THURSDAY 22ND MARCH 2018

Teleology Beats Deadline, Pays $50m Non-refundable Deposit for 9mobile Adrian Wood: We’ve taken over 9mobile’s loans, will create a Nigeria-centric telco Emma Okonji Teleology Holdings yesterday beat the deadline stipulated under the bid process for the acquisition of 9mobile

by paying a $50 million non-refundable deposit for Nigeria’s fourth largest network operator.

Teleology, which emerged the preferred bidder for

the 9mobile transaction on February 21, was given till today to pay the nonrefundable deposit, failing which Barclays Africa, the transaction adviser, would

have invited the reserve bidder, Smile Telecoms Holdings, to takeover 9mobile.

Having successfully paid the $50 million, Teleology is expected to pay the balance

of its $500 million bid for 9mobile in the next 90 days, in order to take full possession of the telecoms firm.

Teleology was said to have paid the $50 million

from Keystone Bank, with United Capital Trustees Ltd and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc as beneficiaries.

Continued on page 6

House to Pass Budget April 24, Initiates Process to Override Electoral, Peace Corps, Other Bills‌ Page 11 Thursday 22 March, 2018 Vol 23. No 8372. Price: N250

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FREE AT LAST‌ The Dapchi schoolgirls at the Nigerian Air Force Base, Maiduguri, when they met with the federal government delegation after their return by Boko Haram terrorists‌ yesterday

Boko Haram Returns 104 Dapchi Schoolgirls, Raising Concerns over Ransom Payment Two other children among freed hostages, FG insists no money exchanged hands Girls moved to Abuja, UN, APC, others welcome their return PDP alleges kidnapping staged Tobi Soniyi in Lagos, Omololu Ogunmade, Olawale Ajimotokun in Abuja, Michael Olugbode and Senator Iroegbu in Dapchi

Exactly 30 days after 110 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists from Government Girls’ Science and

See more stories on Dapchi girls' return on Page 49 Technical College (GGSTC), Dapchi, Yobe State, 104 of

the kidnapped girls were returned to the North-eastern

town yesterday morning by the Islamist sect, much to the delight and relief of their grieving parents and family members.

But the girls only spent a few hours in Dapchi with their parents before they were moved to Maiduguri, the Borno State Continued on page 6

FG Asks Court to Freeze Ekweremadu's Undeclared Assetsâ&#x20AC;Ś Page 11 <285 :,// 72 6$9( &$1 *(7 <28 :+((/6

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Ë&#x153; Í°Í°Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚͜ Ëž T H I S D AY

PAGE SIX

APC NWC Lobbies Senate Caucus on Electoral Act, 2018 Budget Parties set up câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ttee to broker peace between the executive and legislature Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday met with the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s caucus in the Senate to appeal to the lawmakers to jettison their plan to override President Muhammadu Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s veto of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2018.

The meeting was the second between the NWC led by the chairman, Chief John OdigieOyegun, and the Senate Caucus of the party since the inception of the Buhari administration in 2015.

Other than the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, the 2018 budget was also discussed at the meeting, which had in attendance Oyegun, the National Vice Chairman (South) of the APC, Mr. Segun Oni, National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Bolaji Abdullahi, and other officials of the party.

The Senate Caucus was led

by Senate President Bukola Saraki, Majority Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Ibn Naâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Allah,

and other senators.

Both parties resolved at the meeting to constitute a committee comprising officials from the executive, some state governors, representatives of the legislature, and some members of the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organs, whose mandate would be to reconcile and resolve issues whenever and wherever they arise at all levels.

The closed-door meeting started at 2.48 p.m. and lasted for about two and half hours.

At the opening session, which journalists were allowed to cover, Oyegun admitted that the NWC had not engaged the Senate Caucus as often as it should have. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think I am here often enough. So itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an opportunity to discuss issues in the polity,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Oyegun added that the 2019 general election would also be on the agenda, as the party prepares to field candidates for the polls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are here to strategise on the best way to forge ahead,â&#x20AC;?

Oyegun said.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, the Senate Leader

indicated that the Electoral Act Amendment Bill was one of the issues discussed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The amendment is a symptom of the not-so-friendly relationship between the executive and the legislative arms of government. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is only a symptom and the discussion centred on so many things including that override.

We are coming to a situation where that can be resolved as soon as the committee is constituted this kind of issue can easily be addressed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is our government and we should not be fighting dirty in the public. We should be able to deal with it inside our rooms or houses. â&#x20AC;&#x153;No political party can exist without problems, but what makes the difference is for the political party to be able to manage it. We are on top of the situation,â&#x20AC;? Lawan said.

Speaking further, Lawan said senators at the meeting took turns to proffer suggestions on some of the issues bedevilling the party. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Members remain committed to supporting the change agenda

of President Muhammadu Buhari. The party is our main platform, and in my view, the party has done well by coming (to the Senate),â&#x20AC;? he said.

The Senate Leader further dispelled reports of an impasse between both arms of government on the 2018 budget, saying the matter had been laid to rest. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no impasse between the executive and the legislature as far as I am concerned. The budget issue has been laid to rest because the president, President Muhammadu Buhari, invited the National Assembly leadership and we had a discussion with the president. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The issues that were halting the passage of the budget were discussed,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Lawan recalled that the president, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, had issued a directive to the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government to resolve their budget issues with the National Assembly within one week.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;That issue was settled before this meeting. However, the party will be concerned and added its voice to it. But it was already a concluded case that the budget will be passed as quickly as we can,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Lawan further disclosed that the committee would be constituted as soon as possible to ensure that all groups in the party work together and harmoniously. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Perhaps when you have everybody on the same page, then you will reduce the level of misunderstanding to the barest minimum. As politicians from time to time, we have disagreements but such disagreements should not be allowed to become a cog in the wheel of progress. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The idea of bringing everyone to the table is so that everyone can be on the same page at the party level and at the National Assembly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So that all times, should there be any issue, whether it is from the executive or the legislature, it will be resolved,â&#x20AC;?

Lawan explained.

The Electoral Act Amendment Bill was vetoed by the president, leading to lobbying and horse trading by both the pro - and anti-Buhari senators who were in support of either defeating the vote to override the veto or getting two-thirds of the vote required to pass it into law.

The lawmakers had changed the sequencing of elections in the country for the National Assembly elections to be held first, before elections into the state Houses of Assembly and governorship on a separate day, while the presidential election would be conducted last, to complete the general election cycle.

The amendment is expected to whittle down the bandwagon effects of presidential elections on other elections.

Buhari had withheld his assent on the bill on grounds that the amendment would infringe on the powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to supervise and organise elections.

BOKO HARAM RETURNS 104 DAPCHI SCHOOLGIRLS, RAISING CONCERNS OVER RANSOM PAYMENT capital, and handed over to a federal government delegation.

Confirming the return of the hostages, the federal government said 106 abducted persons, comprising 104 Daphi schoolgirls, one other girl and a boy, were freed by insurgents in the early hours yesterday.

But the return of the abducted girls and two other children raised concerns that federal government may yet again have paid millions of dollars for the return of what may be described as â&#x20AC;&#x153;pricedâ&#x20AC;? hostages.

The federal government had paid millions of euros last year for the release of 83 Chibok schoolgirls, who were abducted by the same terror sect four years ago.

Although the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed who led the government delegation to Maiduguri immediately after the Dapchi girls were freed yesterday, said no ransom was paid, nor did a prisoner swap take place, there was no explanation from

the government as to why Boko Harmam seemingly increases their attacks on soft targets in the North-east once hostages have been released.

There was no word also from government on the fate of seven Dapchi schoolgirls that may still be in the custody of the Islamist sect, since it had given the number of girls that were abducted from their school on February 9 at 110.

There were unconfirmed reports that five of the girls may have died from suffocation, having been moved around by their captors under horrendous conditions during captivity.

During his briefing in Maiduguri, Mohammed said all the 106 persons were freed unconditionally, contrary to reports that ransom was paid and some insurgents swapped for the release of the girls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is not true that we paid ransom for the release of the Dapchi girls, neither was there a prisoner swap

to secure their release. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What happened was that the abduction itself was a breach of the ceasefire talks between the insurgents and the government, hence it became a moral burden on the abductors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Any report that we paid ransom or engaged in prisoner swap is false,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Also speaking earlier before his departure for Maiduguri, the information minister told State House correspondents that the only condition given by abductors of the girls was that they would return the girls to where they were abducted.

However, he said the girls were not dropped in a single place but in various locations and from there, went to their various homes.

He also expressed ignorance as to how a boy came to be among the freed girls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The girls were released unconditionally, no money changed hands. They only had one condition, that they

will return them to where they picked them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, in the early hours of today, they did return the girls and most of them went to their parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; homes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many of the girls that were released were not dropped in one place. Some were dropped on the road and they went back naturally to their parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; houses. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can tell you that this is authentic. Whether they picked the boy or not, I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hazard any guess but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget that even in a girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; school, which is a boarding school, there will be parents. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are teachers who can have children amongst them. But what I have been told is that the Dapchi girls and one boy have been released,â&#x20AC;? Mohammed said.

On what emboldened the abductors to bring the girls in such a huge number to Dapchi, Mohammed said there was an agreement that once negotiations started, the military would stay action.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Like I said in the statement released to you earlier, once violence and confrontation were ruled out and negotiations started, there was a deliberate pause on the part of the military. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In other words, it was agreed that there will be no force. There will be no confrontation. That was why it was possible for them to drop the girls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was part of the agreement that they will release the girls; there will be no violence or confrontation. And donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget that the lives of these children are much more important to us than any cheap victory,â&#x20AC;? he said.

On what government would do to prevent a repeat abduction, Mohammed said the security agencies had been directed to secure schools in the North-east region while there were also efforts by the government to merge some schools.

President Muhammadu Buhari had dispatched the federal government delegation to Maiduguri once the girls

were freed.

The delegation comprised Mohammed; the Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd); Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hajia Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim; and Hon. Goni Lawan Bukar, a member of the House of Representatives from Dapchi.

Upon their arrival, the military Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Rogers Nicholas, handed over the Dapchi girls and two other children to the federal government delegation at the Nigerian Air Force base.

The girls were subsequently airlifted to Abuja onboard a military transport plane.

9mobile said it was unable to meet the payment terms due to naira devaluation and the economic recession.

However, the NCC and CBN stepped in to prevent the banks from taking over the telco.

Subsequently, a new management and board were appointed for 9mobile and Barclays Africa appointed by the banks to handle its sale to a new investor.

The NCC had earlier written to the CBN, reminding the latter that it would only issue an operational licence to any preferred bidder that has the technical know-how to manage 9mobile.

NCC also said the company that acquires 9mobile should have adequate technical infrastructure on the ground and expressed concern in its letter that it appeared that the creditor banksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; only focus was on the repayment of outstanding loans, while the interest of the commission was in the continuity of the company for the betterment of the telecoms industry, subscribers, labour force, and the interest of Nigeria as a whole.

NCC cautioned that its

board would not allow what happened to Etisalat to repeat itself, adding: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Therefore the board will scrutinise the technical capability and pedigree of whatever company/companies are recommended as preferred bidders as regards their records in the immediate past three to five years before any of them is considered qualified to be issued a licence.â&#x20AC;?

How the Girls Were Freed The military, which was apparently aware of the deal to release the girls, had stationed a large detachment of soldiers at Dapchi since Tuesday and Continued on page 10

TELEOLOGY BEATS DEADLINE, PAYS $50M NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT FOR 9MOBILE Teleology, which floored telecommunications giants like Globacom, Bharti Airtel and Dangoteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alheri to win the bid for 9Mobile, also on Tuesday moved a step closer to taking over the troubled telecoms company, when it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and 9mobile to take full possession of the firm.

A source close to the company told THISDAY that Mr. Mohammed Edewor signed the MoU on behalf of Teleology, while representatives of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator, and the banks witnessed the signing.

Providing more insight on the transaction, the former CEO of MTN Nigeria, Mr. Adrian Wood, who led the Teleology bid for 9mobile, said his group mobilised the $50 million last week, after which the transfer was effected to United Capital Trustees and UBA. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once the transfer was confirmed, we got a receipt from the trustees confirming payment.â&#x20AC;?

Wood, who spoke to THISDAY on the phone from London, also

explained that all contractual documents for the 9mobile transaction had been executed by all the parties. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Share Purchase Agreement has been executed, so has the Loan Purchase Agreement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the execution of the Loan Purchase Agreement, Teleology will take over the loans of the 13 banks from 9mobile in exchange for a payment plan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This means that 9mobile will have no loans on its books and no longer owes the banks since Teleology has assumed the loans.

This also means that 9mobile will have a shareholder loan,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Wood, who after the conclusion of the deal will assume the position of executive vice chairman/CEO of 9mobile, also said Teleology under the Loan Purchase Agreement had commenced the repayment of the $1.2 billion loan owed the banks. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have started paying in consideration for taking over the loan portfolio. About half of the loan would have been paid by the time we takeover 9mobile, and we will continue with payments into

the future,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The incoming 9mobile CEO also revealed that in addition to paying the balance of its bid price for the telecoms firm, Teleology will over the next four to six weeks focus on getting regulatory approval for the acquisition of the firm.

Also opening up the faces behind Teleology, Wood said the company is a Gibraltar-registered firm made of 12 international and eight Nigerian shareholders.

The eight Nigerian shareholders, he added, come from all sections of the country, saying: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Three are from the North-west (two from Kano and one from Katsina), one from North-central (Kogi State), one from the South-east (Anambra State), two from the South-south (Delta State), and one from the South-west (Osun State). â&#x20AC;&#x153;The shareholders will be unveiled once the transaction is closed, and with the make up of our shareholders, our intention is to make 9mobile a Nigeria-centric operation.â&#x20AC;?

He also said the incoming executive management team put together by Teleology has a combined 374 years experience working in the

telecommunications sector. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have 12 executives coming in and they comprise five of my former colleagues at MTN such as the ex-CTO and ex-CFO. Others include executives from Orange, Vodafone, Celtel and others.â&#x20AC;?

On the financial backbone for its takeover bid, Wood said Teleologyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial support is coming from Afrexim Bank as well as UBS, which is raising equity from international and Nigerian banks. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Another distinguishing feature of our bid is that Teleology has formed an alliance with Safaricom, the biggest mobile operator in East Africa. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The advantage of our alliance with Safaricom is that this would enable us to tap into M-pesa for mobile money services,â&#x20AC;? he said.

9mobile, formerly Etisalat Nigeria Limited, was put on the block last year after it defaulted on a $1.2 billion loan given to it by a syndicate of 13 Nigerian banks.

Following the debt default, its Abu-Dhabi based investor â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Etisalat Group â&#x20AC;&#x201C; relinquished its shares to the receiver-manager appointed by the banks and pulled out from the Nigerian subsidiary.

TOP GAINERS NGN NGN FIDELITY 0.18 2.50 GSK 1.05 22.05 DANGFLOUR 0.75 15.75 GUINNESS 4.80 105.00 FCMB 0.11 2.43 TOP LOSERS NGN NGN CADBURY 1.35 12.65 UNITYKAP 0.02 0.24 AXAMANSARD 0.20 2.50 LAFARGE 3.30 47.05 UNITYBANK 0.08 1.23 HPE Nestle Nig Plc â&#x201A;Ś1,350 Volume: 488.974 million shares Value: N 5.643 billion Deals: 4,996 As at 21/3/18 See details on Page 41

% 7.7 5.0 5.0 4.7 4.7 % 9.4 7.6 7.4 6.5 6.1

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY MARCH 22, 2018

7

T H I S D AY Ëž Í°Í°Ë&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

8

CORONATION MERCHANT BANK LIMITED RC 207138 AUDITED REPORTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2017 The Board of Directors of Coronation Merchant Bank is pleased to announce the Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s audited results for the year ended December 31, 2017

CORONATION MERCHANT BANK LIMITED

CORONATION MERCHANT BANK LIMITED

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

GROUP 31 Dec. 2017 Đ&#x2022;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;000

GROUP 31 Dec. 2016 Đ&#x2022;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;000

BANK 31 Dec. 2017 Đ&#x2022;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;000

BANK 31 Dec. 2016 Đ&#x2022;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;000

Cash and balances with banks

8,264,667

5,655,892

8,188,002

5,638,415

Due from ďŹ nancial institutions

29,509,041

16,246,877

29,509,041

16,246,877

1,137,667

3,443,570

1,137,667

3,443,570

116,520

-

116,520

-

28,617,585

33,751,332

27,785,678

32,117,688

Assets

Non pledged trading assets Derivative ďŹ nancial assets Investment securities Pledged assets

18,840,555

14,232,448

18,840,555

14,232,448

Loans and advances to customers

32,254,859

22,706,561

32,239,585

22,706,561

6,432,931

355,915

6,415,957

588,671

-

-

4,614,711

3,314,711

Other assets Investment in subsidiaries Investment properties

1,657,107

686,865

-

-

Intangible assets

1,237,513

1,150,989

544,749

463,406

Property and equipment

3,430,111

3,046,591

3,077,084

3,000,668

Deferred tax assets

5,203,887

5,265,490

5,203,887

5,265,490

136,702,443

106,542,530

137,673,436

107,018,505

-

29,575

-

29,575

136,702,443

106,572,105

137,673,436

107,048,080

Assets held for sale Total Assets

GROUP 31 Dec. 2017 Đ&#x2022;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;000

GROUP 31 Dec. 2016 Đ&#x2022;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;000

BANK 31 Dec. 2017 Đ&#x2022;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;000

BANK 31 Dec. 2016 Đ&#x2022;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;000

Interest and similar income

22,373,522

13,422,704

22,195,656

13,321,639

Interest and similar expense

(14,369,179)

(5,420,070)

(14,633,478)

(5,484,124)

Net interest income

8,004,343

8,002,634

7,562,178

7,837,515

3,662

(70,119)

51,596

(70,119)

8,008,005

7,932,515

7,613,774

7,767,396

1,658,062

1,187,193

1,300,432

931,374

898,266

308,257

881,968

308,257

216,243

220,716

225,931

220,716

10,438

55,355

144,785

9,989

Personnel expenses

(1,309,259)

(1,208,570)

(1,031,759)

(1,077,511)

Other operating expenses

(4,361,529)

(3,178,267)

(4,202,302)

(2,962,721)

ProďŹ t before tax

5,120,226

5,317,199

4,932,829

5,197,500

(368,128)

(183,909)

(314,433)

(164,605)

4,752,098

5,133,290

4,618,396

5,032,895

(377,258)

947,329

(424,592)

959,174

(32,227)

(479,291)

(32,227)

(479,291)

(409,485)

468,038

(456,819)

479,883

4,342,613

5,601,328

4,161,577

5,512,778

Basic (kobo)

94

102

91

100

Diluted (kobo)

94

102

91

100

Net impairment charge / writeback on ďŹ nancial assets Net Interest income after impairment charge on ďŹ nancial assets Fee and commission income Net gains on investment securities Net foreign exchange income Other operating income

Income tax credit / (charge) Liabilities Due to ďŹ nancial institutions

11,206,114

18,637,966

11,206,114

18,637,966

76,394,498

53,476,909

77,766,608

54,146,766

Derivative ďŹ nancial liabilities

106,457

-

106,457

-

Current tax liabilities

348,484

263,844

266,686

211,288

19,181,664

8,313,191

19,134,419

8,262,903

2,488

2,488

-

-

107,239,705

80,694,398

108,480,284

81,258,923

Due to customers

Other liabilities Deferred tax liabilities Total liabilities Equity Share capital

5,050,546

5,050,546

5,050,546

5,050,546

Share premium

3,655,348

3,655,348

3,655,348

3,655,348

Statutory reserve

6,171,410

5,478,651

6,171,410

5,478,651

Available for sale reserve

501,709

911,194

466,220

923,039

Regulatory risk reserve

647,767

397,224

647,767

397,224

13,435,958

10,384,744

13,201,861

10,284,349

29,462,738

25,877,707

29,193,152

25,789,157

136,702,443

106,572,105

137,673,436

107,048,080

Retained earnings Total equity Total equity and liabilities

ProďŹ t for the year Other comprehensive income (OCI) net of income tax:

Items that may be reclassiďŹ ed subsequently to proďŹ t or loss Net changes in fair value of available-for-sale ďŹ nancial instruments â&#x20AC;˘ Fair value changes during the year â&#x20AC;˘ Net loss recycled to proďŹ t&loss on disposal of available-for-sale instruments Other comprehensive income for the year (net of tax) TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR Earnings per share for proďŹ t attributable to equity holders

The statement of ďŹ nancial position, statement of comprehensive income, report of the independent auditor and speciďŹ c disclosures are published in compliance with the requirements of S.27 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act. The information disclosed have been extracted from the full ďŹ nancial statements of the company and the group and cannot be expected to provide as full an understanding of the ďŹ nancial performance, ďŹ nancial position and ďŹ nancing and investing activities of the company and the group as the full ďŹ nancial statements. Copies of the full ďŹ nancial statements can be obtained from the Registrars of the company. In line with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) circular referenced FPR/DIR/CIR/GEN/01/020, the Bank received, processed and resolved six (2016: one) customer complaints during the period. The Bank paid penalty of four million and twenty ďŹ ve thousand Naira to CBN.

The ďŹ nancial statements were approved by the board of directors on 25 January 2018. Signed on behalf of the directors by:

Babatunde Folawiyo CHAIRMAN FRC/2014/NBA/00000006371

Abubakar Jimoh MANAGING DIRECTOR FRC/2013/ICAN/00000001481

Chukwukadibia Okoye CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER FRC/2016/ICAN/00000014293

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR ON THE SUMMARY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS To the members of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited Report on the summary consolidated and separate ďŹ nancial statements The summary consolidated and separate ďŹ nancial statements (the â&#x20AC;&#x153;summary ďŹ nancial statementsâ&#x20AC;?), which comprise the summary consolidated and separate statements of ďŹ nancial position as at 31 December 2017 and the summary consolidated and separate statements of comprehensive income for the year then ended are derived from the audited consolidated and separate ďŹ nancial statements (the â&#x20AC;&#x153;audited ďŹ nancial statementsâ&#x20AC;?) of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited (â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Bankâ&#x20AC;?) and its subsidiary companies (together the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Groupâ&#x20AC;?) for the year ended 31 December 2017.

In our opinion, the accompanying summary ďŹ nancial statements are consistent in all material respects, with the audited ďŹ nancial statements, in accordance with the requirements of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act and the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act. Summary Financial Statements The summary ďŹ nancial statements do not contain all the disclosures required by the International Financial Reporting Standards, the Companies and Allied Matters Act, the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act, the Banks and Other Financial Institution Act and other relevant Central Bank of Nigeria circulars applied in the preparation of the audited ďŹ nancial statements of the Group and Bank. Therefore, reading the summary ďŹ nancial statements and the auditorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report thereon, is not a substitute for reading the audited ďŹ nancial statements and the auditorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report thereon.

The Audited Financial Statements and Our Report Thereon We expressed an unmodiďŹ ed audit opinion on the audited ďŹ nancial statements in our report dated 21 March 2018. That report also includes the communication of key audit matters. Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most signiďŹ cance in our audit of the ďŹ nancial statements of the current period.

Directorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responsibility for the summary ďŹ nancial statements The directors are responsible for the preparation of the summary ďŹ nancial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act and the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act.

Auditorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsibility Our responsibility is to express an opinion on whether the summary ďŹ nancial statements are consistent , in all material respects, with the audited ďŹ nancial statements based on our procedures, which were conducted in accordance with International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 810 (Revised), â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Engagements to Report on Summary Financial Statementsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Report on other legal and regulatory requirements In accordance with our full audit report, we conďŹ rm that: i. ii. iii.

we did not report any exceptions under the sixth schedule of the Companies and Allied Matters Act; the Bank has disclosed the information required by the Central Bank of Nigeria circular on insider related credits; the Bank paid penalties in respect of contraventions of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act during the year ended 31 December 2017

For: PricewaterhouseCoopers Chartered Accountants Lagos, Nigeria Engagement Partner: Chidi Ojechi FRC/2017/ICAN/00000015955

21 March 2018

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY MARCH 22, 2018

9

10

Ë&#x153; Í°Í°Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚͜ Ëž T H I S D AY

STARTERS BOKO HARAM RETURNS 104 DAPCHI SCHOOLGIRLS, RAISING CONCERNS OVER RANSOM PAYMENT stopped journalists from going into the town to take photographs.

Even when THISDAY and ARISE Channel crew arrived the town yesterday to cover the solidarity visit of parents of the Chibok schoolgirls with the Dapchi parents at 8.30 a.m., they were told to turn back.

One of the soldiers informed the THISDAY-ARISE team, among other reporters who had converged on Dapchi, that they (the soldiers) had been informed that the town may be attacked by the insurgents from any moment.

He even showed some people fleeing the town as an indication that there was likely going to be attack.

But acting on the information from some of the parents that they had been informed to gather to pick their children, the crew from THISDAY and ARISE waited at a distance for the events to unfold.

About ten minutes later, a convoy of about 10 Toyota Hilux trucks were seen driving at high speed through the desert into the town.

This forced reporters to tactically withdraw to the outskirts of Dapchi out of fear that the insurgents may head their way.

Reporters were then told by residents that many of the schoolgirls had been dropped off and the insurgents had left.

Elated and relieved, the reporter rushed back to cover the girls reuniting with their parents, only to be turned back again by the soldiers who surprisingly allowed other motorists to gain access to the town.

At some point, the eager journalists were informed that some girls had been taken to Jumbam village, a 15-minute drive from Dapchi.

When they got there, they found six of the freed girls, five from the village and the sixth, who was a student of the school, but is an indigene of Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.

Speaking at Jumbam, one of the six girls, Khadija Grema, said it was a sad experience, revealing that five girls died due to the strain they went through when they were being moved around after their abduction.

Khadija said she was lucky to be alive, but was at the same time sad that five of her fellow students were suffocated to death.

She revealed that the five girls who died were buried in the bush, adding that two of them were from Jumbam.

A father of one of those killed, Abdullahi Hassan, was grief-stricken, saying it was quite unfortunate to lose her daughter to the insurgents.

Hassan, who said the name of his daughter was Maimuna Hassan, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I feel sad because my daughter was one of the two girls from Jumbam that died. Her name is Maimuna Hassan and the second girl is Aisha Adamu.â&#x20AC;?

But it was a different story for Alhaji Aliyu Maina, whose daughter, Aisha Maina returned alive.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those we have found, we are happy for their release but still very sad over the loss of five girls.â&#x20AC;?

UN, Saraki, Others Welcome Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Return Expectedly, the return of the girls drew reactions with the United Nations SecretaryGeneral, Mr. Antonio Guteres, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senate President Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, welcoming their release from captivity.

Guteres, in a statement

yesterday in New York, said he welcomed the release of most of the Dapchi schoolgirls abducted by suspected Boko Haram terrorists and called on the federal government to bring their abductors to justice.

He also reiterated his calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining missing girls and for their safe return to their families.

Similarly, Saraki described the release of the 104 schoolgirls and two other children as the answered prayers of millions of Nigerians.

In a statements signed by his media aide, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki commended the president, the Nigerian security forces and the government of Yobe State, for the efforts that led to the release of the girls, adding that the government should do all within its power to ensure the return of the remaining Dapchi and Chibok girls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The release of the abducted Dapchi schoolgirls is tremendous news for the country. Our prayers have been answered. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I commend President Buhari, our security forces and the Yobe State Government for their efforts in bringing back our girls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;However, we cannot stop here. We must not rest until all the Dapchi girls and the remaining Chibok girls are back home with their families. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I hope that the girls that have been released will soon be reunited with their families and loved ones. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is also necessary that we ensure that they receive the necessary care and rehabilitation that they need to continue to lead normal lives. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I urge the affected families and the Yobe State Government to do all within their power to ensure that these girls continue their education â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as this will be the strongest signal to their abductors that though they may have kidnapped their bodies â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they will never break their spirits and their minds,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Dogara also commended Buhari on the release of the students, noting that the presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts to ensure that the girls were freed from captivity had yielded results with the hope of ending years of the violent insurgency in the North-east.

He, however, called for proactive steps to be taken to forestall a recurrence of the incident by the security agencies.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We must remind all those concerned that the mass abduction of innocent schoolgirls should never have been allowed to happen in the first place. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While we await the outcome of the investigation by the House Ad hoc Committee, the House of Representatives will not accept any further excuses or buck passing between the various security agencies.â&#x20AC;?

He noted that intelligence gathering must be strengthened to prevent attacks before they occur and commiserated with the released girls, their parents and families for the ordeal they went through.

He also added that efforts should be intensified to free the remaining Dapchi and Chibok schoolgirls and indeed all those in captivity.

The APC also expressed elation over the return of the girls, saying their return was prompt and decisive.

APC went on to take jabs at the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying that if the former ruling party had acted with similar dispatch, the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls would have been rescued without delay.

A statement issued yesterday

by its National Publicity Secretsry, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi said the prompt release of the Dapchi schoolgirls was another solid demonstration of the political will of the Buhari-led APC administration to secure the lives of all Nigerians.

The APC statement said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;With this prompt release of the Dapchi girls, the APC government has demonstrated how government should respond to such situations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the immediate-past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration had responded with similar alacrity, the Chibok schoolgirls would have been released or rescued. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Instead, the PDP wasted several weeks wallowing in denial and conspiracy theories such that it was now left for the APC government to rescue many of the girls and rehabilitate them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We assure Nigerians that the current administration remains committed to securing the release of the remaining Chibok schoolgirls still held in captivity

by Boko Haram and ultimately rehabilitate and reunite them with their families and loved ones. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The party is confident that the reforms that the government has embarked on would improve the capacity and efficiency of our security agencies to prevent the kidnap of children by terrorists and diminish their ability to carry out attacks on soft targets.â&#x20AC;?

Sour Grapes However, the PDP, in its reaction yesterday, described the whole incident leading to the kidnaping and subsequent return of schoolgirls from Dapchi as a condemnable act designed to hoodwink Nigerians ahead of the 2019 general election.

The party said the action of the APC and certain officials in the presidency in the alleged abduction saga was â&#x20AC;&#x153;a scam of no equal dimensionâ&#x20AC;?.

The National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said the national leadership of the PDP considered the whole drama leading to the kidnapping and release very spurious.

He said the idea behind the alleged kidnap saga was to create a heroic myth and false sense of achievement around the APC administration and serve as a spur for Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s declaration to contest the 2019 presidential election.

The PDP spokesman, who addressed a press conference in Abuja, said that there was no evidence that the Boko Haram insurgents or any militant group abducted the schoolgirls in the first place.

He called on United Nations (UN) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to step in to interrogate the matter. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our party considers this act as wicked, callous and tormenting to use innocent schoolgirls as pawns in an ignoble script that was designed to hoodwink Nigerians and orchestrate a great rescue and security prowess of a conquering general, all to push a 2019 reelection bid, is an unpardonable gamble with human lives. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While this failed Dapchi drama remains a poorly crafted tragicomedy, a scam of no equal dimension, Nigerians are not ready to forgive the APC and the presidency for the torment inflicted on the girls, their parents and the human community worldwide just to score a cheap political point. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigerians know that the main aim of this devilish act was to delude the public, set the stage for an orchestrated rescue, create a heroic myth and false sense of achievement around the APC

administration and serve as a spur for President Muhammadu Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s declaration to contest the 2019 presidential election, perhaps in the coming weeks. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a political party, we want to further state unequivocally that by all ramifications, this is a war crime against humanity and gross violation of human rights on the part of the APC administration, all in the bid to push a selfish and ill-lucked 2019 ambition. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no evidence that the Boko Haram insurgents or any militant group abducted the schoolgirls in the first place. Rather, what is evident to all is the high level official manipulation of security movements in Dapchi, both in the staged abduction and in the return of the traumatised schoolgirls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is instructive to note that till date, no report has been presented by the National Security Adviser (NSA), who has been charged by President Muhammadu Buhari with investigation of the abduction. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is in addition to deliberate efforts by the government to suppress the free flow of information around the abduction. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even the regular Nigerian on the street has examined the events leading to this abduction of our daughters, as well as their release, and can deduce the obvious. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigerians are all aware that both the abduction and return of the schoolgirls were dramatically preceded by the questionable withdrawal of troops and all the security apparatus at checkpoints and flashpoints in the Dapchi area. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are also aware that the Buhari presidency, as the principal command center of military operations, has refused to come out clearly on the compromise of security and why no arrest has so far been effected in the entire saga, thus betraying a high-level of government conspiracy against the citizens for political reasons. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The PDP therefore calls on the United Nations (UN) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to declare this evil by the APC federal government a war crime against humanity and immediately commence investigation on the matter.

We demand the arrest and prosecution of all those involved in this saga. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the same vein, we join Nigerians to demand for the setting up of a UN-monitored Truth Commission to unravel the facts around the Dapchi event as well as the abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, in 2014. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While we commiserate with the families of our loved daughters and rejoice with those whose daughters were brought home safely, we urge Nigerians to be alert and continue to monitor the activities of the APC as we approach the 2019 general election, since it is now clear that this government will stop at nothing in its desperate bid to perpetuate itself in power against the will of the people,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Also in his reaction, the National Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus challenged the federal government to release the report of the committee set up to investigate how the girls were kidnapped.

Secondus, who spoke to journalists in his office in Abuja, also challenged Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to provide concrete evidence to back his allegation on Monday that the former PDP administration disbursed N150 billion two weeks before 2015 elections.

Two-Minute BrieďŹ ng NEWS House to Pass Budget April 24, 4,

Initiates Process to Override Electoral, Peace Corps, Other Bills ls The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon.Yakubu Dogara, yesterday hinted that the 2018 Appropriation Bill would be passed in the lower chamber onApril 24.

Page 11

EDITORIAL Yet, Another Poor WAeC results

The depressing state of education in the country was again highlighted last week when only 18 per cent of the candidates that sat forWASSCE obtained marks that could get them admis- sion into some of the reasonable universities.

Page 15

POLITICS Why Voters are Flocking to

SDP The failure of the All Progressives Congress to deliver on its electoral promises has compelled Nigerians to search for a credible alternative. Emeka Atuma, the National Organising Secretary of SDPâ&#x20AC;Ś Page 18

FEATURES Rachelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rhapsody

Emmanuel Addeh who witnessed the inspiring meeting between thousands of girls from schools in Bayelsa and the wife of the state governor, reports that it was an opportunity for the students to learn directly from a womanâ&#x20AC;Ś Page 20

BUSINESS NITDA Defends Exclusion of

CPN Nominees from Board Inauguration As criticisms continue to trail the non-inclusion of nominees of CPN in the list of the newly inaugurated board members of NITDA, the agency has explained that the omission of CPN nominees wasâ&#x20AC;Ś Page 23

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE Hope Rises for Healthcare

Financing in Nigeria Following the successful inaugural THISDAYHealthcare Financing Summit in Abuja recently, the National Assembly says it is pushing for the implementationâ&#x20AC;Ś Page 36

INTERNATIONAL White House Hunts Leaker after Trump Congratulates Putin TheWhite House fumedWednesday about an em- barrassing leak of DonaldTrumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shock decision to congratulateVladimir Putin on his re-electionâ&#x20AC;Ś Page 46

SPORTS Ezenwa is Last Eagle to Land

in Wroclaw for Poland With the arrival of Ikechukwu Ezenwa to Super Eagles camp in Wroclaw yesterday, all is now set for Nigeria to take on Poland in the international friendly scheduled to take place at the Stadion Miejskiâ&#x20AC;Ś Page 54

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THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018Ëž T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

House to Pass Budget April 24, Initiates Process to Override Electoral, Peace Corps, Other Bills Senate mandates câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ttees to submit reports latest March 29 Amnesty office for probe Damilola Oyedele Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; James Emejo Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, yesterday hinted that the 2018 Appropriation Bill would be passed in the lower chamber onApril 24. The announcement during plenary, ushered a ray of hope that the disagreement over the timely passage of the budget would at least be brought to an end. Also, all committees are required to submit their budget reports to the appropriation committee by April 19, prior to the passage date.

The federal government had on Tuesday directed all its agencies to submit their budget proposals to the National Assembly latest March 24. But except thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a special plea by the leadership of the House to its relevant committees to take

it easy on the agencies and work with whatever information that is provided by the agenciesincluding de-emphasising on how previous appropriation had been spent, next monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anticipated passage might be truncated. Meanwhile, it has emerged that the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi and the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, are among ministers whose ministries or agencies under their purview, are yet to conclude their budget defence.

A document from the Senate showed that the Ministry of Solid Minerals, headed by Mr. Kayode Fayemi, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have not completed the defence of their 2018 budget estimates before the relevant committees of the Senate.

Other defaulting ministries

FG Asks Court to Freeze Undeclared Assets of Ekweremadu

are Housing, Health, National Planning, Science and Technology, Foreign Affairs, among several others.

The document revealed that the Nigeria Railway Corporation,  Nigeria Postal Service, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Nigeria Institute of Transport, Federal Mortgage Bank and the Federal Housing Authority are yet to submit their budget estimates to the National Assembly. Also,  the Senate yesterday directed its committees to submit the budget reports of the MDAs under their purview to the Committee on Appropriation latest byMarch 29, 2018.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, made the announcement and added that the committees who have concluded their work on the budget can begin submission from today.

Nonetheless, the lower chamber appeared to have commenced the legislative processes of overriding President Muhammadu Buhari

on 10 bills which he had vetoed recently.  The bills included the Nigerian Peace Corps bill, the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, Police Procurement Fund Bill were listed for first reading, though no action was taken on them yet.  The House has not vacated its earlier position that it will tweak and resend the Electoral amendment Bill, particularly, the aspect dealing with the reordering of the 2019 election to Buhari for assent even though the Senate had said it would override the President on it.  A legal fireworks had since commenced on the part of the executive to stop the National Assembly from proceeding with it moves to override Buhari. Also,  introduced for first reading was the Ajaokuta Steel Company Fund Bill; Aso Villa Hospital (Establishment) Bill and Currency Conversion (Freezing Orders)  Act (Amendment)  Bill among others.

Meanwhile, the House also passed a motion mandating its Committee on Niger Delta to carry out a comprehensive probe into the management of funds to the Office of the Presidential Amnesty Office from 2015 to date and assess the impact of the programme on the ex-agitators in the region. The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Hon. Abubakar Chika Adamu (APC,  Niger) on the need to investigate the activities of the Presidential Amnesty Office to ensure accountability and efficiency of the programme. He said it had become worrisome that allegations of corruption and ineptitude had always bedeviled the amnesty scheme since itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inception, resulting in hitches in the implementation of programmes, particularly the non payment of billions of naira as outstanding allowances to the ex-militants.

He further noted that President Buhari had recently relieved the

coordinator of the scheme, Brig.

Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd), of his duties on the heels of a ellegations of mismanagement of funds by the office under his watch.

Adamu said though Buhari had further directed the National Security Adviser to investigate the activitiesof the office from 2015 to date-that covers only three years out of the nine-year existence of the amnesty programme.

Also yesterday, the lower chamber referred one of its members, Hon. Johnson Agbonayinma (APC, Edo) to its Committee on Ethics and Discipline to be investigated following allegations that he maligned the House during a recent television interview. He was reported to have criticised the green chamber over the passage of the Electoral Act, an action which members said should be appropriately investigated and necessary punitive measure taken against him if found wanting.Â

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no asset to forfeit, says deputy senate president Alex Enumah Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; The federal government yesterday approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, for an order to temporarily freeze properties and assets linked to the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

The suit which was filed on behalf oaf the federal government by its solicitor, Festus Keyamo (SAN), was brought pursuant to section 330 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and section 8 of the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provision) Act. In the suit marked FHC/ ABJ/CS/284/2018, the applicant, (Special Presidential Investigative Panel for the Recovery of Public Property) is seeking the order of temporary forfeiture of the said properties pending the conclusion of its investigation.

The applicant is therefore asking for â&#x20AC;&#x153;An interim order of this Honourable court temporarily attaching/ forfeiting the properties listed in schedule B hereunder to the federal government of Nigeria pending the conclusion of further inquiry/investigation by the Special Presidential Investigative Panel for the Recovery of public Property and or possible arraignment of the respondent. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And for such other orders as the court may deem fit to make in the circumstances of the case. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some of the grounds

on which the application is predicated are that the properties listed in schedule A were the properties declared by the respondent in his asset declaration forms at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). â&#x20AC;&#x153;That ongoing investigation/ inquiries have revealed that the properties listed in schedule B also belong to the respondent and so belong to him when he declared his assets in schedule A. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That the properties listed in schedule B were not declared in the assets declaration forms of the respondent. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That preliminary investigation by the applicant reveals that a prima facie case of breach of Code of Conduct for Public Officers has been made out against the respondent.

In a four paragraph affidavit deposed to by one Yohana Shankuk, a clerk in the Chambers of Festus Keyamo, the plaintiff stated that the order is necessary to forestall any frustration of the investigation of Ekweremadu by the panel.

The Special Presidential Investigative Panel, headed by Okoi Obono-Obla is accusing Ekweremadu of not making full disclosure of his assets as required by the rules of a public officer.

Properties declared by the deputy senate president in schedule in his asset declaration form as at June, 2015 include those scattered all over the

Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on Pg 47

LETâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MOVE FORWARD

L-R: Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki; Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi; and National Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun. during a meeting between the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party and the APC Senate caucus at the National Assembly.....yesterday.

Oil Marketers Sack Workers over N650bn FG Debt Oil marketers have commenced a reduction of their workforce due to their inability to pay staff salaries, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)Â has reported.

Some of the marketers, who preferred anonymity, confirmed yesterday in Lagos that they resorted to adopt a massive sack of their workers as the federal government had yet to pay an outstanding N650 billion debts owed them.

They said they did not have any other option to control their increasing debt burden of borrowing to pay salaries than to embark on staff disengagement.

According to them, the majority of marketers are indebted to banks because for funds they borrowed to pay

workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; salaries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Retrenchment became necessary as some marketers have already closed their depots, while others have also reduced workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; salaries by 75 per cent due to their inability to sustain the payments. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is a difficult time for the oil marketers because we are currently facing the headwinds in the oil market. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some of our members are finding it difficult to pay salaries and other overhead costs,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; one of the marketers said.

They, therefore, urged the federal government to expedite action on the payment of outstanding debts owed to marketers, in order to help them to sustain their businesses.

Another source said the marketers were under continuous pressure from their banks and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), â&#x20AC;&#x153;with looming threats of imminent take-over of our petrol stations and tank farms. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the light of the above and after exhausting all formal avenues to secure payment of these debts, we have notified the federal government of the likelihood of disengaging our personnel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are told that President Muhammadu Buhari has signed for the payment of the debt but it is yet to get to the National Assembly for their consent. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We hope this will be

addressed to salvage the situation.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) had on February 20 gave the government a 14-day ultimatum to settle the N650 billion debts owed to its members.

The Executive Secretary of the Association, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, had said failure to meet the deadline would compel marketers to disengage their workers.

Adewole alleged that a letter was written to the Presidency on January 24 but the government had failed to respond to the plight of the petroleum marketers.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY MARCH 22, 2018

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COMMENT

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

ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF, CHESSANO AND THE MO PRIZE The Mo Ibrahim Foundation should not relent to spread the virtues of its prize winners, writes Okello Oculi

T

he inaugural award of Mo Ibrahim Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Prize for good presidential leadership in Africa was given to Joaquin Chessano, a man who abandoned his medical studies in Portugal and France and travelled to Tanzania to join in the formation of a liberation movement: the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO). Between 1975 and 1992, he served as the Foreign Minister of a country soaked with blood from a liberation war prolonged and engineered by racist South Africa and her NATO backers. He became the second president following the death of Samora Machel, himself the second leader of FRELIMO after the assassination of Eduardo Mondlane through a bomb hidden in a postal parcel.

South African troops invaded Mozambique to support a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;rebelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; movement, RENAMO, led by Afonso Dhlakama and destroy health clinics, schools, and agricultural cooperatives established by FRELIMO to show villagers that life can be better after the fall of Portuguese colonial looting and dictatorship. Babies were yanked from backs of mothers and cut in half; others had their head smashed against walls as angry mothers mocked that barbarism of agents of European civilisation. Bridges and crops grown in cooperative farms were destroyed; uprooted or harvests set on fire. The idea was to make supporters of the liberation regret their political wills.

To calm down the widespread rage in soldiers and civilian officials, President Chessano got 16,000 soldiers and 30,000 civil servants do â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Transcendental Meditationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and Yogi twice a day. He claimed that it brought â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;political peace and balance in natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; to Mozambique. That political peace would bring a peace treaty with RENAMO so that people would end slaughtering each other; and his own refusal to seek a third term as president. In 2007, the judges of the Mo Ibrahim Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prize would praise this step as a measure which rooted the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s political history on the principle that the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;institution of democracy was more important than the personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a theme which Barack Obama would later borrow inside Ghanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parliament.

Chessano recognised that NATOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leaders were epileptic about a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Communistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; liberation government next to their rich pot of gold, diamonds, zinc and slave - labour in South Africa. On October 15, 1986 South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s minister of defence, Magnus Malan, had threatened that leaders of states supporting the African National Congress would pay for the consequences of its attacks inside South Africa. Four days later, a Soviet plane manned by five Soviet Government crew was led by a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;false beaconâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; to land on a hill at Mbazini, inside South Africa, mistaking it for Maputo airport.

He calmly persuaded the rich G8 countries to cancel a debt of 22

SIRLEAF USED HER CLASSMATES FROM AN AMERICAN SCHOOL FOR BREEDING FUTURE WIELDERS OF POWER; HER FORMER TEAM MATES AT THE WORLD BANK, AND AFRICAN OFFICIALS WHOSE PROJECTS SHE HAD SUPERVISED, TO FIND MEDICINAL SUPPORT FOR A DEEPLY MAULED LIBERIA

billion pounds sterling. He tolerated â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;socialistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; from Scandinavian countries as they pushed him to abandon FRELIMOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Communistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; road to post-colonial development and take loans from NATO economies.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf started a revolution she had not planned.

In her autobiography, she lit a fire across Monrovia with words of defiant exasperation spoken to an audience at a graduation ceremony at her â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Old Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;. As a civil servant in the Ministry of Finance, she did not talk politics. She, however, loudly hoped for a Liberia where progress in life did not depend on being a descendant of returnees from slavery in America. That treasonable utterance lit fire inside ears of lowly soldiers like Sergeant Doe; making them reach out for their guns.

Her own mother saved her by a simple act of generosity. The old lady heard a woman shouting at soldiers on guard duty in rich peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quarters. They had begged for water to drink. The sun was blazing hot. She had offered them both screams of insult and hot water. The lady calmed nerves by offering them cold water from her refrigerator. When after Samuel Doeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s military coup, a group of officials assumed to be â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Americo-Liberiansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; were lined up to be shot totally dead, someone had whispered to Doe that Helen had the wrong red colour; she was the daughter of the generous â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Cold Water Old Ladyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;. She was promptly rushed away.

Like Chessano, she inherited from Samuel Doe and Charles Taylor a Liberia whose backwardness was compounded by over a decade of atavistic slaughters of her peoples by their kin. She used her classmates from an American school for breeding future wielders of power; her former team mates at the World Bank, and African officials whose projects she had supervised, to find medicinal support for a deeply mauled Liberia. Whatever progress she had achieved was horrendously disrupted by Ebola. The virus seemed engineered to desecrate the African ethic of family support, care and honour even in sickness and death. Touching an ailing family member brought death along a chain of mutual care. With support from other African countries and China, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf left behind a Liberia which had climbed out of being a vast dying field.

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation should never be tired of broadcasting to Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youth virtues of its prize awardees. Their minds and eyeballs are under siege by glitter and get-rich-by -any- means adverts. Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s replicas of Haitiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Papa-Doc Duvalierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; sow despair and brutal cynicism. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Market politicsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; chases them to drown in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean; or choke on desert sand dunes. The shouts of hope from the prize must not dim.

OVER TOYOU, ABDULLAHI GANDUJE Sulaiman Muhammad Ayagi urges the Kano State government to spread the amenities

W

hile having a chat with an elderly woman voter around the vicinity of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gidan Zakka Polling Unitâ&#x20AC;? in metropolitan Kano in 2015, a boldly written message of patriotism was noticeable all over the face of this woman in her late 90s. Her presence brought curiosity to the mind, hence I respectfully confronted her on why she defied all odds - ranging from health challenges to physical stress associated with crowded voters.

She paused. Her terse but objective response signalled a dawn of a new era in the state: â&#x20AC;&#x153;yeah, it is Ganduje â&#x20AC;Śin anticipation of him to construct our neglected Kofar Waika road!â&#x20AC;?

Pressed further, this grandma who became the cynosure of all eyes exhibited some appreciable level of wisdom and enlightenment in spite of age having tasted life in faraway south west since pre-independence enroute to former Gold Coast (now Ghana) for gold and kolanut trade, said interalia â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;Śbelieving that my candidate (Khadimul Islam, as popularly called) will bring to an end series of prematernal and post-natal deaths synonymous with our area due largely to poor, or virtually non-existence of a tarred road â&#x20AC;&#x201C; making Kofar Waika communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ingress and isolation especially during rainy season a reality.â&#x20AC;?

Had it been Hajiya â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Yar Gwaggo is alive, she would have cast aspersions and innuendos to whoever is sabotaging her elected leader, from realising her long-term cherished social infrastructure needed by her community.

May be â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Yar Gwaggoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as fondly called in her locality may not reserve her displeasure having forsaken valuable hours of routine spiritual meditation to contribute to Governor Gandujeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s historical landslide victory.

Our elated and exemplary octogenarian would have preferred to remain indoors

but not for her antecedents of being grown substantially up south west â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an experience that sharpened her sense of reasoning to exercise her franchise which her contemporaries value less! â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Yar Gwaggo like many of our pregnant mums and retinue of elders wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have lost sleep to escort and cast votes for transparent counting in replication of the former Edo State Governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advocacy for â&#x20AC;&#x153;one man, one vote,â&#x20AC;? but for the belief that her candidate would, on assumption of leadership exercise uncommon administrative skills unlike his predecessor, Mallam Rabiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;u Musa Kwankwaso! Alas, she was proved wrong!

But our promising youths who constitute bulk of the voters wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have abandoned their various means of livelihood but for Gandujeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have donated drinks to quench thirst amongst voters in demonstration of solidarity geared at their preferred candidateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s occupation of Africa House!

Kofar Waika road project which is less than 1½km from Gidan Zakka wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been a nightmare to pregnant mothers and expected babies. However, this untarred road wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been a source of abrupt termination of the lives of many future patriots but for the undeserved neglect suffered continuously largely associated with failure of good governance by the leadership, hence a torrent of excuses to do the needful on the guise of dwindling revenue. The presence of unstable revenue accruable to the state has not, in anyway stopped the leadership from placing series of congratulatory adverts to self, spouses and/or political Godfathers; reminding readers that a â&#x20AC;&#x153;coloured page advert costs not less than N500k!â&#x20AC;? Consider the number of such placed adverts since assumption of office in comparison to sum involved to bring succour (even in

form of palliative measure) by applying gravel on the untarred road pending the qualification of this community or its voters to ply a tarred road.

To be frank, our crop of girls of voting age wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have voted the incumbent had it been prophesized that their preference, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, will brazenly prefer tarring many roads, crescents and boulevards within a clime called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jan-Bulo Housing Estate,â&#x20AC;? an area that hosts his estranged deputy at the detriment of talakawa! These crops of voting damsels wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have lost hours of regular weekend studies at Islamiyya/Qurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;anic schools had it been known that Mr. Khadimul Islam will be insensitive to their locality â&#x20AC;&#x201C; causing their communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s continued relegation to third class status. This is, in spite of harbouring very negligible voters who rarely queue up to honour national call unlike hundreds of thousands of Kofar Waika residents!

Our innocent teens wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have devoted their breath in praying to Almighty for the incumbentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success having told by their parents that the then aspirant to Africa House is a God-fearing and thoroughbred public servant that hardly procrastinates in handling state matters especially as it affects the common man!

The renowned enclave of over 200 Qurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;anic memorisers of Kofar Waika wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have congregated simultaneously to recite a number of verses of the Holy Book â&#x20AC;&#x153;from Baqara to Nasâ&#x20AC;? in addition to series of success prayers but for the hope that the incumbent helmsman will not be another despot like one of his predecessors!

Islamic religious singers under the umbrella of the Shuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;raâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;i Society of Nigeria wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have composed a thought-provoking prayer for Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intervention to garner support and victory for the incumbent, believing that his as-

sumption of leadership â&#x20AC;&#x153;will be the emergence of the game changer needed by this deprived community called Kofar Waika.â&#x20AC;?

While on a personal note, one wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been a promoter of Gandujeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ideal (until discouraged and proved otherwise) for neglecting a community that massively voted for him â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and for recurring feature of Kofar Waika road project in the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual budgets without same being fulfilled since 2015!

Newly born babies wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been named â&#x20AC;&#x153;Abdullahiâ&#x20AC;? in multiples had it been known that the honour of naming an innocent soul after him will be proved otherwise! And while being taken to hospital for post-natal care through the untarred Kofar Waika road these innocent Abdullahis become confronted with unquantifiable shock and discomfort having been woken up consistently as a result of the current leadership inability to actualise its budget pronouncements for three consecutive years.

Multitude of Qurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;anic pupils and/or students scattered at Kofar Waika wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have committed their eve of election for a special night vigil for the pendulum to swing in favour of Governor Ganduje had it been predicted that their candidateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so-called association with the ideals and ideologies of late Governor Muhammad Abubakar Rimi (of blessed memory) in rural and urban renewal is unachievable under the new helmsman at Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most populous state! These crop of future Qurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;anic memorisers wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have done what they did humanly possible in groups and solitary confinement with God, had it been prophesized that their quest for a tarred road at Kofar Waika wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be realised since the current leadership is about to clock three years out of a four-year initial office term.

Ayagi wrote from Kano

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EDITORIAL YET, ANOTHER POOR WAEC RESULTS The authorities must do more to turn the fortunes around

T

he depressing state of education in the country was again highlighted last week when only 18 per cent of the candidates that sat for the West African Senior School CertiďŹ cate Examination (WASSCE) obtained marks that could get them admission into some of the reasonable universities. According to Olu Adenipekun, head of the National OfďŹ ce of West African Examinations Council (WAEC), 8,113 candidates representing 71.75 per cent obtained credits and above in two subjects in the recently released results. Some 6,375 candidates, representing 56.38 per cent obtained credits and above in three subjects, while 2,010 candidates representing 17.78 per cent obtained credits and above in six subjects.

Performance in the key subjects of English and mathematics was down by eight per cent, compared with 26.01 per cent in 2017.

Whatever may be the excuse, the result reďŹ&#x201A;ects the long-standing decay in the education sector across the country. Indeed, the sharp academic decline over the years could be THE LEARNING attributed largely to ENVIRONMENT, QUALITY the utter neglect of the OF TEACHERS, ACADEMIC learning environment.

OUTCOMES AND THE Most schools lack CAPACITY OF MONITORING the basic educational INSTITUTIONS ARE infrastructure. This is CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS also true of stafďŹ ng.

OF THE SECTOR Unfortunately, the sorry conditions are all-pervading, across the states. From Kaduna to Benin City, Kebbi to Sapele, the facilities in most schools have either collapsed or decrepit, while the quality of the education being offered is suspect .There are today, classrooms without teachers, or where there are, many can hardly differentiate between blue and black.

In Zamfara State for instance, one teacher has the weighty duty of teaching 300 pupils, of all ages. Indeed, the deplorable state of education in Nigeria came to the fore recently when Governor Nasir el-Rufai revealed

Letters to the Editor

that 50 per cent of teachers in Kaduna State failed the primary four test set for them. It is a problem replicated in the states, some in worse form. Those who are expected to impart knowledge are themselves illiterate.

To worsen matters, teachers largely live in poverty. Their salaries are often held up for months, prompting strikes and shutdowns as vital ammunition to compel the government to listen. The fruits of this faulty process have been clearly visible for years.

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hus, as we have said severally in this space, our post-primary schools need complete overhaul.

Government would need to place emphasis on the quality of teachers and teaching as an irreducible minimum. The conditions of service for teachers must be enhanced if the story must change in the education sector. There is need for education policies that would promote teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; capacity to meet the needs of the society. Moreover, the relevant stakeholders have to bear in mind that the mass failure in WASSCE which has become an annual fare is also partly the embarrassing outcome of decades of academic fraud spanning all preceding levels of the education system.

Indeed, as we also noted in a recent editorial, the crisis in our educational sector is so total and frightening that nothing short of a well thought-out strategy will do for any meaningful change to occur. It is not a mere declaration of â&#x20AC;&#x153;a state of emergencyâ&#x20AC;? across the state in April as Adamu Adamu, the Minister of Education declared recently: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We hope that once this is done our educational sector will improve,â&#x20AC;? he said. It is more than that. The learning environment, quality of teachers, academic outcomes and the capacity of monitoring institutions are critical to the success of the sector.

On the whole, we need short, medium and long terms plan with clear objectives and measurable timelines to reform the entire educational system. We must fashion out ways by which the federal, states and local governments and stakeholders from the private sector would come together to save secondary education in Nigeria.

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.

AMOSUNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S POLITICS OF INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no government that has invested in massive infrastructure as much as the Amosun administration since the creation of Ogun State in 1976.â&#x20AC;?

- Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the 4th Ogun State Investorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Forum

R

ecently, I fielded questions from journalists.

This very instructive question was asked: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The nation appears again to be gripped by 2019 election fever, bringing governance practically to a standstill in most parts of the country. How do we ensure elected public officials deliver dividends of democracy to the people till the expiration of their tenure?â&#x20AC;?

It was a thoughtful question because many politicians are consumed with politics and place development in Number Two position. Indeed, for such, the battle for 2019 began immediately after the conclusion of 2015 polls.

Why should a person elected for four years work (or pretend to work) for two years and then spend the remaining two years exclusively on politics?

Is the Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, from this world or elsewhere? 2019 is less than a year, yet he is still consumed with passion for development. The opposition is busy strategising for 2019, yet Amosun is gripped by development fever. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Will investorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; forum bring

votes?â&#x20AC;? Some sterile minds might ask.

The belief in some quarters is that a governor would work hard during his first term because he needs a reelection and then spend the second term to feather his own nest. It is a wrong-headed notion because no governor is elected to help himself at the expense of the people but to serve them.

The Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Chris Cooter, visited Ogun State on April 14, 2013 and had this to say: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Governor has been emphasizing that his administration is very particular about hard work.

Here we are on a Sunday, I look at the construction going on, definitely, I am impressed. It is going to transform the state, no doubt. Whether it is canal, the road network, health or education, clearly, I can see a demonstration of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;can do attitudeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. I have not been to a state where people are working quite as hard as this one, and I have been in most of them now...â&#x20AC;?

Here are we again on the eve of an election year. Yet Amosun has spent sleepless nights organising another investorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; forum in order to consolidate the gains of the past and accelerate growth of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy.

Like Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo rightly observed, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no government that has invested in massive infrastructure as much as the Amosun administration since the creation of Ogun State in 1976.â&#x20AC;?

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, therefore, not surprising that the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state rose from N750 million monthly when the government of Amosun was inaugurated in 2011 to the current figure of N7 billion per month. Clearly, investments in security infrastructure, road infrastructure and relevant social services on a massive scale, have yielded positive results.

Between 2012 when the first investorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; forum was held and 2017, over 300 multi-billion naira industries berthed in Ogun State. This is apart from the hundreds of Medium Scale Enterprises taking advantage of the enabling environment created by the Amosun administration. Hundreds of thousands of our teeming youths have been employed by these companies. A greater number of indirect jobs has been created, all impacting positively on the socio-economic lives of residents. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I will work till the last day in office,â&#x20AC;? Amosun vowed during his address at the just-concluded 4th Ogun State Investorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Forum, at June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta.

For Governor Amosun, a visionary politician should seek to leave his state far better than he met it. He should look back after his years in government and feel satisfied that he had creditably played his allotted role in the socio-economic development of his state. Besides, when you work genuinely for the people, politics will take care of itself.

Soyombo Opeyemi, Abeokuta

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T H I S D AY ˾ Í°Í°Ë&#x153; ͰͮͯͶ

17

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY MARCH 22, 2018

How much do I pay as Land Use Charge?

Lagosians, enjoy a 40% general relief once you pay your Land Use Charge and enjoy additional relief up to: COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES

50%

FOR ALL OWNER OCCUPIED PROPERTIES

15%

OWNER-OCCUPIED + COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES

25%

* If you paid before these additional reliefs, you will enjoy a tax credit in 2019.

When you pay your tax, you enjoy basic social amenities and support the government in delivering more value.

Hand in Hand, let’s make Lagos great.

Please Pay Your Tax Today!

Itesiwaju Ipinle Eko lo je wa l’ogun.

09092995642, 08177777782, 08093929329. luc@lagosstate.gov.ng

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

POLITICS

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

PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

Why Voters are Flocking to SDP The failure of the All Progressives Congress to deliver on its electoral promises has compelled Nigerians to search for a credible alternative. Emeka Atuma, the National Organising Secretary of the Social Democratic Party, says his party is that alternative. He spoke with Tobi Soniyi. Excerpts:

Y

God according to their purpose. I believe the time has come where the congregation of men with like- minds that will provide solutions to Nigeria’s problems and set Nigeria on the path of progress and the time is now.

our new party, SDP, just released the names of its national officers, what does this portends for Nigeria?

Yes, the SDP just released the names of its national officers of which I am the national organising secretary.

I believe what Nigeria deserves is social democracy, a social ideology where people will be carried along in the planning of governance and implementation of whatever thing that is being planned in the very key areas, like in terms of socialism- where housing, food,and minimum wage will not be a problem. Where there will be the establishment of middle class, where the nation will be planning because social democratic ideology is dependent on planning.

We have lost it because Nigeria doesn’t have planning any more. That is why a lot of the leaders look at the money as to be excess and that gives them a lee-way to steal because by the time you have an appropriate plan in terms of infrastructures, human capacity building, unemployment, social development, you will realize that what you call excess money is not enough to meet the people’s needs.

Talking about Nigeria’s problems, how will you assess the last three years of the APC-led Federal Government?

Nigerians came out en-mass in 2015 to support the alternate platform which was the APC. Life is a movement and whatever thing that is constant to life will change because life keeps moving seamlessly like a web. They embraced the alternative and the alternative also failed them to the point that they are not able to recover. The masses today neither prefer PDP nor the APC. They are looking for something new, that was what led to the men coming together which I was part of to form a new political order and put the political order in shape. Because our constitution does not have any provision for independent candidacy, we began to seek a platform that is already registered with INEC and has an ideology, and we came to SDP and looking at the ideological setting of the SDP and those of us who actually participated in the days of SDP in the past now had to remember what happened there and putting it together we know it is a proper platform for Nigerians and they have already started embracing the platform.

The SDP is not a new political party, so what has changed that creates this new excitement looking at SDP? The issue is that SDP has not actually been given the opportunity to express its ideology in the past. SDP was the platform upon which MKO Abiola won election in 1992 with the same ideology and that election as it were, they were never sworn in and SDP went underground.

There was the formation of people trying to use a platform to win an election not really having an ideological democracy whereby there is something that is expected if a particular party comes to power. Like you rightly said, SDP has been there, it got registered with INEC in the last three, four years and within which period thee was no influx, there is always a beginning of a thing, like I said, something would have to happen for people to go back to their consciousness and realise that what they deserved at a time has come.

What has happened now, that has taken us to this new consciousness that you speak about?

The PDP woefully failed the country, there was nothing like a democratic setting in the PDP, and there was this psyche of a military mentality within the political party. There are very few people trying to control the things that are going on in the party and not allowing it to be the people’s party and that led to the congregation of other parties that came together on the platform of the APC and Nigerians seeking to see something different voted en-mass for this party that has failed Nigeria woefully. They have not kept any part of their promises and at no time have we lost lives in Nigeria like this time, no dignity to humanity again and no value or respect for human life, animals are now better than human beings. The level of insecurity, social injustice, bastardisation of our economy is so much in this setting that if we don’t take our destiny into our hands, we will probably may not have a better Nigeria tomorrow and people of likes minds, people with integrity, people that have seen the evolution of the Nigeria nation had to come together and say what will be done at this time in order to rescue Nigeria from drifting as a nation. Considering all platforms and seeing their ideologies they want to showcase something different to Nigerians that they will possibly accept and run with their anticipations, should there be formed an SDP-led Federal Government, to bring out the social ideology that is desirable to Nigerians. Of course that is what Nigerians are yearning for and I will

So in the next few months what is expected of the SDP? It is going to be a movement, a big sweep, it is going to be the masses party, people moving to the party in order to realign and rescue their nation that is why I said what has happened yesterday was just the presentation of the interim national officers that will culminate into a non-elective convention that will take place on 14 of April in Abuja, possibly at the Eagle Square, and when that is done Nigeria will see a different party, different colour and see it as a proper platform with which Nigeria will be redeemed.

Atuma

not be surprised if Nigerians are coming out en-mass to embrace the SDP because this has been their suppressed consciousness that has now come to the front burner.

When you talk about Nigerians coming out en-mass to embrace SDP, what we have seen in the last few days is that few frustrated PDP chieftains coming over to SDP?

A lot of sitting governors have indicated interest to run under the banner of the SDP but I won’t disclose their names at the moment

That is not the only movement, the issue is that Nigerians have actually been observing the trend in SDP in terms of the steering committee and there have been an influx of people and of groups, there are more than 30 groups that I am aware of are declaring and flooding into SDP. SDP is just on their managerial setting and we just introduced and showcased our national officers to Nigerians. In the next couple of days there are going to be a lot of events to show Nigerians where the SDP is actually headed to. On the 14th of April 2018, there is going to be a non-elective convention in Abuja that will also let Nigerians know the direction of SDP. When people say frustrated PDP members are coming into SDP I disagree with that because I was actually elected on the platform of the PDP in the past. Some of us were seeking for ideological platforms but somewhere along the line a lot of things happened even personally to me that took me to the Supreme Court and I believe that is not going to be a place for the Nigerian people to anchor their hope and get those deliverables they desire as citizens of this country. As I said there is always a rebirth of consciousness and I believe people will give their interpretation but my interpretation is that at the fullness of time as quoted in the scripture, all things worketh for good to them that love

How prepared is the SDP to field candidates that can win election?

The SDP is the party that Nigerians have been waiting for and ever since the anouncement of the SDP and the adoption of SDP as the new political order and the infusing of our group with the SDP in the last one week, there has been a massive influx into the party. If you look at a place like Delta in less than one week there has been an extended caucus meeting, it was a jamboree, you look at place like Gombe, places like Ondo where Dr. Olusegun Mimiko the former governor is also involved in the steering committee, you look at all over the places, meetings are going, registration drive and the mass mobilisation of Nigerians. All Nigerians that want change and things that will impact on their lives are waiting for the SDP to properly take-off and which of course the taking-off actually started yesterday by the presentation of the interim national working committee members who took the flags to the 36 states of the federation and the FCT. People are taking back the flags to mobilise people in their states. We are very prepared, we have our plans, we have our modalities, and we already have contacts with civil societies that have signed up for the SDP. We are going to take the presidency. We are taking the presidential seat and we are taking majority of the gubernatorial seats. A lot of sitting governors have indicated interest to run under the banner of the SDP but I won’t disclose their names at the moment, but as things are unfolding you will begin to see all the things I am saying today. You will see them unfold one after the other.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

PERSPECTIVE

Udoh: No Cultist in Akwa Ibom Exco The Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Charles Udoh has challenged those claiming that some members of the state’s executive council are cultists to come out with the proof. He spoke with Okon Bassey who presents the excerpts:

A

group of religious leaders that called themselves Fathers of Faith last week, anointed Governor Udom Emmanuel for a second term. What is the significance of this? Should these Christian leaders be fully involved in politics?

Should spiritualists rather be involved? See! If we all sit down and claim we do not want to play politics because we are Christians, then we have no reason to complain when the government fails to meet our expectation, in fact by so doing we may allow cultists and spiritualists to take over. If you want to impact on the future, then take active part in the system. It’s even a way to instill some positive Christian values in the system. INEC would not count prayer points but voters, so if Christians do not stand up to take active part, nobody is going to do it for them. The world all over, religious leaders choose their leaders, that way, you can also influence what happens, because if you do not want to be stained or harmed by the system, then you would wake up one day to find an illiterate as your local government chairman, if that happens, what happens to the economy of your people, because the world today has reached a stage that a leader without a verifiable e-mail address cannot attract things to his people. Even the Bible supports that, kings were anointed in the Bible, and we pride ourselves as a 99 percent Christian state, the only state in the world named after God, so why shouldn’t Christians have the right to choose their leaders?

The state government recently outlawed and placed a ban on 33 identified cult groups in the state, how serious is the issue of cultism in Akwa Ibom State?

We are all living witnesses to issues arising from cultism in the state. But again, as a proactive government, it would not wait till there is a massive run down before it takes action; government would not wait till the nefarious activities of these guys impact negatively on the populace. We had issues in the past where children in primary and secondary schools were forcefully initiated into it. So bearing in mind that we need younger ones for the future, we won’t mortgage the future by allowing children at such young age to be drafted into what they don’t know.

So this is just government being responsive, being proactive, just trying to get things right, without waiting for things to get completely wrong before something is done about it.

On the issue of cultism, there have been allegations that certain members of the state executive council are cultist, has government been able to identify these ones?

Let them come up with proof. The security operatives are seriously out to implement the document that was signed into force. Don’t also rule out the fact that the opposition will also try to make news. So that naturally would happen. Everybody is presumed innocent until found guilty, that is why government is taking up the issue. Remember that, earlier in the week, the governor had held a town hall meeting in Etim Ekpo, to try to dig into the root causes of the crisis in those areas. The idea was to go first and directly interact with the locals and reassure them that government is committed to ensure that lives and property and secured. You know that it is a political season, especially in our state, a lot of things are subjected to politics, but government is committed to ensure that the right thing is done.

During a town hall meeting, the state government extended what could be considered an amnesty to those perpetrating violence in Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun. Do you think they actually deserve a carrot treatment?

Udoh

Government didn’t make any pronouncement of amnesty. Government was simply saying, within 21 days if you have firearms come let’s sit down and dialogue; because, in the words of the governor you can’t solve a problem in one local government area and create one in another. If you call the guys in Etim Ekpo to give him job, then the man in another place would begin to enter bush and cause problems. So government is simply saying “come, don’t let us come and catch you, because if we come and catch you it means you’ve lost that opportunity”.

The NTA award on governor Udom Emmanuel has attracted some criticism from

INEC would not count prayer points but voters, so if Christians do not stand up to take active part, nobody is going to do it for them

the opposition APC, what actually qualified Governor Udom Emmanuel for the award?

In the last two years, Akwa Ibom State has been listed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as the second largest destination for foreign direct investment in Nigeria. We are only second to Lagos. Now ask yourself; what is foreign direct investment? It is a foreigner who has confidence in you and your governance structure, safety and security within your borders, and then they leave their shores to come and invest in your economy. Nobody would invest in your economy if you don’t have integrity, security, accessibility and other factors. Before investing in anyone’s economy, you must do some background checks and due diligence. Without sounding derogatory, some Nigerians are looked at with some questionable mark in some quarters outside the country. So when you find a leadership in a state, or a small part of a country that is governed, not by party at the centre, but by a party of the opposition, and it is able to attract foreigners who believes and come from the shores of their countries to invest into multi million dollars businesses, having done their background checks and realised integrity on the part of that government, then you must agree that no government can have integrity without a leader with integrity.

Secondly, the prevailing economic realities have made survival very expensive, how do you manage an economy like that? As much as possible, by trying to be accountable to the people. Since 2015, this government has consistently published its statement of account on newspapers for sake of due diligence, this government has also worked to ensure that budgets are passed on time. Now these are issues you aggregate and ask yourself, does

this government have sincerity of purpose?

Like I said before, it would have been easy for this government to, at the inception complain that the economy is hard, and maybe opted to pull down certain things to conserve funds and move ahead, but government insisted on remaining a people oriented government.

For instance; payment of salary never used to be an achievement, it would have been easy for government to delay salaries of civil servants especially when the allocation has not come, but government realises that the mainstay of the state’s economy as at today is public service, and so if you don’t oil the machinery of public service, you are going to create more problems, children would drop out of school. This government would also have dropped the free and compulsory education, payment of WAEC fees, free medical services and all that, due to hard economy, but clear intentions, clear sense of integrity, clear sense of responsibility, propelled by the leader of the state. He decided to focus on issues that have direct impact on the people. And then you talk about national service; that award was on integrity and national service. Earlier in the week, the NFF leadership came, and in the statement of the NFF President, he said, in the history of Nigeria it was the first time a Nigerian team had started a major journey into the world’s competition and the players and officials didn’t carry calculators to fight over bonuses, ticket and other things. Akwa Ibom State had no obligation to do that, the state didn’t have to do that but we believe that through sports and tourism we can put Akwa Ibom on the world map, afterall what do we want? We want a situation that when we mention Akwa Ibom State to an investor, he wouldn’t ask where that is. There would have been something that had already introduced the state to them, a linkage somewhere.

Those matches are beamed live and where are they playing from? Akwa Ibom! So when you mention the state to an investor, he is not thinking that you are from the cave, it becomes easier to penetrate those markets.

There was no complain, no issue, government did all that was necessary to support the match wholeheartedly.

The restrictions on motorcycles; don’t you think innocent people would be negatively affected by this decision?

The rationale behind the restriction on motorcycles in Ukanafun, Etim Ekpo and Ika local government areas is simple; most of the crimes committed in those areas in the last one year have been linked to motorcycle operators, you find them siting on motorbikes to carry out their crimes. So intelligence report has it that their major means of transportation is motorbike, and they do that when it’s a bit dark. So to also ensure that we can curtail their activities, security operatives recommended the restrictions to be put in place, to also allow security operatives effectively do their job. It’s not a ban, it’s a restriction of movement and use of motorcycle between 6pm and 7am. You know that when there are security challenges in an area, one of the ways to restrict and to ensure control is to impose a curfew, that way, people can stay in their homes and then security operatives can monitor what is going on. In Uyo metropolis the ban on bike has been on, its just a reinforcement to ensure that lives and property are secured.

How sure is government about its ability to enforce this restriction and ensure compliance with the curfew?

It’s the responsibility of the citizens to cooperate with security operatives to ensure that this works, because it is for the general benefit of everybody. The keke man may not be able to rob and get away with it, but the okada man would do so successfully. So it behoves on everyone to join hands to restore sanity to the affected areas.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

FEATURES

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

Rachel’s Rhapsody Emmanuel Addeh who witnessed the inspiring meeting between thousands of girls from schools in Bayelsa and the wife of the state governor, reports that it was an opportunity for the students to learn directly from a woman who it seems bears their burden

Former Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, Bayelsa State, Hon. Ebiowou Koku-Obiyai (3rd left), Chairperson, Executive Committee of the CWP (Africa Region), Lindiwe Maseko, First Lady of Bayelsa State, Dr. Rachel Dickson (centre), Bayelsa scholarship beneficiary and female first-class graduate of the Lincoln University, USA, Miss Mabel Obiriki, others, during a Moment with Commonwealth Women in Parliament held at St. Jude’s Secondary School, Yenagoa…recently

S

ince giving birth to a set of quadruplets over a year ago, wife of the Bayelsa State governor, Dr. Rachel Dickson, seemed to have slowed down to take care of the home front.

But last week, the university lecturer took time out to have what seemed like a ‘girl-to-girl’ talk with an all-female gathering of students selected from secondary schools in the state.

The hall at the Saint Jude’s was filled to the brim, as the students of St. Jude’s Secondary School, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, waited for their guest, who had at the time gone to speak with thousands of women gathered at the Peace Park in celebration of Women’s Day. But with her arrival, the hall exploded in tumultuous euphoria, literally bustling back to life. She wasn’t alone. She had in her entourage senior government officials as well as a team from the Commonwealth Women in Parliament in Africa, an association of women lawmakers in the continent.

Aside Lindiwe Maseko, Chairperson, Executive Committee of the CWP (Africa Region) and Angela Didisa, who led their own teams to the event, the Secretary to the State Government, Kemela Okara; Commissioner for Education, Jonathan Obuebite and his Information and Orientation counterpart, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, lawmakers and other top government functionaries were also on hand to inspire the youngsters.

Then it was time to settle down for the business of the day which essentially bordered on issues that affect the girl-child in Nigeria and in Bayelsa in particular, having earlier savoured the special drama and assorted dances by the obviously elated students.

Obuebite, the Education Commissioner, who gave the welcome address recalled the decrepit state of schools in the state before the Governor Seriake Dickson administration came on board.

“This unique citadel of learning is one of the model schools here. Before the governor

came in 2012, there was nothing like boarding schools. On the day he was inaugurated, the governor declared a state of emergency in the sector.

“That kick-started the silent revolution.

Before now, Bayelsa was 27, 28 in all national examinations, talk of WAEC and NECO. Today, Bayelsa is 5th in WAEC and 3rd in NECO. Because someone had a vision which snowballed into a mission statement and is now driving the process,” he said.

He added that the likes of St. Jude’s

Before now, many women did not have a voice. The cultural practices did not also help. When your family says it’s time to marry, you must go. Now, there are organisations fighting for the rights of women and you have a government that cares for the girl-child. Here in Bayelsa, we give girls a pride of place, so there is no reason for any parent to say they won’t send their children to school

Secondary School, were now scattered all over the local governments.

“We have these kind of schools everywhere.

We have 25 constituencies boarding schools that have been built and more than 7,000 boarding students in our schools. Books are provided free for them. Uniforms are provided for them, even school bags, food is free and you can only find this in Bayelsa State.

“That is why the governor is Mr. Education. Last week, he got the award for Best Education Friendly Governor in Nigeria.

Her Excellency (Mrs. Dickson) is the chief advocate of girl-child education. Today, our women have the best opportunities and they have the pride of place,” he noted.

Describing the event as historical, Obuebite said that the children would never forget it, stressing that it will remain indelible in their memories forever.

Continuing in the same line, Principal of the school, Celia Ayinaitari, said the school had become a farmland before Governor Dickson's intervention.

“We know how this school was. I came back as a classroom teacher after attending this school. My principal in my days is here and she can testify to that. Whatever you see here is done by the governor. The school has been expanded, whereas this school was just a farmland.

“He is not thinking of himself, he is thinking of the poor. The students here were drawn from the villages. The children you see here take three square meals. I cannot mention many of the things. What the students just come with is a bucket, the one you can afford. You can see that this school looks like a university,” she noted.

She eulogised the school for its exploits in academics and basketball, having been national champions several times, revealing that “we plant the seeds from when they come in.”

Governor Dickson’s wife subsequently presided over a panel, where issues af-

fecting the girl-child were discussed, with Miss Mabel Obiriki, a Bayelsa scholarship beneficiary and female first-class graduate of the Lincoln University, United States of America as moderator.

Many of the students also had an opportunity to ask various questions on the topic themed, 'Girl-Child Education: A Panacea for a Stable Society', bordering on early child marriage, rape, women in politics and combining the job of a mother and coordinator of the house as against being a professional in any given field.

“There’s much difference between then and now. Before now, many women did not have a voice. The cultural practices did not also help. When your family says it’s time to marry, you must go.

“Now, there are organisations fighting for the rights of women and you have a government that cares for the girl-child. Here in Bayelsa, we give girls a pride of place, so there is no reason for any parent to say they won’t send their children to school. “In the past six years we have gone round the state enlightening them that the girl-child has as much rights as their boy counterparts,” she assured.

The First Lady told the young girls that as coordinators of the home front, they must be virtuous women who have the fear of God and put family first.

“The woman is the gateman. It is you that influence what comes into your family or what goes out,” she said.

She argued that though women now have a voice, they still need to “build confidence and say we can do it.”

“We are not there yet, but we are trying. In any case, the men are our fathers, brothers, uncles. We are their mothers, sisters, aunties.

And the benefit is for all of us. But we dream of a country where a woman will be President one day,” she said.

According to her, “there is no rule that says only the boy child can fly the flag of

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Ëž T H I S D AY THURSDAYË&#x153; Í°Í°Ë&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

FEATURES Have the best of education.

Do all you can do.

Every girl should have conďŹ dence in what they do, whatever profession.

Make sure you excel. You will be celebrated like your brothers. We stand together shoulder to shoulder to tackle issues that militate against the girl-child and to ensure that at the end of the day, our daughters are celebrated

L-R: Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Konbowei Benson, Hon. Angela Didisa, First Lady of Bayelsa State, Dr. Rachel Dickson and Chairperson, Executive Committee of the CWP (Africa Region), Lindiwe Maseko, at St. Judeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Secondary School, Yenagoaâ&#x20AC;Śrecently

The students giving a song rendition

Excited students

the family.â&#x20AC;?

To the girls, she advised: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Have the best of education. Do all you can do. Every girl should have confidence in what they do, whatever profession. Make sure you excel.

You will be celebrated like your brothers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We stand together shoulder to shoulder to tackle issues that militate against the girl-child and to ensure that at the end of the day, our daughters are celebrated,â&#x20AC;? she added.

She told the girls to be bold to approach the authorities when issues of rape and other assaults happen to them, saying that the office of public prosecutions in Bayelsa was capable of taking care of rape victims.

First Lady of Bayelsa State, Dr. Rachel Dickson and Chairperson, Executive Committee of the CWP (Africa Region), Lindiwe Maseko

The governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife spoke vehemently against negotiating assault on children and girls out-of-court, maintaining that it will only embolden rapists to continue to harm the girl-child. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Let me tell fathers and mothers, once your child is violated, it is no longer cultural.

Somebody has broken the law, let him or her face the consequences. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow yourself to be settled. Once you are settled, you are given a token, that culprit will violate another girl. Let him face the law,â&#x20AC;? she warned.

On street hawking, she explained that there are already legislations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every parent that makes their son or daughter to be working

while their mates are in school will not go scot-free,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Maseko, chairperson of the CWP, in her submission on prostitution, argued that though it was not ideal, safer sex must be encouraged among them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is also important to legislate on prostitution or encourage safer sex. Let us put safety measures to ensure they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t contract diseases based on the what they do,â&#x20AC;? she advised.

Stressing that parents are now more enlightened than during her days, she narrated how she was beaten up by her parents when she had her menstrual period for the first time, because they said she had started

mingling with boys.

Also, Didisa, a former Agriculture Minister in South Africa, advised women to take more responsibility for their lives, advising the students to shelve temporary enjoyment for long-lasting values. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Women should take responsibility for their lives, doing right and learning from those born before them. Make sacrifices because easy come easy go. Sacrifice fun, going to club, having a boyfriend for the good of your future. Those things can wait,â&#x20AC;? she said.

She added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;As Deputy Minister of Agriculture, I was 29 years old, the youngest in cabinet. I could go to clubs. But I told myself, whatever I do will mirror what the young people of South Africa can do. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If I failed as a minister and member of parliament, I would have failed the women of South Africa. Society will say, can women ever be trusted with such positions? People will judge Bayelsa and Nigeria by what they see in you,â&#x20AC;? she told the gathering.

She urged boys to stand up and fight for the girls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They must say this must not be done in our name. Mothers and fathers must teach the boy-child to protect their sisters, even if they are not biologically related. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stand and look when a child is violated,â&#x20AC;? she said.

In her remarks, Mrs. Ebiowou Koku-Obiyai, a former lawmaker and former Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, Bayelsa State, said the government had domesticated the child rights law in the state.

"We have domesticated the child rights law in the state. It was domesticated last year, and in that law, there are a lot of things it has captured. Hawking and rape are part of it. Rape has become a problem in the society because most times when our children are raped, people do not want to talk about it because of stigmatisation.

"People will hide, family members will hide. We have a law that can protect them and that is the Child Right Law. We have various organisations to assist them.

"The duties of these organisations, are to track some of these vices against our children being the girl-child or boy-child. I also know that boys are being raped. All of them should be protected. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Parents should be bold to report; we have not been making formal report and that is bad. This is so because once a girl is raped, you have destroyed the future of that child because the child will be withdrawn in life, some of them may even be afraid of getting married.

"I want to use this opportunity to tell our parents, our brothers and sisters that whenever they hear anybody that is raped, they should speak out and the law is there to protect them," Koku-Obiyai said.

She added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be intimidated. Be bold. Do whatever you are given and do it well. Girls are not weak, do what you are supposed to do. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow anyone tell you girls are weak.â&#x20AC;?

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L-R;Chief Commercial OďŹ&#x192;cer, Jumia, Mr. Shobnit Pandey; Head, South West Zonal OďŹ&#x192;ce, NITDA, Mrs Chioma Okee-Aguguo; CEO, Jumia Nigeria, Juliet Anammah;CMO Jumia Group & CEO Jumia One; Mr. Paul Midy; and Chief Transformation OďŹ&#x192;cer, MTN, Mr. Olubayo Adekanmbi ,at the press conference for the launch of 2018 Nigerian Mobile Report & Jumia One (a new Jumia company) in Lagos... recently Abiodun Ajala

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by Spectranet to the club in commemoration of 2018 International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day in Lagos...recently Yomi Akinyele

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Silicon Valley Women Visit Nigeria

PRODUCT LAUNCH

L-R: MD, Swift Network Limited, Charles Anudu; GM, Red Cheetah, Victoria Onwubiko; Managing Partner, AT3 Resources, Tosin Adefeko and Chief Operating OďŹ&#x192;cer, Swift Networks Limited, Chuma Okoye at a media brieďŹ ng on the launch of Cheetah product by Swift Networks Limited in Lagos...recently ABIODUN AJALA

NITDA Defends Exclusion of CPN Nominees from Board Inauguration Stories by Emma Okonji As criticisms continue to trail the non-inclusion of nominees of the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) in the list of the newly inaugurated board members of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the agency has explained that the omission of CPN nominees was as a result of the mixup in submission of names.

The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, had penultimate week, inaugurated a team of 16 board members that will drive the affairs of NITDA.

ICT The four representatives from CPN, who were supposed to be part of NITDA Board in line with the NITDA Act, were not included in the board list, even though they were physically present during the inauguration, which took place recently in Abuja.

The development has attracted criticisms from stakeholders in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry, who stated that the NITDA did not handle the entire process with the utmost national interest.

The stakeholders argued that

the NITDA Act stipulates that in the selection of Board members, CPN should forward four representatives for consideration, but expressed surprise that the minister in collaboration with NITDA decided to sideline CPN in the inauguration.

Explaining the reason for the omission of CPN nominees, the Director, E-Government Development and Regulation at NITDA, Dr. Vincent Olatunji told THISDAY that the omission of CPN nominees was as a result of a mixup in the submission of names. He stated that the CPN has been directed to rectify the list of its nominees, and resend same to the minister. According

to Olatunji, as soon as the list is rectified and sent, the CPN members would be inaugurated into the NITDA Board.

Unsatisfied with NIDTA explanation, the stakeholders said NITDA erred in the selection process for the inauguration of board members, having disregarded the CPN list.

According to the stakeholders, the Ministry of Communications, which supervises NITDA, NIPOST, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Galaxy Backbone, and Nigeria Communications Satellite Limited (NigComSat), had Continued on page 24

Ericsson Advocates 5G for Digital Economy Needs Ericsson, a networking technology company has stressed the need for counties, especially African countries, Nigeria inclusive, to develop a strong 5G foundation network that would position service providers at the centre of the digital ecosystem.

The President and CEO of Ericsson, BĂśrje Ekholm, who gave the advice in a keynote speech at the just concluded 2018 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, spoke with the co-anchor of Squawk Box Europe on CNBC, Karen Tso, during the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first keynote session called The Foundations of The Digital Economy.

He reinforced many of

IT the same messages from his press conferences that 5G has moved from buzzword to a commercial reality, highlighting the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 38 MoUs and several commercial contracts with service providers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We see 5G as a way to show the value of the network. A lot of technology depends on a strong mobile infrastructure, he said.

He added that while increased speed would be important with 5G, lower latency and longer battery life could be even more so.

5G has been designed to be

the industrial internet, with remote control of machinery and maintenance with augmented reality as two prime examples.

In Nigeria, service providers are beginning to roll out 4G services, which come with higher speed of connectivity, but the connectivity speed of 5G is far more higher than that of 4G, among other fascinating features that will boost broadband penetration, which 5G has. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At the same time, the consumer will see this too, for instance, in health care and autonomous vehicles where low latency will be a critical factor,â&#x20AC;?

Ekholm said.

Ekholm addressed the need for the right regulatory regime, a point he also made earlier, while emphasising deregulation in Europe and easier site permitting processes, which will allow for the rapid build out of sites necessary for 5G. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important for governments to see networks as critical natural resources. About 100 years ago, we built out railways and roads, but the future roads are digital highwaysâ&#x20AC;?, Ekholm added.

Tso and Ekholm finished by looking ahead to the future on several levels â&#x20AC;&#x201C; commercially, Continued on page 24

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Millions of Nigerian youths nurse big dreams and have the capacity to thrive a futuristic economy that is technology driven, but they need government supportâ&#x20AC;?

Chairman, Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh

24

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; Í°Í°Ë&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

NITDA DEFENDS EXCLUSION OF CPN NOMINEES FROM BOARD INAUGURATION called for the submission of CPN list, which CPN submitted promptly. They further said the ministry later asked individual groups like the CPN, Information Technology Industry Association (ITAN), who are representatives of CPN, to send their names for the inauguration, a situation, they said, made the ministry to have two different set of list from CPN nominees.

THISDAY however gathered that NITDA was not comfortable with the initial list sent

by CPN, and had queried its composition, a situation that made the ministry to demand another list from the individual groups that made up CPN. They have therefore called on Shittu to reconsider the initial list of CPN and inaugurate its members as soon as possible.

The newly inaugurated 16 members of the Board of NITDA, include Prof. Adeolu Akande as Chairman of the Board, and Director General of NITDA, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami as its Secretary, with 14 other members, which supposed to include the four nominees from CPN. ERICSSON ADVOCATES 5G FOR DIGITAL ECONOMY NEEDS in terms of new devices and in how 5G will dramatically change the lives of Africans and other continents. â&#x20AC;&#x153;5G will be a commercial reality for a couple reasons. The first is data traffic. We need 5G to bring cost per gigabyte down. We also see that early movers in new technology gain a benefit. We saw that with early movers in 4G â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they get higher average revenue per user and higher market share,â&#x20AC;?

Ekholm said.

Ericsson predicts there will be a billion 5G devices on the market by 2023, and they could likely shift how people interact with connected devices. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will see more wearables, and fragmentation on the device side will be larger.

Today the smartphone is the centre of ecosystem. That could look different in a 5G world,â&#x20AC;? he said, pointing out that it is about opening up possibilities.

Swift Network Targets 2m Nigerians with Free WiFi Connectivity Emma Okonji and Reheem Akingbolu Determined to empower Nigerians with Internet access, and give them the opportunity to have digital lifestyles, especially students, school graduates, the unemployed and low income earners, Swift Network has launched a digital initiative that will provide Nigerians with free Wi Fi connectivity.

According to the Internet Service Provider (ISP), the plan is to empower two million Nigerians in the next six months, with free internet access that comes with one gigabyte of data on a daily basis.

Swift Networks plans to deploy 10,000 hotspots in designated locations in Lagos alone with a target that at least 200 people could gain access to the hotspots in a day, bringing the total target of two million people daily that will have access to free internet, provided they are within the hotspots location.

Announcing the initiative in Lagos this week, the Chief Executive Officer of Swift Network, Mr. Charles Anudu, said the company has already deployed 500 hotspots, from the targeted 10,000 in Lagos alone, adding that after having full coverage of Lagos, it will expand the initiative to other parts of the country.

The service, Red Cheetah app, is a new brand under the stable of Swift Networks that will start with an initial 10,000 hotspots distributed all over the state, supported by advertising revenues

from leading global brands and partners. Red Cheetah is expected to help deepen Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s broadband penetration and aspiration for universal internet access for greater social equity and inclusion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Red Cheetah service model once more follows in SWIFTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tradition of demystifying and making technology to work for Nigerians so that they can hook up to the digital world to explore, work and entertain more efficiently,â&#x20AC;?

Anudu said.

The security of every userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s access is enhanced by the Red Cheetah App which establishes a distinct and secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection to the internet for each device on the platform.

I strongly believe that this dogged work of over two years is the ideal model that will empower Nigerians to live their most productive lifestyles in a digital world.

I am extra proud that every-

thing about Red Cheetah is Nigerian and shows what we can achieve when we commit to solving the problems of our society taking our context into consideration,â&#x20AC;? Anudu added.

On his part, the Chief Operating Officer of Swift Networks, Mr. Chukwuma Okoye, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our plan is to roll out an initial 10,000 Red Cheetah hotspots in Lagos which will be the largest Wi-Fi footprint of its kind anywhere in Africa

and will cover many verticals including schools, airports, buses, taxis, shopping malls, bars, clubs, restaurants, open markets, hospitals and in fact any place where Nigerians need to research, catch up on work and play. This revolutionary service powered

by Swift Networks, is fast, secure, reliable and supported by legendary sponsor brands with strong commitment to corporate social responsibility to Nigeria.â&#x20AC;?

FIRSTBANKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FINANCIAL LITERACY SESSION

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Representative of the Secretary, Taraba State Education Board, Principal, Government Day Secondary School (GDSS), Mohammed Nya, Jalingo; Haj. Zainab Sani; Regional Head, Retail Banking North, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Shehu Aliyu and Head, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, FirstBank, Ismail Omamegbe, during FirstBankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ nancial literacy session at GDSS in commemoration of the 2018 Global Money Week... recently

ILO: Skill Mismatch Contributes to Rise in Unemployment in Nigeria The Country Director, International Labour Organisation (ILO) Dr. Dennis Zulu has said that skill mismatch contributes in no small measure to the rising unemployment figure in Nigeria. He explained that most multinational corporations in the country are not employing because applicants in Nigeria lack the required skills, saying that the school curriculum is no longer meeting the demand of 21-century employers. Zulu, according to Signature TV, stated this at the official launch of Vision to Fruition symposium series organised by Network of Social

Entrepreneurs (NOSE), with the theme, â&#x20AC;&#x153;A new Frontier for the Nigerian Youth: What Should We Do Differently?â&#x20AC;?.

He also observed that greater percentage of employed Nigerians work for unregistered companies.

Zulu called on government to implement employment policies and apply the relevant laws so as to nip the menace of unemployment in the bud.

In a keynote address christened â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Preparing Nigerian Youths for Positions of Leadership: Experience from One Campaign, the Country Director One Campaign, Mrs.

Dennis Zulu Serah Zainab Makka said that social entrepreneurship for Nigeria is good because it marries two areas- private and social sector. She underscored

the importance of collaboration and networking, saying when two passionate people come together to implement an idea, it would naturally snowball into something big.

Makka said that government needs to be pushed by citizens and civil society organisations to rise up to her responsibility of providing quality services to the people, arguing that government everywhere is the same. She further added that her organisation is working hard to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty in the country, in addition to advocacy on the need for government to

provide quality health care services and education to citizens in rural communities. The Chairman Board of Trustees of NOSE, Dr. Gafar Alawode said that the group would build multi sectorial community of excellence that would synergise the vibrant energy of youthful population to achieve positive result.

Earlier in his welcome address, a member of board of trustee, Barr. Femi Adekunle said that NOSE is poised to galvanise the vast population of ambitious youths in Africa to actualise the needed change in the continent.

Google Begins Training of 100,000 Tech Developers Emma Okonji Group Business Editor

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Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x17D;ĂŁ Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?

Senior Correspondent

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Google has commenced its Launchpad Accelerator Africa initiative in Lagos, which targets to train 100,000 technology developers. Google equally announced developer scholarships for 15,000 developers.

Google, on Monday announced the startups who will participate in the first Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa class, at an event held in Lagos. It also announced a partnership with Udacity and Andela to provide 15 000 single course scholarships and 500 nanodegree scholarships to aspiring and professional

developers across Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

Google had announced the first Launchpad Accelerator Africa class in November and the applications closed in December 2017. Launchpad Accelerator Africa is a programme for top early-stage African startups that will operate out of Lagos, Nigeria.

Country Director of Google Nigeria, Juliet Ehimuan, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Launchpad Accelerator Africa was announced at Google for Nigeria in July last year. At the time we also announced the extension of our Digital Skills for Africa program to train 10 million Africans, including

100,000 developers, over five years. The scholarships announcement forms part of that commitment.â&#x20AC;?

Over the next three years the Launchpad Accelerator Africa programme will provide African startups with over $3 million in equity-free support, working space, and access to expert advisers from Google, Silicon Valley, and Africa.

Participants receive travel and PR support during each three-month program.

To qualify, startups have to be a technology startup, based in sub-Saharan Africa, targeting the African market and have already raised seed

funding. Google additionally considered the problem the startup is trying to solve, how it creates value for users, and how they addressed a real challenge for their home city, country or Africa broadly.

The sub-Saharan Africa Ecosystem Regional Manager, Andy Volk, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are thrilled to announce this, the first Launchpad Accelerator Africa class and look forward to working with them to drive innovation into the African market. Africa is home to some incredibly smart people who are working to solve the continentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s problems using homegrown solutions and

weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re honoured to be able to be part of that.â&#x20AC;?

Google commenced the training with 12 technology startups, selected from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa, where Nigeria tops the list with five out of the twelve selected startups.

Google is committed to the sub-Saharan Africa developer ecosystem and has, since April 2016, hosted 13 Launchpad Build and Start events across Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, featuring some 228 speakers and engaging 590 attendees from local startups in each country.

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BUSINESSWORLD

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Akinlola: New Marketing Campaign Will Boost Customer Experience The Managing Director/CEO of ntel Telecoms Company, Mr. Ernest Debo Akinlola, spoke with Emma Okonji on the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s challenges and plans to reposition it to boost customer experience. Excerpts: cent in five months in terms of our customer base and we need more of such growth, which has to do with proper funding to drive laudable initiatives. Funding is key to our business, we need more funding and I am very optimistic that in the next few months, we will get the kind of funding that we desire.

What has been your experience in managing ntel since you assumed the position of Managing Director and Chief Executive of the telecoms company about six months ago?

When I accepted the call to take up the leadership position of ntel, I knew there were some challenges on ground and I was also convinced that the challenges were surmountable. Since then, eyes have been on me from the direction of the investors, management and non-management staff, including government to see how I can reposition the telecoms company into profitability and to get more visibility and wider acceptance.

And I have been doing my best to live up to their expectations. Upon taking the leadership position, the first thing I did was to identify the challenges on ground, which were mainly the desire to create brand visibility in order to acquire more customers, and to increase our working capital. What I have done in the last six months was to work with the management team to make some changes that gave us a stronger and better focus as a business.

One of the observed challenges was that we launched with 4G LTE, which is a technology that is far beyond the time we launched and we had issues of getting customers with 4G LTE devices to connect to our network. Having identified the challenges, we moved swiftly to address them and in the last five months, we have been able to grow our subscriber base by 40 per cent, and we are well over 100, 000 subscribers now. We were able to achieve this because we introduced below the line marketing campaign, which worked out well for the company.

Can you share your background in telecoms jobs since inception?

I stumbled into telecommunications by interest and strong desire, and it played out well for me, even though my educational background is in Accounting. I have worked with several fast moving consumers goods (FMCG) as an accountant, before working with telecoms companies of international and local reputation.

I have worked with Etisalat as head of audit, before it rebranded to 9mobile, and all my work experience in and outside Nigeria has prepared me for this current role.

Going by the training of Accountants, there is a general belief that they are not free at releasing funds. How will you cope with the release of funds to run a telecoms company like ntel that is capital intensive?

This is an interesting question for me as an Accountant, but I use to tell people that I belong to the group that spends money on projects without being economical with funds, provided there is assurance on good returns on investment.

I have worked as Chief Marketing Officer and that position entails spending money. I am a kind of person that is driven by value for money.

There is nothing wrong in spending money, provided there are returns on investment. So as MD/CEO of a capital intensive business, I am duty bound to release funds for projects that will benefit our customers and will improve the financial status of the company and I am willing to do just that.

What is the fate of the business deal on national roaming plan that ntel had with 9mobile last year, given the current situation of 9mobile?

We entered into roaming agreement with 9mobile last year and we have almost concluded that deal. Having agreed on the terms and conditions, we approached the telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for approval of concept and that has been done. The stage we are right now is getting the final approval that will enable us have the commercial launch with 9mobile. We decided to enter into national roaming agreement with 9mobile because we had since realised that it is only through collaboration that telecoms

So how much funding are you looking at?

Huge funding that will run into millions of dollars. ntel had in the past, given customers unlimited access to data. Is it a business plan that will run for eternity?

They are our customers and we cherish them.

So they will enjoy the unlimited data plan as long as the network exists. We launched with N12,500 unlimited data plan, we later increased the price and customers still prefer it to other data plans because it is much more profitable to them and their business. But we have diversified our portfolio from unlimited data to several other plans that are of great benefits to our customers. The reason is that not all customers need unlimited data plan. Some also need weekly and monthly plans which are captured in our diverse plans.

Akinlola operators can sustain their business models in order to survive and national roaming is a better way to generate revenue. To allay your fears whether the plan will fly, given the situation of 9mobile, I will tell you that there is nothing to worry about because both telecoms companies are in business to make profit and I am sure they will not fail in the agreement so far reached. Yes we are aware that 9mobile is shopping for new investor, and we are ready to work with who finally emerges as the new owner of the telecoms company.

our retail stores or with our direct and indirect vendors. We have a robust network but we need to work more on engaging our customers.

Once we get the right customer engagement, we will begin to build the right proposition that will eventually drive that. Last week, we launched our ePin and printed recharge cards and that is about engaging the customers more.

We do not want to be perceived as an elitist brand, because our brand is designed to meet the needs of all categories of customers.

Since 2016 when ntel rolled out its commercial services, it has covered just few states. What are the plans to extend coverage to more states of the federation?

The rollout plan to more states is in the offing but subject to funding. We are expecting more funds to be injected into the business, and as soon as that is done, there will be rollout to more states.

What is your view about the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 30 per cent broadband plan. Is it achievable by the end of 2018?

Nigeria has all it takes to meet the broadband target, in terms of her readiness to boost the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s broadband infrastructure. To achieve this, all industry stakeholders, especially those in the private sector, must show more commitment in advancing the technology development of the country. As a country, we have a target of 30 per cent broadband penetration by the end of 2018, but we are presently at 21 per cent and we have nine months to go.

It is an ecosystem objective that could be achieved through collaborative efforts between the government and the private sector led initiative. All stakeholders and the government, in particular, have to play their roles to achieve the target, and it is achievable if the right policies are put in place and the private sector is incentivised to play their roles properly. The 30 per cent is even an aspirational goal for the industry, but what the industry really needs is a significant penetration of between 60-70 per cent broadband penetration.

There is a general perception that the ntel brand is for the elites because the average income earners who form the majority of the Nigerian population do not have access to ntel recharge cards. Why is ntel not producing physical recharge cards like other operators?

We are aware of that challenge and this is one of the things we are trying to correct and make our recharge cards available to all categories of cushiness, such that they can get it at any of

Given the capital intensive nature of telecoms business, is ntel open to more investors that will bring additional funds to the business?

Working capital is the key in any business and we have lots of ideas to push out but we need funding to actualise them. I have been engaging with the board members of ntel on initiatives to inject more funds into the business and I am sure they are in discussions with credible partners to achieve this. We have grown 40 per

What value will the national roaming plan add to ntelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operation?

By the time we launch our national roaming, it will help us have coverage in additional cities, and it will also help boost our 4G LTE rollout. The 4G LTE network that we have drives both out voice and data segments of our business. Our network is built as a 4G network, and that makes it more efficient, because it has become the widest coverage network. No other operator has a pure 4G network and that makes us far ahead of our time. The network is super-fast and that gives us an advantage over other operators.

The financial health checks carried out by NCC recently showed that nearly all the telecoms companies are not financially stable. What is your take about this?

It is true that telecoms operators have financial challenges, but as ntel, we are engaging with our creditors and the NCC to address out financial debts. Like every other telecoms operator, ntel has its own debt to manage and we are managing it well. Our level of debt is not as high as other operators indebtedness. I understand where the NCC is coming from in the whole issue of non-financial stability among operators. But I can confidently tell you that our financial debt is not a big issue because we are managing it very well. ntel is not captured in NCCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rating of telecoms operators as displayed on NCCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website. What could be the reason for the omission?

NCC rates all telecoms operators and publish the ratings on its website, but you may not see ntel being rated along other GSM operators, because we are classified and rated under Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and that is the reason our rating does not feature along side other GSM operators. It cannot be said that NCC does not have sufficient data about ntel, hence ntel is omitted in NCCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rating. The truth is that we are grouped under VoIP. As VoIP provider, NCC does not rate our data performance, because of the way they programmed their system to read and capture data. But we are engaging with the NCC to address that since it is becoming an issue.

NCC recently withdrew the licence of telecoms operators that were into call masking and refilling, citing national security risk. How has the practice of call masking and refilling affected your business?

Call masking is not affecting our business for now, probably because we do not have high international traffic coming through our network into the country. We are not into call masking, our traffic is clean and we never thought of doing business in that direction, because of the illegality in the investment over the business of call masking and refilling.

As CEO of ntel, what is your vision about ntel business?

My vision for ntel is very clear and laudable.

My vision is to further develop ntel to become a fully integrated Information and Communications Technology (ICT) company in the next five years.

We have all it takes to achieve it because of our robust technology and network.

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BoostingAcademia,IndustryCollaboration on ICT Park The $8m grant from the World Bank for the establishment of an ICT Park at Obafemi Awolowo University is a laudable idea that calls for collaboration between the academic community and technology firms, writes Emma Okonji The wide gap that exists between the academia and the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry in terms of the quality of university graduates every year has been a thing of concern. The gap is so glaring and alarming to the extent that industry stakeholders, who are employers of labour, had to painstakingly invest in fresh graduates in order to retrain them to acquire industry skills that will make them useful to the organisations.

Over the years, such existing gap has partially been blamed on lack of proper academic research across tertiary institutions, which has equally been blamed on lack of ICT parks at designated universities, designed to train students on practical skills that will make them employable.

Most thesis and research projects carried out by students of tertiary institutions, end up on the shelves of varsity libraries. They are most times coated with dust because they are not implementable and they do not serve the needs of the industry.

In order to address the anomalies that have created huge gap between the universities and the industry, the World Bank, in 2014, came up with an idea on how to bridge the gap between the academia and the industry with a strong desire to set up an ICT Park in a university that will help to train students in practical skills that will make them both employable and employers of labour. The idea was to establish an ICT Park at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, in Osun State, where its students and other tertiary institution students in the county could acquire practical skills in various Computer and Technology related courses that are in demand by industry stakeholders.

Having commenced the ICT Part project with full facilities on ground, the authority of OAU is calling for collaboration with industry stakeholders, to give the ICT Park project a more desired facelift.

The choice of OAU Speaking at a one-day forum in Lagos last week, which was centred around the ICT Park project and organised by the university authority, with the theme: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Rethinking Academia-Industry Engagementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, the Director, World Bank Assisted Project, OAU, Prof. Adesola Aderounmu, who doubles as the President of Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), said the university was selected for the project because of its excellent pursuit for education. According to him, the World Bank called for proposal from all universities in Nigeria and Central Africa in 2014 and 30 universities were initially selected from among 59 that applied from Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Among the 59 universities, 10 of them were shortlisted by the World Bank and after a thorough review of the applications of the 10 shortlisted schools, OAU was eventually selected as the best institution for the ICT Park project,â&#x20AC;?

Aderounmu said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A grant of $8 million was given by World Bank for the ICT Park project, which had since commenced with students already carrying our research projects in the ICT Park, but we needed more industry collaboration on the.

The programme has already started and some industry stakeholders have already signed MOU with us, designed to bridge the practical skills gap that currently exists,â&#x20AC;? Aderounmu added.

The need for industry collaboration Although the ICT Park project has commenced since 2014 with structures and facilities already on ground, the university said there was need for more industry collaboration to bring it to speed and to the desired global standard.

Addressing the large forum made up of academia and industry stakeholders, the Pro Chancellor of the University, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, said the essence of the forum was to seek more collaboration from industry stakeholders in the form of industry partnership to boost the project. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need to build strong interface between

Layout of a typical ICT Park the academia and the industry, and we want industry participation and synergy on this project that will be of immense benefit to the student community, the academia and the industry,â&#x20AC;?

Ogunbiyi said.

The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof.

Eyitope Ogunbodede, said the ICT Park would

OAU has been listed among 10 institutions by the federal government through the rural electriďŹ cation agency to boost electricity in tertiary institutions.

We need stable electricity to drive the project and we are appealing to the federal government to assist us on this. The campus electricity project will provide uninterrupted electricity for the ICT park 24/7, if completed and it will ease academic research that will be going on in the ICT Park

help to bridge the practical skills gap that exists between the academia and the industry. He said the ICT Park projects is capital intensive, hence the need for industry stakeholders to partner OAU to train students that will be well grounded in both theory and practical skills before graduating.

Boosting the project with electricity Ogunbiyi, who spoke on the importance of electricity to the ICT Park project, called on the federal government to assist the university in its campus electrification project. â&#x20AC;&#x153;OAU has been listed among 10 institutions by the federal government through the rural electrification agency to boost electricity in tertiary institutions. We need stable electricity to drive the project and we are appealing to the federal government to assist us on this. The campus electricity project will provide uninterrupted electricity for the ICT park 24/7, if completed and it will ease academic research that will be going on in the ICT Park. We are expecting 8.03 megawatts up from the 6.0 megawatts that is currently existing on our campus, when completed,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The value of OAU ICT Park The ICT Park, according to Aderounmu, would add value to studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; learning in acquiring practical skills that meet industry demand. Most of the industry players are complaining that the students that graduate from universities nowadays, are half-baked because they are only grounded in theoretical skills without the actual practical skills in their disciplines. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The ICT Park will afford the university authority, the opportunity to liaise with industry stakeholders and get them invited to visit the ICT Park regularly, to engage with the students in practical skills that are in line with industry trend.

They will work with the university authority to produce robust curriculum on practical skills that could be infused into the university curriculum, with the approval of the National University Commission (NUC),â&#x20AC;? Aderounmu said .

He further explained that the university authority has added active participation of long and short-term courses and that about 14 short-term courses ranging from Cybersecurity,

Cloud Computing, to Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), have been introduced in the ICT Park. He further said that the University Senate has approved five disciplines for the ICT Park, which include: Masters and Doctorate programmes in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Intelligence System Engineering, Software Engineering, and Information System.

He said the essence of the ICT Park is to train students to be employable and to become selfemployed as at the time they are graduating from the university.

The keynote speaker, Dr. Monisoye Sola Afolabi, who gave detailed information about the ICT Park project in his presentation, discussed extensively the roles of the manufacturing industry in the society, the roles of universities as manufacturing industry, the challenges of the universities in training students for the manufacturing industry, as well as the need for academia-industry collaboration in order to achieve the vision of the World Bank, the NUC and the university authority.

He concluded that the major role of the universities is to produce goods and services for the industry and that the goods and services produced from the universities, represent the group of students from various disciplines that graduate from the universities every year. He, however, emphasised that the goods and services from the universities must be in line with industry needs, hence the need for collaboration between the academia and the industry stakeholders to further boost the initiative of the ICT Park project in OAU. The vision of OAU According to the Vice Chancellor of OAU, the university has signed several Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with industry stakeholders as partners to the ICT Park project and they need more partners that will support and finance some projects in the ICT Park initiative. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have the facilities on ground, we have the enabling environment as approved by the NUC and the World Bank and our vision is to train full-baked students who are knowledgeable in both practical and theoretical skills, with the collaboration of industry stakeholders,â&#x20AC;?

Ogunbodede said.

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Adegbami: Poor Credit Culture Hampering Operations of Micro-finance Banks Managing Director, Mainstreet Microfinance Bank Limited, a subsidiary of Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Adegoke Adegbami, in this interview with Raheem Akingbolu, speaks on the different challenges confronting the sector, among other issues. Excerpts: Considering the peculiar challenges assailing the microfinance ecosystem, how do you see the future of microfinance bank in Nigeria?

I think we need to basically go back to the definition of microfinance. Microfinance means providing financial services to the small and low income earners. But when you look at the microfinance, there are some that are in the SME group, there are some that are very micro, i.e. those trading in petty markets and so on; so it depends on what you want to focus. For a microfinance bank you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t attend to all of them. For instance, if you want to tackle the issue of poverty, are you going to get everybody on the street to come and do business with you? Some of them will come but they cannot really save their money, some of them are actually involved with one small business or the other. These are the ones we call the active ones because they are actively involved with something so these are the ones we target; the ones we believe if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effectively done they will bring their money to save in the bank and they will also be requiring small loans and also employ someone else. They also get their businesses better structured, better planned and maybe need to expand when it gets better with time into a limited liability company.

Another problem confronting the sector, I dare say, is the issue of capacity building which is being addressed by the day. There is the issue of funding. Microfinance needs stable funding both from private commercial and development sources. Poor credit culture in our society is also a major problem. I also think that microfinance in Nigeria is currently being strictly regulated compared with what obtains in many East African, South African and Asian countries. We know that the regulators, objective is in response to the nature of our own society. But we should get to a point were some small scale microfinance can operate just like the modern forms of our typical Alajo or Esusu system. Those people will not need twenty million naira to start their businesses, particularly in our remote villages. Their activities would be guided by other business related parts of our laws, pending when they will grow to the level of strict regulation. At that point, they will be compelled to list for regulation. Also, lack of public infrastructure makes the business of microfinance to be very expensive. Microfinance is naturally expensive because of it small loan sizes and the labour intensive nature. But Nigerian environment is more challenging because of the absence of public utilities.

The greatest problems confronting most microfinance banks is the issue of huge debts portfolio arising from default. What has been your experience in the area of loan recovery?

There is an adage that says â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are no bad followers but bad leaders.â&#x20AC;? So you need to do your assignment before you pass your money to your customers because once the money leaves your hands and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in their (customers) hands they have a stronger point. There is also an adage that says â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The mouth that people use in borrowing is different from the one they use in payingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. That means you need to do your assignment before your money leaves your custody. So we talk about all issues of policies that relates to risk and the type of policy we have are policies that tell us that this is how to begin a loan and this is where to end. There are businesses we can do; there are also businesses we cannot do. The kinds of things we observe are cash flow of the person, the integrity of the person and sustainability. Once the customer has met all the conditions we then disburse the money. Some bad loans are also results of connivance between fraudulent staff and some customers. So in actual fact, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let

Adegbami

the customer go and sleep, we monitor them; that is what also determines the location of our branches. So the monitoring mechanism carried out by our Loan Recovery Officers is very alright because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just about loans, you do your assignment before disbursement, you monitor and make sure the money comes back as at when due because the main asset of the Microfinance Bank are the risk assets and loans. If the policy of the loan is not well managed and you are unable to recover, it will be eroding your capital and you will be losing money and gradually you will be out of the market. The procedure we have put in place has helped us thus far.

Some banks use extra judicial means to collect debts from customers, how do you recover yours?

It depends on what you mean by unlawful or illegal means. If you owe then you must be prepared to pay. At Mainstreet Microfinance Bank, we ensure that customers sign undertaken saying if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay us we will take your items and sell, but that is the very last option because even if people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know us they know our Parent Bank. So it is easier to say a subsidiary of this bank did this to us. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do things that are illegal or involve violence.

We have our name to protect. By training we know that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to go that far. The default in effect may be an indication that we did not do the selection properly from the beginning. If you do the right thing, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not as bad as people think. Let me tell you, if you do micro lending the way you are supposed to do it; out of about every 100 people, I can categorically tell you that 80 people will pay you without giving you any single problem, 80 out of 100. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have that kind of thing in the commercial banks. Just make sure you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t over expose them, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give them more than they need and you treat them very well. Also be sure you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have your staff trying to connive with them, because sometime you have staff who, can even go to influence the customer to default because they want to get something out of it. If you take all those things away, every N100 you lend to customers, 80 naira will be paid without any pressure. Of course, there is a problem that people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take note of. Often times, a microfinance bank

wants to compete with a commercial bank. You are not dealing with the same set of people, if we are competing with them, you will go for the wrong customers. There are people that come here and we say no we are not dealing with you, you are not our customer. Because we are dealing with people who can see us as their role model, people we can talk to and guide them on how to do their business not people who think they know it all. If you select your customers very well, it is not as bad as people paint it.

The CBN is set to increase the minimum paid-up capital of Unit Microfinance banks (Mfbs) to N100 million. What is your view on this?

The 2008 global economic meltdown drew a lot of issues and challenges. There was the challenge of people losing their jobs and then looking for something to do. Microfinance provided an opportunity where they could get some money, those people that lost their jobs for example could start some small scale businesses. Each of them can also provide jobs for two or three other people. There were also people that lost their jobs in the commercial banks and saw microfinance as the natural alternative. Shortly before the meltdown, there was the banking consolidation in Nigeria. Consolidation reduced the number of commercial banks in Nigeria from 82 to about 25. Many people in the money deposit banking space lost their jobs in 2006 and 2007 due to reorganisation, rightsising and downsizing following the banking consolidation.

The next thing was for those people to get jobs in the emerging microfinance space. In a typical Nigerian way, many of these people believed that microfinance means the smaller version of commercial bank. They believed the commercial banking knowledge they had was enough to run microfinance business. They were wrong. At the regulators level, many of the examiners were using their commercial bank orientation to examine microfinance banks. The microfinance market operates on a different ideology and methodology.

It is very dangerous to use the strict commercial bank knowledge and methodology to run a microfinance bank. The market is different. The people we are dealing with; their lifestyle and their needs are different

from that of an average commercial bank customer. For instance there was this belief that you can use the microfinance bank license to mobilise cheap deposit to either fund the micro credit program or other businesses.

The truth is that microfinance bank cannot even become self-funding in the first two to three years. You are dealing with a net deficit section of the market and so you must get money to bring into that section of the market. Therefore, the knowledge gap was largely responsible for the failure of a number of microfinance banks. People from commercial bank background also had this problem of wanting to keep their expensive lifestyle. So they put on microfinance bank the kind of expenses that are unsustainable.

Things have changed today. The operators and regulators know better now. Even our customers now know better. They know that microfinance loan is not a share of national cake. CBN has organised and sponsored certification training for operators. For you to be in a management role a microfinance bank in Nigeria now, you must be certified.

There are also training programmes for the non executive directors of microfinance banks.

We must also remember that a number of Microfinance Banks have done well over time, particularly those that took the issue of capacity building very seriously. Mainstreet Bank Microfinance is one of those that have done well. Here, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t joke with the issues of training and planning.

Now to get to the point about the new benchmark set by the apex bank for the microfinance banks, I think the policy ordinarily is good but what I may not say is whether it is timely. And thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the opinion of many other industry operators. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good policy on paper but in terms of its finesse and practicality, I may not agree with it.

What is the vision behind the establishment of Mainstreet Microfinance Bank?

Mainstreet Microfinance Bank is a subsidiary of Skye Bank which was established in 2009 precisely, in line with the Microfinance Policy Guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria-CBN. The reason why Skye Bank (then Afribank) went into Microfinance Banking was because we have a lot of people at the bottom of the economic pyramid that could not be attended to within the commercial bank or what we call money deposit bank model. Mainstreet Microfinance Bank was registered in 2008 and we started operations in 2009. Besides, we have very loyal customers, which include individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s artisans, traders, small households and trade groups. There are corporate ones, those involved in the organised unions and associations and SMEs. We have the small time savers as well.

All these customers have patronised us over a period of time, so you can say that Mainstreet Microfinance Bank has proved its worth in the Nigeria market. People can always align with anything done by Mainstreet Microfinance Bank; everyone wants to associate with success.

So the parent bank thought it wise to set up a microfinance bank because we had a lot of loyal customers who beyond putting their savings account for safety in Skye Bank cannot do any other transaction, they cannot access loans because they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the conventional collateral they cannot meet some documentation requirements of commercial bank. We thought it wise to say look we have been here for a long while, now the Central Bank came with a microfinance policy to address the financial needs of the lower end of the market, especially the small and micro customers. We then took advantage and created a platform where we could serve them.

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Belfrics Global, Financial Technology Solution Firm, Commences Operation in Nigeria Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja A financial technology solution company and widely recognised Bitcoin Exchange in the world, Belfrics Global Technology, has launched its operation in Nigeria, under Belfrics Nigeria PVT Limited.

A comprehensive gateway to the world of bitcoins, Belfrics Nigeria is a subsidiary of Malaysian- based Belfrics Global, a digital finance company that offers a wide range of products and services to the digital currency industry, including a wallet, a trading platform, a payment gateway and others.

The Executive Director of the Nigeria branch, Mr. Victor Evoh said that the company is known for its Blockchain solution, which entrenches local content and effective regulations where necessary to boost the economy of the country.

The Nigeria branch came after its successful launch of Kenyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operation last week.

Unveiling the solution, the Chairman and CEO of Belfrics Global, Mr. Praveen Vijay said that the Blockchain solution helps to enhance all existing data base in a system, transparency in government operations and openness in public service. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We are bringing Blockchain technology solutions to Nigeria.

What we have at the back of our mind when we talk about Blockchain solution is a kind of

ripple effect because we want to bridge the gap of multiple corruptions in all government areas and in all facet of public enterpriseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Vijay stated. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;It brings transparency, it eliminates corruption. Blockchain is not a one of thing; it is kind of a house that houses so many entities on it. We have Blockchain solution in area of health, Blockchain solution on law, finance, land management, tax, e-government. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;In fact, we have Blockchain in virtually in every facet of life because everything we do is not tangible but digitalized.

It is digital information.

Blockchain solution harnesses all this information and gives transparency to it. That is why it recorded everything it does in a ledger. It is like a book everybody goes in and see. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;But it is not open as you can see tangibles. You have to have an access before you can get into it. It lays bare, there is no more secrecy in everything government doe or public person does. It eliminates corruption and off-record activities. Once you have access to the solution, which in our own case we provide key to everybody, you can see everything government does.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He added that the services of the global organisation is all about data and information storage, adding that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;if you are building a Blockchain solution, you have to get information from the primary source and then upload to the secondary

FG Approves Cisco Networking Academy in Federal Unity Colleges Stories by Emma Okonji The federal government, through the Federal Ministry of Education, has approved the Cisco Networking Academy Programme as well as the establishment of six Internet of Things (IoT) innovation centres across the Federal Unity Colleges in the six geo-political zones of the country.

The initiative is part of Ciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategic partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education to provide access to quality ICT education in the country. The project is driven by one of Ciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Networking Academy Support Centres, UNITeS and so far, two IoT Innovation Centres have already been established at the Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba and at FGC, Bwari, Abuja.

Speaking at the official opening and inauguration of one of the Innovation Centres at Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College, Lagos, the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu represented by the Director of ICT, Federal Ministry of Education, Ifegwu Orji, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Qualitative education in the modern world is intrinsically tied to the development and deployment of ICT in education. This initiative by Cisco is highly commendable as it will train our students to become global problem solvers and to become competitive on a global

level. It is my earnest desire that this centre will produce great minds that will make a difference Nigeria.â&#x20AC;?

The minister also approved all other Cisco long-term CSR programmes, even as he urged all stakeholders in the sector to partner the government in order to salvage the education system of the country towards the attainment of sustainable development, towards a digital economy.

CSR Programme Manager, Cisco Nigeria, Imoh Akpan, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The establishment of these centres is one way that Cisco encourages the adoption and the application of technology. Our aim is to boost the education sector, ensuring more students are exposed to skills for the digital economy, in the current 4th Industrial Revolution, thereby enhancing Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global competitiveness, boosting socio-economic development as well as promoting employability.â&#x20AC;?

The Unites Internet of Things Innovation Centre is the first in sub-Saharan Africa, designed to serve as a centre for research and development that will provide solutions to social challenges and developmental problems, and transform Federal Unity Colleges into smart schools for teaching and learning.

The intervention will provide students with a competitive edge when entering higher education or the labour market.

source.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He added, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;For people to have access to what we are doing, we recently spoke to NITDA and they are very curious about the solution we are bringing in and if you get such parastatal curious, then there is the possibility it will buy the idea.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Also speaking on the digital technology solution, the Director Administration

and Human Resources, Jay Ukachukwu said Blockchain came to eliminate corruption and enthrone openness in governance and all public establishments.

He explained that people may be sceptical to embrace the technology now but would soon realise the potency in eliminating corruption, double registration and usher in public confidence in every public

business and transaction.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Like when the internet came out, it did not appeal to everybody.

Blockchain helps in every area of life. It helps in taxation, medicals, land management and in all areas of life. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Blockchain technology was developed as an aftermath of what happened in Wall Street in 2008. There was financial down turn in the world called

economic meltdown. Then, banks were being liquidated and they were using the opportunity to rip off an ordinary man on the streets.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Blockchain technology started business in 2014 and is now in a multi-national company with operations in 8 countries, including the leading world economies: China, Japan, India, Malaysia and Kenya.

CELEBRATING WOMEN WITH DRIVE INITIATIVE

L-R: Tourism expert, Chiamaka Ntia; one of the winners of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Women With Drive Initiativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by Taxify, Eziafa Esememe and Brand Manager, Taxify, Terver Bendega, during a cocktail party organised by Taxify in Lagos...recently

PLAY Brand Ambassador, Olamide Launches Channel Brand Ambassador of PLAY, Olamide aka Baddosneh, has launched his much anticipated music and lifestyle channel, Voice Of The Streets (VOTS) on PLAY TV. This comes as the artiste celebrated his birthday on the same day and gave out 100 PLAY decoders with 12 months free subscription to reward his fans for their loyalty to him and his music over the years.

VOTS is expected to deliver the best in showbiz bringing in the best street music, lifestyle, reality shows and entertainment news across Nigeria.

The channel will also offer rich local contents on events, documentaries, red carpet events, features, interviews and many more.

The Channel Manager of Play TV, Ms. Blessing Ezeala described the station as â&#x20AC;&#x153;100 per cent music, lifestyle and entertainment Channel showing exclusively on Channel on Play TV. According to her, â&#x20AC;&#x153;VOTS is the first channel in Nigeria which is owned by an artiste.

This channel will have huge viewership across Nigeria especially with young people from the grassroots who are keen to immerse themselves in real knowledge of the trends emanating from real music and entertainment in Nigeria. It will also serve as a platform

for up and coming artistes to promote themselves. VOTS aims to be the first choice for not only Olamideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fans but generally for young aspirational Africans who love street music, pop culture, music and entertainment.â&#x20AC;?

Commenting on the launch, Olamide said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is just the beginning of good things to come to entertainment industry in Nigeria. In Play TV, we have a collaborator that enhances our offering of local contents to our fans.

For me and my team, we have always aimed to launch a channel that will speak for the streets and so when the opportunity came up, the choice of Play TV and the launch of VOTS for us is significant as it will cement VOTS as the leading Music and Entertainment Channel in Nigeria and Beyondâ&#x20AC;?.

Also expressing his excitement for the launch, one of VOTSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; channel partner, Stevenator, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Street is within us all. It is the aspirations, inspirations, perspirations and finally the achievements that keep us going every day.

VOTS represents the voice that will tell these stories to the world. I am therefore full of joy that finally the street has found a voice and will be head from all corners of the world through the VOTS channel.

VOTS is now among the

more than 40 channels and counting on PLAY TV, available

to subscribers at only N1,000 monthly.

MainOne CEO Harps on Data Centre Hosting, Cloud Investment The Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, Ms. Funke Opeke has highlighted the opportunity for increased investment in shared fiber network infrastructure, data centre and cloud computing infrastructure in Africa.

This, she said was key to further unlocking the gains in the digital transformation of the continent.

She spoke at the 2018 TMT Finance Africa Conference, a forum driving investment for telecoms, media and technology sector across Africa, held in Cape Town, South Africa last week.

Opeke joined panelists from DLA Piper, Teraco, PAIX and Rack Center to discuss the need for continued investment and growth within the telecom sector and data centre market in order to realise the vision for increased ICT adoption in Africa.

She said MainOne, through its subsidiary, MDXi Data Centre recently invested an additional N12billion in its

Lekki data centre to grow its capacity from 300 to 600 racks as the leading data centre in West Africa. She stated that the investment was part of MainOneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan to invest additional $300 million to enhance communication infrastructure across West Africa over 10 years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;MainOne intends to remain at the forefront of the broadband initiative in West Africa with investments in fiber infrastructure and data centres across the region to advance broadband activities. In eight years, we have established a reputation as the preferred provider of connectivity and data center services to West African businesses and have facilitated global content providers seeking direct access to subscribers on the sub-continent. The company has continued to extend its network reach and is currently providing services in eight West African countries including Nigeria and Ghana,â&#x20AC;? she added.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY MARCH 22, 2018

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Oyo Govt Compensates Land Owners in Otu The Oyo State government has paid compensations to about 77 families whose lands were acquired recently for mass production of cassava in Otu near Iseyin. The State Commissioner for Lands, Housing, and Survey, Mr. Isaac Ajiboye Omodewu, presented the cheques to the beneficiaries at a brief ceremony in Otu, Itesiwaju Local Government Area of the state last week.

The commissioner, an indigene of Otu, lauded the governor for abiding by the

law and demonstrating that the state believes in the peace and security of its citizens.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is the vision of the Oyo State governor, Senator Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi, to bring investors into the state and that is why he took it upon himself to ensure peace and security in the state for the comfort of the investors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The community has agreed to release the land to the government and their compensations are being paid accordingly todayâ&#x20AC;?.

He stated further that the

compensation exercise became necessary in view of the dictates of the land use act which puts all lands in the state in charge of the state, but added that the onus is on the state government to compensate those whose lands are acquired for development.

The Director of Finance, Lexcel Group, Mr. Wale Majolagbe, who also is the representative of Allied Atlantic Distilleries, one of the investors, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since Oke-Ogun supplies most of the cassava we use, we decided to move to the

4,000 hectares of land available here for expansion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Activities will start on the land by the first week in April and the ethanol production plant will be ready in the next two yearsâ&#x20AC;?. In his response to the gesture, the Chairman Itesiwaju Local Government Hon. AbdulFatai Niyi Adeagbo commended the state governor for promptly paying compensation to the owners of the acquired lands.

He also counselled all beneficiaries to make judicious use of the fund.

He assured the state government and the investor that the people in the community will work in close harmony with all stakeholders to guarantee the growth and development of the community and the state as well. Earlier in his welcome address, the General Secretary, Otu land Committee and the Agoro of Otuland, Chief Moses Adeniji had expressed appreciation to Governor Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi for early payment of compensation noting that his committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts are not in vain. Chief

Agoro also congratulated all the land owners as he thanked them for releasing their lands for investment that will bring further development to Otuland. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are really happy, because we have craved this kind of project in times past, but today, it is at hand. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a community of peace, we are ready to give security and moral supports for the development of the project. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are ready to assist them in any ramification, at any time they need our assistanceâ&#x20AC;?, Chief Agoro said.

Cyrus Advocates Consumption of Made-in-Nigeria Goods Raheem Akingbolu The management of a furniture and joinery company, Cyrus, has called on Nigerians to patronise locally made goods to promote the economy. The company has also indicated its determination to deepen its operation to give consumers more value for their money.

Speaking at a press briefing organised to herald the 20th anniversary of the company in Lagos, its Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Alero Imo, said Nigeria professionals have the ingenuity to compete favourably in the global furniture market.

As part of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plans to raise the bar in the industry, Imo, disclosed that the furniture firm has consistently involved in training and retraining of artisans to bring the best out of them. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;We believe in originality and innovation and this has always reflected in our output, being doors, wardrobe, bed and kitchen furniture. At Cyrus, we have various segments with different machines for different task that can take like 17 workers at once. One thing we are always trying to achieve is to be on top of our game anytime, any day,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; she said.

While stating that Cyrus equipment are latest in the market, to meet up with international expectation, the CEO pointed out that the company has various sections to prepare its products for exportation to other countries.

The sections include; joinery section, spraying section room, finishing section and packaging section. Speaking on how the company has weathered the storm in the last 20 years, Imo admitted that it has not been entirely rosy but was quick to point out that determination and poise for perfection have kept the company going. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Looking back, the last 20 years have been very challenging and exciting, especially when we consider the peculiar challenges of our business environment and consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; apathy towards made-in-Nigeria goods. We found ourselves competing with global brands and this has helped us to deepen our operations as well as advancing in technology,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; She however reiterated the need for Nigerians to patronise made-in-Nigeria goods, stating that it is only through such patriotic endeavour that the country could grow its economy.

Poise Nigeria Receives CIBNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Accreditation Emma Okonji Poise Nigeria, an etiquette training firm, has been accredited by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) as a certified trainer for the banking and finance sector.

The ceremony which held at the Council Chambers of CIBN recently, was chaired by the Chairman of the institute, Professor Segun AJibola.

With over 17 years of equipping individuals with performance enhancing skills to positively impact their organisations and the society in general, Poise Nigeria has become the preferred institute for delivering value in self-development and capacity building trainings for individuals and corporate entities. Over the years, Poise Nigeria has since expanded its horizons covering not only personal and career development programmes but also offerings in youth employment and entrepreneurship, teen development programmes and ICT and digital design skills

through its subsidiaries, Poise Graduate Finishing Academy and EkoBits respectively.

In recognition of its compliance with regulatory standards and outstanding best practices, the CIBN has certified and granted full accreditation status to Poise Nigeria in Lagos.

The certification came at the approval of the Governing Council of the institute for accreditation at the end of a recent evaluation exercise carried out by the CIBN. The institute is the sole accreditation agency under the Competency Framework for the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Banking and Finance Industry put in place by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

On presenting the certification, the institute commended the management of Poise Nigeria led by Founder and Industry veteran, Mrs. Mavi Isibor, for its consistent efforts towards meeting high standards and thriving towards world class training in the financial and banking sectors as well as other sectors of the economy.

CAPACITY BUILDING

L-R: Senior Manager, General Internal Services;Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Bisola Asaju, , Head, Human Resources, Adeola Onichabor,, Facilitator of the Workshop Seyi Ifaturoti and Executive Director, Marketing, Sovereign Trust Insurance,Ugo Odemelam at the â&#x20AC;&#x153;push For Progressâ&#x20AC;? Workshop organised for the female employees of the organisation in Lagos ...recently

BMAC Simplifies Accounting Firm Advises Breast-Feeding through New Software for Mothers to Avoid Slim Tea Business Owners Emma Okonji

The management of IkOOba Technologies through its Business, Management, Assurance and Collaboration (BMAC), has urged business owners, especially Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), to key into its new accounting software -collaborative accounting to boost their record-keeping and financial management culture.

According to the company, IkOOba BMAC is a simple, innovative cloud accounting solution that provides real-time financial information in an easy-to-understand format on any device. The software was said to have been designed to bring SMEs closer to their clients offering a collaborative platform to help analyse business performance and provide new business insights.

Project Director, IkOOba Technologies, Sam Afemikhe Jr, in a short presentation, said SME funding programmes instituted by successive governments have barely made impact on the overall economic well-being of businesses because of the high cost and risk incurred by finance houses in lending to businesses.

According to him, most SMEs in Nigeria struggle to keep details of their business transactions and account records, as such the SMEs sector is unable to grow sustainably or hit their full potential. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a situation we must change

if we are to grow this economy, reduce unemployment and enhance the standard of living of our people,â&#x20AC;? Afemikhe said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Due to lack of requisite finance, our businesses have staunched growth. Sadly, billions of naira given out by financial institutions, accumulated only and doubtful debts and inflicted so much pain and financial loss on these fund providers.

This situation can improve only when businesses particularly SMEs are able to keep records of their transactions by maintaining accounting books that generate the right information for them to track their performance thereby equipping them to manage their businesses better,â&#x20AC;? said Afemikhe as he posits that financial providers will not fund SMEs without basic verifiable accounting records.

Over the years, records have it that SMEs struggle to keep their financials and accounting information, which are key indices for decent business track record that ensure funding and enables them ascertain their integrity discipline and general performance.

Chairman, ikOOba Technologies, Sam Afemikhe, in his remarks said the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to assist businesses become better at keeping records, and to advise SMEs on how best to grow their business sustainably.

Mothersbond, a leading mother and childcare online platform, has cautioned breastfeeding mothers to be wary of taking slimming teas and slimming tablets while breastfeeding, stating that such products may be harmful to the babies they are nursing.

In a statement issued in Lagos, the Mothersbondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Director of Customer Experience, Michael Osuji, explained that while the company has nothing against slimming tea and herbs when used correctly and by those it was made for, its concern is its ripple effect on babies when such products are consumed by nursing mothers.

As promoters of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of babyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life, moms reach out to us that their babies are underweight despite exclusively breastfeeding them. A close look at the diet of some of our moms have shown that in order to lose weight gained during pregnancy they opt for slimming teas and pills. What they dont realise is that their baby is also taking the slimming tea through the breast milk.

Although we recognise that a babyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weight has to do with genetics as well as nutrition, we shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be contributing to what we are complaining about.

Nigerian women are known

to constantly compare their babyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weight with that of the next child they see, forgetting that babyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weight is not the only indication of health and wellbeing; so long the weight of the baby is within the approved weight range for the age. Not all infants will be fat. This is why nurses and midwives take your babyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weight each visit to be sure itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s within the expected range for the age.

He urged nursing mothers to avoid taking slim tea whenever they want to breastfeed, adding that research has proved that there is significant relationship between infant weight loss and maternal diet. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Even slimming pills and teas taken as far as six months prior to pregnancy can affect a foetus weight, and if taken during breastfeeding can make babies weigh less than they should for their age. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say how far this goes, but nursing moms can lose weight in better ways such as taking a guided balanced diet, eating five small sized portions of healthy meals in a day instead of three heavy meals if their goal is to lose weight, adding fresh vegetables to meals etc.

If the focus is the belly area, a suitable post pregnancy abdominal binder can help solve the problem instead of resorting to tea and pills.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; he stated.

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

UN, Lions Club Collaboration on Diabetes The need to combat diabetes, a non-communicable killer disease, topped the discourse at the Lions Club Internationalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 40th Anniversary Day with the United Nations held recently in Lagos. Funke Olaode, who was there, writes

D

iabetes is one of the top four killer non-communicable diseases in the world. The others are cancer, heart disease and chronic lung disease. In 2015, it was estimated that over 422 million people globally had diabetes. According to the International Diabetes Federation, sub-Saharan Africa has high prevalence of diabetes and an estimated two-thirds of the people with diabetes in Africa are undiagnosed.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous nation in the world. According to the World Health Organisation, 2016, about 4.3 million Nigerians are suffering from diabetes.

Lions Intervention It was against this backdrop and to align with its mission statement to empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage and promote peace and international understanding that the Lions Club International chose a theme for this annual event.

All roads led to the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos on March 16, when Lions Club International Multiple District 404, Nigeria celebrated its annual day with the United Nations with a theme â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Working together globally to combat diabetesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Lions Day with the UN is an annual event where the club invites leaders from government, business, and the non-profit sectors to explore solutions to pressing global needs.

To celebrate this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day in Nigeria, former Nigeria Representative at the United Nations, Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari was the Chairman of the Day; a Private Diabetes Practitioner, Dr. Mrs. Lathar Ravikuma was the guest speaker, and co-founder of the EKO Hospital Group, Dr. Olorogun Sonny Kuku was the Keynote Speaker. Other dignitaries included Multiple Council Chairperson MD 404, Lion Gbolagade Adebisi; District Governor 40 B2, Nigeria, Lion Ayobola Samuel, UN Representative in Nigeria, Mr. Ronald Kayanja, Dr. Teslim Sanusi, Lion Abiodun Adediji, diplomats, expatriates from various embassies, all top members of the association, captains of industry, public officers, teachers and students in secondary schools in Lagos including Pacelli School for the Blind and partially impaired were all in attendance.

UN Input In his statement read by Kayanja, the UNDP Representative in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon said it was a great honour to represent United Nations at this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anniversary.

He said the UN deeply values the collaboration with Lions Club International which dates back to the adoption of the United Nations Charter more than 70 years ago in San Francisco, when Lions Club helped to formulate the non-governmental section of the UN founding document.

Commending the associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collaborative effort with the UN over the years on many successful humanitarian ventures, Kallon said

L-R: UN Rep. Kayanja; Lion Ayobola Samuel; Gambari and Lion Adebisi at the Lions Club event in Lagos...recently he was encouraged to see that the association is helping children to grow, learn and enjoy a better and quality life through a variety initiatives, including sight first, which has helped restored vision to more than 30 million people worldwide. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I greatly appreciate what you are doing as the UN counts on the Lions members to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals built on the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals to promote equitable and inclusive progress for all humankind on a healthy planet.â&#x20AC;?

In a speech read by his son, Umar Bolaji, Prof.

Gambari commended Lions Club International for choosing this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme, which he said is both timely and appropriate. He said it was also appropriate that the celebration was jointly hosted by the UN, a global body reputed to bring relief, peace and development to the troubled world. Analysing the theme and why all hands must be on deck to eradicate the epidemic, Gambari said working together to accomplish much is the essence of working together globally to combat diabetes, and in this regard, a comprehensive National Plan of action based on public-private partnership was essential, while the focus should be on prevention, treatment and research.

He stressed that all stakeholders, especially in the health sector would be involved in the design and implementation of a comprehensive strategy to address the scourge of diabetes, â&#x20AC;&#x153;find ways to push it out of our world and make our bodies diabetes-freeâ&#x20AC;?.

While smokers are at the risk of suffering from diabetes as it might have a serious effect on cardiovascular health, Gambari recommended measures that could prevent cases of diabetes.

According to him, more than anything, there should be a high level of awareness and advocacy and he said the Lions Club and other stakeholders can play a key role in this area.

Medical Impact Giving a vivid illustration of diabetes from the medical point of view, the keynote speaker, Dr. Sonny Kuku said diabetes is a global disease that has overtaken all infectious diseases that even kill in Nigerian and that is why it must be fought by all and sundry.

Throwing more light on how the disease has eaten deep into the Nigerian fabric, he said there was a paper that came out in Nigeria in 1952 which said there was no diabetes in Nigeria, because it was so small then. Today, it has affected 8 per cent of Nigerians which means one out of 10 will have diabetes in Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The last nationwide survey on the burden of diabetes was carried out in 1997. In 2015, an estimated 14 million people were suffering from diabetes and the figure is likely to increase to 34 million by 2040. We need to fight it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even more worrisome is that the number of people who are walking around with diabetes compared to those who are diagnosed is alarming.

Such people can die of complication. Diabetes is the second commonest cause of blindness and amputation. It also leads to hypertension and heart failure,â&#x20AC;? Kuku said.

Though one of the killer diseases, he said if properly controlled, diabetes may not occur or be postponed. Speaking further, the renowned physician, who is also the Life Patron of NonCommunicable Diseases Alliance of Nigeria, said the cost of treating diabetes is high as one out of six diabetes admissions lead to death compared to malaria, which is one in 1,000. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How can we prevent the spread of this epidemic? he asked rhetorically. He emphasised awareness and advocacy and not only that people suffering from diabetes should get insulin for free, regular exercise and change of lifestyle. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Diabetes is not caused by sugar as many believe, but it is as a result of insufficient insulin

in the body.â&#x20AC;? Though the major cause, according to Kuku, is obesity, hypertension, strong family history, sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, alcoholism, smoking etc., he said reduction of diabetes is based on health awareness campaign.

To him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;it is a disease that can be nipped in the bud if one does regular exercise, checkup of blood sugar, blood pressure, women doing cancer screening, physical exercise such as 30 minutesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; walk in five days per week, healthy living and that early detection because if the disease is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;caughtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; early, it can be postponed or cancel mortality. Kuku called on stakeholders to rise up to the occasion through collaboration as one of the ways to kill diabetes. He also thanked Lions Club for their immense contribution in this area by building Diabetes Centres all over government hospitals across the country.

Remedial Measures Corroborating Kuku, a private Diabetes Practitioner, Dr. Lathar Ravikuma said diabetes is a disease caused majorly by â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lifestyle: The way you live, eating habit etc.â&#x20AC;? According to her, the epidemic does not have age limit as it affects all ages. Although over 371 million people are living with diabetes worldwide she said the disease is prevalent in Africa, Asia and developing countries. To improve health and ward off diabetes, Ravikuma suggested that people should avoid skipping breakfast. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you wake up, breathe deeply, instead of sugary breakfast, eat food with high-fibre concentration, water instead of soft drink, vegetables instead of highly concentrated carbohydrate food, drink water with freshly squeezed lime juice, while herbs and spices can improve insulinâ&#x20AC;?, she added.

And while access to affordable health care can help prevent all forms of diseases, she enjoined all to take control of their lives.

RANDOM THOTS Dangerous Balance Nigeria is blessed, and despite all selfish efforts to rob the citizens of the gains of these blessings, the country is still delicately glued together. But that is as far as the togetherness goes. The inequality gaps among Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s over 170 million citizens are obvious and now threaten the peaceful coexistence and continued existence of the nation as a whole.

It is saddening that rather than official looters ploughing back the billions sto-

len from the commonwealth coffers over the years, they prefer to stash their loot in numbered accounts in faraway foreign banks. If those numbers are not passed to their kin at death, the loot ends up in the grateful hands of the country where the funds are domiciled.

Another ploy by looters is to build mansions and estates and leave them empty and unoccupied as fixed assets, while housing remains a critical challenge for the generality of citizens, especially

those who sleep in the open at Agege Oja area of Lagos State. The affluent citizens live in opulent mansions, only to be guarded and attended to by hungry staff members, who scrounge for food daily.

Statistics say more than 63 per cent of Nigerians suffer hunger and millions go to bed hungry every night in the midst of plenty. It is not because the latter group are not hard working enough; it is because less than 5 per cent of the to-

tal population control over 95 per cent of this nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resources and are not willing to share.

The average citizen grows angrier by the day; and the fear is that this anger may boil over into open revolt against a seemingly uncaring government. Until these glaring inequalities are speedily redressed, Nigeria cannot experience true development... Simple fact -Abimbola Akosile

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Ëš

Regular and adequate power supply, still a mirage in Nigeria

Nigeriaelectricityhub.com

Have Your Devt Expectations Been Met? Although the current administration came into power on a wave of popular appeal and promise of change, many analysts believe that the expectations of Nigerians have largely not been met in terms of development. With the ever increasing yearly budget figures and huge allocations to capital expenditure and projects, has the government at federal and other levels met your identified development expectations? What should be done?

Abimbola Akosile * Our development expectations have not been met. The five fundamentals of economic growth of: 24-hour electricity; good roads network; efficient transport system by road, sea and air; adequate overall security, and low interest rates so that small scale businesses can thrive are yet to be achieved and hence development is still at a very slow pace in Nigeria. The leadership in our dear country needs to be more serious about making Nigeria to be to Africa what America is to the world: truly great and prosperous. This can only be achieved when we do away with the monsters of poor leadership, corruption, electoral fraud, impunity, ethnicity etc. God bless Nigeria.

- Mr. Odey Ochicha, Leadership Specialist, Abuja * Not at all. We need true leaders with stakes in our national advancement. We need not look far, they are amongst us and it is time to take back our right to life in this country.

We are not slaves and therefore cannot be enslaved in our own nation, no.

- Ms Nkeiruka Abanna, Lagos State * No, Government at the Federal and other levels have not met the development expectations, because various security challenges have been the order of the day, with raging poverty and killer herdsmen ravaging farming communities.

Though the Federal Government was able to complete some critical infrastructural and public utilities, other numerous things need to be done. This leadership has failed Nigerians, and they have to ensure provision of equipment for peasant farmers to boost agricultural practices, pay severance packages of civil servants and increase in salaries, and provide amenities such as good roads, housing, improvement in electricity generations, social welfare for Nigerian citizens and effective transportation schemes.

- Mr. Michael Adedotun Oke, Founder Michael Adedotun Oke Foundation, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja * My major expectation from the government is 24 hours electricity supply, but it seems even in this century, we still canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t achieve that...itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so pathetic.

- Mr. Adewumi Temitope, Agroshowroom, Osun State

THE FEEDBACK Yes, they have:

1

No, they havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t:

7

Others:

5

Radical tip:

Change leaders!!

Total no of respondents:

13

Male:

11

Female:

2

Highest location:

Lagos (5)

* Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m more concerned about the state level and the answer is no as my development expectations have not been met and can still be met. Our governor (El-Rufai) upon assuming office promised to fix the road in Romi that passes from Poly Quarters through Karatudu to Federal Hosing that is so terrible but up till now, nothing of such has been done. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s said that whatever you plant, same shall be harvested.

- Hon. Babale Maiungwa, U/Romi, Kaduna * My expectations have not been met because thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still high unemployment, insecurity, poor dividends of democracy in most states across the country and the 774 Local Government Areas of Nigeria. I am also sad that political leaders are yet to realise that they are servants of the people and not their masters.

- Mr. Feyisetan Akeeb Kareem, CDHR, Aniocha South, Delta State * Yes. Security, agriculture, education, social infrastructure, intelligence and information management including the news media, justice, job creation, health etc have all received appreciable boost and attention at their respective constituencies so far. The problem is pockets of high profile saboteurs in virtually all government departments. The corrupt treasury looters have been fleecing tax payersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; collective purse. Government has left no stone unturned bringing looters to book without fear or favour. God bless Nigeria.

- Miss Apeji Patience Eneyeme, Badagry, Lagos State

* When the PMB government got off the ground I personally didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think the world of it because it had gotten infiltrated by those very people who seem to have stymied our advancement. Therefore, if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m asked whether my expectations have been met, my response is simply this: did I truly have any expectations or any desires to be met from the word go?

- Mr. E. Iheanyi Chukwudi, B.A.R., Apo, Abuja

However, agricultural production appears to have improved. Although the fight against corruption in terms of successful prosecution has been rendered as ineffective as the last administration, preventing corruption before it happens through the implementation of TSA and blocking of leakages has helped to reduce corruption in a proactive way.

- Mr. Buga Dunj, Jos, Plateau State

* The thing is that Nigerians, including myself, had so many expectations when this administration came into power. But, rather than meet those needs, the government has only worsened the plight of citizens in different ways. Even the anti-corruption war is selective and ineffectual. Now it is hard to be surprised by anything coming from this government good or bad.

- Mr. Olumuyiwa Olorunsomo, Lagos State

* 18 persons died last Sunday in a fatal accident along the Lagos-Ibadan highway. Every week, deaths are recorded on this highway and other roads. There is no better way to experience under-development than in bad roads, near-zero electric supply, challenged health facilities, high unemployment and diminished educational system. Consistent poor and low funding of sensitive sectors ensure that development is arrested. That is where Nigeria is locked since 1999.

- Mr. Anonymous, Lagos State

* This government had hoped that there were resources to ensure development of Nigeria but past governments had emptied our treasury before leaving office. It is not yet time to write this government off because of the challenges Nigerians are facing because there will be light at the end of the tunnel in a short while since we are out of recession. Our security agencies should live up to expectation over the insecurity situation in the country because this is a threat to our democracy and intending investors who want to come to Nigeria.

- Mr. Gordon Chika Nnorom, Public Commentator, Umukabia, Abia State * No. Although the current administration is pulling its weight in many vital areas, there is still vast room for improvement. Financial mismanagement needs emergency attention through transparent honesty and patriotism.

More than N13 million entering the pockets of our House members monthly and unaccounted for is the height of insensitivity, plundering, callousness, e.t.c. especially at this otiose time of economic quagmire. Our Senate is too expensive and so must be checked now.

A stitch in time saves nine.

- Mr. Apeji Onesi, Lagos State * With the menace of mercenaries annexing villages in the North central part of the country, not much has changed on security issues. On power, the 7,000 megawatts being generated but has not led to even a slight improvement supply to the end user is not really worth celebrating.

Next Week: Which Election Orderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Ensure Good Governance? Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă? Í&#x201C;Í&#x2018;Í&#x2019;Í&#x161; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă? Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁ Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă&#x17E;ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? âĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă?Ë&#x153; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2014;Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă?âĂ&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2122;ĂĄĂ?Ă Ă?Ă&#x153;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă? Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;ĘĽĂ?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁĂ?Ă&#x17E; Ă?Ă Ă?Ă&#x2DC; ĂĄĂ&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x152;Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă&#x2022;Ě&#x2039;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁË Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x;Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă? ĂĄĂ&#x2019;Ă&#x2122; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2122;Ă Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x2122;ĘŠĂ?Ă?Ë&#x153; ĂĄĂ&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁ Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2122;Ă Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;ËŁ Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2022;Ă? ĂŁĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ë&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă? ĂŁĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ë&#x203A; Ă?Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x152;Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă&#x17E;ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁ Ě&#x2122; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2019; Í&#x201C;Í&#x201C; Ęś Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁË&#x153; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2019; Í&#x201C;Í&#x2014;Ě&#x161; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; abimbolayi@yahoo. com, greatbimbo@gmail.comË&#x153; abimbola.akosile@thisdaylive.comË&#x203A; Ă?Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2122; Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2039; Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x17E;Ă?âĂ&#x17E; Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2018;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; 08023117639 Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;ËšĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x153; 08188361766 Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;ËšĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x153; 08114495306Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x152;Ă? Ă&#x161;Ă&#x;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁË&#x153; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2019; Í&#x201C;Í&#x161;

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; Í°Í°Ë&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Plenty of foodstuďŹ&#x20AC;s, few buyers in Lagos; signs of an ailing economy

ABIMBOLA AKOSILE

Edo Govt Launches Skills Devt Programme, Partners Oxfam Tackles youth unemployment with EdoJobs 2.0

Abimbola Akosile The Edo State Government through its job creation initiative, EdoJobs, has launched a skills development programme to prepare unemployed youths in the state for employment opportunities and as employers of labour.

Addressing journalists during a recent press conference in Benin to announce the launch of the programme, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Skill Acquisition and Job Creation, Ukinebo Dare, said â&#x20AC;&#x153;Through the skills development programme, the Godwin Obaseki-led administration has been attracting investors that have need for highly skilled manpower to the state.â&#x20AC;?

She explained that the state government is partnering organisations that are specialised in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), mobile phone and laptop repairs, automobile mechanics among others, to train youths across the three senatorial districts in the state.

The training, she said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;is designed in such a way that some programmes have stipend

packages, start-up packs while others have business support packages for trainees. The programme will also address the needs of the participating business partners and individuals.â&#x20AC;?

Dare added that youths would be trained in various skills to meet the increasing demands for highly skilled workforce in the state. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The objective of the programme is to enable the state government prepare youths as entrepreneurs and employers of labour in line with the vision of the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, to create 200,000 jobs.â&#x20AC;?

She said the programme is open to youths who are indigenes and those who reside in the state, adding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The programme will enhance the employability of youths and enable them maximise their potential. It will prepare the youths for different job opportunities. Those trained will be matched with employers who have vacancies in the state through the Edojobs portal. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The programme will assist the state government supply employers skilled labour force as the EdoJobs initiative has grown from a job

matching to job creation platform.â&#x20AC;?

One of the partners of the programme, Slot Academy, represented by Collins Uwadiae, said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Slot Academy is partnering with Edo State Government to complement the strides of Governor Obaseki in creating jobs for youths.

The Academy will train the youths at zero cost to prepare youths as entrepreneurs.

Chief Inspector of IFEST Foundation, another partner, Engr. Anthony Okogue, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;IFEST Foundation is partnering with EdoJobs to render technical and vocational training in motor and vehicle mechanic. We are partnering with Edojobs to train Edo youths in modern motor and vehicle mechanics.â&#x20AC;?

Also in attendance were beneficiaries of skills development programmes organised by EdoJobs.

Isioma Deborah said the programme has helped her on branding and packaging which she is applying in her business. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Before the training, I was just doing my normal business but with the help of EdoJobsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; partners I have been able to put my business on several social media platforms and my customers are increasing. I

really appreciate them,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Similarly, Loveth Osagie, who is undergoing training in fashion design, said the programme has helped her discover her innate abilities.

Meanwhile, to prepare graduates with skills to contribute to the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy and become self-reliant, EdoJobs has partnered Oxfam in the Career Kickstart programme and Leanna Garage to train over 155 youths in Edo State on employability skills and automobile engineering.

The training is among a series of ongoing capacity building programmes organised by the state governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Skills Development Programme expected to train graduates and empower them to tap from the 200,000 jobs promised during the governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first term in office. Oxfam is training 150 persons in the Career Kickstart programme, while Leanna Garage is training five others.

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

AFRICMIL, Akin Fadeyi Foundation Partner Customers, Fintechs to Benefit from Open to Tackle Corruption Banking The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) and Akin Fadeyi Foundation (AFF) have announced a partnership aimed at fostering a strong alliance in furtherance of both organisationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; common objective to combat corruption in Nigeria. AFRICMILâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s project against graft is themed Corruption Anonymous (CORA) while Akin Fadeyi Foundation took the nation by storm when it launched Corruption Not In My Country, a series of audiovisual TV commercials against corruption at the micro level.

It enjoyed the endorsement of international development partners like the European Union, UNDP and UNODC. Coordinator of AFRICMIL, Chido Onumah, said his organisation was â&#x20AC;&#x153;excited to collaborate with Akin Fadeyi

Foundation to combat corruption through its creative anti-corruption tools which resonate with Nigerians and are in tune with our objectives to promote active citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; involvement in exploring the whistle-blowing opportunity.â&#x20AC;?

According to Onumah, the CORA project seeks to promote whistleblowing among Nigerians, maintain the integrity of the process and ensure protection for whistleblowers. He said CORA would continue to work with like-minded organizations like Akin Fadeyi Foundation committed to recreating a new and better Nigerian society whose ideals, vision and aspirations are etched on transparency and integrity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In working together, we shall explore further opportunities

for creative, impactful and farreaching messages to our target audiences and the public. This partnership will also enable us to strengthen the capacity of citizens to engage their leaders in public dialogue against corruption and demand for accountable governance,â&#x20AC;? Onumah noted. The Executive Director, Akin Fadeyi Foundation, Mr. Akin Fadeyi said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is an encouraging development as we join forces with key stakeholders in the ever-challenging anticorruption war.

This new partnership with Corruption Anonymous (CORA) is a boost to our efforts at creating robust public dialogue against corruption, particularly as we seek to empower citizens to shun corruption and demand accountability from government institutions.

Just as standardisation of Automated Teller Machines in Nigeria changed the face of banking in Nigeria, experts have predicted open banking to do the same.

According to reports, it was after banks came together to form Interswitch, pushing aside their differences, that the ATM scheme was able to take off in Nigeria.

The reasons for the success were not farfetched: an open standard for the ATMs and cards and a network effect.

Similar efforts between banks have achieved the same benefits â&#x20AC;&#x201C; POS, interbank transfer.

Analysts say the transformation that Open Banking would bring to the financial industry would be more impactful than the ATM and interbank

transfer as it frees banks and Fintechs to expand their sphere of innovation tremendously.

For customers, Open Banking has been created to offer choice and greater control across all their bank accounts.

Customers, according to a release, will be able to share access to their accounts to financial applications and services. They would be able to benefit from services provided by these third parties, such as stock trading, personal financial management, among others. Customers can also make a payment directly from their accounts online without needing to use cards.

Also, customers who want to share information or make payments this way will need to give their explicit consent to the third parties whose services

they want to use. They will also need to authorise this with their Bank using their online security credentials.

Banks would benefit from Open Banking as it allows them to earn even much more from expanded transaction types.

It would also allow them to have deeper insights into where and how customers spend money which should engender tailored offering to these customers.

Fintechs would also finally have a level playing field to compete with larger rivals as Open Banking APIs make it possible for them to develop innovative products, target niche or wide segments of the market and go into partnership with other financial institutions.

35

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; Í°Í°Ë&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT QUOTE OF THE WEEK

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Despitetherecordhighlevelsofoilprices,verylittlewasinvestedininfrastructureandarecord levelofleakageswererecordedinthepastfewyears.Thatisthefundamentalissueinoureconomy.

Corruptionaffectseverything.Itissofundamentalthatwecanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;teventhinkofoureconomywithout thinkingofwhattodoaboutitâ&#x20AC;?

-VICE PRESIDENT YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, SPEAKING IN ABUJA RECENTLY

Lagos Urges Residents to Report Cases of Consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; RightsViolation Gboyega Akinsanmi

Nigeria: On the Front Line of Climate Change, Conflict

By Paul Parks The Nigeria Watch Project at the University of Ibadan reported that in 2017 more than 8,600 people were killed in Nigeria from civil strife, criminal acts, resource-related conflicts, and other violent incidents.

While this number is down substantially from the more than 20,000 deaths at the height of the Boko Haram conflict in 2014, the level is more than twice as high than in the five years before 2010. This increase in violence is tied to a large degree to land use, natural resource development, and disruptions in traditional lifestyles. Where climate degradation and conflict were once seen primarily as a Niger Delta issue related to oil development, conflict has now become endemic in the North East with Boko Haram and in the North Central region between herders and farmers.

While these various conflicts have diverse causes, climate change is a factor in all of them. Climate change is causing increasing temperatures leading to encroaching desertification, rising sea levels leading to coastal degradation, variability in weather patterns to stresses in the agricultural and livestock sector resulting in volatile food prices, and more frequent and violent storms. Climate change is a gradual and complex process, and the outbreak of violence is related to many factors beyond environment, but to quote the Norwegian researcher Halvard Buhring:â&#x20AC;Ś. take the notion of climate change as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;threat multiplierâ&#x20AC;? seriously and investigate the conditions under which climatic changes may accentuate the threat to societal stability and peace, and the mechanisms through which a destabilizing effect might materialise. Nigeria is not alone in facing this challenge. For example, climate change affecting land use and herding occur in places as diverse as Bhutan in the Himalayas to Algeria in North Africa. In sub-Sahara Africa, climate change impacts traditional herding in Kenya, Namibia, and Uganda among others. Explaining why his children would not follow in his footsteps, one Algerian herder said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not like it

Dwindling Lake Chad basin, eďŹ&#x20AC;ect of climate change was before. There isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rain.â&#x20AC;? A statement that rings equally true in Northern Nigeria.

Research from institutions as diverse as University of Texas, Cambridge University, and Peace Research Institute in Oslo Norway demonstrate the links between climate change and conflict. This has led to serious consideration of ways to reduce these risks, which is increasingly discussed in international forums. In almost all the research, Africa is shown to be particularly vulnerable to conflict augmented climate change. Policy makers in Nigeria need to understand how climate change acts as a threat multiplier and to address this on a policy and operational manner. Maintaining stable livelihoods is a primary objective of any government, and changing climate is increasingly a determinant in this. Consider migration, as national resources are degraded and depleted by climate related factors, stable livelihoods are undermined leading to migration. While public attention has focused on herders or youth attempting to make the crossing to Europe, the far more numerous migration is from rural to urban areas. Rural dwellers are increasingly unable to support themselves and are forced to seek economic refuge in cities, which are

http://www.medium.com

often already overwhelmed in providing public services and employment. Considering environmental degradation, Lake Chad is a stark warning of what can happen.

In the last thirty years the rainy season in Northern Nigeria has decreased by 30 days and the Sahara has advanced southward by 1-10 km a year. Lake Chad once the largest fresh water lake in the country has now shrunk by at least two thirds. Indeed, in Nigeria what remains of Lake Chad is basically swamps and wetlands. The Lakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disappearance along with the tripling of the Basinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population since the 1980s has led to massive food insecurity for more than 2 million people in Northern Nigeria and widespread extreme poverty.

This poverty, economic fragility, drought and environmental degradation has provided a fertile ground for non-state armed groups such as Boko Haram to contest state authority across the region. * Parks, Director at Carbon Limits Nigeria, writes NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

The Lagos State Government has urged residents to report individuals or companies that deprived them of their rights with respect to goods purchased or services rendered within the jurisdiction of the state.

Consequently, the state government pledged â&#x20AC;&#x153;to check all forms of abuse of consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rights in the state, noting that the era of violating consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rights and getting away with it â&#x20AC;&#x153;has gone entirely in the state.â&#x20AC;?

The Chairman of the State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA), Mrs. Funmilola Falana and the agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s General Manager, Mrs. Oluwakemi Olugbode conveyed this message after a peaceful march to mark the recent World Consumer Protection Day. In her address, Falana assured that the agency in line with its mandate was doing everything possible to protect consumers in the state, adding that services rendered by the agency were free of charge. She said the consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rights â&#x20AC;&#x153;are very critical. We have the mandate to protect such rights. We cannot tolerate abuse of consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rights in the state. So, all residents should report violation of consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rights to the agency. We will always ensure justice.â&#x20AC;?

Also speaking, Olugbode said the era of cheating and short-changing consumers in Lagos was over, noting that the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was determined to protect them.

She asked the residents of the state â&#x20AC;&#x153;to visit the agency office, call or send emails to report any individual or company who had deprived them of their rights in respect to goods and services and assured them that they would get justice.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Plan is already underway to take the sensitisation walk to Epe, Badagry, Ikorodu and other areas of the state. Time has come to give consumers value for their money. March 15 is observed annually as World Consumer Protection Day.â&#x20AC;?

Ambode had in January inaugurated the agency, then charging them â&#x20AC;&#x153;to stop the abuse of rights of consumers. The Lagos State House of Assembly duly enacted the law that established the e State Consumer Protection Agency in 2015.â&#x20AC;?

Ambode noted that membership of the agency â&#x20AC;&#x153;is drawn from both the public and private sector groups including Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) among others. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The establishment of the agency is a strong demonstration of our commitment to the protection of the rights of consumers, the promotion of consumer satisfaction in the state and our resolve to ensure that they get value for money spent on goods and services. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The agency is therefore meant to complement our reforms on the ease of doing business in the state especially as it affects the development of the industrial, commercial and consumer satisfaction value chain,â&#x20AC;? the governor had said.

He listed the functions of the agency to include getting an offending firm, company, trade association or individual to compensate or provide relief to injured consumers or communities as a result of adverse effects of harmful products.

He added that other functions of the agency â&#x20AC;&#x153;are encouraging trade, industry and professional associations to develop and enforce in their various fields, quality standards designed to safeguard the interest of consumers.â&#x20AC;?

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

36

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

Hope Rises for Healthcare Financing in Nigeria Following the successful inaugural THISDAY Healthcare Financing Summit in Abuja recently, the National Assembly says it is pushing for the implementation of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund under the National Health Act, and is recommending that the federal government declares a state of emergency in the health sector. Martins Ifijeh reports The recently held first edition of the THISDAY Healthcare Financing Summit has continued to stair up conversations aimed at remodeling funding pattern for the health sector, as part of efforts to make healthcare more affordable, qualitative and accessible to Nigerians.

The latest being the National Assembly’s resolve to further push for the implementation of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF), which is a fund allocation to cater for the basic health needs of all Nigerians.

Speaking with THISDAY earlier in the week, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Olarenwaju Tejuoso, said maximum pressure is now being applied for government to implement the one per cent contributory provision as stipulated in the 2014 National Health Act. According to him, if this is fully implemented, it would mean a minimum of N45 billion has been set aside in the 2018 annual budget for the BHCPF. “With this, our primary health centres will be more funded and more functional. Basic drugs and commodities will be available at the PHCs, including water and power.”

He described PHCs as the closest contact to communities, adding that, “the lack of these facilities would mean lack of access to simple medical challenges. And this has caused several preventable deaths in the country.

“The one per cent contribution is what has occupied half of my advocacy as Chairman, Senate Committee on Health. And now we are applying maximum pressure to ensure its implementation. It would be a major legacy for this 8th National Assembly,” he added.

Reports show that the Senate has further mandated its Committee on Appropriations to ensure that it effect the one per cent Consolidated Revenue Fund of the National Health Act in the 2018 Appropriation.

If the Senate resolution is implemented then it means that the BHCPF will mobilise additional resources of an average of about N45 billion for the delivery of a Basic Minimum Package of Health Services in Nigeria in 2018.

During the THISDAY Summit, Tejuoso reiterated that the National Assembly under the leadership of the Senate President Senator Bukola Saraki was fully committed to the implementation of the Senate resolution.

He described the implementation as a foregone conclusion and Nigerians should look towards the executive arm of government for release and its implementation.

Tejuoso argued at the Summit that Nigeria cannot walk on a path to economic prosperity without improving the health of its citizens.

He stated that “It is a well-known fact that improvements in health often precede economic development and without a predictable and stable increase in health financing, our country will not be able to avert the impending health calamity,” he stated.

A document from the Federal Ministry of Health on the constituents of the basic minimum package shows that it prioritises and pays for 10 high-impact and highly cost-effective interventions focused on maternal and child health (MCH) which covers more than 60 per cent of disease burden of the country. There are four maternal health interventions for pregnant women (ANC, labour and delivery, emergency obstetric and neonatal care and caesarean section), two interventions for under-fives (curative care and immunisation), one reproductive and adolescent health intervention (family planning), and, treatment of malaria and screening of select NCDs for all Nigerians.

The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, during one of the panel discussions at the Summit, led by the Deputy Chief of Party, United States Agency for International Developments (USAID)/Health Financing and Governance, Dr. Gafar Alawade, said the first

Adewole

phase of the implementation of the BHCPF will commence in the next couple of weeks with funding from the Global Financing Facility/World Bank and the Gates Foundation in Abia, Niger and Osun states. ”The release of the BHCPF by the federal government will allow for scaling up to additional states.”

Dr. Alawade, an experienced public health expert was able to extract commitments from his high powered panelists on the actualization of the BHCPF. Dr. Olumide Okunola of the International Finance Corporation led the first panel of discussion at the Summit which focused on the role of private sector in the country’s quest for actualizing Universal Health Coverage.

Also during plenary seating of the Senate on Tuesday March 13th, Senate members asked the federal government to declare a state of emergency in the country’s health sector over decay of infrastructure.

The Senate said it was concerned over inadequate financing of the health sector, thereby urging the government to provide special funding for the overhaul of at least one public medical facility in each geo-political zone in the country.

The Senate resolutions were sequel to the unanimous adoption of a motion by Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi (Kaduna-APC). Moving the motion, Hunkuyi expressed worry over increasing decay of infrastructure in the country’s healthcare institutions. He said that the “sorry state of affairs’’ in government hospitals and other healthcare facilities had rendered their services ineffective, resulting in dire consequences for the citizens.

According to him, “the decayed infrastructure occasioned by epileptic power and inadequate water supply further increased the risk of hospital-transmitted infections.”

Leading the debate, Hunkuyi added that critical diagnostic equipment essential for providing efficient diagnosis was either non-functional or not available.

He pointed out that the situation had led to failure by the system to attract the required calibre of health professionals and skilled manpower to the public health institutions.

“The situation in our public health institutions has resulted in increased medical tourism by Nigerians, with doctors and other healthcare

Tejuoso

professionals leaving for greener pastures to private medical facilities or even abroad.

“This is with attendant outflow of foreign currency to the tune of several millions of dollars spent on medical care annually in Europe, America, Asia and some African countries to the detriment of our health institutions. This sorry state of affairs has rendered our hospitals and other healthcare facilities ineffective resulting in dire consequences for the citizenry,” he added.

History has shown that the Nigerian Government spends less on health than nearly every country in the world. However, to accelerate progress to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) the government will need to significantly invest more in health.

In 2016, government health spending was 0.6 per cent as a share of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or just $US11 per capita, among the lowest in the world. The consequences of this abysmally low level of public spending means is that there are limited resources available to pay for basic preventive and promotive health services that could have outsized impact; and expectedly there will be high levels of out-of-pocket payments at the point of delivery which reduce the use of services and act as a barrier to care, especially for the poor and vulnerable.

Healthcare stakeholders believe the poor health outcomes in Nigeria are stark, noting that the level of deaths amongst children under-five in Nigeria is particularly high by comparison to other lower-middle income countries.

Dr. Benjamin Loevinsohn of the World Bank Group, during the build up to the healthcare Financing Summit said most poor Nigerians were unable to afford adequate healthcare because enough investment has not been made in the sector by the government.

“This government’s low spending also means the country is unable to spend adequately for health services and facilities. For instance, only about 10 per cent of Nigerian children are immunised, whereas in Chad and Niger, about 30 per cent and 50 per cent are immunised, respectively.

“In addition, Nigeria is pretty much the worst place in West Africa to be a poor child or a poor mother. Again, this outcome is worse than in Lake Chad and in Niger. This is a real

problem we can’t wish away. That is why we are involved,” he added.

Indications show that the lack of investment in the country’s healthcare has made immunisation coverage in Nigeria the lowest in West Africa, especially for poor children. Similarly, skilled birth attendance in the two poorest quintiles in Nigeria is considerably lower as compared to its neighboring countries. Only 10 per cent of the poorest Nigerian children are immunised (Penta3) compared to 28 per cent in Chad and 52 per cent in Niger.

Other health indices do not fare any better - the total fertility rate (TFR) has not changed in 25 years, and the nutritional status of poor children has worsened over the last 13 years.

Yet reducing under five mortality rate or addressing maternal deaths is not just about improving welfare, it is also a crucial contributor to economic growth without which Nigeria’s development will be stunted. Almost 75 per cent of under-five mortality rate in the country, excluding neo-natal mortality, is due to three diseases: malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea. Yet these diseases are susceptible to very cost-effective and evidence-based technologies.

However, in the absence of adequate public financing for health the main killers of children and women in Nigeria will continue unabated despite the fact that they can be prevented or treated using low cost, highly efficacious, and easy-to-implement interventions. These results implicate the performance of Nigeria’s primary health care (PHC) system.

Beyond financing for PHCs, stakeholders believe there are problems around allocative efficiency where existing resources are misallocated to secondary and tertiary care resulting in dysfunctional or non-functional delivery of services at PHC facilities.

The THISDAY Summit identified that accountability is weak and there has been little focus on tangible results, and that the potential of the large private sector, which provides 60 per cent of care in the country, has been largely ignored by the government.

While conversations around the Summit continue to elicit actions and policy statements, lovers of qualitative, affordable and accessible healthcare in Nigeria are hopeful that this would bring the needed change in the sector.

37

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

NEWS Osun Govt, SDG Build 61 Primary Healthcare Centres Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo A total of 61 Primary Health Centres have been built by the state government of Osun, in partnership with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on SDGs, Dr. Folawiyo Olajoku, made the disclosure during the inauguration of a Primary Health Centre in Ijebu-Ijesa, Oriade Local Government Area of the state.

According to Olajoku, aside the building of the PHCs, SDGs has also procured and distributed over N3 million worth of drugs to the people of the state free of charge, declaring that the agency has over the years succeeded in all its people-oriented programmes despite financial constraints.

Olajoku disclosed that SDGs has recruited over 400 healthcare workers, procured ambulances and has constructed and renovated over 47 classrooms across elementary and middle schools in the state.

He submitted that the agency has discharged its responsibilities to the people of the state in all aspects, particularly in education and health sectors.

In his address, the Governor Rauf Aregbesola, said the scheme had helped to complement the delivery of good governance which his administration has exhibited in the state.

Aregbesola said his administration has never failed in contributing its 50 per cent counterpart fund in each of the projects executed through the partnership, even during the toughest financial turbulence.

The governor used the occasion to explain the rationale behind financing infrastructure projects in the state with loan, saying he resorted to borrowing to fund developmental projects due to the terrible infrastructure deficit and level of poverty he met when he assumed office in 2010. According to Aregbesola, borrowing to finance projects in the state was a child of necessity for the development of the state, recalling that there was huge dearth of infrastructure in the state before his emergence as the governor.

The governor noted that his government would not have borrowed had the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whose government ruled the state for seven and half years, done the needful by providing required infrastructure development which his government later championed.

He lamented what he described as poor management of the state’s resources by the PDP government, stating that the state would not have become noticeable among its peers had his administration failed to do the needful to stimulate her economy.

To Tackle Maternal, Child Deaths, Invest in Healthcare, U.S. Experts Tell FG Rebecca Ejifoma After successfully establishing a specialist hospital in Lagos in 2016 to combat medical tourism, U.S.-trained Nigeria medical experts have called on federal government to invest heavily in infrastructure in order to reduce maternal and child deaths in the country.

Stating this at a three-day medical screening exercise to formally launch the Genesis Women’s Health Centre (GWHC), a wing of Genesis Specialist Hospital, Lagos, they said it would require a lot of investments from the government and health workers to improve the current situation.

The Head, Medical Affairs, a U.S.-trained Critical Care

Specialist and Anesthesiologist, Dr. Debo Adebayo, said, thefocus of the GWHC was to provide standard care including robust gynecologic and obstetric services, as they are also equipped to handle high risk pregnancies and laparoscopic procedures.

He said: “Doctors cannot do it alone. Hence, non-complicated pregnancies can be handled by nurses or midwives, who could be in the local communities helping guide people through pregnancy and definitely knowing when to refer a patient out.

He suggested that there had to be regulation guiding the minimum standard that these centres should have, adding that if centres have ability to get physicians who can

deliver those pregnant women through cesarean section, they should not be sent out at the last minute.

He spoke further: “The government can subsidise antenatal care. Routine antenatal care should not be a large expense. They could make it free for those that cannot afford it.

“To achieve this, the Women’s Health Centre at Genesis is designed to provide optimal antenatal care to women and excellent delivery. There is need for expert care for our women. There is a need for a centre where we can give them excellent world-class treatment. This is our aim, safe, exceptional antenatal care.

“It is designed in such a

way that pregnant women are well-treated and wellmanaged from the time of registration to delivery. It is equipped with automated bed, life support machine incubator for the babies among other necessary facilities.”

Women’s Health Specialist, Dr. Oluwakemi Dosumu, assured Nigerians that their intent was to ensure women always feel that joy every time they have their babies.

“Patients’ centred-care is what the team is bringing to the Nigerian woman,” she added.

The hospital CEO and Harvard trained Critical Care and Public Health Specialist, Dr. Roger Olade, stated that the goal was to provide great care to women.

Okowa: Strong Political Will Can Address Healthcare Funding in Nigeria Martins Ifijeh A strong political will from Nigeria’s Executive and Legislative arms of government is the precursor to achieving increase and prioritizing of healthcare in public budget, the Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has stated.

He said this should go a long with adequate and timely release of budgeted funds to meet the healthcare needs of the country’s 180 million citizens.

Gov. Okowa, who spoke at the recently held THISDAY Healthcare Financing Policy Dialogue in Abuja, and was represented by the Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Delta State Contributory Health Commission (DSCHC), Dr. Ben Nkechika, said Nigeria’s healthcare indices is low compared to other developing countries of the world, adding that adequate prioritizing of health in public budgets is very crucial for a healthy population despite the declining revenue due the challenging economic situation in the country.

“Considering the hugely positive socioeconomic impact from a healthy populace on the prosperity of a nation, investment in healthcare should be considered a priority in public budgets for an improved health Indices and a vibrant economy. A healthy population will lead to increased productivity, an

increase in GDP and wealth of the nation.

“Despite the low budget approvals for healthcare over the past years, certain questions arise; what amount of this low budgetary provision was actually released for implementation? What amount released was effectively and efficiently applied,? And what planning strategy was in place at the budgeting stage to ensure value, positive impact and good health outcomes from the implementation?,” he queried. He said in Delta State, this strong political will has significantly created a vibrant healthcare financing process for the actualization of Universal Health Coverage in the State despite the very challenging economic situation as a result of the dwindling oil price and the increased disruption of oil facility activities.

“This political will has transcended from the policy framework through strategic planning and budgeting to a legislative process that has institutionalized healthcare financing in Delta State with the establishment of the DSCHC. “So far the DSCHC has achieved significant milestones we are proud of and we will continue to ensure and advocate for improved healthcare financing to achieve better health outcomes and Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria,” he added.

L-R: Brand Ambassador, Dexa Madica, Amarachi Aniowo; Ehere Resident, Ngozi Chilaka; Brand Ambassador, Dexa Medica, Dr Desmond Ohanedo; Brand Ambassador, Dexa Medica, Chika Agu; and Ehere Resident, Patience O, during the Pain Free Day event in Ehere Community in Aba recently

Foundation Takes Voluntary DexaMedicaDonatesStimuno Blood Donation Exercise to Products to Ehere Community to Boost their Immune System LASUTH Ayodeji Ake To rescue children from leukaemia, Timilehin Leukaemia Foundation (TLF), staged a voluntary blood donation exercise in partnership with the Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to make provision of blood for children suffering from leukaemia admitted in the hospital.

Addressing journalists during the exercise, the Founder, TLF, Mrs. Modupe Oyedele narrated how she exhausted her financial strength to expensive treatment of leukaemia for her only child whom she eventually lost.

“The amount you spend treating leukaemia children cannot be quantified because, when you are treating a child with leukaemia, infections will come in which is not part of the treatment regime. Then you have to get blood and platelets because he needs to

take a lot of them,” she said.

Modupe who lamented of scarcity of blood in the blood banks, urged Nigerians to embrace voluntary blood donation as it has been proven safe if an individual is taking enough water and vegetables.

She pleaded for government intervention on the expensive treatment of cancer.

She said: “When they told me that my child had leukaemia, I did not know what it was then. I had to go to the internet to read about it. But now that I know, I want to go to the nooks and crannies of the country to create awareness because some people will bring their children to hospital and when doctors say it is cancer, they will run away. When I went to UK with my son, the doctor that attended to us was a Nigerian. Each hospital should have laboratories where children can be tested at the early stage.

Major Pain killer Company, Dexa Medica makers of Boska, in partnership with CHI pharmaceutical recently conducted one of its Pain Free Day Initiative, introducing Stimuno brand to Ehere community in Aba to help consumers boost their body immune system.

The Pain Free Day event was attended by over a thousand people from the communities as attendees were educated on the benefits of having a strong body immune system.

Speaking at the event, the Brand Executive, Dexa Medica said, “this edition is specially designed to introduce Stimuno brand to consumers so that they can strengthen their immune system and avoid unnecessary breakdown.

The brand works in all cases whether in sicknesses (for example immuno suppression, adjunct in hepatitis treatment, adjunct in HIV treatment,

cancer, tuberculosis and other infections) or health.”

“From qualitative findings, we observed that consumers are faced with a lot of health challenges ranging from stress, recurrent infections such as frequent malaria attacks, Diabetes, Hypertension, Kidney stone, Liver damage, immunocompromised disease such as HIV, Tuberculosis that could be treated with Stimuno.”

The community members were given the opportunity to see health experts who provided full range of health services free. Free eye glasses were also given to those in need, while drugs were prescribed to treat eye, ear and nose defects, among others.

Besides rendering free health services, the team also leveraged the opportunity to educate consumers on how to live stress-free while at their various duties.

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

38

NEWS

Nigerian Cancer Patients Lack Funds, Access to Quality Healthcare Many cancer patients are referred to overseas by Nigerian hospitals due to poor healthcare in the country. Odimegwu Onwumere writes that from the victims’ bank accounts made public for assistance from good spirited individuals and groups in order to head overseas for treatment, governments do not support in this funding, making the fight against the disease a mirage Aminat Adeniyi was eight years old when her parents noticed that her chest was obtruding.

Little did the Adeniyis who reside in Ajegunle Street, Alakuko, Lagos State, expect that what they had taken as a mere boil on their daughter’s chest would grow out of hand and cause the family sleepless nights.

All the monies that the family had saved were expended on treating the little girl who was 12 years old last year. The ailment was dogged that she underwent a surgical operation, which did little to ameliorate the disorder, but resurfaced barely four months after.

In the process, her father lost his job and the family was at a crossroad. Documents from the Lagos State Teaching Hospital, where examinations on the status of the disease were conducted, showed that “the girl has a left chest wall mass of about nine years duration.”

The paradox was that when assessments had proven that the swell would not be painful, the girl’s condition worsened that she lost so much weight. Fingers pointing at cancer as the bane of the girl, the family expressed apprehension and were later advised to take the girl to overseas “for proper surgery by chest reconstruction experts.” This is without any government assistance.

Drained funds Since the father of the ailing child, Adeniyi Monsuru, could not get a support from the government; he resorted to seeking public assistance by giving out his bank details.

This was the same case with Donald Nwosu, a Nigerian Medical Doctor who needed N25m (about $61,700) to treat cancer, July last year.

If not for Nwosu’s classmates numbering six that went online, using a platform known as Go-Fund Me, to appeal to public conscience to assist the medical doctor, he would not had lived up the July of last year. In their effort, they were able to raise $25,000, a fraction of the $61, 700 that were required for Nwosu to be alive.

The cases of Aminat Adeniyi and Donald Nwosu are but a few examples of the many cancer patients who are writhing in pains in their closet due to funds to take further step against their malady.

Emphasis on public financing

Cancer

In a public presentation during the 2018 World Cancer Day in Lagos, a non-governmental organisation, The Dorcas Cancer Foundation expressed sadness that funding has become a dilemma to the fight against cancer in the country.

Hence, the group frowned that government policies were yet to offer viable entrée for those living with cancer, especially children.

According to the Founder of The Dorcas Cancer Foundation, Dr. Adedayo Joseph, “The best way to fight cancer is for the authorities to provide enough funds and put up policies that will give patients easy admittance to reputable treatment.”

However, the authorities in Nigeria would always blame the citizens of not presenting their cancer matters early for diagnosis, a ploy the government has been using in order not to take blame for the lack of modern equipment in the hospitals across the country.

According to a source that would prefer anonymity, “Nigeria, with a population of over 170 million, has only eight centres for cancer treatment. Out of the eight radiotherapy machines procured by the federal government over 10 years ago and distributed to seven states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), none is functioning at present.”

Then-again, in its plan to screen 250,000 (eligible

poor) Nigerians whom the government said could not pay for the services of screening, the government “appeals to private sector players, including foundations, to support the federal government in its quest to screen Nigerians for cancers by collaborating with us.”

Cancer patients dying The authorities had admitted that they were not doing much to tame the surge of cancer in the country in the areas “of lack of basic equipment for treatment of cancer” as they said that 10,000 Nigerians die of the disease yearly.

This acknowledgment was submitted by the authorities in Abuja on December 1, 2017. It came even as the Federal Ministry of Health said the same year that at least 250,000 new cases of cancer were recorded yearly in Nigeria.

“Today, 10,000 cancer deaths are recorded annually while 250,000 new cases are recorded yearly in Nigeria,” the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole announced on Monday December 4 2017.

75 percent cancer death by 2030 The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, during the 2018 World Cancer Day said Africa which Nigeria is part of, may hit 75 per cent death

from cancer by 2030.

“The cancer death rate is expected to double by 2030. Seventy-five (75 per cent) per cent of cancer deaths in the world are recorded in low and middle-income countries such as African member states, partly due to late diagnosis.

Fewer than 30 per cent of low income countries have access to cancer diagnosis and treatment services,” according to Moeti.

But over the years there have been promises by the government to seeing that the hospitals had modern cancer equipment. These promises had met little or no implementation, let alone, execution. Unlike Nigeria, the review of International Atomic Energy Agencies of all countries conducted in 2013 showed that only South Africa and Egypt have the competence of treating cancer.

The likes of Adeniyi and Nwosu were therefore skeptical of the recent promise made by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, saying that 70 federal health establishments were earmarked to get N11.5bn as part of the special health intervention project.

According to the source, “The special intervention projects include the tertiary health institution project, revitalisation of 774 Primary Healthcare Centres in each local government area across the country, purchase of anti-retroviral drugs for 20,000 eligible Nigerians and nationwide screening of common cancers (particularly cancer of the cervix, breast and prostate).”

The minister believed that today in Nigeria, “The federal teaching hospitals, medical centres and specialist hospitals across the six geopolitical zones that will benefit from the intervention include 21 federal teaching hospitals, 31 Federal Medical Centres, four specialist hospitals, 14 fistula and cleft lip/ palate centres.”

He pointed out that under the project, “each of the federal teaching hospitals will receive N300m while the specialist hospitals will receive N200m each. The FMCs and the fistula centres will receive N120m and N50m respectively. Other projects include 10,000 free cataract surgeries (i.e. 250 cataract surgeries per state) and free treatment of 800 patients with confirmed diagnosis of hepatitis C infection.”

Onwumere is an award-winning journalist based in Rivers State

Beaconhill Clinic Opens World Class Branch in Lagos Calls for inclusion of dental health in primary healthcare Martins Ifijeh As part of efforts to raise the standard of dentistry in Nigeria, BeaconHill Smile Clinic has opened a state-of-the-art facility in Ikeja last weekend.

The clinic, which has its head office in Victoria Island, Lagos, will not only major in therapeutic and cosmetic dental care, but will focus on preventive care in other to tackle dental problems from the root cause.

The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the clinic, Dr Oluwaseun Akinbobola said the Ikeja facility was built because of the growing prevalence of the health issue, adding that Nigerians who value quality and affordable care would no longer need to keep searching for a qualitative dental facility.

He decried that despite the

high prevalence of dental issues, many Nigerians do not see their dentists, an approach he said was not ideal. “If you go to developed countries, their citizens access dental care at least once in two years, but Nigerians wait till they have tooth ache before they see their dentist. “Beaconhill is the first seven days-a-week dental clinic in Africa. We have made sure our facilities are world class, so that we can be able to effectively tackle therapeutic, cosmetic and preventive care among Nigerians. We are promoting the idea of Nigerians accessing dental checkups; that way they can prevent health issues associated with the dental organs.”

He called on policy makers to include dental health in the health insurance plan, adding that government should place dental health under primary

healthcare, as this would encourage more Nigerians to access dental care.

Meanwhile, the Principal Dentist, Beaconhill Smile Clinic, Ikeja, Dr. Jumoke Enahoro said a dental checkup in itself could open the eye of the dentist to many things going on inside the body of the patient. ”some people ignore dental issues and carry on with their lives until it poses a serious threat. Halitosis, which is bad breathe is part of why people should go for medical check-up.

There may be a hole in the mouth which is just like a gutter receiving dirts. When these dirts ferment, it not only causes bad odour, but could cause a more serious trouble.”

She called on Nigerians to brush their teeth after taking sugary diets, failure to which, she said could make bacteria

feast on them. One of its clients, Uti Nwachuku, the former winner of the Big Brother All Stars reality TV show, who graced

the opening of the new branch, said he was patronising the clinic because they have world class facilities and staff who

were very professional with patients, adding that so far he has been satisfied with his dental treatment.

FG Directs CMDs, MDs to Use Stamp in Medico-Legal Documents The federal government through the Ministry of Health has directed all Chief Medical Directors (CMDs), Medical Directors (MDs) and all federal tertiary health institutions to use Doctors Stamp in all medico-legal documents.

In a release signed by the Acting Head of Department, Hospital Services, Doctor O.I. Amedu, the FG stated that Doctors Stamp should also be used in reports in both public

and private establishments.

According to Amedu, this should also be used in identifying doctors in the country, noting that it would be a way of curbing quackery in the medical profession.

He said, “Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in her Annual Delegates Meeting (ADM) held in April, 2017 in Calabar approved the use of Doctors Stamps in all medical correspondence by all Medical

and Dental practitioners in Nigeria.

“Consequent upon the above, you are to bring this to the attention of all Medical and Dental practitioners in your facility and enforce the use of the Doctors Stamp on all reports and Medico-legal document with effect from the 1st of April, 2018. Any document signed without the stamp remains invalid and will not be recognised,” he said.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY MARCH 22, 2018

39

40

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; MARCH 22, 2018

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Compulsory BVN Capturing Hampering Financial Inclusionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Nume Ekeghe The Business Manager Africa, Software Group, Mr. Joseph Agyeman- Badu has stated that the expensive specified devices to register Bank Verification Number (BVN) remains a major obstacle to growing agency banking in the country.

Agyeman- Badu, who has successfully implemented various agency banking solutions in over 65 countries said this in an interview with THISDAY on the sidelines of Software Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workshop on Digital Financing Services and Financial Inclusion in Lagos yesterday.

Responding to a question on what regulations that needs to be put in place to enhance agency banking to capture more of the unbanked population, he said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Technology-wise, I think everything is in place. The only challenge I see especially getting into the very remote areas is

the BVN policy that is in place. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For BVN, there are some special devices that you have to use to get your BVN from NIBBS and the central bank. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The devices are quiet expensive so you can imagine if someone has 100 agents and has to get almost each agent one of these devises which would not support it because to breakeven in agency banking usually takes time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So that is what I believe is a main challenge hurting agency banking on the regulatory point of view.â&#x20AC;?

On how to address the problem, he suggested that the regulator can allow partners or solutions from software developers to actually get some of their devices certified.

He added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We can also transmit the biometric details to whatever database they want us to take it to but when you are specific one the devices that

becomes a challenge for us. They should be a bit flexible in terms of the devices that should be used in capturing BVN.â&#x20AC;?

He noted that agency banking would do well in Nigeria because banks do not need to invest in devices anymore. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They can come out with a mobile application that would replace the devicesâ&#x20AC;?, he said.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;this would make it easy to deploy agency banking even to the remote areas.

If that is done, agency banking would really rise so that this over 90 million unbanked gap can be closed within a number of years.â&#x20AC;?

Furthermore he said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Software Group solutions are here to change the game as we speak.

Over a period of time, people actually buy solutions in silos so they have several vendors giving them different solutions and that becomes a problem managing it,â&#x20AC;? he added.

Broad Street

Dangote Cement to Sell N300bn Bonds Dangote Cement Plc yesterday disclosed that it has gotten approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators to raise N300 billion ($833 million) in local-currency bonds.

The company, which is the most capitalised stock on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) intends to utilise the fund on its expansion as well as to refinance its debt. Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest producer of the building material plans issue the debt over three years, Bloomberg quoted its Chief

Financial Officer, Brian Egan, to have said during an investor conference call on Tuesday.

The bond will be issued in tranches of N50 billion at a time whenever interest rates are favourable, Egan added.

The company, controlled

by Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is also considering to sell Eurobonds to boost its funding, Egan said.

Dangote is planning to spend $350 million on capital projects this year, including the building of export facilities at Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

seaports, which will see it begin shipments of clinker and cement to neighbouring West African countries. The company said revenue for the year through December rose 31 per cent to N806 billion while net income rose 43 per cent to N204 billion.

Sales volumes declined by seven per cent owing to a downturn in Nigeria, its biggest market, it said. The company sees â&#x20AC;&#x153;higher volumesâ&#x20AC;? this year as Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy recovers, its acting Chief Executive Officer Joe Makoju said.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS 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)

DBN, NIRSAL Sign MoU to Boost Agricultural Lending Ndubuisi Francis Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; The Development Bank of Nigeria Plc (DBN) and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) have entered into a partnership to promote lending to the agricultural sub-sector of the economy and its value chain.

NIRSAL is expected to provide risk mitigating credit guarantees under the collaboration while DBN is to provide the funds for lending to MSMEs in the agricultural sub-sector and its value chain. Both development finance institutions believe that a strategic collaboration will impact positively on agriculture and all the value chain players and thus address the concerns of financial

institutions on the high risk of lending to the sector.

Speaking at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja, the Managing Director of DBN, Tony Okpanachi stressed that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) if well managed have the potential to achieve key macro-economic objectives of the Federal Government which include, but are not limited to job creation, poverty alleviation, financial inclusion, development of technology and so on.â&#x20AC;?

He added that the core mandate of Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) is to alleviate financing constraints faced by the MSMEs and small corporates in Nigeria through

the provision of financing and partial credit guarantees to eligible financial intermediaries on a market -conforming and on a sustainable basis.â&#x20AC;?

In his remarks, NIRSAL Managing Director, Aliyu Abdulhameed, stated that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;NIRSALâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary mandate is to facilitate the flow of credit, finance and investments into agriculture and agribusiness. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;NIRSAL believes strategic collaborations with major stakeholders in the industry is pivotal to achieving defined and well-tailored objectives and results. It is in line with this view, that the partnership with Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) is structured.

Emefiele, ABCON Boss Win Awards The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has been named the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Chief Executive of the Year 2018.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Also, the President of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe has won the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Private Sector Personality of the Year 2018 Awardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

They were awarded at the 7th Anniversary Lecture & Man of The Year Award organised by the Nigerian NewsDirect in Lagos recently.

Gwadabe emerged winner given his contributions to the stability of the foreign exchange market, and the naira.

Other awardees included the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru, who won the Man of the Year Award and the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.

Gwadabe, who dedicated the award to ABCON staff, said he felt so greatly honoured to be recognised, adding that ABCON remains committed to working with the stakeholders in supporting forex availability and naira stability. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am therefore particularly delighted that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele

is implementing appropriate measures to make foreign exchange available and the naira stable against world currencies.

At the ABCON end, we have established the naijabdcs.com, a live rate engine room to be rolled out soon, that will ensure uniform genuine rate quote across forex marketâ&#x20AC;?.

Continuing, he said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Let me assure the CBN and other stakeholders in the forex market that Bureau de Change (BDC) operators stand ready to collaborate with them in supporting the development of a viable and stable foreign exchange market for the country.

(MILLION NAIRA)

AUGUST 2017

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&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă? Ě&#x2039;

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&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;ĂŁ Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?ĂŁ Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ě&#x2039; ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT TUESDAY MARCH 20, 2018

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $64.11 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $63.31 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

41

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; Í°Í°Ë&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

MARKET NEWS

Access Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ProďŹ t Declines to N62bn on Loan Impairment Charges Goddy Egene Access Bank Plc announced its audited results for the full year ended 31 December, 2017, showing gross earnings of N459.075 billion, up by 20 per cent from N381.3 billion in 2016. Growth in gross earnings was boosted by a 29 percent increase in interest income to N319.9 billion in 2017, from N247.2 billion in 2016 whilst

net interest income grew by 17 percent from N163.452 billion in 2017, from N139.148 billion in the comparative period of 2016. Similarly, non-interest income grew four per cent to N139.1billion in 2017 from N133.4 billion in 2016.

Foreign exchange income soared from N3.598 billion in 2016 to N107.932 billion in 2017. However, loan impairment charges jumped 57 per cent from

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

N21.953 billion to N34.467 billion in 2017, a development the bank attributed to the adverse lingering effects of the macro on asset quality in the industry.

Consequently, profit before tax fell by 11 per cent to N80 billion, from N90.33 billion, while profit after tax declined by 13 per cent to N71.439 billion to N61.991 billion.

Despite the decline in bottomline, bank has proposed a final

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

dividend of 40 kobo per share to its shareholders, in addition to 25 kobo interim dividend paid earlier, making a total of 65 kobo for the financial year.

A further analysis of the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s results showed that loans and advances grew 11 per cent to N2.064 trillion in 2017, from N1,855 trillion in December 2016, while total assets grew 18 per cent to N4.102 trillion in December

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

2017, from N3,484 trillion in the corresponding period in 2016.

Commenting on the results, Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our operating performance in 2017 was impacted by the residual effects of macro-economic conditions of 2016, characterised by slow economic expansion and adverse credit conditions, which resulted

O F

in making conservative provisions on our loan book. Despite the macro and regulatory headwinds, our underlying business remained strong as reflected in the gross earnings growth of 20 percent to N459 billion in 2017. We grew our loan book to position it for improved earnings, whilst driving deposit mobilisation from targeted segments to diversify our funding base.â&#x20AC;?

2 1 / 0 3 / 2 0 1 8 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

˜ ͺͺ˜ ͺ͸͹Ͷ ˾ T H I S D AY

42

Nigeria Daily Stock Market Report: dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ /ŶĚĞdž ƐŚĞĚƐ ϭϯďƉƐ

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ŝŶĚĞdž ƐƚƌĞƚĐŚĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ƚŚŝƌĚ ĐŽŶƐĞĐƵƟǀĞ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ƚŚŝƐ ǁĞĞŬ ƐŚĞĚĚŝŶŐ ϭϯďƉƐ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ Ăƚ ϭ͕ϲϳϳ͘ϭϳ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƚĞĚ ƚŽ ϴ͘ϳй͘ zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ ƐĞůů ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞƐ ŝŶ E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ ;ͲϬ͘ϵйͿ͕ E ^d> ;ͲϮ͘ϮйͿ͕ ^^ ;ͲϮ͘ϭйͿ ĂŶĚ d/ ;Ͳϰ͘ϴйͿ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϮϮ͘Ϭй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

Ticker

^Ğůů KīƐ WĞƌƐŝƐƚ ƚŽ ϲƚŚ ^ĞƐƐŝŽŶ͙ E^ ^/ ĚŽǁŶ ϰϲďƉƐ ^Ğůů KīƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůŽĐĂů ďŽƵƌƐĞ ƉĞƌƐŝƐƚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŽĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ͕ ĚƌĂŐŐŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ϰϲďƉƐ ůŽǁĞƌ ƚŽ ϰϭ͕ϰϵϲ͘Ϯϱ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ŐĂŝŶ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚĞĚ ƚŽ ϴ͘ϱй͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶ ĚĞĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ ďLJ Eϲϴ͘ϲďŶ ƚŽ Eϭϰ͘ϴƚŶ͘ dŽĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ ƐĞůů ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞƐ ŝŶ E ^d> ;ͲϮ͘ϮйͿ͕ ^d E / ;Ͳ ϰ͘ϱйͿ ĂŶĚ t W K ;Ͳϲ͘ϲйͿ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ŝŶĐŚĞĚ ϮϮ͘ϳй ĂŶĚ ϰϰ͘ϰй ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ƚŽ ϰϴϴ͘ϳŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ Eϱ͘ϲďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ &Z/E^hZ ;ϴϮ͘ϴŵͿ͕ : W h> K/> ;ϳϱ͘ϲŵͿ ĂŶĚ &/ >/dz ;ϲϯ͘ϵŵͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁŚŝůĞ E' D ;Eϭ͘ϭƚŶͿ͕ 'h Z Edz ;Eϴϴϲ͘ϲŵͿ ĂŶĚ E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ ;Eϴϲϳ͘ϳŵͿ ůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘ ĞĂƌŝƐŚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ĂƐ ϯ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƌĞĚ͕ ϭ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ ŽƚŚĞƌ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ dŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ůĞĚ ůŽƐĞƌƐ͕ ĚŽǁŶ Ϯ͘ϱй ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĚĞƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ t W K ;Ͳ ϲ͘ϲйͿ͘ dŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ĨŽůůŽǁĞĚ ƐƵŝƚ͕ ĨĂůůŝŶŐ ϭ͘ϵй ĂƐ D E^ Z ;Ͳ ϳ͘ϰйͿ ĂŶĚ hE/dz< W ;Ͳϳ͘ϳйͿ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ůŽƐƐĞƐ͘ dŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ĂůƐŽ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͕ ƐŚĞĚĚŝŶŐ Ϭ͘ϳй ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŽĮƚ ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ E ^d> ;ͲϮ͘ϮйͿ͕ E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ ;ͲϬ͘ϵйͿ ĂŶĚ W ;Ͳϰ͘ϵйͿ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŇŝƉ ƐŝĚĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚĞdž ŐĂŝŶĞĚ Ϭ͘ϭй ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƚŽŽŬ ƉŽƐŝƟŽŶ ŝŶ h ;нϰ͘ϭйͿ͕ E/d, ;нϭ͘ϭйͿ ĂŶĚ 'h Z Edz ;нϬ͘ϯйͿ͘ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ŚŽǁĞǀĞƌ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ƚŚĞ ĚĂLJ ŇĂƚ͘

Thursday, March 22, 2018

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

Current Price

Previous Current Price Weighting Change

Price Change YTD

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

Divinden Earnings d Yield Yield

1,677.17

-0.13%

8.7%

67.7%

26.9%

8.5%

7.6x

1.0x

3.8%

1

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

44.65

0.3%

21.6%

9.6%

10.1%

30.6%

5.2%

7.4x

2.1x

6.0%

13.2% 13.5%

2

Zenith Bank PLC

28.30

1.1%

13.2%

10.4%

9.1%

23.3%

3.4%

5.0x

1.1x

10.4%

20.0%

3

Nigerian Brew eries PLC

19.2%

8.8%

30.4x

5.7x

3.3%

3.3%

126.00

-0.9%

7.8%

-6.6%

-6.7%

1,350.00

-2.2%

6.4%

-13.2%

-13.2%

89.0%

21.3%

31.7x

23.8x

3.1%

3.2%

264.90

0.0%

6.6%

15.2%

15.2%

26.3%

12.4%

22.8x

5.9x

4.0%

4.4%

4

Nestle Nigeria PLC

5

Dangote Cement PLC

6

FBN Holdings Plc

12.00

0.0%

6.9%

36.4%

36.5%

2.6%

0.3%

19.5x

0.7x

1.7%

5.1%

7

Access Bank PLC

11.75

-2.1%

4.7%

12.4%

10.8%

15.1%

2.0%

4.8x

0.7x

5.5%

21.0% 19.8%

8

United Bank for Africa PLC

11.50

4.1%

4.5%

11.7%

10.5%

17.2%

2.2%

5.0x

0.8x

6.5%

9

Ecobank Transnational Inc

17.95

-4.8%

3.2%

5.6%

10.3%

-14.6%

-1.3%

6.8x

0.7x

3.4%

10

SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

722.00

0.0%

3.3%

15.3%

15.3%

19.4%

11.1%

4.2x

0.8x

11

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

14.6% 23.9%

46.00

-4.5%

3.0%

10.8%

12.5%

28.7%

3.4%

10.6x

2.8x

1.1%

105.00

4.8%

2.4%

11.7%

11.7%

14.6%

5.6%

19.7x

2.8x

0.6%

5.1%

47.05

-6.6%

1.6%

4.8%

4.8%

47.1%

9.8%

4.2x

7.1x

2.1%

23.8%

5.6%

45.8%

9.4%

12

Guinness Nigeria PLC

13

Lafarge Africa PLC

14

Fidelity Bank PLC

2.50

7.8%

1.2%

1.6%

-3.1%

8.0%

1.1%

2.2x

0.4x

15

Oando PLC

5.99

0.0%

1.2%

0.0%

0.0%

40.7%

4.2%

2.7x

0.6x

16

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

20.80

-1.0%

1.1%

4.0%

2.2%

43.2%

19.8%

8.1x

3.1x

2.4%

12.3%

17

Okomu Oil Palm PLC

72.00

0.0%

1.1%

6.4%

6.4%

37.4%

25.9%

9.6x

3.1x

2.1%

10.4%

18

Unilever Nigeria PLC

55.65

0.0%

1.4%

35.7%

38.4%

50.3%

8.4%

34.3x

13.0x

0.2%

2.9%

19

International Brew eries PLC

57.00

0.0%

0.8%

4.6%

3.7%

24.6%

7.4%

59.7x

13.6x

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ /ŵƉƌŽǀĞƐ

20

Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

37.45

-0.5%

0.8%

29.1%

29.1%

13.1%

3.0%

7.8x

0.9x

2.4%

12.8%

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϲdž ĨƌŽŵ Ϭ͘ϱdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ĚĂLJ ĂƐ ϭϴ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ϯϯ ƚŚĂƚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ dŚĞ ďĞƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ƚŽĚĂLJ ǁĞƌĞ &/ >/dz ;нϳ͘ϴйͿ͕ '> yK^D/d, ;нϱ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ E'&>KhZ ;нϱ͘ϬйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ hZz ;Ͳϵ͘ϲйͿ͕ hE/dz< W ;Ͳϵ͘ϰйͿ ĂŶĚ D E^ Z ;Ͳϳ͘ϰйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞƌƐ͘ dŚĞ ƐĞůů ŽīƐ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůŽĐĂů ďŽƵƌƐĞ ƐŽ ĨĂƌ ĐĂŶ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ďĞ ĂƩƌŝďƵƚĞĚ ƚŽ ƉƌŽĮƚ ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ƚŚĂƚ ŚĂĚ ƌĂůůŝĞĚ ƐŝŐŶŝĮĐĂŶƚůLJ ďĞĨŽƌĞ ƚŚĞ ďĞŐŝŶŶŝŶŐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƐĞĂƐŽŶ ĂƐ ǁĞůů ĂƐ ĐŽŶƚĂŐŝŽŶ ĞīĞĐƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƌŽƵƚ ŝŶ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ŐůŽďĂů ŵĂƌŬĞƚƐ͘ tŝƚŚ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƐŬĞƉƟĐĂů ŽĨ ĨŽƌǁĂƌĚ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ǀŝƐͲăͲǀŝƐ ĞůĞǀĂƚĞĚ ǀĂůƵĂƟŽŶƐ͕ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ŚĂƐ ƚƵƌŶĞĚ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ŝŶ ƌĞĐĞŶƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶƐ͘ tĞ ďĞůŝĞǀĞ ĚĞĐůŝŶŝŶŐ ůĞǀĞů ŽĨ ǀĂůƵĂƟŽŶ ŚĂƐ ƉƌĞƐĞŶƚĞĚ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ǁŝƚŚ ĂƩƌĂĐƟǀĞ ĞŶƚƌLJ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƚLJ͖ ŚĞŶĐĞ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ Ă ƌĞǀĞƌƐĂů ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ƚƌĞŶĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŶĞĂƌ ƚĞƌŵ͘

21

Transnational Corp of Nigeria

ŽŵƉĂŶLJ /Ŷ &ŽĐƵƐ͗ WƌĞƐĐŽ WůĐ ;͞WZ ^ K͟Ϳ WƌĞƐĐŽ WůĐ ;͞WƌĞƐĐŽ͟ Žƌ ͞ƚŚĞ ŽŵƉĂŶLJ͟Ϳ ŝƐ Ă ĨƵůůLJ ŝŶƚĞŐƌĂƚĞĚ ĂŐƌŽͲ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů ĞƐƚĂďůŝƐŚŵĞŶƚ ǁŝƚŚ Žŝů ƉĂůŵ ƉůĂŶƚĂƟŽŶƐ͕ ƉĂůŵ Žŝů ŵŝůů͕ ƉĂůŵ ŬĞƌŶĞů ĐƌƵƐŚŝŶŐ ƉůĂŶƚ ĂŶĚ ǀĞŐĞƚĂďůĞ Žŝů ƌĞĮŶŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ĨƌĂĐƟŽŶĂƟŽŶ ƉůĂŶƚ͘ WƌĞƐĐŽ ŝƐ ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚůLJ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĞĚ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĂŐƌŝĐƵůƚƵƌĂů ƐĞĐƚŽƌ ĂŶĚ ǁĂƐ ƌĞĐĞŶƚůLJ ĂĚŵŝƩĞĚ ŝŶƚŽ ƚŚĞ E^ ϯϬ ŝŶĚĞdž͘ dŚĞ ŽŵƉĂŶLJ ƌĂŶŬƐ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ϯϭƐƚ ůĂƌŐĞƐƚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ dŚŝƐĚĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁŚŝĐŚ ŝƐ Ă ĨƌĞĞͲŇŽĂƚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉͲďĂƐĞĚ ŝŶĚĞdž͘

WƌĞƐĐŽ ƌĞůĞĂƐĞĚ ŝƚƐ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ƌĞƐƵůƚ ǁŚŝĐŚ ǁĂƐ ďƌŽĂĚůLJ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ͘ dŚĞ ŽŵƉĂŶLJ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ Ă ϰϭ͘ϴй zͲŽͲz ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ŝŶ ZĞǀĞŶƵĞ ƚŽ Eϭϲ͘ϵďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ĨƌŽŵ Eϭϭ͘ϵďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲ ĂƐ ĚŽŵĞƐƟĐ ƉƌŽĚƵĐĞƌƐ ůĞǀĞƌĂŐĞĚ ŽŶ ǁĞĂŬ &y ƌĂƚĞ ĂŶĚ ŚŝŐŚ ĚĞŵĂŶĚ ƚŽ ƌĂŝƐĞ ƉƌŝĐĞƐ ĂŶĚ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŽƵƚƉƵƚ͘ ůƚŚŽƵŐŚ 'ƌŽƐƐ DĂƌŐŝŶ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚĞĚ ϰ͘ϲ ƉĞƌĐĞŶƚĂŐĞ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ zͲŽͲ z ƚŽ ϳϬ͘ϴй Ͳ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ŽƐƚ ŽĨ ^ĂůĞƐ ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ŝŵƉĂĐƚ ŽŶ KƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ WƌŽĮƚ ǁĂƐ ƉĂƌƚůLJ ŽīƐĞƚ ďLJ ůŽǁĞƌ KW y ƌĂƟŽ͖ ŚĞŶĐĞ͕ KƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ WƌŽĮƚ ƌŽƐĞ ϰϬ͘ϰй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ Eϵ͘ϰďŶ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬĚƌŽƉ ŽĨ ŚŝŐŚ ďĂƐĞ ĞīĞĐƚ ŽĨ ďŝŽůŽŐŝĐĂů ĂƐƐĞƚƐ ƌĞǀĂůƵĂƟŽŶ ŐĂŝŶƐ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϲ ;Eϰ͘ϰďŶͿ͕ WƌĞͲƚĂdž WƌŽĮƚ ĨĞůů ϭϴ͘Ϯй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ Eϳ͘ϵďŶ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ŽŵƉĂŶLJ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ Ă ĨĂŝƌ ǀĂůƵĞ ůŽƐƐ ŽŶ ŝƚƐ ďŝŽůŽŐŝĐĂů ĂƐƐĞƚƐ ;ͲEϬ͘ϯďŶͿ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉĞƌŝŽĚ͘ WƌĞƐĐŽ͛Ɛ ƐƚĂŶĚĂůŽŶĞ Yϯ͗ϮϬϭϳ ƌĞƐƵůƚ ǁĂƐ ŚŽǁĞǀĞƌ ƌĞůĂƟǀĞůLJ ƵŶŝŵƉƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ͘ 'ƌŽƐƐ ƌĞǀĞŶƵĞ ĚŝƉƉĞĚ Ϯϴ͘ϭй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ Eϰ͘ϭďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Eϱ͘ϳďŶ ŝŶ YϮ͗ϮϬϭϳ͕ ǁŚŝĐŚ ǁĞ ƐƵƐƉĞĐƚ ŝƐ ĂƩƌŝďƵƚĂďůĞ ƚŽ ƐƚƌŽŶŐĞƌ &y ƌĂƚĞ ŝŶ Yϯ ĂŶĚ ĨĞĞĚďĂĐŬ ĞīĞĐƚ ŽŶ ůĞǀĞů ŽĨ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĐŽŵƉĞƟƟŽŶ ďLJ ŝŵƉŽƌƚĞƌƐ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĂŬĞƌ ƚŽƉůŝŶĞ͕ KƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ WƌŽĮƚ ĨĞůů ϳϮ͘ϭй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ Eϭ͘ϬďŶ ǁŚŝůĞ Ă ƉƌĞͲƚĂdž ůŽƐƐ ŽĨ EϬ͘ϯďŶ ǁĂƐ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ Ă ƉƌŽĮƚ ŽĨ EϮ͘ϲďŶ ŝŶ YϮ͗ϮϬϭϳ͘ ĞƐƉŝƚĞ ƚŚĞ ƐŽŌ Yϯ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͕ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ŚĂƐ ďĞĞŶ ŶĞƵƚƌĂů ƐŝŶĐĞ ƚŚĞ ƌĞůĞĂƐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƌĞƐƵůƚ͘ tĞ ďĞůŝĞǀĞ ƚŚŝƐ ŝƐ ĂƐ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ ŽĨ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ͛ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ŵĞĚŝƵŵͲƚĞƌŵ ŽƵƚůŽŽŬ ŽŶ WƌĞƐĐŽ͛Ɛ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ͕ ĂƐ ŵĂĐƌŽĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĐ ƉŽůŝĐŝĞƐ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞ ƚŽ ĨĂǀŽƵƌ ĚĞŵĂŶĚ ĨŽƌ ůŽĐĂůůLJ ƐŽƵƌĐĞĚ Žŝů ƉĂůŵ ƉƌŽĚƵĐĞ͘

Afrinvest Securities Limited (RC 603 315) (A Dealing Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange)

1.67

0.6%

0.6%

14.4%

12.8%

19.6%

4.1%

6.7x

1.1x

0.6%

0.6%

6.8%

6.8%

6.3%

2.2%

11.6x

0.8x

37.0%

1.7%

15.0%

22

UAC of Nigeria PLC

18.05

23

Diamond Bank PLC

1.88

3.9%

0.6%

25.3%

19.7%

2.5%

0.3%

7.6x

0.2x

24

Total Nigeria PLC

243.70

0.0%

0.5%

6.0%

6.0%

31.0%

6.5%

10.3x

2.9x

2.43

4.7%

0.7%

53.8%

3.8%

0.6%

7.0x

0.3x

4.1%

14.2%

176.30

0.0%

0.4%

-9.4%

-9.4%

32.6%

12.0%

9.4x

2.6x

4.5%

10.7%

2.2%

4.7%

5.4%

8.6% 13.2%

7.0%

9.7%

25

FCMB Group Plc

26

11 PLC

27

Forte Oil PLC

44.00

0.0%

0.4%

1.2%

4.8%

44.3%

3.7%

11.1x

4.9x

28

PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

22.40

-4.9%

0.4%

8.7%

5.9%

10.7%

5.0%

21.2x

2.2x

29

Cadbury Nigeria PLC

12.65

-9.6%

0.3%

-19.3%

-18.9%

4.5%

1.6%

38.5x

2.1x

30

Presco PLC

72.00

0.0%

0.4%

5.1%

5.1%

42.9%

25.9%

3.5x

1.3x

2.1%

28.2%

54.6%

19.5%

10.2x

4.7x

7.3%

9.8%

0.8x

7.2%

31

NASCON Allied Industries PLC

20.50

2.5%

0.3%

10.8%

6.7%

32

UPDC Real Estate Investment Tr

10.00

0.0%

0.3%

0.0%

0.0%

33

Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

6.40

-4.5%

0.3%

-17.9%

-14.8%

5.6%

1.2%

8.2x

0.4x

34

Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

24.80

0.0%

0.3%

-11.4%

-11.4%

17.3%

1.8%

6.9x

1.1x

35

Sterling Bank PLC

1.71

-0.6%

0.4%

58.3%

51.3%

6.1%

0.6%

9.0x

0.5x

5.0%

0.3%

29.6%

29.6%

61.6%

15.8%

5.1x

2.2x

0.2%

2.0%

2.0%

61.2%

23.6%

4.6x

1.6x

36

Dangote Flour Mills Plc

15.75

37

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Niger

22.05

5.0%

9.0%

2.6%

12.2% 4.0%

14.6% 11.1% 19.6%

1.4%

21.9%

38

Chemical and Allied Products P

38.75

0.0%

0.2%

14.0%

8.5%

84.3%

38.5%

16.9x

11.9x

5.7%

5.9%

39

Beta Glass PLC

75.70

0.0%

0.2%

47.5%

47.5%

18.4%

11.9%

10.7x

1.8x

1.3%

9.4%

40

Transcorp Hotels Plc

7.45

0.0%

0.1%

3.3%

3.3%

4.7%

2.8%

21.2x

1.0x

1.8%

4.7%

T o p 10 G a i n e r s T ic k er

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

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

2.50

7.8%

A F R IN SUR E

82.8

-4.0%

GLA XOSM IT H

22.05

5.0%

J A P A ULOIL

75.6

0.0%

D A N GF LOUR

15.75

5.0%

F ID ELIT YB K

63.9

7.8%

105.00

4.8%

Z EN IT H B A N K

29.6

1.1%

2.43

4.7%

FB NH

28.8

0.0%

NNFM

6.20

4.2%

T R A N SC OR P

21.3

0.6%

A F R IP R UD

4.32

4.1%

GUA R A N T Y

19.9

0.3%

UB A

11.50

4.1%

A F R IP R UD

15.0

4.1%

F ID SON

5.19

4.0%

UB A

14.2

4.1%

LIN KA SSUR E

0.80

3.9%

D IA M ON D B N K

13.2

3.9%

F ID ELIT YB K

GUIN N ESS FCM B

T ic k er

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 P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

C A D B UR Y

12.65

-9.6%

D A N GC EM

1074.2

0.0%

UN IT YKA P

0.24

-7.7%

GUA R A N T Y

886.6

0.3%

M A N SA R D

2.50

-7.4%

NB

867.7

-0.9%

T ic k er

UN IT YB N K

1.23

-6.1%

Z EN IT H B A N K

837.7

1.1%

SKYEB A N K

0.76

-5.0%

FB NH

344.3

0.0%

0.19

-5.0%

F LOUR M ILL

248.3

-0.5%

22.40

-4.9%

P R ESC O

181.7

0.0%

B ER GER

9.85

-4.8%

UB A

160.0

4.1%

ET I

17.95

-4.8%

F ID ELIT YB K

151.4

7.8%

M B EN EF IT

0.40

-4.8%

N EST LE

116.2

-2.2%

UN IC PZ

Investment Research

Brokerage Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Bolaji Fajenyo | bfajenyo@afrinvest.com

Omotola Abimbola | oabimbola@afrinvest.com

43

˾ THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

MARKET NEWS

CWG Plc Sends Profit Warning, Expects Lower Earnings CWG Plc has sent a profit warning, saying it expects lower earnings for the year ended December 31, 2017.

The company, which used to be known as Computer Warehouse Group, only returned to profitability in 2016 after a loss of N1.75 billion in 2015.

It had ended 2016 with a profit after tax of N127 million. And while the positive performance was being expected to be improved upon in 2017, CWG Plc said its earnings would be lower.

In a notification to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), CWG Plc said following the review of its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017, it is expected that the estimated earnings and year ended financial projections would be materially lower in comparison to the prior year financials.

“The reduction in earnings is predominantly a result of losses incurred due to the financial cost implications of non-actualised projects which

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

have adversely affected the company’s estimated earnings and year end projections.

Although there is a decline in earnings, CWG Plc profit margins have continued to remain stable for financial year ended December 2017,” the company said.

It added that notwithstanding the foregoing, from preliminary forecast undertaken, the board of CWG Plc continues to remain positive about the strategic direction of the

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 20-Mar-2018, unless otherwise stated.

company and in restructuring both its business and management models to ensure that the company maintains its leadership position.

“The board is highly optimistic about the new initiatives due to the launching of a number of technology platforms that are currently in the development stage and the strategic partnership that have been concluded which are expected to translate to increased transactional

numbers,” the company stated.

Speaking on the recovery of the company from loss position in 2015 to profit in 2016, last year, Chief Executive Officer of CWG Plc, Mr. James Agada, said the 2016 results reflected the continuing focus of the company on sustainable income streams, cost management and extraction of best value for the shareholders.

According to him, in the face of the tough operating

environment, the group made a strategic decision to focus on profitable information technology (IT) solutions with less exposure to foreign exchange fluctuations and with predictable recurrent revenues.

He noted that the decline in costs was as a result of several initiatives taken by the management including many measures taken to mitigate foreign exchange losses, reduce borrowings and improve receivable collections.

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 187.42 188.13 5.44% Nigeria International Debt Fund 241.55 242.27 4.40% 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 4.13% ACAP Income Funds 0.63 0.63 4.60% 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 15.60% 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 N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 15.23% 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 15.33% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.11 1.13 5.81% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.09 1.13 5.65% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,194.24 1,195.41 4.04% FBN Heritage Fund 147.42 148.77 5.77% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.80% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $114.82 $115.32 1.67% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $114.85 $115.35 1.80% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 175.97 178.69 9.46% 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 1.38 1.41 5.94% Legacy Debt Fund 2.97 2.97 2.99% 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 3,153.72 3,188.88 5.68% Coral Income Fund 2,547.69 2,547.69 4.13% 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 14.98% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.17 2.20 2.92% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 16.41% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 117.66 117.99 2.29%

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 1.45% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,059.92 1,059.92 2.79% 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 16.03 16.18 13.76% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.17% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.30 1.33 9.70% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.44 11.48 3.59% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 13.46% 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 142.28 144.78 10.48% 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 1.53 1.53 3.36% 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 2,364.84 2,383.44 5.41% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 180.21 180.21 2.13% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.08 1.10 7.92% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 228.98 229.07 3.98% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 193.35 195.52 7.96% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.88% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,305.79 10,446.78 6.58% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.08 1.08 1.89% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.34 1.36 0.73% United Capital Bond Fund 1.61 1.61 3.02% United Capital Equity Fund 1.01 1.03 9.94% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.58% United Capital Eurobond Fund 104.85 104.85 1.90% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.12 1.13 3.10% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 13.30 13.50 6.30% Zenith Ethical Fund 14.01 14.18 8.93% Zenith Income Fund 19.66 19.66 3.90% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.50%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

10.00 134.17

-11.35% 1.29%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.52 158.21 118.37

12.62 161.61 120.58

3.29% 10.78% 8.35%

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

5.16 9.69 19.00 22.97 156.95

5.20 9.77 19.10 23.17 158.95

8.80% 1.25% 6.96% 16.69% 5.60%

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

44

T H I S D AY ˾ Í°Í°Ë&#x153; ͰͮͯͶ

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY MARCH 22, 2018

45

46

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

White House Hunts Leaker after Trump Congratulates Putin The White House fumed Wednesday about an embarrassing leak of Donald Trump’s shock decision to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his re-election, with one official describing the disclosure

as illegal, AFP reported.

A hunt is underway to find the person who leaked Trump’s prepared notes for the call, which included a warning “DO NOT CONGRATULATE,” which he ignored.Trump had

Nigeria Refrains from Signing Pact Establishing African Free Trade Area Nigeria is not among the forty-four African signitories of an agreement establishing a free trade area in the continent.

The pact is seen as vital to the continent’s economic development, AFP reported the head of the African Union as saying on Wednesday.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari pulled out of this week’s launch in Rwanda saying he needed more time for consultations at home.

One of Africa’s largest markets, Nigeria hesitated after objections from business leaders and unions -- a sign that getting the deal through scores of national parliaments may face several hurdles.

“Some countries have reservations and have not finalised their national consultations. But we shall have another summit in Mauritania in July where we expect countries with reservations to also sign,” said Albert Muchanga, the AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry.

The creation of a free trade area -- billed as the world’s largest in terms of participating countries -- comes after two years of negotiations, and is one of the AU’s flagship projects for greater African integration.

“The agreement establishing the CFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) was signed by 44 countries,” said Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the AU commission.

Other economic powerhouses South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Algeria -- known for strict protectionist policies restricting imports and exports -- did sign the deal.

However, the agreement will still have to be ratified at a national level, and is only due to come into force in 180 days.

If all 55 African Union members eventually sign up, it will create a bloc with a cumulative GDP of $2.5 trillion (2 trillion euros) and cover a market of 1.2 billion people.

Currently, African countries only do about 16 percent of their business with each other, the

smallest amount of intraregional trade compared to Latin America, Asia, North America and Europe.

shunned the advice of some aides in making the call Putin at all.

He then went a step further to congratulate the Russian leader on winning a fourth presidential term, despite the election being plagued by evidence of ballot stuffing, media censorship and the jailing of political opponents.

The Washington Post and others reported that staff explicitly advised Trump not to congratulate Putin and that he should condemn the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain.

According to accounts from the White House and the

Kremlin, Trump did neither.

The leak of such sensitive information about Oval Office deliberations points to deep frustration within the White House about his ad-hoc approach and disregard for the advice of his inner circle.

Very few officials would have known about the details of the call, only those at the very highest levels of the administration and the president himself.

Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the hunt for the leaker was underway.

One official suggested the documents preparing for the call may have been classified,

making unauthorised disclosure a crime.

“We cannot comment on alleged classified deliberative documents allegedly provided to the president” a senior administration official told AFP. The leak was undoubtedly damaging for a White House already in disarray.

Allies, most notably in Britain, were furious about Trump’s lack of solidarity after a chemical weapons attack on double agent Sergei Skripal in a small English town.

The White House waited for days before condemning the attack, which London has pinned squarely on the Kremlin

and Moscow has denied.

The White House leak also compounded a major diplomatic victory for Moscow, offering Putin legitimacy while giving him a wedge to drive between western allies and within the White House itself.

Republicans in Washington were critical of Trump’s decision to congratulate Putin, but also lined up behind the president in anger about the leak.

“I don’t like that he did it, but you know what I like even less? That there is somebody close to him leaking this stuff out. If you don’t like the guy, quit!” said Republican Senator Marco Rubio.

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018Ëž T H I S D AY

47

NEWSXTRA

INEC: 2019 Elections May Gulp N250bn Commission warns against threat of violence Onyebuchi Ezigbo Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said the budget estimates for the 2019 general election will most likely double the amount voted for the 2015 exercise.

Speaking at an event organised by the coalition of civil society groups under the auspices of the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room yesterday in Abuja the National Commissioner representing Anambra State, Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, who represented the Chairman of

the commission, said the 2019 election budget would take into consideration  the present realities including the exchange rates.

According to Ibeanu,  the commission spent between N115 billion and N120 billion to organise the 2015 general election, adding that the amount is likely to double in 2019. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you look at the last budgetary estimates we do not need any science around it at all. My estimates is that about 50 per cent of the INEC cost involves spending money abroad that means that it will

be affected by the exchange rates. Now you can do a computation of 40-50 per cent at N150 per a aollar in 2015 and N360 to a dollar right now. You can imagine what the present the picture will be like and this will enable us have an idea of what the present estimate will be. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But I can assure you that INEC has done everything possible to keep the budget for the 2019 elections consistent with the existing realities in the country. The INEC commissioner

also said the fact that the commission may likely introduce a number of new innovations and additional round of elections means that the budget will be huge.

He said the other very important aspect of preparations for the general election is how to get citizens aware by way of sensitisation. According to him, with an increased voter population of about 80 million and 68 political parties which may likely hit the 80 mark before the election, conducting

the poll will definitely be a Herculean task.

Ibeanu also expressed fear of the likelihood of threat of electoral violence in some parts of the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The threat of electoral violence remains real in some parts of the country and it is one major concern of the commission. This is one major area that the civil society has a role to play, and I will like to implore the Situation Room to include it in its intervention, especially in this issue of hate speech

and how some people are mobilizing negative sly and tying to cast groups in bad light. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Liberal elections are about individual citizens and how to make choice on who ruled them but when people begin to make negative mobilisation to cast aspersions on ethnic groups and religious groups than we may be crossing a very dangerous line,â&#x20AC;? he said He said INEC would be giving further details on the states considered as flash points in due course.

Buhari Congratulates Elumelu President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Â Tony Elumelu, on his 55 birthday today.

President Buhari joins the United Bank of Africa (UBA), the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the Elumelu family and all professional colleagues of the economist, consummate banker and successful entrepreneur, whose pacesetting antecedents continue to inspire both the young and old on the power of ideas, big dreams and hard work.

The president commended Elumeluâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diligence, versatility and selflessness in championing the economic philosophy of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Africapitalism,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; which called to action the need to grow businesses that cater

for African interests, support governments and bottom-up development within the continent, by discouraging long term dependence on donor countries and philanthropic organisations.

As he turns 55 years, President Buhari believes that the entrepreneurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest investment has been in the development of people and communities, clearly evident in the Tony Elumelu Foundation which started with scholarships and fellowships, and now trains a new generation of business leaders across the continent.

President Buhari prayed that the almighty God will grant Elumelu longer life, more ideas and renewed vigour to pursue his dream of making life better for others.

IRONING OUT ISSUES

R-L: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Minister of State for Solid Minerals, Bawa Bwari Abubakar; Minister of Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi; and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, at the Federal Executive Council (FEC), meeting at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja ....yesterday

Nigeria, Sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Africa Stay Away as 44 African Countries Sign Trade Treaty Deal Buhari: We are yet to understand security, economic implications of AfCFTA Omololu Ogunmade Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?ĂŁ Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E; The two biggest economies in Africa, Nigeria and South Africa, were yesterday conspicuously absent as 44 leaders of African countries signed a deal to create one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest free trade blocs.

The agreement was signed at a summit in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, according to the BBC. It is hoped the deal would come into force within six months, and increase prosperity for 1.2 billion Africans.

But 10 countries, including Nigeria, have refused to sign the deal, and it would need to be ratified by all the signatoriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; national parliaments before the bloc becomes a reality.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would remove barriers to trade, like tariffs and import quotas, allowing the free flow of goods and services between its members.

In theory, that should boost commerce, growth and employment.

African Union Commission Head, Moussa Faki Mahamat, called it a â&#x20AC;&#x153;glorious challenge... which calls for the courage to believe, the courage to dare... the courage to achieve.â&#x20AC;?

He then recognised that to

succeed, the countries will â&#x20AC;&#x153;need to summon the required political will.â&#x20AC;?

Trade between African countries is relatively low. It accounts for only 10 per cent of all commerce on the continent - compared with 25 per cent in South-east Asia - according to news agency Reuters.

Once the free trade area is established, the ambition is to take further steps that echo the creation of the European Union - like a customs union, a common market, and even a single currency, Matthew Davies, editor of the BBCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Africa Business Report said.

He said many obstacles still have to be overcome.

One is the relatively low level of manufacturing that takes place on a continent where trade often means selling raw materials to the outside world.

Another is getting Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest economy, Nigeria, on board. President Muhammadu Buhari pulled out of the summit, after â&#x20AC;&#x153;certain key stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;?

- thought to mean trade unions and businesses - complained they had not been consulted.

The African Union said it hoped those countries with reservations would be persuaded to sign at a later date.

Meanwhile, President Buhari yesterday in Abuja said he withdrew from the plan to

sign the AfCFTA agreement in Kigali, Rwanda, because he discovered that the country was yet to understand the security and economic implications of the treaty.

Briefing journalists at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the State House, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the president told the council that he also declined signing the agreement because he would not be party to anything that could encourage dumping of finished goods in Nigeria.

Adesina who said the council had consequently constituted a committee to review the proposal of CFTA, added that the president also said Nigeria pulled out of the African Union Extraordinary meeting where the agreement was signed yesterday by 44 of 55 African countries because he would never encourage anything that could hinder entrepreneurship as well as the interests of Nigerian entrepreneurs He listed members of the committee to include the Ministries of Finance, Labour, Foreign Affairs, Science and Technology and Budget and National Planning as well as Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Customs Service

(NCS) and Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). He said the committee was given two weeks to conclude its assignment and report its findings to the council. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The explanation from the president which the FEC bought was that he would not want to agree to anything that would hinder local entrepreneurs. And on the surface, except if proven wrong, is that that agreement has the capacity to affect local entrepreneurship. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Then, he also said that anything that could encourage the dumping of finished goods in Nigeria was going to be contrary to our interest. So, it is one of the reasons while he declined. Then he said the country is yet to fully understand the economic and security implications of the agreement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, there has to be further consultations with different stakeholders and the final position was that a committee be set up to meet and review the contents of that proposal and they will do it within two weeks and get back to the Federal Executive Council.

The committee which has two weeks to submit its report will be expected to look at the security implications of the agreement,â&#x20AC;?

Adesina said.

In his own briefing, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam

Mohammed Bello, said the council also approved N6.9 billion for the completion of the United Nations building that was bombed by Boko Haram in 2011.

Bello who said the project would be completed in 12 months, stated that Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision to rebuild the damaged part of the structure was in line with UNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s principle, saying the reconstruction will include the installation of important equipment such as body scanners and close circuit television (CCTV) cameras to forestall a repeat of the disaster.

Also briefing, the Minister of State (Aviation), Hadi Sirika, said council also approved very high radio equipment for the improvement of radio communications between pilots and the tower at the cost of N1.1billion.

According to Sirika, the equipment which would be installed in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and some other airports, will help the country to deal with the problem of inadequate radio communications which he described as an important tool for safety.

FG ASKS COURT TO FREEZE UNDECLARED ASSETS OF EKWEREMADU world including, Nigeria, United Arabs Emirates, United States.

However, Ekweremadu yesterday said there were no assets to be forfeited to the federal government as he declared all his assets with the CCB as required by law.

In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu, the deputy senate president said the panel sought and obtained his assets declaration forms, but could not look at them since it was out on a vendetta and smear campaign championed by

Obono-Obla.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is clearly part of the politics of 2019, and is further exposing those, who colluded with the dismissed former Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Innocent Umezulike and his cronies to steal and doctor his will.â&#x20AC;?

The senator said he has, nevertheless, briefed his lawyers and would meet the panel in court.

He assured all his supporters and well-wishers that there was nothing to worry about, adding that like others, this too would pass.

48

THURSDAY, MARCH 22,2018˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Enough of Foreign Borrowings, Moghalu Tells FG DMO defends foreign loans Obinna Chima A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Kingsley Moghalu, yesterday called on the federal government to put a stop to further foreign borrowing.

This is just as Moghalu, who recently declared his intention to contest the 2019 presidential election, expressed optimism that he would win the election.

He said this while, delivering a speech titled: “Overcoming Poverty: The Secret of the Wealth of Nations,’ at the 2018 Bullion Lecture organised by the Centre for Financial Journalism in Lagos.

According to Moghalu, the increased foreign borrowing which the government had raised in the past three years has the country “back into a debt trap that will weigh down the future generations of Nigeria.”

Nigeria’s external debt rose to $18.91 billion (N5.787 trillion) as at the end of December 2017, while domestic debt rose to N15.937 trillion, bringing the total debt stock of the country to N21.725 trillion ($70.92 billion), latest data released by the Debt Management Office (DMO) had shown.

But responding to Moghalu’s comment, the Director, Portfolio Management, DMO, Dele Afolabi, who represented the Director General of the debt office, Ms. Patience Oniha, defended the increased foreign borrowing by the government, saying the funds were being utilised for infrastructure development.

He explained: “Borrowing on its own is not a bad thing.

Through borrowing, the country has been able to do a lot of things.

“We have finance infrastructure. So, to say we shouldn’t borrow, I don’t agree with that. You can borrow and use for developmental projects.

“Currently, we are refinancing domestic debts with external loans. We have brought down cost of domestic borrowing and ultimately the cost of servicing these debts will reduce.”

Continuing, the ex-CBN deputy governor called for the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector; the scrapping of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and reform it as a partially privatised company, as well as the constitutional repeal of the Land Use Act, which according to him traps the wealth of Nigerian’s citizens in the hands of choking grip of bureaucracy.

Moghalu, who is currently the President, Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation (IGET), pointed out that the path out of poverty to prosperity in the country must pass through five preconditions which he listed to include: a worldview of a philosophical foundation for the Nigerian state; an economic vision founded on an economic philosophy that is aligned with foundational worldview; science, technology and innovation as the driver of the economy; economic complexity and vibrant institutions.

He added: “Nigeria has gotten it wrong in a

PDP Asks UN to Avert Rigging of 2019 Polls Onyebuchi Ezigbo ÓØ ÌßÔË The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday sought the intervention of the United Nations over fears that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would rig the 2019 general election.

The party said it has lost confidence in the ability of INEC to conduct credible polls, noting that registration of underaged persons signifies their attempt to rig the 2019 polls.

It also warned that Nigerians would resist any attempt to impose an unpopular government on them.

The National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, stated this when he hosted a delegation of the United Nations led by Mohammed Ibn Chambas.

Secondus also urged the UN to help address the mindless killings going on in the country, stressing that same could be part of grand design to prevent some eligible voters from casting

their votes in 2019.

“INEC has not lived up to expectation. It should come out in clear terms and be seen as an umpire. Since they took over, a lot of issues have trailed their conduct of elections.

“We don’t have confidence in the leadership of INEC. There are no perfect elections anywhere in the world but there are glaring issues of concern.

“We suspect that INEC will rig the elections but Nigerians will resist it. We suspect that the rigging will start from Borno State, especially with the number of people in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps,” said Secondus, who added that in the past elections conducted under the leadership of Professor Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC, “Some people were prevented from the polling units by security agents.”

Secondus also drew the attention of the UN delegation to the alleged registration and voting by minors in Kano during a recently conducted council polls.

fundamental manner as far as its understanding of wealth and poverty of its citizens are concerned, and that is why 152 million Nigerians are poor.

“This is a matter of philosophical emptiness of our political leadership class; the relative absence of sound economic thinking among even our supposedly enlightened class of ‘economists’ who continue to believe that classic economics with its focus on

economic growth statistics, instead of a focus on economic philosophy, organisation and development, will result in economic transformation.”

According to him, in order to address the myriad of problems facing the country, the citizens must now elect a new kind of leadership that offers something radically different by virtue of possessing the insights and having the political will to take the economic management

of Nigeria in to a new direction of soundness, quality and results.

Responding to questions about his chances in the forthcoming election, Moghalu told his audience: “That was how they dismissed Donald Trump, that was how they dismissed Emmanuel Macron, and I want to tell you that the ground is shifting in Nigeria.

“You cannot say that not participating in the sleaze that

passes for Nigeria’s politics should disqualify me from running for Nigerian’s president, not having local government funds should not disqualify me.

“The people of Nigeria have woken up. We have been captured by the political class.

But the people have decided to move in. Let it be clear, we have a strategy for mobilisation, we have a strategy for organisation, we have a message and a vision that is very clear.”

MEETING ON HOW TO ERADICATE POLIO

R-L: Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III; President, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Bill Gates; Governors Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto); Kashim Shettima (Borno); Muhammed Abubakar (Bauchi); Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna); and Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), at the signing of MoU on routine immunisation at Sokoto Government House...yesterday

NSIA to Invest $20m in Three Healthcare Facilities Ndubuisi Francis ÓØ ÌßÔË The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) is to invest $20 million to develop three healthcare facilities in three states of the federation The move is aimed at providing Nigerians with access to world class healthcare. In collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, the NSIA Healthcare Development and Investment Company (“NHDIC”), an NSIA company yesterday announced the execution of a joint venture and other project agreements for investments in three federal healthcare institutions in the country.

To benefit from the initiative are healthcare institutions like the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH, Lagos), Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH, Kano) and the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia (FMCU, Abia).

Under the arrangenent, funds will be deployed to build, equip, maintain and operate a private cancer centre for advanced radiotherapy treatment at LUTH, and to also build, equip, maintain and operate private modern medical diagnostic centres at AKTH and the FMCU. The Cancer Centre at LUTH will be upgraded to provide

specialist care for cancer treatment while AKTH and FMCU will focus on diagnostics providing medical microbiology services, routine chemical pathology, haematology tests and advanced radiography including MRI and CT services.

The investment is expected to upgrade these institutions to modern medical centres and significantly enhance Nigeria’s ability to treat NonCommunicable Diseases (NCDs).

The NSIA believes that “the investments will assist in bridging the infrastructure gap in the healthcare sector and help reduce the burden of medical tourism which is estimated to drain over $1 billion in foreign exchange annually.

The investment, the NSIA also believes is intended to provide access to advanced healthcare services for the benefit of lower income families many of whom have limited access to care. As part of the programme, NHDIC has procured the services of internationally renowned equipment vendors including Varian (Switzerland), Siemens (Germany), JNC International (Nigeria) and Fuji Films (Japan) to provide turnkey services including civil works, design, equipment installation and maintenance services for the centres.

Each centre will run as a joint venture between NSIA and the respective tertiary hospital to ensure timely and efficient delivery of services.

At the agreement signing ceremony in Abuja, the Managing Director/CEO of NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji, noted that “Investing in healthcare remains a vital component of the Nigerian Infrastructure fund strategy.

He said: “The enhancement of healthcare infrastructure in these institutions will contribute towards raising the quality and standard of care in Nigeria with outcomes which are consistent with the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. In addition, it will demonstrate the economic potential of healthcare investments in Nigeria and catalyse private sector participation” Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of NSIA Mr. Jide Zeitlin, said the NSIA’s pursuit “in this phase of our healthcare strategy is to focus on non-communicable diseases and provide treatment for cardiovascular, renal, orthopedic and oncological conditions.

Why these diseases some may ask? The fact is that non-communicable diseases are often as devastating as the communicable ones. NCDs contributed almost a quarter

of the disease burden of the country in 2016, a statistic which represents a 30 per cent increase in prevalence over the last decade. Clearly, it is time due attention was accorded to these types of diseases.”

Commenting on the development, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole, said: “One of the most important aspects of healthcare is investment in infrastructure.

While the ministry maintains the position that individuals must be empowered to track their health and encouraged to maintain positive and healthy lifestyles, the minister noted that “it is incumbent on government to create an enabling environment for accessible, affordable and effective healthcare services locally. This investment, though focused on non-communicable diseases, is the first of many which we believe will shape the future of healthcare in Nigeria and bring quality healthcare to many.”

Under the agreement, LUTH and NSIA are partnering under the existing Medical Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme initiated by the Federal Ministry of Health to build, equip, maintain and operate a centre for advanced radiotherapy treatment at LUTH.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018˾ T H I S D AY

DAPCHI SCHOOLGIRLS…

DAPCHI SCHOOLGIRLS…

Atiku, Bello, Fayose Welcome Release of Schoolgirls Our correspondents Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello and his counterpart in Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose have welcomed the release of some of the schoolgirls freed by Boko Haram yesterday morning four weeks after they were kidnapped from their school in Dapchi, Yobe State.

In a statement issued by his media office in Abuja yesterday, Atiku said he was gladdened by the return of the girls, and expressed joy that some families who had been heartbroken would now have the tears wiped away from their faces, as well as other Nigerians who were distressed by their abduction.

“This is a moment of joy for all of us as a country. We may not all be in Dapchi at the moment, but we are all celebrating with the families, the community and the entire Yobe State,” he stated.

Atiku, however, noted that the grief of the parents whose daughters weren’t returned would probably take on a new and more tormenting dimension, as they continue to wait and pray for their safe return.

According to him, “May God continue to strengthen and give them hope.”

The former vice president believes “that while the events are fresh in our heads, a call for a more permanent solution to the problem of kidnapping of girls from schools should be found.”

He proposed several ideas including the immediate reassignment of 150,000 Nigerian police personnel to secure schools in volatile areas of the Northeast. “In addition, the government should look at redesigning schools to make them more secure from attack, including the addition of safe rooms.

“We cannot continue to allow our daughters to be used as instruments of negotiation, subject to capture and release at the whim of any group,” he said.

Atiku said: “For the sake of our youths who embody the best of our tomorrow, we must confront this Frankenstein monster.

Working together as a country, we can and must bring an end to this. Not a day must be wasted in finding solutions to these anomalies. We must make it safe so that our girls and women in every part of the country can study and flourish in peace.”

Also, Bello while reacting to the release of the girls, said it was “a cheering news to their parents and Nigerians as a whole.”

Bello in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Jibrin Ndace, said the release of the girls after more than 30 days in incarceration was a testimony to the “pro-active measures taken by President Muhammadu Buhari,” adding that “the release of the girls wouldn’t have been possible without the president’s positive disposition to ensuring that the lives and property of all Nigerians are safe at all times “The release of the abducted school girls also clearly demonstrated President Buhari’s unwavering commitment to freeing them and other innocent children from the cruel hands of terrorists and reuniting them with their families.

“The release of the Dapchi girls is a clear indication of President Buhari’s commitment to security of lives and property in Nigeria.”

Governor Bello also appreciated the Yobe State Government and all the stakeholders who facilitated the negotiations and final release of the girls and pleaded that similar efforts should be put into rescuing the remaining girls and the Chibok schoolgirls still being held.

He commended “the gallant armed forces and other security agencies” for the sustained battle against insurgents in the country.

On his part, Fayose congratulated parents of the abducted Dapchi girls that were released yesterday and sympathised with parents of five of the girls that reportedly died in the kidnappers’ den.

The governor described the abduction of the girls as an indictment on the federal government and their release as “drama scripted by the government and its agents to swindle Nigerians.”

Fayose, while reacting to the release of the abducted school girls, said: “This appears like an arranged abduction and an arranged release, but we thank God that the innocent girls have returned home and we condole with parents of those that died.”

In a statement issued yesterday, by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said it was strange that the girls could be brought back to Dapchi by their abductors without the security agents knowing when they were returned and who returned them.

He said: “Curiously, the same spirit who made sure that all military checkpoints in Dapchi and other surrounding towns were removed to pave the way for abduction of the girls also made sure that the girls were returned without any security agent seeing them.

“One can only be hopeful that the real script writers behind this drama will be exposed one day.

“Nigerians should recall that the Governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Geidam, said the military checkpoints were withdrawn from Dapchi and other communities a few days before the abduction of the 110 girls.

This was also corroborated by the Amnesty International in its report that was published in the newspapers yesterday.

“Specifically, Amnesty International said that security forces failed to act on advance warnings that a convoy of Boko Haram fighters was heading to Dapchi town and that between 2:00

One of the released Dapchi schoolgirls with her father (left) in Yobe State....yesterday

AFP.

pm and 6:00 pm on February 19, 2018, calls were made to tell the security services that the Boko Haram insurgents were in the Dapchi area.

“No doubt, withdrawal of military check-points from Dapchi and other communities, few days before the 110 students were abducted and failure of the security forces to act on advance warnings exposed the conspiracy of the federal government and its agents in the abduction of the school girls and other dastardly acts of the insurgents.

“Interestingly, no one was questioned up till now despite conflicting claims by the army and police as well as the damning report by the Amnesty International hat between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm on February 19, 2018, calls were made to tell the security services that the Boko Haram insurgents were in the Dapchi area.”

girls in Abuja. She added that “this traumatic serial abduction is a threat to among others, the right to life and right to education of the girl child in Nigeria.”

In a statement by the Head, Media Relations, NHRC, Fatimah Mohammad, the acting Executive Secretary however, called on the security services to take additional measures to protect schools and educational infrastructures particularly, in the Northeast.

While appealing to the authorities concerned to speed up the release of the remaining Dapchi school girl including those of Chibok who have been in captivity since 2014, Ovrawah said the country’s security agencies cannot afford to fail its citizens as they are constitutionally mandated to protect live and property.

She therefore urged the military and other security agencies as well as relevant stakeholders to work in synergy to ensure maximum security for all.

Amnesty Urges FG to Ensure Dapchi

SERAP to FG: Prioritise Medical Needs

Schoolgirls’ Welfare

of Released Girls

Amnesty International yesterday said the federal government should ensure that Dapchi schoolgirls who regained their freedom from Boko Haram’s captivity “have access to comprehensive support, including confidential counselling and medical care.”

The international watchdog however, lamented that despite this positive development, four girls from Dapchi “are still being held by Boko Haram.”

The movement made the call in a statement its Media Manager, Mr. Isa Sanusi, issued yesterday, noting that this “is a day of huge relief for the abducted girls who have been returned.”

The statement said Boko Haram “must immediately release these girls and all other abductees including some of the Chibok girls - and end the spate of abductions of civilians which amount to war crimes.”

Specifically, it noted that the 101 released girls “are currently being held in the custody of the governments,” which it claimed, would further prolong their ordeal.

It added that the authorities “must immediately release them, and ensure that they are able to return to their families or be provided with an alternative safe option if they so-choose.”

According to the statement, the authorities must also ensure the girls have access to comprehensive support, including confidential counselling and medical care.

It therefore, asked the federal government “to investigate the security failures that lead to the abduction - a fact highlighted by the tragic news that five of the schoolgirls died in captivity.”

The statement said it was absolutely “to investigate the security failures that lead to the abduction. The Dapchi abduction must be the catalyst for the government to ensure adequate protection of all schools in northeast Nigeria so that this can never happen again.

“As a first step towards meeting its responsibility of protecting civilians from Boko Haram attacks, the results of the two investigations into the Chibokgirls’ abduction in 2014 must be made public.”

Release Hope for Other Captives, Says NHRC The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has described the release of some of the recently abducted Dapchi girls from Yobe State as a great relief to the country and a reassuring signal for the rescue of others still in captivity, including the Chibok girls.

The acting Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mrs. Oti Ovrawah, stated this while reacting to the reported release of the

A civil society organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has urged the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to prioritise the well-being of the released Dapchi girls by immediately providing them with adequate medical and mental health services.

These, it said, include post-rape care and psychosocial support for those who have survived abduction by the Boko Haram terrorist group.

The organisation also urged the authorities to urgently establish a judicial commission of inquiry to conduct a thorough, impartial and effective investigation into allegations of complicity against some members of the military and security forces in the abduction of the girls.

Such commission, it added, should be completely independent, and have the mandate to find out exactly what transpired, and identify suspected perpetrators.

In a statement by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Timothy Adewale, the organisation said: “We welcome the news that many of the girls have now been released. But these girls should not have been abducted in the first place. It’s now absolutely important for Buhari to implement plans to make schools safer for students in the northeast of the country, if his government is to put a stop to constant abductions of Nigerian girls.

“Never again should Nigerian girls be abducted from their schools. The fact remains that the authorities have failed dismally to protect the girls and Nigerians deserve some answers as to what the government is doing to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.

“When girls leave school, their futures can be irreparably harmed. Protecting our schools against any attacks would align Nigeria with the growing global consensus that schools must be safe places, even during armed conflict. Constant attacks on our schools would undermine the government’s commitment to get more children, especially girls, into school – free from discrimination, in a safe environment where they can learn, grow, and thrive.”

It added: “Attacks on schools not only have impact on the lives of the girls and communities who are directly concerned, they also send a signal to parents and guardians that schools are not safe places for girls. Providing a safe school environment is crucial to making girls remain in school.

“Education is a powerful tool to ensure that women are aware of their rights and know how to claim them. It gives women more negotiating power in all aspects of their life. It can protect women from harmful practices and other forms of violence. Education is also crucial for women’s participation in economic, social and political life and necessary to break the cycle of discrimination and exclusion.”

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018˾ T H I S D AY

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NIM Seeks Coalition With Opposition Parties Soyinka, Utomi, Balewa point way forward Onyebuchi Ezigbo ÓØ ÌßÔË The Nigerian Intervention Movement (NIM) has begun alliance talks with about 37 opposition political parties in the country.

The parties operating under the auspices of Coalition for New Nigeria (CNN) met with the leadership of NIM recently to seek ways of cementing relationship ahead of next year’s general election.

The group said its major priority is to impact on the 2019 general election which it said is going to be a “rough fight.”

The movement made its position known yesterday in Abuja at its grand national summit and launch of a grand political coalition on the future of Nigeria.

At the event to mark the launch of NIM in Abuja yesterday, many opposition party leaders stormed the Nicon Luxury Hotel to show solidarity.

Speaking in Abuja at the grand national summit organised by the NIM, leaders of the movement individually emphasised the need explore all avenues to sack the current government come 2019.

Speakers at the event which include Prof. Wole Soyinka, Prof.

Pat Utomi, Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Dr Abdul Jhalil Tafawa Balewa, among others, urged Nigerians youths to register and collect their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) if the current government must be changed.

The Co-chairperson, Olisa Agbakoba, in his opening remarks, said the movement

was targeting about 30 million youths to prosecute the project, adding that the major priority is to impact on the 2019 general election which he said would be a “rough fight.”

Agbakoba said: “And if you agree, it means that we here must be very united. We cannot do it alone. It reminds me of when we started the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), we were exactly seven but confronted this huge military apparatus. Eventually, we became the 12th largest human rights organisation in the world.

It was our shared commitment.

So, that is the commitment you are going to make. It is not to come to Abuja, dress fine and sit down.

“If you want to displace the APC or PDP, it is going to be a rough fight. It is going to be tough. I can see so many people without PVCs. So, if we are going to make a difference, the first thing is to get your PVCs. It is of no use going to the mosques on Fridays or churches on Sundays to pray.

Without PVCs, there will be no change.”

According to him, “Nigeria is like a big company where there are two million shareholders and in the case of Nigeria, about 200 million shareholders. Less than one thousand are controlling the rest. Think about it. The people holding you bondage, how many of them? They are not many.

“So, we have to break this bondage by participating in the affairs of our country. That is the only way, but we need money.

We do not want the money bags,

Media Owner Hails FCT Minister for Transparency Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of The Abuja Inquirer newspaper, Mr. Dan Akpovwa, has commended the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Bello, for what he described as “uncommon transparency” in the day to day running of the administration.

Akpovwa, who made the commendation when he led a delegation of his management team to the minister, specifically noted with concern the transparency exhibited in the disbursement of area council’s allocations, just as he enjoined the FCT administration to ensure that the developmental stride is reflected in the area councils.

He, however, solicited for a more robust partnership between the media and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), noting that some of the giant strides are not given adequate publicity.

“Mr. Minister, I came with a delegation of my management team to specifically thank you for your uncommon transparency in the disbursement of area council’s allocations. It is not in our tradition to sing praises of government officials, but

your style of running a public office is worthy of note.

“Since you came on board as minister, we have witnessed the transparent manner in which the allocations to area councils are disbursed. More significantly, we have also seen a systemic increase in the area council allocations.

This is highly commendable and we want to identity with your administration,” Akpovwa stated.

He also commended the minister’s farsightedness in his quest to open up new districts in the nation’s capital, adding that such step will assist in decongesting the city center.

While responding, the FCT Minister, Malam Bello, appreciated the visit, even as he noted that the task of running a mega city like Abuja should not be left in the hands of government alone.

Bello, who expressed regret over the under-utilisation and vandalisation of public facilities in the FCT called on media owners to assist government in the area of advocacy.

He specifically mentioned the under-utilisation of pedestrian bridges and vandalisation of man-hole covers and electrical cables across the territory.

but we need money. Do not kid yourself, we need money to prosecute this election but we do not need the old type of money.

“I have studied the National Bureau of Statistics Demographic analysis. There are 30 million Nigerian youths between 18 and 40 years. That is our base. Donald Trump had a base.

Trump won because he allowed Hillary Clinton to roam around the whole place. He focused on the uneducated white working class. We will focus, once we identify this base and work on them. If we have 10 million

youths on our side, we are going to win,” he added.

Another co-Chairperson of the movement, Dr Abdul Jhalil Tafawa Balewa, said the NIM was not “moved by bitterness nor are we motivated by hatred.

So we shall not wipe away our past.

“If we were asked to choose only three things for our children, it will be education, education and education. You cannot have prosperity without education and as our recent experience is showing us, you cannot even have peace and order without education.

Judgment awaits them, and the present should not grant them space,” he said On the abduction of school girls by terrorist groups, Tafawa Balewa said; “heaven forbids we lower our standards so much that we start to compare how different administrations deal with mass kidnapping.”

In a message to the launch, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Soyinka, urged them to be vigilant and watch out for ‘experienced spoilers’.

“You must however exercise unrelenting vigilance.

Prowling around you already

are those recurrent interlopers, whose sole aim is to hijack your efforts or infiltrate your ranks with their stooges.

Experienced spoilers, they are part and parcel of the very predicament you are trying to alleviate.

Prof. Utomi said there was the need for a movement to get ordinary Nigerians to come on board.

According to Utomi, the idea of the NIM is to bring ordinary Nigerians together to form a huge voting block ahead of the 2019 general election.

COURTESY VISIT

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Mohammad Bello (right), receiving the Chairman of The Abuja Inquirer Newspaper, Dan Akpovwa, when the management team of the publication visited the minister in his office in Abuja... yesterday

Amaechi Begins Buhari’s Second Term Campaign in Anambra Nwodo: Nigeria is at war that no one declared David-Chyddy Eleke ÓØ áÕË The Minister of Transportation, Hon Chibuike Amaechi, in a surprising move yesterday took the campaign for President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term to Anambra State, urging Igbo people to vote for him (Buhari) for a second term as a way of giving him the chance to serve out the term of the North.

Amaechi, who was at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, as a lecturer to mark its 12th convocation, spoke on the topic: ‘The Igbo in the politics of Nigeria’.

The minister who started his lecture by insisting that he is an Igbo man, and should not be denied his heritage, said the problem of the Igbo in the politics of Nigeria was self-inflicted.

“We are not here for campaign; we are here for an academic exercise. If we were here for campaign, I would not be putting on this academic gown, but we must tell ourselves the truth about

what Buhari has done.

“You (Igbo) did not vote for Buhari, true or false? You voted for PDP and what did they do for you? PDP abandoned the Enugu-Onitsha expressway since 1999, but Buhari is working on it, true or false?

“Buhari is working on the second Niger Bridge, he is working on the Otuocha-IbajiAbuja road, he is working on the Abakaliki-Onueke road, he is working on the Oji-Achi-Naku road in Enugu State, he is also working on Ozalla-AkpugoAmagunze road. He is working on the Aba-Ikot Ekpene road.

“Under Buhari, all major cities of the South-east are captured in the existing railway project.

Name one government that has done up to this within two years.

Our problem is that we are just being emotional,” he said.

The minister called on the Igbo to rather focus on the solutions to their problems in politics instead of reproaches, saying part of the solution is to move into a national party after having been disappointed

by sectional parties.

He described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as regional parties which do not hold hope for the Igbo.

Jokingly, Amaechi said: “Igbo should go for confession, seek forgiveness and move into a national party, and look for way to fight from inside. They should vote for Buhari for a second term, and then force him out and look for Igbo president. Let the quarrel with the North, real or imagined, stop now.”

The minister had earlier said he was himself a full blooded Igbo man, urging those who were surprised why he was selected to deliver the lecture not to deny him his Igbo origin.

“My friend, Senator Abaribe, was asking me why it should be me who will deliver a lecture on Igbo in Nigerian politics, but I urge you to be the judge.

Chibuike and Abaribe, which one sounds more Igbo?

Amaechi and Abaribe, which one is more Igbo? Now you

see that I am Igbo.”

The President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. Nnia Nwodo, who was also a guest at the lecture, however, punctured some of Amaechi’s claims, saying Nigeria was not operating as a true federation, as pockets of marginalisation still abound against the Igbo.

According to him, “I am yet to see a federation in which the security apparatus is domiciled in one section of the country.

Doing so has not also solved the security challenges of the country.

“Our country is in a state of war, with no one declaring it. I refuse to agree with you that people should join a federal movement as you said. If our constitution is not revisited for people to live and feel safe, then we are wasting our time.

“Honourable minister, I urge you to fight for us.

We are the true Nigerians.

Whether we voted left or right, our behavioural pattern has shown confidence in Nigeria.

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018˾ T H I S D AY

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Adeosun: FG Has Released N1.248tn for Capital Spending from 2017 Budget Saves N68bn on personnel cost, recovers N7.8bn, $378m, £27,800 through whistle blowing Omololu Ogunmade ÓØ ÌßÔË The federal government yesterday in Abuja said it had released N1.248 trillion for the execution of capital projects from the 2017 budget with the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing getting the lion share of N301.89 billion.

Making this disclosure while briefing journalists at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the State House, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, listed three other ministries which received substantial releases as Defence (N151.24 billion), Agriculture (N119.9 billion) and Transport (N127.92 billion).

According to her, other ministries which she did not list received N547.6 billion, a total of which she said amounted to N1.248,310 trillion, assuring that at the end of the 2017 fiscal year, the government would have spent about N1.3 trillion on capital budget as it did last year.

“The final update I gave was the level of capital releases till date from 2017 and l gave details of the big four areas and then others. So, Power, Works and Housing got N301.89 billion, defence N151.2 billion, agriculture N119.9 bn, Transport N127.9 billion and other areas

combined is N545.6 billion. So the total capital budget release for 2017 so far is N1.248,310 trillion.

“We haven’t closed yet. We are confident we will close the year roughly around where we closed last year. We will close around N1.3 trillion mark. So, our commitment to infrastructure spending remains very strong.

That is what is going to drive growth of the economy. That is what is going to drive jobs,” she said.

Adeosun also disclosed that the federal government saved N68 billion on personnel cost in 2017 and thus bringing average savings on personnel cost since 2007 budget till date to N288 billion. She said the savings were funds that would have been unaccounted for and now available to fund capital projects.

The minister who said the savings were achieved despite increase in the number of personnel, including the employment of 10,000 by the Nigerian Police, added that a total of 511 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) had been captured under the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), with staff count of 607,843.

“As at 20th March, 2018 the number of MDAs on IPPIS Payroll is 469 with 316,158

staff count with gross salary of N43,979,383,997.78 and 42 police commands and formations paid on IPPIS platform in February, 2018 with staff count of 291,685 and gross salary of N22,276,669,257.21.

“Staff of paramilitary agencies (Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Prison Service and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps) enrolled to date is 100,822 for which a trial payroll of N11,456,278,859.00 have been sent for review and update for April, 2018 payroll,” Adeosun said.

She said the introduction of the IPPIS had resulted in the reduction of ghost workers syndrome, promoted the enforcement of compliance with due process on employment of staff in MDAs, and enhanced prompt and timely payment of salaries and remittances of third parties payments.

She also said the staff of universities are currently being

captured under IPPIS adding that the military will also be captured under the strategy and in no time, all workers in all fields would have been captured.

Adeosun also said she gave an update to FEC on whistleblowing policy in Nigeria with a total of N7.8billion, $378 million and £27,800 recovered so far under the policy, saying it has been helpful in blocking avenues for leakages.

Disclosing that the team executing the policy was recently sent to the United Kingdom for training, the minister said she would soon submit a memorandum on the institutionalisation of the policy in Nigeria to FEC because it has come to stay.

“I gave an update on whistleblowing policy which was another memorandum approved by FEC - the number of tips we have had, the number of investigations we have dealt

with, the types of monies that have been recovered through the whistleblower policy.

“I also reported that the whistleblower team has recently come back from a trip to the Uk. The United Kingdom government was giving us trainings on whistleblowing, how we should institutionalise it.

The team spent some time with revenue office in UK. They spent some time in customs office and they took them through what they have been able to do.

“I will be bringing the memo to the council. One of the things it has achieved is prevention.

When they get the tips, they use it to block avenues for leakage.

We have had a significant number tips. So, we will be coming back to institutionalise whistleblowing as a structure.

It has become central part of fighting corruption, giving us valuable information. Basically, whistleblowing is here to stay, giving us useful information,”

she said.

The minister also said she gave an update on Debt Management Office (DMO) and Nigeria’s debt structure, explaining that the country’s debt has been restructured in a way that domestic borrowing has reduced from hitherto 84 per cent rate to 77 per cent while external borrowing increased from 16 per cent to 23 per cent.

“I gave an update on DMO and our debt structure. FEC approved a three-year debt strategy to reduce our reliance on short time borrowing particularly treasury bills, 91 days treasury bills, costing us 21 per cent and moving from domestic borrowing into external borrowing. When we came in, what were owing was 84 per cent domestic and 16 per cent external. We have moved to 77:23 as a result of Eurobonds that we have done and refinancing of maturing obligations.

NHRC to Release Report on Electoral Impunity Next Week, Says Commission’s Boss Alex Enumah ÓØ ÌßÔË The Acting Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Mrs. Oti Ovrawah, has disclosed that the report of the commission’s Project on “End Electoral Impunity” which considered the criminal and administrative indictments contained in the judgments and orders of the Election Petitions Tribunals and Court of Appeal on the 2015 general election will soon be made public.

Ovrawah disclosed this in Abuja while playing host to the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Mohammed Ibn Chambers who paid a working visit to the commission.

According to a statement by, Head of Media Relations, NHRC, Fatimah Mohammad, the acting boss of the commission also assured the UN envoy and his delegation that the commission has commenced preparations for the monitoring of the 2019 general elections including the on-going voter’s registration and the right to political participation of the internally displaced persons and the physically challenged.

The NHRC boss added that monitoring the conduct of security personnel and other stakeholders during the election is considered crucial as it plays vital role in ensuring safe and

free exercise of right to political participation.

“Regarding security challenges, Mrs. Ovrawah, informed the UN Representative that the commission had carried out several activities to address the human rights and humanitarian challenges of the people affected by the insurgency in the North-east.

“On the issue of persistent herdsmen/farmers clashes, the commission has set up an adhoc committee to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the crisis with a view to making appropriate recommendations to the federal government,” the statement read in part.

Adding that the special representatives, in his remarks earlier, noted that the commission is a key player in addressing issues of threat to peace and security which is presently affecting the country.

He urged the commission to continue to sensitise stakeholders on the need to respect human rights at all times, including electioneering process as this would engender peaceful, free and fair election.

He maintained that the present security challenge is a regional issue affecting the West African sub-region; as such regional measures have to be put in place by the affected countries in the sub-region to tackle the problem.

COURTESY VISIT

L-R: Member, Nigerian Association of Women Entrepreneurs (NAWE), Mrs. Patricia Bako; Hon. Rotimi Agunsoye; Member, NAWE, Mrs. Mfon Udoime; Senator Oluremi Tinubu; President, NAWE, Mrs. Ada Ozongwu; Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; and Member, NAWE, Dr. Fati Uwaezuoke, when the NAWE delegation visited the National Assembly in Abuja.....yesterday

Gunmen Kill 12 Soldiers in Kaduna John Shiklam ÓØ ËÎßØË Armed gunmen have reportedly killed 12 soldiers in Kampanin Doka in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The incident was said to have taken place on Tuesday night.

The soldiers were said to be among a detachment of troops deployed to the village to ensure security for expatriates and others working on a new road linking Zamfara State with Kaduna through Dansadau-Dangulbi and Birnin Gwari.

Last year, one of the foreign engineers working at the site was kidnapped by unknown gunmen and later released.

It was learnt that after the incident, the workers, including the expatriates were said to have fled the site.

They were said to have

returned to the site following the deployment of soldiers for their security.

A source close to the emirate council who pleaded anonymity, said the bandits attacked the soldiers’ camp between 8p.m. and 9p.m. on Tuesday killing three soldiers in a hole and nine others in the camp.

“We gathered that the soldiers had caught a thief in a village called Maganda in the area and were taking him back to their camp when some personnel of the Nigerian Police Force asked them to hand over the thief to them which the soldiers refused.

“The same police followed the soldiers to their camp in Kampanin Doka and again asked them to hand over the thief to them, but the soldiers still refused.

“Around 8p.m. on Tuesday, bandits attacked the soldiers’ camp

and killed three soldiers in a hole and nine others in a tent in the camp,” the source said.

He called on the state government to find a way of tackling the rampaging activities of bandits in the area.

He lamented that it was unfortunate that “the government has not deemed it fit to declare the bandits as terrorists and are still describing the attacks as farmer-herdsmen conflict.

“This is not the case. In fact, now there are no cows in the area because of banditry.”

However, when contacted to confirmed the incident, the spokesman of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Colonel Mohammed Dole, who did not confirmed the incident, said a statement would soon be issued.

“We are preparing a press release which will be released to

the media as soon as possible, please give me some time,” he said.

Meanwhile the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has expressed regrets over the loss of lives in the attacks.

In a statement, the governor expressed condolences to the Birnin Gwari communities and the military over the incident.

The governor in the statement by his spokesman, Samuel Aruwan, called for continuous collaboration between communities and security forces to overcome banditry.

“Malam el-Rufai received with sadness reports of bandit attacks in Doka and Maganda villages.

He praised the communities for their vigilance and their collaboration with the military to thwart the attacks,” the statement said.

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWSXTRA

FIRS Raises the Alarm over New Tax Evading Strategies by Businesses Ndubuisi Francis ÓØ ÌßÔË The Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) has raised the alarm over what it described as new tax-evading strategies by members of the business community.

The FIRS’ Executive Chairman, Mr. Babatunde Fowler, disclosed in Abuja yesterday that tax authorities “are aware that the business community are setting up processes and structures which our legal and tax regimes did not contemplate and are struggling to keep up with.”

Speaking at the 13th General Assembly meeting and official launch of the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF),

Fowler lamented that “nowadays, trade and commerce have become borderless, especially with the advent of e-commerce, hybrid financial instruments coupled with increased sophistication and ingenuity of the army of tax advisors.”

According to him, at the receiving end of the activities of these tax evaders are the host country and its nationals, whose governments are losing revenues that should have been put to use for the development.

Fowler therefore advocated that it has become “pertinent that tax administrations in West Africa re-strategizes if they are to live up to their mandate.”

One of the viable means of checkmating these nefarious activities, he pointed, out, “is by implementing initiatives to tackle tax abuses.”

While the dynamics of tax administration might vary among countries within the West Africa Sub-region, he noted that the challenges of tax evasion and avoidance schemes are similar, “hence collaboration, information and experience sharing among tax administrators across jurisdictions is valuable to addressing the high rate of abusive tax practises

among our taxpayers.

In Nigeria, the FIRS boss disclosed that in the last two years, the Service has “taken the route of increasing the use of ICT in facilitating taxpayers’ compliance and introduced initiatives to improve inter-agency collaboration, all with view to enhancing tax administration and reduce tax revenue leakages.”

To this end, efforts in this regard, he said “have made an impact and contributed to an increase in the taxpayers roll by an additional four million

taxpayers (companies and individuals) and an increase of over N700 billion (equivalent of 2 Billion US Dollars) in Tax revenues in 2017, above the taxes collected in 2016.”

In her address, the Chairperson of WATAF, Mrs Elfrieda Tamba, said the aim of WATAF was to bring tax administrators within the region together to share knowledge, interact and share experiences in order to better tax administration in the region.

Tamba said West African countries must strengthen

their capacity for sustainable development and how to use fund for its sustainable development.

According to her, “WATAF so far has consolidated its legal status, today we are celebrating the official launching of WATAF as a solid legal entity, fully empowered to engage in negotiation to enter contracts, to sue and be sued. Today, WATAF has concluded all the necessary requirements to honuor it foundation of agreement to be an international origination.”

FG Directs MDAs to Comply with Procurement Act Olawale Ajimotokan ÓØ ÌßÔË The federal government has directed the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure that budget implementation follows procurement plans and in tune with the administration’s drive to deliver dividends of democracy.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, issued the directive yesterday in a new circular titled: ‘Need for proper compliance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 by Ministries, Departments and Agencies for all Procurements.’

The circular signed on March 19, 2018, stated that procurement processes must be carried out in a manner that promotes competition, economy and efficiency.

It also said it must be done

in accordance with laid down procedures and time-lines and as may be specified by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPE) from time to time, as stipulated in section 16 (1)(b) of the Public Procurement Act 2017.

The SGF stressed that accounting officers are not only responsible for ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Act by their respective MDAs but also liable in person for the breach or contravention of the provisions of the Act and all extant regulations on procurement.

The circular stated that henceforth, requests from MDAs not accompanied with procurement plans shall not be accorded necessary approvals to proceed, in adherence to the communique issued at the end of the permanent secretaries retreat.

Author Tasks FG on Creative Industry, Reading Culture Sunday Okobi The award winning author of United Nation partnership with God; Darling, It’s Not Working; Understanding the Force of Liberty; Covenant of Holiness and seven other titles, Mrs. Kelicha Ochonogor, has called on the federal government to give the creativity industry all the necessary support to grow to its full potential.

The prolific writer, who has written 11 books in two years, particularly seeks encouragement for book writers in Nigeria by way of recommending their works to schools among other institutions for use.

While speaking with journalists after being honoured by the Christian Writers Association of Nigeria (CWAN) for her advancement of mankind at an event tagged: ‘Building a fan base for your books’, in Lagos, the English Language graduate of Delta State University, Abraka and holder of Master’s in same discipline from Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, noted that creative

art direly needed the support of government at all levels to impact the society and lives more positively.

Ochonogor, who began fulltime writing in 2016, also urged government, public-spirited individuals and organisations to join the crusade in reviving the reading culture in Nigeria, which according to her, is declining.

She said some persons had already begun the move on social media through e-books and book clubs among others to reignite the dying reading culture among Nigerians.

“I learnt of a certain country where when you publish a book, the government will buy over 1,000 copies and distribute to the libraries for the people to have access to it.

“The novel I just finished is about cheating which basically starts from home. Most parents encourage their children to cheat, pay someone to write examinations for them. When they grow up, they take same to the university and before you know, it has become part of them.”

CONGRATULATIONS

Immediate past President, D’Core Club of Ondo, Chief Siji Olowoshuko (left), congratulating his successor,Chief Gbemi Oyeneyin, to the admiration of the Club Social Secretary, Mr. Seyi Fadayomi, Legal Adviser, Dr. Feyi Akinbule and the General Secretary, Kunle Olamuyiwa, at the inauguration of Oyeneyin and the executive council members of the Club in Lagos....yesterday

Bill Gates, Dangote in Sokoto, Sign MoU with Six Northern Govs on Extension of Immunisation Mohammed Aminu ÓØ ÙÕÙÞÙ The Co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Bill Gates, yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with six northern governors on the extension of routine immunisation in the region with a call on them to review their campaigns to ensure the eradication of polio.

Speaking at a community engagement meeting and signing of MoU at the Government House Sokoto, Gates urged the governors and traditional leaders in the North to intensify efforts and campaigns in order to ensure maximum coverage.

According to him, the signing of the MoU can do a lot in routine immunisation with training and better management.

“I am excited to be part of this meeting and the signing of the memorandum of understanding with the governors. The fact that the governors are present here is an indication of commitment.

“With increased campaigns, we should be able to get high percentage coverage to check challenges and progress made.

“Vaccinations are phenomenal in their impact because a child that has not been vaccinated is twice likely to die. We can prevent millions of deaths through routine immunisation

and we will not relent in our commitment towards that,” he said.

He described the meeting with the governors as a good step in the right direction aimed at eradicating polio and diseases in the region.

Gates harped on the need for increased community participation and commitment of traditional leaders and local government councils to ensure the eradication of polio.

He also stressed the need for parents to follow up on vaccination in order to ensure high coverage levels.

Gates, to this end, reaffirmed his commitment and support towards the eradication of polio in the country.

In his remarks, the President of Dangote Foundation, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said the fight against the polio scourge requires sense of urgency and commitment by all stakeholders.

He restated his continued support towards the eradication of the disease in the country.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, described poverty as an impediment towards the attainment of a healthy society.

He said the support and efforts of Bill Gates has gone a long way in tackling polio and made positive impact in

the lives of the people in the North.

He commended Bill Gates and Aliko Dangote for their support and efforts towards tackling polio and other diseases in the north, describing it as unprecedented.

“Since Bill Gates visited Sokoto in 2009, he has been doing his best to see to an end to the polio scourge and other diseases. I hope Gates and Dangote will not look back until poverty and the diseases are tackled.

“Somebody that is Impoverished cannot be said to be healthy. So, I really commend them for their support to humanity because we have seen the positive effects on the society.

“We are committed and ready to go extra mile to ensure that success is achieved so as to have a healthy society where everybody can feel a sense of belonging,” the monarch added.

Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, said the meeting was meant to sign a memorandum of understanding between state governments and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dangote Foundation and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

He stated that it was also aimed at eradicating polio and other diseases in states

particularly in the North and Nigeria in general.

The governor noted that through the combined efforts of Bill Gates and Dangote Foundation, Sokoto has achieved modest success and shown enthusiasm in eradicating polio.

Tambuwal commended Bill Gates for his service to humanity, saying his gesture has touched millions of lives across the world.

“Bill Gates is a global citizen and a philantrophist who has touched millions of lives across the globe that are not from his race or country but for the sake of humanity,” he stated.

Borno State Governor, Kashim Shetima, said the present leadership in the North was determined to change the narrative by Improving the lives of children through routine immunisation.

Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, expressed the commitment of the northern governors to strengthen the health sector and enhance routine immunisation.

“We should not be the part of the globe with the highest number of children and maternal mortality. We are really committed to save northern Nigeria.”

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWSXTRA

NEMA DG: N10.3bn Allocated for Emergency Needs from January 2017 to Date James Emejo ÓØ ÌßÔË The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Maihaja, said about N10.322billion was allocated to emergency needs by the federal government from January 2017 to date.

He said he can only account for NEMA activities from April 2017 when he took over to date.

He insisted that NEMA secured the approval of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) before engaging in procurements.

He said the agency did not in any way abuse due process in the award of contracts for the nation’s emergency needs.

He also said the agency was forced to approach the presidency for the procurement of emergency materials for the North-east because development partners withdrew 85 per cent of their funding support for the region.

He said contrary to

allegations, NEMA cannot award any procurement contract worth more than N300 million.

He insisted that he has acted in good faith and with respect for accountability and transparency since he was made the DG in April 2017.

Maihaja made the clarifications at a public hearing by the House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness on alleged violation of public trust in NEMA. He said: “We insist that due process be followed on procurement since my assumption of duties in April 2017 because different methods were used before then with serious resistance from within and outside. In fact, BPP’s approval was also got before procurements.

“Today NEMA is one of the most investigated agencies but due process was followed in our procurements.

“On the 10,000 metric tonnes

PDP Members in Kogi West Express Disappointment over Herdsmen Attack Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the western senatorial district of Kogi State have expressed utter disappointment at the fast rate in which the state has come under the siege of herdsmen, internal violence and perennial security breaches; all of which have earned the state wide and negative publicity under the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello.

Rising from its rotated zonal meeting, held at the residence of Major General David Jemibewon (rtd), at Iyah Gbede, the meeting in a communique issued

by Mr. Taiwo Kola-Ojo, Kogi west zonal Chairman of PDP, condemned the rising destruction of lives and property in the state, making the state a reflection of the Hobbesian state of nature where life has become ‘nasty, brutish and short’.

The communique commended the resilience and the perseverance of the people of the state, and urged them to collaborate with the PDP, in its desire to restore the peace, dignity and progress of Kogi State.

Furthermore, the meeting commended members of the National Assembly who worked across party lines to lead the voice of the people in resisting the ignoble decision of Bello to fritter away the hard earned assets of the state, in a way reminiscent of the prodigal son.

Members of the party called for continuous vigilance against other injurious policies that the governor might be hatching or intending to execute.

The meeting also noted with concern the unfriendly and intolerant political

atmosphere in the state, where publicity materials belonging to other parties in the state are constantly destroyed by the agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in the state.

The meeting enjoined members of the PDP to remain steadfast, stressing that the poor performance of the Bello administration has recommended the PDP very strongly as the only viable alternative to the inept and failed APC government in the state The highly interactive meeting was attended by party leaders, party executive members, past and present elected and appointed members and various stakeholders and members of the party.

Some of the leaders that attended the meeting include, Jemibewon, Chief Samuel Akande, former Deputy Governor, Yomi Awoniyi, former Deputy Governor, Prince Olusola Akanmode, former Deputy Chief of Staff in the Presidency, Hon Clarence Olafemi, former acting governor, Hon Hassan Salau, former state Chairman of PDP, Taiwo KolaOjo, Kogi West senatorial district Chairman, Mr. Sam Abenemi, state Deputy Chairman of PDP, Hon Abiodun Ojo, former House of Representatives member, Hon TJ Faniyi, former House of Representatives member, Alhaji Musa Ahmadu, former House of Representatives member, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Olori Margaret Orebiyi , state woman leader and Hon Alfred Bello, state Treasurer of PDP.

of rice, we complied with the Procurement Act, the agency sought Presidential approval for the procurement 10,000 metric tonnes of rice at N3.1billion for emergency purposes in the North-east.

“The approval was signed by the Vice President in a letter by the Deputy Chief of Staff. The contract was awarded to two companies as well as logistics companies for delivery. The contractors don’t get paid until deliveries are confirmed by the recipient agencies.

“Also, the deliveries directly to NEMA are taken to our warehouses across the country and confirmed by our store officers before payments are made.”

When questioned why the

Director (Relief) had to sign contract award letters rather than a Procurement officer, Maihaja said the agency had no Procurement officer as at that time.

According to him, there was no Procurement Unit in the agency as at the time of his assumption of duty.

He said junior planning officers were performing the duties.

He added: “Junior Planning officers cannot sign the contract award and being an emergency situation, in all sincerity, the Director Relief was asked to sign the documents.

“We also have a comprehensive store system as well as other mechanisms

for confirmation of delivery of relief materials.

“My action was done with utmost sincerity, there was no intention to sidetrack anyone in this responsibility. We have a store system and other units to take charge of materials, the Director Relief is not in charge of stores.”

The DG said the sources of the agency’s funding include Ecological Fund which was N10.3b in the period under review as well as from Appropriation Act. He also made available to the committee list of the agency’s accounts, list of companies with awarded contracts and the award letters, including list of donors

and donations.

While declaring the hearing open, Speaker Yakubu Dogara said there were a number of disasters unattended to in the country over the period which was a shame.

Represented by the House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker said the intervention of the House was as a result of allegations of negligence from victims who complained of late and often inadequate arrival of relief materials.

The Deputy Chairman of the committee Ali Isa said the investigation was not meant to witch-hunt anyone but aimed at making the agency better in meeting its set objectives.

Ë&#x153; ͺͺË&#x153; ͺ͸͚Î&#x20AC; Ëž T H I S D AY

54

THURSDAYSPORTS

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

I N T E R N AT I O N A L F R I E N D LY

Ezenwa is Last Eagle to Land in Wroclaw for Poland Akpeyi, Okechukwu directed to o join team in London

Duro Ikhazuagbe With the arrival of Enyimba International safe hands, Ikechukwu Ezenwa to Super Eagles camp in Wroclaw yesterday, all is now set for Nigeria to take on Poland in the international friendly scheduled to take place at the Stadion Miejski in the Polish city tomorrow.

The match kicks off at 8.45pm (Nigeria and Poland are on same time zone) on Friday.

Super Eagles Media Officer, Toyin Ibitoye, confirmed the arrival of Ezenwa to the Radisson Blu Hotel camp of the team yesterday.

Ibitoye also confirmed that Gernot Rohr and his assistants were no longer expecting any more player before taking on Robert Lewandowski and his Polish team mates on Friday night.

Ezenwa who led Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home-based Eagles to a runners up finish in the 2018 African Nations Championship in Morocco last month is expected to join the senior national team in having a feel of the Stadion Miejski turf at 8.30pm this evening.

Missing from Friday friendly with Poland is team captain, John Mikel Obi (work permit); Oghenekaro Etebo (injury); while Junior Ajayi,

Gabriel Okechukwu and Daniel Akpeyi all had visa issuance suance problems.

Apart from Etebo, all thee other o miss four players that are going to tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s game in Wroclaw w have been directed by Rohr to proceed roceed to London for the friendly y with Serbia on Tuesday.

Interestingly, while Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s geriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s g coaches are sad over the absence bsence of their inspirational Captain Mikel, the Polish crew are also at a loss over the absence of Napoli striker, Arkadiusz Milik.

He is second most important portant p player after Lewandowski..

Milik, 24, is the most expensive ensive Poland star in history after he was bought by Napoli for or 32 million Euros from Ajax ax Amsterdam. He injured his is left knee late last year, but the he whole of Poland are holding ng g their breath hoping he will be up p fit in time for the World Cup ber in Russia in June. In September nee.

2016, he injured his right knee.

Top Polish journalist, Piotr terday y Kozminski, confirmed yesterday p y the absence of the Napoli player. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He is Poland next starr after Robert Lewandowski and he is so highly rated that if he is fit, he plays alongside the Bayern Munich

C A F C O N F E D E R AT I O N C U P

Nigerian Clubs Avoid Each Other in Final Playoffs All four NPFL clubs have managed to avoid each other in the final play off for the 2018 CAF Confederation Cup following the draw by CAF in Cairo, Egypt yesterday evening.

This means that all four clubs could reach the money-spinning group stage of the second-tier continental championship.

Al Hilal of Sudan will host Akwa United with the return leg in Uyo, while USMA from Algeria will battle NPFL champions  Plateau United.

MFM FC will return to Mali to face Djoliba after they eliminated AS Real Bamako in the CAF

Champions League.

Enyimba is to tackle Bidvest Wits from South Africa for a place in the group stage of the annual tournament.

The first leg of the playoffs will be played between April 6 and 8 with the return legs slated for between April 17 and 18.

The competition was founded in 2004, but no Nigerian club has yet to win it.

FINAL PLAYOFFS (Fixtures)

Al Hilal (Sudan) vs Akwa Utd USMA (Alg) vs Plateau Utd Enyimba vs Bidvest Wits (Sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Afr) MFM FC vs Djoliba (Mali).

Greensprings Football Camp Has Come to Stay, Says Kanu Former Captain of the Super Eagles, Nwankwo Kanu, has expressed his belief that the annual Greensprings Football Camp now in its seventh edition has become a permanent feature in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s football calendar.

As the face of the football clinic, the Ex-Arsenal star lauded the management of Greensprings School led by its director â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mrs Lai Koiki for keeping faith with the camp, adding that it has added value to football in the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am always excited to be part of this initiative, especially watching it grow over the years, because not many of this kind of camp succeed for a very long time. The management of the school has remained committed to the sustenance of the camp, despite all odds and without any sponsorship. For this kind of gesture, I think more quality players will come through to the national teams,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Already, two products of the camp, Musa Alli and Elvis Onyenze; who benefited from the Greensprings scholarship award, have featured for the Nigerian

national U-15 team and Kanu believes this kind of experience would help the youngsters in their career. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am particularly thrilled by the annual scholarship awards offered to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most Promising Playerâ&#x20AC;? by Greensprings School at the closing ceremony of the football camp; this generous gesture by the school will help Nigeria produce educated footballers who will be in a better position to negotiate their contracts and make better decisions for a life after football. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For me, this is the best legacy we can bequeath our children,â&#x20AC;? the former Inter Milan striker further observed.

Kanu has promised to be on ground to motivate participants during the camp which holds between April 8 and 13 at the Lekki campus of Greensprings School.

For this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Greensprings Kanu Football Camp (GKFC), the organisers will once again offer educational scholarship to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most Promising Playerâ&#x20AC;? at the camp.

star upfront in an old-fashioned 4-4-2 formation,â&#x20AC;? added Kozminski. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But in his absence, Lewandowski plays upfront alone with an attacking midfielder behind him in a 4-4-1-1 formation.â&#x20AC;?

Meanwhile, Poland FA has called off a plan for fans to display a special get-well-soon message for Milik during Fridayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friendly against Nigeria in Wroclaw. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The fans message during the match against Nigeria has been cancelled by the FA. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a shame because it was to have been a special event for the player,â&#x20AC;? concludes Kozminski.

Ezenwaâ&#x20AC;Ś last Eagle to land in Poland

Russia 2018: NCAC to Raise 3m Culture Fans for Eagles

Olawale Ajimotokan in AbujaÂ

The National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) yesterday flagged off the mobilisation of support for the senior national football team ahead of  the World Cup 2018 in Russia when it unveiled the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Raising a Three Million Culture-Friendly Supporters of Super Eaglesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Campaign.

The mobilisation of the threemillion supporters is anchored under the hashtag #I Support Nigeria Super Eagles. Director General of NCAC, Olusegun Runsewe, said the campaign was launched to reawaken the consciousness of Nigerians to believe in the national team. Runsewe said the World Cup is a veritable opportunity to showcase and aggressively market Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rich cultural heritage and re-brand its national identity as a people.

The event featured the launching of the cultural materials to be used in supporting the Eagles as well as the theme music for Russia 2018.

Runsewe said the campaign will be driven through phone-in television question and answer programmes that will test the public awareness on football. Prizes ranging from lapel pins, branded pens, mufflers and other promotional materials, will be awarded to those who get the answers correctly.

He said the NCAC is striving to create mass awareness among Nigerians both at home and in Diaspora on the importance of Russia 2018 to Nigeria. He stressed that as part of the strategy towards boosting the Eagles and show casing Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rich culture

Director General of National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Olusegun Runsewe (centre), unveiling the promotional and support materials for the Super Eaglesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Russia 2018 campaign in Abuja yesterday.

Left to right at the launch are; Director of Communications, NFF Ademola Olajire; President General, Nigerian Football Supporters Club, RaďŹ u Ladipo; and ex-international, Segun Odegbami at the World Cup, NCAC will establish a Nigeria Cultural Village in Russia. The centre will be the operational base of the members of Nigeria Football Supporters Club and other Nigerians and it will exhibit the best of Nigeria music, fashion, dance , fashion, gourmet, among others. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The overall goal is to create mass awareness among Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora on the importance of the World Cup to Nigeria and the need for us to support the Super Eagles as a matter of patriotic obligation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nobody will celebrate us for us; we have to do it ourselves.

We must re- awaken the spirit of

promoting and projecting our arts and cultural items in such a way that even domestic football will benefit. I have strong faith that we will raise even more than three million Nigerians, who are ready to project our culture and wear the green-white-green anytime Nigeria is playing. We will also distribute miniature Nigerian flags to all these supporters, â&#x20AC;? Runsewe said.  Super Eagles legend, Olusegun Odegbami (MON), who chaired yesterdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s launch, lauded Runsewe for incorporating culture and arts into football. Odegbami said that just like education, religion, politics and

the economy, culture is one of the most potent instruments to dominate the world. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need to start to have a full appreciation of who we are, and this concept has come at the right time with the FIFA World Cup â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the biggest football showpiece in the universe â&#x20AC;&#x201C; just by the corner.â&#x20AC;?

The launch was graced by the President-General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo, who was the occasionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s special guest of honour; Director of Communications, NFF, Ademola Olajire; and President of Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria, Alhaji Rabo Kareem.

African Athletics Championships Set for Record Attendance in Asaba Fifteen countries have already sent in their provisional list of athletes and officials ahead of the 2018 Africa Senior Athletics Championships to be hosted in Asaba, Delta State.

After scoring a big point with the hosting of the inaugural edition of the Africa Junior Athletics Championship in Warri, which is the best in the series till date, Delta State is set for another big mark this time with the flagship Africa Senior Athletics Championships.

According to the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of Asaba 2018 African Senior Athletics Championships, Solomon Ogba, a

record attendance is expected at the event.

Ogba said that for the first time in the history of the biennial athletics championship, all the countries in Africa would be represented in Asaba. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can guarantee you that we will be having a historic championship in Asaba as every country will be represented. The LOC will be sponsoring two athletes from all the countries so you can be sure that everybody will be present,â&#x20AC;? the former president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria assured track and field aficionados.

Ogba who played a key role in the successful hosting of first Africa Youth Championships which has served as a template in subsequent editions disclosed that the aim is to also make Asaba 2018 the best ever in the history of the Africa Senior Athletics Championships. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to set a new standard as far as the Africa Senior Athletics Championships is concerned, the goal is to make this edition as glamorous as the World Championships itself,â&#x20AC;?

Ogba stressed.

Aside from Nigeria that has entered 72 male, 69 female and 29 officials, the

likes of Kenya, Algeria and Senegal are also planning a large contingent for the Athletics Championships in Asaba.

Kenya has provisionally entered 34 male and 27 female athletes as well as 11 officials.

Algeria has equally sent in entry for 31male and 29 female athletes on their roster with 17 officials, Senegal is coming with 30 male and 30 female athletes as well as nine officials.

The Asaba 2018 Africa Senior Athletics Championship is to take place at the Asaba Township Stadium between August 1 and 5.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY MARCH 22, 2018

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Thursday, March 22, 2018

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UT H

& RE A S O

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Price: N250

MISSILE Latep Dabang to Solomon Dalung â&#x20AC;&#x153;For Dalung to make such nonsensical remarks, it shows that he is just like a mad man on the street. Is Dalung suggesting that because we commissioned some projects that Jonah Jang initiated, that we bring back Jang to commission them? Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just silly. It shows that Dalung is a man who is not well, he is sick in the headâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Plateau APC Chairman attacking Sports Minister for accusing Governor Lalong of stage-managing President Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visit to the state.

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OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Between Ambode and Lagos Landlords

F

ollowing public outcry over provisions of the 2018 Land Use Charge (LUC) in Lagos State, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode last week announced a downward review of the charges. While it is good that the government would respond to public opinion and make concessions, there are also those who argue that the state needs to address several other concerns which may necessitate repealing the law in its entirety. Incidentally, I foresaw this problem about 17 years ago but it would appear that the current administration in the state has refused to learn any lessons from the past.

In December 2001 when the law was first promulgated, my column on this page was titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tinubu Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Be Seriousâ&#x20AC;?. Then, like now, it was as if the people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter, even though Governor Bola Tinubu eventually had to listen to voices of reason before reaching a compromise with critical stakeholders. I am reproducing that particular piece to remind Ambode of how the problem started, before I draw my conclusion. ================================== About four weeks ago, three Lagos State Commissioners (Rauf Aregbesola, Oladele Alake and Olawale Edun) visited our Apapa office and they wasted no time before telling us their mission. First, the Information and Strategy Commissioner, Alake, went into a laborious explanation on how Lagos has become a mega city and the problems associated with over population. He was supported by his Works counterpart, Aregbesola before Edun, the Finance Commissioner, brought in one â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oyinboâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; consultant to give us a lecture with a projector.

However, even before they told us where they were headed, I knew what brought them: Lagos State wanted to introduce some levies again and they needed media support. Government officials are always very zealous when it comes to money matter so at the end, the long and short of their visit was a planned introduction of charges on property in Lagos. They said the bill had already been passed into law by the State House of Assembly in which case all they came to do was to merely inform us.

Since none of the editors owns any property in Lagos, the visiting commissioners knew we would not be much problem. Even at that, many of us were actually receptive to the idea because members of the elite in Nigeria do not like paying taxes. So if the property owner class would be taxed to develop the state, it was not a bad move. The snag though is that in enacting such a law, the people should be adequately informed while the levies should be reasonable. Unfortunately, that is not what has transpired on this matter.

In a letter dated 10th September 2001, addressed to many landlords in Victoria Island, outrageous amounts of money were charged. A copy of one of such letters sent to a property owner on Oyin Jolayemi Street (who shared it with me in confidence) reads: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Notice is hereby given in respect of the land and buildings situated at the following location... The land and buildings have been assessed in accordance with the Land Use Charges Law, 2001 and have been found to have an assessed value

Ambode as noted below: N180, 981, 000. 00. The Land and buildings are being used for commercial purposes and are therefore subject to Land Use Charges of 2.50% of the assessed value.

The following Land Use Charges are payable: Land Use Charges set for the year 2001â&#x20AC;&#x201D;N4, 524, 525.00.â&#x20AC;?

As if the letter was written by one of those lawyers who worked under the late General Sani Abacha, it continued: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lagos State Land Use Charges Law, 2001 provides for penalties for delayed payment and these are fully enforceable (and will be enforced) under the law. The amount, including the penalties which will be payable in the event of payment delayed after the 15-day grace period following the due date above, is as follows: For payment between Oct. 25, 2001 and Nov. 9, 2001â&#x20AC;&#x201D;N5, 655, 656. 25; For payment made between Nov. 10, 2001 and Dec 2001â&#x20AC;&#x201D;N6, 786, 787.50; For payment made between Dec 10, 2001 and Jan. 8, 2002â&#x20AC;&#x201D;N9, 049, 050.00.â&#x20AC;?

Now the clincher: â&#x20AC;&#x153;If payment in accordance with the foregoing is not received on or before Jan., 8, 2002, the property to which this notice

relates shall be liable to receivership by the State or its appointed agent until all outstanding taxes, payments, penalties and administrative charges are paid under the law.â&#x20AC;?

While I commend Tinubuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts in developing Lagos and one cannot fault his revenue generation drive, his latest decision makes no sense and he cannot win the support of the people on a patently flawed process.

One, a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;lawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that was just passed is now given retroactive powers as if we are under military regime. Two, even if a property is worth N181 million must a landlord pay N4.5 million in a year as charges when the rent on the property might just be only slightly above that? Three, is it sensible to base an annual assessment for the purpose of administering charges on the value rather than on the rent accruable on a property? Four, do the property owners not deserve to be consulted before this arbitrary law was enacted?

Even as a lay man in economic matters, I am fully aware that one of the cardinal principles of taxation is that it must be reasonable. Why is it that the authorities in Lagos want residents to pay some ridiculous annual charges that would further hike the already high rent on property in the state? Besides, when the Lagos State Government started this property assessment campaign, what they told us at the time was that it would only be for planning and not for taxes; does it mean they were deceiving the people?

It would appear that a common feature of governance in Lagos now is arbitrary regime of leviesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the council to the state. But Edun and his men in the Lagos State Finance Ministry had better put on their thinking caps and come up with a more realistic formula on their new â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;lawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; otherwise Lagos property owners might be compelled to simply ignore them. Then we will see how many houses they will put under receivership in a democratic government. Even Abacha, as brutal as he

was, would find it impossible implementing the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;lawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Tinubu now wants to foist on Lagos property ownersâ&#x20AC;Ś

ENDNOTE: The foregoing, as I said, was written 17 years ago and it is unfortunate that Ambode would follow the same old route of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;shoot first, ask questions laterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that engendered a serious friction in the past. Besides, feigning ignorance on the fact that these same charges have been reviewed three times since 2001, as prescribed in the law, is, to put it mildly, rather shameful. If the governor had consulted widely, as he ought to, especially on a sensitive issue such as this, he would not run into the kind of problem he has now found himself.

In many ways, there is an underlying subterfuge and insincerity in the repeated use of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;lawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to legitimize extortion as taxation in many states across the country today and Lagos is becoming the most notorious in this regard. Yet, hiding under law to foist on the people unpopular policies is counter-productive. In history, some of the greatest outrages against humanity have been committed under â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;lawsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; passed by manipulated parliaments. But history is also replete with empires that crumbled under the weight of their own contradictions.

While I remain an admirer of the Lagos model of political succession that has engendered a measure of incremental development and I endorse taxation as a public policy, I am also aware that the arrogance of power that made the defunct National Republic Convention (NRC) to defeat the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the dramatic 4th December 1991 gubernatorial election in Lagos State may not be too far away, if care is not taken. The glaring abuse of the legislative process (with names of private companies even being written into laws) in a revenue-generating gambit that fails to take into account the prevailing economic situation in the country can only lead to one inevitable conclusion: Hubris!

The Amber Light is Onâ&#x20AC;Ś 2

T

hat brinksmanship is the name of the game in Nigeria today can be glimpsed from the giant billboards that now dot strategic places in Abuja with banner headlines: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Red Alertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

For those who pay attention, the message, targeted at the National Assembly by one Aminu Balel Kurfi (Dan Arewa), proclaims: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Frustrating the President will no longer be tolerated by the masses.â&#x20AC;?

Although the main concern of the Dan Arewa do-gooder is the delay in the passage of the 2018 budget, the underlying tension between the lawmakers and the presidency over the order of election and the orgy of killings which many politicians, across ethnic and religious divides, are capitalising upon, compound the situation as we inch gradually to another crucial general election. When you add into the mix a growing capacity of Boko Haram to cart away (and later return some) innocent school girls almost

unchallenged, you get the picture of a nation under siege.

Meanwhile, as I said, squabbles over the Electoral Act are nothing new, only that we have never witnessed this sort of desperation and long-drawn power struggle. For instance, on 6th December 2001, then President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote the National Assembly, declining assent to the Electoral Bill sent to him the previous day because â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;Śfor the stability of the polity and the survival of our nascent democracy, it is imperative that only serious and creditable political parties should be allowed to participate in general electionsâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;?

Following my intervention on this page at that period, I got a mail from Mr Sam Omatseye, the current Chairman of the editorial board of The Nation newspaper who was then a university lecturer in the United States. Reading Omatseyeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mail again yesterday, I find it amazing how not

much has changed and I leave readers with his words: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just read your column on the Electoral Act, which indicates that the political brew is beginning to take on the taste of old. Not that it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t before, only that its flavour lay hidden in synthetic garnishes. The frail ends are beginning to show but what I see is a sore that has encroached upon the bone. The marrow is next, and when that happens we may be faced with a Bosnia-like scenario of independent warlords. I am worried because what seems to hold the nation together is not law. Nigeria has never had respect for law, but for symbols, whether they represented absolute power or flattered an ethnic sentiment, or promised an illusory dawn. As Henry David Thoreau himself wrote, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The law never made anyone a whit more justâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;?

NOTE: This series shall be long.

Just look out for the continuation.

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