Friday 23RD MARCH 2018

Zenith, Access, GTB, Others Back ARISE Fashion Week Designers with N300m Offer funding to 30 winning designers at Africa’s biggest fashion week Funke Babs-Kufeji As ARISE Fashion Week (AFW) 2018 returns the fashion focus back to creating global fashion brands out of Africa and the Diaspora,

ARISE Media, promoters of AFW, yesterday announced the launch of ARISE Fashion Management and Mentoring Programme (AFMMP).

The AFMMP will he held ahead of the official opening

of the AFW 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria, over this Easter at the Lagos Continental Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The novel initiative set to provide the financial, entrepreneurial, mentoring and

business support for fashion designers on the continent and in the diaspora, has the full backing of Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) and others who will be awarding

30 winning pitches from designers at the AFMMP. Determined to grow global champions out of African designers, the AFMMP initiative will be curating indigenous brands that can

compete with the best in the world and stand firm on the international stage, starting with the AFMMP Boot Camp from Tuesday, March 27, 2018.

Continued on page 10

Bill Gates: FG's Economic Blueprint Does Not Address Nigerians' Needs… Page 50 Friday 23 March, 2018 Vol 23. No 8373. Price: N250

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Federal Character Not Requirement for Service Chiefs' Appointment, Says FCC… Page 51

How Jonathan Loyalist Tried to Sway 2015 Polls With Buhari’s Hacked Emails Reportedly paid Cambridge Analytica $2m Information provided by Israeli hackers

Davidson Iriekpen with agency report New information on the operations of embattled data analysis firm, Cambridge Analytica, has suggested that it played a controversial role in

Nigeria’s presidential election in 2015.

A report by the Londonbased Guardian newspaper has revealed that Cambridge Analytica was hired by Continued on page 10

President Promises Rescue of Leah Sharibu, Meets with Returned Dapchi Girls Today Muslim body decries attempt to convert her PDP, Lai Mohammed trade barbs over girls Tobi Soniyi in Lagos, Omololu Ogunmade and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja said he was committed to the freedom of Leah Sharibu, the only Dapchi student left in the captivity due to her refusal to renounce

her faith as a Christian.

Of the 110 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists from Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC), Dapchi, Yobe State on February 19, 104 were returned by the Islamist sect Continued on page 49

HUMAN CAPITAL DEVT ON THE FRONT BURNER… Obasanjo: I May Write Another PUTTING L-R: President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; Founder, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates; and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, at the expanded meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) held yesterday at the State House, Abuja, Letter to Buhari… Page 50 where discussions centred on investment in Nigeria’s human resources

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Senate Confirms Aisha Ahmad, Edward Adamu as CBN Deputy Governors Rejects Maidugu’s nomination for MPC Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Senate yesterday confirmed the nominations of Mrs. Aisha Ahmad and Mr. Edward Adamu as deputy governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria, paving the way for the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank to hold its meeting slated from April 3 and 4.

The Senate also confirmed Prof.

Adeola Festus Adenikinju, Dr. Aliyu Rafindadi Sanusi and Dr. Robert Chikwendu Asogwa as members of the MPC. It, however, rejected the nomination of Dr. Asheikh A. Maidugu as a member of the MCP.

Having concluded its screening and confirmation process, the Senate transmitted its resolutions on the nominees to President Muhammadu Buhari for further action required to enable them attend the meeting of the MPC. The resolutions followed the adoption of the recommendations of its Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, said while all the nominees performed well at the screening and were cleared by relevant security agencies, Maidugu did not respond satisfactorily to some questions. “The nominee (Maidugu) was

interviewed by the committee and he responded to the questions asked by the members, but the committee was dissatisfied with his response to the independence required for each member of the MPC, and we are concerned that a regular civil servant who is ladened with bureaucracy and red-tapism, may not be independent in his judgment on each crucial decision of the MPC that affects directly the whole economy,� Ibrahim said.

He stated that the three other nominees for the MPC had displayed the vast knowledge needed to facilitate the attainment of the objectives of price stability and the formulation of monetary

and credit policies of the CBN. “The three nominees are knowledgeable in the operations of the CBN Act and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act,� Ibrahim added.

Senate Majority Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, speaking after the nominations had been adopted, called on the president to quickly send in a replacement for the rejected nominee.

He also urged the Senate to make concessions for the screening of members of the governing board of the CBN, as the MPC requires at least two more persons to form the required quorum.

Presiding, Senate President Bukola Saraki said the request

ZE NITH , AC C ESS, GT B, OT HER S BACK AR I SE FASH I ON WE EK D E SI GN ER S WI T H N 3 00M At the Boot Camp, designers participating in the AFW 2018 will have access to a faculty of experts, who will engage the selected designers on Fashion Business and Financial Management, the Business of Luxury, Supply Chain Management, Strategic Planning, Merchandising, Retail and Export Strategies, Social Media Strategies, Image and Reputation Management, Brand Acceleration, and most importantly, 10 Steps to Becoming World Class.

The highlight of the AFMMP Boot Camp, according to ARISE Media, will be a bankable business plan competition amongst the designers from which 30 winning pitches will be selected.

Each winning designer will be awarded N10 million funding specifically targeted at enhancing the designer’s infrastructure, supply chain, retail and export plans.

This funding will come with strings attached, a banking partner – Zenith Bank, Access Bank, GTBank and others – a brand accelerator, and a global mentor, drawn from leading design luminaries from around the world, who will donate their time and expertise to take Africa’s fashion brands global.

Arrangements are also being concluded with leading consultants and business schools to ensure sustainability with quarterly classes.

AFMMP Programme Coordinator, Orode Imevbore, said: “ARISE has always been globally focused. Twelve years ago through music and fashion, ARISE Media told the story of Africa Rising around the world, leading to the current resurgence of music and fashion. “Today, after a black U.S.

president, and a new Black Panther moment, the time for Africa is now.

The AFMMP Initiative will ensure we have the bricks and mortar to compete in the emerging new world. And everyone is welcome to play their part. “America is driving technology, Europe controls global luxury, the sun is rising in China and Asia.

If not now, when will it be for Africa? “Today, we take baby steps with fashion and the creative industries.

Exciting hardly captures the emotions, as we are talking about empowering 30 talented designers with life changing support beyond capital, and making the African fashion design truly world class. “The ARISE Fashion Management and Mentoring Programme is a first step. Jointly, together we will rise and conquer.�

The ARISE FASHION WEEK 2018 will take place at The Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos from March 30-April 02, 2018.

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to consider the screening of the governing board nominees would be taken at plenary next week.

He congratulated the nominees and urged them to justify the confidence reposed in them by the president. “At this point, let me congratulate the two nominees.

Particularly Mr. Edward Lamatek Adamu whose upliftment to deputy governor will be of great encouragement to the staff of the CBN who will see one of their own in this position. I am sure it will boost the morale within the institution. “Let me also commend and congratulate Mrs. Aishah Ahmad for her nomination to this very

competitive role,� he added.

Saraki said the new deputy governors were appointed at a time when the economy was a major issue and expressed optimism that they would work with the governor of the CBN to reposition the national economy. “We have just come out of a recession and we need to continue with our economic growth and see the sustainability of the foreign exchange and other related challenges. “We hope also that you all will continue to work closely with the National Assembly to update us on the progress that is achieved by the central bank,�

Saraki said.

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phones. “The story we were told was that there were intelligence agents from a number of different countries, including Israel and France, who were supporting Goodluck Jonathan and helping the campaigns.�

There is no suggestion that Jonathan was aware of or implicated in this support.

Another employee said: “Basically the Israelis didn’t want [Buhari] to win.�

Other employees questioned whether they were “real� Israeli intelligence operatives, or Israeli private contractors.

A few weeks later, as the campaign was drawing to a close, there was another meeting at Cambridge Analytica’s London office.

An expert had flown in from Israel with a laptop, sources said.

Alexander Nix and Kaiser asked employees to take a thumb drive and download the contents on to their own computers.

The content was private emails and the information, they were told, related to Buhari’s financial and medical records.

One employee who was present at the London meeting said he had initially assumed the visiting expert was Mossad or Israeli intelligence passing on what he called “legtimate information�.

But he began to realise this wasn’t the case, he said, when he saw the reaction of his colleagues.

One of them had “freaked out�, he said. “He was like, ‘What the hell? I don’t want anything to do with this.’�

The witnesses were clear – at least in their own minds. The information they were being shown had come from hackers.

Back in Nigeria, the team still on the ground found out what was going on from their colleagues in London. There was more “freaking out�. This time with live, pressing concerns. “They were scared,� said a colleague who spoke to them while they were in the country.

The campaign fixer, the person with local knowledge who had navigated them through the ins and outs of Nigerian politics,

made it clear to them: they needed to get out of the country right away.

Cambridge Analytica had put them all in danger, they said.

If opposition supporters found out, there was no saying what could have happened.

However, one member of the team missed his flight and instead of asking the office to re-book it, he got the first fight out – to Dubai – and put it on his credit card. “Everyone just wanted to get out as soon as possible.�

But a spokesman for the company said its team remained in country throughout the original campaigning period and had “left in accordance with the company’s campaign plan�. “Team members were regularly briefed about security concerns prior to and during deployment and measures were taken to ensure the team’s safety throughout.�

Elsewhere in Africa, Cambridge Analytica has confirmed working on Kenya’s elections in 2013 and 2017.

In a sting operation by UK’s Channel 4 News, Mark Turnbull, managing director of Cambridge Analytica’s political division, said the company managed “every

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HO W JO NATH AN LOYALIST T RIED TO SWAY 20 1 5 POL L S W I T H B U H AR I ’S H AC KED EM A I L S an unnamed Nigerian oil billionaire to work on the re-election campaign of then president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, and was paid an estimated ÂŁ2 million ($2.8 million) to orchestrate a “ferocious campaignâ€? against Muhammadu Buhari, then leading opposition candidate at the time.

Buhari went on to secure a historic election win in 2015.

Before that, however, Cambridge Analytica reportedly attempted to furtively use hacked personal emails of Buhari, which were provided by Israeli hackers.

Cambridge Analytica staff working on the Nigerian elections reportedly met the Israeli hackers at the firm’s London offices after which Alexander Nix, the recently suspended Cambridge Analytica CEO, allegedly asked staff to search the hacked emails for damaging information to be used against Buhari.

But, as The Guardian reports, “alarmed� staff members refused to do so believing that the data was possibly obtained illegally.

For its part, SCL Elections, Cambridge Analytica’s parent company, has confirmed that it was hired “to provide advertising and marketing services� for the Jonathan campaign but denied receiving or using hacked information during the campaign.

In the build-up to the elections, the Jonathan campaign notably focused on social media and public messaging questioning Buhari’s educational qualifications and also, contentiously, his health status, setting off intense rumors and speculation.

The hacked emails were believed to have contained or referenced Buhari’s medical records. Those rumors apparently had an element of truth as Buhari spent over 150 days on medical leave in the UK last year treating an undisclosed illness.

According to the Guardian, had Britain not voted to leave the EU, and Donald Trump not won the U.S. election, it’s unlikely anyone outside Nigeria would have given a second thought

to what went on during its presidential election campaign three years ago.

But the 20/20 vision of hindsight has cast a very different light on the events of early 2015, and a campaign that now seems to eerily prefigure what happened in the U.S. a year later. Many of the same characters, some of the same tactics. “It was the kind of campaign that was our bread and butter,� said one ex-employee. “We’re employed by a billionaire who’s panicking at the idea of a change of government and who wants to spend big to make sure that doesn’t happen.�

This was a standard variation on what SCL had done around the world for 30 years – this time, with a twist. Weaponising information to harm an opponent was standard methodology.

It was a methodology honed and developed in the company’s defence and military work – the fifth dimension of warfare, defined by the U.S. military as “information operations�.

What was new, or at least new to those employees who have now spoken out, was bringing these techniques to the company’s election work.

Seven individuals with close knowledge of the Nigerian campaign have described how Cambridge Analytica worked with people they believed were Israeli computer hackers.

The sources – who spoke to the UK’s Observer newspaper over many months – said the company was looking for “kompromat�

(Russian for compromising material) on Muhammadu Buhari – at the time, leader of the opposition.

They said the hackers offered Cambridge Analytica access to private information about Buhari.

Their testimony paints an extraordinary picture of how far a western company would contemplate going in an effort to undermine the democratic process in a country that already struggles to provide free and fair elections.

But their claims have been disputed by the company, which is insisting it did not

take possession of, or use any personal information for any purpose and did not use any “hacked or stolen data�.

The company confirmed, however, that it had been hired to provide “advertising and marketing services in support of the Goodluck Jonathan campaign�.

That work seems to have come about through Brittany Kaiser, a senior director at Cambridge Analytica, who would go on to play a public role at the launch of Nigel Farage’s Leave.eu campaign, and a senior strategist on the Trump campaign.

Regarded by colleagues as a prolific networker, in December 2014 she was introduced to a Nigerian oil billionaire who wanted to fund a covert campaign to support Jonathan. The billionaire wanted total discretion.

An ex-employee said: “[Kaiser] got a phone call. It was just before Christmas and she flew out to meet them in Washington DC. It was all a bit ridiculous. It was only six to eight weeks before the election and they were looking to spend nearly $2 million.�

The election was a big deal.

At stake, the future of the most populous country in Africa, and potential access to its lucrative oil reserves. The sitting president was favourite to win, though Buhari was doing unexpectedly well.

Not least because strategists for the All Progressives Congress (APC) had hired AKPD, once the firm of former Barack Obama strategist David Axelrod, which was pushing a slick, social media heavy Obama-esque message of hope. “There were a lot of scared millionaires worried that Buhari would get in. It was all very last minute. A team flew out to Abuja and put together a communications campaign. It was a straightforward, normal comms (communications) campaign in most respects,� the employee said.

Most but not all respects.

The Observer has obtained an astonishing and disturbing video that Cambridge Analytica used in the campaign. “Coming to Nigeria on February 15th, 2015,� the

voiceover said in the manner of a trailer for a Hollywood movie. “Dark. Scary. And very uncertain. Sharia for all.� And then it poses the question: “What would Nigeria look like if Sharia were imposed by Buhari?�

Its answer to that question is certainly dark. And scary. It’s also graphically, brutally, violent.

One minute and 19 seconds of archive news footage from Nigeria’s troubled past set to a horror movie soundtrack.

There are scenes of people being macheted to death. Their legs hacked off. Their skulls caved in. A former contractor said: “It was voter suppression of the most crude and basic kind. It was targeted at Buhari’s voters in Buhari’s regions to basically scare the hell out of them and stop them from voting.�

If Buhari wins, the film warns: women would wear the veil.

Sharia law would be introduced.

And the inference is, you may be macheted to death.

It wasn’t just videos spreading fear. The Cambridge Analytica campaign team in Nigeria were jumpy too. “It felt risky, being there. There were various points when we were told we were in danger.�

And in the Abuja hotel to which the team was confined in early 2015, rumours abounded.

The tales are Graham Greeneesque. The hotel was where slick western consultants, including a team from the now disgraced Bell Pottinger, partied with their Nigerian counterparts.

Mingling among them, western intelligence operatives – state backed, or privately commissioned, nobody was quite sure.

And then there were the meetings: three sources told The Guardian about one that took place between Cambridge Analytica employees and two people they were told were Israeli intelligence operatives. “There was a two-hour meeting that took place in the hotel lobby between two senior campaign members and Israeli intelligence.

After which they swept our hotel rooms for listening devices and said they would switch out our

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COMMENT

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

TIME IS RUNNING OUT ON PIBS

Waziri Adio canvasses the urgency of laws and implementation for effective repositioning of the oil and gas sector

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he value of deliberating about the legal and institutional frameworks for adequate optimisation of our oil and gas assets cannot be over-emphasised. Despite that oil prices are still not back in the $100+ per barrel territory and despite that the best days of hydrocarbons are possibly behind us, the petroleum sector still accounted for almost 60% of government revenues and more than 80% of our export earnings in 2017.

And given the disproportionate impact of government revenues and export earnings on our economy, it will not be far-fetched to insist that this sector remains the backbone of not just our economy but also of our national life.

Governing and running this strategic sector in a more transparent, more accountable, more equitable, more efficient, and more optimal manner is thus in our collective interest. It is difficult to have a national consensus on many things in Nigeria. But there seems to be one on the oil and gas sector: the status quo is sub-optimal, despite our more than 60 years of experience as an oil-and-gas country. That is why the search for better management and governance of the sector has assumed the salience that it does. But it has turned out to be a long search, as we have wandered about as if nothing were at stake and as if the world would always wait for us. But there are serious costs, and the world has not waited, and will not wait, for us.

In October 2016, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) published a policy brief, entitled “The Urgency of a New Petroleum Sector Law.� The paper estimated the cost of business uncertainty, lack of clarity, and inadequate transparency mechanisms in eight years at more than $200bn. The paper showed how Nigeria is increasingly in competition for oil and gas investments with many other African countries, not to talk of other oil jurisdictions. In addition, the paper also traced the beginning of the search for a composite and more appropriate law for the sector to the inauguration of the Oil and Gas Reform Committee on April 24, 2000 (about 18 years ago) and to the presentation of the first Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to the National Assembly in September 2008 (almost 10 years ago).

Now that we are hopefully close to the end of this circuitous journey, it is important for us to focus on the next tasks in a way that will proactively and strategically ensure the intention of the proposed laws are fully realised, and to ensure that we have not undertaken the long journey in vain.

For the umpteenth time, NEITI wants to join others to commend the eighth National Assembly in getting the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) passed within two years. It will be recalled that the PIGB was first introduced in the Senate in April 2016, withdrawn for further consultation in June 2016, and eventually passed by the Senate on May 25, 2017. The House of Representatives followed suit on January 19 this year when it passed its own version of the PIGB. Even as we all wait for the harmonised PIGB, it is clear a landmark has already been recorded.

This is the farthest we have come on the petroleum industry bills

IT IS DIFFICULT TO HAVE A NATIONAL CONSENSUS ON MANY THINGS IN NIGERIA. BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE ONE ON THE OIL AND GAS SECTOR: THE STATUS QUO IS SUB-OPTIMAL, DESPITE OUR MORE THAN 60 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AS AN OIL-AND-GAS COUNTRY

since 2000 when the OGRC was inaugurated and since 2008 when the first PIB was presented to the parliament. The leadership of the eighth National Assembly and the relevant committees and their members deserve all the commendation they have received on this. The eighth National Assembly has succeeded where the sixth and seventh spectacularly faltered. The executive arm also deserves commendation for providing policy support and allowing the legislature to take the lead on the bills.

But we will be deluded to think the job is done. It is not. Succumbing to such a temptation will be wrong-headed and misdirected.

And here we are not just talking about the need to finally pass the PIGB and transmit it to the President for assent. And not even about ensuring that the other three bills are passed and signed. It is more about ensuring effective implementation of the resultant laws in ways that will reposition and transform our oil and gas sector to become a real blessing, and not this lingering and needless curse, for our people.

It is important to address many of the questions that have been asked, including those yet to be asked. Or at least to start thinking seriously about questions such as: what transitional arrangements are being contemplated? What is the plan for the fiscal, host community, and administrative bills? How do we create a Pareto optimal equilibrium between revenues for government and returns for investors on one hand and among the geo-political zones on the other? How do we ensure that the new institutions created by the bills do not end up as replicas of the existing ones, or even worse? How do we use the proposed laws to embed contract disclosure, beneficial ownership, and other new frontiers of openness? And what will success look like?

In wrestling with this hopefully last phase, here are four things worth considering: one, there is no perfect law. This is why there is provision for amendments, even of the most rigid of constitutions. The proposed bills will have evident and non-evident areas of contentions, flaws even. But that should not stop us from going ahead and running them through the crucible of implementation. We should not make the best the enemy of the good. Two, this process will continue to throw up areas of political contestations, but there is no political challenge that good politics cannot solve. Politics, at the end of the day, is the art of the possible.

Three, having the laws should not and cannot be an end by themselves. The ultimate goal, the desirable end, is the positive transformation of the fortunes of Nigeria and Nigerians. And lastly, time is running out on us. Our oil and gas reserves will run out, and oil will soon run out of fashion based on what is happening around alternative energy and electric cars. We have wasted so much time, at enormous costs. Time is a luxury we don’t have again. The last best time to act was yesterday. The next is now.

Excerpt of address by Waziri Adio, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, at a symposium hosted by the agency on March 20, 2018 on the next steps on PIGB and other petroleum laws

OF SHAM RELEASE AND CYNICAL CITIZENRY

President Buhari should address the nation on how the return of Dapchi schoolgirls was achieved or negotiated, writes Sufuyan Ojeifo

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etween February 19, 2018 when the Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted by supposed Boko Haram insurgents and Wednesday, March 21, 2018, when the news broke that 104 of them had been released, I had offered perspectives on the incident in two articles. The first was titled: “Chibok and Dapchi girls: The whoredom of Karma� while the second was titled: “Gbomogbomo as metaphor�.

The second article, in particular, provides the take-off point for the current intervention. Therein, I had expressed a concern at the role abductions of schoolgirls play in our presidential politics. My thesis was that our abducted schoolgirls in the northeast zone have become objects of political bargain in the hands of our modern day real or prearranged gbomogbomo, a Yoruba word transliterated as stealer of children.

I recalled how the abduction of Chibok schoolgirls on April 14, 2014, about a year to the 2015 presidential election, shattered President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and created a yawning security hole in his re-election effort. The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) would latch on to it to promise us maximum national security.

The APC administration under General Muhammadu Buhari has been in a hurry to prove that it has fulfilled its promise. Its claim of having technically defeated the Boko Haram insurgents accords with its promise. But the claim is not in pari materia with the evidence on the ground. How secure are the schoolgirls today? Schoolgirls’ abduction has combined with killings by Fulani herdsmen to rubbish that electoral promise.

The Buhari administration has had its share of security embarrassment with the abduction of the 110 Dapchi schoolgirls. How does one explain the fact that this happened about a year to Buhari’s re-election enterprise similar in form and tenor to the Chibok happenstance under the Jonathan administra-

tion? Karma?

Besides, the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction saga was a loot opener of sorts. When the reality dawned on the Jonathan administration that the abduction had caused it a collateral damage, it became desperate and decided to throw money at the incident in the context of its sheer atrociousness. It was a challenge to national sovereignty that the Boko Haram terrorists would gleefully announce that they had annexed a part of Nigeria.

Even though the saga unfolded and fitted perfectly into the opposition’s grand design to sink the Jonathan administration, some top-placed officials and military chiefs capitalised on the development to corner mega bucks in the guise of negotiating with Boko Haram insurgents and procuring hardware for military operations to rescue the Chibok girls and flush out the insurgents from the northeast zone.

The diversion of billions of naira meant for hardware has since been confirmed by the Buhari administration, which has been working on recouping the stolen funds from some former military chiefs and other entities that unjustifiably accessed the security budget through the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA). It is also difficult to fault the assumption that the fight against Boko Haram insurgency has provided potential fifth columnists in successive administrations with opportunities to make money through contracts for the purchase of hardware, funding of military operations and negotiations with insurgents for release of abducted schoolgirls. That exactly is the point. The real insurgents and the prearranged gbomogbomo know that the schoolgirls represent the heart of the insurgency matter. Abducting them has become an attention-getting strategy to blackmail successive administrations. Global and national sensibilities are quite easily evoked because of the existential threat that the insurgents pose to the femininity of the schoolgirls who are prone to sexual abuses.

I doubt if the abduction of schoolboys would

attract such human sympathy. Do we still remember the 59 schoolboys that were killed by the Boko Haram insurgents in Federal Government College, Buni Yadi in Yobe State on February 26, 2014? That was before the Chibok tragedy of April 14, 2014.

Those who invaded Dapchi knew perfectly where to strike and get the whole nation immersed in frenzy: the schoolgirls.

But whether the Dapchi abduction was real or simulated is worthy of interrogation. I personally believe that the girls were evacuated from their school in curious and controversial circumstances.

There were reported intelligence reports that Boko Haram insurgents were going to strike. Yet, the military allegedly withdrew from Dapchi, claiming to have handed over the town to the Police after it had safely secured it. But the police had reportedly rejected the claim. The import of that was that those who evacuated the schoolgirls had free ingress and egress at Dapchi. The 12-man committee set up by the Buhari administration to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Dapchi schoolgirls’ abduction is expected to come up with some damning reports. The committee must put its nose to the grindstone and do the needful.

The committee should not be distracted by the fact that 104 of the schoolgirls had been returned to Dapchi. It should even take administrative notice of the curious return of the schoolgirls. The military troops were not in Dapchi when the girls were returned. Were the troops told to back off to enable those who evacuated the girls to return them safely?

Was the return of the schoolgirls by installments a strategy by those who evacuated them to ensure that the administration or the military show fidelity to the terms of release of the girls? There are six girls yet to be returned, dead or alive. I am at great pains to divorce the incident from politics, especially against the backdrop of Buhari’s self-assessment that his administration responded better than Jonathan’s when the Chibok schoolgirls were abducted in 2014.

Is it not probable that the Dapchi abduction and the release of the girls by installments could have been simulated to portray the Buhari administration as more responsive and committed to the rescue of abducted schoolgirls supposedly by Boko Haram insurgents, especially after the administration’s disastrous response to the killings by Fulani herdsmen in Benue in particular?

To deflect the suggestion of a conspiracy theory, the president must address the nation on how the return of the schoolgirls was achieved or negotiated.

Sincerely, it would not be too much of an obligation by the administration to tell an obviously cynical citizenry how 104 Dapchi schoolgirls were returned to base just as they were evacuated without ado.

This saga of abduction and release of the schoolgirls within a space of 32 days is, without a doubt, curious. It is incredible. It has all the trappings of a sham rescue or a shambolic release. It behoves the administration to help us understand the jigsaw puzzle of the seamless Dapchi schoolgirls’ abduction and their release.

If it was a contrived abduction and release by some prearranged gbomogbomo or a real abduction and negotiated release of the schoolgirls, the administration must come clean. If there was real negotiation, the administration must tell us how much was involved and how much more would be invested to secure the release of the remaining schoolgirls, including those who reportedly died of suffocation. This is inevitable against the backdrop of the approval given by the National Economic Council (NEC) in December 2017 to the administration to withdraw $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to fight Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast zone. Part of the money would have gone into the Dapchi debacle. Accountability is, therefore, imperative. Nigeria cannot continue to be conned on the pretext of tackling a seemingly intractable insurgency.

Ojeifo wrote via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com

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EDITORIAL INTERROGATING THE ANTI-GRAFT WAR Much more needs to be done to ensure success of the venture

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n a bid to deepen the national conversation on the anti-graft war - against the background of the very low rating of Nigeria in the latest Transparency International (TI) Global Corruption Perception Index - the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), in collaboration with the Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP) and the Centre for Democratic Development, Research and Training (CEDDERT), recently organised a two-day roundtable discussions on “The Future of the Fight against Corruption in Nigeria�.

Participants at the sessions, drawn from the three arms of the federal government as well as members of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), included Senate President Bukola Saraki, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, Mr Okoi Obla, a former chairman of the Economic and IT WAS RIGHTLY OBSERVED Financial Crimes THAT THE ABSENCE OF Commission CREDIBLE DATA HAS MADE (EFCC), Mr Nuhu FIGHTING CORRUPTION Ribadu as well as DIFFICULT IN THE COUNTRY representatives of the WHILE BOTH THE DOMESTIC Directorate of State Security Services AND INTERNATIONAL (DSS), senior memCOMMUNITIES STILL bers of the media, the PERCEIVE GOVERNMENT academia and other EFFORTS AS SLOW, stakeholders.

SELECTIVE AND GROSSLY In calling for a INEFFECTIVE holistic approach in the efforts to combat the menace, three important factors that promote corruption, especially in Nigeria, came to the fore: expensive weddings, ceremonies for chieftaincy titles, burials and other social engagements which had been turned into opportunities for obscene display of ostentation; lack of institutional capacity in the anti-graft agencies and leadership deďŹ ciency, especially the recruitment mechanism which is always skewed in favour of the corrupt. It was also rightly observed that the absence of credible data has made ďŹ ghting corruption difďŹ cult in

Letters to the Editor

the country while both the domestic and international communities still perceive government efforts as slow, selective and grossly ineffective.

Even so, the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and the media as critical stakeholders, must necessarily pool their efforts to successfully tackle the menace of graft in the system. Emphasis on preventive measures through the enactment of relevant laws by the National Assembly, for instance, will help in no small measure. Indeed, anticorruption efforts should be driven more by institutions rather than personalities.

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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.

WHERE IS THE SOCIAL CONTRACT?

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very human society has its peculiarities anchored on its very mix of historical trajectory. It is a multi-layered fabric of norms, values, customs, cultures, traditions culminating in its over-arching politics. The politics of every society is the totality of this multi-layered history manifesting through social interactions, conflict and resolution.

The ethnic nationalities on the African Continent existed as fussed societies before the early contacts with the European nations through trades in commodities, slaves and colonisation. In the end, this contact brought diffusion into a hitherto fussed continent. Hence, “Things Fall Apart� and mere anarchy was loosed upon the African continent.

Since then, the centre can no longer stand.

The Western nations of Europe brought their civilisation to Africa and blackmailed us that we are without a past, “history�. That we are from the Dark Continent (black skin), therefore, we were not capable of thinking and reasoning like human beings. They began to civilise us through their religion and school (education).

In the wake of this rude shock to the continent after centuries of dehumanising slave trade (trans-atlantics and trans-Sahara) another foreign religion and education was in toll in the Northern tip of the continent inching its way across the continent

n addition, there should be a national policy and comprehensive strategy based on accurate awareness of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to ďŹ ghting corruption within the Nigerian society. The approach must also include taking the highest risk with potential to make the maximum impact by including prevention, education and enforcement while underscoring the importance of effective deterrence with maximum impact and sustainable efforts over time.

But in the main, as the summit also wisely concluded, the judiciary remains very critical to any efforts to ďŹ ght corruption on a sustainable basis.

There was a debate as to whether or not the federal government should establish specialised anti-corruption courts for efďŹ ciency, speed, integrity and expertise. While we agree that the government should move in that direction, the following factors, as agreed by many, should also be considered: the relationship of the special courts to the regular judicial courts; the size of the anti-corruption courts; the procedures for appointing and removing special judges; the substantive scope of the anti-corruption court’s jurisdiction, and the relationship of the specialised courts to procedural authorities.

There is no doubt that in the efforts to rid the country of the stigma of corruption, a lot more remains to be done by the agencies saddled with the assignment. The federal government needs to involve the people at the grassroots whose drive would further compliment the efforts of the institutionalised agencies. Nigerians must also interrogate the growing culture of religiosity without godliness.

through jihadism. Thus, the continent came under the centripetal forces of foreign powers.

Labour force, productivity, creativity, intellectuality and intelligentsias were all lost to these foreign predators. Human reproduction was adversely affected as population decimated and the continent lay waste. It was in this cul-de-sac that Africa found herself when the western colonial power “Britain� introduced its concept of government. The concept of “Social contract in her society was as old as the society. It has been re-invented over the centuries until finally deified by the trio of Locke, Hobbes Rouseau and others. “Social Contract� is the agreement entered into by individuals that result in the formation of the state or of organised society; the prime motives being the desire for protection, which entails the surrender of some or all personal liberties.

It is against this backdrop that I engage and interrogate the government of the Nigerian state today. Over the years since independence, lives of the Nigerian citizens have become increasingly cheap that any group of lunatics, fanatics, criminals and even the state security agents could dispense with at the blink of an eye. Life in Nigeria can best be described in the same term as it were in the western world before its philosophers theorised “social contract�: “nasty, brutish and short�.

Comrade Ogbu A. Ameh, Abuja

WOLE SOYINKA: NOBEL ACTIVIST EMERITUS

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or his care for the wellbeing of the people of Benue State and Nigeria, I wish to pay tribute to Prof. Wole Soyinka and in my mind tag him henceforth as “Nobel-Activist Emeritus.�

He deserves that and much more because whilst he devotes his time and energy to decry injustice here and there, top dogs from Benue State like Gen. Lawrence Onoja and ex-Gov. George Akume were captured on camera in full jolly mood when President Muhammadu Buhari reluctantly visited Benue State.

What was the whole jollity about? Whilst Prof Soyinka wails for the folks of Benue State, it is sad to understand that those who should tell Buhari the blunt truth were all too happy to do photo-ops with him in Makurdi. Unfortunately for Benue State and other crisis-ridden parts of Nigeria the die is cast: if President Buhari concludes that a “shrinking Lake Chad� is the reason why Fulanis from Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and the Central African Republic must necessarily descend on the Benue Valley in droves then the die is cast hard in a negative format, as it were. If Defence Minister Mansur Dan-Ali posits that the Fulanis are righteously indignant because “cattle routes are blocked� and thus they must kill to get passage then the die is strongly cast hard in that negative

format. If the runaway Inspector-General of Police, Idris Kpotun Ibrahim, holds that the one-sided killings in Benue State are mere “communal clashes� then the die is now annealed cast-hard in that negative format. If Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore want the Benue State Open-Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law repealed by a presidential fiat then the mould that cast the hard die is structurally deficient. It is so sad about Nigeria, but if we do not confront reality and speak the truth, then the pathway to finding a solution would continue to elude us; such veracity-confrontation is telling ourselves the truth about Boko Haram, especially.

The well-orchestrated pogrom in the Northeast of Nigeria and now this well-planned decimation of the natives of the Middle Belt region can only mean that Islamic jihad has long been launched but those who sympathise with the cause are smart to hide under political correctness and have gullible Christian politicians say it is “insurgency fomented by bad governance;� and by “bad governance� we know where the fingers of these APC Christian minnows are pointing.

Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State

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T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018

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POLITICS

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

Intrigues Shaping Ogun Governorship Race As contenders for the Ogun State governorshaip seat realign forces, Femi Ogbonnikan digs deeper to unravel the issues behind the realignment

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he race for the 2019 Okemosan government house, Abeokuta, is becoming interesting, if not more intriguing, considering the level of the ongoing alignment and realignment of forces between and among the strong contenders to the governorship seat.

Barring last minute ditches, the strong contenders, are Prince Gboyega Isiaka (aka GNI), Sen Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (aka Yayi), Otunba Rotimi Paseda, Hon Oladipupo Adebutu, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, Adekunle Akinlade, Tolu Odebiyi, Kola Lawal, Rt Hon. Suraj Adekunbi and Sen Gbenga Kaka. They are hoping to actualise their dream on the platforms of any of the following parties- the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), the Labour Party (LP).

As at now, it is difficulty to predict where the pendulum will swing as some of the parties are enmeshed in internal wrangling. The seemingly intractable crisis rocking the party has left aggrieved governorship aspirants, with forlorn hope of clinching their respective party tickets. They have now begun moves to adopt a plan b to actualise their ambition.

The governor, Ibikunle Amosun has also continued to raise the stakes by insisting that the next state governor would come from Ogun West. Recently, he told journalists at a press conference: “I am telling you and I am still saying it, my successor will come from Yewaland.

The person may or may not be a card-carrying APC member but of Yewa stock. The person may be a man or woman but will be a young person to pilot the affairs of the state where I would stop from on May 29, 2019. But I won’t tell you the person until an appropriate time”, said Amosun.

Particularly, for allowing Ashiru, the Ogun East APC consensus governorship candidate to criss-cross and continue to embark on consultations across every nook and cranny of the state, the journalists chorused and prodded him further to allow for a level-playing field among all the contestants from both the Ogun West and Ogun East districts respectively laying equal claims to the coveted seat and choose his successor based on merit, the governor retorted and said (in the presence of Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, the Ogun East APC governorship consensus candidate) in a lighter mood; “let us wait and see. Don’t let them deceive you”, apparently referring to Ashiru.

All Progressives Congress Beginning with the ruling party, APC, at both the federal and state levels, there are ominous signs of bickering among the leadership in deciding who will clinch the governorship ticket and where the baton of the governance will go in 2019 between the two senatorial districts-Ogun West and Ogun East-that are staking equal claims to the contest.

On one hand, Amosun, who has the party structure in his pocket, has for the umpteenth time pledged his commitment to cede the governorship baton to Ogun West, a district that has never produced a governor for the state since its creation in February 1976.

In a recent interview on ARISE TELEVISION, Amosun reiterated his commitment to handing over to someone from Ogun West.

On the question of why he needs to zone the position such as this and what if the best candidate is not from Ogun West, the governor responded thus, “Why are you asking this type of question? Even God himself wants resources to go round. Nobody from Ogun West can be governor without support from the people even outside your senatorial zone. We need to be fair to our self. Let me allow someone from Ogun West senatorial district for the next election.

After that, we can base it solely on merit”.

However, if anybody is to be considered his greatest headache in Ogun State politics, it is Sen Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (aka Yayi), the Senator representing Lagos West district.

leaders of the party in the state.

The plaintiffs, in the suit number FHC/A3/ CS/10/18, claimed that their executives were duly formed by the authentic delegates of the party across the 20 local governments of the state.

Re-alignment of Forces

Amosun

Amosun has never for once concealed his disdain for the governorship aspiration of Adeola.

Aside that, the five-man Ogun West APC elders council led by Chief Bashiru Fadairo to screen all the governorship aspirants of Ogun West extraction, excluding Adeola has come under scathing attacks. There has been doubts over the integrity of the composition of the members of the committee to produce a consensus candidate, like Ogun East had done about four months ago when they chose the current Ogun State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Ashiru as their candidate.

Peoples Democratic Party The once self-proclaimed largest political party in Africa, PDP, could now be likened to a house divided against itself. It is enmeshed in leadership crises at the state level. Two factions are laying claim to the leadership of the party in Ogun, with neither side attempting to shift stance and embrace peace, despite overtures to mend fences among the power brokers controlling the party.

The factionalisation is a backlash of the struggle for the control of the soul of the party in the state, shortly after the defeat of the party at both the federal and state levels in 2015. One faction, led by Alhaji Sikirulai Ogundele and loyal to a

The votes from Ogun West will be shared among the three contenders whereas, Ogun East with only one candidate may carry the day with a block vote

former governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel while the other group is led by Engineer Bayo Dayo, and owes allegiance to the incumbent Senator representing Ogun East district, Sen Buruji Kashamu. Thus, the party has become inchoate with the inability of the centre to hold. On account of the irreconcilable differences, events in the last couple of weeks within the state leadership of the party have suggested a mass exodus of the party stalwarts, in droves, to either the APC or the Obasanjo’s new movement. First to stage a walkout, is a former Minister for Mines and Steel Development, Chief Sarafa Adetunji Isola. Isola, an erstwhile Secretary of State of Government (SSG) of Ogun, had, on friday, March 2, 2018, in a press statement issued in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital, dumped the PDP and defected to the ruling APC. According to him, his exit from the PDP was as a result of the leadership dispute rocking the party. Gboyega Nasir Isiaka and Hon Oladipupo Olatunde Adebutu (aka Lado)-have signified interest in the race on the platform of the party.

Sources had it that Adebutu is already considering the Labour Party as an alternative in case the PDP shuts him out. His name recently featured in the intra-crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) in the state. It was alleged that the legislator was planning to hijack and join the party through the backdoor, a development swiftly dispelled by one of his media aides.

Labour Party The Party in the state has been enmeshed in leadership crisis, following the emergence of two factional executives at parallel congresses held on January 28, 2018 in Abeokuta.

A faction led by Biodun Owolabi which held its congress at the party secretariat, in Adatan, Abeokuta, had approached the court, asking it to restrain the other faction and its supporters from interferring or parading themselves as

Unfolding political events among major political parties across the country in the last one year have called for serious concerns.

Gearing up and in a bid to pave ways for their safe landings, major players, especially governorship aspirants and their supporters have begun moves of re-aligning with one another in an attempt to actualise their dreams.

Fearing that the governor will not allow him to run on the platform of the APC, is said to be considering actualising his dream on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Not left out, Isiaka, an illustrious son of Imeko, in Imeko-Afon Local Government Area of Ogun State is believed to be making overtures to the 2015 Ogun State governorship candidate of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Otunba Rotimi Paseda, who hails from Omu-Ijebu, in Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State. On February 21, 2018, the duo of Isiaka and Paseda held a joint rally in Sagamu to address thousands of their supporters on the need to vote out the APC-led government in the state, come 2019.

Isiaka, who was the Ogun State PDP governorship candidate in 2011 and 2015 respectively, was recently sighted behind former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the formal membership registration of the Coalition of Nigeria Movement (CNM) at Iwe Irohin Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.

His romance with the CNM, it was learnt, is not unconnected with the intractable crisis rocking the PDP leadership in the state.

Paseda, a shrewd international industrial mogul in hospitality, construction and civil engineering business, was alleged to have politely shunned every entreaty to convince him, to dump his UPN for one of the two mega parties, APC or PDP. The 53-year-old politician is said to have insisted that it was through the legacies and welfarist programmes of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, that sundry socio-economic, cultural and political challenges bedevilling the state could be addressed, if given the chance to govern.

Fear of a Backlash One factor that simply matters is to be in a firm grip of the political machinery, while other things follow. Conversely, the much-touted power-shift to Ogun West, it is feared, might be a grand plot being designed by the powerthat-be at the state government level to make the district a theatre of confusion for the 2019 governorship election.

Five local governments-Yewa South, Yewa North, Imeko-Afon, Ipokia and Ado-Odo/Ota constitute Ogun West senatorial district. Political pundits have predicted that three candidates-Isiaka, Adeola and whoever the governor, in collaboration with the APC leadership will present are likely to emerge on three different political platforms.

Adeola is a force to reckon with, in Yewa South and Ipokia Local Governments respectively, with his larger than frame popularity, while Isiaka also controls a handful of home support base, especially his Imeko-Afon Local Government Area homestead and by extension, Yewa North.

Consequently, the situation is tense and dicey that nobody can predict who will carry the day.

When the chips are down, there are perceived palpable fears that the incumbent governor might decide to play on a safer side, by jettisoning his earlier commitment to support Ogun West and look inward to Ogun East where his party could win enblock votes, as his successor.

The votes from Ogun West will be shared among the three contenders whereas, Ogun East with only one candidate may carry the day with a block vote.

POLITICS

Abia’s Gale of Endorsements As part of the build up to the 2019 elections, Abia State governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has continued to receive endorsements. Is this an approval of the work the governor has done or a campaign gimmick, Tobi Soniyi asks

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couple of weeks ago the people of Ukwa/Ngwa political bloc of Abia State adopted Abia State governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu as a “consensus candidate” for the 2019 governorship election and barred all ‘true indigenes’ of Ukwa/Ngwa from challenging him.

The adoption was the highlight of the second edition of the Great Ukwa/Ngwa Declaration, which held at Okpualangwa, the headquarters of Isiala Ngwa North Local Government and ancestral home of Ngwa people.

The motion for Ikpeazu’s adoption was moved by former Senate President, Chief Adolphus Wabara and seconded by former Director General of the National Directorate of Employment, Dr. Chukwu Wachuku. The event brought together personalities from the nine local government areas that make up the Ukwa/Ngwa bloc, with traditional rulers, politicians, businessmen, among others, backing the decision to adopt Ikpeazu for a second term in office.

Then last week, the people of Bende Local Government Area in Abia North Senatorial District of Abia State, one of the powerful councils in the state also endorsed the governor. The council has produced prominent and illustrious sons and daughters that have made their marks in various sphere of life. Among them are: Late Commodore Amadi Guy Ikwechegh, former military governor of Old Imo State from (1986 to 1989), Chief Orji Uzo Kalu, a two-term former governor of the state (1999 to 2007), Hon. Nnenna Ukeje-Elendu, one of the most brilliant lawmakers that Nigeria parades, a third time member of the House of Representatives where she is brilliantly representing the people of Bende Federal Constituency since 2007 to date.

Bende also parades political and legal heavyweights like Rt. Hon Cosmos Ndukwe, the Deputy Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Secretary to State Government (SSG) Dr Eme Okoro, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), Chief Jerry Kalu, Sir JC Ogwo, Hon. Nnamdi Njoku, Chief Ekeoma Eme, among others.

As the people of Abia State will tell you, when Bende as a people decide collectively to do a thing, it is a decision that is not likely to be reversed. On Tuesday 13, March 2018, the people of Bende gathered at the renowned Practicing School Uzuakoli, where they unanimously and unequivocally declared and endorsed Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for a second term, urging him

Ikpeazu

to re-contest as governor of Abia in 2019.

The roll call included the who is who in Bende.

And they spoke their mind with one voice. One after another, they mounted the podium, from Hon. Nnenna Ukeje, to Hon. Cosmos Ndukwe down to the LGA Chairman, Chief Gabriel Elendu, the people of Bende spoke without mincing words.

Also at the event, Chief Ude Eme Obike, Chief Sunday Akachukwu Oko and High Chief Johnny Ukpabi respectively, led hundreds of members of opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), to decamp to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia, thereby breaking the opposition circle in Bende LGA. But critics have questioned the desirability or otherwise of these endorsements. Are these endorsements motivated by the governor’s performance?

Or are they being bought? THISDAY Politics sought answers from the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Eyinnaya Appolos.

He said:”I think it is insulting for anyone to insinuate that. It is insulting to the people who made the endorsements. You want to buy a former President of the Senate and these people who have distinguished themselves in their respec-

tive chosen careers? This governor will not buy anyone. He understands the fact that the best way to win people to your side is to govern in a way that pleases the generality of the people.

That is what he has done. Besides, I advise you to listen to what the people themselves said.”

In an address by the people of Bende delivered

by Chief Ukwu Rocks Emma, former chairman of the council, he sai: “Why Ikpeazu is a governor after our hearts. Bende, the land of warriors, would go to battle in defence of this trusted governor.

“Bende stands with you Sir. Moreso when you have stood by Bende since you became governor.

From the election of the deputy speaker to the appointments of secretary to the state government, two commissioners, special advisers and special assistants, chairmen and members of board of parastatals, this governor carries Bende sons and daughters along in his gubernatorial journey. Why then should we not carry Okezie Ikpeazu along?

“Indeed, we have gathered here today from all the nooks and crannies of Bende Local Government and even those sojourning in the diaspora; their royal highnesses and majesties, the presidents-general of development unions, women and community leaders, age grades

and youth groups, the clergy and the laity, the work force, all have come to this ancient city of Uzoakoli to give honour to whom it is due.

“As at the last count, over 38 recent road projects are going while some have been completed all over the State, including the Lohum- NkpaPortharcourt Expressway, Alayi-Item-Nkporo rehabilitation project, the Akoli Imenyi and Alayi Erosion control projects, the perennial problematic Aba road-Ceramics-Isi Court Umuahia dual carriageway, can bear witness to the fact that Governor Ikpeazu knows what Abia needs- radical road construction and rehabilitation.

“When you launched the Made in Aba campaign sir, you got us there! That campaign is a promotion of the industry of the Bende man. You are globally expanding our market horizon and increasing thee per-capita income of the Bende Man. “When we match Ikpeazu’s giant strides in education where Abia has consistently maintained 1st in WAEC, where the long abandoned Umunnato General Hospital is transmuting to a national hospital before our very eyes and where agriculture is finally getting due recognition, culminating in the Item Poultry Farm Village and the New Rice Mill right here in Uzoakoli, our speech on this occasion could have the most captivating of titles if we pleased.”

While responding to the endorsement, the government said: “Bende people have spoken, and I thank you for speaking as a people. I also thank you for the endorsement. Bende is among the local government areas in Abia that I don’t need to campaign because I know that I have the support of Bende people. When I look around and see the number of our people hear today, I remember your support to me in 2015 and I have no doubt that I will always have your support. But let me say here that I will come back to Bende to respond appropriately on your demand for me to contest again in 2019.”

He assured them that Abia State would never go back to the days when it was regarded as a pariah state. “Jointly with Bende people, we will continue to update our state infrastructure and make our people bold in wherever they do. That why we took the made in Aba campaign which Bende people have benefited from. Today our people in Aba are proud of what they do with their hands. We sent them to China and they proved to China that we are very hard working people. As governor, I promised to wear only made in Aba cloths and I have kept my word,” the governor said.

Ihedioha: The New Bride in Politics In every clime, there is always a shining star that makes a great difference even in the midst of difficulties. Emeka Ihedioha, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, is one such persons, writes Amby Uneze

I

n today’s Nigeria, Rt. Hon. Emeka Nkem Ihedioha fits into the shoes of our political fathers and gladiators such as the Nnamdi Azikiwes, Obafemi Awolowos, Ahmadu Bellos of the first republic. These nation builders no doubt established the robust political system which made Nigeria a leading black race in the world today.

One cannot open up on this political iroko without first attempting to trace his political journey to stardom. Ihedioha began his political carrier in 1992 as a Press Officer to then Senate President, Chief Iyorchia Ayu. Barely a year later he was appointed as Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Senate President, Senator Albert Legogie (late).

Following the military incursion in November 1993, Ihedioha returned to his communications practice as Chief Executive Officer of First Page Communications. However, by 1995, when the whistle for transition to civilian rule was blown, he readily returned to the familiar waters of politics.

He promptly connected with the mainstream and like a golden fish that has no hiding place, he

became the Director of Publicity of the newly formed People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), which was later transited to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 1998.

Ihedioha has been on the national political scene for about two decades during which period he has made his mark. All this time, he has played politics of consistency, loyalty and commitment to his party, the PDP. As a core party man and one of its founding stalwarts, Ihedioha joined forces with other prominent politicians to resist military incursions into the polity especially after the botched Third Republic where he played an active role.

He has always served the PDP faithfully since then including being prominent in the presidential campaign organization that brought President Olusegun Obasanjo to power in 1999.

In the 2012 National Convention of the PDP, he served as Chairman of the National Screening Panel that screened and certified the qualifications of aspirants to the various National Offices of the party. In the following year 2013,

he also served as Chairman of the Publicity Committee of the Special National Convention of the party. In that capacity he ensured that the proceedings of the Convention were well publicized in both local and international media.

And only in September 2014, he was appointed into the National Integration Committee of the party for North-Central.

At the state level, Ihedioha has been a major bulwark and one of the major financiers of the PDP in Imo since the party lost the gubernatorial office in 2011. In his capacity as Deputy Speaker, he rallied other party stalwarts, members and supporters to rebuild the PDP in Imo State to make it a formidable force. He has ensured that party members and others receive federal government patronage and facilitated employment of party members and other qualified citizens.

The role played by Ihedioha during the upheaval of the PDP which was recently settled by the Supreme Court is a clear testimony of this man who had not known any failure in his

political life. His decision to remain in the PDP mainstream even when some people who are today struggling to come back and some also remained aloof while Ihedioha and his likes were busy taken the bashing is a lesson to many.

Ihedioha is a pro-people and developmentoriented legislator who consistently used his position as leader and driver of the budget passage process of the House of Representatives to push for actualization of democracy dividends to his immediate constituency, Imo State and the South East geo-political zone at large.

These include interstate and intra city roads such as; the Owerri-Omanelu federal highway, dualization of Owerri-Aba highway, power transmission/injection stations, vocational/training centres, healthcare facilities, schools, sporting facilities, etc. It is noteworthy that in the area of capacity building, Ihedioha used personal and official contacts to facilitate the aggressive empowerment of several women and youths through skills acquisition, scholarship and trading support.

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OBB OVERNIGHT

A S

A T

REPO 10.67 % 12.08 %

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

12.50% 14.25 % 15%

M A R C H S & P INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY MONTH-TO-DATE

Group Business Editor Chika Amanze-Nwachuku Email chika.amanzenwachukwu@thisdaylive.com 08033294157

1 9 , 2 0 1 8 346.87% 0.14 % 1.24%

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

5.28 % 5.28 %

EXCHANGE RATE N305.85/1US DOLLAR* ĚŠ

Quick Takes Plateau to Host NATOP 2018 AGM

The Nigerian Association of Tour Operators NATOP is holding its ďŹ rst AGM in the northern part of Nigeria for the ďŹ rst time.

The last AGM was held in Lagos and in Calabar the year before.

So Plateau has the right as the ďŹ rst event outside the South of Nigeria by NATOP. It is expected that the next AGM will be held also in another part of Nigeria. The President of the Association Mr. Nkereuwem Onung said that the association chose Jos to reinforce the fact that Plateau is safe for Tourism and NATOP needs to discover and expose new locations to tour professionals. “Nigeria is blessed and Plateau is so Rich in Tourism that we should start re-positioning Plateau as a way of growing Tourism in Nigeriaâ€?.

Onung said this at the reception hosted for him and some executives on their pre event Visit to Jos. The Commissioner of Tourism Mrs. Tamukat Weli in her speech told the NATOP President that Plateau State is ready to host the biggest tourism experts in Nigeria and will showcase the best of its culture and hospitality if Plateau.

The Special Adviser to Governor on Tourism Mr. John Likita Best praised NATOP as a forward looking association that has come In at the right time to support the eorts of the Government and People of the state.The 2018 AGM is an elective AGM and comes after a very successful year where it successfully hosted a world Tourism Day boat cruise on the Lagos Lagoon and a tour of Epe in Lagos.

ECONOMY ON THEIR MINDS

L-R: Director, Debt Management Office, Dele Aforlabi; guest speaker, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu; Chairman of the Governing Board, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye and Chairman, Centre for Financial Journalism, Ernest Ebi, during the Bullion Lecture 2018, focused on the state of the economy, held at the Civic Centre, Lagos...recently

Experts Call for Harmonisation of Regulatory Framework to Improve Air Safety in Africa Chinedu Eze Aviation experts have called on the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) and civil aviation authorities of all the countries in the region to harmonise their regulatory framework to ensure uniform minimum safety standard in Africa. The measure, they said, will prevent air accidents that have characterise the continent.

They noted however that in the last three years the region has recorded very high safety record but has remained still the continent with the highest rate of accidents in the world.

The experts who gathered together at the 27th African Aviation Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) Conference in Cairo from March 18-20, 2018, noted that with such harmonization the recent Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM)

AVIATION treaty that was ratified by 23 countries in the region would be a reality, as every airline in the continent would maintain the same minimum safety standard in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standard and recommended practices.

The convener of the conference and the CEO of African Aviation Services who is also the former Secretary-General of African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Nick Fadugba said that AFCAC plays critical role in regulating airline operation in Africa but the region needs standardisation of regulation in the region. “We need harmonised, standardised framework for regulation in Africa and we need it urgently,� Fadugba said.

He noted that that Africans have to work together to take back the passenger traffic market that has been dominated by international carriers. “To achieve the goals of SAATM, the African airline industry perhaps more than ever needs to focus on all aspects of air safety, especially ensuring well-maintained aircraft fleet and a well-trained aviation workforce throughout the continent,� Fadugba said.

He regretted that African airlines are facing a lot of challenges, noting that about 27 years ago African airlines had 60 per cent of the region’s market but today the airlines have lost substantial part of the market and only controls 18 per cent.

The CEO of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi said at the conference that Europe was able to maintain high

standard of air safety because the region harmonised regulation framework with minimum acceptable standard, which no country would go below and the result is significant improvement in safety and low air accident, which according to records is one of the lowest in the world.

Sanusi noted that if Africa adopts the same policy it would help the continent achieve high standard of safety and part of the gain is that lessors, aircraft manufacturers and insurance companies would stop seeing the African environment as harsh for airline operation, which upped insurance premium paid by African airlines. “It worked in Europe. They have common regulatory framework in Europe and I think it can work in Africa.

If we can have harmonised Continued on page 20

Maritime Academy Moves to Avert Crisis, Arrests Six Workers Eromosele Abiodun In a bid to avert crisis and carry out the mandate of the federal government, the management of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, has arrested some staff members of the institution, who it stated, have sworn to derail the management and resist change.

This is just as the academy revealed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been invited to thoroughly investigate sharp practices and document peddling

MARITIME by some of the workers who have refused to be compliant with the change directive of the federal government.

According to a statement signed by the academy’s Public Affairs unit, the MAN, Oron stated that every staff must key in into the new focus handed down on the new management of the academy.

The statement read: “The House of Representative Committee on Federal Character invited the academy due to irregularities

noticed in its employment processes of 2016. The irregularities included the employment of 83 persons illegally employed into the academy by the Registrar of the academy who was acting then as Rector after the demise of the former Rector of the academy. “Many people were not happy about that employment because 90 per cent of those employed were members of the former Registrar and Acting Rector of the academy Mkpandiok Ante Mkpandiok’s church and 80 per cent were from Oron in Akwa Ibom State. The House Committee on Federal Character now

asked the academy to go back and re-present some documents.�

It added: “But what some workers who are still loyal to Mkpandiok did was to smuggle in some documents to embarrass the Rector, Commodore Emma Duja Effedua. They then covered the smuggled documents with a cover letter and brought it to the Rectors table for signing.

The Rector insisted on going through the documents, not knowing what they had done, and was shocked to discover documents defending the illegal Continued on page 20

Ghana to Open New Airport Terminal

Ghana Airport Company Limited has announced that it would open its new terminal soon.According to ATQ managize, over the past four years, the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) has been the beneďŹ ciary of several infrastructural expansion and upgrade projects, including the construction of a third passenger terminal.

Its construction has been presented by the Ghana Airports Company Limited as its agship project because of its invaluable capacity to KIA, positioning it to accommodate and handle the expected strong growth in passenger volumes for years to come with a view to enabling it to serve as the preferred aviation hub in the West African sub-region as a whole.The new terminal is easily the biggest and most modern of the three at the airport and is, therefore, the most important. It has the capacity to handle 1,25O million passengers per annum, which adds up to some ďŹ ve million passengers a year. It is equipped with six boarding bridges, a large commercial and retail area, three business lounges and purpose-built transit facilities.

The idea of a new terminal was conceived as a compelling project in 2013 as alternative to the refurbishment of Terminal 2, which was then on the drawing board.At the time, the facilities in Terminal 2 constantly broke down, and congestion, especially at the arrival hall, had become a national security concern. However, all indications pointed to the disruption of traďŹƒc and cost overruns that would be attendant upon the refurbishment of what was clearly a dated product. The then board of the company took the bold decision to cut new ground, and, once it received the support of government, started work in earnest to secure funding for it.

Boeing 737 MAX 7 Ends Test Flight

The Boeing 737 MAX 7, the smallest member of the MAX family completed its ďŹ rst ight on Friday, the start of ight testing, with certiďŹ cation and delivery expected during 2019.

The three hour ight of the MAX 7 took o from Renton Field and landed at Boeing Field near Seattle. It performed “exactly as designedâ€?, Boeing Commercial VP Keith Leverkuhn said, after the aircraft was put through ight control tests, system checks and handling qualities.The MAX 7 is the third and smallest member of the MAX family to y. It has a design capacity of 138 passengers in a two-class layout, or up to 172 in a single-class low cost airline conďŹ guration.“The MAX 7 will provide airlines an eďŹƒcient product for opening and ying thinner markets and accessing challenging airports,â€? Boeing VP Randy Tinseth said.

The aircraft has been ordered by launch customer Southwest Airlines and Canada’s WestJet among others Boeing said.

“If properly harnessed, air transport can be a vital catalyst for Africa’s economic and social development,� CEO, African Aviation Services and former SecretaryGeneral of African Airlines�

Association (AFRAA),

Nick Fadugba

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BUSINESSWORLD EXPERTS CALL FOR HARMONISATION OF REGULATORY FRAMEWORK TO IMPROVE AIR SAFETY IN AFRICA regulatory framework in Africa each country will have specifics as it wants but there will be acceptable level of standard in the entire continent, but each country will have its own peculiar regulations using the harmonised framework as standard. So each state can impose a stricter regulation but cannot go below the regional standard,� Sanusi said.

The Secretary General of African Airlines Association, Abderahmane Berthe, said African airlines should work together with common interest and objectives so that they would be able to achieve more in terms of safety, expanded market and increased capacity.

He called for greater commitment for Yamoussoukro Decision, which would boost the region’s economy, expand capacity for more aircraft, which Airbus projected that in the next few years Africa would demand 1170 new aircraft.

MARITIME ACADEMY MOVES TO AVERT CRISIS, ARRESTS SIX WORKERS employment with most of the facts distorted. “Out of rage, the Rector walked them out of his office and decided to compile the documents requested by the House Committee on Federal Character himself. It was while compiling the documents that the Rector received reports that the Director of Human Resources (DHR), Mr. Emmanuel Essien was busy in his office manufacturing minutes of meetings with the sole intention of forging the signatures of management team of the academy.�

It further stated that, “It was by the grace of God that they were caught red handed, typing minutes of meetings that never held, with the intention of forging signatures of the academy’s management team.

No management team of the academy signed the minute of meeting that was in their possession when they were caught.

When they were caught in the act, they were busy making

Group Business Editor

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Moghalu: Innovation-based Economy Will Address Existing Gap in Job, Wealth Creation Emma Okonji The President, Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation (IGET), and a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu has stressed the need for Nigeria to adopt the policy of innovation-based economy and allow technology innovation to drive the Nigerian economy in the areas of job and wealth creation.

Moghalu who was the guest speaker at the 2018 Bullion Lecture, held in Lagos on Wednesday, said government must begin to think of new ways of doing things, using technology to create job opportunities in the chain of distribution from innovation to the market place. “Such innovation-based economy must remain competitive, adapt to the needs of the future, rather than depending on natural resources like oil and gas, thereby facing the danger of being left behind by global and market trends, and thus plunging the citizens into poverty,� Moghalu said.

He said although Nigeria has a national policy on Science, Technology and Innovation , but the policy has practically no impact on Nigeria’s economy.

In his remarks, Chairman of the occasion, who is also Chairman, Governing Board, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye Durojaiye explained how global economies are fast entering into the fourth industrial revolution, where coal,

steam engines and electricity will not be the basic tools to drive new revolution. The fourth industrial revolution, according to Durojaiye, is all about knowledge economy, driven by the internet and the telecommunication industry. He therefore called on governments at various levels to begin to invest in technology solutions that are in line with modern

trends, which he said, would help Nigeria develop fast, considering its large population of people. “Plans are already on the drawing board for the 5G digital communications advancement, including Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence,� Durojaiye said, adding that the NCC will continue to ensure that Nigerian youths are trained to take active participation

in the current global digital communication revolution.

But Moghalu noted: “The absence of a link between science, commercialised indigenous innovation and economic and business activity, is a fundamental obstacle between Nigeria and a quantum leap to property.

This gap is all the more tragic because science and technology is one area in which African

countries such as Nigeria, can quickly develop global competitive advantage over the Western world and even Asia,� Moghalu said.

He added: “It is important that governments at all levels must understand why Nigeria must invest in science and technology, how science and technology create wealth and jobs, and what must be done to achieve it.�

WOOING INVESTORS

L-R: Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Bimbo Ashiru; Chairman, Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko and Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, during the fourth Ogun State Investors’ Forum at cultural centre, Abeokuta ‌ recently

Peterside: Maritime Sector Has Capacity to Catalyse Economic Growth Eromosele Abiodun The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has stated that the Nigerian Maritime Sector has the capacity to catalyse economic growth.

Also, he gave the assurance that the agency will not rest on its oars until it realises its dream of building a robust maritime sector that will substantially contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation’s economy.

He stated this when the City

People Media Group bestowed on him the, “Award of Excellent Leadership in Public Service,� at its 21st award ceremony in Lagos. Peterside noted that the award is an indication that the effort of the agency in actualising its mandates of repositioning the sector has not gone unnoticed.

According to him, “This award means a whole lot because it shows that Nigerians acknowledge the efforts that we are making to ensure a cleaner ocean for safe and secure shipping. Also, this will spur us to keep doing our best so

as to have a robust maritime sector capable of catalysing and impacting the growth and development of the economy.�

Speaking further, the NIMASA boss disclosed that in the past two years, the agency, for the first time, has been able to put over 250 cadets onboard ocean going vessel to do sea time training, “making our graduates employable and have also been able to make substantial contribution to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF)even as a regulatory agency.�

He also added that NIMASA

also went a step further to release the maritime industry forecast, which will serve as a compass to investors for the year 2018 and 2019. “Today, the whole country appreciates the fact that we are making a difference in the maritime space. We are not only contributing to the economic development of the country, we are not only creating employment for our people, we are giving people opportunities they will remember for a life time,� Peterside said.

While expressing gratitude to stakeholders in the industry for

their continuous collaboration and support to the agency, which has helped the agency achieve this feat, he called on them for more support and assured them of better days ahead.

Peterside also applauded the leadership role that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has provided for the sector, noting that this has put the agency on its toes in order to meet up with international best practices thereby putting Nigeria on the pedestal of global competitiveness with its counterparts.

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NSC Seeks Board’s Cooperation to Realise FG’s Objectives in Transport Sector Eromosele Abiodun The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Hassan Bello has called on the council board to partner its management so as to realise the objectives of the federal government in the transportation sector.

Bello, who stated this at the inaugural board meeting of the council in Lagos, noted that the country is faced with a number of challenges, hence the need to look at other sources of job creation and equal opportunities

for Nigerians.

He stressed that the transportation sector is capable of driving the Nigerian economy, hence the need for the board to be in tandem with the management of the council to achieve the overall goal of the federal government.

He said: “The country now wants to take advantage of the transport industry as far as infrastructure is concerned and realising the objectives of the federal government in employment, inclusiveness and opportunities. We believe that the transport industry drives

should drive the economy and I am sure that the board will be in tandem with the overall goal of the federal government. “We should have had this board meeting long time ago but we welcome it even now knowing that the progress of this council will be more if we have the board with us. We are very fortunate with the caliber of people we have on our board.�

The NSC, he added, is privileged to have an array of personalities who are extremely experience and knowledgeable.

Bello said: “This is because the NSC is an agency based on knowledge and research. Since this council was established in 1978, we have had eight boards, this is the 9th and on each of this occasion we have had a very cordial relationship between the management and the board. We hope this will also continue. This relationship is based on mutual respect, synergy to achieve targets, but first of all, it is based on humbleness and transparency. “The management has made it a priority to be open and

transparent to the board in all ramifications because we will find the board as a partner that will push this council forward. We have also the compliment of disciplined staff in the NSC. I think it is important that the board should know that the staff of the council are trained and disciplined and it is the best the industry can offer.

We hope that the board will utilize the staff and we assure you that we will help you in all your policy formulation and execution,� he said.

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Bi-Courtney Assures Arik of Hitchfree Operations from MMA2 Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operators of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), has assured the management of Arik Air of seamless passenger facilitation, as the airline begins its scheduled flight operations from the terminal to Port Harcourt International Airport on Saturday.

A statement by the spokesman of BASL, Steve Omolale, said with its spacious ticketing and departure hall, as well as modern facilities, such as automated check-in counters, smooth escalators/elevators, waiting ambulance, health facilities, lounges, restaurants and shops, “MMA2 remains a safe, secure and efficient

passenger-friendly terminal to provide exceptional services to Arik’s guests to Port Harcourt and the best destination for other flying passengers and shoppers. We want to assure all the passengers who will be flying Arik Air from this Saturday of seamless facilitation as we welcome all of them to our terminal�. The statement quoted the Chief Executive Officer of BASL, Captain Jari Williams, as expressing delight at the move by Arik, saying MMA2 would continue to offer passengers using the terminal hitch-free facilitation and the ambience that would make their flying experience worth the while.

Arik Air had earlier said

its flights to and from Port Harcourt International, hitherto operated from the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), would cease from Saturday and resume at 7:00 am at MMA2. Two other flights will follow at 11am and 3pm same day.

Omolale said with this move, Arik Air would join Dana, Aero, Med-View, Azman and First Nation airlines, which have been operating scheduled flights from MMA2 over the years.

Arik Air currently flies Chevron chartered flights from MMA2 to the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) Base, Port Harcourt. With the scheduled flights from Saturday, all the airline’s flights out of Lagos to and from Port Harcourt will now operate at the terminal.

AIR WATCH Brisk Business at Lagos Airport

Poise Nigeria Receives CIBN’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 country’s Banking and Finance Industry put in place by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Group Organises PrivateViewing of New Banana Island Project Ugo Aliogo Sujimoto Construction has organised a private briefing and viewing of its new project for selected agents and journalists.

The project is known as the Giuliano and it is located in Banana Island, Ikoyi Lagos.

Speaking at the event in Lagos recently, the Chief Executive Officer, Sujimoto Construction, Mr. Sijibomi Ogundele, said they decided to introduce the project to their agents and key players in the industry before introducing the project to the public. He explained that the meeting was to enable their agents to understand the in-depth strategy behind the project and “the reason why they went for the project and the luxury aspect of it especially the story behind the project.�

He stated that the current project being handled by the firm would be completed on the October 30, adding that it is only residential units and most the investors are those that have bought to lease out for investment purposes.

Ogundele explained that the property is an affordable luxury, stressing that it is cheaper than what has put out in public domain, “we have compared to what we have in the market and comparing with what is in the market especially in terms of features and facilities, we believe that it is cheaper than our competitors.�

He further stated that they have developed a strategy that would bring about the ease of payment, which he noted involved making a minimum deposit and the remaining the

payment is spread for a period of 10 month. According to him, “The Giuliano as more than just a project; it is a game changer that will redefine the way people live. It is a convergence of 16th century architectural ingenuity, inspired by the great works of the great Medici family, with the functionality of 21st century lifestyle. It brings exclusivity, location and quality together in one space. “The almost sold-out project that has been kept a secret was finally revealed in a private viewing to these passionate agents whose enthusiasm and willingness to participate in the Sujimoto Project is because they know that we are one of the few real estate company that creates quality products with features that allows investors get high returns on their investments.�

TROJAN Deep-Cycle Solar AGM Batteries Introduced Trojan Battery Company Ltd, the world’s leading manufacturer of deep-cycle batteries, with their Nigerian partners and Master Distributor – Eauxwell Nigeria Limited, has introduced a new range of Deep-Cycle Solar batteries into the Nigerian market.

Among these are the SAGM 06 315 and SAGM 12 205. The range is designed for best value in solar

and storage application.

These batteries are available in deep-cycle battery sizes that are most commonly used for alternative power sources ranging from 6V to 12V models and are suitable for use in several applications. By popular user requirement, it incorporates a maintenance-free design – no watering required.

The new line of deep-cycle AGM batteries is engineered with advanced technologies for high cycle life, optimum performance and rugged durability, which is a necessity in the Nigerian power landscape. It delivers reliable power, and maintains high capacity throughout its cycle-life, unlike typical VRLA batteries.

Following the implementation of the executive order on ease of doing business in Nigeria, extortion of money from passengers by security operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos has drastically reduced.

The removal of tables where security operatives carry out physical searching of luggage has enhanced facilitation of screening as movement of passengers from check-in to boarding is now faster.

But investigations carried out by THISDAY last week revealed that the security operatives, especially the personnel of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Aviation Security (AVSEC) of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Customs who man the entrance gates at the international terminal of the airport still extort money from passengers.

Sequel to a tip-off that passengers were being harassed and forced to part with money for trumped up reasons ,THISDAY carried out a check and observed the movement of passengers that come into departures and how some of them were searched by the security personnel, especially those of NDLEA. Located beside the main x-ray machine installed at the entrance of the terminal is a small cubicle where the x-ray monitor was placed. The way it was conceived by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), after the ease of doing business policy was introduced, was that AVSEC officials would be monitoring the luggage brought to the airport to ensure that dangerous weapons, including incendiary devices were not allow to enter the terminal. But little by little the other security operatives gathered at that small kiosk and started extorting passengers.

THISDAY watched when a passenger’s bag was searched and a barber’s clipper was removed by the NDLEA official. The security operative told the passenger that he would not travel with the clipper. The passenger said he was going to check in the bag. The NDLEA official threatened and shouted at the passenger. The passenger, cowed started begging that he should be allowed to travel with the clipper. The NDLEA official was defiant, obviously supported by other operatives in the cubicle.

THISDAY also observed that other people were also being extorted but the security operatives target those travelling for the first time and those they know could be intimidated. Many other passengers entered the terminal without any hindrance. They just placed their bags on the x-ray machine and collected them on the other side.

THISDAY also observed that at peak hours, the AVSEC officials monitoring the

x-ray machine find it difficult to keep pace in monitoring the content of the luggage on the x-ray screen. An informed source said that the x-ray machine is just “helping those security officials to be making money from passengers.�

Standing few meters away from the kiosk and observing the security operatives interfacing with the passengers recently, THISDAY noticed that despite the effort of government and FAAN to sanitise the airport and end the exploitation of passengers, another extortion centre had been created.

Other airport users confirmed to THISDAY that the officials of NDLEA have become a menace at the airport despite the promises made by the management that it would rein the excesses of the officials posted to the Lagos airport international terminal.

Inside source told THISDAY that NDLEA officials usually stop passengers during check-in process and force them to part with money or else, they would not be allowed to travel. It gathered that sometimes, some of the passengers do miss their flights owing to the delay. “There are extortions going on at the airport but the major culprits are the officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. They are the worst of the uniform personnel at the airport.

They will stop some passengers who have met all the conditions to travel and request for dollars.

Not many of the passengers know their rights and due to fear they will start negotiating with the NDLEA officials. “What is very bad about their illicit activities is that sometimes they continue to delay the passengers who refused to give them money until they miss their flights, but the situation now cannot be compared to the past. A lot of improvement has taken place,� the official said.

Some of the airport officials told THISDAY that while other security operatives cannot be exonerated, the activities were not as menacing and callous like that of NDLEA officials.

THISDAY notice that it was NDLEA personnel that spearheaded the nefarious activities of exploitation and harassment of passengers.

A FAAN official told THISDAY that a new batch of NDLEA officials who came in late last year and early this year are so menacing and defiant that they do not adhere to any directives. “They believe they were brought in here to come and make money and therefore nobody should try to stop them,� the FAAN source said.

THISDAY contacted the spokesman of NDLEA; Jonah Achema, who said that he was not in a position to talk about the issues.

He however noted that the management of the agency is monitoring activities of its personnel and those who do not abide by the rules would be laid off.

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Onyema: Nigeria Has Improved Significantly in Air Safety Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema, reasons that Nigeria has maintained A good safety record in aviation due to the efficiency of the regulatory authorities. He spoke to Chinedu Eze. Excerpts: Last year Nigeria had a very good record in terms of safety and this year everything seems to be going that way too. So how do you see the regulation of the industry?

First and foremost I have to thank God Almighty for what He has done for us so far.

Like you said, last year there was no accident or any major incident and by the grace of God it is going to continue like that. I pray for Air Peace every morning and pray for all my aircraft and I commit all my aircraft into the hands of God every morning and I call the planes by their names when I am praying. And I pray for other airlines in Nigeria. I always pray to God that there should never be any other form of incident or accident in our airspace again to the glory and honour of His name.

So I commit all the airlines to his hands because what happens to one affects everyone. I don’t wish anybody evil because of competition.

When I was coming to the industry I said I was going to bring peace. It is a very competitive environment, at times devilish. But we in Air Peace we want to do healthy competition.

And talking about regulation, I think the Nigerian airlines are well regulated. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is doing a wonderful job on that. It is not easy, sometimes you don’t feel comfortable with the way they are doing it but they have to do it.

The kind of regulation NCAA brings to bear on Nigerian airlines cannot be compared to any other; even in advanced countries.

For instance, we had a bird strike on our first day in Kano and the pilot made air return back to the airport. We sent our British engineers to Kano to rescue the aircraft. Then we sent another aircraft to Abuja to go and airlift the passengers. Do you know that after the British engineers rectified it, NCAA insisted on being on the flight when we carried out a test flight?

I was happy when I heard that.

I urge NCAA to continue, they should continue whether we, the airlines, like it or not. They should continue carrying out their regulatory duties in that form. They went into the aircraft, not sitting down and waiting for the airline to come and tell them that everything was okay, they saw for themselves. So I was really impressed and that was one thing that gladdens my heart.

So when you talk about regulation, NCAA is doing a wonderful job about safety.

I wish to use this opportunity to especially commend the Director General of NCAA, Capt.

Muhtar Usman and his team for the revalidation of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Category 1 Safety Status. I can describe Usman as a silent operator because he does not make noise. His achievements speak for him.

This is the second time Nigeria has passed FAA audit. The first revalidation was in 2014. This is the second time.

People are surprised the way your airline is growing and you seem to be providing capacity for Nigerian passengers in the domestic routes and with your plan to expand to international destinations. How did you come to this level of operation knowing that you didn’t have aviation experience?

Yes, I didn’t have any experience at all; I learnt on the job. I never had any experience on aviation and I have been saying this but God led me to do what I am doing. This is not the first time I am going into a field I had no experience of. You remember what happened in Niger Delta when I went in there and said, okay, this violent situation I am going to do something about it. And I set my sight and my soul and my body into it and God showed me what to do.

I trained myself in non-violence, trained my staff and a whole lot of Nigerians and I entered Niger Delta to start doing what I did, which helped to bring peace to that region. At a time

Onyema

even the military, both within and outside didn’t know what to do again. So when I went into aviation, it is the same thing that is happening now. I have the passion, the sincerity of purpose to succeed, because I am a businessman and that is exactly what I am doing.

A lot of people are asking questions, “How did he do it? Within a space of two and half years he has bought in additional 17 aircraft?�

There is nothing impossible under the sun, it is not rocket science; it is about honesty. I want Nigerians to know that this is part of the progress of the country. They should not see it as the success of Allen Onyema, the owner of Air Peace. This company has created jobs for thousands of Nigerians- Hausa, Yoruba, Fulani, Igbo and many others. Air Peace is a melting pot for all Nigerians. They will tell you that they never knew me from Adam and they are getting jobs. That is the first success factor and that is the way it should be in order to build a united nation.

It makes me happy when it downs on me that I am realising an old dream. It has always been my desire to create a company that will provide jobs for Nigerians, no matter which part you come from. I have about 15 northern pilots working in Air Peace. I trained about seven of them. When we bought our Boeing B777, I took one Igbo, one Yoruba, one Hausa and one Urhobo and sent them to be trained on the B777.

No Nigerian airline has owned a 777 before now and they became the first set to be trained.

So I don’t discriminate and because of that the workforce are happy. Decision makers and entrepreneurs in Nigeria should work towards bringing our people together. Such integration will strengthen our unity.

So Air Peace workforce is doing everything

to ensure that the airline succeeds. They put their lives and souls in Air Peace because they believe in the vision of the airline. These are Nigerians from every state in this country, they are all here and they feel at home.

We regard Nigerians as Nigerians first and foremost, and don’t forget I am the National Chairman of the Foundation for Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria. So I have always believed in this country. This is one factor a lot of people neglect in their businesses in a multi-cultural setting like Nigeria. You must be a broad minded person to succeed here, so that is what I have done in Air Peace.

How are you getting funds to run Air Peace?

Yes it is true that we get money at 27 per cent, but my bank Fidelity Bank Plc is deeply committed to our company because I have been banking with them for over 15 years and they know my pedigree. I don’t like owing anybody; I don’t want anybody to come after me over debts. No; it is not in my character. Fidelity is always eager to offer the airline credit facility.

Sometimes they prod us to take more money.

They can offer us N10 billion facility.

I created a sinking fund which I do not control.

I use the sinking fund to pay off loans even before they are due for repayment. I was the one that suggested it to the bank because I don’t want debt burden on me. This is because bankers funds are depositors’ money, so when people go and take money from banks and they divert it to real estate, divert it to other businesses and siphon it abroad; you are taking away ordinary people’s money.

The advantage of the sinking fund is that the company does not even know when it has fully paid back the loans. You won’t have stress when

you schedule the repayment of the loans this way, but when you wait until the end of the month, bank writes you to say, come and pay us money, you start running around because you must have committed that money to several other things. Because of the way we schedule the repayment, sometimes maybe the repayment is for two years at the end of one year the loan has been paid. The bank most times will persuade us to retain some aspects of the loan to continue to make more money out of us.

So I don’t have problems about funding. If I wake up tomorrow and I realise that 10 planes are necessary for our strategic plan and they believe in my judgment and I say Fidelity Bank I need these 10 planes, Fidelity Bank will provide the financing. UBA has come onboard to Air Peace too, they are ready. They provided us forex the other time because we pay. Go and ask the fuel marketers, we don’t owe fuel marketers.

I told them from the beginning, please let me have your invoice within 48 hours or 24 hours it must be settled. I don’t owe.

So talking about the factors responsible for our growth, one, is God Almighty. This is because God is with us; anything I touch is gold. At times I am surprised. This is because of so many things that have happened in my life, right from when I started in 1990. So mine has been a success story all through. The second reason for our success is our creation of a sinking fund for our bank, for the loans they give us. So our bank is comfortable, most times I don’t even apply, they will be the one to say we have this line of credit for you come and access it. So I keep on buying planes and the bank keeps on making its money.

We are not a risk to depositors’ funds, so that is the secret of our expansion. And again there is need to have an open mind on how to run your business. When you owe hotels, fuel marketers, your staff and banks what do you expect? These things I don’t do, I didn’t even learn it from the experiences of the other CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

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ONYEMA: NIGERIA HAS IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY IN AIR SAFETY

people; these have been with me since I was growing up.

How do you intend to maximise the airplanes? When we went to Kano one man said that nine buses leave Kano to Enugu every night; that if you can operate Kano to Enugu, it will be very, very proďŹ table and you will be helping a lot of people. With this your new subsidiary, Air Peace Hopper, are you envisaging operating from Kano to Enugu and connecting other destinations that may not have been part of the domestic market before?

The idea behind the subsidiary, Air Peace Hopper is to interconnect Nigerian cities.

Personally I want every part of this country to be developed, no matter the geographical location. This is a beautiful country of 180 million people, of over 378 ethnic nationalities. We have not even realised half of our potential, if only we know the potential in this country we will be celebrating every morning. So I want to use Air Peace to interconnect Nigerian cities. That is why we created this subsidiary Air Peace Hopper.

The Boeing B737 jets are too big to do this interconnectivity. Some big airlines all over the world have their subsidiaries. British Airways has Com Air they are using in Denmark; Delta Airlines has Delta Connection, using the same kind of jet we are using. United Airlines owns United Shuttle, American Airlines owns American Eagle. So I studied the American landscape and I decided to adopt it. We have been planning to connect Enugu and Kano, Port Harcourt and Kano, Kano and Yola, Lagos and Markurdi.

We want to be able to take people from here to Taraba, Gombe, Markurdi to Kano or Kano to Markudi.

We want to connect Benin and other cities, Warri to Port Harcourt Air Force Base. We want to fly from Calabar to the north directly. I want to be able to do two flights a week from Calabar to the northernmost part of the country. We are going to open up this country So we are going to do Enugu-Kano and KanoEnugu, Lagos- Markudi, Lagos-Taraba, Lagos-Jos, Lagos – Yola, Lagos – Kaduna, Kaduna- Yola and Yola – Kaduna. We are going to do from Owerri- Kano and Kano to Owerri. So by the time Air Peace helps to energise this intercity connection, it is going to boost the economy of this country. Look at what we did with Akure.

May God bless the Governor of Ondo state, Rotimi Akeredolu. This man humbled himself, pleaded with us to come to his state to open up his state.

He meant well for his people. We went into Akure because I saw a Governor who is determined to develop his place. He pleaded, he came himself, did everything possible and we went in there in order to help another Nigerian state. We started Akure, as a huge lose to this airline but in order to propel the people of Ondo state and propel other Nigerians to see what they have, we offered them fair of N10,000 only. N10, 000 per passenger cannot even pay all the 37 charges we pay to government agencies, but we did it. If you go there today Chinese people are going to Akure, they are visiting Ondo State to know what they can offer. We have helped in boosting the economy of Ondo State by doing that.

The Governor even called me few days ago.

We started that route with Boeing B737, we are not supposed to be doing it with Boeing but we wanted to do it. Because he was determined to get his state developed, we supported him. It is rare seeing a politician like that. So I am not that myopic, my broad mindedness is the secret behind Air Peace. So we went into Ondo and today the place is developed. The Governor called the other day and said, I learnt that your Embraer jets have come and I said yes, two of them have come remaining four. He said when are you going to bring them in, we need them, so that you can cut your cost. He was feeling for me. So, with the Air Peace Hopper, Nigerians will see something that has never happened in this country before.

When we came in many experienced people in the industry were sceptical that we may not be able to pull through. But we have proved them wrong; that with the right focus and dedication, the right fleeting, you can get it right. Another thing is your type of fleeting, you just don’t go buy aircraft for buying sake, the fleeting matters and that is what we have done now.

When are you putting the Embraer jets into service?

We shall put them very soon. We are waiting

out and their government did something about it and put policies that try to stunt the spread of the Gulf airlines into America. That is how it is supposed to be. Bombardier came up with new aircraft they manufactured, CS 300 which would have been competing vigorously with Boeing 737, Boeing cried to their government and they came out with 300 per cent duties on that Bombardier aircraft type in order to protect their own. So we must try and protect our own in this country; if we don’t protect Nigerian airlines they will continue to struggle.

These other airlines in Africa access loans at 2 per cent, 3 per cent and 4 per cent. I get my loans at 27 per cent from Fidelity Bank, how do I compete with them? Their countries cannot afford our airline to operate there more than one flight in a day because of their population.

I cannot even go into Ethiopia at all because nobody from here goes to Ethiopia to do business; neither do you have Ethiopians do business here.

But they can afford to come into our country five times a day. This does not favour Nigeria.

So we have to regulate the number of times they come in order to create room for our own airlines.

Onyema

for NCAA to give us a go ahead. We are going to do demo flight for NCAA, just like we did with the Dornier.

How is your regional operation going to be?

You know we are expanding into the region, so we started the regional operations since early 2017, we started with Ghana and on February 19, 2018 we started the other parts of West Coast; that is Dakar, Banjul and Free Town. And after that we hit Lome, Abidjan and Liberia. We will use the Air Peace Hopper to connect to cities in the sub-region that are close to one another. At least when you carry 40 people you can break even. So in some cases we will put the Boeing B737 and we are going to increase our flight operations into some cities with the hopper.

So, besides connecting underserved cities in Nigeria, we are also going to serve even the served ones better using the hopper in certain times of the day. So all those underserved places in Nigeria like Minna, Jigawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Sokoto, Kano, Yola, Maiduguri are going to experience more flights. We are already here and the planes have started arriving and in the next three weeks we will start connecting Nigeria.

So it is not about running to do international and running to do regional, within the country there are a lot of gaps.

When you want to operate international destination, which destination will be your ďŹ rst choice?

The federal government has given us the right to fly into London but we are yet to apply to the London authorities because NCAA said we should wait first. Air Peace is prepared.

We have the equipment. Two of our Boeing B777 came from Emirates with all its luxury.

So I don’t see the reason why we cannot do well on international scene. And again we are not rushing into anything. The same way Air Peace has been doing its thing, studying things and taking our time. Dubai has given us their approval, so we are going to start Dubai first followed by China and then London.

There are indications that many international airlines do not want Nigerian airlines to operate into their countries. This is because they see Nigeria as a market they record huge load factor. So if indigenous airlines begin to fly their destinations, they will lose that market.

One of our cabin crew was traveling the other day n Emirates flight and she told the Emirates cabin crew that she is a cabin crew too. And she asked which airline? She responded by saying

Air Peace. The lady said, you people are coming to Dubai; we are going to run you out. We are waiting for you. We even increased our flight because of you. We will run you out and you will not last 30 days.

That was what she told my staff. Competition is really tough; even in Dubai a lot of the airlines have been trying to scare us. But nobody is going to run us out on the route. We are going to succeed because we are not going to go into any place unprepared. We are going to have a healthy competition with whomever; it is going to be healthy. So we are not scared of competition what we ask for is a level playing field, especially from our government. We should look at what those countries are doing for their own airlines and allow us to get on the same level. Multiple frequencies given to them into our country will not help us because they try to regulate us one way or the other from coming into their own country.

How will Nigerian airlines make the federal government understand the challenges they are facing ying into other countries in Africa, especially as the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) has liberalised ight movement from one country to another in the region?

Let me tell you something. Aviation policies over the years seem to create the feelings that we are fighting our own airlines in this country. If we are very, very sincere about making Nigerian airlines come out of the doldrums, there are so many things we have to do. This Single Africa Air Transport Market or Open Skies, when the airlines in Nigeria said it does not favour us; not because we cannot compete and it is not true that Nigerian airlines are sick. If any other airline is sick, Air Peace is not sick, Nigerian airlines are not sick. We are not indebted to anybody because every airline must borrow money; the most important thing is how you are servicing your loan. We are servicing our loans accurately and adequately to the satisfaction of our bank. So not every airlines are sick. I disagree that all Nigerian airlines are sick; that they are unhealthy and badly run; no. We have a structure in Air Peace and it is run according to the best known universal practices. So when we cry that this SAATM does not favour us, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) might say otherwise, but SAATM does not really favour us at this stage, except a level playing field is created. What we are demanding is not peculiar. When Emirates was ravaging America the airlines in America cried

But 23 countries have agreed to adopt the treaty and they will open their airspace and fully implement it?

No country gives blanket approval for whatever treaty they signed, no country does that. So SAATM does not favour Nigerian airlines as it stands today. Have the authorities bothered to find out the landing charges these other countries in Africa give to Nigerian airlines that are coming into their countries? Look at Abidjan (Cote de Ivoire), have they bothered to find out what their countries do for them in terms of charges? They are not paying the same charges as we do. In Ghana, AWA (African World Airlines) is not paying the same charges in their country as we do. So they can afford to crash their fares. We cannot afford to do so because when we get into their country they over charge us.

Why have we not started operation to Abidjan?

Because they gave us something out of this world. They charged us $6000, to $7000 per landing. How many people are you carrying to justify paying such exorbitant charges? But when they come to Nigeria they pay peanuts. So why won’t they run out the Nigerian airlines?

This is what we are saying. Air Peace is the biggest airline in West Africa for now. Asky is not bigger than Air Peace; Air Cote d’voire is not bigger than Air Peace. There is no airline in West Africa that is bigger than Air Peace. But we cannot compete even with those smaller airlines.What we are saying is that the area they will run us out of the market is on charges because they don’t pay the same charges as we do. We are over taxed here in Nigeria. For every passenger you bring into Cote d’lvoire you are paying about $100s or more than that. The total charges for a Nigerian airline in that country is about $7000. The aircraft is not even carrying up to $3000 so how can you succeed? That is why I have not started my Cote d’Ivoire route. And even the other ones like Senegal is the same thing.

So what our government can do for us is to call these other countries and urge them to streamline the charges first before they will allow full implementation of SAATM. I am not against SAATM, Air Peace is not against the Single African Market but it has to be streamlined to benefit everyone, so that we will not have a parasitic union with these African countries.

It has to be symbiotic. Ethiopia for instance, does any airline in Nigeria go to Ethiopia?

They don’t have anything to offer us, so they should regulate the number of times they come into our country and tell them if you want to do more key in with other Nigeria airlines.

In South Africa this is the way it is done, it is done like that in other countries. So why is our own different? Why are we killing our own industry?

We need to provide jobs for Nigerians. The monies these airlines cart out of this country they use it to develop their own; while our people are left on the streets. There are many Nigerians who can invest in airport infrastructure; Bi-Courtney has proved that by setting up and employing Nigerians. When we invite foreigners to come and invest in certain sections of the economy, we have to look at what they will repatriate from the economy at the end of the day. And they usually come with certain conditions, so we have to be careful about SAATM.

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NCS FOU Seizes N2.55bn Contraband in Three Weeks Eromosele Abiodun The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, has announced that it intercepted various contraband with a duty paid value (DPV) of N2.55 billion between March 1 to March 19, 2018.

The Controller, FOU, Mohammed Uba Garba who disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday, said it achieved the feat after an intensive onslaught on dare devil smugglers deploying its tactical operational modalities.

The seized items, according to him, included 16 Exotic vehicles mostly 2017 model, 7,201 bags of foreign parboiled rice (12 trailers), 1,172 cartons of frozen poultry products, 1,352 jerrycans of vegetable oil, 72 bales of used clothing, 464 pieces of used tyres, 407 sacks of Pangolin scales, and 629 pieces of textile Ankara Material among others. “Remarkably, among the seizures was the interception of eight trucks laden with 3,351

bags of rice and 669 jerrycans of vegetable oil along Iseyin, Oyo/Osun Axis and also the evacuation of 1,253 bags of rice 50kg each from a warehouse in Ogbomosho based on credible intelligence despite resistance.

You will recall that the ban on the importation of foreign rice through the land was to encourage efficiency in local production.

Therefore, the need to support the federal government policy on rice, encourage local rice farmers, the millers and patronise our own nutritional rice cannot be over emphasised,� he said.

He further added that among the detained vehicles are: two Lexus Jeep (RS350 2016,2017 model); One Rolls Royce; One Lincoln Limousine (2014); three Toyota Camry(2009,2013 and 2017 models); One Toyota Rav 4; One Toyota Avalon (2016); one Toyota Tundra, One Dodge . These 16 exotic Vehicles alone have a duty paid value of (N340.70 million) only. “While six vehicles were evacuated based on intelligence along Lekki Epe Expressway, the

Lagos Renovates, Upgrades Ikorodu Ferry Terminal Bennett Oghifo Lagos State Government has upgraded the facility in its ferry terminal at Ipakodo in Ikorodu in line with its resolve to exploit its intermodal – road, rail and water – transportation system.

The renovation of the terminal is expected to present a “robust and accessible hub for the water transportation and other ancillary services that would engender convenience and safety, efficiency and effectiveness in water transportation experience for both the commuters and operators in Lagos State,� a statement said.

The imposing edifice is one of several moves to revamp water transportation as the government begins pilot operations of Ikorodu ferry terminal.

The statement further added: “The terminal, when fully operational, will primarily provide an umbrella shelter for ferry logistics with ample and safe space for operators to load and offload passengers, goods and services. They will provide for the convenience of operators as well as the commuters, safety considerations like water ambulances and emergency rescue and water maintenance in collaboration with Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA). “The facilities will also provide for recreation and shopping, banking, food court, parking, customer services, security, and well-maintained conveniences.�

According to the government, “The pilot operations at the Ikorodu Ferry Terminal is essentially for boat and ferry operators and their passengers to have a feel of the facility ahead of a full go-live in April, 2018.�

The Director, Corporate Services, Ikorodu Terminal, Mrs. Amina Agboola said: “Our role is to work with the operators

to ensure that this facility is maximised to help develop and grow water transportation in Lagos. We are very keen to provide efficient, safe and world class water transport solutions in Nigeria.�

Agboola added: “Indeed, the safety of operators, commuters, our team and visitors, is a strategic priority for us. We have put in place intelligent control measures which will reduce or eliminate hazards within the terminal. These measures will also take care of delays, eliminate rush, human errors, improve connectivity and provide a better customer experience. Our Water ambulance service and rescue team are prepared to respond within the shortest time possible to any emergency situation.�

Also commenting, the Chief Executive Officer HaloWaters (Nigeria), operators of Commercial Water Transport (Lagos WaXi), Andrew Lana said: “It is a milestone in the journey of putting in place efficient inter-modal human and goods transportation system and specifically inland waterways transportation by the Lagos State Government through the provision of infrastructure and enabling environment that engender continuous private sector investments in the sector.

The users of the terminal shall experience world class customer service, given the facilities and services promised by the operators of the terminal and commercial boats.�

He added that as an operator, “we are excited that finally, outbound and inbound passengers can experience convenient, safe and reliable water transport service in Ikorodu.�

The new hub will take some load and pressure off the roads leading to Lagos Island, Lekki and Ajah from Ikorodu, a high density town in the state.

remaining 10 were intercepted while on information patrol at various locations. The vehicles are still under detention pending the grace period allowed for the owners to bring relevant customs document. “Also, 407 sacks of Pangolin scales weighing 10,263kg was evacuated from an apartment

at 64 Opebi Road, Off Toyin Street, Ikeja Lagos within the weeks under review with a duty paid value of N2.094. In the spirit of inter-agency cooperation the pangolin scales and the suspect will be handed over to Nigeria Environment Standards and Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA) for further investiga-

tion in collaboration towards protecting our natural habitat and protecting our endangered species Five (5) suspects have been arrested in connection with these 89 seizures. “Let me still use this opportunity to thank the Comptroller General of Customs Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd) and the entire

management team of the NCS for appreciating us with a commendation letter and providing necessary logistics that brought about this feat. We are very determined to ensure sustenance of this laudable sterling performance by making sure we give economic saboteurs a run for their money,� he added.

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R-L: ED, Sales & Marketing, Victor Ukwat; CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Oscar Onyema; Director, Red Star Express Plc, Aminu Dangana; GMD, Red Star Express Plc, Sola Obabori; CEO, The Convention on Business Integrity, Soji Apampa at the presentation of the CGRS CertiďŹ cate to Red Star Express Plc in Lagos ... recently

Bala-Usman Advocates MoreVocational Training forYouths Eromosele Abiodun The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala-Usman, has advocated the provision of adequate vocational training for the youths of Nigeria by all tiers of government in order to equip them with skills needed for gainful employment.

Bala-Usman who bagged an award for outstanding Leadership in Public Sector Transparency and Open Budget System also made case for the establishment of more vocational training institutions so as to accommodate many youths who are willing

to acquire skills that will make them self-employed.

The MD made the call while contributing to a national discourse on youth employment organised by Daar Communications Plc, owners of African Independent Television (AIT).

Tagged: “Youth Unemployment: A Time Bomb?,� As part of activities marking DAAR Awards 2017 and had Mrs Seinye Lulu Briggs as keynote speaker and Professor Akpan Ekpo as the Chairman of the occasion.

Bala-Usman commended the keynote speaker for her detailed description of the youths in Nigeria and noted that it is a

gross misconception to regard a 40 year old person as a youth because at that age, they are no longer vulnerable.

While stressing for local, states and federal government to utilise and appreciate the youths which she said constitute 70 per cent of the Nigerian population, she called for enactment of policies that will help the youths actualise their dreams. She asserted further that it is not possible for government to employ all youths, but that government should provide policies and legal framework that can promote the manufacturing sector which can provide employment for the youths.

The NPA boss advised government to look into the entertainment and the film industries, citing the case of the United States of America where about 600 companies created emplo yment for the population, pointing out that this will provide solution to youth’s restiveness.

Finally, she urged government to explore sports sector of the economy, which she described as very huge. She noted that militancy, Boko Haram are products of youth neglect and that the sports sector is an area that will also provide veritable employment for the youths.

BON Hotels Begins Launch of 11 New Hotels Across Nigeria Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja BON Hotels International has begun the launch of 11 new hotels across the country with the unveiling of BON Hotel, Maitama, Abuja. This brings the total number of hotels being managed by BON to 25.

The Chairman, BON Hotels International West Africa, Mr. Otto Stehlik, while speaking yesterday at the launch of the newly refurbished BON Hotel Abuja, said he was extremely pleased at the progress of the BON group, adding that BON Hotel recognised the need of skills development when it began operating in Nigeria.

He said this idea formed an ideal base for future growth in Nigeria on all levels, stressing that BON Hotels have a sincere strategy of tapping

into the skills and expertise of seasoned hoteliers of upskilling local talent.

According to him, “We put together a transformation program, which the board identified as a priority. We are finally in a position where we have a team of elite Nigerians who have been trained, educated, skilled and, importantly, mentored to head up and be supported by senior executive management and head office.�

Also, the Executive Director of BON Hotels International West Africa, Mr. Bernard Cassar, said the organisation is proud that its hotels across Nigeria is peopled by mainly Nigerians and a few expatriates staff have devoted their energy into transferring their knowledge and abilities to eager Nigerian recruits.

He stated: “Of the 25 hotels which BON hotels manage across Nigeria, 80% of their General Managers, Deputy Managers, Senior Management, department heads and executive chefs have, over the last two years, been trained, skilled and promoted to senior level positions by the group. “We are able to boast from the rooftops that more and more of our hotels are managed on a senior level by locally trained Nigerian staff. This strategy has been a work in progress, when as far back as 2001, Nigerian individuals were identified and fast tracked to form a new generation of localized senior managers�.

He explained that the Nigerian management headed by a

Nigerian, Mr. Paul Umoh, who, from his position as executive director and major shareholder at BON Hotels International West Africa, has been one of the many local Nigerians who have been fast-tracked through the transformation policy, adding Umoh heads up the on-the-ground operational management of the Nigerian hotels.

Casser lamented that most multinational Nigerian hotel sector has been run and managed by expatriate leaderships from countries such as the United Kingdom and South Africa in the past, saying that predisposed support of imported staff, imported raw material, and imported supplies with very little local encouragement is one that BON Hotel has come to address.

26

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͱ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

WEEKLY PULLOUT

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

LIVING | 33

FILE

'I'VE LEARNED TO OPEN MY MIND TO NEW IDEAS'

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T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͱ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͱ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

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30/COVER

23.03.2018

'I've Learned to Open My Mind to New Ideas' Hon. Hakeem Olaogun Dickson is no doubt a man of many parts – he is an accountant, seasoned administrator, entrepreneur and above all a politician with good managerial skills.

He spoke to Mary Ekah on his youth, his aspirations, achievements and the challenges of being at the helm of affairs of the Lagos State Safety Commission determine if I can sell you to the public and all the quarters concerned or not. And I am proud that I have done that for so many people who have succeeded and are still succeeding today as political leaders at various levels of governance. So I sell achievers as soon as I can recognise them.

What is the nature of your work as head of the Lagos Safety Commission?

The Lagos State Safety Commission is all about safety of lives and property in Lagos State. All we do here is to regulate on certain matters in all aspects of life. It can be construction, manufacturing, housing, food industry, maritime industry, communication and anything that actually needs safety precautions. It is all about safety, ensuring that you leave home safe, work safe and go back home safe without a single injury or any form of accident or any sickness. All we do is care for your total well-being.

The commission seems to be saddled with massive responsibilities. How do you manage all these?

The Lagos State Safety Commission looks into virtually all the sectors of the economy of the state. We even look into the health sector too to ensure that there is neither quack nor fake medication and we make sure things are done according to due process. So the task is huge.

When there is fire incident, we do investigations to find out how and why it happened. When there is a construction work going on, we ensure that people working on the construction site are working safe. That means there must helmets, protective jackets, and boots and so on. If you are a welder, you must wear your google. We ensure that whatever is going to affect your eyes, hearing, nostril and other parts of your body are put in place. We want you to go out there and work for a living but in the course of doing that, we want to ensure that you do not incur debts, injuries nor for you to die while working. So to achieve success, we work hand in hand with every individual, association, agency, organisation, company, market women and in fact everybody in the entire society. So, we do not have a limit on the extent we go. We even oversee the road and cars moving on the road to ensure safety on the roads.

Your vision is to gradually make safety a lifestyle for people living in Lagos State. What exactly have you been doing to achieve this?

I have been doing a lot of things personally to ensure that everything goes well. I am an accountant by profession but when Governor Akinwunmi Ambode appointed me to come in here roughly a year ago, I started studying books because in this place, you must study to learn and again, you must have a listening hear for people coming with new ideas. So it has been studying for me and also learning new ideas on the way forward. I never knew I was going to be here today but when I suddenly found myself here, I said to myself, ‘I want to stay, I want to maintain my job and I want the governor and the people of Lagos State in general, to be very proud of me and the Safety Commission’ and that is why we have been putting all our efforts to achieve that.

Lagos State more than any other state, one would say, lacks safety culture as virtually everyone here goes about breaking the rules. How have you been able to enforce compliance?

The Lagosians do not lack safety culture but when you look at the influx of people coming into Lagos State on a daily basis, without single safety knowledge in them, you would understand why at times, there is lawlessness in some areas of the state. It is only in Lagos State that there exist a safety commission. It does not exist in other states, so the burden is on us. The Lagosians understand how we do things but when strangers come in they cause disorder but then we are always prepared to put them in the right directions and always on hand to ensure that safety consciousness is imbibed in Lagos State. That is why we have embarked on continuous advocacy, sensitisation and training.

Now, when exactly did you take up the responsibility of being at the helm of affairs at the Lagos State Safety Commission?

I have been in Lagos State Safety Commission since last year. I took up the office after I was

Dickson

cleared from the State House of Assembly. I was nominated in 2016 but only got cleared in 2017. So, I would say I am just one year old on this job. Would I say achievement? No, I won’t use the word achievement because I am doing my job. I was not elected but appointed, so the whole glory will go to His Excellency, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for brining in the right person – somebody that has a passion for safety. I think the governor must have heard so much about me when I was the Local Government Chairman of Surulere. That was when I started the walkway for the safety of pedestrians in Surulere, precisely in Adeniran Ogunsanya, Bode Thomas, Akerele, Raddle, Ogunlana Drive and some other streets and major roads. I also repaired the federal roads in Western Avenue when I noticed there were so many potholes in the area. So, I figured that the only way people could get to work early when passing through Ojuelegba was for me to repair the potholes which were well over one thousand. So the children were able to walk to school on higher platform tank being in the main road. That was the beginning of safety.

And then Okada were not able to knock people down any more. Right now, we have gone so far in putting Logos State Safety Commission on the map. We are recognised by the federal government, so many associations are coming to work with us. We are driving what we call Vision Zero, that means zero disease and zero injury. In fact, we want everybody to be in a very good well-being. We have done a lot of programmes, working with construction companies, manufacturing companies and all the rest of them. We talk to Manufactures Association of Nigeria (MAN) all the time. Even the light up project of Lagos State is part of safety because as long as there is constant light, accident and theft will reduce. Safety is a culture and it must remain so in Lagos State. Actually the lack of safety will bring about insecurity.

What would describe as the challenges in achieving your aim in the commission?

We have whole lots of challenges but I will mention a few. We are faced with the challenges of lack of logistics, shortage of staff and office space. Then we lack good gadgets to work with and then, schools have refused to corporate with us and so a lot of accidents take place in the school. However, we believe that by the time we write our restructuring to Governor Ambode, there is tendency that there would be a lot of improvements.

What would be your advice to Lagosians on safety?

Safety starts from personal hygiene. So I will advise people to be cautious of their environment while they also inculcate in their children the habit of observing personal hygiene and safety at home and by the time they grow up with such habit, our society will be a better place to live. I would advise that they should be cautious and take safety as a lifestyle. Be conscious of what surrounds you and what you eat, wear and where you go. And anything you are not happy with around you, you can report to Lagos State Safety Commission and we would intervene.

You were once a local government chairman.

Can you share your experience then?

Yes, I served as the Surulere Local Government Chairman from 1999 to 2002, during which time we fought and reduced crime rate to less than five per cent in Surulere. At that time the DPO in my area was given the Best DPO of the Year award while the Area Commander was given the best Area Commander of the Year for three years in a roll. I personally got so many awards including the Best Cleanliness LGA from 1999 to 2002 from both the federal and state governments. I also came up with so many ideas. We launched what they now call Landscape where we disposed our refuse, refusing to deal with the cart pushers and then we had enough vehicles that cart away refuse. I was also able to introduce Surulere Law Enforcement Corp, where you enter Surulere and do businesses without any traffic. I got most of the boys that we call areas boys off the streets by providing them jobs. We renovated lots of schools and also introduced free lunch to schools, free uniform, free school bags and some other things. So, I went to Surulere with my brain and when I was going, I left with my brain and now whoever is coming in there should come with his/her brain.

And now the people of Surulere should be able to identify who they want to vote for so that they would enjoy the dividends of democracy just like during my tenure. What you need in politics is to have the human feelings and just put on the human face. You have the feelings for what you want to do and the passion for it, ensuring that the people who voted you in enjoy your stay.

How was it for you switching from being a politician to being a public servant?

I am still a politician. I am core politician. I stand in for people with gold quality and good intention. Like for example, if you come to me and say you desire to be a governor or president, I will listen to you, examine you critically, and examine those that are in camp and the kind of integrity that they have, and those are what

Tell us about life before becoming a politician and eventually getting to where you are today?

I was born in Lagos Island. I am from a royal family – the Itire Family and the Onikoyi family but I grew up in Surulere. I attended primary school at Surulere Baptist School where I obtained my first school leaving certificate in 1972 after which I attended Victory High School, Ikeja, before I later proceeded to the United States for further studies. I had my first degree in Accounting and then my Master’s degree in accounting too. I returned to Nigeria in 1992 to observe my NYSC after which I went back to the U.S. to obtain my second Master’s degree in Finance. I was later certified as a Public Accountant. I started my career as an accountant with one of the biggest accounting firm in the world, Coopers and Lybrand CPA, Newark, New Jersey between 1988 and 1994 working as an external auditor. After which I came back to Nigeria even after my father had thought I would I was lost in America because I had already started living the life of an American, exhibiting some rascality that was only peculiar to the Americans.

I didn’t plan to be a politician but when I returned to the country, I happened to make friends with people who were into politics. In fact, a couple of them are still serving presently.

They include Hon. Olufemi Adebanjo and Prince Adeniyi Adele. These people influenced my decision to go into politics. And so I started by contesting as a Counsellor but lost by one vote because the people didn’t trust me. They felt that since I just came from America, I wasn’t qualified to represent them. But that didn’t stop me because I later went on a bigger platform to contest for the Chairmanship of Surulere Local Government Chairman and won.

You said you acted more like the Americans while growing up. Did you exhibit any rascality?

I had a very good fashion taste while in the U.S., I could spend a fortune to acquire a fashion item just to show off. I was quite flamboyant and extravagant while living in the U.S. but I later realised they were all vanity upon vanity. I used to spread huge sum of money on musicians when they sing my praise and I enjoyed this so much. But one day, I realised that these people are building so many houses while I had nothing. So nobody told me to cut down on such lifestyle. I just took a decision to change my lifestyle. I started dressing just to be comfortable and stopped patronising praise singers. I went on a low key just to be able to save money for better things.

I am not the quiet type at all. I used to be very troublesome. I am the one that got most of the beatings from my father. I used to destroy things in the house. I exhibited so much of youthful exuberance. I would cause a fight but I won’t be the one to fight because there would always be someone who would be at the forefront for me, I had lots of friends that were always ready to fight for me while I remain in the background.

So in all these, what has life taught you?

Has life taught me anything? No! I am not a believer – I am neither a Muslim nor a Christian.

I am just a free thinker. Today, I might believe there is God and tomorrow, I might not. I just see life the way it comes. So, I don’t take life so seriously but I enjoy being alive, so I take precautions to remain alive and healthy. I respect human beings and that is all I need to do.

Do we see you contesting for a political post in future?

Yes, I have my eyes on the House of Representatives. I am still waiting for things to fall into place.

31/XTRA

23.03.2018

Succour for Eye Patients Favour Kindness and Grace Foundation, recently came to the rescue of 220 patients that were brought from Osun State for eye-related problems to Eye Foundation Hospital, IjebuMushin, Ogun State, where they were treated free of charge, courtesy of the foundation.

Femi Ogbonnikan was at the hospital, reports Jolted by the poor financial status of the patients for their inability to have access to proper medicare, succour has come the way of no fewer than 220 eye patients that were brought from Osun State and have been treated free of charge.

The patients that were suffering from various eye problems received free treatment at Eye Foundation Community Hospital, Ijebu Mushin, in Ijebu North-East Local Government Area of Ogun State, where the facilities are available, between Tuesday, February 27, 2018 and Tuesday, March 6, 2018, courtesy of Favour Kindness and Grace Foundation.

According to the initiator/facilitator of the foundation, Omo Oba Dotun Babayemi, out of 7,000 eye patients from 10 local governments and 14 cities across Osun West Senatorial district were diagnosed, in order to ascertain their eye status, while only 220 patients were certified to have glaucoma, cataract and other forms of eye problems and were brought to the Eye Foundation Community Hospital, Ijebu-Mushin for treatment.

Few of the beneficiaries of the free eye treatment commended Babayemi for his kindness and also prayed for his long life and success in all his endeavours.

Luckily, the story of a seven-year-old boy later turned to joy. It was gathered that, if the young boy hadn't been brought to the hospital for diagnosis and subsequent surgery, he was on the verge of getting blind completely.

Speaking one after another, Mr. Shamseldeen Solagbade who was full of life after receiving the treatment, recalled how the ailment began two years ago. He suffered cataract in his two eyes.

"I am 55 years old. I am a farmer by profession.

I hail from Oke-Ola Area of Ikire, in Irewole Local Government Area of Osun State. The eye problem started two years ago. I had visited many hospitals within our community but there were no solution to it. I had spent nothing less than N90,000 on drugs for the treatment of the two eyes. Whenever I visited these hospitals they kept on asking me to go and be buying drugs, in order to relieve me but there were no improvement because I hardly saw either in the daylight or at night.

"But last year when Omo Oba Dotun Babayemi and his people visited us last year in Ikire, I was among those that made themselves available for the free eye treatments brought to Ikire because I had already lost hope and had resigned to fate. We were diagnosed and they subsequently assured us that they would soon get back to us. So, this is what we are witnessing today.

We were all brought from Osun State to this place (Eye Foundation Hospital) for treatment.

“Today, I have been treated and my joy knows no bound. I am exceedingly grateful for the intervention of Babayemi and I pray, may he never lack.

"Since Monday we have been here, we have been eating free meals. Even a relation each one of us were asked to come along with us, in case we may need them on errands, we were also lodged in a hotel here in Ijebu-Mushin free of charge, courtesy of Babayemi. Meals too, he is the one responsible for them," said Solagbade.

Pa Ezekiel Olalere Ajayi, a 911 lorry driver of House No. 61A, Owo-Ope, Ajegunle Area of Gbongan, in Aiyedade Local Government Area of Osun State, expressed delight for the treatment. He said the problem started five years ago with a single eye gradually getting blind.

The 74-year-old man situated the problem to his right eye to flashlight at night.

"I am a lorry driver. I use to go to my clients' farmlands to convey oranges and banana because the business is always done at night. So, it was the flashlights from my colleague drivers' vehicles at nights that really affected my right eye.

“I had visited the University Teaching Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State capital, for the treatment and it improved a bit. Cataract was identified as the problem. No sooner had I treated the right eye and I returned fully to my trade than the second eye, the left side, began having problems.

I had spent nothing less than N60,000 on that.

"But today, I am the most happiest man on

An eye patient, Oyefisade Semiu

Eye Foundation Hospital, Ijebu-Mushin, Ogun State

earth. I thank Omo Oba Babayemi for this initiative because he has helped me in lifting my burden.

The doctors here have operated me and I have been assured that I will be better in no few distance period. The doctors have advised me to get a black sun glass but Babayemi has promised to give us free of charge," said Pa Ajayi.

Also, Chief Sulaimon Akingbade could not conceal his happiness.

According to the 70-year-old farmer from Ikoyi, in Isokan Local Government Area of Osun State, he developed cataract in his right side.

"The eye problem began four years ago and I had spent nothing less than N40,000. Any hospital I visual they would prescribe drugs for me to go and buy.

"A surgical operation had been carried out on the affected eye at the theatre and you could see that I was just coming to the ward.

"I am happy for this singular act, for the gesture that Babayemi has extended to me. I pray, he will continue to succeed in whatever he lays his hands upon," said Pa Akingbade.

Oyefisade Semiu, also a beneficiary of the free eye treatment, noted that he had once visited a clinic in Osun State where he had been detected to have cataract.

"I am 48 years old. I am a farmer. I hail from Ikoyi, in Isokan Local Government Area of Osun State. The problem with my two eyes started a year ago. It began with a year before the other one was affected. I had visited a number of hospitals in Osun State but there was no solution. I couldn't see both day and night. The worst period was when the sunlight was shinning. I couldn't see at all. I had spent over N80,000 on drugs before this intervention came.

"Now, I have been operated upon at the surgical room and I have been assured that I would regain my sight to normal. I am just grateful to God for using Omo Oba Babayemi to reach out to me," Semiu said.

While giving the rationale behind the gesture, Babayemi who is the son of the immediate past monarch of Gbongan, OLUFI, in Aiyedade Local Government Area of Osun State, noted the eye problem of his maternal mother who was 87 years in 2007, jolted and spurred him to wanting to come to the thousands of people that are suffering from eye-related ailment.

He stated that the health outreach began four years ago, with the first two years earmarked for the treatment of advanced glaucoma and the others at the preliminary stages. Those with advanced glaucoma, he noted, have been advised, at the Eye Foundation Hospital, against undergoing surgeon, a development the medical experts, say are detrimental to their health. Rather, Babayemi said the 15 patients with advanced glaucoma had been taken to the Ikorodu, Lagos State branch

of the Eye Foundation Hospital to undergo 'B' scan and that they have as well been placed on drugs as the only remedy, on account of their special case.

The eye patients at the preliminary stages, Babayemi, a lawyer by profession, said have undergone surgery. Besides, he said the latter part of the two years have been earmarked for the general well-being.

"We began with testing their blood pressure.

We resorted to evaluation for respective communities within the purview of Osun West senatorial district to assist us. We also set up a mobile clinic in collaboration with the Faculty of Clinical and Health Services of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. "In 2017, we visited 14 cities where 27,000 eye patients registered with us. Out of these figures, 300 patients were referred for eye investigations.

Here at Eye Foundation Hospital, Ijebu-Mushin, Ogun State, they have facilities for the treatment of prostrate cancer, malaria and HIV positive patients.”

He said the patients were brought to IjebuMushin, as a result of the availability of facilities that are obtainable at the premier hospital, that can compare and also compete favourably with those in United States of America, United Kingdom and other developed countries.

Besides, Babayemi stated that his foundation has so far distributed well over 14,200 pair of eye glasses to the beneficiaries in the last five years to aid the poor people of Osun West district that are suffering from various forms of eye problems and who can't afford the spectacles.

He, however, underscored the importance of eyes as the light of the body; a development which spurred him on to initiate the foundation.

Babayemi added that his foundation will in July organise a mega medicare fare in 15 locations in Osun State that will last for a period of 30 days for the treatment of other various general health challenges of the indigenes of Osun West district.

"By and large, the output from the outreach is well over 300 people who have been referred for further investigations, relating to their eyes.

So, we are here for a week, while we expect to have three days of surgery and the remaining days to observe them, after which we will return them safely to their various homes in Osun State.

When we started five years ago, we began with community outreach. We used to meet them periodically, especially during annual festivities. We would go to the grassroots and interface with the people. Apart from this health programme, we introduced skills acquisition development programmes, like tutorial classes for students preparing for their West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) and JAMB. We also had 400 students that were

Chief Sulaimon Akingbade after his eye surgery

Ezekiel Olalere Ajayi recovering from his eye treatment

Shamseldeen Solagbade recovering from his eye operation

offered educational sponsorship programmes to various tertiary institutions. Also, we have football tournament in a bid to take off the boys from the streets and give them opportunities to express themselves," said Babayemi.

32/ NEWS

23.03.2018

Dayton University Announces Groundbreaking Partnership with Nigerian Students Mary Ekah Henceforth, Nigerian students who desire to study at the University of Dayton, Ohio, USA will be given the rare opportunity to qualify for undergraduate admission with WAEC and will be exempted from sitting the U.S. equivalent of JAMB called the SAT. This also means Nigerian students are exempted from applications fees too.

This groundbreaking partnership was announced by representatives of the institution in Nigeria during a press briefing held in Lagos recently.

The University of Dayton is a private, Catholic school in Ohio located about an hour north of Cincinnati and about an hour west of the state capital of Columbus. Students at the University of Dayton can choose from more than 80 undergraduate majors and many graduate programmes, including those in the schools of business administration, law, engineering and education.

The university’s staff recently visited Nigeria to evaluate the Nigerian curriculum at both secondary level and university levels and eventually concluded that Nigerian students will be exempt from additional entrance exams and given partial merit scholarships if they have good grades.

L-R: Assistant Recruitment Manager Southwest and Southeast Nigeria, Tolu Atoyebi; Regional Director, Michael Lawson; Asst. Recruitment Manager Northern Nigeria, Tatima Ganaka and Regional Manager, West Africa, Selma Toohey at a press briefing

Consequently, undergraduate students with distinction average will automatically qualify for a 10,000 USD academic scholarship per annum. Students who are seeking postgraduate admission who have a 2:1 or First Class will be awarded a 5,000 USD academic scholarship.

Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, the university continues its Roman Catholic traditions with a strong emphasis on volunteerism, serving the community and turning students into young leaders.

The holistic environment of the University of Dayton with strong emphasis on ethics,

values and Marianist traditions is gifted with faculty and staff who are attentive and accommodating.

Regional Manager for West Africa, Selma Toohey, said: “There are over 10,000 Nigerian students studying in the United States because of the world class quality of institutions. University of Dayton is ranked 56 Best Engineering Schools in the USA (U.S. News and World Reports). We are very excited that Dayton is actively seeking brilliant Nigerian students for admission by making their transition to the U.S. warm and streamlined.”

Godbless Launches with ‘Nobody Cares’ It was a breathtaking moment for invitees and well-wishers during the official launch of Nobody Cares, a motivational and inspirational poetry collection by Godbless Aghogho Eduviere, held at Jubilee Hotels, Warri, Delta State. Published by Emblem Publications Incorporations, United State of America, in Association with Optimum Press Limited, Nigeria, it has its forward done by the Dean, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Professor of Architecture, University of Lagos, Professor Mike Adebamowo; and the Chairman of British African Business Alliances, Mr. David Smith. The book reviewer, Deacon Samuel T.A. Oyibo, who is President General of Ekokor I, Ekokor II and Eroghor communities in Delta State, said, “The topmost preoccupation of man is the achievement of set goals and aspirations which the author discussed in his book. The author, out of his numerous experiences poetically discussed in his book the global challenges such as war, insecurity, crime, pride, greed, poverty, hunger and starvation and many more, which results in loss of dreams and lives on daily basis.”

L-R: Assistant chairperson, Deaconess, Mrs. Victoria Silo Fregene; Chairman, Deacon Samuel Oyibo; Author, Godbless Eduviere; representative of publishing company, Mrs. Bukola Munonye at the book launch

The book, Oyibo explained further, forms an excellent source of material for all irrespective of religions and tribes, adding, “As an overall impression, I found the book very good and highly informative and rewarding, and I am convinced that all readers- young and old would equally find great value reading the book. The book is a must for every library, whether educational institutions, Christian

or Islamic organisation, the private sector/ business, government/public sector, NOGs amongst others.”

The author, Godbless Aghogho Eduviere, revealed that it was a dream which started during his secondary education. He described ‘Nobody Cares’ as a great book with extreme moral values to inspire those affected by the casualties of life.

Blaugrana International Backs UINCEF on Educational Advancement of the Nigerian Child Driven by an undaunted and strong passion to better the world, Blaugrana International Group, recently, extended her hands of sustainable goodwill to the esteemed United Nations Children's Education Fund, UNICEF and the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), to further its vision of actualising the dream of those, who are champions of the rights and educational advancement of the Nigerian child.

In the light of this, a select global audience gathered at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, recently, to give the Nigerian child a hope at an event tagged, ‘the Gala Night of the Legends For Children’, conceptualised to be an annual fund raising event that will help in drumming for support for the Legend For Children project.

This novel initiative of Blaugrana International Group, the promoters of the elite FCBESCOLA, Soccer School, Lagos, is a veritable opportunity for the corporate Nigeria, International organisations, governments at all levels and her agencies, religious organisations and good spirited individuals to help give the Nigerian child a life through proper quality education, that will make him or her lead a meaningful life and assist such to contribute meaningfully in changing

Mr. Mohammed Fall, presenting the award to Mrs. Gimiya Dogara, who stood in for wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari while Mr. Oghomienor and DG, NCWD, Mrs. Mary Ekpere - Eta

the world positively.

At the epoch event, addressing the media, the Chairman, Blaugrana International Group, Leslie Oghomienor, said that, everywhere you go, you find that a Nigerian child is faced with too many challenges and the security situation, particularly in the North Eastern Nigeria make it worse. It is also discovered that the girl-child and women are the most affected.

“In this, we are unequivocally inspired and

motivated by the wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari's doggedness in championing the rights of the child and her unalloyed support and humane love for victims of insurgency, through the Future Assured Programme and other foundation of hers,” he added.

He noted that, it is in encouraging this effort of hers, that she was presented with the UNICEF's Special Commendation Award at the glamorous media event.

El-Shaddai Covenant Ministries Holds Easter Leadership Conference The Easter Leadership Conference of the El-Shaddai Covenant Ministries, the flagship annual programme of the ministry, which has always been convocation of members from branches across all regions in Nigeria and countries overseas, especially the United Kingdom, will once again hold from March 29 to April 1 at its headquarters in New Oko-Oba, Abule-Egba, Lagos.

Speaking at press conference to announce the forthcoming event, tagged ‘Restore’, the General Overseer of the church, Dr. James Ovbioise James, was quick to inform that the vision of the conference, right from inception, was derived from the vision which God gave him at the beginning of the commission 32 years ago, which was to raise leaders.

To deliver on this, the package of the Easter Leadership Conference has consistently comprised intense worship, rapturous praises, deep and insightful teachings, incisive and practical workshops, seminars, impactful spiritual impartations, ear-tingling testimonies and ministerial ordination, all of which are handled by seasoned ministers and speakers who are sourced both from within and outside the church but all of who are experts in their various fields.

Highlights of programme include: Two plenary sessions on Friday morning while on Saturday morning, there will be one plenary session and panel of discussion; miracle service on Friday and Saturday evening while Sunday is set aside for celebration service in the morning capped by an anointing service in the evening.

Pepsodent Leads Epic Fight Against Tooth Decay Pepsodent, a leading global toothpaste brand in partnership with the Nigerian Dental Association (NDA) and the Federal Ministry of Health celebrated the World Health Day last Tuesday in Lagos. Themed ‘Say Ahh: Think Mouth, Think Health’, the celebration was a culmination of events organised by the brand, focused on raising awareness on oral health and encouraging good oral care habits.

2,000 Nigerian children were joined by the Unilever Ghana Nigeria Leadership Team, Nigerian Dental Association President, Dr. Bode Ijarogbe, First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, deputy governor of Lagos State, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule, representatives of the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Minister of Health, Minister of State for Health, President and Founder of Well Being Foundation Africa, HOFOWEM Initiative and other dignitaries, in an epic global battle to combat tooth decay, by pledging to brush every day, morning and night.

“Tooth decay is a widespread disease that affects both adults and children, and Pepsodent has taken the lead to fight this disease, by teaching children from an early age, the habit of brushing right, morning and night, every day.

Pepsodent intends on educating over 1.5 million Nigerian children in 2018,” said Bunmi Adeniba, Unilever Marketing Director Ghana Nigeria.

“The fight against tooth decay and other oral diseases is one we can win, as long as we keep spreading the message of good oral hygiene. As part of our continuous efforts to fight oral diseases in Nigeria, Pepsodent has partnered with the Federal Ministry of Health to educate 10 million school children by 2020, on the adoption of good oral care habits.

Real Estate Exhibition Trade Fair, TAGExpo to Hold The team at The Anirejuoritse Group (TAG) Nigeria Limited, has commenced plans to activate this year’s edition of its annual Real Estate Expo organised to guide Nigerians in the diaspora to credible Real Estate developers with property investment that suit their budgets and needs. The TAGEXPO is a one-day Real Estate fair that gives Real Estate developers and stakeholders in Nigeria the opportunity to display their unique housing products and solutions to the vast crowd of already identified target market made up of successful Nigerian professionals in key positions within various industries in the host country, who either want to return home or are seeking investment opportunities back in Nigeria, with a focus on but not limited to Lagos and Abuja. This year's TAGExpo will hold in London and Houston in June 2018 and the pre-event activities include stakeholders’ breakfast session in Nigeria, and a stakeholders ‘Meet and Greet’ two days to the main exhibition events in the target locations. Convener/ Chief Marketing Officer, TAG. Nigeria, Michael Ejoh, said, “The continued theme for the TAGEXPO is to ‘Meet, Invest, Secure’ – encompassing the core responsibilities on Real Estate purchase to connecting and negotiating, making a commitment and insuring your commitment.” He added that the events are closely followed by road shows to specific locations of interest where members of Nigerian professional bodies are engaged further on behalf of interested developers.

“In 2016, the road show took us to Milton Kenyes and Manchester; we also explored Oxford and Dallas in 2017.

This year, there are plans to meet up with Nigerians in the New Jersey and DC area of America.”

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Silverbird’s Great Achievers Ayodeji Ake writes on the just concluded Silverbird Man Award in Lagos As a way of giving honour to whom honour is due, 13 years ago Silverbird Group designed an annual award event tagged ‘Silverbird Man Award’ to celebrate achievers in different spheres of life.

In the just concluded 2018 Silverbird Man Award held in Lagos, which recognised 21 dignitaries in 10 categories, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State emerged the winner of the prestigious Silverbird Man of the Year Award. The criteria for his nomination was based on his administration’s massive projects in Rivers State. The massive infrastructural development going on in Rivers State today, earned Wike the sobriquet ‘Mr. Projects’ in recognition of his many accomplishments since coming on board in May 2015.

Wike while delivering his remarks noted that he has been awarded not as a politician but as an achiever who has been committed to development since he has been into politics.

Dedicating the award to his wife and the people of Rivers State, Wike appreciated his wife for her sacrifices and the people of Rivers for their cooporation towards achievements.

“I feel very honoured about this. Although I knew about my nomination but I was surprised when I heard I won. Since 1999, I have not only been in politics but occupied positions of public offices. As local government chairman, chief of staff, arm of the ministry of Federal Republic and now the governor of Rivers State. In all this positions, my commitment has been to promote and contribute to the development of my state and the nation. Today, I am much honoured to receive this award not because of this reputation but because of my interest in public service. With gratitude, I dedicate this award to the entire people of Rivers State who have also been committed to building a new Rivers State.

“I also dedicate this to my wife who in spite the fact that she loves her husband and want him around her all the time but can only see him two hours a day, she has really made sacrifices. I want to thank the Management of Silverbird Group for finding us worthy of this award, I want to assure that that by next year River State will still be awarded,” he said.

Other distinguished individuals recognised include, Deji Ali, Leo Stan Ekeh, Dr. Ola Orekunrin and Alahji Samad Rabiu, as the Silverbird Extra Ordinary Business Awardees.

Lifetime Achievement Awards were bestowed on Chief Abba Folawiyo, Senator Daisy Danjuma, Lady Maiden Ibru and Stella Chinyelu.

Silverbird Post Humous award were presented to Chief MKO Abiola, Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki.

The Silverbird Extra Ordinary Personality Award was awarded to Ronald Chagoury.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele and Governor of Kebbi State, Abubakar Bagudu received the Silverbird Special Achievement Awards, while the Silverbird Education Award was given to the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson.

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State as the Silverbird Man of the People. The Silverbird Legislative Awards were presented to Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Femi Gbajabiamila. The wife of the President, Aisha Buhari represented by former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Joke Orelope-Adefulire received the Silverbird Personality of the Year, while

Governor Wike receiving his award

the Silverbird Public Servant Award went to Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS) boss, Babatunde Fowler.

Late Abiola’s daughter, Tundun Abiola who received the award on behalf of the Abiola family expressed her gratitude to Silverbird for remembering her father in death.

Tundun said: “My father chose a part of violence for the collective wealth of Nigeria.

He had a great vision for Nigeria and he so much believed in transparency across all tiers of government. This democracy we are enjoying today, have been fought for by people who had inspired history and they bought democracy at high price. Every government since 1999 is a direct result of one man’s struggle. I want to appreciate Silverbird Group for this platform to appreciate our heroes.”

The Post Humous Award presented to late Ojukwu family was received by wife, Bianca Ojukwu who also expressed joy but noted the award would have been more interesting if Ojukwu himself was on the stage to receive his award. She said her joy was not that he was remembered but he had made impact on the nation when he was alive.

“I really appreciate Silverbird for putting this together to honour my late husband, if he has been here to receive this award, he would have had something humorous to say. He will always say that in Nigeria, he is always seen as a misunderstood individual but he said to me that in Nigeria you will become better understood when you are dead and harmless. He was a man of great perception, someone who saw things in advance of his time as the prevailing condition in Nigeria today,” she said.

Also expressing his joy, the Governor,

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele restated his commitment to growth of Nigeria. He said “we have been working very hard in spite of the challenges; we thank the Board and Management of Silverbird for recognising us. I’m assuring that with this, we will further more work harder to continue to deliver on our mandate for the growth of Nigeria as well as Nigerians.”

As the Silverbird Man of the People, Governor Ayodele Fayose while appreciating Silverbird said that the only way out for Nigeria according to late Ojukwu is to go back to the basics. He warned the world is in the perilous times as he preached that Nigerians should be born again.

“We are in the perilous time and have gone back to the analogue age. It will be shocking when you see big men of honour with small phones rather than smart phones as a result of the state of the nation. A lot of men that we used to know to be vocal are hiding under the table, the truth must be said and I won’t desist from it. Nigeria is our father land. Don’t cross lines, don’t bring cows to my door step, I am not going to be part of that.

“I appreciate my wife a lot for such a woman to marry a man like me in times like this.

My wife is too prayerful and we know our levels. In the morning she holds my two legs and will pray I return home. But the truth is she is married, too late. I listened to what late Ojukwu said years ago that we should go back to the basics, without going back, we are going nowhere. The reality must be said that we must be born again,” he said.

Commending the efforts of the Silverbird Group to development and growth of the

nation, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in his keynote speech said that the award programme would go a long way to encouraging Nigerians do more and by so doing will develop the country to an imaginary height.

Atiku lauded Governor Wike for his commitment to the growth of Rivers State. “I have been associated with Rivers State for the past 35 years. There is no part in the Niger Delta, Rivers in particular that I have not been to. I was in Governor Wike’s office when I asked him if has been able to connect some roads in the state which I saw needs intervention and he immediately went through his project book and showed me the completion of the roads. Believe me he has laid the foundation of prosperity for the people in Rivers and in Nigeria in general. And this is a remarkable achievement I find very important,” he said.

Chairman Silverbird Group, Senator Ben Bruce noted that the awards presented were driven by the vote of Nigerians and not personal decision. “I want to say we don’t just give award because we feel they are important but they are the choice of Nigerians through vote. Nobody will say the awards were given by Ben Bruce. I’m honest to no man call Governor Wike. Although he is my friend but he was voted for as the Silverbird Man of the Year. I am so excited for the success of this year’s event,” he noted.

Past winners of the Silverbird Man of the Year Award include, late Professor Dora Akunyili, Governor Nasir el-Rufai, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Adams Oshiomhole, Dr. Mike Adenuga, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Mr. Peter Obi, Babatunde Fashola, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and Governor Willie Obiano.

Church Petitions IG over Illegal Police Occupation Shola Oyeyipo The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has been urged to withdraw armed policemen that purportedly sealed up the premises of the Embrace International Assembly, Ikorodu, Lagos, allegedly on the order of Foursquare Gospel Church.

Following an injunction being contested in one of the lingering legal battles between the Senior Pastor of Embrace International Assembly, Pastor Isaac Adeyemi and his former church, Foursquare Gospel Church, some policemen have since Sunday, February 11, prevented members of the church from gaining access into the church

premises.

Speaking on the matter, in a chat with THISDAY, some members of the Embrace Assembly board of trustees; Mr. Segun Oluwadoromi, Mr. Adebayo Adio, Pastor Tunji Amokade and Mr. Lateef Olaleye, said it was high time police IG looks into the occupation of their church by policemen to determine the legality of their action.

According to Adio, who spoke on behalf of the board of trustees, since the injunction was against Pastor Adeyemi and not the church and it has been appealed, the police action amounts to partisanship and illegality.

Part of the petition addressed to the police IG reads: "We are an international Christian

church located at 89/93, Obafemi Awolowo Road, Erunwen Junction, Ikorodu, Lagos. We are constrained to approach your high office with the continued presence of armed policemen in our church under the guise of executing an order to seal up the premises at the instance of Foursquare Church of Nigeria.

"On February 9, 2018, a team of policemen, purportedly acting under the instructions of the Commissioner of Police stormed the property and in the middle of worship, turned out at gun point and told all the members that they had order of court to seal the property. The order was never shown to anyone, despite repeated demands for it.

"We make bold to say and challenge the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State to show us the said order directing that the property be sealed up. It is interesting to say, Sir, that there is no single order, no matter how scanty, to seal our church, Embrace International Assembly."

Adio, said if the police authority looks into how the former Lagos State Commissioner of Police handled, it showed greater degree of impartiality.

"The former Commissioner had mediated in the matter. He called the parties and advised that we should wait for the court to determine the case, which is exactly what we are also asking for," he said.

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Bayelsa Deputy Gov, Monarchs, Ex-internationals for Dickson’s Unity Cup Finals Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd) will today (Friday) lead other notable personalities to the finals of the Governor Dickson Unity Cup, christened ‘the Ogbia Challenge'.

Others billed to attend the event are the Obanobhan of Ogbia, His Royal Majesty Charles Owaba; King of Opume Kingdom, HRM AmalateTurner , members of the State Assembly from Ogbia, serving commissioners, chairperson of the Caretaker Committee of Ogbia local council, other political appointees, members of the Ogbia Restoration Caucus.

Also to attend are some ex-internationals including former Super Eagles player and coach, Sampson Siasia and Nigeria's FIFA Match Agent and Chief Executive Officer of Monimichelle

Jonah

Sports Facility Construction Limited, Ebi Egbe.

The finals of the tournament, according to the Commissioner for Information and Orienta-

tion, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, will hold at the Opume Township Stadium in Ogbia Local Government Area by 12noon and will see Otuasega squaring up against Otuokpoti.

Thirty two teams drawn from across various communities in Ogbia started the competition on February 26 in four centres namely Opume, Kolo, Otuokpoti and Imiringi.

Promoter of the tournament, Iworiso-Markson, reiterated the importance of unity among the people of Ogbia Kingdom which was why he threw his weight behind the competition.

According to him, sports remains a vital tool to promote unity and peace and again called on every Ogbia person to shun acts capable of causing setback but work together in oneness and support the administration of Governor Seriake Dickson.

Iworiso-Markson, said that the game of

football, was a unifier, noting that during soccer matches, people come together, forgetting their differences.

“It is on the strength of that, that we have thought it necessary to replicate same in Ogbia Kingdom. This tournament is aimed at promoting unity and peaceful coexistence among our people. We are known for our peaceful nature and we want to further demonstrate that before the world.

“We will also use this football tournament to encourage our youths who have the requisite skills and talent in the round leather game to consider it as a career,” he assured.

He added that football remains a means to stardom, to fame and prosperity and urged all the youths who still engage in social vices like cultism to put an end to it and collectively define a future as a people.

Chioma Ajunwa Moves to Revive School Sports in Abia Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia After years of neglect competitive sporting activities are set to return in secondary schools across Abia State following the intervention of Nigeria’s sports icon, Chioma Ajunwa-Opara who has initiated a programme of reviving grassroots sports in the state through her foundation.

President of Chioma Ajunwa Foundation, Mrs. Chioma Ajunwa-Opara made this known at a press conference at Umuahia Stadium where she outlined the modus operandi of the project aimed at discovering and nurturing budding talents in sports.

To this end, the Olympic gold medalist said that plans have been concluded for the hosting of Chioma Ajunwa Under 16 Athletics Championships 2018 for Secondary Schools in Abia with students vying for honours at the

Ajunwa

Umuahia Township Stadium.

She said that the championship, which is slated to run from March 27 to 29, was a product of a

partnership between her Foundation and Abia State Government, adding that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu “has given us the mandate to revive sports in Abia.”

Ajunwa explained that the new talents discovered at the championship would be nurtured “to a certain level before exposing them to the outside world” thereby putting them in good stead to win honours for themselves and nation.

According to her, the budding sports talents would be availed of the opportunities of developing their talents and pursuing their academic career through scholarship grants that schools in the United States and Europe usually made available to Nigerian athletes.

The multi talented sports woman, who made her mark in long jump, said that apart from athletics her Foundation would equally revive other sports including handball, wrestling, football,

basketball, tennis, power lifting, among others.

She said that while reviving sports and discovering new talents her Foundation would at the same time be creating awareness of drug abuse and its negative impact on athletes, adding that she would not like any Nigerian athlete to fall into the trap of drug abuse.

In his contribution the director general of Chioma Ajunwa Foundation, Mr. Henry Amike regretted that while sports has become a big industry the world over Nigeria has remained an exception hence the need to change the narrative.

He said cash rewards would be given to all winners in the different categories of the athletic championship while the overall best three would go home with “mouth watering prizes.”

“We want to prove it to all that Nigerian youths are not doing well in sports because the encouragement is not there,” he said, adding

NGO Campaigns against Improper E-waste Management in Nigeria Chiemelie Ezeobi E-waste Relief Foundation (ERF), Nigeria's first Non-Governmental Organisation focused on tackling the electronic-waste (e-waste) crisis, has set out to create enlightenment on the dangers of improper e-waste management.

The ERF made this discloure during its recently held inaugural meeting of its board of trustees at Sheraton Lagos Hotel, Ikeja, adding that its focus is on using technology to tackle this in accordance with international environmental standards.

According to the NGO, they are focused on tackling the electronic-waste crisis not just within the country, but also in the West African region.

Mr. Ifeanyi Ochonogor, the President of the NGO in his speech, said that there is a great need for a foundation, driven by the passion to aid, in solving the e-waste problems within the country and beyond.

He stated further that the ERF is charged with the task of educating people on the dangers of improper e-waste management, as well as enlightening them on the right solutions that are available to stop the crisis at hand.

"It is in making people understand the threats we face, that they see reasons to join in the process of putting an end to the e-waste challenges that beset us," Ochonogor pointed out.

Quoting a recent report published by the United Nations (UN) forecasts that global electronic waste

is likely to increase to 50 million metric tonnes (Mt) in 2018, he said it was not good news, especially considering Nigeria alone generates about 1.1million tonnes of e-waste annually.

He said, "But to put it in the right perspective, it is important for there to be an understanding of what e-waste is. E-waste is a popular, informal name for electronic products nearing the end of their useful life.

"Discarded computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, and fax machines are common electronic products and they pose a threat to the environment.

“Thus, it is only in enlightening the people on the e-waste crisis, and training the informal handlers on standards of operation, that Nigeria

can successfully tackle its electronic waste issues."

Speaking further on the mandate of the ERF, Ochonogor stressed that the establishment of the institution has ushered in a new era, one filled with hope and an assurance that the e-waste crisis within Nigeria and even around West Africa will be tackled headlong.

He added that it was only in enlightening the people on the e-waste crisis, and training the informal handlers on standards of operation, that Nigeria can successfully tackle its electronic waste issues.

The ERF inaugural meeting held on the World NGO Day, also had Ifeanyi Boniface Ochonogor, Professor Oladele Osibanjo, other members of the board and invited guests in attendance.

STEM METS Advocates Alternative Learning Yinka Olatunbosun A technologically driven social enterprise, STEM METS, is on an advocacy course to improve the knowledge economy in Nigeria with the introduction of alternative learning methods in schools. STEM, which derives its name from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, was established in 2014 with over 4,000 students reached in 12 schools. It is fast becoming a household name in many schools where the wholistic development of a child is prioritised.

Starting with Bricks4kidz programme, pupils were taught how to use the LEGO bricks to develop problem solving skills and creativity.

This had been followed by a series of after school

lessons, workshops and field trips.

Recently, the organisation has partnered with Airbus Foundation, a subsidiary of Airbus, to administer its robotics and aviation program to youths between 11 and 16 years through the “AIRBUS The Little Engineer Workshop.”

During a recent press briefing in Lagos, the Founder of STEM METS, Jadesola Adedeji guided a handful of journalists through the use of LEGO bricks. Tasked in pairs, the journalists were informed of the lasting benefits of alternative learning.

From her personal observation, many Nigerian youths are unemployable due to several reasons.

One of them is the lack of relevant skill-set to deliver quality service in 21st century work climate.

Technology has changed the dynamics for many

professionals and it is crucial for the younger generation to be prepared for this trend while they are in school.

“The international community is developing curriculum and their educational system to adapt to technological advancement. Our curriculum is still very old. There is a gap between what our graduate skills are and what the employers want. The fourth industrial revolution is influencing the way our work is being done,’’ Adedeji explained.

She also observed that a large percentage of the Nigerian workforce are still secondary school certificate holders, many of whom are trapped in poverty cycle. To break this cycle, a complete overhaul of the educational system in Nigeria.

In many of the public schools reached by Adedeji

and her team, it was observed that most of the teachers need to be trained or retrained on how to equip pupils with 21st century skill sets such as creative thinking, technological literacy as well as leadership skills.

Many parents in our contemporary society find it worrisome that most children have substituted real life friendships with virtual connections. They are also more predisposed to using the internet for leisure activities than pedagogical purposes.

With this STEM initiative, more children can be engaged during vacations with skill acquisitions that are technologically driven such as computer programming and robotics. STEM alternative learning is created for both the private and public institutions. It is also not limited to school-age children.

OVH Marks Int’l Women’s Day at Learning Series Yinka Olatunbosun In commemorating the International Women’s Day, a leading energy company, OVH Energy made the global theme of ‘Press for Progress’ its central focus during the monthly learning and development series that took place at its headquarters in Marine Beach, Apapa, recently.

The monthly series was designed for staff for the purpose of knowledge sharing and skills

development. However, the last edition was extended to some retailers and a handful of friends. The CEO, Entod Marketing, Iquo Ukoh was the facilitator for the March edition which was kick-started by some opening remarks by the CEO, OVH Energy, Huub Stokman.

Stokman observed that the group exercise that preceded the training is one that usually starts off as chaotic but with interesting outcomes. He urged his listeners not to focus too much on

gender but on skills and experience in order for them to make significant progress in their careers.

“I will not promote anyone based on gender.

You have to earn it,’’ he said.

Understandably, the programme was restricted to women only. However, a few men were allowed to participate in the panel discussions where their insights were needed. Once they had done their part, they were expected to leave the training

room for the women.

The facilitator, Ukoh offered very practical advice to the women on work-life balance.

Given her years of experience as a corporate woman in a lead position at a multinational organisation, Ukoh understood the challenges of contemporary women who are ambitious in their careers. Hence, she cited her personal experiences while explaining to her audience how to keep their jobs and homes.

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Boeing B737, one of the 14 of the series owned by the airline

Air Peace Success Key for Nigerian Airlines to Take Over West African Travel Market Since it started operations more than three years ago, Air Peace has recorded surprising success to become the airline with the highest number of aircraft in West Africa. Now, it is poised to lead other Nigerian operators to take over the travel market of the sub-region, writes Chinedu Eze Since the past 20 years Nigerian airlines have failed to dominate the West African travel market; yet about 65 per cent of passenger movement in West and Central Africa are Nigerians. These are traders who move and trade goods from one city to another in the sub-region; entrepreneurs, investors, entertainers, diplomats and professionals who move their skills from one country to another in the area, known as the West Coast.

Seasoned aviators who held sway during the time of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited (NAL) said there was a time the airline was breaking even from its operations in the West Coast and few years later the defunct Bellview Airlines seemed to have inherited the destinations. At the peak of its operation before it went under, it was a national carrier of Sierra Leone, operating to London with the flag of the West African nation.

Also under Captain Dapo Olumide, the former Virgin Nigeria Airways struggled into profitability, harnessing the gains of its West Coast operation, as the management then began to offset the airline’s loaded debts before it was sold to another entrepreneur, which harbingered its extinction.

Travel expert, Ikechi Uko is of the view that Nigerian airlines should take advantage of the West and Central African routes because the dominant passenger traffic on these routes are Nigerians; so the airlines do not have any excuse to give than to device strategies and dominate the routes.

Short term operation Besides Nigeria Airways which operated for decades before it went under at the time most of its contemporaries were also saying goodbye to the skies, many Nigerian airlines have had average 10 years of operations before they begin epileptic performance or they just disappear from the sky. So records indicate that many Nigerian carriers that have gained traction in the West Coast lost it after few years, when they become infected by the bug that killed their predecessors, which experts

attribute to bad management, harsh operating environment and excessive taxation.

Meanwhile, air travellers who move goods and services in West and Central Africa currently suffer so much because there is no air connectivity between some countries in the sub region and available connectivity comes with outrageous fares because of limited capacity and lack of competition on the routes.

SAATM The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) is simply defined as a flagship project of the African Union Agenda 2063, an initiative of the African Union to create a single unified air transport market in Africa, the liberalisation of civil aviation in Africa and as an impetus to the continent's economic integration agenda. The implementation of SAATM was signed by 23 countries and it promotes single sky for the participating nations, which means that there would no more be immigration hindrances and blockage of flights owned by airlines registered in Africa.

This policy, which can simply be referred as open sky for Africa, aims to encourage easy movement of air travellers from one country to another and when it becomes fully operational it would create wealth for participating African countries.

A survey carried out by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that if 12 African countries open their markets and increase connectivity it would created extra 155,000 jobs and generate revenue of about $1.3 billion in annual GDP. SAATM will enhance air travel in the continent, which currently is full of hiccups.

It will encourage competition among African airlines and it would give African carriers the opportunity to enjoy the market in the continent, which literally has been hijacked

by European and Middle East airlines.

SAATM may be an opportunity for Nigerian airlines to explode into profitability. But there are hindrances. One, Nigerian Government has to support the airlines from other countries’

restrictions through outrageous charges by ensuring that in the principle of reciprocity, Nigerian airlines are not overcharged by other participating countries in the continent. When these countries become hostile to Nigerian airlines government should ensure that it reciprocates when airlines from such countries come to Nigeria. Because Nigeria has the major market in terms of passenger traffic, blocking any airline from the continent from accessing Nigerian passengers would drastically affect its operations.

Level playing field The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema said as much recently in an interview with THISDAY. He said that government must have to protect Nigerian airlines so that other countries participating in SAATM would not in the bid to protect their own airlines use outrageous charges and adverse policies to restrict Nigerian operators.

“No country gives blanket approval for whatever treaty they signed, no country does that. So SAATM does not favour Nigerian airlines as it stands today. Have the authorities bothered to find out the landing charges these other countries in Africa give to Nigerian airlines that are coming into their countries?

Look at Abidjan (Cote de Ivoire); have they bothered to find out what their countries do for them in terms of charges? They are not paying the same charges as we do. In Ghana, AWA (African World Airlines) is not paying the same charges in their country as we do. So they can afford to crash their fares. We cannot afford to do so because when we get into their country they over charge us.

“Why have we not started operation to Abidjan? Because they gave us something out of this world. They charged us $6000, to $7000 per landing. How many people are you carrying to justify paying such exorbitant charges? But when they come to Nigeria they pay peanuts. So why won’t they run out

the Nigerian airlines? This is what we are saying. Air Peace is the biggest airline in West Africa for now. Asky is not bigger than Air Peace; Air Cote d’voire is not bigger than Air Peace. There is no airline in West Africa that is bigger than Air Peace. But we cannot compete even with those smaller airlines.

What we are saying is that the area they will run us out of the market is on charges because they don’t pay the same charges as we do,” Onyema said.

Over taxation The Air Peace boss said part of the hindrances Nigerian airlines face is over taxation, which makes them uncompetitive with other African airlines, which are largely protected by their own governments.

“We are over taxed here in Nigeria and we are also over charged by other countries in the region. For every passenger you bring into Cote d’lvoire you are paying about $100 or more than that. The total charges for a Nigerian airline in that country is about $7000.

The aircraft is not even carrying up to $3000 revenue from passengers, so how can you succeed? That is why we have not started our Cote d’Ivoire route. And even the other ones like Senegal is the same thing.

“So what our government can do for us is to call these other countries and urge them to streamline the charges first before they will allow full implementation of SAATM. I am not against SAATM, Air Peace is not against the Single African Market but it has to be streamlined to benefit everyone, so that we will not have a parasitic union with these African countries. It has to be symbiotic. Ethiopia for instance, does any airline in Nigeria go to Ethiopia? They don’t have anything to offer us, so they should regulate the number of times they come into our country and tell them if you want to do more key in with other Nigeria airlines.

“In South Africa this is the way it is done.

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23.03.2018

AIR PEACE SUCCESS KEY FOR NIGERIAN AIRLINES TO TAKE OVER WEST AFRICAN TRAVEL MARKET

Air Peace Corporate Communications Manager, Mr. Chris Iwarah (4th left), the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of LAS, Aeroport International Blaise Diagne, Mr. Xavier Mary (5th left), Minister in the Embassy of Nigeria, Dakar, Mr. Lot Egopija (6th left), Air Peace Brand Ambassador, Kcee (right) and others, cutting the cake to mark the airline’s inaugural flight to Dakar, Senegal...recently

It is also done like that in other countries. So why is our own different? Why are we killing our own industry? We need to provide jobs for Nigerians. The monies these airlines cart out of this country they use it to develop their own; while our people are left on the streets.

There are many Nigerians who can invest in airport infrastructure; Bi-Courtney has proved that by setting up a terminal and employing Nigerians. When we invite foreigners to come and invest in certain sections of the economy, we have to look at what they will repatriate from the economy at the end of the day. And they usually come with certain conditions, so we have to be careful about SAATM.” West Coast, beyond In less than four years, Air Peace has upped its fleet from seven to 24 and it is still ordering more aircraft. This means that Air Peace is well prepared to take advantage of SAATM and it has also been designated for international operation and it has acquired aircraft for long haul flights.

THISDAY spoke to Onyema on the day its first Boeing B777 aircraft was delivered and he said that the airline was expecting four of the long-haul aircraft.

“For the initial start we are expecting about four aircraft (Boeing 777), we have already procured the first two, the other two we are still negotiating and before the coming of the last quarter of the year two more will join but for now we have two,” Onyema said.

He said the aircraft and the ones being expected would be deployed for service as quickly as we “get the cooperation of everybody, Air Peace is ready but as quickly as we get the cooperation of everybody-the aviation agencies, our own government, the outside governments of countries where we are going to be flying to, as soon as we get their cooperation we will make it happen.”

The Air Peace boss said contrary to views making the rounds, Nigerian airlines can compete effectively if equal opportunity is given to them along with other airlines from other countries in the continent.

“I don’t believe that Nigerian airlines cannot compete favourably, what is lacking is that Nigerian airlines do not have the necessary support for them to compete favourably. What Air Peace has done in the last two and half years, I think few airlines in the world has done it. In the last two and half years we have increased our fleet to about 17 more aircraft, that is rapid growth and we are still growing and still very strong. So if anybody says Nigerian airlines are weak they should be able to mention those airlines that are weak because Air Peace is not weak, it is not a weak airline; it is a very strong airline.

Air Peace Chief Pilot, Captain Victor Egonu celebrating with the airline's Chairman, Allen Onyema, during the delivery of Boeing B777 in Lagos

And in safety we are strong and we can pride ourselves that we can match anybody under the sun.

“We pride ourselves as being the first Nigerian airline to own its own 777; no Nigerian airline has owned a 777 since the beginning of Nigeria in 1914. This is the first time a Nigerian airline will own a B777 and we deserve kudos not condemnations. So we can stand our own anywhere, as far as I am concerned we are doing the right things in safety and in our operations,” Onyema said.

Efficiency and operational fleet On efficient operation in the West Coast, the Chairman of Air Peace assured air travellers that the airline has not disappointed its passengers in the local services; that it would extend such efficient service to its regional and international operations.

“We have not disappointed on the local scene.

That does not mean there are no occasions where we didn’t get it right, nobody is perfect but you can give us 95 per cent. We are taking the same per cent to the international and regional scene; that is what we are going to do. We don’t delve into something when we are not ready. I don’t expect myself to

start doing the regional scene if I don’t have enough fleet to service those routes that we have chosen to do on the local side and at the same time I am going to use the same aircraft on the regional scene; that is the difference between us and anybody,” he said.

He said the airline has about N14 Boeing B737s, six regional jets, Embraer ERJ 145, and two Donnier jests and two Boeing B777; that is about 24 aircraft.

“So we are not going to disappoint Nigerians on the regional or international scene because we will never delve into them except when we have enough fleet and now we have enough fleet, we decided to open up the regional route. We have been doing Ghana for over a year, we didn’t get tempted to go and start doing other routes in the sub-region; that would be over stretching ourselves. When all our planes arrived we launched Dakar, Banjul and we launched Free Town. In the coming weeks you will see us going to Lome and Abidjan and Liberia.

Foreign carriers Over the years aviation administrators in the Ministry of Transport and the agencies argue that the reason why government designates

many foreign airlines to operate into Nigeria is because Nigerian airlines do not have the capacity and Nigerians are good travellers.

So they argue that Nigerian citizens must be provided airlines to travel with if the country’s carriers are not capable.

As logical as that sounds, there is another issue that border Nigerian operators and potential investors in the industry. When are Nigerian airlines going to be given the incentive by government for them to grow? For example, if one foreign airline is designated to five destinations in Nigeria without making it compulsory for that airline to partner with local carriers at some point, how is an upcoming Nigerian airline going to compete with the foreign airline that is already well established on those routes?

This is the area Nigerian airlines are lamenting and calling government to give them support because other countries are also supporting their own in the region.

With its readiness to operate its West Coast routes, Air Peace may provide the competition needed to bring down the fares in these routes to the benefits of air travellers and also provide the capacity which other airlines would strive to emulate.

38/OPINION

23.03.2018

Lessons from Abdullahi Adamu’s Doublespeak When George Orwell’s book entitled ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ came into publication in 1949, little did he realise that the euphemism “doublespeak”; as propounded in his book, was particularly created to describe the temporised and acrobatic nature of Nigerian Politicians. Sunday Ehigiator writes Senator Abdullahi Adamu; elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2011 general election as the senator representing Nasarawa West senatorial district, had in retrospect served in two terms as governor of Nasarawa State, likewise under the PDP umbrella being a strong proponent of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration, before decamping to the All Progressives Congress (APC), in recent times; hence suddenly becomes antagonist of the former President.

In an interview publication by Vanguard on Friday, April 26, 2002, page 15, captioned ‘I will work for Obasanjo’s re-election-Abdullahi Adamu, Nasarawa Gov’ Adamu defended his decision to support Obasanjo’s second term.

Asked what informed his decision to join the list of politicians who went to prevail on the then President Olusegun Obasanjo in Otta, Ogun State, to seek re-election for second term the following year, he said, “well, on the visit to Otta, yes I was one of the governors that went there. I went there with a very open mind. I can say with every sense of modesty that I was part of it out of commitment. I believe that at this point in time of our democracy, we must not hurry to change guards. I believe that it would not augur well for our democracy at this point in time.”

Asked if Governor Bafarawa of Sokoto State as at that period was speaking on behalf of all the Northerners when he said the North would not vote for Obasanjo again, he said, “For sure he wasn’t; and I say so with all sense of responsibility.

He wasn’t speaking on behalf of the Northerners.

And I can confirm to you that at no time did we as Northern governors ever sit down, and I challenge anybody to come out and disprove what I am saying including him, to decide that we will not support or vote for Obasanjo if he seeks re-election; or that there was any time that we sat for a meeting and the agenda of that meeting centered round the decision to support or not to support Obasanjo for ABCD reasons, let the person come out and say so.

There was never a time.”

THISDAY publication of 28th June 2002, entitled ‘Adamu Challenges Arewa over Obasanjo’ by Josephine Lahor, likewise revealed in its lead story that Governor Abdullahi Adamu of Nasarawa State has said that 19 governors in the North never met nor took a unanimous decision on vexed issue seeking a consensus Arewa candidate to replace President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003.

He was further quoted in the publication to have said “but in a situation where nobody consults you and the person believes he has the right to say to himself and for you without your consent, then I think something is wrong.”

In another interview publication by Sunday Vanguard of January 5, 2003, page 20, with the headline; ‘Obasanjo is committed to Nigeria’s integrity, says Gov Adamu, by Jide Ajani.

Asked why he has been very rigorous in his support of Obasanjo/Atiku ticket for a second term, he said, “I want to say that I support the aspiration of the incumbent president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo to contest the 2003 Presidential election. I believe very strongly that neither Chief Obasanjo himself nor my humble person has ever told this country that he is the best brain in Nigeria, but we believe very strongly that he is a patriot, a lover of this country. You need to work closely with him to understand this, and given the circumstances in which he took over the reign of power in this country, one cannot but appreciate the fact that to be able to stay on course with the ship of state could not have been an easy task. The economy was in bad shape, the polity was below the line, the unity of the country was under threat as a result of June 12, our standing among the international community was poor. Getting petrol was very difficult at filling stations. It was in the atmosphere that Chief Obasanjo took over the affairs of this country, there was so much threat from the Niger Delta area. To be able to get the acts to move this country as the man has done demands so much from any leader and doing so without recourse to arbitrariness. And the fact that from independence till when he took over through

Adamu

the democratic process, that Nigeria has not had more than 10 or 11 years of democracy, so, we had a system in which the two arms of government, the National Assembly and the Executive did not have the kind of experience of working together in ensuring good governance for this country.”

On the issue of some people accusing the president of causing the state governors’ elect to hijack the party machinery after the 1999 convention, thereby causing a major upset to the system, he said “there is nothing wrong with it.

There is no reason why a governor should not take a position in a country that is a federation.”

On the issue of some opponents view that Obasanjo started very well but began to derail when he started thinking of a second term he said.

“I will say that the success of any programme depends on the environment. You start up work, all of a sudden something you didn’t bargain for come on stage, your response, your movements can be influenced to the extent to which that event that is intervening can affect what happens.”

Asked his response on the insinuation that the president is stubborn while his supporters claimed he was strong willed; he said. “Honestly, I have worked with him as governor of a state and related to him as the president in the past three years and eight months and gotten to know that this man is a very strong willed person, no doubt about it, and he is such a committed Nigerian and committed to Nigeria as a project and no matter what you do, you can’t shake him on that, I have noticed that in him.”

Asked if he believes Obasanjo still has the goodwill that brought him to office three years ago, he said, “I want you to believe that I am a Northerner to the core, I want you to believe that I have the interest of the North in my heart of hearts and I will do anything for it. But we have a family called Nigeria and every part of this country voted for Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to be president of this country. Well, because of our number, we (North) have always determined the leadership of this country, democratically through adult suffrage and I have no doubts in my mind as to the role the North played in terms of contributing to the election of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. Support Obasanjo or not supporting him cannot be looked at from the point of him as a person letting go of his goodwill. No sane human being, not even an animal will squander goodwill willfully, not even a dog, not to talk of a president who has had a beautiful career and who has shown love for the North and the North has shown love for him.”

Saturday Tribune of 4th June 2005, page 8, in an interview with Olufunsho Fafowora, as regards a threat of impeachment hanging on President Obasanjo’s neck, Adamu; believed to be one of the closest governors to Obasanjo was asked if he considered the impeachment moves as a healthy democratic progression for the country; he said, “Honestly, between you and me and God, if the move is well intended and you can pick issues that are right, that can stand the test of time, it is part of democracy. As it is part of their job as long as they do it well and as long as there is no other motivation, if you say this is what the guy has done wrong, that is why we want to take this step, then we talk and resolve the issue. But, you are right, I am one of the closest governors to the president and I don’t have any qualms about that and I thank God that I am. He is my leader, today it is Obasanjo, tomorrow it could be Abubakar or

Briggs, I believe he deserves respect. He didn’t take himself. Those of you who knew him, know how he came from prison, he was condemned to death. Then it was converted to life imprisonment.

Then 15 years, then three and half years, and he is out and became president. Those of you who have time should ponder upon this. He is not an ordinary person, so, I am loyal, and when he is wrong, I know how to talk to him.

But if I have to take him and his office to the market, and strip it there because I have the right to do so, then it is wrong, very wrong.”

In his speech at the Speakers Conference held at Lafia, Nasarawa State on Saturday April 8, 2006, published by The Guardian on Thursday, April 13, 2006, page 63 entitled ‘Elected leaders have a duty to discharge to Nigerians, says Adamu’, Adamu made his position known on the controversial amendment proposal by the committee to replace the two terms of four years each with three terms of four years each for the president and the state governors. He said, “the main controversy over the proposed amendments centres on the proposal by the committee to replace the current two terms of four years each with three terms of four years each for the president and the state governors. As if that is the only amendment being proposed to the constitution. I believe the honourable members of the committee of the National Assembly on the review of the constitution are persuaded that their proposal is a better option for the country than we have now.

“The controversy arose over the suspicion that the proposed amendment as it affects the tenure of the president and the governors; is at the behest of Mr. President – nothing can be more unfair - for the process being undertaken by the National Assembly is not at all the initiation of Mr. President. What is worth nothing with concern however is that opposition to this suspicion appears to be the major political industry in the country today. Some of us are not only disagreeing, they are doing so by threatening thunder and brimstone.”

By May 23, 2006, in another publication by The Guardian on page 9 entitled ‘Adamu in mourning over failure of tenure extension’, after the third term bid was voted against by the Senate and couldn’t see the day light. The publication acknowledged how disappointed Adamu could have felt especially as he did not only lose out on his support for tenure extension but also on his interest to make traditional institution being accorded full rights in the regional government, should he still be in office for a third term.

The closeness, fondness and support of former President Olusegun Obasanjo by Senator Abdullahi Adamu was so great that it was even suggested that he should run for presidency in 2007 in an editorial report of Nigerian Tribune of Thursday 29th June 2006, page 33; since the third term bid was wade off. The editorial entitled “The President We Deserve In 2007”, reads, “Governor Abdullahi Adamu supports Mr. President in all his outings; the reform programmes – privatisation, civil service, and pension reform, new exchange rate regime, educational autonomy, monetisation of benefits, oil sector deregulation, infrastructural development (BOT), the revamping of the power sector, the dramatic improvements of the telecommunications etc. These are all embraced and supported by Adamu even in his small state of Nasarawa. Like the small and poor state of Arkansas under Bill Clinton as Governor, Adamu has taken the same approach in his developmental efforts, through sheer ingenuity, foresight, and handwork just, just as Clinton did for twelve years before becoming one of the most successful and resourceful Presidents in America history. Incidentally, both are in the same age bracket, babies of the post second world war boom of mind 1940’s. We believe that Abdullahi Adamu can metamorphose into that if given the opportunity to serve this country at the highest level. He is technically minded and has the capacity to perform wonders for this country.”

However, fast-track to February 20th2018; just some few days after Obasanjo’s famous letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, asking him

to consider taking the back seat in the much anticipated 2019 general election so to allow capable hands take charge of the country’s affair, it was Senator Abdullahi Adamu back on the news headlines again; this time with the stick, stroking his once celebrated hero, Olusegun Obasanjo.

In an interview with reporters on Monday 19th February 2018 while reacting to the letter Obasanjo wrote to the president asking him not to seek re-election, Adamu said the elder statesman lacks the moral standing to give such advice. He likewise revealed that Obasanjo did all within his power to secure a third term in office, including bribing lawmakers with N50 million each to back him up in his bid; an allegation Adamu once denied publicly in 2006.

In his reaction to Obasanjo’s letter, he said “Chief Obasanjo said President Buhari is selective in his anti-corruption war. I agree with him because if the president were not selective, Chief Obasanjo himself would be in the dock today on trial on charges of corruption arising from the corrupt practices in the pursuit of his third term gambit in the National Assembly in 2006,” Adamu said.

“He (Obasanjo) knows, as well as I and other leading members of the PDP, that he badly wanted it and initiated the process of constitutional amendment. He bribed each member of the National Assembly who signed to support the amendment, with the whopping sum of N50 million. The fresh mint money was taken in its original boxes presumably from the vaults of the Central Bank of Nigeria and distributed among the legislators.The money was not his, and it was not appropriated by the National Assembly, as required by law. I therefore, agree that in failing to make former President Obasanjo account for the money, President Buhari is waging his anti-corruption war selectively. Nor should we forget that President Buhari has also not bothered to interrogate Obasanjo’s role in the Halliburton scandal for which some Americans are cooling their heels in jail. Perhaps President Buhari might wish to look in the Siemens affairs in which the Obasanjo administration was indicted. Since he left office on October 1, 1979, to local and international applause, Obasanjo has systematically sought to undermine every federal administration after him. He has today set up himself as the moral conscience of the nation, He believes he has acquired the wisdom of King Solomon and has consequently imposed on himself the right to decide who rules us and how we should be ruled. Perhaps, part of the reason is that before leaving office in 2007, his party, the PDP, conferred on him the titles of Maker of Modern Nigeria and Father of the Nation. Such titles do have a heady way of making a man seeing his head bedecked in the halos of self-righteousness.”

Adamu alleged that Obasanjo’s eight years in government almost ruined democratic governance in Nigeria as a result of “self-delusion and messianic mentality”.

“He waged his anti-corruption in a manner intended to rubbish all our reserved institutions such as the courts and the National Assembly in a way to be the only Nigerian without palm oil on his hands. The courts quaked over his unconstitutional rampage. Chief Obasanjo left our democracy in a lurch. He was like a wrecking ball. In 2007, he alone, decided his successor in office contrary to the rules of the game, the repercussions and consequences of which are now history. I worked closely with Chief Obasanjo in his eight years in office as president when l was governor of Nasarawa State. I found many things to admire in him.

I admire his patriotism and his hard work.

But he systematically sabotaged his legacy by bending the system to his personal service and promotion. I do not admire his singleminded determination to promote himself as the strongest and the most incorruptible leader Nigeria has ever had. He waged his anti-corruption war in a manner intended to rubbish all our revered institutions such as the courts and the National Assembly and leave him as the only Nigerian without palm oil on his hands.”

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY MARCH 23, 2018

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018

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CITYSTRINGS

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

Executive Director of the NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib presenting the award to to Alhaji Abdul-Ganiyu Adesina Salau

An Honour Well Deserved James Sowole reports that the people of Ikaram Akoko community of Ondo State rolled out the drums when the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency awarded the Transparency and Accountability Award to a staff of a primary healthcare centre in the community

S

aturday, 24th January was a day of joy and honour for Alhaji Abdul-Ganiyu Adesina Salau, the entire sons and daughters of Ikaram -Akoko in Akoko North West Local Government Area of Ondo State and the workers of the Ikaram Basic Health Centre.

On this day, the headquarters of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), was relocated from the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to the sleepy community of Ikaram Akoko as the Executive Director, Dr. Faisal Shuaibu led other top and management staff of the agency both at the headquarters and in the South West Zone for the official presentation of drugs and equipment for the Ikaram Basic Health Centre.

The presentation of the drugs and equipment was in commemoration of the NPHCDA Transparency and Accountability Award 2017, won by Salau, a staff in the Finance and Account Department and who is equally an indigene of Ikaram-Akoko.

The award, which was a maiden edition, was known as ‘Professor Umoru Shuaibu Award for Outstanding Performance’, in recognition of the immense contributions of the renowned public health expert.

The joy of the recipient of the award and the entire members of the Ikaram community led by the Traditional Ruler, the Akala of Ikaram, Oba Andrew Momodu and his chiefs, knows no bound as they rolled out drums to receive the NPHCDA team, who came from Abuja and the South West zone.

One unique feature of the award, was that

the recipient was not the only beneficiary but the entire community where the winner hailed from as a reward for the community’s effort in raising a good child.

Therefore, apart from the personal benefits accrued to Salau, for his exemplary performance, drugs and hospital equipment were given for the use of the medical facility in the town.

Welcoming the guests on the occasion, the Medical Officer of Health for the Akoko North West Local Government, Dr. Abdulazeez Adewale, said the ceremony came at a well appreciable time the state governor was marking his first

We heartily rejoice with our dear brother, Alhaji Abdul-Ganiyu Adesina Salau, for the honour and glory you earned for yourself and brought home to Ikaram Akoko, the local government and the state. You are indeed illustrious and worthy of emulation for you have done us proud

year in office saying that it had indeed added to the merriment of the celebration.

“We heartily rejoice with our dear brother for the honour and glory you earned for yourself and brought home to Ikaram Akoko, the local government and the state. You are indeed illustrious and worthy of emulation for you have done us proud,” Adewale commended the award winner.

The medical officer said the local government currently has 25 primary healthcare facilities and diligent health workforce.

He said the local government was noted as foremost in the state in the provision of routine immunisation services, qualitative healthcare delivery and efficient health administration.

Adewale said all the activities of the local government health services had been attested to by the various awards and recognition won by the council.

“The local government was the best in routine immunisation in 2013, best PHC coordinator award in 2015, best local government in the provision of qualitative health services in 2016 (NSHIP/World Bank Award).

“All these were made possible by the dedicated health workforce, robust community participation/ support and good governance from the state and local government,” he said.

Adewale who said the local government had benefitted from several initiatives of the NPHCDA, lamented that the state was currently on suspension from NSHIP project due to some reasons that were already being addressed.

He appealed to the Executive Director of NPHCDA to assist in the lifting of the suspen-

sion saying the continuing suspension of the project in the state has adversely affected the provision of affordable, accessible and qualitative healthcare services to the people and the gain already recorded in the reduction of maternal mortality and improvement in childhood survival.

He said despite efforts of the local government at meeting the health needs of the people in the communities, they lacked the required staff needs.

“At the moment, there are 25 health facilities in the local government with just eight nurses/ midwives and 34 CHOs and CHEWs in a local government area of 305,892 inhabitants.

“We are also incapacitated in providing adequate drugs to the facilities due to the meagre fund available to the local government areas in the country.

“We hereby call on the Executive Director to deploy more midwives on the MSS scheme, more drugs and equipment to our health facilities to help sustain the provision of quality maternal and child health services,” he said.

Adewale said they shall make judicious use of the scanning of the drugs and equipment being donated.

The medical officer urged the Ondo State Government to emulate the NPHCDA by initiating similar awards at the state level to boost the morale of workers.

Also speaking, an elated traditional ruler of the town, the Akala of Ikaram, Oba Andrew Momodu, Osona 1, traced the journey of the basic health centre from the dispensary level to the maternity centre before it got to its current status.

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018

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CITYSTRINGS

The Executive Director of the NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib (1st left) inaugurating drugs and equipment presented to the Ikaram Basic Health Centre

Highlighting the contributions of the community to the development and operations of the health facility, the traditional ruler said the community had built two additional wards just as the community had also provided funds for Drugs Revolving Fund (DRF) for the past 20 years.

Momodu said three indigenes of the community, the former Minister of Defence, Mr. Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN), the President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Justice Babatunde Adejumo and Dr. Williams, had been of tremendous help to the community’s basic health centre in so many ways.

According to him, Kayode donated Toyota Hillux Van to the centre, he facilitated the conversion of the centre to an annex of the Federal Medical Centre, Owo and payment of doctors and other community recruited staff salary up till date.

The traditional ruler said Babatunde Adejumo personally funded the connection of the health facility to the national grid and also donated a standard power generator for the centre.

He added that members of the community had at various times provided beds for the wards.

The traditional ruler also stated that Mrs. Williams has been organising medical outreach every year in order to help improve the health standard and to reduce premature death in the community.

He said the community had provided a hand dug borehole while the defunct Millennium Village Project provided a motorised borehole just as the community provided an ultra sound scanning machine that is still functional for the health centre.

While stating that the community had also intervened to improve the laboratory calling on the NPHCDA to provide an ex-ray machine to increase the capacity of the centre to handle more cases.

The monarch said with the support the community had been providing, it is high time that the centre is upgraded to a Comprehensive Health Centre by the state government.

Momodu commended the NPHCDA under the leadership of the current Executive Director for the initiative to reward hard work, commitment and transparency of one of the workers who is an indigene of Ikaram Akoko and for the maiden edition of the award.

While saying it is not all organisations that reward good works but what the NPHCDA had done would serve as morale booster to other workers.

“We are proud that Salau had brought honour not only to himself and his family, but also to the Ikaram community and this had shown the kind of upbringing the sons and daughters of the community went through.

“We are happy that the man had not brought shame to us in Ikaram, we are celebrating him

A cross section of guests at the event

and this shall serve as an encouragement to other indigenes of the state wherever they are.

“This is a great honour. It is not easy. Winning an award is one thing, presenting an award is another thing but the most unique aspect of the award is that it is brought down to the winner community. We appreciate you and the NPHCDA,” he said.

He therefore called on government and organisations to recognise those who had

Before presenting the award and inaugurating the drugs and equipment, the NPHCDA Executive Director, Dr. Faisal Shuaibu, said the award was in line with the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration commitment to provide good and qualitative healthcare for everyone irrespective of where they are located.

done well right in their communities while those who did bad should also be punished in their communities to make people inculcate good behavioural attitude in their children right from the youthful age.

In appreciation of the executive director, a chieftaincy title of Otun Basegun of Ikaram was conferred on him.

In his remarks before presenting the award and inaugurating the drugs and equipment, the NPHCDA Executive Director, said the award was in line with the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration commitment to provide good and qualitative healthcare for everyone irrespective of where they are located.

He said the award presentation was brought to the recipient community as a mark of honour for his maiden family and the entire people of the community that produced him.

“It is not only about money. Money cannot buy what Salau has brought to his community.

The honour is not only for the recipient but for him, his children and the community.

“The hard work and transparency that the man had demonstrated was what he learnt not only from his parents but also from the community. Only one person cannot raise a child. We are here to make a statement.

“The presence of the traditional rulers and the people of Ikaram, men and women showed that the people also believed in hard work and transparency.

“This is in line with the anti-corruption drive of President Muhammadu Buhari. If you are

saying the folks should not line their pockets with public funds, then how do we motivate them?”

The Executive Director stressed that outstanding public servants must be motivated by the work that they do, adding that “when you are holding people accountable, it is not just about sanctioning them but also about how do you reward them.

“There is no better way to reward them than to bring them back to their communities by saying thank you to their traditional and religious leaders, relatives for doing an incredible job by raising such individuals; like what we are doing here today.

“It takes a whole village to raise a good child.

If you have an adult that is doing well, it is because his/her community has raised him/ her well, taught him/her the right thing and Mr. Salau has been an exceptional staff.

“He has been an epitome of honesty, the anti-corruption drive of Mr. President and we are here to say to his community that he has been an outstanding and amazing staff of NPHCDA. We are also donating drugs and equipment for the people, this is what they said we should do for them as recognition of what Salau has done.

“So, apart from coming here to celebrate Mr. Salau and say thank you to the community, we are also using the donation to improve the quality of primary healthcare in the community,” he said.

T H I S D AY Ëž , MARCH 23, 2018

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

DMO: FGN Bond Auction for March Oversubscribed Ndubuisi Francis Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The Debt Management Office (DMO) has disclosed that the FGN Bond Auction for March was oversubscribed like the January and February auctions.

Total subscription at the March Auction was N142.81 billion, representing 204 per cent of the amount offered. The subscription rates for the 5, 7 and 10 year Bonds were 189 per cent, 84 per cent and 329 per cent respectively, showing the preference of investors for the 10-year Bond. The result of the auction obtained from the DMO website indicated that based

on the bids received, a total of N64.06 billion was allotted and the rates were 13.40 per cent for the five-year, 13.53 per cent for the seven-year and 13.60 per cent for the 10-year Bond.

According to the DMO, the federal government allotted N64.06 billion bonds in its March auction, as against the N70 billion earlier planned.

The Office conducted the third in the series of FGN Bond Auctions for the year on March 21, 2018 to raise funds for the implementation of the 2018 Budget.

Bonds were offered in three tenors – 5, 7 and 10 years, to

meet the needs of the various investor categories. “The Auction was oversubscribed, just like the January and February Auctions. Total subscription at the March Auction was N142.81 billion, representing 204% of the amount offered. The subscription rates for the 5, 7 and 10 year Bonds were 189%, 84% and 329% respectively, showing the preference of investors for the 10-year Bond. “Based on the bids received, a total of N64.06 billion was allotted and the rates were 13.40% for the 5-year, 13.53% for the 7-year and 13.60% for the 10-year Bond,� the DMO said.

Afreximbank Pledges $25bn for Intra-AfricanTrade Ndubuisi Francis Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will disburse about $25 billion in support of intra-African trade for five years ending in 2021 under an Intra-African Trade Strategy, which it launched in 2016 in anticipation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Afreximbank President, Dr. Benedict Oramah, announced in Kigali, Rwanda at a special luncheon for heads of states and delegates attending the signing of the agreement for the launch of the AfCFTA that the Strategy drew inspiration

from the African Union’s Action Plan for Boosting Intra-African Trade and the Action Plan for Accelerated Industrial Development in Africa.

It sought to contribute to providing end-to-end and comprehensive solutions to smoothen the conduct of crossborder trade and investment activities across Africa, he said.

The Bank, in a statement quoted Oramah as saying that the signing of the AfCFTA agreement promised to build a solid foundation for prosperity for all Africans, adding that “Afreximbank is, therefore, prepared, willing and able to play its role to make sure

that opportunities created by the history-making step taken

by African leaders are fully realized�.

He announced that, as part of the Intra-African trade Strategy, Afreximbank had opened credit lines amounting to $800 million to 55 banks across Africa in order to facilitate the confirmation of letters of credit in support of intra-African trade.

The Bank’s goal was to extend such lines to at least 500 banks in all African countries by 2021 in order to significantly reduce the cost of intra-African trade finance and to counter the constraints posed by country risks.

FCMB Partners Abia on SME Empowerment First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has gone into partnership with Abia State government to provide financial and other technical support to existing and potential owners of SMEs in the state under the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YEDP).

Under the partnership, FCMB is offering loans and technical support to eligible existing and aspiring young entrepreneurs who have viable business ideas.

An individual can access up to N3 million, while group projects jointly owned by three to five qualified beneficiaries can access up to N10 million, payable in three years at an interest rate of nine per cent.

According to a statement, target beneficiaries are members

of NYSC (or those who not more than five years postNYSC), those who possess a verifiable tertiary institution certificate and artisans with First School Leaving Certificate or a technical certificate or accredited proficiency certificate from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

To ensure ease and convenience in accessing the facility as well as overall success of the partnership, the statement disclosed that FCMB had developed a product under the YEDP and a dedicated website where applicants can log in, fill a form and provide all requirements to benefit from the funding and other benefits associated with the programme.

Speaking at the Abia Mega Youth Summit held in the state

recently, where the partnership between FCMB and the state was launched, the Executive Director, Business Development of the Bank, Mrs. Bukola Smith, described the financial institution’s intervention as another demonstration of its commitment to empower SMEs and youths in order to up-scale their contributions to the development of the country.

She said: “We recognise the role of SMEs as drivers of Nigeria’s development and how youths can key into the opportunities. The YEDP is a major platform to address the challenges of unemployment among youths, as it will go a long way to ensure availability and affordability of capital required by entrepreneurs and start-ups.

Ecobank, Mastercard Launch Payment Channel Promo Ecobank Nigeria and MasterCard have launched a discount promotion with 9Mobile Nigeria to drive the use of Masterpass QR payments at 10 of its Experience Centres in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

Under the arrangement, consumers transacting business in any of the locations in the three cities in the country are expected to make payment with their Masterpass QR to access a N500 airtime offer when they spend N5, 000 and above.

The offer, which is to customers of all the banks, a statement revealed would, run between March 21 and April 30, 2018.

Speaking on the partnership, Head, Transaction Services Group (TSG), Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Emile Sagna said: “We are

building strategic relationships with merchants and consumers, leveraging the innovative MasterPass Quick Response (QR) mobile payment technology to allow millions of Nigerians make instant payment for goods and services using the convenience of their mobile phones. “This will further digitise and improve both the consumer and merchant trading and payment experience, deliver real time-payment processing. 9 Mobile customers can now enjoy the convenience of Scanning a QR code at any 9Mobile stores to instantly pay for goods and services using their phones.�

Sagna noted that Masterpass QR offers the consumer safety, convenience and speed to

make digital payment anywhere and anytime.

Furthermore, he explained that Ecobank released its dynamic QR code which can be integrated into merchant’s ERP in order to address the peculiar needs of other business enterprises that require customized payment functionalities. He added that merchants will be able to generate dynamic QR codes for each payment request for the customer to simply input his PIN for authentication.

The MasterCard QR is available to merchants in different industries ranging from hospitality, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs), Aviation, Insurance, Utilities, lifestyle, health and entertainment.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

AUGUST 2017 Broad Money (M2)

21,851,454.31

-- Narrow Money (M1)

9,890,813.10

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,523,239.91

---- Demand Deposits

8,367,573.19

-- Quasi Money

11,960,641.22

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

9,732,990.89

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

12,118,463.42

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,821,446.81

---- Credit to Government (Net)

4,824,226.22

Ě‹Ě‹Ě‹Ě‹ Ă?Ă—Ă™Ë? ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ“Ăž ÞÙ Ùà Þ˛ Ě™ Ă?Þ̚ Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă?

7,834,536.74

Ě‹Ě‹Ě‹Ě‹ Ă?Ă—Ă™Ë? Ă?ĂŽË› Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“ĂœĂœĂ™Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ě™ Ěš

-3,010,310.52

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

21,997,220.59

--Other Assets Net

-14,702,983.39

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,486,804.65

--Currency in Circulation

1,868,735.07

--Banks Reserves

3,268,266.17 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

MANAGED FUNDS Month Inter-Bank Call Rate

AUGUST 2017 22.63

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

13.35

Savings Deposit Rate

4.08

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.86

3 Months Deposit Rate

10.14

6 Months Deposit Rate

11.51

12 Months Deposit Rate

11.40

Prime Lending rate

17.69

Maximum Lending Rate

31.20 Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT, WED, MARCH 21, 2018 The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $65.39 a barrel on Wednesday, compared with $64.11 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

T H I S D AY ˾ , MARCH 23, 2018

43

MARKET NEWS

Ecobank Recovers from Loss, Posts N70 Billion Profit After Tax Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie

from N542.7 billion in 2015 to N665 billion in 2016, it ended that year with a loss of N52 billion following the bank’s decision to clean its books of non-performing risk assets. The board and management then assured the shareholders and other stakeholders that efforts were being made to reposition the bank for better performance.

The audited results released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of Ecobank Group, has recorded a profit after tax (PAT) of N69.992 billion for the year ended December 31, 2017, which is a recovery from a loss of N52.6 billion in 2016.

While ETI grew its gross earnings by 22.3 per cent

(NSE) showed that the bank has overcome its challenges and back to profitability.

A breakdown of the results indicate that ETI recorded gross earnings of N763.633 billion in 2017, up by 15 per cent from N665 billion posted in the 2016.

Net interest income rose from N283.961 billion to N299.324 billion. Fee and commission income also followed same growth trajectory, rising from

N124.8 billion to N143.8 billion, while other income settled at N261.5 billion compared with N222.2 billion. Impairment losses fell by 43 per cent from N221.7 billion to N125.98 billion, making the bank to close the year with a profit before tax of N88.309 billion, as against a loss of N33.7 billion in 2016.

Profit after tax stood at N69.992 billion, compared with a loss of N52.6 billion in 2016.

PRICES FOR SECURITIES TRADED AS OF

The bank explained that “Our customers showed their confidence in the firm’s value proposition by giving us more of their deposits, which grew by 13 per cent. Also, our actions to improve the firm’s efficiency were productive as will be our progressive moves to right-size and simplify our businesses, which have been designed to allow us to serve our customers better and create more sustain-

able value generation. We have reduced our efficiency ratio to 61.8 per cent, which evidences the effectiveness of these actions and we will continue to drive this ratio down,” it said.

ETI added that 2017 also marked two years into its fiveyear ‘Roadmap to Leadership’ and digitisation strategy through which it has made real strides in fixing the foundations on which its businesses can grow.

A S AT 2 2 / 0 3 / 2 0 1 8

Price List (Equities) PRICES FOR PREMIUM BOARD SECURITIES FINANCIAL SERVICES

S/N 1 BANKING S/N 2 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRIAL GOODS S/N 3 BUILDING MATERIALS INDUSTRIAL GOODS PREMIUM BOARD TOTALS Price List (Equities) PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES AGRICULTURE S/N 4 5 6 CROP PRODUCTION S/N 7 FISHING/HUNTING/ TRAPPING S/N 8 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES AGRICULTURE CONGLOMERATES S/N 9 10 11 12 13 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES CONGLOMERATES CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE S/N 14 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION S/N 15 16 INFRASTRUCTURE/ HEAVY CONSTRUCTION S/N 17 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT S/N 18 19 20 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE CONSUMER GOODS S/N 21 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS S/N 22 23 24 25 26 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS S/N

BANKING ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC

MARKET CAP(Nm) 904,219.02

OTHER FINANCIAL MARKET CAP(Nm) INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 432,538.28

BUILDING MATERIALS MARKET CAP(Nm) DANGOTE CEMENT 4,514,030.41 PLC

CROP PRODUCTION MARKET CAP(Nm) FTN COCOA PROCES528.00 SORS PLC OKOMU OIL PALM 68,681.52 PLC. PRESCO PLC 72,000.00 FISHING/HUNTING/ TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC.

MARKET CAP(Nm) 511.20 MARKET CAP(Nm) 2,640.00

DIVERSIFIED INDUSMARKET CAP(Nm) TRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGE1,694.27 RIA PLC. JOHN HOLT PLC. 210.14 S C O A NIG. PLC. 2,111.93 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF 71,133.98 NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. 51,863.34

BUILDING CONSTRUCMARKET CAP(Nm) TION ARBICO PLC. 711.32 INFRASTRUCTURE/ HEAVY CONSTRUC- MARKET CAP(Nm) TION JULIUS BERGER NIG. 32,736.00 PLC. ROADS NIG PLC. 165.00 REAL ESTATE DEVELMARKET CAP(Nm) OPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. 8,055.03 LIMITED REAL ESTATE INVESTMARKET CAP(Nm) MENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND 2,000.00 PLC UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT 11,300.89 TRUST (REIT) UPDC REAL ESTATE 26,682.70 INVESTMENT TRUST

PRICE

%CHANGE

28.80

1.77

TRADES

VOLUME

27 28

548

67,273,381

548

67,273,381

PRICE

%CHANGE

TRADES

VOLUME

12.05

0.42

353

32,823,614

29 30

353

32,823,614

31

901

100,096,995

32

PRICE

%CHANGE

TRADES

VOLUME

33

264.90

-

23

16,396

34

23 23

16,396 16,396

FOOD PRODUCTS

924

100,113,391

PRICE

%CHANGE

TRADES

VOLUME

0.24

-7.69

3

2,217,800

72.00

-

21

189,080

72.00

-

9 33

38,705 2,445,585

PRICE

%CHANGE

TRADES

VOLUME

4.26

-

0

0

0

0

PRICE

%CHANGE

TRADES

VOLUME

0.88

-3.30

30

2,231,773

30

2,231,773

63

4,677,358

TRADES

VOLUME

PRICE

%CHANGE

0.64

-

9

63,162

0.54 3.25

-

6 3

18,194 1,169

1.75

4.79

94

8,908,038

18.00

-0.28

42

822,308

154

9,812,871

154

9,812,871

S/N 35 36 FOOD PRODUCTS-DIVERSIFIED S/N 37 38 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES S/N 39 40 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS CONSUMER GOODS FINANCIAL SERVICES S/N 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 BANKING

PRICE

%CHANGE

TRADES

VOLUME

4.79

-

1

100

1

100

53

TRADES

VOLUME

54

PRICE

%CHANGE

S/N

55 24.80

-

6.60

-

PRICE

%CHANGE

26

164,033

0

0

26

164,033

TRADES

VOLUME

56 57 58 59

3.10

-

24

2,826,701

24

2,826,701

61

60

PRICE

%CHANGE

TRADES

VOLUME

62

100.00

-

0

0

63

45.20

-

0

0

64

0

0

65

0

0

66

51

2,990,834

67

10.00

-

68 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO MARKET CAP(Nm) PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER 1,670.43 PLC BEVERAGES--BREWMARKET CAP(Nm) ERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 22,314.06 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. 242.22 PLC. GUINNESS NIG PLC 229,990.20 INTERNATIONAL 489,964.13 BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 1,022,803.77 FOOD PRODUCTS MARKET CAP(Nm)

PRICE

%CHANGE

TRADES

VOLUME

69

0.35

-

5

28,230

70

5

28,230

%CHANGE

TRADES

VOLUME

PRICE 2.85

-

1

19,000

0.89

-

0

0

105.00

-

37

125,556

71 72 73 74

57.00

-

18

40,168

127.90

1.51

93

640,284

149

825,008

76

TRADES

VOLUME

77

PRICE

%CHANGE

75

78

DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC UNION DICON SALT PLC.

79,250.00

15.85

0.63

80

693,034

246,000.00

20.50

-1.44

47

416,570

98,408.89

37.50

0.13

145

8,960,559

18,873.87

2.38

-4.80

80

3,365,287

1,489.00

0.40

-

0

0

1,113.75

6.25

0.81

12

264,332

54,313.49

20.50

-

51

734,277

3,676.41

13.45

-

FOOD PRODUCTSMARKET CAP(Nm) -DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA 24,886.18 PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,070,085.94 HOUSEHOLD DUMARKET CAP(Nm) RABLES NIGERIAN ENAMEL1,680.31 WARE PLC. VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3,127.11 PERSONAL/HOUSEMARKET CAP(Nm) HOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA 91,320.97 PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA 319,709.55 PLC.

BANKING MARKET CAP(Nm) ACCESS BANK PLC. 321,100.49 DIAMOND BANK PLC 45,625.97 ECOBANK TRANSNA329,374.44 TIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC 75,334.47 GUARANTY TRUST 1,322,931.51 BANK PLC. JAIZ BANK PLC 26,812.47 SKYE BANK PLC 10,549.03 STERLING BANK PLC. 49,231.61 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 186,372.82 UNITED BANK FOR 401,843.20 AFRICA PLC UNITY BANK PLC 14,027.21 WEMA BANK PLC. 27,773.62 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND MARKET CAP(Nm) SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY 4,940.40 PLC AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 4,643.24 AXAMANSARD INSUR26,775.00 ANCE PLC CONSOLIDATED HALL2,310.00 MARK INSURANCE PLC CONTINENTAL REINSUR17,737.39 ANCE PLC CORNERSTONE INSUR5,597.21 ANCE COMPANY PLC. EQUITY ASSURANCE 4,900.00 PLC. GOLDLINK INSURANCE 2,411.47 PLC GREAT NIGERIAN INSUR1,913.74 ANCE PLC GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 2,456.00 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE 642.04 COMPANY PLC LASACO ASSURANCE 2,489.97 PLC. LAW UNION AND ROCK 2,921.50 INS. PLC. LINKAGE ASSURANCE 6,400.00 PLC MUTUAL BENEFITS AS3,040.00 SURANCE PLC. N.E.M INSURANCE CO 14,943.82 (NIG) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. 2,786.21 PLC. PRESTIGE ASSURANCE 2,593.60 CO. PLC. REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY 1,800.56 PLC SOVEREIGN TRUST 2,168.61 INSURANCE PLC STANDARD ALLIANCE 5,680.85 INSURANCE PLC. STANDARD TRUST 4,483.72 ASSURANCE PLC UNIC DIVERSIFIED 464.81 HOLDINGS PLC. UNITY KAPITAL AS3,050.67 SURANCE PLC UNIVERSAL INSUR8,000.00 ANCE COMPANY PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 7,092.85

0

0

415

14,434,059

TRADES

VOLUME 950,718

PRICE

%CHANGE

13.25

4.74

62

1,350.00

-

32

59,348

94

1,010,066 VOLUME

PRICE

%CHANGE

TRADES

22.10

-

2

1,200

3.00

-

11

206,139

13

207,339

PRICE

%CHANGE

TRADES

VOLUME

23.00

2.68

25

312,453

55.65

-

21

102,840

PRICE 11.10 1.97

%CHANGE -5.53 4.79

46

415,293

722

16,919,995

TRADES 688 90

VOLUME 126,006,053 8,752,222

17.95

-

60

552,458

2.60

4.00

257

23,628,370

44.95

0.67

232

51,838,251

0.91 0.76 1.71 6.40

-4.21 1.32 -

5 37 165 57

305,990 2,665,311 866,373 559,571

11.75

2.17

186

29,500,453

1.20 0.72

-2.44 -2.78

48 35 1,860

2,167,426 1,350,312 248,192,790

PRICE

%CHANGE

TRADES

VOLUME

0.24

-

2

7,200,000 2,786,640

0.67

4.69

41

2.55

2.00

3

107,000

0.33

-5.71

12

1,173,000

1.71

4.91

35

1,542,481

0.38

-

2

53,442

0.35

-

4

100,000

0.53

-

0

0

0.50

-

0

0

0.40

-4.76

20

2,000,000

0.50

-

1

97,041

0.34

3.03

15

20,284,320

0.68

-4.23

48

1,745,936

0.80

1.25

14

323,675

0.38

-5.00

8

3,426,644

2.83

4.81

36

2,835,964

0.36

-

3

45,621

0.47

2.17

13

4,919,347

0.27

-3.57

21

27,870,551

0.26

-

0

0

0.44

-

2

50,000

0.48

-4.00

75

10,299,854

0.18

-5.26

13

782,330

0.22

-8.33

14

12,284,582

0.50

-

0

0

0.53

-1.85

48

7,916,857

44

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͱ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY MARCH 23, 2018

45

46

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͱ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

47

˾ FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018

MARKET NEWS

CrusaderSterling Pensions Delivers Impressive Returns to Customers Goddy Egene The CrusaderSterling Pensions Retiree fund achieved a total annual returns of 21.69 per cent as at December 31, 2017, the highest for the year in the retiree segment of the market. The fund is managed by CrusaderSterling Pensions Limited, which is a member of the Custodian and Allied Insurance Group Plc. The National Pension Commission (PenCom) last December released the framework for the

enhancement of the monthly pension payout to existing retirees who chose Programmed Withdrawal (PW) offered by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) as against annuity product offered by insurance companies.

The objective of the framework is to provide modalities for the implementation of periodic pension enhancement for retirees on PW under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) by utilising the surpluses generated from Return on

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

Investment (ROI).

It is this fund management impressive performance that has given advantage to over 2,000 retirees currently enjoying enhanced monthly pension payments under the CrusaderSterling Pension management. The company explained that the CrusaderSterling Pensions RSA fund, has maintained a leading position over the last eight years.

In 2017, the RSA Fund returned the industry highest at 19.8 per cent and a cumulative of 290.9

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 14-Mar-2018, unless otherwise stated.

per cent from inception as at 26th February, 2018, giving it a clear leading position in the industry. .Next in terms of performance are” Premium Pension Fund with a return of 280.1 per cent and ARM Pension Fund with a return of 279.7 per cent from inception.

Industry analysts said PenCom investment regulations strictly prescribe asset classes that PFAs could invest with the twin objective of achieving safety and security of pension funds.

According to operators, the onus of monitoring returns on investments resides more with the fund contributors than PENCOM. However, they said disappointedly, most contributors are passive and rarely follow up on performances of their PFAs and fund which is reflected through the fund prices.

PenCom said that the exercise would be reviewed on regular basis to ensure more retirees enjoy higher standard of living as their PFAs continue to record higher

returns on investment.

The positive changes in the pension industry was brought about following the enactment of the Pension Reform Act 2004 that introduced a Contributory Pension System which transferred retirement risk and control to the employee.

The major source of funds to the pension account are the employer contribution, the employee contribution and the returns generated by the PFA chosen by the employee to manage the fund.

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 187.65 188.37 5.57% Nigeria International Debt Fund 241.59 242.32 4.42% 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 15.55% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 19.60 20.19 7.27% ARM Discovery Fund 414.38 426.87 6.51% ARM Ethical Fund 29.46 28.60 4.69% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 15.50% 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 160.28 161.40 5.66% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 15.18% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.95% Paramount Equity Fund 12.66 12.99 2.44% Women's Investment Fund 103.17 105.81 2.52% 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 14.98% 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 15.62% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.12 1.13 6.02% 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 1,195.42 1,196.59 4.14% FBN Heritage Fund 146.80 148.14 5.32% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.70% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $114.76 $115.31 1.64% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $114.79 $115.33 1.76% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 176.25 178.97 9.63% 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 3.03% 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 3,144.65 3,179.40 5.37% Coral Income Fund 2,548.67 2,548.67 4.17% 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 14.54% 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 14.94% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.17 2.20 3.09% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 16.41% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 117.60 117.93 2.24%

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 1.16 1.18 1.16% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,060.56 1,060.56 2.85% 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 N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 2,358.11 2,377.11 5.12% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 180.47 180.47 2.28% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.07 1.09 6.93% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 229.11 229.20 4.04% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 192.37 194.54 7.42% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.88% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,270.73 10,411.14 6.22% 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 13.27 13.46 6.06% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.92 14.08 6.29% Zenith Income Fund 19.66 19.66 3.94% 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

12.37 157.60 117.81

12.47 160.99 120.02

2.05% 10.35% 7.84%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

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

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

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

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

FRIDAY MARCH 23, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

48

WORLD OF ISLAM INTERNATIONAL Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

Fundamentals of Marital Bliss –1

Abdus-Salam Abdur-Rasaq/Islamic Forum

INTRODUCTION t is one of the favours of Allah to mankind that He ordained marriage as a sacred institution. In the Qur’an, (Suratur-Rum) 30 Ayah 21; He says: “And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): Verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.”

Further in Suratun Nisai, 3 Ayah 3 “… Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them) then only one …”

Marriage is therefore a sacred institution which we must all venture into. However, some people have the opinion that because of the inherent challenges in marriage, they do not want to enter into the nuptial contract which comes with responsibility for both sexes. It is however important for us to know, that we came into this world through challenges and we live through it by confronting challenges. Rasulullah followed this with a clear directive; “Marriage is my Sunnah (Practice) and whoever abandons my practice is not of me.”

To confront the challenges, Muslims must be exposed to opportunities to learn the fundamentals of a blissful marriage and how to retool a failing marriage. Allah has therefore directed us in Suratul Tahrim, 6 Ayah 6: “O ye who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who flinch not (from executing) the commands they receive from Allah, but do (precisely) what they are commanded.” The essence of this directive is for us to admonish ourselves in the family and to also come together to learn how to enjoy our marriages.

THE PIVOTS OF MARRIAGE Scholars are generally agreed that to establish marriage, there must be a number of factors. One is Offer and Acceptance; the offer can come from both sexes. The second is Parental Consent, especially for a virgin. The third is Dowry, a special gift from the man to the would be wife and the fourth is Publicity; which is an opportunity for people to witness the solemnisation. A union that has completed the basic four rules has become legal in Islam even without a Court or Registry. Before the completion of the four, prospective couple must observe the barrier between unmarried people. This is also a guide to marital bliss.

THE PIVOTS OF A BLISSFUL MARRIAGE There are three major issues in establishing a good home, they are: Our Faith and its Implications, Our Personal Morality and Our Mutual Communication abilities. However, in the modern times, a number of issues are affecting marriages. Issues like: Joint Account and Finances, Concept of Me and My Wife or Husband are a few of them.

The first issue is FAITH. Your Faith about Islam.

Practice it in your daily life. What meaning do you give your Faith in your life? Make Faith the foundation of the home. It will carry all other loads. Your marriage should be to perfect your faith, build a home called the home of Islam.

As Muslims, we must have a complete Muslim personality and not dual personalities. This is why Allah directs in Surah Al-Baqarah, 2 Ayah 208: “O ye who believe! enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the evil one; for He is to you an avowed enemy.” Allah wants us to submit everything about ourselves to the complete way of life, perfected by Allah Himself. A close observation in this verse reveals that once you opt for anything other than that Perfected Way, you are ‘following the footsteps of Shaytan – the evil one. In our marriage therefore, from conception to implementation and sustaining the marriage, Faith must be the bedrock.

Secondly, Allah says you are the best community in Surah Al-Imran, 3 Ayah 110: “Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. …” The above revelation has its implication on your marriage. As the best people or community, your marriage should also reflect the best marriage from which others will learn, copy and appreciate marriage better.

Once this is not the case, question your faith.

Each time you question your faith, you will see how you have hit the rock and therefore helped Shaytan to enter your marriage. If you hope to make amends, return back to Allah in submission and in repentance because He has warned us all poignantly in Suratul Ahzab, 33 Ayah 36 that: “It is not fitting for a believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong path.”

May we not be on the wrong path.

Despite our knowledge of Islam, the guidance of scholars and our urge for peace and love for blissful home, there are a number of ubiquitous challenges. They include; Children, Money, Conjugal issues, Family, in-laws, Across the Fence – our neighbours and, The Other Woman – polygamy.

I

All these issues constitute challenges in varying ways but because of space and time, only two would be discussed here and show us how faith deals simply and easily with them. The cases: children and polygamy or polygyny would be discussed.

In the case of children, we are troubled when we are yet to blessed with them or when they are coming in particular sex. Every marriage that is truly a marriage hopes for children as fast as possible. By the end of the month our parents are asking ‘has Allah answered our prayer.?’ In all these scenarios, Allah has not given authority to man over it. Whether you will have children or their sexes are all determined by Allah.

This position, Allah affirms in the Qur’an, Surah AsShurah, 42 Ayah 49-50: “To Allah belongs the dominion of the heaves and the earth. He creates what He wills. He bestows female (offspring) upon whom He wills and bestows male (offspring) upon whom He wills. Or, He mingles them male and female and He makes barren whom He wills. Lo! He is Knower, Powerful.”

Another issue about children is in time management.

During honeymoon, the couple has all the time unlimited, no challenges, it was a free period. The moment baby Abdullah arrives; you will notice the changes. From the time he is in the tummy while his mother carries a can about to empty the fluid from her mouth regularly or she vomits once she perceives certain odours, some men are put off by what medical doctors call symptoms of the first trimester!

Then Abdullah is born and that time you so much desire intimacy with your partner, you are both in the mood then he cries – as if monitoring you both. The cry does not subside until the mood is gone. Perhaps baby Khadijah is already crawling – goodness, they love to play with well-arranged clothe, just from the dry cleaner.

She would pick them one after the other and turn them to a small heap on the floor. A little more delay, she craws on top like a queen on her throne and urinates.

The father is dressed to rush out for whatever assignment and Abdullah rushed at him, holding unto his flowing gown, behold Abdullah’s fingers are soaked with pepper from whatever food he was eating or playing with. Another scenario, man wants his food and the diligent wife rushes to the kitchen to serve. Khadijah comes to the sitting room and excretes on the floor.

While both wife and husband may be the one overreacting here, mostly it is the men – the husband that always feel the wife has not done enough to prevent such scenario from coming up. Just recap a little and see who was idle in most of those cases – the answer is The Husband. Yes, the man, he was supposed to have offered a helping hand.

In your family, what will happen when your husband increases in Ibadah, like: observing Tahajjud, Tatawa etc?

These are voluntary activities right? If there is faith in that family, then there must be happiness. The wife is happy seeing that her husband is moving closer to Allah. She commends him and even willingly tells her friends how her husband is dutiful and seeks the face of Allah all times.

But, what happens if he seeks a Mathna ...?! An-Nikahi is also part of Faith! Polygamy is indeed not compulsory but doing it also pleases Allah just as extra voluntary Ibadah that we carry out. So, why do we then always object?

Let us recall the Ayah of Suratun Nisai again: “…

Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them) then only one …”

Issues in the verse are that you marry women ‘of your choice’ – the first rule, a woman you can operate with on the same page always. Then Allah starts with ‘two, three or four’ – the men will have a minimum of two and the weak a maximum of one. Allah then establish the rule – Justice and fair play.

We have a lot of stories about ‘short comings’ in polygamy, just like in all businesses, supposing you chose to make yours a success! Or is business experience not like that?

The rush into the oil and gas business is not an indication that there are no failures. The same for agriculture in recent times, they all have their challenges. Ditto for marriage, even with a single wife, there are challenges but you can choose to make your own a success.

Now, let us take a look at our morality and its importance in marriage. The morality of the individual constituents of our home is very important. Rasulullah says: ‘I have been sent to perfect morals’ and Surah Al-Qalam, 68 Ayah 4: “And Thou (stands) on an Exalted standard of character.” The Qur’an consistently joins Good Work with Faith like in Suratul Kahf, 18 Ayah 107: “As to those who believe and work righteous deeds, have, for their entertainment, the Gardens of Paradise.”

Two major issues in morality are germane when it comes to marriage, they are Patience and Bashfulness (Behaving in a shy, self-conscious or modest way – Sense of Shame). Patience overcomes all difficulties and that is why the Qur’an exalts us to be patient and persevere in Quran Al- Imran, Ayah 200: “O you who believe!

Persevere in patience and constancy: vie in such perseverance, strengthen each other, and fear Allah, that you may prosper.”

To Be Continued

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

May Seeks EU Backing against Russia on Spy Attack British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday warned EU leaders that Russia posed a threat to the whole bloc as she sought united backing against Moscow after the poisoning of an ex-spy in England, AFP reported.

May told her colleagues at a Brussels summit the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury using a deadly Sovietdeveloped nerve agent showed the Russian threat “doesn’t respect borders”.

While the US, France and Germany have swung behind London, saying they accept the UK assessment that the Russian state is the only plausible culprit, other EU countries keen to protect their Kremlin ties -- notably Greece and Italy -- want a softer line.

“It is clear that the Russian threat doesn’t respect borders and indeed the incident in Salisbury was part of a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe and its near neighbours,” May told reporters as she arrived in Brussels.

She is expected to tell them over dinner that the threat from the east will continue “for years to come”, and long after Britain leaves the bloc in 2019. The British leader will hold crisis talks on the poisoning with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel before briefing all the EU leaders on the investigation.

The poisoning has triggered a furious diplomatic row between London and Moscow, with titfor-tat expulsions of diplomats

on both sides, while the Kremlin denies any responsibility and Russian state media have offered numerous alternative explanations.

British officials have been pressing European allies to follow London’s lead with their own expulsions of Russian diplomats, and Lithuania’s outspoken President Dalia Grybauskaite said she was giving serious thought to the matter.

“We support the measures UK is applying and all of us we are considering such measures,” Grybauskaite said as she arrived for the summit.

EU President Donald Tusk said on the eve of the summit that leaders will show “solidarity” with Britain after Salisbury and called the bloc to take practical steps to “reinforce our preparedness for future attacks”.

Facebook Investors Fret over Costs as Zuckerberg Apologises Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg’s apology for mishandling user data and some limited proposals for change at the social network drew mixed responses on Thursday, while Wall Street analysts worried about costs and a loss of trust, according to Reuters.

Another pair of major brokerages cut price targets for a stock that has shed around $50 billion in value since Monday. Shares in the company fell as much as 2.5 percent in heavy trading.

In Washington, Zuckerberg’s media rounds did little to satisfy lawmakers in either political party who demanded this week the billionaire testify before Congress.

Facebook was expected to brief two additional congressional committees on Thursday. Executives met with staff for the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday for nearly two hours to discuss the allegations of improper use of data on 50 million users by political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook Deputy Chief Privacy Officer Rob Sherman and other executives were unable to answer many questions at Wednesday’s

meeting, according to two aides who were present.

The Facebook executives said

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed MISS OLUWATOYIN as MODUPE MEDUNOYE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OLUWATOYIN MODUPE OBIH. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

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The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS GLORIA INI BEN now wish to be known and addressed as MRS GLORIA ISAAC UKUTT . All former documents remain valid.

University of Uyo and the general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as OMOTAYA AYO OLU, now wish to be known and addressed as OMOTAYA AYO OLU CHRISTOPHER. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as NDIANAABASI I. EFFIONG now wish to be known and addressed as E / E ͳ ^/ IBANGA EFFIONG. My Date of birth: 8th August, 1985. All former documents remain valid.

General public, please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS CHIJIOKE NKECHI JUSTINA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS DURU NKECHI JUSTINA. All former documents remain valid.

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they had written down a list of 60 questions they pledged to answer, the aides said.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly known and addressed as MUHAMMED ALI FAWAZ now wish to be known and addressed as MOHAMMED ALI SAID FAWAZ. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

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I, formerly known and addressed as ADISA JAMIU ALAO, now wish to be known and addressed as JIMOH ALAO. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

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I, formerly known and addressed as MOMAH ONYIYE FRANCESS, now wish to be known and addressed as NIEHAGE ONYIYE FRANCESS. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018

49

PAGE FORTY-NINE

Black Panther is Highest Grossing Film Ever in sub-Saharan Africa Black Panther director and scriptwriter Ryan Coogler was determined to make the film’s fictional setting of Wakanda a positive image of Africa, and audiences on the continent have rewarded this vision by making it the highest grossing film in southern, East and West Africa ever.

The hype surrounding the film was palpable in Africa and that has translated into real profits for Marvel Studios’ first black superhero. Five weeks after its release, it became the highest grossing film of all time in three regions, according to a statement from Disney on Tuesday.

Black Panther has grossed 77.6 million rand (just under $6.5 million) in South Africa and

its neighboring countries, and another 102.4 million Kenyan shillings (just over $1 million) in cinemas in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. In Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia, the film has hauled in N642.5 million ($2.1 million).

The numbers seem small when comparing Black Panther’s global ticket sales of more than a $1 billion and counting. Even in China, where at least one reviewer wondered whether “the Chinese are still not used to a film full of black people”, Black Panther opened at the top of the box office with a respectable $66 million in its first weekend.

But the figures coming out of Africa are remarkable given how nascent the film industry is

on the continent in comparison to other markets.

There is no one box office formula that works across Africa, especially given the differing levels of infrastructure in its 54 countries. While South Africa may have two successful cinema chains, which also operate in neighboring countries, local and African films still struggle to attract a full house.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has less than 30 cinemas for a population of 180 million. Yet, it has the continent’s largest and most dynamic movie industry, which pumps out homegrown box office hits.

Most cinemas in Africa aren’t theaters with comfy

seats and wide screens, but there are audiences here who lap up releases which often go straight to DVD. In this context, it’s significant that audiences, particularly those in countries with poorer infrastructure like Uganda and Liberia, went to the cinema to watch an American film.

It speaks to the rewards that diversity offers in any industry and the importance of authentic representation.

As the continent’s entertainment industry continues to grow, so does its potential audience. But they’re an audience who want to see a portrayal of Africa that doesn’t rely on tired tropes. r $VMMFE GSPN 2VBSU[ "GSJDB

Movie poster for Black Panther

H O W JONATH AN LOYA LIST T RIED TO SWAY 20 1 5 POL L S WI T H B U H AR I ’S H AC KED EM A I L S element” of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s campaigns.

Kenya’s 2017 elections were notably characterised by fake news and attacking commentary on opposition candidates mainly through Facebook and Whatsapp.

Beyond the continent, Cambridge Analytica is facing severe accusations of illegally harvesting millions of personal profiles on Facebook with its controversial methods linked to the UK’s landmark Brexit vote and Trump’s election win in the U.S. The social network is also facing questions of its own over its data and privacy policies, compelling its co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg to apologise on Wednesday.

It is unclear how much

of Cambridge Analytica’s work was based in Nigeria, Facebook’s largest African market, was based on profile data of local voters mined on the social network.

According to The Guardian, there are multiple wider political questions about what went on in the Nigerian election of 2015 and the role western powers played: whether western political campaigners taking lucrative foreign contracts are contributing to the democratic framework of developing countries – or helping to destroy them; if they are experimenting with methods and techniques that they later re-import back to more developed democracies.

Christopher Wylie, the

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower who spoke to the Observer, called it “post-colonial blowback”.

“The West found a way of fire-hosing disinformation into weak and vulnerable democracies. And now this has been turned back on us.

This really is about our chickens coming home to roost.”

Another said: “Everything the company did after the Mercers got involved was about refining a set of techniques that they would go on to use in the U.S. elections. These campaigns in other countries were experiments. They worked out how to harvest data and weaponise it. And they got steadily better at it.”

What comes across most

strongly, the sources said, is how little thought, if any, the senior directors in London had given to their employees and colleagues who became caught up in the activities, many of whom were in their early to mid-20s.

One member of staff who met the Israelis in the office on another occasion described them as “special forces” types. He said: “They were cliche alpha males with a certain intellect.

Looked military, very composed.

They looked like they could beat the crap out of you.”

Three years on, there is still stress in some of their voices when they recount these stories.

Stress and fear and anger – about the danger they were put in, and the lack of care

shown towards them, the morally compromising position they were put in, the lack of knowledge they had about what sort of the company they would be working for when they took their jobs.

It’s why, despite the personal risks, so many of them agreed to speak.

“When I took that job, I did not sign up to any of this,” said one. Three years on, he is still angry and shocked and fearful. “You don’t know what this company is capable of,” he said.

In a statement, SCL Elections, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, confirmed it had been hired in December 2014 in support of the Jonathan campaign.

“We can confirm that SCL Elections was hired in December 2014 to provide advertising and marketing services in support of the Goodluck Jonathan campaign.”

Asked specifically about the meetings in which staff described being asked to transfer personal information that they believed had been hacked, the firm said: “During an election campaign, it is normal for SCL Elections to meet with vendors seeking to provide services as a subcontractor.

“SCL Elections did not take possession of or use any personal information from such individuals for any purposes.

SCL Elections does not use ‘hacked’ or ‘stolen’ data.”

P R ES ID ENT P ROMISES RESCU E OF LEAH SH AR I B U , M EET S W I T H R ET U R N E D DAPC HI G I RL S TO DAY to Dapchi on Wednesday before their movement to Abuja, five reportedly died in captivity, while Leah remains in captivity.

Out of the 110 girls, Leah was the only Christian.

Reacting to condemnations trailing the action of the terrorists who chose not to return her because she refused to renounce her faith, Buhari, according to a statement by Malam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity, said he remained committed to Leah’s freedom the same way he was committed to the freedom of all the girls.

The statement further said Buhari, who is slated to receive the 104 returned schoolgirls at noon today at the State House, Abuja, promised not to relent in his commitment to ensure that Leah is reunited with her family, pointing out that he was conscious of his constitutional role to ensure the protection of lives of all citizens, irrespective of their religious beliefs.

Restating that Leah would not be abandoned, the statement further said the president sympathised with Leah’s parents whom he acknowledged must have been depressed when they saw others rejoice over their daughters’ return.

It also said Buhari was conscious of the belief in Islam that religion is not a compulsion, and hence, cannot be imposed on anyone.

“The Buhari administration will not relent in efforts to bring Leah Sharibu safely back home to her parents, as it has done for the other girls after she was held back by the terrorists over her decision, as reported, not to convert from Christianity to Islam.

“President Buhari is fully conscious of his duty under the Constitution to protect all Nigerians, irrespective of faith, ethnic background or geopolitical location and will not shirk in

this responsibility.

“The president is equally mindful of the fact that true followers of Islam all over the world respect the injunction that there is no compulsion in religion.

“To this effect, no one or group can impose its religion on another. His heart goes out to the isolated parents who must watch others rejoice while their own daughter is still away.

“The lone Dapchi girl, Leah, will not be abandoned. President Buhari assures the Sharibu family that he will continue to do all he can to ensure that they also have cause to rejoice with their daughter soon,” the statement said.

Joining the president to condemn the refusal by Leah’s captors to release her due to her Christian faith, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) yesterday called on the federal government to return to the negotiation table in order to secure her release.

In a statement, Ishaq Akintola, director of the group, said the basis for holding Sharibu back was “faulty and unIslamic”.

Akintola said the decision of the sect to keep Leah captive was aimed at dividing Nigeria along religious lines.

“We reject Boko Haram as an Islamic group. We urge the leadership and members of the group to re-examine its ideological base,” the statement said.

“Leah Sharibu must be set free because the basis for holding her after setting her schoolmates free is faulty and unIslamic. We charge the federal government to go back to the negotiation table in order to secure the release of the only Christian girl among the Dapchi girls who is being held back by the insurgents.

“The federal government should note that Boko Haram is not as daft as many people think. By withholding the Christian girl, they seek to divide Nigerians once again

along religious lines,” MURIC said.

The group commended Leah’s courage for refusing to bow to pressure in violation of her fundamental human rights.

“Our hearts are heavy with grief over her plight. We salute her courage. Shame on Boko Haram for oppressing a lone, vulnerable and helpless girl. Shame on all those who suppress freedom of worship,” the group added.

“We appeal to Nigerians to invoke special prayers in the mosques and churches for this Christian girl who had the courage to stare her oppressors in the face. We should also continue to pray for the remaining Chibok girls.”

When the 104 Dapchi schoolgirls were returned on Wednesday, Leah’s father, Nata Sharibu, said he was that happy his daughter did not denounce her faith.

“They gave her the option of converting in order to be released but she said she will never become a Muslim… I am very sad but I am jubilating too because my daughter did not denounce Christ,” he had said.

PDP, Mohammed Bicker Meanwhile, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed, yesterday exchanged barbs over the reaction of the main opposition party Wednesday to the return of the Dapchi students.

The PDP, at a briefing shortly after the girls were returned, poured cold water on the federal government’s victory parade, saying their abduction and return was staged managed for political reasons to give Buhari a leg up in the 2019 elections.

The party also called the whole saga a “scam of no equal dimension” and called on the United Nations (UN) and the

International Criminal Court (ICC) to step in to interrogate the matter.

Responding to the PDP yesterday, Mohammed blasted the party, saying it had plunged to the depths of infamy for saying the abduction and return of the Dapchi schoolgirls were stage-managed.

In a statement issued in Abuja, Mohammed said such postulation portrayed the PDP as an inhuman, insensitive, unpatriotic and unworthy party.

He said since the return of the Dapchi girls was negotiated by friendly countries and reputable international organisations, it would have taken a conspiracy of global proportion to have stage-managed the abduction and return of the girls.

Mohammed said the reaction of the PDP amounted to “sour grapes”, especially because the party failed woefully when it was in power to quickly resolve a similar abduction of schoolgirls.

“As we have said many times since the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls, no government is exempted from its own share of tragedies. What makes the difference is the way such tragedies are managed.

“Whereas it took the PDP all of 18 days to even acknowledge the abduction of the Chibok girls in 2014, the APC federal government acted promptly and responsively when the Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted on February 19 2018, hence their quick release,” he said.

The minister said it was unfortunate that the PDP which failed woefully as a ruling party, has also failed grievously as an opposition party, going by its insensitive and crude response to the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls – a development that calls for non-partisan celebration.

“In its 16 years in power, the PDP redefined governance as cluelessness, massive looting of the public treasury and crude

exhibition of power.

“In its over three years in opposition, the PDP has again shown it does not understand the role of the opposition in a democracy. How then can the PDP convince Nigerians that it has learnt its lessons and that it is ready to rule the country again?

“Nigerians must say ‘never again” to this primitive and soulless party,'” he said.

Mohammed said the federal government has not been responding to the amateurish and jejune statements from the PDP precisely because the party has failed to learn the ropes of being an opposition party, “even when we have advised them to take a crash course on the role of the opposition in a democracy”.

“We broke our own rules this time because the PDP over-reached itself and scored an own goal at a time it could simply have congratulated the government and people of Nigeria on the release of the girls or just kept quiet,” he said.

The minister assured Nigerians that the federal government would intensify the ongoing efforts to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls and return them safely to their families, just like the over 100 other Chibok girls who have so far been released, “unlike the PDP that could not secure the release of even one of the girls before it was booted out of power”.

But in a swift response to Mohammed, the PDP said yesterday that it did not need his so-called “crash course on opposition politics” as such “will be full of advanced syllabus on lies, falsehood, deception, and propaganda, which are patent trademarks of the APC (All Progressives Congress) and its controlled federal government”.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement, said the federal government should instead hide

its face in shame, having been busted on its numerous lies in governance, the latest being its complicity in the abduction and return of the Dapchi schoolgirls.

“We hope Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC as well as the federal government are following the reactions and comments of Nigerians on this latest ruse and noting how their party and government are being mocked.

“Your APC and federal government have become frustrated because you can no longer hoodwink Nigerians as you did in the past. The PDP will therefore overlook your intemperate reaction as a sign of the times.

“However, Alhaji Lai Mohammed need not be in a hurry to defend his dishonest and dysfunctional government as he would soon have more than enough to chew.

“This administration will at the appropriate time provide answers to allegations that while the nation was grieving, agents of the APC were busy engaging in financial rackets and criminal round tripping of ransoms in foreign currencies to service APC interests.

“The minister should be ready to explain, at the appropriate time, those behind the transactions, who got what and under what agreements, as well as the truth behind allegations of clandestine deals with insurgents.

“Our promise to the APC, the federal government and of course, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, is that the PDP will never condescend to lies, deception and propaganda as we do not have any need for that.

“The PDP will, as always, remain on the side of the truth as Nigerians, across board, work together on our repositioned platform to rescue our nation from the misrule of this deceptive, dysfunctional and incompetent APC, come 2019,” the PDP said.

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FRIDAY MARCH 23, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

Bill Gates: FG’s Economic Blueprint Does Not Address Nigerians’ Needs El-Rufai disagrees, tackles Microsoft founder Atiku backs Gates Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Chairman, Bill and Melinda Foundation, Bill Gates, yesterday in Abuja criticised the federal government Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), describing it as a document which identifies investment in the people but fails to reflect it in its implementation.

Gates stated this while attending an expanded meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) at the State House, Abuja, with the theme: ‘Human Capital Investment in Supporting Pro-poor and Economic Growth Agenda.’

At the meeting which was also attended by the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; the business community, tacademia, traditional rulers and some multilateral organisations, Gates described Nigeria as one of the most dangerous places in the world for child birth.

He also identified Nigeria as the fourth worst country in maternal mortality rate in the world, saying the largest black population was only better than Sierra Leone, Central African Republic and Chad.

Gates described Nigeria’s fiscal system as one that was built on low equilibrium and hence, produces low levels of service, moreso as people pay low levels of tax, adding that his foundation has its biggest office in Africa in Nigeria with over $1.6 billion invested in the country so far.

Noting that Nigeria has a veritable economic potential, Gates said it was up to the country to maximise such potential by investing in its people whom he described as its greatest resource.

He also admonished the government to invest in healthcare, education and human capital, emphasing that investment in infrastructure on a long-term basis must go hand in hand with investment in people, promising to assist Nigeria in attaining higher equilibrium anchored on transparency through investment in the people.

“The most important choice you can make is to maximise your greatest resource, the Nigerian people. Nigeria will thrive when every Nigerian is able to thrive.

“If you invest in their health, education and opportunities-the ‘human capital’ we are talking about today-then they will lay the foundation for sustained prosperity.

If you don’t, however, then it is very important to recognise that there will be a sharp limit on how much the country can grow.

“Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth with the fourth worst maternal mortality rate in the world ahead of only Sierra Leone, Central African Republic and Chad. One in three Nigerian children is chronically malnourished.

“I urge you to apply this thinking to all your investments in your people. The Nigerian Government

Economic Recovery and Growth Plan identifies ‘investing in our people’ as one of three ‘strategic objectives.’ But the ‘execution priorities’ don’t fully reflect people’s needs, prioritisimg physical capital over human capital.

“To anchor the economy over the long term, investments in infrastructure and competitiveness must go hand in hand with investments in people. People without roads, ports, and factories can’t flourish. And roads, ports and factories without skilled workers to build and manage them can’t sustain an economy “Right now, Nigeria’s fiscal situation is at what you might call a low equilibrium. In return for low levels of service, people pay low levels of tax. We hope

to help you reach a higher equilibrium rooted in effective and transparent investments in people. This equilibrium would trigger a virtuous cycle,” Gates said.

Also speaking, Dangote challenged the federal government to take the lead in investment in health, education, infrastructure and human capital development, pointing out that it is only when this is done that the country will be able to raise a crop of committed Nigerians, moreso that Nigeria is projected to become the third largest population in 2050.

“For Nigeria to truly compete globally, we must prioritise investments in the health, education and opportunity of our people alongside other critical areas like infrastructure. Together, these are

the inputs that will make Nigeria richer.

“You my friends in government must lead. When you do, you will have committed Nigerians like myself joining in the effort.

In Nigeria, we have largely achieved growth by extracting natural resources and are now building on that through our physical infrastructure. But we must also remember that it is our young people that will drive our future success.

“By 2050, Nigeria is projected to have the world’s third largest population. For this next generation to thrive as adults and drive economic progress, we need to invest in their health and wellbeing, and in their ability to learn and apply new skills in an ever changing

global economy.

“That, at its core, is what we mean by ‘human capital’ - healthy and productive and well educated young people - who are then enabled to succeed, lift up themselves and their families and contribute to society through their own ingenuity,” he said.

In his own remarks, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who presided over the meeting, said this administration is conversant with challenges confronting the country and is determined to nip them in the bud.

According to him, the government will accept the posers thrown to it by Gates and Dangote, saying: “We have no other choice,

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Obasanjo: I May Write Another Letter to Buhari Femi Ogbonnikani Abeokuta withagencyreport Two months after he came down hard on President Muhammadu Buhari, former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has disclosed that he is considering writing another letter.

The elder statesman said this while speaking at the 14th annual lecture of Women in Management, Business and Public Service in Lagos yesterday.

In the letter he wrote in January, Obasanjo asked Buhari to retire from active public service.

He told the president to forget about contesting in 2019, saying doing so would amount to overstretching the tolerance of Nigerians.

But yesterday, according to The Cable, the ex-president said the new letter might not be as tough as that of January.

He also said the coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) which he introduced in the stronglyworded letter now has three million registered voters.

He said if Nigerians register for the elections in good time, they would benefit from the ideals of CNM and similar movements.

Obasanjo said at the “right time,” he would withdraw from CNM as long as the movement plans to groom capable hands for political positions.

The former president charged women on the need to be more visible in the political landscape

,and they have to “do enough for themselves.

“If only womanhood was enough, Mrs. HillaryClinton would have made it to the White House but she had a man (Donald Trump) who did what he could do to get to power,” he said.

“I don’t want or expect women to climb palm trees to harvest bunch of palm fruits. If anybody says he wants to see my mother climb palm trees, I will take a second look at that person.

“But women must do what it takes to succeed in Nigerian political space.

“To you women, do not allow any body to build your world for you. Build your world for yourself.

Yes, women need encouragement but they must do enough for themselves.”

Obasanjo said CNM has made an appreciable progress with the registration of well over three million members in a bid to provide an alternative, preparatory to the 2019 general election.

According to him, the movement would make an in-road into the grassroots across the country, while he reiterated that he would pull out if CNM metamorphosed into a political party or sponsor persons into any elective office in the coming general elections.

He noted that women in Nigeria have not done enough for themselves to take reasonable

Cont’d on page 52

PRESIDENTIAL HANDSHAKE

President Muhammadu Buhari (left), being introduced to a cross-section of traditional rulers by Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari (second left), during his sympathy visit to the state in continuation of his tour of troubled states....yesterday State House

EFCC Cannot Declare Anyone Wanted Without Judicial Pronouncement, Says Court Alex Enumah in Abuja A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari yesterday set aside the declaration of businessman and Chief Executive Officer of Aiteo Group, Mr. Benedict Peters, as a wanted person.

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) had in March last year declared Peters wanted in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy, diversion of funds and money laundering.

But in a ruling yesterday on a fundamental rights suit filed

by Peters, the trial Judge, Justice Oathman Musa, held that the action of the anti-graft agency infringed on the fundamental rights of the applicant.

Justice Musa, in his ruling, noted that while the EFCC is statutorily empowered to investigate, arrest and prosecute any person in relation

to its mandate, it must do so within the ambit of the law.

The judge held that though the commission has the powers to declare any person wanted, it must first seek the approval of the court before doing so.

“The act of declaring the applicant as a wanted person without the leave of the court is unconstitutional and infringes on the personal rights of the applicant, and it is hereby set aside,” he ruled.

On the claims by the first respondent that it obtained a warrant from a Lagos Magistrate’s Court before declaring the applicant wanted, the court said it could not find anywhere in the document where the Magistrate’s Court authorised the respondent to declare the applicant wanted.

The judge noted that the discrepancy between the date

the warrant was signed by the court and when it was received by the first respondent makes it difficult for the court to rely on the warrant.

Whereas, the EFCC had signed August 4 as the date it obtained the warrant, the document itself showed the warrant was issued on August 5.

The EFCC had on August 15, 2016, declared the applicant wanted owing to his failure to appear before the commission and explain his role in the alleged $115 million (N23billion) bribe given to officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, in the buildup to the 2015 election.

The declaration containing the applicant’s photograph was made on the EFCC’s official website and also published in the Punch

Newspaper and Sahara Reporters, an online publication.

Miffed by the action of the antigraft agency, Peters had in a suit marked FHC/HC/CV/23/2017 and filed by his counsel, Mike Ozekhome, urged the court to set aside the declaration by the EFCC. His grouse was that the commission did not follow due process before declaring him wanted.

Sued along the commission was the Attorney General of the Federation as second respondent.

Earlier, the judge dismissed a preliminary objection raised by the AGF challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.

The court held that in as much as the matter borders around the fundamental rights of an individual, both the federal and state high courts have jurisdiction to hear the matter.

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House Threatens to Sever Ties with Judiciary over Undue Interference James Emejo in Abuja The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, yesterday warned that it could resort to disobeying court injunctions issued against the lower chamber if the judiciary continues to interfere with the activities of parliament.

He said: “We are not obligated to obey if they continue.”

The Speaker said Nigeria is not a “Banana Republic” but operates a constitutional democracy where the rule of law and separation of powers among the arms of government are upheld under the constitution.

He said the legislature has shown a lot of respect for the judiciary and intended to “continue to work together” but added that parliament must rise to the “big challenge” whereby the former appears to usurp legislative powers contrary to the constitution.

Dogara added: “We’ll have to part ways if they insist they want to continue this way.”

He said unless urgent steps are taken to address the trend, the judiciary may someday grant an injunction to bar lawmakers from

entering the National Assembly.

“Lack of courage will make us subsume this parliment under the judiciary,” he said.

He accused the judiciary of trying to gag the legislature, wondering if the courts will be comfortable with a situation where the House challenges their powers to pass judgement.

The speaker further said the judiciary lacks powers to dictate what should be agenda of legislature but rather, wait until laws have been made to warrant their interprettation as the constitution clearly spelt out.

“To tell us what to debate or what not to debate is not democracy,” he said.

Dogara’s vituperation came as the green chamber overwhelmingly passed a resolution to write the Chief Justice of the Nigeria (CJN) to take immediate steps to ensure judges respect and preserve the sanctity and sovereignty of the parliament.

It further approved the setting up of an ad-hoc committee to be headed by the Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabilamila, to take the issue up with the CJN. The resolution was consequent

upon a motion on Breach of Privilege of the House which was moved by Hon. Razak Atunwa (APC, Kwara) who said the collective privilege of the House has been breached by Justice A. I. Chikere of the Federal High Court, Abuja, who recently granted an interlocutory injunction restraining the House Committees on Justice and Judiciary from proceeding with an investigative public hearing to investigate the denial by the Council of Legal Education (Law School) of Ms Amasa Firdausa being called to Bar on account of her wearing a hijab.

Atunwa, who chairs the Committee on Justice, said he was dumbfounded at the injunction granted by the judge given that the country operates a constitutional democracy where the tenets of the sovereignty of parliament, rule of law and separation of powers are incontrovertible.

He said the judge who granted the restraining order had no regard for any of the fundamental pillars of democracy currently being practiced.

He said: “I have never heard anywhere in a civilised democracy where a court will issue an

injunction against a sovereign parliament...an injunction that parliament cannot hear views of members of the public. An injunction that parliament cannot oversight an authority for which it makes laws and appropriates money for. In short, an injunction that parliament should not do its job.”

The lawmaker added that the unwarranted assault on the House by the judge was indeed a contempt of parliament.

Among other things, Atunwa said: “A further breach of the Privileges Act was perpetrated when the said lawyers came to this very House within the precincts of this hallowed chamber to serve the Clerk with the injunction. This is in clear violation of Section 23(a) of the Act which states that ‘Notwithstanding the provision of any law, court processes or orders shall not be served or executed in the chamber or precincts of a legislative House.’”

He said the development signalled an “Ill-wind blowing from the judiciary,” warning that if allowed unrestrained, it had the potential to put democracy in imminent danger.

On his part, the Chief Whip of the House, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa (APC, Kano), said the issue had to do with the integrity of the parliament coupled with the legal implications.

He expressed concern that the development is playing out as elections are fast-approaching.

He said the House must oppose the judiciary and restrict it to interpretation of the law.

Doguwa said: “If we don’t fight this usurpation as we head to elections, every thing will be in shambles because everyone can go to court and get ridiculous judgment. We can’t do our job again without the judiciary coming in. We must not take nonsense.”

Hon. Aminu Shehu Shagari said the House should interface with highest authority to resolve the issue.

However, Hon. Ken Chikere (PDP, Rivers) who is the husband of Justice Chikere was initially advised by the Speaker not to contribute to the topic because of his vested interest but he insisted he would like to make some clarification which the latter obliged him.

He said though the judge is his

wife, he didn’t see anything wrong with prayers of the motion.

Chikere said: “I also believe this place should be protected. But preempting judgment is wrong.

The right thing to do is appeal not writing a petition. There should be no prejudgment.”

On March 14, a rights group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) protested a decision

by House of Representatives Joint Committee on Justice and Judiciary, chaired by Atunwa not to proceed with a public hearing on the need to interview the hijab controversy between the Nigerian Law School and a law graduate, Amasa Firdusa, because of an interlocutory injunction secured from a Federal High Court by the Body of Benchers which is against the intervention by the parliament.

The Nigerian Law School had also written to notify the committee that a panel had been constituted by the body to review the case within two months.

But Atunwa, who expressed worry that Justice A. Chikere had granted the interim injunction

Cont’d on page 52

Federal Character Not Requirement for Service Chiefs’ Appointment, Says FCC Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja The acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Dr Shettima Bukar Abba, has said federal character principles were not required in the appointment of service chiefs by the president, adding that security issues cannot necessarily be influenced by issues of federal character.

Bukar Abba who spoke yesterday in Abuja during a national stakeholders’ seminar with the theme, ‘Prospecting and Monitoring Strategic Processes in Nationalised Spread of Staff in MDAs, stated that Nigerians were not fair in their harsh criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari over his appointment of service chiefs and other security chiefs.

“Security issues are not issues of federal character; they are issues of federal character at the recruitment level. For example, if a Major General goes to war and dies and he is from Borno (State), does that mean a Major General from Borno State should replace him? These are security issues and they go through certain processes and promotion’’, the commission’s acting chairman stated. ‘’If you subject them to federal character at the top level, you are creating mediocrity in security issues. Nigerians are unfair criticising the president on (security appointments). It is just like the justice (judicial system). To appoint a judge you don’t jump one particular level to another, unless you want to retire all of them.”

Bukar Abba confirmed that in recent time, there had been widespread unanswered national questions of inequalities, perceived marginalization, lop sidedness in political appointments and fear of domination by one ethnic group over another and one state over another, calling for a national rebirth which necessitated this kind of sensitization seminar.

He continued, “It was on this note that he stated that the Federal Character Commission in pursuant of its statutory mandate of observing and enforcing federal character principle, equity and fairness in recruitments, distribution of posts, socio-economic amenities and infrastructural facilities deemed it necessary for all our critical stakeholders to come together with a view to finding amicable solution that is in line with the constitutional provision as enshrined in section 14 (3) and (4)”.

Stating that the seminar was organised to sensitise government agencies across the federation on the need to adhere strictly to federal character principles, Bukar Abba said violation of the principles would attract criminal prosecution.

He, however, expressed satisfaction with the adherence to the principles by the federal government, saying that from the commission’s records and personnel statistics received and analysed by the management Information Unit from January 2016 to 2018, the commission recorded an appreciable adherence to the application of the commission’s guidelines and formulae for political appointees and bureaucratic positions by this administration.

He added that all states were being represented in all forms of appointment as demonstrated by the distribution.

Also speaking at the seminar, the Chairman of Senate Committee on Federal Character for and Intergovernmental Affairs, Senator Tijjani Kaura, canvassed the need to ensure justice in the country through the adherence to federal character principles.

Represented by Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, Kaura, who doubled as the chairman of the occasion, called for strong sanctions against government agencies that violate the principles in the country

DIPLOMATIC RECEPTION

L-R: European Union Deputy Head of Delegation to Nigeria, Mr. Richard Young; Head of Delegation, Ambassador Ketil Karlsen; and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, at a courtesy visit of the delegation of the EU to the former vice president in Abuja....yesterday

IG Suspends Withdrawal of Policemen fromVIPs The Inspector-General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, has suspended by one month, the withdrawal of policemen attached to VIPs across the country.

The suspension of the order, which was billed to be immediate, when announced last Monday, followed Idris’ meeting with the Commanders of Police Mobile Force (PMF), Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) and Special Protection Unit (SPU).

The meeting was held on March 20. But a day before the earlier announcement, Idris also had met with state police commissioners and Assistant Inspectors-General (AIG) at the force headquarters in Abuja.

Police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, explained the reversal

of the IG’s order.

“IG Idris has graciously shifted the enforcement/implementation of the withdrawal of police officers attached to political and public office holders, VIPs, public and private companies and other categories of enterprises and business outfits and corporate individuals throughout the country as earlier directed,” said Jimoh Moshood, the police spokesman.

“The withdrawal will now take effect from the April 20, 2018. This is to enable the Force carry out a thorough assessment of the current deployment and carry out appropriate withdrawal.

Moshood, according to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), also said the Deputy Inspector General of Police, (DIG) Department of

Operations of the Force has been mandated by the IG to direct all the commissioners of police and their supervising Assistant InspectorsGeneral of Police in the states and zonal commands across the country to halt the withdrawal, revise and return those already withdrawn to their duty posts pending the new date of April 20, 2018. “ The Task Force teams set up by the IG at the Force headquarters, the Force X – Squad and others set up by the Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and commissioner of police at the zonal and state commands have equally been directed by IG to suspend the enforcement of the withdrawal with immediate effect pending the new date.

“For avoidance of doubt, members of the public, political

and public office holders, VIPs, public and private companies and other categories of enterprises and business outfits and corporate individuals and other entities are to retain the police officers currently with them on deployment. They may be provided after the expiration of the period, if found worthy from the Special Protection Unit of the Force but should apply for re-validation through the commissioner of police of the state they are domiciled before the expiration of the new date of April 20, 2018.

“The renewed commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to guarantee protection of lives and property across the country remains unequivocal and unwavering,” Moshood said.

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Buhari Promises to Tackle Insecurity in Zamfara Before Raining Season Again, suspected herdsmen kill two, sack Benue community George Okoh in Makurdi and Mohammed Aminu in Gusau President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday pledged to address security challenges in Zamfara State before the commencement of this year’s rainy season.

The president spoke at a town hall meeting with traditional rulers, opinion leaders and other stakeholders at the Government House, Gusau when he visited the state.

The visit, however, came as suspected marauding Fulani herdsmen yesterday attacked residents of Tse-Semaka in Umenger, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, killing two persons and setting the community ablaze.

Buhari said already he had ordered massive redeployment of police officers to the state with

a view to addressing security challenges in the area.

“Your governor knows how I have been in touch with the Inspector-General to redeploy a number of police officers and to reinforce those available.

“Of course I spoke to the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Defence Staff and in their exercise, they have made some success, but to me they need to do much more especially the police. In every town at least there is a police station.

“They are not given uniform and the rifle just to impress anybody but they are supposed to be sending intelligence and warning that something is about to happen.

“I don’t think I will say much about the armed forces but I will like to notice and make sure

OBASANJO: I MAY WRITE ANOTHER LETTER TO BUHARI positions in the nation’s political space, admonishing them to be adequately prepared first, put their feet right and be willing to pay the supreme price to witness the desired change.

The former president said here is no tradition or culture that encourages subjugation of women in Nigeria, but blamed the shortchanging of the womenfolk in the scheme of things on “male chauvinism mentality and selfishness of men.”

According to him, nobody would concede a space to the other person unless it is fought for and won, not on a platter of gold.

“There is a perception that women who join politics are women of easy virtues, whereas that is not. We have not got a critical mass of women in politics on Nigeria, but rather we have a few of them.

“Women with merit and ability should be able to compete healthily with their opposite sex. They should

know how to make use of their womenfolk and that of the men too. I don’t mean the negative aspect of it.

“There is what I will call positive discrimination. It is not because you are inferior. Tell those who are holding you back that you are also capable enough. If you are saying politics is risky, you can’t get what you want.

“So, women are not doing enough for themselves. No matter what, you can’t be given on a platter of gold.

“Don’t let anybody build your own world for you, but you are to build your own world for yourself,” said the former president.

Obasanjo said his experience both in the military and civil leadership has continued to show that when women are put in positions of authorities and responsibilities, they do better than men and as such, they should be incorporated into all strata of leadership for nation-building.

HOUSE THREATENS TO SEVER TIES WITH JUDICIARY OVER UNDUE INTERFERENCE to stay action on the hearing organised at the instance of a House resolution, nonetheless, stressed the need to respect the court ruling as a responsible legislature.

Also, a member of the committee, Hon. Bode Ayorinde, a lawyer himself, quoting relevant laws said a court doesn’t have powers to interfere with debates in parliament, adding that discussions and debates in parliament can’t be questioned.

Atunwa, however, appealed to the Muslim group which had mobilised resources towards the hearing to exercise patience as a new date will be communicated after the judge must have vacated the injunction.

But, as the chairman was announcing the adjournment, the President of MURIC, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, forcibly stood up and insisted the hearing must continue in spite of the court order.

He said an earlier invitation had been extended to the group for the hearing which was slated for February 6 but which was also

cancelled.

He said: “Then, yesterday we got another invite for today and we massively mobilised and came today and they said postponed.

He described the development frustrating, nauseating and a travesty of justice, rape and subversion of justice.

He said the ban on the use of hijab by the law school was unlawful, especially where the constitution grants religious freedom.

He said the ensuing development was an “invitation to religious war” adding that “You ban one Muslim you bar all Nigerian Muslims.”

The renowned Muslim cleric said the next move for the group is to jettison further invitation for public hearing on the matter.

He said the committee should review the memoranda already submitted to it by stakeholders and take a position without public any further hearing.

He insisted Firdusa must be called to bar at all cost.

that there will be improvement before the rainy season,’’ he said.

On the ongoing crusade against corruption, the president assured that he would never lose focus in his efforts to restore sanity and accountability in the management of resources in spite of the distraction from some quarters.

He expressed serious concern over the rate of unemployment among young Nigerians, saying his administration would continue to do its best in addressing this problem.

On the recent killing of notorious bandit, Buhari Tsoho, in the state, the president directed the nation’s intelligent units to find out more information on the deceased with a view to arresting all members of his gang.

He also challenged the Zamfara State government to go to the archives and identify the grazing routes and meet with fellow governors so as to come up with strategy to check farmers/herdsmen clashes in

the state.

The president, who said he was in Zamfara to console with the people of the state over the killings of innocent people and destruction of their property by bandits, apologised for the delay in refunding state governments of the funds they expended on reconstruction of federal roads.

He said he had directed the Minister of Power, Works and housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, to compile all outstanding payments of refunds to those states that executed federal projects to specifications.

In his remarks, Governor Abdulaziz Yari urged the federal government to refund the state’s N56 billion being the amount spent on construction of federal roads in the state.

He expressed the hope that the refund would go a long way in addressing the security problems facing the state.

The governor called for additional deployment of security personnel to the state to check incessant cases of armed

banditry across 13 out of the 14 local government areas of the state.

The Secretary to the Zamfara State Government, Prof.

Abdullahi Mohammed, in a presentation, gave an overview of the security challenges in the state in the last eight years resulting in loss of lives and property.

According to him, the state has been witnessing three types of security crisis, namely cattle rustling, kidnapping for ransom and reprisals attacks.

He explained that Zamfara State had identified eight major flashpoints and made a passionate appeal to the federal government to provide more security men to the state.

Meanwhile, suspected marauding Fulani herdsmen yesterday attacked residents of Tse- Semaka in Umenger, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, killing two persons and setting the community ablaze.

Those killed included James Apav and Ataki Mageri who were working on their farms before the

attack that claimed their lives.

A resident told THISDAY that the incident occurred at about 7a.m. when the two persons were working on their farms, adding that several houses were burnt down by the marauders.

According to him, the invaders fled after carrying out the heinous act as security men who moved swiftly to the area tried to trace them but could not.

As at the time of filing this report, efforts to get confirmation from the police failed as the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, told journalists on phone that they were still collating facts on the incident.

When also contacted on phone, the council Chairman, Anthony Shawon, said he cannot comment at the moment because there was so much pressure on him.

Herdsmen have continuously attacked settlements in Guma Local Government Area from the beginning of the year.It has been estimated that over 100 people have so far been killed in the area since the year started.

EXECUTIVE FLIGHT MADE EASY

L-R: Chairman, Caverton Offshore Group, Mr. Remi Makanjuola; Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru; Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu; former Group Managing Director, NNPC, King Edmond Dakoru; and Mrs. Yoyinsola Makanjuoka, at the unveiling of 11 brand new fleet of helicopters by Caverton Offshore Group at the Executive Flight Facility at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Ikeja, Lagos...yesterday

President Has No Credit to Claim over Return of Dapchi Girls, Fayose Insists Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has described the Dapchi girls abduction saga as another clear evidence of failure of President Muhammadu Buhari, declaring that “the President cannot take credit for his own failure.”

The governor said there was no basis for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to applaud the president’s “claim of bringing back home those innocent Dapchi girls that ought not to have been abducted in the first place if not for the government’s laxity.”

The APC Deputy National Chairman, (South) , Chief Segun Oni, had congratulated President

Buhari on the success recorded in the release of some of the girls of Government Girls Science Technical College (GGSTC), Dapchi, who were abducted on February 19.

Oni, who described the release as an expression of the present administration’s determination to secure the life of every Nigerian, expressed optimism that the remaining girls in captivity would soon be released.

The Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Communications, Lere Olayinka said the governor addressed the press in his office yesterday, saying; “the abduction and return of the girls took place without resistance is a sign that the APC led federal

government has lost the war against insurgency, the basis for which it came to power.

“It is also a clear indication that Nigerians can no longer depend on the clueless government for their safety.

“It is obvious that the APC federal government has failed to protect Nigerians, if its electoral promises is anything to go by and one wonders the basis for the party to applaud President Buhari’s claim of bringing back home those innocent Dapchi girls that ought not to have been abducted in the first place if not for the government’s laxity.

“Most importantly, that the abduction and return of the girls took place without resistance is a sign that the APC-led federal

government has lost the war against insurgency, the basis for which it came to power. It is also a clear indication that Nigerians can no longer depend on the clueless government for their safety.

“The way and manner the Dapchi girls were abducted and returned is a clear demonstration that the federal government is fooling itself and not Nigerians as the whole process is shrouded in secrecy, raising more questions than answers.

“The removal of military checkpoints in Dapchi ahead of the abduction, as confirmed

by Governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Geidam, clearly shows the complicity of the federal government and some individuals profiting from the whole saga.”

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Stop Hounding Our Members, PDP Tells FG Accuses APC of Intrusion in Metuh’s Trial Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the federal government to concentrate on the fight against corruption and stop hounding members of the opposition parties.

In the same vein, the party has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately call his party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and some of his appointees to order over their manifest interest and continued interference in the trial of its former National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh.

The party frowned at the motion ex-parte filed by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property seeking the forfeiture of assets allegedly not declared by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, alleging plots to silence the opposition.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan, yesterday, the party said while the PDP was in full support of any genuine anti-graft war, the (APC)-led administration’s obsession with Ekweremadu was another clear indication that it was not ready to fight corruption, but rather out to scandalise, persecute, and bring down its perceived opponents.

It said: “The PDP recalls that this government rushed to arraign Senator Ekweremadu and the Senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki in 2016 on trumped up charges of forgery of Senate Standing Rule, even when there was not even a mention of their names in the contentious police report or Proof of Evidence. It eventually withdrew the charges for lack of merit.

“The police raided and ransacked Ekweremadu’s official guest house in Abuja in May 2017 and blamed it on false whistleblowers, whom they charged to court. Nothing has been heard about the trial of the alleged false whistleblowers again.

“In the current matter, apart from relying on an obsolete law to dabble into the roles of the Code of Conduct Bureau, we are not surprised that the Panel could not carry out a thorough and independent investigation on the purported property of the senator, but relied on a petition by the former Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Innocent Umezulike, who is standing corruption trial in several courts, after his removal from office by the National Judicial Council (NJC) in 2017.

“We recall that the senator accused Umezulike and some politicians of stealing and doctoring his will, inserting non-existent properties or properties that had

nothing to do with him.

“It is also instructive that this calculated smear campaign in the guise of forfeiture of phantom assets came on the heels of Ekweremadu’s alarm and scathing criticism of the APC-led administration over the nation’s deteriorating democracy and in the midst of the ongoing executive-legislature faceoff, in which a ranking senator of the APC extraction identified Ekweremadu as a pillar of support to the senate president.”

The PDP said contrary to the federal government’s claims, Ekweremadu had assured it that he declared his assets.

It wondered why the federal government, by its own admission, rushed to court without completion of investigation, but had turned deaf ears to the outcry by Nigerians for the prosecution of the administration’s functionaries and friends indicted of corruption.

“This government and party have a wet appetite for prosecution and media trial of the opposition while investigation is on, but refuses to prosecute its members and friends indicted by even its own presidential or ministerial panels.

“While members of the opposition are taken to court on

stretchers, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, indicted by both the Senate and a presidential panel only got a pat on the back.

“The APC federal government has failed to prosecute those involved in the Ikoyigate scandal, and the recall of fugitive Abdulrasheed Maina, among others.

“Ekweremadu is a major symbol of the opposition. We believe that this is part of the grand plan to strangulate the PDP ahead of the 2019 elections and we will resist” it added.

The PDP further alleged that Ekweremadu’s travail was part of the grand plan to strangulate the opposition ahead of 2019 election and challenged the federal government to publish the assets of APC political office holders.

Similarly, PDP yesterday asked President Buhari to urgently put a stop to interferences by APC and its agents in the trial of its former spokesman, Olisa Metuh.

The party also urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to protect the institution of the judiciary and the courts from alleged direct interferences of the

APC and officials of the federal government in the conduct of cases involving its members and particularly, the former National Publicity Secretary.

Ologbondiyan, in a statement on yesterday, said the connection between the timing of happenings in the court case and the intrusions of the APC in the entire matter has assumed a worrisome dimension.

The party also said its members have specifically expressed fear about Chief Metuh’s fate before Justice Okon Abang, a judge, it said had in the past delivered judgments against the PDP, which were eventually upturned, after much damage had been done.

“The PDP finds it curious that interferences are manifesting in Metuh’s case even after the court had adjourned indefinitely on his application to be allowed to travel to the UK for surgery.

“This court had twice rejected Chief Metuh’s applications for medical leave at the initial stage of his ailment, but the condition of the former PDP spokesman has now degenerated.

“It is on record that people facing similar charges at the Federal High Court are granted leave to travel for ordinary medical check-ups and

other sundry reasons, but Metuh has had his application for medical treatment deferred indefinitely and had to be brought to court for trial even on a hospital stretcher.

“The fact remains that if the court cannot grant Metuh leave for medical treatment, moreso, with the manifest interference of the APC, then there is absolutely no guarantee that he can get justice from the same court at the end of the day and we want the CJN to take copious note of this.

“The PDP notes that no other application for medical leave has ever been subjected to a greater burden of proof, ridicule and undue delay than the case of our former spokesperson.

“We strongly hold that the APC is now manipulating issues around this case as a reference point to threaten opposition in the country.

“The APC, in their bid to sway the case, even attempted to discredit Chief Metuh’s referral to Wellington hospital, London, by writing to twist facts about a world renowned surgeon, just to prepare grounds for the court to reject his application.

“We therefore urge the CJN to rise up in defence of the judiciary before it is ruined by the APC,” it said.

AngryYouths Burn Church, Police Outpost in Kaduna John Shiklam in Kaduna Some angry youths in Bayan Dutse, Narayi community in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State yesterday burnt down a Celestial Church and a police outpost both located in the area.

It was learnt that pandemonium broke out following the death on Wednesday of one Sylvester Friday, 21, alleged to have been sacrificed for ritual purposes by a 78-year-old pastor of the church.

Sources said Friday, a member of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Narayi, was working as a labourer for the pastor of the Celestial Church who was erecting a demarcation around the river side by his church.

The boy was said to have fell into the river and died while working with the pastor.

The pastor reportedly ran to the nearby police outpost to report the incident.

The youths however suspected that the pastor may have used the boy for sacrifice and mobilised to burn the church and an SUV belonging to a church member parked at the premises.

The police outpost was burnt down when the youths insisted that the pastor who was taken to the Barnawa Divisional Police station for protective custody must be produced.

Community leaders in the area were said to have prevailed on the youths, urging them to see the death as an act of God and should not take the laws into their hands.

But such advised was said to have been ignored by the angry mob.

Confirming the incident, Aliyu Muktar, spokesman of the Kaduna State police command, said five

people were arrested in connection with the incident.

He said: “Some miscreants set ablaze a Celestial Church and a police outpost in Narayi. The church was completely burnt but the police outpost was not burnt completely.”

According to him, the youths were demanding that police release the 78-year-old Pastor Shitu, who was in protective custody.

“They demanded for his release so as to lynch him. But our personnel refused to hand him over to them, so they decided to take the laws into their hands.

He said the protesting youths were dispersed by the police on Wednesday but they regrouped around 4a.m. yesterday to attack the church and the outpost.

Mukhtar added that law and order had been restored in the community and normalcy had returned.

Meanwhile the state Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has ordered security agents to fish out those behind the riotous incident that led to the burning of the church and the police outpost.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Samuel Aruwan, said the state government would not tolerate attacks on places of worship and public property such as the police post.

“In a state that has endured four decades of violent conflict, there can be no condoning an attack on the offices of security agencies or a place of worship, an act that has often invited needless reprisals and escalation.

“The government is determined to ensure vigorous prosecution of anyone indicted by the police investigation into the matter,” the statement.

WEALTH CREATOR

L-R: Director of Partnerships, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu; Member, Board of Trustees, Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Mr. Alex Trotter; Founder , Mr. Tony Elumelu; CEO, Parminder Vir; and Member, Board of Trustees and wife of the Founder, Dr Awele Elumelu, during the selection announcement of 1,250 entrepreneurs in the fourth cycle of the foundation in Lagos....yesterday

Christian Schools Threaten to Boycott Future WAEC Exams Seriki Adinoyi in Jos Christian schools in Nigeria under the aegis of the Association of Christian Schools in Nigeria (ACSN) have threatened to withdraw from participating in future examinations conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) if the council carries out its recent decision to disqualify Christian schools from participating in the supervision of the forthcoming WAEC examinations on grounds of malpractices.

President of the association, Dr. Ekaete Ettang, who disclosed this yesterday in Jos at a press conference, expressed shock that WAEC would take such a decision to stigmatise teachers from Christian schools as cheats in spite of the credibility the teachers have maintained over time.

While demanding for an apology from WAEC, and indeed the reversal of the decision, Ettang said: “Following the recent decision by the WAEC to disqualify Christian schools teachers from participating in the supervision of the forthcoming WAEC examinations on grounds of malpractices, while still using some of our schools as custodian centres, we the members of the ACSN met on March 21, 2018 at St John’s College, Jos, Plateau State, and we call on WAEC and Ministries of Education to provide statistics to show the trends in the examination malpractices across the schools which forms the basis for their decision.

“The Christian schools demand that laws and legislations that prohibit teachers from Christian schools from supervising WAEC

examinations be made available as they have been participating in this process over the years based on written communications that are on records.”

She threatened: “As a group, we say the stigmatisation of teachers from Christian schools as cheats is most unfortunate and unacceptable to us and we therefore demand that WAEC reverses this decision forthwith and tenders a public apology to the Christian schools for this misrepresentation. If WAEC does not reverse this decision and planned implementation, all Christian schools would boycott future WAEC examinations.”

Ettang further said: “The association has agreed that WAEC should be involving all stakeholders in the planning, conduct of exams, resolving all the issues affecting the process, as well as in the final

decisions on related matters, for ownership and collective wisdom, ACSN is willing to make positive contribution as key stakeholders in this regard.

“Given the historical contribution of Christian education towards Nigeria educational system and development of the society, disqualifying Christian teachers from supervising WAEC contradicts what we rightfully deserve and which has done irreparable damage to our reputation, character, integrity and identity as a group.

“In view of this, ACSN demand that WAEC cancels the order and reverts to status quo where credible teachers from Christian schools in Nigeria were involved in the supervision of WAEC examinations as failure to do so all Christian schools nation-wide will withdraw from future WAEC examinations.”

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FRIDAY MARCH 23, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Teleology Unveils 10-point Agenda for 9mobile Says emerging telco to be engineering-led

Emma Okonji Barely 24 hours after meeting yesterday’s deadline set by the financial adviser handling the sale of 9mobile for the payment of the $50 million non-refundable cash deposit for the Nigeria’s fourth largest telecoms operator, Teleology Holdings, the preferred bidder for the deal, has reeled out its 10-point agenda for 9mobile.

According to Teleology, it plans to implement the agenda by the time it takes full ownership, after it must have completed payment of the balance of $500 million bid price for 9mobile, which it has been given another 90 days to meet.

Having partnered Safaricom, the biggest telecoms operator in East Africa to transform 9mobile, Teleology said the emerging telecoms company would be engineering-led, to enable it compete favourably with existing telecoms companies in Nigeria, that must have gained more market shares during the 9mobile financial crisis.

Teleology, in a statement detailed an ambitious plan of action that

will guide its rapid overhaul not only of the network but all aspects of the operations.

According to its Director and former Managing Director of MTN Nigeria, Mr. Adrian Wood, “9mobile is transiting into a new phase that will be defined by optimal value delivery: value to our employees, value to our customers, value to local communities and indeed to all stakeholders.”

He added that the new organisation to emerge would be “engineering led and brand driven, ” adding that in delivering service, “we will strive to ensure that 9Mobile operations deliver fulfillment to our customers, empowerment to local communities, protection to the vulnerable, and excellent rewards not only to our shareholders but to all stakeholders.”

Wood added that Teleology has set out a 10-point plan that aggregates its mission and how it intends to turn the 9mobile organisation around.

Part of the plan is to double the 9mobile network with new 3G/4G specific cell sites as well as a several thousands of kilometers of fiber optic

cable across the country. It will drive a special program of rural internet coverage, focusing on 4G with broadband access planned for all of Nigeria’s 774 Local government areas.

Youth engagement and employment programs are also planned with all build contractors, distributors and consultants, he said, while investment in broadband internet access technologies which are completely new to Nigeria, are also planned. Wood said the 9mobile network would be optimised for high speed and high capacity data including imaging, video, games, music, IPTV and more.

“Any three-point plan or three-dimension idea is naïve and completely missing the scope and

complexity of the urgent Nigerian need to be brought into the 21st century broadband era,” Wood said in the statement made available to THISDAY. Teleology, he added, envisages an increase of 50 per cent in direct employmentinthenew9mobile. There is also an active plan to introduce within the first year, several million 4G-capable premium quality smartphones, at exceedingly affordable pricing.

“Nigerians should look forward to a new regime of intensely exciting and innovative brand loyalty rewards programs, from the new 9mobile,” he said.

He disclosed that Teleology had entered into an alliance with Safaricom, the largest network operator in East Africa.

Safaricom is famous for its global “mpesa” mobile financial services system, which advances financial inclusion and supports the network with the highest operating efficiencies in Africa.

Coming at a period when competition in the Nigerian telecom industry has for some years been limited to price wars between the various GSM companies, clearly, Teleology’s coming will very likely herald a new era of intense competition and quest for market share among Nigeria’s telecom operators.

Teleology is promoted by a group of 12 telecom industry veterans with considerable experience not only in Nigeria and Africa but in the global telecom space as well. The executive management for instance, boasts

more than 337 years of collective frontline operational management experience, Wood said.

He however expressed thanks to Barclays Africa, the financial advisers to the 9mobile transaction, the Nigerian bank syndicate, the backing and support of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which he said, made 9mobile’s survival possible.

He also expressed his gratitude to the loyal 9mobile management and staff who carried on in the face of skepticism, doubt and negative market sentiment.

Wood assured Nigerians that additional details including formal relaunch plans would be unveiled in due course.

Court Shifts Dasuki’s Trial to May 2 A Federal Capital Territory High Court has adjourned the trial of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), in the alleged money-laundering charges brought against him by the federal government till May 2 and 3 for definite trial.

The judge of the court, Justice Husseini Baba Yusuf, announced the new trial date in Abuja after being presented with the Supreme Court judgment of March 2, 2018 which ordered accelerated hearing into the case.

However, to ensure effective management of the two separate charges against Dasuki and other defendants, the court fixed April 13 for a pre-trial conference to be attended by seven Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) involved in the case so as to enable them take common positions on documents from the prosecution and those from the defendants.

During the conference which would be presided over by Justice Baba Yusuf, all documents that are not contentious would be admitted from the bar while the contentious ones are to be tendered during trial to ensure speedy hearing of the cases which were filed in September 2015.

Senior counsel involved in the matter, especially Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, for prosecution, Ahmed Raji, Akin Olujimi, Olajide Ayodele, Kayode Olatoke, Hakeem Afolabi and Solomon Umoh who are standing for different defendants in the trial all agreed with the Supreme Court decision for accelerated hearing and the pre-trial conference to sort out all the contentious issues.

Ahmed Raji who led the legal team of Dasuki had told the court that the decision of the Supreme Court indicated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is different from Department of State Service (DSS) and that

both are not serving the same government.

The federal government had slammed charges against Dasuki, Salisu Shuaib Director, Finance, ONSA, Aminu Baba-Kusa, Acacia Holding Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital on alleged money-laundering and criminal breach of trust.

Although the charges were filed in 2015, proper trial could not commenced due to the failure of the government to allow the principal defendant in the matter, Sambo Dasuki to enjoy the bail and other bails granted him by different courts since 2015.

In the bid to enforce the bail order, Dasuki had approached the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court to compel the federal government to allow him go on bail as ordered by the trial court, just like other defendants, to enable access his lawyers and prepare for his defence as required by law.

However, both the court of appeal and the Supreme Court had in their separate judgments disagreed with Dasuki that the federal government did not obey the bail order.

The two court held that since his bail at the Kuje Prison was endorsed by the Controller of Prison and was released before he was re-arrested by another of the federal government, the bail had been obeyed at that level.

With the new Supreme Court decision, especially on accelerated hearing, full scale trial is now expected to commence on May 2, 2018.

Justice Baba-Yusuf in his brief comment had appealed to the senior lawyers involved in the matter to cooperate with one another, especially with the prosecution to allow the trial to flow so that Justice of the case can be met within a reasonable time.

REWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

Pioneer General Manager and Managing Director, Trust Media Limited, Publisher of Trust Newspapers, Mr. Isiaq Ajibola (left), receiving an award from the Chairman Emeritus of PUNCH Newspapers, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, at the 20th anniversary celebrations of Trust Media Limited in Abuja....yesterday

BILL GATES: FG’S ECONOMIC BLUEPRINT DOES NOT ADDRESS NIGERIANS’ NEEDS because the problem literally grows daily,” adding that the country has strong ERGP whose outlines can only be achieved through human skills and efforts.

According to him, the country is expanding the frontiers of its investment in health, education and young ones adding that for government effort to yield desired results, it must be driven by healthy and educated people.

“And for that effort to be meaningful and productive, it has to come from people who are healthy, educated and feel empowered. It is this realisation that has helped ensure that one of the primary planks of the ERGP is ‘Investing in our people’.

And it is for this reason that we are expanding the reach and quality of our healthcare through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS); and working to guarantee basic education for all persons, whilst also upgrading and modernising the quality of secondary and postsecondary education.

“And because this is the 21st century, we know that it is also important to ensure that our young people are being prepared for the economies of the future, not the past.

This means that STEM education is critical, and that technology must lie at the heart of every one of our educational offerings...,” he said.

At the end of the meeting, Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, and his Kaduna State NasirEl-rufaicounterpart Gates and Dangote on the agreed with need to invest in the health and education of the people.

Gates and Dangote were hosted to dinner in the Presidential Villa by President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, el-Rufai, said it was incorrect to say the execution process of the ERGP does not truly reflect the needs of Nigerians.

“The Nigerian Government’s economic recovery and growth plan identify investing in our people as one of three strategic objectives. But the execution priorities don’t fully reflect people’s needs, prioritising physical capital over human capital,” Gates had said.

He said this priority would lead to a “sharp limit on how much the country can grow”.

El-Rufai, who was among the governors at the meeting where Gates spoke, said the ERGP has enough provision for human capital.

He said what is needed is not

an adjustment of the ERGP but for state governments to adopt similar plans.

“On the review of ERGP as suggested by Gates, it is not correct to say that the economic recovery and growth plan does not give primacy to human capital, it is not correct,” el-Rufai said.

“The economic recovery and growth plan has enough provision for human capital, it is a federal government plan, what is needed is for states to have similar plans as well as adequate provisions for healthcare and education.

“Because the bulk of the burden for healthcare and education really rests on states governments. The disease burden of the country is largely at the primary healthcare level and this primary healthcare system is broken completely, we need to rebuild it.

“It is the responsibility of the states rather than the federal government.

The federal government incentifies with funding, grants and aids. But essentially, routine immunization, primary healthcare, is the responsibility of the states.

“So it is not gaps in the ERGP that we are looking at, it is appealing to states governments to provide more

money in basic education, primary healthcare. It is not the ERGPthat needs adjustments, it is the budgeting that needs to be ramped up in these two key areas because these are where the problems are.

“If a child losses equality education, he is done for life. If a child doesn’t get quality healthcare in the first two years, he is destroyed for life. This is the message that we invest more at the lower level, so that we prevent this disaster from happening.”

The ERGP is a medium-term document launched by President Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2017 to restore the nation’s economic statusafteritwashitbyitsworstrecession in 29 years.

But the former Vice President,Atiku Abubakar, has lauded Gates for his interest and support for the country, stating that he shares his concerns on the challenges facing the nation.

Abubakar in a tweet said:: “I applaud Gates for his interest and support for Nigeria. I share his concerns of the challenges we face and believe as he does they can be overcome when we as a nation consciously make requisite investments in our human capital and infrastructure.”

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018

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FRIDAYSPORTS Eagles Test Run with Poland Clash

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

Duro Ikhazuagbe With 83 days to the start of the World Cup 2018 in Russia, Nigerians will have a feel of what to expect from Gernot Rohr and his wards at the Mundial this night when stand-in Captain, Ogenyi Onazi leads glory seeking Super Eagles in an international friendly with Poland at the 42000 capacity p y Stadion Wroclaw.

This is the first official match between Nigeria and Poland at the senior level. It is also the first Grade ‘A’ game for Eagles as they begin final preparations for the battle in Russia in summer.

Without any doubt, Poland has FIFA World Cup pedigree, having come third twice – in 1974 and 1982. The present generation led by g y ins inspirational Captain, p Robert Lew Lewandowski, has all the qualities q of p past Polish great teams. Their performance g p perfo in Group p E of the Europ European p World Cup pq qualifiers- five p po points ahead of second-placed p Denmark Den and scoring g 28 g goals in six matchesstands Poland out as a good test Eagles. for the Super p Eagles g The Bayern y Munich star striker who has scored 51 g go goals for his country y – an all-ti all-time goals may record for Poland, Pol prove too efficient if backline fail in Eagles g bac the task of keeping him aand fellow Polish forwards check. in ch Fr From the Rear, Rohr R Re a h ha have v the rare chance to ch throw his preferred choice for Eagles’ Number 1 jersey, yo y youngster Francis Uz Uzoho into the battle for ba baptism. In the absence of su substantive first choice goalkeeper, goalke Carl

Ikeme, who is down with leukemia, the gamble with Ikechukwu Ezenwa paid off during the African qualifiers but the World Cup appears a bigger stage. Daniel Akpeyi who was expected to step up to claim the g shirt after Ikeme was diagnosed len short with the ailment has fallen fore him. of every test placed before g His woeful performancee during the first game of the AFCON 2019 qualifier againstt South Africa in Uyo was a minus for him. you It is a popular dictum that y ng g team don’t change a winning up, p it is a but with the World Cup, he warm different kettle of fish. The g up matches are veritablee ground for coaches to try out different rienced options and an experienced ot fail gaffer like Rohr will not to take the chance. ion, In the left back position, o it is an opportunity to try out new boy, Brian Idowu, to see how he can effectively fit into the back four that has right back Shehu Abdullahi as well as n central defenders Leon m TroostBalogun and William Ekong. here the In the middle where am has problem of the team resolved remained largely unresolved since Austin Jay Jay Okocha retired, the game in Wroclaw will no doubt show the amount of work done so far for the rt of the cohesion of that depart senior national team. Defensive midfielders should be the pair

of Wilfred Ndidi and stand-in captain Ogenyi Onazi. Up field, Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi are expected to get starting shirts to run the wings.

In Rohr’s preferred 4-3-2-1 formation, improved Kelechi p Iheanacho is expected to

play behind Odion Ighalo in the attack. And if it proves ineffective, the Franco-German coach has promised to try out other formations. The score-line however remains unimportant as Poland rated 6th in FIFA rankings g in 52nd is miles ahead of Nigeria spot.

Eagles likely starting XI – 4-2-3-1: Francis Uzoho – Brian Idowu, Leon Balogun, William Troost, Shehu Abdullahi – Wilfred Ndidi, Ogenyi Onazi (skipper) – Victor Moses,, Alex Iwobi,, Kelechi Iheanacho – Odion Ighalo.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES (Today) Poland v Nigeria (8.45pm) Argentina v Italy (8.45pm) Germany v Spain (8.45pm) Holland v England (8.45pm) Turkey v Ireland (8.30pm) Japan v Mali (1.20 am) Russia v Brazil (5.00 pm) Bulgaria v Bos-Herze (6.00pm) Portugal v Egypt (8.45pm) France v Colombia (9.00pm) Greece v Switzerland (7.00pm) Serbia v Morocco (8. 30pm)

Odion Ighalo and Victor Moses

International Friendlies Man Utd Terminates Ibrahimovic’s Contract Live on Kwesé TV Leading up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, Kwesé TV has released a schedule of international friendly matches to be aired on its Kwesé Sports channels beginning from today, March 23.

In the line-up are matches featuring fan-favourites including; Argentina, Brazil, England and Italy.

Kwesé TV will kick-off its broadcast of the friendlies with the clash between Brazil and the 2018 FIFA World Cup host nation Russia.

Brazil is the only nation to have played in all World Cup since 1930 and has won the tournament five times while Russia has had ten World Cup outings reaching fourth place in 1966 as the Soviet Union. The match is scheduled for 5pm today and it will air live on Kwesé Free Sports, channel 285.

Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere both of Arsenal are among players named in England’s squad to face the Netherlands and Italy in

friendlies.

Kwesé Sports 1, will bring the encounter between England and Netherlands live on at 8.45pm.

And although England has not won the World Cup since 1966, the frills and thrills that come with the English team makes this tie an exciting one as fans will be looking to see their favourite Premier League players.

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Manchester City striker, Sergio Aguero have been named in the squad that will play against Italy. This match will air live on ESPN, Kwesé TV channel 310 from 8.45pm.

Other fixtures include; Northern Ireland v South Korea on Saturday 24 March at 3pm, Peru v Croatia on Monday 26 March at 11.30pm and Denmark v Chile on Tuesday 27 March at 8.45pm.

Kwesé Sports is Econet Media’s exclusive sports content platform available on the Kwesé TV network. It holds pay-TV rights for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and it will broadcast all 64 matches LIVE from 14 June to 15 July 2018.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has left Manchester United after the club agreed to terminate his contact early.

Ibrahimovic, 36, scored 29 goals in 53 appearances for the Red Devils but has played only seven times since damaging cruciate ligaments last April.

The former Sweden striker’s contract was due to expire in the summer.

“Great things also come to an end and it is time to move on after two fantastic seasons with Manchester United,” he wrote on Instagram.

“Thank you to the club, the

fans, the team, the coach, the staff and everybody who shared with me this part of my history. #foreverred” Ibrahimovic is yet to announce his plans but there has been intense speculation recently that he will join Major League Soccer outfit LA Galaxy.

It has also been suggested he could come out of international retirement for Sweden at this summer’s World Cup. “Everyone at the club would like to thank Zlatan for his contribution to the team since his arrival and wishes him well for the future,”

United said in a statement.

Ibrahimovic joined the Premier League club from Paris St-German in 2016.

Earlier this month, United manager Jose Mourinho had said the striker was likely to leave at the end of the season.

The Swede, who re-signed for United on a one-year deal in August, returned to action in November after the knee injury that curtailed his first season at Old Trafford.

But he has not featured since the Premier League draw against Burnley on 26 December.

G OT V B OX I N G N I G H T 1 4

Lion NwoyeVows to End Joe Boy’s Unbeaten Record Prince “Lion” Nwoye, the fast-rising lightweight boxer has vowed to end the unbeaten run of Oto “Joe Boy” Joseph, reigning African Boxing Union and Commonwealth Africa lightweight champion, when they meet at GOtv Boxing Night 14 slated to hold on 14 April at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos.

Nwoye, a fast-punching boxer, said Joe Boy has enjoyed an unbeaten run because he is yet to come up against him since they both turned professional.

As amateurs, he said, he used to beat Joe Boy for fun, a trick

he has vowed to repeat at GOtv Boxing Night 14.

“I will show him that I am a policeman. I was beating him while we were in the amateur ranks and I will beat him again. After beating him, I will handcuff him, so he would know that I am a policeman,” bragged Nwoye.

Responding to his opponent’s taunting, Joe Boy said he will make Nwoye understand that the boxing ring is not an extension of the police station.

He dismissed Lion’s claim as an impotent threat, saying being the African and Common

wealth lightweight champion shows that he is many tiers above Nwoye.

“For saying he used to beat me during amateur trials, I will beat him so much that the Police Force will have no option than dismiss him for the shame he will bring on the institution. I do not want to waste my time talking about an insignificant boxer, who will not last the distance,” the champion boasted.

GOtv Boxing Night 14 will feature a total of seven fights, including the African Boxing Union featherweight

title bout between Nigeria’s Waidi “Skoro” Usman and Michael Nyawade of Kenya as well as the West African Boxing Union welterweight title bout between Djossou “Agoy” Basile of the Republic of Benin and Nigeria’s Rilwan “Baby Face” Oladosu.

A national lightweight boxing title bout is also scheduled. It will feature the flamboyant Rilwan “Real One” Oladosu against Kazeem “Ijoba” Badmus.

The event will be broadcast live on SuperSport in 47 African countries.

Nasarawa Rolls out Drums for NWFL Season Opener Football fans and stakeholders coming to Lafia for the opening game of the Nigeria Women Professional Football League (NWFL) have been assured of a convivial atmosphere to o enjoy the game between hosts, Nasarawa Amazons and Robo FC of Lagos.

The Nasarawa State government, which said it is leaving no stone unturned in

its bid to stage a magnificent 2017/18 season opener on April 7, has also assured the teams of an international standard Lafia Township Stadium on match day.

Expected at the game are those that matter in Nigerian sports, including women football stakeholders, board members of the league body, Nasarawa State First Lady and

other state functionaries.

Chairman of Nasarawa Amazons, Nuhu Audu said everything is being put in place to ensure the ceremony goes well as schedule without any hitches.

“We are already concluding registration of the team as well as documentation for the new league season.

“That’s crucial as every other

things we are doing for the opening ceremony is built around the team’s success.

“I can tell you that preparations for the season’s opening ceremony will kick-start fully by next week.

“The Executive Governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura and deputy, Silas Ali Agera and other functionaries are quite enthusiastic about the programme.

“They have assured that no stone will be left unturned to ensure it becomes a huge success.

“Nasarawa Amazons are the reigning league champions and everyone is on same page to ensure the team start the season brilliantly and take up to end the season successfully,” said Audu.

Meanwhile, the NWFL has revealed that the 16 teams

participating in the 2017/18 Nigeria Women Premier League (NWPL) have complied with the league body’s directive to settle their team’s registration fee on March 19, 2018.

The NWFL had set March 19 as deadline for the payment of registration fee for clubs interested in taking part in the top-flight, while March 30 is fixed for the collection of licenses.

Friday, March 23, 2018

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MISSILE Adamu to Senate Colleagues “While we are consumed with sabotaging the administration and stabbing one another in the back, we forget that in less than a year from now, we shall be required to seek the people’s revalidation of our mandate to sit in these hallowed chambers. What shall we tell them?� — Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West) accusing the Senate leadership of a gang-up against President Muhammadu Buhari.

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AKINOSUNTOKUN DIALOGUE WITH NIGERIA

akin.osuntokun@thisdaylive.com

Uncanny Talks of Military Intervention

I

n the expression of the virtue of gratitude, Most Reverend Matthew Kukah, by his own admission, is prone to the lapse of being superfluous. His funeral ovation at the burial of Joseph Danlami Bagobiri, Bishop of the Catholic Bishop of Kafanchan on Thursday, 15th March 2018 bears testimony and equally provided a heart wrenching insight into the ordeal of the Christian population of Southern Kaduna in Kaduna state.

It is difficult to come terms with the revelations of institutional socio-political discrimination that holds the indigenous Christian population of the region in thrall and cast them as serially violated second class citizens. Lamenting the plight of the victim population, Kukah revealed “After nearly thirty years of the creation of their state, none of them had occupied the seat of a Governor. None had qualified to represent the State as a Minister. They looked around and found a land barren of both federal and state government presence.

There were no state television signals as we had to rely on Plateau State television for media coverage. There were no roads, not a single industry sited anywhere in the state.‌ It would take a combination of President Obasanjo and Alhaji Makarfi to change the course of the history of the people of Southern Kaduna. It was in 1999 that Senator Isaiah Balat was appointed a Minister to represent Kaduna State. Even then, the key northern Muslims protested saying that Senator Balat was a Christian not a northerner. Then came the historic appointments of both Lt. Generals Martin Luther Agwai and Yusuf Luka to the positions of Chief of Army Staff and for Agwai, Chief of General Staff. When I met President Obasanjo and thanked him for this, he said to me: There is nothing to thank me for. These two gentlemen were the best, they had the best career records and so we did not do them a favour. I felt sorry for General Obasanjo because he did not seem to understand that in the eyes of the mafia, merit, excellence, competence, was tied to religion and region and that in our case, being a Christian excluded you from certain positions�.

Before I go any further, I need to make a mental note of a phenomenon that illustrates the wide ranging comprehensiveness of the contemporary Nigerian tragedy. I extracted the above referenced excerpt to prove a point I wanted to make about the propensity of Kukah to lapse into superfluous gratitude. But the excerpt turned out to be quite revealing of the enormity of a different subject matter and makes it a compelling topic, all by itself, for this space. Now, the greater tragedy is that were I to make a commitment, here and now, to devote my next commentary to the eminently meritorious subject matter of Southern Kaduna, I would not be able to vouchsafe the validity of the commitment. The reason for this is that

Kukah in the intervening period between now and the next due date, the probability is that Nigeria would have played host to another contending tragic occurrence or revelation of calamitous proportions. Such is the nature of the transition Nigeria has made between yesterday and today-akin to the biblical metaphor of the juvenile foolhardiness of king Rehoboham- “my father laid a heavy yoke on you, I will make it even heavier; my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions�

On this biblical note, let us return to the respected statesman-cleric. The relevant take away (for the purpose of today’s commentary) from this excerpt was Kukah’s encounter with President Olusegun Obasanjo and the sense of gratitude and appreciation he expressed over the career elevations of Lt.Generals Martin Luther Agwai and Yusuf Luka to the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Staff respectively. Given the officers’ professional merit, Obasanjo saw no need for the gratitude. A totally untenable instance of this penchant was on display at the occasion of a public lecture with the theme: “How to make democracy work for Africa,�

Said Kukah “Democracy requires lots and lots of patience and hard work. And I think we are mightily grateful to ourselves as a people that despite the frustrations, despite the temptations, unlike before: we have witnessed 16 to 17 years of patience on the side of the military because if it were 20 to 30 years ago, we would have had at least three or four coups already. I think it is a measure of the faith of the military itself on the urgency of democratization that has kept them in the barracks. But I think the politicians and the political class cannot take this patience for granted.

What we have experienced in the last few years has made us a laughing stock of other nations,�

I was surprised and mildly irritated that this sort of apologetic pandering to the Nigerian military can come from

Kukah. The inevitable question that arises is-who appointed the military, judge and superintendent over our affairs? We had better be able to take their patience for granted because the last time I checked, anyone, including, especially the military, who seeks to overthrow or supplant a constitutionally elected authority, is liable to the crime of treason. Investing the military with patriarchal oversight over Nigeria is a dangerous and curious proposition and coming from someone not of Kukah’s good faith pedigree would have aroused suspicion of the ulterior motive of testing the ground for military intervention. Kukah himself knows that this language of expression of frustration with the governance of Nigeria is not tenable and amounts to a retroactive legitimation of the culture of coup d’Êtats and military intervention.

Still I was not of a mind to join issues on the topic; and decided to rule the uncharacteristic bluster as unintended gaffe to which we must not lend unwitting orchestration. And then it transpired that within weeks of the Kukah gaffe, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekeremadu, would ultimately stoke a controversy on the subject matter. The first inkling I got was repeated disclaimers in the media to the effect that the remarks of Ekweremadu should not be misconstrued as suggesting that Nigeria’s escalating crisis of governance passes as condition precedent to military intervention.

As one of the highest individual stakeholders in the contemporary civil democratic rule in Nigeria, any such suggestion (by him) portends a self-destructive military rule baiting.

Again I dwelt no longer on it until Professor Bolaji Akinyemi drew attention to the controversy in his interview with ThisDay ‘. “We don’t learn from history; not only politicians but even the public.

That was really what Ekweremadu was saying: that the politicians –if the antelope decides to be so proud that it just marches with majesty and pomp and pride, it must remember that there are hungry lions around; that the field isn’t cleared. That’s all Ekweremadu was saying. Let those who have ears to hear, let them hear,� It was at this juncture that I finally decided that I would not only go in search of the full story of what Ekweremadu purportedly said, I will, in addition, take up the trending topic on this page.

According to Ekweremadu “The problem in Nigeria is that our democracy is receding.

Who says army cannot take over, let us not joke with our democracy that is the issue. The house of a senator was destroyed in Kaduna state; we are talking about Kwankwaso who was stopped from going to his state where he ruled for eight years.

In Kaduna, Shehu Sani cannot organize a meeting and we are about a democracy? On subsequent reflection and from the avalanche of reactions to this report, Ekweremadu must have learnt that employing the specter

of military intervention as a bogey man (against degenerate politicking) is not such a wise public recourse for an elected incumbent-especially in Nigeria.

One of the critical lessons we have learnt from the history of military intervention in Nigerian politics is the opportunistic nature of such interventions. Military coup broadcasts in Nigeria invariably find justification in the logic and expressions hitherto employed by prominent civilian figures to denigrate and repudiate their collective misconduct. Coincidentally, Akinyemi himself became a figure of fate of this tradition when his appeal for an interventionist disannulment of the 1993 Presidential election was employed as the irresistible pretext for the intervention and perpetuation of the dictatorship of General Sani Abacha.

As it evolved from July 1966 (up until the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999), the received wisdom of the political history of Nigeria was that military rule interventions amounted to little more than the reversion of power to the military wing of the hegemonic Northern ruling class-which became the default mode of ascension to political power and control since the counter coup of 1966. As the guarantor of this hegemony, the military became the dominant wing who would decide when to intervene and when to restore civil democratic rule.

Extrapolating from our chequered political history, military rule interventions are precipitated and legitimized by governability crisis attendant on a burgeoning breakdown of law and order and in the specific experience of Nigeria often as a stratagem for the preservation of regional political hegemony. Put in less flirtatious language, the position of the aforementioned public functionaries is that these conditions have been met by the extant political reality of Nigeria. And if there have been no attempts by the Nigerian military to usurp power, explanations for the institutional restraint will be found in the following factors.

First was the self-de-legitimation of military dictatorship by the crisis of the annulment of the 1993 Presidential elections and its culmination into the brutal personal dictatorship of Abacha. Second was the relative professionalization of the military beginning with the decision by President Olusegun Obasanjo to purge the institution of politically compromised officers. Third were the political stabilization instruments of power rotation and the facility of a successful transfer of power from an incumbent President to the opposition candidate in the 2015 general elections.

Fourth is globalization and its domination by triumphant capitalism; and the attendant values of liberal democracy. Going forward and running counter to this trend is the resurgent dictatorship in Russia and China-reinforced by the global economic ascendance of the latter.

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