Thursday 14th December 2017

After $21bn Loss, FG Moves to Amend Deep Offshore Act Approves $2.7bn for Abuja-Kaduna- Kano gas pipeline

Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Nigeria lost a whopping $21 billion to its failure to implement the premium element governing the

country’s oil and gas production sharing contracts (PSCs) as provided under the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act, the Minister

of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu disclosed yesterday.

Accordingly, the federal government has initiated moves to amend the Deep Offshore Act, in order to

increase government’s revenue from crude oil sales when prices exceed $20 a barrel.

The Deep Offshore and Inland Basins PSC Act was enacted in 1993 to provide the

fiscal framework for foreign investments in deep offshore and inland basin acreages in the oil and gas sector.

It was also targeted at addressing the challenges

confronting the joint operating agreements (JOA), which paved the way for the Nigerian National Petroleum Continued on page 6

Civil Society Groups, Other Stakeholders Oppose NGO Regulatory Bill Amid Protests… Page 48 Thursday 14 December, 2017 Vol 22. No 8274. Price: N250

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Ibori Declares Support for Okowa’s Second Term Bid Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Former Delta State governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, yesterday called on the people of the state to continue to support the government of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and pray that God would “sharpen his vision” to govern the state towards greater glory”, saying he and numerous political leaders across the state were solidly behind him to continue as governor beyond 2019.

Ibori made the remarks Continued on page 6

L-R: Wife of President of the Senate, Mrs. Toyin Saraki; Chief Executive, EbonyLife TV & Films, Ms. Mo Abudu; wife of Nigeria’s Vice-President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo; and Minister of Information & Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at the world premiere of the Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai, held at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos… recently

We Won’t Be Deterred, Says EFCC After Attack on Magu’s Farmhouse Leaves One Dead Paul Obi in Abuja The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that the attack on a farmhouse belonging

to commission’s acting chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu will not deter it from its resolve to rid Nigeria of corruption.

Unidentified armed persons on Tuesday night

had attacked an unoccupied residence belonging to Magu, located on a farm in Karshi, a suburb of Abuja.

The attackers were reported to have subdued a police officer and another

civilian working on the property and tied them up before beating the duo to a pulp.

“The policeman died from the beating,” a source close to Magu’s family disclosed.

The farmstead was placed under police security a few months ago, following an earlier attack on it in which the uncompleted house was ransacked.

The attack on the property

was also followed not long afterwards by a dawn attack on the EFCC office in Abuja last August.

“That was what warranted Continued on page 6

Defeated PDP Aspirants Threaten to Form Parallel National Exco… Page 50

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Nigeria’s Trade Balance Hits N1.2tn as Imports Decrease by 10.51% Banks extended N15.83tn credit to private sector in Q3, says NBS Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja Nigeria’s trade balance peaked at N1.23 trillion in the third quarter of 2017, indicating the highest figure posted since 2014, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.

In its foreign trade statistics report for the third quarter of 2017, the NBS also disclosed that total imports value of N2.234 trillion posted in the third quarter of 2017 represented a 10.51 per cent decline over the second quarter, and 4.68 per cent lower than the third quarter of 2016.

According to the NBS, the positive trade balance was attributable to an increase in exports and a decline in imports.

Providing further data, the statistical agency said that the N1.23 trillion trade balance exceeded the N506.5 billion recorded in the previous

quarter.

The NBS said in the report that the country’s exports in the third quarter of 2017 stood at N3.57 trillion, marking a 13.19 per cent increase over the figure recorded in the second quarter.

It added that the N3.57 trillion also represented a 35 per cent increase over the amount posted in the corresponding period in 2016.

Raw materials export value, the report added, increased by 16.88 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 compared to raw materials exports in the second quarter of 2017 and 70.42 per cent higher than the third quarter of 2016.

In addition, the NBS report stated that the value of solid minerals exports increased by 85.3 per cent in the period under review compared to the second quarter of 2017 and was 78.72 per cent higher than the third quarter of 2016.

It also showed that the value of Nigeria’s total imports in goods decreased by 10.51 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 from the N2.6 trillion recorded in the second quarter of 2017 to N2.3 trillion.

Total imports (goods) were 4.68 per cent lower than the N2.4 trillion recorded in the third quarter of 2016.

Aggregate trade for the third quarter stood at N5.93 trillion, showing a 3.94 per cent and 23.86 per cent rise over the value posted in the second quarter of 2017 and the third quarter of 2016, respectively.

Also, the value of imported agricultural goods stood at N232.2 billion, a 0.05 per cent increase over the N232.1 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2017 and 16.91 per cent higher than the value recorded in Q3 2016.

The value of exported

agricultural goods stood at N21.47 billion, indicating a 38.43 per decrease over the N29.71 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2017.

It was however 25.29 per cent higher than agriculture exports in the third quarter of 2016.

Manufactured goods exports, valued at N50.13 billion, were 62.68 per cent lower than the N1.24 trillion recorded in Q2, 2017, but 22.98 per cent higher than the value recorded in Q3 2016.

Manufactured goods imports in the third quarter of 2017, valued at N1.2 trillion, were 4.08 per cent higher than the N1.1 trillion recorded in the second quarter of 2017 and 2.79 per cent lower than the value documented for the third quarter of 2016.

Other oil products exports valued at N474.9 billion in the third quarter were 13.53 per cent lower than the N539

billion recorded in the second quarter of 2017 and 37.22 per cent higher than the value recorded in the third quarter of 2016.

Crude Oil exports in Q3 2017 stood at N2.9 trillion, representing an 18.40 per cent increase and 34.13 per cent hike over the N2.43 trillion recorded in Q2 2017 and the value posted in Q3 2016, respectively. “Exports in the third quarter were still dominated by crude oil, with the commodity accounting for 83.17 per cent of total exports,� the report stated.

NBS in another report on banking sector data also revealed yesterday that the deposit money banks in the country extended a total of N15.83 trillion in credit to the private sector in the third quarter of 2017.

The NBS said in a report on select banking sector data

for Q3 2017 that 213,693,964 transactions valued at N19.33 trillion were recorded in Q3 2017 on electronic payment channels in the Nigerian banking sector.

NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) transactions dominated the volume of transactions recorded.

The report showed that 97,530,856 NIP transactions valued at N13.96 billion were recorded in the quarter under review.

In terms of credit to the private sector, of the N15.83 trillion extended by the banks, the oil and gas and manufacturing sectors got N3.54 trillion and N2.27 trillion, respectively during the third quarter, the report stated, while the total number of bank staff increased by 9.16 per cent from 75,607 in the second quarter of 2017 to 82,531 in the third quarter of 2017.

our oil. But over the last 20 years, nothing really was done. “From 1993 till now, cumulatively, we have lost a total of $21 billion just because the government did not act.

We did not exercise our rights under the Act. “In 2013, there was a notice to oil companies that we were going to do this, but we did not follow through in terms of going to council to get approval. “One of the things we’ve worked very hard on is to get that amendment because once we do, the net effect for us is close to $2 billion extra revenue for the federation,� he explained.

The minister noted it would be difficult to recoup past losses, given that oil companies that were not paying the

government a premium for sales over $20 a barrel were not breaking the law.

However, the administration will explore whether there is an opportunity to get back some of the money, Kachikwu added.

Kachikwu also said FEC approved the award of a $2.7 billion contract to three consortia to construct the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano pipeline project to enhance the movement of gas from southern Nigeria to the north.

According to him, the pipeline will improve power generation and availability of gas in the hinterland, pointing out that so far, gas and power had been trapped in the southern corridor in the country because of the non-availability of pipeline

infrastructure to convey it to the north.

Kachikwu also disclosed that FEC awarded another contract to a consortium for the construction of the Odidi pipeline from Warri and the southern marshlands to also convey gas produced through the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), a subsidiary of NNPC. He said the two projects would not only boost gas delivery but also facilitate Nigeria’s transition “from a crude oil nation to a gas environment�.

On the current fuel shortages, Kachikwu said concerted efforts were being made to ease the queues at petrol stations, threatening that any petrol station caught

AFTER $21BN LOSS, FG MOVES TO AMEND DEEP OFFSHORE ACT Corporation (NNPC) to become the concession holder while the international oil companies (IOCs) became the contractors.

Following the agreements entered into by NNPC with eight IOCs in 1993, the country was able to attract foreign investments running into billions of dollars to develop oil acreages located in deep waters offshore Nigeria.

Some of such oil fields include the 225,000 barrel per day (bpd) Bonga oil field operated by Shell, the 250,000bpd Agbami oil field operated by Chevron, and the 180,000bpd oil field operated

by Total. Others in the pipeline are the Egina and Zabazaba oil acreages.

But Kachikwu, while briefing State House correspondents at

the end of yesterday’s weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, said failure to implement the relevant clause in the Deep Offshore Act governing the PSCs, effectively robbed Nigeria of $21 billion.

He said under the Deep Offshore Act, once the price of crude oil exceeded $20 per barrel, the “premium element� should have been distributed in accordance with the PSCs between the government and IOCs in a manner that the nation would have derived more value for its oil.

He said because of the failure of the Nigerian government to take the required steps in the past 20 years, the inertia had cost it such a huge sum, thus prompting him to seek

FEC’s approval to amend Section 15 of the Act, with a view to giving the policy the required bite.

According to him, following council’s approval, the eventual amendment of the Act was expected to yield $2 billion extra revenue to the government’s coffers. “The first and most substantial for me is the decision to work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to amend Section 15 of the Deep Offshore Act. “Under the Deep Offshore Act, there was a provision in 1993 that says once the price of crude exceeds $20 a barrel, the government will take steps to ensure that the premium element is then distributed under an agreed formula so that we can get more from

Continued on page 8

WE WON’T BE DETERRED, SAYS EFCC AFTER ATTACK ON MAGU’S FARMHOUSE LEAVES ONE DEAD additional security around Magu and his family,� the source explained.

The motive behind the latest attack is however said to be hazy, as the attackers

carted away five cattle and some sheep that were being reared in the compound.

According to Premium Times, police officers were drafted to the crime

scene yesterday for proper investigation of the latest attack.

Confirming the incident yesterday, EFCC spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren said

the “unfortunate incident resulted in the death of a security official�.

According to him, “The unidentified men murdered a police sergeant on duty.

The incident was the second of such attacks on the same farmhouse. “While the commission will not speculate on the motives for the attack or

the sponsors, it wishes to state that the EFCC under the leadership of Ibrahim Magu will not be deterred in its mission of ridding Nigeria of corruption.�

are doing well. At the end of your eight-year tenure, Delta State will be better for it. Your Excellency, we are solidly behind you.�

He appealed to the people of the state to continue to maintain the peace and support the PDP-led government of Okowa, saying that continuous progress would be made as a state.

Ibori also commended the Okowa administration for empowering youths in the state. “I thank you for remembering the youths because they will take over when you and I are gone.�

Recalling his last presence at the Cenotaph when he handed over the reins of power to Okowa’s predecessor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan on May 29, 2007, Ibori said: “I

have come into this arena in Asaba with a great sense of nostalgia. It was at this venue on May 29, 2007 that I transferred power to Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan.

Since then, this is my first outing here.�

Alongside Tambuwal, Ibori, the Deputy Governor Kingley Otuaro, Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, and other top government officials as well as traditional and religious leaders, Okowa inspected the various exhibition stands.

Speaking earlier, Okowa said a total of 2,324 previously unemployed youths were trained under the programme cycles of the STEP and YAGEP. According to him, 450 of the beneficiaries were at the exhibition to show Nigeria

and the world what they had been able to do with their hands since their training under the schemes.

IBORI DECLARES SUPPORT FOR OKOWA’S SECOND TERM BID during the maiden products exhibition and business fair of the state’s Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP) and Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP) held at the Cenotaph, Asaba, the Delta State capital.

The governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, who also attended the exhibition to show solidarity with the Okowa administration, said that the job of growing the Nigerian economy to globally acceptable and sustainable levels should know no political boundaries.

Ibori said he would not mince words about his endorsement of Okowa for a second term in office as Delta State governor.

Prior to his endorsement yesterday, political observers

had been curious as to where exactly Ibori, considered the godfather of Delta politics, stood regarding the gubernatorial race in 2019.

Ibori was said to have made a veiled rebuff of Okowa’s advances to obtain his endorsement for a second term during a recent reception held in Isoko South Local Government Area for the ex-governor by a former secretary to the state government, Ovuozorie Macaulay.

The former Ibori was reported to have criticised the Okowa administration and explained that his (Ibori’s) elder statesman’s status meant that his followership transcended Delta politics.

Nonetheless, Ibori yesterday erased all doubts when he ascended the podium

to a thunderous ovation and shouts of “Ibori!

The Odidigborigbo (Big Masquerade) of Africa�, and promptly said he was not only praying for but also supporting Okowa for eight years in office.

Speaking directly to Okowa, Ibori said: “I am pleased that you have invited me and my duty is to pray for you. The day Deltans voted for you, they did so with the confidence that you will deliver, and you are delivering.�

Describing himself as one of Okowa’s subjects, Ibori added: “I am a Deltan and I do have a voice on matters that border on the peace and progress of Delta State. “I may be watching from the sidelines, but I want to say again that you (Okowa)

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY DECEMBER 14, 2017

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STARTERS

How Negligence Led to Deaths of 20 Persons in Illegal Bayelsa Refinery Fire Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa Fresh facts yesterday emerged as to how at least 20 persons were burnt beyond recognition penultimate Tuesday in an inferno at an illegal crude oil refining site in Kolo Creek, Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

Well over a week after the incident, none of the special security outfits deployed to fight illicit oil theft and refining in the Niger Delta region has issued a statement on the incident, but it was learnt yesterday that the agencies may have been aware of the existence of the site but declined to act.

The Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe (OPDS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) are directly in charge of monitoring and curbing illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism and proliferation of illegal refineries in the oil-rich region.

Quoting from a leaked memo copied the security commanders, a source informed THISDAY yesterday that since the 15th of September, the bodies responsible for stopping the illegal acts had been tipped about the activities of the bunkering syndicate. “Information gathered revealed the presence of ongoing illegal refining of petroleum products like kerosene, diesel at Ebelebiri and Otuogwe, two communities in Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, under the Kolo jurisdiction. “The activities of these criminals constitute an economic sabotage to the nation as well as endangering lives and properties, as explosions on this pipeline may lead to disaster,� the letter written by the police top hierarchy in the state to both agencies indicated.

Also, more than a week after the incident happened, the charred remains of the victims were still said to be littering the site of the explosion which, it was learnt, was ignited from a stove that one of the illegal refiners was using to cook noodles. “When we got there, I almost vomited. I saw charred remains of people. They were burnt beyond recognition. In some cases, you could only see dismembered heads and feet of victims. “Despite the burnt bodies, we still met people illegally burning crude oil there,� the source, who declined to be named, said.

He added: “We thought that the security agencies, especially soldiers,

NEWS FG Approves N16bn for NDDC

Hqtrs, Says East-West Road Designed to Fail Despite insistence that the countryy is cash strapped, the federal government yesterday approved N16 billion for the construction of the headquarter of NDDC in the South-south region.

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EDITORIAL Curtailing the Migrant Crisis

In apparent response to the international outrage that greeted the recent Cable News Network (CNN) documentary with footage of where migrants were auctioned as slaves, some 164 Nigerians stranded in Libya were flown back to the country last Friday.

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POLITICS Ogembe: PDP Now a Moving

Train After the convention, the Peoples Democratic Party has become a moving train ready to clear anyone who stands on its way, says Ahmed Salau Ogembe‌ Page 18

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai would have taken over the place, but we didn’t meet any security operative. “We only met people who were still refining illegally bunkered crude oil.

It was terrible.�

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mr. Asinim Butswat confirmed the explosion but declined the request to validate claims that the police authorities had dispatched letters to other security agencies alerting them on the danger of not clamping down on the illegal site.

Butswat said a “few persons� died while others sustained injuries, including just the three survivors.

An illegal refinery camp could have between 20 to 50 persons operating in such camps.

He said: “There was a fire outbreak at an illegal bunkering camp at Ebelebiri and Otuegwe II community. Few persons were feared to have been burnt to death while others sustained severe burns. “Three persons who survived the inferno were rushed to the Cottage Hospital, Otuasiga for medical attention. They are Timi Gaji, male, 21, from Southern Ijaw; Benjamin

Theophilus, male, 20, from Elebele community; and James Meshack, 21, from Delta State, but resides at Igbogene.�

When contacted, the JTF spokesman in the region, Major Ibrahim Abdullahi, said the allegation that his boss received a letter from the police but refused to act, remains a rumour which should be ignored. “The Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, is deployed in this region with the mandate to protect oil and gas infrastructure and deter/prevent militancy, sea robbery, crude oil theft and other forms of criminality within the joint operations area. “Furthermore, the Joint Task Force, as the name suggests, comprises of all other Nigerian security agencies including the Nigerian Police. We urge you to disregard any rumour like this one because it is obviously mischievous and designed to achieve the peddler’s aim,� Abdullahi said.

Tragedy had struck in the camp, tucked away in the creeks, when a spark from a cooking stove caused the deadly fire in the highly inflammable environment.

AFTER $21BN LOSS, FG MOVES TO AMEND DEEP OFFSHORE ACT hoarding fuel henceforth, would lose the entire fuel in its storage, which he said would be sold to motorists at no cost.

He said only by fixing Nigeria’s refineries would the country ultimately bring an end to the recurring fuel shortages, even as he spoke on the efforts being made to fix the refineries and also bring new ones on board. “I believe that the refineries can be fixed. We came up with a model to find private sector funding for the refineries and that’s being done. “We expect that before the end of this year, we will at least get to the final contracting stage in terms of announcing those who are going to take these up. “It takes about six months to do this and do it thoroughly but that requires raising close to N2 billion from private sector participants to get this done. “A lot is being done on refining, that is because we have focused on it so much to the point where I have put my credibility on the line and that’s fine. “But it is important that we stop

Two-Minute BrieďŹ ng

importing petroleum products because there is just no justification for it. We have encouraged the private sector and Dangote Group is working very hard to bring their refinery on-stream. “I have told the officials of Dangote that as opposed to the 2020 completion date that they are looking at, they should assist us by trying to deliver their refinery in 2019. “Our own refineries, if we complete the procurement processes by the end of this year, they would begin their 12-18 months resuscitation or turn around maintenance (TAM) by early next year. “So, if they do that, hopefully towards the end of 2019, we should have the three refineries being able to produce for the first time in decades at the 445,000bpd name-plate capacity. “We are also looking at the Agip refinery. We are also looking at the Petrolex refinery that the vice-president and myself went yesterday to commission. “We have commissioned their (Petrolex) storage facilities, and they have been

granted approvals through us for an elevation of their refining plan from 150,000 barrels a day to 250,000 barrels a day. “Given the history they have had in the success of building their storage and maritime facilities, I believe they can meet up. “Then if you take the smaller modular refineries which are close to nine in number and are getting closer to the point of investment decisions, you would see that holistically we are addressing the refining issue. “If we do that, we are looking at the current refining capability of less than 100,000 barrels in real terms – in fact, less than 50,000 barrels in real terms – to refining capability of 1.2million barrels per day. “What this means is that we will be refining in excess of what our current share in the JV crude production is. The reality is that this is something that has been there for a long time and we are addressing it frontally,� he said.

FEATURES Plateau and Open Grazing

Prohibition Seriki Adinoyi writes that the Plateau State Government should act fast to forestall clashes between herdsmen and farmers Page 20

BUSINESS SenateUrged to Promote Bill to o

Harmonise ICT Acts Participants at a cyber security awareness forum organised by d CECAD in Lagos recently, has called on federal law makers, the Senate in particular, to come up with a Bill on ICTthat will harmonise all ICTActs that are currently in silos.

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HEALTH & LIFESTYLE In Agboyi-Ketu, TBA Homes

Experience Boom One year after the establishment of a Primary Healthcare Centre in Agboyi community, Ketu in Lagos State, pregnant women and‌ Page 36

INTERNATIONAL Akayed Ullah: New York Bombing Suspect Charged Suspected NewYork City bus terminal bomber Akayed Ullah has been charged with terror of- fences,BBCreportedpolice as saying.

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SPORTS Obiang Tees o Africa’s

Biggest Golf Open Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mbasogo, at an elaborate ceremony, yesterday, teed off Africa’s biggest golf championship - the 3e Actuaries Equatorial Guinea Open in Mongomo.

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NEWS

Ă?ĂĄĂ? ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ™Ăœ Davidson Iriekpen Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com, 08111813081

FG Approves N16bn for NDDC Hqtrs, Says East-West Road Designed to Fail Approves N3bn for Ikorodu light rail, $500m for wagons, locomotives

Omololu Ogunmade Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË Despite insistence that the country is cash strapped, the federal government

yesterday approved N16 billion for the construction of the headquarter of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the

Tinubu: I Have Absolute ConďŹ dence in Osinbajo, No Plan to Replace Him The national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday put to rest speculations that he might be picked by President Muhammadu Buhari as his running mate in 2019, saying a report to that effect by a national newspaper was false.

Tinubu said he and the people of the South-west “have absolute confidence and are exceedingly proud of the excellent job Professor Yemi Osinbajo is doing as Vice President of Nigeria.�

The paper in a front page lead story yesterday claimed that Osinbajo was considering returning to full church work and that Tinubu was being mooted as a replacement for him, according to the newspaper, “as a way to have a solid Southwest support for the APC, in the face of a South-east/South-south alliance in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).�

But Tinubu in a statement by his Media Office in Lagos said there was no empirical or logical basis for the speculative story.

His reaction read: “The attention of the Tinubu Media Office has been drawn to the front page lead story of The SUN newspaper of December 13, 2017, which sensationally and ridiculously reported that President Buhari may pick Tinubu as his running mate for the 2019 election. This is a classic case of utterly and irredeemably fake news. “There is no empirical or logical basis for this mischievously speculative story. Is it even conceivable, as the story insinuates, that Vice President Osinbajo would be considering returning to full church work rather than run with his boss, President Buhari, for a second term if the latter so decides without as much as discussing such a sensitive issue with his party and with Tinubu? In any case, is this story not entirely unwarranted and indefensible as the Buhari/Osinbajo ticket has an electoral mandate of four years out of which it has spent only two and a half years? “This is clearly an attempt to distract the APC federal government from the yeoman’s job it has been doing in rescuing the country from the deep rooted socio-economic, political, security and moral mess inherited from the PDP’s 16 years misrule of Nigeria; instigate crisis within the party, stoke dangerous embers of religious disaffection within the party and the country generally and stem the remarkable progress being made in the reinvention and revitalisation of Nigeria. “For the avoidance of doubt,

Tinubu has absolute confidence and faith in both President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo who have been working hard harmoniously in offering inspirational leadership to Nigeria at a most critical period in her history. The hemorrhaging of the national economy through the wanton and unprecedented corruption that obtained before the advent of the APC federal government has been stanched. “There is greater sanity, accountability and transparency in the management of the country’s finances. The Boko Haram insurgency has been substantially contained. We should not allow ourselves to be derailed from the job we are effectively undertaking in fulfilling our campaign promises anchored on the tripod of containing insecurity, taming the scourge of corruption and resuscitating the economy. “The Buhari and Osinbajo-led federal government is deftly steering the country out of an economic recession that was the result of the ineptness of the PDP years of the locusts.

Tinubu will never support any attempt to distract Buhari and Osinbajo from the job they are passionately doing through the kind of false report carried by The SUN. In particular, this story does great injustice to Vice President Osinbajo. Here is a man of the highest integrity, moral rectitude, amazing humility, high intellect and unimpeachable credibility. Here is a man of fierce loyalty and absolute trustworthiness who will never do anything in word, thought or deed to undermine his boss. His unquestionable dependability and indisputable fidelity to his oath of office was demonstrated beyond question by his honourable conduct during the president’s medical vacation. Tinubu and the people of the South-west have absolute confidence and are exceedingly proud of the excellent job Osinbajo is doing as Vice President of Nigeria. “Asiwaju takes serious exception to the insinuation in some other quarters that there was ever any so-called frosty relationship between Buhari and Tinubu. As Asiwaju had cause to point out recently, having been elected President, Buhari had to be given the space to run his government. There have always been and will always be channels of communication between Tinubu and Buhari as members of the same party.

Their interaction must not necessarily always be conducted in the public space.�

South-south region.

Briefing journalists at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in the State House, Abuja, the Minister of Niger Delta, Pastor Usani Uguru, said the building would be a twin tower with one tower consisting of four floors and the other of 13 floors.

He said the approval had become imminent in view of the huge sum of money being spent on rented buildings by the commission. “Council has given approval for the completion of the headquarters of the NDDC. This project has taken effect

from the date of initiation for more than three years and the rentals for the present occupation is in the neighbourhood of N2 billion within a period of about 12 to 13 years and we find this uneconomical. And so, it is better and safer to have the headquarters building concluded at once so that the savings from the rentals can accrue to some other services. “The cost of the contract for the completion of the headquarters of NDDC is N16 billion. It is a twin tower. One, four floors, another thirteen floors. You need to consider the time it has taken from the time of initiation of the project

till now. So, taken into account all factors of inflation, I think at this moment, given also the exchange rate, considering all the inputs that are necessary for construction of such a project and the amount as N16 billion stands at what we call contemporary in the construction industry,� Uguru said.

Questioned on how sensible it is to spend a whooping N16 billion on NDDC headquarters when important infrastructure such as the East -West road which is of utmost importance to the entire Niger Delta region had been stagnant since 2006, the minister said the East-West road was actually designed

to fail.

Uguru who said a whooping N300 billion had been spent on the project since inception without any tangible result, attempted to justify the approval of such a huge sum for the construction of NDDC headquarters, saying fresh moves to review the East - West road project had begun with a view to bringing fraudulent contractors to book.

He argued that whereas the project was originally designed to fail, efforts are currently being made to put it in the right shape. “The East - West road is a

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MEN IN POWER

L-R: Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu; Minister of State for Petroluem, Ibe Kachikwu; Minister of Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi; and Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja....yesterday

NNPC: Five Ships with 250m Litres of Petrol Expected This Week Current landing cost put at N165, indicating subsidy of N20/litre Chineme Okafor Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË To bridge the noticeable shortage in the volume of petrol available for supply and distribution across Nigeria, and which has seen vehicular queues come up again at petrol service stations across the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday disclosed that it is expecting up to five ships filled with 50 million litres each of petrol in the country within the next three days.

The NNPC also stated that its subsidiary company in charge of its downstream petroleum businesses, the Nigerian Products Marketing Company (NPMC), has increased the number of petrol trucks that leave its depots across the country with petrol to 1,300 per day. It said this was in response to the charge given to it by the

federal government to ensure that queues for petrol which resurfaced in the country last week was cleared within a week.

Last week, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had upon a directive to him by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) rolled out a number of measure he said would address the situation which he explained was caused by a gap in supply. But speaking to journalists after an inspection of petrol distribution and sales around Abuja, the Managing Director of NPMC, Mr. Umar Ajiya, stated that the corporation and its subsidiaries have stepped up efforts to bring products supplies to normalcy.

Ajiya noted that a combined efforts of the NNPC, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and

Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had seen the situation getting back to normalcy.  He said the plan was to sustain the momentum and keep products supplies stable with continuous delivery of petrol cargoes into the country. “As you’ve seen, all the stations we went to have products and there are no longer queues outside the stations. Essentially, this is the product of a lot of hard work and efforts between ourselves and our sister agencies - the PPPRA, DPR and the security agencies. “By rising up to the challenge, we have moved our operations to 24 hours in all our depots. We have tasked ourselves in our affiliate retail stations to 24 hours. Similarly, our majors have done the same in Abuja to complement our

efforts. In addition, we have increased our truck out to over 1300 trucks a day. Trucks are arriving at several stations,�

Ajiya said.

He further stated: “We have a robust supply plan. Every day, we have a minimum of one ship arriving in Nigeria.

Today (yesterday), we received two ships, tomorrow, we have a ship, next tomorrow, we are expecting two ships, and that is the trajectory going forward until the end of the year. “One ship is on the average of 50 million liters and in our belief, average consumption in Nigeria is about 35 million litres. Once we sustain our operations currently, we will not have this kind of situation.�

Ajiya, also said the challenges marketers had with depot owners who were selling above approved ex-depot prices to them, had been taken care of by the DPR.

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NEWS

Northern Senators Fail to Reach Consensus on Restructuring Northern Senators’ Forum yesterday concluded its two-day retreat but could not reach a consensus on the clamour for restructuring.

A communiqué by the chairman of the forum, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, which was released to journalists by Senator Sabi Abdullahi from Niger State at the end of the retreat held in Katsina, said the North would take a well articulated, firm and common position on the issue.

Abdullahi blamed the political elite from other regions of the country for intimidating the North with the term “restructuring,” adding that they had projected the region as the weakest link, parasitic and unproductive region that brings nothing to the table.

He said the North was not afraid of restructuring provided it guarantees justice, equity, fairness and the unity of all Nigerians.

According to him, “The North as a region is not afraid of any sensible and meaningful arrangement provided it guarantees justice, equity, fairness and the unity of all Nigerians irrespective of religion, region, age and sex as enshrined in the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

“That the North shall take a well articulated, firm and

common position on the issue of restructuring. Northern members of the National Assembly should be an integral part of achieving that common platform that should also include devolution of power to states and local government.

“That there is the need for the North to stand united irrespective of political, ethnic or religious differences.”

The senators resolved that the northern leadership should demonstrate the political will to serve as growth drivers by strengthening governance and formulating plans that can develop the critical value chain of the activities of the region in which it has comparative and competitive advantages.

In the area of agriculture, the senators resolved that “the agricultural industrial and manufacturing sectors should be revived and transformed so that the teaming youths from the region could be actively engaged and empowered in order to keep them away from crimes.”

On education, they resolved to amend Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution to ensure primary education is compulsory while also noting that efforts will be made to establish, staff and equip more learning institutions and promote education for the

girl-child.

“The infrastructure gap in the region shall be bridged through interstate partnership with active private sector participation. That states from the region shall as a matter of urgency start planning for post-oil era by improving their internally generated revenue and revamp the comatose industries in the region so as to provide employment opportunities to their people.

“There is urgent need to design and all embarking marshal plan for the development of the region.

“The Northern Senators’ Forum has resolved to partner their counterparts in the House of Representative, the Northern Governors’ Forum and other critical stakeholders in the North to design a marshal plan for northern region’s development.

“That National Assembly members shall take their oversight functions seriously to ensure meaningful implementation of all federal budget provisions as it affects the three zones from the region,” the northern senators said.

They also resolved to amend the constitution to accommodate traditional institutions by providing them with specific roles and responsibilities.

House C’ttee Gives Intels 24 Hours to Declare Public Funds in Its Possession Logistics firm claims NPA owes it $800m James Emejo ÓØ ÌßÔË˿

appeared not to even know the total amount of public funds The House of Representatives in its possession, prompting Ad hoc Committee on Treasury the chairman to rule that the Single Account (TSA) yesterday figure be declared within 24 gave Intels Nigeria Limited 24 hours, after which it is to hours to declare the amount be transferred to the TSA of public funds currently in its unfailingly. possession as well as transfer However, Intels Executive same to the TSA without further Director, Silvano Bellinato, delay. who appeared alongside the It further summoned the firm, Senior Legal Adviser in Director General, Nigerian charge of concessions, Mr. Mba Maritime Administration and Onu, told the committee that Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. though the company was not Dakuku Peterside, to appear against the implementation of before it urgently. the TSA, there are subsisting Also summoned for agreements between it and urgent appearance before the the NPA which pre-dated the committee was the Managing TSA, adding that the seeming Director, Nigerian Petroleum confusion stemmed from a Development Company Limited contradictory directive from (NPDC), Mr. Yusufu Matashi. the Federal Executive Council According to the Chairman (FEC) which needed to be of the Committee, Hon. clarified.

Abubakar Nuhu (APC, Kano), He also said as at the last the Managing Director, Nigeria count, it was being owed about Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza $849 million by NPA, adding Bala Usman, had previously told that it is entitled to 28 per cent the committee that it was being collection commission. owed by Intels, adding that the Specifically, he said paying monies ought to have been the monies to TSA as being transferred to the TSA at the demanded could hurt its Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). financial obligations to its Speaking at the continuation creditors as it would not be of the public hearing ordered able to take its commissions by a resolution of the lower as well as fund some of chamber on the implementation the developmental projects of the TSA, Nuhu, therefore, currently executed in demanded explanation on why partnership with NPA among Intels was still holding on to other things. the funds.

Bellinato particularly The committee was expressed concern that going particularly disturbed that Intels by precedents, monies already

paid into TSA could be difficult to retrieve.

But his explanation fell on deaf ears as the committee insisted that the circular on the transfer of all public funds to the TSA must first be honoured before any other thing.

The committee also demanded to know if the amount of NPA’s funds with Intels was the exact equivalent the latter is being owed.

Intels said NPA’s monies far exceeded what it was being owed.

This prompted the chairman of the committee to recommend that interest on the monies which have been withheld for about one year now be calculated and paid along.

A member of the committee told Intels: “You see, at this side of the table, we are representing people and it’s the people’s money we are looking for.

Business between you and NPA is business between you and NPA; what we are concerned as members representing our people is where is our money?

Our money is supposed to be in the TSA. Even if you take the money to TSA, it’s still NPA’s money but withholding the money which is not part of the agreement between you and NPA, I don’t think it’s the right thing to do.

“Government has a policy; everybody, every agency is expected to comply first; obey before complain.”

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COMMENT

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

SINGAPORE SEEPS INTO AFRICA

The lesson from Yew’s Singapore is to impart quality education to the mass of the people, writes Okello Oculi

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rime Minister Lee Kuan Yew is currently enjoying praises among African politicians and commentators on public policy issues. This is paradoxical considering that in his autobiography Yew makes no mention of African leaders. He openly celebrates being of Chinese ethnic stock and narrates travels to meet China’s communist leaders; and sharing ideas with them.

In April 1955, Chou en Lai met African nationalist leaders at the historic Bandung Conference in Indonesia, the birth of ‘’South-South’’ cooperation; narrowly slipping past an American plot to shoot down the aircraft carrying him. Colonial powers and their allies did not want African leaders to catch viruses of Chinese access to freedom through guerrilla warfare and communist ideology.

In 1972, the American television network, CBS, showed Tanzania’s ambassador, Salim Ahmed Salim, dancing inside the General Assembly of the United Nations in celebration of Africa, Asia, South America and the Soviet Union being victorious in getting China to regain her membership of the United Nations, despite American opposition. Brilliant African diplomats, including Dr Diallo Telli - as Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) - had waged that diplomacy war. Mr Yew ignores this historic event though Chairman Mao Zedung thanked those he referred to as ‘’our African brothers’’.

Yew shares with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher a blindness about roles played by African leaders in Commonwealth affairs. Nigeria’s Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah and Tanganyika’s Julius Kambarage Nyerere got racist South Africa expelled from the organisation - despite opposition by Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain.

Yew was obviously not pleased with this diplomacy of antiracism. Like Thatcher, Africa’s democratisation of world politics by shedding blood in triumphant liberation wars was trivial.

Most of Yew’s admirers like what Professor Ali Mazrui once referred to as ‘’documentary radicalism’’: and recite his narrative about a small group of ‘revolutionary reformers’ constructing the architecture of a strategically located rock (located on a busy trade sea route), from ‘’a Third World to a First World country’’.

He mocks idiocies of new African actors in a brutal world of global politics and economics. While on a visit to Ghana, he met a minister in Nkrumah’s young government who imported a golden bed as a status symbol; and the vanity of a Minister of Finance in Tafawa Balewa government who wore a robe with a tail that swept the earth upon which he walked. In both countries, less than one per cent of the population could read and write. Africa’s rulers were evidently not aware of the responsibilities of independence.

Yew learnt much from the impact of Japan’s 1868 Meiji Revolution and its invention of industrial development to

IN 2017, CHINA WILL GRADUATE EIGHT MILLION STUDENTS FROM LOCAL UNIVERSITIES. IF, AS EXPECTED, THEY ARE OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY, AFRICAN COUNTRIES MUST MAKE ’FAKE EDUCATION’ A MATTER OF TREASON

protect Japan from ravages of opium which Britain and the United States had gotten China’s leaders addicted to.

Japanese expulsion of British, French and Dutch colonialism from South-East Asia also recommended lessons of how a small Asian country ran its governance.

One vital lesson was Japan’s dictum that deposits of diamond, gold, oil, copper, zinc and other metals (which other countries had inside their soils), were INSIDE HEADS OF JAPANESE people if they are rigorously educated with high quality skills and reading materials. For Yew’s miniscule Singapore this dictum was of great value. Like all great thinkers, he added his own twist; one which came readily to a person grown on watching commercial ships coming and going from and to distant economies bordering oceans.

He would attract multinational corporations to Singapore as their regional anchors; with eyes watching vast markets ranging from India to China, eastern Russia and Australia.

Since Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) seeks well-educated workers, Singapore would seduce and keep them by producing vast numbers of highly skilled, disciplined, accountable and transparent; and committed to excellence in the work they do. FDI and government institutions do not need BRILLIANT CROOKS and thieves. Like Japan, Yew exploited Buddhism’s focus on excellence to support creativity and innovation in products. An excellent education infrastructure attracts productive FDI. America’s major harvest from World War 2 remains intensive investment in inventiveness and creativity.

In Nigeria high quality education attracts migration to other lands of children of rich families with uncertain hopes of acquiring high levels of excellence. The notion of high quality brain power of the country’s mass population as a force to drive development is crippled by colonial legacies of ignoring brains of the vast majority of the people. Britain’s leaders ensured excellence in educational attainments for few members of the class sent out to run colonies. This legacy combines with attitudes of ruling groups fearful of losing power to children of the mass public. In various states either low or total lacks of education remain stubbornly rooted.

The revelation that a huge number of primary school teachers were virtually illiterate and failed tests for 4th Grade pupils had been reported by a British NGO to apply to conditions in Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Borno and other states.

Nelson Mandela gave primacy to the power of education.

The lesson from Yew’s Singapore must be to abandon what a Brazilian minister called the ‘’idiocy’’ of DENIED QUALITY EDUCATION TO VAST MASSES of African peoples.

In 2017, China will graduate eight million students from local universities. If, as expected, they are of the highest quality, African countries must make ‘’fake education’’ a matter of treason.

NDIC AND BANKING SECTOR CHALLENGES The NDIC workshop for finance correspondents was worth it, writes Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

E

xpectations were quite high that the 2017 workshop for the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) held in Kano November 23-24, 2017 would yield solutions to current challenges in the financial system.

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) organised this year’s workshop on the theme “The Nigerian Banking Sector: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward� for business journalists, regulators, operators and other experts in the financial sector. Over 120 Business Editors and Finance correspondents nationwide as well as representatives of over 10 civil society organisations (CSOs) attended the workshop.

An inspiring ambience for the event was provided by the venue -- Coronation Hall at Government House, Kano State -- which was provided free of charge by the state government. For effect, the government also facilitated a tour of landmark projects by participants.

The Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, was unavoidably absent, but was represented by a powerful team led by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, who delivered the governor’s message. In it, Dr. Ganduje reeled out several accomplishments, including reforms in financial management that promoted transparency and accountability. He added that the state’s anti-corruption agency had been strengthened to boost citizens and investors’ confidence in government, resulting in its selection as one of the two states piloting the open government initiative. This involves

open budgeting, tax transparency, ease of doing business and access to information. To enhance its transparency policy, Dr. Ganduje said the state regularly published its financial statements in newspapers and on the website of the State Ministry of Finance.

A variety of presentations was made at the workshop by an array of seasoned professionals from the banks, regulatory bodies, other financial experts and the media as well as eminent personalities from the National Assembly. The paper titled “Rebuilding Financial Infrastructure in the North East� was facilitated

by Dr. Mudashiru Olaitan, Director, Development Finance Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and moderated by Sen. Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim, Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance & Other Financial Institutions. Dr Olaitan who was represented by a Deputy Director, Sani Mohammed justified the need to rebuild financial infrastructure in the North East. Olaitan said the region was key to the Nigerian economy, as it was a bastion of commerce and trade with prominent local enterprises and well-established trade routes across the Sahara. In his remarks, Sen Ibrahim said the National Assembly was committed to the development of the North East Region.

NDIC Managing Director, Alh. Umaru Ibrahim, called on the governors in the region to collaborate with the CBN toward rebuilding economic infrastructure in the area. “I think that there is the need for more collaboration between the governors of the North East and the CBN. I will like a situation whereby we sit with the governors and go over all decisions

because without them, not much can be achieved on this issue,� he said.

A former Minister of National Planning, Prof. Ode Ojowu, facilitated the paper titled “Insulating the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) from Political Storm� in which he contended that the ERGP was the government’s instrument for pulling the economy out of recession and into the path of sustainable growth. He stressed the need to insulate the ERGP implementation from partisan politics.

Olufemi Fakeye, Chairman, House Committee on Insurance & Actuarial Matters, who chaired the session, called on the executive to drop a proposal sent to NASS on the recall of all unspent capital expenditure as at December 31 of every year in view of late submission and passage of the budget.

The paper by Adedapo Adeleke, Director of the Bank Examination Department at NDIC was titled “Curtailing the Growth of NonPerforming Loans (NPLs) in Banks - The Role of Regulators and Supervisors.� Dr. Effiong Essien, Senior Special Assistant to the President on ERGP moderated it. Dr Kabiru Katata presented a paper titled “Financial Disruption of Digital Currency & its Consequences on the Banking System & Deposit Insurance System (DIS)� in which he addressed the two concepts of digital currency and “FinTech�.

This engaged much of the attention of many participants.

In his paper titled “Cyber Crime: Nature & Trends�, Mr. Pattison Boleigha, Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), Access Bank Plc, traced

the evolution of cybercrimes to “the swift expansion of computer, mobile and internet technologies,� noting how the nature and pattern of cybercrime incidents had become more sophisticated and complex. He called for increased security awareness for employees and customers of banks.

Mrs. Temitope Akin-Fadeyi, Head of the Financial Inclusion Secretariat, CBN spoke on “Financial Literacy in Nigeria: Achievements & Challenges�. She identified the factors that compelled the development of Financial Literacy Framework in the country such as the integration of national economies through trade and investment; increasing innovation in financial products and services; market sophistication; weak or non-existing consumer protection regimes and market indiscipline.

The last paper titled, “The Role of the Media in Enhancing Financial Literacy and Consumer Protection�, delivered by Mr. Jerry Uwah, Editor, Southern Operations of Blueprint newspaper, who pointed out that the concept transcended owning a bank account and covers other areas of the financial services sector such as pension, insurance, mortgage, bonds, treasury bills windows and the capital market.

The NDIC-FICAN Workshop series was pioneered 15 years ago and has been transformed into a platform for increasing the capacity of the media to dissect critical issues affecting the financial sector. At the end of it all, there was this feeling that NDIC must both sustain the workshop and ensure that it continues to attract quality of resource persons.

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EDITORIAL CURTAILING THE MIGRANT CRISIS Governments in sub-Saharan Africa must do more to address poverty

I

n apparent response to the international outrage that greeted the recent Cable News Network (CNN) documentary with footage of where migrants were auctioned as slaves, some 164 Nigerians stranded in Libya were own back to the country last Friday. They were the latest in a wave of hurried repatriations with assistance from the European Union and the International Organisation of Migration (IOM).

At the last count, almost 4000 Nigerians have been rescued from the vicious slave enclaves where reports said large numbers were still being kept in inhuman conditions. They, along with other sub –Saharan migrants were humiliated, abused, oppressed, sexually exploited or killed. Between 400,000 and 700,000 African migrants were reportedly conscripted in these detention cells. Perhaps to underline the weight of the problem and the deďŹ ning image of suffering conveyed by the CNN footage, the African Union itself, last week, pledged to return 20,000 migrants from Libya within the next six weeks.

Propelled by poverty and harsh economic conditions, these GOOD GOVERNANCE desperate migrants, after a hazardous and IS CRITICAL TO THE disjointed itinerary TRANSFORMATION trying to reach OF ECONOMIES AND INCLUSIVE GOVERNMENT Europe, were often trapped in Libya, a country notorious for exporting sub-Saharan labour to Europe during the Ottoman era. Libya’s current embrace of slave labour was aided by the collapse of law and order after the death of the country’s strongman and dictator, Muammar GaddafďŹ . According to the IOM, nationals of Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire and Gambia after being detained by people smugglers or militant groups, were taken to town squares or car parks to be sold like commodities.

Curiously, until the recent revelations, hardly any African country took a conscious effort to address the new servitude. Yet the increasing number of our citizens being humiliated or killed in the migration

Letters to the Editor

reversals places a heavy burden on the Nigerian authorities to provide leadership and stem the dangerous trend. “Human trafďŹ cking has become a security threat in the state as over 10,000 young men and women were trafďŹ cked in a space of 12 months and more than 30 per cent of them lost their lives in the process,â€? said Godwin Obaseki, Edo State Governor, a state where human trafďŹ cking is a scourge. “One cannot but weep for their harrowing experiences, deceived and moved from Nigeria by a cartel and syndicate who trade these people like common commodities. For us to start selling ourselves into slavery means something fundamental has happened. We can no longer fold our arms.â€?

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t is heartening that the authorities have taken the ďŹ rst step by ferrying home some of the stranded.

But much more needs to be done. There should be a deliberate effort to investigate and identify the people smugglers who lure and misinform the victims on decent jobs in Italy and across Europe. Some of them are based in Benin and indeed some of the returnees have vowed to expose them. But they need protection from the authorities because the vicious cartels involved in the business have no regard for human life.

The National Agency for the Prohibition of TrafďŹ cking in Persons (NAPTIP) could be of much help here. The human trafďŹ ckers should be ďŹ shed out and punished. Besides, there is also a need for a sustained sensitisation campaign to let our young men and women know that the grass is not necessarily greener out there. It is hard to exaggerate the sordid revelations from the returnees.

But by far the greatest challenge is good governance. Much needs to change. Nigeria and indeed most of Africa is wracked by poverty and many of these young men and women are eeing poverty, which ironically is getting worse. Good governance remains crucial in the eradication of poverty. As the 12th African Economic Conference recently underlined, African economies are among the most dynamic in the world, but good governance is critical to the transformation of economies and inclusive government.

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.

THE AMAZING STORY OF NIZAMIYE HOSPITAL

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am curious. I am a researcher. And over time I have come to the point where identifying good stuff comes easily. This time around, my area of research was the Nizamiye hospital located at the heart of the Federal Capital Territory and estimated to have gulped a whopping $30 million. Upon, realising this, my instincts were ignited, and my curious mind went to work, to unravel that medical facility in Abuja that is the rave of the moment.

And alas, I wasn’t disappointed. The Nizamiye hospital could be regarded as one of the best medical facilities in Nigeria. Why? I had reasons to interact with people who have used the services at the hospital. I was taken on a tour of its facilities, and I also interacted with doctors, nurses, and other auxiliary staff. And I was more than impressed. Without mincing words, I would say Nizamiye hospital is one of the best things that happened to the Nigerian health sector. The most striking part of the hospital is the fact that it has a resident open heart surgery team lead by a renowned cardiovascular surgeon who is credited to have performed over 15,000 open heart surgeries with almost 99% success rate, according to what I gathered.

With such a facility in Nigeria, I wonder why Nigerians still travel abroad for medical treatment, especially India. This is on the heels that an estimated $1 billion is spent on medical tourism annually by Nigerians. Pause for a minute and imagine what happens when $1 billion leave our economy. Also, pause and imagine what will happen to our economy if it is buoyed by $1

billion. I am sure your mind is running riot with thoughts. But that is understandable and why more of such investments of this nature ought to be encouraged by the relevant authorities in the country.

It also suffices to mention that an aspect of the research required I took a sample of private hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory and graded such facilities in three areas namely, ambiance, medical equipment, and human resources. And guess what? Nizamiye hospital came tops. I say this with all sense of sincerity that regarding ambiance, the hospital ranked almost a 100%. The hospital could easily pass for a hotel when you walk the laminated corridors; run a finger along the crisp bed sheets stretched tightly over neat beds, and breathe in the clean air of a world-class medical establishment with manicured gardens outside and Turkish and Nigerian nurses in immaculate uniforms inside; all attest to a professionally-sound facility approaching the peak of its powers.

Regarding medical equipment, you can’t help but marvel at the gleaming equipment carefully mounted in their corners. It also has four hi-tech operating theatres, four-bed adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU), four incubators for Neonatal ICU, and a four-bed dialysis centre and others too numerous to mention. Little wonder why it cost an estimated $30 million? It is worth every bit of the figure invested in the facility.

The various departments are manned by Turkish and Nigerian consultants. I also learned that one of the policies of the hospital is to ensure that a young Nigerian doctor who hasn’t attained the

consultant cadre is attached to Turkish doctors, who have achieved the consultant status so the Nigerian doctor can learn and be encouraged towards reaching the consultant cadre too. This is also the case with other auxiliary departments. And with this, you could easily see that teamwork reigns supreme. Nizamiye hospital is indeed a worthy investment if you ask me.

In an editorial by one of the leading newspapers in Nigeria titled “Fitting Lessons for the health sector,� published November 3, 2017, it stated that “when Mrs. Aisha Buhari, the wife of the president, said recently that when she needed health care the only hospital she could trust in Abuja was one “established by foreigners in and out 100 per cent, she was said to be referring to the Nizamiye Hospital�. This was a profound statement that lends credence to the quality of the Nizamiye hospital.

It went further to state that “The Nizamiye Hospital has, for instance, become a platform for first-class healthcare delivery within the federal capital and environs.� And this is the truth. If not, you would ask how it has been able to carry out 18 successful open heart surgeries, 17,000 medical surgeries, 550 angiographies, 57 emergency balloon, and 95 stent procedures all in the space of three years. If this is not a rare feat, I don’t know what to call it.

I understand the Hon. Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, when he visited the hospital recently commended the owners, the Turkish First Surat Group of companies for believing in Nigeria to have invested in it.

Joshua Ocheja, Abuja

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POLITICS

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

PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

Ogembe: PDP Now a Moving Train After the convention, the Peoples Democratic Party has become a moving train ready to clear anyone who stands on its way, says Ahmed Salau Ogembe, the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly. He spoke with journalists in Lokoja. Yekini Jimoh was there and presents the excerpts: There is insinuation that you are interested in the Governorship, is it true?

By the constitutional provisions, am very much qualified to run for governor but honestly from the bottom of my heart am not interested. You should also check my antecedent, I have been contributing to my community even before I took to active politics and you can see my personal efforts in my constituency.

Secondly in all my political sojourn, I have always aspired to be in the Senate to represent my people in the hallowed chamber with men of integrity as my distinguished colleagues. I thank God that my dream has been achieved and I intend to consolidate on it.

Having said that, my Senatorial District has been agitating for power shift and by divine intervention power has indeed shifted to a young man from my district: Governor Yahaya Bello.

It is my humble believe that we as politicians should support and respect constituted authority and by reason of tradition we are brothers from the same area. I want to be a legislator and to God be the glory I am already one, am not the best but I am here for my people now.

What is your take on the recent 2018 budget presentation of Mr. President?

Mr President has done well in presenting the budget in good time and he should be encouraged. However, the entire budget approval process is not a tea party and I assure you that the National Assembly has commenced work on the 2018 Appropriation immediately.

Federal agencies are ready to appear before the relevant committees for easy processing of their estimates.

What are your legislative priorities for the 2018 fiscal year?

I have been representing my constituents in the Senate well and I intend to step up my game by attracting more projects to Kogi Central Senatorial District, ensure that more of our teeming youths are gainfully employed by way of appointments, skill acquisition and empowerment programmes.

I intend to continue to push and lobby for the resuscitation of Ajaokuta Steel Company and the National Iron Ore Mining Company Itakpe. In the coming days, we will witness public hearing on my bills and sponsorship of more bills and motions that will be beneficial and critical to citizens and the economy of our nation.

What is your take on the economic challenges of the moment and do you think the federal government is addressing them?

Well, going by the report of the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria is out of recession marginally and we are still concerned in the Senate on how the nation can benefit from sound economic policies that will pull us through as our citizens are in serious hardship which is unacceptable.

The position of the National Assembly is that the current 2017 Budget should be funded to reflate the economy as government needs to spend more to boost economic activities.

The security situation of Kogi Central Senatorial District has worsened with incessant killings and alleged high handedness of security agencies, what is your view?

Remember that I was a former elected executive chairman of Okene Local Government and the import of that is that I have confronted similar challenges in the past with positive outcomes during my tenure.

From my experience, the duty of government at all levels is to guarantee peace and security of lives and property. In recent time, government efforts have been inadequate in ridding Kogi Central of crime because it takes a lot of experience and gathering of information which must be processed with due diligence and intelligence.

The approach needs to change to forestall a situation where the people will lose total confidence in government’s approach because the people I represent are not animals rather they are first class citizens and I won’t allow anyone to demean them no matter how highly placed. I commend the Chief of Army Staff on the recent Operation Lion Roar which was successful and professionally carried out. I make bold to say that the Nigerian Army and other security agencies have distinguished themselves by making sure that they didn’t act anyone’s script.

There have been cases of missing persons, extra-judicial killings and harassment of innocent citizens. These are detrimental to the objective of smoking out criminals.

My position is that no innocent citizen of Kogi Central should be harassed or killed unjustly for whatever reason and I urge government at all levels to know that the soul of an innocent

Ogembe

person will always cry for justice.

We are not in a jungle neither are we in a war zone therefore I will not watch my constituents get killed because of their race, beliefs, religion or political affiliation.

I thank the Chief of Army Staff for stopping perceived planed genocidal killings in our land.

Similarly, I sincerely commend the efforts of Mr. President in curbing breach of security particularly in the North East and his efforts in reduction of crime has been consistent across the country.

Mr. President has also ensured that security agencies carry out their duties professionally with less impunity.

I want to use this opportunity to appeal to all our security agencies that they should not allow some desperate politicians to influence their operations or be used to victimize opposition for selfish interest. The duty of the security agencies is to protect lives and property of all Nigerians irrespective of political or religious inclination.

I want our people to know that the rights of all citizens of Nigeria and that of Kogi Central Senatorial district is guaranteed under our constitution. Nobody can be enslaved or cowed. So, my advice to our people is that they should go about their religious and political pursuit without any fear of intimidation, irrespective of where the threat is coming

I make bold to say that a government that cannot protect her citizens is a failed government

from. As their representative, I will continue to ensure that my people are treated with all fairness and dignity.

President Muhammadu Buhari, believes in fairness and the freedom of all citizens irrespective of their religious and political affiliation. So no one should be intimidated, no matter where the threat is coming from. We are all free born and not slaves.

What advice will you give to the people of your senatorial District at this difficult moment?

The good people of Kogi Central Senatorial district are very hospitable and peaceful. Ciminality of this dimension has never been known with us.

I advise my people to go about their normal businesses and they should have the assurances of the security agencies to deal with the security challenge once and for all. I equally appeal to the traditional rulers, ward heads, community leaders and everyone to support the military and police by providing useful information that will track these criminal elements. Most importantly, the local government administrators and their team should take issues of security very seriously. I make bold to say that a government that cannot protect her citizens is a failed government.

What future for your party PDP looking at the build up to 2019 ?

PDP is on ground and ready to move, once we are done with the national convention, I assure you that the PDP will be a moving train. Our party has the political and economic experience to project our nation to where we belong.

All the structures of our party are being nurtured and strengthened by reorganizing ourselves, holding meetings and a lot of political realignments will be taking place in the coming days. The paramount thing I always advise is to put the nation first and understand that internal democracy should be sacrosanct. I assure you there are greater days ahead for our party politics in Nigeria because without purposeful opposition a ruling party will have no one to check her excesses.

Some are clamouring that the position of Senate should be zoned to another Area of your senatorial district. What is your take on this?

The issue of zoning is just a tool being used by some desperate politicians to advance their political ambition. There is no binding agreement on zoning but there was previous attempt to have zoning arrangement which was jettisoned at every election we have held as aspirants and candidates emerged across the Senatorial zone.

Here in the Senate, some senators have been elected three or more times, the constitution allows a legislator to be elected as many times as possible and there is no term limit. You can’t keep changing your Senator every four years in the name of zoning arrangement.

How will that help the Senatorial district? It will be an advantage to any senatorial district to have a ranking senator. A ranking senator will have more power to lobby, especially within the Senate leadership caucus. Ranking senators are given preference in committee chairmanship. In addition, they have the ability to push federal patronages in terms of projects and appointments to their constituency. What is obtainable in the field is fair contest which is open to every eligible aspirant or candidate with excellence.

I am in my first term and I am currently the Vice Chairman of Senate Committee on Marine Transport. Experience counts in sustaining my modest gains for my constituents. This is the position we should canvass because zoning will only bring in a learner who will not be able to consolidate on the gains made so far.

Recently Sen. Dino Melaye moved a motion on the condition of Kogi Civil Servants and the Senate resolved to donate bags of rice, why were you part of that arrangement?

Thank you, I like to clarify that any decision of the Senate at plenary is binding upon me.

Sen. Dino Melaye moved a motion under order 43 of the senate standing rules based on the appeal of the NLC President to Nigerians to rally round Kogi workers and donate relief materials to them.

The prayers of the motion were granted and donations of rice, fertilizer etc were taken at plenary, even those who were not around had donations by proxy and I don’t see that as a problem because the Senate was only responding positively to the plea of labour. Relief materials, empowerment items, food assistance programmes have been very common in our country and I believe it is to assist those in need, so the Senate was only assisting as responsible leaders.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017

POLITICS

Izunaso: PDP, No longer a National Party Senator Osita Izunaso, the National Organizing Secretary of the All Progressives Congress and a former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, has taken a jibe at his former party, saying it is no longer a national party. He spoke with Amby Uneze in Owerri. Excerpts:

W

hat are the plans of the APC to capture more states in the South-east, considering that it is the party at the centre?

In every political calculation, our party is doing well now in the South-east more than before. Recently we went to receive the former governor of Ebonyi state, Chief Martin Elechi into the party. In Abia state, we recently received officially all the decampees from the other political parties who joined APC. Today I can tell you that Abia has collapsed into APC. The former governor of Abia state, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu is now with APC. So also as Chief Marc Nwagbara, former Managing Director of Hallmark Bank Plc; former Minister of Labour, Emeka Nwogu; Senator Nkechi Nworgu; Senator Nwanunu; Senator Chris Adihijie and a whole lot of other people have all joined the party. Today APC has gotten its bearing in Abia and if there is going to be a general election today, the story in Abia will change.

In Enugu state, virtually all the big wigs have joined the party, beginning from Senator Jim Nwobodo, Senator Ken Nnamani, Senator Gbazuagu, former governor Sullivan Chime and a lot of other people in Enugu state have since joined the APC. In Ebonyi, the story is not different. In Anambra, you saw that during the just concluded governorship election, APC was a party to beat.

In Imo, we already have a sitting governor and a couple of other people are with the party. So the stand of APC in the South-east is improving and our chances are very bright.

It is important I use this medium to call on my brothers and sisters from the South-east to know that the only channel for us to remain relevant in the national equation is through the APC. Today PDP is no longer a national party as people would think. You may ask me my reasons; I will explain. PDP does not control one-third of the states in Nigeria as we speak.

We have 36 States in Nigeria, plus FCT, APC is controlling 24 states, plus FCT. So if we have 37 states, then we 25 for APC; and if we say we have 36 states then we have 24 states for APC, APGA has one state, and PDP has 11 states. So one-third of 36 is 12. PDP does not have twelve.

Secondly PDP does not have any presence at all in two geo-political zones in Nigeria.

PDP does not have any presence at all in the seven states of the North-west. This is the zone with the highest number of states; there is no PDP governor there. Also there is no PDP controlled-state in the North-central. They have only two in the North-east: Gombe and Taraba. So how can you describe PDP as a national party when it does not have spread in terms of control of states? Even when APC was in the opposition, we had presence in the South East (Imo), South South (Edo) and we had presence in other zones. There was no zone that we never had presence even when we were struggling to defeat President Goodluck Jonathan. But today PDP does not have presence in two geo-political zones.

Internal crises no doubt contributed to PDP’s misfortune, but now it seems the party has put it differences aside and is now working together, don’t you see there might be surprises?

Internal division is a normal democratic procedure, it happens in every political party.

It is not supposed to be any issue because in a political party people always agree and disagree. But I’m saying that it was not even the reason why the party didn’t have control of those states or the geo-political zones because their internal wrangling came after the 2015 general elections. I’m saying that their performance in 2015 general elections showed that they do not have control of one-third of Nigerian nation, so when you

to the Nigerian people.

Are you saying that the APC has delivered on its promises to Nigerians?

Of course, yes! We have delivered and we are still delivering. It is just that people don’t appreciate. When we came into the system Nigeria was in recession but today we have been able to navigate Nigeria out of recession. If it is not an APC-led government that inherited a Nigeria that was in recession, we would have moved to depression. So from recession we are able to get Nigeria out of the hole, so who says we are not doing our best?

But many households are having difficulty making ends meet?

Times like this call for people to take stock of the past and to see how we are going to use the past to leverage on the future. A situation where everything must be done without plan as it used to be no longer works. Today people must make some sacrifice. Whether you are APC, PDP or any other political party, time has come for people to make sacrifice to our country.

This country belongs to all of us. It is far and above anybody, so nobody is deliberately making people to be hungry. No father will be happy to see the children hungry. So it is not a deliberate effort; it is targeted towards correcting the ills of the past and re-positioning the country for the future, in order to have a better future for Nigeria. It is not APC that made people hungry; it is because what we saw on ground can no longer be business as usual unless we don’t want to have a country. But somebody had sworn an oath to protect Nigeria and to ensure that the country remains, so we must have a country, even if it means going through hard times to have the country that must be done.

Izunaso

don’t have control of the nation how can you call yourself a national party?

Having resolved its problems, don’t you think PDP is much more serious now?

Have they solved their problems? They have not solved their problems. You are talking in the future, that is, when they solve their problems. Let us wait until they are able to solve their problems. Are we going to fold our hands? We are ahead of them because we want to control the entire nation in 2019.

We are really working hard towards that and we also expect other political parties to work hard.

PDP is not even an option for Ndigbo, because, it is still not a national party for Ndigbo, that is the point I’m making. The only political vehicle available for the control of Nigeria as of today is through the APC. It is through APC that Ndigbo would bounce back to national reckoning. There is no other vehicle. PDP cannot be the vehicle. People have described APGA as the means to an end and not an end itself. APGA is for one or two person’s personal aggrandizement. It is not for Ndigbo, because there is no way an Igbo man in 2017 would be playing regional politics.

How can you describe PDP as a national party when it does not have spread in terms of control of states?

We don’t have control of the centre; we should be aspiring to have control of the centre not to have control of my house in Ohakpu.

That is not what we should be aspiring for.

We failed it during the merger, when the Yoruba through ACN collapsed all that they had for the new arrangement – the bigger picture; CPC was predominant in the north, they collapsed it, ANPP collapsed it, and that was when APGA lost the opportunity. They should have collapsed APGA and move to the centre. When those regional parties were formed was when people retreated to go and re-plan. You can’t do it alone.

The parable of the talent in the Bible, when Christ told us that a certain rich man was travelling and he gave different talents to his subjects and when he came back and requested for results, those that multiplied their own, he multiplied it in folds for them and those who did not multiple their own, had theirs taken away and was given to those who multiplied theirs. So have we multiplied own our which is APGA? We did not. We kept it because some people felt they should keep it to oil their interest.

It is of public knowledge that the various policies of the APC government are not enhancing the welfare of Nigerians?

That is very wrong in the sense that our programme had always been a welfarist programme. We came in with an agenda to ensure that corruption was removed in the system.

There was a social agenda to empower the poor, getting the youths employed.

That is what we are doing now with the N-Power project and all the rest of them.

So we came in with an agenda to ensure that security is better guaranteed and that is what we are doing now in the north-east.

I think in terms of providing what we had promised the people, the APC is doing it steadily without making noise. We are more interested in the commitment we have with the Nigerian people than the noise we make

As a stakeholder of the ruling party, the budget of 2017 is less that 30 percent implemented and Mr. President just presented another budget for 2018, how do we achieve success in the economy?

It is not true that the budget of 2017 is less than 30 percent implemented. Mr. President had always given directives for capital budget to be fully implemented but I’m aware that because of paucity of funds the 2017 budget has not been fully implemented. But you should ask when was the 2017 budget passed? That was just a couple of months ago. Every budget has a lifespan of one year, so the National Assembly has received a new budget and they have already started work on it, if they could finish it by December 31st and it is assented to, that means it becomes operational

by January 1st.

So let us wait to see when they would pass this budget, because as far as I am concerned the lifespan of 2017 budget is still alive. The constitution also empowers the government to spend at least 50 percent of the current budget even without any budget being in place.

The President has done well by submitting the budget for next year early enough. It is better for budget year to begin by January 1st.

Back home to Imo state, what are the plans by your party to retain the power by 2019?

Imo State is the only state in the South east that is ruled by APC, so to that extent we will do all within our power to ensure that we also retain the state come 2019. How to win the state is to ensure that we carry many people along and try to avoid internal wrangling within the party. Presently there is none to the best of my knowledge, even if there is any; it has not reached to the level where people would say that the party is no longer one in the state. We don’t have two state chairmen, we have one. It is not like the PDP in the state where you do not know who the state chairman is. In PDP, you don’t even know who is who. In our party, we have one state office, one state chairman, etc.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

FEATURES

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

Plateau and Open Grazing Prohibition Seriki Adinoyi writes that the Plateau State Government should act fast to forestall clashes between herdsmen and farmers

Protesters against open grazing at the Plateau State House of Assembly

I

n recent times, herders and farmers who are expected to be partners in providing food for mankind have become enemies in Nigeria, especially in the North-central states where they have been on each other’s throats for many years.

It’s either that the cattle of the herders are rustled/stolen or the farmers’ crops are grazed upon and destroyed by the cattle of the herders.

In either case, the aftermaths have always been attacks, counter attacks, bloodbath and killings. The federal government has either not been able to find a lasting solution to the problem, or has shown a relatively cold attitude to resolving it.

The security agents too though have tried, have not been able to tackle the challenges effectively because of the hydra-headed nature of the crisis. To take the bull by the horns, some state governments including Ekiti and Benue have passed a law prohibiting open grazing in their states.

While the people of Benue have accepted the bill in good faith and are benefiting from the relative peace that came with it, some other states like Taraba and Plateau are still struggling to find a headway for the bill.

The Benue State governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom recently said that the bill has endeared him to his people, adding that the incessant attacks and crises between herders and farmers have significantly reduced.

In Plateau, the Executive and Legislature are still trying to harmoniously consider the bill in such a way that will not hurt the farmers and the herders. The youths in the state and indeed in the Middle Belt are rather impatient with the government; they can’t wait to have the kind of peace their counterparts in Benue now enjoy.

The herders on the other hand are quite skeptical, not sure of what the bill holds and what effect it will likely have on their lives and business. A few months ago, a group of Middle Belt youths from Plateau, Benue,

Nasarawa, Niger, Kogi and Kwara States converged on Plateau State, where the crises between herders and farmers have been most prevalent. The aim was to pressure the various states’ executives and legislatures to look into the open grazing prohibition bill.

Comrade Emmanuel Zopmal, President of Middle Belt Youth Council, who led the delegation had revealed that the call was to compel governments of the six states in the region to ban open grazing in the entire region, adding that the recent gale of

Though Governor Simon Lalong had on several occasions publicly declared that he has sent the anti open grazing bill to the Assembly for consideration, some of the lawmakers have described his claim as deceptive.

Mr. Daniel Dem said that the governor has been reluctant to transmit the bill to the Assembly for consideration by the lawmakers for political reasons

Plateau State governor, Mr. Simon Lalong...should act fast to stop clashes between herdsmen and farmers

attacks across some local government areas of Plateau State, and indeed other states in the Middle Belt region, in which several lives were lost was worrisome. Zopmal believes that ranching was going to pay off both for the herders and the farmers. “The farmers’ crops will be protected from destruction by the cattle, and it will also prevent the cattle from being rustled when they stray away from the herders.”

According to him, cattle kept in protected ranch will hardly be stolen by rustlers who take advantage of cattle that stray from herders. He also said that the herders also have another advantage of feeding the cattle with selected and choice feeds that will appropriately nourish the cattle. He added that the cattle will have the advantage of not contracting diseases from other animals in the field as they will be kept separate in a ranch where any of the animals that are sick could be separated and properly treated by veterinary doctors.

Shortly after the meeting in Jos, Benue State Government considered and passed the bill.

But in Plateau, while government was still yet to consider it, a stern warning came from a Fulani group also outlining that grave consequences that may follow the passage of the bill. Secretary-General of Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria (GAFDAN), Alhaji Sale Bayeri, warned that banning of open grazing in Plateau State would create more problems than it intends to resolve, noting that the Fulani do not know any other method of grazing their cattle, “and any attempt to confine them to a place was a sure invitation to anarchy. It would be tantamount to banning a people’s way of life.”

Bayeri said, “If you want to ban open grazing, you can equally ban open farming because the two agricultural practices go hand in hand, and you can’t have one without the other. You can’t eat rice without meat for the soup or stew.”

He warned that, “The resistance that will come with such measure is not what Plateau needs at this time. We are passing through turbulent times and we are trying to make peace. So, we should not put in place any measure that will make that peace unattainable.” Trying to be political and at the same time tactical in handling the challenge, the state government began to train selected Fulani herders from the three senatorial zones of the state on alternative ways of rearing their cattle without necessarily going about with them.

Lalong understands that the votes that gave him victory in the 2015 election came from the Hausa/Fulani community in the state.

Passing the law against their consent will count against his political career, especially as he wants to go for a second term and needs the endorsement of the federal government that is sympathetic to the herders’ cause.

But on the other hand, the destruction that has been wreaked by herders/farmers conflicts

21

Ëž T H I S D AY THURSDAYËœ ÍŻÍ˛Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

FEATURES

Protesters at the Plateau State House of Assembly

in the state in recent times is monumental.

Many lives and properties have gone for it.

The governor, who is now torn between banning and allowing the open grazing in the state, needed to be tactical in taking his decisions that will neither hurt the herders nor his people.

Speaking during a section of the training organised for the herders in Jos, the Provost of College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Vom, Prof. Hamidu Sharubutu made frantic effort to convince the herders that ranching was better than open grazing.

He said that it was regrettable that pastoralists have continued to rear livestock in a traditional and conservative way which has not resulted into the desirable growth of the industry.

He said, “We are calling for a modern way of rearing livestock in the state in order to boost the industry into a vibrant business enterprise. Our pastoralists have been rearing livestock in the old traditional and conservative way which has not resulted in any growth in the industry. I think it is high time we changed from the old norms. He proffered that pastoralists ought to adopt the new ways of rearing animals in a settlement (ranching) rather than moving about as currently obtainable in the country.

He added that it was intended that from the training, participants would put the new techniques into practice so that they can encourage the government to want to do more for them. Also speaking, Director of Plateau State Microfinance Development Agency (PLASMIDA), Mr. Haggai Gutap said that the training will improve pastoralists’ skills in modern techniques of livestock keeping, leading to high productivity which will form as a part of the state government’s empowerment programme.

He added that Governor Lalong, in his quest to run an inclusive government has considered the huge contributions made by the pastoralists, who are mostly Fulani, in the development of the states' economy and has therefore introduced capacity building programmes to enable them improve their skills in modern techniques of livestock keeping and best practices.

Gutap observed that the agricultural subsector has the potentials of contributing to the growth of the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as increase protein intake among citizens, adding that improving on the industry will also promote raw hides and skin for artisans in the leather works sector.

But in spite of the warning by the Fulani groups and the effort by the state government, another Plateau youths and women group came up with another protest to the state Assembly, alleging a cold attitude of government towards the bill, and insisting that the bill must be considered and passed quickly before the Fulani annihilates all their people in the villages.

The group, called Plateau Youths G-17 for Peace and Progress, led by Mr. Dachung Musa

Speaker of Plateau State House of Assembly, Mr. Peter Azi (left), receiving members of Plateau Youths G-17 for Peace and Progress led

by Mr. Dachung Musa Bagos

Protesters against open grazing in Plateau State

Bagos had protested to the state House of Assembly with placards in their hands, where they presented the bill again, citing persistent attacks by herdsmen as its reason.

Claiming that the bill was not targeted at any group, the protesters vowed to continue to pursue it until it is passed by the Assembly.

Though Lalong had on several occasions publicly declared that he has sent the anti open grazing bill to the Assembly for consideration, some of the lawmakers have described his claim as deceptive. Mr. Daniel Dem said that the governor has been reluctant to transmit the bill to the Assembly for consideration by the lawmakers for political reasons.

Corroborating Dem’s position on the bill, a member representing Rukuba/Irigwe constituency, where the herders have also ravaged in recent past, Mr. Ahile Kudu Simon accused the governor of insincerity. He said that at no time did the governor send any anti open grazing bill for consideration by the lawmakers, urging him to be sincere with the people over the matter.

But Lalong insisted that that the state government was fully in support of a ban on open grazing in the state, adding that government was also worried about the security of its citizens.

The governor, who received the leadership of Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) in his office, this time said he had long developed a blueprint for the implementation of a ranching policy in the state when he was misunderstood to be in support of grazing reserves, pledging to forward a copy of the document to the state legislature for passage into law. The clerics had also visited to express their support for the ban on open grazing.

Lalong also said that the state command of the Nigerian Civil Defense Corps has been equipped to handle the enforcement of the law when passed.

Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Peter Azi, who received the G-17 group on alongside other principal officers of the House, simply said the presentation of the bill was constitutional, adding that the House will carefully study and consider it as was done in Ekiti, Benue and Taraba States.

But in a swift reaction, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), a Fulani group in the state warned the state House of Assembly not to yield to pressure mounted on it from various quarters to pass the bill, adding that it will brew trouble in the hitherto restive state. A statement signed by the state Chairman of MACBAN, Alhaji Muhammadu Nura, said, “the Fulani view the agitation by a group known as G-17 for a ban on open grazing as nothing but political, and trying to incite trouble in the state that is trying to consolidate on the attained relative peace currently being enjoyed.�

MACBAN said it was convinced that “the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which is the supreme law of the land guarantees freedom of movement and the right of citizens to live in any part of the country and embark on any legal business of their choice without any let, hindrance, restriction or molestation. “Also, the bill has negated all international, regional and sub-regional laws, conventions, charters and treaties which also guarantee the above rights including trans-human to all and sundry.�

Nura observed that some of the provisions

of the bill were barbaric anti-human and borne out of ethnic and religious sentiments. “The bill also poses serious threat, intimidation and harassment to the herders.�

He said, “As Nigerians and people of Plateau State, we will not stay back to look at trouble makers trample on our fundamental rights.

So, we vehemently reject any attempts by any group or the state lawmakers to formulate a bill that is harmful to us and our existence. “Let me categorically make it clear that we will not succumb to any politically sponsored bill seeking for passage into law to ban open grazing in our state. We understand that the G-17 are agitating for the seizure of cattle route, grazing reserves and grazing corridors in the state and giving them out to farmers.

That is unacceptable. We are against any plan for cattle ranching, and we would also not buy any land for the purpose of rearing our cattle as being proposed by the G-17. “We are therefore urging the lawmakers to desist from doing what will eventually plunge the state into avoidable confusion. As peaceful and law-abiding citizens, we would continue to not only live peacefully with others, but will also support and promote peaceful coexistence. We also urge our people not panic because of the ill-conceived bill.�

It is feared that the tensed atmosphere currently generated by the pressure being mounted by the Fulani and the indigenes on the state House of Assembly may degenerate into physical violence in Jos and surrounding villages, if not properly managed. Government must therefore shed off political encumbrances and begin to objectively engage the groups in dialogue with a view to finding a lasting solution.

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L-R: Executive Director, KingsGuards Nigeria Limited, Mr Kayode Odukoya; Secretary, Arrow of God Orphanage, Olufunke Francis; Managing Director, KingsGuards Nigeria Limited, Sam Olaniran, and Executive Director, KingsGuards during the presentation of gifts to the Orphanage as part of activities marking the 25th anniversary of the Company in Lagos..recently

L-R, Edwin Ikhinmwin; Representative of Chairman FIRS, Faraonade; Ambassador Nigerian Creative Arts, Emeka Ugwu-Oju; National President, ArtWalk & APCAD, Chief Kingsley Okafor; Director Public Aairs, NCC, Tony Ojobo and former Governor of Anambra State, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo at the Opening of Artwalk Exhibition & Events tagged ‘Abuja Artwalk for Peace in Abuja...recently JULIUS ATOI

L-R Head, Sales and Marketing Peugeot Nigeria, Shepuya Icha; An oďŹƒciaal of Oluwalogbon Motors, Mr Ogunsipe; Zonal Sales Manager Southwest Peugeot Nig, Suleiman Suleiman;,GM Strategy, Sales & Marketing Peugeot Nig., Mr.Bawo Omagbitse; Roadtruckers, Chief. Oladele Benson and Head, Corporate Communications Peugeot .Nigeria, Haroun Malami at the Nigerian Auto Journalist Award where Peugeot Nigeria received tripe Award in diferent caategories in Lagos...recently

L-R; HRM, Oba Kola Adegbola, Ekarun Balogun of Ibadan; HRM, Oba Eddy Oyewole Ashipa Olubadan; HRM, Oba Lekan Balogun, Otun Olubadan of Ibadan Land; HRM,Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, Balogun of Ibadan;HRM, Oba Tajudeen Ajibola, Osi Balogun of Ibadan and HRM, Oba Lateef Adebimpe, Ashipa Baalogun of Ibadan land during the Ibadan Obas in-council press conference where a 21 days ultimatum was given to the Olubadan of Ibadan Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji to stop his high handedness on the law reviewing the Olubadan Traditional Council or stand risk of deposition. in lbadan...recently FELIX ADEMOLA

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍ˛Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

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Group Business Editor ChikaAmanze-Nwachuku Email: chika.amanzenwachukwu@thisdaylive.com 08033294157, 08057161321

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Quick Takes OLX Wins Double Awards Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ?Ëœ Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—Ë›Ă˜Ă‘ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ?ĂŽ ÞåÙ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? ÞÙ Ă“ĂžĂ? ÚÖĂ?ĂžĂ’Ă™ĂœĂ‹ Ă™Ă? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă? Ă“Ăž Ă‹Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜ ĂĄĂ™Ă˜ ĂŽĂ™Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă˜Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ Ě™ ̚˛ ĂĄĂ™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂŽ ĂŽ Ă?ĂŒĂ?Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹Ăœ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă“ĂœĂŽ ÞÓ×Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ ĂœĂ™ĂĄ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ?Ăž ÞÓ×Ă?Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? ÚÚ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ăœ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? ÍąĂœĂŽ Ă?ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁË› ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂŁËœ Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?ĂœËœ Ëœ ÙÖË Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ëœ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜Ă•Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒËÞ˞ ËŤ Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă˘ĂžĂœĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă–ĂŁ Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă– ÞÙ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă˜Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ ĂœĂ™ĂĄ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă™ĂĄËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? ÚÚ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹ĂœË› Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹ Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ăž ĂŁĂ?Ă‹Ăœ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă&#x;Ă? Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?ĂŒĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ ͳÞÒ Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂŁË›ËŹ Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ëœ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË? ËŤ ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜Ăž ÞÙ Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜Ă• Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ĂšĂ‹ĂžĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ëœ ÖÙãËÖÞã Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ?ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ? ÞÒÓĂ? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ?Ă—Ë› ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? ÞÙ Ă?âÞĂ?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—ĂŁ Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ? ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă—Ëœ Ă‹Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă‘Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂŽĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ù××ÓÞ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?˛ˏ

Ojobo Bags NIPR Presidential Award

UNVEILING EXHIBITION GALLERY IN BENIN

L-R: Executive Director, Jude Monye, representing the MD/CEO of Heritage Bank Plc, IďŹ e Sekibo; US Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Stuart Symington; Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki and his wife, Betsy Obaseki, during the opening of Exhibition Gallery at National Museum Benin by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) in collaboration with the Edo State Government, and the Smithsonian Institute, United States of America, which Heritage Bank was one of the lead sponsors... recently

Senate Urged to Promote Bill to Harmonise ICT Acts Stories by Emma Okonji Participants at a cyber security awareness forum organised by the Centre for Cyber Awareness and Development (CECAD) in Lagos recently, has called on federal law makers, the Senate in particular, to come up with a Bill on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) that will harmonise all ICT Acts that are currently in silos.

This, according to the forum, would help protect the country’s national critical data that would help Nigeria fortify its cyberspace that has been threatened by global cyberwar.

Keynote speaker at the forum, who is the Director General

IT of Delta State Innovation Hub (DS-iHUB), Mr. Chris Uwaje, specifically called on the Senate Committee on Information and Communications Technology to urgently promote the enactment National ICT Framework Bill to harmonise all ICT Acts into one foundation under the institutional framework of ‘The Office of the ICT General of the Federation.’ Uwaje said the move became necessary in order to address the digital security challenges in the country’s cyberspace and the nation’s slow adoption of technology by corporate entities with special focus on the need and imperatives for innovation,

leadership, policy-makers and stakeholders.

In discussing the theme for this year’s 4th edition forum of the Nigeria Mobile Economy Summit and Expo (NiMESE) 2017; ‘The Mobile Economy Impact in Nigeria: Policy, Innovation and Investment,’ Uwaje looked at Weaponisation of Cyberspace Imperatives of Cyber Defense in Protecting Corporate Assets, where he dwelt so much on cybersecurity threats and why Nigeria has failed to put things in the right perspective, given the current global revolution on knowledge economy, According to Uwaje, “The World has systematically entered its fourth industrial

revolution, which is about knowledge economy and the global knowledge olympiad has begun.�

The success in the digital domain and platform-centric battlefield, is speed- enabled intellectual property wealth creation in cyberspace. “Therefore it is imperative for the new national assets, which is data, to be protected especially with the emergence of Internet of Things (IoT), which requires strategic intervention at all critical levels of development.�

He said protecting national critical infrastructure will also create employment for Nigerian Continued on page 24

African Presidents Draw Consensus for Inclusive Growth African presidents have reached a strong consensus to focus on regional integration, inclusive growth and youth empowerment in order to achieve continued and sustained growth on the continent.

The decision was taken at the recently concluded Africa 2017 Forum in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

At the forum, where President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi hosted African heads of state and business leaders including President of the Republic of Guinea Alpha CondÊ, President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Côte D’Ivoire Alassane Ouat-

ECONOMY tara, and President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, the leaders spoke with one voice on the need for integration and sustained growth on the African continent.

The business and investment Forum titled ‘Driving investment for inclusive growth’, was convened to increase intra-African investments and cross-border collaboration.

The message sent was that entrepreneurship and private sector would be the driving force to transform the continent.

The Forum was preceded by a Young Entrepreneurs Day which brought together over

200 young African entrepreneurs who were meeting investors to pitch their businesses over the two days of the forum.

Al Sisi highlighted the importance of African youths, saying they should be the cornerstone of development plans in the continent as governments strive to promote innovation and technology.

The second edition of the Forum was another clear statement of intent from the Egyptian President, who, in his opening remarks, highlighted the strong bond Egypt has with the rest of the continent, saying it has always been a partner in African development. Putting Africa on the global map and

paving the way for a prosperous future can be achieved by working harder to attract investment and collaborating more closely.

President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, co-chair of the Young Entrepreneurs Day, reiterated the need for more urgency.

According to him, “We cannot afford to waste opportunities because of unnecessary red tape and associated delays.�

Citing the launch of the Tripartite Free Trade Area in Egypt in 2015, he added it was important that African leaders drive the institutional reform of the African Union in order to Continued on page 24

Ă™ĂœĂšĂ™ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă?ÚÙÕĂ?Ă?Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ù××ÓĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ě™ ĚšËœ ĂœË› Ă™Ă˜ĂŁ Ă”Ă™ĂŒĂ™Ëœ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ÞÙÎËã ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ Ă˜Ă?ÞÓÞĂ&#x;ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ě™ Ěš ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă– ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽË› Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă”Ă™ĂŒĂ™ ĂŒĂŁ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă‹Ă“ĂœĂ—Ă‹Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă– Ă™Ă? Ëœ ĂœË› ÙÞÓ×Ó Ă–Ă‹ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă?Ë› ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁËœ Ă–Ă‹ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă? ÞÙÖÎ Ă”Ă™ĂŒĂ™ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă?ÞÞĂ?Ăœ ÞÒËÞ ˍÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?ÞÓÑÓÙĂ&#x;Ă? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ Ă“Ă? Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă?Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă‘Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš Ă›Ă&#x;ËÖÓÞÓĂ?Ă?Ëœ Ă™Ă&#x;ĂžĂ?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂžĂ™ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂšĂœĂ‹Ă?ÞÓĂ?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂž Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁ Ă‹ĂŽĂ Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËŹË› Ă’Ă? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂŁ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?ÖÓ×Ëâ ÞÒĂ? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ–ĂŁ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă?ĂœËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă“Ă? Ă’Ă™Ă–ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ăž Ă’Ă?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ™Ă˜ ÙÞĂ?Ă–Ëœ Ă•Ă?Ă”Ă‹Ëœ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă?Ë› Ă”Ă™ĂŒĂ™ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŒĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’Ăž à ÓÞËÖÓÞã ÞÙ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă— Ă“Ă˜ Ă’Ă“Ă? ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁ ÞÙ ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁ Ă’Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœËœ ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă?Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁĂŽĂ‹ĂŁ Ă–Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă‘Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă? ×ËÞÞĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ë›

Media Panache CEO Wins Award Ă’Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă? âĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;ÞÓà Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă?Ëœ Ă‹ Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ—Ëœ ĂœË› Ă“Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă–Ă–Ă™Ëœ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ Ă&#x;ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ËŠ Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹ Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂšĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?ËŞ Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă™ĂœĂŁËœ ĂŽĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂŁËœ Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă?Ë› Ă“Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ?Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ ÙÞÒĂ?Ăœ Ă˜Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëž Ă–Ă&#x;ĂĄĂ‹Ă‘ĂŒĂ?Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă“ĂŁĂ“ Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ“ĂšĂ?Ëœ

Ă”Ă?Ù×Ë ĂŽĂ?Ă•ĂĄĂ&#x;Ëœ Ă“Ă?Ă• ĂĄĂ‹Ă?Ă™ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÓåËÖÙÖË Ă–Ă‹Ă˜Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ“Ëœ ÞÙ Ă?Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ‘Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă™ĂœĂŁË› Ă’Ă? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă“Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă–Ă–Ă™ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁËž Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă? ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁËŞĂ? Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ Ă—Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹Ë› Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ Ă‹ Ă?ÞËÞĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă?Ëœ Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? Ă‹ ĂŽĂ?ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă‹ĂšĂšĂœĂ™Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă‹Ă?ÞÙĂ&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? ĂŒĂŁ Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă&#x;ÞÒĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ë×ÚÖÓĂ?ĂŁ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă—Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂ™Ă™Ă?Ăž ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë›

Platform to Celebrate Importance of PR Ă’Ă? Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă? ÞËÞĂ? ÒËÚÞĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ Ă˜Ă?ÞÓÞĂ&#x;ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ě™ ĚšËœ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă?

Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁ Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ě™ Ă‹ Ěš Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă?Ăž ÞÙ Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?ĂŒĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă?ÓÙ̋Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?ĂŒĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? ĂšĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă?ÞËÞĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă“ĂœĂ—Ă‹Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÒËÚÞĂ?ĂœËœ Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă˜ Ă? Ă?ĂŽĂ‹Ă– Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă“Ă? Ă‹ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă“Ă–Ă? ĂœĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂ™ĂĄĚ‹ĂžĂ“Ă? Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂšĂ&#x;Ăž ÞÙÑĂ?ÞÒĂ?Ăœ ÞÙ Ă?ÒÙåĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă‘Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă?âĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂšĂœĂ‹Ă?ÞÓĂ?Ă? ĂŒĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂšĂ™ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ‹Ă‘Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă— Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂšĂœĂ‹Ă?ÞÓĂ?Ă?Ë›

Players in the Insurance sector should penetrate the market more to support government’s yearnings on ďŹ nancial inclusion

MD, Equity Assurance, Moruf Apampa

24

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍ˛Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

SENATE URGED TO PROMOTE ICT BILL TO HARMONISE ICT ACTS youth, improve the country’s global e-Readiness status, improve national security concerns and accelerate global competitiveness.

In his intervention, the President of CECAD, Dr. Bayero Agambi, who spoke on why Nigeria is still lagging behind developed nations in technology innovation, expressed his displeasure why Nigeria can’t get it right technologically.

Riding on the topic. ‘Can’t Get Why We Can’t Get it’, Agambi examined Nigeria’s performance on the mobile economy and proffered solutions to some of the challenges inhibiting the emergence of a new Nigeria.

Citing census data, which revealed that almost 40 per cent of Nigerian Americans hold bachelors degrees, 17 per cent hold masters degrees, and 4 per cent hold doctoral, more than any other ethnic group in the America, Agambi said the data further supports the widely held notion that Nigerian culture emphasises education and places value on pursuing education as a means to financial success and personal fulfillment, yet the country is yet to get it right technologically.

Posing a question why the country has not got it right, Agambi said: “I just can’t get why we can’t get it. I really for a fact can’t get why we can’t get it. Can’t get it that we are at the middle of a knowledge AFRICAN PRESIDENTS DRAW CONSENSUS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH get the FTA fully operational.

Director of the COMESA Regional Investment Agency, co-conveners of the Forum, Heba Salama, in his address, reminded the young and the leaders of their future dreams. “If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough,�

Salama said. This did not go unheeded by the entrepreneurs at the forum, many of whom had scaled up businesses that were ripe for take off.

The 2017 edition builds on the success of the inaugural Africa 2016, which saw participation of six Heads of State and more than 1,000 delegates from 45 countries.

Heritage Bank, US, Back Positioning Creative Industry as Alternative to Crude Oil Heritage Bank Plc is fast stimulating economic diversification through support for the Nigerian creative industry towards sustainable, persistent growth as alternative to crude oil.

The MD/CEO of the bank, Ifie Sekibo yesterday stated this at the Exhibition Gallery of National Museum Benin by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) in collaboration with the Edo State Government, and the Smithsonian Institute, United States of America, which Heritage Bank was the lead sponsors.

The exhibition focused on photographic works of Chief Solomon Alonge, photographer to Royal Court of Benin kingdom during the reign of Oba Akenzua II. Represented by the Executive Director, Jude Monye, affirmed, “the art and culture industry has become one of the major contributors to so many countries gross domestic products (GDP) and Heritage Bank is committed to supporting it because it is part of Nigeria’s heritage.�

According to him, Heritage Bank has continued to make efforts in supporting ideologies like this, using arts as a tool to promote cultural awareness and to help younger Nigerians form a strong sense of National identity.

He assured that the bank would always be driven by cultural heritage in delivering distinctive financial services to create, preserve and transfer wealth.

In his presentation, the Minister of Information and

Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, called on states to emulate Edo in collaborating with the federal government to promote culture, tourism and the arts.

The minister, who was represented by Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Yusuf Usman, said synergy amongst corporate bodies, states and the federal government would guarantee diversification of Nigeria’s economy whilst showcasing its rich culture.

He commended Heritage Bank, Smithsonian Institute, US Embassy and others for

the exceptional supports in making a huge success of the Exhibition Gallery at the National Museum Benin by the NCMM. Edo State, Gov Godwin Obaseki, while appreciating the Smithsonian Institution, said the exhibition would add to state’s quest to develop tourism as it makes a connection between past and present.

The governor said art was assuming a wider national importance and the possibility of it being developed as a self-sustaining alternative to oil revenue was now being

appreciated across the country.

Earlier, US Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Stuart Symington described the occasion as historic to both Nigeria and America.

The Director Emerita, Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, USA, Dr. Johnnetta Cole, said that the exhibition was first in Africa and to showcase the rich culture of Benin kingdom.

The Oba of Benin, Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewure II, said Benin artworks are largely rituals, some are used for recording history, to

place on record events that happened in different periods in Benin History.

A representative of the Oba, the Iyase of Benin Kingdom, Chief Sam Igbe, said the Benin artworks gained prominence in Europe in 1897 after the Kingdom was attacked by the British soldiers, who later took the artworks to Europe.

The high point of the event was the launching of the book “Fragile Legacies,� the photographs of Solomon Osagie Alonge, and a tour of the exhibition area by governor Obaseki.

BRAINSTORMING ON CONSUMER PROTECTION

L-R: President, Consumer Advocacy Foundation Of Nigeria (CAFON), Mrs. Sola Salako-Ajulo; Director General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mr. Babatunde Irukera; President, Life International Foundation Incorporated, Dr. Olu Usim-Wilson and National President, National Association of Telecom Subscribers at a session organised by the Council ... recently

CPC Advises Business Owners on Consumer Complaints Raheem Akingbolu Goods manufacturers and service providers have been urged to be responsive to consumer grievances and prioritise complaint resolution policies and mechanism. The Director General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Babatunde Irukera, who stated this, also stressed that such practice is the hallmark of company and brand reputation.

The DG noted that the current regime was unsustainable as it is tantamount to government subsidising business, stating that the CPC should not substitute company customer care as

a multi-company customer service desk.

Specifically, he opined that businesses have factored the cost of complaint resolution into their profitability and as such should not outsource it to the government, while underscoring the important role of the CPC in ensuring resolution that is fair and equitable.

The director general made the assertion while announcing a more collaborative relationship with the Civil Society, Consumer Protection Associations (CPAs), Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and CommunityBased Organisations (CBOs) at a round-table session organised by the Council in Abuja.

He argued that “companies have both commercial and social contracts with consumers.

On the motive behind the round table forum, Irukera asserted that the Council seeks an effective partnership with the civil society for robust protection of consumers across our vast country. According to him, “Any credible and people-oriented leadership will embrace civil society and as such for me, an engagement with those in civil society is paramount�.

As part of the new engagement, the director general disclosed that the Council was implementing a more stringent registration process for CSOs, NGOs, CBOs and

CPAs, explaining that the additional scrutiny is to ensure the integrity and credibility of both the Council and its partners.

Irukera, while fielding questions from reporters after addressing the session, said “the most important thing to achieve from here is to first of all, let the civil society generally know that we believe that the shared burden of consumer protection is something that we must continue to emphasise and highlight and to also create a network where we are exchanging and ideas and direction.�

Also speaking at the event, the representative of

the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Professor Abimbola Uzomah observed that the work of consumer protection should not be left to the Council alone, emphasising that it was the responsibility of every Nigerian consumer to entrench a virile consumer protection in Nigeria.

Uzomah, who said marketplace abuse has become so prevalent in Nigeria because of consumer apathy, commended the Council for organising the strategic engagement with NGOs, CBOs and other relevant stakeholders with the aim of extending consumer education to the grassroots.

Vodacom: Technology Adoption Will Enhance Business Productivity, Efficiency Group Business Editor

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

Emma Okonji

Ă™Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ äĂ?

Comms/e-Business Editor

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

ÙÎÎã Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?

Senior Correspondent

Ă‹Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă— Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ĂŒĂ™Ă–Ă&#x; (Advertising) Correspondents

Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ ĂœĂ™Ă•Ă? (Labour) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Maritime) ÔÓÙĂ?Ă™Ăœ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? (Energy) Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă?ÔÙ (Nation’s Capital) ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă‹ Ă’Ă“Ă—Ă‹ (Money Mkt) Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ăœ (Energy) Reporters

Ă&#x;Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă?Ă‘Ă’Ă? (Money Market) Ă™Ă?Ă‹ Ă–Ă?Ă•Ă’Ă&#x;ÙÑÓĂ? (Cap Mkt)

The Managing Director of Vodacom Business Nigeria, Lanre Kolade has called on Nigerian Business owners to adopt new technologies that will drive productivity and efficiency in business.

According to him, new technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data Analytics would continue to transform and disrupt the business world, and would also remain the future determinant for small and enterprise businesses to

remain competitive.

Kolade who spoke at the Business Day CEO Forum Nigeria 2017, an annual thought leadership initiative in collaboration with McKinsey and Co, Which held recently in Abuja, said: “Technology such as IoT enables growth across business sectors. Today, many organisations are using this technology to cut costs, reduce risk, increase revenue and efficiency�.

Businesses in the Africa are gradually adopting IoT, with Nigeria being one of the

leading IoT markets in Africa.

This adoption is driven by the increasing availability of affordable smart devices, coupled with the need for enterprises to deliver shareholder value, Kolade said.

Citing Vodafone’s Global IoT barometer report 2017, Kolade said the adoption of IoT had grown significantly from 12 per cent in 2013 to 29 per cent in 2017 and 49 per cent of these adopters use IoT in conjunction with analytics to improve business decision-making.

“In Africa, disruptive technologies such as IoT hold significant potential and the opportunities are found in different sectors. From finance and insurance to manufacturing and agriculture, including the education sector, organisation of all sizes are using IoT to optimise processes, automate production and monitor the supply chain. “We can use technology to disrupt education, with broadband penetration, digitization becomes possible and education contents will be more accessible

to all in Nigeria,� Kolade said.

Vodacom is using technology to address challenges in, education, healthcare and agriculture in Africa. Vodacom recently deployed IoT solution for education and healthcare in Kaduna state using a mobile school management solution, which provides real-time visibility of all administrative activities at over 4000 schools.

The healthcare solution monitors stock level and distribution of essential medicines in over 250 medicine dispensary facilities in the state.

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍ˛Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

BUSINESSWORLD

E-BUSINESS

Kwara Revenue Agency Generates N18.2bn in 11 Months Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) has said, it realised a sum of N18.2 billion between January and November this year as against the N17.2 billion generated in 2016.

He however said that the present socioeconomic situations and political pressures in the state have posed challenges against attaining the set target of N30 billion annually.

Speaking at a news conference on activities of the state government agency in Ilorin on Tuesday, the executive chairman of the KWIRS, Dr. Murtala Awodun, said that record of performance for 2017 had showed that the

N30billion annual target was realisable.

According to him, “our target is to hit N24 billion.

However, we are hoping to hit N20 billion at the end of 2017.

There’s nothing stopping the state from hitting N30 billion annually�.

The KWIRS boss linked some of the challenges facing the establishment to the recent local government elections in the state, saying that the election, which was postponed on three occasions, affected operations and fortune of the agency.

He explained that the agency had to relax its operations during the election period to discourage possible allegations of blackmail against

the government establishment.

Awodun, who also said that the agency was being considerate and sensitive to current socioeconomic plight and conditions of the people in the state, added that there should be significant improvement in tax payment of the needed infrastructure is available.

He also talked about challenges of the single treasury account TSA, identification and enumeration of taxable adults and corporate entities.

The KWIRS boss said that people did not willingly pay tax in the state, adding that the agency had resorted to waiting for them to come for government services to ask for the payment of their tax.

Nigerian Breweries Adds Stella Beer to its Portfolio Raheem Akingbolu In what looks like a strategic brand extension, Nigerian Breweries has launched a new larger beer called Stella, to give consumers fresh experience and change the style and trend of the consumer market.

Present at the unveiling in Lagos were representatives from Nigerian Breweries, including Marketing Director Nigerian Breweries Franco Maria Maggi, Portfolio Manager Premium Lager Brands Tokunbo Adodo, Brand Manager Global Brands Oreoluwa Kolawole, amongst others.

The Nigerian Breweries said it launched the premium brewed International lager beer for the satisfaction of

millions of beer lovers in its stable of quality for exciting consumer experience.

Speaking on the launch of the new offering, Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Franco Maria Maggi, said, the new larger beer was birthed in 1897 and crafted

by Belgian Master Brewers with very innovative and unique brewing technique adding that Stella Lager Beer is original in its recipe and brewing process. “Nigerian Breweries is passionate about delivering quality and consistent value to our consumers. We are excited by the wide acceptance our products continue to receive amongst consumers. Over the years, we have worked

Casers Group Anniversary Raheem Akingbolu As part of activities to celebrate 30 years of outstanding creative solutions, one of Nigeria’s most decorated creative groups, Casers is taking bold steps to identify and nurture young creative talents that will shape the future of the country’s creative industry with the launch of its Creative Youth Challenge.

The Creative Youth Challenge (CYC), a social responsibility initiative was preceded by a Creative Contest.

The online contest which was thrown open in November, 2017 invited participants to creatively express Influence as the subject theme using Audio, Visual Arts, Creative Writing and Others Art Forms.

A total cash prize of $12,000 will be won.

Twelve winners, three for each category, selected carefully by the contest’s judges- Babatunde Sule, Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Michael Epacka and Osa Okunkpolor will be unveiled and presented with cash prizes at the group’s 30th anniversary dinner and grand exhibition on December 13th, 2017 in Lagos.

30 youth finalists selected from the Influence Contest will participate in a Creative Boot camp to hold early next year

hard to earn the trust of our consumers, introducing Stella Lager Beer is our way of assuring millions of beer lovers that we will continue to innovate to deliver superior products and value to them at every ask.�

Unconventional in its recipe, brewing process and taste, Stella Lager Beer is unique for its name, its great quality, and its premium heritage. It delivers a refined and consistently smooth lager taste with intense refreshment. It is the preferred choice for upwardly mobile, knowledgeable and confident young Nigerian men with a genuine sense of self in a world buzzing with many loud and conflicting voices.

Commemorates

during which there would be a selection process for recipients of the scholarship awards under the Creative Youth Challenge Scheme.

Chairman, Casers Group, Enyi Odigbo is optimistic about the efficacy of the youth-driven creative platforms which will help nurture talent and address the dearth of creative minds in Nigeria’s creative industry.

Speaking at the press conference to kick-start the group’s 30th anniversary celebration, Odigbo said, ‘’The Casers Group is committed to using creativity to drive and ignite influence. This gave birth to our Influence Contest and the Creative Youth Challenge platforms to discover, nurture and reward young creative minds. With these empowering initiatives, we’re setting a new agenda for the next 30 years as a group and by extension, Nigeria’s creative industry’’.

Narrating the Casers Group success story to journalists at the conference, Vice Chairman, Ikechi Odigbo identified perseverance, commitment and high premium on telling compelling brand stories as key components of the brand’s philosophy. ‘’Through the years, the quest to always do things better has enabled the premium positioning of Casers Group as

30th

a thought leader, change agent and builder of enduring client relationships. Our successes as a group is tied to commitment, dedication, and collective genius brought to the fore by a co-creative relationship with clients starting with our first set of clients-First Aluminium, African Continental Bank, Mililo Rough Rider Condoms, Carnco and Globe Motors to a current array of enviable client partners that include MTN, Google, Visa, SC Johnson, Axa Mansard, Interswitch, Unilever Sterling Bank, Kate Industries, Dano, BAT, Wrigleys, Kellogs, Mac, Guinness, Diageo, Huawei, Lumos, Novartis among others. ’At the turn of the millennium, Casers became affiliated to DDB, one of the biggest advertising networks in the world/global advertising networks. Hence, their affiliation with another Global network was ended because DDB offered better competitive advantage and the opportunity to develop people. Our Child Education Scheme has eased the burden of payment of school fees for our staff’’.

The Vice-Chairman added that the group’s decision to extend to countries in West and Central Africa has made the group the leading force in the region.

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT OLODU KEONYEDI

Retire Young

R

etirement is the last time in the mind of most youth today. Why think about retirement when you Ă?ÞÓÖÖ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ͔͑ ÚÖĂ&#x;Ă? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ? ÞÙ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•ËŁ ĂŁ advice would be to start planning your exit even before you begin any

job.

If your plan is to retire at age 60 or working Ă?Ă™Ăœ ͔͑ ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă• ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ is already late. I have seen too many retirees whose monthly pensions could barely take care of their needs. It still shocks me to know that millions and millions of hardworking people are betting all their ďŹ nancial future and security on the government or pension managers to handle it.

We in this age needs to be more ďŹ nancially responsible for our ďŹ nancial future rather than depending solely on a company or government to take care of us when our working days are over.

Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂŁ Ă‹Ă?Ă•Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă‹Ăž ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă? Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă™ Dangote in? Do you think he will be in one of ÞÒÙĂ?Ă? ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ ÚËĂ?Ă•Ă‹Ă‘Ă?ËŁ Ă’Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă?ĂĄĂ?Ăœ Ă“Ă? Ă™Ë Ă’Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ’ĂŁ Ă’Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒÙĂ?Ă? retirement plans is that he is using dierent forms of leverage to plan for his ďŹ nancial future.

Our school system trains people to be employees rather than to be business owners/entrepreneurs and that is why most of us are not ĂšĂœĂ?ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă? Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂĄĂ? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ăœ it to be handled by the government or their company.

I believe we need to be better educated and prepare to handle our retirement early. In order Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ÞÙ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ ÒÙå ÞÙ use dierent forms of leverage; leverages are activities/things that help you work less and less while you earn more and more.

We will be discussing some of the leverages below.

The leverage of words/mind: One of the major leverage in retiring young is the Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă‘Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă“Ă˜ĂŽËœ Ă“Ăž Ă’Ă‹Ă? ÞÒĂ? ÚÙåĂ?Ăœ ÞÙ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? you rich or make you poor. Words are leverage; words are powerful tools for the brain. Words Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă’ Ă™Ăœ ĂšĂ™Ă™ĂœË› Ă™Ă&#x; Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ to learn the power of words and how rich people use rich words and poor people use poor words.

Getting rich and retiring young begins with your words and words are free. Ă™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ËŞĂž ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă•Ă?Ă?Ăš Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă˜ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂŽĂ?Ëž ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? ËŤ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ËŞĂž Ă‹ĘĽĂ™ĂœĂŽ ÓÞˏ ËŤ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ËŞĂž ĂŽĂ™ ÓÞˏ ËŤĂĄĂ? ĂŽĂ™Ă˜ËŞĂž Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁËœËŹ ˍÒÙå Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ ĂŽĂ™Ă˜ËŞĂž Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ã˛ˏ Poor people use poor words and poor words create poor people. What you say becomes ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂœĂ?ËÖÓÞã˛ Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă?ÞÙÚ Ă?Ă‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ËŞĂž Ă‹ĘĽĂ™ĂœĂŽ Ă“Ăž Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ ÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă’ ĂĄĂ? ĂŽĂ™Ă˜ËŞĂž Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒËÞ time instead we should spend time planning how we can aord it or ask or learn from people that has what we want. Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ ÞÓ×Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹ĂŁËœ ËŤ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ËŞĂž Ă‹ĘĽĂ™ĂœĂŽ ÓÞˏ Ă™Ăœ ËŤ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ËŞĂž ĂŽĂ™ ÞÒËÞˏ Ă™Ăœ ËŤĂ“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă•ĂŁËŹ Ă™Ăœ ËŤ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă˜Ă?Ă Ă?Ăœ ĂŒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă’ËœËŹ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž ÚÙåĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă&#x;Ă– Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ— Ă™Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă‘Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ăž Ă‹Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ăž

yourself. Ă™Ă&#x; ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœËœ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă‹Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ë› Ă™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ę¨Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– future by changing the words you use and the way you think. If you can change your words and ÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă’Ăž ÞÙ ÞÒÙĂ?Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă’Ëœ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– become easy.

The leverage of your plan:

Ă˜ Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ÞÙ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă’Ă‹ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă‹ ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜Ë› Ă’Ă? ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ ÞÓ×Ă? Ă–Ă“Ă—it. I would advise a time limit of ďŹ ve to ten years if you are working in a very good company and a year if you are working in a place where you are Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂšĂ‹Ă“ĂŽËœ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă‹ĂšĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă™Ăœ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;ÖʨÖÖĂ?ĂŽË› One advantage of retiring young is that you ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă? ÞÓ×Ă? ÞÙ Ă‘Ă?Ăž ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă’Ë› Ă’Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŒĂ–Ă?Ă— åÓÞÒ having a job is that it gets in the way of getting rich and retiring young. Ă™Ă?Ăž ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? ĂšĂ™Ă™ĂœË› Ă’Ă‹Ăž Ă“Ă? ĂĄĂ’ĂŁ Ă?Ă™ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă?Ă‹ĂŁËœ ËŤ Ă’Ă?Ă˜ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă—ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ù×Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă‘Ă™ ĂŽĂ™ĂĄĂ˜Ë›ËŹ Ă˜ ÙÞÒĂ?Ăœ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂŽĂ?Ëœ ÞÒĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ËŤ ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ on working hard all my life and then I will become ĂšĂ™Ă™ĂœĂ?Ăœ Ă‹Ę°Ă?Ăœ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ?˛ˏ Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă&#x;Ă? ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ ĂĄĂ? ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜Ăž ÞÙ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă“Ă–ĂŽ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? we will ďŹ rst get the blueprint of the house beĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ĂĄĂ’ĂŁ ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ Ă“Ăž Ă?Ù×Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ę¨Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ? ĂŽĂ™Ă˜ËŞĂž Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÓÞˣ Start your future today by creating a plan or ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă“Ă–ĂŽ Ă‹ ĂŒĂœĂ“ĂŽĂ‘Ă? ÞÙ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŽĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă—Ë› Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă–Ă–Ă™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëž Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂŁ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂŽ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ™Ă™Ă•Ă?Ëœ Ă–Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă˜ ÞÙ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? ÞËÚĂ?Ă?Ëœ Ă‹ĘľĂ?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă‹ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă‘Ă?Ăž Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™ Ă™Ă˜Ë› Getting rich and retiring young begins with ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’Ăž Ă—Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂžËœ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’Ăž ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’Ăž ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜Ë› Ę°Ă?Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă‹ĂžËœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂœĂŁ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ steps with easy.

The leverage of your action: Ă’Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ’ĂŁ Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? ĂŽĂ™ Ă˜Ă™Ăž ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ? young or even enjoy their retirement is because ÞÒĂ?ĂŁ ĂŽĂ™Ă˜ËŞĂž ÞËÕĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă Ă? ÞÒËÞ˛ Ă˜ the world today only 5 percent is rich and retire young because the 95 percent did not take any action that the 5 percent took. Ă’Ă? ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ? ÞÒËÞ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ËÖÖÙå ÞÒĂ?Ă— ÞÙ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ë? Ă?Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă?ÞËÞĂ?Ëœ paper assets and businesses; note that paid employment was not included. ĂšĂ?Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÓ×Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ building businesses rather than working for money. If you want to retire young you must need to work less and earn more. In order to do ĂžĂ’Ă‹ĂžËœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ— Ă™Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă‘Ă?Ë› Ù×Ă? of the leverages that you must use are: Ëž ÞÒĂ?Ăœ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ëž ÞÒĂ?Ăœ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? ÞÓ×Ă? Ëž ÞÒĂ?Ăœ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă?

If you are working hard physically and not getĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă’Ă?Ă‹ĂŽ Ę¨Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁËœ ÞÒĂ?Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŒĂ‹ĂŒĂ–ĂŁ Ă?Ù×Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ËŞĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă‘Ă?Ë› Financial education will help you retire young Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă•Ă?Ă?Ăš ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂĄĂ?ËÖÞÒ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă’Ă“Ă? is why I write and conduct ďŹ nancial education seminars; any organization that is interested in helping their stas plan for their retirement can contact us through our details below.

Olodu keonyedi – is a trained engineer and by passion and personal development a public/motivational speaker, a business coach and human capacity developer, he has a B.Eng degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, he is a member of Nigeria Society of Engineer and a COREN registered Engineer.

Email: olodukeonyedi@gmail.com Tel: 08037489704, www.instagram.com/sir_keon. www.facebook.com/olodu keonyedi_mentorship

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Driving IT Professionalism in the Public Sector Emma Okonji examines the importance of the annual summit of Nigeria Information Technology Professionals in the Civil and Public Service in enhancing IT professionalism among its members In spite of the fact that Information Technology (IT) enables efficiency in government processes, civil service workers appear to be slow in adopting technologies that are creating a lot of disruptions in the technology space. But the annual summit of Nigeria Information Technology Professionals in Civil and Public Service, which is an interest group of the Nigerian Computer Society (NCS) is designed to address the situation and to add value to IT professionalism.

This year’s three-day summit, which is holding in Abuja, with the theme, ‘Achieving National Economic Recovery and Growth – The Role of Information and Communications Technology’, runs from December 13-15.

Enhancing IT professionalism The summit, which is endorsed by NCS and Computer Professional Registration Council of Nigeria (CPRN), seeks to use IT as an enabler to help government deliver value to its citizens.

The platform will afford ICT professional and other critical users the opportunity to distill the role ICT in achieving and driving the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

The three-day summit agenda underpins technology in government 2017, showcasing best in class government projects and technology implementations, discussing the future of public sector service delivery and offering innovative strategies for a more effective technology enabled public sector.

The summit offers value across the whole spectrum of the public sector and job titles within the policy, technology, digital, security and communications space.

Government support Considering the importance of the summit in driving IT professionalism, the National President, Nigeria Information Technology Professionals in Civil and Public Service, Mr. Raphael Omosola (FNCS), told THISDAY that the annual summit, which seeks to build capac-

The summit, which is endorsed by NCS and Computer Professional Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), seeks to use IT as an enabler to help government deliver value to its citizens.

The platform will afford ICT professional and other critical users the opportunity to distill the role ICT in achieving and driving the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari led administration

Omosola

ity among members, is gradually increasing the adoption rate of IT services among civil and public workers.

Omosola called on government at the federal, state and local levels, to provide funding for its programmes and activities, and as well release government staff to attend its training programmes and workshops. “We are working towards ensuring that government implements career programme for IT professionalism and that IT is used to drive government business,� he said.

He is of the view that collaboration with government agency like the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the agency responsible for IT implementation in the country, will further strengthen its initiative on shared services that will benefit people in civil and public service.

Importance of the summit Speaking on the importance of the summit to government and members of the interest group, the president said the summit is an avenue to showcase products and services of IT professionals in civil and public service.

The summit also seeks to address anomalies in government circle, especially as it affects civil and public service workers.

He called for harmonisation and integration of data across ministries, departments and agencies of government (MDAs), insisting that Nigeria needs a common database that should be coordinated by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

Local content “As interest group of NCS, we are apostle of local content advocacy, which we believe will increase GDP growth of the country.

There is need for the implementation of local content law because we have the law, but implementation is an issue.

Local content development and patronage will help to diversify our energy from oil and gas to ICT,� Omosola said.

IT growth Expressing his views about IT growth in the country, Omosola said: “Nigeria has talented youths that are IT savvy and we are collaborating with government agency to provide funds for technology startup to develop more local apps that will address the needs of Nigerians and the government.

He spoke against quackery in the IT profession and called on government to empower CPN to regulate and eliminate quackery in the IT profession, adding that it will help drive IT growth in the country.

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The Data Managers Ugo Aliogo writes on Delivery Science, a technology startup poised to assist large organisations get data from the field to manage and monitor their distribution assets better “Google Launchpad is intensive in a good way because it is a huge fire hole of information, knowledge, frameworks, and playbooks. We have made significant network and friendship. We have seen that what we are solving in Africa is also valid for Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe. It is also valid for Asia. We have met people who are going to help us into those markets in the next couple of months that we would have not met in a million years and it is invaluable.�

The above were the words of the Chief Executive Officer of Delivery Science, Lanre Oyedotun, at the Google developers Launchpad Accelerator Programme, at the Google headquarters in San Francisco, United States. He cofounded the technology startup company with Chuka Ofili and Dr. Toyin Oshinowo, the Chief Enterprise Architect and Vice-President, Product respectively, after experiencing challenges of non-accountability in his petroleum business. The business was meant to bring him passive income. But it failed to live up to this core mandate. Oyedotun’s truck drivers didn’t give accurate reports after making product supplies. On his part, he couldn’t track their locations, activities, or monitor what happened to the trucks from the point of loading to the delivery. The money he invested went down the drain and the business crashed. “In the end everything went bad for me as one of the drivers sold off 6,000 liters of petrol for small amount of money. The business crashed because I needed to pay back the money I borrowed,� he noted. Irked by the incident, Oyedotun decided to seek a solution. He shared his worries with one of the biggest manufacturing companies in Nigeria. The company affirmed that they had faced a similar challenge. But they lacked the solution to address the problem. They requested his assistance in solving the problem. But he turned down the offer and developed an initial pro-type. Through this he hoped to bring a lasting solution to the problem.

He overcame the temptation of coming with a PowerPoint presentation in order to present a demo for the manufacturing company. Through the demo presented, they were able to see the notifications in the software. With this stage over, Oyedotun, Ofili and Oshinowo decided to establish Delivery Science in July, 2014.They went on to acquire big manufacturing companies as clients and began to work with them in private beta.

As a technology startup, the group helps large organisations get data, visibility and control from the field. These organisations have staff working directly or indirectly for them in the field. Before the group created the technology solution, many organisations had no way of interacting with their customers directly. Everything was done manually, and this creates a gap in communication between the organisation and the people in the field. To assist organisations in filling up the communication gap, the group developed a software application known as Field Insight platform. The application helps to gather data from the field. They have also decided to make their initial focus mainly on manufacturing companies.

The Field Insight platform is built to collect data and provide communication between the Headquarters (HQ) and the people in field. The application can be installed on phones and mobile devices. Once the application is installed in a phone, it can be used to carry out any task.

With the application, organisations can increase their sales and revenue. They will able to achieve this because it provides information on products on sale, and the location of these products.

Therefore, they can move resources to places where it can generate maximum returns. Also, because of their knowledge of market share and competitive information, they can take actions immediately instead of waiting for a couple of weeks for reports to be brought back manually from the field. With the feasibility, they will be able to know when there is a drop in sales and if there is a need for change of strategy in order to fight competition.

The application is configured to work online and offline, but works fully offline in circumstances where a user is in a remote location and faces network challenges. When the user enters an area

L-R: Co-founder and Chief Enterprise Architect, Chuka OďŹ li, Vice-President Distribution, Ore Omolaja, Vice-President, Growth and Data Science, Toyin Oshinowo, Cofounder and CEO, Lanre Oyedotun at the at the Google developers Launchpad Accelerator Programme recently with network, the information can be sent back to the home office. The application is not an interface; hence it involves typing and entering the data to send. The application provides mobile forms that help users do their jobs. These mobile forms capture certain information.

According to Oyedotun, “We provide them capability to customise on their own and create the mobile forms to enable them have the standard forms which they can use for sales order, payment and delivery. The application allows you create whatever form that you want to create and publish it to your workers in the field, so that they can start collecting data immediately. “If you launch a new initiative and you want to create a survey to find out how things are going in the field or what your workers are doing; what you need to do is to type into the application, create the form, publish to everybody and start getting the data immediately. At the home office or headquarters, if you want to create the form or use one of those custom forms, then you push a button to publish and send it to everybody’s device, immediately they will see it on their device and they start gathering their data. “As soon as any data is gathered near real time it shows it online. If they are offline it is captured on the local, therefore whenever they enter a place with network it captures the information at the home office allowing them to know what’s going on. “For the application, a dashboard has been built to support it and it can be accessed with the aid of a browser.

This helps the organisation see what happens in the field on a daily basis, they can see the charts (pie, line or bar charts). The user can also scroll down to see the underlying data that was gathered. “There is a standard set of things that need to be done. Instead of using paper, the user has those standard set of things in his Android Phone. When a sales person visits a sales point or shop, what is expected of him is to collect the data and enter it into the electronic device (Android or Tablet device), then click SUBMIT. “The information is sent to the Headquarters (HQ). The person at HQ can see that the activities of the sales person, the time and get an aggregate view for the company. The form captures their location, time, and enroute. Therefore, if a sales person is not doing the job, the application will reveal it.�

The application is android based, and enjoys support from Google. The startup company was among the four startups in Africa that was selected

by Google to be part of its Launchpad Accelerator programme in July. At the Launchpad accelerator programme, they were offered mentorship and also gained access to Google’s product teams and infrastructure. They were also given get equity

free support. The selection of the startup by Google is a landmark achievement because this will be the first time Google is picking startups from Africa to work with. “Most office applications such as Oracle are built in a particular open source programming language. The same way Oracle did theirs, we have built our Field Insight platform using similar programming languages,� he noted.

Data protection The group has also leveraged on Google cloud security infrastructure which has massive security measure in terms of physical and logical access. The facility is a bank grade security that is extremely difficult to hack. The application has restricted access and role based access control.

There is an audit trail which allows them to know when changes are made. Basically, the full stack in terms of enterprise security are in place because they have earned customer’s trust with their data and they take every precaution to safeguard it.

The Nigeria technology ecosystem The Nigeria technology ecosystem is growing at a rapid rate because of the increasing influx of young vibrant entrepreneurs.

This has helped to increase the acceptance of technology in the country. Oyedotun remarked that the growth pace in the technology ecosystem has made startups to become an acceptable enterprise. He noted the society now understands that people can Oyedotun said: “I think there is more of an enabling infrastructure that has come to place in the past five years. A centre such as CCHub, Yaba which was set up in May 2011 has brought together technology startups. Today, the centre is now a place for cross pollination of ideas. This is very important for us. “There are also infrastructure such as fibre and high speed internet in Yaba cluster. May One and Lagos State Government came together to partner in an initiative which is aimed at providing fibre down to Yaba and the research Universities (Yaba College of Technology and University of Lagos). There is funding for startup businesses now compared to before where there was no funding. I think there is going to be an explosion of startups in Nigeria technology ecosystem. “Because of this explosion, there is going to be some good ones, consequently, more startups will spring up. These startups will make angel investments because they understand technology startups. A lot of technology companies are beginning to get interested in what is going on in Africa especially in the area of technology basically because of small wins.�

Sourcing startup capital To begin the startup, they invested their personal savings and got a couple of angel investors who also invested in the business. They couldn’t get capital from Bank of Industry (BOI) because they could not meet up with the requirements of BOI. Oyedotun said that if government wants to support technology startups, there is need to invent innovative ways of structuring the finance to ensure that people who are embarking on good initiatives qualify.

He espoused that angel investors invested in their startup because they realised that their business ideas were bankable and credible.

Oyedotun added that the investors also observed that the market had a challenge which if they can address, will be a landmark success. “They also saw that there is a long term focus in how we are doing things. We are willing to play the long game in terms of accessing the market. Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) that are set up to fund startups should try to reduce the level of requirements they place on startup organisations. These requirements are way ahead of them, they are requirements for big manufacturing businesses with assets and landed property,� he added.

Success stories of the application The application has made remarkable progress on a client to client basis. Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc has deployed the application for all their businesses and it has reduced their reporting cycle from 20 days to less than a minute. This is an order of magnitude in terms of nimbleness, visibility, data and control for a huge organisation that produces 65 per cent of the flour consumed in Nigeria. In Nestle Nigeria Plc, they have also deployed the application based on the percentage of their users. For the users, they have organised a report that normally takes them 10 days to generate, to less than a minute and thereby promoting visibility.

He added: “Visibility helps them increase sales.

Also, it helps them reduce losses and leakages in the system. It helps them to be productive and perform better. Therefore, they can use same resources to do or smaller resources to do the same thing. The response and uptake from our customers have been wonderful. They are making new requests which we are working on. “We are bringing in more people onboard in order to meet needs and expand to other people. In terms of progress, we are not where we want to be in a year’s time because we have not launched the platform and we have not started welcoming people. We are working with one or two selected clients because we want to learn first. We are taking everything step by step.

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UNIVSA to Ease Mobile 1000 Tech Startups Battle to Win $30,000 at GenesysIGNITE Communication with E-Top Stories by Emma Okonji start-ups that will be selected Chairman of Dragon Africa, Uzaali; Playjoor; Gallantry Obi Asika and Presenter, Tech Sphere; Matta; Tutor Finder by the panel of judges.

Up Platform The development has been Trends on Channels TV, Chuk- and Farm Market. The winners Organisers of the GenesysIGBemas Technologies Ltd, an Information Technology firm has introduced another form of disruptive technology solution that creates ease of mobile communication.

The technology solution, known as UNIVSA, is an electronic top-up platform, which allows customers to top up their mobile phones with local airtime, even when they travel outside the country or outside their location.

Chairman of Bemas Technologies, Mr. Kola Balogun, while speaking at the press launch of UNIVSA in Lagos recently, said the solution would allow customers to create an e-wallet, through which they could top up their mobile phones from any location, within and outside the country, that is captured on the UNIVSA platform.

Executive Director of Bemas Technologies, Mr. Lekan Anlugbua, Balogun, who represented the Chairman, said the platform would provide opportunities for customers to be present in all the mobile telecommunications networks in Nigeria and abroad.

He said that the electronic top-up segment was a competitive market, hence, the firm added a number of things to make its platform unique and different from others.

According to him, UNIVASA uniquely offers the flexibility of sharing call credits among friends and loved ones. ‘’We offer unmatched benefits to consumers, to dealers and to businesses and their staff.

‘’Our aim is to reach our target audiences in the coming days, weeks and months and enlightening them on the features, benefits and uniqueness of this platform,’’ he said.

The Managing Director of Bemas Technology, Mr. Ben Adeniyi, who spoke on the importance of airtime on a prepaid phone, explained that it was critical for the growth of any prepaid service provider to offer many, quick and easy ways for its customers to recharge their prepaid accounts. ‘’Since prepaid businesses for mobile and other service providers are rapidly growing world wide, the volume of transaction is very large, hence the need for more channels for distributions,’’ he said.

According to him, there has been inability to top-up phones of loved ones abroad instantly, conveniently and securely from a single platform.

This has been a challenge of unavailability of a unified voucher that could be used across any network.

He added that the purpose of UNIVASA is to ease the mobile top up experience of the Nigerian users. He said the solution with 400 global operators in over 130 countries. ‘’This is very different from what the banks have, because the banks are only targeting the banked without the unbanked. ‘’The unbanked is about 50 per cent and UNIVASA is targeting the unbanked and the banked.

NITE technology pitch and conference for startups have said that over 1000 technology startups and technology savvy Nigerians have indicated their interests to participate in this year’s GenesysIGNITE competition holding in Enugu tomorrow. Winners will go home with $30,000 seed fund.

GenesysIGNITE, is being organised by Genesys Tech Hub in collaboration with CFAtech.ng, and this will be the first time in the South-east and South-south region of the country, where technology startups will compete for a seed investment of $30,000 in cash, in addition to the support that will be given to the three

commended by a number of technology experts that have adjudged the tech pitch to be timely in order to ensure that young people in various parts of Nigeria are also given opportunities to grow.

Among the 1000 registration, a total of 147 start-ups entered for the competition and at the end of the day, nine of them were selected to pitch before a panel of judges made up of the Founder of Startup Arewa, Mohammed Ibrahim; CEO of iBez Solutions, Ommo Clark; Manager at Heartland Incubation Hub, Kolapo Ogungbile; Manager at Ventures Platform, Kayode Oyewole; Founder of Startups South, Uche Aniche;

wuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. Speaking ahead of the selection process, Founder of GenesysTechHub, Kingsley Eze, expressed optimism and confidence in the credibility as well as the wealth of experience of the judges. “We believe that the expertise and integrity of the judges will also boost the credibility of the selection process,� Eze said.

According to him, judges would also inspire the selected and invited startups as well as the South-east tech community in general.

The selected startups that will pitch before the panel of judges are Touchabl pictures; Barter9ja; House of Uwe;

will be announced tomorrow during the event.

The managing Director of Genesys Tech Hub, Nnamdi Anika, who was part of the pre-selection team, said: “the quality of start-ups that entered for the competition is quite encouraging but what many of them need is a structured way of nurturing their ventures which is exactly what we are providing at our incubation centre.�

In his view, Agbata Jnr. said the main objective is to discuss latest technology trends as it affects the region and to proffer professional insights particularly for the participating startups.

MainOne, Tizeti Partner COURTESY VISIT - L: Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex A. Okoh; Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation and Facebook to Enhance Internet RCommercialisation, Senator Ben Murray- Bruce; Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, Senator Abdullahi Yahaya; and member of the Committee, Senator Shaaba LaďŹ agi, when the Privatisation Committee paid a working visit to Connectivity in Lagos the privatisation BPE‌recently MainOne and Tizeti have announced the completion of a joint development project with Facebook to enable the expansion of internet services in Lagos.

The partnership will leverage MainOne’s fiber connectivity, Tizeti’s twenty brand-new solar-powered towers, and Facebook’s Express Wi-Fi. As a result of this project, internet services will be more accessible across Lagos Mainland including Ajao Estate, Surulere, Ikeja, Omole, Magodo, Gbagada, Oworonshoki, Bariga, Anthony Village, Ogudu, Ojota, Ketu and Alapere.

Speaking on the partnership, Chief Executive Officer, Tizeti, Kendall Ananyi, said: “Access to fast and reliable unlimited Wi-Fi connectivity has been a problem for most Nigerian residential customers and small businesses for too long. This partnership aims to demonstrate a sustainable and cost-effective solution to the under-served areas of Lagos State through our solar-powered, always-on Wi-Fi towers, and robust internet bandwidth from MainOne.�

Tizeti has built and will operate the solar-powered WiFi Towers across Lagos while MainOne will provide multiple Gbps internet bandwidth to

the outdoor towers via a mix of fiber-optic and microwave backhaul connections. This internet service will be delivered to end users via Wi-Fi, including via Express Wi-Fi hotspots deployed by Tizeti in Lagos. This partnership supports the three partners’ shared goal of connecting more people to high quality internet services in the most cost-effective way.

MainOne’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Funke Opeke, lauded Tizeti and Facebook’s commitment to improving the quality and lowering costs of Internet services in Lagos.

Commenting on the partnership, she added “This project leverages our Internet capacity, investment in terrestrial fiberoptic infrastructure and points of presence for service delivery across Lagos State. We’re committed to improving the quality of access and accelerating the digital transformation of small businesses.�

Facebook Connectivity Programmes, Ibrahima Ba, said: “We are committed to working with partners across Africa and elsewhere to support connectivity initiatives and develop better internet infrastructure in communities that lack reliable and affordable access.�

CBN Licenses Inlaks as Super- Firms Move to Address Cyber agent for Financial Inclusion Insecurity In order to enhance financial inclusion and the cashless initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the apex bank has granted an approval-in-principle to Inlaks, a financial technology company, to operate as a super-agent in the nation’s financial services system.

Inlaks, a leading system integrator in Nigeria and Sub-saharan Africa will work very closely with the CBN and all partners to reach the underserved population as well as the financially excluded. The aim is to ensure that informal workers in Nigeria have access to affordable financial services through its agent network which will address social challenges in key areas such as health insurance, credit accessibility, savings, wage payment, among others.

To launch the service, Inlaks will leverage the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS)’ switching infrastructure to enable inter-scheme Cash-In-Cash-Out (CICO) at all its agent locations as approved under the CBN

regulatory framework. The Inlaks’ super-agency platform therefore shall be enabled to communicate with all its agents and shall also have visibility of its agents’ transactions through integration with NIBSS according the CBN framework.

As stated in the framework, “Super-agents’ in Nigeria shall be responsible for the management and monitoring of the activities of their agents only, and shall not hold electronic money value and would also have information on the volume and value of transactions carried out for each type of service by each agent.�

The framework also states that the volume and value of transactions should be made available to the principal to monitor effective compliance with set limits and establish other prudential measures in each case. Measures such as onsite visits will be carried out to ensure that agents operate strictly within the requirements of the law, guidelines and the contract.

In order to curtail the rising rate of insecurity in cyberspace, Comodo, a global innovator and developer of cybersecurity solutions, and Tros Technologies, a leading Nigerian Information Technology Solutions Company, have signed a strategic partnership deal for the West African region.

Announcing the partnership at a recent press conference in Lagos, the partners explained that Tros Technologies would offer Comodo’s market leading portfolio of cybersecurity products to the enterprise and consumer markets. One of the products is Comodo’s IT and Security Mangagement Platform (ITSM), which apart from its antivirus function, incorporates remote monitoring and management as well as patch management functions into a single platform. Comodo is also offering the cDome secure web platform which includes Dome Firewall, Antispam Gateway, Data Loss Prevention, VPN and Bandwidth Mangement all in a single platform. Also available is Comodo’s cWatch Web, a fully managed security solution

for websites and applications.

Managing Director of Tros Technologies, Mr. Muyiwa Awosile, said: “Partnering with Comodo is a strong strategic initiative for us as a company.

This partnership will help us better deliver on our customercentric strategy in an era where customers are becoming more concerned about the threats that come with connectivity to the internet like ransomeware. “We are thrilled to be able to offer Comodo solutions so that our customers can benefit from Comodo’s default deny technology which has delivered zero malware incidents on the more than 87 million systems protected by Comodo in over 100 countries around the world.�

Senior Vice President, Marketing, at Comodo, Mr. David Liff, said: “From our very earliest beginnings Comodo has been committed to global businesses, offering our security products and services to companies and individuals around the world.

That is why we are so pleased to announce our newest partnership with Tros Technologies.

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Aziz: We Will License Organisations to Capture Data The Director-General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Aliyu Abubakar Aziz, spoke with Emma Okonji about the commission’s plan to license private and public sector organisations for data capturing to speed up the enrolment process for issuing the National Identification Number (NIN). Experts: to exercise their rights come January, 2018.

It has been two years since you were appointed the Director General/CEO of NIMC. How will you describe the journey so far?

Well, the journey so far since I took over on the 23rd November, 2015, has been quite demanding and challenging. This is expected of a critical agency like NIMC, which is saddled with the responsibility to interface with over 100 million Nigerians based on its mandate.

Fortunately, however, I have been part of the system and quite familiar with all the work that has been put in over the years. So, it is a transition, so to speak.

What will you describe as the highpoint of the achievement that NIMC has recorded thus far during your administration?

Without a doubt it will be the progress made in populating the national database from about seven million when I took over to over 24 million currently, with the figures growing daily; and secondly, is the renewed effort and engagement towards the acceptance of the National Identification Number (NIN), as the most fundamental part of identity for citizens and residents. These are remarkable achievements, which we owe to the dedication and commitment of staff because it takes only a committed workforce who believes in its leadership to pull this through. We also acknowledge the push for the mandatory use of the NIN from our stakeholders in the private and public sectors, especially members of the Harmonisation Committee. Indeed, their commitment towards the harmonisation process contributed to the growth of the database, as well as increase in the general public’s awareness about the NIN and its benefits.

Having been in NIMC and retired, when you were appointed DG, what were the immediate goals you set out to achieve. Have the goals been achieved?

My immediate goal was to ramp up the records in the National Identity Database (NIDB) and deliver identity management services and their benefits to the people. I therefore placed emphasis on harmonisation and enrolment with a target of 70 million enrolments by December, 2016 and encouraged my staff to work towards that goal.

Today, we have made remarkable progress as the National Identification Number (NIN) in the database is over 24 million from the seven million it was in 2015. Although it doesn’t meet our initial target and expectation, it is a move in the right direction and signals increased efforts by all NIMC staff and stakeholders to achieving more in the days ahead.

Many Nigerians have been complaining of their inability to receive their electronic, multi-purpose identity card after enrolment.

Why is this so, and what message do you have for them?

With the setting up of NIMC by the NIMC Act No. 23 of 2007, there was a paradigm shift from identity card issuance to identity management. So our focus is on enrolling people into the national database and making sure that everybody has a unique identifier which is the NIN that enables them to be identified anytime and anywhere, just like the Aadhaar of India and the Social Security Number of the United States of America.

And so when we started issuing the NIN in 2012, we didn’t start producing cards until 2014, because the most important token is the NIN which is nationally accepted and verifiable, and thus allows us to do the actual work of identity management rather than be a card issuing organisation.

However, we understand that there is still the demand for the physical card, and the Commission is doing all that is within its power

Recently the federal government re-constituted the NIMC Board. How will this help NIMC achieve its goals faster?

It is expected that the recently reconstituted NIMC Governing Board will help the Commission achieve the objective of populating the National Identity Database, which will ensure that NIMC is properly equipped to provide services to all sectors and aspects of the economy and nation. With this in mind, the Board of NIMC is acting decisively to increase investor confidence in the project in a professional way, so that various opportunities can be rapidly identified and exploited for the good of our economy.

Aziz to ensure that everyone who has enrolled, gets his/her card. So we call for patience from the general public; patience because everyone will get the card in the long run.

What are the main challenges hindering the delivery of the NIMC mandate as quickly as possible?

One of the major challenges we face in the enrolment or registration of citizens is power.

We require clean, constant power supply to run our enrolment centres and be able to enrol

Registration of over 180 million Nigerians into the National Identity Database is a challenging task and, to deliver effectively and timely on this mandate, the Commission is willing to enter into partnership with private and public sector organisations through licensing, to capture the data and issue the unique identity number within the next two to three years.

Nigerians as quickly as possible and populate the database.

We are also mindful that we have not achieved national coverage. We should be in every corner of the country, so that people can easily reach us to get the service. So efforts are being made to ensure that this is done, thus we are working to partner with and license participants who can help NIMC capture data and populate the database.

Another significant challenge is funding, which is no doubt a general problem considering the financial situation in the country and the federal government is doing everything within its power to ensure that the economic situation improves nationwide.

How ready is NIMC for the upcoming mandatory use of the National Identification Number for critical national services like the international passport?

Section 27 of the NIMC Act recognises the National Identification Number as the only unique identifier which must be presented by individuals for transactional purposes before services can be rendered.

We also have in place, a robust NIN verification and authentication platform through which the NIN can be verified and authenticated by government agencies or private institutions offering services or involved in transactions requiring the identity of an individual.

Also, we have about 809 enrolment centres nationwide, and nothing stops anyone who doesn’t have a NIN from entering any of these NIMC offices to obtain theirs before they go to the Immigration office for their International Passport. So for Nigerians within Nigeria, there is no problem; it is only Nigerians in the diaspora that we will have problems with in the immediate future, because NIMC is yet to commence enrolment of Nigerians in the Diaspora.

However, we are concluding plans with NIS to allow them enrol Nigerians in the diaspora on behalf of NIMC and issue them the NIN upon successful completion of the de-duplication process and clearance from the NIMC backend, so that they will be able

What is your overall message to Nigerians in the on-going national identification enrolment, especially as NIMC gets set to take charge as possibly the only institution taking biometrics to ensure a centralised national database?

The message to Nigerians is that the NIN bequeaths citizens with a lot of privileges and benefits.

And like most modern economies where the national identity card is a national token that gives citizens access to government social interventions, it also grants citizens certain rights as regards financial access, credit facilities etc.

However, the major advantages of the NIN include but not limited to: the facilitation of interactions between citizens, the government and private sector institutions thereby promoting socio-economic and political development. Since citizens enjoy a “one-person-one-identity�, the NIN therefore enhances citizens participation in the political process, enables citizens to exercise their rights, facilitates management of subsidies and safety net payments, IDPs management, facilitates service delivery in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), enhances the work of law enforcement agencies e.g. public safety, policing, national security and border protection, eliminates ghost and multiple identities, among others.

It also enhances the ability of citizens to assert their identity, have access to credit from financial institutions, protects citizens from identity theft – an antidote to identity theft driven frauds which expands access to other financial services including insurance.

The NIN enhances e-commerce by providing a means of payment as it is a tool for non-repudiation and security for financial transactions.

It facilitates financial inclusion, hence the advancement of a cashless economy. In security circles, the NIN is an important tool for the fight against corruption and terrorism; and finally helps launder Nigeria’s image abroad, amongst many others.

There was a recent report that NIMC would license private companies to participate in the data capture. When will this commence.

What are the criteria for such registration and how will those companies operate?

Registration of over 180 million Nigerians into the National Identity Database is a challenging task and, to deliver effectively and timely on this mandate, the Commission is willing to enter into partnership with private and public sector organisations through licensing, to capture the data and issue the unique identity number within the next two to three years. NIMC is at an advanced stage to commence the licensing.

After the gazette is approved and published, the framework for selecting the eligible companies will be published and it will contain the criteria, rules of engagement, terms of conditions, among others.

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When ‘Fresh Thinking’ Becomes the Norm In line with the theme of the 2017 edition of the Lagos Advertising Ideas Festival, agencies and other participants who flexed their muscles to determine the best creative works, re-established the place of creativity and innovation in modern advertising, Raheem Akingbolu reports Decades after Nigeria began to appreciate advertising as a core tool for marketing; there are signals that the country will soon carve a niche on the global landscape. At the just held Lagos Advertising Ideas Festival (LAIF), practitioners, especially the new breeds, showed the way the industry should go to become a creative hub. In practical terms, the winning entries showed that the future of advertising belong to those who can re-invent. The theme of this year’s edition is ‘Fresh Thinking.’ According to the Chairman of the LAIF 2017 Management Committee, Steve Babaeko, the entries for this year were master piece that would go a long way in repositioning the industry and Nigerian practitioners globally. “We may not be there yet but with the outcome of this year’s LAIF award, I’m not in any way in doubt that the future is bright for advertising in Nigeria. On the success of the event, I did nothing specially; rather, we (management committee and the team from the secretariat of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria) put the right team in place, from the conceptualisation stage to execution. It has nothing to do with me; like I said, we put in place a strong jury. For the first time in the life of the awards, a woman, Mrs. Julia Oku-Jack, was unanimously agreed to be the President of the Jury. I am really proud of the work she has done. Honestly, I am seeing the results for the first time as everyone else. That everyone is happy here indicates the fact that she and her team have done a fantastic job� Babaeko told THISDAY shortly after the event on Sunday.

The winning agencies To say the result of LAIF 2017 award stamps a new order in the industry will be an understatement. Aside DDB Lagos, a member of the Casers Group, which celebrated its 30thanniversary yesterday and placed second on the medal table, other seven agencies that topped the table are well under 10 years.

Again, Noah’s Ark, an agency that has consistently won local and international laurels, topped the list as the most creative agency in Nigeria at the moment by winning a grand prix. The night also saw the agency won six gold, nine silver and eight bronze medals, making a total of 24 medals.

Its ‘Data is Life’ Campaign Ad by Airtel Nigeria, gave the agency a better mileage at the competition. The campaign, which features a Nollywood actor, Gabriel Afolayan, had recently gone viral and attracted public commendation. With the Ad, Airtel and its agency turn what ordinarily should be a disadvantage to advantage. In today’s telecom market, Airtel is the only operator that is yet to roll out 4G. But the agency cleverly weaves the campaign around Afolayan, who appears stranded on an Island. The actor plays a challenging role by acting without dialogue through pantomimic dramatisation, as being described in drama parlance. With the campaign and how the actor eventually finds his way out of the Island, Airtel is able to tell its patrons that what matters is good network.

DDB won nine Gold, 11 Silver, 14 Bronze winning 34 medals in all to place second on the table. Five years old X3M Ideas places 3rd on the medal table with nine Gold, five Silver and six Bronze carting home 20 medals. The agency has consistent for five years placed been within the first three brackets.

Placed fourth is 7even Interactive, a two year old agency, the youngest in the first four creative fire houses in the land. Last year it recorded a feet being the youngest, winning 8 medal at its first outing. In August it won a Loeries, an international award based in South Africa for one of its creatives. 7even Interactive placed emerged as the 4th most creative agency in Nigeria with four Gold, five Silver and seven Bronze making a total of 16 medals.

In the 5th position is Up in the Sky, another

young agency, with three Gold and 1 Bronze.

This is another young agency making steady progress in the Advertising industry.

BBDO, another member of the Casers Group won two Gold, two Silver and four Bronze, which equals to eight medals; Leo Burnett has one Gold, one Silver and three Bronze, which is five medals; Centrespread wins one Gold and 3 Bronze; STB McCann one Gold and two Bronze, Medals and 141-Worldwide

Though an excellent outing by all standard, the event, which also featured Juju maestro, Sir Shina Peters and held at a better venue also recorded a few flaws, especially in the area of poor management of the crowd that turned up for the event. The organisers have also been criticised for not allocating enough time for audience to appreciate the winning works before being blackout

one Gold and one Bronze to place 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th respectively.

To add glamour to the awards, Chairman and founder, Rosabel Advertising group/ Past President of AAAN, Senator Akin Odunsi and CEO, Verdant Zeal and first Chairman, LAIF Management Committee, Mr. Tunji Olugbodi, were specially rewarded with LAIF Time Achievement Award and LAIF Special Recognition Award respectively. The recipients did not acknowledge that the value of LAIF has appreciated greatly; they also called on practitioners to aim higher and raise the bar.

Unanswered Questions Days after the award, an important question has remained hanging - why are the old generation agencies fizzling out in the game? Even Insight Publicis, the nation’s most respected ad agency didn’t participate in this year’s edition while the few ones that participated were pushed to the background.

However, while some analysts have explained the poor performance on the part of the legendary ad firms, away as reluctance of some of them to submit entries, some have argued that the problem is as a result of poor ideas on the part of the old practitioners.

Two analysts, Messrs John Ajayi and Aniete Udoh, though admitted that the first stage for agencies that are aspiring to win the award is submission of entries, but they also frown at lack of creative deepness on the pact of some agencies.

According to Aniete, some of the old agencies are yet to realise that the goal post for creativity had since moved. “It is high time Nigeria agencies realised the need to raise the bar. The world of creativity has moved from where they are imagining. We need to re-event to catch up with global trend; there is no short cut.�

For John Ajayi, who shares the same sentiment, the fact that a few agencies are winning the award over and over simply indicates that the winners are doing something different from others. “We cannot entertain unnecessary fear that a few agencies have continued to win the award. The truth is that these are set of agencies and practitioners, who have seen

creativity as the hallmark of their business and they key into it hundred percent. If we look at it very carefully, we will discover that it is this same set of agencies that are attracting the little global and continental recognition we have gotten in the area of creativity. For this simple reason, clients and brand owners that are creatively inclined will always aspire to hire these set of agencies to impact their businesses because they (the agencies), have gotten something to show.

While not erasing the possibility of some discontentment in an award of this nature and magnitude, Babaeko had earlier stated that there will be a team independent of himself and the President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN, Mr. Kayode Oluwasona, to take feedbacks and investigate and address any misgiving from any quarter.

In all, for Babaeko the LAIF 2017 awards is a confirmation that the Nigerian industry can do great work which can win international awards, it’s all about packing the entries in the right way.

The chairman also corroborated Ajayi that most of the agencies leading LAIF 2017 medal table have won international awards this year. For instance, Noah’s Ark won an Epica Gold, X3M Ideas won a Silver at the African Cristal while 7even Interactive won a Bronze at the Loeries in far away Durban, South Africa just last August. He pointed out this to underscore the sincerity and excellent job the world class jury brought to bear on the awards.

Though an excellent outing by all standard, the event, which also featured Juju maestro, Sir Shina Peters and held at a better venue also recorded a few flaws, especially in the area of poor management of the crowd that turned up for the event. The organisers have also been criticised for not allocating enough time for audience to appreciate the winning works before being blackout.

This notwithstanding, the creative competition has indeed set a new standard, especially with assurance by Babaeko, while feeding questions from journalists that it would attract entries from some West African countries between now and the next three years.

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Adeyinka: The Future of Advertising is Rooted in Deep Understanding of Consumers The Chief Executive Officer, Republicom Group, Mr. Tunji Adeyinka, has traversed thenation’s marketing communications landscape. In this interview with Raheem Akingbolu, he spoke about new trends in the marketing industry and vision of the Republicom Group. Excerpts: One of the most used words among business owners today is globalisation. How relevant is it to marketing communications?

There’s no way we would talk about any sector without talking about globalisation because it is something that is clearly important to growth of individual or any organisation. If one look at it from the consumer circuit, we see the way the media is influencing consumer preference. If you look at it from industry circuit, you will find out that there’s a lot of consolidation happening on a global basis that is reflecting on the industry in Nigeria and other markets. Whether you are talking Africa or Asia, the impact of globalisation will be very important. The latest move you see in Brexit and America for Americans, are reactions by a certain set of demography who feel they have been left out of the development in those environments. And that reflected very well during the last election in the US. In a country like Nigeria, that is important because if you look at the total advertising market globally, you are talking about $ 2 trillion and a very small part of that comes from Africa. If you look at Africa, for instance in 2015, it was in the region of about $0.25 billion which is extremely small. If you look at Africa and you divide between Nigeria and South Africa, you would find a huge division in those numbers because of the marketing spend that is expended in those two markets. But globalisation is reality.

Media consumption, Google and Facebook, and how marketing budgets are shifting to those media companies. Marketing budget these days are not determined from where we sit. The consumers are here, but the platforms are global and they continue to affect what we do in this space.

Does cultural affiliation have any role to play in advertising?

It’s not just in advertising; any kind of communication that is not dug into culture is not going to be relevant. Culture is a key pillar in communication, so no matter what you are talking about in a global point of view, you always need to localise your communication.

That is why you have the term ‘Glocal’.

In the last few months, you and other members of your team have been pushing the Republicom brand beautifully in Nigeria.

Is this the right time for the group to explore the market?

There’s an African proverb that says that ‘whenever you wake up is your morning.’ The challenge you see in marketing communications today is that clients are trying to consolidate their entire spend because the days of having ten different agencies working for one client are gradually going. Another thing is the area of efficiency of that process.

An average brand owner today will wake up and consider having a team that covers the entire 360 degree domain where he or she will have to brief each person. And to achieve that, such client will think of having an agency with organisational structure; he simply needs a DNA that is linked together.

I think that allows an expert within the 360 degree domain to lead. So in our case, if we are working for a client working with the entire network, the head lead would be one of us. That lead take the responsibility and cascade to the others. Therefore you have one point of contact with the client. Then, another important is the cost. When recession is biting globally and the bottom line is not growing, companies are looking to reduce their spendings. That is why on this side, the issue of consolidation is important; bring the expertise together and offer that service that allows the client enjoy the benefits they want.

In that case, if your PR arm, for instance,

50 years ago cannot be as relevant today as it was. It’s the mobile generation. Therefore, messaging, content, campaigns must embrace change. Those were some of the discussions.

For Republicom Nigeria, what was the take home from this year’s edition?

First, it validated our position in terms of where we are headed. It gave us validation in terms of what the future of the industry looks like and where we need to sit and pitch our tent. We are excited about what we are doing, but we know that it will take time to build what we are building. So, Advertising Week has helped us to deepen the knowledge of emerging conversations taking place between clients and advertisers.

Given the change in consumption pattern, what is the future of the IMC industry?

The future is seated in deep understanding of consumers. And that is where data plays a very important role. Data will be front and centre of the conversation. The future is one where you talk about artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictability: where you would be able to store consumer behaviour overtime and the machine can understand the way consumer behave and a suitable product for them. Culture is also going to be very important. We have the emerging culture.

Adeyinka

is not bringing in the required result and others are doing well, won’t you yank off that arm and lay off people working there?

In this case, our holding company is called Republicom, but there are seven different agencies that go out and work for their clients independently. And if you remember when we had our last media parley, we said there is Connect Marketing that work below the line, field work and face to face marketing. They have their own clients. You have Redwood, a

In a country like Nigeria, that is important because if you look at the total advertising market globally, you are talking about $ 2 trillion and a very small part of that comes from Africa.

If you look at Africa, for instance in 2015, it was in the region of about $0.25 billion which is extremely small

marketing advisory, thought leadership and PR company. They have their clients. Neukleos is a digital marketing company with its own clients. Same for Imagine Business Solution, Integral, Quore Media, and Image & Time.

When we talk about consolidation, it’s not every client that is consolidation minded. In some places where our agencies are currently working, they have other agencies working for the client as well. What Republicom is doing as a holding company is to look at those functions we can warehouse and be more efficient across board.

What of a case where you have conflict of interest, especially when competing brands clash on the group’s table?

That is why we have the holding company.

The companies operate in their different ways.

Each one can work for clients in different sectors. So if you have a client working with this seven companies in a particular sector, with a retainership agreement, these agencies would not work for another client in that same sector. Republicom is not a service provider. We are a back end company. You would hear more of these seven companies than Republicom.

As Republicom, we have some signature properties. One of the properties is Techplus; another one is Advertising Week Africa. Advertising Week is a global platform where you have Europe, American, and North America versions. The owners of that property are working with us to berth Advertising Week Africa. We are looking at 2018 to deliver that.

It’s where you have talk shops, conferences, presentations, for three to four days. The last one was in New York and it was exciting because of the kind of discussions that took place. For instance, the agency model is critical to concept development. Some of the speakers looked at the sustainability of the model. Some were looking at the new agency model. Some were looking from the point of view of clients and challenges changing, therefore agencies have to change. Some were looking at it from the angle that the same structure that worked

Information consumed by the digital generation is so linked to entertainment.

Does advertising messages generally have to be linked with entertainment?

There’s a model we have developed in respect to this generation, and we discerned that entertainment is important for them, but there are also other things that are important for them; entrepreneurship. These are people who leave the university and don’t want to work for anyone. Therefore, for this same group, activism is important for them. The key is to understand them in terms of the culture. There’s youth culture. For some, it’s activism, some entertainment, while others it is entrepreneurship. It’s about speaking their language and it may not necessarily be entertainment. When we discover what the language is, it becomes easier to speak the language.

Who is Mr. Tunji Adeyinka?

He’s a very young man. I started my career as a copy writer in those days. I worked for several years in few agencies and then went into below the line space, where I worked with MTN for several years before stepping out to start Connect Marketing.

If you are not thinking strategy, what do you do?

I think Nigeria, I think Africa. The future and the fact that as followers, we are a set of people who do not understand the concept of citizenship and we believe that our role is to sit down and everybody can kick us around like football. That must change.

Don’t you think we are divided along ethnic and religious lines in recent time?

But does poverty and suffering have tribal marks? These issues have been used to divide us. The leaders come from within the followers. We are producing leaders who are unconscious of their responsibilities. As followers, we also have responsibilities. It’s not just that I voted and stay somewhere for four years, and you messed up education, health care and I sit down and not talk because he’s a Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo man. I think our children and generation coming after us would be disappointed in us if we don’t take necessary action now and put our leaders where they belong.

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Mordi: Every State in Nigeria’s Viable because the Ultimate Resources of Wealth Creation Are the People At a recent launch of the maiden edition of its National Competitiveness Report and Sub-National Index, in which the National Competitive Council of Nigeria (NCCN) ranked all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory across areas including human capital, infrastructure, economy and institutions, Lagos State emerged tops, followed by Delta and River States. In an interview the Council’s CEO, Mr. Chika Mordi looks at the report and its importance for improved governance. Abimbola Akosile brings the excerpts pillars you will see that very clearly. So, for example, when you talk about transportation, there is an airport in Enugu.

After about two years of rigorous work, you have now successfully launched this report... how excited are you about this?

Well, the excitement is that for the first time ever we have an index that measures the states in terms of how competitive they are. This is a combination of almost twenty months of hard work, sometimes with limited resources and we have got to where we are today and people could see where their states stand, which policies are working and which policies are not working, and this could help governance at the state level. This is particularly important because states play a key role in positive economic outcomes that affect their citizens, particularly in employment generation. Unemployment is connected to poverty and poverty reduction is primarily resolved by job creation and when you have competitive environment, businesses prosper and create jobs.

It was the capital of old South-eastern region, there is legacy connectivity that exists and these are considered when it comes to transportation.

Also look at the human capital pillars; here you look at the level of education, number of schools. That is very clear. If you look at the gender representation, which is the number of female participation in state activities, that is clear. If you look at health, in terms of infant mortality rate that is also clear, same as number of hospitals when compared to other states of the federation.

Then you also look at their finance, how leveraged they are, how much revenue they generate, fiscal discipline and all that. There are so many other considerations. We are very confident of the report we have for each state.

Every state has their own strength, in some areas they did well and in other areas they lagged. And on aggregate for the country, we are not doing well. So, if you look at national competitiveness as a country, we are weak.

Coming first is good, but as a country we have problem with our competitiveness. So, this is a relative exercise, it’s not absolute. It’s still challenged.

What will be your expectation from States and other stakeholders now that the result of the report is out?

What we hope, and to be frank with you, we are not just waiting for reaction; we are going to go all out to engage them positively to improve on areas where they are challenged and to help them consolidate on the areas where they are doing well. It is not advisory; it is very much of collaboration. We may see states ranked high being happy with the report and states ranked low being unhappy with it, but I must caution that it is important that they look at the total result, not just the aggregate ranking. They should look at the pillars and sub-pillars so that they can be clearer how the ranking came about, so that they could use it as basis for improvement on what they are currently doing.

Mordi Based on the outcome of the report, indicating that Lagos, Delta and some other states have done well, what lessons can be drawn from their performance?

I have said this before; we have to be careful when we say a particular state has done well aggregate wise. It is important that you understand where they have done well because there is something to learn from every state because we have about more than 26 pillars on which they are measured and within that, there are other micro-businesses. But, specifically, Lagos has done very well in terms of internally generated revenue which has helped government financing, brought stability and made the state more robust.

They also have had a natural resource advantage of having two seaports and an international airport, and the legacy of an industrial base and wealthy large population. Also, the state has been deliberate in business interventions, so there are some positives from that. Lagos also has the Corporate Affairs Commission office, which makes business registration a lot easier, and not every state is afforded that advantage.

However, I can’t remember precisely, but it must be noted that every state in Nigeria is viable because the ultimate resource of wealth creation is the people and they all have them in abundance. If you search very well, there is natural resource in every state that could give them competitive advantage, and it’s just about identifying them, having policies that allow businesses explore those advantages and by so doing create jobs and reduce poverty.

These will create revenue for government and help project execution. But if you base your income from allocation at the centre, that is federal allocation, then, competitiveness will not come.

In most of the rankings, Enugu came around

top five despite being predominantly a civil service state with most industries inherited from the old South-eastern region as the capital then all gone. How would you defend this before critics?

Look, everyone has his or her opinion and it is even better to have an opinion if it’s informed.

However, our methodology is very clear and we have stated it clearly for everybody to see.

The weight we attach to each of the pillars, our survey on how we got our primary data and secondary data are clear. The way we analysed the results are also very clear, we did a lot of cost valuation, our results are replicable, and so people can test our methodology. Given all that, what should be asked about Enugu is, which pillars did they score high and which pillars did they not score high? And if you look at the

This is the first time we are having this report, how often are we going to be seeing such a report?

This is going to be an annual report. We expect subsequent actuarial to be even better because you learn from every experience. There are things we would have loved to do that we couldn’t do; there are some things that were constrained, there are things you simply can’t do. So, in statistics, history matters a lot because you can draw trends. There was nothing to draw from the first exercise because it was the first, but in subsequent ones we expect that there will be historical data from index and off-index to draw from.

NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

RANDOM THOTS Police Brutality It started like a rain drop and now it has become a tidal wave. The clamour for ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ‹ĂšĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă˜ĂžĂ“ Ă™ĂŒĂŒĂ?ĂœĂŁ Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂŽĂ? Ě™ Ěš Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ÙÖÓĂ?Ă? Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŽĂ‹Ă“Ă–ĂŁËœ åÓÞÒ Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? against the die-hard squad members for Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă&#x;Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’ĂžĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ă˘ĂžĂœĂ‹Ě‹Ă”Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? åÓÞÒ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă? and insubordination to higher authority including the regular Police top echelon Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ÞËÞĂ? Ùà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă Ă?Ăœ the squads are located. Ă™ Ă?Ù×Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ě‹Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ‹ĂšĚ‹ Ă‹Ă‘Ă“ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă–Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂŽËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ ĂœĂ?portedly comprise both military and police personnel have gotten away with ÞÙÙ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă˘ĂžĂœĂ‹Ě‹Ă”Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă?

and are becoming too uncontrollable for comfort. ÙåĂ?Ă Ă?ĂœËœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ ÙÚÚÙĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ×Ùà Ă?Ëœ Ă’Ă&#x;Ă˜dreds of protesters took to the streets Ă™Ă? Ă‹ ÚÙÚĂ&#x;Ă–Ă‹Ăœ ĂžĂ™ĂĄĂ˜ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă&#x;ÞÒ̋ Ă™Ă&#x;ĂžĂ’Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÞËã Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ě‹ĂœĂ™ĂŒĂŒĂ?ĂœĂŁ Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂŽË› Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ ÞÒÓĂ? Ă‘ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;ĂšËœ ÞÒÙĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ăœ to be scrapped “are either robbers or have skeletons in their cupboards and Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă“ĂŽ Ă™Ă? ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ùà Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?âÚÙĂ?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?ËŹË› Ă?Ă–Ă–Ëœ ĂŒĂ™ĂžĂ’ Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă? ĂŽĂ™ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ĂšĂ™Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ëœ but that does not take away the fact ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂŽĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă– Ă‹ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă&#x;Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’ĂžĂ?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă’ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ Ă™Ă˜stitution. It does not also erase the fact

ÞÒËÞ ĂŽĂ?Ă?ÚÓÞĂ? Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă˘ĂžĂœĂ‹Ě‹Ă”Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă‹Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂŽ Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ there has been no notable arrest and prosecution of alleged accused squad members. Ă? Ă‹ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă?ĂšĂ&#x;Þã Ă˜Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĚ‹ Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă™Ă? ÙÖÓĂ?Ă? Ă?ÞËÞĂ?ĂŽËœ Ă“Ă? Ă‹ ËŠĂ?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ËŞ that can be reformed positively. This reporter supports this suggestion; the bad eggs should be ushed out from the squads and the personnel should be drilled on respect for human rights. Ă™ ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂŒ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă—Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?âÚĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă&#x;man rights or lives....simple truth -Abimbola Akosile

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Ëš

To ensure progress, the whistle-blower policy must be sustained

Your Gap(s) in Nigeria’s Devt Process?

As 2017 winds down there are mixed feelings over the development process in Nigeria. While many point at some positive indicators, others are skeptical about any real success, which is best measured by impact on the citizenry. For the benefit of the economists and policy planners, what gap(s) did you notice in the country’s development process this year?

THE FEEDBACK

Abimbola Akosile * On a peoples’ level, the development missing gaps include merit, honesty and lack of sense of patriotism, while on a structural level, there is lack of equitable distribution and harnessing of our resources.

- Barrister D. Y. N. Maigari, Abuja

Top gap:

Poor policy implementation, somersaults

Second:

Very slow pace of nationwide devt

* Our economy cum development is growing at less than snail rate. Until we have reliable records of how much money or real cash is actually in circulation or spent nationwide our chances of genuine growth, development and maturity will remain hanging in the balance or obscure especially with our unfortunate population explosion. It’s apt time for our leadership to put truth and honesty first and foremost. A stitch in time saves nine if not the whole ten.

- Mr. Apeji Onesi, Lagos State

Third:

Non-equitable distribution of resources

Radical tip:

Justify priority focus on corruption!

Total no of respondents:

11

Male:

9

Female:

2

Highest location:

Lagos (4)

* We have lack of’ accountability, corruption, greed, no employment, and yet those employed are being dismissed, retired etc?

Unless leaders lead by example with the fear of God development will continue to be on paper.

- Mr. Dogo Stephen, Kaduna * As the year runs down the progress we made in exit from recession was good for us, despite the fact that we are yet to feel the gains of the exit. This year, government has recovered a lot of money from the neverdo-well leaders through the Whistleblower policy that government introduced recently.

The same government has also done well on security; this government didn’t leave any stone unturned to ginger farmers with loans as we are diversifying from oils to agriculture.

- Mr. Gordon Chika Nnorom, Public Commentator, Umukabia, Abia State

in the country gain an improved standard of living. There are few social amenities and economic activities that will provoke industrial revolutions, including the poor banking systems of lending to customers and poor investment in capital projects. Both the State and the Federal Governments are neglecting industries which culminate in the high rate of unemployment, poor governance and lack of political power to introduce social welfare packages, policy on development and enabling environment for business to thrive. There are urgent needs to have a research score-card and scientific analysis, through the oral interviews of different groups, questionnaires and comparison to the electoral campaign promises and the populace demands in Nigeria.

- Mr. Michael Adedotun Oke, Founder, Michael Adedotun Oke Foundation, Abuja

* The gaps in Nigeria’s development process is the poor implementation of the developmental policy with the 2017 budget, which has a negative effect on the living standard of an average citizen with the different economic issues and problems of low purchasing power.

The various demands for goods and services of an average citizen reflect in the dwindling money in the society. Different activities are only in the agricultural, health and educational sectors only. The minimum wage has been overdue to enable an average civil servant

* I see too much concentration on corruption as the development gap in Nigeria’s development process as the year 2017 winds down. Good enough as there is improvement in agriculture; but what else? All other things are as they are or even worse. To fight corruption, it is not the programme they had in the campaign promises they made to Nigerians. In fact, those who are praising this regime, it’s not for anything but their personal love for President Muhammadu Buhari.

- Hon. Babale Maiungwa, U/Romi, Kaduna

* I believe this government has done well in finding solution for the recession they met when the past government emptied the national treasury before they left office, which caused the recession. They need commendation despite that we are yet to feel the impact.

- Mrs. Ijeoma Nnorom, Lagos State * The gaps in Nigeria’s development process vary, although I think these gaps aren’t peculiar to Nigeria as an African country south of the Sahara. Government has to be on alert to avoid policy somersaults. Take, for example, the issue of toll-gates on our major highways. When these toll-gates were dismantled, government posited then that they had become havens for the criminallyminded, so why the desire to bring them back? I also feel our development process will be smoother if this government stops the buck-passing game.

- Mr. E. Iheanyi Chukwudi, B.A.R. Apo, Abuja * Insecurity, unemployment, political maneuvers, and disunity have prevented full leadership focus and economic development.

The solution is to reverse the trend through patriotic leadership. We must also connect our population, demand, supply, price e.t.c forces to discourage smuggling but instead convert their advantages to our collective benefit.

This economy in the current dispensation is biting the citizens quite harshly and needs urgent attentions now.

- Miss Apeji Patience Eneyeme, Badagry, Lagos State * The problem we do not plan ahead or fail to implement the things planned. I remember years ago it was being spoken about how we need to improve our transmission infrastructure.

The then government said even if Nigeria produces 5000 megawatts of electricity, our transmission infrastructure cannot take the load. The then government also said for every amount of electricity produced, half is lost due to the bad transmission and distribution infrastructure. Yet today we are still talking about these same megawatts without doing anything to expand the capacity of the transmission infrastructure. When we were investing billions of dollars on generation plants didn’t we realise that the transmission infrastructure would need to grow side by side with the generation? Our lack of strategic

planning is always going to be an Achilles heel, if we don’t start producing accountable leadership.

- Mr. Buga Dunj, Jos, Plateau State * For me, the missing gap is the slow pace of development especially when it comes to physical infrastructure and the lack of political will by government to implement and enforce relevant policies. If the rail form of transportation is made attractive and affordable enough, the pressure will reduce on poor road networks and the regular blackmail by oil marketers and tankers associations will vanish. We need a faster rate of development.

Also, the anti-corruption fight must be above board and comprehensive; no more sacred cows in and out of government!

- Mr. Olumuyiwa Olorunsomo, Lagos State

Next Week: Your Devt Expectations for Yuletide Period? ÖÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă’ Ă?ÓÞÓäĂ?Ă˜Ă?ËŞ ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă Ă‹ĂœĂŁ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ăœ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ĂŽĂ“ĘĽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁËœ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă‹Ă Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă? ÞÙ ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹Ăœ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂœĂ&#x;ÚÞĂ?ĂŽ ÚÙåĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;ÚÚÖã ĂŽĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă?Ă?ÞÓà Ă? ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă™ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă’ĂœĂ“Ă?Þ×ËĂ? Ă™Ăœ Ă&#x;Ă–Ă?ÞÓÎĂ?Ë› Ù×Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜Ăž ĂœĂ™Ă‹ĂŽĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŽĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž ĂŽĂœĂŁ Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă?Ù×Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜Ăž ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? ÚËÓÎ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă–ĂŁËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă? ÙÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜Ăž Ă‹ Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă—ĂšĂŽĂ™ĂĄĂ˜ Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂœĂ&#x;ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă—Ă?Ë› Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă™ĂĄĂ˜ Ă Ă“Ă?ĂĄËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?âÚĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂŽĂ™ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜Ăž ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? ÞÙ Ă?Ă&#x;ÖʨÖ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă&#x;Ă–Ă?ÞÓÎĂ? ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă™ĂŽËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ’ĂŁËŁ Ă–Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžËœ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ó×ÚÖĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ÞËÞĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă– Ă˜Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ëœ ÞÓÞÖĂ?Ëœ Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ ÞÙÎËã Ě™ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Í’Í• Ęś Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ ͙͒̚ ÞÙ Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă—ĂŒĂ™Ă–Ă‹ĂŁĂ“ĚśĂŁĂ‹Ă’Ă™Ă™Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—Ëœ greatbimbo@gmail. comËœ abimbola.akosile@thisdayliveË›com. Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂž ĂžĂ?âÞ Ă—Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă? ÞÙ 08023117639 Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËš Ă™Ăœ 08188361766 Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËšĂ™Ăœ 08114495306Ë› ÙÖÖËÞĂ?ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Í“Í’

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍ˛Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Laying of new tracks to improve rail transportation in Lagos

ABIMBOLA AKOSILE

Apampa Proffers Ten Practical Tips for Doing Business in Nigeria Abimbola Akosile Apampa proffered the useful tips while delivering a keynote address at the Business Innovation Forum focusing on Conducting Due Diligence in challenging environments organised by Transparency International UK and hosted

by Clifford Chance (a multinational law firm headquartered in London), which took place in London, recently.

In his address at the forum, the anti-corruption activist noted that “Nigeria is seen as one of the more difficult business environments where processes of starting, doing and sustaining business face different adversities such as corruption, crippling policies, multiple taxation, and inadequate infrastructure just to mention a few.�

However, according to him, “every adversity contains at the same time a seed of equivalent opportunity and Nigeria’s business environment is not an exception. As daunting as it sounds and for those who try, it is quite feasible to do business in Nigeria without succumbing to its prime form of adversity - corruption.�

Among the 10 practical for doing business in Nigeria

corruption-free, Apampa noted that “(1) If you are not in Nigeria, you have not started business with West Africa!

This is the attitude that earns Nigerians international ridicule because outsiders think this is all talk since the country has tended to under deliver on the high expectations people have had of it. The clichĂŠ of Nigeria as the most populous country in Africa and the largest economy in Africa is these days followed by a “so what?â€? retort. “The large population and the fact that about 167 million Nigerians live on less than $2/ day is seen as a huge problem but others, the discerning entrepreneurs, see it as an opportunity - One could build a $60m a year business delivering daily value of $0.25 to just 1 million Nigerians and bigger players are actually reaching in excess of 30 million of such customers daily! The country is open to those ready for such adventure!â€?, he said. “Secondly: Be strategic, build relationships extensively. People buy from people they trust so it is vital that you find and build good relationships with people who are key stakeholders to your business.

Be sure to also find other

Apampa people who are like-minded and share similar values with you and build collective action with them to overcome shared corruption and other risks that you are vulnerable to. The right relationships will help you see the lay-of-the-land quickly and safely, to avoid the very real pitfalls of doing business in a weak governance zone like Nigeria. “Thirdly: Establish your Anti-corruption credentials upfront. Ensure you wear your values on your sleeves for all to see. Let all who know you, know upfront that you stand for fair, transparent and accountable business transactions. You may lose some business opportunities but once you are known to deliver good value for money, you will definitely win some

opportunities as well (especially from those to whom it matters).

The pros of doing business the right way in Nigeria ultimately outweigh the cons�, the Open Government advocate added.

According to him, “Number four is ‘Don’t assume everyone in Nigeria is a fraud! Keep an open mind and outlook to everyone and everything until proven otherwise. The danger of assuming everyone is a fraud is that you put up a certain attitude that would repel good people and ironically attract the bad people you are trying to avoid. Don’t assume everyone is a fraud or you won’t meet good people. “The fifth tip is that one must trust and verify. If you agree to tip #4 though, don’t be gullible.

Ensure you do your corruption and other risk assessments to ascertain that you always make objective and good decisions about everything and everyone at all times. As the Americans would say, trust and verify. “Number six tip is that ‘when in doubt, use a guide’. When you are unsure or uninformed about how to achieve good practice in a murky environment, don’t try to be a hero, use a suitably skilled resource as your guide. This is where

you leverage the trustworthy relationships you have made in Tip #2 above to recommend the resource you need�, he added.

The seventh tip, according to Apampa, who is a transparency advocate, is for the investor to ‘Know the Rule of the Game!’ “Committing to do clean business in Nigeria or even single-handedly operating your business is similar to flying solo. If this is your preference, then you must know the formal and informal rules-of-the-game like the back of your hand, so you can play better than anyone else at avoiding the pitfalls!�

On the eighth tip, he warned potential investors to “Be compliant�. According to him, “Governance may be weak in Nigeria but be compliant, else you will be shocked by the compromises you will be forced to make in a bid to “cover up� your non-compliance.

Typically, you find yourself in a position to initiate or accept corruption when all your ducks are not in a row and you have something to hide. Don’t put yourself in that position ever because once you start down that slippery road, there’s no telling where it may land you or your company. Be wise, be

compliant.�

Apampa also proffered humour as a vital tip for doing business in Nigeria. As the ninth tip, he said “Arm yourself with a sense of humour. One of the best qualities to possess as a resident or citizen of Nigeria is a good sense of humour; you need to arm yourself with one in business. It can come in handy as the way to respond to and disarm bribe or “facilitation fee� requests. Try it, and you will be amazed at how laughable it would otherwise be to give in to such demands!

For the tenth tip, he canvassed for patience and a long-term view from those willing to do business in Nigeria. “Be patient and have a long-term view. Patience and a long-term view are required if you want to do business successfully in Nigeria. Our current reality may be very discouraging but the long-term is rewarding especially when you look at the untapped markets for goods and services and the unutilised resources across the country.�

He noted that the tips can help investors to structure their business dealings and to showcase that business can be done in Nigeria with integrity, fairness and transparency.

the construction of the IDPs camp, interfaith worship centre, clinic and primary etc. “We can’t quantify how much we have spent but the items we brought is over a million naira,� he said.

The Camp Coordinator, Mr. Bulus Garuba said unlike other IDPs being coordinated by government, the founder built houses to accommodate all the 1,118 persons in the camp.

Due to the high level of

coordination in the camp, Garuba stated that they have never recorded any case of rape or woman being impregnated in the camp, noting that there was no case of hunger too.

Items donated include 10 bags of 100kg maize, 15 bags of 50kg rice, 5 bags of 100kg sorghum, 40 cartons of noodles, 2 bags of salt, bales of new and used clothes with shoes, sewing machines, toiletries among others.

Dynamic Club Donates Relief Materials to 1,118 IDPs Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja As part of its effort to bring succour to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in hard-to-reach communities, the Dynamic Minds 2013 Club of Nigeria recently donated relief materials to 1,118 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at Gurku Interfaith Relocation camp in Maraba, Nasarawa State.

Speaking at the donation

of the materials, the club’s President, Mr. Eddy Nwokoye said the club was committed to execute more programmes and projects this year and the relocation camp was selected to benefit from its programmes.

He recalled that the Club, as part of its activities in 2016, donated to some visually impaired students of Government Secondary School in Kwali, Abuja with instructional materials worth

N6 million.

Nwokoye noted that the donation was to enhance the educational capacity of the students who constitute the Special Unit Band of the School but were visually impaired.

He said, “From the information available to us, this camp is an interfaith relocation IDP camp with total population of about 1,118 people comprising of 210 families and widows.

The largest family has a

population of 17 people. “The camp is populated by people that were displaced by Boko Haram from Madagali Local government of Adamawa state and Gworza local government area of Borno state,�

Nwokoye added.

The president commended the Founder of the camp, Mr. Marcus Gamache for the remarkable humanitarian service and the Christian Mission 21 of Switzerland for

35

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍ˛Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Theadministrationhasreliedalotonstrategicadvice,lookingatthefightagainstcorruptionfrom abroadperspective,andbasicallyrelyingonindependentadviceinordertomoveforwardinfighting corruption.Itisfocusedalotonprevention,andthisisoneaspectthatalotofpeopledonottalk aboutsomuch.Thenenforcement,thisisthekeyaspectofthefightagainstcorruption,therehastobe accountabilityforthosewhobasicallyviolatethelaw�

- - VICE PRESIDENT YEMI OSINBAJO, SPEAKING AT THE CELEBRATION OF THE 2017 INTERNATIONAL ANTICORRUPTION DAY ORGANISED BY THE INTER-AGENCY TASK TEAM (IATT) IN ABUJA RECENTLY

Canada, Others Empower Bauchi College of Nursing

891 SBMC members trained

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

Ambode’s Wife Makes Case for Less-privileged Children Abimbola Akosile Wife of Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, has harped on the need for Nigerians to show care, love and share goodwill with special children beyond the Yuletide season even as she disclosed that the Lagos State Government was committed to providing facilities for children, including special children due to their peculiarities.

Mrs. Ambode explained that the essence of the Yuletide was “to show care, share love and put smiles on people’s faces, especially the less privileged ones. This is exactly what we’re doing here for these children�, adding that “activities like these help them develop in the right way and keep them happy to explore their potential.�

She stated this in her remarks as special guest of honour at the 17th edition of the annual Development Africa organised Christmas Party hosted for special children drawn from different orphanages and care homes in Lagos state. “The administration of Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, is committed to providing for all our children, in particular our special children. A lesson for us all to learn is that for as long as we live, we must continually glorify God for his infinite mercies upon us and our loved ones. If not for God, what would our story be? “I therefore commend Development Africa (DA), especially Mr. Joshua Kempeneer, Country Director, and his staff members, for ensuring the success of this annual event over the years, God will always strengthen you�, she stated.

Mrs. Ambode, who was represented by Mrs. Mosunmola Olulade at the event which also had in attendance, Senior National Partner, KPMG, Mr. Kunle Elebute; Director, Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Mrs. Laide Latinwo; Business Development Executive, Dredging International, Titilola Adesuyi among other dignitaries.

Highlights of activities at the event, which held at Fantasyland, Ikoyi, Lagos, included

L-R: Country Director, Development Africa, Joshua Kempeneer; Director, Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Mrs. Laide Latinwo; Representative of the First Lady of Lagos, Engineer, Mosunmola Olulade, Senior Partner, KPMG Consulting, Kunle Elebute and Corporate Executive, Dredging International, Titilola Adesuyi, during the 17th edition of the DA Christmas Party for special children drawn from orphanages and Care Homes in Lagos, held in Ikoyi, Lagos...recently dancing competition, train ride and fun time on bouncing castle. Besides being served meals, all the children went home with Christmas gifts from Santa Claus and representative of the Lagos State First Lady, while some of them who excelled in the various games got additional gifts.

The party was hosted by international Nongovernmental organisation, Development Africa, with supports from KPMG Professional Services, Dredging International Services Nig. Ltd. and the Lagos State government.

In his remarks, Elebute stated that the objective of the Christmas Party for the special children aligns with one of the core missions of the company “which is to impact our immediate environment with the little that we have. If many of us give the little that we can afford, it will make a difference. “KPMG is proud to partner Development Africa to host this Christmas Party over the years. The objective of the party aligns with

how we feel about making a difference. We believe that people don’t have to wait until they have enough before they give someone else; the truth is no one ever has enough. Let us give a little that we have and by so doing we will make a big difference�, he stated.

Earlier in his welcome address, Country Director of DA, Kempeneer explained that the party was in line with the spirit of Christmas which is about giving and showing love, especially to the less privileged members of the society. He added that the four key areas of interventions that Development Africa focus on is support for less privileged children and orphanages because many of them lack social activities, parental care and are deprived of opportunities that the party offers.

NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

The Canadian government through Global Affairs Canada and its implementing partners World Health Organisation and Population Council have donated three 32-seater buses and learning materials to Bauchi state College of Nursing and Midwifery as part of efforts to ensure adequate human resource for the health sector in the state.

Other items donated included learning materials like kits and models, books, computers, Internet facility with several tutors sent for further training (with 10 yet to come back). All these helped facilitate the partial accreditation of the college.

The Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Christopher Thornley, who visited the state college recently, said Canada is interested in improving the health status of women and children in the state, as well as building capacity of frontline health workers.

Thornley said Global Affairs Canada has invested much in the college to ensure adequate human resource for the health sector. “The visit is therefore to see how items donated are used�, he said.

The high commissioner said Bauchi state has been a worthy partner for the past 15 years, which is why Canada has continued to provide assistance, even as he encouraged the students to study hard and bring a change in the health indices of the state.

Bauchi, he added, has “a high maternal and infant mortality rate, a situation that can only be changed if health workers mobilise women to see the importance of antenatal visit and hospital delivery�.

Acting provost of the college, Hajiya Rekiya Saleh said Global Affairs Canada was instrumental to the take-off of the college as it provided basic equipment and materials that led to partial accreditation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.

The Bauchi state College of Nursing and Midwifery was established in 2011 but academic activities only commenced this year.

Meanwhile, as part of efforts to engender quality and efficient school administration system in Bauchi state, a total of 891 School Base Management Committee (SBMC) members have been trained on effective management of schools to meet international education standard across the state.

The training under the Additional Financing programme was provided by the State Education Programme Investment Project (SEPIP) and is targeting SBMC members for 297 schools in Ganjuwa, Katagum and Toro centres representing the three senatorial areas of the State.

The three-day training, which was specifically organised for SBMC chairmen, Secretaries and treasurers, was to enable the members plan, improve and effectively manage schools in the state.

Declaring the training workshop open, the chairman, Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board (BASUBEB), Prof. Yahaya Ibraheem Yero said the workshop was meant to improve the SBMC on ways to conduct and manage the school system with a view to taking over schools from the government in the near future.

NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

36

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

In Agboyi-Ketu, TBA Homes Experience Boom

One year after the establishment of a Primary Healthcare Centre in Agboyi community, Ketu in Lagos State, pregnant women and nursing mothers continue to patronise traditional birth attendants and have called on the state government to empower the birth attendants to provide better services, writes Rebecca Ejifoma

I

t was a Tuesday morning. Passengers waited at the creek to be ferried across by the rickety canoe to the other side of Agboyi, a community of about 30,000 dwellers. It has existed for over 500 years, but remains undeveloped.

During the ferry, it quickly became apparent that Agboyi faces a number of serious environmentally unfriendly issues. Although surrounded by water, there is no potable water.

Dwellers – especially children - bathe in the murky waters. The stench appears to bother only visitors. Adequate sanitation is also lacking.

Their water is the toilet, it is used for public bath and laundry.

There are no good health facilities on the Agboyi side, but just across the creek is a Primary Health Centre (PHC) with 24 hours operation and easy access, but most women in the community patronise Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs).

One of such women is 33 years old Shakira Yakubu. She has no issues with her choice.

Pregnant with her third child, Shakira told THISDAY about her trust for TBA. “I trust her with what she does. She is more experienced to me. I come to her any day and she attends to me.

“I don’t have any problem at all being delivered by the TBA. I am eight months pregnant with my third pregnancy. I collect my drugs and attend ante-natal at the PHC, but I also collect herbs from the TBA. “I had my first two children here. The first thing the TBA does is to carry out a test on you to see if there is any complication. I like it here. She treats me well. Almost all the women here use her centre,” she expressed.

Barely 20, Kukoyo Islamist is also pregnant.

“This place is good. The TBA treats me well. It is my first baby and I have been coming here since day one. I hope to have all my babies here.”

For her, it is the TBA or nothing. “My sister had her baby here and that is also why I come here. Even if I have money, I won’t go to the hospital. I am treated well here. So, I don’t need a hospital. I prefer here. This place is like home to me. I don’t have parents.”

When THISDAY visited the TBA home, there were two pregnant women there. The TBA, known as Nurat, was friendly and expressed passion over her calling – helping to bring life and joy to homes. Nurat considered herself well-trained as she shared her experience.

“I have been practicing for 25 years. I am available round the clock. Pregnant women can come in any time of the day and they will be attended to.”

Speaking in Yoruba, she explained that with just N2,000 for herbs and concoction preparation, the pregnant woman is good to go. The preparation would be taken for three months.

“Other payment made is N200 on clinic day – Monday. After their delivery they pay N5000.”

Nurat said she utilises herbs to rectify some issues. “There are certain situations scan show that cannot be corrected with orthodox medicine but we (TBA) can correct. In some instances, the placenta comes before the baby and the hospitals will recommend Caesarean Section (CS) but with herbs, the placenta will return and bring the baby to the right place provided that the foetus is still between six and seven months in the womb.”

“I acquired my skills at a TBA at Bariga, Lagos.

I attend programmes related to traditional birth attendants for more empowerment. I have taken delivery of many women whose children are already giving birth. Presently, I have over 200 women who have registered with me since 2016.

I got my certificate from Board of Traditional Medicines. I renew my license every year,”

Some of the pregnant women at Agboyi-Ketu,

she told THISDAY. Interestingly, Nurat claims to refer patients when cases are beyond her. She spoke about collaboration with health centres and General Hospitals for the safety of the women and their babies. She uses health centre to refer cases that are beyond her ability and if the case is beyond the strength of the health centre, it will in turn refer the patient to Mascara or General Hospital, Gbagada. “These hospitals know me very well,” she noted.

Nurat is well known to the boat owners at Agboyi, such that even at midnight, she could call any of them in cases of referrals. “I have the phone contacts of all the boat riders. I call them at any time to come to my aid even if they have closed for the day and other tricycles whom I beg to help me get boat.”

While the TBA does not provide family planning services for her patients, she says she instructs them to go to Akinyemi PHC Mascara while she goes for the training.

“There is no 24-hour hospital service here that is why people prefer to register with me even at midnight. Perhaps, if there was 24 hours service in this vicinity, it would be better a little.”

Consequently, there have been recorded complications in delivery, especially with women who do not access antenatal care with a skilled birth attendant present – doctor, nurse or midwife.

According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2015, it is estimated that about 800 girls and women died every day as a result of pregnancy and child birth-related complications, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where high fertility rates combine with inadequate access to quality antenatal care and skilled attendance at birth to substantially elevate the risk of death in this region.

Antenatal care and skilled health attendance at delivery are essential for eliminating every preventable maternal death. The world, as a whole, has improved access to these services, with 71 per cent of women delivering with the

support of a skilled birth attendant in 2014, compared to 59 per cent in 1990.

Globally, while 85 per cent of pregnant women access antenatal care with a skilled health personnel, only 65 per cent of pregnant women aged 15 to 49 had antenatal care with the present of skilled birth attendant as recommended by UNICEF. This is published in a joint data from Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) released

by UNICEF and WHO. Sadly, THISDAY gathered that Agboyi residents are not really happy about the absence of good facilities in Agboyi. A woman, Mary Abraham, who spoke the mind of the people, berated government for its neglect.

She scolded the government for not living up to its promises during their campaigns. “We gave them our votes after they promised to transform Agboyi. They promised good healthcare. But have you seen any changes here? We have nothing. We are suffering. We need water to drink, schools for our children and hospitals for our sick.”

Lending a voice for the people, Oba of Agboyi and Chief in the kingdom, Prince Timothy .A Bankole, highlighted the many challenges and call for urgent solutions from the state government.

“There is water everywhere at Agboyi but there is no water to drink. The water is good for nothing. We take pipe borne water from the other side of the community - Orugbagbe.

The bridge is to connect communities such as Ajegunle, Odogu, Idera, Akpapa Olota after the lagoon among others. The government is working on the bridge. Very soon, we shall all laud their efforts.”

Bankole rates maternal issues as the most lingering in Agboyi that needs dire intervention.

“This PHC hasn’t been a clue like the other PHCs I know in the 774 local governments.

We are supposed to have 774 centres equipped very well. But some orgsnisations have been helping us bring some infrastructure to the maternity aspect of our PHC. I don’t know if the 24 hours maternity service has begun as

promised. It has been an age-long problem for our women, especially when they are in labour.”

The Chief, however, reminisced how his last son was born. “It was at midnight. Before we could transport my wife across the water to the other side, it was serious.

The Head Nurse of the PHC, (name withheld), spoke about her experience with maternity and child health in the area since 2013. “The challenges facing us as nurses here are monumental. Is it plying the water daily without a life jacket?

That’s even by the way. The whole environment is dirty and there is nothing you can do. It’s only passion for the job that keeps us going. If you are looking for money you can’t be here.

You can’t even get what you want to eat.”

“If you look at this environment, the first illness that comes to mind is diarrhoea. But the people don’t have it. I have to be sincere with you. Gastroenteritis - stooling and vomiting - is not here. If they have diarrhoea, that may be during teething period.”

On the water surrounding them, they assure you they will be fine after taking herbs. What they have is malaria because there are a lot of mosquitoes here. “We give them insecticidetreated nets when they come.”

On a positive note, she remarked: “We have saved many lives; united many broken homes.

Girls who ought to be in school come here with unwanted pregnancies. We discourage abortion then urge them to come for family planning.”

Undoubtedly, TBA is their choice. “But we don’t even have anybody that has registered for antenatal cases. They come for immunisation and family planning. They believe in the TBAs.” Swiftly on the heels of this, the Alliance Chairman for World Health Committee, Mr. Olusegun Makin, assured residents: “The TBAs at Agboyi help the women but give referral when necessary. The TBAs have been trained to that extent. Although I do not have the total number of TBAs in Agboyi, every one of them is known.”

Benefits of ante-natal care According to the Medical Director and Family Physician, Novavit Hospital, Dr. Odunayo Akinsulire, antenatal care can help women prepare for delivery and understand warning signs during pregnancy and childbirth.

He added: “It can be a source of micronutrient supplementation, treatment of hypertension to prevent eclampsia, immunisation against tetanus, HIV testing, in addition to medications to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in cases of HIV-positive pregnant women.”

In areas where malaria is endemic, the expert continued that health personnel can also provide pregnant women with medications and insecticide-treated mosquito nets to help prevent this debilitating and sometimes deadly disease.

Consequences of missing ANC He, therefore, said missing out could be all the advantages in the negative way.

Although the community continues with its quota to save its women and babies, the Chiefs alongside pregnant women say they have continued to demand even when previous demands are yet to see the light of day.

Bankole alongside his High Chiefs made a clarion call. “Indeed, we commend government for its efforts. We urge them to increase their efforts so that Agboyi will be a good place it can invest. A reasonable attention should be given us in healthcare for our wives with 24 hours service in the PHC.” But the pregnant women urged the government to empower their TBAs if they could not give them 24 hours PHC services. “If they can train our TBAs for us, it will help us more,” Shakira said.

37

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017

NEWS

ACPN: FG Lacks Political Will to Address Chaotic Drug Distribution Martins Ifijeh The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has decried federal government’s lack of political will to address chaotic drug distribution in Nigeria, noting that the incessant postponement of the implementation of open drug distribution is worrisome and embarrassing.

Stating this during the 2017 Community Pharmacists Education Conference in Lagos

recently, the Chairman, ACPN, Lagos State, Biola Paul-Ozieh said government must take decisive action if it intends to tackle the abysmally poor drug distribution channel in Nigeria.

She said the, “lack of implementation of the open drug distribution in the country has in no small measure affected availability and accessibility to medicine leading in part to the poor health indices if the country, (187th out of 190th).

“The postponement is way too much by the Ministry of Health because this is the umpteenth time it has been postponed, and this has led to abuse of drugs by our youths on a daily basis.”

While commending the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole for putting a round peg in a round hole in the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), she called on the new Director General of

the Agency, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, to strengthen the fight against counterfeit medicines and products in the country.

On his part, the National Chairman, ACPN, Dr. Alkali Albert Kelong, said the theme of the conference; ‘Community Pharmacist: Healthcare Interventions for National Development’ came at the right time, as ACPN has a direct bearing on the development of the health indices of the nation.

Kelong said community pharmacists’ intervention involves the contributions of members to national development as they carry out a lot of health promotional activities in their vicinity which includes vaccination and awareness campaigns.

“We also make sure that people take their drugs appropriately, carry out routine checks and it contributes in ensuring that we have clinical outcome that is good and can

enable the patient to go back to work, which directly increase our domestic products because a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.”

He also encouraged NAFDAC to up their games in the fight against fake drugs by ensuring that points of entry must be checked to curtail inflow of fake drugs, adding that they should make sure their laboratories are in good form to test the quality of the products and on the post market survey.

Diabetes, HBP, Lung Disease, Others Take Root in Early Childhood Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that nutritional deficiencies early in life can lead to multiple forms of malnutrition and in adulthood, it can have adverse effects, leading to diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular and lung diseases.

It said despite wide acceptance of guidelines it provides for nutrition and its benefits in the overall childhood, days of a child, too many children do not get the nutrition they need at the time they need it .

UNICEF nutrition specialist, Dr. Bamidele Omotola who disclosed this recently at a training in Kano, said nutritional deficiencies early in life can lead to multiple forms of malnutrition and increase the risk of infection, decrease immunity and hinder a child’s ability to recover from illness.

He said in low and middle income countries, the age of 3-24 months is a time when growth falters for too many

children, while emphasising that an inadequate diet during this period increases the risk of stunting, micro-nutrient deficiencies, illness and death.

He said: “Health issues related to nutrition can also do lifelong harm. Diarrhoea can harm fitness, growth and cognitive development and, as a result, impede later school performance.

“And diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular and lung disease often take root in early experiences, sometimes beginning even before birth.

“Globally, only 40 per cent of the world’s infants under six months old or two out of five are breasted exclusively.

Only half of the children aged 6-23 months around the world are fed frequently enough and about one-third are fed a minimally diverse diet, which is defined as at least four out of seven food groups. ” He said support at the early stages is essential not only to help children survive, but also to help them thrive.

Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal administering measles vaccine to a child during the 2017 Anti-Measles Campaign in Sokoto recently

Adewole: 8O% of Health Nigeria Records 33 New Cases Issues Can Be Solved at PHCs of Obstetric Fistula Every Day

FG, Partners Step up Strategy to Access Family Planning in Rural Areas

Martins Ifijeh

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Country Project Manager, Fistula Care Plus, Chief Iyeme Efem, has stated that at least 33 new cases of obstetric fistula emerge every day in Nigeria, bring the number of new cases to 12,000 every year.

Stating this during the Media Roundtable Discussion on Fistula Intervention in Lagos recently, he said with the country already having a backlog of between 150,000 to 200,000 women living with fistula, the additional 12,000 new cases every year posed as extra burden for the nation. ”However, as part of efforts to reduce the burden in the country, Fistula Care Plus is engaged in at least 2,000 repairs yearly, while other organisations collectively repairs about 3,000 women every yearly, bringing the total number to 5,000 repairs per year in Nigeria. ”But despite these efforts, we still have a deficit of 7,000 cases that are not repaired from the new cases yearly, while about 200,000 backlogs still remains.”

He said this prompted him and his team to discuss with the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, who heeded their cry and has now graciously directed all teaching hospitals across the

Martins Ifijeh

country to treat women with obstetric fistula free of charge. ”We believe with the new directive, not less than an additional 7,920 repairs will be done yearly. We see this as a victory for our women who suffer in silence,” he said.

“Assuming we have 44 teaching hospitals, and each of them repair 15 women every month, this will amount to 660 repairs, and in one year, it would mean this government’s directive has helped in repairing 7,920 women alone across the country,” he said. Analysing the arithmetic, Efem said if the 7,920 repairs are added to the 5,000 repairs done by Fistula Care Plus and other organisation, it would mean a total of 12,920 repairs are being done yearly, a result, he said would be a step in the right direction in clearing backlogs and reducing the burden of new cases.

While commending the Minister of Health, Adewole for making such a bold step, he said Fistula Care Plus would continue to champion repairs in the country, adding that they were presently involved in fistula interventions in 12 states, including Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Kano, Bauchi, Oyo, Cross River, Osun, Yobe and Kaduna.

The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, has said that 80 per cent of health problems in Nigeria could be solved at the Primary Health Care level of the health system if adequate attention was given to service delivery at the tate and local government levels.

The minister made this known recently when he paid a courtesy call on Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Almakura, at the Government House, Lafia.

Adewole commended the governor for his effort in upgrading PHC facilities in the state stressing that 80 per cent of health problems in the country could be solved at the primary healthcare level if the facilities were properly funded and managed.

Adewole informed that in 2018, the federal government would ensure that one wellfunded PHC is functional in each L.G.A. in Nigeria. He also pledged to support the accreditation of the School of Nursing and Midwifery Lafia, in 2018.

The minister regretted that there were more doctors in federal hospitals than state owned hospitals. He therefore appealed for synergy

between the federal and state governments so that skilled manpower in the FG facilities could render services in the state health facilities.

According to him, this would eventually promote healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

In his response, Al-makura appreciated the minister for adding value to the health sector through his responses to recent outbreak of diseases since his appointment into office as Minister of Health.

He extolled the minister’s vision and focus, displayed at the national level of government which he said had impacted on state governors who were beginning to key into ensuring efficiency and effectiveness of PHCs in states.

In his words, “Any sensible administration must be sensitive to the plight of his people.

Once we make the PHCs functional, the standard of living of our people would be transformed for the better.”

The governor informed that all PHCs had been internalised under the Primary Healthcare Under One Roof programme.

He pledged to multiply the effort seen at Nasarawa Eggon in all PHCs across the state with the aim of transforming them into centres of excellence, among PHCs.

The Ministry of Health in collaboration with partners have begun implementing the approved Task-sharing and Task-shifting Policy for essential healthcare services which authorise lower cadres of health workers including Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) to administer implants and intra-uterine contraceptive devices (IUCDS) other than Nurse and Midwives only.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, stated this during the dissemination of reports from studies conducted in the two statesKaduna and Ondo on the trial programme.

Adewole in a statement said the numbers of Community Health Extension Workers outnumber the Nurses working in the Primary Healthcare Centrss in the rural areas.

According to him, there is a great need to provide family planning service to the women in the rural areas.

He said that having selected Kaduna and Ondo as pilot states to kick-start the programme, the ministry supported by Marie Stopes International Nigeria and other

partners trained Community Health Extension Workers in the two states to insert and remove implants and IUCDs contraceptives in women who require the services in rural areas.

The minister said that one of the major barriers to accessing family planning in Nigeria is a shortage and inequitable distribution of the appropriate cadres of the health workforce to deliver healthcare services where they are most needed.

“There is shortage of virtually all the cadres of healthcare workers resulting in poor utilisation of many of our health facilities for essential services,” he said.

He added that the development of National Task-sharing and Task-shifting policy was aimed at increasing access to services such as family planning in Nigeria.

Adewole said that the ministry has approved the National Task-Shifting and Task-sharing policy for essential healthcare services in Nigeria in October 2014 as a key step to address the problem of health workforce shortage with anticipated adaptation and implementation at all levels of the national health system.

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017

38

HEALTH

Bringing Hope to Nigerian Mothers, Children Every day, Nigeria loses 2,300 under five children and 145 women of child bearing age, a statistics that makes the country second to the worst place in the world to give birth. But MTN Foundation, through its Yellow Heart Initiative, hopes to change this narrative. Martins Ifijeh writes

Cross section of nursing mothers during the launch of MTN Yellow Heart Initiative in Oyo State, recently

Many a time, women do not have a say in which country they should get pregnant from, or where their innocent children should be born.

They do not have a say in what will be the outcome of their pregnancies. Whether they will give birth safely or lose their lives and/ or that of their babies is an exclusive preserve of the country they reside in ...or God. This lack of choice could make a huge difference in what the future holds for a pregnant woman, her unborn child, her family or even the same society which determines the outcome of her status as an expectant woman.

If the over four billion women in the world had a choice, they would take their destinies and that of their babies in their own hands.

They would prefer to get pregnant and give birth in Belarus, Poland, Austria, Israel or Italy where it is most certain they would give birth in one piece, with their lives and that of their babies intact.

But unfortunately, many do not have a say on this. Among such women, over 150 million unfortunately live in Nigeria where being pregnant is almost like a death sentence.

They do not have the luxury of choosing where they should give birth. They are stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, whether to get pregnant and perhaps die (their babies not excluded) or stay without pregnancies so they could live. This is a choice every woman makes in Nigeria as she ticks towards reproductive age.

It is even now a ‘norm’ in Nigeria for a pregnant woman to hide her status, stop going for social gatherings, avoids photo or videos on social media until she gives birth. Care to know why?

Because, on one part, should incase the baby dies during pregnancy or delivery, her friends would not even notice she had lost a baby.

On the other hand, misfortunes attached to pregnancies and deliveries are so common that they now believe the more people know about their pregnancies, the more wizardry is used to kill the babies or themselves; a mindset that has been fueled by the unfortunate incessant outcomes caused by the country’s healthcare system. While only a handful of the women folk have access to quality healthcare in the country, over 80 per cent of Nigerian women depend on the mercy of the average to poor health facilities in the country for their deliveries.

On specifics, Nigeria loses about 2,300 children

under five years and 145 women of childbearing age every single day, if reports by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) is to go by.

This makes the country about the largest contributor to under five and maternal mortality rate in the world, just second to India.

The report shows that for every 100,000 live births, Nigeria loses at least 576 children. But in Belarus, for every 100,000 live births, three children are lost.

According to a 2015 report from the World Health Organisation (WHO), approximately 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth every day and a high percentage of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries, including Nigeria, where the burden stands at 10 per cent, with the other 194 countries sharing the remaining 90 per cent of the global burden.

However, due to the fundamental role a mother plays in the life of a child, Nigeria’s current statistics of very high deaths per year during childbirth is indicative of inherent lapses in the critical aspects of the healthcare delivery system of the country.

A recent UNICEF report states that for every 10 minutes, one woman dies on account of pregnancy or childbirth in Nigeria. These worrying statistics reveal the extent of damage that is being done and dims any hope of a possible solution if urgent steps are not taken. It also shows that financial and geographical access to care and good quality healthcare delivery service is becoming very scarce by the day.

No wonder a representative of the United Nations Population Trust Fund (UNFPA), Ms Rati Ndhlovu, once likened the deaths experienced daily from pregnancy-related complications to Boeing 747 plane crash everyday, adding that because the women were poor and disadvantaged, their deaths were often ignored.

“Yet, these numbers of deaths don’t just happen once in a while like plane crashes. They happen every blessed day, which ordinarily should make the country scale up interventions to achieve the targets of reducing maternal and child mortality rates,” she explained.

It is in tackling this huge and embarrassing burden in Nigeria that MTN Foundation continues to champion interventions through various initiatives for the benefit of mothers and children.

From ‘What We Can Do Together Initiative’, where it renovated over 24 hospitals and equipped various maternal and child units across the country, including the provision of educational, infrastructural and empowerment supports to communities, it has launched a new initiative, termed, the ‘Yellow Heart Initiative’ which is a further intervention towards helping the society reduce the poor maternal and child health in the country.

Speaking during the launch of the initiative in Oyo State recently, Director, MTN Foundation, Dennis Okoro, said the idea behind the initiative is to ensure Nigerian mothers, children, and by extension the society is abreast with information required for the prevention of maternal and child complications and deaths in the country.

Apart from Oyo, other states where the initiative is being launched include Ogun, Abia, Niger, Kaduna and Cross River States.

According to him, thousands of women will be trained in the identified states on various areas, including benefits of ante natal, need to patronise skilled personnel, among others.

“The scope of this initiative is not only limited to the six states. We will continue to push for interventions across the country that will help our women get adequate information needed for their health and that of their newborns.

“Two weeks ago we were in Ogun State. By January we will be in Abia, and if you notice, our main target is to get to the grassroots of these regions. Those who live in rural areas also deserve to know what they need to do to keep themselves and their children safe.”

He said the foundation was sensitive to the plight of Nigerian women. “We are very sensitive to challenges within our society, which is why we go the extra mile to make the lives of people brighter. It is against this backdrop that the foundation has resolved to improve the state of healthcare, education and economic empowerment.

“We realised that most deaths of mothers and children in our communities can be prevented using existing knowledge and proven costeffective interventions. This is why we hope to use the Yellow Heart Initiative to address predominant issues such as attitude and cultural practice that hinder women and children from accessing healthcare services in the society,” he added.

The Commissioner for Health, Oyo State, Dr. Azeez Adeduntan, said countries were no longer judged by their gross domestic products, but by their health indices, especially the health of mothers and children.

“We are particularly happy with MTN Foundation for supporting our efforts towards quality health for all. This is another opportunity for our pregnant women to know the importance of ante natal care, and other areas needed for safe delivery, and the health of the mother and child,” adding that pregnancy was not a death sentence.

“We also have skilled birth attendants that can take deliveries now. MTN is complimenting the efforts of Oyo State. We have four maternal hospitals in the state that will be completed in the next six months, so there is no reason for our women to be dying from pregnancy-related issues.”

While Nigeria’s rate is put at 576/100,000 live births, Adeduntan said that of Oyo State is at 263/100,000. “This has further shown that we have improved the health indices of our mothers and children in the state. By the end of the governor’s tenure, he intends to reduce this figure to less than 100/100,000 live births.

“Here, we believe if mothers and children are dying, then we are in trouble. That is why we attend to pregnant women free of charge. So our concern is to ensure our women access our healthcare facilities for ante natal, counseling and delivery. That is why what MTN Foundation is doing is very key to actualising our dream. The more our women are educated and informed, the more they will access our clinics and skilled health personnel for treatment,” he added.

On the sideline of the launch, a gynaecologist, Dr. Kemi Olatunji said what must be done to prevent maternal and child deaths include access to skilled care before, during and after giving birth, adding that health providers must be trained in emergency obstetric care.

“Health centres and clinics must have surgical supplies to handle complications. Skilled community-based birth attendants should be trained and posted to increase maternal coverage in remote areas, and incentives should be given to health providers to motivate them to do their job effectively. Women and girls should be educated and empowered about maternal health issues,” she added.

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017

HEALTH NEWS FMC Umuahia Pioneers Kidney Transplant in S’East Emmanuel Ugwu, Umuahia After years of exposing its medical personnel to acquire the needed skills, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Umuahia has successfully carried out kidney transplant thereby becoming the first medical facility to achieve such medical feat in the Southeast zone of Nigeria.

Though it was its first time of delving into the sophisticated surgery of transplanting kidney from donor to recipient, the FMC medical team made it double success as two patients received kidneys in a spate of two days.

It was gathered that the medical team led by Dr Obi Ekwenna of the University of Toledo Medical Center, Ohio United States in company with Mr. James Ogbuka Umekwe performed the kidney transplant surgeries between Thursday and early hours of Saturday last week.

The donors were said to have presented themselves at the tertiary hospital and a kidney was harvested from each of them for the respective recipients, who received the body organs.

The first transplant was performed on a 37 year old businessman, whose name was simply given as Mr. Oji from Ohafia in Abia state. It was gathered that the medical procedure which commenced at 11.20am on Thursday with the harvesting of the kidney from the donor ended at 1.00am on Friday when the kidney was successfully given a new home in Oji’s body.

Not done the medical team after some rest commenced the second transplant procedure and, this time, the recipient was a 68 year old medical doctor, whose name was given as Dr Charles, a native of Umuahia.

He received a functional kidney after a marathon medical procedure, which ended at 12.15am on Saturday.

By weekend the donors and

the recipients, who are placed on the intensive care unit of FMC were said to be doing “very well”. Oji said he had been battling with kidney problem for about four years while Dr Charles said that he had his for four months old.

On his hospital bed Oji expressed profound gratitude to the FMC Umuahia because “they provided wonderful opportunity for poor people like us without the means to go abroad for transplantation.

We also thank God for using the medical team to save our lives”.

Leader of the medical team, Dr Ekwenna confirmed the successful medical feat that happened at FMC Umuahia, saying that the kidney transplant operations were excellent by any standard anywhere in the world.

He said that the operations were actualized through the dedication of the medical team he worked with as well as the hospital management headed by the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr Abali Chuku.

“Dr Abali Chuku is a strong and committed leader. We met few years ago and he expressed desire to have transplantation center in the South East Nigeria at his FMC and I pledged to assist with my team in Toledo.

Ekwenna further stated that the partnership between his team and FMC Umuahia would not end with the successful transplant operations as the team from U.S would engage in transferring skills to FMC medical teams and also return to render more professional assistance, including performing more kidney transplantations.

Speaking on the new development, the CMD, Dr Chuku Abali said that with the successful transplantations, the FMC Umuahia was realising its dream of having a Kidney Transplant Service which would provide most affordable and efficient kidney transplant services in the Southeast zone.

Coca-Cola: Hydration Drinks Will Keep Nigerians Healthy Ayodeji Ake Providing varieties of minerals to refresh the body for healthy living, the Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, has announced the launch of new variants to its Five Alive brand, saying it will dim thirst and help keep fit in everyday activities.

According to the Marketing Manager in charge of Flavours and Still Beverages, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Mr. Gbolahan Sanni who noted the introduction of 35cl 5Alive Tropical, 35cl 5Alive Apple and 85cl 5Alive Pulpy Orange to the 5Alive family, will give consumers a sensorial experience of refreshment.

“The additional variants to the 5Alive beverage family are refreshing.

This juice brand remains one-of-a-kind in the Nigerian juice market and is regarded as the perfect breakfast partner.

All the 5Alive variants give consumers the mouth-filling

and sensorial experience of refreshment adding to our ‘Made-in-Nigeria for Nigeria’ range of beverages,” he said.

According to him, 5Alive brand comprises a unique line of fruit juice, nectar and drink blends that provide our consumers with a rich, nourishing, fruity, and deeply satisfying taste, which keeps them wanting more.

The Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Coco-Cola, Mrs. Nwamaka Onyemelukwe explained the introduction of the new variants is to balance the company’s desire of satisfaction to the consumers and the consumers’ desire for something new.

“For us we want to give satisfaction to our consumers, so we have the desire to bring more variants to give something new to our consumers because they are paramount to us,” she said.

Sokoto Targets 1m Children in Anti-measles Campaign Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has flagged off the 2017 measles vaccination campaign with a target of reaching one million children across the state.

Speaking at the flag off ceremony in Gwadabawa local government area of the state, Tambuwal said all necessary arrangements have been concluded for a successful exercise.

He said the one million children targeted is realistic

considering the fact that the vaccines will be administered in two phases.

“Twelve local government areas will be covered in first phase while eleven local government areas will be covered in second phase.

So far, the state government and our development partners have committed huge resources in order to eradicate measles and other killer diseases among our children.

“Enough vaccines have been provided that will cater for children in all the nooks and crannies of the state,” he added.

According to Tambuwal, the state government has already paid all its obligations in the form of counterpart funding and that all partners have been up to date in their payments for the exercise.

He urged parents and healthcare givers to sustain the efforts to eradicate the the

disease, assuring people that the vaccines were safe.

The Governor directed all local government areas to flag off the same campaign in their various localities.

In his remarks, the state commissioner of health, Dr. Balarabe Shehu Kakale, said 1500 teams have been set up to work across all the local governments in the state in order to ensure every eligible child has been immunised.

Team of medical personnel of Federal Medical Centre Umuahia, performing a kidney transplant on a patient at the hospital, recently

NAFDAC DG: We Will Enhance Quality Testing of Medicines, Food Products Martins Ifijeh As a renewed drive to tackle fake and counterfeit products in Nigeria, the new Director General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof.

Mojisola Adeyeye, said the agency would enhance its drive on quality testing of medicines and food products manufactured locally or imported into the country.

She said this would be achieved through adequately training of staff on international quality standards, and by providing needed laboratory infrastructure such as equipment and supplies.

Disclosing this during her maiden visit to the agency’s Head Office in Lagos, Adeyeye said the agency had, over the years, made steady progress in protecting the health of the nation, a feat she said would be improved upon.

Assuring that staff welfare would be in the front burner of her administration, Adeyeye, affirmed her commitment to leading the agency to eliminate substandard foods and drugs in the country.

She said NAFDAC would align with international standards in medical product regulation to ensure safety, efficacy and quality of lo-

“U.S. Transforms Global HIV/ AIDS Response through PEPFAR” Ugo Aliogo

cally manufactured drugs and medical products.

“It will also create market opportunities for Nigeria in the supply of essential medicines to ECOWAS countries and beyond,” she added.

Emphasising the need for capacity building, the new NAFDAC boss, noted that the staff of the agency would be trained in regulatory science and clinical trial management, in compliance with international standards, and also conduct scheduled pharmaco vigilance and post marketing surveillance for evidence-based regulatory decisions.

Adeyeye also pledged to promote herbal medicines development through the creation of guidelines for local manufacturers, adding that her administration, would consolidate the agency’s successes in the use of anti-counterfeiting cutting edge technologies.

“The concerns of our people are mainly about safety of our drugs, food, medical devices and water. “Most people, including those who manufacture fake drugs and sell bad foods or water, do not plan to kill people, but may not fully understand that chemicals ( whether in drugs or food, or through bio-contamination) can kill hundreds of people easily,” she noted.

The Acting Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate General Lagos, Kevin Krapf, has stated that the US government has transformed global HIV/AIDS response through the PEPFAR, adding that the move is aimed at improving millions of lives.

Krapf who disclosed this in Lagos at the 2017 World AIDS Day Programme with the theme, ‘Increasing Impact through Transparency, Accountability and Partnerships’, said currently more than 720,000 Nigerians are on PEPFAR-supported HIV treatment.

He also stated that approximately four million Nigerians have received HIV counseling and testing services in 2017, adding that theme reflects the U.S. government’s longstanding leadership in addressing global HIV/AIDS, “increasing our impact to move epidemics from crisis toward control.”

Krapf further noted that HIV prevention messages and activities have reached over 300,000 people identified as most-at-risk, and approximately 50,000 pregnant women have received antiretroviral drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The U.S. Consulate Acting Public Affairs Officer explained that according to the Joint United Nations Programme on

HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world and has one of the highest new infection rates in sub-Saharan Africa.

He added: “Many people living with HIV in Nigeria are unaware of their status due to insufficient recommended number of HIV testing and counseling centres. Low access of antiretroviral treatment remains an issue for people living with HIV in Nigeria and I welcome the new commitment of the federal government to use domestic funds to provide antiretroviral drugs to an additional 50,000 people living with HIV each year.

“Through this event, the United States Mission in Nigeria brought together relevant HIV/AIDS stakeholders in Nigeria to share innovative strategies, successes attained, lessons learned, and challenges confronting fight against HIV/ AIDS epidemics during the past five-year funding cycle.

We are at an unprecedented moment in the global HIV/ AIDS response.

“For the first time in modern history, we have the opportunity to change the very cause of a pandemic by controlling it without a vaccine or a cure.

Controlling the pandemic will lay the groundwork for eliminating or eradicating HIV, which we hope will be possible

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T H I S D AY ˞ ˜ NOVEMEBER 14, 2017

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

FG Set to Issue Debut Green Bond in Domestic Market Nume Ekeghe The Debt Management Office (DMO) has announced that as part of the preparations towards the issuance of the first Sovereign Green Bond, it would sensitise prospective investors in the Bond through a Roadshow in Abuja and Lagos on December 14 and 15, 2017.

The offer, which is for N10.69 billion is expected to be advertised in various media including newspapers and the DMO’s website to enable the public subscribe to the Bonds.

The Green Bond is being issued following Nigeria’s

endorsement of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change on September 21, 2016.

The Paris Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of Climate Change.

Since the signing of the Agreement, various countries who are parties to the Agreement have initiated several steps aimed at making the environment better.

The Green Bond proceeds will be used to finance projects in the 2017 Appropriation Act that have been certified as Green because of their positive effects on the environment. Amongst the projects to be financed with the proceeds of the Green Bond

Issuance are the Renewable Energy Micro Utilities and Afforestation Programmes.

With the Green Bond Issuance, Nigeria would become one of the few countries in the world and indeed the first African country to issue a Green Bond.

Moody’s Investors Service had assigned a GB1 (Excellent) Green Bond Assessment to the Issuance.

The DMO stated that it was working with the Federal Ministry of Environment towards the Issuance, while Chapel Hill Denham is the Financial Advisers to the Transaction.

FG Targets Additional N6bn through VAIDS Obinna Chima The federal government has estimated that it intends to rake in an additional N6 billion from the implementation of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) before the end of the year.

The sum is in addition to the N17billion that had been realised through the scheme within six months.

This was disclosed in Lagos yesterday by the Executive Chairman, FIRS, Mr. Babatunde Fowler, at a media workshop on VAIDS. According to Fowler, the scheme had generated enthusiasm among taxpayers, many of whom he said were coming forward to declare previously undeclared incomes.

Fowler stated that VAIDS is necessary at this time in the nation’s evolution, particularly with shrinking oil revenues.

The FIRS boss also said the agency would offer free advisory services to taxpayers ready to comply with the scheme.

According to the FIRS Chairman, taxation is a considerably more reliable source of revenue than oil. He urged those who have earned undeclared incomes to take advantage of the window provided by VAIDS to regularise their tax status. The workshop featured presentations by tax experts on the role of data in taxation, tax amnesty programmes in other countries and the provision of VAIDS. Fowler added that a total of N17billion has been realised from the scheme in six months, adding that the scheme is expected to rake in another N6billion before the end of the year. “I can assure you that we will hand hold you through the process. We will help you through the doumentations. Tax

administrators are also sensitive, a busiest that is dead is of no value to a tax administrator.

Like the doctor, our aim is to see the patient alive. “Our objective is to see the tax payer still growing so if you have nearly filed bankruptcy and you have got a loan to bring the business alive we will make sure that you pay the current taxes and give enough time to pay the backlog. “I would like us to not have any fear that if you come forward you will be worse off. I asure you that our objective is not killing businesses; we are just trying to bring everybody back into the system for the love of the country and the economy,� he stated. At the workshop, experts presented papers on the role of data in the implementation of VAIDS, similar tax amnesty programmes in other countries as well as how VAIDS works and its benefits.

Survey: US Companies Contributed N34bn to Nigeria’s Tax Revenue Nume Ekeghe A recent Economic impact survey of United States companies operating in Nigeria has shown that such business interests contributed over N34.4 billion to the nation’s tax revenue in 2016.

The details were contained in a report presented by the American Business Council (ABC) Lagos, titled “Nigeria Economic Impact Survey�.

The report, put together by the ABC in collaboration with Accenture, General Electric and PricewatershouseCoopers (PwC), represented the responses of 48 American companies operating in Nigeria.

The report highlighted the U.S companies’ impact on the Nigerian economy through gross value added to the na-

tion’s energy future, economic output, investment, jobs and communities, remarked Lazarus Angbazo, ABC President.

Angbazo explained further that the aim of the survey was to assess the collective impact of the companies in terms of wealth and job creation in the country.

Also, the Capital Markets Partner, PwC, Mr. Darrell McGraw said: “It is a great time for American companies to be in Nigeria. In fact there is a clear optimism now. This survey reflects the contribution of 48 US companies operating in Nigeria and the responses reinforce the role of US companies in the economic health of Nigeria, Job creation, investment in training and development, tax contribution, corporate social responsibility and others. There

are more than 48 companies operating in Nigeria. Let’s talk through some highlight of the survey and discuss the methodology.� “One of the headline figures that really resonate the net revenue of one trillion naira in 2016, so this was the course of 2017, Oil and Gas revenue generated by these companies represented 18% of Nigeria real GDP in 2016. This is an impressive contribution. The total tax contribution of the US companies operating in Nigeria was over N34 billion in 2016. 34 billion naira contributed in tax collection in Nigeria in 2016, if we look at the percentage of tax collected within the tax net, it is 25% of the tax collected in 2016.

We believed it is a significant contribution to the Nigerian Government.�

Winner Emerges in Heritage Bank’s Sponsored ‘Next Titan’ A 22-year-old fledgling entrepreneur, Mr. Iyeh Kennedy has emerged winner of Season 4 of the Next Titan, Nigeria’s entrepreneurial reality TV show sponsored by Heritage Bank Plc, as headline sponsor.

Kennedy is the MD of Blue Leaf Herbs and Spices which is into 100 percent organic cultivation, production and packaging

of spices with the objective of reducing importation of spices from outside the country. He is a graduate of microbiology from Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu.

He beat three other contestants at the grand finale of the season 4 of the Next Titan held in Lagos recently to win the star prize of N5 million from Heritage Bank and a brand-new Ford Ranger from

Coscharis Motors to kick start his business. The Next Titan is Nigeria’s entrepreneurial reality TV show, a brain child of Mide Kunle-Akinlaja, where thousands of ambitious young entrepreneurs compete and a winner emerges to cart away with a grand prize of N5 million and a brand-new car to start his or her dream business.

Buhari

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‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

August 2017

Inter-Bank Call Rate

22.63

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

13.35

Savings Deposit Rate

4.08

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.86

3 Months Deposit Rate

10.14

6 Months Deposit Rate

11.51

12 Months Deposit Rate

11.40

Prime Lending rate

17.69

Maximum Lending Rate

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

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT TUESDAY DECEBER 12, 2017

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $62.75 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $61.94 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

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MARKET NEWS

IMF Bullish on Nigerian Economy as SEC Assures Investors of Robust Market Goddy Egene The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Nigeria remains investors’ choice, saying, it was pleasantly surprised to receive numerous indication of interest by investors eager to invest in Nigeria.

Senior Financial Sector Expert, Debt and Capital Market Instruments Division, Monetary and

Capital Markets Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Miriam Tamene stated this during a visit of IMF Team to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Abuja recently.

However, she urged monetary and regulatory authorities in Nigeria to introduce policies that would bring down the inflation rate in the country as well as increase access to domestic

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funds in order to ensure that the economy attains further growth in 2018.

According to her, Nigeria remains investors’ choice, noting many of the investors still nurse the fear that they may not be able to repatriate their funds anytime they decide to exit.

She said: “At the annual meetings of IMF, we were pleasantly surprised when we saw many investors interested in the Securi-

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ties Market in Nigeria. A lot of people thought that Nigeria is still investors destination, the main concerns most of them had was the fear that they might not be able to take out their money anytime they want to hence they are being very watchful. “Investors are interested in Nigeria, but with difficulties they had in getting their money out recently, that confidence is not there yet. It has improved

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though, but they are still watching. It is still so much fragile and not what they can take for granted just yet.�

In his remarks, acting Director General of SEC, Dr. Abdul Zubair said the future outlook appeared good as several initiatives had already been rolled out by the commission which will help to grow the capital market and increase investors’ confidence.

According to him, in the long

O F

term, more initiatives will be rolled out to ensure that Nigerian capital market remains one of the best performing in the world.

The IMF Team were in Nigeria for consultations to get update on developments covering all the financial and other key sectors of the Nigerian economy. The report of their consultations is expected to be presented to the IMF Board in February 2018.

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˜ ͯͲ˜ ͺ͸͹͵ ˾ T H I S D AY

42

Nigeria Daily Stock Market Report: dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ /ŶĚĞdž ^ŚĞĚƐ ϭ͘ϵй

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

dŚĞ dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ /ŶĚĞdž ƐŚĞĚ ϭ͘ϵй LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ Ăƚ ϭ͕ϱϯϵ͘Ϭϴ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͘ zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĐĂŶ ďĞ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ĂƩƌŝďƵƚĞĚ ƚŽ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ 'h Z Edz ;Ͳϰ͘ϴйͿ E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ ;ͲϮ͘ϲйͿ ĂŶĚ E/d, ;Ͳϯ͘ϴйͿ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϰϯ͘ϯй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘ zĞĂƌ ƚŽ ĂƚĞ͕ ƚŚĞ dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ŚĂƐ ƌĞƚƵƌŶĞĚ ϱϯ͘ϵй͘

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

Ticker

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ /ŶĚĞdž ŵĞƌŐĞƐ >ŽŶĞ 'ĂŝŶĞƌ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ĂƐ Ăůů ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƐĂǀĞ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁŚŝĐŚ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƚĞĚ Ϭ͘ϭй ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ŐĂŝŶƐ ŝŶ DK /> ;нϬ͘ϵйͿ͕ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƌĞĚ͘ dŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚĞdž ĚĞƉƌĞĐŝĂƚĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ͕ ĚŽǁŶ Ϯ͘Ϯй ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ 'h Z Edz ;Ͳϰ͘ϴйͿ ĂŶĚ E/d, ;Ͳϯ͘ϵйͿ͘ dŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ƚƌĂŝůĞĚ͕ ĨĂůůŝŶŐ ϭ͘ϳй ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƚŽŽŬ ƉƌŽĮƚ ŝŶ E' D ;ͲϬ͘ϱйͿ ĂŶĚ t W K ;Ͳϰ͘ϯйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĚĞƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ ;Ͳ Ϯ͘ϲйͿ ĂŶĚ hZz ;Ͳϱ͘ϬйͿ ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž Ϭ͘ϱй ůŽǁĞƌ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ƐĂŵĞ ǀĞŝŶ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ƚƌĞŶĚĞĚ Ϭ͘ϭй ƐŽƵƚŚǁĂƌĚƐ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ >/E< ^^hZ ;Ͳϯ͘ϮйͿ͘ DĂƌŬĞƚ ƌĞĂĚƚŚ tĂŶĞƐ DĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞƌƐͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞƌƐ ƌĂƟŽͿ ʹ ǁŚŝĐŚ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ʹ ǁĞĂŬĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϴdž ĨƌŽŵ Ϭ͘ϵdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ĚĂLJ͕ ĂƐ ϭϵ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ Ϯϰ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ƚŚĂƚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞƌƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ĚĂLJ ǁĞƌĞ Z' Z ;нϰ͘ϵйͿ͕ & D ;нϰ͘ϵйͿ ĂŶĚ E'&>KhZ ;нϰ͘ϵйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ WZ ^ K ;Ͳϱ͘ϬйͿ͕ hZz ;Ͳϱ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ 'h Z Edz ;Ͳϰ͘ϴйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞƌƐ͘ zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĐĂŶ ďĞ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ĂƩƌŝďƵƚĞĚ ƚŽ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ ƉƌŽĮƚ ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ ůĂƌŐĞ ĐĂƉ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ Ă ŬŝĐŬďĂĐŬ ŝŶ ƐƵďƐĞƋƵĞŶƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶƐ ŝŶ ĂŶƟĐŝƉĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƵƐƵĂů LJĞĂƌͲĞŶĚ ƌĂůůLJ͘

Current Price

Previous Current Price Weighting Change

Price Change YTD

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

Divinden Earnings d Yield Yield

1,539.08

-1.85%

53.9%

53.9%

20.1%

6.3%

7.0x

0.8x

4.0%

11.1%

1

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

39.90

-4.8%

21.0%

61.5%

61.5%

26.0%

4.3%

8.3x

2.1x

5.1%

12.0%

2

Nigerian Brew eries PLC

139.65

-2.6%

9.6%

-5.6%

-5.6%

18.9%

8.6%

34.4x

6.3x

2.6%

2.9%

3

Zenith Bank PLC

25.00

-3.8%

12.7%

69.5%

69.5%

21.7%

3.2%

4.9x

1.0x

8.1%

20.2%

ƋƵŝƟĞƐ DĂƌŬĞƚ ^ƵīĞƌƐ ĞĂĚ Ăƚ ŽƵŶĐĞ͙ E^ ^/ ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘Ϭй dŚĞ ŐĂŝŶ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ĚĂLJ͕ ĐĂŶ ďĞ ǀŝĞǁĞĚ ĂƐ Ă ͞ĚĞĂĚ ĐĂƚ ďŽƵŶĐĞ͟ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ďĞŶĐŚŵĂƌŬ ŝŶĚĞdž ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ ŽŶ ŝƚƐ ĚŽǁŶǁĂƌĚ ƚƌĞŶĚ LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͘ dŚĞ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ƐŚĞĚ ϭ͘Ϭй ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ ϯϴ͕ϱϯϰ͘ϲϰ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ƌĞƚƌĞĂƚĞĚ ƚŽ ϰϯ͘ϰй͘ ĐĐŽƌĚŝŶŐůLJ͕ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶ ĨĞůů ďLJ Eϭϯϱ͘ϴďŶ ƚŽ Eϭϯ͘ϰƚŶ͘ WƌŝĐĞ ĚĞƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ ůĂƌŐĞ ĐĂƉ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ Ͳ 'h Z Edz ;Ͳϰ͘ϴйͿ͕ E/d, ;Ͳϯ͘ϵйͿ͕ E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ ;Ͳ Ϯ͘ϲйͿ ĂŶĚ E' D ;ͲϬ͘ϱйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ŵĂũŽƌ ĚƌĂŐƐ ƚŽ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ǁĂŶĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϯϬ͘Ϭй ĂŶĚ ϴϯ͘ϲй ƚŽ ϯϮϯ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ Eϰ͘ϰďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘

Thursday, December 14, 2017

4

Dangote Cement PLC

239.88

-0.5%

6.5%

37.9%

37.9%

30.4%

15.7%

16.6x

4.7x

3.5%

6.0%

5

Nestle Nigeria PLC

1,462.50

0.2%

7.6%

80.6%

80.6%

78.4%

19.0%

38.1x

25.2x

1.7%

2.6%

-0.4%

6

Access Bank PLC

11.15

4.8%

89.9%

89.9%

15.1%

2.0%

4.5x

0.6x

5.8%

22.3%

7

United Bank for Africa PLC

10.40

0.4%

5.7%

131.1%

131.1%

17.2%

2.2%

4.6x

0.8x

7.2%

21.9%

8

FBN Holdings Plc

14.8x

0.5x

2.2%

6.8%

0.7x

3.4%

-19.3%

6.8x

2.2%

9

Ecobank Transnational Inc

9.08

-2.3%

5.7%

171.0%

171.0%

2.6%

0.3%

17.95

4.0%

3.0%

74.6%

74.6%

-14.6%

-1.3%

45.00

-4.3%

1.7%

16.1%

16.1%

47.1%

9.8%

501.31

0.0%

1.8%

31.9%

31.9%

-12.4%

-6.7%

10

Lafarge Africa PLC

11

SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

4.0x

12

Unilever Nigeria PLC

40.30

-0.5%

1.5%

26.6%

26.6%

50.3%

8.4%

24.8x

9.4x

0.2%

4.0%

13

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

41.00

-1.2%

2.8%

173.3%

173.3%

28.7%

3.4%

9.4x

2.5x

1.5%

10.6%

14

Guinness Nigeria PLC

95.20

1.2%

1.2%

21.1%

21.1%

4.5%

1.4%

67.0x

3.3x

0.7%

5.99

0.0%

1.3%

27.4%

27.4%

40.7%

4.2%

2.7x

0.6x

0.6x

24.8% -20.8%

1.5%

15

Oando PLC

37.0%

16

Forte Oil PLC

44.50

0.0%

0.5%

-47.3%

-47.3%

44.3%

3.7%

11.2x

5.0x

17

11 PLC

170.00

0.9%

0.4%

-39.1%

-39.1%

32.6%

12.0%

9.0x

2.5x

18

Total Nigeria PLC

230.00

0.0%

0.5%

-23.1%

-23.1%

37.3%

7.4%

8.6x

3.0x

2.6%

11.7%

75.00

0.0%

1.2%

86.7%

86.7%

37.4%

25.9%

10.0x

3.3x

2.0%

10.0%

8.9% 4.7%

11.1%

19

Okomu Oil Palm PLC

20

UAC of Nigeria PLC

16.90

-0.6%

0.6%

2.4%

2.4%

6.3%

2.2%

10.8x

0.7x

5.8%

9.2%

Conoil PLC

28.00

0.0%

0.3%

-25.3%

-25.3%

12.8%

3.5%

8.1x

1.1x

11.1%

12.3%

21 22

Fidelity Bank PLC

2.36

4.4%

1.2%

181.0%

181.0%

8.0%

1.1%

2.1x

0.3x

5.9%

48.6%

23

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

21.95

2.1%

1.5%

259.2%

259.2%

23.8%

10.3%

8.6x

3.7x

2.3%

11.7%

24

Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

34.19

0.0%

0.8%

101.5%

101.5%

10.4%

2.6%

9.4x

0.9x

2.8%

10.6%

3.93

0.0%

0.4%

1.0%

1.0%

18.9%

7.6%

4.1x

0.7x

7.1%

101.97

0.0%

0.3%

-21.0%

-21.0%

-56.7%

-13.9%

27.00

0.0%

0.3%

-30.0%

-30.0%

-12.2%

-1.2%

1.28

4.9%

0.4%

16.4%

16.4%

3.8%

0.6%

3.7x

0.1x

0.6%

70.1%

70.1%

19.6%

4.1%

5.9x

1.0x

25

Custodian and Allied Insurance

26

7 UP Bottling Co PLC

27

Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

28

FCMB Group Plc

29

Transnational Corp of Nigeria

1.48

2.1%

1.50

0.0%

0.6%

70.5%

70.5%

2.5%

0.3%

6.1x

0.1x

-5.0%

0.5%

62.1%

62.1%

42.9%

25.9%

3.2x

1.1x

2.3%

31.2%

2.2%

5.2%

4.9x

24.3% -16.5%

1.4x

-8.4% 7.8%

26.9% 16.9%

30

Diamond Bank PLC

31

Presco PLC

65.00

16.5%

32

PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

22.50

1.8%

0.4%

55.2%

55.2%

11.5%

5.8%

19.2x

2.1x

-0.3%

0.8%

196.4%

196.4%

24.6%

7.4%

57.4x

13.1x

1.7%

33

International Brew eries PLC

54.84

W ƵƐƐŽŶƐ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ WůĐ ;͞W ͟ Žƌ ͞ƚŚĞ ŽŵƉĂŶLJ͟Ϳ

34

Cadbury Nigeria PLC

15.54

-5.0%

0.4%

51.0%

51.0%

4.5%

1.6%

44.3x

2.6x

2.3%

35

Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

8.00

1.1%

0.4%

67.6%

67.7%

5.6%

1.2%

10.2x

0.5x

9.8%

33.93

0.0%

0.2%

6.0%

6.0%

84.3%

38.5%

14.8x

10.4x

1.00

-3.8%

0.2%

31.6%

31.6%

6.1%

0.6%

5.3x

0.3x

W ƵƐƐŽŶƐ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ WůĐ ;͞W ͟ Žƌ ͞ƚŚĞ ŽŵƉĂŶLJ͟Ϳ ŵĂŬĞƌƐ ŽĨ ƉŽƉƵůĂƌ ŚŽƵƐĞŚŽůĚ ďƌĂŶĚƐ ƐƵĐŚ ĂƐ /ŵƉĞƌŝĂů >ĞĂƚŚĞƌ ĂŶĚ ƵƐƐŽŶƐ ĂďLJ ŝƐ Ă ůĞĂĚŝŶŐ &D ' ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ŝŶ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ ŝŶ ƉĞƌƐŽŶĂů ĐĂƌĞ͕ ŚŽŵĞ ĐĂƌĞ͕ ĞůĞĐƚƌŝĐĂůƐ ĂŶĚ ĨŽŽĚ Θ ŶƵƚƌŝƟŽŶ͘ dŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ͛Ɛ ŚŝƐƚŽƌLJ ĚĂƚĞƐ ďĂĐŬ ƚŽ ϭϴϵϵ ĂŶĚ ŚĂƐ ƐŝŶĐĞ ŐƌŽǁŶ ƚŽ ďĞ ŽŶĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ďŝŐŐĞƐƚ ƉůĂLJĞƌƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ ŐŽŽĚƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌ͘ W ŚĂƐ Ă ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ Eϴϵ͘ϯďŶ͘ ZĞĐĞŶƚůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ƌĞůĞĂƐĞĚ ŝƚƐ ĮƌƐƚ ƋƵĂƌƚĞƌ ƌĞƐƵůƚ ĨŽƌ ŝƚƐ ϮϬϭϴ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů LJĞĂƌ͘ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ƵŶĚĞƌǁŚĞůŵŝŶŐ͕ ĂůďĞŝƚ ǁŝƚŚ ĂŶ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞŵĞŶƚ zͲŽͲz͘ 'ƌŽƐƐ ƌĞǀĞŶƵĞ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ϭϮ͘ϴй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ Eϭϴ͘ϵďŶ ŝŶ Yϭ͗ϮϬϭϴ ĨƌŽŵ Eϭϲ͘ϴďŶ Yϭ͗ϮϬϭϳ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ŽŶ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ŽĨ ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ƐĂůĞ ƉƌŝĐĞƐ͘ >ŝŬĞǁŝƐĞ͕ ĐŽƐƚ ŽĨ ƐĂůĞƐ ĐůŝŵďĞĚ ϭϳ͘ϲй zͲŽͲz Ͳ ĂůƚŚŽƵŐŚ Ăƚ Ă ĨĂƐƚĞƌ ƉĂĐĞ ;ƚŽ EϭϮ͘ϵďŶ ŝŶ Yϭ͗ϮϬϭϴ ĨƌŽŵ EϭϬ͘ϵďŶ ŝŶ Yϭ͗ϮϬϭϳͿ͘ Ɛ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ͕ ŐƌŽƐƐ ƉƌŽĮƚ ŵĂƌŐŝŶ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ƉĞƌŝŽĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϯƉƉƚƐ ƚŽ ϯϮ͘Ϭй͘ &ŽƌĞŝŐŶ ĞdžĐŚĂŶŐĞ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ǁŚŝĐŚ ŚĂĚ ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŝŶ ĞĂƌůŝĞƌ ƌĞƉŽƌƚƐ ĐĂŵĞ ŝŶ ůŽǁĞƌ Ăƚ Eϭ͘ϳďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Eϰ͘ϳďŶ ŝŶ Yϭ͗ϮϬϭϳ͕ ŝŵƉůLJŝŶŐ Ă ϲϭ͘ϴй ĚĞĐůŝŶĞ zͲŽͲz͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ W ƌĞƉŽƌƚĞĚ Ă >ŽƐƐ ĂŌĞƌ dĂdž ŽĨ EϭϮϯ͘ϭŵ͕ ƵƉ ϵϮ͘Ϯй zͲŽͲz ĨƌŽŵ Eϭ͘ϲďŶ ŝŶ Yϭ͗ϮϬϭϳ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ŽŶ Ă ƐƚĂŶĚĂůŽŶĞ ďĂƐŝƐ͕ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ͛Ɛ Yϭ͗ϮϬϭϴ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ ƵŶŝŵƉƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ ĂƐ 'ƌŽƐƐ ƌĞǀĞŶƵĞ ĚŝƉƉĞĚ ϭϱ͘ϱй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ Eϭϴ͘ϴďŶ ŝŶ Yϭ͗ϮϬϭϴ ;ĚŽǁŶ ĨƌŽŵ EϮϮ͘ϱďŶ ŝŶ Yϰ͗ϮϬϭϳͿ͘ /Ŷ ƚƵƌŶ͕ ŽƐƚ ŽĨ ƐĂůĞƐ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ϲ͘Ϯй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ EϭϮ͘ϵďŶ ǁŚŝůƐƚ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ ĞdžƉĞŶƐĞƐ ƌŽƐĞ ϭϮ͘ϴй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ Eϰ͘ϭďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ ĐĐŽƌĚŝŶŐůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ŽŵƉĂŶLJ ƌĞƉŽƌƚĞĚ Ă >ŽƐƐ ĂŌĞƌ dĂdž ŽĨ EϭϮϯ͘ϭŵ ĨƌŽŵ WƌŽĮƚ ĂŌĞƌ dĂdž ŽĨ EϮ͘ϭďŶ ŝŶ Yϰ͗ϮϬϭϳ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƌŝƐŝŶŐ ĐŽƐƚ ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞƐ ĂŶĚ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĂƟŽŶƐ ĨŽƌ W ƚŽ ĚƌŝǀĞ ƌĞǀĞŶƵĞ ƐĂůĞƐ ƚŽ ĐŽǀĞƌ ĂŶLJ ƐŚŽƌƞĂůů͕ ŽƵƌ ŽƵƚůŽŽŬ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ƐƚŽĐŬ ƌĞŵĂŝŶƐ ŶĞƵƚƌĂů͘

Afrinvest Securities Lim-

(RC 603 315)

(A Dealing Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange)

36

Chemical and Allied Products P

37

Sterling Bank PLC

38

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Niger

6.7% 19.0%

22.74

0.0%

0.3%

44.4%

44.4%

61.2%

23.6%

4.7x

1.7x

1.4%

21.2%

0.0%

0.1%

19.8%

19.8%

11.9%

3.9%

10.0x

1.2x

2.5%

10.0%

0.0%

0.1%

40.4%

40.4%

9.6%

4.4%

8.1x

0.8x

39

AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

2.00

40

Continental Reinsurance PLC

1.39

T o p 10 G a i n e r s T ic k er

6.5%

12.3%

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 %

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

B ER GER

8.09

4.9%

ST ER LN B A N K

43.6

-3.8%

FCM B

1.28

4.9%

D IA M ON D B N K

37.0

0.0%

12.59

4.9%

FB NH

33.0

-2.3%

NP FM CRFB K

1.32

4.8%

GUA R A N T Y

30.8

-4.8%

F ID ELIT YB K

2.36

4.4%

UB A

26.3

0.4%

ET I

17.95

4.0%

F ID ELIT YB K

23.3

4.4%

N A SC ON

20.00

2.6%

FCM B

20.8

4.9% -0.4%

D A N GF LOUR

T ic k er

1.35

2.3%

A C C ESS

19.1

D A N GSUGA R

21.95

2.1%

T R A N SC OR P

18.9

2.1%

T R A N SC OR P

1.48

2.1%

Z EN IT H B A N K

17.3

-3.8%

T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

P R ESC O

65.00

-5.0%

GUA R A N T Y

1245.4

-4.8%

C A D B UR Y

15.54

-5.0%

Z EN IT H B A N K

439.2

-3.8%

GUA R A N T Y

39.90

-4.8%

N EST LE

320.9

0.2%

LIVEST OC K

0.86

-4.4%

FB NH

303.2

-2.3%

C ILEA SIN G

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

C A VER T ON WA P C O

1.32

-4.3%

D A N GSUGA R

277.8

2.1%

45.00

-4.3%

UB A

275.1

0.4%

4.15

-3.9%

NB

234.5

-2.6%

25.00

-3.8%

A C C ESS

209.6

-0.4%

C H A M P ION

2.00

-3.8%

T OT A L

170.5

0.0%

ST ER LN B A N K

1.00

-3.8%

M OB IL

128.7

0.9%

NA HCO Z EN IT H B A N K

Investment Research

Brokerage Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Bolaji Fajenyo | bfajenyo@afrinvest.com

Omotola Abimbola | oabimbola@afrinvest.com

43

˾ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017

MARKET NEWS

ASHON, CSCS Sign MoU on Commodity and Futures Exchange Goddy Egene Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) has sealed strategic relationship with the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc as part of final preparation for the commencement of operations of the Lagos Commodity and Futures Exchange(LCFE).

Commenting on the relationship between ASHON and CSCS the acting Chief Executive Officer of LCFE, Mr. Akin Akeredolu-Ale explained

that infrastructure for trading, clearing and settlement of transaction are fundamental to the success of any commodity exchange and indeed remain real challenge that must be addressed at every point.

According to him, ASHON and CSCS are well positioned to ensure seamless take-off of the new commodity and futures exchange.

“The memorandum of understanding signed by ASHON and CSCS is the key heartbeat of the setting up a commodity exchange. Basically

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

in anywhere in the world some of the fundamental challenges in setting-up a commodity exchange are the issues of trading , clearing, settlement and electronic receipts. After the trading, how are they going to be settled and before they are settled how are the electronic receipts going to be transferred from one hand to the other? “ The good thing is that CSCS Plc has the infrastructure to do that. It has capacity for people to trade on commodities and settle commodities. The CSCS is well positioned to handle

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 12-Dec-2017, unless otherwise stated.

all aspects of our transactions on commodity and futures.

Apart from the trading aspect the link between the traders and the clearing members and the interbank settlement would run through the CSCS,” Akeredolu said.

Speaking in the same vein, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, CSCS Plc, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri said that the clearing house had always been associated with the state-of - the art technology for clearing and settlement of transactions .

He expressed optimism that

by the MoU signed with the commodity exchange, the clearing house was ready to handle all its clearing and settlement.

“After careful study of the details of the proposed Commodity and Futures Exchange, we were very convinced to go ahead in partnership with ASHON. This has brought about the signing of the MoU. The CSCS is fully ready for trade settlement aspect of the deal,” he said Also commenting on the strategic relationship, Chairman of ASHON, Chief Patrick Ezeagu

explained that without an effective depository a commodity exchange could not function.

“Our MoU signing with the CSCS brings the needed technical support that will ensure professional delivery and settlement happens electronically.

The CSCS shall deploy the technology which it has already been using for others like NASD and FMDQ, and for us to be able to develop . It will cost us several millions of dollars to acquire and so we are just taking advantage of capacity that already exists there, “ Ezeagu said.

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 185.01 186.42 45.94% Nigeria International Debt Fund 235.09 236.65 11.32% 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 0.83 0.84 18.06% ACAP Income Funds 0.64 0.64 82.36% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.43% 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 19.40 19.99 57.14% ARM Discovery Fund 398.91 410.94 38.91% ARM Ethical Fund 27.86 28.70 24.72% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.68% 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 153.75 154.83 46.18% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.81% 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 18.68% Paramount Equity Fund 12.07 12.38 28.96% Women's Investment Fund 98.08 100.60 15.94% 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 17.70% CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.22% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.08 1.10 9.35% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.04 1.04 3.97% FBN QUEST 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 1,136.66 1,137.83 12.02% FBN Heritage Fund 151.20 152.51 35.63% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.60% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $112.24 $113.14 9.07% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $111.71 $112.62 9.31% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 172.39 174.95 53.13% 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 1.43 1.46 53.72% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.97 2.97 15.58% 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 3,012.15 3,051.36 36.92% Coral Income Fund 2,449.96 2,449.96 17.54% 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 17.41% 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 17.66% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.13 2.16 26.91%

Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 18.31% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 114.12 114.12 17.61% 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 1.20 1.22 21.30% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,049.86 1,049.86 11.36% 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 14.15 14.25 46.30% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 18.73% 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 1.23 1.26 24.02% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.00 11.07 5.88% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 16.68% 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 131.03 133.01 29.14% 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 1.42 1.42 13.94% 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 2,247.40 2,260.50 22.74% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 175.92 175.92 14.26% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.01 1.02 31.82% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 218.56 218.56 16.95% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 181.50 183.84 39.79% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.63% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 9,733.66 9,848.17 28.37% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.06 1.06 6.00% 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 1.34 1.35 19.73% United Capital Bond Fund 1.53 1.53 25.45% United Capital Equity Fund 0.94 0.96 39.57% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.10% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 12.90 13.09 32.66% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.56 13.71 23.71% Zenith Income Fund 18.96 18.96 14.60%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

10.00 132.29

-11.35% 6.71%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.07 145.83 111.90

12.17 148.99 114.02

39.52% 47.41% 47.68%

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.84 9.78 18.11 20.56 146.29

4.88 9.86 18.21 20.76 148.29

74.64% 38.90% 52.75% 28.72% 15.21%

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.

44

T H I S D AY THURSDAY DECEMBER 14, 2017

T H I S D AY THURSDAY DECEMBER 14, 2017

45

46 ADVERTORIAL

T H I S D AY THURSDAY DECEMBER 14, 2017

47

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Akayed Ullah: New York Bombing Suspect Charged Suspected New York City bus terminal bomber Akayed Ullah has been charged with terror offences, BBC reported police as saying.

The 27-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant was wounded in the attack at the Post Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan on Monday morning.

Mr Ullah is reported to be in a serious condition in hospital after suffering burns when a crude device that was strapped to his body exploded.

Three other people suf-

fered minor wounds in the blast during rush hour.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) tweeted on Tuesday that Mr Ullah had been charged with criminal possession of a weapon, supporting an act of terrorism and making a “terroristic threat”.

He told police investigators he had been inspired

by Christmas terror attacks in Europe and selected the Port Authority bus terminal after seeing a number of festive posters on the subway walls, US media report.

Mr Ullah said the planned attack had been motivated

by US air strikes on IS targets in Syria and elsewhere, the New York Times reports.

Reports say he used piping, nails, a 9-volt battery and Christmas lights wire to build the device. It was affixed to his body with Velcro straps.

The suspect’s home in the New York City borough of Brooklyn is being searched.

Police believe he acted alone.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller told CBS that the suspect was “not particularly struggling financially” and was

not on police or FBI radar.

“This is somewhat characteristic of what we’re seeing across the world, which is somebody who turns up one day, out of the blue,” he said on Tuesday.

Mr Ullah emigrated to the US on a family visa in 2011 from the Chittagong

area of Bangladesh.

The Bangladeshi government says he had no criminal record in the country, which he last visited in September.

The visit lasted about six weeks, his uncle told the Associated Press news agency.

EU Governments Complicit in Migration in Libya, Says Amnesty European governments are knowingly complicit in the torture and abuse of refugees and migrants in Libya, a BBC report cited as Amnesty International alleging.

In an effort to stem migration, the EU is actively supporting a “system of abuse and exploitation” on Libyan shores, the group said in a report.

EU funds are going to authorities working with militias and people smugglers, the report says.

The EU said its work to help migrants made things better, not worse.

It has provided ships, training and funding to the Libyan coastguard.

Libya is the main thoroughfare for migrants trying to reach Europe. Arrivals in Italy - the main destination for boat crossings - fell sharply following the provision of EU funds to the Libyan coastguard.

The country has spiralled into lawlessness since Nato-backed forces overthrew long-serving ruler Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011, with num e r o u s a r m e d militias vying for control.

Banks, Companies Turn against Coal as Leaders Seek Cash for Climate Major banks and companies vowed Tuesday to accelerate the move away from Earth-warming fossil fuels as world leaders met in Paris seeking to unlock new cash for the global economy’s shift to greener energy, according to AFP. Two years to the day since 195 nations sealed the Paris Agreement to avert worst-case-scenario climate change, the World Bank said it would stop financing oil and gas exploration and extraction -- about two percent of its portfolio now -- from 2019.

On the sidelines of a summit of some 60 leaders called by French President Emmanuel Macron, French insurer Axa said it would speed up its carbon sector divestment, pulling 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) from companies which derive more than 30 percent of their revenues from coal.

Dutch bank ING said it would have “close to zero exposure” to coal power

generation by 2025, and a group of more than 200 global investors, including banking giant HSBC, launched a campaign to pressurise the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters -- including BP, Airbus, Volkswagen, and Glencore -- to go greener.

Summit participants, meanwhile, warned that trillions of dollars must be invested in clean energy technology to meet the Paris Agreement’s existential goal of limiting global warming to under two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels.

“While the challenge is great, we must do everything in our power to meet it. We know it is the difference between life and death for millions of vulnerable people around the world,” said Frank Bainimarama, the prime minister of Fiji who presided over UN climate talks in Bonn last month.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the OIC summit venue in Istanbul

AFP

Explosion at Major Austrian Gas Hub, One Dead, 18 Injured A large explosion rocked one of Europe’s biggest gas pipeline hubs in Austria on Tuesday, leaving one dead and 18 injured, AFP reported emergency services as saying.

Photos showed a huge tower of orange flame visible for miles around roaring out of the Baumgarten facility some 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Vienna near the Slovak border. “ personAn explosion occurred at 8:45 am (0745 GMT), followed by a fire,” police spokesman Edmund Tragschitz told AFP. He later put the number of people hurt, including one seriously as well as those with minor injuries, at around 60.

But Red Cross spokeswoman Sonja Kellner told the Austria Press Agency that one person had been killed

and 18 were injured, one of them seriously who has since been airlifted to hospital in Vienna.

“I heard a huge explosion and thought at first it was a plane crash,” photographer Thomas Hulik, a resident of a nearby village in Slovakia, told AFP. “Then I saw an immense ball of flame,” he said.

Armin Teichert, a spokesman for the site’s operator Gas Connect Austria, said that the site had been evacuated and that the facility had been put into “security mode”.

The material damage is “major,” Teichert told AFP. Police said on social media that people should avoid the area.

Media reports said that more than 200 fire fighters from several brigades in the surrounding area were

called in to help, as well as a number of air ambulances.

Lower Austria state police said on Twitter that the situation was “under control”.

“Fire services are currently engaged in putting out the fire following the explosion.

Emergency services are treating the wounded,” the statement said.

An AFP journalist nearby said that by late morning the flames had been extinguished but there was still a huge cloud of smoke over the site.

Other photos showed the heat from the blast was so extreme that cars parked at the site partially melted.

Police added that the cause of the incident was a “technical” one and the local authorities had begun an investigation.

The Baumgarten site is Austria’s largest reception

point for gas, the end-point for a number of pipelines bringing it in from Russia, Norway and elsewhere.

It receives some 40 billion cubic metres of gas annually and redistributes it elsewhere in Europe including to Germany and northern Italy.

Teichert, the Gas Connect Austria spokesman, said that there could be interruptions in supply to Italy and Croatia, but not to elsewhere.

Russian gas giant Gazprom, which relies on the Baumgarten site to send gas to clients around Europe said in a statement that it was aware of the incident.

“Currently the company is working on redistribution of gas flows and (doing) its best to secure uninterrupted gas supplies to the clients on this transport direction,” Gazprom said.

Facebook to Overhaul Irish Tax Scheme Facebook is to overhaul its tax structure so that it pays tax in the country where profits are earned, instead of using an Irish subsidiary, BBC reports.

The online advertising giant is to make the change in every country outside the US where it has an office.

In 2016, Facebook said it would stop routing UK sales through Ireland for tax purposes.

The change comes after pressure on large firms over their tax affairs from governments and the public.

Facebook chief financial officer Dave Wehner said: “We believe that moving to a local selling structure will provide more transparency to governments and policy makers around the world who have called for greater visibility over the revenue associated with

locally-supported sales in their countries.”

The move will affect how Facebook pays taxes in 30 countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Poland, and Sweden.

In the UK, there was public outrage after it emerged that Facebook had paid just £4,327 in tax in 2014.

In April 2016, the company began booking more advertising income through its UK office, instead of Ireland.

That significantly boosted revenue and profits for its UK business, and has meant that so far it has paid higher taxes.

Facebook paid £5.1m in tax in the UK last year, up from £4.2m in 2015, on revenues of £842m.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017Ëž T H I S D AY

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Civil Society Groups, Other Stakeholders Oppose NGO Regulatory Bill Amid Protests Dogara commends civil society for aiding growth of democracy James Emejo Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039;

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu.

However, the bill which Almost all representatives was sponsored by Deputy of Non-Governmental Majority Leader, Buba Jubril, Organisations (NGOs), Civil was overwhelmingly opposed Society Organisations (CSOs) by stakeholders who took turns and Faith Based Organisations to literarily tear it to shreds.

(FBOs) yesterday vehemently Bishop of the Roman Catholic denounced the proposed Diocese of Sokoto, Revend establishment of a regulatory Matthew Kukah, who spoke commission for supervision, for Kukah Foundation, said co-ordination and supervision lawmakers should take the of the groupsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; activities in the aggregate of the opinion of the country. stakeholders to know where the Making their submissions peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision lie, stressing at a two-day public hearing that was in support of the civil organised by the House of society.

Representatives Committee He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have other on Civil Society Organisations institutions that are not and Development Partners, functioning. We should focus the civil society groups were more on how to generate the unanimous in their opposition to energy on your people,â&#x20AC;? adding the objectives of the regulatory that lawmakers should engage in commission arguing that the more serious legislative activities. legislation would stifle growth The Executive Director, Policy and development of the country. and Legal Advocacy Centre The infamous NGO regulatory (PLAC), Clem Nwankwo, said: commission bill seeks among â&#x20AC;&#x153; The bill has several worrying other things to establish a body aspects. It fails to acknowledge responsible for the supervision, the existing egalitarian refi,e coordination and monitoring under which NGOs operate of Non-Governmental including constitutional Organisations and Civil Society/ provisions under Chapter IV Organisations in Nigeria, with of the 1999 Constitution (as the aim of enabling them to amended) as well as part C accomplish their various (Incorporated Trustees) of the missions in a transparent manner Companies and Allied Matters and be accountable. Act (CAMA) But all of the stakeholders â&#x20AC;&#x153;The bill grants rejected the passage of the bill, unquestionable powers to the arguing that it will tamper with executive arm of government the rights of the people and mar to restrain, constrain and limit the good works of the groups non- governmental initiatives by causing inefficiency. and charitable efforts in Nigeria.

This coincided with a protest â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no doubt that which was restricted to the outer the first victims of the bill gate of the National Assembly would be the NGOs that are even as hearing on the bill was traditionally active in the area ongoing. Â of ensuring accountability and The protest was led by a transparency of government to former Chairman of the National its citizens, particularly in the Human Rights Commission, area of human rights, rule of law,

governance and management of state resources.â&#x20AC;? Executive Secretary, Sensor Empowerment Foundation, Jonathan Ichaver,  said the passage of the bill in its current state and with its requirement that MGOs obtain written permission before being able to intervene in disasters would cause unnecessary delays which would result in the death of thousands of citizen in emergency situations.

In the same vein, President of Empower 54, Modupe Ozolua, in her submission, said she had no problem with the registration of NGOs and CSOs in the country for the purpose of having a database, but the aspect of the bill which states that organisation must have a projection of projects for the year was not feasible because of a dearth of funds.

She also expressed worry a proposed regulatory requirement that NGOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assets be declared to the commission.

Amnesty International

representative, Ossai Ojigho, said the NGO bill threatens freedom in the country pointing out that sections 11,13 and 24 of the proposed legislation attempt to muzzle organisations and tell them how they must run their business.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;States are adopting laws and policies under the guise of transparency and accountability that seeks to exert control over civil society thereby limiting their ability to work.â&#x20AC;?

Also,  Mr. Adetokumbo Mumuni and Dr. AbiolaAkiyode Afolabi of the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) had insisted that the bill should not see the light of the day as it will adversely limit these NGOs from performing their humanitarian services.

He argued that  what the proposed law seeks to achieve is already covered by existing statutes and added it is antithetical to democratic norms and practices.

Similarly, a representative

of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning Mr. Samuel Eloho, said the ministry is not in support of the bill because it is a duplication of function of an already existing government agency.

Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has hailed civil societies and non-governmental organisations for the important role they play in development of democracy and promotion of the well-being of Nigerian citizens. Â Speaking at the opening of the public hearing, he urged the public not to be apprehensive of opinion made in the House during debates on any bill, saying they will always have their day at a forum such as the public hearing to make their imput.

Meanwhile, a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has urged Dogara to immediately drop the draft bill, saying it threatens the very existence of a free and independent civil

society in Nigeria.

Falana said ahead of the public hearing: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is perhaps the worst piece of legislation in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history. Under the bill, any civil society group advocating for human rights, basic freedoms and good governance can be shut down and criminalised. The bill if passed will ultimately have a disastrous impact on Nigerian citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; democratic participation in furthering the development of their own country.â&#x20AC;?

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I urge Speaker Dogara to reject entirely the bill as it falls significantly short of international human rights norms governing the rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, in particular Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Articles 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Articles 10 and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Rights to which Nigeria is a state partyâ&#x20AC;?

Nigerian Troops, Boko Haram Fight for Control of Borno Village Michael Olugbode Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C; The fate of Mainok, a village on the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway, is hanging in the balance as Nigerian military and Boko Haram insurgents have engaged in a battle for the control of the town.

Mainok, a village about 58 kilometres from Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, had suffered its worst attack in September 2014 during which the entire village was razed in an attack by the sect.

During the attack, all the residents who survived had to flee to Maiduguri where they formed the first set of organised internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the state which has risen to over two million people.

It was just last year that they summoned the courage to return back home after the state government assisted in the rebuilding of the village.

However, a security source told THISDAY on the phone at

about 8:30p.m. yesterday that the troops from the Nigeria military were involved in a battle with the terrorists in Mainok village, Kaga Local Government Area of the state.

A source from within the Nigeria security forces in the state also confirmed that the attackers came through the bush that links Mainok with Buniyadi village in Yobe State, which at a time was one of the strongholds of the insurgents in the troubled region.

The source said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yes the attack is on as I speak with you now. But our troops are gallantly tackling them as we continue to monitor news from the area. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The insurgents came through the Buniyadi axis that connects to Kaga local government Ă nd Sambisa forest.â&#x20AC;?

When contacted on the attack, the spokesman of the police in Borno State, Victor Isuku, said news of the attack was still sketchy, promising to get the details immediately something concrete comes up.

PUTTING HEADS TOGETHER

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki (left), and Oba of Benin and Chairman, Edo State Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs, Oba Ewuare II,  at the inauguration of the Edo State Council of Traditional Rulers at the Government House, in Benin City....yesterday

OPEC: Oil Market to Balance Within a Year Output fell to its lowest in six months Ejiofor Alike The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said supply and demand in the global oil market would likely balance out by the end of 2018 as a result of a pick-up in oil demand, particularly from the transport sector.

This is, however, coming as the cartelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil production fell to its lowest in six months but rival United States production was surging faster than expected, thus raising concerns that the market may not rebalance before the end of 2018.

OPEC said in its monthly Oil Market Report released yesterday that oil demand was projected

to grow by 1.51 million barrels per day in 2018, compared to an already higher-than-expected 1.26 million increase in 2017.

With the projected increase in demand in 2018, OPEC said global demand would reach 98.45 million barrels per day next year, adding that â&#x20AC;&#x153;expansion in the transportation sector is expected to provide the bulk of oil demand growthâ&#x20AC;?.

According to OPEC, expected strong economic expansion across the world will also underpin industrial and construction fuel demand.

The group noted that its crude production fell by about 133,500 barrels a day in November to 32.45 million barrels a day.

OPECâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own crude oil output is likely to edge up to 33.2 mb/d next year from 32.8 this year, a smaller increase than previously thought.

OPEC and some nonmembers of the cartel, including Russia, last month extended an output cut agreement until the end of 2018 in the hope of re-balancing the oil market and underpinning the price of crude.

However, the output decrease last month was tied to other factors with domestic demand for Saudi oil declining in the winter and Angola and Venezuela facing production issues.

OPEC predicted that non-

OPEC oil producers will pump around 990,000 barrels of crude oil per day more next year than this year as US shale oil producers ramp up output.

OPEC, however, said an overhang of global stocks would dwindle next year, â&#x20AC;&#x153;arriving at a balanced market by late 2018.â&#x20AC;?

Non-OPEC oil supply growth for 2017 now stands at about 810,000 barrels a day, representing an upward revision of around 150,000 barrels a day from the previous OPEC report.

For 2018, the forecast for supply growth outside the cartel was increased by about 120,000 barrels a day to around 990,000 barrels a day.

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Ambode: Lagos Contributed 73% to Nigeria’s Ease of Doing Business Rating Says more FDIs attracted in two years than in 15 years Gboyega Akinsanmi Lagos State alone contributed 73 per cent to the 2018 World Bank’s rating of Nigeria on the ease of doing business, a global competitive index for measuring business regulations, the state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has said.

Also, the governor said the state, currently with an estimated population of over 22 million people, has received more foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the last two and half years than it received in the previous 15 years.

He made the disclosure at a strategic meeting he held with the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Denys Gauer, alongside some delegates of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF) at the State House, Alausa yesterday.

Established in 1998, MEDEF is the largest employer federation in France. However, MEDEF replaced the National Council of the French Employers (CNPF) founded in 1946. Now it has more than 750,000 member

firms, 90 per cent of them being small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 50 employees.

At the meeting which the Lagos State Officer of Overseas Affairs and Investment coordinated, the governor said the resolve of the state government to enhance the ease of doing business in the state had started yielding dividends.

He noted that Nigeria moved 24 steps in the recently announced World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking, noting that it was most gladdening “to remember that Lagos State alone contributed 73 per cent to the World Bank’s ranking of Nigeria on this front.”

He, therefore, said the state government would continue “to inspire confidence among investors worldwide and it is a fact that Lagos has received more FDIs in the last two and half years than it received in the previous 15 years.”

By implication, the governor added that the state’s modest achievement “has been made possible by our resolve to

improve security of lives and property in the State, by embarking on security and justice sector reforms, by lightening up Lagos streets and by easing the passage of traffic across the state.”

“In the nearest future, Lagos State will put in place an intermodal transportation system, taking full advantage of our waterways, rail networks to mention but a few. As a country, we have had a great relationship with France even if this slowed down some time back,” Ambode explained.

With what it has to offer, the

governor said Lagos State could spearhead the revival of this relationship and the ushering in of a stimulating cooperation between Lagos and France, noting that Lagos is open to business.

Consequently, he urged the French business community not “to miss out on the real and great opportunities that exist in Lagos State in such sectors as health, agriculture, transportation, energy, tourism and entertainment among others.”

He noted that Lagos might be the smallest state in Nigeria by size, but it was the most populous State in the country

with 22 million people and with a GDP of $136 billion, which he said, earned it a prime place of Africa’s fifth largest economy, much bigger than several African states’ economies combined.

The governor, thus, said now that the French business giants have witnessed the progress our government has made in the last two years especially in the area of infrastructure development and creating an enabling environment for business in the state, it is my hope that you will be encouraged to invest in Lagos.”

In its 2018 report, the World

Bank had ranked Nigeria 145th, precisely 24 positions better than the 169th position the country was ranked in the 2017 report. The report showed that Nigeria was among the 10 top countries that improved on reforms.

Although the report ranked New Zealand first on the ease of doing business index for the second consecutive year, it listed the areas that Nigeria improved with reforms to include starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering a property, getting credit and paying taxes.

Anambra Senatorial Tussle: Court Orders Immediate Swearing-in of PDP Candidate, Okonkwo Alex Enumah ÓØ ÌßÔË Justice John Tsoho of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court has ordered the immediate swearing-in of Dr. Obiora Okonkwo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as senator representing Anambra Central senatorial district.

Justice Tsoho who gave the order in a judgment he delivered yesterday, also ordered the Senate President to immediately inaugurate Okonkwo to fill the vacant Anambra central senatorial seat.

Delivering judgment in a suit filed by the plaintiff against the PDP and three others, the judge held that the plaintiff was validly nominated by the PDP in its primary election of December 2014 for the senatorial district.

Consequently, Justice Tsoho, ordered that the Certificate of Return earlier issued to Uche Ekwunife be withdrawn and that a fresh one be issued to the plaintiff by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Okonkwo had instituted a court action against the PDP, its former National Chairman, Adamu Muazu, INEC and Mrs Uche Ekwunife, challenging the emergence of Ekwunife as PDP candidate for the 2015 National Assembly election.

However, in the course of trial, all the four defendants withdrew their processes in the case and agreed to submit themselves to the judgment of the court.

The judge in his judgment delivered yesterday, agreed with the submission of the plaintiff’s counsel that in

view of the withdrawal of all defendants, the court was at liberty to enter judgment in favour of the plaintiff.

Justice Tsoho said with the withdrawal of the defendants and their consent to abide by his judgment, the plaintiff has emerged as the lawful candidate of PDP in the March 28, 2015 National Assembly election for Anambra Central senatorial district.

Counsel to the plaintiff, Sebastine Hon, while briefing journalists shortly after the judgment, said the judiciary has once again proven to be the hope of the ordinary Nigerians.

While commending the defendants for their maturity in the matter, he lamented that the people of the affected senatorial district have been without representative since 2015 when the Court of Appeal, Enugu nullified Ekwunife’s election.

He noted that the judgment has however restored hope for the people.

Only few weeks back, the Court of Appeal, Abuja, in its judgment delivered on the Anambra Central senatorial tussle ordered INEC to conduct a rerun election within 90 days to fill the vacant Anambra Central senatorial position in the National Assembly.

The court in the judgment however ordered the exclusion of the PDP and its candidate from participating in the said rerun.

Following the Appeal Court’s decision, INEC announced January 13 for the election, while the PDP has appealed to the Supreme Court challenging its exclusion from the rerun.

THIS REPORT WILL HELP INEC

Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu (left), receiving the official report of the European Union (EU) Election Follow-up Mission to Nigeria from the EU’s Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Ketil Karlsen, when the latter visited the commission’s headquarters in Abuja....yesterday

FG Fails to Implement Report of Presidential C’ttee on Police Reform Ambode says Lagos faces complex security challenges daily Gboyega Akinsanmi The federal government has failed to fund the Nigeria Police in line with the report of the Presidential Committee on Police Reforms in Nigeria that recommended an estimate of N2.8 trillion be spent in a period of five years to radically transform the police, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, disclosed yesterday.

The governor, also, disclosed that the federal government only released N10 billion in 2016 fiscal year out of N16.1 billion allocated for capital development, noting that the allocation was a huge shortfall from a sum of N560 billion, which was recommended in the report of the police reform committee.

He gave the figures at the 11th town hall meeting on security to mark the 10th anniversary of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) at the State House, Alausa yesterday, acknowledging that Lagos still faced complex security challenges on a daily basis because of the massive migration to the state.

The meeting was attended by

Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, President of Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Nike Akande, Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola and Lagos State Commissioner for Police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal among others.

At the meeting, the governor referred to a presentation the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris made in July 2017, stating that the Nigeria Police was allocated N 16.1 billion for capital development, though only N10 billion was released.

Ambode noted that what was eventually released to the Nigeria Police for capital development showed that the federal government did not pay attention to the recommendation of the reform committee set up by former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

He noted that the committee, which was chaired by former Inspector General of Police (IG), Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko Yusuf, recommended an estimate of N2.8

trillion over a period of 5 years (i.e. N560 billion per annum) to effectively reform and transform the Nigeria Police.

The governor, therefore, said the shortfall showed the calamitous funding challenge “to provide general security for our people.

As it stands, we must collectively act in our own interest to ensure that the criminals do not take over our space and we would then have to do a hundred times more to regain it.”

In order to ensure that public order is guaranteed, Ambode told all the stakeholders at the meeting that the time “to act is now, especially as we are gaining the upper hand.

It may seem tough, but trust me, the alternative is devastating.”

He explained diverse intervention that the Lagos State Security Council had been providing, noting that the Council “often develop and review strategies which, with the cooperation of all security agencies, have been able to nip in the bud situations that might have had devastating consequences.”

With all the strategies and best

intentions in the world, however, the governor acknowledged that the actions would not have been possible in any way without the needed resources provided through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund.

Also at the meeting, Imohimi revealed that the police had shot dead 32 armed robbers during gun-battle, arrested 299 others and lost six officers in the last 10 months.

From January to October 2017, he said 299 armed robbers were arrested while 32 robbers were killed during encounters with the police.

He added that 231 vehicles were recovered in the last 10 months, while 21 armed robbery attempts were foiled. Regrettably, six police officers were shot dead in the line of duty.

He, however, noted that to ensure a low crime rate is sustained, increased police presence in all crime prone areas and other locations had been implemented, noting that the challenges being faced by the police included dearth of patrol vehicles, while many vehicles

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Defeated PDP Aspirants Threaten to Form Parallel National Exco Onyebuchi Ezigbo ÓØ ÌßÔË The dissatisfaction arising from the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is yet to abate, as a group under the auspices of the PDP 2017 National Convention Candidates and Stakeholders’ Forum has threatened to form a parallel National Working Committee (NWC) of the party if the results of the convention are not reversed.

In a document dated December 12 and made available to the media yesterday, the group called on the chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin

to convene an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) within seven days, failing which they shall form a parallel NWC of the party.

Two of the aspirants, Chief Godwin Chinedu Duru who contested the position of National Organising Secretary (NOS) and Edede Franklyn who contested for the National Youth Leader’s post, were among those who signed the document.

Although it could not be ascertained if those that signed the document had the backing of some of the chairmanship aspirants who lost out in the contest that threw up Mr. Uche Secondus

Fire Guts 20 Vehicles as Tanker Explodes in Festac No fewer than 20 vehicles and four commercial motorcycles were yesterday afternoon burnt when a tanker laden with petrol fell and spilled its content on the Festac Link Bridge in Awuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State.

The fire started at noon and raged for about an hour.

Fire fighters arrived at the scene about 30 minutes later but did not have enough water to quench the fire.

A witness, Mr Olufemi Popoola, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the tanker, coming from Apple Junction and going to FESTAC Town was ascending the bridge but suddenly rolled back and fell.

The impact of the fall separated the tank from the body, resulting in an explosion, according to Popoola.

He said some residents and passers-by attacked the fire with buckets of water to no avail.

Popoola, who lives in

as the new chairman of the PDP, the convention last Saturday was characterised by protesting contenders for the post.

Two of the contenders for the post of national chairman of the PDP – Prof.

Tunde Adeniran and Chief Raymond Dokpesi – had cried out over the existence of a “unity list” said to have been put together by an influential power bloc of the PDP and contained the names of aspirants who were favoured by the bloc.

Dokpesi was later to accept the outcome of the elective convention and congratulated Secondus for his victory.

But it is believed that there might still be other defeated aspirants who remain aggrieved over the conduct of the convention.

According to the ultimatum issued by the aggrieved

PDP aspirants, “Failure to address items 2 and 3 above, we would have no option but to announce the correct results and inaugurate the authentic National Working Committee of our great party, the PDP.” However, the former National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh yesterday called on defeated aspirants to rally round the Secondus-led NWC, in the interest of the party.

Metuh noted that the outcome of the election did not in anyway detract from the credibility and the qualification of those elected.

“What is needed now is for them to join hands with the new leadership to reposition the PDP for the task ahead,” the former PDP spokesman pleaded.

Metuh, in a statement he

personally signed, urged aggrieved aspirants to join hands with the new party leadership to “provide a credible opposition that will continuously provide alternatives and options to the policies and programmes of the ruling party”.

He described Secondus as “a tried and tested hand and proven party administrator with exceptional institutional memory to handle the affairs of our great party”.

“It is incontrovertible that the activities leading to the PDP elective national convention and the outcome thereof have left no one in doubt that the party has been repositioned to take over power in 2019.

“It is instructive to note that nobody, not even the worst of critics, has questioned Prince Secondus’ competence and capacity to

lead the party at this critical time,” he said.

He acknowledged that whereas the PDP had embraced the zoning principle, the cardinal principle of the party and the underlying vision of its founding fathers remain the promotion of competence and merit.

“All that is now needed is to implement the burning desire and yearnings by Nigerians for a credible opposition that will continuously provide alternatives and options to the policies and programmes of the ruling party.

“It is therefore needful that we all join the Uche Secondus-led NWC in the collective task of rebuilding our great party and ensuring success in the quest to regain our lost glory,” Metuh said.

FESTAC, said that the fire from the tanker spilled over to nearby vehicles, forcing their occupants to run, abandoning them.

“The fire then spilled into a car shop on the foot of the bridge, burning some of the cars, while the attendants quickly drove out some.

“Furniture items, bags and boxes displayed for sale on the foot of the bridge all burnt.’’

The vehicles burnt included a 2010 Toyota Highlander and a commercial bus.

The fire caused gridlock on the bridge and in the adjoining roads.

A crowd of affected persons and sympathisers gathered at the scene to lament the situation.

One of the owners of the burnt motorcycles, Mr. Akuko Okoli, said that he narrowly escaped death.

It was not clear at the time of the report whether any life was lost to the fire.

FG Set to Issue Green Bond in Domestic Market

EXPLORING BUSINESS TIES

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has announced that as part of the preparations towards the issuance of the first Sovereign Green Bond, it would sensitise prospective investors in the bond through a Roadshow in Abuja and Lagos on December 14 and 15, 2017.

A statement from DMO last night said the Green Bond is being issued following Nigeria’s endorsement of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change on September 21, 2016.

The Paris agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, since the signing of the agreement, various countries who are parties to the agreement have initiated several steps aimed at making the environment better.

The Green Bond proceeds would be used to finance projects in the 2017

LASG: Apapa Ports Not Designed for Haulage Vehicles

Appropriation Act that have been certified as Green because of their positive effects on the environment.

Among the projects to be financed with the proceeds of the Green Bond Issuance are the Renewable Energy Micro Utilities and Afforestation Programmes.

With the Green Bond Issuance, Nigeria will become one of the few countries in the world and indeed the first African country to issue a Green Bond. Moody’s Investors Service has assigned a GB1 (Excellent) Green Bond Assessment to the Issuance.

The DMO is working with the Federal Ministry of Environment towards the Issuance while Chapel Hill Denham is the financial advisers to the transaction.

The offer which is for N10.69 billion would be advertised in various media including newspapers and the DMO’s website to enable the public subscribe for the bonds.

L-R: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; French Consul General in Lagos, Mr. Laurent Polonceaux (second left); President, MARLINVEST, Mr. Jean-Pierre Lucas; and Economic Counsellor, Delegate of Head of the Regional Economic Department in Lagos, Mr. Francis Widmer, during the governor’s meeting with the French Business Delegation (MEDEF) at the Lagos House, Ikeja....yesterday

Canvasses re-activation of railway system Gboyega Akinsanmi The Lagos State Government yesterday lamented intractable traffic congestion in Apapa Central Business District, noting that the Apapa ports were never designed for haulage trucks or articulated vehicles.

If the trio of traffic congestion, security challenges and environmental nuisances associated with Apapa must be effectively solved, the state government canvassed re-activation of the rail system.

The state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, lamented Apapa’s hydra-headed challenges at a business forum with foreign investors he addressed at the State House, Alausa yesterday alongside his Special Adviser on Overseas Affairs and Investment, Prof. Ademola Abass.

At the business meeting, Ambode disclosed that the Apapa ports were not originally designed for haulage trucks, noting that there was negative impact on the state roads due to what he ascribed to the failure of the port authorities to adhere to the original design of the ports.

He therefore lamented that the design and concept of the Apapa Ports “cannot actually accommodate the volume of the business the country is currently running. The ports were never designed for haulage trucks.”

He also lamented that it was not possible “to have just one seaport in a commercial capital like Lagos. Smaller ships are coming into the ports because of the shallow state of the port.

It cannot actually receive big ships. So the turnaround is just too much.”

By implication, the governor explained that the failure to adhere to the original design of the Apapa ports “has affected the logistics and the capacity of the Apapa Port to respond to the volume of the business.”

He, therefore, observed that the Federal and Lagos State Government “have decided to join forces to solve the challenge. We are looking at different initiatives including the need to disperse cargoes from the other two ports.”

He also linked the resolve to solve Apapa’s challenges to the state government’s decision to conceptualise the establishment of seaports in Lagos West (Badagry) and Lagos East (Lekki) to use the boundaries to transport the goods or containers, rather than having containerised

trucks plying the main streets in the state.

He said: “We need a lot of investment in transportation and logistics. The way the Apapa road was designed was that the goods should be transported by rail from the port to the hinterlands.

“The rail system needs reactivation. So we must design and provide deeper seaport for us to have lesser ships and lesser integrations. So the idea is you either go to the East of the state in Lekki or Badagry in the West.”

“The injury on infrastructure that has been caused by that port is what you see in the city centre. Technically, you do not need to have port in the center of a city. It kills the infrastructures. We are already engaging investors.”

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France Seeks Bigger Pie of Nigerian Economy Solomon Elusoji France is attempting to leverage on its â&#x20AC;&#x153;strong cooperation in securityâ&#x20AC;? with Nigeria to increase

the level of economic activity between the two countries. Â The French Ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gauer, disclosed this yesterday during a press

Judiciary Now Victim of corruption, Says Former Chief Judge Auta Justice Ibrahim Auta, a former Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, has said the judiciary, especially the judges have become victims of corruption in the country.

Auta made the assertion during the conferment of Award of Excellence on him by the Society Watch Media Ltd. (SWML), an NGO, yesterday in Abuja.

He said because judges were barred from speaking to the press, most of the corruption allegation levelled against them often appeared to be true.

The former chief judge said corruption perceptions about judges were becoming acceptable because the people believed whatever they read in the media without verification.

Auta said there was no country and sector devoid of corruption, adding that it was only the magnitude of the practice that differed.

He said the country is faced with many challenges and problems ranging from corruption, kidnapping, ritual killings, lack of infrastructural development, favouritism, nepotism and religious crisis. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At the root of this challenges is leadership, what we have been lacking in Nigeria is good and purposeful, nationalistic and patriotic leaders,â&#x20AC;? he said.

He therefore called on Nigerians to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari, that whatever he was doing would be of benefit to Nigerians.

He also called for the recruitment of more policemen to ensure adequate security for the country.

According to him, the current insecurity ravaging the country necessitated the need to employ more police personnel that will be equipped and adequately funded.

He said the current figure of policemen in the country was inadequate to provide security for over 200 million Nigerians.

Mr. Michael Balogun, the Chief Executive Officer of SWML, said the challenges bedeviling the country were outright lack of focus and good leadership. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our problem is not corruption as we are made to believe, but leadership because a good and purposeful leader will know that stealing our common resources is a sin against God,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Balogun, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported, lauded the former chief judge for distinguishing himself as a man of integrity whose performance was excellent within the period he was in office from 2011 to 2017.

briefing marking the end of the visit of a French delegation of entrepreneurs, the Movement of French Businesses (MEDEF), to Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The French political authorities are encouraging very much our companies to come to Nigeria and invest here,â&#x20AC;? Gauer said. Â â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigeria is a strategic political partner to France; we have very strong cooperation in security, especially in fighting terrorist activity; but we also want to be present in the economic sphere and to have more partnerships.â&#x20AC;?

MEDEF is the first network of entrepreneurs in France and represents 75 per cent of the French private sector.

Vice Chairman of the Africa Committee of MEDEF and the Deputy CEO of Bollore

Transport and Logistics, Mr. Phillippe Labonne, led the 30-man strong delegation to Nigeria.

The visit, which lasted for two days across two major cities â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Abuja and Lagos â&#x20AC;&#x201C; saw the French delegation meeting with some of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s key economic planners, including the Minister of Finance and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), according to Labonne. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigeria is a priority for our organisations, for French businesses,â&#x20AC;? Labonne said at the press briefing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our delegation include representatives from 30 French companies in various sectors: banking, oil and gas, health, agriculture, logistics, infrastructure, services. Most of

these companies have already set up in your country and some of them are contemplating to invest in your country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The main purpose of our meetings was to understand, on site, where is your country going? So we started by meeting the political leaders of your country who explained to us their priorities and their vision. They have a clear vision of the future of your country and we believe that our members and the companies that were part of the delegation have a role to play in the development of your country in many areas such as transportation, banking, health, oil and gas.â&#x20AC;?

Labonne, who described Nigeria as â&#x20AC;&#x153;a leading country in Africaâ&#x20AC;? said the outcome of the delegationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meetings

was â&#x20AC;&#x153;very positive.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your country is unique,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It has a massive market which deserves a lot of attention by our companies; and it was interesting to notice that all the members of the delegation were amazed by what they saw and the potential.â&#x20AC;?

The delegation also met with key business persons in Lagos, the Executive Governor of Lagos, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, and also paid a visit to CCHub, arguably the melting pot of Lagosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start-up culture. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were amazed by the dynamism of the youth of this country and we feel that it could match with our expertise,â&#x20AC;? Labonne said of the visit to CCHub. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We feel there is an opportunity here.â&#x20AC;?

SUSTAINABLE REPORT

L-R: Director, Centre for Housing and Sustainability Development, University of Lagos; Prof. Timothy Nubi; Country Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, Lafarge Africa, Mr. Michel Pucheroos; Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development Director, Lafarge Africa, Folashade Ambrose-Medebem; and Prof. Chris Ogbechie, at the launch of Lafarge Africa Plc. Sustainable Report in Lagos....yesterdayâ&#x20AC;Ś.

Court Fixes Jan 19 for Judgment in Ladojaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Case Challenging Jonathan, Okowa Greet Wike at 50, Describe Him as Outstanding Olubadan Reform Leader Ademola Babalola Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;

Judgment in the suit challenging the constitution of a judicial panel of enquiry and subsequent gazette of its outcome by the Oyo State Government by a former Governor, Rashidi Ladoja, has been fixed for January 19, 2018.

Ladoja, a chief - Osi Olubadan and member of the Olubadan-in-council, had approached the court to challenge the reform to the declaration of the 1957 Ibadan chieftaincy system by the state government.

In the suit, the state Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and the Chairman of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry that reviewed the 1959 Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration, Justice Akintunde Boade, were listed as first and second respondents respectively.

The court adjourned the case for ruling and judgment after the lead counsel to Ladoja, Mr. Michael Lana; counsel to Ajimobi, Mallam

Yusuf Alli (SAN); and counsel to Justice Boade, Mr. Seun Abimbola, who is the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, concluded their submissions on the originating summons. Counsel to the claimants and the defendants had argued vehemently on why the court should rule in their favour.

Ladoja, who is a former governor of the state, and Otun Olubadan, Lekan Balogun, had sued the state government over the constitution of the commission by the state government on May 19, 2017.

The claimants prayed the court, in the suit number M/317/2017, to restrain the commission from sitting, accepting any memorandum or in any way taking any step in furtherance of its assignment, pending the determination of motion on notice in respect of the subject. But Balogun later withdrew from the case.

Justice Olajumoke Aiki of State High court on Wednesday fixed January 19, 2018, for judgment.

Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, have felicitated with the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyeson Ezenwo Wike, on his 50th birthday, describing him as a leader who has made outstanding contributions to national development.

The ex-president who stated this in a goodwill message to the governor, described him as a listening leader who attends to the everyday needs of his people.

A statement by Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, the former presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spokesman, also quoted Jonathan as expressing satisfaction with Wikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance both as a minister in his government and as the governor of Rivers State.

The statement said further: â&#x20AC;&#x153;You are a notable democrat whose responsive and transformational pattern of leadership positively affects the lives of your people. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As the peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; governor, you have made a mark for yourself, by shunning the convenient

highway of political acceptability and opting to spend more time with the good people of Rivers State, listening to their hopes and aspirations, and attending to their every day needs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Through your visionary leadership, you have raised the bar in accountable governance with the unparalleled delivery of social and physical infrastructure; a commitment that have earned you a fitting epithet, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mr. Projectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your excellency, I pray that God Almighty will preserve and protect you as you continue to improve the fortunes of Rivers State and transform the lives of the people.â&#x20AC;?

On his part, Okowa in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Charles Aniagwu, in Asaba, eulogised Wikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tremendous contributions and outstanding accomplishments in the service of his state and country.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the sterling contributions of Wike to the development of Rivers State and Nigeria is legendary

and worthy of commendationâ&#x20AC;?.

Okowa noted that Wike has transformed Rivers State with the various developmental projects embarked upon by his administration. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The emergence of  Wike as Governor of Rivers State has ushered in a plethora of unprecedented infrastructural and human capacity development in the state, adding â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s selfless and impressive political and developmental achievements in the past two years in office has placed his name on the sands of time as an emerging nationalist and a man to look out for in the future political development of the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The birth of great men is heralded by great events and are usually for a mission.

Rivers people can attest to your doggedness, commitment and steadfastness in state craftsmanship as reflected in the monumental achievements in infrastructural development of your state. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your unrelenting,

hardworking, benevolent, magnanimous, dependable and commitment to excellence has indeed earned you the title â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mr Projects. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On behalf of my family, the government and people of Delta State,I congratulate a gentleman of honour, courage and integrity, a leading light of this generation, a consummate politician of our time and a courageous democratic, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike on his 50th birthday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the contemporary politics of Nigeria, Wike has become an important factor as an emerging nationalist. He doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pretend and his voice is heard across the land. He identifies with the people, loves his people, he is working for them and the people love him. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On this auspicious occasion of your 50th birthday anniversary, I join your family, friends and well-wishers to thank Almighty God for your life which has been marked by outstanding accomplishments and enduring fulfillment,â&#x20AC;?

Okowa said.

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Strike: Varsity Workers Demand N30bn from FG James Sowole Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?

The striking non-teaching workers of the universities in the country yesterday called on the federal government to release a sum of N30billion for the three unions under its category as a condition to call off the ongoing strike in ivory towers.

The three non-teaching staff unions of universities comprising the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU),

Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU)Â and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) had embarked on another industrial action following the failure of the government to honour the agreement reached with the unions.

The condition was given by the National Vice President of SSANU, Mr Alfred Jimoh, at a news conference he addressed on the campus of the Federal University of Technology, Akure

(FUTA), Ondo State.

Jimoh said if the government releases the N30billion, it would be added to the N4.6billion shared among the three nonteaching staff. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The government should release more funds to take care of the arrears of the earned allowance of the three nonteaching staff of the Nigerian

universities and to commence the immediate implementation of the allowances to forestall further accumulation of the arrears,â&#x20AC;? he said.

While accusing the government of using divide and rule system among the universities workers, Jimoh declared that the ongoing strike would be total until the

government respond to their demand.

He noted that the unions regretted the strike action following its effects on parents and the varsitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; students but they (unions) had no option but to embark on it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have no option but to embark on the strike as the last option since all our efforts to

engage the government were ignored and only the union that is most prone to strike is the one government would always want to favour,â&#x20AC;? Jimoh explained.

He called on well-meaning Nigerians to call on government to accept the proposal of three non-teaching staff unions in order for them to end the industrial action.

Okowa, Ogeah Honoured

by Delta NUJ Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and former state Commissioner for Information, Chike Ogeah, were honoured with special awards by the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) as part of activities marking the Press Week of the NUJ in Asaba.

Okowa was given an award of excellence in wealth creation through agriculture, while Ogeah received an award of excellence in capacity building and media management for his sterling relationship with the media during his time as information commissioner.

Ogeah who was information commissioner in Governor Emmanuel Uduaghanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second term facilitated the training of over 32 journalists practicing in the state, including nonindigenes, at Reuters Institute in London, generally seen as the Harvard of journalism, over a two-year period.

The state Chairman of the council, Michael Ikeogwu,

said the activities for the press week was preceded by a public lecture delivered by human rights activist, anti-corruption crusader and founder of Women Arise, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin.

She spoke on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Role of the Press in Managing the Lessons of Recession for a Wealthier Delta Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; with Ogeah as Chairman. Governor Okowa who was the special guest of honour, declared the lecture open.

Activities for the Press Week also included a novelty football match between the NUJ and members of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) as well as a visit to sick members of the NUJ. The activities would be rounded off with the gala night and awards where the national president of the NUJ, Comrade Waheed Odusile, is the chief host alongside Mr. Patrick Ukah, the state Commissioner of Information.

Benue Assembly Passes LG Autonomy, Not-to-Young-Run Bills George Okoh Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C; The desire by many Nigerians to see autonomy granted to local government administration gained grounds yesterday as the Benue State House of Assembly passed the bill to grant autonomy to local governments.

The assembly took the decision while deliberating on the constitution and at the same time voted against independent candidature bill.

In passing the bill, the assembly called for the abolition of joint accounts of local and state government.

Meanwhile, the bill for alteration to effect the core functions of civil defence corps was stepped down for wider consultation before definite action is taken on it.

Fifteen proposed alteration bills were presented for consideration by the committee of the whole which was chaired by its Chairman, Hon. Terkimba Ikyange.

While deliberating on the independent candidature bill, the assembly could not arrive at a unanimous decision, which prompted the committee chairman to put it to vote and 18 members voted against the

bill while five members voted in support.

Thirteen other bills for alteration were expressly considered in their favour including abrogation of the Joint Account Bill.

Also considered by the assembly included provision of funds to the state assembly from the consolidated revenue fund, immunity for lawmakers irrespective of words spoken or writing during plenary, and provision of adequate time for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct by-elections and registration of political parties.

Others were reduction of age and qualification for prospective aspirants wanting to contest the presidential, governorship, and National Assembly and state assembly elections, as well as a bill on the presentation of the Appropriation Bill by the president and state governors within 90 days to the end of a financial year.

While speaking with journalists after the sitting, the Speaker, Ikyange said the bills were given express consideration because there was no ambiguity in them and promised that the bills would be transmitted to the National Assembly within 24 hours.

END-OF-YEAR GIG L-R: Manager, Bank of Beirut Representative OďŹ&#x192;ce, Nigeria, Camille Chidiac; Deputy Managing Director, Fidelity Bank

Plc, Mohammed Balarabe; and the Managing Director/Chief Executive OďŹ&#x192;cer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo, at the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s end of year party in Lagos...recently

FG APPROVES N16BN FOR NDDC HQTRS, SAYS EAST-WEST ROAD DESIGNED TO FAIL project that has been messed up from inception. Naturally, it was designed to fail by all the agreements and designed concepts that we have seen.

And here we are making sure that we put things in order so that we can see the terminal point of that project. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The project started more than a decade ago and in 24 months we have made the progress on that project, correcting even the construction deficits in the area, then I think you should be able to appreciate what we are doing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One, you talk of N16 billion as if it is so relevant in completing the East -West road. I wish to tell you that the outstanding certificate on the East - West road amounts to N300 billion. So, if we put N16 billion there, in fact one and the other are not substitutes. Two of them are essential infrastructure projects that must go on. It udoesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean that if we put that money on East - West Road. Then, it satisfies the needs of housing the NDDC. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Niger Delta region has a prime position in our preference to develop the area and so, there are no substitutes.

So, even if we are not going to do the NDDC headquarters, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean we will complete the East -West Road. They are all important and I want you to get that into your mind.

I have said East -West was designed to fail and we are

doing everything to correct that concept which means if it was designed to fail, it was gone but now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s being revived. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have spent N300 billion on East - West Road and yet, the project has not made much progress. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m doing a review of the entire contract of the East -West Road because without that, nothing will ever happen on that road talkless of completion. If you have spent N300 billion and you are where you are then... the design, negotiation, contract everything is wrong. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You designed a project of that nature and give it a lifespan of seven years and then no design in some sectors and yet you are attributing cost to it. So, by what means did you have the elements of costing? These are verifiable facts at any time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Right now, I have gotten some of these contracts and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sending them to the EFCC, not just for the East -West road.

I have got a minimum of 30 contractors that I am sending to EFCC. On the East -West Road, I have taken a private consultants to review the whole cost. So, some contractors will obviously refund money for which the present cost will be discounted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, when you see contractors ganging up and publishing things against me, you should know the foundation. But as far as I am

here, I will do something that I feel is right. That decision I think is appropriate enough at this time,â&#x20AC;? he said.

In his own briefing, the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, said FEC also approved the award of N3 billion contract for the construction of Ikorodu, Lagos lighter terminal rail contract.

Amaechi who said another contract was approved for the provision of security at the water front as well as patrol boats for the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), added that another $500 million contract was also approved for rolling stocks, coaches, wagons and locomotives for the construction of Lagos - Ibadan and Itakpe - Warri rail lines.

Disclosing that original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is Dalian, a Chinese company, while the contractor is CCEC, Amaechi said delivery date for the contracts is December 2018.

Asked when his ministry will extend the construction of rail lines to the Southeast, Amaechi blamed the development on former President Goodluck Jonathan, whom he accused of failing to spend billions of dollars at his disposal on rail lines across the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you come to the Ministry of Transport, you will see that every day, I am meeting with the Chinese because that appears to be the only place

where they have funds. I will go back to touch things you may not like which I have said several times. Under Obasanjo, he saved between $65-68 billion dollars. Not even in foreign reserve, Excess Crude Account and I have that we require about $36 billion dollars to complete all these rail works in all the state capitals. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All of us seated here are journalists when Obasanjo was President. Obasanjo left that money and President Goodluck Jonathan became President and that money was in that account.

So, why couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we have spent $36 billion building rails all over the country? â&#x20AC;&#x153;You didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ask President Goodluck Jonathan that question. Nobody asked. I was a governor then. There was no agitation for rail; there was no construction going on.

Instead of using that money, we borrowed $500 million to construct Kaduna - Abuja rail. So, I will please plead with everybody to be patient with this government and be patient with my ministry. Let us find money because there is no money. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since there is no money, let us be patient. I am an Igbo man. I have said it publicly and privately that I am an Igbo man. The Igbos will not be left out; the Igbos will certainly be taken along at the same time as we are taking every other Nigeria community,â&#x20AC;? he said.

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

Obiang Tees off Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Biggest Golf Open Olawale Ajimotokan in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mbasogo, at an elaborate ceremony, yesterday, teed off Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest golf championship - the 3e Actuaries Equatorial Guinea Open in Mongomo.

The opening round of the spectacle to be played over 72 holes will begin today with players from 34 countries competing for the prize $250,000.

Obiang expressed gladness that more players were attending the tournament this year than the previous edition.

He similarly expressed delight that Equatorial Guinea, once one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poorest countries, was using its oil wealth to promote sports and unify people from different part of the world. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Golf was unknown to our country, but I brought the game to Equatorial Guinea and invested in golf courses in Sipopo and Djibloho. Our idea to invest in tourism through sports is what we are reaping today, â&#x20AC;&#x153; Obiang recalled.

Obiang, who later gave each player a presidential handshake, was presented with a participation certificate by the tournament organiser, Olawale Opayinka of 3e Actuaries.

Opayinka said the tournament has overcome the initial doubts about

its relevance when it first started in 2013 by growing into an event with a rising international profile.

The first day of the tournament will see the ladies and gentlemen play together for the first 36 holes.

Defending champion, Craig Hinton of England, Mandhu Mohammad of Zimbabwe and Colombiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Paula Hurtado  will be the first group of players to tee off.

Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rising star, Georgia Oboh will play in the 13th group with Niang Samba of Senegal and Linda Wessberg of Germany.

Oboh, accompanied to Mongomo by her parentsGeoffrey and Evelyn- who incidentally are single digit golfers, is the youngest player at the tournament.

The 16-year-old remarked after her practice round yesterday that she was unfazed by the prospect of playing against some of the top players on the Ladies European Tour. She said she was at the tournament for exposure.

Oboh, who was overwhelmed by the beauty of Mongomo, singled out holes four, nine, 14 and 17 as the stand out holes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The key is to place the ball in the middle of the fairway and try and find the green. There is nothing too special to do, except to be consistent with my ball striking,â&#x20AC;? Oboh stressed with enthusiasm last night.

N P F L I N V I TAT I O N A L

Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Georgia Oboh (in handshake) with Equatorial Guinea President, Nguema Obiang Mbasogo, at the opening ceremony of Equatorial Guinea Open Championship in Mongomoâ&#x20AC;Ś yesterday

FIBA Extends Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Deadline Till March Next Year Duro Ikhazuagbe Following the representation made to basketball world ruling body, FIBA, by the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), the deadline given for the resolution of the leadership tussle at the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF), has been extended by a further three months expected to lapse on February 28, 2018.

Secretary General of FIBA, Patrick Baumann, on Tuesday communicated the decision of the world body to NBBF scribe, Chimezie Asiegbu.

In that letter dated December

12 and addressed to the Asiegbu, secretary of the Ahmadu Musa ,JEB MFE CPBSE '*#" TBJE that the new extension was agreed upon at their Central Board meeting (of the world body) held on the December 9, 2017 to allow a fact-finding delegation which has been set up to visit Nigeria before the end of the latest extension. The next FIBA Central Board meeting is scheduled for March, 2018.

The latest development is the fallout of the interventionist role played by the NOC to save Nigeria the embarrassment of been slammed with a ban as the

UXP GBDUJPOT MFE CZ ,JEB BOE former President Tijani Umar failed to reach a compromise before the November 30 deadline given to Nigeria to solve the leadership crisis.

Following a breakdown in the BUUFNQU UP HFU CPUI ,JEB BOE Umar to a round table to resolve the crisis, THISDAY learnt that NOC wrote FIBA 26th, July 2017 stating the attempts to end the crisis.

It was further learnt that it was this initiative that warranted the extension till February next year.

FIBA is expected to contacted

NBBF shortly to arrange the precise details of the visit of the FIBA delegation whose findings will be reported to the Executive Committee at the March meeting.

With the extension given by '*#" UIF ,JEB MFE /##' JT OPX expected to shift its focus to unfolding its long-term plans for the development of the game as its Technical Department has resumed scouting of players for the first phase of the Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Tigersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 2019 FIBA World Cup qualification coming up between February 23rd and 25th, 2018.

2018 CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Another Day of Drawn Plateau Utd to Battle Cameroonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eding, MFM Draws Games Real Bamako

Match-day two of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Invitational Tournament witnessed two entertaining games but ironically had no goals to show for the high quality football that was on display. *O UIF Ă STU HBNF ,BOP 1JMMBST drew 0-0 with Akwa United but it was the Sai Masu Gida keeper, Isa Danladi who stood between Akwa and goal. In one moment of bravery in the 38th minute, he pulled a double save first off Cyril Olisema before thwarting Musa Newmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s follow-up effort. When in the 73rd minute, Akwa managed to get beyond Isa, Amaechi Orjiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal-bound shot was cleared off the line. While Pillars missed the cutting edge hitherto provided by their captain Rabiu Ali, Akwaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trio of Aminu Nuhu, Christopher Lolo and Yenne Tenton bossed the middle of the park. It was a dominance that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t reflect on the scoreboard. At some point in the second half, the hosts were pegged back in their half and were only left off the hook by the refereeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final whistle. If the first game was thrilling, the second lived up to the high expectations given the star cast.

CHAN Eagles and Plateau United ended it goalless.

A game that pitted the defending champions against a selection of the best legs in the NPFL should be of high quality and this didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t disappoint.

What Pillars missed in Rabiu Ali was the CHAN Eaglesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; gain as his deft touches and passes provided the needed incision from deep. But despite all the good football in the middle of the park, the attackers couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t break down opposing defenses. Eaglesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; central defense pair of Olamilekan Adeleye BOE ,BMV 0SKJ XFSF TP IBSE on Plateauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new recruit and last seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NNL top scorer Tosin Omoyele that the lad made limited incursions into the box. Omoyeleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alertness and mazy runs caught the eyes and earned him a standing ovation when he was substituted but that was all. He never troubled Ikechukwu Ezenwa in goal for the national team. He was restricted to bursts from deep and wide positions.

On the other end, Plateau Unitedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s duo of Elisha Golbe and Salomon Junior kept Eagles forwards at bay.

Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) champions Plateau United is to take on Eding of Cameroon in the preliminary round of next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CAF Champions League.

At the draw ceremony in Cairo yesterday, the Jos-based team making its debut in the money-spinning annual clubsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; competition is to reopen the rivalry between Nigeria and Cameroon when the first leg of the preliminary round begins next February.

Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s other team in the elite club competition in the continent MFM FC was paired along with Maliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Real Bamako in the first round.

According to Confederation of African Football (CAF), The first and second leg matches are to be played between February 9 and 18, 2018.

Should both Nigerian clubs advance to the Round of 16, Plateau United are scheduled to face Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia, while MFM FC is to play  the winners of the clash between AC Atoho of Congo and MC Alger of Algeria. These matches are scheduled for March.

This year, no Nigerian club is scheduled to feature in the group stage of the Champions League.

Enyimba is the only Nigerian

club to have won this competition twice in 2003 and 2004.

Wydad Casablanca of Morocco will begin the defence of the Champions League title against either Maliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Stade Malien or newcomers Williamsville AC of Ivory Coast.

As the reigning champions, Wydad is one of five teams given a bye into the second round of the tournament.

Beaten finalists in 2017 Al Ahly of Egypt and DR Congoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Confederation Cup winners TP Mazembe are also straight into the second round.

The other teams to skip the first round are the 2016 African champions Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa and Tunisiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Etoile du Sahel, who lifted the trophy in 2007.

In the CAF Confederation Cup, Enyimba has been drawn bye, while Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s other representatives Akwa United of Uyo will tackle Hawks of The Gambia in the preliminary rounds.

The preliminary rounds will be played between February 9 and 18, while the second round is slated for march 9-18.

Enyimba will take on the winners of the preliminary clash between a team from Benin (yet to be named) and Hafia of Guinea.

Should Akwa United progress

they will take on the winners of the match between SC Sahel of Niger and Ittihad of Libya.

Akwa United was knocked out in the second round of the same competition this year.

No Nigerian club has yet won this tournament.

Meanwhile, CAF has outlined how the dates for its club competitions will begin to change in 2018.

CAF explained yesterday that the move to holding the tournaments between August or September and May the following year is not to fit in with European clubs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The change is not to fit with European clubs but to match the schedule of more than 75 per cent of the leagues on the continent,â&#x20AC;?

CAFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Director of Communication, Junior Binyam, confirmed to BBC Sport last night. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This will also allow us to have a player registration period for the CAF competitions that matches the period most countries follow already. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It will also align things according to the new timeline of our flagship tournament, which is the African Cup of Nations.â&#x20AC;?

From 2019 the Nations Cup will be held in the June or July rather than from the current dates of January to February.

In the past African Champions League and the second-tier Confederation Cup took place in a calendar year, in 2017 they ran from February until November.

For 2018 similar dates will be followed but then the competitions will begin again in December 2018 and be completed by May 2019.

The new regular window for both tournaments will then begin in either September or October 2019 and finish by May 2020.

The change in dates to all the competitions was approved at the July meeting of the CAF executive committee in Morocco, following a symposium on the future of the game in Africa.

FIRST ROUND: r 4U (FPSHF &UIJPQJB Ĺ&#x2021;WĹ&#x2021;"M 4BMBN (South Sudan) r $/B14 .BEBHBTDBS Ĺ&#x2021;WĹ&#x2021;,BNQBMB Capital City Authority (Uganda) r ;BOBDP ;BNCJB Ĺ&#x2021; WĹ&#x2021; (BNCJB Armed Forces (Gambia) r #BOUV '$ -FTPUIP Ĺ&#x2021;WĹ&#x2021;.CBCBOF Swallows (Swaziland) r 4UBEF .BMJFO (Mali) v Williamsville AC (Ivory Coast) r "M 5BIBEJ -JCZB Ĺ&#x2021;WĹ&#x2021;"EVBOB Stars (Ghana) r &OUFOUF 4FUJG "MHFSJB Ĺ&#x2021;WĹ&#x2021;0MZNQJD Real Bangui (Central African Republic) r 3FBM #BNBLP .BMJ Ĺ&#x2021;WĹ&#x2021;.'.

FC (Nigeria)

55

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017

THURSDAYSPORTS

Chronicle of Past Administrative Hitches in Nigeria Football Nigeria’s rising football profile suffered a momentary slip on Tuesday when FIFA hammer fell on Nigeria due to administrative lapses in the final dead rubber group match against Algeria. In this report, Femi Solaja looks back into previous lapses that had set the nation back IICC Shooting Stars versus TP Mazembe of Congo DR

International passports of the players in Lagos.

The error was discovered barely an hour to the match. Then Oyo State Military Administrator, Chinyere Ike Nwosu ordered his pilot car to race to Lagos to fetch the documents from NFA’s Ogunlana Drive Secretariat in Surulere. But the Beninoise who knew the implication of such slip, refused to play when the documents arrived long after the kick off time of the match. CAF disqualified both Nigeria and Benin Republic.

(African Champions Cup competition second leg match in Ibadan in 1980) The Nigerian representatives had lost 1-2 in Lubumbashi a fortnight earlier and only needed a goal to reach the semi final of the competition in Ibadan. The match was delayed for three hours following the inability of the home team to produce the CAF license of the players because the then Nigeria Football Association (NFA) forgot the documents in Lagos. Each member of the Nigeria team had to be photographed with the centre referee. Shooting Stars lost the match on penalties after winning 2-1 score line to drag the game into shoot out.

Enyimba’s Narrow Escape through Boardroom Intervention in 2003

IICC Shooting Stars versus Zamalek of Egypt

(Final match of African Champions Cup in 1984) It was in similar vein that the Ibadan outfit was rendered impotent after learning on final match day that the highly dependable left winger, Felix Super Eagles… narrow escape to Russia Owolabi, was ineligible to play in the crucial return leg match of the 1984 Africa Champions Cup match Augustus Aikhomu as the then Chief of General Staff against Zamalek. was the special guest of honour at the mainbowl of the National Stadium in Lagos. After two hours of The 1989 Two-year Ban of Nigeria delay, Super Eagles appeared in make-shift pants because the then NFA official in charge of kits from Age-grade Competitions (Mix up in ages of Samson Siasia, Andrew Uwe left the jerseys at the team’s camp at Obasanjo Farm Otta. The players’ track down had to be cut and Dahiru Sadi) FIFA did not find the mix up in the ages filled with scissors for the match to go ahead. Although in the passports used by Samson Siasia, Andrew Nigeria won the tie 7-1 to reach the finals of the Uwe and Dahiru Sadi funny at the men’s football tournament, the then Sports Minister, Major General tournament of 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. They Yohanna Kure, came down hard on the football were different from the earlier ages in their data federation with the dissolution of the board led by for the FIFA’s Under-20 tournaments in Russia. former Unipetrol Managing Director, Alhaji Yusuf Nigeria was handed an outright ban. The ban Ali while Secretary General, Momodu Kadiri was affected the country’s hosting of the under-aged relieved of his job.

competition scheduled for 1991.

Forgotten Jerseys for the Nigeria versus B’Faso Game at Sports-city In 1991, Nigeria needed to defeat Burkina Faso to qualify for the AFCON edition to be hosted

by Senegal the following year. The late Admiral

Age Mix up Leading to the Disqualification of Seven Golden Eaglets at African Under-17 Championship (Mali 1995)

Nigeria failed to go beyond the group stage of the competition following the disqualification of

seven key members of the squad on the ground of being over-aged.

NFA officials saddled with compiling the final list sent to CAF muddled up the job with lots of typographical errors. Players whose passport ages did not tally with what was in the list were disqualified from the competition.

After an inquiry into the immediate and remote cause of the disastrous outing, the then Head of International Department, Bolaji Ojo-Oba was redeployed from the football house back to the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Golden Eaglets Passports Forgotten in Lagos for African Qualifier against Benin Rep at Ibadan

Nigeria secured a useful goalless outing in Cotonou and looked forward to consolidating on the return leg match in Ibadan two weeks later but due to another administrative ineptitude, NFA officials forgot the

G OT V B O X I N G N I G H T 1 3

Baby Face Vows to Inflict Pain on ‘Painless’ Ngige Rilwan “Baby Face” Babatunde, the light welterweight boxing star, has vowed to inflict maximum pain on Chijioke “Painless” Ngige when they clash for the vacant national title at GOtv Boxing Night 13 on 26 December.

The event, which holds at the Landmark Centre, Victoria Island, will provide a proof of Baby Face’s progress since his discovery at GOtv Boxing NextGen 1 in Lagos. He is yet to suffer any loss and emerged best boxer at GOtv Boxing Night 11, winning a

SuperSport Secures UEFA Champions League for DStv Viewers in Africa As the destination of choice for Africa’s soccer lovers, SuperSport is thrilled to confirm that it has renewed broadcast rights to the prestigious UEFA Champions League for DStv customers.

SuperSport was recently involved in a public tender iOS and confirmed a threeyear partnership with the rights holders. The renewal starts from the 2018/19 season.

“This is a momentous day for SuperSport and our DStv customers,” said chief executive Gideon Khobane.

“The UEFA Champions

League features many of the world’s top players and enthralls soccer fans like little else. We are privileged to be able to tell this great story year after year via high-quality broadcasts.”

SuperSport’s rights include television, mobile and internet platforms, extend across sub-Saharan Africa and supplement a worldclass soccer offering that includes the FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia and many other top soccer properties, ensuring that DStv customers enjoy the best sports viewing on the continent.

cash prize of N2million.

“Painless will receive maximum punishment and pain. This title is something I have been dreaming of and I don’t see how Painless can stop me. I have fought better boxers like Oganla and Tombraye. They fell. Painless too will fall, but not before I inflict plenty of pain on him,” bragged the soft-spoken 22-year old.

The headline bout on the night will see see Nigeria’s Oto “Joe Boy” Joseph take on Abdulrahim Ahmed of Egypt for the vacant African Boxing Union (ABU) lightweight title. The explosive Olaide “Fijaborn” Fijabi will also fight for the ABU light welterweight title against Michael “Tyson” Odhiambo of Kenya.

Another important matchup is the one that will see Abolaji “Afonja Warrior” Rasheed defend his West African Boxing Union (WABU) middleweight title against Arye Ayiiteh of Ghana.

The event, which will feature musical performances

by Small Doctor, Simi, Falz

and Reekado Banks, will equally see Rilwan “Real One” Oladosu go up against Kehinde “Ijoba” Badmus, while Jimoh “Hogan Jnr.” Lukman will fight Rilwan “Scorpion” Opatola. Both fights are in the lightweight division.

In the middleweight division, Matthew “Wizeman” Obinna will fight David “Cosmos”Awosika in a challenge bout. Tickets for the event are available online at ariiyatickets.com, SLOT and Ebeano Supermarket outlets, Freedom Park and National Stadium, Lagos.

Organisers have promised free bus rides for ticket holding fans from the stadium to the venue and back.

EPL RESULTS Newcastle 0-1 Everton Southampton 1-4 Leicester Swansea 0-4 Man City Liverpool 0-0 WBA Man Utd 1-0 Bournemouth Tottenham 2-0 Brighton West Ham 0-0 Arsenal

The Nigerian representatives defeated Ismail FC of Egypt on aggregate 2-1 in the final of the 2003 African Champions Cup competition but few weeks after the presentation of trophy to the Aba team, news filtered in that the Egyptian club had filed protest against the Nigerian club for fielding second half substitute, Yaro Yaro who was not properly transferred from Kano Pillars same season. But CAF ignored the protest in a bit to avoid bad marketing for its premier club competition.

Nigeria Failed to Qualify to Play at the 2006 World Cup in Germany Due to Poor Interpretation of Head-to-head Rule

Inability of the then NFA officials to interpret the head-to-head rules concerning the qualifying tournament for the 2006 World Cup in Germany cost Super Eagles the trip to the Mundial and Ibrahim Galadima’s second term bid as NFA chairman.

Not until the last minute the ‘egg-heads’ at the football house held on to the belief that Nigeria was ahead of Angola on goal difference should the clash in Kano end barren.

Angola progressed to Germany having won the first leg in Luanda 1-0.

Same head-to-head rule knocked out Enugu Rangers same year from the newly created CAF Confederation Cup competition.

Plaudits for FCMB over its Sponsorship of COPA Lagos First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has been commended by stakeholders in the sports sector and football fans for its unwavering commitment towards promoting youth development and sports in Nigeria over the years.

FCMB was commended at the closing ceremony of this year’s COPA Lagos Beach Soccer Tournament organised by Kinetic Sports Limited at Eko Atlantic Beach Soccer Stadium, Victoria Island.

The 2017 edition was won by Spain after defeating Nigeria 6-5 in the final match to mark the seventh consecutive year the bank has been the headline sponsor of the tournament. Other countries that participated in the tournament include; Lebanon, Morocco as well as the beach soccer teams of Arsenal Football Club of England, Pepsi Football Academy of Nigeria, Kebbi BSC and Gidi Sharks of Lagos.

The Chairman, Lagos State Sports Commission, Mr. Deji Tinubu, said that FCMB has successfully leveraged its sponsorship of the annual sports fiesta to further promote sports, unity, excitement, healthy living

and empowerment among youths as well as the generality of Nigerians.

According to Tinubu, “FCMB has been fantastic going by its commitment to COPA Lagos.

“Sports is very key in building national cohesion and development. With corporate organisations such as FCMB behind this competition, I believe it will continue to get better and more glamorous. We also look forward to partnering with the Bank in other initiatives that would promote sports and other benefits in Lagos state,” concludes the Lagos Sports Commission boss.

Also, a former Executive Committee member of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA), Dr. Amos Adamu, described the bank as, “an outstanding pillar of support and lover of beach soccer.

“The fact that FCMB has been standing by the organisers of this competition this number of years and the extra values it adds every year speaks volume about the bank’s commitment,’’ stressed Adamu who is also a retired director general of the National Sports Commission.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

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Price: N250

MISSILE Balarable Musa to Federal Government “The APC administration, which rode to power on the back of false promises to this generation of hapless young men and women, seems to have no answers to this ticking time bomb beyond slogans such as N-Power” Second Republic Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa, saying the Muhammadu Buhari administration has no plan for millions of young Nigerians who are jobless and getting increasingly frustrated with their lives

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Beyond the Brutalities of Police SARS

I

f there is any lesson from the current revelations about how men of the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) molest, torture, maim and sometimes kill innocent citizens, it is that seeking questionable validation, especially when not on solid grounds, can go horribly wrong.

When the first reports about the brutality of SARS hit Twitter, the police authorities felt so indignant that, aside labeling those peddling such stories as “armed robbers”, they asked for proof. As it would happen, they got an avalanche, backed with concrete visual evidence, as several video clips of sundry acts of brutality by men and officers of SARS were uploaded online.

The whole saga reminds me of the story of a wealthy politician who was in a relationship with a lady to whom he was considering marriage. Apparently not prepared to take any chances, he hired an investigative agency to do a background check on the lady. The agency assigned a detective who was not told of either the reason for the discrete investigation or the client’s identity. On completion, the detective sent his report in a sealed envelope which the agency, without opening, simply handed to the politician who was already waiting. The terse report read: “The young lady is a splendid person, except for one unfortunate blemish: She recently started dating a politician of dubious character.”

Although the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris has stepped in with some reform measures, he cannot pretend to be unaware of the reputation of SARS whose men have always been associated with indiscriminate arrests and detention of citizens as well as the extrajudicial killings.

While the law presumes crime suspects to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, men and officers of SARS take such persons to be guilty until they are able to prove innocence in their (SARS) own “court” where suspects are detained and tortured to make “confessional statements” after which they are paraded before the media. With reporters participating in the “cross-examination” of these suspects, usually from the poor of our society, they are easily lured into incriminating themselves and for many, that is a one-way ticket to the grave.

I am sure the police authorities are aware of many of these abnormalities that are well documented in Amnesty International reports but let us presume that they may not be by highlighting some. On a regular basis, SARS operatives stop citizens either on street corners or on the highways and subject them to “stop and search” which is usually extended to telephones, laptops and iPads without any court orders as required by the Cybercrimes Act. Like other law enforcement agencies in our country today, these men and officers of SARS operate above the Constitution which has guaranteed the dignity and liberty of citizens, the privacy of their homes and correspondence.

In April 2012, the Centre for Victims of Extra-Judicial Killings and Torture (CVEKT)

Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris claimed that between 2008 and 2011--a period of four years--a total of 7,198 extra-judicial killings were carried out in our country by the police. Citing a report by the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), the CVEKT averred that the Police had always relied on Order 237 which authorises their officer “to shoot any suspect and detainees trying to escape or avoid arrest” as an alibi for such dastardly act.

Indeed, the way and manner the police abuse the rights of citizens are far too numerous to highlight though it may be important to put the issue in context.

This recourse to abuse, according to the late Professor Claude Ake in his book, “Democracy and Development in Africa”, can be understood from the character of the Nigerian state which, perhaps because of its colonial heritage, has “continued to be totalistic in scope” while relying on police and other security agencies “for compliance on coercion rather than authority.” This has in turn led to a situation in which those whose primary responsibility is to maintain law and order in the society see themselves more as bodyguards for those in authority while ordinary citizens are treated as expendables. We have seen far too many examples of that lately.

In trying to rationalize the very partisan act of IGP Idris whose plan to meddle in last month Anambra State gubernatorial election backfired spectacularly, following a clear rebuke by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Force spokesman, Mr Jimoh Moshood gave the number of police officers attached to Governor Willie Obiano as 221. And he gave a breakdown which, in itself, tells a compelling story of Nigeria. Incidentally, when the IGP faced a similar allegation of partisanship in April this year, the same Moshood also offered a breakdown of the personnel attached to the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.

Like that of Obiano, there are also 221 police officers attached to Wike but let us take the story directly from the Force spokesman. “The breakdown is as follows:

One ADC (SPO); one CSO (SPO); one Unit Commander (Special Protection Unit) SPO; one Escort Commander (SPO); one Camp Commander (Counter Terrorism Unit) SPO; one Admin officer (SPO) to administer the Police Personnel, 54 Inspectors of Police; 136 Police Sergeants and 24 police corporals”.

Moshood’s statement concluded with this self-indicting line: “Obviously, the total number of 221 police personnel attached to His Excellency, Mr Nyesom Wike, the Governor of Rivers State, is more than the strength of some Police Area Command formations in some states of Nigeria.”

Is it not shameful that the police would admit that, in a nation that is under-policed and where crime rate is rather high, they have allocated 221 just to protect one man?

When you now multiply that number by 36 for the governors before you add those allocated to other political office holders at both the federal and the states, you get a picture of the number of policemen that are doing guard duties with politicians. And we have not added those serving bankers, businessmen of all hues and the idle rich who have no means of livelihood. Yet, many of these police officers, as observed in 2014 by the then Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, are “turned into house boys and house girls” by these important personalities.

However, notwithstanding the foregoing, I believe those clamouring for the scrapping of the SARS unit miss the point and may not be fair to the Police because I still believe majority of our officers and men are good professionals whose image are being smeared by a few bad eggs. Many of them are also victims of the Nigerian malaise. Besides, while it is convenient to record acts of misdemeanor, there are also many people who have stories to tell of acts of bravery, decency and professionalism on the part of our policemen who bear risks on behalf of all of us. For those who may not remember any, let me quickly remind them of one.

On 22nd February this year, there was a bank robbery in Owerri, capital of the state of ‘Happiness’, which claimed the life of a police man whose family was abandoned until the footage of the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera which captured the incident went viral. In the video clip, Sergeant Chukwudi Iboko was seen engaging the robbers in a gun duel, killing one of them before he was himself shot. He died the next day from the wounds. It is noteworthy that if the case had not been brought to the public, his family would have had to carry their cross alone like many of their colleagues, including two other Sergeants who sustained injury from the same operation.

I am sure there are many Idokos within the police, including even within SARS; men and women who risk all in the line of duty, even when they know the authorities of the institutions they serve and the society at large do not appreciate them. Therefore, we should also ask ourselves whether we

have not unwittingly created a situation in which our policemen, having themselves been brutalized by the state and society, are now lacking in compassion when dealing with fellow citizens.

Let me share another example of the criminal neglect of the police that many Nigerians may also have forgotten: The scene on 7th October 2011 when the then Police Affairs Minister, Mr Caleb Olubolade, visited Ijeh Police Barracks in Obalende, Lagos. The footage must still be available in the archives of some of our television stations. On that day, a police officer’s wife, simply identified as Agnes, spoke for her colleagues in a tone of agony. “We have been suffering in silence. These barracks are like a refugee camp. We have no toilet facilities, no pipe-borne water and no electricity, and we are now being threatened by flood and reptiles. We live a little above animals. We are like sub-human beings here. This is a place of death; the mosquitoes here don’t surrender to insecticides”, she said as her colleagues wailed openly.

I remember those words because they formed the basis of a three-part editorial titled “The Police and the rest of Us” done

by THISDAY in 2012 where we wondered why Nigerians “expect the spouses of these hapless, and obviously helpless, women to enforce laws, arrest law breakers, deal with emergencies, fight terror gangs and generally prevent crimes. We are deceiving ourselves!”

Besides, as we also noted, “when those who protect and defend us, whatever their shortcomings, are left to their own devices, and treated in a manner that devalues their self-esteem, we, the people, lose the right to point fingers at their failings.”

Unfortunately, the police authorities neither care about the welfare of their rank and file nor the image of the institution they head.

In April 2014, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), as part of its statutory mandates, conducted an assessment of 369 police stations across 21 states of the country.

According to the commission’s report, only 10 police stations (from a list of 369!) performed creditably under five areas of key indicators namely: community orientation, physical conditions, equal treatment of members of the public, transparency and accountability and detention conditions.

What the foregoing reveals quite clearly is that for the police to regain public trust, they must begin to deal with the issue of their own dignity and being accountable to the people on whose behalf they bear arms. While police brutality is a universal phenomenon, as we saw with the ‘Black Lives Matter’ riots in the United States which led to the revenge killings of some policemen, the authorities in Nigeria should be careful in the manner they handle the protest against SARS so that the people are not pushed to carry the campaign beyond Twitter posts to a street war.

All said, there can be no better time for the much talked about reform of the police than now!

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