Friday 3rd November 2017 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

Adeosun: FG’s Revenue and Debt Strategy to Cut Debt Service Cost by N168bn Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun disclosed yesterday that the federal government’s current revenue and debt management strategy would mitigate the nation’s debt service risk, culminating in the cutting of debt service cost by about N168 billion per annum.

The federal government is presently seeking the approval of the National Assembly borrow $5.5 billion from external sources. Of this amount, $3 billion, which will be raised through either Eurobonds or Diaspora

Bonds issues, or a combination of both, is for the refinancing of maturing domestic debt. The balance of $2.5 billion is to be raised from the World Bank to finance the capital component of the 2017 budget. In a statement yesterday,

Adeosun expressed confidence that the federal government’s revenue and debt management strategy would mitigate the country’s debt service risk and fast-track development. Explaining the benefits, she said from the $2.5 billion loan,

the country would record a savings in debt service cost of N76.375 billion per annum from the borrowing while N91.65 billion per annum would be saved from the $3 billion bond issuance from the international capital

Orji Kalu: President Can Win 75% of Igbo Vote in 2019… Page 10

market (ICM) for refinancing short-term domestic debt. This would come to a total of N168.025 billion. She stated: “The proposed refinancing of $3 billion worth of short-term treasury bills into longer tenured international debt is expected to save N91.65 per annum. Continued on page 8

Friday 3 November, 2017 Vol 22. No 8233. Price: N250

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No Automatic Ticket for Buhari, Says Okorocha

Wants president to improve relations with S’East Presidency okays membership of minimum wage c’ttee Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja

HILTON HOTELS RENEW COMMITMENT TO TRANSCORP ABUJA... L-R: Managing Director/CEO, Transcorp Hotels Limited Plc, Valentine Ozigbo; President/CEO, Hilton Hotels, Chris Nassetta; Chairman, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) Plc, Tony O. Elumelu; and Executive Vice President and President of Global Development, Architecture & Construction, Hilton Worldwide, Ian Carter, at the signing of a 20-year extension to the management agreement for Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja by Hilton Hotels, held in Washington D.C.… Tuesday

Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha yesterday said even though President Muhammadu Buhari is eminently qualified to stand for reelection in 2019, he must go through the laid down democratic process in the ruling All Progressives Continued on page 8

Buhari to Lay 2018 Budget Tuesday, Senate Says Dec Passage Target Unrealistic House: MTEF must be treated before Appropriation Bill Omololu Ogunmade, Damilola Oyedele and James Emejo in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has formally notified the National Assembly of his readiness to lay the 2018

Appropriation Bill before the parliament next Tuesday. This came just as the Senate yesterday gave reasons why the target set by the executive to get the 2018 budget passed in December and return to the January-December budget

cycle might be a pipedream, saying doing so would amount to doing a shoddy job. Answering questions from State House correspondents in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan suggested

that insistence on getting the budget passed next month in pursuit of a return to the January-December budget cycle might amount to being unpatriotic. Lawan said the National Assembly has a responsibility

to pass a Budget Bill that is implementable, where equity, fairness and justice in project distribution across the country are guaranteed. According to him, getting the budget passed in December must not be “at all cost” but

must be predicated on benefits derivable from it, pointing out that it was more important to ensure that the 2018 budget is well implemented in such a manner that it provides Continued on page 8

MTN Restates Commitment to List on NSE in Six Months… Page 8

T H I S D AY FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017

FRIDAY, ÍťËœ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÍż Ëž T H I S D AY

PAGE EIGHT

MTN Restates Commitment to List on NSE in Six Months Emma Okonji with agency report

MTN Group in South Africa has reiterated its commitment to list its Nigerian subsidiary on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in the next six months as part of the settlement of the $1 billion fine imposed on it in 2015 by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over the failure by the telecoms company to deactivate 5.2 million unregistered SIM cards on its network. The chief executive of MTN Group, Rob Shuter,

made the disclosure during an interview with Bloomberg Television on Wednesday. According to him, â€œMTN Group Ltd. is focused on laying the groundwork for an initial public offering of its Nigerian business and should complete the process in the next six months. â€œWe have a lot of advisers running around getting everything ready. Itâ€™s a complicated process and thereâ€™s a lot of regulation that needs to be arranged. â€œWe are moving forward well with the project and anticipate concluding that in

the next six months or so.â€? MTN agreed to the Nigerian initial public offer (IPO) as part of the settlement of a $1 billion fine imposed by the NCC on MTN in 2015. Africaâ€™s biggest wireless operator by sales and subscriber number, incurred the penalty after missing a deadline to disconnect unregistered subscribers amid a security crackdown. According to NCC, each contravention on SIM card registration attracts N200,000 and MTN had 5.2 million unregistered SIM cards that were detected on its network

in 2015, amounting to a fine of N1.04 trillion ($5 billion) at the time. The fine was however reduced by 25 per cent, following pleas from MTN. The firm got a further reduction to N780 billion, which was spread over a three-year period to ease payment. MTN has since commenced payment of the fine and is expected to complete payment in 2018. Since then, the CEO said he has been pleased with MTNâ€™s operations in Nigeria, the biggest of the Johannesburg-based

companyâ€™s 22 markets across Africa and the Middle East. Shuter joined MTN in March after holding executive roles at Vodafone Group Plc in Europe. He is the permanent replacement for Sifiso Dabengwa, who resigned after the Nigerian fine was imposed. Chairman Phuthuma Nhleko had run the company in the interim period. Shuter said his company was not holding back on expansion plans in the Middle East, even as U.S. President, Donald Trump objected to the terms of a nuclear deal with Iran that

led to the lifting of economic sanctions last year. MTN has about 49.5 million customers in Iran, just under Nigeriaâ€™s 50.3 million and has repatriated almost $1 billion from the country in the last 12 months. Shuter said: â€œIn months to come I think there will be an opportunity to participate in the consolidation of the market.â€? MTN shares rose 0.2 per cent to 122.96 rand as of 10:53 a.m. on Wednesday in Johannesburg, valuing the company at 231 billion rand ($16.3 billion).

Nigige who recalled the federal governmentâ€™s promise to address minimum wage issue, said the date for the inauguration of the committee would be determined as soon as members of organised labour return from the meeting of the Labour Governing Board in Geneva, Switzerland. â€œWhen we came to power in 2015, there was a pledge to address the minimum wage, and by May 2016, we had an increase in the price of petroleum products and we started discussions with organised labour. â€œOne of the agreements was that the issue (minimum wage) would be addressed. The last

review expired last year August and we are now in the process of empaneling a new national minimum wage committee. â€œI have cleared the appointments with the president today and as soon as the labour leaders come back from the Labour Governing Board meeting in Geneva, we will take a date with the governors because it is a tripartite committee involving the federal and states governments and the private sector comprising the Nigerian Employersâ€™ Consultative Association (NECA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture

(NACCIMA) and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These are the arms that will be involved. â€œThe Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and their affiliates have done their nominations, so what we are now trying to fine tune is the date for inauguration,â€? Ngige said. Ngige who said discussions with the affected parties would decide whether the N56,000 minimum wage being demanded by the workers is achievable, noted that various jobs had been created by the agricultural policy of this government. He disclosed that between five to seven million jobs had been created so far.

There was an incident, however, when the Speaker read â€œ2017 budgetâ€? and instead of 2018, drawing an immediate reaction by members. But Dogara quickly corrected the error. Nonetheless, members gave a thunderous â€œnoâ€? to the time chosen by the president to lay the budget. They felt that the president ought to have approached the National Assembly, which would in turn give him the appropriate time to lay the budget instead of suggesting the time as contained in the letter. From their response, members showed a preference 11a.m. instead of 2 p.m. as proposed by the president. Nevertheless, House spokesman, Hon. Abdulrazaq Namdas told journalists at the weekly briefing that the National Assembly was prepared

to receive the president on Tuesday at 2 p.m. He further clarified that while the president has a constitutional right to lay the budget even when the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper had not been passed, the National Assembly will first pass the MTEF and FSP before commencing legislative work on the 2018 budget. He said there was no way the budget could be passed without first approving the MTEF.

NO AUTOMATIC TICKET FOR BUHARI, SAYS OKOROCHA Congress (APC) to secure the ticket of the party. Answering questions from State House correspondents after visiting Buhari in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Okorocha who said though the constitution allows the president to seek reelection, the APC does not allow imposition of candidates and believes in the adherence to democratic processes. Okorocha said he was at the State House to hold discussions with the president on political issues affecting the Southeast as well as the welfare and politics of APC in the region, with a view to convincing the people of the region to embrace the ruling party.

According to him, it is very paramount for the president to improve his relations with the Southeast by physically visiting the region, disclosing that the president was happy with the suggestion and said he will visit Anambra State very soon. He also said the APC was well placed in the political sphere of the South-east with more people defecting to the party from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the region. He also said the meeting was meant to make the president appreciate the growing popularity of the party in the region, saying politicians hardly defects to the PDP from APC in the

South-east but vice-versa. Okorocha said he also discussed the deplorable state of roads infrastructure in the region with the president, stating that the South-east was in dire need of good roads but expressed hope that the situation would improve in view of the assurance by the federal government to tackle the challenge. Also yesterday, the president approved the membership of the proposed National Minimum Wage Committee, which will be inaugurated in no distant time. Making this disclosure after visiting the president in the State House, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris

BUHARI TO LAY 2018 BUDGET TUESDAY, SENATE SAYS DEC PASSAGE TARGET UNREALISTIC succour to the generality of Nigerians. Lawan also reasoned that if the 2017 budget, which was passed into law in June, is done away with in six months, all in a bid to return to the January-December budget cycle, it might have dire consequences for the country. â€œWell, it depends on how it goes. You know we are supposed to be working on the same page, working for the same people of Nigeria and we will like to see the National Assembly working in tandem with the executive arm of government. â€œYou know these things will be determined by what the budget looks like â€“ the estimates presented to us â€“ because naturally, we always try to do a very thorough job, a very patriotic job to ensure that the budget is implementable; to ensure there is equity, there is fairness, justice in the distribution of projects

across the country. â€œWe would like to see that done but we shouldnâ€™t just do that at all cost. We should be looking at the benefits that could accrue from doing that and whether it is possible to just do it at once or maybe reduce the period in two phases or even more. â€œThe 2017 budget took effect from June this year. If it is possible for us to complete the implementation of the budget in six months from June, so be it, but that also requires that we implement the budget properly because these are projects that are supposed to bring development, relief and succour to Nigerians, and if it is not possible, we shouldnâ€™t force it on ourselves that we must terminate it, regardless of what happens. â€œWe should look at the potential consequences of terminating it in December or whether we need to

extend it a little bit more into March, for example, but these are issues that when we debate between ourselves â€“ the executive and the legislature â€“ we will be able to sort them out for the benefit of Nigerians. â€œWe are still working to ensure that the implementation of the 2017 budget continues. So far, it hasnâ€™t been implemented the way we thought it would. â€œYou remember that there are certain things that you donâ€™t just get to happen at once. Some processes must take place before you finally have projects kicking off. â€œSo I believe between now and when the 2017 budget cycle will be completed, much would have been done and achieved,â€? Lawan stated.

Buhari Writes Nâ€™Assembly But as the Senate expressed its reservations about

getting the 2018 budget passed next month, the president formally notified the National Assembly of his preparedness to lay next yearâ€™s Appropriation Bill before the parliament on Tuesday. In his letter addressed to the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and read at plenary in both chambers yesterday, the president said he intended to lay the budget proposal by 2 p.m. The correspondence dated November 1, 2007, did not however allay concerns over the presentation of the bill, as the October deadline set by executive for its presentation, was not met. Buhari, pursuant to Section 81 of the 1999 Constitution, craved the indulgence of the parliament to address a joint session of the Senate and the House.

ADEOSUN: FGâ€™S REVENUE AND DEBT STRATEGY TO CUT DEBT SERVICE COST BY N168BN â€œOther benefits of our revenue and debt management strategy include: improvement in foreign reserves as well as reduced domestic debt demand, which will reduce crowding-out of the private sector and support the aspirations of the monetary authorities to bring down interest rates.â€? Adeosun, who welcomed the advice of Nigeriaâ€™s international development partners, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that the revenue and debt

management strategy would lead to a boost in foreign reserves with increased dollar inflow, adding that it would equally reduce the debt burden and reduce risk. In the statement issued by her media aide, Mr. Oluyinka Akintunde, the finance minister stressed that the strategy would ease crowding-out of the private sector and create space for borrowing by the sector. The minister stated that a key element of the economic reform strategy

was the mobilisation of revenue to improve the debt service to revenue ratio. She said: â€œThis is being undertaken through a number of initiatives including the plugging of leakages and the deployment of technology revenue management.â€? Adeosun specifically cited the example of the Health Pay, a pilot cashless revenue project in the health sector, which recorded material increases in revenue. The ongoing Voluntary Assets and Income

Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) is equally expected to impact positively on the level of tax collection, she noted. Adeosun said: â€œThe difference in our economic strategy is that we are changing the mix of revenue sources available to government from the traditional oil or debt, to a combination of oil, debt and domestic revenue. â€œThis is a long-term strategic reform which is critical to our future economic growth and in the short-term will enable

our debt service to revenue ratio to improve.â€? The minister noted that the government was refinancing its inherited debt portfolio, adding that this would lead to significant benefits, particularly a reduction in cost of funds. The government, according to her, does not see a significant devaluation risk as the implementation of the Economic Recovery Growth Plans (ERGP) reforms, over the medium term, is such that the naira is expected to strengthen.

TOP GAINERS FBNHOLDINGS FLOURMILLS UNIPRESS ETERNA UPDC TOP LOSERS CUSTODIAN TRANSEXP ASL

NGN NGN 0.60 7.11 1.58 33.69 0.11 2.36 0.18 3.88 0.13 2.83 NGN NGN 0.20 3.80 0.04 0.77 0.35 6.76 LINKAGE 0.04 0.82 NEIMETH 0.03 0.62 HPE Nestle Nig Plc â‚Ś1,250.00 Volume: 318.148 million shares Value: N3.930 billion Deals: 5,472 As at yesterday 02/11/17 See details on Page 43

% 9.2 4.9 4.8 4.8 4.8 % 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.6 4.6

T H I S D AY FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

Orji Kalu: President Can Win 75% of Igbo Vote in 2019 Accuses Obasanjo of pettiness Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu, has said President Muhammadu Buhari can secure 75 per cent of the votes from the South-east states in 2019 election if he is able to address the infrastructure decay ravaging the zone. Kalu, who spoke in an interview on Arise News Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, yesterday, said if Buhari decides to run for a second term in 2019, he would need to strike a deal with the Igbo on how to fix federal roads and boost electricity supply in the region in order to win their support.

“If the president is going to run again, we will force him to declare our area a special area and we are going to give him 75 per cent of the votes. He will declare and give us an emergency consideration. “Some places like Aba and Onitsha can provide anything you need and we can manufacture everything there if we can have adequate electricity,” he said. When asked what can be done to stem the tide of agitations and separatist positions in the Southeast such as the one being led by the now proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Kalu said as far he was concerned, the people were only demanding for the right atmosphere that will enable their

businesses to thrive. Kalu said with a good road network and adequate power supply in major cities like Aba and Onitsha, the Igbo have the capacity to achieve the country’s target in industrialisation. “Give us good light in Aba, give us good roads in Aba, give us good roadside light in Onitsha. We are not asking for you to do any other thing, we are capable of manufacturing things. Everything done in China can be manufactured in Aba and Onitsha. “We are capable, Nnewi is already doing it and they will go hi-tech with technology if given the necessary encouragement. We

have the people but we don’t have the management. We don’t have the asset. “The people that did the privatisation of the electricity sector, did it wrongly. The electricity companies were handed over to friends and that was not the right thing to do,” he said. The outspoken businessman cum politician also delved into the alleged plot for a third term by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, describing it as real. Kalu said contrary to denials by some of the governors during the period, all of them were actually approached to give their support for an extension of the tenure of the

former president beyond the limit provided for in the constitution. He, however, said while most of these governors succumbed to pressures, he refused to be bought over. According to Kalu, part of the reasons for his being dragged before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was his objection to the third term agenda. Kalu also bemoaned Obasanjo’s attitude to criticism and opposition, describing him as just too petty. “If he can just stop being a little bit petty, he is a man that is very petty and I don’t have any regret in saying so. You see, if younger

people did something to you, you should be able to forgive them because life is very long. “If younger people have said something against you, you should be able to also forgive them because that is the right thing to do. If Obasanjo had imbibed this kind of virtue, we would have gone far with our democratic process but he left serious things and started chasing shadows. “Instead of calling for unity, he put a lot of division because he wanted a third term. In looking for third term, he was able to divide the governors, although most of them are not speaking the truth today.”

Suswam Detained by EFCC over N23bn Linked to Alison-Madueke The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), yesterday questioned and detained former Benue state Governor, Gabriel Suswam, over his role in the sharing of the state’s share of the N23 billion, which the former Petroleum Minister, Alison Madueke, allegedly doled out as a bribe to influence the outcome of the 2015 general election. Suswam, who is facing other charges for alleged corruption, arrived at the premises of the

EFCC around 10 a.m. He was immediately taken in for interrogation on the N450 million, which the Benue State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) got as its own share of the election booty. Sources in the commission said the former governor was detained in order to determine all that he knew about the N450 million that he purportedly collected from a bank and what he did with the money.

Afenifere Demands Babachir’s Arrest Shola Oyeyipo Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, yesterday said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is selective in its operation by not arresting former Secretary General of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, alongside former Director General of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr. Ayodele Oke. The EFCC, last Wednesday invited the former NIA boss for questioning in relation to about $43.45 million found in a house allegedly belonging to his wife, Folashade Muhammed in Ikoyi, Lagos. President Buhari had ordered the sack of the two men following a review of the report of a panel headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, which investigated allegations against them. Reacting to the development on behalf of Afenifere, the group’s Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said while it is appropriate that Oke should be investigated if he had been indicted by the Osinbajo panel, “we are however surprised that the EFCC has not extended a similar invitation to Mr Babachir Lawal.” He said: “Inviting one and leaving the other has brought to the fore again the charge of selectivity with picking and choosing those to prosecute over corruption in the land which led a serving Senator to observe that insecticide comes handy when allegations of corruption are

raised against some people and deodorant deployed when it is the turn of others. “We insist that for the perception not to become stronger that the anti-graft war develops strong teeth against the vulnerable and toothless against the sacred cows, the EFCC must invite Lawal as it goes after Oke.” Odumakin said Afenifere’s demand “is consistent with our avowed commitment to accountability which informed our position at our monthly meeting three days ago that Mr Abdurasheed Maina, the pension scam fugitive surreptitiously reinstated by top officials of this administration must be arrested and prosecuted and all those who facilitated his reinstatement punished.” Afenifere suspects foul play, noting that “Following public outcry that the presidency should hand the former officials to the EFCC for prosecution after their sack, spokesmen of the administration have been speaking in forked tongues about presidency not teleguiding the anti-graft war and that the agency would exercise its discretion. “Now the EFCC has exercised that discretion to invite Oke sparing Lawal who was initially protected by the presidency and defended after he was indicted by the Senate for fraud.” Both Oke and Lawal were investigated by the same panel, suspended the same day and sacked the same day by the presidency.

OILY BUSINESS

L-R: Group General Manager, NAPIMS, Mr. Rowland Ewubare; Managing Director/CEO; Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Mr. Massimo Insulla; Chairman, Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) and Managing Director/CEO, Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mr. Osagie Okunbor; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Senator Tayo Alasoadura; and President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Mrs. Nike Akande, at the 55th Anniversary Business Event of the OPTS held in Lagos... yesterday Dan Ukana

House Orders Adeosun, Emeﬁele to Halt Alleged Diversion of $35m GEM Funds James Emejo in Abuja The House of Representatives yesterday directed the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele; the Growth and Employment (GEM) Project Team and the World Bank to halt the planned movement of $35 million out of the GEM project account and immediately discontinue any process on the consideration or approval of the new restructuring proposal for the creation of what it termed a “fraudulent SME Investment Fund”. The House further directed that the Ministers of Finance, Industry, Trade and Investment, the GEM project coordinator and the World Bank to maintain the status quo as was conceptualised and approved by the National Assembly. It also mandated a joint committee of the relevant committees of the House to investigate the circumstances surrounding the implementation of the project, the number of beneficiaries so far under the project, extent of the involvement

of consultants, inflow received and disbursements made since commencement, including all other related issues and report back to the House within four weeks for further legislative action. The resolution of the lower chamber followed a motion sponsored by Hon. Mark Terseer Gbillah (APC, Benue) on the need to urgently investigate the infractions and halt the planned diversion of funds under the World Bank-funded Growth and Employment (GEM) project. In the lead debate, Gbillah said there was a corruption scandal waiting to happen if the House failed to act fast, as funds were about to be appropriated without recourse to the parliament. He noted that the implementation of the GEM project was predicated on funding from the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) with the DFID providing a grant of £90 million (strictly managed by DFID) and the World Bank providing a concessionary loan of $160 million domiciled in the project account with the CBN

under the oversight of the Minister of Finance and with a project steering committee chaired by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, who is responsible for the management of the project implementation. Gbillah argued that the federal government’s external borrowing from the World Bank was approved by the National Assembly in 2013 with the proviso that the project is run from June 2013 to September 2018, based on the indicated project deliverables. He expressed concern over what he described as a clear violation of the initially approved scope and without an approval for virement by the National Assembly or recourse to the Project Steering Committee. The lawmaker said the GEM Project Coordinator had gone ahead to advertise for a Fund Manager and concluded plans with the World Bank (whose representative were expected to have arrived in Nigeria on November 1, 2017) and the Ministry of Finance who have either been misled or are in collusion with the GEM

Project team to proceed with the consideration and possible approval of the restructuring plan on Friday 3rd November, 2017 in total disregard to due process. He said the Department of State Security had even advised the Minister of Finance after investigating petitions against the GEM Project Coordinator to halt any disbursement of funds under this questionable restructuring plan where the country enriches a few individuals to the detriment of millions of Nigerians who would have benefited from the initial scope of the project. Gbillah raised the alarm that only three months into his appointment and barely one year to the expected end of the project with only 800 beneficiaries out of the 4,000 initially proposed, the new GEM Project Coordinator, alleged to be one of the two employees of African Capital Alliance a Private Equity firm owned by the current Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Okechukwu Enalemah, was engaged by the minister on the project and paid up to N4.9 million a month instead of a capable civil servant in the Ministry.

T H I S D AY FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Osinbajo Projects Foreign Investment Inflows into Africa to Hit $1.4tn by 2020 As FG partners WTO on food security Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has predicted that the African economy will continue to thrive with consumer spending projected to peak at $1.4 trillion over the next three years. He gave this projection yesterday when he declared open the HighLevel Policy and Private Sector Trade and Investment Facilitation Forum in Abuja. The international business parley was co-hosted by Nigeria, ECOWAS Commission in partnership with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Friends of Investment Facilitation for Development (FIFD). Several trade and investment ministers from African countries are attending the two-day event. The vice president said in spite of Africa having the youngest population, bearing the brunt of security challenges, climate change and facing difficulty in the environment, its economy is better than before with GDP that averaged 2.2 per cent in 2016, estimated to rise to 3.4 per cent this year and 24.3 percent by 2036. He said 12 African countries have grown at over 5 per cent, driven largely by the non-oil economy. Some of the leading performers were Ivory Coast at 8.2 per cent, Tanzania 8 percent and Senegal 6.7 per cent. This week, Nigeria moved by 24 points from the 169th position in the 2017 ranking to 145 in the current World Bank Ease of Doing Business index out of 190 countries. It is one of the top 10 countries carrying out numerous reforms

to improve their business environments. In addition, Osinbajo said with Africa emerging the second fastest growing destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the expected investment inflow into the continent by the end of the year is $57.5 billion, currently, the FDI into the continent for 2016 stands at $56.5 billion. According to him, good governance has inspired African economies to perform better than global average enabled by macroeconomic stability, large markets and widening domestic demands among others “For Africa to maximise the benefits, African countries must embrace the importance of trade and investment in economic development all over the world. There is also the need for poor infrastructure that has impacted on the low capacity building to be addressed by various leaders to ensure that trade and investments take the centre stage in the economic development of the continent,” Osinbajo said. He offered the assurance of federal government intention to implement the decisions reached by stakeholders at the Abuja global business parley. Trade Industry and Investment Minister, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, stated that Africa’s total investment requirements for infrastructure is estimated by the World Bank at $120 to $150 billion per annum. Enelamah said the gap between infrastructure investment requirements and available financial resources at about $60 to $80 billion

Aviation Fuel Scarcity May Paralyse Flight Operations Chinedu Eze Aviation fuel scarcity, which started last weekend, may get worse as the yuletide draws near and the prices of the product expected to skyrocket as it happened in the previous years. The scarcity since the beginning of the week has affected flight operations and led to delays and cancellations, especially Abuja to Lagos flights, which is the busiest route in domestic flight service. THISDAY learnt that only very few flights operated on schedules as flights going from Lagos to major destinations such as Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Owerri and Enugu were either cancelled or delayed. The prices of the product which in the last few weeks were about N180 to N200 per litre has increased to between N210 and N215 in Lagos. Airline operator who spoke to THISDAY confirmed the scarcity, saying it started last weekend, but eased last Monday but got worse on Tuesday and there are indications that the scarcity would continue in the next few weeks as he alleged that fuel marketers usually create artificial scarcity during the yuletide in order to increase the prices of the product. THISDAY also gathered that the scarcity might have been

caused by the delay in trucking the product from depots in Apapa due to the chronic gridlock that has paralysed the road to the nation’s major seaport. The CEO of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, who confirmed the scarcity told THISDAY, that the issue of the prices of Jet A1 has to be reviewed because in the situation where “you wake up you learn that they have increased the prices of Jet A1 by 30 per cent. And you cannot quickly adjust your ticket prices to reflect that but you have to buy that Jet A1 at the new prices in order to operate your flights that day, but the passengers have bought their tickets for that day’s flight at the old fares. “It is only in this country that this is done and I think that there must be a way of introducing the new price regime, recognising that we are in a free market and it is not regulated. This will help you to know the cost of your operation every month, as you know that the price of fuel will not change and if it will change, they will notify you. “I think the airlines should come together and pressurise the oil marketers so that they should do the right thing so that it won’t be something you just wake up and they have just increased their prices of Jet A1.”

yearly should not be taken for granted. The United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD estimated that Nigeria and all African countries require

as much $2.5 trillion yearly both domestic and foreign and investment to attain the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Secretary-General of UNCTAD,

Mukhisa Kituyi, called for improved trade and investment among African countries and the lowering of tariffs among them for economic facilitation. Meanwhile, the WTO Director-

General, Roberto Azevedo, said infrastructure is key to trade and investment facilitation. Azevedo also lauded Nigeria for showing strong leadership in Africa.

WE’LL BE BACK

L-R: Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel; National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , Senator Ahmed Makarfi; and Chairman, PDP, Akwa Ibom State, Paul Ekpo, during local government election campaign flag off at Uyo Township Stadium...yesterday

Prioritise Education to Quicken Technological Advancement, Jonathan Advises African Leaders Former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has advised African Governments and the private sector to invest more in education as a means of bringing about the required economic advancement and repositioning the continent to become more competitive in the age of technological revolution. The Ex-President also enjoined all stakeholders to show enough commitment and support to make education attractive and ensure that Africa’s best brains are retained in the sector as teachers, in order to produce globally competitive students. A statement by Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, the former President’s media adviser said that Jonathan spoke on Wednesday at the 2017 Roundtable of the African Presidential Leadership Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. The programme with the theme ‘Addressing Africa’s Educational Challenges in the 21st Century brought together seven former

African Presidents and many other businesses and political leaders in the continent. Besides Jonathan, other former leaders included former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, former Zambian President Rupiah Banda, former President of Mauritius Karl Offman, former Prime Minister of Zanzibar Amani Abeid Karume, as well as former Presidents of Tanzania Jakaya Kikwete and Frederick Sumaye. The Ex-President who expressed hope in African youths and their potential to take Africa to the next level also advised that special attention should be placed on Sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics, stressing that “Africa does not only need to produce world-class scientists and engineers, but also needs to retain them on the continent.” He further made a case for special Incentives to stimulate interest in the education sector, saying: “If Africa must progress, a

reasonable percentage of our best brains must go into education. If you look at the percentage of quality manpower that go into education in some countries you will realise that we still have a long way to go, because quality education drives development. For instance, research has shown that in countries with very good education profiles like Sweden, six out of the best ten brains will be retained to teach others while in a place like the United States about three out of their ten best brains will go into teaching. But in Africa, none out of its ten best graduates will remain in teaching. What this tells me is that Africa needs to realise that incentivising the education sector is key to its advancement.” Speaking on the need to segment education, he said further: “The mainstream education is there and we must continue to encourage it. But besides that, we should be able to deal with the

question of how to nurture the brains that will technologically revolutionise Africa. We must retool our education curricula in line with the technological requirements of the 21st Century. We must produce technically competent people. My thinking is that if we must change Africa, if we must seek to rival the rest of the world to get to the stage where we would be able to deploy artificial intelligence to solve our problems, we must specially educate some categories of people. “The truth is that God did not bless all of us equally with the same quality of brains. The distribution of the human brain is not uniform. In that case, for us to develop as nations and as a continent, we must devise ways of sorting out our best brains and encouraging them to fully develop themselves. The efforts and contributions of those few ones are enough to change society. Such brains can catapult Africa into the technological revolution age.”

Minister: State House Clinic Not Supervised by Health Ministry Uproar as Dogara commends Monguno for punctuality James Emejo in Abuja Minister of State for Health, Mr. Osagie Ehanire, yesterday said he was not aware of the internal operations of the State House clinic as it is currently not directly under the supervision of his ministry. Also, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Health Secretary, Mrs. Amanda Pam, said it does not have supervisory rights over the clinic. Both spoke at the commencement of a public hearing

of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on State House Clinic, chaired by Hon. Magaji Aliyu (APC Jigawa) to investigate the deplorable condition of the clinic. The House had passed a motion on the need to investigate the deplorable condition of the State House clinic, and the alleged deductions from the salaries and allowances of the medical staff. It followed the alarm raised by the wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, over the sorry state

of the clinic, despite the N11 billion expenditure. However, Osagie said: “The State House clinic is not directly under my ministry. I don’t know who is directly in charge. I didn’t say that it is not under anybody, maybe under the FCT. “It is not unusual that the clinic is not under the ministry, this is also applicable in some states. This is what we met on ground.” It further emerged that it appeared to be that there is no extant law establishing the clinic

even though annual appropriations are made for its running. Meanwhile, there was a mild protest on the floor of the House of Representatives yesterday when the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, commended Hon. Mohammed Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno) for being versatile and always present at plenary. But his appraisal was received with mixed feelings by some members who felt they deserved the commendation as well.

T H I S D AY FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍąËœ 2017

COMMENT

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

THE FUTURE OF BROADCASTING IN NIGERIA (1)

The country has fallen far short in its bid to catch up with the international community in digital broadcasting, writes Frank Tietie

elevision broadcasting is of so much importance to citizens and the Nigerian state as a means of national integration and cultural development in a fast-paced global arena driven mainly by communication technology. Nigeria has fallen far short in its bid to catch up with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) standards in terms of quality and timing in switching over to a digital broadcasting. Whereas Nigeria has missed more than two deadlines in the digital switch over process to the disappointment of many Nigerians and ITU, what has become more embarrassing is the claim by Mr Tony Dara that the transmitters installed by ITS have been discontinued by the original equipment manufacturer more than 10 years ago. Dara, an acclaimed broadcast engineer who had acted as a consultant to the National Assembly on Nigeriaâ€™s digital switch over, brought this fact to the public sphere and the famed Nigerian factor has begun to set in. Responding to the finding on installation of obsolete transmitters that have been discontinued by the original equipment manufacturer, Integrated Television Services (ITS) General Manager, Rotimi Salami did not contradict the finding but instead confirmed that the transmitters were indeed â€œcommercialised in 2008â€? and sought to rationalise using them on the â€œroom for backward integrationâ€? existing in broadcast technology which he nevertheless described as â€œvery dynamicâ€Śinnovations are made at an alarming rateâ€?. Even before the now unavoidable legislative inquiry into the shocking findings of Tony Dara, the defaulting Integrated Television Services (ITS) has owned up to installing obsolete broadcast equipment in the Jos pilot project centre. The NTA subsidiary put out an advert supposedly â€œto expose the fallacies and outright falsehoodâ€? in the Dara Report in which it ended up confirming the veracity of the finding. With a GM like Rotimi Salami who adheres to the retrograde culture of backwardly integrating into broadcast technology, it should not be surprising that ITS finds nothing wrong with launching Nigeria into the digital age of broadcasting using obsolete transmitters just to ensure that the â€œother roomâ€? of backward integration vacated by fast changing technology is not left empty! Let the rest of the world strive to keep pace with the innovations and dynamism of digital signals broadcast, while Nigerians make do with antiquated modems so that the technical epilepsy associated with electricity supply will be

DOES NIGERIA HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE ANALOGUE-FANATICS PUSHING BACKWARD INTEGRATION WHILE THE WORLD IS ON DIGITAL FAST TRACK IN BROADCAST TECHNOLOGY?

transferred into our broadcasting infrastructureâ€™s â€œcompatibilityâ€? hardware. It was the same sickening surrender to stagnant development that led ITS into retaining old buildings and facilities to house the DSO in Jos and Ilorin, another flaw identified in the Dara Report that ITS failed to debunk. According to ITS GM, there was no reason to even consider new buildings for the DSO process because nine years ago the White Paper on DSO recommended that the â€œexisting and massiveâ€? broadcast transmission infrastructure of the NTA, VON and FRCN should form the backbone for the new broadcast signal distributor. Someone should ask Mr Salami of ITS why these old buildings were not even considered for renovation. Again, to add pseudo-savvy to the idleness of its initiatives, ITS GM exposed the fallacies integrated into decisions by declaring that â€œa building does not determine the quality of transmission, rather (sic) it is the state of the equipmentâ€?. This evidently cannot be technically applicable to a backwardly integrated compatibility-chasing choice of obsolete equipment that will be depending on perpetual coupling and combinations to deliver digital output from analogue inputs! What would it have cost to put up new buildings designed with the spatial and other specifications suitable for workflow in the DSO which is not comparable to the decades old analogue equipment â€œexistingâ€? in NTA? It is unfortunate that these are the untenable, illogical and technically bankrupt responses that ITS churned out in a vexatious attempt to dismiss the clear compilation of the deceptive and defective foundation laid for the DSO in Nigeria by the federal governmentâ€™s own agents and agencies. The crux of this disturbing matter is that over N1.7 billion was collected by the NTA-ITS from federal government coffers specifically as take-off grant for the DSO pilot project! With such a humongous budget, why should their DSO project be relying on discontinued obsolete equipment when at every material time there were latest successor models of the digital transmitters by the same manufacturer which are in fact future-assured technology and not the retrograde discarded systems that Mr Salami and his colleagues will be using to prove their backwardness? Does Nigeria have to wait for the analogue-fanatics pushing backward integration while the world is on digital fast track in broadcast technology? Tietie, Executive Director, Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights, wrote from Abuja

SOCIAL SAFETY NETS FOR RETIREES

Lagos State is committed to taking care of the old and the retired, writes Akintola Benson Oke

agos State has an administration led by an able and indefatigable governor who fully understands and appreciates the role that public servants play in governance. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is a compassionate person who is irrevocably dedicated to the welfare of all public servants during and after active service. Indeed, it is in the interest of the society at large for government to embark on certain gratuitous initiatives that benefit the most vulnerable in the society. I will briefly examine the existing safety nets being implemented by the Civil Service Pensions Office in the hope that they will help stimulate these inquiries into how these measures can be improved and the modalities for creating and sustaining additional safety nets as may be thought fit. The first point in the development of the theme of compassion is that we (i.e., the society and the government) should care because these retirees are our mothers and fathers. They are our first teachers. They teach how to love, how to care, how to give, how to forgive, how to accept, and most of all they are our backbone of support. Without their endless sacrifice during our early years, we would not be capable of what we are today. We need to care for our retirees and the older citizens because they deserve to be cared for. Second, we should care because our retirees and the older citizens have more knowledge and wisdom than any one of us. Their experiences through the storms that life takes them through yield great wisdom.

They have come so far and they have learned so much, we have a responsibility to learn from that wisdom. So take the time to listen to what they have to say. Third, our retirees and the older citizens have either acquired, created or have been brought up with a set of morals, values and/or principles in their life. They may not directly apply to our own but the least we can do is examine how those values impacted their lives. We can learn a thing or two from adopting those values. Learn the right and wrong. Have the insight into a set of rules that we can outline for ourselves to follow and live by. Our elders would want the best for us and they would be more than willing to tell us what set of rules and guidelines have made them successful and hopefully, peaceful. Fourth, our retirees and the older citizens worked hard for our today. They sacrificed their yesterday for our today. We owe todayâ€™s comforts to their efforts yesterday. Fifth, they have invaluable experience and insight. For this simple reason, we must appreciate them. We may or may not know of all the ups and downs they have faced in life but they have definitely gained experience that is worth respecting and learning from. Our elders may hide much pain from us because they donâ€™t want us to feel the pain, the least we can do is appreciate them for all that they have gone throughâ€”gained and lostâ€”and learn from their insight into situations and circumstances. Sixth, our history and heritage and culture dictate that we be a compassionate society. We must not imbibe the tenets of the cultures that seem to suggest that we can

afford to be uncaring. Let us wear the face of compassion in our dealings with our retirees and the older citizens. In an article published in The Guardian Newspapers of London, the editors attempted to address the approach of the society to retirees and older people. It noted that â€œsociety is failing to value and harness older peopleâ€™s skills, knowledge and experience.â€? It then quoted statistics from a survey showing that â€œabout 92% of the 1,250 respondents to the ageing population research believe that older adultsâ€™ contribution to society is not recognised. One said: â€œOn the whole the public view older people as a drain on society instead of an asset.â€? Another added: â€œOlder people are mostly seen as a bundle of problems and serviceneeds. Their strengths, skills and knowledge are not harnessed or appreciated in a society infatuated by the cult of youth.â€? The Guardian then stated its own finding that, â€œIn fact, older people in the UK contribute an estimated ÂŁ61bn to the economy through employment, volunteering and caring. And, according to Ros Altmann, the UK governmentâ€™s champion for older workers, being 50, 60 or 70 in the 21st century is no longer a predictor of physical or mental abilities. It certainly does not signify that someone has failing health and will soon be unfit to work, or no longer able to learn new skills. The editors further noted that, â€œwith numbers of people aged 75 and over expected to double by 2040 and the proportion of older people in the UK due to rise from 23% to 28% of the population by 2030, it is vital to plan for the necessary services to support

our ageing society.â€? This observation led them to ask the following questions: â€œHow can we create a society where people are not so worried about getting old, where there is less stereotyping of older people, more intergenerational contact, and more opportunities to see older people as assets? What are the issues around financing retirement and how do we make sure older adults are not excluded because they donâ€™t have enough money? Now, I am not aware of the availability of equivalent statistics in Nigeria but I suspect that similar deductions can be made, if not in terms of actual numbers, but in the overall substance and conclusions. The questions raised in that article are therefore worthy of our consideration. In terms of existing initiatives, you may be aware that the Civil Service Pensions Office (CSPO) regularly distributes welfare packages to the retirees of the stateâ€™s public service that are 70 years and above. This initiative is informed by the commitment of the Lagos State Government led by Mr. Ambode, to continue to celebrate and appreciate the invaluable contributions made by public servants to the status of Lagos State as a model state and as Nigeriaâ€™s Centre of Excellence. This initiative demonstrates that this commitment applies to both serving and retired public servants. It will be recalled that the governor had said in his inaugural speech that â€œI shall run an open government of inclusion that will not leave anybody behind. No matter your age, sex, tribe or any other status as long as you reside in Lagos, we will make Lagos work for youâ€?. Dr. Benson Oke, is Lagos State commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍąËœ 2017

EDITORIAL FITTING LESSONS FOR THE HEALTH SECTOR The Afe Babalola and Nile universitiesâ€™ initiative should be emulated

espite the decline in socio-economic activities in the country, some private investors have decided to channel their resources not only into education but also to the improvement of the health sector through their universities. Two of such promoters are Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, the proprietor of Afe Babalola University, and the Turkish First Surat Group, the umbrella organisation for the NTIC Schools as well as Nizamiye Hospital and Nile University in Abuja. While inaugurating the 400-bed Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital in Ado Ekiti last week, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said such projects would help in stopping Nigerians from seeking medical treatment abroad. The idea of building such ďŹ rst class hospitals to enhance healthcare delivery system in the country, according to Osinbajo, should be recommended to other private universities. Meanwhile, in Abuja, medical students from the Nile University beneďŹ t tremendously from the Nizamiye Hospital that IF PROMOTERS OF OTHER is currently being expanded as their PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES teaching hospital. JOIN IN SUCH INITIATIVE, According to Prof. IT MAY WELL HELP TO Joseph Sanya, Provost IMPROVE OUR APPALLING of the Afe Babalola HEALTH SECTOR, BESIDES College of Medicine STEMMING MEDICAL and Health Sciences, TOURISM what they boast of â€œis a quaternary hospital because of its state-of-the-art functional facilities, majority of which, are not found in any teaching hospital in Nigeria.â€? Some of them include: bone densitometer, for measuring the density of bones; positron emission tomography (PET) scan, for diagnosing very minute abnormal structures in the body such as cancer. Other facilities include a helipad, where patients ďŹ‚own from different parts of the world will land via helicopter for medical attention. The hospital, in Sanyaâ€™s words, was also â€œa centre of excellence for the transplants of kidney, liver, heart, bone marrow and other related illnessesâ€?. Similarly, the Turkish group in Abuja is

Letters to the Editor

equally dedicated to issues of healthcare. The Nizamiye Hospital has, for instance, become a platform for ďŹ rst class healthcare delivery within the federal capital and environ. Inaugurated by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, it is estimated to have cost $20 million and with experienced medical practitioners. These include doctors, nurses, lab scientists and other categories of workers. The hospital is also actively involved in collaboration with other health institution in Nigeria.

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

OMOKRI, AREGBESOLA AND THE JONATHAN AD-

hen Mrs. Aisha Buhari, wife of the president, said recently that when she needed healthcare the only hospital she could trust in Abuja was one â€œestablished by foreigners in and out 100 per centâ€?, she was said to be referring to the Nizamiye Hospital. It is one of the few hospitals in the country with a functional catheterisation laboratory (Cath-Lab) examination room with diagnostic imaging equipment used to visualise the arteries of the heart and the chambers of the heart and treat any abnormality found. It also has a four-bed dialysis clinic as well as a MRI machines. The hospital also has a resident open heart surgery team led by a renowned cardiovascular surgeon who is credited to have performed over 15, 000 heart surgeries with 99 per cent success rate. The open heart surgery clinic of the hospital has to its credit over 16 successful operations, including two-valve replacement surgeries. We cannot underscore the signiďŹ cance of such private initiative in the health sector where the role of the federal government is limited to coordinating the affairs of the university teaching hospitals and the federal medical centres while it is the state governments that manage the general hospitals that are under the category of secondary healthcare. Against the background that most deaths in Nigeria have been traced to lack of quality healthcare system, the establishment of teaching hospitals by private individuals and corporate bodies is worthy of commendation. If the promoters of other private universities join in such initiative, it may well help to improve our appalling health sector, besides stemming medical tourism.

y attention has been drawn to a piece by Reno Omokri, disparaging the person of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola over facts revealed by the Osun governor on how the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan pillaged our national resources. Omokriâ€™s outburst against Ogbeni does not deserve a response and the reasons are not far-fetched. Omokri is obviously living a lie, surrounded by unseen forces, and believes in a distorted historical fact of a government he once actively participated in. For the sake of clarity, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola whilst hosting a team of delegates from the federal government on the Digital Switchover project, explained how Nigeria got into this sorry state. Three indisputable facts given by the governor for the payment of modulated salary in his state are the following; economic downturn induced by brazen corruption, wanton theft of crude oil and mismanagement of the countryâ€™s resources by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led federal government under Goodluck Jonathan. Has Omokri forgotten so quickly that at least $20bn allegedly disappeared into thin air under his masterâ€™s administration? Lest we forget, never has Nigeriaâ€™s resources been plundered like was witnessed during the Jonathanâ€™s blighted era. The brazen theft and unprecedented looting of public funds under Goodluck Jonathan is an historical one since the entity called Nigeria was created. The Jonathan led administration single-handedly redefined corruption in government. Lest we forget, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala went on a borrowing spree to

pay salaries of federal government workers shortly after she revealed over 400,000 barrels of crude oil was being stolen daily by government protected-plunderers, whilst her colleagues in other ministries busied themselves with thieving what was left in the treasury. In fact, one of the notorious bandits that made up Jonathanâ€™s cabinet was said to have chartered private jet at will to cater for her housemaid, whilst another abused her office by instructing agencies under her to purchase multi-million naira armoured vehicles for her leisure ride. I will not belabour the issue of the ruin and destruction the Goodluck Jonathan era brought our way; however, my prayer is that may Nigeria never have to be governed by another president whose singular objective in leadership is to balkanise Nigeria. Since Omokri lacks the requisite knowledge on how government works in Nigeria, let me take a moment to school him. Theoretically, Nigeria practices federalism. Except the Nigerian Constitution is amended, states within its domain will continue to depend on the federal government for sustenance, except for a few. Many of the resources are locked up in the hands of the federal government. Interestingly, there are 68 items in the exclusive list, with just around 30 on the concurrent list in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Osun, for example, has enough gold deposits, whose income can cater for a minimum of 50 yearsâ€™ budget, is forced to go cap in hand to the federal government because the constitution acts as a major impediment to achieving our dream as a state. Kikiowo Ileowo, Osogbo

THE MORAL DEATH OF THE EFCC

as steam just gone out of the sail of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission as a result of the Dr. Maikanti Baru Imbroglio? The Baru rebuttal about contractual-award procedures and the â€œreconciliation meetingsâ€? between Ibe Kachikwu and Baru that we hear of is a sign that something actually went wrong. Yet, in the face of all of these the EFCC has chosen a convenient diversion by threatening to close the bank accounts of deceased and illiterate Nigerians who could not be captured in the Bank Verification Number (BVN) scheme and re-route these account credits in favour of the federal government. What heartlessness! What we did not get from the EFCC are raids on the NNPC Towers and the apartment complex of Baru. Twenty six billion dollars is a huge sum of money, by any standards to toy with and if the EFCC would just look the other way in this case then all other â€œcorruptionâ€? cases pending should be allowed to fizzle out. After all, 2019 is just around the corner and someone should once again remind President Buhari that politics is a â€œdirty game.â€? Any sitting president who desires a second term must â€œtouch some kobosâ€? and â€œspend like PDPâ€? and â€œlet EFCC just lie low.â€? This is how African politics works; like a rusty machine, it just manages to grind away somehow. Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna

T H I S D AY FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

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

POLITICS A N A LY S I S

Council Elections Reopen Old Wounds in Kwara After coming under pressure from the opposition to disband the caretaker committee he put in place to run the local councils in Kwara, Governor Ahmed Abbdufatah has agreed to hold LG elections in the state, Hammed Shittu reports

he appointment of caretaker committees to run local government councils in the country has continued to pose a serious threat to the development of democracy at the grassroots. Many said it amounted to a violation of the 1999 constitution. In support of that argument, they cited section 7 of the constitution. Appointing caretakers to man local governments has no doubt hampered the development of the grassroots. This is because those appointed as members of the caretaker committees don’t often work for the councils rather they work to satisfy the interest of the people who appointed them, usually state governors. This is why the decision of the Kwara State government to conduct elections into local government areas in the state is a welcome relief for the people. In this wise, the government has put in place an electoral body that would see to the conduct of local government elections to enable the people elect representatives that would manage the affairs of the government closer to the people. Following the expiration of the tenure of the democratically elected officials of the local government in the state, the state governor Ahmed Abdulfatah appointed caretakers to take charge. Almost a year after, the councils are still being run by caretakers. Stakeholders in the state have been mounting pressures on the government to conduct local government councils poll so as to give room for the people of the grassroots to elect those that would see to the day–to-day administration of councils. The stakeholders argued that the current state of development at the local government level called for urgent attention saying there is no meaningful socio economic development at the grassroots across the 16 local government councils in the state, a failure they attributed to absence of democratic governance at the local government. However, as part of moves to conduct a free and fair local government councils polls, the state electoral body, the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission, headed by a university don, Dr. Usman Ajidagba has commenced preparations in earnest and set out with full commitment to hold a free and fair council poll in the state. Addressing journalists on the level of preparation for the elections, Ajidagba said that the commission had fixed the election for November 18 this year. No fewer than 21 political parties have indicated their interests to participate in the election.. He said that, the commission had held meetings with the representatives of the political parties on the conduct of the election. Ajidagba said that the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Kowa Party, All Progressives Congress (APC), Young Democratic Party (YDP), Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Citizen Party of Nigeria (CPN) among others attended the consultative meetings. Also at the meeting were representatives of United Progressive of Nigeria , Action Council Party of Nigeria, All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) United Democratic Party (UDP) , Action Alliance (AA), Democrats Alternative (DA), Great Nigerian Peoples Party (GNPP), Citizens Popular Party (CPP) , Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), Alliance Democratic Party (ADP), New Democrats (ND), Labour Party

Abdulfatah

(LP) and Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA). The election was initially scheduled to hold on 4th of November but was shifted to the 18th of the same month. Ajidagba said the shift in the date of the election was considered because the commission had promised to conduct ‘‘a free and all inclusive election.” He said: “After the announcement of the election date, people came to us from various political parties, some sent delegation pleading for a shift in the election date. “They said some people went on hajj and they would need to participate in the electoral process like party primaries and since election involves many processes and we have promised to conduct a free and all inclusive election, we have taken note of the various apprehensions from various political parties. We have given a moratorium of two weeks. Election would therefore hold on 18th of November 20 17.” But as preparations for the poll are in top gear, the opposition, PDP in the state has warned the state electoral body to avoid any act that may hinder the peaceful conduct of the poll. The caretaker chairman of the party in the state, Mr. Tunde Akindehin cautioned the state electoral body against deviating from the provi-

Appointing caretakers to man local governments has no doubt hampered the development of the grassroots.

sions of the nation’s electoral law in conducting the council poll. He warned that any act of arbitrariness in the process and conduct of the election would be rejected and challenged in court. Akindehin said the party’s councillorship aspirants would obtain their forms with N35,000 while the chairmanship aspirants would pay N100,000 to obtain their own forms. As the dust over the fees being charged by the KWSIEC was yet to settle, the PDP raised the alarm over the purported exclusion of its chairmanship candidates for Offa, Oyun and Ifelodun local government council of the state for the council poll. The party however vowed to drag the state electoral body to court for alleged exclusion.. The party said it has come to a conclusion that the decision of the electoral commission not to recognize its candidates in the three local government areas was a deliberate attempt to deny them the right to be voted for. The chairman, caretaker committee of the PDP in the state, Mr. Akindehin, said what the KWSIEC did typified early manipulation of the electoral process. He alleged that the commission was not being fair to the opposition parties with its decision to ostracize some of the candidates from the election. Akindehin, who gave an assurance that PDP would not resort to violence or self help with the position of KWSIEC, vowed that it would employ all lawful means to challenge the commission’s decision. The PDP caretaker chairman also expressed confidence that the court of law would do justice and added that democracy must be safeguarded against abuse.

“There is no two ways to go about the exclusion (of our candidates), it was deliberately done to ensure that not even PDP, we are talking about the party in general, the people of Kwara State, who are being denied opportunity to freely express themselves, this is the beginning of manipulation and rigging of election. “When you deny people from doing what they should do, I think you are not being fair, not only to the PDP but to all other political parties who are desirous to test their popularity during this coming election. “But I know that a lie can only last for a very short period. There is no way they can survive it. We are not going to resort to violence but we will go through diligent way of doing things and ensure that reason prevails at the end of the day. The will of the people will prevail, and the rule of law will actually prevail. “Of course, in democratic set up, I think the rule of law is the order of the day. In as much as we cannot resort to self help, then we will go through the lawful processes and that we would do”, Akindehin said. But, in a swift reaction to the development, the state’s electoral body has warned parties and members of the political class against using thugs in the forthcoming council polls. The chairman of the commission, who gave the warning in a chat with our correspondent said the commission had enlisted the support of security agencies in the state to maintain peace, law and order before, during and after the election. He urged political parties to educate their supporters on appropriate thumb printing of the ballot papers to guide against void votes. The KWSIEC chairman however assured all political parties, participating in the election of level playing ground. Also speaking, a former state chairman of PDP,, Mr. Iyiola Oyedepo, called for measures against ballot snatching and violence during the election. He advised KWSIEC to liaise with all security agencies in the state to help ensure violence-free election in all parts of the state. Meanwhile, the ruling APC in the state has conducted its primaries through consensus. The publicity secretary of the party in the state, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari, said that the party was ready for the council poll. He said that the party’s candidates for 14 out of the 16 councils emerged through consensus while primaries were conducted in the remaining two local government areas. He added that, “Prior to the primary election, the party leadership had advised aspirants to consider the option of consensus arrangements and the party is pleased to note that many councils embraced the consensus option. “For Baruteen and Offa LGAs, the aspirants could not agree on consensus building. Therefore, the party decided to conduct primary elections for the aspirants. While primary election has been successfully conducted in Baruteen LG, the party is aware of some issues from Offa LG. “With the successful completion of the primary process, the APC wishes to announce its readiness to contest and win all available seats in the forthcoming council election.” PDP and other political parties have also held their congresses during which the party’s candidates emerged. The candidates are now moving from wards to wars canvassing for votes ahead of the councils poll. However, the contest is between the APC and the PDP.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

POLITICS

PERSPECTIVE

Why Atiku is the Nation’s Best Option A critical review of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s visions, his disposition and commitment to the nation will leave no one in doubt that he remains the best man for the job in 2019, writes Undenna Orji Atiku is the only presidential aspirant that has a veriﬁable trackrecord of canvassing the need to alter the status quo in order for Nigeria to achieve sustainable peace, unity and progress

n October 21, 1984, Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States was engaged in a pre-election debate with his opponent, Walter Mondale, who was Vice President under Jimmy Carter. Reagan was 73 years old and Mondale was 56 and had been gaining in the polls because of his youth full age. As the debate commenced, Henry Trewhitt of the Baltimore Sun asked Reagan about his advancing age. Reagan, who was then the oldest American president looked at the much younger Mondale before him and then turned to Trewhitt and said “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” In this classic response, Reagan highlighted to the American voters the advantages of age which include wisdom and experience. The American voters agreed with him that age should not be an issue in an election but that what mattered was the vision or manifesto the candidate was bringing to the table. Reagan soundly defeated Mondale in the election in November and went on to become one of America’s greatest and most idolized presidents. Here in Nigeria, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, the Waziri Adamawa; unarguably one of Nigeria’s most visionary and most gifted politicians since the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914, may soon find himself in President Reagan’s shoes. A tiny but influential group, long embittered by Atiku’s ever-rising acceptability across Nigeria, is now feverishly trying to sell the view that any candidate who is above 65 years of age should not be supported in the 2019 presidential election; a self-serving unconstitutional position clearly targeted against the cerebral former vice president. In the last few years, Nigeria has changed dramatically. Yesterday’s solutions have proven incapable of sustaining our march to unity, peace and progress but unfortunately, there are people who still flaunt yesterday’s failed solutions as the panacea for our present sorry pass. What they profess is a continuation of the failed status quo. But what Nigeria needs now is a real change leader who has the vision and courage to alter the status quo and pull this nation back from the brink of destruction. History teaches about uncommon leaders who in moments of great national distress rise to the occasion to reset their nations on the path of prosperity and great nationhood. In Britain we had Winston Churchill, in the United States we had Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt, in China there was Chairman Mao Zedong and in Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew. In Nigeria soon, there will be Atiku Abubakar, the change Nigeria needs. For space constraints, let us briefly look at a few of the Waziri Adamawa’s prophetic and visionary interventions into Nigeria’s political economy to ascertain whether indeed he can read the future. Since ages, Atiku has always canvassed for a change in our energy power structure stressing that it is defective and will not provide electricity for Nigerians. That Nigeria continues to grapple with poor electric power supply is because the Atiku electric power plan has not been implemented in Nigeria. Atiku’s power strategy is the construction of smaller power generating plants all over Nigeria

Atiku

to serve clusters of people in the areas where these plants are located. Nigeria’s current power strategy has continued to invest and waste billions of dollars on white-elephant power infrastructure that have continued to produce darkness, decade after decade. About a year after the inauguration of the current President Muhammadu Buhari government, Atiku had called for a change in this government’s economic policies saying that the policies being

With the sorry state of our economy, politics and unity, any continuation of the status quo will inevitably lead to the dismemberment of this country.

put in place will not engender economic development. There was a flurry of attacks against him. Less than six months after his advice, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that the economy had plunged into recession. And long before the now recurring deadly clashes between farmers and herdsmen, Atiku had been advocating for ranching as the modern way of growing the livestock industry to avoid encroaching into farmlands. To walk the talk, he went into the production of animal feeds. Now several years down the line and with thousands of lives lost in the clashes, is everyone not saying ranching is the way to go for sustainable peace? While delivering a paper on restructuring at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) recently, Atiku, a research buff who is always thinking ahead had told his audience: “Oil is not infinite…in the next 10-20 years the proportion of the energy market share that fossil fuels hold will shrink and almost vanish even as those of alternative energy are set to rise

dramatically…Volvo and Peugeot have announced plans to phase out petrol and diesel cars…France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, has told the world that petrol and diesel cars will be illegal to make or sell in France by 2040. Norway has said it will do the same but earlier: by 2025. On a recent visit to the United Kingdom I noticed that senior members of the Conservative Party were driving the Toyota Mirai, a car that runs on hydrogen and emits water instead of harmful carbon monoxide...So the world is not waiting for us to see reason and reengineer our economy”. Few days after Atiku’s lecture, the British government also formally announced it would phase out petrol and diesel vehicles from 2040. Atiku’s consistent call for restructuring has now been accepted as the only condition for sustainable peace, unity and progress in Nigeria. Atiku is the only presidential aspirant that has a verifiable track-record of canvassing the need to alter the status quo in order for Nigeria to achieve sustainable peace, unity and progress. All other presidential aspirants are committed to the sustenance of the failed status quo. But the truth of the matter is that the status quo can no longer remain. With the sorry state of our economy, politics and unity, any continuation of the status quo will inevitably lead to the dismemberment of this country. Which of Atiku’s opponents can match the Waziri Adamawa’s job creation acumen and record? Which of them has Atiku’s pedigree in business and financial management? Which, among them, can equal Atiku’s track-record in human resources development; or his legendary ability to read the future? Even his greatest critics acknowledge that Atiku is what the Yoruba’s will call “okunrin meta”, which literally means a three-inone man: employer of labour, jobs creator and youth supporter. At the last count, he has created over 50,000 jobs and still counting. The American University of Nigeria, a not for profit institution, which he founded in Yola contributes about $100 million to the GDP of Adamawa State. Nigeria’s multi-dimensional problems have reached an implosive stage and only a leader like Atiku who is truly detribalized, eminently visionary and clearly acceptable across the ethnic and religious divides that make up Nigeria can pull this nation back from the brink of destruction. His verifiable vision for Nigeria will galvanise the potentials of this great nation and usher each and every one of us into the Nigeria of our dreams. Orji, writer ad political analyst wrote in from Abuja

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Quick Takes September Air Freight Demand Slows

CONGRATULATIONS

L-R: MD, Fidelity Bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo; MD, H Piersen, Eileen Shayen; MD AMCON, Ahmed Kuru and immediate past MD of Keystone Bank, Philip Ikeazor, at 2017 CIBN Investiture where Ikeazor was awarded the honorary Fellowship of the Institute in Lagos...recently

Airports Record Higher Passenger Movement in Q3 Chinedu Eze The Consumer Directorate of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has revealed that more Nigerians travelled in 2017 than in 2016, which was the peak of Nigeriaâ€™s economic recession. Available records showed progressive increase in passenger movement both in the local and international travel with a total increase of about 12 percent during the period under study. In the third quarter of 2017, about 2.2 million passengers passed through the nationâ€™s airports both in domestic and international travel. During this period, inbound domestic passengers were 1, 108, 907 on domestic travel, while there were 474, 745 in-bound international passengers and during the period also outbound domestic passengers were 1,

AVIATION 126, 980; while outbound international passengers were 500, 348. The third quarter also recorded domestic flights of 13, 255 and international flights of 3, 664 and flight delays in the domestic routes were about 8, 173 and similar delays on international flights were 1, 076 with 96 flight cancellations on domestic routes and 38 on international routes. Also, during the period, domestic airlines recorded 19 air returns, which are flights that returned to base due to technical problems, there were also nine air returns on international flights. While international flights recorded 8, 660 missing luggage during the period, domestic airlines recorded 26 missing and while the former recovered 7,

070 luggage, domestic airlines recovered 23 luggage. Compared to 2016, a source from NCAA said there was a total 12 percent increase in passenger movement in 2017 and projects that this may double before the end of the year and passenger movement peaks by December every year. Director of Consumer Protection Directorate, Adamu Abdullahi said that indications showed that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) pointed out in its outlook for the year2017 that there have been obvious jump in the first and second quarters of the year. â€œWe have seen certain jump in passenger traffic in Nigeria. You know we faced recession in 2016, which started easing this year; so there is the general believe that we are out of recession. So we have seen improved traffic because even the airlines that reverted to the

use of smaller aircraft are now reverting back to their original bigger aircraft sizes. And we have seen Emirates getting ready now to operate out of Abuja and their two flights, frequencies into Lagos daily, is also about to commence,â€? Abdulahi said. During a recent meeting with Emirates country representative, Afzal Parambil, he expressed optimism that the airline would resume is Abuja flights and its second Lagos daily flights. Also feelers from other international carriers like Turkish Airlines, British Airways, Ethiopia Airlines showed that since the beginning of this year, there has been progressive increase in the number of travellers that book flights with the aforementioned airlines. The National Association of Nigerian Travel Agents Continued on page 20

Arms Importation: Customs Introduces Strategy to Streamline Goods Clearance Eromosele Abiodun Following the recent illegal flow of arms into the country, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is set to introduce the Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) as means to curtail importation of such dangerous ammunitions into the country. The AEO is a programme introduced by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) in conjunction with national Customs administration to facilitate trade with the security situation associated with the import and export businesses cross international border. Customs Controller General (CCG), Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd.), disclosed this at a one-day

AVIATION sensitisation workshop in the Apapa Command of the NCS. Ali was represented by the Deputy Comptroller General of Customs on Strategic Research and Planning (SR&P), Patience Iferi. According to him, â€œthe need for stakeholders in the maritime sector to get involved in the AEO is of enormous importance as this will further boost a safe frame work of standards and as well secure and facilitate global trade as its been done in the other part of the world. If Uganda a very small country in terms of population and sizes can celebrate and embrace the AEO, why should Nigeria the

giant of Africa not boast of the AEO?â€? Ali further stressed that getting involved will help stakeholders to trade internationally rather than being limited to local trade. Also speaking earlier, Deputy Controller, Mark Leo, the AEO team Leader for Zone â€œAâ€? informed that the increase in volume of trade between and among countries and the changing trends in supply chain made it imperative for Customs administration to review the role of Customs in international trade, and as well sensitize the business community on the need for operations as AEO. On selection of operators, she emphasized that there is need for stakeholders to be trustworthy

and transparent as this is the major requirement to be an AEO operator. â€œOther requirement includes, must be an economic operator and part of supply chain, record of compliance with customs with customs legislation and taxation rules, including no record of serious criminal offences relating to economic activity of the applicant. The applicant should have operated in the country for three years and above without any problem with the relevant authorities in the country,â€? he said. The NCS had recently intercepted another container that contained yet another cache of Continued on page 20

The International AirTransport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets in September 2017 showing that demand (measured in freight tonne kilometers or FTKs), rose 9.2 percent compared to the same month in 2016. This was the slowest pace of growth seen in ďŹ ve months. However, it was still signiďŹ cantly higher than the ďŹ ve-year average growth rate of 4.4 percent Freight capacity (measured in available freight tonne kilometers or AFTKs), rose by 3.9 percent compared to September of last year â€”less than half the pace of demand growth. This is positive for industry load factors, yields, and ďŹ nancial performance. IATA said it appears that the industry has passed a cyclical growth peak. The upward trend in seasonally-adjusted freight volumes in Q3 has eased and the inventory-to-sales ratio in the US is now trending sideways. This indicates that the period when companies look to restock inventories quicklyâ€”which often gives air cargo a boostâ€”hasended.â€œDemandforaircargogrewby9.2%inSeptember. While thatâ€™s slower than in previous months, it remains stronger than anything we have seen in recent memory. But there are signs that this demand spurt may have peaked. So it becomes even more important to reinforce the industryâ€™s competitiveness by accelerating the modernisation of its many antiquated processes,â€? said IATAâ€™s Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac. With year-to-date demand growth of 10.1 percent, the IATA forecast of 7.5 percent growth in air freight demand for 2017 appears to have signiďŹ cant upside potential even if the peak of the economic cycle has passed.

Apple Unveils iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus

Apple, last week, unveiled its latest new generation products, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in Nigeria.This is just as iStore, Appleâ€™s ďŹ‚agship store and home of everything Apple, is celebrating its ďŹ fth year anniversary, having clocked ďŹ ve years of operations in Nigeria. In celebrating its ďŹ fth year anniversary, iStore decided to open another iStore shop at the Mega Plaza, Victoria Island, which is a replica of what is obtained at the Ikeja Shopping Mall. As part of the anniversary celebration, iStore is gifting its customers a free extended warranty for two Apple products worth â‚Ś44 000 when upgrading to the new iPhone. The new generation iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are already available in stores. iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are a new generation of iPhone featuring a new glass and aluminum design in three beautiful ďŹ nishes - space gray, silver and a new gold - made with the most durable glass ever in a smartphone, Retina HD displays, A11 Bionic chip and is designed for the ultimate augmented experience. iStore Manager, Ikeja Shopping Mall, Omokolapo Agunloye, said: â€œiStore is now oďŹ€ering device ďŹ nance and customers can pay oďŹ€ their new iPhone, iPad or Mac over eight months. Customers will need to pay one current dated cheque for the ďŹ rst monthâ€™s installment and seven post-dated cheques for the remaining seven months.The loan value will be inclusive of 5 per cent insurance, which is mandatory and covers physical damage, although physical damage is not covered under standard warranty.â€?

TECNO Mobile Unveils Phantom 8

TECNO Mobile, one of Africaâ€™s leading mobile phone makers, has unveiled its latest device, the Phantom 8 in Lagos, which was attended by several notable dignitaries, key opinion leaders and stakeholders in the mobile technology industry.The mobile tech giant also partnered SLOT Systems to deliver extra value to all its customers. Since the inception of the Phantom, the series has increasingly transformed in all ramiďŹ cations and the Phantom 8 is not excluded in this innovation and technological advancement. Poles apart from its forerunners, the Phantom 8 debuts with high-end features, which includes an amazing camera and a beautiful design that oďŹ€ers a swift and an unrivaled mobile experience. Addressing the media at the launch, the Deputy Marketing Manager, PR, OďŹ„ine Events and Sponsorships TECNO Mobile Nigeria, Attai Oguche, said: â€œThe Phantom 8 is a complete deďŹ nition of one size ďŹ ts all and all of us at TECNO Mobile are truly excited about the device. The device is beautiful and embodies world class features that cannot even be ignored atďŹ rst glanceâ€?.

â€œAs of today the cost that government agencies levy on each of those tickets are enormous to the point that the local operators can barely survivee,â€?

President of the National Association of NigerianTravel Agents (NANTA), Bankole Bernard,

Bankole Bernard

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BUSINESSWORLD AIRPORTS RECORD HIGHER PASSENGER MOVEMENT IN Q3 (NANTA), Bankole Bernard who acknowledged that recession has eased in 2017 and noted that there is boost in passenger movement, but he added that despite the growth in passenger movement, there is yet discernible changes as occasioned by the end of recession. â€œI havenâ€™t seen changes and changes wonâ€™t happen so soon. That we are out of recession there are economic indices that show signs that we are out of recession, it does not mean that it will impact on the lives of the common man immediately. We have just crossed that border line that we are no longer in recession, now we are back on the part of growth, it does not mean that we have started growing, we are just on the part of growth. We were declining before, now the arrow has turned up,â€? Bernard said. ARMS IMPORTATION: CUSTOMS INTRODUCES STRATEGY TO STREAMLINE GOODS CLEARANCE arms imported from Turkey. The interception came barely one week after the command intercepted a 20-foot container load of 1,100 pump action rifles. THISDAY investigations had revealed that the container with number, CMAU189817/8 was believed to contain about 475 pump action rifles. THISDAY had exclusively reported that the pump action rifles were discovered after the Customs Area Comptroller of the Command, Comptroller Bashir Yusuf, ordered a detailed profiling of the importer of the 1,100 rifles intercepted last week. After the detailed profiling, it was discovered that the container belonged to the same importer. This seizure is the third in the series of containers loads of arms seizure at Tin-Can port alone and fourth in the country within eight months. A source, who witnessed the examination of the container, told THISDAY that the rifles were concealed with small connecting pipes. According to the source, â€œThe container was owned by the same importer of the 1,100 guns.

NEWS

NACCIMA Calls for Caution on Rising Debt Profile, Seeks Prompt Implementation of 2017 Budget Ugo Aliogo The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), has called for caution on Nigeriaâ€™s rising debt profile. It also urged the authorities to ensure prompt and diligent implementation of the 2017 budget as part of efforts in ensuring that the economy stays vibrant and the investor confidence sustained. National President of association, Iyalode Lawson, who made the call in Lagos at a meeting with corporate members , said the body expects that based on the Executive Order passed in May by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to promote efficiency in the nationâ€™s budget processes, there would be noticeable improvement and swiftness in the budgetâ€™s compilation process. Lawson reasons that borrowed funds should be channeled towards the development of â€œcritical infrastructure required for economic growth and not for recurrent expenditure.â€? He also stated that the association would continue to call for increased socio-economic infrastructure development, adding that infrastructure such as power supply, roads, ports, bridges and water are utmost of importance in the nationâ€™s

industrialisation drive. Lawson further maintained that the figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for the fourth quarter of 2016 places unemployment rate as high as 14.2 percent, stating that considering the countryâ€™s economic fortunes, these figures should have increased. The NACCIMA Chief called for proper implementation, monitoring, dissemination of achievements and timelines

of the Economic Recovery and Growth plan (20172020) and other government interventions programmes which support the growth of enterprise. She added: â€œThe high rates remain a cause of major concern to the association and all entrepreneurs seek capital to invest in their businesses or start new ones. The prime lending rate as at August, 2017 was 17.69 percent and the maximum lending rate

was 31.20 percent. These rates which are applicable till date continues to increase and do not encourage enterprise. â€œNACCIMA urges the government to review and implement monetary policies which will bring down these rates and encourage business expand, thrive and create more jobs in the economy. The year-on-year inflation rate as at September, 2017 eased to 15.98 percent as against 16.01 percent in August, indicating a

decrease of 0.19 percent points. â€œThis signals the eighth consecutive decline since January which is a good indication. However, more interventions are required to ensure that the inflation rate drop to single digits. The foreign Exchange market has been stable with naira to US Dollar exchange rate around N365 to N370 per US Dollar. This is attributed to more stable monetary policies and intervention.â€?

WORTHY RECOGNITION

Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman (left) receiving a plaque commemorating her appointment as a Matron, from the Governor of the Women In Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Bola Muse, at the NPA Corporate Headquarters in Marina...recently

Avnash Rice Mill to Provide One Million Jobs Avnash Rice Mill has restated commitment to its five-year plan to support and create at least one million jobs (direct and indirect) for Ghanaians by 2022. The Chief Executive Officer of Avnash Rice Mill, Mr. Jai Mirchandani, said this when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo launched the Royal Farmers Rice, a premium parboiled long grain rice, which is locally produced to meet the rising demand for the produce and reduce its importation in the West African country. According to Mirchandani, the processing plant, a state-ofthe-art facility with the capacity to process 500 metric tonnes of paddy rice per day, was

capable of feeding the entire country with the highest quality of rice. Mirchandani disclosed: â€œThis year, we estimate the livelihoods of 32,000 farmers to benefit from this Rice Mill, while transporters, aggregators, mechanised service suppliers, inputs providers, and the families of an estimated 200,000 peopleâ€?. The launch, which marked the formal introduction of Royal Farmers Rice into the Ghanaian market, was also a major boost for increased domestic rice production and processing. Royal Farmers Rice is product of Avnash Rice Mill,

located at Nyankpala in the Tolon District of Ghanaâ€™s Northern Region, which buys quality rice from local farmers for processing. President Nana AkufoAddo, who launched the produce at Nyankpala to round off his three-day visit to the region interacting with chiefs and people, described the operations of Avnash Rice Mill as a good signal that would help to attract more investments into the country. He therefore challenged rice farmers to increase their production as there was a ready market for their produce. Ghanaâ€™s Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu

Afriyie Akoto, disclosed that according to the 2016 figures of his Ministry, $1.1 billion dollarsâ€™ worth of rice was imported. Akoto said the Planting for Food and Jobs programme would help rice farmers to increase their production to feed the Avnash Rice Mill, which was currently underperforming because rice produced locally was not enough to meet its capacity. Meanwhile, Avnash Rice Mill expects increased rice production by farmers including Abanga Farms, a large scale rice producer, which has cultivated 1,200-acre rice farm in the Northern Region to help meet its demand. The Director of Abanga

Farms, Mr. Thomas Abanga, said he had earmarked large acreages for rice cultivation next year to ensure regular high tonnage supply of high quality paddy rice to the rice processing sector to minimise the high volume of rice imported. Avnash is a Ghanaian company with its main interest in agribusiness processing, and it roots in its motherland since 1960. The agribusiness comprising â€“ Edible Oil Refining, Soap & Personal Care Manufacturing, and Rice Milling â€“ is one of the largest investments in West Africa offering premium products ranging from cooking oil, laundry and bathing soaps and rice.

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Mutual BeneďŹ t Assurance to Rely More on Technology Driven Services r1MBOT UP 3BJTF "EEJUJPOBM / CO GSPN 1VCMJD Ebere Nwoji Mutual Benefit Assurance Plc has said that come the year 2018, it has put together special thinker team that will enable it rely much more on technology to give excellent service delivery to its customers. The company, also said to operate bigger in Nigerian market and beyond, it plans to raise additional N2 billion from the capital market by November 2017. Managing Director of the

company, Segun Omosehin, at the 2017 Brokersâ€™ dinner organised in Lagos, said the company has set for itself, the target of â€œgraduating from mini technology to thorough technology driven firm in its operations.â€? Omosehin said Mutual Benefit Assurance, was poised to remain a big player in the Nigeria and Africa. He said the company is unconventional company and thrives more on innovation, adding the company is desirous of doing those things that are not

common with its contemporaries in the insurance market. Furthermore, he said the company is open to new ideas and innovations that can help improve the market and its bottomline. â€œIf you know those new things you want to introduce to the market, talk to us because thatâ€™s what we are interested in.â€? According to him, Mutual Benefitâ€™s quest for innovation, has earned it more awards such as the African Insurance Organisation (AIO) â€œMost in-

novative Company awards and that last month, the company, also won â€œInter-switch most innovative insurance Company awardsâ€?. Omosehin, said these awards were won by the company due to its unique way of doing business in Nigeria and Africa. According to him not much will be achieved if the industry and its players continue to do things the normal way, adding that when innovation and creativity is introduced to the business, the much desired results will be achieved.

On claims payment, he said the company in the past nine months of 2017 has paid a total of N12.6 billion as claims both for general and life business. He gave the breakdown, saying N1.7billion was paid on non- life while N1.5 billion was paid on life business. According to him, the company paid N9.4 billion on maturity and surrenders including deposit admin claims. He assured that the company is committed to keeping to the promise of prompt claims settlement to their customers.

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NPA Unveils Set of Modern Pollution Equipment Eromosele Abiodun The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala-Usman has pledged her managementâ€™s commitment and continued support in the area of capacity building towards greater efficiency and service delivery. Speaking at the passing out ceremony of 125 Officers of Squad 49 of Fire Service Department of the Authority in Lagos recently, Bala-Usman expressed excitement at the fact that 21 out of the squad are of the female gender, stressing that it is an indication that women are beginning to see the value of breaking the barriers of limitation that the society has place on them. According to her, manage-

ment is aware of the numerous challenges in todayâ€™s business environment and would ensure that it works assiduously towards realizing its mission statement of providing efficient port services in a safe, secure and customer-friendly environment. She charged the new officers to join the pool of vast professionals abound in the organisation in delivering nothing but excellence to the Industry in line with its vision. In addition, she told stakeholders that the ancillaryâ€™s skills acquired by the officers like swimming and water rescue, articulated vehicle driving, road traffic, crash rescue and first aid treatment are critical ingredients for professionalism, adding that management would ensure that

they impact meaningfully in the system. Furthermore, she pledged commitment and support to the Fire Service Department at delivering plausible services in line with industry standards. Stating that the NPA pays premium to best practices, she noted that â€œour objectives is to modernise and transform operational services to enshrine efficient and quality services.â€? She called on the officers to join management in this noble task. In a related development, Bala-Usman has expressed satisfaction in the area of environmental pollution preparedness of the organisation concerning oil spillage on the nationâ€™s territorial waters.

SIFAX Boss Urges Quick Fix of Tin Can Port-Coconut Road Eromosele Abiodun Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, has urged the government to quickly intervene in fixing the Tin-Can/Coconut port access road to avoid the impending shut down of operations at the Tin Can Island Port. The road has become almost impassable as many portions of it contain large craters and ditches, and this sorry state has made evacuation and delivery of containers and other consignments by heavy-duty trucks a tortuous experience while other port users daily groan under the weight of this unbearable condition. The SIFAX Group boss noted that if the road is not quickly fixed, there is a looming danger of port congestion which will negatively affect port operations and ultimately, the countryâ€™s

economy. He said: â€œI want to urge the government to quickly fix the Tin-Can Island Port access -- Coconut road, even if it is just some form of palliatives. This road has completely broken down, with attendant chaos experienced by road users on a daily basis. Moving containers from the port to bonded terminals at Okota and other surrounding areas is now an uphill task. â€œYou will be lucky to make, in about six to eight hours, a journey that normally takes 30 minutes. At times, the road would be completely blocked with no visible movement for hours. Many agents could no longer deliver on their promise to their consignees. We want the government to intervene urgently and save the industry from this serious infrastructure crisis. A palliative at this time

will be in order, even as we look forward to a more sustainable solution to all the roads in Apapa and other deficient facilities in the port.â€? Afolabi also highlighted that the quick intervention in fixing the Tin Can/Coconut port access road will see a significant rise in the revenue accrueing to the government through relevant agencies. He explained that the dwindling revenue of the government from the port is partly due to the deplorable state of the port access road. â€œWhen the road is fixed, there will be an increase in the vehicular movement in and out of the ports. Consignees will quickly move their goods out of the port and will come back to get more goods, this will help increase the revenue being generated by the Customs and other relevant agencies at the portâ€?, he said.

Employ Only People with VeriďŹ able History, Employers Told In a bid to mitigate the growing incidents of repetitive workplace crime as well as to recognise outstanding behavior, employers and recruiters have been urged by VerifyMe Nigeria (VMN), an identification and employment data reporting platform, to ensure that only workers with verified identities and work history are considered for employment in their organisations and homes. Speaking on the companyâ€™s unique offering, Tunji Oluwole, Founder and CEO of VerifyMe Nigeria, stated that the service was conceptualised out of the need to ensure workplace transparency in Nigeria, and promote quality of work by compiling and reporting verified employee work history where available. He said: â€œVerifyMe Nigeria is identification and employment data reporting platform that will curb workplace crime, provide additional security in our homes, and enable business

to employ the right resource. Prior to our emergence on the scene, the standard practice was for employers and recruitment agencies to screen workers based on information supplied by the workers themselves. This creates a credibility gap as people will naturally proffer information that benefits their interests. As a result, insightful data is lost along the way which the employer, and sometimes, even the worker, eventually pays for in unpleasant circumstances.â€? Also speaking on the proposition, Mr. Esigie Aguele, Chief Operation Officer of VMN, stated that the company deploys cutting edge technology to provide reporting insights to enable employers of labour make informed hiring decisions. According to him, â€œOur innovative solution captures, compiles and maintains a unique and secure identity verification of each worker on the database so employers are reasonably sure of the identity of who they

employ into their organisations and homes. It also ensures that they have access to the comprehensive work history of their employees on demand. Our portal leverages on government data points for unified identity verification and all our biometric devices meet international standards for collecting and maintaining biometric data. Aguele also explained that the ability of employers to access workersâ€™ documented identity and work history reports by previous employers serves aas a secure secondlevel check to the records presented by the candidates themselves. According to him, â€œThe idea is for employers of labour to register their workers on the VerifyMe Nigeria portal so they have a unified database for their workers. This, in turn, will eliminate incidences of ghost workers and other human capital risks.

RISK MANAGEMENT WATCH Robert Mbonu

Enterprise Risk Management: The Public Sector (III)

isk management is not a new concept within the public sector. What is needed is to integrate risk management into the strategic and decision making processes that cut Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂŽĂ?ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă? Ě™ ËŞĂ?ĚšËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ™Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă™Ă&#x;ĂžĂŽĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? of managing risks within functional silos. The Ă‹ĂŽĂ™ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂšĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă• Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ě™ Ěš Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă? ĂšĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă“ĂŒĂ–Ă?Ë› Recent failures in the private sector have put a spotlight on enterprise risk management Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ Ă?ĂœĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă¤Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ËŞĂ? overall health and long-term sustainability. Studies and other writings have shown that Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ™Ă?Ă? Ă’Ă?Ă–Ăš Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ— better. It was found that organizations that Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă¤Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ? advantage in their risk management competency. The purpose of this concluding three part article is to provide public sector managers ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ ĂžĂ’Ă? ËŤ ËŹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ËŤ ËŹ ĂžĂ™ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ăœ ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ–Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ë›

Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ™ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?ËŞĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ëœ Ă‘Ă™Ă Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă? those within the public sector must find ways to weave risk management strategies and tactics into their everyday operations and Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă–Ë› is fast becoming an important activity for many agencies to undertake as a solution for bringing various agency risk activities all together. While traditional risk management Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ“ĂžĂ?Ëœ Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă˜ Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂœĂ“Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă“Ă–Ă™Ă?Ëœ Ă–Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ’Ă? ËŤĂĄĂ’Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?ĂšĂ‹Ă?Ă?Ă?ËŹ ĂŒĂ?ĂžĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă˜ organizational functions â€œopen to interpreĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë›ËŹ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ&#x;Ă? Ă›Ă&#x;Ă™ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ™ Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăš Ă™Ă&#x;Ăž of their organizational comfort zones and into a collaborative environment to discuss Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă™Ă˜ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă•Ă?Ëœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă™Ă Ă?Ăœ Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ăž risks as well. While there is great expectation and hope for ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂšĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă?Ă?ĂĄ success stories and best practices available in the public sector in Nigeria to benchmark. This may be due in part to the multiplicity of missions and objectives of government Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă?Ă? Ă“Ăž ĂŽĂ“ĘŠĂ?Ă&#x;Ă–Ăž ĂžĂ™ Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă Ă? Ă‹ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ĂšĂšĂœĂ™Ă‹Ă?Ă’ ĂžĂ™ Ë› The lack of a standard methodology across the public sector should not discourage agencies Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ–Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ëœ Ă‹Ă? Ă Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽË› Ă‹Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă‹ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă›Ă&#x;Ă? ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? ĂžĂ™ Ëœ ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă Ă?Ă˜ ĂŒĂŁ ĂŽĂ“ĘĽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă‘Ă™Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™ĂŒĂ”Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ“ĂžĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĘĽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă’ agency can use the approach of one of the established risk management standards and frameworks as working models. The overall Ă‹ĂšĂšĂœĂ™Ă‹Ă?Ă’ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă’ Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă“Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă‹ĂœËœ and should be selected based on relevance to particular circumstances. Some of the best Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ? ÍťÍšÍ¸Í¸Í¸ Ě™ÍşÍ¸Í¸Î ĚšËœ the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂŽĚ‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁ Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ě™ Ěš Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂšĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă• Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂœĂ‹Ă—Ă?ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹ĂŽĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă“Ă?Ă• Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂœĂ‹Ă—Ă?ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ë› Ă’Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂ™ Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ–Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă‘ĂœĂ‹Ă— ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž ĂŒĂ? Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă‹ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?ĂžËœ must include the investment to train workers to change their mindset and attitudes to ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă•Ë› Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă—ĂšĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă– Ă™Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă Ă?Ă˜ ĂŽĂ™ĂĄĂ˜ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă¤Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă™ Ă‘Ă?Ăž Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ?ĂŽËœ a summary of the following steps can be

taken:- a program implantation must start with developing a risk management lexicon to ensure consistency of terminology across ĂžĂ’Ă? Ëž Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ Ëž Ă&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ™Ă—Ă“Ă¤Ă? Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂŁËœ Ă‹ĂšĂšĂœĂ™Ă‹Ă?Ă’ and methodology based on the specific ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă˜Ă?Ă˘Ăž Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă‘Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă¤Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂŒĂŁ Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ Ă“Ă?Ă• Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă? Ëž Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă‹ ĂŽĂ?ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ â€œrisk championâ€? with good communication Ă?Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă? Ëž Ă?Ă‹ĂŽ Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă• Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă¤Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ËšËŹĂœĂ“Ă?Ă• championâ€? should be a member of executive management â€“preferably at director level Ă“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă“Ă Ă“Ă– Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? Ëž Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă˘Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă– Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂžËœ Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ë› Ă’Ă?Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?Ă–Ă™ĂšĂ—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? framework. This will entail: - Designing a ĂšĂ™Ă–Ă“Ă?ĂŁ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂžĂ–Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă¤Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ËŞĂ? expectations regarding the management Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă•Ă?Ëœ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂŁËœ Ă‹ĂšĂšĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ?Ëœ Ă‹ĂžĂžĂ“ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă™ĂšĂ’ĂŁ Ëž Ă™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă–ĂŁĂ?Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă™ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă“Ăž Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ëž Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜ the risk architecture which defines roles and responsibilities. This will involve engaging ĂžĂ’Ă™Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ’Ă™ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă•Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ Ă“Ă˜Ă’Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă•Ă?Ëœ ĂžĂ™ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?Ă–Ă™Ăš Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă–ĂŁĂžĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă– ĂžĂ™Ă™Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă“Ă›Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ëž Ă?Ă?Ă• ĂŽĂ“Ă Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă– ĂžĂ™ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă• Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ opportunity management. Ă“Ă•Ă? Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ–Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă‘ĂœĂ‹Ă— Ă“Ă? Ă˜Ă™Ăž ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’Ă™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă–lenges and limitations. It must be driven with commitment and will take time and dedication to achieve. Limitations result from the realities that human judgment in decision making can be faulty. Other chalĂ–Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă˘Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă– Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă™ĂœĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă‘Ă™Ă Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ëœ Ă‹ Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă• Ă™Ă? Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă• Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă• Ă™Ă? Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂŽ risk management professionals and expertise all add to the challenges. Ă™Ăœ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă“Ăž ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂžĂ‹Ă•Ă? Ă‹ Ă’Ă™Ă–Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă? approach across the entire organization to realize the full impact of risk management. Ă™Ăœ Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă? Ă Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ëœ Ă˜Ă™ Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂžĂ?Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂšĂ?Ëœ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? Ă?Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ ĂžĂ™ point the agency in the right direction towards ĂŒĂ?ĂžĂžĂ?Ăœ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ?Ë› The effort to integrate risk management and tying risk processes together through ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă‹ĂŽĂ‹ĂšĂžĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă Ă? ËŞĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă‘Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? sector is essential if government is to take Ă‹ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ and projects and service delivery. This way government can play their proper role in the long-term development of our economy and Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂžĂŁËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™ĂžĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ‹Ă– environment. Ëž ĂŒĂ™Ă˜Ă&#x;Ëœ Ëœ Ě™ ĚšËœ Ëœ Ă? Ě™ ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜ĚšËœ Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂŽ Ă˜Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜Ă•Ă?Ăœ Ëž ĂŒĂ™Ă˜Ă&#x;Ëœ Ëœ Ě™ ĚšËœ Ëœ Ă? Ě™ ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜ĚšËœ Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂŽ Ă˜Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜Ă•Ă?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂšĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă• Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ë› Ă‹ĂœĂ˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ ĂšĂ™Ă?Ăž Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹ĂžĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă?Ă• Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă?ĂĄ Ă™ĂœĂ• Ă˜Ă“Ă Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă“ĂžĂŁ ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜ Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă™Ă– Ă™Ă? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă? Ă‹ Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ&#x;ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă• Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ě‹ Ë› Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Í¸Î Í¸Î ÍşÍ¸Î ÍşÍ¸ÍźÍž Ě™ Ă˜Ă–ĂŁĚšËž Ă?Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ë? ĂœĂ—ÍźĂœĂ“Ă?Ă•Ă—Ă‘ĂžĚśĂ‘Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—

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AIR WATCH

FAAN to Provide Incentives for Export of Farm Produce Chinedu Eze Foremost exporter of agricultural produce, ABX World Nigeria has received support from the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for its latest moves to export perishables to Europe. The Director, Commercial and Business Development at FAAN, Sadiku Abdulkadir Rafindadi who hinted that the agency would support the company, described ABX Worldâ€™s initiatives on agricultural lifting to Europe as quite inspiring and overwhelming. He made the remarks when top management of ABX visited his office to seek FAANâ€™s support towards the programme. Applauding the gesture, Rafindadi said that with the support of the Ministry of Aviation, FAAN would accord the company the necessary encouragement and support to continue the

project capable of generating millions of employment for the teeming youths. He also urged the company to key into the federal governmentâ€™s export initiative by accessing incentives available so that they can reap the benefits as provided by the government policy on agro-allied produce through the Export Processing Zones (EPZ). Responding, the Managing Director of ABX World Nigeria Limited, Captain John T Okakpu, said commendations from FAAN showed governmentâ€™s willingness to support the initiative, which is capable of revolutionising agriculture in the country. According to him, agriculture has been the primary export basin and foreign exchange earner for Nigeria until focus shifted to oil and gas, â€œbut the current trends in the international oil market leaves us with one option,:

going back to our root, which is agriculture.â€? Asked if the market for these agriculture produce is guaranteed,, Captain Okakpu, said, â€œThe market has already accepted our products. What we did early last year was to take it to them for test to see if it is acceptable. â€œNow we have gone through the process of certification of the farmers because everything about food in Europe and any part of the world is safety. Interestingly, abx world is the only Global GAP certified company and the only member from Nigeria. The Company is also EU certified (EUC) cargo agent, and Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) â€œAuthorised Cargo Agent. â€œGlobal Gap is the network that controls all the supermarkets in the North America and Europe and once you have their certification, the market is guaranteed,â€? Capt. Okakpu said.

Experts Call for Specialised Aviation Lawyers Chinedu Eze Experts in the legal profession have called for more lawyers to train as aviation experts so that they could play significant roles in aircraft leasing, insurance and other aspects of negotiations where legal advice and counsel are needed. Speaking at the maiden edition on the Annual Seminar of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law, themed â€˜Unlocking the potentials of aviation law and practice in Nigeria,â€™ Managing Director, Landover Company Ltd, Edward Boyo said that young lawyers should look at playing effectively in the aviation space as so much work still need to be done. â€œAviation is complex and requires a lot of intellectual legal work and young lawyers should look into this area. There are lots of litigations and opportunities for law firms in this sector,â€? Boyo said. He faulted the decree 9 of the 1995 Act, which gives the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) power to

operate as a minister, adding that in 2006 Act, part of the FAAN act was not repelled. Boyo explained that these conflicts in the Acts kill confidence of foreign investors and stakeholders in the sector. He reiterated the need to address the gaps in these legal frameworks for aviation to grow in Nigeria. Chief Executive Officer, Maevis Nigeria Limited, Tunde Fagbemi said in Nigeria, country of over 180million people, propensity to travel is 0.04, when compared to South Africa with a population of 54million people, propensity to travel is 0.49. Fagbemi said if Nigeria can double propensity to travel, the sector will be grow above what it is today. He listed some of the challenges of the sector to include low utilisation of aircraft and runway, infrastructure deficit, controversy over Cape Town convention, issue with aircraft registration, quality and adherence to contracts agreements amongst others.

He noted that over the years, these challenges have persisted because there are no legal system that can stand up to the regulator that is not ethical. Also speaking at the event, Chairman/CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema said aviation industry will not grow except lawyers can key into the sector. Onyema decried the almost absence of effective lawyers in the sector and suggested that legal practice in Nigeria needs to be cued favourably towards aviation. He urged young lawyers to take special interest in aviation law to ensure the sector was properly served, saying it was a disservice to the country that only a handful of its lawyers could properly handle aviation briefs. Onyema advocated a law making lawyersâ€™ involvement in the acquisition of aircraft and other key aspects of the aviation industry mandatory, saying a lot of the rules regulating airline business in the country were impracticable.

Emirates Offers Special Fare to Dubai Emirates said it is offering Nigerian travellers the opportunity to visit Dubai with a special Economy and Business Class return airfare that includes a free third piece of luggage of up to 23 kg. The airline said under the special offer, an Economy Class ticket from Lagos to Dubai costs $899 and Business Class $3499. The fare offer is for a limited time only and tickets must be booked between November 1 and November 17, 2017. Travel must take place between November , 2017 and March 30, 2018. The cost of the

ticket includes airport taxes. Seasonality and blackout dates apply as well as other terms and conditions. Emirates is also offering a free third piece of luggage of up to 23kg for Economy Class and up to 32kg for Business Class. This is in addition to the current allowance of two pieces of up to 23kg in Economy Class and two piece of up to 32kg in Business Class. The airline said Dubai offers something for the whole family. â€œVisitors to Dubai can also experience some of the cityâ€™s newest attractions including

must-see places like Dubai Parks and Resorts featuring three theme parks: Bollywood Parksâ„˘ Dubai, Motiongate Dubai, as well as the regionâ€™s first Legoland Park and Legoland Water Park. In addition to the on-board comforts and products, customers will experience the world famous hospitality from Emiratesâ€™ multinational cabin crew while enjoying chef prepared regional and international cuisine, using the freshest ingredients, accompanied by a wide range of complimentary wines and beverages.

Actualising Enugu Airportâ€™s Intâ€™l Status

Enugun Airport

Actualising Enugu Airportâ€™s Intâ€™l Status When the first international flight took off from the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu on August 13, 2013, it was expected that four years later, the airport would be servicing at least three more international carriers. This is because industry market analysts believe that the airlines would have international passengers from Aba, Enugu, Onitsha, Abakaliki, Nsukka, Owerri, Awka and other areas in the South East and South South zones of the country who would spend less than two hours to the airport and board their flights rather than travel about six hours to Abuja or Lagos to travel overseas. Also there are heavy cargoes coming from mainly Asia, where many businessmen and women from the South East region import goods from and it would be easier to move such goods from Enugu than from Lagos or Abuja because of proximity advantage. In fact, hauling goods from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport to cities in the South East is fraught with many challenges, including the loss or damage of such goods on transit, invasion by night marauders who most often maim and kill truck drivers on the highway, especially in the night. But after the elation of that first flight by Ethiopia Airlines, which has continued to maintain that route, no other airline has started operation from the airport. THISDAY spoke to the Manager of Enugu Airport, Mr. Mgbemene Orji, who explained why the airport has not attracted more international carriers, which also explained why even some local carriers are not operating the route despite passenger surge. Orji explained that the airport cannot operate 24 hours because of structural deficiencies at the airport, but for now it could only operate from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm daily. The Manager said there is no enough water for firefighting because it is difficult to dig borehole at the airport due to coal deposits. Currently the airport management buys water from tankers everyday but this is not enough to provide adequate fire cover for large body aircraft or higher number of aircraft traffic. â€œCurrently we are building overhead tank but it is nothing if we cannot source underground water, which will be in adequate supply to meet the fire cover needs,â€? Mgbemene said. He also noted that there are no approach lights, which are usually located at the two ends of the runway, about four kilometers before the runway. These are lights that guide the aircraft to the runway, especially in the night. â€œOn one side of the approach to the runway, there is Orie Emene Market, which must be relocated so that the approach light can be installed. The other side of the approach is located at Abakpa Nike area of Enugu. The day FAAN engineers wanted to install lights

at that area, the indigenes said they were not compensated for the land and therefore would not allow the installationâ€?, he added. The Airport Manager also disclosed that there are two masts, one owned by Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) and the other by the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) at the Abakpa Nike end of the runway. These masts obstruct flight approach, necessitating that immediately the aircraft takes off it must bank right to avoid collision with the masts. This makes flying to Enugu airport more difficult during the Harmattan. But the Enugu State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ogbuagu Anikwe in reaction to the problems of the Enugu Airport said, â€œThe Enugu State government had never been approached by FAAN in relation to the foregoing issues. Besides, most of these concerns are actually not areas state governments can statutorily delve into.â€? THISDAY learnt that more international airlines would be operating to Enugu if these obstacles were removed and the benefits of 24 hours flight operations to Enugu include more jobs for the citizens, the people travelling at their convenience and also more businesses coming to the city and environs. FAAN believes that the Enugu State government could help to solve these problems because it would be of immense benefit to the state and its people when more airlines begin to fly to Enugu, popularly known as Coal City. For example, Enugu stat government can settle the host community at the Abakpa Nike area so that the approach light can be installed by compensating them for the land even engage them to protect the installation and the state government can also relocate the Orie Market in Emene. THISDAY gathered that Emirates, Qatar Airways and some international cargo airlines may indicate interest to operate from Enugu if thee safety critical equipment is installed. â€œI am aware that there are plans by some cargo airlines to bring cargo from Dubai, Malaysia, China and other parts of Asia through the Enugu airport if the airport can operate for 24 hours. Most international airlines like to operate in the night to their hub so that they will start distributing passengers to their connecting flights in the morning. Night flights will really help the Enugu airport,â€? an official of FAAN told THISDAY in Lagos. THISDAY also gathered that there is job to be completed on the Enugu airport runway by Julius Berger, which has been called back to site and work on the terminal building is yet to be completed. â€œThere is a subsisting contract on the runway and work on the terminal building so the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has called the company back to site,â€? revealed the FAAN official in Lagos.

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BUSINESSWORLD

AVIATION

Abdullahi: Low-cost Airlines will Boost Domestic Travel Director of Consumer Protection, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Adamu Abdullahi said fares must be affordable for more Nigerians to travel by air. He also proffered solutions to the menace of the Harmattan season on flight operations. Chinedu Eze presents the excerpts: Could you please explain why air fares on international ďŹ‚ights in Nigeria are relatively higher than other countries in West and Central Africa, including Ghana? We took this up at a stage to the extent that the NCAA sponsored people to go to Ghana, buy tickets, find out the cost and come back and compare with what is obtainable here. Now ticket prices are deregulated, it is demand that determines cost. In the immediate past administration in 2015, there were times when our first class and business class tickets on British Airways cost about double what it cost in Accra, which is the same distance to London. But the ticket cost at least for those classes of tickets (business and first class), the aircraft from Ghana will leave both classes of seats empty while here we have over booking on those same seats and most of them paid for by government. So it is still a question of demand and supply. The airline explained to us that ticket fares are on the high side because the demand for them is very high and we went through their records and found out that it was what actually determines their prices. So, like I said earlier, ticket prices have been deregulated; we donâ€™t tell them how much to sell their tickets. You will notice that the cost of tickets by Nigerian airlines that operate international destinations are usually less which means that if more Nigerian airlines operate international services Nigerians will pay less? Airline business is a very funny business; you see preferences of passengers are really something that sometimes if you look at it, it doesnâ€™t make sense. A passenger will be willing to pay, maybe, double what he would have paid on Medview to go on BA. It is a class thing. They will announce, oh I travelled on BA instead of Medview, that is exactly what is happening. But all the same, I am positive that if we are able to take these things out seriously on Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) that we have signed with these countries and we insist on reciprocity clause so that our own airlines fly to their own countries; just the same way that they fly to our country, it will be a much better deal for us. This will now make international airlines even go into code-share agreement and interlining arrangements with the domestic airlines. And that will grow our own domestic airlines and make them quality wise better than they are today. Compared to last year, would you say there is improvement in passenger movement; that more Nigerians are traveling in 2017? In both cases I would say yes, as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) itself pointed out in its outlook for the year2017, first, second quarters, we have seen certain jump in passenger traffic in Nigeria. You know we faced recession in 2016, which started easing this year; so there is the general believe that we are out of recession. So we have seen improved traffic because even the airlines that have reverted to the use of smaller aircraft are now reverting back to their original aircraft sizes. And we have seen Emirates getting ready now to operate out of Abuja and their two flights, frequencies into Lagos daily, is also about to commence, which means that there is going to be serious improvement in number of people travelling. But more importantly, when it comes to passenger handling we donâ€™t normally have any issues with international airlines. It has been like that over the years. The area that we are having small hiccups are areas of baggage handling and the ones that really touched our hearts are the ones that involved passengers with induced mobility who had their wheelchairs damaged by the airlines

Abdullahi

especially Turkish Airlines, we have had issues with that; even though one of the issues have just been resolved. The passenger and the airline have agreed. The airline has agreed to pay N1.3 million as damages to the passenger to go and repair the wheelchair, because it is not beyond repair; if it were, we would have insisted on full compensation for the cost of the wheelchair. But the passenger agreed that the chair is repairable, so N1.3 million has been agreed. And within this week that would have been sorted out. We still have two other issues we are looking at. I believe that what actually happened is due is security reasons. You see when wheelchairs are carried in the belly of the aircraft by the time they arrive, security agents become worried at the number of wheelchairs passengers are coming along with and in scrutinisng the wheelchair they reduce them to pieces to make sure there are no drugs hidden in them. In the long run nothing was found in this case and the airline, of course, being the one that received and tagged the wheelchairs are those who are liable for any damages that have been done to the wheelchairs. So we are getting to the root of it and we are making progress. I would say by and large these are the major issues that we have contended with this year; otherwise, the airlines have been behaving well even the ones that they didnâ€™t when we call their attention to them they would behave well. In the case of the 22 students of Glisten International College, Abuja, for instance, in which some students were left unattended in Turkey, that has been resolved and the airline offered each and every aggrieved child return trip to any destination that the airline goes to and so far four members of the family but one have collected that compensation. So these are the only major issues otherwise the airlines have really been behaving well.

Over time our airports have not been able to put facilities on ground for easy movement of people with reduced mobility. Who should be blamed for this: the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the airport managers or NCAA, the regulator? We have oversight over FAAN, so whatever observations we make the onus is on us to draw the attention of the management of FAAN to its short comings in the airport. This is something that we have noted and we have raised it in one or two of our meetings. It is going to be a very difficult thing but it is doable. This is because once you ensure that the lifts and escalators work; that means wheelchair passengers can have access to these lifts and escalators. But then there are places where you need slopes as opposed to staircases so that wheelchair passengers can be wheeled in those spaces. Lagos and Abuja have platforms. Platforms are the equipment used to raise wheelchair passengers to the door of the aircraft so that they can be pushed into the aircraft. The airlines who now handle these passengers with this mobility have to pay for that service, so rather than expect that FAAN would give them the service free of charge, FAAN concession that service to the concessionaire. So they are to collect the cost for the platform.

it will be even much more competitive with air transport. Now that the roads are even bad with all kinds of challenges, people still prefer to go by road because it is much cheaper than air. But what will determine lower cost of tickets is when we have these low cost carriers and then also the right sizing of our aircraft. This is because it is fool headed for one to use Boeing B73 to operate short distance, like Akure-Lagos. For instance, if you are going to Akure then you take 164- seater aircraft; of course you know that you are not going to fill that aircraft. Secondly, the cost of fuelling for that aircraft, you canâ€™t even get the cost back. And you are not playing a political game, this is not Father Christmas, it is business and you go into to business to make money. That is why state government goes into agreements with airlines to come to their airports and they offset some of these costs so that the airlines will come. The same thing happened in Gombe, Dutse, but as you can see, as money became less and less available, all the agreements have now been falling by the wayside. No flights go to Bauchi now; Gombe is essentially commercial and sometimes you pay up to N25, 000 or N30, 000 to get to Gombe. I would say the introduction of low cost carriers is going to be the way out and the right sizing of aircraft.

What are the things you think will be needed to make more Nigerians travel by air? First and foremost, cost. People still believe that the cost of air travel is on the high side. What would have reduced it is the introduction of low cost carriers; that is what has happened in Europe and in the Americas that people now use the opportunity to fly. Even at that; when Air Peace came to the market and started flying to Akure recently and introduced N10, 000 tickets, people felt they cannot afford it and have continued to go by road. By the time our railways are fully developed

Would you say the industry is looking up generally both domestic and international operations? I would say yes because the way our economy is improving, the latest news is that 70 percent of pilgrims that went on hajj from Kebbi and Sokoto state are farmers. For the last two years if you are a farmer, the economy has improved, especially the rice farming that brought about the arrangement between Kebbi and Lagos and they were selling the Lake Rice. It was a very CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

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ABDULLAHI: LOW-COST AIRLINES WILL BOOST DOMESTIC TRAVEL good arrangement and many of the farmers were smiling to the bank to the extent that they could afford to go on Hajj. So I would say the better the economy, the more the people will travel. Now that we are looking into other aspects of our economy as opposed to only one, by the time mining comes on, agriculture is also there, you will see that a lot of things will happen. And we are getting value added industries into the system, it is not just farming rice that is the issue, it is parboiling it, polishing it and bagging it. In the case of mining also by the time you go into it you will find out that in the areas where you are positive you are going to get gold, you are going to mine silver and all the other minerals that we have in commercial quantities all over the country. I am positive that it will improve the quality of life of our people.

in services and most of the complaints usually were from Arik and we have seen now that there is a new improved Arik. Things have changed and those areas of complaints are no longer there because the scheduling of that airline has come down drastically to the extent that they can now manage their schedules. And you see that the complaints have really come down because they donâ€™t lose bags anymore, on time departure and on-time arrival and even their staff have really improved, they now interface with the public in a more jovial manner. The pressure was really telling on them before now it is no longer there. In addition, the education, the more they become educated on the fact that there is a regulation and this is what the regulation says they tend to obey as opposed to formerly when they didnâ€™t even know that regulation existed or pretended not to know. Now with the ease of doing business policy introduced by the federal government, there is serious improvement; therefore the complaints have really drastically come down.

During Harmattan which part of the country are usually adversely affected and what is the impact on air transport in Nigeria? It is really very bad and what surprises everybody is the fact that we know that theses thing happen and we know that every year by December, January, February we face that same issue yet we donâ€™t address it. You find out that airlines themselves donâ€™t plan against it, they react against it. So we will expect that airlines for instance will now reschedule their flights. It is the same way you have summer schedule, winter schedule, you will now have Harmattan schedule so that they know that visibility improves only during early hours of the day and late hours in the night. And it will take a lot of the hassle off you and off the passengers because the passenger will not have to come and stay in the airport throughout the day, knowing fully well that you cannot fly until night. So airlines have their own fault but then on our own side as government we have our own fault. This is because if Heathrow had zero visibility landing in the 1950s, I donâ€™t see any reason why no Nigerian airport at the moment has zero visibility landing. I have been to fora where airline operators even complained that the standard is too high, that why do we insist on point 800 meters visibility minima; that it is too high, that we should come down to maybe 400 or even 600. But the CAA insist that it has to be that 800 for the mean time because it is safety first. This zero visibility thing is an issue that has to do with both the ILS on the ground and the systems on the aircraft. Most of the aircraft that are operated by our airlines today may not have corresponding systems on the ground. So even if you do it on the ground it means you now have to look at the aircraft and make sure newer aircraft come into the system. I donâ€™t see anything wrong with doing that because newer aircraft means that you have safer skies and you canâ€™t lose by getting safer skies and safer landings; you can only win. Therefore the earlier we start on that the better. We can give out time line and say each airline from now given maybe two years, two months, 24 months to upgrade it on their aircraft and any one that does not have the equipment you phase it out and bring in newer aircraft and it can go on like that. So I donâ€™t see anything wrong with that, it is a policy issue. The airlines said that NCAA charges them for every service, including aircraft inspection and that is part of the reasons why the fares are high? You see the 5 percent ticket sales charge that we collect is not from the airlines, this is added on the ticket price. If your ticket is N100 and you sell it for N105 and give NCAA the N5 will you say you are paying NCAA? And it is not the decision of NCAA or Nigeria alone, it is a worldwide thing. This is because the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) has to be funded by other means and not by government directly in order to maintain their independence. By the time government funds you directly, government dictates, and there is a saying that says he who pays the piper dictates the tune. Therefore that is what the CAAs are running away from, that is why it is the passengers really that are paying that 5 percent and not the airlines.

Abdullahi

Secondly airlines donâ€™t expect that the NCAA will now fund a trip for engineers to go and inspect an aircraft before it comes into the country. You want to buy an aircraft, the regulation says before that aircraft can come into Nigeria; the NCAA has to go and inspect it and make sure it is airworthy, look at its records, make sure everything is intact before it comes into this country. So who will fund that trip? How much will that cost add to the cost of a whole aircraft? I mean, we are talking of peanuts here. They are talking of landing and parking fees, so you want to use the airport and wonâ€™t pay? It is not right. If you enter an aircraft without paying will the airline operate like that? Of course it will not operate. So whether the airport belongs to the airport authority, FAAN, or belong to private individuals like MMA2; the services have to be paid for. The investor ho deployed his hard earned money and put it in an airport is also into commercial venture and he will like to make some profit out of whatever he has invested there. And then there is replacement for all these things, runways have life spans, taxi ways have life spans, the lights have to be maintained, all the ILS (Instrument Landing Systems) have to be maintained and have to be upgraded from time to time. So that cost has to be borne by somebody and that somebody cannot be government. It has to be the airlines, as they do their business they pay for the service rendered to them. How regularly does your directorate meet with the airlines to ensure that passengers are not exploited? We are supposed to hold a quarterly meeting; that is, once every three months, but then we are also free to invite them whenever we have any issue and we are also free to visit them whenever we feel the need to do so. Over the past one or two years, I would say that jawjawing has come down because the money is just not there to call all these meetings as it is stipulated. But all the same we do it at least twice a year, and we donâ€™t call only airlines we call all the stakeholders, Immigration, Customs, all the other security agencies in the airport, handling companies, fuel marketers, everybody is invited. We will now sit down and jaw-jaw and find out where the areas of need are and try to address them. As an example, the day we came back through Arik at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of the Lagos airport here, to find out that our bags would take at least 45 minutes to be on the conveyor belt; this is way below the international standard. And that is when our eyes really opened to the fact that bags are being

delayed on arrival of passengers. So we now asked for a meeting with Arik and the handling company which is Nahco, the airport operator which is FAAN and then our good selves. The thing we found out were mind boggling. First and foremost, the GAT terminal here was built without baggage in mind, the baggage was an after-thought, so when they realised that the folly had been done, quickly a small room was created for baggage. When Arik was operating over 150 flights a day every morning at 6:30 and 7:00 am, that place is a mad house. The fact that they could even sort out the bags is a miracle. Then to add insult to injury, all the floor flooded during the rains to the extent that baggage handlers stand inside pools of water before they could offload bags from the cart onto the conveyor belt and only one cart at a time can be offloaded. And they had only one screening machine there. And Arik used to have one very peculiar arrangement; they have one engineer that has to be at the foot of the aircraft before the baggage room can be opened. So if you arrive and unfortunately for you that engineer has gone on lunch break or has gone to answer the call of nature, then you are on your own. You have to wait for him to come back before that baggage compartment will be opened. So that meeting opened our eyes and brought everything to the fore. We went on inspection, instructed FAAN to see what they can do about that place, increase the baggage screening machine to two machines. The baggage hall itself was expanded from half its size to a third more and the flooring where they used to offload the baggage was done. Nahco itself was told that they have to improve on the number of personnel they have there, so when it comes to offloading the baggage they should have more people there. The baggage handling equipment is inadequate. That singular opportunity threw up all these problems and we had them addressed and things really improved. That is why we always want passengers to complain to us, tell us what is happening, what is going on, because if you donâ€™t put it in writing and tell us what is happening we wonâ€™t know. Passengers get disillusioned to the extent that you tell them to fill form they say they will not fill the form; complain officially they will not complain, they are used to taking the abuse and exploitation. What is the frequency of complaints to your directorate these days? Complaints used to be in 1000s now they are in 100s. Yes there is serious improvement

The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has been complaining that there are some illegal travel agents that will collect money from passengers, block the booking system, but they wonâ€™t issue ticket to the passengers rather they will take the money. And they said they want to work with NCAA to forestall such situation. Have you received such complaints? It will not come here it will go to the DATR (Directorate of Air Transport Regulations) of NCAA. They are the ones who have ticketing and reservation department and NANTA is more or less an extension of that; therefore, all such complaints, I am sure, will be there and once they have already told you that they are partnering with us be rest assured that it will be sorted out and with good result. We have had such an issue with Azman Air. Some crooks went and opened another website and opened a website, Azman Air but Azmanâ€™s website is Air Azman. So if by any chance you go into Azman Air website you will find yourself with those crooks and then you go ahead and make payment into their account only to find out that you are not on any flight. So we called Azman, told them that they have to warn people, which they did; they bought pages on newspapers and warned people that their own website is Air Azman not Azman Air. And then make serious efforts to block that website which we have done successfully. So if there are such issues, please the general public should let us know and we will take it up. The Azman story is a success story and any other one that comes up like that will also be a success. Is it possible for NCAA to insist, as a regulator, that any airport that doesnâ€™t have working airďŹ eld lighting should not operate by FAAN? It is not really a FAAN thing, it is an NCAA thing, categorisation of airport has to be endorsed by CAA, and if you have noticed now we have gone into certification of the airports and Lagos has been certified, Abuja is coming on stream before the end of this year and Kano, Port Harcourt and the others will follow suit. So once you have certified an airport, you have now set a standard, so you can now hold somebody liable, whenever the standards fall, we move in and bring down the categorisation. You see, airports have categorisation based on the airfield lightings, fire cover, security cover, so if you are an international airport you must have Customs and Immigration presence, if you donâ€™t, you are not there. And if you are a 24-hour operations airport of course you will have ILS system, airfield lighting, fire cover in such airport is different from an airport that operates only daylight. So the regulations are very specific; they tell you what the category of the airport is and that is what goes into the books and that is what pilots work with whenever they fly into that airport. So any pilot going into an airport files a flight plan, once that flight plan is filed they look at all these categorisations and they can only give permit for you to land into such airport based on the regulation.

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Reviewing Shipping Charges on Storage Eromosele Abiodun interrogates the claims by customs agents in the country that shipping companiesâ€™ charges on storage contravene the Customs Excise Act International shipping is a complex subject that includes many variables. Proper handling paves the way for a reliable and cost-effective management of ocean freight. That is regardless of whether an importer ships one container now and then, several per month or more than 10 per day. Many businesses depend on viable international shipping to ensure the persistence of partnerships and clients and sustain profitability. Avoiding delays is critical to guarantee an uninterrupted operation. However, international shipments could face shipping delay charges resulting from various clearance issues. Sufficient preparation and understanding the different resulting charges in advance is the key. When it comes to clearance delays, importers, as well as exporters seem to throw around three terms interchangeably: demurrage, detention, and per diem. From common usage, it may seem like they all mean storage when they, in fact, do not. If your international shipment stays beyond a certain amount of allowed free time at a site, you face storage charges. That includes ports, airline terminals, rail facilities or a bonded warehouse. The storage fee compensates the facility for the use of their space and equipment, i.e. a container taking up space or blocking processing. The amount of free days and the charge for storage will differ from one facility to another. This is often also based on the volume an importer or your freight forwarder is passing through the facility. It is a norm the world over for steamship lines to charge demurrage, a fee to compensate for the use of their shipping containers. Experts believe demurrage fees are in place to discourage using the provided containers for storage and to compensate for container usage. â€œBefore you pick up your international shipment, you must pay all demurrage charges in full. The fee may differ greatly from carrier to carrier and from port to port. You are granted a limited number of free days, depending on the carrier and the location. After your free time runs out, you will be charged demurrage for each additional day. These charges tend to increase per day after exceeding a certain amount of days, â€œsaid a top player in the maritime sector The detention charge, he stated, usually applies to domestic trucking adding, â€œThe trucking or drayage company bills you for the so-called detention of their trucker or driver in cases. This happens when the loading or unloading of your shipment or containers takes too long. Detention fees are billed at an hourly rate. You can usually expect a free time or grace period of around one to two hours for loading or unloading a container. But this will depend on whether it is a domestic shipment or destined for import or export.â€? He added that per day applies when an importer require the use of equipment beyond a set amount of free time. â€œSteamship lines and airlines charge this fee, and equipment include ocean containers and unit load devices (ULD). You have some free days, depending on the equipment and the carrier, before per diem kicks in. With imports, the charge applies to cargo leaving the arrival terminal. With exports, it applies to shipments leaving the departing terminal. Per diem fees accumulate until you return the equipment to the terminal of the port, rail yard dock or airline, â€œhe stated. Analysts believe terms of shipping delay charges, often used interchangeably, results in confusion when receiving bills for detention, demurrage and per day charges. Nigeriaâ€™s Peculiarity While it is a known fact that international shipping is completion and intricate, the confusion I the Nigerian maritime industry over shipping companies charges has over the years raised dust with stakeholders at daggers drown as to who is right or wrong. Last week, customs agents in the country called on the federal government to urgently check the unlawful activities of shipping companies and terminal operators whose actions they

STATE OF NIGERIAN PORTS

Poor Ranking on Trading Across Boarders (Ports): 182 out of I85 Countries in World Bank Ease of Doing Business Ranking.

No. of Government Agencies in the Ports: 14 instead of 6

Employment l Potential: 800,000 industrial and 10,000 maritime new jobs.

Average timeline for clearing TEUs: 14 days instead of 2 days.

Revenue Losses: Over N1 trillion attributed to port ineďŹƒciencies.

Costs Attributed to Illegal Payments: About 50% import and 61% export processing costs.

Economic Competitiveness Index: 124th out of 140 countries in 2016 â€“World Economic Forum.

Delays: 71% of the time spent to import and 64% of the time spent to export are linked to delays.

Large GDP Size $478 billion, now 2nd largest in Africa

said hinder imports and exports and violate the ease of doing business directives issued by the government. In a petition addressed to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the customs agents alleged that the shipping companies and terminal operatorsâ€™ charges on storage contravene Sections 20, 31 and 97 of the Customs and Excise Management Act that limit the days for rent charges and conferred authority to Nigeria Custom to charge rent after specific days by the board. The agents in the petition signed by National President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero stated that duplication of charges such as terminal delivery charges/ terminal handling charges, deposit repayment delays and process procedure that lack regulation of the economic interest in the port. They stressed that there is the need for the federal government to intervene to address the cost of doing business by a total review of the procedure, process and cost in the ease of doing business. The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PBBEC), they added, should urgently address the following short falls, which is militating against our import and export trade that resulted to massive diversion of goods to neighbouring ports. Also, the agents called on the federal government to use part of the seven per cent port development levy for the development of port access roads, trailer parks. According to Amiwero, â€œThe condition of the Tincan Island Port Axis of Apapa Oshodi express road leading to the ports is a death trap, big potholes and gridlocks resulting in loss of lives and continued destruction of loaded goods that always fall on cars, trailers and sometime persons. â€œIt is a complete setback to trading across borders (TAB) for ease of doing business on

trucks that spend weeks to access and exit the ports which result to delay and rejection on most of the fragile export products in international market and high cost in import clearance. â€œThe Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) is no more in port operation, the percentage collected from the seven per cent Port Development Levy should be used for the development of the trailer parks and port access roads.â€? On the increase of revenue collection on the recovery of short levied duties on discrepant cargo as provided under Section 142 of Customs and Excise Management Act, he said: â€œThe discrepant cargo, as covered under Section 142 of the Customs and Excise Management Act and the Import guideline paragraph J are non contraband goods with discrepancy, which is allowable for treatment and issued with demand notice (DN) Section 142-(2). â€œRecovery of Duties states: Where any duty has been short levied or erroneously repaid, then the person who should have paid the amount short levied or to whom the repayment, has erroneously been made, shall on demand by the proper officer, pay the amount short levied or repay the amount erroneously repaid as the case may be. Any such amount may be recovered as if it were duty to which the goods in relation to which the amount was so short levied or erroneously repaid were liable.â€? Amiwero also called on the government to address multiple checks and delays of clearance by Nigeria Customs Service. He said: â€œThe process of clearance is associated with multiple interventions of various alerts headquarters Abuja, CIU, Valuation Gate etc that takes days and increase the cost and time in contravention of WCO Kyoto convention on simplification and harmonization of Customs procedures. â€œThe Customs procedure should comply with WCO Kyoto convention and (FAL) Convention of (IMO) for Minimisation, harmonisation and

simplification of Customs procedure with regards to various checks after release from the Port, (FOU), CG Squad in line with international best practice of One-Stop-Shop process.â€? Ease of Doing Business Directive The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo had in a bid to boost business activities in the country earlier I the year signed the ease of doing business executive order. The effort was in the attempt to grow the country out of recession, stimulate economic activities and generally improve the business environment in Nigeria through Promotion of Transparency and Efficiency. Federal Ministries, departments and Agencies have since gone into frenzied activities in the bid to carry out the Executive Orders and exhibit compliance with a view to achieving the objectives of the orders. One of the fall outs of the Executive Orders is on Port operations and this brought to mind the challenge of ensuring ease of doing business at the entry points vis a vis the subsisting issue of influx of sub-standard and harmful products of very low quality into Nigeria. In 2011, then Minister for Finance and Coordinating Minister for the economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, ordered that agencies like NAFDAC, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Agricultural Quarantine Services to exit the Seaports. Prior to the pronouncement, all of the regulatory and security agencies have offices located within the seaports complexes. The executive pronouncement then clearly directed that they all relocate their offices outside the ports and participate in cargo examinations on the invitation of the Nigerian Customs Service. Outside this, no effort has been made by government to check the excesses of shipping companies and terminal operators whose activities seem to be undermining the ease of doing business directive.

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Uwaleke: CBN Should Check Insider Loans in Banks As concerns increase over the level of non-performing loans in some banks, an Associate Professor of Finance and Head of Department, Banking and Finance, Nasarawa State University, Dr. Uche Uwaleke wants the Central Bank of Nigeria to strengthen its supervision to ensure that insider loans are minimised. He spoke with Ndubuisi Francis. Excerpts The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently retained the policy rate and all others. Whatâ€™s your take on that? Having held the policy rate at 14 per cent since July last year under a tight monetary policy regime in an effort to tame high inflation and stabilise the exchange rate, I had thought it was time to signal a gradual easing of monetary policy considering the waning headline inflation, some level of stability in the exchange rate on the back of improved liquidity and the marginal positive growth in real GDP recorded in the second quarter of 2017. Other factors remaining the same, lower MPR is expected to translate to reduced lending rates by the banks, increased access to funds by the real sector, cheaper cost of capital for firms leading to more job opportunities. An accommodative monetary policy stance at this time is also expected to reduce the high cost of debt service by the government which has been crowding out public spending. Unfortunately, however, other factors are hardly ever the same. The positive macroeconomic indicators witnessed in recent times are still fragile and vulnerable to oil price shock. The Q2 GDP growth was chiefly driven by the oil sector. Similarly, improvement in capital importation was more from the highly volatile portfolio investment. Also, retreating headline inflation is partly accounted for by baseline effect. Besides, at 16.01 per cent (August) the inflation rate is significantly higher than the upper band of 9 per cent set by the CBN. Real interest rate in the economy is negative since the rate of inflation is higher than the policy rate and so bringing down the MPR will further pull interest rate into the negative territory which will not augur well especially for foreign investments. Cognisance should equally be taken of the uncertainty in the global environment especially the normalisation of interest rates in the United States which has the effect of strengthening the dollar with adverse consequences for the economies of developing countries as well as the seemingly complicated Brexit negotiations. Therefore, taken together, it does appear that the balance of risks is in favour of not tinkering with the policy configuration for the time being to give some more space for the policies to work. It bears repeating that the primary mandate of the CBN, as spelt out in the CBN Act of 2007, is to maintain price and exchange rate stability. The decision to hold the rates is dictated by this obligation. Complementary fiscal policies are therefore required to bring about full employment and inclusive growth. To this end, the implementation of the 2017 Budget, especially the capital component, in line with the governmentâ€™s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan should be pursued with vigour. Whatâ€™s your perspective on the Nigerian economy? Where do you think we are headed? I think we already have a map--a blueprint, even though it took time in coming in this administration. But the most important thing is that itâ€™s out. And I think if it is implemented, thereâ€™s hope for the Nigerian economy, especially with regards to diversifying the export base, because to me thatâ€™s the primary aim of that document; to move the economy away from over-dependence on one particular product which has brought a lot of woes to this country. The economic recession that we just had can be tied to the fact that the economic structure is defective, so the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, which is the blueprint that is talked about contains all that it takes or the minimum that is required to move us out of this over-reliance on oil. So implementation is the key. What do you think we should be doing about the fragile growth? South African economy is exiting recession on a firmer footing. Thatâ€™s probably because their economy is a lot more diversified than our own. If you recall the growth in question 0.55 per cent growth, though marginal but in

Uwaleke

my view itâ€™s something considering the fact that we were deeper in recession during the first quarter of 2017 and it grew by negative -0.9 per cent. So, the fact that oil is a major driver, so let me say the growth is fragile is mainly because the growth is driven by one particular sector which is oil. The other one is agriculture, manufacturing sector which is not really driven as much as the oil sector. For example, it grew by 3.01 per cent and even if you compare that to the growth recorded in the first quarter of 2017, you will see that the agriculture sector actually

You see, when you are dealing with deďŹ cit that is arising from the fact that government just has to spend, government has to spend to be able to reďŹ‚ate the economy, ďŹ scal policy is not just about getting more revenue and especially when you canâ€™t afford to say that you are increasing taxes in an economy that is laying down to be able to get revenue

declined. So, the major growth remains the oil sector; the oil price might be looking up now at $58 per barrel but it is one market where anything can happen. The downside risks are still there. What is probably pushing the price now are countries experiencing challenges. Take the US, for example-- their hurricane. So, these things are not sustainable. Itâ€™s very likely that in future particularly now that we are here, the cost of Shale production is on the decline; as low as $23 per barrel so the downside risk is very much there and that is why itâ€™s important we de-emphasise the credit that is coming from oil because we saw the way it crashed in 2014 when we were selling in excess of $100 per barrel and so many went down. So, there is no prediction for oil price that is found today to be accurate ; it can go either way. So, that is the more reason we should shift attention from oil. I agree that itâ€™s fragile and if nothing is done to strengthen the other sectors again, we expose them to external shocks especially coming from oil price. In essence, if you look at the growth we have witnessed, I agree that itâ€™s weak and coming again at a time that we are still having macroeconomic challenges, itâ€™s still improving here and there, though these improvements are not yet strong, which is why in my view, the Monetary Policy Committee still decided to hold the rates as against the popular expectations that the rates should come down. They should consider adopting an accommodating monetary policy. There are concerns in some quarters that the CBN is over-funding the federal government. what is your take on that? You see, when you are dealing with deficit that is arising from the fact that government just has to spend, government has to spend to be able to reflate the economy, fiscal policy is not just about

getting more revenue and especially when you canâ€™t afford to say that you are increasing taxes in an economy that is laying down to be able to get revenue. So, you see to really stimulate the economy again you canâ€™t afford to say that you are cutting taxes. The way it works is for them to spend especially on critical sectors and when you look at the revenue profile, the major source is in decline; that is talking about oil. You are left with no choice but to borrow. That is why government has been borrowing. What is of concern to me is the purpose for which itâ€™s being used, as long as the revenue is used for productive sectors. Itâ€™s not really dangerous. Now, on whether the central bank is over-funding the government, I think we have heard from the horseâ€™s mouth, from the central bank governor. He is in a position to say whether over-funding is being done. The governor talked about the size of these loans to the government. Relative to GDP, Nigeria is about 23 per cent, but for other countries that is far higher, Nigeria is one of the least in the funding status of the central bank. Donâ€™t forget the central bank is not only the banker to the government but itâ€™s also a lender of last resort. So when the government has a deficit to fill up because of the need to spend then I donâ€™t see any problem with the central bank acting as a render of last resort. Again, the CBN Governor talked about the size of the account in the custody of the central bank which is over six trillion naira. So, if that funding is within the custody of the central bank, then itâ€™s not dangerous. For me, again in particular, the most important thing is when we borrow what do we use the money for? If itâ€™s to finance the budget for its implementation, then I think itâ€™s very much in order. CONTINUED ON PAGE 39

WEEKLY PULLOUT

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

LIVING | P31

COLLAGE | P36

THISLIFE | P37

‘GROWING UP, I WANTED TO BE A JOURNALIST OR A LAWYER’

FILE

ACTING EDITOR CHARLES AJUNWA / charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

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‘Growing Up, I Wanted to be a Journalist or a Lawyer’ Losing his mother at seven, he grew under the tough tutelage and grip of his loving but firm father where intrinsic life values became a lifestyle. His friends and neighbours nicknamed him ‘Nnamdi Azikiwe’ because of his love for books and newspapers. Taiwo Agboola, Managing Director, 7interactive, shares with Adedayo Adejobi, his lost passion for the wig and gown trade and journalism, among others Both my parents are late. Mum died when I was seven years, and dad died 17 years ago.

Let’s talk about your recent award, what inspired your entries and most crucially how did you come out tops? The winning entry was a CSR campaign we ran last year and this year. Due to prevalent rape cases, the creative team thought of an anti-rape campaign. When they came to me with the idea which won us the award, I wasn’t very comfortable. The idea was to use some artistes names to endorse the brand without their knowledge. I was afraid for backlash which indeed came, but the truth is when they wrote to us through court, lawyers, we told them the reason and they were more than willing to support the cause. We entered this particular campaign for some awards, however for this year’s Lories award which held in Durbar we were the only West African agency to win an award at this year’s Lories which is the African version of Cannes Festival. It was an exhibition of creative excellence and innovative works. I am very proud one of our works made it to the continental stage.

How does it feel stepping in the role of being a father to your children? I can’t know what my father was going through without a wife then training us, because right now, my wife complains about them being naughty. So, I step in as the big man and tell them the repercussions. I model them very well. I learnt a lot from my dad, and am trying to be the best dad. When you see your children what do they remind you of? They remind me of myself in different ways. My knack for information, inquisitiveness and voracious reading. I am the number one role model to my kids; they always look up to me for anything and everything. How did you get to meet your wife?

Did you at any point know that you were going to win this, and if you did, when they called you what was the feeling like? When we create advertising works there is always the intent on being recognised, however it is. We entered the competition with the zeal of winning. When we saw the shortlist two days before the award proper, we were only three Nigerian agencies. I was hanging out with friends when my Creative Director called to say we won. Awards and recognitions are our reward for creative excellence. In our few years of being in business, we’ve given a good showing of ourselves. We are not resting on our oars. Two years on, how have you managed to accomplish this feat as a young agency? In all honesty, I don’t think that we are where we want to be, but we are grateful, it’s been a combination of luck, great team effort, confidence reposed in our clients. Our aim is to be the first Nigerian agency to win the prestigious Cannes Lion. With a young workforce, do you allow your team creative freedom? What is your own creative approach? Our clients allow for creative freedom from the start. There is creative liberty and the trust of our clients on briefs. What is your idea of an ideal hire for talent, what kind of staff would you hire? Passion. Passion is the first thing we look out for. Passion and creative ingenuity. Now, this does not necessarily mean the person must have worked in a creative agency before. If I ask you some questions, I can deduce if you’ve got the knack for the trade. If you haven’t passion, there is no way I can hire you. As a CEO, you are faced with so many challenges. How do you learn? I learn from the best. I am still learning on the job. There have been challenges, but what you do is you look at people that have grown successful agencies. Learning on the job and the ability to manage people from different background is not easy. But I learn from things around me, my wife, friends and people I respect in the industry. With the recession biting hard on businesses, where media budgets are scaled down, how has your agency been able to keep its heads above the waters? It’s a tough one. The recession coupled with initial fluctuation in exchange rate, has made so many clients cut down budget. We’ve been ingenious by ensuring the client’s keep us. Things are changing. It was worse, but now the money is coming out. Clients are getting smarter, as they want to see returns

We used to work in the same advertising group- FKG2.She worked at Insight and we met through our mutual friend. The first time we were introduced, she was like cocky. Some months down the line we met at a party and that was it. Agboola

on investment quickly. We are doing our best to provide that. How did you cut your teeth in this trade? I wanted to be either a journalist or a lawyer. I had my internship in the news room with one of the big newspapers in Nigeria, and after my NYSC programme, I ran two radio programmes on the radio arm of Akwa Ibom State Broadcasting Corporation. On return to Lagos, I worked as a writer and researcher with marketing mix Nigeria where we published Brands and Products, which became M2. I joined insight Communications and was then seconded to now defunct second line agency FKG2. I left for ZK advertising, then to X3m Ideas and 7interactive. I think it is a combination of passion, hard work, luck, being in the right place at the right time. I am passionate about this job. I sleep and eat advertising. I tell my team this story when they complain about clients calling them in the dead of the night. In 2008, our power had issues, so we rented a generator so as to deliver during Ramadan. We finished by 9p.m., as the client requested I personally send the job to the media houses. With a list of phone numbers and emails I did as instructed. I went home by 1a.m. and the client called to say the ad copies need be in the papers that morning, and all the people I claim to have sent it to didn’t get it. I was shocked. I told her I’ll revert in 30 minutes and cut the call. She called 35 minutes by then, I had driven from the Mainland to the Island and was in front of the office. She called and was screaming ‘I did not tell you to go back to the office’. She quickly called my MD that she didn’t tell him to go back to the office and that we were going to look for a way to manage it. My Managing Director called me by the time I had resent it again by email and got confirmation. The THISDAY Editor then confirmed receipt of it. My Managing Director came and insisted I slept in his house till the next morning. Since then, if any of my team members say something is impossible, she will say no because Taiwo makes things possible so you too should. Some clients can sometimes be irrational, but there are bad clients. All you have is a bad service provider. If you had the opportunity to turn back

the hands of time, would you want to be a journalist or lawyer? My job is not too different from being a journalist. We both have deadlines and beats to cover. I probably will still want to be a journalist, maybe not a lawyer anymore. I could replace that with the business of creativity and journalism. If I don’t read some newspapers in a day, the day is not complete. I might not explore the creative business of journalism on retirement. What kind of child were you growing up? To some I am an introvert, to others I am an extrovert. I looked forward to receiving newspaper from the vendor every morning. As a child, they called me Nnamdi Azikiwe because of my love for books and newspapers. Regardless of the fact the company buys some newspapers; I still buy books and more newspaper every day. Growing up, I was in the literary and debating club. I had my own share of fun. I got beaten when my twin brother and I went to welcome the footballers who came second at the U-17 world cup. I wanted to see them, so we left our house in Mushin and went to the National Stadium. Apparently they were looking for us all over and we were just having fun. They’ve gone to the police station to make a report and at that time I remember we were beaten. I also love football. I watch local football and I tell people who cared to listen that there is no reason why the present crop of officials we have should not bring back the fans to the stadium. What values did you grow up with? The words, ‘‘Remember the child of who you are. I may not have everything but I have one thing honesty,’’ I lent a book from a colleague in primary school- The Pacesetters. My dad was checking my bag, I lost my mum early, and he affirmed not buying the book for me. My father sent one of my sisters to go with me to school to be sure I borrowed it. The guy said that I borrowed it. Then my father said if I perform well, he would buy the pack of four for me, and he kept to his word. My dad taught me contentment and honesty. What’s your relationship with your dad? Is he still alive?

At what point did you know you would marry her? It was when I moved to Ghana. We had a fallout prior to my moving to Ghana. I was living alone in Ghana and I felt I should call. I woke up and called, she picked the phone, and we spoke as though there was no fight. I wanted her and she wanted me too. We are 11 years in marriage and it has been fantastic. Like any marriage there have been rough times, we are still growing. We know how to settle rifts better than when we first got married. When I’m angry, she knows how to calm me. I look forward to going home despite the fact that I am a workaholic. There have been times one has thought of giving up, but when we think of what we shared and the kids, things fall in place. Who is the most romantic of both of you? She is the one. How do you make up for your inadequacies? I buy her lots of gifts to make up for my being less romantic. What is your favourite vacation destination? Barbados. If I have to go to anywhere in Nigeria, it will be Ibadan. The closest I’ve come to nature has been Ibadan. What five books have changed or impacted you positively? My Life, by Clinton, Obama’s Audacity of Hope, the full works of Shakespeare, the whole series of James hardly chase. What expensive vanity items, do you invest in? I don’t have any expensive toy. For me, its shoes- Gucci and Boss and wristwatches would be Rolex. I am not a car freak; I can drive anything as it gets me from point A to point B. What influences your sense of style? Simplicity and being comfortable. In the next five years where do you see yourself? That’s the question I dread the most. I want to be at the pinnacle, to have impacted the knowledge I have in people, and also to have taken this company to the greatest of height. In my private life I want my kids to be what they want to be. I want my marriage stronger, better, and being closer to God.

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Nigeria's Growing Taste for Haute Cuisine As more chefs start serving Nigerian food in expensive restaurants, Ijeoma Ndukwe asks if Nigerians will ever consider paying a lot of money for traditional dishes.

Chicken sandwiched with roasted plantain - a modern twist on traditional ingredients

Smoke rises from a grill as slabs of beef and liver sizzle at an umbrella covered stall - the traditional dish called "suya" is being prepared to sell at a busy food market in Lagos. Customers are served throughout the night - music blasts out of speakers while huge metal bowls filled with rice dishes, peppered snails, fish and meats are heated up on a low flame at each stall. This night market serves popular traditional Nigerian dishes in a relaxed and informal environment. However, the food scene in Lagos is changing and increasingly more sophisticated and cosmopolitan spaces are being introduced to the Nigerian market, offering creative adaptations of local dishes. Food bloggers Nosa Oyegun and Folayemi Agusto, who run Eat.Drink.Lagos - a candid review of the city's restaurants, say that with an influx of players trained in the culinary arts and the emergence of "celebrity" chefs with cult followings, upscale fusion food is steadily rising in popularity. "You have a lot of people that are taking Nigerian dishes that you're familiar with and they're flipping them on their head. People are being more adventurous with Nigerian food, which has always being a taboo thing," says Mr. Oyegun. Ms Agusto adds that she has seen the food scene in Lagos flourish over the past two to three years. "I think the internet is helping to spread the gospel of Nigerian food or the fact that people are doing different things with it. People are sharing what they create via blogs and social media. The world is just more connected." 'Sexy time to be a chef' Chef Alex Oke believes the current "renaissance in cooking" in Nigeria is a step in the right direction for the industry. Mr. Oke grew up in Nigeria until his mid teens when he moved to the U.S., then UK and eventually Canada where he was taught at Vancouver's Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. He returned to Nigeria in 2015 when he realised that attitudes were changing. "Looking at social media I saw it was kind of a sexy time to be a chef in Nigeria. Society in general started to respect chefs a lot more." He trained in French cuisine, but experiments with Nigerian dishes, fusing them with European and Asian influences to create what he calls "gentrified Nigerian food". His pop-up XO Boutique Bakery sees him adopting local ingredients to produce traditional European pastries, such as substituting almonds for cashews - a common nut in Nigeria - in his popular "almond" croissant. Ozoz Sokoh is also a fan of this fusion philosophy. The hobbyist cook who consults and caters for food fairs and events is known as "Kitchen Butterfly" - the name of her prolific blog, which provides a platform for her imaginative interpretation of Nigerian recipes. She speaks with relish about preparing the French upside-down pastry, tarte tatin, using typical Nigerian fruits such as the mango and African white star apple. Ms Sokoh will fearlessly commit jollof

This lively Lagos food market serves customers until the early hours

Suya, spicy grilled meat, is one of Nigeria's popular traditional dishes

Chef Alex Oke calls his fare gentriďŹ ed Nigerian food

blasphemy - throwing "nkwobi" (a cow's foot) into the much-beloved tomato-based rice dish. She has been known to wrap jollof rice in dry fish skin, adding flaked fish and herbs

to make sushi. She has also mashed the African purple pear into a dip similar to guacamole to eat with toast decorated with the flowers of waterleaf - a vegetable used in traditional

soups. But Ms Sokoh says not everyone is receptive to her culinary escapades. "Someone once complained, 'You're taking thinking outside of the box too far,'" she laughs.

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03.11.2017 food. Her restaurant Tarragon has integrated a blend of fundamental French and Nigerian techniques, with dishes such as steak with jollof risotto and braised goat knuckle alongside yam puree. However, industry experts complain that Nigerians are notoriously resistant to change. #VTJOFTTNBO $IVLXVLBFMP "KVMVDIVLXV says, "I like my egusi [ground melon seed] TPVQ UP UBTUF MJLF FHVTJ TPVQ 4PNF UIJOHT are sacred." 4BJEB 0LBEJHCP XIP SVOT B TUZMF XFCTJUF in Lagos, admits, "I wouldn't go to a proper fancy restaurant to eat Nigerian food because I can have it in my house. I can have my cook make it the way I like." Although Nigerian food is well loved, it is not perceived as high-end by the general population, who associates fine dining with foreign fare. #BZP "MBCJ BO FOHJOFFS TBZT :PV DBOhU HP to a Nigerian restaurant and feel that you're having fine dining. I would wonder why I was paying so much for Nigerian food." And the cost of eating out at an upscale restaurant is prohibitively high for the majority. At Nok, a starter, main and cocktail could set you back around 14,000 naira ($39; ÂŁ29). This in a country where most recent figures show that more than 50% of the population lives on less than $2.00 a day. Mr. Oke is convinced that although niche, there is a big enough market with the disposable income to patronise these pioneering food businesses. Also, with an expanding middle class, he believes the trend is set to have a bright future. "We have a huge market here. These new creative [ventures] will find a share of the market. I think when we get richer as a society, people will be more willing to be guinea pigs for culinary experiments." Culled from the BBC

Ozoz Sokoh's jollof rice, with added cow's foot

Yet she believes the search and exploration of identity is fuelling what she describes as a "revolution" in dining. "There's been a surge in everything 'Nigeria', not just cuisine in the past couple of years. It's across literature, culture, history, experiences." Resistant to change Reni Folawiyo has also seen a shift in attitudes towards the consumption of Nigerian and African culture. Her restaurant Nok epitomises the upscale modern African food trend. Congolese soukous music pumps out of the restaurant's sound system, while bartenders serve up cocktails with names like "Lagosians" and "Eko Traffic" featuring local ingredients including "Ogogoro" or Nigerian gin, palm wine and hibiscus.

decorated with the flowers of waterleaf r 'PS B NBJO DPVSTF #SBJTFE HPBU LOVDLMF with yam puree or jollof risotto r 'PS B EFTFSU 5BSUF UBUJO VTJOH XIJUF TUBS apple Ms Folawiyo describes one of the most popular dishes, which has been deconstructed and given the "Nok touch". It is a braised oxtail and bean combination, which has been borrowed from the Yoruba culture, one of the country's indigenous ethnic groups. 4IF SFDBMMT IPX JOJUJBMMZ OPU FWFSZPOF XBT keen on this new way of dining. 4PNF QFPQMF XFSF MJLF 'Why is it not as we know JU h #VU * UIJOL JUhT

DIBOHFE 1FPQMF VOEFSTUBOE XIBU XFhSF trying to do now, that we're not actually offering traditional food. We're offering new African cuisine." Tiyan Alile, who founded the Culinary Academy in Lagos, believes education and young people have played a part in fuelling the production and consumption of refined Nigerian

Old-style Nigerian dishes r 1FQQFSFE TOBJMT r 4VZB UIJOMZ TMJDFE NBSJOBUFE NFBU TQSJOLMFE with mixed spice and grilled r &HVTJ TPVQ DSVTIFE NFMPO TFFET Nigerian fine-dining menu r 'PS B TUBSUFS "GSJDBO QVSQMF QFBS NBTIFE into a guacamole-style dip to eat with toast

And a Nigerian version of sushi

Most Nigerians cannot aďŹ€ord to eat at upmarket restaurants

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Africa’s Best Talents Dazzle at Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2017 Mary Ekah Upcoming and experienced African fashion talents in the fashion industry were proudly showcased as thousands of creatives were connected during the recently concluded Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2017, a four-day event held from October 25 – 28, 2017. Heavily sponsored by Heineken, the event which had the theme, ‘Africa: Shaping Fashion’s Future’, had winners from the maiden Heineken Africa Inspired Fashion Challenge, Lulu Mutuli and AzraWalji, joined the best designers on the continent to present their craft and skills, as the event successfully underscored the need to further rejig the industry to create value for upcoming and experienced players in the African fashion industry. The Lagos Fashion and Design Week has grown to become a significant platform in Africa, leading the way with initiatives to support and strengthen the fashion industry. Connecting with over 20 million pan-African insiders, the event features Runway Shows, Fashion Business Series, Fashion Focus Talks, including the #HLFDW After Party. These initiatives have positioned the fashion show as a unique experience that showcases the beauty of African fashion to the world, depicting how Africa is redefining the

Africa’s Best Talents ... Models at the Heineken Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2017

future of fashion globally. As evidenced during the event, the future lies in pushing a narrative that goes beyond creativity to

adding value to the industry. This means leveraging on various platforms and initiatives that provide knowledge acquisition, capacity building, skills development and job creation for the continent, with massive support for an ecosystem of thriving fashion businesses that can impact the African economic landscape. Just as Heineken has broken borders from its birth place in Amsterdam, Netherlands to 192 countries around the world, creatives in the African fashion industry are massively breaking new boundaries to make huge impact around the world. Building on this new narrative, the Lagos Fashion and Design Week serves as a platform for Heineken to demonstrate its support for African fashion designers, showcasing renowned and upcoming fashion designers, and their African-inspired creations – which culminated in the first-of-its-kind capsule collection presented at the event. In celebrating the richness of the African design culture and innovation, Heineken launched the East African edition of the Africa Inspired Fashion Challenge, which is the brand’s first design initiative in the region. This exciting project motivated the most innovative designers to join a journey in conceiving and creating a truly HeinekenInspired African Fashion Collection.

AnyanwuUtutu Set For November 3 Nollywood producer Chioma Okoye is set to change TV experience in the Southeast with the official premiere of her latest drama series, AnyanwuUtutu. Produced under Purple Ribbon entertainment, the film, which aims at promoting the culture and tradition of Ndi Igbo, is centred on the lifestyle of people living along the riverine area of Anambra, otherwise known as Omambala. Billed for Friday November 3, at the Stanel World Event Centre, Awka, Anambra State, starting with a red carpet by 5p.m., the premiere, which will play host to the five state governors of the South-east, will also create a platform for robust discussion on how to advance filmmaking in the South-east, with a view to reposition region to regain its position in the country’s motion picture industry. With veteran actor Chief Pete Edochie as lead character, AnyanwuUtutu tells the story of Nwugo and Ikedinobi, who are in love, not knowing of the enmity that had existed between both families for decades. Meanwhile, Ikedinobi is the only son of

AnyanwuUtutu ... Pete Edochie on set with other actors

Nwafor and his father got him married to Ugoye whom he had no love for, thought his parents believe the love will grow with time. Instead, Ikedinobi fell in love with Nwugo not knowing she’s the daughter of Agbogidi, an arch enemy of his family. Agbogidi and Nwafor warned their children Nwugo and Ikedinobi respectively to stop seeing each other, but their love knew no bounds. Agbogidi did everything within

his powers to break the bond that existed between his daughter Nwugo and Ikedinobi, but all his efforts failed, as Ikedinobi passed through every storm and rain just to be with Nwugo his love. Speaking on the movie project that will definitely change the face of filmmaking in the southeast, the producer Chioma Okoye said the project was inspired by her love for the culture and Igbo family history. “As

Numerous Japanese Brands to Feature at Lagos International Trade Fair Mary Ekah As Nigeria sees the sign of recovery from the economic recession, many of Japanese companies are keen to enter and expand their businesses in the biggest market of African continent. To this end, about 33 Japanese companies will be showcasing their products at the Japanese pavilion during the forthcoming International Trade Fair in Lagos, Nigeria, which will be opening from Friday, November 3. The Japan pavilion put together by Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), a Japanese government-related body which promotes trade and investment between Japan and other nations, is its fourth year of participation since 2014. Within the pavilion, which is one of the biggest at the fair, Japanese firms and their local distributors with 33 Japanese brands are showcasing their products and technologies to Nigerian business persons and citizens through the 10 days event. Among other exhibitors are; Canon Central and North Africa, Brother International, CFAO Yamaha Motor Nigeria, Suzuki Motor, Koncept Autocentre (partner of Isuzu Motors), Massilia Motors (partner of Mitsubishi Motors), SIMS Nigeria (partner of Panasonic Marketing and Services Nigeria), R.T. Briscoe Nigeria (distributor of Toyota’s trucks, forklifts, others), and so on.

L-R: Japan External Trade Organisation Deputy Trade Commissioner, Chiharu Yamamura, Trade Commissioner Managing Director Taku Miyazaki and Administrative Oﬃcer Folashade Odebode during the press brieﬁng in Lagos

Small and medium-sized enterprises producing high-quality products and companies with new type of business are also participating in the Japan pavilion and also Heiwa Foods Industry is bringing their “Japanese Curry” to Nigerians’ dinner tables, together with their Nigerian partner, Green Diamond. Cooking recipe sharing social media “cookpad”, which is one of the most popular cooking websites among Japanese people. The company, which launched its Nigerian page in March is eager to promote at the trade fair to fascinate the huge population of Nigeria. Honda and Suntory amongst

several exhibitors are manufacturing their products in Nigeria. For example, CFAO Yamaha Motor Nigeria has been assembling its motorcycles in Lagos since 2015. Panasonic and Suzuki Motor have Nigerian partners to assemble their products locally. In the food industry, Olam Sanyo Foods, a joint venture of Japanese Sanyo Foods and Olam International in Singapore, is also producing instant noodles “Cherie”, “Mama Gold” and “Fresh Yo” yoghurt in Lagos. And West African Seasoning has its long history of packing and selling “Ajinomoto” in this country.

Navgas Launches Drivers Loyalty Reward Programme In a bid to take its ‘Driving Safety Forward’ initiative a step further by directly reaching out to Liquefied Petroleum and Gas (LPG) drivers, Navgas recently launched a Loyalty and Reward programme. Driving Safety Forward is an industry wide safety initiative Navgas launched in December 2015. The objective was to actively promote world class safety standards and practices within the LPG industry in Nigeria. Navgas strongly believes it is important to take a leadership role in ensuring safety of the Nigerian LPG industry. Since they introduced this initiative, it has achieved a number of accomplishments, the most notable being the mandatory installation of functional Emergency Shut Off Valves on all LPG trucks. Before Navgas started this programme, less than 20 per cent of LPG trucks in Nigeria had emergency shut off valves, and now almost all LPG trucks in Nigeria have installed them and this has greatly helped control incidences of truck leaks in the industry. Navgas believes that drivers who come to its terminal serve an important role in the distribution chain and appreciating their efforts in safety will further reinforce safe behaviours, highlight the importance of safe practices in the communities they service and will help improve the overall safety of the LPG industry at large. Navgas will reward drivers that clearly demonstrate their commitment to safe LPG loading practices by entering them into a draw for a variety of prizes. The initiative will run from the 27th of October to the 14th of February 2018.

P&G, Sesame Workshop Partner on Gender Equality Procter and Gamble (P&G), a renowned global manufacturer of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), has partnered with Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organisation behind hit kids programme, Sesame Street, to produce a new television programme which will explore issues of gender equity in child-relevant ways, with girls and boys role-playing different careers and family roles. This aims to teach girls and boys alike that they can aspire to be anything they want to be. The new content will be made available to Sesame Street co-productions around the world including Nigeria. A release made available to THISDAY revealed that the announcement was made during the Global Citizen: Movement Makers Summit in New York City where a new advocacy video featuring Sesame Street Muppets and children from around the world sharing their aspirations for the future and why they love to learn was premiered. The video promotes the value of education and career opportunities for girls, and will run on digital, social, and broadcast platforms worldwide. While speaking about the partnership, Carolyn Tastad, P&G Group President, North America said, “Sesame and P&G have a shared commitment to eliminating gender-biased barriers in child education. The zeal of both organisations in promoting gender equality and diversity through its programming, and the impact their content has on social norms and attitudes is undeniable. We are proud to collaborate with Sesame Workshop to spark conversations that will catalyse change. We want to set a new expectation that values child education so that boys and girls worldwide can reach their full potential.” In the words of the Executive Vice President for Global Impact at Sesame Workshop, Sherrie Westin, “Gender equity is a core element of Sesame Workshop’s global productions. Our international girl Muppets are powerful role models for young girls, helping them envision possibilities they may not have dreamed possible. We’re thrilled to build on our long-time partnership with P&G to advance our shared commitment to investing in girls and helping all children dream big globally.” Sesame Workshop is renowned to delivered early education to children across gender lines and socioeconomic classes in more than 150 countries. Sesame also addresses the role boys and men can play in creating change, breaking down gender stereotypes, and fostering the belief that girls and boys have equal rights and responsibilities. P&G aspires to create a better world for everyone — a world free of gender bias with equal representation and an equal voice for women and men and has been championing the cause of gender equality through its Citizenship activities, leveraging on its business and operations scale. The company is doing this through its brand and corporate programs and policy advocacy efforts. For example, P&G’s Always School programme provides puberty education and free sanitary pads to girls in primary schools to help address the issue of absenteeism. The program reaches one million girls annually.

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Triumphal Tale of a London-based Nigerian Preacher Alex Omokudu is not just a preacher but a practical demonstration of what God can do in a man’s life. As Senior Pastor, Victorious Pentecostal Assembly (VPA), London, a Christian deliverance ministry, set up 12 years ago, the church through his leadership is fast becoming one of the churches in the UK that is redefining what Christianity stands for. The London-based preacher during a recent visit to Nigeria spoke about his exploits in London and future plans for Nigeria. Writes Mary Ekah For close to 40 years of his life, Pastor Alex Omokudu, Senior Pastor of Victorious Pentecostal Assembly (VPA), London could hardly speak. He was ridiculed at school and regarded as worthless in his family. Born in a little village close to Auchi in Edo State, Omokudu was practically a dumb when he was born. He struggled through school with his difficulties and was always the target of his teachers, all of whom did not fully understand his condition and how to help him. His co-students did not help the situation too as they constantly made jest of him. Due to his disability, he was quick to temper and lashed out at people so easily, which always led to him being thrown out of class. He was regarded as uneducable because of his disability. By a twist of fate, God touched him in a miraculous way and the moment he was touched, things took a different shape in his life. Suddenly he could talk. He was not just able to speak but started speaking to a congregation of highly educated people in the United Kingdom where he now resides. And so when God arrested him, he that was dumb spoke and the once uneducable became a fast learner. He started his pastoral journey in Lagos preaching, healing the sick, raising the dead and touching lives. He has become a source of inspiration to many and he is today, a man who God has used to transform faith and also affirm God’s miraculous works. He is a Nigerian son who has done good in the Diaspora. He loves to tell his story because it shows the miraculous power of God in his life. “If the story of my transformation is real then anyone’s story can be changed by God,” he began telling his story. Omokudu was a man who hardly believed in God much more dreamt of being a pastor but when the troubles of life gripped him, no one told him it was time to seek God’s face. And so he sought for God’s intervention in his life at various churches and that was when the journey to his life’s transformation began. Before he got healed of his disability, he came in touch with a man of God he simply refers to as Pastor Julius. “Somehow, I got encountered with a man of God, Pastor Julius; he was actually the very first man of God I met. I never believed in pastors but when problems and reproaches were too much on me, I just knew I needed to seek God. And so I went to this church. I remember I went there very early in the morning and I was the 60th person on the list waiting to see the man of God to proffer solution to my problems then. I waited that long with so much patience because I had been told stories about this particular man of God that he had the power to tell your future the moment he sets eyes on you. So I really wanted to know

what the future holds for me, if I was going to prosper or not. And when I met him, he simply said, “Halleluiah! I see God using you” and that was all he said to me. I was sad within me because that was not what I wanted to hear. I was a hungry man and needed a man that will tell me that how I will eat food and not tell me that God was going to use me. I was also considering how God can use a dumb like me. And without wasting time, the man of God told me to go for deliverance. And after the deliverance I was determined not to leave the church because he told me God wanted to use me and I wanted to see how God can use me in his presence and today the story has truly changed,” he recalled. Speaking further about his life transformation, he said, “What is remarkable about me is that I was born a dumb, abandoned and was unable to go to school. I survived by foraging on the streets of Lagos. Then one day I was miraculously healed of my disabilities at a church service and later ordained a pastor and then relocated to the UK where I set up the VPA which is now among the fastest growing churches in the UK. I tell people my story almost every day to inspire faith in God.” “Today, people still wonder if miracles happen and if God exits, I will say that my life alone is a miracle. It is a case of the captive becoming the captain. It can only be God that can cause such transformation in the life of a man that was without education and also lacked direction in life. Today I am being celebrated.” Recalling his journey into the ministry, Omokudu said he never dreamt of being a pastor because for him, his life was nothing to write home about. “I was just after how to fend for myself. I didn’t plan to be a pastor because I felt that a man who could not fend for himself nor even express himself could never preach to others. But one night God showed me a vision. He said that I should wake up and read Isaiah 61 and when I refused the next thing I heard was a slap on my face that woke me from my sleep and got me so scared. I was the only one in the room and the door was locked. I rushed to read the Bible passage, which says that the spirit of God is upon me to set the captives free but I could not understand what that meant. And so I went back to sleep and the voice came to me again and said to me that for me to confirm His word which he has spoken to me that morning, I should go to the general hospital. Immediately I went to the general hospital because I was so scared that if I refused this instruction, something bigger than a dirty slap might come upon me. And at the casualty department of the hospital, I could not believe the wonders God

Omokudu

used me to perform. In fact, I raised the dead and healed the sick and the whole hospital was shaken. And that was the beginning of the ministry and since then, I am shocked and amazed at what God has been doing. In fact right know I will say I still don’t know what is happening because I’m still so confused about the miraculous deeds that are happening in my ministry.” For Omokudu, his success story is tied to his compassion. According to him, “Faith, love and hope are the three things ruling destiny. The greatest of them is love. Love gives victory and does not know defeat.” I can go to any length to attend to the needs of those who seek my help. My wealth belongs to the people; whatever I make I give out. People are suffering and need help,” he noted. He has a passion for turning around the lives of gang members, murderers, criminals, drug users and other questionable characters in the society. Young Kenny Oladipo is a typical London youth who was into ‘gangsterism’ and was notoriously known by the police. After his encounter with Pastor Omokudu, his life was changed for the better and he was placed on the right direction. His change was so exceptional that the police visited Victorious Pentecostal Church, where Pastor Omokudu is oversees, to see the man that could affect the young man’s life in such a positive way within a short time. Pastor Alex as the congregation calls him, is in fact sometimes surprised himself when some miracles happen but for him, he knows it can only be God’s fingers at work. “Members of the ministry believe anything I touch can bring about a miracle but I never fail to remind them that God is the miracle worker and not man. Benny Hinn, the renowned American pastor, has made VPA his partner church where he preaches up to four times in a year and last year went on a special pilgrimage with me to Israel,” he noted. Omokudu believes this is the time that Nigerians need to seek God in a different dimension, noting, I know Nigerians need what God has deposited in me. I left this

country in 2002 and now I am back with good tidings.” To show how prepared he is for Nigerians, the VPA pastor on his arrival recently, bought about 40 plots of land in Lekki, this he said is part of his plans to affect his country Nigeria. “It is time for Nigerians to also experience what people in Great Britain have been experiencing over the years,” he said. Speaking further, he said, “When God called me if he had asked me where I would wanted to preach, I would have said in my village. After I left this country in 2002 for the UK, I know Nigerians want what God has embedded in me. I just know that this is the time for Nigerians to know God in a different way. When God calls you he backs you up. I just got about 40 plots of land in Lekki, I tell you that I do not know how I got the land, it is just God working. I believe God wants to use me to affect my country because God knows how to use foolish things to calm down the wise and to prove himself. And I know this is the time for God to prove himself in Nigeria. If the miracles experienced in British are experienced here, then God is proving himself.” Having been away for so long one would think that pastor will be worrisome of the peculiar challenges he might have to face in Nigeria as he plans to operate his ministry in the country but he said, “God who called me has been backing me up so I do not fear challenges. Without challenges I won’t be here. I love my country and I want to impact my country. Based on what has been happening in London I am not afraid. A criminal case was forced on me and God proved himself that he is with me, so I am not afraid of whatever the challenges maybe because God is on my side.” “Nigeria truly needs God, people are battered and when I think of all these, my heart is broken for Nigeria, I see people and I cry in my heart because of sufferings they go through. People will suffer and go to school and end up not getting jobs. I have come to affect my country,” he said.

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03.11.2017

Vexed in Venice Akinkunmi Akinnola Months after the short lived fallout from Damien Hirst’s supposed appropriation of Ife art at the 2017 Venice Biennale, the episode remains a compelling narrative on how Nigeria has given away her grip on a gilded artistic legacy, which might best be left in Western hands anyway. Victor Ehikhamenor (@victorsozaboy) respected Nigerian artist and art writer discovered something unsettling about the Damien Hirst exhibition in May at the Venice Biennale. Titled ‘Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable’, Hirst’s sub-aquatic fantasy of objects salvaged from an imaginary shipwreck contained an assortment of objects. Ajade Buddha, a coral encrusted sculpture of Mickey Mouse anda life sized facial sculpture plainly titled ‘Golden Head (Female)’– which would become the centre of a mild creative property scandal. The object of Hirst’s re-imagination was reflected in the face of a woman of West African origin (going by her broad nose, full mouth and generous forehead). What is most striking though are the prominent and numerous linesdimensioned along the entirety of what might otherwise have been a rather homelygolden face; strong reminders of the debt of artistic inspiration payable to The Head of Ife bronze statue and the Ife Terracotta Head sculpture,her celebrated 14thCentury ancestors. The well-travelled head of the traditional ruler of the royal house of Ile-Ifewhich today is famously displayed at the British Museum was discovered in a Wunmonije compound amidst a number of other brass objects in 1938 when Nigeria was still under British rule. It would come to be recognised as one of the greatest attestations to the advancement, craft and refinement of the ancient Yoruba civilisation, ranking in cultural importance with the artefacts of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire discovered centuries prior. Cultural appropriation these days is a short lived expression of black discontent when an art form more readily associated with our race is adopted by a white ethnic majority then typically met with greater critical and commercial fanfare. Offenders don’t even get the proverbial slap on the wrist. It’s the parking ticket that never gets issued because the serial offender has gotten so skilled at flirting with the lustful parking attendant and so confident in the probability of getting away with said misdemeanor. I was fascinated to learn about Picasso’s African Period at a seminar I attended in Madrid a few months back. Starting in 1907, Picasso wedded the abstract yet linear properties of West African sculpture to the ethereal post-impressionist works of Manet and Cezanne thus heralding the birth of modern art. Picasso’s embrace of African influences would find its greatest and most seminal expression in Les Demoiselles d ' Avignon which though he would later downplay (and it must be said more vociferously than Hirst after him) was a tribute to the august manifestations of the West African sculptures produced in modern day Benin Republic centuries before. Historically, the Western cognoscenti has shadowed their assessment of the greatest SubSaharan African accomplishments with cynicism and doubt. After the artefacts in Ile-Ife were discovered, German Archaeologist Leo Frobenius actually suggested that they had to have been conceived by an ancient Greek civilisation in the 13th Century. He contended that the ancient Ifes could only have succeeded in creating art works of such divinity and refinement because there onceexisted an African Atlantis. One in which a white civilisation had dwelled in parts of modern day Ife, passing down their elegance and erudition to her native 13thCentury denizens. How else could a Sub-Saharan African race produce anything so staggeringly beautiful, so arresting? Surely the Head of Ife was a product of diligent African apprenticeship nurtured underlong-suffering, benevolent European mastery. It is telling that the nonsensical African Atlantis theory was readily consumed by the Western Zeitgeist to which it was fed. Conversations sparked by Mr. Ehikamenor’s Instagram post should remain a hot topic until tectonic shifts occur in the narrative and African art is accorded its rightful place at the round table. An appreciation of the absurd should probably place Hirst’s fantasy vessel in proper perspective when considered that at the bottom of his ill-fated ship also lies a bronzed Mickey Mouse. It is unlikely that any number of die-hard Disney fanatics are pondering what Uncle Walt would have to say about this. Neither have we heard

boo from any number of the world’s half a billion Buddhists in defense of a religion which pre dates Christianity, admonishing Damien Hirst for reducing the revered symbol of their faith to just another object found in the inglorious belly of the wreckage. Treasures from The Wreck of The Unbelievable may not have been met with such rebuke if viewed through a more objective lens. Certain schools would argue that the entire experience of Sub-Saharan Africans since the great scramble has been an appropriation of European culture. Surely the mélange of black and mixed racemillennials wondering inside the Palazzo Grassi and out on the cobbled streets and canals of Venice must realise the fact that they have embraced an experience which is far and wide from their source of origin. With each careful sip of ristretto it might strike them that the mother continent is still unable to offer as many sensory indulgences merely as a simple way of life. Steamy expressos and the cafes which serve them remain the preserve of the few and fortunate across Africa. The infrastructural surplus available in Europe is another reason to argue that African art should readily and willingly align its future with a continent which is in the best position to offer profile, prominence and profit to her art and artists. Museums are numerous, admissions are free. Galleries are thriving creative and commercial ventures not sparse, sporadic pop ups on the creative arts map. In short, our most prodigious artists much like our greatest academic minds are best advised to cross the pond for any real chance of professional fulfillment. Our most revered works of art should very well be in the custody of venerable institutions like the British Museum and The Ethnological Museum of Berlin where they are accorded the dignity, presentation and commercial viability their creators could only have dreamed of. We ought to single out a Nigerian museum, gallery or arts institution that has existed for over 25 years with enhancements and improvements occurring over that period in order to be awarded the privilege of reclaiming The Head of Ife or the bulk of the Benin Bronzes. For all the culpability we have in the distortion of our own narrative, it is reductive to think that Mr. Ehikhamenor’s fears that history will exalt Hirst’s work at the expense of the unsung Nigerian artists whose lineage as master craftsmen spans nine centuries are unfounded. On the contrary, his concerns should prompt us to confront this particularly Nigerian problem. In the last 10 years, the Nigerian art scene has seen more growth, support and creative bursts than at any other time since it could actually be viewed collectively. There are a growing number of artists, curators and galleries to support this claim. Speaking to Mr. Ehikhamenor’s calls that the Ooni of Ife be informed of Hirst’s TransAtlantic transgressions against the Kingdom, it is fortunate that there is also a young, agile and enlightened traditional ruler at The Source. Any shift in the narrative should occur with his blessing, support and the determination of concerned Generation Ys and millennials who are uncomfortable with the status quo and are willing to develop the blueprint for change. A young international and domestic committee of arts patrons should articulate what the positions are on matters ranging from narrative shaping to

Hirst vs Ife

MADVI

restitution efforts as concerns forcefully exported Nigerian masterpieces over the centuries. Art News Africa and Art X should be commended for their efforts to highlight these matters. A public and private sector partnership is required to play the role of gatekeeper for Nigerian art and artists helping to shape how the nation’s artistic output is perceived domestically and internationally. Perhaps similar in concept to the National Council For Arts and Culture (NCAC) but with a more visible engine room and social media profile able to bring subjects like Biennale pavilion sponsorships and museum refurbishment fund raising to the centre of the national conversation. Notable financial institutions which have long been the strength and stay of high net worth arts patronage may be required to place even more of their muscle behind these efforts as would prestigious law firms whose professional counsel will be relied on when talk of restitution begins in earnest. We can only sculpt the narrative expertly when we have our best men and woman on the job. The Head of Ife like a number of other unlicensed exports not only warrants a dedicated and consistent multimedia publicity machine, it deserves a house in its native country. An edifice of outstanding architectural beauty, of a size and scale worthy of the transcendental talents who conceived and created it. A museum conceived to become an international tourist destination which can create spin off industries. Lagos has become cosmopolitan enough to house museums that stage exhibitions in which artworks from

other countries are showcased side by side with excellent indigenous pieces. Conversations on ancient Yoruba art may never unify our young nation with the fun and fervor of an EPL game but it is quite possible that a hashtag and a commitment to keep them at the centre of social media will give the subject just enough push to remain relevant. Imagine what a 30 second video on the cultural importance of Nigerian brass or terracotta figures from the likes of Wizkid or Davido would do to spark a conversation amongst the ‘like’ generation. The beauty and splendor of the head of Ife should be enough to invoke a traditional pledge in the hearts of all Nigerians not just the people of Ife or the wider Yoruba race. In a culture with no historical documentation it remains the greatest affirmation of the greatness from which we are descended and should be universally regarded as a call to action to fulfil our collective destiny. Inasmuch as the Golden Heads narrative was the trending topic amongst art lovers, it is noteworthy that 2017 marks the first time Nigeria has had its own pavilion at the Venice Giardini during the Biennale. Unsurprisingly Nigeria’s installations were lauded and hailed as long overdue by art critics. It is arguable that Nigeria more than any other African country is the author and finisher of its cultural identity. It is exigent that we seize on the energetic and ambitious traits which are highest in our nature by taking ownership of our ancestral art by declaring proudly what we have and can continue to achieve.

34/XTRA

03.11.2017

The Film Festival That “Captured My Heart” Solomon Elusoji On Sunday, inside the Genesis Deluxe Cinema in Lagos, Access Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Herbert Wigwe, donning a dark, checkered tuxedo and a pink-coloured bow-tie, stood in front of a horde of eye-pairs, to talk about stories and how they shape the future. Wigwe is an accomplished banker, a career path that demands more expertise in mathematics than language, precision over beauty. But, obviously, as he talked about storytelling via the camera at Genesis, the value of art’s seeming randomness and narrative power is not lost on him. “I am excited about the great strides that have been made in the continent’s film industry,” he said. Everywhere he goes across the world people ask him about personalities in the industry. And that, this positive acknowledgment of creative expression, makes him “proud”. The occasion, of course, was the official opening of the seventh African International Film Festival, which is in its sixth day today and will culminate in a mouth-watering award ceremony tomorrow. Wigwe is the Festival’s Patron and his bank, Access Bank, are one of AFRIFF’s major sponsors. And, during his talk, he was explicit about

AFRIFF Patron and MD Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe (left) with AFRIFF Founder, Chioma Ude, during the festival's opening ceremony in Lagos

why the bank was interested in films and those who make them. “Somebody once said that if you do not take control of your narrative, somebody else will,” Wigwe said. “And Africa, in the western media, most times, is a story of poverty, disease, despair, corruption. But you and I know that we have so much more than all of that. “In the business that I do, I often share with people the need to take tomorrow. We have to

take our destiny into our hands. We cannot continue to wait for people to redefine or create a future for us. And this is what the film industry is doing, recasting the image of the continent.” After Wigwe stepped off the podium to a chorus of claps, the evening was punctuated with more speeches from the French Consul General, Mr. Laurent Polonceaux, Lagos State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, the former Governor of Akwa

Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed. AFRIFF, apart from its numerous film masterclasses, workshops and networking parties, is primarily a feast of movie screenings. So, the opening speeches were followed by two film screenings. One was a short film, ‘Waiting for Hadassah’, a spunky, narrator-driven production. The second was a satiric and humorous feature film from hugely talented Welsh-Zambian director, Rungano Nyoni, ‘I Am Not a Witch’, which got the audience reeling with laughter from the very first scene. Since Sunday, the festival has played host to a plethora of more film screenings, workshops, industry meet-ups. “AFRIFF gave me a wonderful platform to improve my skills,” a scriptwriter, Rachael Wanogho, told THISDAY. Wanogho attended one of the British Council’s Film Connections programmes at AFRIFF, Creative Hustle. A professional cinematographer, Joshua Airende, who attended the Basic Canon DSLR Filmmaking workshop facilitated by Leke AlabiIsama, was also enthusiastic. “The workshop was amazing,” he said, “and this festival has captured my heart.”

Why Government Must Expand the Frontiers of Education ROBAZ Entertainment Takes Oﬀ, to Unveil Artiste November 8 Peace Obi

Given the correlation between youth restiveness and unemployment, the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has called on leaders at all levels to democratise education and make knowledge easily accessible to every Nigerian child, irrespective of class or creed. Speaking on grassroots education at the inaugural colloquium of the Government College Ughelli, Class of September 1973 in Lagos, the Bayelsa State governor said that one of the most important subject matters those in leadership position must be involved in is the promotion of education. According to him, government must improve her investment as well as expand the frontiers of education so as to create quality manpower, a more peaceful and prosperous Nigeria. "If you are wondering out there why some places have issues if militancy, instability, criminality, unemployment, unemployability and many more, you just need to look at the state of education and the investment in education in that area,” Dickson said. In his remarks, the Chairman Colloquium Committee, Mr. Sam Omatseye said the colloquium was part of the ways the Old Boys Class of 1973 gives back to the society. Adding that it also affords them the opportunity to showcase the various interventions they have made so far to their alma mater, while calling for assistance from the general public. Speaking further, Omatseye said that the group has spent several millions of naira on refurbishing, rehabilitating and providing updated facilities. And that they are currently working on setting up a Tech Centre for software development, computer knowledge, wood work, metal work, among others. "We thought it is necessary for us to come together and get important people to speak about education. That is why we called it ‘Raising a Wise

Government College Ughelli, Class of September 1973

Generation’. Bringing a generation of Nigerians who are now going to school to benefit from the kind of education we enjoyed in our time. That is why we brought all these important personalities here to talk about various aspects of education and what we can do to revive education. "You can see that some of the problems of youth restiveness is as a result of lack of enlightenment. And if people get the kind of education we had, we won't be having the kind of social breakdown that now characterises our society,” Omatseye said. In her opening remarks, the Chairperson of the event, Prof. Grace Alele-Williams, called on stakeholders in Nigeria's education to rise to need for an improved teachers training, good remuneration and conducive teaching environment. The first female Vice-Chancellor and former VC, University of Benin said that the leaders, educationists and other stakeholders should

consider today's children shortchanged if they are not taught well enough to reach the level and quality of education the country accomplished 20 years ago in secondary and tertiary education levels. Reflecting in the theme of the colloquium, ‘Raising a Wise Generation: Revamping Nigeria's Secondary Education’, the Don said, "if we do not have teachers who are satisfied, teachers who are given the opportunities of learning more, we cannot reach that level. Therefore, whatever we are discussing as to how we are going to improve our schools, the first and basic question we must ask ourselves is: are we promoting that very important stage - which is teachers’ education? Those who understand the way and manner knowledge is being extended in various parts of the world. How much are we extending the knowledge of those who will change what we can have in our country?” she asked.

In its quest to hit the grounds running, as well as storm the entertainment industry, the newly established record label, ROBAZ Entertainment, is set to unveil its artiste and officially launch its label. According to the label's CEO, a Dubai-based business mogul, Mr. Robor Phillips Asiotu, all is set to a new pace, and to create a platform of talent discovery in the industry. He further hinted that plans are in top gear to officially launch the label alongside the unveiling of its artiste on November 8. The event tagged: ‘Official launch of ROBAZ Entertainment, its artiste and Media Parley’ promised to draw the attendance of stakeholders in the industry and dignitaries from all works of life to the venue, Oriental Hotel, Lagos State. Asiotu, also noted that label will not rest immediately its official take off, rather it'll intensify efforts in achieving its goals. “The label is not a jamboree. It is strictly business and avenue to carve a niche for talents to shine, as well as raise stars. We are really committed to making our dreams come through, and I want people to be on the lookout for our works,” he added.

Culprits of Rape, Violence against Women Should Face the Wrath of the Law Ugo Aliogo A Senior Lecturer at the Department of English, University of Ibadan, Dr. Doyin Aguoru, has called on governments at all levels, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and women groups to intensify efforts in addressing the issues of violence against women in the country. Aguoru disclosed this in Lagos at the sixth International Conference on Women and Children with the theme: ‘Male Visibility/ Invisibility and Violence Against Women and Children in Africa: Pathways, Challenges and Interdisciplinary Perspectives.’ She lamented that most people get away with cases of rape and other forms of violence against women because they are influential, urging governments and civil society groups

to ensure that the culprits are brought to book and made to face the wrath of the law. She also expressed confidence that the narrative especially in the area of violence against women is changing, stressing that women are becoming aware that there is help for them, “even the male folks are conscious of the fact that you cannot harness a woman and get away with it.” In her remarks, a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Arts, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Dr. Onyeka Iwuchukwu, said violence against women are in various degrees, adding that women on their parts need to make concerted efforts to address this issue, “women are culpable for violence against women.” She remarked that women should ensure that they understand properly the level of

violence, the conditions responsible, and how it can be addressed, urging them to react against what is known as global sisterhood. Continuing, Aguoru added: “We want a world where women will not be abused because they are trying to occupy a space that is naturally theirs. A lot has been achieved, but there still much to do in addressing the issue. I feel that government has to make frantic efforts to ensure that people do the right things and people who don’t do the right things are brought to book whether male or female. It is about living in a society with moral standards and equity. There are interventions that can be handled to address this issue. Women are vulnerable and are faced with different types of abuses and violence. Despite these challenges they still have to be focused.”

Asiotu

35/ENTREPRENEUR

03.11.2017

Udeagwu: FG Should Empower Ministry of Labour to Monitor Outsourcing Firms Mr. Afam Udeagwu, is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, XL Outsourcing Ltd, the first outsourcing firm in Nigeria. In this interview with Ebere Nwoji, he speaks on the challenges facing outsourcing business in Nigeria, the need for government to ratify Convention 181 of the International Labour Organisation and make it a law in Nigeria and his company's journey so far after 17 years of operation in Nigeria Can we know you and the company you represent better? My name is Afam Udeagwu, I am the Managing Director/CEO XL Outsourcing Limited. XL Outsourcing Ltd is an indigenous company registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission. We are licensed by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to provide outsourcing services to our clients. Over the years, we have been able to build a reputable company. We have presence in the whole 36 states of Nigeria including Abuja. We also have operations in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and USA. XL Outsourcing, was ISO certified in 2006, a foremost outsourcing company that was certified by ISO so our processes is of international standard.ISO is an international organisation for standardisation. Our processes are of international standard. Our outsourcing services includes human resource outsourcing, fraud and integrity management solution, training and capacity building, background checks and certificate verifications. We also do call centre outsourcing, our call centre is Avaya call centre solution. Of course Avaya call centre solution, is a very intelligent solution for call centre. In XL, we see ourselves as a critical link in the area of development of skilled man power. Our platform has provided jobs for thousands of young Africans, we are proud to say that when it comes to outsourcing, XL, is a big brand because we have been there for a long time and not only that, we have been improving on our services. Can you tell us how outsourcing business is faring in Nigeria? Outsourcing, started in the early 2000 in Nigeria and we were one of the pioneers. Currently, it is improving. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment has licensed over 200 PEAs as Private Employment Agencies. Human Capital Provider Association of Nigeria they have their membership about 150 or there about so there is a gap. We are looking for other companies to join this association why because this association is interested in provision of decent job, development of code of conduct and ethics for employers of labour. So outsourcing is faring well so far so good although more can still be done. As you know, International Labour Organisation gave access to labour flexibility in1997 through the convention 181, so with that private employment agencies were encouraged to play in the industry. Tell us what you do, what outsourcing is all about? In simple definition, let me give you what outsourcing is. I will like to give you the definition of Akinbode in 2003 journal of basic and applied science. He said, "Whenever there is transfer of knowledge, work, decision making right to an external subject matter expert entity, that is when outsourcing has taken place, so anytime a company is engaging another company to handle work for them that is outsourcing. In outsourcing, we don't do human resources alone, we outsource call centres, training and capacity building payroll management as well. Who are your clients? We play in all the sectors, I wouldn't want to mention, we play in the banking sector, oil and gas, telecom and manufacturing sectors, our solutions are tailored mainly to help them concentrate on their key activities, when they are able to concentrate on their key competences, they are able to remain competitive, save cost for themselves, remain efficient in what they do. So outsourcing is a wonderful business model that any serious company is encouraged to outsource. What is the relationship between you and the public sector like? Public sector is coming up gradually, we are working for few government agencies, we

Udeagwu

encourage government to do more because they are the ones to drive this process, as we speak, the convention 181, I spoke to you about international Labour Organisation 1997 is yet to be ratified by Nigeria, so we need them to ratify that convention, because article two of that convention states that "one purpose of this convention is to encourage flexibility of labour as well as to protect the right of workers that use the services of PEAsâ€?. So apart from seeking protection of outsourcing companies, that convention also seeks to protect the right of workers, we are encouraging government to ratify that, it will go a long way. Outsourcing came about because of the changes in the operating environment, globalisation, transformation, restructuring, because of the need for companies to remain competitive, that was what brought about the change in employer - employee relationship and the need for companies to run a lean structure in order to increase their bottom line. So we want government to ratify the convention. Some government agencies are already making use of outsourcing services. The ratification will make it a law, they should also try and fund the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to monitor outsourcing firms because they are the ones that issue licence to private employment agencies, if the government is able to fund them, they can go after the quacks in the industry, because there are a lot of quacks in the industry that is why we are having a lot of issues about people not getting fair treatment and income, some companies are cutting corners because these people are not properly registered, so we want government to empower the Ministry of Labour and Employment to do monitoring in outsourcing industry, this will empower all of us that are properly registered to do what we know how to do best. What are your challenges? The challenges we are having in outsourcing business are numerous. One is what we call 'stakeholders alignment'. Over time, you hear labour union speaking about casualisation, whenever there is outsourcing, you hear labour associations talk about unfair treatment. When I talk about stakeholders alignment, it is important that they get to know about this business model called outsourcing, outsourcing is typically a business model that creates jobs, it reduces unemployment really because it creates different kinds of jobs, it creates flexibility in working hours, you can choose to work when you want to work, one of the challenges is stakeholder alignment let them understand

that outsourcing is not casualisation, it is geared towards creating decent job. What is a decent Job? We have four criteria for measuring a decent job. One of them is that the job must be productive and safe. Secondly, the job has to provide fair income. Thirdly the job has to provide social protection. Fourthly, the job has to guarantee workers right. The fifth is that the job should guarantee freedom of dialogue and unionism. If they give outsourcing companies opportunity, they are actually geared towards providing employment and decent jobs. Second challenge is lack of professionalism of some outsourcing companies. Like I said earlier, some of them are not properly registered and monitored that is why some of them are cutting corners, they will collect low fee and tell you they can do it and when you give them the job, they get it messed up so that lack of professionalism is also a challenge. The third challenge is inadequate funding. Some companies because they have not taken time to drill through what they want out of outsourcing, some of them think it is just a change of pay manager, they think the only cost the company incures on a staff is just salary, salary is just one component, the cost of supervision is there. The cost of going on leave is there, if you employ a driver and the driver runs away with your car, you bear the cost but if he is an outsourced staff, you hold the outsourcing company responsible so the risk of having that staff is what the outsourcing company has taken from you. There's need for users of services to fund outsourcing companies properly in order to render quality service. The fourth challenge is inadequate monitoring. Like I said earlier, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment is expected to over time visit outsourcing companies, they are expected to over time walk into any company that uses outsourcing service and ask it to show its books, I want to see the company that outsource for you, I want to see their licence, compliance papers and all that. So by so doing, people will be able to sit up and know that government is out to track down quacks. Of course, we are also encouraging a heavy fine on these quacks that are not properly registered. Who is your regulator? The regulator is Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment. The human Capital provider association is an umbrella body for all providers of labour, it supervises labour employers but has not been properly registered as an association. What do you have to say about a situation where employees especially security guards are paid peanuts by the outsourcing firms compared to what the company originally pays? If that has happened anywhere, it must have come from unprofessional companies. Companies that are not properly registered, because as a well registered company, before you have your license, you must have passed through a lot of requirements. First, the regulator needs to know the people behind the company, it needs to know if these people are qualified to do outsourcing before it licenses you, you need to provide bond to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment so a properly registered company will not find itself in this kind of mess. Taking example from your company, how do you scale your staff? Are you the one that fixes salary or your client? Salary is fixed by the clients. The clients, decide what to pay, they only pay us service charge but these quacks collect their service charge also collect part of the staff salary, but for us, our books are clean, because we don't want to spoil the reputation we've built over the years, and it is because of this reputation that we were awarded

Africa most trusted company in outsourcing. You said apart from human resources, you also venture into other things so what motivated you? We have up to 180 million Nigerians and Nigeria is a very large market for whatever you want to do and because we were the first to enter into this business, we were able to see opportunities as they are coming up and what we offer is a shared platform. The bank or any business don't have any business investing in call centre because you can get it from outsourcing companies and pay when you need them. The good thing about outsourcing is that you don't pay for the services you don't use. You only pay for the ones you use and you can get them at cheaper rate because the outsourcing companies have the platform already so we are benefiting from the economy of the state that is why we are able to offer these services at cheaper rate. Companies can gain access to world class technology at cheaper rate. Outsourcing their company will make them have access to subject matter expert who are expert in doing these things. All they need is paying a little money and they will have these services rendered. Do you have experts in these new areas you want to venture into, experts who can handle them? On experts, let me start with fraud and integrity management solution, when we get our guys, we flew our guys into America to get trained about it and they are properly certified by truth and deception technology. This technology is able to detect someone with capability to commit fraud over time. If you are someone I hired and you are working in a cash environment. This technology helps me keep track of you. If I test you today and I test you in the next six months and there are changes in your behaviour, it informs me and I'm able to relocate you elsewhere. We are the only company that has this technology in Nigeria and we have the sole license to market this in the whole West Africa. Call Centre, of course, our guys are properly certified, the technology we are using is one of the best, itâ€™s a very intelligent software. Abaya multimedia call centre solution. In training and capacity building, our faculty is so big that we are able to handle services then in our payroll, we have software that can handle it very quickly. You have been in the outsourcing business for 17 years now what were the challenges you had then when you first started? First, suspicious/lack of trust: some people will say is this person trying to study my business? They were not able to immediately plug into the ideas we are selling but over time we have been able to surpass that. Secondly, Africans' ownership spirit: They want to say I have this and that, even when the assets are not giving them money, they still want to hold unto them instead of letting these processes go to expert that can handle them and even give them return on investment. So these are the challenges but I thank God today, most of them are embracing outsourcing services including government parastatals. What is your view on this assumption "Nigerian youths are unemployable"? We have a centre we call knowledge exchange centre, the objective of this centre is to bridge the gap between leaving school and getting job, making people employable, so we have a training centre that trains people on how to get jobs because the theory they learnt from school might not help. So that centre is able to bridge that gap of unemployable. Once we finish the training, because we also have contracts where we deploy people, these people we train we are able to fix them where we have spaces.

36/COLLAGE

03.11.2017

L-R: Chief Financial Oﬃcer, RMB Nigeria, Bayo Ajayi;, Head, Business Technology, Grema Ogboru; Head Girl, Aunty Ayo Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School,Gift Elaigwu; Asst Head Girl, Aunty Ayo Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Lilian Timothy;, Head, Coverage, RMB Nigeria, Labi Williams and Chief Operations Oﬃcer RMB Nigeria, Funsho Odukoya, during the CBN World Savings Day session at Aunty Ayo Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Lagos...recently

Accountant-General, lndependent Shareholder Association of Nigeria,Mr Okoroafor being supported by his wife, Patience, Children and grand children as he celebrated his 80th birthday anniversary in Lagos...recently

Area Sales Manager (Midwest), Grand Oak Limited, Mr. Davidson Aligbe (right); presenting the company’s product to Uyiobaifo of Benin Kingdom, Chief Wellington Aghahowa (second left); while Mr. Odiase Peter (left) and Mr. OsayandeEfe look on during the 1st year coronation celebration of the Oba of Benin Kingdom, Benin City, Edo State,...recently

L-R; President, McCann Global Health, Mr. Andrew Schirmer; Executive Vice-Chairman, Techno Oil Ltd, Mrs Nkechi Obi; Director General, TERI, Dr. Ajay Mathur; Second Lady of Ghana, Hon(Mrs.) Samira Bawumia and Global Ambassador for Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, Rocky Dawuni, during the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves' "Clean Cooking Forum 2017" held in New Delhi India...recently

Choristers of Celestial Church of Christ, El-shaddai Cathedral Parish, Odo-eran entertaining during the 2nd Adult Harvest Anniversary of the Church in Lagos...recently.

L-R; Chief Host Hon Adedamola Kasumu,. Representative of wife of Lagos State Governor Mrs Aderonke Adele, Hon Lola ediet, Representeting the Governor of Lagos State & SA to the Governor on Communinty and Communication Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan and,Author of the book Omotayo Aderinola , at the presentation of Iyaloja Play Book to comemorate Late Alhaja Abibatu Magaji on her 101st Posthumours Birthday in Lagos...recently

L-R: Glo subscriber, Ayoola Victor; Glo Brand Ambassador, Hadiza Blell, a.k.a. Di'Ja, and two other Glo subscribers, Anifowose Abimbola and Rasheed Salami, at the Glo Mega Music Nationwide Tour, in lkorodu, Lagos...recently

L-R: ED Sales & Marketing, Red Star Express, Victor Ukwat; GMD/CEO, Red Star Express Plc, Sola Obabori;, Founder Red Star Express, Sonny Allison; Divisional MD, Red Star Logistics,Ocholi Etu and, MD, Middle East, Indian, Sub continent of Africa, Fedex, Mahen Hasbian during Red Star Express 25th anniversary in Lagos..recently

37/THISLIFE

03.11.2017

Late Nwokedi

Encomiums Galore for a Great Jurist Davidson Iriekpen peeps into the life and times of a retired judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Paul Kemdilim Nwokedi who will be buried today in Achalla, Anambra State When hard work, competence and sagacity propelled one to the highest peak of his career, there are bound to be endless encomiums pouring in from different angles. This is the case with a retired judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Paul Kemdilim Nwokedi who will be burial today at his residence, Uthoko Compound III, Amukabia, Achalla, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State. Nwokedi died last September at the ripe age of 90, leaving behind great children and grandchildren. For him, not only was he a great father to his children, entire family and a strong community leader, in his chosen profession, he excelled and rose to the highest level, discharging his duty well for all to see. Since his was a life well led, it was not a surprise to see that in death, he was celebrated with the high and mighty pouring encomiums on him and calling on everybody to emulate him for the country to move forward. Today, as his remains would be committed to the earth, not only would more praises be showered him, one thing that would be clear in the minds of those who knew him is that if only the country had or has at least five of his types, things would not be the way they are now. At the special court session organised in his honour at the Supreme Court last week Wednesday, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Samuel Onnoghen and senior lawyers paid glowing tribute to the late Supreme Court judge. Onnoghen described Nwokedi as a great jurist whose life was worthy of emulation by the incoming generation, adding that the late jurist in his lifetime, stood for justice, integrity and reputation, something that is clearly lacking today in most people in the same position. He noted that it was not a surprise that upon his retirement from active national service, Justice Nwokedi dedicated himself to a quiet but laudable work of charity, with special interest in the training of Catholic Priests and support for seminarian. "As a judge he earned the reputation of being fair but firm as reflected in his judgment in the several cases he handled while on the bench. I recall the now renowned case of Obi Okongwu and the State that saw to the contempt conviction of the then Solicitor General of Anambra State for casting aspersions on the integrity of the judiciary. Another notable and landmark case was the judgment of the then Anambra State High Court where the court under Nwokedi held that the practice of the governors to willy-nilly revoke the Certificates of Occupancy of lands belonging to their critics was not in accordance

with the public purpose requirements of the Land Use Act," he said. The CJN then prayed serving judges, legal practitioners and family members of the late jurist to emulate his courageous life so as to build an egalitarian society. In their own tributes, the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BoSAN), canvassed the elevation of Chief Judges of High Courts, who have track records of performance to the Supreme Court as done in the appointment of the late Justice Nwokedi from the State High Court to the Supreme Court. In the tribute delivered by Chief George Uwechuwe (SAN), the Senior Advocates claimed that the current practice of appointing Supreme Court Justices from Court of Appeal alone should be revisited, so as to pave the way for the elevation of the hardworking judges from the High Courts to the apex court. BoSAN recalled the appointment of Justice Anthony Iguh, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, Justice Kayode Ego, Justice E. B. Graig and Justice Saibu Kawu, who were Chief Judges of their respective states and got elevated to the Supreme Court where they left indelible marks with their profound performance. "On occasions like this, it is customary to use a tribute to such a legal luminary to address some issues that deserve the attention of members of the Bench and Bar, with particular reference to the service of the deceased jurist. In the case of late Honourable Justice Nwokedi, there is the need to revisit the current practice of not elevating serving or retiring Chief Judges of the "High Courts", who have served commendably, directly to the Supreme Court, instead of the Court of Appeal which is the current practice, to complete their service until they attain the age of 70," he said. According to them, the urgent need to resume discussion on the issue was underscored by the recent "Guidelines for the Conferment of the rank of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, which they said placed much greater emphasis on a candidate's "final judgments" on the High Court. "This is most appropriate, in my view, because it is at the High Courts that the witnesses are examined and cross-examined and the major legal tussle between the parties and their counsel is engaged," he added. At another valedictory session organised in his honour at the Enugu State High Court, judicial officers and renowned legal practitioners from the three states (Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra) where Justice Nwokedi started his career in the old Eastern Region, took turns to pay their last respects by pouring encomiums on the

late retired Supreme Court judge. The two-hour event presided over by the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Ngozi Emehelu, saw notable members of the bar and bench from the three states, who turned out in their numbers, unanimously agree that the late jurist left lasting legacies on the sands of time. The event which had the Chief Judge of Ebonyi State, Justice Alloy Nwankwo, Chief Judge of Anambra State, Justice Umeadi represented by the President of the Customary Court of Appeal, Anambra State, Samuel Okoye, retired Justice Chukwuma Eneh of the Supreme Court and Onyekachi Otisi, Justice of the Court of Appeal in attendance, saw Justice Emehelu saying in her tribute that it would be difficult to capture all aspects of the life of late Justice Nwokedi, noting that the late jurist's practice in both the bar and bench was one characterised by complete devotion. "He had no divided loyalty. His main love was given to the legal profession and in the true ethics of his judicial calling, he maintained a spotless life style. To the best of my knowledge, in the public offices he held, he kept a clean record behind him and despite all the key positions he held at both the federal and state levels, he was never swayed by the trappings of office. He took no interest in wealth acquisition, estate development, hustling for and lobbying for political offices. He lived a quiet, decent and modest life to the very end," he said. Other speakers, including the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Enugu State, Milletus Eze, Chairman of NBA, Enugu State, Nnamdi Otukwu, senior advocates led by JHC Okolo and the Leader of Enugu lawyers, EJ Okereke, extolled the departed jurist for writing his name in gold. "We have assembled in a very solemn and pensive mood to honour Nwokedi. His exit evokes emotion of thanksgiving for a life well spent. He has done his best and he left behind virtues worthy of emulation," Eze said. Otukwu on his part, observed that the death of Nwokedi had unified the judiciary in Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra States, adding that if such solidarity was extended to other judicial activities, it would go a long way in fast-tracking justice delivery in the area. The leader of Enugu NBA, Okereke and a classmate of the late Nwokedi described the departed jurist as a good dancer and said the jurist deserved to be immortalised in view of his service to humanity. The son of the deceased, Mr. Uche Nwokedi (SAN), described his late father as a reference point who would always give direction to his

children, adding that they would greatly miss his advisory role. He added that the calibre of legal practitioners that turned up at the valedictory session was a clear signal that one must be careful in his conducts, adding: "What I have seen here today is a lesson in humility. One must be humble because it pays at the long run." Justice Nwokedi was born on November 3, 1926. He started his elementary education at Holy Trinity School, Onitsha. From there, he moved to St. Gregory’s College in Lagos for his secondary education. Thereafter, he worked for sometime. Since he didn’t get scholarship to go to England, he started reading on his own. He later left for London to study Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Upon his return to Nigeria as a lawyer, he established and practised in Aba. From there, he was able to control the entire Eastern Nigeria for the nationalist movement. After practising Law for about 17 years, he was appointed a judge of the defunct East Central State and later became the Chief Judge of Anambra State when the state was created in the early 90s. He was automatically nominated as a Supreme Court judge some years later. He did not have to go through the Court of Appeal as is customary because his sound judgments were there for all to see. Unlike these days when people lobby for practically everything, Justice Nwokedi was nominated to the Supreme Court bench on merit. In an interview he once granted, he said: “When I was told to go to the Supreme Court, I protested but they said, look, man, we have left you here because Anambra area was very notorious for justice but now we want to show the world; we have seen the appeals and we have seen the sort of work you have done and so we are satisfied that you should be there.” When he asked how he treated judgment as a judge, he simply said: “It didn’t matter to me whether you were my mother or my father, I would deliver my judgment. Whether you were related to me or you were a friend or enemy, it didn’t mean anything to me. I delivered my judgments, straight and clear.” The late jurist retired from the Supreme Court in November 1991. Due to his brilliant performance at the Supreme Court, shortly after he bowed out from the bench, the then Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, appointed him the pioneer Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). He was also the Chairman of the Nigeria Law Reform Commission.

38/OPINION

03.11.2017

University of Ibadan Class of ’67: 50 Years of Comradeship Afolabi Abe The University of Ibadan, Class of 1967 celebrates its 50th anniversary on November 4, 2017, the day in 1967 when some young men and women matriculated into the academic institution known as the University of Ibadan. UI Class of '67, also called UI '67, is a Branch of the Alumni Association and is made up of the matriculants of that year and a few other Alumni whose Class have no Branch like ours, and who are in love with the activities of this class. The idea of a class-based Alumni group emerged on the realisation that a single Alumni Association of the University of Ibadan was finding it logistically difficult to contain the hundreds of thousands of students the University had turned out since 1948. Also, there is more comradeship based on closer familiarity among class members. Fully aware that the ideals of the University could be well projected through active involvement of the Alumni, UI '67 came to existence to contribute to making this citadel of knowledge greater. It all started on a Sunday at Easter time in 1979, in an apartment in Lagos State Housing Estate, Isolo, occupied by Late Adetokunbo Marinho. A few friends who were members of the class gathered to have a drink in celebration of Easter. There started, a relaxation style reminiscence of the old Ibadan days. Tokunbo had some Brandy which did not appeal to many of us but he had some other drinks also and there was lots of fun. We promised to meet again. The next meeting was held at Sola Dada's house near Yaba College of Technology and there, the Association took off with Sola as foundation President. We were few but it is noteworthy to mention names like Olusola Dada, Tokunbo Marinho, Dele Oyefesobi, Kayode Raheem, Tunji Odegbami, Kunle Akindele, lseoluwa Aworinde and Dorothy Ovbiagele (nee Imobio), all of blessed memory. Also, in those early days, were lyabo Ogunshola, Bunmi Onabolu, Sade Ogunbiyi, lzegbua Amusu, (the immediate past President), Afolabi Abe, Tunji Oluwatayo, Femi Kufo, Sam Oyibo Beecroft, Timebi Agari, Ayo Ojo, Tunji Falana, Stella Omotesho, Kofo Odusote, Lawrence Jasper Ogunleye, Imo Etsueli, (Justus), Andy Egonwon, Tunde (Njoku) Ezichi, Tony Omeiza Oshireku, Francis

University of Ibadan

Iruobe, Olabisi Ogunjobi, Yinka Sogbesan, Sanmi Fabode, Sunny Odunfa, Ladi Taiwo, Wole Okunfulure, Richard Adebayo, S.Olu Adekunle and Segun Johnson. However, it is worthy of note that the Ibadan Branch started soon after the Lagos Branch, and these are the only two Branches to the best of my knowledge. We had and still have, regular meetings socialising, reminiscing on UI life. We called and still call each other by our first names (and the old nicknames), to share the joy of the University of Ibadan heritage. We, however, have never lost sight of our responsibility to our University. We were given so much by our Alma Mater and we try to give back. Therefore, on Saturday November 4, 2017, we shall celebrate this great institution where in late September 1967, we resumed as freshers amidst fears in some quarters that, if the civil war escalated it would affect our academic aspirations. On the campus, it was a different world. No signs of war, as we participated in scintillating welcome week activities for new students. It was a new experience for all, both old and young. The young students, fresh from High School, were in the majority but there were students old enough to be fathers to some of us. It did not matter to anybody. Everybody joined in the new fun of UI life and UI traditions. We quickly grew

and boys became men and girls, women. The Halls were either Men's Hall or Women's Hall. We were encouraged to have constructive interactions with Senior members of staff, Professors and Lecturers, inclusive. They were amiable, accessible and helpful. On our part, we were confident and conscious that we were specially chosen. In those days when you were free to apply to all Universities, most of us got admission into all the four existing Universities and we chose Ibadan. To many Nigerians then, Ibadan was THE University and we were there. We were the envy of other institutions. UI was really internationalized. A good percentage of the Academic staff were expatriates and we had many international students from the Americas, the Caribbeans, Europe and other African countries. UI campus was a city within a city and many students had no reason to go out of the campus for a whole term. We had good meals, like Princes and Princesses inside Cafeteria that compared with restaurants of Five-star Hotels. The University of Ibadan was a world renowned Institution, a city of academics and a centre of fun and excellence. Financially, things were hard because of the civil war but UI had the best fee regime, compared to other Universities. Our Professors were world class: Ade Ajayi, Ojetunji Aboyade, D. N. Irvine,

B. J. Dudley, V. Oyenuga, Akin Mabogunje, Dotun Philips, E.A. Ayandele, E. U. Essien Udom, Wole Soyinka, Akinkugbe, Emovon, Adeoye Lambo, Odeku, to mention a few. Members in other locations in the country linked up with Lagos and Ibadan. We have successfully collaborated and executed projects in the University. Our 1st landmark project was the ultra-modern main gate. Endowment of an annual Prize to the best graduating student in the Faculty of Education followed. Other projects and endowments to the University are as follows: Donation of 60no. high-backed classy plastic chairs for the Conference hall of Alumni Centre, Donation of 5no. giant Standing Fans to the Olatunde Odeku Medical Library, UCH and Donation to the FANTON CHALLENGE of the University Advancement Centre. To mark our 50th Anniversary, a Public Lecture: Funding Nigerian Universities and University Autonomy will be delivered by Dr. M.O. Omolayole at the University Trenchard Hall, at 12noon. Immediately after the lecture, the anniversary bust – THE KNWOLEDGE – will be unveiled.. We remember today, our members apart from the ones mentioned earlier, who have departed to the great beyond. Former Presidents, Mr. Amos Olalekan Aremu (Ibadan Branch), Chief Isaac Olusola Dada and Mr. Tunji Odegbami (Lagos Branch). We pay tribute to the following former members who have also passed on: Kio Don Pedro, Bayo Kumolu Johnson, Victor Adebambo, Laolu Akinyele, Akin Orioke, Mrs. E. O. ldowu, Bode Oyerokun, Bola lshola, Ayo Akano, Segun Agagu, Mr. Fakunla, Babatunde Oshotimehin, Aiyedun Osho. May their souls rest in peace. We still match on in spite of our advancing age. Most of us have crossed the age of 70 and have retired from active service. We are however, determined to forge ahead in this fruitful relationship and service to the Institution that gave us so much in life. Long Live the Class of ’67. Long Live the University Of Ibadan. RECTE SAPERE FONS (For Knowledge and Sound Judgment). Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Abe, Class Secretary

Of Contenders for Anambra Governor Simon Onuorah One of the confirmed truths that all contenders in the November 18, 2017 Anambra governorship election must respect – whatever their political affiliations – is The Peter Obi Phenomenon. Love him, dislike him or pretend to be indifferent to him, no sane observer can honestly deny that Peter Obi set the real foundation for the multi-sectoral development of Anambra State. Under him Anambra State became the pride of everybody from the state and among friends of Anambra. Having been assured during electioneering in 2013 that sustainable development would continue in the spirit of the Anambra Integrated Development Strategy (ANIDS), we supported Peter Obi’s successor, Chief Willie Obiano who is currently rounding off his tenure in Government House, Awka. The curious thing about the Obiano tenure was captured by the governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Tony Nwoye. Dr. Nwoye, then of the PDP, revealed that when Obi sought re-election, he (Nwonye) played anti-party with some other PDP members for Obi to continue because he did well in his first term. In Obiano’s case, he continued, he expressed a shame that the outgoing governor has become an irreverent representative of Anambra North. Governor Obi’s legacy in the areas of infrastructural and human capital development, industrialisation, social transformation, security of lives and property, healthcare delivery, education, agriculture and food security, transport, among others, easily stand him out to this day. Even as the Obiano administration has done everything possible to erase those accomplishments, they remain etched in the minds of the people. The Church, traditional institutions and the aged, all attest to the fact that Obi was God’s response to the developmental yearnings of

Obaze

Anambrarians. All the political travails he survived are also pointers that God loves Anambra State. Were it constitutionally feasible, Anambrarians would have willingly extended Peter Obi’s tenure. Obi has since handed over to Willie Obiano who is about to face a re-election. While he tries to hinge his electioneering on nebulous achievements, the people of Anambra have been consistent in asking him to name them in concrete terms. Regrettably, his attainments in close to four years are the questionable fly-overs in Awka and his N20 million ‘Choose Your Project’ disbursements to the towns in the state. The fore-going certainly do not rate as achievements for a serious governor of a vibrant state like Anambra. Summed up, for instance, the N20 million gift to each of the towns cannot pay for the construction of one major road in the state. In a classic subterfuge to claim he had done something for each of the towns, the N20 million at

best was used to complete small, on-going town projects and to spray-paint already completed projects. With his dismal performance, the people of Anambra State insist that the baton must change hands. Compelled by equity and justice, all seem to agree that though the people no longer want Obiano, a person from the North should be allowed another four-year term. Interestingly, the people of Anambra North acknowledge that if Obiano is given another four years in office, one of the consequences of his compounded failures is that he would be used to judge the people from the Zone, which would be a permanent slur on them. In this light, Anambra North needs a responsible and tested hand to redeem them from the shame wrought by Obiano. What should agitate the average voter is who in this throng possesses the relevant academic qualifications, managerial skills, experience, capacity and ability to marshal out social and economic policies and programmes that can improve on, or at least, preserve the sterling legacies of Obi. To achieve this, Anambra does not need a maverick politician who would be too bogged down with party politics and intrigues that will leave him little or no time to attend to critical state matters. Peter Obi’s success derived mainly from the incontrovertible reality that while his contemporaries plotted and contrived how to bamboozle their ways through the next election, he was determined to let his projects campaign for him. This option paid off handsomely. I recall an incident in my village in January 2010 when a politician was trying to convince an old man to vote for a particular candidate. The octogenarian calmly replied: “I have heard all you said about this your man but let us finish with this young man (referring to Governor Obi) who gave us drinking water, renovated our school and is constructing our only road. After

that, you can then bring that your man who will distribute “aeroplanes” to everybody in the land.” Of all the front-runners in the November 18 governorship race, the only candidate really qualified to take over from Governor Obiano and correct his mal-administration is Mr. Oseloka Obaze. I personally followed his roles as the Secretary to the State Government and I am convinced that he has the capacity to deliver good governance to the people. In terms of track record and rich experience in the management of human and material resources coupled with the requisite educational background, Obaze is the man. Going through Obaze’s CV, there is no doubt it is the richest among those contesting for governor. However, some of us – knowing that a rich CV is not all it takes, as we painfully discovered in the case of Willie Obiano – have also seen Obaze in action. We observed his performance as SSG and as head of many critical committees in the Obi administration, and how he delivered beyond the call of duty. We have also heard a lot about him from his colleagues in the United Nations system and those that served with him in the Government of Anambra State. All the evidences point to a man who is principled, ready to serve with sincerity of purpose and contented. Under the Obiano administration – with a collection of over 1,000 ‘Aides’ -- Anambra has been fast losing it. How do we explain that we are now associated with drinking orgies, propagation of falsehoods, lack of accountability, descent from a financial buoyancy to a debt-ridden status, among other debilitating features? In our sustained interests, we need a man of vision that will cleanse and restore our self-esteem as a people. Mr. Oseloka Obaze is the man and PDP is the party. .Onuorah writes from Onitsha

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

UWALEKE: CBN SHOULD CHECK INSIDER LOANS IN BANKS The Senate recently criticised the CBN for using about $9 billion to defend the naira. Do you think the concern is justiďŹ ed? That is the role of the central bank. The central bank has primary mandate to maintain price stability, and that includes exchange rate stability. Now, given the structure of our economy (which I alluded to earlier) that depends solely on oil and the central bank has custody of the bulk of that. So, the central bank is the major supplier of the forex market and because it has the bulk of forex, it is now incumbent on the central bank to defend the local currency using the stock of dollars at its disposal. So, the central bank will be failing in its duty if it doesnâ€™t do that. The central bank has the responsibility to defend the naira where itâ€™s not running a complete flexible system and we canâ€™t afford to leave the fate of the naira completely at the mercy of market forces because of the huge mismatch between demand and supply of forex in Nigeria. Since the supply is limited, the demand is much. Thereâ€™s no way you can argue for a complete floating of the naira. So, I am in support of defending the naira with the reserves that we have. That is the primary purpose of having reserves to ensure that you have stable exchange rates. If the CBN had not done that, by now, the exchange rate wouldnâ€™t be converging downwards the way we are seeing them converge across all sectors of the foreign exchange market. Equally, the upper legislative chamber has expressed concern over the level of implementation of the capital budget for 2017. Whatâ€™s your take on that? Yes, I agree with you and thatâ€™s because again for this economy to be fixed, you donâ€™t have to clap with one hand. Fiscal policy is required. Expenditure on infrastructure will go a long way to help reflate the economy. If you look at the National Bureau of Statisticsâ€™ report on inflation, it talks about high cost of transport as major driver of inflationary pressure and thatâ€™s because the roads are not in good condition. So we need to spend money on infrastructure--power, roads. The fact that in the 2017 Budget, for example, we have two trillion voted for capital expenditure and as we speak not up to N350 billion has been released few months to the end of the year and that is something to worry about. I also think that in fairness to the government, I donâ€™t think itâ€™s a deliberate act because Iâ€™m sure too and also desirous in pushing this spending on capital projects because for the first time in many years, we are seeing a government that is giving due consideration to the capital components. Last year, for example, I heard that as much as 30 per cent voted for capital and this year again 30 per cent voted for capital but of course what usually impeded implementation has been shortfall in revenue. I also think that the government is conscious of it that they need to spend money on capital projects. If thereâ€™s delay at all, something has to be done about it which is why I also think the government recently is talking about borrowing further through the international capital markets to be able to fund capital projects. So, if the borrowing is to expedite action on the capital component of the budget, I am in support of it because it will help to really boost the economy. The level of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the banks is another area of concern. How would you react to that? Yes, you see the high level of non-performing loans in the banks had a lot of factors behind them. Of course, itâ€™s something that is worrisome. The central bank has a threshold of five percent but we hear on the average the NPL is as high as 15 per cent especially when you aggregate. So, if you remove the four banks that we read were having liquidity problems, then you could have something lower but on the average itâ€™s about 15 per cent which is quite high. The major cause of non-performing loans in banks is insider loans. You also have challenges of core corporate governance. The bulk of those banks not doing a lot that they are supposed to do, you also have issues of high interest rate regime because each time maybe the monetary policy rate is increased, banks reprice their loans and the borrowers have difficulty in paying back. But that aside, the major cause can be traced to insider loans when the directors, for example, give loans to family members and they donâ€™t pay back. Thereâ€™s also the issue of poor appraisal of credit given by credit officers and it has to

Uwaleke

do with maybe unqualified staff put in credit departments. So, the CBN has a role to play and that is to set up supervision to ensure that banks adhere to guidelines and CBN code of corporate governance to ensure that insider loans are minimised and recovered. So this issue Iâ€™m sure the CBN is aware of the challenge and recently listening to the CBN governor talk about it, I want to believe that the central bank is going to be on top of the situation to bring down issue of high loans within the banking industry. Nigeria has just been ranked 125th out of 137 in the global competitive index, do you think this is justifiable and if so what should we do? Yes, I think when you consider the challenges we have in this country, the infrastructure challenges, its competitiveness has a lot to do with the state of infrastructure. It also has a lot to do with even the ease of doing business. Of course, we also know that some way you can put Nigeria 169 out of 180 countries. So, all these factors are coming to play when it comes to competitiveness. To move up the rungs of competitiveness, we need to fix infrastructure and do something about the ease of doing business. We need to do something about corruption, security and by the time we do all that, foreign investors will find us attractive and they will come here to invest, not just because our interest rates are high but because generally we have a favourable business environment. So we need to fix infrastructure to make us more competitive. The National Corruption report recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics

A situation where a government is borrowing at a rate as high as 16 per cent whereas external debt requires maybe 1.5 per cent. In fact, the highest rate that we have seen in case of external is just 7 per cent. But the external loans that have come from multilateral sources go for like 1.5 and even the bulk of it. So to get out of this, debt trap, Iâ€™m in support of the debt strategy to rebalance our debt composition in favour of external debt

(NBS) is disturbing. Donâ€™t you think itâ€™s part of why we are not competitive? I mentioned it, that corruption places us at a disadvantage and perception is very important even if you try to say that the report is not true. Perception is very important and these institutions must work towards changing the way the public perceives them because that is what goes out to the international community. They should see it as a challenge to ensure that subsequent reports donâ€™t pin them as the worst culprits when it comes to the issue of corruption. The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo recently talked about the need for more transparency in revenue mobilisation. The recent report by a committee chaired by a former South African President , Thank Mbeki painted a worrying picturw about illicit financial flows in Africa. A lot of multinationals are involved. What do you think we should be doing to curtail these illicit financial flows? I know for example the recent scheme by the federal government, the voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) is meant to curtail illicit financial flows. Itâ€™s also meant to widen the tax base and ensure that some of these multinationals and high networth individuals who are under-declaring their income are not even paying taxes are captured. So itâ€™s to look at that scheme and implement it, and try to capture multinationals that have been evading taxes. For a country like Nigeria with its GDP size, thereâ€™s no doubt that six per cent of GDP coming from tax revenue is small, sub-optimal, far below our peer countries. It tells you that a lot of tax evasion is going on, where you have huge income but less tax. Thatâ€™s why Iâ€™m happy we have this voluntary assets and income declaration scheme. We have a lot of leakages in the system and Iâ€™m sure the government recognised that and that is what they are trying to solve through this scheme. Domestic debt accumulation is another challenge which many have expressed concern about. What do you think we should be doing now? Well, Nigeriaâ€™s total debt stock is about N19.6 trillion and out of that, we have over N4trillion as external. The bulk has remained domestic and that is probably why we are having this challenge; the challenge of huge debt service is more because the bulk of it is domestic. A situation where a government is borrowing at a rate as high as 16 per cent whereas external debt requires maybe 1.5 per cent. In fact, the highest rate that we have seen in case of external is just 7 per cent. But the external loans that have come from multilateral sources go for like 1.5 and even the bulk of it. So to get out of this, debt trap, Iâ€™m in support of the debt strategy to rebalance our debt composition in favour of external debt. So we should look more outside especially if we can access multilateral loans that are far cheaper

and have longer tenor, and then borrow less from the domestic economy. Even when you are borrowing from the domestic economy, we need to, if possible, restructure the short term maturity to longer term maturity instruments as opposed to treasury bills. For example, we do more of the saving bonds thatâ€™s like two or three years as opposed to 90 days treasury bills and that way you donâ€™t punch up together. Also, I am in support of getting cheaper foreign loans to pay off domestic debts. So, the thing is huge no doubt and also donâ€™t forget that we also have the parts coming from state governments as a matter of fact. You know Lagos State debt is not much of a problem because it has capacity to service but for some other states thereâ€™s a challenge there. So, itâ€™s for the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 to really monitor the debts that are taken by these state governors especially the ones they are taking from banks which are huge. The state assemblies should play a role too to ensure that if their state governments are taking loans , they must be tied to particular projects and those loans should be sourced from the capital market. And then, for the government to look at longer term loans and then put attention more in foreign loans that are cheaper. But what is important is that debt is not bad, the important thing is that if we are borrowing we must always look at the issue of self-liquidating loans. Once a debt is self-liquidating, if I can borrow at 6 per cent and I use it to do something that will give me like 7 per cent extra then thereâ€™s no problem with borrowing. But when I borrow and consume, or borrow for one year and use it to do a project of 5 years, thatâ€™s funding mismatch and that is where I have problem with borrowing. So to get out of this debt trap or reduce it, we need to focus on external loans. For domestic debts, we try to focus on longer term domestic debts as opposed to very short terms and then ensure that we abide by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 that puts a cap on borrowing particularly the federal to state governments. Although inďŹ‚ation is decelerating, when you talk about food prices, they are still very high. What should we be looking at? If you noticed the August National Bureau of Statistics report talked about the inflation dropping to 16.01 per cent but for the first time again this year food index actually dropped from 16.28 per cent to 16.25 per cent and thatâ€™s probably because of the harvest season. So having said that, thereâ€™s no doubt that the cost of food prices is still high and that speaks to the need for us to begin to look at those things we can do here, those crops we can focus on to achieve food sufficiency. Thereâ€™s need to put more money in agriculture to achieve self-sufficiency in food production. Inflation will come down the moment we begin to work towards food security. The other ones have a lot to do with the exchange rate; once we are able to bring down exchange rates, it will certainly have a pass-through effect on the price of commodities. And how you bring down exchange rate is by increasing the supply of foreign currency by ensuring that we have multiple streams of foreign currency and curtailing the demand for foreign made goods. The moment we begin to patronise locally-made products, from the government to the individual, it will go a long way in providing job opportunities. When the economy is better and you earn more revenue then you will find a situation where the price of commodities will begin to come down. The nature of inflation that we have in Nigeria is not demand-issue inflation but cost-issue inflation. By the time we begin to fix some infrastructural bottlenecks we have in the country it will go a long way in rubbing off positively on cost of food prices. So to bring down food index, we need to put money in agriculture and pursue mechanised agriculture. The farmers need to have a means of moving their products from the farm to the city without incurring so much cost in terms of transport. We need to have storage facilities for the farmers; mechanised farming will improve the yield. I also commend the CBN for their contributions towards rice to ensure that the price of a bag of rice comes down. So the CBN should be encouraged to extend it to many other crops and also ensure that many more states are covered. So if we have this intervention by the CBN and complimented by targeted spending in agriculture by the government Iâ€™m sure we will achieve the self-sufficiency in agricultural production like we already have in Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

CITYSTRINGS

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

L-R: New Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohinmi Edgal (left) in handshake with Governor Akinwunmi Ambode

New Police Czar for Lagos Femi Ogbonnikan examines the latest policing measures being put in place by the new Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohinmi Edgal

istraught by the recent upsurge in violent crimes, such as armed robbery, kidnapping, pipeline vandalism and most especially a notorious criminal gang tagged ‘badoo’ in Ikorodu town and its environs which infested the sleepy communities like a monster, Mr. Imohinmi Oluwole Edgal, the new Lagos State Commissioner of Police, in no time on Thursday, September 7, 2017, embarked on a working visit to Area ‘N’ Command headquarters, Ijede, which oversees the troubled areas, comprising Ikorodu, Igbogbo, Ibeshe, Imota, Ipakodo, and other adjoining communities. At Ikorodu, the meetings were drawn in three categories, with the first parley taking place at the palace of the Ayangburen of Ikorodu where the CP held a closed door meeting with Ikorodu traditional rulers under the able leadership of the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Kabiru Shotobi, before a stakeholders’ meeting which was well attended by local vigilante groups made up of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Onyabo, Lagos State Neighbourhood Security Corps (LSNSC), members of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), artisans, market women and men, police officers and men under Area N Command

and other various interest groups where he reeled out his programmes of policing the entire state, particularly Ikorodu which has in recent past fallen under the jugular of the badoo cult group. While the badoo group was on the prowl, no fewer than 85 people,

A situation where strangers would come and set up shrines for the purpose of rituals and fraudulent activities are over. It took a lot of hard work to penetrate Agbowa shrine…I decided to open its existence to the world so that nobody would be able to kill the case. I would have gone there quietly if I wanted to cover it

including little children have fallen prey of the criminal activities of the group. In his welcome address, the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Shotobi, eulogised the courage, commitment and determination of the new CP who when he was then, the Lagos State Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in-charge of ‘Operations’ led his officers and men to launch a manhunt, day and night, in collaboration with the operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS), Army, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), members of the OPC led by Otunba Gani Adams, for the perpetrators behind the dastardly act of wanton killings for money-making rituals in Ikorodu and its environs. Besides, Oba Shotobi enjoined Edgal, the 34th Lagos State CP, to carry on from where he stopped when he was DCP to cleanse the entire affected communities in the wake of badoo attacks and bring the culprits to justice. The monarch, however, pledged the total support and commitment of the Ikorodu Traditional Rulers Council to the new Lagos State Police Commissioner towards achieving success in the fight against criminal elements operating within the sleepy communities which fall under the defunct Ikorodu Division. Determined at ensuring the perpetrators

of the recent heinous badoo killers don’t go unpunished, Edgal, in his response, vowed to follow the matter to a logical end with the arrest of the alleged arrow-head of the group, in the person of Alhaji Ademola Alaka (alias Otukoko) who has gone underground. The CP reiterated his determination that he would send alleged ritualist, Alhaji Alaka Abayomi, to jail for operating the shrine that was uncovered at Agbowa, Ikorodu, sometime in July.. Warning that there was no hiding place for criminals at Ikorodu, the police commissioner said those who leave their domain to establish ritual and fraudulent shrines in the district would meet their doom. “A situation where strangers would come and set up shrines for the purpose of rituals and fraudulent activities are over. It took a lot of hard work to penetrate Agbowa shrine. It was a spiritual problem. At the moment, forensic experts are carrying out investigations into the criminal aspects of the shrine. “I decided to open its existence to the world so that nobody would be able to kill the case. I would have gone there quietly if I wanted to cover it. A lot of entreaties have been made and some stupid people have attempted to offer me money.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

CITYSTRINGS

New Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohinmi Edgal (1st right) saluting Governor Akinwunmi Ambode (1st left). While the immediate past CP, Mr. Fatai Owoseni watches

“They do not know my background, if they did, they won’t do that. I will send that man to jail,” said Edgal. A day afterwards, precisely on Friday, September 8, 2017, the working visit shifted to Area ‘G’ Command headquarters, Ogba, where the CP addressed officers and men and other security stakeholders on the need to collaborate in crime fighting. However, at Area A Command headquarters, Lion Building, Lagos Island, on Thursday, September 14, 2017, at a well attended stakeholders’ meeting which attracted PCRC members, market women and men, members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), notable sons and daughters of Lagos Island, including Mrs. Wonu Folami, ex-Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, among others, held at Club Arcade, TBS, Lagos, expressed his overwhelming appreciation for the support he got when he was commander, Area A Command, which ensured his success when he was in saddle. He, therefore, sought for their renewed cooperation and support in the task of policing Lagos State as a whole. “In policing Lagos State, I want to seek for your approval and input. The aim is not far-fetched but to reduce crime and criminality in Lagos State within three months. The aim is driven by community policing and safety. We are departing from the old traditional policing method which is no longer effective. U.S., Russia, Germany, UK and other advanced countries have evolved a new policing strategy to combat youth restiveness, unrest, disturbance, law and order. Community policing means policing plan for any locality and community must have community input, for people to determine how police would police them. But if people do not partner the police to achieve effective goals, officers and men must go out, reach out and find out what the relevant groups within a community want to have peace. “Security problems in Lagos State, relating to violent crimes, such as youth restiveness, cultism, disobedience to rule of law and others, I want to tell you, the police don’t have the manpower and spread to take care of these problems until we partner together to solve these problems. We must consult widely with the people and seek solutions to these challenges. You are to partner with the people with trust in order to earn their respect. Why have the police lost the respect of the people? The answer is, the problems are with the police. And these are in the areas of corruption, abuse of fundamental

L-R: Ayangburen of Ikorodu , Oba Kabiru Shotobi with the new Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohinmi Edgal, when the latter paid him a courtesy visit... recently

human rights of the people, brutality, illegal detention and many others. In my present dispensation, it is not going to be business as usual. Henceforth, all matters relating to indiscipline would be investigated and reports made public. Thus, the step is key

I have come to seek your support and cooperation. Lagos is a melting point of all nationals. The migration is rising astronomically and we have to be vigilant. We must not allow anybody to smuggle in illegal weapons into the state. If you see something, say something. The key to policing Lagos State is vigilance

in building needed synergy and fashioning plans at working,” said the new CP. Besides, the new CP stated that the command is ready to engage members of the Neighbourhood Watch at nights for effective patrol. He said the Neighbourhood Watch operatives would not bear firearms because they are not permitted by law to carry guns while they would patrol with armed policemen at nights for effective operations. He said three armed policemen would be attached to a team of Neighbourhood Watch. “I had a few days ago while addressing officers at POWA Secretariat, GRA, Ikeja, directed Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) to reach out to traditional rulers, PCRC members, leaders of thought and others on how they would assist them in setting up vigilante groups within their respective communities. Members of the Neighbourhood Watch to be recruited for the night operations would be screened by the traditional rulers, and their names forwarded to their respective Area Commanders who would have obtained their biometrics for final screening. So, policing would be strictly based on partnership without carrying firearms. “I have come to seek your support and cooperation. Lagos is a melting point of all

nationals. The migration is rising astronomically and we have to be vigilant. We must not allow anybody to smuggle in illegal weapons into the state. If you see something, say something. The key to policing Lagos State is vigilance. All police patrol vans are mini-stations now. There is no need going to police stations. Failure on the part of any police officer or men to attend to the complaints of the members of the public will attract sanction,” Edgal said. He, however, gave out 10 mobile numbers for complaints against erring officers and men in the conduct of their duties and which are to be processed in English and the official three local dialects (Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa). The 10 numbers are; 08067945296, 08063025274, 08063104759, 08113615350, 08113683077, 08096283148, 08096283173, 08089781657, 08126404930 and 08081426895. Meanwhile, the CP disclosed that the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has donated 109 generating sets to light up all the police stations in the state and thousands of torchlights for effective night patrols. According to Edgal, the era of darkness being experienced in police stations in Lagos State is over, and said the State Command would soon join the command in launching a “light up project”.

T H I S D AY Ëž , ÍąËœ 2017

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Lagos, Delta, Rivers Lead in Sub-National Competitive Index Obinna Chima and Solomon Elusoji The National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN) has ranked Lagos state top among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, in its first ever Sub-National Index. Lagos was closely followed by Delta, Rivers, Niger, Enugu, Edo, Jigawa and Abia states, in that order. The index covered four key areas which included human capital, infrastructure, economy and institutions. The NCCNâ€™s National Competitiveness Report that was launched in Lagos yesterday, also ranked Borno and Gombe, 36th and 37th respectively. While Imo state was ranked 32nd among the 36 states and the FCT, Adamawa was placed 33rd, Kwara â€“ 34th and Yobe 35th. According to the report, all the states performed strongly

in at least one of the four broad themes and 23 indicators. The Chief Executive Officer of the NCCN, Mr. Chika Mordi explained that the index aims to present a significant platform for research and discussion. Mordi pointed out that a couple of northern states were quite strong in areas of infrastructure. â€œIn aggregate, Nigeria remains challenges in its competitiveness,â€? the NCCN boss stressed. He added that NCCN anticipates that the index would â€œhave a catalytic effect in competitive state policies which will ultimately lead to greater business productivity, resulting in job creation and poverty reduction.â€? Meanwhile, data collection for the index was done by NCCN in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics and private surveying agencies.

They conducted a household survey across all 36 states and the FCT, resulting in a sample of 8,147 households. They also conducted a business climate survey, collecting information from 2000 private business establishments chosen at random, and using probability proportional to size (PPS) within each sector. Out of this number, 1,820 businesses responded to the survey, representing a 91% response rate. â€œThe index is a culmination of 20 months of intense work,â€? Mordi added. â€œWeâ€™ve worked rigorously to ensure objectivity and transparency in our methodology, data collection, analysis and interpretation. Where possible we applied effective tools for cross-validation, and ease of replicability. It is by no means perfect, but we envisage improvements with subsequent iterations of the index.â€?

Fintechs Urged to Enhance Financial Inclusion Nume Ekeghe The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged financial technology (fintech) companies to come up with more solutions that would bring more people into the banking system. The Principal Manager, Banking and Payment System Department, CBN, Mr. Olubukola Akinwunmi, made this call at the KPMG Digital Summit in Lagos, which had in attendance all the major players in the banking, fintech and digital system. Akinwunmi said: â€œThe CBNâ€™s vision on Fintech is somehow encapsulated in the Payment System Vision 2020 of the Bank. We have laid it out that we want to enable access to finance. â€œThere are about 66 million unserved and another 28 million Nigerians underserved. Those are the people we want to see

fintech bring into the financial services space.â€? He added: â€œIf you look at what we have been doing in the last 10 years, our role has been to open up the financial services space for fintechs to come in after the FSS Vision 2020 that was released in 2007. We identified areas where fintechs can play and subsequent to that, in 2009 we had a mobile payments regulatory framework which actually invited non-banks to come in and play.â€? â€œOur vision has always been to ensure that Nigerians especially the unserved at the moment are enabled by innovative service providers within the financial space not necessarily the banks. â€œOf course, we know the importance of ensuring collaboration between these new players and the traditional

players.â€? Speaking at the event, the founder of a major fintech company, Flutterwave, Mr. Iyinoluwa Aboyeji said: â€œIf we are really serious about financial deepening, we need to leverage regulatory to reduce the cost of serving underbanked customers. â€œIf you do that, more fintechs would be comfortable to serve customers and they can do more speedily.â€? On his part, the Partner, Financial Services Technology KPMG, Mr. Boye Ademola while speaking on the need to enhance alternative financing said: â€œIt is important to stress that if this market is going to experience exponential or significant growth and transformation from a financial services perspective, there are a few things the regulators need to look at one of it is alternative financing.

CBN Raises the Alarm over Fake Website Ndubuisi Francis Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă”Ă‹ The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the alarm over a fake website purported to belong to it, which was deployed by fraudulent element with the intent to defraud unsuspecting victims. In a statement by the acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, the CBN said it has only one

website. The statement noted that the bankâ€™s attention had been drawn to a scam being perpetrated by some fraudulent persons whereby unsuspecting members of the public are diverted to a fake website purported to belong to the Central Bank of Nigeria. â€œThere is the danger of these fraudsters extorting money from victims based on

false claims that the payments made are to either guarantee or secure loans from the various intervention funds of the Bank. â€œFor the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state as follows: â€œThat the only website created and maintained by the Central Bank of Nigeria for its engagement with stakeholders is: www.cbn.gov.ng,â€? the statement added.

Access Bank Partners GAC Motors on Vehicle Finance Scheme Access Bank has entered into a partnership with Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC Motors) to enable more Nigerians have access to finance for affordable vehicles. The partnership allows customers of Access Bank access finance to purchase the latest brands of GAC at discounted price with a reduced interest rate. Speaking at the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Lagos recently, the Chairman of GAC Motors, Diana Chan, said the partnership was to enable more Nigerians afford high end vehicles. â€œWe have two strong brands,

GAC, one of the best car makers in China, and Access Bank which is passionate about customers coming together to give Nigerians the chance to buy new cars with high durability at low costâ€? she said. On his part, Access Bank Executive Director, Victor Etuokwu, explained that in making vehicle ownership affordable for its customers, the bank allows them to buy the cars with a 10 per cent equity contribution. He noted that the interest rate has also been brought down to 24 per cent. He noted that with the value of cars rising in recent times, â€œmany banks are staying g away from vehicle

financing but at Access Bank, we are passionate about our customers and the Nigerian economy and that is why we are in this partnership.â€? Etuokwu noted that the offers coming with the vehicle financing scheme include free comprehensive insurance in the vehicles purchased for the first one year. He however noted that the scheme covers purchase on the GA3 S, GS4 and GS8 models of the GAC motors. Chan explained that the choice of the three models was to reach out to all levels of customers from junior executives to high networth individuals.

Ambode

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

Ě™ Ěš

AUGUST 2017 Broad Money (M2)

21,851,454.31

Ě‹Ě‹ Ă‹ĂœĂœĂ™ĂĄ Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ě™ ÍŻĚš

9,890,813.10

---- Currency Outside Banks

ÍŻËœÍłÍ°ÍąËœÍ°ÍąÍˇË›ÍˇÍŻ

---- Demand Deposits

ÍśËœÍąÍ´ÍľËœÍłÍľÍąË›ÍŻÍˇ

-- Quasi Money

11,960,641.22

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

9,732,990.89

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

ÍŻÍ°ËœÍŻÍŻÍśËœÍ˛Í´ÍąË›Í˛Í° 26,821,446.81

Ě‹Ě‹ Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă—Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă? ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ“Ăž Ě™ Ěš Ě‹Ě‹Ě‹Ě‹ ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ“Ăž ĂžĂ™ Ă™Ă Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ě™ Ă?ĂžĚš

4,824,226.22

Ě‹Ě‹Ě‹Ě‹ Ă?Ă—Ă™Ë? ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ“Ăž ĂžĂ™ Ă™Ă ĂžË› Ě™ Ă?ĂžĚš Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă?

ÍľËœÍśÍąÍ˛ËœÍłÍąÍ´Ë›ÍľÍ˛

Ě‹Ě‹Ě‹Ě‹ Ă?Ă—Ă™Ë? Ă?ĂŽË› Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“ĂœĂœĂ™Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ě™ Ěš

-3,010,310.52

Ě‹Ě‹Ě‹Ě‹ ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ“Ăž ĂžĂ™ ĂœĂ“Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ Ě™ Ěš

21,997,220.59

--Other Assets Net

-14,702,983.39

Reserve Money (Base Money)

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Ě‹Ě‹ Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜

ÍŻËœÍśÍ´ÍśËœÍľÍąÍłË›ÍŽÍľ

Ě‹Ě‹ Ă‹Ă˜Ă•Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă?Ă?

3,268,266.17 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

MANAGED FUNDS Month

AUGUST 2017

Inter-Bank Call Rate

Í°Í°Ë›Í´Íą

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

ÍŻÍ˛Ë›ÍŽÍŽ

Treasury Bill Rate

ÍŻÍąË›ÍąÍł

Savings Deposit Rate

Í˛Ë›ÍŽÍś

1 Month Deposit Rate

ÍśË›ÍśÍ´

3 Months Deposit Rate

ÍŻÍŽË›ÍŻÍ˛

6 Months Deposit Rate

ÍŻÍŻË›ÍłÍŻ

12 Months Deposit Rate

ÍŻÍŻË›Í˛ÍŽ

Prime Lending rate

ÍŻÍľË›Í´Íˇ

Maximum Lending Rate

ÍąÍŻË›Í°ÍŽ Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ Ă™Ă–Ă“Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ÍŻÍąĎą

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT, MON, NOV 1 2017 The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $59.23 a barrel on Wednesday, compared with $58.53 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

T H I S D AY ˾ , NOVEMBER 3, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Lafarge Africa Applies to Raise N132bn through Rights Issue Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie

billion. However, the company has formally applied to raise about N132 billion through the issuance of 3,097,653,023 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N42.50 per share on the basis of five new ordinary share for every nine ordinary share s held as at November 1, 2017. Shareholders of the company had given the approval for the

Lafarge Africa Plc has formally applied to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to raise N132 billion fresh capital from existing investors through a Rights Issue. Shareholders of the cement manufacturing firm had in June approved the proposal by the company to raise about N140

rights issue with a charge to the directors that the company would remain listed on the NSE. The Chairman of Lafarge Africa, Mr. Bolaji Balogun, had said that the rights issue, which is the first since 2005, represents an important step in resolving the company’s foreign currency exposure and impact on its earnings.

According to him, apart from reducing debt of the company, the right issue provides all shareholders opportunity to increase their investment in the company. “The recapitalisation is positive and our largest shareholder, LafargeHolcim has committed to subscribing to their rights in full through a conversion of existing shareholder loans. This

PRICES FOR SECURITIES TRADED AS OF

shareholders that the company should not be delisted after the right issue, Balogun said if the LafargeHolcim was considering that option, it would not commit to make such huge investment in the company. Speaking on the company’s turn-around plan launched in the third quarter of 2016, the chairman said it has started yielding results.

investment is a strong indication of the groups’ continued belief in the Nigerian story. It is the largest right issue and the largest investment in a listed company by an investor. It reduces our foreign currency exposure by approximately half, improves our cash flow and positions the company for our future capacity expansion plans,” he said. Responding to request by the

A S AT 3 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 1 7

Price List (Equities) PRICES FOR PREMIUM BOARD SECURITIES FINANCIAL SERVICES S/N

BANKING

1 BANKING

ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC

S/N

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

2 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRIAL GOODS

FBN HOLDINGS PLC

S/N

BUILDING MATERIALS

3 BUILDING MATERIALS INDUSTRIAL GOODS PREMIUM BOARD TOTALS Price List (Equities) PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES AGRICULTURE

DANGOTE CEMENT PLC

S/N

CROP PRODUCTION

4 5 6 CROP PRODUCTION

FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC

S/N 7 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING

FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES

8 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES AGRICULTURE CONGLOMERATES

LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC.

S/N

DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES

12 13 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES CONGLOMERATES CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE

A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. JOHN HOLT PLC. S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC.

S/N

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

14 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

ARBICO PLC.

S/N 15 16 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION

MARKET CAP(Nm) 222,550.82

MARKET CAP(Nm)

PRICE

VOLUME

25.49

10,224,177 10,224,177

PRICE

VOLUME

6.20

21,471,195 21,471,195 31,695,372

PRICE

VOLUME

224.00

981,469 981,469 981,469 32,676,841

INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. ROADS NIG PLC.

MARKET CAP(Nm) 1,100.00 62,004.15 66,500.00 MARKET CAP(Nm) 511.20 MARKET CAP(Nm) 2,430.00

MARKET CAP(Nm) 1,482.48 194.58 2,111.93

PRICE

VOLUME

0.50 65.00 66.50

0 162,227 135,304 297,531

PRICE

VOLUME

4.26

0 0

PRICE

VOLUME

0.81

378,664 378,664 676,195

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT

UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED

19 20 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE CONSUMER GOODS

38 39 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES

NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. VITAFOAM NIG PLC.

S/N

PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS

40 41 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS CONSUMER GOODS FINANCIAL SERVICES

P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC.

S/N

BANKING

42 43

ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. JAIZ BANK PLC SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC.

0.56 0.50 3.25

1,300 0 0

58,546.15

1.44

19,343,426

36,093.04

18.79

2,299,278 21,644,004 21,644,004

MARKET CAP(Nm) 711.32 MARKET CAP(Nm) 38,715.60 165.00

PRICE

VOLUME

4.79

0 0

PRICE

VOLUME

29.33 6.60

92,309 0

MARKET CAP(Nm)

PRICE

7,015.67

2.70

VOLUME 32,762

21 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS

DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC

S/N

BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS

22 23 24 25 26 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS

CHAMPION BREW. PLC. GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC.

S/N

BEVERAGES--NON-ALCOHOLIC

27 BEVERAGES--NON-ALCOHOLIC

7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC.

S/N

FOOD PRODUCTS

28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 FOOD PRODUCTS

DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC UNION DICON SALT PLC.

S/N

FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED

36 37 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED

CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC.

60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES

INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC AIICO INSURANCE PLC. AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. STANDARD TRUST ASSURANCE PLC UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC

MARKET CAP(Nm) 2,000.00

PRICE

VOLUME

100.00

11,305.89

45.22

S/N

MICRO-FINANCE BANKS

26,682.70

10.00

80 81 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS

FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC

AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS

54 55 56 58

125,071

S/N

32,762 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST

45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 BANKING

VOLUME

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT 18

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES

PRICE

92,309

S/N

9 10 11

MARKET CAP(Nm) 800,296.63

MARKET CAP(Nm) 2,386.33 MARKET CAP(Nm) 19,260.56 242.22 219,038.28 161,385.27 1,189,365.13 MARKET CAP(Nm) 57,653.13 MARKET CAP(Nm) 47,650.00 180,000.00 82,663.47 16,812.02 1,861.25 1,028.21 42,920.90 3,676.41 MARKET CAP(Nm) 19,721.12 992,405.63

S/N

PRICE

VOLUME

0.50

22,100 22,100

82 83 84 85

PRICE

VOLUME

2.46 0.89 100.00 48.99 150.00

123,000 0 297,756 2,007,686 1,854,857 4,283,299

PRICE

VOLUME

90.00

22,083 22,083

PRICE

VOLUME

9.53 15.00 31.50 2.12 0.50 5.77 16.20 13.45

19,717,096 850,879 5,581,444 1,661,741 0 0 4,159,300 0 31,970,460

PRICE

VOLUME

10.50 1,252.00

690,714 82,767 773,481

MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES

MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC.

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. SIM CAPITAL ALLIANCE VALUE FUND STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC

S/N

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

EKOCORP PLC. UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC

MARKET CAP(Nm) 283,494.12 23,391.99

VOLUME

23.23 2.97

1,650 869,858 871,508

PRICE

VOLUME

23.00 41.19

51,048 6,368,689 6,419,737 44,362,668

PRICE

VOLUME

9.80 1.01

6,440,093 42,942,530

311,942.37

17.00

758,668

44,041.69

1.52 42.00 0.58 0.50 1.00 6.10 9.60 0.51 0.50

31,065,181 11,231,074 1,839,500 1,337,298 2,182,783 793,719 9,346,370 146,322 10,017,622 118,101,160

MARKET CAP(Nm)

PRICE

VOLUME

10,292.50

0.50

100

3,603.71 21,315.00

0.52 2.03

5,343,491 794,899

3,000.00

0.50

13,795.75

1.33

256,240

17,089.26 6,940.15 28,790.42 103,308.42 328,314.45 5,961.56 19,287.23

7,364.75

0.50

7,000.00 2,411.47 1,913.74 3,070.00

0.50 0.53 0.50 0.50

30,000 0 0 0

642.04

0.50

3,661.72 3,050.39 6,880.00 4,000.00 6,600.63 3,869.74 2,759.15

0.50 0.71 0.86 0.50 1.25 0.50 0.50

0 1,000 250,000 0 1,069,141 0 0

3,334.38

0.50

100

4,170.41 6,455.52 4,670.54 1,291.15 6,933.33 8,000.00 6,959.02

0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.52

0 0 0 3,000 0 0 1,562,345

MARKET CAP(Nm) 11,799.67 2,858.30 MARKET CAP(Nm) 5,460.00 7,370.87 6,005.46 5,664.87 2,949.22

PRICE

VOLUME

2.58 1.25

200 125,000 125,200

PRICE

VOLUME

1.30 0.50 1.44 0.50

0 0 0 0

3.02

0 0

87 88 90 91 92 93 94 95 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FINANCIAL SERVICES HEALTHCARE

MARKET CAP(Nm) 91,320.97 155,833.97

PRICE

9,310,316

S/N

MARKET CAP(Nm) 1,766.22 3,095.84

MARKET CAP(Nm) 7,760.00 23,527.46

PRICE

VOLUME

3.88 4.00

1,638,957 169,636

750.00

0.50

21,188.90 411.91 2,572.69 3,313.67 436,400.00 18,060.00

1.07 552.20 0.50 103.24 43.64 3.01

12,781,744 0 0 0 366,914 2,433,895 17,391,146 144,927,822

PRICE

VOLUME

MARKET CAP(Nm) 1,680.29 1,776.57

3.37

0.50

600,000

PRICE

VOLUME

0.60

0 0

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

600,000

S/N

MEDICAL SUPPLIES

98 MEDICAL SUPPLIES

MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC.

MARKET CAP(Nm) 91.31

˾ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

Nigeria Daily Stock Market Report:

Friday, November 3, 2017

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

dŚŝƐ ĂǇ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞǆ 'ĂŝŶƐ Ϭ͘ϯй

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

dŚĞ dŚŝƐ ĂǇ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞǆ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ Ϭ͘ϯй ǇĞƐƚĞƌĚĂǇ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ Ăƚ ϭ͕ϰϵϬ͘ϯϵƉƚƐ͘ zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂǇ͛Ɛ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ŽŶ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ŽĨ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ 'h Z Edz ;нϬ͘ϮйͿ͕ ^^ ;нϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ h ;нϰ͘ϭйͿ ĂŶĚ & E, ;нϵ͘ϮйͿ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůǇ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϯϲ͘ϳй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞǆ͘ dŚŝƐ ĂǇ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ /ŶĚĞǆ ŚĂƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ϰϵ͘Ϭй zd ͘

Ticker

zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂǇ͕ ƚŚĞ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƌĞǀĞƌƐĞĚ Ă ϯͲĚĂǇ ŐĂŝŶŝŶŐ ƐƚƌĞĂŬ͕ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞǆ ; ^/Ϳ ĨĞůů ϯďƉƐ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ Ăƚ ϯϲ͕ϴϴϳ͘ϭϱ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͕ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƚĞĚ ƚŽ ϯϳ͘Ϯй͘ dŚĞ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůǇ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŽĮƚ ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ ;Ͳϯ͘ϮйͿ͕ E' D ;ͲϬ͘ϮйͿ ĂŶĚ hE/> s Z ;ͲϮ͘ϰйͿ͘ Ɛ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ͕ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝǌĂƟŽŶ ƌĞĚƵĐĞĚ ďǇ Eϯ͘ϱďŶ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ EϭϮ͘ϴƚŶ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ĂĐƟǀŝƚǇ ůĞǀĞů ǁĂƐ ŵŝǆĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ŝŶĐŚĞĚ Ϯϳ͘ϲй ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ƚŽ ϯϭϴ͘ϭŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ Ϯϰ͘ϭй ƚŽ Eϰ͘ϬďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůǇ͘

Previous Current Price Weighting Change

Price Change YTD

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

49.0%

20.3%

6.5%

6.7x

0.7x

4.2%

11.8%

69.7%

26.0%

4.3%

8.7x

2.2x

4.9%

11.5%

Divinden Earnings d Yield Yield

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 1,490.39

0.3%

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

41.92

0.2%

22.8%

Nigerian Brew eries PLC

145.23

-3.2%

10.3%

-1.9%

18.9%

8.6%

35.8x

6.5x

2.5%

2.8%

Zenith Bank PLC

25.80

-0.3%

13.6%

74.9%

21.7%

3.2%

5.1x

1.1x

7.8%

19.6%

Dangote Cement PLC

227.00

-0.2%

6.4%

30.5%

30.4%

15.7%

15.7x

4.5x

3.7%

6.4%

Nestle Nigeria PLC

1,250.00

0.0%

6.7%

54.3%

78.4%

19.0%

32.6x

21.5x

0.8%

3.1%

Access Bank PLC

9.86

1.2%

4.4%

68.0%

15.1%

2.0%

4.0x

0.6x

6.6%

25.3%

United Bank for Africa PLC

10.00

4.1%

5.6%

122.2%

17.2%

2.2%

4.4x

0.7x

7.5%

22.8%

7.11

9.2%

4.6%

112.2%

2.6%

0.3%

11.6x

0.4x

2.8%

8.6%

-14.6%

-1.3%

0.6x

3.5%

-19.3%

7.2x

2.1%

ƋƵŝƟĞƐ ,Ăůƚ ϯͲ ĂǇ ƵůůŝƐŚ ZƵŶ͙ E^ ^/ ĚŽǁŶ ϯďƉƐ

Current Price

FBN Holdings Plc

Ecobank Transnational Inc

17.20

1.2%

3.0%

67.3%

Lafarge Africa PLC

50.00

0.0%

1.8%

22.1%

47.1%

9.8%

SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

495.00

0.0%

1.8%

30.3%

-12.4%

-6.7%

Unilever Nigeria PLC

40.00

-2.4%

1.5%

25.7%

50.3%

8.4%

42.60

0.2%

3.0%

184.0%

28.7%

100.00

0.0%

1.3%

27.2%

4.5%

5.99

0.0%

1.3%

27.4%

40.7%

4.6x

0.6x

21.8% -21.1%

24.6x

9.4x

0.2%

4.1%

3.4%

9.8x

2.6x

1.4%

10.2%

1.4%

70.4x

3.5x

0.6%

4.2%

2.7x

0.6x

44.3%

3.7%

10.1x

4.5x

32.6%

12.0%

8.5x

2.4x

DŝǆĞĚ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ^ĞĐƚŽƌƐ

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

^ĞĐƚŽƌ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ŵŝǆĞĚ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ĐůŽƐĞ ŽĨ ƚƌĂĚĞ͘ dŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ͕ ƌŝƐŝŶŐ Ϭ͘ϳй ĂƉŝĞĐĞ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ Ă ƌĂůůǇ ŝŶ h ;нϰ͘ϭйͿ͕ d/ ;нϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ D E^ Z ;нϮ͘ϵйͿ ĂŶĚ KEd/E^hZ ;нϮ͘ϯйͿ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŇŝƉ ƐŝĚĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞǆ ĚĞƉƌĞĐŝĂƚĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘Ϯй ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŽĮƚ ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ ;Ͳϯ͘ϮйͿ͕ hE/> s Z ;ͲϮ͘ϰйͿ ĂŶĚ W ;Ͳϰ͘ϬйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůǇ͕ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ E' D ;ͲϬ͘ϮйͿ ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞǆ Ϭ͘ϭй ůŽǁĞƌ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚĞǆ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘

Guinness Nigeria PLC

Oando PLC

Forte Oil PLC

40.00

0.0%

0.5%

-52.6%

11 PLC

161.00

0.0%

0.4%

-42.3%

Total Nigeria PLC

236.00

0.0%

0.6%

-21.1%

37.3%

7.4%

8.8x

3.1x

2.5%

11.4%

0.0%

1.1%

61.8%

37.4%

25.9%

8.7x

2.8x

2.3%

11.5%

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĨƵƌƚŚĞƌ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ ĂƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞƌƐͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞƌƐΖ ƌĂƟŽͿ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ƚŽ ϭ͘ϱǆ Ͳ ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘Ϭǆ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ Ͳ ĐŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚ ŽŶ Ϯϳ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐŝŶŐ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ϭϴ ƚŚĂƚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞƌƐ ǁĞƌĞ & E, ;нϵ͘ϮйͿ͕ &>KhZD/>> ;нϰ͘ϵͿ ĂŶĚ hW> ;нϰ͘ϵйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ h^dK z/E^ ;Ͳ ϱ͘ϬйͿ͕ dZ E^ yWZ ;Ͳϰ͘ϵйͿ ĂŶĚ /Z^ Zs/ ;Ͳϰ͘ϵйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞƌƐ͘ ůƚŚŽƵŐŚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ďǇ ƉƌŽĮƚ ƚĂŬŝŶŐ͕ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ͘ ,ĞŶĐĞ͕ ǁĞ ĞǆƉĞĐƚ ƚŽ ƐĞĞ Ă ƌĞďŽƵŶĚ ŝŶ ƐƵďƐĞƋƵĞŶƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶƐ͘ KƵƌ ǀŝĞǁ ŝƐ ĨƵƌƚŚĞƌ ďƵƩƌĞƐƐĞĚ ďǇ ƚŚĞ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ ƌĂůůǇ ŝŶ Žŝů ƉƌŝĐĞƐ ʹ ĂďŽǀĞ h^ΨϲϬ͘ϬϬͬďͲ ǁŚŝĐŚ ŝƐ ĞǆƉĞĐƚĞĚ ƚŽ ŚĂǀĞ Ă ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ŬŶŽĐŬ ŽŶ ŝŵƉĂĐƚ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďƌŽĂĚĞƌ ĞĐŽŶŽŵǇ͘

Okomu Oil Palm PLC

UAC of Nigeria PLC

19.00

1.1%

0.7%

15.2%

6.3%

2.2%

12.2x

0.8x

5.2%

8.2%

Conoil PLC

28.00

0.0%

0.4%

-25.3%

12.8%

3.5%

8.1x

1.1x

11.1%

12.3%

Fidelity Bank PLC

1.55

0.6%

0.8%

84.5%

8.0%

1.1%

1.4x

0.2x

9.0%

73.9%

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

15.50

1.8%

1.1%

153.7%

23.8%

10.3%

6.0x

2.6x

3.2%

16.5%

Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

33.69

4.9%

0.8%

82.2%

10.4%

2.6%

8.5x

0.8x

2.9%

11.8%

3.80

-5.0%

0.4%

-2.3%

18.9%

7.6%

4.0x

0.7x

7.4%

Custodian and Allied Insurance

7 UP Bottling Co PLC

90.00

0.0%

0.3%

-30.2%

-56.7%

-13.9%

Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

29.33

0.0%

0.3%

-24.0%

-12.2%

-1.2%

FCMB Group Plc

1.08

0.9%

0.4%

-1.8%

0.9%

0.1%

12.7x

0.1x

-1.4%

4.4x 1.5x

-7.8% 9.3%

Transnational Corp of Nigeria

0.6%

59.8%

19.6%

4.1%

5.6x

1.0x

Diamond Bank PLC

1.01

1.0%

0.4%

14.8%

2.5%

0.3%

3.9x

0.1x

Presco PLC

69.82

0.0%

0.5%

74.1%

53.3%

31.5%

3.4x

1.2x

2.3%

29.1%

PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

21.70

-4.0%

0.4%

49.7%

11.5%

5.8%

18.6x

2.0x

2.3%

5.4%

International Brew eries PLC

48.99

-2.0%

0.7%

164.8%

24.6%

7.4%

51.3x

11.7x

10.11

0.0%

0.3%

-1.7%

4.5%

1.6%

28.8x

1.7x

3.5%

6.15

1.7%

0.3%

28.8%

28.9%

5.6%

1.2%

7.9x

0.4x

12.7%

34.12

0.0%

0.2%

6.6%

84.3%

38.5%

14.9x

10.5x

1.01

1.0%

0.2%

32.9%

6.1%

0.6%

5.3x

0.3x

Cadbury Nigeria PLC

ŽŵƉĂŶǇ ŝŶ &ŽĐƵƐ͗ ĂŶŐŽƚĞ ĞŵĞŶƚ WůĐ ;͞ E' D͟Ϳ

Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

Chemical and Allied Products P

Sterling Bank PLC

18.0% 25.5%

1.9%

6.4%

6.7% 18.8%

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Niger

25.55

0.0%

0.3%

62.2%

61.2%

23.6%

5.3x

1.9x

1.2%

18.9%

AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

2.10

2.9%

0.1%

25.7%

11.9%

3.9%

10.5x

1.2x

2.4%

9.5%

Continental Reinsurance PLC

1.36

2.3%

0.1%

37.4%

9.6%

4.4%

8.0x

0.7x

T o p 10 G a in e r s

E' D ƌĞůĞĂƐĞĚ ŝƚƐ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƌĞƐƵůƚ ǁŝƚŚ ŐƌŽƐƐ ƌĞǀĞŶƵĞ ŐƌŽǁŝŶŐ ϯϲ͘ϱй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ EϲϬϯ͘ϲďŶ ǁŚŝůĞ ŐƌŽƐƐ ƉƌŽĮƚ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ƐĂŵĞ ƉĞƌŝŽĚ ƌŽƐĞ ϲϯ͘ϰй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ Eϯϰϯ͘ϳďŶ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůǇ͕ W d ŐƌĞǁ ϰϴ͘ϭй ƚŽ EϮϮϬďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ǁŚŝůĞ W d ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ϰϰ͘ϲй ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ƉĞƌŝŽĚ ƚŽ Eϭϵϯ͘ϭďŶ ƌĞůĂƟǀĞ ƚŽ Eϭϯϯ͘ϱďŶ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲ͘ /Ŷ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ͕ ĂƐ ǁĞĂŬĞƌ ĚĞŵĂŶĚ ƉƌĞǀĂŝůĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĮƌƐƚ ŚĂůĨ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ǇĞĂƌ͕ ƐĂůĞƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϭϵ͘Ϯй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ ϵ͘ϲDƚ ĐŽŵƉĂƌĞĚ ƚŽ ϭϮ͘ϬDƚ ƐŽůĚ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲ͘ EĞǀĞƌƚŚĞůĞƐƐ͕ ƌĞǀĞŶƵĞ ĨƌŽŵ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ϯϱ͘Ϯй zͲŽͲ z ƚŽ Eϰϭϲ͘ϭďŶ ĐŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚ ŽŶ ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ƉƌŝĐĞƐ͘

T ic k er

12.5%

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

7.11

9.2%

FB NH

73.4

9.2%

33.69

4.9%

UN ION D A C

58.0

0.0%

UP L

2.36

4.9%

UB A

32.0

4.1%

ET ER N A

3.88

4.9%

F ID ELIT YB K

19.7

0.6%

UA C -P R OP

2.83

4.8%

Z EN IT H B A N K

17.2

-0.3%

LEA R N A F R C A

0.96

4.3%

ST ER LN B A N K

13.5

1.0%

UB A

10.00

4.1%

A C C ESS

12.9

1.2%

KŶ Ă ƐŝŵŝůĂƌ ŶŽƚĞ͕ E' D ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ĂŶ /d ŵĂƌŐŝŶ ŽĨ ϰϴ͘ϴй͕ ƵƉ ĨƌŽŵ ϰϬ͘ϰй ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲ͘ dŚŝƐ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůǇ ŽŶ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞŵĞŶƚ ŝŶ ŝƚƐ EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŽŶƐ ĂƐ ŝƚ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ Ă ϲϰ͘ϴй zͲŽͲz ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ŝŶ /d ƚŽ EϮϳϬ͘ϰďŶ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ͛Ɛ ĂĚŽƉƟŽŶ ŽĨ Ă ŵŽƌĞ ĨĂǀŽƵƌĂďůĞ ĨƵĞů ŵŝǆ ĂƐ ǁĞůů ĂƐ ƐŝŐŶŝĮĐĂŶƚůǇ ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ĐĞŵĞŶƚ ƉƌŝĐĞƐ͘ &Žƌ Yϯ ƐƚĂŶĚĂůŽŶĞ͕ ƐĂůĞƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƚĞĚ ϴ͘ϴй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ ϱ͘ϬDƚ͕ ŚĞŶĐĞ 'ƌŽƐƐ ƌĞǀĞŶƵĞ ĨĞůů ϲ͘ϳй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ EϭϵϬ͘ϵďŶ ǁŚŝůĞ ŐƌŽƐƐ ƉƌŽĮƚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϱ͘ϰй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ EϭϬϴ͘ϲďŶ͘ WƌĞͲ ƚĂǆ ƉƌŽĮƚ ǁĂƐ ĚŽǁŶ ϭϳ͘ϱй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ Eϲϰ͘ϲďŶ ŝŶ Yϯ͗ϮϬϭϳ ǁŚŝůĞ W d ĂůƐŽ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϯϯ͘Ϯй YͲŽͲY͕ ƚŽ Eϰϵ͘ϬďŶ͘

NP FM CRFB K

1.30

4.0%

ET I

12.5

1.2%

M A N SA R D

2.10

2.9%

UC A P

9.6

1.9%

16.00

2.9%

GUA R A N T Y

8.8

0.2%

EŽƚǁŝƚŚƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůŽǁĞƌͲƚŚĂŶͲĞǆƉĞĐƚĞĚ Yϯ͗ϮϬϭϳ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ͕ E' D͛Ɛ ϵ ŵŽŶƚŚƐ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůǇ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ĂŶĚ ĐŽŶƐŝƐƚĞŶƚ ǁŝƚŚ ĂŶ ĞǆƉĞĐƚĞĚ ŝŵƉƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ ǇĞĂƌ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ 'ƌŽƵƉ͘ 'ŝǀĞŶ ƚŚĞ ŐƌĂĚƵĂů ƌĞĐŽǀĞƌǇ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ ĞĐŽŶŽŵǇ ĂƐ ǁĞůů ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ͛Ɛ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ ĐĂƉĂĐŝƚǇ ĞǆƉĂŶƐŝŽŶ ŝŶ ŝƚƐ WĂŶͲ ĨƌŝĐĂŶ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŽŶƐ͕ ǁĞ ĞǆƉĞĐƚ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ƐƚĂǇ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ͘

(A Dealing Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange)

7.9%

Afrinvest Securities Limited

25.2% -18.7%

1.39

(RC 603 315)

11.7%

ĂŶŐŽƚĞ ĞŵĞŶƚ ŝƐ Ă ĨƵůůǇ ŝŶƚĞŐƌĂƚĞĚ ĐĞŵĞŶƚ ŵĂŶƵĨĂĐƚƵƌŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ĚŝƐƚƌŝďƵƟŽŶ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ ǁŝƚŚ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ ĂŶĚ ϭϰ ŽƚŚĞƌ ĨƌŝĐĂŶ ĐŽƵŶƚƌŝĞƐ͘ /ƚ ŝƐ ƚŚĞ ůĂƌŐĞƐƚ ĐĞŵĞŶƚ ŵĂŶƵĨĂĐƚƵƌĞƌ ŝŶ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ ǁŝƚŚ Ă ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚ ƚŽƚĂů ƉƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶ ĐĂƉĂĐŝƚǇ ŽĨ ϮϬ͘ϮϱDDdW ĨƌŽŵ ŝƚƐ ϯ ĞǆŝƐƟŶŐ ƉůĂŶƚƐ͘ dŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ ŚĂƐ Ă ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝǌĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ Eϯ͘ϴƚŶ ;DŽƐƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝǌĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ E^ Ϳ

9.9% 5.0%

65.00

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ

1.4% 37.0%

FB NH F LOUR M ILL

N A SC ON

P ric e

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e

T o p 10 L o s e r s P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

C UST OD YIN S

3.80

-5.0%

739.6

-3.2%

T R A N SEXP R

0.77

-4.9%

FB NH

513.2

9.2%

T ic k er

A IR SER VIC E

6.76

-4.9%

Z EN IT H B A N K

441.2

-0.3%

LIN KA SSUR E

0.82

-4.7%

GUA R A N T Y

368.4

0.2%

N EIM ET H

0.62

-4.6%

N EST LE

346.1

0.0%

21.70

-4.0%

UB A

316.7

4.1%

1.72

-3.9%

T OT A L

244.7

0.0%

C ILEA SIN G UN IT YB N K

0.51

-3.8%

ET I

215.3

1.2%

F ID SON

3.84

-3.8%

D A N GC EM

138.3

-0.2%

VIT A F OA M

2.75

-3.5%

A C C ESS

126.4

1.2%

Investment Research

Brokerage Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Bolaji Fajenyo | bfajenyo@afrinvest.com

Omotola Abimbola | oabimbola@afrinvest.com

˾ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Sterling Bank Records N6bn Profit as Gross Earnings Hit N97bn Goddy Egene

compared with N45.1 billion in return on average equity was 8.6 2016. Operating expenses, however, per cent as against 8.3 per cent Sterling Bank Plc has recorded moderated by 0.6 per cent to N38.8 in 2016 while earnings per share sustained growth posting gross billion as against N39 billion in 2016. rose to 21 kobo in 2017 from 19 Profit before tax rose by 8.1 kobo in 2016. earnings of N94.6 billion for the Sterling Bank’s non-performing nine months ended September 30, per cent to N6.6 billion, up from 2017, showing an increase of 19 N6.1 billion in 2016 while profit loan ratio dropped to 6.1 per cent in per cent above N79.7 billion in after tax also appreciated by 7.3 per 2017 from 9.9 percent in 2016, while the corresponding period of 2016. cent to close the quarter at N5.9 capital adequacy ratio increased Non-interest income grew by 48.9 billion compared with N5.5 billion to 11.4 per cent in 2017 from 11.2 percent in 2016. percent to N16.0 billion as against in 2016. The bank’s financial ratios Shareholders’ funds rose by N10.8 billion in 2016. Further analysis showed that showed pre-tax return on average 13.6 per cent to N97.3 billion as net operating income increased equity of 9.6 per cent compared against N85.7billion in 2016 while by 0.5 per cent to N45.3 billion with 9.1 per cent in 2016, post tax total assets, excluding contingent 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 01shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the Nov-2017, unless otherwise stated.

liabilities, increased by 15.2 per cent optimistic manner, continued to to N961 billion against N834.2 deliver results. billion in 2016. He said despite the persistent Speaking on the results, inflationary pressures, cost-to-income Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Yemi ratio improved by 140 basis points Adeola, said: “In the third quarter, driven by a moderation in operating the bank sustained its earnings expenses, thereby enabling the bank growth momentum with an 18.8 to record significant improvement per cent growth in gross earnings in asset quality with a 380-basis boosted by a 48.9 per cent increase point reduction in non-performing in non-interest income.” loan (NPL) ratio. According to him, the bank’s Adeola noted that the bank strategy built on efficient operations continued to diversify its funding and sustainable growth of its base leading to a 147.6 percent balance sheet in a cautious but increase in long-term funding Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors. Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return. NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

and that overall profit before tax rose by 8.1 percent to N6.6 billion while annualized pre-tax return on average equity improved by 50 basis points to 9.6 per cent. He said: “As economic recovery gains momentum, we are well positioned to respond to emerging opportunities in education, health and transportation sectors. Our existing collaboration with pioneering technology companies in these sectors has started yielding results and this will provide a springboard for growth in 2018.”

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 177.68 178.69 40.03% Nigeria International Debt Fund 233.90 235.04 10.67% 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 16.48% ACAP Income Funds 0.62 0.62 77.93% 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 17.85% 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 17.82 18.35 44.30% ARM Discovery Fund 372.84 384.08 29.83% ARM Ethical Fund 26.26 27.05 17.54% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.86% 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 147.56 148.59 40.29% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.15% 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 18.40% CORONATION ASSET MANAGEMENT investment@coronation.com Web: www.coronation.com, Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.82% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.00 1.01 0.47% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.00 1.04 1.99% 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 1,106.39 1,107.48 9.24% FBN Heritage Fund 147.21 148.46 32.04% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.89% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $111.21 $112.38 8.21% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $110.64 $111.81 8.41% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 157.69 160.04 40.08% 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 1.38 1.41 48.40% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.92 2.92 13.64% 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 2,905.66 2,945.79 32.14% Coral Income Fund 2,404.98 2,404.98 15.40% 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 17.48% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.68% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.07 2.09 23.06% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 18.40% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 112.55 112.55 16.48%

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 1.15 1.18 16.67% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,035.70 1,035.70 9.96% 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 13.06 13.18 35.21% 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 1.20 1.22 20.91% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.86 10.91 4.48% 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 125.27 127.63 23.69% 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 1.40 1.40 12.10% 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 2,205.77 2,218.95 20.48% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 171.64 171.64 11.48% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.99 1.00 29.22% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 214.37 214.37 14.70% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 171.70 173.92 32.25% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.78% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 9,568.52 9,295.69 23.66% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.05 1.05 5.00% 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 1.31 1.32 17.30% United Capital Bond Fund 1.49 1.49 22.26% United Capital Equity Fund 0.89 0.91 32.36% United Capital Money Market Fund ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Zenith Equity Fund Zenith Ethical Fund Zenith Income Fund

1.00

Bid Price 12.54 13.19 18.72

1.00 18.50% info@zenith-funds.com Offer Price 12.72 13.33 18.72

Yield / T-Rtn 29.01% 20.57% 13.16%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41

1.01%

131.31

5.92%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.98

11.08

27.18%

REITS 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

137.08

140.05

38.57%

Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

106.87

108.88

41.03%

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

4.58 8.86 17.03 19.49 140.14

4.62 8.94 17.13 19.69 142.14

65.36% 25.88% 43.89% 22.06% 10.51%

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.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

WORLD OF ISLAM INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

The Islamic Notion of Mercy William C. Chittick/Huffington Post/ IslamiCity

cquaintances of mine who have participated in recent dialogues between Christian and Muslim theologians, such as those organized by A Common Word, report that one of the biggest misunderstandings shown by Christian theologians is the notion that Islam has little or nothing to say about love. One of the several reasons for this mistaken view is that the early Orientalists — those who first studied Islamic thought in the modern West — imagined that a school of thought known as “Kalam” played the same role in Islam as “theology” does in Christianity. In fact, Kalam has been one of several approaches to knowledge of God, and certainly not the most influential. Kalam was closely allied with Islamic jurisprudence and typically depicted God as the supreme law-giver. When it mentioned love, it claimed that God loves human beings by issuing commandments, and human beings love God by obeying him. Those who obey go to heaven, and those who disobey go to hell. God deals with human beings strictly in terms of carrots and sticks — forget about love in any normal meaning of the word. Despite the fact that more recent scholarship has done a much better job of describing the diverse theological approaches of Islamic thought, this has had relatively little effect on the prejudices that Christian theologians picked up years ago in seminary. Pope John Paul II, with all his remarkable accomplishments, provides a good example. In Crossing the Threshold of Hope, he wrote, “The God of the Koran … is ultimately a God outside of the world, a God who is only Majesty, never Emmanuel, God-with-us.” (his emphasis) Even a cursory glance at the Quran should lead a reader to wonder why, if God is so majestic, does practically every chapter begin with the formula of consecration: “In the name of God, the All-merciful, the Ever-merciful.” In the text itself, divine names and attributes associated with mercy and kindness are far more common than those associated with magnificence and majesty. Many verses say things like, “He is with you wherever you are” (57:4) — whether before your creation, during your brief stay in this world, or after death. This divine “witness” is tightly bound up with the notion of love and mercy. The formula of consecration contains the two names “All-merciful” (rahmn) and “Ever-merciful” (rahm). Both are derived from the word rahma, which is variously translated as mercy, compassion, and benevolence. Rahma is an abstract noun derived from the concrete noun rahim, “womb.” Mercy is the mother’s attitude toward the fruit of her womb. When God says in the Quran, “My mercy embraces everything” (7:156), this means that God has mercy on the entire universe. Basing themselves on this sort of verse and on the very notion of mercy, some theologians referred to the realm of nature — that is, the universe in its entirety — as the divine womb. The close connection between mercy and motherhood is obvious in many sayings of the Prophet. For example, he said that when God created mercy, he created it in one hundred parts. He kept ninety-nine parts with himself and sent one part into the world. Mothers are devoted to their children

and wild animals nurture their young because of this one part. On the day of resurrection, the Prophet added, God will rejoin this one part with the ninety-nine parts — all for the benefit of those who dwell in the posthumous realms, whether paradise or hell. Among the several points embedded in this saying is the typical stress on tawhd, the assertion of the uniqueness of the divine reality that is the foundation of Islamic thought: What we experience as mercy, compassion, and love can only be a pale reflection of a tiny fraction of the real thing. Another account tells us that the Prophet had stopped to rest at a bedouin camp, where a woman with an infant was baking bread over an open fire. The child slipped away and approached the fire, and the mother quickly pulled him back. She turned to the Prophet and said, “Do you not say that God is ‘the most merciful of the merciful’?” He replied that he did. She said, “No mother would throw her child into the fire.” For a moment the Prophet turned away and wept. Then he said that God puts into hellfire only those who refuse to go anywhere else. As a divine attribute, mercy is not identical with love, because love demands mutuality: “He loves them, and they love Him” (5:54). In contrast, mercy is one-sided, which is to say that God has mercy on creation, but not the other way around. People must certainly try to be merciful and compassionate, but that means they must love their neighbors as themselves. Failure to do so is a sure recipe for bad karma. As the Quran says repeatedly about those who do not act appropriately, “They are wronging only themselves.” Classical theologians spent a good deal of time explaining the subtle differences between the meanings of “All-merciful” and “Ever-merciful.” Commonly they said that the Allmerciful mercy is universal and the Ever-merciful mercy is particular. Universal mercy begins with the bestowal of existence. Nothing has a claim on its own being or its own positive qualities. All are the gifts from the Creator. Everything other than God derives its reality — however insubstantial that may be — from the only reality that truly is. Life and livelihood do not come to us by chance, but because of the activity of the All-merciful. Particular mercy is responsive. Some good things come to us because we seek them out. If you want to become a football player or a physicist, the ambition itself is a gift, and any aptitude you may have is also a gift. But achieving the goal has something to do with your own effort. Every mother will tell you that. If you do not strive for the goal, most likely you will not reach it. God’s particular mercy is his response to human effort. He bestows it on the basis of your engagement, commitment and love. When the Quran says, “God is the friend of those who have faith” (2:257), this means that he has special mercy and love toward those who search him out. Universal mercy reaches people in any case, just as a mother will never stop loving her children. Particular mercy is not guaranteed, because children may refuse to take advantage of their human status. The goal of love is to overcome separation, to escape from the darkness and pain that define our existential plight, and to enter into the light. Or, it is to take advantage of the universal mercy that embraces everything and to seek out the particular mercy, the path to which is set down in prophetic guidance.

Catalonia Crisis: Sacked Ministers held by Madrid Court Eight sacked Catalan ministers have been jailed by a Spanish judge over the region’s push for independence, according to BBC. Prosecutors had asked the high court judge to jail eight of the nine former government members who turned up for questioning in Madrid. They are accused of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds. The state prosecutor has

requested a European arrest warrant for ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont. The request also covers four other dismissed Catalan ministers who did not show up in court in Madrid as requested. Spain has been gripped by a constitutional crisis since the referendum was held on 1 October in defiance of a constitutional court ruling that had declared it illegal.

Last week, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy imposed direct rule on Catalonia, dissolving the regional parliament and calling local elections for 21 December. This came after Catalan lawmakers voted to declare the independence of the affluent north-eastern region. The Catalan government said that of the 43% of potential voters who took part in the referendum, 90% were in favour of independence.

NewYork Truck Attack: Trump Urges Death Penalty for Sayfullo Saipov US President Donald Trump has repeated calls for the suspect in the New York truck attack to get the death penalty. But Mr Trump backed away from his call a day earlier to send Sayfullo Saipov to Guantanamo Bay, saying “that process takes much longer”.

The suspect told police he “felt good” about Tuesday’s Halloween attack and wanted to kill as many as possible. The 29-year-old allegedly drove a rented pick-up along a Manhattan bike path, killing eight people. The victims were five Argentines who had travelled

to New York to celebrate 30 years since their high school graduation, a young mother from Belgium and two Americans. Mr Saipov, an Uzbek immigrant, was shot at the scene by police, according to officials. Investigators say he told them he was inspired by the Islamic State militant group (IS).

Compassion over Chinese Mother’s ‘Mercy Killing’ The case of an elderly woman found guilty of killing her disabled son has provoked an outpouring of compassion from Chinese social media users, BBC reports. The 83-year-old, identified only as Ms Huang, was found guilty of the manslaughter of her disabled son, Li. She fed her 46-year-old son about 60 sleeping pills on 9 May and strangled him with a silk scarf as she used cotton pads to cover his nose. Huang was found guilty of manslaughter by the People’s

Intermediate Court of Guangzhou and received a three-year suspended prison sentence. She said she took her son’s life because she feared no one would care for him after she died. Li was born prematurely with severe mental and physical disabilities that left him unable to walk or talk. Prosecutors asked Huang why she could not have arranged for Li to have been cared for by his elder brother, but she said she was not prepared to burden him. “It was my fault to give birth to him and make him suffer. I’d

North Korea Defector Urges US to Use Soft Power A high-level defector has told the US Congress that spreading outside information in North Korea is the best way to deal with the regime. Thae Yong-ho said undermining Kim Jong-un’s God-like status among his people could be key to weakening his rule. North Koreans “don’t care about state propaganda but increasingly watch illegally imported South Korean movies and dramas,” he added. Mr Thae was deputy ambassador to the UK before he defected last year. He is one of the highest-ranking officials ever to defect from North Korea. Mr Thae’s speech before US lawmakers comes as President Trump is due to embark on a trip to Asia, including South Korea. Tensions between North Korea and the West have risen over the past months as Pyongyang has conducted several missile tests and claimed to have tested a hydrogen bomb. In his first ever visit to Washington, Mr Thae told Congress: “We can educate (the) North Korean population to stand up by disseminating outside information.”

He also urged officials to meet at least once with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, to understand his thinking and convince him that his nuclear programme is risking mass destruction. “It is necessary to reconsider whether we have tried all nonmilitary options before we decide that military action against North Korea is all that is left,” he said.

rather commit murder than leave him to someone else,” Huang told the court. “[F]or the past two years my own health was too poor to take care of him any more,” the 83-year-old said. “I’m getting older and weaker and might die before him,” she said. “The idea of killing him occurred to me a week before and I had been struggling.” Head judge Wan Yunfeng said: “She deserves mercy even though she did break the law.”

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Oil Companies to Invest $15bn in Gas, Seek Competitive Fiscal Regime Osinbajo asks operators to prepare for Nigeria’s destiny free from oil Ejiofor Alike Oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria have committed to invest $15 billion in Nigerian gas development in the next couple of years and have urged

the federal government to ensure that the reform bills presently before the National Assembly are predictable and competitive to sustain investments. The operating companies under the aegis of the Oil Producers

Senate C’ttee to Probe Past Administrations over Concession of FCT Assets Laments non-remittances to govt Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has indicated its readiness to open probes into the concession of government property to the tune of N2.7 billion, during the tenures of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, and former FCT Ministers Nasir El-Rufai, Aliyu Modibbo and Bala Mohammed. The committee said despite the concession for commercialisation of assets such as the Eagle Square, International Conference Centre (ICC) and others, there have been no remittances to the government coffers since 2008. The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi APC), speaking during a meeting on budget deliberations with the Minister of the FCT, Mr. Muhammad Musa Bello, and officials of the FCT Administration, yesterday, said a holistic probe would be conducted into the entire process. Melaye said the committee would invite all actors who were involved in the privatisation and commercialisation of the properties. “It is worthy of note that these FCT owned companies received huge returns on investment without making returns to FCT Administration. The returns are in billions of Naira. They are spent and re-invested without appropriation. This is contrary to the principles of accountability and

due process. The Committee is also worried about the revenue line charge on investment income. The actual performance on this charge has zero returns over the years,” Melaye said. He described the processes as the failure of leadership and a national disaster, which must not be allowed to continue if the country would develop. This Committee would expose all those involved, even when it amounts to exhuming corpses of those involved who are dead, “ Melaye added. The lawmaker gave further details of assets which were concessioner by the FCT, to include the Karu General Hospital which was initially a 222-bed facility. “It is important to note that 40% of the Hospital is leased to Primus Super Specialty Hospital (an Indian Hospital) for management. The hospital commenced operation on 19th April 2017,” he said. “Eagle Square and International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja were concessioned to the same company who had no evidence of previous facility management experience anywhere in the world, and without financial capacity to manage the facilities. This company had to fall back on FCTA to buy new equipment to kick-start its operations. It is worthy of note that the management of the two concessioned facilities makes millions of Naira on a monthly basis since the commencement of its operations,”

Gunmen Strike in Kogi, Kill Labour Leader, Two Others Unions suspend negotiations with govt Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja The Kogi State Chairman of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Secondary School, Science and Technology Education Board (STEB), Mallam Abdulmumini Yakubu, has beenmurderedbyunknowngunmen. However, the organised labour in the state yesterday suspended their ongoing negotiation with the state government on salary crisis over the death of NASU chairman. The labour leader was murdered at Ozuwaya in Okene council area of the state alongside one Mallam Ibrahim Otaru who came to discuss some community issue with him. Sources close to the family disclosed toTHISDAYthat they were murdered by heavily armed gunmen when he was performing ‘ablution’ to observed his prayer. The sources added that the assassin numbering five alighted from a Toyota Sienna van and open fire on them. It was further gathered that the sound of the gun made people run

for their lives while the alleged gunmen made sure that he was dead before they zoomed off from the scene. One of the relations with name withheld disclosed to journalists that the death of Yakub was a great tragedy for theOzuwayaandeducationcommunity aswellasAnsarulIslamsocietyofNigeria Okene branch. “Yakub at Ozuwaya in front of his housewaskilledby unknown gunmen as he was shot in the head together with one other person. “It’s a compounded shame that our society has turned into blood society by taking innocent lives, whether for personal, worldly or whichever reasons,” he said. Until his death, Yakub was a staff of Kogi State Science Teachers Board Lokoja, Kogi State NASU chairman and Ozuwaya community chairman. In another development, unknown gunmen last Tuesday night murdered a 55-year-old man, identified as Abdulganiu Aduki, injured his five-year-old daughter and his wife at Nagazi in Adavi Local Government Area of the state.

Trade Section (OPTS) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said in a documentary yesterday to mark its 55th Anniversary in Lagos that no matter the complex and difficult operating environment, Nigeria’s oil and gas industry has opportunities for improvement and growth. This is coming as the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, tasked the oil and gas producers operating in Nigeria to prepare the country’s destiny as the world shifts attention away from crude oil to clean or renewable energy. Chairman of Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of Total E & P, Mr. Nicolaz Terraz, also disclosed that the Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessel for the 200,000 barrels per day Egina deepwater field being developed by his company, has sailed away from the Goeje South Korea yard

Egina’s FPSO homeward bound

of Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and is on its three months journey to Nigeria. Speaking yesterday at the OPTS anniversary, the Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), Mr. Osagie Okunbor, who is also Chairman of OPTS, stated that from being an organisation made up of three IOCs in August 1962 when it was formed, the OPTS had grown to a 27-member group, out of which 20 companies are indigenous Nigerian producers. “The group was created in response to the budding oil and gas sector, which offered huge prospects for the emerging Nigerian nation. Nigeria had just discovered oil six years earlier in 1956. The history of OPTS then is the story of oil and gas exploration and production in Nigeria,” Okunbor said. Okunbor explained that despite

the challenging fiscal regime, security and environmental circumstances, OPTS has contributed significantly to the development of Nigeria as oil and gas revenue accounts for over 90 per cent of export earnings, 83 per cent of the federal revenue and about 35 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He said the oil and gas industries had also contributed billions of dollars to the Nigerian governments at all levels in taxes, levies, royalties, rents and licenses. Okunbor noted that the 55th anniversary, which has “Nigeria, An Investor Friendly Destination,” as the theme, would give the Nigerian operators a chance to learn from the experiences of some of their key partners about how the changing landscape, globally and locally, is providing new opportunities. “As complex and difficult as the Nigerian business environment may be described, there are

opportunities for improvement and opportunities for growth. That is what we see in OPTS. Working with governments at all levels, we have the responsibility to get the right policies for our people and for the country,” Okunbor added. In his keynote address, Osinbajo identified some of the challenges facing Nigeria’s oil and gas industry to include: security and environment, funding issues, high technical costs and obsolete legislations. The Vice President, however, noted that the federal government is addressing these challenges. According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari, had launched a roadmap to reform the oil and gas industry, stressing that the roadmap has set specific and tiOsinbajo also disclosed that the oil and gas industry would also benefit from federal government’s efforts to improve the Ease of Doing Business in the country.

GOOD TO SEE YOU

L-R: President / Co Founder, Micheal and Cecilia Ibru University (MCIU), Mr. Cecilia Ibru, Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, twins sister of Mrs. Ibru, Mrs. Lucy Lawrence, during the courtesy visit by Ibru to the Ooni’s palace in Ile-Ife Osun State... yesterday

Only PDP Govt Can Guarantee Justice in Nigeria, Says A’Ibom Governor As Makarfi insists on free and fair elections in 2019 Okon Bassey in Uyo Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, yesterday reiterated that only the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government can ensure fairness, justice and equity in the country. The governor made the declaration at the Uyo township stadium during the political campaign and presentation of flags to the 31 local government area candidates of the PDP in the December 2 council polls in the state. He regretted that even with Akwa Ibom State being the highest producer of oil in the country, it was still being cheated

by the All Progressives Congress (APC) government at the centre in the oil revenue sharing. “We are standing here as the highest oil producer in the country, but we have not seen anything from the government at the centre. “Today, oil price has gone over $61 per barrel. Last month, the allocation they gave to Akwa Ibom State was lower than what they gave to us a month before now. How can you explain that? “It is only PDP that can ensure fairness, justice and equity in the country,” Emmanuel asserted. On December 2, the governor warned against any attempt to declare fake results after the local

government elections in the state; stressing that the PDP will only accept results released by the state electoral umpire as being valid. He equally advised members of the party in the state to follow the peaceful processes in the conduct of primaries and congresses of the party and avoid any violence during the council polls. The National Caretaker Committee Chairman PDP, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, urged members of the party to always strive to sustain its stance on a free and fair election in 2019 general elections. He noted that it was because of the party’s stance on free and

fair elections that it surrendered power to the opposition in 2015 despite flaws. The PDP, he said, is like a religion in Akwa Ibom state, asking the people not to allow rumour mongers to contaminate their ranks, as he said it was only through such affiliation the opposition would divide the bond enjoyed by the party in the state. According to him, in the 2019 general elections, the PDP would record 100 percent victory in the country, calling on the party in the state to continue its support as it is counted as one of those states that would guarantee the needed victories.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Jimoh Ibrahim Not Owner of Newswatch, Says Ray Ekpu Bennett Oghifo Four of the founding members of Newswatch Communications Limited have said Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim does not own the company, because he never paid for 51 per cent shares of the company, as he claims. In a statement issued yesterday, the founders, Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese, Yakubu Mohammed and Soji Akinrinade, said their attention was drawn to a story on October 31, 2017, that was “planted by Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim in several newspapers” about a court decision that took place seven months ago, precisely on March 27, 2017. The said judgement of the Court of Appeal on the ownership of Newswatch Communications Limited was delivered by Justice Tijani Abubakar and supported by Justice Garba Abubakar and Justice Abimbola Obaseki. The Newswatch founders said Ibrahim had done everything imaginable since 2011 to falsely

claim 51 per cent shares of Newswatch Communications Limited, “which he never paid for.” They said: “The judgement, which was given based on the fact that the judges misdirected themselves on the facts of the matter, has since been contested by two of the shareholders of the company. The shareholders, Mr. Nuhu Wada Aruwa and Professor Jibril Aminu, have asked the Supreme Court to rectify the error of the court.” The Newswatch founders continued: “On May 5, 2011, the directors of Newswatch Communications Limited signed a Share Purchase Agreement with Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim and his Global Media Mirror Limited for the sale of 51 per cent shares of Newswatch Communications Limited to him and his company. The share purchase price was N510 million which he was to pay not later than May 5, 2011, the date of the completion board meeting. “Ibrahim never paid the said N510 million before that day; he

never paid it on that day and he never paid it after that day. Up till today, he has not paid for the said shares. But he has tried by hook and crook to own the shares of a company he never paid for. “He took four of us-Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese, Yakubu Mohammed and Soji Akinrinade-to the Federal High Court in Lagos, claiming that we had retired from the company on May 5, 2011, and we were no longer directors of the company. “The truth of the matter is that we retired from the company and were reappointed as non-executive directors at the very meeting in which he was chosen as chairman

of the board of the company.” According to them, Ibrahim went with them to the Newswatch newsroom on that day and “told our staff that we had been reappointed as directors of the company. The news was published in several newspapers, including his National Mirror the next day being May 6, 2011. Yet Ibrahim denied it.” They explained that “for the 15 months that the magazine was published with him as the chairman, our names were listed every week as directors of the company.We submitted certified true copies of the magazines to Justice OkonAbang who handled the case. Curiously, JusticeAbang accepted

Ibrahim as chairman but refused to accept us as directors, even though we were all listed as such in the same document. In fact, throughout the case, the judge showed open hostility to our lawyer, Kunle Oyesanya (SAN). We kept wondering what happened. “When he gave his controversial judgement against the weight of evidence we went on appeal. The more intriguing part of his judgement was his claim that if Ibrahim had not paid for the shares, we would not have made him chairman of the company. But the suit before him which was initiated by Ibrahim was only about our directorship of the company and

not about share purchase. He only dragged the issue of share purchase into his judgement when he realised that two of Newswatch directors had gone to court asking for an abrogation of the share purchase agreement because of Ibrahim’s failure to comply with the terms.” The statement said they contested the “controversial judgement given by Justice Abang,” but that “while this was going on, Ibrahim secretly registeredacompany called Newswatch Newspapers Limited and gave his company, Global Media Mirror Limited, 900,000 shares and Newswatch Communications Limited only 100,000 shares.

Honour our Summons, If You Have Nothing to Hide, Senate Tells IG Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Senate yesterday challenged the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to appear before its ad-hoc committee investigating him for corruption if he has nothing to hide. The Senate said his resort to the court to stop the probe is futile as the judiciary would not interfere with the constitutional duty of the legislature. This is against the backdrop of the refusal of Idris to appear before the committee last Wednesday to respond to allegations of misappropriation of N7.2 billion in the 2016 budget; nepotism and sexual alliances with female officers levelled against him by Senator Isa Misau. The IG’s counsel, Dr. Alex Izinyon, had written to the committee stating that his client is already in court over the matter,

and therefore to appear would be subjudice. The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, speaking at the plenary, urged Idris to appear before the committee. “As the chief law enforcement officer, who we expect to know what the law is, he should know that there are judgments that clearly state that such cannot stop the Senate from doing its job, and I think he is best advised to follow the law and ensure that if he has nothing to hide, he should appear like anyone else before the committee,” Saraki said. He directed the committee to report back to plenary if Idris fails to appear next week Tuesday. Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Francis Alimikhena, raising a point of order, said the committee would not be deterred in carrying out its assignment.

China Commends Nigeria’s Upgrade among Most Business Friendly Countries Alex Enumah in Abuja China has commended Nigeria for its effort at creating a business friendly environment for investors in the country, noting that the effort has paid off with its recent upgrade by the World Bank in its latest report. The China Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Zhou Pingjian, who made the commendation yesterday in Abuja at a seminar on Nigeria-China relations and the prospects to realise industrial and production capacity cooperation, said the promotion is an attestation that Nigeria’s business environment policy is taking shape. He commended the Centre for Chinese Studies (CCS), organisers of the seminar, for bringing relevant stakeholders together and exploiting to the fullest the already flourishing relations between the two countries.

“This seminar could not come at a more opportune time. The 2017 Africa Industrialisation Day on November 20 is fast approaching. Nigeria has moved up 24 places to 145th in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business report published the day before yesterday. “The World Bank also lists Nigeria as one of the top ten reforming economies in the world in 2017. And, as the significance of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and its global implications are being assessed in earnest world-wide, a discussion on the impact of the congress on China’s commitment to the industrialisation of Africa is apt and helpful,” he said. Pingjian reiterated China’s commitment to support Nigeria’s industrialisation and economic diversification effort of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

L-R: Member, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ibrahim Milgoma; Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar; PDP National Chairmanship Aspirant, Gbenga Daniel and former Minister of Sports, Mr. Salauwa Sambawa, during a courtesy call to the Sultan by Daniel, to Sokoto State chapter of the party on his aspiration...yesterday

Onu Challenges Scientists to Shift from Primordial Sentiments of R&D for Learning to Innovation Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has challenged Nigerian scientists to brave the odds and make the paradigm shift from primordial sentiments of Research and Development (R and D) for academics to innovation and attainment of sustainable industrial revolution. The minister who was represented by the Director of Bioresource, Abayomi Oguntunde, made the call yesterday in Abuja at the maiden National Strategy on Competitiveness in Raw Materials and Product Development in Nigeria, organised by the Strategy

Implementation Task unit of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMDC). He said the gathering of the topmost echelon of scientists and researchers in Nigeria was the first of its kind in providing veritable means of galvanising the R and D community towards successful strategy implementation. According to him, “This forum will offer time refreshment on the ideas, focus and expectation of individual R and D institution during this period of implementation. Your roles and responsibilities are enormous especially on the need for you to refocus your R and D programmes, efforts and resources

towards industry-demand driven characterisations. He added that “the strategy provides ample knowledge on raw materials and products characterisation where individual institutions must focus attention and which industrial sector, industrialists and entrepreneurs you should be relating with.” The minister urged the scientists and researchers to get their institutions and industries or businesses out of silos and establish a lasting mutual strategic alliance, stressing that such alliances are serious marriages based on the testaments of fortified National Quality Infrastructure

(NQI) most suitable for specific intervention to achieve quality products and even services. According to him, “I am using this strategy to challenge you to brave the odds and make the paradigm shift from primordial sentiments of R and D for academics/learning rather than R and D for innovation, competitiveness and attainment of sustainable industrial revolution. “I have implicit confidence in your collective capacity to deliver this strategy and usher the country into a new era where science and technology define new industrial revolution required to reposition Nigeria among the league of global competitiveness.”

Police Arrest Onitsha Printers Working for IPOB Attempting to Scuttle Anambra Poll David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka Anambra State police command has arrested two printers in Onitsha who were printing fliers for members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB to sensitise the people to boycott the Anambra governorship election. State police commissioner, Mr. Garba Umar, who briefed journalists said with the proscription of IPOB, it would not tolerate its members meeting in Anambra or even

displaying their insignia publicly. He added that :”After a discreet procedure in collating intelligence information on miscreants and members of the proscribed IPOB, the Onitsha area command raided a printing press where thousands of posters and handbills were being printed.” The handbills which were displayed before journalists read, “Call for a referendum is not call for war, no election in Anambra State, Biafrans declare sit at home.” The flyers also came with a

strong warning, calling on the electorate in Anambra to stay away from participating in the election, but to sit at home. It warned that anyone who insisted on participating in the Anambra election would be doing so at his or her own risk. Recall that the IPOB had declared sit-at-home on November 18, which coincides with the Anambra governorship election, and is viewed to be a calculated attempt to scuttle the election after it had announced a boycott of the

election. CP Garba warned that he would not spare any group or individual that tries to disrupt the peace that has been achieved in Anambra State, while also calling on the residents of the state to ensure they report any attempt to cause a breach of peace in the state. Though the arrested printers were not paraded before journalists, Garba said they would help the police in tracking down the IPOB members who brought the job to their printing press for publishing.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Donald Duke: We’re Living in a Fool’s Paradise Solomon Elusoji Former Cross River State Governor, Mr. Donald Duke, has sounded a bleak warning that all is not well in Nigeria, despite the September news that the country was out of recession. “We are living in a fool’s paradise,”Duke said at the official launch of the National Competitiveness Report and Sub National Index held in Lagos, yesterday. “We here in Lagos are cocooned from the realities of Nigeria. Take a trip to Borno State, go to parts of the north and the Niger-Delta.” Two weeks ago, Duke saidhe was talking to Aigboje AigImoukhuede and Aliko Dangote, when the latter told the story of a boy, about five or six years old, whom he found at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp and asked for his father. “The chap looked at him (Dangote) but did not understand the concept of fatherhood,” Duke said. “He is in the IDP Camp. There are thousands of them in those camps; there is no hope for them; all they do there is just breathing.” The reality, Duke noted, was that the government of the day was more interested in politics than economics. “And if you don’t get the economics right, then governance cannot work,” he said. “You cannot be competitive when you are not productive.

The first thing is how do we get productive?” Duke also criticised the way states in Nigerian have been set up, explaining that the units see themselves as political entities, but not as economic entities. “And there is no master-plan to make each one of them an economic entity,” Duke said. “So, we have a country, where a blessing (exponential population growth) is turning into a curse, because in the next three years, our population will be 200 million, yet all the productive indices are going down. Lagos may be crowded out; every year, 750,000 new people come to Lagos to reside; the economy cannot support that. So if you don’t get the rest of the country working, Lagos itself will collapse. “I had a meeting once with U.S. State Department, and they said to me, we have no conversion interest in Nigeria any longer; yes we have a few companies – ExxonMobil, Chevron – working here, but we don’t buy oil from Nigeria, and the export-import bill is not significant. But we have a lot of interest in Nigeria, and that is security. Nigeria, to them, is like a dam, and if it should burst, it would flood all of West and Central Africa. So their only interest in Nigeria is insecurity because the country can also be a base for terrorism – terrorists thrive in poor environments. They are not dealing with us

on the basis of commerce, they are dealing with us on the threat that we pose to them.” Duke also believes the Buhari government has no business patting itself on the back on the basis of improving the economy. “Just because it is easier for goods to pass through the port – that’s no big deal,” he said. “The point is what does each one of us add to the general wellbeing of the country. Most folks in Nigeria are parasitic. You walk

Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi APC) has alleged that the sum of $35 million was spent on the Afam Fast Power project by the Ministry of Power without any appropriation or feasibility studies. He said this when he raised a point of order for pending motion at plenary yesterday where he added that $29 million from the funds was allegedly paid to General Electric for turbines. “ It is a monumental fraud in the power sector. In July 2013, the federal government raised $1

billion from a Eurobond issue from which $350 million was given to NBET (Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading PLC) in 2014. This money is instalmentally stolen.” “Sometime last year, again, the ministry of power came up with an idea of a project they called Afam Fast Power. This indigested project is supposed to build new generating plants to add power to our grid. Up till date, there is no detail to build new generating plants or a feasibility study.” “There is no appropriation by the National Assembly for these

Jonathan Eze The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has sealed a warehouse and shops stocked with unfortified pasta, flour and sugar in different areas in Lagos State. It also raided major markets in the state as part of its ongoing efforts to stem the tide of substandard products in the country. The Director-General, Osita Aboloma, said the warehouse and shops contained products that were unwholesome and therefore risky for human consumption. He said the products were smuggled in with no import documentation and registration numbers, adding that they could lead to dangerous health hazards to unsuspecting consumers who buy them. Aboloma said the raid followed

projects. The ministry has spent so far $35 million on the Afam fast power project which has no appropriation or detailed feasibility study. How and when was this money appropriated? We need to find out. How was $29 million purportedly paid to General Electric for turbines when $6 million was paid to others,” Melaye said. He sought the opportunity to present a motion to seek investigation of the allegations. Presiding, Senate President Bukola Saraki said the motion would be taken on the next legislative day.

2019: ‘No Automatic Ticket for Ikpeazu’ Emmanuel Ugwu inUmuahia Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, will have to fight for the ticket to contest the 2019 governorship poll in his second term bid as the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday declared that there would be no automatic ticket. The decision to throw open the party tickets for elective political positions was taken by the State Working Committee (SWC), which is the highest decision making organ of the party at its meeting in the party secretariat. Ikpeazu has been getting

the endorsements of several communities and organisations across the state that have adopted him as their sole candidate for the 2019 governorship election in the state. But the state Chairman of PDP, Johnson Onuigbo, who read a seven-point communiqué of the SWC to journalists after the meeting, said: “All offices for 2019 elections are open and contestable in line with Abia Charter of Equity and PDP zoning formula.” “In line with the above (open contest for party tickets) there shall be a level playing ground for all aspirants irrespective of position,”

he said, adding that the party has resolved to “do away with all manner of impositions and impunity.” By retaining the zoning arrangement, the SWC of PDP has shut out governorship aspirants from outside Abia South senatorial zone hence only aspirants from the favoured zone would be eligible to vie for the governorship ticket with Ikpeazu. Nonetheless, the SWC passed a vote of confidence on Ikpeazu “based on his excellent performance so far” while the party chairman got a pat on the back “for transparency and effective leadership”.

Old Students Target N200m School Upliftment As part of plans at giving back to their Alma Mata, the old students association of Federal Government Girls’ College (FGGC) Owerri, is targeting a sum of two hundred million naira to uplift the school. FGGC Owerri Old Student Association is presently hosting their Global Reunion 2017 titled ‘Womentrepreneurship’ which

began yesterday and ends on November 5, at Dover Hotel, Lekki. According to the Public Relations Officer of FGGC Lagos chapter, Mrs. Ngozi Oyewole, “the school is in need of an upliftment in order to effectively provide a modern day learning environment which can compete on a worldwide scale. Therefore, the most important

are self-deceptive. We say that unemployment is 15 per cent. In other words, out of every 100 only 15 have no jobs. I think it is the other way round; only 15 have jobs and the rest 85 are living off the 15; the question is how long can that go on? “Then we sit down and say that inflation is 16 per cent. How do you arrive at that? I know I’m broke. So if inflation is too much money in circulation, where is this money? The truth is too few

people have too much money. If you re-circulate resources properly, and I am not being socialist here (all you need to do is to create jobs for people), then you’ll find that it will reflect on the economy. “So what we are doing is to run a goodwill economy; 85 percent of the economy is depending on the goodwill of the 15 percent.” To move the country forward, Mr. Duke advocated for a policy he described as SHIT (Skills, Health, Infrastructure and Technology).

SON Seals Warehouse in Lagos, Raids Substandard Products

Melaye: Ministry Spent $35m on Afam Power Project Without Appropriation Damilola Oyedele inAbuja

on the streets and people in the prime of their lives are hawking plantain chips if they are lucky to find something to hawk. We, the few privileged, sit in our cars, our windows wound up, and pretend to look at our phones because we don’t want to see the reality out there. “This country, for instance, has to grow at about 15 per cent annually, not in Lagos, but nationally, for the next ten years, to absorb the numbers that are out of the economy. We

objective of the reunion goes beyond networking; the intention is to give back to the school that nurtured us. In view of this our target is to use this opportunity to raise the sum of two hundred million naira for the overall development of the school in order to provide a solid foundation for the current and future students.”

intelligence reports from sister security agencies and the cooperation of patriotic Nigerians, adding that the enforcement exercise would continue as a way of ensuring that only goods that meet the minimum requirements of the Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS) or other approved standards are sold in the country. “The seized products do not meet our standard specifications, a critical part of which is the regulation on fortification with Vitamin A. There were no documentations to show how they got into the country and evidence of being registered under our electronic product registration scheme. They are not supposed to be on our shelves,” Aboloma said. He said the sale of unfortified pasta, flour and sugar in the country is particularly worrisome considering that there is a government policy on their fortification with Vitamin

A as a way of preserving the sight of Nigerians. “Flour, pasta, vegetable oil and sugar are foods that Nigerians consume regularly and if they are not fortified with the necessary vitamins as provided in the relevant standards, the Nigerian consumers would be prone to such illnesses as blindness and other sight problems,” he said. Aboloma, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Market Surveillance, Suleiman Issa, added that the campaign to eradicate substandard imported sugar, flour and flour products in the country would continue, assuring Nigerians that wherever these products are found, they would be removed. “These products have not been registered with SON for traceability and quality verification. I will advise Nigerians to look out for the registration numbers of SON and NAFDAC on imported food products before purchase. Any

uncertified, unregistered and smuggled product is very risky and most likely unwholesome for consumption. Any pack of these imported non-conforming flour-based products found in our markets would be removed and the owners held accountable until they take us to the source”, he said. The State Coordinator, Lagos Office III, SON, Mrs. Ngozi Ekwueme, warned that the consumption of the products that lack Vitamin A fortification puts the average Nigerian who patronises them the most at a risk of blindness. The Manager, Globus Supermarket, whose warehouse was sealed, said he lacked knowledge of the implications of consuming these products. He urged the Federal Government to do more enlightenment programmes to educate the vendors and consumers.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

CONDOLENCE MESSAGES FOR TINUBU...

Senate Commiserates with Tinubu over Son’s Death The Senate has expressed sadness over the death of the son of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Jide, after a brief illness last Wednesday. President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who earlier paid a condolence visit to commiserate with Tinubu in Abuja, in a statement he personally signed on behalf of his colleagues, described the death as an “unfortunate incident.” According to him, “All of us in the Senate are deeply saddened by the untimely passage of Mr. Jide Tinubu, the son of former Senator and top political leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Jide was not only a promising young man, but had what it takes to contribute to the overall wellbeing of his family in particular and the country in general. “It is highly unfortunate that we lost him so early, and we are still pained by his demise.” While praying God to guard, guide and grant Tinubu, his wife, Senator Oluremi, and their family the grace and fortitude to bear the irreparable loss, the Senate president also asked God to grant the deceased eternal rest.

Yahaya Bello Laments Deep Sense of Loss The Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has commiserated with the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, over the death of his son, Jide. This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor, Mrs. Petra Akinti Onyegbule, of which a copy was made available to THISDAY. According to the statement, “The governor is extremely saddened by the news of the loss of a son of a reputable leader of our great party. He therefore offers his condolences with a deep sense of loss and profound regrets of losing a prominent and promising young man. “Governor Bello sends his heartfelt sympathies and support to the leader and his family in this tough time, and prays that the Almighty Allah to give his family the strength it needs at this time of demoralisation. “This death is devastating because the loss of a son can never be compared to any other loss, as the vacuum cannot be filled by anyone. “However, I offer my deepest condolences to the whole family and pray to God to strengthen them to cope with the great loss and be able to pass through this difficult time. “Death is inevitable, and it is a mandatory end and common denominator for all the living either old or young, I, therefore, enjoin the APC national leader to absolutely submit to the total will of God.” Governor implored Tinubu to gather all the strength to sail through this trying time and give rest to the departed soul by getting on with life as he prayed God to accept his soul and grant him eternal rest.

Fayemi, Osinkolu Pray for Tinubu The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has commiserated with the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over the death of his first son, Mr. Jide Tinubu. The minister in a statement yesterday expressed shock over the sudden death of Jide, describing the development as extremely sad and disheartening. Fayemi said: “With a very heavy heart, we commiserate with our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the entire family over the untimely death of his first son, Jide. “This is no doubt the most traumatic experience for the family. We pray that the Almighty God grant the departed eternal rest and give the family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.

TAKE HEART

L-R: National Leader, All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Katsina State Governor, Bello Masari and his Sokoto State counterpart, Aminu Tambuwal during a condolence visit ... yesterday “Our prayers are with you and the entire family. Our God will heal the wound and fill the void which the unfortunate incidence has created.” Another chieftain of the party, Dr. Olusegun Osinkolu, urged Tinubu to take comfort in the sense that the deceased lived a good and fulfilled life as a thorough-bred professional and patriotic Nigerian. According to him, “Jide was a young man who was a role model to the young generation striving for greatness. Though, his life was cut in his prime, in spite of this, he lived a life that worth being celebrated. “I pray that the Almighty God will grant him eternal rest and give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.” Also, Former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Bamidele Faparusi, described Tinubu son’s death as very devastating, praying to God to give the family the strength to absorb the sudden shock which the death must have brought to the family. Faparusi, a governorship aspirant, said it was a national calamity for any country to lose such a brilliant and radiant young man, who could be aptly describe as an all-round professional and achiever.

It’s A Shocking Devt, Says Kalu Former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has conveyed his heartfelt condolence to former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over the passing of his son, Jide. In his condolence message to the All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, Kalu said: “I was absolutely shocked to hear the news of the demise of Tinubu’s son, Jide. “It is painful that Jide who had a promising future died in his prime. “Our prayers and thoughts are with the entire Tinubu’s family at this period of grief.” Kalu prayed to God to grant the deceased eternal rest and give

Tinubu the fortitude to bear the sad loss.

Ngige: He’s Resting with His Creator The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has expressed shock over the tragic passing of Jide, the son of former Governor of Lagos State and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu. Ngige, in a condolence letter made available yesterday by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Nwachukwu Obidiwe, expressed sadness that Tinubu’s family and the society have been denied of assured contributions from a resourceful young lawyer. Part of the letter read: “Jide had a bright future, and was amiable to those who knew and came in contact with him. His death is our collective loss. I am distraught and can only imagine the agony our dear Asiwaju and family have been thrown into. Why a young, bright and promising man is taken so soon is a puzzle only the Almighty can unravel. May He re-assure us of His infinite mercies and take away this grief.” “On behalf of my family and the entire Umu-Ngige clan of Alor in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, I send our sincere condolences on this heart-rending death. I pray that God Almighty will comfort you and your family in a special way and grant Jide’s soul eternal rest. “He died on November 1, the day we in the Catholic Christianity celebrate the All Saints. May God therefore grant him the beatific bliss with his Saints Triumphant!”

CRIME&PUNISHMENT Suspected Herdsmen Kill One, Five Others Missing George Okoh in Makurdi Barely 24 hours after the full implementation of the anti-open grazing law recently enacted by the Benue State government, suspected Fulani herdsmen yesterday killed one person, injuring one other while five persons have been declared missing in Gaambe-tiv area of Logo Local Government Area. According to a resident of the area, Mr. Joseph Anawa, one Mr. Saater Kwaghdom, popularly known as ‘Ortse’ was shot by the marauding herders when he was going for fishing while another victim, Hingir Akaa Azemgbe, is currently responding to medical treatment from gunshot at Government Hospital Ayilamo, while other five have been declared

missing. A source revealed that the herders in their numbers have camped permanently in the hinterland, along the stretch banking river Benue, specifically at Agbesa village, otherwise called Gindin Mangoro, and are fully prepared with sophisticated weapons. According to Anawa, they were alerted on the presence of massive arrival of strange Fulani herdsmen in Gaambe-tiev, Logo LGA. “They have moved in thousands and settled in Ukemberagya/Tswarev council ward at Zaki Hemem, Tyo-Afia, Tse Gusa, Tse Agir, Ordughga Nagwa, Tsafa, Chia Orabum and Jootar axis. In Mbagber ward, they are also at Gov-Uwev environ while in Tombo council ward they are at

Azege, Anyibe and Fanu axis, we are appealing to the authorities concern to mobilise security to these border areas to curtail further carnage by these headsmen. He said they appreciate the Security Adviser to the Governor who gave the directive to get Ortse Kwaghdom killers. He called on the government to deploy massive security to the area as farmers are yet to harvest their crops which are being destroyed by cattle. The accident is coming on the heel of the November first implementation of the prohibition of open grazing in Benue State. In his speech, the Benue state Governor Samuel Ortom, called on all citizens who are into cattle or livestock business to abide by this law.

Police, NSCDC Outlaw Female Genital Mutilation in Ekiti Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti Having been ranked second in the country in the practice of Female Genital Mutilation(FGM), Ekiti State government through security agencies have made a commitment for the arrest and prosecution of violators of the State Child’s Rights Act and Female Genital Mutilation Prohibition Law 2002. Non-governmental organisations under the aegis of New Generation Girls and Women Development Initiative(NIGAWD) and Centre for Women’s Health and Information(CFWHI), signed the pact with the men of the Nigeria Police and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC) after

a 2-day training workshop held in Ado Ekiti yesterday. The workshop, funded by United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA), held the training for men and officers of the Force drawn from the 16 local government areas of the state on the adverse effects of the practice. In her presentation, the CFWHI’s Executive Director, Mrs. Adebanke Akinrinmisi, expressed regret on the upsurge of genital mutilation practice in the south-west, in spite of laws prohibiting it. Akinrinmisi said the training was targeted as sensitising and entering into pact with the security agencies on the need to gather information on perpetrators to stop the practice, she said had

damaged the lives of over 200 million population globally. “The security agencies are very key in the fight against this devilish practice. Though I quite appreciate the fact that the practice was an extension of the gender inequality in our society, it has to stop. “Many lives have been damaged by it. Some have suffered haemorrhage and died, some were infected with lifetime diseases, some suffered prolonged labour and all that. “We are imploring them to use different networks they use to gather information in all the council areas to arrest and prosecute the promoters. The practice is high in the rural areas of Ekiti.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

FG Garners $22.4bn Investment in 31 Projects CAC Phases out manual registration of businesses Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt The Federal Government has said it recorded $22.42 billion worth of investments in 31 projects spread across 22 states of the federation. This came as the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) said it was phasing out manual registration of businesses in its reforms aimed at enhancing ease of doing business in the country. In a goodwill message presented at a sensitisation

programme organised by the CAC for stakeholders in Port Harcourt yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, also put capital inflow into the country in the second quarter of the year stood at $1.8 billion, almost a 100 per cent increase from the $908 million recorded in the first quarter of the year. Oduwole, who is also the Secretary, Presidential Enabling

APC Alleges Plot by ENSIEC to Doctor Council Poll Results Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu Barely 48 hours to the November 4 Local Government election in Enugu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday accused some unnamed officials of the State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) of plotting to manipulate the results of the election in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The party Chairman, Ben Nwoye told journalists that the APC had it on good authority that some unpopular members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were working in connivance with some ENSIEC staff to truncate the will of the people. He, however, vowed that if such acts were carried out, the party would ensure that criminal complaints were filed against such ENSIEC staff, collaborating security

personnel and politicians. “We have it on good authority that there is last ditch effort by the ENSIEC, in connivance with some members of the PDP to rig the election. “We want to place ENSIEC and those involved that we will criminalise complaint against them if they carry out that plan. “They are making effort to rig our places of strength, which include: Awgu, Oji-River, Udi, Aninri, Enugu-South, Enugu-East, Igbo-Eze North and Igbo-Eze South, as well as Igbo-Etiti. “They are going to seize the result sheet, cause commotion in these local government areas, ensure that there will be no election, announce the result later, and then tell us to go to court”, Nwoye alleged. He declared further that, “this high-level plot will fail; we are going to resist it; security agents should be at alert.

Business Environment Council (PEBEC) attributed the favourable economic indices to improvement in the ease of doing business in Nigeria, adding that improvement of the business climate is at the heart of the government’s reform agenda in order to deepen the country’s economic recovery. She announced that Nigeria now ranks 145 on Ease of Doing Business as compared to 169 in the last year’s World Bank ease of doing business reforms. Her words: “The Federal Government is working hard to implement economic recovery plan and to improve macroeconomic conditions, the inflation rate has declined from 18.5 per cent in January to 16 per cent in September.

“It is indeed gratifying that investors are showing a clear sign of renewed interest in the Nigerian economy, for instance, the stock market has rallied about 36 per cent since the beginning of the year till date. “Between January and August 2017, about $22.42 billion worth of investment has been announced for 31 projects across 22 states. “Capital inflow into the country has almost doubled from $908 million in the first quarter to $1.8 billion in the second quarter of 2017.” She also commended the efforts of the CAC in creating an enabling environment for ease of doing business in line with global best practices. In her address, the acting

Registrar-General of CAC, Mrs. Azuka Azinge, stated that the commission already stopped manual registration of business in eight states and would add 10 more states to the list before the end of the year. She also said in line with the Federal Government’s ease of doing business drive, the registration and incorporation of companies, business names and incorporated trustees with the Commission now takes only one day. The Commission also said that eight states are now registering business entities online from startto-finish, while additional 10 states would also be upgraded to carry out online registration before the end of 2017.

She explained that the reforms being carried out by the commission has brought about the reduction in registration time, registration process, cost reduction as well as comfort and conveniences for clients. Azinge also announced that the Commission has extended its working hours nationwide from 9 am to 7 pm, which, according to her means that every application submitted by clients are being tackled before the end of each day. She said: “With the company registration portal, the Commission’s registration services are now available online 24/7, any member of the public can start and complete business registration from the comfort of their homes and offices.

TSTV Commences Full Commercial Sales, Operations Alex Enumah in Abuja The long-awaited satellite broadcast outfit TSTV Africa has finally commenced full operational services and sales of its products to members of the public. MD/CEO of TSTV Africa, Dr. Bright Echefu, who disclosed that the outfit has begun the rollout of full commercial sales and operations from November 1st as earlier promised, assured customers of value for their money. Addressing a cross-section of online, print and electronic journalists, while giving out free decoders and dish to them, in Abuja, he asserted that it is part of the company’s pledge to Nigerians. The CEO, who was represented by the Head, Corporate

Communications, Mr. Madu Ugo, said TSTV Africa appreciates Nigerians for the love, patience and understanding thus far in the commencement of the rollout of the unique pay TV brand. He said: “Foremost, we are not unaware of our promise to commence full commercial sales and operations of TStv Africa on 1st November 2017 nationwide. “In line with this commitment of ours, we have commenced the distribution and installation of TStv Africa Promo (free of cost) decoders across the country.” According to the CEO, the painstaking exercise is to ensure the proper monitoring and evaluation of the signal strength and quality of its channels and programs across the country.

Edo Musician, Osayomore Joseph Regains Freedom Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Having spent almost one month in the den of kidnappers, Edo born-musician, Osayomore Joseph, regained freedom yesterday. Osayomore who was abducted on October 3 after performing at the one year coronation anniversary of Oba Ewuare II, Oba of Benin, was said to have been released in the early hours of today in Benin City. Confirming the release to journalists, his first son, Osayomore Joseph Jnr, said the family is making arrangement for a medical

check-up for him. He said: “My father has been released but he is not too healthy so he is currently in the hospital taking treatment. It has not been easy for us as a family but we thank God he is back home. We are trying to give him the best medical care he deserves. “He is in the hospital now and it is our prayers that everything goes well so he can rejoin his family in good health because we have really suffered all these while, it has been very traumatic for us and not a good situation that you can even pray for your enemy. We thank God he is home alive”.

VOCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP

Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed; Paschal Anosike of the Center for African Entrepreneurship and Leadership; and Vice Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton, Mr. Geoff Layer at the signing of a letter of intent for partnership between the university and the International Vocational, Technical and Entrepreneurship Center, Ajasse Ipo at Wolverhampton, United Kingdom ... yesterday

Okafor: We have Re-strategised to Sustain our Growth The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of May & Baker, Nnamdi Okafor, has disclosed that the company had re-strategised to sustain its growth tempo. He said this yesterday while reflecting on the company’s unaudited Quarter 3 results for the nine months period ended 30 September 2017, released to the Stock Exchange. He said, “Every sector of the economy has its opportunities

and threats; we have chosen to adopt survival strategies to achieve our target figures.” In a statement sent to THISDAY by its Corporate Communications Manager, Innocent Adulugba, the total comprehensive income for the year recorded a 392 per cent hike. “This margin derives from the 2017 Quarter 3 results cumulative of N218.5 million - an increase of 174.1m – on the

N44.4 million returned same time, prior year. The earnings per share which stood at 4.53k in 2016 jumped to 22.3k by 30 September in 2017. “May & Baker’s operating profit within the period, leaped to N770.7 million from N488.3 million of September, 2016 – posting a 57.8 percent growth. The Revenue at N6.926 billion against the 2016 corresponding amount of N5.94 billion returned a growth of 16.5 percent.

“The analysis shows that the gross profit increased from N1.704billion in 2016 to N2.156 billion in 2017, growing by 26.5 percent. Similarly, the company announced a Profit before tax of 322.3 million which represents a 486 per cent growth in its results for the nine months period under review. The prior year’s return of N66. 23 million PBT shows that the company hugely shrugged off the recession hangover of 2016.

Lluvia, PZ Cussons Partner LUTH on Child Mortality Sunday Okobi The efforts to curb the high rate of child mortality in Nigeria have received a huge boost as management of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) recently took delivery of a new fully-equipped children healthcare centre to effectively combat the menace. At the inauguration of the Olikoye Ransome-Kuti Children’s Emergency Centre which was facilitated by Lluvia Health Organisation, PZ Cussons and Premier in Idi Araba, Lagos, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Chris Bode, noted that the health

institution, with the reputation to handling tough medical issues, was impressed to have partnered the health organisations which donated the centre to reengineer medical services, especially as it relates to children. Bode noted that his establishment never rejected patients, which he stated underscored its pivotal position in the nation’s healthcare sector. According to her, the Project Director of Lluvia Health and one of the Coordinators of the programme, Dr. Amenze Eguavoen, the unveiling of the pediatric emergency centre was basically to cater for the health

needs of patients, mostly children, adding that her organisation had gone beyond equipment and infrastructure provision to actually looking at the social and psychological needs of children and their caregivers. Dr. Eguavoen said: “The psychological needs are not typically catered for, also, nobody really thinks so much about how the environment affects the healing of the child but studies actually show that arts can make a difference to hasten healing. So what we have done is create murals on the walls. You can see there are a lot of drawings on the walls. We have used a

lot of child-friendly colours, a lot of muted colours as well to promote healing. The coordinator who called for more attention for the health sector, also explained that “We’ve also provided bed screens to take care of the privacy and dignity of the patient. The children and their caregivers, when they are being examined, can be covered, so that not everybody would see what is going on behind the bed screen. Also, we have provided monitors to check pulse rate, heart rate, oxygen level for each patient that is attached to without the nurses having to round around with figs and thermometers and all sorts.

T H I S D AY FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2017

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

FRIDAYSPORTS

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

I N T E R N AT I O N A L F R I E N D L I E S

Nigeria Target, Tammy Abraham, Gets England Call up for Germany, Brazil Games Duro Ikhazuagbe Gareth Southgate’s inclusion of Nigeria target, Tammy Abraham in England’s squad for the international friendlies against Germany and Brazil scheduled for November 10 and 14 at the Wembley Stadium appears to have ended attempts to make the teenager switch allegiance to the three-time African champions. Abraham, 20, is a Chelsea player on loan at Swansea this season. The Camberwell-born player to Nigerian father was target of the Glass House in Abuja to reinforce Super Eagles ahead of next year’s World Cup in Russia. Victor Moses, Alex Iwobi, Sone Aluko, Shola Ameobi and Ola Aina are former England junior players who switched their allegiance to Nigeria. But in what appears a change of mind, the gangling lad who has represented England at the Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 categories, denied in September that he has agreed to dump the Three Lions for Nigeria. Though admitted meeting Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Amaju Pinnick who is his father’s friend, Abraham insisted he was available to be capped at the senior level by England. Southgate seized that opportunity yesterday by including Abraham in the squad to play Germany and Brazil in the November FIFA window. This term Abraham has scored five times in 13 appearances for the Swans, including a brace in the 2-0 win over Huddersfield a fortnight ago.

Last season he was on loan at Championship side Bristol City and scored 26 times for the Robins. Abraham has had a hand in five of Swansea’s seven league goals this season (4 goals, 1 assist), the highest ratio in the Premiership. To express his happiness with the call up, Abraham took to Twitter yesterday afternoon to show his appreciation to Southgate and the England crew. “Words can’t describe the feeling but truly blessed and honoured to be called up to @ England seniors…thanks for all the messages,” observed the player who is one of the three new teenagers in yesterday’s list. Despite Abraham’s call up to the senior England team for the friendlies against Germany and Brazil, some Nigerians still believe it is not over yet. A football analyst, Michael Olasupo told THISDAY yesterday that FIFA new rule on eligibility has not ruled out Abraham from wearing Nigeria’s green and white colours. “Article 18 provison 1, sub section a of FIFA Eligibility Rules, which says ” He (Player) has not played a match (either in full or in part) in an official competition at “A” international level for his current Association, and at the time of his first full or partial appearance in an international match in an official competition for his current Association, he already had the nationality of the representative team for which he wishes to play.” Abraham’s manager at Swansea, Paul Clement told BBC Sports yesterday that he has hand in the player’s

GOtv Takes NextGen Search 3 to Ibadan The third edition of the GOtv Boxing NextGen Search is to hold in Ibadan, Oyo State, between November 16 and 18. According to a statement issued by Flykite Promotions, organisers of GOtv Boxing NextGen Search, the programme will hold at Walan Hotel (formerly D’Rovans Hotel), Ring Road, Ibadan. GOtv Boxing NextGen Search, conceived to discover amateur boxers on the verge of turning professional, is open to talented boxers from across the country, who are aged between 18 and 25. Participating boxers, explained the organisers, will take part in sparring sessions where they will evaluated by some of Nigeria’s best boxing coaches, including Joe Mensah and Obisia Nwakpa. The organisers added that accommodation will be given free to boxers from outside Ibadan and environs adjudged by the coaches to

have made the cut. According to the statement, the GOtv NextGen search 3 is a continuation of the promise made by Chairman of GOtv Boxing, Mr. Adewunmi Ogunsanya (SAN), to revamp boxing in Nigeria. “We are delighted that Nigerian boxing has made appreciable progress since GOtv intervened through GOtv Boxing Night in 2014. But we are not yet where we want the sport to be. To take the sport to the next level, the progress needs to be sustained and fast-tracked. “This is what we are doing with GOtv Boxing NextGen Search, which is a programme aimed at unearthing hidden boxing talents with a vast scope for development and having the best coaches equip them with skills to make them world beaters. This, we think, is the way to go,” the statement quoted Ogunsanya, who is also Chairman, MultiChoice Nigeria, as saying.

Tammy Abraham set to make England senior team debut

England call. Swansea Manager, Paul Clement denied having any say in Abraham’s invite to the Three Lions. “I wasn’t involved in any discussion with Tammy about who he wanted to player for. “I saw one report that I’d told him who to play for- that’s complete nonsense,” stressed the Swansea boss. Clement is however confident that Abraham will cope well at the Three Lions. “I think he’ll cope well. He’s a confident young man. He needs to take it in his stride and stay grounded. “His all-round game

is developing, including back-to-goal and defensive positioning,” he said. The Swansea gaffer is however excited with Abraham’s progress. “It’s very pleasing news to see someone we’ve brought to the club on loan rewarded with his first call-up,” said Clement. The other new teenagers in Southgate’s call up include, Joe Gomez, 20, (Liverpool) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 21, (Chelsea). Regulars invited include Ashley Young, who last played for the national side in September 2013, is back in, Jamie Vardy also returns, but

there is no place for strikers Daniel Sturridge and Jermain Defoe. Tottenham’s Danny Rose is also included despite only one start since returning from a long-term injury. England Squad Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke City), Joe Hart (West Ham - loan from Manchester City), Jordan Pickford (Everton) Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Harry Maguire (Leicester), Danny Rose (Tottenham), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran

Trippier (Tottenham), Kyle Walker (Manchester City) Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Crystal Palace - loan from Chelsea), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Harry Winks (Tottenham), Ashley Young (Manchester United) Forwards: Tammy Abraham (Swansea - loan from Chelsea), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jamie Vardy (Leicester).

NPFL: Owumi to Rebrand Rangers FC Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu Returnee General Manager of Rangers Management Corporation, Davidson Owumi, has said that his new challenge at the Enugu State owned club is to build a strong professional background for the team. Owumi who returned to the Enugu team recently said at the unveiling of Gbenga Ogunbote as Technical Adviser of the Flying Antelopes on

Wednesday that the task would include all stakeholders, adding that the new management would expect constructive criticisms. “Everybody will be part of the move to rebrand Rangers FC because we need to develop a brand for ourselves,” stressed the ex international. Also speaking at the event Ogunbote, a former Enyimba FC coach vowed to return the club to winning ways beginning with next season.

Ogunbote expressed happiness joining Rangers. He said that his target in the team is to re-launch it to finish the coming season in an appreciable position. “Rangers FC is a household name and it is a privilege to handle the team. When the offer came I thought it was a special grace for me,” he said. The coach said that his task was to look at the underlying issues that made the team to struggle during the last NPFL

season. “I have a name to protect and we will work assiduously to achieve it. I was not given a target but I have a target for myself,” he said. Ogunbote said he left his former team, Enyimba International FC of Aba due to his desire for a new challenge. “My challenge in Enyimba FC was to take the team to the continent which we achieved but I needed a new challenge,” Ogunbote said.

NBA All-star Final Trip for Lucky Kwesé Subscriber Kwesé, the exclusive broadcast partner of the NBA in subSaharan Africa, is kicking off the new season with its 100 reasons campaign. The programme will ensure that one lucky subscriber will enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to the NBA All-star final event next year in Los Angeles, USA. This once in a lifetime experience is only open to Kwesé TV

subscribers. The NBA in partnership with Kwesé Sports have launched #NBASundays, which will see games broadcast between 9pm to 12am every Sunday on Kwesé Sports. This is great for fans who usually stay up late to catch live games. The 2017-18 NBA season has gotten off to an explosive start with great performances from

African players, in particular, Nigerian-Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo who has already started setting records. NBA All-Star 2018, taking place from 16-18 February 2018, is every basketball fan’s dream. It is a fun-filled, action packed weekend consisting of a variety of basketball events including the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, exhibitions,

and performances culminating in the NBA All-Star Game held on the Sunday night. Kwesé is giving one die-hard fan exclusive access to this one of a kind experience. This amazing competition is open to subscribers in Kwesé territories including Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia.

Friday, November 3, 2017

UT H

& RE A S O

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MISSILE Akande to Buhari “He has not told us he is running in 2019. Anybody in our party is free to become the president of Nigeria as long as he indicates interest” – Former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande throwing the contest for the party’s presidential ticket open to all members on grounds that President Muhammadu Buhari has yet to declare an interest to seek re-election.

OKEYIKECHUKWU GUEST COLUMNIST

okey.ikechukwu@thisdaylive.com

Corruption: Breaking the Code of Silence

argely due to the circumstances of its birth, the Buhari Government is facing grave challenges today. Its initial ideological cleavages were not mended. It also failed, over time, to build cohesion. Two years down the road, the agents and agencies of the government are working in silos. Some of the silo walls are even being cheerfully and vigorously reinforced. Loaded guns are trained on the government and the ruling party, the APC, from within. Group consciousness and the striving for group survival are not being nurtured, or well managed. Thus the hawk swoops and picks whomsoever it fancies, amidst a questionable anti-corruption war. This government should have contextualized the appalling state of the Nigerian State it inherited. It did not. It also did not present and implement a credible leadership and governance template. It failed to secure public understanding of its challenges. The present reality of a regime of change standing on a precipice and struggling to navigate itself out of charges that should not have been levelled against it in the first place is traceable to its myopia, lethargy and disinclination to take advise. Many are demanding for the truth: the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the extent of corruption in the land. But who is ready for a narrative truth that will mention some former heads of state and so-called elder statesmen and women? Our situation is like that of the mythical Alaoma Village, once mentioned in this column, where a reticent palm wine tapper, called Mazi Onyeajulam, was dragged to the palace to testify. He demurred, describing himself as a metaphor for the known but unspoken in the community. He accused the people of speaking of change during while undermining it by their intrigues at night. When the King and the people insisted that he should speak he warned that there was much they would not like exposed. He was greeted with derisive laughter. When he further warned that a community with no knowledge of the meaning of proverbs was best advised to avoid serious conversations, he was howled at. Still reluctant, Mazi told the people not to forget the two most important rules of hunting: (1) To know when, where, what and how not to shoot and (2) To bring home game for the kitchen, or have a good explanation at least in one`s conscience. “Remember that my name means ‘Let no one ask me’ and the fact that I am a professional palm wine tapper, obliges me not to speak here today”, Mazi said. Then the village blacksmith reminded him that his behaviour was bad for social morality and the upbringing of their children. “You should ask yourself whether you represent progress or decay

Buhari

in this community. Silence is not noble when truth is needed,” the blacksmith said. Then Mazi Onyeajulam cleared his throat and addressed the King and the people. “People of our land I have a few words for you...” he began. But the blacksmith interrupted him, shouting: “Speak clearly and raise your voice, my man. You have wasted enough of our time already!” The tapper rose to his full height and, facing the blacksmith, asked: “Perhaps you would like me to speak of how I once saw a certain blacksmith mixing high quality metal with inferior materials, in order to deceive his customers and sell his inferior goods for more than what they were really worth? I may also then say that the craftsman in question rejected my advice and told me to go and moralize elsewhere, since he was not the only bad man in this community. Should I, my brother, name the craftsman in question, to fully break the code of silence imposed on me by my trade?.

Many are demanding for the truth: the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the extent of corruption in the land. But who is ready for a narrative truth that will mention some former heads of state and so-called elder statesmen and women?

The man shrank back, almost growing smaller with every word that came out of Mazi Onyeajulam`s mouth. There was momentary silence after Mazi`s address to the blacksmith. Then hell broke loose. Many people called the blacksmith names and threw things at him. The embattled fellow left in a hurry, shouting as he fled that the matter before the King had nothing to do with his skills as a blacksmith. Then the head of one of the women groups accused Mazi of evading the question. She mentioned the virtue of uprightness, the danger of misleading the future generation, the innocence of the maidens, the role of mothers and the steadfast loyalty and faithfulness of the married women. She rounded it up by reminding Mazi of the need to maintain the noble values and high moral tone of the community. When the tapper said nothing the woman thundered: “Are you deaf, or have the spirits drumming for you and encouraging your stubbornness also taken an unusual liking to your drink and thus lost their sanity? Answer me, Mazi Onyeajulam, because your behaviour is like that of a possessed man who only obeys the silent voices of some invisible strange spirits whispering what only he can hear”. Turning to her, Mazi Onyeajulam spoke thus: “What would you have me say, woman? Is it from my mouth you want to hear about the antics of women who sneak out at night to attend to certain controversial activities that are frowned at by our laws and traditions?” Facing the crowd, he asked: “Is it Mazi Onyeajulam who will say that at the time he leaves his house to go to the palm groves he sees those who leave their homes on some pretext to commit abomination? Oh, so it is the son of Mgborie you want to tell you that he has seen several of the women standing here today in circumstances that would embarrass the very devil himself? Mbanu! Looking straight at the woman who upbraided him, the tapper continued: “Nne, go and tell those who sent you that you did not meet me at home. You want me to talk about your chaste maidens? Everyone here know sthat they are like dragons looking for who to demolish behind closed doors” As Mazi stopped speaking, several people could be seen exchanging furtive glances. Many of the much older men were rubbing their chins and trying to look solemn. There was unusual silence among the women, many of whom fidgeted a little. Several of them became somewhat shifty, appearing eager to become less visible in the crowd. But, unfortunately for everyone, Mazi Onyeajulam was still yet done! Standing with blazing eyes, he said: “Children pick most of their everyday moral values from their parents, especially

their mothers. No man can take what does not belong to him home, or steal money and remain rich, if his wife always insisted on knowing where his possessions or wealth came from. Women, you want me to be the one to ask you when last you questioned your husbands about their income, or the source of their sudden wealth? Mbanu! No! The son of Mgborie will not be the one to tell you that hypocrisy is the cement holding this community together.” Then the tapper fell silent again and sat down. This was righteous indignation at its best. Mazi was about to leave when a visibly angry titled man stood up to remind him that certain things are not said before titled men, and certainly not before the King. Mazi stared at him for a while and said, matter of factly, “The Nze title is given to men of integrity. It is more than a symbol of honour, because it is the upright character of a man that earns him such a title. Since even the titled men who should know better are now part of the problem, I do not know what else to say. Our people say that it is the Udara fruit that falls all the way to the middle of the road that asked to have its mouth split open by the foot of a wayfarer. It is also the rabbit that comes out for a stroll when the lion is having fresh air in the neibourhood that has asked to me made a snack.” Mazi’s continued: “Our people say: “Afu Nze ebie okwu” (Once the Nze title holder intervenes in any matter, all disputations are at an end). That is because such a man does not, and cannot, tell a lie. I ask today, you my people, who will stand up and say that Nze titleholders still tell the truth in this community?” Many in the crowd felt like shutting the palm wine tappers mouth, but Mazi Onyeajulam had risen to his feet again. He continued: “The word Nze has its root meaning in the infinitive form ‘Ize’ – ‘to avoid`, or `seeking not to be contaminated by.’ The holder of such a title is supposed to be an institution of integrity and an agent of the gods. Onye Nze is an apostle of truth. At least so it was in the past. Do you want me to ask why we have such apostles but no truth in the land? Oh, so you all want Mgborie`s son to say that Mazi Okeke that is inside the masquerade and not a spirit, as children are made to believe? Chaa! Oburo m ka unu ga alaputa.” (Not at all! It is not I that you people will get into trouble!) All of a sudden there were more people who wanted the palm wine tapper released. In the midst of the demands and counter demands, Mazi Onyeajulam got up, left the palace and went to his house. Sadly, the Buhari Government already has too many Onyeajulams in its custody. And they will speak!

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