Tuesday 28th February 2018 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

Yusuf Buhari Returns to Country After Speedy Recovery Joseph Ushigiale President Muhammadu Buhari’s only son, Mr. Yusuf Buhari who was involved in a ghastly motorbike accident last December, returned to the country yesterday after undergoing further treatment

overseas and making a fast recovery from the wounds sustained in the accident. Although it could not be ascertained where Yusuf had gone for treatment, THISDAY gathered that Yusuf, who arrived the country last night, was in a better shape

and is expected to resume a normal life. At the time of his accident, a statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity, had said Yusuf was allegedly drag racing with his friend, when the accident happened

on December 26. According to the statement, “Yusuf broke a limb and sustained an injury to the head as a result. He has undergone surgery at a clinic in Abuja. He is in a stable condition.” He had first undergone successful emergency surgery

at the Cedarcrest Hospitals, Abuja, carried out by a team of neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons. As Yusuf's health improved, he was transferred from the intensive care unit of the hospital to the ward, following which he was certified stable

and discharged. But sources in the presidency disclosed yesterday that shortly after he was discharged from Cedarcrest, he departed the country quietly due to the sensitivity surrounding his Continued on page 8

INEC: Until Electoral Act Decides Otherwise, Our Arrangement for Elections Stands… Page 10 Tuesday 27 February, 2018 Vol 23. No 8349. Price: N250

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President Buhari Asks APC Leaders to Commence Preparations for Congresses

Oyegun backs Tinubu c’ttee, Saraki misses caucus meeting State chairmen pass vote of confidence on Oyegun, seek tenure extension for selves, NWC Omololu Ogunmade and Senator Iroegbu in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari last night hosted the National Caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the State House, Abuja, with a directive to the leadership of the ruling party to begin plans for various

congresses of the party. Buhari who gave the directive against the backdrop of the 2019 election timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), added that it was about time the party prepared for Continued on page 6

Military, Police in Blame Game over Dapchi Girls’ Abduction

President meets freed Unimaid lecturers, 10 women DSS DG speaks on how their release was negotiated Omololu Ogunmade and Paul Obi in Abuja With Nigerians and the rest of the world still reeling over another major abduction of schoolgirls in the North-east, the Nigerian Army and the Police Force yesterday engaged

in a blame game over the abduction last week of the 110 girls from Government Science and Technical Girls’ College in Dapchi, Yobe State by Boko Haram insurgents. The army, in a statement Continued on page 6

Presidency: No Plan to Reintroduce Onshore-Offshore Dichotomy... Page 10

2019 ON THEIR MINDS... L-R: President Muhammadu Buhari; National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, when Buhari presided over the National Caucus meeting of the APC at the State House, Abuja… yesterday

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T H I S D AY Ë¾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

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T H I S D AY Ë¾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • T H I S D AY

page SIX President Buhari Asks APC Leaders to Commence Preparations for Congresses its ward, local government, state and national congresses. He also advised the APC leaders to uphold what he described as the party’s culture of internal democracy in the conduct of the elections and urged them to ensure that they work together, irrespective of the outcome of the elections. “Now that INEC has come out with the timetable for the elections in 2019, the party should prepare itself for congresses at a. Wards, b. Local Governments, c. States and d. Centre. “We should strictly follow the constitution of the party in undertaking these party elections. We should ensure internal democracy and avoid shortcuts and illegal manoeuvres, which have characterised the opposition party with the consequences that they are now divided. “The APC has a history of conducting free and fair primaries whenever consensus about any candidacy is not reached. Regardless of the outcomes of the primary processes, it is imperative that we all work together to ensure the victory of our party,” he said. Buhari also thanked the party leaders and members for what he described as the successes achieved in the 2015 elections by “securing the majority of the state governors, a majority in the National Assembly and majorities in the state assemblies”. According to him, the success was the output of unity of purpose exhibited by members of the party, which he said resulted in the defeat of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). While thanking them for believing in him, he admonished them to adhere to the party’s constitution and reminded them of the state of the country before the advent of APC government. He also advised them to co-operate with the leader of the reconciliation team in the

party, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, expressing optimism that violence by cattle herders would be brought under control. He also said he was aware of the scathing criticism of his government, especially on board appointments. “We must remember that this resounding success would not have been achieved without the unity of purpose we exhibited in challenging and defeating an incumbent government. “Those outstanding successes would not have been possible without your hard work, dedication, and above all, sacrifice. I wish to individually and collectively thank you all sincerely for believing in me and remaining steadfast party members despite the distractions and antics of the opposition. “The unity and success are needed now more than ever because the elections are looming. “I must state at the outset that to succeed we must, in all our actions and decisions, follow strictly the constitution of our party. It is easy to forget that we succeeded a government with a record of unprecedented theft and systematic mismanagement. “Nigeria was fast heading for a state of collapse. It is easy to forget the fuel subsidy fraud, arms funds diversion, depleted Excess Crude Account savings, depleted foreign reserves, massive unpaid debts to contractors and suppliers amidst failure to invest or even maintain our infrastructure, namely the railways, roads, electricity, in spite of having earned over US$500 billion from oil and gas alone, during the 16 years of PDP rule. “Lest we forget, we must always remind ourselves of the dire situation in which we came to office. “Therefore we must not be shy in projecting our tremendous achievements from 2015 to date. The territorial integrity of Nigeria is no longer under threat.

“A number of security challenges still exist, but they exist in even the most wellpoliced and well-secured countries. I am confident that the measures we are taking will tackle the acts of rural banditry, herdsmen/farmers’ conflicts, communal clashes, kidnappings and other crimes. “I now turn to the party differences in various states: to this end, I have appointed a committee, headed by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a leader of the party, to reconcile the differences in various states. “We hope the committee will be given maximum support and co-operation to enable it to satisfactorily carry out its work and get the party united in purpose and in shape for the battles ahead. “I am very much aware of opinions and criticism about the pace of government: in particular, the delay in appointments to boards of parastatals. Many boards have been inaugurated so far. “Before I conclude my address, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in paying tribute to the party members and commend the APC leadership for its keen interest in getting the party manifesto implemented in the states and at the centre,” the president said. Also speaking, the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, echoed the president, asking members to put their differences behind them in the collective interest of the party. Oyegun said the forthcoming events in the party including the conduct of the party’s presidential primary within eight months would be challenging, especially as the party will have to defend itself at the general election. While throwing his weight behind Tinubu’s reconciliation mission, Oyegun tasked party leaders to place party goals above their personal ambitions.

“I therefore fully support the Asiwaju Peace Committee constituted by the president to reconcile all aggrieved groups within the party and I encourage all of us to support the committee. The success of this committee will provide great impetus to the realisation of victory for the party in the forthcoming general election. “I wish to note that the road so far, it has not been smooth sailing, but we have weathered the storm. We should be truly proud of the achievements of our government at all levels. “We must brace ourselves to face and overcome the challenges that will come our way this year, and they are going to be tough. Elections are generally very emotive. “To have to organise wholesale change of party candidates for national and state elections, and conduct a primary convention to choose a presidential flag bearer, all within a space of eight months, and immediately after, defend our mandate in a general election, will test the resilience of any party. “As we go into these elections, let us summon our individual and collective sense of duty to causes bigger than ourselves, and pledge to rise above our personal ambitions to support the general good. “Let us also think outside the box and find ways to reduce or eliminate the disputations that can arise from unfulfilled expectations,” he said. The meeting was attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, state governors, members of APC National Working Committee, APC members of the National Assembly, members of National Executive Committee, former governors and ministers, among others. However, the President of the Senator, Dr. Bukola Saraki, was

conspicuously absent from the meeting. In a Twitter post earlier yesterday, Saraki said that he had to attend an event on human trafficking in Benin City, Edo State.

Confidence Vote for Oyegun But ahead of the National Caucus meeting of the APC last night, the plot by forces within the ruling party to unseat the Oyegun-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the party appeared to have hit a brick wall, as the Forum of APC State Chairmen yesterday passed a vote of confidence on the party’s national chairman and the NWC. The forum also asked for a two-year tenure extension for the state chairmen and the NWC to enable them to focus on the forthcoming general election. There had been strong speculations that the National Executive Committee of the party, which is slated to meet today in Abuja, was going to approve the dissolution of the NWC and put in its place a caretaker committee to steer the party through the general election. Cracks had emerged among the party leaders over the tenure of the NWC, which ends on June 3, 2018. While one group had pushed for the conduct of a national convention to elect a new NWC before the presidential primary of the party, another group had pushed for the tenure extension of the NWC. Believed to be leading the charge against Oyegun was Tinubu, who last week accused the chairman of the party of undermining his efforts to carry out the assignment Buhari gave him to reconcile aggrieved members within the party. However, after the meeting of the APC state chairmen

Military, Police in Blame Game over Dapchi Girls’ Abduction issued yesterday by the deputy director, public relations of the Theatre Command, Operation Lafiya Dole, Col Onyema Nwachukwu, described the statement by the Yobe State governor, Dr. Ibrahim Gaidam, who had accused the military of withdrawing the troops from the town one week before the girls were abducted, as not only unfortunate but far from the truth. It further explained that the troops were withdrawn on the premise that Dapchi had been relatively calm and peaceful, and the security of the town was formally handed over to the Nigeria Police Division located in the town. According to the army, “The attention of the headquarters Theatre Command, Operation Lafiya Dole, has been drawn to a statement credited to Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, the governor of Yobe State, currently circulating in the media, in which he reportedly alleged that the withdrawal of the military was responsible for the recent suspected Boko Haram attack and abduction of female students from Government Girls’ Science Technical College in Dapchi. This allegation is not only unfortunate but also very far from the truth “Although this headquarters will not attempt to join in any blame game, it is very expedient to set the records straight for the benefit of posterity. In carrying out its mandate to counter terrorism and the insurgency in Northeastern Nigeria, Operation Lafiya Dole has been alive to

its responsibilities vis-a-vis the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents. “Several communities and local governments that were hitherto under siege of the insurgents have been liberated and the insurgents pushed out. While troops continue to trail and decimate the remnants of the insurgents in the hinterlands, the security of the liberated communities and towns fall in the hands of the sister security agencies. “The recent dislodgement and further decimation of the insurgents from their enclaves in the Sambisa and the Lake Chad Islands are testimonials to the effective operations of troops against the insurgents. “Additionally, troops are regularly conducting long-range patrols, raids and ambushes to canalise and take out fleeing insurgents. Given all these efforts, it is very astonishing and shocking that such unfortunate comment and allegation is been touted against the loyal and dedicated troops of Operation Lafiya Dole.” The army said contrary to the governor’s comment, the troops earlier deployed in Dapchi were redeployed to reinforce troops at Kanama, following the attacks on troops’ location at the Nigerian-Nigerien border. “This was on the premise that Dapchi has been relatively calm and peaceful and the security of Dapchi town was formally handed over to the Nigeria Police Division located in the town. “Troops’ redeployment was

therefore done in tandem with the exigencies of the operation and not as misconstrued. “It is thus obligatory to state that the allegation reportedly attributed to the governor of Yobe state is misleading and misinforming. We reiterate our commitment and determination to carrying out our mandate to fight Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east. “We also implore members of the public to continue to support us with credible information on the whereabouts of the Boko Haram terrorists. We would also like to assure the parents, government and the good people of Yobe State and indeed members of the public that we will not rest on our oars in the search and rescue of the abducted schoolgirls and any other persons held captive by the terrorists,” it added. But in a swift riposte yesterday, the Yobe Police Command dismissed the claims by the army that Dapchi town had been handed over to its division in the state. A statement issued by the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sumonu Abdulmaliki, the police said: “The attention of the Yobe State Police Command has been drawn to press statement from headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole subscribing that ‘Dapchi has been relatively calm and peaceful and the security of Dapchi town was formally handed over to the Nigeria Police Division located in the town’. “The statement by the military

of formal handing over of Dapchi town to the Nigeria Police Division in Dapchi is not correct and untrue, as there was no time that the military informed the police of their withdrawal, consult or handed over their locations in Dapchi town to the police. “The whole of Yobe State is still under security emergency which the police, the military and other security agencies are battling to ensure lasting peace. “Members of the public in Yobe State are implored to disregard and discountenance this claim that the military formally handed the security of Dapchi town to the Nigeria Police as untrue, unfounded and misleading.” The Police Command added that it would continue to cooperate with other security agencies in ensuring the safety and protection of lives and property of people of Yobe State.

Freed Lecturers Meet Buhari But even as the military and the police shifted responsibility over the Dapchi kidnappings, three lecturers of the University of Maiduguri (Unimaid) and 10 other women met with President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in the State House, Abuja, 16 days after regaining their freedom from Boko Haram insurgents. The lecturers were part of a surveillance team of oil explorers contracted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

(NNPC) to search for crude oil in the Lake Chad Basin in Borno State, the epicentre of the insurgency. They and the women had spent seven months in captivity before their recent release. Addressing the ex-captives who were led to the Presidential Villa by the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura, Buhari said he was saddened by their abduction on June 20 and July 26 last year, respectively, adding that the federal government consequently made relentless efforts to secure their freedom. Buhari who said his administration places a high premium on human lives, added that all persons abducted by the insurgents would be rescued including the 110 girls abducted from Government Science and Technical Girls’ College, Dapchi, Yobe State, over a week ago. Describing the process, which led to their freedom as painstaking and protracted, Buhari thanked the security agencies and international bodies that facilitated their release, and notably the International Committee for the Red Cross. Promising that his administration would leave no stone unturned in degrading Boko Haram, Buhari said his administration would also work closely with stakeholders and international organisations, including the United Nations (UN) on the rehabilitation and resettlement of the freed captives. Upon being briefed that one of the ex-captives, Jummai

yesterday, the forum in a communiqué said: “The forum after dissection and a thorough appraisal of the APC-led federal government hereby unanimously passes a vote of confidence on our dear President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Chairman of our great party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and other leaders of our great party for their numerous achievements despite the challenges so far experienced in our dear country.” The forum also urged Buhari to present himself for a second term come 2019. The forum also called on the Tinubu-led Peace and Reconciliation Committee to expedite action in reconciling members of the party, while calling on all members of the party to give maximum support to the committee to achieve sustainable peace in the party. “In view of the short period between the time available for the proposed party congresses and the INEC timetable for conduct of party primaries and the general election, the forum resolved that the tenure of the present officers of the party at all levels be extended by two years to avert challenges in the party,” the forum added. “In view of the reasons as adduced above, and the fact that the present constitution as amended in 2014 has not been fully tested in the short life of the party, the forum resolved that the proposed amendment of the party constitution be suspended. “The forum extends our heartfelt condolences and sympathises with the good people of Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, Zamfara, Yobe and Borno States for the attacks on them by the enemies of our dear country.” Thirty-one state chairmen attended the meeting and signed the communiqué among, who was the chairman of the forum, Chief Henry Ajomale of Lagos State. Ibrahim, spent seven months of her service year in captivity and could have passed out with the last batch of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, Buhari said it made sense for the NYSC to present her discharge certificate to her. “I thank all the various security agencies for their professionalism throughout this process as well as other agencies of government, sister nations in the Lake Chad region, and the International Committee for the Continued on page 8

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

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NEWS

Unconfirmed Number of Persons Killed in Kaduna Muslim-Christian Clash Ortom raises alarm over fresh attacks by herdsmen John Shiklam in Kaduna and George Okoh in Makurdi An unconfirmed number of people were reportedly killed and several houses set ablaze in Kasuwan Magani village, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State yesterday, following a violent clash between Muslims and Christian youths in the community. Another unspecified number of people were also said to have sustained injuries as the youth engaged each other with dangerous weapons. There was no official confirmation on the casualties but unconfirmed reports said about 12 persons died during the clash, which was said to have occurred at about 10.30 a.m. yesterday There were conflicting reasons for the cause of the outbreak in violence, with one version claiming that some Christian men went about beating Christian girls who were dating Muslim boys. Another version claimed that a Christian girl was abducted and converted to Islam and taken to the residence of the Sarkin (Chief of) Kasuwan Magani. In a phone interview with THISDAY, a resident of the area, Abubakar Aliyu alleged that Christians don’t want Hausa (Muslim) boys to date their girls. But a Christian youth also resident in the area who did not want his name in print, alleged that the Muslims were abducting Christian girls and converting them to Islam. Sources said the problem has been a long-standing one in the community.

A source disclosed that recently a Christian girl was beaten by Christian boys, forcing her mother to report the matter to the police, but the police were chased away by other youths who were invited by the culprits. Many residents, especially women and children, were said to have fled their homes yesterday to safe areas as a result of the clash. The community, which is about 31 kilometres away from Kaduna city, is located along the highway connecting Plateau, Nasarawa and Benue States, as well as the southern part of Kaduna State. Commuters plying that route were stranded for several hours following the incident. Residents alleged that security personnel did not arrive until around 2 p.m. when a combined team of soldiers and police were deployed to tackle the situation. As of press time, the spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, Aliyu Mukhtar told THISDAY on the phone that the situation had been brought under control. Aliyu said the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of operations had relocated to the area. “We got a distress call in the morning that there was tension in Kasuwan Magani. The Assistant Commissioner of Police is already there as I am talking to you with his men. “Mobile policemen have been deployed to the place. So the situation has been brought under control. “I cannot give details about the cause of the problem now until investigations are

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai concluded. “We are yet to obtain the number of casualties but we are on top of the situation,” Mukhtar said. Also moving to arrest the situation, the Kaduna State Government yesterday directed the security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of the violence and bring them to justice. The government, in a statement by Samuel Aruwan, spokesman for Governor Nasir El-Rufai, condemned the wanton destruction of lives and property. “The Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has directed the prosecution of all persons responsible for the Monday mayhem that occurred in Kasuwan Magani in Kajuru Local Government Area,” the statement said. Aruwan added that the security agencies must investigate the unfortunate incident, arrest and make available for prosecution the perpetrators. He said: “The government condemns the violence, and regrets the wanton shattering of

lives,” adding that government conveyed its sympathy to the victims and their families. He said the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) was directed to take an inventory of the damage and provide relief materials to those affected with immediate effect. Aruwan said security forces were deployed to contain the situation, protect lives and properties and to prevent any further breakdown of law and order. The statement called on all citizens and communities to reject violence and divisions and uphold their neighbours in peace and harmony. Meanwhile, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has again raised concern over renewed attacks by cattle herders in his state, saying there has been an influx of over 1 million cows into Benue after the launch of Operation Cat Race, known as the Ayem Akpatuma military exercise. He spoke yesterday at the funeral site in Makurdi of the 73 victims of herdsmen attacks who were killed on new year day, where he had taken the senior pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Dr. Paul Enenche, and his wife, Becky. The governor appealed to the military to flush out the invaders so that the over 160,000 displaced persons in eight camps could return to their homes. He alleged that well over 60 people had also been killed by armed herdsmen since the mass burial held on January 11 for the 73 victims, with three of the latest victims killed last week in

Guma Local Government Area. Enenche, who anointed the land, prayed for God’s justice and judgment against the killers and their sponsors throughout the country and prayed for the earth to rise up against them.

Ortom’s appeal came just as a group known as the Tiv Youth Organisation (TYO) warned that if the federal government fails to protect the people of Benue State, Tiv youths may be forced to find an alternative means of defending the people, even as it called for the overhaul of the security architecture in the country to accommodate other nationalities in Nigeria. The national president of TYO Mr. Timothy Hembaor at a press conference held yesterday at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, said President Muhammadu Buhari had failed to ensure the security and welfare of Nigeria citizens. He stressed that the immediate overhaul of the security infrastructure and hierarchy will give room for true intelligence gathering in the country. He also urged the federal government to, without delay, direct the troops deployed in Benue State to strictly adhere to professional conduct and put an immediate stop to the daily attacks, wanton killings and maiming of innocent, harmless, defenceless and law-abiding Tiv people of Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States. The group upbraided the federal government over its failure to arrest and prosecute

the leaders of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and their sponsors whom they alleged had openly boasted about their plans to carry out the new year day massacre of women, children and aged persons in Tiv land. “It is preposterous that the Fulani are laying claim to being the original inhabitants of the Benue valley,” the group said, also pointing out that the narrative has not been supported by any historical account. “The Tiv people are entitled to the statutory rights over the lands of the Benue trough where they have lawfully dwelt and earned a living for the past three centuries and have been so recognised by law. “We will resist with all means at our disposal, the confiscation of our land and transmutation of same into grazing areas for the Fulani and their cattle. In essence, the Tiv people are saying, ‘No to grazing areas of whatever sort in Tiv land’. “We, therefore, call on President Buhari to respect his oath of office and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, both in content and spirit, and sincerely intervene now and halt the killings of the Tiv people of Nigeria by his kinsmen. “Failure to do so, the Tiv people are capable of defending themselves against any occupation of our ancestral dwellings,” the group added. It further warned that Benue State will never succumb to the threats of Miyetti Allah to cede any of its lands for cattle colonies, terming it as a disguise to get a foothold on the land.

come to our rescue. We lost hope. But sir, you surprised us. “After seven months for us in the university and eight months for the 10 ladies, Nigeria rescued us. This shows that the life of every Nigerian is important and is worth rescuing. “Sir, we are grateful. You gave us hope when there was no hope and we are excited. We thank you, sir. We also want to appreciate the DSS, the Nigerian Armed Forces, and the entire team that worked together to make sure we regained our freedom. We appreciate the labour of love they have shown to us. “We also want to appreciate Nigerians for praying. We were informed that the entire nation

was praying for us and we were excited… Sir, we are grateful. “Sir, from the university, it is a golden opportunity for us to see you and to share our fears and concern because we were abducted while working for the nation. And right now, going back home to us is still a nightmare because of our experiences. “We have this golden plea… Sir, if there is an opportunity for us to be relocated and may be given other jobs, that is our golden request. “This is the only opportunity we have to share with you. But we appreciate everything that has been done and the sacrifice you have made for us. Thank you, sir.”

Threat of Retaliation

Military, Police in Blame Game over Dapchi Girls’ Abduction Red Cross who have contributed to this feat of bringing you all home safely. “While thanking the security agencies and all those who facilitated this, let me clearly reiterate the resolve of this administration to ensure all persons abducted by the insurgents are rescued or released safely. “This is especially against the backdrop of the recent incident where another group of girls was abducted on the 19th of February from Government Science and Technical Girls’ College, Dapchi, Yobe State. “I have since directed all the security agencies to immediately ensure that every effort is directed to ensure the safety of our schools and students, as well as bringing back the abducted girls to their families. “Government remains unrelenting towards rescuing all those abducted. The government will also work closely with all stakeholders, especially the United Nations and other donor agencies and voluntary organisations towards rehabilitating and resettling all those displaced as a result of all these conflicts, in order to quicken the resumption of meaningful social and economic activities. “I remain very mindful of the pains and injuries collectively meted out by the insurgents

and we will ensure that government does not leave any stone unturned to degrade and contain these insurgents and ensure that complete peace returns to our land. “Once again, I’m pleased to see that all of you are now free and will soon join your loved ones as well as be fully integrated back into the society. “Nigerians sympathise with you over your ordeal and wish you welcome back to your families and friends. And I suppose the NYSC should give a certificate of discharge to the person that spent the remaining of her service year somewhere else (with abductors),” Buhari said. In his presentation, Daura who listed the freed women to include: Jummai Ibrahim, Esther Wazari Kwasina, Amina Adams Gomdiya, Gloria Bulus, Paulina Amos, Faustina and Tani Audu, a final year student of the University of Maiduguri, said the process leading to their release took several months of negotiations. According to him, the process was slow because the negotiators had to deal with two different groups of abductors who were based in two locations, disclosing that the negotiations took place mainly outside the country. He also said the negotiations with Boko Haram included

freeing arrested members of the terror group, who were not found culpable in any criminal activity, putting paid to attacks on civilians, worship centres, schools and public places using improvised explosive devices as well as stoppage of air strikes in return by military helicopter gunships. “The process was slow due to the problem of dealing with two different groups based in different locations at the same time. In addition, the negotiations took place mostly outside the country, though subsequently finalised in the theatre of operations. “The negotiations were mainly centred on an attempt at conflict mitigation which includes the fate of arrested members of the insurgent groups, especially accepting to be freed by government those found not to be culpable in any criminal activity. “Also, possible cessation of hostilities, especially the attacks with IEDs on innocent civilians, worship centers, schools and other public places in return for the temporary stoppage of air strikes by helicopter gunships. “Lastly, the negotiation was also centred on the possibility of granting amnesty to those willing to surrender and ready to lay down their arms by the federal government,” he said. Daura also explained that

a negotiated release of the abducted victims was chosen because it was considered the safest option. “Mr. President, the search and negotiations for the rescue of the victims commenced in earnest following your directives to the effect that all abducted persons must be found and rescued alive. “However, we chose the path of negotiation because it was considered the safest option, as any forceful attempt to rescue the victims could have endangered their lives. “These negotiations took several months and the Department of State Services, with the support of the external elements of the group in the diaspora and support from friendly countries and liaison with the International Committee for the Red Cross, made the rescue possible,” he said. Speaking on behalf of the freed captives, one of the lecturers, Dr. Solomon Nicholas Yusuf, thanked the president profusely for ensuring that they were freed and demanded for fresh jobs for himself and his two colleagues, in view of what he described as incessant threats to their lives. According to him, “While we were in captivity, we wondered if, with 180 million or more Nigerians, Nigeria would ever

Yusuf Buhari Returns to Country After Speedy Recovery treatment abroad. A source further disclosed that the president’s son was in full motor biking gear including a crash helmet when the accident occurred, which may have saved him from life-threatening injuries. Despite the fact that he was involved in a race with his friend, the source added that security personnel who were tailing him were on hand once the accident

happened and moved promptly to get him to a hospital. When contacted yesterday on his return, the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina, declined to comment on the issue. Adesina, who sounded irritable, said: “The boy has a right to his private life. We can’t be talking about him and his movement.”

T H I S D AY Ë¾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

INEC: Until Electoral Act Decides Otherwise, Our Arrangement for Elections Stands Vows to weed out underage voters before 2019 elections Confirms dates for Ekiti, Osun polls Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, yesterday said until the existing laws regulating the conduct of elections in the country are amended, the arrangement of the elections as earlier announced by the commission this year, stands. Yakubu also reiterated the commission’s determination to get to the root of the circumstances surrounding the underage voters, which manifested in the recent local government election in Kano State. The INEC chairman stated these during a quarterly consultative meeting with the media at the INEC headquarters in Abuja. Releasing the timetable for the 2019 general election early this year, INEC said the presidential/National Assembly election would come first follow by the governorship/state assembly election. But in the recent amendment by the National Assembly, which has been communicated to the president for assent, the sequence of the election was altered, with National Assembly election coming first; followed by governorship/ state assembly, while the presidential election will come last. Commenting on the controversies which the amendment by the National Assembly had generated in the last few weeks, the INEC chairman said the commission was not in any way in disagreement with the National Assembly over the arrangement and timetable for the 2019. He stated that the election time table released recently was predicated on the existing Electoral

Act and constitution. “We are operating under the existing laws, which are provisions of the Electoral Act and the constitution. We are covered by the provision of the extant laws.’’ “We have released the time table after due consultations with stakeholders in the nation’s Election Management Board and we stand by that time table for now. Nothing has changed and so we are anchoring our planning on the conduct of the 2019 elections on the carefully planned election sequencing,” Yakubu said. The chairman added that the commission was aware of the on-going constitutional amendment process by the legislative arm and would await its conclusion and then take appropriate action, as it affects the operations of election processes. He added: “The Electoral Act 2010 is still in force; it has not been changed and therefore there is no vacuum; there is no lacuna in our law. Our electoral manuals are anchored on the basis of the existing law.” When asked what the commission would do if the amendments are eventually passed and assented to by the president, the chairman said: “If anything happens tomorrow, then we will address it.” He stressed that INEC would continue to operate within the existing timetable and sequencing for now until further notice. On the vexed issue of underage voters, as was recently witnessed in Kano State, Yakubu assured Nigerians that it would not be the

Presidency: No Plan to Reintroduce Onshore-Offshore Dichotomy Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The presidency yesterday denied allegations that it had conceived fresh plans to reintroduce onshore/ offshore dichotomy in the sharing of crude oil revenue among littoral states with the aim of depriving such states their derivation under the revenue sharing formula. States delineated as littoral states include: Akwa lbom, Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta and Lagos. Addressing journalists in the State House yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, said the clarification had become compelling in view of the misconception generated by recommendations of the All Progressives Congress (APC) committee on restructuring led by Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai. According to him, the intention of the committee by its recommendations was to promote the unity of the country, ensure states are financially empowered to more effectively serve their residents and simultaneously ensure that no one is put in any disadvantaged position. He recalled that the committee further recommended that the federal government should expeditiously review derivation with a view to reflecting areas of

consensus including the control of resources by states and then pay the federal government from their revenues. Enang added that the committee also recommended an upward review of the current sharing formula in favour of states as well as the application of derivation formula in the sharing of revenues accruable from solid minerals and power generation. He said: “Attention is drawn to the campaign against Mr. President, the APC as a party and the committee on proposal for re-structuring of Nigeria report led by Governor Nasir El-Rufai ,alleging that the said report is introducing on-shore-off-shore dichotomy intended to deprive the littoral states of Akwa lbom, Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Lagos among others of the derivation content of revenue allocation. And more, by Akwa Ibom State, alleging that a greater part of her revenue is from off-shore oil. “As preliminary, I want to state aforehand that neither President Muhammadu Buhari, the APC as a ruling party nor the report on re-structuring has reintroduced covertly or overtly or in any manner whatsoever, the abrogated on-shoreoff-shore dichotomy and that the statutory allocation to Akwa Ibom and other littoral states will not decrease.

case in 2019 elections, adding that the commission is not taking the case lightly, and had already set up a panel of inquiry to address the issue. He, however, vowed to weed out any registered underage voters before the next general election. According to him, “We will do whatever it takes to clean up the voters register. I am almost certain

in my mind that it will never happen in the national election. We want to await the outcome of the committee’s inquiry. But take it from me that no ineligible voter will be allowed to vote in national elections.” Speaking further, Yakubu frowned at the issue of vote buying, which he said was prevalent during the Anambra State governorship

elections. He added that the commission is convinced about the issue of vote buying, noting that INEC is working with relevant security agencies to tackle the problem and fish out offenders. Yakubu also assured all that INEC would monitor political parties to make sure they comply with the campaign funding, as

enshrined in the Electoral Act, while promising to present the budgetary cost for the 2019 elections. On Ekiti and Osun States gubernatorial elections, he confirmed July 13, 2018, and September 27, 2018, respectively as the tentative dates while February 16 and March 02, 2019 for presidential/National Assembly and governorship/state assembly elections.

VISIT TO A VETERAN JOURNALIST

R-L: Executive Director, International Press Institute, (IPI), Barbara Trionfi; former Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande; and Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ), Lagos State Council, Dr. Qasim Akinreti, during their visit to the former governor at his Ilupeju residence in Lagos....yesterday

AGF Dares Senate, Asks Ojukwu to Assume Office as NHRC Boss Without Confirmation Tobi Soniyi in Lagos The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has asked Tony Ojukwu to assume office as the acting Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in contravention of the civil service rules and the Act that established the commission. Some staff of the commission who felt the action of the AGF contravened the civil service rules and the NHRC (Amendment) Act alerted THISDAY to the illegality being perpetuated by the minister who ought to be championing rule of law. On February 13, 2016, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General of the Federation caused a letter to be delivered to Mrs. Otti Ovravah who was until then, the acting Executive Secretary of the commission, to hand over to Ojukwu. Following the completion of the tenure of Prof. Bem Angwe as Executive Secretary, Ovravah took over as acting ES being the most senior person in the commission. President Muhammadu Buhari had in December last year written to the Senate to request the confirmation of the appointment of Ojukwu as executive secretary of the commission. The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had already read the letter

to senators at plenary. The letter partly read: “In accordance with provisions of Section 8 of the National Human Rights Commission Act 2010, I have the pleasure to present Mr. Anthony Okechuwku Ojukwu for confirmation as the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission by the Senate.” However, the Senate had placed an embargo on the confirmation of appointments made by the president following the retention of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) despite rejection of his appointment by the lawmakers. However, in order to circumvent the provisions of Section 8 of the NHRC Act 2010, which requires the Senate to confirm Ojukwu’s appointment, the AGF directed the Solicitor General of the Federation, Dayo Apata, to write to Mrs. Ovravah to handover to Ojukwu. Ovravah is the most senior officer in the commission, and under the Civil Service Rules, she should have continued to act as executive secretary of the commission until the Senate confirms Ojukwu. Mr. Mohammed Ladan, who is the next most senior officer, is not a lawyer. Ojukwu is the third most senior in the commission’s hierarchy. A source at the Ministry of Justice confided in THISDAY that Malami had at a meeting with United Nations Deputy Secretary

General, Amina Mohammed, on January 11 at the ministry prevented the acting Executive Secretary of the commission, Ovravah, from speaking on behalf of the commission. Instead, he asked Ojukwu to speak for the commission when he was neither the acting ES not the substantive ES. “They are subverting both the civil service hierarchy and the NHRC Act. These are the people who should be upholding the rule of law,” the ministry of justice source said. Although the commission has given the impression that Ovravah went on a voluntary leave, the letter sent to her to hand over to Ojukwu belies that claim. THISDAY saw a copy of the letter with ref. No SGF/PS/ NHRC/180/T which is dated February 08, 2018. The letter is titled: ‘Approval to Resume Duty as acting Executive Secretary of the NHRC’. It stated: “Kindly refer to the subject matter captioned above. “As you are aware in December 2017, President Buhari nominated Mr. Anthony Okechukwu Ojukwu as the substantive Executive Secretary to the commission pending confirmation by the Senate. “While thanking you for holding forth in the commission till now, I am directed to inform you of approval to hand over the administration of the commission to the nominee of the president

since he is a serving director in the commission. This is pending his confirmation by the Senate and full reconstitution of the governing council. The directive is with effect from the date of this letter. “Please accept the assurance of the best wishes and consideration of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.” Contrary to the impression given by the AGF, Section 8 of the NHRC (Amendment Act) which makes the appointment of an executive secretary subject to Senate confirmation does not discriminate on whether the appointee is a director in the commission or an outsider. For the avoidance of doubt, Section 8 provides thus: “8. Section 7 (1) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting for a new section “7(1)” – “7 (1) There shall be for the commission an Executive Secretary who shall be: ‘a legal practitioner with not less than 20 years post qualification experience and requisite experience in human right issues; a person of proven integrity and be the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of the commission; appointed by the president subject to confirmation by the Senate.” The source at the ministry of justice said: “Asking Ojukwu to resume as acting executive secretary because he is a director at the commission amounts to reading into the law, what is not there.”

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COMMENT

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

WHO WILL SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER? (1) Former President Olusegun Obasanjo should apologise to the nation, writes Uma O. Eleazu

he cry had gone out. Who will speak truth to power? Former President Olusegun Obasanjo took up the gauntlet. He can speak truth to power, come what may, even when his truth is less than the whole truth. He has done so in the past. There is hardly anyone who has occupied the post of head of state or president of Nigeria that he has not found occasion to criticise for one failure or the other. He is a wise man, sagacious in his ways. Besides he knows quite a lot about Nigeria’s ship of state. He has on two different occasions piloted its affairs, and since his second coming in 1999 has more or less been involved in hand picking who pilots the Nigerian ship. So one would like to think that he knows where all the rocks and quicksand are in the journey to becoming a modern democratic state. Before he jumped on the bandwagon to persuade Nigerian voters to crown Muhammadu Buhari as President, by his own admission, he knew that the man was incompetent: He knew he was “weak in the knowledge and understanding of the economy...weakness in understanding and playing in foreign affair...he (OBJ) thought that PMB would fight corruption and financial crimes ….” In short, he is now telling us that the man he backed lacks the knowledge to steer the Nigerian ship of state. He owes us, the Nigerian people, an apology. It is of no comfort to us Nigerian voters to hear all that from him after the birds have flown out of the nest, after the damage is done. Never the less, I believe that he knows more than he is willing to reveal. May be he is letting sleeping dogs lie in order to cover his own weakness and compromises that have contributed to the rot we have now in our governance system. So what bothers me now, is not so much what OBJ had to say about President Buhari, but what he did not say or simply brushed aside. The issue of incompetence of PMB apart, the real danger besetting the country is fundamental and structural, compounded by the ineptitude of its current operators. Buhari is not all that incompetent when we view his performance from the point of view of his ardent supporters. They have simply exploited the contradictions in our constitution to follow a different agenda from that which OBJ and most well- meaning Nigerians want for this country. Reading through his epistle (and previous ones), one would like to assume that OBJ belongs to the group of Nigerians whose mental image of a modern Nigeria is one of a prosperous, democratic country where there is rule of law and the basic freedoms of speech, of worship and thought, of association and personal security, etc . Buhari does not believe in such values and yet OBJ , and the rest of them in All Progressives Congress were still prepared to foist him on the nation. PMB is neither a democrat nor a progressive although he will mouth such platitudes as his handlers wanted him to say. In actual fact, he will rather do (and has been doing) all in his power to subvert and undermine the very constitution he swore to protect ,while mouth-

IT IS OF NO COMFORT TO US NIGERIAN VOTERS TO HEAR ALL THAT FROM OBASANJO AFTER THE BIRDS HAVE FLOWN OUT OF THE NEST, AFTER THE DAMAGE IS DONE. NEVER THE LESS, I BELIEVE THAT HE KNOWS MORE THAN HE IS WILLING TO REVEAL

ing democratic platitudes to deceive his handlers and the electorate until he achieved his goal of becoming the President of Nigeria. In political Islam, deceit is a virtue if it achieves ones goals. Hear the man who has sworn to defend the 1999 constitution: “I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria. God willing we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the sharia in the country.” (News24, August,27; 2001) Obasanjo was president at the time when Yerima and Co declared 12 states of the federation to be Sharia states, in contravention of the 1999 Constitution which states in section 10 “The government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State religion”, which makes Nigeria a secular state. OBJ presided over that blatant challenge to the constitution and he compromised with it. Compromise and erosion of values are two sides of the same coin. That was the in-road the Sharia movement wanted. Having allowed the 12 insurgent states to have their way, that now gave Buhari the courage to run for president in 2003 to achieve the goal of islamising Nigeria. The rise of Boko Haram and failed Almajiri revolt in Kano and Kaduna all have a link to that one in-road. Buhari actually urged his followers while he was campaigning to vote for only candidates that will promote the cause of Islam. “Muslims should only vote those who will promote Islam. We are more than the Christians, if you add our Muslim brothers in the West. (Liberty Radio , Kaduna 2003)” I find it hard to believe that with all his usual perspicacity, that OBJ does not know that Islam and Democracy are strange bedfellows and that Buhari is a confirmed Islamic Jihadist who is sworn to make Nigeria into an Muslim state. Well, he did not win in 2003 and so he tried again in 2007 and 2011, still pushing his agenda to climb to the highest office in the land so as to implement the OIC agenda all over Nigeria, which includes: “To eradicate in all its forms and ramifications all non-Muslim religions in member nations (such religions shall include Christianity, Ahmadiyya and other tribal modes of worship unacceptable to Muslims) “To ensure the decoration of Nigeria a Federal Sultanate at a convenient date and time from March 1990 with the Sultan of Sokoto enthroned as the Sultan Supreme sovereign of Nigeria.” ( See he Declaration of OIC Ibadan Conference, 1989 ) In its detailed working, the declaration also includes that nonMuslims should not be allowed to be president of member countries of OIC , also all major/strategic Ministries and Departments of Government in member countries should be headed by Muslims. When it looked like Abiola was going to become president, Abacha thought he was not muslim enough, and between him and the Sultan, they persuaded Ibrahim Babangida to annul the election. Dr. Eleazu is Ofﬁcer of the Order of the Niger(OON)

HARNESSING NILDS’EXPANDED MANDATE Sufuyan Ojeifo argues that the new amendment will enhance democratic governance in Nigeria

resident Muhammadu Buhari on January 24, 2018, assented to an amendment bill that rechristened the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS). The bill, which has now become the 2018 Amendment Act, provides the legal basis upon which the institute is now described and referred to as National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS). The act has also legally expanded the mandate of the institute to include the complete critical subject area of democracy in its curriculum. In essence, the institute has been repositioned to effectively cover the entire field of legislative and democratic studies in order to forge a vibrant and knowledgeable crop of political actors and political office holders who administer the nation’s political economy. The institute is attuned to the provision of the precise environment to drive a utilitarian learning process that conduces to a better understanding of the theory and praxis of the legislature, election observation and management as well as political party administration within the larger framework of democratic governance. Before now, the institute had operated restrictively within the narrow purview of deploying its manpower in the conduct of periodic short and refresher courses for federal and state legislators, staff, committee clerks and political aides on legislative practice and procedure, democracy and good governance; and, in the promotion and dissemination among legislative aides in Nigeria of the practice of science-based methodologies of law-making, among others. However, with the expanded mandate, it now has the locus to focus its training packages or modules on a much wider audience within and outside the governmental circle. With a sharply-focused management under a sedate but highly fecund director general, Professor Ladi Hamalai, the institute has witnessed two critical transformational epochs in about a decade. It is noteworthy that it began as an initiative that

was firmly rooted in a grant agreement that the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) entered into with the National Assembly in 2002 for the establishment of Policy Analysis and Research Project (PARP), the intellectual wing of the National Assembly. PARP actually transformed in 2011 to an institute by virtue of the NILS Establishment Act; and, almost seven years after, its mandate has now been expanded via the 2018 Amendment Act. The specifics of the expanded mandate, aside the name change, as provided in section 2 (2) (n) (o) (p) and section 3 (i) of the Amendment Act, are that the institute will, henceforth, operate as the centre for continuing education and advocacy on democratic processes and institutions; and, will provide training courses and degrees on democracy, party politics, electoral process, legislative practice and procedures, political culture and development, respectively. The expectation in the National Assembly is that with the name change the institute will gain more acceptability by the wider political class. Similarly, with the slight adjustments to the original objectives of the institute, it would become the authoritative core centre for capacity building in democratic governance. Coming at the threshold of the 2019 general elections, it is believed that the institute will be deployed to play far-reaching roles in preparing political actors and public office holders for an engaging process of deepening the nation’s democratic process and governance. At a recent engagement in Abuja where the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary, Hon. Aminu Shagari and Professor Hamalai jointly addressed the media on the institute’s expanded mandate, she (Hamalai) was confident that if the NILDS programmes were properly focused, they would impact positively on the on-going democratic processes and ultimately culminate in the building of virile democratic structures and institutions that would advance party politics and electoral process in the country through sustainable manpower training and/or

capacity building. This is the kind of trainings that Nigerian political actors and public office holders require to provoke national re-orientation and rebirth. There must be a revolutionary way of running all aspects of the nation’s political economy. It must take deliberate inculcation of values in a target audience to precipitate desired changes. One expects that the NILDS should operate in a writ-large fashion in the appreciation of the Nigerian public in the same way they appreciate the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, as the intellectual mill for policymakers and strategists. While NIPSS, for instance, conducts courses for top-level policymakers and executors drawn from different sectors of the country, with a view to widening their outlook and perspectives on issues and improving their conceptual capacity, quality of analysis and decision making, among others, NILDS is equipped to promote critical research materials and policy insights as background materials for committees of the National Assembly; improve the capacity of legislators to sustain and consolidate democratic governance through deliberation and policy formulation; and, improve the technical capacity of legislative staff, committee secretaries and political aides to process appropriation bills and policy oversight of the executive. Interestingly, the NILDS is also empowered to conduct periodic training on democratic principles for members of the Armed Forces; document and publish for public use the history and politics of the legislature in governance in Nigeria from colonial period to the present; monitor elections; provide interface between democratic institutions and the civil societies; sensitise the Nigerian public to imbibe, support and defend democratic and legislative ethics; undertake such other incidental responsibilities relating to the development, consolidation and advancement of legislative independence; and, engage visiting scholars and fellows to participate in its academic programmes.

Whereas, it is a piece of good news that the NILDS is working with the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the University of Benin to start Masters and Post Graduate Diploma programmes in Election Management and Party Politics in the third quarter of 2018, perhaps what is of greater significance is the entire gamut of programmes that the institute has developed towards deepening democratic governance before and beyond 2019. Kudos must be given to the NILDS Steering Committee, comprising former Senate President, Ken Nnamani and former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, among others, that developed a two-year strategic plan to define, for instance, the mission of a new Department of Democratic Studies (DDS) and identify some of the key programmes that should be implemented. The NILDS also deserves commendation for developing programmes that are strictly tailored towards deepening democratic governance with specific emphasis on such engaging topics as election observation, election management, institution building of political parties and effective party management; the role of security agencies in the forthcoming general elections; high turnover of members in the legislature; alternative funding sources for political parties; and the question of internal democracy; independent candidature; a revisit of card reader and electronic report of elections; and, Diaspora voting, among others. It is understandable that Hon. Shagari, who is also chairman of the steering committee that developed NILDS’ strategic plan for engaging political actors and political office holders, was full of commendation for the committee. The wisdom in scheduling stakeholders’ discussions around these pertinent topics is obvious. For a better home grown democratic practice, stakeholders’ intellectual exertion in these areas should be activated now. Ojeifo, editor-in-chief of The Congresswatch magazine, wrote via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com

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EDITORIAL TRAFFICKING AND THE WITCH DOCTORS The authorities could do more to contain the menace

he recent decision by the National Agency for the Prohibition of TrafďŹ cking in Persons (NAPTIP), to engage the services of native witch doctors to curb trafďŹ cking in persons, tells the enormity of the challenges and the urgent need by all stakeholders to rally round the agency in combating the menace. Expressing the agencyâ€™s readiness to confront the criminal activities of human trafďŹ ckers head-on, the NAPTIP Director General, Mrs Julie Okah-Donli, said the agency had gathered â€œwitch doctorsâ€™â€™ in Benin, Edo State capital and made them ambassadors in ďŹ ghting against the menace. â€œWhen we gathered these witch doctors recently to sensitise them on what human trafďŹ cking victims go through in Europe, they were shocked. And they have made their commitments to work with us to ďŹ ght the menace of human trafďŹ cking,â€? said Okah-Donli. Instructively, the danger posed by human trafďŹ ckers has also attracted the attention of the respected Benin THE LATEST AND MOST Monarch, Oba HEINOUS DIMENSION TO Ewuare II who recently expressed TRAFFICKING IS THAT concern over rising IT HAS GONE BEYOND cases and illegal SEXUAL EXPLOITATION. migration. ExpressTHE TRAFFICKERS ing surprise about NOW TRADE IN HUMAN the development considering the ORGANS increasing number of religious worship centres in the society, the Oba stated that reports indicated that many of the clerics may have been encouraging human trafďŹ cking and illegal migration, instead of discouraging it. The Oba promised that the Palace would collaborate with security agencies to reduce the crime in the state. With many of the women involved in prostitution ring in Europe said to be of Edo stock, this is reassuring: everything within the framework of the

Letters to the Editor

law must be done to stop these illegal activities by some criminally minded persons, which is tainting the image of the country in many of the European nations and indeed, the world over. However, human trafďŹ cking is both international and local - we have the source, the transit and destination states. Records have shown that the proportion of the local trafďŹ cking almost equal international dimension of the criminal act. Some unscrupulous Nigerians recruit from their villages and towns young girls with the promise of securing for them good jobs in urban centres only to turn them to prostitutes. That explains why it is urgent and important for the NAPTIP to partner with other organisations in tackling this threat.

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he latest and most heinous dimension to trafďŹ cking is that it has gone beyond sexual exploitation. The trafďŹ ckers now trade in human organs. They sell human organs for ďŹ nancial beneďŹ ts. The harvesting of organs has become attractive to these criminals because there are so many people in need of kidney, liver and heart transplants, and records reveal that these organs are in high demand, especially in developed countries. There is therefore need for collaborative efforts by the relevant local agencies, state governments and the international partners in dealing with the issue. The global community has already seen this act as a threat and many have expressed disappointment over the slow approach by the Nigerian government. A recent report by an organ of the UN on human trafďŹ cking rated Nigeria poorly in tackling human trafďŹ cking. Before the latest report, Nigeria got to â€œďŹ rst tierâ€™â€™ and later dropped to â€œtiertwo watch list.â€™â€™ And one of the reasons given for the downgrade was that child soldiers were being used in the North-east. While we condemn human trafďŹ cking, we are of the strong belief that a demonstration of political will to diligently prosecute offenders would serve as deterrent to those engaged in the nefarious trade.

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.

IMO: THE SEARCH FOR THE IDEAL GOVERNOR

he race for Government House Imo State has gathered momentum. However, the recent declaration reportedly made by Governor Rochas Okorocha on who he intends to support as successor to his office has unsettled the political landscape of Imo State. The governor was quoted to have publicly declared support for the Chief of Staff Government House, Mr Uche Nwosu, who also happens to be his son- in-law. Public resentment on the issue went wild and majority of those critical to the governorâ€™s declaration are crying foul that the number one citizen wants to convert the number one position in the state to a family affair and by so doing extend his uninspiring administration through covert means. As the resentment against the governor rages, the number of aspirants to the Douglas House, the seat of government, keeps increasing by the day. But there is the need to re-engage the current public discourse on the subject of succession in Imo State for a different set of reasons if we are to effectively checkmate the re-occurrence of the sad experience that the state is witnessing currently. I was born and raised in Imo and I am aware that the forebears of our state had wonderful ideas on how to provide good leadership. Sadly, see what we have today! The socioeconomic situation of the state is already in ruins and through a deliberate policy of impoverishment of the masses, the Okorocha administration has reduced governance to a caricature. Therefore

the discussion on succession in Imo state, to my mind, should take the shape of a genuine quest for an ideal leader for our state. Put simply: who should be the appropriate governor of Imo State come 2019? What qualities should be inherent in the ideal governor to earn our support? This question became pertinent if we must collectively challenge our leadership problem as a state. There is no doubt, Governor Okorochaâ€™s eight years leadership has left Imo battered and drifting. At the last count Imo ranks among the top contenders in the poverty index in Nigeria going by a recent publication by the United Nations. The soaring unemployment of the youth in the state is aggravated by the inability of government to provide the needed solutions. With over 70 percentages of its revenue base dependent on federal allocation and a staggering domestic and foreign debt profiles, the development of Imo can no longer be entrusted in the hands of sycophants and apprentices before we do incalculable damage to future of our generation. Therefore, our quest as patriotic Imo people must focus on the task of collective selfpreservation through the choice of a leadership that understands the uniqueness of Imo and the imperatives of smart governance. The new leader must have adequate knowledge of the dynamics of modern ways of driving the economy of a state effectively and efficiently. A departure from politics of â€œanything goesâ€™â€™ towards politics of ideas must form a major policy thrust of the next administration of heartland state in other for us to break away quickly from the socio-political and economic stagnation currently besetting the state.

The ideal governor must be someone who understands the plight of majority of Imolites and possesses the capacity to point in the direction of enduring change that would impact positively in the living standards of the greatest majority of Imo people. He must also be passionate about reversing the ugly trends manifesting in the form of hopelessness and fear of insecurity among the citizenry. The solutions we seek are urgent and clear cut leaving no room for sentiments and unmerited consideration of personages with doubtful experience and lack of track record of achievements and capacity to transform Imo in the shortest possible time. As tough as times are the selection of the successor to Douglas House becomes easy. This is the time to weigh and balance interested aspirants to the exalted office of governor of Imo state on a scale especially as it relates to the originality of their visions and capacity to match their words with action. However, in a sample of the profiles of some of the notable aspirants to the coveted office in the state published recently in the media, I could not find someone so qualified to hold the office of governor of Imo State than Mr Okey Ezeh. Listening to his presentation at a forum in Owerri recently where he featured as guest speaker I could not but beat my chest that in our search for an ideal leader such a personality suits our desire and we are lucky that he is offering himself for service of his fatherland. Francis Eze, Owerri

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T H I S D AY Ë¾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

POLITICS

Group Politics Editor Tobi Soniyi Email tobi.soniyi@thisdaylive.com 07054786260 SMS ONLY

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING

How Judiciary Undermines the Anti-corruption War The judiciary undermines the anti-corruption war when it allows convicts of corruption to walk free with light sentences, writes Davidson Iriekpen

enultimate week, Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Gudu delivered a judgment which many analysts considered a dent to the fight against corruption. The judgment, which should serve as a deterrent will encourage public officers to be corrupt. The judgement was in respect of the trial of the former Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Samuel Ibi Gekpe. Gekpe and other directors of the agency who were arraigned for disregarding the provisions of the Public Procurement Act and misappropriation of a whopping sum of N6billion. The funds were mismanaged in the payment for rural electrification contracts which they purportedly awarded as the agency’s Public Procurement Committee in 2008. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned them for criminal breach of trust before Justice Banjoko. The other defendants are a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power, Dr. Abdullahi Aliyu, an accountant in the agency, Simon Kirdi Nanle, a director, Lawrence Orekoya, an assistant director, Abdulsamad Jahun and the agency’s former Head of Legal Department, Kayode Oyedeji. During the trial, the prosecution team, led by Mr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), called seven witnesses from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, the agency’s officers and an EFCC operative, Ibrahim Ahmed. The defendants, represented by Paul Ewekoro (SAN), made a no-case submission, which was dismissed. In her verdict, Justice Banjoko dismissed the first defendant’s application challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the charge. She found that the prosecution proved the ingredients of the offences of criminal breach of trust and conspiracy. The judge held that the defendants, who recklessly disregarded the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, misappropriated over N6billion in contract payments. She found all the defendants guilty as charged. She convicted and sentenced Gekpe to three years imprisonment with an option of a ridiculous N5million fine. The judge also sentenced the other defendants to three years imprisonment but with an option of N500,000 fine each. The fines according to her were to be paid within 30 days from the day the judgment was delivered. Whether the penalty is what the law specifies or not, Nigerians expected the judge to use his discretion properly. in an era when the country is doing everything to reduce corruption to barest minimum. Many analysts have described the verdict as ridiculous and a slap on the wrist. They wondered how punitive were the fines of N5million and N500,000 when compared to the N6billion that the convicts were said to have misappropriated. The analysts equally wondered who would steal N6billion and not pay a paltry sum of N5million or N500,000 to get his freedom? For a country that has waged war against corruption, many would have thought that the judge would give the convicts a minimum of 15 years without an option of fine in order to send a clear message to public officers that corruption has dealt a fatal blow to the nation. The judgment of Justice Banjoko vividly reminds Nigerians of a similar one delivered by Justice Abubakar Talba of the same FCT High Court who convicted a self-confessed pension thief, Mr. John Yakubu Yusufu in 2013 which drew a nationwide outrage against the judiciary. Yusufu, a former Assistant Director in the federal civil service, admitted to being

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen

part of those who stole N32 billion. His sentence, which was the first conviction in an elaborate scam that came to light in 2012, involved several top officials, offices and banks. The convict was tried on a 20-count charge alongside Atiku Abubakar Kigo (Permanent Secretary), Ahmed Inuwa Wada (Director), Veronica Onyegbula (Cashier) and Sani Habila Zira (ICT Officer). His conviction came after he pleaded guilty to betraying trust and fraudulently converting N2 billion of police pension funds to private use. He admitted to the 19th and 20th offences relating specifically to him, each involving betrayal of trust and the conversion of N1 billion apiece. But to the consternation of Nigerians, the trial judge, Justice Talba, handed him a mere sentence of six years in jail and an option of N750,000 which he promptly paid to avoid going to jail instead of sentencing him to languish in prison for the rest of the his life. To many observers the verdict by Justice

Igbodalo was setenced to 45 years imprisonment for stealing a Sony Ericson mobile phone that is not worth N7,000 while those who ﬂeeced the country of N6 billion were given the options to pay paltry sums as ﬁnes!

Banjoko shows how the judiciary connives with the rich and famous to evade justice or encourage them to commit crimes. They wondered why the rich and wealthy are always getting away with malfeasance. For instance, recently, Justice Jide Falola of the Osun State High Court in Osogbo sentenced a 31-year-old man, Kelvin Igha Igbodalo to 45 years imprisonment for stealing a Sony Ericson mobile phone that is not worth N7,000. Igbodalo, who was arraigned on a six-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, stealing, impersonation and advance free fraud, pleaded guilty. Consequently, Justice Falola sentenced him to 10 years in prison for each of the first three charges and five years each for the last three counts, amounting to 45 years. But those who fleeced the country of N6billion were given the options to pay paltry sums as fine! Today, analysts know that corruption is the greatest problem confronting Nigeria. The malaise is seen as the greatest problem militating against growth and development. It has been argued that the damage corruption has done to the polity and the generality of the people is immeasurable. Observers feel that the menace has become endemic and devastating that the nation now seems to be at cross roads. To them, nothing seems to be working well in the country because of corruption. The roads are bad, the power situation remains deplorable, the railway lines remain dysfunctional, the airports are lacking the necessary facilities, hospitals are nothing but mortuaries and lacking the necessary facilities while educational institutions are in comatose. All these are because the monies meant for basic facilities end up in private pockets and accounts. The feeling in many quarters is that the inability of government and its institutions to deal with corrupt public officers usually sends a wrong signal to the public that corruption is not punishable as long as the institutions

could be compromised. This feeling has been given much credence by the upsurge in corrupt offences in recent time. In the last 10 years, several high profile arrests of top politicians, captains of industries, directors-general of federal institutions, bank chiefs, and other high players in the corridors of power have been arraigned by the EFFC with no conviction. Observers have often argued that the general incapacity of the judiciary to deal with corruption is why the malaise is on the rise in the country. It was against this backdrop that the successive chairmen of EFCC have been soliciting the assistance of the judiciary to tackle the menace. At every forum, the chairmen who apparently have almost lost confidence in the way and manner judges handling corruption-related cases have conducted the cases before them, have been canvassing for a separate anti-corruption court to try cases of economic and financial crimes in the country as it is done in some countries like the United States and United Kingdom, saying that that was one of the most effective strategies the commission needed to adequately tackle graft in the country. In an interview he granted a national newspaper recently, a public affairs analyst, Samson Edegbai, called on the judges to be firm and disciplined in order to overcome corruption themselves and not compromise any case before them. He called for the establishment of special courts to especially handle corruption cases. Edegbai said corruption was becoming an embarrassment to the country and must be tackled collectively. He advocated for the setting up of special courts that will speedily try people accused of corruption, adding that the process of the ordinary courts cannot give offenders the convictions necessary to stem the tide of corruption. “We need special courts that can try corruption cases speedily. For such courts, there should be deadlines or time frames within which cases should be dispensed with. This is critical because, if people corruptly enrich themselves and know that they can exploit the judicial processes then they could go to any length to perpetuate frauds in spite of the preaching by government. “If government is to make people know that something is truly happening in the fight against corruption, we need to see proper convictions. It is not enough to charge people to courts and then the next day they would be granted bail and that is all. They go about as free people to flaunt their ill-gotten wealth. This insults the sensibilities of honest members of the public and cannot therefore continue. “This has assumed proportions that should be of great concern to all well-meaning Nigerians. We all know the situation in the courts with cases that drag for years. We need special courts to try corrupt persons. That is the only way to achieve results in the anti-graft campaign. You cannot prosecute a corrupt person in the ordinary courts with their well-known slow pace of things.” On his part, a Lagos-based lawyer, Ademola Kolawole, described Nigeria as a country of jokers. He said until influential persons such as ex-governors, ministers, managing directors of banks and senior civil servants are put in prison for various offences, the country would never develop. “The figure by the National Bureau of Statistics did not surprise me. It is what I have always known. Nigeria is a country of jokers. People who should have been locked away are the ones ruling us. Have you ever seen any governor, minister, bank MD (managing director) in jail in this country? Until this happens, nobody will sit up.”

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

Dickson’s New Bayelsa Emmanuel Addeh writes on a series of events held in Bayelsa to mark the administration’s sixth year in the saddle

L-R: Bayelsa deputy governor, John Jonah, Secondus, Dickson and his wife, Rachel, at one of the events

ny government worth its salt knows the importance of information dissemination, especially in a democracy where the constitutional right to government information is a sine qua non for effective governance. Yet, in developing nations where citizens' access to information as to the goings-on in government is highly limited due to a number of factors, including poor basic infrastructure like electricity or even the people’s ‘I-don’t-care' attitude of not being interested in government activities, this poses a huge challenge. However, some states have taken a more pro-active role in putting the information right in the hands of the electorate, even without their people demanding for it. Aware of the need of the people to be carried along on how their state is governed, the Seriake Dickson-led administration since the last week of January, embarked upon activities to upgrade the knowledge of Bayelsans at home and in the diaspora on how the state has fared under the incumbent. With the Information Ministry now manned by Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, a remarkable information manager, the plan to bring the goings-on in Bayelsa started with a series of inter-ministerial briefings involving all the ministries and major agencies of government. The second phase which was to coincide with the 6th anniversary of the self-styled Restoration Government, took the state by storm, with Bayelsa standing still, literally. It wasn’t just what the state had done in the last six years, but also an outline of what it intends to do for the people in the remaining two years, which ends in February 2020. So, for the first phase which entailed that

every commissioner and heads of agencies came face to face with the governed or stakeholders, including traditional rulers, market women, farmers, students, nongovernmental organisations and journalists who were availed of the opportunity to ask even questions government officials usually consider embarrassing. From the smart commissioners, to the not so smart ones, from the orators to the reticent, from the high flyers to the timewasters, from the sociable to the timid, each of Governor Dickson's aides had their day in front of those they are meant to serve. Some got a few boos, but the consensus of the majority was that in six years, Dickson, like a man on a mission, has been focused, refusing to be distracted by the proverbial

We have built the best public health institutions and put in place a Health Insurance Scheme with over one billion naira in the pool of fund. We have built facilities and people come from within and outside the state to enjoy them. We have put in place a greater system

noise in the marketplace. From Finance to Tourism, Education to Health, Youth Development to Security, the aides to the Governor laid their achievements bare to the stakeholders. On Finance, the state said it had succeeded in growing its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from a paltry N4.7 billion annually to about N12.14 billion at the end of 2017. It has managed to fish out several ghost workers in the civil service, thereby saving the state huge funds, especially among teachers, cutting fictitious wages among teachers by about N300 million monthly. Commissioner for Education, Jonathan Obuebite, spoke on how over N3 billion had been spent by Bayelsa State as counterpart funding in the Education sector in the last six years and over N60 billion sunk into the sector. A state of emergency declared by Dickson since 2012 had continued to yield positive results in contrast to the deplorable condition of schools inherited by the present administration, he said. Today, the construction of headmasters’ quarters, teachers’ quarters, classroom blocks in more than 500 Primary Schools, renovation of over 160 Secondary Schools across the state, introduction of boarding schools and free school feeding programme, among others remain a landmark. For a state which is 80 per cent water coupled with its peculiar challenges, the launch of a home-made drone system to assist in the prevention of crime and criminality from a central control point has changed the face of security in the state. Commissioner for Science and Technology, Chief Blessing Ipigansi-Igbagara, said the mechanism was developed by an indigenous manpower and technology system. The system also has a direct link to the

Police on patrol duty at different locations with about four drones with the speed limit of 150 kilometres per hour deployed to every police station in the state. When it was his turn, the Commissioner for Culture and Ijaw National Affairs, Mr. Austin Dressman revealed that Governor Dickson had approved the completion of eight out of the 10 mausoleums at the Ijaw Heroes Park which currently houses the late Isaac Jasper Boro and General Owoeye Azazi's remains. He said the nod for the construction of a 400-seater pavilion at the park which would be completed in three months had already been given. “Books have been produced to help children in schools learn the Ijaw language, with the immediate employment of 40 graduates of Izon language from the Niger Delta University, Amassoma,” he said. The Ijaw Cultural Day on every Friday to encourage Ijaws to dress in their own attires, has been in force while those who flout the dress code are sanctioned and others rewarded for complying. To power the state and halt the perennial power outage, especially Yenagoa, the state capital, plans on the supply of 24-hour uninterrupted electricity by September have been concluded. Managing Director of the Bayelsa Electricity Company, Mr. Olice Kemenanabo, asked the people of the state to hold him personally responsible if the plan does not materialise in the next seven months. And to health, the Specialist Hospital situated in Yenagoa can now reverse some life-threatening medical conditions, including strokes, when presented within the first hour of attack and dead limbs due to chronic diabetes. Commissioner for Health, Professor

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L-R: Obasanjo, King Alfred Diette-Spiﬀf and Dickson, during the former's visit to Bayelsa

Crowd during the inauguration of a health centre

Ebitimitula Etebu, said the government has acquired the latest equipment available in the field of medicine. “Most people who have stroke are either paralysed on one side of the face, arm or leg. If such patients are brought in within an hour, we can now reverse the processes that led to it and ensure that blood flows to the affected vein, then the patient will live,” he told his audience. The Professor of Medicine highlighted the establishment of the Diagnostic Centre, Drug Storage and Distribution Centre, Construction of modern referral centres across the eight local government areas, construction of house officers’ quarters at the Federal Medical Centre and production of specialist manpower as part of the government achievements in the health sector. But if one thought that the inter-ministerial briefings were mere propaganda, the next week, it was the time to take stakeholders in the state to the locations of each of the projects. It was a big deal with the invitation of several Nigerian leaders to witness the inauguration of several projects. Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo led the pack of eminent dignitaries, but not before the likes of Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd), former Governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Prof. Gordini Darah,

Yinka Odumakin, Labaran Maku, John Odey, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, Jerry Gana, Shettima Yerima, former and serving lawmakers, and professionals from all over the country had graced the stage to flag off many projects. However, as is customary with the Governor, it started with a Thanksgiving Service, attended by tens of clergymen and interspersed with prayers and choral

At a meeting with traditional rulers in the state, Obasanjo said he was shocked over the rapid transformation which Dickson had brought to Bayelsa State within six years

renditions. At the event, Dickson said his administration had in the last six years succeeded in laying the foundation for development, prosperity and greatness. The governor added that despite the challenges, temptations and victories, his administration, in partnership with the people of the state, have steered the state on the path of development and prosperity. He said, “In a volatile climate, we have worked together to create a solid foundation, we have been working together as a people, in spite of distractions and economic challenges. “We now have the best in solid infrastructure and public schools. Some of the over 5,000 pupils in these schools told us that they have never neither had tea nor eggs but now they are having qualitative education and a solid future. "The over 5,000 beneficiaries are the future of Bayelsa. Among them are the next Governor. That is what we have achieved. We have built the best public health institutions and put in place a Health Insurance Scheme with over one billion naira in the pool of fund. We have built facilities and people come from within and outside the state to enjoy them. We have put in place a greater system," Dickson boasted.

The next day was followed by a public lecture on Restructuring, during which Akinrinade and his team took time out to inaugurate projects. They all agreed that the Governor had translated good governance in concrete terms by building critical infrastructure for the development of the state. Inaugurating the Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Research Centre, Alhaji Mantu described the health facility as exceptional, noting that, it would provide vaccines capable of preventing life threatening diseases. According to him, "Governor Dickson has made the best investment as the project will not only preserve the health of Bayelsans, but attract people from all over the world." He said the facility would also transform Bayelsa to be the Singapore of Africa and also increase its internally generated revenue. Other projects officially opened were, the Bayelsa Health Insurance Scheme Complex, the Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Research Centre as well as the Information House, which now accommodates the state Ministry of Information. But before Obasanjo’s visit, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Uche Secondus, was there to savour what he said was the Bayelsa Government’s special way of doing things. He inaugurated the Oxbow Lake Pavillion in Swali, Yenagoa and thereafter, welcomed defectors back from the APC to the PDP. A day later it was the turn of Obasanjo to visit the state. His itinerary was long and tedious. At a meeting with traditional rulers in the state, Obasanjo said he was shocked over the rapid transformation which Dickson had brought to Bayelsa State within six years. “We came here in 1998/1999 and I have seen the rapid transformation. I commend all the people who have joined hands in building this state. When I see the transformation that has happened between 1998 and now, I doff my hat for this man called Dickson. When I came into Yenagoa, Jerry Gana told me, ‘this governor is working hard’ and I told him if he’s not working hard, I won’t be here. “You call me a Bayelsan and I’m proud to be a Bayelsan. Any good place like Bayelsa is a place to be. Here we’re seeing real transformation. Any place where we are seeing transformation is a place to be. “I thank you Governor Dickson for inviting me. Anybody who was here 20 years ago and the development that has taken place, will appreciate the money spent. Thank you Governor Henry Seriake Dickson. You’re making it easy for investors to come, to relax and to do business. “If you hear that I’m coming here often, don’t be surprised. One of the things that has struck me is the relative peace Dickson has brought in Bayelsa State. I don’t know how you did it. May be we have to come for your tutelage,” the former President said. He took time out to inaugurate the Bayelsa State Drug Distribution Centre, State Specialist Hospital, and the Diagnostics Centre. He also formally declared open the Gloryland Drive at Igbogene, renamed as Chief Olusegun Obasanjo Drive as well as the unveiling of the Government House Heliport, which is now known as King AP Diete Spiff Heliport. Chief Obasanjo who took a facility tour of the health projects, said he was highly impressed by the level of commitment demonstrated by the Governor in providing world class health facilities and services to the citizenry. He also commended Governor Dickson for keying into the vision of the late Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Dora Akunyili in the establishment of the Drug Mart and Distribution Centre, noting that the facility would assist in curbing the menace of fake drugs and drug abuse. Chief Obasanjo who enrolled in the Bayelsa Health Insurance Scheme as an honorary enrolee, also took time off to interact with selected students from state-owned model schools at the Ijaw National Academy. On Saturday it was time to wrap up the three-week long series of events that had strained almost every participant, but one thing all those who were part of the programmes agreed upon was that in his six years as Governor of Bayelsa, Dickson has not done badly.

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Quick Takes NIPCO Plc Bags Award NIPCO Plc has bagged an oil and gas industry award over its acquisition of ExxonMobil stake in Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc. The award, which was in recognition of the companyâ€™s huge financial investments in the nationâ€™s downstream sector of the hydrocarbon industry, was the highlight of the maiden Nigeria International Petroleum Summit held in Abuja. Presenting the award to the company at an impressive event witnessed by key stakeholders in the industry, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Folasade Yemi - Ojo, said that it was part of Federal Governmentâ€™s efforts to encourage operators who have shown considerable interest in the growth of the industry. The acquisition of ExxonMobil stake in MON by an indigenous company, she said, was accessed by federal government as a significant efforts by indigenous operator, hence the award to NIPCO. The permanent secretary while presenting the award in the presence of the minister of petroleum resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, said that the deal to acquire ExxonMobil stake in MON was adjudged by team of assessors, with KPMG offering consultancy support, as the largest deal in the downstream sector in 2017.

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Despite NNPCâ€™s Promise, Petrol Still Sells for N160 at Depots Stories by Ejiofor Alike Despite the promise by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru to reward marketers who sell petrol at the official price, the product is still being sold for N160 per litre at the depots, against the official ex-depot price of N123.28 -N133.28, THISDAYâ€™s investigation has revealed. Presenting a commendation letter to the Managing Director of BOVAS and Company Limited, an Ibadan-based petroleum marketing company, for consistently selling petrol at the approved price of N145 per

ENERGY litre, Baru had recently urged marketers to stick to that price to make life easy for Nigerians. Baru said NNPC was fully convinced that it was possible for oil marketers to sell petrol at the approved price and still make a decent profit. But a market survey carried out by THISDAY at the weekend revealed that marketers were selling petrol at a price range of N158 and 160 per litre against the official price band of N123.28 â€“N133.28 recommended by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) on May 11, 2016 when the official pump

price was increased to N145 per litre. The sale of petrol at high ex-depot price has made it difficult for most independent marketers who depend on the depot owners for supply to sell at N145 at the filling stations. With the ex-depot price at between N158 and N160 per litre, some retail outlets are selling at N180 instead of the official pump price of N145. Out of 38 depots surveyed by THISDAY, only nine had stock of petrol at the weekend and the product belongs to the NNPC. The nine depots include: AA Rano, Heyden Petroleum, MRS Oil and Gas, Obat Petroleum,

Rahamaniyya, Sahara Energy, T-Time Pet, Wosbab and NIPCO Plc However, all the major marketers â€“ Oando Plc, MRS, Mobil Oil, Total, Forte Oil, and Conoil had stock of petrol, which they sold at N145 to only their dealers, who were expected to sell at the same N145 at filling stations. But despite the assurance by the corporation that it has sufficient petrol to serve the country, the inadequate supply of the product has continue to force the price of the product to be above the official levels. Contrary to the usual practice Continued on page 24 22

FG Urged to Replicate NLNG Model to Increase Gas Sector Opportunities The Deputy Managing Director of Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), Mr. Sadeeq Mai-Bornu, said the NLNG business model needed to be replicated in order to generate opportunities for the power and gas sectors in the country. Mai-Bornu spoke at an executive roundtable discussion titled â€œAfrica as an Emerging Gas Producer: Prospects and Opportunitiesâ€? at the first Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) held recently in Abuja. â€œNigeria is a gas country with some oil. NLNG is a success story partly because we are

ENERGY in the mid-stream and most of the risks have been taken by the upstream companies. But the thing is that there is a market out there. We sign a 20-year contract for the supply of molecules and we can actually go to the bank and get the funding we need. When NLNG was set up, it had guarantees and incentives that safeguarded investments and returns. There was also the sanctity of contracts. That is what has helped NLNG. This model needs to be developed in

the upstream and downstream,â€? he explained. â€œLetâ€™s bring this closer home. The LPG market is a deregulated space. NLNG supplies about 50 per cent of the LPG in the country. We see opportunities to do more. People think LPG is just for cooking. The more important use of LPG is as an industrial fuel. LPG has already been used for power in the developed world and even in Nigeria. There are vehicles that run on LPG. I think if we have the incentives and guarantees, and also the sanctity of contract, NLNG success story can be

replicated in other sectors. Part of that success would also be the pricing and the tariff talked about,â€? he said. â€œMoving forward, NLNG is investing in expansion with a Train 7 project. It involves a huge amount of money but because the markets are there, we are in the position to invest up to $5 to $10 billion both in the upstream for the gas supply and in the infrastructure to construct the Train. There is opportunity in that area,â€? Mai-Bornu explained. Continued on page 24 22

German car maker, BMW said at the weekend it would recall 11,700 cars to fix their engine management software after it discovered that the wrong software had been installed on its luxury 5- and 7-Series models. â€œThe BMW Group found in internal tests that correctly developed software had been installed in error on unsuitable models,â€? the company said in a statement. â€œUpon this, the BMW Group immediately informed the responsible authorities,â€? the statement added The Munich-based company â€œimmediately informed the relevant authorities... (and) therefore plans to recall 11,700 vehicles worldwide,â€? BMW said. â€œNiche motor variants of an already discontinued generation of the 5-series and 7-series built between 2012 and 2017â€? were affected, BMW said. Der Spiegel magazine reported earlier Friday that BMW had admitted to the KBA vehicle licensing authority that some of its cars included software that could mislead regulatory tests for levels of harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Schlumberger, Subsea 7 Mull JV Schlumberger and Subsea 7 S.A. announced Friday that they have entered into exclusive negotiations to form a joint venture (JV). The companies said the JV would build on the success of the Subsea Integration Alliance, established in 2015, which currently combines the subsurface expertise, subsea production systems and subsea processing systems of Schlumbergerâ€™s OneSubsea with the subsea umbilical, riser and flowline systems capability of Subsea 7. The proposed joint venture, which would be owned 50 percent by Subsea 7 and 50 percent by Schlumberger, would â€˜further strengthenâ€™ the front-end engineering, design and execution of integrated projects, and build on the expertise from both companies, according to a joint statement. The companies hope to complete the negotiations before the end of the year, a Subsea 7 spokesperson told Rigzone. â€œThis joint venture will build on the success of Subsea Integration Alliance to provide our clients with the best solutions and services on an integrated basis,â€? Jean Cahuzac, Subsea 7 CEO, said in a company statement.

â€œWe are also saying directly to oil companies that a time would also come when we would not be open to see them move around all the crude oil they produce in Nigeriaâ€?

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu

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BUSINESSWORLD DESPITE NNPC’S PROMISE, PETROL STILL SELLS FOR N160 AT DEPOTS

of allocating products to depot owners to sell to trucks, the NNPC has engaged more private depots on throughput arrangement to have direct control of sale and distribution of its imported products. THISDAY however gathered that marketers who get NNPC’s allocation at official price sell to other marketers above the ex-depot price, thus forcing the marketers to sell above N145 per litre at the pumps. The NNPC had recently recognise dBOVAS and its Managing Director, Mrs. Victoria A. Samson for selling petrol at the regulated price. “It is on record that you have consistently demonstrated not only your ability to supply products to the market, but also to do so within the government controlled price of N145 per litre. You are even matching the NNPC Retail price by selling at N143 per litre. That is quite commendable,” Baru had said.

FG URGED TO REPLICATE NLNG MODEL TO INCREASE GAS SECTOR OPPORTUNITIES

“Globally, markets are being created innovatively. For instance, I am aware that there is a state in Nigeria that is interested in Floating Storage Regasification Unit. The thing about that is the pricing because production of power through that is a bit more expensive but if you deregulate that sector where there is a willing seller and willing buyer space that would be something that could make an impact in the future. We also see opportunities in trucking LNG, bringing industries to life because you can now have some captive power there. We also see LNG being used as a marine fuel and that is because there is an increasing clamour for cleaner energy sources. If the NLNG model is picked up, with the full participation of the private sector and the government guaranteeing some risks, this can move the needle a bit,” he said.

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Jonathan Eze

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

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

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (Cap Mkt)

NEWS

NCS Seme Command Generates N546.83m in One Month Eromosele Abiodun The Seme Command of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has announced that it generated the sum of N546.83 million as revenue in January 2018. The command, in a statement, said the revenue generated represented about 81 per cent of the revenue target actualised. The Command said it made a total of 64 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N18.335 million for the period under review. Commenting on the revenue generated, the Customs Area Comptroller Mohammed Aliyu disclosed that the Command has started on a good note. He stated that the service is ready to explore all avenues in order to ensure that the target for the year is not only met but exceeded. The comptroller re-stated that the anti-smuggling drive of the command is well fortified against smugglers. He noted that the clampdown on smuggling of PMS products through the creeks is a demonstration of the commands readiness to combat smuggling of any kind through the border to the barest minimum. Addressing officers and men of the command, the controller indicated his readiness to reward excellent performance among officers

as motivational incentives to ensure strict compliance to our extant laws and the service operational golden rules while discharging their responsibilities. The controller further warned officers and men of the

command not to compromise the standard set by the service but should be committed to the implementation of government fiscal policies especially now that their services are most needed. The Customs Area Control-

ler disclosed that the command expect a more professional approach in the handling and usage of arms among officers and men of the command. He stated this during the retraining exercise conducted by the Nigeria Army 243 Recce

Battalion Badagry, Lagos. He said the exercise will equip officers with all the necessary knowledge and skills to help them deal with challenges that they may face in the course of discharging their duties.

FOOTBALL AFRICAN CONFERENCE

L-R: Head, Strategy, Sigma Pensions Ltd, Mrs. Adaora Ude; MD/CEO, Sigma Pensions Ltd, Mr. Dave Uduanu; President, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Amaju Pinnick and the Vice President, Business Development, West, Sigma Pensions Ltd, Mrs. Mabel George, during the football African conference in Lagos ... recently

CIIN Boss Foresees Promising Outlook for Insurance Industry in 2018 Ebere Nwoji The business outlook for the insurance industry in 2018 is mixed but promising judging from the premise of the 2018 national budget. This view was expressed by the President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mrs. Funmi BabingtonAshaye. Ashaye, who spoke at the 2018 edition of the annual Business Outlook seminar organised by the CIIN in Lagos, described the 2018 budget tagged ‘Budget of Consolidation’ as largely a deficit budget. According to her, from its deficit side, since government in the budget planned to spend N8.61 trillion while its expected revenue from all sources was estimated at N6.60 trillion leaving a funding gap of N2.1 trillion, government will need to borrow from local and international institutions to augment the expected shortfall. She said given that government borrowing is risk free, financial institutions might be more inclined to lend to the government than the organised private sector. According to her, inevitably, the private sector operators may borrow at a higher interest rate to finance their activities. She argued that if this happens, their cost of doing business will rise and this might affect the prices of goods and services. As it affects insurance business, the CIIN president,

said it is common knowledge that higher interest rates imply lower borrowing and investments. With lower investments and decline in economic activities, the demand for the non-compulsory insurance products may be negatively affected adding that insurers cannot at present say the extent of this impact. On the promising side, Ashaye, said the 2018 budget is not all about negative impact arguing that if the current price of crude oil, Nigeria’s main source of revenue, is sustained all year round, the need for borrowing by the government may reduce. “This is based on the fact that the budget was predicated on US$45 per barrel whereas, the price since the beginning of the year has been above US$60.00. With higher revenue, Nigerians should expect better implementation of the budgetary provisions, she said. On the side of benefit to insurers, Ashaye, said considering the fact that the government has allocated N181.19billion to the payment of pensions and gratuities of public servants while N15billion has also been set aside to meet MDAs’ life assurance premium obligations, the insurance sector should experience increased business momentum. She said on the whole, the insurance industry, has more to cheer from the budget. She therefore urged insurers as risk managers, to open their inner minds and take business decisions that will help them reposition the industry in the

unfolding 2018 business year. The CIIN Business Outlook seminar, was initiated not only to beam searchlight on the economic and business issues that are likely to engage

most captains of Industry and other business leaders in the new business year but also, to provide opportunity for the institute’s members to enrich their knowledge of happenings

in their environment. The theme of the 2018 edition is “Economic Policies of the Government in 2018: Issues, Challenges & Prospects for the Insurance Industry”.

Lumos Partners All -On to Provide Solar Power to Communities Ejiofor Alike Lumos Nigeria, Nigeria’s leading solar home systems service provider through its Lumos Yéllo box has signed a debt financing agreement with All-On, a Nigerian off-grid energy investment company, as part of a project aimed at providing affordable solar electricity to families, homes and businesses in the Niger Delta. This facility will help Lumos to accelerate the entry of its service into hard to reach areas within the region. Speaking at signing ceremony and press conference held in, Port Harcourt, the Chief Executive Officer of Lumos Nigeria, Mr. Houssam Azem said the debt facility from AllOn would further cement the strategic relationship between Lumos Nigeria and All-On, and also ensures the penetration of Lumos Solar Home Systems in the Niger Delta region. “ All-On has established itself as a leader in off grid energy in Nigeria and we are therefore excited to work with All-On to enhance energy access for Nigerians in the Niger Delta and indeed, across the country,” Azem added.

In his remarks, the Chief Executive of All-On, Dr. Boer Wiebe, said the partnership was coming barely three months after it announced its first set of transactions in Nigeria’s off-grid market, and two months after the company and US Africa Development Foundation (USADF) announced a $3 million partnership to expand access to energy for underserved and unserved markets in Nigeria. “Our investment in the energy solution providers further demonstrates our firm belief that off-grid energy is indispensable in the improvement of Nigeria’s energy narrative. It therefore deserves adequate attention and financial backing from both the public and private sectors,” Boer said. Also commenting, the Vice President Marketing, Lumos Nigeria, Mr. Olufemi Ashipa said his company believed “in supporting communities by improving the quality of life of inhabitants while powering one household, one family, one pharmacy, one barber shop, one community health care centre, and one micro business at a time”. “Not only are we providing an energy solution to meet their basic needs, the system is simple

and easy to use, giving you clean solar power at the push of a button,” he added. He added that electricity is a critical component for development, which can transform an individual with a relatively low earning potential to a micro business owner, by doing something as simple as charging phones for members of the community. “This debt financing facility from All-On offers us additional resources to accelerate our roll out within the Niger Delta region, creating and supporting cottage industries along the way; what better time for customers in the Niger Delta to join the service, considering the ongoing offer to reward new customers,” he added. In a related development, Lumos Nigeria in making its mobile electricity service even more accessible to customers has just announced an instant reward programme for all new customers. Speaking on the offer, Sales Director, Lumos Nigeria, Ojoma Okotie, explained that once the first month of payment is made at the point of joining the service, that customer will receive the next two months absolutely free.

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ Í°ÍľËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

Fajemirokun: At Dangote, Our Adherence to Local Content Law is 100% Dangoteâ€™s Group Chief Risk Officer, Dr. Adenike Fajemirokun, spoke with Jonathan Eze on the challenges of managing a conglomerate, the implications of delays in payment of insurance claims, and the role of technology in the insurance industry, among other issues. Excerpts: May I meet you? My name is Adenike Fajemirokun, I guess people refer to me as Dr. Adenike Fajemirokun. I am a mother of two, I work for Dangote Industries at the Group level, I am the Group Chief Risk officer, Insurance Officer and Procurement Officer as well. I am an engineer by qualification; I have a bachelor degree in civil and structure engineering. I moved on to do a sponsored PHD in quantitative risk management and from there, I went on to investment banking where I started with Goldman Sachs and from there moved to Deutsche Bank in London where I started as what you call an assistant vice president over there. Because I came in with a PHD and moved up to be a director and you know when you are an African in another country there is really not much you can do and at that point, I decided to come back to Nigeria to become the operational risk officer at First Bank and from there I went on to start my consulting firm. I consulted for CBN, First Bank Capital, AIICO which I am also on the board of directors at that time, but I moved to join Dangote ever since for the last four to five years mainly as a Chief Risk Officer and open to other roles which is where you find me now. How has it been managing Dangote in terms of risk? It is a very exciting portfolio. It is like working for seven or eight companies at once especially when you are doing it on a group level. For me, it is very hard to meet the challenge or excitement that you find being a risk officer on this portfolio; but beyond that it is a very dynamic organisation. You have to be very

Fajemirokun

It is exciting because it is constantly changing. There is no day I come that you ďŹ nd things the same and for the insurance portfolio side as well, it is again if you think of Dangote as an institution, it can also be an insurance company if you look at the capital investment he puts into insurance, again that is a very dynamic portfolio, because most companies you are working you are insuring policies, but here, there are so many types of policies because you are dealing with cement plants, sugar plants, reďŹ neries, fertilizers, different products

quick on your feet and you have to be very quick particularly around the risk management space, but I think it has been good for me in Dangote, it is an organisation that really lead by regulation, it is not a financial institution, there is no regulation that says you must have a chief risk officer or must have risk management done in a certain way. I think it is intriguing to find out that the organisation itself saw a need for it; maybe for their internal practice and it was very successful before risk management became a structured manner and you know it is an organisation that has been here for a very long time. It has been a very exciting portfolio and I have all the support I need. One of the challenges of risk management is its buying. Risk is something that is intangible, a lot of the time, it is a probability of something happening but has not happened and you have to protect against it. This is very difficult to sell and you know human nature is show me and I will put my money into it, but when you are not showing me and you are asking me to put my money against it or put my backing against it, it is very difficult, but for an organisation like this, it is inherent, they have bought into it and it has made my job a lot easier. It is exciting because it is constantly changing. There is no day I come that you find things the same and for the insurance portfolio side as well, it is again if you think of Dangote as an institution, it can also be an insurance company if you look at the capital investment he puts into insurance, again that is a very dynamic portfolio, because most companies you are working you are insuring policies, but here, there are so many types of policies because you are dealing with cement plants, sugar plants, refineries, fertilizers, different

products and so you can feel like you are part of the industry even though you are a consumer, so it is a good portfolio. There was a report recently that Dangote paid almost N5billion as premium in 2016, yet some companies are yet to settle over N400 million owed it. How true is this claim? Dangote has paid, but the figures tend to change. I do not know where different journalists get their figures from, but it is approximately about N5billion; so that is correct. The interesting thing about the portfolio is that we have a few insurance companies that have not paid and the context of that was that you pay premiums to insurance companies but it only becomes of value to consumers and at a time when you make a claim, but before it is just a cost. For example, your car insurance, the only time you know you have it is when you need it. Insurance is not something you think of until the time you are calling on it, so for me, when you become of value to me is when I have a claim. If you have put this money down to protect your assets and you have a claim, I expect that these companies must turnaround and pay and when they donâ€™t, it is not good for the industry, consumers service perspective. So that was where that came from, which is to say that for me to have insurance companies, meant to pay almost N500 million and itâ€™s not paying, it can collapse an institution. You do not know what not paying that has caused us as an institution. Normally, with insurance, you can have 10 underwriters and maybe eight have paid and two have not paid and the view might be that eight of you have paid but the two that have not paid might be what will collapse my company because I have to look for N500 million to cover that

cost, so that was where that came from. What are the implications of a poorly handled claim, especially with the dynamics of social media? I think it is damaging for the reputation of the company. I know the regulators are starting to be strict, but from that seminar, there were some few comments around which will make them a lot stricter that people are not handling things the way it should be. Words travel very fast and the minute someone knows that an insurance company is not paying a claim it is very rare for that person to go to that company for any insurance because you will think they are still taking their funds from a pool whether it is Dangote or any other company. The person would ask If you do not pay these people why will you pay me, so the main thing is that you are damaging the reputation of the company and you cannot put a price on that and a country of 180 million that travels fast for the company and for the consumer where the claim is not paid as I said, it has financial impacts because you cannot basically replace all that you lost from the incident with insurance because you have not gotten your claims paid for the consumer. It is also a reputational problem, it is also stressful because we all know how it is to chase money and when you are chasing your money and somebody is not answering you, that is a very stressing and frustrating situation and for someone managing a portfolio it is your responsibility to get their money and it can have a career impact on the individual. Please, can you throw more light on the generic risk situation models?

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ Ͱ͵˜ ͰͮͯͶ

BUSINESSWORLD

INDUSTRY

FAJEMIROKUN: AT DANGOTE, OUR ADHERENCE TO LOCAL CONTENT LAW IS 100% They are when you come around and you are in my organisation and you give me a risk solution that is generic, it basically means I can use it, Airtel, MTN can use it, Nestle, Lafarge can use it, so you have not looked particularly at my risk portfolio to see what I need based on the structure of my organisation to say these are the risks I am exposed to and this is how you can mitigate it, but you have not tailor made it to my organisation. Generic risk solutions are necessary, like your motor insurance, it is a generic solution. It is the same kind of policy either its third party, it is comprehensive whereas credit risk insurance can be spoken to me because it may not be generic to me and I might need it because I have a lot of distributors, so you need to create something that works for me. To what extents are assets you are managing being run or guided by local content? To the local content law, it is 100 per cent, because we have to fulfill all the capacity locally before we can go outside from the local content perspective; we must meet the requirement before we go outside, it is not actually a choice, there is what is called approved and the principle law, it is a regulatory requirement that you must have met the local requirement that you have reached capacity except where you have insurance that do not qualify, but that is not the only criteria. For insurance companies whose accounts have not been approved by NAICOM, you cannot qualify for local content and if I am looking for my insurance at that time to renew, you are disqualified, so you do not fit into the 100 per cent, but I will still have to share my 100 per cent with other Nigerian companies. Perception of regulators in the industry, any progress made? I think they are very open compared to other regulators we have had in the past. This regime is very open; last year I did the same presentation, but with operators, but this year, Dangote went as a consumer which shows that the regulator is actually giving you a voice which was not normally the case, because we are the end user at the bottom of the chain, but what has happened is that the regulators are saying that they want to hear from the consumers to know the impacts of the decisions they are making so I think they are doing a good job basically around completeness than just enclosing everybody into one space and understanding the implications of the decisions they make, I do believe they are very progressive, I do think that there is a question around whether or not the speed at which they implement policies can affect a consumer and that is one of my biggest issues. You create a policy in December and you send it to the industry in January and expect that we implement in January, that is the problem for me because I have done my budget in December and when you have compulsory rates coming out in January and you are telling me that an employee’s insurance has to go up to a certain level, it can affect me as an organisation because I can decide to start firing people because I cannot afford it. I can also decide to not to hire even though I had budgeted to hire, so the implication for me are beyond what you as a regulator has got and you have not given me time to factor that in. The lead time which we process regulation is very important, I want to go into that area raised the other day when you said I need to raise my rate to a certain amount, I even want to know what statistics you used to do that, but I am not a regulator, you tell me what you want and I do it and we all know that there is a data issue in Nigeria so when you are increasing life insurance for employees, you will have to ask yourself if you have looked at the mortality rate of people between 25 and 50 and 50 to 75 and you come and tell me how many employees do I have on this band and that is how you charge me. I have employees of different ages but I have to pay their rates and that is the problem for me as a consumer, so from the regulatory perspective, the speed and consultation around some of the policies, the regulators have the right to give whatever requirements but there should be a level of consultation and engagement with consumers, other parties, lenders. When you determine local content,

Fajemirokun a lender coming from the United States and you are in Nigeria, you need money, we are looking for money and we say we do not have money for investment, but we need to get this from overseas and we are trying to get these investments and the investors want most of the insurance to be abroad, but you are telling me I have to boost local content, but the foreign investors do not have confidence in our local content, so you have to engage with these lenders to get the money in and as a country, you are the one looking for money so they have to compromise. There is need for increased engagement with all stakeholders, consumers, lenders and different parties.

I have employees of different ages but I have to pay their rates and that is the problem for me as a consumer, so from the regulatory perspective, the speed and consultation around some of the policies, the regulators have the right to give whatever requirements but there should be a level of consultation and engagement with consumers, other parties, lenders

What are the impacts of globalisation and technology on the insurance industry? For insurance, yes definitely. Nigeria’s penetration rate is very low at 10 per cent and that is being optimistic, with technology it is very different. The woman in the market or the informal sector as they call it, we could not reach them and they are not interested and they also have what they call community insurance where they put their money into and when somebody dies, they say it is your turn to bring etcetera, but now because of what we call the USSD where a lot of companies are using technology these set of people can buy insurance online and you are executing this service on a larger platform. The informal sector is the least penetrated sector in the industry. Technology is definitely playing a key part. Now I can buy my insurance online as oppose to having to talk to an agent and it is an interesting trend. Insurance was sold by agents coming to your door and it has created lots of problems, they can come and take cash and sometimes you do not know what they have done with it, but also people have changed and technology has helped in throwing more lights about the insurance industry. So it is a vicious circle and that circle is kind of slowing down the work of the agent which means, if you do not provide the technology, you cannot sell the insurance so that is where the technology comes in; where you can buy your insurance online. And for us at Dangote, if I want to reach all the employees, we have an online scheme we are starting which you can access online with your staff ID to buy insurance at the rate as a company have because of my economies of scale, so I can reach a lot more people, but you could not do that before, but with a Dangote ID, you can buy insurance, so technology has helped and it should help to increase the participation of insurance in Nigeria. What is the best way to provide excellent services to consumers? Well, first of all, do not start if you do not understand your demography. You need to understand your demography, so different companies need to know who they are trying to sell to and what products they are trying to sell and you also need to know what channels to reach them, what do they use.

I will give you an example, there was a discussion I was having with somebody a year ago, and they were asking why women do not buy insurance and I said to them. It is because you do not sell to us insurance for hair, you have to speak the language that I am understanding, in fact the one I remembered is that people do not sell aso ebi insurance and this is one of the biggest money makers. Have aso ebi insurance, speak a language people can relate to and do not go to them and say you want to sell life insurance and of course, because we are also a very religious society where no one wants to think about death, but if you call it a succession insurance where their children can benefit after they are gone, they will be thinking of it in a different way. You have to understand your audience and communicate to them in that manner and another thing is to have the infrastructure to deliver it. I remember when they said cashless economy by CBN, but the ATMs and POS were not working. CBN can do that but you as a company if you do that you will die, because the minute they find out your internet is not working they go somewhere else and you cannot get them back. So you have to make sure your infrastructure is ready to deliver that service and ultimately you have to pay claims; so claims decide if this is a good company or if it is a bad one whether you pay my claim quickly and in terms of the amount that you actually give me is accurate as well. What is the future of insurance industry considering the fact that a lot of people are apathetic to it? I think it has a long way to go and I really believe it is the next thing in the financial industry. Insurance opens up doors to so many things, so I think from investment income to different things that insurance can do in a society. The perception is low and there is so much to do around insurance and you are also protecting people, assets at the end of the day, so it is to the benefit of a country that the insurance industry is working and I think it can do it, but everything has to come together, the regulators must work in tandem with the insurance companies, with the insurance brokers, consumers and lenders. Everybody has to work together to attain common goals. For the regulators to make this industry grow, all the engines have to be put in place to make it work.

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

ONLY ABOUT 4.2% OF SENIOR ADVOCATES ARE FEMALE

27.02.2018

Mrs. Mia Essien, SAN

2/DASHBOARD

27.02.2018

Essential Nature of Service of Hearing Notices PAGE 4

Lagos CJ Frees 20 Prison Inmates, Promises to Review Sentencing Guidelines for Convicts PAGE 5

Commercial Law Development Services, Thomson Reuters Partner on Law E-Books PAGE 5

Position Yourselves with Technology, Social Media for 21st Century Legal Practice, Young Lawyers Advised PAGE 6

QUOTABLES ‘It is the determination of those in EFCC, to come fully into the fight against corruption. The media should join us, because it has an important role - to sensitise Nigerians, educating Nigerians that corruption is evil, that corruption is wrong, because some people do not even believe that corruption is wrong.’ – Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ‘In 2019, President Buhari will win, and then a lot of APC Senators will not be able to return, because this amendment they did of Section 25 will hurt them. PDP will benefit from it, and a lot of APC Governors are not going to be returned. So, we are going to have a Government of the President from APC and National Assembly controlled by the opposition.’ – Daniel Bwala, Legal Practitioner and Analyst, Abuja

COLUMNIST ABUBAKAR D. SANI Abubakar D. Sani holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Maiduguri, and has been in active private legal practice since he was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1987.He is the Principal of Abubakar D. Sani & Co., which has ofﬁces in Abuja and Kano. " INSIGHT" aims to unravel, analyse and proffer solutions to numerous anomalies in Nigerian law and practice, particularly statutes, vis-a-vis the Constitution, International Treaties and Conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory, Judicial Precedent and other relevant statutes and issues.

‘Law Practice is not for the Indolent’ PAGE 6

Garlands for Dele Adesina: 35 Years at the Bar and Book Launch PAGE 7

CIArb Trains Members on Ethics in International Arbitration PAGE 7

Encomiums As Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Olujinmi, SAN Clocks 70 PAGE 14

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE EDITOR JUDE IGBANOI DEPUTY EDITOR AKINWALE AKINTUNDE REPORTER TUNDE BUSARI GROUP HEAD OCHI OGBUAKU II ART DIRECTOR

Democracy Without Democrats

few weeks ago, I commented that Nigeria seems to be fast becoming a Police State, because of the increasing intolerance of Government on any form of dissension, even peaceful and constructive outings like the ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ Campaign. It looks like various organs of Government, are also guilty of this same Authoritarian behaviour. Senate I felt scandalised and appalled, to see the television clip of Senator Omo Agege recanting and rendering a sober and pitiable public apology, for vehemently opposing the amendment to Section 25 of the Electoral Act, because his utterances were supposedly offensive, not only to Senator Dino Melaye, but to the whole Senate. Hogwash! It is indeed, a sad development for Nigerian democracy, where anybody that has a contrary opinion to the opinion of the leadership, whether the Executive or Legislature, is witch- hunted and/or punished. I restate the fact that, I believe it is lawful for the National Assembly to seek to amend Section 25 of the Electoral Act. However, Senator Omo Agege and Senator Adamu, are entitled to their opinions, even if they are against such an amendment. Why try to cow them into submission, by making Omo Agege humiliate himself in public in such a nauseating manner, begging his colleagues for forgiveness, to avoid suspension or whatever sanctions would have been meted out on him by them, and accusing Senator Adamu of financial impropriety for maintaining his stand and removing him as Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum? El-Rufai v Hunkuyi Last week, the house of Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, APC Senator representing Kaduna North Senatorial District, situated at 11B Sambo Close, Kaduna, was demolished by Kaduna State Government, because the Senator was owing ground rent, and purportedly to ”rid the State of illegal structures, tackle street trading and restore order across the State”. Tah! When 11B Sambo Close was used as a campaign office for El-Rufai’s 2015 Governorship Campaign, at the time it was not relevant that Hunkuyi was owing ground rent since 2010! Yes, Section 28(1) of the Land Use Act 1978 (as amended) (LUA), does provide that “It shall be lawful for the Governor to revoke a right of occupancy for overriding public interest”,

or if the land is required for public purposes (Section 28(4) LUA), or there has been a breach of the provisions in the certificate of occupancy (Section 28(5)(a),(b) LUA). Section 28(2) of the LUA goes on to define ‘overriding public interest’, and the definition certainly does not include demolishing a property, because the owner of the property has political differences with the incumbent government! There are claims that Senator Hunkuyi’s property was demolished, simply because he refused to join the bandwagon and endorse Governor El-Rufai for a second term in 2019, so much so that 11B Sambo Road was turned into a factional APC Secretariat in the State, obviously much to the chagrin of the ‘powers that be’. All of a sudden, Kaduna State Government decided to conveniently implement some urban master plan, which involves demolishing and turning Hunkuyi’s property into a Park/Love Garden! I am certain that, if Hunkuyi and El-Rufai had belonged to the same political camp, at worst, he would have only been made to pay a fine, as a sanction for owing ground rent. After all, a breach of non-payment, could easily have been remedied with payment. It seems that the Kaduna State Government, also failed to follow due process in demolishing Senator Hunkuyi’s property. Last Wednesday, I watched a television interview of a representative of the State Government, discussing the issue.

“THE COMMON DENOMINATOR IN BOTH INSTANCES, IS THAT IT WAS WHEN THE OFFENDING PARTIES CHOSE TO HAVE A CONTRARY VIEW TO THAT OF THE LEADERSHIP, THAT THEIR ATTACKERS SUDDENLY REMEMBERED THAT THEY WERE DEBTORS OR HAD ALLEGEDLY MISAPPROPRIATED SENATORS’ FUNDS. IS IT THAT OUR LEADERSHIP NOW ENGAGES IN BLACKMAIL?”

It was a highly unimpressive interview. The man dodged questions, and was unable to provide adequate responses, even to the point where he could not specifically say whether or when Hunkuyi was actually served with requisite notice of Government’s intention to demolish his property, before proceeding with the exercise. Blackmail I concur with the Learned Senior Advocate, Professor Itse Sagay, that Governor El-Rufai went too far and sank too low, when he demolished Hunkuyi’s house. This act of intimidation, has undoubtedly set a bad precedent for democracy in Nigeria. For public officials to believe that they can make arbitrary decisions, without following due process or any process whatsoever, and get away with them - having a ‘wrong and strong’ attitude in a so-called democracy - is worrying, to say the least. The common denominator in both instances, is that it was when the offending parties chose to have a contrary view to that of the leadership, that their attackers suddenly remembered that they were debtors or had allegedly misappropriated Senators’ funds. Is it that our leadership now engages in blackmail? That they keep whatever disparaging information they may have on individuals quiet, and only divulge them or use the information to threaten them, when they need to exercise some form of control over them, and make them tow a particular line? This indeed, is an extremely disturbing trend. Is Nigeria a Democracy? For quite a while, I have been pondering over the issue of whether the Nigerian State is actually a democracy. When occurrences like the demolition of Hunkuyi’s house or the emasculation of Omo Agege by his colleagues in the Senate take place, with other issues of mass registration of underaged voters and other serious malpractices just to win elections, is it illogical to conclude that many of those that are supposedly representing us, may not even be the ones that we actually voted for? That many of the so-called elected representatives chose themselves, using money and other illegal methods to install themselves in office, resulting therefore, in Nigeria practicing something that is not quite democracy? It looks more like ‘autocracy’ to me, with a limited measure of consultation.

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE

THE ADVOCATE onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com onikepob@yahoo.com All the various arms of Government, kindly, note that, Sections 38, 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, guarantee our rights to freedom of thought, expression, peaceful assembly and association. No one is constrained to endorse anyone for a second or third term, even if everybody else endorses. The beauty of democracy, is that everyone is allowed freedom of choice, as long as that choice, is within the ambit of the law. P.S. Have I not been vindicated? In my piece of 13/2/18, “The Limits of Incompetence”, I mentioned that every time the Army makes false claims of having annihilated Boko Haram (which if the truth were told, it clearly has not), the Terrorists respond with reprisal attacks on innocent people? Last Monday, February 19th, 2018, 105 girls were said to have been abducted from Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State by Boko Haram. I pray that this unfortunate incident, does not turn out to be the Chibok Girls encounter, all over again. My heart goes out to the Parents of the missing girls.

Dear Editor

The Vicious Beating of School Children by a Sadistic Teacher in Nasarawa State 20th February, 2018 Onikepo Braithwaite THE ADVOCATE THISDAY LAWYER

Governor Nasiru El-Rufai

Senator Hunkuyi’s demolished property

Dear Onikepo, I believe that it is not too late to extend New Year felicitations to you and the family. So, here it goes! I wish you and the entire family an abundance of joy, peace, success and excellent health in this year 2018. “Deo Volente”. I am still expecting your own festive greetings to me.

I now write to inform you that, I was appalled to see on 30/01/2018 in your THISDAY LAWYER segment, the two photographs of the vicious physical beating with a horse-whip, of school children by a cruel so-called teacher in Nasarawa State. I concur – the brutal attack was a gross violation of the legal and constitutional human rights of the children. Such violation, must not go unpunished by the law. Indeed, the photographs reminded me of a recent CNN video of the gruesome assaults of illegal immigrants being mercilessly flogged, while lying on the ground, by heartless slavers in Libya. Well, Nigeria should not join the league of lawless Libya – a failed State. The purpose of this letter, is also to ask you kindly not to limit your coverage to your brilliant article, but to keep the wicked assault on the front banner of your condemnation, in order to advocate the prosecution of the teacher/ assailant. He completely violated the self-respect and dignity of the children in front of their schoolmates, and perhaps other on- lookers. Finally, I am happy to tell you that I enjoyed reading your compelling interview of my learned friend – Dame Priscilla Kuye Esq., your beloved Mum in the edition of THISDAY LAWYER of the 21st day of November, 2017. Well done. I pray that your own children will honour you. Amen. I also enjoyed your intense interview of the Honourable Learned Attorney-General of Edo State – the Professor Yinka Omorogbe – as the cover of your THISDAY LAWYER edition of

the 23rd day of January, 2018. I end with renewed copious felicitations and best wishes for this year and beyond. “Deo Volente”. With professional compliments, I remain. Chief ‘Folake Solanke SAN, OON, CON B.A., Dip.Ed., FNIALS, LL.D (h.c) HLF D.Litt(h.c.), D.Lit.(h.c.), D. Litt.(h.c.) My Dear Lady SAN, Happy New Year to you Ma. I pray that God will continue to bless you with good health, peace and joy, not just in 2018, but well beyond. Amen. I feel very honoured Ma, to have you as one of my avid readers. Thank you. Your comments spur me on to do better, and be the best that I can be. I will continue to cry out when the need arises; however, the question is whether anyone will hear or whether those that need to hear, care. To date, I’m not sure that any criminal charges have been brought against those who were in charge, when 3 innocent Queen’s College girls lost their lives last year during an epidemic occasioned by the negligence of the school authorities. If a more serious case like that, involving multiple deaths, can be treated so casually, and the Principal actually given a new posting without being cleared of such a serious indictment, it is unlikely that a teacher who ‘merely’ caned students, will be prosecuted. This is the Nigeria that we live in today. Best Regards Ma. With Utmost Humility and Gratitude, I remain, Onikepo Braithwaite Editor, THISDAY Lawyer

4/LAW REPORT

27.02.2018

Essential Nature of Service of Hearing Notices

T Facts

he 4th Respondent commenced an action at the High Court of Lagos State, vide a Writ of Summons dated 14th July, 2010 seeking inter alia, a declaration that the Certificate of Occupancy dated 27th May, 1989 registered as Number 36/36/1986F in the Lagos State Registry at Alausa, was still subsisting. The trial Judge gave judgement in favour of the 4th Respondent. The Appellant, who was sued as an unknown person and never participated in the proceedings, sought and was granted leave to appeal as an interested party. Issue for determination: Whether considering the evidence before the trial Court, the Appellant was not denied fair hearing by the Court. Arguments It was submitted on behalf of the Appellant, that the purported service of the originating process in August 2010 was not proper service, as the pasting was done on a wrong property, and was not pasted on the property of the Appellant. Counsel for the Appellant further contended that, the only other notice that was allegedly served on the Appellant was a hearing notice, allegedly served on 22nd November 2010, which he argued was posted without the leave of Court, as the order granted to the 4th Respondent at the commencement of the suit was for the substituted service of the originating process, and not all other processes of Court. He contended that there is no evidence before the Court, that the Appellant was served hearing notices of all the adjourned dates of the suit. He relied on section 36 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, on his right to fair hearing. Counsel for the Appellant also relied on DARMA v OCEANIC INTERNATIONAL LIMITED (2005) 4 NWLR (Part 915) 391 at 406 to 407; DINGYADI v INEC (no. 1) (2010) 18 NWLR (part 1224) 1 at 90 para D – F. Finally, Counsel for the Appellant, contended that failure to serve the Appellant with the necessary processes, particularly the hearing notices of all the adjourned proceedings, automatically rendered the proceedings and any decision reached therefrom, a total nullity. He relied on OTOBAIMERE v AKPORHE (2002) 14 NWLR (part 894) 591 at 610 to 611 and urged the Court to set aside the judgement of the lower court, because the Appellant has been denied fair hearing at the lower Court. The 4th Respondent submitted that, the Appellant was duly served with all the processes in the suit, and that exhibits A, B and C are proofs of service deposed to by the Sheriff of the lower court. He stated that exhibit C clearly showed the unpainted building on the land, and that the Appellant failed to prove his assertion, by bringing the current picture of the house for comparison to ascertain if the house referred to by the parties are one and the same. He argued that, mere denial of the Appellant would be of no moment. The counsel for the 4th Respondent, argued finally that having been given the opportunity to be heard, the Appellant cannot turn around to claim he was denied fair hearing. He relied on NIGERIA NAVY v LABINJO (2012) 17 NWLR (part 1328) 56 at 84 to 85 paragraphs G – B; KADUNA TEXTILES LTD v UMAR (1994) 1 NWLR (part 319) 143. Court’s Judgement and Rationale The Court of Appeal, in resolving the issue, stated that service of relevant processes on parties to a proceeding before a court of law, is fundamental to the adjudicatory competence of that court. The court referred to EIMSKIP LTD v EXQUISITE IND. (NIG.) LTD (2003) 4 NWLR (Part. 809) 88 and quoted the dictum of Niki Tobi JSC thus: “service is a precondition to the exercise of jurisdiction by the court. Where there is no service or there is a procedural fault in service, the subsequent proceedings are a nullity ab initio. This is based on the principle of law that a party should know or be aware that there is a law suit against him, so that he can prepare a defence. If

In the Court of Appeal In the Lagos Judicial Division Holden at Lagos On Friday, the 12th Day of October, 2017 Before Their Lordships Joseph Shagbaor Ikyegh Abimbola Osarugue Obaseki-Adejumo Jamilu Yammama Tukur Justices, Court of Appeal CA/L/910/2014 Between Prince Rotimi Agunsoye .........Appellant And 1. The Governor of Lagos State 2. Attorney-General, Lagos State 3. The Registrar of Titles 4. Pastor Adedamola Wemimo Odunaiya ......Respondents (Lead Judgement delivered by Hon. Abimbola Osarugue Obaseki-Adejumo, JCA)

after service, he does not put up a defence, the law will assume and rightly too for that matter, that he has no defence. But where a defendant is not aware of a pending litigation because he was not served, the proceedings held outside him, will be null and void. The Court further referred to ALHAJI Y. DAN RAUSA & CO. v PANATRADE LTD (1993) NWLR (Part 298) 204; FBN PLC v TSA INDUSTRIES LTD (2010) 15 NWLR (Part 1216) 247 SC, to further illustrate the importance of service of

“HEARING NOTICE IS A SUBSTANTIVE ISSUE, WHICH GOES TO THE ROOT OF THE ADJUDICATORY COMPETENCE OF A COURT TO PROCEED WITH THE DETERMINATION OF THE RIGHT OF THE PARTIES BEFORE IT. IT IS INCUMBENT ON EVERY COURT TO EXAMINE ITS RECORDS, TO DETERMINE WHETHER HEARING NOTICES WERE SERVED ON THE PARTIES BEFORE IT, AND WHERE THE OCCUPIER OF THE PROPERTY IN DISPUTE IS UNKNOWN, WHETHER THE NOTICE WAS SERVED ON THE PROPERTY, IN ORDER TO DETERMINE IF THE PARTY DELIBERATELY ABSENTED HIMSELF, AS HE HAS NO DEFENCE TO THE SUIT AGAINST HIM”

court processes. The Court found that from the affidavit of service sworn to by the Sheriff, he served the Appellant the court originating processes by pasting them at Plot 9, Block 66, Magodo Scheme II, Magodo Lagos State. However, in the counteraffidavit denying the proof of service, filed by the Appellant, the Appellant stated that the originating processes were not pasted at his address at Plot 9, Block 66, Magodo Scheme II, Magodo Lagos State. The Court of Appeal held that where affidavits conflict on a disputed material fact, the court is not allowed to prefer one deposition to the other; the court, held that oral evidence should be led, to reconcile the conflicts in affidavit evidence, where there is no documentary evidence which can tilt the conflicting depositions one way or the other. The court relied on EIMSKIP LTD v EXQUISITE IND. (NIG.) LTD (supra). The Court of Appeal in the instant case, found that the Bailiff in his affidavit, attached pictures showing that he personally pasted the processes at the address on record. The Appellant, the court held, who asserts that the wrong property was served, ought to have shown through photographic documentary evidence, the right property to be served. The court concluded that, it does not lie in the mouth of the Appellant to merely state that the wrong property was served, when he has not placed before the court, material evidence in support of his depositions on this fact. The court therefore, held that the Appellant, who was sued as an unknown person, was served with the originating processes and the hearing notice of 22nd November, 2010. The Court of Appeal, however, went further to hold that hearing notice is a substantive issue, which goes to the root of the adjudicatory competence of a court to proceed with the determination of the right of the parties before it. It is incumbent on every court, to examine its records, to determine whether hearing notices were served on the parties before it, and where the occupier of the property in dispute is unknown, whether the notice was served on the property, in order to determine if the party deliberately absented himself, as he has no defence to the suit against him. The court relied on PAM v ANPP (2007) LPELR – 9000 (CA). The court found that there is no evidence on record, showing that notices of adjournment and subsequent proceedings of the court, were directed by the lower court to be served on the Appellant and whether it was ipso facto served on him, even though he was unknown at the time. The only hearing notice issued and served on the Appellant was the one dated 22nd November, 2010. The court held that failure to serve hearing notice on the Appellant before judgement was entered in favour of the Respondent, is a fundamental error which has rendered null and void the entire proceeding leading to the judgement, and is liable to be set aside as a nullity. Non service on the property occupied by the unknown person, is a vital flaw which robs the trial curt of jurisdiction. The court referred to SKENCONSULT NIG. LTD v UKE (1981) 1 SC 6; OBU v ARCHIBONG (2009) LPELR – 8897 (CA) The Court of Appeal finally held that, the Appellant was not afforded the opportunity to present his case, having not been served with the requisite hearing notices; hence, he had been denied fair hearing. The appeal was allowed and the suit remitted to the lower Court for re-assignment to another judge for re-trial. Appeal Allowed. Representations: M.N.O. Olopade with UC Madubuike for the Appellant A.O. Idowu (Director Civil Litigation) with K. Ayinde (SSS) and A.O. Adeusi (SSC MCJLA Directorate of Litigation) for the 1st - 3rd Respondent Nelson Okedinachi for the 4th Respondent Reported by Optimum Publishers Limited (Publishers of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports (NMLR))

27.02.2018

NEWS/5

L-R: Hon. Justice Hakeem Oshodi, Hon. Justice Doris Okuwobi (Admin Judge Ikeja), Lagos State Chief Judge, Hon Justice Opeyemi Oke and Deputy Comptroller in charge of Kirikiri Medium Prisons, Mr. Oluwaniyi Emmanuel during the visit

L-R: IT Support, Commercial Law Development (CLDS), Mr. Christopher Abuah, Senior Director and Head of Legal at Thomson Reuters Africa, Mr. Romulen Pillay, Law Author, Professor Fabian Ajogwu, SAN, Directors, Research & Publication, Mrs. Chioma Mordi, Manager, CLDS, Ms Uche Ajogwu, Research Assistant, Mrs. Toyin Nwiido at a brieﬁng to announce the Strategic Agreement at Ikenna Partners Law oﬃce, Victoria Isalnd, Lagos, last Thursday

Lagos CJ Frees 20 Prison Inmates, Promises to Review Sentencing Guidelines for Convicts Akinwale Akintunde Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Opeyemi Oke, last week granted amnesty to 20 inmates, both from Kirikiri Medium Prison and Ikoyi Prison. The Chief Judge freed one Lucky Nelson, who is suffering from Tuberculosis from Kirikiri prisons, while a total number of 19 inmates were released from Ikoyi Prison, during her first visit since she assumed office as the Chief Judge in October last year. The 20 freed inmates had been in custody, awaiting trial for between the period of ten months and five years. Though Justice Oke had more inmates on the Amnesty list from Kirikiri Medium Prison, she declined to release them because they failed to meet the amnesty criteria. So only Nelson, who has been in prison custody since 2012 over allegation of obtaining money, about N25,000, by false pretences was released on health grounds, because apart from suffering from Tuberculosis, he has also been diagnosed as suffering from Diabetes. “14 cases were presented to me for consideration, but after interviewing them, I found that none of them merited to be pardoned. "It is very unfortunate, but we must follow due process in releasing any inmate from the prison. Remember that

members of the society must also be protected, so we don't just free any inmate without following due process”, she said. Justice Oke, who was accompanied by senior members of the Judiciary, including Judges, Magistrates, the Chief Registrar, officials of the Lagos Ministry of Justice, and members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), also visited the Kirikiri Female prisons, where she attended to about ten nursing mother inmates, who also failed to meet the criteria for release during the visit. Speaking during the visits to the prisons last week Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, the Chief Judge said the amnesty granted the inmates was in fulfillment of her determination to decongest prisons in the State, which she noted were populated by awaiting-trial inmates. According to her, the gesture was in exercise of the power conferred on her by the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody) (Special Provisions) Act, Cap C40 2004 Laws of the Federation, adding that it would give the freed inmates another opportunity to get their lives back on track. Admonishing the freed inmates to go and sin no more, Justice Oke said that the only way to reciprocate the gesture, is for them to henceforth live a good life and be of good conduct.

Amongst the 19 inmates released from Ikoyi Prison is one Damilola Joseph, a final year Computer Science student of University of Lagos, who was charged for stealing but has been in prison custody since 2016 following his inability to perfect his N250,000 bail conditions. Justice Oke also commended the Controller General of Nigerian Prison Service, Jaafaru Ahmed and the Deputy Comptroller of Prisons in charge of Ikoyi Prisons, Tolu Ogunsakin and his Kirikiri Medium Prisons counterpart, DCP Oluwaniyi Emmanuel, for maintaining a clean prison environment. Reacting to the complaint by some inmates of the Ikoyi prison who have been unable to pay the option of fine imposed on them, Justice Oke noted that the State Judiciary is aware of the challenges faced by such inmates and is working towards addressing them. She disclosed that, plans are ongoing by the State Judiciary, to review the sentencing guidelines of suspects convicted in minor offences. "We have heard your complaints, and you can rest assured, that we are working towards addressing them. By next week, we are having a meeting with Magistrates to address some of these issues, including bail conditions.

"Thereafter, I will be signing a new policy regarding fines and sentencing guidelines on cases before our courts”, she said. Earlier in his welcome address, Ogunsakin, who is said to have just assumed office as the DCP in charge of the Ikoyi Prison five days ago, expressed appreciation to the Chief Judge for her commitment to the release of deserving inmates. Ogunsakin however, appealed to the Chief Judge to assist the prison authorities in its decongestion efforts, by accelerating trial and adopting community service for minor offences. "Your Lordship, I am appealing to you on passionate grounds to help us in the area of acceleration of trial, and dispensation of justice, especially where minor offences can be given community service as punishment for such offenders. "I also appeal for the introduction of parole as it is being done in some countries, and the issue of amnesty by the State Governor, in order to reduce the overcrowding in our prisons”, he pleaded. According DCP Ogunsakin, Ikoyi Prison with a normal lockup capacity of 800 inmates, presently has 2,752 inmates, out of which 2,261 of the inmates are awaiting trial while 491 have been convicted.

Commercial Law Development Services, Thomson Reuters Partner on Law E-Books Akinwale Akintunde Commercial Law Development Services (CLDS), a centre known for its publishing services, has achieved another landmark, as it signs an e-Book Publishing Partnership Agreement with Thomson Reuters. CLDS, has in recent times, emerged as one of Nigeria’s known editorial designers and publishing services providers in Nigeria. Thomson Reuters ProView is one of world’s leading proprietary, market-leading e-Book platforms for legal and tax professionals. It is specifically built for professional use, and includes advance features such as full-text search, secured notes, highlights and content updating. Under the first phase of the agreement, four of CLDS’ several law publications, will be licensed for publication and distribution through Thomson Reuters' professional e-reader ProView to the global community. The publications set to debut on the first phase of the project, cover a range of topics and practice areas like Mergers and Acquisitions, Commercial Arbitration, Corporate Governance, Trade and Investments. Some of the titles authored by Professor Fabian Ajogwu, SAN available on ProView include: r .FSHFST BOE "DRVJTJUJPOT in Nigeria: Law & Practice r $PNNFSDJBM "SCJUSBUJPO JO Nigeria: Law & Practice r $PSQPSBUF (PWFSOBODF BOE Group Dynamics r 5SBEF *OWFTUNFOUT JO

Nigerian Business Woman Sues Airline for Assault Rebecca Ejifoma The Federal High Court, Ikoyi Lagos, has fixed Friday, March 9 this year, for the next ruling in the fundamental rights enforcement filed against a Turkish Airlines official by a Nigerian businesswoman, Tolulope Ogundokun, for alleged assault during her trip from the Istanbul Airport in Turkey en route London. The Presiding Judge, Jus-

tice Idris, fixed the date after entertaining arguments from Tolulope's lawyer, Mr. M.I Igbokwe, SAN and the counsel to the Defendant, Mr. Martins Okonmah. In the suit, Tolulope’s is accusing the Airline of assault, delayed boarding, and delayed baggage delivery after four days of her journey. The Plaintiff, Tolulope Ogundokun, had claimed that the Airline’s official, Serlim Tartan,

had assaulted her after she enquired why she had SBY (standby) on her Boarding Pass, instead of a seat number. “I got to the check-in Line C Counter, to enquire about why I had standby on my Boarding Pass. The Airline representative told me that the flight was overbooked, but I should go to the boarding gate, I may be considered if the area was not fully occupied.” Ogundokun said she went

to the Manager, Tartan, for further explanation, despite her confirmed ticket. But Tartan was said to have told her to go and check their website, that a confirmed ticket did not guarantee a seat on the aircraft. His words: “I don’t have time for you”. She continued: “He told me I could stand there, and keep asking him questions. He threatened that if I persisted in knowing why I was put on

standby, he would not allow me on the flight or he would remove my checked-in luggage from the aircraft”. According to the Plaintiff, when Tartan discovered she made video recording of his ill manners, Ogundokun alleged that Tartan hit her hand continuously, with efforts to seize the phone from her. “After such assault and much delay, I got to

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Nigeria: Legal & Regulatory Aspects Speaking at the official signing of the partnership agreement in Lagos, last Thursday, Mr. Romulen Pillay, Senior Director and Head of Legal at Thomson Reuters Africa, said “I am excited by this partnership, which will bring the information to the end users in a digitised effective way. The professional market is highly focused on getting access to authored content, in a manner that supplements the way they now work”. According to the Director, Research and Publications of CLDS, Mrs. Chioma Mordi, “through this strategic partnership, Thomson Reuters will jointly manage sales and publishing activities of our e-books, while delivering a comprehensive array of publishing, marketing and book selling services, designed specifically for Commercial Law Development Services (CLDS). The e-books will be very interactive and user friendly. “The advancement in information technology has made e-book and e-publishing more attractive than ever before, because of its global reach and appeal. According to the Director, Research and Publication of CLDS, “we look forward to a lasting and fruitful partnership, as we intend to place our clients’ works on the global market”. The author, Professor Fabian Ajogwu, SAN, also expressed his excitement about the partnership stating that, he is at the receiving end, and urged his fellow learned colleagues to avail themselves the opportunity of promoting the legal practice beyond the shores of our country through electronic platforms like the ProView by Thomson Reuters. “…I encourage my learned colleagues to take advantage of this kind of partnership, to spread the legal practice of Nigeria beyond Africa”, Ajogwu, SAN added. He emphasised that, the titles being converted to e-book, were birthed through his experiences as a legal practitioner of several years.

27.02.2018

Position Yourselves with Technology, Social Media for 21st Century Legal Practice, Young Lawyers Advised Akinwale Akintunde Young lawyers have been advised to take advantage of critical tools like technology and social media, to position themselves for the legal practice in the 21st century. Managing Solicitor, TRIAX Solicitors, Moses Oruaze Dickson, gave this advice at the one-day seminar of the Bayelsa State Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Young Lawyers Forum held at the Faculty of Law, Niger Delta University, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Speaking at the event with the theme “Young Lawyers: the Future of the Bar and Legal Profession”, Dickson said that young Lawyers need to tap into the power of technology for branding and market positioning. “Young Lawyers need to realise that technology and social media have become critical tools, to position themselves for legal practice in the 21st century”. In his paper titled “How Technology and Social Media Can be Used to Enhance Legal Practice”, Dickson said “You have to learn how to use social media, to position yourself as a legal professional. “You cannot practice law in the 21st century,

L-R: Managing Solicitor; TRIAX Solicitors, Mr. Moses Dickson, Director of Research in Law, Canterbury Christ University, UK, Dr. Chrispas Nyombi, Senior Lecturer, Canterbury Christ University, UK, Mr, Krystle Lewis and Managing Partner, SPA Ajibade and Co, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade SAN at the event

without having an online presence or a website as a law firm. “As a lawyer, you can make yourself marketable within the confines of the rules of professional conduct”, he stated. He also informed the young Lawyers, of the plans of TRIAX Solicitors to collaborate

NIGERIAN BUSINESS WOMAN SUES AIRLINE FOR ASSAULT London but found out my checked-in luggage wasn’t on the plane as he had threatened. I received my luggage four days later”. Returning to Nigeria, Ogundokun through her Solicitor, Igbokwe, sued the Airline in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/439/2017 for delayed boarding and delayed baggage. Hence, Tolu is claiming, among others, for the sum of N250,000,000.00 as damages. The Airline, as Defendant, however, filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection, challenging the jurisdiction of the Court.

L-R: Managing Solicitor; TRIAX Solicitors, Mr. Moses Dickson, Arbitrator; Supreme Court, Kenya, Mr. Samuel Nderitu and Director of Research in Law, Canterbury Christ University, UK, Dr. Chrispas Nyombi

with the Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, and other partners, to organise training programmes that would improve the skills and expertise of young Lawyers in Bayelsa State and the South-South region.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

The Defendant wanted the case to be heard in Turkey, as opposed to Nigeria where Ogundokun instituted the action. Ogundokun’s Counsel, vehemently opposed the Defendant’s said objection. On January 24, this year, Idris J. heard Counsels’ arguments on the Defendant’s objection. The Defendant’s Counsel relied on his Notice of Preliminary Objection, and urged the Court to decline jurisdiction on the ground that the Federal High Court was not the proper forum

to hear the Plaintiff’s case. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, argued that what the law recommends is that “an action for damages may be brought at the option of the Plaintiff in the territory of any of the State Parties”. The Learned Silk submitted that, the jurisdiction to institute the action, is at the “option of the Plaintiff”, and not for the Defendant to decide for the Plaintiff. The court, however, adjourned the case to March 9, this year, for Ruling.

Also speaking at the event, Bayelsa State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Kemeasuode Wodu, encouraged young lawyers to be diligent in their practice, while also improving themselves academically. Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman of NBA, Bayelsa State, Mr. Clement S. Bruruboyefe, admonished young Lawyers to respect the ethics and rules of practice, while investing in constant learning. He pointed out that the number of graduating law students surpasses the employment quota, adding that the seminar would afford young Lawyers with the requisite information and knowledge needed to be marketable. In his thank-you message, the Chairman of the Young Lawyers Forum, Bayelsa State, Mr. Harcourt Ekpe, thanked the Managing Solicitor, TRIAX Solicitors, Mr. Dickson for the support and encouragement of young Lawyers in the State. He also appreciated all the other speakers, who shared from their wealth of experience during the seminar.

Legal Personality of the Week Rafiq Anammah

‘Law Practice is not for the Indolent’ My name is Rafiq Anammah. I obtained my LLB from the University of Nigeria in 2009 and, thereafter, proceeded to the Nigerian Law School where I obtained my B.L. I was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2010. I did my mandatory NYSC programme with the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba. I was in the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of the Ministry. I am a member of the Dispute Resolution Practice Group of AELEX. Before joining AELEX in 2014, I worked with the law office of C. O. Okwusogu (SAN) & Co. and later with Chudi Obieze & Co.. I am also, a trained and certified arbitrator, mediator and conciliator. I am a member of the International Bar Association (IBA), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), and the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC). My areas of legal practice span aviation, maritime, property, taxation, and telecommunication laws. I enjoy reading books and listening to music, during my leisure time. Have you had any challenges in your career as a Lawyer, and if so, what were the main challenges? Some of the earliest challenges I faced as a Lawyer, were during my first few years at the Bar. I found it challenging to respond to several court applications or processes at the same time, considering the time limitations set by the various Rules Dispute Resolution Practice Group of court to so do. However, with experience, I have discovered that if I prioritise the applications or processes, I can comfortably respond to them without putting myself under undue pressure. Secondly, I have to stay alert at all times, to ensure that judgements are not obtained and execution levied against our clients without my knowledge and without due process. This can be very tasking, when your practice spans several States of Nigeria like mine does. Thirdly, as a litigation lawyer, I spend a lot of time conducting

Raﬁq Anammah

legal research, preparing court processes and appearing in court. It is often times difficult for me to create sufficient time to relax with friends and family, and this sometimes affects my personal life. What was your worst day as a Lawyer? My worst day as a Lawyer, was a day when a Judge delivered a ruling in an application that I had filed. Regardless of the fact that I knew that the law and the facts were on my side on the issues I had canvassed before the court, the decision went against me for inexplicable reasons. What was your most memorable experience as a Lawyer ? My most memorable experience as a Lawyer, was when the court delivered judgement in my client’s favour in a keenly contested case of negligence, before the Abia State High Court. Who has been most inﬂuential person in your life?

In my personal life, the most influential person has been my aunt, Dr (Mrs.) Abutu. She is a staunch Christian. Growing up under her watchful eyes, she ensured that I took the path of Godliness and shunned social vices. The values she inculcated in me, have contributed immensely in making me who I am today. Professionally, the most influential persons in my life have been two of the most perfect gentlemen I have ever come across, the late Obiekwe Okwusogu, SAN, and Chudi Obieze. Before his sad demise in 2016, Obiekwe Okwusogu was the founder and principal of C. O. Okwusogu & Co., a Lagos based litigation law firm where I started my legal practice in 2011. I admired his humility and simplicity. Even as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, he would insist on carrying his bag himself when we appeared in court together. That made a huge impression on me. I never saw him insult any of his staff or colleagues. Chudi Obieze is the founder and principal of Chudi Obieze & Co, a litigation law firm in Onitsha. I admire his calmness and doggedness in pursuing any cause he undertakes and believes in. He would always take his time to vet any draft you presented to him, and would never castigate a junior colleague for any mistake done. Instead, he would correct the mistake calmly, and move on as if nothing happened. Then, the partners at AELEX cannot be left out. These are very ambitious and hardworking individuals, who have excelled in their specialised areas of law practice, and who have practically proven that a law practice can successfully be run like a business entity, which it ought to be. I have learnt from them that a law practice should not be managed in a tardy and nonchalant manner; that law practice is also a business and should be run as such. Why did you become a Lawyer? I became a Lawyer because as a child, I had the privilege of seeing and hearing of the exploits of distinguished lawyers from my hometown, Onitsha, like the late Chief Chike Offodile, SAN,

who was a one-time Attorney-General of the Federation, late Chief P. O. Balonwu, SAN, and many others. I saw the prestige these individuals had, and the respect they commanded in the society by virtue of the fact that they were Lawyers, and I made up my mind to be like them. There was also a law court that is close to my house in Onitsha, so I had easy and early contact with the law, by sometimes going to court to watch legal proceedings. With all these factors, I had to settle for the study of Law and I am glad I did. What would be your advice to anyone wanting a career in Law? My advice to anyone contemplating studying Law, is that it is a good idea. However, Law is not for the indolent. To successfully study and practice law, one requires utmost commitment and concentration. It is only in rare cases, that a new entrant into the profession would start making huge earnings. The first few years, are usually challenging for the young Lawyer who is just trying to find his or her feet. However, if the young Lawyer can persevere, and he gains the requisite experience and competence, he would notice his earnings grow with time and life may become easier. So, if the aspirant has a “get rich quick” mentality, then the legal profession is the wrong place for him or her. If you had not become a Lawyer, what career would you have chosen? I would have chosen to be a Lecturer, because I love teaching. I may have also been a Footballer, as it remains one of my hobbies. Where do you see yourself in ten years? In ten years, by God’s grace, I hope to have become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, with several law texts and articles to my name. Also, I hope I would have contributed my little quota to the society, by handling some cases pro bono for the indigent, and teaching law courses in some universities, even if I do it gratis.

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Garlands for Dele Adesina: 35 Years at the Bar and Book Launch The cream of the Nigerian legal community gathered at the Muson Centre, Lagos, last Thursday, when former Nigerian Bar Association General Secretary, Pastor Dele Adesina, SAN celebrated 35 years at the Bar, 25 years of Dele Adesina LLP (Citygate Chambers), 10 years of call to the Inner Bar, and the launch of his book titled “New Developments in Law and Practice in Nigeria”. Welcoming guests to the august event, the celebrant, Dele Adesina, SAN, went down memory lane on how the law firm came to birth. Adesina, an ordained minister at the Living Faith Bible Church, told of how God had used kindhearted people to help him on his career path. Called to the Bar in 1982, Adesina had brief stints in the Ondo State Ministry of Justice and in an insurance company, before setting up Dele Adesina & Co, which later metamorphosed into Dele Adenisa LLP. He was Chairman NBA Ikeja Branch, General Secretary of the NBA and took Silk in 2008. In her opening remarks, the Chairperson of the event, Chief Folake Solanke, SAN, said “I welcome the underlying concept of the well-formulated, title which focuses on the celebrant’s determination to help and encourage young lawyers to persevere, in order to succeed in the one and only learned profession. In my own personal experience of fifty-four years at the Bar, with 36 years as the first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria, with all due respect to the all other noble professions, the law is the best profession on earth”. Chief Solanke, SAN, went on to address the sensitive issue of pupillage in the legal profession, saying that a two-year pupillage for all new wigs, has become absolutely imperative. She however, urged all seniors to ensure that young lawyers on pupillage in their chambers are paid adequately, since lawyers are not slaves. She said “in defence of lawyers in pupillage, I declare that lawyers are not slaves. Only slaves work for no pay or very poor pay, because a slave is the legal property of the slaver. A lawyer is certainly not the property of a learned

L-R: Dr. Wale Babalakin, SAN, Mrs. Mercy Abimbola Adesina, Chief Folake Solanke, SAN, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, HRH Oba Ajibade Adebanji Alabi, the Alawe of Ilawe and Vice Chancellor, Ekiti State University, Professor Oye Bandele

senior, or any other person. When I was in pupillage, I was paid by those two fine gentlemen of the Bar. Thus, I implore all senior members who utilise the services of lawyers in pupillage, to pay them adequately. Lawyers are not like the African immigrants who are currently being sold into slavery in Libya in this 21st century”. The main lecture of the day was delivered by Dr Konyinsola Ajayi, SAN, and in the lecture, he spoke to the old and young, on how to sustain livelihood through a successful legal career and practice. He said “Given the clash of cultures today within the profession - the ageing and dying puritans; the infected misdirected; the analogue old; the corrupted young and the reforming minds – we need change. This is not to call for change as an end in itself, for the mantra of that in 2015 has resulted in exposing the weakness of the profession and its inability to rise to the challenge of its calling. “Our call as Lawyers, is one to a vocation of being faithful to justice; enhancing opportunity (being good commercial solicitors); defending interests (as valiant barristers); emancipating the poor; bringing liberty to the captives; binding the broken hearted (by seeking peace and amicable settlement); bringing good tidings to the afflicted (by winning fair and square) - in short being a living sacrifice. “We are enjoined as priests in the temple of justice, to keep our tongue from evil and our lips from deceitful speech, yet from both the Bar and the Bench, is unworthy word by way of address and judgement”. On hand to discuss Prof Konyin Ajayi’s erudite paper, were former NBA President, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, Prof Fabian Ajogwu, SAN, Mr. Osaro Eghobamien SAN, former Ogun State Attorney-General, Mrs. Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN and Mrs. Christine Sijuade. Dele Adesina’s book “New Developments in Law and Practice in Nigeria”, was publicly presented by Dr. Wale Babalakin, SAN, who is the Pro Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the University of Lagos.

L-R: Chief Wole Olanikpekun, SAN, Dr. Wale Babalakin, SAN and the Celebrant, Pastor Dele Adesina, SAN

CIArb Trains Members on Ethics in International Arbitration The Nigeria Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK (CIArb), the internationally recognised home of arbitrators and alternative dispute resolvers, held its 4th Workshop series on February 21st, 2018. The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) is the leading international professional membership organisation, renowned for its qualitative educational/ training programmes and its emphasis on compliance with the highest standards of ethical conduct. The CIArb is a not-for-profit charitable organisation, which works in the public interest through an international network of 39 branches with over 15,000 members based in more than 130 countries. The CIArb has supported the global promotion, facilitation and development of private dispute resolution for the past 100 years, while representing the interests of alternative dispute resolution practitioners, the world over. The CIArb Arbitration Workshop Series, is in line with the Institute’s commitment to the delivery of quality education and training, aimed at the development of a learned society in the field of dispute resolution and building capacity in the field within our shores. The Workshop Series, is sponsored by members of the Institute, and Speakers are drawn from the wide pool of the Institute’s highly trained Arbitrators and alternative dispute resolvers. Attendance is free to members

of the Institute, whilst non-members who wish to attend, pay a nominal fee. The 4th in the Series was sponsored by the Law Firm of Akinwumi & Busari, with the theme “Ethics in International Arbitration”. Participants were exposed to the peculiarities of international arbitration proceedings, the various instruments drawn up in the field, including those on ethical codes and taking of evidence, common pitfalls to avoid and strategies to improve case preparation. Two speakers, Mr. Tunde Ogunseitan, Counsel, International Court of Arbitration, Paris France and Dr. Bayo Adaralegbe, Partner, Babalakin & Co., dealt extensively on the very important topic of Ethics. The event commenced with Mrs. Rhodes-Vivour, the Chairman of the Institute, delivering her opening remarks. She welcomed participants to the CIArb workshop. She said that “indeed the vision of the Institute’s founding fathers, to raise the practice of arbitration to a distinct and learned profession, has been actualised, and that the Institute remains focused on retaining its leadership edge, with utmost emphasis on not compromising on its values (dignity and respect, professionalism, loyalty and trust, ownership and accountability)”. She stated that, the Institute is passionate about promoting arbitration and ADR, and helping people and organisations resolve their conflicts through their global network. She further stated that, the event of the day was

L-R: Mr Tunde Busari, SAN, Counsel, International Court of Arbitration, Paris France, Mr. Tunde Ogunseitan , Mrs. Doyin Rhodes-Vivour and Dr. Bayo Adaralegbe, SAN

focused on discussing the very important topic of ethics, a bedrock of the continuing efficacy of the arbitral system. Mr. Tunde Busari, SAN, representing the host organisation, stated in his opening remarks that the training seeks to explore the professional conduct and obligations of participants in international arbitration,

including arbitrators, counsel, arbitral institutions, and third-party funders. He went on to say that, regardless of the obvious and appreciable growth of international arbitration in recent years, the need to ensure that high ethical standards continue to be maintained, is essential in the arbitral process.

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“THE CONFERENCE WILL CONSIDER TOPICAL ISSUES ON PROFESSIONAL ETHICS, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE BENCH AND THE BAR, EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROSECUTION OF WHITE COLLAR AND ECONOMIC CRIMES, FACTORS IMPEDING LAWYERS IN GENERATING INCOME AND AS 2019 LOOMS LARGE ON THE HORIZON, WE WILL CONSIDER ELECTION MATTERS AND THE JOURNEY SO FAR WITH THE ELECTORAL ACT 2010 (AS AMENDED)”

‘Only About 4.2% of Senior Advocates Are Female’ From April 12th to 13th , 2018, the oil city of Port Harcourt, will play host to the cream of the Nigerian legal profession, when it hosts members of the Nigerian Bar Association’s Section on Legal Practice (NBA SLP) for its annual Conference. In a chat with Onikepo Braithwaite, the Chairperson of NBA SLP, Mrs. Mia Essien, SAN, delved into the issues that will engage the attention of conferees, including professional ethics, relationship between the Bar and Bench, and rebuilding and repositioning the Section after a two-year hiatus. She also spoke on the seeming gender imbalance in the Inner Bar. Mia Essien, SAN, who is the Managing Partner of Principles Law Partnership, with ofﬁces in Port Harcourt and Lagos, obtained her LL.B (Hons) from the University of Nigeria in 1984. She was Called to the Bar in August, 1985. In 1991, she obtained an LL.M. from the University of Lagos. She‘took silk’ in 2007, and is a Fellow and Chartered Arbitrator of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK). She is a Notary Public, and a Member of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association. She is also a Member of the Faculty of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK); and a Member of the Adjunct Faculty of the Nigerian Law School, Gwari, Abuja.

he NBA-SLP (Section on Legal Practice), of which you are the Chairperson had the misfortune of being in limbo for over two years. What was the reason for this? How did you manage the affairs of the Section while it was in dormancy, given the fact that the parent body seemed to be against your emergence as Chairperson of the Section? It is incorrect, to assert that the parent body was against my emergence. It is unfortunate that for some reasons, the past President decided to review the elections that had taken place. It was later found, when the current President came in, that due process was indeed, followed, and so there was no reason for the steps that had been taken. Consequently, at the Section’s AGM held in Lagos in August, 2017, the officers that had been removed were re-elected. However, that is all past and we do not want

to dwell on it, but to look ahead. The Section has a very bright future, and the current Section officers and Council members, believe that with time it will emerge stronger and rejuvenated. Our focus is on rebuilding the Section and positioning it properly, because irrespective of your area of specialisation, as Lawyers, the Section on Legal Practice covers all aspects of practice, and has an impact on the manner in which we practice law. Before we were able to get back on track, we lost one of our very dear Council members, Chief Adetola- Kazeem, SAN. He was a pillar of the Section. We miss him and his very wise counsel. May he rest in peace. What really is the role of the NBA-SLP? By our by-Laws, the objects of the Section on Legal Practice are to: 1. Promote the exchange of information and views among individual members of the Section and other likeminded bodies as to the laws, practices and procedures affecting the Section locally and internationally. 2. Assist members to develop and improve their legal services to the public.

growing tide of misconduct and criticism that arises therefrom. To show how serious these issues are in other jurisdictions, I will give an example of a friend who practices outside the country. I recall him being quite agitated on an occasion, because he was handling a matter which was about to be statute barred and he had not filed his originating processes or informed his client that the action would soon be statute barred. He feared the Bar Council, where he practiced, would take away his licence if the case became statute barred. So, we can see, we still have a long way to go in Nigeria. As Lawyers, we need to fully understand the extent of our duties, and where we can run afoul of the rules and regulations. As a practicing Lawyer, can you be engaged in the business of buying and selling land? Can you manage an estate? Can you advertise? Are you liable for negligence? How many Lawyers have liability insurance? What are the chances that the public will become more aware and start suing their Lawyers for negligence? Our first session therefore, will consider laws regulating legal practice, extent of practice, disciplinary issues arising therefrom. Our main speakers, Yemi Candide-Johnson, SAN and Etigwe Uwa, SAN, will treat the sub-theme from different perspectives, and at the end of the session, it will be clear to those who do not know or who claim not to know, what is right, what is wrong as a practitioner and

Mrs. Mia Essien, SAN PHOTOS: Kolawole Alli

3. Publishing the Section on Legal Practice Journal 4. Undertake Continuing Legal Education. 5. Undertake such related activities as may be approved by the Section’s Council from time to time. Thus, you can see that the Section has quite a role to play, in ensuring that members of the NBA constantly receive information and views pertinent to practice, and ensure that we assist our members develop and improve legal services and their delivery. This is why, in the past, we always ensured that our conferences have practical practice tips, such that even those who are not involved in certain aspects of practice, leave our conferences significantly enriched with tips and information on various aspects of practice. We also have a Journal, and we have also asked members of the Bar to submit articles to be considered for publication in our SLP Journal. Our journals always have topical practice articles. The Section has 14 committees which, under their chairpersons, are to hold various seminars

and workshops in the course of the year. Before the Section went dormant, I was the Vice-Chairman and Mr. D. C. Denwigwe, SAN was the Chairman. At that time, the various committees were very active and held various seminars and workshops in various areas of the country. Currently, our administrative staff are processing renewals of members and new memberships, and we will soon collate member-

“OUR FOCUS IS ON REBUILDING THE SECTION, AND POSITIONING IT PROPERLY, BECAUSE IRRESPECTIVE OF YOUR AREA OF SPECIALISATION, AS LAWYERS, THE SECTION ON LEGAL PRACTICE COVERS ALL ASPECTS OF PRACTICE, AND HAS AN IMPACT ON THE MANNER IN WHICH WE PRACTICE LAW”

ships of the various committees and inform their chairpersons accordingly. We hope to soon put in place a scholarship for young lawyers who are unable to attend our conferences or seminars, so that they can have the opportunity to do so. We intend to achieve this by reaching out to our senior members to be a part of the scheme, and to contribute towards that. It will be one of their ways of giving back to the profession. The NBA-SLP’s Annual Conference themed: “Re-Thinking and Re-Tooling Legal Practice for the Challenges of Our Time” will hold in Port Harcourt April 12-13, 2018. What will be the highlights of the Conference? What innovations will be introduced at the Conference, that will be of beneﬁt to Lawyers in their practices, and what do you hope to achieve? The conference will consider topical issues on professional ethics, the relationship between the bench and the bar, effectiveness of the prosecution of white collar and economic crimes, factors impeding lawyers in generating income, and

as 2019 looms large on the horizon, we will consider election matters and the journey so far with the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). We have knowledgeable and amazing speakers, who have the expertise, experience and passion to discuss the topics they have kindly agreed to speak on and we are very grateful to them. The positive response from our colleagues, who agreed to contribute their time as speakers, discussants or chairpersons so as to be a part of the SLP Conference, has been overwhelming considering the fact that the Section has basically been inactive for a couple of years. After our opening ceremonies, we will immediately kick off with the session “Practicing law in a regulated environment – what we need to know”. This session will deal with professional ethics, which as we know, is on the front burner of the public discourse. We are regaled on a regular basis with allegations of misconduct against Lawyers, some of whom have been disciplined, to the knowledge of the public. As the Section on Legal Practice, we need to talk about this, how to stem the

the chances of being disbarred or disciplined, as the case may be. After that, our President, Mr. A. B. Mahmoud, SAN, will have an interactive session with us, where he will share insights into the NBA’s Reform Strategy with a focus on its regulatory reform initiatives. He will share with us proposed models and modalities which the Bar may consider, in reforming the regulatory framework of the legal profession. We also have a session “The bench and the bar managing our symbiotic relationship.” We have erudite justices and judges, who will be part of this discussion. The session on economic and white-collar crimes, will be chaired by the Honourable Attorney- General of Rivers State, and we have confirmed speakers from the EFCC as well. 2019 is an election season and so we have a session that deals with election matters. Our main speaker is Mr. E. C. Ukala, SAN, who as you know, is seasoned in the handling of election matters. It promises to be very enlightening and we are certain that, at the end of the day, Lawyers who have been briefed to handle such matters will be better equipped. Young Lawyers will be interested in the session that deals with factors impeding our ability to generate revenue, and we have experienced speakers, as well as young lawyers who will give us their perspective. The main focus of this session, will be to provide guidance to both young and older Lawyers when it comes to billing and being rain makers in their own right. Our conference website will be up for registration in a couple of days, and you can get more details on our several speakers and the full programme on our website nba-slp.org. We encourage our colleagues to take advantage of our early bird registration which will end on the 15th of March, 2018. For registered SLP members, whose dues are up to date, attendance to the Conference will be free, but they will have to register to attend the conference. After the 15th of March, 2018 they will pay to attend. Details are on our website. Law Pavillion is also giving to all registered participants of the Conference, one year free access to their Online Case Management system. We are certain that the Conference will fulfil SLP’s role, which is to encourage the exchange of information, views and assist members to develop and improve their legal services to the public. Your sister sections like SBL have special programs for its young Lawyers, and at all their Conferences or events, they make special arrangements for their young members, including discounted registration fees and cost of accommodation. What plans do you have for young Lawyers at the upcoming

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‘ONLY ABOUT 4.2% OF SENIOR ADVOCATES ARE FEMALE’

Port Harcourt Conference? Right now, we have free registration for all SLP members including young Lawyers, provided they pay their Section dues. After the 15th of March, 2018, we have a significantly discounted rate for young Lawyers, and we encourage them to register as members of SLP to take advantage of the free registration. We also have plans to develop programmes in conjunction with the Young Lawyers Forum, and as I had said, we intend to develop a scheme whereby in the future, we can sponsor young lawyers for our Conferences. We will be counting on the benevolence of our members, who are senior Lawyers, to achieve this. In other jurisdictions, Lawyers are preparing for the challenges of the onslaught of artiﬁcial intelligence, and it is inevitable that it will have a telling effect on the work of Lawyers. There was a major session on this at the SBL Conference in Lagos last year, and also at the IBA Conference in Sydney, Australia. Nigerian Lawyers seem to be either ignorant of this serious threat to the profession, or are just not concerned. What steps is SLP taking to ensure these concerns are addressed? I will not say that Nigerian Lawyers are either ignorant or not concerned. I believe the issue of artificial intelligence, is not as alien (pardon the pun) as it would seem to be to us. Artificial intelligence refers to computer software and systems that do not just do the task, but actually learn as they go along improving their delivery through feedback, an example of such software is IBM’s Ross. For Lawyers, artificial intelligence will help in the review of documents, especially when it comes to discovery, legal research, analysing contracts, documents and proof reading same. A Deloitte Insight report released in 2016 noted that there are going to be huge reforms/changes in legal practice over the next decade, estimating that nearly 40 percent of jobs in the legal sector could end up being automated in the long term. There are various ways law firms can benefit from artificial intelligence, and it will be one of the topics the SLP will address at future events, as employers may need to emphasise the use of Lawyers who are not just technically competent, but who have a broader skill set.

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However, while waiting for the full onslaught of artificial intelligence, I believe that as Lawyers practicing in Nigeria, we should also focus on having responsive dynamic legal practices, which provide quality and effective legal services rendered in a time efficient manner within the boundaries of our Rules of Professional Ethics. In Abia State, the Governor purported to sack the Chief Judge and appoint another unconstitutionally. What are your thoughts on this, and how can further crisis be averted in Abia and other States? The problem you highlighted, is no different from other aspects of our lives in Nigeria. It stems from the fact that, laws and regulations are generally not adhered to. The appointment

and discipline of judges and judicial officers are set out in the Constitution and various rules and regulations. However, it is noted that the Governor purported to act pursuant to S.292(1) (a)(ii) of the Constitution. Even at this stage, the situation can still be remedied by looking at the position of the law on the issue and ensuring compliance with same. Having said that, I believe the NJC is currently looking at the situation, will come to a correct resolution of the issue, and will restore normalcy to the Abia State Judiciary. In a few months, Nigerian Lawyers will elect their national officers; five candidates are already jostling for the office of President. As a Barman, what qualities

“WE HOPE TO SOON PUT IN PLACE A SCHOLARSHIP FOR YOUNG LAWYERS WHO ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND OUR CONFERENCES OR SEMINARS, SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO” should Lawyers be looking for in electing the next Bar President? Do you support the universal suffrage electronic voting system, or do you think the NBA should revert to the old delegate system? I do not know if I can be considered a barman, but I believe that you do not need to be a barman to know what qualities are desirable in the next Bar President. He should have a listening ear, be honest, upright with integrity, financially prudent with managerial skills. He should also build on programmes commenced by his predecessor. Our regulatory system is long over due for an overhaul, and we hope he will build on what his predecessors did. I also support universal suffrage electronic voting system, which accords more with modern life. It is inclusive. The delegate system was anachronistic, and had outlived its usefulness. It seems that Rivers State seems to be carving a niche for itself in terms of the Justice/ Legal Sector, as not only have the Courts been totally revamped, many legal outings seem to be taking place in Port Harcourt these days. What could be responsible for this? Not too long ago, most people were reluctant to go to Port Harcourt, because they felt that it was unsafe. Is the narrative different today? The general fear of insecurity exists nationwide, but has never affected the hosting of law related conferences. Rivers State has had its challenges, like other parts of the country, but to residents, there appears to be a concerted effort by all stakeholders to reverse the trend. Port Harcourt has always played host to a lot of law related

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‘ONLY ABOUT 4.2% OF SENIOR ADVOCATES ARE FEMALE’ conferences, since the return of democracy. Over the years, the State has always been very supportive of Lawyers and has hosted several events and conferences, including the NBA Annual General Conferences in 2011 and 2016, Annual Conference of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators which took place in 2016, as well as several other Section conferences and workshops. As the Governor is a Lawyer, it is not surprising that he has continued with this noble trend. How do you combine your schedule as a practicing Lawyer with lecturing at the Law School and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators? What informed your decision to lecture? It is not difficult at all. It is just to plan ahead, and make sure the dates do not clash. For the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (United Kingdom), the Institute prides itself as one of the foremost arbitral training institutes worldwide. As a member of the faculty, you make yourself available when a lecture/course is assigned to you. The schedules are circulated at the beginning of the year, so it is easy to plan. It is also worth noting that being a tutor in international and domestic arbitration means I am constantly refreshing my knowledge as an arbitrator, so I remain abreast of current trends. With regard to the Nigerian Law School, where I am a member of the adjunct faculty, I am also given a schedule early in the calendar year, so I can choose a convenient time to take a class. My decision to teach in Law School, as a member of the adjunct faculty, is informed by a desire to give back to the profession by contributing to the knowledge of new entrants into the profession. As a full time practitioner, the students are able to have a hands-on approach to the practice of law, which they may not have had. There are other Senior Lawyers that are also members of their adjunct faculty. Hopefully, some of the students will be inspired to go into private practice. Many are complaining that some of the causes of the delays in our court system, is we the Lawyers; always ﬁling frivolous applications, incessant adjournments etc. just to frustrate the course of justice, especially when the case does not seem to be going the way they want, and Lawyers that engage in such activities, should be punished. Also, some Lawyers have been accused of ‘sharp’ practices and outright dishonesty. What steps can be taken to curb these excesses? Many have complained that the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee is not up and doing enough. The Law reports and press reports, suggest that Lawyers are being disciplined for misconduct etc. on a regular basis by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, so I believe the Committee is doing a quite a lot. I know that they have additional prosecutors, so more is being done. I also know that the President of the NBA is working on models and modalities to be considered by the Bar, at the appropriate time, to reform our regulatory framework. As for delays in court, there are several Rules of Courts and practice directions, that have been issued by the various courts to stem the delays in cases. Lately, the courts have started awarding punitive costs to be paid personally by Lawyers, to discourage delays in court etc. However, the fact that a person seeks an adjournment in a matter, does not mean that the Lawyer is deliberately trying to delay the case. Furthermore, once a Lawyer takes steps that are within the bounds of the law and the Rules of Court, it cannot be said that he is trying to frustrate the course of justice and our Rules of Professional Conduct make that clear. After all, some people have been the subject of frivolous law suits, and they have a right not to be subjected to same, to object to such proceedings or defend themselves within the purview of the Rules of court and the law. If you have been at the receiving end of such actions, you may have a different perspective. The important thing, is to ensure that as a Lawyer, you act strictly within the law. In any case, the Judge is the master of his court, and has a duty to ensure that Lawyers who behave in such unethical manners, do not get away with sharp practices or dilatory tactics. What can be done to stem the issue of

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

judicial corruption in Nigeria? Some believe that the Court of Appeal decision in Justice Nganjiwa’s case further protects Judicial Ofﬁcers, instead of helping to curb corruption. What is your opinion on this matter? Was the judgement satisfactory? There are mechanisms set out by the National Judicial Council, for channelling complaints against judges and judicial officers. However, such complaints must be genuine, and substantiated by concrete evidence. Whilst there are serious allegations against some judges, a significant number of judges have been the recipients of frivolous petitions, which have affected their reputations and can be described as subjecting such judges to media trials. On the judgement in Honourable Justice Nganjiwa’s case, the matter is sub judice, as reports in the new papers indicate that the EFCC has appealed to the Supreme Court against the judgement. I therefore cannot comment on it. Is our legal/justice sector partial to men? So far, there has been no female AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, one female Chief Justice, one female President of the NBA, and only a little more than a handful of female SANs? I do not think that it is the legal or justice sector that is the problem, I believe it has to do with the way the society itself was structured and still is. In the not too distant past, boys were encouraged to seek education, while girls were not so encouraged. By the time women started going to school, they were encouraged to go into teaching, secretarial studies, nursing, catering, etc., jobs, not considered masculine, and that would give them the time to take care of their homes and children. By the time women started going into the legal profession, a significant number of men had given the ladies quite a gap. For instance, Christopher Alexander Sapara Williams who was called to the English Bar in 1879, is acknowledged as the first Nigerian Lawyer to practice in Nigeria. The first Nigerian woman on record who was admitted to practice law was Stella Jane Thomas (nee Marke”) in 1935. For Senior Advocates, Chief FRA Williams was conferred in 1975 while Chief Folake Solanke, SAN, 1981. Thereafter Mrs. P. C. Ajayi- Obe, SAN in 1989, Otunba (Mrs.) C. O. Ajayi Okunuga, SAN 1995, Mrs. Abimbola Williams, SAN in 1998, Mrs. Funke Adekoya, SAN in 2001, Mrs. Offiah, SAN in 2005 and myself in 2007. As at today only about 20 women have been conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate, while about 459 men have been conferred, bringing the total to about 479. That is roughly 4.2% of the total number. The position of Attorney-General of the Federation is also different, in the sense that the position is a political appointment and while you have had several female Attorneys-General at the State level, at the Federal level being appointed Attorney-General of the Federation of Nigeria, probably requires a person who may have to be heavily involved in politics. Sadly, a lot of times women end up with positions that deal with welfare, social services or “happiness”. Regarding the justice sector, the position of the Chief Justice of Nigeria is purely based on seniority, in accordance with the traditions of the profession. As you know Hon. Mr. Justice Aloma Mukhtar, a lady of many firsts at the bench, was the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria. We have other ladies at the Supreme Court now. They include Hon. Mr. Justice Peter-Odili, Hon. Mr. Justice Ogunbiyi, Hon. Mr. Justice Kekere-Ekun and Hon. Mr. Justice Augie. I am aware that Hon. Mr. Justice Ogunbiyi is retiring on the 27th of February, 2018, after an exceptional career at the bench. At the State High Courts there appears to be a different trend. In Lagos for instance, it appears that there are more female judges than male. Indeed, the current Chief Judge of Lagos State is a lady as were her two predecessors. In Rivers State, the current Chief Judge is a lady, Justice Iyayi-Lamikanra, and the next two most senior judges are also ladies, so they may make it too. As more ladies go into law practice the narrative will definitely keep changing.

“I ALSO SUPPORT UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEM, WHICH ACCORDS MORE WITH MODERN LIFE. IT IS INCLUSIVE. THE DELEGATE SYSTEM WAS ANACHRONISTIC, AND HAD OUTLIVED ITS USEFULNESS”

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27.02.2018

INSIGHT ABUBAKAR D. SANI

xL4sure@yahoo.com

What is Wrong with the National Identiﬁcation Number Regulations?

lot, at least if the views expressed by Mr. Okhuofu Oregbemhe in the ThisdayLawyer of the penultimate week, are anything to go by. In it, he identified at least five distinct provisions of the Regulations which prescribe mandatory use of the National Identification Number (“NIN”) for filing processes in State and Federal Courts, as well as documentation for the adoption of children, probate and arbitration. He premised his opinion on the alleged inclusion of the subject-matter of those Regulations in either the Exclusive or Residual Lists of the Constitution, in respect of which only the National or State Houses of Assembly, respectively, are competent to legislate upon. Accordingly, his argument goes, even an agency like the National Identity Management Commission, the author of the allegedly ‘offensive’ Regulations - which was established by the National Assembly - is incompetent to prescribe the use of the NIN for filing processes in Federal Courts. Really. This piece challenges the validity of that notion and suggests that, curiously, the entire Regulations, and not just aspects thereof, might be invalid. But, first . . . Can the National Assembly Regulate the Identiﬁcation of Nigerians? There is no doubt, that the answer is an emphatic ‘Yes’. This is because Items 9 and 28 of the Exclusive Legislative List of the 1999 Constitution, expressly include “citizenship” and “identification” within the exclusive purview of the Assembly. By virtue of Item 68 of the same List, this power extends to anything that is “incidental or supplementary” to any other matter contained in the Exclusive List. The jurisdiction, powers, practice and procedure of courts of law, as well as offences, are regarded as incidental or supplementary to the powers conferred on the National Assembly by Items 1 – 67 of the said List: Paragraphs 2(a) & (b) of Part III of the 2nd Schedule to the Constitution. In his book Federalism in Nigeria Under the Presidential Constitution, Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN, opined that: “An incidental matter is one which is concomitant or attendant upon another, something which is an accompaniment or adjunct of another”. It is against this backdrop, that I humbly submit that any appraisal of the validity the NIN Regulations ought to be based. Can the National Assembly Delegate Regulation of Identiﬁcation? I believe that this is the real question posed, albeit indirectly, in Mr. Oregbemhe’s piece. This is because, as shown above, the power of the Assembly to regulate identification of persons is a given, and cannot reasonably be open to conjecture. The only question is whether the Assembly should exercise that power directly, and not through an agency like the National Identity Management Commission. The straight forward answer to this, is “No”. This is because in ATT-GEN OF BENDEL v ATT-GEN OF THE FED (1982) 3 NCLR pg. 1@ 132 the apex court held that delegation by the

In such situations, the ut res magis valeat quam pereat rule of statutory interpretation is applicable. It means that where the choice is between two rival constructions, that which would produce unreasonable and inconvenient results should be avoided. See BRAITHWAITE v GRASSROOT DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT (1998) 7NWLR pt. 557 pg. 307@ 327. I submit that, given the sensitive purpose of the Regulations, i.e., national security, data-gathering and planning, the choice is an obvious one.

Assembly of its essential law-making function, is precluded by the Constitution. Even though the court made the pronouncement in relation to the Assembly’s powers to pass money bills or the budget, I posit that the regulation of identification or citizenship in terms of the NIN Regulations, is not an essential law-making function of the National Assembly, and is therefore, delegable. To that extent, the Assembly acted within its constitutional remit, by empowering the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) through Section 31 of the NIMC Act to make Regulations for the effective implementation of the Act and its due operation. Accordingly, the NIMC made the NIN Regulations to prescribe mandatory use of the NIN in a wide range of circumstances, including the following: i. registration for and provision and use of hospitality services including health or medical services; ii. application for the adoption of an infant, child or person iii. purchase and registration of aircrafts, ships, boats. motor vehicles and motor cycles; iv. purchase of travel tickets or tokens for air, rail, road and water transportation; v. boarding of aircrafts, trains, commercial vehicles, ships and boats; vi.purchase of insurance policies ; vii. acquisition,sale,transferortransmissio nofshares viii. registration and licensing of cyber cafe operators; ix. recruitments for temporary and permanent employment; x. enrolment or registration for internal and external examinations with educational and examination boards; xi. enrolment into primary, secondary and tertiary schools xii. registrationandmembershipofprofessionalbodies: xiii. eligibility and documentation for provision of welfare services by government agencies and other non-governmental institutions; xiv. registration of companies, sole proprietorships, partnerships and nonprofit organisations and other post-incorporation documentation with the Corporate Affairs Commission : xv. documentationofarrestedandconvictedpersons; xvi. filing and registration of criminal and civil actions in courts or other arbitration processes: xvii. purchase and registration of telephone SIM Cards

xviii. issuance of birth certificates: xix. registration of voters : xx. tax identification; xxi. operating bank accounts; xxii.executing contract or business agreement including tenancy agreements: xxiii.obtaining and processing of probate documents; xxiv. transactions involving the acquisition, use or transfer of land or landed properties and the transfer of any interest, tangible or intangible; Even though parts of the Regulations (such as those which apply by default to State Courts) seem to fall outside the Exclusive List of the Constitution, and are, therefore, within the legislative competence of States, I submit that the subject-matter of those Regulations can reasonably be argued as being incidental or supplementary to the subject of identification and citizenship within the contemplation of Items 9, 28 and 68 of the Exclusive List of the Constitution. This argument is stronger still, in respect of those Regulations whose subject matter is within the Exclusive List. In other words, so long as the National Assembly can itself make those Regulations, there is no conceivable statutory or constitutional reason, why it cannot delegate that power to the NIMC as it has clearly done. More substantively, I believe that the absence of any discernible differentiation in the Regulations between State and Federal matters, in terms of their scope or application, simply means that, as Mr. Oregbemhe correctly pointed out, they apply equally in both directions.

“FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, A COMPREHENSIVE, ACCURATE AND UP-TODATE DATA BASE OF THE IDENTITY OF THE CITIZENS OF A COUNTRY, IS ABSOLUTELY INDISPENSABLE. THIS IS THE TREND GLOBALLY, AND NIGERIA CANNOT BE AN EXCEPTION”

So, what, if anything, is really wrong with the Regulations? Beyond any questions about the competence of either the National Assembly or the NIMC to enact the NIN Regulations, I believe that the real issue is whether the Regulations, as made, are valid. To answer this question, it is essential to review the composition of the Commission under the NIMC Act. By virtue of Section 2(1) of the Act, the Commission shall comprise a Board consisting of a Chairman, a Director-General, fifteen (15) ex-officio members and three other persons knowledgeable in information communication technology or identity management. As previously stated, the Act empowers the Commission to make Regulations. A regulation is a subsidiary instrument: Section 37(1) of the Interpretation Act. By virtue of Section 27(2) of the Interpretation Act, “where a body established by an enactment comprises three or more persons and is empowered to make subsidiary instruments, any such instrument may be executed under the hand of any two of the members thereof as may be authorised by such body generally for that purpose or specially on any particular occasion”. It is clear that this provision was observed in the breach in this instance, as the NIN Regulations were executed by only one member of its nineteenstrong Board, its Director-General, Mr. Aliyu Azeez. I submit that, this factor alone might conceivably invalidate the Regulations. Conclusion For obvious reasons, a comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date data base of the identity of the citizens of a country, is absolutely indispensable. This is the trend globally, and Nigeria cannot be an exception. Indeed, in many ways, Nigeria has come late to the party, as she lags far behind her neighbours in the sub-region in this regard. No matter, better late than never. An appropriate legal framework, is a pre-eminent sine qua non for any sustainable Scheme for identifying a nation’s citizens. Needless to say, such a Scheme should be fool-proof, if it is to cope with trans-national crimes which recognise no borders and whose perpetrators often have no or multiple identities. Ready examples in this regard include terrorism, arms smuggling and human/drug trafficking. No matter how sound the technical architecture of such Schemes might be, however, they are only as good as their legal underpinnings - or lack thereof - as otherwise, they would fail the most critical test of all, that of their legal or constitutional validity.

27.02.2018

THE LIGHTER SIDE/13

LEGAL HUMOUR Were you ever arrested? A lawyer was ﬁlling out a job application when he came to the question: "Have you ever been arrested?" He answered no to the question. The next question, intended for those who answered the preceding question with a yes, was "why?" Nevertheless, the lawyer answered it "Never got caught." ˾˾˾

We Hold Your Brief TOBI SONIYI Dear Counsel, Due to a high demand of my products, I recently moved my equipment from the East to Lagos, to expand my shoe making business. My products have started going to different places like Abuja, Kano, Jos, and as far as Cotonou, Ghana and Ivory Coast. My friend who is into ladies fashion design, advised me to properly register my business as a limited liability company. He further directed me, to someone whom he claimed registered his own company. But I discovered that the person is not a Lawyer, so I exercised some caution, though the person continued to assure me that incorporating a business is not only done by Lawyers, and that he has done it for many people. Although he showed me many certificates and documents of businesses he has incorporated, I want some clarification on this. Can a non-Lawyer incorporate a limited liability company?

J.I.E., Maryland, Lagos. Dear J.I.E., Although the Corporate Affairs Commission has liberalised its requirements for incorporating businesses in the past few years, to allow non-Lawyers initiate the process of incorporation, the law provides clearly that the services of a Lawyer cannot entirely be dispensed with, in the process. Section E of the forms, specifically provides for ‘Statutory Declaration of Compliance with the Requirements of CAMA by a Legal Practitioner’. This section provides explicitly, that only a Lawyer can attest and declare that the process has fully complied with CAMA’s statutory provisions. I would therefore, advice that you engage a Lawyer, to ensure that your incorporation fully satisfies the provisions of the law.

Trying to be impressive A young lawyer, starting up his private practice, was very anxious to impress potential clients. When he saw the first visitor to his office come through the door, he immediately picked up his phone and spoke into it," I'm sorry, but my caseload is so tremendous, that I'm not going to be able to look into your problem for at least a month. I'll have to get back to you then." He then turned to the man who had just walked in, and said, "Now, what can I do for you?" "Nothing," replied the man. "I'm here to hook up your phone." ˾˾˾ Keep that a secret After many years of hard work, Joe rewarded himself with a long, luxurious stay at an exclusive Carribean resort. While relaxing on the beach, he was surprised to see a former high school classmate who he hadn't seen since they graduated. His old friend had been something of a "burnout" in high school, and this was the last place Joe expected to see him. Joe approached the man, and seized his hand. "Pete, it's Joe. From high school. It's sure been a long time. You look great! You must really be doing okay for yourself." "I am," whispered Pete. "I am a partner with a very successful law firm. But don't tell mother. She got the idea that I was a drug dealer back when I was in high school, and she would be terribly disappointed if she figured out how I really make my money."

Former Australian Justice Kirby Appointed Co-Chair of the IBAHRI The Honourable Michael Kirby, has been appointed Co- Chair of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI). A former Justice of the High Court of Australia, international jurist and educator, he succeeds Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, a member of the United Kingdom House of Lords, in the role. Together with current Co-Chair, Ambassador (ret.) Hans Corell, former Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Mr. Kirby now leads the IBAHRI Council, the Institute's governing body. On appointment, Mr. Kirby commented: 'I am delighted to be stepping into the role of Co-Chair for the IBAHRI. I have been working with the Institute for many years, and have seen the impact of its work close up. I look forward to continuing to contribute to it and working alongside my Co-Chair, Hans Corell, who I have known since we worked together on the drafting of the 1980 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Privacy Guidelines. I know that we are both dedicated to practical outcomes and, in the year of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it will be essential for us to grapple with both old and new challenges.' Paying tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Kirby

added, 'I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Baroness Helena Kennedy for her services to the IBAHRI, and her last six years as Co-Chair of the Council’. Mr. Kirby has had a long and distinguished career as a jurist, having served as a Deputy President of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission (1975-1983); Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission (1975-1984); Judge of the Federal Court of Australia (1983-1984); President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal (1984-1996); President of the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands (1995-1996); and Justice of the High Court of Australia (19962009). In addition, Mr. Kirby has undertaken many international activities for the UN, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the OECD and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He has worked in civil society, having been elected as President of the International Commission of Jurists. Recently, he acted as Commissioner of the UN Development Programme Global Commission on HIV and the Law, Chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea, and was a member of the High-Level Panel on Access to Essential Healthcare, convened

in 2015 by the then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Mr. Kirby is also heavily engaged in international arbitrations, domestic mediations and teaching law. He currently holds Honorary Professorships at 12 Australian and International Universities, and has received numerous prestigious human rights awards, including the Australian Human Rights Medal. In 1998, he was named Laureate of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Prize for Human Rights Education. Ambassador (ret.) Corell welcomed Mr. Kirby to the post, stating: 'On behalf of the entire IBAHRI Council, I would like to congratulate Michael on his appointment as Co- Chair. We are fortunate to have someone with such vast experience in the field of human rights law, as part of our Council. As we continue to work with the global legal community to promote and protect human rights around the world, the IBAHRI will benefit greatly from his knowledge and expertise. I know this, since I have followed Michael's career with great interest since we first met around 40 years ago, when he chaired an OECD working group on privacy with immense success. I would also like to thank Helena

The Hon. Michael Kirby

Kennedy warmly for her important contributions to the work of the IBAHRI. I have had the privilege of serving as Co-Chair with her during the past three years.'

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27.02.2018

Encomiums As Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Olujinmi, SAN Clocks 70 The Chambers of Olujinmi and Akeredolu, Legal Practitioners and Notary Public, connived with children of the Septuagenarian, to host a surprise birthday dinner in honour of the former Minister. THISDAY Lawyer captured the mode of the event.

lthough at a very short notice, senior members of the outer and the inner bar graced the occasion with their presence, to celebrate a man often described as 'a study in honour and humility'. Chief Olujinmi's friends, colleagues, as well as juniors at the Bar, took turns to shower encomiums on the legal icon, after a 40-page citation presented by the Legal Adviser in the Ministry of Interior, Bola Olugbesan. Although, many of the guests expressed their desire to reel out their experiences with the Chief Olujinmi, only a few people had the rare opportunity, and as such, the opportunity was judiciously explored by the individual speakers. Professor Akinseye-George Professor Yemi Akinseye-George, SAN, who worked with Chief Olujinmi as Special Assistant in the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice between 2003 and 2005, was the first to share his thoughts about his boss. Prof. Akinseye-George, recalled a lot of laudable reforms which were initiated during Olujinmi's tenure as Attorney-General of the Federation, including the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, reform of Law of Arbitration, reform of the Law of Evidence, the National Human Rights Commission, etc. According to the Law Professor, Olujinmi's service, was defined by one major principle, and the principle was ‘what is good for the people of Nigeria’. He described his tenure as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation, as one which demonstrated absolute selflessness, as he said his principal was not interested in personal benefit, but what benefits Nigeria and Nigerians. He however, suggested that Olujinmi's legacy and ideals, should be documented and subsequent celebrations of his birthday, should include academic discourse. "This is just the beginning of the celebration, we are going to have much bigger celebration, because Chief Olujinmi is an intellectual. A dinner will not be sufficient to celebrate him. We need to have a colloquium and other things that will preserve his legacy, because I know he is a man who is very conscious of his position in history and very conscious of his legacy”, he stated. Akinseye-George maintained that Chief Olujinmi achieved certain standards as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, which subsequent Attorneys-General, would struggle to meet. "He leads without controlling, he served humanity through humility, and we also learnt from him his neatness. Chief taught us many virtues, including humility, and

L-R: Professor Deji Adekunle, SAN, Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Professor Akinseye-George, SAN, Mrs. Funmilayo Awomolo, SAN, the celebrant, former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of the Federation, Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, his wife, Mrs. Florence Olujinmi and Asiwaju Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, during the 70th birthday celebration of Chief Akin Olujinmi, last Wednesday in Abuja

the virtues were taught without saying a word. He was a leader by example par excellence, he taught us hard work, he was always the last person in the office, he served Nigeria much more than he served himself. And finally, I want to say this, his time in the Ministry of Justice, was the time many lawyers and civil servants were happy, which confirms that when the righteous are in power, the people rejoice”. Prince Lateef Fagbemi Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who joined Chief Olujinmi as a junior counsel in the chambers of Are Afe Babalola, in 1984, described his mentor as a man of intellect and great courage. Although, Fagbemi got his silk before his senior, Chief Olujinmi, memories of how he was encouraged by the septuagenarian would not leave him. "Those days, not like now when it has been abused, it was very difficult s see a lawyer wear stripped trousers except for senior lawyers. Look at his height, it was his own that I took, and I adjusted it. The other time we had an event in Ibadan, I brought it, because I have still kept the trousers”, Fagbemi said. Prince Fagbemi described his senior, as a core professional who will not comprise

“PROF. AKINSEYE-GEORGE, RECALLED A LOT OF LAUDABLE REFORMS WHICH WERE INITIATED DURING OLUJINMI'S TENURE AS ATTORNEYGENERAL OF THE FEDERATION, INCLUDING THE ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT, REFORM OF LAW OF ARBITRATION, REFORM OF THE LAW OF EVIDENCE, THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, ETC”

the position of the law for any reason whatsoever. "If there is any gentleman whose position you will know on any issue, it is this gentleman, he will not deceive you, either for good or for bad. Whenever in happiness or in anger, his voice is always the same." He cited two examples to buttress his fair assessment of Chief Olujinmi. "He is not a politician, so that was why, when some people were expecting him to say yes, when the advice would be a no, they were disappointed. Forgive me, I hope this is not a classified matter anymore, there was a time the Lagos State Government got a judgement against the Federal Government, for the release of some funds for Lagos State, I know that he made a recommendation for the release of the money, and his argument was anchored on the fact that, when you get to the Supreme Court, that is the end of the matter, and to show leadership, you need to order the release of this money, so the release was made on paper, but don't let me go beyond that. But if you had challenged the authorities that were in existence then, they would tell you that they have ordered the release. The point I want to make here, is that no matter the situation, Chief Olujinmi will tell you what you need, not what you want to hear." "Another one was when the then Governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige, was stripped of his security details, Chief Olujinmi was asked to see one or two people, with a view to advice that it was in order, and Chief has one language which has always been with him, if he is not going to do something, he will say 'lai lai', that means it can never happen. A lot of us, his juniors learnt from him”, Fagbemi stated. Chief Adegboyega Awomolo Chief Olujinmi 's friend of over 40 years, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, also

took some time to relate their family ties to the audience. Awomolo, in his court voice adopted the testimonies of Prof Akinseye-George and the words of Prince Lateef Fagbemi. He recounted their days at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, as well as their very cordial relationship beyond the campus life: “Akin and I started our journey long ago. I just thank God that 'Ogun omode ti sere fun ogun odun,' that means that 20 children have come together for 20 years, and we have gone beyond 20 years, we have gone over 40 years”. "We met in 1975, we lived together, we related as friends, I was a year his senior, I was the President of Law Students Society, and I handed over the baton to him. On our graduation, he gave me a gift and when he graduated I also gave him a gift. I was posted to Kwara State as a Youth Corper, when I finished. He also came to Kwara State to do his NYSC, we didn't arrange it. When Akin and I were living together, we read all the law reports we could lay our hands on, and took notes. When I finished a volume, I would pass it on to him, and he did same. Our seniors would come and ask us for opinions, for cases, so we have come a long way. Thank you my friend, for accommodating me, because I am not as patient as you are. Akin I am happy you're 70, I was 70 last September, and you were also there at my celebration." Awomolo however, urged Olujinmi, to consider the calls for a public lecture and symposium, in his subsequent birthday celebrations. Other senior lawyer who attended the occasion include, Director- General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Prof. Adedeji Adekunle, SAN, Alex Iziyon, SAN, Solomon Ekomaro, SAN, Gordy Uche, SAN, and Wale Fapohunda, former Attorney-General of Ekiti State, while the esteemed presence of Honourable Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, confirmed that Chief Akin Olujinmi is a well respected personality.

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Digitalisation of the Supreme Court: Way Forward for the Nigerian Legal Professional In this article, Richmond Idaeho reviews the digitalisation of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, vis a vis its prospects and the way forward, concluding that, it is a welcome development in legal practice in Nigeria

A Introduction

ctivities all over the globe have become electronically driven, such that the use of digital technology in systems and operations across various sectors of the economy, has become indispensable. The legal profession can neither remain aloof nor be left out. The use of technology and its inevitability in the legal profession, both as an asset and a competitive advantage in our contemporary times, cannot be far-fetched. Hence, my adoption of the word, “technolawgy” to describe this phenomenon. The Supreme Court of Nigeria goes Digital Recently, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, has adopted and keyed into this technolawgical transformation and consequently, issued a mandate aimed at phasing out the manual means of filing and serving court papers by July 2018. In this regard, filing of court processes at the Supreme Court will be done electronically, and service of the said processes on parties, will be effected electronically. By this development, communications between judges, court staff and lawyers on the one hand, and between lawyers themselves on the other hand, will only be through electronic means. To ensure the success of this scheme, the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council, Honourable Justice Walter Onnoghen (CJN), had said that a legal email platform had been set up to replace the hitherto deficient analogue system. The new system, described as the “retrofitted court and legal email system”, will require all lawyers to acquire the “legal email” (which is different from the regular freely available web-based emails), in order to prosecute cases at the Supreme Court, commencing from 16th July 2018. This legal email, is strictly for members of the bar and the bench. At the moment, the digital system has commenced alongside the manual system, as lawyers who had already acquired the legal email could use the legal email for communicating with the court and between themselves. The transitioning will however, continue until the

deadline of 16th July, 2018, when the manual system will be completely phased out. To this extent, by the end of the deadline, it will become mandatory for all lawyers to acquire the legal email, as this will become the only means of communication between lawyers and the court, and the filing and service of court processes at the Supreme Court on all matters, will only be by electronic means. Accordingly, all court processes required to be filed at the Supreme Court from the date of the deadline, must bear the Counsel’s legal email address. Further, the Nigerian Case Management System, had been developed and deployed for this purpose of automating the Nigerian judiciary. Hence, the CJN implored all judges and lawyers, to join in the quest for excellence in the judiciary in ensuring the success of the new digital system of the court, by “subscribing to, and acquiring the legal email, as manual forms of communication with the Nigerian courts will soon be phased out”. It will be of interest to state that, the Supreme Court has been on this quest since 2012 when the Judicial Information Technology Policy Committee (headed by Justice Kashim Zannah, the Chief Judge of Borno State), was inaugurated by the late Justice Dahiru Musdapher (CJN, as he then was). The introduction of the new legal email, is a major component of this policy. Prospects of Digital Technology in the Nigerian Judicial System The policy, through which the instant legal email is being championed, was set up to enhance justice delivery in the Nigerian courts. By this token, the legal email is expected to ensure “seamless exchange of information electronically within the judicial

ecosystem”. The success of the system, is expected to be replicated in all other courts in the near future, as “the Nigerian judiciary is committed to employing cutting- edge technology to enhance justice administration and providing citizens with the justice system they deserve; one that is transparent, fast and accessible.” This policy will also enable proper management of documents within the Nigerian courts, and ensure speedy and efficient administration of justice in the Nigeria judicial system. Furthermore, when this policy is successfully implemented, and with patronage from all judges and lawyers, filing and service of court processes, will no longer be as cumbersome as it used to be. In this wise, enormous resources, particularly with respect to the cost of paper and other stationeries, will be saved. The difficulty and costs associated with service of the processes, will also be dispensed with, as by just one click, processes can be served on the relevant parties. The system will also ensure a reduction (if not elimination) of costs associated with “processing” of court processes at the Registry, delays and other logistics such as travel costs amongst others. Thus, court processes could be filed at the Supreme Court without the need to travel to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, for that purpose. Also, the number of billable man-hours spent in initialling, assessing and filing court processes at the Registry, and the associated costs of such billable man-hours, would be significantly curtailed. To this extent, the time saved from all of these activities, can be put into other meaningful ventures. Thus, the new digital system, has the advantage of dispensing with the physical

“THUS, THE NEW DIGITAL SYSTEM, HAS THE ADVANTAGE OF DISPENSING WITH THE PHYSICAL PRESENCE OF COUNSEL IN FILING OF PROCESSES. THIS MEANS THAT, A LAWYER IN SAY, SOKOTO IN THE NORTH, IBADAN IN THE WEST, ENUGU IN THE EAST, OR PORT HARCOURT IN THE SOUTH, COULD FILE THEIR COURT PROCESSES AT THE SUPREME COURT, WITHOUT BEING PHYSICALLY PRESENT AT THE COURT”

presence of counsel in filing of processes. This means that, a lawyer in say, Sokoto in the North, Ibadan in the West, Enugu in the East, or Port Harcourt in the South, could file their court processes at the Supreme Court, without being physically present at the Court. Lastly, the policy would achieve greatly, the eradication of quacks in the legal profession, as it will ensure that only persons duly registered in the Roll of Legal Practitioners are provided with the unique legal email. This will complement the use of lawyers’ seal, presently being issued by the Nigerian Bar Association. Recommendation In view of this development, it is my humble recommendation, that the registration for and acquisition of the legal email, should be made as seamless as possible. The process should be fast and efficient, such that lawyers are able to conclude the exercise of acquiring the legal email before the deadline. Also, the email server should be up-to-date with optimal capacity, and must not be prone to intrusion and breakdown. There should be proper data management and protection, such that information supplied are not unlawfully intercepted, hacked or lost, as the case may be. As a follow up to the above, the email server must be available at all times for use, and free from congestion. This will speed up the filing process, and associated service of the court processes. Additionally, there should be a proper and updated data base of all lawyers, so as to ease the use of the system. In this regard, a synchronisation of the data with that already available to the Nigerian Bar Association through the registration of legal practitioners for the lawyers’ seal, could be considered, so as to avoid unnecessary duplicity of information or data. On the whole, the current digital revolution or transformation in legal practice, is a welcome development. It is hoped that the new legal email and the attendant digital policy, will effectively enhance the nation’s justice delivery, and will address the current challenges bedevilling information management and communication, within the Nigerian court system. Richmond Ekhosuehi Idaeho, ACIArb, Legal Practitioner, Jackson, Etti and Edu, Lagos

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27.02.2018

BLAST FROM THE PAST

THE IRONY

T H I S D AY Ë¾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT NIQS Honours TY Danjuma, Canvass Industry Grown Solution to Construction Problems The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) has asked professional bodies in the construction industry to seek industry-led solutions to the challenges confronting the industry. Bennett Oghifo reports

he President of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, QS O b a f e m i Onashile has advised professionals in the nation’s construction industry to find solution to the challenges in the industry rather than seek government-led solutions. Onashile gave the advice at the 1st Construction Industry Institutional Business Dinner organised by the Institute in Lagos, recently. The Institute used the occasion to bestow on the Chairman of TY Danjuma Holdings, Lt. Gen Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma Honorary Fellow Award of NIQS. The NIQS President called for “an industry-wide commonly agreed solutions to the problems

faced by stakeholders in the construction industry.” The construction industry in Nigeria, he said “faces challenges ranging from building collapse, injuries and death on construction sites, non-payment of contractors and consultants’ fees, environment degradation, housing deficit, high cost of construction and shortage of artisans, among others, resulting in stunted growth of the industry.” He said, “The construction industry is currently very fragmented and operating at cross purposes, a situation that has adversely affected the productivity of the industry, costs and the quality of the projects.” According to him, “The impressive turn out at the Institutional Business Dinner signaled a constructive attitude

President, Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), QS Obafemi Onashile in a warm handshake with the Chairman of TY Danjuma Holdings, Lt. Gen Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma after the latter received Honorary Fellow Award of NIQS, during the First Construction Industry Business Dinner organised by the Institute in Lagos… recently

and approach to addressing the problems of the Construction Industry. “The time has come for

stakeholders of the industry to come together as a matter of urgency to pursue Industrywide Reforms that will enhance

the operations of the Industry and improve the Economy of our nation.” The Chairman of the occa-

sion, Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (Rtd) noted that Nigeria had one of the highest costs of construction in the world and called on professionals in the Construction Industry to find a way of cutting the costs of construction in the country. A major component of the gathering was the conferment of Honorary Fellow of NIQS on Gen. Danjuma in recognition of his promotion of Quantity Surveying and various developmental programmes of expanding local capacities for the Construction Industry. Present at the dinner were, Senator (Mrs.) Daisy Danjuma, former Minister of State for Power, Mallam Murtala Aliyu, Presidents of Registration Boards of the professions in the Construction Industry, Presidents of the Professional Bodies and their Deputies.

LG Electronics Unveils Latest Multi V 5 Commercial Air Conditioner in Nigeria Market LG Electronics, a global leader in Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning, has unveiled its newest Multi V 5 Commercial Air conditioner into the Nigeria market. The event aimed at ensuring penetration of this commercial air conditioner into the market to meet the growing need for air conditioners that can perform on a higher level took place at the prestigious Eko Hotel & Suites Lagos. This move is coming at a time LG is looking at the direction of laying more emphasis on its business to business in Nigeria, where the demand for energy-saving technology is increasing on a daily basis. The unveiling of the Multi V 5 which is LG’s newest Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) solution is evident of the electronic giant’s drive to always be ahead of competition and lead in innovation by ensuring consumers’ satisfaction and comfort is a key concern when manufacturing products. Expectedly, this cutting edge technology would gain significant market share in Nigeria and indeed Sub-Sahara Africa Interestingly, the Multi V 5 solution is designed to offer exceptional performance even in extreme climate conditions with its streamlined functionality optimizing energy efficiency and maximizing user comfort at all time. It is equipped with an innovative Dual Sensing Control that monitors temperature and humidity level to efficiently manage cooling and heating. The Multi V 5 is no doubt a powerful climate control solution that can excel in tough climates. The Multi V 5 has an impressive 4 sided heat exchanger with a coating

composed of an enhanced epoxy resin to protect vital components robust protection from various corrosive external elements such as air airborne salt and pollution. LG’s corrosion resistances technologies allowed the Multi V to pass the ISO accelerated corrosion test conducted by an independent test organization. Moreover, the LG MULTI V 5’s new Ultimate Inverter Compressor offers unrivalled efficiency, reliability and durability. Improving on the 15 to 150 Hz operational range of its predecessor, it operates from 10 Hz to 165 Hz. This widened range increases part load efficiency and enhances the MULTI V 5’s ability to quickly reach the desired temperature. The MULTI V 5 features an enhanced bearing system layered with PEEK (Polyetheretherketone) – an advanced material normally used in airplane engines - this efficient infrastructure allows the MULTI V 5 to operate for sustained periods without any oil. In addition, the MULTI V 5’s Smart Oil Management uses sensors to check the compressor’s oil balance in real time, minimizing unnecessary oil recovery operation. General Manager, Air conditioning and Energy Solution division LG Electronics West Africa operations, Mr. Cholyong Park said: “As a company with a great focus on producing energy saving and efficient products, we are happy to introduce the Multi V 5 into the Nigerian market, with this product in the market, we are in a better position to work with our dealers and business partners to make LG the No. 1 provider of smart and efficient HVAC solutions.”

L-R: Sales Manager, PERI Scaffolding & Formwork Nigeria, Niyi Adeyemo; Managing Director, PERI Scaffolding & Formwork Nigeria, Stefan Euchenhofer; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Construction Kaiser Limited, Igbuan E. Okaisabor; Regional Director, South-West Construction Kaiser Limited, Opeyemi Oni, at the signing of agreement between the companies, in Lagos… recently

Construction Kaiser, PERI Sign Technical Partnership

Oba Akiolu Enjoins Market Women, PSP to embrace CLI

Fadekemi Ajakaiye

Construction Kaiser Limited has officially align her operations with PERI through a technical partnership agreement. “This affiliation is indeed of great importance because of the ingenuity of the technical innovations that CKL will leverage on in her operations,” said officials of the companies, at the agreement signing ceremony in Lagos, recently. PERI, founded in 1969, is the world’s largest manufacturer of formwork and scaffolding. They presently have more than 70 subsidiaries and over 120 logistics centers currently operational. The company employs over 8,100 employees worldwide and definitely has blazed the trail for formwork and scaffolding innovation in Nigeria. Over 50% of fatalities on construction sites are as a result of weak scaffolding,

wrong formwork placement and poor training in the use of formwork. The partnership between CKL and PERI seeks to bridge that gap by deploying cutting edge technology and skill in the use of PERI’s world renowned Formwork and continuous training. This also seeks to drastically reduce occurrences of building collapse during formwork failure in projects ensuring that quality standards are maintained. This partnership will enable CKL deploy PERI products optimally. Starting as a small 5-man organisation carrying out minor renovation works, the company has grown to become a national force in the Nigerian construction industry. The Lagos regional office was established in 2003 and the Abuja regional office in 2008, having successfully executed various projects in the South-South and South-Eastern parts of the country prior to the expansion.

Oba Rilwan Akiolu, the Oba of Lagos, has cautioned the Private Sector Participants (PSP) operators in waste management to desist from allowing themselves to be used to sabotage the new environmental policy of the Lagos State Government encapsulated in the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI). Oba Akiolu stated these at a Town Hall meeting held recently at the City Hall, Lagos Island. The essence of the Town Hall meeting was to sensitise market women and others on the Cleaner Lagos Initiative project and the need to ensure a cleaner environment. Oba Akiolu warned residents of the state against dumping refuse in public places. Lagosians should ensure that the state was not littered with refuse, warning that he would not beg for anybody who is arrested by the state govern-

ment for dumping refuse in unauthorised places. He stated that Cleaner Lagos Initiative is for the benefit of all and called for support for Visionscape in a bid to rid Lagos state of refuse. Oba Akiolu stated that he learnt that 13 people had been arrested for dumping refuse in unauthorised places, adding that Lagosians should desist from such act. He encouraged them to bag their waste and put them in appropriate places where Visionscape would cart them away. The State government had put in place mechanism to deal with waste in Lagos and that this kind of sensitization programme would also be carried out in other parts of the state, the Oba said. He further urged Lagosians to desist from patronising cart pushers as some of them hide arms in their carts to wreak havoc, as well as dump such refuse in inappropriate places.

T H I S D AY Ë¾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ FEBRUARY 27, 2018

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

NEXIM Bank Reiterates Commitment to Reviving Ailing Industries The Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigerian ExportImport Bank (NEXIM), Mr. Abba Bello has said that deliberate steps were being taken to revive ailing industries to enhance their contributions to non-oil exports in the country. Speaking during a recent tour of some projects in Sharada, Challawa and Bompai Industrial Layouts in Kano State for an on-site assessment of their operations, he said the bank was collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to implement two intervention schemes aimed at supporting the non-oil export sector, in line with the federal governmentâ€™s diversification strategy as detailed in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). Bello said for too long, the Nigerian economy had relied

almost entirely on a single commodity- crude oil, for its fiscal revenues and foreign exchange supply, which explained the countryâ€™s descent into recession following the collapse of crude oil prices in 2015. Nevertheless, he said the intervention schemes were predicated on the broad philosophy of â€œProduce, Add Value and Exportâ€? (PAVE) policy, which aims to encourage exporters to advance from the export of raw materials to value added exports. According to him, the funding schemes include the N500 billion Export Stimulation Facility (ESF), which was initially launched in June, 2016, but was repackaged and relaunched in December, 2017 and the N50 billion Export Development Fund, which was newly approved in December, 2017.

The ESF is specifically designed to provide long term concessionary funds to support existing or new export oriented projects, through the provision of term loans at a single digit interest rate, for tenors up to eight years, with moratorium up to two years, or as working capital/ stocking facility, while the EDF had been conceptualised as a regional/state intervention scheme targeted mainly at the Small & Medium Enterprises to accelerate industrialisation, economic diversification and exports. The MD added that under the EDF scheme, a minimum of N1 billion will be earmarked for each state towards developing one or two identified export products where the state has the highest competitive advantage.

ACCA Inducts 350 New Members Peter Uzoho The Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA), has inducted 350 new members who qualified by its standard as members of the professional organisation. The new members who had passed their professional examinations last year, were formally welcomed into the association at the new membersâ€™ recognition ceremony held in Lagos recently. Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer, ACCA, Helen Brand, said the body has been evolving over time in terms of its qualification programmes, pointing out that,that led to the introduction of the computerbased examination and change from two to four sittings. Brand, who explained that

the changes were in response to markets demands, noted that programmes being introduced this year were addressing, future qualifications and skills need of the employment market. â€œSo weâ€™re now a strategic professional. We have a new case study paper called Strategic Business Leader, and we believe that goes a long way in strategic business reporting, and then we have other papers in the professional level,â€? brand added. â€œWe really equip members to hit the ground running when they are in the workplace to add value to their employers,â€? she noted. She said the association provides lots of opportunities for its members in both public and private sector to fulfil their

potential. â€œIn whatever business they are into, the ACCA qualification provides the foundation for that. The changes are giving priority to things like emotional intelligence, creativity, digital competence, and all that is embed in the qualification.â€? Brand listed the professional bodyâ€™s core values as opportunity, diversity, innovation, accountability and integrity, stressing that as an organisation, those values apply to all members. She said the association has several mechanisms to ensure strict adherence to the values by all members. â€œVery importantly, we have a code of conduct which all students have to sign on to. So, once you welcome to ACCA, you are committed to abide by that code of conduct.

Fidelity Bank Supports Ondo through CSR Initiative In keeping with its promise to of Environment, the bank, in the United Nations Childrenâ€™s continually enhance the health and overall wellbeing of communities where it operates, Fidelity Bank Plc recentlydonated three fully equipped sanitary facilities to the Ondo State Government. The facilities constructed by Fidelity Bank Plc at Aquinas College, Democracy Park and Arakale Motor Park, all in the Akure metropolis, will enable the host communities maintain better sanitary conditions, improve their standard of living which will ultimately lead to better productivity and economic development. Working in conjunction with the Ondo State Ministry

addition drilled boreholes and provided generating sets to power the facilities thus, ensuring that the project have a lasting impact on the communities. Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, was quoted in a statement to have commended the bank for maintaining strong and healthy community relations, adding that through the project, Fidelity Bank had addressed one of the most pressing challenges in Akure, the Ondo State capital. He pointed out that Ondo State was ranked poorly by international organisations like

Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the area of open defecation. â€œIt is a malaise that we are facing in Akure. Access to toilet is a major indicator of economic development in any country. Open defecation and lack of sanitation and hygiene are important factors that cause various diseases. This is why we have every reason to thank Fidelity Bank for these facilitiesâ€?, he explained. The governor, however pledged that his administration will work closely with the Bank in the attainment of its developmental objectives.

Sterling Bank Rewards Customers in Promo More winners have emerged in the second draw of Sterling Bank Plcâ€™s â€˜1damemtâ€™promo introduced to reward new and existing customers of the bank. The Chief Marketing Officer of the bank, Mr. Henry Bassey disclosed this in a statement, remarking that another 136 individuals and three nonindividual customers won in the draw. The draw was held at the corporate headquarters of the bank recently. Bassey said the winning customers were selected via an electronic raffle draw system and

winners emerged from various parts of the country. He added that the event was witnessed by officials of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Lagos State Lotteries Board (LSLB), National Lottery Regulatory Commission and Akintola Williams Deloitte as well as senior officials of the bank. He said a breakdown of the winners showed that under the One Woman winning category, three women emerged winners of one million naira each, five customers won an all-expense paid holiday destination trip

while 128 individuals and three nonindividual customers won under the cash prize winning category. To qualify for the draw, a customer of the bank is expected to maintain a minimum average balance of N10,000, N50,000 and N100,000 for 30 days. The grand prize of the promo is a Home in Lekki, Lagos. To qualify for this, new customers are required to open an account with a minimum of N500,000 (five hundred thousand Naira) and maintain same in their account for 90 days.

Broad Street

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 Ă™Ă–Ă“Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ÍŻÍąĎą

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT FRIDAY FEBRUAR 23, 2018

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $64.16 a barrel on Friday, compared with $63.08 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela) SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ Ͱ͵˜ ͰͮͯͶ

MARKET NEWS

United Capital Records N5.5bn Proﬁt, to Pay N2.1bn Dividend Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie United Capital Plc, one of Africa’s leading investment banking groups, yesterday announced a dividend of N2.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2017. The dividend, which translates to 35 kobo per share will be paid out of N5.5 billion recorded for the year. According to the audited results of the company, gross earnings

stood at N8.9 billion, compared with N9 billion in 2016, showing a marginal decline of one per cent. Operating income improved by five per cent from N6.7 billion in 2016 to N7.0 billion in 2017. However, profit declined by 13 per cent from N6.4 billion to N5.5 billion owing to non-recurrent foreign exchange revaluation gains of N1.3 billion realised in 2016. In 2016, the group recognised one-off foreign exchange gains

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

of N1.3 billion following the devaluation of the naira. However, shareholders’ funds improved by 18 per cent from N14.2 billion to N16.8 billion despite a drop in total asset by 15 per cent attributable to significant payouts to bondholders by the Trustee business. Based on the performance the directors proposed that a dividend of 35kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo each, to be paid to shareholders upon

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

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approval at the annual general meeting(AGM) to shareholders whose names appear on the Register of members at the close of business on March 8, 2018. Commenting, Group Chief Executive Officer of United Capital Plc, Oluwatoyin Sanni said: “United Capital continues to pursue a clear and consistent strategy, which will always deliver a strong performance for shareholders, and we remain positive about our future op-

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

portunities within the Nigerian and African market.” According to her, the company remains committed to achieving its goal of building Africa’s leading investment banking group and to delivering service excellence across all of its business units in pursuit of its strategic objectives in 2018. She highlighted some of the 2017 successes in key business areas to include:the launch of two new mutual funds – Wealth

O F

for Women Fund and Nigerian Eurobond Fund; financial advisory services to the UBA $500 million Eurobond; Issuing House and Joint Trustee Mandate to the Lagos State Government N100 billion bond issue; received an ‘A-’ Credit Rating from Agusto & Co, an upgrade from the firm’s ‘BBB+’ rating the previous year (2015) and awarded ‘Most Outstanding Company of the year 2017 by the Pearl Awards Board.

2 3 / 0 2 / 2 0 1 8 DEALS

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˾ TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018

Nigeria Daily Stock Market Report: dŚŝƐ ĂǇ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞǆ 'ĂŝŶƐ ϵďƉƐ

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

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Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

Ticker

Current Price

ƋƵŝƟĞƐ DĂƌŬĞƚ ŽŵŵĞŶĐĞƐ ƚŚĞ tĞĞŬ &ůĂƫƐŚ͙ E^ ^/ ƵƉ ϮďƉƐ dŚĞ E^ ^/ ĐŽŵŵĞŶĐĞĚ ƚŚĞ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ǁĞĞŬ ŇĂƫƐŚ͕ ĂĚǀĂŶĐŝŶŐ Ϯ ďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ ϰϮ͕ϱϳϵ͘ϰϴ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ƚŚĞ ĚĂǇ ŇĂƚ Ăƚ ϭϭ͘ϯй͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚ ŽŶ ƚŚŝƐ͕ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐΖ ǁĞĂůƚŚ ƌŽƐĞ Eϯ͘ϭďŶ ĂƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝǌĂƟŽŶ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ ƚŽ Eϭϱ͘ϯƚŶ͘ dŽĚĂǇ͛Ɛ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůǇ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďǇ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ /Ed Z t ;нϱ͘ϬйͿ͕ 'h Z Edz ;нϭ͘ϱйͿ ĂŶĚ E/d, ;нϬ͘ϴйͿ ǁŚŝĐŚ ŽīƐĞƚ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ E' D ;ͲϬ͘ϰйͿ͕ h ;Ͳϯ͘ϱйͿ ĂŶĚ ^ W> d ;ͲϮ͘ϬйͿ͘ ĐƟǀŝƚǇ ůĞǀĞů ǁĂƐ ŚŽǁĞǀĞƌ ŵŝǆĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƚĞĚ Ϯϰ͘ϴй ƚŽ ϯϴϰ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƚƌĂĚĞƐ ŝŶ EE ;ϭϯϰ͘ϴŵͿ͕ dZ E^ KZW ;ϯϯ͘ϵŵͿ ĂŶĚ &/ >/dz ;ϭϲ͘ϯŵͿ͘ tŚĞƌĞĂƐ͕ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϭϰ͘ϱй ƚŽ Eϱ͘ϱďŶ ǁŝƚŚ EE ;EϮ͘ϯďŶͿ͕ E' D ;EϬ͘ϱϱďŶͿ ĂŶĚ E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ ;EϬ͘ϯϱďŶͿ ůĞĂĚŝŶŐ ĂƐ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďǇ ǀĂůƵĞ͘ DŝǆĞĚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ŵŝǆĞĚ ĂƐ ϯ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ Ϯ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ dŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞǆ ůĞĚ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ͕ ƵƉ Ϭ͘ϴй ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ Ă ƌĂůůǇ ŝŶ /Ed Z t ;нϱ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ W ;нϱ͘ϬйͿ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ƐĂŵĞ ǀĞŝŶ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƚĞĚ Ϭ͘ϱй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϯй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůǇ ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƚŽŽŬ ƉŽƐŝƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ t W/ ;нϮ͘ϵйͿ͕ // K ;нϮ͘ϳйͿ͕ 'h Z Edz ;нϭ͘ϱͿ ĂŶĚ E/d, ;нϬ͘ϴйͿ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŇŝƉƐŝĚĞ͕ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚĞǆ ƐŚĞĚ Ϯ͘ϱй ƉƌŝŵĂƌŝůǇ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ ^ W> d ;ͲϮ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ dKd > ;Ͳϰ͘ϴйͿ͘ >ŝŬĞǁŝƐĞ͕ ƐĞůů ŽīƐ ŝŶ E' D ;ͲϬ͘ϰйͿ ƉƵůůĞĚ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞǆ Ϭ͘Ϯй ůŽǁĞƌ͘ DĂƌŬĞƚ ƌĞĂĚƚŚ /ŵƉƌŽǀĞƐ DĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ǁŚŝĐŚ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ďƵƚ ƐƚĂǇĞĚ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ Ăƚ Ϭ͘ϴǆ ĂƐ Ϯϭ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ Ϯϲ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ƚŚĂƚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ dŚŝƐ ƐŚŽǁƐ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ŝƐ ŝŵƉƌŽǀŝŶŐ ĂůƚŚŽƵŐŚ ƐƟůů ǁĞĂŬ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ ƚŽĚĂǇ ǁĞƌĞ : W h> K/> ;нϵ͘ϱͿ͕ hE/dz ;нϵ͘ϰйͿ ĂŶĚ E ^ KE ;нϱ͘ϭйͿ ǁŚĞƌĞĂƐ KhZds/>> ;Ͳϲ͘ϯйͿ͕ s ZdKE ;Ͳϱ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ DK /> ;Ͳϱ͘ϬйͿ ůĞĚ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ŶĞĂƌ ƚĞƌŵ͕ ǁĞ ĞǆƉĞĐƚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ƚŽ ďĞ ůĂƌŐĞůǇ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďǇ &z͗ϮϬϭϳ ƌĞƐƵůƚ ĞǆƉĞĐƚĂƟŽŶ͘ ŽŵƉĂŶǇ ŝŶ &ŽĐƵƐ͗ ,ŽŶĞǇǁĞůů &ůŽƵƌ DŝůůƐ WůĐ ;͞,ŽŶĞǇǁĞůů͟Ϳ ,ŽŶĞǇǁĞůů &ůŽƵƌ DŝůůƐ WůĐ ;͞,ŽŶĞǇǁĞůů͟Ϳ ŝƐ Ă ŇŽƵƌ ŵŝůůŝŶŐ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ ŝŶ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ ĂŶĚ ǁĂƐ ŝŶŝƟĂůůǇ ƌĞŐŝƐƚĞƌĞĚ ĂƐ 'ĂƚĞǁĂǇ ,ŽŶĞǇǁĞůů &ůŽƵƌ DŝůůƐ >ŝŵŝƚĞĚ ŝŶ ϭϵϴϱ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ŝŶ :ƵŶĞ ϭϵϵϱ͕ Ă ĐŚĂŶŐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ͛Ɛ ŽǁŶĞƌƐŚŝƉ ƐƚƌƵĐƚƵƌĞ ůĞĚ ƚŽ Ă ĐŚĂŶŐĞ ŽĨ ŶĂŵĞ ƚŽ ,ŽŶĞǇǁĞůů &ůŽƵƌ DŝůůƐ >ŝŵŝƚĞĚ ;,&D>Ϳ͘ KǀĞƌ ƚŚĞ ǇĞĂƌƐ͕ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ ŚĂƐ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ ƚŽ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶ ŝƚƐ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌǇ ŝŶŇƵĞŶĐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŵŝůůŝŶŐ͕ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐŝŶŐ Θ ƉĂĐŬĂŐŝŶŐ ŽĨ ŇŽƵƌ ĂŶĚ ŽƚŚĞƌ ǁŚĞĂƚͲďĂƐĞĚ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚƐ͘ ŌĞƌ ŝƚƐ /ŶŝƟĂů WƵďůŝĐ KīĞƌŝŶŐ ;/WKͿ ŝŶ ϮϬϬϴ͕ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ ďĞĐĂŵĞ Ă ƉƵďůŝĐ ůŝĂďŝůŝƚǇ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ ĂŶĚ ǁĂƐ ůŝƐƚĞĚ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ ^ƚŽĐŬ ǆĐŚĂŶŐĞ ;E^ Ϳ ŝŶ ϮϬϬϵ͘ ,ŽŶĞǇǁĞůů &ůŽƵƌ DŝůůƐ WůĐ ŝƐ ƉĂƌƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ,ŽŶĞǇǁĞůů 'ƌŽƵƉ͕ Ă ĨŽƌĞŵŽƐƚ ŝŶĚŝŐĞŶŽƵƐ EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ ĐŽŶŐůŽŵĞƌĂƚĞ ĞŶŐĂŐĞĚ ŝŶ ƐĞůĞĐƚ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ ŬĞǇ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ ĞĐŽŶŽŵǇ͕ ŶĂŵĞůǇ &ŽŽĚƐ Θ ŐƌŽͲ ůůŝĞĚ͕ ŶĞƌŐǇ͕ ZĞĂů ƐƚĂƚĞ͕ ^ĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ͕ ĂŶĚ /ŶĨƌĂƐƚƌƵĐƚƵƌĞ͘ /Ŷ ŝƚƐ ,ϭ͗ϮϬϭϴ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƌĞƐƵůƚ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůǇ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ͛Ɛ ŐƌŽƐƐ ƌĞǀĞŶƵĞ ƌŝƐŝŶŐ ϲϬ͘Ϭй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ Eϯϵ͘ϭďŶ ;ĨƌŽŵ EϮϰ͘ϰďŶ ŝŶ ,ϭ͗ϮϬϭϳͿ ǁŚŝůĞ ĐŽƐƚ ŽĨ ƐĂůĞƐ ĐůŝŵďĞĚ ϲϳ͘Ϭй zͲŽͲ z ƚŽ EϮϵ͘ϵďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Eϭϳ͘ϵďŶ ŝŶ ,ϭ͗ϮϬϭϳ͘ ,ĞŶĐĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ͛Ɛ ŐƌŽƐƐ ƉƌŽĮƚ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ƉĞƌŝŽĚ ƌŽƐĞ ϰϬ͘Ϭй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ Eϵ͘ϭďŶ ;ƵƉ ĨƌŽŵ Eϲ͘ϱďŶ ŝŶ ,ϭ͗ϮϬϭϳͿ͘ ,ŽŶĞǇǁĞůů͛Ɛ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ ĞǆƉĞŶƐĞƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ƉĞƌŝŽĚ ŐƌĞǁ ϭϭ͘ϴй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ Eϱ͘ϮďŶ ǁŚŝůĞ EĞƚ ĮŶĂŶĐĞ ĞǆƉĞŶƐĞ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƚĞĚ ϯ͘ϳй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ EϮ͘ϲďŶ ĨƌŽŵ EϮ͘ϳďŶ ŝŶ ,ϭ͗ϮϬϭϳ͘ EĞǀĞƌƚŚĞůĞƐƐ͕ W d ĂŶĚ W d ƐƉŝŬĞĚ ϰϳϰ͘ϯй ĂŶĚ ϰϲϵ͘Ϯй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ EϮ͘ϳďŶ ĂŶĚ EϮ͘ϮďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůǇ͘

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

Divinden Earnings d Yield Yield

1,771.45

0.09%

14.8%

77.1%

25.1%

7.9%

8.2x

1.1x

3.3%

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

49.35

1.5%

22.6%

21.1%

21.7%

26.0%

4.3%

10.3x

2.5x

4.2%

9.7%

Zenith Bank PLC

32.15

0.8%

14.2%

25.4%

24.0%

21.7%

3.2%

6.4x

1.3x

6.3%

15.7%

Nigerian Brew eries PLC

130.00

0.0%

7.6%

-3.6%

-3.7%

18.9%

8.6%

32.0x

5.8x

3.2%

3.1%

Nestle Nigeria PLC

1,378.00

0.0%

6.2%

-11.4%

78.4%

19.0%

35.9x

23.7x

1.8%

2.8%

Dangote Cement PLC

259.00

-0.4%

6.1%

12.6%

30.4%

15.7%

17.9x

5.1x

3.3%

10.2%

5.6%

-1.7%

FBN Holdings Plc

11.50

6.3%

30.7%

30.8%

2.6%

0.3%

18.7x

0.7x

1.8%

5.3%

Access Bank PLC

13.00

0.0%

4.9%

24.4%

22.6%

15.1%

2.0%

5.3x

0.7x

5.0%

19.0%

United Bank for Africa PLC

12.50

-3.5%

4.6%

21.4%

20.1%

17.2%

2.2%

5.5x

0.9x

6.0%

18.2%

Ecobank Transnational Inc

19.75

0.3%

3.3%

16.2%

21.4%

-14.6%

-1.3%

0.7x

3.1%

-17.5%

SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

671.40

-2.0%

2.9%

7.2%

-12.4%

-6.7%

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

46.00

0.0%

2.8%

10.8%

12.5%

28.7%

3.4%

10.6x

2.8x

1.3%

104.90

0.0%

2.2%

11.6%

14.6%

5.6%

19.7x

2.8x

0.6%

5.1%

51.30

0.0%

1.6%

14.3%

47.1%

9.8%

4.6x

7.8x

1.9%

21.8%

4.7%

38.5%

0.9x

-15.5% 9.4%

Guinness Nigeria PLC

Lafarge Africa PLC

Fidelity Bank PLC

2.98

-0.7%

1.3%

21.1%

15.5%

8.0%

1.1%

2.6x

0.4x

Oando PLC

5.99

0.0%

1.1%

0.0%

40.7%

4.2%

2.7x

0.6x

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

21.55

-0.7%

1.1%

7.8%

5.8%

43.2%

19.8%

8.4x

3.2x

2.3%

11.9%

Okomu Oil Palm PLC

72.00

0.0%

1.0%

6.4%

37.4%

25.9%

9.6x

3.1x

2.1%

10.4%

Unilever Nigeria PLC

48.80

0.0%

1.1%

19.0%

21.4%

50.3%

8.4%

30.1x

11.4x

0.2%

3.3%

International Brew eries PLC

59.85

5.0%

0.7%

9.8%

8.8%

24.6%

7.4%

62.7x

14.3x

Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

32.85

-0.5%

0.6%

13.3%

13.1%

3.0%

6.9x

0.8x

2.8%

14.6%

Transnational Corp of Nigeria

2.09

-0.9%

0.7%

43.2%

41.2%

19.6%

4.1%

8.4x

1.4x

UAC of Nigeria PLC

17.10

0.3%

0.5%

1.2%

6.3%

2.2%

11.0x

0.7x

Diamond Bank PLC

2.43

-4.7%

0.7%

62.0%

54.8%

2.5%

0.3%

9.8x

0.2x

Total Nigeria PLC

217.00

-4.8%

0.4%

-5.6%

37.3%

7.4%

8.1x

2.8x

7.1%

12.4%

2.47

4.7%

0.7%

56.3%

3.8%

0.6%

7.2x

0.3x

4.0%

14.0%

180.50

-5.0%

0.4%

-7.2%

32.6%

12.0%

9.6x

2.7x

4.4%

10.4%

0.0%

0.4%

3.0%

6.7%

44.3%

3.7%

11.3x

5.0x

FCMB Group Plc

11 PLC

Forte Oil PLC

44.80

PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

24.15

5.0%

0.4%

17.2%

14.2%

10.7%

5.0%

22.9x

2.3x

Cadbury Nigeria PLC

15.85

0.0%

0.3%

1.1%

1.6%

4.5%

1.6%

45.2x

2.7x

0.0%

37.0%

1.6%

12.0% 5.7%

9.1% 10.2%

8.8% 2.1%

4.4% 2.2%

Presco PLC

70.00

0.3%

2.2%

42.9%

25.9%

3.4x

1.2x

2.1%

29.0%

NASCON Allied Industries PLC

21.60

5.1%

0.3%

16.8%

12.4%

53.4%

18.1%

12.2x

5.6x

3.2%

8.2%

UPDC Real Estate Investment Tr

10.00

0.0%

0.3%

0.0%

0.8x

7.2%

Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

7.00

0.0%

0.3%

-10.3%

-6.8%

5.6%

1.2%

Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

25.95

0.0%

0.3%

-7.3%

-12.2%

-1.2%

Sterling Bank PLC

1.88

-2.1%

0.4%

74.1%

66.4%

6.1%

0.6%

Dangote Flour Mills Plc

16.55

0.0%

0.3%

36.2%

61.6%

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Niger

20.15

0.0%

0.2%

-6.8%

61.2%

Chemical and Allied Products P

38.00

0.0%

0.2%

11.8%

6.4%

Beta Glass PLC

72.10

0.0%

0.1%

40.5%

7.55

0.0%

0.1%

4.7%

Transcorp Hotels Plc T o p 10 G a ine r s T ic k er

8.9x

0.4x

11.2%

1.4x

-8.8%

9.9x

0.6x

10.1%

15.8%

5.4x

2.3x

23.6%

4.2x

1.5x

1.5%

84.3%

38.5%

16.6x

11.6x

5.8%

6.0%

40.5%

18.4%

11.9%

10.2x

1.7x

1.4%

9.8%

4.7%

2.8%

21.5x

1.1x

1.6%

4.7%

18.7%

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Vo lum e

0.46

9.5%

CCNN

134.9

0.0%

UN IT YB N K

1.63

9.4%

T R A N SC OR P

34.2

-0.9%

21.60

5.1%

FB NH

21.8

-1.7%

1.05

5.0%

A C C ESS

20.6

0.0% -0.7%

N A SC ON LEA R N A F R C A R ED ST A R EX

P ric e C hg %

6.30

5.0%

F ID ELIT YB K

20.5

IN T B R EW

59.85

5.0%

FCM B

18.0

4.7%

24.15

5.0%

D IA M ON D B N K

14.8

-4.7%

UA C -P R OP

2.99

4.9%

UC A P

13.5

-4.9%

FCM B

2.47

4.7%

J A P A ULOIL

9.4

9.5%

C UT IX

2.28

3.6%

Z EN IT H B A N K

9.0

0.8%

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

T o p 10 L o s e r s

,ĞŶĐĞ͕ 'ƌŽƐƐ ƉƌŽĮƚ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ƉĞƌŝŽĚ ƌŽƐĞ ϯϴ͘ϭй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ Eϱ͘ϯďŶ͘ KƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ ĞǆƉĞŶƐĞƐ ŐƌĞǁ ϭϲ͘Ϭй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ EϮ͘ϭďŶ ǁŚŝůĞ ŶĞƚ ĮŶĂŶĐĞ ĞǆƉĞŶƐĞ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƚĞĚ Ϯ͘ϳй YͲŽͲY͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůǇ͕ W d ĂŶĚ W d ƐƵƌŐĞĚ ϭϰϰ͘ϯй YͲŽͲY ĂƉŝĞĐĞ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ EϮ͘ϬďŶ ĂŶĚ Eϭ͘ϲďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůǇ͘ &ŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ͛Ɛ ŝŵƉƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ ,ϭ ƌĞƐƵůƚƐ ĐŽƵƉůĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ŝƚƐ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ ĚƌŝǀĞ ƚŽ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƐŚĂƌĞ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ďƌĂŶĚ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞŵĞŶƚ ĂŶĚ ƐƚƌĂƚĞŐŝĐ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ͕ ǁĞ ĞǆƉĞĐƚ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ ƉƌŽĮƚĂďŝůŝƚǇ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŶĞĂƌͲƚĞƌŵ͘

C A VER T ON M A YB A KER UC A P

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

0.30

-6.2%

CCNN

2252.8

0.0%

180.50

-5.0%

D A N GC EM

548.5

-0.4%

2.28

-5.0%

348.2

0.0%

2.71

-4.9%

Z EN IT H B A N K

287.0

0.8%

4.09

-4.9%

A C C ESS

270.0

0.0%

217.00

-4.8%

GUA R A N T Y

269.7

1.5%

D IA M ON D B N K

2.43

-4.7%

FB NH

250.1

-1.7%

LIN KA SSUR E

0.88

-4.3%

N EST LE

234.0

0.0%

C ILEA SIN G

1.82

-4.2%

F LOUR M ILL

116.9

-0.5%

LIVEST OC K

1.14

-4.2%

T OT A L

78.1

-4.8%

C OUR T VILLE M OB IL

T OT A L

23.9%

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

J A P A ULOIL

T ic k er

(A Dealing Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange)

Price Change YTD

&Žƌ YϮ ƐƚĂŶĚĂůŽŶĞ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ŝŵƉƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ ĂƐ 'ƌŽƐƐ ƌĞǀĞŶƵĞ ŐƌĞǁ ϭϰ͘Ϯй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ EϮϬ͘ϵďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Eϭϴ͘ϯďŶ ŝŶ Yϭ͗ϮϬϭϳ ǁŚŝůĞ ĐŽƐƚ ŽĨ ƐĂůĞƐ ĂůƐŽ ŝŶĐŚĞĚ ϳ͘ϴй ŚŝŐŚĞƌ YͲŽͲY ƚŽ Eϭϱ͘ϲďŶ͘

Afrinvest Securities Limited (RC 603 315)

Previous Current Price Weighting Change

P ric e C hg %

Investment Research

Brokerage Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Bolaji Fajenyo | bfajenyo@afrinvest.com

Omotola Abimbola | oabimbola@afrinvest.com

˾ TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018

MARKET NEWS

Nigerian Stock Exchange Moves Access Bank, UBAto Premium Board Goddy Egene The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has approved the elevation of Access Bank Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc to Premium Board. The two banks have joined Dangote Cement Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, which were the pioneer firms on the board when it was introduced in 2015. The premium board feature companies that meet the exchange’s most stringent listing criteria of

capitalisation, governance and liquidity. It aims to provide a platform for greater global visibility for eligible African corporates to make it easier for them to attract global capital flows and reduce the cost of funding. The board is for companies with minimum market capitalisation of N200 billion and highest corporate governance standards. Also, companies aspiring to be listed on the premium board must achieve a minimum score of 70 per cent 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

the stringent Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS). In addition, they are required to maintain a minimum free float of 20 per cent of their issued share capital or a free float value equal to or above N40 billion. The NSE yesterday approved UBA and Access Bank to join Dangote Cement, FBN Holdings Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, which will bring the number to five. UBA Plc’s and Access Bank Plc’s market capitalisated

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 23Feb-2018, unless otherwise stated.

stood at N427 billion and N376 billion respectively as at yesterday. Commenting on the premium board the Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema had said: “The exchange is a member of the United Nation’s Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative, which is designed to encourage stock exchanges to influence their ecosystem to adopt sustainable ways of doing business around environmental, social, and governance dimensions.

The premium board is one result of our commitment to place corporate governance front and centre as a way to improve the climate for doing business in Africa. We expect that companies on the Board will enjoy the highest levels of visibility and appeal to investors looking for large companies with the highest standards of corporate governance.” Following the introduction of the premium board, the NSE also launched the he Premium Board Index (PBI),

which serves as a benchmark for investors looking to track the performance of large firms with excellent corporate governance and sustainable business models. “The PBI is an equity index designed to provide a benchmark to capture the performance of companies listed on the Premium Board. The index will also provide a basis for developing products (such as ETFs and equity index derivatives) that are tradable on the bourse,” the exchange had explained.

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 195.22 195.72 9.76% Nigeria International Debt Fund 245.13 245.65 5.87% 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 4.93% ACAP Income Funds 0.62 0.62 3.92% 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 16.05% 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 N/A N/A N/A ARM Discovery Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 164.31 165.46 8.32% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 15.66% 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 N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 N/A 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 15.29% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.12 1.14 6.86% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.10 1.14 6.88% 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 1,178.55 1,179.72 2.67% FBN Heritage Fund 151.19 152.61 8.48% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.90% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $114.17 $114.77 1.14% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $114.17 $114.77 1.24% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 192.23 195.18 12.59% 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 1.41 1.44 8.04% Legacy Debt Fund 2.94 2.94 2.01% 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 3,139.61 3,180.36 5.30% Coral Income Fund 2,523.10 2,523.10 3.14% 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 14.57% 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 14.83% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.21 2.24 4.92% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 17.79% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 116.94 117.28 1.66%

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 1.55% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,049.52 1,049.52 1.81% 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 16.62 16.78 17.96% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.37% 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 N/A N/A N/A PACAM Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A PACAM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 142.07 144.31 10.21% 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 1.52 1.52 2.42% 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 2,360.92 2,380.03 5.24% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 178.00 178.00 0.88% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.09 1.11 8.91% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 226.81 226.91 3.00% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 187.82 190.05 4.91% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.92% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,360.26 10,502.85 7.15% 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 N/A N/A N/A United Capital Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Eurobond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Wealth for Women Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 13.44 13.65 7.22% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.87 14.04 5.25% Zenith Income Fund 19.49 19.49 3.00%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

10.00 133.65

-11.35% 0.90%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.37 162.74 121.51

12.47 166.25 123.79

2.05% 13.96% 11.23%

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

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

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.

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱ͵˜ ͰͮͯͶ

T H I S D AY Ë¾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱ͵˜ ͰͮͯͶ

T H I S D AY Ë¾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱ͵˜ ͰͮͯͶ

T H I S D AY Ë¾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Trump Endorses Guns for Teachers to Stop Shootings US President Donald Trump has said arming teachers could prevent school shootings like that which left 17 people dead last week in Florida, according to BBC. Teachers carrying a concealed gun could end attacks “very quickly”, he said. Mr Trump floated the proposal - long-championed by the powerful NRA gun lobby - as emotional survivors of the 14 February massacre urged him to take measures to stop similar attacks. The US leader called for improved background checks on gun buyers. “It’s not going to be talk like it’s been in the past,” he said. President Trump listened to pleas for gun reform on Wednesday from about 40 students, teachers and families in the executive mansion’s

state dining room. Hundreds of teenagers from the Washington DC suburbs rallied outside at the time - some voicing support for arming teachers. Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow died in last week’s attack - the second-deadliest shooting at a US public school - said: “We, as a country, failed our children.” “It should’ve been one school shooting and we should’ve fixed it. And I’m pissed. It’s my daughter I’m not going to see again,” he went on to say. Mark Barden - whose son Daniel was killed in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut - said more guns was not the answer. “Schoolteachers have more than enough responsibilities right now, than to have to have the awesome

responsibility of lethal force to take a life,” he said. At his White House event, Mr Trump promised to look “very strongly” at calls for educators to be armed with guns - a position long held by the National Rifle Association (NRA). “If you had a teacher who was adept at firearms,” he said, “they could very well end the attack very quickly.” “Where a teacher would have a concealed gun on them,” he said, while acknowledging the plan was controversial, “they would go for special training and they would be there, and you would no longer have a gun-free zone. On Thursday morning, Mr Trump criticised reporting of his remarks, stressing that he spoke of the need to train teachers properly.

Germany’s Far-right AfD Set to Embrace Anti-Islam PEGIDA A leader of the nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) is pushing to overturn the party’s ban on members joining rallies by the anti-Islam PEGIDAmovement – another sign of the rightward shift of Germany’s budding main opposition party, Reuters reported.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) are struggling to stop voters switching to the AfD, which won almost 13 percent in a Sept. election and entered parliament. The latest INSA poll this week showed the AfD on 16 percent - overtaking the

SPD for the first time. Keen to ensure it does not alienate voters in the political centreground, theAfD has in the past been careful to avoid allying itself with the grassroots PEGIDA movement which holds regular events to protest against “Islamisation”.

T H I S D AY Ë¾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱ͵˜ ͰͮͯͶ

T H I S D AY Ë¾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

Tuesday february 27, 2018 • T H I S D AY

NEWSextra

EFCC Grills Stella Oduah over N9.4bn Aviation Contract, Others Paul Obi in Abuja The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday grilled the former Minister of Aviation, Senator Stella Oduah, over alleged diversion and misappropriation of about N9.4 billion aviation security contract, among other cases. Oduah who was said to have arrived the EFCC headquarters

in Abuja at about 11a.m., was ushered into the commission’s interrogation room. A source at the commission who spoke with THISDAY said: “Oduah honoured the commission’s invitation to clarify issues on several corruption cases.” The source explained that the former minister was being questioned “over N9.4 billion aviation security contract during her tenure as the Minister

of Aviation.” The said contract involved the installation of security infrastructure in major airports around the country

then. Although, the source would not mention other corruption allegations Oduah was being investigated for,

it might also not be unconnected with several contracts on turn around maintenance of the airports during her era as minister.

In 2013, Oduah was embroiled in a N255 million bulletproof car scandal, leading to her sack by the then President Goodluck Jonathan.

Jonathan Salutes Shagari at 93 Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has felicitated with former President Alhaji Shehu Shagari who clocked 93 years on Sunday, describing him as a formidable patriot and exemplary statesman. In a goodwill message to the nonagenarian, Jonathan praised him as a humble leader who set standards in selfless service. A statement by Jonathan’s spokesman, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, quoted the former president as describing Shagari as an elder statesman whose conduct in and out of office is worthy of emulation.

The statement read: “I write, on behalf of my family, to express very warm greetings to you on the occasion of your 93rd birthday. “I am glad the grace of Almighty Allah which led you to set standards in selfless service has kept you healthy in old age. “You are an exemplary leader and elder statesman whose humility, patriotism, peaceful disposition and vision for a great nation will continue to inspire Nigerians across generations. “I wish you more years in good health and sound mind for you to continue to do good for humanity.”

Rights Groups Name Buhari’s Govt Most Unpopular in South-east Says Imo, Abia never been blessed with good governors David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka A coalition of rights groups operating in the South-east of Nigeria have declared President Muhammadu Buhari’s government as the most unpopular and unfriendly federal government among the people of the zone. The groups at a joint press briefing under the aegis of Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights and Good Governance Organisations (SBCHROs), said it is the most unfavourable to the people of the zone, adding it has also not hidden its unfriendliness to the people. In a 22-page report titled: ‘The best and the worst in South-east, the groups totalling 17 in number and led by International Society for Human Rights and the Rule of law (Intersociety), lamented that discriminatory practices against the Igbo were yet to abate under President Buhari. “The zone needs a standard international seaport and bridge linking Ogwu-ikpele in Ogbaru local council of Anambra and Ndoni in Rivers State. As for Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu it is a makeshift. “We decry the general poverty and insecurity and failure of leadership in the country. We also lament the killings in the South-east, lopsided composed security organisation, corrupt and incompetent policing in the zone which has led to the fleecing of the people of N14 billion between last year and now in roadblocks and others.” The group while rating governance in the South-east, said Imo and Abia States have produced worst governors in the zone in the current political dispensation.

It said both states have repeatedly produced bad governors, saying this accounts for their large scale underdevelopment. SBCHROs rated Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra as having been luckier, except that the record of Anambra was dented by one of her governors who ran a single term, earlier in the present political dispensation. It stated that good governance and charismatic leadership has eluded the South-east zone, causing her to be shackled by what they referred to as transactional governance and chronic bad leadership. “From the Second Republic to date, Chief Sam Mbakwe of Imo State, Chief Jim Nwobodo of old Anambra State and Mr. Peter Obi of Anambra State stand out as former governors whose performance is written on the marble. “Within the zone, Chief Rochas Okorocha of Imo State stands out as the worst serving governor, while Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju of Anambra State (1999-2003), Chief Orji Uzor Kalu and his successor, Chief Theodore Orji of Abia State belonged to worst past governors.” It charged South-east governors to be proactive and efficient in strengthening the internal and external security of the zone against “well oiled and coordinated widespread violent attacks against Christian population and their churches by the terror Fulani herdsmen.” Some of the groups include: Civil Liberties Organisation, Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy, Human Rights Organisation of Nigeria, Society Watch and Advocacy Project and International Solidarity for Peace and Human Rights Initiative among several others.

Thank you visit

President Muhammadu Buhari (fourth left), and other officials, when the three lecturers of the University of Maiduguri rescued from the Boko Haram insurgents and some of the women rescued from Isis from West Africa had an audience at the State House at Abuja.... yesterday State House

Jega, Oshiomhole Challenge NLC to Deepen Participation in Politics, Governance Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja Former Chairman of the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, yesterday in Abuja advised the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the working class to deepen participation in politics and governance. Jega in a lecture titled: ‘Labour, Politics and Governance in Nigeria’, at the NLC 40th anniversary, said that labour participation was imperative in order to advance the interest of the working people and the nation at large. He denounced the minimal participation of the labour movement and the working people in politics in spite of their significant numbers in the working people’s parties.

According to Jega, “Workers must be mobilised to engage in electoral process with a view to increasing and improving the integrity of the process and also to contest on the platform of the “working people’s parties. “This is in terms of advocacy and support for electoral reforms, to promoting and defending the autonomy and independence of the election management body, civil and voter education among others. “Workers must also be engaged in policies and legislative advocacy and putting pressure on elected executives and representatives to be responsible and responsive to the needs and aspiration of the citizens.’’ He said labour movement needs to play a leading role by ensuring that it partnered with credible civil

society organisations for impactful intervention that would influence policy and legislation making process. According to him, the chances of victory are better with a political platform that has a broad population appeal. He added: “So, those who want equity must come with clean hands, workers need a political platform, labour leaders must create them with integrity. They must also operate them on democratic principles and core values of inclusiveness, transparency, accountability, selflessness and competent and credible leadership cadres.’’ He said Nigeria workers deserve better that what has been offered to them, as a political platform for engagement in electoral politics. Also speaking at the event, former

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State said the labour movement needs to perfect the act of persuasion for negotiation. The former NLC president added that those who are in power would never govern according to your role values. According to him, “So government and governance is value driven, is a basis and act to decide who gets what and who pays for it. Placards can moderate and force them to go back and re-strategise. But placards and the most potent strike will not change their value system.’’ He explained that placards, persuasion and negotiation cannot make some certain changes that workers actually need, saying that there was need for NLC to acquire some political powers.

Biafra War Veteran, Joseph ‘Hannibal’ Achuzia Dies at 90 Obi, Uwazurike mourn Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Renowned veteran of the Nigerian Civil War, Col. Joseph ‘Hannibal’ Achuzia (rtd), is dead. THISDAY learnt that Achuzia passed away yesterday morning at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Asaba, the Delta State capital after a brief illness. One of the children of the deceased, Mr. Benedict Onyeka Achuzia, formally broke the news of the demise of the veteran soldier in Asaba. Already, in line with theAsaba and Anioma tradition, a 21-gun salute has been fired to announce the demise of Pa Achuzia, who holds the traditional title of Ikemba of Asaba.

However, his Idumujei Quarters Asaba residence wore an atmosphere of grief as numerous residents of the city streamed into the compound apparently to condole with the bereaved family. A condolence register has already be opened for the departed chief and respected elder. His son, Onyeka said his father joined his ancestors at about 8a.m. yesterday. According to him, “He died around 8 this morning. It was something we never expected but it happened. He was 90 years old. It’s just a sad incident. “My father was the best dad ever. I was so sad when he gave up, and I can’t help it. “Even when he was about to be taken into the mortuary, I

couldn’t believe it was true. He was smiling but we never knew he was going. May his soul rest in perfect peace.” The late Achuzia was born in 1929. He was a Major in the Biafran army during the Nigeria Civil War of 1967 to 1970. Nevertheless, prior to joining the Biafran army in May 1967, Achuzia had been a soldier in the Nigerian Army. He fled to the South-east in fear of anti-Igbo sentiment among the Nigerian army before the war. Achuzia was a traditional stakeholder in the affairs of Asaba as he held the title of Ikemba of Asaba till his death Meanwhile, former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has mourned the demise of Achuzie. The former governor recalled that

Achuzie was one of the elderly Igbos he paid periodic visits. He described his death as the loss of one of those not afraid of their own voices and prayed to God to grant him eternal rest. Also, the President Emeritus of Aka Ikenga, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, described Achuzia as a titanic leader who did not tolerate cowards. He said in Biafra, he was known for pulling his gun on any deserter. “He was such a fanatical leader that his troops believed that bullets could not kill him. Indeed, bullets did not kill him. To the average Igbo person, Achuzia was a demon in battle. He could have run away at the end of the war, but he did not,” Uwazurike added.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Auditor-General Blames Amendment of 1979 Constitution for Under-remittance by Revenue Agencies Says Nigeria still using 1956 audit ordinance Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Auditor-General for the Federation (AuGF), Mr. Anthony Mkpe Ayine, has observed that there is a correlation between the amendment in the 1999 Constitution, which tempered the powers of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) to audit the accounts of all government agencies (as earlier provided in the 1979 Constitution) and the current lamentations by the federal government that revenue generating agencies are under-remitting to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). The National Economic Council (NEC) had last week disclosed that the final report on the forensic audit of revenue accruals by revenue generating agencies confirmed massive under-remittances to government coffers. The report prepared by KPMG covered 18 revenue generating agencies, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). Others are Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), among others. “Let me at this stage point out something which Section 85 (3) has done. In the 1979 Constitution, a provision was very clear. All the parastatals were audited by the auditor general. But in the 1999 Constitution a provision was made in Section 85 (3) which says that auditor general cannot audit government parastatals but rather it provides a list for the parastatals

to find their own private auditors. The auditor-general can only do periodic checks. But today, the public may not understand it. As at 1979, the Auditor-General had the mandate to do full-scale audit but today these parastatals have their own internal auditors. We do just periodic checks on them. From what we are seeing today, lots of these parastatals are in arrears. When their accounts are audited, they forward to the Accountant-General for review and comments. “You can only review and comment when the account has been forwarded to you but what happens when the account has not been audited, and that is where you see there are lots of them. Recently, we were discussing with the Public Account Committee of the Senate and they have seen it,” he said. Ayine believes that had the provisions of the 1979 Constitution, which gave the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation full powers to audit the parastatals not being eroded in the 1999 Constitution, revenue agencies would not have had the latitude to under-remit to government coffers. Ayine lamented that Nigeria still uses the Audit Ordinance of 1956, and urged the National Assembly to fast track the passage of the Audit Bill currently before the parliament to conform with global best practices He applauded the efforts of the National Assembly to pass the Audit Bill, regretting that the country has been losing a great deal, and relegated to the level where it should not be because of the absence of an audit legislation. According to the AUGF, the absence of a specific audit legislation or act of parliament as is the norm globally, has become a major encumbrance to the growth

Minister Orders Demolition of Shanties on Abuja Light Rail Corridor Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has directed the relevant agencies in the FCT Administration to remove all shanties and structures on the Abuja Light Rail corridor and station access ways. The order was issued yesterday preparatory for the commencement of the test run of the train service to the public. The minister spoke when he embarkedonatestrideofthetrainservice and inspection tour of the 12 rail stations, undertakenbyChinaCivil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC). He also directed the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to speed up works on the opening of access roads to the 12 railway stations. This, he stressed, is to enable passengers to gain access to the train services when operational. Passenger railway service from the Lot 1 and 3 to the Abuja Metro Station is expected to be flagged off in a few weeks. “We hope to open the stations for operations in the next few weeks

and we don’t want a situation where the train would be competing for space with illegal structures and settlements,” Bello said. The settlements spawning the expansive railway corridor to be affected include Kukwaba, Dei Dei, Gwagwa, Chika, Alaeta, Kuchigoro among others. He subsequently directed the Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, Shuaibu Umar, to commence sensitisation meetings with the stakeholders in the various railway corridors with a view to giving them enough time to vacate the railways corridors and station access ways. Briefing the minister during the inspection tour, the Transport Secretary, Kayode Opeifa, stated that the Stadium Station would be serviced by an underpass tunnel and is designed to provide traffic relief for the city during sporting and other social events in the stadium. The 12 completed stations include the Central Metro Station, Stadium, Wupa, Kukwaba 1 and 2, Gwagwa and Dei-Dei train stations. Others are Idu, Bassanjiwa, New Airport Terminal, Kagini and Bazango stations.

of the OAuGF as other Supreme Audit Institution within Africa and beyond. “From the assessment we have been having in the area of capacity building which we have started something significant in that area, there are still gaps which we are working on now. Of course, we also have the issue of the Audit Bill for our Supreme Audit Institution, because as you may be aware, we are still using the Audit Ordinance of 1956, which is not good for us. “For an audit law which has been on for quite a number of years-about sixty years, a legislation in this regard will be very important. It is one of those few challenges where we are ranked among others (even within African countries); we are marked down because we don’t have a specific audit legislation in existence. “Yes, it’s true that the Constitution has given us limited independence, but the expectation of the global community is that there should be a specific audit act which we

are yet to have and to me, that is the number one challenge that we have. If we are able to have an audit act, it will enhance our rating and I think it will help us very much,” he said. Ayine noted that the OAuGF has been working with the Senate Public Account Committee (PAC) to ensure the enactment of the Audit Bill, adding that the bill has been passed by the House of Representatives and is before the Senate presently “I think we have made some progress. I must commend the Senate and the Senate PAC. We have made very significant progress, attended a retreat to review the bill that was passed by the House of Representatives and I think good progress has been made for the passage of the bill. So, we are still interfacing with the Senate Public Account Committee towards the passage of this bill,” he stated. The AuGF observed that putting in place an audit legislation would confer the badly- needed operational

independence and other advantages on the OAuGF, including the power to recruit its personnel as opposed to the extant practice where the Federal Civil Service Commission recruits for the Office. “Yes, it’s true that the allocation to the Office has been quite low; that is exactly one of those things which the passage of the Audit Bill will help take us out from the current financial challenges we are having. When the bill is passed, we will overcome this significantly. “It will give us a level of financial independence which is exactly what we are talking about. It will not just give us only the legal independence but also financial independence. We will have a kind of operational independence so that we will help this Office to function more effectively,” he said. Explaining the desirability of operational independence, he said the coming into existence of an audit act would empower the Office to recruit the kind of staff it needs.

His words: “For instance, you find a situation in terms of personnel, we don’t have that level of independence where you recruit your own personnel. You pass through the Federal Civil Service Commission and you don’t have the opportunity of selecting the quality of staff you need. “It starts from there because from the point of recruitment, you are supposed to be in a position to know the quality of staff you are looking for, so you have certain criteria in your selection. But here we don’t have that. The staff being recruited at the head office are appointed so it’s like you are having the personnel made available to you and the problem starts from there. “The quality of staff you have will affect the work you are doing, so when the bill is passed and we have audit commission then we will have the privilege of selecting the quality we want,” Ayine added.

ROUNDTABLE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING

L-R: Obasogie of Benin, Chief Eduwu Ekhator; Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki; Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; and his deputy, Hon. Philip Shaibu, during the Senate Roundtable on Migration and Human Trafficking in Benin City, Edo State.....yesterday

Leadership is Not Age-related, Says Ibori Ejiofor Alike A former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori has faulted the call for power shift from the older to the younger generation, saying that the failure or success of leadership is not necessarily age-related. Ibori said yesterday that the youth occupy leadership positions in many sectors of the society, including university students’ unions, financial sector, churches, military and the civil service and wondered if the youths fared in these areas or even hold out any hope for the country. “One problem that appears to have bedevilled Nigeria is the “one solution fits all” and “easy way out” syndrome. We are quick to proffer ill-thought out solutions to all our problems; transfer political power to the youths and all our problems are solved,” he said. Ibori cited the case of the former President of the United States, Mr.

Barack Obama, who was elected President at the youthful age of 47 and stressed that Obama did not become President simply because the United States of America decided that the old must give way to the young or whites to blacks. “No, Obama became president because, at that moment, he was adjudged the best among those who offered themselves for election. He had built up some national gravitas. He had been noted as having something to offer his nation, something great enough to even transcend whatever obstacles that had blocked the way of every black politician before him,” he said. “When nine years ago Americans voted in a 47-year old Barack Obama as their President, many Nigerians enthused that American politics had embraced youth power. That Obama had attended the best schools in his country, volunteered again and again in providing free services to his communities, and

had been involved in politics as early as he could, and the fact that he had been elected into the country’s Senate did not matter in their reasoning. The only thing that registered was that a black person below age 50 was President. Many never bothered to study his trajectory to power. Had they done that, they would have realised that Obama did not become President simply because the United States of America decided that the old must give way to the young or whites to blacks,” Ibori explained. Ibori pointed out that there was no national consensus before the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi began to defend people for free, adding also that when the late Chief Anthony Eromesele Enahoro was jailed because of his struggle for Nigeria’s independence, he was just 21 years old. “The Wole Soyinkas, the John Pepper Clarks, and the Chinua Achebes that we celebrate today achieved greatness while they were

in their youth. Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart at the age of 28. Ben Enwonwu became a master sculptor in his youth. There was no national consensus that literary greatness should be taken from the old to the young then. And when the Ben Okris and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies took over the mantle of becoming great writers, they begged for no let or leave from the old. They just did what they had to do. They tasked themselves until they achieved greatness,” Ibori added. Ibori disclosed that the election of a 39-year-old Emmanuel Macron in France might have galvanised a section of Nigerians to think that the youth should take over political power. According to Ibori, Monsieur Macron did not contest for office solely on the basis of being a “youth”. Ibori said the French leader ran in a national election based on concrete ideas.

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018

TUESDAYSPORTS

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

Super Falcons Pull out of Invitational Tourney in Turkey Reigning African women champions, the Super Falcons, have withdrawn from a 12-nation tournament which kicks off in Turkey this week, citing visa issues. The Super Falcons were scheduled to lock horns with Group B rivals France, Kosovo and Kazakhstan from February 26 to March 7 as preparation for this year’s Africa Women Cup of Nations qualifiers. But Falcons who finished third at the regional WAFU Cup on Saturday, have withdrawn from the competition for logistical reasons. “It was impossible for the team to sort visas and make it to the tournament in Turkey, so they had to pull out,” Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) spokesman Ademola Olajire told BBC Sport. “They only just finished playing the WAFU Cup on Saturday and had a short time-frame to sort out visas and other important logistics for the trip to Turkey. “Importantly, attention and preparations will shift towards

the big friendly against France in April.” The news comes as a real setback for the country and newly appointed coach, Swede Thomas Dennerby. Before his arrival, the Super Falcons had not played or trained since lifting the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for an eighth time in 2016, when Dennerby’s predecessor Florence Omagbemi became the first woman to win the competition as both player and coach. The lack of action prompted criticism from strikers Desire Oparanozie and Asisat Oshoala - the latter surprisingly named African Women’s Player of the Year last month despite Nigeria not playing a single game in 2017. Her performances for her new Chinese club, Dalian Quanjian, saw her triumph ahead of Chrestina Kgatlana and Gabrielle Onguene. However, Dennerby’s first challenge ended in disappointment at the West African championship, the WAFU Women’s Cup, after

Udom Kicks off 2nd Akwa Ibom Youth Sports Festival All is now set for the Second Akwa Ibom State Youth Sports Festival billed for Uyo from March 5 through March 10, 2018. The originator of the festival and Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, is to preside over an elaborate opening ceremony that will have the Minister of Sports Solomon Dalung as Special Guest of Honour among other distinguished invited guests. The festival torch that has gone round all the 31 participating local governments in the state, was received in Onna yesterday by council Chairman, Imo Atat. The council boss said he was delighted to be part of a festival that has already broken all the records in terms of grassroots sports development and the discovery of talents. He thanked Governor Udom Emmanuel for putting the festival in place and promised that “Onna Local Government will shock others this year.”

He was in the company with his Local Organising Committee members. The Draw Ceremony that will officially herald the “hostilities” will be held at the Civil Service auditorium on Thursday, March 1 2018. The state’s Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Sir Monday Ebong Uko, told the media in Uyo that this year’s festival will definitely be an improvement “ on the fantastic event held last year. “This year, His Excellency has approved cash awards to the leading local governments who stand to cart home N10m, N5m and N2m respectively to help develop sports infrastructure in their local government councils”, he said. The Commissioner also informed that over 12,000 athletes from primary and secondary schools, 500 officials are set to compete in the 20 sports events lined up for the festival. Oruk Anam Local Government is the defending champions of the Festival.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Neymar out of Second Leg Clash with Real Madrid Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar will reportedly miss the second leg of his side’s UEFA Champions League round-of-16 clash against Real Madrid next Tuesday due to an ankle injury. Sky Sports News reported on Monday that Neymar is set to be absent for the second-leg meeting after he was stretchered off in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Marseille. It’s expected he will miss three weeks of action, making it highly unlikely Neymar will face Real as things stand, and

PSG is sure to miss their summer signing as they look to bounce back from a 3-1 defeat at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg. It’s mentioned in the report that initial fears were that he had broken his ankle, and the Brazilian left the field in tears. However, a three-week wait on the sidelines now looks more likely after he suffered what looks to be a sprain. Replays showed the blow came almost unchallenged as Neymar rolled his ankle on the Parc des Princes turf.

they lost to bitter rivals Ghana in the semi-finals. The team will now travel to Europe to play France in a friendly in April, after which the focus will be on securing

a qualifying spot at the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations in Ghana. This year’s Women’s Nations Cup takes on extra significance as it will also decide the

continent’s teams for the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Nigeria is the only African team to have played in all of the Women’s seven World Cup tournaments since 1991 but

they have failed to translate their continental dominance on the world stage. Their best performance came when reaching the quarter-finals in 1999.

L-R: Lagos Polo Club President, Mr Ade Laoye; Fifth Chukker/Access Bank Captain, Adamu Atta; GTBank Managing Director, Segun Agbaje and Mr Desmond Majekodunmi at trophy presentation to Fifth Chukker, winners of the Majekodunmi Cup in Ikoyi...last Sunday

Obaseki Leads Aisien, Odemwingie, Others to Bendel Insurance Relaunch Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Notable football actors led by the legendary 1978 Challenge Cup winning coach, Alabi Aisien and Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, will highlight the relaunch of a rebranded, Bendel Insurance FC in Benin City today. Also expected is the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, and Fanny Amun, coach of the Golden Eaglets that won the 1993 Under-17 World Cup in Japan. Also expected at the relaunch is foremost female football proprietress and member of the Federal House of Representatives, Hon Ayo Omidiran; LMC Chairman, Shehu Dikko; and Former Super Eagles players who are indigenes of

Edo like; Osaze Odemwingie, Yakubu Ayegbeni and Julius Aghahowa are also listed to be in attendance. Another Edo indigene also expected at the event include Coach Sebastian Brodericks-Imasuen, who led the 1985 Golden Eaglets to win then Under-16 World Cup in China. Members of the National Assembly from Edo State and those in the State House of Assembly are also expected at the occasion. A Press statement from the Government House in Benin City signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Edo State Deputy Governor, Ebomhiana Musa, said the technical crew headed by Monday Odigie as Manager, will be assisted by Baldwin Bazuaye as the Chief Coach with Greg Ikhenoba as Assistant Coach. According to him “highly

experienced players have been signed on by the club management to complement the new technical crew in preparation for the 2018 football season which promises to be exciting for football enthusiasts.’’ Edo State Deputy Governor, Rt Hon Philip Shaibu is chairman of the high-powered committee charged with the responsibility of repositioning sports in the state. According to Shaibu, “with the calibre of players we have on board coupled with the technical crew, we have no doubt that Bendel Insurance FC is out to thrill football lovers with good play and bring back the old glory associated with the club. “Ultimately, they will move to the Premier League which we believe they rightful belong with the kind of investment

we have put into it aside the support from corporate bodies,” stressed the deputy governor. He added that the technical crew has been given a free hand to scout for the best players across the country, adding that “the era of sending notes to coaches insisting on some players were over.” Edo State Government, Mr. Godwin Obaseki assisted by his immediate predecessor in office, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is expected to unveil the rebranded club on in the banquet hall of Government House in Benin. “It’s going to be a complete package, a brand new technical crew, a brand new set of players, a brand new coastal bus and a brand new logo and set of kits,” Shaibu assured stakeholders in Edo football.

Badminton Federation to Conduct Written Exams for 33 Coaching Applicants Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) has proposed to hold oral and written interviews for the 33 candidates that applied for the national coaching jobs on March 13 and 15. The decision was one of the resolutions taken by the BFN board at its meeting over the weekend in Abuja. BFN President, Francis Orbih, said it resolved to employ a head coach for the senior and junior teams in addition to two assistants for each of those teams. Orbih said the technical committee will subsequently recommend the most

suitable candidates it thinks should be employed to the advertised positions, based on performance in those two interviews, to the board. This position is a dramatic shift by BFN which in the past had just one individual that combined the function as the national coach for the senior and junior teams. The president said BFN resolved to employ local coaches as it could not afford a foreign coach on fulltime role. The board also announced the dissolution of the coaches, the umpires and the players associations. It said there was a need to elect new members as the concerned executive bodies had been in office for close to over five years.

“At the meeting, the umpires association made a presentation that they plan to have their election by April and we have actually asked the three association to forward to the federation their constitutions. The umpires association submitted its constitution and our observation was that it should be updated because it seems it was done quite a while ago. For the other two associations, the board decided to dissolve their executives and put in a place a three-man committee to run the affairs of those associations into having elections to elect a new Exco,” Orbih said. Four of the national players will hit Indonesia from March

9 for two months exchange programme while the nation’s top female player will tour Europe for one month, courtesy of the Badminton Federation of Africa (BCA). Orbih, however, lamented the exclusion of Badminton by the Ministry of Sports as one of the sports listed for the Commonwealth Games in April. He said Nigeria which excelled at the All Africa Individual Championship in Algeria remains the best in Africa. He lamented that while six African countries will be represented at the Commonwealth Games, Nigeria, the continent’s powerhouse will be excluded.

T H I S D AY Ë¾ TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2018

Tuesday February 27, 2018

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MISSILE Gaidam to Military “I blame the whole attack on Dapchi on the military and the defence headquarters who withdrew troops from Dapchi” – Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State putting the blame on the abduction of 110 school girls from an all-female secondary school in Dapchi, Yobe State squarely on the doorsteps of the military for withdrawing troops few days before the attack.

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI Dapchi 110: The Tragedy of a Nation abati1990@gmail.com

arma is a bitch. Poetic justice is a bastard. Both have combined to wrong-foot the incumbent Buhari administration to make it look like a big mistake and an act of misjudgment by the Nigerian electorate. If Buhari had been disallowed from taking power in 2015, and those who advised President Goodluck Jonathan not to give a damn had their way, and Jonathan had remained in power and all the current problems had surfaced, it would have been said by Nigerians that Goodluck Jonathan truncated Nigeria’s destiny. In 2015, the refrain, which was reaffirmed recently by those who authored it, was that Nigeria could only move forward with anybody but Jonathan. If Buhari was prevented from taking over power, Nigerians would have been very aggressive towards the Jonathan administration. It would have been said that the messiah was robbed of victory. It would have been argued that the man who would have saved Nigeria was prevented from doing so. It might have even been argued that under General Buhari, Nigeria could have become the greatest country on the surface of the earth. Such was the impact of the propaganda. Such was the nature of the politics of the time. The Buharideens would never have allowed a post-2015 Jonathan government to work. Even if it did, the opposition would have imagined a greater possibility. But here we are, three years down the line: the messianic propaganda has failed. Their Saviour is not the Jesus Christ they imagined him to be. The country remains unsaved. Their promise of change has been no more than scaremongering. When the question is asked: are you better today than you were three years ago?, no ordinary Nigerian can answer that question positively: change has brought him or her nothing but agony and anguish. Should they offer an answer, it would be a response marked by regret. The biggest tragedy that has occurred therefore is the demystification, the unmasking, the unveiling of a man who was thought to be a god but who has since danced naked and is dancing naked in the market-place. Strikingly, the Emperor is without clothes. Some of the most vociferous critics of old have also been exposed. Nasir el-Rufai deployed all the heights of his intelligence to demonise the Jonathan government on social media. No one else has been able to match the quality of his vitriol. Today, the same Nasir is busy demolishing the houses of anyone who dares to make a negative comment about him, or he takes them to court and threatens them with Armageddon. The same rights that he demanded for the Nigerian people, he now tramples upon. There was also our beloved kinsman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. He was the scourge of the Jonathan administration. He could issue five anti-establishment press statements in a day. There has been no one like him in Nigerian history doing the job of opposition spokesman. He was ruthlessly efficient. Nobody in the current opposition parties has demonstrated his capacity as an opposition figure, in part because all the opposition spokesmen have been harassed, blackmailed, dehumanized, and intimidated, but called to do the job, on the other side of the fence as Minister of Information, Alhaji Mohammed remains a study in self-contradiction. His five minutes of fame in the Nigerian political sphere has since ended. He used to be creative and dynamic, but now faced with the challenges of the real thing, the only

Buhari thing that comes out of his mouth is the dumb argument that Goodluck Jonathan is the source of all the problems of Nigeria or similar inanities. When the matter is not so phrased, we are told that the Jonathan administration stole the country blind. And yet whereas the government of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) borrowed the sum of N6 trillion over a period of 16 years, the APC government has borrowed more than N11 trillion in 3 years! Is it possible all the oil wells have dried up and Nigeria no longer makes money? What has happened to the country’s revenue stream? The absurdity of the situation is further explained by the fact that when a gas cylinder malfunctions in the house of an APC member or there is a crisis in their other room, the man that is blamed is Goodluck Jonathan or the previous administration. They defend the impossible and the unintelligible. But that trick is no longer working. The other tragedy of the Buhari administration is how it has allowed itself to get involved in a Nigerian version of the popular “one-corner-dance”, a downward, self-denigrating choreographic exertion. The result is that right now, people have now moved from the anything but Jonathan corner to the anything but Buhari corner in Nigerian politics. Karma is a bitch. Poetic justice is a bastard. Nothing illustrates this better than the title of this essay, the entry into which has been deliberately delayed, to prepare a setting and a mood for the crisis that Nigeria faces. One of the reasons the Nigerian electorate voted out the previous administration was because of its perceived inability to rescue the abducted Chibok girls. There was an international outcry about this. Bring Back the Chibok girls even became the most popular hashtag on international social media, and Jonathan, who had also signed the anti-same-sex bill into law became a villain in the eyes of the international community. The various interested forces, local and global joined hands together to pull down his government. During the 2015 political campaigns, General Muhammadu Buhari was packaged as a morally upright statesman who would put an end to the impunity of the insurgents and terrorists. Jonathan was considered weak. Buhari was regarded as strong. And so on and so forth- let me just put it like that in order not to be accused of comparison given my own antecedents. But here is where the rub lies: President Buhari has failed the people in their expectations. He has frittered away their goodwill. He promised Nigerians that Boko Haram will be

defeated, and somewhere down the line, we were told the Boko Haram had in fact been “technically defeated.” The President even received a captured flag of the insurgents, together with the personal Quoran of Ibrahim Shekau, the leader of the group. Today, the Boko Haram gang continues to show that they have not been defeated. The Federal Government negotiated with these same insurgents and gave them money to secure the release of over 100 girls, some Boko Haram leaders were released, but the other Monday, Boko Haram abducted over 100 girls in Dapchi in Yobe state. This is sad and tragic. Whatever the government may have gained has been lost. The girls that have been released have been replaced. The fight against Boko Haram is back to square one. The clay feet of those who thought they knew better than everyone else has thus been exposed. For President Buhari, this must be a personal tragedy. His strongest promoters indeed believed that under his watch, the problem of insecurity will be solved. But under him, more money has been spent on national security, with poor results, and the security situation has only worsened. The previous government had the Boko Haram to deal with, this government has its cup full: the herdsmen-farmers conflict, the low level insurgency in the Niger Delta, the crisis of self-determination in the Eastern region, the nationwide proliferation of small arms and ammunition, the notorious Boko Haram and the angst of a disappointed public. On all fronts, the government is found wanting. Yes, it has been found wanting and in a suspicious manner too. It is in fact curious that security forces were withdrawn in volatile areas of Benue state, just a week before the criminal herdsmen struck. Who ordered that withdrawal? The Inspector-General of Police has also reportedly withdrawn the Special Forces sent to secure the same areas. The Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom is so incensed he is now saying he is willing and ready to pay the supreme sacrifice for his people. In Yobe state, soldiers were also withdrawn from high-risk areas just before the Dapchi 110 were abducted. The military has since defended itself. It has no capacity its spokesman says, to protect all schools in the Northern part of the country. And we can’t blame the military, can we? It is a sign of the calamity that the country faces that soldiers are the ones now protecting virtually every inch of the Nigerian space, internally and externally. Our soldiers are tired and overstretched, over-used and over-abused. The police are also similarly overwhelmed. It has never been this bad. Fact: the government of the day has been humbled. I once argued that Nigeria is a very difficult country to govern but when you claim to know it all, you are bound to face the contradictions. Every problem solved generates other problems. People choose their governments and leaders because they believe they can lead and protect them. When that trust is betrayed, the legitimacy of the government is in question. In more than 20 states, salaries have not been paid for months. And it is a stupid point to say that the previous government stole all the money. How about all the money that has been earned and borrowed since then? Missing? What is responsible really for this drift, this cluelessness, this self-abuse, from a know-it-all team that took over Nigeria in 2015? My other concern is that beyond all the propaganda and the

hypocrisy and blackmail, President Buhari’s team may not really love him at all; they may in fact have truly, set him up for his downfall. Buhari’s biggest stake is the legacy he leaves behind. The little I see of that legacy is not good at all. I once published a piece in which I alleged that Nigerians had hopped into a one-chance bus; I want to modify that and add that it is actually President Buhari who boarded a one-chance bus, and for that he has my heartfelt sympathy. Whatever bus brought him to power is a one-chance bus. What has happened so far merely vindicates the Olusegun Obasanjo and Oby Ezekwesili groups. The former is asking for a Third Force, a Coalition of powers and forces. The other is wielding a Red Card. Both are united in this regard: they consider the two political parties that have ruled Nigeria since 1999, useless and ineffectual. They want a new dawn for Nigeria. They want a discontinuity of hypocrisy and opportunism. They acknowledge one significant point: that Nigeria has remained at one spot. Nothing has changed, the change agenda has failed, everything remains the same. Whether these groups are able to achieve, or motivate the real change the people desire is another matter, but the honesty with which they have reversed themselves is telling, and good for our democracy. You need not raise the point that both Obasanjo and Ezekwesili belong to the same elite that they now repudiate. I sympathise with the parents of the Dapchi 110. It is sad that their only hope is in God, and the possibility of a miracle. Students get killed in the United States, due to gun possession issues in a psychotic society, but to send a child to school and have him or her abducted by terrorists is the grievous pain ever possible in Nigeria. What is clear is that the Nigerian leadership elite has failed the people. This is not a political party matter; it is about capacity, political will, leadership and commitment. This is probably why a body of opinion has developed to the effect that the two major political parties in the country – the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have both failed the country. But can extant or any political parties, in their present shape, save Nigeria? I doubt, and that is my thoroughly non-partisan opinion. The political party system in Nigeria has to be rebuilt, reformed and reconstructed. Beyond that, we need a new crop of leaders. The solution may not lie with Obasanjo or Ezekwesili or the Nigeria Intervention Movement but they have thrown up ideas about the national dilemma that cannot be ignored. Such ideas cannot be ignored because the biggest victims are not the ten per-centers or the men and women in high places who succeed not through talent or excellence, but mere opportunistic “faith”; the victims are young Nigerians, the same people we call the leaders of tomorrow - that tomorrow is already postponed, because that generation of the future is led by analogue leaders whose glory is trapped in the past. Nigeria needs to rescue tomorrow from the past and the present. Nigeria needs fresh energy, new ideas and a leadership revolution. Wherever they may be, may God protect the Dapchi 110, who have been failed by the Nigerian state. If Buhari rescues them, he may well succeed in rescuing his government a little from the devastating and ruthless onslaught of poetic justice.

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