THURSDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2018

FG Blames Constrained Oil Output for Stagnant ECA Says NNPC solely bears difference in landing cost of fuel Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The federal government yesterday provided clarity on why the proceeds in the excess crude account (ECA)

have remained stagnant despite rising oil prices, saying constrained production volumes had undermined rising crude prices.

The Minister of Finance,

Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, provided the insight when she responded to questions from State House correspondents at the end of weekly Federal Executive Council

(FEC) meeting held in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The federal government had proposed an oil benchmark of $45 per barrel for the 2017 budget but the National

Assembly jacked it up to $47 per barrel, translating to excess revenue of $24 per barrel, which ought to have been saved in the ECA. But despite the fact that oil

sold for more than $47 per barrel for much of the second half of last year, the balance in the ECA has remained Continued on page 50

Oyinlola, Others Lead Charge as Obasanjo’s Third Force Unveils Coalition Movement.… Page 6 Thursday 1 February, 2018 Vol 23. No 8323. Price: N250

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It’s Untrue I Have Not Acted on Benue Killings, Buhari Tells Senate Lists steps he’s taken to end conflict, improve security Ortom imposes curfew on Gboko after mob kills seven herdsmen Damilola Oyedele in Abuja and George Okoh in Makurdi President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the Senate on the killings in Benue State and conveyed his disagreement with the lawmakers that nothing had been done to address the plight of the state after the new year day attacks

by suspected herders of cattle left at least 73 persons dead.

This is as the Senate summoned the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, for failing to comply with the two-week ultimatum issued to him to apprehend the perpetrators Continued on page 10

NIA Directors Write House, Say New DG is a Misfit Threaten massive leaks to hostile countries

Tobi Soniyi

Some directors of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) have written to the House of Representatives Committee on Security and National Intelligence to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to drop Ahmed Rufai Abubakar as the new director-

general of the agency.

Writing for and on behalf of Concerned Directors of the National Intelligence Agency, they used pseudo names such as E. O. Olanrewaju, Nelson Obiakor and Ahmed Sarki to protect their real identities.

The directors, in an Continued on page 6

Sack the Cabal in Your Cabinet Now, Sagay Tells President... Page 11

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed; and Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, when members of the federal cabinet briefed the press on the outcome of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, held in the State House, Abuja… yesterday

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Oyinlola, Others Lead Charge as Obasanjo’s Third Force Unveils Coalition Movement 30 parties agree to form CNN Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja A new political group, Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM), has emerged to give vent to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s charge on the formation of a third force that will help chart the way forward for the country and challenge the dominance of the two major parties in Nigeria – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

CNM was formally unveiled in Abuja yesterday at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre by politicians across the political divide.

The unveiling of the Obasanjoinspired third force, came just as some opposition parties, numbering 30 in total, agreed to join hands to form a Coalition for a New Nigeria (CNN) and called on Nigerians to unite and vote out President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC government in 2019.

Speaking at the launch of the CNM, the former governor of Osun State and acting chairman of the coalition, Mr. Olagunsoye Oyinlola, said the coalition was a movement whose mandate is to salvage Nigeria from bad governance.

He noted that very few countries were as well endowed as Nigeria, but lamented that structural inadequacies and the failure of leadership had robbed the country of greatness.

Based on this, he said people of like-minds decided to come together and make the modest effort of waking up the vast majority of the Nigerian people towards taking their destinies in their hands as demanded by the constitution.

He stressed that the movement was borne out of the need to use the tools of democracy to recreate a Nigerian state that will truly serve all, irrespective of religion, tribe or socio-economic status.

He also explained that the movement had come into being to promote the welfare of all citizens of a united Nigeria, guided by justice and fairness, adding that in carrying out this task, the movement was taking into consideration the various calls for equity in political and social relationships across the various segments of the country.

“This movement thereby has it as its cardinal objective, the promotion of equity and equality of opportunity for all our compatriots in order to have a truly just and united Nigeria.

“In more specific terms, we invite our youths and women to use the window provided by this movement to take their deserved place in the leadership

of our dear country.

“Women and the youths are a very vital but vulnerable segment of the population that need special attention. Women in the formal sector need further encouragement while those in the informal sector deserve enhanced assistance to realise their potential.

“While ensuring that special attention will be given to these two critical groups, we also make a commitment to galvanise efforts to address the current, deliberate official action that marginalises them in the scheme of things.

“You will agree with me that there cannot be leadership where there is no justice. The tension and security challenges this nation faces today are direct products of the lack of social and economic justice.

“Market men and women are the hardest hit by the self-inflicted economic challenges that we are grappling with.

“Youth unemployment has hit the roof; every year we produce millions of graduates who soon realise that the country has no place for them. The devil always finds one horrible job for the idle hands.

“The ones among our youths who manage to have jobs are not guaranteed their salary at the end of the month and this is not restricted to government work.

“Companies in the private sector are facing very difficult times with very great effect on the employees and on their capacity to absorb fresh young hands.

“Every sensible person must note that there is trouble ahead unless something urgent is done. In the absence of credible social security programmes, the vulnerable among us have resorted to desperate action such as getting sold into slavery in Europe in the 21st century.

“We think it is a shame if we all fail to use the power of democracy to fight and defeat this evil.

“You will agree with me that time is fast running out for us unless everyone is engaged in the rescue effort. The present state of despair and despondency can only lead to conflagration.

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any well thought out programme of action at the government level,” he said.

Oyinlola stressed that everyone who had been in power before at whatever level has a share of the blame, but said that should not disqualify such persons from being a part of the movement and “indeed stand at the vanguard of finding a lasting solution to the problems”.

On the structure of the movement, he explained that the movement would have offices and elected officers in every

ward, local government, every state and in the FCT, saying that membership of the movement was open to all Nigerians of voting age.

Continuing Oyinlola stated: “It is our belief that this movement must not end up becoming another platform for the abuse of values of honesty and moderation.

“Therefore, it has be agreed by those of us steering it at this formative stage, the money to run its affairs will come from the contributions of members at every level.

“The movement must not belong to a money bag somewhere. That is the only way it will not end up just like the problems it has set out to solve.

“Our people must not be condemned to a four yearly ritual of voting without results and we cannot get positive results unless we get the choice of leadership we want.

“This is why we are using this opportunity to call on all Nigerians in all the wards, the 774 local governments, the 36 states and the FCT to join hands with us to make this happen for our country this time around.

“Enough of trial and error in leadership, enough of a Nigeria where injustice reigns for the poor and their children, enough of running a dysfunctional Nigeria system that robs Peter to pay Paul, and I say enough of a Nigeria where the hard worker comes out as a common fool.”

Oyinlola, who was also once the national secretary of the PDP before defecting to the APC, said the country was drifting into extinction until Obasanjo woke everyone from slumber.

He said the movement came into being in response to Obasanjo’s call for the emergence of a third force to help rescue the country from bad governance.

According to him, the movement was going to provide an equal platform for every one, especially women and youths, and will be led by youths while the elders will only play the role of guides.

He debunked speculations that the movement was a backdoor ploy by Obasanjo to continue to remain relevant in the political life of the country, adding that only Obasanjo could muster the courage to write such the statement to President Muhammadu Buhari, which has not been controverted.

Obasanjo last week had issued a 13-page statement in which he had advised Buhari not to seek re-election in 2019.

He had also accused the president of nepotism and lacking the capacity to lead Nigeria in the 21st century.

“To say that we are legitimising

OBJ’s legacy is a bit off the mark.

There is no one who can fault the issues raised in Obasanjo’s letter. Forget the messenger, let’s discuss the message.

“What he has done is to stir us from our slumber to the reality of what is happening in Nigeria to take charge and take action.

Are there no other leaders sitting around and watching how things are going?

“I think we should give some kudos to him for being able to address Nigerians on the ills of the society which require attention,” Oyinlola stated.

He said the CNM remained a movement and not a political party, unless members agree to transform it into a party.

The former governor said he was willing to give up his chairmanship on the board of National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure that CNM becomes a success story.

On the allegation that the movement was carrying out Obasanjo’s agenda to install a new leadership for the country, he said: “The aims and objectives of the coalition make it mandatory for us to hit the ground running, as time is not on our side. And if we are going to give effect to our aims and objectives then we must make sure that our presence is felt in all the remote parts of the country.”

Oyinlola said yesterday’s event was the formal launch of the coalition movement, adding that there were plans to flag off its activities and spread the message to all the nooks and crannies of the country.

On whether he had resigned his membership of the APC, the former governor said the issue did not arise since the CNM was a movement and not yet a political party, stressing that he was not tied down by any political party.

When pressed again as to whether the movement intends to transmute to a full fledged political party to contest the 2019 presidential election, Oyinlola said: ‘I still stand by my speech that ours is not a political party but if the movement says it wants to transform to a political party, that will be a collective decision, not mine.”

A former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke who also addressed the gathering, said if concrete action was not taken to rescue the country, Nigeria would become endangered.

“Perhaps this endeavor is timely, the name coalition cannot do it all, we need to bring ourselves together if we are gong to make this work.

“More importantly, we have the dire consequences of now for our nation, where we are today.

If we tarry for another three or four years, the disaster will be worse, it is not going to get better except we all come together to change the narrative, to change where we are going,” he said.

Duke lamented that whereas 39 years ago, Nigeria with a population of about 90 million, was budgeting $25 billion, now that the country has an estimated 200 million population, her budget is only $23 billion.

Also, a staunch member of the APC and close ally of Buhari during his days in the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), Buba Galadima, said the movement was being formed to rescue the country from disintegration. “Our aim is to salvage our country from disintegration.”

When reminded that he was still a member of the APC and that the incumbent, President Buhari, may be seeking re-election, Galadima said Nigerians would only support his bid if there was concrete evidence that he has performed well.

“If the president wants to be re-elected and he can show us empirical evidence that he has performed in terms of infrastructure development in this country, that he has put food on the table and managed to unify the people of this country, then so be it; we will be prepared to vote for him.

“But if those indices are not available, then he does not deserve a second term,” he said.

Other notable politicians at the launch included a former chairman of the PDP, Ahmadu Ali, Akin Osuntokun, Tafawa Balewa and Segun Runsewe, among others.

Following the national launch of the movement in Abuja, Obasanjo’s spokesman, Mr. Kehinde Akinyemi, said yesterday that the former president would flag off the registration of the CNM in Abeokuta, Ogun State today.

According to Akinyemi, the registration would take place at the Ogun State secretariat of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Abeokuta.

Meanwhile, 30 opposition parties have agreed to join hands to form yet another coalition to be known as the Coalition for a New Nigeria (CNN) and have called on Nigerians to unite and vote out Buhari and the APC in 2019.

The parties that have agreed to form the CNN are the National Conscience Party (NCP), Africa Democratic Congress (ADC), Peoples Progressive Alliance (PPA), Democratic People’s Congress (DPC) Labour Party (LP), People’s Party of Nigeria (PPN) and Action Alliance

the DG of the NIA in the face of the obvious odds against his appointment.

“Coupled with this fact, it is an aberration to thrust the headship of Nigeria’s most sensitive security and intelligence organisation in the hands of people from the same ethnic stock, state and even town.

“In a country of over 200 million people, we feel it was not only highly contemptuous but dangerous,” they added.

Quoting Professor Itsey Sagay (SAN), the directors said they were indeed uncomfortable with Abubakar’s appointment.

They said: “Already, the nation is in a precarious security condition, and further penetration by hostile intelligence services could portend an even greater danger.

“It is very unlikely that we will be insulated from penetration if we are treated as renegades after putting in our best for the country.”

The directors noted that they were aware that part of the new DG’s agenda was to retire those of them who were once his seniors, because he was unlikely to want to work

NIA DIRECTORS WRITE HOUSE, SAY NEW DG IS A MISFIT advertisement published in THISDAY today, described Abubakar as a misfit and unqualified for the post of DG of the NIA. Since his appointment a few weeks ago by the president, various allegations have come to light over Abubakar’s nationality and competence to head the NIA. Although the presidency came out stoutly at the weekend to defend the new NIA boss, the directors, in their letter to the House committee, said Abubakar failed to merit elevation to the rank of director and had retired from the service (NIA), but has

now been appointed to come and preside over people who are not only his seniors in rank, but who fit into the order of precedence.

They said since the inception of the agency 32 years ago, nobody below the rank of director had been appointed as head of the NIA. They warned that Abubakar’s appointment as DG would certainly set a dangerous precedent, with equally dangerous implications.

They threatened that should Abubakar go ahead with his plans to sack all the directors

of the agency, the country should expect massive leaks of intelligence to hostile countries.

They told the lawmakers that the Clandestine Operations Unit of the NIA, had been ordered to manufacture and clone documents that could be used to defend Abubakar, who from all indications was facing a legitimacy crisis.

They urged the committee to, in the interest of national unity, the federal character principle as enshrined in the constitution, fairness, justice, or even for common sense, prevail on the president to drop Abubakar as

Continued on page 10

(AA). Others are; Alliance for Democracy (AD) Democratic People’s Party (DPP), People’s Democratic Change (PDC), and Better Nigeria People’s Party (BNPP).

Others include National Action Council (NAC), United Democratic Party (UDP) and Democratic Alternative (DA), among others. The coalition was formed in June 2017.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja Tuesday night after their meeting, the national chairman of the Labour Party and chairman of CNN, AbdulKarim Abdulsalam, said the objective of the CNN was to defend the unity of Nigeria and to proffer solutions on ways to move Nigeria in the right direction.

He said CNN was ready to partner with any other group with a similar agenda to oust Buhari and the APC, even though it ruled out a merger.

He said despite all the promises of the Buhari-led administration, the government had tormented the citizens with “crass poverty and wealth erosion, massive and ravaging unemployment, internal insecurity and violence, occasioned by unabated attacks of the herdsmen and elements of Boko Haram in the north-east, north-central and south-eastern parts of the country”.

Abdulsalam said it was disturbing that Nigerians were being divided along ethnic, religious and regional lines and accused the APC of hobbling the Nigerian economy by policy inertia, adding that there was an urgent need to salvage Nigeria and restore hope to her citizens.

Chairman of the National Conscience Party, Tanko Yunusa, who is also the spokesman of the coalition, said earlier that Buhari had failed Nigerians because he lacks the strength, vigour and competence to run the country.

He warned that another four years under Buhari would be a recipe for chaos in the country.

Other party leaders at the press briefing included the national chairman of United Democratic Party UDP, Godson Okoye; national chairman of the DPC, Olusegun Peters; national chairman of PPN, Eyiowawa Rasak; national chairman of the DA, France Ukonga; and the national chairman of the ADC, Raph Nwosu, among others.

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The Wedding Party 2 Turns a Profit as Producer Reveals Movie Cost N300m

Nollywood blockbuster movie, The Wedding Party 2 - Destination Dubai (WP2) cost N300 million to produce, excluding marketing and publicity, its producer has revealed.

Released on December 15, 2017, WP2 has raked in over N500 million within the six weeks of its release in cinemas, making it the highest-grossing Nollywood film ever, in such a short time of release.

Kene Mkparu, the managing director of FilmOne Distribution Company, one of the executive producers of the movie, disclosed this yesterday in an interview in Yankari, Bauchi State.

The filmmaker was one of the resource persons at the on-going Consumer Forum of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) at the Yankari Game Reserve in Bauchi State.

“Wedding Party 1, cost us over N150 million to make, plus publicity, and the Party 2 cost us N300 million. We believe you have to spend money to make money, and if you can show from your business plan how you would recoup this money, the banks will be willing to give you funds,” he said.

Mkparu further explained that partnerships with relevant stakeholders, especially in

tourism, in Dubai, added colour to the glitz and glamour of WP2.

He advised relevant stakeholders in the Nigerian tourism and the filmmaking sectors to initiate such partnerships to foster growth in the entertainment industry.

“We paid for some locations and then entered into a partnership with Dubai Tourism, which made available a lot of tourism facilities and hotels in Dubai for us.

“We could shoot anywhere we wanted, as long as the script said so, and we lived in the top hotels in Dubai.

“Filmmaking is not just for

entertainment, it promotes and develops tourism as well,” he was quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as stating.

According to Mkparu, the Wedding Party project has positively changed the narrative of the Nigerian movie industry within and outside the country.

“The Wedding Party 2 has generated over N500 million as of today, and is now in cinemas across different countries, including England, and Holland and some French-speaking African countries.

“The idea of the film is to show that it is possible in Nigeria today to create a movie that can

entertain, sell and make money.

“We wanted to prove that it is possible to make money from all the value chains in the industry, even in the midst of piracy threats.

“The producers looked at what the audience enjoys in cinemas, and we created a script on a topical issue that people could identify with and have fun identifying with those things,” he noted.

Mkparu explained that although the movie had raked in huge returns for its investors, movie making is capital intensive.

He advised filmmakers to develop good scripts as business

plans to attract financiers, as adequate funding was critical to making sellable movies.

The Wedding Party is a signature title by ELFIKE Film Collective, a partnership between Ebony Life Films, FilmOne Distribution, Inkblot Productions and Koga Studios.

The WP1 premiered in cinemas across Nigeria in December 2016 and reportedly grossed N203 million in just two weeks, topping the 2016 Nigerian Box Office.

Its sequel, the WP2 - Dubai Destination was released in cinemas exactly one year after and grossed N73 million within the first three days of its opening.

The resolution followed a point of order raised by Senator Joshua Lidani (Gombe, PDP) who recalled the resolution taken on January 17 regarding the killings.

“This resolution was passed and was transmitted to the IG but to the best of my knowledge no arrest has been made and no information has been brought to the Senate as regards the resolution,” Lidani said.

He proposed that the IG be compelled to appear before the Senate at plenary to explain why he had not complied with the resolution.

Presiding, the Senate President noted that even Buhari’s letter had indicated that the IG was instructed to ensure speedy prosecution of the perpetrators.

“But we are not seeing any action,” Saraki said, stressing that the resolution of the Senate must be taken seriously, as it borders on the integrity of the institution.

Saraki ruled that the Senate Committees on Police and National Intelligence should summon the IG to appear today before the joint committee.

“We must make it clear to the security agencies that these kinds of ultimatums cannot be taken lightly. If by Tuesday, we are not happy with their (committee) report, we can take a decision to summon the IG. “If they think we are just going to sweep this thing under the carpet, the answer is definitely no. We are not going to stop until people are made accountable.

“Like the president said in his letter, he has told the IG to ensure speedy prosecution and we are not seeing that. The IG knows that he needs to take this

seriously,” Saraki said.

Also during plenary, Senator Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara, APC) again drew the attention of the Senate to what he said was the worsening security situation in his state.

Raising a point of order, Marafa said the rate of kidnappings for ransom of Zamfara residents was assuming a frightening dimension.

He alleged that the armed militias causing mayhem in the state were known to the authorities in Zamfara and move around in police and military uniforms.

Marafa also alleged that he had received threats to his life and that of his family.

Meanwhile, seven men suspected to be herdsmen were killed at the Gboko bus park in Benue State by some irate youths yesterday, forcing the state governor, Samuel Ortom, to impose a dusk to dawn curfew on the town.

According to the Benue State Police Commissioner, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, the police got a report around 11 a.m. in the morning that some irate youths at the bus park attacked some passengers who were in transit.

He said seven persons were killed while boarding a vehicle during the attack in what was suspected to have been a reprisal.

He also disclosed that the police in the area rushed to the park but were overwhelmed by the youths who were throwing stones.

“We have been to the spot with the Benue State governor

and it’s a pure case of banditry and also an act of criminality taking place,” he said in an effort to downplay the severity of the incident.

The commissioner also said the attack had no religious or ethnic undertones.

“We have set in motion a process that will apprehend these criminals; they will be arrested.

We are also going to beef up our security in the area,” he said.

Owoseni also stated that the police had information that some criminal gangs were planning to attack the state from within and outside.

He warned that the police would not hesitate to deal decisively with any one abating the crisis in the state “All these people, especially prominent people, who are stockpiling arms and planning to arm youths will be dealt decisively with if caught,” he warned Reacting to the attack in Gboko, Ortom immediately imposed a dusk to dawn curfew on the town.

In a statement released by his media adviser, Mr. Tahav Agerzua, the governor said only those on essential services were exempted from the curfew.

The governor also directed the security agencies, particularly the police and the army, to provide round the clock surveillance in the town so as to forestall a breach of the peace.

He also appealed to residents of Gboko to comply with the curfew in their own interest as security operatives were directed to arrest those found moving about during the curfew.

country’s elite intelligence agency.

“It is necessary for us to alert that the issue of likely doubtful loyalty, is a serious issue in intelligence corridors.

Where a person’s nationality or that of his spouse becomes unclear, thorough vetting from the cradle becomes even more demanding.

“In this case, it is very dangerous that the vetting process has been compromised, which is an ominous danger to the nation’s security,” they said.

The directors also said that it had become necessary to investigate the activities of the presidential panel under the leadership of Ambassador Babagana Kingibe and the current DG, noting that the panel was in the first place a contemptuous affront on the Office of the Vice-President.

According to them, “It is unheard of for an officer with a lower rank being appointed

to review the work of a higher officer; more so the vice-president of the country.

“It is very curious that paragraph 4(1) of the recommendations of the Kingibe panel prescribes that a serving director should be picked as the director-general, only for the same characters that sat in judgment over the need to reorganise the NIA, turning around to violate its own recommendations, by picking one of them to contemptuously assume duty as head of the NIA. “It is very clear from the onset that the Presidential Review Panel (PRP) led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe was inaugurated purposely to defend Ambassador Ayo Oke, who had often threatened to spill the beans when the chips were down, as he will not sink alone.

“Oke had severally threatened to expose the beneficiaries of his largesse if they allowed him to

be disgraced.

“The other obvious motive was to ensure that the remaining $44 million of the NIA intervention fund is kept within the reach of the cabal. The refusal of the immediate past acting DG, Muhammed Dauda, to allow them access to the money may be the under pinning reason for his removal,” the directors alleged.

They asked the House committee to demand from the Kingibe-led panel a copy of its report and that of the vice-president, and probe if there was any substantial divergence.

“As the conscience of our democratic quest, we request you to look passionately into the issues raised and observations from other quarters where you can see that merit, fairness, justice, equity and competence have been sacrificed (on a platter of selfish personal quest) by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe and his associates,” they said.

IT’S UNTRUE I HAVE NOT ACTED ON BENUE KILLINGS, BUHARI TELLS SENATE of the killings in Logo and Guma Local Government Areas of Benue State.

In the president’s letter, which was read at plenary yesterday by Senate President Bukola Saraki, Buhari chronicled the several courses of action that had been taken by his government since the new year day attacks.

The letter titled, Re: Report on the Review of the Security Infrastructure on Nigeria on the Emergency Visit to Benue,” was dated January 25, 2018.

Buhari in the letter said: “I thank you for your letter Reference NASS/8S/R/01/33 dated 18th January 2018 and carefully studied the resolutions and comments there in.

“As I briefed you and the Rt. Hon. Speaker when we met on 14th January several courses of action had already been taken prior to the Senate resolutions.

“You may recall that I told you of the following steps taken as soon as the information came in to me about the Benue killings.

“On Thursday 4th January, I sent the Minister of Interior and the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.

“On Friday 5th January, the Inspector-General of Police briefed me verbally on the latest situation. Calm had by then been restored.

“On Monday 8th, the Minister of Interior met with the following: Governors of Adamawa, Kaduna, Niger, Benue Taraba and Nasarawa States together with the Director-General of the State Security Services (DG SSS), Inspector-General of Police,

Commandant General, Civil Defence, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Commissioners of Police of the six aforementioned states, Comptrollers of Civil Defence from the six aforementioned states.

“After the meeting, I instructed the Minister of Interior to brief you on the information gathered so far and steps taken.

“On Tuesday, 9th of January, I had a long session with Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State during which I informed him of police arrests of some suspects with Kalashnikovs.

“In addition, I told him that I have instructed the IG to speed up the trial and prosecution of the suspects and give wide publicity of the police efforts.

“At the instance of the governor, a meeting was held in the Presidential Villa on 15th January with a wide cross-section of Benue personalities where frank and open discussions were held and everybody appreciated the complexities and difficulties of this farmer/herder strife.

“I assured all and sundry of my commitment to ensure that justice is expeditiously done.”

Continuing, Buhari said for the Senate to infer that nothing had been done was incorrect, adding that the police were strenuously working to apprehend the rest of the culprits of the heartless killings.

“Furthermore, I have instructed the Inspector General of Police to relocate to Benue State, redeploy forces to the most sensitive areas. The federal government is initiating additional measures to address these and other

security challenges, alleviate the consequences of these attacks and forestall reoccurrence.

“The Senate resolutions itemised in your letter will be taken into consideration and I am instructing all the relevant MDAs to factor them in their work.

“On December 19, 2017 to be precise, while receiving the report of the committee which I had set up to review the operational, technical and administrative structure of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), I underscored the need to review the entire national security architecture - as I promised in my inaugural address on the 29th May 2015.

“Action is being initiated and I expect to receive maximum cooperation from the Senate in line with paragraph three of the Senate resolutions,” Buhari added.

Paragraph three of the Senate resolution that the president referred to was on the convening of a security summit to examine the recurring violence and mayhem in the country’s rural communities before the attacks become an existential threat to national cohesion and survival.

Having read the letter, the Senate directed its Committee on Police Affairs to summon Idris within 24 hours to report on his level of compliance with the resolution ordering him to apprehend the Benue killers and hand them over to the attorney general of the state for prosecution.

The committee is expected to present its report at plenary next Tuesday.

Curfew in Gboko

NIA DIRECTORS WRITE HOUSE, SAY NEW DG IS A MISFIT with them.

“It is evident that he will pursue a vendetta mission, which he has already indicated in his very first address to us.

“While we wish to state that he is at liberty to go ahead with what we know he intends to do, we wish to point out the underlying dangers in a massive purge of senior officers of the agency, to the effect that, not only will the millions of dollars spent on training and retraining us be lost, we are also custodians of the country’s intelligence dossiers and may decide to use same for mischief,” they warned.

The directors also alerted the nation to what they described as “an imminent threat to the cohesion for which the NIA has been known, as this is the first time a director-general was picked from the rank below that of a director”.

They warned that the nation’s security would likely become

precarious under Abubakar whose link to Chad was investigated by the intelligence agency.

“In the event that Ahmed Rufai Abubakar finds it difficult to work with those of us who are still in service and who have better credentials, the choice left to the authorities is to revert to the status quo and allow a serving director who understands the dynamics to continue.

“Having failed promotion examinations to the directorship rank, which we can attest to, we make bold to state that it amounts to administrative suicide to allow a practical misfit take over the agency and later mortgage same to his paymasters, who have ulterior motives,” they stated.

The directors maintained that since the federal government itself had admitted that Abubakar was born and bred in Chad, “while on the other hand he

claimed to have been born in Nigeria; at least going by his records and his CV, suffice it to point out that there is an obvious contradiction”.

They therefore called on the House to thoroughly look into this seeming discrepancy.

“As insiders, we are in a position to state that the process of vetting in respect of the new NIA DG negates conventional practice, as nobody has visited Chad where he claims to have grown up and schooled to probe into his differential associates, or even his likely espionage roles,” they added.

They explained that the rule requires that anybody being considered for such a strategic position must be vetted from the cradle.

“It is an incontrovertible fact that Rufai Abubakar’s links with Chad, a country with likely rival interest with Nigeria, makes Rufai suspect and not fit to head the

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NEWS

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

FG Considers New Performance Mgt Framework for Revenue Agencies Says farmers/herdsmen crises won’t affect 3.5% growth projection Ndubuisi Francis and Udora Orizu in Abuja A new performance management framework for revenue generating agencies is underway as the federal government seeks to plug loopholes that lend credence to under remittances by revenue generating agencies.

The Senate ad hoc committee on alleged misuse, under-remittance

and other fraudulent activities had last year declared that revenue agencies short-changed the federal government to the tune of N1.7 trillion as unremitted revenue generated between 2012 and 2016.

The committee, in its interim report submitted to the Senate on October 19, 2017, stated that 26 agencies generated a total of N21, 909,831,657,897 between January 2012 and December 2016, adding

Sack the Cabal inYour Cabinet Now, Sagay Tells Buhari Laleye Dipo in Minna Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to sack those he described as “the cabal” in his cabinet, saying they have been the clog in the wheel of progress of the administration.

Sagay made the call yesterday evening after delivering the convocation lecture of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State.

Sagay who spoke with journalists, said: “Cabal has no business being in the presidency and as such, they should be fished out and flushed out.”

He, however, declined to mention the names of those in the cabal, but insisted that “they are not helpful to the government, everybody is complaining about them.”

Speaking on the Abdulrasheed Maina saga, Sagay said those behind his recall to the civil service should also be identified and punished, stressing that the

matter had not been swept under the carpet.

He, however, said the problem with the former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension did not start with the Buhari administration, adding that the government was determined to get to the root of his reinstatement to the satisfaction of all Nigerians.

Sagay advised that “Nigeria should stay with President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo” if the country was to get to the promised land.

“Buhari and Osinbajo have absolute integrity, if we don’t use them now I don’t know when next we will have leaders like them. All my hopes are on Buhari in 2019.”

He, however, said the president should be firmer, adding that “we need a little dose of autocracy if we want to develop.”

Earlier, while delivering his lecture titled: ‘Nigeria: The Travails of An Animal Kingdom,’ Sagay said the elite were to blame for the problems of the country, adding that the quality of the political elite had continued to decline in Nigeria since after the First Republic.

Rich Folks are Fleeing London, Lagos, Wealth Report Shows Wealthy Londoners are leaving the city as new taxes make it expensive to inherit and invest, and as Brexit prompts rich Europeans living in the United Kingdom capital to return home.

This puts the British financial hub in the same category as Lagos and Istanbul, which are also seeing net outflows of rich people, according to the Global Wealth Migration Review published this month.

About 5,000 high net-worth individuals left the UK during 2017 and only about 1,000 arrived, the report shows.

“Over the past 30 years, the UK has been one of the biggest recipients of migrating HNWIs (High Net Worth Individuals),” the report said.

Quoting the report yesterday, Bloomberg reported that “this trend changed in 2017 when the UK experienced its first major HNWI net outflow.”

Losing wealthy individuals is normally a sign of trouble in the political economy of a country. Rich people are often the first people to leave, because they can -- unlike the middle class or the poor.

Cities that saw large inflows of HNWIs include Auckland, Dubai, Montreal, New York, Tel Aviv and Toronto, the report showed.

New World Wealth said it focuses only on HNWIs who have truly moved -, that is, those who stay in their new country for more than half the year.

China and India continue to dominate countries that the rich are moving out of, but once the standard of living improves several wealthy people will probably return, according to the report.

Mumbai, India’s financial hub, is expected to be the fastest-growing city in terms of increase in wealth over the next decade.

Wealth in the entire country is predicted to triple in the period to about $25 trillion followed by China’s 180 per cent increase to $69 trillion, according to the report.

The United States will expand 20 per cent but still tops the holdings list with $75 trillion of wealth.

Total private wealth held worldwide amounts to about $215 trillion, according to the report.

While the average person has net assets of $28,400, there are some 15.2 million HNWIs in the world, defined as those with net assets of $1 million or more.

Russia is the most “unequal” country, where 24 per cent of total wealth is held by billionaires. Japan is the most equal, with only three per cent controlled by billionaires.

that N1.695, 585,887,406 of the amount was not remitted to the federal government account by the agencies within the period.

Speaking in Abuja on yesterday at the maiden Budget Office dialogue with the media and civil society organisations (CSOs), the Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation (BoF), Mr. Ben Akabueze, admitted that several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) generate revenue, but fail to remit to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) as provided in the constitution.

He said: “Several MDAs generate revenue but do not remit to the CRF, and it’s one of our major area of focus as we are going forward.”

“We are working to design and implement a new performance management framework for these MDAs and state-owned enterprises

that will see them contributing.

“We have refused to take the part of reducing the revenue projection from them. In the 2016 Budget, we projected a very ambitious N1.5 trillion for these agencies. By the time the year was over, we recorded less than N400 billion. In 2017, we took a hard look and realised that we were being overly ambitious and we reduced the projection to N807 billion.

“The full year fiscal numbers are not out and I know that there is still a significant under-performance.

For 2017, we put N847 billion, and a number of people has questioned the rationale for that decision, but we think that it’s important to answer the question fundamentally.”

According to him, the government wouldn’t be asking for too much by telling the agencies to generate a revenue of N847 billion

in a year, the same government having cumulatively invested about N40 trillion over the years on them.

The BoF DG noted that the amount in question (N847 billion) “is simply asking for a two per cent return on investment,” wondering whether it is unreasonable.

“We’ve chosen to hold fire on the target and to engage with these agencies to drive the performance and say this is not acceptable,” Akabueze said.

Responding to a question on why about 20 per cent of the 2018 budget went to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, he stated that all of the servicewide votes are classified under the ministry.

“It doesn’t mean that the Ministry of Budget and National Planning spends them all or benefits from them.

“The capital budget for the ministry and the agencies under the ministry which include the Budget Office, the National Bureau of Statistics, the ministry, among others aggregate the capital budget, and I can tell you the numbers and they don’t quite add up to N6 billion,” Akabueze said.

Responding to a question on whether the 3.5 per cent growth projection for 2018 is realistic considering the impact of the farmers/herders crisis vis-a-vis the contribution of the agriculture sector, Akabueze said the crisis is localised.

“First of all, these are localised occurrences. As worrisome as they are , we do not think they will have such pervasive and adverse impact on the agriculture sector as to pulling down significant overall growth projection,” he argued.

SCHOLARS

L-R: Trustee, Oxford and Cambridge Club of Nigeria, Prof. Osato Giwa-Osagie; Member, Dr. Keziah Awosika; Grand Patron, Chief Philip Asiodu; President, Oxford and Cambridge, Akinfela Akoni; Members, Dr. Greg Ero; and Prof. Fidelis Oditah QC, SAN, during the club’s annual garden party hosted by the president in Lagos....recently

NJC Suspends Abia Acting CJ, Queries Him for Accepting Illegal Appointment Recommends Ogwe as replacement Tobi Soniyi in Lagos The National Judicial Council (NJC) has declared the suspension of Chief Judge, Abia State Justice T. U. Uzokwe, unconstitutional.

In a statement issued yesterday and signed by the NJC’s Director of Information, Mr. Soji Oye, the council suspended the acting Chief Judge, Justice Obisike Orji, who was appointed by the Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, following the purported suspension of the chief judge.

The council also queried the suspended acting chief judge.

It asked the Chief Judge, Justice. T. U. Uzokwe, to rescue herself pending the completion of investigation and consideration of the report of its panels The statement read: “The NJC under the chairmanship of Justice

Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, at its emergency meeting which held today, January 31, 2018, considered the recent suspension of the Abia State Chief Judge, Justice T. U. Uzokwe and the swearing-in of.

Justice Obisike Orji as the Acting Chief Judge of the state by Governor Okezie Victor Ikpeazu and agreed that the decision to suspend the chief judge and the swearing-in of an acting chief judge without the input of the NJC is unconstitutional, null and void.

“It noted that its attention had been drawn to the crisis in Abia State Judiciary by petitions written against Justice Uzokwe and the one written by the chief judge against Justice Okoroafor, but in the course of the investigation by the committees set up by council, some elderly judicial officers of Abia State Judiciary waded in and pleaded

with the committees to allow the matter to be resolved amicably by them, which was granted by council at its plenary.

“At the last meeting of council which was held on December 6, 2017, council directed the committees to continue and conclude with the petitions before them if there were no reports of the settlement by the peace makers.

“While this was going on, the problem escalated and council was informed of the suspension of Justice Uzokwe and the swearing-in of Justice Obisike Orji as the acting chief judge.

“In view of the foregoing, council resolved as follows: “The suspension of the Chief Judge of Abia State by the State House of Assembly without a prior recommendation by the NJC violates the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal

Republic of Nigeria.

“Consequently, the subsequent act of appointing and swearing-in of Justice Orji as the Acting Chief Judge is invalid for being unconstitutional.

“Furthermore, the conduct of Justice Orji in presenting himself to be sworn-in raises potential questions of misconduct that council is now looking into.

“Council therefore resolved to query and suspend the Justice Orji pending the outcome of its investigation.

“In view of the recent escalation, council, in the interest of the smooth administration of justice in Abia State, resolved to direct the Chief Judge, Justice Uzokwe, to stay away from duties pending council’s final decision after consideration of the report of its panels.

Cont’d on page 51

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NEWS

Dogara Insists Heightened Killings Portray Faulty Security System James Emejo in Abuja For the umpteenth time, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, yesterday stated that the increased violence and unlawful killings as well as general feeling of insecurity among Nigerians are clear evidence that there are problems with the country’s security architecture needed to be reviewed.

Speaking when he received a delegation from the Police Service Commission (PSC) who paid him a courtesy call in his office, he appealed to the police to focus on its primary responsibility of curbing crime, terrorism and violence starting from the recruitment process of its officers and men, in order to give Nigerians respite from incessant security challenges.

He noted that over the years, various Acts of parliament have set up other security agencies that have taken up roles hitherto carried out by the police, leaving it now with the responsibility of curbing crime and violence.

He said law and order are central to successful democracy adding that since no democracy is stronger than the total architecture that secures the order on which that democracy is built, citizens cannot even begin to enjoy the benefits of democracy if there is no peace.

The Speaker said: “Unfortunately, we have run into

a situation where our democracy is being threatened by sundry acts of violence, mayhem or bedlam, as you can call it. To be candid, when a society is filled with violence, unlawful killings and general feeling of insecurity, those things don’t just come, they are symptoms of a larger problem.

“They are indicative that something is wrong with our security architecture. And I don’t know what the problems are, but as leaders, all these symptoms call for some kind of investigation and investment in order to ensure that whatever problems are there, we’ll correct them.”

He said: “We can start dealing with this kind of problem even from the recruitment process to ensure that the people we are getting into the services have the right temperament, they are teachable in a way that they can naturally be molded as a force that can be safeguard to our democracy.

“Our commitment to issues of security, as a House that represents the entirety of Nigeria is unshakable. We’ve passed landmark legislations relating to establishment of security agencies.

We believe that if the police can really focus on this, we will be able to get some kind of respite from the onslaught by sundry criminal groups and even terrorist in this country.”

Responding to a request made by the delegation for speedy passage of the bill establishing Police Academy to accord it a university status, the Speaker promised that the green chamber

Chinese Investors Set to Commence Work on N2.1tn Brass Fertilizer Plant Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa Major work is now set to commence on the $6 billion (approximately N2.1 trillion) Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Limited (BFPCL), situated in Bayelsa State, it was learnt yesterday.

The phase one of the project expected to become fully functional in 2020 will produce 1.66 million metric tonnes (MT) of methanol and 1.3 million metric tonnes of urea per annum with an annual turnover of $1.5 billion.

It was also gathered that the project would employ 15,000 workers indirectly during construction and 5,000 permanent workers after the project is completed.

Confirming the planned move yesterday, the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, noted that when operational, the project would change the economic fortunes of the state.

Speaking at the Monthly Praise Night, in Yenagoa, Dickson pledged his administration’s support for the project, noting that he was ready to push the frontiers in terms of collaborations between the private sector and government.

“Very soon, government expects the Chinese’ $6 billion investment in the Brass Fertilizer project which would further boost the economy of the state,” the governor assured.

On the ongoing airport project which would ease access of

businessmen, including the Chinese investors into the state, the governor noted that the first airplane would land at the state’s international airport by June this year.

He affirmed that funds had been set aside already for the completion of the airport with a 3.5 kilometre runway, disclosing that the earlier scheduled completion date of 2019 was too far.

The governor revealed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo would be in the state in the next two weeks to inaugurate some of the state’s “first class” medical investments to the world as well as the Bayelsa Health Service Programme for workers.

“Chief Obasanjo will be visiting in the next two weeks to unveil our medical investments to the world.

“In a recession, we built a brand new university from nothing, you have the best health facilities. We have some of the best facilities in the world. We have the best health insurance system now in the country. The health insurance scheme is covering over 250,000 people”, he boasted.

During the programme, Dickson commended the clergy in the state for their dedication and selflessness, stating that the monthly Praise Night had been observed for six years consecutively.

“As we continue to praise God, the soil of Bayelsa will yield forth all its promises, its prosperity, including those that were hidden,” Dickson added.

would work swiftly on it to give the institution legal backing.

Earlier, Chairman of PSC and former Inspector General

of Police (IG), Mr. Mike Okiro, who led the delegation, said they were on the visit to urge the House to give speedy passage to

the establishment Bill of Police Academy, Wudil, whose students would be graduating in October, this year.

He said the certificates of the students would be rendered useless if the bill is not passed before they are graduated.

Senate Directs IG to Provide Security for Kwankwaso’s KanoVisit Drama as senators argue over Misau’s allegations Damilola Oyedele in Abuja Following the controversy generated by the proposed and cancelled visit of Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano APC) to Kano State, the Senate yesterday directed the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to provide adequate security for the Senator during his visit to his constituency.

This is as the upper chamber maintained that the squabble between the state Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and his predecessor, Kwankwaso, which caused the cancellation of the visit under advisement by the police, is an internal issue at the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and should be treated that way.

The directive was contained in instructions to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Abu Ibrahim, by Senate President Bukola Saraki following a debate on the matter.

“Summon the IG, and he must provide security for our senator to visit his constituency. It is not right that a senator cannot visit his constituency,” Saraki ruled.

The decisions of the Senate followed some drama at the upper chamber, when some lawmakers berated Senator Isa Hamman Misau (Bauchi APC) for bringing the matter of Kano State to the floor of the Senate.

Misau, raising a point of order, said the situation in Kano which caused a serving senator to cancel

his visit on advice of the police, is not good for democracy.

He alleged that insecurity in Kano caused by thugs known as ‘Yan-Daba’ is becoming alarming, particularly when considering that it was a similar group in Borno State, named ‘ECOMOG’ that metamorphosed into Boko Haram.

At a political rally which was held in Kano last Tuesday, members of the ‘Yan-Daba’ openly carried weapons in the full glare of officials of the state government and security agencies, Misau alleged.

The rally was organised to sensitise the people and canvass for votes for the upcoming local government elections in the state.

“Even women were carrying weapons, for the first time in history,” he said, and brandished pictures bearing the images of his allegation.

In his argument, Misau hinged his concern for the ongoing development in the state on the premise that his constituency in Bauchi Central shares 70 per cent of its boundaries with Kano.

“Kano is close to my constituency, and a situation where people are handling arms openly is dangerous,” he added.

He also urged the Senate to condemn the open display of arms at the rally by nonsecurity personnel, and order an investigation into the circumstances.

Misau was however vehemently opposed by two other senators from Kano who said he had no

business bringing the matter of another state to the senate.

Senator Kabiru Gaya (Kano APC) recalled that Ganduje and Kwankwaso were very good friends before they fell out due to issues that are being resolved by the party at the state level.

“So it is a family matter, and it is not something we can discuss here,” he said.

Gaya added that while Kano State politics has always been different and politically volatile, the people are peace loving, and there have been no political crises in the state in several years.

“Even at the rally we had yesterday (Tuesday), and the one (held) last week, there were no fights and nobody was hurt,” Gaya said.

Senator Jibrin Barau was however more vehement in his opposition to Misau position, and urged the Senate not to wade into the matter.

“I am worried because I know the effort you (Saraki) put to unite us here, and to work as brothers.

What Isa Hamman Misau has started here would not augur well for us in the Senate. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has never brought their crises in their states here,” he argued.

He described the hostility between Kwankwaso and Ganduje as ‘backyard squabble’ which is normal between politicians.

Barau explained that the people carrying weapons at the rally are local hunters and women who are part of the political structure of the state.

“Misau knows this but he is spreading falsehoods, and bringing stories that undermine our political structure. This is not fair, so you (Saraki) need to call him to order.

“We need to stop this trend, otherwise Marafa (Senator Kabiru Marafa , Zamfara APC) would bring his issues with his governor here, and Misau would bring his issues with his Governor here,” an obviously incensed Barau added.

Misau made to protest by raising another point of order, prompting Barau to point fingers at him and retorted “or do you not have issues with your governor?”

Barau asked.

Kwankwaso rose to speak on the matter, saying: “I believe as a leader, I don’t want to say anything.”

Saraki said the crises can still be addressed at the state level, as it is still a ‘family matter’. He also ruled to stand down the prayers of the motion to allow the party at the state level attempt to mediate between both men.

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COMMENT

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

EDUCATION AND FRONTIERS OF AFRICAN DIPLOMACY The continent must work hard and increase the frontier of knowledge, writes Okello Oculi

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undreds of Africa’s youths have, in the recent years, drowned in the Mediterranean Sea not as heirs to soldiers of the Black Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt; Hannibal’s troops out to rule Spain and conquer Rome, or recent troops of colonial empires fighting World Wars, but as economic adventurers duped by ‘’human traffickers’’. Unlike European, Russian, American and Asia-Pacific explorers mapping resources under oceans, Antarctica and the North Pole, these African migrants are elementary economic nomads seeking for opportunities to market labour and sexual energies.

Highly educated migrants continue to enjoy welcome as students and professionals who become settlers or ‘’brain drains’’.

They have become challenges to African diplomacy. In the 1950s, Professor Cheik Anta Diop used his nuclear research in France to point the way for diplomacy to archaeological research in the Nile Valley.

Museums in Moscow, Berlin, Rome, London and New York hold very precious pottery, vases, mummies and gold looted from tombs of pharaohs and senior officials in ancient Egypt. In recent decades, medical and nutritional sciences have benefited from material found in these tombs. The value of reparation fees due to Africa must be combined with requirements that future excavation teams building knowledge must include archaeologists from the five regions of the African Union.

French President Macron has sensibly rebuked a legacy of French diplomacy which focused on brutal exploitation of Africa, promotion of instability and conflict; sabotage of creative governance including unification initiatives in Africa. Bartholomew Boganza, a Catholic priest who advocated a federation of ‘’Latin African Countries’’ (consisting of Ruanda-Urundi, Belgian Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Gabon, Cameroun and Ubangi Shari), was believed to have been assassinated by French intelligence operatives. His own country Ubangi Shari honoured him by adopting his dream name of ‘’Central African Republic’’. Socialist President Mitterrand is accused of sanctioning the assassination of Thomas Sankara to block his animation of the collective imagination of his countrymen and West Africa towards productive self-reliance based on uses and consumption of local resources.

Professor Walter Rodney produced an elaborate exposition of the Development of Europe by a sustained and well organised Underdevelopment of Africa in a period stretching from European slave trade (1540 - 1850); colonial economic and political dictatorships and what Kwame Nkrumah labelled as ‘’neo-colonialism’’ or economic exploitation without political responsibility for the fate of victim African countries. In the spirit of new collective international development, African diplomacy must promote enabling of African participation in the exploration and exploitation of deep ocean geographies; space research, travel and future investments on planets.

The explosion in imaginative uses of Information Technology carries enormous benefits and potential costs. Distances across Africa’s vast

IN THE SPIRIT OF NEW COLLECTIVE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AFRICAN DIPLOMACY MUST PROMOTE ENABLING OF AFRICAN PARTICIPATION IN THE EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION OF DEEP OCEAN GEOGRAPHIES; SPACE RESEARCH, TRAVEL AND FUTURE INVESTMENTS ON PLANETS

landmass are now crushed into nano-seconds with the touch of mobile phone buttons. Privacy through refusal to answer ring tones is punctured by text messages, while access to your phone may soon show a video of your location and activity. The arrival of ‘’the INTERNET OF THINGS’’ through which every item of furniture inside a house or office receives and transmits videos and messages is a prophet of nakedness. The ability of microphones and rays inside cameras floating inside satellites to go through roofs and walls have invaded policy-making meetings by cabinets of countries, thereby desecrating the principle of SOVEREIGNTY of states. African diplomats must fight for capacities by Africa to acquire educational and industrial benefits from this dynamic frontier of knowledge; and the adoption of conventions for preventing and punishing harmful cloning.

President Donald Trump is livid with rage that in the International Climate Change Agreement, Barack Obama accepted a commitment by the United States to allocate three trillion dollars for helping Africa to build defences against ravages by climate change, including: cropdestroying droughts, floods and pesticides, as well as rising sea-levels drowning vast coastal cities like Lagos. His anger is unapologetically racist. To him Africa’s raw materials consisting of oil, cocoa, uranium ore, copper, platinum transform into ‘’Shit’’ once used by American industries and consumers, while Africa remains with holes from which they were extracted. His message will, hopefully, hit those African elites who are exporting annually over 50 billion dollars out of Africa. African diplomacy must see such funds as Economic and Financial Terrorism against Africa and engage the United Nations Security Council to develop counter-measures. ‘’Soft Power’’ tends to be seen as cultural tools for propaganda and influence. The depth of American investment in the sector has included Hollywood’s films; African-American music; luring talented students with scholarships, and jobs for academics. In the 1960s, East Africa’s Makerere University College, had support by the Rockefeller Foundation in the faculties of Arts, Social Science, Agriculture and Medicine. Engineering, Architecture, Physical Sciences were not priorities. The preferred sectors promoted intellectual orientation of future leaders away from and against appeals of Socialism and Communism. The health of farmers and of crops for export was also crucial. With Communist China nearby across the Indian Ocean this preventive investment had strategic value.

The issue of knowledge as vital element in “Soft Power’’ led to the creation of the ‘’RAND CORPORATION’’ by the American Air force after World War Two. The high quality weapons produced by German researchers alarmed them. China is in a race for overtaking America’s global power in research. Africa’s military institutions would do well to beat their imported tanks and aircraft into Research Laboratories.

CATTLE COLONIES, FEDERALISM AND UNITARISM Sebastian Ikyegh Agbinda argues for ranching instead of colonies

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hat are cattle colonies? How different are they from ranches or game reserves? Which countries have cattle colonies as their preferred options for animal husbandry? What is the performance profile of these nations in the global cattle index? What makes the option offerable to us?

In Australia, where the population of animals far exceeds that of human beings, animal husbandry is confined to localised ranches owned by individuals and the ranching system make animals more productive than the open grazing system, the type that breeds violence in Nigeria.

Since we are in a federal, not unitary system, not military rule, a democracy, why is the Buhari presidency unilaterally recommending the colonies option to a nation caught in the jaws of restructuring? Since the Buhari’s presidency is offering this option even ahead of a summit on the subject matter of herdsmen and croppers to chart a way forward out of the security quagmire the nation has got into, why has it not played the colonies perspective dressed in legislation?

Why not simply hold on till the opening ceremonies of the summit and play up the colonies option in Mr President’s opening remarks? Even further, if you have thought out the colonies option, why wait for two years into your presidency, and several lives lost across the nation before playing it?

Is the Presidency worried about the sensitivities that the word colony conjures in the nation’s consciousness?

That colonies and colonialism in historical terms connote forceful land grabs, using assault weapons – in this case, AK 47! Colonies conjure, drip by drip, land grabs, which gravitate into ultimate control in religious, economic, political, cultural, ethnic terms! Did the Buhari presidency reflect on these parameters or sensitivities before allowing its entry

into the national lexicon on the subject matter of herdsmen – croppers’ crises? Did Buhari and Audu Ogbeh sufficiently contemplate on the emotions it could trigger, especially its entry in the midst of the deaths in Benue and Taraba – aptly described by Noble Laureate Wole Soyinka as“Fulani Herdsmen’s declaration of war on Nigeria”?

Our questions will probe further into the legislative space. The colonies cattle rearing option add up to three or four others already in the discourse space: open grazing, ranching, cattle or grazing reserves. So we have at least four options. Why then has the Buhari presidency not generated a law? I have crafted mine and am willing to send a copy to him, which gives the states the latitude to pick which of the four options they prefer in the spirit of true federalism. This way, Katsina State where the president comes from could gleefully embrace the colonies option, even in the process, contradicting Mr. President who definitely runs a private ranch in Daura! Yes, this in open defiance of his celebrated hesitation in prescribing it nationwide as in the colonies option! This federal-based legislative option, Benue, Taraba, and all the southern states would go for ranching. Some like Sokoto or Bauchi would indeed opt for open grazing as others like Kogi, Niger, Plateau, opting for a hybrid of open-grazing and colonies.

Given this legislative perspective painted above, why is the federal government not initiating a piece of legislation, but ditheringly and apparently exasperated, and claiming it does not possess powers to legislate since land is in the hands of state governors? Is it not easy to see that once this legislation emerges from the mental bowels of the Buhari presidency and states pick their choice on the lands they control, Buhari would then be obliged to offer the security back-up to implement it (National legislation)? Further on security, the federal law would make provision for livestock guards, armed,

who would be the first line of enforcement of the new law. This singular security provision would take pressure off the police, the guards acting as buffer for police intervention and resolve the issue of federal exclusivity over matters of security.

Still on federal legislation, we argue further, and in doing so borrow from the American federal system, which our political leaders like to copy, yet practically denigrate: In the United States, there are laws across the length and breadth of the federal spectrum. Most of the states however, have their distinct legislative character. For murder, some states hang, others lethal injection, some still a variant of that injection, others prison sentence. It is not one- size- shoe- fits all, IMF-type prescriptions for Third World nations, the type President Buhari is attempting to foist on a beleaguered nation.

Further question, and this one bothering on some suspicion of deceit in Mr. President’s prescription.

Could it be that Buhari allowed the whole nation to have a test of Fulani herdsmen slaughtering, especially the Rhohingya – type bloodletting in minority states/areas, Taraba, Benue, Southern Kaduna, before playing the colony cards, so that, exasperated states which played the ranching card, but without access to federally – controlled security would now rush to embrace the colony with a deceitful Buhari smiling off: “you know better”.

Quite as usual Mr. President is entirely wrong and this shows from the body language of the reception, his colonial prescription has generated – except from Lalong’s Plateau State!

If Fulani herdsmen south-bound movement must elicit colonial land grab parameters, if the North is greener, via deliberate legislation- based all – year-round infrastructure architecture, and this is more durable than deploying 1.8 billion for a strange Northern drill for oil, whose time is in recession, why is Buhari attention dressed in colonies, not in resolving climate change via

irrigation infrastructure, the Israeli model? This is why the colonial colony’s option smacks of colonial land grabs.

Given Usman Dan Fodio’s historical jihadist intentions, benign-looking colonies could be the stepping stone, given increased human demographics and demand for cows, goats, etc., for new larger colonies, armed with AK-47 or some more innovative types, and climate change pushing the herdsmen further to demand larger colonies, all of the nation would become a large cattle colony.

There are yet outstanding legislative issues: given the dramatic arrival of the colonies option into the national fray, how would Ogbeh’s singularly dictated colonies be appropriated - via a new supplementary budget to the National Assembly?

Or was this embedded in Ogbeh’s budget yet not disclosed to the nation?

The legislative entry into this enterprise gives you a glimpse into the poor visionary and very broad adhocratic base of the Buhari presidency. They have never thought about the herdsmen - croppers more seriously beyond security cynicism, deceit obfuscation – all around their adhocratic vision base. Why colonies were not part of Ogbeh’s 2016 or 2018 budget? Especially that he is from Benue State which only recently celebrated the annual death ceremonies, this year tagged Benue 75!

If I have not answered all the questions raised above, Mr. President or the Presidency should answer them residually. If I haven’t answered appropriately, therein lies their burden – residually again. I advise further, the presidency must think before it talks. This is not a military, unitary federal system. Even as the whole nation is coalesced around restructuring, Buhari is on a limb, limping against it. The nation is dressed in ranching, Buhari is ranching in Daura and recommending colonies (unitarism) for a federal Nigeria.

Agbinda wrote from Abuja

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EDITORIAL FOR THE PRISON REFORMS’COMMITTEE‌2 Many of the prisons are overdue for renovation

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hile 70 per cent of the inmates across the country are awaiting trial, available reports also indicate that many of the prisons are old and dilapidated, since they were built as far back as the early part of the 19th century. Therefore, any prison reform that does not take account of that will be a waste of time. For instance, Warri Prison was built in 1805; Azare in 1816, Degema in 1855 while the newest, Zing was built in 2011. Bauchi, Ningi and Misua prisons were all built in 1820, 1827 and 1831 in that order. The majority of these prisons were built with mud bricks in a small compound, according to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) 2012 prisons report.

However, beyond the state of the prison is the justice administration in Nigeria. One major recommendation from all previous reports is that the Police should review the method and manner in which charges are brought to court. Investigations of crimes are expected to be within a stipulated reasonable ONE MAJOR period of time before RECOMMENDATION FROM charges are proffered ALL PREVIOUS REPORTS in courts of competent IS THAT THE POLICE jurisdictions to avoid SHOULD REVIEW THE unnecessary delay in METHOD AND MANNER the trial of offenders.

IN WHICH CHARGES ARE There have also been BROUGHT TO COURT recommendations that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other civil societies groups should be challenged to encourage their members to offer pro bono services to awaiting trial inmates while the government should provide the enabling environment for the provision of such services.

For instance, and as it has been recommended in the past, remuneration of prison staff should be improved and be made comparable to that of other uniformed services to attract and retain the best calibre of personnel.

Prison ofďŹ cials are also expected to be constantly trained

Letters to the Editor

and retrained on the relevant standards with respect to treatment of prison inmates in accordance with human rights norms and practices. Modern working tools and logistics are to be provided them so they can discharge their duties efďŹ ciently and effectively. Adequate and decent barracks should also be provided for prison staff consistent with the dignity of their persons while their salaries and allowances should be paid regularly.

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he foregoing recommendations are in the reports already available to the federal government.

Meanwhile, prison inmates are also expected to be provided adequate and proper uniforms to avoid a situation where they have to provide their own clothes as it currently happens while bedding facilities should be adequately provided in the prisons. Provision should be made for recreational and vocational facilities both for awaiting trial inmates and those that are already convicted. To this effect, the necessary institutional arrangements should be made by government to accommodate this change. This is to avoid the situation whereby ATPs leave the prisons in a worse state than they were when they entered.

It is recommended that part of proceeds realised from the sale of materials produced by prison inmates should be kept for after-care services on release. This is to avoid a situation where inmates are released with nothing and to nothing, leaving them nothing but a one-way ticket back to prison. In this regard, prison allowances should be reintroduced and given to inmates on release. Finally, it has been suggested severally that prison inmates should be separated on the basis of age, health condition and nature of offence in all the prisons while remand homes should be designated for awaiting trial persons, instead of them being kept in the regular prison with convicts.

We believe that if some of these well-documented steps are taken by the federal government, they would go a long way in redressing not only the challenge of congestion but also that of other associated problems that have combined to make Nigerian prisons hell for most inmates who usually come out either hardened or physically and psychologically damaged.

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 APC’S RESTRUCTURING REPORT

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rom orthodox literature on political parties, interest(s) articulation and aggregation form part of the key four responsibilities of political parties in modern representative democracies. These basic four functions are: to develop consistent policies and government programmes (the interest articulation function); to pick up demands from the society and bundle them (the interest aggregation function); to recruit, select and train people for positions in the executive and legislature; and to oversee and or control government.

As such, the All Progressives Congress attempts “to pick up demands from the society and bundle them� into a coherent policies options and perhaps government programmes should be acknowledged and frame the context by which the ruling party’s restructuring committee report that has been scheduled for public presentation may be perceived. The other opposition parties should also develop alternatives to APC Structuring Report as their unique answers to National Question debates and forcefully mobilise people support for change. This would be in tandem with functions of political parties in government and opposition. Whilst party in government implements policies, party in opposition should develop alternatives; the ruling party sustains support for government, the opposition parties gain support for change; the ruling party fills government positions, opposition parties build pool of competent people.

Therefore, for civil society actors “party assistance needs to focus on the functions that parties fulfil in a democratic system rather than feasting on unrealistic expectation of how parties should work.� The first three functions feed into the two fundamental roles that political parties play in the political process: they form the government or they are in opposition. The fourth function varies depending on the types of the political system. In the parliamentary systems, for example, where the government is elected

by the parliament and depends on its support, this function falls on the opposition. In the presidential system, where the executive is independent, the legislature as a whole fulfils this function.

Unfortunately, as Professor Jibrin Ibrahim lamented recently at the 14th Public Lecture of the INEC Electoral Institute in honour of late Professor Abubakar Momoh] that “an assessment of existing political parties indicates majority of the parties do not have clear programmes which people can be recognised and parties executives do not have an idea of what their parties stand for.� According to him, there are generations of Nigerians who do not have a memory of when or how a real political parties work. To change the narratives, he stressed that political parties must now understand that elections are different today as votes are beginning to count and political parties should start taking their members and people seriously. Party must be more inclusive, respect their parties constitution, and the electoral act to court the people support. In this sense, they must hold regular meetings, discuss issues and agree on matters, contribute money for the organisation of party’s affairs to delink party funding from moneybags and political godfathers and embark on mobilisation for membership recruitment.

As often noted in contemporary literature on political parties, the dissatisfaction of the population with political parties increases the chances of newcomers (populist candidates) outside the established parties in winning elections. Perhaps, the more reason some people have started calling for the formation of a strong movement as a third force to wrestle power from established parties (APC and PDP) in Nigeria since the “culture of election has changed dramatically� from the last two general elections in the country.

Tunde Salman, Convener, Good Governance Team

HERDSMEN KILLING: ALI MUST GO

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These people are Nigerians and we must learn to live together with one another. Communities and other people must learn how to accept foreigners within their enclave. Finish!�

Since the unguarded, insensitive and emotionally retarded response to the Benue massacre from the photogrammetry and surveying- trained turned Defence Minister - Mr. Mansur Muhammad Dan Ali, I have been amused and equally bemused at the snail speed it is taking to have him relieved of his indefensible duties and redeployed to his farm in Zamfara.

On the account of his other outburst in the infamous interview, he deserves to be the first client of the hate speech tracking the government is bound to expend resources on, while the herdsmen roam about unchecked with their evil weapons of farm destructions.

Go, Ali must go Opeyemi Ajala FCA, opeyemiajala@yahoo. com

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2018

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018

POLITICS

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

PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

Mohammed: Our Success is There for All to See Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has accused the opposition of deliberately ignoring the indexes which he said are proof that the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has laid a solid foundation for the development of the country. He spoke with Politics Editors. Tobi Soniyi was there and presents the excerpts:

H

Haram that were rescued are in hundreds of thousand as we speak today. Life is opening up in most part of the northeast. Yes, there will be occasional bombing, but it is just a desperate drive of a defeated army. For you to judge us on security, look at what is happening globally, then you begin to appreciate what we are doing in the area of security.

as your party fulfilled its electoral promises to the people?

We were very categorical that we were going to address three areas of governance: to fight corruption, insecurity; and to revamp the economy.can say with all sense of modesty that we can beat our chest that we have delivered in all those areas.

On the economy, a former CBN Deputy Governor, Prof. Moghalu disagreed with your government’s claim that we have exited recession?

I would rather work on the figure of the National Bureau of Statistics because their indexes and parameters for the country show that we are out of recession. Clearly even as recently as last week, the NBS came out that for the 11th month we have been able to hold down inflation, that inflation today is 15.37 per cent. This has been happening since January 2017. All indication shows that not only have we exited recession, but that we are making a lot of gains in all the parameters either in the area of foreign reserves or foreign investment or in the area of inflation or job creation. Whatever Moghalu has said would run against the current of figures that had been produced by the NBS which is the best body today that can tell us whether we are out of recession or not. It is the same body that told us we were in recession, it is the same body that said we are out of recession. So far, they are yet to tell us we have slipped back to recession.

You have done so much in the fight against Boko Haram. However, it appears that the insurgents have regrouped while Fulani herdsmen-farmers clashes are also threatening the security of the nation.

Security is an issue that every nation at one point in time will have to contend with. I am happy you have acknowledged that we are making progress fighting insecurity in the country. The herdsmen-farmers clash was not invented by this government. It actually predates this government. If you go back to history, it dates back to independence. But am assuring you that this government is determined to resolve the issue. This government is determined to take specific steps to find a definite end to this issue. It is about containment, it is about accommodation and it is about understanding.

There must be farmers, there must be herdsmen.

They must live together. We are determined as a government that shedding of the blood of just one person is too much. It is not about number, it is about the fact that we put a price to human’s life. Am glad that already things are being put in place, such as the committee headed by the vice president to find long time solution to herdsmen-farmers’ clashes.

There is the claim that the attacks were not perpetuated by herdsmen but by foreign Fulani bandits. Are the security agencies so weak that they can not fish out these bandits and stop them from entering this country?

Without going into the details, it is a very complex issue . You talked about bandits, what about the militias that were funded and sponsored by the late Ghadafi around the same area? As a government, we have resolved to find a lasting solution to it. Whether they are bandits or marauders or militias sponsored by the late Ghadafi, what is important for us as a government is to ensure that the shedding of blood whether of the farmers or herdsmen is brought to an end.

One of the ardent supporters of this administra-

Is the release of INEC’s schedules of election distracting government from governance?

I think those who are charged with that responsibility of governance will face governance and in any event once the contracts have been awarded and the contractors have been mobilized. From my understanding, there will be no slow down.

People don’t seem to see the effect of the fight against corruption because most people still see the police collect bribes along the roads.

The people are still being exploited and this government doesn’t seem to have an answer for that?

This government did not invent corruption. On corruption, this government is one of the most serious government

Mohammed...opposition does not want to acknowledge our achievements

tion, Pastor Tunde Bakare did a state of the nation address and said that the government had failed in the three areas you mentioned earlier. How do you counter that?

We are very confidence. We don’t have any apologies for our success. Our success is out there. At the beginning of this conversation, I said there were many indexes with which you can measure whether a country is improving economically or not. Am glad to say that we have been able to grow our foreign reserves from $23billion to $40 billion despite the fact that for the larger part of the time oil sold for $30pb. This is the highest since 2014. This clearly does not indicate failure on the part of the government. Again, NBS said headline inflation has fallen for 11 consecutive months.

It is now at 15.37 per cent as at December 2017.

The target we set for our selves by the ERGP for inflation has been met and surpassed. You can’t talk about failure. Then the TSA has stopped hemorrhaging aging, since we came in, from the treasury. We were even able to eliminate ghost workers and that has saved us over N120 billion. We have been able to save about N108 billion from the removal of maintenance fees payable to banks pre-TSA because we pay directly.

We have saved N24.7 billion monthly through

Amosun admits he is not perfect. No one is. Nor is he afraid of making mistakes. But once he sets his sight on course, there is no looking back

determined implementation of TSA. You talked about jobs. What jobs are we talking about? In agriculture, we have created an extra 6.2 million jobs. From 6 million jobs two and a half years ago, today we have about 12. 2 million jobs in agricultural sector alone. How can anyone claim that we have not succeeded in creating jobs?

Our strategy in the area of encouraging local production of rice has worked. From 64,000 metric tonnes two and half a years ago, today we import less than 20,000 metric tonnes. You can imagine the kinds of saving that would bring to government. In the area of infrastructure, we also have good news. Power today is at an all high of 7000 megawatts and we are also able to transmit 7000 megawatts. In the area of distribution, we distribute over 5000 megawatts today and the extra 2000 megawatts which we can not distribute we are trying to get willing buyers for these megawatts. Still on infrastructure, the Lagos-Kano modern gauge is on course. We are very optimistic that by 2019 Lagos-Ibadan axis of it will be commissioned while the Kano-Kaduna modern gauge will also be ready by 2019. The coastal rail which will link 15 cities is also being worked upon and we are hoping that by the year 2021 the entire, mostly the coastal rail and the modern gauge will be completed. On roads, contracts had been awarded for 25 major highways at the cost of N100 billion. Every geo-political zone of the country is included in this transformation of road infrastructure.

These are things that the opposition does not want to hear. These facts are out there for anybody to go and verify.

Again on security, we know we are winning the war because when you are able to decimate an insurgency like Boko Haram, that a few years ago would match to Abuja, attacked the police headquarters, attacked United Nations headquarters, went to Nyanya in our own federal capital and you are able to restrict them to one corner of one state, I think you have scored a major success.

The number of people captured by Boko

But you promised to come and stop it.

I said this government did not invent corruption, one of the most committed government to eradicating corruption and citing corruption, it is not just government’s business alone, I think citizens also have a big role to play. Citizens also should stop aiding and abetting corruption What choice do they have?

Everybody has a choice in everything. You can refuse to give that N20And get shot?

No, this is defeatist attitude. Everywhere in the world, where a person cannot stand for his or her rights, of course he would always be cheated. We have seen other parts of the world where the government has been brought down because of citizens’ action. I think it is not fair to expect that the president or the IGP would come down and stop corruption at the checkpoint. I think the citizens also have a duty. Now you imagine for instance if citizens are asked to pay N20 at the checkpoint and 10 citizens stopped by the police said no, this is wrong. I can assure you the policce will move away from that spot.

But when we also acquiesce or we also give, I am not saying that it is right for the police to demand, but I think also the citizens have the right to say no. More often than not, why do citizens also cave in is because they have also violated the law. But that is not an excuse I agree with you, but I think if they know they are doing the right thing, they should be able to resist this kind of thing.

The government has been accused of double standard in the handling of IPOB, which was declared a terrorist organization, and the response to killers herdsmen. One had expected the same government to move very fast and do same to killer herdsmen.

I think we should not compare both issues because they are two different issues. .IPOB came out to challenge the territorial integrity of this country. IPOB came out to say they are independent people of Biafra and they wanted a government of their own. I think it is different from, yes of course many of their activities could become terrorist activities later, but the fundamental things is that IPOB came out to challenge the monopoly, sovereignty of the government of Nigeria.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018

POLITICS

Bickering over Edo Council Polls The plan by the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission to hold local government elections on March 3, has reignited the rivalry between the ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, writes Adibe Emenyonu

S

ince the announcement by the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC) that local government election will hold on March 3, 2018, the open rivalry between the two major parties in the state has once again been reignited.

Before the inauguration of the Prof. Stanley Orobator-led Edo State Independent Electoral Commission recently, the state’s house assembly had on December 12, 2017 amended the state Local Government Electoral Law Law. Portion of the law amended the length of notice of polls as stated in section 30 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, with regard to paragraphs 11 and 12 of part two of second schedule of the nation’s constitution.

The amendment reduced the mandatory 90 days period of notice to all political parties and other stakeholders to prepare for council election.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP] in Edo State has vowed to challenge the amendment in court. The PDP also said it would challenge the constitution of EDSIEC. Addressing a press conference on January 18 at the end of the PDP expanded stakeholders meeting, Chief Dan Orbih, Chairman of the party in the state, said “the party cannot join the APC-led government to dwell on illegality over the amendment of the electoral law by the House of Assembly and the constitution of members of EDSIEC.” He said: “We have resolved that we are going to court to determine whether the Edo State House of Assembly can validly amend the Edo State Local Government Electoral Law to abridge the length of notice of polls as stated in section 30 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, having regard to paragraphs 11 and 12 of part two of second schedule of the nation’s constitution.

“We object and reject the composition of the Independent Electoral Commission in Edo state under the chairmanship of Professor Orobator; because we have observed that most of the members of the commission are card carrying members of registered political parties. We urge them on their part to disqualify themselves from participating in the process that will bring about the election of councilors and chairmen in all the local government councils.”

Orbih said PDP would ask the court to decide whether it was valid for the local government election to be conducted in Edo State without giving the PDP and other stakeholders the mandatory 90 days notice of polls as stated in section 30 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

He said the party leaders and members were of the opinion that the court must decide whether the amendment to the electoral law made by the state’s house of assembly on December 12th, 2017, was done in violation of the mandatory provisions of the rules of the house of assembly on law making process.

According to Orbih, “Section 100 (2) of the 1999 constitution, these issues are critical and after a very thorough debate the party has come to the conclusion that we have the responsibility to protect and save democracy. We must put an end to impunity of the APC both at the state and the federal levels at this point.”

The occasion afforded scores of APC members, led by Mr. Greg Osayi and Mrs Helen Orobor from Oredo ward 6 in Edo south Senatorial Dstrict to defect to PDP, saying they are dissatisfied with the guidelines for the council polls.

Mrs. Orobor who spoke on behalf of other defectors, said they have been in politics for a very long time but from what they have seen so far, the APC has gone too far, hence their decision to leave APC and come to PDP. Reacting to the PDP’s threat to go to court, the Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Paul Ohonbamu, described the issues as irrelevant and unconvincing. He said the PDP was raising issues because the party had been too depleted and was afraid to face the APC in the election scheduled for March 3. He said PDP was afraid to to go

Obaseki...defectors cited his sterling performance for joining the APC

into the election.

On the claim by the Edo State Chairman of PDP, Dan Orbih, that the Edo State House of Assembly ould not validly amend the Edo State Local Government Electoral Law to abridge the length of notice of poll, Ohonbamu who was a former deputy speaker of the state assembly, said the PDP’s quarrel with the law making function of the Edo State House of Assembly as enshrined in the constitution, was a ploy to derail the process as the opposition knew that it was too weak to participate in the local council polls.

“The PDP lacks a proper understanding of the law. The assembly has the rights to make laws for the running and well-being of local governments including local government elections. The house of assembly has performed its constitutional duties by amending the Electoral Law,” Ohonbamu said.

Ohonbamu recalled that under the administration of Prof. Oserhiemen Osunbor in 2017, similar amendment was done which disfranchised certain people who were caretaker committee chairmen from contesting in the election and nothing was said about it then.

He said: “The function of the Edo State House of Assembly is to make laws according to the rules of the house in the interest of all Edo people and this it has done. The PDP should approach the court of law for proper legal interpretations if it is confused and not engage in acts of rascality. The PDP should not create tension where there is none. The house has the duty to amend laws.”

He said: “It is not the duty of PDP members to decide on legal issues dbecause they know they are finished and have attained the age of menopause and are merely brandishing expired talisman, advising the party to go to court and test the waters for proper interpretation of the

The PDP should not create tension where there is none. The house has the duty to amend laws

law.”

The two-time state lawmaker who challenged the PDP to prove its claim that some members of the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission are card carrying members of the APC, said: “the PDP’s contention with the number of days of notice to claimant and other stakeholders before the election, are all polemics, and if they say it has to be 90 days, they should go to court.

Their objection is nothing but an escapist route.

The PDP can claim the sky and moon, but it is the duty of the judiciary to interpret the law. They are finished and down. When they were in power, they caused serious plundering of the economy. Today they are looking for how to come back to power to continue their plundering.

“The Edo State House of Assembly will continue to make laws for the common good of all. The PDP cannot draw us back. Edo people are not ready for their faulty interjections. I enjoin them to go to court to test the veracity of their claim,” he stressed.

The threat to challenge the power of the state’s assembly to amend the electoral law without recourse to the 90 days notice is not the only grouse of the Edo PDP. The mega rally organised by the APC last weekend, also drew the ire of PDP where two key members of the opposition party, including their followers across the state, defected to APC. The two prominent members are Hon. Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayinma, popularly called “EJ”; and a two time member of the Edo House of Assembly and also a former majority leader of the house. The other is a two-time commissioner at the NDDC board, Hon. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen.

The two former PDP stalwarts, said that they decided to jump ship because the PDP refused to follow the rule of law.

Speaking at the APC rally held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, they said that the Edo State government under Governor Godwin Obaseki was not only working but is worthy of emulation by other governors across the country.

Agbonayinma said: “We have decided to join the APC and Governor Obaseki because PDP has refused to follow the rule of law. We are also here because the government under the APC and Obaseki is working. To be part of the work to make Edo great. I and Hon Mathew tried our best to make PDP straight, but they refused.

“When a governor is working, you have no other option than to join him and not to oppose him. Obaseki is truly working. Everyone, including a blind man can see the work the governor is doing across the state. So, why oppose someone who is working in the interest of the people. Other governors in Nigeria should emulate what Edo State governor is doing for the people.

“The governor is not a politician but a technocrat who has the interest of the people at heart. He believes in doing the right thing.”

For Iduoriyekemwen, who was a former PDP gubernatorial candidate of the Alli-Modu Sheriff’s faction of the PDP which was not recognised

by INEC, the move became necessary as they could not continue to oppose the progressive policies being implemented by Obaseki who has brought positive change to governance and the state’s economy.

He said: “I am here today, with all my followers who are sons and daughters, to be part of a great movement in Edo State. We decided to join the Obaseki’s team and the APC as we can no longer continue to oppose the good things across the state. We believe that this will make Edo State better, to make the state become the best, we all need to unite to support the governor who is interested in making the state work.

“The governor does not need any political distraction. All Obaseki needs to achieve his good intentions for the state is the support of progressives in the state. So, we are here to support his quest to develop our state for the benefit of the masses,” he added.

He said one of the landmark achievements of the governor was restoring order in different parts of the state, which he said, has transformed Benin City.

He said: “If you go through Ring Road, you will drive through easily, same with new Benin and Ekiosa. All the places we thought were impossible to clear, have been cleared today.

The governor is making Edo State work and it is because of that we decided to join the governor and his team to make Edo great.”

But PDP Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare described the rally as a tragic failure. He said to the ruling party, PDP is like an owl whose mere sight instils fear, its hoots make APC shiver in fear and if its quiet, make their fear consume them.

Nehikhare said the decamping of two of their former members triggered the fear button of APC and the immediate past governor, Adams Oshiomhole He said: “Adams Oshiomhole couldn’t stop talking. Today we heard the cries of a desperate man, trying to get the attention of President Buhari in Abuja. In his desperation to get a look in by the federal government Adams Oshiomhole heaped underserved praises, paid lip service and attempted to massage the ego of President Buhari. We saw a man, who has not come to terms with his status of former governor.

“We saw a party in government struggle to fill up Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium with people, even while receiving “ thousand upon thousand of decampees” and the financial inducements offered to market women and the teeming jobless youths their party and government created. Hard as they tried, the atmosphere was bland, the disconnect was palpable. It was a tragic failure.”

He said with what happened at the stadium, it was a clear confirmation that APC was on its way out because the rouble-rouser-in-chief had no achievement to credit his government in Abuja with.

“Instead, he continued to rant the cliché of corruption and sadly, he sounded like a loose cannon, mocked by the audience he was entertaining. He cut a figure from the comic strip Batman, named, The Joker! Unfortunately, his performance just like the rally, was tragic.

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

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Lagos CP Preaches ‘Operation Know Your Neighbours’

LagosStateCommissionerofPolice,Mr.ImohimiEdgal,recentlyheldatownhallmeeting with community leaders to sensitise them on the dangers of not co-operating with the police, especially in the area of information passage. Femi Ogbonnikan who covered the event, reports

L-R: ACP 'Operations, Mr. Abiodun Olamotu, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Imohimi Edgal, and Commander, Area 'G', Ogba, ACP Sani Salihu, at the stakeholders meeting in Lagos...recently

A

ssuming the fifth largest economy status in Africa, Lagos State, with a staggering population of over 20 million, has remained the much sought-after, a place to live in, on account of the rapid development and growth that has taken place in recent times. No thanks to the relentless efforts and foresight of good governance of the past and present leaders that have taken the issue of growing the economy of the state as an economic hub of the country.

With no less than 86 persons that enter the state per hour on a daily basis, in search of the golden fleece, according to a recent survey conducted by the state government, the influx of the population has had telling effects on the infrastructure, with consequent breeding of crimes and criminalities, owing to its cosmopolitan nature, the government has had to contend with the negative effects that have given room to criminals wanting to cash in on the abundant potential.

In tackling the menace head-long, the state government through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), claimed it

has, in 2016, spent well over N15 billion to procure crime-fighting equipment in beefing up security and ensuring the safety of lives and property.

However, saddled with the responsibilities of providing adequate security of lives and property to the citizenry, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr. Imohimi Edgal, believes community policing has a major role to play when compared with the personnel strength of the state command which is below 28,000. According to him, the state

I want to launch an ‘Operation Know Your Neighbours’ soon. We can't be on our own. We must be interested in knowing our neighbours

Lagos CP Imohinmi Edgal... believes in community policing

command requires partnership with vigilante groups to beef up its coverage strength.

Speaking at a Town Hall Meeting organised

by Area 'G' Command Headquarters, Ogba, and held at Excellence Hotel, Ogba, on Tuesday,

January 16, 2017, Edgal noted that it has become imperative to enlist the services of vigilante men to police the state. He said, at least, two armed policemen will work together with vigilante men in patrolling

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A cross section of stakeholders at the meeting in Lagos

various communities between the hours of 10:00p.m. and 5:00a.m, the following day, a development he said, is in tandem with the laid down law governing the operation of security provision for the safety of lives and property.

Besides, the police boss stated that the joint patrol will also enhance a cordial relationship between the police and members of the community. He, however, applauded the officers and men of Area 'G' Command and members of the communities falling within the purview of the command headquarters for the existence of the cordial relationship.

"Area 'G' Command has a strong cordial relationship with members of its communities.

It is the most powerful Area Command in Lagos State. Please, sustain the relationship. Let us live with one another. Let us do business together peacefully in any part of the state.

"I want to launch an ‘Operation Know Your Neighbours’ soon. We can't be on our own. We must be interested in knowing our neighbours. We must know what our children are doing. How is cultism prevalent in our neighbourhood? Recently, we arrested some young men, 25 in number. I had paraded them before newsmen. We recovered Pump Action Rifles (PARs), cutlasses and knives from them.

"So, it is high time all recognised groups, like members of the Police Community Relations Officer (PCRC), traditional and religious leaders, others that have influence on youths to embark on awareness campaign about the danger cultism poses. Religious leaders, both in Churches and Mosques, must preach against cultism to the youths and also try to drum it into their ears the negative effects of the vice," the CP said.

Besides, Edgal has vowed to diligently prosecute and jail any cultist arrested.

"It is no longer going to be business as usual.

"I have even warned the officers and men under my watch against involvement in crimes. They must be professional. Any policeman caught associating or romancing with cultist or procuring guns for the group please, report him to me.

"Recently, at Alapere, Ketu, here in Lagos, a policeman was arrested. He was caught having a meeting with cultists. Policemen should not

be involved in professional misconduct or found hibernating or associating with cultists.

But anyone found wanting will be arrested and prosecuted.

"Please, I need information to act fast," he averred.

On the issue of illicit drug dealers, the police boss enjoined the residents of Lagos to always show concern. He advised them against the habit of "I don’t care".

"If you have information of any illicit drug dealer within your neighbourhood don't hesitate to inform your Area Commander or local Divisional Police Officer (DPO), so that they can race to the scene and do the needful. We shouldn't allow them to have a free reign to sell the drugs. We need to be extra-vigilant.

"Criminals are devising different methods.

We have arrested a number of lunatics. There is no lunatic in Lagos, they are all feigning to be. Rather, a good number of them are criminals. Recently, we arrested one and I paraded him before newsmen. A lot of items were recovered from him. And he confessed to be an armed robber," the CP said.

Criminals are devising different methods. We have arrested a number of lunatics. There is no lunatic in Lagos, they are all feigning to be. Rather, a good number of them are criminals. Recently, we arrested one and I paraded him before newsmen. A lot of items were recovered from him. And he confessed to be an armed robber

Edgal, however charged market men and women to always volunteer useful information to the police. According to him, "you, market men and women have a lot of information that you can give to the police. Don't keep quiet. You must report suspicious movements within your communities.

“The era when DPOs don't act on any piece of information given is over. Send sms to your local DPO. We must be vigilant and know our neighbour. We must make a turn-around and give information. Police officers and men must go to the scene of incidents.”

On the state of insecurity, especially ethnic sentiments where tempers are flaring in different parts of the country, the CP warned those fanning the ember of discord to desist from such. Particularly, he admonished the residents of Lagos to report anyone that is trying to create fear, tension and uncertainties through hate speech to report him to their local DPOs for prompt actions.

"Don't let us call ourselves ethnic names.

Let us live in peace. If you see anybody that comes and gives hate speech or if you notice strange persons within your midst, report him or her on time, without delay.

"Because community policing is based on trust and confidence people will give information and the police will perform better. People are not happy about the police misconduct," the CP noted.

He, however, expressed his appreciation to the people. He said the Area Commander had relayed how nice they are, for their cooperation and support in the area of crime-fighting.

He advised members of the communities within Area 'G' Command Headquarters, Ogba, to always ensure that they hold regular meetings, with focus on youths in their areas, while their respective local DPOs must be in attendance, a development that will avail them with relevant information in carrying out his policing job.

"You can't sit down in your various offices and say, you are working. You must attend these meetings," the police boss advised. “The fear of the public is, how safe are they while giving out information," he added.

Meanwhile, in response to some questions asked by members of the communities in attendance, Edgal shed more light on the efficacy of mobile phones for information

passage to the police.

He underscored the importance of mobile phone technology and urged members of the community to always send short-messageservice (sms) to the local DPO within their domain without necessarily including their names and addresses where and whenever there is a threat to security of lives and property, while the CP pledged such information volunteered will be treated with official confidentiality that it deserves.

"There are three numbers that I am aware of, and which you should have, that is, the mobile numbers of your DPO. When you have sent the sms, all that is expected is for the DPO to reply with either, "noted", or "seen". As members of the community, you should monitor everything that goes around at the police station nearest to you," stressed Edgal.

On raids, the police boss said he believes it is the only antidote to disorganise criminals from their hideouts but the continuous raids must be carried out and led by the DPO personally himself or herself.

"If a DPO doesn't raid it allows for hoodlums to hibernate. But rather, when they are carried out regularly they disorganise hoodlums from gathering to perfect their operational strategies.

Because in most cases, the criminals hide and sleep in uncompleted buildings, schools, market places, and other key and vulnerable points. We will continue on regular raids and they must be led by respective DPOs. Because that is the only way you can get what you want. Failure to do that, any complaints arising from such negligence, I will put the blame on the erring DPO. Also, I will issue query to such a DPO," he warned.

With nothing less than 800 patrol vehicles that the State Government through the LSSTF, has given the Lagos State Police Command, the CP assured the community leaders that recently he met Governor Akinwunmi Ambode who has promised to make available additional vehicles that would assist the police in effective patrol of all the nooks and crannies of the state.

In attendance at the meeting, include community leaders drawn from different ethnic nationalities, such as Yoruba, Ndigbo, Hausa and Fulani who pledged their continued peaceful co-existence, without let or hindrance.

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IMAGES

:L-R; Ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany to Nigeria, Bernhard Schlagheck; Alake of Egbaland, Oba Aremu Gbadebo and, Ogun State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Bimbo Ashiru during a courtesy visit by German Ambassador to the palace of the monarch in Abeokuta...recently

L-R; Supervising Bishop, United African Evangelical Church, Abule Ijesha, Yaba, Lagos, Rt Revd Zaccheus Sanyaolu and the newly installed Bishop of the Church, Rt Revd Oladipo Timothy, after his dedication and installation at the Church in Lagos...recently

Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi (left) with a cross-section of civil servants during the 2018 annual new year interfaith service organised by the state government, at the Governor’s Office Car Park, Ibadan..recently GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

L-R; Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalist, Lagos state Council, (NUJ), Dr. Qasim Akinreti; Commander, Rapid Respond Squard, Mr. Olatunji Disu and General Secretary, NUJ, Mr. Odifa Adebayo during the NUJ L/S Council courtesy visit to Commander, RRS at Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja, Lagos...recently

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Photo Editor ÌÓÙÎßØ ÔËÖË Email ËÌÓÙÎßØ˛ËÔËÖË̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙ×

L-R: Brand Manager, Stout and 33 Export, Nigeria Breweries,Seun Lawal; Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe; Portfolio Manager, Legend Extra Stout, Emmanuel Agu and General Manager, Marketing and sales, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho during the Live screening of Big Brother Naija Season 3 launch in, Lagos...recently ABIODUN AJALA

L-R: The Founder/Sponsor, Lagos Youths Skills Acquistion Training and Empowerment Programme, High Chief Owolabi Salis- Fakos; Chief (Mrs) Olabisi Salis- Fakos; A graduand, Shakirat Modupe Shomorin; and Make-up Trainer, Mr. Adeoye Olayode Ojuloge, at the graduation ceremony of the first batch of trainees in Akoka, Lagos... recently

R-L: Director General Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt Mukhtar Usman; Representative of the Minister and Managing Director, Nigerian Air Space Management Authority, Capt Fola Akinkotu; Secretary General, African Civil Aviation Commission, Ms. Iyabo Sosina and Director Air Transport Regulation NCAA, Group Captain Edem Oyo-Ita, during the NCAA Aviation Stakeholders Workshop on Implementation of SAATM: Its Impact on the Nigerian Aviation Industry and National Economy in Ikeja, Lagos...recently KOLAWOLE ALLI

L-R; DG, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, O. C. Uwaifo and Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole during a One-Day Public Hearing for a Bill for an Act to Provide for the Establishment of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Abuja..recently JULIUS ATOI/THISDAY IMAGES

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Quick Takes Minister Lauds WAMCO’s Support Ă’Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ă? Ă™Ă&#x;ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ? Ă?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂœË› Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă—Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă• Ă“Ă–Ă•Ëœ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ù˛ͯ Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă• ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă—ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ‹Ă–ĂŁĂ—ĂšĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă?ËŞ ÚÙåĂ?ĂœĚ‹Ă–Ă“Ę°Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‘ĂŁĂ— Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ Ă‘Ă‹Ă Ă? ÞÒÓĂ? Ă?Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂŽĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ™Ă Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‘ĂŁĂ— Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ÞËÎÓĂ&#x;Ă—Ëœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ ËŤ Ă’Ă? Ă˜Ă?ĂĄĂ–ĂŁ ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‘ĂŁĂ—Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă“Ă? Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ Ă™Ă? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽĚ‹Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂœĂŽ ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂšĂ“ĂœĂ? ËÞÒÖĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă‹ĂœĂ‹Ě‹ ÙåĂ?ĂœĂ–Ă“Ę°Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă‹Ă— ÞÙ Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă? ÞÙ ĂšĂ&#x;Ă?Ă’ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă“Ă—Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă?âĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂŁ ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŹ Ă‹Ă–Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË› Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ ÙÞÒĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂšĂ™ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? ĂŒĂ™ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă—Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă—ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă• ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ˜Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ åÓÞÒ ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ăž Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă–Ă?Ëœ ÞÙ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂž Ă?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁË›

Ă˜ Ă’Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœËœ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă—ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‹ Ëœ ĂœË› Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÙÙÕ Ă&#x;Ăš ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă? ÞÙ ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ? ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÞËÎÓĂ&#x;Ă—Ëœ ÞÙ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ‹Ă–ĂŁĂ—ĂšĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă? ÞÙ Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂšĂ“ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ×ÙÞÓà ËÞĂ? ÙÞÒĂ?Ăœ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă– ĂĄĂ‹Ă–Ă•Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă?Ë›

NSE, ASHON SIGN PACT

Head, Shared Services Division, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Bola Adeeko; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, NSE, Oscar Onyema; Chairman, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Chief Patrick Ezeagwu, and Vice Chairman, ASHON/Acting CEO, Lagos Commodity and Futures Exchange(LCFE), Mr. Akin Akeredolu, during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between NSE and ASHON on LCFE in Lagos‌recently

W’Bank Gives Nigeria New Strategy to Grow Power Transmission Grid Chineme Okafor in Abuja The federal government on Tuesday took delivery of a new strategy document – the 20-year Transmission Expansion Master Plan, developed with funding from the World Bank by a German-based power consultancy firm, Fitchner GmbH, and with which the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) would use to continue its expansion works on Nigeria’s transmission network.

The master plan was handed over to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, at a ceremony in Abuja by the Interim Managing Director of the TCN, Mr. Usman Mohammed, after

ENERGY Fitchner signed off on it.

It reportedly cost the World Bank about $2million to execute, and was conceived in 2009 after a national load demand study was done by another power consultancy firm, Tractebel of Belgium. With it, Fashola, said the TCN would be expected to continue to improve its capacity to wheel out generated electricity in the country. He also said that at the moment, the transmission capacity of the TCN had grown to 7125 megawatts (MW), and that cases of stranded power would be dealt with by the new plan.

The minister noted that

future electricity generation capacities like the 3050MW Mambilla hydro power plant and others were factored into the plan which he added equally recommended that Nigeria was better served by its existing 330 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines.

He said: “The government has given the TCN a mandate to improve its capacity to deliver its responsibilities to the Gencos and Discos. That mandate has not stood alone, it has been followed by policy approvals, and it has been supported by a budgetary commitment. “That budgetary support has been helpful. As at yesterday, with that budget, we have been able to recover 502 containers

belonging to the TCN, containing equipment for transmission expansion projects that were left at our ports.� “Those containers have travelled to their various intended destinations – TCN’s sites and substations, where work has resumed. Most of the TCN sites are now busy and some have been completed. So, that story of yesterday that TCN can only wheel 5000MW is not true because as at December when we did TCN’s simulated capacity, it was 7125MW and it is growing because works haven’t stopped,� he explained.

On the masterplan, he stated: Continued on page 24

2016, Most Challenging Year in MTN’s 22-year History, Says CEO Emma Okonji with agency report MTN Group has described 2016 as the ‘most challenging year in its 22-year history,’ while attributing the challenge to two main factors that emanated from its Nigerian operation, which was established about 17 years ago.

MTN rolled out its commercial services in Nigeria in August 2001, few days after Econet Wireless (now Airtel Nigeria) rolled out its commercial services, but had since become the largest network operator in Nigeria, with over 61 million subscribers on its network.

ICT In spite of the challenges, which caused its turnaround revenue to slide in 2016, the telecoms company said its prediction in 2017 that it would bounce back from its first net loss in 20 years recorded in 2016, has yielded results.

In a stock market statement issued ahead of the release of its annual results in March, the company said earnings will improve due to the resolution of problems in Nigeria which caused it to post a net loss of ZAR3.1 billion ($260 million) in 2016. Major hits to its figures in 2016 included the payment of larger instalments on a hefty

fine for failing to register the personal details of 5.1 million customers in Nigeria. It also reported an equity loss on a 51 per cent stake held in infrastructure company, Nigeria Tower Interco, which was attributed to the weakness of the local currency against the US dollar that same year.

These two factors, in addition to currency issues in other markets and decline in prepay in its home market of South Africa, led to its major revenue loss, the company said, but assured its subscribers that it is confident of earnings turnaround in an anticipated swing back into profit, having settled the huge financial burden

from the Nigerian market.

MTN Group CEO, Rob Shuter who gave the assurance, hinged it on the telecoms company’s future expansion prospects and aim to become the largest financial services provider in Africa.

During 2017, the company also pressed ahead with preparations for the IPO of its Nigeria unit and, in November, Shuter talked up the growth prospects of its units in South Africa and Iran. The MTN boss who spoke in South Africa recently, said the company is targeting its mobile money subscribers across Africa within the next Continued on page 24

NCC Hosts Forum on Voice Rates 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™ Ěš ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ÞÙÎËã Ă’Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă‹ Ă?ÞËÕĂ?ÒÙÖÎĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ę¨Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă?Ăž ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? ÙÓĂ?Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂŁËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?ĂĄĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? ÙÙÚĂ?ĂœĂ? Ě™ ĂĄ Ěš ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă“Ă–Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă?ÞËÕĂ?ÒÙÖÎĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? ÓÑÓÞËÖ ĂœĂ“ĂŽĂ‘Ă?

Ă˜Ă?ÞÓÞĂ&#x;ĂžĂ? Ě™ ĚšËœ Ă‹ĂšĂšĂ‹Ëœ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂŽĂ“Ëœ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;Ă— ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă Ă‹Ă“Ă– Ă?ÞËÕĂ?ÒÙÖÎĂ?ĂœĂ? ÞÒĂ? Ă™ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂŁ ÞÙ Ă–Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă˜ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ę¨Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂĄ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ˜ ÞÙ Ă‹Ă–Ă– ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?Ë›

EC Fines Qualcomm $1.2bn Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ù×× ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă’Ă“Ăž åÓÞÒ Ă‹ ÍœÍŻË›Í° ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ę¨Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂšĂ‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÚÚÖĂ? ÞÙ Ă?âĂ?Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă Ă?Ă–ĂŁ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă“ĂšĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“ Ă’Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“ Ă‹ĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ă‹ ×Ùà Ă?Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂŽĂ™Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ăž ÚÙĂ?Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë›

Ă˜ Ă‹ Ă?ÞËÞĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă?Ù×ÚĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ù××ÓĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ăœ Ă‹ĂœĂ‘ĂœĂ?ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?ÞËÑĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ù×× Ă’Ă‹ĂŽ ËŤĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă’Ă&#x;Ăž Ă™Ă&#x;Ăž ĂœĂ“Ă Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă?ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă’Ă“ĂšĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ùà Ă?Ăœ ʨà Ă? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ëœ ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂŒĂŁ Ă?Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ăž ĂŽĂ™Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?ËŹË› Ă’Ă? Ă?Ù××ÓĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ăœ Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ù×× Ă’Ă‹ĂŽ ÚËÓÎ ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ÞÙ ÚÚÖĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?âĂ?Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă Ă“ĂžĂŁËœ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă– Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ Ă”Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž ÙʼĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ÖÙåĂ?Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ™ĂœË› ËŤ Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă—Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ăž ÞÒËÞ Ă˜Ă™ ĂœĂ“Ă Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă?ĘĽĂ?Ă?ÞÓà Ă?Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ù×× Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒÓĂ? Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžËœ Ă˜Ă™ Ă—Ă‹ĘľĂ?Ăœ ÒÙå ÑÙÙÎ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ù××˪Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÙÞÒĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă?ÒÙÓĂ?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĚŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒÓĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ åÓÞÒ Ă‹ Ă’Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÚÙÞĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă?ËœËŹ Ă?Ă?ÞËÑĂ?Ăœ Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ?ĂŽË› Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ù×× ÒÙåĂ?Ă Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ Ă“Ăž ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ËÚÚĂ?Ă‹Ă– ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ë›

US Moves against Growing China Threat Ă’Ă? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂŽ Ă“ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ăž Ă‹ Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ ÞÙ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă“Ă–ĂŽ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă™ĂĄĂ˜ Íł Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂŒĂŁ Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹ ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁËŞĂ? Ă—Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă?ĂĄĂ? Ă™Ă&#x;ÞÖĂ?Ăž âÓÙĂ?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă™ĂŒĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂž ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“ĂžĂŁ Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă– ÙʊĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ëœ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž ĂœĂ&#x;×Ú˪Ă? Ă‹ĂŽĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ‹Ă– ÞËÕĂ?Ùà Ă?Ăœ Ă™Ă? Ă‹ ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ËŞĂ? Ă—Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?ĂŽĂ–ĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞåÙ Ă™ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ? ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?ĂŽË› Ă’Ă? Ę¨ĂœĂ?Ăž ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă“Ă–ĂŽËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÚËã Ă?Ă™ĂœËœ Ă‹ Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Íł Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă˜Ă™ ĂŽĂ™Ă&#x;ĂŒĂž ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă™Ă&#x;ĂžĂ?ĂœĂŁ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁË› ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ÞÒĂ?Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? ÞÙ ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ËÚËĂ?ÓÞã Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËŞĂ? Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă? ÙÚĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă? Ă?âÚĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽËœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă“Ă–ĂŽ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă™ĂĄĂ˜ Íł Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă“Ă–Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ÞÒÓĂ? ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ù××Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂœĂ&#x;ÚÞÓà Ă? ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁËœ Ă“Ăž ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ÞËÕĂ? Ă–Ă™Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă?ÞÖã˛

“Nigeria has immense broadband capacity through its submarine ďŹ bre optic cables from Europe, even though only 10 per cent of the capacity is currently being utilisedâ€?

CEO, MainOne, Ms. Funke Opeke

24

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

W’BANK GIVES NIGERIA NEW STRATEGY TO GROW POWER TRANSMISSION GRID “The real story why we are here today is that there is now a plan to address how TCN progresses. We gather to receive a 20-year transmission expansion masterplan and we do it with all our stakeholders. “You have heard very detailed analysis of how this plan will become reality and even Mambilla which construction has not started is factored in the plan, and presentations about what each Disco would do, how the plans of the Gencos would affect what we want to do.�

The minister added: “This is the result of very rigorous thinking, planning and projection, and I want to thank the interim managing director of the TCN and his team.�

Similarly, Mohammed, stated that the masterplan was the basis on which TCN’s Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Plan (TREP) was developed with supports from donor agencies like the World Bank and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

In their presentation of the plan, the Fitchner team led by Dr. Oprea Liliana, a power systems operations expert, explained that while Nigeria’s power generation grew by 6.3 per cent in the last 40 years, it was expecting demand for and generation of power to hit 28,000MW by 2035.

2016, MOST CHALLENGING YEAR IN MTN’S 22-YEAR HISTORY, SAYS CEO four years, with the eventual aim of becoming the largest bank on the continent.

He added that the operator would use its brand strength to continue to push mobile money services across the markets it already operate in. Finance is the digital service the company would “put its money on� for the future, Shuter said.

According to him, around 21 million customers today use MTN’s mobile money services, adding that the number is growing at a rate of half a million active users per month.

MTN operates mobile money services across 14 markets in Africa including Ghana, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Cameroon and Zambia.

‘Why Nigeria May Not Reap Desired Benefits of Biotechnology’ Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Director General, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Rufus Ebegba, has said that Nigeria may not reap the desired benefit of modern biotechnology if Safe Science, which is a foundation of national development, is not properly communicated.

Ebegba disclosed this in Abuja recently, while presenting a paper on ‘Science, Technology and Modern Society: Role of Communication in Promoting Sustainable Livelihood,’ at the launching of Science Cafe by Journalist for Social Development Initiative (JSDI), in collaboration with Connected Development.

He highlighted the challenge of how certain innovations are perceived in Nigeria, further adding that among certain portions of the general public, there is mistrust and even fear of science and technology.

Accordingly to him, “there are many possible explanations for this. Some argue that there is a communication gap between scientists and society owing to the inability of some scientists to communicate in plain language.

Others have said that public ignorance and misunderstanding is to blame for this negative attitude.�

Ebegba stressed that mistrust and fear of science and technology could become a serious problem especially when it begins to influence how quickly a technology is adopted to solve local problems and drive national development.

He stated: “The controversy surrounding modern biotechnology, GMOs and biosafety in

particular, is an example of how the gap between scientific findings and public opinions and attitudes can threaten new technological innovations. “Issues like these are precisely why good scientific communication is important.

The media is a powerful tool which we must use to take Nigeria from being a net consumer of the products of scientific innovations to being pioneer in various scientific and technological fields.�

The DG explained that good

science journalism is evidenced base, factual, solution-based and does not peddle sensationalism, conspiracy theories or halfbaked data from unverifiable sources or in corroborative sources as fact. “Communicating science is a vital ingredient for development. Safe science is a foundation for national development and if this foundation is not properly communicated, the nation may not reap the desired benefits,� Ebegba warned.

Earlier, the National Co-

ordinator, JSDI, Michael Etta said Science and technology remained a key pivotal to human growth, but expressed his dissatisfaction about this part of the world where people resist science and technology in many ways due to lack of understanding.

Against this background, he noted that the science cafe was launched to serve as a platform for stakeholders to deliberate, enlighten the people and bridge the communication gap in science and technology.

“Science and technology is a key driver of human development but because of the complex nature of science and technology people have jettisoned this technology not minding the aftermath benefit that comes with this technology. So, science cafe is designed to see how we can bring people together to help simplify this concept so that people can embrace science and technology and also maximise the benefits,�

Etta added.

PROMOTING WORKPLACE SECURITY

L-R: Chief Operating OďŹƒcer/Executive Director, VerifyMe, Mr. Esigie Aguele; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Mr. Olutunji Oluwole and General Manager, Operations, Angela Iyeke, during a press brieďŹ ng organised by the company in Lagos...recently

Phase3 Moves to Bridge Broadband Infrastructural Gap Stories by Emma Okonji Phase3 Telecom has commenced its broadband rollout plan towards the realisation of the country’s National Broadband Plan, which targets 30 per cent broadband penetration by 2018.

The Phase3 rollout plan includes collaborating with other stakeholders to achieve 18,000km of fiber optics across the country.

In a statement made available to journalists at the weekend, the company said mobile telcos alone witnessed a sharp drop

in the number of telecoms subscribers from 155 million in January last year to 140.7 million in December same year.

Phase3 Telecoms, the indigenous fibre optics provider, underscored the need to sustain partnerships geared towards culling more investment in broadband infrastructure deployment, designed to make Nigerians can make use of the enormous deposits of broadband capacities available to the country to increase broadband penetration which is currently 21 per cent and

to make Nigeria’s broadband initiative a faster reality.

It admitted however that 2017 witnessed some economic contractions across sectors with the Nigerian telecom industry seeing a plummet in revenue for operators aided by operational hitches which affected quality of service.

To meet its target, it said will require an unwavering commitment of all government agencies in charge of and responsible for infrastructure at national and state levels to work with and support the roll-out of

fibre optics to provide metro infrastructure that will in turn support a whole information powered eco-system.

The statement read: “As Phase3 believes that policies that allow telecom infrastructure companies to thrive is certain to attract more investments to support the capital expenditure programmes that needs to be undertaken to realize the country’s vision of digital transformation that will launch Nigeria into a truly hyper-connected age as seen in Japan.

“For digital transformation is not just about technology or technological industries as often hyped but rides heavily on a smartly structured operational process to be successful and that process must live on a bedrock of thriving telecom infrastructure that is rolled out to support broadband services vis a vis being fully protected from vandalism, theft and destruction through the strong enforcement of the Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) under the Cybercrime bill.

SureRemit Raises $7m for DigitalVoucher System Rollout

Group Business Editor

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

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With Nigeria as an emerging market in Blockchain technology and Cryptocurrency adoption, SureRemit, a non-cash remittance platform that is majorityowned by Nigeria- based fintech holding company, GreenHouse Capital, has raised $7million on the initial coin offering (ICO) market. SureRemit is a noncash remittance platform using blockchain technology to help immigrants earmark and send funds home. Using a digital voucher platform and network of local merchants across African and other emerging markets, SureRemit offers an affordable, non-cash alternative for sending money to family and friends at home. SureRemit charges users zero per cent transaction fees, making it a cheaper option than

other established channels for money transfer. Several prominent cryptocurrency investors including Hashed, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency fund participated in the round.

Hashed has previously backed several notable blockchain and blockchain-enabled projects including Airswap, Ethereum, and Simple Token.

The fund’s decision to join in SureRemit’s pre-sale ICO, signals growing interest in the potential for cryptocurrency to further alleviate remittance challenges in emerging markets where recipients remain largely disconnected from financial markets.

The platform also gives the sender visibility and control over what the remittances can be put

towards by specifying use-cases, where digital vouchers from specific local merchants can be purchased and settled instantly on the SureRemit platform.

Whether funds are used for utility bills, medical treatment, or groceries, SureRemit ensures that sending a few hundred dollars to family is no longer subjected to fees of 7.45 per cent, which is the global average.

Using blockchain, SureRemit can bypass the traditional banking system and connect customers directly to local merchants, who pay a small commission fee on each transaction.

This development builds on GreenHouse Capital’s focus on identifying new ways for blockchain and cryptocurrency to transform African markets.

In collaboration with current and prospective portfolio companies and public institutions, GreenHouse Capital plans to harness blockchain technology to accelerate Africa’s growth via the ICO market.

Describing it as a good development for African countries, a member of the investment team at GreenHouse Capital, Kelechi Nwokocha, said: “The implications of growth capital outside of equity financing is huge. It means SureRemit can scale its operations without additional capital from existing shareholders. SureRemit is just one of our 10 Fintech enabled portfolio companies that can potentially leverage blockchain to address a specific market gap, particularly in Africa. We

are happy to take the lead on blockchain and cryptocurrency implementations on the continent.�

GreenHouse Capital emerged as a pioneer in blockchain solutions for Africa. Since spinning off from Venture Garden Group in 2016, GreenHouse Capital has amassed investments in 14 leading technology companies, including mobile lending company Mines.io, human ATM network provider ESL, and Appzone, a noted African banking platform provider.

In 2017, portfolio companies Flutterwave and Helium Health raised millions of dollars in growth capital from international investors including Greycroft Partners, PayPal, and Y Combinator.

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Oduoza: There are Enormous Merchant Banking Opportunities in Nigeria History will be made today when the board and management of Nova Merchant Bank officially open the doors of the financial institution to members of the public. In this interview, the chairman of the bank, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, spoke on the offerings of the financial institution, its strategies and preparedness to face the competition. Obinna Chima presents the excepts: One of our targets, beyond being one of the most efficient banks in Nigeria, is to be one of the best in terms of credit risk quality.

In terms of asset quality, we want to have one of the best in this country and the lowest non-performing loan book. So, in terms of credit, we are building a very strong credit risk culture in the bank which will be institutionalised

What informed the name Nova?

Nova is “new” in many languages including Latin, Portuguese amongst others. The reason why we chose the name is because NOVA Merchant Bank Limited has come with new ideas, fresh thinking, cutting edge technology and excellent customer services. Our key focus is wholesale banking and investment banking and we want to bring innovations in these areas. We believe the industry has reached a stage where it needs another quantum leap to move it to the next level. Banking is changing globally with the emergence of new entrants and the infusion of non-traditional business models leveraging advances in technology. We believe Nigeria should not be left behind. Therefore, NOVA is here to bring a new experience in the banking industry. That was why we selected the name, NOVA, which means new. We want to do new things.

Why is Nova Merchant Bank coming out at this period when we know that the economy is still facing challenges?

Historically, you will notice that many organisations which emerged from economic recessions end up doing very well because they are focussed on providing solutions to the myriad of economic and financial challenges arising from such difficult periods. Take Nigeria for instance, where we have gone through a very challenging period which saw oil prices drop significantly impacting

Our key focus is wholesale banking and investment banking and we want to bring innovations in these areas. We believe the industry has reached a stage where it needs another quantum leap to move it to the next level. Banking is changing globally with the emergence of new entrants and the infusion of non-traditional business models leveraging advances in technology. We believe Nigeria should not be left behind. Therefore, NOVA is here to bring a new experience in the banking industry.

That was why we selected the name, NOVA, which means new. We want to do new things

Oduoza negatively on foreign exchange liquidity. We believe the economy has turned the corner and there could not be a better time to come into the industry than now. As the recession is now over, the economy is on an upward trajectory. In NOVA, our products, ideas and knowledge are suited to dealing with the challenges faced by Nigeria businesses. This means as the economy normalises, we scale up with it. That is why we are coming out now. As a new bank we have come with a clean slate and are well positioned to take advantage of emerging opportunities as the economy recovers.

There are four Merchant Banks already in Nigeria and Nova Merchant Bank makes it the fifth. What are those attributes that would distinguish Nova from the others?

Nova is fully licenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria to commence banking operations. In the past, we used to have Merchant Banks as well as commercial banks but that boundary was removed because of the onset of the universal banking licence just before the consolidation exercise. The implication was that banks could do both commercial and merchant banking.

In 2013, the demarcation was brought back following the review of the Universal Banking license. Therefore, you now have merchant banks and commercial banks with different areas of focus and permissible businesses.

Merchant Banks are very important because they support the economic development of the nation through the provision of long-term funding.

In Nigeria, Merchant Banking has not been fully tapped into. Banking penetration in Nigeria is mostly retail banking focussing on retail and corporate clients but we have opted for merchant banking in the strict sense of it with focus on corporate clients and investment banking.

NOVA brings the total number of merchant banks in Nigeria to five, which I believe is still very low in number. There is opportunity for more, considering the key role merchant banks play.

Why am I saying this? Merchant banks focus on wholesale and investment banking where you have advisory services, wealth management, asset management, debt capital markets, equities, project finance etc. These services are still evolving in Nigeria. The major international

financial institutions involved in investment banking are doing very well. Today, we do not have any of these banking institutions in Nigeria and this is the space NOVA would occupy not only in Nigeria but across Africa.

Bear in mind that ours is the first green field licence for a merchant bank, therefore from day one, we have been structured to operate as a merchant bank.

What have we done? We have equipped ourselves with talents and cutting-edge technology suited for merchant banking business.

We have structured our products and designed our business model around merchant banking.

NOVA is adequately capitalised above the regulatory minimum capital for the roles it has set for itself.

With the competition in the industry, are there strategies you have developed to create a niche?

Yes, there are five merchant banks today in the industry and I mentioned that we are the first greenfield licensed merchant bank. In essence, we are starting fresh from day one with skilled people and technology that are cut for merchant banking. Our products and services have been tailored and are suited for the intermediation roles we are set to play as a merchant bank.

It is very important we remain focussed in the wholesale banking and investment banking niche we selected to operate. I did mention that as far as wholesale banking is concerned, we have prepared ourselves adequately to play in that sector and we believe that we have the capabilities, technology and products to be able to compete strongly. NOVA has been very selective of its roles and will not go into areas we consider not relevant to a merchant bank.

We are just going to focus on wholesale and investment banking.

Again, we have a very strong Board that is made up of people that have distinguished themselves in various sectors and have international exposure. This comes with very strong governance that will help shape the Bank.

What are the steps taken to ensure that you don’t encounter the problem of non-performing loans that is a challenge to most banks in Nigeria today and also how sophisticated are the technologies you have deployed to

strengthen your risk management?

In terms of risk management and credit profile, you will find that the customer segments we are playing in have a lower risk profile because they are well structured and have very strong balance sheets. Secondly, we have put in place a very strong enterprise risk management framework covering market risk, operational risk, credit risk, etc. It is important to emphasise that the MD/CEO’s last role was as an Executive Director overseeing risk management in a major international bank in Nigeria. So, where you have a CEO that has risk management background, of course you should know risk management will be driven from the top. One of our targets, beyond being one of the most efficient banks in Nigeria, is to be one of the best in terms of credit risk quality. In terms of asset quality, we want to have one of the best in this country and the lowest non-performing loan book. So, in terms of credit, we are building a very strong credit risk culture in the bank which will be institutionalised.

In terms of technology, we deliberately selected technologies that are suited for merchant banking, both on the digital front, and effective customer service delivery. In addition, we have deployed very strong firewalls among other security measures to ensure our IT security architecture is fool-proof.

So, for technology we do not see much risk.

In terms of long-term funding, we are going beyond the Nigerian market. We are tapping into the development finance institutions outside the country that provide long-term on-lending facilities for customers given the fact that we have a very good customer profile. So, as far as we are concerned, we do not see any issue with that. We also believe that the Nigerian economy is moving in the right direction and that the economy will continue to expand. We have seen some diversification in the economy today and I believe the decline in oil price may have accelerated this process. We have seen what the Central Bank of Nigeria has done with respect to the Anchor Borrowers Programme as the country is almost self-sufficient in rice production. So, you can see that the economy is moving in the right direction and we believe NOVA is going to benefit from the expanding Continued on page 26

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oversight. Other directors on the Board have all distinguished themselves in their various fields. So, for us governance is key. We had a strategy session sometime ago where the focus was on governance. No matter how strong you are, you must have governance to back it up.

With governance, you will have sustainability and without governance it is just a question of time and you go down.

economy. For instance, the fact that we have a brand-new licence implies that we get it right from beginning. Efficiency is very key to us, we are not investing in huge technology infrastructure but leveraging modern technology to optimise our resources.

What is your assessment of the banking sector?

As far as we are concerned, governance is at a high level in NOVA. There are three executive directors and six nonexecutive directors.

So, we have twice the number of executive directors as nonexecutive directors.

Out of those six directors, we have four independent directors. These are very strong and accomplished personalities with diverse backgrounds.

We have on the board, a former President of ICAN and the Institute of Directors as an independent director, a retired CBN executive also as an independent director.

This implies strong governance and compliance oversight

Oduoza Having been around for a very long time, I ran the operations of a very large bank in Nigeria with footprints in so many countries all over the world.

So, I see it from the Nigerian perspective as well as from the global perspective. I think there are significant opportunities for banking in Nigeria.

The country is still underbanked. I believe that banking penetration has not gotten to the level that we would be very comfortable. We still have a lot of liquidity outside the banking system and I believe it is an opportunity for us to tap into this liquidity. In terms of merchant banking, the opportunities are enormous. We have not done so much in terms of infrastructure which offers tremendous opportunities for merchant banks.

We have not done so much in capital market where we also have tremendous opportunities.

More businesses need to tap into long term funds from the capital market.

The banking industry needs to do more in wealth management. About 1% of Nigerians benefit from this and most of these assets are managed offshore. We would like those assets to be managed in-country. With technology, you can have access to products from all over the world and you don’t need to physically move cash out of Nigeria to manage such assets. I think that asset management has a lot of upside and we have sufficient elbow room.

We also think that private equity has a lot of opportunities. If you look around, there are so many opportunities we have not tapped into and I believe that as banks continue to strengthen their risk management, strengthen

their personnel, we would start going deep into all these areas. Today, we see the foreign banks come into Nigeria without footprints, collect investment banking mandates and go ahead to execute them offshore. We would like to be the face of investment banking in Nigeria.

As you are aware, governance is very important for the survival of any business, so we would like to know the composition of the board of the bank?

Governance stands out very well in our philosophy, our activities and business principles. Our core value is encapsulated in the acronym UPLIFT. Here, U- stands for uniqueness that is we want to be unique in the way we do our things; P- stands for passion. That is, we want to be passionate in the way we serve our customers and relate with our community. L - stands for leadership because we want to lead in the niche we are playing. I- stand for integrity; while F- stands for fairness and T- teamwork.

As far as we are concerned, governance is at a high level in NOVA. There are three executive directors and six non-executive directors. So, we have twice the number of executive directors as non-executive directors. Out of those six directors, we have four independent directors. These are very strong and accomplished personalities with diverse backgrounds. We have on the board, a former President of ICAN and the Institute of Directors as an independent director, a retired CBN executive also as an independent director.

This implies strong governance and compliance

Can you take us through some of the products your bank has developed for its customers?

On the wholesale banking, we offer trade services, financing, cash management, corporate solutions, advisory etc. On the investment banking side, we are looking at mergers and acquisition, advisory services, securities and trading, wealth and asset management, project finance etc We also seek to intermediate capital flows coming into the country looking for where to invest. What we have in Nigeria today is a lot of companies that have been challenged by the past downturn. Out there in the developed economies, there are various funds and investors who are somewhat apprehensive about Africa.

They have funds they want to invest in this market because yields in their countries are low. So, we look to intermediate these flows and bring them into this market.

So, what future are you projecting for the Bank?

We want to be the leading merchant bank in this country across the spectrum of our business.

Our vision is to be Africa’s preferred financial solution provider which goes beyond this market.

We are dealing with corporate type of client which you do not need to build brick and mortar branches to serve, but they need you to be connected. We would have physical locations in some places in Nigeria because of certain factors. For example, we want to be active in the infrastructure and multi-lateral space, so it will be helpful for us to have presence in Abuja. We want to be active in the oil and gas sector, not in terms of the way it’s been done in recent past, but in bringing new ideas to that space. That means we should have a presence in the oil and gas zone.

The other thing to highlight is that we are open to partnerships. We will be having partnerships with various institutions that share the same aspiration and culture as we do in getting to markets where we can add value.

So, in the next five years, we want to be the leading merchant bank in this country. We are not saying we want to be the biggest bank in the country, but we would be a very efficient institution providing creative financial solutions in markets we serve.

Lumberjacks Cut TCN’s Line, Abuja Chamber President Felicitates with India, Calls for More Throw Nsukka into Darkness Strategic Partnership Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has said that wood loggers operating within Ukana Town along the 9th Mile to Nsukka Road in Enugu State have through their tree felling activities, damaged its transmission line between Oji River and Nsukka, thereby cutting off electricity supply to its 2X7.5 megavolt amp (MVA) 66/11 kilovolt (kV) transmission substation in Nsukka.

It explained in a statement from its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, that the substation, which supplies electricity to Nsukka Town in Enugu, was now out and the town left without electricity supply from the national grid.

According to Mbah, several attempts to transmit electricity to the town through TCN’s 66kV transmission line failed until it dispatched its lines patrol team who then discovered that loggers fell an Iroko tree on the transmission right of way, which subsequently damaged three spans of

conductors and cross arms of towers 60 to 64.

She noted that TCN’s technical crew have already visited the site and assessed the extent of damage to the line and towers.

Materials for the repair, she stated were now being sourced from the company’s stores to effect the repair and restore electricity service to the university town. “Replacement works is however expected to be completed within four days. The incident has been reported to security agencies who are currently conducting investigations with the view to apprehend the culprits,�

Mbah, said.

While apologising for the attendant discomfort to electricity consumers in Nsukka Town, TCN however assured that it would do everything possible to ensure that the transmission line would be restored quickly. It also appealed to those who have information about the loggers to report to nearest security agency or TCN office to enable it apprehend them.

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The President of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, has felicitated with India as she celebrates her 70th independent anniversary and 60years of economic relations with Nigeria.

Kayode in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, emphasised that the bilateral ties journey between the two nations, which date as far back as 1958 have moved from strength to strength and could simply be described as impressive.

He said: “On this particular occasion of the celebration of India’s 70th independent anniversary which also marks her 60 years of trade relations with Nigeria, I bring goodwill messages and felicitations to this great nation which have become a beacon of hope and aspiration to many other countries from the South which are still struggling to emancipate her citizens from the shackles of debilitating poverty and economic quagmire. “As the largest democracy in

the world, India has epitomise that rare courage and struggle for the emancipation of her population from the fangs of ignorance, illiteracy, abject poverty, disease and basic want using the highly cherished democratic ethics and good governance as stepping stones.

In a similar manner, Nigeria is also the largest black nation whose contact with India has translated to strategic partnership, which has led to a mutually benefitting cooperation.�

According to him, the relationship between Nigeria and India has gone a long way in deepening the South-South cooperation which has become a mutually benefitting platform among the citizens of both nations. In this regard, he said, Nigeria-India trade relations stood at US$10billion as at 2017 with more prospects for the future of our nation especially in areas of agriculture, science and technology, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), education, health care, energy, automobile and general manufacturing, among others. “We have many lessons to learn from this special gift to the South specially as it has

succeeded in gallantly stepping out of nations with high abject poverty index to a prosperous country whose economy is

booming and has made appreciable progress in human development indices within a record time�, Kayode stated.

‘Manufacturing Will Lift Nigeria Out of Poverty’ Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu Foremost Economist and a former Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof Osita Ogbu has said that the nation’s poverty level will continue to remain high until there’s a proper transition from oil to manufacturing. Ogbu, who spoke at a one day Dialogue on the federal government’s 2018 budget proposal and what it contains for the south east zone, which took place at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, lamented the absence of a deliberate policy to tackle poverty in the country. “You can grow all you like, driven by oil, poverty will remain there. You need to move people to the area their productivity will improve; its improved productivity that

leads to improved income and that takes you out of poverty. “This sequence is observed all over the world, for you to get out of poverty, the growth of industry is required and there’s no substitute,� he said.

Ogbu who is also the Director of the Institute for Development Studies of the University of Nigeria, also asked Nigerians not to expect so much as a result of the nation’s exit from recession, insisting that the impact could only be felt after a consistent growth of the economy. “Getting out of recession is not equivalent to blossoming economy; it simply means that rather than negative growth, there’s a slight improvement.

For you to feel the impact of a growing economy, that growth must not only be above the population, it must also be consistent over the years.

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‘Ericsson 5G Radio Dot Gives Big Boost to Indoor Coverage’ Stories by Emma Okonji With mobile data traffic surging by eight times and one billion 5G subscriptions expected by the end of 2023, Ericsson has advised that mobile operators must meet consumer and enterprise demand for applications such as 4K/8K video streaming, virtual reality/augmented reality, and immersive media, in order to accommodate the expected surge. According to Ericsson, this puts out a strong call for indoor coverage, which cannot be easily addressed by outdoor radio deployments as modern building materials can block outdoor radio signals.

Ericsson however said that it is meeting the challenge by introducing the 5G Radio Dot, a small cell radio designed to satisfy the advanced indoor mobile broadband performance requirements demanded by 5G. Building on the elegant design of previous generations, the 5G Radio Dot takes less than half the time to install compared to other indoor solutions, and will support the

new 5G mid-bands (3-6GHz) with speeds up to 2Gbps.

Head of Product Area Network Infrastructure at Ericsson, Nishant Batra, said: “Adding small cell solutions to our 5G portfolio is a natural part of the network evolution. Enterprises have been asking for first-rate connectivity indoors, as well as higher speeds and capacity to serve advanced use cases that cannot be addressed by traditional indoor systems. Our 5G portfolio, bolstered by small cells, will enable operators to meet these demands.�

Practice Leader, Ovum, Daryl Schoolar, said: “Now that first 5G standards are here, vendors are going to need multiple radio solutions to help operators roll out their new 5G networks.

Ericsson takes an important initial step in this direction by adding indoor small cell 5G solutions to its already existing outdoor 5G RAN portfolio. This new indoor solution from Ericsson is going to be attractive for operators wanting to offer enterprises

good indoor performance for enhanced mobile broadband and new industrial applications that can’t be met by Wi-Fi or 5G base stations deployed outdoors.�

Deputy Head of China Mobile Research Institute, Huang Yuhong, also said: “The Ericsson Radio Dot System is already widely deployed in our 4G networks. As an innovative small cell solution, it further enhances our indoor solutions and will continue to play a key role in the 5G era.

We’re happy to see Ericsson evolving the Radio Dot to 5G technology.�

As a natural evolution of the Ericsson Radio Dot System, operators will be able to deploy 5G Radio Dot next to 4G solutions using the same cabling infrastructure, same network architecture and dot locations.

The innovative small cell solution provides a simple upgrade path for existing Radio Dot System deployments, adding 5G technology capabilities. It is easy to add frequency, capacity, and technologies.

Facebook Reports SME Revenue Rise on Its Platform Facebook, in its recent Economic Impact Study, revealed the growing importance of digital platforms to small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

Using the platform to trade, 91 per cent of businesses surveyed, outlined the increased demand they have seen for their company’s goods/ services, beyond their home country. The study, conducted in partnership with Morning Consult Brand Intelligence, sampled over 1,000 SMEs across a number of sectors including Technology, Services, Manufacturing, Retail and Healthcare, highlighted how communities like SMEs in Nigeria use the platform, and the effectiveness of social media as a growth tool. The results provide some interesting insights into usage and potential opportunities for

local businesses.

Commenting on the research, SMB Sales Manager Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Abi Williams, said: “With rising access to the internet across Nigeria, and the low cost of smartphones, digital platforms such as Facebook’s family of apps have become incredible mechanisms to build communities and foster relationships. With more SMEs leveraging digital tools to communicate and engage with existing and potential customers, there have never been so many opportunities to maximise growth, and connect with relevant customers locally and globally.�

According to the survey, 82 per cent of respondents stated that they use Facebook for businesses purposes, with 60 per cent highlighting their usage as several times a day.

About 68 per cent believe that Facebook has had a positive impact on their local community, with 56 per cent saying that it has helped to create jobs and economic opportunities locally.

Having a positive financial impact is also highlighted as a benefit, with 64 per cent saying that Facebook has helped them to maintain profit for their business.

The use of Facebook Messenger is also cited as a key source of keeping in touch with customers, with over half of respondents, which is about 58 per cent, stating that they use this several times a day for this purpose.

Meanwhile, 89 per cent of respondents said they use the platform because they are able to attract customers in other countries, thus increasing sales opportunities.

African Tech StartUps Raise $195 Million Africa’s tech revolution is picking up speedily with 2017 proving the best year on record for the continent’s tech startups as investment topped $195 million over the course of the year.

New research by entrepreneurship portal Disrupt Africa showed that in 2017 the number of African tech startups to raise funding hit 159, up from 146 companies in 2016. In 2015, only 125 startups managed to attract investment.

Investor confidence and willingness to back African tech ventures is clearly accelerating.

The total funding raised by these companies, $195,060,845, also marks a 51 per cent rise on the previous year’s figures, taking investment into African startups to an all-time record high. “The tech entrepreneurship ecosystem is really coming into its own across Africa.

There have been years of speculation as to whether the tech-first Africa narrative is real or just hype, but these numbers emerging in our research show undeniably that African startups are impacting all aspects of daily life and service delivery,� says Gabriella Mulligan, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.

While startups are using technology to shake-up everything from healthcare to home cleaning, fintech has been by far the best-backed sector since tracking began.

In 2017, almost one-third of all funding went to fintech companies – this proportion has remained stable over the past three years.

A few other sectors also saw success in 2017. Although e-commerce floundered in 2016 – receiving little support from investors – this trend reversed in 2017. The

e-commerce space grew 350 per cent on the previous year to collect over $16 million in investment over the course of the year.

With nearly one billion people in Africa active as small holder farmers, it comes as no surprise that entrepreneurs and investors alike are starting to tap into the agri-tech space.

This space is charting out a decidedly upward trajectory, with funding into this sector growing 203 per cent in 2017. “Areas like agri-tech and e-health offer the perfect balancing of motivations for investors. With vast untapped markets in need of innovative new solutions, and the substantial impact element of ventures operating in these areas, these investments offer both sizeable returns and impact,� Mulligan said.

THE ENTREPRENEUR’S BEST FRIEND DEBBIE LARRY-IZAMOJE

Six Best Ways to Stay Motivated As An Entrepreneur Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă˜Ă?Ă Ă?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ Ùà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ăž ĂĄĂ’Ă“ĂœĂ–ĂĄĂ“Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ ÞÒËÞ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă‹ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ’Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒËÞ ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă™Ă&#x;Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‘ĂŁËœ Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă’Ă“Ę°Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŒĂ–Ă?Ă—Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ÞÒËÞ Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă‘Ă?Ăž Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă?Ù×ÚÖÓĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂ?Ë› Ă™ĂžĂ“Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ åËâ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ăž ÞËÕĂ?Ă? Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ĘľĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă?ÞËã ÚÙĂ?ÓÞÓà Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹ Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă–Ě‹Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄĂ˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂŽ ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ Ă‹ĂœĂ• Ă&#x;Ă?Ă•Ă?ĂœĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ‘ ÞÙ ĂžĂ?Ă Ă? Ă™ĂŒĂ? ÞÙ Ă?ĘĽ Ă?äÙĂ? Ă‹Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă‘ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ ÙÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă™ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă™ĂžĂ?Ëœ ÞÓÕĂ&#x; ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ‹Ă•Ă‹ĂœËœ Ă™Ă–Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă™ ÖËÕÓÔË Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă•Ă&#x;Ă˜ ĂĄĂ™Ă?Ă“Ă•Ă‹ Ă‹Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ăž ÙÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ’Ă™ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă?Ă˜ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă’ĂžĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› ÓÞÒ ÞÒÓĂ? Ă‹ĂŽĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂŽĂ“Ă–ĂŁ Ă‹Ă Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă‹Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ę¨Ă˜Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂžĂ“ĂšĂ?Ëœ ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă? Ă˜Ă™ Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ăž ĂĄĂ’Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ?Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă‹ĂŁË›

Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă‹ĂŽËœ ĂŒĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă—ĂŁ Ă™ĂĄĂ˜ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă‹ĂšĂšĂœĂ™Ă‹Ă?Ă’ ÞÙ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ×ÙÞÓà ËÞĂ?ĂŽ ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă™ĂĄĂ˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› Stay positive Ă’Ă?Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ę¨Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă? Ă‘Ă™Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’ĂžËœ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÚÙĂ?ÓÞÓà Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ“ĘĽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ë›

ËŞĂ Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ăž ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă—Ă? ÞÙ Ă?ÞËã ÚÙĂ?ÓÞÓà Ă? Ă“Ă? ÞÙ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ÞÙĂ&#x;Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂžĂ™Ă˜Ă? ĂšĂœĂ‹Ă?ÞÓĂ?Ă?Ă? ÞÒËÞ

Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă—Ă? ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă• ÞÙ Ă‹ Ă?ÞËÞĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă—Ă™ĂžĂ“Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă‹ĂšĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë›

Ă™Ă&#x;ËŞĂ–Ă– Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“Ă?Ă•Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă– Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? ÚÙĂ?ÓÞÓà Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă?Ë› Have a motivational mantra

Ă?Ă?Ăš ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž åÓÞÒ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă Ă‹Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂŁ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂŁ Ă?Ă‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒËÞ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ăž ÞÙ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă‘Ă?Ăž ĂŽĂ“ĘŠĂ?Ă&#x;ÖÞ˛

Ăž ĂŽĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă˜ËŞĂž Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă–Ă™Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ù×ÚÖÓĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽËœ Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ Ă?Ù×Ă?ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă?Ëœ ËŤ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŽĂ™ ÞÒÓĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ

åÓÖÖ˛ˏ Ă“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă‹ Ă Ă?ĂœĂŒĂ‹Ă– ÞÙĂ&#x;Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂžĂ™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ ÞÙ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ×Ù×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă– Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂšĂ“ĂœĂ?ĂŽ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă’Ă?Ă–Ăš ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ù×Ă? ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă• ÞÙ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă Ă‹Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă—Ă—Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă–ĂŁË› Cut o the negative people

Ă˜ Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? åÓÞÒ ÚÙĂ?ÓÞÓà Ă? ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ?Ëœ ÓÞ˪Ă? Ă‹ ÑÙÙÎ Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă‹ ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă˜Ă?ÑËÞÓà Ă? ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ù×Ă?ÞÓ×Ă?Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă“Ă–ĂŁ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂŒĂ‹ĂŽ

Ă˜ Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“ĂšËœ ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă–ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ë› Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž Ó×ÚÙĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŒĂ–Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă– Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂ&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?ĂœĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂŁ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ ÖÓʾÖĂ? Ă—Ă“Ă?ÞËÕĂ?Ë› Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ ÞÒËÞ Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁĂ™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒËÞ Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœË› Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ×Ùà Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒËÞ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? Ă?ĂžĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ“Ă?Ă?Ăœ åÓÞÒ Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăš Ă™Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ÚËÞÒ

Believe in yourself

Ă˜ Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“ĂšËœ ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă–ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ë›

Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž Ó×ÚÙĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŒĂ–Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă– Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂ&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?ĂœĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂŁ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ ÖÓʾÖĂ? Ă—Ă“Ă?ÞËÕĂ?Ë› Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ ÞÒËÞ Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁĂ™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒËÞ Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœË› Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ×Ùà Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒËÞ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? Ă?ĂžĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ“Ă?Ă?Ăœ åÓÞÒ Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăš Ă™Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ÚËÞÒ˛ Surround yourself with positive people Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă? Ă˜Ă™Ăž ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă˜Ă Ă“ĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžË› Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? ĂŽĂ“ĘŠĂ?Ă&#x;Ă–Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž ÚÙĂ?ÓÞÓà Ă? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? Ę¨Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ăž ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ?Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂŽ åÓÞÒ Ă˜Ă?ÑËÞÓà ÓÞã ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁ Ă™Ă&#x;Þ˛ Ă™Ëœ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? ÞÒËÞ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă•Ă?Ă?Ăš ÞÒĂ? Ă?ËÓÞÒ˛

ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ? Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă– Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘ĂœĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁĂ™Ă˜Ă? ĂŽĂ™Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă&#x;Ăž ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ Ă?Ù×Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă’ĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă˜Ă‹ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă•Ă?Ă?Ăš ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂŽĂ™ĂĄĂ˜Ëœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ÞÓà ÓÞã Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÓÞ˪Ă? ÞÓ×Ă? ÞÙ ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă– ÞÒĂ?Ă— Ă‘Ă™Ă™ĂŽĂŒĂŁĂ?Ë› Find ways to reward yourself Ù×Ă?ÞÓ×Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă™ĂžĂ“Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă? Ă”Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž Ă˜Ă™Ăž ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ Ă?ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă—Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž ĂšĂœĂ“Ă—Ă‹Ă– ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁĂ? ÞÙ Ę¨Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ăž Ă‹Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ë› Ă?Ăž ĂœĂ?ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? ÞÒËÞ ĂœĂ?ĘŽĂ?Ă?Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÓäĂ? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?Ăž ÞÒËÞ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ù×ÚÖÓĂ?Ă’Ë? Ă?Ă—Ă‹Ă–Ă– ĂœĂ?ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ‹Ă– ÞËĂ?Ă•Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă?Ăœ ĂœĂ?ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ę¨Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂŒĂ“Ă‘ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?Þ˛ Ăž Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? ĂžĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ëœ Ă Ă‹Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÓ×Ă?Ëœ Ă™Ăœ Ă‹ ĂšĂ?ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă”Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂĄĂ’Ă‹Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă?Ë›

ABOUT DEBBIE LARRY-IZAMOJE Debbie Larry-Izamoje AKA The Entrepreneur’s Best-Friend holds a BSc in Information management from the University of SheďŹƒeld, United Kingdom, and MSc in management from University College London (UCL). She has also secured certiďŹ cates in user innovation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Innovation and strategy from Harvard University.

She is on a mission to raise a generation of young established or soon to be established professionals who are more vocal about business diďŹƒculties while providing solutions through public speaking, training, workshops and coaching.

She is the founder of the Image Boosters a full service agency with core services in digital marketing, PR, branding and more.

Website: www.imageboosters.com.ng Instagram: @dee_larry @imageboosters_ Email: contactus@ imageboosters.com.ng or debbie@imageboosters.com.ng, 08050464111 (text only)

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

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As Stakeholders Await NCC, CBN’s Nod on 9mobile Sale Although the interim board of 9mobile last week adopted Teleology as the preferred bidder and Smile as the reserve bidder for the sale of the telco, the outcome of the transaction is still subject to the approval of NCC and the CBN, writers Emma Okonji The interim board of 9mobile, last week, announced its choice of preferred and reserve bidders of 9mobile, based on the recommendation of Barclays Africa, the financial adviser handling the sale of the telecoms company.

Up to 16 telecoms operators and investors had indicated their interests to acquire 9mobile, but the number was pruned down to five before the final bid submission on January 16.

The interim board announced Teleology Holdings Limited as the preferred bidder and Smile Telecoms Holdings as the reserve bidder.

The announcement by the interim board may have brought to an end, the keenly competitive process for the acquisition of 9mobile. But the final decision of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will put the issue to rest as to who becomes the authentic preferred and reserve bidders between the two finalists, if the laid down decision-making stages for the selection are strictly adhered to.

Decision making stages Before the bid process for the acquisition of 9mobile was made open to interested investors in June last year, there were set rules that comprise three different stages as to how the true winner of the auction process will emerge.

The rules were that at the first stage, Barclays Africa will call for Expression of Interest (EoI) from willing investors, and thereafter allow the investors some time to evaluate the strength, weaknesses and liabilities of 9mobile, before submitting their bids for the acquisition of the telecoms company.

After the final bid submission, which came with a deadline of January 16, 2018, Barclays Africa will then evaluate the bids and make recommendations to the interim board of 9mobile, based on the statistics provided by the bidders.

On receipt of the recommendations from Barclays Africa, which is the beginning of the second stage of the auction process, the interim board will then meet to evaluate the recommendations and then make its selection for the preferred and reserve bidders, based on the recommendation and the statistics presented to it by Barclays Africa. After the preferred and reserve bidders must have been selected by the board, it will then forward the selected names and the criteria for selection to NCC and CBN, and notify them of its preference and selection process, since they are the telecoms industry regulator, and the financial industry regulator respectively. The notification, which marks the end of the second stage, will enable the two regulatory bodies to ratify the recommendations and selection in accordance with the terms of the bid exercise.

While 9mobile belongs to the telecoms industry that is being regulated by NCC, the 13 banks that lent money to the telecoms company, that triggered the planned sale of 9mobile in order to recoup the loan, belong to the money deposit banks that is being regulated by CBN, hence their involvement.

The third and final stage of the bid process is for NCC and CBN to meet and ratify both the recommendations of Barclays Africa and the selection by the board, before giving approval for the actual preferred bidder to commence the process of getting operational licence that will be issued by NCC. After NCC and CBN must have given their nods to the preferred bidder, the winner will then apply to NCC in order to commence the processes for securing the regulatory approvals from the board of the NCC necessary to give full effect to the transfer of 9mobile operational licence to the new owner before it could legally operate and take full possession of 9mobile.

Based on the three stages in the auction process that will lead to the emergence of the preferred and reserve bidders, all eyes are on NCC and CBN to meet and give their final approval based on the statistics that will be presented to them by the interim board.

CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin EmeďŹ ele

Mixed industry views Having been recommended by Barclays Africa and selected by the interim board of 9mobile as the preferred bidder for 9mobile, Teleology is expected to pay the full value of 9mobile within 30 days from the day of approval and thereafter commence the process of getting regulatory approval for the transfer of 9mobile licence, but subject to the final approval by NCC and CBN. It is based on this premise that some industry stakeholders are of the view that NCC should accept the recommendations and judgment of Barclays Africa and the board respectively, in order to put an end to the controversies rocking the sales of 9mobile, since the auction process was made open to investors in June 2017.

Some of the industry players, who commended the transparency in the auction process, said it was a positive development for the Nigerian telecommunications sector and for 9mobile, and a positive signal to the international investment community.

One of the stakeholders, who is the President of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said: “The NCC took the interest of investors, subscribers, and employees of 9mobile into consideration in ensuring a seamless and transparent process.

There would have been a serious problem if 9mobile had gone under, especially with the job of over 2,000 Nigerians on the line. This would also have been a disincentive for the much needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

We commend all participants in the process and with the emergence of Teleology, we are sure 9mobile is in safe hands.�

A staff of 9mobile, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “This news is like a double whopper burger for us. I can tell you there is an air of jubilation among the staff of 9mobile now. We did not want any of the existing operators to acquire 9mobile as they would end up sacking people and throwing people into the unemployment market under the guise of right sizing the business.�

Divergent views Just as some stakeholders are commending the auction process of 9mobile, others are calling on NCC not to depend solely on the financial bid of the two final contenders, but to also consider their managerial skills before giving its final approval. They also based their arguments on the amount of money said to have been promised by Teleology Holdings Limited and Smile Telecoms Holdings during the final submission of their

Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta CEO, 9mobile, Mr. Boye Olusanya

bid documents, which they insist, is in conflict.

It was reported that Teleology promised $500 million and Smile promised $300 million in their bid documents. But the stakeholders are insisting that the figures are conflicting since the actual amount promised by both contenders was not officially released by Barclays Africa or the interim board.

Although they admitted that Teleology must have promised an amount higher than what Smile promised, they, however, called on NCC to consider the financial strengths and weaknesses of both contenders, in giving its nod for the preferred and reserve bidders. Instead, they counselled that managerial acumen, industry track record and technology adroitness should be uppermost on the consideration table. They are calling for re-appraisal of the last two companies standing out of the 16 companies that started the race for the acquisition of 9mobile since June 2017.

The final contenders The two finalists, Smile Telecoms Holdings and Teleology Holdings Limited parade former CEOs of MTN Nigeria as their strongmen for the bid.

Teleology Holdings Limited is led by Adrian Wood, the second CEO of MTN Nigeria, who took over from the first CEO, Mr. Karel Piennar, while Smile Telecoms Holdings has one of its leaders, Ahmad Farroukh, who was also one time CEO of MTN Nigeria, after Wood’s tenure.

Wood left MTN to become Group Managing Director of Daily Times of Nigeria and currently the CEO of Brymedia West Africa Limited.

Teleology Holdings Limited is a consortium of companies believed to enjoy the backing of notable Nigerians including frontline politicians, revered traditional rulers and business executives as shareholders.

It is a Special Purpose Vehicle designed specifically for the 9mobile bid.

Teleology seeks to acquire and develop underperforming telecoms and electronic media operations in emerging markets. It has deep expertise in recovery and transformation of licensed fixed and mobile operators as well as design consulting, application and content service providers.

On the other hand, Farroukh became the Group Executive Director in charge of Operations at Smile Telecoms Holdings, after he left the services of MTN. Between July 2006 and April 2011, Farroukh increased MTN subscriber base to 40 million and achieved 62 per cent healthy margin. He

had the distinction of managing 17 operations of the MTN Group after he left Nigeria.

Smile Nigeria, a member of Smile Telecoms Holdings Limited, launched West Africa’s true 4G LTE network in Ibadan in 2013 thereby revolutionising the way people access the internet.

The company became the first operator in West Africa to offer its customers Voice over LTE services and give them access to the growing global standard for voice and video calling.

Smile launched Africa’s First commercial 4G LTE network in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in May 2013, revolutionising the way people access information online. Since then, Smile has extended its coverage in Tanzania to seven regions and also launched commercially in Uganda in June 2013, with coverage expanded to 14 cities. In March 2014 Smile launched West-Africa’s first 4G LTE mobile broadband service in Nigeria with coverage now extended to eight cities.

By the end of 2015, Smile had the biggest 4G LTE mobile broadband network in Africa and continues to expand its network coverage.

In 2016 Smile launched its SuperClear voice, video and SMS services over LTE, enabling customers to use one data bundle for SuperFast broadband and SuperClear voice services. Smile has transitioned from A spectrum rich start-up to the most reliable data gigabyte factory in sub-Sahara Africa.

The need to avoid more controversies In order to completely overcome the controversies that have been rocking the sale of 9mobile since June last year, as well as put an end to more unforeseen controversies, industry operators have called on NCC and the CBN to expedite action in the final approval of the preferred bidder.

They advised NCC to avoid a situation where the past controversies would rear its ugly head again to destabilise the efforts of all parties involved in what they described as the transparent sale of 9mobile.

Citing some of the controversies like the protest letter that was jointly signed by NCC and CBN against Barclays for an alleged improper handling of the sale of 9mobile at a point in time, and the court injunction obtained by Spectrum Wireless Limited to stop the sale of 9mobile, they are of the view that if the matters were not handled swiftly with high sense of understanding, they would derail the entire process of getting a new investor for 9mobile which is on the verge of completion.

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͯ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

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Banks Achieve Operational Excellence with Corona Solution Stories by Emma Okonji Determined to maintain high level of accuracy, integrity and confidence in data management, top Nigerian banks like First Bank, Zenith Bank, Ecobank and Access Bank, had in the last three years, taken some steps ahead of others in the financial industry to attain varying degrees of enterprise-wide reconciliation and transaction investigation by the adoption and implementation of TLM Corona Solution.

The solution, which is a highly automated, highly scalable, and centralised tool for multi-product reconciliation and exceptions management, ranked No. 1 in the world for big data management.

Some of the product types automated by the banks with the TLM Corona Recon solution include ATM, POS, NIP, RTGS, Nostro, Branch and Head Office GL Suspense, e-Banking products, Confirmation messages, Commodities

and Securities, among others.

In general, ranging from Balance Sheet Substantiation, Card Processing Controls, Cash and Securities, Data Aggregation, Exchange Traded Derivatives, FX Confirmations, Inter-systems, Net Asset Value (NAV), On Demand Reconciliations, Reconciliations BPO – Corona TLM Reconciliations Utility is well positioned to offer customers the desired advantage on the ever increasing reconciliation need.

In one of the project closeout ceremony attended by a customer who is about the biggest bank in Nigeria, the Managing Director of ActivEdge Technologies Ltd, Mr. George Agu, shared his appreciation and excitement with the customer over the impressive and remarkable results achieved and the performance of the system.

George said: “We are very impressed by the sheer volume of products and

accounts that the team has on-boarded and automated in the system across the head office and regional operations within such a short period of time. Equally impressive is the volume of transactions (which runs into millions – processed daily in the system) and the early hour in which branches are advised of transactions needing special attention and closure of all cases raised by the system”. It was also remarked that TLM Corona Recon Solution which currently runs in over 2000 banks globally, can integrate all known core banking platforms including BankFusion, Finnacle, Oracle Flexcube, T24, Phoenix, among others.

In addition, the integration of corporate actions reconciliation and detection of exceptions in transactions leading to investigations and system performance enable banks to reduce their operational risk and cost through continual process improvement.

Fulbright Scholars Trains 200 English Teachers in Ondo, Oyo States The Alumni of the US government sponsored Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Programme, last week, concluded a four-day workshop for primary school English Language teachers, where over 200 English Language teachers were trained in Ondo and Oyo states.

The workshop tagged: “A Communicative Approach to English Language Instruction”, was held at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, from January 17-18 and Abraham Adesanya College of Education, Oyo Town, Oyo State from January 24-25.

The FLTA Alumni under the aegis of Fulbright Language Scholars Association of Nigeria, received a public diplomacy grant from the United States Consulate General in Lagos to train 200 teachers drawn from

public and private schools in the two states. Public Affairs Officer, US Consulate General, Ms. Darcy Zotter, explained that workshop was aimed at providing the participants with new ideas and 21st century skills needed to teach English Language in elementary schools.

“US Government exchange alumni have been at the forefront of promoting access to qualitative education, good governance and civic engagement throughout Nigeria.

“They have strong ties to their communities and with the support of the US Mission, create and execute projects to address specific needs, including basic education.

“Our support for this project demonstrates U.S. government’s continuing commitment to the education sector and

English teaching and learning in Nigeria,” Zotter said.

General Secretary, Fulbright Language Scholars Association, Ms. Oladoyin Abiona, said the alumni group hoped to build a professional network of elementary English Language teachers for knowledge sharing.

“Our overall objective is to facilitate the advancement of education in Nigeria,” she added. The Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program is a nine-month non degree study that provides young teachers of English as a Foreign Language the opportunity to refine their teaching skills and broaden their knowledge of American cultures and customs. FLTA Fellows in turn serve as teaching assistants/teachers of their native language in an American university.

Aenergy Joins Afreximbank Shareholding Obinna Chima Continuing the broadening of its shareholder base targeting African investors, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced the coming on board of Angola-based panAfrican conglomerate Aenergy as a shareholder, following its successful subscription to Class “B” shares of the African multilateral trade finance bank.

The shareholding became effective on 25 January and followed discussions between the Bank and representatives of Aenergy led by the founder, Ricardo Machado, and Jorge Morgado, co-CEOs of the company.

Aenergy, which started operations in Angola, is a pan-African “end-to-end solutions provider”, integrating structured financing and aggregated technology to deliver innovative and competitive

solutions for new publicprivate strategic investment in Africa led by main players from the continent, with its current focus being on Angola, Cameroon, Cote d´Ivoire, Ghana and Mozambique.

Aenergy has services spanning project development, procurement, logistics, engineering and execution; operations and maintenance services; and training, industrial manufacturing/assembly, with a long-term commitment to performance-driven technical assistance focused on digitalization to enhance localisation and empower the final client.

A statement explained that the company develops projects to the highest international standards and implements projects in several industries, namely gas-to-power energy production, oil and gas, rail transportation, industrial installation and mining services.

Consistent with Afreximbank’s founding philosophy as a public private partnership, the Bank’s shareholders are a mix of public and private entities divided into four classes and consist of African governments, central banks, regional and sub-regional institutions, private investors and financial institutions, as well as non-African financial institutions, export credit agencies and private investors.

Class “A” shareholders are African states, African central banks and African public institutions, including the African Development Bank, while Class “B” is made up of African private investors, mainly financial institutions and corporates.

Class “C” shares are held by non-African investors, mostly international banks and export credit agencies, while Class “D” shares can be held by any investor.

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT OLODU KEONYEDI

Important Characteristics Every Young Nigerian Entrepreneur Should Have àÏÜã ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜÓËÖ ÍÒËÜËÍÞÏÜÓÝÞÓÍ ÓÝ ÖÏËÜØËÌÖÏ˛ Ù ×ËØã ãÙßØÑ ÓÑÏÜÓËØÝ áËØÞ ÞÙ ÌÏÍÙ×Ï ËØ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßܘ ÝÞËÜÞ Ë ÌßÝÓØÏÝÝ ËØÎ ÑÏÞ ʨØËØÍÓËÖ ÐÜÏÏÎÙ× ÌßÞ ×Ëã ØÙÞ ÕØÙá ÒÙá˛ Ù ÌÏ Ë ÝßÍÍÏÝÝÐßÖ ãÙßØÑ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßܘ ÞÒÏÜÏ ËÜÏ àËÜÓÙßÝ ÝÕÓÖÖÝ ËØÎ ÍÒËÜËÍÞÏÜÓÝÞÓÍÝ ãÙß ×ßÝÞ ÒËàÏ˛ ßÍÍÏÝÝÐßÖ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜÝ ËÜÏ ÐÜÏÛßÏØÞÖã ÞÒÙßÑÒÞ ÙÐ ËÝ ØËÞÓÙØËÖ ËÝÝÏÞÝ ÞÙ ÌÏ ÍßÖÞÓàËÞÏΘ ×ÙÞÓàËÞÏÎ ËØÎ ÜÏ×ßØÏÜËÞÏÎ ÞÙ ÞÒÏ ÑÜÏËÞÏÝÞ ÚÙÝÝÓÌÖÏ ÏâÞÏØÞ˛ ØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜÝ ÍËØ ÍÒËØÑÏ ÞÒÏ áËã áÏ ÖÓàÏ ËØÎ áÙÜÕ˛ Ð ÝßÍÍÏÝÝÐßÖ˜ ÞÒÏÓÜ ÓØØÙàËÞÓÙØÝ ×Ëã Ó×ÚÜÙàÏ ÙßÜ ÝÞËØÎËÜÎ ÙÐ ÖÓàÓØј ËØÎ ÓØ ËÎÎÓÞÓÙØ ÞÙ ÍÜÏËÞÓØÑ áÏËÖÞÒ áÓÞÒ ÞÒÏÓÜ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜÓËÖ àÏØÞßÜÏݘ ÞÒÏã ËÖÝÙ ÍÜÏËÞÏ ÔÙÌÝ ÐÙÜ Ë ÚÜÙÝÚÏÜÙßÝ ÝÙÍÓÏÞã˛ ßÍÍÏÝÝ ÎÙÏÝ ØÙÞ ÒËÚÚÏØ ÙàÏÜØÓÑÒÞ˜ ÓÞ ÞËÕÏÝ ÒËÜÎ áÙÜÕ˜ ÚÏÜÝÏàÏÜËØÍÏ ËØÎ ÍÙØÞÓØßËÖ ÝÏÖÐ̋ Ó×ÚÜÙàÏ×ÏØÞ˛ àÏÜã ÒÓÑÒÖã ÝßÍÍÏÝÝÐßÖ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜ ÒËÝ Ë ÑÜÏËÞ ÝÞÙÜã ÞÙ ÞÏÖÖ˛ ÒÏÜÏ ËÜÏ Ë ÑÜÏËÞ Øß×ÌÏÜ ÙÐ ÍÙ××ÙØ ÍÒËÜËÍÞÏÜÓÝÞÓÍÝ ÞÒËÞ ËÜÏ ÝÒËÜÏÎ Ìã ÝßÍÍÏÝÝÐßÖ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜݲ

Þ áÓÖÖ ÓØÞÏÜÏÝÞ ãÙß ÞÙ ÕØÙá ÞÒËÞ ËÖÖ ÞÒÙÝÏ ÍÒËÜËÍÞÏÜÓÝÞÓÍÝ ËÜÏ ÖÏËÜØËÌÖÏ˛ Being an entrepreneur is achievable ÒÏÜÏ˪Ý ÙØÏ ÞÒÓØÑ ÞÒËÞ ÏàÏÜã ËÝÚÓÜÓØÑ ãÙßØÑ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜ ØÏÏÎÝ ÞÙ ÕÏÏÚ ÓØ ×ÓØΘ ËØÎ ÞÒËÞ ÓÝ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜÝÒÓÚ ÍÙ×ÏÝ áÓÞÒ Ë ÚÜÓÍÏ˛ ÒÏ ÚÜÓÍÏ ×Ëã ÍÙ×Ï ÓØ ÐÙÜ× ÙÐ Ë ÖÙÞ ÙÐ ÖÏËÜØÓØј áÙÜÕ˜ ÞÓ×Ϙ ÏØÏÜÑã ËØÎ ÙÍÍËÝÓÙØËÖÖã ×ÙØÏã˛ ÏÜÏ ËÜÏ ÝÏàÏÜËÖ ÚÙáÏÜÐßÖ ÓØÝÓÑÒÞÝ ÍÙØÍÏÜØÓØÑ ÞÒÏ ÝÕÓÖÖÝ ËØÎ ÞÜËÓÞÝ ÞÒËÞ ËØ ËÝÚÓÜÓØÑ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜ ÝÒÙßÖÎ ÚÜÏÝÏØÞ áÒÓÖÏ ÏØÞÏÜÓØÑ ÞÒÏ ÑË×Ï ÙÐ ÌßÝÓØÏÝݲ Do what you enjoy and passionate about ÒËÞ ãÙß ÑÏÞ ÙßÞ ÙÐ ãÙßÜ ÌßÝÓØÏÝÝ ÓØ ÞÒÏ ÐÙÜ× ÙÐ ÚÏÜÝÙØËÖ ÝËÞÓÝÐËÍÞÓÙؘ ʨØËØÍÓËÖ ÑËÓØ ËØÎ ÏØÔÙã×ÏØÞ áÓÖÖ ÌÏ ÞÒÏ Ýß× ÙÐ áÒËÞ ãÙß ÚßÞ ÓØÞÙ ãÙßÜ ÌßÝÓØÏÝݲ Ð ãÙß ÎÙØ˪Þ ÏØÔÙã áÒËÞ ãÙß ËÜÏ ÎÙÓØј ÍÒËØÍÏÝ ËÜÏ ãÙß áÙØ˪Þ ÝßÍÍÏÏβ ËÝÝÓÙØ ÓÝ ÞÒÏ ×ÙÝÞ Ó×ÚÙÜÞËØÞ ÍÒËÜËÍÞÏÜÓÝÞÓÍÝ ÙÐ ÞÒÏ ÝßÍÍÏÝÝÐßÖ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßܲ Ùß ×ßÝÞ ÑÏØßÓØÏÖã ÖÙàÏ ãÙßÜ áÙÜÕݲ Ùß ×ßÝÞ ÌÏ áÓÖÖÓØÑ ÞÙ ÚßÞ ÓØ ÏâÞÜË ÒÙßÜÝ ÞÙ ×ËÕÏ ÞÒÏ ÌßÝÓØÏÝÝ ÝßÍÍÏÏÎ ÌÏÍËßÝÏ ÞÒÏÜÏ ÓÝ Ë ÔÙã ãÙßÜ ÌßÝÓØÏÝÝ ÑÓàÏÝ áÒÓÍÒ ÑÙÏÝ ÌÏãÙØÎ ×ÙØÏã˛ àÏÜã ÝßÍÍÏÝÝÐßÖ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜ áÓÖÖ ËÖáËãÝ ÜÏÝÏËÜÍÒ áËãÝ ÞÙ ×ËÕÏ ÒÓÝ ÌßÝÓØÏÝÝ ÌÏʵÏܲ You must have high determination and willpower

Ø ÙÜÎÏÜ ÞÙ áÓØ ËÞ ÌßÝÓØÏÝݘ ãÙßÜ ÎÏÞÏÜ×ÓØËÞÓÙØ ËØÎ áÓÖÖÚÙáÏÜ ØÏÏÎ ÞÙ ÏâÍÏÏÎ ÏàÏÜã ÓØÓÞÓËÖ ÝÏÞÌËÍÕ˛ ØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜÝ ËÜÏ ØÙÞ ÞÒáËÜÞÏÎ Ìã ÞÒÏÓÜ ÎÏÐÏËÞݲ ÒÏã ÖÙÙÕ ËÞ ÎÏÐÏËÞ ËÝ ËØ ÙÚÚÙÜÞßØÓÞã ÐÙÜ ÝßÍÍÏÝݲ ÒÏã ËÜÏ ÎÏÞÏÜ×ÓØÏÎ ÞÙ ×ËÕÏ ËÖÖ ÙÐ ÞÒÏÓÜ ÏØÎÏËàÙÜÝ ÝßÍÍÏÏΘ ÝÙ ÞÒÏã áÓÖÖ ÞÜã ËØÎ ÞÜã ßØÞÓÖ ÞÒÏã ËÜÏ ÝßÍÍÏÝÝÐßÖ˛ Be consistent ÞËÜÞÓØÑ Ë ÌßÝÓØÏÝÝ ÓÝ ÙØÏ ÙÐ ÞÒÏ ÞÙßÑÒÏÝÞ ÞÒÓØÑÝ ãÙß ÍËØ ÎÙ ÓØ ãÙßÜ ÖÓÐÏ˛ ʰÏؘ ãÙß áÓÖÖ ʨØÎ ÞÒËÞ ÞÒÏ ÕÏã ÞÙ ÝÞËÜÞÓØÑ Ë ÌßÝÓØÏÝÝ ÓÝ ÔßÝÞ ÑÏʵÓØÑ Ë ÖÓʵÖÏ ×Ù×ÏØÞß× ÑÙÓØј ÌßÞ ÒÙá ÎÙ ãÙß ÌßÓÖÎ ÞÒËÞ ×Ù×ÏØÞß×ˣ ÒÏ ËØÝáÏÜ ÓÝ ÍÙØÝÓÝÞÏØÍã˛ ÒÓØÑÝ ÞËÕÏ ÞÓ×Ï ÞÙ ÑÜÙᘠËØÎ ÞÒËÞ ÓØÍÖßÎÏÝ ÌßÝÓØÏÝÝÏݲ ÏÜã ÐÏá ÚÏÙÚÖÏ áÓÖÖ ÚÜÙÎßÍÏ

×ËÝÝ Ë×ÙßØÞÝ ÙÐ ÚÜÙʨÞ áÓÞÒÓØ ÔßÝÞ áÏÏÕÝ ÙÜ ÏàÏØ ×ÙØÞÒݲ ÜÏËÞ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜÝ ÕØÙá ÒÙá ÞÙ ÌËÖËØÍÏ ÞÓ×Ï ËØÎ ÍËÚÓÞÙÖ ÞÙ ÕÏÏÚ Ë ÚÜÙÔÏÍÞ áÓÞÒ ÑÜÏËÞ ÚÙÞÏØÞÓËÖ ÑÜÙáÓØÑ ßØÞÓÖ ÓÞ ÍËØ ÝßÝÞËÓØ ÓÞÝÏÖÐ˛ A diminished fear of failure ÏËÜ ÙÐ ÐËÓÖßÜÏ ÓÝ ËØ ÓÖÖßÝÓÙØ ÎÏàÏÖÙÚÏÎ ËØÎ ØßÜÞßÜÏÎ Ìã ßݘ ËØÎ ßÝ ÙØÖã˛ ÒÏÞÒÏÜ ãÙß ÍÙØÝÍÓÙßÝÖã ÚÏÜÍÏÓàÏ ÓÞ ÙÜ ØÙÞ˜ ÞÒÏ ÐÏËÜ ÙÐ ÐËÓÖßÜÏ ÍÙ×ÏÝ áÒÏØÏàÏÜ áÏ ËÜÏ ÐËÍÏÎ áÓÞÒ ÝÙ×ÏÞÒÓØÑ ÍÒËÖÖÏØÑÓØÑ ÙÜ ËÖ×ÙÝÞ Ó×ÚÙÝÝÓÌÖÏ˛ Ï ÑÏÞ ÝÍËÜÏÎ ÞÒËÞ áÏ ËÜÏ ÑÙÓØÑ ÞÙ ÐËÓÖ ËÝ ÓÐ ÙßÜ ÖÓàÏÝ áÏÜÏ ËÞ ÝÞËÕÏ˛ ÏËÜ ÙÐ ÐËÓÖßÜÏ ÓÝ ÙØÏ ÙÐ ÞÒÏ ÌÓÑÑÏÝÞ ËØÎ ÎÏËÎÖÓÏÝÞ ÙÌÝÞËÍÖÏÝ ÞÒËÞ ãÙßØÑ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜÝ ÐËÍÏ˛ ÒÙÝÏ áÒÙÝÏ áÒÙ ÍËØ ÙàÏÜÍÙ×Ï ÓÞ Ìã ÚÏÜÍÏÓàÓØÑ ÓÞ ÙÌÔÏÍÞÓàÏÖã ÞÒÜÙßÑÒ Ë ÎÓʥÏÜÏØÞ ÝÍÙÚÏ ÝÞËØÎ Ë ÍÒËØÍÏ ËÞ ËʵËÓØÓØÑ ÌßÝÓØÏÝÝ ÝßÍÍÏÝݲ Working on their personal and professional development ãÙßØÑ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜ áÒÙ áÓÝÒÏÝ ÐÙÜ ÏâÍÏÖÖÏØÍÏ ÒËÝ ÞÙ ÍÙØÞÓØßÙßÝÖã ÎÏàÏÖÙÚ ÞÒÏ×ÝÏÖàÏÝ ÌÙÞÒ ÚÏÜÝÙØËÖÖã ËØÎ ÚÜÙÐÏÝÝÓÙØËÖÖã˛ Ï ËÜÏ ÏâÚÏÜÓÏØÍÓØÑ Ë ÎÓÑÓÞËÖ ÏÜË ÓØ áÒÓÍÒ ÓØÐÙÜ×ËÞÓÙØ ÓÝ ÏàÏÜãáÒÏÜÏ˛ ÒÏ ÝÞËØÎËÜÎ ÏÎßÍËÞÓÙØ ãÙß ËÜÏ ÑÏʵÓØÑ ËÞ ÝÍÒÙÙÖ áÓÖÖ ØÏàÏÜ ÌÏ ÏØÙßÑÒ ÐÙÜ ËØ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßܲ ØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜ ÍËØ˪Þ ÌÏ ÞËßÑÒÞ ÓØ ÞÒÏÙÜã˛ Ùß ØÏÏÎ ÞÙ ÚÜËÍÞÓÍÏ ËØÎ ÖÏËÜØ ÞÒÓØÑÝ ÙØ ãÙßÜ ÙáØ˛ ×ÚÜÙàÏ ãÙßÜ ÕØÙáÖÏÎÑÏ Ìã ÜÏËÎÓØÑ ËØÎ áËÞÍÒÓØÑ ÚÜÙÎßÍÞÓàÏ àÓÎÏÙÝ ÝßÍÒ ËÝ ÎÙÍß×ÏØÞËÜÓÏÝ ËØÎ ÝÒÙÜÞ ÏÎßÍËÞÓÙØËÖ ÍÖÓÚݲ ÚÏØÎ ÞÓ×Ï áÓÞÒ ÚÏÙÚÖÏ ÞÒËÞ ËÜÏ ÞÏËÍÒÓØÑ ãÙß ÝÙ×ÏÞÒÓØÑ ÓØÝÞÏËÎ ÙÐ ÎÜËÑÑÓØÑ ãÙß ÎÙáØ˛ ÙÙÕ ÐÙÜ ÑÜÙáÞÒ ÓØ ÏàÏÜãÞÒÓØÑ ãÙß ÎÙ ËØÎ ãÙß áÓÖÖ ËʵÜËÍÞ ÞÒËÞ ÑÜÙáÞÒ˛ ÒÏØ ÞÒÏ ÞÓ×Ï ÍÙ×Ïݘ ÏàÏÜãÞÒÓØÑ ãÙß ËÜÏ ÖÏËÜØÓØÑ ØÙá ÓÝ ÑÙÓØÑ ÞÙ ÒÏÖÚ ãÙß ÖËÞÏÜ áÒÏØ ãÙßÜ ÌßÝÓØÏÝÝ ÏâÚËØÎݲ Actively improves their networking skills and connections Ø ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜ ×ßÝÞ ÌÏÍÙ×Ï ÜÏÝÙßÜÍÏÐßÖ ÓØ ÙÜÎÏÜ ÞÙ ÙàÏÜÍÙ×Ï ÞÒÏÓÜ ßÚÍÙ×ÓØÑ ÙÌÝÞËÍÖÏݲ ÏÞáÙÜÕÓØÑ ÓÝ ÞÒÏ ÌÏÝÞ ÞÒÓØÑ Ë ãÙßØÑ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜ ÍËØ ÐÙÍßÝ ÞÒÏÓÜ ËʵÏØÞÓÙØ ÙØ˛ ßÜÓØÑ ÞÒÏ ÝÞËÜÞ̋ßÚ ÚÒËÝϘ ãÙß áÓÖÖ ØÏÏÎ ËÖÖ ÞÒÏ ËàËÓÖËÌÖÏ ÜÏÝÙßÜÍÏÝ ËØÎ ÒÏÖÚ ÞÙ ÚßÖÖ ÓÞ ÞÒÜÙßÑÒ˛ ÏËÜØ ÞÙ ÞËÖÕ ÞÙ ÚÏÙÚÖÏ ËØÎ ÌßÓÖÎ ÞÒÏ ÜÙÙÞÝ ÙÐ ãÙßÜ ÐßÞßÜÏ ÖÙØÑ ÞÏÜ× ÜÏÖËÞÓÙØÝÒÓÚÝ Ìã ÙʥÏÜÓØÑ àËÖßÏ ÞÙ ÏàÏÜãÙØÏ ãÙß ×ÏÏÞ˛ ÏàÏÜËÑÏ ÞÒÏ ÚÙáÏÜ ÙÐ ÝÙÍÓËÖ ØÏÞáÙÜÕÝ ÞÙ ʨØÎ ØÏá ÍÙØÞËÍÞݲ ßÓÖÎ ËØ ÙØÖÓØÏ ÚÜÏÝÏØÍÏ ËØÎ ÝÞËÜÞ ÞËÖÕÓØÑ ÞÙ ÚÏÙÚÖÏ˛ Out-of-the box thinking ØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜÝÒÓÚ ÓÝ ËÖÖ ËÌÙßÞ ÞÒÓØÕÓØÑ ÙßÞÝÓÎÏ ÞÒÏ ÌÙⲠÓØÎ ÝÙÖßÞÓÙØÝ ÞÙ ÞÒÏ ÚÜÙÌÖÏ×Ý ËØÎ ØÏÏÎÝ ÞÒËÞ ÚÏÙÚÖÏ ÐËÍϘ ËØÎ ÍÙ×Ï ßÚ áÓÞÒ áËãÝ ÙÐ ÎÏÖÓàÏÜÓØÑ ÞÒÏÝÏ ÝÙÖßÞÓÙØÝ ÞÒÜÙßÑÒ ÚÜÙÎßÍÞÝ ËØÎ ÝÏÜàÓÍÏݲ

×ÚÜÙàÏ ãÙßÜ ÍÒËØÍÏÝ ÙÐ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßÜÓËÖ ÝßÍÍÏÝÝ Ìã ÍÙØÝÞËØÞÖã ËØÎ ËÍÞÓàÏÖã Ó×ÚÜÙàÓØÑ ãÙßÜÝÏÖÐ˛ ÒËÞÏàÏÜ ÑÙËÖÝ ãÙß ÒËàϘ ÞÜÏËÞ ÞÒÏ× ËÝ ÝÏÜÓÙßÝÖã ËÝ ãÙß ÚÙÝÝÓÌÖã ÍËØ˛ ßÞ ÞÒÏ× ÓØ ÐÜÙØÞ ÙÐ ÏàÏÜãÞÒÓØÑ˛ ÖáËãÝ ÚßÞ ÞÒÏ Ó×ÚÙÜÞËØÞ ÞÒÓØÑÝ ÝßÍÒ ËÝ áÙÜÕ˜ ËÍÞÓÙؘ ÜÏËÎÓØÑ ËØÎ ØÏÞáÙÜÕÓØÑ ÙØ ÞÙÚ ÙÐ ãÙßÜ ÚÜÓÙÜÓÞÓÏݲ Ý ×ÏØÞÓÙØÏÎ ÏËÜÖÓÏܘ ÓÐ ãÙß áËØÞ ÞÙ ÌÏ Ë ÑÜÏËÞ ÏØÞÜÏÚÜÏØÏßܘ ãÙß ØÏÏÎ ÞÙ ÚËã ÞÒÏ ÚÜÓÍÏ˞ ÞÒÏ ÚÜÓÍÏ ÝÒÙßÖÎ ØÏàÏÜ ÝÞÙÚ ãÙß ÐÜÙ× ÚßÜÝßÓØÑ ãÙßÜ ÌÓÑ ÎÜÏË×ݲ

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

30

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

Changing Trends in Nigeria’s Beer Market With a market share of 9%, Nigeria’s beer market has been rated one of the 10 fastest growing beer markets in the world. Raheem Akingbolu looks at the competition in the market and emerging trends

Like in the game of football, where players make frantic efforts to score goals, things are happening fast in the Nigerian beer market.

Until recently, the duel was well pronounced between Nigerian Breweries Plc and Guinness Nigeria. But since 2011, when SABMiller, one of the world’s top brewers, acquired majority share in the International Breweries Ilesa, manufacturers of Trophy Larger and also took control of the ownership of Hero, a popular brand in the Eastern market, the game has changed.

Within three years of the acquisition, top strikers in the nation’s beer market were not only tackled by Trophy and Hero, the two brands assumed good positions among the low to middle class consumers, the largest segment of beer consumers in the country.

A development, which sent handlers of the existing market leaders back to drawing board for strategies that could help them control their slowing market share. To this end, industry watchers have consistently argued that the threat posed by these challengers led to recent decision by the giants in the industry to focus on brands that will appeal to low to middle class consumers otherwise known as the value segment.

Since SABMiller’s entry, NB and Guinness have had to tighten their belts, re-strategize, and launch series of campaigns to stay at the top. Obviously, it is no longer a two horse race between the two leading brands.

One major strategy that has helped all the players to become stronger is acquisition and mergers.

To gain entrance into the Nigerian market, after its initial alliance with Castel in 2009, SABMiller had bought Pabod Breweries, Port Harcourt, where it owns 57 percent and Voltic Nigeria Limited (Voltic produces table water), Lagos, where it owns 80 percent. The company also bought Standard Breweries in Ibadan, Oyo State.

In response to SABMiller’s entry into the Nigerian market, Heineken N.V., Nigerian Breweries plc’s parent company acquired breweries across the country.

In October 2011, Nigerian Breweries acquired majority equity interests in Sona Systems Associates Business Management Limited, (Sona Systems) and Life Breweries Limited from Heineken N.V. This followed Heineken’s acquisition of controlling interests in five breweries in Nigeria from Sona Group in January 2011.Sona Systems’ two breweries in Ota and Kaduna, and Life Breweries in Onitsha have now become part of Nigerian Breweries Plc, together with the three brands: Goldberg lager, Malta Gold and Life Continental lager.

In 2014, Nigerian Breweries merged with Consolidated Brewerie Plc which added the three breweries in Ijebu-ode, Awo-Omama

and Makurdi to the company. The additional brands include 33 Export Lager, Williams Dark Ale, Turbo King Stout, More Lager, Breezer, Hi-malt and Maltex.

Also last year, Guinness Nigeria acquired the right to distribute McDowell’s, a mainstream spirits brand of United Spirits Limited in Nigeria.

USL is an Indian mainstream spirits business which is also a subsidiary of Diageo Plc. Guinness Nigeria also commissioned a local spirits line at its Benin brewery to produce brands like Smirnoff X1 intense chocolate vodka, Smirnoff Extra Smooth Vodka, Gordon’s Dry Gin, Moringa Citrus Blend, McDowell’s No. 1 Reserved Whisky, McDowell’s VSOP and Royal Challenge Finest Premium Whisky.

Similarly, two years ago, same Guinness acquired the distribution rights to Diageo’s international spirits brands like Johnnie Walker, Baileys and CÎroc.

How Trophy changed the game Known then in the local parlance as ‘Omi Asoro’ a name Trophy earned because of the area where International Breweries was located in Imo, Ilesa in the 80s, Trophy has metamorphosed into a major brand of choice, driven by the fancy name of Honourable, a moniker ascribed to it as feel-good tag to drive patronage. Though popular among beer drinkers in some part of Osun, Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti States, it was then regarded as the drink for consumers at the lowest ebb of the market, hence the reason for its acceptability among artisans and drivers.

By 2011 when SABMiller Nigeria, now AbInBev Nigeria acquired the brand, its fortune had almost nosedived. According to a source close to the management of the company, the first thing that was discovered after a research was that the Trophy brand was merely blinking in the dark, without any modern marketing support to showcase its uniqueness and push in the market. This was said to have led to the engagement of Culture Communications, a company that became fully operational on January 04, 2010, barely a year before SABMiller bought into the business.

The full-service advertising agency, headed

by Yomi Benson, a marketing communication practitioner with over two decades experience on both client and agency sides, quickly mapped out strategies to play up the unique selling points of the brand with relevant campaigns.

Aside working for AbInBev Nigeria, Culture Communications also handles the Advertising accounts of BAT Nigeria, KFC Nigeria and GoGamePro. The agency’s exploits on Trophy could be said to have had instant impact on the brand as Trophy soon moved out of its narrow regional market to challenge and conquer the presumed market leaders across the beer market in the Western part of the country.

Since last year when AbInBev Nigeria acquired SABMiller, there have been speculations in the market that the development may be the opportunity the brand had been waiting for to finally take over the market. The reason is simple; AbInBev being the World’s second largest brewer may pull a stronger string to unsettle competitions. The brewery giant is currently operating three breweries, with the fourth one to go operational in the first quarter of this year while also reportedly constructing in Nigeria a brewery that will be largest of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.

The growth, the campaigns If there is anything that has contributed to the growth of the Trophy brand in Nigeria, that thing is believed to be inherent in innovation and creativity. For instance, aside the use of advertising and experiential supports, promoters of the brand, through their agency have invested hugely in sponsorship and celebrity endorsement. The height of this was when the company suddenly unveiled a credential campaign that christened the brand as ‘The Honourable’. Again, the decision of the spin doctors behind the brand to have settled for a suave Nollywood personality –Femi Adebayo, as the face of ‘The Honourable’ has been applauded because the actor is believed to represent the best in the new generation of theater industry in the South West. The campaign didn’t only cause a stir in the market place, it boosted the profile of the brand and took it to the premium position. Today, Trophy’s acceptability has cut across all segments of the market. The imports of all these marketing exploits explain why pundits have continued to refer to Culture Communications as the agency that owns the magic wand that redefined the brand.

In truth, Trophy was not the first beer brand in Nigeria to adopt a moniker. At the Nigerian Breweries, Heineken had long been known as the “Chairman,� a name that was adopted by consumers to speak to its premium positioning.

There have been others. But interestingly, it has been only Trophy that went the extra mile to add its own moniker to the label, thereby deepening the value the consumer ascribes to the brand, especially at the point of consumption interaction.

According to Mr. Aina Johnson, a patron of the brand, who switched from another brand 10 months ago, the beauties in the Trophy brand, had been hidden for years until new investors came in.

He said; ‘’Though I was lured to try Trophy 10 months ago when I couldn’t get my favourite beer in a village in Ondo State, where I had gone for an assignment, I have not regretted doing so for a day. I thought of words of mouth by my friends in Lagos who were addicted to it and I thought of series of campaigns being dished out by its promoters. I tried the first

and second bottles and noticed its unique and smooth taste.

Few Days in the village, I noticed that Trophy has the lowest sugar content compared to other beers, hence my decision to pitch my tent with the brand,’’ If the conclusion of this consumer is anything to go by, then the growth of Trophy and how it changed the status quo in the beer market may soon become a case study for marketing professionals and budding students in brand building and management.

This is so because the brand has witnessed incredible growth in equity and volume since 2010 when a marketing agency was hired.

For instance, between then and now, it’s risen from production level of just about 300 hectoliters to over 1,000 hectoliters. It has also grown from one 60cl SKU to now four: 60cl RGB, 45cl RGB, 33cl Can and 50cl Can. The brand is also believed to have moved from a beer consumed on the fringes of Ilesa to the favourite beer across South West Nigeria.

Perhaps for strategic reasons, Trophy is supported by a communication campaign that rides on a deep insight about the people of South West Nigeria. A marketing expert and former brand manager at Nestle and Unilever, Sola Fakorede captured it succinctly by stating that its various campaigns speak to both consumers and the brand itself. ‘’One thing that is clear is that the agency that works on Trophy has taken time to study the brand and understand the market. Successfully, they have selected words that can appeal to all segments and all demographics. I think another thing that has worked for the brand is the incredible result of nearly 100% on all brand health tests that have been conducted to date,’’ Fakorede said.

Emerging scenario All these notwithstanding, the competition is becoming intense every single day as consumers and beer enthusiasts are thrilled by series of campaigns aimed to attract their buying consciousness.

Among other tools of positioning, concerts, sponsorship of traditional festivals, partnership with football associations, massive marketing campaigns in the mass media, among others are some of the ways Nigerian Breweries, Guinness Nigeria and the new comers are using to deepen their consumer engagement.

Like other brands from Nigerian Breweries and Guinness Nigeria; AbInBev Nigeria brands such as Hero Lager, Trophy Lager, Grand Lager, Trophy Lager, Castle Milk Stout, Castle Lager, Eagle, Redds and non-alcoholic malt beverages Grand Malt, Beta Malt and others have become forces to be reckoned with and they have found their ways into the heart of consumers.

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Agboola: Creative Agencies Require Genuine Passion to Build Brands The Chief Operating Officer, 7even Interactive, Mr. Taiwo Agboola, spoke on how the nation’s marketing communications landscape fared last year as well as the contribution of the Lagos Advertising Ideas Festival to the growth of creativity in the country How will you describe business in 2017?

From the point of view that advertising industry is not immune to the economic reversal going on in the country, I will say 2017 was a bit tough. Thankfully, the oil price is going up now and I expect this to impact on the economy positively very soon. We must not forget that the dwindling oil revenue occasioned by the price slash and the sector’s production below capacity starting from 2016 adversely affected the economy.

When do you expect things to pick up?

Well, if we get the budget passed on time by the House of Representatives and the Senate and the executive assent to it, we would begin to see some positive changes in the economy from first quarter. For now, between the lawmakers and executive arm, there is still buck passing and foot-dragging over the budget, but honestly, we need the budget done and treated on time.

Do you see the electioneering campaign and the World Cup opening up the industry this year?

Definitely, that’s going to help because the World Cup is a major event. Some of our clients will participate, which is good for the industry as spending is expected to pick up.

Same with politics, the race for 2019 basically starts now. You will see more smart politicians engage the services of professional agencies.

If they really want to get good outcome, they need to invest in quality campaign. In that wise, we should expect a boost in the industry.

In the 2017 LAIF Award, your agency stepped up from 9th position to 4th. What is the secret?

Basically, it is hard work and passion; that’s the way I see it. We have a team of young and committed professionals in the agency.

They are passionate about what they do. What we have done is to show what we can offer in the marketing communications industry and more important in building brands along with our clients.

In 2016, we were rated 9 position, we sat down and asked ourselves “is that the level we want to play?� We said no. We need to Agboola push ourselves harder. The result is where we find ourselves now. However, we are not there points, how do you contend with the likely yet. We want to be at the top of the ladder. upsurge in competition?

Competition, for us, is opium; it is what drives What are the works that won you the awards? us. The truth is whatever industry you play I will mention a couple of works for some of in, if there is no competition, you would be our clients. For instance, Uber won considerably lethargic. It makes us to benchmark ourselves in silver and bronze in the radio category. The against those perceived to be leaders in the digital campaign for Mainone also won bronze. field as we are always on fire. If we don’t The work that won gold for us was our compete, how do we even measure ourselves?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) campaign. We are very ready to slug it out with whoever It is called the Frixion campaign, an anti-rape it is and we are sure that with the team in campaign. this building, we are ready to stand up to We felt there was need to sensitize the com- competition. munity in which we operate and the country at large on the evils of rape by advising people Despite the paucity of creative talent as to seek consent first before sexual relationships. commonly alleged, how do you spot your To achieve this, we created a fictional brand talents to build your team of creative soldiers called Frixion Vodka. especially as a young agency?

We used images of celebrities, musicians The creative industry doesn’t depend on what and actors without their consent as models someone studied in school. Most of the times, for the Frixion brand. we look for talents who also reflect our DNA These people were enraged and asked their because you can also learn on the job. We lawyers to sue us. However, we apologised are heavy on training and retraining. We look to them and let them into the idea behind the for people who think the way we do as a campaign as “good cause�, they were happy very young agency, looking at the fun side and decided to give their full support to the of issues. So, once we know that you are campaign across all media and channels of someone that is very inquisitive, you may exposures. make it to becoming part of us.

This particular campaign also won us a bronze Such a person must be passionate about the at the Loeries, making 7even Interactive the job because he/she can be called anytime to only agency in West Africa to be awarded come to the office. The truth is that we live any medal at the Loeries awards last year. for the clients. If the client wants something done, it is our job to get it done. So, if you With these local and international awards, are not passionate about it, you won’t fit too 7even Interactive becomes one of the focal well into this agency

As a young company, are you not intimidated when you pitch a business against more established and older players?

You can’t achieve except you dare. The truth is that if you are going to be looking at the agencies you are going to pitch against, you would not be in business because there are some who have been there for 10, 20, 30 years or even more.

Aside, if you look at the top five agencies in the LAIF 2017 medal table only one agency is from the old school, which has been there for 30 years. There is a shift in thinking; we are not scared.

We are thoroughbred professionals, we are playful and we go there with the best of works. If for any reason the client decides not to work with us, we shake hands and we move on to the next one. We are not bordered whether there are any antics and we don’t even think of that. What we think about is we compete to win. If for anything we don’t, we take lessons from it and we move on.

Most of the older agencies didn’t have impact at the Awards, what does the future hold for 7even Interactive?

There is no disrespect to all those agencies.

When you speak of some that have gone into oblivion, you also talk of those that have transcended and still exist. For instance, Insight Publicis and DDB are going stronger. The business of advertising is dynamic. I think some of them failed to change with time hence,

the fate they suffered. Contemporaries have changed over the time. T he kids that just left schools few years ago are now marketing managers and marketing directors. Do you think that a marketing director, who is 28 - 30 years old, will like to interface with the MD of an agency, who is almost 60 years? Even if they meet, do you think they will flow?

We need to keep reinventing ourselves.

You don’t need to stay too long on a thing without reinventing yourself; other agencies will come up and outstrip you. When you travel for awards or trainings in other parts of the world, you see creative directors and managing directors in the age bracket of 28 - 30 and you begin to wonder what’s happening in my industry. The youthfulness and age of ideas also matter a lot in advertising.

Tell us about the LAIF’s campaign that became ads-of-the-world’s choice?

When we were approached to create the communication for LAIF, we asked ourselves, “How do we see ourselves in the industry�.

People sweat it out on the shop floor producing a single ad. Our people slave away like robots. It is same in 7even Interactive and other agencies. We were able to make this something fun, something light hearted and something everyone will see and identify with.

LAIF itself gives you a lot of materials and opportunity to explore. We are delighted a lot of people including international players like the work.

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Boosting Devt through Competitiveness in Raw Materials With Nigeria projected to spend over N36 billion on the importation of raw materials in the next five years, the federal government has developed an evidence-based strategy to check the trend and also attain competitiveness. Adedayo Akinwale writes

N

igeria is not called a giant for nothing. But many are wont to challenge that description despite the rebasing of the nation’s economy in 2014 to emerge as Africa’s largest economy, outstripping those of South Africa and Egypt. According to numerous reports, the Nigerian economy has grown substantially over the years with huge foreign exchange earnings from oil, and impressive agricultural output.

However, the remarkable growth recorded has not translated into economic diversification and commensurate jobs to foster social development of the country.

In recent times, the services sector has overtaken the industrial sector in terms of contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) . In 2014, for instance, services accounted of about 60 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP; up from 53 per cent in 2011. This figure is comparable to those of other large economies in Africa such as Tunisia, but lower than that of South Africa, where the sector accounts for about 70 per cent of GDP. Fighting Recession However, not long after President Muhammadu Buhari took over power in 2015, the country’s economy plunged into recession in August 2016.

The negative growth was attributed to a drop in Nigeria’s foreign revenue, following the fall in price of oil, Nigeria’s main export.

The country later came out of the wood with the economy exiting its worst economic recession in more than two decades in September, 2017. In spite of this, the inflation rate as at September 2017 was 15.98 per cent.

Vital Committee Against this background, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu on 8th August, 2017 inaugurated the National Consultative Committee on Competitiveness in raw materials and products development to fast track the country’s economic recovery, double digit growth and sustainable development.

The minister revealed that the national strategy, if well implemented would result to significant reduction in importation, while also increasing the acceptability of Made-in-Nigeria products both locally and internationally.

Onu stressed: “In short term period of five years implementation effort, by reducing importation by 10.8 per cent, we will be able to save as much as N3 trillion. The reduction in importation is expected to rise to 31 per cent and later 50 per cent respectively in the mid-term (10 years) and long term (15 years).

“It is important to point out that the ability to boost local content of Nigerian manufacturers and service providers to over 50 per cent in short term and about 80 per cent in the long term

Some agricultural raw materials in Nigeria will result in massive employment generation of 4.4 million high quality jobs from the 22 project areas,” he said.

Publicity Strategy However, at a recent roundtable for journalists on National Strategy for Competitiveness in raw materials and products development in Nigeria, organised by the Strategy Implementation Task Unit (SITU) in Abuja, the minister challenged the media to intensify publicity on the competitiveness strategy as a platform to refocus business activities and resources towards utilisation of Nigerian Research and Development (R&D) Institutions’ commercialisable scientific breakthroughs. The minister who was represented by the Director, Bioresources Technology Department, Abayomi Oguntunde said the gathering of media practitioners in Nigeria was imperative in providing veritable means of galvanising the general public towards successful strategy implementation.

According to Onu, “your role and responsibilities are enormous especially on publicity of the competitiveness strategy as a platform to refocus our business activities and resources towards utilisation of Nigerian Research and Development Institutions’ commercialisable

SOURCE: WWW.MINFOW.COM scientific breakthroughs.

“The media should be using this strategy to challenge our industrialists in Nigeria to brave the odds and make paradigm shift from over dependence on imported raw materials and products and look inwards for innovation, competitiveness and attainment of sustainable indigenous industrial revolution.

“With this strategy in place, there will be a deliberate policy of government towards empowerment of the business community through incentives and conducive business environment in upgrading logistics, infrastructural needs and policies of the business community.

“The moral angle in this strategy is for manufacturing sector to spearhead Nigeria’s drive towards global competitiveness in order to provide our indigenous quality materials and products especially in areas where country has comparative advantage in production,” Onu said.

Overcoming Dependence Presenting a paper titled ‘Understanding the National Competitiveness Strategy, the Model and Governance Structure’, the Project Manager, Mr. Henry Eteama said the Nigerian economy is heavily dependent on oil with little value addition and limited forward and backward

linkages to other sectors.

He noted that the limited impact of commoditydriven growth on employment and social development has been further aggravated by liberalisation and globalisation in the absence of consistency and committed government policies and strategies to promote productive capacitors in the economy and ability to compete in international markets.

He lamented that these have left a legacy of poor incentives and weak institutions that threaten economic and political stability and social cohesion. Major deficits in national and institutional capacities, physical and policy infrastructure, including the inability to mitigate impacts of external shocks, have contributed to Nigeria’s developmental challenge, he noted.

Eteama pointed out that the strategy is therefore aimed at addressing the challenge of developing and implementing effective polices to diversify the economy, promote industrialisation and economic growth.

However, he stated that the study experienced limited access to data because in the past 20 years, Nigeria has not conducted the National Census of Industries and Businesses (NCIB) and the National Agricultural Sample Census (NASC), which usually provide information on quantity and value of raw materials and products available locally, identified under the Harmonised (HS) code of the United Nations.

Therefore, in designing the national strategy, a compendium of raw materials and products covered 97 bridge categories of UN doubledigit commodity classification (SITC) and were based on Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) for a period spanning 2010-2015.

He said, “the country’s highest import was on nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, equipment and appliances etc, amounting to N9.04 billion. It is projected that in the next five years (2016-2020), the country will spend about N36.04 billion to import raw materials and products.

“With this level of dependence on raw materials and products importation, the nation will contend with funding bill of N36.04 billion for those items in the period, 2016-2020. Clearly, Nigeria cannot sustain this trend; hence, the imperative to develop an evidence-based strategy for government intervention”, he added.

The project manager stressed that the absence of linkages between R&D institutions and industries and businesses is the crux of Nigeria’s slow pace of industrialisation and development. He said without R&D activities being driven by demand of industries and businesses, national infrastructure will be on weak foundation.

“If indeed Nigeria must attain competitiveness, it is imperative to ensure adequate and strong coordination efforts at looking R&D institutions with industries and businesses”, Eteama said.

RANDOM THOTS Change Agents To some, change means a false mantra bandied about carelessly by insincere politicians.

To others, it is a way of conforming to realities in a harsh environment. And yet to another set of people, change embodies making a difference in the lives of others via personal efforts.

Whichever explanation one may choose, change simply signifies a departure from the norm, either positively or negatively. And in Nigeria, nowhere is this better showcased than in Lagos State, which contributes a

huge chunk to the internal revenue of the country, and where millions now contribute to the informal sector of the economy more through acquired skills and services than via formal white-collar jobs.

Thanks to a laudable scheme initiated by the innovative Lagos State Government, more than 17 entrepreneurial centres are daily equipping youngsters and unemployed youths with skills in hair-dressing, tailoring, barbing, computer, photography, hat and beadmaking, catering, bag craft e.t.c.

These skill centres, located in nearby and far-flung places like Agege, Ayobo, Badagry, Egan, Ejigbo, Egbeda, Iba, Ibeju-Lekki, Igbooye Epe, Ikorodu, Ilase, Isheri, Kosofe, Lagos Island, Mushin, Shibiri and Surulere, have between 150 and 300 apprentice/students each, who are taught the various skills free of charge by some department heads, under different principals.

However, the real change agents who impart priceless knowledge on the various skills to the thousands of empowered students are certainly

not having the best of times, with the mere N30,000 pittance government is paying them monthly, which cannot cater for the needs of breadwinners in present times.

For the volume of efforts these tutors and department heads put into making these centres such success stories, Lagos State government surely ought to pay them better stipends. They are the true change agents and surely deserve a better life...don’t they?

-Abimbola Akosile

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Ëš

The 36 State Governors in Nigeria

SOURCE: NAIJ.COM

Are State Governors Really Devt-friendly?

Nigeria’s development challenges involve low quality of basic education, high level of poverty and unemployment, poor road networks and basic infrastructure, and inadequate health services.

Although many citizens blame the Federal Government mainly for these development lapses, most of the indicators fall under the jurisdiction of the state and local governments. To you, are the state governors really development-friendly, and can they actually improve on their current efforts?

Abimbola Akosile * Those who have the greatest impact on the lives of ordinary Nigerians are the state governments. What will end all these agitations in Nigeria is if the state governments are given at least 50 per cent of federal allocations and certain ministries and their powers are devolved to the states. Once this is done, no one will blame the federal government for their woes.

The residents of a state will begin to hold their governors accountable. Resource control will not be relevant if a state gets 50 per cent plus 13 per cent derivation.

- Mr. Buga Dunj, Jos, Plateau State * I think the present Governors can borrow a leaf from former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio who single-handedly during his tenure re-constructed roads belonging to both federal and state. It is high time Governors should travel by road so that they can have idea or feel the ordeal others face most especially in the rainy season.

- Miss Janet Adeyemi, Calabar, Cross River State * Some, not all, mostly in the North!

- Mr. Sonysurf Okobi, Lagos State * Not all of them are and they seem to forget posterity is watching. Lagos and some South-South States are good models to copy from. Nigeria is still learning to stand after how many years of independence. When exactly shall we take our first step indeed?

- Ms Nkeiruka Abanna, Lagos State * Their (State Governors) hands are partially tied but they may not be utilising the little freedom they have yet. The federal government is too powerful and is entitled to 52-54 per cent of our revenue and the 36 states are entitled to the 46-48 per cent left. We are not on the path of development except in maybe Lagos and very few states.

- Mr. Adewumi Temitope Michael, Co-founder, Agroshowroom, Osun State * For me, state governors are not quite development friendly. Our leaders should put the people first and try to provide sound education which is a right, quality healthcare, modern infrastructure, decent jobs, good road networks, efficient transport system by road, sea and air, modern and fast railway system etc. Yes, they can improve on their efforts if they are peoplecentred, democracy minded, progress driven and development focused. God bless Nigeria.

THE FEEDBACK Yes, they are:

4

No, they are not:

6

Others:

7

Radical tip:

Impeachment!

Total no of respondents:

17

Male:

13

Female:

4

Highest location:

Lagos & Abuja (5 each)

- Mr. Odey Ochicha, Leadership Specialist, Abuja * State Governors are not development-friendly due to corruption. We need a change of attitude towards those they govern. They should pay staff salaries and pensioners their retirement benefits etc, when due.

- Mr. Dogo Stephen, Kaduna State * The answer is yes and no. Yes, a few State Governors, say around 10 per cent are developmentally friendly because you can see their efforts to improve the states. However, generally these are all cosmetic, in the sense that you see flashy flyovers, new bridges, new buildings and offices. These however are not real development indicators. The paramount indicators include the provision of potable water; primary health care; good roads to your abode; and finally electricity. Most State Governors cannot boast of providing at least two of these indicators.

If they plan adequately, ensure continuity and are prudent with funds available it will greatly improve the lives of their citizens.

- Prof. Kate Nwufo, mni, Abuja * Yes, many governors are very development friendly. Areas like basic education, poverty, unemployment, social infrastructure, health services etc have received commendable attention in Lagos, Kebbi, Imo, Ekiti, Anambra, FCT, Edo, Kano states e.t.c so far. Governors must be self-reliant by exploring other resources at their disposal.

- Miss Apeji Patience Eneyeme, Badagry, Lagos State * While it is always easy for most Nigerians to blame the federal government, any blame falls

squarely on state governments. With exception of states such as Lagos, Anambra, Gombe, most state governors are bereft of ideas on how to take their states to another level. I doubt if the present governors have the capacity and capability to up their game.

- Mr. Paul A. Jideofor, Dept. of Languages, FCT COE, Zuba, Abuja * Yes, many of the governors are doing great, but some others are bereft of good ideas. They trade blames with federal government, live ostentatiously and give unacceptable excuses even with all the natural and human resources at their disposal. They just collect the monthly allocations and squander same. Electorates are disillusioned.

- Mr. Apeji Onesi, Lagos State * It is the responsibility of the Governors to help tackle all development challenges facing Nigerians. Issues of varying visions, different political manifestos, and mis-management of public funds and delayed release of money meant for the local Governments cannot help development. Therefore State Governors are not really friendly.

- Mr. Michael Adedotun Oke, Founder, Michael Adedotun Oke Foundation, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja * Some State Governors are really developmentfriendly e.g. Lagos and some southern states.

They can indeed improve on their current efforts specifically if the Federal Government stops interference in state matters. If States are independent, there will be competition and we will see some overall development. All our states are blessed with different natural resources.

- Hon. Babale Maiungwa, U/Romi, Kaduna * State governors have come under fire lately because of their insensitivity. In fact some of them are completely unconcerned about the welfare of their people and simply want to loot the treasury. However, a couple of them are doing what they should do. I urge those governors who have lost their way to retrace steps taken and learn from their ‘performing colleagues’.

- Mr. E. Iheanyi Chukwudi, B.A.R., Apo, Abuja * We should change our mentality of depending on the federal government to deliver, when we have governors who collect allocations with nothing to show for it. We must task the governors and chairmen to deliver good governance. Any governor who fails to deliver

should be impeached. Accountability and probity must be watchwords for good governance.

- Mr. Gordon Chika Nnorom, Public Commentator, Umukabia, Abia State * There are some development-friendly governors like those in Lagos and Rivers and Anambra, but there are more insensitive governors than good across the country. Local government officials are not much better even though the states starve them of funds monthly. The citizens reserve the right to vote out all selfish and uncaring leaders, including governors. Some even deserve impeachment and jail terms.

- Mr. Olumuyiwa Olorunsomo, Lagos State * The problem of accountability and weak check and balances is our worst undoing. Until we start playing responsible politics with strong opposition and checks and balances all levels of government, we will remain backward development wise.

- Mr. Okechukwu Ikonne, Ogbor Oke-Ovoro Mbaise, Imo State

Next Week: Is the Citizen’s Mandate Still Eective? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă? ËÚÚĂ?Ă‹Ăœ Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă&#x;Ăš åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? Ă Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă™Ă&#x;Ă? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹ĂŽĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă–Ă“Ă Ă? Ă&#x;Ăš ÞÙ Ă?âÚĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ę¨Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă—Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžË› ÙåĂ?Ă Ă?ĂœËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂšĂ™Ă™Ăœ Ă?ÓÞÓäĂ?Ă˜ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă“ĂšĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ‹Ă– ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă?Ă? Ă‹ Ă Ă‹Ă?Ă&#x;Ă&#x;Ă— Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ÒÓÔËĂ?Ă•Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?âÚÖÙÓÞĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă?Ă?ÖʨĂ?Ă’ ÚÙÖÓÞÓĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ë› Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂŁĂ?Ă‹Ăœ ÖÙÙ×Ă?Ëœ ĂŽĂ™ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă• ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÓÞÓäĂ?Ă˜ËŞĂ? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂžĂ? ÞÙ à ÙÞĂ? Ă™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă˜Ă™Ă˜Ě‹ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ à ÙÞĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ù××ÓʾĂ?ĂŽ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă?ÞÓÖÖ Ă?ĘĽĂ?Ă?ÞÓà Ă?ËŁ Ă–Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžËœ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?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?ĂŒĂœĂ&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂŁ Í’ Ęś Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ Ă?ĂŒĂœĂ&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂŁ Í–Ěš ÞÙ abimbolayi@ yahoo.comËœ greatbimbo@gmail.comËœ Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă—ĂŒĂ™Ă–Ă‹Ë›Ă‹Ă•Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă–Ă?̜ÞÒÓĂ?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë› Ă?Ùײ 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˜ĂŽËšĂ™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?ĂŒĂœĂ&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂŁ Í™

34

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Citizens exercising their rightful mandate at the Local Government elections held in Osun State recently

YINKA KOLAWOLE

African Economic Outlook 2018 Unveiled at AU Summit in Addis Ababa Poor infrastructure still serious impediment to growth, devt, report says Abimbola Akosile Although African economies have been resilient to negative shocks, still poor infrastructure is a serious impediment to inclusive growth and development across the continent.

This was one of the major findings of the 2018 edition of the African Economic Outlook (AEO) presented to delegates in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the recent African Union Summit.

The AEO - African Development Bank’s flagship analysis of the state of African economies - was presented to key stakeholders on the sidelines of the just- concluded 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital.

The Bank’s Chief Economist and Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, Célestin Monga, said the report was presented in January to give policy-makers enough time to reflect on the recommendations for economic planning and transformation. Beyond the observed increase in GDP, Monga called for structural change in Africa.

The Bank is also translating the report into key African languages and engaging with policy-makers and civil society organisations to ensure its operationalisation, he said, according to a release issued by AfDB’s Principal Communication Officer, Olivia Ndong Obiang.

Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at

the African Union Commission, Amani AbouZeid, described the report as highly relevant and useful for Governments and other stakeholders.

The African Economic Outlook puts average real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in Africa at 3.6 per cent in 2017 - a good recovery from the 2.2 per cent recorded in 2016. The 2017 figure is projected to grow by 4.1 per cent a year in 2018 and 2019.

Growth was driven by improved global economic conditions, better macro- economic management, recovery in commodity prices (mainly oil and metals), sustained domestic demand (partly met by import substitution), and improvements in agriculture production.

However, the report noted that Africa is still experiencing jobless growth due largely to limited structural change. Consequently, sustained high growth has not had substantial impact on job creation. About two thirds of countries in Africa have experienced growth acceleration.

“Basically, a growth acceleration period is one in which the average growth rate of GDP per capita over a period of eight years is at least 3.5 per cent per annum,” the report notes.

The Commissioner for Economic Affairs at the African Union Commission, Victor Harrison, endorsed the report, urging African countries to adopt the recommendations for inclusive growth.

“These studies present the behaviour of

African economies in the face of difficult external conditions and announce the revival of growth with an estimated rate of 4.1 per cent in 2018. We all know that growth is not yet inclusive in Africa, and unemployment affects more women and young people,” he told the audience.

Harrison urged member states to improve the business climate and stimulate the private sector to participate in the development.

According to the Outlook’s findings, Africa’s infrastructure is still behind those of other regions in quantity, affordability, and quality due to lack of investment.

At the same level of GDP per capita, South Asia, East Asia and Latin America have higher access to electricity and water than most African countries. It observed that Africa needs higher growth and investment rates, but debt levels must be monitored closely. Public debt ratios are rated to be on the rise, stocked by appetite for infrastructure spending.

Details provided by the Outlook indicate that 40 countries in the region recorded increases in external debt from 2013-2016. Nine countries experienced a decline.

Though there are growing concerns about the debt levels in Africa, the report indicates that if used productively, debt may be necessary to unlock long-term growth potential.

“Tackling poverty will need efforts to increase

employment elasticity of growth. The employment elasticity of growth of 0.41 in Africa is below the desirable 0.7 for all developing countries.

Pressing policy concern is therefore to ensure that growth is reflected in creation of high and quality jobs,” according to the Outlook.

The report notes that Africa could be the next investment frontier and recommends three options for the international financial community to resolve the savings glut: the adaptation of a policy of more negative real interest rates in high-income countries; the use of excess savings to finance public investment in rich countries; and the facilitation of the flow of capital to developing countries.

Estimates show that investment needs for infrastructure will be in the range of US $130 - $170 billion a year.

The problem with the infrastructure-deficit approach is the underlying assumption that one day Africa and the world might be able to resolve it. Yet, throughout history, infrastructure deficit has been a perpetual policy problem and solving this remains a work-in-progress, said the Acting Director for Macro- economic Policy, Forecasting and Research Department at the African Development Bank, Abebe Shimeles.

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

Lagos Initiates Online Platform to Boost Ease of Doing Business Gboyega Akinsanmi The Lagos State Government has unveiled an electronic real estate litigation system, which it said would help improve Nigeria’s rating on the ease of doing business. The state government added that the platform was equally designed to provide easy access to information to both indigenous and foreign investors with plan to procure real estate or property in the state.

The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem inaugurated the platform at the state

secretariat, Alausa alongside the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Opeyemi Oke and Surveyor-General, Mr. Olutomi Sangowawa among others Kazeem, represented by the Solicitor-General of the state, Mrs. Funmilola Odunlami at the inauguration explained the significance of the initiative, saying it was designed in line with the vision of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to use information technology to drive economic growth and development in Lagos State.

He noted that the Ambode administration remained committed to ensuring the safety of

lives and interest in properties within the state, which he said, explained the rationale for the real estate litigation electronic system. The attorney-general noted that he had to encourage the use of technology “to give access to effective and efficient justice system and keying into the bigger picture of the technologically driven megacity plan.

“An economically vibrant city possesses at least three fundamental capitals for its sustenance and growth. These are financial capital, human capital and real estate capital. The third form of capital is very significant.

“The real estate sector is one

which records a very large turnover within the economy of the state, the enormous amount of applications that are delegated to my office for the statutory endorsement on various property transaction bear witness to this fact,” he said.

He explained that with the vision of becoming the largest economy in Africa, it was expected that the level of economic and commercial activities in Lagos State would experience an unprecedented height. He said the initiative was conceived “to ensure that the citizens of Lagos State are better served. It is now being

delivered as another promise kept for a better Lagos for all.

We have been working endlessly to ensure that Lagos is not left in the dark ages.” He noted that the vision explained why several initiatives and steps “are being taken to make Lagos State as technologically driven as possible.”

He said the project has been designed in line with the administration’s drive to promote information technology in the state, thereby calling real estate practitioners “to buy into this initiative, embrace it and share our vision of a new Lagos.”

He noted that the real estate

litigation system was designed “to provide members of the public with information on pending court cases; notify the public about real estate or property subject to litigation and ensure that professional bodies are able to conduct an efficient search of real estate or property. He added that the initiative would curtail risk associated with property transactions; reduce litigation on real estate; enhance due diligence in property transactions; provide comprehensive data base of real estate and allow the public to upload their cases pending in courts.

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T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͯ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Inarapidlychangingglobaleconomy,webelievethattheestablishmentofacontinental freetradearea(CFTA)wouldprovideAfricawithtremendousopportunitytoachieve significantgrowthdrivenbyintra-Africantrade.Asingle,unifiedmarketwouldleadtoa comprehensiveandmutuallybeneficialtradeagreementamongstAfricanUnionMember States.Ifweincreaseourtrade,wegrowfaster,createmorejobsandreducepoverty” - PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI SPEAKING AT THE AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT IN ADDIS ABABA 72 Kwara Communities Decry Deplorable Social Amenities Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Nigeria Hosts Global Conference to Save Lake Chad from Extinction Abimbola Akosile The Federal Government of Nigeria, on behalf of other Heads of States and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, is planning to host an international Conference from February 26 to 28 in Abuja on proffering solutions on saving the drying Lake Chad.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, when the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Mrs. Amina Mohammed paid him a recent courtesy visit in Abuja.

Adamu stated that the main objective of the Conference is to find workable solutions in recharging the drying up of the basin. “In the next 50 to 100 years from hydrological perspective, if nothing is done now, the lives of the people of that region who depend on the lake as their source of livelihood would be in danger as the Lake faces extinction”, he said. The Minister proposed for cheaper and workable solutions to saving the Lake from extinction. According to him, the MoU signed between the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the PowerChina International Group Limited in April 2016 to save Lake Chad from drying up, can be actualised by the transfer of water from the Congo Basin to the Lake Chad Basin.

Adamu said the study done by PowerChina shows that it is technically feasible to transfer water from River Congo to Lake Chad thereby increasing the level of the lake. To him, this would halt the receding of the lake and the drying of the north basin due to climate change, according to a release issued by the Ministry’s Director (Information & Public Relations Unit), Mrs. Margaret Umoh. Speaking further, he called for more workable solutions that may be cheaper than the inter-basin water transfer. On the issue of cooperation between Nigeria and the UN on the re-integration of the people of the North-east ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency, the Minister said part of the ministry’s efforts in cushioning the effects of the insurgency in that region under this present administration in the past

Lake Chad, in danger of extinction two years has been by budgeting about N1 billion annually for water supply and sanitation facilities for the IDPs nationwide. Earlier, the UN Deputy Secretary-General Mrs. Mohammed said the purpose of the high-level mission, which was an informal consultation on political, human rights, humanitarian and development issues, will help scale up UN presence in the North-east in particular and Nigeria in general.

She said UN is more committed in the reintegration process ongoing in the North East as well as in the planned conference of saving

Lake Chad that is scheduled for February. She charged Heads of States and Government of the Lake Chad Basin Commission to consider passing the resolutions of the conference in a communiqué to the African Union (AU) for further action.

“Saving the Lake Chad is a sustainable development issue and the UN is ever ready in addressing such an issue. All hands must be on deck in saving the Lake from extinction.

Tell us how it can work and not how it cannot work”, Amina added.

About 72 communities under the banner of Ebamiyo community in Ifelodun local government council of Kwara state have cried out to the state government to come to their aid over the deplorable condition of social amenities like roads, water and electricity supply in the community.

The community said the deplorable condition of these social amenities have cut away the people of the community from the urban centres; thereby affecting the socio economic development of the area.

The National President of the community, Alhaji Oseni Yusuf made the call in Panada village in Ifelodun local government council of the state during the recent inspection visit to the deplorable condition of Panada-Agbeyangi Yaru road in the community.

According to him, “the non access situation to all the roads in the community has affected the socio economic development of the area.”

He said many investors that would have established cottage industries in the area have been staying away due to non availability of good roads in the community.

He stated that, “the people of the community that make up the concerned 72 towns and villages are farmers and they have been producing various crops in large quantities but there are no roads to transport their farm produce to the market for selling.”

Alhaji Yusuf, who decried the alleged insensitivity of the government towards the plight of the community dwellers despite several appeals to the government, said “the people of the community have been in total support of the government since 1979 till date but there is nothing to show for the support being given to the government.”

He stressed that, “During the last general elections and other subsequent elections in the state, the people of Ebamiyo community came out enmasse to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the promise that our roads will be opened up; but the people of the community are yet to see the dividends of democracy in the community.

Yusuf, who listed other roads that needed the urgent attention of government such as Giwa-Ogigi, Owode-Aiyetoro, Balogun-Oja, Ayero-Ago-Balogun-Oja, added that, “if these roads are opening up, it would serve as a short-cut to Ajase-Ipo to Ilorin and it would also boost our agricultural activities.”

He noted that, “These roads are just 21 kilometres in length and if tarred by the state government, they would go a long way in accelerating the economic development of the community, and also assist us to get our farm produce to the market without any hindrance.”

He also said the non availability of drinkable water to the community has continued to be a source of concern.

He stressed that, “the dry season is currently setting in and drinking good water has remained a serious problem as the residents trek long distances every morning in search of drinkable water, and this has affected the health of the people in the community.”

While appealing to the state government to rise up to the ugly situation, Yusuf however said the development would assist the community to move forward.

Basic infrastructure has remained one of the major indicators of development and factors like good roads, potable water, regular electricity, quality basic education and access to market all combine to ensure sustainable development and overall growth.

36

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

The Fertility Dream In a society where successful marriages are rated by couples’ ability to have children of their own, many Nigerians with fertility issues spend years trying to figure out how to make their fertility dreams come true. Martins Ifijeh chronicles the lives of such families and what they can do to overcome their childless unions

T

he voices of fertile couples are heard everyday in Nigeria. Their babies are often showcased at every opportunity. When they log into social media platforms, their babies are their photo collages. They place them conspicuously for their friends and relations to see. After all, it is their pride. It is the product of a fruitful marriage. It is the completeness of a family.

But what happens to the voice of childless couples who are unable to flaunt babies as sign that their marriages are complete. Such couples rather spend lonely nights wondering why nature and science have suddenly find limits in their homes. They wonder why they can’t have what every other couple is getting at ease. Their voices are not heard because no positive story yet to tell. What they have is hope. Hope that someday they will have their own babies.

One of such persons is Ronke, a co-owner of a montessori and primary school in Ipaja area of Lagos, where she now spends most of her time attending to children of other families. It has always been her dream to have hundreds of children around her in a learning environment.

But she had wanted her own children to be among such pupils too.

During her hey days in the university, her dream was to live a very successful adult life. She had hoped to own an internationally recognised school, earn money, marry the man of her dream and have children of her own.

She was 20 years at the time and was going to stop making babies by her 32nd birthday.

Ronke worked passionately to create that reality. She graduated at 23, married her husband, Biodun at 27, and years later, she, along with him, established the school which she is currently managing.

While life served her almost all the desserts she deserved for her hard work and focus, it unfortunately also served her lemons. She has no baby of her own. Having children run round her matrimonial home became the lowest point for the family.

“My wedding came with so much hope. We had fantasized how beautiful our lovely sons and daughters would be. Biodun always talked about having a son as his first child, while my preference was for a girl. But as months passed, our fantasy began to deteriorate into anxiety.

“We were no longer talking about which sex should come first. Our apprehension ended discussions on how many children we should have or what names they should be called by,” says Ronke, who is now eight years into her marriage without the cry of a baby.

“At first we were laughing off the inability to conceive as ‘work-induced stress’. Even everyone around us, especially experienced couples also told us how much we work too much, and how we were not resting enough to be able to have babies. Some even said we were too anxious, that it would come naturally.”

While it is true, according to the Managing Director, Nordica Fertility Centre, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi in one of his interviews with THISDAY, that stress and anxiety could delay childbearing.

Ronke said the second year into the marriage changed the way she and her husband perceived the whole thing By the second anniversary of their marriage, it dawned on Ronke and Biodun like the twilight of a shuttered room that this was beyond stress or anxiety-induced infertility “At this point, we would wake up in the middle of the night and crack our heads on possible reasons why things weren’t going right in this area. We knew something was wrong but we couldn’t place it.

“While my business and Biodun’s career were moving on just fine, this one thing was certainly not. And this one thing was what we desired more than anything else. I thought of nothing

Infertility is treatable

else,” she recalled. “I would be sitting in a meeting with my staff and would be thinking about having babies. I would see parents bring their kids to school, and the next thing on my mind would be about having babies. I had this deep vacuum in me that craved for nothing else but children of my own.”

Ronke’s push for a fruitful marriage took her to doctors, who suggested different therapies.

“First, I and Biodun were placed on certain diets.

And then he was asked to add a little more weight. We took several medications along with my regular ultrasound tests which monitored my ovulation period. My mother in-law would prepare some concoctions for me. I would go from one church to the other, all in a bid to get pregnant. And after all that, I would still end up seeing my period.”

This has been the couple’s solution-seeking cycle for years until late last year when they eventually decided to try out Invitro Fertilisation (IVF); a process by which a woman’s egg is fertilised by a man’s sperm outside the body, usually done through a laboratory procedure involving high monitoring and stimulation of the reproductive elements. It is an assisted reproduction technology (ART) that has given new hope to couples who cannot conceive naturally.

“We have located a good IVF centre now in Lagos here where I have done basic hormonal

One in every four couples in Nigeria is fertility challenged, with majority still living in denial ...The growing number of cases noticed in the country should worry our public health space

screenings and other diagnosis which showed I had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS),” she said.

PCOS, according to health experts is one of the commonest causes of infertility. They say such patients have multiple small cysts in their ovaries that occur when the regular changes of a normal menstrual cycle are disrupted, leading to enlargement of the ovary and production of excessive amount of androgen and estrogenic hormones.

Ronke has now been asked by her fertility doctor to shed some weight within the next few months, so that treatment for IVF can properly commence.

Like the biblical woman with an issue of blood who believed holding Jesus’ garment would give her the needed restoration, Ronke says she is very optimistic that her first IVF treatment will result in her pregnancy.

The lamentation of an ex-wife Ronke is lucky her husband understands the situation and has been with her all through the journey, but same cannot be said of Dorcas, a 35 years old woman who has not only tasted the pain associated with infertility, but has been driven out of her matrimonial home by her husband and his family.

All was well with Dorcas and her husband until she lost her fourth pregnancy.

Narrating, she said the first miscarriage happened at the third month after their marriage.

She had started buying baby things. And they were already mulling the idea of relocating from their room and pallor apartment to a two bedroom where they would be able to properly raise their unborn child before she noticed a spontaneous dripping.

“On that Sunday morning, I noticed a drip of a brownish blood. By afternoon, the intensity had increased, and it was showing a pink tinge. I then realised I was miscarrying when the blood turned bright red a week later,” she recalled.

“The fourth miscarriage, which followed the same pattern, was all my husband and her people needed to label me a marine spirit eating up my unborn children,” she explained tearfully.

She said thereafter, her husband started keeping to himself, while his mother and siblings became a thorn in her flesh.

“They gave me dehumanising treatments, until

my husband started carrying different women.

I left the house after five years of abuses, ill treatment and shaming. I have learnt he has remarried now,” Dorcas, who believes when she eventually meet the right man, she will be able to bear her own children, explained.

Dorcas and her ex-husband, as it has turned out, did not undergo any fertility test, yet she went through the agony all by herself, and was labeled the infertile one by her partner and his family; a toga the Nigerian society often put on women from a fruitless marriage.

The depressing picture Ronke and Dorcas are just two among millions of Nigerian couples who have gone through or still going through the challenges of fertility.

Records from hospitals show that 40 to 45 per cent of all consultations in gynaecological clinics are infertility-related in Nigeria, a statistics that brings to bare the burden of infertility in the country.

According to a Consultant Gynaecologist and Medical Director, Grailvine Medical Centre, Asaba, Dr. Latimore Ovie, one in every four couples in Nigeria are fertility challenged, with majority still living in denial.

He said the growing number of infertility cases noticed in Nigeria should worry the public health space of the country.

“It is not only a health issue, but a social, psychological and marital issue that requires policies by government and input of stakeholders in reducing cost of treatment. We should also intensify awareness, so that couples can know the right thing to do in addressing the challenge.”

Infertility is also common with men It is no longer news that women are often the sacrificial lamb during fertility fights, especially in Nigeria. But what has refused to be a front burner is that men contribute a lot to infertility.

This was the case of Caleb and Ejiro whose marriage in 2010, came with so much expectations. They had believed by now they would be done with childbearing. But their hope soon began to wind down when months and years passed without the cry of a baby in their home.

Soon, that anxiety degenerated into frustration.

Their love was experiencing a diminishing return, and then the loving home turned into a house of constant quarrel.

37

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018

NEWS

WHO Indicates Willingness to Assist in Rebuilding Destroyed Health Facilities in Borno David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka The World Health Organisation (WHO) has indicated it readiness to assist in rebuilding destroyed health facilities in troubled Borno State Speaking in Maiduguri recently during the donation of 12 motorcycles towards enhancing disease control and surveillance in the Boko Haram ravaged state, the WHO Country Representative for Nigeria, Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu said with the stabilisation of peace in the troubled state, it was ripe to move into the stage of rehabilitation of destroyed health facilities in the state.

He said the objective of saving lives has been achieved in the

state, noting that the donation of the motorcycles was to assist in reaching difficult terrains with health care.

On the achievements in the healthcare sector, Alemu said: “I would say a big change has been achieved. Is it enough? I do not think it is enough yet because there are still needs which have not been met.”

He added that “with the stabilisation of peace, what is next is the rebuilding of facilities, and providing on regular basis those things needed. We have made tremendous impact on the life-saving front.”

On the donation of the motorcycles, he said “it will improve the mobility of disease notification surveillance officers in six local councils.”

He said: “We have given

and handed over to state government, which includes 12 motorcycles, will be used to support the movement of disease notification surveillance officers.

“We are now doing polio eradication activities in partnership with Borno State Government to eradicate the virus forever in Nigeria.”

He said the motorcycles will

also attend to emergency cases; where there are no health facilities.”

The Borno Commissioner for Health, Dr. Haruna Mshelia assured the country representative

of WHO; that the motorcycles will be deployed specifically for disease control and surveillance, including the immunisations programme of child in rural areas.

Yellow Fever: WHO to Donate 20 Million Doses of Vaccines to Nigeria Annually Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The World Health Organisation (WHO) will be donating 20 million doses of vaccines annually for the eradication of yellow fever in Nigeria.

The WHO Representative, Dr. Fiona Braka, who disclosed this in Abuja, said efforts must be geared towards containing the outbreak.

This is as the government commences the phase two of vaccination against yellow fever in four states: Kogi, Kwara , Zamfara and Borno states, where the country has recorded outbreaks of the disease.

Braka noted that the phase 1 was completed in 2014 covering 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory with about 10.4 million people vaccinated in the exercise.

She noted that the phase 2 preventive mass campaign is targeting between 09 months to 45 years of age in the vaccination campaign which kicked off recently.

This, she stated, is part of the 2026 programme to vaccinate the entire populace between age 09 months to 45 years of age.

The WHO representative said exercise would be conducted in phases based on the assessment conducted in 2017.

Until the recent outbreak, the country had received a clean bill of health from WHO certifying Nigeria as a yellow fever endemic free country, but

the recent pocket of outbreaks in Kogi, Kwara, Zamfara, Niger, Kebbi and Nasarawa may have reversed the trend.

There is however, no proven cure for the disease apart from the preventive vaccination.

The first outbreak was recorded in September 2017 in Kwara State and later Kogi, Zamfara.

Braka also revealed that the global body was ready to assist the country in achieving the total vaccination of the populace in line with the Elimination of Yellow Epidemics (EYE) by 2026.

“The global community is committed to this course and has pledged 20 million doses available annually to achieve the target despite the global vaccine shortfall,” Braka said.

She also noted that the disease is preventable “with available vaccines that is cheap, knowing that there is no cure for the disease but the vaccination is the ultimate way to protect the population.”

She therefore described WHO’s intervention as part of the entire global agenda; stressing that the “response is in line with the global elimination of yellow fever strategy, the EYE strategy.

“As part of the EYE strategy, we must protect hard reach population and must contain outbreak rapidly and must protect international spread.

L-R: The Wife of the Senate President/ Founder, Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Mrs. Toyin Saraki; Founder, Global Development, Ms. Barbara Bulc; and Co-Founder, Reboot the Future, Kim Polman at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland recently

Leaders Urged to Renew Commitment to a Malaria-Free Africa

Bauchi Records 206 Leprosy Cases in 2017

African nations must renew their commitment and strengthen instruments to attain a malaria-free Africa by 2030, African leaders have said at a high-level briefing held on the margins of the 30th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa recently.

Speaking to senior health, finance and foreign affairs officials from across the continent, the leaders briefed the stakeholders on the latest findings from the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s World Malaria Report 2017 signaling that, for the first time in more than a decade, progress against malaria on the African continent, which accounts for almost 90 per cent of the global malaria burden, has stalled.

“Malaria alone is estimated to rob the continent of US$12 billion per year in lost productivity, investment and associated health care costs.

It is therefore critical that we sustain the political commit-

The Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Malaria (BACATMA) has disclosed that only 206 leprosy cases which represent 0.3 per 10, 000 population were recorded in the state.

Executive Chairman of the agency, Dr .Mansur Dada who made the disclosure recently while briefing newsmen on the planned activities of the agency to commemorate this year’s World Leprosy Day said the state has achieved the global elimination target of one case per 10, 000 population.

According to him, the achievement was recorded as a result of series of activities carried out by BACATMA to curtail the disease in the state which includes: intensification of leprosy case finding, provision of drugs free of charge to patients and treatments.

Dada enumerated some of the symptoms of leprosy to include skin patch lighter

Martins Ifijeh

ment, as articulated in our continental Agenda 2063, to eliminate malaria in Africa by 2030 through increased domestic financing, increased access to life-saving malaria interventions, as well as more robust health systems,” said Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

African leaders have committed to eliminating malaria by 2030, as articulated in the Continental Development Agenda 2063.

Malaria, a treatable and preventable disease, already costs the African continent’s economy US$ 12 billion per year in direct losses, and 1.3 per cent of lost annual GDP growth, an earlier report by the RBM Partnership, Action and Investment to defeat Malaria, has shown.

According to the World Malaria Report 2017, progress across Africa has been uneven, putting at risk the tremendous progress to-date and African leaders’ collective ambition to end the disease.

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

than the surrounding skin, pale skin, loss of sensation of touch, pain, loss of eyebrows, eye lashes, damage, blinking, painful peripheral nerves of hands, feet and facial disfigurement among others.

He however explained that although it is an air born disease, leprosy is curable if diagnosed, treated early adding that people could prevent infection by avoiding interactions with patients.

“Leprosy is completely curable with the WHO recommended multi drug therapy (MDT), provided that the patients take the correct dose of the prescribed medication for the appropriate duration of six to 12 months. Leprosy diagnosis and treatment are free and available in over 200 public health facilities in the state.”

The executive chairman also advocated the enactment of laws that would eradicate stigmatisation and discrimination against persons suffering from leprosy in order to bring succour to them.

THE FERTILITY DREAM Like the usual practice in this part of the world, Ejiro was the one blamed for infertility in the house. Caleb often said if he had known she wasn’t going to be able to get pregnant he would not have married her. His family members soon joined the blame game.

While they outrightly never called Ejiro barren, they always tell her time was running out, as their brother was no longer getting younger.

“This spurred me to push for solutions. All the doctors I met always certify me okay, but they often end up insisting I encourage my husband to come for counselling and possible testing; a request he often declines, because he believed I was the one with the problem,” she said.

When Caleb eventually followed her to an

IVF centre in Ikeja, Lagos, he was diagnosed of low sperm count; which meant he had less than 15 million sperm per milliliter of semen.

He couldn’t get his wife pregnant because of the condition. Caleb has undergone surgery for varicocele in April 2016. He is now a proud father of a baby boy.

Caleb is just one among millions of males in Nigeria who have male infertility, and are unable to make their wives pregnant.

30 per cent of males have infertility According to Dr. Ajayi, sperm count has reduced by more than 30 per cent globally, adding that when comparing the sperm count of men who used Nordica’s service 10 years ago and now, “the decline in counts have reduced

by more than 30 per cent, noting that they were increasingly contributing to infertility.

He said while women have been known to take first step towards addressing their fertility issues, men should not shy away from doing same, adding that there exist technologies to assist men with very low sperm to be able to fertilise an egg. “Intra-cytoplasmic Morphologically-selected Sperm (IMSI) is helpful in this regards,” he added.

“Men should take foods high in antioxidants, as they have been proven to boost the quality of sperm.” Such foods, he said include beans, apples, carrots and a host of others. He said foods high in vitamins, magnesium, potassium were important for men.

Way forward “If many Nigerians are aware that infertility can be treated, the number of those seeking treatments will increase,” says a fertility expert, Dr. Seun. Ogunseitan.

He believes very few couples were still aware that there exists a cure for bareness. “Government and stakeholders should focus on this area. There should be continuous campaigns to demystify the myths surrounding infertility.

More couples should be encouraged to seek help on time, because IVF success is largely dependent on the age of the couples,” he added.

He also called for researches into causes and cures of the health condition.

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018

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INTERVIEW

Idris: Health Insurance Scheme Will Be Mandatory for all Lagosians Lagos State will in the next few months roll out its mandatory health insurance scheme targeting 24 million residents of the state. In an exclusive interview with Martins Ifijeh, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, explains the nature of the scheme and how Lagosians can benefit from it We are aware Lagos State health insurance scheme is about to kick off. How will you ensure poor Lagosians are covered?

Basically, the insurance is targeted at the poor.

The principle behind it is to mobilise funds from different sources so as to cover the poor too. This mean they will no longer have to dig their hands into their pockets to pay for healthcare. It is a contributory scheme.

On specific reference to the poor, there is a provision in the law which states that one per cent of the consolidated revenue will also go into that fund. It is an equity fund that would take care of the poor and vulnerable. What we will make sure of is that the system must be able to determine specifically how to measure the level of poverty, so that the poor will truly benefit from the scheme.

How will you then determine those who are really poor?

Well, it’s a difficult thing to measure, but what we have now is the tool and its statistics-base.

It has been used in some countries before to address some factors related to poverty, to get scores and data that give an idea of poverty level in a country. That is what we are going to try out now.

For the fact that a large number of people will contribute to this fund, we are trying to focus for now on issues that can be taken care of in Primary Healthcare level. You know primary healthcare is the back bone of any healthcare system and if we can effectively deal with that level of care, we would have succeeded in taking care of about 37 per cent healthcare burden in the state. That is why basic care is being addressed.

Another thing we are doing is to increase the number of providers available. We are not limiting this scheme to only public facilities, we are also making use of private facilities, which are much more than public facilities get involved. This will mean people will not have to trek long distance before they enroll in any facility. On this scheme, access is key.

What’s the nature of the scheme, will it be mandatory or optional?

Our scheme is different from the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). The fact is, any health insurance scheme that is not mandatory will never succeed. That’s the more reason the coverage at the national level has been very low, because we are in a developing country.

People will naturally not want to pay for their health and I don’t know why. People insure their cars, but won’t insure their lives. Ours is a mandatory scheme because that’s the way you can get people involved. But this requires that we explain to people why they need to pay for health insurance. One of the reasons is, people will pay when they are convinced that they will get the service.

That is why we have piloted this scheme in four communities, and it has been successful.

So with it we now have an idea of challenges to face when we roll out fully. The fact is that once people have confidence in you, they will pay. Take for instance, the poor people who go to Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) they pay.

When they go get drugs, they pay. Study has shown that money in the sector is from private pockets. The essence now is to channel those resources properly so that they can get quality healthcare. Again, by law it is mandatory, but how do we want to enforce it? If we look at the rules of enforcement and regulation, you don’t start using the big stick. People must understand what you are trying to do and it is by then they will willingly change their behaviour. When we started in Isheri community, people were reluctant, but we went there for about six months explaining to them. It got to a point they were willingly to pay extra to

Idris

have extra service.

At a point, there was free healthcare in Lagos State, how will this scheme be different from that?

The free healthcare is one form of healthcare financing, but we know it wasn’t free. There is no way government will fund free healthcare the way it is supposed to be funded. When this scheme starts, free health stops. And that’s why we are concerned that for those who are really poor, we will pay their own contribution in that equity fund.

What are the roles of ICT in making this scheme work?

Truly the workers will work but without Information and Communication Technology (ICT), we will not get it right. That scheme is supposed to link the providers of care, people receiving care, the health management organisations and then the agency. It is a scheme that links everybody together and collates data. If we don’t get that right, we are bound to fail. But we are almost through with the ICT. We have built an infrastructural architecture for the scheme base on about 21 modules, and we have finished almost 18 modules. The last is linking all these things aforementioned and testing it, that’s what’s left. One of the problems we had was to go on a study to know how much we will tell people to pay, how much we fund and what to cover. We thought it was something we could get from the national level but we discovered they didn’t have that, so we had to start afresh. I want to also say that in this environment, data is a major issue. What we have won’t get it perfectly right but once we get our ICT system, we are going to keep data and will keep building on it to assist us.

How do you intend to bring everybody into the health scheme?

To start with, the law says it is mandatory for every resident of Lagos State. The law says we should use Lagos State Resident Registration

Agency card but we won’t wait for that because when LASRA started, it was for people of age 18 and above. For the health scheme, we are starting from age 0. So that software needs to be amended so that it won’t delay us. We will start with something else. Secondly, it’s compulsory for civil servants and members of the public. For those who are on employment, it’s easier. And those self-employed will have to be involved because some of them make more money than those in the office. They have to contribute because it is mandatory.

How would you make those in the informal sector and self employed contribute to the scheme?

That’s why one of the things we have been doing is bringing all the different stakeholders in different groups together. We have been meeting and discussing with them on what their roles and benefit will be, and the feedback has been positive. Another thing is that enrollment will be by family, so that the larger the group, the cheaper you pay.

Our payment will be N40,000 per annum for a family of six. If you break it down per month it becomes N500 per person. It’s a matter of pulling. That agency now will manage the fund in a very effective manner to purchase care for those who enroll with the providers.

And providers must meet strict criteria because part of that is to ensure quality of care. So when we increase the number of providers at the primary healthcare level, the people would have the choice of who their provider should be. Not that they will go to a general hospital and queue for hours. Choose a primary healthcare provider, whether private or public that you are familiar and friendly with, and if you are not happy with that person, you are free to change.

For the civil servants, they are all residents of Lagos State. In agreement with them, government will be pay 75 per cent of their own contribution while they will be paying 25 per cent from their salaries into that fund. That

fund is special and will never come under the bureaucracy of government because we need to pay the providers so we don’t have any break in transmission.

There are some people in the private sector who are already enjoying that level of insurance.

We are not going to bother them but the idea is to put most of those that don’t have any insurance at all into the scheme and they are many, almost 95 per cent.

The insurance scheme is to provide access and quality of care, to ensure that the poor are taking care of. The agency is supposed to manage the funds, it will comprise people who are good fund managers. We were using health insurance agents who already have the experience. So they can relate better with the providers and the enrollees and the agencies.

We want to discourage cash collection so we are going to make use of different platforms available to make it easier for the people. It’s a complex thing, but the key thing to put everything together is ICT infrastructure.

What is the role of private sector in the health scheme?

We have more private sectors now as providers.

Most of the HMOs are private, and there are some private facilities also using the HMOs. What are trying to do to make these things easier for them is to create a platform for manufacturers to have a link so that they can ensure adequate supply. We don’t get involve, but between them, they will arrange for that.

Which is another means of efficiency to show the private sector is fully involved, the ICT is also private sector driven When you start the scheme, how would you ensure quality of service?

Quality of care is inbuilt in the scheme from day one. If any facility doesn’t meet up to the standard required, they will not provide service. It’s not like we are just empanelling any provider, but first they have to apply, then we will go and inspect. We have a tool

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018

INTERVIEW HEALTH IDRIS: HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME WILL BE MANDATORY FOR ALL LAGOSIANS in the health accreditation agency, it’s those tools that will be used to access readiness as a provider. There are two requirements they have to meet. One, they must be accredited by Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA). Secondly, we will know the staff strength of providers, bank account and BVN to ensure if money is transferred to them, they make use of it judiciously. One of the things we are insisting on is that for any provider whether private or public, each personnel must be Basic Life Support (BLS) certified. It is more or less like what is called Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). That is, if someone comes in and collapses, you must be able to rescue that person, to ensure life is maintained, it’s part of the requirement. We are aware some of them do not have the capability, but we will give them enough time to build that capability, its mandatory.

Another thing we will be looking into later in the future is to ensure they know how to deal with emergencies and if you don’t have that capability, you know where to refer to. Those are the key issues of quality as requirement.

The agencies, HEFAMAA and even the HMOs too will monitor the activities.

For 12 years that NHIS has been on, we have only had about five million Nigerians registered to it. Do you intend to make Lagos’ scheme bigger than the national. What is your projection?

It is mandatory that every Lagosian has access to health service. So our focus is that the 24 million people living in Lagos are covered.

That’s the focus, so we can’t go beyond our population. We also understand that we will have to reach our population over a period of time. So we are not starting with 100 per cent.

We will start with the number we can manage now, then when we are able to convince them better they join the train. If we can cover about 75 per cent of the population we will consider it a success, but our target is to get to 100 per cent. You know people still move into Lagos every day and that’s why residency is an issue, when they come in they increase the burden which we need to address. Luckily, the federal government is also planning to make NHIS mandatory, which is also better.

We know for it to be mandatory, it has to be a stick and carrot approach. What is the stick approach?

The stick approach is that there is a law on ground mandating it, but we will not wield the big stick now. We will continue to educate the people. That is why we have been taking time to educate the different stakeholders. They have been making useful suggestions as well, which we have inculcated into the scheme.

Idris

As people get more enlightened, enrollment increase.

How will this scheme impact on Lagosians?

It will impact on Lagosians in many ways.

They will have better quality and access to healthcare services. This will reduce the cost of care while better service is offered. This scheme will reduce mortality and morbidity rate in Lagos, with emphasis on disease prevention, health promotion. Poor Lagosians will better be protected and better positioned to seek employment because they can take care of their health. Government funding will then take care of public health issues. We will build infrastructure that will be able to contain disease occurrence and train staff better. The health insurance scheme is a game changer for the sector. And that’s one of the key building blocks of any health system.

How far will this scheme cover? Will it be addressing cancers, kidney diseases, among others?

Under the law, we have three plans. We are starting with the basic plan, which will address

primary healthcare issues. Commonly seen diseases like malaria, immunisation, delivery and the likes. We don’t want our mothers and their newborn to die. We will not treat cancer but we will screen for cancer so as to be able to catch it early and then refer. We will screen and treat common hypertension, because all these little things, if they don’t get big, they won’t be expensive to treat. We will tackle emergencies to save lives. There will be huge emphasis on health promotion, immunisation and family planning. We will provide consumables to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. As the scheme blows up, people will be able to pay for higher services because if we start from the asking them to pay big, they will kill the scheme from day one. A lot of these chronic diseases stay so for life. So the best thing is to catch them early before it turns something big and expensive.

When is the scheme rolling out?

We are starting this first quarter.

Apart from this insurance scheme, what other new things are we expecting in 2018?

We are introducing again the second phase of our health system reform. Government has invested hugely in terms of infrastructure but the outcome is not what we desire. So there is a problem with the process. What we want is quality of care and patient satisfaction. Another thing is we want to train our health workforce.

Apart from ongoing renovation of our facilities at different levels of care, we will also be training our staff.

This year, we will be going fully on our defenses for infectious diseases. We will improve on surveillances. Lassa fever is around again and we don’t know what will happen next, but we know it will happen and we must be prepared. If you look at Yaba where we used during the Ebola case, with the support of the Canadian Government, we are putting up the Bio safety free lab with the capacity to diagnose and treat some serious infectious organisms we can diagnose.

We need to address the issue of lifestyle and that’s where the role of people comes in. There is no point adopting negative lifestyle that will affect your health. People who have bad lifestyle like smoking could also cause problem for second hand smokers. So if we address the issue of unhealthy lifestyle like smoking, alcohol injection, among others, which are risk factors for diseases, we would have succeeded in reducing disease prevalence in the country.

And all these things are risk factors for disease.

They are the major cause of heart diseases, strokes and all. So we need to control those behaviours and modify good lifestyle.

While government is doing its bit, the public should also play their role. When they say don’t drive without your seat belt and you refuse, something happen to you and you were taken to the hospital, supposing you don’t have an insurance, you will pay from your pocket which will be expensive. Let us shift the focus to behavioural change.

Lagos is experiencing scarcity of health workers.

Are you planning to address this?

Lagos does not have scarcity of health workers.

If you say it’s inadequate, I will agree with you because it is a major problem not only in Lagos State, but in Nigeria and in most parts of the world. Ours is coming to the fore because of our population.

There is no government that provides the needed money in employing all the staff required.

We are addressing this. We are still employing.

The hospitals we are planning now will be staffed. That is why in the insurance scheme we said we will use both public and private facilities, because private has huge resources that are not being utilised.

There is Improved Universal Health Coverage in Foundation Urges Govt to Set Up Cancer Nigeria, Says Wife of Senate President Screening Services Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The wife of the Senate President, Mrs. ToyinSaraki, has said that there has been progress in the Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria with the launching last July by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki of the Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage.

Mrs. Saraki, who is the President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa Foundation, said the Primary Health Care Revitalisation Support Group has been a driving force and the Senate has resolved to mandate its Committee on Appropriations to include the one per cent Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), meaning that the Fund will be in the budget for the first time.

However, she said there was still a long way to go because globally every year healthcare expenses push an estimated 100 million people into poverty around the world and average life expectancy in Nigeria remains at around 53

years old.

She stated this while participating in a high-level meetings and interventions at the annual meeting of the 48th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland with the theme ‘Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World’.

The ex-Kwara State First Lady called on the international community, national governments and influential individuals to ensure that 2018 is the year of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Following her interventions at the World Bank’s Global Financing Facility hosted ‘High-Level Panel Discussion on Women, Adolescent’s and Children’s Health’ Mrs. Saraki had meetings with global health leaders, and also attended The Female Quotient, focused on gender equality, and Johnson and Johnson’s Co-Laboratory.

“The power of health partnerships in Global development has contributed to the Wellbeing Foundation’s success in bringing world innovation to

rural health worker training on Emergency Management of Obstetric and Newborn Care through our collaboration with Johnson and Johnson, and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

“This week at Davos, as a Global UHC Champion and Inaugural Goodwill Ambassador of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), I have been responding to the questions: Why UHC? Why now?

“I agree wholeheartedly with WHO DG Dr. Tedros that UHC is the best way to create a shared future in a fractured world – it not only provides ‘Health for All’ but also reduces poverty, drives economic growth and promotes gender equality.

“At this year’s World Economic Forum I have advocated for midwives as a key engine-starter towards the success of our shared pursuit of better health outcomes, as midwives are well placed to deliver, develop, nurture and counsel all families from birth to age.

Rebecca Ejifoma Medical expert and founder of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, Dr. Femi Olaleye, has urged government to set up cancer screening services in every local governments through the existing Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) and partnership with NGOs who already have track record and capacity to do it.

He said this during the Cervical Cancer Awareness Walk in Surulere at the weekend in collaboration with Equity Assurance to screen 2,000 women in Lagos State and raise awareness on cervical cancer in line with World Cervical Cancer Awareness Week.

According to him, “About 8,000 Nigerian women die annually to this cancer. We are not screening our women.

Without intervention that figure will increase.

It’s a major public health issue for Nigeria but we aren’t dealing with it as a national problem,” he disclosed.

“Other parts of the world

are vaccinating their young girls. But because we are not doing that, we belong to the group of countries with higher mortality to cervical cancer.

That’s a published study,” he added.

Reacting to rumours that washing the cervix with soap results in cervical cancer, the expert rebuffed it, expressing that the only way women can avoid cervical cancer is by not having sex.

“It is a sexually transmitted virus. And we cannot tell women not to have sex.”

“Then get vaccination. It protects women and girls from getting the HPV virus from the age of 10. However, it is not advisable to wash inside the vagina. It predisposes women to more infection and it has no way of preventing HPV.” He, therefore, urged that regular screening and vaccination were the only ways to prevent having the disease.

The expert insisted on two to three years of screening at least two or three times within a 10-year span till the age of 65.

The medical specialist further lauded the organisations – subsidiary company Equity Assurance Plc, Manage Healthcare services HMO – for their support in the screening of 2,000 women, an exercise which will run for some months in Lagos State.

“Indeed, this organisation gave us donations to support free screening for 2,000 women.

Although we cannot screen 2,000 women in one day, it will expand till the next couple of months.”

Speaking also, the Head of Brand Communications with Equity Assurance, Oluwayemisi Mafe, said this was their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). According to her, they needed to look at where “the society needs intervention so that we can move in in such areas.

Health is a very pivotal aspect in life.”

“We felt the need to help.

And January being the month of Cervical cancer awareness, we used to sponsor an awareness walk and screen those interested,” she added.

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T H I S D AY ˞ ˜ FEBRUARY 1, 2018

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Nigeria’s Manufacturing Index Expands for 10th Consecutive Month Obinna Chima The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 57.3 index points in January indicating an expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 10th consecutive month.

The PMI report posted on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website yesterday showed that the index however grew at a slower rate, when compared to that in the previous month.

According to the report, of the 16 sub-sectors, 13 reported growth in the review month in the following order: computer & electronic products; non-metallic mineral products; cement; textile,

apparel, leather & footwear; printing & related support activities; appliances & components; primary metal; petroleum & coal products; food, beverage & tobacco products; furniture & related products; paper products; fabricated metal products; plastics & rubber products.But the electrical equipment; chemical & pharmaceutical products; and transportation equipment sub-sectors contracted in the review month.

At 59.6 points, the January 2018 production level index for the manufacturing sector grew for the eleventh consecutive month. The index indicated a slower growth in the current

month, when compared to its level in the preceding month.

In all, 11 of the 16 manufacturing sub-sectors recorded expansion in production level, three remained unchanged, while the remaining tworecorded declines in production level during the review month.

Also, at 58.3 points, the January 2018 new orders index grew for the eighth consecutive month. The index indicated a slower growth in the current month, when compared to its level in December 2017. Ten sub-sectors reported growth, four remained unchanged while two contracted in the review month.

Nigeria Ranked Low on Budget Transparency Index Nigeria slipped into 90th place behind Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in the global Open Budget index released on Thursday.

Nigeria’s score on the open budget index dipped from 24 in 2015 to 17. In Africa, Nigeria currently ranks 23 behind Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Liberia.

Among the African countries, South Africa led on the index and was closely followed by Uganda, Senegal, Ghana, Namibia, Kenya, Morocco, and Egypt, in that order.

The Open Budget Index assesses the comprehensiveness and timeliness of budget information that governments make publicly available.

Owing to this, BudgIT, a civic organisation, expressed dismay at Nigeria’s current position on fiscal transparency and public participation in the budget process.

The organisation noted in a statement yesterday that Africa’s

largest economy had “apparently taken steps backwards despite persistent advocacy by citizens and repeated promises by the government to improve.�

According to BudgIT, the federal government of Nigeria provides her citizens with insufficient budget information making it difficult for taxpayers to understand how elected officials utilise available resources.

In addition, it argued that the country’s budget process takes very little feedback from the public, and the final budget document does not reveal how the meagre feedbacks are used. “Nigeria’s low rank can be connected to the failure of the federal government to produce the mid-year review. Also, the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Budget Implementation Reports were published late while the content of all budget documents produced in Nigeria

falls short on the minimum acceptable global standards as itemised in the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency Framework,� it added.

Therefore, BudgIT urged the federal government to improve the timeliness of the release of its essential budget documents and run an open budget system.

It noted that it was also vital that Nigeria improves on the comprehensiveness of the critical budget documents, including the MTEF, the Budget Implementation Reports, the executive budget proposal, the enacted budget and the year-end report. “Nigeria also needs to produce and publish a midyear review of fiscal activities in line with the minimum global standard in budgeting.

There is also an urgent need for a structured participatory mechanism designed to capture views of the public throughout the budget cycle,� it added.

Fidelity Bank Bags ISO 22301 CertiďŹ cation by BSI Nume Ekeghe In its bid to improve its resilience and capacity, Fidelity Bank Plc has been awarded the ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) certified by the British Standard institute (BSI).

The process, which had been adopted by the bank since August 2017, was applauded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the bank had complied 13 months to the initial deadline.

Speaking yesterday at the certificate presentation at Fidelity Bank’s head office in Lagos, the MD/CEO Fidelity Bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo said the certification would enhance the safety and protection of the bank’s assets and customers’ investments, as well as the financial institution’s ability to effectively respond to incidents or disruptions and continue operations at acceptable pre-defined levels.

He added: “Most disruptions to smooth business operations are caused by infrastructure outages or human error. “They can also be the result of random power outages, natural disasters or international events. “Clearly, any of these disruptions can be costly and

undermine an organisation’s ability to deliver best-in-breed customer service. “More importantly, unplanned outages can also create farreaching consequences that impact long-term revenue stream, brand and ultimately, an organisation’s survival. “It is against this backdrop that Fidelity Bank decided to take concrete steps to improve its resilience capabilities.�

Continuing, the Fidelity Bank boss said: “After months of rigorous Business Impact Analysis (BIA) and risk assessment across all the departments of the bank, our bank was awarded the prestigious ISO 22301 certificate by the BSI. “Implementing the ISO 22301 (Business Continuity Management System) is a critical step towards achieving our corporate strategy and enhancing stakeholders’ confidence in the Fidelity brand. “BCMS demonstrates that Fidelity bank is committed to protecting its staff and ensuring the continuity of critical business functions, mitigate risk, and sustain customer confidence in the event of a disruption.�

On the part of the regulator, the Director, Banking and Payment Systems Deaprtment CBN,

Mr. Dipo Fatokun applauded the bank timeliness in responding to CBN’s directive.

He said: “For the bank to have implement this successfully and certified by BSI is a great achievement. Fidelity bank is know for being consistently committed to rendering quality services to their clients. “In this day where hazards that are natural have become numerous, being certified for the business continuity management system is a great achievement and evidence of the bank’s commitment and readiness to sustain service delivery by overcoming any unforeseen disruption.�

Represented by his assistant director, Mr. Y M Bature, Fatokun further added: “We encourage other players in the industry to emulate this great example made by fidelity bank.�

Also, the Head, Trade and Investment UK Deputy High Commission, Mr. Ben Ainsley, said that “this regulatory systems is something the UK government wholeheartedly believes in and that the UK government is looking to improve its business with Nigeria in terms technology support and enhance trade.�

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 THURSDAY JANUARY 30, 2018

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $66.60 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $67.60 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

41

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͯ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

MARKET NEWS

Cordros Capital Bullish on Nigerian Equities Market in 2018 Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie Cordros Capital Limited, an investment banking firm and a major player in the Nigerian capital market has said that the 2018 macroeconomic outlook favours the equities market.

Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Cordros Capital Limited, Wale Agbeyangi, who led the

management team to present to investment journalists their outlook titled ‘Nigeria in 2018: Looking Beneath the Surface,’ said when compared to the last two years, Nigeria’s macro outlook, wherein there are seemingly more tailwinds than headwinds, is more favourable to equities.

While they made strong case for equities upside potential, they also considered the number of

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

possible risks that could trigger equity downdrafts this year.

Their outlook for outlook for equities in three-fold, saying that in their past 10 years of existence, Cordros Capital forecasts have been close to reality.

Speaking further, Head, Research and Strategy, Cordros Capital Limited, Christian Orajekwe, said the first scenario assumes that equities will return excess

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

of 40 per cent in 2018.

“We have considered five possible triggers of the rally.

The probability of the triggers is low to moderate. The possible triggers, in order of importance to Nigerian equities are: significantly favourable macroeconomic and political backdrop; strong corporate earnings growth; strong portfolio inflows; mergers and acquisition (M&A) activities; and strong

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

moderation of fixed income and treasury yields,” he said.

Their second scenario assumes about 10 per cent to 15per cent equities return in 2018.

“We have considered four possible triggers of the rally.

The probability of the triggers is moderate to high. The possible triggers, in order of importance to Nigerian equities, are: moderate improvement in the macroeconomic environment,

O F

as widely envisaged; stable to modest corporate earnings growth; modest improvement in portfolio inflows over 2017; and marginal moderation of fixed income and treasury yields,” Orajekwe added.

According to him, the last scenario assumes equities will deliver between 20 per cent to 25per cent negative return in 2018. “We have considered four possible triggers of the sell-off.

2 9 / 0 1 / 2 0 1 8 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

˾ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018

42

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DŝdžĞĚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ϯ ŽĨ ϱ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƚƌĞŶĚĞĚ ƐŽƵƚŚǁĂƌĚƐ͘ dŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ďŝŐŐĞƐƚ ůŽƐĞƌ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘ϭй ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ ; Ϯ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ /Ed Z t ; ϰ͘ϵйͿ͘ dŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ƚƌĂŝůĞĚ͕ ƐŚĞĚĚŝŶŐ Ϭ͘ϯй ƉƌŝŵĂƌŝůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƐĞůů ŽīƐ ŝŶ > thE/KE ; ϴ͘ϯйͿ ĂŶĚ E D ; Ϭ͘ϲйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ h E ; ϯ͘ϳйͿ ĂŶĚ h ; ϭ͘ϮйͿ ƉƵůůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚĞdž Ϭ͘Ϯй ůŽǁĞƌ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŶƚƌĂƌLJ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƚĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ͕ ƵƉ ϭ͘ϵй ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƚŽŽŬ ƉŽƐŝƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ t W K ;нϰ͘ϲйͿ ĂŶĚ EE ;нϬ͘ϱйͿ͘ ůƐŽ͕ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ &KZd ;нϭ͘ϵйͿ ĚƌŽǀĞ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ;нϬ͘ϯйͿ͘

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ŽŵƉĂŶLJ ŝŶ &ŽĐƵƐ͗ hŶŝŽŶ ĂŶŬ ŽĨ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ WůĐ hŶŝŽŶ ĂŶŬ ŽĨ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ WůĐ ;͞hE/KEͿ ďĞŐĂŶ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ ϭϵϭϳ ĂŶĚ ƌĞĐĞŶƚůLJ ĐĞůĞďƌĂƚĞĚ ŝƚƐ ϭϬϬƚŚ ĂŶŶŝǀĞƌƐĂƌLJ ǁŚŝůĞ ĂĚŽƉƟŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƐůŽŐĂŶ ŽĨ ͞zŽƵƌ ^ŝŵƉůĞƌ ĂŶĚ ^ŵĂƌƚĞƌ ĂŶŬ͘͟ KŶ ƌĞĂĐŚŝŶŐ ŝƚƐ ϭϬϬƚŚ ĂŶŶŝǀĞƌƐĂƌLJ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬ͛Ɛ ŵĂŝŶ ĨŽĐƵƐ ǁĂƐ ƚŽ ͞ ĞůĞďƌĂƚĞ͕ /ŵƉĂĐƚ ĂŶĚ >ĞĂĚ͟ ǁŚŝůĞ ĞdžƉĂŶĚŝŶŐ ŝƚƐ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚ ƉŽƌƞŽůŝŽ͘ dŚĞ 'ƌŽƵƉ ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚůLJ ĐŽŶƐŝƐƚƐ ŽĨ hŶŝŽŶ ĂŶŬ ŽĨ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ WůĐ ĂŶĚ hŶŝŽŶ ĂŶŬ h< WůĐ ĂŌĞƌ ĞŵďĂƌŬŝŶŐ ŽŶ Ă ƐĂůĞ ŽĨ ŝƚƐ ƐƵďƐŝĚŝĂƌŝĞƐ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϰ ŝŶ ŽƌĚĞƌ ƚŽ ĨŽĐƵƐ ŽŶ ĐŽƌĞ ďĂŶŬŝŶŐ͘ /Ŷ ϮϬϭϲ͕ ƐŚĂƌĞŚŽůĚĞƌƐ ŽĨ hŶŝŽŶ ďĂŶŬ ĂƵƚŚŽƌŝnjĞĚ ƚŚĞ ďĂŶŬ ƚŽ ƌĂŝƐĞ ƵƉ ƚŽ EϱϬ͘ϬďŶ ǀŝĂ Ă ƌŝŐŚƚƐ ŝƐƐƵĞ͘ hŶŝŽŶ ŝƐ ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚůLJ ƌĂƚĞĚ ͞ ͟ ďLJ &ŝƚĐŚ ƌĂƟŶŐƐ͘ /Ŷ ŝƚƐ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ƌĞƐƵůƚ ƌĞůĞĂƐĞĚ ĞĂƌůŝĞƌ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬ͛Ɛ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ƌĂƚŚĞƌ ƵŶĚĞƌǁŚĞůŵŝŶŐ͘ 'ƌŽƐƐ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƌŽƐĞ ϭϱ͘ϲй z Ž z ƚŽ EϭϬϵ͘ϱďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ͕ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚĞĚ ďLJ Ă ϮϮ͘ϰй z Ž z ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŝŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ;ĨƌŽŵ EϳϮ͘ϯďŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲ ƚŽ Eϴϴ͘ϱďŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳͿ͘ ŽŶƚƌĂƌLJ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ͕ ŶŽŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ƵŶĚĞƌƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞĚ͕ ĨĂůůŝŶŐ ϲ͘ϯй ƚŽ EϮϭ͘ϬďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ;ĨƌŽŵ EϮϮ͘ϱďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲͿ͘ dŚĞ 'ƌŽǁƚŚ ŝŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ǁĂƐ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ Ă Ϯϲ͘ϯй ƵƉƟĐŬ ŝŶ ůŽĂŶƐ ĂŶĚ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞƐ ĂƐ ǁĞůů ĂƐ ĂŶ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŝŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ĨƌŽŵ dƌĞĂƐƵƌLJ ŝůůƐ ;ƵƉ ϮϬ͘Ϭй z Ž z ƚŽ EϮϭ͘ϵďŶͿ͘ DĞĂŶǁŚŝůĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬ͛Ɛ ŶŽŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ǁĂƐ ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ďLJ Ϯϭ͘ϲй ĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ŝŶ KƚŚĞƌ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ĂƐ ǁĞůů ĂƐ Ă ϵϴ͘Ϯй ĚŝƉ ŝŶ Ğ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĨĞůů ϲϭ͘ϱй ƚŽ EϬ͘ϳďŶ ĂƐ ĂƌĚ &y ŐĂŝŶ ƌĞĚƵĐĞĚ ĨƌŽŵ Eϭ͘ϰďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲ ƚŽ EϮϱ͘Ϭŵ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŽƚŚĞƌ ŚĂŶĚ͕ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ ĞdžƉĞŶƐĞƐ ŐƌĞǁ ϭϬ͘ϭй z Ž z ƚŽ Eϰϵ͘ϬďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Eϰϰ͘ϲďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ W d ĂŶĚ W d ĨĞůů Ϯ͘ϭй ĂŶĚ ϰ͘ϲй ƚŽ Eϭϯ͘ϬďŶ ĂŶĚ EϭϮ͘ϰďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ͘ KŶ Ă ƋƵĂƌƚĞƌ ŽŶ ƋƵĂƌƚĞƌ ďĂƐŝƐ͕ Yϯ͗ϮϬϭϳ ƐƚĂŶĚĂůŽŶĞ ƐŚŽǁĞĚ ĂŶ ĞƋƵĂůůLJ ǁĞĂŬ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͘ 'ƌŽƐƐ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ĨĞůů ϭϵ͘ϰй Y Ž Y ƚŽ EϮϬ͘ϯďŶ ;ĨƌŽŵ EϮϱ͘ϱďŶ ŝŶ YϮ͗ϮϬϭϳͿ͕ ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ďLJ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƐ ŝŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ;ĚŽǁŶ Ϯ͘ϲй ƚŽ EϯϬ͘ϮďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Eϯϭ͘ϬďŶ ŝŶ YϮ͗ϮϬϭϳͿ ĂŶĚ ŶŽŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ;ĚŽǁŶ ϯϳ͘ϯй ƚŽ Eϱ͘ϮďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Eϴ͘ϯďŶ ŝŶ YϮ͗ϮϬϭϳͿ͘ ůƐŽ͕ W d ĂŶĚ W d ĨĞůů Ϯϳ͘ϭй ĂŶĚ ϯϭ͘ϵй ƚŽ Eϯ͘ϱďŶ ĂŶĚ Eϯ͘ϮďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ ĞƐƉŝƚĞ ŝƚƐ ƵŶĚĞƌǁŚĞůŵŝŶŐ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƌĞƐƵůƚ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ďĂŶŬ ƚŽ ƚĂŬĞ ƐƚĞƉƐ ƚŽ ƌĞĚƵĐĞ ĐŽƐƚ ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞƐ ŽŶ ƉƌŽĮƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ ŝŶ ŽƌĚĞƌ ƚŽ Ɛƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĨŽƌ &z͗ϮϬϭϳ͘ /Ŷ ĂĚĚŝƟŽŶ͕ ǁĞ ďĞůŝĞǀĞ ŵĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚ͛Ɛ ĐŽŵŵŝƚŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ Ɛƚ ŝƚƐ ƌĞƚĂŝů ƐĞŐŵĞŶƚ ďLJ ůĞǀĞƌĂŐŝŶŐ ŽŶ ƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJ ƚŽ ĚƌŝǀĞ ƉƌŽĮƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ͕ ǁŝůů ďĞ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ďĂŶŬ͘

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43

˾ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018

MARKET NEWS

Africa Prudential Launches USSD *4018# to Empower Shareholders Goddy Egene Africa Prudential Plc has unveiled its new USSD code *4018# that will enable shareholders to perform many tasks on their own.

Tagged ‘Personal Registrar’, the code, which was unveiled in Lagos yesterday, according to the company, is in line with its determination to dominate and redefine the landscape of registrar service delivery in the county, The USSD code, *4018#, enables shareholders to

perform multitude of tasks including checking their outstanding dividend, shareholding balance, confirming bank mandate right from their mobile phones from the comfort of their homes, work places or leisure. With the code, shareholders can also check postal and email addresses from their mobile phones.

Speaking about the product, the Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Peter Ashade, explained that the service, which is available round the clock, works on

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

all kinds of mobile phones and networks, and does not require internet data, adding that shareholders only need to dial the code to access the service environment.

He noted that the “Personal Registrar” was developed by the company in its drive to persistently pursue exceptional service experience and is borne out of its culture of excellence and persistent drive to improving investors’ confidence in the market.

He said: “We continuously embark on product

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 30Jan-2018, unless otherwise stated.

development and process improvement to deliver exceptional customer experience to our clients across sectors of the economy, while exciting the Nigerian capital market as a whole,” he said.

Ashade explained that the company’s change of name from Africa Prudential Plc to Africa Prudential Registrars Plc in 2017, does not imply its exit from registrar business but was rather to enable it extend service offerings to other sectors of the economy by

leveraging technology, one of which is the just launched USSD code *4018#.

Also speaking, a nonExecutive Director of the company, Mr. Emmanuel Nnorom, stressed that the development of the product was not just about Africa Prudential, but remains a plus for the entire registrar business in Nigeria and encouraged other players in the market to follow suit in breaking new grounds. Similarly, Head, Business Development of the company, Mrs. Bridget

Bayo-Ajayi encouraged shareholders whose mobile numbers have not been duly registered on the company’s database to execute a shareholder data update form for their mobile numbers to enjoy the service.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Bisi Bakare of Pragmatic Shareholders Association lauded Africa Prudential for putting shareholders convenience first by launching the first-of-itskind product in registrars business.

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 198.49 198.70 11.51% Nigeria International Debt Fund 242.70 242.91 4.79% 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 0.86 0.87 4.41% ACAP Income Funds 0.62 0.62 3.21% 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 16.40% 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 20.61 21.23 12.79% ARM Discovery Fund 427.50 440.38 9.88% ARM Ethical Fund 28.79 29.66 5.38% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 16.09% 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 166.68 167.85 9.88% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 15.86% 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 15.10% Paramount Equity Fund 13.11 13.45 6.07% Women's Investment Fund 101.60 104.31 1.02% 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 16.30% 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 16.80% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.08 1.09 8.83% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.12 1.13 12.63% 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 1,170.65 1,171.82 1.99% FBN Heritage Fund 151.07 152.54 8.42% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 15.90% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $114.45 $114.99 1.36% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $114.37 $114.91 1.39% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 192.89 195.74 12.94% 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 1.45 1.48 10.84% Legacy Debt Fund 2.92 2.92 1.21% 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 3,175.95 3,223.73 6.63% Coral Income Fund 2,494.05 2,494.05 1.96% 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 16.00% 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 15.50% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.24 2.27 6.36%

Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 17.99% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 115.72 116.02 0.59% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.17 1.19 1.97% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,039.91 1,039.91 0.90% 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 17.63 17.81 25.15% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 16.30% 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 1.29 1.31 8.11% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.20 11.28 1.58% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 13.96% 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 152.30 155.22 18.35% 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 1.50 1.50 1.17% 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 2,378.93 2,397.72 6.04% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 180.26 180.26 2.16% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.10 1.11 9.41% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 224.66 224.78 2.03% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 188.75 190.93 5.41% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 15.34% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,584.07 10,726.12 9.45% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.07 1.07 0.94% 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 1.44 1.46 18.79% United Capital Bond Fund 1.58 1.58 16.02% United Capital Equity Fund 1.02 1.04 11.61% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 14.88% United Capital Eurobond Fund 103.30 103.30 10.23% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.12 1.12 25.55% 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 13.83 14.04 10.10% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.88 14.04 5.25% Zenith Income Fund 19.30 19.30 2.03%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

10.00 133.01

-11.35% 0.42%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.76 170.04 127.15

12.86 173.79 129.55

5.26% 19.10% 16.40%

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

5.85 10.40 20.48 23.31 153.69

5.89 10.48 20.58 23.51 155.69

23.32% 8.64% 15.27% 18.41% 3.42%

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

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APC to Seek Input of Opposition Parties on Restructuring Ruling party’s report deceptive, says PDP Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun,

has said the ruling party will seek the buy-in of other political parties and stakeholders in order to actualise the reform of the country’s federal structure.

Allegation of Corruption, Nepotism Trail Immigration Promotion Exercise

Agency rubbishes claim Solomon Elusoji A list of individuals drafted into the Nigerian Immigration’s Comptroller Cadre is a clear evidence that a promotion exercise which was conducted in July 2017 was marred by fraud, ethnic bias and religious discrimination, a senior immigration official has alleged.

Although the list was provided to THISDAY, it could not independently verify the alleged claims or its authenticity as at press time.

The senior immigration official who pleaded to remain anonymous, said: “A close study of the promotion list showed that Muslim officers from the North, especially the North-west geopolitical zone, were favoured above others,” the senior immigration official told THISDAY during an interview recently.

“How does one explain that the first two pages of the list of officers promoted from the rank of the rank of CSI to ACI contained the name of Muslim officers of northern extraction. Are they the most intelligent in the service? It was also observed that Katsina State alone produced five to six comptrollers, while some southern states had none. This is sheer

wickedness.”

The official went further to call on the federal government to launch a probe into what he described as a “saga” and “ensure that justice and appropriate sanction is meted” to those within the system found guilty.”

However, when THISDAY contacted the Nigerian Immigration Service, its spokesman, Mr. Sunday James, rubbished the allegation.

“Ethnic bigotry is a very bad thing,” he said. “There is no reason why an officer will go out and say such things. Who wants to divide this country? You cannot start using religion or ethnicity to divide the country. Is promotion a right?”

He added: “Immigration did not even approve this promotion, it was done by a board and they must have sat down and drawn up a criteria. I sat for promotion interview before, I was not successful and I did not go to heaven to cry to God. I simply prepared for the next one.

“There is a channel of laying these complaints within the service.

It is only when the service has not responded to their complaints that they are supposed to go to the press.

It is unfair. There is a procedure,” he added.

Oyegun who spoke at the formal presentation of the report of the party’s committee on true federalism yesterday in Abuja said it is only by such collaboration that the committee’s recommendations can be implemented.

He also said if fully implemented, the report would correct what he described as ‘bastardised’ structure the country is currently operating.

Oyegun criticised past conferences as a mere flamboyant exercise that ended in nothing, saying what the APC was bringing on board were true opinions of Nigerians across board.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja during the public presentation of the reports as submitted by the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai-led committee on true federalism, the APC national chairman said Nigeria current system of government is ‘more of unitary system of government.’

“We have held flamboyant conferences on the structures of the constitution of this country but each time it always ended up in nothing. Today, we are moving from set-piece confrences to the beginning of a new Nigeria.

“Today you are going to be partners in the construction of the basic fundamental foundation that truly wed this county together.

There is no question at all that where we were and where we are now is basically a bastardised kind of federal structure, more like a unitary system but what we are going to present to the nation today are the considered views of the critical mass of this institution.

“Those who are strong in expressing their views, those

who are not so strong, the women and the youths of this nation who participated strongly and intensively in the result that are being presented to you today.

“When last year the issue of restructuring burst into the public domain. The main reason being one more issue to reverse President Muhammadu Buhari administration at that point, this country was facing major issue that needed to be trashed out, we are faced with crisis of economy and a collapsed crude market and we were to find a new reality under President Buhari, base on what we can produce,” he said.

Also speaking, Chairman of the committee El-Rufai, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Politics, Uba Sani, said his committee has produced clear recommendations and draft bills that incorporate amendments to strengthen federalism.

“Thus far, we have not heard rebuttals of the recommendations.

Rather, there has been a lot of hysteria triggered by seeming disbelief that a party in power at the centre is proposing true federalism. In place of a counternarrative or alternative position on true federalism, what we hear is that the recommendations are coming too close to the elections.

If something is desirable, surely the imminence of elections should not render it unappealing.

“The reality is that restructuring is a nation-building opportunity. There is now no significant constituency against the idea that states should exercise consequential powers, assume more responsibilities and control resources. It is time

to make it work, for the benefit of the people of this country.

“It is difficult to escape the suspicion that for some people this is a moment of peril. They appear to fear that the possibility of restructuring being actualised will remove the basis of their political viability. We assure them that they always find new causes, like working with others to implement the recommendations.”

The governor said that apart from the clear recommendations to strengthen the country’s federalism, the committee has produced draft bills that would operate the proposed amendments.

However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed the APC report on restructuring as a ruse and fresh attempt to beguile Nigerians with another round of lies, empty proposals and hollow promises, ahead of 2019 elections, just as it did in 2015.

The party also said the report is another calculated ploy by the failed Buhari-led government to divert public attention from the woes of a worsening economy, unrelenting killings, corruption and the endless litany of afflictions occasioned by their almost three years of dysfunctional governance.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement yesterday, said it amounts to outright depravity that the same APC leaders who at assumption of office, rejected restructuring will now suddenly turn around to pose as fathers of a restructured Nigeria simply because the 2019 general elections beckon.

PDP said it was instructive to note that the APC refused to

rally its members in the National Assembly to support or vote for any amendment that dwelts on restructuring when the federal legislature voted on sections of the constitution where amendments have been proposed in the direction of restructuring.

“If anything, APC leaders have consistently criticised any amendment that spoke or have a semblance of restructuring or true federalism.

“It is therefore deceptive that in the wake of their rejection by the people, the discredited APC and its dysfunctional government have suddenly woken up to parade as champions of a restructured Nigeria. This is a callous and wicked attempt to once again take Nigerians on a trip to the land of fantasy.

The PDP said the fact that the APC has no littlest intention of implementing any form of restructuring is completely manifest in the attitude and body language of its leaders including President Buhari, who in his 2018 new year address, rejected the idea of restructuring, by declaring that “When all the aggregates of nationwide opinions are considered, my firm view is that our problems are more to do with process than structure.”

“Even el-Rufai, who eventually became the Chairman of the APC panel on restructuring, had also on June 29, 2017, during an interview on Channels TV, denied that the APC promised restructuring and described Nigerians, who were taking his party to task on the issue, as ‘political opportunists and irresponsible’ people.”

Herdsmen Kill Kinsman in Plateau, Rustle 15 Cows, 14 Sheep

Police parade three rapists Seriki Adinoyi in Jos The Plateau State Police Command has arrested a Fulani herdsman, Bala Yahaya Mohammed, who conspired with three others and killed their kinsman, Mohammed Ibrahim, rustling 15 cows and 14 sheep from their victim.

Addressing a press conference at the police headquarters in Jos yesterday, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Undie Adie, said: “On January 26, 2018, one Alhaji Ibrahim Usman of Sabon Layin, Jos reported at Laranto Police that on January 24, 2018, that he was called on phone by one Bala Yahaya Mohammed to him at Zaria road cemetery, which he did. And that Mohammed handed over to him 15 cows and 14 sheep for safe keeping in the pretense that he was going to look for his child. And that he, Usman, waited for Bala to come back for is cows, but to no avail.

“Preliminary investigation at the division later revealed that the cows and sheep belong to one Haruna Ibrahim of Agigi in Bassa Local Government Area of the state which were stolen in connivance with

some other herdsmen.”

Adie said the suspects conspired and killed one Mohammed Ibrahim, a cousin to Haruna Ibrahim, who was tending his (Haruna) cattle, adding that the case had been charged to the state Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CIID), Jos. He said Bala has confessed to the crime.

The Commissioner of Police also arrested and paraded three rapists; Suleiman Usman, Umar Aliyu and Usman Bala, who conspired and raped 14-year old Basima Bashir of Angwan Rogo after drugging her.

The police also said they were not unmindful of the security challenges in Bassa, Riyom, Barkin Ladi and Bokkos Local Government Areas, adding that “urgent steps are being taken in synergy with other security agencies to resolve the violent clashes with a view to ensuring the return of peace in the affected areas.”

Adie however said no arrest has been made in connection with the killings in Miango communities, warning against spread of rumour and falsehood through social media.

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT......

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank , Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo (second right), receiving the British Standards Institution (BSI) Certification for Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) from the UK High Commission’s Deputy Director International Trade & Investment, Mr. Ben Ainsley, in Lagos....yesterday. With them are Banking and Payment Systems Officer, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Bature Yunana Magaji (left), and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Digital Jewels Limited.

Suicide Bombers Attack IDP Camp, Kill Five in Borno Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri Five persons were last night killed at an internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The Chairman of the state Emergency Management Agency (BOSEMA), Ahmed Satomi, told journalists that at the Dalori IDP

camp that five persons were killed in an explosion which also had 39 others injured.

He said one of the suicide bombers detonated a bomb at the Dalori IDP camp leading to the death of five persons.

He added that 39 other persons were injured at the same camp.

Satomi said one of the suicide bombers sneaked into Dalori

quarters but was not unsuccessful as the bomb detonated without any other death apart from the bomber.

But the spokesman of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for the Northeast Zonal Office, AbdulKadir Ibrahim said four persons were killed at the IDP camp and 44 persons were injured.

In a message to THISDAY,

Ibrahim said: “44 people were injured, four killed (two suicide bombers, two IDPs) at Dalori IDP camp Maiduguri. Incident occurred about 9.30p.m.”

Also, the North-east Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Alhaji Bashir Idris Garga, confirmed four persons were killed in the attacks.

He added that 44 persons were injured.

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Anambra Wears New Look for Ekwueme’s Burial Atiku, Tambuwal, S’East govs unite for former VP Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu and David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka Anambra State now wears a new look in anticipation of the arrival of the remains of the former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, today.

Ekwueme’s body will arrive in the state from Enugu, THISDAY gathered, and would be received at the border town of Amansea, where Anambra State Government has given the pavilion a new look with paintings and extensive decoration.

When THISDAY moved round the state, it was learnt that besides the Enugu-Onitsha expressway which has also received palliative works, the Ekwueme Square, where a commendation ceremony would be held for the late politician, also looks new with tents adorning the arena, while also being lavishly decorated with the Nigerian colour-green and white colours.

Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, had earlier revealed that his government is lighting up the road from Amaokpala to Oko, Ekwueme’s community, while another would come from Awka through Nanka to Oko. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, had last weekend revealed that the federal government was not leaving any stone unturned in ensuring the success of the burial as it is also spending over N480million in the construction of various roads leading to the

hometown of the former vice president.

The Chairman of that Local Organising Committee for the burial, Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu, who is also the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), said in a briefing yesterday that final touches and meetings were being held to ensure a hitch-free burial on Thursday and Friday.

He said the committee was satisfied with the state’s level of preparation for the event, and commended the state government efforts in giving the late vice president the kind of burial he deserves.

A member of the burial committee and Transition Committee Chairman of Orumba North, Ekwueme’s council area, Mr. Emeka Offorka, said the committee was working day and night to ensure the success of the burial.

He commended Obiano for the spirit of love and respect he has shown in ensuring a befitting burial for Ekwueme .

According to him, “You can see that the environment in Awka, Oko and nearby communities have been beautified in readiness for the expected large number of dignitaries that will grace the event.”

THISDAY also gathered that Obiano has also embarked on an independent inspection tour of all facilities being put in place for the burial.

Obiano reportedly said

the facilities were 100 per cent complete, saying large tents that would accommodate over 25,000 persons who would attend the ceremony had been installed.

He described Ekwueme as an asset to the state, saying no amount spent to give him a befitting burial would be enough to repay his contributions towards the growth and development of the state and the country.

Meanwhile, former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has described Ekwueme as a gentleman in Nigerian politics.

Soludo who was the paper presenter at a colloquium held in honour of Ekwueme last Tuesday afternoon at Federal Polytechnic Oko, said Ekwueme was a professional who in all his years in the public arena had verifiable and sustainable sources of livelihood and didn’t depend on public resources for survival.

Meanwhile, tributes flowed yesterday in torrents in honour of the late former vice president in Enugu as governors of the South-east states organised a commendation service for the late elder statesman.

The service which took place at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, attracted the presence of notable Nigerians, including former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo; serving and former ministers, members of the national and state assemblies among other Igbo leaders.

The casket bearing the remains of Ekwueme was also laid at the square during the four-hour service with members of his family, including his widow, Beatrice; children and siblings, Prof. Laz and Prof. Obum,

occupying one canopy adjacent to the casket.

Each of the leaders took turns to extol the sterling qualities the departed former vice president, chief among them were his selfless service, impeccable character, high integrity and exceptionally principled on issues about national development.

In his sermon, the Anglican Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace, Most Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, described Ekwueme as a decent and humble man full of intellect and a dedicated leader that left wonderful imprints on the sands of time.

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said history will be kind to Ekwueme for his bravery in rallying the G-34 to challenge the military hegemony over Nigeria and joining forces with other pro-

democracy activists to enthrone the democracy Nigeria enjoys today.

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, said he would be remembered for his doggedness, while Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and Dave Umahi of Ebonyi States said Ekweme was a unifying factor for Ndigbo.

Other speakers, including Ohanaeze Ndigbo President General, Nwodo; Deputy Governors of Anambra and Imo States, Nkem Okeke and Eze Madumere respectively, as well as Senator Victor Umeh, extolled the leadership credentials of Ekwueme.

“Ekwueme has made his contributions and has left, who else will bell the cat for Ndigbo?

We shall miss him, and pray that God will give us another leader in his mould,” he Senator Umeh said.

Mass Redeployment Hits BCOS as Oyo Govt Eyes Feat of Arise TV, Others Ademola Babalola in Ibadan Mass redeployment of journalists and other staff of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) to state ministries, agencies and parastatals is to ensure quality broadcasting in line with what has been attainable by ARISE Television and others in Nigeria.

The Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Olalekan Ali, made this known yesterday while briefing journalists on the restructuring of the organisation.

No fewer than 144 staffers were affected in the reorganisation and reengineering of the corporation being redesigned to become an autonomous media and entertainment hub in the city of Ibadan, South-west political headquarters.

The SSG who was flanked by the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun; Head of Service, Mr. Soji Eniade; Project Director of BCOS, Mr. Yanju Adegbite; Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Information Culture and Tourism, Dr. Bashir Olanrewaju and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Print Media Mr. Akin Oyedele, said the feat recorded by new entrants into the broadcasting world like ARISE TV, was achievable in BCOS with the latest development.

He described BCOS as a massively bloated workforce

- with a current staff strength of over 500, adding that a wasteland of estate properties and other resources waiting to be optimally utilised for the public good would be put into use to guarantee operational efficiency.

He said: “Therefore, when this government was re-elected into office in 2015, we decided on the massive transformation of BCOS into a diversified media and entertainment corporation capable of exploring, exploiting and growing its extensive opportunities for the maximum benefit and profit of all its stakeholders. To achieve this end, government consequently embarked on an organisational, technical and commercial review and redesign of the BCOS.” Ali said the state government engaged the services of the internationally renown consulting firm, KPMG Advisory Services to assist in carrying out a comprehensive audit as well to propose appropriate structures and strategies in BCOS, the resultant effect of which was the latest inevitable restructuring.

He said the overall intent of transformation of BCOS into a media and entertainment hub with the vision “ is to be the leading media and entertainment hub that propels the unique cultural heritage of the Yoruba to the global market” while the vision is “creating pleasurable experiences for our target markets through the provision of exceptional products sand service”.

COURTESY VISIT

L-R: Acting Chief Judge, Federal High Court, Justice Adamu Abdu Kafarati; Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter S. N. Onnoghen; Executive Secretary/CEO, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello, when the planning committee of the 2018 edition of Maritime Seminar for Judges paid a courtesy visit on the CJN in Abuja....yesterday Nigerian Shippers Council

EFCC Seeks to Tender Document Claiming Suswam Tampered with Prosecution Witness Alex Enumah in Abuja The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday sought to tender a document showing that former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, tampered with its fourth prosecution witness, Abubakar Umar.

Suswam and his former Commissioner for Finance, Omadachi Oklobia, are being prosecuted by the EFCC over allegations of corruption and money laundering to the tune of N3.1billion.

At the resumed trial yesterday, counsel to EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), told the court that the first defendant and his cohorts reached out to Umar to persuade him to change his earlier statement made at the commission.

When Jacobs read the statement the witness was said to have made claiming that he was coerced and pressurised by agents of the first defendant to change his statement, the witness responded in the affirmative.

Consequently, the prosecution said he would like to tender it in evidence.

But counsel to the defendants however objected to the admissibility of the document.

Suswam’s lawyers led by Joseph Daudu, in objecting to the admissibility of the document, said the original copy of the statement which was made in Hausa before it was translated to English ought to have been tendered before the court.

He argued further that the statement was signed by Umar’s in-law, one Yakubu Idris, who wrote and signed the statement and not by Umar, which according to him, is against the Evidence Act, which gives the maker of a statement opportunity to append his signature or initials on it.

Responding, Jacobs said there are two ways of contradicting a hostile witness. One, he said is by contradicting him with other evidence rather than with his previous statement or through a statement made at other times and that it is not limited to statement

made before or after his evidence in chief.

According to him, Section 205 and 206 of the Evidence Act said the witness should give evidence that will not mislead the court.

“The purpose of tendering the very evidence is to show why the witness changed in his testimony.

The first defendant was calling him and even asked him to go and see his lawyers”, Jacobs said He stated further that the grounds given by the defence counsel were not tenable and urged the court to admit the document.

“The claim that the documents we seek to tender was made in Hausa and what we seek to tender is the English version, is not true.”

“The statement was written in English language and not in Hausa as alleged by the defence counsel.”

He said once a witness signed a statement, he is said to be the maker of such statement.

According to the prosecution, the witness could not write in English, so he asked his brother In-law who accompanied him to

EFCC to write his statement for him and afterwards appended his signature.

But the defence counsel insisted that the signature on the document sought to be tendered by the prosecution was not signed by the witness himself, adding that a look at the document shows that the three signatures on it belong to his brother In-law, Idris.

After listening to the submissions of all counsel in the matter, trial judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, adjourned till March 14 for ruling on the objection and continuation of trial.

Earlier, Umar during crossexamination by Jacobs, reiterated that he helped the former governor changed about N3.1billion to its dollar of $15.6million at the then exchange rate between August and October 2014.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had earlier declared him a ‘hostile witness’ based on a different evidence in court outside the statement he made to the EFCC.

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PDP: We Don’t Trust INEC to Deliver Credible Polls in 2019 UN pledge to ensure fair play Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Anuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed doubts over the ability of the present leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct free and fair elections in 2019.

The PDP’s position on INEC came just as members of the party in Kwara State have become apprehensive over speculated return of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to the PDP. The PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, told the United Nations (UN) delegation on assessment visit to his office yesterday that the political climate in the country is giving serious cause for concern.

Secondus told the team led

by Mr. Serge G. Kubwimana that only free and fair elections could guarantee unity of the country.

According to him, the 2019 election would make or mar the country, noting that the visit was “timely because of the unfolding events in our country and the political situation.”

He appealed for the intervention of the international community, adding, “We have fear since APC came on board, if election is not in their favour, there is a rerun.

“There must be election that is free and fair and when there is no free and fair, election, it breeds crisis, and we are witnessing what is happening in Kenya.

“What is happening in the West should happen here.

There is a great fear whether INEC will conduct free and fair election. Free and fair election will guarantee the unity of this country, and we are afraid if INEC will conduct free and

fair election.

“Take this to New York for all the necessary action required.

Election is coming in 2019, the election that will make or mar the country. What this government owns this nation is to conduct free and fair election.

“The National Assembly and the judiciary, are important arms of the government, but the judiciary is not obeyed,” he said Secondus said in the history of the country, it was only PDP that lost election and conceded defeat without challenging it in court.

Kubwimana said the delegation was in the country to meet with INEC and political parties as part of its assessment mission on how to support Nigeria’s electoral system.

“Assessment can’t be done without interacting with the stakeholders, judiciary, the National Assembly, civil society.

“At the end of the mission, we will set up recommendations on technical issues which will help to improve the overall environment for the elections,” he said.

Secondus said the UN intervention is very timely coming at the time Nigeria is preparing for the next general elections in 2019.

Meanwhile, there seemed to be panic in Kwara State PDP over the likely return of Saraki to the PDP family.

THISDAY gathered that the return of the Senate President, PDP is creating fears in the state chapter of the party.

Members of the party from the state led by the State chapter Chairman, Akogun Iyiola Oyedeo was at the PDP National Secretariat yesterday to meet

with the national leadership.

In an interview with journalists after the meeting, the party chairman said the state chapter was ready to make concessions to Saraki on matters that have to do with choice of party’s Standard bearers for the 2019 general election.

“We are ready to make concession on what we have not decided on. They met the executive on ground, and we cannot remove the chairman for them or the treasurer.

“If we have not done the primary for governorship,

House of Assembly, senatorial, presidential. For example, if Saraki says he wants to contest for the president, we cannot deny him (nomination) form.

“And if he wants to return to the Senate, we will give him form and other people too.

“So, we are ready to allow them on issues that have not been settled. But issues that are settled are for four years,” he explained.

Oyedepo said the state PDP was apprehensive that the national leadership of the party might throw the structure

open for Saraki to take over but had now been reassured that such would not happen.

He said: “Our party is not all that apprehensive. We are apprehensive of what the national leadership can do to welcome somebody who had gone away from the party and later given a royal welcome.

“It is not Saraki’s coming that creates any fear. It is what the national executive can do to encourage him to seize the party structure from established people in

Kwara State.

“But we have been assured that the era of impunity is gone. That’s t what our national chairman told us.

“So, we are so glad that even if anybody comes into our party, we are really not against it but whoever comes must respect the structure on ground and cooperate with us appropriately.

“We will welcome Saraki with open hands if he comes to be part of the party, and we don’t have any issue on the executive.

We can’t say nobody should join our party.”

PRODUCT LAUNCH

L-R: Director, Africa Prudential Plc, Mr. Sam Nwanze; MD/CEO, Mr. Peter Ashade; and Director, Mr. Emmanuel Nnorom; during the launch of Personal Registrar with *4018# by the company in Lagos... yesterday Dan Ukana

FG BLAMES CONSTRAINED OIL OUTPUT FOR STAGNANT ECA Elaborating, the minister said the excess figures do not necessarily revolve around the price alone but also have to do with the quantity of daily oil output.

According to her, while the price of crude rose for much of 2017, oil output in the Niger Delta failed to meet the budgeted production target of 2.2 million barrels per day due to militancy in the region.

She, however, assured the reporters that oil production would improve in the course of this year, adding that funds would automatically accrue into the ECA in 2018.

“Let me explain how the price is structured. The budget is a function of price and quantity.

Excess crude proceeds come in when both the price and quantity are exceeded.

“Now, if you look at the oil price for last year and most of this year and the quantity, the quantity has frequently been below the target and so, you don’t necessarily get the straight credit into the exceed crude account as a result of oil price.

“Remember that the quantity estimated is 2.3 million barrels per day for 2018 and it must be consistent everyday and the price above the benchmark before you get automatic credit into the account.

“Having said that, with the oil price consistently higher now, we should begin to start seeing some accruals into our exceed crude account going forward because we are starting to see some recovery in quantity,” she said.

Adeosun also denied that the federal government had paid petrol subsidies to operators in the downstream oil sector.

She explained that fuel importation was done only by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which solely bears the losses in the price differential between the landing cost of petrol and the pump price, which in turn is borne by all Nigerians.

She said: “On the question of subsidy, the price of oil for Nigeria today is a double edged-sword.

So, every time oil goes up, we get more revenue. But because we

are importing refined petroleum products, higher oil prices increase the landing cost of fuel.

“Accordingly, for every time we get excited that the price of oil is going up, there is also a knock on effect on the price of imported petrol and that is a function of us not having refining capacity – it is one of the unfortunate impacts of that.

“Now, when there is talk of payment of subsidy, technically today, there is no subsidy but there is under-recovery. Why that is so is because NNPC is currently doing all the importing.

“They are importing at a higher price than they are selling, which means they are losing money, which means effectively that loss is being borne by everybody because effectively, it is reflected in the federation account.

“So, there is no subsidy payment in the way the old subsidy scheme used to work where they were paying the oil marketers. But there is an under-recovery – a loss on the importation of petrol being borne

by NNPC and therefore, indirectly being borne by everyone of us.”

She also defended the budget deficit despite the increase in the revenue generated by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), saying the revenue is shared by the three tiers of government and does not belong to the federal government alone.

“On the funding of the budget, Customs will report that they made a trillion, FIRS N4 trillion, and so on. That is absolutely correct. But if you also follow those who cover the FAAC meetings, you will know that the money is shared every month among the three tiers of government.

“That is what makes up the FAAC. The FAAC is made up of Customs revenue, FIRS revenue and NNPC revenue. So, that money is not just for the federal budget. It is all for the three tiers of government.

That is all they live on,” she stated.

Earlier, the minister had briefed journalists on the approval of over N2.3 billion by the FEC for the purchase of 81 units of houses for Customs officers and an additional 50 vehicles for their use in the effort to curb rice smuggling and

grow the local rice market.

“I presented two memos on behalf of the Nigerian Customs Service: One was to acquire 81 units of two-bedroom residences in Ido, Gwari, Life Camp for use as barracks for customs officers within the Abuja area.

The total amount involved is N1.2 billion. We are purchasing them from Brains and Hammer City, the real estate developers.

“The second approval was for the purchase of 50 operational vehicles that are going to be deployed for anti-smuggling or the anti-rice smuggling task force that is being put together, which the Customs will be leading.

“As you know, efforts to become a major rice producer have resulted in the revival of local rice growing. What we have found is a 90 per cent reduction in the official importation of rice, but smuggling has increased and of course, our borders are very, very porous.

“Now, we believe that to protect our farmers, to protect the investments after people have gone back to the farms,

government must really act to stem the tide of illegal rice importation and smuggling.

“So, there is a multi-task force agency that has been working since last July, which includes the Customs Service, NAFDAC, the Consumer Protection Council, Ministry of Finance and the Trade Mark Practices Bureau, gathering information on how this rice is coming in.

“They have been trying to determine what the key entry points are, and are mapping out how we are going to have an effective strategy to stop the smuggling.

“We felt that it was important that we don’t want Customs going to seize rice in the markets. Customs should actually stop rice from coming in at the borders points; and Customs indicated that they need additional vehicles, additional resources as well as more information-driven measures that will be taken.

“So, what was approved today was for the purchase of 50 vehicles as part of these efforts.

The contractor for the supply of vehicles is Elizade and the value is N1.12 billion,” she stated.

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Kogi Assembly May Vote against Local Government Autonomy Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja Kogi State House of Assembly may reject the local government councils’ autonomy proposed by the National Assembly in the ongoing constitutional amendment.

The assembly committee which was chaired yesterday by the Speaker, Rt Hon. Mathew Kolawole,

however subjected the section 162 of the constitution to the assembly Committee on Local Government for public hearing even as it adopted the alteration of its financial autonomy as contained in sections 121 “3” (a,b,) of the 1999 constitution as (amended).

Presenting the bill for debate, the assembly Majority Leader, Hon. Hassan Bello Abdullahi,

Containerised Truck Detaches, Kills Toddler, Three Others Chiemelie Ezeobi A 20-feet heavy duty truck conveying a container laden with goods yesterday detached at the Kara Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, killing a toddler and three adult males.

The head of the containerised truck was said to have detached from its body while on motion inward Karra bridge and rammed into a motorcycle rider and his two passengers.

While the toddler, a threeyear-old boy, died on the spot from the impact of the clash, his mother had a leg fracture and had since been rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, the head of the truck plunged into Isheri Olofi River, drowning the driver and two other passengers in the truck.

Confirming the incident, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu, said the minor and three adult males were brought out dead.

He said: “The agency received a distress call through the emergency toll free number 112/767 concerning an accident on Kara Bridge along the LagosIbadan Expressway.

“On arrival at the scene, the LASEMA Response Team gathered that a 20feet containerised truck with unknown plate number was involved in the accident.

“Further investigation revealed that the head of the containerised truck detached from its body while on motion inward Karra bridge and rammed into a motorcycle with the rider and two passengers.

“Meanwhile, the head of the truck plunged into Isheri Olofi River. Unfortunately, a threeyear-old boy on the motorcycle lost his life, while his mother had a leg fracture.

“The mother has been moved to the hospital by personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

“Meanwhile, the head of the truck that plunged into the river has been recovered from the river with the aid of the heavy duty equipment crane with support from local divers.

“Subsequently, the bodies of three adult males were extricated and recovered from the truck’s head and handed over to FRSC officials who moved them down to the morgue.

“Other agencies on ground include the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), the Lagos State Fire Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Police Force from Ojodu and Isheri Police Division and OP Mesa.

“Proper investigation would be conducted on the incident but I advise motorists, especially articulated truck drivers to always drive within the restricted roads and ensure they adhere with road safety regulations.”

representing Ajaokuta state constituency, informed the members that they should vote for or against the 15 items slated for alteration in the constitution even as he informed them of the pending petition against the local government councils autonomy by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Kogi State chapter.

The assembly unanimously adopted 12 sections listed for approval while they voted against altering section 82( a and b) 122( a and b) which seek to prune down from six to three months in which expenditures shall be made from the previous budget before the passage of the new budget and section 7( a and b) 318 part 1 of the fifth schedule

) to strength the local administration was also stepped down even as the independent candidacy was thrown out.

The assembly also passed 21 Local Government Councils’Appropriation bill for 2018 and adjourned till February 27, 2018.

Reacting to the development, the Chairman of the state chapter of

Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees ( NULGE), Adeyemi Tade, promised to mobilised his members and lovers of democracy across the state for the public hearing on the amendment, adding that he is confident that the members who are lawmakers would do the needful by respecting the will of the people.

NJC SUSPENDS ABIA ACTING CJ, QUERIES HIM FOR ACCEPTING ILLEGAL APPOINTMENT “In the prevailing circumstance, whereby the NJC has directed the chief judge not to perform his duties, and the next most senior judge is suspended, the Governor of Abia State shall appoint Justice Onuoha Arisa Kalu Ogwe, the next most senior Judge to act as the Chief Judge of Abia State, pending council’s final resolution of the

matter.”

Reacting to the NJC decision, constitutional and human rights lawyer, Carol Ajie, who is the counsel to Abia Chief Judge, Justice Uzokwe commended the council for its timely intervention.

She reiterated the dictum of the Supreme Court in Chief Judge

Raliat Elelu—Habeeb vs- Attorney General of Kwara State (2012) 13 NWLR Part 1318 page 423 that NJC was the only Institution thus far, recognised by law with the exclusive authority to exercise disciplinary control over chief judges and other judicial officers and not the governor or state house of assembly by the combined

reading of sections 6(2), 292(1a) and paragraph 21(c ) (d) (f) Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.

Ajie enthused that those such as the executive and legislative arms of government would have no power to suspend, sack or remove Judges.

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THURSDAYSPORTS

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

CHAN 2018 …CHAN 2018 … CHAN 2018 …

It’s Nigeria, Morocco Final as Eagles Beat Sudan 1-0 President Buhari hails Eagles, tasks team to go for gold Duro Ikhazuagbe in Lagos and Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja A solitary first half goal by Akwa United FC player Gabriel Okechukwu gave Nigeria’s Home-based Eagles victory over hard-fighting Sudan last night in the second semi final of the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN).

Nigeria is to play host country Morocco who earlier in the day defeated Libya 3-1 in final of the championship on Sunday in Casablanca.

The clash between Nigeria and Sudan produced so much tension that both teams ended the game with ten men each.

Before kick-off, Coach Salisu Yusuf had to rue his inability to call upon first-team players Emeka Atuloma, Sunday Faleye and Emeka Ogbuh – all due to injury. And 10 minutes into the game inside the Grand Stade Marrakech, goalkeeper and skipper (and big inspiration) Ikechukwu Ezenwa was stretchered out injured.

Kalu Orji Okogbue, who himself had to pass a late fitness test to be eligible for the encounter, took over the captain’s band and controlled Nigeria’s resistance from behind, while also launching the salvo that Anthony Okpotu knocked down for Okechukwu to score the only goal of the game in the 16th minute.

Okechukwu, who incidentally similarly scored the winner against Angola in the quarter final in Tangier last Sunday, was alive, fit and menacing throughout, and was worth his Man-of-theMatch award at the end of the game.

Ifeanyi Ifeanyi was sent off from the Nigerian team for two bookable offence while a Sudanese defender, Bakri Bachir, who was the last man of the defence line for his team was also given the marching order for hacking down Dayo Ojo. Substitute goalkeeper Dele Ajiboye kept the Sudanese in check as his string of saves helped Eagles weathered the storm.

Sudan battled real hard to draw level but found real obstacle in Ajiboye who did everything to ensure Nigeria progressed to play in the final.

Even before kick-off of Sunday’s battle, Coach Yusuf and his wards have made history, as this is the first-time ever that Nigeria would reach the final of the competition, having won bronze medal at the 2014 finals in South Africa.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari last night congratulated the homebased Eagles on their victory over Sudan in Marrakesh, Morocco.

In a statement, Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and

Publicity, said Buhari joined millions of football loving Nigerians to celebrate the spectacular performance of the team which qualified them for the final on Sunday with Morocco.

The statement said having keenly followed the team’s progress throughout the tournament with delight, the president commended their hard-work, dedication, discipline and indomitable

spirit, which he said were truly worthy of emulation.

It added that Buhari urged the players and the coaching crew to remain focused and determined as they go for Gold in the final match on

Sunday.

“The president assures them of the unflinching support, goodwill and prayers of the Federal Government and all Nigerians as they soar to victory,” the statement added.

Home-based Eagles celebrating the 1-0 defeat of Sudan and the ticket to the historic final of the 2018 African Nations Championship in Morocco...last night

TRANSFER

NPFL: Akwa Utd Consolidates Hold at the Top, Plateau Slips in Kano

Aubameyang to Wear Thierry Henry’s 14

Duro Ikhazuagbe

Arsenal has signed Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund for a club record £56m. The forward is to wear jersey Number 14 made popular by Thierry Henry.

The Gunners had two bids for Aubameyang rejected by Dortmund before agreeing a fee that eclipses the £46.5m they paid for Alexandre Lacazette in July.

Arsenal said the 28-year-old - the 2015 African Footballer of the Year - had joined on

“a long-term contract”.

Dortmund agreed to the sale after striking a deal to sign Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi on loan.

Aubameyang said: “I’m really happy to be here in this great team.

“The club has such a big history and great players like Thierry Henry. He’s an example for us strikers. I’m a fast player and I score goals too, like Henry a little bit. I think I have to work a lot to be like him, but I will do.”

Akwa United FC yesterday consolidated at the top of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) with a valuable Match-day 6 away point gained in the 1-1 draw with FC IfeanyiUbah in Nnewi.

Akwa United is now leading the pack on 13 points from six games.

Cyril Olisema put the Promise Keepers ahead as early as the 12th minutes of the game the Anambra Warriors needed to win to return to reckoning after picking just six points from initial 15 of their first five matches of the season.

However, skipper of the team, Patrick Ikeokwu,

restored parity two minutes after the return from the first half break. Further efforts by the hosts to break the deadlock failed till the last whistle.

At the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano, champions Plateau United were handed 2-0 defeat

by Kano Pillars to slip off the top of the NPFL. The defeat was Plateau’s second of the season.

The Sai Masugida were handed the three valuable points through the brace scored by Junior Lokosa in the 21st and 27th minutes of the first half of the game.

He’s now the leading goal poacher of the new season on six goals.

Plateau remains second behind Akwa United on

12 points while Pillars has leapfrogged both Lobi Stars and Wikki to the third spot of the NPFL log.

In Agege, MFM FC edged Wikki Tourists 2-1 to return to winning ways. Waheed Adebayo scored the opening goal in the sixth minute after good work by Jesse Akila.

The lead lasted only 10 minutes before Nafiu Kabuga equalised for Wikki Tourists from the spot. Akila however got the winner five minutes before the break.

In the Abia Derby played at the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar yesterday, Enyimba defeated Abia Warriors 1-0.

Winger Stanley Dimgba got the winner for the Aba Elephant.

The victory was Enyimba’s

second win of the season.

At the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu this evening, one of the biggest fixtures of Match-day 6 will be decided this evening when Enugu Rangers and Rivers United go toe to toe for the three points at stake.

MATCH DAY 6 IfeanyiUbah 1-1 Akwa United Yobe Stars 1-0 Katsina Utd Enyimba 1-0 Abia Warriors Sunshine 1-0 El Kanemi K’ Pillars 2-0 Plateau Utd MFM FC 2-1 Wikki

Go Round FC Vs Nasarawa (PP)

TODAY Kwara Utd Vs Lobi Rangers Vs Rivers Utd Tornadoes Vs Heartland

Agali Excited by Samson Tinubu Tips Nigeria’s Bobsled Team to Excel at Winter Olympics Siasia Stadium Turf Femi Solaja

Former Super Eagles forward, Victor Agali, yesterday expressed his pleasant surprise at the world-class quality of the turf of the Samson Siasia Stadium in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

Speaking shortly after his side, Delta Force FC played Bayelsa United in a pre-season tune up game at the Samson Siasia Stadium, Agali said he was amazed that such facility exists in a Nigerian stadium.

“I can’t believe this pitch is in Nigeria. It is simply the best in the country right now,” gushed the ex-international.

The turf, recently renovated by the Bayelsa State government, is to be inaugurated soon.

Bayelsa United and Delta Force were allowed to test-run the Geo-technology pitch, under closed door supervision of the contractor handling the project, Monimichelle.

Former Governor of Lagos State and All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has tipped Nigeria’s Bobsled and Skeleton team to the XXIII Winter Olympic Games to win medals at the sports fiesta scheduled to hold between February 9th and 25th in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Tinubu said this in Lagos yesterday when South Korean

Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Younghoan Lee, visited him to present a replica of the Games’ torch to the APC leader.

While presenting the torch to Tinubu at his Ikoyi residence, Lee said: “We present this model of the Olympic torch to Tinubu, for the friendship and relationship between Korea Republic and Nigeria.

“I also want to suggest to Asiwaju Tinubu to help open more ties between Nigeria and Korea and use the opportunity

to come to Korea to watch the competition of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games with Nigeria competing in two events, the Bobsled and the Skeleton events.

“Asiwaju should also meet the people of Korea and other people from across the world, and together experience the snow fall and the beautiful scenery of Korea during the Winter Games,” the ambassador requested.

In his response, Tinubu expressed delight at the

recognition given to him by the Korea Republic Ambassador to Nigeria.

“I appreciate the importance of the presentation of the model of the winter Olympic torch to me. The presentation is a move towards the promotion of sports and effort to cement the friendship with Republic of Korea. At this stage of our development, sport is an economic contributor to the various countries,” stressed Tinubu.

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MISSILE Bishop Kukah to Nigerian Leaders “Nigeria does not need a God-fearing leader because ‘God-fearing’ has become an excuse to appeal to Nigerians and win election.

Governance in Nigeria is a criminalized enterprise and a criminalized state cannot progress” – The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, arguing that tackling corruption and fixing Nigeria require more than a supposedly God-fearing leader.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Adeosun, Gwarzo and Matters Arising A

pparently in the desperation to get rid of someone who had become a problem for their boss, the media handlers of the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, committed a fatal professional error on Tuesday.

They broke the all-important 11th commandment: Thou shall not get caught!

In the email forwarded to some selected reporters to leak the report of the administrative panel of inquiry which investigated and called for the dismissal of the suspended Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Mounir Gwarzo, for “breaching civil service rules”, somebody was naïve enough to put this caveat on top of the report: “PLEASE DO NOT DISCLOSE THE SOURCE OF THOS (sic) STORY. PLEASE DO NOT ATTRIBUTE TO FINANCE MINISTRY. JUST USE PRESIDENCY SOURCE.” For me, that sort of blatant attempt at media manipulation raises questions about the objectivity and impartiality of the panel, the person who constituted it and their report. Besides, having followed the SEC saga from the beginning, I did not believe that due process was followed in the manner in which it has been handled. That a minister would serve as the judge and jury on a case in which a serious allegation has been levelled against her shows the extent to which politics trumps everything under the current administration despite the anti-corruption mantra. Even if the allegations against Gwarzo (who, by the way, I do not know) are true and he deserves to be removed, I don’t think he has been fairly treated by the federal government.

The sequence of events, from the evidence now in the public domain, shows very clearly that the suspension and investigation of Gwarzo commenced only after SEC had instituted a forensic audit into the activities of Oando Plc, an energy company with powerful backers. If that was a mere coincidence, it is bad for the government.

But when you juxtapose Gwarzo’s allegation with the immortal words of Senator Shehu Sani that when it comes to issues of transparency and

Adeosun

Gwarzo

accountability, the current administration applies deodorant to friends while spraying insecticide on enemies, you get the impression that there may indeed be more to this saga than Nigerians are being told.

Whereas it took almost one year for the federal government to act on the report of “Mr Grass-cutter”, who is yet to have his day in court despite the usual drama of sensational arrest and subsequent release, Gwarzo has been investigated

When you juxtapose Gwarzo’s allegation with the immortal words of Senator Shehu Sani that when it comes to issues of transparency and accountability, the current administration applies deodorant to friends while spraying insecticide on enemies, you get the impression that there may indeed be more to this saga than Nigerians are being told

The Passage of Ekwueme There is a certain hypocrisy associated with the death of prominent politicians in Nigeria. No matter how they lived their lives, they become saints the moment they die. But there are also a few whose death evokes genuine feelings of sadness, including by those who may never even have met them in person. The late Second Republic Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, whose body will be committed to mother earth tomorrow in his hometown of Oko, Aguata Local government of Anambra State, is one of such personages. At different epochs, and without drawing attention to himself, Ekwueme made considerable contributions to the political development of our country and has in turn left a lasting legacy.

Sadly, it is a testimony to how fickle party politics is in Nigeria that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not playing a front-line role in Ekwueme’s burial. Not only was he the founding chairman, he sacrificed his ambition for the party when it mattered most. And despite how shabbily the PDP has treated him over the years, Ekwueme never left for one day, thus demonstrating an uncommon loyalty in a milieu where politicians change parties almost every week.

In so many respects, Ekwueme was a breed

apart. Despite the fact that he was one of the most educated political figures in Nigeria, with degrees in sociology, history, philosophy and law from the University of London after he had majored in Architecture and city planning from the University of Washington as a Fulbright Scholar, Ekwueme had no airs and he treated everybody with respect. He was at all times a complete gentleman in the real sense of the word.

I once had the privilege of a long one-on-one conversation with Ekwueme and I was awed not only by his simplicity but also the rigour with which he approached critical issues. I found him rather charming and a delight to talk with on a wide array of subjects. What became more obvious in our interaction was how Ekwueme made and kept jottings of materials he considered relevant for advancing his positions on issues.

There are not many politicians with that kind of rigour in our country today.

Throughout his life, Ekwueme was also a leader who walked his talk while his actions were steeped in values, purpose and above all, integrity. Yet, perhaps because he was idealistic, it was also easy for some people, including those who are now speaking big grammar after his death, to mock the fact that he chose the road less travelled which may have accounted for why

he never became president of Nigeria. But that was also because his concept of leadership was different from the shallow and the mercantilist that define politics in our country today.

At 85, Ekwueme could not be said to have been too young to die, even when he will be sorely missed. But the challenge is for the politicians left behind to learn from the virtues that stood Ekwueme apart and begin to work for the greater good of our people. What saddens is that, in a way, Ekwueme was perhaps a lonesome model. While he exemplified the ideal that Nigerian politics has recognized but endlessly deviated from, his passage leaves an unfortunate vacuum. He left no visible body of disciples neither did any of his political followers assume any significant position of power. Even his conception of party supremacy and partisan fidelity were lost on the PDP which he helped to found and nurture.

As we therefore mourn Ekwueme’s passage, all that we are left with are no more than his sterling record of transparent service and political conduct as a true statesman. It is for the wide acknowledgment of the latter that he deserves to go home with the final salute of millions of compatriots and a grateful nation. May his soul find perfect rest.

within a matter of weeks with a report ready for presidential implementation. He is recommended for dismissal “in relation to the allegation on Golden Handshake” and he is also to be “referred to the ICPC for further investigation of using his position as Director-General to influence the award of contracts to Outbound Investments Limited” in which he is alleged to have personal interest.

While nobody should shed any tear for Gwarzo if he gets the sack, especially given the questionable jumbo severance package he awarded himself before assuming office as DG of SEC, I still don’t believe that Adeosun is after him for any altruistic reasons or that his travails are about the pursuit of public interest. The whole brouhaha looks to me, as he has claimed on several occasions, more about attempts to scuttle a regulatory intervention that could financially damage a private company and perhaps--he has not said this--prove costly in political terms in a period when cold calculations are being made about 2019.

What the foregoing says very clearly is that this issue goes beyond the stewardship of the Director General of SEC, a mere agency under the Federal Ministry of Finance, to the character of public service in today’s Nigeria. A major part of what has brought President Buhari’s anti-corruption commitment into disrepute is the unevenness of its standards and the arbitrariness of its methods. That then explains why, whichever way one looks at it, the treatment of Gwarzo by Adeosun is an embarrassing illustration of the selective vindictiveness that has since vitiated the anti-graft mandate of the current administration.

So, at the end, whatever may be the reasons for demanding the sack of the embattled SEC Director General, Adeosun will strive very hard to justify her untidy method and the clearly opaque motives.

Only in Nigeria!

That the social media has changed the way we relate with one another is perhaps the greatest understatement of the year. But the aspect that I consider rather positive is the way Nigerians have adapted it to create a situation in which we could laugh not only at our problems but also at one another. For that reason, there is no better place to be than on WhatsApp which, I must also confess, is a most dangerous platform where all manner of messages, including those preaching hate, are circulated. But there are also many that would make you laugh and cry at the same time. I leave below one such message, which reflects the reality of the Nigerian condition, for the enjoyment of readers: It is only in Nigeria that you will find fish inside ‘Meat Pie’; only Nigerians would stay to count the cash withdrawn from an ATM machine because there is no trust that it is complete; it is only in Nigeria that PHCN will do a promo asking you to win a Generator set if you pay your bill to NEPA as and when due; only Nigerian drivers will be honking at the traffic light, expecting it to change from Red to Green; it is only in a Nigerian Pharmacy that you will find Coke, Puff Puff and Recharge Card being sold along with drugs; it is only in Nigeria that you will see a mad man controlling traffic and road users will obey; it is only in Nigeria that you will see a native doctor with laptop connected to the internet and finally, it is only in Nigeria that an able-bodied man would be hawking a book from street to street with the title: HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS OF NAIRA WITHOUT STRESS! Nigeria, indeed, we hail thee!!

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