THURSDAY 29TH MARCH 2018

Ebonylife, Sony Pictures TV Close Deal on Scripted Television Projects Series on lives of Dahomey Warriors, others in the offing Nume Ekeghe EbonyLife Ltd, owners of Africa’s global TV network and producers of premium, original content, and Sony

Pictures Television (SPT), yesterday announced that they will co-develop three new exciting scripted television projects, with SPT set to distribute internationally.

The three-project deal, the first of its kind between SPT and a Nigerian production company, will also include a TV series inspired by the Dahomey Warriors, said a joint

statement issued by EbonyLife and SPT. According to the statement, the action packed series, inspired by true events that took place in the West African

Kingdom of Dahomey, will tell the empowering story of the all-female warriors and show the ultimate strength of women coming together and fighting to protect and

honor their people.

“Development on the Dahomey Warriors’ project will start immediately with further Continued on page 10

Shell Targets Ex-Employee in Kickback Involving Oil Block Sale to Neconde… Page 6 Thursday 29 March, 2018 Vol 23. No 8379. Price: N250

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FINALLY, MPC HAS A QUORUM...

L-R: Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Aliyu Rafindadi Sanusi and Dr. Robert Asogwa; Deputy Governor, CBN, Mr. Lametek Edward Adamu; Deputy Governor (Operations), CBN, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu; Governor, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele; Deputy Governor (Financial System Stability), CBN, Dr. Okwu Joseph Nnanna; Deputy Governor, CBN, Mrs. Aisha Ahmad; and MPC member, Prof. Adeola Festus Adenikinju, at the CBN head office when the new deputy governors and MPC members assumed office… yesterday

Politics of 2019 Heats up Battle for APC Chair Party’s NWC meets to empanel c’ttee on tenure elongation How Banire, Akeredolu faulted objection raised by Buhari Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja With the 2019 elections barely a year away, high stakes politicking have taken centre stage at the ruling All

Progressives Congress (APC), where President Muhammadu Buhari has aligned with the National Leader of the party, Chief Bola Tinubu, against most of the governors and

other critical stakeholders of the party who are in support of the tenure extension granted to the elected and appointed executives of the APC at all levels at its February National

Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

At stake is the national chairmanship post of the APC currently occupied by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun. But

with Buhari’s sudden rejection of the tenure elongation for Oyegun and other executives, the jostling over who emerges as the next chairman of the party will be critical to the

governors, especially those seeking a second term in office.

Buhari had at the NEC meeting of the party on Continued on page 6

IG Removes Kogi CP After Suspects Escape Custody, Melaye Declared Wanted… Page 49

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Shell Targets Ex-Employee in Kickback Involving Oil Block Sale to Neconde Files criminal complaint, Nigerian firm denies allegation Glencore, Vitol in talks with Seplat, Famfa Oil over acquisition of Petrobras assets Ejiofor Alike with agency reports Royal Dutch Shell has filed a criminal complaint against its former Vice-President, sub-Saharan Africa, Mr. Peter Robinson, in connection with a bribery allegation involving the sale of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42, a Nigerian onshore oilfield in 2011, to Neconde Energy Limited founded by Nigerian oil and gas magnate, Ernest Azudialu.

The case, however, is unrelated to the court case against the Anglo-Dutch company and Eni in Italy over the acquisition of a different Nigerian oil field – Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245, a Shell spokesman confirmed yesterday.

Shell sold nine assets under its divestment programme – OMLs 4, 38, 41, 26, 29, 30, 34, 40 and 42 – between 2010 and 2015.

Neconde Energy paid $558 million to acquire a 45 per cent stake in OML 42 in February 2011 and was awarded operatorship of the asset by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 2015.

Another local operator, Yinka Folawiyo Energy, has a participating stake in the 45 per cent equity interest held

by Neconde in OML 42.

But Reuters quoted a Shell spokesman as saying yesterday that the AngloDutch multinational suspects that there was bribery in the transaction. “Based on what we know now from an internal investigation, we suspect a crime may have been committed by our former employee ... against Shell in relation to the sale process for Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42 in Nigeria,� the spokesman said. “We have filed a criminal complaint with the Dutch authorities and are considering other steps we could take,� the unnamed spokesman added.

As part of the internal investigation carried out in recent months, Shell was said to have discovered that

kickbacks may have been paid to a Seychelles-listed company owned by Robinson in the sale of OML 42.

The offshore company was allegedly linked to two Swiss bank accounts under his name.

OML 42 has seven fields that have produced hydrocarbons and five undeveloped discoveries.

The oil block commenced initial production in 1969 at the Egwa field, with a peak gross production rate of about 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 1974.

Before the divestment, normalised production had been 100-150,000 boepd, primarily oil.

The block was shut in 2006 as a result of militancy in the Niger Delta but in February 2011, the Batan and Ajuju fields were re-opened by Shell before it sold its 45 per cent interest to Neconde.

The 55 per cent interest belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was assigned to its upstream subsidiary Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

Dutch prosecutors yesterday said they were including the complaint Royal Dutch Shell filed against its former employee in an ongoing investigation into the company’s Nigerian operations. “The facts and circumstances as set out in the complaint were already known to us.

We will include the complaint in the ongoing investigation of Shell,� prosecutors said in a statement.

Shell and Eni are facing one of the oil industry’s biggest ever graft trials in Italy, to begin in May in Milan, a pending trial in Nigeria and an investigation in the Netherlands.

The case revolves around the purchase of the giant OPL 245, which holds an estimated 9 billion barrels in reserves.

Italian prosecutors allege that bribes were paid in an

effort to secure rights to the block in 2011.

A number of top executives from both companies – including Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi and former Shell Foundation chairman, Malcolm Brinded – will face trial.

Under Italian law, a company can be held responsible if it is deemed to have failed to prevent, or attempted to prevent, a crime by an employee that benefitted the company.

Shell and Eni have denied any wrongdoing, insisting that their payments for the block, a total of $1.3 billion, were transparent, legal and went directly into an escrow account controlled by the federal government.

But in reaction to the criminal complaint filed by Shell against its former vicepresident, Neconde yesterday denied giving kickbacks to Robinson during the tender process for OML 42, insisting that it participated in an open and competitive process.

In a statement issued by the Nigerian firm, it said: “Neconde, in an open and competitive bid in early 2011, acquired the 45 per cent joint equity interest in OML 42 in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria from Shell, Total and NAOC (Nigerian Agip Oil Company, Eni’s Nigerian subsidiary). “The acquisition was financed by a consortium of reputable local and international financiers. “At the time of the acquisition, Neconde was aware that Mr. Robinson was a vice-president in Shell. However, other than the legitimate business of acquisition of OML 42 for which full consideration was furnished, Neconde did not have any other formal or informal dealing with Mr. Robinson.�

Neconde said for the acquisition of OML 42, it paid the full consideration provided by its financiers, and in accordance with the competitive bid process adopted by the three

international oil companies (IOCs). “At the end of the bid process, these three IOCs also unanimously agreed, at their respective highest decision-making levels, to the sale of OML 42 to Neconde. “Neconde did not pay any money, in whatever guise, to Mr. Robinson or any other person in Shell, Total or NAOC to facilitate the acquisition of their joint interest in OML 42. “Neconde completely denies any allegation or suspicion of kickbacks for the acquisition of its interest in OML 42 and the statement credited to Shell suggesting the contrary is untrue and most unfortunate.

This allegation by Shell may not be unconnected with an ongoing arbitration instituted

by Neconde against Shell in London in connection to Shell’s diversion of crude oil worth millions of dollars from OML 42 after the acquisition of the 45 per cent joint equity interest by Neconde and for other infractions. “Neconde views this unwarranted allegation of kickback as defamatory and is seriously considering its legal options in this regard,� the company said.

Local Firms Eye Petrobras Assets Meanwhile, global oil traders Vitol and Glencore are in talks to financially back Seplat and Famfa Oil, among others, racing to buy assets owned by Brazil’s Petrobras in Nigeria valued at up to $2 billion, several sources familiar with the matter have said.

Cash is being lined up for purchases of stakes in two major oilfields in the West African country, according to the banking and industry sources.

The potential consortiums including Glencore and Vitol offer the local bidders financial backing that would otherwise be hard to secure directly through international banks.

For the traders, a deal would guarantee access to

high-quality crude oil for many years. They would then be able to syndicate out the debt to banks, reported Reuters.

Signing up to long-term financing deals to increase volumes and gain exclusive access is one of the traders’ strategies to compensate for increasingly thin profit margins.

Last November, statecontrolled Petroleo Brasileiro SA, known as Petrobras, launched the sale of 100 per cent of Petrobras Oil & Gas BV, or Petrobras Africa, as part of the heavily-indebted company’s plan to offload $21 billion in assets through 2018 as it also faces a massive corruption scandal.

Petrobras holds half the shares in the company while 40 per cent are held by a subsidiary of Grupo BTG Pactual SA and 10 per cent

by Helios Investment Partners.

Scotiabank is running the process with Evercore, according to the sale launch document.

The venture has stakes in two offshore blocks that contain two producing fields, the major Agbami field in OML 127, operated by a Chevron affiliate, and the Akpo field in OML 130 operated by Total SA. The assets could fetch as much as $2 billion, according to bankers involved in the process.

Trading and mining giant Glencore is looking to back Nigerian producer Seplat in bidding for the assets.

The world’s top oil trader Vitol is examining backing several bidders in the process, according to the sources.

Swiss-based commodities trader Mercuria was involved in the initial bidding round but is unlikely to continue in the process, sources said.

Oil major BP’s trading division had also considered participating in a possible consortium, but dropped out.

Glencore, Vitol, Mercuria and BP declined to comment.

A spokesman for Seplat did not immediately respond to

POLITICS OF 2019 HEATS UP BATTLE FOR APC CHAIR Tuesday raised objections to the one-year tenure extension approved for the executives at the February NEC meeting.

He counselled that doing so would be in breach of the Nigerian Constitution and that of the APC, which could lead to endless litigations in the run up to the 2019 elections.

His stance on the issue, however, did not go down well with many members of the NWC and most governors of the party.

The party, nonetheless, said on Tuesday that it would set up a committee to review the position of the party on the tenure extension, adding that until the committee concludes its work, the party

would maintain status quo.

A source, who shed light on the stakes at play, informed THISDAY that whilst there is a consensus on Buhari’s bid and his emergence as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2019 elections, the governors, especially, would have preferred for the status quo to remain with Oyegun steering the affairs of the APC for one extra year.

According to a source, “We had a reason for our decision at our February NEC meeting, the main one being that holding congresses and a convention at the state and national levels could lead to crises and divisions that we can

ill-afford with the elections round the corner. “Besides, the governors, particularly those seeking second terms, were already comfortable with the leadership of the party headed by Oyegun and were more confident of winning their primaries with him in control. “But with Buhari’s sudden change of heart, everything has been thrown up in the air and that it is why the Tuesday NEC meeting was stormy after he raised his objection to the tenure elongation for Oyegun and others.�

The source also pointed out that Buhari’s insistence on the conduct of congresses

and the convention stemmed from his desire to ensure that Tinubu is on his side in 2019 because of the latter's control over Lagos.

He also pointed to the president’s acceptance to chair the 10th Bola Tinubu Colloquium slated to hold in Lagos today and the two-day visit to the state as pointers on how keen Buhari is at ensuring that Tinubu delivers Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre in 2019. “The president wants to ensure that the 2015 electoral map does not change in 2019. He is probably sure of winning most of the states in the South-west, but Lagos is the icing on the cake in terms of electoral value because of

its population size. “So, if the president can hold on to Lagos and Kano in 2019, he would be more certain of victory. Whereas he is certain of Abdullahi Ganduje’s loyalty and in delivering Kano, he can only get Lagos in his pocket if he meets Tinubu’s demands,� he said.

The source, however, expressed concern that by kowtowing to Tinubu’s demands, Buhari will be literally handing over the party’s structures to the former Lagos State governor who in turn may influence the person who emerges as the chairman of the APC at Continued on page 10

a request for comment.

The result of the auction is expected to be announced in early May but some participants said the assets might not be sold in one package.

Industry sources in Nigeria said the winner of the Petrobras blocks would likely be a local company due in part to government pressure.

While the government already has local content laws, a sale so close to the presidential elections in early 2019 has raised pressure to secure high-profile local involvement in the upstream sector.

This has made it more difficult, the sources said, for international companies to bid for the assets without a local partner.

The Akpo field produces nearly 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate while Total is also due to start production at the Egina development in OML 130 later this year.

The Agbami oil field is the main prize, however, producing about 240,000 bpd of light, sweet crude. Petrobras holds a 12.5 per cent stake in the field, Statoil has 20.2 per cent and Chevron holds a 67.3 per cent stake.

The operator is a Chevron affiliate called Star Deep Water Petroleum Ltd. Famfa Oil is one of the concessionaires of Star Deep Water Petroleum and is also looking to increase its stake in the oilfield.

Famfa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Famfa Oil was awarded the rights to the exploration block that holds Agbami in the 1990s. Its owner, Folorunso Alakija, is one of Africa’s richest women.

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Harmonised PIGB to Impose 5% Fuel Levy on Consumers Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Senate yesterday passed the harmonised version of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), which includes a five per cent fuel levy on consumers.

The monies accrued from the levy would be deployed towards funding of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), which would also be funded from subventions, fees and other charges levied on oil marketing companies.

This followed the adoption of the conference report of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) on the PIGB, which seeks to provide for the governance and institutional framework

for the petroleum industry.

Section 36(1)(a) of the bill provides that “there shall be established the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, into which shall be paid all monies payable to the Equalisation Fund, by way of a 5 per cent fuel levy in respect of all fuel sold, and distributed within the federation which shall be charged subject to the approval of the Minister (of Petroleum)�.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Downstream, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, presenting the report, said the discrepancies in the version passed by the House of Representatives had been harmonised.

“The Equalisation Fund shall collect all revenues and levies charged; determine the net surplus revenue recoverable from any oil marketing company and accruing to that company from the sale by it of petroleum products at such uniform prices as may be fixed by the minister; and determine the amount of reimbursement due to any oil marketing company for purposes of equalisation of price of products among others,� the report said.

The PIGB is one of four components of the omnibus Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which was unbundled by the current National Assembly for ease of passage.

Others aspects of the

PIB are those pertaining to Upstream Petroleum Licence and Lease Administration, Downstream Oil and Gas Administration, Petroleum Fiscals and Petroleum Revenue Management, which includes the Petroleum Host Community Fund.

The PIGB which has been passed by the National Assembly is seeking to split the assets and liabilities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into two new commercial entities: Nigeria Petroleum Assets Management Company and the National Petroleum Company.

It is also proposing to consolidate the existing Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Petroleum

Products Price Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) into one-stopshop agency: the Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

The commission will be responsible for the promotion of efficient, safe, effective and sustainable infrastructure development of the industry, and ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations governing the industry.

This is in addition to its responsibility to determining and ensuring the implementation and maintenance of technical standards, codes and specifications applicable to the industry in line with

global best practices.

The regulatory commission will be funded through the retention of 10 per cent of the revenue it generates for the government of the federation.

Its expenditure will however be subject to appropriation by the National Assembly.

The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, in his remarks yesterday, expressed optimism that the PIGB would soon be signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari. “We have shown investors that this National Assembly is very responsible in areas that have to do with the laws that govern our petroleum sector,� he said.

and formats, SPT is home to a thriving global production business operating 21 whollyowned or joint venture

production companies in 12 countries around the world.

SPT is a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company.

EBONYLIFE, SONY PICTURES TV CLOSE DEAL ON SCRIPTED TELEVISION PROJECTS details of the two additional projects to follow,� said the statement.

Mo Abudu, Chief Executive Officer, EbonyLife, said: “Ever since our launch in June 2013, our vision has always been to change the narrative about Africa and to tell our stories from our perspective. “We have invested in the creation of quality programming and the development of our people and their ideas. It is this ethos that has given us the opportunity to partner with a world-class organisation like Sony Pictures Television. “Now we have the opportunity to bring the fascinating story of the Dahomey Warriors, and many others like it, to audiences around the world. “It has been hard work getting here, but that’s what we are known for at EbonyLife. As I always say, ‘If you can think it, you can do it’.’’ Wayne Garvie, President, International Production, Sony Pictures Television, said: “Mo Abudu is one of the most formidable and creative figures in Nigerian television, and with EbonyLife her and the team

are creating something that is truly ground-breaking and extraordinary. “Our aim is to help EbonyLife create a portfolio of African content that will fulfil their aim of being one of Africa’s prime creator of premium content.�

The news follows EbonyLife’s recently announced unscripted deal with SPT, where they will be exclusively adapting the hit game show “The Dating Game� for Nigerian audiences.

Launched in 2013, EbonyLife TV has expanded it viewership and reach into a prime African global black TV network.

The channel continues to grow exponentially across the globe with premium-scripted programmes available on numerous platforms.

EbonyLife TV annually produces over 1,000 hours of premium, original, and homegrown Anglo-African entertainment programming, of which 80 per cent belongs exclusively to the network, making it one of the largest self-owned libraries on the continent.

SPT is one of the television industry’s leading content

providers, producing and distributing programming worldwide in every genre and for every platform.

In addition to managing one of the industry’s largest libraries of award-winning feature films, television shows

R-L: Vice-President, Distribution Africa, Sony Pictures Television (SPT), Kunle Falodun; CEO, EbonyLife, Mo Abudu; and Senior Vice-President, UK, Iberia and Africa, SPT, Mark Young, when EbonyLife and SPT closed a deal on three scripted television projects in London‌ yesterday

POLITICS OF 2019 HEATS UP BATTLE FOR APC CHAIR the convention. “It is this uncertainty that the governors do not want because should we backtrack on the tenure elongation for Oyegun and others, Tinubu will be very influential at the convention and may become the deciding factor on who will lead the party. “Effectively, this will mean that Tinubu may indirectly decide the fate of those who should get a second term ticket and those who should not,� he said.

But even as the party’s stakeholders weighed the options before them, the national leadership of the APC moved yesterday to douse the tension created

by Buhari’s rejection of the tenure extension for its executives.

In this regard, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party together with some party leaders met last night to empanel the committee that will consider the pros and cons of the issues in contention and advise the party accordingly.

According to party sources, the meeting was convened to decide on the membership of the committee and the mandate for its members.

THISDAY gathered from a reliable source that the meeting, which took place at an undisclosed location in Abuja, was meant to nominate members for the committee as well as set out its terms of reference.

The source said that the party’s National Legal Adviser, Mr. Muiz Banire

would most likely be on the committee that will consider the pros and cons of the issues in contention and advise the NEC accordingly.

He said other members of the committee would be drawn from outside the NWC to ensure their neutrality. “We are still consulting, a lot of consultations are still going on, so hopefully we will be able to get it right,� he said.

Another member of the party, who was at the Tuesday NEC meeting, also provided insight into the hot exchanges that took place between those who were in support of and against the tenure extension after Buhari had spoken.

He revealed that Buhari’s

move to upturn the tenure extension was met with a mass and open protest.

The source said that it took the intervention of Oyegun who hurriedly ended the heated exchange, and went ahead to adjourn the meeting indefinitely when it became clear that those present were going to overrule the president’s stance on the tenure quagmire.

The source further disclosed that Banire had faulted and tactfully dismissed the constitutional issues raised by the president on the tenure extension approved by NEC on the grounds that the extension did not confer substantive status on the executives, as they will be serving in acting capacities for 12 months.

Banire was said to have argued that NEC derived the power to make the decision from Section 13.3 of the party’s constitution.

The source also quoted Banire as having said that the president’s decision on the tenure extension was sub judice, as the matter was already before the courts.

In the same vein, the source explained that the Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), who adopted Banire’s legal position, went ahead to remind the meeting of the logistical and political exigencies that informed NEC’s decision to extend the tenure of the party’s executives by 12 months, by a vote of 104 in support and four against.

The source further said that the Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Doguwa, called on the NEC members to stop the debate and adopt the president’s decision in deference to the president but was shouted down.

However, before the hurried adjournment, Oyegun was said to have informed the NEC meeting that a “compact and small committee� will be urgently set up to advise the party on the objection raised by the president.

The source said Oyegun suggested that the committee would meet at an undisclosed venue outside the party’s national secretariat, a decision that was approved by NEC.

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COMMENT

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

THE MAN IN THE ARENA

Akintola Benson Oke pays tribute to Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State and national leader of the APC, at age 66 “Be sure you put your feet in the right place. Then, stand ďŹ rm.â€?

-Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States March 29, 1952 orn on that day into an illustrious family. Born on that day into a country yet seeking to cast away the yoke of colonialism. Born, as every other mortal, into a struggle for existence, a struggle for relevance, a struggle for distinction.

He showed traits of distinction early. Some swim in pools for pleasure. Some swim in hometown rivers and streams for leisure. Some with guts swim in wide seas but close to the shore. Others with even more guts attempt to swim even farther. Yet, some - the courageously determined few and outliers of the Homo Sapiens-, swim deep beneath the oceans with the sharks and, come back afloat with treasures deserving of only the brave and daring.

He belongs to this latter magical class. Such daring he embraced early in life. Such bravery has thus far marked the trajectory of his life. Like “they that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters,� he has seen the wonders in the deep (The Holy Bible, Psalm 107:23-24).

He has done well to heed the path admonished by British Nobel laureate, Rudyard Kipling, in the poem, “IF� written circa 1895.

Hence, the honours. Hence, the adulation. Hence, his undeniable attainment to distinction among men. Hence, the celebration of every anniversary of that twenty ninth day in the month of March.

For, as commended by Kipling, he keeps his head when all about him are losing theirs and blaming it on him. He trusts himself when all men doubt him and yet, makes allowance for their doubting. He is patient, never tired of waiting when the situation calls for waiting. Being lied about, he will not deal in lies. Being hated, he does not give in to hating and will never look too good or too wise.

He accepts the advice to Kipling’s son. So, he dreams. He is the quintessential visionary dreamer. Yet, dreams are not his master. He thinks but does not make thoughts his aim. He has met, and meets, with triumph and disasters. But he wisely treats those two impostors just the same. His words have been twisted by knavish foes and treacherous friends to make a trap for fools. Watching the things that he gave his life to broken, mangled and trampled, he stoops and builds them up with worn-out tools. A devoted student of the British Nobel laureate school of stoicism, he readily and regularly makes a heap of all his winnings, risking it on one turn of pitch-and-toss. When he loses, he starts again at the beginning, never breathing a word about his loss. He has trained his heart and nerve and sinew to serve him long after other mortals have lost heart and nerve and mind. He holds on even when there is nothing left “except the will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’�

Talking with crowds, he keeps his virtue. Walking with kings, he does not lose the common touch. Neither foes nor loving friends can reach his inner sanctum of peace. All men count with him, yet none too much. He fills the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds’ worth of distance run.

Hence, the honours. Hence, the adulation. Hence, his undeniable attainment to distinction among men. Hence, the celebration of every anniversary of that twenty ninth day in the month of March.

And, what is there not to celebrate? What is there not to learn of him?

He is like the Wild Boar in Aesop’s The Wild Boar and the Ox. Aesop told of a fox who saw a wild boar sharpening his tusks. The fox asked why. The boar said that it would be foolish to not be ready and have to sharpen them when needed. “Be prepared,� is the moral of the fable, Aesop said. In the same vein, ‘always prepared,’ would be a worthy sobriquet for him of whom I write. He is in the mould of Greek goddess, Athena. Personifying wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilisation, law and justice, strategic warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. He is also in the mould of mythological Prometheus: He would go

B

HE HAS TRAINED HIS HEART AND NERVE AND SINEW TO SERVE HIM LONG AFTER OTHER MORTALS HAVE LOST HEART AND NERVE AND MIND. HE HOLDS ON EVEN WHEN THERE IS NOTHING LEFT ‘EXCEPT THE WILL WHICH SAYS TO THEM: ‘HOLD ON!’

to ends of the world in the service of humanity. He is in the mould of Demeter, the Greek goddess of determination: All who know him know that he will never, never give up on a worthy cause.

Hence, the honours. Hence, the adulation. Hence, his undeniable attainment to distinction among men. Hence, the celebration of every anniversary of that twenty ninth day in the month of March.

He is the man who, in the esteem of Ella Wheeler Wilcox, has “acquired the art of being alive.� For, Ella Wheeler Wilcox rightly noted that, “no difficulty can discourage, no obstacle dismay, no trouble disheartens the man who has acquired the art of being alive. Difficulties are but dares of fate, obstacles but hurdles to try his skill, troubles but bitter tonics to give him strength; and he rises higher and looms greater after each encounter with adversity.�

He is the “Man in the Arena� in Theodore Roosevelt’s speech titled “Citizenship In A Republic� and delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on April 23, 1910, where he famously said, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.�

The exceptional man of whom I write is the man of strength described by Mahatma Ghandi when he said, “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.�

His is the spirit described by Kilroy J. Oldster in ‘Dead Toad Scrolls’, when he wrote that, “Some people never stop working, especially the demanding type of person whom the world never seems to touch, the indomitable person whom is determined to make the world their own place.� He is the wise perpetual student in Aristotle’s contemplation when he said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.� He is the sober meditator eulogised by Socrates when he said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.� He is the man of action who has imbibed the truism in Patrick Ness’ “A Monster Calls� quote: “You do not write your life with words, you write it with actions.

What you think is not important.

It is only important what you do.�

He is all these and much more.

It is no wonder, then, that he excelled academically during his school days. No wonder, then, that he graduated with honours from the Chicago State University, Illinois after attending the Richard Daley College. Armed with qualifications in Business Administration (Accounting Management) and sterling character strengths, it is no wonder that he distinguished himself working for America companies including Andersen, Deloitte, Haskins and Sells, where he participated in the auditing, management and consultancy services for massive corporations such as General Motors, First National Bank of Chicago, Procter and Gamble, International Harvester and GEC. He also worked at GTE Service Corporation and, after returning to Nigeria, in 1983, worked at Mobil Producing Nigeria, where he retired as the company treasurer. Elected into the Nigerian Senate at age 41, is it any wonder that the mantle fell on such a man of indomitable will to spearhead the opposition to incursive military rule?

Dr. Benson Oke, is Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions

HARNESSING ETHANOL’S POTENTIAL FOR ECONOMIC PROSPERITY Ethanol has a lot of advantages which should be exploited, argues Latif D. Busari

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iscussions on why Nigeria should look beyond oil as its major source of revenue are never in short supply.

The call for economic diversification remains a topical issue. Concerned Nigerians are of the belief that our single-resource economic structure accounts for why important national goals remain largely unachieved.

While successive administrations did trumpet the need for Nigeria to meaningfully harness her abundant natural resources, the political will to bring their pronouncements to fruition remains the problem. Nigeria cannot afford to be anywhere else at a time other nations are putting plans in place to maximise their natural potential, especially as it relates to renewable energy resource.

Countries have since realised the need to focus attention on Biofuels or ethanol production as a reliable substitute for gasoline. Debates have been on the need for countries to embrace this largely untapped natural resource whose its benefits far outweigh its hazards. Biofuels are fuels made from cellulosic biomass resources and they include ethanol, biodiesel and methanol. Biomass processes can be designed to produce solid fuel, liquid fuel, gases or even electricity. Commercially viable sources of biofuel include some crops, such as sugarcane, sugar beets, cassava, etc.; also from vegetable oils derived from plant seeds, such as sunflower, linseed and oilseed,

as well as animal waste. Development of “second generation� or “advanced� biofuel using practically any available ligno-cellulosic materials such as trees, stover, crop wastes are also gradually becoming commercially viable. Since primary feedstock of these fuels are plants which are subjected to bio-chemical or thermochemical processes, they are also regarded as bio-renewable energy or fuels since the plants could be grown as often as required.

In meeting the huge current and future energy needs of the world, biofuels are very crucial ingredients for sustainable development and have become a vital and indispensible input to the economic needs of our present civilisation. Many countries across the world have realised this and are churning out policies and programmes designed to make them energy self-sufficient. It is therefore worrisome that Nigeria seems to be missing in action, in all of this.

The Nigerian government had way back in 2005 conceptualised the bio-ethanol development initiative, but little has been done, in terms of providing necessary legal framework to make it work. It is however surprising that Nigeria, being home to most raw materials needed to produce biofuels hasn’t embraced it long time ago. If that initiative had been pursued, by now, Nigeria would have developed the required capacity and joined other nations exploiting this renewable energy resource to help offset falling revenues from its declining oil output.

The bitter truth remains that, from all realistic projections, the very oil that has blinded our eyes from seeing other potential won’t last more than 40 years and our gas won’t last more than 60 years.

I think this revelation should jolt the nation into immediate action.

Heightened advocacy on the usage of ethanol for industrial and other purposes is gaining popularity as a result of the concerns by environmentalists who claim that the production and usage of gasoline fuels and other petroleum products are causing harm to natural environment. Global warming and its effects like flooding are being directly linked by scientists to the fact that vehicles and industries using petroleum products are emitting gases that are damaging the ozone layer and thereby harmful to the atmosphere.

While ethanol is not new in the market, regrettably, its potentialities have not been fully explored. In some sub-Saharan African countries, ethanol is brewed locally. But the distillation process is not perfected enough to have a fine spirit. This has encouraged the importation of ethanol. Even then, opportunities still abound to import ethanol and make money distributing it. Embracing or focusing on ethanol production doesn’t imply that we would abandon gasoline.

South Africa has not only realised the enormous benefits in ethanol production, in terms of job creation, curtailing environmental hazards linked to gasoline, boosting business and encouraging

economic diversification, but has since designed a legal framework to ensure it succeeds.

Even though the task team had recommended a 4.5 per cent biofuels penetration programme, the cabinet limited the biofuels pilot phase to two per cent of the national fuel demand. This is to ensure that “the extent of the socio-economic benefits which are expected from the biofuel programme in comparison to the subsidy are felt by the people�.

The South African government didn’t stop at that, it went ahead to establish a procedure for applying for the biofuels production licence under the Petroleum Products Act of 1977. Also licensed manufacturers were required to obtain necessary licenses and permits required to operate biofuels manufacturing.

There is nothing wrong in Nigeria understudying South Africa in this regards. The ethanol production legal framework designed by the South African government took note of issues relating to local content, job creation for citizens, technical requirements, raw materials, environmental regulations, subsidy as well as other incentives for investors.

It is obvious that there is need for Nigeria to explore alternative source of energy especially to create jobs for its citizens, strengthen its energy capacity and address Nigeria’s acute power/fuel energy supply deficit.

Busari wrote from Garki, Abuja

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ Í°ÍˇËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

EDITORIAL AGAIN, THE POPULATION QUESTION An unchecked population growth is a disaster waiting to happen

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he recent conclusion by the Organised Private Sector (OPS) that inability to check population growth alongside the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) may be fuelling key concerns that border on the economic and social wellbeing of citizens, came as no surprise.

Nigeria, the seventh most populous country in the world, has a fertility rate that far outstrips its economic growth and potential. With a nominal GDP growth of 6.99% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017 and an estimated population ďŹ gure of 195.88 million, the implication is that many of our citizens are daily falling into the poverty trap.

The challenge of an uncontrolled demographic bulge is compounded by the urban drift. With the present GDP growth rate driven by growth in crop production among others, President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Babatunde Ruwase sees a problem. “People are no longer in the rural areas and there are jobs in the rural areas. EveryNIGERIA AND OTHER body wants to move SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN into the urban areas.

COUNTRIES CURRENTLY Getting agricultural ACCOUNT FOR HALF produce from the OF THE GLOBAL POOR, hinterland and to BASICALLY AS A RESULT the market is very OF BIRTHS THAT ARE NOT difďŹ cult; and by the PLANNED FOR time they get there, the produce would be costly to the extent that the ordinary man cannot afford them and all these lead to lots of wastages.

These are some of the issues we must look at holistically.�

For several years, experts have been warning of the dire consequences of this uncontrolled population growth. The prognosis is that there may come a time when it would be difďŹ cult for us to feed the ever increasing number of people, hence the need to avoid

the type of crisis recently witnessed in some African countries. While we understand that there are those who would, especially for religious reasons, not want to hear any argument about population control, the authorities should be concerned that the current population growth is not matched by commensurate development in the socio-economic sector for the citizenry and this can only breed chaos.

I T H I S DAY EDITOR

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DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION

t is indeed instructive that three years ago, the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) urged member states to sensitise communities on the need to reduce the number of children a family can cater for in order to enhance economic development and reduce migration. “Our sub-region is under pressure, migration is increasing and the same goes for terrorism. We need to change this situation and for us to change, we need to create conditions for the youths to stay home. We need to take a step and sensitise people on the need to have a good control of our families. We must sensitise women in our sub-region to make sure that there is a limited number of children that can be taken care of,â€? said ECOWAS. We agree with ECOWAS that the demographic growth in the sub-region is not beneďŹ cial to economic development essentially because a bulging population that is not backed by development is a disaster waiting to happen. Besides, while the number of poor people continues to decline in other regions of the world, Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries currently account for half of the global poor, basically as a result of births that are not planned for. It is therefore appropriate to warn of the danger ahead.

To the extent that a sustainable society is the one with moderate population growth that enables its members to achieve a high quality of life in ways that are ecologically sustainable, policymakers must begin to focus their attention on how to address the challenge of population explosion in our country.

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Letters to the Editor

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THE ESSENCE OF EASTER

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omorrow is Good Friday which commences the most important weekend in Christendom. And as Christians all over the world mark the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, there can be no better time to reflect on the essence of our faith. For me, nothing best exemplifies this season than a story I read recently which brought tears to my face. It was reportedly told by the late Charles Wendell Colson, a former Special Counsel to the American President, Mr Richard Nixon, who resigned from office in the wake of the Watergate scandal in 1974. Colson was also jailed for his role in that scandal but following that experience, he became an Evangelical Christian leader who founded Prison Fellowship International.

According to Colson’s story, during the Second World War, a group of American prisoners of war (POWs) were made to work in a prison camp. One evening, 20 POWs were lined up after the day’s work and when the shovels handed them were counted by the prison guard, only 19 were found. In rage, the prison guard demanded to know which of the prisoners did not bring his shovel back.

When no one responded, the guard drew his

gun and said he would shoot five men if the guilty prisoner did not step forward.

After a moment of tense silence, a young soldier, aged 19, stepped forward with his head bowed down. The guard grabbed him and shot him in the head. He then turned to warn the others that they would suffer a similar fate if they exhibited the same carelessness. When the prison guard left, the 19 remaining POWs gathered the shovels only to discover there were actually 20. The guard had miscounted.

In his commentary on the story, Pastor John Piper wrote: “Can you imagine the emotions that must have filled their (the remaining 19 POWs) hearts as they knelt down over his (their slain colleague) body? In the five or 10 seconds of silence, the boy had weighed his whole future in the balance—a future wife, an education, a new truck, children, a career, fishing with his dad—and he chose death so that others might live. Jesus said in John 15:13, Greater love has no one than this; that one lay down his life for his friends.�

I wish all my Christian readers Happy Easter!

Olusegun Adeniyi, Abuja

TRICYCLISTS AND CRIME IN MAIDUGURI

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aiduguri, the Borno State capital, has gone through difficult times since the insurgency came to its peak. The state is still recovering from what was described as the deadliest man-made disaster that has happened in the history of the state. The state is recuperating gradually and steadily picking up the pieces and moving on.

But crime in Maiduguri is on the increase and if care is not taken, it might turn out to be another battle field. Physical confrontation and seizing of resident’s belongings such as phone and bags is becoming the order of the day. Motorists and pedestrians on many occasions have been complaining of being attacked and property carried away on different locations within the city centre.

The recent incident is the case of a University of Maiduguri 500- level nursing student who was rubbed, raped, poured acid on and thrown on a location. Women and young ladies and to some extent men experienced the same scenario. All these are happening using tricycles which appear to be normal means of transport. They are organised

criminals who know when and how to strike the victims and make away with whatever they could lay their hands on.

Many residential houses were bugled several times and no attempt was made in bringing the perpetrators to justice. From all indication, all these are carried out by desperate youths. They study the movement of residents within the area they want to operate, when people are off to work, school and most times when people are at their places of worship especially Sundays and Fridays. They take that advantage to have access to people’s homes.

Due to the insurgency, the city is congested with people who make it a place where people from different places are taking refuge within the city (IDPs). A lot of youths are all over roaming the streets doing nothing and the smallest opportunity they get, they can be influenced to do the wrong thing. Since most of them are idle, they devised means of committing crimes to get something to survive on.

I think the contributing factor to these ugly incidents is lack of employment.

Bdliya Miti Daniel, Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri

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T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͷ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSSDAY MARCH 29, 2018

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

POLITICS

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

PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

Daramola: APC’s Primary Must Be Transparent To win the July 14th governorship election in Ekiti State, the All Progressives Congress must conduct a transparent primary, a former member of the House of Representatives who is also seeking to be governor of the state, Bimbo Daramola, has said. He spoke with journalists in Lagos. Shola Oyeyipo presents the excerpts: as ‘ore mekunnu’ (friends of the downtrodden) despite the fact that he has not paid salaries for eight months, yet people still hold him dearly to their hearts. We cannot afford that because how many places will you take such a person to and be apologising to the people to forget the past, promising that he will do better this time around. We can’t do it because you don’t have that indulgence; time will close on you before they accept you because you would have spent greater parts of your campaign apologising and begging people to forget the past errors of such candidate.

You also don’t need a candidate who first and foremost when you put him on the podium; you will have to introduce him to the Ekiti people by telling people about the candidate. The people attention span cannot also accommodate that. We don’t need that kind of governor right now. It is not me saying so; it is reality that is saying so. And then you move to the third category. You need a candidate of the party that you will on the podium and everybody will say, Yes, we know him. I humbly say to you; I am that candidate.

How prepared are you for the All Progressives Congress’ primary election?

I am 95 per cent prepared. I am confident by the grace of God that I am going to win the election. Expect the act of God. And act of God could mean a lot of things. But I have checklist and I daily run by my checklist. Have I met Mr. Lagbaja? Have I met and spoken to that group? Have I consulted widely? I have embarked on wide consultations to the extent that I can say I have not left anybody behind.

What distinguishes you from other aspirants in the race, especially others aspiring on the platform of your party?

I am running on reputation and that must be clear. If there is no prize for gallantry, then there is no prize to get for villain. I have paid the price and I am saying that on the basis of abundant facts available in a party I have served for 14 years. I have been the agent of the party. I have been the state collation agent of the party. I have been the DirectorGeneral of governorship election campaign. I have been a Director-General of a senatorial campaign. I have been a member of the House of Representatives. So, I believe I have enough experience. If you are talking about commitment and fidelity to the party, nobody can fault me. If you are talking about records of public service, again by the grace of God, I commit my humble records to Ekiti people to know.

If you are talking about personal relationship; both within and outside the delegates they also know me. I am a paid cheque, I am not a promissory note and everybody can say good things.

I am not saying they should give me the ticket of the party on a platter of gold. The job of a governor is a job that will require a man who totally understands what it entails to put the destiny, faith and fortune of 2.3million people into his hand in reference to my state; a state where government is at the centre of every human activity. Every business in my state is directly linked to what they pay out to civil servants. So at that point in time, we must have a broad overview on what our state requires.

What kind of governor do you think the Ekiti people really want this time around?

The truth of the matter is that I can confidently say that about 75 to 80 per cent of the Ekiti people are desirous of a government and a governor who will shepherd this state in a different direction, where everyday Ekiti citizen will be known for great things and not for ridicule. The propensity is higher in the direction of people who will want a different Ekiti than the Ekiti we have today. No doubt about it that we have people who want the status quo to remain, and we would respect their wishes. But the truth of the matter is that a whole lot of people feel that in the past three and half years, we have been subject to ridicule and they want our state steered in different direction and I am one of those who believe in that. So, that is the bigger pictures.

That is the ultimate destination. How do we get there would now be determined beyond local realities and it will also be determined by how well our party is totally committed to transparency of the process.

If our primary election is very transparent just like the one we saw in Anambra State, I dare say that APC is reputably known for conducting very transparent elections. So, if this primary is transparent and nobody toys with the delegates list or arm-twists anybody; bring your money; people will chop it. I can say that. I have met almost 2, 000 delegates. I have

Daramola

gone around to 14 local governments; meeting everybody from every local government to all the wards down. Just recently, I met eight non-principal executives in every ward; that is eight times 177, in the same room beyond the fact that I have moved round the local governments and gone to the party secretariat.

And more than anything yet, anything that Bimbo Daramola utters out of his mouth, they believe my word.

When I said to them that I am going to the House of Representatives, I told them that my constituency will be a reference point in the country. It turned out to be so and nobody can match it. We have a 32-bed hospitals to show for it; cutting down infant mortality and maternal mortality. Bring access to medical care to the people. Are they going to deny that? Even on the floor, having moved over 30 motions; sponsored personally four bills and co-sponsored 14 others. I also have good constituency relations and nobody can fault

Government, most likely will behave irresponsibly, expect we have right people in government but most times right people don’t get to government and that is why most government behave irresponsibly

me on that.

You are so passionate about your ambition, what is your motivation God knows that I am not desperate to become governor but I am desperate to ensure that never again will civil servants be owed again for eight months in Ekiti State. That never again will pensioners go to bed hungry. Never again will pensioners approach their graves in hunger.

I know that no matter how irresponsible any government might be; my father will never have to go and beg for pension again. Never again, I am my father’s pension. And I want to ensure that many more like me raised in that state, also can be their parent’s pension. Government, most likely will behave irresponsibly, expect we have right people in government but most times right people don’t get to government and that is why most government behave irresponsibly.

I believe very strongly where we are today there are three categories that all the aspirants can be divided into. The once who are known; who have done it before and who have been governors before.

The once who have never been governors before but have held positions and the third category are those who are completely new. But in all of these, I don’t think we have indulgence of time because we are very close now and our message that will resonate with the people, we don’t have too much time to disseminate that information anymore. We do not want to put any candidate on that rostrum and present to Ekiti people and be apologising to start with; appealing to Ekiti people not to be annoyed about what the person did in the past when he was governor; telling people that they should forgive him with promise that he will do better this time around. We don’t need that kind of person. The attention span of the people is closing fast and whoever will match a man with political dexterity like Ayo Fayose, we will not bring a candidate that you will be apologising for his past when you are in conflict with Ayo Fayose, who refers to himself

Do you think those who are in authority and the delegates are on same page with you as regards the need for the party to present somebody who is generally acceptable?

Primary election anywhere all over the world is a stakeholders’ election. If you muscle a candidate in the primary, I am not too sure you will be able to muscle that candidate if he is not popular. And popularity this time around, means acceptability in term of reception and capacity for people to keep that candidate in a warm embrace. That is what will win the election for us against Ayo Fayose. There is nobody who celebrates winning primaries; the ultimate victory is to win the governorship election for Ekiti to join the league of progressive states where it rightly belongs. Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin wrote Ekiti people a letter through Ewi of Ado Ekiti and said whatever needs to be done; this new state must be kept within the progressive fold. Unfortunately, we strayed and we are outside of that fold. Whoever is going to bring us to that fold must be somebody who totally understands who we are; who know where we are coming from, who know where we are at this point and who knows where our forefathers want us to be.

This party is going to be facing a man like Peter Ayodele Fayose. He is not dump and we are still dancing around, the guy has already enlisted his support behind his deputy governor and he is mobilising. I know some of the things that they have done with regards to voters register. I know some of the things they have done preparatory to the governorship election.

So, head or tail; what he won’t get by federal might; he will get by people’s might if we are not careful.

I am not going to be the worst casualty if Ekiti loses that election again. And I say that very humbly. But I bleed in my heart because a lot more people will have their future permanently suspended and they will never be able to come to realisation of their destiny.

Why did you say that?

The worst thing that we can do, particularly the political class, is to realise our political ambition and damn the bull shift of the people who make it happened for us. And it was the consciousness of that that drives my aspiration. We have held the ladder down and allow 1,050 young people to climb on that ladder to becoming the next Afe Babalola, Wole Olanipekun, Femi Falana, Prof. Bodunrin and co. We need to know the reputation of this state and the reality of today.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

POLITICS

Between Danjuma and the Presidency The call by General Theophilus Danjuma for Nigerians to defend themselves against killer herdsmen hit a raw nerve in Aso Rock, writes Tobi Soniyi

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espite assurances by President Muhammadu Buhari, herdsmen have continued to kill.

They are not just killing farmers, they are also killing security men.

Many people have therefore lost confidence in the ability of the president to rein in these killers. For one, the administration has failed to address the source of the conflicts that often result in farmers, and sometimes herdsmen, being killed. Herdsmen want grazing land while farmers must continue to cultivate their land. Access to land is at the centre of the crisis but the government of the day apparently has no workable solution to this.

Faced with a government that is unable to protect them, individuals, groups as well as communities are beginning to look for ways to protect themselves.

It is in the light of this that, a former chief of army staff, General Theophilus Danjuma made the statement calling on people to defend themselves. He urged people to defend themselves against ethnic cleansing.

Speaking at the maiden convocation ceremony of Taraba State University in Jalingo, Taraba state capital, Danjuma said the unnecessary killings which he said were aimed at ethnic cleansing on the people of Taraba and Nigeria at large must stop.

He called on the people to rise and defend themselves against the killers.

He said: “Everyone of us must rise up. The armed forces are not neutral. They collude.

The collude. They collude with the armed bandits that kill people, kill Nigerians. They facilitate their movement, they cover them,” he said.

“If you are depending on the armed forces to stop the killings, you will all die one by one. The ethnic cleansing must stop in Taraba State, must stop in all the states of Nigeria.

Otherwise, Somalia will be a child’s play.

“I ask everyone of you to be alert and defend your country, defend your territory, defend your state. You have nowhere else to go. You have no where else to go.”

When Danjuma spoke, he expressed a view widely held by many people. As a former army chief, no one can claim that Danjuma is not qualified to speak on the issue of security.

Moreso, his state, Taraba has in recent time recorded several deadly clashes between herdsmen and farmers. But the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, said Danjuma’s comment was “highly uncalled for,” and an invitation to anarchy. He asked Nigerians to report any member of the armed forces suspected to be colluding with herdsmen.

In a statement by his Public Relations Officer, Col. Tukur Gusau the defence minister said: “On a recent comment by one of the elder statesmen alleging that the military colludes with bandits to kill people and calling on them to rise and defend themselves, this is highly uncalled for and it is an invitation to anarchy. It should be disregarded by wellmeaning Nigerians.

“The Armed Forces are professional in discharging their constitutional mandate.

Therefore, if anyone has evidence of wrongdoing or dereliction of duty against our troops, he should bring forward such evidence through the appropriate channels for necessary action.”

The statement by the Nigerian Army was most unfortunate and a confirmation of the fact that the army is supporting the aggressor. It is like the police saying that they are neutral in a clash between armed robbers and residents of a community! It is a shame.

In its reaction, the army said the comment

by Danjuma was unfortunate and accused the Taraba State Government of refusing to cooperate with the army in the ongoing Exercise Ayem Akpatuma.

The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.

Gen. Texas Chukwu, said the state government failed to cooperate with the troops because of “the neutrality of the army in the herdsmen-farmers crisis.

Chukwu said, “The army views the state-

Danjuma

ment made by the former army chief as most unfortunate. While we will not want to take issue with the elder statesman, certain facts need to be clearly stated in the interest of the Taraba people.

“There is the conduct of Exercise Ayem Akpatuma by troops to curb the menace of the herdsmen-farmers conflict and other criminal activities in the North-Central region. The army personnel have had to pay the ultimate price for the security in Taraba State. An officer of the army was beheaded on March 16 in Takum, Taraba State, by criminal elements.

“At the inception of the exercise, the Taraba State Government did not cooperate with the army due to the army’s stance to remain absolutely neutral in the herdsmen-farmers crisis. The army will continue to remain as such. The army advises the people of Taraba State to continue in their day-to-day activities and be law-abiding.

“Anyone caught with arms and ammunition

In case the minister of defence does not know, anarchy is here already. if he is in doubt, he should ask the people of Benue and Taraba states

will be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the land.”

Why was the army not neutral in the demonstration by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra? Afterall the group was merely expressing its right to self determination?

In a sane country, the army and the federal government would have demanded for proof of the allegation made by Danjuma instead of rushing to issue a denial. The government could have instituted an investigation to determine the veracity of the claim.

But in a desperate move, the army denied the allegation without investigating whether the claim was true or not. That is absurd.

Given the unwillingness of the government to stop the killings, more people are likely to believe Danjuma than they would believe the army or the defence minister. The only way to prove that Danjuma is wrong is to cause an investigation to be carried out. Those who have proof can then come forward. But by out rightly dismissing the allegation as baseless, this government lost the opportunity to win back peoples’ confidence.

The government may not want to accept this but the reality is that many people have lost confidence in its ability to protect them. The government is obviously not aware of the extent of damage the herdsmen had caused to the unity of Nigeria otherwise it would not have been defending the indefensible.

Before Danjuma spoke out, other people had made similar suggestion.

Increasingly, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has continued to alienate itself from the people. When former President Olusegun Obasanjo spoke out, he was condemned. When former military head of state, Ibrahim Babangida spoke, his spokesman was declared wanted. Now that Theophilus Danjuma has spoken, he also does not know what he is saying. There are many more people who have spoken. This government has refused to listen to them. As the saying goes, the dog that will get lost will not heed

its master’s call.

In case the minister of defence does not know, anarchy is here already. if he is in doubt, he should ask the people of Benue and Taraba states. Before Danjuma asked the people to defend themselves, the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, out of frustration had made a similar call.

He said: “It is because we are law-abiding, that is why we are being attacked daily. You need to listen and hear the opinion of the people of the state on the matter.

“I think the people should have the right to defend themselves and not make themselves easy prey to be killed in their homes.

“So any lawful means, you can adapt to defend yourself just go ahead in Benue state. We are not going to wait for the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, to do it.

Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike echoed a similar sentiment when he visited Benue State to commiserate with his colleague, Ortom, on the killings.

He lamented: “People who were either sleeping or doing one thing or the other to help themselves were killed like cows and ordinary animals.

“We just visited the graveside and it is quite touchy; you should take heart, God will fight for you. But let me say that God fighting for you does not mean that you will not defend yourself.

“The problem we Christians have is that we like to misinterpret the Bible, which says that when you are slapped you will turn the other cheek. Assuming you don’t have the other cheek to turn to? God will only fight for you when you are ready to fight for yourself.

“We must not take the laws into our hands, but that does not mean that if you see an armed robber coming to your house you should run. You must defend yourself when you see an armed robber coming. That is not taking laws into your hand.”

For how long will this government continue to be in denial?

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THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

FEATURES

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

Empowerment for Young Girls Ayodeji Rotinwa reports that young girls in the North are getting empowered by picking up their phones

Young girls in Northern Nigeria are getting empowered in a new way - picking up their phones

B

inta Abdullahi had gone through labour a few days before we met but she decided to forfeit some hours of rest to tell me about a lecherous neighbour.

The neighbour had been making advances to her teenage daughter, Salamatu when the girl was enroute evening lessons at her Islamic school.

Abdullahi and I met in one of such schools, alternatively used as a safe space for young adolescent girls, trained by community NGOs on wide ranging topics from gender violence to physical cleanliness.

Abdullahi’s days old baby was wrapped in white cotton, in her arms. Both baby and mother were marked with red paint: in small circular dots on the baby’s forehead and in streaks on Abdullahi’s long fingers.

We sat on two of the only three chairs in the room brought in for the conversation.

The only other furniture in the room were rolled out mats that were once colourful.

As we talked, an unseasonable drizzle quietly beat the school’s tin roofs, invisible through the windowless class, falling

soundlessly into the school compound’s sand floor. Typically it shouldn’t rain in Kano in late August but it was. Yet, it

In the case of Girls Connect, young teenage girls are calling to receive counsel, advice, feedback that may inspire them to set up a small business or start a conversation about a sensitive topic they otherwise wouldn’t have previously dared

was still muggy. Shirts licked skin. Hand fans were stationed within the reach of a stretched hand.

Abdullahi told me her neighbour had been harassing Salamatu for a long time but she did not know about it because her daughter did not volunteer the information.

The neighbour was an elderly, respected family man in their Badawa community.

Salamatu did not know who to tell or how to say it.

She was well aware the scale of believability did not tip in her favour.

Eventually, she summed up the courage.

She had drawn it from a story she heard over a toll-free phone call. The story – though fictional - was similar to hers about a girl called Lantana.

Lantana was forced to drop out of school to add to the pool of family income so they could afford her brother’s school fees. She became a street hawker, selling peanuts and other snacks at bus parks. She found customers in mostly men: drivers, conductors, touts who were permanent fixtures at these parks. One soon became more than a customer, a friend who regularly

bought her goods and ‘protected’ her from harassment from other men. One day, he lured her into an alley.

After listening to Lantana’s story, Abdullahi’s daughter was connected to a customer care representative, a mobile agony aunt of sorts, who helped her make sense of Lantana’s story. Salamatu asked the representative how she could best deal with these advances.

Salamatu then decided to tell her mum what was going on.

The programme by which Salamatu was able to get this service is called Girl Connect. It is a marriage of gender expertise and technology; human centered design matched with data and interactive voice response expertise; storytelling merged with infrastructure.

It was created to serve vulnerable girls in Northern Nigeria – focusing on Kano in its first stages - where religion and culture fuel the cycle of poverty and set the odds against them.

Young daughters are not educated because tradition allows for them to be married off early, as teenagers. Parents see little point

21

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FEATURES

One of the Northerns girls sharing her experience with Girls Connect

in investing in soon-to-be-wives. A lack of education assures a disparity in employment and perhaps economic opportunities. Girls and eventually, women in all of these are encouraged to be only seen, not heard.

Girls Connect, literally, allows them to give voice to their concerns.

It uses compelling stories on safety, relationships, money and social media, it is giving them advice and tools necessary to navigate growing up female in Northern Nigeria.

Girls Connect was conceived by Girl Effect, an international non-governmental organisation that seeks to create a “new normal� with and for vulnerable girls worldwide.

According to its website, when girls are “empowered with skills, ideas and knowledge; they have access to services, roles and other girls; when she is visible and vocal, she can demand to stay in school, get healthcare, reach her full potential. The programme is run in partnership with ISON BPO, a business processing outsourcing firm and an international call centre headquartered in Ibadan, South-west Nigeria. ISON BPO typically services major telecommunications companies, banks.

It provides the human resources and interactive response technology where customers call in to solve connection queries or place a spending limit on their Debit Card.

In the case of Girls Connect, young teenage girls are calling to receive counsel, advice, feedback that may inspire them to set up a small business or start a conversation about a sensitive topic they otherwise wouldn’t have previously dared.

The woman on the other end of the line who Salamatu spoke to is what Girls Connect calls a Role Model. She has also

once been in Salamatu’s shoes. If not exactly have experienced sexual harassment, she spoke Hausa - Salamatu’s language and that of thousands of girls who call in. The Role Model was raised in ultra-patriarchal North, and understands what it meant for a young girl to be defenseless, helpless in such situations, sometimes without recourse to even family.

Louis, 17, is learning to be self-dependent after hearing the Girls Connect story on money.

Previously, she had relied solely on allowances from her parents who worked low-income jobs. After listening to the story and speaking to a Role Model, she decided to get a job as a junior tutor at a primary school. She now contributes to the family income

These qualities were how and why she was recruited to provide help to girls like Salamatu. She had also been vetted on her soft skills, being able to put strangers at ease and immediately invite trust on such matters. For its last phase, Girls Connect had 13 Role Models working on the project. “This is serious business,� says Patience Otukpene, a Role Model in an interview in ISON BPO’s Ibadan office.

We chatted in a semi-circle, surrounded by other Role Models and the desks, computers and headsets via which the Role Models do their work every day. They appeared to be very proud of the work they do. “Before I wear my headset, I relax, put yourself in a certain mood and encourage myself knowing fully well that someone you don’t know is believing in you and is going to trust in you,� she continued. “Whatever you say may either make or mar them.�

Salamatu had dropped out of secondary school prior to her harassment incident.

Understanding that her education was sometimes treated as inferior to that of boys, and realising it could be stopped at any time, she didn’t see the point of continuing.

After speaking to a Role Model, who stressed the importance of education, she asked her parents to re-enroll her. Inspired by her decision, they are keen to let her finish.

The Role Models had their hands full in the most recent phase of Girls Connect which concluded in July 2017.

They have received over 44,000 calls in two months with 7,700 unique callers with the phone lines open seven days a week.

In the first phase, when the phone lines were only opened on weekends, for one month, they received over 4,076 calls.

Of all the calls that came in, 32 per cent were on safety.

According to a 2012 British Council report on Gender in Nigeria, a third of women in Nigeria report they have been subjected to some form of violence including sexual exploitation, battering.

In the North-east of Nigeria, where Girls Connect currently operates, 10.2 per cent of 15-24 year-old women have experienced violence.

In the next phase, in a bid to fight the stated odds against girls, Girl Effect and ISON BPO have cast a wider, ambitious net.

The programme will expand to two states – Kano and Edo – and in two languages, Hausa and Pidgin.

It would also connect 1,000,000 calls to content and conversations up from the previous 44, 000. The next phase has kicked off in March 2018.

The team of both organisations are optimistic that they will meet this lofty target and say “the impact is there.�

After my conversation with Ms. Abdullahi about her daughter, I met a number of young girls who have also used Girls Connect, listened to the stories and gotten advice from a Role Model.

Louis, 17, is learning to be self-dependent after hearing the Girls Connect story on money.

Previously, she had relied solely on allowances from her parents who worked low-income jobs.

After listening to the story and speaking to a Role Model, she decided to get a job as a junior tutor at a primary school.

She now contributes to the family income.

She is saving towards an application and admission into the university to study Business Administration.

She has decided she will be self-employed.

22

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CEO, Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA), Dr. Oluseyi Temowo(right) presenting the award for HIV & AIDS Response in the State to Lead CSR, Airtel Nigeria, Chioma Okolie at the maiden LSACA Awards & Dinner in Lagos...recently

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L-R; Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed; Board Chairman, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor and acting Chief Medical Director. Prof. Mikhail Olayinka Buhari when members of the UITH Management Board visited the governor in llorin...recently

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L-R: Representative of the Awardee, Counsel Yusuf Olaolu &Co. (SAN), Mr. Abdul Rasheed Usman, Esq; Missionary-in-Charge Ahmadiyya in Nigeria, Maulvi Afzaal Ahmad Rauf; The Amir, Ahmadiya Muslim Jama’at Nigeria, Dr. Mash’hud Adenrele Fashola and Naib Amir Northern Region, Dr. Yaqeen Habeeb, during the 6th Northern Jalsa Tarbiya and 3rd National Peace Symposium

L-R; Board member, Tunnelling Association of Nigeria, Arc. (Mrs.) Bamidele Falako; President, International Tunnelling Association, Prof. Tarcisio Celestino and President, Tunnelling Association of Nigeria, Mr. Abidemi Agwor at a press conference heralding the 2nd Annual International Tunnelling and Underground Space Conference in Abuja,..recently

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Quick Takes ‘ATCON Needs Committed Leaders’ Ă’Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă? âĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;ÞÓà Ă? ĘŠĂ?Ă?Ăœ Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă• Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă“ĂžĂŁËœ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?ÞÓà Ă? ÚÖËãĂ?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?ÚËĂ?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă?Ù××ÓʾĂ?ĂŽ Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ě™ ĚšËœ ĂœË› ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă’Ă“Ă— Ă“Ă•Ă•Ă™ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ? ÞÙ Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă?Ù××ÓʾĂ?ĂŽ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂžĂ’Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă“Ă•Ă•Ă™ ĂĄĂ’Ă™ Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ÚÙĂ?Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ÍŻĂ?Ăž Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽËœ ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă”Ă™Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă? åÓÞÒ ÙÞÒĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ? ÞÙ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™ĂžĂ? ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?ĘĽĂ?Ă?ÞÓà Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă•Ă?ĂŁ ĂœĂ™Ă–Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă“Ă¤Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ ĂŒĂŁ ĂŒĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŒĂ“Ă‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“ĂžĂ? ÚÙĂ?Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? ÞÒËÞ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĘĽĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă?ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă— Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒËÞ Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?ÞÓÖÖ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?âÓĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă? ÞÙÎËã˛ ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜Ăž ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒËÞ Ă?âÓĂ?ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă“Ă•Ă•Ă™ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË›

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NITDA, CPN Move to Address Anomalies in Contracts for IT Projects Stories by Emma Okonji The Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) has said that the joint committee set up from among members of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and CPN, will strive to enhance professionalism as well as boost local content development in award of government contracts for technology related projects.

President of CPN, Prof.

Charles Uwadia, gave the assurance following the Federal Executive Order 005 for Planning and Execution of Projects, Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts and Science,

IT Engineering and Technology, recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari The managements of CPN and NITDA, had sequel to the executive order, met with elders of the IT professionals and practitioners on March 19th, 2018, where they resolved that the NITDA and CPN would collaborate to improve professionalism in Information Technology (IT) in Nigeria, a development that led to the setting up of a joint committee of NITDA – CPN. The committee was represented by five-members from each agency.

The NITDA is a government

agency responsible for the implementation of IT polices in Nigeria, while the CPN is a government agency, responsible for the regulation, control and supervision of the computing profession and practice in Nigeria.

Addressing journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, Uwadia said the NITDA-CPN joint committee was a calculated attempt for the committee to address the anomalies in the lopsided award of government contracts that are technology related, to ensure that qualified contractors with good knowledge of IT are awarded IT related projects. According to him, this would help address government abandoned

projects scattered across the county, while improving on professionalism and local content development in award of government contracts.

Uwadia who took over the leadership of CPN on September 8, 2017, after the CPN Council was inaugurated by the Minister for Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, said the CPN Council would continue to support government in achieving its goal of driving the Nigerian economy with the right technologies.

Furthermore, he said the CPN, had since his assumption of office last year, accredited Continued on page 24

Facebook: Nigerian Women Can Unlock N19.7bn Businesses in Five Years Given the potential of Nigerian women in driving businesses, Facebook has predicted that businesses set up by women in Nigeria over the next five yearsc, could rake in as much as N19.7 billion for the economy, with the opportunity of creating a further 8.9 million additional jobs.

Facebook made the disclosure on Tuesday in Lagos, during the launch of #SheMeansBusiness, an initiative designed to inspire and train female entrepreneurs across the country to build, grow and start their own businesses.

Facebook, which based its forecast on the a recent study

ICT conducted by Development Economics on behalf of Facebook, said all over the world, women are known for their dexterity in handling businesses and Nigerian women have proved that right.

Facebook Public Policy Director, Africa, Ebele Okobi, said: “We know that when women do better, economies do better.�

Facebook’s SMB Sales Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Abi Williams, said: “In Nigeria women form the backbone of a thriving entrepreneurial

ecosystem, with the number of new women-owned small business Pages on Facebook increasing by 319 per cent between 2016 and 2017.�

The study, according to Facebook, suggested that an estimated seven million new businesses could be set up by women in Nigeria by 2021, placing a greater importance on the role of women’s entrepreneurial ambitions for overall economic and social development in the country.

Partnering with She Leads Africa (SLA), #SheMeansBusiness Nigeria is the first to launch in sub-Saharan Africa and us

expected to bring together, thousands of female entrepreneurs in a series of day workshops and training sessions across six cities in Nigeria, including Lagos, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Abuja and Aba. With applications opening at sheleadsafrica.org/ shemeansbusiness, training sessions will then be followed by post-training clinics aimed at re-engaging, advising and mentoring participants.

As part of the launch, a dedicated #SheMeansBusiness website will also be developed to Continued on page 24

Ă“Ă—ĂŒĂ‹ Ă‹ĂŁËœ Ă‹ Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ™Ă˜ ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÎÓÑÓÞËÖ Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ăœ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’ Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂžĂ“Ę¨Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ě™ Ěš ÚÙåĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂžĂŒĂ™Ăž Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă?Ă? Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ăœ ÚÙĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŒĂ–Ă? åÓÞÒ Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă“Ă—ĂŒĂ‹ Ă‹ĂŁ Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂžĂŒĂ™Ăž ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă?Ă˜Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? ͰͲ˚; Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÙ×Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÙ×Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă&#x;ĂœĂ™ĂšĂ?Ë› Ă“Ă—ĂŒĂ‹ Ă‹ĂŁ Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă–Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ™ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ åÓÞÒ Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ?Ă’ ÞÙ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? ÞÒÓĂ? ÒËÚÚĂ?Ă˜Ë› Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“Ă—ĂŒĂ‹ Ă‹ĂŁËœ Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă– Ă™ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽËœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË? ËŤ Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂžĂŒĂ™Ăž Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă–Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÙ×Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă˜Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ Ă‹Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ ÞÓ×Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁ Ă™Ăœ Ă˜Ă“Ă‘Ă’ĂžË› ËŤ Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ Ă—Ă‹Ă”Ă™Ăœ Ă™ĂŒĂ”Ă?Ă?ÞÓà Ă? ĂĄĂ? Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă Ă?ĂŽ åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂžĂŒĂ™Ăž Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă? ÞÒËÞ Ă“Ăž Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă? åÓÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ăž Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă?Þ˛ Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă—Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÙ×Ă?ĂœĂ? åÓÞÒ Ă‹ Ă—Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? ĂšĂ’Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹ ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă“Ă? ĂšĂ’Ă™Ă˜Ă? åÓÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ăž Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă—ĂŒĂ‹ Ă‹ĂŁ Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂžĂŒĂ™Ăž Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ˛ˏ

Sabrina Excites Ibadan Market Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ‹ĂŽĂ‹Ă˜ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă&#x;ĂœĂ™ Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– ÙÙÎĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă?ÞÓÖÖĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? ĂžĂŽËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă?Ăœ Ă™Ă? Ă‹ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‹Ëœ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă? ĂŽĂ™Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂž Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă•Ă?ËŞĂŒĂ‹ĂŽĂ‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă?ÞÓà ËÖ˛ ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜ ĂŒĂ?Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă? ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ?Ëœ ĂŒĂ™Ă•Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂŒĂ‹ĂŽĂ‹Ă˜ Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËœ Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă?

Ă?Ă‹Ă?ÙÖË Ă?Ë×ËÚÙåË ÞÙÖÎ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁ ĂĄĂ’Ă™ ÚËÓÎ Ă’Ă“Ă— Ă‹ Ă Ă“Ă?Ă“Ăž Ă‹Ăž Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂšĂ“ĂœĂ“Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?ÞÓà ËÖ ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš ĂŽĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒÓĂ? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœËŞĂ? Ă?ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?ÞÓà ËÖ Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă‘Ă–Ă‹Ă—Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ ÞÙ ÓÞ˛ ĂŒĂ™Ă•Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă™ Ă“Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ăœ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă‹Ă–Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÞÒËÞ ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ‹Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? ĂŒĂ‹ĂŽĂ‹Ă˜ Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÒÙ×Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?ĂŒĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ĂœĂ™Ă™ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÚËã ÒÙ×ËÑĂ? ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă“ĂžĂŁËœ ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂŒĂŁ Ă•Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă—Ă?Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă? Ă‹ĂšĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă‹ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‹ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‘Ă–Ă‹Ă—Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ ÞÙ ÞÒÓĂ? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœËŞĂ? Ă?ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?ÞÓà ËÖ˛ ËŤ Ă‹ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‹ Ă“Ă? Ă‹ ÚÙÚĂ&#x;Ă–Ă‹Ăœ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒÓĂ? Ă?Ă“ĂžĂŁËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă™Ă? ÞÒÓĂ? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœËŞĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?ĂŒĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă?ĂŽ Ă“ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂžĂ’ĂŁ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă‹Ă— Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă– Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă•Ă“Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂž ÞÒËÞ Ă&#x;ĂœĂ™ Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– Ă?ÙÙÎĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ“Ă?ÞÓÖÖĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? ÞÎ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ÙʼĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?ĂŒĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă—Ă?Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă?ËœËŹ Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË›

Mamador Unveils New Promo Ă‹Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ™ĂœËœ Ă‹ ĂšĂœĂ?Ă—Ă“Ă&#x;Ă— Ă?Ă™Ă™Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÙÓÖ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ? ĂŒĂŁ Ă“Ă–Ă—Ă‹Ăœ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’ Ă™Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ ÞËÑÑĂ?ĂŽ ËŠ Ă‹Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ™Ăœ Ă“ĂžĂ?Ă’Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹Ă•Ă?Ùà Ă?ĂœËŞ ÞÙ ĂœĂ?ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ ÖÙãËÖ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁË› Ă’Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ? Ă‹ Ă—Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹ ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă?Ę¨Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă? ÙʊĂ?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁË› Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁËœ Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă•ĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă™ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂŁ ÞÙ ĂĄĂ“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă•Ă“ĂžĂ?Ă’Ă?Ă˜ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă?Ùà Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÙÞÒĂ?Ăœ Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ăž Ă•Ă“ĂžĂ?Ă’Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹ĂšĂšĂ–Ă“Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă“ĂœĂžĂ“Ă—Ă? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂžĂ’ Ùà Ă?Ăœ Í°Íł Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă‹Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ™Ăœ Ă“ĂžĂ?Ă’Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹Ă•Ă?Ùà Ă?Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™ Ă“Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽË› Ă˜ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍł ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă’ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă¤Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă“ĂœĂžĂ“Ă—Ă? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂžĂ’ Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁ ÞÙ Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă•ĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ™Ăœ ËŠ ÙÙÕ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ&#x;Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™ËŞË› Ă’Ă“Ă? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹Ăœ ÒÙåĂ?Ă Ă?ĂœËœ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽËœ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă™ĂœĂŁ Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?ĂœËœ ÒÓÙ×Ë ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă™Ëœ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă™Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?âÚĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă‘Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ“Ă¤Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ëž Ă’Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?äĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă™Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă? ĂŽĂ™Ă™Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ?Ëœ ÙÙÕĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ăš Ă?ĂœĂŁĂ?ĂœĂ?Ë›

“Nigeria has all these young people and the current quality and quantity of investment in these young generations in health and education just isn’t good enough�

Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates

24

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ Í°ÍˇËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

NITDA, CPN MOVE TO ADDRESS ANOMALIES IN CONTRACTS FOR IT PROJECTS four tertiary institutions in professional courses on Computer Sciences and related courses from July to October, 2017.

He however said during the visit to the institutions for accreditation, some institutions did not meet the standard and were either given an interim accreditation status or complete denial accreditation status.

According to him, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, which now has B. Sc Computer Science, got interim accreditation status; Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, which now has B.Sc Computer Science, got interim accreditation status; Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, which now has B.Sc Computer Science, got denied accreditation status; Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, which now has B.Sc Information and Management Technology, got full accreditation status; and Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, which had B.Sc in Computer Science, got interim accreditation status.

FACEBOOK: NIGERIAN WOMEN CAN UNLOCK N19.7BN BUSINESSES IN FIVE YEARS serve as a platform to inspiring stories from female trailblazers who are following their dreams.

These are the entrepreneurs who are redefining what’s possible for women in business in Nigeria - inspiring those who might one day become new entrepreneurs themselves. The platform will also provide free tools and resources for online courses to give more women across Nigeria the tools, support and practical advice they need to grow their businesses.

Commenting on the partnership and trainings Co-founder of She Leads Africa, Afua Osei, added: “We are excited to continue our partnership with Facebook to expand access to the digital skills necessary to move African businesses forward. We know that with the right tools and support, African women can compete on a global level and we look forward to taking these critical digital tools to entrepreneurs all across Nigeria.�

Group Business Editor

Ă’Ă“Ă•Ă‹ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă¤Ă?Ě‹ ĂĄĂ‹Ă?Ă’Ă&#x;Ă•Ă&#x;

Nigeria, US Collaborate to Boost Gender Equality in STEM Education Emma Okonji The United States government has reiterated its commitment to boosting gender equality in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Nigeria.

The United States Consul General in Nigeria, Mr. John Bray, restated the commitment of the US government for STEM education among girls and women in Nigeria, when he played host to the 16-member women delegation of senior tech executives and professionals who visited Nigeria recently from the Silicon Valley that promote STEM education and technology in the United States.

The 16-member women delegation from Silicon Valley in the United States, were on a mission to Nigeria to encourage women participation in STEM education and to bridge the digital divide that exits between male and female in the field of science and technology.

The delegation, which spent one week in Nigeria, mentoring their female counterparts in schools and in different women fora, represented organisations as diverse as Twitter, Linkendln, Netflix and Mozila. Among them were also representatives of Autodesk, WomenCollege Tech, Standfird Graduate School of Business, Juniper Networks, Fairrer Samani Group, Northgate Environmental Management, Jessuca Dickinson Goidman Consulting, and the Institute of International Education.

The American Consulate was pleased to sponsor the series of seminars and trainings by the leading women technology leaders from Nigeria and

the United States that were actively advocating for women in STEM education.

Addressing the large gathering of women in one of the gatherings in Lagos during the one week visit, Bray said: “STEM education is the key foundation for any country’s economic success. But sadly, many young women who pursue studies in STEM at tertiary institutions share stories of being grossly outnumbered by men. In workplaces, women in STEM fields, face discriminatory practices and behaviour from colleagues

and supervisors, including compensation at lower levels than male counterparts for their labour. They also generally lack opportunities for coaching, mentoring and growth compared to their male colleagues.�

According to Bray, “the blunt truth is that without women’s inclusive participation, any gains in economic growth and development, as well as advances in science and technology, will be lopsided and unsustainable. Therefore it is critical that women’s voices at all

levels, find representation in collaborative solutions that will have the impact on them.

The US government, he added, is convinced that when barriers to women’s full participation in STEM fields are removed, women will do better, families will do better, countries will do better, and the world will do better.

Whether at home or abroad, promoting women in STEM fields is top priority to the US government, Bray said.

Public Affairs Officer, United State Consulate General, La-

gos, Nigeria, Darcy Zotter, said the essence of the visit is to enable Nigerian women share their experiences, and to also encourage STEM education and STEM entrepreneurship among women in Nigeria. “The initiative of the forum in Nigeria, is to encourage women who are already working, irrespective of whether they are in the technology space or not.

Nigeria, given its large position, stands a position to become a technology hub for Africa.

The essence again is to bridge the digital divide and gender inequality,� Zotter said.

LAPO MICROFINANCE BOND LISTING“

L-R: Executive Director, FCMB Capital Markets Limited, Mr. Tolu Osinibi; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer of FMDQ OTC Platform, Mr. Bola Onadeko.Koko; Managing Director of LAPO MicroďŹ nance Bank Limited, Mr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe and Managing Director of United Securities Limited, Mr. Jude Chiemeka, during the listing of LAPO MicroďŹ nance’s N3.15billion bond, with FCMB Capital Markets as the Lead Issuing House, on the FMDQ platform ‌ recently

‘Synergy Between Aviation, Tourism Will Boost Nigeria’s Economy’ Chinedu Eze The federal government has been advised to introduce policies that would make aviation and tourism sectors form a synergy geared towards economic sustainability of the country if well harnessed.

Speaking during the 42nd annual general meeting of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) in Port Harcourt recently, major stakeholders in the two sectors said since aviation and tourism are major drivers of any modern economy; government should enunciate medium and long term policies to develop and take advantage of the two

industries to grow the nation’s economy.

Specifically, Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Victor Ndoma-Egba in a keynote speech at the event, noted that in countries with successful aviation and tourism industries, both are embedded in each other seamlessly.

He said: “If you were for instance travelling to Dubai

by Emirates Airline, the Dubai owned carrier, the airline can arrange your visa, transport from the airport and your hotel reservation. In Nigeria, there is no designated national carrier and the aviation sector is still discounted from the tourism

sector in the sense that there is no evident integration of both. “The decision to liquidate Nigeria Airways was impulsive and a most regrettable decision, more so given its assets and international spread of these assets. We must therefore have forward looking policies designed to integrate both to upgrade our national airports to make them competitive.

Countries in the West Africa Region like Togo, Ghana and Senegal are making heavy investments in aviation infrastructure including airports and will become hubs sooner than later,� he added.

Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Rivers State,

Tonye Briggs Oniyide in her remarks, noted that tourism is the world’s second largest industry, employing about 6.7 milliom persons on sustainable basis and has the potential to employ more than twice this number if the government, investors and stakeholders commit themselves to their various responsibilities.

Oniyide said government has its roles to play in policy formation, implementation and regulation and investors on their part, also have their roles to play in funding and managing their business interests while stakeholders have a role to play by safeguarding the legacies in the sector.

“In whatever way we choose to look at it, air transportation and tourism complement each other mainly because of the benefits they derive from each other. Tourism depends on transportation to bring visitors while the transportation industry depends on tourism to generate demands for its services. “Air travels in the international routes are now on the increase because of more inter-regional movements, long distant travels in search of health care, leisure, religion, amongst others and thereby increasing demands for tourism attractions,� the commissioner added.

MainOne Partners Ogun on Smart City Devt, 250km Optic Fibre

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Comms/e-Business Editor

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Senior Correspondent

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Emma Okonji Communications Service and Network Solutions Company, MainOne, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ogun State government to build 250 kilometres of optic fibre cable to further enhance internet connectivity for service institutions in commercial areas of the state, with a view to building a smart city state.

Secretary to Ogun State

Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, explained at the signing that technological infrastructure was part of the efforts of the government to take the state on the technological highway, and pave the way for smart city development in Ogun State.

According to Adeoluwa, MainOne would invest in building broadband infrastructure in Ogun State while Ogun State Government would enable ICT development by ensuring free Right of Way (RoW) to the

company to ensure the success of the project.

Adeoluwa who also hinted that the agreement would ensure the construction of data centre in Sagamu interchange, said the target of the government was for Lagos to be feeding on Ogun. “We have been working hard and desperate to leave a system-driven environment. The MoU we have signed in the short term is for 30-year tenure and that would tell you we’ve not done it for ourselves but for

the benefit of Ogun State, our youths and children unborn. “Today, we are taking Ogun State to the next level, people still have no idea of what is erupting at the Business District but we what are doing now is in line with our resolve to deploy bigger infrastructure to support technological investors in the state. MainOne would be giving us points in 12 locations now; our model schools would be connected, the secretariat would be connected and other public

buildings,’’ Adeoluwa noted.

With the partnership between MainOne and Ogun State, the state has joined the smart city state train and is poised to enable its emergence as a leading technology hub in Nigeria, similar to MainOne’s initiatives in Yaba’s innovation hub. Experts believe the project will greatly improve quality of life for Ogun indigenes and accelerate the digital transformation of businesses across the state.

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Wood’s Unrivalled Passion for Nigeria’s Telecoms Industry Teleology’s ability to meet the March 22 payment deadline for 9mobile, underscores Adrian Wood’s unparalleled passion to drive telecoms’ business in Nigeria, writes Emma Okonji Adrian Wood, an Australian born technocrat, was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Nigeria from 2002 to 2004. He took over from the pioneer CEO, Mr. Karel Piennar. When Wood left the services of MTN, he was replaced by another CEO, Mr. Sifiso Dabengwa, who had since left Nigeria after his tenure.

Although Wood left the stage when the ovation was loudest in 2004, his passion to own and drive a telecoms business in Nigeria, kept him back in the country. After he left the services of MTN Nigeria, Wood was seen shuttling in and out of the country to manage other businesses, but he had always kept his passion to own and control a telecoms business in Nigeria. Such passion to run a telecoms business in Nigeria made Wood to form alliance with other technocrats to register a telecoms company called Brymedia Consortium.

In 2011, Brymedia bided for the sale of NITEL, alongside New Generation Communications of China, and Omen International.

Unfortunately for Wood, Brymedia came third in the entire bid process, while New Generation Communications of China, and Omen International came first and second respectively.

New Generation Communications of China, which was listed as the preferred bidder by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), had pledged $2.5 billion as bid price for NITEL, but was unable to make payment after winning the bid, a situation that compelled BPE to shift focus to the second winner, Omen International, that also declined making payment.

Wood at that time, was passionately waiting to get the opportunity to pay the bid price of Brymedia since the first and the second winners declined making payment, but BPE did not extend such opportunity to the third winner, probably because the bid price of $550 million that was pledged by Brymedia during the bid process to acquire NITEL, was considered to be too meager.

Driven by passion and convinced that it was an opportunity to own a telecoms business in Nigeria, Brymedia offered to raise its bid price of $550 million to $600 million to acquire NITEL, but was not given the opportunity to do so.

Still not discouraged in his passion for Nigerian telecoms business, Wood had to retreat and waited for another opportunity to come.

While waiting patiently, the 9mobile financial crisis struck, which forced the management of 9mobile to seek for fresh investors that will invest and takeover the company. Again, this was another opportunity for Wood to prove his passion right, and he immediately lashed on the opportunity to establish a new company called Teleology Holdings Limited to bid for the sale of 9mobile.

Wood assembled the best of technocrats with long standing years experiences, working in the telecoms sector from within and outside the country, to bid for 9mobile. In 2017, Barclays Africa, the financial adviser handling the sale of 9mobile, called for expression of interest for the sale of 9mobile and Wood’s Teleology was among the 16 telecoms companies that expressed their interests to buy 9mobile. At the end of the bid exercise, Wood’s Teleology was announced as the preferred bidder for the sale of 9mobile and Smile Telecoms Holdings as the reserve bidder.

His dream and passion to manage a telecoms business eventually came true, and Wood was prepared to go the extra mile to raise the $500 million bid price offered by Teleology Holdings.

He was expected to achieve this in another 90 days to acquire 9mobile, having, met the 21 day ultimatum given it to pay the $50 million non-refundable deposit, which deadline was March 22, 2018.

Wood’s ambition Wood had told journalists in Lagos some years back that Brymedia Consortium was very much interested in NITEL, but had to back out of the

Wood race when it was denied the opportunity by the BPE, to pay and own NITEL, after New Generation Communications Consortium and Omen International, declined payment of the $2.5 billion that the New Generation Communications Consortium actually bided to acquire NITEL. According to him, “when we discovered that the process to privatise NITEL by the Bureau of Public Enterprises, was becoming unnecessarily too long, we had to give up the struggle, more so that we were willing to raise our bid price, when the first and second winner declined payment of the $2.5 billion, which the first winner bided, and we were not given the opportunity to so.�

When BPE eventually sold NITEL to NATCOM Consortium in December 2014 for $252.25 million, under a guided liquidation process, Wood summoned up courage to congratulate the man driving NATCOM, Mr. Tunde Ayeni and his consortium, but he was still optimistic that this dream would still come true.

According to Wood, “I spoke with Ayeni in December 2014, shortly after he won the NITEL bid and I said to him that I wished him the best in his endeavour to turn around NITEL.� “I am still in Nigeria, representing another company as non-executive director. The company does mobile advertising and we are willing to invest in Nigeria,� Wood said in 2014.

The emergence of Teleology When the opportunity to invest in 9mobile came in 2017, Wood did not hesitate to use Teleology Holdings to bid for the company.

The opportunity came, following the financial crisis that the telecoms company suffered from the 13 local banks that threatened to take over it, for failure to repay the $1.2 billion loan it took from the banks in 2013.

In resolving the crisis, it was agreed that a bid process be carried out to get fresh investors, and Barclays Africa was appointed to handle the sale.

After due considerations, based on their technical competences and financial capabilities to manage 9mobile, Barclays Africa, finally announced Teleology Holdings as the preferred bidder and Smile Telecoms Holdings as the reserve bidder. Letters were transmitted to both final contenders on February 21, 2018, informing them of their positions in the sale of 9mobile.

The letter also directed Teleology Holdings to make a non-refundable cash deposit of $50

Durojaiye million within 21 days of from the date of the letter, dated February 21, 2018, or stand the chance of losing the bid to the reserve bidder, which is Smile Telecoms Holdings.

A source at Barclays Africa who confided in THISDAY, said the letter served as the official document for the conclusion of the sale of 9mobile.

The challenges Shortly after the letter was transmitted to Teleology informing it of its emergence as the preferred bidder, there was jubilation in Wood’s camp, despite the challenge of raising the funds for the acquisition of 9mobile, that was before Teleology.

The letter was transmitted in February 21, and 21 day window was given Teleology Holdings to pay the $50 million non-refundable cash deposit. The deadline for payment was March 22.

But as at March 20, Teleology had not paid the money, which raised doubts whether Teleology was capable of meeting the payment deadline.

But to the joy of those who believe in the team players of Teleology and to the surprise of its opposition group, the $50 million non-refundable cash was paid at the peak of time, barely 24 hours to the March 22 deadline.

Having crossed the initial huddle, Teleology is still faced with the payment of another $500 million which is the bid price it settled for during the bid process. It is given 90 day window to make that payment. Many stakeholders, who were afraid that Teleology may not meet the deadline for the payment of $50 million cash, are already expressing fears that it may be extremely difficult for the company to pay the $500 million in 90 days, given the delay it had in meeting the initial payment deadline.

Opposition Although the reserve bidder was also communicated the same way the preferred bidder was committed, but Smile Telecoms Holdings had from day one, opposed to the emergence of Teleology, while doubting the level of transparency exhibited by Barclays, in handling the sale of 9mobile.

In a clear display of opposition and dissatisfaction in the manner in which Barclays Africa handled the auction of 9mobile, Smile Telecoms Holdings wrote Barclays to express its dissatisfaction in the entire bid process.

Smile’s protest letter, which was addressed to Barclays Africa, was dated February 21, 2018.

Of particular concern, to Smile Telecoms

Holdings, is that the selection of the preferred bidder was announced before the stated deadline of 26 February 2018 as set out in the process letter.

The company therefore, requested Barclays, to as a matter of fairness and urgency, provide a practicable with verifiable and preferably third-party authenticated proof that the party that has been selected as the preferred bidder has indeed satisfied all the conditions precedent to that selection.

While this was going on the Chairman, Governing Board, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Senator, Olabiyi Durojaiye, wrote the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and insisted that the preferred bidder must show evidence of technical expertise of managing a national telecoms company in the last three to five years, aside the financial competence, and vowed not to issue operational licence to any preferred bidder that lacks such competences, even though the company meets up with the 21 day window given it to pay the non-refundable cash deposit of $50 million.

Wood’s strategic plans In all of the opposition, Wood remained resolute and optimistic that he would deliver on promise in terms of the financial ability of Teleology to pay all monies pertaining to the acquisition of 9mobile, and in terms of the technical capability to handle 9mobile.

To set the ball rolling, Wood, in less than 24 hours after meeting the March 22 deadline for the payment of the $50 million non-refundable cash deposit for 9mobile, announced his 10-point agenda on which the telecoms company would be managed. Teleology, in a statement detailed an ambitious plan of action that would guide its rapid overhaul not only of the network but all aspects of the operations.

According to 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.� 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.

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Taxify Celebrates International Women’s Month Stories by Emma Okonji Taxify, a ride hailing company is joining the rest of the world to celebrate women’s month, with the hashtag, #WomenWithDrive.

Speaking at the celebration in Nigeria, which took place at The Backyard Lagos recently, Taxify’s Brand Manager, Terver Bendega, said in her opening statement: “This women’s month we decided to pay tribute to all the women

across Nigeria who have shown extraordinary drive.

There is no harder working woman as the Nigerian woman. In celebration of International Women’s Day, we asked Nigerians to nominate inspiring women who have shown drive in various fields for a chance to win a kickstarter package. Within this package is N100,000 cash, N50,000 in Taxify credit and access to a network of women across various fields.�

“At Taxify, we believe in empowering women to become small business owners and equipping them with the network and finances they need to scale these businesses.

We also want to show our appreciation to the amazing women partner drivers, working on the Taxify platform, who go out of their way every day to move thousands of people across their cities whilst providing for their families.“

The inspirational event was attended by women driverpartners, celebrity influencers, media and members of the Taxify team. Guests listened to a passionate speech by ex-Big Brother Nigeria housemate, actress and music artist, Uriel Oputa. Broadcaster Adenike Oyetunde also spoke about the value of Women Entrepreneurs in the press for progress.

Driver-partners and guests engaged in speed networking where they were asked to

share what they were driven by, including their passions, dreams, and goals. The event ended with a presentation of cheques to five winners of the Taxify kickstarter package.

Winners were young women with businesses ranging from consulting to confectionary, fashion design and art. Top female driver-partners were also rewarded with cash prizes.

With Taxify, women can drive whenever they can or whenever they want.

Driver-partners can set their own schedules while maintaining a steady, independent source of income. Taxify has created work opportunities for hundreds of women since launching in Nigeria and is looking into creating thousands more in the next few years. The app which is available in over 35 cities across Europe and Africa can be downloaded on the Apple IOS store and the Google Play store.

SMEs Showcased Local Talents at 2018 Beauty Exhibition Over 60 beauty entrepreneurs showcased their local talents at the 2018 Beauty Souk exhibition sponsored by Diamond Bank, designed to boost local content production among Nigerian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The SMEs exhibition, which was organised by Eventful Limited, saw several local talents on display, in line with federal government initiative on local content development, driven by technology.

Beauty Souk, which officially started last year, is a marketplace for all the people interested in beauty like beauty vendors, suppliers, make-up artistes, people interested in spa and nails.

Speaking at the exhibition in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of Eventful Limited, Mrs. Yewande Zaccheus, said that Beauty Souk is a platform for the vendors who may not have money to advertise, who may also not be able to see the target market that are coming, leveraging the opportunities to engage with their customers. “The Beauty Souk platform helps to grow the enabling entrepreneurs in the country.

Anytime an entrepreneur is able to showcase his products, they are able to meet new clients, they are able to grow their

business and they are able to learn from each other. The opportunity of engaging are so many, she said.� “There are different categories at the event- Premium stores which are taken by the big brands and very small store for small businesses. There is something for everybody.

We are not restricting it to big brands,� Zaccheus further said.

She revealed that Diamond Bank sees the platform as an opportunity to reach out to an important section of the economy, believing in women and women entrepreneurs, adding that they are putting their money where their mouth is. “They do a lot for female entrepreneurs. This was another way to support because most of the people running beauty businesses are women and a lot of the consumers are women�.

Dr. Lilian Ibe stressed the need to educate Nigerians on wellness inspired, showcasing her products at Beauty Souk, adding that Nigerians should be more proactive rather than reactive on health grounds. “As a brand, we want to enlighten the masses on the benefits of shea butter, and most importantly all the natural resources in abundance in this part of the world and encourage the usage�.

Inlaks Begins ATM Academy Season 2 A leading information technology systems integrator in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, Inlaks, has announced the commencement of season 2 of its automated Teller Machine (ATM) Academy. The ATM academy is a corporate social responsibility(CSR) initiative of Inlaks aimed at training Nigerian youths on ATM support services, technical support services, backend operations, customer service operations, spare parts and software installation.

Explaining the rationale behind the establishment of Inlaks ATM Academy, MD/ CEO Africa Operations at Inlaks, Femi Adeoti, said the company set out to address the increasing rate of unemployment and lack of the right skill set among the youths. “The Inlaks ATM Academy, which is currently in its second season received over 500 applications from candidates within a two- week period in February during the call for entries stage. After the assessment stages, 30 students were shortlisted to go into the

three months’ academy that will include two months practical field experience,� Adeoti said.

The Director, Infrastructure Business Unit, Inlaks, Mr. Tope Dare, said the company decided to train people who were unemployed to fill the growing need to service and maintain their ATM install base which has grown to over 5000 machines across Nigeria.

The total ATM installed base is expected to hit 6,000 before the end of 2018 and Inlaks is building and developing its workforce to meet its present and anticipated talent need.

The academy is open to Ordinary National Diploma (OND) holders of engineering and physics from recognised higher institutions of learning in Nigeria. The fundamental of ATM technology will be treated during the classroom training session while field knowledge will be acquired during the real life practical session on field with customers.

The successful trainees from the academy will be guaranteed job opportunities in various units in the company at the

COMMEMORATING GLOBAL MONEY WEEK

L-R: Experience Centre Manager, North Central Zone, Heritage Bank Plc, Obiora Okoye with pupils of Makurdi International Schools and Doo Atongo, Experience Centre Associate, North Central Zone, during Heritage Bank support to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Financial Literacy Day on Global Money Week theme: #MoneyMattersMatter, held in Makurdi International Schools, Benue State, as one of the school directed to adopt ‌ recently

Business Hilights Unveils App to Grow Easy News Service Access Business Hilights has unveiled its App in Lagos to grow seamless news access and deepen value added services to current and prospective advertisers in Nigeria and across the world.

Business Hilights is an online business news channel conceptualised and structured to report and track on a daily basis; latest developments in critical business sectors of the economy to serve as a one stop news gateway for governments, foreign and indigenous investors.

Business Hilights is a premium product of Media Hilights Integrated Company Limited (MHICL).

In his address at the launch, the publisher and chairman of the company, Stan Okenwa said: “The App was developed to deepened handy access, grow Nigerian and global traffic on the site so as to easily guide opinion leaders in business developments, investors and allied policy makers from time to time. “The feat was designed and developed by Business Hilights Digital Service Team in collaboration with Jservx Technologies.

Okenwa advised companies and leading government

agencies to avail themselves the opportunity of the grossing traffic to advertise their goods and services or grow their media visibility to both Nigeria and global readership traffic.

Explaining further, Okenwa said: “Immediately Business Hilights pops up, click on it to download or install; you are good to go. You may wish to rate us after installing�.

Earlier in his demo presentation at the launch, the General Manager, Digital Services (GMDS) at MHICL, Mr. Joseph Anaeligbo, said: “Downloading the App is very simple because it is free. All you need to do is to switch on your data on your smartphone or device, open Google Play Store and type in Business Hilights�.

Anaeligbo said: “The App is updated daily with five stories made up of lead stories in each of the five leading categories on the website including banking/investments, ICT, transportation, energy and industry.�

According to him, Business Hilights publishes not less than 25 stories every weekday, saying “from just one of the five updated stories on the App, you can click on ‘Read More’ which will move you

from the App to the main site from where you can access

other stories, navigate, read, like and share�.

PaySend Partners Access Bank on FinTech Revolution in Africa Card-to-card payments disrupter, PaySend has promised it will continue to bring a new generation of money transfers to the African market through its new partnership with Access Bank Plc. PaySend’s rapidly expanding business now operates in more than 60 countries and it is looking to boost its presence across Africa.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PaySend, Ronald Millar, said: “We are delighted to be expanding into Nigeria and to be working with Access Bank. To have reached over 60 countries in such a short time is excellent and we look forward to a long and fruitful partnership. “Nigeria is one of our first African partners, and we definitely see great potential in the region.�

Access Bank, which has over 368 branches and service outlets across Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa, the United Kingdom and Dubai, strives to deliver

sustainable economic growth that is profitable, environmentally responsible and socially relevant.

Executive Director at Access Bank, Nigeria, Victor Etuokwu, said: “Accessibility is important in our business and we see this partnership as vital to connecting our customers to their increasingly globalised network, whether they be business contacts, friends or family.�

At present PaySend’s technology works for all Visa, Mastercard and Verve cards issued by Access Bank in Nigeria, but the company wants to go further. “We are working together with Access Bank to expand our coverage across the country, and into other African countries to develop a broader offering in the region,� Millar said.

The company, it was gathered, has big plans for 2018, and is keen to build partnerships with local banks in all major African destinations.

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Voges: Organisations Must Deploy Best Solutions to Mitigate Cyberattacks Threat Prevention Sales Leader, Middle East and Africa at Check Point, Mr. Andrew Voges, spoke with Emma Okonji on the latest trends in global cyberattacks and how best to mitigate the problem in Nigeria, using Check Point solutions. Excerpts: enterprise organisations. With our new technology solution that is based on cloud solution, we ensure that we provide the right solution for every size of business at affordable cost. So we offer the same protection to both big and small organisations, including government owned organisations. We have big solutions for big and enterprise organisations and we also have small solutions designed for small businesses, because we know that the small businesses also exist.

Could you share your mission to Nigeria and how successful is the mission?

I visited Nigeria with the Check Point team to attend a customer forum being put together by our partners and facilitated by Check Point. The focus is to present new technology solutions from Check Point that will help organisations overcome threats from cyberattacks. We are in Nigeria to help businesses resolve the challenges and threats of cyberattacks. It is a forum that allows customers ask all questions relating to cybersecurity and prevention. Our team is on ground to proffer solutions to cybersecurity challenges.

As information technology (IT) security expert, what is the best security solution you will advise Nigerian organisations to adopt, considering the type of cyberattacks that are prevalent in the country?

The best cybersecurity solution to be recommended for any organization depends on the kind of attack that is prevalent. In Nigeria for example, attacks such as malware and phishing are prevalent in the country. Irrespective of the kind of business embarked upon, be it in the manufacturing, construction, pharmaceutical, and financial, the attackers look for vulnerability in the system to launch their attacks. So what we will suggest as IT security experts is the solution that will offer full protection of the entire system and data of an organisation. We have a solution called Sandblast, which offers the best of protection to organisations’ data and system. I will also suggest generation fibre security solution to address organisations’ need in the area of cyberattacks.

So what kind of support do you provide for your partners and customers, aside organising customers’ forum?

Aside customers’ forum, which we organise from time to time, we also offer training for our customers directly and through our channel model, where we work closely with our integrated partners to offer training on latest technology solutions. Those customers, who are registered with our partners, get the training and they also get certification from the training.

We also offer security training as well, to make our customers more knowledgeable in the area of cybersecurity.

In 2017, Nigeria and the rest of the globe witnessed series of cyberattacks. What in your view are the impacts of such attacks on Nigerian business?

The impact of cyberattacks varies from organisa-

Voges

“The best cybersecurity solution to be recommended for any organization depends on the kind of attack that is prevalent. In Nigeria for example, attacks such as malware and phishing are prevalent in the country. Irrespective of the kind of business embarked upon, be it in the manufacturing, construction, pharmaceutical, and ďŹ nancial, the attackers look for vulnerability in the system to launch their attacks. So what we will suggest as IT security experts is the solution that will offer full protection of the entire system and data of an organisationâ€?

tion to organisation, depending on the size of the organisation and the extent of damage caused by the attacks. Small businesses may not feel the impact as much as big organisations will feel it, but attacks on organisation’s data could lead to operational downtime and also bring down the entire operations of an organisation.

Cyberattacks can disorganise productivity, and affect returns on investment.

Data breaches with sense of information, created by cyberattacks, could lead to huge disaster in any organisation, and the bottomline impact is always disastrous.

What has been the nature of cyberattacks and what is the general perception of organisations about getting the right technology solutions to prevent cyberattacks, irrespective of the cost of such solutions?

I will like to describe the nature of cyberattacks and the perception of organisations towards the attacks from various levels of distinct generational attacks. The first generation attacks, which occurred between 1980 and 1990, were mild attacks with various kinds of virus infections, but in the second generation attacks, which came between 1990 and 2000, the attacks were more severe and damaging and the attacks were launched through the internet. What the companies did to mitigate the attacks was to get firewalls installed in their systems to prevent the attacks. The third generation attacks, which were launched from 2000 to 2010, were targeted at software applications, while the fifth generation attacks from 2010 to date were mainly through malware, which comes as cyber war and they come repeatedly on organisations. Now the perception of organisations in these different generational attacks varies because they were also thinking fast on how to get the right solutions to address the attacks.

You have been a strong advocate of multilayer architecture as a solution to cyberattacks. How does the multilayer architecture work and how does it prevent the current generation of cyberattacks?

Multilayer architecture is the key to addressing

cyberattacks of any magnitude. It provides full scale protection on the data and systems and prevent them from cyberattacks. It helps protection of cyberattacks up to 99 per cent.

How will you advise organisations that are too particular about cost cutting, when ordinarily such organisation is supposed to invest in cybersecurity?

My advice for such organisation will be built around consolidation. They have to find better ways between cost cutting and investment in cybersecurity through consolidation with their software security vendors. From Check Point view, we can offer solution that will give organisations the full insight of their security risks and advise them on what solution they need that could be cost effective, and still protect the organisation from cyberattacks.

How interoperable are your security solutions for organisations that were initially running other security solutions and still have the need to run the Check Point security solutions?

We have technology partners globally and our solutions that are deployed by our partners have full features of interoperability, which allows our solution to run side by side with the solution from order vendors. So if any organisation wants to maintain two different solutions from different vendors, it is possible with Check Point solution because of the interoperability features that come with our solution. So our solution can integrate with different networks and still offer the best result in terms of cyberattack prevention and mitigation. So we can integrate with order networks and still provide the best of cybersecurity solutions for organisations.

What kind of solution do you have for small businesses like SMEs with small customer base and little funding?

The good news is that Check Point provides solutions for both enterprise and small businesses.

So the nice thing is that prior to shifting to our new technology, we also realised that we still need to take care of smaller businesses, in as much as we provide solutions for big

Hackers are looking at new ways to launch cyberattacks on organisations. What is Check Point doing to counter such attacks?

Part of our solution to address the current advancement of hackers is based on our free cloud solution that is connected to all our technology solutions. What free cloud does is to address the attacks from the intelligent division, and from the signatures, and these are realtime solutions that address any new cyberattack. So with this, any customer that is connected to Check Point solution is fully protected from newer forms of attacks. Our solution goes beyond signature update, and it comes with realtime update, which is best to detect and stop new forms of cyberattacks, and this means that we can secure up to 99 per cent of such prevention.

At what point does the attack from hackers hit organisations, and at what point does your solution detect such attacks?

The hackers operate in different ways. For the financial sector for instance, we deploy our solution in their system in such a way that the solution detects the malware before it launches its attack. What the attack does is to try and get access to organisations emails and through the compromised emails, they can get access to the data and the entire system, so we have solutions that prevent the attacks from getting access to the emails and other peripherals that could give them access to the entire system.

You spoke about preventive solutions to cyberattacks, but you did not talk about how to address challenges of organisations that have already been attacked. How does Check Point salvage such a situation after the attack?

We also have solutions for organisations that have already suffered cyberattacks. What we do in that instance is to deploy our Incident Response Solution, irrespective of whether the organisation is our customer or not. The solution will do the check performance and carry out the mitigation process of the attack as quickly as possible. After that is achieved, we will deploy preventive solution that will completely prevent further occurrence of the attack.

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ Í°ÍˇËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

Obasanjo Heads Advisory Council for IntraAfrican Trade Fair Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has inaugurated an Advisory Council for the inaugural Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2018), with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as Chairman.

Egypt has been selected as the preferred host for the inaugural fair following a competitive bidding process.

A former President of Afreximbank, Jean-Louis Ekra is the Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Council, which is charged with the responsibility of providing guidance for the preparations for the trade fair scheduled to hold in Cairo between December 11 and 17, 2018.

Also represented on the Council, according to a statement issued by the Director in charge of the Communications Department of Afreximbank, Mr. Obi Emekekwue, are the

African Union Commission; African Development Bank; Pan-African Chamber of Commerce and Industry; World Trade Centre, Miami; International Trade Centre, Egypt, as the host country; the AfroChampions Initiative; and PixyKorner, the professional trade fair organiser retained for the event. Afreximbank is serving as the Secretariat.

At the inaugural meeting of the Council in Kigali on March 22, 2018, Afreximbank President, Dr. Benedict Oramah said that the role of the body was to be the main driver for the planning of the trade fair in order to ensure that it achieved the objective of driving intra-African trade.

Oramah announced that Egypt had been selected as the preferred host for the inaugural fair following a competitive bidding process, and stated that the fair would take place every two years Ekra also announced that

although President Obasanjo had travelled to Kigali to attend the meeting, he had had to leave to attend to some urgent matters and had sent his apologies for not being able to attend.

The meeting of the advisory Council marked the culmination of a series of activities relating to the trade fair which Afreximbank had organized on the sidelines of the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union. The Extraordinary Summit was convened for the signing of the Agreement for the African Continental Free Trade Area.

On March 20, Afreximbank, the African Union and the Egypt government signed the hosting agreement for the trade fair.

This was followed on March 21 by the formal launch of the trade fair, including the unveiling of the IATF2018 plaque and a press conference to announce the event.

Samsung Pledges Best Innovation in Galaxy S9 and S9+ Emma Okonji Samsung Electronics has said the recently introduced Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are designed with the latest technology innovation that is far beyond the consciousness of consumers, thus helping to put future generation mobile phone devices in the hands of customers before they even conceive it.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ fuel new discoveries with Super Slow-mo video, best-inclass low light camera and AR Emoji for a more personalised way that will enable customers to express themselves.

Made for an age in which consumers increasingly communicate and express themselves more with images, videos and emojis, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ drive innovation with Samsung’s advanced camera. Redesigned with a new Dual Aperture lens that

powers an innovative low light camera, super slow-mo video capabilities and personalised AR Emoji, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ ensure users do not miss a moment and make their everyday colourful.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ come with the new SmartThings app, which unites Samsung’s existing Internet of Things (IoT) services into one single, smart experience.

Announcing the the devices during the media launch in Lagos recently, the Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Jingak Chung, said: “The way we use our smartphones has changed as communication and self-expression has evolved.

With the Galaxy S9 and S9+, we have reimagined the smartphone camera.

Not only do the Galaxy S9 and S9+ enable consumers to shoot great photos and videos anywhere, it’s a smartphone that is designed to help them

connect to others and express themselves in a way that is unique and personal to them.�

Features around the front and rear cameras are designed to give customers the feel of more than taking photos.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ cameras are built with consumers in mind, with a Super Speed Dual Pixel sensor with dedicated processing power and memory to take amazing shots with high photo quality.

Some of the camera features include: Super Slow-mo, which makes every day moments epic with dynamic, slow-motion video that captures 960 frames per second. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ also offer automatic motion detection, an intelligent feature that detects movement in the frame and automatically begins to record. After capturing the Super Slow-mo video, users can select background music from 35 different options or add a tune from their favorite playlist.

Firm Enters Beverage Market with ChocoLove Chocolate Raheem Akingbolu A top player in the fastmoving consumer goods sector of the economy, Sweet Nutrition Limited (formerly known as BayswaterIndustries Limited); has unveiled its newest product – The Nourishing ChocoLove Chocolate Malt Drink.

The management of the company confirmed during a media launch in Lagos that the unveiling was marked with three landmark launch events in three different states around the country; Abuja, Port Harcourt and Lagos state.

According to the Managing Director, Sweet Nutrition Limited; Mr. Kumar Venkataraman, the events were strategically organised to communicate the new brand to all stakeholders involved,

as well as brand aspirations and promise of quality. “Choco Love is an awesome brew, manufactured with the highest standard we can find in the market. When we decided on this drink, we decided to bring to Nigeria the best brew that you can find in the market� says Mr. Emilio Maldonado, the Head of Research and Development for the Choco Love brand, extolling the motivation behind the brand, as well as the inherent qualities of Choco Love that will become apparent to all consumers upon experience,’’ he said.

Venkataraman also expressed unbridled optimism towards the brands performance in the Nigerian market, “We are providing a tasty and nutritious drink for kids and the entire

family, and Choco Love is delicious enough to become a household name on its own merit, Choco Love is only the first of many top nutritious quality products that are slated to be introduced to the Nigerian market by us, and we urge our customers to be on the lookout in the coming months�.

This optimism was also shared by Mr. Swatanter Saraswat; the Head of Sales and Marketing, who said, “the brand is strong, and as everyone here experienced, the product is very delicious and of a high quality. We have worked hard to make Choco Love the best it possibly can, and I am optimistic as to how it will be received by Nigeria.

Our brand is designed to be a close ally to kids and by extension the family�

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT OLODU KEONYEDI

Low Risk Investments in Nigeria

Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă•ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă– Ă™Ă? Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂŁ Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ Ă‹Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁ Ă“Ă? ĂŒĂ?ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă“Ă–Ă?ĂŽ åÓÞÒ Ă‹ ÖÙÞ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ě‹ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ Ă“Ă˜ĘŽĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă?Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă–ĂŁ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?×ÚÖÙã×Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ëœ ÞÓÑÒÞĂ?Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŽĂ“Ă?ÚÙĂ?Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ù×Ă?Ë› Ù×Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă’Ă‹ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ù×Ă? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă•ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? åÓÞÒ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂšĂ?Ă˜Ă?ÓÞã Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă? Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă Ă?Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă? ÞÙ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁË›

Þ˪Ă? Ă˜Ă™ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂšĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? ÞÒËÞ Ă’Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ? Ă™Ă? ÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă? ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă•Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ Ă Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă™Ă&#x;Ă? ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă¤Ă“ Ă?Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă”Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž ÞÙ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“Ă?Ă• Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ÞÙ Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ĂšĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÚÙåĂ?ĂœË› ÙåĂ?Ă Ă?ĂœËœ ĂĄĂ? Ă?ÞÓÖÖ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ ÞÒËÞ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÖÙå ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă•Ë› Ă’Ă“Ă–Ă?Ăž Ă˜Ă™ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? Í’Í‘Í‘ĎŻ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ëœ ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? åÓÞÒ ÖÓʾÖĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă• ÞÙ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ë› Ă’Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ ĂžĂ™ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă•Ë› Ă?ÖÙå Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ë?

Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ó×ÚÖĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ăž ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ù×ÚÙĂ&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ&#x;Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ě‹ ĂšĂ?Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă™Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă– ĂŽĂ?ÚÙĂ?Ă“Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ù×ÚÙĂ&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëž Ă“Ăž Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ă–ĂŁ Ă?ËÚÓÞËÖÓĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă– ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă—Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ù×ÚÙĂ&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă“Ă? Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ă–ĂŁË›

Money Market Funds: Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ ÙÚĂ?Ă˜Ě‹Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă—Ă&#x;ĂžĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒËÞ ĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂžĚ‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ— ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ě‹ ĂœĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă? ĂžĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂŁ Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ?Ă?Ëœ ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă• ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă—Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŁ Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ?Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă?âÚĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ’Ă™ Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ ÙÚÞÓ×ÓĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ?ÒÙÖÎĂ?Ăœ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă? ĂŒĂŁ ĂŽĂ?ĂšĂ–Ă™ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂŒĂ‹Ă–Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? ×Óâ Ă™Ă? ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?ÙÖÓÙ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœËŞĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă˜ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ă?Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĘŽĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă–Ă? ÞÒËÞ Ă?Ă™ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă? ĂŽĂ™ Ă˜Ă™Ăž ÞËÕĂ? Ă‹ĂŽĂ Ă‹Ă˜ĂžĂ‹Ă‘Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă? ÞÙ Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă™Ě‹ ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ÖÙåĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă—ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜ Ă—Ă&#x;ĂžĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ âĂ?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ù××ÓĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ě™ ̚˛ Ă˜ Í“Í‘Í’Í•Ëž ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ ͓͖͑˜͑͑͑ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ăž ÒÙÖÎĂ?ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ?ĂŽ ÞÒÓĂ? ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă“ĂžĚ‹ Ă?ĂŽ ÞËÞĂ?Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž ͔͙ϯ Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ě‹ ÒÙÖÎĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă—Ă&#x;ĂžĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ë› Ă˜ ĂœĂ‹Ă¤Ă“Ă–Ëœ Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž Í’Í‘ Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă˜ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă—Ă&#x;ĂžĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ë› Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ? Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă˜Ă?ʨÞĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ Ă“Ă˜ĘŽĂ‹Ě‹ ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—ĂŁ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ě‹ Ù×ã˛

Ëž Good option for people saving up for a project: Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?ĂžËœ Ă?Ă‹ĂŁ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜Ăž ÞÙ ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŁ Ă‹ Ă?Ă‹ĂœËœ Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;ÓÚ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂžĂ?Ëœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă&#x;Ăš Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă•Ă?Ă?Ăš Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ăž ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă?Ë›

BeneďŹ ts of Money Market Fund: Ëž Low risk: Ă’Ă? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă•Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜ Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĚ‹ Ă•Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ ÖÙå˞ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ ÖÙå ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă• ĂŽĂ?ĂŒĂž Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă? ĂžĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂŁ ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă?Ëœ ĂŒĂ™Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ë› Ă™Ă&#x; Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?ËÚÓÞËÖ Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? à ÙÖËÞÓÖÓÞÓĂ?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÞÙĂ?Ă• Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Þ˛ Ëž Higher return than the ination rate: ÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ĘŽĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă‹Ăž Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž Í’Í•Ë›Í—ĎŻËœ Ă“Ă˜ĘŽĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ? Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ě‹ Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ă?Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĘŽĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ë› Ëž Higher returns than standard savings accounts: Ă’Ă? Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž ÚÙÚĂ&#x;Ă–Ă‹Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‹Ě‹ ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă? åÓÞÒ Ă‹ ÖÓʾÖĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă’ ÞÙ Ă?ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă’Ă?Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂŽĂ?ÚÙĂ?Ă“Ăž Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă• Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă–Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒËÞ Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă• Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ˜ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžËœ ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ăž ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹ Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă“Ă? ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Í” Ě‹ Í•ĎŻ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž Ă“Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂŒĂ™ĂœĂœĂ™ĂĄ Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă•Ëž ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă? ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Í“Í‘Ě‹Í“Í’ĎŻË› Ëž Compounding eect: Money market fund has a compounding eect on its interest; Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă“Ă˜Ě‹ ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ&#x;Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă? Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă?ÓÚËÖ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă— Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă– ĂŽĂ?ÚÙĂ?ÓÞ˛ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă– ĂŽĂ?ÚÙĂ?Ă“Ăž Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄ Ă‹Ăž Ă‹

Ëž Investment for your children: Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă‹ Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă– Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă™ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă–Ă™Ă™Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă–ĂŽĂœĂ?Ă˜ËŞĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă™Ăœ ÞÙ̋ ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă Ă?ĂœĂ?ÓÞã Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă–ĂŽĂœĂ?Ă˜ Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă? ÞÒĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă?Ă˜ ĂŒĂ“ĂœĂžĂ’ ĂžĂ™Ëœ Ă?Ă™ Ă–Ă?Þ˪Ă? Ă?Ă‹ĂŁ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă–ĂŽĂœĂ?Ă˜ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă Ă?ĂœĂ?ÓÞã Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Í’Í— ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ĂŒĂ“ĂœĂžĂ’Ë› Ă? ÞÒĂ?ĂŁ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă–ĂŽĂœĂ?Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Í’Í—ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ? åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ù×̋ ÚÙĂ&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĘĽĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă– ĂŽĂ?ÚÙĂ?Ă“ĂžËœ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂ‹ĂœĚ‹ Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂœĂŁ Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?ÒÙÙÖ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă–ĂŽĂœĂ?Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë›

FGN Treasury Bills: ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂŁ ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂžĚ‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ— ĂŽĂ?ĂŒĂž Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ‹Ă– ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă– ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă• Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ ÞÙ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂžĚ‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ— Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžË› Ă’Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? ͚͒˜ ͙͓͒ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ͔͕͗ ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ? Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ“Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂŁ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂžĂ˜Ă“Ă‘Ă’ĂžĂ–ĂŁ ĂŒĂŁ Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ě‹ ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă– ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă• Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ë› Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëž ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂŁ ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă–Ă“Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ę¨Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Þ˛ Ă’Ă?ĂŁ ÙʼĂ?Ăœ Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă?ĂŽ ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă•Ě‹ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă•Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă– Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ě‹ ĂžĂ?Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ‹Ă– ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžË› BeneďŹ ts of Treasury Bills: Ëž Ă’Ă?ĂŁ Ă?Ă˜Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÙ×Ă?ĂœĂ? ÞÙ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ ĂŁĂ“Ă?Ă–ĂŽĚ‹ Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă–Ă™ĂĄĚ‹ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă• Ëž Ă’Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ĂœĂ? ÞËâ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ë› Ëž Ă’Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂœĂ? ÑÙÙÎ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“ĂŽĂ–Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ë› FGN Bonds: Ùà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŒĂ™Ă˜ĂŽĂ? ÙʼĂ?Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? ĂĄĂ’Ă™ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă• Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“ĂžĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Þã Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ?ËÖÞÒ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ă?ĂŒĂž Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĘŠĂ?Ă? Ě™ Ěš Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ ĂŒĂ?Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ‹Ă– ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËž ÞÒĂ?Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂ™Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă–Ă™Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Í“ ÞÙ Í“Í‘ ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÞÙ ĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ÞÙ Ę¨Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă? ĂœĂ™Ă‹ĂŽĂ?Ëœ ĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă–ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁĂ?Ëœ Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ÚÙåĂ?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÙÞÒĂ?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?Ě‹ ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ëœ Ă?ĂžĂ?Ë› BeneďŹ ts of FGN Bonds: Ëž Ă’Ă? ĂŒĂ™Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă? Ă?ÙÖÖËÞĂ?ĂœĂ‹Ă– ÞÙ ĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă?Ă? Ę¨Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ëž Ă’Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ĂœĂ? ÞËâ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ë› Ëž Ă’Ă? ĂŒĂ™Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă–ĂŁ ĂŒĂ? ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă‹Ă? Ă“Ăž Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă›Ă&#x;Ă? Ă›Ă&#x;ËÖÓÞã Ă™Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă›Ă&#x;ÙÞĂ?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?ÞÙĂ?Ă• âĂ?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ĂŒĂ? ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ùà Ă?Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœË›

Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ÞÙ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ÞÒĂ?Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ăœ ÞÒĂ?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĚ‹ ĂžĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ åÓÞÒ ÖÙå ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă• Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‘Ă?ĘľĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ? ÞÙ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă˜Ă”Ă™ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒÓĂ? ÖÙå ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă• Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžË›

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

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

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ Í°ÍˇËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

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Combating Maternal Mortality through CSR Raheem Akingbolu writes on the Yellow Heart initiative of the MTN Foundation and how it is being used to address maternal mortality in rural areas “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business�. This classic quote of all times by the foremost engineer and inventor, Henry Ford applies to businesses in the country and Africa in general today as it has always been.

It implies that a business that benefits so much from the society and clients who transact business with it and refuses to impact lives in the society and the society itself, has failed in its responsibilities. As a result of this, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), one of the stems of sound corporate governance is increasingly attaining wider global and local adoption as its impacts in helping nations meet their sustainable development goals become more perceptible.

Today, top executives across different industry want to demonstrate their corporate citizenship through altruistic, ethical and legal initiatives that presents their organisations as socially responsible.

However, the big challenge for executives is how to develop an approach that can truly deliver on these lofty ambitions—and, as of yet, few have found the way. Some innovative companies have managed to overcome this hurdle, with smart partnering emerging as one way to create value for both the business and society simultaneously. Some others have also been able to create a sustainable CSR Strategy tailored towards their values.

MTN Foundation as example For MTN Nigeria, a telecommunications company that damned the consequence 17 years ago to explore the nation’s telecommunication market, when other players feared to do so, the need to give back was quickly incorporated into its portfolio shortly after the adventure became a success story. Over a decade ago, the company thus established the MTN Foundation Limited as a separate entity for the purpose of focusing MTN Nigeria’s efforts in terms of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives to help reduce poverty and foster sustainable development in Nigeria. Over the years, the foundation has delved into education, entertainment and health under three portfolio areas; education, health and economic empowerment.

Yellow Heart Initiative MTN Foundation took its health intervention project a notch higher recently when it initiated the Yellow Heart Initiative, which is designed to help reduce maternal mortality ratio in the country. Through the initiative, the foundation struck a partnership deal with the Federal Ministry of Health and state governments.

In 2015, maternal mortality ratio for Nigeria was put at 814 deaths per 100,000 live births. This discovery thus put stakeholders at crossroads.

Perhaps this spurred MTN Foundation Limited into action and since then, the management has not look back as the train has touched many states to orientate medical personnel and women.

Recently, the train reached Calabar, Cross River State to partner with the state government to reduce the scourge of many deaths by women during pregnancy and other health related issues.

The two-phase event included a panel discussion and awareness work around the capital city. The theme of the discussion was ‘State of Maternal Health Delivery in Cross River State’ while the awareness walk was tagged ‘Walk for Life’.

The road show, which was flagged off by the wife of the governor, Dr. Linda Ayade, who was represented by the wife of the deputy governor, Mrs. Omotunde Ivara Esu, began from the popular Millennium Park through Whatt Market to sensitise pregnant women on the need to attend antenatal care and not resort to churches.

Speaking on what informed the road show; Mrs. Ayade said it was initiated between the Telecommunication Company and Cross River State Government to create awareness about the importance of seeking good medical care by the women and children. ‘’The government of Cross River State sees a willing partner in MTN Foundation in the state’s determination to combat maternal mortality.

With this awareness walk, we want women in Cross River State to know the importance of good medical care during and after pregnancy.

Awareness walk through Calabar street...‘Walk for Life 2018’ The government has consistently emphasised the fact that pregnancy is not death sentence and having children should not be crime. What is important is to seek and rely on modern medical system,’’ she said.

Awareness campaign A day before the awareness walk, Governor Ben Ayade, while declaring the programme opened, had stated at a public forum that involved all stakeholders; medical personnel, women in their hundreds and government officials, that his administration is committed to ensuring that mothers and children are safe at all times.

Ayade said his administration threw its weight behind the MTN Foundation Yellow Heart Programme in order to improve the health of the state, especially maternal and child health care programme aimed at reducing the high rate of maternal and child mortality in the state.

The governor, who was represented by the secretary to the State Government, Tina Banku Agbor expressed appreciation to MTN for the laudable initiative and the many projects being carried out by them in the state especially in the health sector as well as partnering the state to improve the lives of Women and children adding that the Stat Governor is indeed glad to partner with the MTN Foundation.

According to Ayade, when he assumed the mantle of leadership as Governor of the state, he saw the maternal and child mortality indices in the state, and he quickly swung into action to help reduce the rate, as well as ensuring that people of the state have effective, efficient, qualitative, affordable and accessible health services. For effective coordination of the administration’s health programmes, the governor disclosed that he appointed a young and dynamic Commissioner for Health, Inyang Asibong to oversee the activities of the ministry and went further to establish the CRS Primary Health Care Development Agency with the appointment of Betta Edu as the Director – General of the Agency to help strengthen the Primary Health CRS System in the State.

He also stated that he worked with the Cross River House of Assembly to initiate a law for the State Health Insurance scheme to help the poor and the vulnerable access health facilities in the State. Ayade enjoined MTN to seek the State Government assistance whenever the need arises and assured them of his participation in the advocacy walk/campaign.

Expressing appreciation on behalf of the state Government, wife of the Governor of Cross

River State, Dr. Linda Ayade, commended the foundation for the initiative and other impactful projects commissioned by the Foundation in the state. “The MTN Foundation deserves to be commended for initiating several interventions in the state, particularly in the area of health.

The donation of the Y’ello Doctor mobile clinic and a hemodialysis center, and the renovation of the post-natal ward at the general hospital are among the several impactful initiatives of the MTN Foundation in the state and we are sincerely grateful�.

The First lady further disclosed that the Yellow heart initiative aligns with actions of the state government in improving healthcare in the state. “We founded the Mediatrix Development Foundation (MDF) to channel health and development interventions that will address the needs of the vulnerable and less privileged in the state. 1000 persons have received dental and eye care including drugs and laboratory services, we have provided 219 free surgeries, 280 women have received breast and cervical cancer screening, among others�, she said.

She lamented the situation where many children die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and child birth on daily basis in Nigeria and therefore expressed appreciation to MTN Foundation for contributing towards the health of women and children in Nigeria and Cross River State in particular, while encouraging them to do even more in this direction.

Myth and tradition as bottlenecks The peak of the event was a roundtable session, where medical personnel, drawn from both private and public sectors across the state, took time to relate their ugly experiences while working with pregnant women across the state.

The declaration of one of the panellists, who is also the Secretary of the Nigeria Medical Association in the state, Dr. Ukweh Ikechukwu, drew tears from the crowd when he related the pathetic story of how a pregnant woman died with her baby, under the care of a pastor after being in labour for two days. “One of the major challenges we are contending with in Cross River is superstition and myth.

Our people put so much trust in pastors and traditional health attendants and this has led to the death of many women and children. I want to use this forum to state categorically that hospital is different from church and they perform different roles. Sometimes ago, a Pastor rushed a woman in labour to my office and after enquires, the Pastor confessed that the woman

in question had been in labour for two days in her church. The poor woman had lost a lot and became weak. I faced the husband and asked if the pastor and his wife were doctors, he answered in the negative. At the end, the woman died and I handed over the pastor to the police,� Ikechukwu stated.

In her remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Inyang Asibong, also corroborated the position of the Gov. Ayade that the health of women and children are paramount. According to her there is a reduction in the maternal and child mortality rate from 1,500 to 576 in Cross River which is about the national average.

Asibong disclosed that in a survey conducted

by UNICEF, CRS emerged the best child survival indices in Nigeria which was immediately followed by the conferment of National Child Survival Ambassador bestowed on. Linda Ayade by UNICEF and that CRS is the only state in the South South region that won MTN bidding rights by MTN Foundation support project for the renovation of postnatal ward in the General Hospital which shows that the state is actively contributing to significantly reduce the maternal mortality indices.

She further disclosed that bout eight General Hospitals have been chosen by MTN for in the Yellow Heart project. “In Cross River State, especially the Health sector, maternal, newborn and child health issues are paramount, this can be evident in huge reduction of maternal mortal indices from 1,500 to 576 which is the national average. Very recently, in a survey conducted by UNICEF, Cross River State emerged the state with the best child survival indices in Nigeria, and this followed with the conferment of the title of pioneer National Child Survival Ambassador being bestowed on the governor’s wife by UNICEF and the Mediatrix Development Foundation as one of the strong pillars of Maternal and Child Health in Nigeria,�

Speaking on the Foundation’s decision to support the Cross River State Government on this initiative, Director, MTN Foundation, Mr. Dennis Okoro said the foundation was sensitive to challenges within the society and it is against this backdrop that the foundation created a mandate to spend towards improving the state of healthcare, education and economic empowerment. “We hope to use the Yellow Heart initiative to address predominant issues such as attitudes and cultural practices that hinder women and children from accessing healthcare services in the society,� he added.

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Avanti Gateway Earth Station Goes Live in MDXI Data Centre Stories by Emma Okonji MDXI Data Centre, a subsidiary of MainOne, has partnered Avanti Communications Group Plc, a leading British satellite operator, to host and manage the satellite operator’s in-country Gateway Earth Station (GES).

The partnership has led to the inauguration of Avanti’s first GES in West Africa, hosted at MDXI’s satellite farm in Lagos.

The project, which has seen

Avanti invest up to $20 million in the Nigerian Gateway, will ensure data from the HYLAS 4 Ka-band satellite is delivered efficiently in-country and interconnected with other networks.

The HYLAS 4 Ka-band satellite will deliver High Throughput Satellite (HTS) connectivity to complement the country’s existing fibre-optic networks, ensuring access is available to enable high-speed internet everywhere, even to the most remote and rural locations.

Applications that will be supported by this Avanti’s 3rd Ka-band satellite include satellite broadband services for homes and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), rural schools, large enterprises and government agencies and cellular backhaul for 2G, 3G and 4G mobile networks. Avanti already has an established track record deploying such services via existing satellites across East and Southern Africa as well across Europe and the

Middle East.

Avanti’s efforts in Nigeria will also include the deployment of its Every Community Online (ECO) initiative, with built-in Wi-Fi hotpots in schools, communities and government agencies, especially in the underserved and remote parts of the country where power availability and connectivity services remain a challenge.

In addition, the satellite operator will take advantage of

MainOne’s extensive coverage to extend its market reach across nine countries in West Africa.

Avanti’s technology has been proven to deliver sustainable digital inclusion by delivering terrestrial-quality, affordable and superfast satellite broadband services. Given the satellite’s footprint across Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, the services provided will greatly enhance eGovernment, eLearning, eCommerce, eHealth and eBanking services in rural areas

among others. The new satellite will also offer support to oil and gas companies and enable coverage to remote Onshore, Offshore and Deep Offshore locations.

MDXI has been chosen to launch the project in West Africa based on its capability to deliver mission-critical data centre services and provide extensive interconnection with other operators, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and the Nigerian Internet Exchange.

Emirates Celebrates 10 years of Mobile Phone Connectivity on Flights Emirates is celebrating 10 years of enabling mobile phone use on board its aircraft. As a global leader of inflight innovations, Emirates made history in March 2008 by becoming the first airline in the world to allow customers to make and receive calls, as

well as send SMS messages from their own mobile phones.

The inaugural phone call was made on March 20, 2008 on Emirates flight EK751 from Dubai to Casablanca. Since then over 2.8 million calls have been made, 60 per cent

of which were made from the aircraft, while over a million calls were answered by passengers travelling on Emirates. The longest call recorded was on a flight from Orlando to Dubai on February 5, 2018 lasting 3 hours and 50 minutes. Over the

last 10 years, 87 million SMS messages have also been sent or received. Emirates has been at the forefront of innovation with connectivity and inflight entertainment on board. Besides allowing mobile phone use inflight in 2008, Emirates was

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also first airline to install TV screens in every seat on every aircraft in its fleet in 1992.

Today, the airline provides one of the most comprehensive and state-of-the-art entertainment and communications services in the skies. ice, the award-winning

inflight entertainment system, now offers over 3,500 channels of entertainment, including over 700 movies from around the world. This unmatched variety of content will continue to grow, offering even more choice, the airline said in a statement.

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Unilever Partners Farmers to Reduce Importation of Raw Materials Stories by Raheem Akingbolu In line with the Federal Government of Nigeria’s strategy to deepen the quality of growth through the backward integration policy, Unilever Nigeria Plc, has expressed its support for the policy through its “Partner to Win� initiative. Partner to Win is the company’s initiative

of investing in capabilities of intermediary companies to enable them convert farm produce to usable goods that will be sourced by the company as part of its raw materials locally.

The organisation said it believes this will enable it achieve a significant reduction in the importation of raw materials by working with local partners.

Speaking at the Manufacturing and Equipment, Nigerian

Raw Materials Expo, Unilever, West Africa, Procurement Director, Thomas Mwanza gave examples of steps taken by Unilever to achieve this drive in Packaging and agro-based materials. “Already, Unilever has achieved over 90% in local sourcing of packaging materials.

The aim is to achieve 100% by the end of 2019 and overcome the current challenges of local vendor’s capacity to meet

up with global best standard.

In agro-allied sector, Unilever is partnering with intermediary companies, for the supply of cassava and starch.� Providing the motivation for this decision, Thomas said, “the backward integration programme of the federal government is a sound policy and as an organisation we are committed to this initiative. We have found strong connections between this policy

and our business model. This has spurred us to enhance our local sourcing capabilities that we have embarked on for about a decade. � Speaking on the economic benefits of aligning with the government on this strategy, Thomas said that “by working with the intermediary companies to source these materials, we are contributing to up-scaling the technical skills required for sustainable

commercial farming in Nigeria.

We are also investing in the production of palm oil for use in BlueBand and soaps, and exploring local production of herbs and spice for our seasoning cubes. We believe that our partnership with these investors will not only create jobs within the agriculture sector but also provide support that will enhance their technical know-how and skills.�

oral health of all Nigerians through our programs, most especially our mobile dental clinic. We are pleased that Nigerian consumers trust Oral-B when it comes to the dental health of their families.

At Procter & Gamble it is our purpose to improve the lives

of consumers with our brands and programs like the Mobile Dental Clinic Program which is specifically designed to provide free oral care education and dental health checks to Nigerians in a bid to achieve significantly healthier lives starting from oral care�

P&G Commemorates World Oral Health Day with Free Dental Care Oral-B, the Oral-Care brand of Procter & Gamble, has taken its Mobile Dental Clinic (MDC) to its patrons in Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos to commemorate this year’s World Oral Health Day (WOHD). The event, which held recently, was in line with Oral B’s goal to promote good

oral hygiene among Nigerians.

The World Oral Health Day is celebrated every year, March 20, to bring to the fore the benefits of a healthy mouth and to promote worldwide awareness of oral health and the importance to both old and young. This year’s

Promasidor Nigeria Celebrates 254 Employees Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Cowbell Milk, Top Tea, Onga and other products, recently, honoured 254 of its employees who have put in several years in its service. The award ceremony, which was held in Lagos, brought together the company’s employees, relatives and distributors from different parts of the country.

Managing Director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Mr. Anders Einarsson told the audience that the awardees were honoured for their commitment, hard work and loyalty to the organisation. He said the celebrated employees, who he urged others to emulate, had grown through the rank and become pillars of Promasidor’’s growth as a result of their exceptional work ethics and positive attitude.

He stated: “For us at Promasidor Nigeria, the Long Service Award is not just a tradition. It is an opportunity to celebrate and honour our employees for their dedication, hard work, commitment and loyalty to the company. Most of them joined the company at an entry level but grew to the positions of regional sales managers. Such promotions do not come without measurable

performances and hard work. “At Promasidor, it is about good attitude, hard work and commitment. The awardees have met these standards; hence they have not only remained with us but have also become part of the pillars. The 20-year service awardees joined the company when it was just five -years old in Nigeria. What does that imply? They have witnessed the different stages of its growth and transformation.�

The three categories of awards were 20, 15 and 10 years in service with the beneficiaries evenly distributed among key departments, including sales, marketing, administration, engineering, finance and procurement. Anih Chidubem, who rose from the position of Marketing Assistant to Regional Sales Manager in his 20-year career at the company, described Promasidor as “a merit-driven organisation.�

He further said: “Promasidor Nigeria is a fair organisation.

If you are promoted, it means that you deserve it. For some of us who have been around for a while, it is not just a business organisation but a warm family. And I am very fortunate to have been part of it.�

Firm Introduces New Batteries for Inverters Wandel International Nigeria Limited, a member of the Simba Group and makers of alternate energy power solutions which include inverters and solar powered systems has launched its Inverlast range of inverter batteries into the country at a dealer’s conference held in Abuja.

Among other features, the company stated in a press statement that the new batteries are long-lasting batteries developed especially for inverter usage. “They use a tubular battery design which reduces internal corrosion and extends the life of the battery.

The batteries also charge much faster compared to existing ones available in the marketdue to the way the

tubes are structured, which positively impacts the way they store energy,’’ he said.

Speaking at the conference, a representative of Simba Group, Mr. Rajneesh Gupta stated that these batteries have already taken over the Indian inverter battery market, and the company is ready to launch these batteries in Nigeria.

He added, “At Simba, we have always been at the forefront of innovation and that is what has driven our success. We have invested in the infrastructure required to launch these batteries in Nigeria, so that our customers are able to derive the specific technological benefits, and enjoy always-on power for longer.�

theme “Say ahh; Think Mouth, Think Health’ aims at drawing attention to the fact that a healthy mouth is crucial to maintaining overall health and quality of life.

Speaking at the event, Brand Manager Oral B, Tolulope Pogoson stated: “Healthy teeth

and gums are fundamental to overall health and well-being of all; because we understand this, we are committed to making Nigerians fully aware of the benefits of having good oral hygiene.�

She added: “Oral-B is dedicated to improving the

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DEVELOPMENT

Empowering the Girl-Child through Policy Interventions On the sidelines of the United Nations Commission for the Status of Women 62 held in New York recently, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) held a side event that highlighted government’s core policy and legislative interventions that seek to empower the Girl-Child. Abimbola Akosile outlines the outcomes from the event

T

he United Nations Commission for the Status of Women 62 took place recently in New York, US, and in line with the issues on the frontburner, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) held a side event.

The event was attended by over 40 participants from across the globe of notable repute and from different backgrounds including civil society, development partners, the international community, private sector, Nigerians in the Diaspora and the media.

The meeting was also attended by CISLAC global board of Trustee members such as Dr. Afia Zakiya, Mr. Francis John and Mr. Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), among others.

It (meeting) aimed at highlighting government’s core policy and legislative interventions that seek to empower the Girl-Child and to address the factors militating against her realisation of her rights to education; the highest possible health standard, as well as addressing the factors encouraging early marriage, irregular migration, and forced labour.

Ultimately the purpose for the side event was to provide recommendations to both government and civil society organisations on urgent actions needed to effectively and efficiently improve the lives and well-being of the Girl-Child through access to education and healthcare and protection against socio-cultural practices and exploitative tendencies that disempower the Girl-Child in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general.

A communiquĂŠ issued at the meeting was jointly signed by CISLAC Global Board of Trustee members, Dr. Afia S. Zakiya and Mr. Francis John, and the Executive Director, CISLAC, Mr. Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani).

Highlighting Challenges In his welcome remarks, the Executive Director of CISLAC, Rafsanjani commended participants for attending the event. He stressed the importance of the event as it not only keys into the theme of this year’s NGO CSW62 Forum: “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls,� but is also very crucial, timely, relevant and provocative. Rafsanjani recalled the unfortunate plight of young women and girls in the African context in terms of deprivation of fundamental human rights through abduction, child trafficking, irregular migration, early child marriage and much more dehumanising and criminal behaviours meted out on the girl-child.

He focused on the plight of young school girls from Chibok in Nigeria, who were abducted by the Boko-Haram sect some four years back who are yet to be fully recovered and

Participants at the CISLAC event in New York, US...recently returned to their parents. He also decried the recent abduction of another set of school girls from Dapchi community in North East Nigeria, stating that it was dehumanising and criminal to subject young girls to unnecessary hardships, exploitation and extreme violence.

Despite the advances of women in Nigerian society, Rafsanjani lamented the ineffectiveness of the overall policy and legislative environment in Nigeria and indeed African countries that are state parties to various United Nation’s protocols and conventions on the protection of fundamental human rights, girl-child rights and other rights, which he said have not resulted into elevating the status of women and girls to the level needed. He said the necessary political will to implement legislation concerning the girl-child is lacking and called on the civil society groups to work together to push for serious reforms that would improve the lives of the girl-child. He observed that the UN CSW62 is a great platform for CSOs to advocate their various governments to engender reforms for the girl-child.

Girl-child Rights During her presentation, Manager Health, Human Development and Social Inclusion, CISLAC, Ms. Chioma Kanu, reminded all that every girl has a fundamental human right to qualitative

education, healthy life, and protection against harmful socio-cultural practices such as early marriage, sexual exploitation, and forced labor.

She noted that the primary responsibility to promote and protect the basic rights of the girl-child lies squarely on all the three arms and levels of government exercising legislative, executive and judicial powers.

She observed that if properly guided and supported during her early years, the girl-child has the potential to change the world both as empowered girls today as well as tomorrow’s skilled workers, informed mothers, mentors, literate entrepreneurs, legislators, policy/decision formulators or implementers for the benefit of humanity and in the interest of justice.

Kanu informed all that unlike the Universal Basic Education Act, which has been adopted by the 36 states in Nigeria, only 24 states in Nigeria have adopted the Child’s Right Act while 12 states in Northern Nigeria are yet to agree on certain provisions in the Act, including the age of marriage.

She further stated that Nigeria has one of the highest child marriage prevalence rates in the world. The prevalence rate is highest in the North West (76%) followed by the North East (68%), North Central (35%) South-South (18%) South-West (17%), and South-East (10%).

Once girls are married, very few (3.0%) are

using contraception despite their needs to space child-bearing. Only 13.6% have their demand for contraception satisfied, Kanu added.

Both single and married girls, she observed, need access to sexual and reproductive health care services, including family planning and maternal health services, and safe clean water, sanitation and hygiene services.

On the issue of irregular migration, she opined that migration is a fundamental part of human life. People move from one place to another for various reasons, including poverty, unemployment, famine, communal conflicts, natural disasters, generalised violence, armed conflicts and so on.

She, however, pointed out that irregular migration outside the country was dangerous as the fundamental human rights of such migrants are not protected making them vulnerable to all forms of exploitation and abuses.

She concluded by saying that Nigeria is replete with powerful laws and policies that are not costed and captured in the budget to enhance implementation to stop irregular migration and the abuses many girls and women face seeking a better life outside Nigeria.

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

RANDOM THOTS Water Catastrophe A colleague recently told this reporter that water is one of the most expensive items in South Africa. Well, in some parts of Lagos, clean potable water has assumed critical status, with residents roaming the streets and borehole owners smiling to the bank daily from bumper sales of pumped water.

As the World Water Day was marked recently globally, experts have expressed worry that Nigeria is at the precipice of a water, sanitation and hygiene catastrophe. According to

WaterAid Nigeria, 33 per cent (about 60 million) of people in Nigeria are currently living without adequate access to water; 67 per cent (over 120 million people) do not have a decent toilet, and 26 per cent (about 47 million people) practice open defecation.

In a new brief launched recently, ‘How to reach everyone with safe water and sanitation by 2030’, WaterAid says urgent action to finance water and sanitation, to integrate it with efforts on health, nutrition and other related development, and to make

progress sustainable is essential to reach everyone, everywhere.

According to the not-for-profit organisation, faster progress on all three will save lives, boost development and change the lives of billions of people living in extreme poverty globally.

For every $1 spent on water and sanitation, on average $4 is returned in economic benefits.

WaterAid noted that without access to these basic amenities, men, women and children in Nigeria will remain

trapped in a cycle of poverty and disease, while being denied their basic human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation.

It also said the Nigerian government must prioritise clean water, decent sanitation and good hygiene for people across the country, if Goal 6 of the SDGs – provision of clean water and decent sanitation for everyone everywhere – is to be reached by 2030. That is a worthwhile goal...not so?

-Abimbola Akosile

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An election process in Nigeria

Which Election Order’ll Ensure Good Governance?

The issue of the order of general elections come 2019 has recently generated heat between the Legislature and the Executive, with both arms seemingly seeking to protect and extend their tenures in the general polls. However, opinions differ on this and an analyst even wants all the general elections to be held on the same week-day! Since the focus of elections is to elect sincere leaders who will deliver good governance into public office, which order of elections can truly ensure good governance in Nigeria?

Abimbola Akosile * The order is not the problem. Good governance comes from within the individual as a person first, then as a leader which in turn defines governance. We are tired of all these childishness in the name of ‘leadership’. When will Nigeria get up from the ground? People are “already migrating to the moon, please�.

- Ms. Nkeiruka Abanna, Lagos State * Presidential election order will ensure good governance if it comes last. The National Assembly want to see their members elected based on their integrity and not on the influence of a President. So any election could come first or even second but presidential election must come last. As PMB is said to be popular, then does it matter if he comes last in the election order?

- Hon. Babale Maiungwa, U/Romi, Kaduna State * The bandwagon effect that brought them to office is no longer acceptable; therefore I subscribe to the order proposed by National Assembly so that we can judge them based on individual merit.

- Mr. Paul A. Jideofor. Dept. of Languages, FCT COE, Zuba, Abuja * Since when does election ordering affect service delivery or good governance in a democracy?

Once the will exists on the part of the elected officials, the order of election cannot serve a barrier in the delivery of good governance.

We should be asking whose interest election reordering will serve as it’s more of an unworthy distraction.

- Mr. Oluwapelumi Oyeniyi, Osogbo, Osun State * No election ensures good governance. Once government is formed, it’s political will on the part of political office holders to do right and concerted effort by the citizenry to stand government on its toes and insist on the right thing being done that ensure good governance.

The way Nigeria is presently structured, sharply polarised along political divides, good governance can never be attained.

- Mr. Tunde Okoli, Illinois, USA * The elections should be held on different days and weekly in my election order beginning with state Houses of Assembly; considering our geographical terrain, bandwagon effect and other logistics. A repeat of the 1979 or 1983

THE FEEDBACK INEC order:

2

N’Assembly order:

4

Neither order:

3

Others:

9

Radical tip:

One day for all!

Total no of respondents:

18

Male:

17

Female:

1

Highest location:

Lagos & Abuja (5 each)

election pattern could serve as model.

- Mr. Kingsley Oparah, Lagos State * The National Assembly members have succeeded in the amendment of the Electoral Act to follow this sequence (i) State House of Assembly (ii) National Assembly (iii) Governorship, and (iv), President. All these will deliver good governance in Nigeria compared to the INEC time-table in which the Presidential and National Assembly elections are to be held first.

- Mr. Michael Adedotun Oke, Founder, Michael Adedotun Oke Foundation, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja * The existing order of elections should remain, since the reason of elections is to elect upright and focused leaders.

- Mr. Yusuf, Muh’dBashir Omotayo, Nda-Aliu, Kwara State * I support the 1998 order which started with local government - to state houses- to governorsto house of Reps - to the senate and finally president. But to save cost, instead of five days, it will be four days starting with state assembly, governorship, national assembly and then the president. This will enable the people to vote the candidates of their choice. Lumping up elections causes bandwagon effects.

- Mr. Egbuna Don Nduanya, Enugu State * All the elections should hold in one day, after all its electronically collated and easy to compute.

Alternatively presidential election can come last to avoid pretentious voting and bandwagon effects. Manipulations must be avoided. God bless Nigeria.

- Mr. Apeji Onesi, Lagos State * The order of elections that can truly ensure good governance in Nigeria is having all the elections in one day and on a working day as this is the global practice. If the focus is to elect sincere leaders who can deliver good governance in public office, then elections should hold in one day. This will save cost, time and create a level field for all political parties. It will also eliminate bandwagon effect. God bless Nigeria.

- Mr. Odey Ochicha, Leadership Specialist, Abuja

* Well, 2019 general election is going to fetch good leaders that will make things work for our good come 2019 and beyond. It is the electorate’s duty to ensure that they elect credible people in governance.

- Mr. Gordon Chika Nnorom, Public Commentator, Umukabia, Abia State * The matter of election chronology or order and good governance fills me with shame as a Nigerian residing in Nigeria. Nigerians can decipher who has done what - performed or not performed - and will vote accordingly. Enough of the childishness! INEC should kindly remain impeccable.

- Mr. E. Iheanyi Chukwudi, Apo, Abuja

* We have tried different election sequence since 1979. Order of election does not determine whether or not there will be good governance.

What I can say is that our elections are too combative. Presidential election puts too much pressure on the process. Taking it backwards will reduce the tension and relax the tempo.

- Mr. Anonymous, Lagos State

* Although election order may not directly ensure good governance, the presidential election should be held last, to avoid bandwagon effect and undue pressure on candidates who may sincerely want to serve.

- Mr. Olumuyiwa Olorunsomo, Lagos State

* The order of elections can never ensure good governance anywhere in the world.

Good governance is a product of a society that produces good leaders. Bad governance is a product of the society that produces bad leaders. Only going back to strict adherence to the provisions of the constitution regarding federal character can reverse this ugly state of affairs. God bless Nigeria.

- Mr. Buga Dunj, Jos, Plateau State

Next Week: Is Nigeria’s Unity, Devt in Danger? ÖÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă’Ëœ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ–Ă“Ă?Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă‹ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂ?ĂœĚ‹ĂšĂ™ĂĄĂ?ĂœËœ ĂŽĂ“ĂŽĂ˜ËŞĂž ĂŒĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă• Ă&#x;Ăš Ă“Ă˜ Í“Í‘Í’Í–Ëœ Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă–ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÚÙà ̋ Ă?ĂœĂžĂŁËœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“ĂžĂŁËœ Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ě‹ Ă“ĂžĂŁËœ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂœĂ&#x;ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ăœ Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă– ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ? ÞÙ ÞÒÓĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁËŞĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?ĂŽ Ă?âÓĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“ĂžĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă’Ă?Ăœ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ̋ Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă™ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ëœ Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ĂŽĂ‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă?ĂœËŁ Ă’Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? ĂŽĂ™Ă˜Ă? ÞÙ Ă‹Ă Ă?ĂœĂž ÞÒÓĂ?ËŁ Ă–Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžËœ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ó×ÚÖĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ÞËÞĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă– Ă˜Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ëœ ÞÓÞÖĂ?Ëœ Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ ÞÙÎËã Ě™ Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă’ Í“Íš Ęś Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă– Í“Ěš ÞÙ abimbolayi@ yahoo.com, greatbimbo@gmail.com, abimbola.akosile@thisdaylive. com. Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂž ĂžĂ?âÞ Ă—Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă? ÞÙ 08023117639 Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËšĂ™Ăœ 08188361766 Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËšĂ™Ăœ 08114495306. ÙÖÖËÞĂ?ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă– Í–

* The election order, in which Mr. President refused to assent to the law, is the best for the country. It is better not to hide or take cover under the President to win election as was the case in 2015.

- Mr. Dogo Stephen, Kaduna State * Sequence of election does not ensure good governance; not even democracy does. Adherence to process and procedures and respect for institutional limits will help. The conversation about sequence has been domiciled in the arena of politics. There should be adherence to process, procedures, and that constitutionally determined as INEC role.

- Mr. Eze Nwangwu, Convener, Say No Campaign, Abuja

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Clean-up in Ishaga area; striving to make Lagos a cleaner metropolis

ABIMBOLA AKOSILE

FG, Edo Partner on Youth Empowerment, Floats New Waste Management Scheme Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The Federal Government has revealed plans to partner Edo state to boost youth empowerment in the South-South and South-East geo-political zones, as not less than 121 youths recently graduated from a capacity building workshop organised for youths in the zones.

Minister of Youths and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung, who addressed the beneficiaries trained under the National Youth Empowerment Programme (NYEP) at Okada, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo state, said the programme was intended to encourage entrepreneurship.

The youths were trained on cosmetology, bead making, aquaculture, piggery, cassava

processing and value addition, as well as interior decoration and event management.

According to Dalung, “The objective of NYEP is to encourage entrepreneurship among youths as well as provide an avenue for youths from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds to bond and collaborate in proffering solutions to issues affecting the country.�

He added that the NYEP was initiated by the Ministry of Youths and Sports in 2015 to serve as capacity building programme for youths on agro-allied, vocational skills and entrepreneurial skills. “The empowerment programme is designed to solve the problem of unemployment among youths as it intends to expose youths to skills and knowledge that will make them entrepreneurs.

An empowered youth with a sustainable means of livelihood will not only create jobs but also contribute to peace and security in the country.�

Edo State Commissioner for Youths and Special Duties, Hon. Mike Amanokha, commended the federal government for the empowerment programme, noting “The state looks forward to collaborating with the Federal Government to empower more youths in the state.�

Amanokha charged the beneficiaries to make good use of the skills acquired as they have displayed commitment during the course of the programme. “I believe you will put to good use the knowledge and skills acquired,� he added.

Meanwhile, the Edo State Government has said a new waste management scheme

REDAN Rues Undefined Environment in Housing Sector Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) has lamented that the current undefined operating environment in housing sector has yielded too many casualties for the association to ignore.

The association’s president, Rev. Ugochukwu Chime made this disclosure during his acceptance speech and investiture as the president of the 5th REDAN National Executive Council 2018-2020 in Abuja recently.

He said the fifth Executive committee, which he would preside over, would strive to position itself to ensure formidable discharge of its mundane responsibilities in areas of housing advocacy and standardisation of products and services.

will be launched, in April, to monitor the activities of waste managers across the state.

Commissioner for Environment and Sustainability, Hon. Reginald Okun, disclosed this in a chat with journalists in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

Okun said the new waste management scheme would ensure effective monitoring of activities of waste managers and ensure that the people are better served by the service providers, noting, “Waste managers in the state will be required to register with the state’s waste management board.�

Warning that the state will no longer tolerate the practice where operators go about their activities without following set guidelines, Okun said, “With the new waste management scheme in place, before anyone

waste management.�

On the speculation that harmful chemicals are disposed indiscriminately in rivers, Okun said, “The state government monitors the activities of companies, which dispose harmful chemicals, and ensures that such chemicals are disposed adequately and are done in such a way that people’s lives are not threatened.� “A section of the state’s waste management board is in place to monitor liquid evacuation.

It ensures that companies who discharge harmful chemicals evacuate them properly without posing threat on the environment.�

Okun added the state government intends to work with local government councils to ensure effective waste management in major areas and markets across the 18 local councils in the state.

Operating 10,000 Patients Benefit from Dogara Medical Outreach in Bauchi Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

Chime noted that the challenges hindering a seamless interface of and smooth transaction on the housing value chain had been identified and would be dealt with progressively.

He stated: “Issues of data, finance, land administration, monitoring and compliance with the extant laws and best practices are top of our priority list. “In doing so, we call on government arms - the executive and legislature to give us support in our course to bring succour to Nigeria’s real estate sphere. The structure and enabling environment that will govern the interface and relationships among players must be clearly defined. “The current undefined and uncharted leap of faith operating environment has yielded too many casualties for us to ignore,� Chime said.

goes about claiming to be a waste manager in the state, he or she must be certified by the state’s waste management board.�

He added that those who fail to register with the board would be considered as criminals and would be prosecuted, adding, “Those who also patronise these illegal waste managers will also be prosecuted. Individuals and companies are also required to have waste managers in place for evacuation of wastes.�

Okun urged Edo people to support the state government in her effort to control and manage waste effectively. He said, “People must ensure they patronise waste managers who are duly registered. We will continue to focus more effort in sensitising people to develop the right attitude to

The president stressed that the data collation effort initiated by REDAN /Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the auspices of National Real Estate Data Collation and Management Programme (NREDMP) would be enhanced and sustained.

He stressed that the publication of the data on the outcome of the National land Administration Offtakers affordability; Business Survey and Household Condition Survey would be in April 2018. “We shall further the work we initiated with Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Corporation (NMRC) and other stakeholders to ensure ease of doing real estate business and make home ownership accessible and affordable, while expecting cooperation from policy makers and other agencies,� Chime said.

About 10,000 patients are to benefit from the third phase of the free medical outreach organised in Bauchi State by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara. Similarly, 77 patients suffering from various ailments have undergone surgery in the state under the exercise sponsored by Dogara in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Doctors on the Move Africa. The outreach is one of the initiatives of the speaker aimed at addressing health challenges faced by people of Bauchi and other neighbouring states.

Speaking at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi recently, the team leader of Doctors on the Move Africa, Dr. Joseph Haruna Kigbu explained

that of the 77 surgeries carried out, 28 were cataract operations, adding that four patients with goitre (swelling of the neck) and six women with uterus cancers were also successfully operated on. According to him, the NGO had provided specialist doctors and surgeons including gynaecologists, urologists and opthamologists among others to attend to patients during the outreach. Kigbu, who lauded the speaker for the gesture, opined that it would go a long way in complementing government’s efforts in the health care delivery “as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has not been able to capture all Nigerians�.

According to him, “People especially those in the countryside are left at the mercy of quack doctors, hence the Speaker invited specialists to give quality health care delivery

to them. Recently the second round of the free medical outreach was conducted in Bauchi and Azare towns respectively.

During the last exercise, we successfully separated conjoined twins through surgery here in Bauchi�. Noting that some of the surgeries conducted would have cost the patients between N1 million and N1.5 million in a private hospital, Kigbu appealed to other politicians to emulate the Speaker and governments at all levels to earmark emergency funds that would cater for such serious operations on less privileged citizens.

He said “In this third medical outreach, our projection is to be able to see 10,000 patients at the end of the Programme.

It is expected to run for five days in March and in the last three days we have given out over 4,500 cards to patients.

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Thedesireofgovernmentistoaddresstheinterconnectivityofgrazing,forestry,irrigation, livestockandsustenanceoffishingasallfarmingactivities.Asweallknow,landisusedforfarming, grazingandforestry.Waterisusedforirrigation,livestocksustenanceandfishing.Therefore,any strategyforlandandwatermanagementmusttakeintoaccounttheinterconnectivityofallthese keysectorstoensureequityandsustainability -- PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI SPEAKING WHILE INAUGURATING THE NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY COUNCIL (NFSC) ATTHE PRESIDENTIAL VILLA, ABUJA

CISLAC Backs New Govt Regulation on Tobacco Funke Olaode

WaterAid Nigeria Wants State of Emergency Declared in Water, Sanitation Sector Echoes call for nature-based solutions to solve water crisis Abimbola Akosile WaterAid Nigeria, a not-for-profit organisation has called for a state of emergency to be declared in the water and sanitation sector and a presidential taskforce set up and empowered to deliver on providing water and sanitation for all Nigerians. The global organisation is also seeking recognition that the UN Global Goals are everyone’s responsibility to deliver, to ensure no one is left behind, and that everyone is accountable if they fail. It also wants a shift in mind-sets and implementation approaches to integrate the principles of nature based solutions in all water-related projects; the development of enabling frameworks for such solutions and the integration of local solutions in all sector interventions.

Nigeria has also been urged to learn from pilot projects being implemented in similar contexts (like in Kenya) and conduct critical programmatic, social economic assessments of such through pilot replications with government support and leveraged finance.

All these calls and recommendations were made by the organisation as the world marked World Water Day this year, in a release issued

by WaterAid Nigeria’s Communications & Media Manager, Oluseyi Abdulmalik, recently in Abuja.

The organisation also joined the call for urgent action from the international community and from government to reach the 33 per cent of people in Nigeria without access to clean water close to home - and to do so with solutions inspired and supported by nature. Commemorated on 22 March every year, World Water Day is about focusing attention on the importance of water. This year’s theme, ‘Nature for Water’, explores nature-based solutions to the water challenges citizens face in the 21st century. “Today 844 million people globally are

Water provision in Nigeria; still a rarity without clean water close to home, a number which has risen from last year; and there are a myriad of reasons why so many people remain without access: long distances from a water source, competition from agriculture and industry, compounding pressures from urbanisation, population growth, extreme weather and shock weather events, political instability, conflict and displacement, but most significant is lack of political will and financing.

Governments need to make access to clean water a top priority and plan, finance and maintain systems accordingly�, the release added. “WaterAid advocates responsible environmental management, including regulating the use of water in agriculture and industry, to ensure there is sufficient clean water for basic needs. In many places, there is sufficient water – but people go without because basic needs are not prioritised, or because water is polluted or contaminated.

WATERAID NIGERIA “Nature-based solutions which use or mimic natural processes have the potential to address contemporary water management challenges, improve water security and deliver co-benefits vital to all aspects of sustainable development. “We need to do so much more with ‘green’ infrastructure (an approach to water management that protects, restores, or mimics the natural water cycle) and harmonise it with ‘grey’ infrastructure (human-engineered infrastructure for water resources) wherever possible as a way to address the pollution and misuse of natural water resources. Planting new forests, reconnecting rivers to floodplains, and restoring wetlands will rebalance the water cycle and improve human health and livelihoods.

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

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), a non-governmental organisation with head office in Abuja has backed the Federal Government on the new regulations on tobacco; just as it condemned the aversion of Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria to the recent increase of excise duty on tobacco products in Nigeria.

This position was made known by the Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa Ibrahim (Rafsanjani), stating the NGO’s position on the MAN statement during a press conference held in Abuja Tuesday.

According to him, Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun had announced that under the new dispensation, in addition to the existing 20 per cent ad-valorem rate, each stick of cigarette will attract N1 specific rate in 2018; N2 specific rate per stick in 2019, and N2.90k specific rate per stick in 2020.

The new policy, according to Adeosun, will spread over a three-year period to moderate the impact on the prices of the products.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in Article 6 of its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) requests that countries implement 70 per cent duty on tobacco products. Ironically, Nigeria’s proposed excise duty falls short of the WHO recommendation as the cumulative specific excise duty rate for tobacco here will be 23.2 per cent of the price of the most sold brands, which is lower than Algeria, South Africa and the Gambia, which have 38.14 per cent, 32.52 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

According to Rafsanjani, this is a welcome development considering the havoc in which tobacco smoking had done to many Nigerians and other health-related issues related to tobacco consumption.

The conference, he said, became imperative based on the position of MAN’s comment on the new policy, which it claimed would lead to job losses and shutdown of tobacco firms.

The view of the body, he said, is reflective of the unsubstantiated arguments of the tobacco industry whenever the issue of regulation is discussed. “If you recall, in the Big Tobacco Tiny Targets Nigeria Report which was carried out in five states by ERA and NTCRG, children are deliberately exposed to tobacco products sold side-by-side candies and biscuit because they are cheap and readily available. “The recently released single stick reports by the African Control Alliance (ACTA) which also lists Nigeria amongst countries where sale of single stick is a gimmick used by tobacco industry to lure kids into smoking, also highlights the same fact�, he said.

Rafsanjani said the decision of the federal government on increase on excise duty is a welcome development, just at the countries that had carried out the policy in the past are not known to have reported that their tobacco firms were shut down.

The policy, he noted, is always on the positive trend which is how such policies helped cut down tobacco users as attested by WHO. “For us at CISLAC, MAN’s position reflects a conflict of interest that puts profit before the health of millions of Nigerians�, he said and called on the federal government not to be deterred and to remain committed to implementing the regulation policy.

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

Embracing Family Planning While family planning has helped in the reduction of maternal and child deaths, many Nigerian women of reproductive age still avoid the child-spacing process. Martins Ifijeh chronicles the lives of those who have successfully embraced contraceptive use, and how it has benefitted them

M

rs. Kemi (surname withheld) is a 44-year-old Lagos housewife. She is a mother of two who claims to be satisfied with her marriage for more than 16 years.

As she recalls an understanding with her husband, who settled for two children irrespective of gender, Kemi disclosed that Family Planning was the reasons for the happy home as the methods were introduced to support the agreement.

Kemi was at the Family Planning Clinic of the Lagos Island Maternity with other mothers on the programme when she spoke to a team of officials and journalists from Pathfinder International on a field trip.

Kemi recalled having her first child, months after marriage in 2002. But with a new job and a promising career ahead, she, along with her husband decided to delay the coming of a second child.

She started the pill method of family planning, and was committed to it for five years. “It helped me stabilise as a worker with the Lagos State Government, and gave me room to nurse my only son at the time properly.”

Kemi said by the fifth year, she agreed with her husband to have their second child. “We kicked off the process, and I stopped taking the pill. With guidance from the Family Planning Service Provider, I became pregnant a few months later and had my second child, a boy.”

She said that they had two sons and continued with the family planning routine.

Kemi had more time at home to study.

She enrolled at Lagos State University on a Long-Distance Learning Programme.

According to her, she observed some hormonal changes as she adjusted to a new family planning routine. “This time, I decided to use the injectable, another form of birth control. But I suspected while it lasted that I was having some side effects from it.

I gained weight while my menstrual flow became heavier than normal. This made me and my husband apprehensive. By the seventh year, I decided to stop this method of family planning,” She explained.

She returned to the hospital with the complaint and her doctor said it may be due to age because she was already 40 years. “I was then placed on Intra Uterine Contraceptive Device (IUCD), a long acting reversible contraception that goes into the uterus.”

Kemi is presently on this family planning method, and it has not only helped her give quality living to her two boys, it has given her room to advance her career as an official of the Lagos State Government.

Kemi is not only having the dream of her life. A close look at her could suggests she is 30 years old, but she is 44 years.

“I look this way not because of any special routine, but because of the peace of mind, and knowing that I have nothing to worry about my reproductive life. All these are possible because my husband supported this family planning process,” she said.

Mrs. Grace Shittu, 36 years old petty trader, is another woman who is happy for embracing family planning. She said the birth control method has helped her focus on taking care of the three children she has.

She married her husband at 22, and immediately kicked off childbearing. By her 26th birthday, Shittu already had three children.

Neither she nor her husband believed in family planning at the time.

“But I knew the way I was making babies; I was going to end up having seven to eight children before I get to age 30. So a friend introduced me to family planning. I discussed it with my husband, and he bought into the idea,” said Shittu.

Shittu, who has been on IUCD since 2008,

Family Planning reduces maternal and child deaths

is currently a happy woman. She says the contraceptive method has not in any way affected sexual relationships in her home, and that her husband was also happy they made the decision.

“My first child is 14, and the last is 10. I and my husband spend our little resources on their education, feeding and clothing.

I wonder if we had several children if we would have been able to take care of them,” she added.

Kemi and Shittu are just two amongst 1.44 million Nigerian women of reproductive age who have successfully used family planning.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), family planning allows individuals and couples to anticipate and attained their

Kemi is presently on this family planning method, and it has not only helped her give quality living to her two boys, it has given her room to advance her career as an official of the Lagos State Government

desired number of children and the spacing and timing of their births. This, WHO said, could be achieved through the use of contraceptive methods.

According to the 2013 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), Nigeria’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) stood at 5.5 per cent, which family planning experts said would undermine the growth of the nation if not urgently addressed by authorities concerned.

In Lagos State alone 48 out of every 100 women use at least one method of contraception. The state has done quite well with uptake of family planning commodities among married women. According to health experts, family planning offers unlimited benefits to every woman who adopts any of the methods so that mothers and babies will be healthier, and risky pregnancies avoided.

This fact was corroborated by Kemi who told the team, “Since I have been using family planning method, I have never been afraid to get pregnant.

“For example, for four years now that I have been on IUCD, my husband and I have always laughed over our initial fear that IUCD could be painful and may be a hindrance to conjugal relationship.“ Some of the methods available at the family planning unit of the Island Maternity, Lagos are pills, condoms, implants, injectables, lactation Amenorrhea, patch, ring, bead and the irreversible ones like vasectomy, and bilateral tubal ligation.

According to experts, about 220 million women in developing countries have an unmet need for modern contraception, with at least 300,000 women and three million children dying every year because of lack of family planning and related issues.

Nigeria’s grim picture Reports also show that not less than 40,000

women die every year in Nigeria due to issues relating to pregnancy or childbirth.

On specifics, it means very day, about 111 women and girls in Nigeria die due to preventable pregnancy and child birth-related complications (that is five women die every hour in the country) Statistics also show that Nigeria accounts for one in nine maternal deaths worldwide.

Meanwhile, the Senior Programme Officer, Palladium Technical Support Unit, Dr. Moriam Olaide Jagun, said 30 per cent of such deaths can be prevented by increased access and uptake of family planning.

She said family planning has been proven as a tool to reducing maternal and child mortality by reducing abortions, averting unintended pregnancies and chances of complications, and by enabling birth spacing.

Benefits The reproductive health expert who spoke with journalists at the three days Pathfinder International/Media Dialogue on Family Planning, said with family planning, mothers and babies become healthier, because risky pregnancies are avoided, adding that fewer children means more food for each child.

“Family planning can also help you and your partner enjoy sex more, because you are not afraid of unwanted pregnancy. Using contraception can help to avoid unwanted pregnancies and space births; protect against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/ AIDS; and provide other health benefits.

“It decreases abortion, and advances individuals’ rights to decide their own family size.

It also improves women’s opportunities for education, employment and full growth at the family, community and national levels, as well as mitigates the impact of population dynamics on natural resources and state stability,” she added.

37

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

HEALTH Medical Experts Urge Practitioners to Separate Practice From Healthcare Business Ayodeji Ake Medical experts have urged medical practitioners across the country to separate professional practice from healthcare business, as well as, gather their expertise and resources together in partnerships that would lift them from the limitations of sole proprietorship; the prevalent business model, which overtime has not ensured business sustainability.

Speaking at the first edition in 2018 of the Bi-annual Doctors’ Forum and launch of HPV OncoTect and Neobona, held recently in Lagos, a renowned gynecologist and Executive Vice Chairman, The Bridge Clinic, Dr. Richardson Ajayi, called on medical practitioners to step up efforts at separating their practice from business, by acquiring business management skills or engaging professionals to manage healthcare.

He disclosed that such efforts should be complemented with the right partnerships, in order to attract more investments needed for improvement in medical infrastructure, research, training, and ultimately, an efficient healthcare delivery.

Explaining the imperative of adopting business-oriented healthcare models in his topic tagged, ‘Is Healthcare a Business?’ at the forum organised by Pathcare, a member of SYNLAB, and sponsored by The Bridge

Clinic, Ajayi, decried that sole proprietorship is the predominant healthcare business model adopted by over 70 per cent of private hospitals in Nigeria.

Ajayi further explained that in the model, the medical doctor is the centre of the healthcare ecosystem. “He manages the operations of the hospital, provides care to sick patients, and fund the healthcare practice. This places significant pressure and responsibility on one person and often the medical doctor becomes a single point of failure. Seldom do sole proprietorship medical practices exist beyond the 30 years mark in Nigeria.”

He stated that private medical practice in Nigeria has floundered under the sole proprietorship model, resulting in the abysmal delivery of care and capital flight through outbound medical tourism, which the Federal Ministry of Health said stood at N1.5 billion spent annually by Nigerians seeking medical care abroad.

One of the highlights of the event was the launch of HPV OncoTect, and Neobona from the stable of SYNLAB, by Prof.

Em. Raymond Auckenthaler, Chairman SYNLAB Forum for Innovation. Auckenthaler stated that cervical cancer is the 4th most common tumor in women worldwide and HPV is the principal causative agent of cervical cancer.

Tomori: Nigeria’s Vaccine Production to be Ready By 2021 Martins Ifijeh Locally-produced vaccines in Nigeria will be ready within the next three to four years, the Chairman, Board of Directors, Biovaccines Nigeria Limited, Professor Oyewale Tomori, has said. He said the Board will not only meet the stipulated time frame, but will ensure it produces vaccines of highest quality in a sustainable manner, which will be of no harm to Nigerians.

Disclosing this at a press conference in Lagos recently, the Professor of Virology said the board has reviewed and approved business plans needed for the company to begin its activities, adding that vaccine production requires highly technical and complex technology, which needs time to perfect.

“Vaccine production is a highly technical and complex technology which requires time to perfect. Usually, a Greenfield project will require five to eight years gestation period. But we cannot wait that long.

“We are engaging our experts and relevant government agencies to see how we can shorten this process without making quality compromise. It is our hope that we can achieve production within the next three to four years.

“As a private and independent company, Biovaccines is not encumbered by any bureaucracy

and so we are confident that with the expected cooperation from government, the management of the company will move swiftly to achieve our goals in record time.”

He said the board is mindful of the fact that many Nigerians and stakeholders in the health sector are in a hurry to see the country produce her own vaccines to ameliorate the huge burden posed by diseases, particularly on children and mothers, noting that the board is putting strategies in place to deliver their expectations.

Biovaccine Nigeria Ltd is a joint venture between the federal government (49 percent) and May & Baker Nigeria Plc (51 per cent), targeting local manufacture of vaccines between 2017 and 2021. This was approved by the Federal Executive Council last year.

“We are not the first vaccine manufacturers in the world.

The vaccines we have been using, others have been manufacturing it. So we are going to be working in partnership with people who are already producing vaccines.

“So our partnership includes getting some of what they are producing and finishing it up in Nigeria, making it a finished product, before we move on to producing our own vaccines,” he added

Aisha Buhari Kicks against Medical Tourism Kuni Tyessi in Abuja Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, has stated that she does not believe in spending the nation’s resources on treatment abroad as all that was needed for proper and successful medication can be derived from Nigeria.

She stated this as she officially inaugurated Cedar Crest Hospital where surgeons first operated on her son, Yusuf, in the wake of a motorbike crash in Abuja.

She praised the 90-bed hospital sited in Abuja’s Apo District for saving her son’s life after the crash and emphasised on the importance of keeping

healthcare delivery ready for emergencies as had befallen her son, citing controversial comments she had made about poor state of facilities at the State House Clinic. The comments were to keep hospitals ready in the event that “something happened to anyone,” she said.

“And it happened to my son. He almost lost his life, but this hospital saved him,” said Buhari, accompanied by the wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo.

“Even after he was flown abroad for further medical attention, they (hospitals and surgeons abroad) did not do anything for him. They asked where the accident happened,

where the surgery took place.

I said Nigeria. They said excellent.

“I believe in making Nigeria a better place to be. I don’t believe in spending our resources abroad. We have all it takes to have a hospital like this, from manpower to personnel” A team of orthopaedic and neurosurgeons at Cedar Crest had first worked on Yusuf before he was flown abroad for further treatment.

The hospital, from its first location at Garki II, had its partners install and use facilities for years before its inauguration to “change the landscape of health in Nigeria,” said Cedar Crest managing director, Dr.

Felix Ogedegbe. ”It started out as an orthopaedics clinic in 2008,” but added on more specialties when it “became obvious that we had to expand our scope of practice into a full-fledged private multi-specialty hospital.”

It also operates a 20-bed hospital in Lagos and recently started work in Port Harcourt.

With patients coming in from Niger, Ghana and Cameroon, the hospital aims to reverse medical tourism and give access to “specialised services without the need to travel abroad and to have a platform where Nigerians abroad can come home to practice modern medicine,” said Ogedegbe.

L-R: MD/CEO, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, Nnamdi Okafor; former Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transport, Dr. Edugie Abebe; Board Chairman, Biovaccine Nigeria Limited, Prof Wale Tomori; Director, Desease Control & Immunisation, FMoH, Dr. Dorothy Nwodo; Director, Food & Drugs, FMoH, Moshood Lawal; and Director of Finance, May & Baker, Ayodeji Aboderin, during the Board Meeting/Press Conference by BVNL in Lagos recently

Dorcas Foundation, GCHS Obaseki to Build Three Sign MoU against Childhood General Hospitals in Edo Cancer Martins Ifijeh As part of efforts to address the growing prevalence of cancer among Nigerian children, The Dorcas Cancer Foundation (TDCF), Global Child Health Safety Initiative (GCHSI) and August Secrets have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to tackle it.

The MoU will see to it that children under the support of Dorcas Foundation and being treated for cancer gets adequate nutrition as they undergo the process of healing.

Speaking during the epoch making signing, the Managing Director, TDCF, Dr. Adedayo Joseph said her organisation was deeply involved in awareness creation on childhood cancer, diagnosis, treatment and management, adding that the MoU has come to address the missing link, which is in the area of providing nutrition for the foundation’s children undergoing cancer healing process.

“For us, nutrition is a big deal. If we end up paying for diagnosis, chemotherapy, surgery or radiation, and at

the end the child goes home starving, it will look like we have wasted our funds on treatment, because nutrition is key. Some parents have spent all their funds procuring treatment and may have lost their sources of income during the process. Such parents are unable to effectively feed the sick child.

“We make sure we support every child with cancer who comes our way, but of course you know our funds are limited, which means we have a lot of kids still on the waiting list, but we try as much as possible to treat every child with cancer.”

Adedayo said the Foundation in just two years of existence has successfully aided treatment of 20 children, adding that cost of treatment runs into millions of naira per child. “We have lost some children along the way because of late diagnosis, and there are children who have been on the waiting list and they never got to the point of being treated. We give cancer treatment from beginning to the end,” she added.

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

In order to enhance quality of healthcare and improve the working conditions of medical personnel for effective service delivery, Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has unveiled plans to build three General Hospitals in the three Senatorial Districts of the state.

The governor gave the assurance when he received executive members of the Association of Resident Doctors with the Edo State Hospital Management Board (SHMB) at the Government House in Benin City.

Obaseki said, “This administration is aware of the challenges confronting the state healthcare system.

We are working to resolve these challenges. We have held several meetings to see how to address the peculiar problems with the healthcare system in the state. We have records of medical personnel and state of facilities in the healthcare system in the state.”

Obaseki, however, appealed to the medical doctors to be patient and continue to

support the reforms of the state government to revamp the health sector, noting, “The state government appreciates efforts of medical doctors.

Government is working to establish one General Hospital per local government council across the state, while one super General Hospital will be sited in each Senatorial District for optimal performance.”

Noting that the state has made plans for a health insurance scheme, he said, “A Bill for a Law to set up the State Health Insurance Scheme is before the State House of Assembly. The bill is structured to make provision for affordable and accessible healthcare for people in the state.”

President, Association of Resident Doctors, Edo State Hospital Management Board, Dr. Karl Umakhine, said, “The visit is to enable us present the challenges confronting the health sector and to contribute to the solutions.

It is not true that doctors in the state don’t report at their duty post. We work under difficult conditions but need to be motivated.”

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSSDAY MARCH 29, 2018

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T H I S D AY ˞ ˜ MARCH 29, 2018

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

ABCON Chief Urges FG to Guard against ‘Hot Money’ Obinna Chima Ahead of the 2019 elections, the President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe has predicted increased ‘hot money’ in the fixed income securities market.

This, according to him might lead to a depreciation of the nation’s currency as dollar demand rises.

Hot money� refers to funds that are controlled by investors who actively seek short-term returns.

In a chat with journalists, the ABCON boss also stated that foreign investors in the stock market are likely going to exit the market ahead of the 2019 elections. He stressed that the negative implication of exit of portfolio investors from the market would affect the naira’s

continued stability.

According to him, there would be further external sector imbalances in the run-up to 2019 elections even as equity market imbalance is likely to increase.

He said: “The development in the stock market and its closeness to campaign politics is worrisome. It raises lots of concerns on the relatively stable foreign exchange market. The investors in the stock market are largely portfolio investors from international markets and will at any given time decide to dump their holdings and take huge dollar from the economy as they repatriate both capital and their profits to other lucrative destinations�.

Gwadabe said ABCON has established the naijabdcs.com, a live rate engine room to be rolled out soon, as part of its strategy to enhance transparency,

price discovery and attracting billions of dollars through Diaspora remittances. The group is also working with the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS) to automate its operations for online real time returns rendition. Gwadabe, described the portfolio investors as capitalists driven solely by profits.

Such funds, he added, can be moved very quickly in and out of markets, potentially leading to market instability.

Gwadabe further said: “The build up to 2019 campaign and politicking is also an albatross to the naira’s continuous sovereignty. Besides, the inaction of regulators and policy makers to address the multiple exchange rates will continue to endanger the achieved stability in the foreign exchange market,� he said.

Wema Secures $35m Facility to Boost SME Funding Wema Bank Plc has announced its signing of a credit line agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to grow financial support to small and medium scale businesses in Nigeria.

According to a statement from the bank, the AfDB had already disbursed the $15 million agreed with the multilateral development finance institution.

In addition, the bank said it also secured another $20 million from the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). The agreement was signed at the 3rd Africa

Islamic Finance Forum. The bank explained that the credit would be channelled towards funding SMEs operating in Nigeria.

According to the Managing Director of Wema Bank, Segun Oloketuyi, the funds would help bolster the bank’s vision of building a sustainable retail sector by supporting MSMEs. “We believe efforts like this, ultimately helps to create jobs, accelerate industrialisation, redistribute wealth and fight poverty,� Oloketuyi said.

Wema Bank, through its newly-launched ALAT, the first fully digital bank in

Africa, will deploy the line of credit towards bolstering funding for SMEs in Nigeria.

On his part, the Acting CEO and General Manager of ICD, Mohammed Al Ammari said the partnership would further deepen its footprint in Africa, where a significant portion of its investment portfolio is domiciled.

He added: “ICD’s line of investment portfolio has been heavily concentrated in Africa over the years, seeking opportunities to grow funding for SMEs and provide economicstimulating investments within the region.�

Fidelity Bank Grows Savings Deposit to N170bn in ThreeYears Nume Ekeghe Fidelity Bank Plc has disclosed that its savings deposit grew from N89 billion to N170 billion in the last three years, even as it continues to promote savings culture.

Speaking at the prize presentation ceremony of the bank’s ‘Get Alert in Million Savings Promo Reloaded,’ the Chief Executive Officer Fidelity bank plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, who disclosed this, said the bank has consistently rewarded its customers through such reward schemes in the last 10 years.

He pledged that Fidelity Bank would continue to advocate savings culture.

At the event, the bank pre-

sented cash and other consolation prizes to the winners of the fifth monthly promo.

Represented by the General Manager/Regional Bank Head, Fidelity Bank Mr. Obaro Odege, the bank CEO said: “About three years ago, the savings base was about N89 billion but I can tell you that today we have crossed N170 billion threshold and it is still growing. So clearly, we have really demonstrated a lot of traction since this promo started.

He added: “The ‘Get Alert in Million Promo’ is the seventh promo to be conducted in the last 10 years. It is a unique promo aimed to improve the standard of living of our customers. We have two categories of draws the monthly and the bi-monthly draws. This promo is conducted

simultaneously in sex zones of the country where winners have also emerged.�

Furthermore, he said: “Beyond just improving the lives of our customers, one of the major benefits of the promo exercise is to reward our loyal customers and it is also in a bid to key into the financial inclusion policy of the central bank of Nigeria. “For saving we know the importance of savings culture and the criteria is that you must be a savings account owner if fidelity bank and the draws are held in a transparent manner in a randomised system.

Our draws are held in a very transparent manner observed by all the regulators present in all the draws and with the press present as well.�

FirstBank Senior Managers Complete Leadership Programme As part of its measures to give customers the fulfillment they require, FirstBank Nigeria has further equipped its senior level managers for higher responsibility.

At the graduation ceremony, organised for the first set of participants in its Senior Management Development Programme recently, the bank pointed out that the five months course for middle level managers was designed to equip them

for higher responsibilities and leadership roles in the bank.

The Managing Director of the bank, Adesola Adeduntan, underscored the objective of the programme when he said at the end of the course in Lagos that there is no success without succession. “No matter what we do today, we must quit. Even if we don’t want to quit, the natural biological factors will force us to quit� and that is why it is important

to prepare successors, “ he said.

Adetuntan, who recognised the growing competition in the industry, also said that the bank was focused on creating the next level of leaders who are adequately prepared for the challenges ahead. He said that it will be dangerous to go the battle field without preparation.

According to him, the bank’s transition will be incomplete without developing the workforce.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

AUGUST 2017 Broad Money (M2)

21,851,454.31

-- Narrow Money (M1)

9,890,813.10

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,523,239.91

---- Demand Deposits

8,367,573.19

-- Quasi Money

11,960,641.22

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

9,732,990.89

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

12,118,463.42

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,821,446.81

---- Credit to Government (Net)

4,824,226.22

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

7,834,536.74

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

--3,010,310.52

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

21,997,220.59

--Other Assets Net

--14,702,983.39

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,486,804.65

--Currency in Circulation

1,868,735.07

--Banks Reserves

3,268,266.17 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

August 2017

Inter-Bank Call Rate

22.63

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

13.35

Savings Deposit Rate

4.08

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.86

3 Months Deposit Rate

10.14

6 Months Deposit Rate

11.51

12 Months Deposit Rate

11.40

Prime Lending rate

17.69

Maximum Lending Rate

31.20

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS ATTUESDAY MARCH 27, 2018

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $66.80 a barrel on Tuesday, same as the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations..

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela) SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

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MARKET NEWS

Vetiva Securities Launches Mobile Stock Trading App Goddy Egene Vetiva Securities Limited has announced the launch of Griffin Mobile, a Mobile App which enables individual investors to manage their stockbroking accounts on their smartphones and execute trades directly on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

According to the company, the Application is available for Android phones and can be

downloaded on Google Playstore.

The company explained that the introduction of the mobile App is in line with its strategy to invest in technology that enhances retail investor access to the Nigerian stock market in a convenient and cost effective manner.

The key features of the mobile APP are the ability to trade stocks on the NSE, invest in treasury bills, view snapshots of stock prices, view portfolio

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

valuations and processing of account withdrawals.

Speaking on the development, the Head of Retail Business at Vetiva, Folagbade Adeyemi said: “The launch of the Griffin Mobile App is aligned with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s national financial Inclusion strategy, which is aimed at reducing the financial excluded rate to 20% by 2020.

Given the ability to register a new account on the app, users

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

are exposed to an enhanced account onboarding experience compared to traditional walk-in services. Through the app, new users can register their personal details as a preliminary phase before standard KYCs documents are requested. Our surveys have shown this to be a more efficient method of on-boarding clients and the impact on service delivery efficiency cannot be over-emphasised.�

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

He explained that with the smartphones dominating the Nigerian mobile phone market, the company has built a platform that will serve individual investors’ needs in real time, whilst making stock trading more self-service focused. “Also, users benefit from the opportunity to self-learn on market trends as they gain visibility on market movements, thus providing a tool to make

O F

more informed trading decisions,�

Adeyemi said. Vetiva Securities is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to act as broker/dealer/market maker and is a dealing member of the NSE. Meanwhile, trading at the stock market remained bearish with the NSE All-Share Index falling by 1.07 per cent to close at 40,802.08, while market capitalisation closed lower at N14.74 trillion.

2 8 / 0 3 / 2 0 1 8 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

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˾ THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018

MARKET NEWS

Afriland Properties Grows Profit by 233% to N1bn, Pays N137m Dividend Goddy Egene Afriland Properties Plc has recorded a profit after tax of N1.02 billion for the year ended, December 31, 2017, representing 233 per cent increase over the N307 million posted in 2016. The profit was recorded from revenue of N1.1 billion in 2017, compared with N1.06 billion in 2016. Total assets rose from N16.8 billion to N19.8 billion in 2017.

Based on the improved bottom-line, the board of

directors recommended a dividend of N137.39 million, that translated to 10 kobo per share.

In her address to the shareholders at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the company in Lagos, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Afriland Properties Plc, Mrs. Uzo Oshogwe, said: “Though the year under review was a period of unprecedented challenges and profound economic instability, our company was steadfast in our

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

delivery and dedication to our clients while earning a good return for our shareholders.

Our teamwork and intense focus reflects in the strong performance across our businesses. Our purpose to improve lives by investing in the development, management and maintenance of worldclass Real Estate offerings across Africa, remains a driving force and we would continue to build our capabilities and investments in our people, systems and products.

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 27Mar-2018, unless otherwise stated.

“Though the operating environment may not change significantly, we are confident that our strategies will yield even better results in the coming years. We are closely monitoring various policy measures being taken by the Government to further sustain the gains made in 2017.”

Also speaking on the results, the Chairperson of Afriland Properties Plc, Angela Adebayo, said: “The strong performance and increase in growth is attributable to the development and disposal of

properties in the year. While we faced diverse challenges in the operating environment, the company commenced and completed a number of projects. Our flagship project for the development and disposal of residential building was a huge success.

“The market remains challenging, but our strategic priorities are clear and we will continue to adapt our business accordingly. The core of our growth strategy remains directed towards broadening our real estate offerings to the

market and ensuring that we consistently deliver value.

We have also evaluated our strategy and refined our goals and priorities to ensure we work for the long-term benefit of our shareholders.”

Afriland Properties Plc is a property management, investment and development company, offering end-to-end services along the real estate value chain, from management to joint-venture investments.

It has a portfolio size of over N15 billion and one of the largest land banks in Nigeria.

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 N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 5.13% ACAP Income Funds 0.63 0.63 4.85% 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 15.52% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Discovery Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 161.54 162.68 6.49% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 15.06% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 15.13% 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 N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 1,196.60 1,197.80 4.25% FBN Heritage Fund 147.58 148.94 5.88% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 15.60% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $114.74 $115.24 1.60% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $114.76 $115.27 1.72% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 181.91 184.74 12.95% 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 1.40 1.42 6.99% Legacy Debt Fund 2.98 2.98 3.24% 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 3,142.41 3,175.80 5.27% Coral Income Fund 2,553.67 2,553.67 4.38% 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 N/A N/A N/A 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 14.93% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.20 2.22 4.25% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 16.42% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 119.33 119.70 3.76%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.17 1.19 1.69% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,063.54 1,063.54 3.13% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 16.54 16.70 17.39% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.05% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A PACAM Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A PACAM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 142.46 145.05 10.65% 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 1.54 1.54 3.68% 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 2,358.10 2,377.95 5.14% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 180.25 180.25 2.15% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.07 1.09 6.93% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 229.74 229.83 4.33% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 190.86 192.98 6.56% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.83% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,222.45 10,362.08 5.72% 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 1.33 1.34 -0.63% United Capital Bond Fund 1.62 1.62 3.21% United Capital Equity Fund 1.01 1.03 9.80% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.41% United Capital Eurobond Fund 104.96 104.96 2.00% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.12 1.13 3.21% 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 13.38 13.58 6.71% Zenith Ethical Fund 14.11 14.27 6.48% Zenith Income Fund 19.71 19.71 4.16% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.50%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

10.00 134.23

-11.35% 1.34%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.39 159.52 117.61

12.49 162.95 119.81

2.22% 11.70% 7.65%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

5.28 9.56 18.89 22.46 158.06

5.32 9.64 18.99 22.66 160.06

11.26% -0.08% 6.36% 14.13% 6.35%

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

44

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͷ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

45

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSSDAY MARCH 29, 2018

ADVERTORIAL

THURSDAY MARCH 29, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

46

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Trump Says ‘Good Chance’ Kim Will Give Up Nukes US President Donald Trump, who has agreed to meet with Kim Jong Un, said Wednesday there is a now a good chance the North Korean leader will give up his country’s nuclear weapons, according to AFP. “For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not even a small possibility,” Trump wrote in an early morning tweet.

“Now there is a good chance that Kim Jong Un will do what is right for his people and for humanity. Look forward to our meeting!,” Trump added.

His comments came as Kim completed a secretive and unprecedented visit to Beijing on Wednesday as the two countries seek to repair fraye d t i e s b e fo re P y o n g y a n g ’s l a n dmark summits with Washington a n d e a r l i e r w i t h So uth K o re a .

On his first trip abroad s i n ce taking p ow e r, K i m a n d h i s w i fe w e re g re e t e d b y a n h o no r g u a rd a n d a b a nque t h o s t e d b y P re s i d e nt Xi Jinping, according to state media, which confirmed the three-day visit on Wednesday only after Kim had returned

by train to North Korea.

The two men held talks at the Great Hall of the People and Kim pledged he was “committed to denuclearization” on the Korean peninsula, according to China’s Xinhua news agency.

Kim also expressed willingness to hold the summits with Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, it said.

Analysts said Xi likely wanted to see Kim in order to ensure North Korea does not cut a deal with Trump that hurts Chinese interests during their summit, expected to be held in May.

Russia Holds First Funerals forVictims of Shopping Mall Blaze Russia on Wednesday held a national day of mourning and buried the first victims of a fire that ravaged a busy shopping centre and killed 64 people, most of them children, AFP reported.

Flags were lowered and entertainment events cancelled three days after Sunday’s devastating blaze in the western Siberian city of Kemerovo.

On Tuesday thousands of people had gathered in Moscow and other cities to mourn the victims and vent their anger at the authorities after children were trapped

in a locked cinema as the inferno spread through the mall.

The youngest victim was a two-year-old boy, while at least 19 of the 64 people who perished were under 10, said a list published by regional authorities. In total 41 children died in the fire.

A criminal investigation has been opened and five people have been detained over the incident.

President Vladimir Putin -- who was this month reelected for a fourth term -- on Wednesday asked ministers to observe a minute’s silence

and called for safety checks at similar shopping centres.

“We need to look at leisure and shopping centres of this kind and this should not be done just on the spur of the moment -- it is absolutely evident that safety must be ensured,” Putin said.

He visited Kemerovo on Tuesday after a huge outpouring of public grief and criticism and upbraided officials at a televised meeting.

Russian prosecutors have already ordered checks into fire safety at all shopping centres with leisure facilities.

Linda Brown, Black Girl that Ended Segregation Schools in US Dies Linda Brown, who as a little girl was at the center of the Brown v. Board of Education United States Supreme Court case that ended segregation in schools, has died, a funeral home spokesman said.

Brown died in Topeka, Kansas, Peaceful Rest Funeral Chapel spokesman, Tyson Williams, said.

Brown was nine years old when her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her at Sumner Elementary School, then an all-white school in Topeka, Kansas.

When the school blocked her enrollment, her father sued the Topeka Board of Education.

Four similar cases were combined with Brown’s complaint and presented to the Supreme Court as Oliver L. Brown et al v. Board of Education of Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas, et al.

The court’s landmark ruling in May 1954 — that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” — led to the desegregation of the US education system. Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP’s special counsel and lead counsel for the plaintiffs,

argued the case before the Supreme Court.

Kansas Governor, Jeff Colyer, acknowledged Brown’s contribution to American history.

“Sixty-four years ago, a young girl from Topeka brought a case that ended segregation in public schools in America.

“Linda Brown’s life reminds us that sometimes the most unlikely people can have an incredible impact and that by serving our community we can truly change the world.”

Brown was a student at Monroe Elementary School in 1953 and took a bus to school each day.

“My father was like a lot of other black parents here in Topeka at that time. They were concerned not about the quality of education that their children were receiving, they were concerned about the amount — or distance, that the child had to go to receive an education,” Brown said in a 1985 interview for the documentary series “Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years.”

“He felt that it was wrong for black people to have to accept second-class

citizenship, and that meant being segregated in their schools, when in fact, there were schools right in their neighborhoods that they could attend, and they had to go cle a r across town to attend an all-black school.

And this is one of the re a s o n s t h a t h e b e c a m e involved in this suit, because he felt that it was wrong for his child to have to go so far a distance to receive a quality education.”

Monroe and Sumner elementary schools became National Historic Landmarks on May 4, 1987, according to the National Park Service. President George H.W. Bush signed the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Act of 1992 on October 26, 1992, which established Monroe as a national park.

THURSDAY MARCH 29, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

47

NEWS

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

House Rattled by Electoral Act Amendment Bribery Allegation, Threatens to Sue James Emejo in Abuja The House of Representatives yesterday directed its Committee on Ethics and Privilege to investigate allegations that its members were allegedly given bribes to vote against the move to override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto of the Electoral Amendment Act. It urged the ethics committee to determine whether or not the privilege of members of the House had been breached as well as determine the culpability, if any, of any member alleged to have taken the bribe.

Speculations were rife at the weekend that pro-Buhari lawmakers in both the Senate and the House were influenced with the sums of $50,000 and $30,000 respectively to vote against the bill, which both chambers have initiated in the process to override.

In a matter of privilege raised on the House floor by Hon. Damburam Nuhu (APC, Kano), he said the parliament, particularly the House, had been dragged in the mud by

the smear campaign.

Referring to a newspaper publication (not THISDAY) on the issue, he urged the House to respond, saying: “I won’t allow mere newspaper allegation to tarnish my image, the matter should be investigated by the ethics committee. The publication is trying to tarnish our image in the eyes of the public.”

But the Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, said the issue was beyond the House ethics committee as it has an external dimension.

He urged the House to seek huge damages against the media houses which published the stories without proper verification.

According to him, “Bribery and corruption is a criminal offence which attracts imprisonment on conviction. It’s not a matter for the Ethics and Privilege Committee which takes care of members internally.

“And because the allegations are coming from external sources, you

should not become a judge in your own case.”

He said the matter was ripe for litigation. “By the time you slam heavy damages against the media houses, this would stop.

“I want resolution on a class action. It’s time to nail this coffin and determine whether or not, and if anybody has collected, they will come here,” Gbajabiamila said.

He said since the story was widespread, lawmakers were at the mercy of their constituencies

where the people will ask for their share of the money having read it in the newspapers.

Hon. Hassan Saleh (APC, Benue) said it was time to stop the continuous attack on the parliament by the media.

“It is irresponsible journalism.

As a national newspaper you must investigate before going public. It is time we begin to sue if after this investigation we come clean.”

Hon. Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue) said the allegations were a clear

case of defamation, adding that legal action should be taken by the parliament.

On his part, Hon. Nkem Uzoma Abonta (PDP, Abia) said the story which was speculative and ostensibly pointing fingers at the executive arm of government, suggested who was behind it.

According to him, “We are not influenced by anybody to do the needful. We should concentrate on legislative process

and not be derailed.”

Lawmakers accused members of the executive arm for trying to distract them from performing their core functions.

Dogara, however, referred the matter to the ethics committee to look into, determine culpability and make suggestions on the available legal options to the House if a breach of privilege is established.

“If it’s only in court that we get relief, we’ll proceed,” he ruled.

Adeosun Breaks Deadlock, FG, States, LGs Share N647.4bn FAAC, NNPC to reconcile revenue figures Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The various tiers of government yesterday broke the deadlock which climaxed the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) last Tuesday as they finally shared N647.39 billion for the month of February.

The meeting ran into a stalemate after the figures remitted into the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) were disputed by the finance commissioners.

This prompted the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, to reconvene the meeting yesterday.

Briefing journalists on the outcome of the meeting, Adeosun who is the Chairman of FAAC, said she personally engaged the state governors in a meeting last Tuesday night to resolve the impasse.

She said: “The figure for this month is higher than last month’s.

There are issues that we would take up with NNPC but those issues notwithstanding, we should go ahead and conclude the meeting. We would sit down with the GMD of NNPC or his representatives. We would hopefully sit down within the next 48 hours to thrash out subsisting issues.”

Adeosun explained that notwithstanding issues surrounding the account, the welfare of workers was paramount, particularly with Easter celebration few days away.

“The NNPC is a major chain of our revenue, and by that fact, there would be from time to time, issues. We are going to sit with NNPC. Accounting is a process; there has to be dialogue. Some of the issues that were raised have actually been cleared but of course, there are new issues that arise.

“I think that is part of reconciliation, accountability and transparency. We did that overnight, speaking to the governors and we took a decision to go ahead and

still of the view that there are issues and I’m sure within the next 48 hours I will meet with the NNPC GMD or his representatives.

“I think this is a healthy process.

Questions must be asked. That is what accountability is all about.

We would get to the bottom of the issue so that we can move forward.

I think its a healthy development.

I’m confident we would resolve all the outstanding issues,” she said.

In his remarks, the Chairman of Commissioners for Finance Forum, Mallam Mahmoud Yunusa, said the NNPC deliberately sidelined other stakeholders in a business that belongs to all.

“We have agreed last night to hold the meeting as it were, move on to our respective states and pay the salary so that every body will celebrate the Easter. Be that as it may, the account as submitted

by NNPC is still not acceptable to us. We will sit down with NNPC to ensure all the grey areas are trashed out. What we expected from NNPC is less than what was submitted. We the commissioners of state are not happy the way NNPC is running this business. We are major shareholders in this business but yet we are not happy with the way NNPC is handling it.

“We won’t take this anymore.

NNPC will have to sit up and do its job. We are not taking this anymore. We would not come here, spend days without holding the meeting. So in the spirit of Easter, we would take this account, go home with it; pay salaries and come back to meet NNPC to pay us our balance. We have to find out wherever the error is,” Yunusa said..

Meanwhile, the Accountant General of the Federation yesterday signed the mandates for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pay the approved revenue allocation into the accounts of the federal, states and local governments.

UNITED FOR DEVELOPMENT

R-L: Governors Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo); Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti); Rauf Aregbesola (Osun); Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos); Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); and Deputy Governor, Ogun State, Yetunde Onanuga, during the quarterly meeting of the Western Nigeria Governors’ Forum in Lagos.....yesterday, Abiodun Ajala

S’West States Set Their Sights on Lagos Airport Lagos now a member of O’dua Investment Group Gboyega Akinsanmi Rising from a two-day meeting held at the State House, Ikeja, the Western Nigerian Governors’ Forum yesterday expressed interest to acquire the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, as soon as the process for its concession starts.

Also, the forum formally approved the membership of Lagos State as a member of the O’dua Investment Group, a conglomerate incorporated in July 1976 to manage the business interest of Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo States.

The decision was contained in a communique the new DirectorGeneral of Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN), Mr. Oluseye Oyeleye, read yesterday after the governors of the Southwest states concluded their quarterly meeting yesterday.

The quarterly meeting, which was hosted by Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, was attended by Sen. Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Mr. Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo) and Mr. Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti).

While Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, was absent from the meeting, the state Deputy Governor, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, attended the meeting all through.

In the nine-point communique read after the meeting, the forum said the states of the region “as a

bloc intend to bid for the Murtala Muhammed International Airport concession.” and turn it to a world class airport once the process starts.”

The forum said the states of the region as a bloc would be monitoring the process for the Murtala Muhammed International Airport concession, noting that the states would turn into a world class infrastructure airport once the process starts.

The communique, which was signed all the governors, read in part: “At the end of the meeting, the Western Nigeria Governors Forum agreed and committed that Lagos State is formally a member of the O’dua Investment Group.

“The states in the region will embark on a Rice Accelerated Programme for Integrated Development (Western RAPID) to further consolidate actions on food security and job creation in the region. A Regional Agriculture Summit be held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in May 2018 and sponsored

by Lagos State,” the communique Stated.

It directed the DAWN Commission, Focal Representatives and Agriculture Commissioners to hold a technical session with Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and develop a state by state roadmap in four weeks before the Regional Agriculture Summit scheduled for May 2018.

It said the DAWN Commission “should work on reviving Regional Inter-School Football Competition.

DAWN Commission should conduct a study on the successes in education in Ekiti State for peer learning/adoption among the western states.”

While the forum directed the DAWN Commission and the focal representatives to structure a programme on the Omoluabi Ethos of the Yoruba people, it approved Oyeleye’s appointment as the substantive of Director General of DAWN Commission.

Speaking on the formal admission of Lagos into O’dua Investment Group yesterday, Aregbesola described the incorporation of Lagos State into the economic framework of the South-west region as historic and long coming since 1948.

Aregbesola said the admission of Lagos State into O’dua Investment Group would strengthen the O’dua Investment Group and drive the development of the region.

Also after the meeting, Ambode said he was optimistic that all the states would join in the effort to ensure food security and create jobs for the people. What has happened is that we wanted to expand the agric output of our rice mill.

“In doing so, we decided that all the south west States should be able to cultivate rice and supply paddy to the proposed rice mill that is coming up in Imota in Lagos.

What we have done is that four other states have agreed to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which they have actually done today (yesterday)

“So, what is happening between Lagos and Ogun States is that there were some minor issues that were outstanding before and based on that, they could not sign today (yesterday) but you could also hear that they are committed to signing when those issues are resolved.

“We are having a 32-ton per hour rice mill in Imota. We are going to require 32,000 hectares of paddy cultivation which even the whole of the South-west cannot even provide. But because we are interested in integration and also independence, it is important that beyond going to Kebbi or Kano, all the south western states should also benefit from it.

“The idea is that we are trying to procure land there but we will also use the people and the farmers in the respective states to cultivate the land and by so doing we have created employment in those states. We will be off-takers to the paddies that they are producing.”

Onanuga raised some reservations about the land deal, noting that the state government on account of previous issues with Lagos on the similar subject matter would be refraining from releasing land to the State until the said issues were resolved.

Onanuga, however, noted that Ogun State “will be prepared to sign this memorandum later when some of these issues are straightened out.”

48

THURSDAY MARCH 29, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Launch New Political Coalition Vow to facilitate restructuring Shola Oyeyipo Concerned about the parlous state of affairs in Nigeria, a coalition of notable leaders of the South-west, South-east, South-south and Middle Belt regions yesterday debuted with Mass Alliance for Inclusive Nigeria Front (MF), a political coalition, with

which they plan to wrest power from those in authority in 2019.

In a letter titled: ‘Nigeria at Crossroads: Main Front to the Rescue’, written to solicit for the support of Nigerians, which was signed by the quartet of PANDEF leader, Chief Edwin Clark; Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo;

New CBN DGs, MPC Members Assume Office Obinna Chima Mrs. Aisha Ahmad and Mr. Edward Lametek Adamu have formally assumed duty as Deputy Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), following the confirmation of their appointments last week by the Nigerian Senate.

In addition, the trio of Professor Adeola Festus Adenikinju, Dr. Robert Asogwa and Dr. Aliyu Rafindadi Sanusi were also at the Head Office of the CBN to formally commence their tenure as members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the bank.

A statement from the CBN disclosed this yesterday.

Welcoming the new deputy governors and members of the MPC to the bank, the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, prior to their subscription to the relevant oaths of office, congratulated them

on their respective appointments by the president and subsequent confirmation by the Senate.

Emefiele, who was in the company of Mr. Adebayo Adelabu and Dr. Joseph Okwu Nnanna, the Deputy Governors in charge of Operations and Financial System Stability (FSS), respectively, expressed gladness that the bank now has a full complement of deputy governors to enable it operate optimally as well as the required quorum to enable the MPC hold its statutory meetings for formulating monetary and credit policy.

He therefore charged the deputy governors and MPC members to bring their experience to bear in the discharge of their new responsibilities, stressing that much was expected of them.

President General, Ohanaeze Indigbo, Chief John Nwodo; President, Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Bala Takaya, the coalition expressed worries that Nigerians are “stranded at the juncture of dilemma,” and vowed to reverse the situation.

Though an insider hinted that the coalition was not the same as the Coalition for Nigeria Movement proposed by former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, MF’s main agenda is basically to reorder Nigeria politically and socially by taking over power from the current crops of leaders at all levels.

Arguing that under the present social order in Nigeria, the quest for peace and socio-political progress will remain elusive, irrespective of the sincerity of whoever is at the helm of affairs, MF leaders vowed to entrench the much talked about restructuring with the support of Nigerians.

According to the leaders, “MF pledge to effect the restricting of the Nigerian state to a federal system

of government, where each and every federating unit shall hold equal and coordinate powers with central authority, and where no federating unit is subjected to an inferior position in the country.”

The coalition said further that: “Our major assignment is to salvage the ship of the Nigerian state tottering in a scarily rudderless manner in the roaring waters of insecurity, economic decline and permanent political tension, and the restoration of the stolen Nigeria ‘Article of Faith’ among Nigerians.

“The point being made, in no unmistaken terms, is that the dismantled federal architecture must be reconstructed, where each state in Nigeria will be self-accounting with respect to its nature-endowed natural resources, of which no federating unit in Nigeria is denied of God’s numerous gifts to His creatures, and self-securing of lives and property within its constitutionally-defined geopolitical space.

“This is the irreducible minimum item of a social contract that our long-suffering people demand of any group and association that seeks to take control of our country’s political destiny, henceforth. This precisely is what we, the Mass Alliance for Inclusive Nigeria, need.”

Coming four days after a South-South mega rally with the theme: ‘Restructuring the Nigerian Federation’, where former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan; Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson; former Director-General, State Security Service (SSS), Chief Albert Horsfall; Prof. Godini Darah and other notable leaders from across Nigeria, insisted on restructuring before the 2019 elections, the new political movement urged Nigerians to join them to put the country on a path of development.

“We hereby invite fellow Nigerians, desirous of equity, fairness and justice in the affairs of our dear country, to join us

in the task of saving the sinking ship of our state. Our desire and commitment is that our dear country, which it has pleased God to bless with abundant natural and human resources, as to guarantee her citizens ‘good life for all, and life more abundant,’ may resume her delayed journey towards the fulfillment of its manifest destiny. We declare, without any equivocation at all that Nigeria shall be great again, and in our life time.

“We specifically call on our youths, in whom the destiny of this country lies, and our womenfolk on whose shoulders God has bestowed our homes, as rightful custodians of family legacies, to assume ownership and join in the task of taking back our country. We are one with any and every organisation that is committed to these noble ideals directed at saving a country that is evidently currently enveloped in crisis,” the coalition said.

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RMAFC: National Assembly’s N13.5m Earnings Unknown to Us Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) yesterday stated that it cannot explain how and why senators elected to serve in the National Assembly earn up to N13.5 million as recently disclosed

by Senator Shehu Sani.

RMAFC explained in a statement from its Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed, in Abuja that it wass only able to clarify the monthly entitlements of senators which it said was N1, 063,860, and included salaries and allowances as specified in the existing law on salaries and allowances of public office holders in Nigeria, but not the N13.5 million running cost.

It stated that following the N13.5 million disclosure by Sani, the issue had occupied the front burner of national discourse, hence its decision to clarify the position of the country’s remuneration law on it.

According to it, “The clarification has become imperative in view of the recent revelation by Mr. Shehu Sani, a Senator of the federal republic who was reported to have disclosed to the public that each senator collects monthly running cost of N13.5 million in addition to the monthly salary of N750, 000.00 prescribed by the ‘Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc.) (Amendments) Act, 2008’ “The law on salaries and allowances of public office holders is very clear and as such it is only the management of the National Assembly Service Commission that can explain the N13.5 million running cost allegedly being enjoyed

by each senator as the Act only covers salary and allowances but not running cost,” RMAFC explained.

If further noted that: “A closer look at the monthly entitlement of senators reveals that each senator collects salary and allowances of the sum of N1,063,860:00 consisting of the following: basic -N168,866:70; motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance allowance N126,650:00; personal assistant - N42,216:66; domestic staff -126,650:00; entertainment N50,660:00; utilities -N50,660:00; newspapers/periodicals -N25,330:00; wardrobe - N42,216,66:00; house maintenance - N8,443.33:00 and constituency - N422,166:66 respectively.

“It is instructive to note that some allowances are regular while others are non-regular. Regular allowances are paid regularly with basic salaries while non-regular allowances are paid as at when due. For instance, furniture allowance (N6,079,200:00); and severance gratuity (N6,079,200:00) are paid once in every tenure while motor vehicle loan -(N8,105,600:00) is optional which the beneficiary has to offset before leaving office.”

RMAFC stated that the payment of running cost was not part of its mandate, and as such only the National Assembly can explain it.

The statement also added that auditing this running cost payment does not fall within the purview of the RMAFC, thus, its decision to clarify that any other payments enjoyed by any political, or public office holders outside those provided in the remuneration Act of 2008 is not known to it.

CORPORATE EXECUTIVES

R-L: Chairman, Africa Prudential Plc, Mrs. Eniola Fadayomi, Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Peter Ashade; Non-Executive Director, Mr. Samuel Nwanze; and Non-Executive Director, Mr. Emmanuel Nnorom, at the fifth Annual General Meeting of the company in Lagos...yesterday Dan Ukana

Obasanjo Asks Buhari to Reconsider Stance on African Trade Treaty Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to reconsider his stance and sign the Africa Continental Free Trade Area agreement before it is too late.

The former president, according to Premium Times, expressed disappointment that Nigeria was not among the 44 member countries of the African Union that endorsed the agreement.

“That President Buhari didn’t sign the free trade agreement in Kigali is disappointing. I hope he signs it before it is too late,” Obasanjo was quoted as saying.

“Egypt started the discussion on the formation of the Organisation of African Unity but didn’t conclude it and Nigeria took over. Nigeria was also central to the discussion of the free trade agreement, but I am surprised that the country withdrew from signing.”

The agreement was signed during the 18th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of (AU) Heads of State and Governments on March 21 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Nigeria and South Africa were two of Africa’s biggest economies that withheld their assent to the agreement meant to establish a common protocol to allow free movement of goods and services among member nations of the AU. South Africa later signed.

Seven other countries including Burundi, Guinea Bissau and Eritrea also did not sign the agreement.

Although the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had given consent for Nigeria to sign the agreement, Buhari cancelled his scheduled trip to attend the AU meeting at the last minute.

Prominent interest groups like the Nigeria Labour Congress and Manufacturers Association of

Nigeria kicked against the treaty, saying aspects of the agreement would hurt Nigeria’s interest.

Consequently, the decision to sign the agreement was postponed to allow for adequate consultation and inputs from interest group, particularly with the NLC, which called the treaty a “renewed, extremely dangerous and radioactive neo-liberal policy initiative.”

But Obasanjo, who was named on Friday as chair of the Advisory Council for Intra-African Trade Fair organised by African Export-Import Bank in conjunction with the Egyptian government for December 2018, said he was surprised Nigeria refused to sign the trade agreement.

He recalled the leading role Nigeria played in founding the free trade agreement initiative, saying apart from Egypt, which started the discussion on the formation of the Organisation of African Unity,

Nigeria was central to all discussions on the agreement.

The AfCFTA treaty is one of the flagship projects of the AU Agenda 2063 to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons, investments and a single currency.

Signatories to the agreement so far included Niger, Rwanda, Angola, C.A.R., Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, The Gambia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Cote D’Ivoire, Seychelles, Algeria and Equatorial Guinea.

Others include Morocco, Swaziland, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, South Sudan, Uganda, Egypt, Ethiopia, Sao Tome and Principle, Togo and Tunisia.

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IG Removes Kogi CP After Suspects Escape Custody, Melaye Declared Wanted Senator to sue police boss over suspects’ ‘escape’ Paul Obi in Abuja The Inspector General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, yesterday removed the Kogi State Police Commissioner of Police, Ali Janga, following the escape of two suspects alleged to have been sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Dino Melaye, for political thuggery ahead of the 2019 general election.

The IG’s decision came as the Kogi State Police Command has declared Melaye and six others wanted.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, speaking on the matter, said: “The IG, Idris, dissatisfied with the circumstances surrounding the escape of six suspects including two principal suspects (Kabiru Seidu a.k.a. Osama, Nuhu Salisu a.k.a. Small) who indicted Melaye and Mohammed Audu in a case of conspiracy and unlawful possession of prohibited firearm already filed at the Federal High Court, Lokoja which came up in court on March 28, 2018, has ordered the immediate removal of Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Command, Janga.

“The Commander FSARS in the State, the Divisional Police Officer ‘A’ Division, Lokoja and other Police officers implicated in the escape for negligence, dereliction of duty and gross misconduct in the escape of the six suspects have also been transferred out of the state and are facing serious disciplinary action.

“Thirteen other police officers are currently being detained and investigated for their roles in the escape.”

He said: “Esa Sunday Ogbu, Commissioner of Police, Federal Operations, Force Headquarters, Abuja has been directed by the IG to immediately proceed and take over as the new Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Police Command.

“Furthermore, on the order of the IG, the IG’s Intelligence Response Team and Special Tactical Squad, Personnel of the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department have already arrived in Kogi State to work with the police personnel in the state for immediate re-arrest of the escaped suspects.

“They are to also carry out detail investigation into the escape and bring all those involved to justice.

“The Force wishes to implore the good people of Kogi State to remain calm and assist with useful information to the joint police investigation team.

“They can report any information they have on the escaped suspects to the nearest police station in the state or any other state in the country,” Moshood added.

Meanwhile, Kogi State Police Command, has declared Melaye

and six others wanted.

The outgoing state Commissioner of Police, Janga, said in a statement yesterday that the command received a news that six suspected criminal elements - Kabiru Seidu a.k.a Osama, Nuhu Salisu a.k.a Small, Aliyu Isa, Adams Suleiman, Emmanuel Audu and Musa Mohammed who were under detention at the ‘A’ Division Lokoja escaped from lawful custody.

“Four of the suspects were on court remand including two that indicted Melaye and Mohammed Audi. Consequently, all the six suspects, Melaye and Mohammed Audu were sent for watch listing and red notice by the INTERPOL for immediate arrest any where we see them. The command hereby appealed to the members of the public to assist the police with useful information on the whereabouts of the suspects by reporting to the nearest police station,” Janga said.

The police commissioner, who has also been transferred, added that investigation into the unfortunate incident is ongoing, while the 13 police officers who were on duty when the incident occurred were defaulted and detained for interrogation.

He urged members of the public to go about their lawful duty as the command is determined in ensuring adequate security of lives and property in the state.

Meanwhile, Melaye has threatened to sue the IG, Idris, over the reported escape of two suspects who accused him (Melaye) of being their sponsor and gun supplier.

The senator who spoke on the floor of the Senate yesterday, cited Order 43 to submit that the police had either released the suspects or killed them.

He therefore said the police must produce the suspects dead or alive or he would sue the IG for intimidation, abuse of power, harassment and mental assault.

On March 20, the police paraded the suspects allegedly working for Melaye. The thugs were caught with two AK-47 and five pump action guns.

The suspects were billed to be arraigned yesterday.

However, in a dramatic turn of events, the police in Lokoja announced yesterday that the suspects along with four others, escaped following a jail break.

The Kogi State police boss, Janga, said at a press conference in Lokoja that the two suspects; Seidu and Salisu, escaped at about 3:21a.m. at the A Police Division in Lokoja where they were being kept in lawful custody.

According to him, four other suspects escaped along with Seidu and Salisu, bringing the total number of fleeing suspects to six.

NEW CBN DGS, MPC MEMBERS ASSUME OFFICE Ahmad, Adamu and the three new MPC members subsequently subscribed to their oaths of office administered by the acting Director, Corporate Secretariat at the CBN, Mrs. Alice Karau.

Thereafter, the Director, Monetary Policy Department (MPD), Mr. Moses Tule, read out the Charter of the MPC to new members before they retired

into their maiden MPC retreat preparatory to the first MPC meeting for 2018 scheduled to hold on Tuesday, April 3 and Wednesday, April 4, 2018.

The Senate had last Thursday confirmed the appointment of Ahmad and Adamu as substantive deputy governors of the CBN along with three members of the MPC.

The four other suspects that escaped were: Aliyu Isa, Adams Suleiman, Emmanuel Audu and Musa Mohammed.

The police commissioner said 13 policemen, comprising five operatives of Special AntiRobbery Squad (SARS) and eight

conventional policemen on duty when the incident happened have been detained for interrogation.

“The 13 police officers who were on duty when the incident occurred were detained for interrogation,” he said.

Janga also stated that the names

of the six fleeing suspects and that of Melaye and Mohammed Audu had been sent for watch listing by the Interpol for immediate arrest anywhere they are found.

He appealed to residents to assist the police with useful information on the whereabouts of the suspects

by reporting to the nearest police station.

The police enjoined members of the public to go about their lawful duty as the command was in full control of the situation and determined to provide adequate security.

REBRANDING BAYELSA FOR INVESTMENT

Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson (left), and President, Africa Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, unveiling the state as world’s best kept secret at the sixth African CEO Forum in Abidjan ....recently.

Archbishop of Canterbury Offers to Contribute to Peace Negotiations inViolence-hit Nigeria The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, yesterday repeated his offer to contribute towards any peace negotiations while violence continues to erupt in some parts of Nigeria.

Archbishop Welby tweeted in January: “I am deeply saddened by the killings and displacements in #Nigeria. President @MBuhari and authorities are exhorted to act now to end this violence and begin mediated dialogue. I mourn with this great country and stand with them in prayer, #prayforthepeaceofNigeria.”

However, the attacks have continued and spread rather than

abate. A question was put to the British Government in the House of Lords – the upper house of the UK Parliament – last Monday on the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria.

Archbishop Justin said: “I once again exhort President Muhammadu Buhari and other authorities, civil and religious, national and international, urgently to build a coalition to end this violence immediately.

“In communications earlier this year with the Primate of All Nigeria Anglican Communion His Grace Nicholas Okoh, I offered to contribute towards such effort to the extent that such might be useful. I

repeat that offer again, knowing, however, that within Nigeria are all the skills needed for resolution of the suffering of the people.

“My condolences go to those who have lost loved ones and property. I urge the authorities to seek for ways to ameliorate their sufferings and losses. I call on all people of goodwill to continue to pray for the peace of Nigeria.”

Since the start of this year, some 175,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Benue State and are now living in refugee camps – including more than 80,000 children.

The root cause is a conflict between nomadic herdsmen who graze cattle

over vast areas; and farmers who wish to cultivate land for crops.

Five people were killed over the weekend in clashes near the Agatu Local Government Area of the state the AFP news agency reports.

The Council on Foreign Relations, an international think-tank based in New York, reported that 63 people were killed in eight separate incidents in the week leading up to March 23.

In January, the House of Bishops of the Church of Nigeria called on the government “as a matter of urgency to address these ugly trends and ensure that the culprits are brought to justice.”

Buhari Pays Two-dayVisit to Lagos To flag off construction of Lekki deep sea port President Muhammadu Buhari will today begin a two-day official visit to Lagos State, the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan, said yesterday.

According to Bamigbetan, Buhari would during the course of his visit, carry out some groundbreaking ceremonies and inspect some ongoing projects in the state.

He said the president, on arrival, would attend the colloquium organised to mark the 66th birthday of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, scheduled to hold at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos today.

He said the president would perform the official flag-off ceremony for the construction of the Lekki Deep Sea Port project at Ibeju Lekki.

Bamigbetan said on completion, the multi-purpose Lekki Deep Sea Port, located at the heart of the Lekki Free Trade Zone, would be one of the most modern ports in West Africa, offering enormous support to the growing commercial operation across Nigeria and the entire West African region.

He said the president would also inspect the ongoing construction works at the Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island.

Bamigbetan said the Eko Atlantic City Project, a planned city being constructed on land

reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean, is projected to accommodate at least 250,000 residents and a daily flow of 150,000 commuters, adding that the development will also have a positive environmental impact, as it will help in stopping the erosion of the state’s coastline.

The commissioner said the president would also inaugurate the Ikeja Bus Terminal, expected to commute over a 100,000 residents across 23 bus routes in the state.

According to him, the Ikeja Bus Terminal is part of the comprehensive plan to redefine public transportation which the present administration is implementing across the state.

Aside the Ikeja Terminal, the Tafawa Balewa Square Bus Terminal

has been inaugurated , while work is ongoing in Yaba, Oyingbo, Ojota, Agege and other areas.

It would be recalled that the state’s Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal had on Tuesday announced traffic diversions and alternative routes ahead of the president’s visit assuring that adequate preparations have been made to mitigate the impact of the road diversions on residents, while access would be given to any emergency situation.

The state government had also declared Thursday, March 29 as work free day to ease movement in and around the state as well as enable Lagosians come out en masse to welcome the president.

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APC Tenure Elongation: Plaintiff Urges NEC to Abide by Buhari’s Advice Court fixes April 16 to hear suit Alex Enumah inAbuja Plaintiff in the tenure elongation case against the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Wale Ahmed, yesterday hailed the position of President Muhammadu Buhari for his objection to the illegal tenure extension, stressing that he has laid a good example of leadership.

He described the president as a courageous and forthright leader who will never endorse the violation of the 1999 Constitution and the APC constitution by the party leadership.

Ahmed, a former House of Assembly member and commissioner in Lagos State, recalled that party members were taken aback by the decision to illegally extend the tenure of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Working Committee (NWC) on February 27.

The aggrieved chieftain said the decision rattled many chieftains who protested the move to exclude them from the intra-party leadership elections which the congresses and the national convention can only guarantee in accordance with the laid down extant laws.

Ahmed applauded President Buhari, who he described as a performing leader, adding that he also has interest in serving the party as a willing compatriot and ally in the business of good governance.

He said the president has not failed the nation, judging by his

achievements in revatalising the critical sectors of the economy in the last three years.

Ahmed said the onus is on the NEC and NWC to heed the advice of President Buhari by putting in motion the machinery for the conduct of the congresses at the wards, local governments and states, and the national convention at the national level.

He said: “I congratulate the president for being unequivocal, courageous and forthright in addressing the issue of tenure elongation. How can a party known as the All Progressives Congress (APC) refuse to hold congresses?

The decision makes a lie of the very existence of our party.”

The former legislator said the party leadership might escalate the controversy and crisis over the tenure extension, if it refused to quickly retrace its steps and release the timetable for the congresses and the national convention.

He added: “One extra day for the executive committee by whatever nomenclature to truncate the procedures for congresses and convention, either through the setting up of an acting or caretaker committee, will not stand. There is simply no ground for it, both in the party constitution and the 1999 Constitution.

“The APC of all parties should not even be seen to be taking any illegal step, in whatever guise, at circumventing the constitution and

Ahiara Diocese: Pope Calls for Ecclesiastical Cleansing Pope Francis has called for Ecclesiastical Cleansing of the Ahiara Catholic Diocese to intercede for God’s love and mercies for all the faithful in the diocese.

Pope’s directive was conveyed in a letter read at the 2018 Chrism Mass yesterday in Abuja.

Chrism Mass is an annual Mass celebrated in every Catholic Diocese by the Bishop. At the Mass, the priests renew their vows and the three oils used in the church are also blessed by the bishop.

The Chrism Mass ushers in the Easter Tridum (last supper, Good Friday and Holy Saturday).

The letter, which was read by Rev Fr Rowland Nwakpuda at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral, said the Pope called for spiritual rebirth of the Ahiara Diocese.

John Cardinal Oniayekan, the Catholic Arch Bishop of Abuja, said he received the papal letter and was asked that it should be read to all the Catholic faithful in Nigeria.

He said certain decisions had been taken by the Pope concerning the diocese and the Church of Nigeria would continue to wait and would respect the orders of the Pope.

Oniayekan, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the Holy Father condemned the irresponsible and unfortunate act of the Ahiara priests, and noted that the whole church had been affected by it.

Onaiyekan added that the Pope commended the humility of Bishop Peter Okparaeke who resigned his appointment as the Bishop of the Diocese.

He added that the Pope called on all Catholic Bishops of Nigeria to ensure spiritual rebirth of the church in Ahiara.

Oniayekan quoted the Pope as saying the priest of Ahiara Diocese should renew their priestly vows with commitment and show honest solidarity to the church.

The bishop said the Holy Father, in the letter, noted that he received 200 letters of apology from the Ahiara priests and had responded to each person individually.

“Every priest should renew their vows publicly, also the lay faithful,’’ Pope said.

The Pope also urged the Laity to ensure that they helped their priests to do the right thing as he still had special interest in the diocese.

The Clergy and the Laity of the Catholic Diocese of Ahiara-Mbaise in Imo State had refused to accept Bishop Okpalaeke’s appointment as their local ordinary on grounds that he is an Mbaise indigene.

The stalemate lingered as the priests of Ahiara insisted that one of the priests of the Mbaise origin should be chosen as the bishop of Ahiara.

Okpalaeke had on February 14, 2018 written to the Vatican, asking that he be relieved of the diocese’ headship and be posted to any other area of assignment, where God and the Holy Father may deem fit, to enable him continue in service.

His resignation was accepted and Most Rev Lucius Ugorji, Bishop of Umuahia Diocese, was appointed as the new apostolic administrator of the Diocese.

jeopardising internal democracy.”

Ahmed who was silent on whether he would withdraw the case against the party, said he looks forward to the correction of the mistake already made by the NEC on February 27 by heeding the directive of the president.

He said: “I am waiting to see how the NEC will handle the controversy after the intervention of

the president, and what argument it would canvass against the constitution on the contentious issues raised by the president, who has issued a fatherly directive as the leader of the party.”

Meanwhile,when the matter came up before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja yesterday, he adjourned till April 16, 2018 for commencement

of hearing on a suit.

The adjournment is to enable parties in the suit to file all their processes before the adjourned dated of April 16.

Aggrieved members of the APC led by Ademorin Aliu Kioye had filed the suit after the party at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting last month, extended the tenure of NWC by one year.

They had on March 15, 2018 secured an ex-parte order directing the defendants to show cause why members of the NWC of the APC should not be barred from parading themselves as national officers of the party.

Respondents in the suit include the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC, National Chairman of APC, Oyegun and

SIDELINE DEBATE

L-R: Minister of communication, Adebayo Shittu; Minister of Defence, Brig-General Mohammed Dan Ali (rtd); and Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan, during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja....yesterday

NHRC to Send List of 2015 Electoral Offenders to FG for Prosecution Alex Enumah in Abuja The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) yesterday recommended for prosecution, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the police, individuals and staff of local government areas indicted for various electoral fraud during the 2015 general election.

Acting Executive Secretary of the commission, Oti Ovrawah, who disclosed this yesterday during a public presentation of phase two of the “End Electoral Impunity” project report in Abuja, stated that with the finalisation of the report in the second phase, a follow up list of indicted persons or institutions would be transmitted to theAGF and

the respective state attorneys-general for further necessary action.

“I am glad to inform you of the completion of the project having considered the 2015 election cycle in Nigeria. In the first phase of the project, 2007 and 2011 election cycles were considered.”

She noted that there were several misconceptions about the project, as reflected in litigations against the commission arising from the report of the first phase.

Ovrawah however observed that there was need to clarify the methodology and essence of the commission’s intervention due to the wrong perception in some quarters that the commission reviewed judgments of court in the project.

“The commission does not have such powers neither has it exercised such.

“What the commission has done in this study is to extract verbatim, statements used by either the Election Petition Tribunal or the Court of Appeal in relation to the election petitions before them.

“These statements by the courts, where they indicted either persons or institutions, were put together by the commission for onward transmission to the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation (AGF) as well as the Attorneys-General of respective states,” he said.

In a brief presentation of the project report which was supported by the Ford Foundation, Prof.

Nsongurua Udombana, the Project Chairman, noted the need for the courts to stand up to their responsibilities in curbing electoral impunity.

He said this was by referring established cases of crimes committed during elections to the appropriate authorities as enshrined in Section 149 of the Electoral Act, 2010.

“In the majority of the cases reviewed, the election petition tribunals failed to exercise the powers given them in the Electoral Act, which is to direct the appropriate authorities to investigate and prosecute alleged electoral

Court Stops Lagos Beauty Pageant Scheduled for March 30 The Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday issued an order restraining the Africa Beauty Queen International Pageant scheduled to hold on March 30, at the Lagos Oriental Hotel.

Justice Hadiza Rabiu-Shagari issued the orders, following an interlocutory application filed by Mr. Daniel Opuene, founder of “Beauty of Africa International Pageant,” seeking an order of restraint, on the said forthcoming pageant Joined as first to third defendants in the suit are: Roses and Rubbies International Ltd, Precious Ogarekpe, and Lagos Oriental Hotel Ltd. Opuene had filed the suit through the law firm of Creative Legal, seeking

an order restraining the defendants, their agents or privies, from: “Staging any pageant on March 30, 2018, under the name of “Africa Beauty Queens International Pageant” or any other similar name, likely to suggest that the first and second defendant’s business, is similar with the plaintiff’s.

“Reproducing, publishing or distributing the pictures belonging to the plaintiff, in the said defendant’s beauty pageantry activities or any other business pending the final determination of the substantive suit.

At the last adjourned date on March 22, the court had ordered the plaintiff to put the defendants

on notice, while the court had adjourned the suit for hearing of the motion on notice.

When the case was called yesterday, the plaintiff’s counsel, Mr. Justin Ige, informed the court that the defendants were yet to respond to his application in spite of having been served with the processes.

He added that he had not received any processes from the defence.

Moving his application, Ige told the court that the defendants are scheduled to hold the said “Africa Beauty Queen International Pageant, which name is similar to the plaintiff’s “Beauty of Africa International Pageant, on March 30 at the Lagos Oriental Hotel.

He argued that the plaintiff is also the registered owner of the business name, “Africa Beauty Queen International Pageant”, and urged the court to grant the application of the plaintiff and issue the restraining order.

In a short ruling, Justice Shagari granted the application as prayed, and ordered parties to maintain “status quo” pending the determination of the suit.

By “status quo” maintenance, parties are to stop or desist from taking any action or step in relation to the subject of the pending suit.

She adjourned the case till April 17, for hearing of the substantive suit.

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House Passes Bill to Stop Concession of Ajaokuta Steel Complex Moves to halt multiple trials of same criminal offence

James Emejo in Abuja In one fell swoop, the House of Representatives yesterday at the committee of the whole, chaired by the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, considered and passed a bill for an Act to provide for the Ajaokuta Steel Company Completion Fund for the speedy completion of the project and for related matters, effectively stopping the government’s planned concession of the steel plant It further considered and passed a bill for an Act to amend the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act, Cap. 2004 to review the list of enterprises to be privatised, and for related matters-and deleted the steel company from the schedule of the Privatisation Act. Both bills were sponsored by

Hon. Uzoma Nkem-Abonta (PDP, Abia) and 300 others members.

The passage effectively put on hold any ongoing plan by the federal government to concession the plant-at least until its completion.

The proposed legislations, being given accelerated consideration, are expected to be transmitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent as the legislature prepare to embark on a two-week Easter break.

Equally, a bill for an Act to amend the Industrial Develop (Income Tax Relief) Act, 2004, to increase the capital expenditure for companies applying for pioneer status under the provisions of the bill and for related matters, which was sponsored by Hon. Henry Nwawuba, was also considered and passed. The bill would improve

NBAVows to Protest Ambode’s LUC Inspite of Buhari’sVisit Armed police storm NBA office over planned protest Akinwale Akintunde with agency report The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja branch yesterday said it would be embarking on another round of streets protest as planned over the reviewed Land Use Charge (LUC) notwithstanding the work -free-day declared by Lagos State government to host President Muhammadu Buhari during his visit to the state.

The Chairman of the branch, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana, disclosed this at a press briefing yesterday, adding that this is a response to the failure of the state government and Lagos State House of Assembly, to meet its demands.

Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode had reduced the levies by 50 per cent following the uproar that greeted the LUC but this does no go down well with some stakeholders who insisted a return to the status quo.

The NBA team led by Ogunlana was also reported to have staged a walk out during the public hearing organised by the state House of Assembly on the controversial Land Use Charge on March 27, 2018 on the ground that the notice to submit their memorandum was too short.

According to Ogunlana, the protest would hold at 2p.m after the president’s inauguration of a newly built bus terminal in Ikeja.

Ogunlana alleged that the work free-day declared was to stop them from protesting but it would not work because even though they understand the state, they do not agree with the decision.

Meanwhile, dozens of armed police officers have laid siege at the secretariat of the Ikeja branch of the NBA over the body’s decision to stage a protest today.

Ogunlana who confirmed the development yesterday, said: “The police have invaded my secretariat, there are about 50 of them who are armed, and they are saying that they don’t want the protest tomorrow,” Ogunlana told Premium Times over the phone last night.

“And we told them that we are not interested in disrupting

the presidential visit, our protest is not going to take place in Ikeja, and that there is no need for any alarm. We are not blocking any route.”

President Buhari is scheduled to arrive Lagos today for a two-day official visit.

After a march two weeks ago to protest the state government’s newly introduced land use charge, the lawyers had planned another round of protest to coincide with the president’s visit.

The police siege yesterday evening came shortly after police authorities issued a statement ordering the lawyers to shelve their planned protest today.

The statement issued by Chike Oti, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, said the police would not tolerate any protest from the NBA or any group during Mr. Buhari’s visit.

“The CP believes strongly that the planned protest by the NBA is the handiwork of mischief makers who are using the NBA as a launching pad to possibly compromise the security emplaced for the presidential visit,” Oti, a Superintendent of Police, said in the statement.

“It must be recalled that on March 12, 2018, the Lagos State Police Command availed the NBA Ikeja branch its security assets and escorted them to the Government House Alausa to protest the increase in the Land Use Charge.

At Alausa they were addressed and afterwards escorted back to their base.

“It is baffling that the same NBA whose right to protest has never been denied to use the auspicious occasion of the president’s visit to protest and disrupt the occasion and by extension compromise the security of the president is to say the least most incomprehensible (sic).

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Lagos State Police Command will not tolerate any protest from the NBA or from any group or individual for that matter during the visit of Mr. President whom Lagosians are ready to receive warmly.”

the ease of doing business in the country and attract foreign direct investments (FDIs).

The bills and several others considered yesterday are expected to be listed for third reading on the House floor but only as a formality to satisfy all legislative procedures for a bill’s passage.

The bill on the steel complex funding stipulates that $1 billion of federal government share from the Excess Crude Revenue Account be committed to the completion fund of the plant.

The House, which spent ample time on the bill’s consideration to avoid loopholes, tried to run away from a temptation to draw funding from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) which it had labelled as illegal, as it is aware that any recourse to the ECA would signal an approval of its operation by the lower House.

However, the bill leaves the contribution of states to the funding optional even though Ajaokuta steel is considered a national asset.

The lawmakers further tweaked

the bill to provide that government may nonetheless choose to concession the plant in future, if it so desires after the plant must have been completed and operating at 70 per cent of installed production capacity.

The House further adopted the recommendations of the conference committees on a bill for an Act to provide for the Governance and Institutional Framework for the Petroleum Industry and for Related Matters and also approve the recommendations therein as well as on the Public Procurement Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

It also adopted the recommendations of the Conference Committee on a Bill for an Act to Establish Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit as the Central Body in Nigeria Responsible for Receiving, Requesting, Analysing and Disseminating Financial Intelligence Reports and other Information to Law Enforcement, Security And Intelligence Agencies and other Relevant Authorities, and for Related Matters.

Meanwhile, the lower chamber has commenced moves to put a stop to multiple trials for the same criminal offence by a court of competent jurisdiction or tribunal by amending the Extradition Act to make it in tandem with international law.

Dogara, said while speaking on the bill, stated that the amendment is in line with Section 36 (9) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) which states that “no person who shows that he has been tried by any court of competent jurisdiction or tribunal for a criminal offence and either convicted or acquitted shall again be tried for that offence, or for a criminal offence having the same ingredients as that offence save upon the order of a superior court.

Speaking at a public hearing organised by the House on Bill to ‘Give Effect To The Rule Against Double Jeopardy As Recognition Under The Constitution, Provide Procedural Safeguards To Avoid Extradition Of Nigerian Citizens With Irrefutable And Uninvestigated

Cases Of Mistaken Identity And To Effect Appropriate Modifications On The Act To Conform With The Provisions Of The 1999 Constitution,” the speaker explained that the law would also protect the rights of the affected persons.

He said the decision of the House to amend the law is in tandem with its primary functions which include making laws for the peace and good government of Nigeria.

Dogara said: “These amendments will bring our extradition laws up to date and in tandem with norms of international law. It will also reinforce the commitment of Nigeria to protecting the rights of all its citizens.

“Extradition Act to give effect to the rule against double jeopardy as recognised under the constitution, provide procedural safeguards to avoid extradition of Nigerian citizens with irrefutable cases of mistaken identity and to effect appropriate modification on the Act to conform to the provision of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

RENDERING ACCOUNTS TO SHAREHOLDERS

L-R: Directors, Afriland Properties, Mrs. Uzoamaka Oshogwe; Chairman, Erelu Angela Adebayo; Company Secretary, Mr. Obong Idiong; Directors, Mr. Sam Nwanze and Mrs. Olayinka Ogunsulire, during the company’s Annual General Meeting in Lagos....yesterday Dan Ukana

FEC Approves N20bn for Rehabilitation of IkoroduSagamu Road Okays N4.2bn for manufacture of aircraft fire simulator Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday in Abuja approved N20.845billion for the reconstruction of Ikorodu - Sagamu Road in Lagos State.

Briefing journalists at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the Presidential Villa, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who announced the approval on behalf of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who was absent at the briefing, said the reconstruction would reduce accidents on the road as well as loss of lives.

He also said the reconstruction

would reduce travel time and operating cost for both commuters and transporters adding that the development will also enhance the movement of both petroleum and agricultural products.

“On behalf of Minister of Power, Works and Housing, l will also brief you that FEC approved the rehabilitation of Ikorodu - Sagamu road in Lagos State at the sum of N20, 845,336. 214. The significance of the award of this contract is that it will reduce road accidents and loss of lives.

“Of course, it will reduce travel time and operating cost for transporters and commuters, and more importantly, it will enhance the movement of petroleum and agricultural products and also facilitate other commercial

activities. If you remember, Mosinmi, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) depot is along that line.

In his own briefing, the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said the council also approved N4.2billion for the design, manufacture and installation of fully automated fire and smoke aircraft simulator at the cost of N4billion.

According to him, implementation of the project will put paid to the hitherto attitude of sending fire fighters to Cameroun for training.

“Today, the FEC considered a memo from the Ministry of Transportation (Aviation). The purpose of that memo was to award a contract for the design, manufacture and installation of

fully automated fire and smoke aircraft training simulator. The total contract sum is N4,233.756bn.

“The council graciously considered and approved the contract. This fire fighting equipment is extremely very important because when we came into government in 2015, I found myself approving several hundreds of thousands of dollars for our fire fighters to go to Cameroun to get trained for proficiency in fire fighting and come back to fight fire in Nigeria with 30 airports. We cannot continue to depend on a neighbouring country to learn how to fight fire. So, we conceptualised and developed the project. Federal fire service, state governments and anybody can leverage on the equipment that we will bring to fight fire,” he said.

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THURSDAYSPORTS

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

I N T E R N AT I O N A L F R I E N D L I E S FA L LO U T

Rohr: Eagles Have Learnt Lessons from Defeat in London Femi Solaja with agency report Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr, insisted yesterday that his wards have picked up valuable lessons from the 2-0 loss to Serbia in the international friendly played at The Hive Stadium in London on Tuesday night.

Two second half goals from Fulham forward, Aleksandar Mitrovic, gave the Serbs victory on the night the threetime African champions were bereft in every department of the friendly.

The game was a dress rehearsal for Nigeria’s opening Group D match against Croatia, who play a similar style of football with the Serbs.

Coming just four days after the Super Eagles defeated Poland in their first warm up game in Wroclaw last Friday, the Franco-German gaffer insisted his wards have no reason to fret as no football team in the world wins all their games.

Media Officer of the team, Toyin Ibitoye revealed yesterday that Rohr rather commended the players for their efforts in the London friendly.

“Rohr commended the boys

and urged them not to drop their heads because no football team in the world wins all their games,” Ibitoye stressed yesterday.

“The coach told the team they should learn from this defeat but not sulk, but rather go back to their clubs and keep fighting.

“He said what was most important after such a loss is how you react, he said we have to bounce back.”

The Serbia loss was only the second in 14 games for the Eagles under Rohr’s watch.

Installed 20 months ago as Eagles coach, Rohr has won eight matches and drawn four.

Meanwhile, scorer of the two goals against Nigeria during the friendly, Mitrovic said yesterday that the Serbia national team fully deserved the win against Nigeria because they did everything their coach told them to do.

“Two goals, I scored another which was not counted but it’s the team that is more important,” Mitrovic told reporters after the game.

“It was a good match and good result for us. We played well and won which is the important thing for us. We did everything the coach asked us to do. We dominated the game and had total control.

” We were the better team and we deserved to win the game. Now, we go back to our clubs and we are all eager to re-assemble again because

we know what is expected in Russia,” Mitrovic stressed.

After the 1-0 victory over Poland last Friday and this defeat to Serbia on

Tuesday, Eagles next game in the pre-FIFA World Cup build-up is the send forth match against Democratic Republic of Congo in Nigeria

on Monday, 28th May, to be followed by a prestige game against England’s Three Lions at Wembley five days later.

Super Eagles Goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho (sprawling on the turf) trying to stop Nemanja Matic’s (right) header from crossing his goal-line during the international friendly between Nigeria and Serbia at the Hive Stadium in London…on Tuesday night

FIFA to Investigate Wike Bags Africa Power of Sports Award Pogba, Dembele ‘Racist’ Chants in Russia Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt

World football governing body, FIFA, has said that it is looking into alleged racist abuse directed at France players during their 3-1 win over Russia.

The body said in a statement yesterday that it was “collecting the different match reports and potential evidence” of the discrimination.

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba and Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele are said to be among those subjected to taunts.

The match was played at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, a host venue at this summer’s World Cup. French Minister for Sport, Laura Flessel, said yesterday: “Racism has no place on the football pitch. We have to act

in unison at a European and international level to put an end to these inadmissible actions.”

Flessel called for an investigation into alleged racist abuse directed at players during Les Blues international friendly with Russia.

The issue was first reported by photographers from news agency AFP, who said they heard chants when players went to take corners.

It is the latest in a number of incidents of discrimination linked to Russia.

In October UEFA charged Spartak Moscow for racist chanting during a UEFA Youth League fixture against Liverpool, and the club were later criticised for a “racist” tweet about their own players.

GOTV BOXING NIGHT 14

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has been nominated for the prestigious International Sports Press Association-Africa (AIPS) Africa Power of Sports (POS) Award.

In a nomination letter to the Rivers State Governor, dated 26th March, 2018, President

AIPS Africa, Mitchell Obi, said Wike is being recognised for his remarkable fidelity in raising the bar of sports matters and using sports as a catalyst for development.

The AIPS Africa also recognised the role of Wike in Nigeria through the use of sports as a tool to effectively engage the youth population in the continent.

“The decoration of this badge of honour will take place at the continental meeting in Brussels on the 8th/9th of May 2018,” the letter stated.

The AIPS Africa also stated that Wike is expected to deliver a lecture on the topic: “Peace and Progress through Sports in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria “ to the full house of the 94-year old International

Sports Press Association (AIPS) comprising no fewer than 108 countries.

While congratulating the Rivers State Governor, the AIPS Africa President praised his commitment to the growth of sports in the continent.

Rivers State recently hosted the African Wrestling Championship considered the very best by most analysts.

El Rufai: Golf Grows $500m Investment in Kaduna Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, has said that the game of golf has helped grow over $500 million investment in the state.

While teeing off the 1st Kadinvest Pro-Am International Golf Tournament at the Kaduna Golf Club yesterday morning, El Rufai, equally an ardent golfer, did not hide his joyful feelings that such huge number of golfers (close to 600) from across Nigeria and some seven

West African countries could besiege Kaduna for a golf tourney.

He said he would ensure total safety of the golfers and that the event would grow larger during every month of April.

“When we said we were going to make Kaduna great again, we were looking at the number of investors we could bring to our state. We introduced the Kadinvest

Golf Tournament to attract investors. This is paying off and I personally thank our sponsor, Sir Lucky Omoluwa of Pinnacle Communications, a man I usually refer to as our son, even though he is from Delta State,” observed the Kaduna State governor at the ceremony yesterday.

Before performing the ceremonial teeing off, El Rufai entered into a closed session with the management of

Kaduna Golf Club headed by its Captain, Col. Ibrahim Biu, where he promised he would help them achieve great dreams.

The club’s Board of Trustees Chairman and indeed the Emir of Birnin Gwari, Mallam Maigwari, was equally in the closed session.

Thereafter, the governor inspected the total refurbishment of the club mainly financed

by Omoluwa’s Pinnacle Communications.

Hyena Threatens Finito With Demolition Razak “Hyena” Ramon, the rising cruiserweight boxer billed to face Abiodun “Finito” Afinni in a national challenge bout at GOtv Boxing Night 14, has threatened to do to his opponent what hyenas do to prey.

Their highly anticipated clash is one of the seven lined up at the show, which holds at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos, on 14 April.

Speaking in Lagos yesterday, Hyena said he is looking beyond Afinni, whom he intends to use

as a stepping stone to bigger things, including the national lightweight cruiserweight title.

“I am in camp and as you can see, I have been training really hard for the fight. I am not called Hyena for nothing.

I will eat up Afinni. He calls himself Finito. That means he would be finished off. He is just another opponent I have to dismiss quickly, as I aim for the national, West African, African and world cruiserweight titles.”

NPFL Enyimba 2-0 MFM FC Plateau Utd 2-1 Yobe D’Stars

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El Rufai (2nd left), flanked on his left by Chairman of Board of Trustees of Kaduna Golf Club and Emir of Birnin Gwari, Mallam Maigwari and tournament sponsor, Lucky Omoluwa (right) shortly after the ceremonial tee off of the 1st Kadinvest Tournament... yesterday

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Price: N250

MISSILE Samuel Ortom to Nigerians “Of course, you know that self-preservation is the first law of nature.

You can’t just wait in your house and allow someone to come and kill you” – Benue State Governor, Mr Samuel Ortom, backing the call by a former Minister of Defence, T. Y. Danjuma, that Nigerians should defend themselves in the face of killings across the country.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

The Danjuma Protocol O

n 19th October 2001, nineteen soldiers were brutally hacked to death by suspected Tiv militia in Benue State. In a swift reprisal action, their colleagues from the 23rd Armoured Brigade invaded the villages of Vasae, Anyiin Iorja, Ugba, Sankera and Zaki-Biam, all located within two local government areas. By the time the rampaging soldiers were done, no fewer than a hundred villagers were shot dead with several buildings razed down.

In the aftermath of that tragedy, there were strident calls for the resignation of the then Defence Minister, Lt. General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd) who granted an explosive interview to TheNews magazine where he characterised the Tiv people in very negative light.

I do not want to repeat what Danjuma said in that interview, because it serves no useful purpose. But in my column on this page back then, I wrote: “…I want to believe that Danjuma talked out of anger because, even from the interview, it is evident that he has a long relationship with Tiv people.

If there are problems today between his (Jukun) people and Tivs, he should try and find solution to them. Danjuma should not add more petrol to the fire. He is a respected father figure in the country and within the Middle Belt zone so he should not belittle himself by becoming a Jukun warrior. He should be able to rise above that.”

Instructively, the title of that piece was, “Who is Danjuma speaking for?”

In the wake of Danjuma’s latest outburst, were I to repeat that headline, I am sure many Nigerians would come out to say, as they are already doing, that he spoke for them but they miss the point. “The Armed Forces are not neutral. They are conniving with armed bandits that kill people. They facilitate their movement. They cover them,” said Danjuma before he warned: “If you depend on the armed forces for protection, you will all die one by one.” For a former army chief to impute that those who wear the same uniform he once did are no more than hired assassins and that citizens should henceforth take the law into their own hands is to inflame the fire of discord, the end of which nobody can foretell.

However, that Danjuma’s statement would enjoy a measure of public support attests to how much President Muhammadu Buhari has damaged ethno-religious relations in Nigeria. That his Defence Minister, Mansur Dan-Ali, would describe Danjuma’s statement as an “invitation to anarchy” is the height of hypocrisy. In case Dan-Ali has forgotten, this was what he said after a meeting of security chiefs with the president in January: “Since the nation’s Independence, we know there used to be a route whereby the cattle rearers take because they are all over the nation. If those routes are blocked what do you expect will happen?”

Despite public reactions to what was clearly a justification of violence by a high-ranking cabinet member, President Buhari did not sanction or reprimand Dan-Ali whose appointment confirmed very early that this administration has no regard for merit and

Danjuma competence. That could not have been lost on a man like Danjuma who must have concluded, as most people have, that some appointees in this administration are in office, despite their incompetence and insensitivity, not to serve public good but rather in promotion of some sinister agenda.

The military thrives on hierarchy of command yet Dan-Ali was appointed to boss his superiors in a critical sector even when his record of military service, to put it mildly, was rather undistinguished. If Dan-Ali had been a civilian all his life it would have been a different matter. But he was a military man picked as Defence Minister shortly after retirement with the service chiefs who were his superior officers only a few years before now made to take orders from him.

Going by the armed forces seniority roll, the current Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin started his cadet training at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) on 3rd January 1979 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 18th December 1981. The Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Yusuf Buratai started his cadet training on 1st January 1981 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 17th December 1983. Meanwhile, Dan-Ali started his cadet training on Short Service Commission on 5th March 1984 and was commissioned on 15th December 1984!

Buhari’s pick for the Inspector General of Police office was similarly informed by the same principle of placing personal loyalty above competence and public good. It was therefore no surprise when, following the Benue State tragedy, Mr Ibrahim Idris also made some reckless statements even when he presides over a Force whose men and officers have been reduced to carrying handbags for concubines of VIPs. To compound the problem, Buhari decided to appoint another Katsina man as Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) at a time most Nigerians were already complaining very loudly that his National

Security Council was dominated by a section of the country, an insensitive disposition that is in itself a threat to national security.

That explains why the same people who told the world that Boko Haram has been “technically defeated” are now talking about ongoing negotiations with the murderous insurgents whose commanders were recently hailed when they came to drop some of our abducted school girls because they now have a “moral burden”!

In a way, it is the president who unwittingly created the climate of suspicions that have now fed into conspiracy theories in a toxic political season. What we are witnessing is how disruptive promotions and appointments into the military and security hierarchy have combined with curious decision making to render them practically impotent and our country unsafe. Therefore, the thread which connects the variants of violence that we have in the country today, including those being perpetrated by suspected herdsmen, is that the Nigerian state has lost what Max Weber described as the monopoly of “the legitimate use of physical force” to sundry criminal cartels.

Security structures work best when the objectives are clear, the managers uphold a devotion to duty with lines of authority that are based on competence rather than sentiment and the political control at the apex is strong and focused. In the absence of such clarity, the system will suffer from internal incoherence as we see with interagency squabbles and blame shuttling under the current administration. At the receiving end of all this is the civil populace which is then left at the mercy of non-state actors unleashed by compelling socio-economic forces and the divisive politics of the day.

It is within the foregoing context that Danjuma’s statement becomes very unfortunate.

Accusing the Army of aiding criminals to attack and kill defenceless citizens is too heavy a charge to make by a man with his pedigree. It is possible that there are rogue elements within the military being used for some nefarious activities but to accuse the institution the way Danjuma did is very dangerous and he, of all persons, must know that.

Incidentally, because of the way we have mismanaged our affairs, with the police incapable of restoring law and order; we have saddled the military with the task of internal security for which they are ill-prepared with damaging consequences. We saw that in the excessive use of force in the South-east last year under the pretext of ‘Operation Python Dance’. But in highlighting the fact that some otherwise respected retired military officers of a certain era now enjoy peddling conspiracy theories against the army, my friend, Mahmoud Jega reminded us in his column on Monday that in March 2014, then Adamawa State Governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako, accused President Goodluck Jonathan of deploying both the military and Boko Haram to destroy the North.

Like Danjuma who retired as Army Chief to become a stupendously wealthy oil baron (he even donated N100 million after his outburst

last Saturday), Nyako, who also retired as Chief of Naval Staff at the same period, is today one of the biggest mechanised farmers in Nigeria, if not in the entire West Africa.

So, members of their generation have done very well for themselves in this same Nigeria and that should temper their engagements with the rest of us.

In that infamous 2014 speech delivered at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, Nyako not only alleged that the arms and ammunitions being used

by Boko Haram were purchased by the Jonathan administration, he also incited Nigerians against the military. “How else could there be such timely actions regarding the withdrawal of the military near vital positions such as schools and colleges with the immediate arrival of Boko Haram squad of murderers?”, Nyako asked before he added: “It is now clear to all and sundry that there is an unhindered coordination between the activities of Boko Haram cells and some strategic commanders sitting in some high offices in our national defence system…these strategic commanders are waging a war of terror as well as adopting insurgency tactics of using terror to achieve a political end against Northern Nigeria.”

At a period when daughters of the high and mighty are marrying across religious lines (Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki); across ethnic lines (Kano State Governor Umar Ganduje) and across political party lines (Vice President Yemi Osinbajo)—a commendable development I must say—the poor of our society should not continue to allow themselves to be used as canon fodders by members of the business and political elite who are secured in the knowledge that they, and members of their immediate families, are far away from the theatres of war they most often help to ignite.

The crisis that we face in Nigeria today is that of poor governance and all citizens, whether in the North or in the South, are affected. To therefore couch it in ‘We versus Them’ narrative is most unfortunate. Asking Nigerians to defend themselves and disregard the institutions of state, as Danjuma did last Saturday, can only lead the nation to the abyss of a Hobbesian jungle. The kind of free-for-all violence that such a state of affair could engender may not affect the Danjumas and Nyakos of this world but it will compound the problem for the majority of our people who are already going through difficult socio-economic upheavals.

As Danjuma is one of the supporters and financiers of Buhari’s long aspiration to rule Nigeria, it is not likely that this administration will go after him. That, at least, is comforting because to do so would be very dangerous since, as I stated earlier, his remarks resonated with several constituencies as a result of the mismanagement of certain issues by this administration. Whatever may be his motivation, Danjuma’s outburst should be taken as yet another wake-up call to a president who not only continues to squander enormous goodwill but has refused to rise up to the demands of leadership in a diverse society.

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