Monday 6th November 2017

How States Spent Paris Club Refund is Confidential, FG Tells Court Tobi Soniyi The federal government has told the Federal High Court in Lagos that the record of spending of N388.304 billion London and Paris Club Loan refunds by 35 states is

“protected by professional privilege and therefore confidential”.

The federal government has released the Paris and London Club refunds to the states in two tranches to, among other obligations, pay overdue

pensioners’ entitlements and workers’ salaries However, in its response to a suit filed by civil society organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), seeking an order of mandamus directing

and/or compelling the government to publish details of spending on the first tranche of N388.304 billion allegedly diverted and mismanaged by 35 states of the federation, the federal government through the Accountant General of the

Federation Alhaji Ahmed Idris, said it could not make the disclosure.

A statement issued by the Deputy Director of SERAP, Mr. Timothy Adewale, said the federal government’s response was filed last Friday, followed

the ruling in June by Justice Muslim Hassan that the CSO could proceed with the legal challenge to unravel how 35 states spent the London and Paris Club loan refunds.

Continued on page 8

Billionaire Prince, Bin Talal, Among Dozens Arrested in Saudi Sweep… Page 10 Monday 6 November, 2017 Vol 22. No 8236. Price: N250

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FX Transactions on I&E Window Hit $18.36bn, Rates Converge at N360 BDCs stop buying dollars from CBN Obinna Chima Following increased portfolio flows into the country, cumulative transactions on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) foreign exchange window have risen to $18.36 billion.

The chief executive of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane revealed this in a presentation at the monthly Lagos Business School’s breakfast session for November.

Continued on page 8

FG Sacks Obono-Obla as Chairman Public Assets Recovery Panel

Issues gag order against presidential aide Tobi Soniyi in Lagos and Alex Enumah in Abuja On the strength of his actions of late, the federal government has directed the Chairman of the Special Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla to

desist from carrying out any operation in his capacity as head of the panel.

A statement issued yesterday by Salihu Isah, Media Assistant to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Continued on page 8

TRADE & INVESTMENT… Former Zamfara Gov, Yerima to Contest 2019 PROMOTING L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr. Segun Awolowo, chats with his in-law, Vice-President Presidency If Buhari's a No Show.… Page 51 Yemi Osinbajo and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, at the opening of a high-level policy and private sector trade and investment facilitation partnership forum, held in Abuja…. recently

kingsley adeboye

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2019: N’Assembly Delaying Our Preparations, Says INEC Anambra gets positive security report Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has asked the National Assembly to expedite action on the passage of the relevant legislations guiding the conduct of elections in the country to give the commission ample time to prepare for the 2019 general election.

He said that the next general election was only 470 days away, adding that the early passage of the legal framework would assist INEC in planning for the elections.

A statement issued by INEC’s Director in the Department of Voter Education and Publicity,

Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, quoted the commission’s chairman as conveying his concern when members of the Steering Committee of the Nigerian Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS), led by its chairman Hon. Aminu Shehu Shagari, visited him at the commission, in Abuja.

It said the INEC chairman also spoke on the budget for the 2019 general election, which he said would be ready next week after the commission validates and approves its election project plan.

He said: “The validation and approval of the Strategic Plan 2017-2021 and Strategic Programme of Action will give us a clear idea of how much it will cost this nation to

conduct the 2019 general election.”

Yakubu commended the nonpartisan nature of the NILS as an organ of the legislature as well as for its technical assistance to the democratic process.

He said the commission will seek to develop greater ties with NILS in the area of capacity building and training for political parties which would greatly help the work of INEC..

Earlier, Shagari, who is also a Member of the House of Representaives Committee on Electoral Matters, said the visit was to seek the cooperation of the commission in building a virile democratic institution in Nigeria

through sustainable capacity building.

Meanwhile, against the background of mounting concerns by some stakeholders over the alleged plot by some persons to perpetrate violence during the Anambra governorship election, INEC has said that the November 18 election in the state will be peaceful and crisis-free.

The commission said at the weekend that a security assessment report it received showed an 87 per cent peaceful rating across the state.

INEC said the peaceful rating was revealed in a report on a study conducted by the Electoral Institute (TEI), in collaboration with

some civil society organisations on Pre-Election Security Assessment of the state ahead of the election.

The report, which expressed optimism that the November 18 gubernatorial polls will largely be peaceful, indicated a peace rating of 87 per cent across the 21 local government areas of the state.

Although the report did not dismiss chances of isolated cases of security challenges, it was of the view that all forms of violence could be avoided if adequate mitigation measures are put in place.

“The security threats and risk factors in the governorship election should be seen as an early warning sign which the government,

INEC, security agencies and other stakeholders should take seriously by developing proactive mitigation mechanisms to avoid a breakdown of law and order,” said the report.

The report also proffered recommendations on how to thwart security threats, saying these should include: “Promotion of peace, justice and fairness through sound political education among and by all stakeholders; fair and equitable dispensation of justice by the judiciary; demonstration of greater professionalism by the security agencies; and close surveillance of all groups and associations involved in disturbing the peace in the state.”

MSCI will also resume the regular implementation of corporate events effective immediately.

“As a reminder, the MSCI Nigeria Indexes were added to the review list for potential reclassification to Standalone status in September 2016 due to issues in the foreign exchange market leading to impairment in the ability of institutional investors to repatriate capital.”

Also, Rewane in the report noted that Brent oil price, for the first time in 28 months, broke the $60 per barrel barrier, which also was in favour of Nigeria.

Nigeria’s oil production also breached the OPEC cap at 1.86mpbd. The report estimated that oil revenue accruing to the federal government would hit $3.1 billion in October, noting that there was no force majeure or disruption to pipeline announced last month.

“In the I&E window, the naira

was flat at N360/$ in October. Total forex sold in October was $1.09 billion ($1.2 billion in September).

Average power output on grid in October reached 4000MW while extended rainfall into October increased the hydro output,” it added.

The report showed that the federal government had paid down N26 billion of the debt owed the power distribution companies and further revealed that not less than eight banks accessed the central bank’s standby facility window, confirming the tight naira liquidity situation in the market.

It stated that interbank interest rates swung between the extremes of 20-120 per cent per annum, while the states and federal government shared N558 billion in October from the Federation Account, down by 12.5 per cent compared to the funds shared in September.

up-to-date report on the activities of the panel to the undersigned for onward transmission to the Vice-President.

“Furthermore, you are required to henceforth seek clearance from the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice before granting any media interview or making press releases on official matters.

“While appealing for immediate and strict compliance with the contents of this letter, please accept the assurances of my warm regards

and best wishes.”

Obono-Obla who doubles as President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant, Prosecution, has proved to be a controversial figure in the administration’s anti-corruption crusade, often making pronouncements and giving pre-judicial interpretations that have raised eyebrows.

His removal as the chairman of the assets recovery panel and gag order may not be unconnected to several of the controversies, in which he’s been enmeshed.

the accountant general could not therefore say that he was unaware of the spending of the refunds by the states.

“Otherwise, this would mean that the accountant general is lacking in his duty as Chief Accounting Officer of the Federation,” the CSO argued.

The motion on notice had been set for Wednesday, September 14 2017, for the hearing of argument on why the federal government should not be directed and compelled to publish details of projects on which the London and Paris Club loan refunds were spent.

However, the federal government had filed a counter-affidavit and brief of arguments, claiming among others that the matter was confidential.

The federal government released N388.304 billion of the N522.74 billion to 35 states as refunds of over-deductions on London and Paris Club loans.

The states have since demanded that the balance of the London and

Paris Club refunds be released before the year runs out.

FX TRANSACTIONS ON I&E WINDOW HIT $18.36BN, RATES CONVERGE AT N360 The surge in activities at the window has been attributed to offshore investor interest in treasury bills and the primary market auctions (PMA) by the CBN, with the resulting inflows leading to a convergence between the parallel market exchange rate and the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) rate, also known as the I&E Forex window.

By the close of business on Friday, the dollar sold at 359 in Abuja and N360 in Lagos on the parallel market while on the NAFEX it sold at N360.57.

The convergence of the exchange rates, according to market sources, has seen a majority of bureau de change operators rejecting dollars offered by the CBN at a rate higher than the NAFEX rate.

With the sustained dollar inflow through the I&E window, which has also been buoyed by higher oil

prices and improved oil production from Nigeria, market sources said they expect the naira to keep gaining against the dollar in the weeks ahead.

However, they expressed concern about the recent threat by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to resume hostilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta region and expressed hope that the federal government would move promptly to engage the group, in order to sustain the stability in the forex market and the economy in general.

The central bank had introduced the I&E window last April including a raft of other measures to improve dollar liquidity in the forex market.

The CBN has since intervened actively to support the local currency while keeping domestic liquidity conditions tight.

Most activities now occur on the I&E window, with Fitch Ratings

recently acknowledging that the rate on the I&E “should now be considered the relevant exchange rate”.

CBN Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Dr. Joseph Nnanna, recently described the I & E window as “a mighty success”, saying it has “performed beyond our expectations”.

“Within a few months of the window’s introduction, we have seen a volume of over $10 billion.

It is a huge success and I believe other countries can copy that from us,” he said.

MSCI last week announced its decision to retain the MSCI Nigeria Indexes on its MSCI Frontier Markets Indexes, after an initial threat to delist Nigeria.

The performance of the I & E window was cited as the major reason for MSCI’s decision to retain Nigerian on the index,

According to MSCI, Nigeria would be removed from the review list for potential reclassification to “standalone status”.

The index provider had explained that: “MSCI will also no longer apply the special treatment for the MSCI Nigeria Indexes announced on April 29, 2016. More specifically, and as part of the upcoming November 2017 Semi-Annual Index Review, MSCI will implement all index review changes, including changes in the Number of Shares (NOS) and Foreign Inclusion Factors (FIF) that have been postponed since April 29, 2016.

“These changes will be made for securities classified in Nigeria in the MSCI Nigeria Indexes and in indexes which Nigeria is a component of. These include the MSCI Factor, Thematic, ESG and other relevant derived indexes.

FG SACKS OBONO-OBLA AS CHAIRMAN PUBLIC ASSETS RECOVERY PANEL Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) said Obono-Obla’s recent actions ran contrary to the Act which established the panel.

The statement, however, fell short of stating what these actions were.

Isah said his statement was based on a letter dated November 1, 2017 and addressed to the panel’s chairman by the justice minister.

The statement added that the activities of the panel also contravened established administrative procedures and protocols in the nation’s civil service structure, adding that the

panel must ensure strict compliance with the ministry’s directives.

Obno-Obla was also instructed to henceforth seek clearance from the AGF before granting any media interview or issuing press releases on official matters.

The letter directed him to promptly provide a detailed upto-date report on the activities of the panel to the minister for onward transmission to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

Malami’s letter stated: “I have received a letter Ref. SH/OVP/

DCOS/FMJ/0424 dated 20th October, 2017 in respect of the above subject from the Office of the Vice-President.

“In the said letter, the VicePresident expressed his concern over the activities of the Special Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property which runs contrary to the enabling Act establishing it.

“He also noted that the activities of the panel runs foul or contrary to established administrative procedures and protocols in the Federal Civil Service structure.

“In view of the foregoing, coupled with the directives contained in the letter under reference, you are hereby directed to refrain from any further action or taking any step in your capacity as the Chairman of the Special Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property with immediate effect until directed otherwise by His Excellency, the Vice-President.

“While you are to await further instructions in respect of the panel’s mandate, you are hereby directed to promptly provide a detailed

HOW STATES SPENT PARIS CLUB REFUND IS CONFIDENTIAL, FG TELLS COURT Justice Hassan had while granting leave, stressed that it was important for the authorities “to come and tell us how they spent our money”.

But in its defence the federal government argued: “The relationship between the accountant general and the 35 states is professional and confidential.

“It is a fiduciary one akin to that between a bank and its customer and allied professionals. On that score, record of the spending of N388.304 billion London and Paris Club Loan refunds by the 35 states is exempted from publication, assuming the federal government has the information sought by SERAP.” The federal government further averred that the accountant general does not have custody or possession of the information or records relating to the spending of N388.304 billion London and Paris Club Loan refunds by 35 states, as the Accountant general did not release the funds to the states.

The accountant general also argued that assuming the federal government had the information sought, it was not obliged to comply with the request.

“States have exclusive control over their revenue and expenditure and the Accountant General of the Federation cannot demand obligatorily from any tier of government, including the 35 states’ information on how they have spent the Paris Club refunds,” the federal government informed the court/ The federal government was however of the view that SERAP had the right to the information sought, but not to request that the information be passed to the Attorney General of the Federation.

“In any case, the accountant general has no record of the spending of N388.304 billion London and Paris Club Loan refunds by 35 states and therefore cannot be compelled to release the record, as the court does not act in vain.

“An order of mandamus should not be issued because it will be unnecessary and not effective and will not serve the purpose.”

But SERAP’s counsel had argued that due to non-payment of overdue pensions and salaries of workers by the states, Nigerian citizens have continued to languish in untold hardship and poverty.

“Therefore, there is compelling public interest in knowing how exactly the Paris Club loan refunds were spent by the 35 states. There is also no professional relationship or privilege between the accountant general and the 35 states as to warrant any duty of confidentiality on the part of the accountant general,” the CSO, through is counsel, told the court.

According to SERAP, “There must be transparency and accountability in the spending of the refund, in line with the principle of Open Government Partnership (OGP) to which Nigeria is a signatory.

“In addition, Section 15(5) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 provides that the state shall abolish corrupt practices and abuse of power.

“Citizens must be able to assess the performance of government, and this depends on access to records about spending of the refunds by the 35 states.”

SERAP also argued that assuming without conceding that the accountant general does not have record of spending of N388.304 billion London and Paris Club Loan refunds by the 35 states, “nothing stops the accountant general from working with other agencies/ministries to release information on the spending, especially being the Chief Accounting Officer of the Federation and constitutionally charged with the overall responsibility of keeping and managing all the receipts and payments of the federal government”.

On this basis, SERAP held that

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STARTERS

Billionaire Prince, Bin Talal, Among Dozens Arrested in Saudi Sweep

Two-Minute Two Minute Briefing NEWS FG: Food Prices will Tumble

Soon The federal government has given an assurance that prices of food stuffs will tumble in no distannt future.

Page 50

EDITORIAL Ecowas and common currEncy

IllusIon At a a recent meeting in Niamey, A Republic of Niger, President Muhammadu Buhari urged member countries of the Economic Communityy ofWest African A State es (ECOWA WAS) to tread carefully in pushing for a single…

Page 15

POLITICS Ten People in Buhari’s Govt

Who Make Him Unpopular When he was sworn in as president on May 29, 2015, Muhammadu Buhari’s approval rating was very high.Tw T o years later, the president has become so un- popular with many doubting if he can return to powerr in2019, no thanks to …

Page 17 Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the richest men in Saudi Arabia, was arrested among several others at the weekend Saudi Arabia has arrested dozens of princes, senior military offi f cers, businessmen and top offi fficials, including a well-known royal billionaire with extensive holdings in Western companies, as part of a sweeping purported anti-corruption probe that further cements control in the hands of its young crown prince.

A high-level employee at Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Co. told The Associated Press that the royal— who is one of the world’s richest men— was among those detained overnight Saturday. The company’s stock was down nearly 9 per cent in trading Sunday on the Saudi stock exchange.

Reports suggested those detained were being held at the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh, which only days earlier hosted a major investment conference with global business titans from the U.S., Japan and other countries. A Saudi offi fficial told The Associated Press that other fi five-star hotels across the capital were also being used to hold some of those arrested.

The surprise arrests, which also reportedly include two of the late King Abdullah’s sons, were hailed by progovernment media outlets as the greatest sign yet that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is keeping his promise to reform the country, long been plagued by allegations of corruption at the highest levels of government.

Analysts have suggested the arrest of once-untouchable members of the royal family is the latest sign that the 32-year-old crown prince is moving to quash potential rivals or critics. The prince’s swift rise to power has unnerved more experienced, elder members of the ruling Al Saud family, which has long ruled by consensus, though ultimate decision-making remains with the monarch.

The king named his son, the crown prince, as head of an anti-corruption committee established late Saturday, just hours before its arrest of top offi fficials.

A Saudi government offi fficial with close ties to security said 11 princes and 38 others are being held. The offi f cial spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press.

Marriott International said in a statement that it is currently evaluating the situation at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh. “As a matter of guest privacy, we do not discuss the guests or groups with whom we do business or may be visitors of the

hotel,” the statement added.

The scale of the arrests is unprecedented in Saudi Arabia, where senior royals and their business associates were seen as operating above the law. Saudi nationals have long complained of rampant corruption in government and of public funds being squandered or misused by people in power.

Shortly before the arrests, King Salman had ousted Prince Miteb bin Abdullah from his post as head of the National Guard. The prince is reportedly among those detained in the sweep, as is his brother, Prince Turki bin Abdullah, who was once governor of Riyadh. Both are sons of the late King Abdullah, who ruled before his half-brother King Salman.

Prince Miteb was once considered a contender for the throne.

Saudi Twitter accounts released several other names of those arrested, such as: Alwalid al-Ibrahim, a Saudi businessman with ties to the royal family who runs the Arabic satellite group MBC; Amr al-Dabbagh, the former head of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority; Ibrahim Assaf, the former finance minister; and Bakr Binladin, fi head of the Saudi Binladin Group, a major business conglomerate.

An earlier crackdown on perceived critics of the crown prince included clerics, writers, lesser-known princes and Saudi figures popular on social media.

“The dismissals and detentions suggest that Prince Mohammed rather than forging alliances is extending his iron grip to the ruling family, the military, and the national guard to counter what appears to be more widespread opposition within the family as well as the military to his reforms and the Yemen war,” James M. Dorsey, a Gulf specialist and senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said an analysis of the shake-up.

Saudi Arabia said late Saturday it intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen at Riyadh International Airport, on the outskirts of the capital. The crown prince, as defense minister, oversees the stalemated war against Yemen’s Iranianallied rebels.

The fi finance ministry said the anticorruption probe “opens a new era of transparency and accountability”, enhances confidence in the rule of law and improves the kingdom’s investment climate.

It was not clear what Prince Alwaleed

or others were being investigated for.

The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel said the anti-corruption probe was looking into the response to flooding fl in Jiddah that killed around 120 people in 2009 and devastated the city again in 2011, as well as the government’s handling of a Coronavirus outbreak that has killed several hundred people in recent years.

Prince Alwaleed’s many investments include Twitter, Apple, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., Citigroup, and the Four Seasons, Fairmont and Movenpick hotel chains. He is also an investor in ride-sharing services Lyft and Careem.

The prince, often pictured on his 85.65-meter (281 foot) superyacht in the Mediterranean, is among the most outspoken Saudi royals and a longtime advocate for women’s rights. He is also majority owner of the popular Rotana Group of Arabic channels.

The AP reached out overnight to Kingdom Holding for comment. There was no response as of yesterday afternoon.

The senior employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fear of repercussions, said security bodies informed him of the arrest.

The kingdom’s top council of clerics issued a statement saying it was an Islamic duty to fight corruption— essentially giving religious backing to the high-level arrests being reported. A top royal court offi fficial, Badr al-Asaker, yesterday appeared to confi nfirm the arrests on Twitter, describing a “historic and black night against the corrupt”.

The government said the anti-corruption committee has the right to issue arrest warrants, impose travel restrictions and freeze bank accounts. It can also trace funds, prevent the transfer of funds or the liquidation of assets, and take other precautionary measures until cases are referred to the judiciary.

Meanwhile, Prince Miteb was replaced by a lesser known royal, Prince Khalid bin Ayyaf al-Muqrin, to head the National Guard— a prestigious force tasked with protecting the royal family, important holy sites in Mecca and Medina, and oil and gas sites.

Just three months earlier, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef was plucked from the line of succession and from his post as interior minister, overseeing internal security. This laid the groundwork for the king’s son to claim the mantle of crown prince.

FEATU A RES Kaduna’s Brewing Row with

Teachers John Shiklam writes on the brewing g controversy between the Kaduna State Government and school teachers following plans by the government to sack over…

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BUSINESS THISDAY Model Portfolio

Continues with Gaining g Streak k THISDA DAYModel Portfolio (TMP) has continued to re- cord positive performance, justifying the investment and analytical prowesss of the various stockbroking houses that constructed theTMP. Page 23

CITY STRINGS A Looming Hunger

Frequent conflicts between farmers and cattle herders in the Benue valley have become a clear and present danger to food security. Fostered by the drying Lake Chad region and the Boko Haram insurgency, Page 42

INTERNATIO A NALL 27 7 Killed in Church Attack in Texas At least 27 A 7 people have died after a gunman yesterday opened fire at a church inTe Texas during Sunday services, police say.

Page 46

SPORTS R Iheanacho Relieved with Draw,

Iwobi Suffers ff Setback Super Eagles forward Kelechi Iheanacho took to the Social Media to express pleasure with Leicester for the fighting spirit displayed by the Foxes…

Page 55

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COMMENT

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

WHY PDP, APC CANNOT FIX ECONOMY

Francis E. Ogbimi argues that industrialisation is the only solution to the prevailing poverty in the nation

T

he Nigeria of today is certainly not the Nigeria of 1960.

Nigeria in 1960, had 15,703 Primary Schools with 2,912618 enrolled; 883 Secondary Schools with 135,364 enrolled; 29 Vocational/Technical educational institutions with 5037 enrolled; 315 Teachers’ Training II with 27,908 enrolled; and three Colleges of Technology, one university college. Nigeria now has over 150 Universities (NUC, 2017) and produces over 300,000 graduates in the year. So, the Nigerian educational system has grown tremendously in quantitative terms and has produced many educated/ learned people. Nigerians have also been travelling abroad to virtually all nations to acquire education in various areas of knowledge. Nigerians have learnt a lot in about 57 years. Nigeria is a more knowledgeable nation than she was in 1960. Sadly, Nigerian politicians have not changed; indeed they are worse than they were in 1960. This article, in response to the article, ‘Positioning Nigeria for prosperous future,’ written by Kemi Adeosun, Hon. Minister of Finance, and published in various national dailies, explains why the political group called Peoples Democratic Party which ruled Nigeria in the period 1999-2015, could not fix the Nigerian economy and promote democratisation, and why the All Progressives Congress which has been ruling the nation since 2015 also cannot fix the economy and promote democratisation. The article also suggests how Nigeria can promote rapid industrialisation and save Nigeria.

In two newspaper articles entitled, “Nigeria needs political parties: Present groups are political machines and conspiracies (1),�and “Nigeria needs political parties: Present groups are political machines and conspiracies (2),�published in the Daily Independent newspaper, December 23 and December 30, 2014, I did not consider PDP and APC as political parties because they do not have the characteristics of political parties.

Yes, Nigeria needs political parties because the political groups in Nigeria remain political machines and political machines who seize power.

President Dwight Eisenhower (1956) of the United States, reflecting on the issue of a political party, said, a political party deserves the approbation American, only as it represents the ideals, the aspirations and the hopes of Americans. If it is anything less, it is merely a conspiracy to seize power. About 20 years later, Daniel Boorstin (1973), American historian, again reflecting on the issue of a political party, said, a political party is organised for a purpose larger than its own survival; a political machine exists for its own sake, its primary purpose is survival. I agree with President Eisenhower and Boorstin.

Political groups in Nigeria do not represent the ideals, the aspirations and hopes of Nigerians; they exist for their members. Politicians at the local government, state and federal levels get into government and become very rich people in three months. In view of the millions of barrels of crude petroleum sold daily for over six decades so far, over 70 per cent of Nigerians are very poor. Nigerian governments tell long stories and claim that the nation is doing well. They would not accept the well-known bases for assessing the performance of a government – the state of the economy measured by the levels of employment unemployment, productivity and inflation, and peace and harmony. Also, Nigerian political machines would not accept globally accepted reports like the UNDP Human Development Report, because they would clearly reveal that they are political machines and conspiracies with no plans to develop Nigeria. They would rather cling to the reports of obscure bodies like Fitch and deceive the ignorant people that Nigeria is rated BB-, BC+; Nigeria has the highest GDP growth in Africa that will trickle down one day; Nigeria built roads and bridges, dams; etc., to God be the glory!

Political machines connive with foreigners to deceive the ignorant people to adopt programmes which though have beautiful names, lack growth elements and do not promote growth and development. Nigeria adopted the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986 when the military government of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) was ruling the nation. All governments, including PDP and APC governments since 1986 have continued to implement SAP. That is, PDP implemented SAP in the period 1999-2015. The APC has been implementing SAP since May

NIGERIA’S PLANNING HAS ALWAYS BEEN DEVOID OF GROWTH ELEMENTS. WHAT NIGERIA NEEDS IS INDUSTRIALISATION, NOT PRIVATISATION, NOT MERE ERECTION OF INFRASTRUCTURE TO ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTMENTS, NOT ENTREPRENEURS. INDUSTRIALISATION IS PROMOTED THROUGH LEARNING – EDUCATION AND TRAINING

2015. SAP has three principal elements. They are: one) the mandatory foreign exchange market (FEM), two) the sale of public enterprise and liquid assets to the rich nationals and foreigners and, three) adoption of deregulation (laissez-faire economics or market economic philosophy or profit consideration, individualism) as the basis for assessing the performance of public projects and activities. African SAPs were introduced to Nigeria and other African nations in the 1980s by the World Bank and IMF. The original document (Bellow, 1986) claimed that the Nigerian SAP has four main objectives. They are to: one) restructure and diversify the productive base of the economy, two) achieve fiscal stability and positive balance of payment, three) set the basis for a sustained balanced non-inflationary or minimal inflationary growth, and four) reduce the dominance of unproductive investments in the public sector. However, the analysis of the Nigerian SAP in the book entitled, “Understanding why Privatisation is promoting unemployment and poverty and delaying industrialisation in Africa (Ogbimi, 2007), showed that the Nigerian SAP lacks growth elements and could not achieve any of its claimed objectives. SAP is merely promoting unemployment and poverty and delaying industrialisation. Consequently, SAP has completely sapped and destroyed the Nigerian economy and impoverished the people. All that is left of Nigeria is a sapped majority of people and a destroyed naira. There are also a few economists, accountants, bankers, lawyers, others in government and business who do not understand the science needed for increasing productivity and transforming an agricultural economy into an industrialised one, daily repeating the financial clichĂŠs associated with SAP and the stock market.

An important warning to all Nigerians is pertinent here. Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, a former Prime Minister of Britain, once said that to destroy a nation, you first destroy her national currency. She was speaking in relation to the experience of Germany when the nation implemented the German SAP 1919-1923. Germany lost WW I in 1918 as the leader of the Axis powers. The Allied powers demanded $33b from Germany as war reparations. Germany could not pay. The Germans were forced to implement the German SAP principally characterised by the mandatory forex market (FEM). The German Market exchanged 4.2 units to the US$1 in 1919. In 1920, 63 Mark exchanged for one dollar. The Mark further depreciated in 1921, it exchanged 200 units to the dollar. The Mark depreciated catastrophically in 1922, it exchanged 2000 units to the dollar. In 1923, the Mark collapsed, it exchanged 4.2 trillion units to the dollar and stopped being a national currency.

(Stolper, et al.,1967; and Glahe,1977). The Germans and Germany were seriously humiliated. But the strong will of the Germans saved them.

They abandoned SAP in 1923 and printed another currency which the value was one trillion Mark, reverting the exchange rate to 4.2 units to the dollar. In the book on privatisation above (Ogbimi, 2007), it was demonstrated that a nation operating mandatory FEM experiences increasingly speculation, decreasing productivity and hyper-inflation.

Also the currency experiences increasing devaluation till confusion sets in the nation. The German experience is sufficiently instructive.

Nigeria’s planning has always been devoid of growth elements.

What Nigeria needs is industrialisation, not privatisation, not mere erection of infrastructure to attract foreign investments, not entrepreneurs.

Industrialisation is promoted through learning – education and training.

The Nigerian economy has been stagnating hence it is experiencing mass unemployment. Stagnation is the problem (disease), mass unemployment is the symptom of the disease. Only mass training and mass employment can link the educational sector with the rest of the economy, enable our educated youths acquire complementary practical skills, promote rapid competence-building growth and industrialisation to save the Nigeria of today. Industrialisation is the only solution to poverty in a nation.

Professor Ogbimi wrote from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife

NBC, DSO AND THE DARA REPORT The NBC should live up to its regulatory functions, argues Ayo Yakubu

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t is intriguing that the industry regulator, National Broadcasting Corporation(NBC) which is charged with monitoring and supervising the broadcast industry in Nigeria has so far maintained a loud silence while the Integrated Television Services (ITS) scandal unfolds. The NBC should have been the first to identify any deviation from set standards and impose the necessary regulatory sanctions to ensure compliance, especially at the critical stage of commencement of the digital switchover. The only conclusion this surprising negligence of duty and aloofness to the exposure of malpractice raised is culpable collusion. This deplorable attitude was responsible for the initial installation of obsolete equipment by ITS as well as the cover-up of the scandal during and after the celebrated launching of the Jos pilot project.

An indication of the culpability of the NBC was given the other day on Channels TV when Armstrong Idachaba, the NBC director specifically charged with the monitoring of broadcasting erased any doubts about the Dara Report findings and the implication that his organisation failed to perform its fundamental duty of monitoring and

regulating the very first official roll-out of the DSO in the Jos Pilot Project. Confronted with the Dara Report’s shocking revelation that ITS commenced the implementation of the DSO in Jos by deploying equipment that have been discontinued by the original equipment manufacturer, Mr Idachaba was clueless as he declared the indicted ITS more competent to respond and even offered contact details for Channels TV to “Bring them in and let them explain�. In other words, NBC as the government regulatory agency in broadcasting and the DSO in particular, could neither deny nor confirm that ITS actually rolled out obsolete analogue equipment for the Jos pilot digital switch over project!

The same Mr. Idachaba had earlier bragged that “Jos was a fantastic experience for NBC�, and that “all the theorising and planning we did regarding framework for DSO we had a chance to implement in Jos� and crowed about how the local people in Jos were enjoying digital terrestrial television free of charge on 30 channels. He obviously was not expecting to be asked about the Dara Report and was visibly flustered having to literally eat his own words by admitting also that ITS had not met the 30 channels requirement and had still

not covered the entire Plateau State (not even the entire Jos township according to Dara Report), since the fanfare launch in 2015 in violation of the timelines set by the NBC. The NBC cannot feign ignorance of the damning revelation of the Dara Report without admitting deliberate negligence to perform its statutory resonsibility as government regulator of the broadcast industry. Mr. Idachaba’s refusal on national TV to give an honest and transparent response to the Dara Report as NBC’s head of broadcast monitoring is not good enough.

By an unexpected turn of events, the NBC has been caught on camera exposing the deliberate derailment of its regulatory role from public interest to the pecuniary interests of a mafia-type cult of government officials intent on a digital swindle operation under the cover of the digital switch over. Against the background of several deliberate failures of NBC to meet set deadlines for the project launch in the last five or more years, the confessional conspiratorial conduct of the regulator in the “pilot� plus the weighty material evidence of the Dara Report should convince the federal government beyond reasonable doubt that corruption will not kill DSO NIGERIA if the

culprits can be brought to book.

It is therefore necessary to urge the federal government to revisit and expand the scope of the initial investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that resulted in the arraignment of the former DG of the NBC. It is quite clear now that it is not only the handling of the contracts for set top box “manufacturers� that was riddled with financial irregularities and violations of due process but also the entire process of implementing the DSO. Indeed even the surreptitious manner by which StarTimes hijacked and proceeded to subjugate its supposed licence holder NTA in the pay TV sector calls for thorough investigation.

The House of Representatives Committee on DSO should take the lead by concluding its investigations and release a report of its findings.

Sad it is that the jinx that has bedevilled our DSO since 2014 remains a cog in the wheel of progress in 2017. Now that we know where the problem comes from, we stand a better chance of eliminating it once and for all.

Yakubu is a is Legal/Govt Affairs analyst, ayoyakub@yahoo.com

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T H I S D AY ˞ ˜ ʹ˜ 2017

EDITORIAL ECOWAS AND COMMON CURRENCY ILLUSION The regional common currency should be shelved for now

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t a recent meeting in Niamey, Republic of Niger, President Muhammadu Buhari urged member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to tread carefully in pushing for a single currency in the sub-region by 2020. He cited the challenges faced by the European Union in realising the same goal to buttress his position at the fourth meeting of the presidential task force on the ECOWAS currency programme.

However, despite that realistic assessment, the communiquĂŠ “urged member states to take the necessary measures, including the attainment of the convergence criteria, necessary for the creation of the ECOWAS single currency by 2020â€?. It noted further that the taskforce had “instructed the Ministerial committee to meet within three months to propose a new roadmap to accelerate the creation of the single currency by 2020. In this framework, a gradual approach can be undertaken, where a few countries, which are ready, can start the monetary APART FROM THE HUGE union, whilst the other CAPITAL OUTLAY FOR THE countries join later.â€?

REALISATION OF SUCH Not only has AMBITIOUS AGENDA ECOWAS been talking about this WHICH IS NOT THERE, monetary union for THE TIMELINE FOR MONETARY UNION SEEMS almost 25 years now, it has set and shifted TO FLY IN THE FACE OF CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL dates for a realisation of this objective over REALITIES and over again. But it is nothing but an organised waste of time. The regional solidarity needed for the next steps is missing; the reforms that should precede such a union have not been carried out and there is overwhelming evidence of limited consensus on key issues and resolutions that had to be made at extra-ordinary meetings where a full house would indicate genuine commitment. It is therefore important that ECOWAS does not deceive itself into mistaking the regular consultations with

Letters to the Editor

limited impact on the far-reaching policy decisions of its members for any meaningful progress.

We must state clearly that we hold no objection to the idea behind a common currency for West Africa. A major beneďŹ t of this idea, according to its proponents, is that with an estimated population of about 250 million people spread over 15 member-countries, a uniďŹ ed monetary system will provide an enormous market for the development of the sub-region. Innovative and forward looking as that may seem, it is our view that the implementation will take much more commitment in an environment that is still caught up in atavistic colonial cleavages.

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BOSS: LESSON FROM BABACHIR’S MISTAKES

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part from the huge capital outlay for the realisation of such ambitious agenda which is not there, the timeline for monetary union seems to y in the face of contemporary global realities.

Against the background that Europe took several steps before deciding on Euro, how will a regional economy that is not denominated in any currency suddenly come up with a binding monetary union?

What this plan presumes is a degree of economic sanity and progressive integration of extant national interests that are nowhere near what is needed to create a common currency. Yet, as we have repeatedly canvassed on this page, West African leaders should face the common challenge of poverty before thinking of a common currency that is no more than mere pipe dream. Development and regional integration are, ďŹ rst and foremost, about the nurturing and use of human capital to create a hub of capacities.

We must also remind West African leaders that it was this recourse to hasty and ill-digested decision making which led to the introduction of ECOWAS Travellers Cheque some years ago with the result that it could not survive beyond one year. Therefore, while the ECOWAS regional currency plan may not be a bad idea in terms of its perceived linkages with the commission’s broader goals of regional integration, it is best shelved for now. Working towards the creation of a common currency in West Africa by 2020 is an exercise in futility.

he emergence of Boss Gida Mustapha as the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) is a product of providence and due to the former Secretary, Babachir David Lawan’s avoidable ‘economic’ and ‘political’ blunders. Boss should learn from his predecessor’s mistakes and successes. Successes?

Well, Buhari’s adversaries will argue Babachir recorded no successes as SGF. The truth is Babachir made some remarkable contributions to the Buhari administration, but unfortunately, his political blunders overshadowed them.

The ousted SGF is an experienced man in his own right as well as a longtime confidante and loyalist of President Muhammadu Buhari. A man who stood with Buhari through thick and thin and has overtime earned the president’s trust. But Babachir committed cheap surprising blunders. Babachir, as SGF, pettily allowed his personal ‘business’ to mingle with government business. The accusations were: he abused the use of funds meant for the Internally Displaced Persons in the North East; disrespected his own office as SGF, inflated contracts and was also complicit in 21 bogus contracts awarded to families, friends, cronies and the members of the then Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE).

Babachir second blunder is attitudinal – he is a poor politician who only sticks to people from his clan and hardly stretches his handshake to other people. He also lacks efficient image managers; furthermore Babachir was arrogant and talked more than he worked.

The Office of the SGF is a big national office that requires one to be smart politically as well as be watchful of one’s moves. Any person occupying the office of SGF should be very careful not to be caught in a tight web of political intrigues - especially when one is an important member of a Buhari government whom some people are working tirelessly to paint as being corrupt so as to rubbish the government’s fight against corruption.

Public office in Nigeria comes with some privileges, authority and huge funds to spend, so if one does not apply measured restraint and discipline he/she can easily fall into the trap of corruption without even knowing.

Boss Mustapha says he will work to ensure more cooperation between government ministries and departments. This is good.

Babachir was arrogant and undiplomatic in his relationship with other arms of government and his style of politics was pathetic that he failed to get any meaningful public sympathy or concrete defense from the political class. Even his primary constituency the north, northeast and Adamawa State, gave him no backing.

This is a big lesson for Boss; one cannot be the secretary to the Government of the Federation of Nigeria and behave like the secretary of a hamlet’s cultural association.

Boss should bring his political and administrative experiences, simplicity and humour to the SGF office. We do not want the SGF to always be in the news for the wrong reasons. However, one cannot isolate the SGF’s office from politics. Boss is a politician that has gone through the mill.

Zayyad I. Muhammad, Jimeta, Adamawa State

ABBA KYARI AND ASO

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he answer to the riddle about a “cabal� at Aso Rock posed by Mrs. Aisha Buhari sometime ago was duly solved in one of the beer gardens of Minna where easygoing, chatty, and politically-minded folks repair to in the evening hours: in whispers, the answer was, “the man in red cap and the man who wears a white goatee.� When Senator Shehu Sani only recently threw a big broadside at some “jackals and hyenas� in the lair of the “lion king� and Mrs. Buhari picking up from there and threatening that these “scavengers� would be expelled upon the return of the “lion king,� at the beer gardens of Minna, folks once gain concurred that she was still referring to “the man in red cap and the man who wears a white goatee.� Whereas “the man who wears a white goatee� has conveniently disappeared from public scrutiny, “the man in red cap� was very recently caught in camera at a session of the Federal Executive Council meeting goading the Head of Service (HoS), another female, into a fit of retributive anger hinged on righteous indignation. Now, where is the gentleman’s etiquette about Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari? One had assumed that taking on Mrs. Buhari and keeping her points-of -view on how best to run a government shielded from her husband would have been too much for Mr.Kyari to handle; and now there is another female added in the midst in the person of the HoS. In my corner of Benue State, it is generally agreed that men who pick fights with women ought to be vasectomised for the simple good of it!

Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna

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T H I S D AY MONDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2017

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

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

POLITICS

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

Ten People in Buhari’s Govt Who Make Him Unpopular When he was sworn in as president on May 29, 2015, Muhammadu Buhari’s approval rating was very high. Two years later, the president has become so unpopular with many doubting if he can return to power in 2019, no thanks to the people appointed by him. Tobi Soniyi, Segun James and Shola Oyeyipo list the ten persons constituting a drag on the presidency

The immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal

Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abba Kyari

“You are only as good as your team”, Dominique Wilkins. he enthusiasm with which President Muhammadu Buhari was welcomed as president in May 29, 2015 has continued to wane partly because some of the people he appointed into positions have let him down.

The problem, however is that the president is too trusting and has been unable to come to the reality that some of his appointees are the source of the scandals now threatening to derail his government.

Like his predecessor in office, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, his unpopularity is not majorly as a result of his doings, but due to the activities of persons he appointed to positions. Since he appointed them, the president would still have to take the blame.

Through their actions and omissions, some of the people appointed into offices by the president continue to make enemies for him. They have continued to alienate the president’s diehard supporters from him. They can afford to do so, because unlike the president, they are not seeking elective posts, otherwise, they would have chosen to act differently.

It is bad enough that the same people the president brought on board to help him deliver his electoral promises have turned out to be the clog in the wheel of progress, it is even worse that the president has chosen to retain them.

That is what the voters and the president’s supporters could not understand. Because by retaining them, the president gives the impression that he approves of what they do. Yet some of the things they do directly contradict the pledges made by the president during the campaign.

For instance, the president promised to shun corrupt practices, but some of his appointees appear to embrace corruption.

From all indications, the president may not necessarily be a bad man, but he has surrounded himself with some people whose actions, way of life and outlook to national issues are parochial, narrow, religious and ethnic.

A president that was once considered the father of all, is now being seen as a religious jingoist and a tribal leader who would do anything for people from his ethnic area and religious

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Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai

belief before looking at the merit of such action.

Here, we identify ten of such people who have made the president unpopular among Nigerians and are turning his war against corruption a huge joke. They have chosen to cloth the president in a borrow garment. Many still believe in Buhari, but to restore people’s confidence, the president would have to realise that his credibility is at stake. He has to stop being too trusting. He should not allow those who should be helping him to alienate him from the people Thank God, the president finally summoned the courage to let him go.

In any government the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) is an important and sensitive one. It is usually reserved to the most trusted and political suave person as it is the engine room of government activities. Whether a government is going to fail or succeed, may rest squarely on the office of the SGF. So it was not surprising nor was any eyebrow raised when Buhari appointed Mr. Babachir Lawal to the position of SGF. However, the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE) was enmeshed in fraudulent activities under the office of the (SGF).

Although, details of the report of the VicePresident Yemi Osinbajo-led committee that recommended that Lawal be removed from office have not been made public, so far the information in the public showed that the former SGF acted below the president’s expectation. If anything, he acted as if the president merely deceived Nigerians that he was coming to fight corruption. This happened under a government that came to power with a promise to fight corruption. It was this singular activity of Lawal that has exposed the anti corruption war of Buhari as false and to the opposition, a witch hunt.

He also carried on as if he was untouchable.

May be he was but because Nigerians would not rest on their oars until the right thing is done, it is due to our collective resolve not to allow corruption to thrive that Nigerians insisted the president must get to the end of this. The media, the civil society and the

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of the Interior, Abdulrahman DamMinister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) bazau

people remain a potent power for good in any democracy. Together, we forced the president to take the decision he appeared uncomfortable and unwilling to take.

Although Lawal was initially suspended for his role in the “grass-cutting” scandal, it took a public outcry and over two months after the report submitted by the Osinbajo committee before he was sacked. Babachir David Lawal ranks first on the list of those who have made the president unpopular in the country.

That the activities of president and the workings within the State House need a coordinator and an astute administrator who knows his onions is a given in any society. In order to do this effectively, a Chief of Staff is required.

This prompted the appointment of Alhaji Abba Kyari. However, it is unfortunate that the name of the Chief of Staff has come up in some transactions that should ordinarily not involve the office of the SGF. Remember the sudden reduction in the MTN fine?

Some have attributed the lopsidedness in some of the appointments made by the president to him. Many are also not satisfied with the job he is doing as the Chief of Staff. He ought to be winning friends to the side of the president but he seems to have helped the president made a lot of enemies including among his (president’s) cabinet. Some members of the cabinet don’t trust his judgment.

It is to beat him to his game that letters meant for the president have to leak before the president will act on such letters. Had the letter written to the president by the Minster of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu not leaked to the public, what transpired would have remained hidden to the public.

The video of him having an altercation with the Head of Service, Mrs. Winifred E. Oyo-Ita, which went viral recently did not portray the Chief of Staff in good light either.

Many did not approve of the decision of the president to appoint him into the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). They think that the Chief of Staff already has his hands full. Besides, there are other eminently qualified Nigerians who should have been appointed into the NNPC board. Or better still, he can step down as Chief of Staff

to concentrate on his job as a board member.

The behaviour of Kyari has brought the president out as a weakling who is not in charge of the workings in his government. As a former newspaper editor, seasoned banker and lawyer, it is thought Kyari would be broadminded on issues.

But he has disappointed a lot of Nigerians since he took office as the chief of staff.

It could be that Kyari does not deserve the blames being heaped on him, but he must accept responsibility for not doing enough to help the president. He is ranked number two on the list of persons, who have made the president unpopular among Nigerians.

Elections are coming, it is therefore not too late for the Chief of Staff to change his style and begin to win more friends for the president.

That Tukur Buratai, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, loves power is not in doubt. He has exercised this to the consternation of many, a situation which has made him, probably the most hated army commander in recent history of Nigeria.

He first exhibited this when on a visit to Kaduna, the Kaduna, he ordered the soldiers in his convoy to open fire on defenceless members of the Shiite Muslim community who were on a procession on the route where his convoy was taking.

At the end, hundreds of people, including women and children were killed just because they have the effrontery to obstruct the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff!

At the end of the dastardly act, nothing was done. His men even arrested the head of the Shiite sect, Sheik El Zakzaky who remained in custody till date even against court orders.

Furthermore, he is also alleged to have acquired properties outside the shores of the country without proving how he got the money to buy such lavish home as he has been a soldier all his life. He denied personal ownership of property in Dubai, saying his “family” made investment in the Middle East city long before his appointment.

Mr. Buratai, a lieutenant-general, initially CONT’D ON NEXT PAGE

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

POLITICS

MONDAY DISCOURSE

TEN PEOPLE IN BUHARI’S GOVT WHO MAKE HIM UNPOPUL A R refuted the allegation, but later said his family invested in the property in 2013 when he was not yet the chief of army staff.

“Substantial property is just an investment, my family does their own private business they should afford to have such property in Dubai,” Buratai said.

The arrogance with which he dismissed 38 officers from the army without given some of them fair hearing, testified to his readiness to sacrifice due process to achieve his aims.

Buratai wields so much power that he ranks third in the list of those who make the president unpopular.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami will go down in history as the one who subjected the judiciary to the worst humiliation in the history of the nation. He is the hunter who killed the lion with his cap. He has put a Supreme Court Justice on trial for alleged corruption.

Under his watch, judges’ houses were raided over night. His office even kicked against the decision of the National Judicial Council recalling suspended judges even when three was no case against them.

But the Attorney General wrote letters to facilitate the return of a fugitive to Nigeria. He controversially wrote letters that paved the way for Abdulrasheed Maina to return back to the Nigerian civil service even though he is wanted for alleged fraud he committed when he was the chairman of the task force on pension reform.

The recall of Mr. Maina, who is still wanted for alleged N2 billion fraud by the anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has since been condemned by Nigerians and civil society groups who have even called for the dismissal of Malami, but he remains in office.

On April 27, Malami wrote to the Federal Civil Service Commission, (FCSC), requesting it to “give consequential effect to the judgment that voided the warrant of arrest issued against Maina which formed the basis for the query and his eventual dismissal,” Mustapha Sulaiman, the chairman of the FCSC said.

In other words, according to Mr. Sulaiman, the Attorney General in his letter with reference HAGF/FCSC/2017/VOL.1/3 requested Maina’s reinstatement based on a supposed court order voiding his arrest warrant. On the contrary, that was not what the judgement did.

Malami owes the nation an apology. He had done incalculable damage to the president’s anti-corruption war.

So brazen was he that, even though the man was later dismissed by the president, he said Nigerians should have praised him for recalling the fugitive!

The justice minister is one person that courts controversy and all the intrigues that go with it.

Many lawyers say the justice minister keeps carrying on as if the office of the Attorney General is too big for him.

If Malami is not at war with the National Assembly, he is at daggers-drawn with his colleagues in government.

He was at war with the acting chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu as they battle over the control of high profile cases being handled by the commission.

One of the lawyers prosecuting cases for the justice ministry, Mr. Charles Adeogun-Phillips, had to withdraw from the trial of a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta citing bias.

With the role he played in the return of Maina, the justice minister created doubts in the minds of Nigerians regarding the commitment of the Buhari government to the fight against corruption. With that Malami enters the list as number four.

A former Chief of Army Staff, Abdulrahman Dambazau was also a controversial army chief.

The decision to re-instate Maina back to the civil service was taken between Malami and Dambazau. Following Malami’s letter to the FCSC, a meeting was held on June 14th where it “deliberated on the Attorney General of the Federation’s letter and requested the Office of the Civil Service of the Federal vide letter FC.4029/82/VOL.III/160 of 21st June 2017 to advise the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Interior to consider the AGF’s letter, the Officer’s case and make appropriate recommendations to the commission,” Sulaiman’s letter to Maina and the Head of Service on September 18 reads.

At a meeting held on June 22, the Senior Staff Committee of the Interior Ministry headed

by Dambazau, deliberated on the letter and recommended that Maina be reinstated to his former position as deputy director, at the Interior Ministry. His office initially shifted the blame for the mproper way Maina was recalled on the Head of Service. However, when the HOS spoke, Dambazau had to keep quiet. Nigerians are not deceived. Dambazau, by his action and the way the interior ministry is being run under his watch claimed his position as number five on the list of people who have made the president unpopular.

If there is one person whose activities as a security chief have embarrassed the president the most, it is the Director-General of the Directorate of State Security (DSS), Mr. Lawal Daura. It was he who brazenly and without regards to national feeling and federal character recruited people from his Katsina home state and the north to the detriment of other states.

Although, the Presidency came to his defence by saying that the recruitment was to correct some imbalance in the department, there was no proof to support such claim.

He seems to have forgotten that without the votes from other states, Buhari would not have become president and he would not have become the DG SSS. With that recruitment, Buhari will have a tough time persuading people from other zones to vote for him.

Although, the Presidency downplayed the letter written by him to the Senate to stop the confirmation of Magu as EFCC chairman, many observers, including past presidents considered that singular act as insubordination. That was an embarrassment to the president. It was also an indication that there was confusion within the Presidency.

Magu is one of the few people who have helped this administration. Trying to discredit him will certainly affect what this government stands for.

Daura’s handling of the arrest of judges also gave him out as someone who has no respect for the rule of law. His high handedness means that the president will have some explanation to make when it is time to beg people for their votes. The president will be well advised not take him along during the campaign.

When he was appointed, expectation was high. But the new Inspector General of Police disappoints. He has been at loggerheads with the Police Service Commission over promotion.

Under what he called special promotion, junior officers were promoted above their seniors.

The senator representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, Hamman Misau, spoke the minds of many policemen when he accused the IG of corruption.

Rising through order 43 on the Senate floor, Misau disclosed that the IG was in extra marital affairs with one Amina and another Esther, but eventually wedded Amina secretly in Kaduna after she became pregnant.

“The IGP has been in sexual relationship with two female serving Police officers, that is one Amina and Esther. He impregnated Amina and did a wedding secretly in Kaduna.”

“As a former Police officer, I can say authoritatively that it is wrong for an officer to have a relationship with female Police officer because of the nature of that work”, Misau stated.

The police boss came under intense public castigation when Misau, a former police officer explained that he was being attacked by the IGP because he revealed his corrupt activities.

Now, the Senate had set up an eight-member adhoc committee chaired by Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Francis Alimikhena (APC, Edo North), to investigate allegations of corruption, nepotism, and misuse of office leveled against Mr Idris

by Senator Misau.

The committee is also to investigate the IGP on alleged misappropriation of funds, illegal promotion, posting of senior officers along with the claim that he impregnated a female police officer.

The irony of this is: investigator is now being investigated! With this, Idris enters the list as number seven.

However, instead of submitting himself to investigation to clear his name, he found a willing tool in the justice minister who had helped him filed charges against Misau for daring to accuse the IG of corruption.

Popularly called Mama Taraba, Mrs. Aisha Alhassan was the APC governorship candidate in Taraba in 2015, an election she narrowly lost to the current Peoples Democratic Party governor.

She should not be condemned for speaking out her mind. However, etiquette demands that having taken the position she took, she should be bold enough to quit the government. While continuing to serve under a government you do not believe in?

She is one proof that disloyalty also has its rewards. Several weeks after she gave a damning assessment of the president, she is still in her position, a situation which has painted the president as indecisive and weak.

She told former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar that he had her support for the 2019 presidential election despite the fact that she is a serving minister in the government of Buhari.

With this, she earned her position on the list of those who made the president unpopular.

The president does not seem to understand how much damage he is bringing upon himself with his decision to retain Alhassan. If a minister who is working closely with the president believes that the president does not deserve a second time why should a voter watching the president from afar support him for the second time? For her position, Aisha Alhassan earns her place as one of the people appointed by the president who turned around to make him unpopular.

If there is another person Nigerians believe is responsible for their woes under the APC government, it is the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun. While many agree that some of the factors are beyond her control, they believe that her response to the economic challenges had not been satisfactory.

She may have had the misfortune of being the finance minister at such a difficult economic period, there is no way she can absolve herself of the economic woes that Nigerians were plunged into through no fault of theirs except voting for the APC. Although latest statistics show the country is making gains economically, the people are not feeling the impact of the recovery. There appears to be a disconnect between what the statistics say and what most households are going through.

Except the government finds a miraculous way to turn the economy around, Adeosun, will continue to be held responsible for the economic hardship.

On the economic front, many believe that the minister has let the president down. The economy may be the decider of who will win the next presidential election. If she does not want the president to lose the election because of the economy, the finance minister will have to up her games because as things stand now, her boss is already in trouble with the voters.

Although government is flaunting positive economic statistics, most Nigerians do not share such optimism.

Given Nigerians attachment to sports, it is unfortunate that the sports ministry was handed over to a man who appeared to lack the understanding of what it takes to drive sports.

The khaki and red beret-wearing politician, hardly misses an opportunity to demonstrate the fact that he lacks the tacts to handle sensitive issues.

He aggravated the leadership crisis rocking the Nigerian Football Federation after FIFA had recognized Amaju Pinnick. Then at Rio Olympics, he embarrassed Nigeria when Team Nigeria appeared in tracksuits because the outfits for the event failed to get to Rio on time.

Nigerians have not forgotten how his incompetence left the Samson Siasia-led under 23 team to the Olympics stranded in Atlanta because the team could not find a suitable aircraft to take them to Rio. His response to questions about the logistics problem the team faced was equally shocking.

He was once labeled anti-sports minister. When he makes a gaffe as is usual the case, Dalung would claim that he was misquoted.

Of all the ministers in Buhari’s cabinet, none faced stronger opposition and call for his removal than Dalung. Only the president knows why he opted to retain him for so long amidst raging criticisms. Not many people expected him to survive in the government till this moment.

Obviously, Dalung has not had it very easy with critics who have been urging the president to do away with him, more so as heads a ministry that oversees sports and youths, two areas that arouse great passion in Nigerians. The minister is also learning to keep quiet and by so doing avoid problems. Nevertheless, he is one of the appointees who have not helped the president

Director General, Department of State Security, Mr Lawal Daura

Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris

Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Jumai Alhassan

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun

Minister for Sports and Youths Development, Mr Solomon Dalung

T H I S D AY Ëž MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

19

PERSPECTIVE

APC: A Party at War with Itself Magnus Onyibe warns that the schism in the presidency which has now spread to the ruling All Progressives Congress, is threatening the party’s chances of retaining the power it worked so hard to win in 2015a

T

he internal strife that has recently bedeviled Aso Rock villa is based on the belief that there are numerous pockets of power in the presidency.

By tugging at each other’s throats, the different power blocks in the seat of power are believed to be working at cross purposes and for selfish interests which does not augur well for effective governance.

The recent incidents of the security agencies that have direct reporting lines to president Muhamadu Buhari being at daggers drawn, affirms that there is trouble in Aso Rock Villa.

More specifically, the fact that the Directorate of State Services, DSS, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,National Intelligence Agency, NIA, are investigating each other and presenting damning reports against one another to both mr president and the National Assembly, NASS is very disturbing.

The frosty relationship between the security agencies clearly reflects the wise crack a “house divided can not stand�.

Another fall out of the Aso Rock Villa ‘internecine war’ is the much awaited confirmation of Ibrahim Magu as the substantive chairman of the EFCC which is still in abeyance , just as the ownership of N25b found in Foreshore Towers, ikoyi, lagos( NIA ‘safe house’) is yet to be established and the dismissal of the pair of Secretary to federal Govt, Babachir Lawal and Directot General of NIA, Dele Oke. Worryingly, the foregoing are immutable evidence of a highly fractured national security architecture and a troubled presidency.

Unsurprisingly, the apparent fiasco in the seat of power is of dire concern to watchers of politics in Nigeria who owing to the sordid development are horrified and aghast.

And obviously,it is also a vulnerability which the opposition is capitalizing on.

Conventionally, all state security agencies are supposed to be pulling resources (men and materials) together towards achieving a common objective of promoting national security, strengthening stability internally, while projecting strength externally.

But evidence in the public arena indicates that the nation’s security apparatchik may be working at cross purposes as it is deeply fractured .

Until the public spat between the three crime prevention, enforcement and management agencies erupted, nobody really knew how disjointed command and control had become in the presidency which the average Nigerian regard as paradise where nothing goes wrong .

And as the popular saying goes ‘the fish starts rotting from the head’. If Nigeria were a fish, Aso Rock would be the head.

Given all the sleaze and scandal about corruption swirling around the Aso Rock villa which are in the public arena, Nigeria’s seat of power may be rotten and stinking to high heavens.

To make matters worse, it is cold comfort that the schism in the presidency appears to be cascading down into the wider polity as reflected in the ‘civil war’ in the All Progressive Party, APC which is the ruling party.

In any case, the struggle for power between the 5 political parties that dissolved into APC reminds of late Bola lge’ ascetic comment about the five fingers of a leprous hand when parties were being formed under General Sanni Abacha’s watch in 1996.

After Buhari was sworn into office on May 29th 2015, the next line of action which was the inauguration of the 8th

National Assembly, NASS provided the opportunity to cascade political power down the ladder.

Being a party that is formed by five distinctive parties with diametrically opposing philosophies which were subsumed by the common goal of supplanting the PDP and particularly then president Goodluck Jonathan, it’s not surprising that APC has become a cauldron of sorts.

Against the grain of thought of the party leadership, Bukola Saraki became the senate president in what can best be described as a coup detat of some sort in the Red chamber , just as against the run of play, Yakubu Dogara also assumed the speakership position in the Green chamber in a putsch similar to the one in the Senate.

But suffice it to say that trying to reverse the decision of the legislators who exercised their free will to choose their leaders is an equivalent of the grave mistake which the former ruling party, the PDP made when it recognized then plateau state Governor Jona Jang who garnered less votes than Rotimi Amaechi, then governor of Rivers state, when both contested for the chairmanship of Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF. That glaring assault on the fundamental principle of democracy which is that majority carries the votes, remained a fault line until the eventual breakup and dethronement of the PDP as the ruling party.

As soon as Saraki outwitted the APC leadership by defeating the party’s anointed candidate as senate president, he became marked down for political assassination. But being a man with uncanny mettle, Saraki survived the multiple charges of corruption leveled against him.

As such, the noose that was intended to take him to political gallows, as a conviction would have compelled him to resign, failed to snap.

That the political actors who appeared to have looked on with askance or even tacitly or openly supported the pummeling of Saraki by the powers that be, are today victims of similar political chicanery, is remarkably a veritable case study for students of politics.

The frosty relationship between the security agencies clearly reects the wise crack a “house divided can not standâ€?

It is indeed a perfect example of the chicken coming home to roost or what goes around, comes around.

The situation which calls for introspection compels two pertinent questions: In the current politically combustible atmosphere whereby the APC national leader, Bola Tinubu, who has signified his intention to run for the office of the president and going by the social media post earlier highlighted, is being left in the lurch,(as his former allies desert him for greener pastures) who will speak out for him?

With former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar now an endangered political specie after he declared his intention to run again for the presidency and as Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA cancels the multi billion Naira contract with Intel, a firm in which he has significant interest, who will speak out for him?

As 2019 circle of elections ramps up and more politicians throw their hats into the ring, would the current cat fights not degenerate?

The question is elicited by the fact that all the demons in the political cauldron which had retracted their fangs have started baring them like werewolf in season baying desperately for blood.

Need l remind all that the more the internecine war rages, the less the potential of APC returning as the ruling party in 2019.

The ruling party deliberately avoided the very critical storming stage which could have provided the true test of the cohesiveness or otherwise of the amalgamated parties.

And where else to engage in such political horse trading than the party convention which is a veritable platform?

For instance, two years after key aspects of the convention were suspended,avoid the internal strife that it could have sparked, party executive offices such as board of trustees, BOT post etc have remained vacant.

But clearly, the legacy parties that dissolved into the APC which were ordinarily strange bed fellows, preferred to unite against Goodluck Jonathan and PDP by deciding to suspend the projection of their narrow ethnic and religious agendas, just to upend PDP’s trenchant control of government at the center for uninterrupted sixteen years.

If l were president Buhari, l won’t try to be like the Chinese premier Xi Ji Ping who used the recent China’s ruling party’s national conference which holds every five

years to consolidate his hold on power by incorporating his policies into the Chinese constitution.

Instead, Buhari should leverage the opportunity to dole out thousands of yet to be filled political offices( board membership etc) to the party faithful who two years after their party literarily rode on the mythical broom into Aso Rock Villa have been waiting to no avail for the reward of their hard work..

Mr president does not need a sooth sayer to alert him to the fact that the motivational zeal of 2015 of party members , which was to first and foremost kick out Goodluck Jonathan and PDP and then share power later, has now evaporated.

A recent comment by ACN former chairman and ex interim chairman of APC , Bisi Akande that the presidential ticket for the party is open for contest in 2019 and the counter statements from notable northern leaders and Buharists might be foreshadowing the storm ahead.

The truth is that things have fallen apart within the APC and the center can no longer hold -apologies to Chinua Achebe.

In the light of the foregoing, if we would allow conventional wisdom to be our guide, avoiding having a difficult conversation owing to its possible nasty outcome, which amounts to postponing the evil day, is an ideal recipe for disaster waiting to happen.

And unfortunately, that is what APC is increasingly tending towards right now.

Unless some fundamental decisions, like taking a clear position on the need to restructure the political architecture of the nation or devolution of more power to the states are made unequivocally; and definite efforts to shorn the presidency of the cloak of corruption with which it is currently draped is made and seen to have been made fairly and justly, the APC may be heading for its waterloo in 2019 .

The ball as they say, is now in president Buhari’s court.

And at the risk of sounding bombastic, if the aforementioned steps are not taken, l predict that there will be political higgledypiggledy in the course of the much awaited APC NEC meeting as members are expected to rebel.

Pessimists aver that Buhari is unbending, as such he may not change his hard stance.

As an optimist, my counter argument is that he was initially against increase in petroleum pump price, but eventually allowed a raise that has facilitated its steady availability; he hated Naira devaluation with perfect hatred,but the Nigerian currency is now half the nominal value before he took over the mantle and Nigerians are looking more inwards for alternatives to imports; when Buhari came to power, the tirades about Nigeria being a ‘fantastically corrupt’ country was fashionable and therefore rent the air, within and outside Nigeria resulting in flight of capital. Now corruption is no more a talking point and Nigerians both home and abroad have regained a bit of respect.

Similarly, anti corruption war, fighting insurgency and resuscitation of the economy were the three point agenda of government and in that order of priority.

Going by the hard stance taken in the past by president Buhari ,and how he has become more accommodating as catalogued above, it may be safe to conclude that he is really not as unbending as most people are wont to believe.

He probably needs to be persuaded or convinced more with superior argument before he can endorse a recommended policy initiative, and that is a matter of style t0OZJCF B EFWFMPQNFOU TUSBUFHJTU XSPUF JO GSPN -BHPT

20

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017, ˾ T H I S D AY

FEATURES

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

Kaduna’s Brewing Row with Teachers John Shiklam writes on the brewing controversy between the Kaduna State Government and school teachers following plans by the government to sack over 20,000 of those said to have failed the primary four tests administered on them

T

he Kaduna State chapter of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and the government are poised for a show down following plans by the latter to sack 21,780 teachers said to have failed an assessment

test.

Worried by the declining standard of education in public schools, the government had on June 3, 2017, administered a competency test on the primary school teachers to flush out those who are not qualified to teach.

The test which was meant for primary four pupils was aimed at assessing competence in literacy and numeracy, through reading, writing and simple calculations.

The outcome of the test was shocking! About 21,780 out of 33,000 teachers failed the test.

“We tested our 33,000 primary school teachers, we gave them primary four examinations and required they must get at least 75 per cent, but I am sad to announce that 66 per cent of them failed to get the requirements," Governor Nasir el-Rufai had disclosed when he received a joint delegation of the World Bank and DFID at the Government House, Kaduna.

Details of the results showed that 11,591 teachers (33.9 per cent) scored 75 per cent and above while 5,766 of them (16.9 per cent) scored 70 and 74 per cent.

The result also indicated that 8,759 (26.1 per cent) of the teachers, scored 60-69 per cent while 8,047 (23.58 per cent) scored 0-59 per cent.

The government has vowed to sack those who failed the test. Already the recruitment of 25,000 primary school teachers had been approved to replace those to be sacked.

The Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) had advertised recruitment notices.

THISDAY learnt that a standardised test is to be adopted for the recruitment of the new teachers after which they would be trained before they take over the classrooms.

This has attracted mixed reactions with some people commending el-Rufai for tackling the issue of unqualified teachers head-on while others had criticised the decision to sack them, insisting on retraining them.

The state chapter of the NUT has however, vowed to resist any attempt to sack any of its members under any guise.

At a news conference in Kaduna after an emergency executive council meeting, the state chairman of the union, Comrade Audu Amba, declared that the union will embark on indefinite strike action if any teacher is sacked.

Amba maintained that "the so called exam" that was given to the teachers was not a true test of their professional competence.

He argued that the proper way of testing the competence of teachers, is to visit them in schools and see how they deliver as it was the practice in those days when school supervisors paid unscheduled visits to assess teachers.

"We felt we should come together and tell the government that it should not take us 20 years backward with this system. If you take away 20,000 teachers, I can't imagine where you will get good replacement for the teachers that have been teaching for donkey years.

"The so called exam that was given to our teachers was not a true test because you can only test a teacher when you go to his class and supervise what he does," Amba said.

He alleged that the decision by government to sack the teachers was not part of what was agreed upon by the committee headed

by Secretary to the State Government (SSG) which the NUT was represented.

"Today we have resolved that as state executive council, if by this very exam that was given to our teachers, which was not even what we all agreed in the committee headed by the SSG, any teacher being relieved of his or her appointment,

El-Rufai...an education-friendly governor

the NUT and the entire teachers in the state may not guarantee industrial harmony with the Kaduna State Government," he declared.

He maintained further that the NUT had informed the government through various communication channels that the Teachers Registration Council (TRC), is the only statutory body guided by law and has the mandate to test whether teachers are competent or not.

"But the government insisted that they have their own method of testing teachers.

"As leaders of this profession that want success, having agreed with government that there are some incompetent people in our midst,

Today we have resolved that as state executive council, if by this very exam that was given to our teachers, which was not even what we all agreed in the committee headed by the SSG, any teacher being relieved of his or her appointment, the NUT and the entire teachers in the state may not guarantee industrial harmony with the Kaduna State Government

we supported government in trying to find a solution," Amba said while calling for an amicable way of resolving the issues.

But reacting to the stance by the NUT, el-Rufai maintained that no amount of threat from NUT would stop the government from replacing the teachers who failed the test.

In a live interview with local radio stations in Kaduna, el-Rufai said anybody who has the interest of the education of the citizens of the state at heart, should be embarrassed by the failure of teachers who could not answer questions meant for primary four pupils.

The governor said rather than threaten to go on strike, the NUT should be embarrassed by the incompetence of its members.

“Everybody knows that we will not be deterred in doing what is right for the future of our children. The NUT thinks this is about politics, making a public show of opposing what they know to be right. Shouldn’t everybody be embarrassed by the test results?

“Where is the sense of shame? I hear some people say the pass mark for a primary four exam should be 60 per cent, the same people say the state government has no right to test the competence of its employees.

"There is no bigger evidence of the crisis in our society than that a union whose members failed a primary four examination thinks it can create problems over the issue rather than be a part of the solution.

“We are not people that bow to threats.

We will respond appropriately. What will be the point of that strike? To force us to violate our oath of office and knowingly retain as teachers those that are not qualified? That will not happen,” the governor declared.

According to him, the process of recruiting teachers was politicised over time, as politicians and local government chairmen made the primary school sector to be a “dumping

ground for their thugs.”

He noted that teachers were employed at local government level without adherence to standards, pointing out that in many instances, no examinations or interviews were conducted to assess the quality of those being employed.

"Political patronage, nepotism and corruption became the yardstick, thus giving unqualified persons a way in. Teaching jobs were given as patronage to those connected to politicians and bureaucrats," he said.

According to him, the Kaduna State Executive Council had approved the recruitment of 25,000 primary school teachers, stressing that this time around, there would be standardised tests for those to be recruited.

"No unqualified person will scale through and we will vet certificates very closely and very often. The future of our children is so important that we will not take chances. We will be vigilant in ensuring that only good people teach in our public schools,” el-Rufai said.

The issue of unqualified people teaching in primary schools in the state started during the administration of late Patrick Yakowa when the same primary four test was administered to 1,599 primary school teachers in the state.

Of this number, 1,300 teachers were said to have failed the test. One of them was said to have scored 75 per cent, 250 scored between 50 to 75 per cent and 1,300 scored below 25 per cent.

The test was a follow-up to the sacking of 4,000 teachers who were discovered to have fake certificates in 2009.

Also in 2012, the then Chairman of the Kaduna State House of Assembly Committee on Education, Yunusa Mohammad revealed that of the 38,000 teachers in the state, about 17,000 were not qualified as they had only SSCE, diplomas and other non-teaching qualifications.

The Yakowa administration was said to have given all unqualified teachers a grace of five years within which to acquire the requisite qualification for teaching, but somehow, the teachers did not take the ultimatum seriously.

Commenting on the issue, an educationist and former chairman of the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB), Mr. Ishaya Akau, lamented that there are people in the teaching profession that are not qualified to teach.

"We were able to establish about 4,000 people with fake certificates (in 2009 when he was chairman of SUBEB under the Yakowa administration) and we flushed them out.

"But certainly there are many people in the teaching profession that are not even qualified.

Don't forget that the lowest teaching qualification in Nigeria is the National Certificate of Education (NCE) and there are many people in the teaching profession who do not have NCE. I think we should start from there," he said.

Akau, a former provost of the state owned College of Education, Gidan-Waya, said every qualified teacher is supposed to be licensed by the Teachers' Registration Council.

"So anybody who doesn't have a license from the TRC should certainly not be in the teaching profession. I studied law, I have not gone to Law School, I have not been call to the bar, so I cannot practice law! It is supposed to be the same thing with the teaching profession.

"Anybody who has not been licensed by TRC should not be found in our classrooms.

"If this is the criteria we have applied, I don't think we should have problem from anybody," he said.

He also blamed politicians, especially local government chairmen, education secretaries and councilors for employing people who are not qualified to teach.

"You see, the situation is so diffused. Chairmen of local governments, education secretaries and councilors have a hand in the employment of teachers. So a lot of things happened, all kinds of people were selected. A lot of people who

21

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017, ˾ T H I S D AY

FEATURES

were employed were employed on the basis of political patronage, to compensate those who campaigned for them.

"I remembered a specific local government which employed 900 teachers in one year, 70 per cent of them were not teachers. There were local governments that employed more than they required. There were many corrupt practices in terms of employment of teachers.

We disciplined one or two people in some of the local governments, people who were taking money to recruit teachers," he recalled.

Speaking further, Akau said the reform he wanted to introduce while serving as chairman of SUBEB, was to ensure that all recruitment of teachers would be controlled and monitored from the SUBEB headquarters in Kaduna.

"At the SUBEB headquarters, they should know what vacancies exist, the vacancies should be advertised and they should be publicly competed for by competent persons and no one who does not possess an NCE would be invited for the interview, but sadly, that did not happened,” he lamented.

He recalled that there was a local government chairman that sat down with his councilors and voted for who should be appointed education secretary without consideration for qualification, experience, suitability and whether he was a registered teacher.

"When we came in, we worked out the new system of appointing education secretaries, whereby the criteria for appointment and process were clearly spelt out and people will be selected on the basis of a test including an oral interview before recommendations are made on the best three candidates, one of which would be selected by the governor," he said.

He stressed the need for stricter control as to who employs and procedures put in place for employment adhered to and enforced.

He however attributed the recruitment of unqualified teachers across the country to the deficit of qualified teachers.

He said, "a few weeks ago, the United Nations was talking about millions of teacher deficit in Africa. There is a serious shortage of licensed teachers to cope with the growing population of pupils in the schools.

"When I was a student at Government College, Keffi, the teacher - pupil ratio was 1 to 25. But now the teacher - pupil ratio is 1 to 40 which is not the best because pupils will not get the best attention from the teacher.

"Even at that it is not easy to get qualified teachers to be in all our classrooms, especially at that time. They have been carrying these people along for quite some time.

"Anybody trying to flush out people who should not be teachers, there should be no problem, but the methodology is what perhaps should be addressed."

He maintained further that for every employment there are procedures on how you come in and how you go out.

"If you follow those procedures, I don't think you have a problem. If the teachers are saying that procedures are not being followed, they have a right to go to court to establish whether government has followed the procedures or not.

"But as to whether there are unqualified teachers, honestly, there are! I am not going to go into the question of arguing about the exams they did and so forth, but I believe that there can be improvement," he said.

Everybody knows that we will not be deterred in doing what is right for the future of our children. The NUT thinks this is about politics, making a public show of opposing what they know to be right.

Shouldn’t everybody be embarrassed by the test results?... We are not people that bow to threats. We will respond appropriately

Kaduna State chairman of NUT, Comrade Audu Amba (middle) with other officials during a news conference

Former chairman of SUBEB, Mr. Ishaya Akau

He also cautioned against recruiting people who are products of colleges of education with low standard to avoid a situation where garbage is removed and replaced with garbage.

He emphasised that the issue of quality teachers must be addressed from the colleges of education that produce them.

He faulted the attitude of governments at all levels and the society towards the teaching profession which has made it less attractive for quality people.

"Hitherto, you find all types of people found their way to teachers colleges. You will appreciate the fact that very few people want to go to teachers colleges.

"I am saying this because it was difficult for us to get candidates to admit when I was the Provost of College of Education, Gidan Waya.

"Actually, colleges of education are a third choice. Unfortunately, when JAMB comes to do its cut off mark, they will tell you 180 for universities and 160 and sometimes 150 for colleges of education. They are telling us that we don't really need quality people in colleges of education! We should look at these things from there. “Sometimes many of these people went to the college of education without English and Mathematics. A lot of times, those who could not get admission to universities or polytechnics, ended up in the colleges of education.

“The entrance qualification for entrance to colleges of education ought to be the best in a system that seeks to promote quality education in our schools. Sadly, that is not the case and you cannot expect to produce quality teachers

when the standard is low.

"You can see that very few people want to choose teaching as a profession. Very few people are inspired to be teachers.

"Teachers have suffered, the teaching profession has suffered, when we were kids, the teacher was the number one man in the community.

But he has been degraded and rubbished to the point that the community does not see him as the number one man again.

"When you don't pay teachers for several months, how do you expect somebody who has not been paid to perform?

"Very few parents, except people like me, can ask my son or daughter to go and become a teacher. So we must change our attitude towards teachers if we want to get the best for the education system," Akau said. .

22

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L-R: Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Akintunde Oyebode; CEO, Global Philanthropy Forum, Jane Wales; Chief of Sta, African Development Bank, Sipho Moyo; Founder, Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Toyin Saraki and Co-Founder, Higherlife Foundation, Tsitsi Masiyiwa, at the panel session of The African Philanthropic Forum in Lagos..recently

L-R: Corporate Social Representative Executive, MultiChoice Nigeria, Akaoma Onyeonoru; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Townsway Investment Limited, Oluwadare Victor; Corporate Social Representative Executive, MultiChoice Nigeria, Timothy Okwu and Managing Director, 141, Lampe Omoyele during the Top 50 Brands Nigeria Awards 2017 held at Oriental Hotel, Lagos....recently

L-R: Director, Clinical Services & Training Braithwaite Memorial Specialists Hospital, Dr. Soibi Osaro-Wokoma; Medical Director, Braithwaite Memorial Specialists Hospital, Dr. Paul Ledee Kua; Head Corporate Marketing, LG Electronics West Africa Operations, Mr. Hari Krishna Elluru and Regional General Manager, Fouani Nigeria Limited, Mr. Moustapha Khrais, during LG Electronics CSR donation to Braithwaite Memorial Specialists Hospital in Port Harcourt, Rivers State...recently.

L-R; Director/Head of Global Developers and Starup Relations, Truecaller, Priyam Bose; Director of Communications, Truecaller, Kim Fai Kok; and the Company’s Chief Commercial OďŹƒcer, Ted Nelson, at a press conference held by Truecaller Team in Lagos‌recently sunday adigun

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OBB OVERNIGHT

A S

A T

REPO 36.33% 39.42%

39.83% 1-MONTH 38.67% 3-MONTH 39.92% CALL

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

N O V E M B E R S & P INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY MONTH-TO-DATE

310.73% 0.11% 0.14%

3 ,

S & P INDEX 1/4 TO DATE YEAR TO DATE

2 0 1 7 5.16% 18.52%

EXCHANGE RATE N305.90//1US DOLLAR* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes FirstBank Storms Lagos Trade Fair

FirstBank of Nigeria Limited has announced its participation at the 2017 Lagos International Trade Fair that commenced Friday.

The fair with the theme: “Promoting Industrialisation for Economic Recovery and Sustainable Growth,” is expected to bolster the current efforts at creating a diversified economy needed for the stimulation of economic growth and development. A statement at the weekend revealed that FirstBank would be at the event with its bouquet of bespoke products and services to support the business needs of its customers and other participants during the ten-day fair.

According to the bank, participants at the fair “can visit FirstBank stand to download or update their FirstMobile application to begin to enjoy the exciting features on the app.” It added: “Customers can also pay for goods and services by scanning a QR code using the FirstMobile App on their smart phones. “Payment goes straight from the consumer’s FirstBank account into the merchant’s account and provides real-time notification to both parties. The Bank will likewise provide support to enable customers set up the USSD*894# Quick Banking Service at the fair to enhance their ability to bank anywhere and anytime, even without data.” Speaking on FirstBank’s participation at the Trade Fair, the Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney said: “FirstBank’s annual participation at the Trade Fair is a testament of the bank’s commitment and the drive to foster sustainable diversification of the Nigerian economy.

Heritage Bank Partners IFCOD

PRESIDENTIAL HANDSHAKE

L-R: Group Chairman, FBN Holdings, Dr. Oba Otudeko CFR, with the Senegalese President, His Excellency, President Macky Sall, during a courtesy visit by FBN Holdings Board to the President...recently

THISDAY Model Portfolio Continues with Gaining Streak Goddy Egene THISDAY Model Portfolio (TMP) has continued to record positive performance, justifying the investment and analytical prowess of the various stockbroking houses that constructed the TMP. By the close of the week ended November 3, 2017, the value of the TMP appreciated to 20.9 per cent, up from 19.5 per cent the previous week.

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

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

TMP consists of five different portfolio types constructed individually in conjunction with five leading stockbroking firms in the country with different investment objectives.

The project involved asking each of the partner stock broking houses in the country to construct a portfolio of 10 stocks selected according to their individual best judgement and using

their best and well tested stock selection and investment strategies. They were then asked to each deploy an imaginary fund of N10 million to invest on the 10 stocks in whatever proportions they considered best.

Last Friday marked the 19th week since the introduction of the portfolios and they have generated a total return of N10.468 million. This implies that the N50 million, which was the initial worth of the TMP, has improved to N60.468 million.

Portfolio C remained the highest performer having recorded a growth of 34.4 per cent, up from 31.7 per cent the previous week. The

N10 million deployed in the portfolio has appreciated to N13.443 million.

Portfolio D maintained the second position as its gain improved from 29.4 per cent the previous week, to 29.8 last week, showing that theN10 million has grown to N12.986 million. Similarly, Portfolio B that closed at 22.5 per cent two weeks ago, rose further to 25.8 per cent, while Portfolio A surged from 12.8 per cent to 14.6 per cent last week.

Meanwhile, further analysis of Portfolio C showed that except one stock, others have continued to deliver positive returns since the start of the Continued on page 24

Report: Only 1.8% Nigerians Accessed Bank Credit in 2016 Obinna Chima The percentage of adult population in Nigeria that had borrowed or paid back a loan through a regulated financial institution in 2016 increased marginally from 1.5 per cent in 2014, to 1.8 per cent in 2016.

This was far below the 2016 target of a formal credit penetration of 28.8 per cent.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed this in the 2016 Annual Report of its National Financial Inclusion StrategyImplementation posted on its website at the weekend.

According to the report, in terms of electronic payment

ECONOMY and savings, the percentage of the adult population owning a commercial bank account, proxied by the percentage of adults having a Bank Veri cation Number (BVN), increased from 23.6 per cent in 2015 to 28 per cent in 2016. It explained that the achieved value as at 2016 was still behind the 2016 payments and savings targets of 56.4 and 45.6 per cent, respectively.

Furthermore, it revealed that the percentage of adult population covered by a regulated insurance policy increased from 1.1 per cent in 2014 to 1.8 per

cent in 2016, citingestimates from the Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA’s) Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2014 and 2016 surveys.

The penetration was far below the 2016 target of 24.8 per cent.

It added: “The percentage of the adult population that is registered with a pension scheme regulated by the National Pension Commission increased from 7.5 per cent in 2015 to 7.9 per cent in 2016.

“While the trend was positive, only about one third of the de ned 2016 target of a penetration of 25.6 per cent was achieved.

“The number of commercial

bank branches per 100,000 adults marginally declined from 5.7 in 2015 to 5.6 in 2016, continuing the negative trend since 2010. The target of 7.5 branches per 100,000 adults, therefore, was missed.

“The number of microfinance bank branches per 100,000 adults stayed constant at 2.3 between 2015 and 2016.

Compared to the 2016 target of 4.6 branches per 100,000 adults, only 50 per cent of the target was reached.”

Additionally, the report revealed that the number of ATMs per 100,000 adults increased slightly from 17.2 Continued on page 24

Aspartofitscommitmenttothegrowthandsocio-economicdevelopment of Nigeria’s creative industry, Heritage Bank Plc has partnered the organisers of the International Festival of Contemporary Dance (IFCOD)tohostthesecondeditionofOneLanguage,amusicalproduction of intrigue, dance and drama. The essence of the musical production was to unite humanity across the world. A statement explained that Heritage Bank was supporting the creative industry because of its significant contribution to the Gross Domestic Product of the country.

Head of Content and Digital, Heritage Bank, Mr. Chibuike Agu said the bank partnered with the organisers of IFCOD because dance and drama connect with the heritage of the Nigerian people, remarking that dance is one of the diverse ways of reflecting the culture of a people and depicts culture in its entirety.In her address of welcome, the Convener of IFOCD, Mrs. Elo Inyeinengi-Etomi said: “IFCOD is you and I, it is our shared pain and joy. It is our struggle to be heard and seen. It is the realisation of our dreams. It is the realisation of kindred spirit. It is us speaking one language.”She said IFOCD as a platform meant different things to different people, adding that “it is a means to empower youths, a medium to share our story, a haven for talent, a place for rehabilitation and social integration, a connection hub, an interdisciplinary melting pot and pure gift of life.”Etomi said IFCOD came into being because of her aspiration for people to appreciate the performing arts not only as a form of entertainment but also as a tool of socio-economic development.

Keystone Renovates Sick Bay

In keeping with its commitment to promoting qualitative education and sustainable development in Nigeria, Keystone Bank Limited said it recently handed over a renovated and fully equipped sick bay to Dodan Barracks Primary School, Obalende, Lagos to manage remote health challenges of the students.

Speaking on the lender’s passion for investment in the education sector at the commissioning ceremony, the Divisional Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications of Keystone Bank, Mrs. Omobolanle Osotule, was quoted in a statement as saying the intervention was aimed at supporting the school to further improve the learning and teaching environment, thereby raising the standard of education in the country. Osotule added: “As a bank that is committed to the development of Nigerian youths, Keystone Bank recognises education as the bedrock of sustainable development, which is why education is one of our core CSR pillars.”

“As much as education is an essential aspect of the development of any society, it is also important that children have easy access to first level healthcare while at school”.

We are told that with our debt to GDP ratio at 19 per cent, it is safe to borrow more. That is shallow economic thinking. What matters is the debt service- torevenue ratio. For a developing country like Nigeria, that is what should concern us A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,

Prof. Kingsley Moghalu

T H I S D AY Ëž MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

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BUSINESSWORLD REPORT: ONLY 1.8% NIGERIANS ACCESSED BANK CREDIT IN 2016

in 2015 to 18m in 2016.

But, the achieved value was lower than the target of 46.2 ATMs per 100,000 adults for 2016.

Also, the number of point of sale (PoS) terminals per 100,000 adults accounted for 116.3 in the year under review, which represented a decrease from 122.4 PoS terminals per 100,000 adults in 2015. The 2016 target of 524.1 PoS devices per 100,000 adults was missed, according to the report.

In the same vein, the number of mobile money agents, which were registered on CBN’s Agent Banking Database as at December 2016 was 18,228, representing 18.8 agents per 100,000 adults.

This was 51 per cent of the 2016 target of 37.2 agents per 100,000 adults.

It also put the percentage of the adult population that had registered for a National Identification Number (NIN) as at December 2016 at 15.1 per cent. This, it stated represented a laudable increase of 101 per cent, relative to the 2015 value of 7.5 per cent. However, the increase was not enough to reach the 2016 target of 67.2 per cent. “Low awareness, of mobile money, remained a key issue to financial inclusion. It is recommended that financial services providers scale up their sensitisation activities and that apex associations consider joint industry-wide initiatives on increasing awareness, as they are expected to be more effcient than multiple programmes conducted by financial services providers individually. “2016 also represented the mid-point of the eight-year implementation period of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy. In order to review in detail the progress made so far and accelerate the achievement of the defined financial inclusion targets, in its meeting on September 29, 2016, the National Financial Inclusion Steering Committee approved that a review of the Strategy should be conducted in 2017,� it added.

NEWS

THISDAY MODEL PORTFOLIO CONTINUES WITH GAINING STREAK TMP exercise. The only negative return is 5.6 per cent. On the other hand, the highest positive return is 74.2 per

cent, trailed by 65.8 per cent. This was followed by 47.2 per cent, 43.2 per cent and 26.4 per cent gains respectively.

Others included: 19.7 per cent; 12.4 per cent; 8.5 per cent; and 2.9 per cent.

In Portfolio B, the

stocks with negative performance remained two with 11.2 per cent and 5.7 per cent. But the highest price gainers

among the stocks in this portfolio improved are 74.2 per cent and 72 per cent. The third stock was 43.1 per cent 36.5

per cent followed by 29.8 per cent. Others are: 26.3 per cent; 19.6 per cent; 8.8 per cent; and 8.1 per cent.

Truecaller Ranks Telcos Highest Sources of Unsolicited Calls, SMS Emma Okonji Having ranked South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt among the top 20 countries in the world being plagued by unwanted spam calls in its recent survey, Truecaller has further narrowed its survey result on industry sectors, and has ranked telecommunications companies (Telcos) as the highest sources of unsolicited spam calls in Nigeria.

According to the report, among the top spammers in Nigeria, telecommunication operators top the list with 61 per cent unsolicited calls and SMS, followed by 27 per cent nuisance calls, 10 per cent scam calls and 2 per cent telemarketing calls.

The report revealed that

Value Added Service (VAS) operators in the Nigerian telecoms space formed the bulk source of spam calls.

The Truecaller report further confirmed the fears earlier raised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator, that telcos were embarrassing telecoms subscribers with unsolicited SMS and voice calls, which led to the compulsory introduction of ‘Do Not Disturb’ (DND), app on operator’s network by the NCC, which gives telecoms subscribers the option to allow or reject unsolicited SMS and calls.

Truecaller said it is helping Nigerian users to block more than 13 million calls, and 25 million spam SMS

on a monthly basis. The company also revealed that it has more than 6.2 million users of Truecaller app in Nigeria, where the user base has grown with over 80 per cent in the past year.

Truecaller has become one of the fastest growing consumer apps in Africa, and has consistently been topping the App Store charts across the continent for the past two years. The Truecaller app, which allows people to see who is calling and filter out spam calls and SMS, already has more than 50 million users in Africa.

Considering the fast growth of the Truecaller community in Nigeria, the company at the weekend, in Lagos, launched its Developer Program in

Nigeria, while scouting for local talents.

The Developer Program, with Truecaller SDK, is a mobile identity product for digital start-ups and app developers, and it was launched at the CcHUB, Africa’s leading social innovation centre.

The company revealed it would be setting up headquarters in the region and hire key personnel for its operations.

Truecaller SDK enables third party app developers, digital businesses and startups to verify end users quickly and frictionlessly by utilizing their Truecaller profile with a one-touch and password free experience. The Truecaller SDK is available on Android, iOS and web platforms and can be

used by any app or a website to instantly onboard, autofill user information, or verify the user’s phone number based identity through the users’ consent.

Director and Head of Worldwide Developer Relations at Truecaller, Mr. Priyam Bose, who spoke at the launch, said: “We see Nigeria as one of the most promising ecosystems in Africa that is why we have decided to kick-off our tour in the market. After engaging with some of the top tech startups and digital businesses in the country, we are even more convinced that Truecaller SDK, a mobile identity solution, will help solve many of their challenges when onboarding and verifying new users.�

Customs Decries Declining Economic Activities in Lagos, Abidjan t(FOFSBUFT / CO JO NPOUIT Eromosele Abiodun

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Jonathan Eze

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

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

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (AgriBusiness)

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme command has described as daunting, the challenges of drastic downturn on economic activities through the Lagos, Abidjan corridor.

That notwithstanding, the command said it generated a total of N5.3 billion from January to October, 2017.

An evaluation of the command’s performance indices for the last 10 months showed that it performed creditably in the face of many limiting factors and hiccups that militated against its performance.

Commenting on the total revenue generated for the period under review, the Customs Area Controller, Mohammed Aliyu disclosed that the feat was achieved with the cooperation of his officers and men, whose resilience and doggedness could not be compromised in implementing the policy

of the federal government banning the importation of rice and vehicles through the land borders. “With the adoption of a more inclusive approach in the fight against smuggling activities, the collaborative effort with other relevant security agencies and the stakeholders has led to a tremendous result of decline in smuggling activities and increase in revenue generation. “The anti-smuggling unit of the command made a total of 469 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of 508,469,776.32 for the period under review, “he said. Furthermore, he said that the intensified and aggressive anti-smuggling operations in the command have led to a drastic reduction in revenue leakages, resulting in the curbing of most cross border crimes perpetrated through the land border.

Meanwhile, the command generated the sum of N678,237,118.22 as revenue for the month of October, 2017 while 123 seizures were made with a duty paid value (DPV) of N184,366,505.00 for the same month under review. “The seized items range from fairly used vehicles, rice, second hand clothing, shoes, frozen poultry products, mosquito repellent coils, expired fertilizer and used tyres among others, “he said.

Commenting further on the movement of goods through the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), which was adopted to promote regional trade and integration, the Customs Area Controller said that under his watch, the command was committed to the implementation of extant laws regarding transit scheme, he affirm that no import goods meant to pay duty is allowed to pass

through the ECOWAS scheme.

He stressed that the rule of origin and the enterprise list were strictly used to ensure that infractions to evade duty through false declaration are avoided, while legitimate ECOWAS goods within the West Africa sub region are facilitated through the scheme. “For the period under review, the ECOWAS compliant goods with CIF value of N11,192,249,590.01 were cleared through the corridor, the one percent comprehensive import supervision scheme fee amounted to N111,694,121.61 with revenue loss of N3,141,661,339.47, “ he said. The Customs Area Controller noted that the command in compliance with government policy of encouraging the export of home made goods has facilitated the export of made in Nigeria goods with FOB value of N9,919,324,238.49 and

a total NESS collection that amounted to N49,598,169.64.

The command, he added, also meticulously supervises the corridor to ensure that none of the export prohibitions is allowed to pass to another country.

Commenting on the activities at the Non-Intrusive Unit (scanner site), the Customs Area Comptroller reiterated that security and trade facilitation is strictly enhanced under the scanner unit.

He restated that the performance of the functional scanner machine has save the command from sponsored petitions of alleged smuggling of weapons into the country through the land borders.

He affirmed that the scanner which is in good working condition is helping in protecting the Nation’s territorial integrity as suspected images noticed during scanning process are subjected to 100 per cent examination.

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Moghalu: Nigerians Don’t Pay Taxes Because They Lack Faith in Govt A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu believes that the federal and state governments are not doing enough in terms of their approach to revenue generation. Moghalu, in this interview with Chika AmanzeNwachuku and Obinna Chima, stressed the need for a fundamental response from Nigerian citizens, especially the youths, in order to address the leadership deficit that has long contributed to the poor policy choices. Excerpts: Now that the economy is out of recession, what measures do you think should be put in place to achieve sustainable growth?

First of all, it is a good thing that, even if it is simply technically speaking, we can say that the recession is over. Economic growth will be anaemic for a while, and it will also be fragile. The reason it will continue to be fragile is because from what I can see from the numbers, growth has not been very strong in manufacturing. Manufacturing is what should drive jobs and productivity in developing economies. To a large extent, the growth we have seen this year has been driven a lot by the oil sector, which is always volatile because of possible price shocks from external factors.

Relying on the price of a raw commodity is not a secure basis for economic planning. So, that is my caution.

When we speak about the path forward, I believe that the fiscal management of Nigeria needs to be completely overhauled. I worry about the debt burden that Nigeria is getting into. I see that the government recently requested the approval of the National Assembly for $5.5 billion in borrowing. If you consider that more than 60 per cent of revenues earned by Nigeria are already going into debt servicing, you can see that we are going into dangerous territory. The argument is always there that these

When we speak about the path forward, I Moghalu believe that the fiscal management of Nigeria loans will be used to execute some important needs to be completely infrastructure that can accelerate growth. But in the quality of the use of foreign debt overhauled. I worry about practice, in Nigeria has not been encouraging. All the the debt burden that foreign loans that were taken in the past have Nigeria is getting into. I not significantly improved economic growth development in Nigeria. Therefore, we see that the government and have to worry about whether or not this is recently requested the not a politically inspired move, seeing that the is facing difficulties and may want approval of the National government seen to be staying afloat. I worry about Assembly for $5.5 billion tothebeimplications of all these loans because this debt will hang on subsequent governments in borrowing. If you and future generations of citizens. After former consider that more than president Olusegun Obasanjo wiped out the debts 60 per cent of revenues that were taken by previous governments, we are once again becoming heavily indebted. We earned by Nigeria are are told that with our debt to Gross Domestic already going into debt Product (GDP) ratio at 19 per cent is safe to borrow more. That is shallow economic thinking. servicing, you can see What matters is the debt service- to-revenue that we are going into ratio. For a developing country like Nigeria, dangerous territory. The that is what should concern us.

I feel that the federal and state governargument is always there ments should look inward a lot more. I see that these loans will be a bit of laziness in both the federal and state governments, in terms of the approach to used to execute some revenue. There is a knee-jerk important infrastructure generating reaction to go for foreign borrowing because it is easy and once you get it, you can spend that can accelerate it. But if states and the federal government growth. But in practice, look inward, I think they can generate a lot the quality of the use of more revenue. Let’s give an example with the federal government – taxation. If you look at foreign debt in Nigeria today, you find that the penetration has not been encouraging. Nigeria of mobile telephones is very high, about 140 All the foreign loans that million lines out of 180 million people. You also find that the informal economy is huge were taken in the past in Nigeria – 65% of our GDP according to the have not significantly IMF. But, what is the effort that is being made to bring the informal economy into the formal improved economic It is when you bring the informal growth and development economy? economy into the formal economy that you can generate massive amounts of tax revenue. in Nigeria

Now, how do you bring the informal economy into the formal economy? The path to achieving that runs through the mobile telephone. If the government were to follow mobile telephone ownership in Nigeria, they would get to nearly every Nigerian. If you get to every Nigerian whose sim card is registered, then you do a tax audit of that individual. If you are not paying tax, why not? What is the arrangement that can be set up now so you can pay taxes?

Even if you are a street hawker and you have a mobile phone that is registered, why would you not pay tax to the state?

I will tell you why a lot of people don’t like to pay tax and try to avoid tax.

It is because there is no social contract between the government and the citizens of Nigeria.

There must be a social contract. People do not trust the government.

They don’t trust that if they pay taxes, the taxes they pay will be used appropriately. So, because of this lack of confidence, people try to hide their earnings

But I will tell you why a lot of people don’t like to pay tax and try to avoid tax. It is because there is no social contract between the government and the citizens of Nigeria.

There must be a social contract. People do not trust the government. They don’t trust that if they pay taxes, the taxes they pay will be used appropriately. So, because of this lack of confidence, people try to hide their earnings.

How can this problem be solved? This trust deficit must be addressed and overcome. If the government says to the people: we are going to make a new social contract and if you pay your tax, this is what we promise you at a minimum that we will deliver in terms of security, healthcare, social security in your old age, and so on. For example, we have about 300,000 policemen in Nigeria, with a population of 180 million persons. That is an extremely low investment in the security of life and limb, which is the number one duty of the state to its citizens. Even worse, half of the 300,000 policemen are guarding Very Important Persons (VIPs). Do you see where the breakdown of the social contract begins?

Fundamentally, people have no trust that their security is being invested in. So, they rather invest their resources in their own security. So, there is no social contract between the state and the individual in Nigeria. I think this is where we must begin. If we start from there, we can get a lot of monies into the revenue coffers of the federal and state governments.

When you borrow more and more, you have very little left to provide services. The less we borrow, the more we can have expendable revenue that can be spent on development.

The percentage of Nigeria’s spending on development, is one of the lowest in Africa.

My thinking is not to increase taxes, but to improve tax collection. When you improve Continued on page28

T H I S D AY Ëž MON Ëœ Í´Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

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BUSINESS

INTERVIEW

MOGHALU: NIGERIANS DON’T PAY TAXES BECAUSE THEY LACK FAITH IN GOVT

There is no other solution to the leadership deďŹ cit in Nigeria than a fundamental citizen response. The current political leadership class in Nigeria has failed Nigeria. Broadly speaking, with very few exceptions, this is the case. We don’t have good leaders in Nigeria because our democracy is all politics and no leadership. It’s all transactions but no substance. The real purpose of politics is to produce leadership.

But in Nigeria, the purpose of politics is not to produce leadership.

It is to entrench vested interests - whether ethnic irredentists or people who are trying to get returns on their political investments or godfatherism. So, the whole purpose of politics in Nigeria is warped. It therefore cannot produce the type of leadership that can take Nigeria forward tax collection, you have more revenue to spend on the things that can stimulate the economy, including infrastructure. We claim to be focused a lot on physical infrastructure, which we do not even deliver well in terms of the quality of the projects, but we ignore social infrastructure such as health and education.

What is the spending of the government on health and education? Very low! And these are the things that are also tied into the absence of a social contract. If people don’t feel that they can go to a hospital and get treatment, they won’t feel that they owe their government anything.

Another requirement for economic growth is to restore local international investor confidence with the right policy adjustments. I see that the government is talking a lot about improving the Ease of Doing Business. But we have to see the results. I tried to register a think-thank as a company limited by guarantee in Nigeria.

The process took more than one year. At a point I was so frustrated that I incorporated a foreign version of the same organisation in the United States so that the vision would not die. It took me all of two days to do it in the US. Two days!! So, compare two days with one year and you will see what the problem is with doing business in Nigeria. The bureaucracy in Nigeria is humongous and it strangles private enterprise. It is one thing to talk about Doing Business reforms, but until people begin to see in a practical manner the efficiency of registering a business in Nigeria, you have a lot of economic growth being stifled and people may be going into other countries. We see a lot of foreign investors now trying to go into West African countries like Ghana.

From all you have just said, I think the country needs to urgently address the issue of leadership deďŹ cit. What do you think can be done to address the issue of quality leadership in Nigeria?

There is no other solution to the leadership deficit in Nigeria than a fundamental citizen response. The current political leadership class in Nigeria has failed Nigeria. Broadly speaking, with very few exceptions, this is the case. We

Moghalu don’t have good leaders in Nigeria because our democracy is all politics and no leadership.

It’s all transactions but no substance. The real purpose of politics is to produce leadership.

But in Nigeria, the purpose of politics is not to produce leadership. It is to entrench vested interests - whether ethnic irredentists or people who are trying to get returns on their political investments or godfatherism. So, the whole purpose of politics in Nigeria is warped. It therefore cannot produce the type of leadership that can take Nigeria forward.

I would recommend some things. First, Nigeria’s citizens need to wake up to their responsibilities. Every country gets the leaders it deserves. So, if we are sitting around complaining about the leadership we have in Nigeria, it is because we have not taken the action to elect a better set of leaders. So, the citizens in Nigeria have a big share of the responsibility for the leadership crisis Nigeria faces today. We have huge practical problems in Nigeria today – we have 29 million Nigerians unemployed; we have 10 million children out of school, the highest in the world; we are 187 out of 189 in the health system’s ranking of the World Health Organisations – these are practical problems that need to be solved.

How do you solve these problems? We need technocratic leadership in Nigeria in the phase we are going into. We need leadership that has the knowledge base, the experience base and the global network base to be able to address these practical problems. If the leaders you are producing are people who have spent their political careers distributing bags of rice or hiring thugs, how can they address the problem of 29 million unemployed people or 10 million kids out of school? Like I said, our politics and politicians are not solving these problems. On top of that, we need three things. Number one, I think we need a lot of leadership training within the Nigerian political class. People need to be trained on what leadership means so that they understand that leadership means vision, that leadership means the ability to mobilise and inspire, set targets, and ensure accountability and delivery. That is what leadership is! Leadership is not about ‘my tribe is in power’, ‘it’s our turn’ or invading the public space with religious chauvinism that leads to conflicts and instability. In fact, we are regressing into a primordial dark age.

We are led in this journey into backwardness by the very people who ought to secure our future. We are not making real progress because of this leadership crisis. If this leadership-

competence crisis is not fixed, we will keep running around in circles. Leadership training is very important. Also fundamental is citizen action and responsibility which is needed to hold leadership accountable. Nigerian citizens can decide to go for a different set of leaders.

Let’s try technocrats and people who have the knowledge of economics, political economy and other practical skills we need in order to solve these problems. That is what we need.

This is how the leadership problem, in my view, can be solved in Nigeria. We focus too much on political party loyalties but not on the quality of candidates, and our political parties are not based on any real ideologies.

I would recommend some things. First, Nigeria’s citizens need to wake up to their responsibilities. Every country gets the leaders it deserves. So, if we are sitting around complaining about the leadership we have in Nigeria, it is because we have not taken the action to elect a better set of leaders. So, the citizens in Nigeria have a big share of the responsibility for the leadership crisis Nigeria faces today. We have huge practical problems in Nigeria today – we have 29 million Nigerians unemployed; we have 10 million children out of school, the highest in the world; we are 187 out of 189 in the health system’s ranking of the World Health Organisations – these are practical problems that need to be solved

How do you think this will happen considering the level of poverty in the country where the electorates are always willing to trade their votes?

I talked earlier about leadership training, citizenship action for accountability, but I missed the point of citizenship education. This is why I decided to return home and set up the think-thank – the Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation (IGET) as my own contribution to solving this problem. IGET is not going to be doing the kind of technical research that only professors can read. We want to do it very simply and accessibly, to educate the citizens on governance and economics. This is because when citizens are empowered with that sort of knowledge, they can now demand for their rights. When the citizens understand that you are doing yourself a disservice by selling your votes every four years; the politician comes and gives you N5,000, buys your vote and disappears, only to reappear four years later. After four years of unemployment and other maladies, they come again and give you another N5,000 and you sell your vote. So, this issue of poverty is real, and Nigerians are selling their democratic rights and their future for a mess of porridge. But we must let the citizens know that they can create a medium to longer term prosperity for themselves if they can look beyond their short-term. By electing the right types of leaders and working together, the problems can be solved in a more durable fashion, rather than electing the wrong type of leaders because they buy your votes every four years. It all comes back to the citizens. They are poor, that’s true, but they need to be educated to know that the solution to their problems is in their hands.

How can you have a country like Nigeria, which has numerous global talents and, as far as human capital is concerned, is number one in Africa. And yet we get third rate leaders most of the time. There is a disconnect. It is true that politicians rig elections, but that is because citizens allow them to rig elections.

If the citizens were to rise up to protect their votes, it becomes difficult. I keep saying it: the citizens must take responsibility too. They are not yet angry enough. If and when they are angry enough, they will change their destiny.

And to a large extent, Nigerians do not believe the electoral body are independent.

How do you see that?

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MOGHALU: NIGERIANS DON’T PAY TAXES BECAUSE THEY LACK FAITH IN GOVT One of the biggest indicators of leadership failure in Nigeria is the extreme politicisation of pretty much all the institutions of the state. That has led to the death of professional excellence.

But I keep coming back to the citizens. If millions of Nigerian voters were to decide to set new standards of leadership in Nigeria, and demand independent and accountable institutions that are impartial, they can identify and vote in people who understand and believe in the importance of such institutions. The basic answer to these problems is with Nigerian citizens. It is not with the politicians who are doing what they know best. In most democracies, on what basis do people win or lose elections? People win or lose elections based on performance or perceptions of their performance. But if you as a citizen are not looking at performance, but you are looking at tribe, religion, then you are the author of your own poverty and the creator of your own misfortune. Why blame the corrupt politician when you the citizens are keeping him or her in power, even though he or she is not serving your interest. So, that is the Stockholm syndrome. Nigerian citizens are like hostages and they have exhibited the Stockholm syndrome in which hostages fall in love with their captors! They need to snap out of it and say it is time to take our power and country back. That it is time for this democracy to serve our collective purpose rather than to serve the purpose of the politicians or the vested interests.

But all these require a lot of reorientation?

True, but let me tell you where to begin.

Where to begin is in the masses of Nigerians who are young and not trapped by all the vices that our aging politicians have, such as the vices of tribalism, political religion and corruption.

I am not saying the young people are perfect, but if you look among young Nigerians today, you will find a lot of entrepreneurship. That zeal is there. Now, if you look at these young Nigerians, you will also see for example, that they are not as tribal as the older Nigerians. They are more cosmopolitan. The rate of inter-ethnic marriages, for example, is very high in this age group. I find this very encouraging. It means that they are not caught in the antagonisms of our older generations. That is where to begin the change in Nigeria’s leadership cycle. We need to educate the youth on how to use their voting power. If young people wake up, Nigeria will wake up.

In your book, ‘Emerging Africa: How the Global Economy’s ‘Last Frontier’ Can Prosper and Matter,’ you described the continent as the ‘last frontier’. With what we are seeing across the globe, do you think Africa is taking its rightful place in the global market?

I don’t think so. The reason that Africa is not taking its rightful place in the global market is because we do not have a worldview of the future and how to create it. That again

We need technocratic leadership in Nigeria in the phase we are going into.

We need leadership that has the knowledge base, the experience base and the global network base to be able to address these practical problems. If the leaders you are producing are people who have spent their political careers distributing bags of rice or hiring thugs, how can they address the problem of 29 million unemployed people or 10 million kids out of school? Like I said, our politics and politicians are not solving these problems

Moghalu goes back to the leadership deficit. Let me tell you something: there is something to be said for intellect, even though many Nigerian and African politicians would want to make it look as if being an intellectual is a crime. But, ideas rule the world. From computers to your Samsung Galaxy phone to Facebook, these are all people’s ideas that affect the quality of our lives. If you look at African countries that are doing very well in the global economy, if you look at Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mauritius, Botswana, you will see that their leaders have a certain level of intellect. Intellect doesn’t necessarily mean having a PhD, it just means being interested in knowledge. It means seeking knowledge for its own value, and applying the knowledge that is acquired to public policy. We must find a marriage between ideas and political power in the future Nigeria.

So, you will find that to the extent that African leaders believe that their economic prospects are tied to the sale of raw commodities, that is a lack of intellect. That is largely why we are poor, while the vast majority of wealthy countries have nothing under their soil. In Nigeria, many political leaders wake up watching the price of oil. That is the god they worship.

That is because if oil price is high, they are happy, if it is low, they are sad. When you have leaders with this type of mindset, you can never emerge in the global economy. The wealth of nations is never created just by raw materials.

The wealth of nations is created by complex products. What does it take to manufacture and export complex products? It is called productive knowledge. So, investing in human capital is the key to transformation. Leaning towards science and technology and vocational skills and practical types of education is the key. In my view, we produce too many lawyers and social scientists. Not that they don’t matter, they do. But, it is important to focus our training in our universities and institutes on science, technology and entrepreneurship. That was how China developed. It doesn’t mean there are no lawyers in China, but the emphasis in the Chinese government’s policies is not on lawyers, it is on people who are engineers,

people who are scientists and entrepreneurs.

So, when you produce the right type of human capital and you provide the opportunity in terms of the business environment and venture capital, the society thrives in the modern world.

Venture capital is the key for Nigeria because access to credit is difficult. Why is access to credit difficult? It is because the macroeconomic environment is rough. We do not generate enough capital from within our economy. Here we return to the issue of the tax base again, which is the lowest in Nigeria among most African countries. Infrastructure is also weak, which pushes up the cost of capital and doing business. So, if you are looking at the banks, which have a short-term horizon in which their loans to borrowers must be repaid, to pump capital that would create prosperity for the common man, you will wait forever. In fact, in most countries, most financing in the private sector does not come from the banks, it

What Nigeria needs is a paradigm shift. The current system cannot produce that paradigm shift. What has brought the current political leadership class to power and what maintains it in power is antithetical to the paradigm shift that Nigeria needs. So, it is for the citizens to organise and produce that paradigm shift.

They can, because it has happened in many countries

comes from venture capital, private equity and development banks. So, my recommendation is a constitutional amendment that the newly established Nigeria Development Bank should have a first line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund. That is the way it is done in Brazil. The reason this is so is that if the development bank has a first line charge, it will be able to fund big ticket items at lower interest rates. So, that development bank must be empowered to finance development in addition to private investments. Now, it is this mixture of public and private investment that will create a booming economy. With that you develop human capital. But what you have is that a lot of people go to school, come out, but they have no jobs. That is because the demand side of the labour equation is not being addressed.

Of course, electric power infrastructure is a key area. How do we deal with that?

Look at what is happening in Nigeria – 3,000 megawatts of electricity for a country of 180 million people. When we get 4,000 megawatts we begin to celebrate. This type of low level ambition tells you that the leadership does not have a worldview. If it did, they would be ashamed proclaiming victory when we have 4,000 megawatts when South Africa with 50 million people has 40,000 megawatts of electricity.

Brazil has 120,000 megawatts with 200 million people. So, what is stopping us from doing this?

Nothing, other than corruption. That is what is preventing a power revolution in Nigeria. There is vested interest in the electricity sector. So, what do you do? You move from the current focus on fossil energy to renewable energy.

Renewable energy is the key. Renewable energy would power millions of households. It may not power industrialisation. Firstly, you have to move away from a national grid system. In my view, I believe the Nigerian grid should be decentralised and focused on areas with industrial activities such as Aba, Onitsha, Nnewi, Kano and Lagos. For the other normal residential population, solar energy can power most of Continued on page 30

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MOGHALU: NIGERIANS DON’T PAY TAXES BECAUSE THEY LACK FAITH IN GOVT their needs. If you follow this approach, you will solve the power problem within five years.

But there is this focus on the way things used to be – let’s borrow money from China to develop the national dam. Everything is so centralised, instead of focusing on a decentralised approach to electricity and focusing that effort on the areas of industrial productivity in Nigeria. If those areas have power and begin to produce with regular power supply, the price of goods would go down. We need a leadership with the economic thinking to be able to create this type of new Nigeria. If you have a leadership whose future is behind it, if you have a leadership that is focused more on the past than the future, a leadership that believes in selective, distorted and self-serving versions of history instead of uniting its citizens with hope and a vision, you cannot move forward.

What Nigeria needs is a paradigm shift. The current system cannot produce that paradigm shift. What has brought the current political leadership class to power and what maintains it in power is antithetical to the paradigm shift that Nigeria needs. So, it is for the citizens to organise and produce that paradigm shift.

They can, because it has happened in many countries. Look at what is happening in France today, there has been a paradigm shift with Emmanuel Macron and he is reforming. Reforms are not always popular, but he has a vision and he is pushing it. Leadership is not always a popularity contest. Nigerian so-called leaders always want to be popular, but they don’t want to be effective leaders. If you think that leadership is all about being popular, then you are not yet a leader. Your job as a leader is to take the people from where they are today, to where they need to be tomorrow. Sometimes, you may need to take them against their own wish because the reason you are the leader is that you see far, you see what they don’t and that is why you bring them along with you on the journey. That is what leadership means. But if you are focused on being popular, then you act only short-term and ad hoc, not strategically and longer term. You go into economic populism, for example, with what we saw with the exchange rate policy, where government was not prepared to make the necessary policy adjustment. They maintained a fixed forex rate and because of that, dollars became scarce. Factories that could not access forex stopped producing and laid off workers, unemployment increased by the millions and

to happen, they need to wake up, understand their power and use it. There are 50 million Nigerian citizens aged between 18 and 35, what does that tell you? You have power that is latent, but you are sitting around complaining in cyberspace. That is why people like us have said we are not going to sit on the fence and be arm chair critics. We are now going to get involved in the evolution of our democracy and in leadership selection. We are going to get involved on the ground at home, by at least educating the citizens on what they should know and how they should act, to produce a better type of democracy. That is one of the things the IGET think-thank will be doing. I have had a very successful career, globally and nationally, and am not looking for personal distinctions anymore. Of what use is that when all around me are poor, unemployed people?

It’s time for a new Nigeria. We all should come together and focus on a different future and on how to create it. That is in our enlightened self-interest if nothing else.

generation to cede political space. They should organise themselves effectively because they have the numbers.

There is someone who holds same ideology, contested in the last local government election in Lagos under Kowa party, campaigned massively, but the allegation at the end of the day was that he was rigged out. Don’t you think things like that discourage young Nigerians from contesting?

These things will happen because we don’t yet have the necessary economies of scale for social change. If you have that, it would yield results. For example, if young people across the 36 states of Nigeria begin to rise up and organise themselves in political movement, it is going to be very difficult for the old order to dominate them. So, the youth have not yet made a serious reach for power. And for that

Can you tell us more about what your think-thank is all about?

The Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation is a think-thank that is going to be focused on three things. Firstly, advising policy makers with the empirical bases to make public policy. Public policy in Nigeria is not based on any empirical information, it just based on the selfish and corrupt motivations of the people who are in power. That is why public policy doesn’t change our reality. But in countries like the United States, France, Singapore, Britain, China, public policy is a science. Governments conduct proper research before certain decisions are taken. So, the think-thank is going to try to do this. Secondly, the think-thank is going to try to educate the Nigerian masses on basic economics, basic governance issues, basic leadership and accountability issues. We are going to be focusing on inclusive growth, that is, how growth in Nigeria can lift poor people out of poverty. That is going to be the focus of our work. This is not academic type of research, but very easily accessible work that we will be sharing with Nigerians openly. We will be preparing short policy papers on various subjects of economic development and governance.

And we will break it down, including in native languages so that people understand the things that affect their lives and are empowered.

emerging markets.

Kingsley previously worked for the United Nations for nearly 17 years from 1992-2009 in strategic planning, legal affairs and development finance roles at duty stations in New York, Cambodia, Croatia, Tanzania and Switzerland, rising to the highest career rank of Director. He led successful work in accountability, dispute resolution and regulatory reform in the UN as a Member of the high-level Redesign Panel on the UN Internal Justice System appointed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2006 at the request of the UN General Assembly. Based at the UN Headquarters in New York, the Redesign Panel overhauled the accountability and dispute resolution framework for the 60,000- member staff and management of the UN worldwide.

Other members of the Redesign Panel included Mary Gaudron, Justice of the Supreme Court of Australia, Louise Otis, Justice of the Court of Appeals in Quebec, Canada, Ahmed El-Kosheri, Professor of International Law and former Judge Ad Hoc of the International Court of Justice at The Hague, and Diego Garcia Sayan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru.

In a versatile UN career Kingsley also successfully led senior UN assignments in national reconciliation and nation-building in fractured societies in Asia, Africa and Europe, and raised billions of dollars for social investments in developing countries by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria in Geneva, Switzerland.

A visionary interdisciplinary thinker and thought leader, Kingsley is the author of several books including the critically acclaimed Emerging Africa: How the Global Economy’s ’Last Frontier’ Can Prosper and Matter, Global Justice, and Rwanda’s Genocide, as well as hundreds of articles and opinion commentaries in academic and policy journals and newspapers

including The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Washington Post, Financial Times, USA Today, Dallas Morning News, New York Law Journal, and New African. He is a sought-after international keynote speaker and a frequent commentator in the global media including CNN, BBC World TV, and Bloomberg TV. A philanthropist, Kingsley founded the Isaac Moghalu Foundation (IMoF), a non-profit organization, in memory of his deceased father Isaac Moghalu, one of Nigeria’s pioneer Foreign Service Officers in the 1960s. IMoF empowers youth and women in disadvantaged communities through literacy, education, skills-building and leadership development.

Kingsley was educated at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) where he obtained the Ph.D. and M.Phil. degrees in International Relations, The Fletcher School at Tufts University where he obtained the M.A., University of Nigeria, Nsukka (LL.B.) and the Institute of Risk Management in London, UK. He also is an alumnus of executive education programs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Business School, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Institute.

He is the recipient of several honors including the Nigerian national honor of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (FCIB) of Nigeria, and the Honorary Doctorate degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) Honoris Causa awarded him by Anambra State University.

Kingsley is married to Mrs. Maryanne Moghalu, a lawyer, ex-banker, and the Executive Director of the Isaac Moghalu Foundation. The couple have four children

Moghalu we went into a recession. Of course, forex corruption became king. Economic populism promotes the wrong incentive for economic activity.

How do you think the country can harness the potential of its vast young population?

I think there are many ways Nigeria can take advantage of its youth population. One way is by creating more economic opportunities for them through this proposal of a publicprivate partnership venture capital fund. Let people and investors create businesses. That’s what creates jobs. Government doesn’t create jobs. Government creates the environment for jobs to be created. So, meeting a core need of those youths, which is capital to start their own businesses, is important. Secondly, it is important for the youth to claim the political space. They shouldn’t wait for the older

Professor Kingsley Moghalu, Oon Professor Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu is a global leader who has made contributions to the stability, progress and wealth of nations, communities and individuals across such domains as academia, economic policy, banking and finance, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, law and diplomacy.

Kingsley Moghalu served as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Head of the Bank’s Financial System Stability (FSS) Directorate from 2009-2014. He led the implementation of far-reaching prudential, structural, corporate governance and risk management reforms in the Nigerian financial system after the global financial crisis of 2008, and was a Member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee that brought inflation down into single digits. During his tenure as Deputy Governor of the CBN Kingsley served as Chairman of the Boards of Directors of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and the Financial Institutions Training Centre. He also was a member of the Boards of Directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and the global Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI).

After completing his five-year tenure as CBN Deputy Governor, Moghalu was appointed to the full-time Faculty of the prestigious Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA as Professor of Practice in International Business and Public Policy and served in that role from 2015-2017. Prof.

Moghalu is presently the Founder and President of the Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation (IGET), a new public policy think tank with a focus on inclusive economic growth, leadership and good governance. IGET has its headquarters in Abuja, and has an international

office in Washington DC, USA. In recognition of Prof. Moghalu’s contributions as a global leader, scholar and practitioner, Admiral (Dr.) James Stavridis (Ret.), the Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University and former Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) subsequently appointed Moghalu the first-ever Distinguished Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the world-renowned institution.

The governing body of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Trade and Development Board, recently appointed Kingsley Moghalu a Member of the high-level Intergovernmental Expert Group on Financing for Development (IGEG FfD). The mandate of the Expert Group is to develop policy proposals on how developing countries can mobilize domestic resources for development, and on how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be achieved more effectively through international cooperation.

Other members of the UNCTAD Expert Group include a former President of an African country, a former Minister of Economic Development of a major European Union power, and a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of a leading Asian country, among other distinguished leaders.

The Expert Group will hold its first meeting from November 8-10 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Kingsley Moghalu founded and led Sogato Strategies S.A., a global strategy, risk and macroeconomic advisory firm with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland in 2009, and after his tenure at the CBN founded Sogato Strategies LLC in Washington, DC., USA in 2015. The firm has advised multinational corporations and global investors including Syngenta, Goldman Sachs, TPG and Eaton Vance on the macroeconomic, business and political risk environments in

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APPOINTMENT

Former MTN CFO Joins Terragon Group’s Board of Directors The Board of Directors of Terragon Group has announced the appointment of the former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of MTN Nigeria, Mr. Andrew Bing, as an independent non-executive director (NED).

The announcement was made at the last board meeting which was held in London recently. The appointment comes against the backdrop of the company’s recent transition into a data and marketing technology business, its pan-African expansion plans as well

as its need for practical and extensive experience to successfully scale across some of the largest markets on the continent.

The Managing Director, Terragon Group, Elo Umeh, said “We are honoured and humbled to have Mr. Andrew Bing accept to join our Board of Directors. We welcome his wealth of experience and look forward to his contributions which will definitely strengthen the governance and oversight functions of the Board.”

Currently an active

member of the Institute of Directors IOD – UK, Bing is an independent NED on other Boards, one of which is Extra Care, a company based in Northern Ireland. He is a telecommunications professional with a well-rounded profile in financial, business development and strategic planning, having worked for over 19 years within the MTN Group, with eight years as CFO of MTN Nigeria.

Acknowledged as an energetic, thorough and committed executive focused on delivering

value in the toughest and most challenging of working environments, Bing led the expansion of MTN across several African countries. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant, a recipient of four international awards for finance funding deals for MTN Nigeria and was previously a Non-Executive Director on the Board of MTN Nigeria Foundation.

Bing joins an existing board chaired by Nneka Nwobi, Head, B1 Strategic Partnership Africa, SAP and Executive Coach.

NTA Honours Inlaks CEO, Adeoti with Exemplary Award The Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) has honoured the MD/ CEO of Inlaks, Mr. Femi Adeoti, with the Exemplary Leadership in Business Award for ‘best global practices’.

In a statement signed by the Marketing Manager of the station, Kemi Disu, the award is in line with NTA’s determination to

identify with individuals and organisations that have continued to excel “in their capacities as entrepreneurs and captains of industries in their chosen careers and profession”.

The statement continued further that “in our effort to encourage and promote few selected organisations and their Chief Executive Officers

who have impacted positively on the Nigeria Economy, Inlaks CEO was recommended by the Award Selection Committee for having met the lay down criteria.”

Adeoti got the Exemplary Leadership in Business honours based on Inlaks’ conducive business environment, good welfare treatment

for its workers, certification of its products and services by the appropriate regulatory agencies.

Other established criteria include the creation of jobs opportunities and employment for Nigerians by the company, good corporate governance and service delivery, among others.

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Ajibola: EfďŹ cient Forex Mgt Key in Improving Nigeria’s Devt Index Obinna Chima The President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Prof. Segun Ajibola has stressed the importance of an efficient foreign exchange management in Nigeria’s strive to improve on its citizens’ Human Development Index.

According to the CIBN boss, with over-reliance on imports of basic needs and export of mono-product, oil, the challenge of absolute and relative poverty remains very high in the country.

These, he pointed out exposes the nation to the vagaries of the forex market. Ajibola said this in an address he presented at the 2017 Fellowship Investiture by the institute held in Lagos

recently.

He noted that while Nigeria had experimented with different exchange rate regimes, opinions were still polarised among economic experts on the best policy option in the management of the country’s foreign exchange. “Principally, there are two extremes of exchange rate regimes – fixed and floating – with different shades of combination.

The choice of exchange rate regime depends on a country’s level of development and the policies governing the monetary and financial fundamentals of such economy. “Most developing economies tend to adopt fixed exchange rate regimes to build confidence in their economic policies whereas the more advanced ones lean towards a flexible

regime as they become more active in international financial markets. “When Nigeria transited to what I call “a managed floating exchange rate regime� in June 2016, questions were raised on the appropriateness and timeliness of the policy,� he explained.

But Ajibola acknowledged that in the past few months, the country has witnessed some stability in the foreign exchange market especially with the interventions of the Central Bank of Nigeria in the market since February 2017. He, however said there was need for a “religious commitment to transparency and accountability in the management of the country’s foreign exchange market by all stakeholders.�

Stanbic IBTC Empowers SMEs Stanbic IBTC has taken further step to empower operators of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

To this end, the bank at the weekend held the 2017 edition of its SME Capacity Building Series in Lagos. The event was organised in collaboration with the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS).

Head, Enterprise Banking, Stanbic IBTC, Babatunde Akindele, said the essence of the forum was to impact capacity on SMEs and grow their capabilities.

He described SMEs as the drivers of any economy because they create employment and stimulate the economic activities. “So, the idea is that the better our SMEs, the better the impact

on the economy and the more growth we would see. So, the idea is to impact skills on owners of SME businesses. Funding of start-ups remains a priority for the bank,� he added.

Akindele, however stressed the importance of angel investors in the economy, to enhance funding to start-ups. “We all have different roles in the economy. But impacting business skills on start-ups is something we are doing here today,� he added.

In her presentation, a facilitator from the CEIBS, Abimbola Osuchukwu, identified the various stages of a business. She listed some of the challenges start-ups face to include working capital, market acceptance, demand challenges, suppliers’ credit,

as well as understanding the learning curve.

According to her, to build a sustainable business, operators must adhere to ethics and professionalism. Furthermore, she stressed the importance of proper book keeping. This, she pointed out would help the business owner manage his business better, make informed decisions about the business, prepare financial results and manage tax issues better.

In his presentation, another facilitator from the CEIBS, Bamidele Adeleke, stressed the importance of digital marketing to businesses.

He noted that adopting the right digital marketing channel would help the business meet its target customers.

Ecobank Takes Financial Literacy to Students Nume Ekeghe Ecobank Nigeria has revealed that its senior staff embarked on tutoring students in various secondary schools across the country on various ways of savings to mark the 2017 World Savings Day recently.

According to a statement, at Government Girls Unity College, Damaturu, Yobe State, the bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Charles Kie who spoke on the theme: “Our future starts with savings,� emphasised the need for students

and youths to imbibe savings culture, stating that it would enhance their financial independence and empowerment in life.

Kie, who was represented by Area Manager, North East, Umar Bako, was said to have mentored the students on how to manage their resources effectively; benefits of saving for the future and various financial techniques, adding that it was part of the bank’s contribution to safeguarding the future of the younger generation.

According to him, “Savings is very important for you. It does not only help you to be financially independent but also secures your future. You can save to pay your school fees and even pay your way through higher institutions.

It is advisable that you open your account now that you are still young. Cross section of students and staff of the school lauded Ecobank for choosing the school for the programme. They admitted that the lecture have imparted them positively.

ACCA Partners CITN on Capacity Building The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) have entered into a new partnership to commence a joint programme known as a Continuous Professional Training Programme (CPTP) for members of both bodies. With this new arrangement, both professional bodies are expected to jointly conduct research in areas of accountancy, tax, corporate governance, among others. Speaking during the launch of the new initiative, the immediate Past President,CITN and Head of the African Tax Institute,Prof Olateju Somorin, said the collaboration would be beneficial to members of both bodies. “The ACCA is a

global body that has presence in many countries. So, with this partnership, we are going to have cheap resource persons and cheap knowledge from ACCA. So, from the ACCA’s wealth of experience, we can bring improve the capacity of our members. “Equally, the CITN is very strong in terms of the Nigerian tax system. This knowledge would help members to be better position in curbing the illicit flow of funds, especially out of Nigeria and block some loopholes in the system,� she explained. According to her, the CPTP is a fusion of the training programmes of both institutes, saying that the knowledge of both institutes would be derived by members. Shedding more light

on the collaboration, the Business Development Manager, ACCA, Aderonke, Adegbole, who represented the ACCA Country Manager at the event, described it as a fantastic opportunity for both bodies. “One of the things, the country needs today is investment in people. So, that is what this partnership does.

It is expected to make members of both institutes robust finance professionals, to deliver on all objectives on the economy,� she added.

Also, the International Assembly Representative for ACCA in Nigeria, Mr. Babajide Ibironke, pointed out that ACCA as a global body was formed in 1904 and is present in 185 countries.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

AUGUST 2017 Broad Money (M2)

21,851,454.31

-- Narrow Money (M1)

9,890,813.10

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,523,239.91

---- Demand Deposits

8,367,573.19

-- Quasi Money

11,960,641.22

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

9,732,990.89

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

12,118,463.42

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC) ---- Credit to Government (Net)

26,821,446.81 4,824,226.22

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

7,834,536.74

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

--3,010,310.52

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

21,997,220.59

--Other Assets Net

--14,702,983.39

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,486,804.65

--Currency in Circulation

1,868,735.07

--Banks Reserves

3,268,266.17 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

August 2017

Inter-Bank Call Rate

22.63

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

13.35

Savings Deposit Rate

4.08

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.86

3 Months Deposit Rate

10.14

6 Months Deposit Rate

11.51

12 Months Deposit Rate

11.40

Prime Lending rate

17.69

Maximum Lending Rate

31.20 Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT THURSDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2017

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $58.49 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $59.23 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

37

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ Í´Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

MARKET NEWS

Courtville Business Solutions Grows Profit by 60% in Nine Months Goddy Egene Courtville Business Solutions Plc, an information technology communications (ICT) company has recorded a growth of 60 per cent in profit after tax (PAT) for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

According to the results to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Courtville posted revenue of

N1.0billion for the nine months in 2017, up from N945 million in the corresponding of 2016.

Cost of sale rose from N548 million as against N547.4 million, bringing the gross profit to N457.676 million compared with N397.9 million in 2016.

Other income improved from N72.813 million to N224.8 million, while operating income rose from N341.833 million in 2016 to

N361.452 million in 2017. Profit before tax grew by 98 per cent to N62.1 million, from N31.485 million, just as profit after tax rose from N27.1 million to N43.239 million in 2017.

Courteville provides and delivers innovative e-business solutions in the design and development of customised software and mobile applications,

through data capture services, retail business channel delivery services, and dedicated & cloud hosting services as well as tax administration consultancy services.

The ISO 9001:2008 certified company is focused on process re-engineering in both the private and public sector by providing cutting edge solutions to complex operational challenges, through

the development and delivery of unique business solution models, revenue stream improvement and cost management processes.

Group Managing Director/CEO of the company, Bola Akindele said: “Courteville’s unique selling proposition is that we apply local ideas using local talents to handle local challenges.�

According to him, the company has over 5, 000 processing

points across Nigeria, with its flagship solution is the AutoReg ™, a business solution tool, through which it has created the largest data capture and process platform in sub-Sahara Africa. “AutoReg is the Automated Vehicle License Registration and Renewal System, and a business solution that has been launched successfully in many states across Nigeria.

PRICES FOR SECURITIES TRADED AS OF 03/11/2017

38

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39

˾ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

MARKET NEWS

As Nigeria Exits Recession, Emirates Returns to Abuja Chinedu Eze Major Middle East carrier, Emirates at the weekend announced that it would resume flights to Abuja and its second daily service to Lagos almost one year after it stopped both operations owing to Nigerian’s economic recession. The operations had been suspended before the closure of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja for the rehabilitation of its runway.

Specifically, the airline said

it would resume operations to Abuja, with four weekly flights from December 15, 2017.

The airline explained that similar to the current daily service between Dubai and Lagos, the added frequencies to Lagos would be operated with Emirates’ Boeing B777-300ER aircraft, offering eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class. The reinstated service to Abuja will be served by a 360-seat Boeing 777-300 in a three-class configuration.

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

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

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

“Nigeria is a key market for Emirates and its importance is reflected by the fact that we will add 11 weekly flights between Dubai and two major cities in Nigeria, Abuja and Lagos.

This is great news for both our business and leisure customers and highlights our commitment to providing travellers in Nigeria with not only the very latest in aircraft innovations but also increased connectivity,” said Emirates Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Africa, Orhan Abbas.

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

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

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

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 3-Nov-2017, unless otherwise stated.

“We thank the Nigerian authorities for facilitating the reinstatement of our flights to Abuja and Lagos which will, in turn, greatly benefit Nigerian tourism, trade, investment and economy at large.” added Mr. Abbas.

Emirates said that by operating a double daily service to Lagos and four weekly flights to Abuja, Emirates would offer travellers in Nigeria very convenient and comfortable access to Dubai, and onwards to other destinations on the Emirates network, including

more than 35 destinations in the Middle East and Far East, 18 destinations in South Asia and over 20 destinations in the Americas and Australia. Many of these destinations are served

by Emirates’ iconic A380 aircraft.

Apart from the increased passenger capacity, the new flights would provide up to 23 tonnes of cargo capacity per flight, giving businesses and traders more opportunities for increased imports such as electronic goods, construction equipment and pharmaceuticals, and exports such

as fresh produce and perishables.

Emirates said also that the added Lagos flight EK781 would depart Dubai every day at 0355hrs and arrive in Lagos at 0905hrs.

The return flight EK782 would depart Lagos at 1240hrs and arrive in Dubai at 2255hrs.

Also the Abuja flight EK785 would depart Dubai every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 1035hrs and arrive in Abuja at 1535hrs. The return flight EK786 would depart Abuja at 1855hrs and arrive in Dubai at 0435hrs the next day.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 178.40 179.46 40.61% Nigeria International Debt Fund 233.88 235.08 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 16.47% ACAP Income Funds 0.62 0.62 77.99% 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 17.87% 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 17.99 18.53 45.67% ARM Discovery Fund 375.21 386.52 30.65% ARM Ethical Fund 26.36 27.16 17.99% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.87% 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 147.89 148.93 40.61% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.23% 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 18.45% CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronation.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.70% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.00 1.01 0.47% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.00 1.03 1.56% 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 1,107.18 1,108.27 9.31% FBN Heritage Fund 143.02 144.27 28.30% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.93% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $111.34 $112.50 8.33% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $110.75 $111.90 8.50% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 158.42 160.78 40.73% 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 1.39 1.42 49.47% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.92 2.92 13.69% 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 2,904.95 2,945.08 32.11% Coral Income Fund 2,405.77 2,405.77 15.44% 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 17.86% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.08 2.11 23.87%

Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 18.41% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 112.61 112.61 16.06% 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 16.72% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,036.16 1,036.16 10.00% 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 13.10 13.21 35.58% 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 20.97% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.86 10.91 4.46% 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 2,204.16 2,217.31 20.39% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 173.01 173.01 12.37% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.99 1.00 29.22% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 214.48 214.48 14.76% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 172.00 174.23 32.48% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.83% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 9,561.09 9,673.89 26.09% 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 1.00 1.00 18.50% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 12.54 12.72 29.01% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.19 13.33 20.57% Zenith Income Fund 18.72 18.72 13.16%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 131.31

1.01% 5.92%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.96 137.99 106.81

11.06 140.97 108.82

26.95% 39.48% 40.95%

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%

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

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com

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.

40

T H I S D AY MONDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2017

5(78516 21 87,/,=$7,21 2) )81'6 62/' 72 &86720(56 )25 7+( :((. (1'(' )5,'$< 129

T H I S D AY MONDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2017

5(78516 21 87,/,=$7,21 2) )81'6 62/' 72 &86720(56 )25 7+( :((. (1'(' )5,'$< 129

41

42

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6 ˾ T H I S D AY

CITYSTRINGS

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

A Looming Hunger Frequent conflicts between farmers and cattle herders in the Benue valley have become a clear and present danger to food security. Fostered by the drying Lake Chad region and the Boko Haram insurgency, the horizon is becoming ominous, writes Chineme Okafor

Benue produces most of the yam consumed in Nigeria...this may be threatened

"A

griculture is the mainstay of this economy. Few people indulge in livestock farming such as pigs, sheep, goats and the ‘Muturu’ cattle. Most families depend on the revenue earned from crop production for their livelihoods, but the crisis there is posing a lot of risk to agriculture,” Fanen, a migrant farmer from Agasha Village in Guma Local Area of Benue told THISDAY. Sandwiched within the company of a couple others who migrated from Guma - a lush farming community on the North-eastern part of Benue, to Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, on the back of frequent farmers clash with cattle herders on the Benue, Fanen, suggested that communal farming and indeed food production from Benue was perhaps troubled by the clash.

He said: “The rains were good this year, and that would have made farming easier, but few people tilled the grounds. Those who went out, always did that with a lot of fear for their lives.”

Situated just within what is regarded as Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, and along a good stretch of river systems, Benue State, is often described as the ‘food basket of the nation’, a sobriquet it perhaps earned from its good use of the natural agriculture endowment it got from nature.

The state holds one of the longest stretches of river systems in Nigeria, and is known to have great potential for a viable fishing industry, dry season farming through irrigation as well as for inland water highway. Benue has both in diversity and quantities, good

food cultivation and production almost all year round.

And, in union with its ideal climatic and soil conditions, its network of Rivers Benue and Katsina-Ala, as well as their tributaries, provide accessible water all year round for

Though the state government in June signed a law to embargo and replace open cattle grazing in the state with ranching from October, this has hardly given farming communities in the state the kind of breaks they need to cultivate their lands and produce food. Communities in Guma, Gwer-West, Agatu, Logo, Kwande and the northern part of Makurdi, are reportedly the most hit, and have remained quite reluctant to get back to their farms for fear of attacks

Outcomes of frequent farmers and herders conflict

about 75 per cent of its 4.2 million people – as recorded in the 2006 national population census, who are predominantly farmers to cultivate food crops such as yam, cassava, maize, rice, soybean, groundnut, and tree crops that include citrus and mango.

In fact, the state is reputed as the largest producer of yam, cassava, mango and citrus in Nigeria, with yams identified in a 2011 General Household Survey Panel (GHSPanel) conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the World Bank, as an integral component of food consumption and agriculture sales in Nigeria.

But these agrarian potential and diversities are reportedly getting worked by the vagaries of climate change and migration – two critical conditions with a striking nexus that has remained quite inexplicable to community folks, and itinerant cattle herders whose passage through the state has lately come with conflicts.

Cropland conflicts inflamed by climate change and migration Because of the severe impacts of climate change on the Lake Chad, farming, fishing, and pastoral residents who live on the edges

43

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6 ˾ T H I S D AY

CITYSTRINGS

of the lake are frequently forced to move southwards in search of greener vegetation, and overtime, Nigeria and three other countries – Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, who share the Lake Chad have seen systemic droughts, unemployment, and conflicts over natural resources such as fertile croplands escalate within their territories.

From 1960, reports indicate that Lake Chad’s surface area has drastically reduced by 90 per cent from 25,000 square kilometers to about 1500km2 due to increasing temperatures from global warming.

Similarly, its dwindling waters have stirred insecurity and chaos in Nigeria - a country the Lake Chad Commission said now houses about 60 per cent of the lake basin population.

The commission’s report also indicated that these communities of people comprising cattle herders have continued to move southwards from Kano and Maiduguri, which are their initial entry points, into Kogi; Benue; Ekiti; and Enugu, looking for more fertile soil to farm, and pasture on, but they have not been received well by locals.

Further away from the Boko Haram terrorists, the pastoral communities in particular have continued to attract conflicts over pastureland along local communities they pass through, and clashes of interests between them and local farmers have subsequently increased with a few thousands of people already dead from recorded confrontations in Agatu, Akaa, and Tse-Orlalu, all in Benue communities.

Also, because Benue State lies along a major international livestock routes which run through Nigeria’s North-east, North-central, all the way to the South-east, it often records very high population of cattle herders during the cyclical north-south yearly migration. Before now however, the herders reportedly passed through the state back and forth to their destinations without known conflicts, but this has changed with time as they resort to harness the waters of the River Benue and its tributaries, as well as the pleasant vegetation along the ‘fadamas’ – the Hausa name for irrigable land, from November to March, to raise their herds.

Additionally, the pasturage, salt licks, water sources, maybe livestock market, and the nature of the Benue terrain which allows for unhindered movements, gives out protective mechanisms for livestock against certain vagaries of nature like tsetse flies, harsh weather conditions, and livestock bandits, have equally made the Benue basin a preferred spot for the pastoralists, but not without these crises of interests which now look to have become a threat to food security in parts of Nigeria.

Burnt and ransacked, Agatu Village, Benue

Herdsmen on the move

A ‘food basket’ that could become empty While the outcomes of the land crises between herdsmen and farmers in Benue are real and require very little thoughts to understand their likely ends, it is however seldom considered a big deal within government circles, thus creating some sort of uncertainties for the 75 per cent of the state’s farming population involved in arable farming and food production.

Though the state government in June signed a law to embargo and replace open cattle grazing in the state with ranching from October, this has hardly given farming communities in the state the kind of breaks they need to cultivate their lands and produce food.

Communities in Guma, Gwer-West, Agatu, Logo, Kwande and the northern part of Makurdi, are reportedly the most hit, and

Heightened by climate change and Boko Haram, clashes between farmers and herdsmen in Benue have not just led to the loss of lives and property, but also adversely affected farming activities, which in turn contributes to drastic reduction in food production or yields from the farms

Yam Market in Anyiin, Logo Local Government

have remained quite reluctant to get back to their farms for fear of attacks.

Likewise, women who are from Guma Local Government Area, and who reportedly produce more than three quarter of the overall yellow melon (egusi) Nigeria produces annually, in addition to maize, millet, groundnuts, and guinea corn, are now known to only go to

their farmlands only when they are assured of sufficient cover from their communities against the marauding cattle herders.

Heightened by climate change and Boko Haram, clashes between farmers and herdsmen in Benue have not just led to the loss of lives and property, but also adversely affected farming activities, which in turn contributes to drastic reduction in food production or

yields from the farms.

This development could also bring with it a masked but possible spell of food shortage or crisis in parts of Nigeria considering that most farmers like Fanen from affected parts of Benue have abandoned their farmlands for fear of being attacked by the herdsmen and migrated to places with no opportunity to cultivate land to produce food.

44

T H I S D AY MONDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2017

T H I S D AY MONDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2017

45

46

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

27 Killed in Church Attack in Texas At least 27 people have died after a gunman yesterday opened fire at a church in Texas during Sunday services, police say.

The attack happened at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs in Wilson County.

Police official Albert Gamez Jr confirmed the number of fatalities to CBS News.

The gunman, who was reported to have been killed in the aftermath, entered the church and opened fire at around 11:30 local time (17:30 GMT).

“The details are kind of sketchy but what I know right now, what they’re telling me, like 27 deceased and over 20,

25 injured,” Mr Gamez Jr said.

“They are talking about the shooter is dead also,”he added.

About 50 people usually attend the service, locals said.

Local media outlets reported that children were among the dead.

The gunman died after a brief car chase into nearby Guadalupe County slightly to the north, a Sherriff’s Office deputy from that county told CNN. But it is not clear if he was killed by police or killed himself, the spokesman said.

One witness, Carrie Matula, told NBC News: “We heard semi-automatic gunfire… we’re only about 50 yards away from this church.”

“This is a very small com-

Saudi Princes among Dozens Detained in ‘Corruption’ Purge The heir to the throne in Saudi Arabia has consolidated his hold on power with a major purge of the kingdom’s political and business leadership, according to BBC. A new anti-corruption body, headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, detained 11 princes, four sitting ministers and dozens of ex-ministers.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire with investments in Twitter and Apple, is among

those held.

Separately King Salman replaced the national guard and the navy chiefs.

The new anti-corruption committee has the power to issue arrest warrants and travel bans.

Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said the status of the detainees would not influence “the firm and fair application of justice”, AFP news agency reports.

munity, so everyone was very curious as to what was going on.”

Sutherland Springs is a small town with just a few hundred residents, which lies about 50km (30 miles) southeast of the city of San Antonio.

The San Antonio FBI branch

wounded, KSAT 12 reporter Max Massey said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, said: “Our prayers are with all who were harmed by this evil act. Our thanks to law enforcement for their response.”

He said more details would be released by the Texas Depart-

said its agents had been deployed, and there was no indication of the gunman’s motive.

The FBI also said while only one shooter was reported, it was looking into other possibilities.

A number of helicopters have arrived to transport the

ment of Public Safety shortly.

President Donald Trump, on a tour of Asia, tweeted: “May God be with the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas.

The FBI and law enforcement are on the scene. I am monitoring the situation from Japan.”

France Crime: Thousands Mourn Murdered Jogger Alexia Daval Family and friends have joined a march of some 10,000 people through a French town in response to the murder of a local woman who vanished last weekend.

The burnt body of Alexia Daval, 29, who disappeared while jogging, was found in woodland near Gray, a town in the north-eastern region of Haute-Saone, according to BBC. An autopsy has found she

was strangled. No arrests have been made and her attacker’s identity remains unknown.

Women have honoured her with symbolic runs in cities across France.

In Gray, a quiet town of 5,000 residents, people marched in silence on Sunday and listened to speeches by her grieving husband Jonathan Daval and other family members.

Mrs Daval, a bank worker,

went out for a run on Saturday 28 October. After not hearing from her for several hours, her husband called the police.

Her body was eventually found covered in foliage in a wood far from her normal jogging route.

A source close to the investigation told AFP news agency there were no preliminary indications she had been raped.

Addressing the rally in

Gray, Mrs Daval’s mother, Isabelle Fouillot, paid tribute to the women and men who had gone out running to commemorate her daughter and other victims of violence against women.

“With these sporting gestures, you are making Alexia into a strong symbol, one of the freedom for all women to enjoy running and to live,” she said through her tears.

Trump Pledges US Resolve on Japan Leg of Asia Tour US President Donald Trump said no nation should underestimate American resolve, as he arrived in Japan at the start of a marathon Asian tour, BBC reports.

Addressing US troops at Yokota air base near Tokyo, he pledged to ensure the military had the resources needed to keep peace and defend freedom.

He later told the Japanese prime minister he thought the two countries had never been closer.

It will be the longest tour of Asia by a US president in 25 years.

It comes amid heightened tensions with North Korea over its nuclear programme and missile tests.

“No-one, no dictator, no

regime... should underestimate American resolve,” President Trump told cheering US and Japanese troops shortly after his arrival in Japan.

Before touching down, he told reporters on board Air Force One that he expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip.

“I think it’s expected we’ll meet

with Putin,” he said. “We want Putin’s help on North Korea.”

Speaking after talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Mr Trump said: “The relationship is really extraordinary.

“We like each other and our countries like each other, and I don’t think we’ve ever been closer to Japan than we are right now.”

MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC

CHANGE OF REGISTRARS This is to inform the general public, particularly the Shareholders of MRS Oil Nigeria Plc and Capital Market Operators that with effect from 1st November, 2017, the registrar functions of the Company previously

undertaken

by

Cardinal

Stone

Registrars

Limited

will

now

be

undertaken

by

FIRST REGISTRARS & INVESTOR SERVICES LIMITED @Plot 2, Abebe Village Road, Iganmu, P.M.B. 12692, Marina, Lagos State.

Tel: +234 1-2799880, 2701079, 2701078.

Website: www.firstregistrarsnigeria.com E-mail: info@firstregistrarsnigeria.com All enquiries on share certificates, dividend payments and all other transactions relating to shares of MRS Oil Nigeria Plc should be directed to First Registrars & Investor Services Limited.

Dated this 31st Day of July, 2017.

(BY ORDER OF THE BOARD)

O.M. Jafojo (Mrs.) Company Secretary

FCIS

8, Macarthy Street, Onikan, Lagos, Nigeria. Tel: +234 1 461 4500, Fax:+234 1 461 4602 www.mrsoilnigplc.net

T H I S D AY MONDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2017

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Ă?ĂĄĂ? Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; Davidson Iriekpen Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013; davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com, 08111813081

FG: Food Prices will Tumble Soon Tobi Soniyi Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2122;Ă?

The federal government has given an assurance that prices of food stuffs will tumble in no distant future.

Addressing journalists in Lagos at the weekend, the Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Nigerians would soon begin to see the impact of the policies put in place by the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The bottom line is that as things continue to improve, Nigerians will begin to feel the impact in their daily lives. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the ongoing massive infrastructural development, especially in roads, railways and power, Nigerians will begin to get a new lease of life. Food

prices will tumble. Businesses will thrive. More jobs will be created.â&#x20AC;?

The minister based his optimism on new statistics showing that the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going back into recession, the declining inflation and the fact that Nigeria moved 24 places to 145th in the World Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Doing Businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This administration will not relent in its determined effort to usher in a new dawn for Nigerians. We are winning the battle to revive the economy.â&#x20AC;?

He also said the country was winning the war against corruption like never before.

He also said the government was tackling insecurity with a renewed vigour. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While the naysayers, who are obviously in the minority,

persist in their pastime of acting as a distraction, discerning and well-meaning Nigerians will continue to appreciate and encourage the good work of our administration,â&#x20AC;? he added.

He commended Nigerians for their perseverance.

According to him, reviving the economy was never going to be an easy task.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was bound to bring some hardship to our people in the short term.

Through it all, the good people of Nigeria have borne the pains

with equanimity, based on their unshakable trust in the sincerity, capability and commitment of President Buhari. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now, the soothing balm is here. As the results of the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fidelity to its well-articulated economic policies trickle in, one thing is sure: This time around, it will be long-lasting.â&#x20AC;?

Also speaking, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, the Secretary to the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Coordinator of the

Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES), said the council had started a second national action plan, tagged NAP 2.0 to mobilise government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for reforms that build on the achievements of the initial 60-day National Action Plan.

She also said the council had commenced the preparation and drafting of an omnibus bill to holistically address legal constraints to business and small and medium-scale enterprises

(SMEs) in Nigeria.

She said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will be releasing an app that helps us collate feedback from the public on the performance of governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MDAs and we really need the public to engage and participate in this feedback process.â&#x20AC;?

She said while the initial NAP 60 had a 70 per cent performance rate, the final results of NAP 2.0 would be announced by the PEBEC in December.

The current World Bank reform cycle will end in May 2018.

Falana: Buhari Should Act with Dispatch on Mainagate Ejiofor Alike A human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sanction all the officials who conspired to expose his administration and the country to avoidable shame by bringing back Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina to the public service.

Falana said in a statement yesterday that the sanctions, which the federal government would mete out to all such officials would make or mar the fight against corruption and impunity which is the cornerstone of the domestic and foreign policy thrust of the administration.

The rights activist noted that although the federal government has promised not to sweep the Mainagate under the carpet, he argued that the handling of the monumental scandal has so far eroded the credibility of the anti corruption crusade of the Buhari administration.

Falana recalled that Mainaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family had accused the Buhari administration of official hypocrisy and betrayal.

According to him, the spokesman for the family, Mr. Aliyu Maina, had pointed out that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Abdulrasheed was in fact invited by this administration and he was promised security to come and clean up the mess and generate more revenue to the government by blocking leakages.â&#x20AC;?

The family spokesman was also quoted as saying that â&#x20AC;&#x153;he (Maina) has been working with the DSS for quite some time and he was given necessary security. So, one wonders why all the agencies and various individuals responsible for his return are now denying.â&#x20AC;?

Falana argued that in view of the revelation of the family, which has not been denied, it is crystal clear that the highly

placed officials of the federal government who brought Maina back to the country, gave him a clean bill of health.

Falana added that the said officials also provided Maina with â&#x20AC;&#x153;necessary securityâ&#x20AC;?, reinstated him, promoted him and paid his arrears of salaries and allowances totalling N22 million deliberately set out to subvert the anti corruption policy of the Buhari administration. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is the height of insensitivity to pay arrears of salaries to a fugitive at a time when hundreds of thousands of workers and pensioners are owed arrears of their legitimate emoluments.

Through such demonstration of official impunity the officials involved have exposed the country to ridicule before the comity of nations. Having found Maina and exonerated him why was Interpol not informed that he was no longer wanted to stand trial for his role in the unprecedented pension fraud?

Since Mainaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;necessary securityâ&#x20AC;? provided by the State Security Service has not been withdrawn why is the federal government requesting the Interpol to declare him wanted again? Will Interpol believe that a man who was provided with â&#x20AC;&#x153;necessary securityâ&#x20AC;? cannot be found by the federal government? Why is the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) asking Nigerians to assist in searching for the fugitive?â&#x20AC;? Falana queried.

He added that the sanctions which the federal government will mete out to all the officials who conspired to expose the administration and the nation to such avoidable shame will make or mar the fight against corruption and impunity which is the cornerstone of the domestic and foreign policy thrust of the administration, adding that time is certainly not on the side of Buhari.

CORRIGENDUM In our publication of Friday, October 20, 2017, titled: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Many Ex-Airways Workers Die Waiting for Pension,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; we inadvertently included the name of Mr. Ebenezer Akinbode among the long list of Nigeria Airways workers who have so far died while waiting for their pensions. We have since realised that Mr. Ebenezer Akinbode is alive, hale and hearty.

The error is deeply regretted.

- Editor

COURTESY VISIT

L-R: Cross River State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade, exchanging pleasantries with the United Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s High Commission for Refugees Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Anotonio Canhandula (middle); Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, Hajia Sadiya Farouq, during a courtesy visit by the duo on the governor at Government House Calabar....yestesterday

PDP Candidates Clear Enugu Council Polls It was a sham, say Okechukwu, Nwoye Christopher Isiguzo Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x; The Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) has declared candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winners of the November 4 local government council elections in the state.

Chairman of the commission, Chief Mike Ajogwu (SAN), who announced the results at the commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s headquarters in the state, said the ruling party cleared the 14 chairmanship seats so far declared. Â Ajogwu said PDP won the three seats in Udi, Awgu and Enugu North councils.

The party also cleared the councillorship seats in the three councils bringing the total councillorship seats won by the ruling party to 258 out of the total 260 seats.

He, however, declared that election did not take place in Eke and Obioma wards in Udi local government.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeamah and Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, hail from Eke ward.

Ajogwu said he would have withheld the results for the chairmanship seat from Udi on account of the non-conduct of election in the two wards but

because the total registered voters in the two wards would not be enough to affect the total results of the chairmanship position.

The PDP candidate in Udi, Ochi Nelson polled 54,331 votes while the APC candidate polled 4,731 votes.  But the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC), through the Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, had dismissed the election as a sham, insisting that the officials of ENSIEC were card-carrying members of the PDP handpicked to do the bidding of the ruling party.  The APC state Chairman, Ben Nwoye, also expressed dismay over the conduct of the election in the state.  Okechukwu and Nwoye were reacting to the outcome of the elections which they alleged were marred by late arrival of electoral materials among other irregularities.  In his reaction, Okechukwu, a chieftain of APC, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The shambolic nature of local government council elections nationwide exhibited on November 4 in Enugu State, remains a paradox to the quest for devolution of powers from the federal to state tier of government.â&#x20AC;?  He expressed worry that since the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s return to the fourth

Republic, most state governments had debased democracy by conducting shambolic local government council elections.  The VON DG alleged that the same shambolic election took place in Enugu last Saturday. Asked about the danger posed by such elections which pervaded all the states governments and all political parties, Okechukwu retorted: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It makes popular participation at the local government level impossible, hence debasing democracy. To compound matters, all state governments run a rubberstamp state House of Assemblies. Therefore no oversight functions at the state level.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Consequently, the devolution of powers from the federal to the second tier of government seems a paradox; paradox in the sense that democracy cannot grow or survive without free and fair elections at the local government level.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Imagine what could have happened to the opposition if there is state police, we could have been chased out of the polling precincts. To be honest, we patriots have to review our support for the devolution of powers.â&#x20AC;?

Reminded that APC governors also conduct â&#x20AC;&#x153;shambolicâ&#x20AC;? local government council elections,

Okechukwu said his concern was about the growth and survival of democracy in the country.  Nwoye on his part, said the election was characterised by wild spread violence in almost all the council areas of the state.  He alleged that reports reaching him had it that two people lost their lives at Oji River Local Government Area while several others sustained various degrees of injuries in other council areas, including Igboeze South.  According to Nwoye, the APC gubernatorial candidate in 2015 general election, Okey Ezeah, who hails from Igboeze South, was violently attacked and seriously injured by suspected thugs working for the PDP in his area, adding that â&#x20AC;&#x153;as I speak to you now, he is currently receiving treatment in the hospital.â&#x20AC;?  The APC state chairman said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Like I predicted yesterday during a press conference, the ENSIEC Chairman, Ajogwu, has rubbished himself with this sham he put together in the name of election just to satisfy his pay masters, the PDP.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is quite unfortunate that there was wild spread of violence and bloodbath in Enugu on Saturday, just simply because ENSIEC wants to please the PDP.  Nwoye, who appealed to

Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on Pg 51

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Nigeria Not an Oil Economy, Says Adeosun Ndubuisi Francis Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has declared that changing the Nigerian economic psyche is not an easy task, stating that the current tax drive of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was not designed for short-term lure of political expediency.

In an article captioned: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;All Change:Â Â Nigeria is Not An Oil Economy,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adeosun said: By its nature, tax mobilisation risks the popularity of any government, but the present administration understands that the short-term lure of political expediency must give way to the long-term best interests of Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest economy.â&#x20AC;?

According to her, descriptions of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy often include such phrases as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest oil producerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the oil rich African nation.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; But she noted that oil economies are typically characterised by low population densities and abundant oil resources. Citing examples, the minister noted that Saudi Arabia with 10 million barrels of oil per day and 30 million people; Kuwait with 2.7 million barrels of oil per day and four million people and Qatar with 1.5 million barrels of oil per day and 2.5 million people are typical of such. She noted: â&#x20AC;&#x153;These economies pursued an economic model that was built around a large government dependent almost entirely on oil revenue for funding. Such economies

could afford to have low or in some cases no domestic revenue mobilisation, in the form of taxes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratios of less than 10% against the OECD average of 34.6% could be justified especially in the era of high oil prices.â&#x20AC;?

Adeosun stressed that for over three decades, Nigeria pursued this model, adding: â&#x20AC;&#x153;But things are changing, with the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, who was propelled into office under the mantra of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;changeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.â&#x20AC;? Â â&#x20AC;&#x153;That clamour for change in the areas of governance, security and economy,â&#x20AC;? she noted, â&#x20AC;&#x153;coincided with the collapse of global oil prices and a consequent huge deficit in government revenues.â&#x20AC;?

Adeosun pointed out that â&#x20AC;&#x153;these circumstances provided the ingredients for an overhaul of the entire economic model,â&#x20AC;? stressing that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the first and rather numbing conclusion of that exercise was that Nigeria is not actually an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;oil economy.â&#x20AC;?  According to her, with just two million barrels of oil per day and over 180 million people, â&#x20AC;&#x153;simple mathematics tells us that 90 Nigerians share a barrel of oil compared to three Saudis, 1.44 Kuwaitis and 1.69 Qataris.â&#x20AC;?

Continuing, she stated: â&#x20AC;&#x153;With oil at just 10 per cent of GDP, Nigeria simply does not fit into the mould of the traditional oil economies.â&#x20AC;?

The finance minister stressed: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Interestingly, even nations

who did legitimately fit into this narrow mould of high oil revenues and low populations, are abandoning what is now considered to be a flawed model. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thus, the imperative for Nigeria was even more urgent. Nigeria recalibrated its target peer group from the oil economies to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;oil plusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; economies such as Mexico and Egypt. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This new peer group have diversified economies and tax to GDP ratios of 20% and 16 per cent, respectively, compared to Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s six per cent. Consequently, the change mantra had to be urgently applied to revenue mobilisation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Analysis of the data suggests that revenue mobilisation is potentially the master key to unlocking Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s huge growth potential by funding its ailing infrastructure including roads, power and rail.Â

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A cursory look at the effective tax rates paid by the huge multinational and local operators, as well as the data on illicit financial flows, indicates a pattern of systematic tax evasion at all levels.â&#x20AC;?

She recalled that recent statistics released by her ministry showed that Nigeria has just 14 million active tax payers from an economically active base of 70 million.

Over 95 per cent of these, she said, are salary earners in the formal sector, with just 241 persons payiĂąg personal income taxes of N20 million (US$65,573.77) in 2016.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Taxing the high networth and Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s huge community of entrepreneurs constitutes a critical but yet attainable target.

The statistics for corporate tax payment shows the debilitating effects of base erosion and profit shifting as well as abuse of an

overly generous tax incentive and duty waiver system. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The historical government apathy towards revenue mobilisation is one of the effects of the mistaken identity that saw Nigeria perceive itself as an oil economy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This administration is determined to correct this identity crisis and all its concomitant effects,â&#x20AC;? she noted, adding that in that spirit, the government launched â&#x20AC;&#x153;an ongoing and well received, tax amnestyâ&#x20AC;?, known as Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Schemeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (VAIDS). â&#x20AC;&#x153;The initial signs suggest that Nigerians are responding positively to the new revenue narrative. Despite the emergence from a recession, tax revenues are showing early signs of growth. â&#x20AC;&#x153;VAT shows 18.97 per cent year on year-

improvement. Over 800,000, companies, including some Government contractors, that have never paid taxes have already been identified and are being audited. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is an unprecedented initiative that entails cooperation between federal and state governments. The Federal Ministry of Finance has also commenced a database project that combines data from the various arms of government, including bank records, property and company ownership, and Customs records to create accurate profiles of those liable to pay taxes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The ministry has also placed one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier private investigation agencies on retainership to trace overseas assets,â&#x20AC;? she added Adeosun observed that changing the Nigerian economic psyche is not an easy task.Â

Former Zamfara Gov,Yerima to Contest 2019 Presidency If Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a No Show Adedayo Akinwale Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; Former Governor of Zamfara State, Sani Yerima, has revealed that he will contest the 2019 presidential election if President Muhammadu Buhari declines to seek a re-election.

Yerima, who is  representing Zamfara West in the Senate, said  nobody would condemn him if he decides to contest for the presidential seat, adding that he has the right endorsement he needs to contest for the position.

He made this known yesterday in Abuja during an interactive session with journalists, though he equally reiterated his commitment to support President Buhari if he decides to contest the 2019

presidential election. Â He stated: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am in politics not for personal aggrandisement but for the sheer glory. I am in politics to serve, and I have not failed to do that. Â Speaking on the outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC), NEC meeting, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yes I seconded the motion: I will support the president if he decides to run in 2019.I will not contest against him, but if he does not contest and I decide to come out, nobody will condemn me.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my personal decision.â&#x20AC;?

His declaration of support for the president to run for second term followed massive support by 186 groups under the aegis of Buhari Support Group for the President.

PDP CANDIDATES CLEAR ENUGU COUNCIL POLLS APC supporters to remain calm irrespective of the provocation, said the party does not believe in violence, but would seek redress in court at the appropriate time.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has congratulated the people and Government of Enugu State on the successful conduct of the November 4, 2017 local government elections in the state, describing it as the best council election in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent history.

Ekweremadu, who commended the state government for its policy of non-interference in the electoral

process, also congratulated the PDP on its outstanding victory, noting that it was just the beginning of payback to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his developmental strides in the state in the time of financial crunch and the political peace he restored to the state.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The poor conduct of local government elections has been of grave concern to Nigerians in the constitution amendment process, but theSaturday council election conducted by ENSIEC is unarguably the best in recent years.

I AM READY FOR THE RACE

L-R: Admiral Tunde Ogundele (rtd); PDP Chairmanship aspirant, Chief Olabode George; and PDP National Director of Organisation and Mobilisation, Chief Fatona Adewale, during the picking of chairmanship form by George at the party secretariat at Wadata House in Abuja ...yesterday

Omokri: Buhari Has No Intention, Capacity to Hold Credible Election Alike Ejiofor A former Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on New Media, Mr. Reno Omokri, has raised the alarm that President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he described as a fascist leader, posed danger to democracy in Nigeria.

In what he described as a warning to the international community, the former presidential aide alleged that President Buhari has unleashed the fascist in him by taking steps to undermine democracy and take Nigeria the way of Venezuela as the country prepares for another round of presidential elections.

Omokri cited the cases of the two prominent opponents of the president, who have indicated interest in contesting the Presidential elections of 2019. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The first is the incumbent Governor of Ekiti state, Ayo Fayose. Exactly one hour after Governor Fayose declared, his Commissioner for Finance and the state Accountant General were arrested on trumped up

charges to cripple the Fayose campaign. Also, when former Vice President Atiku Abubakar looked like he might be interested in the 2019 race, the government of President Buhari on October 11, 2011, curiously accused his firm, INTELS of not adhering to a policy that runs contrary to a legally binding agreement between the government and INTELS and on the basis of that unilaterally revoked a contract that was still in force. Obviously, this was done to neutralize him ahead of the 2019 Presidential election,â&#x20AC;? Omokri explained.

He further pointed out that an international fugitive who is on INTERPOLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wanted list, Abdulrasheed Maina, was invited back to the country by the Buhari administration, according to a press conference by his family.

Omokri noted that Maina was reinstated to the civil service from which he had been dismissed after he stole millions of dollars from the pension fund, and given a double promotion by the Buhari government.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Being that Mainaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gubernatorial campaign posters suddenly sprung up all over Northern Nigeria, it is generally suspected that he was brought in by the President to fund his reelection campaign with his loot especially as the president has fallen out with people like Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu, who funded his 2015 election. This is all the more so given the fact that the head of the civil service revealed in a leaked memo that she warned the President against the act of reinstating a known criminal into the civil service, even though the President had lied to the Nigerian public that he was unaware that Mr. Maina had been recalled and reinstated,â&#x20AC;? he said.

He alleged that the head of the civil service, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, is now being persecuted by the Buhari administration, adding that the Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chief of Staff was caught on video trying to intimidate her for exposing the president as a liar. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is now a palpable

fear in Nigeria about the fate of the 2019 election. Some people fear that the unprecedented militarization and intimidation in Nigeria under Buhari would render any credible election impossible.

When he was an opposition leader, he contested the presidential elections in 2003, 2007 and 2011. At each of those elections he was rejected by the Nigerian people, yet he refused to accept the results and encouraged his followers to take to violence through combustible rhetoric including threatening that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the dog and the baboon will both be soaked in bloodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; if he should suffer the same fate,â&#x20AC;? Omokri explained.

Omokri argued that if President Buhari was unable to accept defeat as an opposition candidate and even threatened bloodshed and non recognition of the government in power, it would not be reasonable to expect that he would be able to conduct a credible election and accept defeat as an incumbent president.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017Ëž T H I S D AY

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Ayade: UN Paying Lip Service to Crisis in Southern Cameroon Bassey Inyang Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153; As thousands of Camerounians flee their country into Nigeria and particularly Cross River State, as a result of the crisis in Southern Cameroun, the state Governor, Prof Ben Ayade, has charged the United Nations to always nip each crisis in the bud before it morphs into a humanitarian crisis.

Ayade stated this at the weekend when he received the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Sadiya Umar Farouq, and the Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS High Commission for Refugees, Antonio Canhandula, during a courtesy call on him in Calabar, the state capital.

The governor who clarified that he was speaking as a human being and not as a governor, maintained: â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the video clips going round the world today, I think humanity is being debased and I think UN must sit up because what you are doing is medicine after death and a lip service.â&#x20AC;?

Flaying what he described as reactionary on the part of the federal government and the UN, Ayadeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;You cannot watch the dislocation of family structures, kids being separated from their parents, husbands separated from their wives and all you do is to rush with food to their corridors and create squatters and camp for them and you think that is UN? You have failed. What is united about

that? There is nothing united, if we are indeed a UN, the issue on Cameroon should be at the forefront of UN today.â&#x20AC;?

Insisting that he was yet to see any serious issue being made out of the crisis on either CNN or BBC, the governor said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Any form of relocation of a people, no matter how temporary, is a failure of the world to address the issues that border on humanity, and I think UN must take this message very clearly that it has gotten too involved in the politics of redistribution of wealth and has forgotten its essence which was peace, unity and love.â&#x20AC;?

Frowning at the alleged closure of the Cameroon international borders against the Anglophones Camerounians, Ayade, who described the act as criminal, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today, the Cameroon international borders are all sealed against the Anglophone Cameroonians, and UN is watching and coming with food, that is not food. That is poison because indeed you know their real trouble and ypur silence has done nothing today; just note that it will hunt you one day.â&#x20AC;?

The governor who explained the supportive roles played by Cameroon at the height of Biafra, IPOB and Boko Haram, enjoined President Muhammadu Buhari as the leader of Africa not to get involved in the politics of the Cameroon issues but should interfere in the lives of every single Black man on earth.

Recounting the associated challenges of the crisis prone

area, Ayade said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The young peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives have been cut short, young kids donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go to school, the entire southern part of Cameroon, the English speaking part is completely shut down, hospitals are not working and peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives are in danger.â&#x20AC;?

The governor who disclosed that with about 2,430 refugees already in Cross River State, which he said was an indication of a near cataclysm, stated that the state government would partner the federal government to bring succour in order to return the victims to their homes within the shortest possible time.

He also assured the people that â&#x20AC;&#x153;we will join hands with UN to find a political solution and a lasting peaceful option for the people of Cameroon to live in peace as well as have prosperity and realise their full potential as human beings.â&#x20AC;?

Earlier, Farouq told the governor that the team was in the state to applaud him for hosting the refugees who sneaked into the state through Ikom and Amaga in Obudu, as well as meet with the victims who were at the moment being attended to through the distribution of relief materials.

The Country Representative Canhandula, intimated that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the solutions to the crisis could not be offered by one person, hence we are here to offer our partnership towards resolving these problems,â&#x20AC;? adding: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We also have other UN agencies that have been accredited in your state, we will synergise with them to boost humanity care.â&#x20AC;?

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AABLA Names Herbert Wigwe 2017 West African Business Leader The Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, has been recognised as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;West African Business Leader of the Year 2017â&#x20AC;&#x2122; by the All Africa Business Leader Awards (AABLA) in partnership with CNBC Africa.

The announcement was made at the annual AABLA regional dinner held weekend at the prestigious Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos which was attended by industry executives from around West Africa.

The annual AABLA award honours business excellence and leaders who have made considerable impact on their industry and the community.

Speaking on the awards, Alexander Leibner said it marks

the start of what is set to be another memorable AABLA season, honouring business excellence across the continent.

According to the organisers, this award celebrates individuals who exemplify the best in African leadership as well as African business leaders who epitomise the core values of a successful leader, strength, innovation, ingenuity, knowledge and foresight â&#x20AC;&#x201C; values that are imperative to carving out a powerful business in a PanAfrican and global economy Receiving the award, Wigwe said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an honour to be shortlisted among some of the most powerful West African business leaders that I have ever come across and

extremely humbled to be the recipient of such a prestigious award. Winning this is a recognition of our commitment to delivering banking excellence to our customers. We remain focused on the realisation of our strategic intent of becoming â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Most Respected African Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and continue to explore opportunities in markets and sectors across the continent that will enable us achieve this vision.â&#x20AC;?

The seventh annual ABBLA hosts three regional events in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria before moving on to the AABLA finale which is scheduled to hold on November 30, 2017, in South Africa.

OGSSOBA Celebrates Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Golden Jubilee Government Secondary School Omu-Aran Old Boys Association (OGSSOBA) has packaged a series of events to celebrate the 50thanniversary of the school.

The events will hold at the school between Thursday and Sunday.

The celebration which will feature cultural dance and various forms of entertainment, will kick off with a visit to

the Olomu-in-Council, a road show and a football match.

On Friday morning, a reunion school assembly will be held where all the old students will put on the school uniform while the principal will address the assembly. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prince Lateef Fagbemi will thereafter deliver the anniversary lecture before the Jumat Service at the Central

Mosque. The annual general meeting will then be held at 4p.m. followed by the annual dinner.

During the celebration, a number of projects undertaken by the various sets of the school will be commissioned as well as the launching of OGSSOBA magazine anniversary edition and the cutting of the anniversary cake.

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53

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Daniel, Group Kick as BoT Members Endorse Candidates for PDP Chairmanship Post Segun James ÓØ ËÑÙÝ As the race for the election of the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention scheduled for December 8 continues to gather momentum, the Yoruba Patriots Movement and the Gbenga Daniel Campaign Organisation have dismissed the purported endorsement

of some candidates for the chairmanship post by some members of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) as a ruse.

They also said no such action ever took place.

The Gbenga Daniel Campaign Organisation in a statement signed by its media consultant, Steve Oliyide, said the document allegedly signed by Chief Shuaib Oyedokun on behalf of the

South-west caucus of the BoT of the party endorsing three candidates while leaving out Gbenga Daniel, Chief Rasheed Ladoja, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja and Mr. Jimi Agbaje among others should be disregarded saying it “can best be described as the personal opinion of the writer and it’s clearly not well thought out, if at all such a document is authenticated.”

Strengthen PENCOM, PTAD to Avoid Mistakes of the Past, NLC Advises Buhari Hammed Shittu ÓØ ÖÙÜÓØ

Maina could happen at all under him (Buhari) it shows As the controversy continues that corruption is not only to rage on over the sack and fighting back but corruption whereabouts of former Presidential is terribly fighting back and Taskforce Chairman on Pension, the president should primarily Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, a place effort on preventing member of the National Executive such act rather than cure it.”

Council of the Nigeria He added: “Maina crisis Labour Congress (NLC), is not just about Maina but Issa Aremu, has advised about us, Nigerians, because President Muhammadu at the end of our working life, Buhari to put all efforts we must retire. If the pension on ground that would funds that we are saving are strengthen the National Pension not safe, and this millions Commission(PENCOM) are taken away by some few and Pension Transitional people in the country, then all A d v a n c e m e n t efforts must be put on ground Directorate(PTAD) to avoid to secure the protection of the mistakes of the past on workers’ pension. the management of pension “I want to state today funds. that our union, NUTGTWN, Aremu, who is also the affiliates of the NLC, is fully General Secretary of the in support of Maina sack as National Union of Textiles, well as get him prosecuted Garments and Tailoring by the EFCC, and aside that, Workers Union (NUTGTWN), the interesting thing in this gave the advice in Ilorin, saga is the way he had his Kwara State capital, over way through the service the weekend while speaking among other controversies, with journalists shortly after and investigations still the meeting of the fourth continue. delegate national conference “But it was cleared that of the women wing of the the Attorney General of the union.

Federation was reportedly According to him, “I want said to be the brain behind to say that if the issue of the raising of that memo

for him to be reinstated and to be posted to the Federal Ministry of Interior under Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazau (rtd). But what is interesting to me is the role of the Head of Service(HoS), who as a woman, was bold in her memo that it was wrong to have reinstated Maina into the service.

“I have listened to all the controversies and Maina too has revealed how money is being shared by some people, though the people had accused him of stealing money and also accused some people too of stealing money and that they are confessing is not our problem but as a labour movement in this country, we call on President Buhari that he should strengthen the pension institutions in order to prevent any future occurrence of mismanaging of pension funds.”

The labour leader also called on the PENCOM management to come out and tells Nigerians its defence on the ongoing raging issue of pension scam allegedly perpetrated by Maina in order to guide the people of the country on the matter.

UN Predicts 2019 Elections Will Be Violence-free Alex Enumah ÓØ ÌßÔË The United Nations (UN) has predicted that the 2019 general election in Nigeria will largely be free of violence.

The Head of UN Office for West Africa, Mohammed Ibn Chambers, stated this in an interview monitored in Channels Television at the weekend.

He said: “Let us not forget that so far there have been some significantly successful elections in this country by the current INEC leadership – gubernatorial elections, senatorial elections, and other by-elections.

“So there have been opportunity for INEC to test itself and so far, as we can all attest to, those elections have been credible and peaceful. This is highly commendable.

“It should be acknowledged that 2015 elections were largely violence-free. There are indications that we will see an improvement upon it in 2019.”

Chambers however disclosed that the United Nations would

soon revive the National Peace Committee made up of clerics and other leaders of thoughts, that played a great role in dousing tension in the 2015 election.

Chambers, who also doubles as the Special Representative of UN Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, commended the current leadership of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) led by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, for its diligence in running the affairs of the commission.

“I can assure you that, from what we have seen so far, we are very, very, confident that Prof Yakubu and his team are on track.

“You do have in Nigeria, an election body that has a good capacity. It was demonstrated in 2015 to the admiration of all of us. So we are confident that in 2019, the current INEC leadership will deliver better results than we saw in 2015 and consolidate on its gains,” Chambers said.

He, however, called for the formulation of appropriate

laws that will back the use of relevant technologies in the election to checkmate fraud and unnecessary litigation, adding that Nigeria should learn from the recent experience in Kenya’s presidential election.

“We need to see for instance legislation backing all the processes, particularly with regard to the adoption of technology. We all witnessed what happened in Kenya where, unfortunately, the first round of voting was cancelled,” he said.

“We must learn lessons from each other. Obviously all the processes need to be backed by appropriate legislations. Indeed adoption of technology in the last INEC leadership proved very effective and useful. It’s a big country dealing with big number. We hope there will be efforts in that direction.

“The needs assessment that will be fielded by the UN will identify those areas. We are working very closely with INEC and INEC is very open to this kind of collaboration.

This is appreciated and it’s very encouraging,” he added.

Oliyide said the PDP was still “smarting from a disastrous electoral outing in the last two and a half years. Our party is just recovering from acts of impunity and unilateral actions like this; and never again do we pray for such as we move on to repackage the party.”

He said Daniel was not fazed by the purported endorsement, saying that Daniel is “currently on a nationwide tour of all the 36 states chapters of our party consulting with leaders and potential delegates, preaching the gospel of internal democracy and retuning the party to the people at the grassroots.”

He insisted that Daniel who is currently in Kano having earlier visited Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Jigawa “remains firmly in the race and he is probably the aspirant to beat in this race.”

The Yoruba Patriots Movement (YPM) has also said that the purported endorsement of some candidates for the PDP national chairman by the South-west PDP BoT members was “undemocratic and very unfortunate.”

The YPM in a statement signed by its national coordinator, Mr. Oladosu Oladipo, said the

process lacked transparency as it should have begun with screening.

“A transparent procedure capable of producing good result for the seriously marginalised South-west region should have started from state screening. The decision to eliminate some PDP chairmanship aspirants like Daniel, Governor Ladoja, Agbaje etc is not only undemocratic but very unfortunate.

“In Oyo State where Senator Ladoja and Prof Taoheed Adedoja are both aspirants for the PDP chairman, leaders in Oyo State like Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, Senators Ayo Adeseun, Moses Agboola, Chief Sarafa Alli, Asimiyu Alarape, Alhaji Alli Oyedeji Dodo, Alhaja Bose Adedibu, Alhaji Gbolarumi, Senator Robert Koleoso, Hon. Muraina from Ibarapa, former leader of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Adeola Akande; Chief Tunde Mustapha from Iseyin to mention just a few to decide their preference out of the two aspirants from Oyo State” were not consulted in the caucus decision.

He stressed that the same due process ought to be applied for Lagos State where Agbaje and

George are aspirants.

“With the greatest respect to my respected BoT members from South-west, anything contrary to transparent, honest and all inclusive process will surely lead to exodus from the PDP.” While lamenting the commitment of those purportedly endorsed by the BoT to the “Yoruba Project on Restructuring,” the YPM wondered: “Who are the said BoT members that took that decision? Where and when was the decision taken?”

It stated that these BoT members wanting to unilaterally decide the political direction and future of the South-west had failed to identify with yearnings and aspirations of the Yoruba leaders in their struggle to making Yoruba nation an equal partner in the Commonwealth of Nigeria.

“The decision is unwholesome, tainted, divisive, ill-motive and very, very unpopular. Therefore, it’s null and void and of no effect at all. The purported PDP BoT members should tender unreserved apology to the South-west people for their leadership flaw,” the group added.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017˾ T H I S D AY

54

NEWSXTRA

Dangote Foundation Pledges $100m to Fight Malnutrition Jonathan Eze Africa’s business magnate, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, joined other global leaders, international agencies, civil society organisations and others to accelerate the global response to malnutrition, an underlying cause of nearly half of all global child deaths, at the Global Nutrition Summit held in Milan, Italy A major highlight of the summit was the pledge by the Aliko Dangote Foundation to invest $100 million over five years to tackle malnutrition in the worst-affected parts of Nigeria.

The foundation is the

philanthropic organisation of Aliko Dangote, founder and Executive Chairman of the Dangote Group, Africa’s largest homegrown conglomerate.

The Global Nutrition Summit is the global forum of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2026).

This year’s edition was held in close partnership with a number of international stakeholders including the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, the World Health Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the

Two Persons Killed in Police, Shiite Clash in Kano Ibrahim Shuaibu ÓØ ËØÙ Two unidentified member of Shiites sect were yesterday allegedly killed by anti-riot policemen in Kano during a clash.

The incidence started when members of the sect started procession from Kofar Mazugal inside Kano metropolis at about 10a.m. and had their afternoon prayers at Kofar Nasarawa.

The sect members also terminated their walk at the popular Lado overhead bridge along Zaria road in the metropolis.

It was also learnt that while the sect member were dispersing, mobile policemen arrived at the scene and started firing teargas and live bullets.

Leader of the sect in Kano, Sunusi Abdulkadir, said a Muslim brother and sister were confirmed shot and killed by the police and their corpses taken away by their

attackers.

According to him, many people were reportedly injured as a result of the presence of the policemen who were drafted to stop the Arbaeen annual procession which started peacefully in the state.

However, an official of the Shiite in Kano, Dauda Nalado, told THISDAY that the trouble broke out around Gyadi Gyadi roundabout immediately after the members learnt of police planned to attack them.

Nalado stated that the Shiites decided to terminate their procession to avoid any encounter with the police.

He said the sect terminated their procession at Gyadi Gyadi roundabout before the police fired teargas and bullet which resulted in the death and injuries of many sect members.

However, efforts to speak with the police spokesman, Magaji Musa Majia, proved abortive.

International Coalition on Advocacy for Nutrition.

The governments of Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Zambia all made commitments to expand their nutrition programmes and the Summit succeeded in galvanising US3.4 billion according to the organisers.

According to a statement sent to THISDAY, malnutrition affects every country in the world in various forms, however Africa is particularly hard hit and Nigeria is home to the highest numbers of malnourished children.

“Almost half of the one million children who die before the age of five every year in Nigeria, die of malnutrition as the underlying cause.

Without the proper nutrients during the first 1,000 days of life starting from conception

up to their second birthday, children are less likely to survive childhood diseases such as malaria and pneumonia, and are less likely to escape poverty as adults. They become physically and cognitively stunted, a fate that has befallen 11 million of Nigeria’s children under five.

“The Aliko Dangote Foundation’s Managing Director and CEO, Zouera Youssoufou said: “Nigeria’s high malnutrition rate is undermining progress towards improving child health and survival and putting the brakes on economic development. By investing in nutrition, we aim to directly improve the lives of Nigerian families and to empower our citizens to reach their full potential.”

“The Global Nutrition Report 2017, launched at

the Summit, showed that, in spite of progress, 155 million children globally are still stunted and the world is off track on meeting internationally agreed nutrition targets.

“Financing to tackle malnutrition has been alarmingly low. Donors spend about 0.5 per cent of overseas aid on nutrition, and countries allocate between one and two per cent of their health budgets to the issue.

“The global malnutrition crisis endangers the physical and mental wellbeing of present and future generations” said Kofi Annan, speaking at the summit in his capacity as Chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation said: “Progress in tackling both under nutrition and obesity is

possible with targeted commitments, like those made here today. We need further urgent investments so that people, communities and nations can reach their full potential.

“Through his foundation, since 1993, Dangote has made significant social investments in health, education, economic empowerment and disaster relief. He is now becoming the strongest voice for nutritional leadership nationally and on the continent of Africa.

“By making this unprecedented US$100 Million commitment, the Aliko Dangote Foundation is on a mission to reduce the prevalence of undernutrition by 60 per cent in the most needy areas of Nigeria, specifically the North-east and North-west.

ATTENTION GENTLEMEN OF THE PRESS

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (left), and Secretary to the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and Coordinator of the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES), Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, at a press briefing in Lagos... weekend

Alleged Disbarment: Oddiri Faults Supreme Court Gbaramatu Kingdom Appeals Chief Registrar’s Letter of the defendants to release the only did after the plaintiff the judgment. to Avengers to Abort Plans to Tobi Soniyi certificates of his son, Andre commenced a contempt Oddiri said he would file a Resume Hostilities A Lagos based legal practitioner, Oddiri to him. proceeding after issuing Forms counter affidavit and also bring Sylvester Idowu ÓØ ËÜÜÓ Chairmen of Gbaramatu communities in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State have appealed to the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to maintain the peace and halt plans to resume hostilities in the region.

The NDA had last Friday declared the resumption on destruction of oil facilities in the region.

But worried by the consequences of the planned resumption of hostilities, Kinsmen of ex-militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias ‘Tompolo,’ implored the militant group to adopt dialogue.

The Chairman of Kokodiagbene Community in Gbaramatu, Sheriff Mulade,

who spoke on behalf of the Chairmen of Gbararmatu communities, lauded the NDA for the ceasefire declared months ago, and urged that it should be sustained no matter the provocation.

“We want to appeal to the Niger Delta Avengers to give peace a chance and adopt dialogue because in most cases, your actions negatively affect our environment and image of the region,” Mulade who is also an environmental activist said on behalf of the chairmen of Gbararmatu communities.

They implored the federal government to fulfill its promises to the economic life base of the country, particularly the good and peace loving people of the oil rich Niger Delta.

Mr. Moses Oddiri has disputed a letter purportedly issued by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court which claimed that he was disbarred by the Legal Practitioner Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).

Oddiri told Justice B.A. OkeLawal of a Lagos High Court that the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court could not have written the letter because the apex court registrar was aware that his appeal against the directives of LPDC is still pending and besides, the Court of Appeal in Lagos had quashed the decision of the LPDC that purportedly disbarred him.

Oddiri had dragged the Redeemers International Secondary School, its principal, Mrs. Feyisara Osinupebi, Pastor Ben Akabueze, the General Overseer of Redeemers International Church, Enoch Adeboye, the British Council and Cambridge IGCSE before the court challenging the refusal

In an originating summons, Odiri said the decision to withhold his son’s 2016 Cambridge I.G.C.S.E result, the updated transcript from Junior Secondary School 1 to Senior Secondary School 3, his testimonial/statement and the 2017 WAEC result over alleged non-payment of third term school fees after receiving over N20 million from him as fees was dubious and unlawful.

On the 12th of July 2017, Justice Oke-Lawal ordered that the documents in the custody of the 1st and 2nd respondents be deposited with the chief registrar of the court for preservation pending the outcome and determination of the motion on notice for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of the applicants.

The respondents did not immediately comply with the order to deposit the documents with the court registrar. They

48 and 49.

However, at the last hearing of the case, counsel to the defendants, Emeka Etiaba, (SAN) raised an objection to Oddiri’s appearance saying that he was in possession of a letter from the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court which, he said showed that Oddiri had been disbarred.

But Oddiri countered him instantly saying, “I have a certified true copy of the appellate court that quashed the decision of the LPDC. We have written to the Supreme Court.”

He also told the court that the apex court and the LPDC were served with the copy of the judgment and that in the circumstance, the Chief Registrar lacked the power to write the letter Etiaba brought to the court.

Etiaba admitted he was aware of the appeal court judgment but said he was not a party to the case and therefore did not appeal

all necessary documents to the court.

Justice Oke-Lawal consequently adjourned the matter to enable the parties file all necessary documents.

THISDAY also obtained a copy of the Appeal Court judgment which quashed the decision of LPDC. In the lead judgment delivered

by Justice Uzo NdukweAnyanwu, the appellate court held that the “direction reached by the panel remains a nulity.”

THISDAY also gathered that Oddiri, to avoid delay in the proceedings occassioned by his appearance, may opt for the collection of his sons certificates already in the courts custody and bring a separate action against Etiaba, based on his remarks in open court and the disputed letter from the chief registrar of the supreme court.

55

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

MONDAYSPORTS

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

Iheanacho Relieved with Draw, Iwobi Suffers Setback Injury rules Simon out of Algeria match Super Eagles forward Kelechi Iheanacho took to the Social Media to express pleasure with Leicester for the fighting spirit displayed by the Foxes in their 2-2 draw against Stoke City over the weekend.

Leicester were denied of the maximum points by the heroics of Peter Crouch, whose firm header with 17 minutes left on the clock, ensured that both teams ended the tie on equal footing at the bet365 Stadium.

The Nigerian, a 25 million pounds acquisition for Leicester, who substituted Shinji Okazaki before the hour mark, subsequently took to the social

media to express his satisfaction at picking a point away from home.

“3 points w’d have been great.

However, the team should be very proud we took a point from a difficult away ground. We keep going #LCFC,” he tweeted.

The season has been a rather difficult campaign for Iheanacho since his switch from Manchester City as he has struggled to match his outstanding scoring feat of last season and is often left on Leicester bench.

Alex Iwobi also got a decent look before he made way for Jack Wilshere in the second half as Arsenal were beaten 3-1 by Man City at the Etihad.

The result put pressure on Arsene Wenger and underlined Arsenal’s indifferent start to the campaign, where they are 12 points off the lead, and in sixth position after 11 matches.

Meanwhile, Moses Simon has compounded coach Gernot Rohr worries by being the next player to withdraw from Nigerian squad due to open camp today for the Russia 2018 qualifier against Algeria and the friendly against Argentina due to fitness problem.

Victor Moses and Odion Ighalo are not available because of injury, while the situation of Eddy Onazi, John Ogu and Leon Balogun is also being assessed.

LET Star, Iturrios, 12 Nigerians Get Equatorial Guinea Open Spots Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Ladies European Tour (LET) winners, Nuria Iturrios of Spain and Linda Wessberg of Sweden are some of the star attractions for the 3e Actuaries Equatorial Guinea Open Championship in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea.

The tournament with the cumulative purse of $250,000 will be hosted by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo from December 14-17.

Twelve Nigerian men and ladies are also on the list of the 110 players confirmed international players exclusively made available to THISDAY last night.

Iturrios won the Lalla Meryem Cup in Rabat, Morocco last year, while Wessberg, a captain’s pick for the European Solheim Cup team in 2007, had two LET wins at the 2006 Wales Ladies Championship and Vediorbis Open de France Dames in 2007.

They are among the 41 lady pros that will compete for the $100,000 prize money in the category.

The first African American

on the Ladies PGA Tour, Shasta Averyhardt of USA, Chloe Leurquin of Belgium, Maria Jose Uribe, Colombia and Christine Wolf, Austria, who all featured at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, plus Nigerian starlet, Georgia Oboh and Ugandan star Falvia Namakula are also part of the contingent.

The list, according to Olawale Opayinka, the CEO of 3e Actuaries, was expanded to accord opportunity to up-coming golfers from developing continents.

The other Nigerians already in the mix are Haruna K. Mohammed, two-time champion Oche Andrew Odoh, Sunday Olapade, Gift Willy, Daniel Pam, Sunday J. Odegha, Uloma Mbuko, Elisha Markus, Lucie Opayinka, Otolola Adesiyan and Niyi Jolaoso.

The tournament, in its fifth year is considered one of Africa’s biggest professional golf events. Such is its attraction that it draws players from all parts of the world. Charlie Wi of South Korea, who plays on the PGA Tour, will also make his second appearance this year.

Southern Sun Ikoyi Set for 6th Annual Golf Day Event Southern Sun Ikoyi is back with its highly anticipated 6th edition annual Golf Day Tournament 2017, taking place at the lush grounds of the Lakowe Lakes Golf and Country Estate on Friday 10th November, 2017.

The field of play for this year’s keenly contested Tournament will boast participation from about 72 experienced and intermediary players.

The Deputy General Manager Southern Sun Ikoyi Cliff Shiridzinodya, stated last week that golfers should look forward to another exciting tournament. He said that the tournament is geared towards promoting the hotel’s corporate social responsibility and the tournament is designed to be a shotgun game ensuring that

all partners and stakeholders of the Southern Sun Ikoyi brand have a truly memorable and fun day.

Corroborating Mr. Shiridzinodya’s comments on the tournament being a laudable CSR initiative for the hotel, the Sales and Marketing Manager, Ubong Nseobot, added that the annual tournament affords the hotel with a veritable platform to giving back to its corporate clients and equally importantly, reinforcing sports tourism in Nigeria.

Adding to the excitement of having the tournament at one of the leading resort in the country, the Key Account Manager, South African Airways, Elidoni Okpeta, stated commitment to the tournament by providing two return tickets for winners on a trip to Johannesburg, South Africa.

Sixty male professional golfers will vie for $150,000 prize money over 72 holes. United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Africa and Sweden are the countries with the largest contingent of golfers from the 33 participating nations.

EPL RESULTS Tottenham 1 - 0 Crystal Palace Man City 3 - 1 Arsenal Chelsea 1 - 0 Man United Everton 3 - 2 Watford Iheanacho

WORLD CUP 2018

Super Eagles Players Hit Morocco Today for Fennec of Algeria Femi Solaja With the World Cup ticket secured on Day-Five of the African qualifying round of matches, Super Eagles will regroup from today in Morocco in preparation for the dead rubber match against the Fennecs of Algeria and the high profile international friendly match against the La Albiceleste of Argentina.

The two November fixtures is more or less part of the dress rehearsals for the Russia 2018 World Cup finals.

The Eagles will meet traditional foes Algeria in Constantine on Friday.

Although the match may not be of any significance to the qualifying series, it offers the Super Eagles manager, Gernot Rohr, an opportunity to begin to shape his team for an expectedly challenging World Cup duels.

The draw of the final competition will hold in 25 days time.

It is that time that the real three group stage opponents of the Super Eagles will emerge.

If tradition is anything to go by, the Super Eagles will draw one opponent from one of the five qualified teams from South America.

Although the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), wanted the players to report to Casablanca

camp in Morocco today, some of the players who were on duty for their respective clubs last night may require today to seek connecting flight to the Magreb nation.

However, all the three goalkeepers: Daniel Akpeyi (Chippa United, South Africa); Ikechukwu Ezenwa, (FC IfeanyiUbah); Francis Uzoho, (Deportivo La Coruna, Spain) are excepted to be in camp today after fulfilling their respective club obligations on Saturday.

The likes of William Ekong (Bursaspor FC, Turkey); Abdullahi Shehu (Anorthosis Famagusta, Cyprus); Tyronne Ebuehi, (ADO Den Haag, The Netherlands);

Leon Balogun, (FSV Mainz 05, Germany); Uche Agbo, (Standard Liege, Belgium); Chidozie Awaziem, (Nantes FC, France); Olaoluwa Aina, (Hull City, England) are also in the list list of early arrivals for coach Rohr because their clubs also played on Saturday.

According to NFF plan, after three days training session in Casablanca, the delegation will fly to Constantine on Thursday while on Saturday, November 11, a 45 –seater chartered aircraft will fly the Super Eagles from Constantine to Krasnodar, the Russian city that will host the international friendly against Argentina on November 14.

5th Kwara Open Tees-off Tuesday with Professionals’ Round Professional golfers from across the country would converge at Ilorin Golf Club from Monday November 6, 2017 for the official practice round ahead of the 5th Kwara Open that tees-off Tuesday.

The Director of the Professional Golfers’ Association of Nigeria, Samson Lawal has assured of the full assembly of top ranked Nigerian professionals to be available for the 72-holes

championship.

“We are glad Kwara Open is making its return to our calendar. We thank Governor (Abdufattah)Ahmed for keeping to his words, during the closing ceremony of Kwara at 50 Open Golf tournament, and recently, when we paid him a courtesy call; to revive the event. I believe the peace that exists in the state and the hospitality of the good people

of Kwara State would be factors that will pull our members down for this event.” He said.

The tournament would be a ranking event, where professionals will be looking to pick up points for ranking on the PGA of Nigeria’s Order of Merit.

The event is sponsored by the BUA Group, Sterling Bank Plc, Medview Airlines, Airtel and the Kwara State Government.

Top among players expected at the event include, Sunday Odegha, the nation’s number one ranked golfer, Oche Odoh, Nigeria’s only player with World ranking points. Others are Daniel Pam, former number one player and winner of the maiden IMEGA regional qualifier, Sunday Olapade, homeboys Mustapha Aminu and Kabiru Mohammed.

NSA Voting Process Ends Next Week As the countdown towards the 6th edition of the Nigerian Sports Award gets hotter, the organisers of the prestigious awards have announced that the voting phase will close as scheduled bymidnight of Sunday, November

12, 2017.

According to the spokesman for the award and the Executive Director, Unmissable Incentives Limited, Mr. Kayode Idowu, the voting phase which started on Thursday, October 5, 2017 is expected to close

as stipulated by timelines for this year’s award ceremony.

He stated that of the 19 categories which will be awarded this year, 4 of them are open to voting by the general public (Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year as

well as Sports Governor of the year and Sports Administrator of the year). Idowu urged sports loving Nigerians who still wish to vote for them to take the opportunity of the remaining few days to do so before the deadline.

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Monday November 6, 2017

UT H

& RE A SO

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Price: N250

MISSILE Emmanuel to FG “We are standing here as the highest oil producer in the country, but we have not seen anything from the federal 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 month before now. How can you explain that?”

Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel berating the federal for marginalizing the state in resource allocation in spite of its contribution to the centre.

ALEXOTTI OUTSIDE THE BOX

alex.otti@thisdaylive.com

An Unhealthy Population is a Sick Nation

“I

would like to be realistic to say a few words concerning health delivery system in Nigeria.

It is very poor, sorry to say that. I am happy that the MD of Aso Clinic (Dr. Manir) is here. There are lots of constructions going on in that hospital, but there is no single syringe there, what does that mean? Who will use the buildings?”

The above statement made by the President’s wife, was as honest as it was reassuring. Honest, because it was rendered in the no-holds-barred style, typical of Mrs Buhari, and exemplified in her berating of a few people she claimed had hijacked her husband’s presidency and her “Animal Farm” analogy. Though we are still awaiting the eviction of the Hyenas and the Jackals from the kingdom, four months after. She, indeed, hit the bull’s eye with that comment. Reassuring, because it provided some succor to the rest of us that the decay in the healthcare delivery system is not limited to lesser mortals like us. Similar to the soap opera of the yesteryears, it shows that “the rich also cry”. It is helpful because one can also understand why our healthcare delivery system has continued to fail. The First Lady squarely put the blame where it belonged: leadership.

Perhaps, the most important point the First Lady made which may not have been intentional was to provide answers to those of us who had been wondering why her husband had spent a lot of time in the UK on medical vacation.

We are not oblivious of Buhari’s campaign promise of ending medical tourism in Nigeria if he became President.

Over 2 years after, he has not only failed to end it, he has joined the train. Therefore, Mrs. Buhari’s outburst was very useful in helping us understand why the President preferred London hospitals to the one in Aso Rock. You can say what you want, but the point remains that if Aso Clinic does not have a syringe, it would be an act of suicide for the President to submit himself to that hospital for the treatment of an ostensibly very serious ailment.

It is sad that in most of our discourse, little or no attention is paid to healthcare delivery. Most people focus on the economy, the polity, ethnicity and religion. These may be important but we tend to ignore the more important issue of health. As a result, we keep dealing with avoidable deaths of our people. Life expectancy in Nigeria remains abysmally low at around 54.5years placing us as number 177 out of the 183 nations ranked by the World Health Organization (WHO) as at 2016. Meanwhile, average life expectancy in the world, according to the United Nations is 71.5 years as at the end of 2015. However, beyond the damage that poor healthcare delivery has done directly on the populace, is the vexed issue of capital flight that has been engendered by the rich seeking help elsewhere. Medical tourism has been estimated to cost the country over $1billion annually. This figure was provided by the Honourable Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire at an event in Lagos recently. An investment of $1billion annually would eradicate the need to go elsewhere for medical attention. It is of concern that we spend a large chunk of our foreign exchange earnings on medical care abroad. Related to medical tourism is brain drain. Most of our best qualified healthcare professionals are found in foreign countries to where they migrate, in search of better conditions of work. It has been reported that there are over 3,000 Nigerian medical doctors in the UK and over 5,000 in the US. This is in addition to thousands of others spread elsewhere around the world. Meanwhile, according to the WHO, out of the country’s requirement of about 237,000 medical doctors, we only have about 35,000, leaving a gap of over 200,000. This is a very serious problem that should not be left to address itself as we have so far done. I shall return to this in due course.

The challenges of the healthcare sector can be discussed under four broad headings. There may be a few others that I may not be able to discuss in this column, but the idea is to bring this matter firmly into public consciousness and have many more people begin

Meanwhile, we are here, struggling with 4 to 5 % of a kindergarten budget.

It is conceded that a larger budget does not necessarily guarantee a better quality healthcare delivery system. We know that budgets do not deliver results. Conversely poor budgets cannot deliver results irrespective intentions. Norway, Switzerland and the United States are the world’s three biggest healthcare spenders –spending $9,715 per person (9.6% of GDP), $9,276 per person (11.5% of GDP), and $9,146 per person (17.1% of GDP) respectively.

But other countries’ health systems are managing to achieve similar or better results for far less. Hong Kong spends $1,716 per person (6% of GDP), Israel $2,599 per person (7.2% of GDP) and Singapore $2,507 (4.6% of GDP). These countries, like Norway and Switzerland, have life expectancy of between 82 and 83 years. By comparison, life expectancy in the US is 79.

MEDICAL STRUCTURE Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole to interrogate ourselves with a view to finding solutions to the problems. I will now take the challenges in turn.

MEDICAL FUNDING Just like other sectors like education, health care is grossly underfunded. This did not start today. However, the paucity of funds has assumed more frightening dimensions in recent times. Looking at the federal budgetary allocations to health care, it would not be difficult to understand why there is no traction in this sector and why there may not be any improvements until we change our priorities. In Naira terms, except in 2017, we have continued to allocate less funds to healthcare year after year. In 2014, the allocation to healthcare was N264.5b which represented about 5.6% of the total budget of N4.7t. By the 2015 budget of N5.1t, we allocated a reduced amount of N259.75b to the sector, which was about 5.2% of the total budget. In 2016, healthcare attracted a further reduced amount of N250.06b from a budget size of N6.06t representing 3.73% of the budget. It was only in 2017 that the sector was lucky to attract a larger allocation of N308.4b out of a budget size of 7.44t representing 4.15% of the budget. If these stories appear sad on the surface, then the application of the concept of ‘time value of money’ would make it worse. Applying an average conservative inflation rate of 15% per annum, over the period, would show that the N259.75b in 2015 represents only about N221b in 2014 prices. Similarly, the N250b of 2016 represents N175b in 2014 prices while the N308.46b of 2017 represents N185b in real 2014 prices. These don’t sound attractive, but they are not only real, they are true.

If we apply the exchange rate variable into the equation, it would be very clear that what we are dealing with is a massive compression of our healthcare budgets over the years. Exchange rates hovered around N160 per dollar in 2014, N199 in 2015 and early 2016 and N305 later in 2016 until now. So, if we convert the allocations into dollars, we would see that this sector should actually have collapsed by now. So, we must salute those who have managed to keep it alive till this time.

According to the WHO, Nigeria spends only $67 per person on health care per annum. Angola, on the other hand spends over $200, while South Africa spends seven times what Nigeria spends at about $470. The WHO recommends that no less than 15% of the annual budgets of countries should be dedicated to healthcare. A lot of countries are in compliance. In spite of all the hullabaloo of Obama Care and Trump “Careless”, America dedicates over 20% of its huge budget to health care delivery. Iran’s healthcare budget is 18% while China is close to 13% and Turkey, 11% of much larger budgets.

Going by constitutional provisions, healthcare delivery is divided amongst the three tiers of government viz, local government, state and federal governments. Local governments are responsible for primary healthcare which includes the management of local dispensaries, environmental sanitation and protection and routine immunization.

The State governments look after the secondary healthcare system including the General Hospitals and Health Centres while the Federal Government is in charge of tertiary and referral institutions such as the National Hospital, the Specialist/ Teaching Hospitals and the Federal Medical Centers.

We all know that the local dispensaries and community health centers have disappeared. Why won’t they disappear when they are not being funded? They are supposed to be looked after by LGAs. The LGAs themselves are non-existent in majority of the states because many state governors want to be in control of the finances of the LGAs and instead of holding elections for the LGAs, they foist their thugs and cronies as Transitional Council Chairmen, an arrangement which should not last more than 6 months. They renew their tenures after every 6 months in perpetuity. These transitional Chairmen do not have access to the LG allocation and owe their stay in office to the Governor. On receipt of the allocation, the governor gives them some stipend to help them run the LG and keep the rest. It would be a pipe dream to expect that part of the priorities of these Chairmen is healthcare. They know they cannot do it and instead of wasting their time, they face other things. Once salaries of LG staff are paid, (that is, where they are paid) every other thing becomes secondary. Any wonder why the primary healthcare system has completely collapsed.

In essence, the first level of healthcare provision and prevention of diseases cannot be implemented. So, what is the alternative? The first level, where possible, now moves to the second level, the state level for solution. Where that cannot happen, four other options are open. The options are that the people who should have been beneficiaries would resort to quacks and undocumented health workers, engage in self-medication, descend to the level of seeking alternative help from native doctors, spiritualists and herbalists or simply resign to fate and wait for death.

Statistics have it that out of the 30,000 Primary Health Centres nationwide only about 2,500 or a meagre 8.3% are functional. If this is not a bad report, I wonder what else is. The implication is that diseases that could have been arrested or prevented at lower levels are left to blossom into unimaginable national epidemic dimensions. Given this state of affairs, the Federal Government has had to intervene with the Nigerian Primary HealthCare Development Agency (NPHCDA) to take care of primary healthcare needs and immunization. I must acknowledge the positive impact this agency has made.

On the State level, we have seen that most general hospitals are ill equipped and ill funded and have dilapidated to terrible

levels. The Federal government is now saddled with the responsibility of maintaining Federal Medical Centers in the States as well as the statutory responsibility of managing teaching hospitals and other tertiary centers like research institutes.

But the Central government has had to intervene in both the primary and secondary levels where the owners have failed.

It is important to examine this structure to be sure it is working. My sense is that it is not.

MEDICAL INFRASTRUCTURE Closely related to funding and structure is infrastructure.

My personal contact with healthcare professionals both in Nigeria and abroad shows that one of the major reasons for the brain drain we mentioned earlier is the poor medical infrastructure and ineffective medical policy of the country.

Some of our doctors would have stayed back if they were assured of support in terms of modern infrastructure for them to operate. In a country of over 180m people, one can count on one’s fingers, the number of sophisticated equipment like MRIs, CT scan equipment, dialysis centres, and cardiology centres we have. Even if you are the best doctor available, you will record very limited success if you rely on antiquated equipment for diagnosis and treatment. So, when our brothers and sisters look at the infrastructural support available in the country, the urge to relocate becomes more imperative. Yet this is a country that hands over a billion dollars annually to other countries (its competitors) for medical bills. We must, therefore, agree on how to put the required infrastructure in place for our hospitals to compete. You must trust me on this, the money we are talking about here is very small. We must also discuss efficiency and cost effectiveness in terms of shared services and infrastructure. Is there any use duplicating equipment in a particular location where services could be shared and its savings passed on to the consumer?

MEDICAL POLITICAL ECONOMY This is probably the most important aspect of this subject.

How is healthcare delivery organized? Who is in charge?

Does he understand the issues? Is he just a quota minister representing his state or he is a professional who would resign if decisions that impinge on his performance are taken? We remember the late Prof. Olikoye Ransome Kuti, who was Minister of Health in Babangida’s government. Kuti who was also Fela’s elder brother moved the nation’s healthcare delivery system to a crescendo through his focus on primary healthcare Programme. How did he do it? He was clear about where he was headed and astute as a professional.

It was easy for everyone to follow him. It happened before, during a military administration, it can happen again, but the appointment has to be devoid of sentiments.

Access is also very important as the National Healthcare Insurance Scheme was set up in 1999, to address. Several years after, just about 5% of the population has enrolled in the scheme.

The whole idea of this section is to point our attention to the fact that the success of any policy is dependent on the philosophy behind it. Sloganeering and propaganda will not cut it.

I have heard a few people raise stiff opposition to the discussion of the basis of our continued mutual existence.

I think such position is misguided. I believe that the only choice we have is to sit down and talk. Some people refer to the constitution as sacrosanct. I agree with them to the extent that there is no new constitution in the horizon. Anytime a new constitution emerges, the present one becomes obsolete.

As we discuss, we should avoid the temptation to focus only on the very important subjects of the economy and politics. Any discussion that does not focus on having a heathy populace is meaningless. Like the saying goes, a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.

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