Wednesday 15th November 2017

FG Justifies Oil Exploration in North, To Reinvest Proceeds from JV Assets Records N1.6tn oil revenue, to increase excise duty on alcohol and tobacco Ndubuisi Francis and Udora Orizu in Abuja Despite its campaign for economic diversification, increasing global shift towards alternative and cleaner energy sources, and futile attempts in the past discovering oil in commercial quantities in

Northern Nigeria, the federal government yesterday justified the continuing search for oil in the Northern part of the country.

Several analysts have

continued to question the justification for the over $3 billion reportedly sunk into oil exploration in the North by the current administration, in spite of its clamour for

economic diversification as well as the global reality of the diminishing significance of the commodity in a couple of years.

But the Minister of State,

Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, who offered perspectives on government’s oil exploration drive in the North, said yesterday that many fundamental factors

Super Eagles Shock Argentina 4-2 in Russia… Page 55

informed the decision to continue prospecting for oil in the region.

Responding to questions at the public presentation of the 2018 budget proposal in Abuja, Kachikwu stated that the government has a Continued on page 10

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Senate Approves $5.5bn Foreign Loan as External Debt Rises to $15.4bn Damilola Oyedele in Abuja and Obinna Chima in Lagos

President Muhammadu Buhari (seated), surrounded by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr, Geoffrey Onyema; Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige; Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu; Ebonyi State Governor, Mr. Dave Umahi; and other dignitaries and traditional rulers, when he was conferred with a chieftaincy title in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State… yesterday

The Senate yesterday approved the request by the executive to raise $3 billion from the international capital market (ICM) through a Eurobond or Diaspora Bond issue or a combination of both to refinance maturing domestic debts, and raise another $2.5 billion from multilateral donor institutions to fund the capital component of the 2017 budget.

The approval coincided with the latest data released by the Debt Management Office (DMO) yesterday Continued on page 8

Buhari: My Visit to South-east, Strong Expression of My Belief in One Nigeria Says Ndigbo and Nigeria are inseparable Pledges to boost agriculture, power supply, infrastructure in region Omololu Ogunmade and Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki In his visit to the South-east since assumption of office, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday arrived Ebonyi State where he remarked that the

visit was a strong expression of his belief in Nigeria’s unity.

The president also pledged to improve agriculture, power

supply and the provision of infrastructure projects in the region when the 2018 budget is passed.

Buhari, whose visit to Ebonyi had been tagged the first presidential visit to the state in the last 17

years, was conveyed by a Nigerian Air Force helicopter with the registration number NAF-540 from Akanu Ibiam

Ikoyi Billions: More Whistleblowers Emerge, Petition AGF... Page 52

International Airport, Enugu, to the army barracks in Nkwagu in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, at about 11.15 a.m.

He was accompanied by the state governor, Chief David Continued on page 8

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PAGE EIGHT BUHARI: MY VISIT TO SOUTH-EAST, STRONG EXPRESSION OF MY BELIEF IN ONE NIGERIA Umahi.

Umahi was among other South-east governors who had received him at the Enugu airport.

The president, who was received at the army barracks by dignitaries from the state, subsequently commissioned six projects and thereafter proceeded to the Government House where he met notable leaders of the state and traditional rulers from both Ebonyi and the South-east who conferred on him two traditional chieftaincy titles.

The president recalled how some Igbo leaders had visited him at the State House, Abuja, last month to express concern over the poor state of infrastructure in the region, assuring them that resources meant to address their concerns had been captured in the 2018 budget currently before the National Assembly.

The president promised to concentrate on power and agriculture projects as well as other social services in the region when the budget is operational and praised the state governor for the projects being executed by his administration in the state, describing them as laudable.

The president who was conferred with the chieftaincy titles, Enyioma 1 of Ebonyi, meaning a trustworthy friend of Ebonyi, and Ochioha Ndigbo, meaning the leader of Igbo people, by both the Ebonyi State Council of Traditional Rulers and Southeast Council of Traditional Rulers respectively, expressed appreciation for the titles as well as the warm reception accorded him, saying he was glad for the opportunity to interact with people of the state.

He said: “I am delighted to be here in Abakaliki to interact with the good people of Ebonyi State and indeed the South-east region as a whole. I want to express my gratitude to the people of Ebonyi State for their hospitality and warm reception since I arrived the state. “My presence here today is a demonstration of my strong belief in the unity of Nigeria.

As the most populous country in Africa with over 300 ethnic groups, our diversity is almost unique. “When I met with the leaders of the South-east in Abuja last month, they raised several issues of concern including the state of the roads and infrastructure in the region. “I will like to commend Governor David Umahi for his vision and commitment to the development of this state. Some of the projects I commissioned since my arrival are laudable. “I am also grateful to the traditional rulers of Ebonyi State for the honour bestowed on me with the traditional title of Enyioma I of Ebonyi. I thank you for this honour and warm reception. “I want to assure you that we will deliver on our promises. Our 2018 budget included many projects for the region in the area of power, agriculture and social services,� he said.

The president was emphatic that the Ndigbo is synonymous with Nigeria just as Nigeria is synonymous with Ndigbo.

The president who celebrated what he described as the ingenuity of the people of South-east and their talent for trade and commerce, said the Igbo ethnic group and Nigeria were inseparable. “The people of the South-east are known for their ingenuity, industrial and commercial talent. There is no part of Nigeria where you will not find Igbo entrepreneurs, both men and women, contributing to the development of their adopted communities. “So, I am asking you all not to buy into the senseless propaganda for secession. Igbo is Nigeria and Nigeria is Igbo.

Both are inseparable. “We must therefore continue to commit ourselves to the development of Nigeria, a Nigeria where we sustain our national unity without compromising on our cultural identities, a Nigeria where the aspirations of its people are guaranteed without prejudice

to tribe or religion, a Nigeria where we can sleep at night knowing that tomorrow will be better than today. “The task of nation building is a continuous one. It never stops. Our founding fathers, from all corners of this country, worked together to actualise the creation of one Nigeria. “After independence, the same founding fathers worked together to maintain this one Nigeria. Yes, they had differences and varied opinions at times. After all, they were only human. “And yes, they had moments of weaknesses and doubt.

But again, no one is perfect.

However, one thing they all protected until the end of their lives was having one Nigeria for all Nigerians,� he said.

In his remarks, the Ebonyi State governor congratulated the president on the chieftaincy titles conferred on him and thanked him for his enormous assistance to the state, which he said had resulted in a revolution in the agriculture and solid minerals sectors.

In appreciation of the assistance, Umahi presented 2,000 bags of rice and 2,000 tubers of yams to the president, describing the presentation as the fruit of the state’s prayers that the president would enjoy the fruits of the seeds he planted. ‘First is to congratulate our president for this highest honour bestowed on you today.

It is an honour that is well deserved, Your Excellency, you have helped us quite a lot especially in the area of the agriculture revolution and solid minerals. And today, sir, you are with us. “The prayer of everyone is that you plan to see it; you will be alive to tap from the seeds that you are planting.

Today, you gave us a giant leap in agriculture and so we have here with us 2,000 bags of rice and 2,000 pieces of yam to give to our president. “It is a prayer answered because you have sown in the land of Ebonyi and God has given you the strength and health to partake in that

seed that you planted. We are grateful to give back to our father who has given so much to us,� Umahi said.

Among the initial projects Buhari commissioned were a 700-metre twin Trans-Sahara bridge linking Enugu and Ebonyi States with Cameroon; the Senator Offia Nwali flyover; the 14.5km Abakaliki-Afikpo road; foundation laying of the Ebonyi city mall; foundation laying of the Muhammadu Buhari bridge; and unveiling of the Akanu Ibiam statue.

Also, at a reception for the president at the state’s stadium, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, thanked Buhari for his visit to the region barely a few weeks after Igbo leaders had visited him in the State House to draw his attention to infrastructure deficit in the South-east.

Nwodo then painted the horrible state of infrastructure decay in the region and appealed to the president to address it.

He said the decay included the rotten state of the Enugu airport, recalling how an Ethiopian Airline aircraft recently lost a tyre while landing as a result of the bad runway.

He also said livelihoods in the region were threatened by the infrastructure decay including the dilapidated state of the Onitsha-Enugu expressway, Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway, stoppage of work on the Second Niger bridge, unemployment, hunger and starvation, among others.

Nwodo demanded for the concession of collapsed major roads in the South-east to the governors of the region to enable them rebuild such roads the way they want them.

The former minister, however, lauded the president’s decision to pay pensions to ex-Biafran policemen and damages to victims of the Nigerian civil war.

Also speaking at the stadium, Umahi urged the president to call some of his appointees to order, accusing them of frustrating efforts by

the state to obtain loans meant for the development of the state under the guise of politics.

He also requested for the president’s intervention in certain challenges confronting the state such as nonfunctioning dams in the state totalling 30 in number, which he said would have boosted rice production.

Umahi pointed out that the dilapidated dams had restricted rice production in the state to only the rainy season.

He also sought the federal government’s intervention in the existing hydropower dams in the state for electricity generation, which he said would go a long way in improving the wellbeing of the people of the state.

He also drew the attention of the president to some federal roads that his administration had constructed, lamenting that such projects were not captured for a refund in 2018 budget.

Responding to issues raised

by Nwodo and Umahi, the president who was clad in an Igbo Isi-agu (loin head) jumper with a red cap to match, praised the entrepreneurial skills of the people of the South-east, saying Igbos are found in every part of Nigeria.

He deplored the activities of persons he described as misguided Nigerians agitating for secession, noting that they did not witness the debilitating effects of the Nigerian civil war and counselled that as the founding fathers of Nigeria had sustained the unity of the country despite their differences, the nation’s unity must be sustained.

On issues raised by Nwodo and echoed by Umahi, Buhari said his government was working aggressively to improve infrastructure by building roads and improving power supply, adding that efforts were being made to guaranty food security for the nation.

He told the rather excited gathering that his government had recently resolved to mobilise contractors back to the Second Niger bridge.

He also said N10 billion

had been budgeted in the 2018 budget for the Enyimba Industrial Park and the Nnewi Auto Park which he said would be implemented in collaboration with the states and the private sector.

The president also disclosed that payments to ex-Biafran police officers had commenced 17 years after they were pardoned, adding that an upgrade of the Umuahia Diagnostic Centre in Abia State was in the pipeline.

He again commended Umahi for his stewardship in the state and expressed appreciation for the chieftaincy titles conferred on him, saying: “I am Enyioma l of Ebonyi. I am Ochioha Ndigbo,� which earned him further applause.

The president will depart Abakaliki today for Awka, Anambra State, to lead the grand finale of the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) campaign rally for Saturday’s governorship election in the state and will return to Abuja later in the day.

Among those who received the president were the deputy governor of Ebonyi State, Dr. Kelechi Igwe; Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu; former governors of the state - Senator Sam Egwu and Chief Martin Elechi; former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim; former Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ambassador Frank Ogbuewu; ex-Minister of Health (State), Mr. Fidelis Nwankwo; former deputy governor of the state, Prof.

Chigozie Ogbu; the zonal Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Austine Umahi; and Chief Executive Officer of Orient Global Ltd, Chief Chukwuma Odi. Other dignitaries who visited the state to welcome the president were Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema, and his Trade and Investment counterpart, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah.

and monitoring of stamp duties on all electronic cash transactions.

claims that the public debt stock is skewed in favour of domestic debt which is partly responsible for the high debt service figures,� the statement explained.

SENATE APPROVES $5.5BN FOREIGN LOAN AS EXTERNAL DEBT RISES TO $15.4BN showing that Nigeria’s debt stock hit N20 trillion as of September 30, 2017, with the foreign component accounting for 23.04 per cent or N4.694 trillion ($15.40 billion) of the total debt stock.

The approval by the Senate followed the adoption of the recommendations of its Committee on Local and Foreign Debts chaired by Senator Shehu Sani (Kaduna, APC).

But before the loan request was approved, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu who presided over yesterday’s plenary, had charged the DMO to monitor Nigeria’s debt profile to ensure it remains within acceptable limits. “Let me state clearly that this Senate will continue to partner with the federal government on matters that concern the ordinary people of Nigeria. The implementation of the 2017 budget is key because any Appropriation Act that is not implemented is worthless,� he said.

Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf (Taraba APC) said while borrowing to refinance local debt could be deemed a good model, the government must be careful as its workability

would depend on Nigeria’s foreign reserves and exchange rate stability. “If our foreign exchange rate is very low, if it fall as low as N500 to a dollar, we are going to have a very serious challenge generating enough foreign exchange to pay our foreign debt. “We have to be seen to be a lot more cautious, not just saying that the interest rate (for external borrowing) is low and the cost of refinancing the loan will be low. “We must also take cognisance of the fact that whatever happens will have an impact on our foreign exchange rate,� Yusuf said.

Also contributing to the debate, Senator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos APC) said the loan was critical to the success of the 2017 budget. “If we consider the projects that these loans are supposed to fund, they are spread across all the geopolitical zones. They covers power, rail, roads, water and others,� he said.

Last October, President Muhammadu Buhari had sought expeditious approval of the foreign loan request.

Some of the projects to be funded from the loans include the Mambilla hydropower

project, second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe international Airport, Abuja, counterpart funding for rail projects, and the construction of the Bodo-Bonny road.

Also at plenary yesterday, the Senate mandated its Committees on Finance and Banking, Insurance and Financial Institutions to investigate allegations of unremitted revenue from stamp duties in the last five years.

This, it said, was due to the need to harness all sources of revenue to the government and curb all forms of wastefulness, corruption and diversion of funds.

The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Senator John Owan Enoh (Cross River, PDP) and eleven others who expressed concern over report by the School of Banking Honours that showed that over N7 trillion in stamp duties from cashless transactions remained unpaid to the federation since 2015.

The motion stated: “Worried that the provision for stamp duty in the revenue framework of the nation’s annual budget for 2015, 2016 and 2017 had been N8.713 billion, N66.138 billion and N16.96 billion,

respectively despite the above report. “We have been apprised of the anti-stamp duties collection stance of the Nigerian inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) which is currently being accused of systemic diversion of huge revenue flows from stamp duty collection on electronic transfer receipts on online banking transactions and the necessity to demand notice on all unremitted stamp duties.�

Owan also queried how the projection on stamp duties dropped from N66 billion in 2016 to N16.9 billion in 2017.

Adopting the prayers of the motion, the Senate commended the School of Banking Honours for bringing the issue of unremitted revenue from stamp duties to the public’s notice, and for insisting on probity of the NIBSS. The School of Banking Honours is a body corporate approved through registration by the Nigerian Copyrights Commission, to research into banking operations, facilitate collaboration between banks, ensure collaboration between banks and the government, and represent the government in facilitating the imposition

Total Debt Rises to N20tn Meanwhile, data released yesterday by the DMO has shown that Nigeria’s total public debt stock, comprising the federal government, states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) stood at N20.373 trillion as of September 30, showing a marginal increase of 3.6 per cent from N19.637 trillion as of June 30.

A breakdown of the country’s debt stock, according to a statement, indicated that domestic debt accounted for 76.96 per cent of the total debt stock while external debt accounted for 23.04 per cent.

The DMO put the domestic debt stock at N15.679 trillion, an increase of 4.1 per cent compared with N15.034 trillion as of June 30.

On the other hand, external debt stock stood at N4.694 trillion ($15.390 billion), reflecting a marginal rise of 1.9 per cent from N4.602 trillion as of June 30. “The debt data lends credence to the government’s

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NEWS

New Blood Pressure Guidelines Lower Hypertension Threshold to 130/80 New guidelines have lowered the threshold for high blood pressure, adding 30 million Americans to those who have the condition, which now plagues nearly half of U.S. adults, a new report published

by Yahoo News has shown.

With the new guidelines, millions of Nigerians who once considered themselves high blood pressure-free, now fall under the category of those that are hypertensive and would have to immediately make lifestyle changes.

High pressure, which for decades has been a top reading of at least 140 or a bottom one of 90, dropped to 130 over 80 in advice announced on Monday by a dozen U.S. medical groups.

The change means an additional 14 per cent of U.S. adults have the problem, but only 2 per cent of these newly added people need medication right away; the rest should try healthier lifestyles, which get much stronger emphasis in the new advice. Poor diets, lack of exercise and other bad habits cause 90 per cent of high blood pressure. “I have no doubt there will be controversy. I’m sure there will be people saying ‘We have a hard enough time getting to 140’,� said Dr. Paul Whelton, a Tulane University physician who led the guidelines panel.

But the risk for heart disease, stroke and other problems drops as blood pressure improves, and the new advice “is more honest� about how many people have a problem, he said.

Currently, only half of Americans with high blood pressure have it under control.

The upper threshold for high blood pressure has been 140 since 1993, but a major study two years ago found heart risks

of the American College of Cardiology.

were much lower in people who aimed for 120. Canada and Australia lowered their cutoff to that; Europe is still at 140 but is due to revise its guidance next year.

The guidelines were announced Monday at an American Heart Association conference in Anaheim.

How and When to Check It

What the Changes Mean The guidelines set new categories and get rid of “prehypertension�: r /PSNBM 6OEFS PWFS 80 r &MFWBUFE 5PQ OVNCFS 129 and bottom less than 80 r 4UBHF 5PQ PG or bottom of 80-89 r 4UBHF 5PQ BU MFBTU or bottom at least 90 That means 46 per cent of U.S. adults have high pressure (stages 1 or 2) versus 32 per cent under the old levels.

How common it is will roughly triple in men under 45, to 30 per cent, and double in women of that age, to 19 per cent.

For people over 65, the guidelines undo a controversial tweak made three years ago to relax standards and not start medicines unless the top number was over 150. Now, everyone that old should be treated if the top number is over 130 unless they’re too frail or have conditions that make it unwise. “The evidence with this is so solid, so convincing, that it’s hard to argue with the targets,� said Dr. Jackson Wright, a guidelines panel member from University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. Older people “have a 35-to-50-fold higher risk of dying of a heart attack or stroke compared to younger

Home blood pressure monitors could help people keep a tab on their blood pressure people�.

But the Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Steven Nissen said he’s worried. “Some more vulnerable patients who get treated very aggressively may have trouble with falls� because too-low pressure can make them faint, he said.

Who Needs Treatment Certain groups, such as those with diabetes, should be treated if their top number is over 130, the guidelines say. For the rest, whether to start medication will no longer be based just on the blood pressure numbers. The

decision also should consider the overall risk of having a heart problem or stroke in the next 10 years, including factors such as age, gender and cholesterol, using a simple formula to estimate those odds.

Those without a high risk will be advised to improve their lifestyles — lose weight, eat healthy, exercise more, limit alcohol, avoid smoking. “It’s not just throwing meds at something,� said one primary care doctor who praised the new approach, the Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Robert Stroebel. If people continue bad habits, “They can kind of eat and blow through the medicines,� he said.

The guidelines warn about some popular approaches, though. There’s not enough proof that consuming garlic, dark chocolate, tea or coffee helps, or that yoga, meditation or other behavior therapies lower blood pressure longterm, they said.

The U.S. government no longer writes heart guidelines, leaving it to medical groups.

Unlike previous guideline panels, none on this one have recent financial ties to industry, although some on a panel that reviewed and commented on them do.

The guidelines were published in two journals — Hypertension and the Journal

Blood pressure should be checked at least once a year by a health professional, and diagnosing high pressure requires two or three readings on at least two occasions.

The common way uses a cuff on the upper arm to temporarily block the flow of blood in an artery in the arm and gradually release it while listening with a stethoscope and counting sounds the blood makes as it flows through the artery. But that is prone to error, and many places now use automated devices.

The guidelines don’t pick a method, but recommend measuring pressure in the upper arm; devices that work on fingers or are worn on wrists “aren’t ready for prime time,� Whelton said.

Home monitoring also is recommended; devices cost as little as $40 to $60.

What About Kids?

Unlike adults, numbers for normal pressure in children vary with age, height and gender. Kids should be checked at least once a year for high pressure, said guidelines announced in August by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

After age 13, the levels defining high pressure are the same as for adults, said a member of the pediatrics panel, Dr. Elaine Urbina of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “When you turn 18 years and one minute, you shouldn’t suddenly have a new definition,� she said.

FG JUSTIFIES OIL EXPLORATION IN NORTH, TO REINVEST PROCEEDS FROM JV ASSETS real obligation to explore for oil anywhere there is reason to do so, noting that one of the reasons for the exploration activities in the North was the fact that it had been established that oil lies underneath the Lake Chad Basin.

He stated that the fact that the price of oil has fallen was not enough reason to stop exploration activities, adding that the commodity was still the country’s dominant foreign exchange earner.

Kachikwu, who stated that a huge responsibility still lies with oil, noted that the drop in oil prices and increasing world attention towards other energy sources would not stop hamstrung exploration activities.

He said: “Massive exploration activities will continue to proceed obviously in oil producing areas. The contribution of oil in the 2018 budgetary expenditure expectation is almost 60 per cent, that is, if you take the 37 per cent in debt. A huge amount of responsibility lies with oil.�

He, however, pointed out that his personal philosophy in the exploration of oil was that the Nigerian National Petroleum

Corporation (NNPC) should not drive the process. “My philosophy is that it shouldn’t just be NNPC that should prospect for oil in the North-east. What we are trying to do is to begin an inland basin programme and then we put in enough processes and incentives to bring the private sector to look for oil at their own cost under Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) and that will therefore not place a burden on the federal government but at least open up the frontiers which will be for the good of the country,� he said.

In his presentation on the details of the 2018 budget, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma said the 2018 revenue projections reflected a new funding mechanism for the oil joint venture (JV) operations, allowing for cost recovery in lieu of previous cash call arrangements.

The minister said that this would come with additional oil-related revenue arising from royalty recoveries, new/ marginal field licensing, early licensing renewals, and review of the fiscal regime for the PSCs. Udoma disclosed that key reform initiatives in

the 2018 budget to improve revenue generation included restructuring the government’s equity in the JV oil assets (reduction in equity holding) with proceeds to be reinvested in other assets.

This, he noted, will improve efficiencies in the operations of the JVs and position them for better revenue performance in the future.

He also disclosed that that there would be an upward adjustment on the excise duty imposed on alcohol and tobacco.

The minister also spoke on the tax administration improvement initiatives aimed at positively affecting collection across various tax categories, including the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS).

He disclosed that about N300 billion was provided for roads across the country in the 2018 budget, adding that the federal government was desirous of attracting private sector participation in all facets of the economy.

According to him, “The 2018 budget proposal seeks to continue the reflationary policies of the 2016 and 2017 budgets which helped put the

economy back on the path of growth. “Thus, we plan to continue to spend more on ongoing infrastructure projects that have potential for job creation and inclusive growth; we will continue to leverage private capital and counterpart funding for the delivery of infrastructure projects.�

Udoma stated that as with the 2016 and 2017 budgets, the 2018 budget had been prepared on Zero Based Budget (ZBB) principles.

He stressed that the 20182020 Medium Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) and the budget proposal reflected many of the reforms and initiatives in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), “which is our roadmap to economic recovery and sustainable growth�.

But considering present realities, he said the growth projection for 2017 had been revised downwards from 2.9 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

Providing further insight into the performance of the capital component of the 2017 budget, Udoma said as of October 31, N450 billion had been released to the ministries, departments and agencies of

the government.

The minister also disclosed that the government had also recorded 87 per cent performance in overall expenditure, even as he noted that under the 2017 budget, N1.6 trillion had been recorded as oil revenue.

Udoma said the government was having problems with non-oil revenue, noting that earnings from company income taxes and Value Added Tax (VAT) underperformed.

But he applauded the performance of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), noting that it has almost met its revenue target for the period.

Lamenting the poor performance of independent revenue sources, he regretted that the revenue generating agencies were not meeting their obligations.

On this score, he said the government was considering amending the Fiscal Responsibility Act to check the trend.

Responding to a question on the apathy of citizens to paying tax, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun blamed the discovery of oil for the low tax regime in the country.

She said Nigeria, with a

population of 180 million people and oil production of about 2 million barrels per day cannot survive without tax.

The minister stressed that people should not compare Nigeria with Saudi Arabia, with a production of ten million barrels of oil per day and a population of 30 million people. “People are not paying taxes, not because of apathy, but because we have gone on for the last 35 years with a culture that when people don’t pay taxes there are no consequences. “It is fraudulent for anyone to say he does not pay taxes because he does not see what he’s getting from government, so we are going to have to come together as nation for the future and do the right thing,� she said.

Also referring to the Dangote Group, the minister stated that the government never granted any company tax holiday or amnesty for roads construction, adding that government has an understanding with some companies on some roads.

According to her, such companies would repair certain roads while the funds expended on the roads will be recognised as taxes already paid.

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COMMENT

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

TREADING A PRECIPITOUS ROAD

Sonnie Ekwowusi argues the need to return to old values that have served the nation well

I

t is unfortunate that in our journey to nationhood we have veered off the familiar road and trodden on a precipitous one that leads to ruin. Instead of maintaining our pace on the road that leads to true nationhood we have wandered into vain discussions and attitudes to the neglect of widely-shared national values that characterise the lives and behaviour of majority of citizens and exert a profound influence on the nature and quality of political institutions and democracy. This, in my view, is the true missing link in our quest to build a cohesive, harmonious and virile nation. If there is a palpable absence of widely-shared national values that strengthen political institutions and democracy then our hope of reaching our destination (attaining nationhood) is greatly diminished.

It is very important to remind ourselves that nationhood is not attained overnight through executive fiat; rather it is a fruit of many years of shared positive national values and lived experiences.

What ultimately strengthens a nation and thus paves way for the much-vaunted prosperity is a cultural life made up of those little communally-binding ideals which inform and form the superstructure of the character of an individual. But unfortunately the lowest common denominator of acceptable character in political life has embarrassingly grown much lower in Nigeria in the last few years. Even the governed who often complain that their rulers are not living up to expectation behave as if they occupy the lowest rung of human civilisation.

Remember the National Orientation Agency (NOA)? It was principally established to re-orientate the attitudes of Nigerians and to inform the government on the people’s feelings and reactions towards its policies and activities in order to facilitate popular participation in government decision-making process. You will recall that when Professor Elochukwu Amucheazi was the Director-General of NOA the agency was a great instrument of socio-cultural and political change. But with the change of leadership the NOA has fallen into the wrong hands and has virtually become dysfunctional. The estrangement from pristine values has worsened the situation. Consequently Nigeria has been witnessing a steady progressive deterioration of those cherished values which used to form the superstructures for the building of our national ethos. Nothing is hateful or repugnant anymore. Cheating in exams has somehow become a part of the school curriculum. Our country has always had some scoundrels in public office, but never have we had such great number of criminals in public office than today. We live in a dirty environment without qualms. We habitually litter our streets with pure water sachets and other refuse. We have equally lost our sense of shame. We fight, urinate and defecate in the streets and public squares without shame.

The transcendence perception of our humanity seemed to have waned. We have grown accustomed to shedding human blood at will. It is probably only in Nigeria that the military can be used to wage a war against a hated people. Also it is probably only in Nigeria that the military can be used to kill protesting defenceless civilians without qualm as if the military had not committed a heinous

IN THE PAST WE CELEBRATED EXCELLENCE IN REAL ACHIEVEMENT. TODAY WE CELEBRATE MATERIAL UNDER-ACHIEVEMENT AND MORAL BANKRUPTCY

crime punishable by death. In the past we celebrated excellence in real achievement. Today we celebrate material under-achievement and moral bankruptcy. We have become so used to systematic collapse and non-performance in government that any small thing done by any government institution is applauded. For example, when electricity supply is restored after many days or months of power failure in a neighbourhood all the residents are wont to roar in unison: “Up NEPA !�. Last week I was held up for hours in the intractable vehicular traffic jam along Eko Bridge, Lagos. What was the cause of the traffic jam? Heavy-duty trucks and oil tankers had permanently encumbered almost half of Eko Bridge. To begin with, these trucks and tankers weigh too heavily on the bridge and could damage it. Second: the trucks and tankers obstruct traffic on Eko Bridge which triggers off chains of traffic snarls that paralyse the whole of Lagos Island and Lagos Mainland especially Apapa, Orile, Ikorodu, and their environs. It is sad that for years successive Nigerian governments have not rid our expressways of high-duty trucks and trailers which kill many motorists and passengers.

Therefore we need to go back to the first thing. If we think we are automatically freed from destructive habits and attitudes simply because we are operating a democracy then we are gravely mistaken. An abstract democracy not sustained by the fundamental social tradition of the society is a recipe for disaster. Certainly, a democracy that creates loopholes for flourishing corruption cannot lead to human flourishing. And it is important to understand the meaning of corruption. Corruption is not the stealing of public fund by perceived enemies of the Buhari government. The etymology of the word ‘to corrupt’ from the Latin word ‘corrupere’ is a state of moral depravity. Therefore anybody who is in the state of moral depravity could be said to be a corrupt person. For example, the driver of a rickety tanker who intentionally obstructs the expressway with his tanker thus causing an incredible vehicular traffic jam is indeed a corrupt person.

So, as I said earlier, first things first. The first thing, the fulcrum, if you like, around which many other things rotate is a national character or what I had earlier referred to as those widely-shared national values that define democracy and establishes the parameters and moral high ground in which democracy should operate in order to promote the wellbeing of the people. Devoid of widely-shared national values our journey to nationhood will be fruitless. We would be moving around in a concentric circle without finally reaching our destination. In his paper on the importance of little things in the life of a nation a few years ago, Jorge Santiago Barnes, a political consultant at the University of Salamanca, Spain, stated that in a multilingual and multiethnic society the people should learn to get many little things going well.

Therefore we need to discover or re-invent the Nigerian character.

We need to imbibe and practice those acceptable little habits or values that shape our politics and strengthen political institutions and democracy.

A SURE HAND AT THE WHEEL Willie Obiano will be returned as governor of Anambra State, writes Chuks Iloegbunam

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he electioneering campaigns in Anambra State are grounding to a halt, making way for the governorship ballot of November 18, 2017. It is necessary to review the road since travelled, and project on expected outcomes. For those with an ear to the ground, the campaigns unofficially started when, a year after he got into office, Governor Obiano made it clear that he was not interested in being anyone’s stooge.

Now everything is coming to a dazzling conclusion. The campaign convoys are backing out of streets and squares and veering into parking lots. Loudhailers are coming unstuck from sundry lips, stopping the torrents of flowery promises. Those that have screamed their vocal cords sore can now race to “chemist� shops for lozenges. Branded T-shirts and ankara wrappers will thenceforth constitute little other than fashion statements and bed sheets.

It has been a stretched season of sometimes bewildering political punditry. Some of the louder political players were presented as capable of scattering the ground. But, ultimately, not one thing was turned upside down, none inside out.

A lot of the dramatis personae did not heed Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s counsel on the futility of dancing well before the first throbs of the drums.

Not surprisingly, they danced themselves so lame that, in the currency of pulsating music, they are AWOL. Those with healthy feet are now weaving intricate Atilogwu and Mkpokiti dance sequences to voters’ delight.

The temptation is strong to phone Oseloka Obaze and ask, “How market?� Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo had said that, under Governor Obiano, Anambra State was in safe hands. “If it isn’t broken, why mend it?� He

had asked. But Mr. Obaze pointed to broken china in the sun. When asked how and why he planned a pastiche of Anambra’s wholesome political dispensation, he turned to Peter Obi, his godfather, for answers. Thus, it’s been a sorry spectacle of ex-Governor Obi leading Obaze from pillar to post, spewing discordant figures of the fabulous billions he left behind. But people preferred to hear it from Obaze. They never did.

Which prompts this question: What does Obaze stand for?

Still, Obaze’s PDP had other than identity problems. In terms of landmass, Anambra is one of the two smallest Nigerian states. Yet, the PDP train couldn’t manage a tour of all the 21 local government areas. A touch of the absurd even set in, a case of using the mouth that called a woman barren to later ask after her children’s welfare! At campaign rallies PDD stalwarts busied themselves distributing bags of the Anambra Rice they previously claimed was nonexistent. Strangely, and like people of scraped eyebrows, they never bothered to first scrape the image of Obiano and the Anambra Rice letterings on the bags. That could pass for desperation.

But what does one make of reports that Obaze often went into frenzy, complaining that Mr. Obi wasn’t religiously turning in funds from campaign donors? And what does one also make of reports that Obaze’s godfather lately developed a penchant for phoning Tony Nwoye, to aver that PDP’s entire hoopla was designed to make him the tenant of Government House, Awka? Insofar as the November 18 ballot is concerned, the PDP has hit Point Nunc Dimittis.

The APC’s case is even more pathetic.

Anambra is Not an APC state. As a matter of fact, the party is rootless in the Igbo country.

Whenever it comes up for mention, the images

of Igbo youth drowned in mire are invoked; the images of the others downed by gunfire are evoked. When Boko Haram went wild, they warned President Jonathan that attacks on the terrorists amounted to attacks on the north. When the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) reacted to the nullification of MKO Abiola’s presidential election victory and his subsequent liquidation in prison, the Yoruba got compensated with the Obasanjo presidency. When the Niger Delta militants rose in promotion of resource control, they got general amnesty and scholarships. But Igbo youths merely waved Biafran flags and asked for self-determination, only to be felled in large numbers. That is why Ndi Anambra are certain that an APC government in Awka can only fly on the wings of a stolen mandate.

There are other parties, of course, that are in the running, including the PPA, UPP, DSS, ECN, UTC, UAC, SPC, USB, ETC, and many more.

But – no harm meant – most of them belong to the category of “also rans�. The good thing about their participation in the political exercise is its coincidence with the finest of democratic principles.

It brings everything down to the Willie Obiano Appeal. There is no Nigerian Governor as abused as he is. If the lies against him were fused into a bomb and detonated, Hiroshima and Nagasaki could be reenacted. To recall some the lies and contradictions of anti-Obiano forces. They claimed that, since inception, the Obiano administration has not completed a single road project. Yet, they lie that, in nepotism, Obiano had constructed all of 35 roads in his Aguleri hometown! They have lied through two years that the three flyovers Obiano constructed in Awka are “sinking� and “collapsing�. Yet, the edifices stand unshakeable like the Rock of Gibraltar! Peter Obi’s campaign

train often cruised on them. Tony Nwoye’s campaign train often cruised on them. Is it rational for the sane to ply dangerous routes?

Some of the liars collected pictures of Governor Obiano from his media team and doctored them with Photoshop to transmit derogatory messages. They embossed on imported wine bottles the picture of Governor Obiano and announced to their ilk that the Meredith Akinloye era was back. They even said that Obiano had imported a gold bed for $50 million or N17.5 billion, a commentary on the grotesqueries of these times.

To continue, they dismissed as insignificant the fact Governor Obiano owes no salaries, owes no pensions and owes no gratuities. If the prompt payment of salaries and allowances is no big deal, why does the APC federal government owe civil servants a colossal N290 billion in promotion arrears? Why does the APC Kogi State Government owe 15 months in unpaid salaries? Why have APC governments in Kwara and Osun State not paid their civil servants in one year? Why have federal financial bailouts failed to ameliorate the deadweight of unpaid salaries and perquisites in APC states?

Governor Willie Obiano is like the eagle; insults hurled at him are like rainfall that baths the king of birds! That is the meaning of staying power. It issues from one’s personal appeal, charm, charisma and solid gubernatorial achievements. Ndi Anambra will not deny General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. They cannot let APGA, the only national political party indexed on the Igbo country, to go into oblivion.

The will return Willie Maduaboruchukwu Obiano for a second term of Office.

Iloegbunam is the Chairman of Governor Obiano’s Media Team

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EDITORIAL BEFORE ANOTHER VIOLENCE IN NIGER DELTA For peace to reign in the country, the federal government must stop reneging on agreements

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enultimate Friday, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) issued a notice calling off the ceaseďŹ re it reached with the federal government a year ago. The group of militants that forced down oil production to as low as 800 million barrels per day (mbd) by mid-2016, said it was returning to hostility because none of the promises made by the federal government to address issues of underdevelopment, environmental degradation and social injustice in the region has been fulďŹ lled more than a year after they were made. Threatening to devastate oil installations, the militants said unlike their earlier outings, blood would ow in the creeks this time around.

It is recalled that the militants had reluctantly suspended violence in November last year following the intervention of leaders from the region. The basis of the ceaseďŹ re was a 16-point demand. Although the militants had expressed doubts that the federal government would accede to those demands, saying its only interest THE FEDERAL was not genuine peace but a stable GOVERNMENT MUST environment for the ACT QUICKLY TO NIP exploitation of the THE THREAT IN THE BUD region’s oil resources

BY ACCEDING TO THE DEMANDS OF THE REGION. to fund government budget, the militants AT LEAST, LET IT START were prevailed WITH THE LOW HANGING upon to give peace a FRUITS chance.

When six months after, the federal government seemed to be proving the militants right by not implementing a single item of the demands, the Niger Delta leaders raised the alarm on the dangers of government reneging on its promise to assuage the feelings of the people of the region. It took a peace shuttle round the region in May by VicePresident Yemi Osinbajo, then acting president, to calm frayed nerves. Again, he committed the federal government to actualising the demands, promising that such deliverable items such as the take-off of the Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State

Letters to the Editor

and the Ogoni clean-up would be implemented expeditiously.

Against the background that attacks by the militants had brought the national economy to its knees and driven it into recession in 2016, we believe the federal government should be more serious in dealing with the situation. It was the ceaseďŹ re in November of that year that gradually restored oil production to about 2000 mbd by 2017, helping signiďŹ cantly to shore up the economy and pulling it out of recession. For an economy that is still tottering at the precipice, a disruption to oil production at this point would be disastrous.

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ast week, President Muhammadu Buhari presented his 2018 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, putting the estimates at N8.61 trillion. His total revenue projection of N6.61 trillion has oil accounting for N2.44 trillion at 2.3 mbd at $45. With a N2.01 trillion deďŹ cit already, the bill would be dead on arrival if there is a disruption in oil production. The prospect of this is very high with the threat from the militants. The federal government must, therefore, act quickly to nip the threat in the bud by acceding to the demands of the region. At least, let it start with the low hanging fruits.

While we call on the security agencies to be on alert, we appeal to the militants to also exercise restraints as a return to violence can only dampen the possibilities of implementation of any planned development projects in the region. For instance, the federal government already proposed to direct more funding to the region in 2018, increasing the estimates for the Ministry of Niger Delta from N34.20 billion in 2017 to N53.89 billion as well as allocating N71.20 billion and N65 billion to the Niger Delta Development Commission and the Amnesty OfďŹ ce respectively. Aside the N5 billion already allocated for the take-off of the Maritime University, an additional N17 billion has been allocated to complete the East-West Road that traverses the entire region.

Tokenistic as these measures may seem, their implementation would be dragged back with a resurgence of violence in the region.

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

WOMEN AND THE THREAT OF DIABETES

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iabetes Mellitus is a life-long disease noticeable by elevated levels of sugar in the blood either because the body does not produce enough insulin or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced.

Insulin is the principal hormone that regulates uptake of glucose from the blood into most cells. It is released into the blood stream by beta cells found in the Islet of Langerhans in the pancreas in response to rising levels of blood glucose, typically after eating.

Globally, diabetes has become a huge medical concern. Though the disease is prevalent across the world, experts have predicted that there would be an upsurge in its occurrence in Asia and Africa due to the trend of urbanisation and the dynamism of lifestyle change.

Relevant statistical data has shown that as at 2010, an estimated 285 million people had diabetes mellitus. Scarily, experts have predicted that this figure would almost double by 2030. In Africa, an estimated 14.7 million adults had the disease in 2011. With an estimated figure of 1.7 million, Nigeria has the largest number of people living with diabetes in Africa. This number is expected to rise to 4.8 million by 2030.

It is in an attempt to promptly deal with the disease and the threat it poses to mankind that the World Diabetes Day is celebrated annually.

Globally, the day is held on November 14 of every year to draw universal attention to the reality of the threat posed by diabetes to the wellbeing of millions of people across the world. The day was launched in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World

Health Organisation (WHO) in reaction to the increase of diabetes around the world.

By the 2016 edition, the day was being commemorated by over 230 IDF member associations in more than 160 countries as well as by other numerous global stakeholders. Traditionally, activities lined up to mark the day often include diabetes screening, media campaigns and numerous other social events among others.

Each year, the World Diabetes Day commemoration focuses on different themes and factors that promote the risk of diabetes and its complications. Deliberately, this year’s edition, with the theme: ‘Women and diabetes - our right to a healthy future’, has been particularly chosen to focus on the increasing rate of women with cases of the disease. The essence is to promote the significance of affordable and reasonable access for all women at risk for or living with diabetes to the necessary diabetes drugs, technologies, self-management education and information they require with a view to attaining best possible diabetes outcomes as well as strengthening their ability to avoid type 2 diabetes.

Without a doubt, every woman with diabetes requires reasonable and equitable access to care and education to better manage their diabetes and improve their health outcomes.

The fact that this year’s World Diabetes Day focuses mainly on women is an indication that quite a reasonable number of women are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the disease. Research has shown that two out of every five women with diabetes are of reproductive age, thus accounting for over 60 million women globally. According

to available WHO record, there are currently over 199 million women living with diabetes all over the world. This, of course, is a staggering figure. But then, experts opine that the present figure is very much likely to increase to 313 million by 2040.

To further underscore the threat posed by diabetes to the wellbeing of women across the world, it has been discovered that the malady is now the ninth leading killer of women globally, causing 2.1 million deaths per year. Women with type 2 diabetes are almost 10 times more likely to have coronary heart disease than women without the condition. Women with type 1 diabetes have an increased risk of early miscarriage or having a baby with malformations.

As a result of socio-economic conditions, girls and women with diabetes experience barriers in accessing cost-effective diabetes prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and care, particularly in developing countries. Socio-economic inequalities expose women to the main risk factors of diabetes, including poor diet and nutrition, physical inactivity, tobacco consumption and harmful use of alcohol.

Two out of every five women with diabetes are of reproductive age, accounting for over 60 million women worldwide. Women with diabetes have more difficulty conceiving and may have poor pregnancy outcomes. Without pre-conception planning, type 1 and type 2 diabetes can result in a significantly higher risk of maternal and child mortality and morbidity.

Tayo Ogunbiyi, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Lagos

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2017

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

THE NEWSMAKER Why Buhari Must Review Cases of Dismissed Military Officers Now that President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to address injustices in the country, he may wish to take a dispassionate look at the cases of the 38 military officers dismissed under questionable circumstances, Shola Oyeyipo writes

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ooking at issues objectively, the President Muhammadu Buhariled All Progressives Congress (APC) government does not have credibility problem neither has it really lost its goodwill among the people but the government has left some issues unclarified such that they are moulding public opinion negatively against the leadership.

For instance, it took an analytical slide presentation by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo during a recent pastor’s conference organised

by Reverend Yomi Kasali to disabuse the minds of the audience from swelling allegations of sectionalism in federal appointments, festering herdsmen murderous activities being attributed to the fact that the president is their kinsman and all that.

At the end of Osinbajo’s presentation, people were abundantly convinced that some allegations against the administration were unfounded.

Were it not clearly spelt out, some of such erroneous tags could stick and stand against the government in later days.

One raging issue that the government cannot feign ignorance of is the perception among southerners that the north is dominating other parts of Nigeria, which is part of why the clamour for restructuring and self-deternibation remained the main debates in the south.

Presently, an issue in the Nigerian Army is further fuelling this divisive tendency. It is the issue of the 38 young military officers sacked under questionable circumstances and with some of them feeling that their predicament is simply as a result of their geopolitical affiliation.

Seven out of the senior army officers are from Rivers State; two each are from Delta and Akwa Ibom states; three are from Edo state and ten others are from the South-astern states and of Igbo extraction. So, twenty-four of the 38 senior army officers in the list are from the south-south and south-east zones m.

Either such sentiments are right or wrong, in matters as this, the federal government should exhibit a desire to uncover the truth about the alleged unjust retirements of these officers.

On June 9, 2017, the Nigerian Army announced retirement of the 38 senior officers for alleged partisanship in the 2015 general elections. Some of them were also alleged to have been involved in the defence contracts scam while some others were alleged to have been undisciplined.

The officers retired compulsorily are nine major-generals, 10 brigadier-generals, seven colonels, 11 lieutenant colonels and one major.

Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Usman, was quoted in a statement as saying “We are quite aware that some mischievous elements are trying to whip up sentiments. This is quite unfortunate because all the affected officers were retired based on ‘service exigencies’ and in line with the Armed Forces Act (AFA), CAP A20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai corroborated Sani’s position. He said: “‘There is no better time than now to retire the affected military officers. It took us painstaking procedure to ensure we didn’t pick innocent ones. We started with one inquiry from One Division GOC to the other. After that, we subjected it to legal review. After the legal review, we forwarded our recommendations to higher authorities for consideration.”

There is no gainsaying that the Nigerian Army is a professional institution, and that unlike other security bodies. It draws its respect from people based on its highest standards of discipline and conduct but the issue of some of the affected officers raises some questions and suspicions.

In the military, where an officer faces allegations such as those listed above, the affected

Buhari

person(s) would be entitled to appear before a courts martial to state his or her side, but that did not happen - they were not court martialed. That was a denial of fair hearing.

Particularly disturbing are the cases of 18 officers, who were never queried, nor charged with any offence. They are Major General Ijioma, Major General Ejemai, Major General Ilo, Major General Ude, Brigadier General Aghachi, Brigadier General Fibuonuma, Brigadier General L.M Bello, Brigadier General I.M Lawson, Col F.E Ekpeyong, Col. O.U Nwankwo, Col. M.A Suileman, Col. C.K Ukoha, Lt. Col A Mohammed, Lt. Col G.C Nyekwu, Lt. Col D.B Dazang, Lt. Col T.E Arigbe, Lt. Col Enemchukwu and Major Williams.

In fact, four of the affected persons,; Lawson, Agachi, Suleiman and Arigbe were on assignment out of the country and yet they were retired along with others without fair hearing.

Sure they had a good case and in search of justice, the affected officers have not only taken legal actions, they have also collectively approached the Senate to wade into the alleged wrongful retirements. They appeared before the Senate’s Ethics and Privileges Committee on Tuesday October 17, 2017. They have also written letters to President Muhammadu Buhari, through the Chief of Defence Staff General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, to look into their cases for redress.

All hopes for justice seemed lost until the Senate through its Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions Committee put party differences asides and gave the officers a hearing.

Curiously, 18 of the officers were never queried

The understanding among the military officers is that the Buratai-led army has misled the president on the issue

neither did they appear before any panel of inquiry, while none of the 38 was ever charged, tried or found guilty of an offence, so, on what grounds were they laid off?

If in the of corruption that eventually cost him his job, the federal government remarked that Mr. Lawal Babachir was not granted fair hearing by the Senate Committee in line with the constitution and and that as such it would not attend to its report, Buhari, being a retired army officer himself should do the needful. He should look into the matter and clarify the claims of both parties.

First, the president and the appropriate authorities should establish and make public why the officers were not granted fair hearing as enshrined in the constitution, more so because the army was unable to provide any evidence of malfeasance against them at the Senate committee hearing of 17 October and this has cast doubts on the sincerity of the retirement process.

The understanding among the military officers is that the Buratai-led army has misled the president on the issue. This was clearly stated in their most recent open letter to the president.

The question is: how is it that officers, who did not participate in elections, who were not involved in the defence contracts and were not accused of any sundry offences were suddenly removed from their jobs without fair hearing?

A renowned legal practitioner and human rights activist, Abdul Muhammed, said it was best that Buhari, looks into the “unjust” retirement of 38 the officers.

“The record of the Nigeria Army shows that there were no factual basis for punishing these officers and that there has been a complete failure of fair hearing and due process. Many of these officers have no relationship whatsoever with election duties or procurement office as falsely alleged by army leadership. They have never served in procurement capacity throughout their careers in the army or participated in any form of election duties during the 2015 general elections,” Muhammed said.

The head, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), Emmanuel Onwubiko, wrote in one of his detailed follow-ups on the matter that his organisation decided to “add its moral voice to demand justice, because if the allegations of wrongful dismissal weren’t investigated and quality redress provided, it would be a total institutionalisation of injustice.”

Renowned lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN is also of the opinion that the affected officers deserved better treatment.

In an interview he granted shortly after the offers were retired, he argued that “I do not agree that what we are witnessing is cleansing.

As an institution, the military has a duty to discipline its members. All that is required is that in removing anybody from the armed forces, the authorities are required to follow the provisions of the Armed Forces Act and the constitution to the letter.

“However, any of the 38 officers affected, who was never confronted with any allegation of misconduct, has the right to petition the president. I did so in the case of the 3002 military officers and soldiers who were illegally flushed out of the military by the last administration. I got reprieve for them as they have been reinstated. I also protested the illegal conviction of the 70 soldiers who were sentenced to death for demanding for weapons to fight the insurgents.

“Although the death sentences passed on them have been commuted to 10 years imprisonment, I have sent a fresh petition to the president of the republic to pardon them and set them free in view of the revelations that the fund earmarked for the purchase of armament was diverted and stolen by a coterie of retired and serving military officers.

“So, I strongly believe that those who were unjustly treated are entitled to have their cases reviewed.”

In the light of the claims of the officers to be innocent, the fact that they have not been subjected to fair-hearing and sectional sentiment attached to the matter, it will be reassuring if the president objectively looks into the matter with the view to unearth the truth.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2017

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PERSPECTIVE

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

SGF’s Visit, a Boost in Executive-Legislature Relationship The visit of the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Boss Mustapha to the leadership of the National Assembly was not only historic, but symbolic in many ways than one, writes Chuks Okocha

Saraki

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he visit of the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Boss Mustapha to the leadership of the two arms of the National Assembly ushered in a new opportunity for both the executive and the legislature to work together for the progress of the country.

It is symbolic and historic because this is the first time, the holder of that office, considered as the engine room of the executive arm of government, would visit the legislature to solicit for a smoother and better relationship between the two.

In the past, the relationship between the two arms of government had been frosty.

Apparently not disposed to play the cantankerous role of his predecessor, who was booted out of office for his infamous role in the ‘grass cutting’ scandal in the Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs), the new SGF, a lawyer and grass root politician decided on assumption of office to thaw the hitherto frosty relationship between the two arms of government.

The new SGF did not pretend about his mission to the National Assembly.

First, he met with the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki who also is the chairman of the National Assembly.

After, the usual courtesies, he went straight to the subject of his visit. He said, “Let me put it on record that your leadership has helped tremendously in stabilizing the polity and also given the purposeful direction that we require at the Presidency to ensure that we deliver on the promises that we made to the Nigeria people when we sought for their mandate in 2015.

“You ran for the Senate in your constituency in Kwara State, but I remember vividly serving as the Director, Contact and Mobilization of the Campaign, that you were all over the place campaigning to ensure that President Muhammadu Buhari won the election and we did win decisively. So, sir, thank you so much for what you have done to ensure the APC’s victory. After your emergence as the Chairman of the National Assembly and also the President of the Senate, you have provided the kind of leadership

Mustapha

that is required, as I said, to stabilize the polity. Nigeria as a nation has been going through some storms that we inherited but because of your able leadership and your colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives, we have stabilized this process to a large extent.

“Going forward sir, I bring, like I said, the greetings of the Presidency because as the Secretary to the Government, my responsibility is to coordinate the implementation of government policies and to ensure that these policies are synergized in such a manner that we would be able to deliver to the people of Nigeria the good things of life which they rightly deserve.

“In doing that, I will not be able to succeed in that task if I do not get the cooperation of the National Assembly and that is why I am here today to extend the hand of friendship and to solicit for the cooperation of the National Assembly because our constitution is very explicit when it comes to the principle of separation of powers. The role of the National Assembly is quite distinct.

You (National Assembly) legislate for the good governance of the federation; you provide oversight and you also ensure that funds that are appropriated are used judiciously for the purposes they are meant and for the benefit of the people of Nigeria. So your responsibility is so enormous in this enterprise. I will say this and I will say it quite frankly sir, we are not in competition with the National Assembly.

“We are not rivals with the National Assembly. We are joint partners in this enterprise. If the National Assembly does not cooperate with the Presidency, I am not very sure we will be able to achieve the desired result that we want to see given the mandate that we have freely received from the people of Nigeria. So, this is basically to come and assure you that in every area that you are soliciting for the cooperation of the Presidency, being the Secretary to the Government, I would ensure that the National Assembly receives that cooperation because jointly if we work together, whatever has been lost in the past we can quickly redeem and recover and make progress so that by the time the first four-year mandate

that we received comes to an end we can show on our scorecard that these were the promises we made. Mr. President is passionate about the three-pronged approach that he has brought to government.

“One, to fight for the security of the country and defeat insurgency in every part of this country. Two, to diversify the economy and thirdly, to fight corruption and ensure, in his very common parlance, if we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria... So, it is on these three-pronged approach that he has said that I can tell you that none of these three-pronged approach can be achieved if we do not receive the support of the National Assembly particularly now the Senate. We can’t diversify the economy because that would mean that Bills will have to come to the National Assembly which will be debated and eventually returned to him for assent. We can’t fight corruption if we do not have an institutional framework which is strengthened in every ramification to ensure that corruption is dealt with because it is a big menace that has constituted a source of embarrassment to the people of this country and we can’t fight insurgency unless we put apparatuses on ground that in all ramification requires the support of the National Assembly and for that reason sir, we will continue to solicit for your support. We will continue to knock on your door and I believe that with your able leadership, you will be able to convince your colleagues that at every given time, whenever we require to see your hand intervening in certain areas that will assist the government move forward we will receive that.”

On his own part, an elated Senate President was not only brotherly in his comments, but pledged to a smoother working relationship between the two arms of government. Saraki who is accompanied by the Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan with other principal officers of the upper house said, “I think your visit is very symbolic. It is truly a new phase of cooperation between the executive and the legislature and a good omen for our democracy and for our government.

“I got the notice rather short but it was important that we meet. Your visit truly

show your intention of ensuring that you use your period as SGF to ensure that we truly work together to make Nigeria great. You are very right and I think people like us are not surprised because we know your antecedents.

“You know that in the presidential system that we are running in this democracy, it is not possible for us to be able to achieve all our goals if the executive and legislature do not have not just an okay relationship - a fantastic and very close relationship. And what you have done this afternoon has really brought that closer and I am sure that all my colleagues are going to appreciate that on the floor tomorrow when I communicate this to them.

“Truly, you have started on a very good note and I congratulate you. Thank you for all your kind words when you talked about some of the work we have done in the past together in bringing the government together and we will continue to work together to ensure that we deliver on our promises.

“As you said, the constitution is very clear on what our responsibilities are.

You did not write it and I did not write it, neither did any of us in the National Assembly today but we have all sworn to it and we must continue to ensure that we work with it and we work for the interest of Nigeria. Let me assure you that being the first SGF that we have received here, you will definitely get our cooperation and this will definitely be a new page and we will do all our best to ensure that whatever the issues are before you, we will act to see how best we can to resolve them and work together. I thank you for coming”.

Nothing more to add, this is what the country needs at the moment. Efforts to bring the dividends of democracy to Nigerians should be encouraged. After every election, those elected should put aside partisan politics and join hands to move the country forward and improve the welfare of the populace. All hands should be put on deck to put food in our homes.

– Okocha, the Special Assistant to the President of Senate on Print Media wrote in from Abuja

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FEATURES

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

Charting a Blueprint for the Tobacco Industry Why are there so many gaps between regulation and policy action within Nigeria’s Tobacco Industry, Solomon Elusoji and Ugo Aliogo wonder

I

t was a bright Wednesday morning at Protea Hotel Ikeja GRA. The day was carved out to discuss the policy regulation facing the Food, Beverage and Tobacco industry. Experts in the industry saw the moment as an opportunity to exchange ideas on the challenges facing the sector, and proffer solutions on the way forward for the industry, considering its negative trajectory in 2016. The event was the breakfast dialogue session organised by Initiative for Policy Analysis (IPPA) with the theme: ‘Moving from Regulation to Policy Action- the Challenge’.

To begin the dialogue session was the Director, Research and Advocacy, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Vincent Nwani.

He is a man with an appetite for knowledge.

With over 14 years industry experience, his career has endowed him with robust experience and an excellent track record in banking and finance.

He began his presentation without elaborate preambles, focusing on the regulations guiding the diversification of the Nigeria economy. He took a cursory look at the elements affecting the Nigeria business environment. He explained that multiple taxation and the policy duplicity of governments were one of the major problems facing businesses in the country.

Nwani’s argument is that the aforementioned challenges have increased the cost of doing business, created regulatory uncertainty, and reduced Nigeria’s attractiveness as an investment destination.

This is true, especially in Nigeria’s Tobacco industry. In his remarks, the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon. Odebunmi Dokun, expressed displeasure over the non-passage of the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA).

He said despite the enactment of the Act in May 2015, there are still concerns expressed in some quarters, while assuring participants at the event that there are concerted efforts in addressing these concerns without compromising public interest.

He further explained that the non-passage of the Act has worsened the business environment for the private sector players. “It is not just accidental therefore that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the food, beverage and tobacco industry contracted by the end of 2016 at -2.7 per cent

Stakeholders in tobacco industry are committed to adhering to the provisions of National Control on Tobacco Act 2015 because the Act forbids promotion of tobacco products in Nigeria. As such industry leaders prevent youth access and smoking at point of sale and discourage the sale of tobacco products near schools

L-R: Executive Director of the National Film and Video Censors Board, Adedayo Thomas, Health Economist, University of Aberdeen, Dr. Olajide Damilola, Executive Director, Initiative for Public Policy Analysis, Thompson Ayodele, Principal Counsel, Jiti & Co, Mr. Jiti Ogunye and representative of Chairman, the House of Representatives Committee on Information, Hon. Odebunmi Dokun, Yinka Ajibolu, at the breakfast dialogue session organised by IPPA in Lagos...recently

L-R: Dr. Vincent Nwani of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry making a presentation, Director of Initiative for Public Policy Analysis, Thompson Ayodele and Dr. Damilola Olajide, Health Economist, University of Aberdeen, UK, watching with keen interest

from 5.8 per cent in the third quarter,� he said.

Dokun who was represented by his Special Assistant, Al-Marruf Ajibolu, added that the lack of effective implementation of the provisions contained in the Act, has made it inappropriate in reforming the Act.

He further stated: “Globally, regulations are important as a way to forestall possible externalities. The recognition of the important role that regulations could play in bringing about a sustainable society is a key reason why legislative processes usually involves many stakeholders in order to ensure that the outcomes consider

all shades of opinion. “Without this, the law may not be balanced, which will likely lead to lots of unintended consequences. The Nigeria’s National Assembly has demonstrated this belief by ensuring that viewpoints of all actors are considered in the

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FEATURES

A UK-based Health Economist, Dr. Damilola Olajide, said available data on tobacco use in Nigeria do not support an overly regulated tobacco industry, adding that the current level of regulations seems more of doing the dictates of World Health Organisation (WHO) than what is required locally

Tobacco regulation in Nigeria is in dire straits

R-L: Former mentor EU INSIDE, Mr. Dele Sonubi and Mr. Thompson Ayodele, at the event

Participants at the event

course of law-making. This is usually in form of public hearing and consultative/constituency meetings. “Therefore, I strongly believe that laws should always be implemented before the consideration of any amendment. They have to be tested, evaluated, gaps identified and addressed before new laws or amendments are introduced.

The act can only be implemented by the executive

branch and not by the stakeholders in the sector. “I want to enjoin everyone to join hands with the government in the implementation of the law and point out whatever gaps that may exist. As you all know, perfection is a process and every one of us are part of that process.

I want this gathering to know that whatever Act that is passed by the National Assembly,

it is meant for the general well-being of the citizenry. We are your representatives and we are doing people’s business.�

In his remarks, the Executive Director of IPPA, Mr. Thompson Ayodele, said as a group their focus is not only on tobacco, but on the food and beverages industry, adding that the sector is very important to the growth of the economy.

He added that the growth of the sector was slow; as a result it could not contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which means that if it continues it would affect the overall growth of the economy, especially with the country’s exit from recession.

Ayodele added: “stakeholders in tobacco industry are committed to adhering to the provisions of National Control on Tobacco Act 2015 because the Act forbids promotion of tobacco products in Nigeria. As such industry leaders prevent youth access and smoking at point of sale and discourage the sale of tobacco products near schools. “Also it strongly discouraged the use of child labour at tobacco retail points to prevent minors from selling and promoting the use of tobacco products and do not partner with anyone who engages under aged persons to sell their products.

"The premise of the report is biased and flawed as the report was embarked on to basically validate the position of those who commissioned the report. This is because available facts do not support the key arguments in the report.

Facts show that tobacco is a declining product globally and smoking prevalence rate in Nigeria is the lowest. “This is why the argument of child smoking and selling to school children is flawed. Again and again the law clearly forbids selling to minor and legal producers will always obey the law in both production and distribution of their products. Should any infringement be noticed, they should be able to report to the regulators, but none so far in the public domain.�

Regulations are critical to shaping environments and societies. The objective of any regulatory policy is to ensure that it works effectively and is in the public interest. For highly regulated products, such as tobacco industry, a fair balance has to be made for all areas involved in public interest. This consists of those who consume the products and those that don’t. Sovereignty also plays a critical role as regulations takes different shapes dependent on various factors such as capacity, economy, infrastructure, and funding. The role of regulations for products and services is always critical to the success of any economy. That means foreign laws should not be copied into Nigeria without considering the local peculiarities.

Also speaking at the event, a UK-based Health Economist, Dr. Damilola Olajide, said available data on tobacco use in Nigeria do not support an overly regulated tobacco industry, adding that the current level of regulations seems more of doing the dictates of World Health Organisation (WHO) than what is required locally.

He also stated that effectiveness in the regulation of tobacco use is largely dependent on addressing complementary health behaviours (alcohol), noting that there is a socioeconomic dimension to tobacco use which requires targeted regulatory regimes.

Olajide argued that when the production, distribution, or consumption of a product or service imposes some externalities for health hazards on the public, the market price for the product or service would not capture the associated hazards imposed on the society. “Regulation is essentially important to ensure that the public interest is protected. It often takes the form of interventions by government agencies in the private market to implement policy and efficient outcomes,� he noted.

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IMAGES

L-R: Director of Operations, British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN), West Africa, Charles Kyalo; Commissioner of Police, Oyo State, Mr Abiodun Odude; and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, Oyo State, Mr Buba Sanusi, during BATN’s presentation of two patrol vehicles to the Toll Gate and Challenge divisions of the Oyo State Police Command at the BATN Factory in Ibadan, Oyo State, recently

L-R; Board Member, Lagos State OďŹƒce of Disability Aairs, Barrister Emmanuel O. Bada; President, Indian Cultural Association, Chief Sanjay Jain and Chairperson, Down Syndrome Foundation, Mrs Rose Mordi during the donation by Indian Cultural Association to Down Syndrome Foundation at Freedom Park, Lagos...recently

L-R: CEO, Adann Fashion and Accessories, Uchechukwu Abiakam; CEO, Crown Wealth Stores, Adeola Rotinwa; Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Akintunde Oyebode; CEO Toke Cosmetics Enterprises, Akinbajo Olabisi and CEO, SAJA Company Ltd, Seyi Fakoya, during Oyebode’s visit to LSETF Pavilion at the 2017 Lagos International Trade Fair in Lagos...recently

L-R; Medical Director, SanoďŹ Nigeria-Ghana, Dr Phillip Ikeme(left); Director, Biotechnology Center,University of Yaounde,Professor Jean Claude Mbanya, General Manager and Country Chair, SanoďŹ Nigeria-Ghana, Ms Folake Odediran, Representative of Minister of Health Professor,Chris Bode and Chairman of the ocassion Dr Sonny Kuku during the SanoďŹ Diabetes Summit 2017 in Lagos...recently

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

L-R; Winner of Western Union back to School Mega Promotion, Patrick Anyatonwu; Assistant Marketing Manager, ECOWAS- Western Union, Ebere Nwaolikpe; Customer Service Manager, Diamond Bank, Ikoyi branch, NoďŹ sat Olorunmbe; and Head, Branch Operations Lagos 1 Region, Yahaya yahaya-Babangida at the presentation of Hyundai car to the winner of Western Union back to School Mega Promo by Diamond Bank, in Lagos ‌recently. sunday adigun

Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed (left) and President, Nigeria Golf Club, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola at the 5th Kwara Open Golf Tournament in Ilorin Golf Club, Ilorin..recently

L- R: Plant Manager, Avnash Rice Mill, Ghana, Mr. Vipan Kumar; Group Finance OďŹƒcer, Mr. V. S. Reddy;, Chairman of Sona Group, Mr. A.K. Mirchandani; President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer of the Mill, Mr. Jai Mirchandani, and , Ghana’s Minister of Food & Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto at the launch of the Royal Farmers Rice, a premium parboiled long grain rice brand from the Mill in Ghana...recently

L-R; Sustainable Development & AiS Manager, Mrs Titilola Alabi; Managing Director/Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr Peter Ndegwa; Corp Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Boboye Oyeyemi; Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mrs Viola Graham-Douglas and Zonal Commanding OďŹƒcer, Zone 2, Mr Shehu Zaki, during the visit of the FRSC Corp Marshal to Guinness Nigeria Ogba brewery in Lagos... recently

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OBB OVERNIGHT

A S

A T

REPO 7.17% 7.75%

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

9% 9.67% 10.83%

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

310.91 % -0.08% 0.20%

1 0 ,

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

2 0 1 7

5.23% 18.59%

EXCHANGE RATE N305.95//1US DOLLAR* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes ACAMB Endorses New EXCO

CIS MARKS 25TH ANNIVERSARY

L-R: First Vice President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers(CIS), Mr. Adedapo Adekoje; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, the Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE) Mr. Oscar Onyema; President, CIS, Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe, and Second Vice President, Mr. Tunde Amolegbe, during the closing gong ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of CIS in Lagos‌recentl

CBN’s Investors and Exporter FX Window Boosts Companies’ Earnings Goddy Egene The Investor and Export (I&E) foreign exchange (FX) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in April has continued to enhance the performance of most listed manufacturing companies that rely on imported inputs for their operations.

Besides, companies who borrowed foreign currency loans are benefitting from the positive impact of the I&E FX window as the liquidity brought by the policy has reduced the interest paid on those loans.

THISDAY checks showed that some manufacturing firms are recording improved

ECONOMY bottom-lines in their nine months half year results as their level of finance costs reduced significantly.

The reduction in finance cost was due to improved FX exchange that resulted from the introduction of I&E window by the CBN. For instance, Nestle’s cost of finance fell by 56 per cent from N19 billion for the nine months in 2016 to N8.606 billion in 2017. This development contributed to the company recording a jump of 4,638 per cent in profit after tax from N5.504 billion to N34.479 billion

in 2017.

Also, Nigerian Breweries Plc’s finance cost fell from N10.2 billion to N7.9 billion, making the company to end the period with a 24 per cent increase in profit to N34.42 billion, from N27.79 billion in 2016.

CBN recently said the E&I window has performed beyond expectations.

The Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, CBN, Dr. Joseph Nnanna said: “The I&E FX window is truly a mighty success, because its performance has exceeded our expectations. Within four months the I&E window was introduced, we have seen a volume of over $10billion. It’s a huge success; and we therefore

encourage other countries to adopt this system.�

He explained that the different exchange rates were slowly converging and that the CBN has no plans to force this convergence in other to speed up the appreciation of the Naira in the parallel market.

He added: “The IMF consistently talks about the need for a single exchange rate. This single exchange rate can be achieved organically or inorganically. The CBN believes that the organic convergence is the way forward. The inorganic convergence involves engaging all possible measures to force the various exchange rates to Continued on page 24

CEO Recounts Banks’ Role in Halting Nigeria’s Forex Crisis Obinna Chima The chief executive officer (CEO) of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe has narrated how bank CEOs in the country joined forces with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to tackle the foreign exchange (forex) crisis that confronted the country during the slump in crude oil price.

Wigwe, who is the Chairman of Body of Bank CEOs said this at the annual dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) recently.

He described 2017 as one of the most interesting years in the country, saying that bank CEOs were meeting with the central bank governor every weekend during the forex crisis, in order to address the situation. “When we got into 2016, the country went into an economic

ECONOMY recession which continued until 2017. If you are not close to where the problem was, you would not appreciate how difficult it was to ensure that there is stability. “But because of the work I do as the Chairman of the Body of Bank CEOs, I started working very closely with the governor of central bank. “2017 was extremely interesting for all bank CEOs. We converted the CBN governor’s house on Sundays into a meeting room where all of us met every Sunday. We could not travel. But I think it is interesting that those days are behind us now,� Wigwe said.

He commended efforts by the central bank at ensuring stability in the forex market.

He added: “As we get into

2018, all of us need to work together as a body to make sure we have a much better country.�

After five quarters of continuous contraction of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Nigerian economy recorded a positive growth of 0.55 per cent in the second quarter of 2017.

Also, from a peak of 18.72 per cent in January 2017, headline inflation recorded eight straight months of disinflation, with the rate declining to 15.98 in September. In the same vein, the nation has recorded significant appreciation of the naira from over N500 to a dollar, to about N360 to a dollar.

Additionally, the country’s external reserves have recorded significant improvement in the past one year, closing at $34.160 billion as of last Thursday.

Earlier, the President/Chairman of the Council, CIBN,

Prof. Segun Ajibola noted that some of the policy initiatives embarked upon by the different arms of government, ministries, departments and agencies have started yielding expected results. “From January 2017, inflation rate has consistently declined, while the foreign exchange market has improved significantly. “Just recently, the country had a quantum leap in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report. These impressive developments in the economy, nonetheless, the country still lags behind in human development indices,� he explained.

Furthermore, he noted that in the course of the year, the banking industry also witnessed great disruption that transformed the financial intermediation role of the sector.

The Association of Corporate Aairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) recently held its 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) where it endorsed members of its executive committee (exco) for two-year tenure. ACAMB recently announced members of its interim exco which were re-constituted to drive the vision of the organisation.

By the ratiďŹ cation, all the exco members have assumed their substantive positions. ACAMB President is the Divisional Head, Brand & Communications, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Charles Aigbe, who is to lead the team of marketing communications professionals in the industry. “As Aigbe takes on the onerous task of repositioning the association for greater impact, especially in the area of building marketconďŹ denceacrossdierentsegmentsandkeystakeholders groups, he is equally supported by a vibrant 12-man Exco to leverage on wide range of expertise with combined industry experience spanningover100years,â€?astatementfromtheassociationadded.The position of ďŹ rst Vice President is occupied by the Head, Corporate Aairs, Union Bank, Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem; while the Head, Corporate Aairs, Brand & Marketing Department of Standard Chartered Bank, Dayo Aderugbo is the second Vice-President.

In the same vein, the Head, Corporate Communication of Skye Bank, Mr. Rasheed Bolarinwa, is the Secretary-General of the association. He is assisted by Shola Ogunyemi of Ecobank. The Head, Brand Management of First Bank,Bukola Oluyadi and Head, Digital Marketing & Communications of FCMB, Lola Egboh, holds the positions of Treasurer and Financial Secretary respectively.

Other Executive members include Mr. Matthew Obiazikwor, Head, Corporate Communications, Unity Bank who is the Publicity Secretary and Bridget Oyefeso-Odusami of Stanbic-IBTC, the Social Secretary.

Agusto & Co to Unveil 2018 Outlook

Agusto & Co, one of the leading Pan African Credit Rating agencies and provider of industry research has scheduled December 5, 2017, for the launch of its 2018 economic outlook. The event is expected to hold in Lagos and would be facilitated by Mr. Olabode Agusto.

Agusto is a former Director General of Budget of OďŹƒce of the Federation and the founding CEO of Agusto & Co. He is an astute researcher, consultant and public speaker. He is a seasoned expert on economic matters; his research interests cover the politics and economics of key countries in sub-Saharan Africa. “The Seminar will oer insights into how macro-economic issues will impact economic growth and the markets in 2018.We will review the 2018 ďŹ scal budget of the federal government, the external sector, monetary policy and the real sector.“We will examine how the political environment (going into the 2019 election season) will heighten macro risks and discuss various scenarios and provide forecasts and a prognosis around each scenario,â€? a statement added.Agusto & Co. started as a business information company with the long term view of gathering and providing information on economies and industries in select African countries as well as assigning risk ratings to obligors.

Group Commits to Empowerment

More than 400 representatives of youth, business, education practitioners and policymakers from 44 countries across the African continent as well as European partners have called for improvingjobperspectivesoftheAfricanYouththroughemployment oriented education and skills development. The call was made at the recently concluded “Africa Talks Jobsâ€? (ATJ) conference held at the African Union Commission (AUC) headquarters in Addis Ababa. The recommendations at the end of the conference called for a stronger engagement of the African business community in providing opportunities for skills training and joint oers with education institutions. “Governments shall provide the necessary frameworksaswellasfavourableconditionsforyoungentrepreneurs. “At the same time, education at all levels and youth activities need to better address labour market demands and equip the youth with skills to start their own businesses,â€? they added.

“We, as resilient people and responsible organisation, have collectively surmounted the worst and have hurdled the unwelcome recession�

CBN Governor,

Mr. Godwin EmeďŹ ele Continued on page 24

24

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BUSINESSWORLD CBN’S INVESTORS AND EXPORTER FX WINDOW BOOSTS COMPANIES’ EARNINGS align. This will definitely lead to arbitrage. That is exactly what we do not want. “We can say we have achieved stability in the FX market and we expect it to remain stable even as we conclude the last quarter of the year. The sustainability of the naira is already evident.�

He further explained that despite the prominent gap between the inter-bank rate and the indicative exchange rate for I&E window, known as Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEX), the CBN will not in any way force a convergence. He said that the convergence, which may appear to be happening slowly, will occur naturally in due time.�

CEO RECOUNTS BANKS’ ROLE IN HALTING NIGERIA’S FOREX CRISIS More importantly, he stressed that the payment system has been hugely distorted by technology with and unprecedented increase in transaction volume.

However, he said there was need for the central bank to ensure that it guard against threats arising from the rising patronage of electronic payment channels, especially cybercrime. “The CIBN has been working closely with all stakeholders to build capacity to tackle this challenge. “Let me assure you that we remain committed to the promotion of high ethical conduct among our members and the banking industry is pivotal to achieving sustainable growth. “In line with this, arrangements are on-going by the institute to commence a certification programme on ethics, which would cut across every cadre of staff in the banking industry,� he said.

According to him, the institute had developed a framework for the implementation of the competency framework in the banking industry, with the aim of ensuring standards among practitioners.

NEWS

Ambode Urges Employers to Prioritise Workers’ Welfare Ebere Nwoji Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has emphasised the need for both the public and private sector employers to accord priority to the welfare of their employees in order to win their loyalty and gain their optimal performance.

Ambode gave the advice at the opening session of a recent workshop tagged: ‘Vital Interpersonal Skills for Pension Administrators’ organised by the Civil Service Pensions Office (CSPO) of the Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions in Lagos.

He insisted that employers who deny their workforce this much needed right, risk ruining their enterprises and the trust and devotion of their employees.

The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner, Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson, said the Lagos State Government, is one of the most notable of governments that believe in this ideal.

He stated that the unrivalled dedication of the state government to the welfare of its workforce both during and after service cannot be overemphasised, adding that the governor, had mandated his ministry to embark on a continuous training of the staff

in order to ensure the delivery of top quality services to the officers of the civil service.

The training, he said, was dedicated to inculcating and sharpening the vital interpersonal skills that officers of the civil service Pensions Office require to properly and fully serve the pensioners and retirees of the state civil service. “In addition to fulfilling my duties in which I have been charged with the responsibil-

ity of ensuring the adequate exposure of the civil service to knowledge on an ongoing basis, the activities that have been carried out signify and underscore the governor’s commitment to all matters relating to the welfare of staff, retirees, and pensioners in Lagos State�, he stated.

Speaking further, he said: “In aiming to call attention to, and aid the development of, the vital interpersonal skills

that are vital for pension administrators, our trainings will focus on the skills that are not learnt in schools but are important though rarely visible.

These are the skills that are less tangible, harder to quantify, challenging to teach and, sometimes, difficult to describe.

They include attributes such as etiquette, getting along with others, listening and engaging in small talk. Without doubt, these skills are related to the

concept of ‘employability’ but they are also related to the concepts of effectiveness and efficiency, Benson said.

He maintained that possessing the right attitude to work is a soft skill that is not taught in universities and other formal schools, adding, “this is therefore an attempt to help officers of the Civil Service Pensions office develop the skills that are necessary for success.

CONGRATULATIONS

Managing Director Of Dataex Nigeria, Mr. Andy Nwani (third left), receiving his CertiďŹ cate of Fellowship of the Institute of Directors (IoD) from an oďŹƒcial of IoD, while his wife, Mrs. Kehinde Nwani, watches on

Nigeria Records Milestone as Two Airports Attain Global Safety Standard Chinedu Eze Nigeria has become the only country in Africa to have its two airports certified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety standard and the only country in West Africa sub-region with internationally certified airports.

This was made known by the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Muhtar Usman during the ceremony to mark the certification of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at the weekend.

Last September, the Mur-

tala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos was certified, thus recognising two major airports in the country as meeting global safety standards.

The Director General said the certification has improved the rating of the two airports in safety standards in the international aviation circles and would attract more global carriers to the country, which would boost air transport and create more jobs for the citizenry.

As corollary to the progress made in the industry with the certification, Captain Usman hinted that this would reposition air transport to contribute

more to the GDP of the country because it would boost passenger movement in domestic and international destinations.

He also disclosed during the ceremony that Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu airports are scheduled for completion in the 1st, 2nd and 3 red quarters of 2018. Usman who handed the certificate to the Managing Director of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma said it was an epoch making moment for the country. “The attainment of this safety milestone is quite significant in view of the fact that less

than 25 percent of international airports in Africa and Indian Ocean are certified. “It is also interesting to note that with the certification of Abuja airport today, Nigeria has become the first state to achieve the certification of more than one international airport in the AFI (Africa/ Indian) Region. However, we are not resting on our oars, as the certification of Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu airports are scheduled for completion in the 1st, 2nd and 3 red quarters of 2018 in compliance with the Abuja Ministerial declaration and safety targets of 2012.�

Dunoma in his remark restated FAAN’s commitment to continue with the present tempo in the development of the other international airports “We made a commitment to continue with this tempo and soon we will go to Port Harcourt, Kano and Enugu but for today we have achieved a milestone.

I want to recognise the DG NCAA because anytime I talk to him, certification is always the main topic so I want to thank the NCAA team for their commitment. Let’s sit down and continue to improve on the safety situation because that is all that it’s all about, safety.�

NIRSAL Partners Union Bank on N10bn Agric Financing Scheme Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

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In a bid to catalyse a major funding arrangement for the nation’s agricultural sector, the Nigeria Incentive-Based RiskSharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and Union Bank Plc, has launched a N10 billion agribusiness financing scheme.

The scheme would see NIRSAL derisk lending to the agricultural sector in a major move to leapfrog the sector.

The scheme, which is for the 2018 farming season is designed to boost agricultural productivity and modernisation through enhanced lending to the sector.

NIRSAL’s Managing Director, Mr. Aliyu Abdulhameed, who spoke at the launch in Abuja, said it was in a continuation

of his organisation’s resolve to fully transform the agricultural sector. The NIRSAL/Union Bank partnership, he stated, would cover NIRSAL-supported projects in livestock and crop production, agricultural mechanisation, logistics and poultry, among others.

The partnership would see NIRSAL provide credit guarantees of up to 75 per cent of Union Bank loans for bankable agricultural projects, leveraging its $300 million risk-sharing facility.

If the funds are fully utilised, Abdulhameed said this would create about one million direct jobs and several indirect jobs, just as the incomes of rural farmers would receive a boost.

He noted that NIRSAL was passionate in rejuvenating the agricultural sector, adding

that the federal government’s flagship programme, Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) specifically alluded to his organisation’s pivotal role.

He said: “This partnership is not only on making finance available to the relevant stakeholders but will also provide technical support for them through NIRSAL’s $60 million technical assistance facility. “We will provide a wide range of support to improve agricultural productivity, teaching best agricultural production best practices and providing effective capacity building to both farmers and Union Bank officials at our own cost. “We are doing all these to ensure maximum deployment of funds, efficient utilisation of the money and 100-per-cent recovery.

“It is, indeed, vital that we learn from the various schemes where finance was provided which turned out to be unsuccessful. “But with NIRSAL, we hope to get 100-per-cent recovery and, therefore, complete the cycle back to the banks,’’ he said.

According to him, the scheme had been designed, not only to facilitate the beneficiaries’ access to finance but also to ensure that they succeeded and paid back the loan.

He disclosed that this year, NIRSAL had succeeded in getting commercial banks to devote N60 billion of their capital to finance agricultural businesses across the country.

Abdulhameed urged commercia banks with low lending to the agricultural sector to commit more of their funds

into agriculture lending so as to boost the country’s food security. In his remarks, the Group Managing Director of Union Bank Plc, Mr. Emeka Emuwa noted that agriculture is a critical component of the economy.

While applauding NIRSAL for its strides in the sector, he stated that the initial N10 billion capital earmarked for the scheme would be expanded gradually as soon as milestones were achieved. “What we want to do is to boost agricultural productivity with the much-needed credit lines. So, our focus will be on enhancing post-production, boosting capacity, aggregation and market expansion to cut post-harvest losses and provide market access for smallholder farmers.

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͯͳ˜ Ͱͮͯ͵

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Fidelity Bank Trains 200 Rivers Varsity Students on Entrepreneurial Skills Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Fidelity Bank PLC has flagged off a five-day training for 200 students of the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, on entrepreneurial skills.

Tagged ‘The Fidelity Youth Empowerment Academy’, the bank is to train the students in enterprise and skill in partnership with Gazzelle Academy Vocational Centre at the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.

Flagging off the training programme yesterday in Port Harcourt, wife of Rivers State Governor, Hon. Justice Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, noted that the programme was coming at a time emphasis on diversifying the economy.

The governor’s wife, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Ukel Oyaghiri, stated that the country was shifting emphasis away from mere academic qualification to skills.

She advised the students to take the training seriously so as to become employers of labour after graduating.

“One week will not be

enough to completely learn new skills but if you address your minds and energy towards that and put in extra effort and be creative, then this is a life-changing programme.

“This one-week training can change your life and make you an employer of labour, even while you are still in the university. You have come to change your destiny; use the opportunity,” she mentored.

She also thanked Fidelity Bank and its partner, Gazelle Academy, for coming up with such project, which would make the youths self-employed even before graduation from school.

In his speech, ViceChancellor of Rivers State University, Professor Blessing Didia, said gone were the days when students graduated from the university and relied solely on seeking for employment.

He said the institution has already directed for the construction of a centre for entrepreneurship development to prepare the students on how to use their talents.

Didia encouraged Nigerian youths to learn trades before

they graduate from higher institutions, saying with such skills, they become employers of labour immediately after graduation.

Earlier in her address, the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo, said that the bank, in partnership with Gazelle Academy, has already trained more than 1,000 youths in enterprise skills in three high institutions across the country.

Okonkwo, who was represented by the Regional Head, Rivers and Bayelsa States, Mrs. Evelyn Kanu, said the beneficiaries were from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Federal Polytechnic, Gombe; and Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State.

He said the training programme was part of the bank’s way of impacting the society, and urged the students to take the training seriously. “This is our own way of impacting society: to add to the youth’s education; to empower the youths with skills that will help them earn money irrespective of their courses of study,” Okonkwo said.

Agip, N’Delta Farmers Partner on Multi-million Naira Green River Project Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa The Nigerian Agip Oil Company’s (NAOC) in collaboration with farmers in the Niger Delta has floated the multi- million naira Green River Project (GRP) in Igbogene, near Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

Agip said it was moved by the need to provide an alternative for youths who have embraced kidnapping, oil theft and pipelines vandalism as a means of livelihood, noting that the project would encourage entrepreneurship.

Present at the event were representatives of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Rochas Okorocha of Imo and the Bayelsa Governor, Seriake Dickson, who was represented by his Deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd).

Chairman of NAOC, Umberto Carrara, in his address, noted that the success of the programme in the last three decades was a testimony to what persistence and cooperation could achieve, noting that the company will continue to support food security in the country.

“It is my pleasure to note that the little seed we sowed 30 years ago, by establishing the NAOC JV Green River Project has grown and producing good fruits as evidenced here. The

impacts in the communities have been impressive”, he said.

On his part, the ViceChairman and Managing Director, NAOC, Massimo Insulla, said the 21st edition of the annual Farmers’ Day was set aside by the company and its joint venture partners to celebrate the achievements of farmers over the last planting season.

He said the celebration themed, ‘GRP: Actively leading the future of the Niger Delta’, was the second in a row being hosted in Bayelsa, noting that the cooperation between farmers and Agip had been a source of employment and improvement of standard of living for various communities.

Aside the new farm, Insulla said Agip was collaborating with the university of Port Harcourt on extension services and other major Nigerian academic institutions to integrate agric as an alternative to oil theft, pipeline vandalism and bunkering.

The MD added that a 10-hectare plant propagation centre had been completed in Kwale, Delta state, a cold room in Twon-Brass, Bayelsa, a bread bakery in Olugbobiri, including the provision of 5,000 poultry birds to farmers.

He added that 17,000 plantain suckers, 2,500 cassava stems, 350 kilograms of maize seeds, 2,000 seed

yams and 850,000 fingerlings were provided for farmers in the region during the year under review.

In his welcome remarks, the General Manager, District, Marco Rotondi, said there was the need to rethink how the country treats and distributes her resources. ‘‘Access to food will be extremely crucial. In addition, Nigeria has the impelling need to diversify its economy, which is solely relying on oil and gas”, he said.

In his comments, Dickson, who was represented at the event, said the only route to achieving prosperity in Nigeria was self-reliance driven by agriculture and not total dependence on oil and gas. ‘’With this, I state that there is no other way to go in this country today. The only route to prosperity and self-reliance is farming. ‘’These actions by Agip, to not only get our farmers empowered but also trained is very commendable. They have assisted in training and also empowering our young and old men as well as women who were once focused on oil as the only source of living”, he said.

The unveiling of the expansive NAOC/GRP farm, followed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) the company signed with farmers in the region at an event last year, in collaboration with several banks.

ELEVATING TO THE NEXT LEVEL Marie-Therese Phido

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Ø ËÎÎÓÞÓÙؘ Ë ÍÙ×ÚËØã˪Ý ÑÜÏËÞÏÝÞ ËÝÝÏÞ ÓÝ ÓÞÝ ÚÏÙÚÖÏ˛ ÍÍÙÜÎÓØÑ ÞÙ ËÍÕ ÏÖÍÒ˜ ÞÒÏ ÐË×ÙßÝ ÌÏÒÓØÎ ˪Ý ×ÙØß×ÏØÞËÖ ÑÜÙáÞÒ˜ ˫ Ùß ÌßÓÖÎ ÞÒÏ ÌÏÝÞ ÞÏËט ãÙß áÓØ˛ˬ Ù×ÚËØÓÏÝ áÓÞÒ ÚßÌÖÓÝÒÏÎ Ó×ÚËÍÞ ÓØÓÞÓËÞÓàÏÝ ÒËàÏ ËØ ÏËÝÓÏÜ ÞÓ×Ï ÜÏÍÜßÓÞÓØÑ ÞËÖÏØÞ˛ ÍÍÙÜÎÓØÑ ÞÙ ÞÒÏ ÏÞ ×ÚËÍÞ˪Ý ÒËÞ ÙÜÕ̋ ÏÜÝ ËØÞ ÜÏÚÙÜÞ˜ Ͳͳϱ ÙÐ Ï×ÚÖÙãÏÏÝ áÙßÖÎ ÞËÕÏ Ë ͯͳϱ ÚËã ÍßÞ ÐÙÜ Ë ÔÙÌ ÞÒËÞ ×ËÕÏÝ Ë ÝÙÍÓËÖ ÙÜ ÏØàÓÜÙØ×ÏØÞËÖ Ó×ÚËÍÞ˛ ØÙÞÒÏÜ ͳͯϱ ÙÐ áÙÜÕÏÜÝ ÝËã ÞÒËÞ ÒÏÖÚÓØÑ ˫×ËÕÏ Ë ÌÏÞÞÏÜ áÙÜÖÎˬ ËØÎ ×ËÕÓØÑ Ë ˫ÍÙØÞÜÓÌßÞÓÙØ ÞÙ ÝÙÍÓÏÞãˬ ËÜÏ ÏÝÝÏØÞÓËÖ ÐÙÜ ÞÒÏÓÜ ÓÎÏËÖ ÔÙÌ˛ ËØÕ ÓÝ ÙØ Ë áÓØØÓØÑ ÝÞÜÏËÕ ËØÎ ÝÒÙßÖÎ ÍÙØÞÓØßÏ ÞÙ Ó×ÚÜÙàÏ ÙØ ÞÒÏ ÑÙÙÎ ÞÒÏ ÌËØÕ ÓÝ ÎÙÓØÑ˛ ˛̎ Marie-Therese Phido is Sales & Market Strategist and Business Coach Email: mphido@elevato.com.ng tweeter handle @osat2012 TeL: 08090158156 (text only)

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Usman: More Investment in Infrastructure is Necessary to Grow the Economy Jaiz Bank Plc is the first and only non-interest financial institution listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The Managing Director/CEO of the bank, Hassan Usman spoke to journalists on non-interest financing, how to grow the economy and other sundry issues. Goddy Egene presents the excerpts: Jaiz Bank got listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at time many companies will not want to list their shares let alone your bank that is unique and new. What really gave you that conďŹ dence to list the bank?

If you recall when we did the listing, I said we made a promise. We have to look at the history. Jaiz Bank has been a project prior to starting thebusiness of banking in 2012. The first Initial Public Offering (IPO) we did was in 2003. That is almost 15 years ago. This was before the banking consolidation. It was a time when we had more shareholders than many banks because we had more than 20,000 shareholders then. You also have to know that many of those shareholders were people who were just yearning for investments. Some of them were investing in shares for the very first time in their lives and we said look, once we start the bank and the platform gets stablised, we will list so that we can create avenue for them to buy or sell as the case may be. That is one of the strong reasons for us to list because we have to keep our promise. Secondly, we believe that listing has a number of advantages.

It creates not just liquidity for the shares but also a platform to discover the price based on the interaction of demand and supply. It also enables Jaiz Bank to reach out to as many investing public as possible in and outside because the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is internationalised. The shares that are traded are also going international. In fact, what I hear is that those who own shares from outside, that is foreign portfolio investors, in terms of volume and value, they have much more stake than local. So that creates an opportunity for anybody who would like to buy the shares and also an opportunity for us to be more transparent.

And because of listing requirements, it will ensure that we are more discipline in-house.

The pressure to meet those requirements will make us to raise the bar of our efficiency level, governance and general compliance more so creating visibility. These were the reasons, even though the market was tough. We are looking at the long run not the short run. We also know that there were pent up demand for people to get cash, there is the likelihood that they will come to the market and because they have been holding this shares for many years, they will look for the opportunity to sell.

Jaiz Bank is the ďŹ rst and only noninterest bank to list on the NSE. That concept is not well understood by most people both customers and investors. Can you educate us more what this Islamic banking is all about. Is it open to everybody?

Yes, non-interest or Islamic banking is open to all irrespective of their religious persuasions.

The concept is informed by religion but the operation is not religious. It is not only Islam that propagates non-interest banking; it is equally informed by Christianity and Judaism. All the three religions talk about impermissibility of charging interest on loan from their roots. The operations and activities of Islamic banking do not discriminate against any religion. The criteria are those for banking. The contract on Islamic banking is tilted towards trading and partnership, while the concept in conventional banking is on loans (giving out money and creating debt which can be traded in). In Islamic financing, you have to deal with real commodities for you to make a return. You can’t just give money to someone and earn a profit on it. You must partake in a commercial and entrepreneur risk to be able to earn income.

This is the major significant difference. Of course Islamic finance tends to be more ethical in terms

Usman

of choice of the type of business to finance.

If you take these two differences that is all you have. That is for non-interest banking, we trade with our partners, we lease asset to them.

We can also jointly finance and share profit or loss as the case may be. In conventional banking, you just give the loan and then you charge a pre-defined rate of interest. In Islamic banking we take initially business risk and not financial risk. The financial risk follows subsequently but firstly, you have to take a business risk of buying the commodity and selling it on credit or buying a commodity, or an asset and leasing it. Or if you are very comfortable with a customer, you can invest in his business as a partner and then you share whatever profit or loss.

You have been talking about partnership with businesses, what is the place of individuals who want to patronise your services and beneďŹ t from Islamic banking?

Individuals have their lifestyles to finance.

So we finance their lifestyle and this can be household equipment or motor vehicle among others. There is also the need for medical services, education services etc. All of these range of things that an individual needs, we can finance them. But we come in not by giving you the money but by providing the service or providing the commodity on a trade basis with deferred payment. That is the kind of financing that we do - we provide the services.

If it is medical for instance, we hire the service of the specialist to provide the surgery and pay for it. We get the service from the specialist and make it available to the patient who is the customer and then he pays us later. Instead of him going to the hospital and there is no money and the doctor will turn him down, we come in between, buy the service from

doctor, add our mark-up, which is what we get for coming in between our customer and the doctor so that he can get his surgery or whatever treatment now, rather than later when he gets the money. So after the treatment, which was facilitated by our coming in, he pays us the money later on agreed term. And similarly, if it is education for the child, we buy the credit hours and he goes through the education now, and then pays us later.

And because we are selling a service to him, we earn a profit on it.

It sounds so interesting. But what are you doing to deepen the awareness so that more people can really understand this concept?

Part of the awareness creation is what we are doing now through this interview. You (the media) are the channel through which information is disseminated. We engage as much as possible with the media both print and electronic. We are also, now looking at our strategy for the social media as well. Also, anywhere we go, we engage the locals and tell them how this differs and how advantageous this way of banking is to them and the benefits they stand to gain and the fact that anybody, anywhere is welcome. As you can see, in our bank, we have staff members of different religions. In our customer base also, we have Muslims and Christians. So we do not discriminate. What we look at is what you can bring on the table and we deal with that.

There seems to be an interest from the federal government side in embracing non-interest financing because there is a huge pool of funds out there to tap from. The federal government just issued a Sukuk to raise funds. How do you see this new development and is Jaiz

Bank playing any role in this?

Yes, we have been in the forefront. We have been trying to make the government to understand that this form of financing is attractive to the public sector. It provides us an avenue to diversify the way the public infrastructure is developed.

And the specific instrument, which is the Sukuk is used world over. In West Africa before now, Senegal had issued it, Gambia has done that, Togo and Ivory Coast have all issued sovereign Sukuk. The beauty of a Sukuk is that unlike a conventional bond that you takeout byways and means, spend it anyhow, the proceeds of Sukuk has to be dedicated to specific projects.

For instance, the just concluded N100 billion Federal Government Sukuk is meant for the construction and building of roads across the country. If those projects are not identified, you cannot raise money for Sukuk because Sukuk investors cannot realise any benefit without an underlying asset. They are investing to earn and for them to earn, those projects have to be identified and financed. If it is construction of railway or airport, they have to be established.

It is the services that those infrastructure will provide that is being sold by the Sukuk holders. So they now get in return the profit that is distributed or the rental that the government has to pay or whoever is using those services or infrastructure. So the return to Sukuk holder is not interest but it is the rent or profit that is generated from those projects or from leasing of those assets. So Sukuk gives an excellent way to ensure that projects are managed properly and there is no diversion, which is very rampant in this part of the world leading to so many abandoned projects. So, we are part of this from the inception.

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T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2017

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I NTERVIEW

Onigbinde: Getting the States to Disclose their Budget is War The chief executive of BudgIT, Mr Seun Onigbinde at a recent forum organised by members of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria in Lagos, expressed disappointment over the opaque budgeting system in most states in the country. He also urged the National Assembly to speedily pass the 2018 Appropriation Bill.

Obinna Chima and Nume Ekeghe who were there, present the excerpts: What is your take on a recent comment by one of the ofďŹ cials of governments that part of the looted funds has been deployed to fund the current budget?

Based the budget analysis we have seen, there is no amount of recovered loot has been put into the budget. It is only in 2019-2020, that the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) outlined a plan to put out almost N300 billion in the budget. But that is still in 2019 and that means there is no certainty today that the 2018 would have any inflow of recovered funds. I think that is also what the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has been arguing about. If you are making a lot of noise about funds that have been returned and recovered, then show us who recovered these funds, how much have you recovered and how quickly can you start mainstreaming these funds into governments. But we have not seen that. There was a bill that was supposed to be on the looted funds but till now, that bill has not been passed.

There should be a guideline or framework on what to use the looted funds for. Should it be for education or health? What framework are we going to use for the allocation? We may move into that same cycle where that looted funds would be re-looted again, using another format.

What is your organisation doing to expose corruption in states’ budgets?

That was why we did the state of states report. The problem about states is the same problem with Lagos state whereby states don’t Onigbinde publish their budget. Before a state can publish their budget, it is war. It is war to get a state single vision about what they want to do, why government to publish its budget, except Kaduna, is the budget a problem? It comes back to the and Kogi recently. Even Osun state, I have not conversation I had earlier that Nigeria’s budget is seen Osun state budget for eight years. So how a contract vending machine more than a planning do you interrogate on the basis of facts. So how document, because a typical budget would first do state governments not get into trouble when of all bring all the arms of government together they do things on their own? But we can’t be and look at the goal of APC that is in power. If everywhere because we don’t have the resources for instance, their objective is to build the second and manpower to be everywhere. But if we build Niger Bridge, 100 hospitals or 100 schools, then stronger partnership with media organisations as everything you see in the budget in terms of well as FICAN, our mileage can be much higher. allocation would follow that pattern. But everyone wants to stuff things into the budget so that it Constituency project is always an issue in becomes a legal opportunity to procure. So that our national budget. Where did our legislature is the problem really. So, if we see the budget get that idea? Also, the perennial argument as more of a planning tool, most of the things between the National Assembly and the we see around would hardly come up.

Executive over who has more powers to When this government came in, they talked alter the budget, how best can it be resolved?

The first question about constituency project, about zero budget, why are they no longer I would say it is a standard in the United States. using that budgeting system and the LagosLegislators also in the US have a bit of discretion Badagry expressway project, I don’t think to nominate projects in the budgets. So it’s a your organisation has tracked it enough. standard there too. It is just that the legislators’ Why is the project dragging for too long?

For Lagos-Badagry expressway, when you job stops at the nomination level, not that they influence the contracts like the ones we normally assume something was packaged by private see in Nigeria. Here in Nigeria, if you want to people and World Bank was involved, you rest as a Minister or as a head of an agency, you would assume that standards and ethics would possibly are going to do a lot of back door with have been followed. But somehow, Lagos state has not done well with that project; especially the legislator(s) to delivers the projects.

Now on the issue of the usual tussle between with the eight years of Babatunde Fashola. That the executives and legislatures, the constitution loan was not optimised. And unfortunately, says, “the budget is an instrument of the law,� the currency has moved against Lagos state meaning that the budget is a typical legislation. government because you borrowed in dollars So if the executive submits a legislature, the at N165 to a dollar and now you are paying legislature has wide powers to tamper with the back at almost N400 to a dollar. If you track budget. They can add, reduce or insert and do Lagos state’s Federation Account Allocation whatever. But where their authority stops is on Committee (FAAC) funds, it has dwindled to the implementation of those budget items and almost N400 million, because the external debt that is where the executive needs to be much deduction are being taken from source. And it is stronger. They can put whatever they want in becoming much larger as they go. That is why the budget, but the executive would decide we are warning states to be careful of external how they are going to implement the budget. debts. Because with local debts, there could be Presently, there is no offense for not implement- a bailout from the federal government or you ing the budget. The offense is if you overstate re-schedule your debts for a longer period. But or understate what has been allocated in the for external debt, you don’t have the options of budget or you over disburse money. But there the federal government that receives its monies is need for much more cohesion between the in dollars. But for states, whatever money that executive and legislature. It is the same govern- is given to states is going to be monetised in ment where the All Progressive Congress is the naira. So if you borrowed at N165 and you are majority government in the National Assembly now paying at N315 or more, you are to going and the executive. So if the government has a to be more hit when there is a currency risk. So

Oluseun

it is a thing we are trying to warn states against.

Don’t see cheap loans and start jumping into the frying pan.

On zero budgeting, I don’t think it can exist. If we go by textbook of zero budgeting, that cannot work in Nigeria. Why can’t it work? You have thousands of abandoned projects and you say you want to do zero based budgeting. Zero based budgeting means that you are going to start afresh every year and consider every single project. But we are in the phase of development and most of our projects are rolled over. There are three-year projects. So you cannot do something halfway and then come the next year to consider a new project. I think what we need more is the same envelope budgeting we have been doing, but we need to make it much clearer and improve the process. If you look at the priority of the APC government, it is clear- infrastructure- which is roads, rail and power. That is why almost 50 per cent of the capital allocation is spent by just two ministries – Ministry of Power, Works and Housing and Ministry of Transportation.

So what the government ought to do is make sure the projects are well detailed enough. What they do is that when a capital expenditure N400 billion, they allocate that N400 billion, then the ministry would then decide what they want to do with that money. Money should be disbursed from the treasury on the basis of the project. They should not just give bulk sum to a ministry who can then decide they want to buy ambulances or computers and then call that capital projects. Disbursements should be on the basis of priority of projects. To say we are doing zero based budgeting, I think that is a big, fat lie.

You spoke earlier about the need for states to stop taking foreign loans and borrow more locally, at a time the federal government is considering raising more external debts, how can we reconcile that?

For the federal government, you can understand why they are doing external debts. But for states, i don’t think so. The federal government’s revenue from oil is paid in foreign currency so the foreign lenders do not even need to come into Nigeria before they collect their monies. They can debit your JP Morgan account in the US and collect their monies. But state government does not have that luxury. Also federal government guarantees

a state government bond. So for states, they don’t have that luxury of dollars compared to federal government. And then for the federal government, I don’t think this approach is good.

You are borrowing at an incredible pace. You have out borrowed the whole private sector.

So is this how we are going to continue? We hear of countries borrowing at two per cent, but we say because of inflation, we are borrowing at 19 per cent. That math does not work out for me because you are emasculating private capital in the system. The public sector alone cannot give you growth. The sector that can give you growth is the private sector. And if you are emasculating that private sector by high interest rates, how are you going to develop?

What is your opinion on the 2018 Appropriation Bill that was recently presented to the National Assembly?

The budget as presented shows that the government would continue its philosophy of expanding infrastructure, on expanding debts and deficits and also putting more money to capital allocation. I guess this is the last lap of President Muhammadu Buhari’s budget presentation before election start. There would be a lot of pace for the implementation of this budget. A lot of Nigerians are looking forward to this budget to see if there would be actual and tangible achievements by this administration. So it is important that the National Assembly also considers this in the passage of this budget. We have a short window of governance next year because there would be more politicking. So, before politicking starts have the budget passed so that we can also factor in the procurement cycle which takes about three months and then we can get the projects implemented and then have results to show to the electorates next year. So I guess that is why this budget is really important. It is also important that the federal government puts a proper thinking to raising revenues. Most of the assumptions for the revenues are just bloated. The federal government needs to think of how they can expand VAT, company income tax and how they can build other opportunities that can pay tax, because what we are seeing right now is that there are so much huge assumptions on revenue.

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BUSINESSWORLD

PERSPECTIVE

XKPMG Tipping Point: The Tide Is Rising/Turning

By Bashorun J.K. Randle

In the White House, the code name for President Donald Trump is “Ever Readyâ€?(in the old days a leading dry cell battery was named “Ever Readyâ€?) because he is always ready to do combat with all and sundry – critics (especially the press); political adversaries, business rivals; and even his own friends not excluding members of his cabinet e.g. Rex Tillerson, the Secretary of State; Jefferson Sessions, the Attorney-General plus a long list of foreign foes ranging from Kim Jong-Un the Supreme Leader of North Korea and Gianni Infantino, the President of FIFA i.e. FĂŠdĂŠration Internationale de Football Association.

One of the videos currently circulating on the internet portrays Trump vigorously lambasting the President of FIFA following the elimination of the American team from Russia 2018 after losing to a lowly rated team from Trinidad and Tobago. “I blame FIFA, especially the President. The United States of America was forced to play against two countries at the same time – one from Trinidad and the other from Tobago. It is most unfair.�

Anyway, Donald Trump remains a fascinating character whether you hate him or loathe him. Even before breakfast, he had fired off several Tweet salvos against two Senators and a Congresswoman.

Against Senator Bob Corker, Republican Junior Senator from Tennessee: “Bob Corker, who helped President O give us the bad Iran Deal & couldn’t get elected dog catcher in Tennessee, is now fighting Tax Cuts....� “Corker dropped out of the race in Tennessee when I refused to endorse him, and now is only negative on anything Trump. Look at his record.�

Corker Fired Back Saying: “Same untruths from an utterly untruthful president. #AlertTheDaycareStaff�

Trump had some final remarks: “Isn’t it sad that lightweight Senator Bob Corker, who couldn’t get re-elected in the Great State of Tennessee, will now fight Tax Cuts plus!�

He also took on Republican Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona, who on the floor of the Senate, announced that he would not run again for his seat, as a form of protest against the President’s “reckless, outrageous and undignified� behaviour.

He criticised the Trump Administration in his retirement speech saying: â€œâ€ŚWe have again forgotten who we are supposed to be.

There is a sickness in our system — and it is contagious.

How many more disgraceful public feuds with Gold Star families can we witness in silence before we ourselves are disgraced? How many more times will we see moral ambiguity in the face of shocking bigotry and shrug it off?

How many more childish insults do we need to see hurled at a hostile foreign power before we acknowledge the senseless danger of it? How much more damage to our democracy and to the institutions of American liberty do we need to witness in silence before we count ourselves as complicit in that damage?

Nine months of this administration is enough for us to stop pretending that this is somehow normal, and that we are on the verge of some sort of pivot to governing, to stability. Nine months is more than enough for us to say, loudly and clearly: Enough.

The outcome of this is in our hands. We can no longer remain silent, merely observing this train wreck, passively, as if waiting for someone else to do something. The longer we wait, the greater the damage, the harsher the judgment of history.

We must never regard as “normal� the regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms and ideals. We must never meekly accept the daily sundering of our country.

I have been so worried about the state of our disunion that I recently wrote a book called “Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle.� I meant for the book to be a defense of principle at a time when principle is in a state of collapse. In it, I traced the transformation of my party from a party of ideas to a party in thrall to a charismatic figure peddling empty populist slogans. I tried to make the case for the sometimes excruciating work of arguing and compromise.

This was part of the reason I wanted to go to the Senate — because its institutional strictures require you to cross the aisle and do what is

Trump best for the country. Because what is best for the country is for neither party’s base to fully get what it wants but rather for the factions that make up our parties to be compelled to talk until we have a policy solution to our problems.

To listen to the rhetoric of the extremes of both parties, one could be forgiven for believing that we are each other’s enemies; that we are at war with ourselves.

But more is now required of us than to put down our thoughts in writing. As our political culture seems every day to plumb new depths of indecency, we must stand up and speak out.

Especially those of us who hold elective office.

To that end, and to remove all considerations of what is normally considered to be safe politically, I have decided that my time in the Senate will end when my term ends in early January 2019.

For the next 14 months, relieved of the strictures of politics, I will be guided only by the dictates of conscience. It’s time we all say: Enough.�

Trump made a quick rebuttal to these statements: “The reason Flake and Corker dropped out of the Senate race is very simple, they had zero chance of being elected. Now act so hurt & wounded!� “The meeting with Republican Senators yesterday, outside of Flake and Corker, was a love fest with standing ovations and great ideas for USA!� “Jeff Flake, with an 18% approval rating in Arizona, said “a lot of my colleagues have spoken out.� Really, they just gave me a standing O!�

Against Frederica Wilson, a Democratic

We must never regard as “normal�the regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms and ideals. We must never meekly accept the daily sundering of our country.

I have been so worried about the state of our disunion that I recently wrote a book called “Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle.�

I meant for the book to be a defense of principle at a time when principle is in a state of collapse

congresswoman, after she criticized President Donald Trump over his remarks to the widow of a soldier killed in Niger, Trump had this to say as a rejoinder: “Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!� “I hope the Fake News Media keeps talking about Wacky Congresswoman Wilson in that she, as a representative, is killing the Democrat Party!� “Wacky Congresswoman Wilson is the gift that keeps on giving for the Republican Party, a disaster for Dems. You watch her in action & vote R!�

He was remarkably cool and composed as he walked into the room full of XKPMG partners who are still awaiting their gratuity and pension - to discuss his new tax proposals/ reform. We were all set for the validation tests; the sensitivity tests; the scenario planning; computer modelling; financial modelling; risk analysis; stress test etc.

Donald Trump was as unpredictable as ever.

He launched into a jubilant self-recommendation and approval/advertisement. “We are winning on all fronts. We have done more in the last nine months than all previous administrations. The jobs are coming back. The New York Stock Exchange Dow Jones Index hit an unprecedented 23,000. Even ISIS is on the run. We have regained control of Raqqa.

As for tax reform, it is a war and we are going to win it.�

We were then treated to a giant screen video of Mr. Nick Parker President of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICEAW). His deposition was on taxes. “With utmost sense of responsibility, our Institute is compelled to warn against the imminent crackdown by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs [HMRC] on off-shore trusts. It will hit workers including cleaners, teachers and nurses who have been misled into using these schemes which are technically deemed as “disguised remuneration� by HMRC whereby the employer pays the contribution to an offshore trust, instead of paying remuneration directly to the employee. Thereafter, the trust would pay the money to the employee in the form of loans (usually interest free) on terms which effectively meant that they would never be repaid during the employee’s lifetime. As we have explained on our institute’s website, workers would be severely hit if and when taxes are imposed on transactions some of which go as far back as twenty years ago.

This is little sympathy for those people who adopted disguised remuneration in order to avoid (evade) tax and national insurance contributions and knew exactly what they were doing. However, others do not deserve heavy penalties as they may not have understood the schemes or had a choice if they wanted the work.

In Britain, workers such as nurses, teachers,

information technology workers and cleaners were often paid earnings at around the national minimum wage with the balance being paid through loan arrangements. They may have been uneasy about receiving loans rather than pay but assumed that employers were acting within the law. HMRC should have acted far sooner against the schemes. It is beyond doubt that employees and contractors in disguised remuneration loan schemes were avoiding tax. We urge HMRC to adopt a sympathetic and flexible approach that would allow people extended time to pay their tax bills. The exchequer’s need to recover tax lost needs to be balanced with legitimate expectations.�

Actually, it was former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne ( who is now the Editor of “Evening Standardâ€?, a free newspaper) and a fierce critic pf Prime Minister Theresa May whom he has labelled as “Dead Woman Walkingâ€? who announced the (tax) charge in his 2016 Budget and expected to raise ÂŁ1 Billion from employers, companies and individuals.

In its very measured response, HMRC insisted: “Our policy measures ensure that those who have used disguised remuneration tax avoidance schemes pay their fair share of tax and national insurance. We accept 95 per cent of Time to Pay requests covering accelerated payments. Any taxpayer who thinks they will have problems paying tax bills should talk to us. We have an outstanding record for supporting those with genuine financial difficulties.

In July this year, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs after a long running dispute over offshore trusts used

by Rangers Football Club in a case that would have wide ranging implications for similar tax avoidance schemes.�

The credit for the video was rightly awarded to Vanessa Houlder.

Straight after the coffee-break, Donald Trump was back on centre stage: “It is not true that I hate everybody but there are times when you have to fight for what you believe and make things better. Neither is it true that I only like people who are like me; or that I am only comfortable with billionaires. I have just had a terrific meeting with Paul Rudd who is my long-time friend and confidant. He is my genuine friend. That he is a very successful businessman is an entirely separate matter.�

What Trump chose to brush off is that he is not only the wealthiest President of the United States of America ever but his cabinet is saturated with billionaires like Wilbur Ross, the U.S. Commerce Secretary who is worth $2.5 billion; Carl Ichan, Trump’s Special Advisor on Financial Regulation worth $16 billion; Steve Schwarzman who is the Chairman of Trump’s Strategic & Policy Forum who has a net worth of $11.8 billion; Stephen Feinberg, Trump’s Unofficial Intelligence Advisor CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

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USMAN: MORE INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE IS NECESSARY TO GROW THE ECONOMY Talking about reaching out, what are your plans for expansion? Also, what is your communication strategy now that you are a listed bank?

We started in 2012 with only three branches.

One each in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano. Today, we have about 30 branches and these branches cut across at least five out of the six geo-political zones of the country. We have almost covered every zone of the country with our branch expansion and we are continuing to do so because we believe that we should be in all major commercial centres to start with across the country. Our communication strategy is to make use of all model of communication to reach out to a community of people who are interested in this mode of banking. They still need to understand what this product is all about.

At the beginning we concentrated using radio programmes that are aired regularly around the areas we are operating as a regional bank, which is the North west and North east. As we are now a national bank, we have to spread our activities and communication as well. What we are trying to do is to use a mix of radio, TVC, social media, and of cause print media. Anywhere we go, we make sure that we meet with the media community to have interaction with them and they help us to convey the message.

been doing proportionately more commercial banking than retail banking. But we are now moving towards retail banking. With the Sukuk, the infrastructure for us to support that strategy is being put in place. That is to say the urge to do commercial is going to reduce while we concentrate more on retail banking. So this is where we are driving at. We believe that is the frontier because obviously, there is a large potential customer base that we should target at the retail end and that also makes our operations safer and less prone to this seasonal economic circle that is happening and affecting major clients.

Usman

everybody. But let me say that in the Islamic banking world, Jaiz Bank has done excellently well. We set a record time for break-even. We broke even in 2014 and since then, we have been making profit. We made profit in 2015 and even in 2016 in spite of the difficulty witnessed in the economy. This year, 2017, looks better because fundamentals have started to improve and so our performance will follow the trend of improved fundamentals. We hope and believe that based on 2017 financials, we will be able to pay some dividend.

You have investors who have been with you over the years and the bottom-line for them is for you to make proďŹ t and declare Most banks have niche. Does Jaiz Bank dividends, what has been your performance have a particular niche market? and prospects in this regard?

By the circumstances of our birth, we have The year 2016 was a very difficult year for

One of the issues is the challenging operating environment, how can government assist the banks to reach many unbanked Nigerians that are out there to enhance ďŹ nancial inclusion policy?

One of the most important interventions of government is to ensure that every Nigerian can be identified. This identity thing is very critical. The advantages are so enormous. But our lethargy as a nation to be able to execute it has been a big problem. If you can identify a person, it means you have done 50 per cent of due diligence. The next thing to look out for is whether you will be able to accommodate the level of financing he is asking for. This is very critical. Of course the issue of insurance, security and other infrastructural challenges such as roads and power are equally there because the small businesses you would like to support, if there is no power, they will just die with your money.

Government needs to support and ensure that enough investment is made in infrastructure to

ensure that power problem is sorted out and power is made available to as many Nigerians as possible so that they can be able to do some activity or businesses that the bank can support and the economy grows that way.

What is your last message to your stakeholders?

I believe that non-interest financing is the fastest growing sub-sector of the financial system globally. It is growing at an average of 15 to 20 per cent per annum. It is a strong growth area and it is being adopted in major financial centres around the world. It is a more disciplined way of financing and more conservative. It is more realistic. It is a system that tries to avoid the creation of paper assets rather it create assets that are supported by reality.

It is profitable and it is growing fast. The evidence can be seen from Jaiz Bank. We have been growing at about 30 per cent per annum over the last five years. So to all our stakeholders, we assure them of the fact that Jaiz Bank is here to stay and also going to be adding greater value to the economy and to all our counter parties. The system is quite sustainable. It is supported by the reality of the economy and the specific situation of our commercial transactions. I believe we will achieve our plans and vision, which is to be a clear leader in this sector and to be a very serious contender in the rank and file of financial institutions especially banks in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa. To those who want to be associated with growth in profitability and sustainability, Jaiz Bank is the way to go.

XKPMG TIPPING POINT: THE TIDE IS RISING/TURNING who is worth $1.2 billion; Co-chairmen of Trump’s Infrastructure Committee - Richard LeFrak and Steven Roth who are worth $6.5 billion and $1.1 billion respectively.

Donald Trump took the XKPMG partners completely by surprise when he insisted that since we had all listened to the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Mr. Nick Parker, there are other matters which should be of grave concern to us. As if on cue, the front page of “The Financial Times� of 16th September 2017 popped up on the screen with the bold headline: Kpmg Axes South Africa Executives As Gupta Rocks Professional Services: “The South African scandal engulfing President Jacob Zuma and the billionaire Gupta family spread deeper into the global professional services sector yesterday when eight senior executives were dismissed from KPMG’s division in the country.

The biggest political scandal to face South Africa since the apartheid era has already triggered the collapse of PR firm Bell Pottinger and forced McKinsey, the consultancy firm, to launch an investigation into its work in the country.

Public outrage about the Guptas’ role in South African politics intensified in June when leaked emails fuelled fears the family was exploiting its friendship with Mr Zuma to win state contracts and manipulate political appointments. The family and Mr Zuma deny the allegations.

The KPMG departures came after an internal investigation found the firm had missed red flags in its auditing of companies owned by the Gupta family. The auditor said on Friday that KPMG South Africa had received warnings “regarding the integrity and ethics of the Guptas� that were not acted upon, and which should have led to it cutting ties with the family sooner.

KPMG audited companies linked to the Guptas for 15 years but ended its relationship with them in March 2016 as the political scandal over the family’s links to Mr. Zuma deepened.

Trevor Hoole, the KPMG South Africa chief executive who left yesterday, admitted last month that the group “should have stopped working for the Gupta companies sooner than we did�.

KPMG has become central to the Gupta scandal since the leaked emails showed its South African office allowed a Gupta-owned company, Linkway Trading, to treat spending on a Gupta family wedding as a business expense.

Opposition parties and activists, who have accused Mr Zuma of running a state system riddled with corruption and cronyism, have turned their focus on global companies tainted by the scandal.

Save South Africa, a civil society group, has accused KPMG and Bell Pottinger of playing

a “central role in facilitating state capture�. It has urged KPMG and McKinsey clients to drop the firms.

KPMG has denied that it “was involved in, or condoned, any alleged money laundering activities� connected to Gupta-owned companies or facilitating offshore tax evasion.�

President Trump was back on his feet: “I am particularly concerned by these unsavoury developments because when I hosted African leaders last month in New York during the United Nations General Assembly, I assured them that the United States of America is re-assessing Africa with a view to designating it as the new frontier for American companies for investments. The response has been most encouraging.

Auditors play a crucial role in ensuring the stability and integrity of the financial system. I have already implored the President of the World Bank Dr. Jim Yong Kim; Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; and Mrs. Christine Lagarde, President of the International Monetary Fund to set up a committee to thoroughly investigate all these complaints against auditors – without compromising the lessons learnt from the demise of Arthur Andersen following the Enron Scandal.

I intend to nominate, Mr. Barry Melancon the President of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants; Ms. Rachel Grimes the President of the International Federation of Accountants [IFAC] and Mr. Nick Parker, President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales [ICAEW] to join them.

We must restore confidence in auditors and dissuade accountants from mortgaging their souls, regardless of whether or not they have retired.�

President Trump was not done yet. “I believe in leadership by example and that is why it is not sufficient for me to urge American companies to invest in Africa.

The first Super Trump Tower in Africa is going to be built on the site of the demolished Chief J.K Randle Memorial Hall and the adjacent Dr. J.K. Randle Swimming Pool plus what was previously known as the Love Garden. Consequently, we shall serve notice on Construction Kaiser Limited and Ford Foundation as well as others (particularly the government) who have invaded the land. The ethos of American business and philosophy of enterprise is that whatever can be handled by private endeavour should be left to the private sector. The government has no business in business. The rule of law must be seen to prevail; otherwise business cannot thrive.

Indeed, unless Africa can get its act together, the United States of America and Europe will continue to be burdened by the refugee problem and the hopelessness which ISIS; Boko Haram;

Al Shebab and other insurgents have capitalised upon and exploited cynically/ ruthlessly.

Let me quote General Thomas Waldhauser “With all the challenges with the youth bulge, the poverty, the lack of governance, the wide open spaces, these are areas where extremists like ISIS or Al Qaeda thrive. In places like the Sahel, in places like Somalia, ISIS continues to look for location, looks for places to establish itself.�

Most unexpectedly, Donald Trump declared his commitment to Africa: “I have made it clear that America comes first in my vision and strategy. Regardless, I shall devote significant time to Africa and its 1 billion people. We must abolish the permanence of suffering. By the same token, we cannot expect Africans to embrace triumph and disaster with the same phlegmaticsm. There will always be consequences.

I would like to seize this opportunity to let the retired partners of KPMG who are still awaiting their gratuity and pension that as we speak, some of the interventions and initiatives I spoke about will commence shortly.

We have reached the tipping point and the tide must rise in our favour.�

It’s all over Washington D.C. The rumour is that President Trump is really only comfortable in the company of fellow billionaires. As he made his exit, we caught a glimpse of his billionaire pals – the heavyweights of American business – led by Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist and a co-founder of PayPal. Ironically, Jeff Bezos of Amazon; Tim Cook of Apple; Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of Google Inc. insisted that their lunch meeting with President Trump had nothing whatever to do with politics – just business, especially Information Technology and its impact on business.

As for Bill Gates, former Chairman of Microsoft, he was adamant that his main focus is on fighting poverty and disease in Africa. The more money he gives away through his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the more his wealth grows by leaps and bounds. Amazing!!

Then Came the Breaking News: “PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) estimates that 38 per cent of all jobs in the U.S. could be lost to automation in just 15 years.� “More than a third of U.S. jobs could be at “high risk� of automation by the early 2030s, a percentage that’s greater than in Britain, Germany and Japan, according to a report released Friday.

The analysis, by accounting and consulting firm PwC, emphasised that its estimates are based on the anticipated capabilities of robotics and artificial intelligence, and that the pace and direction of technological progress are “uncertain.�

It said that in the U.S., 38% of jobs could be

at risk of automation, compared with 30% in Britain, 35% in Germany and 21% in Japan.

The main reason is not that the U.S. has more jobs in sectors that are universally ripe for automation, the report says; rather, it’s that more U.S. jobs in certain sectors are potentially vulnerable than, say, British jobs in the same sectors.

For example, the report says the financial and insurance sector has much higher possibility of automation in the U.S. than in Britain. That’s because, it says, American finance workers are less educated than British ones.

While London finance employees work in international markets, their U.S. counterparts focus more on the domestic retail market, and workers “do not need to have the same educational levels,� the report said. Jobs that require less education are at higher potential risk of automation, according to the report.

Other industries that could be at high risk include hospitality and food service and transportation and storage.

Analysts have said truck driving probably will be the first form of driving in the U.S. to be fully automated, as long-range big rigs travel primarily on highways — the easiest roads to navigate without human intervention.

But robots won’t necessarily replace so many human workers. The report highlights several economic, legal and regulatory hurdles that could prevent automation, even in jobs where it would be technologically feasible.

For one, the cost of robots — including maintenance and repairs — could still be too expensive compared with human workers. And in the case of self-driving vehicles, questions remain about who is liable in an accident.

In other words, moving robots outside of a controlled environment is “still a big step,� said John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC in Britain.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday that he wasn’t worried about artificial intelligence taking over American jobs. “I think we’re so far away from that that it’s not even on my radar screen,� he told Axios Media. “I think its 50 or 100 more years.�

Mnuchin also said automation would enable human workers to do more productive jobs at higher wages. “It’s taken jobs that are low-paying,� he said. “We need to make sure we are investing in education and training for the American worker.�

Automation could end up creating some jobs, the PwC report said. Greater robotic productivity could boost the incomes of those behind the new technology, which Hawksworth said could flow into the larger economy.

Sectors that are harder to automate, such as healthcare, could also see a rise in jobs, he said.

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Nigeria’s Debt Profile Not Politically Motivated

By Ifeanyi Omokwe

In an interview published in THISDAY on Monday, November 6, 2017, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof Kingsley Moghalu, exercised his inalienable freedom of expression on some national issues, especially in the areas of youth empowerment, citizens’ obligation to pay taxes, unemployment, leadership and public policies. As a former public official and academic, Prof Moghalu, more than qualifies to voice his enlightened opinion on these and many more socio-economic subjects of concern.

In one of his submissions during the interview, Prof Moghalu expressed worry over the debt burden of Nigeria, calling for it to be “completely overhauled�. He said, “I see that the government recently requested the approval of the National Assembly for US$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�.

As a citizen of Nigeria, Moghalu has the right to be concerned about the country’s fiscal management. However, basing such concern on a general statement sentiment is a bit naĂŻve for somebody of his calibre. “All the foreign loans that were taken in the past have not significantly improved economic growth and development in Nigeriaâ€?, he stated, adding that, “We have to worry about whether or not this is not a politically-inspired move, considering that the government is facing difficulties and may want to be seen to be staying afloatâ€?. Indeed his own statement appears to be politically motivated as it was rather shallow with no real economic analysis and no new suggestions other than what the Government is already doing such as spending on infrastructure to create jobs.

For one, the present administration does not “want to be seen to be staying afloat�.

Only last week, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, expressed confidence that the Federal Government’s current revenue and debt management strategy would mitigate the nation’s debt service risk, culminating in the cutting of debt service costs by about N168 billion per annum and fast track development. If we add the fact that Nigeria recently fought its way out of economic recession through sound fiscal

Buhari

Adeosun

and monetary policies, the insinuation that the nation’s current debt profile is politically inspired would have been completely dispelled.

It is no longer in doubt that revenues from petroleum alone cannot sustain growth and development in Nigeria. In fact, as reflected in the 2017 budget, oil revenue has now become grossly inadequate in financing the budget at federal level while many State Governments have complained about their inability to meet their recurrent expenditure due to shortage of revenue. As is the case, with many countries, the Federal Government is facing difficulties in funding critical infrastructure because of impact of the sharp drop in crude oil prices. Last September, Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil producer, raised $12.5 billion from its second dollar bond sale this year as the kingdom bolsters its finances amid an economic overhaul.

It is understandable why Nigerians respond apprehensively to plans by Government to borrow to finance projects. This fear emanates from two sources: the terms of servicing such debts and the purpose of borrowing in the first place. However, borrowing in itself is not out of place in any society, especially if it is for delivering capital

Atiku, Ambode, Utomi, Laud Chiejina for Writing Book on Pensions Jonathan Eze Former Vice-President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and Professor Pat Utomi, were among dignitaries present at the launch of a book written by a Lawyer and a former Director-General of Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Mr. Ezekiel Chiejina.

The event took place at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos.

At the event, Atiku, who was represented by a former Minister for Cooperation and Integration in Africa, Dr. Abimbola Ogunkelu, said that pension reforms should be used as a means of social and economic development.

According to Atiku, “In a developmental context, pension system serves not just to protect the lucky few who hold public sector jobs, or who work in the formal sector, they should also promote the expansion of private sector employment, and create incentives for micro enterprises

projects. There are essentially three ways of financing a variety of mega, large, medium and small capital projects. These are capital reserves, pay-as-you-go and debts (borrowing). The first two, point to revenues from resources and taxes.

Capital Reserves This mode of financing involves paying in advance. Capital reserves are savings used to accumulate funds from revenue or other sources overtime for future projects. Paying for capital projects is especially desirous when other partners are involved in the project, such as counterpart funding for development projects.

Pay-as-you-go Pay-as-you-go provides funds for capital projects using current revenue and/or fees or other sources. This is mainly used to finance utility renewal projects, something that all taxpayers benefit from such as water, electricity, and hospitals. Pay-as-you-go is the most common method of financing projects in Nigeria, while it is the least method in many developed economies. This method of financing projects, however, ensures that Government’s borrowing capacity is preserved for

book is the most important pension book written in Nigeria of recent times.

He urged policy makers to pay attention to the guidelines outlined in the book by the author.

He said that the title of the book was well chosen and that the book is a welcome addition to the body of literature in Nigeria.

During the book review, Pascal said that the different chapters in it tackled all aspects and challenges of pensions in Nigeria.

On his part, Lagos State Governor, Akinwumi Ambode, said that the wealth of knowledge documented in the book, will be useful in making informed decision.

According to him, the adoption of the CPS in the country is in line with best practices.

Professor Utomi praised the author and urged Nigerians to imbibe a reading culture in order to equip themselves on the developments and new initiatives of pension in the country.

Borrowing Borrowing to finance capital projects accounts for somewhere around 40 percent of the payment method in many developed economies. Careful borrowing allows payment over a longer timeframe and ensures that more residents and businesses that benefit from the project actually participate in paying for it.

When used strategically and within best practices for responsible borrowing, capital debt allows government to continue to build and renew infrastructure on a regular basis and add to it when necessary to accommodate growth while maintaining good fiscal health.

In essence, sovereigns borrow, and Nigeria’s debt management strategy has been well articulated. Thus, what is expected of a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria are new economically sound ideas that will add value to the President’s economic reform agenda rather than populist un-researched statements.

- Omokwe wrote in from Abuja

NIPOST to Establish eCommerce Portal, As Trade Volume Rises Emma Okonji

and businesses to grow and enter the formal economy.�

He added: “Unlike before when there was huge deficit before the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme, workers are no longer at the mercy of opaque operators because, when they check their Retirement Savings Account, they see how much their employers have contributed and how well their Pension Funds Administrators have performed.

He also said that the book, which was being introduced, is an important one on pensions in Nigeria.

While commending Chiejina, he said, “The book is a well- researched, well -reasoned, and balanced guide to an important policy challenge we must deal with if we want a more dynamic economy, a better social protection,� he said.

Reviewing the book, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Trust Insurance Brokers, Mr. Paschal Egerue, said that the

important projects and instances where it is too costly to use pay-as-you-go.

Following the tremendous increase in the volume of trade in its eCommerce business in recent times, the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has revealed that it would soon establish its own branded eCommerce portal, where its customers could directly shop for its goods and services online realtime.

The General Manager, Marketing at NIPOST, Mr. Kulawe Irmiya Darmah, who made the disclosure during an interview with THISDAY at the just concluded 2017 Lagos International Trade Fair, organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said NIPOST has transformed its operations with modern technologies in order to offer customers with new and exciting experiences.

He further explained that the transformation, which is driven by technology, has helped increased the volume of eCommerce transactions across all NIPOST operations nationwide. “It is for this reason, especially in the increase in

the volume of trade, that we are planning to launch our branded eCommerce portal, where our customers could shop directly from our site, in an online realtime basis,�

Darmah said.

The Deputy General Manager, EMS Parcel Nigeria, Mr. Olajide Ajire, who confirmed the increase in the volume of eCommerce transactions at NIPOST in recent times, said: “The volume of eCommerce trade at EMS Parcel Nigeria has increased from 3,000 items delivery per day to over 7,500 deliveries per day nationwide, and this can be attributed to the vision-driven leadership of NIPOST, led by the Postmaster General and CEO of NIPOST, Adebisi Adegbuyi.�

According to Darmah, “Currently NIPOST is partnering the likes of Jumia and Konga to drive its eCommerce business, but we have plans to launch our eCommerce portal in the next one year. NIPOST as an organisation, has the infrastructure to develop its own eCommerce portal and we are working towards achieving that

in the next one year. We want a situation where customers could shop directly from the NIPOST eCommerce portal and also get their items delivered safely and timely.�

He said the efforts of the Postmaster General, in setting a new standard that will transform NIPOST and post it into prosperity, using modern technologies, is fast yielding results.

All our services have moved online and customers can access them while transacting online realtime. Our tracking devices are very active and customers can track their parcels online, Darmah added.

Giving reasons why NIPOST was at this year’s Lagos International Trade Fare, which ended yesterday at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Darumah explained: “We came to showcase NIPOST products and services, such as quality office and home furniture, as well as school chairs and tables that are made up of steel and wood, that were all produced from NIPOST workshop in Ijora, Lagos.

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EDUCATION Sustaining Basic Education Policy, Ensuring Accountability Ensuring that there is strict adherence to the legal and policy framework for programme implementation of the Universal Basic Education policy, as well as accountability through monitoring of projects and activities within the sector by all stakeholders, were the focus of the 2017 annual national education summit of the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria. Funmi Ogundare reports Primary education has been regarded as very important and most patronised by people.

This perhaps may be due to the fact that it is the foundation of the whole educational pursuit and is expected to provide literacy and enlightenment to the people and should be regarded as fundamental to success in life.

However, in spite of government’s goal of making education accessible to Nigerian children through the Universal Basic Education (UBE) policy, there are some challenges confronting its success, which include lackadaisical attitude of many state governments to the promotion and development of the basic education sub-sector, among others.

With this in mind, stakeholders drawn from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), NAPPS, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and schools across Lagos converged on WAEC Academy Inn, Ikeja, for the 2017 annual national education summit of the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria (EWAN) with the theme ‘Whither Basic Education in Nigeria’.

The summit, designed to draw attention to the myriad of problems confronting basic education in the country, was an interventional initiative by the association, a body of journalists across print, electronic and online media that cover education.

The event was chaired by Nigeria’s former Representative to UNESCO, Emeritus Professor, Michael Omolewa, who believed that education can make a difference if attention is paid to the children, and expressed delight that the association brought the topic to the fore by focusing on basic education.

In his keynote address, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Hammid Bobboyi disclosed that a total of N76,119,051,481.86 representing 20 per cent of the total matching grants of N380,052,513,491.76 released to the agency as at October 31, 2017 is yet to be accessed by state governments.

Bobboyi, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Sharon Oviemuno, said N303,933,462,013.90, representing 80 per cent of the total matching grants has been judiciously utilised to revive the sector.

He listed challenges confronting basic education to include the huge figure of out-of-school children and youths, including the almajiri and children with special needs, as well as getting them into basic education schools; low level of budgetary allocation to basic education at state and local government levels; dwindling government revenue at all levels; general insecurity in schools occasioned by insurgency, kidnapping, rape, among others.

He said the commission had always ensured that the money disbursed was well used through rigorous monitoring, adding that the country must build on a rich intellectual culture to ensure a robust educational future not only for the states, but for the entire populace.

Bobboyi also highlighted key areas that need intervention to include expanding access for out-of-school children; paying attention gross and net enrolment ratios; bringing down qualified teacher/pupil ratio for all levels; and sustaining progress being made by the government.

The executive secretary also emphasised on quality assurance, saying that there should be

L-R: The Chairman of the summit, former Nigeria UNESCO Representative, Emeritus Professor Michael Omolewa; Chairman, Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria (EWAN), Mr. Tunbosun Ogundare; the Deputy Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Sharon Oviemuno; and the Lagos State Director, Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) Mr. Gbolahan Enilolobo, during the 2017 annual national education summit organised by EWAN in Lagos... recently

improved mentoring, monitoring, supervision and inspection; building synergy with other quality assurance staff, engaging key stakeholders in the process of quality assurance at the school level.

In order to attain the objectives of the UBE programme, he said there is need for strict adherence to the legal and policy framework for programme implementation; constant review of operational modalities to address emerging issues; stakeholders’ interest in and involvement in programme implementation; paradigm shift in public perception of the programme from that of government sole responsibility to that of a collective interest of all facets of the society.

According to him, “there is need for a more proactive mechanism for interpreting, applying and enforcing programmes, laws and policies.�

Earlier, a Professor of Counselling, Faculty of Education, University of Lagos, Ngozi Osarenren, commended the association members for coming up with the programme, saying that the theme was apt at this point in time.

She said until stakeholders decide to give children the best education standard, the country would not be able to meet up with global practices, while expressing concern that those who are unable to meet the cut-off marks for other programmes are the ones rushing to study education in higher institutions. “If you admit a sub-standard candidate, what will he give? Admission seekers jump into studying education because they could not meet up with cut-off marks of the initial course they wanted to study. They are the ones that will teach in our basic schools.�

Osarenren, who was a Commissioner for Education in Edo State, regretted the dysfunctions in school systems, which are impinging on the proper implementation of basic education, adding that the quality of teacher that will teach the children is imperative. “Mass failure in some subjects for instance is because teachers skip some topics which they don’t know. We should be bold to tell our teachers that you cannot give what you don’t have. Teachers that are not versatile enough cannot teach our children,� she said.

The National President of the NUT, Michael Alogba-Olukoya, who was represented by the union’s Deputy Chairman, Lagos, Chapter, Adedoyin Adeshina, described education as the bedrock for national development, adding that for teachers to put in their best, they must be well remunerated. “Anything that will affect the pension and salaries of teachers the union does not take it likely. A teacher that is not well remunerated will not put in his best it will be garbage in garbage out.�

He also said the funding of basic education should not be handed over to local government as being proposed, while urging stakeholders to intervene.

The Chairman of EWAN, Mr. Tunbosun Ogundare argued that basic education hardly gets a fair share of attention from stakeholders, especially the government, regulators and parents, noting that attention has always been on tertiary education. “That is the essence of the summit. As journalists, we cannot say exactly which government agency is in charge of basic

education, we are not also clear about the roles of local government at the lowest level of education,� he said.

He affirmed that over N60 billion belonging to various states is lying idle with UBEC/CBN, adding that governors are complaining that there is no money in government treasury, while using that to justify their failure to provide functional and effective basic education to the children. “Just of recent, UNESCO put school age children who are out of school in the country at 8.7 million, yet most of our so-called education policy makers are still quoting 10.5 million which was the previous figure.

This shows how unimportant it is to them in getting the children can to the classrooms.�

Participants in a communiquĂŠ issued at the end of the summit stressed the need for stakeholders, including parents, government and corporate organisations and the media to support basic education and ensure accountability through monitoring of projects and activities within the basic education sub-sector.

They also stressed the need for continuous training and retraining of existing teachers on modern learning and teaching techniques for improved impact and review of admission procedure to discourage enrolment of unwilling applicants into the education department. They also called for a review of lopsided agencies of governments and parastatals with conflicting and overlapping responsibilities, as well as reduction in the number of competitive examinations being conducted for pupils in the country.

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EDUCATION

ASUU Raises Alarm over Corruption in Kano Varsity Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kano Zone has frowned at the non-payment of excess workload allowance and postgraduate research grant totalling N273 million, as well as other conflicting issues at Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST), Wudil.

In a statement signed by the Zonal Coordinator, Professor Mahmud Lawal, the union

also expressed worry over “the apparent breach of the law establishing the university where a council was constituted and inaugurated without the election of the representatives of a critical stakeholder in the university, the congregation representative to council.�

The statement added that “the zone frowns at the way and manner a council meeting was held immediately after its inauguration on October 3,

2017 without formal notice to members and knowing that the internal members of council from congregation were not elected.�

The zone comprising Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State University, Bayero University, Kano, Federal University Dutse, Yusuf Maitama Sule University, and KUST after their meeting at KUST, urged the university authority to take urgent steps

to resolve the issue. “The zone received a worrisome report where senate, the highest regulator of academic standards in the university only meet at the whims and caprices of the vice-chancellor to consider issues of less importance.�

The union also expressed disgust that up to date, the university senate has not met to consider results of the 2015/2016 academic session,

while the institution is in 2016/2017 academic session.

The zone noted with dismay that despite repeated congress resolutions and correspondences to the state government and a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), nothing has been done to call the vice-chancellor to order.

The statement added that Kano ASUU zone “views this as provocative and deliberate

attempt to deny our members their entitlements and has the capacity to undermine the peaceful atmosphere on the campus. “The zone calls on the visitor to the university and the prochancellor and chairman of the council to call the authorities of the university to order and ensure the immediate payment of our members’ entitlements in order to avoid unpalatable situation in the system.�

Lagos Orders Relocation of 64 Private Schools The Lagos State government has ordered about 64 private primary and secondary schools to relocate as a result of nonconducive environment for teaching and learning.

The Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance in the state Ministry of Education, Mrs. Ronke Soyombo disclosed this recently at the annual school managers’ workshop, organised by the League of Muslim School Proprietors (LEAMSP) in Ikeja, which invloved about 230 members. Soyombo said the affected schools, spread across the state, were operating in either swampy or flooded areas or very dirty and poorly ventilated structures, as well as in places totally unsafe for human beings. “We discovered that owners of those schools are only interested in money making and not about safety of their students and workers. So the state has served them letters and asked them to close down their schools or relocate to safe and conducive locations. By allowing them to continue operating in those locations will do no good but harm to

students who are our future.�

The director-general, who spoke on ‘Safeguarding the Right of a Child,’ disclosed that while some of the schools complied with the directive or pleaded for more time, others preferred to drag the government to court seeking a reversal of the order.

She said the action of those in the latter category would not deter government from making educational institutions both public and private to do the right thing. She appealed to private school owners, including LEAMSP members to consider the safety and total education of their students more important than money in their operations.

The Chief Education Officer, Guidance and Counselling Department, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mrs. Taiwo Elemoma asked participants to establish a functional and effective guidance and counselling unit in their schools, saying that the students would need to be properly guided in career choices and other matters that would help them to succeed in life.

Abebe Urges Nigerians to Make Impact in Society An alumnus of the University of Lagos and Chairman, Inducon Nigeria Limited, Dr. John Abebe, has appealed to wealthy Nigerians to reach out to the less-privileged by contributing to their emancipation and the development of the nation at large.

Abebe, a former President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, was one of the recipients of the recently held 2017 distinguished alumni awards and celebration of UNILAG at 55, organised by the alumni association.

He expressed delight at the award, saying that he was humbled by the recognition he was accorded. “One has been associated with the promotion, the sponsorship and funding of cricket in Nigeria for the past 40 years without really expecting any recognition and praises. As for one’s activities in the Old Boys Association of St Gregory’s College, I really didn’t think it would be noticed and commented upon by my alma mater. So I thank God for it.�

He noted that the length of time he has consistently been doing what he enjoyed doing for cricket and for the

college must have influenced the decision of the UNILAG Alumni to honour him, adding that the award will spur him to do more “I have always advocated that government alone shouldn’t be allowed to handle everything about education. Nigerians should learn to give back to the society that has made them what they are,� Abebe said.

He had for long in his private capacity sponsored cricket competitions across the country and donated cricket kits and equipment to the National Cricket Teams and many schools within and outside Lagos. As President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation between 2011 and 2005, Abebe ran the federation without government funding and single-handedly sponsored the national team on international training tours and competitions.

St. Gregory’s College has also during his stewardship as president of the old boys association, witnessed tremendous transformation in terms of facilities and quality of teaching.

The Vice-Chancellor, Lead City University, Ibadan, Professor ‘Remi Adeyemo; Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi; the Chancellor, Professor Gabriel Ogunmola; the Vice-President and guest speaker, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; and the Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Council, Professor Jide Owoeye, at the 10th convocation ceremony of the university‌ recently

JAMB Registrar Pronounces Stringent Measures against Exam Cheats Funmi Ogundare The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Is’haq Oloyede, has appealed to owners of Computer Based Test (CBT) centres to help in exposing those that are bent on frustrating the efforts of the board towards conducting a successful 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME). He also disclosed that the board has introduced new measures that would add to the integrity of the registration process and the conduct of the examination.

Oloyede, who made this known recently during a meeting with about 626 CBT owners in Lagos, said the board has learnt some lessons in the conduct of last year’s examination, adding that it discovered that some electronic devices such as pens and wristwatches were used to perpetrate examination

malpractices and has decided to ban the use of such things this year. He said the board also discovered that finger print capture and that some centres who he termed first class fraudsters, devise various methods of extorting candidates and their parents, adding that 72 of such centres across the country have been delisted from its list of centres for the examination. “The operations of the CBT centres are becoming more complex than the ordinary, we have been infiltrated by some people who do not wish the nation well. Anybody organising syndicates for examination malpractices is not wishing the nation well. We found out that some people were collecting N1,000 from candidates at the gate for entrance fee, some of them were subletting access codes to cyber cafĂŠs and some even go to the extent of raping the candidates.

“We took serious action against such people last year, they will not participate in our activities. Some have been banned and some suspended.

We are also going to introduce some detective measures to ensure that those who plan to cheat in the hall are frustrated.�

On the measures, the registrar said the board will not allow non-functional wireless CCTV cameras to be mounted, adding that all centres must submit their serial number forms which must be validated by the board. “All networks should be powered by switches, not hub, centres are strongly advised to use IPS address rather than IP addressing, scanning of pictures will not be allowed, live pictures must be taken through USB cameras. This year every 100 points that we are going to give you must have dual screen. Any centre that does not open 10 points at any time will be deactivated. Last year,

we had mock exam, this year, we are going to have mock registration.�

Oloyede noted that the board will not allow any other custom browser other than its own and that it must be installed on each of the 250 systems and an addition of 25 backup, which must be used before accreditation, this he said the board would make available. “We are also bringing lens detectors to ensure that no signal is coming in or out of the examination halls. If one of the systems is not working, it is at the risk of the owner because no money will be paid and any centre where that happens will be delisted,� he said, adding that all cables must be trumped.

On the ePIN payment process by candidates, he said all transactions by CBT centres must be cashless and that they must open accounts with the board’s designated banks and other financial institutions.

Kogi to Conduct Competency Test for Public School Teachers Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja The Kogi State Government has concluded plans to conduct competency test for public school teachers in the state to ensure that only capable hands teach in government-owned schools.

The Director General on Media and Publicity to the Governor, Kingsley Fanwo, who disclosed this while addressing journalists, said the test will be conducted to ascertain the capacity and capability of teachers in public schools.

He stated that the improved performance of Kogi State in public examinations could only be improved upon if competent teachers are given the opportunity and the right training to teach in public schools. “The state government is already tinkering with the idea of testing the competency of public school teachers to ensure only capable hands are engaged to shape the future of our children. We are already looking at the competency test option to ascertain the competence of

our teachers to teach. The future of the Kogi children is the future of the state. “Those who scale the test will be exposed to the best training and given the best tools, incentives to make Kogi the number one education destination in Nigeria. Government is presently reactivating our structure to inject excellence into the system and make it work for the people of the state,� he said. Fanwo also said the state had engaged in the remodelling of its schools to provide critical infrastructure in

the education system. He said education remains the priority of Governor Yahaya Bello, insisting that there are rapid works going on across the state to change the face of infrastructure in primary and secondary schools. “The present administration in the state is putting in place GYB Model Primary Schools that are threatening to be the best in the country. In the next few months, the government will succeed in changing the outlook of our schools and make public schools attractive to the people.

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Loyola Jesuit Student Makes History in Cowbellpedia Maths Contest Uchechukwu Nnaike A student of Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja, Munachi ErnestEze has made history in the Cowbellpedia Secondary Schools Mathematics Television Quiz Show by emerging overall winner in the senior category two years after winning in the junior category.

The day also belonged to Jesse Uche-Nwichi of Graceland International School, Rivers State, who defeated all comers to win in the junior category of the competition sponsored

by Cowbell, the flagship brand from the stable of Promasidor Nigeria Limited.

Each of the champions got N1 million and an all-expense paid education abroad.

In the senior category, ErnestEze was trailed by Oluwanifise Onafowokan of The Ambassadors College, Ota, Ogun State and Evans Owamoyo of Greater Tomorrow International College, Arigidi Akoko, Ondo State who finished as first and second runners-up respectively.

Michael Paul of Excel Grace

Academy, Akaajime-Gboko, Benue State; Ikechukwu Ibeh of Federal Government College, Suleja, Niger State and Tomiwa Olatunbosun of Bibo Oluwa Academy, Ilesha, Osun State were the other finalists in the senior category.

Ernest-Eze, who fulfilled his promise to re-enact his 2015 feat when he won in the junior category, could not hide his emotion after his history-making performance. “I thank God for the end of the journey today. I am now confident to tell Nigerians that I was a champion and I am a champion again today. God has done it and it is marvellous in my eyes.�

His father, Ikechukwu Ernest-Eze, beaming with smiles, expressed gratitude to God and Promasidor for the double honours.

Earlier in a thrilling final encounter in the junior category, 13-year-old Uche-Nwichi scored 115 points to confine Oluwafemi Adeyanju of Jesuit Memorial College, Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Ezekiel Ekanem of

Advanced Breed Group of Schools, Sagamu, Ogun State to the second and third places respectively.

The trio of Osasere Egharevba of Graceland International School, Port Harcourt; Joel Ndoh of Marist Brothers Juniorate, Okigwe, and Abdulwakil Olayinka of Nigerian Tulip International College, Kaduna could not go beyond the first round.

Uche-Nwichi dedicated his victory to God and his parents, while promising to maintain the momentum.

His father, Chukwu UcheNwichi, who could not conceal his excitement, commended the sponsor for the huge investment in the competition and urged government and the other corporate bodies to emulate the company. Olatunde Ayorinde, Uche-Nwichi’s teacher commended the champion for the honour he brought to him and to the school. “I thank God for today. My effort has not been in vain. Nothing can be better than this. I am grateful to God, Cowbell and Promasidor.� The

first and second runners-up for each category won N750,000 and N500,000 respectively.

Each teacher of the 2017 champions in each category was rewarded N400,000, while those of the first and second runners-up received N300,000 and N200,000 respectively.

Also, the winning schools won Mathematics textbooks, desktop computers and printers.

In a chat with journalists, the Managing Director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Anders Einarsson, reiterated the commitment of the company towards education, saying that it is the most important investment for the future of Nigerian children. “The programme has absolutely met its objectives. We are committed to this initiative and by next year, we will celebrate 20 years of Mathematics and Cowbell.�

He congratulated the finalists for their performance and promised that the company would continue to support the academic development of Nigerian children.

From left (back row): The Director of Education, Corona Schools, Mrs. Amelia Dafeta; Trustee and member, Governing Board, Corona Schools Trust Council, Dr. Myma Belo-Osagie, Chief Executive Officer, Corona SchoolsTrust Council, Mrs. Adeyoyin Adesina, Head of Corona School, Ikoyi, Mrs. Nike Onafeso, with the winners (Corona School, Ikoyi pupils) during the presentation of gifts to the winners at the ninth annual Corona Schools Inter-school Quiz Competition in Lagos‌ recently

Winners Emerge at Corona Inter-school Quiz Solomon Elusoji After a feisty contest involving five primary arms, comprising four representatives of Corona Schools, Corona Ikoyi School, Lagos has emerged the overall best at the ninth Corona Interschool Quiz Competition, which was held at its Victoria Island School premises recently.

The result of the competition, which was split into four broad categories- English Language, Mathematics, Science, General Knowledge, and Mind Gymsaw Corona Victoria Island School clinch the second place, while Corona Apapa School came third.

The results of each category were more democratic, signifying the general brilliance of each participating school. In the English Language category, Ikoyi and Victoria Island were tied for first position; in Mathematics, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Apapa and Gbagada also shared the first position; in Science, Apapa was number one; in General Knowledge, Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Gbagada shared the spot; while in Mind Gym, Ikoyi came first.

The first Corona School,

Ikoyi Day Nursery, established in March 1955 has grown to include seven more institutions; including Corona College of Education which was established to provide quality continuous professional development for teachers.

Basking in the euphoria of a successful outing, the Head Boy of Corona Ikoyi, who was also part of the winning quiz team, Adejare Adesoko, said the result was through practice, belief and effort. He added that the school prepares one for the future and has no doubt that those who pass through the citadel of learning will one day become future ambassadors of the country.

Sharing the secret of the school’s success, a Mathematics teacher in the Ikoyi School, Victor Omidele, said the pupils’ achievement at the competition was as a result of constant practice. “It started with practising with the children, using several questions within the curriculum and outside; went as far as going online to get likely questions and to God be the glory, today we came out tops.

Corroborating Omidele’s views, the science teacher,

Oladipupo Abdullahi said “it has been very tasking. We had to put the children through a lot of work. We had to go even a bit above their level because we had to prepare for the unknown, because we didn’t know the kind of questions that would be coming up.�

Lauding the quiz initiative which she believes is an avenue for the pupils to learn new things beyond classroom, one of the parents, Mrs. Ehi-Kathy Okechukwu commended the Corona Schools Trust Council, saying that the exposure was not only a valuable experience for the pupils; even as a parent, she learnt a lot from the questions that were asked.

Commenting on this year’s competition, the sponsor and member of the Corona Schools’ Trust Council, Dr. Myma BeloOsagie said it was set up nine years ago to broaden the scope of students’ knowledge. “Corona has always maintained a reputation for academic excellence. But what we were lacking at the time was a sense of the world around us. We didn’t have much general knowledge and that was why we started this quiz- to help our students appreciate

the importance of knowing what is going on outside of their particular bubble.�

She lauded the evolving format of the quiz and also implored the pupils to take advantage of the knowledge and academic excellence being inculcated in them as they prepare to be ambassadors of the school.

Some of the highlights at the competition were choral performance, which was won

by Corona Ikoyi. There were also impromptu speeches from students of Corona Secondary School, Agbara, who represented the school’s four houses: Crane, King Fisher, Heron and Weaver. Heron House won that category. A sole poetry was also performed

by Shalom Emeka, a Corona Secondary School student. The five hour event was rounded up with prizes presentation for the best students in Corona’s annual second term general examinations.

Present at the quiz competition was the Chief Executive Officer, Corona School’s Trust Council, Adedoyin Adesina and the School’s Director of Education, Amelia Dafeta.

University of Uyo Honours Oil Magnate, Indimi The University of Uyo has conferred Honorary Doctorate Degree in Business Administration on Alhaji Muhammadu Indimi, for his outstanding contribution to the development of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, as well as sustainable community development initiatives.

Indimi was honoured at the combined 22nd/23rd convocation ceremony, which had in attendance the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, his Gombe State counterpart, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, Shehu of Dikwa, Alhaji Muhammed Ibn Mustafa II Al-Amin Elkanemi, the Deputy Governor of Kano State, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, among others.

During the ceremony, the university highlighted Indimi’s philanthropic activities across education, health and social welfare, housing and critical aid provision.

Since 2009, Indimi, through Oriental Energy Resources (Oriental) has awarded over 470 scholarships to recipients in Akwa Ibom State, created a sponsorship programme for UNIUYO’s Department of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, as well

as trained and awarded start-up funds to over 270 youths from the state. In addition, he has trained 500 women, 200 of whom were awarded seed funding to start new businesses.

The honorary award comes at a time when Indimi is currently building a N700 million modern residential estate of 100 units in Enwang, headquarters of Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State aimed at providing housing for beneficiaries from the host communities. When completed, the village will have a solar-powered electrification system, a school, clinic, a shopping centre and other amenities.

Responding, Indimi thanked the university for the honour and said the award gives him a fresh opportunity to continue his previous association and contributions to the development of the university. “In appreciation of this award, I am ready to cooperate with the university in furthering its development. I want to assure you that I will continue to work hard in making contributions which will have sustainable impact on the Nigerian economy and my community, including Akwa Ibom State.�

States Square up for Lafarge Literacy Contest Finale All is set for the grand finale of the fourth Lafarge Africa national literacy competition, where 12 students from Plateau, Kano, Ondo, Edo, Gombe and Anambra States will battle for the coveted prize.

Each of the six states is represented by two students that won at the respective regional finals in October.

Public school students from the 109 senatorial districts in the country took part in the competition which evaluates their reading, essay/summary writing and spelling abilities.

The Director of Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, said the competition seeks to touch lives of diverse people in a sustainable way and the company is pleased with the positive impact it has made in the past four years. “Over 2,700 public primary school students took part in the competition. Over 200,000 primary school pupils across 244 local government areas have been impacted since the competition began in 2014.�

She said the competition is one of the initiatives of

Lafarge Africa Plc to support government’s efforts in improving the standard of English Language in public primary schools, adding that it is in line with the organisation’s sustainability strategy, the 2030 plan, with the ambition to enhance the quality of life for all. “The 2030 plan is grouped into four pillars: climate, circular economy, water and nature as well as people and communities.

The literacy competition falls under the people and communities pillar.

Miss Faith Toun-Agbai and Hassan Yesufu, winners of the South-south regional competition will be representing Edo in the upcoming finale. According to them, “the competition has improved our spelling, reading and writing; this makes us feel we can still achieve our goals. We will like to thank Lafarge Africa Plc for sponsoring this competition.�

Primary school pupils between the ages of nine and 13 years are the main target of the competition, which is organised with support from the respective State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEB) and the Ovie Brume Foundation, Lafarge Africa’s implementation partner.

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‘My Vision is to Make Elizade Varsity Attractive to the World’

A Nigerian entrepreneur and founder of Elizade University, Chief Michael AdeOjo shared with Uchechukwu Nnaike his vision to build a world class institution, dedicated to the pursuit of academic and moral excellence, for the growth of knowledge and character. He highlighted the university’s strategies to raise young men and women that will break new grounds in all areas of human endeavour All the qualities put together amount to the competitive edge that the university has been investing heavily to build. Another thing is that our fees are still very reasonable, compared to what the student will go back with to function in the society. I think we are just training them to become responsible citizens at an affordable cost so far. But this is not to say that it will continue like that because the facilities that we provide are beyond the average that you see anywhere in Africa.

What are the values, vision and ideas that motivated you to establish Elizade University?

My core motivation behind this noble dream is to raise students and graduates who would be confident enough to stand strong anywhere in the world, and can be relied upon in whatever they say or do. We are training students, who upon graduation, can measure up to other academics and professionals anywhere in the world. Note that we are not just educating people for academics alone, but morally too, because without good character, the whole effort will be a waste of time. We are building people who will make significant impact in the society.

With so many private and public universities springing up in Nigeria, what are the unique advantages that can encourage parents to send their children to Elizade University?

We have so many areas that stand us out. One of the ways among many that stand us out from other universities is the quality of internship partnerships we have with different companies and organisations within and outside Nigeria.

Our internship programme is a compulsory course for the students, and through this, they gain practical quality work experiences as they regularly familiarise themselves with real work situations. Clearly, many of their peers will not have the opportunity to experience this even upon graduation. So, we are training them to become all round persons with superior capacities to compete with their peers from other universities.

As far as our infrastructure is concerned, we are above our peers. Anybody that gets to our university will have nothing but praises for our physical structures.

And the general belief is that it is unlike anything within Nigeria. In fact, some people say they are carried away because when they are there, they feel they are not in Nigeria, but in a developed country. Well, my vision is that it will become one of the best, if not the best university in the country. I want a university that will compare very favourably with the likes of Harvard University, with Oxford and Cambridge and other first class universities all over the world.

Ade-Ojo As a versatile business administrator that has excelled in Nigeria’s tough business environment for many years, what are the helpful counsel you can give young, upcoming professionals like your students to help them rise to the top?

First, I will let them know that it is not the certificate they will get that is their most valuable tool, but really, what they have learnt here and what they will make out of what they have learnt. This is because knowledge is different from wisdom. Knowledge is what you acquire upstairs, but wisdom is the application of that knowledge. And if you cannot apply what you have learnt, then you have very little chance to succeed. So, in this university, we lay emphasis on the application of knowledge. You can graduate as an engineer, but you will be good enough to fit into some other professions because of the various opportunities made available for you while you are here. You are trained to be

Enugu Restates Commitment to Staff Training, Capacity Building The Enugu State government has expressed its continued determination to invest resources on the training and re-training of its workforce to improve their efficiency.

Declaring open a five-day capacity building training workshop in Enugu recently, the Commissioner for Gender Affairs and Social Development, Princess Peace Nnaji, stressed that government’s emphasis on staff development was to bring the best out of them. “Some of you who are attending this workshop must pay attention to the resource persons so that you will not remain the same after the training, we have engaged the former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Prof. Peter Ebigbo, who is currently

the National President of the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) to lead other top resource persons to conduct the training for you.�

She explained that the aim of the training was not only to infuse into social workers the highest professional and ethical standards but also to equip them with the necessary skills and techniques for adoption and fostering in the state.

The Director, Child Development, Ministry of Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mr. Romanus Eze, commended the state government for employing new social workers and for organising the workshop, adding that such periodic re-training of staff would boost capacity and improve

their general performance.

In his remarks, the Anglican Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma, expressed satisfaction with the response of the participants, adding that with the massive turn-out of workers at the workshop, government would be encouraged to make the training a regular feature.

He urged people of the state to support the reform agenda of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

Earlier, the training Coordinator and National President of ANPPCAN, Prof. Peter Ebigbo, said the training took the format of a retreat in order to properly drill the participants on the rudiments of government work, ethics, legal frame work, (Child’s Right Law) social work, mediation as well as fostering and adoption.

versatile even though you have a core specialty in your discipline. I will advise them to aim to be independent, to think deeply about what they can use whatever they have learnt in the university to achieve in their lifetime. For prospective students or those who are just coming in, well, the thing is that they have to learn to enjoy themselves, to enjoy the university life and to learn how to make themselves useful because here, we are training our students to be total persons so that they will be useful, not only to the society, but to themselves and their families. We are also inculcating in them the spirit of entrepreneurship that guarantees a future for them and authenticates their certificates. Our certificate confirms that the holder has done well and is ready to excel in his or her chosen field of endeavour and in the society at large.

Apart from the internship programme and quality academic training, what other competitive edge does the university have?

The cost of getting the university to this level must have been high. What opportunities are there for the institution to operate on the global or even continental stage. How do you plan to build on the successes of the past ďŹ ve years?

Well, the university has dug a very big hole in my pocket in the sense that it has cost me a lot. But really, I am doing this as a huge legacy that will definitely outlive me. So I am still determined to spend a lot more. We have spent over N27 billion on the university’s structures and I believe we still have a long way to go to get to my exact vision. It has been my determination to establish an institution that will remain a long-term legacy, which will be useful to the younger generation and will be a global citadel of learning, not only in academics, but in morals as well. So this project is very important to me and I think, especially now that the dream is unfolding rapidly, it should be very important to every parent because what we are doing now is quite comparable to what is happening in universities in developed economies.

What is the total picture or vision of Elizade University in your head?

I have this vision of making Elizade Nigeria’s biggest academic attraction to the world. I want people across the world to aspire and strive to send their children here because of the standard the world will see. Another great news is that with just a fraction of the cost of going overseas, Nigerians will have the experience of a world-class university in their country. I know within me that it is just a matter of time; Elizade University will draw the type of national pride that Harvard and Oxford attract to their various countries.

10 Students Bag Maiden Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Senator Iroegbu in Abuja Ten exceptional students of the Premier International School, Abuja on Monday bagged awards ranging from the Gold Award to the Bronze Award at the first Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award to be organised in Abuja.

The award, which is an exciting self-development programme available to all young people worldwide, to equip them with life skills to make a difference to themselves, their communities and the world, was established to help young people achieve their goals irrespective of their background.

The National Director, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award in Nigeria, Miss Toyin Odu, commended the participants and subsequent awardees for their commitment,

energy, dedication and drive to accomplish their goals and complete the programme.

Odu congratulated them for having joined an exemplary group of young people “who set their own goals, who have demonstrated that they are ready to reach for the stars, that they are focused to succeed, inspired to dream and dedicated to serve.�

She stated that the endeavours are a voyage of great discovery and in that regard, that the young people found out more about themselves, more about what interests them, where their energies and talents lie, and encouraged them to rededicate themselves to extend that effort into the future. Stressing that winning an award is a major achievement, Odu charged the recipients that “you should be extremely proud of yourselves

and so should your families, teachers and friends, I offer you my personal warm wishes for the future and hope you will enjoy and remember today.�

She also urged them to take all the qualities they learnt through school and beyond and that it will stand them in good stead in the wider world.

The national director acknowledged the contributions and cooperation of the principal, staff and students of the school, parents and invited guests and most importantly award recipients.

She thanked all award leaders, the Principal, Mrs. Hassan Godiya and her team, saying that adult mentors are pivotal to the success of the programme.

She congratulated each of them for their contribution to the renowned and effective youth development programme.

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36

CITYSTRINGS

Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ™ĂœË? Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ–Ă?Ă? Ă”Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂĄĂ‹ Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ–Ă?Ă?˛ËÔĂ&#x;Ă˜ĂĄĂ‹ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

Celebrating 10 Years of Quality Education Lead British International School, Abuja, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Damilola Oyedele writes that the highlight of the weeklong event was the honour accorded its alumni who have excelled after school

Founder of Lead British International School, Abuja, Hon. Wole Oke, anked by students and

parents, cutting the school's 10th anniversary cake

F

or the management, staff, parents and students of Lead British International School (LBIS), Abuja, marking the 10th anniversary of the school’s existence was worth rolling out the drums for. Indeed, they rolled out the drums and laid the red carpet for their alumni who distinguished themselves in their university education, and bagged First Class. LBIS now has the credit for the first female aeronautical engineer from northern Nigeria, Miss Hauwa Umar Usman. Usman, who finished from LBIS in 2012, graduated from the University of Brighton, United Kingdom with a First Class honours in Aeronautical Engineering in July 2017.

Other honours students include Mr. Ahmed Sani Dan-Bello (First Class, Law, University of Hertfordshire, UK, September 2017), Mr. Ahamefula Brendan Rochas (First Class, Mechanical Engineering, University of Manchester, UK, July 2015, MSc, Advanced Mechanical Engineering and Diploma of Imperial College, London, May 2017), Mr. Ismail Tahir Mamman (First Class, Biomedical Science, University of Surrey, UK, July 2017), and Ms. Adama Olumo (First Class honours degree in Civil Engineering, University of Brighton-June 2017) The Founder of the School, Hon. Wole Oke, in his address harped on the need for the encouragement of the private sector to boost the country's ailing education sector.

He however noted that establishing a school cannot be motivated by profit alone, but rather as a way to impart values in developing children and establishing legacies.

"You may have a gigantic structure but what is important is what comes out of it. Legacies are important. What value are you adding to others? Our focus is that when you give us your little boys and girls, we return them to you as responsible men and women," he said.

Oke, whose parents were both teachers, revealed that his decision to start LBIS, which has since expanded with a campus in Ibadan was borne out of a need to give back to the society. Oke himself started out as a teacher on level one, step two with a salary of N109. “The only gift they (parents) gave to me was education, which has given me power, resources and has brought me to this stage. I asked myself, would I continue to be a teacher? I left the job and joined an accounting firm. After all we have had successful people in my hometown (Eesa Oke, Osun State), Chief Bola Ige and others. I was posted to Suleja,� he said.

He added that the firm wanted to close at some point after the military coup of 1985, but he negotiated to keep the branch open and head it in return for profit sharing.

The only way that occurred to me, to give back to the society that has given me so much, was to open a school that would teach children to be responsible, knowledgeable and future leaders in whatever sphere they choose

LBIS Founder, Hon. Wole Oke...delivering his address at the sxhool's 10th anniversary

“I made good money and thought what I would do with it. I bought the land,� he said and secured a loan from a bank with which he built the Abuja school. “The loan has since been repaid,� he added. “The only way that occurred to me, to give back to the society that has given me so much, was to open a school that would teach children to be responsible, knowledgeable and future leaders in whatever sphere they choose,� Oke said.

The school, which has graduated over 500 students, now boasts of about 350 employees and consistent in meeting its tax, pensions and other obligations to them and to the authorities. It comprises early years section, primary, secondary and advance learning/pre-university. It boasts of standard classrooms, music room, ICT and science laboratories.

The Ibadan school also kicked off just at the beginning of the 2017/2018 session.

The Guest Lecturer, Professor Abdullahi Y. Shehu, who spoke on the ‘Fortunes of Education in Nigeria’ said several Nigerians who benefitted from the public school system have contributed to the decline of the public education system.

Shehu is former Director General, ECOWAS

Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and currently Director, Olusegun Obasanjo Good Governance and Development Research Centre, National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja.

He highlighted the constitutional duty of the government towards education to include directing its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels, promoting science and technology, striving to eradicate illiteracy; through free, compulsory and universal primary education; free secondary education; free university education; and free adult literacy programme. “Education contributes to national development by developing in individuals, values which make for good citizenship, including honesty, selflessness, tolerance, patriotism, hard work, and personal integrity, all of which provide the nuances for good leadership. “Despite the recognition of the importance of education in development, the fact remains that either we have not invested sufficiently in education or we have mismanaged our fortunes in promoting education to our desired standards. Whichever is the correct perspective, our educational system has been characterised

by misfortunes,� Shehu added.

Citing several policies of successive governments towards education, Shehu lamented that bridging the illiteracy gap remains a challenge particularly because of the high rate of illiteracy for the girl-child especially in Northern Nigeria. “Over 85 per cent of the children of politically exposed persons are studying abroad; there is a dearth of technically qualified teachers at all levels; in short, “not only is the crisis-state of education in Nigeria is a threat to productivity, and commerce; it is also a threat to life and civil society� hence we have an ‘army’ of unemployed and unemployable youths that are potential cannon fodders for all sorts of criminality, including terrorism,� Shehu said.

He urged the government to declare a state of emergency in the education sector because it targets the children and youth, ensuring the future of the nation. “It is understandable that there are competing priorities for government, and yet the resources are limited. What is required to optimise the fortunes of education therefore is to prioritise.

In Nigeria, there seems to be a choice of priority between education and infrastructure. While I agree that we need infrastructure to develop, infrastructure is a product of good technical and vocational education,� Shehu explained.

The Head of School, Ms. Jacqueline Ranger, speaking during the inauguration of the Alumni Association, lauded the honours students. “Our 10 years anniversary is a time for us to look back at our many achievements and successes whilst simultaneously looking ahead with increased determination and motivation.

You give us more reasons to celebrate. You have made your families and country proud.

Our students now know that they stand on the shoulders of giants,� she said. “Having distinguished itself as one of the best schools in Nigeria, LBIS continues to transform education through the delivery of high quality

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍłËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

37

CITYSTRINGS

The First Class alumni

Gifts for some long serving sta

education that supports our children in achieving the best possible outcomes. Our School Board, Leaders, Teachers, support staff and families are all passionate and committed to education and are driven to go the extra mile,� Ranger said.

The management of the school also used the opportunity to honour its long serving staff, those who have stayed between seven years and 10 years, including its non academic staff.

The staff received gifts such as microwaves, televisions, and refrigerators.

LBIS vision is to produce the best intellectuals in Nigeria and a legacy. With the array of First

Our 10 years anniversary is a time for us to look back at our many achievements and successes whilst simultaneously looking ahead with increased determination and motivation. You give us more reasons to celebrate.

You have made your families and country proud. Our students now know that they stand on the shoulders of giants

Chairperson of PTA, Mrs. Ufom Akpabio, presenting a long service certiďŹ cate to the Corporate Aairs Manager, Ms. Ngozi Nwaokoma

Class honors alumni it already boasts of in just 10 years of existence, it is well on its way to achieve this dream.

It is however also important for the Nigerian Government to sit up and get serious about

revamping the public education system. Education remains the most veritable tool to cause

change in all sectors of national economy, and to guarantee a better future for the country.

T H I S D AY Ëž , NOVEMBER 15, 2017

38

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Adeosun, Foreign Investor Hold Talks on Textile Industry Obinna Chima Dutch textile and design company, Vlisco Group yesterday held a high-level discussion with the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, over the former’s proposed investment in the Nigerian cotton textile industry.

The Chief Executive Officer of Vlisco Group, Mr. David Suddens, who led the group’s delegation to the meeting with the minister, said the investment would boost growth and jobs in Nigeria across the entire valuechain from cotton to fashion.

The Group plan to invest across the sector’s value chain from sourcing of cotton, textile printing, wholesale, retail and ecommerce distribution, garment manufacturing and supporting and training of Nigerian fashion designers.

Suddens said: “Vlisco foresees an end-to-end involvement in the Nigerian textile industry from cotton sourcing to retail.

We are expecting this investment to yield benefits for the Nigerian economy in terms of economic diversification and job creation in line with the country’s Industrial Revolution

strategy. “Vlisco Group’s activities are expected to generate more than 10,000 jobs in Nigeria in the medium term. We also envisage a Vlisco printing factory in Nigeria using Nigerian designs for the Nigerian consumer, retail outlets selling Vlisco products and trained tailors sewing Vlisco fabric into garmet.�

Suddens further noted that the group had formed partnership with two spinning and weaving companies based in China and Pakistan in order to help build the Nigerian cotton textile industry.

MallforAfricaOffersAfricanDiasporaDirectOnline Shopping Platform Obinna Chima Ahead of the holiday shopping season, Mall for Africa (MFA) is offering African diaspora living in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada opportunity to directly purchase and send products home to family and friends through its e-commerce platform.

The platform has been described as the first for the African diaspora community.

Previously, the only way for diaspora to purchase/ send products home was to physically go into a store, purchase the items, pack, and ship them, according to a statement.

However, it stated that “Now, with a simple click, diaspora can choose from billions of items, from more than 200 of the best US and UK retailers in the world including Macy’s, eBay, Juicy Couture, Nordstrom, Farfetch, Overstock, DSW, and Carter’s.�

It listed the some of the reasons to purchase through MFA to include 50 per cent savings on shipping, easy-to-navigate platform; opportunity to return product if product is incorrect; no hidden fees as well as no insurance needed.

According to data from Pew Research in 2015, there were 2.1 million African immigrants living in the United States and

is steadily climbing, with the numbers roughly doubling every decade since 1970.

Founded in 2011, MFA is a global e-commerce company which enables Africans to purchase products from more than 200 US and UK retailers.

Continuing with its mission to allow customers to “shop global, pickup local� the company plans to enter 20 new countries over the next two years. With its proprietary platform and guaranteed payment system, Mall for Africa is the first-ever logistics, product delivery, payment, and e-commerce integration company offering consumers billions of products with zero inventory.

Zambia Becomes AFC Member Country Zambia has become the first Southern African member country of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a leading development finance institution for infrastructure in Africa.

The accession of Zambia to AFC membership marks a significant milestone in the corporations mission to address Africas infrastructure needs and build the foundation for robust economic development across the continent. To date the Corporation has invested US$4.5 billion in projects across 28 African countries and in a wide range of sectors including power, telecommunications, transport and logistics, natural resources, and heavy industries.

A statement yesterday explained that Zambia’s

membership accession supports the AFCs membership expansion strategy and the continued alignment of its country membership with its operational footprint.

Zambia, which signed its letter of adherence on 11 October, 2017 became the 16th member country of AFC. AFCs other members are: Cape Verde, Chad, CĂ´te dIvoire, Djibouti, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Sierra- Leone.

Commenting on the development, the CEO of AFC, Andrew Alli said: “We are excited to welcome Zambia as the first Southern African member country of AFC. We believe

that investment in, and sustainable delivery of infrastructure in land-linked Zambia, will accelerate intraregional trade and lead to stronger economic development and growth in Southern Africa in particular and Africa in general. “This goal can only be achieved if adequate transport, power, telecommunications, and industrial infrastructure are available and are functional.

This is where AFC steps in, and we are excited by the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.�

AFC already has a large presence in Zambia. To date, the corporation had invested over US$150 million in various projects in the power and downstream oil sectors.

AMCON Donates Relief Materials to Borno IDP The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State commenced the second tranche of the distribution of educational materials for children, foods and other support items for families of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

The programme was part of ongoing AMCON intervention exercise to three northeastern state that were worst hit by the activities of insurgence.

Addressing the host community at the Central Primary School, Biu, during the presentation of the items to beneficiaries, Mr. Usman Abubakar who led the team of AMCON officials said the corporation was in the state to show support and assist

in whatever way it could to the affected children and families that were traumatised and distabilised by insurgence in the northeast, where violent attacks by extremists forced more than 2.2 million people to flee their homes including over one million children who are presently out of school.

Usman who called on the benefitting children and families to make judicious use of the items said the gesture by AMCON led by Mr. Ahmed Kuru demonstrated that the society has not abandoned the IDPs in their times of trouble. He also called on well-meaning individuals, corporate and government organisations to come to the aide of the affected children and families in the northeast,

which he said would greatly ameliorate their suffering.

While praying for the end to insurgence not only in the northeast but all over Nigeria, Usman also commended the management of the Nigeria Education Crisis Response (ECR), whom AMCON used to ensure effective and equitable distribution of the donated items in Biu and other locations in Borno State.

According to him, the ECR programmes were engaging communities and officials in the localities to get out-of-school children between the ages of 6 to 17 into formal and non-formal learning centres, as well as providing the psychosocial support required to start the emotional healing process.

Adeosun

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)

26,821,446.81

---- Credit to Government (Net)

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‹

MANAGED FUNDS 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, MON, NOV 13 2017 The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $61.27 a barrel on Monday, compared with $61.91 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

T H I S D AY Ëž , NOVEMBER 15, 2017

39

MARKET NEWS

Nigerian Stock Exchange Upgrades Website for Improved Services Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie

that are listed and traded on the regulated market.

Commenting on the upgraded website, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, noted that the upgrade is in line with the exchange’s drive to create more liquidity and improve participation in the market through greater access to market information and vis-

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has upgraded its website to be mobile friendly with a cleaner layout and navigation befitting of the brand. The upgraded website will enable users to access information quickly and easily on the various products and instruments

ibility for all securities listed on the Exchange. “Accessibility and usability are our watchwords in providing capital market information to existing and potential investors. We aim for an Exchange that is easily accessible and actively used by investors who now have greater thirst for more information and detailed disclosure information to make

sound investment decisions. The explosion of online services and the rising popularity of the internet will continue to create new opportunities for the Exchange to utilise in its determination to constantly improve the level of services it provides to the market�, he said. Speaking in the same vein, Head, Corporate Communications, NSE, Olumide Orojimi,

PRICES FOR SECURITIES TRADED AS OF

easier to navigate and some key changes implemented. For example, using analytics from visits and usage of our website, we added filter functionality to the Corporate Disclosure page to enable users browse through results filed by listed companies easily. Our online visitors can now experience a more vibrant and seamless view of our offerings,� he said.

said the exchange carried out this upgrade with the user experience firmly in mind. “We are excited about our newly upgraded website which has been fully optimised to be mobile friendly and contains robust information for diverse stakeholders in our ecosystem.

The revamp was fuelled by feedback from users that wanted certain high demand pages

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

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

BANKING

1 BANKING

ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC

S/N

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

2 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRIAL GOODS

FBN HOLDINGS PLC

S/N

BUILDING MATERIALS

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

DANGOTE CEMENT PLC

S/N

CROP PRODUCTION

4 5 6 CROP PRODUCTION

FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC

S/N 7 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING

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

8 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES AGRICULTURE CONGLOMERATES

LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC.

S/N

DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES

12 13 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES CONGLOMERATES CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE

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

S/N

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

14 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

ARBICO PLC.

S/N 15 16 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION

MARKET CAP(Nm) 222,550.82

MARKET CAP(Nm) 3,817,073.66

PRICE

VOLUME

25.49

10,224,177 10,224,177

PRICE

VOLUME

6.20

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

PRICE

VOLUME

224.00

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

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

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

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

PRICE

VOLUME

0.50 65.00 66.50

0 162,227 135,304 297,531

PRICE

VOLUME

4.26

0 0

PRICE

VOLUME

0.81

378,664 378,664 676,195

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT

17

UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED

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

38 39 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES

NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. VITAFOAM NIG PLC.

S/N

PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS

40 41 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS CONSUMER GOODS FINANCIAL SERVICES

P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC.

S/N

BANKING

42 43

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

21 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS

DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC

S/N

BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS

22 23 24 25 26 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS

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

S/N

BEVERAGES--NON-ALCOHOLIC

27 BEVERAGES--NON-ALCOHOLIC

7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC.

S/N

FOOD PRODUCTS

28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 FOOD PRODUCTS

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

S/N

FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED

36 37 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED

CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC.

55 56

0.56 0.50 3.25

1,300 0 0

59

58,546.15

1.44

19,343,426

36,093.04

18.79

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

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

PRICE

VOLUME

4.79

0 0

PRICE

VOLUME

29.33 6.60

92,309 0

MARKET CAP(Nm)

PRICE

7,015.67

2.70

VOLUME 32,762

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

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

MARKET CAP(Nm) 2,000.00

PRICE

VOLUME

100.00

0

11,305.89

45.22

0

S/N

MICRO-FINANCE BANKS

26,682.70

10.00

0

80 81 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS

FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC

0

AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS

54

58

125,071

S/N

S/N

57

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

45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 BANKING

VOLUME

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT 18

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES

PRICE

92,309

S/N

S/N

S/N

44

S/N

9 10 11

MARKET CAP(Nm) 800,296.63

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

S/N

PRICE

VOLUME

0.50

22,100 22,100

82 83 84 85

PRICE

VOLUME

86

2.46 0.89 100.00 48.99 150.00

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

PRICE

VOLUME

90.00

22,083 22,083

PRICE

VOLUME

9.53 15.00 31.50 2.12 0.50 5.77 16.20 13.45

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

PRICE

VOLUME

10.50 1,252.00

690,714 82,767 773,481

MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES

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

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

S/N

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

96

EKOCORP PLC. UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC

97

MARKET CAP(Nm) 283,494.12 23,391.99

VOLUME

23.23 2.97

1,650 869,858 871,508

PRICE

VOLUME

23.00 41.19

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

PRICE

VOLUME

9.80 1.01

6,440,093 42,942,530

311,942.37

17.00

758,668

44,041.69 1,236,109.53 17,089.26 6,940.15 28,790.42 103,308.42 328,314.45 5,961.56 19,287.23

1.52 42.00 0.58 0.50 1.00 6.10 9.60 0.51 0.50

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

MARKET CAP(Nm)

PRICE

VOLUME

10,292.50

0.50

100

3,603.71 21,315.00

0.52 2.03

5,343,491 794,899

3,000.00

0.50

0

13,795.75

1.33

256,240

7,364.75

0.50

0

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

0.50 0.53 0.50 0.50

30,000 0 0 0

642.04

0.50

0

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

0.50 0.71 0.86 0.50 1.25 0.50 0.50

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

3,334.38

0.50

100

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

0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.52

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

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

PRICE

VOLUME

2.58 1.25

200 125,000 125,200

PRICE

VOLUME

1.30 0.50 1.44 0.50

0 0 0 0

3.02

0 0

S/N

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

MARKET CAP(Nm) 91,320.97 155,833.97

PRICE

9,310,316

87 88 89

MARKET CAP(Nm) 1,766.22 3,095.84

MARKET CAP(Nm) 7,760.00 23,527.46

PRICE

VOLUME

3.88 4.00

1,638,957 169,636

750.00

0.50

0

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

1.07 552.20 0.50 103.24 43.64 3.01

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

PRICE

VOLUME

MARKET CAP(Nm) 1,680.29 1,776.57

3.37

0

0.50

600,000

PRICE

VOLUME

0.60

0 0

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

600,000

S/N

MEDICAL SUPPLIES

98 MEDICAL SUPPLIES

MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC.

MARKET CAP(Nm) 91.31

˾ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2017

40

Nigeria Daily Stock Market Report: Wednesday, November 15, 2017 dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞdž ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘Ϯй

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞdž ůŽƐƚ ϭ͘Ϯй ŽŶ dƵĞƐĚĂLJ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ Ăƚ ϭ͕ϰϲϴ͘ϵϴƉƚƐ͘ dŚŝƐ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĚĞƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ 'h Z Edz ;ͲϬ͘ϯйͿ͕ E/d, ;Ͳϰ͘ϳйͿ͕ E' D ;Ͳ Ϭ͘ϲйͿ ĂŶĚ E ^d> ;Ͳϯ͘ϭйͿ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϰϵ͘ϲй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘ dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ /ŶĚĞdž zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƚĞĚ ƚŽ ϰϲ͘ϵй͘

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

Ticker

Current Price

Previous Current Price Weighting Change

Price Change YTD

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ ŽƵƌƐĞ ZĞĐŽƌĚƐ >ĂƌŐĞƐƚ ĞĐůŝŶĞ ŝŶ ϳ tĞĞŬƐ͙ E^ ^/ ĚŽǁŶ ϵϲďƉƐ dŚĞ >ŽĐĂů ŽƵƌƐĞ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝƚƐ ůĂƌŐĞƐƚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ŝŶ ϳ ǁĞĞŬƐ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ; ^/Ϳ ůŽƐƚ ϵϲďƉƐ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ Ăƚ ϯϲ͕ϵϱϯ͘ϰϭ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ƚŽ ϯϳ͘ϱй͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ůŽƐƚ EϭϮϰ͘ϮďŶ ĂƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶ ƐĞƩůĞĚ Ăƚ EϭϮ͘ϴƚŶ͘ dŚĞ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ͛Ɛ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ ĐůŽƐĞ ŝƐ ŵĂũŽƌůLJ ĂƩƌŝďƵƚĂďůĞ ƚŽ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ E ^d> ;Ͳϯ͘ϭйͿ͕ E/d, ;Ͳϰ͘ϳйͿ ĂŶĚ E' D ;ͲϬ͘ϲйͿ͘ >ŝŬĞǁŝƐĞ͕ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ǁĞĂŬĞŶĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĨĞůů Ϯϵ͘ϭй ĂŶĚ ϴϴ͘ϲй ƚŽ Ϯϯϴ͘ϲŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ Eϯ͘ϰďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJͲ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ŚŝŐŚ ďĂƐĞ ŽĨ LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJΖƐ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ Ă ŽŶĞͲŽī ĐƌŽƐƐ ĚĞĂů ŽĨ E' D ǀĂůƵĞĚ Ăƚ EϮϳ͘ϬďŶ͘ ĞĂƌŝƐŚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ĞŵĞƌŐŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶĞ ŐĂŝŶĞƌ͘ dŚĞ ďŝŐŐĞƐƚ ůŽƐĞƌƐ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘ϰй ĂƉŝĞĐĞ͕ ŽǁŝŶŐ ƚŽ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĚĞƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ E/d, ;Ͳϰ͘ϳйͿ͕ 'h Z Edz ;ͲϬ͘ϯйͿ͕ E' D ;Ͳ Ϭ͘ϲйͿ ĂŶĚ t W K ;ͲϮ͘ϴйͿ͘ dŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ƚƌĂŝůĞĚ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘ϯй ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ E ^d> ;Ͳϯ͘ϭйͿ ĂŶĚ hE/> s Z ;Ͳ ϱ͘ϬйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ĚĞƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ >/E< ^^hZ ;Ͳϰ͘ϲйͿ ĂŶĚ // K ;Ͳ ϯ͘ϲйͿ ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ƚŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚĞdž Ϭ͘ϭй ůŽǁĞƌ͘ dŚĞ ĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ůŽŶĞ ŐĂŝŶĞƌͲ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚĞdžͲ ǁĂƐ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ &KZd ;нϭ͘ϰйͿ͘ DĂƌŬĞƚ ƌĞĂĚƚŚ ĞĐůŝŶĞƐ &ƵƌƚŚĞƌ DĂƌŬĞƚ ƌĞĂĚƚŚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ĨƵƌƚŚĞƌ ĨƌŽŵ Ϭ͘ϲdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϯdž ;ϭϭ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞƌƐͬϯϭ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƌƐͿ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁĞƌĞ s/d &K D ;нϱ͘ϬйͿ͕ E , K ;нϰ͘ϴйͿ ĂŶĚ E D ;нϰ͘ϯйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞƌƐ ǁĞƌĞ s ZdKE ;Ͳϵ͘ϰйͿ͕ /> ^/E ;Ͳϴ͘ϴйͿ ĂŶĚ hE/> s Z ;Ͳϱ͘ϬйͿ͘ &ŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĚĂLJΖƐ ƵŶƉƌĞĐĞĚĞŶƚĞĚ ůŽƐƐ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ďĂƌŐĂŝŶ ŚƵŶƟŶŐ ƚŽ ĚƌĂŐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ŝŶ ƐƵďƐĞƋƵĞŶƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶƐ͘

ŽŵƉĂŶLJ /Ŷ &ŽĐƵƐ͗ ĐĐĞƐƐ ĂŶŬ WůĐ ;͞ ĐĐĞƐƐ͟ Žƌ ͞ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬ͟Ϳ ĐĐĞƐƐ ĂŶŬ WůĐ ;͞ ĐĐĞƐƐ͟ Žƌ ͞ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬ͟Ϳ͕ ƚŚĞ ϱƚŚ ůĂƌŐĞƐƚ ďĂŶŬ ŝŶ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ͕ ĐŽŵŵĞŶĐĞĚ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŽŶƐ ŽǀĞƌ Ϯϳ LJĞĂƌƐ ĂŐŽ͘ dŚĞ ĂŶŬ ŚĂƐ Ă ĐƵƐƚŽŵĞƌ ďĂƐĞ ŽĨ ĂďŽƵƚ ϳ ŵŝůůŝŽŶ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ǁŚŝĐŚ ŝƚ ƐĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ϯϳϭ ďƌĂŶĐŚĞƐ͕ ϵ͕Ϭϵϴ WK^ ƚĞƌŵŝŶĂůƐ͕ ϭ͕ϰϯϳ dDƐ ĂŶĚ ϯ͘Ϯŵ dD ĐĂƌĚƐ͘ dŚĞ ĂŶŬ ŚĂƐ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ ƚŽ ŬĞĞƉ ƉĂĐĞ ǁŝƚŚ ĐŽŵƉĞƟƟŽŶ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ ďLJ ĚƌŝǀŝŶŐ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ƐƚƌĂƚĞŐŝĐ ĨŽĐƵƐ ŽŶ ŝƚƐ ĐŽƌƉŽƌĂƚĞ͕ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ĂŶĚ ƉĞƌƐŽŶĂů ďĂŶŬŝŶŐ͘ /Ŷ ůŝŶĞ ǁŝƚŚ ŐƌŽǁŝŶŐ ĐŽŵƉĞƟƟŽŶ͕ ŝƚ ƌĞĐĞŶƚůLJ ĚĞƉůŽLJĞĚ Ă ƉĂLJŵĞŶƚ ƐŽůƵƟŽŶ Ͳ ͞WĂLJtŝƚŚ ĂƉƚƵƌĞ͟ Ͳ ƚŽ ƐŝŵƉůŝĨLJ ƉĂLJŵĞŶƚƐ ĂŶĚ ďĂŶŬŝŶŐ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐĞƐ ĨŽƌ ŝƚƐ ĐƵƐƚŽŵĞƌƐ͘

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

1,468.98

-1.2%

46.9%

46.9%

20.3%

6.5%

6.8x

0.7x

4.2%

11.6%

1

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

41.56

-0.3%

22.9%

68.3%

68.3%

26.0%

4.3%

8.6x

2.1x

4.9%

11.6%

2

Nigerian Brew eries PLC

139.75

0.6%

10.0%

-5.6%

-5.6%

18.9%

8.6%

34.4x

6.3x

2.6%

2.9%

3

Zenith Bank PLC

23.68

-4.7%

12.6%

60.5%

60.5%

21.7%

3.2%

4.7x

1.0x

8.5%

21.4%

4

Dangote Cement PLC

^ƚƌŝƉƉŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƌĞƐƵůƚ ĨŽƌ ƋƵĂƌƚĞƌůLJ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĂůLJƐŝƐ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬ͛Ɛ ƌĞƐƵůƚ ǁĂƐ ƵŶĚĞƌǁŚĞůŵŝŶŐ͘ 'ƌŽƐƐ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϭϴ͘Ϭй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ EϳϮ͘ϵďŶ ŝŶ Yϯ͗ϮϬϭϳ ĨƌŽŵ Eϴϴ͘ϯďŶ ŝŶ YϮ͗ϮϬϭϳ ĂƐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ĨĞůů ϭϵ͘Ϭй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ Eϴϰ͘ϬďŶ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƌĞĐĞŶƚ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ LJŝĞůĚ ĞŶǀŝƌŽŶŵĞŶƚ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ƐĂŵĞ ǀĞŝŶ͕ ŶŽŶͲŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ Ϯϵ͘ϭй ƚŽ Eϯϰ͘ϭďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Eϰϳ͘ϴďŶ YϮ͗ϮϬϭϳ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ W d ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ŵĂƌŐŝŶĂůůLJ ďLJ Ϭ͘ϭй ĂƐ ŶŽ ĂƐƐĞƚƐ ǁĞƌĞ ǁƌŝƩĞŶ ĚŽǁŶ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƋƵĂƌƚĞƌ͘ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ŚĂƐ ďĞĞŶ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƐŝŶĐĞ ŝƚƐ ƌĞůĞĂƐĞ ĚĞƐƉŝƚĞ ƚŚĞ ůŽǁĞƌ ƚŚĂŶ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ Yϯ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ͘ ůƚŚŽƵŐŚ ǁĞ ŚĂǀĞ Ă ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ŽƵƚůŽŽŬ ŽŶ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ĨŽƌ ^^͕ ǁĞ ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚůLJ ƌĂƚĞ ƚŚĞ ƐƚŽĐŬ ,K> ĂƐ ǁĞ ďĞůŝĞǀĞ ŐĂŝŶƐ ĂƌĞ ĐĂƉƉĞĚ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ƵƉƐŝĚĞ ƉŽƚĞŶƟĂů ŚĂƐ ďĞĞŶ ĨƵůůLJ ĐĂƉƚƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ͘ ^^ ŚĂƐ Ă zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ŽĨ ϭϬϰ͘ϯй͘

Afrinvest Securities Limited (RC 603 315) (A Dealing Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange)

236.55

-0.6%

6.7%

36.0%

36.0%

30.4%

15.7%

16.3x

4.7x

3.6%

6.1%

-3.1%

6.8%

54.3%

54.3%

78.4%

19.0%

32.6x

21.5x

0.8%

3.1%

5

Nestle Nigeria PLC

1,250.00

6

Access Bank PLC

9.91

0.0%

4.5%

68.8%

68.8%

15.1%

2.0%

4.0x

0.6x

6.6%

25.1%

United Bank for Africa PLC

9.55

0.0%

5.4%

112.2%

112.2%

17.2%

2.2%

4.2x

0.7x

7.9%

23.9%

11.5x

0.4x

2.8%

8.7%

0.6x

3.6%

-20.4%

7.6x

2.0%

20.7%

7 8

FBN Holdings Plc

9

Ecobank Transnational Inc

10

Lafarge Africa PLC

7.08

-1.7%

4.7%

111.3%

111.3%

2.6%

0.3%

17.00

0.0%

3.0%

65.4%

65.4%

-14.6%

-1.3%

50.00

-2.8%

1.9%

29.0%

29.0%

47.1%

9.8%

495.00

0.0%

4.8x

11

SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

1.9%

30.3%

30.3%

-12.4%

-6.7%

12

Unilever Nigeria PLC

38.00

-5.0%

1.5%

19.4%

19.4%

50.3%

8.4%

23.4x

8.9x

0.2%

4.3%

13

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

42.50

0.0%

3.1%

183.3%

183.3%

28.7%

3.4%

9.8x

2.6x

1.4%

10.2%

14

Guinness Nigeria PLC

100.00

-2.0%

1.4%

27.2%

27.2%

4.5%

1.4%

70.4x

3.5x

0.6%

15

Oando PLC

5.99

0.0%

1.3%

27.4%

27.4%

40.7%

4.2%

2.7x

0.6x

37.0%

16

Forte Oil PLC

0.6%

-42.4%

-42.4%

44.3%

3.7%

12.3x

5.4x

8.1%

48.62

1.4% 0.0%

0.6x

-21.1%

1.4%

17

11 PLC

165.00

0.4%

-40.9%

-40.9%

32.6%

12.0%

8.8x

2.4x

4.8%

18

Total Nigeria PLC

230.00

0.0%

0.6%

-23.1%

-23.1%

37.3%

7.4%

8.6x

3.0x

2.6%

11.7%

19

Okomu Oil Palm PLC

68.20

0.3%

1.2%

69.8%

69.8%

37.4%

25.9%

9.1x

3.0x

2.2%

11.0%

20

UAC of Nigeria PLC

19.10

0.0%

0.7%

15.8%

15.8%

6.3%

2.2%

12.3x

0.8x

5.1%

8.2%

21

Conoil PLC

28.00

0.0%

0.4%

-25.3%

-25.3%

12.8%

3.5%

8.1x

1.1x

11.1%

12.3%

11.4%

22

Fidelity Bank PLC

1.64

-0.6%

0.9%

95.2%

95.2%

8.0%

1.1%

1.4x

0.2x

8.5%

69.9%

23

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

15.00

-1.1%

1.1%

145.5%

145.5%

23.8%

10.3%

5.9x

2.5x

3.3%

17.1%

24

Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

34.89

2.6%

0.8%

88.7%

88.7%

10.4%

2.6%

8.8x

0.9x

2.9%

11.4%

3.72

0.0%

0.4%

-4.4%

-4.4%

18.9%

7.6%

3.9x

0.7x

7.5%

0.3%

-31.8%

-31.8%

-56.7%

-13.9%

25

Custodian and Allied Insurance

26

7 UP Bottling Co PLC

88.00

0.0%

27

Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

29.33

0.0%

0.3%

-24.0%

-24.0%

-12.2%

-1.2%

28

FCMB Group Plc

1.14

-0.9%

0.4%

3.6%

3.6%

0.9%

0.1%

13.4x

0.1x

29

Transnational Corp of Nigeria

1.37

-2.1%

0.6%

57.5%

57.5%

19.6%

4.1%

5.5x

0.9x

30

Diamond Bank PLC

4.3x

25.7% -19.1%

1.5x

-7.8% 8.8%

7.5% 18.3%

1.12

-2.6%

0.4%

27.3%

27.3%

2.5%

0.3%

4.5x

0.1x

66.00

0.0%

0.5%

64.6%

64.6%

53.3%

31.5%

3.3x

1.1x

2.3%

30.7%

2.2%

5.2%

22.1%

31

Presco PLC

32

PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

22.40

-2.6%

0.5%

54.5%

54.5%

11.5%

5.8%

19.2x

2.1x

33

International Brew eries PLC

49.55

0.0%

0.7%

167.8%

167.8%

24.6%

7.4%

51.9x

11.8x

34

Cadbury Nigeria PLC

11.78

-4.3%

0.3%

14.5%

14.5%

4.5%

1.6%

33.6x

2.0x

3.0%

35

Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

6.04

-1.8%

0.3%

26.5%

26.6%

5.6%

1.2%

7.7x

0.4x

12.9%

36

Chemical and Allied Products P

34.00

0.0%

0.2%

6.3%

6.3%

84.3%

38.5%

14.8x

10.4x

1.02

-1.9%

0.3%

34.2%

34.2%

6.1%

0.6%

5.4x

0.3x

25.25

0.0%

0.3%

60.3%

60.3%

61.2%

23.6%

5.2x

6.7%

1.9x

1.2%

19.1%

2.4%

37

Sterling Bank PLC GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Niger

39

AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

2.10

0.0%

0.1%

25.7%

25.7%

11.9%

3.9%

10.5x

1.2x

Continental Reinsurance PLC

1.38

0.0%

0.1%

39.4%

39.4%

9.6%

4.4%

8.1x

0.7x

40

T o p 10 G a i n e r s

1.9%

6.5%

38

T ic k er

/Ŷ ŝƚƐ ƌĞĐĞŶƚ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ƌĞƐƵůƚ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬ͛Ɛ ƚƌĂŝůŝŶŐ ŶŝŶĞ ŵŽŶƚŚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ŐĞŶĞƌĂůůLJ ŝŵƉƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ͘ 'ƌŽƐƐ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ŐƌĞǁ ϯϯ͘Ϭй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ Eϯϲϱ͘ϭďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ĂŶ ŝŵƉƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ŝŶ /ŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ĂŶĚ EŽŶͲ/ŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ /ŶĐŽŵĞ ǁŚŝĐŚ ƌŽƐĞ ϯϱ͘ϳй ĂŶĚ Ϯϳ͘ϴй zͲ ŽͲz ƚŽ Eϯϲϱ͘ϭďŶ ĂŶĚ Eϭϭϵ͘ϮďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ƚŚĞ ŝŵƉƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ ƌĞǀĞŶƵĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ŽīƐĞƚ ďLJ ĨƵŶĚŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ ĐŽƐƚ ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞƐ ĂƐ /ŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ džƉĞŶƐĞ ƐƵƌŐĞĚ ϲϲ͘Ϯй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ EϭϮϰ͘ϰďŶ ʹ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŚŝŐŚ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ƌĂƚĞ ĞŶǀŝƌŽŶŵĞŶƚ ʹ ǁŚŝůĞ KƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ džƉĞŶƐĞƐ ĂůƐŽ ƌŽƐĞ ϯϭ͘Ϭй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ Eϭϱϰ͘ϲďŶ͘ Ɛ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ͕ W d ĂŶĚ W d ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ŵĂƌŐŝŶĂůůLJ͕ ƵƉ ϱ͘ϳй ĂŶĚ ϰ͘ϯй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ EϳϮ͘ϵďŶ ĂŶĚ Eϱϲ͘ϰďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ͘

Divinden Earnings d Yield Yield

18.6%

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

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Vo lum e

VIT A F OA M

2.95

5.0%

FB NH

75.8

-1.7%

NA HCO

3.72

4.8%

D IA M ON D B N K

33.8

-2.6%

P ric e C hg %

N EM

1.47

4.3%

ST A N B IC

14.4

0.0%

A GLEVEN T

0.59

3.5%

T R A N SC OR P

11.4

-2.1%

10.6

-4.7%

F ID SON

3.90

3.4%

Z EN IT H B A N K

F LOUR M ILL

34.89

2.6%

A C C ESS

8.1

0.0%

FO

48.62

1.4%

FCM B

8.0

-0.9%

UA C -P R OP NB OKOM UOIL

2.85

0.7%

GUA R A N T Y

7.3

-0.3%

139.75

0.6%

F ID ELIT YB K

6.3

-0.6%

68.20

0.3%

GLA XOSM IT H

5.8

0.0%

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

T o p 10 L o s e r s T ic k er C A VER T ON

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

1.45

-9.4%

ST A N B IC

614.0

0.0%

541.3

-1.7%

1.45

-8.8%

FB NH

38.00

-5.0%

D A N GC EM

335.4

-0.6%

LEA R N A F R C A

0.98

-4.9%

GUA R A N T Y

301.7

-0.3%

ET ER N A

3.99

-4.8%

Z EN IT H B A N K

257.5

-4.7%

UP L

2.80

-4.8%

NB

160.4

0.6%

C UT IX

2.02

-4.7%

N EST LE

147.7

-3.1%

23.68

-4.7%

OKOM UOIL

146.7

0.3%

LIN KA SSUR E

0.62

-4.6%

GLA XOSM IT H

146.2

0.0%

C A D B UR Y

11.78

-4.3%

GUIN N ESS

138.9

-2.0%

C ILEA SIN G UN ILEVER

Z EN IT H B A N K

9.5% 12.4%

Investment Research

Brokerage Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Bolaji Fajenyo | bfajenyo@afrinvest.com

Omotola Abimbola | oabimbola@afrinvest.com

41

˾ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Capital Market: CIS Boss Assures Brokers of Brighter Future Goddy Egene The President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe has assured stockbrokers that the future of their profession is bright as the Nigeria’s capital market is witnessing recovering with potential to wax stronger.

Abe gave the assurance on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) when he sounded the symbolic gong to commemorate the 25th

anniversary of the CIS. The CIS boss therefore urged the gentlemen of the city to keep up the tenets of integrity and the saying that ‘my word is my bond, to sustain a culture of transparency for enhanced investor confidence in the market.

He explained that the Institute, just like the capital market has undergone series of challenging phases.

“City Gentlemen, I congratulate you all on the 25th anniversary of our Institute. We

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

started in 1992 as a prestigious group that was the envy of all. CIS and its members have weathered the storms and vicissitudes of the market over the years. We have demonstrated resilience and strong mental character in navigating through the tough times,” he said.

According to him, CIS has put a robust plan in place to ensure that the good times are back again for stockbrokers.

Abe said: “The future of our profession is assured as our

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 13Nov-2017, unless otherwise stated.

market is not only resilient but the Nigeria’s economy is on the speedy lane of recovery. We have won the trust and confidence of the government and major players in corporate Nigeria as evidenced by the national workshop, presidential investiture, and now the honourary fellowship awards which our Institute shall bestow on some eminent Nigerians soon.

We have every reason to raise our heads high as members of this great Institute. We thank you all for your unflinching

support. However, we must sustain investor confidence through our continuous adherence to ethical standard that would enhance integrity and our word should always be our bond.”

Chief Executive Officer, of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, who welcomed the Institute’s principal officers during a courtesy visit earlier in the day commended them for taking the organisation to the greater height.

Onyema advised the Institute to further break down

its professional examinations to attract more members as many people would love to be members of the prestigious organisation .

As part of the commemoration of its Silver Jubilee, CIS has approved honourary membership for General Yakubu Gowon, Chief Olusegun Obasanjp, General Ibrahim Babangida and Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

They shall be honoured on the basis of their contributions to the growth and development of the Capital Market over the years.

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 177.95 179.10 40.29% Nigeria International Debt Fund 234.25 235.52 10.86% 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 0.82 0.83 16.69% ACAP Income Funds 0.63 0.63 78.90% 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 17.90% 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 17.96 18.50 45.47% ARM Discovery Fund 375.17 386.49 30.64% ARM Ethical Fund 26.46 27.26 18.45% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.72% 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 151.58 152.65 44.12% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.42% 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 18.30% CORONATION ASSET MANAGEMENT investment@coronation.com Web: www.coronation.com, Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.70% 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 1,111.73 1,112.86 9.73% FBN Heritage Fund 147.30 148.55 32.12% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.51% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $110.65 $111.85 7.69% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $110.09 $111.28 7.88% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 157.82 160.13 40.18% 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 1.41 49.07% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.94 2.94 14.26% 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 2,933.72 2,974.73 33.43% Coral Income Fund 2,414.27 2,414.27 15.84% 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 17.71% 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 17.76% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.07 2.10 23.43% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 18.52% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 113.11 113.11 16.58%

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 1.17 1.19 17.97% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,038.98 1,038.98 10.28% 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 13.28 13.39 37.44% 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 1.21 1.23 21.70% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.88 10.93 4.63% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.03% 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 126.51 128.52 24.73% 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 1.41 1.41 13.27% 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 2,212.29 2,225.72 20.84% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 173.38 173.38 12.61% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.99 1.00 29.22% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 215.62 215.62 15.37% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 173.02 175.27 33.27% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.75% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 9,557.09 9,669.70 26.04% 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 1.33 1.32 18.01% United Capital Bond Fund 1.51 1.51 23.32% United Capital Equity Fund 0.93 0.91 35.65% United Capital Money Market Fund ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Zenith Equity Fund Zenith Ethical Fund Zenith Income Fund

1.00

Bid Price 12.70 13.37 18.80

1.00 18.80% info@zenith-funds.com Offer Price 12.88 13.52 18.80

Yield / T-Rtn 30.64% 21.74% 13.66%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41

1.01%

131.62

6.17%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

11.21

11.31

29.78%

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

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

138.64

141.64

40.14%

Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

107.13

109.15

41.38%

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.58 8.85 17.25 20.08 140.87

4.62 8.93 17.35 20.28 142.87

65.36% 25.74% 45.70% 25.73% 11.07%

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

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INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Zimbabwe: Army Sends Armoured Tanks into Harare Armoured vehicles were seen heading towards Harare, a day after the armed forces chief, General Constantino Chiwenga said he was prepared to “step in” to end a purge of supporters of former vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

According to reports by Reuters and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), two tanks were spotted beside the main road from Harare to Chinhoyi, about 20 km (14 miles) from the city. One, which was pointed in the direction of the capital, had come off its tracks.

Business continued normally inside the capital and there was no sign of a major military presence on the streets. Hours after the tanks were spotted, state media carried no extraordinary reports. Government officials could not be reached for

comment.

Witnesses said they saw four armoured vehicles turn before reaching Harare, heading towards the Presidential Guard compound in a suburb called Dzivarasekwa on the outskirts of Harare “There were about four tanks and they turned right here, you can see markings on the road,” one witness on the Chinhoyi highway said pointing to a road that links up to the Presidential Guard compound that houses the battalion that protects President Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe has known in 37 years of independence, chaired a weekly cabinet meeting in the capital.

In an unprecedented step, the head of the armed forces, Constantino Chiwenga, openly

European Union Gives Impetus to Joint Defence Most of the European Union’s member states have signed up to a plan for closer defence co-operation, according to a BBC report.

The UK and Republic of Ireland are among five states not participating.

The other 23 are now committed to the permanent structured military co-operation (“Pesco”) plan to boost their defence budgets and joint capabilities.

EU forces have gone to some

hotspots, including the Central African Republic and Kosovo.

But in some cases they have been short of funding and equipment.

Under Pesco, each country has to provide a plan for national contributions.

The participants will be backed by a European Defence Fund that should be worth €5bn (£4.5bn; $5.8bn) annually after 2020. The money will be used for weapons research and equipment purchases.

threatened to intervene in politics on Monday, a week after Mugabe fired Vice President Emerson Mnangagwa, long seen as 93-yearold Mugabe’s likely successor.

Mnangagwa, a veteran of Zimbabwe’s 1970s liberation wars, was popular with the military, which viewed his removal as part of a purge of independence-era figures to pave the way for Mugabe to hand power to his wife Grace, 52.

“We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that, when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in,” Chiwenga said in a statement read to reporters at a news conference

packed with top brass on Monday.

Grace Mugabe has developed a strong following in the powerful youth wing of the ruling party. Her rise has brought her into conflict with the independence-era war veterans, who once enjoyed a privileged role in the ruling party under Mugabe, but who have increasingly been banished from senior government and party roles in recent years.

Neither the president nor his wife responded immediately to the general’s remarks, but on Tuesday the head of ZANU-PF’s youth wing accused the army chief of subverting the constitution.

“Defending the revolution and

our leader and president is an ideal we live for and if need be it is a principle we are prepared to die for,” Kudzai Chipanga, who leads the ZANU-PF Youth League, said at the party’s headquarters in Harare.

The rising political tension in the southern African country comes at a time when it is struggling to pay for imports due to a dollar crunch, which has also caused acute cash shortages.

Zimbabwe’s state media refrained from publishing Chiwenga’s statement.

The Herald newspaper, which had initially posted some of Chiwenga’s comments on its official Twitter page on Monday, deleted the posts without explanation.

A senior South African diplomat

said Pretoria had scrambled its officials in Harare to try to find out what was going on, but at the moment they had little conclusive information.

Martin Rupiya, an expert on Zimbabwe military affairs at the University of South Africa in Pretoria, said the army appeared to be putting the squeeze on Mugabe.

“There’s a rupture between the executive and the armed forces,” Rupiya said. Alex Magaisa, a Britishbased Zimbabwean academic said it was premature to talk about a coup.

“A military coup is the nuclear option. A coup would be a very hard sell at home and in the international community. They will want to avoid that,” Magaisa said.

N. Korean Soldier Shot while Defecting to S. Korea A North Korean soldier was shot and injured by his own side Monday while defecting to South Korea at the border truce village of Panmunjom, AFP reports the South’s military as saying.

The soldier, thought to be low ranking, was shot in the shoulder and elbow and was picked up bleeding on the South side of a portion of the border known as the Joint Security Area (JSA).

It is rare for the North’s troops to defect at the truce village, a major tourist attraction bisected by the borderline and the only part of the frontier where forces from the two sides come face-to-face.

“Our military has taken in a

North Korean soldier after he crossed from a North Korea post towards our Freedom House,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement, referring to a building on the South side of the village.

A JCS official quoted by Yonhap news agency said the South’s soldiers heard a gunshot and then retrieved the unarmed soldier in the mid-afternoon.

He was evacuated to a private hospital by a UN helicopter, the official added, saying the solider had regained consciousness but declining to comment on whether his injuries were life-threatening.

No personal details have been

released but the soldier’s uniform suggested he was low-ranking, Yonhap said.

No tourists were in the Joint Security Area at the time because tours do not run on Mondays, a spokesman for United States Forces Korea, which approves the visits, said.

There was no exchange of gunfire between the two sides, but the South’s military said it has raised its level of alertness against any North Korean provocations.

Also on Monday, South Korean police arrested an American for entering a restricted zone – in a separate border area – with the

apparent intention of crossing to the North, Yonhap reported.

The man, identified only as a 58-year-old from Louisiana, had arrived in South Korea last week and wanted to enter the North for “political purposes”, but was reported by a local villager, Yonhap said.

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NEWS

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

PDP Chairmanship Aspirants Sign Undertaking to Abide by Outcome of Convention Offending aspirants risk disqualification George absent at event Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Chairmanship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday entered into an agreement to observe fair-play rules as rolled out by the party’s leadership.

The agreement provides for the disqualification of any of the aspirants that runs afoul of the peace deal.

Highlights of the peace accord signed by the aspirants included a commitment to support whoever emerges winner among them.

The agreement states that no aspirant shall leave the party or encourage his or her supporters, promoters to do so, as a result of the outcome of the national chairmanship election at the elective National Convention; It further stipulates that : “Any breach of the 2015 zero expenditure policy of the party, which prohibits the use of monetary inducement

including lodging of delegates and providing money for votes, shall not be tolerated in the 2017 National Elective Convention and shall be a ground for disqualification on or before the 9th December, 2017; “Any aspirant/sponsor/ supporter/financier, proven to have done anything contrary to the agreements reached herein and in circumstances that suggest the knowledge of the undersigned persons shall be disqualified from contesting the national chairmanship election.”

However, a precondition that commits the aspirants to the deal is that the process should be transparent, free and fair in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of the party and guidelines of the elective National Convention” Six of the eight aspirants were present at the accord signing

ceremony, which was presided over by the Chairman of the PDP National Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi.

Former Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George was said to have informed the party elders in Enugu last Sunday that Tuesday would not be suitable for him but promised to sign the document whenever he returns, former Minister of Sport and Social Development, Prof. TaoheedAdedoja, came after others had concluded the

ceremony and also signed the deal.

Senator Makarfi said before the signing ceremony that the presence of the aspirants was an indication that they were working together.

“You have resolved that whoever that is crowned by God and elected by the delegates will be accepted by you. PDP has not done this before.

“No matter the divergent interests, the overall interest of the party prevails. That is a sign of greatness and a vindication of good things to come,” Makarfi stated.

He disclosed that the accord and code of conduct were drawn up by the aspirants themselves but only presented to the party leadership.

Makarfi, however, advised that in order to save time and for early conclusion of the convention, some less competitive positions could be resolved within the zone “so that positions that are competitive can be conducted.”

He assured the party that nobody would be excluded from contesting at the convention while pledging a

transparent, free and fair election.

Ladoja who spoke on behalf of the aspirants promised that the December convention would be a carnival, assuring them that none of the aspirants will leave the party because of the convention so far it is transparent.

“It is usual in politics that people should fight for positions and it is an aberration that when you lose, you leave. When you join the party, you did not join to become the chairman or secretary but to be a member.

Oil Falls for Third Day over Rising US Shale Output Ejiofor Alike with agency report Crude oil prices dropped for a third day from close to two-year high yesterday as rising United States output hampers efforts by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC to cut output and rebalance the oil market.

Traders and investors have reportedly questioned how much the prospect of further rises in United State output might overshadow some of the optimism that OPEC-led production cuts would tighten the balance between crude supply and demand.

The US shale output for December is set to rise for the 12th straight month and Fitch Ratings said in its 2018 oil outlook that oil prices above $60 per barrel may not be sustained.

Brent crude futures were last down at $62.82 a barrel yesterday, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell to $56.49.

Both benchmarks early in the previous week hit high last seen in

2015, but Reuters quoted traders as saying that the market had lost some momentum since then.

Traders said they were cautious about betting on further price rises.

This sentiment comes in part on the back of rising U.S. oil output C-OUT-T-EIA, which has grown by more than 14 percent since mid-2016 to a record 9.62 million barrels per day (bpd).

The US government said on Monday that the US shale production in December would rise for a 12th consecutive month, increasing by 80,000 bpd.

Fitch Ratings said in its 2018 oil outlook that it assumed 2018 “average oil prices will be broadly unchanged yearon-year and that the recent price recovery with Brent exceeding $60 per barrel may not be sustained”.

So far, in 2017, Brent has averaged $54.5 per barrel.

Despite the cautious sentiment, traders said oil prices were unlikely to fall far, largely due to supply restrictions led by the OPEC and Russia, which have helped reduce excess stockpiles.

FG Signs $5.8bn Contract for Mambilla Hydro Power Project The federal government has signed the contract for the Mambilla hydropower project.

The project was first designed 40 years ago and is expected to add 3,050 megawatts of power to the national grid.

The Federal Executive Council had approved the award of the contract on August 30 to Messrs China Gezhouba Corporation, Sinohydro Corporation Limited and CGOC Group Limited.

While signing the contract in Abuja, Minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola, said the project is a new dawn in the country’s power diversity and energy needs.

“The project will give us an opportunity for compliance with Paris climate change agreement because it will be delivering renewable energy while it will

also give us the opportunity to unlock the gift of nature to Nigeria in Taraba,” Fashola said.

“I will like to start by expressing our gratitude to Mr. President, the leadership that he has shown for reviving the project that has stalled, that has stumbled but now back on track after 40 years.”

He said the project would attract economic boom to Taraba state and open opportunities for “agriculture, energy, construction, development”.

The minister added: “You only need to see the number of applications we have already received from people who want to partner and participate in the various areas including insurance who are already queuing up.” The construction is expected to last for six years.

I NEED YOUR SUPPORT

Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade (middle) flanked by National Chairmanship Aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Professor, Tunde Adeniran, (R) Professor Jerry Gana (L), Senator Ibrahim Mantu (1st L) and Director General of the Campaign Committee, Alhaji Shehu Musa, during a visit to Governor Ayade in Government House Calabar. yesterday

Kola Aluko’s NewYork Apartment Sold to Mystery Buyer at $36mWith oil deals closed in Nigeria, by both the U.S. authorities and the penthouse, has been listed for A yet-to-be-identified buyer has paid $36million for the luxury penthouse at the One57 tower in New York, United States formerly owned by wanted Nigerian oil mechant Kola Aluko, the Cable reports.

Quoting Bloomberg, it reported that the 79th-floor apartment was sold at a foreclosure auction.

The transaction means a $15 million loss on the property. The oil magnate wanted in Nigeria by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for fraudulent oil deals estimated at $1.5 billion, bought the apartment in 2014 for $51 million.

Aluko, along with his business partner, Jide Omokore, also has a case to answer in the United States for alleged money laundering charges.

Aluko subsequently defaulted on mortgage and tax payments on the property.

The Luxembourg-based Banque Havilland which issued the mortgage on the One57 apartment had initially planned to put the apartment up for auction in July, but foreclosure proceedings were delayed after another one of Kola Aluko’s creditors came forward and claimed the Nigerian oilman owed it about $83 million for gasoline and jet fuel.

The bank attempted to sell the property in September for $39 million but couldn’t get any buyer. So it was put back on the auction block.

The 47-year-old tycoon, linked to former oil minister, Diezani AlisonMadueke, has vanished from the radar since he was declared wanted

EFCC. A Nigerian court tried to freeze Aluko’s assets, including his One57 unit, as part of the alleged scheme to defraud the government of oil sale profits.

But the court could not find Aluko to serve him with papers.

It is believed that he may simply be floating around the world on his 213-foot yacht, the Galactica Star, bought at a cost of $80million, despite strong objections by AlisonMadueke.

Her objection was made known via court papers filed by America’s Justice Department.

In 2015, the yacht was sailing around the Mediterranean. It was spotted in Cancun last year, and may now be berthed in Turkey.

The yacht, apart from the

seizure by the U.S. government, in the case filed in Houston, Texas.

Both Aluko and Omokore were alleged in the case to have paid bribes between 2011 and 2015 to Alison-Madueke who ensured that shell companies owned by the businessmen received billiondollar contracts to sell Nigeria’s crude oil.

President Muhammadu Buhari cancelled the oil swap arrangement in November 2015, seven months after taking office.

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) lawsuit provided more insight into the scale of theft of Nigeria’s oil riches under Alison-Madueke’s watch. The civil lawsuit, brought by DOJ’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, is seeking to recover $144 million in assets.

Court Freezes N350m Linked to Patience Jonathan A Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday ordered that N350 million belonging to AM-PM Global Network Limited, in Stanbic-IBTC bank, be placed on temporary attachment, pending an ongoing investigation by the EFCC reports the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Justice Hadiza Rabiu-Shagari, made the order following an ex-parte application filed by the

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The application was argued by EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, against the company.

In an affidavit deposed to by one Musbau Yahaya, the commission stated that between June 20, 2012 and Nov. 15, 2013, the respondent fraudulently received N1.2 billion into its Diamond Bank account.

He said that the sum was proceeds

of an unlawful enrichment derived

by Patience Jonathan, who was then a Permanent Secretary, appointed by the Bayelsa State Government.

The deponent also stated that in a bid to dissipate the fund, the respondent opened an account with Stanbic-IBTC Bank.

He said out of the alleged proceeds of unlawful enrichment of Mrs Jonathan, the respondent, transferred N350 million, from its

Diamond Bank account to the account sought to be attached.

He added that there was a desperate bid to dissipate the funds.

The deponent further stated that the commission had traced the said N350 million to the respondent’s account, now sought to be attached.

He added that a court order is needed to instruct the bank to attach the account to prevent the dissipation of the funds.

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NEWSEXTRA

Obiano Raises Alarm, Says His Life is Under Threat Protests sudden withdrawal of his security detail IG removes Anambra CP ahead of election Governor’s security aides will be returned after election, says police boss David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka The Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano has raised the alarm over the sudden withdrawal of his

security details, saying such action has exposed his life to danger.

Obiano who stated this yesterday in Awka during an election stakeholders’ meeting

EFCC Seeks N’Assembly’s Approval to Retain 7% of Recoveries NLRC opposes commission’s request James Emejo in Abuja The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday urged the House of Representatives to accord the agency powers to retain seven per cent of all its recoveries from proceeds of crimes which are assets allegedly owned by corrupt public officials.

Secretary to the EFCC, Mr. Emmanuel Aremo who represented the Commission’s chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, made the plea to the lawmakers at a one-day public hearing on four bills on the proposed amendments to the EFCC Act 2004.

The anti-graft agency in a position paper on the amendments to the House Committee on Economic and Financial Crimes said that the enabling Act establishing it should be amended to give it the powers to retain seven per cent of recoveries from proceeds of crime by corrupt public officials.

The EFCC boss added that the seven percent of recoveries currently

being proposed to be retained is still a far cry when compared to the percentage of proceeds of crimes being retained by anti-graft agencies of other neighbouring African countries, particularly Ghana which retains 30 per cent on a similar situation.

The agency also informed the lawmakers that it returned over N34 million to crime suspects who were later found to be unwarranted arrests in 2017 alone and assured of its readiness to return every kobo illegally taken with interest.

However, opposing the agency’s request, a commissioner at the Nigeria Law Reform Commission (NLRC), Prof. Jummai Audi, rejected the proposal for the retention of 7 per cent of recovered confiscated asset monies from suspects and convicts because the EFCC ought to have a comprehensive budget proposal from the outset in such a way that it will not contemplate the use of any confiscated asset or money or resources for its operations.

organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and presided over by the chairman of the commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, described the act as unacceptable and a dangerous signal on what was to happen ahead of the governorship election.

He demanded the immediate restoration of his security details in order not to constitute further threats capable of overheating the polity.

“I want my security details returned immediately because I am going to start a fight from there.

I am the governor of Anambra state and all the paraphernalia of my office must be there.

“This is unacceptable and a sign of what will happen. Those behind this would be disappointed because we are very ready for the election,” he insisted.

Apparently, to douse the tension, the inspector-general of police, Ibrahim Idris, justified the withdrawal of the security aides attached to Obiano adding that it was to prevent the re-occurrence of past elections. He however gave the assurance that the security aides will be restored on Sunday after the governorship poll in the state.

According to the governor, he had wanted to speak with the Inspector General of police who was scheduled to be at the occasion, but said he had to voice it out at the event since he was not at the event yet.

A former national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, condemned the development, saying that such action gives credence to allegations that the All Progressives Congressled federal government was

planning to rig the election.

He also called for answers to fresh allegations that six local governments have been pencilled down to be used for rigging the election, with the deployment of National Youth Service Corp members from Enugu State, who were not part of those trained by the. Commission to man the local governments.

But reacting, the Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu, said the event was a stakeholders’ meeting, and as such, no candidate would be accorded any special treatment regardless of his position.

He said the commission insists on equal treatment for all candidates in the election and should not only have equal standing but must be respected.

On the deployment of corps members from Enugu, the INEC

chairman said the deployment became necessary following the inadequacy of corps members serving in the state.

He, however, insisted that the corp members were trained in Enugu to save the cost of moving them down to Anambra for training, especially as NYSC had insisted that its members must be delivered back to them safely after the election.

The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris who later joined the meeting announced the removal of the Anambra state police commissioner, Mr Garba Umar, saying that the move was to ensure fairness in the election as he will be replaced with three police commissioners who will each man the three senatorial zones in the state to ensure effective supervision.

‘14m People Ignorant of Their HIV Status Globally’ Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has said that more than 14 million people living with HIV globally which is about 40 per cent of all people with HIV do not know their status.

He said that it is in view of this that the WHO launched new guidelines on HIV self-testing during the World AIDS Day in 2016 in order to increase HIV Testing among those at high risk of HIV and support earlier diagnosis and access to treatment and prevention.

Adewole stated this yesterday in Abuja at the dissemination meeting of the evaluation reports ofAmethyst HIV 1 & 2 Self-Test Kit Saliva Cassettes for HIV self-testing and ten antibody-based HIV Rapid Test Kits He said that the key recommendation of the guidelines was that HIV self-testing (HIVST) should be offered as an additional approach to HIV testing services.

According to him, HIV testing is the gateway to HIV treatment and care services.

The Minister noted that in Nigeria, like other countries in the world, detection of specific antibodies in the blood or other body fluids is the main, easily affordable method and standard procedure for the diagnosis of HIV infection.

Speaking on the importance of self-testing to the possible eradication of HIV prevalence, Adewole said: “HIV self-testing is a new strategy intended to address challenges of increasing access to preliminary

knowledge of sero-status. It provides the possibility for testing more people than ever before. HIVST gives benefits of access to treatment, self- checking of HIV status which is convenient and confidential.

“HIV self-testing (HIVST) is an empowering and innovative way to help achieve the first of the United Nations 90–90–90 treatment targets – which provides that 90% of all people with HIV should know their status by 2020. HIVST will contribute to the attainment of this global target by reaching first-time testers, as well as creating demand for and enabling more people to receive HIV testing, particularly the high-risk population,” he explained.

He said in a country with a gradually improving economy like ours, HIVST increases the efficiency and effectiveness of the health system by focusing health services and resources on those with reactive self-test results who are in need of further testing, support and referral, thereby directing services more appropriately.

“Individuals with reactive self-test results who disclose their result to a provider should be advised and referred for clinical services for additional HIV testing, and where the HIV positive diagnosis is confirmed, the individual should be referred for treatment and care. Individuals with a nonreactive self-test result who disclose their result to a provider will usually not require further testing, but need to be tested within 6 to 12 weeks if they are at high risk of HIV infection”, he advised.

ENDORSEMENT

L-R: Peoples Democratic Party National Chairmanship aspirant, Prof. Tunde Adeniran; Director-General of his campaign, Alhaji Shehu Gabam; and Governor of Abia State, Mr. Okezie lkpeazu; during Adeniran’s visit to the governor in Umuahia... recently

Saraki Asks Appeal Court to Dismiss False Asset Declaration Charges against Him Alex Enumah in Abuja Senate President, Bukola Saraki on yesterday asked the Court of Appeal, Abuja division to dismiss the false asset declaration charges brought against him by the Federal government.

Saraki, in his final argument on the appeal filed by the federal government against the ruling of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), urged the appellate court to hold that the charges against him were unmeritorious and lacked substance.

In the final argument canvassed by a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agabi SAN, the Senate President claimed that contrary to the government deposition, the 18 count charges were based on hearsay and deliberate falsehood.

He cited the evidence of a prosecution witness and Head of Investigation and Intelligence

Unit, Samuel Madojemu, who testified that the Code of Conduct Bureau CCB, did not conduct any investigation on any asset matter because there was no petition against the defendant.

The Senate President also said that the same witness admitted that CCB did not obtain any statement from him (Saraki) and that the charges were filed against him based on the information supplied by an unnamed team. “From the totality of evidence adduced at the tribunal, it was absolutely clear that the charges were based on hearsay that cannot be substantiated.

“I am surprised that the government claimed that the onus of proof lies on the part of the defendant hence, they did not call vital witnesses.

“This is fatal to the case of the prosecution because in a criminal matter as in the instant case, the onus of proof is to be made by

the prosecution”, he said.

Agabi, therefore urged the appellate court to uphold the ruling of the Danladi Umar led tribunal which had earlier discharged and acquitted the defendant for want of diligent prosecution and to hold that the appeal of the government lacked merit.

However, in his own submission, counsel to the federal government, Rotimi Jacobs, urged the Appeal Court to set aside the ruling of the CCT on account of the miscarriage of justice.

Jacobs, who formulated five issues for determination by the Appeal Court pointed out that the tribunal erred in law by basing its ruling delivered on June 13, 2017, on hearsay.

He submitted that oral evidence made in support of a documentary evidence as in the instant case, cannot be said to be hearsay.

“Oral evidence is a hanger that

holds the documentary evidence as in the instant case”, he said.

He, therefore, urged the appellate court to set aside the ruling of the tribunal on the grounds that the tribunal misdirected itself in using hearsay as the basis for discharging and acquitting Saraki from the criminal charges against him.

Justice Tinuade AkomolafeWilson after taking arguments from the two parties announced that judgment in the appeal has been reaserved and that the date for its delivery shall be communicated to parties in the suit.

The federal government had in 2015, brought charges of false Asset Declaration against Saraki shortly after he emerged as the Senate President, but Saraki was on June 13, 2017, discharged and acquitted by the tribunal in a ruling on a No Case submission on the grounds that the charges were based on evidence from doubtful sources.

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Ikoyi Billions: More Whistleblowers Emerge, Petition AGF Say EFCC, others shortchanged them May head to court to stop payment The last has not been heard of the controversies surrounding the payment of the 5 per cent commission to the whistleblower who gave the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) tips that led to the recovery of $43.4 million, N23.3 million and 27,800 Euros that were stashed in an apartment at the Osborne Towers in Ikoyi, Lagos, on April 22, 2017, as the original whistleblowers have petitioned the office of the Attorney General of the Federation(AGF) and Minister of Justice, PRNigeria has learnt on good authority.

In a petition datedAugust 24, 2017 addressed to the AGF and received on September 8, 2017, solicitors to the claimants, No Limit Legal Partners, on behalf of Abdulmumin Musa, Mr. Stephen Sunday and Mr Bala Usman told the AGF that his clients by the workings of EFCC have shortchanged the whistleblowers by bringing others who were not the arrowhead of the whistleblowing.

The solicitors noted that “our clients informed us sometime in December 2016 that three (3) of them voluntarily walked into the office of the EFCC at 15AAwolowo Road Ikoyi, Lagos and gave vital information that led to the recovery of over N13 billion at the Ikoyi Towers, Lagos.”

The legal practitioners further told the AGF that “upon subsequent visit to give a detailed information

as required by the commission to raid the Tower, they were told if the operation was successful, 5% of the amount recovered will be their take-home within 72 hours of recovery, they were also cautioned that if the information happened to be false, then they will definitely be in trouble which the three mentioned above accepted because they were sure of their facts”.

The petition continues: “That when the operation was carried out, it was successful but since then they have not received any commendation by the commission, let alone give any reward as stated even though the EFCC have their names and phone numbers.”

The petitioners said rather than do the needful, some of the EFCC staff gave them further information that they were not the only people who gave them information on the Ikoyi Tower as others were also involved without mentioning them.

Upon various meetings by the three persons, they agreed to go back and meet the Head of EFCC operations, Alhaji Samaila Muhammed, and were told on their visit that the numbers have increased to nine(9) who made the report urging them to bring the remaining persons.

When contacted on the matter, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance on Media and Communications, Mr. Yinka

Maina: Senate C’ttee Grills AGF in Closed Door Meeting Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Senate Committee charged with investigating the circumstances of the return and re-instatement of fugitive former Chairman of the Presidential Pension Reforms Task Force Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, into the Federal Civil Service yesterday grilled the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Mr. Abubakar Malami, over his role in the scandal.

The meeting however held behind closed doors.

The Committee chaired by Senator Emmanuel Paulker, had last week also met with officials of the Federal Civil Service Commission behind closed doors.

It remains unclear why the committee has shut journalists out in the two instances, despite

public attention on the scandal.

Malami is reported to have written the letter clearing Maina in the circumstances of his reinstatement, where the Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau (rtd), and the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo Ita have also been fingered.

The AGF had arrived the venue of the meeting at 12.12pm, but the committee members were still at plenary.

Flanked by his aides and security men, Malami had waited, until he was ushered to another venue for the meeting.

At the opening, Paulker said the meeting would hold behind closed doors to allow invitees speak freely. He therefore asked journalists to go out.

Ndume Resumes Today Despite Appeal Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Senate has said its suspended former Majority Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, can resume plenary despite its decision to appeal the judgement of the Federal High Court which declared his suspension illegal.

Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, made the announcement at plenary yesterday after a closed-door session on the matter.

He said the resumption is without prejudice to the Senate’s court process.

Ndume, representing Borno South senatorial district, was

suspended by the Senate in March 2017 for six months after the Senate Committee on Ethics indicted him for dragging the institution of the Senate into disrepute.

He however challenged his suspension in court.

Last Friday, Justice Babatunde Quadri of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court, declared the suspension illegal, unconstitutional and consequently, set the said suspension aside. The judge also ordered that Ndume’s outstanding salaries and allowances be paid to him immediately.

The Senate however filed an appeal last Monday challenging the judgement.

Akintunde, said such issues be referred to EFCC and not the responsibility of the ministry. He added that the ministry comes in when the rightful persons were duly recognised by the relevant authorities for payment after due process.

When PRNigeria contacted the Head of Media and Publicity of the

EFCC,Mr.WilsomUwujaren,toexplain the role of the commission on the matter, he said several persons have in the past besieged the commission to say that they were part of whistleblowing. He confirmed that the commission has records of the original whistleblowers of the Ikoyi Towers stressing that all

will be done to make sure that the right persons are paid accordingly.

Meanwhile, PRNigeria has learnt that the petitioners are heading to the court to stop the payment to wrong persons who were not involved in the whistleblowing. They added that two clearmonthsafter the submission of the petition to the AGF, nothing concrete

had been done by the Minister to look into their matter.

They alleged that the EFCC sold out in the processes leading to the recovery of the said amount, stating that the development would discourage genuine whistleblowers in the fight against corruption by the present administration.

PUBLIC LECTURE

L-R: Member, Board of Trustees of the Goddy Jidenma Foundation, Mr Chidi Ilogu (SAN); Member of the Foundation, Dr Ije Jidenma; Chairman of the Foundation, Prof Pat Utomi; and Member of the Foundation, Mr Zik Obi at a press briefing held recently on the forthcoming lecture of the Foundation

House to Probe Etisalat’s Exit DPR indicts CBN, NPDC over revenue loses James EmejoinAbuja Chairman, House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the operational activities of telecommunications’ equipment and service companies/vendors in Nigeria, Hon. Ahmed Abu (APC, Niger), has said investigations will be extended to determine reasons why Etisalat Group exited the Nigerian market in a rather absurd manner.

Noting that companies “can’t just walk in and walk out just like” anywhere in the world, he said Etisalat’s exit could set a dangerous precedent in the telecommunications industry if something was not done.

He told THISDAY in an interview yesterday that former Chairman of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Hakeem Bello Osagie, has been invited to give evidence before the committee, alongside other telecommunications chief executives at its resumed hearing today.

The committee is probing alleged N143 billion tax invasion by telecoms firms which have been

accused of employing delayed tactics to dodge current reconciliation efforts.

Abu had mulled serving bench warrants against the chief executives of major mobile telecommunications companies over their failure to appear before the committee to defend the allegations.

Meanwhile, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) yesterday said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) determined the rate at which royalties paid in dollars are convertedtotheirnairaequivalentbefore remittance into the federation account.

Speaking during an interface with the House Adhoc Committee investigating revenue leakages in the oil and gas sector from January 2016 to January, 2017 which is chaired by Hon. Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe (PDP, Cross River) DPR of Head Planning, Mrs. Folasade Odunuga, urged the committee to pressure the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on why its subsidiary, the National Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), has refused to pay royalties on its crude production

activities.

She also said: “NPDC remains the worst debtor in the oil and gas industry.”According to some of the receipts made available to the lawmakers, the remitted amount (in naira) into the federation account fell short of its dollar value using current exchange rates, prompting lawmakers to question the transaction which could have been under the supervision of the DPR. It was observed that the CBN had been converting dollar remittances using about N167 to $1 instead of the current N305 to $1.

Odunuga, however informed the committee that “royalties on crude oil are paid strictly in dollars directly into the federation account in JP Morgan, managed by the CBN.” She explained that there are other royalties that come in both naira and dollars, adding that payment invoice is based on what currency it was paid in.

The committee further sought clarification on invoices showing DPR converting dollars into naira before remittance to government

accounts. But the DPR officials explained that such is never done as the department doesn’t handle cash directly.

She said: “Receipts are always written after we get our statement of account from the CBN. We do not receive any money nor have any interface with any payment.

All payments are made directly to the federation account. It’s their obligation to pay before we evaluate because the law allows them to pay within 90 days.”

Asked why they don’t doubt whatever the CBN gives to them, and if it has never occurred to the DPR that the federal government was being short changed by what the CBN allegedly disclosed as paid in naira component, DPR director, Mordecai Baba Ladan, said: “We’ve had a good working relationship with the CBN over the years and we’ve not had any iota of doubt that what the CBN gave to us was inaccurate. So to say that we go and do independent investigation as to the facts given to us by the CBN has never crossed our minds.”

Ayade’s Achievements Will Spur Reforms in PDP Says Mantu Former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, has described the achievements of Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River as inspiring reforms in the party.

Also commending the governor at the state executive chambers, Calabar, when a national chairmanship aspirant of the party, Prof Tunde Adeniran, paid a courtesy call on the governor yesterday, was a chieftain of the

party and former minister of information, Prof Jerry Gana.

According to Mantu, “You have turned this state into a role model, getting the least allocation yet paying salaries on or before the 25th of each month, a feat which only good governors and prudent managers of resources can guarantee.”

Applauding Ayade for initiating the deep seaport project which benefits will be extended to the

northern part of the country, especially the North-east, as well as the establishment of the garment factory which will save the state and nation billions of naira, the former lawmaker said: “The new chairman of our great party must be born again, remorseful and repentant to do what is happening in Calabar, if we must succeed.”

Continuing, Mantu intimated that “when we arrived in Calabar

yesterday (Monday), the aroma of the air was unique, the air smells love, the air smells unity, the air smells excellence and we indeed are grateful with your election in Cross River State.”

On his part, Gana said: “We are proud of this governor that is focused, directing, mobilising and governing very well and we want to repeat this in several states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Amnesty Int’l: LASG Forcibly Evicted 30,000 from Homes in Defiance of Court Order Your report is biased, inaccurate and exaggerated, says LASG Segun James and Gboyega Akinsanmi in Lagos Eleven persons were killed while 17 went missing when unidentified armed men attacked the OtodoGbame community in Lekki, Lagos State, even as the state government forcibly evicted 30,000 persons from their homes in the community, the Amnesty International (AI) has alleged.

The international human rights

watchdog group lamented that the state government came to evict the people soon after the community was burnt down by the unknown gunmen who are still at large.

In its reaction, the Lagos State Government in a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday acknowledged the Amnesty International’s (UK) latest report but rejected it for its apparent bias, inaccuracies and exaggerations.

According to a new report

Ezekwesili, Baru, Others to Grace Anniversary Lecture Former Minister of Education, Mrs. Obiagelli Ezekwesili, the Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Maikanti Baru, and the Executive Director Bank of Industry (BOI), Mr. Waheed Olagunju, will be among dignitaries to grace the fifth anniversary lecture of Realnews Magazine and Publication limited.

A statement signed by the Publisher of the Magazine, Maureen Chigbo, said the lecture would take place at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos by 10a.m on November 16.

It also stated that the lecture would be chaired by the Director

General West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) Prof.

Akpan Hogan Ekpu, It added: “After the lecture, there will be a panel of discussion, where discussants will leverage on how leadership crisis is affecting different sectors in the country and the way forward. After the panel and interactive session, there will be an investiture into the prestigious Realnews Hall of Fame, exclusively reserved for only guest speakers, discussants, Realnews book reviewers and chairpersons at our anniversary lecture series.”

released by the AI tagged: ‘The Human Cost of a Megacity: Forced Evictions of the Urban Poor in Lagos’ which details the repeated forceful evictions both at OtodoGbame and Ilubirin communities, AI said the actions were carried out in defiance of court orders.

Amnesty International Nigeria’s Country Director, Osai Ojigho, said: “These ruthless forced evictions are just the most recent examples of a practice that has been going on in Nigeria for over a decade in complete defiance of international law.

“For the residents of these

deprived communities, many of whom rely on their daily fishing to make a living, the waterfront represents home, work and survival.

Forced evictions mean they lose everything-their livelihoods, their possessions and in some cases, their lives.”

Ojigho stressed that the state government authorities “must halt these attacks on poor communities who are being punished for the state’s urban planning failures. The instability and uncertainty created by forced evictions is making their lives a misery as they are left completely destitute.”

Amnesty International also lamented that the matter is made worse because no alternative was provided for the evicted residents nor was any compensation provided for them a situation which has forced almost 5,000 of the people who refused to leave their ancestral home to sleep in canoes or out in the open covering themselves with plastic sheets when it rains.

However, in its reaction, the state government in a statement made available to THISDAY acknowledged the Amnesty International’s (UK) latest report

but rejected it for its apparent bias, inaccuracies and exaggerations.

The government therefore clarified that the main area of focus in the report - Ilado (which visitors to the state often refer to as Otodo Gbame) has always been a private land and subject of a law suit, which has been decided in favour of the family owners, adding that it was in November 2016 that inter-ethnic clashes led to the fire incident that got the settlement consumed and not as a result of government-sponsored demolition.

Osinbajo Endorses RecyclArt, Supports Art for the Environment Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday led art connoisseurs, architects and designers from about 100 countries attending the African Culture and Design Festival (ACDF) to the Sterling Bank RecyclArt booth on November 10, 2017, in Lagos to vote for repurposed art entries.

At the event, the vice president commended Sterling Bank for introducing RecyclArt, a competition which inspires young artists in the country to use waste materials to create works of art.

He thereafter voted ‘soiled soil’, an emotive repurposed art work that calls out the environmental challenges in the Niger Delta, as his favorite for grand prize.

Reviewing the 16 top artworks from a pool of 630 entries received from across Nigeria, Osinbajo also lasuded the inventiveness of the 16 artists that made the final shortlist. He called on aspiring artists in the country to reuse and repurpose old objects to create inspiring artworks and wealth for themselves.

The Executive Director, Finance and Strategy of Sterling Bank, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, who received Osinbajo at the Sterling Bank booth, disclosed that Recyclart was introduced to empower young artists while also supporting the environment by promoting the recycling and repurposing of waste materials.

According to Suleiman, RecyclArt is part of Sterling Environmental Makeover (STEM), the bank’s umbrella Corporate Social Responsibility programme, which promotes good sanitation,

hygiene and environmental sustainability across Nigeria in fulfillment of the bank’s brand purpose of enriching lives.

He added: “Care for the environment has become vital because we do not have to go far to see the negative effects of improper waste disposal. In July, a heavy downpour led to a flash flood in Suleja in Niger State. 500 people were declared missing while 90 buildings collapsed. At the same time, houses were flooded, and cars submerged in upper class and low-income Lagos neighbourhood.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2017

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WEDNESDAYSPORTS

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

I N T E R N A T I O N A L F R I E N D LY

Super Eagles Shock Argentina 4-2 in Russia Duro Ikhazuagbe Super Eagles fought back from two goals down to claim a famous 4-2 victory over two-time world champions Argentina in Krasnodar, Russia last night.

Although the South Americans played without their talismanic Lionel Messi, they had top stars like Sergio kun Aguero, Paulo Dybala, Christian Pavon, Angel Di Maria and Javier Mascherano at the international friendly game with Nigeria.

After an initial quick exchanges between both teams, the game became lively with the South Americans stepping into the driver’s seat on the dot of 20th minute.

Ever Banega’s free kick that resorted from Daniel Akpeyi’s blunder gave the Argies the lead.

Aguero doubled the lead for Argentina in the 34th minute.

But Super Eagles who at this stage had began to worm their way deep into the Albiceleste half, pulled back a goal through a superbly taken free kick by Kelechi Iheanacho.

The free kick was the fall out of the infringement on Alex Iwobi by Mascherano outside the box in the 44th minute.

On resumption for the second half, Eagles up their game with skipper John Mikel

Obi who was playing his 80th international game at the senior level for Nigeria spraying accurate passes.

Man of the match Iwobi, however drew Nigeria level with the Argies in the 52nd minute after he combined well with strike partner Iheanacho.

It was his third goal for the Super Eagles.

Russia-based Bryan Idowu who was making his debut for Nigeria in the game made it 3-2 in favour of Eagles moments later when he latched onto a pass by Iheanacho inside Argentina box to deliver the goal.

The three-time African champions were not done yet. Iwobi got his second goal of the night in the 73rd minute when he surged past his markers after he received a pass from substitute Ahmed Musa before he fired home the sealer to earn Nigeria the second victory over Argentina.

Super Eagles Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr, tried out a new formation of 3-5-2 as against the 4-2-3-1 the team used mostly during the World Cup 2018 qualifying series.

In his post-match reaction, Rohr, however warned his warned not to think they have arrived to win the World Cup yet. “ It’s good victory for us but it doesn’t mean we’ve become favorites to win the World

RATINGS rAkpeyi (3/10)- The Chippa United shot stopper fluffed another chance to reclaim a place in the team. It remains unbelievable how he committed the elementary error of picking ball outside his goal area. rAina (5/10)- He was average in his performance against Argentina. Was he overwhelmed playing against a South American power-house? rTroost-Ekong (7/10) – Solid as ever in Eagles defence.

Did extra work trying to curtain the Albiceleste forward line after the initial blitz that left them panicking. rBalogun (5/10) – For the first time since returning from his long injury lay off, Leon Balogun played an average game against Argentina last night. He ought to take the blame for the second goal against Nigeria due to his bad positioning. rAwaziem (5/10) – Last night was a much improved Awaziem but still has the potential to improve with more playing time in the Eagles. tAbdullahi ( 5/10) – Like Awaziem, he also had an average performance. rNdidi ( 6/10) - Added value to the middle very well and almost got a goal from one of his stray up front. rOgu (6/10) – After he scored Eagles’ goal in the one-all draw in Algiers last Friday, Ogu appears to have picked some courage to be counted among players to watch out for in Nigeria’s line up at Russia 2018. He gave a decent out against Argentina. tMikel (7/10) – Had a good performance. Commanded the midfield well and ensured that Aguero and his Argie forwards did not have room to dominate the second half the way they did in the early part of the first stanza. rIheanacho (7/10) – An eventual evening for the Leicester City forward. Scored a superb free kick and also had hands in two other goals. rIwobi (8/10) – Iwobi was unarguably the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Super Eagles in Krasnoder. Just as Algeria coach, Rabah Madjer pointed him out as the most lethal in the Eagles forward line, the Arsenal player scored two beautiful goals and was constantly a threat to the Argentines each time he had the ball in his legs.

USED SUBS: rUzoho (5/10) rEbuehi (6/10) rIdowu (6/10) rMusa (5/10) rOmeruo (5/10)

Aguero Hospitalised after Fainting Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero was taken to hospital in Krasnodar after he fainted inside the dressing room during the friendly against Nigeria.

Aguero, who scored his team’s second goal in the 4-2 loss to Eagles, regained consciousness in the hospital.

He has been held back there for some tests.

OTHER RESULTS B’Faso 4-0 C’Verde Senegal 2-1 S’Africa Russia 3-3 Spain Germany 2-2 France England 0-0 Brazil Eagles celebrating the 4-2 victory over Argentina in Russia... last night. (left), Argentina’s Paulo Dybala in shock over the defeat

Cup. We stay humble and realise we have more work to do. We prepared well for this game because playing Argentina is big for us, maybe

it is different for them.”

EAGLES VS ARGENTINA LINE UP: Daniel Akpeyi (Francis Uzoho 46th), Chiedozie Awaziem, William

Troost-Ekong, Leon Balogun (Kenneth Omeruo 60th ), Ola Aina (Bryan Idowu 46th ), Shehu Abdullahi (Tyronne Ebuehi 46th), Wilfred Ndidi,

John Mikel Obi, John Ogu – Alex Iwobi (Olanrewaju Kayode 87th ), Kelechi Iheanacho (Ahmed Musa 70th).

NFF, Eagles Seal Agreement on Russia 2018 Bonuses A historic and binding agreement that will eliminate all manner of rancour and distractions around Nigeria’s preparation and participation at the 21st FIFA World Cup finals in Russia was signed in the Russian city of Krasnodar yesterday morning. The meeting to prepare the agreement was held on Sunday night in the same city.

Super Eagles Captain, John Mikel Obi, said of the agreement reached yesterday: “We are very happy and excited with this development.

“This is the first time since I started playing for the senior team that I would see everything regarding preparation and bonuses and allowances put down in black and white and a binding agreement executed.

“It is reassuring that we now have a federation

leadership so committed to making everything work that they arranged this meeting and allowed the players to contribute and then set out to sign the agreement,” Mikel concluded.

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Amaju Pinnick, Vice Presidents Seyi Akinwunmi and Shehu Dikko, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and Technical and Development Committee Chairman, Yusuf Ahmed Fresh, represented the NFF, while Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr, Chief Coach Salisu Yusuf, Team Administrator Enebi Achor and Captain John Mikel Obi, Ahmed Musa, Kenneth Omeruo and William Troost-Ekong stood in for the team.

Before the meeting, Pinnick, who made an impressive remark at the FIFA World Cup

Trophy Tour that made a stop in Krasnodar on Tuesday, told thenff.com that the NFF was determined to, with the single agreement, put behind it all the crises and confrontations that had bedevilled African teams’ participation at the FIFA World Cup in the past.

At the end, NFF 2nd Vice President/Chairman of Strategic Committee Shehu Dikko confirmed that: “We have done it; we have concluded negotiations and come to agreement with the team as regards bonuses, allowances and share of income from FIFA for the 2018 World Cup. Every detail has been agreed on match bonus for each match and each round up to the Final as well as share of income from FIFA money for each round until the stage we are able to get to at the finals.

“We also agreed on preparation, such as how much players will be paid for the friendly matches, including how and when the monies would be paid. We even delved into how the NFF would apply the funds due to it from FIFA after paying the players their share.”

Pinnick and Sanusi signed for the NFF while Gernot Rohr and Salisu Yusuf signed for the technical crew and Captain Mikel Obi and Ahmed Musa signed for the players.

“The agreement represents the full and final understanding between the NFF and the team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and not subject to review or negotiations, except there is a review by FIFA of what it has approved and published as prize money for the participating countries.

Buhari Rewards D’Tigress with N17.5m for Winning 2017 Afrobasket President Muhammadu Buhari has redeemed his promise to reward the 2017 Afrobasket winning women’s team, D’Tigress.

Each player got N1million while five coaching crew members got N500,000 each.

In his address at the cheque presentation ceremony yesterday, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, said sports in Nigeria was moving to greater heights through the unprecedented support of Buhari.

“In Mr President’s usual

way of showing appreciation to our sports men and women who made the nation proud, he received the team at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday August 30, 2017 during the Federal Executive meeting.

“History is made today as Mr President has fulfilled his promise to the heroic Afrobasket team by doling out N1million to each of the players and N500,000 to each of the officials totaling N17.5million.

Dalung thanked the president for his administration’s outstanding contributions to

the development of sports in Nigeria and for his extrinsic reward in particular.

He said that Buhari’s kind gesture will have a multiplier effect on the country’s podium success in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games scheduled to hold in Gold Coast, Australia from April 4 through 15 next year.

In his response, the Vicepresident of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Mr Babs Ogunade, thanked the president for redeeming his promise to reward D’Tigress

for their excellence and hard work.

“Over a period of time, administrations have made promises to athletes and failed but with the change mantra, this administration promised to reward the gold winning basketball team and they have fulfilled their promise.

“Like Oliver Twist, we will always ask for more. As you are aware, we qualified for the World Cup in Spain next year and we are gearing up for that as well as the Commonwealth Games.”

Wednesday November 15, 2017

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MISSILE

Buhari to Teachers

“It is a very serious situation when teachers cannot pass their exams that they are supposed to teach the children to pass. It is a very tragic situation…”

– President Muhammadu Buhari lamenting the poor quality of teachers in the education system.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE THE HORIZON

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

0805 500 1974

Please,StopHumiliatingTeachers T

he occasion of a retreat on education two days ago provided the platform for President Muhammadu Buhari to endorse a “surgical operation” Governor Nasir el-Rufai is embarking upon in Kaduna. While this presidential endorsement would doubtless encourage the Kaduna state government in its policy steps on the one hand, on the other hand it has unwittingly raised a spectre of humiliation of teachers on the national horizon. The governor is determined to sack about 22, 000 teachers who have been adjudged as “incompetent” in the school system of the metropolitan state. The allegation of the state government is that the 22, 000 teachers to be fired sat for tests meant for primary four pupils and failed abysmally.

To justify its position, the state government has made the very scandalous scripts of a few of the teachers public. Any one concerned about the future of the pupils being taught by those whose scripts were made public should feel dispirited. The President felt so and actually said the situation is a “tragic one.”

The system is odiously faulty, yet it is convenient for those in government to isolate one aspect of a huge problem and make a festival of it because some helpless fellows are involved. Yes, the it is a serious problem, but it would be more helpful if both Buhari and el-Rufai ponder the deeply structural aspects of the problem.

For clarity, no genuinely progressive person could object to the strategic focus of el-Rufai in Kaduna State: the quality of education should be raised so that good education could be made accessible to the children of the poor. This is central to any effective poverty alleviation strategy.

You cannot dispute such a strategy if you wish the poor students in Kaduna State well; it is also hardly debatable that the quality of public education in Nigeria (not only Kaduna) is in sharp decline.

The problem with the el-Rufai surgical operation is with his tactics. So it is with his politics and many of his policy steps. As a convinced right-wing star, the governor may have no time for the philosophical issues of dialectics. Yet, he needs a better comprehension of the dialectic of strategy and tactic in his politics and policy formulation, articulation and indeed, implementation. As every good student of dialectics knows very well, an extremely erroneous tactical step in the short run could easily compromise the strategic end in the long run.

Mallam el-Rufai has declared 22, 000 teachers incompetent. Can we also pause and think about the competence of the assessors of these poor folks? Does propriety matter in this exercise at all? Both in law and in fact, the test itself was incompetently administered. While the objective may be valid, the procedure also matters a great deal. Pray, this civil order is expected to be run on the basis of the rule of law, as the enthusiasts of liberal democracy tell us. What is the methodology of this famous test of teachers? Are the scripts of ALL the 22,000 teachers as bad as the few made public? How statistically representative are those few atrocious scripts of the performance of ALL the 22, 000 teachers to be sacked? Clearly, these teachers are so incompetent that their performance does not require the opinion of other assessors, in

el-Rufai

the view of the Kaduna State government.

By the way, has anybody asked about the authoritative opinion of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) on this very important policy step? Established by law in 1993 as a regulatory body for the teaching profession, the TRCN is an agency of the federal ministry of education. Its mandate is to ensure that the “quality, discipline, professionalism, reward and dignity” of Nigerian teachers “match international standards.”

Enormous damage has been done at the subjective and moral level to the teaching profession by the sheer tactlessness of the Kaduna exercise. The procedure of the assessment does not seem to matter because teachers are involved. The humiliating consequences of the test- and –sack operation in Kaduna state would become manifest if you ponder the fact that the state government could hardly mete this sort of maltreatment to any other category of professionals in the state civil service. The name- and- shame campaign going on Kaduna state will diminish the esteem of teachers who may not be guilty of incompetence as alleged by the state government.

After sacking the teachers, Mallam el-Rufai may proceed to go the Mars to import geniuses in pedagogy to practise teaching in the state. But the moral damage done is that in the foreseeable future, hardly would you find a young man or woman proudly announcing in the public that he or she is a teacher from Kaduna State or anywhere in Nigeria for that matter. Can you imagine a governor organising some tests for doctors, lawyers, engineers or accountants and proceed to declare them incompetent without the verdict of the respective professional and regulatory bodies responsible for the quality and ethics of those professionals? Without the opinion of the regulatory and professional bodies, the tests administered in Kaduna state cannot be said to be thorough. Yet thoroughness is important in these matters. You cannot pass a professional judgement without the due competence to do so.

Given thoroughness it would be possible to detect if some cases could be subject to remediation while the irredeemable ones would have to leave the system. It is thoroughness that would

eventually prove that some of them should not be addressed as teachers because they are not in the first place.

Some otherwise informed commentators have also questioned the mandate of the Nigeria Union of Teachers and the Nigeria Labour Congress in defending the hapless teachers.

Some of them dismiss the issues raised by labour as defending “so-called rights” of the teachers. Now, in a law-governed society you can remove incompetent teachers from the education system without being indecently anti-labour.

There is a subsisting contract if the incompetent teachers were actually issued with letters of appointment. It is, therefore, not a matter of “so-called rights” for labour to insist that the disengagement should be done decently and according to labour laws.

The subjective aspect of this problem is worth pondering by all those genuinely promoting access to quality education in Nigeria. From primary school to the university level, the official attitude also corroborated by the elite is to humiliate teachers. It is a deep irony of the Nigerian society. Every professional, technocrat or politician knows that he is a product of the cumulative efforts of his teachers at all levels, yet it is no more a national culture to accord our teachers with the due respect and proclaim their dignity. The first class graduates used to dream of becoming professors. That was when a university professor earned more than a minister. The Kaduna drama should be situated squarely within a national culture of disrespect to teachers. You cannot advance the quality of education by humiliating teachers simply because they are teachers. As a subjective factor, the dignity of teachers is central to any progress you want to make in the education sector.

Although in a markedly different historical context and scale, what is happening in Kaduna state is reminiscent of the purge of the civil service by the Murtala/ Obasanjo military regime in the mid- 1970s. In the name of fighting corruption and indiscipline, the career of many innocent civil servants were unjustly truncated in the rashness that was the order of the day. In retrospect, many reviewers of what happened still insist that the Murtala/ Obasanjo “surgical operation” killed the soul of the civil service. The civil service has hardly recovered from the operation more than 40 years after because since then permanence has ceased to be a feature of the service. This happened with the consequences for loyalty, dedication and security of tenure.

The lack of thoroughness of the quality check is partly due to the fact that the Kaduna state government does not seem to have sufficiently taken a systemic view of the problem. For instance, if you sack the incompetent teachers, are you going to sack the officials in the ministry of education and the teaching board who issued the teachers letters of appointment in the first place? Or will the ministry too have to be reconstituted with entirely new staff? What is the condition of the teachers’ training institutions in the sate? How central is training to the current reform process? There is a definite context to the productivity of teachers like any other category of workers. The factors of training, equipment and reward are applicable as any other labour situation. These are all important

elements of reform.

Beyond humiliating incompetent teachers, any honest reform in the education sector is more crucially about the priority accorded to public education in social expenditure. On this score, no government in Nigeria has acted competently.

Recently, our neo-liberal ideologues (whose views dominate policy conception in Abuja and the state capitals) have been making a distinction between ‘’funding education” and “investing in education.” It is part of the almost inexorable trend of making education a commodity and the education sector a booming market in which only the rich can buy quality education for their children. When a government adequately funds public education, the social objective is to produce quality manpower for the society and economy. The private school owners are education investors with profit motives, which, by the way, is legitimate in a capitalist system.

In fact, a state government in the southwest has contemplated privatising primary schools as a solution to funding problem! Now you cannot solve the burgeoning crisis in the education with this bourgeois societal orientation. The children of the poor would simply be left behind in the race for quality education. This is the hidden ideological war in the social sector.

So talking about competence the question may be posed: has the government discharged its responsibility in funding public education competently? In the retreat in which the President said the situation in the education is “serious”, the introductory speech of the Education Minister Adamu Adamu touched on insufficient funding of the education sector.

In a breach of the international standards, Buhari has not budgeted up to 10% for education at the federal level. Former Goodluck Jonathan budgeted 10% in 2014. There are countries budgeting over 20% for education. This is also a “serious” issue for the education sector. A radical reform should also include a leap taken in this direction.

Doubtless, el-Rufai should be supported in his drive to raise the quality of teachers in Kaduna without humiliating the good professionals in the crowd. Rebuke could be done decently and in many ways. For instance, in an exceptional show of goodwill, el-Rufai has over the years supported the efforts of a non-governmental organisation in Akwa Ibom state, the Inoyo Toro Foundation, working assiduously for quality of teachers in the state. In fact, he is graciously sponsoring a yearly prize for the Best History Teacher. At the 10th anniversary of the foundation two weeks ago, no teacher was adjudged qualified for the prize in Mathematics by the board of assessors headed by a university teacher working all the year round interviewing the teachers and monitoring their performance.

Members of the audience, of course, found this worrisome for the quality of public education in the state. Now, that was a subtle rebuke about standard without humiliating any teacher.

Reading the situation in Kaduna state, it may not be possible to take the surgical knife away from el-Rufai as he is bent on performing the operation. But the governor should note that a good surgeon would only open up the patient based on a thorough diagnosis of the disease and sufficient clinical assessment of the patient. Otherwise the surgeon would be acting like a butcher!

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