quality of education and our hospitals, they promised us that nobody will travel again outside the country for medical treatment, but the president himself is always abroad for medical treatment. There is absolutely nothing that they promised Nigerians that we are enjoying. So, it’s the easiest party to beat in an election. And all that we need do is to get ourselves together and know that this country needs PDP like it needs oxygen. And with that spirit of patriotism and commitment we have no alternative but to go to that election with our best foot forward, correct our past mistakes and rescue Nigeria from APC. PDP ran the country for 16 years and APC is just into its third year now. APC also said that most of the crisis facing the country now were caused by PDP, what is your position on that? My position is that when PDP came into power in 1999, the price of crude oil was $8-$9 per barrel. We inherited an empty treasury -Gen Abdulsalami handed over an empty treasury. There was nothing. We were able to rescue the country from a pariah state, we were able to restructure the economy with $8 per barrel. By the time oil hit $20-22 per barrel, we left this country with a buoyant economy in the sense that the strategic reserve of the country went from almost zero to a couple of billions of US dollars. We were able to begin to think about doing railway. Before Obasanjo left, a 25-year railway plan was in place. We were able to get debt forgiveness for Nigeria. The economy changed drastically. There is no doubt, no matter what you say about Obasanjo, he left this country better than when he got to power. And when Yar’Adua came in, you can imagine an elected president, his first reaction in his inaugural speech was he was not satisfied with the election that brought him to power. And he set up the Uwais Panel to review the electoral laws and having done so will continue

What is your position on the future of the south-east in the PDP since the party has zoned the presidency to the north, which will likely keep the presidency in the region for another eight years. Where does that arrangement leave your zone? What it means to our zone is that we are not interested in running for the position of the chairmanship of the party. I was Chairman and Ogbulafor was also chairman in the past. The people who are showing interest for chairmanship now are south-south and south-west. Secondly, we are not interested in presidency of the Senate because we had five Senate presidents when it was our turn. The only position that we have not held that we are interested in is Vice- President. We prefer to have Vice-President rather than to have Speaker, we have been Deputy Speaker. But the other zoning will come after we have secured the Northern presidential candidate and southern chairman. Then we will know where those can come from. Then the other four zones will now be left to choose the other four positions –the Vice President, Senate President, Speaker and Secretary to Government of the Federation. This is how PDP will zone its principal offices in the 2019 election.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, OCOTBER 12, 2017

POLITICS

Akintola: Nigerians, Too Lazy to Hold Their Leaders Accountable ASeniorAdvocate of Nigeria, ChiefAdeniyiAkintola who is planning to temporarily drop his successful legal practice to enable him serve the people of Oyo State as governor, contends that Nigeria will be better served if her people work hard to make their leaders accountable. He spoke with Tobi Soniyi. Excerpts: What will you do if the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not give you the ticket to contest for the governorship seat? In the first place, I am not going to lose. I am going to get the ticket by the special grace of God. But I am a progressive and the question of looking for alternative platform does not arise. I was the arrow-head of what is now known as APC. I was one of those that were present at the 1998 Confab at Premier Hotel in Ibadan by Yoruba leaders, where we formulated the policy of participating under the Abdulsalam Abubakar’s government. We mandated Chief Bola Ige to liaise with other leaders across the country. Chief Bola Ige, in his wisdom, picked me, Prof Tunde Adeniran, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, Dr. Tola Atimo, and Uncle Yemi Farounbi, as part and parcel of his team. We wrote the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). When that did not work, we left PDP for All Peoples Party (APP). When we got there in Abuja, we saw some characters there, and Uncle Bola Ige said ‘well, we can’t stay here!’ We pulled out and we came back to the drawing board. The registration then was closing. We had to quickly put something together to form the Alliance for Democracy (AD). That is why if you look at the AD Constitution and PDP Constitution, they are one and the same. The only difference there is just in the nomenclature. Who put all those constitutions together? It was the AD that metamorphosed into Action Congress (AC), then to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and to APC. I happened to be the arrow-head of the take over of the South-west by the progressives. We started in Ibarapa Local Government by the then AC before I moved to Oshogbo, and I moved on to Benin, where we got Oshiomhole installed, I was the lead counsel there. I also moved to Ekiti, where we got Dr Fayemi installed. God also used me to bring Ladoja back to office. So, there is no question of me leaving the progressive camp, it cannot just be. Wherever the progressives tilt their boat, you will find me. For me to jump boat, no I can’t because I am a professional in politics. I have a second address. What percentage of women will be in your administration, if you eventually emerged as governor in Oyo State? The 35 per cent affirmative actions, I have had causes to address it, even at the party level, and I have addressed it very well. I am what the Yoruba people will call ‘Abigael’. Ninety per cent of my kids are women, and I am married to a woman. My wife is a judge. I am duty bound to apply the provision of the law as it was. Nigeria is a signatory to that international convention, of which we have domesticated it. Having domesticated it, we are duty bound. The problem with us in this country is that most people are just too lazy to hold those who are governing us to account. Every Nigerian citizen should be able to hold Nigeria leaders accountable to that position of the law. Nigeria is a signatory to the international convention, people should ask the government, ‘why are you doing this?’ I want to challenge you, hold me accountable when I become governor of Oyo State, to see whether I will implement that or not. I am an executive member of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). I am a good member of the International Bar Association, (IBA). They will ask me questions over there about it. In October this year, we will be in Sidney, Australia and these are the types of questions they throw at us. Some six years ago, I was in Chicago for IBA, and after the presentation of my paper, one Australian, after receiving standing ovation, said ‘this is a very beautiful paper from a third world country from that country where Abacha ruled!’ He was trying

Akintola

to impugn on our integrity as a nation. But I quickly rose to the occasion and reminded him that ‘I am a proud Nigerian; that same country that produced Sani Abacha also produced Prof Wole Soyinka,’ and that shut his mouth. So, he held me accountable in that particular aspect. People seeking political offices often rely on the backing of some godfathers to realise their ambition. There is also a narrative that politics in Nigeria is shifting away from godfatherism. How do we balance the equation? Every politics is local. There is a wall of difference between what ought to be and what is. Contrary to the impression out there, we are in a democracy where the majority will have its way and the minority will have its say. The reality of our situation on ground is that, this state is different from virtually all other states in the country. This is Oyo State, where traditions still rule very strongly. In this state, the roles of the gatekeepers cannot be wished away. The gatekeepers are there and there are layers of it. Apart from that, we also have the stakeholders and anybody who wants to govern this state cannot wish away the roles of the gatekeepers. Of course, our political leaders are gatekeepers. No matter how good you are as a fashion designer for instance, you need somebody to give you cloths. No matter how good you are as a dancer, you also need a good drummer. No matter how good a person is, you will also need a good platform to contest. So, my governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, is a gatekeeper. Our traditional institutions are gatekeepers. For instance, my own immediate environment-- I went to my ward in my local government, all the traditional rulers and community leaders were there. That shows the role of the gatekeepers. You cannot underplay

If I get the ticket, I am on my way to the government house

the influence of eminent traditional rulers like the Alaafin of Oyo, Olubadan of Ibadanland, Soun of Ogbomoso, Ibadan Council of Elders, Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII). Even, when we came on board in 2011, it was not the ACN alone that brought us to power. It was the combination of all these forces; and that s the reality. You cannot underplay the influence of these factors. This is a traditional society, not like any other state. The traditional rulers still wield a lot of influence. Every society has its own different patterns of governance. In some states, there could be an individual. For instance, when Baba Adedibu was alive, he was a gatekeeper and that was the reality. It has no negative effect on democratic principles as it were and that is the truth. No one has ever become the governor of the state without the support of these gatekeepers and our political leaders appreciate it that much. These gatekeepers live among the people, know their feelings and all what is happening to them. Ibadan indigenes have been having the headway in producing governors for the state. But there have been agitations that other political zones of the state should be allowed to produce the next governor. You are from Ibadan; do you support rotation of governorship for the state? There is no rotation in any part of the country. It is not part of our law. Oyo State is one. The Oyo speaking people know that they are one, and only one under one God. In Ibadan today, we have more kings very soon. The governor has reviewed the 1957 Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration. Is the review okay? It was something that ought to have been done long time ago. Pardon me, if I will give a very biased answer because I have been involved from the word go. In 1999, former governor, the late Alhaji Lam Adesina set up Oloko Commission of Inquiry. I was a counsel before that commission. Recommendations were made by the commission, but there was no political will to implement the recommendations. Then, came former Governor Rashidi Ladoja, who put up Adio Commission of Inquiry. Virtually, every governor has tried his hand on that. In the olden days, we used to say a Mogaji

(head of family) in Ibadanland was more than a king in other climes. There was a Mogaji in Ibadan that had under him Iwo, Ede, Osogbo, and Ikirun; that was why the titular heads of those towns would abandon their positions to come and contest to become Mogaji in Ibadan because they were practically under the control of the Mogajis. But times are changing. What was obtainable then is no longer tenable now. Look at how big Moniya is, it is bigger than some state capitals in this country. Look at Omi-Adio, it is a cosmopolitan big town. By 2006 population census, it had 186,000 people. Yet, you expect the Olomi of Omi to be under a Mogaji in Ibadan town. That was what those governors have been trying to correct. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the political will to do so. Now, if you look at what is happening around us, Olubadan of Ibadanland, when he is going out, there are no Obas to follow him., yet he is the paramount ruler of the entire Ibadan. From Moniya to High Court at Ring Road is 47 kilometres. By the time you pass through Ring Road to Ago Taylor and through Aleshinloye and you come out at Ojoo, you would have covered 92 kilometres in the same town; and you have not even reached Apata. That is why the Land Use Act Implementation Law could not be applied fully in Oyo State because of the distance. The implementation law says 15 kilometres radius, but within Ibadan, you have 92 kilometres. So, every other area is now rural under the Land Use Act. People don’t appreciate the position of the law on this. All these are interwoven. We thank God that we now have a governor, who has the political will to put this thing into practice. Give it to the present governor, he is highly cerebral and very courageous; every other governor had tried the review before, but they stopped mid-way, though they set up judicial commission of inquiries over the issues. There have been agitation for this for long, even under Chief Bola Ige, there was. He fell short of setting up a judicial commission of enquiries. At every point in time, except the present one, I had appeared as a counsel in all the past three judicial commissions of inquiries. It is something that is commendable. I think majority of the people in Ibadan welcomed it. I think the governor has done the right thing in the circumstance. What gives you the assurance that you will win this election if you emerge as candidate of your party? My personality cuts across the party line. Though party is a factor and it is going to remain a factor in the forthcoming general elections in 2019. However, it will depend on personality picked to contest. Buhari became the president not only on the platform of APC but because the people in PDP supported his candidature. Personality is going to play a major role in 2019. Over the years, I have worked for this state, I have worked for the party, worked for individuals and Nigeria as a whole and people know this. So, many of them are owing me and this is a pay back time. Beyond that, when you look at the make up of this state, you will agree with me that we are one from Ibadan to Oke Ogun and from Oyo to Ogbomoso. If I get the ticket, I am on my way to government house. I am in the race and I know God will decide because He is the ultimate power giver. With the support of the people, if they find me suitable to lead them, so be it. I am not desperate. It’s not a do- or- die thing. I am not a professional politician but a professional in politics. Some are so desperate, but I have not closed my eyes to my profession.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

FEATURES

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

Education for the Underprivileged Ayodeji Rotinwa writes on one non-profit social development organisation that is working to solve the problem of over 10 million out-of-school children by taking education to their doorsteps

Slum2School's custom designed Early Development Centre adapted into one of the schools close to the slum community

n Makoko, in Lagos, Nigeria, children row canoes. Between four to nine years old, they sit in twos at either narrow end of the wooden hull. Sometimes, a child rows alone. The children are running errands and selling goods for their parents and from a distance, perhaps because of my poor eyesight, they are barely visible as they move across the water. Some of them are in it, bathing and playing. The water is an indecisive green in one part, grey-black in another. The canoes and the children are not its only occupants. It also carries balled-up pieces of paper, nylon bags, plastic bottles, half-eaten food, deflated footballs and dead animals. The Makoko community is located on the fringes of the Lagos Lagoon underneath its most popular and well-travelled icon: the Third Mainland Bridge. It was founded as a fishing village in the 19th Century but when there was no longer space on land, as a result of a spike in Lagos’ population, the residents simply created it for themselves on water. There is no verifiable data but it is estimated that the population of the community stands between 40,000 to 300,000 people. “Nobody knows, there’s no credible data available,” says Monika Umunna, of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, one of the most active non-governmental organisations at work in Makoko, in a feature on the community for Guardian UK. According to Orondaam Otto, founder of Slum2School Africa (S2S), a social development organisation, about 10, 000 children in the community are out-of-school. The statistics is staggering but not unlikely. For every adult I see, there are at least three to four children running, playing around. The

community, which thrives through timber production, is a maze of small aluminium and wooden structures set on stilts over the water or on wet, spongy land. If you stretch out both hands in any one spot, you can touch two homes. If you turn, you may touch more. “There can be as many as 11 people living in these small spaces - a man, two wives and eight children,” Otto tells me. We are in a canoe taking a ride through Makoko’s busy waterways which are choked with other boats. Our canoe is guided by a boy in his late teens. He does not speak English. Otto directs him with his fingers, pointing out the direction we want to go.

The primary school I was attending before, I cannot read or write because they don’t use to teach us well. It was Slum2School that enrolled me into a new school. They provide me my school needs like bag, uniform, sandals, textbook

As we move along, some of the younger children wave on seeing Otto, and cheerfully call out, “Education!” “Slum2School!” Their parents and other adults also join in the greeting. This is their chosen nickname for him. He waves back, priest-like and asks them, “Why are you not in school today? Go now!” Some of the kids who are on the spits of land just off the waterways sprint off, presumably heeding his instruction. Others are in canoes, still completing the day’s tasks. They smile and nod. They return to navigating. School is out Otto has been visiting the community weekly for the last five years to carry out his organisation’s work: to spread awareness about the importance of education, provide the children with the means and resources for school enrollment, as well as provide them with free healthcare, insurance, and mentorship.Slum2School (S2S) is entirely volunteer-driven with over 40 teams that provide these services. The organisation also ‘adopts’ and upgrades schools in the Makoko area equipping them with the resources they need such as computers, books and competent teachers. It runs an early development centre for two to seven-year-olds in one of the schools providing textbooks, toys, and a safe space to play. It has also launched a Computer Development Centre that is used by over 25 schools in the Yaba area, where Makoko is situated. Otto tells me the reason the Makoko kids don’t go to school is simple: On the long list of their low-income families’ pressing needs, education tends to rank below sustenance.

Yet, a number of schools have sprouted up in the community. I see one as Otto and I return to the community’s marshy land. In red paint, the school announces itself as, ‘Jesudegbe Primary School’, its motto: ‘Education is the movement from darkness to light’. It is a rough mass of grey, unpainted bricks. Its walls are completely broken down on one side so you can see into the building. The roof has caved in with aluminium sheets and wood littering the floor. I do not see any desks or chairs. The daily cost of admission for these kinds of schools, Otto tells me, is N30 ($0.13). Another reason Makoko kids don’t go to school is the state doesn’t provide them any that suits their location or economic condition. Low on the list In July 2017, Lagos’ otherwise bare walls, road dividers, lawns, gardens were covered in solicitous posters and banners. At that time the city was the stage for an odd, flash mob campaign performance: people chanting, waving colourful banners and stickers. It was the local government election season. The posters were especially plentiful in the Yaba area where Makoko is situated. Candidates advertised themselves as dependable, transparent, and accountable. They promised good performance, hard work. As the season reached its climax, days before the election, there was an especially large campaign held on a major thorough fare, Herbert Macaulay Way, creating a long snake of traffic. The aspiring candidate – his head sticking out of an SUV with a convertible roof – moved in a slow procession of his supporters who were wearing shirts that bore his face and his

˾ T H I S D AY THURSDAY˜ ͯͰ˜ Ͱͮͯ͵

FEATURES intentions, if elected. The horde walked right past the entrance of the Makoko community. They did not go in. This might be a metaphor for the sustained neglect the community faces from the state which often ignores its constitutionally required duty to ensure “the provision and maintenance of primary, adult and vocational education,” for all its citizens. What scant attention Makoko receives from the government is usually contained in the pages of a demolition order. Lagos recently launched a campaign of destroying waterfront slum communities and forcefully - often fatally - evicting their residents. Otodo Gbame and Badia East are recent examples. The former is now a construction site for the development of a luxury apartment complex. On 16 July 2012, four days after the State Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development issued a 72-hour quit notice to Makoko’s residents, a band of machete-wielding men arrived in the community. Their job was apparently to ensure compliance to the ministry’s notice. They set fire to targeted structures and deployed armed police officers as reinforcements who used their weapons indiscriminately among the civilian population. At the end of their operations, one resident had been killed and 30, 000 people – including children – had been rendered homeless.It is likely that the state will return to Makoko again. Living on the edge of hope Otto and I have now left Makoko’s waterways and are at S2S’s early childhood development centre. Here, a medical intervention programme facilitated by S2S is taking place, with the children undergoing vision and dental tests. According to Otto, Slum2 School has directly enrolled 650 children in schools over four years. The retention rate of enrolled children is at 66 per cent. “Before Slum2School, I cannot be proud of myself,” says Samuel Iroko, a 16-year-old S2S beneficiary who we met at the centre. Samuel is a dark-skinned boy with large eyes whose nose flares as he speaks. He wears a Manchester United jersey and blue shorts. “The primary school I was attending before, I cannot read or write because they don’t use to teach us well. It was Slum2School that enrolled me into a new school. They provide me my school needs like bag, uniform, sandals, textbook.” Samuel wants to become a doctor but while he was at his old school, he was the subject of jokes by neighbourhood kids who were better at reading or writing. He wouldn’t talk while in their company because they would

Five years ago, Sharon Disu was like many other kids in her Makoko community. She paddled a canoe across the community selling smoked ﬁsh for her mother. At eight years old, she had never been to school nor stepped into a classroom. S2S reached out to her parents to support her education. Today, she’s the best performing student in her class in Junior Secondary School and has volunteered to ensure that dozens of other children within her community are enrolled into school as well

The kids participate in an art project

Canoes are the only means of transportation in Makoko

make fun of the way he pronounced words or formed tenses. He thought because he couldn’t read or write as well as his peers, he could not possibly become a doctor. These days in his new school, his ‘mates’ don’t make jokes about his spoken or written English anymore. “I want to treat sick children in our community,” he says. After a pause he adds, “Not only our community. I want to treat all sick children.” There are more stories like Samuel’s. Sharon Disu, 13, wears her hair low, very close to her head. She is now in her first year of the Junior Secondary School that Slum2School enrolled her in. She tells me her favourite subject is English. When her father died, she thought she would not be able to continue her education. Now? “I want to become a lawyer.” Five years ago, Sharon was like many other kids in her community. She paddled a canoe across the community selling smoked fish for her mother. At eight years old, she had never been to school nor stepped into a classroom. S2S reached out to her parents to support her education. Today, she’s the best performing student in her class in Junior Secondary School and has volunteered to ensure that dozens of other children within her community are enrolled into school as well. According to UNICEF, 60 per cent of Nigerian out-of-school children are girls. I ask Otto if Slum2School factors in this imbalance in their work. “We try to advocate so there’s a change of mind-set in families where they don’t think girls have to go to school,” he replies. “We try to ensure that girls are not just monitored but mentored. In these communities, girls as young as 15 get pregnant because there’s no proper mentorship and guidance.”

A worsening statistics The Lagos State Government - on paper at least - has not been entirely idle in making sure there are more stories like Samuel’s or Sharon’s. In May 2015, the State Ministry of Education made public an Inclusive Education Policy. One of the policy’s main objectives is to ensure that all out-of-school children complete their basic education. The policy also seeks to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed by the world’s nations, of ‘education for all’ (particularly children with disabilities, girls in difficult circumstances, and those belonging to ethnic minorities and hard to reach communities) through access to free, qualitative and compulsory basic education. By its own stated criteria, Makoko’s children should be covered by and benefit from this policy. But this doesn’t appear to be the case. And the Makoko education gap repeats itself across Nigeria. According to UNICEF, there are over 10.5 million children out-of-school in Nigeria. This estimation was made in 2014 and is often repeated to the day. However, it is likely that this number is no longer an accurate measure. Since 2014, the North-east region, has come under an increasingly violent wave of attacks by the Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram. In 2015, Amnesty International announced an estimated 2,000 women and girls, aged between seven and 17 years old, have been kidnapped by the insurgency and till date there is no consensus data on the exact amount of children missing. In addition, according to a 2016 Human Rights Watch report in the Washington Post (firewall) at least 10,000 boys have been kidnapped and forced to become child soldiers. Boko Haram, which believes Western education is a sin, has also targeted and burnt down hundreds of schools in the region. “Let us not look at the statistics as just numbers. Let

us remember that each child that makes up the 10.5million is a human resource that can boost the economy,” Otto says. “Imagine an economy with 10.5 million graduates who are creating jobs, building businesses, starting enterprises…See the opportunity.” The government steps in? In 2016, the federal government announced a four-year educational reform draft plan that outlined strategies to reverse the numbers of children who are out of school. The plan explained that the government will raise the national Net Enrolment Rate by enrolling 2,875,000 pupils – including 1.5 million girls annually over the next four years. It will also renovate schools destroyed by Boko Haram and construct 71,874 classrooms annually for the next three years. The plan also proposes to recruit female teachers – particularly – to serve as role models for female pupils. Yet the federal government consistently underfunds the education sector. In 2017, it allocated only six per cent (N448.01billion) of its national budget (N7.30 trillion) to education. This falls far short of the 26 per cent UNESCO budget recommendation for education in developing countries. Among the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sub-region, less wealthy states such as Liberia (12.1 per cent), Cape Verde (13.8 per cent) and Benin (15.9 per cent) allocate more to education. Money – though consequential for Makoko parents as well as Lagos State’s real estate plans– may not be the education sector’s most formidable challenge in Nigeria. At least not in Makoko. In 2016, the community’s representative in the upper chamber of Nigeria’s legislature, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, allocated N213,000,000($698,361) to provide ‘educational facilities’ in her senatorial district (Lagos Central). The facilities in question were toilets.

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President of Benin Club 1931, Engr. Ade Edeki (left), and Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State (right), during the installation ceremony of the Governor as the First Patron of the prestigious Benin Club, in Benin City...recently

Former Commissioner for Finance in Delta State, Mr. Bernard Okumagba(left), and Barrister Clement Djebah, both member of the organizing committee for the 6th national annual dinner of the Government College Ughelli Old Boys Association in Lagos...recently

L-R; ; Prof. Toyin Falola of University of Texas, U.S.A; Alaaﬁn of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III; The Eleruwa of Eruwa, HRM, Oba Samuel Adegbola, Akindele 1st and daughter of Late Prof. Joseph Atanda, Dr. (Mrs.) Ajoke Fatunde at the Yoruba Nation and Politics conference held in honour of Prof. J.A. Atanda at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State...recently

L-R: Executive Secretary, Ibeji Foundation, Alhaji Jamiu Adeyeye; Celebrant / Elegbe of Egbe Land, Oba Ashimiyu Adebowale Dada-Otta; Chief Imam of Egbe Central Mosque, Alhaji Daniyal Adisa Tijani; and Mosque Coordinator, Alhaja Riskat Yusuf, at the 10th coronation anniversary of Oba Dada-Otta in Lagos... recently....... ETOP UKUTT

Former NBA legend, Jerome Williams, distributing mosquito nets to internal displaced women at the Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Kushingoro, Abuja, as part of activities marking ﬁnals of the Power Forward initiativeÖ recently

Indigenes of Edo State under an umbrella group called Concerned Citizens of Edo State, led protests from Edo House to the Louis Edet House and the National Assembly complex in Abuja over the insistence of the commissioner of Police in Edo State, Mr Gwandu, to hold on to his oﬃce after being posted out of the command...recently

Honourable Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole; Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Sani Bello, His Royal Highness, Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Dr. Yahaya Abubakar and the CEO National Primary Health Care Development Agency,, Dr. Faisal Shuaib at the commissioning ceremony of Fuka Primary Health Centre, in Fuka, Niger State,...recently

Celebrant, Mr. Sylvester Elema; SAN (middle); ﬂanked by his family after his conferment as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria at the Supreme Court complex in Abuja...recently

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DISCUSSING NIGERIAâ€™S ECONOMY

L-R: Vice President, Prof Yemi Osibanjo; Minister of National Planning and Budget, Senator Udo Udoma and Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika during the 23rd Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja â€Śrecently

Data Rollover: Telcos Give NCC Condition for Compliance Stories by Emma Okonji Telecommunication operators (telcos) have resolved to comply fully with the recent directive given them by the regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on data rollover but on one condition. The telcos said they have agreed to fully comply with the regulatory directive on data rollover on the condition that NCC must revisit the suspended data price floor, which seeks to increase data tariff. Data price floor in technical parlance, is one of the regulatory safeguards normally put in place by the telecommunications regulator to check anticompetitive practices particularly by the dominant operators. It is a

ICT minimum price on data services as stipulated by government or the regulator. NCC had last week, directed all telecoms operators to henceforth give 14 day window to subscribers after the expiration of their monthly data subscription to enable them exhaust their unused data bundle before rolling over. The directive is sequel to the myriad of complaints received by NCC from telecoms subscribers that their respective service providers do not give them enough time to exhaust their monthly data subscription plan before they were either disconnected or forced to roll over the excess data bundle to

the next month after purchasing another monthly data plan. The decision by NCC to address subscribersâ€™ complaints may not be unconnected with its resolve to always protect the interest of telecoms consumers, after declaring 2017 as the year of telecoms consumers. Although the directive may likely affect the revenue stream of telecoms operators, especially the smaller operators, but the operators said they would comply, rather than flex muscles with the regulator, since it is a regulatory directive. Looking at the implication of the directive on data rollover and the 14- day window, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga

Adebayo, said the telecoms service providers have to comply with the directive, since it is a regulatory directive. He, however, raised the issue of the suspended data floor price, which in his views, must be addressed by the NCC in order to protect the operators from running at a loss in their telecoms business, just the same way the NCC is protecting telecoms consumers. According to Adebayo, â€œDirective of this nature will underscore the importance of the data floor price that was suspended by NCC, following complaints from the same telecoms subscribers that the NCC is protecting. In protecting Continued on page 24

Report: Adoption of Mobile Broadband Will Boost Economies A recent Ericsson Research report conducted in collaboration with the Imperial College of London, reveals that countries who adopt mobile broadband to boost economy, stand the chance of having a solid overall economic development. The research report, titled â€˜How Important Are Mobile Broadband Networks for Global Economic Developmentâ€™, examined data adoption and usage from 135 countries. The report reveals that as mobile broadband penetration increases by 10 per cent, it causes a 0.6-2.8 per cent rise in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which translates to an equivalent of approximately $500â€“$2000 billion, worldwide in 2016. In Nigeria, the federal government, through the Nigerian Communications Commission

IT (NCC), had since adopted the broadband strategy as enshrined in the five-year National Broadband Plan of the country, which seeks to grow broadband penetration in the country from 10 per cent in 2003 to 30 per cent in 2018. The federal government is also concerned about deepening government activities through broadband, by providing ubiquitous broadband access to all Nigerians at the cheapest rate ever. Currently, Nigeria has attained 93 per cent internet connectivity, the more reason why the country needed ubiquitous broadband access to sustain the number of persons connected to the internet, via mobile phones. Previous reports have examined fixed broadband

and researchers have only been able to estimate its effect on economic growth. The Ericsson survey, on the other hand, has been able to conclude that the introduction of mobile broadband has an immediate positive effect on a countryâ€™s economy, and a longer-term knock-on effect as mobile broadband gradually spreads to different economies. Master Researcher in Macroeconomics at Ericsson Research and one of the report authors, Harald Edquist, said: â€œMany countries in the developing world have used mobile broadband technology to leapfrog in their economic development in the past 10â€“15 years. I believe that if these countries, and others continue to invest wisely in mobile broadband, they will have

an excellent opportunity to continue to reap the benefits of continuous productivity improvements and new economic opportunities that simply would not be possible without mobile broadband.â€? Mobile broadband networks have spread rapidly, and are set to continue doing so. The 2017 Ericsson Mobility Report stated that at the end of 2016, around 3.2 billion subscribers, out of the worldâ€™s total population of 7.4 billion, had access to the internet via mobile broadband technology. It is forecast that an additional 2.6 billion subscribers will have mobile broadband internet access by 2022. A GSMA study shows that in Africa, limited network coverage remains a key barrier Continued on page 24

Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂšĂ–Ă‹ĂŁĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ™ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ™ĂĄ ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă“Ăœ ĂĄĂ?Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ăž ĂŒĂ?Ă’Ă“Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă“ĂœĂŽ Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ?ĂœĂ–ĂŁ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;Ă— Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă˜Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ě™ Ěš ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ™ Ă’Ă™Ă–ĂŽ ĂžĂ™Ă—Ă™ĂœĂœĂ™ĂĄË› Ă’Ă? Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă?Ăž ĂžĂ™ ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂž Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;Ă— Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă˘Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?ĘĽĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? ĂšĂ‹ĂŁĂ—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă–Ă&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂœËž Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ‹Ă–Ă‹Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ăž ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ě‹Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă™ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ™Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ę¨ĂœĂ?Ăž Ă?Ă Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ™Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă˜Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă– Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ëž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă‹ ĂžĂ™ĂžĂ‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă–Ă&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂœË› ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ë? ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ě‹ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă Ă?Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă– ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă•Ă? Ă˜Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă–ĂŁËœ Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜Ă• Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă—Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜Ă• Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ’ Ă‹Ă˜Ă• Ă–Ă?Ë› Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă&#x;Ă—ĂŒĂœĂ?Ă–Ă–Ă‹ ĂŒĂ™ĂŽĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă”Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ? ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă“ĂœĂŽ Ă?ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ?ĂœĂ–ĂŁ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;Ă— ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ–Ă?ĂŽ ËŤ Ă“Ă‘Ă“ĂžĂ‹Ă– Ă‹ĂŁĂ—Ă?Ă˜ĂžË? ĂœĂ™Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă‹ Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ë›ËŹ Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă’Ă™Ă–ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă•Ă?Ă”Ă‹Ëœ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă’ Ă?ĂšĂ‹Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ëœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ? Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄĂ–Ă?ĂŽĂ‘Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂšĂ–Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ— ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁ Ă‹Ăž ĂšĂ‹Ăœ ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ?Ë› Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă’ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? Ă™ĘĽĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă˘Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂŁ ĂžĂ™ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂĄĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă“Ăœ Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă‘Ă‹ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? ĂšĂ–Ă‹ĂŁĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂœĂ™Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂžĂ™ ĂŽĂ“Ă‘Ă“ĂžĂ‹Ă– ĂšĂ‹ĂŁĂ—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂ™ Ă?ĘĽĂ™ĂœĂžĂ? ĂžĂ™ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ę¨Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁË›

Propak W/Africa Promotes Quality ĂœĂ™ĂšĂ‹Ă• Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľËœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă˘Ă’Ă“ĂŒĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ ĂšĂ–Ă‹ĂŁĂ?ĂŽ Ă’Ă™Ă?Ăž ĂžĂ™ Ă™Ă Ă?Ăœ ÍąËœÍąÍŻÍľ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ëœ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ Í°ÍŻ ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Í°ÍŽÍŻÍ´Ë› Ă’Ă“Ă? Ę¨Ă‘Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă Ă™Ă–Ă&#x;Ă—Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă˜ ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂšĂ–Ă‹ĂŁ ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœËœ ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă Ă“Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂĄĂ“ĂŽĂ? Ă Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă?ĂžĂŁ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă–Ă&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂœĂ™Ă‹ĂŽ ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă˘Ă’Ă“ĂŒĂ“ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă’Ă“Ă? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœËŞĂ? Ă?ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ĂœĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ĂžËŞĂ? ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ&#x;ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂĄ Ă™Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă•Ă“Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ëœ ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ Í°Í° Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă˘Ă’Ă“ĂŒĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă?ĂŽ Í˛ÍŻ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ Ă?Ă˘Ă’Ă“ĂŒĂ“ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂĄĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă“Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ăž ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?Ă™Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă?Ë› Ă“Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? ĂžĂ™ Ę¨Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂœĂ?Ă’Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă Ă? Ă Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă?ĂžĂŁ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ–Ă“Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă?ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁË› Ă™Ă—Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă˘Ă’Ă“ĂŒĂ“ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă˘Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂĄË› Ă?Ă‹ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ăž ĂœĂ™ĂšĂ‹Ă• Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ëœ Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă–Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË? ËŤ ĂœĂ™ĂšĂ‹Ă• Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂĄĂ˜ Ă‹ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă– Ă™Ă? Ă‘Ă™Ă™ĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ™Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ?Ë› ĂœĂ™ĂšĂ‹Ă• Ă“Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ™ ĂŒĂ? Ă“Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ™ Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ËŹË› Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă–ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ‘ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă“ĂœĂ—Ă‹Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹Ă•Ă™ĂŒ Ă?Ă”Ă?ĂœËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă™ Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ ĂœĂ™ĂšĂ‹Ă• Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľËœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË? ËŤ Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă˘Ă’Ă“ĂŒĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂŽË› Ă?Ę¨Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ?Ă–ĂŁ ĂžĂ‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă˘Ă’Ă“ĂŒĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă– Ă&#x;ĂšË›ËŹ Ă“ĂžĂ’ ÍŻÍąÍł ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă“ĂšĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœËœ Ă Ă“Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă—Ă?Ăž ĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ĂžĂ™Ăš ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ Ă’Ă“Ă—Ă?Ëœ Ă™ĂŒĂ?ĂžËœ Ă&#x;Ă”Ă“Ę¨Ă–Ă—Ëœ Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ëœ Ă&#x;ĂžĂ™ĂšĂ‹Ă?Ă• Ă‹Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ?Ë›

FSD Graduates 20 Trainees Ă’Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă—Ă? Ě™ Ěš Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Í°ÍŽ ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ę°Ă?Ăœ Ă‹ Ă?Ă“Ă˘ ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă•Ă? Ă Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă‘ĂœĂ‹Ă—Ă—Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă™Ă˜ ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă’Ă‹Ă“Ăœ ĂŽĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă•Ă? ĂŒĂ‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă–Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ë› ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ă? Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă—Ă™ĂĄĂ‹Ă–Ă? Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂœĂ“Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™ĂŽĂ? Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂšĂ—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă— ĂžĂ™ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂž ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă“Ăœ Ă™ĂĄĂ˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž ĂŽĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă“Ă˘ ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă•Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă‘ĂœĂ‹Ă—Ă—Ă?Ëœ ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂŁ ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ™Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ™ Ă?Ă˘Ă‹Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă– ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă? ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă™Ă? Ă—Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂžĂ™ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă“Ă–ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă‹ĂšĂ‹Ă?Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂŁ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ę¨ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄĂ–Ă?ĂŽĂ‘Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂŁ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă Ă?ĂŽËœ ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂŁ ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? ĂžĂ™ Ă?Ă•Ă? Ă™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă‹ Ă–Ă“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ™ Ă’Ă?ĂœËœ ËŤĂ?Ă™Ă—Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă—Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă Ă?Ă?Ë›ËŹ Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂœĂ“Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Ă‘Ă™Ă Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂžĂ™ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ă–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ Ă—Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ™ Ă—Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă‹Ă‘Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂžĂ’Ă?Ë›

For functional identity system that will ease ways of doing business, we appeal to Nigerians to approach NIMC for registration

DG, NIMC, Mr. Aliyu Aziz

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍ°Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

DATA ROLLOVER: TELCOS GIVE NCC CONDITION FOR COMPLIANCE

NCC Tasks FG on Single Database, Identity Management

the telecoms consumers, NCC must also balance the situation by revisiting the suspended data floor price, which seeks to fix a new price cap for data services across networks.â€? He said if NCC must enforce the 14-day window on data rollover, it must also consider the reintroduction of the suspended data floor price in order to cushion the effect of the loss of revenue that operators would face based on the directive. The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who gave the directive in Minna, Niger State, during a telecoms consumer forum organised by the NCC, advised the consumers to call NCC on the toll-free line, 622, if their complaints were not resolved by their network providers, assuring them that the commission will take up the matter and resolve it, where the operators failed to do so.

Stories by Emma Okonji

REPORT: ADOPTION OF MOBILE BROADBAND WILL BOOST ECONOMIES to mobile internet adoption. Presently, mobile broadband networks cover around 50 per cent of the population, meaning that 600 million people in the region do not have access to a mobile broadband service. In order to ensure efficient mobile broadband adoption in different economies of the world, the Ericsson Research Report, recommended that stable and efficient policies and regulations are essential for mobile operators to have the best conditions to roll out mobile broadband networks in underserved areas, as private investment depends heavily on the regulatory climate. The findings from the reports served as the backbone of discussions during United Nation (UN) Week in New York, that held few weeks ago from September 16-22, where Ericsson participated in discussions with global stakeholders, including the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, about the world economy and the beneficial role that ICT could play in the development of economies.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has again stressed the need for the harmonisation of databases to a single database in order to strengthen the countryâ€™s identity management scheme. According to the NCC the federal government should pay more attention to the countryâ€™s identity management system. The Director, Public Affairs, at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, who made the call while delivering a paper at a public forum, organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), insisted that the existence of a central database for Nigeria, would help Nigerian citizens have easy and ready access to information, explaining that would also boost the confidence of potential investors that are interested in investing in the country, apart from addressing security issues. There are several databases in the country but each of them is working in silos and they do not address the security needs and other needs of the country. It is for this reason that the federal government directed at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to facilitate the harmonisation of all databases such as SIM card registration, Bank Verification Number (BVN), Driverâ€™s Licence registration, among others. Although NIMC has commenced the harmonisation process, the results have been slow due to logistic reasons. Ojobo, who spoke on

â€œTrackable Identity and Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria,â€? said trackable identity has become a necessity for doing business. He said: â€œIn spite of whatever challenges, the global trend is for all citizens to be registered, and for each citizen to be covered with a legal identity including birth registrations. Citizen registration is now an item

in post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda with 2.4 billion people identified as having no official identity and these people reside in Africa and Asia. â€œWhile traditional identification rely on passwords, personal identification numbers (PINs), smart cards, and the likes, biometric identification, using finger prints and iris scans are generally more

reliable and secure. They are adopted more universally like in driving licences and international passports. Biometrics identity are also more reliable in linking individuals to event and actions. It is therefore preferred by security institutions in fighting crimes.â€? Ojobo used the occasion to appeal to telecoms operators in the country that are involved in Subscriber

Identification Module (SIM) registration not to relent in the registration, stressing that they should delist lines that are not adequately captured on their databases as fast as possible. He said should operators heed to the advice, it would save them from having any friction with NCC that could attract sanction as witnessed about two years ago.

SHOWCASING NIGERIAâ€™S POTENTIALS ABROAD

L-R: Consultant, Local Organising Committee on ITU, Mr. Henry Nzekwu; Chairman, NCC Board of Commissioners, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye; Chairman, Alliance for AďŹ€ordable Internet (A4AI) and former Minister of Communications Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson and Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, during tape cutting to oďŹƒcially open Nigeriaâ€™s Day at the ITU Telecoms World 2017, which held in Bussan, South Korea...recently

NITDA Set to Address N720bn Yearly Losses to IT Importations The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Pantami, has said that the agency is set to reduce the $2 billion (N720 billion) yearly losses incurred by Nigeria through the importation of foreign technologies into the country. Pantami, who made the disclosure during a media interaction at the ongoing Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) in Dubai, UAE, said such importations were not necessary, and amounted to capital flight, especially when there are local IT solutions that address the same concern that the foreign

solutions address. Pantami said NITDA realised that â€œdeveloping our ICT ecosystem for the indigenous IT companies and for startup by offering them an enabling environment in terms of policy and laws to operate, is one of the ways Nigeria could adopt to curb the N720 billion yearly losses. This is just as the Nigerian lawmakers, participating at the regional event, said they would ensure that the Nigerian startups that are being presented for global pitch in Dubai, have access to reasonable years of tax holiday. The startups at this yearâ€™s

37th GITEX include: Coudiora, Nicademia, Beat Drone, Accounteer, Dropque, MTK e-Learning Portal, My Padi, Ward Monitor, Tattara and Six Internet of Things (IoT). They are to compete with hundreds of tech startups from across the world to win $30,000 million investment towards developing their solution in a commercially viable way. According to Pantami, â€œThere is a need for Nigeria to promote local technology solutions developed Nigerians with specific reference to the 10 startups in order to truly project Nigerian into becoming one of the countries

to be reckoned with on the global ICT map.â€? Explaining the seven areas NITDA is focusing on at this yearâ€™s IT exhibition towards developing the countryâ€™s ICT ecosystem, Pantami said the agency came with seven-point agenda designed to develop Nigeriaâ€™s IT industry and curb the huge annual capital flight. â€œThese include promoting IT regulations in Nigeria, IT development and promotions, striking partnership on how to better secure Nigerian cyberspace, capacity building, promotion of e-government in Nigeria, showcasing indigenous tech innovations as well as looking for investors, who

will assist in supporting local development of Nigeriaâ€™s IT industry,â€? he said. He added that NITDA was working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure that the annual estimated N37.8 billion wasted on frivolous ICT projects, most of which were focused on foreign IT procurements, is curbed through enforcing NITDA Act that says all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government must get clearance from NITDA for any IT project they want to embark upon to ensure those projects are implementable.

OLX Site Recorded N12.1trn Online Transactions in 2016 Group Business Editor

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

Ă™Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ Ă¤Ă? Comms/e-Business Editor

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

Ă™ĂŽĂŽĂŁ Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă? Senior Correspondent

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OLX, a leading online classifieds site in Nigeria, has released the report of the total number of second-hand items and their value, that were traded on its online site in 2016, saying a total of 1,122,001 second-hand items were posted for sale on the site last year valued at N12.1 trillion. OLX, which commenced business in Nigeria in 2012, operates an online classifieds site, which offers Nigerians the platform to trade second-hand items, especially household items and personal effects. The survey report about transactions between sellers and buyers on the OLX

platform in Nigeria, was released for the first time in commemoration of its 5th anniversary, to showcase trends within the local second-hand market from last year. The report revealed the number and value of secondhand items posted on the OLX site last year, which turned out to be huge and almost twice the market capital for some online sites. The report also indicated the power of the second-hand market offering in Nigeria by revealing that over one million items were posted for sale last year, which equates to one item being up for grabs every 30 seconds on

the OLX site. Commenting on the report, the Country Manager, OLX, Lola Masha, said: â€œOLX currently receives over 2.8 million visits a month and we are anticipating a growth in this figure over the upcoming months. This report reflects Nigerians awareness of the second-hand value in their possessions.â€? According to her, â€œThe report takes a closer look at each category revealing some exciting figures about Nigeriaâ€™s second-hand market. For example, the monetary value of mobile phones posted on OLX in 2016 is over N6.5 trillion, which is equivalent to

four and a half of the worldâ€™s largest gold bars, whilst the value of the home, furniture and garden category on OLX is N44.3 billion.â€? â€œThe most expensive mobile phone posted on the site was a Nokia Vertu for N950,000, whilst the most expensive vehicle was a pre-owned 2015 Private Jet Bombardier valued at N5.5 billion, which is equivalent to the average salary of the top five Nigerian footballers,â€? Masha said. â€œThe report not only shows the enormous value of the second-hand market but also demonstrates the positive impact online classifieds has

on the Nigerian economy. This is a concrete demonstration of the OLX brand essence â€˜Everybody winsâ€™, as sellers win when they sell items they no longer need at lower prices, and buyers also win when they buy items at great discounts and the community wins as the trade leads to increased circulation of cash in the local economy,â€? Masha added. The OLX Group operates a network of online trading platforms in over 40 countries. It builds market leading classifieds marketplaces that empower millions of people to buy, sell and create prosperity in local communities.

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Task before Akinlola, ntel’s New CEO Last week’s appointment of Ernest Akinlola as the new managing director of ntel, is a test of his managerial expertise to turn around ntel and reposition the company for competition, writes Emma Okonji After several years of failed attempts to sell the Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) to core investors by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the government agency, which is responsible for the sales of government assets, eventually sold NITEL to NATCOM in 2015, through a guided liquidation process, after the unbundling of telecommunications firm. Few months after the completion of the successful bid process, NATCOM, trading as ntel, rolled out its services in 2016, after shopping for its first managing director and chief executive, Kamar Abass. The MD/CEO was poached from Ericsson Nigeria, where he hitherto held sway as the country manager in Nigeria. One year after Abass struggled to position ntel, and made it to hit the ground running, he suddenly took ill. He decided to let go the plum job, in order to take care of his failing health, a situation that compelled the owners of ntel to shop for another credible CEO that will turn around the telecoms company and set it on the path of competition, which is the game of survival in the telecommunications sector, where ntel currently plays. Although it did not take ntel so much time to shop for Abass’ replacement, industry watchers are of the view that the appointment of Earnest Akinlola as a replacement of Abass, is not only a test of the managerial skills of Akinloa to reposition ntel in an era of stiff completion, but also a test of the vision of ntel to retain its industry position as the best 4G LTE service provider in the 21st Century. About Ernest Akinlola In the last one week of his appointment, many Nigerians, including industry players have been asking questions about Akinlola, and about his capacity to turn around ntel. Their desire to know more about Akinlola is due to the task associated with the highly elevated office of the managing director of ntel. He is now saddled with the responsibilities of upholding the vision and mission of ntel to remain the leader of 4G LTE service provider, after pioneering the launch of 4G LTE technology among telecoms operators. THISDAY’s search about Akinlola, however, revealed so much about him. Akinlola is soft spoken but intense, and he is the kind of man who knows how to put his points across. He is a well-educated, widely-travelled and vastly experienced in the field of telecommunications. He holds a degree in economics, a Chartered Accountant and fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He also holds an MBA from Manchester Business School. He has worked in pharmaceuticals, packaging and delivery, telecoms and consulting. His career has seen him traverse America, Europe and Africa. Call him a man of the world and you wouldn’t be wrong. But how does all that come to play as he takes over the helms of affairs as the new MD/CEO. Many in Nigeria’s telecom ecosystem remember Akinlola from his brief stint at Etisalat, now 9mobile, where he berthed as Marketing and Strategy Director, and drove the company’s innovation-focused marketing strategy that saw rapid increase of its subscriber number. Akinlola has credited the growth to his single-minded focus on the customer. “Customer value management is my thing. That’s what I focus on. I want to know who the customers are and what we can do to keep them and grow them,” Akinlola said in his recent speech. The focus on “Customer is King” has helped him notch up success after success in a 20 year plus career in telecoms media and technology, which took off when he joined the fledgling One 2 One (now called T/Mobile UK) telecoms operator in the United Kingdom (UK), where he was instrumental in establishing a world class internal audit and compliance department. “No one gave us a chance at One 2 One. Some people called us One 2 None but we soon changed the game when we launched

Incoming CEO, Akinlola Virgin Mobile on the One 2 One network,” Akinlola said. According to a statement from the management of ntel, “Akinlola as head of department, led the assessment and subsequent launch of Virgin Mobile UK on the One 2 One network, which proved to be the pioneering Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) at the time. Following One 2 One’s acquisition by T-Mobile, Akinlola was a key member on the integration team, leading on commercial strategy and growing the wholesale side of the business to launch several MVNO’s focused on specific customer segments. He was an integral member of the team charged with executing Virgin Mobile’s $1.5 billion IPO. Many senior roles followed including leading the transformational roll out of T-Mobile’s store retail programme.” Akinlola was subsequently headhunted as COO by Lycamobile, the world’s largest international MVNO, to lead its European strategy, successfully expanding into 10 countries including UK, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and Spain within two years. Akinlola is considered, on account of his work and successes at One 2 One, Virgin and Lycamobile, a MVNO expert and guru at moving new and small companies into the big league.

Akinlola has to work very hard to speed up the network rollout plan to other cities, other than Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, where it currently operates. The task of maintaining the company’s position as the leader of 4G LTE technology service, having rolled out its initial service with the 4G LTE network, is also before Akinlola

Outgoing CEO, Abass Why ntel went for Akinlola The Director, External Affairs at ntel, Osondu Nwokoro, says Akinlola is a good choice having “held top positions in finance, wholesale, MVNO’s business strategy, marketing and transformation programmes.” The company’s statement announcing Akinlola’s coming to ntel went further to point out that “following his notable successes in Europe, he focused on Nigeria’s telecoms sector and was approached to lead a major marketing drive for the former Etisalat, now 9mobile, the 4th entrant in a highly competitive telecoms market. As marketing director, he spearheaded a range of initiatives that took the former Etisalat from the fourth ranked operator to the second, in terms of Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).” “His African odyssey was short lived and Akinlola soon returned to Europe where he launched a business but he never stopped thinking about Africa,” Nwokoro said. In 2016, a chance to make a mark in his home continent presented itself when Allumno, a company he headed as CEO Founder/Telecoms Advisory was engaged as a strategic advisor by the board of Swazi Mobile to formulate a commercial strategic plan for the application of a 4G VoLTE licence in Swaziland South Africa. “Swazi Mobile was successfully awarded the 4G VoLTE, 4G, 3G licences in December 2016 with a score of 75 per cent compared to other international bids. Akinlola sees the ntel offer as a challenge as well as an opportunity to do something huge,” Nwokoro added. The task before Akinlola The task before Akinlola is huge given the fact that the company has a system in place that seems not appealing to customers who wanted to feel more of the impact of ntel at the grassroots level. The fact that customers cannot get ntel’s physical recharge cards to buy from vendors, unlike the tradition in the telecoms sector where subscribers have access to physical recharge cards of all operators through various vendors, leaves much task for Akinlola to convince the majority of subscribers who are more at ease with recharging their mobile phones through the purchase of physical recharge cards, rather than going online to purchase recharge cards as it is the case with ntel. Again, Akinlola has to work very hard to speed up the network rollout plan to other cities, other than Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, where it currently operates. The task of maintaining the company’s position as the leader of 4G LTE technology service, having rolled out its

initial service with the 4G LTE network, is also before Akinlola. His managerial expertise has to come to play to enable the telecoms company maintain that leading position of 4GLTE service provider because other operators that later launched their 4G LTE networks, are also strategising to overtake ntel in the 4G LTE service provisioning. But in all of these challenges that are before Akinlola, he has this to say: “I am excited to be appointed MD/CEO of ntel, Nigeria’s pre-eminent 4G/LTE network. ntel has tremendous untapped capabilities, which can provide a step change in customer experience for large enterprises, SME’s and consumers. I look forward to leading the team in driving innovation and delighting our current and future customers.” Although he sounds convincing that he can lead ntel to the promise land, but industry watchers are, however, hoping that his words of promise are not empty. Abass’ milestone In one year of rollout, the pioneer MD/CEO of ntel, Abass, was able to launch the operations of ntel in three states with a subscriber base of about 100,000 with majority of them as data customers. Shortly before disengaging from the services of ntel, Abass led the company to conclude the first phase of its roll out and was getting set for the second phase roll out. Since its rollout last year, ntel, under the leadership of Abass, had always focused on deepening mobile telephony. The telecoms company was able to sell between five and 10 megabytes per second connections to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), using the ntel 4G LTE network. With Abass, ntel successfully deployed the best technology to drive its 4G LTE services, without necessarily been religious whether it is fixed or mobile service offerings, but was bent on giving customers the best experience with 4G LTE services. In one year, ntel as a brand, was able to set up a billing system that gave the telecoms company a better integration between the sales representatives and the customer care system. The company had 70 per cent coverage in the three states it currently covered, with plans to expand to more states. Within one year of operation, ntel also got award from an American company as the fastest internet service provider, a position that Abass saw as a great feat in one year of rollout. “But our achievements in one did not even come as a surprise to us because we know we are the clear leader in the industry, offering 4G LTE services to customers,” Abass had said.

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Four Years of Uber in Africa Emma Okonji writes that Uber has in the last four years of its operations in Africa, changed the perspective of the transportation system, while using technology to drive economic transformation in the sector When Uber was first established in 2009, its mission was to help people everywhere get a ride, safely, quickly and at the push of a button. Eight years later, that mission remained the same and Uberâ€™s innovative, technology-driven business model is still fundamentally changing the way people think about meeting their transport needs. For the past four years, Uber has been delivering the same level of transformation across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and with more than 1.8 million active riders using the app, Uber certainly has reason to celebrate its fourth anniversary on the continent. The benefits Speaking on the technology innovativeness infused into the transport system that has benefitted several countries, the General Manager for Uber SSA, Alon Lits, told THISDAY that several companies and individuals in Africa have benefitted from Uber since its launch in Africa four years ago. According to Lits, â€œIt is not just Uber that has benefitted from the stellar uptake of its convenient offering in Africa. The SSA countries in which Uber now has a presence, and the citizens of those countries, are also reaping significant socio-economic rewards thanks to the transformation that the Uber approach has helped to drive.â€? At an economic level, these benefits take many forms. In many cities, the reliability, immediacy, and convenience that Uber offers to city residents and visitors is having the positive impact of helping to reduce congestion. In most urban parts of SSA, single occupant vehicles remain the biggest contributors to gridlock. â€œBut increasing numbers of city residents are recognising that Uber offers a cost effective way of sharing their daily commute with others, thereby reducing the total number of vehicles on the roads, while at the same time cutting down on the costly wear and tear that regular stop-start driving causes,â€? Lits said. The perceptions Repeat Uber usage in South Africa is a prime example of these shifting private transport perceptions. This month, almost 25,000 riders each used Uber more than 10 times a week, which points to the increasing adoption of this tech-driven solution, not just as a leisure transport option, but also for work and business purposes. This demonstrates that Uber is a true alternative to private car ownership. Another significant benefit that Uber is delivering in SSA, is enabling and empowering economic opportunities and offering more choice. The steadily growing number of Uber driver-partners in countries across the region is testament to the appeal of the Uber business model. That is because it creates real opportunities for local entrepreneurs to create and enjoy the flexibility and enhanced earnings potential - for themselves and, ultimately, for individuals that many of them bring into their thriving and growing transport businesses. Growth trajectory

Lits

The growing demand for trips across the SSA region leads to a steadily growing need for drivers. Currently more than 29 000 such driver-partners are taking advantage of the earnings generating opportunities delivered by the Uber app. Importantly, the Uber model allows these individuals to be as flexible as they need to be, which means that they are able to earn what they want, when they want to, either as a full-time entrepreneurs or to supplement other sources of income. Lits explained that Uber investigates partnerships with businesses that bring benefits to drivers, such as the multiple vehicle financing programmes that have been made available to drivers across South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, that reduce barriers to credit and capital. The first partnership of this kind was implemented in South Africa with WesBank, offering existing drivers access to vehicles at preferential rates, with a view to establishing their own passenger transport business. This unique model is based on driver ratings and earning potential, as opposed to the norm of credit checks. The model was successfully expanded across SSA and is being tested in markets across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Uberâ€™s investments Uber also invests heavily in supporting its

driver-partners in their businesses through ongoing technological innovation as well as physical presences in the form of support hubs. Apart from the existing Greenlight Hubs across SSA, five more of these stateof-the-art Greenlight Hubs were opened in Dar Es Salaam, Nairobi, Kampala, Kumasi and Lagos this year. In addition to offering driver-partners technical and app support, they also offer information sessions and tailored workshops to driver-partners, focusing on training and skills development. In a region of high unemployment and stagnating economic prospects, Uberâ€™s business partnership approach provides an accessible means for entrepreneurs to not only supplement their own income, but also to become small business owners, thereby helping to improve the lives and futures of individuals, families and communities. Lits said Uberâ€™s approach to shifting perspectives of how people in SSA move around their cities, is one of partnership with all stakeholders. According to him, Uber strives at all times to collaborate closely with local regulators to understand the challenges they are grappling with in their cities and then help them to develop workable and accessible solutions that benefit people and economies. It is with this in mind that Uber has just launched Uber

Movement in Johannesburg, a new website to help urban planners, city leaders, third parties and the public better understand the transportation needs of their cities. Userâ€™s entrepreneurship approach Speaking on the Uber driver-partnership deal, Lits said: â€œThe partnership approach has always been at the heart of the business because our global experience has shown us that multi-modal transport powered by technology is the best way to promote entrepreneurship, relieve pressure on infrastructure, and deliver safe and efficient transport that helps people connect with work, business and leisure opportunities.â€? Uberâ€™s mission Uberâ€™s mission is to help people get a ride at the push of a button - everywhere and for everyone. It started in 2009 to solve a simple problem - how do you get a ride at the touch of a button? Eight years and over two billion trips later, the company said it started tackling an even greater challenge such as reducing congestion and pollution in cities by getting more people into fewer cars. The Uber network is now available in over 600 cities in over 75 countries spanning six continents.

21st Century, VMware Partner to Launch SMART Digital Platform Emma Okonji 21st Century Technologies Limited has announced its entry into the VMware Cloud Provider programme with its SMART Digital Platform. The service illustrates to the customers that the companyâ€™s public cloud service is validated and compatible for use with VMware vSphere, the leading virtualisation platform for building cloud infrastructures and is secure, managed, agile, resilient

and transformative for tomorrowâ€™s digital business- all which will be enabled by SMART. A member of the VMware Cloud Provider Programme, 21st Century Technologies provides its VMware IaaS powered service as a set of cloud computing services across a common platform, using proven VMware technology that organisations already use in the existing data centres. The VMware cloud provider programme provides global

cloud services and is the preferred choice of VMware cloud provider programme service partners in more than 100 countries globally. Chief Executive Officer, 21st Century Technologies, Wale Ajisebutu, said: â€œDigital innovation and engagement models are crucial in the fourth industrial revolution. I am positioning 21st Century Technologies Limited to use digital channels to engage with customers and provide innovative solutions that

addresses their specific needs and requirements.â€? According to him, â€œTechnology is fast becoming the most crucial element for businesses of all sizes going forward. Our solutions will provide customers with opportunities for unlimited growth, cost reduction, and increased profitability.â€? Manger, Cloud Provide Programme at VMware West Africa, David Funnell, said; â€œVMware has a clear and unique position around Hybrid

cloud and enabling cross cloud functionality to help out over 600,000-plus customers to manage an increasingly complex multi-cloud, multi-device IT environment, with a softwaredefined approach.â€? â€œVMware IaaS powered services delivered by service providers within the VMware Cloud Provider Programme can provide the efficiency, agility and reliability inherent in cloud computing. We look forward to supporting 21st Century Technologies as a

strategic partner for VMware in West Africa as it empowers organisations with a simple and flexible path to the cloudâ€? According to 21st Century Technologies, the company opted to partner with VMware and ensure it attained IaaS Powered validation because the company is today the infrastructure platform of choice of 100 per cent of the Fortune 500 and has saved customers tens of billions of dollars in their road to the cloud.

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Kazaure: Nigeria Must Flow with New Technology Trends Managing Director, Galaxy Backbone, Yusuf Kazaure, spoke with journalists on how the company is driving technology within MDAs of the federal government and the need for Nigeria to key into global technology trends. Emma Okonji brings the excerpts: You were in Busan, South Korea, for this yearâ€™s ITU Telecom World where latest technologies from developed countries of the world were displayed. What is your view on how technology is rapidly transforming the globe? Technology is fast driving global economies and it is a challenge for Nigerians to key into these technologies to also develop our country. The mobile revolution in Nigeria for instance, helped the county in no small measure to leapfrog development in the telecoms sector and to join in the global conversation of telecoms growth and development. Today the mobile phone is in the hands of majority of Nigerians. Since we have done well in mobile phone revolution, we will not rest on our oars, but continue to improve on the existing development in the telecoms sector. Now that almost every Nigerian has mobile phone device, we should be thinking of the next development. The world is already moving away from putting mobile phones in the hands of the citizens, to a level of solution application that will drive connectivity, using the mobile device, and that brings us to the era of Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The world is gradually moving from person to person communication, using the mobile phone, to machine to machine communication to connect the next billion devices. So AI is enabling machines to communicate with other machines effortlessly, while doing the majority of the jobs that humans were meant to do. So we will be seeing situations where computer and other machine devices will be programmed to make decisions for humans, driven by censors and chips. So it is going to be a new world of sensors and chips, and what matters now is how to manage the issue of regulation and legislation of these new technologies. The new technologies you talked about are creating some forms of disruptions that are making some employers of labour to jitter. Is Galaxy Backbone also worried about the disruptions being created by the new technologies? Galaxy Backbone is a government agency that is at the centre of digitisation. This is so because we provide the platform for data hosting and data connectivity for most government institutions. So we have since realised that the business model of government needs to change in line with the modern realities. The digital natives were born with technology and they seem to understand so much about new trends in technology development than the digital migrants that are learning to be part of the technology trend. So the younger generation who are the millennials and the digital natives, have so much expectations from government in relation to technology development. So we are now in an era where instant answers are needed and where information is stored and sourced for with speed. Today, the younger generation wants information fast and they go online to get them as fast as possible and that is the kind of society we are in today, driven by technology that has changed the old narratives. So the same thing is applicable to government services that are now online, making more people to have access to information online. With the latest development, it is clear to Galaxy Backbone that all, government institutions must be connected. So Galaxy Backbone is not disturbed about technology disruptions because we support government agencies to attain digital transformation. There are fears that IoT and AI technologies are likely going to take away jobs from people,

How far has Galaxy Backbone gone with the provision of emails and domain names for MDAs? Under the direction of the Ministry of Communication, that all MDAs must have their unique email addresses, we have been able to create over 40,000 email addresses for MDAs. The uptake has been that more MDAs are now using their unique email addresses to communicate online. So all MDAs now have .gov.ng email address. The email addresses are for some level of civil servants. So the next step is to make it available to all level of civil servants. Technology is evolving and the world is moving towards 5G technology, whereas Nigeria is still battling with 3G and 3.5G technologies. Is Nigeria actually catching up with global technology evolution? The thing about technology is that it is evolving by the day and newer technologies are coming up by the day. It is either countries embrace the new trend of technology or lose out. If Nigeria do not make conscious efforts to align itself with the direction that technology is going, the county will be left behind. The truth is that most technology solutions have lifespan and after their lifespan the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), will stop supporting the solution because it will become obsolete at that time.

Kazaure

since machines will be used to drive human processes. Do you see the new technologies creating jobs or taking away jobs? This has been a very controversial question in the era of technology development, but in my view, I think technology is creating more jobs, rather than taking away jobs, but probably not creating more jobs in the short term, which I think is the fear of people. But in the long term, it is going to create jobs. I will like to buttress my points through an analogy. A hundred years ago, very few people own cars, and carriages driven by horses were the major means of transportation. At that time, there were several jobs for those who can drive carriages and can produce horse whips. But with the invention of cars, more jobs were created for drivers and for those in the manufacturing and assembling plants. So I strongly feel that AI will help create more jobs in the long term. What AI is doing is to enable the creation of new devices that are driven by technology solutions to do different kind of things. So training and retraining of people in line with technology trend, will help address the issue of fear of job loss. AI will open lots of opportunities for people to begin to develop apps and solutions that will drive the machines and devices. In developed countries of the world, children and teenagers are trained on how to do coding and develop apps and all these put together, will definitely create jobs in the long run. Nigeria has the opportunity to leapfrog technology if we are able to train and retrain out youths who are technology savvy people, in line with the current technology trend. From our discussions so far, is it right to say that Galaxy Backbone is also creating disruptions among civil servants in government, and how are they adapting to the technology change that Galaxy Backbone is introducing in the civil service? Well, technology is a process and it enhances work. So the civil service is gradually adapting to the use of technology and they are willing to embrace technology. You can no longer find typewriters in government offices as it used to be in the past. They have all been replaced with computers and the civil servants are the

ones operating the computers because they have been trained to use computers. The key challenge is how to get more digitised contents that will drive technology development in civil service. There is an executive order that demands certain level of technology from Ministries, Departments andAgencies (MDAs) of government. So we need homegrown technology that will drive processes in MDAs. That will create room for our civil servants to learn better and have better understanding. The solution should be able to address local needs and the civil servants understand their needs better, which underscores the need to develop indigenous technology solution than importing importation of foreign solutions. There was a governmentâ€™s directive for all MDAs to be digitally connected. To what extent has this been achieved? Galaxy Backbone developed a single platform for government agencies, called the Onegov.ng platform, and the platform has since received first place prize and award at the United Nation Service Award in 2013, even when it was not fully deployed then. The design and approach to which the platform addresses government issues, made it to win the award. The platform became a single platform that connects all government MDAs. It consists of two main elements, the first being that it ensures that every MDA is connected to the platform and secondly, it links to government data centre. Each MDA controls their own database, but all the databases are hosted on a single platform, called the Onegov.ng. It helps to build a common layer of security and allows data exchange and sharing among MDAs. So the fact that all MDAs are on a single platform, makes it easier for agencies to share data. The platform will enhance transparency in governance. The platform is also certified along several security lines like the ISO certifications. We are currently in the process of deploying government cloud for all MDAs, that will enable them store their data securely in the cloud, without hosting their data abroad. It is going to be a private cloud that will interface with other public cloud.

Being the government agency that provides connectivity for all government agencies, does Galaxy Backbone work with nongovernmental organisations? The Nigerian ecosystem is a complex one such that anyone that tries to provide endto-end connectivity services will not survive competition for too long. So what we do at Galaxy Backbone is partnership with other service providers that have presence in some parts of the country where we do not have presence. So, whenever we want to provide interconnectivity services to a federal government institution in a particular location where we do not have presence, we do so by partnering a private sector institution that delivers the same kind of service and has presence in the location where we want to deliver service to the government institution. That is exactly how we work with the private sector to archive our goals. So we need a non-governmental organisation in the private sector that has internet connectivity with backbone capacity to deliver the connectivity service to government institutions in locations where we do not have presence. It is true that Galaxy Backbone infrastructure in Abuja is next to none, but we still partner the private sector to deliver connectivity services to government institutions in locations where we do not have presence. In Abuja alone, we have connected more than 95 per cent of MDAs and we need partnership to extend our services to places outside Abuja. Currently a lot of telecommunication service providers do direct their traffic to and through Abuja because of the fibre infrastructure that Galaxy Backbone has built in the Abuja metropolis. We do help the telecoms service providers to link some of their locations in Abuja because of our presence in Abuja. We also swap services with them in areas where they have presence and where Galaxy Backbone do not have presence. In that situation, we partner then to connect and provide connectivity services to government institutions in such areas were Galaxy Backbone does not have presence.

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VDT to Boost Customer Service Delivery at Forum Stories by Emma Okonji VDT Communication, one of the leading broadband and premier 4G LTE Advanced service provider, will be discussing new technology strategies that will enhance customer service delivery at the next customersâ€™ forum scheduled the hold October 13, 2017. Marketing Manager, VDT Communication, Mr. David Ese, while giving further details about the forum, explained that the theme of the forum, â€˜Value Driven. Customer Focusedâ€™, is meant to reinforce VDTâ€™s passion for delivering exceptional services to her customers, putting the customersâ€™ satisfaction first before anything else. VDT Communicationsâ€™ Customersâ€™ Forum is a yearly event organised by the company to engage her customers in face to face interaction with the aim of bonding with the customers and enhancing their experience of the companyâ€™s brand. In achieving this, VDT goes the extra mile to provide world class quality service to her customers. VDT Communications is an ISO 9001:2008 and currently upgrading to ISO

9001:2015. It became the first ISO 20000 certified telecom company in West and Central Africa for excellent Information Technology (IT) service management, and winner of several awards including the â€œBroadband Company of the Year, 2017â€?, â€œCorporate Internet Provider of the Year 2017â€?, â€œBandwidth Company of the Yearâ€?, 2016, â€œBroadband Company of the Yearâ€?, 2015 â€œBulk Internet Provider 2011 & 2012â€? and â€œWireless Backhaul Provider 2009 & 2010â€?. With 104 Points of Presence (POP) and counting across the Nigeria, VDT Communications provides services to customers in all the 36 states of Nigeria and Abuja FCT. The company, which celebrated 15th anniversary and lunched her 4G LTE Advanced internet is June last year, provides customer services, covering Digital Leased Circuit, Metro Wireless, Metro Fiber, Corporate Internet, multi-branch network connectivity, 4 G LTE Advanced and Cloud services. â€œVDT Communications Customersâ€™ Forum 2017, promises to be a memorable event where customersâ€™ experience relationship will be enhanced,â€? Ese said.

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Nigeria Submits Treaties Ratification on Copyright Protection Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja As part of the countryâ€™s response to the challenges of copyright protection in emerging digital technology, Nigeria has deposited Instruments of Ratification of four Copyright Treaties at the 57th Assembly of member states of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Geneva, Switzerland. The instruments of ratification were handed over to the Director General of WIPO, Dr. Francis Gurry last week during the plenary at the 57th general assembly by Nigeriaâ€™s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations in Geneva, Amb. Audu Kadiri. He was assisted by the Director General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, Mr. Afam Ezekude. A statement issued in Abuja by Ms. Ijeoma Egbunike, noted

that the ratification of the treaties affirmed Nigeriaâ€™s acceptance and its undertaking to faithfully perform and carry out obligations under the treaties. According to her, â€œthe Treaties ratified are the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), the Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), Beijing Treaty on Audio Visual Performances and Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled.â€? She added that the WCT and WPPT, often referred to as â€œInternet Treatiesâ€?, was the response of international intellectual property community to the challenges of copyright protection in the emerging digital technology driven environment. She said the treaties seek to redefine rights of authors and copyright owners in a manner that makes them applicable

and enforceable in the context of digital environment. Egbunike said: â€œThe process for the ratification of the four treaties was initiated by the Director General, Nigerian Copyright Commission, Mr. Afam Ezekude. In July 2017, following a presentation of council memo to the Federal Executive Council by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. Council approved the ratification of the treaties, which was subsequently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari. â€œNigeria was among the member countries of WIPO that signed the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonogram Treaty (WPPT) in 1996 when both instruments were adopted in a Diplomatic Conference held in Geneva on December 20, 1996, at a time when the

pioneer Director General of NCC, Mr. Moses Ekpo served as the President of the WIPO General Assembly. Nigeria also signed the Beijing Treaty on Audio Visual Performances in Beijing on June 24, 2012 and the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind or visually impaired or otherwise Print Disabled in Marrakesh on June 27, 2013 respectively.â€? According to her, â€œNigeria stands to derive benefits from this instrument when its provisions are eventually domesticated in the revised Copyright bill being proposed by the NCC. This treaty is particularly germane to the operations of the new system of collective management of rights in audiovisual works, as it will strengthen and expand opportunities for players in the industry.â€?

Kwara Community Unveils Solar Powered Digital Literacy Centre In an effort to become a digital smart community, Imode Community in Oke-Ero Local Government Area of Kwara State has launched a solar powered digital literacy centre, destined towards making its youths to become digitally savvy. The Community Development Association, borrowing a leaf from the National Information Technology (NIT) Policy, seeks to make the community dwellers, especially the youths, become IT complaint. Speaking at the public presentation of the solarpowered Digital Literacy Center, equipped with modern ICT infrastructure, the President, Imode Development Association (IDA), Pastor Joseph Babatunde, said the projects, which comprises a modern IT centre and a school bus, were designed to assist the students imbibe the IT culture as the world has gone digital. According to Babatunde, â€œThe idea of the provision of a modern IT Centre for our school, came to me a couple of years ago when one of my children did the post-JAMB exam in University of Ilorin (Unilorin). The students were all given computers to do the exams. While she breezed through the exams, most of the other children were just starring at the device until the time was over. I felt challenged there and then, to give every child that needed opportunityâ€?. Explaining the Imode ICT Vision, IDAâ€™s Vice President, Reverend Sunday Folayan, said they were closer to achieving a digitally Smart Community. â€œThis will be achieved by reliance on technology, carefully backed up with traditional methods that are functional. A significant number of indigenes

will continue to live outside the community or the country, and their needs and requirements to stay connected to their roots will continue to inform the communityâ€™s development policies. â€œICT will be used to solve practical problems, such as educational deficiency as well as the security of lives and properties,â€? Folayan said. He added that members of the community would come to accept a high standard of up-to-date facilities, ease-ofuse and reliability, richness of information, integrated services and excellent support. Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative (PI) and content partners on the project, Mr. Gbenga Sesan, said the initiative would birth huge impact if well utilised. Sesan, who was represented by the Programme Manager Paradigm Initiative, Mr. Tosin Abolaji, said: â€œThe facility is primarily setup for the youth in the community and we believe they wonâ€™t be denied the use of it. We will encourage the Association to have a committee that will look into the management of the facility, design a program that will ensure that the youth are regularly trained.â€? Chairman, IDAâ€™s Education Committee, Professor Mike Abiodun, said: â€œThe government cannot do it alone; the same thing applies to the schools and parents. It has to be a collaboration between the government, the community and parents. We are in the ICT age; if you are not computer literate it will be difficult to contribute effectively.â€? The solar-powered Digital Centre is equipped with 40 laptops, printer, internet connectivity, and other facilities.

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L-R: Team Member, Brand Compliance Management, Heritage Bank Plc, Ozena Utulu; Chairman/CEO, CPMS Africa, Chris Parke; Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group and Co-Founder/CEO, Trans-Sahara Investment Corporation, Kyari Bukar; Founder/CEO, 3Invest Limited, Ruth Obih; Executive Producer of The Next Titan, MD/CEO of Bravopoint International Limited, Mide Akinlaja; CEO, Primera Africa Securities Limited, Lilian Olubi; and Co-Founder/MD, Sahara Group, Tonye Cole, at the premiere of the Next Titan Nigeria Season 4 in Lagosâ€Ś recently. ETOP UKUT

GTS-Infotel Launches Mobinawa Mobile App GTS-Infotel, one of the leading licensed value added service (VAS) providers in the country, has unveiled its disruptive â€˜GTS Networkâ€™ called Mobinawa Mobile App at the recently concluded Nigeria Com, which held in Lagos. During the launch, the Chief Executive Officer, GTSInfotel, Dr. Ing Pierre-FranĂ§ois Kamanou introduced the GTS Network as a new digital mobile communications network, enabling conversational and transactional VAS services offered by businesses using single dedicated GTS numbers. The GTS numbers are long VAS numbers part of the national numbering plan in the prefix of 0700, allocated by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) to GTSInfotel. â€œWith the unveiling of the GTS Network with Mobinawa App, GTS Infotel has reaffirmed its position as the foremost VAS Operator in Nigeria,â€? Kamanou said. He explained the importance of GTS number to the modern day business, saying that the new GTS number is the ID for the digital business to com-

municate in the digital space. â€œWith the GTS network, many organisations which have not digitised their communications by using multiple mobile and fixed numbers for voice conversational services and short codes for SMS/USSD transactional services, can now use a single GTS number for all their digital communications services, in terms of internal and external communications, multichannel customer services and mobile marketing,â€? he said. Unlike other over the top (OTT) applications, Mobinawa is designed to serve as a directory of automatic call attendant and voice/SMS contact center services of local businesses in the GTS Network. â€œWith this mobile app which can be downloaded on Google play store and Apple store free of charge, it will avail many organisations the opportunity to be found in the online directory with their profiles, thereby boosting their visibility. The application runs on the internet and calls can be received and made free of charge in any part of the world without roaming charged accrued,â€? Kamanou added.

ATCON, Instinct Wave Unveils Nominees for Innovation Awards The Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and Instinct Wave are set to hold this yearâ€™s edition of Telecoms Executives and Regulator Forum (TERF). They have equally unveiled nominees of various award categories for the maiden tech innovation and telecoms awards, scheduled to hold in Lagos. The TERF forum and the maiden awards will hold on the 10th and 11th of November respectively, in Lagos. Running into the fifth year, TERF has not failed to attract high-level participants from regulatory authorities and technology stakeholders to discuss common policies and regulatory issues in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. The forum is expected to provide stakeholders with deeper understanding and knowledge of current policies, regulatory best practices, information and emerging issues and chart the way forward for a sustainable environment and growth of the ICT sector in Africa. The organisers promised to

make the maiden tech innovation and telecoms awards, a befitting one that will be full of credibility. The reputable awards, under the umbrella of ATCON and powered by Instinct Wave, Africaâ€™s leading B2B event organiser, promises to showcase excellence in the technology and telecoms sector. The Chief Executive Officer of Instinct Wave, Mr. Akin Naphtal, said the forum and awards would bring together, exceptional brains that have in one way or the other, contributed to the growth of ICT in Nigeria. He said all mechanisms have been put in place for the selection of the most qualified for the awards, which he said, would be given purely on merit. â€œReputable judges have been assembled to help in the selection process, and they will recognise organisational performances, products and services, innovations, executive and management teams, women in ICT and successful deployment of Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) initiatives, as contained in their respective entries,â€? Naphtal said.

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Awakening Values through CSR Beyond the various steps being taken to reposition for business growth, First Bank Nigeria Limited has also built a robust brand profile through its commitment to corporate social responsibility, reports Raheem Akingbolu From time to time, promoters of the First Bank Nigeria Limited brand push forward attributes that place the bank ahead of others. Like most enduring brands, First Bank is believed to have scored high not only in routine financial service operations but in its ability to touch lives and empower individuals through its Corporate Social Responsibilities activities. As things are, the bank has gone beyond the rudiment understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) concept and now focuses on sustainability and empowerment. Recently in Lagos, stakeholders in First Bank concluded the bankâ€™s 2017 CSR Week, organised to empower students and raising national consciousness on values. The one-week long activity turned out to be another opportunity for the First Bank family to demonstrate their belief and resilience about Nigeria and her banking audience. While the week lasted, the message was clear; it was about the new thinking on how the organisation would re-ignite moral values through what was tagged â€˜SPARK-Staff Promoting Acts of Random Kindness.â€™ The initiative is a values-based initiative aimed at entrenching a return to values in Nigerian society which appear to be eroding fast. Changing the narratives As leaders of thought at various fora link the social vices among Nigerians, whether in the public or private sector, to erosion of values in the system, the bank used its 2017 CSR Week to tinker with their consciousness. Stakeholders in the bank appeared to have been tired of the development and called for reorientation of First Bank oďŹƒcials and students of Government Science Technical College, Garki, Abuja, after a career counselling session during the CSR week the society along the right values of kindness which does not necessary have to be monetary led scores of stakeholders and volunteers to Counseling Day, an initiative expected to drive that choose to do the right thing,â€? she said. but would go a long way in creating a better Orphanages and internally displaced persons the agenda of the CSR week. In an earlier â€œThis act of promoting kindness was society of respect, tolerance and less corruption. (IDPs) nationwide. According to some officials statement issued to sensitize the public about the reason FBN held its maiden Corporate In separate interviews conducted by THISDAY of the bank, the objective was to be a part of the week, the bank had indicated that the Career Responsibility and Sustainability week with among the staff of the bank, they all admit- a global movement for fostering good in its Counseling Day was an opportunity to showcase the theme â€œPromoting Acts of Kindness,â€? ted that the place of moral values cannot be communities on a scale that has never been the bankâ€™s commitment to empowering the which according to Ismail Omamegbe, Head, undermined in any society. To them, the values witnessed before. The decision was said to youth segment as well as demonstrating that Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability are not only important to development but the have been taken to further entrench the bankâ€™s the bankâ€™s CSR programmes were beyond First Bank, is targeted at reawakening the foundations on which a good society would be tradition of community support and make a charitable giving. bankâ€™s value system as a people,â€? she added. â€œThe Career Counseling initiative is part built. To them, when pillars of moral values difference in the society. Among other places, It is expected that with a career talk like are missing, what the society witnesses are the Lagos version of the exercise took the of the Bankâ€™s Future First programme which this, students would be able to follow their corruption, stealing, killings, rape and other team to Old Peoplesâ€™ Home Yaba and Down is a unique programme aimed at ensuring career path because often time students just social misbehaviours that create chaos. They Syndrome Foundation of Nigeria, Surulere, the youth of the Nation are financially follow their mates into different departments independent through fulfilling careers and but by being exposed to things like this they also wondered why the youth who are suppose Lagos. The employees also embarked on Career the right financial knowledge. Future First are able to know their area of strength and to be leaders of tomorrow are also enmeshed programme is structured to equip students what their weaknesses are. So, FBN action in bad behaviours. This is why the message with the tools and knowledge to make effective was considered to be a laudable act capable was considered crucial by observers and the and informed financial management decisions of creating reasonable impact in the entire persistence call on its acceptability for human towards a long-term financial independence,â€? school and the students, which will then and economic managers in the country. In what the statement had stated. looked like a demonstration of the â€˜lead by help them focus their attention and make The key objectives of the Career Counseling it in life. exampleâ€™ dictum, employees of the 120- year , the bank said were to help students better old bank ride on the initiative to empower understand how businesses are organised and Imports of the CSR week old people and the less privileged. operated; to help students develop critical From any area one chooses to look at the Spread beyond Nigeria thinking, speaking, and leadership skills and activities that were lined up to commemorate To give all stakeholders a sense of belonging, be able to demonstrate the rewards of the the week, it was another clear indication the CSR week was said to have been marked free enterprise system and to guide students that First Bank has consistently led others in First Bankâ€™s business communities across to make the right career choices. The career despite economic recession. This is indicative the six geo-political zones of Nigeria and First day had been held in some schools already. of the fact that the brand is responsive and Bank subsidiaries across Africa and United The bank listed the schools to include: Girls responsible. Kingdom. The countries where the week was Senior Academy, Lagos Island and Methodist observed include; United Kingdom and subLike all breakaway brands, First Bank Girls, Harbour Road, Port Harcourt. Others are; Nigeria has consistently formed an emotional Saharan Africa countries like; Ghana, Guinea, Government science technical college Garki; connection with its audience. The brand The Gambia, DRC, Sierra Leone and Senegal. Abuja and Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan. owners understand the role that brand plays Aside the message passed through the theme, According to the bankâ€™s Group Head, in the lives of consumers and makes sure the bank and its staff, have cleverly used the Marketing & Corporate Communications, First Bankâ€™s attributes match up with the event to show the world the place of their Folake Ani-Mumuney, the CSR week was target banking public. Perhaps that is the patrons in their day today activities. As the mooted to stimulate a better society with reason, the bank has, for over 100 years, been Lagos event went on, not a few customers random acts of kindness. commended the bankâ€™s Employee Giving & thinking of new ways to give the brand a â€œAs an institution, we want to encourage top-of-mind awareness. Volunteering Programme. the values of random kindness and we A customer, who simple introduced himself Recently, the bank was, again, named as implore Nigerians and indeed everyone to the most valuable banking brand in Nigeria as Ekom described the week as fulfilling. â€˜â€™I have go the extra mile to promote and celebrate in The Top 500 Banking Brands of The Banker always known First Bank to be a responsible kindness this week. Kindness does not have magazine of the Financial Times and Brand company. I always feel happy that Iâ€™m a custo be monetary but would always leave us Finance, London, United Kingdom for the tomer of the bank because of its commitment with a better society we can all be proud sixth consecutive time. In many quarters, to customers. What we have seen this year is ofâ€?, she enthused. a reflection of First Bankâ€™s brand promise to observers saw the feat as an evidence of the â€œFirst Bank has contributed to all aspects global status of the brand. Stakeholders in the always put its customers first while it reinforces of nation building since 1894 when it was finance sector concluded this way because it its role in driving sustainable development in established. We believe thereâ€™s currently a happened in a country, where mortality rate the communities where it operates. deficit in our moral values and given the of businesses is high; First Bank has existed Bankâ€™s historical role in developing the nation, for over 10 decades. With the CSR week, Visit to Orphanages /IDPs it should be at the forefront in reigniting the the bank has simply sent a signal that it has In practical demonstration of one of its cardinal moral values. Itâ€™s important to raise people not allowed complacency to set in. principles, touching lives, First Bank management

Aside the message passed through the theme, the bank and its staff, have cleverly used the event to show the world the place of their patrons in their day today activities. As the Lagos event went on, not a few customers commended the bankâ€™s Employee Giving & Volunteering Programme.

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Okeme: Accountability in Media Spend, a Global Challenge The marketing, media and advertising industry in the country has continued to be plagued by lack of transparency and accountability as intelligence reports revealed that about N4 billion media advertising spend was unaccounted for in 2016. In this interview, the immediate past president of the Advertisers Association of Nigeria Mr. David Okeme says the issue is a global industry challenge. Raheem Akingbolu brings the excerpts: During your tenure as the President of the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), there was a paradigm shift in agency-client relationship, such that multinationals started hiring foreign agencies, even inviting them for pitches without consulting with their local affiliates. Examples were a brewery and a dairy food companies who gave their creative and digital campaign briefs respectively to foreign agencies. What would you say is responsible for this? I honestly do not have the detail of what you are saying but what I can say is there was a pitch process, which is what you are confirming. The two organisations you mentioned are global agencies and multinational organisations that are driven by quality of insight, quality of execution and so on. ADVAN is not a regulatory agency, ADVAN exists, one, to drive advocacy for her members, to carry out business without any harassment. Secondly, we exist to promote marketing excellence and in promoting excellence, we see ourselves as the channel to bring in best practice solutions and try and entrench them locally. Letâ€™s speak of DDB as the case in point. DDB Nigeria is affiliated to a global DDB, so if a DDB anywhere in the world decides to make a pitch in Nigeria, I believe through the agreement they have, they should be able to sort it out. Again, as I have said, all of these are side comments. Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) for instance, had written to us to say, I have this challenge with the Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency (LASAA), as soon as we received that, we then went ahead, booked a meeting with the MD of LASAA. We sat with MD of LASAA, we sat with MD of OAAN and we started the process of resolving the issues. We have not yet seen a letter nor did a complaint raise by any agency in Nigeria, that this is what is happening as regards the questions you asked. The President of Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) is not just a friend, he is a colleague and we are members of Heads of Advertising Sectoral Group (HASG) and he has never raised this with me as an issue. Again, like I have said I will treat this as a speculation. What is ADVAN doing about media monitoring services, how equipped are they and how do you do background check on them to ensure that what they give the brand owners are authentic and correct feedback on their monitoring? I have a multinational experience of over 20 years or so, I understand the way media monitoring works. It started in the days of media monitoring service, it was like a full recording of transmission, and so if you have any doubt on what you have, you go back to a process of playback to confirm. Before the digital era, that was what we had; now we have gone into a digital transmission that is more scientific. The whole digital thing is such that, technology is helping us to track the information we want. With what we have now, I cannot say it is 100 percent because the systems are not 100 percent, but I was in a session with Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) recently and there is a process that is on going to come out with a tracking system for Nigeria led by foreign countries but extensive input by local players and they are engaging stakeholders to ensure that this get to play shortly. For me, do we have a system that is 100 per cent? I will say no but do we have a system that gives some confident of value being delivered to our members? I will say yes.

as medium being flat to decline, Radio, Outdoor and press flat to decline. What that tells you is that it depends on the job to be done within organisations. Companies whose propositions are tailored towards young people tended to be excited about digital media as a platform. Our role as ADVAN is not to evaluate members because we are also members; we are also subjected to the same evaluation criteria. Our job is to look at trends within the industry and look at trends within the profession and how we can help our members to tap into those trends to deliver on their objectives. One of those things I promised when I was coming to office was the situation where members start quoting double digit growth each time we see the result come. For me, if you check inflation in single digit and we are still growing double digit? We will say yes, our members are getting the ratios right, we are growing ahead of media inflation but have we achieved that across all companies? The answer is no. Some are still growing below media inflation but I can tell you quite a number that have declared that results have strong double digit growth. Okeme

Last year, about N4billion unspent media advertising money was during investigation discovered to have been spent and yet unaccounted for, what is your reaction to this huge waste resulting from sharp practices? This is another speculation that I do not have any basis to respond to because four billion is not four thousand naira. I cannot speak to it because there is no fact. Every organisation has different level of capabilities in terms of managing advertising spend. You can tell me that company A or B has the same level of competency of managing advertising budget. Advertising is a cost for an organisation, it is also an investment for an organisation, it is the principal factor that unlocks growth for an organisation and the best way to measure the return of your advertising budget is the growth that you are unlocking. Organisations who have cut back on budget, go and check their results, organisations who have sustained their budget or increase their spend and check their results and make your conclusion from there. As a major player in the industry, are you not aware that there is a conspiracy within the critical stakeholders in the marketing services arm and the brand team on illicit diversion of media advertising money. In your period as the president, how would you describe this situation and its impact on advertising budget? Because I sat on the board of World Federation of Advertisers, I know this is a topical issue everywhere in the world. Our last global executive council meeting was in New York and the American Advertising Association hired an Ex- Attorney General of the US to carry out a forensic examination of media buying, media placement or execution, media monitoring, looking at the practices within value chain to establish whether the client was getting value for its spend and the guy shared the finding transparently. First and foremost, it was established that organisations who are putting the right level of support behind their business and putting the right skill and tools behind their spend are getting growth on a sustainable basis.

It was also established that when you are investing below threshold, you will struggle to get a growth. This is a principle that is global and acceptable, same in the US, same in Nigeria. Did they find practices which you will call anomalies? Of course, they were. There were questions around the management of discounts, where contractors give discount to the agencies even in the US. There were issues around it and there were questions on whether they declare the discount transparently to the clients or not. So there were issues around agency agreement that are really specific to the expectation of both practices. Again, how many organisations here have a robust and structured service-level agreement? This is a world biggest marketing machine I will call it, the US, they took an Attorney General who brought in a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and others to do a forensic. They did not give the industry all tips, so it was a balance of tips and issues and we sat to say how do we take this learning to other countries? To say four billion Naira is missing, that is not true. You cannot make such an allegation without facts because I have not seen any fact. Secondly, for anybody to tell you that the industry is efficient or not, nobody can give you that. You can do a sector by sector or player by player analysis to arrive at a judgment. You can take two organisations, letâ€™s say company A spent 100 million and company B spent 100 million, company A grew share by so factor, Company B did not grow share by that factor and you can say the company that did not grow share did not invest their money properly, you can have a basis. How would you access the aggregate growth cumulatively of total advertising expenditure during your tenure? You talk about registered members, what I can tell you that, we have a tale of two sitting, we have a set of company who understood the principle, invested and got the growth and we have another set that may be for whatever reason did not invest and did not get the growth. Over all, we can talk growth by sector or segment, in the last 24 months or so, we have seen increase in budget behind digital advertising for instance, double the digit. We have seen TV

How would you assess your tenure as ADVAN president? I think because I come from a strong branding background, I would say the last 24 months, have been months of building ADVAN into a powerful brand. I will say today the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) is a brand. Today, if you call the name ADVAN, the kind of emotions you get are all very positive. We have set up sharing platforms, learning platforms and also a platform where people come and showcase their skills and get recognized and get rewarded. So, these are the platforms we have set up to leverage on the brand. Beyond that, I will say ADVAN has become an extremely listening organisation. Our members run to us whenever there are issues and we have handled very successful advocacy to ensure that those issues are addressed. We have become very strong partners with organisations like Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) for instance. On three or four occasions, we had events where the supervising minister for APCON was present. Again, we get consulted for inputs into policies. We have been asked to help put together an advertising summit for Nigeria. That is the extent that our advocacy in the public sector has been effective. Internationally, we have taken ADVAN into the World Federation of Advertisers, a body of marketing associations in over 55 countries of the world. So, today there is a permanent slot on the council for Nigeria. It never existed before. Over all, I think the strength of the EXCO in transition now, is in our upholding of a two values which are behind the reasons for the set up of ADVAN; which are advocacy and also training, learning and sharing. I think for this, I score the outgoing EXCO very high. About two years ago, when you came into office, some succession issues made some members to step aside. How were you able to resolve the issues and what were the politics behind succession this time around? Being a contestant or candidate then, I was not aware of any politics, I came into the process, I had a strong manifesto, I had a strong set of activities, and I believed that helped my emergence as the President. What I did in my two years, which I would say Continued on page 31

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Leo Burnett Lagos Makes History Following the appearance of a television commercial conceptualised by Leo Burnett Lagos for Heritage Bank in the latest edition of Lurzers Archive, Raheem Akingbolu writes on the significance of the feat for the nationâ€™s creative industry Since 1984 when LĂźrzerâ€™s Archive was established by Walter LĂźrzer, as a wholly advertising industry magazine which features advertising campaigns for print and television (TV) from around the world, appearance in the publication has always been a coveted feat. To some agencies, having their creative works published in the magazine is as good as winning the biggest creative award globally. This is so because most times, works that are reviewed in Archive Advertising Worldwide often attract global awards, including the popular Cannes Lion Festival. Perhaps this informs the opening statement of the Editor-in-Chief of the bi-monthly magazine, Michael Weinzeth, in the Lurzer Intâ€™l Vol 04 â€“ 0217. The editor said: â€˜â€™By the time you read these lines, summer may have erased your memories of the Cannes Lion Festival â€“Unless; of course you were able to garner a coveted Lion while there, or happen to work for Publicis Group Agency.â€™â€™ The old trend and the trailblazer Though the magazine is meant to serve the interest of the global advertising community and their patrons, creative works from advanced nations always top the list with few mentions of works from African agencies. For instance, in the latest issue, there are a total of 106 print and postal campaigns, the three countries contributing the most being the United States (US) (16) Brazil (12) and Germany (11). There are 60 films campaign (TV & online) in all; the US romping home with 16, followed by the UK (6) and France (5). At the other end of the spectrum are single films apiece from Jordan, Nigeria, Peru, Puer to Rico and South Africa. In this same edition, a Nigerian agency -.Leo Burnett Lagos, succeeded in giving Heritage Bank brand a voice that extends for all of black Africa. This is what the bankâ€™s #IAMPROUDOFMYHERITAGE campaign came to be as the TVC appears in the latest edition of Lurzers Archive, the venerated bible of the advertising industry. This has been described as important feat by observers because the issue also profiles the big winners of Cannes 2017. Therefore, while flipping through global ads that represented the best the world had to offer, flip to page 139 and there it is: an ad from Nigeria, based on African pride, and coincidentally making the continent proud. The agency and the TVC appear in the Banking and Insurance section. Other outstanding works in this edition are; Toyota â€˜Grandpaâ€™ in the automotive section, produced by Badillo Nazca Saatch & Saatchi from San Juan, Puerto Rico and Strongbow â€˜A nature Dreamâ€™ in the Beverage and Alcoholic section, by Cloud Factory, Amsterdam. There is also Bacardi â€˜Breakfreeâ€™ by BBDO, New York, which appears also in the Beverage and Alcoholic section. Few years ago, DDB Lagos also had a mention in the magazine when one of its creative works was named â€˜Luerzerâ€™s Archive Print Ad of the Week.â€™ The â€œSpeechlessâ€? ad, which made the history, was said to have been done for

one of DDBâ€™s numerous clients, Girl Hub, a non-governmental organisation. Synopsis When in 2016, Leo Burnett Lagos, a young vibrant agency known for creating the #foundonkonga and #Yakata campaign, beat some agencies to win the converted Heritage Bank corporate brand account, observers expected the agency to create something truly memorable. Looking back and considering the feat achieved by its work on the Fidelity brand, one can rightly say the agency has not disappointed its patrons. IAMPROUDOFMYHERITAGE, an epic campaign built around the thinking that a peopleâ€™s heritage is something of pride handed down to inspire generations born and unborn, challenged the image of Africa constantly portrayed to the world. Beyond this, it is also an image that revolves heavily around slavery, bad governance and corrupt dictatorships. It also combines the many negative stereotypes created about the â€œdark continentâ€?. This often propagated image of our heritage simply chose to ignore an era when African Kings and Queens stood as pillars of innovation and industry. It ignored such kings and queens as Amina, who built cities and forged new rules. But, why would Leo burnett, an agency barely a year old take on such a daunting task? The answer can be found in its Humankind philosophy. A philosophy built around the thinking that creativity had the power to transform human behaviorâ€Ś for good. This meant that in whatever Leo Burnett would do, it was bound to apply

an approach totally different from that of any agency present or before it. The result was a well crafted ode to the era of greatness that was and is to come for black Africa. A well shot, paced, and scored visually cinematic story that captures the essence of what it means to be African; what it means to have African pride, flowing through your blood streams. The origin of that pride, ancestral and regal. Your heart beats to the rhythm, and then skips when in the first few seconds a nomadic caucasian king bows to an African king. The images are quite telling while conveying the brand strategy: Heritage bank, although a new bank, was here to stay. The association to our heritage was not lost on anyone. While it is debatable if the era of African kings and queens has indeed begun, one thing is certain, the era of Leo Burnett Lagos may have commenced. Agency profile On June 16, 2017, a special publication in THISDAY had featured Leo Burnnet Lagos, as one of Nigerian top agencies that have changed the game of marketing communications. According to the authors of the publication, the young agency is believed to have begun to speak the complete language of the 21st century agency. At a time stakeholders in the marketing communication industry thought the business environment was too tough for anybody to venture into, Leo Burnet Lagos was established two years ago, with the promise to change the marketing communications landscape.

However, within short time of operation in the highly competitive advertising business in the country, Leo Burnett Lagos has proven to become an iconic creative brand, with the array of local and international awards and accolades it has carted in the industry. On the list of her landmarks in the industry is the first international award which Leo Burnett Lagos won at the just-concluded African Cristal awards in Morocco. Leo Burnett Lagos won 2 Awards in the Radio category. Also at the 2016 LAIF awards, the Sam Osunsoko-led marketing communication agency was a glaring star of the night when it won three Gold, five Silver and five Bronze medals, hitting age old agencies in the competitive industry. Beyond the conventional creativity, Leo Burnett Lagos is an agency that prides itself as a solution provider to brands challenges in the marketplace by looking into their business problems and strategic way of solving them. Leo Burnett Lagos prides itself as an external student of Human Behaviour, which gives an unparalleled ability to better understand people and what drives them. The 360 degree marketing communication agency has made huge and impactful contributions to brands such as Konga, Heritage Bank, Nestle, Crusader Sterling Pensions, Pfizer and Philip Morris. Considering the group of multidisciplinary and multi-skilled talents that are available at Leo Burnett Lagos, the agency is poised to deliver excellent innovation in the industry in the year 2017 and ahead. Leo Burnett Lagos, which is an affiliate of Leo Burnett Inc., is not resting on its oars and is poised to become a market leader a market leader in the business of advertising Africa. In a recent interview with THISDAY, the Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Sam Osunsoko, described the two years operation of the agency as a watershed. He spoke about the factors that have helped the agencyâ€™s growth and how it clinched 13 medals at the 2016 edition of the Lagos Advertising & Ideas Festival (LAIF) held in Lagos. â€œFrom inception, we have been very clear in our minds as to how weâ€™d defy the odds of the industry â€“ maintain an obsessive focus on our clientsâ€™ brands with a strong intent to growing them. It is for this reason that our objectives of business and creative leadership in this country seems to be taking shorter time for us to achieve than we initially projected. To give an example, the Heritage Bankâ€™s Kings and Queens campaigns we developed was deeply insights-driven. It celebrates the enterprise spirit of Nigerians and Africans at large. This has further reinforced perception of Heritage Bank as one with a very strong SME focus. In terms of how almost every major campaign we developed has not only step-changed the brands we developed them for but has also won one creative award or the other, you could be forgiven if you likened Leo Burnett Lagos to the artiste that spoke about all his songs being hits back-to-back,â€™â€™ he said.

OKEME: ACCOUNTABILITY IN MEDIA SPEND, A GLOBAL CHALLENGE has been a force for mobilisation of members, is that we have been kind of very strategic in the kind of activities that we implemented. And in driving the activities, we ensured every member of the organisation felt a part of the activities. At the first marketersâ€™ conference that we had, we introduced a panel kind of system and within the panel system; we ensured that every member organisation was adequately represented. That is one of the things we did that really worked for us. We also put in place a system of direct engagement, so we had each EXCO member being responsible for certain number

of members, driving a relationship across the members. We also formed teams that visited core members periodically. I can confirm to you that we were at Airtel, MTN, Nigerian Breweries, Etisalat now 9Mobile, Guinness and Unilever. I can tell you all the key members were visited and the leaders of those organisations were pitched to. From an awareness view and top of the mind awareness point of view, I think that has really helped. For this transition that is happening, I spoke to one or two people after the election, what I heard was that they made their decision based on

the candidateâ€™s manifesto and their engagement with them. Bukola Bandele, Marketing Director, PZ and Folake AniMumuney, Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications and General Manager at First Bank of Nigeria contested for the post of the associationâ€™s President. At the end of the election, Folake won. It is really a history making event because in more than 20 years history of the organisation, we have the first woman president. Talking about the arrangement between you and OAAN, there was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) presented to

ADVAN during your tenure to ensure partnership that would make business relationship to be smooth and mutual and also resolve indebtedness issue, among OAAN, ADVAN and MIPAN. What is the state of the Memorandum? Certainly, I am aware of the memorandum which was presented by OAAN, which was more around how they would want to be paid on services they offer our members and I think as ADVAN, we gave our own input. It was not a finished paper. It was a memorandum that was issued in draft and the two or three areas where we made very strong inputs

were in the area of data for instance, so we told them, if you look at TV for instance, you can use Gross Rating Point (GRP) to say if I spend one million naira, this is what am getting back. For outdoor as a medium, the data does not exist and when you donâ€™t have that it is always a challenge. I come from a multinational background and every time we put a media plan together that feature outdoor, we get this push back, how do we calculate return on investment? My pitch to OAAN was, can you get to a position where you can begin to calculate actually what returns our members are

getting for the spend that is going into outdoor? That is one. Secondly, OAAN wanted us to legislate pre-payment to members. Again, my response to them was, we cannot legislate, we are not a regulatory body, we can advise but we cannot regulate. As an operator in the industry, I am aware that some members even pay upfront. Ultimately, it is the strength of your value proposition to the client that will determine whether the client gets into a pre-payment agreement with you or a post payment and also, not all members have the same cash flow structure.

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Kaduna Nickel: Boost for Nigeriaâ€™s Economic Expansion In 2016, when Australiaâ€™s Comet Minerals first disclosed its discovery of a vast, unique deposit comprising an abundance of balls of almost pure nickel in Dagoma, Kaduna â€“ northeast of Nigeria, its chairman, Mr. Hugh Morgan, was not too sure on the best method to separate the balls from the surrounding soil. A year after, at the 2017 Africa Down Under conference in Perth Australia, he indicated that Nigeria may eventually leverage the nickel find to diversify her revenue base, writes Chineme Okafor

â€œ

its preference to make it work for the local community holding its deposit. He explained that this was central to the economic diversification plan of the government and urged investors in the countryâ€™s solid minerals mining sector to factor it in their investments plans through joint beneficial relationship models.

We have what we believe is a very, very important nickel discovery. We think this is something that will put Nigeria on the map as having significant prospectivity and significant resources,â€? said Hugh Morgan, chair of Comet Minerals, about the extent of work his firm had put in since its discovery of nickel in Dagoma village, south of Kaduna. Morgan, on the sidelines of the September 2017 Africa Down Under (ADU) conference in Perth, Western Australia, indicated that his firm had finally found an exact way to assess the content of the nickel they found at its Titan project site. He noted in his disclosure that he was confident of establishing a maiden resource base for the deposit, and perhaps finalise plans for a processing base at the project. Economic Diversification Perhaps from his over 13 years of mining experience as the chief of Western Mining Corporation (WMC), Morgan showed a rather confident conviction of his firmâ€™s find, and kind of unlocked a new hope for Nigeriaâ€™s dream of an economy with a manageable dependence on crude oil. According to him, Nigeria appeared to have recognised the prospect of leveraging the Kaduna nickel deposits to finally push her economic diversification throttle to a full blast, having heavily relied on the prosperities that oil has brought her way to run her affairs for many years. Morgan said: â€œThere is a strong realism now and an imperative to make sure that the mining operations can go forward. What is important for Nigeria, and what they recognise, is that the best advertisement they can have is a major successful enterprise.â€? New Momentum According to the Nickel Institute, the mineral which is hard, silvery-white, and with immense strength, ductility and resistance to heat and corrosion, is extremely useful for every day enterprise â€“ starting from the manufacturing of wires, to coins, stainless steel, batteries, and then military equipment. In addition, its value in the international market which is beginning to rally â€“ the London Metal Exchange (LME) quoted an opening bid for a tonne of nickel in the first week of October to be circa $10,475, indicated that with regards to revenue, the solid mineral could offer Nigeria a new and supplementary revenue means outside of oil. Ministerial Intervention Similarly, in his presentation at the ADU, where the Kaduna nickel was a discussion point, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, explained that while oil accounted for majority of Nigeriaâ€™s revenue, solid minerals mining and related services provided very minimal contributions, and thus needed to be incentivised as a complementary revenue base. To achieve this, Fayemi, explained the country will build a minerals and mining sector initially focused on using its industrial mineral endowment to support industrialisation. He also said private investors and companies like Comet Minerals would be facilitated to lead this charge. The minister equally noted that Nigeria would invest in a range of initiatives including infrastructure investments, technical and engineering capacity, and regulatory reform. The ministry, he stated, would be reorganised and access to financing expanded to drive the sectorâ€™s transformation ahead of its potential emergence as an alternative to oil.

Game Changer The minister accepted that the nickel deposit was a potential game changer for the Nigerian economy, but that government would not compromise its laws and regulations, especially in protecting the local communities. â€œYou need the cooperation of the host communities as well as the state governments. Even when our constitution allows the federal government to issue you licence, you need the understanding and cooperation of the state government and the host communities in whose environment you are going to work. â€œThe host communities should have a stake in your investment. Once that is done, they would see themselves as part-owners and would ensure no one sabotages your efforts. This, we have learnt through experience,â€? he said.

Fayemi at the ADU conference

Nickel, a viable revenue alternative for Nigeria Communitiesâ€™ Priority Notwithstanding the position of government in

the potential of the new economy that nickel may birth in Nigeria, Fayemi, however stated

Positive Signs Solid minerals development, even though it is largely uncoordinated and yet-to-be fully harmonised in local level operations, is capable of earning vital revenue for Nigeria, in this countryâ€™s continued drive to diversify the economy from its long-running dependence on crude oil, which price is at the whim of international market. Nigeria, which has different minerals in virtually each state of the federation, would do well to harness these natural resources for effective revenue generation and as a viable alternative to oil. Although the Solid Minerals Ministry has done a mapping survey of minerals in the country, proper coordination of the activities in the solid minerals sector can help boost the economic fortunes of this country, and efficient, good relations with small-scale miners will help promote a sense of belonging among the small-holders who are actively involved in the vital sector. The nickel find is a good way to begin reaping the rewards of interventions in mining and the sector.

RANDOM THOTS Financial Secrecy Nigerians are a curious lot. They want to know how much a legislator takes home in a month. They want to know who wins contract bids and for how much. They want to know how a governor spends his security vote. They want to know how political campaign funds are spent. They even want to know exactly how much a non-governmental organisation (NGO) or civil society organisaĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ě™ Ěš Ă‘Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă‹ ĂŽĂ™Ă˜Ă™Ăœ Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂœË› Ă?Ă–Ă–Ëœ Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ăž ĂŒĂ–Ă‹Ă—Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă¤Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ëž after all billions of dollars have been siphoned and spirited away by powersthat-be over the years. Now the issue of how much a legislator

makes on a monthly and yearly basis has been on the front-burner in reĂ?Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă•Ă?Ëœ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜Ă•Ă? ĂžĂ™ Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ? ĂŒĂŁ Ă‹ Ă Ă™Ă?Ă‹Ă– Ëœ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă™Ě‹ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă’ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ‹ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁ ĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?Ăž Ě™ ĚšË› This same exposure has set many fuĂœĂ“Ă™Ă&#x;Ă? Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă¤Ă?Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ™ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă’Ă™Ă—Ă?Ă? of their representatives to collect the usual legislative payoďŹ€s and now also harry them to conďŹ rm if they are actually collecting those huge millions that Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă—Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹Ë› Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ëœ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă–Ă? Ă–Ă‹ĂĄĂ—Ă‹Ă•Ă?ĂœËœ ĂŒĂ™ĂžĂ’ ĂšĂ‹Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă’Ă‹Ă? come out to enumerate how much a Representative or Senator grosses in

a month or year. The simple truth is that the more the legislators continue to deny the ďŹ gures and fantastic allowances being ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;ĂžËœ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ĂšĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă&#x;Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂšĂ?Ă™ĂšĂ–Ă? ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă“cate the situation is likely to become. Modern-day governance is all about Ă™ĂšĂ?Ă˜ Ă‘Ă™Ă Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ accountability. If the honourables have Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ™ Ă’Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ëœ ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂŁ Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă• up freely about their take-homes. To ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă¤Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ëœ Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă? time for their elected representatives to declare their assets...simple solution. -Abimbola Akosile

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Ëš

So, this is where our commonwealth is stashed!

Are the Elites Nigeriaâ€™s Major Problem? Although this argument appears unending, many analysts believe Nigeriaâ€™s staggered growth process was caused mainly by the elites and ruling class who have consistently plundered the nationâ€™s treasury at the expense of her expected development. However, others insist that a nation only gets the leadership it deserves, and that the masses are equally culpable in their apathy and in leaving the elites to run amok in the process of governance. To you, are the elites the major problem of Nigeriaâ€™s development, and if yes or no, what is the remedy? THE FEEDBACK

Abimbola Akosile * All the elites in Nigeria were once ordinary citizens. So they are absolutely not the problem. Get rid of all the elites now, and the new set of elites that will take over will not be different. Even if all of the agitations everywhere produce the restructuring or separation that many are seeking, without our character as individuals changing first, nothing will change in the character of those that will inherit the federating components. We are all part of the rot in the system. Instead of praying, we curse our nation at will and still expect it to bear its fruits. - Mr. Buga Dunj, Jos, Plateau State

Yes, they are:

No, they are not:

Others:

Radical tip:

Eradicate the elites!

Total no of respondents:

Male:

Female:

Highest location:

Lagos (4)

* Not really the elite, because the people donâ€™t know their rights, so they tend to worship the elite. - Mrs. Moses Adetoun, Ogun State

God has chosen Nigeria among millions to lead this country to greater height, but they have chosen to lead it into ruin due to their selfish interest and desires. If I may ask, who are our policy makers? Who are the contractors that handle our roads construction, building of hospitals, schools e.t.c? They are our elites that we so trusted, queuing to elect them whether in rain or shine but when they are there, they legislate what will benefit only them. Take a typical civil servant who put in 35 years in service, do you know what gratuity he collects? But our politicians collect hundreds of millions of naira for serving for a two-tenure term of eight years. The contractors abandon their contracts half-way after collecting mobilisation fees and at times part payment. They are supposed to be the light but end up bringing us into total darkness. What a pity! - Hon. Babale Maiungwa, U/Romi, Kaduna

* No. A nation will only get the kind of leadership that it actually deserves. The masses are equally culpable in their apathy and in leaving the elites to run amok in the process of governance. Elites are products of the society and act to corruptly enrich themselves and often the greedy poor masses, friends, and relatives e.t.c, who make illegal and unreasonable demands on their political representatives at all levels of government, which encourage corruption hugely. Henceforth, bribery and corrupt acts must be punished severely to deter others. - Miss Apeji Patience Eneyeme, Badagry, Lagos State * Nigeria comprises elites of all kinds - economic elite, political elite, intellectual elite, religious elite, etc. Are these people our major problem? Somebody like ex-president of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, is going to say yes. But I beg to differ slightly. I think the problem is the way the elite relates with the Hoi Polloi, which stems from the vanity inherent in us as a people. So when a â€˜downtrodden personâ€™ becomes a governor, for instance, he evolves into a problem for society, totally disregarding his humble background. - Mr. E. Iheanyi Chukwudi, B.A.R., Apo, Abuja * Indeed, the elites are Nigeriaâ€™s major problem.

* Although it is easier to blame the elites for most of Nigeriaâ€™s problems of misrule, oil bunkering and treasury looting, the masses or the led are equally culpable. The elites loot on a spree simply because the masses allow them to do so and even celebrate the endless stealing by the â€˜leadersâ€™. The end result is that the people get the leaders they deserve, and until they decide to rebel against selfish elites, Nigeria will continue to be at the mercy of cabals and wicked people in high places. However, the current ruling class needs to be eradicated, just like polio, for Nigeria to survive and flourish.

- Mr. Olumuyiwa Olorunsomo, Lagos State

- Mr. Dogo Stephen, Kaduna

* We have good elites that want Nigeria to be great while some bad elites want the treasury to share among themselves for their selfish interest. This government should seek better advice from good elites that want Nigeria to be a great nation, rather than what bad ones would get from government. Those bad elites should know this government is not for sharing treasury meant for infrastructural development. The time of sharing the treasury is over as the past government wasted funds meant for development. - Mr. Gordon Chika Nnorom, Public Commentator, Umukabia, Abia State

* Yes, the elites and the ruling class from inception have unfortunately caused Nigeriaâ€™s staggered growth process by their extremely unpatriotic actions and inactions. They have obviously consistently plundered Nigeriaâ€™s treasury at the expense of her projected development. It is responsible for our dilemma, sorrows, tears, blood, and the unimaginable level of corruption engulfing Nigeria so cancerously today. We must restructure our minds and our Nigeria now! - Mr. Apeji Onesi. Lagos State

* Elites and the ruling class are not the major problems of Nigeria development. But some have contributed negatively in Nigeriaâ€™s socio-economy, and are too greedy. They are supposed to manage the youth properly, ensure economical use of their resources and facilitate viable societal policies. In 2015, some few elites and ruling class came up with the slogan â€œchangeâ€? which got masses and Nigerian citizens to vote for them to return into victory. In the developed countries, the elites stand for the progress of their nations. Therefore the role of the elites and the ruling class should be taken seriously by the present administration to avert future disaster, staggered growth and high rate of underdevelopment, unemployment, poverty, disunity and corruption. - Mr. Michael Adedotun Oke, Founder Michael Adedotun Oke Foundation, Abuja * The answer is a big YES. - Ms Nana Opoku, Lagos State * The elites and ruling class are the main cause of lack of development and corruption in the country. I have not seen any elite sentenced to death or life imprisonment, nor amounts recovered published for Nigerians to know how much was recovered from each as they are Nigeriaâ€™s treasury looters. We are on the verge of another political campaign and some of them have started declaring intention to contest. The problem is that up to date the government barks but lacks the courage to bite looters.

Next Week: Is this Administration Still Fighting Corruption? Ă’Ă? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹ĂŽĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă–Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ëœ Ă?ĂĄĂ?ĂšĂž ĂžĂ™ ĂšĂ™ĂĄĂ?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă– Í“Í‘Í’Í– Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹ ĂĄĂ‹Ă Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂšĂ™ĂšĂ&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ“ĂžĂŁËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ĂšĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă– ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă˜ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂšĂ–Ă?ĂŽĂ‘Ă? ĂžĂ™ Ă•Ă“Ă?Ă• Ă™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă?Ă™ĂœĂœĂ&#x;ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ă—Ă‹Ă”Ă™Ăœ Ă’Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ™ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?Ă–Ă™ĂšĂ—Ă?Ă˜ĂžË› Ă™ĂĄ Ă‹Ę°Ă?Ăœ ĂžĂĄĂ™ ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ĂšĂ™ĂĄĂ?ĂœËœ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă–ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă‘Ă™Ă Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă˜Ă™Ăž ĂŽĂ™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ ĂžĂ™ ĂšĂ&#x;ĂœĂ‘Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂžĂ™Ăš ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă•Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ě‹ĂšĂœĂ™Ę¨Ă–Ă? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂœĂ&#x;ĂšĂž ĂšĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂœĂ&#x;ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă–Ă?Ă‹Ă•Ă?ĂŽ Ă—Ă?Ă—Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ™Ăš Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă“ĘľĂ?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă‘Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ë› Ă™ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ëœ Ă“Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă‹ĂŽĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ę¨Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂšĂ–Ă?ĂŽĂ‘Ă? ĂžĂ™ Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă• Ă?Ă™ĂœĂœĂ&#x;ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ËŁ Ă? Ă˜Ă™ĂžËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? ĂŽĂ™Ă˜Ă?ËŁ Ă–Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžËœ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ–Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă– Ă˜Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ëœ ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ–Ă?Ëœ Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŒĂ?ĂžĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă˜ ĂžĂ™ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁ Ě™ Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Í’Í“ Ęś Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Í’Í—Ěš ĂžĂ™ abimbolayi@ yahoo.comËœ greatbimbo@gmail.comËœ abimbola.akosile@thisdaylive. comË› Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂž ĂžĂ?Ă˘Ăž Ă—Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă? ĂžĂ™ 08023117639 Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËšĂ™Ăœ 08188361766 Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËšĂ™Ăœ 08114495306Ë› Ă™Ă–Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Í’Íš

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DEVELOPMENT

Motorists’ nightmare at Trinity bus-stop along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway in Lagos

ETOP UKUTT

NGO Bill’s Repressive, Unfavourable to National Devt, CSOs Insist Abimbola Akosile The National Assembly has been urged to ignore and step down the Bill seeking the establishment of a NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs) Commission to coordinate, supervise and harmonise the activities of NGOs and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria, otherwise known as the NGO Bill. The CSOs described the Bill as retrogressive, repressive and unfavourable to national development, adding that it should not be considered by the Legislature and rather left to die. Instead, the groups urged that existing governmental regulatory institutions should be strengthened to perform the role they are already mandated to perform; The calls formed part of the recommendations and outcomes from a one-day interactive technical roundtable between the National Assembly and the representatives of CSOs on the NGO Bill, held recently in Abuja. The event, which was organised by the House of Representatives Committee on

Civil Society and Development Partners and the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), was attended by over 200 delegates from the Executive, Legislative, Judiciary and a cross-section of NGOs from all parts of the country. The meeting was convened with the main objective of bringing legislators, civil society organisations and other stakeholders together to harness broad based inputs into the draft NGO Bill. Following exhaustive deliberations, CSOs observed that the enactment of the bill and establishment of a commission to regulate the activities of NGOs and CSOs in Nigeria was not necessary for various reasons. They noted that “It (Bill) will be a duplication of duties by existing governmental agencies such as the Corporate Affairs Commission, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, National Planning Commission, etc. which are already performing such statutory roles as the registration, supervisions, monitoring of the activities of CSOs and NGOs in Nigeria. Otherwise, all the existing

governmental regulatory bodies overseeing the activities of NGOs would need to be dissolved or abrogated. “It will negatively affect the ability of NGOs and CSOs to function without political interference, which negates the principle of independence of civil society which several international standards recognise and expect countries to respect; the Bill seeks to limit the scope of NGOs and CSOs to work in multiple thematic areas and diversify the sources of accessing resources.” To the participants, the Bill is intended to suppress the voices of CSOs engaged in social development across the country by requiring them to renew their legal identity every 24 months, considering the strategic roles of demanding accountability from government and its officials. “The Bill as presented, contradicts the spirit of the Executive Order on the Ease of Business as well the Open Government Ppartnership to which Nigeria has acceded. It exposes NGOs to the bureaucratic operations of government which has tendencies of delaying hu-

manitarian responses and other necessary rapid responses in times of emergency by NGOs, which is their trademark”, the forum noted. According to the participants, “There is nowhere in the world where governmental regulation of NGOs has helped to deepen the operations of NGOs; instead it has always muzzled their operations existence; governmental regulation of NGOs is antithetic to open democratic practices anywhere in the world as it appears that the Commission will be become another governmental NGO Police. “The Bill is in breach of Section 39 of Constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria on the right for freedom of association and expression; annual appropriations for critical social sectors are not receiving adequate funding. The setting up of the commission will further stress the financial resources of the country and will become a liability. “Using NGOs and CSOs to generate IGR will put undue burden on CSOs and NGOs; the acceptance of gifts and properties by the commission from organisations will propagate

corruption as contained in the Bill; there is no provision for an independent audit for the commission and no mechanism for mediation and arbitration where NGOs can go for redress”, the participants noted in a communiqué jointly signed by some representatives. They noted with concern that “the presentation of this Bill has been recurrent with each session of the national Assembly and seems to indicate limited knowledge in the operations of CSOs in Nigeria.” They also observed that “the present feeling that NGOs are not well regulated is because of the weakness or inadequacies of existing regulatory agencies of government.” Among other recommendations, the participants advised that rather than create another Commission, the National Assembly should exercise their oversight function to enable the existing governmental agencies to perform their functions. The government was further urged to create a conducive environment for the operation of NGOs for effective service

delivery in the interest of the nation’s teeming population. The participants also unequivocally stated that “this Bill is inconsistent with open democratic practices and therefore should be thrown out without further discussion. We urge the government not to introduce legislations that could jeopardise the work of NGOs, for the greater good of the country, as we would continue to oppose any restriction to what we consider as key indices of a true democratic state.” The communiqué was drafted by Iho Wuese Winifred from the Communication for Development Centre; Augusta Keneboh from Afro Centre for Development, Peace and Justice; Patricia Onoja-Idudu from AWEDP and HALEL Foundation; Oshiniwe Anthonia of the Thews Caregivers Initiative; Joseph Ibekwe of the Foundation for Leadership and Education Development; Emmanuel Terry Yuah from the Sapphire Initiative for Girl Child Literacy and Empowerment; and Uduak Okon of the Youth Alive Foundation (YAF).

Olam Nigeria Warns Consumers on Fake Bags of Mama Gold, Mama Africa Rice in Circulation Temitope Omabegho Agri-business giant and brand owner of Mama Gold and Mama Africa Thailand parboiled rice, Olam Nigeria Limited, has warned the general public that the company has suspended the importation of these brands since June 2015, and advised consumers against purchasing any of such products displayed in the open market.

The warning was contained in a notice titled “Disclaimer on Fake Bags of Mama Gold and Mama Africa Rice” issued recently by the company, which was signed by the management, a copy of which was made available to THISDAY by an Olam official, Mr. Shaibu Muhammed. According to the notice, “Olam Nigeria Limited, brand owner of the Mama Gold and Mama Africa Thailand

parboiled rice, wishes to once again bring to the notice of the general public that, we have suspended the importation of these brands since June 2015. This suspension covers all stock keeping units of the brands (1kg, 2kg, 5kg. 10kg, 25kg and 50kg). “This disclaimer has become necessary as unscrupulous traders have taken advantage of the suspension to begin counterfeiting the packaging

bags of these brands, filling them up with smuggled, expired and unhealthy rice. These re-bagged packages are then passed off and traded in the open market and online channels as our Mama Gold & Mama Africa parboiled rice brands. “We, as the brand owners hereby unequivocally declare that the bags been traded and passed off as the Mama Gold & Mama Africa’s brands in the

market are not our brands”, the notice read. It enjoined all members of the public “to take note not to purchase or consume these counterfeit bags of rice in the interest of their health and safety. “We hereby publicly disassociate our name, our brand and ourselves from responsibility for the quality and safety of this counterfeit stock. We will formally com-

municate to our customers and consumers should we resume the importation of these brands through mass media advertisements and a brand relaunch. “With this disclaimer, we would also like to put the perpetrators of this illegal activity who are taking fraudulent advantage of our brand equity on notice that we will take legal action against them”, the company added.

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Lastyear,myconstituencyprojectwasprovidingsolarpower,sochildrencandotheirhomeworkat night.Thisyear,it’sagriculture(fish,corn,rice),peoplehavetofeed.IfIdothese,howwouldthathavea negativeimpactontheeconomy,andwhywouldthegovernmentnotfundsuchprojects?Noneofthe projectsbenefitsme;theybenefitthepeoplewhovotedmeintooffice.Soconstituencyprojectisnota badword,notabadthingtodoandIamgladwehaveitinthebudget.Ihopetheyfundit” - DEPUTY SPOKESMAN OF THE SENATE, SENATOR BEN MURRAY BRUCE, SPEAKING IN AN INTERVIEW IN ABUJA

HDI Tasks Stakeholders on Budget Tracking in Education, SDGs As 26 North-west insti ȱ ę ȱ ȱ Fund sensitisation Paul Obi and Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

NNPC/Chevron Sponsor Roll Back Malaria Efforts in Yenagoa Chiamaka Ozulumba In furtherance of the objectives of the Roll Back Malaria programme in the country, the NNPC/Chevron joint venture partnership have extended the malaria eradication programme to Igbogene community, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Speaking at the event, a medical expert, Dr. Damien Nwaneri, stated that every Nigerian is at risk of malaria owing to the geographical location of the country, which falls within 64 degrees north and 32 degrees south of the equator, an area that has been classified as the malaria belt, adding that malaria accounts for 60 per cent of out-patients in Nigeria’s primary healthcare centers. Nwaneri, a consultant paediatrician and senior research fellow at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Edo State, stated that one child dies every five minutes from malaria disease, adding that malaria remains both a major cause and a consequence of global poverty and inequity even as it is most felt in the least developed areas and among the poorest members of society. The programme was to showcase the commitment of Chevron Nigeria Limited to the elimination of malaria disease in the country with particular emphasis on how to deploy environmental sanitation and management techniques to the elimination of the disease, training on current methods of detection and treatment of the disease among others. “Methods and objectives of the Chevron Nigeria Limited Roll Back Malaria: Environmental Management Project to Eliminate Malaria are aligned with those of the Ministry of Health and the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) at the Federal, State and Local Government Area levels, and the UNDP/World Bank/ WHO research on malaria control. “The Development Africa Malaria Elimination Programme (DAMEP), combines techniques for environmental sanitation and management with

L-R: Medical Consultant, Development Africa, Dr. Damien Nwaneri; Obeneken of Igbogene, High Chief Hope Adike; Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health and Representative of the Bayelsa State Government, Dr. Kojo Omietimi; and Bayelsa State Team Lead, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr. Elijah Bikikoro, during the Roll Back Malaria Environmental Management Programme sponsored by NNPC/ Chevron Nigeria Limited joint venture at Igbogene town, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State…recently the use of proven preventative and therapeutic interventions with Information Education and Communication (IEC). The programme aims to not only treat and prevent malaria infection, but to change the behavioural patterns and social systems of the communities themselves. “Development Africa establishes a public health alliance, including a therapeutic and preventive union with individuals, health workers and communities to promote not only the treatment and prevention of malaria, but the reduction of infected mosquito breeding grounds. The environmental modification and manipulation techniques and in-depth training for community agents and health workers in environmental sanitation practices will regulate micro-environmental conditions and will provide long-term intervention against infection,” he stated.

In his keynote address at the flag off of the programme, General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Esimaje Brikinn, stated the exercise was one of the social intervention initiatives through which the NNPC/Chevron seeks to add value to the health and development of Nigerians, adding that the sponsors appreciate the support and representation of the state’s governor, Seriake Dickson. Brikinn, who was represented by the Bayelsa State Team Lead of the company, stated that “The RBM programme aims to ensure better health for the people by tackling the problem of malaria in a sustainable way. It consists of environmental sanitation and management which targets the environment which is the breeding area for mosquitoes, the vector of malaria in 100 houses in Igbogene community.

The Human Development Initiatives (HDI) have tasked stakeholders to expedite action in monitoring and tracking public expenditure and budgetary allocations on education. According to the organisation, only efficient and judicious use of public funds will guarantee the actualisation of the education-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). HDI Executive Director, Mrs. Olufunso Owasanoye stated this at a two-day workshop on Training on Advocacy and Policy Engagement, Budget Tracking and Universal Basic Education (UBE) Action Plan Implementation, held in Abuja recently. She said, “The purpose is to engage policy makers so that there will be positive change in education better than what we have. So that when they are equipped and they are well knowledgeable, they will be able to approach authorities and demand accountability.” Owasanoye charged stakeholders to “build a cordial relationship with critical stakeholders” to assist in “strengthening existing structures.” She maintained that “the foundation of education in the country must be solid; it involves funds, some states will be telling you we don’t have money. “This advocacy, sensitisation, will make them realise the need to track all budgetary allocations on education,” Owasanoye stressed. Keynote speaker at the workshop, Mr. James Fadokun explained that there was need for an “independent, very objective, very impartial, non-political kind of feedback” in tracking funding and UBE action plan implementation. Fadokun argued that with such strategy, “the community will be able to have confidence in whatever government is showing to the public through what we called public expenditure tracking survey and community scorecard and citizens’ scorecard. “Through this, the public will be able to ascertain the usefulness, the appropriateness of the funding government is providing to the states UBEB”. Fadokun added that “right from the beginning to the end of the whole process, CSOs should be involved, because they are important stakeholders. “And from the CSOs-government partnership, which is a kind of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of government accepting that CSOs can also help it to have good governance, I think they have the enabling environment to make this appropriately. “So the enabling environment is there, so they can take that advantage and create that space for them to ensure that they are able to get involved in doing a lot of advocacy in education, UBEB, States Houses of Assembly, and the National Assembly. So the road is opened,” he maintained. Meanwhile, at least 26 Federal and State tertiary educational institutions in the Northwest geo-political zone of the country have benefited from the ongoing sensitisation and awareness exercise being carried out by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

Nigeria’s Poor Implementation of Health Pledges Time and time again, the Nigerian Government has shown that it is good at making commitments at global forums on behalf of the country but ends up not implementing them. Martins Iﬁjeh examines some of such pledges tied to the health sector that never saw the light of day

f world powers and developed nations are chosen based on the promises and commitments leaders of such countries made on global or regional gatherings, then be rest assured Nigeria should be the greatest country in the world following it’s antecedents in this area. In fact, United States, Germany and China would have been queuing behind Nigeria economically and in many other areas. But words without actions, and promise-andfail attitude do not make powerful nations, reasons Nigeria is still a third world country despite being blessed with enormous natural resources and huge population. It’s declaration of commitments on global or regional stages do not turn into actions back home. For instance, while many countries implement health commitments made during programmes, the list of un-implemented or poorly implemented global or regional commitments on health for Nigeria are endless, an attitude that has in no small measure contributed to poor improvement of health indices in the country. Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) The Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) is a unique initiative launched by the former United Nation’s Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, during the UN’s Millennium Development Goals Summit in September 2010 aimed at saving lives of at least 16 million women and children by 2015. The effort puts into action the Global Strategy for Women and Children’s Health, which presents a roadmap on how to enhance financing, strengthen policy and improve service on the ground for the most vulnerable women and children.As usual, in 2012 during the London Family Planning Summit, Nigeria jumped into the otherwise laudable initiative, declaring several commitments to the admiration of the crowd who clapped endlessly believing with such decisions, Nigeria will help reduce mother and child deaths in its own way since it has one of the highest burden among this vulnerable group in the world. First, Nigeria made commitments to achieve the goal of a contraceptive prevalence rate of 36 per cent by 2018, thereby enhancing maternal and child survival, which in turn will contribute to the government’s initiative to save one million lives by 2015. Nigeria said in addition to its current annual commitment to US $3 million for the procurement of reproductive health commodities, it will provide US $8.35 million annually over the next four years. This increases Nigeria’s total commitment for the next four years from the day of declaration from US $12 million to US $45.4 million, an increase of almost 300 per cent. It also declared at the summit that the federal government would work with the state and local governments to secure complementary budgets for family planning and reproductive health service delivery. The leadership of the Nigerian delegation at the declaration will include training frontline health workers to deliver a range of contraceptives and action to improve equity and access to family planning for the poorest, adding that it will partner with the private sector, civil society, traditional and religious institutions and development partners on the initiative. “If these commitments were fully implemented by the likes of Nigeria and other countries, by 2015, about 16 million women and children would have been saved, 33 million unwanted pregnancies would have been prevented, 88 million children stunted globally would have been avoided, about 120 million children suffering from pneumonia would have

Healthcare Development Agency; Sustain the level of funding under the SURE P and MSS programmes; Leverage the use of mobile technology to reach mothers and children, empower the health workers and strengthen the system; and then strengthen regulation and enforcement to ensure compliance for example with fortification standards, working across agencies. It also said it will expand monitoring and evaluation of nutrition programmes over time, through the expansion of SMART surveys and other programmes. But while since 2012 till date the level of malnutrition in the country continues to increase, with already, over 11 million Nigerian children said to be malnourished, there has not been clear cut implementations in this regard. Just recently, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Lanre Tejuoso told THISDAY that in 2016 Nigeria, which has about 11 million stunted children only allocated N2 million to tackle malnutrition in the entire country.

Adewole

been protected,” said the Health Advocacy Coordinator, Save the Children International, Dr. Innocent Ekene Ifediluchukwu, who gave his thoughts on this during a sensitisation meeting on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, organised by the Save the Children International in Lagos recently. Abuja Declaration In April 2001, Nigeria played host to African leaders where they all pledged to ensure that 15 per cent of government’s annual budget is used to improve the health sector, and that declaration was tagged the Abuja Declaration. But despite Nigeria spare heading the regional meeting and even playing host to it, the country, 16 years after, has refused to implement a commitment it willingly signed, an approach that has continued to put Nigeria’s healthcare drive in doubt in the eyes of the world. Currently, the health budget in Nigeria is at 4.17 per cent of the annual budget. Only Bauchi State is currently implementing the Abuja Declaration even though money release may pose a threat. Lagos, which prides itself as the economic hub of the nation is following the federal government’s lack of prioritising healthcare through budgetary allocation. Lagos health budget for 2016 was 9.76 per cent but surprisingly reduced it in 2017 to 7.05 per cent. As of 2011, six African countries had already surpassed the 15 per cent target: Rwanda (23.8 per cent), Liberia (18.9 per cent), Malawi (18.5 per cent), Zambia (16 per cent), Togo (15.4 per cent) and Madagascar (15.3 per cent). But up till today, Nigeria is yet to make any significant increase on its healthcare allocation to the national budget. On healthcare alone, the United States this year will spend at least $7,000 per citizen, which is about N3 million per person. Switzerland

will this year spend $6000, which is about N2.5 million. This, when compared to Nigeria’s N1,688 per head for a whole year, suggests why the country still grapple with poor health indices and the poor mortality rates. Nutrition for Growth Nutrition for Growth is an initiative led by a partnership between the United Kingdom, Brazil and Japan governments and championed by leading philanthropic foundations and civil society organisations. The first Nutrition for Growth summit was held in London in 2013 and new commitments in the order of over $4 billion for nutrition-specific projects, and $19 billion in nutrition-sensitive projects, was pledged. A Global Nutrition for Growth Compact was endorsed by 100 stakeholders (from science, business, civil society, private foundations and governments), committing by 2020 to reduce child stunting by 20 million. The communique from the London – led 2013, Brazil-led 2016 N4G event highlighted the need for a global movement to increase global attention to the nutrition challenge, and to build global momentum for a major pledging moment. Nigeria recognised the initiative, hence in 2012, the then Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan launched the Saving One Million Lives (SOML) Initiative, with nutrition as a key pillar. He said at the time the nation would take advantage of the agricultural transformation and improve national policy on food and nutrition – ensuring that there is a comprehensive, multi-pronged and multi-sectoral response. Nigeria committed to sustaining the current average annual Federal Spend of USD $10 million on nutrition specific interventions; establish a distinct budget line for nutrition within the budget in the National Primary

Family planning summit July 2012, Nigeria was one of the governments in attendance at a summit convened by the United Kingdom Government and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with UNFPA and other partners The summit proposed to mobilise global policy, financing, commodity and service delivery commitment to support the rights of an additional 120 million women and girls in the world’s poorest countries. The aim of the summit was to revitalise global commitment to family planning and access to contraceptives as a cost-effective and transformational development priority; improve the access and distribution of contraceptive supplies, and remove the barriers to family planning. In the summit, Nigeria, again as usual, made several commitments including achieving contraceptive prevalence rate of 36 per cent by 2018; to increase total commitment from 12 million USD to 45 million, an increase of almost 300 per cent. It also committed to working with states and local governments to secure complementary budgets for family planning and reproductive health service delivery. Also, it said it would train front line health workers to deliver a range of contraceptives and action to improve equity and access to family planning for the poorest. But despite Nigerian Government’s pledge that with the sequence of commitments outlined the country will achieve 36 per cent contraceptive prevalence rate by 2018, available statistics still show that Nigeria is yet to reach 20 per cent mark even though 2018 is just two months away. One PHC per ward The present Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, during the ‘Policy maker summit - Evidence and Prospects for a Healthy Nigeria’ in 2016 committed to either building or renovating one Primary Healthcare Centre in each ward across the country. These centres, according to him would create access to healthcare for the Nigerian citizens, adding that one PHC per ward in Nigeria will culminate in about 10,000 facilities that will be functional, service-ready and able to provide quality services at affordable cost. But 17 months after the commitment, not much has been heard about the initiative. How long will Nigerians continue to wait for the initiative to become reality or even kick off?

T H I S D AY THURSDAY,OCTOBER 12, 2017

NEWS Accidents, Childhood Fever, Illness During Pregnancy Can Cause Mental Disorder Ayodeji Ake Accidents, high fever in children, illnesses during pregnancy, falls from hill tops are some of the factors responsible for mental disorders in Nigeria, a Psychiatric Consultant, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, Dr. Oluwafunmilayo Akinola, has said. Stating this at the Women Annual Seminar 2017, organised by Chosen Vessels Empowerment Foundation (CVEF) in Lagos, themed ‘Mental Health, Surviving or Thriving’, Akinola said such disorders could be minor, severe or familiar.

“While mental illness occurs in both males and females, that of women is often derived from environmental or hereditary factors,” adding that depression was more common in females. “Mental health means being sound emotionally, able to plan, have good relationship with others, and function well in all spheres of life. Any deviation from all the aforementioned would mean there is a mental problem,” she stated. The consultant, who said several other factors cause mental illness, noted that even children are not exempted

from the disorder, especially when they are down with high fever. “Children whose mothers were also ill during pregnancy, or a child that fall off from high tops and accident can wake up with mental illness.” Emphasising on preventive measures, she said women should access antenatal care during pregnancy, avoid too much stress, among others.

Akinola added that If it’s hereditary, going to the hospital for early detection and treatments will help. Sleeping and eating at expected times are also important. The President, CVEF, Mrs. Adebole Atoyebi said the theme for this year women seminar was to address the issue of mental health in both men and women to reduce suicide cases as a result of

depression. “Earlier this year, Lagos woke up to cases of suicide and suicide attempts. Same was experienced around the nation. And these were results of depression among the people. ”It’s like there is a rage, people are angry. We are seeing more younger women who are depressed because they have been abused, whether

physically, mentally or sexually. Some of these things are why we have decided to focus on this things and how people understand it is beyond looking good from outside but also from the inside,” she said. Atoyebi urged the government to compel private organisations and government institutions to educate their staff on mental health to grow the economy.

Amity Awards to Honour Best Hands in LUTH Martins Iﬁjeh As part of efforts to show that it is not all doom and gloom in the Nigerian health sector, the organisers of Amity and Benefit Awards will be honouring best hands at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and the management for its current achievements. Disclosing this in a press briefing in Lagos recently, the Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Intervention Development and Leadership, Solomon Alao, said LUTH was it’s focal institution for the year because of the strides the current management of the hospital has recorded. The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole will be the special guest at the event billed to hold in Lagos on October 22, 2017. The Amity Awards is a platform to inspire and compliment positive initiatives, encourage good governance, engender hope and recognise exemplary service, to reinforce good behaviour in the benefiting institutions. Alao said LUTH has been chosen for its maiden edition because information available to the Amity team suggests the hospital management has put in tremendous efforts and took proactive steps to partner Corporate Nigeria in a bid to revamp their facilities through donations, endowments and projects or programmes. “So far, there has been no shortage of positive responses, all of which have culminated in the need to have an event to honour the immense, life changing effort put in by selfless individuals, administrators and organisations alike. Every year, the Annual Amity Awards will focus on a beneficiary Institution or beneficiaries (as the case may be, or as resources permit), helping raise awareness for their partnership needs. As the platform grows, it may introduce many more innovations to promote its ideals. “The aim of this approach is not to assume the responsibilities of government or usurp its ownership of the health facilities, rather seeking to complement government’s efforts, leveraging on existing frameworks to attract development partnership through

citizen action and participation.” He said there was no gainsaying that the country’s healthcare facilities need a revamp, however, “rather than just bemoan the situation, we want to be part of the five per cent that are ready to do something... anything we can to bring about positive change,” Alao explained. Among the achievements recorded in LUTH within the last two years is its addition of at least 3.48 mega watts to the country’s power capacity through its Independent Power Project by a Public Private Partnership arrangement. The generated megawatts is said to provide uninterrupted power supply to the hospital and the College of Medicine University of Lagos. Metering contract also awarded to enable cost recovery from end users in CMUL and LUTH. The hospital has also rehabilitated a 40,000 gallons per hour water treatment plant that was abandoned over 12 years ago. It is now fully functional. Modular Theatre of the hospital which had been abandoned for over 12 years was fully rehabilitated with the six operation suites, Intensive Care Unit, Recovery room and all waiting areas overhauled through IGR. Adding that the theatre has become once again the flagship of Operation Rooms nationwide A High Dependency Unit was created in the Modular Theatre to take care of patients stepped down from critical care. This innovation is first of its kind in any teaching hospital nationwide. The hospital kicked off Assisted Reproduction in the IVF Centre with several babies now born at the centre headed by emeritus Professor OsatoGiwa-Osagie. LUTH Surgical Skills Training Centre is now adjudged the biggest and best in Africa, this centre attracts training grants, equipment and international collaborators for the training of Nigerian specialists in skills for which they used to travel out at enormous cost. It has trained over 600 Nigerian doctors in the past two years in Laparoscopy, Endoscopy, Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery.It has also established new laboratory in Accidents and Emergency Block, among others.

R-L: Acting Director General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mr. Ademola Magboguri; facilitator, NAFDAC/WHO Workshop, Pernette Pourdillion Esteve; and Assistant Comptroller, Joint Examinations Centre, Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Wharf, Yahaya Idris, at the NAFDAC/WHO Stakeholders workshop on the prevention, detection and response to substandard and falsiﬁed medical products, in Lagos ...recently

NYSC Takes Healthcare Services Cancer Treatment First Alternative to Abia Rural Dwellers Therapy Arrives Nigeria Emmanuel Ugwu, Umuahia The Abia secretariat of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has commenced the implementation of the health initiative for rural dwellers (HIRD) programme aimed at providing free medical services to those living in the rural areas. At Isuikwuato local government where the medical outreach berthed last week people of the area with various health issues got the opportunity of receiving medical attention from corps medical personnel drawn from the Health Campaign Community Development Service Group. A statement signed by the public relations officer of NYSC-Abia state, Omaka Onu Nnachi , said that 110 people from Isuikwuato benefitted from the medical outreach. The NYSC state coordinator, Mrs. Francesca Ifon explained that HIRD programme was targeted at rural dwellers in need of health care services, adding that the medical services was rendered free at no cost for the beneficiaries. She expressed appreciation to the management of Isuikwuato local government for hosting

the health outreach programme and lauded the Health CDS Group for giving back to the society. The state director said that the turnout of people for the HIRD programme was impressive and has encouraged the NYSC in Abia to take the programme to other local governments in the state. Aside from Isuikwuato other local governments that have been covered include Arochukwu, Ohafia and Obingwa. In his remarks the chairman of Isuikwuato local government, Hon Nnamdi Udueze, who was represented by the head of personnel mangement, Mr. Ikpo Ochokwu, commended NYSC for attending to the health needs of the people. He promised to continue collaborating with the scheme to enable it deliver its aims and objectives. It was gathered that the HIRD programme was initiated by the director general of NYSC, Brigadier General Suleiman Kazaure. He was said to have issued directive to all state secretariats of NYSC to implement the programme across the local governments in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja In what seems to be a milestone achievement, Nigerians can now breathe a sigh of relief especially in the treatment of cancer, as an alternative therapy, the first of its kind in Nigeria and Africa, known as the Helexior therapy has found its way into the country. The therapy which has been certified by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is said to be a cellular approach in the treatment of cancer with origin from Germany and has been in existence sin ce 1976 targeting all kinds of cancer. Kleef and Helixor Pharmacy Chairman, Dr. Clif Ogbede revealed this in Abuja during a presentation at the Federal Ministry of Health, with claims that Helixor therapy is an answer to treatment and cure of cancer and with it in Nigeria, medical tourism and the rape of the nation’s financial reserves will be a thing of the past. He said: “Helixor therapy is an answer to treatment and cure of cancer. If you go to Germany, you will see the history of so many patients

and I also know that so many Nigerians who are very wealthy, when they are sick and have issue of cancer, they fly to Germany and that is to tell you that there is something there. They are doing quite a lot for their people and it’s high time we brought something good for our people. “Since 1976, the Germans have been managing cancer through the Helixor therapy and for them, cancer is no longer a death sentence the way it is in Nigeria presently. So I have decided to help my people by bringing the medication to Nigeria.” Coral Health Coordinator in Africa and associate to Kleef and Helixor Pharmaceutical Nigeria Limited, Dr. Ozurigbo Chimaobi, said the therapy is to be used alongside conventional cancer drugs. “The drugs are to be used with conventional therapies in use for the cancer patient. But whereby we don’t use chemotherapy, we can use it as a palliative approach in therapy. “It’s been proven for a very long time to have a very high efficacy because it has been

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017

HEALTH Cervical Cancer: CSO Urge FG to MakeTetanus, Rubella, HPV Vaccines Available Kuni Tyessi, Abuja As the world celebrates the International Day of the Girl Child, every 10th October, a civil society organisation, Community Health for Research Initiative(CHR) has called on the federal government to make available Tetanus, Rubella and the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine, which offers protection against 70 per cent of incidences of Cervical Cancer, which claims the lives of an estimated 266,000 women and girls a year. Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR) through its Chairman, Board of Trustees, Dr Aminu Magashi Garba, made the call on the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole to ensure that girls in hard to reach areas are not left behind and that all girls have access to important vaccines. He said Nigeria is joining other organizations in over ten countries in Africa in launching the “33 Days to Power Up Immunization Campaign”. The campaign seeks to hold governments accountable for the multiple promises they have made to support immunization. He said “In 2016, the continent marked significant achievements of interrupting the near elimination of Meningococcal Meningitis A epidemic and the significant reduction in disease burden

and child mortality due to Measles. “According to the Multi Indicator Coverage Survey/ National Immunization Coverage Survey (MICS/NICS) report 2016 conducted in Nigeria, only 23 per cent of children (aged 12 – 23 months) are fully vaccinated with another 37 percent partially vaccinated. Some of the states in Northern Nigeria were reporting below 20 per cent immunization coverage. “We recognize the efforts that have gone into reaching the current levels by the Nigerian government, however, much more needs to be done if we are to reach the 2020 goals that our government has set in the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) of reaching 90 per cent immunization coverage nationally and 80 per cent in every state by 2020. “We call on the Nigerian government to prioritize increase in the national and states budget to finance immunization and ensure timely and efficient releases of immunization funds. In January 2017, African Heads of States endorsed the Addis Declaration on Immunization, through which they acknowledged that despite their endorsement of the Global Vaccine Action Plan, they are largely off track. The ADI reinforces their commitment at the highest level of political engagement” he added.

Oluwatayo: Mental Health Issues Can Impair Performance at Work Martins Iﬁjeh As part of efforts to create awareness on the consequences of mental health issues on Nigerians and the economy, a mental health expert and the Chief Executive Officer, The Retreat Healthcare, Dr. Olufemi Oluwatayo, has called on the citizens to avoid factors that cause mental health issues. He said mental health in a workplace was one of the challenges affecting the productivity of a society, hence the need to tackle it. Stating this in a message to mark this year’s Mental Health Day, the Consultant Psychiatrist, said while most Nigerians spend significant parts of their lifetime at work in order to add more meaning to their lives and improve their self esteem, the work itself and the environment where it takes place can have a negative impact on the people if not managed properly. “Employees suffering from mental health issues are likely

to have impaired work output. This is therefore in the interest of the employer to support them to recover as soon as possible and to provide a workplace that foster mental well-being. “In Nigeria, there are no data on financial losses to businesses resulting from poor mental health of employees. Estimates from the UK indicate that up to £70 billion pounds is lost annually due to mental ill health and reduced productivity of employees with up to 20 per cent of the workforce taking on average, one day off annually because of stress and other mental health related issues.” He said it was obvious that poor mental health of individual employees has significant repercussions for businesses including poor motivation, increased staff turnover, sickness, absence due to stress, burnout and exhaustion. For employers of labour and organisations to provide enabling working environment

for their employees and help them deal with mental health issues, the Psychiatrist said awareness represents the starting point, such that employers recognise that they have a responsibility to their employees, some of which are statutory. “The workplace must be an environment that challenge, support and help develop a sense of purpose of the employees. A mentally healthy workplace is built on good basic line management relationships, clear human relations policies and engagement of staff in decision making. “There should be a clear grievance process and ways of seeking redress when things go wrong. When employees have a mental disorder and it is disclosed, employers must keep the information confidential and the employee should be supported to return to work after recovery with reasonable adjustments made to their job if necessary and/

or be allowed to return in a graded fashion or be placed in less demanding and more appropriate roles within the organisation. There should be access to stress management courses, occupational health services and to mental health specialists, preferably outsourced,” Oluwatayo stated. On the employees’ part, he said they are under no obligation to disclose a mental disorder to their employers except on some positions that for instance involve having contacts with vulnerable people. He said, however, it would be impossible for the employers to provide support if nothing is disclosed. “This is obviously a very sensitive issue in our society with potential adverse outcomes including loss of job and inappropriate use of the disclosed information. This is further compounded by the general culture of silence in our society when it comes to talking about mental health issues or how it impacts us.”

MinisterTasks State Governors on Massive Investment In Health Sector Lauds Aisha Buhari on initiative Martins Iﬁjeh The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, has charged state governors to give priority attention to the health sector by deploying more resources to it, saying such steps will help to curb the high rate of maternal mortality in the country. Adewole, who spoke recently at a reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child, adolescent health and nutrition meeting held in Abuja with stakeholders, organised by Future Assured, a non governmental organisation that is owned by the wife of the president, Hajia Aisha Buhari, lamented the increasing rate of maternal mortality in the country. He commended the First Lady for the initiative saying, “This is the change we desire. Wives of leaders must, as of necessity, compliment their husbands by providing much needed support to promote efficient delivery of electoral promises to Nigerians. “Health is a cardinal deliverable of this administration and it is therefore not surprising that the wife of Mr. President is focusing on health of the vulnerable groups – women and children - through her NGO, Future Assured.”

He pointed out that, “Every minute of every day, somewhere in the world, a pregnant woman dies as a result of complications arising during pregnancy or child birth and the majority of these deaths are avoidable in Nigeria. “Current statistics indicate that, our Maternal Mortality Ratio is 576 per 100,000 live births (NDHS 2013). Maternal Mortality Ratio remains unacceptably high despite significant reduction in Maternal Mortality globally, in the past one and a half decade.” “As you are aware, the under-five mortality rate is still unacceptably high in this country largely due to high newborn deaths but we have made some significant progress. The under-five mortality declined from 201/1000 live births NDHS 2003 to 128/1000 live births NDHS 2013. “A strong advocacy by Your Excellencies to our governors to invest in health as they do to other physical infrastructure like roads will be desirable.” Harping on steps taken so far by the present government, the minister explained that the Buhari-led administration is working to make the PHCs the entry point into the healthcare system.

L-R: Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Health, Hon. Segun Olulade; Wife of Lagos State Governor & Chairman, Committee of Wives of Lagos State Oﬃcials (COWLSO), Mrs. Bolanle Ambode; Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Dr. Jide Idris; Chairman, Health Service Commission, Dr. Bayo Aderiye; and member of COWLSO’s Project Team, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, during the commissioning of Intensive Care Unit facilities & donation of auditory equipment for General Hospitals by COWLSO in Lagos recently

FG, Power Oil Partner to Tackle Heart Diseases Omolabake Fashogbon In its quest to arrest the surging cases of heart problems in the country, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development has collaborated with Power Oil Healthy Heart Mission project to boost the fight against heart diseases. The ministry which gave its nod to the vegetable oil maker’s initiative following the achievements the project has yielded in saving lives, also promised its support to expand the influence of the project. At the official flag-off of the exercise, the Director, Women and Gender Affairs, Mrs. Annetu- Anne Aliu, noted that the exercise would cater for health challenges like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, body mass index and other related challenges at no cost, with greater consideration for women, the aged and other vulnerable groups.

Referring to the result of the survey carried out by the company which revealed that a higher percentage of women in Nigeria have lost their lives to heart disorder as a result of lack of awareness and access to basic medical information and regular health check-up, she encouraged all to key into the exercise which comes at no cost to know their health status and gain knowledge of the lifestyle to adopt to live a life free of diseases. In her remark, the Public Relations Manager of the company, Mrs. Omotayo AzeezAbiodun who expressed delight at the partnership, pointed out that the initiative has been on consistently for over three years at various states across the country, adding that latest developments would enhance the initiative which she said would see Nigeria heading towards a healthy nation. The Power Oil Health Camp is a corporate social

responsibility of the vegetable oil producer, endorsed by the Nigerian Heart Foundation.

The exercise started off in 2003 and has so far expanded to 16 locations pan Nigeria.

Simon Needs N10m to Treat Kidney Disease 46 year old Simon Ibeh from Delta State is currently battling renal failure in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) He is in dire need of N10 million to replace his two failing kidneys in an operation to be done in India. Ibeh, who has sold all his valuables to manage the condition said he has written to his state governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, but so far no response. “I want Nigerians to come to my aid as I have no other place to run to for help,” he added. Concerned Nigerians can reach Ibeh on +2347038138479. Donations can be made to his

account. Name: Ibeh simon, Account number: 2832010830, Bank name: Eco bank

Ibeh

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017

HEALTH Ogunlesi: My Wish is to See Nigerian CMDs Treating Presidents, Govs Before I Die Ademola Babalola in Ibadan A 94-year-old Professor Emeritus, Theophilus Ogunlesi recently challenged Nigerian leaders to adequately fund the Nigerian Teaching Hospitals to compete favourably with the best hospitals across the globe with a view to stopping medical tourism. Ogunlesi, the first registered postgraduate student of the University College Hospital and the first Nigerian to attain the position of Professor of Medicine, said at 94, his dream was to see that chief medical directors across the country were treating Nigerian presidents, governors and other top government functionaries when the occasion demands. He said Nigerian CMDs and other trained medical practitioners were doing well across Europe, America and other parts of the globe, adding that, they possess skills and can favorably compete with their counterparts abroad given adequate and enabling environment to operate. Ogunlesi spoke at his 94th birthday and colloquium lecture jointly organised by the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and the Professor Pat Utomi’s Centre for Values in Leadership. The theme of the event titled: ‘Community Health Care: Teaching, Research and Practice in Nigeria (The Ibarapa Programme, A Case

Study’, held at the Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan. The programme attended by top government officials from Oyo, Osun and Ogun States including Emeritus Prof. O. O. Akinkugbe, the Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Abel Olayinka Idowu, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole represented by Prof. Abiodun Ilesanmi, and traditional rulers from Ibarapa area of the state, was organised as the 40th CVL Leader Without Title (LWT) leadership tribute colloquium. According to him, Nigeria as a nation has human and material resources to treat any illness without seeking for medical treatment abroad but a lot needs to be done to make this happen and government has the power to turn around the fortunes of our healthcare system. The special guest of honour, Adewole paid glowing tributes to the celebrant as he reeled out federal government’s efforts at turning around the nation’s health sector. The Lead Presenter: Professor M. C. Asuzu who doubles as Director, Ibarapa Programme, called for a concerted effort at strengthening the community medicine in the country. Moderator and Chief Host, Prof. Pat Utomi (Founder CVL), described the celebrant as a man of many firsts and doyen of community medicine whom he said has contributed immensely to the nation building.

COWLSO Donates ICU, Medical Equipment to General Hospitals Martins Iﬁjeh As part of efforts to reduce maternal, newborn and child deaths in Lagos State, the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Official, COWLSO, led by the wife of the governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, has donated Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and Neo-natal hearing equipments to five general hospitals in the state. The beneficiary hospitals are the Lagos Island Maternity, Gbagada General Hospital, Badagry General Hospital, Ikorodu General Hospital and the Maternal and Child Centre, IfakoIjaye General Hospital. Speaking at the official inauguration of the equipments in Lagos Island Maternity, the First Lady said the ICU upgrading was one of the major health interventions of the body for 2017. She said with the drive to combat maternal mortality rate in the state continue to record tangible progress, there was the need to tackle un-booked ante-natal cases, which had become a major challenge in baby delivery process. “A good number of such cases come in extreme conditions, which without the existence of a well-equipped ICU, death seems inevitable for the mother, baby or both. Now and then, we hear of many

pregnant women and their babies dying of conditions such as pregnancy-induced hypertension, convulsion or shock arising from postdelivery bleeding. “A high number of such bad cases are referred from traditional birth attendants and faith-based homes. After effecting deliveries, subsequent proper care requiring intensive care, is always lacking,” she said. The First Lady stated that until government’s advocacy of regular attendance of ante-natal care services was heeded by expectant mothers and that until there was early referral from TBAs, faith-based organissations and primary healthcare centres, an ICU would always be needed to save more lives. The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, said since the inception of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration, the choice of Lagos Island Maternity Hospital as a beneficiary for targeted interventions by COWLSO had been very apt, given the health facility’s current position as the apex referral public facility for obstetric cases. Chairman, Committee on Health Services, Lagos State House of Assembly, Olusegun Olulade, appreciated COWLSO for the gesture.

80% of Cancer Deaths are Caused by Late Presentation, NGOs Lament Ayodeji Ake Non governmental organisations,Care Organisation Public Enlightenment (COPE) and Bricon Foundation have decried the late presentation of cancers in the country, saying it leads to at least 80 per cent of deaths recorded from the disease. They said most Nigerians only prefer to access hospitals for diagnosis and treatment only when their cancers have reached advanced stages, an action that leads to a high number of deaths from cancers in the country. The Chief Executive Officer, COPE, Ebunola Anozie while addressing journalists in Lagos, noted that the number of new

cases are expected to rise by 70 per cent over the next two decades, adding that statistically, one in six deaths is due to cancer. She said around one third of deaths from cancer were due to some leading behavioural and dietary risks. “High body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, tobacco use are high risk factors. Also, sexually transmitted HPV infections, hepatitis or other carcinogenic infections, ionizing and ultraviolet radiation, urban pollution and indoor smoke from household use of solid fuels have been found to contribute to the prevalence of cancer.’’ She noted that the negative socio-economic impacts of cancer on the country is enormous

and will worsen if nothing is done to stem the tide. “The average Nigerian cannot cope with the enormous cost associated with the treatment of cancer coupled with the lack of diagnostic and treatment centres as well as dearth of qualities personnel have made this a tedious, perilous journey,” she said. The Media and Public Relations Manager, Pfizer, Ngozi Ushedo, stated: “We will continue to work together and speak with one voice to help raise awareness on early detection in reducing cancer risks and improving the quality of lives for cancer survivors and patients.” Co-Founder, Bricon Foundation, Mrs. Abigail Simon-Hart,

said the healthcare system leaves more to be desired as majority of cancer patients lose their lives to poor management, lack of state-of-the-art equipment, non-affordability and high cost of anti – cancer medications, persistent breakdown of our outdated radiotherapy machines, and incompetent medical hands. She said: “Even when cancer patients present early, they are either unable to receive immediately treatment due to long queues or are delayed for one unpalatable reason or another which unfortunately gives the cancer cells the opportunity to spread. As a result, we have prevalent cases of women with a stage one cancer diagnosis eventually becoming stages three or four.”

L-R: Consultant to Project Last Mile, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Lionel Pierre; Project Last Mile Delivery Lead, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Trip Allport; and CDE Director, Nigeria Bottling Company, Rudi Lensley, at the Supply Chain Workshop on Private-Public Sector Collaboration, organized by Africa Resource Centre for Supply Chain Nigeria in Kaduna recently

ARC Nigeria Brokers Psychiatric Hospital Yaba to Partnership with States, Private Upgrade Infrastructure Sector Marks 110 Years Anniversary Martins Iﬁjeh Africa Resource Centre for Supply Chain in Nigeria (ARC Nigeria), an independent advisor and strategic partner founded by the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is brokering states and private sector partnerships to strengthen vaccine cold chain infrastructure in Nigeria.This development is coming at a time effective in-country supply chains become an even more critical success factor in ensuring these commodities reach the women and children who need them most. There is however some concern, (given deficits in vital supply chain and management functions) that the public health supply chain system could impede efforts to improve coverage and improve health outcomes in Nigeria. Speaking at the Knowledge Sharing and Hackathon Workshop on Supply Chain organised by ARC Nigeria, in partnership with National Primary Healthcare Develop-

ment Agency (NPHCDA) and Solina Group, which brought together over 80 Ministry of Health Directors and Immunisation Managers from Borno, Sokoto, Osun, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Yobe and Niger States, the Programme Manager, Immunisation Vaccine and Logistics, Niger State, Dr. Samuel Jiya, revealed that the workshop has created a platform to strengthen PublicPrivate Partnerships in the Immunisation and Vaccine space in Nigeria. “It has facilitated direct engagement of players in the Private sector and public wing. Personally, for Niger State, we have outlined our challenges and proffer new innovations in tackling them. Kudo to ARC Nigeria. Keep it up,” Jiya stated. On his part, Dr. Kayode Ogunniyi, Executive Secretary, Osun State Primary Healthcare Development Board, said that the survival of Nigeria as a nation depends on the quality of healthcare that is given to children particularly the under-5 that constitute 20 per cent of the total population.

The management of the Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, is set to upgrade the infrastructure and equipment of the tertiary facility, aimed at making it one of the best in the world. According to a statement from the hospital signed by the Chairman, Organising Committee of the hospital’s 110 anniversary, Stephen Oluwaniyi, this plan is part of the activities lined up to mark the anniversary. He said the current management led by the recently appointed Chief Medical Director, Dr. Oluwayemi Ogun, was set to take advantage of the celebrations to reposition the hospital for its next level of excellent service delivery. “Working with the theme; ‘Scaling up Mental Health Services in the New Millennium’, the key objective of the celebration is to highlight the hospital’s long standing achievements and contributions as well as to sensitise stakeholders on the projections for the next decade and beyond. “Also, efforts will be made to educate and enlighten members of the public on issues related

to mental health, especially in terms of the consequences of lifestyles that are inimical to mental well-being,” he added. The anniversary events will include secondary school debates on Wednesday, October 18 on ‘Drug Abuse for The Youths’. There shall also be Pharmaceutical Presentation. Also, on Thursday October 30, activities to be featured include Patients Games and Competition designed to make patients have a feel of the celebration and Novelty Football match between members of staff in the Clinical and Non-Clinical departments. The high point of the anniversary celebration, according to him shall be a Dinner and Awards Night scheduled to hold on Saturday, December 2 at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. Other activities are Scientific Conference holding on Wednesday, November 8, Anniversary/End of the year Fun Fair as well as An Evening with the Veterans; November 15 will be Picnic/Beach Party; December 6 will be Juma’at Service; December 15 will be Interdenominational Service.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017 Ëž T H I S D AY

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Elumelu: Nigeria Must Prioritise SMEs to Drive Devt Ndubuisi FranciĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă”Ă‹ The Chairman of Heirs Holdings Limited, Mr. Tony Elumelu has declared that growing small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) remained the key to unlocking development in the country. He also called for the recapitalisation of the distribution companies (Discos) in order to make them provide the muchneeded power required to drive economic growth. Elumelu, who made the remarks in Abuja during a panel discussion at the 23rd Nigerian Economic Summit jointly organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning, said Nigeriaâ€™s economic growth should not only be on paper but

should be mirrored through the growth of the SMEs. At the plenary session with the theme, â€œOpportunities, Productivity and Employment: Actualising the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan,â€? Elumelu had the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo, and General Electric (GE) Vice Chairman, Mr. John Rice as other panel discussants. He argued that for economic growth to be given practical expression, SMES must be seen to be growing as well, even as he observed that localisation is synonymous with the growth of SMEs. â€œSMEs are the engine of growthâ€? he said, adding that to get it right, they must be prioritised friendly business environment created with electricity and other basic infrastructure.

Emphasising the need for the prioritisation of the SMEs sector, he observed that his interactions with SMEs operators across the country showed that their dominant challenges was power, transport infrastructure and issues around taxation. He therefore noted that for the SMEs to thrive, infrastructure, particularly power must be guaranteed. Elumelu pointed out that a considerable mileage had been achieved with the ease of doing business initiative of the federal government, but stressed that more needed to be done. Elumelu, who is also the Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA Plc), noted that Nigeria cannot make appreciable progress without priorititising the youths, and addressing the huge unemployment problem.

Nigeria Wins World Bankâ€™s Youth Development Initiative For the second successive year, Nigeria has won the Ideas for Action initiative, a youth competition on financing for development, which is yearly organised by the World Bank Group in collaboration with the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research. Nigeriaâ€™s winning proposal, â€œKitovuâ€?, came out top from among 743 proposals from 118 countries, while Ugandaâ€™s proposal of â€œGifted Handsâ€? and Indiaâ€™s proposal of â€œAgratamâ€? were adjudged first and second runner ups in this yearâ€™s competition.The World Bankâ€™s Senior Vice President (The 2030 Development Agenda), Mahmoud Mohieldin, announced the results of the 2017 Ideas for Action initiative in Washington, on the sidelines of the ongoing annual meetings

of World Bank/International Monetary Fund. Mohieldin disclosed that the winners were selected through a vigorous three-stage selection process evaluating the creativity, significance, feasibility, and clarity of the proposals. The reviewers, according to him, included young World Bank Group staff, technical experts and senior executives from the World Bank Group, Wharton School and the G-24 Secretariat, among others. â€œThe 2017 Ideas for Action competition encourages young people from around the world to develop and share their ideas for innovative approaches, through the smart use of technology, as well as financing solutions, to solve development challenges. â€œIt attracts engagement from young people across the globe,

with about 38 per cent of submissions from Sub-Saharan African, 15 per cent from Latin American and the Caribbean, 13 per cent from South Asia, 12 per cent from East Asia and the Pacific, 12 per cent from North America, 8 per cent from Europe, and 2 per cent from the Middle East and North Africa,â€? the World Bankâ€™s officer said. In her remarks, the World Bankâ€™s Director of Strategy and Operations, Africa Region, Ms. Mamta Murthi, reassured that the multilateral institution would continue to promote and encourage the youth globally. She noted that the youth remained the major stakeholders in the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and its associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

StandChart Bank Foresees Strong Global Growth Standard Chartered Bank has predicted stronger growth in the world economy this year. The international bank estimated that growth in 2017 would be higher than in 2016, just as it noted low volatility in asset markets and weakening inflation. According to Standard Chartered Bankâ€™s latest Global Focus, major central banks were keeping monetary policy accommodative. Standard Chartered Bankâ€™s Chief Economist, Marios Maratheftis said: â€œWe expect the world economy to end 2017 and start 2018 with good momentum, despite on-going structural challenges. However, we do not ignore the possibility

of policy shocks. We worry less about the period three to six months ahead, but think they could become more of a concern later in 2018. â€œThe positive outlook also depends on no further deterioration in global geopolitics, particularly in Korea. We assume rationality will prevail; but history demonstrates that this is not always the case.â€? The report further pointed out that even though there were fears that asset markets were becoming frothy, the rebound in economic growth and market performance was not being accompanied by a credit boom. Therefore, it noted that given

the structural issues facing the world and the cyclical nature of the growth rebound, complacency needed to be avoided. Productivity growth is weak, especially in the west, it added. â€œGeo-political risk is high, and given the problematic nature of domestic politics in the US, there is the added risk of a trade war. â€œDebt levels are very high across developed and emerging economies, and they have increased since the global financial crisis. â€œAs a result, there is little space for fiscal policy to deal with shocks; with global interest rates low, the same is true for monetary policy,â€? the report stated.

Sekibo: Entrepreneurship, Antidote forYouth Unemployment The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Heritage Bank Plc, Mr. Ifie Sekibo has charged the 16 finalists in the â€˜Next Titan Nigeria,â€™ sponsored by the bank to see themselves as winners, who are striving to provide solution to the menace of youth unemployment in Nigeria. The â€˜Next Titanâ€™ is Nigeriaâ€™s entrepreneurial reality TV show where thousands of young entrepreneurs across

the country compete with one another for a grand prize of N5 million and a brand-new car to start his or her dream business. The finalists were unveiled in Lagos recently at a premier/ gala night show out of a total of 60 contestants that emerged from more than 2,000 budding entrepreneurs that were screened in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Lagos. In his keynote address,

Sekibo, who was represented at the event by the bankâ€™s Executive Director, Jude Monye, said the benefits of entrepreneurship today, cannot be over-emphasised because it is an antidote for youth unemployment. â€œIn Heritage Bank, we are passionate about entrepreneurship. This is extremely relevant today given the unemployment challenges that we face in Nigeria and Africa at large.

Elumelu

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)

26,970,297.97

---- 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‹

MANAGED FUNDS Month

December 2016

Inter-Bank Call Rate

10.39

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) 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 Ă™Ă–Ă“Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ÍŻÍąĎą

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT TUESDAY OCTOBER 10, 2017 The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $54.23 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $53.70 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), ZaďŹ ro (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

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

˾ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017

Nigeria’s top 50 stocks based on market fundamentals

11-Oct-17

10-Oct-17

% Change

Capitalisation

EPS

P/E

P/S

Div. Yld Price/ Book Value

Table 1 Market Statistics Mkt Indicators

Open 10-Oct-17

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

36,776.60 12.66

36,652.82 12.62

-0.34 -0.34

155.33 12.09

154.77 12.05

-0.36 -0.36

01 Dangote Cement Plc

224.00

0.00%

3,817,073,658,720.00

13.34

15.95

4.93

3.76%

4.40

02 Nigerian Breweries Plc

164.00

168.90

-2.90%

1,300,372,545,632.00

3.58

51.23

4.64

1.96%

8.77

03 Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

42.00

0.00%

1,236,109,527,408.00

4.49

8.79

2.78

4.48%

2.16

1,233.12

1,230.20

0.24%

977,440,277,466.24

10.00

122.02

5.32

2.38%

31.32

05 Zenith Bank Plc

25.25

0.00%

792,761,468,096.50

4.13

5.52

1.41

7.89%

1.02

Table 3 Top 5 Gainers

06 Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc

40.05

41.00

-2.32%

400,500,000,000.00

2.85

14.20

2.59

0.25%

2.88

Stock

07 United Bank for Africa Plc

9.18

9.34

-1.71%

333,046,051,635.96

1.99

4.81

0.91

6.26%

0.78

16.75

0.00%

307,354,982,851.25

0.68

26.61

0.56

3.44%

0.53

9.73

9.71

0.21%

281,469,163,969.63

13.18

0.76

5.50%

0.64

67.83

0.00%

269,317,457,962.35

0.03 2,338.93

3.81

1.90%

6.49

480.00

472.49

1.59%

265,588,950,240.00 -82.02

-5.88

4.21

3.30%

0.71

54.50

0.00%

248,242,148,645.00

15.36

1.18

5.26%

1.04

04 Nestle Nigeria Plc

08 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated 09 Access Bank Plc 10 Presco Plc 11 Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd 12 Lafarge Africa Plc 13 FBN Holdings Plc

3.71

6.09

6.08

0.16%

218,602,333,103.28

0.16

35.99

0.35

2.55%

0.35

14 Unilever Nigeria Plc

43.50

0.00%

164,573,386,875.00

0.81

49.26

2.17

0.13%

12.95

15 Dangote Sugar Reﬁnery Plc

13.65

13.77

-0.87%

163,800,000,000.00

2.01

6.92

0.77

3.60%

2.19

16 Guinness Nig Plc

99.25

98.50

0.76%

149,459,402,659.00

-3.06

-25.17

1.12

4.16%

2.94

17 International Breweries Plc

39.90

0.00%

131,440,546,272.00

0.02 1,642.11

4.58

0.68%

11.11

253.00

0.00%

85,899,024,761.00

43.58

5.43

0.28

5.92%

3.41

29.20

29.00

0.69%

76,627,725,860.40

3.71

7.82

0.14

6.90%

0.72

6.00

6.05

-0.83%

72,207,713,364.00

0.29

23.59

0.18

10.95%

0.43

21 Forte Oil Plc.

49.00

0.00%

63,821,574,047.00

3.66

13.66

0.50

6.90%

1.38

22 Okomu Oil Palm Plc

66.37

0.00%

63,311,006,700.00

5.15

12.75

4.36

0.15%

3.68

166.00

0.00%

59,858,813,492.00

22.61

7.69

0.67

4.14%

2.92

90.00

0.00%

57,653,132,670.00 -21.86

-4.21

0.52

2.39%

5.47

25 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc

1.39

1.38

0.72%

53,822,186,420.75

-0.03

-43.98

0.83

0.00%

0.57

26 Fidelity Bank Plc

1.39

1.38

0.72%

40,257,994,111.88

0.39

3.54

0.26

11.68%

0.21

27 Julius Berger Nig. Plc

29.33

0.00%

38,715,600,000.00

-2.89

-11.83

0.32

4.39%

0.64

28 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc

13.11

13.00

0.85%

34,734,137,135.58

0.91

14.26

1.88

4.23%

4.28

29 U A C N Plc

15.60

0.00%

29,965,484,437.20

3.37

4.44

0.38

6.68%

0.38

1.00

1.01

-0.99%

28,790,418,126.00

0.18

5.86

0.27

8.57%

0.35

21.00

0.00%

25,113,406,248.00

3.02

6.95

1.67

1.43%

1.50

32 Mansard Insurance Plc

2.31

2.10

10.00%

24,255,000,000.00

0.25

7.57

0.96

2.63%

0.99

33 PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc

23.90

23.74

0.67%

23,900,000,000.00

5.69

4.73

1.87

0.37%

0.72

1.00

0.00%

23,160,388,968.00

-0.29

-4.02

0.13

0.00%

0.12

32.50

0.00%

22,750,000,000.00

2.17

15.89

3.54

3.33%

16.77

36 Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc

3.60

0.00%

21,174,711,102.00

1.06

3.35

0.51

3.93%

0.64

37 FCMB Group Plc

1.05

1.06

-0.94%

20,792,846,320.05

0.09

13.13

0.13

8.93%

0.12

10.40

0.00%

19,533,301,216.00

-0.64

-18.74

0.70

10.77%

2.15

39 Wema Bank Plc

0.50

0.00%

19,287,233,040.50

0.07

7.59

0.37

0.00%

0.41

40 Honeywell Flour Mill Plc

2.04

0.00%

16,177,603,222.32

-0.40

-5.19

0.35

7.62%

0.50

41 Continental Reinsurance Plc

1.38

0.00%

14,314,387,150.56

0.30

4.51

0.54

8.96%

0.69

42 Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc

10.18

9.32

9.23%

12,792,979,657.88

1.29

6.96

0.70

1.11%

0.90

43 Skye Bank Plc

0.50

0.52

-3.85%

6,940,150,705.00

-2.93

-0.21

0.05

49.18%

0.08

44 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.50

0.00%

6,691,369,126.00

0.18

2.78

0.85

6.00%

0.41

45 Unity Bank Plc

0.52

0.53

-1.89%

6,078,455,729.84

0.19

3.16

0.08

0.00%

0.08

46 Resort Savings & Loans Plc

0.50

0.00%

5,664,866,202.00

0.03

17.71

3.72

0.00%

1.94

47 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc

3.41

3.25

4.92%

5,538,585,937.50

0.36

9.51

0.69

5.88%

0.85

48 Fidson Healthcare Plc

3.50

0.00%

5,250,000,000.00

0.50

6.46

0.41

1.56%

0.69

49 UACN Property Development Co. Limited

2.85

0.00%

4,898,437,485.75

-0.90

-3.23

0.79

24.05%

0.15

50 AIICO Insurance Plc

0.55

0.00%

3,811,612,464.00

1.48

0.38

0.14

8.93%

0.45

18 Total Nigeria Plc 19 Flour Mills Nig. Plc 20 Oando Plc

23 Mobil Oil Nig Plc 24 7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc

30 Sterling Bank Plc 31 Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc

34 Diamond Bank Plc 35 Cap Plc

38 Cadbury Nigeria Plc

TOTAL

12,050,942,047,237.40

TOTAL MARKET CAP

12,616,513,341,296.80

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

95.52%

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

Close 11-Oct-17

Change %

Open Close Change % 10-Oct-17 11-Oct-17

Mansard Insurance Plc Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd National Salt Co. Nig. Plc

2.10 9.32 3.25

2.31 10.18 3.41

10.00 9.23 4.92

472.49 13.00

480.00 13.11

1.59 0.85

Table 4 Top 5 Losers Stock

Open Close Change % 10-Oct-17 11-Oct-17

Skye Bank Plc Nigerian Breweries Plc Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc Unity Bank Plc United Bank for Africa Plc

0.52 168.90 41.00 0.53 9.34

0.50 164.00 40.05 0.52 9.18

-3.85 -2.90 -2.32 -1.89 -1.71

Market sheds 0.34% Market pulse on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today - Wednesday, October 11th, 2017 ended positive as the market closed red. This was further highlighted by negative performance from the NSE Subsectors: Banking and Consumer Goods (Save Insurance and Oil & Gas). Also, trading activities decreased in volume as 336.39 million shares worth N1.83 billion in 3,689 deals exchanged hands today. This is a decrease from the 353.19 million shares worth N3.26 billion in 4,201 deals were carried out on Tuesday. Topping in volume terms are: Diamond Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc; while Zenith Bank Plc and Nestle Nigeria Plc ended trading as the most active stocks in value terms. Today, Brent crude oil price slightly drops further to US$56.22 per barrel from a closing figure of US$56.61 per barrel on Tuesday. The All Share Index (NSEASI) closed negative with 0.34% (-123.78) decrease to close at 36,652.82 from 36,776.60 the previous trading day. Market capitalization depreciated in tandem to N12.62 trillion from N12.66 trillion of prior trading day. Similarly, the Thisday BGL 50 Index closes with an decrease of 0.36% to 154.77 from 155.33 recorded at the end of the previous trading day, while its market capitalization stood at N12.05 trillion from N12.09 trillion of the previous trading day. A total number of 19 stocks gained on the bourse today while 19 stocks declined, leaving 54 stocks unchanged. Leading the pack again was Mansard Insurance Plc led with a gain of 10.00% to close at N2.31per share. It was followed by CCNN Plc with a gain of 9.23% to close at N10.18 per share. Others on the gainers’ list include: Linkage Assurance Plc, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc and Red Star Express Plc. On the decliners’ list, Vitafoam Nig. Plc led with a loss of 5.00% to close at N2.66 per share. It was followed by Law Union And Rock Ins. Plc with a loss of 4.71% to close at N0.81 per share. Others on the decliners list include: University Press Plc, Morrison Plc and Skye Bank Plc. Mansard Insurance Plc emerged the toast of investors as it topped the Thisday BGL 50 Index gainers’ list with a gain of 10.00% to close at N2.31 per share. It was followed by CCNN Plc with a gain of 9.23% to close at N10.18 per share. Others on the gainers chart include: Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc, Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd and National Salt Co. Nig. Plc. On the decliners’ list, Skye Bank Plc for a second time in a consecutive row led with a loss of 3.85% to close at N0.50 per share. It was followed by Nigerian Breweries Plc with a loss of 2.90% to close at N164.00 per share. Others on the decliners’ list are: Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Unity Bank Plc and United Bank for Africa 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

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

Ikeja Hotel Plc Records N128m Loss in Nine Months Goddy Egene Ikeja Hotel Plc, owners of Lagos Sheraton Hotels, yesterday reported a loss of N128 million for the nine months ended September 2017, compared with a loss of N2.554 million in the corresponding period of 2016. According to results made available on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) website, Ikeja

Hotel recorded a revenue of N3.706 billion in 2017, down marginally from N3.936 billion in 2016. Cost of sales went up from N1.825 billion to N2.272 billion, making the company to end the period with gross profit of N1.43 billion, down from N2.111 billion in 2016. Other income improved from N59 million to N138 million, while sales and distribution

T H E MAIN BOARD Activity Summary on Board DEBT Federal Bond Name 15.54% FGN FEB 2020 16.00% FGN JUN 2019 Federal Totals DEBT Board Totals Bond Activity Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals AGRICULTURE Totals CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. JOHN HOLT PLC. S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries Totals CONGLOMERATES Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction ARBICO PLC. Building Construction Totals Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC Automobiles/Auto Parts Totals Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals Food Products DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC Food Products Totals Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--Diversified Totals Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. Household Durables Totals Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. JAIZ BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC. Banking Totals Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. STANDARD TRUST ASSURANCE PLC STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Micro-Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Micro-Finance Banks Totals Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

expenses were reduced from N200 million to N192 million. Similarly, administrative and general expenses fell from N1.607 billion to N1.092 billion, leading to an operating profit of N287 million, down from N363 million in 2016. However, finance cost rose from N365 million to N415 million in 2017. Consequently, Ikeja Hotel ended the nine months with a loss of N128

N I G E R I A N QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

No. of Deals 1 1 2 2 2

Current Price 98.7 135

Quantity Traded 105 100 205 205 205

Value Traded 103,815.41 137,197.80 241,013.21 241,013.21 241,013.21

No. of Deals 11 4 15 No. of Deals 5 5 20

Current Price 44.18 46

Quantity Traded 41,208 5,201 46,409 Quantity Traded 153,470 153,470 199,879

Value Traded 1,887,024.20 240,161.40 2,127,185.60 Value Traded 119,266.60 119,266.60 2,246,452.20

Current Price 0.78

No. of Deals 1 1 4 56 48 110 110

Current Price 0.78 0.66 3.77 0.78 15.1

Quantity Traded 100 500 10,000 4,840,952 350,363 5,201,915 5,201,915

Value Traded 78 315 35,900.00 3,807,735.66 5,054,510.34 8,898,539.00 8,898,539.00

No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 5 5 No. of Deals 65 65 71

Current Price 4.79

Quantity Traded 200 200 Quantity Traded 10,272 10,272 Quantity Traded 1,656,711 1,656,711 1,667,183

Value Traded 958 958 Value Traded 375,647.04 375,647.04 Value Traded 3,493,667.49 3,493,667.49 3,870,272.53

No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 3 64 7 208 282 No. of Deals 18 18 No. of Deals 33 22 32 15 11 113 No. of Deals 25 98 123 No. of Deals 14 14 No. of Deals 26 17 43 594

Current Price 0.5

Quantity Traded 100,000 100,000 Quantity Traded 5,160 288,915 51,123 1,386,914 1,732,112 Quantity Traded 6,947 6,947 Quantity Traded 616,050 345,909 84,482 1,028,600 117,500 2,192,541 Quantity Traded 136,880 133,592 270,472 Quantity Traded 140,811 140,811 Quantity Traded 203,505 43,451 246,956 4,689,839

Value Traded 50,000.00 50,000.00 Value Traded 11,558.40 17,613,098.61 801,955.76 156,078,414.27 174,505,027.04 Value Traded 675,390.11 675,390.11 Value Traded 2,410,595.00 2,125,832.90 1,491,827.07 1,128,310.00 833,010.00 7,989,574.97 Value Traded 1,172,206.13 79,110,103.35 80,282,309.48 Value Traded 289,850.97 289,850.97 Value Traded 2,596,373.80 1,424,799.57 4,021,173.37 267,813,325.94

Quantity Traded 11,476,994 1,149,393 58,189 8,142,068 20,039,315 1,081,695 25,994,229 5,772,233 251,225 350 800 73,966,491 Quantity Traded 214,682 503,100 200 3,000 44,144 900 5,100 1,000 401,000 1,000 384 1,174,510 Quantity Traded 1,000 25,100 26,100 Quantity Traded 1,000 1,000 Quantity Traded 450,576 325,400 1,000 3,530,043 12,830 8,474,959 12,794,808

Value Traded 76,018,367.81 990,711.98 560,377.50 6,806,919.19 477,105,071.95 1,417,729.20 18,222,090.30 27,705,413.04 1,185,050.41 276.5 408 610,012,415.88 Value Traded 126,611.20 530,295.00 100 4,770.00 36,196.64 450 2,550.00 500 200,500.00 500 192 902,664.84 Value Traded 2,700.00 27,111.00 29,811.00 Value Traded 1,440.00 1,440.00 Value Traded 1,399,304.19 1,084,759.00 500 4,689,332.14 211,696.60 31,174,405.94 38,559,997.87

No. of Deals 167 26 27 69 219 24 1,530 73 33 1 1 2,170 No. of Deals 9 6 2 2 5 1 2 1 2 1 2 33 No. of Deals 1 2 3 No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 31 16 1 68 6 132 254

Current Price 34.83 Current Price 2.12

Current Price 2.35 60.92 16.15 117.5 Current Price 106.5 Current Price 4.1 6.1 18 1.1 7.03 Current Price 9 600 Current Price 2.08 Current Price 12.16 34

Current Price 6.6 0.86 9.8 0.84 23.8 1.31 0.7 4.8 4.9 0.83 0.5 Current Price 0.59 1.05 0.5 1.59 0.79 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 Current Price 2.58 1.08 Current Price 1.47 Current Price 3.05 3.32 0.5 1.31 17 3.7

million. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last May has announced the dissolved the board of Ikeja Hotel Plc due to unresolved internal crisis involving some majority shareholders of the company. The capital market regulator had said the “proactive measure has become necessary in order not to allow the warring parties

STO C K

take certain actions that would give them an advantage over one another.” According to the SEC, to forestall chaos in the organisation, the Commission and other distinguished personalities, had previously held various meetings with the existing board towards resolving the crises but the company continues to be plagued with unhealthy

corporate governance practices in disregard with the Code of Corporate Governance for public companies. SEC added that as a public company, it is paramount that the activities of the company are conducted within the confines of existing corporate governance regulations in the Nigerian capital market, to ensure the protection of minority shareholders and other investors.

E XC H A N G E

MAIN BOARD FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC Healthcare Providers Totals Pharmaceuticals FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals HEALTHCARE Totals ICT IT Services TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. IT Services Totals Processing Systems CHAMS PLC Processing Systems Totals ICT Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC MEYER PLC. LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals Packaging/Containers BETA GLASS PLC. GREIF NIGERIA PLC Packaging/Containers Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals NATURAL RESOURCES Metals ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. Metals Totals NATURAL RESOURCES Totals OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals OIL AND GAS Totals SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC Advertising Totals Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals Hotels/Lodging TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals Printing/Publishing LEARN AFRICA PLC STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. Printing/Publishing Totals Transport-Related Services NEWREST ASL NIGERIA PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC C & I LEASING PLC. Support and Logistics Totals SERVICES Totals EQTY Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board ASeM FINANCIAL SERVICES Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services OMOLUABI MORTGAGE BANK PLC Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals ASeM Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board PREMIUM FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals Other Financial Institutions FBN HOLDINGS PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials DANGOTE CEMENT PLC Building Materials Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals PREMIUM Board Totals Equity Activity Totals

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

2,461 No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 13 12 4 6 2 37 38

Current Price 0.5 Current Price 1.01 14.75 1 0.66 1.95

No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 1 1 2

Current Price 1.3

No. of Deals 7 2 7 11 1 20 48 No. of Deals 15 15 No. of Deals 3 1 4 67

Current Price 11.25 6.08 29.6 4.28 0.87 42

Current Price 0.5

Current Price 1.45 Current Price 36.45 9.69

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

87,962,909

649,506,329.59

Quantity Traded 738,000 738,000 Quantity Traded 5,177,490 110,135 5,015 11,000 900 5,304,540 6,042,540

Value Traded 369,000.00 369,000.00 Value Traded 5,178,570.00 1,551,318.88 4,770.10 7,063.20 1,836.00 6,743,558.18 7,112,558.18

Quantity Traded 2,438 2,438 Quantity Traded 100,000 100,000 102,438

Value Traded 3,023.12 3,023.12 Value Traded 50,000.00 50,000.00 53,023.12

Quantity Traded 11,405 2,997 1,215,127 141,429 300 23,390 1,394,648 Quantity Traded 792,168 792,168 Quantity Traded 70,030 100 70,130 2,256,946

Value Traded 130,100.00 17,322.66 35,970,022.30 604,431.24 249 987,177.40 37,709,302.60 Value Traded 1,142,840.30 1,142,840.30 Value Traded 2,552,593.50 1,016.00 2,553,609.50 41,405,752.40

No. of Deals 1 1 1

Current Price 9.75

Quantity Traded 2,000 2,000 2,000

Value Traded 18,540.00 18,540.00 18,540.00

No. of Deals 2 2 No. of Deals 76 76 No. of Deals 16 20 229 20 1 16 302 No. of Deals 2 2 382

Current Price 0.5

Quantity Traded 18,000 18,000 Quantity Traded 1,722,434 1,722,434 Quantity Traded 35,100 284,436 905,220 12,017 100 8,826 1,245,699 Quantity Traded 5,150 5,150 2,991,283

Value Traded 9,000.00 9,000.00 Value Traded 8,234,046.51 8,234,046.51 Value Traded 1,190,988.64 886,497.72 56,399,639.77 3,215,511.70 3,708.00 2,400,901.12 64,097,246.95 Value Traded 2,045,501.50 2,045,501.50 74,385,794.96

Quantity Traded 55,000 55,000 Quantity Traded 575 29,090 29,665 Quantity Traded 1,000 13,000 14,000 Quantity Traded 500 1,000 1,500 Quantity Traded 101,050 46,801 147,851 Quantity Traded 274,973 1,000 275,973 523,989 111,640,921

Value Traded 27,500.00 27,500.00 Value Traded 2,645.75 26,607.80 29,253.55 Value Traded 3,550.00 61,623.60 65,173.60 Value Traded 355 2,190.00 2,545.00 Value Traded 275,866.50 114,662.45 390,528.95 Value Traded 242,233.86 500 242,733.86 757,734.96 1,056,068,322.88

No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 2 3 5 No. of Deals 1 3 4 No. of Deals 1 1 2 No. of Deals 7 6 13 No. of Deals 14 1 15 40 3,786

Current Price 4.71 Current Price 35.49 3.24 62.5 275.99 39.03 270 Current Price 380

Current Price 0.5 Current Price 4.4 0.91 Current Price 3.65 4.98 Current Price 0.68 2.19 Current Price 2.73 2.57 Current Price 0.9 0.5

No. of Deals 1 1 1 1

Current Price 0.9

Quantity Traded 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000

Value Traded 90,000.00 90,000.00 90,000.00 90,000.00

No. of Deals 279 279 No. of Deals 140 140 419

Current Price 15.01

Quantity Traded 48,467,690 48,467,690 Quantity Traded 1,684,690 1,684,690 50,152,380

Value Traded 727,624,234.12 727,624,234.12 Value Traded 5,345,599.68 5,345,599.68 732,969,833.80

No. of Deals 10 10 10 429 4,216

Current Price 169

Quantity Traded 45,766 45,766 45,766 50,198,146 161,939,067

Value Traded 7,736,239.30 7,736,239.30 7,736,239.30 740,706,073.10 1,796,864,395.98

Current Price 3.2

˾ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Skye Bank Empowers Women Entrepreneurs Goddy Egene

back initiative of Skye Bank and training come true. She challenged Ibile Vogue Academy, entails both them to start adding value with The Head, Retail Banking, Skye executive and full time classes that the skills they have acquired, so Bank Plc, Mrs. Ayodele Olojede, teaches students everything about as to stay competitive. She noted that the initiative has said the is committed to fashion; from pattern drafting, empowering women entrepreneurs colour sequencing, garment was embarked upon as part of across various sectors of the construction to soft business skills; the gains of being part of the Skye Nigerian economy. She stated this as well as provide linkages to help Pearl community. “This, for us, is both a giveat presentation of the certificate students develop their own clothing proficiency to three lucky members line with the aim of grooming top back and value add under our Skye Pearl Initiative beyond just of the Skye Pearl community who notch fashionprenuers. Olojede lauded the graduands funding which a bank is naturally participated in the just -concluded three-month art of fashion training and thanked everyone who played known for. Our aim is to address organised by Ibile Vogue Academy. a significant role in making the the peculiar challenges of the The training, which is a give dreams of the participants in the woman, the wife, the mother and A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. investment vehicle that allows both small and Investors with similar objectives buy units of the large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg. Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their that willl generate their desired return. investments. The assets are divided into shares that An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, GUIDE TO DATA: etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 10shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the Oct-2017, unless otherwise stated.

the professional with a view to qualify. On her part, the Director of empowering her economically. Shedding light on the format of Studies, Ibile Vogue Academy, Mrs. the training, the banker disclosed Temitope Olanre-Alade, applauded that the training ran for 12 weeks. the bank for the initiative and The criteria for selection included: particularly for providing the be an active Skye Bank account platform (Skye Pearl) that made holder; be a member of the pearl it possible for her organization to community; aged between 20 and also give back to society. In her words to the graduands: 40 years; must have completed or “You owe Skye Bank and Ibile be in a tertiary institution. Non-account holders and Vogue Academy immensely and dormant accounts were also therefore you should do everything encouraged to open new accounts within your power to make us or reactivate dormant accounts to proud.” Offer price: T he 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.

Olanre-Alade further admonished the graduands not to see their senior colleagues in the industry as competitors, but rather mentors from whom they could glean further ideas on how to be better at the trade while encouraging them to attend shows, seminars and get mentored. “Don’t just jump into the business, you must intern as there are things to know; things to do and people to be around in order to scale up in the profession,” she said.

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 178.07 178.93 40.28% Nigeria International Debt Fund 233.19 234.17 10.30% 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 0.81 0.82 16.05% ACAP Income Funds 0.63 0.63 78.56% 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 18.20% 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 17.44 17.97 41.28% ARM Discovery Fund 367.05 378.12 27.81% ARM Ethical Fund 25.73 26.51 15.18% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.88% 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 144.79 145.80 37.66% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.71% 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 19.04% Paramount Equity Fund 11.57 11.87 23.63% Women's Investment Fund 94.94 97.47 12.28% 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 1,093.21 1,094.30 8.03% FBN Heritage Fund 145.35 146.58 30.37% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.79% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $112.69 $113.76 9.58% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $111.95 $113.01 9.62% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 154.49 156.75 37.22% 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 1.37 1.39 46.81% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.89 2.89 12.51% 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 2,881.43 2,921.10 31.04% Coral Income Fund 2,381.77 2,381.77 14.30% 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 17.58% 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 18.28% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.08 2.11 23.82% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 18.49% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 111.11 111.11 14.51%

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 1.14 1.16 15.51% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,025.08 1,025.08 8.91% 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 13.07 13.11 34.87% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 18.82% 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 1.19 1.21 19.92% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.83 10.87 4.13% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 13.95% 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 125.22 127.50 23.60% 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 1.39 1.39 11.34% 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 2,192.62 2,205.85 19.76% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 169.08 169.08 9.82% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.98 0.99 27.92% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 212.11 212.11 13.49% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 170.69 172.89 31.47% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.26% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 9,521.44 9,632.28 25.56% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.04 1.04 4.00% 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 1.32 1.33 18.01% United Capital Bond Fund 1.45 1.45 18.69% United Capital Equity Fund 0.85 0.87 26.90% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.50% 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 12.53 12.72 28.99% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.12 13.27 19.82% Zenith Income Fund 18.59 18.59 12.42%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 131.15

1.01% 5.79%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.85 135.80 106.97

10.95 138.74 108.98

25.71% 37.27% 41.16%

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

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 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

4.52 9.09 17.20 20.76 137.77

4.56 9.17 17.30 20.96 139.77

63.21% 29.14% 45.29% 29.97% 8.70%

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.

T H I S D AY THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017

ADVERTORIAL

T H I S D AY THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Catalonia: Spain Takes Step towards Direct Rule Spain’s prime minister has put Catalonia on notice that it could impose direct rule on the region. Mariano Rajoy said his government had asked the regional government to clarify whether or not it had declared independence. The move is the first step towards suspending Catalonia’s autonomy under the constitution. Catalan leaders signed a declaration of independence on Tuesday but halted implementation to allow for talks. Spain has been in turmoil since the separatist government held a disputed referendum in Catalonia on 1 October which was declared invalid by the country’s Constitutional Court. Almost 90% of voters backed independence with a turnout

of 43%, Catalan officials say. Anti-independence voters largely boycotted the ballot and there were several reports of irregularities. National police were involved in violent scenes as they tried to stop the vote taking place. Mr Rajoy accused Catalan President Carles Puigdemont of having created “deliberate confusion” and said he wanted to restore “certainty”. “This call - ahead of any of the measures that the government may adopt under Article 155 of our constitution - seeks to offer citizens the clarity and security that a question of such importance requires,” Mr Rajoy said. “There is an urgent need to put an end to the situation that Catalonia is going through - to

return it to safety, tranquillity and calm and to do that as quickly as possible.” Mr Rajoy was speaking after holding an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning to discuss the government’s next steps. Speaking later in parliament, Mr Rajoy said Spain was facing the most serious threat to its 40-year-old democracy. He accused the separatists of hatching an “anti-democratic plan foisting their will on all the people of Catalonia”, and said the Spanish government had had no choice but to restore order. “It falls to the Catalan leader to restore constitutional normality,” he told deputies, rejecting any suggestion of outside mediation in the dispute.

Harvey Weinstein: Matt Damon Denies ‘Killing’ 2004 Story Actor Matt Damon has denied trying to “kill” a story about Harvey Weinstein’s behaviour when it was investigated by a reporter 13 years ago. Sharon Waxman has said she looked into rumours that an employee of Weinstein in Italy was procuring women for him. She said Damon and Russell Crowe called her to vouch for the employee. But Damon has said he did not know the detail of the allegations. “I would never, ever, ever try to kill a story like that,” he told Deadline. “I just wouldn’t do that. It’s not something I would do, for anybody.” Waxman, who then worked for the New York Times, was ultimately unable to publish any allegations relating to Weinstein’s sexual behaviour. Weinstein had asked Damon and Crowe to call her, she told BBC Newsnight. “That was Harvey’s attempt to beat the story back,” she said. “They were calling me to vouch for this executive. They were calling me to say that they knew the guy, they hung out with him in Italy, and he seemed like a good guy.” Damon said Weinstein told him the New York Times story would be claiming the Italian executive “had no professional experience”. He said the producer asked him to “tell her that he was a professional

and you had a good experience, and that was it”. He said: “I was never conscripted to do anything. We vouch for each other, all the time.” Damon added: “I’m sure I mentioned to her that I didn’t know anything about the rest of her piece, because I didn’t.” ‘We didn’t all know’ The accusations that have now come out against Weinstein are “the kind of sexual predation that keeps me up at night”, Damon said, adding that he had never seen inappropriate behaviour during time spent making films with Weinstein. “I think a lot of actors have come out and said, ‘everybody’s saying we all knew’. That’s not true,” Damon said. “This type of predation happens behind closed doors, and out of public view. If there was ever an event that I was at and Harvey was doing this kind of thing and I didn’t see it, then I am so deeply sorry, because I would have stopped it.” Crowe hasn’t commented. Waxman claimed the 2004 New York Times story was “gutted” after “intense pressure” from Weinstein. The paper went on to break the story of the latest allegations at the weekend. The New York Times’s executive editor Dean Baquet,

who wasn’t working for the paper in 2004, said: “It is unimaginable to me that The Times killed a story because of pressure from Harvey Weinstein, who was and is an advertiser.” ‘Pursuing better path’ Weinstein is currently facing a number of allegations involving sexual harassment and assault. Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Heather Graham and Ashley Judd are among those to have accused the film producer of harassment. Three actresses, including Asia Argento, accused Weinstein of sexual assault in a report by the New Yorker.In a statement, Weinstein’s spokeswoman Sallie Hofmeister said: “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein. Mr Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. “Mr Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual. Mr Weinstein has begun counselling, has listened to the community and is pursuing a better path.” It was also announced on Tuesday that Weinstein’s wife, Marchesa co-owner Georgina Chapman, is leaving him

Trump Threatens NBC Broadcaster after Nuclear Report US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of challenging media licenses for NBC News and other news networks after unfavourable reports. He took aim at NBC, which made him a star on The Apprentice, after it reported he wanted to boost America’s nuclear arsenal almost tenfold. Mr Trump labelled the report “fake news” and pure fiction”. NBC also angered the White House last week when it reported the secretary of state had called Mr Trump “a moron”.

The US president tweeted on Wednesday: “Fake @NBCNews made up a story that I wanted a ‘tenfold’ increase in our US nuclear arsenal. Pure fiction, made up to demean. NBC = CNN!” In a follow-up tweet, he said: “With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!” According to NBC News, Mr Trump told a top-level meeting at the Pentagon in July he wanted to

dramatically increase the American stockpile of atomic missiles. He reportedly made the request after seeing a downward-sloping curve on a briefing slide charting the steady reduction in US nuclear weapons since the 1960s. Attributing its report to three officials in the room, NBC said Mr Trump’s request surprised those present, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Rex Tillerson. The network also reported that Mr Trump also called for additional US troops and military equipment.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

External Borrowing: Buhari Mortgaging Our Future, Warns PDP Fayose: Kachikwu’s allegation has exposed corruption under APC

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed concern over the move by President Muhammadu Buhari to obtain a foreign loan to the tune of $5.5 billion. It said the loan request would amount to consciously mortgaging the future of its unborn generations. In a statement issued by its spokesman, Dayo Adeyeye, the party said its received with shock, the plan by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration to plunge Nigeria into further debt through needless and mindless borrowing of the sum of $5.5 billion. “Like other well meaning Nigerians, we consider this new bid for a foreign loan of $5.5 billion being sought by the administration of President Buhari as an attempt to push the nation down into the black hole of debt that will affect

negatively, the future of this nation,” it said. As a party that governed this nation meritoriously for 16 years and handed over a buoyant economy to the APC in 2015, PDP said it is concerned that by the time Nigerians would have the opportunity to push out the APC government in 2019, the economy of the Nation would have been damaged irreparably. “For emphasis, we are dismayed at the rate by which the APC is plunging the Nation into debt through local and foreign borrowing without concomitant developmental projects in any sphere of the nation’s economy to justify the huge borrowing. “The figure released recently by the Debt Management Office (DMO) stating that the nation under the administration of the APC government in the last two years of being in office, has borrowed N7.51 trillion. It is mind-boggling. “Mind boggling because all round infrastructural decay

Amnesty International Seeks Justice for Boko Haram Suspects Ejiofor Alike As the mass trial of Boko Haram suspects on terrorismrelated charges continues in Nigeria, Amnesty International has argued that it will be impossible for the suspects to get justice without fair trials. According to a statement issued yesterday by Amnesty International Nigeria’s Media Manager, Isa Sanusi, the rights group said it had repeatedly documented how thousands of people were rounded up in arbitrary arrests with no evidence and held for years in detention. Speaking on the trials of the Boko Haram suspects, Amnesty International Nigeria’s Director Osai Ojigho, said: “These trials should provide a much-needed opportunity to deliver justice for the many victims of human rights abuses and crimes allegedly committed by Boko Haram members.” “However, the fact the trials are taking place behind closed doors, with no access for the media or the public, raises huge concerns. Public hearings are crucial for protecting an individual’s right to a fair trial and due process,” Ojigho added. “The Nigerian authorities must ensure that all fair trial rights are respected. Defendants must have access to lawyers and interpreters if required, and that witnesses and victims are protected from potential reprisals,” Ojigho said. Amnesty International said it had repeatedly documented how thousands of people have been rounded up in mass arbitrary arrests with little or no evidence and held in detention for years. “In instances where no prima facie case has been established, as is reportedly

the situation in some of the cases, detainees should be immediately released,” the statement said. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), had announced that the prosecution of 2,321 suspected members of Boko Haram would begin on October 9. A statement issued by Mr. Salihu Isah, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the minister said the suspects were being detained in various detention facilities across the country. While there are 1,670 detainees held at a detention facility in Kainji another 651 detainees are in detention in Maiduguri. Isah also said that 220 detainees have been recommended for release and will participate in the deradicalisation programme for want of evidence. In order to fast-track the prosecution of the cases, he said the justice minister had approved a list of prosecutors to handle the cases, adding that the Legal Aid Council had equally agreed to provide counsel to represent accused persons that cannot afford lawyers. He said four judges had been designated by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to hear the cases at Kainji and dispose of them expeditiously. According to him, 13 cases had been concluded, with nine convictions secured while 33 cases were on trial at various Federal High Court divisions. Another 116 cases have been filed but the suspects were yet to be arraigned. He said the trial of those detained in Kainji would start first to be followed by those detained in Maiduguri.

has now reached alarming proportions. The roads have deteriorated, the state of power supply has become worse, and there is no increase in wages to match the skyrocketing inflation. “As a result, workers in educational institutions and other government agencies have spent more time at home observing strike action than they spent at work; insecurity has sky-rocketed beyond what anyone can imagine, while those in power continue to delude themselves that they are providing plausible leadership for the country. “We are constrained to ask the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to explain to Nigerians what his government has done with the several huge sums borrowed in the last two years in the name of financing infrastructural development in the country. PDP said data shows that since President Buhari was sworn-in, the nation’s debt has risen by 61.96 per cent in only two years. “As major stakeholders in the Nigerian project, we are worried that if the National Assembly does not stop this

latest demand for foreign loan, the money when released, will go the way of other loans obtained in the last two years without any tangible result to show for it,” it said. Meanwhile, following the $25 billion corruption allegation levelled against the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, has declared that the accusation had further exposed the level of corruption being perpetrated under President Muhammadu Buhari. Fayose branded President Buhari’s government as the most corrupt in the history of Nigeria, accusing the president of “treating corruption involving his men as family affair.” The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had in a memo to President Buhari last week raised posers on how Baru awarded $25 billion contracts without following due process, which had attracted national attention. In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications yesterday,

Lere Olayinka, Fayose said: “When miscreants write petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against perceived opponents of President Buhari, EFCC will act immediately, but when known Nigerians, including members of Buhari’s government raise allegation of corruption against close allies of the President, the EFCC will look the other way.” “As posited by APC Senator, Shehu Sani, we are in a situation where perfume is being sprayed on corruption when it affects Buhari’s men while insecticide is being sprayed on corruption when it involves perceived political opponents of the president.” Speaking further, Fayose said; “While Nigerians are still asking questions as to what has happened to the report of the committee that investigated the $43 million discovered in an apartment at Osbourne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, allegation of $25 billion was made by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, and as usual, the allegation like others before it, is being treated as family affairs.

“Before now, the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu was indicted of corruption by the Department of State Service (DSS) and all that was done by President Buhari was to ask the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to investigate the DSS report. Up till today, nothing has been heard about it and Magu, despite his rejection by the Senate, is still acting as the EFCC chairman. “Up till today, Nigerians are yet to be told the owner of the Legico Shopping Plaza, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos inside which the EFCC claimed that it found N448.8 million cash. “Despite the presence of CCTV cameras, we have not been told the identities of those who brought the five sacks in which the EFCC claimed that it found N49 million cash to the Kaduna Airport. “As far as I am concerned, President Buhari is not fighting any corruption. He is fighting his political foes and God is not a God of double-standard. This Buhari’s government is a government of doublestandard.”

REGIONAL MEETING

R-L: Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Bala Bantex; and Senator Khairat Gwadabe, at the opening of a two day conference on ‘The North and Future of Nigerian Federation’ which held at Arewa House, Kaduna...yesterday

Kwankwansiyya Support Organisation Honours THISDAY with Award Kasim Sumaina in Abuja A group, the Kwankwansiyya Support Organisation (KSA), yesterday honoured THISDAY Newspapers with an award for promoting transparent and professional journalism in recognition of its contributions to human and societal development. The award, the Director General of the Kwankwansiyya group, Air Commodore Sani A. Zakari, noted was in recognition of THISDAY contributions to journalism. Zakari, while handing over the award to THISDAY Deputy Editor, Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi, and Editor, Nation’s Capital, Mr.

Iyobosa Uwugiaren, at Arise TV Channel’s office in Abuja, congratulated the company for its 22 years of immense fireworks inthe journalism. According to him, “Kwankwansiyya is a political ideology and a movement as exemplified by its leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwanso which is in tandem with Mallam Aminu Kano’s political philosophy and ideology.” He hinted that the movement signifies hardworking and commitment to the struggle for emancipation, development and happiness of the people. “This trait we have also

seen in THISDAY company. We are here on a courtesy visit because we know you as an organisation of good record, credible and cut across the globe. In recognition of these, Kwankwansiyya Support Organisation thereby presents to you this award on ‘Transparent and Professional Journalism’,” Zakari said. Responding on behalf of THISDAY, Uwugiaren stated that though the company was not affiliated with any political party, it welcomes any genuine group or persons that have the interest of the country at heart. According to Uwugiaren, “We welcome you to Arise TV Channel, the broadcast

arm of THISDAY Newspapers. We thank you for this award given to the organisation, we are willing to work and align with any purposeful group of persons and group who holds the interest of the Nigerian society at heart. “We believe in transparency and accountability even as we are not affiliated to any group or political parties. We are very grateful as this award will spur us to do better even as we wishes you well as you go about your business.” The group was led by its Director General, Zakari; Adamu Garba, Mohammed Said, Balla Yaqub, Aminu Shuaibu and Solomon Anika.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

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FG Set to Enforce No Work, No Pay Law During Strikes Moves to prohibit running of private hospitals by public doctors Awaits diagnosis on Monkey Pox outbreak Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The federal government yesterday said it was prepared to enforce a provision in Trade Union Act which stipulates that workers should not be paid during the period that they embark on strike. Briefing State House correspondents at the end of yesterday’s weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) in the Presidential Villa, the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige, said the move to implement the provision was spurred by the recent plethora of strikes embarked upon by various unions particularly in the academic and health sectors without complying with relevant laws. Ngige who also said the provision stipulates that the period of the industrial action is not pensionable, added that henceforth, collective bargaining agreement containing output of negotiations during industrial actions should be signed and domiciled in the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Productivity. This will mark a departure from the norm where agreements during negotiations are not signed and officially documented with the ministry. FEC decision was the offshoot of the recommendations of an interministerial committee set up by the council last year to examine matters bordering on industrial relations in the country. While the minister did not state the exact time that the implementation would take off, he said he was mandated by the council to inform workers that the law was still in force, pointing out that the ministry had also been mandated to stop union leaders who fail to comply with the law of the land by permanently serving as union leaders. According to him, such labour leaders have to be made to comply with the laws of the land on union activities. “There were certain industrial relations matter that were looked into by council. Council had earlier mandated the SGF to set up a

committee on industrial relations matter in the federal public service. The committee was set up precisely on April 27, 2016. It was chaired by the SGF and co-chaired by Head of Service of the Federation. “We had constituent members of the committee from National Income Wages and Service Commission, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Science and Technology and Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and they produced a report. This report was all encompassing and council considered it today. “First and foremost, the report emphasised the need for government to implement the law on no work, no pay. No work, no pay is not a rule neither is it a policy. It is a law captured in the Trade Dispute Act of Laws of the Federation of Nigeria Section 43 to be precise. It says that workers have the right to disengage their services from their employers if there is a breakdown of negotiations but for the period that the workers do so, the employers should not pay and those periods are to be counted as non-pensionable times. “So, the council today emphasised that the law is still in place and the law should be brought to the knowledge of workers in the public sector, in the private sector especially those in the public sector. We have to do that because of the spate of industrial crises we suffered in the last two months where we had a plethora of strikes all over the place. So, council is saying we should emphasise this to workers. On the strike embarked upon the last time, we ‘ll see what we can do about that. “Secondly, we looked at another recommendation in terms of people who are permanently doing union activities. They are presidents of trade unions for life. They criticise those who are trying to do third term or fourth term but they sit tight. So, my ministry was asked to fish out those unions whose constitutions do not have term limit. Such unions should be made to comply with the law so people can

FG Files Fraud Charges against Senator Misau The federal government has filed two separate charges against the senator representing Bauchi central in the National Assembly, Isah Misau. The charges were filed by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) at the Federal High Court, Abuja, and the other before the FCT High Court. The suits followed the disagreement between the senator and Inspector-General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris. The police had declared Misau a deserter after he accused the IG of collecting money from police officers before they are posted. He also accused Idris of collecting money from oil companies and banks where police officers are sent to provide security. Misau is accused of forging false documents comprising affidavits and declaration of age

he deposed to at the Bauchi State Health Management Board birth certificate and FCT High Court. He was said to have submitted these documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2011 and 2014 when he ran for public office. The senator is also accused of making false statements that police officers pay N2.5 million to get special promotion and posting and also claiming that N10 billion is being received by Idris from oil companies and banks. The offences are said to be contrary to section (1)(2)(c) of the miscellaneous offences Act Cap M17, laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under the same section of the Act. The suit against Misau is coming a few days after the Senate set up an ad hoc committee to probe the senator’s claims against Idris.

be elected; they serve their terms and go,” Ngige said. In his own briefing, the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, said he briefed the council on the state of several outbreaks of diseases in the country in recent times, pointing out that the current outbreak described as monkey pox is currently being diagnosed in both Nigerian and Senegalese laboratories. The minister who said it was not yet certain whether the disease is indeed monkey pox, said what is clear is that it belongs to the pox family adding that the result of the laboratory diagnosis will confirm the real name of the disease. “The other one which is topical but less deadly is monkey pox. It actually started in Bayelsa and we have recorded 33 suspected cases in iBayelsa, Rivers, Ekiti, Akwa Ibom States, Lagos, Ogun and Cross River. What is particularly significant is that many of the cases reported do not fit into the classic prototype of monkey pox. But then, we are trying to confirm. Before the end of today or early tomorrow, we should be able to confirm what exactly we are dealing with. Is it really monkey pox? “What is obvious is that we have a disease that is close to the pox family. We are looking at it.

One of our scientists, Professor Christian Happy is looking into it in the laboratory to confirm if it is truly monkey pox. We are also doing a double-confirmation in Senegal because Senegal also has a public health laboratory that can do dignosis. So, we are looking at the two, so as to know what we have and hopefully in the next 24 or 48 hours, we should be able to make a diagnosis as to what we have. “Our advice to Nigerians will be not to panic, report all suspected cases to health facilities and to continue to maintain a high level hygiene. Let’s wash our hands. Let’s avoid contact with dead animals, clean our surroundings and as much as possible meet health workers and career nursing where they are managing people. But what we need is greater cooperation from states. Sometimes, we don’t get notified. “There are two types of Monkey pox - Central African type and West African type. We suspect that if confirmed, we probably have West African type, which is milder because so far, we have not recorded any death from monkey pox. But we are waiting. As soon as we have the cases confirmed by Christian Happy and also confirm the Senegalese diagnosis, we will tell the nation,” he said.

Adewole who also said the council set up a committee to carry out a comprehensive job evaluation in the health sector, disclosed that the committee would make recommendations on the seeming violation of laws by medical doctors in public practice who have cultivated the habit of running private hospitals while they are yet in public service. He said anyone engaging in public service could not simultaneously engage in private service except farming adding that the acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Aminat Lawal, had been mandated to forward to the council the report of a committee headed by a former Head of Service, Yayale Ahmed, which looked into professional rivalry among professional groups in the health sector with a view to restoring harmony in the sector. “In addition, council considered a memo on industrial relations particularly in the public sector and that report dealt extensively with several issues. But for us in health sector, the most important is actually the need to do a comprehensive job evaluation. “Government had decided to set up a committee that will evaluate what exactly do we do as individuals? How

much should we be paid and in a way that we can pay appropriately across board throughout the entire country. Council also looked into the issue of residency programme and decided that the training should last for a period of fixed term of seven years and after training for seven years, individuals should exit the programme so that others can come into the programme. “Council had decided to look into the issue of private practice by medical doctors in the public sector and a committee has been set up to look extensively into that issue because we want to resolve the issue of what do the laws of the land say and what does the rule of professional ethics say? The law of the land does not allow any public officer to do anything other than farming. So that committee will make appropriate recommendations to government on this important issue which is of considerable interest to a number of Nigerians. “In addition to that, we will also look at the Yayale Ahmed report which tried to look into relationships between professional groups in the public sector and the office of the SGF has been mandated to forward the white paper on the Yayale Ahmed report to FEC so that once and for all, government can restore harmony to the health sector,” he added.

AWARD FOR PROFESSIONALISM

L-R: Adamu Garba; Director-General, Kwankansiyya Support Organisation, Air Commodore Sani Abdullah ((rtd); Editor, Nation’s Capital, THISDAY Newspapers, Iyobosa Uwugiaren; and Deputy Editor, Bolaji Adebiyi, during the presentation of A ‘ ward of Transparent and Professional Journalism’ by Kwankansiyya Support Organisation to THISDAY in Abuja.... yesterday Kingsley Adeboye

Independence Day Bombing: Okah, Son,Testify Alex Enumah in Abuja The alleged mastermind of the 2010 Independence Day bomb blast in Abuja, Charles Okah, with his son, Boloebi Charles Okah, yesterday testified in his ongoing trial and three others over their alleged complicity in the terrorism act. Okah, and his co-accused, Nwabueze, Edmund Ebiware and Tiemkemfa Francis-Osvwo (aka General Gbokos), who were arraigned before the Fedral High Court in Abuja on December 7, 2010, were accused of carrying out the bomb blast near Eagle Square in Abuja on October 1,

2010, which resulted in the death of about 12 people with several others reportedly injured. Francis-Osvwo died later in prison custody, while another, Ebiware, who had his trial conducted separately, is serving life sentence upon his conviction in 2013, leaving Okah and Nwabueze to await trial. At the resumed trial, Boloebi mounted the witness box as defence witness (DW2), while Okah was DW3. Led in evidence by defence counsel, Samuel Zibiri, Boloebi, who told the court that he lives in Canada, admitted making his witness statement on oath on

October 7, 2017. Having identified the statement he sought to tender it in evidence, and the prosecution counsel, Alex Izinyon, raised no objection. The witness statement contained Boloebi’s International passport, Delta Airline ticket and school fees receipt of Kansas University. Upon cross examination by the prosecution counsel, the defence witness admitted that he did not attach his admission letter, the course he was given to study. Boloebi also told the court that his father gave him the sum of $13,000 for expenses. He stated that after his arrest

and release by the Department of State Service (DSS), “I travelled to Canada because nothing incriminating was found on me.” Okah also tendered his evidence in chief in a statement. They include, office copy of proof of evidence between Federal Republic of Nigeria vs Henry Okah July 2008; photocopy of data passport of ECOWAS international passport issued to Henry Okah; photocopy of affidavit deposed to July 5, 2011, and a brochure. The court admitted the documents in evidence and adjourned to October 24 for continuation of trial.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Ambode Faults FG’s Plan to Regulate Hotels, Restaurants Laments sharing of 50% VAT to other states

Gboyega Akinsanmi Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has faulted attempt by the federal government to regulate hotels, restaurants and event centres in the state, noting that the attempt violates the decision of the Supreme Court and 1999 Constitution. Ambode has equally faulted the formula for sharing Value Added Tax (VAT) among states of the federation, though the federal government allocated 50 per cent of it somewhere else contrary to the ideals and spirit of true federalism. He rejected the practice at a public forum he addressed on Tuesday, noting that attempts by the federal government to regulate hotels and restaurants was an anomaly that should be addressed accordingly. In 2013, the federal government had challenged the power and right of the Lagos State Government at the Supreme Court “to make laws on tourism, specifically where the National Assembly had already legislated on the same issue through the NTDC Act.” Specifically, the federal government then asked the Supreme Court to declare null and void the Lagos State Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Law, 2009; Hotel Licensing Law, 1983 and Hotel Licensing (Amendment), all of which were enacted by the State House of Assembly.

In its decision, however, the apex court rejected the prayers of the federal government, noting that the constitutional powers of the federal government “are expressly limited to tourism traffic in Nigeria in line with Item 60(d) of Part I of Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution. Contrary to the decision of the apex court, the Senate initiated a process to repeal the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Act, 2004 and replace it with the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) Bill, 2017 if it eventually sails through. At the public forum, Ambode lamented the initiation of the NTDA Bill 2017 which he said, was an attempts by the federal government to regulate hotels, restaurants and event centres contrary to the decision of the Supreme Court. He explained that the Lagos State House of Assembly enacted the Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Law, which the Supreme Court ruled, was accordingly passed into law in consonance with the 1999 Constitution. Despite the existence of Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Law, the governor lamented that there were still attempts from the central government to regulate hotels and entertainment centres in the state.

NRC Promises Compensation for Affected Structures on Lagos-Ibadan Rail Line Sunday Okobi The management of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has reinstated its commitment to compensate those whose structures would be affected by the Lagos-Ibadan railway line. The Chairman of the corporation board, Alhaji Usman Abubakar, stated this yesterday at the monthly routine meeting held in Lagos to monitor the progress of NRC activities and also to attend to challenges on the project. According to him, “Things are going fairly well with our project but it’s an ongoing affair. The challenges have always remained, which boils down to access; “There are some structures along the way, some bridges are too low or they have to go. These are the challenges but they are challenges on all projects built in urban areas. “For those whose structures would be affected in the project, our consultants are working to determine appropriate compensation, for those whose structures have to come down, they are already going about it and people are being paid depending on how far the consultants are able to finish the work. So It is an ongoing work.” He further noted that all the obstacles facing the rail project are being attended to as hard as they come “because we are very anxious of meeting the 2018 deadline.”

Speaking further on the percentage of work carried out, Abubakar who also represented the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said we have put our consultant to evaluate the report given to us but it is sectorial, adding that “in some sectors, it is 100 per cent achievement, while in others, it is one per cent, two per cent, but the overall achievement would have to wait until our consultants look at the documents and come to an agreement on the achievement.” The board chairman recalled that in the last meeting, the minister of transportation said President Muhammadu Buhari had approved projects of about 10 in number but when such projects are approved, there is need to source for funds for them. “We are talking to people who are ready to provide loan for us to carry out the projects. We are committed to delivering the project to ease the suffering of Nigerians. Also, the president has given us a matching order to put in our best to make sure that a lot of works are done effectively in the railway sector,” he added. Abubakar noted that all the agencies represented at the meeting which included NRC, consultant team; construction team, CECCE, Lagos State Government, LAMATA, as well as Oyo and Ogun States Governments are all putting heads together to meet the deadline

He said: “We enacted a law. Somebody says he wants to enact another law that regulates hotels inside Lagos State. Is it not because of the roads that they put hotel there? These things are purely under residual list. It is within

our jurisdiction.” The governor explained that undue interference in local matters “makes devolution of power imperative. That is what devolution of power is saying. If these things are on residual list,

let local government and states deal with them. “That is all that we are asking for. It is not that we will generate Value Added Tax (VAT) here and somebody will be sharing 50 per cent of the VAT somewhere

else. Obviously, that is the whole idea behind this agitation for true federalism, devolution of powers and the need to use it to liberate ourselves so that we can get more prosperous; so that our people can be more comfortable.”

RECOGNITION FOR INNOVATION

L-R: President/CEO of Chemonics, Susana Mudge; Executive Director/Publisher of OrderPaper Nigeria, Oke Epia; Communications Advisor of USAID’s SACE, Jennifer Onyejekwe; and Chief of Party, Chemonics Nigeria, Charles Abani, at the award presentation to the winning entry on innovation won by OrderPaper for its Constituency Projects Tracking initiative (ConsTrack) in the Technology for Development Global Contest, held in Washington DC, USA....recently

PANIC IN S’EAST, ASABA AS PARENTS WITHDRAW CHILDREN FROM SCHOOLS OVER MONKEY POX, MILITARY OUTREACH stop school children from leaving were vehemently resisted by the parents who even had to force their ways through. But in a swift reaction, however, the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army dismissed insinuations that its ongoing free medical services given to some communities in the South-east had a sinister motive of depopulating the region through “Monkey pox vaccination.” In a statement issued by the Deputy Director Public Relations 82 Division, Col. Musa Sagir, the division made it clear that the free medical outreach was not a vaccine intended to infect monkey pox or any major contemporary or emerging diseases in Nigeria to the people of South-east or any part of the country. He said the exercise was part of the corporate social responsibility initiatives imbued into the overall Python Dance 11 package to the people of the South-east region. Also, the state government denied the knowledge of any ongoing vaccination either for ponkey pox or any other disease by the military or any other group in the state at the moment. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Fintan Ekochin, and his Information and Orientation counterpart, Ogbuagu Anikwe, told journalists that the panic was uncalled for, and therefore appealed to parents to return their children to school. Also in Ebonyi State, the speculation also caused serious panic and apprehension as some students deserted schools for fear of either vaccinated or attacked. Schools outside the capital city like Ezza South and Ohaukwu council areas were also shut down. In Abakaliki, parents besieged

schools to ensure the forceful withdrawal of their wards while in some schools, parents had to climbed fence to gain entrance into school to take away their wards. In a statement, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dan Umezuruike, called on people to disregard the rumour and go about their lawful businesses. “There is no such injection going on in the state and there is no casualty anywhere in the state. People should discountenance the rumour. We are making arrangement to track down these rumour mongers and deal decisively with them for disrupting public peace,” he said. In Imo, the state government in statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Sam Onwuemeodo, stated that “there was no truth to the wicked and unfounded rumor being spread by the wicked ones over the monkey pox virus which created undue anxiety in Owerri, the state capital especially among some parents, on Wednesday, October 11, 2017.” “The state government wants to inform Imo people in particular and the general public that the monkey pox virus is not in Imo and will never be in Imo in Jesus Name,” he said. He maintained that no child, pupil or student had been vacinated, adding “there is no need for such action”. He noted that government was on the alert and would take the necessary action if the need arises, stating” Imo people will duly be informed. But for now, there is no cause for any alarm.” In Delta State, as the rumour breezed into Asaba, concerned

parents and guardians rushed to primary and secondary schools in the capital city and environs and forcibly took their children and wards away. Reactions to the rumours in Asaba reportedly began as early as 11:30a.m. when telephone calls and text messages began to fly around with anxious parents seen running helter-skelter to schools to ensure the safety of their children and wards. Although, no single case of military personnel trying to administer any vaccine on school pupils was reported anywhere in Delta State, anxious parents defended their action as precautionary, saying it was meant to prevent them from being administered with the suspicious vaccines or any other medicines. It was learnt that similar situation was recorded in neighbouring towns of Illah, Ibusa, Ogwashi-Uku and Issele-Uku and Agbor. Delta State Ministry of Information was inundated by anxious calls from parents and members of the public with the Commissioner for Information, Patrick Ukah rushing out of a function in Asaba to quickly issue a public statement debunking the rumour and assuring the public that there was no iota of truth in the monkey pox rumour. The statement issued by Ukah read: “It has come to the attention of the Delta State Government that parents and guardians are withdrawing their children and wards from schools following unsubstantiated rumours of students and pupils being lethally injected by unknown persons. “Government states without equivocation that the rumour is absolutely false and baseless. There

has been no such reported incident in any school in Delta State. We advise parents and guardians to remain calm and go about their normal businesses. Meanwhile, the list of those certified to have been free from the epidemic in Bayelsa State grew by five yesterday, following the release of an infected medical doctor and an 11-year-old boy earlier in the week. Commissioner for Information and Orientation in the state, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said in a statement that the fresh five cases were discharged from the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Okolobiri where they had been quarantined. He added that others were currently under strict supervision and had been responding positively to treatment at the isolation centre in the outskirts of Yenagoa, stressing that so far, “government has been able to successfully contain the spread of the disease as no new cases have been reported in the last few days.” Giving an update on the scourge, Iworiso-Markson observed that “with the way the government deployed its machinery and with the team of dedicated health and medical personnel, the disease will soon be fully kicked out of Bayelsa State.” He commended the state government, especially the Ministry of Health and its officials and officials of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for their efforts in the fight against the disease. The commissioner also gave kudos to the people of the state for their cooperation, particularly for adhering to the preventive measures.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Electricity Tariff Shortfalls Hits N460bn, Discos Mull Force Majeure GE in discussion with Discos on investment in network expansion Chineme Okafor and Nnenna Akuma in Abuja The current revenue shortfalls that have accumulated from the inability of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to allow the 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) in country’s power sector to have cost reflective tariffs have now shot up to N460 billion, thus burdening the operations of the Discos, the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) has disclosed. ANED yesterday at a power sector workshop in Abuja said the heavy financial shortfalls were impacting the operations of the Discos such that they may be forced to declare a force majeure. According to documents presented at the workshop, the failure of the NERC to review about three consecutive sets of electricity tariffs between January 2015 and December 2016 resulted in the N460 billion shortfalls. The documents disclosed that in 2015, the decision of the NERC to freeze the residential-2 (R2) tariff cadre and removal of collection losses from the Discos’ tariffs resulted in a shortfall of N187 billion, the smoothening of the tariff for 10 years in 2016, also resulted in another deficit of N227 billion while additional changes in the tariff as a result of NERC’s refusal to activate the minor review of the tariff in the second part of 2016 also resulted in another N46 billion. The shortfall figures for the first term review of the tariff in 2017 are however still outstanding. Responding to this development and a question on why the Discos have rather opted to continue to operate in the sector instead of declaring a force majeure and cutting short their losses, the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy of ANED, Mr. Sunday Oduntan, said: “We are not ruling that out, it is an option. “But, is that the best way out? The best way out is for the government to do the right thing. The problem of the sector is liquidity, and there is no cost reflective tariff to the Discos.” Oduntan also questioned the decision of the NERC to continue to keep back the sector from operating a cost reflective tariff, adding that such decisions were hurting the operations of the sector. Previously, Integrated Energy and Distribution Marketing Company (IEDM) which acquired the Yola Disco in 2013 under the power privatisation programme was forced to declare a force majeure and returned Yola Disco to the federal government on the grounds that it was impossible to operate and access the assets of the electricity distribution firm in the North-east due to the Boko Haram insurgency. The company subsequently negotiated a payout of $87.8 million as compensation from the government after it returned the Disco, but the government has not paid it the money. Oduntan also noted that the Discos were currently in conversation with United States conglomerate corporation, General Electrics (GE), to explore the possibilities of investing in the expansion and upgrade of the distribution networks.

The GE, he said, had previously approached the Discos and conversations on potential areas of investment, but that a clear picture of what could be possibly known at the ongoing Nigeria Economic Summit where GE indicated its intentions to them. “General Electric have being contacting us for months, that we being the gatekeepers to all Discos, and when they want data, instead of going to all the 11 Discos all over the country, they come to us because we are a one-stop shop

from where you can get data and information. “They wanted to know how the sector is doing; they have been investing heavily in the oil and gas sector and power generation aspect of this business. They are trying to see how they can come into the distribution aspect. They have a lot of money to invest but they want to do their studies to be sure of what they are coming in for. They want us to tell them what we needed and the challenges. “Like the issue of metering,

we told them, issue of network upgrade, we told them things that we need to do. That was our main discussion and it is an ongoing discussion because they are also going to have a meeting with the Vice President and they will come back to us,” Oduntan, said. Meanwhile, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has said there was nothing wrong with the federal government’s decision to encourage

renewable energy investment and deployment in Nigeria’s energy mix, and so asked the 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) to stop getting worried about its potential impacts on their respective investments. A statement from his Senior Special Assistant on Communication, Mr. Hakeem Bello, yesterday in Abuja, stated that the minister advised the Discos on this at the last monthly meeting of operators in Nigeria’s power sector in Owerri.

According to the statement, the Discos had written to him through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and expressed their worries with the government’s promotion of solar power through mini-grids amongst other off grid electricity initiatives. He said the complaints of the Discos also included the provision of meters to consumers through the licensing of meter suppliers and provision of more power to consumers through the NERC’s licensing of eligible customers.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Senate Moves to Criminalise Secret Recruitment by MDAS Bill establishing Electoral Offences Commission passes second reading Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Senate yesterday passed through second reading, a bill seeking to criminalise secret

recruitment to fill all vacant position, in the Federal Civil Service. The bill prescribes two years imprisonment for the head of any agency involved in secret

African Ambassadors Forum Honours Jonathan, Buhari as Democracy Icons Former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s well decorated hat is poised to receive another feather with the African Ambassdors’ Forum honouring him with the prize of the African Leadership and Achievement Awards (ALAA) for his outstanding statesmanship general elections in Nigeria. His successor in office, President Muhammadu Buhari, will also be decorated for his tenacity in running for office for a record four times, thereby deepening the nation’s democratic process. He will be sharing this prize with former president of Ghana Mr. John Mahama and the ECOWAS Commission for institutional leadership. A statement signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the International Selection Committee

and the advisory board of the African Third Sector Resource Ambassador Edward Aina and Chijioke James, who are the organizers of the sixth African Ambassadors Interactive Forum (AAIF) said further that the theme of this year’s edition of the forum ‘Deepening Democracy and Ensuring Human Security in Africa,’ is a key factor to Africa’s economic growth and development. The highlight of this year forum coming up on October 17, 2017 by 5p.m. at the Abuja International Conference Centre is the advisory board and international selection committee identification and acknowledgement of the institutional and individual leadership role that has in no small measure helped in the process of deepening democracy in Africa.

EFCC Releases Ekiti Finance Commissioner, AG Paul Obi in Abuja The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday released the officials of the Ekiti State Government it arrested last month. The EFCC had arrested the state Commissioner for Finance, Chief Toyin Ojo, and state Accountant General, Mrs Yemi Owolabi, over corruption allegations. The arrest which coincided with the presidential declaration of

recruitment, and for the agency’s director of human resources who approves such exercise. It also provides option of fines amounting to N300,000, and puts the responsibility of compliance on the heads of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). This comes amid reports of continuous secret recruitment by agencies of government which has hampered their abilities to meet salary requirements of their personnel. The bill, named a ‘bill for an act to make it an offence for vacant positions in the Federal Civil Service to be filled without being advertised for, and other matters connected therewith’ is sponsored by Senator Biodun Olujimi (Ekiti PDP). Presenting the lead debate, Olujimi said the practice of illegal recruitments is becoming widespread. “It is common knowledge today that employment in government parastatals in most cases is not based on merit as godfatherism, favouritism, nepotism and ethnicity have taken the front burner. Millions of Nigerian men and women are denied equal opportunities in recruitments today, as most vacancies are not advertised publicly,” she said. The development, Olujimi observed, had given rise to corruption and contributed to the

falling standards of education, as it seems educational qualifications are no longer criteria for employment. “Similarly, the unemployed seek short cuts to gain employment because of the lack of trust in the system. Nigerians engage in all sorts of vices to get their relatives, friends and loved ones into vacant positions and this has been accepted as the general norm, this is unacceptable and should not be allowed to continue,” Olujimi added. The lawmaker harped on the need for the basic guarantees of transparency and equal opportunities, which include the application of the publication of existing vacancies, publicly disclosed selection criteria for positions and a well-documented process of selection through equitable assessment of applicants against the relevant selection criteria. “When determining appropriate laws, the desirable outcome must be considered: to engage persons who are most effective at undertaking the required tasks in an impartial manner, and whose appointment is free of corruption. Who applicants know or are related to, need not be a hindrance to recruitment. Transparency will therefore be enhanced by a genuine public invitation for applications for employment into the public service. In recruiting staff, strict guidelines,

which promote transparency in the recruitment and appointment, process in the public service is necessary,” Olujimi added. Presiding, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, said the bill would give all Nigerians a sense of belonging, and that there is a fair chance for all citizens. Saraki noted that at a recent interaction with youth groups, the major complaint was of secret recruitments being embarked on by the agencies of government, leading to citizens being sidelined. The bill was referred to the Committee on Establishment and Public Service. The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had recently blamed the shortfalls in personnel costs of agencies to secret unapproved recruitment exercises. In another development, the Senate also passed through second reading a bill seeking to establish the National Electoral Offences Commission with the discretion and powers to prosecute alleged electoral offenders. The commission, if established, would be separate from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The bill is sponsored by Senator Abubakar Kyari (Borno APC) who argued that it was unrealistic to expect INEC to conduct free,

fair and credible elections and simultaneously prosecute offences arising from the same elections. “Indeed lNEC has itself admitted that it lacks the wherewithal to cleanse the system. Its failure to prosecute even one per cent of the 870,000 alleged electoral offences in the 2011 general election is an affirmation of the necessity of a paradigm shift on how we deal with electoral offences. “INEC’s open failure to prosecute electoral offenders has helped to sustain a reign of systemic election rigging, electoral violence and manipulation, disenfranchisement of voters, votes buying, disinformation, ballot stuffing, voters’ register manipulation, declaration of false election results, destruction or invalidation of valid ballots, tampering with election systems, and voter impersonation,” Kyari said. Contributing to the debate, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba PDP) said until recently, it was hard to recall the persecution of any electoral offender. “Since public service has become a do-or-die affair in Nigeria, people do all things to get there without minding whose ox is gored,” he said and recalled that there were high hopes that the commission would be established after the work of the Justice Uwais committee post 2007 elections.

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State was interpreted as a political witch hunt by many over the political ambition and views of Fayose. EFCC Head of Media and Information, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the release late last night, saying: “Yes, they have been released, they are no longer in our custody.” Uwujaren further informed THISDAY that “they are expected to report back to the commission in the future.”

Osinbajo to Deliver Keynote Address at Oil & Gas Roundtable Efforts at creating a more conducive environment for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector will receive fresh impetus tomorrow as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will lead an array dignitaries among whom are, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Yakubu Dogara, industry experts and other dignitaries to a brainstorming session in Asaba, the Delta State capital. Professor Osinbajo is expected to deliver the keynote address at the event billed to take place at the prestigious Grand Hotel while Minister of Petroleum, State, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, will present a paper. The forum is a one-day event with the theme: ‘Peace and Sustainable Development in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Areas,’ organised by the leading advocacy group, Nigeria Entrepreneur (Summit and Honours) NESH, for short. NESH founder, Emeka Ugwuoju had stated that the event had become necessary to create a road map for optimising the benefits of

Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources against the background of not only declining crude prices but the decision by most European countries to migrate from fossil fuels for automobiles to other alternatives. He noted that this cannot be achieved without peace in the Niger Delta, a factor necessary for driving down costs and building stakeholder confidence in the environment. He said: “It is in that regard that Nigeria and Entrepreneurship: Summit & Honors (NESH) team, has made the main theme of this event to be “Peace and Sustainable Development of Nigeria Oil and Gas Producing areas” and packaged a special session to bring together key and impactful stakeholders to discuss and device a new template for rapid development of the oil and gas producing areas that will reinforce and complement existing institutions and roadmaps, through a more robust private and public sector partnership.

PENSION MATTERS

L-R: Chairman, Radix Pension Managers; Biodun Dabiri, Chairman, Guinness Nigeria Plc; Tunde Savage, and President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange; Abimbola Ogunbanjo, at the official launch of Radix Pension Managers in Lagos...recently

Zinox Computers Boss Redeems N50m Pledge to Owerri Market DemolitionVictims Amby Uneze in Owerri The victims and traders of the Owerri Main Market that was demolished by the Imo State Government last month may heave a sign of relief as the Chairman of Zinox Technologies, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, redeemed the pledge of N50 million he made during the demolition exercise to cushion the effects of their losses. Stating why he donated the N50 million to the traders and the victims of the demolished Ekeukwu Owerri market, Ekeh said as an Imo citizen, it would be a failure on his part not to assist his fellow citizens who are in distress, especially when their

means of livelihood was forcefully removed from them. The philanthropist who stated this in Owerri, the state capital, when he handed over a cheque of N50 million to the officials of the Fidelity Bank who are to the disburse the money to the traders, maintained that he did not do it because he was the richest person in the state but to assist them move on with life. He also commended the committee for the rehabilitation of the displaced Ekeukwu market traders headed by Chief Ambrose Ejiogu for ensuring that the main traders with shops at the market were verified.

According to him, “when I donated the money, it was misinterpreted that I had done it for politics but it was not because of that, after all I have been donating to several associations in the state in the past. If I cannot help the people in my own state who are in distress like those in any other places, then I am a failure. “I have built ICT Centres in all the tertiary institutions in the state and I have equally built houses for widows in the three senatorial zones of the state through the current first lady of the state quietly because I believe that suffering people in the state need to be assisted. So, the donation was simply to help the government and the people,

and I urge others to also help. So, it is not politics, and if I need to play politics, I think I have the capacity to do so.” Ekeh called on the state government to partner him because as a progressive, he supports positive development in the state. Meanwhile, Ejiogu, thanked him for his generosity in providing a palliative measures for the displaced traders at the demolished Ekeukwu Owerri market. He urged the people to remain calm and law abiding particularly the affected traders as it is only in a peaceful environment that the relief provided by the chairman of Zinox Technologies can be disbursed.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

CRIME&PUNISHMENT Troops Evacuate Soldier Killed in Boko Haram Gun Battle, Neutralise Sect Paul Obi in Abuja and Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri The Nigerian Army yesterday said military troops fighting insurgency in the North-east have evacuated one soldier killed during a gun battle with Boko Haram terrorists

in Gwoza, Borno State. The troops also neutralised the terrorists, recovering several sophisticated weapons from the sect. The Director of Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, explained that the “troops of 192 Task Force Battalion of 26 Task Force

Jang, Others Condemn Murder of Ex-HoS in Plateau Seriki Adinoyi in Jos Former Governor of Plateau State and Senator representing Plateau North in the National Assembly, Jonah David Jang, has condemned the gruesome murder of the state’s former Head of Service (HoS), Chief Moses Gwom, who was killed at his residence at Wereh village of Barki Ladi local government area by unknown gunmen suspected to be herders. This is even as the Executive Director of Global Peace and Life Rescue Initiative(GOPRI), Ambassador Melvin Ejeh, described the recent attack as a deliberate effort by some unscrupulous elements to undermine the peace effort by the state government. A resident of the area, who also condemned the attacks, said Gwom was killed alongside a soldier and a civilian in the attack, adding that the gunmen also attacked security operatives at a nearby checkpoint before wreaking havoc on the residence of late HoS. State Police Public Relation Officer, Mr. Tyopev Terna, while confirming the killings, added that 12 others were injured and have been evacuated to a hospital. The Police spokesman, who also said security men have been deployed to the village to douse tension and prevent escalation,

however added that no arrest has been made yet. Jang, in a statement entitled ‘One Killing Too Many’ described “the murder of Gwom along with two others, including a soldier with Operation Safe Haven in the state by suspected herdsmen” as dastardly. He said, “It is a dastardly act by the merchants of evil who derive joy and happiness from bloodshed and human suffering, deserving the condemnation of all lovers of peaceful coexistence. As the recurrent victims of these types of deliberate attacks, our patience as a community is fast approaching its breaking point, especially when the arm of the law is impotent when it comes to the arrest and prosecution of the killers of our people. “Our lands, weather, water, vegetation, and abundant natural resources are gifts from God, which no one can take from us however murderous the tactics they employ. “Importantly, I wish to call on the Governor of Plateau State to do more in the area of security, in order to safeguard the lives and properties of all people who live in the state. For it is instructive to note that there is no peace to celebrate when innocent people are killed indiscriminately and chased away from their ancestral lands and homes.”

Police Declare Eight Wanted over Port Harcourt Killings Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt The police in Rivers State have declared eight persons wanted over the killing of about 15 persons in the state last Monday. Yet-to-be-identified gunmen believed to be members of a cult group, had invaded Mgbuoshimini Community In Rumueme, Obio/ Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State in the early hours on Monday and killed about 15 persons, although the police confirmed only 10 persons dead. Indeed reports said some bodies were recovered from the river yesterday, raising the death toll. Addressing journalists yesterday at the state Police Headquarters, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nnamdi Omoni (DSP), noted that preliminary investigation by the police has shown that the act was carried out by a 10-man gang. Omoni stated that the Icelanders cult group was responsible for the killings, adding that 10 members of the cult in the area have been fingered in all the killings recorded in Mgbuoshimini.

Omoni averred that identity of the two of the suspects have not been fully obtained, adding that the eight persons already declared wanted by the police were the prime suspects. He gave the names of the eight persons as: Daddy Chukwu, 27; Mike Okocha, 25; Alhaji Otums Monday, 23; Nyesom Nwodinka, 19; Orji Amadi, 25; Veejee Orji, 19; David Chibula Orji, 22, and Junior Amadi, 19. The PPRO said the gang was also responsible for the killing of one Late Chief Minikwu Chukwu and Cletus Barigbinee and other killings in the area. Omoni urged member of the public who sights any of the suspects to immediately report to the nearest police station or call the following: 08032003514, 08028915462, 08028915460 or 0816073892. Governor Nyesom Wike had in the wake of the incident given the police the marching orders to fish out the culprits and bring them to justice, just as he condemned the politisation of security challenges in the state by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

Brigade of Operation Lafiya Dole displayed their fighting prowess to dislodge terrorists onslaught by successfully repelling Boko Haram terrorists attack at their outpost from Yamteke axis of Gwoza Local Government, Borno State. “Several other Boko Haram terrorists escaped with gunshot wounds. Sadly, one soldier died during the attack and his remains has been evacuated. “The troops utilising heavy fire power and act of bravery dealt a decisive blow on the Boko Haram terrorists who attempted to infiltrate their outpost with improvised explosive vehicles and persons borne improvised explosive devices.” Usman stated that “in the ensuing fire fight, troops inflicted heavy casualty on the terrorists, repelled the attack on their location, neutralised 15 Boko Haram terrorists, captured one Panhard Vehicule Blinde Leger, large caches of various ammunitions, destroyed

one Toyota Hilux pick up mounted with Anti Aircraft and one gun truck. “The troops remain determined in their task of safeguarding communities and providing a conducive environment for humanitarian agencies to do their work. “In this regard, the populace are encouraged to always provide vital information on suspected activities of Boko Haram terrorists to the security agencies in their respective localities,” Usman stressed. Meanwhile, the military yesterday said it had rescued a total of 230 persons from Boko Haram in the last 40 days. As part of the success of its counter-insurgency operations in the Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-east, it said from September 1, 2017 till date, “troops on clearance operations and fighting patrols intercepted suspected escapees and in some cases rescued quite a number of civilians from Boko

Haram terrorist elements.” Addressing a press conference, the Head of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Ibrahim Attahiru, said: “A total of 230 were rescued during the period. On September 1, 2017, troops rescued a group of six persons, a man, his wife and four children from Sabsawa, villages. They were profiled and handed over to IDP camp authorities in Bama for further administration. He said: “Also, on September 11, 2017, own troops on fighting patrol rescued one Mallam Muhammed Abba-Gana Madami and two children who were abducted by suspected Boko Haram terrorists following a robbery incident along Bazam and Kulia general areas of Magumeri Local Government Area. During the operation, troops recovered one AK 47, two AK 47 rifle magazines, 18 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) and a pick-up truck. “Similarly, on September 12, 2017, troops on fighting patrol

rescued two women and seven children from Bula - Kuri and Zala villages. They were screened by a combination of military and other security agents and thereafter handed over to officials of the IDP camp in Bama.” He added that: “On September 13, 2017, own troops intercepted 14 refugees along Gamboru/ Fotokol border while returning from Zengeyaih Village in Cameroon Republic. Preliminary investigation revealed that they were indigenes of Amchaka and Kufe villages in Kala Balge Local Government Area. They were subsequently handed over to officials of Ngala IDP Camp for necessary administration. “In the same vein, troops intercepted Yagaji Ba Maina aged 25 and Modu Ba Fannami aged 11 who claimed they escaped from Boko Haram hideout at Talala Village in Damboa Local Government Area. They are currently undergoing investigation to ascertain their claims.”

CALL TO SERVE

L-R: Former Conference Lay President, Oluremi Omotosho; former Federal Minister of Aviation, Anthony Okpere; and Social /Publicity Secretary Lagos Chapter Council of Knights Methodist Church Nigeria, Bimbola Carzim, at the Lagos chapter Evening Concert at the Ago Ijaiye Methodist Cathedral, Ebute Metta, Lagos.....recently

Suspect: I Attempted Robbery to Pay My Wife’s Bride Price James Sowole in Akure A robbery suspect, Chukwuma Okoro, has confessed that he attempted to rob in order to raise a sum of N300,000 to pay the bride price of his wife who ran away from his home. Okoro was among four robbery suspects arrested and paraded yesterday by the Ondo State Police Command . Other suspects paraded are Ezenwa Raphael, Chukwudi Oruma and Thomas Onofuapo. Raphael confessed that he bought a Range Rover Sport 2007 Edition worth N6 million for N800, 000 but later sold it for N1.5 million. Parading the suspects at the headquarters of the command in Akure, the state capital, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Femi Joseph, said Okoro and other suspects were among the armed robbers who had been terrorising the state in recent time.

Specifically, he said Okoro allegedly attacked a girl who was taking a N500,000 proceed from her master sales to a bank when the suspect attempted to snatch it from her. The PPRO said the girl raised alarm, which attracted passersby who arrested Okoro. Joseph said that a pistol and five live carriages were found on Okoro when he was arrested. Okoro, who said he was a vegetable seller in Akure, said it was his efforts to satisfy his wife that pushed him to robbery, saying he wanted to pay his wife’s dowry but he did not have the N300,000 demanded by her family. “It is my wife that pushed me into it, I have never stolen in my life, this is the first time, she ran away from my house since three weeks ago and she has been begging me to come back so I started looking for money to pay her dowry before

she comes back. “There is no way I can get more than N300,000 to pay her dowry, that is why I tried to rob and this is the first time I will be doing it”, Okoro said. The PPRO said the arrest of Raphael was sequel to a report to the command by one Napoleon Isaac that his brand new Range Rover Jeep and a BMW Jeep were snatched along Akure-Ilesha Road. Joseph said upon intelligence gathering ,Ezenwa was arrested after purchasing the stolen Range Rover for a sum of N800,,000 from the fleeing members of the gang. Narrating how he got the vehicle, Ezenwa who is into selling vehicle parts in Ladipo Market in Lagos confirmed to have bought the vehicle from a mechanic for a sum of N800,000. He said he sold the vehicle to another person for a sum of N1.5million. “ My mechanic came to me that they have a vehicle to sell and they told me it is a Range

Rover Jeep. I initially insisted that the Jeep is too much for me but they convinced “I bought it from them for a sum of N800,000 and when I approached a friend I sold it to him again for N1.5million and that was how I was arrested.” THISDAY however, gathered that while the Range Rover worths N6 million, the BMW worths N5million. Joseph said police has swung into action to recover the BMW. The PPRO advised members of the public to desist from buying goods from suspicious people. Also, the police paraded two men who allegedly invaded the house of one Mr. Ifanegan Isaac at Ilutitun ,Okitipupa local government area of the state and robbed him of his Nisan Almeria car and a sum of N90,000. The PPRO noted that with the combined efforts of men of the command ,one Thomas Onofuapo, was arrested and the vehicle recovered from the gang.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017

THURSDAYSPORTS

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

W O R L D C U P 2 0 1 8 D R AW

Fashanu Warns Eagles to Expect Tough Opponents in Russia NSA commends team, calls for early preparation for Mundial Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja Former Wimbledon striker, John Fashanu, believes no group will come easy for Nigeria’s Super Eagles when the draw for the 2018 World Cup is held on December 1. Nigeria will grace the World Cup for the sixth time next summer after the 1-0 win over Zambia last Saturday at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo to secure the sole ticket in Group B. “Right now we are back on track, but the hard work all starts for the Super Eagles from here,” Fashanu said from Los Angeles, USA, on Tuesday. “It shows who we are and a little of what we have for now. “I say well done to the team. Let’s watch and see for now, but at this time all teams are dangerous. We should not hope to be drawn with any particular team or avoid any team. “And that’s why they are all the same dangerous. Most teams have many players playing in top flight European league,” Fashanu pointed out. Meanwhile, the organisers of Nigerian Sports Award (NSA) have lauded Eagles for securing the World Cup ticket. In a statement issued by the management of the award and signed by the

executive member of the panel, Kayode Idowu, he expressed delight over the hard won victory even as he commended the coaching crew, the management of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF and other sports stakeholders for rallying round the team to secure the ticket. Kayode said” It is most gratifying news to hear that Nigeria has eventually qualify to hoist the nation’s flag at next year’s World Cup in Russia. For us in NSA, we are most excited about the piece of news. We believe achievement such as this is a clear testimony to the improvement been witnessed in football and other sports in general. “We believe it can only get better as we have seen in some other sports. Commendations should go to all the players for giving everything to earn this most coveted ticket. “We commend the team, the coaching crew for putting up a gallant fight to secure the ticket. They truly deserve all the accolades. If you follow the last few matches, you would notice the level of consistency and skillful display by the national team. The victories over other arch -rivals in the group alone are pointers that Nigeria has what it takes to

beat any team if there is unity of purpose and drive to succeed. By this feat, it has shown that Nigeria football and sports in general can still get back to its rightful place

that we were known for. While applauding the role of the management of the NFF and Federal Ministry of Sport for Eagles’ sterling performance, he tasked

them to support the team by starting preparation in earnest to avoid a repeat of Nigeria’s last outing at the World Cup. According to him, with

Lionel Messi’s hat-trick against Ecuador qualiﬁed Argentina for the World Cup 2018 on Tuesday night

quality friendlies and adequate training, Nigeria has what it takes to surprise the World Cup by becoming the first African country to win the trophy.

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Neymar Returns for Argentina, Portugal, Panama Qualify, USA, Chile Out PSG Live on StarTimes StarTimes subscribers are in for another action-packed weekend of live games, particularly the match between Dijon FC and Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday 14th October from the Stade Gaston Gerare Stadium. PSG leading the table with 22 points from eight matches have only lost once to Dijon since 2011 but Dijon just one point away from relegation can only count on home advantage to get anything from this Saturday encounter. PSG Coach, Unai Emery, would surely motivate the likes of Edinson Cavani, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Javier Pastore to get away with the maximum points. On Friday, StarTimes will broadcast live the encounter between Olympic Lyon and AS Monaco. Olympic Lyon currently on 13 points from eight matches will no doubt have an uphill task overcoming the visitors occupying the second position on the League table. Monaco have played a total of 8 matches with a statistics of 6 win, 1 draw and 1 lose. Football analysts are

expecting an explosive encounter as both teams will try to show us their best features, combinations and tactics to win this match. Speaking on the French Ligue 1 games, Brands and Marketing Director, StarTimes, Mr. Qasim Elegbede, said StarTimes will also broadcast other top leagues games from Serie A, Bundesliga and Chinese league, on sports channels including ST World Football (channel 245 or 254), ST Sports Premium (channel 246 or 252), ST Sports (channel 251 or 241), and ST Focus (channel 250 or 240). The live matches can also be watched on StarTimes mobile app available for download on Android and IOS devices for free. He added “StarTimes has lined up exciting mix of live football games and entertainment for maximum viewing pleasure of subscribers who crave for sporting actions with exclusive broadcast rights to Bundesliga, Serie A, ligue One, Chinese league,” Elegbede concluded.

Lionel Messi’s hat-trick against Ecuador - the 44th of his career ensured Argentina survived a scare to reach the World Cup finals on Tuesday night (early Wednesday morning in Nigeria). The 2014 runners-up began the day sixth in the group, knowing only a top-four

place would see them qualify automatically for Russia. They made a terrible start in Quito, conceding inside 38 seconds, but the Barcelona superstar led Argentina’s fight back to ensure they secured their place in next year’s tournament. It was part of a remarkable

night of football that saw: r1BOBNB RVBMJGZ GPS their first World Cup with a controversial goal in a 2-1 win over Costa Rica r5IF 6OJUFE 4UBUFT NJTT out on the tournament for the first time since 1986 after losing to Trinidad & Tobago r$IJMF NBOBHFS +VBO

Antonio Pizzi step down after his side lost to Brazil to miss out on qualifying for their third consecutive World Cup r1PSUVHBM CFBU 4XJU[FSMBOE to replace them at the top of their qualifying group but the Netherlands go out despite winning

Standard Chartered, Liverpool FC Partner to Tackle Avoidable Blindness Standard Chartered and Liverpool FC have teamed up to help eliminate avoidable blindness through the bank’s flagship community programme, Seeing is Believing, for the sixth year in a row. Two days after World Sight Day, on Saturday October 14, the Reds will take to the pitch at Anfield wearing the Seeing is Believing logo on their shirts for an iconic fixture against Manchester United. Although more than 253 million people around the world suffer from visual impairment issues, up to 80 per cent of cases can be prevented or cured. This season marks the sixth year that Standard Chartered and Liverpool Football Club have come together to support Seeing is Believing. To date, the partnership has raised

almost £300,000 through fan contributions, auction proceeds and bank matching. Following the 14th October match, there will be a series of online charity auctions on Charity Stars in support of Seeing is Believing, where fans and supporters will be able to bid for limited edition match day shirts signed by the players. All donations will be matched by Standard Chartered and mobilised to win the fight against avoidable blindness globally. Standard Chartered has focused on eliminating avoidable blindness since 2003 and has reached over 150 million people through medical interventions, eye exams and eye health education. Since inception, Seeing is Believing has run 166 projects across 36

countries. David Fein, Chairman of Seeing is Believing and Group General Counsel at Standard Chartered, said: “I am inspired by the amazing support that Seeing is Believing continues to receive from Liverpool FC. “Eighty-nine per cent of avoidable blindness occurs in low and middle income countries, affecting many of the communities in which Standard Chartered operates. This initiative is making a tangible difference to the lives of millions of people around the world, and Liverpool FC’s support brings us one step closer to eradicating avoidable blindness.” Billy Hogan, Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director at Liverpool Football Club, added “We

are delighted to partner with Standard Chartered for a sixth year to support Seeing is Believing. By building awareness about visual impairment amongst our players and fans, I am sure we can progress the fight against avoidable blindness and improve the lives of millions globally.” Globally, an estimated 36 million people are blind, and a further 217 million suffer from moderate to severe visual impairment, yet in four out of five cases, blindness can be prevented or treated. Through simple treatments and affordable surgeries, it is possible to transform the lives of both children and adults, benefiting not only those who receive treatment, but also their families.

T H I S D AY THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017

Thursday, October 12, 2017

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MISSILE Aisha Buhari to Presidency “I am sure Dr Munir will not like me saying this but I have to say it out. As the Chief Medical Director, there are a lot of constructions going on in this hospital but there is no single syringe. Who will use the building? We have to be good in reasoning. You are building new structures and there is no equipment, no consumables in the hospital” – Wife of the president, Mrs Aisha Buhari, on the poor management of the State House Medical Centre (SHMC).

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Time Out with The Oba of Benin O

ne year after, how does the palace compare with your former life as a diplomat? That was my first shot at His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, at his expansive palace in Benin, Edo State capital, on Monday evening. He shot back immediately: “Segun, I have no other life. This is my only life. If you cast your mind back, you will remember that even in those days at L’Aquila with the late President (Umaru Musa) Yar’Adua, I was always in my royal beads and regalia. That is because this has always been my life. This is what I was born into.” Despite the awe-inspiring palace protocol that the four Benin Chiefs (who were present in the course of my interaction with their monarch) seemed bent on enforcing at every point, the 39th Oba of Benin indulged me a great deal on Monday, perhaps because he was the one who invited me to his kingdom from Abuja. And we had a most engaging conversation, especially considering that he wanted his chiefs to know about a difficult challenge he once encountered as the Nigerian ambassador to Italy. It happened during the 35th G8 Summit between 8th and 10th July 2009. Hosted by the then Italian Prime Minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi the summit was held in L’Aquila, the capital city of the Abruzzo region of Southern Italy located in the middle of some amazing snow-capped mountains. It was the first G8 summit attended by then United States President Barack Obama and the last by former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. It was also one of the last official trips of the late President Yar’Adua who was invited as one of the six leaders from Africa. The problem started when on arrival in Rome, I learnt that an embassy official who was in charge of accreditation had been sloppy hence could not register members of my media team within the stipulated time. Given the way G8 is usually organized, that in effect meant that they would have to remain in Rome and not travel to L’Aquila with us. But the then Benin Crown Prince took charge the moment he got to know that the official detailed for the assignment had messed up. At this point, Oba Ewuare II took up the story. “That night, I called my father to inform him of the challenge I was going through. I was very close to my father so he prayed for me with the assurance that my ancestors would not let me be disgraced. How would the media team of my president not be allowed to cover a meeting he was attending? I got in touch with the office of Prime Minister Berlusconi and all my contacts in government. I was desperate. At the end, they agreed to reopen the accreditation process to accommodate my request. When I walked into your room in L’Aquila that night to inform you and the ADC that I had brought your journalists, I saw your relief and I felt really happy,” said the Oba as he recounted the episode more for the benefit of his chiefs than for me. Looking back, it was indeed a defining moment because I recall the sacrifices and the efforts he made. Rather than join us in

Oba Ewuare II the presidential helicopter; he volunteered to travel by road to L’Aquila, just because he was determined that all the members of the media team from Nigeria would secure accreditation to cover the summit even after the organisers had said they would not allow them. At the end, his tenacity paid off and in a way, the Oba has brought that same sense of purpose to the Benin Kingdom where he is redefining the role of the traditional institution. As Oba Ewuare II explained to me, the first proclamation he made on assuming the throne in October last year was the immediate suspension of Community Development Associations (CDAs) in all the seven local government areas of Edo State which constitute

The CDAs had constituted themselves into terror gangs and were extorting huge sums of money from land developers. I have been to Sicily so I understand how such gangs work and how to dismantle them. I told myself that if and when I assumed the throne, I would never allow those gangsters to continue to hold Benin people to ransom

the Benin Kingdom: Oredo, Egor, Ikpoba Okha, Uhunmwode, Orhionmwon, Ovia South West and Ovia North East. He could do that because, as the paramount ruler within that jurisdiction, the Oba has traditional right over all native lands that fall outside the consent of the governor under the Land Use Act. When I asked him why he took the decision, Oba Ewuare II explained that for a long time, some men of questionable character had turned the CDAs into an avenue to threaten the peace of communities while extorting money from land developers. “They were collecting dues in hundreds of thousands of naira from land developers through violence and intimidation and many of them were also notorious for selling lands, including those that do not belong to them, to different persons. These people had become not only a big nuisance but also law onto themselves.” The Oba said he took time to study the antics of the CDAs while his father was on the throne. “What they were doing was antithetical to our culture and they were driving development away from Benin. At a point, I came home from Rome to discuss the issue with my father. ‘Why is the palace condoning this sort of criminal practices in Benin?’ I asked my father, who was already advanced in age at the time. He said he had done all he could on the matter but the people would not listen. He said he had also written to the government to no avail”. According to Oba Ewuare II, before he returned to Rome, he went to see the then Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on the issue. “Governor Oshiomhole was genuinely concerned and he promised to deal with the situation and he actually made efforts in that direction. But I could also see that the government was hamstrung because of what could be the political repercussion of taking up those powerful people who had constituted themselves into terror gangs. I have been to Sicily so I understand how such gangs work and how to dismantle them. I told myself that if and when I assumed the throne, I would never allow those gangsters to continue to hold Benin people to ransom.” Following the Oba’s declaration banning CDAs upon his coronation, the Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, went further to give it official seal with a bill to the State House of Assembly. And with its passage, Obaseki appointed the former Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, to chair the task force to drive its en¬forcement. “My administration be¬lieves that the way to sus-tainable development is to unleash and nurture our productive energy and that of investors. Investment will not thrive in a lawless environment, it is a thing of pride that we signed this bill into law”, Governor Obaseki told the Benin monarch while presenting him a copy of the law in April this year. One other intervention of which Oba Ewuare II seems excited is the Benin Customary Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee (BCADRC) which will be inaugurated today to replace the Open Mediation System that he instituted upon assuming the throne. “What I met on ground was a compromised system

in which most Benin people had no trust in. Nobody believed they would get any justice from the chiefs who served on the panels to settle disputes and that explains why, after bringing matters to the palace, the people were still going to court to seek redress. What I did was to personally head a panel of chiefs. Once a week, we would sit to hear cases and at the end, deliberate and give our rulings. That way, we brought back equity but I want to delegate that responsibility. I am reconstituting the committee to be composed of eminent Benin sons and daughters with unimpeachable integrity” said the Oba who told me that it will be headed by Justice Samson Uwaifo, one of Nigeria’s most respected jurists who retired from the Supreme Court in January 2005. From human trafficking, especially the prostitution ring on which Benin has become internationally notorious, to the issue of cultural reawakening, Oba Ewuare II told me of the plans he has to change some of the negative narratives of his people. On the first, he is planning a skill acquisition centre to discourage girls from seeking the elusive greener pastures abroad while on the second, his plan is still evolving. Benin, according to the monarch, has 201 dances even though many of them are now lost. But in assuring me of his commitment to the cultural exposition of the kingdom, I was delighted he’s fully behind the effort of my friend and brother, Ose Oyamendan, as he begins the creative process of making a film about the looted Benin Art works. It is a project very dear to Ose, a proud son of Benin and an accomplished Hollywood-based filmmaker. On food security, Oba Ewuare II said he has a vision of a day no Benin man would go hungry by creating a system that will ensure that indigent people within the society are taken care of. “Right now, I am working on the idea of a special market like you have in Europe where poor people can shop for their groceries at affordable prices. I already have the land I want to use for the project and plans are at an advanced stage for its launch. In the special market, I am looking at a situation where a tuber of yam will sell for about N50 so that the poor can also buy foodstuff. We must banish hunger from our society” he said as he explained to me how the concept would work. At a time traditional institution is fast losing its allure due to a combination of many factors, including politics and religion, it is remarkable that Benin people have succeeded in preserving their own institution to combine elements of both the ancient and modern. With Oba Ewuare II preoccupied with the socio-economic welfare of his people that should ordinarily be the concern of government, he can only endear himself to his subjects. And as he prepares for the first anniversary on the throne next week Friday, October 20 (also his birthday, as he told me), the Benin kingdom palace is already buzzing with preparations for what will be a very big occasion. Oba ghato ‘kpere, Ise! NOTE: Interested readers will ﬁnd my piece, “The 25 Billion Dollar Palaver” in the online edition.

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