THURSDAY 19TH APRIL 2018

Court Halts Sale of 9mobile, Shareholders Led by Mangal Demand $43.3m Refund Alex Enumah in Abuja Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday stopped the planned sale of 9mobile (formerly Etisalat Nigeria) following the opposition to the transaction raised by some aggrieved

shareholders of the company.

Justice Nyako gave the order stopping the sale while ruling on an ex parte motion brought by the shareholders.

One of the companies said to be a shareholder in 9mobile and is a plaintiff in the suit, is owned by Katsina

businessman, Alhaji Dahiru Mangal.

The order by the court will put a spanner in the bid by Teleology, which emerged preferred bidder in the sale process for 9mobile.

Teleology last month paid a $50 million non-refundable

deposit for 9mobile and was given 90 days to pay the balance of $450 million to conclude its acquisition of the telecoms firm.

But Afdin Ventures Limited and Dirbia Nigeria Limited, who claimed to be “major investors” in Etisalat Nigeria,

which was renamed 9mobile after company’s Abu Dhabibased investors – Etisalat Group – exited the Nigerian telco last year, complained of being left out in the firm's decision making and are demanding a refund of their investment in 9mobile to the

tune of $43,330,950.

The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/ CR/288/2018 has Karlington Telecommunications Ltd, Premium Telecommunications Holdings NV, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Central Bank of Continued on page 6

Cracks in Legislature as Election Reorder Bill is Stepped Down… Page 10 Thursday 19 April, 2018 Vol 23. No 8400. Price: N250

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A FAMILY IN GRIEF...

L-R: Founder/CEO of Maison Fahrenheit, Mr. Anselm Tabansi, his sons Joshua, Levi, Jeremy, and their mother, Mrs. Wendy Tabansi, at the service of songs for their brother the late Jesse Tabansi, held at the Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos…yesterday. Jesse, 23, a budding musician, died in a ghastly car accident on Tuesday, April 10, 2018. His songs were released posthumously yesterday. dan ukana

Disbelief, Outrage over Theft of Mace, Attempted Coup in Senate N’Assembly gives security agencies 24hrs to retrieve mace Omo-Agege arrested, released, denies involvement Damilola Oyedele, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Olawale Ajimotokan, James Emejo and Paul Obi in Abuja There was widespread disbelief and outrage in the country yesterday when thugs believed to have been led by Ovie Omo-Agege, the senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District in the Senate and a member of the ruling

All Progressives Congress (APC), stormed the Senate and carted away its mace, the symbol of authority of the upper legislative chamber.

The incident, which took place while the Senate was in session, spread shockwaves across the country, with Nigerians, the federal government, political leaders Continued on page 6

DESECRATION OF NIGERIA’S DEMOCRACY...

Unidentified hoodlums escaping with the mace of the Senate, which they snatched when the upper legislative chamber was in session in Abuja... yesterday julius atoi

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PAGE SIX DISBELIEF, OUTRAGE OVER THEFT OF MACE, ATTEMPTED COUP IN SENATE and parties condemning the act.

It took all of a few minutes to steal the mace, causing commotion in the National Assembly complex.

Stunned by the incident and the lax security in the National Assembly, the Senate and the House of Representatives passed corresponding motions, ordering the security agencies to recover the mace within 24 hours.

Also, Omo-Agege, who last week was suspended for 90 legislative days by the Senate, but allegedly led the thugs into its chamber yesterday, was arrested by the police over the invasion of the National Assembly and theft of the mace.

However, sources disclosed that the plot to disrupt plenary yesterday was concluded on Monday night at a meeting by the now proscribed Parliamentary Support Group, made up of ardent supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari, who had vetoed the Electoral Amendment Bill last month believed to be at the root of the invasion on the National Assembly.

The National Assembly last February had changed the order of the elections for the presidential poll to be conducted last. The amendment to Section 25 of the Electoral Act provides for the National Assembly polls to be conducted first, followed by governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections, and then the presidential poll, all on separate days.

But Omo-Agege and some senators who later metamorphosed into the Parliamentary Support Group, led by Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nassarawa APC), had kicked against the amendment.

Addressing the press, Omo-Agege had claimed the motive was to weaken Buhari in the 2019 polls and that the Senate and the House did not follow laid down procedures for amending the bill.

The Senate thereafter mandated its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to investigate him over his remarks.

A few days after the resolution of the senate to investigate him, Omo-Agege apologised at plenary. But in a new twist in the saga, he turned around and sued the Senate.

At his appearance before the committee, of which he is a member, he declined to respond to any questions.

Consequently, the Senate, last Thursday, adopting the recommendations of the committee, suspended him.

Mace is Whisked Away On yesterday’s invasion, plenary had commenced yesterday in the Senate at 10.53 a.m., with the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu presiding in the absence of Senate President Bukola Saraki, who is away in Washington D.C. attending World Bank/IMF spring meetings.

The session was already ongoing with Senator Theodore Orji (Abia, PDP) presenting a petition, when Omo-Agege, at 11.13 a.m. led at least five thugs into the chambers and walked towards the mace.

One of the thugs, clad in a navy blue jacket and red shirt, was seen gesticulating towards Ekweremadu and shouting in Pidgin English: “Una think say na only una get this place (meaning do you think this place only belongs to you?).”

The senators who were taken unawares, looked on motionless while Omo-Agege reached the table bearing the mace.

It, however, remains unclear if he was the one who picked it up or not.

As the senators looked on in a confused daze, one of the thugs was suddenly seen running up the steps towards the exit of the Senate chamber with the mace in his grasp.

With the senators scampering out of the way, some sergeantat-arms (legislative security officials) tried to stop him, but in the ensuing melee, a female sergeant-at-arms was injured.

Another sergeant-at-arms struggled to retrieve the mace, but was overpowered when two of the hoodlums joined their cohort who had the mace, enabling him to escape with it.

The crowd that had gathered at the lobby of the assembly complex immediately scampered for safety as the thugs ran through the gathering to evade security men who tried to apprehend them.

The thugs escaped through the lobby’s back entrance into a waiting black sport utility vehicle (SUV) and drove away through the back gate, leading to the Presidential Villa.

As the incident unfolded, Omo-Agege stayed back in the chamber, although THISDAY gathered that he was prevented from leaving the room.

After the mace had been carted away by the thugs, the senators retreated into a closed-door session, which lasted for about 40 minutes, and emerged with a resolution to continue plenary, after an alternate mace was laid before the chamber.

On hearing what had transpired in the Senate, lawmakers from the House, led by Deputy Speaker, Hon. Yussuff Sulaiman Lasun, joined the Senate in solidarity.

Attempted Kidnapping At the resumed plenary, Ekweremadu, said the Senate would not be intimidated and described the attack as an affront on democracy and on the parliament.

He also revealed that the thugs had attempted to kidnap two senators during the invasion.

“They attempted kidnapping two of our senators. They eventually left, but we decided that we will not be intimidated by the circumstances. We will stand by our democracy, we will defend our democracy,” he said.

Buoyed on by the lawmakers, Ekweremadu issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris and the Director General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Lawal Daura, to retrieve the mace.

Ekweremadu’s comments on the alleged attempt kidnapping of the senators arose over the attempt by the thugs to bundle away Senator Olamilekan Solomon Adeola (Lagos, APC) when they initially arrived the National Assembly complex.

The attempt to abduct Adeola occurred at about the same time Omo-Agege had led the thugs into the chambers. Adeola was said to have been pushed into one of the three vehicles which Omo-Agege had alighted from.

THISDAY also gathered that Adeola escaped when the vehicle was being driven out of the premises by jumping out of the moving car.

Arrested and Released After plenary was adjourned for the day at 1.45 p.m., as Omo-Agege walked out of the chamber with Senator Adamu Abdullahi by his side, he was accosted by policemen who were waiting for him in the lobby of the National Assembly.

However, Omo-Agege protested, saying: “I cannot be under arrest. For what purpose.”

Flanked by policemen, nonetheless, he was guided to a police Toyota Hilux truck and whisked away at 1.55 p.m.

However, his arrest by the police was short-lived, as the embattled senator was released yesterday, after pressure was purportedly mounted by the presidency on the Inspector

General of Police to free him.

Confirming his release, a statement by his aide, Mr. Lucky Ajos, said his principal was let go by the police.

He added that Omo-Agege did not mastermind the stealing of the mace but had only gone to the Senate chamber to attend plenary.

“On Thursday, April 12, 2018, the Senate purportedly suspended Senator Ovie OmoAgege. However, based on legal advice and his understanding of the current position of the law, Senator Omo-Agege today resumed work and sitting with his colleagues,” the statement said.

“Following the said media reports on the mace issue, the police authorities decided to hear from Senator Omo-Agege.

He has told the police his perspective to help them carry out a proper investigation. He has since left the police station.

“Senator Omo-Agege trusts them to thoroughly investigate this very serious matter,” the statement added.

His release reinforced the suspicion that the presidency might have been in the know of the invasion of the National Assembly and theft of the mace.

Several loyalists of the president had been involved in lobbying the lawmakers in the Senate and House to defeat the initial plan to override Buhari’s veto on the Electoral Amendment Bill.

Saraki Hails Colleagues Meanwhile, Saraki, in a statement issued from Washington D.C., commended his colleagues for defying the plan of the invaders and concluding yesterday’s plenary.

In a statement by his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki said: “I have just been informed that some hoodlums invaded the Senate chamber, forcefully taking away the mace and assaulted some of our sergeantat-arms on chamber duties.

“I am delighted that the Senate stood up to them by disregarding their unreasonable and shameful action and went on with the day’s proceedings as slated in the Order Paper.

“My commendation goes to my deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, other members of the leadership, my colleagues, the leadership and members of the House of Representatives for standing in defence of democracy, parliamentary sanctity and constitutionalism.

“With the way the Senate has defied those seeking to undermine it, we have sent out a strong signal that we are

always ready to defend our constitutional mandate and nothing will deter us from this.

“I associate myself with the comments of the Deputy Senate President that we are ready to get to the root of this assault on democracy and ensure that those who are responsible, no matter how remote, will be brought to justice.”

Widespread Condemnation Expectedly, more reactions to the theft of the mace yesterday came hard and fast. In a statement issued by the Senate spokesman, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, the Senate condemned the invasion of its chambers and abduction of its mace, describing the development as an act of treason.

The Senate added that it was an attempt to overthrow an arm of government by force.

“Today, some hoodlums led by suspended Senator Ovie Omo-Agege walked into the Senate plenary and seized the symbol of authority of the upper legislative chamber, the mace.

“This action was an act of treason, as it was an attempt to overthrow a branch of the Federal Government of Nigeria by force, and it must be treated as such.

“All the security agencies must stand on the side of due process and immediately mobilise their personnel to retrieve the mace and apprehend the mastermind and the perpetrators of this action,” the Senate said in the statement.

The House also passed a motion yesterday asking the security agencies to recover the stolen mace within 24 hours.

The motion, sponsored by the House Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, came after a 30-minute delay in the lower legislative chamber caused by the incident in the Senate.

At the resumption of the day’s business, House members were particularly dumbfounded at security breach in the National Assembly and the fact that the hoodlums had escaped unscathed.

According to Gbajabiamila, the National Assembly had come under attack, stressing that though a Senate issue, it affected the legislature as a whole. “What affects one affects the other,” he said.

He said information reaching him had shown that the thugs invaded the Senate chamber during plenary and forcefully seized the mace before escaping into a waiting vehicle in front of the White House of the National

Assembly. “How this could be possible remains a wonder.”

He called for the total overhaul of the National Assembly security apparatus to forestall a recurrence.

Hon. Gabriel Onyenwife (APGA, Anambra) also described the development as shocking and worrisome.

He wondered: “If gold can rust, what’s the fate of other metals?”

He described the incident as a terrorist attack, noting that it was a total collapse of the democratic system.

“The National Assembly security has a lot of questions to answer. What were the security personnel doing? This attack must be thoroughly investigated, especially the complicity of the security services,” he added.

Hon. Tajudeen Yusuf (PDP, Kogi) said he doubted if the security personnel could be absolved of complicity.

“This was a well-planned attack and an attack on the institution of the legislature.”

On her part, Hon. Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje (PDP, Abia) noted that the armed attackers also attempted to abduct two senators.

“We are now under physical attack... Our democracy is under attack and if we lose the National Assembly, we lose democracy,” she charged.

Other lawmakers, who spoke off the record, were equally concerned over the ease with which the thugs accessed the chamber, considering the heavy presence of stern looking policemen in the National Assembly yesterday.

There were unconfirmed reports that the thugs had presented police with ID cards at the entrance.

“We heard last week that the president’s people were planning to sponsor protests against us, and the protesters numbering up to a thousand would hinge it on our running cost,” a lawmaker told THISDAY. Another lawmaker also said he would not be surprised if Omo-Agege was released yesterday as pressure will be piled from “above” to free him.

His prophecy by evening came to pass.

However, before the solidarity visit to the Senate, the lower chamber could not reach a consensus on whether to select a delegation to visit the Senate, or if the entire House should embark on the mission.

Also, there were divided opinions on whether to adjourn Continued on page 9

COURT HALTS SALE OF 9MOBILE, SHAREHOLDERS LED BY MANGAL DEMAND $43.3M REFUND Nigeria, Etisalat International Nigeria Ltd and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as defendants.

Ruling on the ex parte moved by plaintiffs’ lawyer, Mahmud Magaji (SAN), the court held that “an order is made for the maintenance of status quo as at today”.

Justice Nyako, however, added that the defendants ought to be heard and consequently ordered the service of processes on the defendants, including the 3rd and 5th (First Bank and 9mobile/Etisalat), whose addresses are outside the jurisdiction of the court.

The court in addition ordered that “the writ be marked as concurrent” and adjourned to May 14 for mention.

In a statement of claims, the plaintiffs said that they bought shares in Etisalat from the 1st and 2nd defendants (Karlington Ltd and Premium Holdings) through a private placement memorandum in which the 3rd defendant (First Bank) served as the custodian of the plaintiffs’ share certificates.

According to them, the 1st plaintiff (Afdin Ventures) bought 1,300,391 Class A Shares at $13,003,910, which it paid for on August 14, 2009; the 2nd plaintiff (Dirbia Ltd) acquired 3,300,004 Class A Shares at $30,030,040, for which it made payment on September 3, 2009.

The plaintiffs said they paid for the shares through the 1st and 2nd defendants’ First Bank accounts.

In a supporting affidavit, the general manager of the 1st plaintiff and a director in the 2nd plaintiff, Sani Ibrahim, claimed that the problem with 9mobile resulted from the mismanagement of its funds.

He said the plaintiffs’ grouse arose from not only the firm’s mismanagement, but its inability to declare dividends from 2009 to date and the attempt by the defendants to conduct a clandestine sale of the company to the detriment of the plaintiffs.

Ibrahim stated that in 2015, the 1st, 2nd and 5th defendants took several loans from 13 Nigerian banks with a view to expanding and boosting their telecoms business, but the money was not properly utilised, leading to heavy

indebtedness by 1st, 2nd and 5th defendants.

He added that owing to the resultant indebtedness, the 1st and 2nd defendants rebranded the 5th defendant (Etisalat) and changed its name to 9mobile with a view to selling it off and obtaining money to pay its numerous debts.

According to Ibrahim, “The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th defendants have failed to declare dividends on the shares of the plaintiffs since 2009 till date.

“The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th defendants have completed arrangement to sell the rebranded 9mobile to Smile.

Com and Glo Network, among others, without the knowledge of the plaintiffs, who are its major investors.

“If not restrained, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th defendants will sell Etisalat Nigeria (also known as 9mobile) and disappear with the plaintiffs’ investment.”

The plaintiffs want the court to, among others, declare that the planned sale of 9mobile without paying the plaintiffs the money that they invested in the telecoms firm is unlawful.

They also urged the court to order the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th defendants to refund to the plaintiffs the sum of $43,330,950 with which they bought 4,303,395 shares at $10 per share.

The plaintiffs equally prayed the court to award N1 billion in general damages against the defendants and in their favour.

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Nigeria is Safe for Business, Buhari Tells Investors at CHOGM Says Shell to invest $20bn in the country Omololu Ogunmade in London With the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM 2018) holding in the British capital entering its third day, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday assured foreign investors gathered for the Commonwealth fest that Nigeria was safe for business and urged them to come to the country and invest.

Fielding questions at the Commonwealth Business Forum held in Westminster, London, the president informed participants that Shell was preparing to invest another $20 billion in Nigeria.

“On security, certainly, both in the North-east and in the South-south, there has been an improvement in security. This morning, I met with Shell staff.

“They came and broke the news to me that they were ready to invest about $20 billion in Nigeria. So, really, we are not doing badly,” he said.

In his keynote address at the forum, Buhari counselled the Commonwealth to avoid trade wars and employ opportunities presented by trade to spur growth in the global community.

He addressed participants at the forum on the efforts his government had made to improve the business environment in Nigeria and the attendant results.

According to him, the effectiveness of such efforts was evident in the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business Report’ published in November last

President Muhammadu Buhari (right) and Co-Founder of Sahara Energy Group, Mr. Tonye Cole, at the Commonwealth Business Forum, held in London… yesterday year, which saw Nigeria moving up 24 places from its previous ranking.

He also said the development earned the country recognition as one of the top 10 most improved economies in the world.

At the event held behind closed doors, Buhari acknowledged that more work still needed to be done as Nigeria proceeds to the next stage.

The president who said industry and labour are always bothered in developing countries by distortions in trade policies, added that if doing business must be made easier among the Commonwealth

nations, trade wars must be avoided and collective efforts made to promote the global trade order and deliberate support for regional initiatives.

“In developing countries, labour and industry are concerned about distortions in trade policies that result in subsidised products which have contributed to exports dumped in developing economies. These have had bad effects in the form of job losses.

“Growth is not yet inclusive and remains elusive. There are downside risks about disruptions to trade and investment. Global and regional markets have been considerably rattled by the risks of trade

wars. Concerns over climate change are unabated and are increasing. There are tasks and duties on all sides.

“But if we are to make business easier between our countries and going beyond the Commonwealth, we must avoid trade wars and work collectively to preserve the global trading order, support regional initiatives as well as support domestic structural reforms that focus on the priorities of individual countries,” he said.

Details of the president’s speech, which was contained in a statement by his media adviser, Mr. Femi Adesina, also reiterated his belief in wealth

creation and employment opportunities within the Commonwealth.

“If there is a collective Commonwealth commitment to the ease of doing business, we shall spur growth, multiply wealth and expand employment opportunities. These objectives will be accelerated by trade and investment facilitation,” he added.

The statement said Buhari identified trade and investment facilitation to generate resources for sustainable development; ease of doing business and regional integration that expand markets, with safeguards against injurious trade practices from third parties; more inclusive growth with the empowerment of women and youths, as factors capable of making business among Commonwealth countries easier.

It also said the president identified the provision of a platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs); radical expansion of human capital for the 21st century, now known as “knowledge economy”; and the provision of hard and software infrastructure for the 21st century digital economy to boost e-commerce, increase efficiency, solve development problems and enhance cyber security, as factors necessary for an easier business environment.

According to the statement, Buhari informed his audience that Nigeria had already started championing this course with events such as the High-Level Trade and Investment Facilitation Forum

for Development convened by Nigeria in November 2017 in Abuja in partnership with ECOWAS. It added that the president also shared the experiences of Nigeria regarding on-going deep and extensive ease of doing business reforms, which were staged under a 60-day National Action Plan.

“Stage 1 focuses on eight areas that make it easier to register businesses, obtain construction permits, get credit, pay taxes, get electricity, trade across borders, facilitate entry and exit of people, and register property.

“These reforms were codified in an Executive Order. Transparency and efficiency across government was mandated and made enforceable. These reforms have resulted in improvements: reduction in cost and time and greater transparency, particularly for micro- small and medium sized enterprises.

“Stage 2 is focused on 11 areas, improving on Stage 1.

This stage also covers new areas, including contract enforcement, simplifying the procurement process and trade within Nigeria. Action on this and subsequent stages will revolve inter alia, around reputational issues,” the president said.

Buhari also encouraged prospective investors in the Nigerian economy to participate in the forthcoming 2018 UKNigeria Trade and Investment Forum scheduled to hold at the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

parliament all over the world is the bastion of democracy, without which government becomes autocratic and totalitarian.

“We urge Nigerians to pause and reflect on the series of assaults on our legislature under the current dispensation; and the persecution and harassment of the leaders and members of the Senate on trumped-up charges, including declaring a serving senator wanted by the police.

“We therefore charge the National Assembly to bring forth every legislative instrument to protect itself from external aggressions as well as unravelling every person, office and institution that played any form of role in this wild attempt to scuttle our hard earned democracy.

“Our nation has accepted democracy as the best form of governance. Those whose adrenaline cannot accommodate democracy and its constitutionally guaranteed tenets should either shape up or be forced to conform with the best ideals of democracy,” the PDP said.

Also, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar described the attack on the Senate as a dangerous precedent and an assault on Nigeria’s democracy by anti-democratic elements.

A statement by his media office quoted Atiku as stating: “I am utterly embarrassed, shocked and outraged by this ugly development because it is not only a threat to a major democratic institution, but also represents a grave danger to the survival of our democracy.”

He said given the tension

in the country, the timing of the attack could not have come at a worse time for Nigeria, warning that using illegal and unconstitutional methods to threaten the authority of a key democratic institution was unacceptable, evil, and condemnable.

The former vice-president considered it inconceivable that hoodlums forced their way into the Senate chamber and took away the mace.

“If criminals could commit such a security breach with impunity, it means that our entire democracy is in danger,” Atiku said, further warning those behind the illegality to “avoid creating a monster that could consume them”.

Atiku reminded Nigerians that so many people had died for the country’s democracy and called for an immediate investigation into the incident and the prompt prosecution of those involved.

“It is unacceptable and reprehensible to subject the National Assembly to this intimidation and humiliation.

This attack by thugs should not go unpunished no matter who is involved,” he added.

While likening democratic institutions to the human body Atiku said: “If one organ is harmed, it affects others.”

He urged those pushing the county’s political temperature to dangerous levels to cease and desist as they were playing a game of Russian roulette with Nigeria’s hard-earned democracy.

Atiku also called for unity, calm and an end to the “culture of political disunity that is tearing the country apart”.

DISBELIEF, OUTRAGE OVER THEFT OF MACE, ATTEMPTED COUP IN SENATE sitting in solidarity with Senate.

However, Lasun, who was presiding, ruled that adjourning would mean playing into the hands of the detractors who may then claim victory.

Eventually, the House resolved that all members should pay the solidarity visit to the Senate and consider all the items listed on the yesterday’s agenda.

It further condemned in totality, the invasion of Senate, describing it as an unwarranted assault on democracy.

Ekweremadu Briefs Osinbajo Later yesterday evening, when Ekweremadu met with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in the State House, Abuja to formally report the invasion of Senate chamber to him, he said formally reporting the matter to the vice-president, in view of the absence of the president, was imperative.

He said the invasion was totally unacceptable, noting that he was confident that the act was also unacceptable to both the president and vice-president.

Ekweremadu, who spoke to State House correspondents, said the vice-president sympathised with the Senate over the irrational act and assured him that he would collaborate with the upper chamber and ensure that they get to the root of the invasion.

“Well, I’m sure you are aware of the Senate invasion today (yesterday) and we have to come and brief the vice-president because the president is not in town.

“So, it was appropriate for

him to know what transpired because we run a democracy.

We are all in one government and it is the responsibility of the president or the vice-president to ensure that there is law and order in the country, and once we have this kind of major development, it is important that he is briefed at the earliest opportunity.

“The Senate President is out of the country. It is therefore my responsibility to come over and brief the vice-president. He has sympathised with us over what happened and he is going to join forces with us to ensure that we get to the root of the matter to make sure that this will not happen again.

“For us, it’s a threat to our democracy. The invasion of the parliament is not acceptable to any person. It’s not acceptable to me. It’s not acceptable to the VP. It’s not acceptable to my colleagues. I believe it’s not also acceptable to the president.

“So, those who acted out this script must be on their own. All we need to do as a country is to ensure that this is forestalled and I want to appeal to the media to help us discourage this kind of brigandage so that people can behave in a very responsible manner.

“But let me assure you that we are on top of the situation.

We did our sitting today and we are going to continue tomorrow.

Having been suspended, OmoAgege did have the legal right to enter the chamber?

“It was a breach of the law for him to force himself into the chamber. As I said, the police is still investigating this matter.

We are going to find out the details of those who aided him

to come in and then, some of them, I believe have been arrested, we will get to the root of the matter,” Ekweremadu not knowing that Omo-Agege had regained his freedom.

But in another reaction to yesterday’s incident, the federal government expressed shocked over the invasion of the National Assembly and the theft of the Senate mace by thugs.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed said in a statement that the security agencies had been ordered to unravel the circumstances that led to the breach of security and the invasion.

The minister added that the security around the National Assembly complex would be reinforced to prevent a recurrence.

Similarly, the ruling APC condemned the invasion. A statement issued yesterday by the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mallam Bolaji Abdulahi, described the incident as an attack on democracy.

According to the ruling party, “The attention of the APC has been drawn to the invasion of the Nigerian Senate by suspected thugs who disrupted Wednesday’s plenary and made away with the mace.

“The APC hereby condemns this action and views it as an attack on our democracy and a desecration of the hallowed institution of the National Assembly.

“We therefore call on the security agencies to take all necessary actions to recover the stolen mace and ensure that the perpetrators and their

sponsors are brought to justice.”

In its statement on the incident, the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also condemned the invasion of the National Assembly and the seizure of the mace.

The PDP described the attack as a direct assault on the legislature and a bold attempt to truncate Nigeria’s democracy.

In a statement issued by PDP spokesman, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said the National Assembly should take measures to secure its chambers.

“We note that this offensive has been emboldened by a series of interferences and direct attacks by the APC and the Buhari presidency on the institution of the National Assembly, particularly the Senate.

“The APC has foisted on our nation an irredeemable autocracy, which has in three years of governance, gone beyond limits to force Nigerians to accept a government that has no respect for freedom and the ideals of democracy, particularly the constitutional separation of powers.

“Is it not strange that on a legislative day appointed by the National Assembly to further deliberate on the re-ordering of sequence of the elections, was the same day invaded by strange elements, particularly the hallowed chambers of the Senate to disrupt legislative proceeding and seize the mace?

“Equally strange is the compromise of security in the National Assembly paving the way for the invasion.

“PDP has maintained that the

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Ă?ĂĄĂ? ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ™Ăœ Davidson Iriekpen Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com, 08111813081

Cracks in N’Assembly as Election Reorder Bill is Stepped Down Chamber upholds Gwarzo’s suspension from SEC

Damilola Oyedele Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ James Emejo Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission Obvious cracks appeared (INEC) Senator Sulaiman Nazif, yesterday in both chambers of presenting the new version, the National Assembly over the named “a Bill for an Act to reordering of election sequence, amend the provisions of the as heated arguments led to the Electoral Act No.6, 2010, to suspension of the debate on the make provisions for sequence bill in the Senate and the House of elections in Nigeria.� of Representatives. Nazif argued that the bill does The bills for an “Act to amend not infringe on the powers of the provisions of the Electoral INEC to fix election dates. Act, 2010, to make provisions for He added that the constitution sequence of elections in Nigeria does not specify a sequence for and for related matters� was the general election. stepped down by the sponsors As he explained the new after it had been listed for second sequence, several senators were reading in both chambers. heard saying ‘No’.

The development raises Majority Leader,  Senator questions on whether the Ahmed Lawan, opposed the National Assembly still has the bill, and urged the Senate not determination to push through, to tamper with INEC’s powers with the piece of legislation that on election, on grounds that had generated controversies in it would make elections more recent times, and pitched the costly. legislature against the presidency. “We should not legislate on The lawmakers had amended sequence, but rather, assist INEC Section 25 of the Electoral Act, to to do its job,� he said. change the order of 2019 general Senator Olusola Adeyeye said elections’ time table. In the initial INEC should be granted full version, the National Assembly autonomy to determine issues election is to hold first, followed of elections. by gubernatorial, state assembly “INEC before now chose and presidential elections. dates, and should be allowed The bill was, however, rejected to do so. Anything after that

by President Muhammadu is legislative rascality,� he said.

Buhari who declined assent on Senator Kabiru Marafa called the premise that it infringes on for all polls to be conducted the powers of the Independent in one day.

National Electoral Commission Tayo Alasoadura also opposed (INEC) to organise and supervise the bill, and said the Senate does elections. not have the constititonal right The amendment was feared to ‘do what it was doing.’ to have the potential to weaken “We are concentrating on the president, if presidential poll irrelevancies, there are so many is conducted last, instead of first, problems, people are dying, due to its bandwagon on other losing jobs,� he said. elections.

Senator Dino Melaye Both legislative chambers disagreed that the attempt were working to override to create a sequence, was the president’s veto, leading unconstitutional. to intense lobbying by the “There is a difference between presidency for the National dates and sequence, and the Assembly to abandon the cause. constitution empowers INEC to In the version of the bill fix dates,� he said, adding that presented yesterday, the other issues can be subjected governorship elections were to legislation. slated to be held first, followed The Minority Leader, Senator

by National Assembly and state Godswill Akpabio, argued that Houses of Assembly next, and the lawmakers had the powers then Presidential polls. to legislate on order of elections.

He however disagreed with the new order in the bill. “My disagreement with this bill is that we cannot approbate and repprobate. As a Senate, we are distinguished people; we cannot speak with both sides of our mouth.� “The sequence, as proposed here, is such that not only has it taken us backwards, it shows that we look confused. And if we are confused, let us go back to the status quo. It is on that note, without joining issues with anybody, that I stand opposed to this bill,� he said.

Senator Mao Ohuabunwa also opposed the new version. “I am not aware that we have changed the decision we took,� he said.

The session started to get rowdy as several senators verbally indicated their interest to contribute.

The debate was therefore stood down, to be continued

on another legislative day.

It was a similar situation in the House of Representatives. When the bill was mentioned for seconding, the lead sponsor, Hon. Edward Pwajok (APC, Plateau), said after due consultation with members, he had resolved to step down the bill- without further explanation. Some members protested his decision on the bill which seven other members sponsored.

But, in a curious move, the Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, drew the attention of the House to the fact that he was erroneously listed among the sponsors of the bill, and demanded that his name be removed for record purposes. Gbajabiamila said: “I want my name struck out from the bill.� Later, during a media briefing, House spokesman, Hon. Abdulrazaq Namdas,

evaded further comments on the Electoral Act step down, stressing that it was the decision of the sponsor, who has the right to make such decision. Meanwhile, the lower chamber yesterday adopted the returns of the state Houses of Assembly on the constitution Alteration Bill’s 2018, having met the requirements of the provisions of Section 9 of the 1999 constitution. Also yesterday, the House approved the recommendations of the report of its Committee on Capital Market and Institutions on the need to intervene in the conflict between the Minister of Finance, Mrs, Kemi Adeosun and the suspended DirectorGeneral of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Munir Gwarzo.

One of the four recommendations said his suspension should be upheld.Â

It said: “Based on the constitutional provisions and other extant laws as well as relevant of the public service rules, cited and referred to, the suspension of Mr. Munir Gwarzo, the former Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission by the Honourable Minister of Finance should stand.�

It stated: “That based on the petitions by various stakeholders of Ondo, the Committee agreed to conduct investigation of Oando Plc. “That based on the Public service rule, and SEC staff manual, the two staff of SECMrs Anastacia O. Braimoh and Mr. Naif Abdulsalam should be recalled from suspension and report to duty immediately. “That the case of Mrs. Anastasia and Mr. Abdulsalam should be referred to the management of SEC for disciplinary action in accordance with the SEC staff manual.â€?Â

YOU NEED TO FOLLOW US TO THE STATION

Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, flanked the FCT Police Commissioner, Sadiq Bello (right) and the National Assembly DPO, Zulu Dabari (left), when he was arrested by the police. The senator was later released...yesterday

FG Makes U-turn, to Adopt Ranching to End Herders-farmers’ Clashes Ogheneuvede Ohwovoriole Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The federal government yesterday backtracked on its plan to establish cattle colonies, saying it would now focus on the establishment of ranches as a solution to the long drawn out clashes between herdsmen and farmers, resulting in the killings of hundreds of people and wanton destruction of property across the country, especially in Benue, Plateau, Taraba and Adamawa States.

The Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazau (rtd), who made this known in Abuja at a stakeholders’ dialogue on the eradication of herders-farmers conflict in Nigeria, said additional measure put in place by the federal government through his

ministry was the setting up of agro rangers.

The minister, who spoke at the event organised by the Alumni Association of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in collaboration with Presidential Committee on Small and Light Weapons, said the incessant loss of lives, property and environmental degradation elicited the conflict.

Speaking via the Deputy Commandant General of NSCDC, Dr. Mohammed Jega, the minister added that to address the menace, the federal government had not surrendered in its efforts at overcoming the insecurity challenges by proposing to establish cattle ranches. “It has further been established that climate change, scarce resources, trans-boarder

migration cause pastoralists mainly from other African countries to move through the North to other parts of Nigeria in search of grazing land for their livestock and this constitute the security challenge we are facing today,’’ he added. “Their movement has brought about clashes, which is invariably affecting the level of food shortage thereby causing food insecurity and this further threatens the stability of our nation. Security is an integral part of livelihood and well-being of the citizenry and we must ensure that these challenges are surmountable. “The competition for scarce resources has often resulted into a more frequent and destructive conflict than ever. The decade of the 1990s has witnessed the highest number of armed

conflicts most of which are consequences of struggle for natural resources.’’ He further added that “herdsmen by nature are nomads who move from one place to another to rear their animals for economic and social survival particularly seeking a place to cater for his animals. “Similarly, the social standing of the herdsman depends on the number of cattle possessed, just the status of a man in the society rests on the number of properties on which his social class can be adjudged. “Thus, the herdsman guards his cattle jealously.

The incessant resource conflicts witnessed in that nation have resulted in loss of lives, properties and environmental degradation on the strength

of this, communal conflicts over land resources are usually fierce with massive destruction of lives and properties as witnessed in states like Benue, Taraba, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Zamfara, Adamawa and Plateau, etc.�

Danbazau was of the view that “in order to address the menace, the federal government has not relented its efforts in overcoming the insecurity challenges by proposing to establish cattle ranches. In 1966, the northern regional government of Nigeria initiated one of the first measures to respond to the crisis of herders/ farmers by establishing cattle ranches but was abandoned by the previous governments.’’ In his remarks, the Chairman of Presidential Committee on Small and Light Weapons,

Ambassador Emmanuel Imohe, said in view of what was happening today, Nigerians must sit together and talk to themselves with open mind to address the insecurity threats confronting the nation.

According to him, “It is as a result of the foregoing as well as the further impact or threat of same that we, as Nigerians, must sit together and talk to ourselves with open minds with a view to critically and constructively diagnosing this raging security threat in order to proffer enduring solution for the consideration of our government.�

He blamed the porous nature of Nigerian border with other West African countries for influx of illegal alliance and smuggling of deadly weapons into the country.

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWS

Oyegun, Others in Last-Ditch Effort to Remain in Office

Want tenure extension by affirmation APC North-central zone insists on elective convention Tobi Soniyi ÓØ ËÑÙÝ The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and other members of his executive have not given up on their plans to remain in office as they have made a last minute ditch effort to sabotage the party’s convention slated for May 14, 2018.

The new plan, according to people who are familiar with the issue, is to push for a convention by affirmation and not election.

The plan is to ensure that executives at all levels retain their positions by affirmation.

At a meeting of the Northcentral zone of the party held last weekend in Jos at the office of the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, some Oyegun loyalists pushed the suggestion that the convention be held by affirmation.

“However, others who read through the plans vehemently raised objection and opposed the idea,” a source who attended the meeting told THISDAY. Eventually, the zonal meeting agreed that the convention

should be by election.

The meeting was attended by state governors from the zone.

The governors who could not attend sent their deputies.

Members of the National Assembly from the zone also attended.

The meeting also unanimously expressed support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s reelection bid and called on all members of the party in the zone to work for the president’s re-election.

Members of the party are divided over whether the party should hold congresses and national convention to elect new executives across board.

While some wanted the present executives to continue in office following the one-year extension granted them, others called for election to replace the existing executives.

Those who wanted extension of time for executives at all levels appeared to have carried the day until President Buhari suddenly realised that extending the tenure of the executives by a year violated both the party and the country’s constitution.

Many view the president’s

sudden change of heart to please the national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, whose support he critically needs to win votes in the South-west for his re-election.

The party had in a notice to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the timetable for its congresses and national convention.

The letter with reference number: ‘APC/NHDQ/ INEC/19/018/010’ and titled “Notice of Conduct of Congresses/National Convention” signed by the APC National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, the party scheduled Ward congresses for May 2, 2018; local government congresses, May 5, 2018; State congresses, May 9, 2018 and national convention,

May 14, 2018.

The notice read: “We write to advise that our party is scheduled to conduct ward, local government, state congresses and national convention to fill vacant offices arising from effluxion of time or appointment into government offices, death and other reasons as stipulated in Article 17 of our party’s constitution.

“Please be informed that we also intend to conduct special local government congresses to elect delegates to our forthcoming national convention.

“Meanwhile, this serves as a formal notice in line with the provision of Electoral Act.” Until the convention is held, each group will continue to make efforts to make sure that its position prevails.

Return to Work, FG Appeals to Striking Health Workers Senator Iroegbu ÓØ ÌßÔË The federal government has appealed to the striking health workers under the auspices of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) to return to work.

The Director of Press, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Samuel Olowookere, in a statement yesterday, expressed surprise that JOHESU embarked on another round of nationwide strike despite government’s demonstrable commitment to the implementation of the agreement reached with it since their last strike of

September 20, 2017.

Olowookere said: “At a period the federal government is faithfully managing lean resources to ensure industrial harmony in all sectors, a measure of patriotism is expected of all labour unions to enable government have an equable social and very good labour milieu in which workers could be assured of security of employment.

“It is on record that government has met almost all the demands of these unions on issues such as the payment of promotion arrears, salary shortfalls,

among others as per the agreement reached on September 30th 2017.”

“The federal government therefore wishes to appeal to JOHESU to reconsider its position in view of the immeasurable consequences of its action on patients in hospitals across the country.”

According to the statement, “While the federal government restates its commitment to the implementation of the terms of settlement reached with JOHESU, it shall not however fail in its sacred responsibility of protecting the lives of the

numerous patients in all public health institutions where this group of health workers have unjustifiably withdrawn their services.

“If this group of health workers persist on continuing this strike, government will be forced to invoke the provisions of the relevant labour laws, especially Section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act, Cap.T8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004 as well as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) principles concerning employers rights over strikes in essential services sector.”

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWSXTRA

Dickson: FG Not Implementing 13% Derivation in Full Says producing states at the mercy of NNPC

Davidson Iriekpen The Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson, has disclosed that oil producing states in the country are not getting the complete 13 per cent derivation of revenue derived from oil production as provided for in the 1999 Constitution.

Dickson said in spite of the express provisions of the constitution for the disbursement of 13 per cent to producing states, those entrusted with the responsibility have not ensured effective implementation of the derivation act.

Dickson, who said successive governments have violated the 13 per cent derivation Act, called for the issue to be addressed without delay.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Relations, Mr. FIdelis Soriwei, quoted the governor as having made the comment during a visit to the head office TV Continental in Lagos.

He said the queer kind of federalism in operation in the country was the reason behind the growing call for the restructuring in the polity.

He decried a situation where states of the federation and the federal government would be put at the mercy of the Nigerian

National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which would declare whatever it considered appropriate for sharing.

He said: “We practice in this country, a very funny federal system and these are the reasons some of us are passionate about the call for a restructured Nigeria so that we can address these challenges and imbalances.

“Even within the existing constitutional framework that has made provisions for 13 per cent derivation, the implementation of it does not really come to 13 per cent. It is unfortunate.

“We have a situation where every state including the oil producing states which suffer the adverse effects of oil production, (environment is going, livelihoods are gone and communities in crisis) and the federal government are at the mercy of the NNPC. “In orders words, every month, our officials go to the Federal Accounts and Allocation Committee for the month and they simply wait for NNPC to declare what is available and they throw that at us.

“So there has been a consistent violation of the constitutional provision regarding 13 per cent constitutional provisions to effect that all funds that accrued to the federal government should be paid into the federation account

so that it would be put in for disbursement according to the revenue sharing formula.

“That has been consistently violated by successive governments, and we feel it should be addressed.”

Speaking also on the issue of the $1 billion to fight Boko Haram terrorists, the governor

reiterated the position of the state government to go to court to seek enforcement of its demand for the 13 per cent component of the supposed security funds.

Dickson said it was only proper for the 13 per cent component of the funds to be worked out and paid to the producing states in accordance

with the provisions of the constitution so that they are not made to make double contribution to the funds.

The governor said the $1 billion should be designated as support for the security forces such as the army, the Navy, Air Forces, the police and others rather than being

termed as part of campaign against Boko Haram.

Dickson stressed that while he was in support of the planned release of the funds because of his belief in stability and security for economic development, there should be consensus on the security items to be procured with the funds.

This is the Time to Invest in Nigeria, Udoma Tells Investors in London Iyobosa Uwugiaren ÓØ ÌßÔË The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, yesterday told participants at the United Kingdom-Nigeria Trade and Investment Forum in London that now is the right time to invest in Nigeria “with economic policy initiatives yielding positive results coupled with a stable political climate’’ in the country, The Special Adviser (Media) to the minister, Mr. Akpandem James, quoted Udoma as stating this while speaking at the plenary session of the forum, saying Nigeria’s outlook for 2018 was very positive as the country had since exited recession and the economy was steadily growing again.

He explained that as part of government effort to transform the economy and deliver sustained, diversified and inclusive growth, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) was put together and several initiatives in the plan are being implemented to remove constraints to investments, adding that some of the initiatives include the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Focus Labs.

Enumerating the reforms and initiatives introduced across various sectors of the economy, Udoma said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had established Investors and Exporters Foreign Exchange window to deepen the foreign exchange market, boost liquidity and accommodate all

foreign exchange requirements. ‘’The establishment of the Nigeria Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council as a vehicle for partnering the private sector on the industrialisation agenda, completion of 60-day National Action Plan on Ease of Doing Business, including the visa-onarrival policy and issuance of Executive Order on Ease of Doing Business, are other initiatives of government which the minister mentioned,’’ the statement added.

He was also said to have mentioned the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) with budgetary provision of N46 billion in the 2017 budget and N46.39 billion in the 2018 proposal; and partnering the private sector on infrastructure

development, including the Road Trust Fund Scheme, Concessions’ arrangements, Public Private Partnerships (PPP) among others.

Pointing to the on-going Focus Labs with initial focus on agriculture and transportation, Power and Gas as well as Manufacturing and Processing, the minister said the labs were being conducted to unlock private investments and tackle constraints to investments.

While stressing that growth had been restored in the economy, Udoma explained that signs of recovery from recession were observed in the third quarter of 2016, and by the third quarter of 2017, real GDP grew by 0.72 people, indicating the economy’s exit from recession.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY APRIL 19, 2018

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T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͯͷ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

COMMENT

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

CHALLENGES OF AFRICA –CHINA CONFERENCE

The challenges of returning to the cultures of scholarship and intensive inventions should be central in China’s relations with Africa, writes Okello Oculi

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he 1956 Bandung Conference probably started active diplomatic relations between African and China on a faulty nutritional fuel consisting of a shared deep condemnation of humiliation, domination and exploitation by a combination of countries mainly from Euro-America.

The gang-up to dominate China reached its fullest in 1901 when the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Japan, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Austro-Hungary, Belgium, Spain and Netherlands collectively imposed a ‘Protocol’’ to punish the nationalist violence of the ‘’Boxer Rebellion”. Only Russia, Austro-Hungary and Japan did not cut chunks of the Africa elephant as colonisers.

Japan’s establishment of ‘’New Japan’’ in China’s Manchuria region although temporary following defeat by Mao Zedung’s communist guerrilla army- was matched in barbaric cruelties by settlers from Netherlands establishing apartheid in South Africa; and German genocide in Namibia.

While China liberated itself as a vast unified country as early as 1949, Africa is yet to overcome colonial balkanisation and only won African majority rule in South Africa in 1994. During the Bandung conference, Africa’s wounds were still bleeding profusely with no end in sight, not to mention 400 years of European slave depopulation of Africa.

While hostile contact with Euro-America was important, priority attention should have been given to records of superiority by Africa and China over Europe. As Professor Cheik Anta Diop demonstrated convincingly, black African Pharaohs built the mathematics (especially algebra and geometry), astronomy, religious, political and philosophical theories which Greeks borrowed - as Plato reports – for onward transmission to northern Europeans.

According to Martin Jacques, China’s Northern Song dynasty (9601126) achieved the invention of gunpowder, woodblock printing, the spread of books and ‘’major advances in mathematics, natural sciences, astronomy and geography’’. Europe stole intellectual property from China and started her ‘’renaissance two centuries later’’. China also came up with a civil service based on passing a stiff examination, thereby linking a ruling class to intensive intellectual work. Ancient Egypt of the black African Pharaohs built a religious class around the ruler whose responsibility was to produce high intellectual work; including the architecture which built great pyramids and statues.

Both systems ran colonies over conquered peoples, however, China led with habits of administering vast governments run on a centralised basis for the longest time despite Europeans and Americans creating areas of influence in which their nationals were not subject to Chinese laws from 1858 to 1949. The current spectacle of huge assemblies of officials at meetings of central policy-making bodies of the Communist Party of China has a long and sustained legacy. Africa only began to resume a huge collective policy farming arena in 1963 with the formation of the

EURO-AMERICA DESPERATELY NEEDS MARKETS AND RAW MATERIALS. AFRICACHINA RELATIONS MUST COMBAT MIND WARS FOR PROMOTING CONSUMPTION OF THEIR MERCHANDISE; INTELLECTUAL LAZINESS AND DEPENDENCY

Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

China’s Zhou dynasty (1100- 256 B.C.), shared with Ancient Egypt of the black African Pharaohs the notion that the legitimacy of their power was based on being accountable to a deity located in the heavens. For the Pharaohs, their power (‘’Ka’’) had to serve the welfare of the people. Like the Chinese, signs of failure were a series of low harvests; invasion by locusts; floods or drought, and defeat in war would provoke demands for the end of a ruler. Among the Jukun, Yoruba and Baganda, the offending ruler was encouraged to commit regicide by drinking poison gladly offered by elders.

It is widely said that in Africa colonialism corrupted power and led to a pandemic of governance without accountability to the will and welfare of the people. China would serve Africa well by putting emphasis on a return to this legacy of governance. China under Xi Xinping has vigorously purged corrupt top officials. Her diplomatic relations with Africa should emphasise this shared legacy of effectively punishing violations of community welfare.

Archaeologists digging graves of Ancient Egypt, including pyramids of various sizes, have found pharmaceutical products, chemicals used for embalming bodies of rulers, textiles, paints for artworks and gold.

The culture of invention in this system was severely disrupted by invaders. China was more successful in defeating invasions. Defeat in the 1857 – 1860 war waged by British troops promoting consumption

by China’s population of opium which their merchants would bring from India – as a strategy for wrecking the fabric of the society – did not succeed in destroying the culture of invention deeply entrenched in China. Ancient Egypt did not survive waves of ransacking by barbarian invaders from Persia and Arabia.

The challenges of returning to cultures of intensive scholarship by government and religious officials, combined with a culture of intensive inventions, should become central in China’s relations with Africa in the 21st Century. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank pushed for African countries to focus on primary school education, and withdraw funds from tertiary education. Structural Adjustment Policies (SAP) which they bullied African officials to sign into, have wrecked the educational sector. It drained brains out of Africa’s universities and devastated previous high quality cultures of academic research and teaching in educational institutions. Corruption set in and deepened the crisis. China should join Africa in confronting the necessity of returning to these ancient legacies. Youths bred either on destructively poor quality education or none at all, are wasted generations.

Euro-America desperately needs markets and raw materials. AfricaChina relations must combat mind wars for promoting consumption of their merchandise; intellectual laziness and dependency.

A NATIONAL SECURITY ENDANGERED Olusegun Adeniyi writes that the rivalry among security agencies constitutes grave danger to our national security

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ccording to Daura, shortly after the commencement of investigation, “operatives of the DSS, serving on the panel were removed by the NSA, leaving members from the Military, NIA and EFCC to continue the investigation. Thereafter, the DSS acting on intelligence discovered that some ad-hoc members were brought in by the NSA to serve on the committee. These ad-hoc members were later found to be involved in some shady deals, which bordered on corrupt practices. The Service subsequently arrested Mohammed Umar (Air Commodore/rtd), the arrowhead of the members involved in extorting money from suspects under investigation in order to give them soft landing. At the end of investigation, he (Umar) was arraigned in court and is presently being prosecuted at the Federal High Court, Abuja.”

Daura argued that because both Monguno and Magu were unhappy about the arrest and prosecution of Umar, “they decided to embark on a vendetta to investigate the Service on some trumped-up charges, including corrupt practices.

The starting point of this was the invitation sent to Ita Ekpenyong and Kunle Kadiri, former DirectorGeneral State Services (DGSS) and Head of Account of the DSS, respectively.”

The investigation, Daura contends “was actually a voyage of discovery to fish out incriminating evidence against the Service with a view to depict it and the management as being corrupt.…The Service discovered that this effort by the Commission was part of a clandestine investigation of DSS accounts by a team set up by the NSA in collaboration with the EFCC Acting Chairman in complete violation of extant laws pertaining to financial regulations of the Service.”

Daura quoted the extant laws which forbid what Monguno and Magu were trying to do except with the express permission of the president or the EFCC Board before he declared: “The method

(brawn instead of brain) deployed by the current EFCC under Magu is a Gestapo style that belongs to dictatorial regimes. The acting chairman runs the agency based on public rumours, manoeouvres, gossips, political interferences from certain quarters and marabouts.”

In his written and oral testimonies last December, the then acting NIA Director General, Ambassador Mohammed Dauda (who has since been replaced) said there was no official communication to the agency from the EFCC on the exact mission of its operatives to the official residence of his predecessor, Oke and that he got wind of it only from the media.

“It was the expectation of the DG NIA that a prior notice would be served on the agency by the EFCC, particularly against the backdrop of the fact that the former DG NIA was still resident in the Command House (official residence of a serving DG NIA), while in the process of handing-over in line with extant practice. By virtue of its status, the Command House is a critical National Security Asset with sensitive documents and equipment. Accordingly, the attempt to storm the Command House to effect an arrest had far-reaching national security implications”, said the report.

The report added: “Resistance against the EFCC by operatives of the NIA consequently served a larger national interest, in order to maintain the sanctity of the agency, its operatives and sensitive security assets in the Flag House. The NIA is a Secret Service, whose operations are clandestine and highly classified. Accordingly, it is imperative to shield the agency from further negative publicitv. He regretted that the EFCC under the Magu has been hostile to and uncooperative with the NIA leading to the massive withdrawal of NIA operatives from the services of the EFCC.” The last to give evidence though only in oral testimony was Monguno who admitted knowledge of the letter submitted to his office by Daura but disregarded it because “it was written in a

distasteful and impolite tone.” Monguno, according to the report, traced the “ongoing investigation by the EFCC as an outcome of the Vice-President’s Panel which discovered the misappropriation of $289 Million Intervention which was released by the CBN to some Security Agencies around 2015” but also added that “he was not aware of the EFCC Chairman’s plan to arrest any of the persons until after the media frenzy and that the resistance made by the Security Agencies during the arrest episode cast some aspersions.”

Monguno expressed concerns about the apparent lack of unity and cooperation which has led to the current state of disharmony amongst the sister agencies. “He said that this resulted due to the National Security Agencies Decree 1986 which has stripped the NSA of the power to check the other Security Agencies that have now become independent of his office due to their now ‘easy’ access to the President. Thus, there is a desperate need to streamline the Agencies and make them answerable to the NSA.” The most critical part of the report is the claim that Monguno “informed the Senators during the meeting that the President is very aware of the state of things as he has informed him of the situation and also presented evidences of some instances in which his duties were usurped due to the lack of discipline exhibited by the Security Agencies…

He harped on the fact that failure to arrest this situation would have transnational implications as the hierarchical structure for command has been compromised.”

Incidentally, I dealt with some of the foregoing issues on 26 November 2012 at that year’s edition of the Chief of Army Staff Conference in Asaba, Delta State to which I had been invited by then Army Chief, Lt General Azubuike Ihejirika. In my paper titled, ‘Terrorism and Inter-Agency Coordination in Nigeria’, which can be found online, I highlighted the fact that years of rivalry between and among

these agencies have constituted a serious threat to our national security. But even at that, I did not envisage that the situation could degenerate to the level in which it is today in Nigeria. Just yesterday, some thugs invaded our National Assembly and went away with the Senate Mace in broad daylight despite the high number of policemen (including those carrying bags for our big men) at the place.

The most elementary doctrinal pillar that undergirds national security is the recognition of the primacy of national interest. In that regard, it is the need to preserve the integrity of security agencies as state institutions that equips every president to contain the excesses of security chiefs, especially when their private agenda begin to muddy the national interest or vitiate the integrity of the institutions they head.

In a situation where the personal interests and tendencies of these security chiefs are allowed to blossom uncontrolled, the agencies quickly grow into private armies that clash openly at the slightest opportunity. It is this red line that was crossed by operatives of the DSS, NIA and EFCC on the streets of Abuja in November 2017. When added to inter-agency squabbles between the military and the police—whose men have become easy targets for extermination by armed robbers and sundry hoodlums —we are face to face with the precise reasons why our national security is in tatters.

What is baffling to most observers is how President Buhari has allowed the institutions of national security to be freely carved up into clashing and competing private fiefdoms of ambitious and lawless chieftains who have carried their fights into the public arena. Tragically, it is this dysfunction between the security agencies and the unhealthy rivalry among their heads that has led to the current state of general insecurity in the country.

I hope President Buhari will deal with the issue before it is too late!

Adeniyi is Chairman, THISDAY Editorial Board

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

EDITORIAL THE LASSA FEVER EPIDEMIC The authorities could do more to contain the viral disease

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he numbers are becoming frightening by the day, giving credence that the latest outbreak of Lassa fever is the most virulent in its history. Last week, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed the death of 101 patients from the viral disease and nine others in “probable cases” since January this year. Some 22 health care workers across seven states were among the dead. What is also worrying is the grave danger in its rapid spread: at the last count some 20 states are affected with Edo, Ondo and Ebonyi presently saddled with the highest burden. But what happens when it spreads to states like Lagos and Kano with high population density?

What is even worse, Nigerians will likely live with the deadly disease for quite a while. “We have had the largest outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria’s history in the first quarter of this year,” said Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Chief Executive Officer of the NCDC. “It is endemic in our environment and as long as there is rat, we will always have cases of Lassa.” Thus, unlike Ebola whose spread UNTIL WE CHANGE could be halted GOVERNANCE, WE WILL once the chain of REMAIN WHERE WE infection is broken, ARE. OVER THE YEARS, Lassa, according INFRASTRUCTURE to Ihekweazu, has FOR MANAGING AND multiple channels of CONTAINING INFECTIOUS infections.

DISEASE OUTBREAKS HAS However, experts FOLDED, LEAVING ONLY in the health sector A COUPLE OF LABS AND believe that the THE IRRUA SPECIALIST country has not done HOSPITAL enough in tackling the haemorrhagic fever, giving room for Lassa epidemics to recur nearly every year since it first emerged in 1969 at Lassa, the town after which it was named.

“Our lack of commitment, not owning our problems, bad governance is what’s responsible,” said Professor Oyewale Tomori, chairperson of the National Lassa fever steering committee. “Until we change gover-

Letters to the Editor

nance, we will remain where we are. Over the years, infrastructure for managing and containing infectious disease outbreaks has folded, leaving only a couple of labs and the Irrua Specialist Hospital to deal with viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks.”

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T H I S DAY EDITOR IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU DEPUTY EDITORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI, JOSEPH USHIGIALE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS PATRICK EIMIUHI, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

t is noteworthy that Lassa fever has been a serious challenge for Nigeria’s health authorities since it was first diagnosed in Lassa, Borno State. But there seems to be no deliberate effort to build capacity to contain the disease once and for all or indeed to prevent, detect and respond timely to outbreaks. The vaccine for the viral disease is still “being developed” 50 years after it was diagnosed. There are no well-equipped laboratories and other vital equipment across the states. Almost everything is done on ad hoc basis resulting in grave danger to many. The situation is so bad that many hospitals could not even provide the right equipment including hand gloves to health workers, leading to their constant infections and deaths. Indeed, Dr Mike O.Ogirima, President of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) warned last week that doctors may stop attending to Lassa patients unless there was significant improvement in equipment for the treatment of patients.

The symptoms of Lassa include fever, sore throat, vomiting, back pain, cough, abdominal pain, restlessness, and general body weakness. It usually manifests six to 21 days after contact with the virus.

However, because the symptoms of Lassa could be varied and non-specific, clinical diagnosis is often difficult, especially early in the course of the disease.

For that reason, experts advise steps should be taken by all health facilities to emphasise routine infection prevention and control measures. The observance of adequate personal hygiene and environmental sanitation at all times could help in preventing the spread of Lassa fever. These are significant for avoiding contacts with rats, dead or alive.

While we believe that with effective coordination, the virus could be contained, the real challenge is for all stakeholders to work towards its total eradication from our country.

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (9501000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

AREWA PASTORS’ ENDORSEMENT AND BUHARI’S DECLARATION

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t’s not anymore news that several groups of persons, particularly under the auspices of the ruling party – the All Progressives Congress (APC), had for some time now been calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to recontest for a second term in office come 2019.

The clamour has been taking place in various quarters across the federation as being engineered by the allies and protégés of the country’s number one citizen, even though many are still in disagreement that the Buhari-led administration does not deserve a continuity bid.

In spite of the contrary view of those believed to be in opposition, two weeks ago, it seemed the clarion call assumed a different dimension. On Thursday April 5, 2018 to be precise, a set of Northern clerics under the aegis of Arewa Pastors’ Peace Initiative (APPIN) paid a courtesy visit to the president at the Council Chambers in Aso Rock Villa and therein endorsed the chief host to vie for a second term.

In his remark on behalf of the group, the leader of the guests, Bishop John Abu Richard disclosed that the call was informed by the ‘numerous achievements’ recorded thus far under the watch of President Buhari. According to him, within a short while, the president had succeeded in fulfilling his campaign promises.

Barely a few days after the endorsement, Mr. President publicly declared his interest to oblige the numerous calls to re-contest the number one seat in the forthcoming general elections. The president stated he considered accepting the calls from millions of Nigerians after a deep thought. It’s noteworthy that the declaration had

triggered mixed feelings among the Nigerian citizenry, both home and abroad.

When I got the news of the ‘Northern pastors’, I couldn’t help but continue to ponder over what the country’s religious institutions had turned into, though the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had refuted the genuineness of the clerics’ existence. By that display of the so-called Arewa pastors, every discerning mind wouldn’t desist from ascertaining if our religious leaders have abruptly become political gladiators.

When did the church begin to campaign for, or throw their weight behind, certain political aspirants? The main duty of the religious bodies as regards elections is to stand neutral while relentlessly conscientising the various key players – including the electoral umpire, political parties and the electorate – on the need to play by the rules.

In addition, they are – in their capacity – expected to preach to their respective congregants on the need to participate actively in the elections so that they can favourably elect anyone of their choice at the polls. It is their duty to ensure that each of their followers whom had attained the adulthood could boast of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC), which remains the only tool that can institute power in their hands.

It is equally the duty of the clerics to ensure that their wards aren’t deceived or cajoled by any aspirant or party, as may be the case. It is their civic responsibility to ensure that none of them derails in the long run. Hence, it is not in their calling to tell their followers who they ought to vote for; rather, they are only meant to warn them not

to vote against their conscience, or compromise their future just for today’s token.

So, endorsing a certain politician to vie for a particular position, even when he was yet to declare his interest to do so, was enough indication to assert that the supposed anointed men of God had derailed. Although I believe so much in Buhari’s ability as a person and leader, but can never be a party to any form of tokenism or sycophancy displayed by his allies under any guise.

Now that Mr. President has eventually declared his intention to aspire for a second term, the pertinent question becomes: does he really deserve a continuity bid? Before one could tender an apt answer to the enquiry, there’s need to painstakingly dissect the activity of the present administration.

When Buhari assumed office in 2015, he chose three key factors as priorities. He vowed to fiercely tackle corruption and insecurity headlong as well as restore the country’s dying economy. So far, every sector seems to have come to a standstill despite the dogged efforts of the government to usher in change as earlier promised.

However, we can’t forget in a hurry that the APC-led administration has succeeded in fighting corruption to an extent. The outright introduction of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and the Treasury Single Account (TSA) are obvious indications. But the problem remains that till date, no single individual or officer had been convicted of any corrupt charges, and that is exactly where the worry of the people lies.

Comrade Fred Nwaozor, Owerri

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

POLITICS

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

PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

Bello: Why Third Force Won’t Work Senator Mohammed Bello of the Peoples Democratic Party contends that the best way to kick the All Progressives Congress out of office is for Nigerians to support his party. He spoke with Ibrahim Shuaibu who presents the excerpts:

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hat is your reaction to the calls by former President Obasanjo and Babangida on Buhari not to seek another term?

My answer to that is when you talk about political parties, you are not talking about coalition, third force and so on. What the people coming up with the idea of a third force mean is that they are trying to bring something that is completely new, they are trying to bring in something that is fresh which is very difficult in this part of the world because there has always been players who had remained on the scene for a very long time. What you should do is to work with them and take over from them.

How can you come and say you are going to create a new political party or get into another new political party and then come and take over power from people who have retained power probably for 16 years and then the new entrants who have retained power for 3 years? If you create a new political party, it will take time for the political party to be on ground. You need to have the politicians that would be able to work with the political party. In everything you are going to do, like if you are going to build a house you need architect, and quantity surveyors. There is no way you just jump into politics, bring in new people. How are they going to weather the storm? How are they going to know where they are going to put their pillars and to make their building very strong? You have to work exactly with those who know what politics is all about. So basically even the leader of the third force or the leader of the coalition the former president Obasanjo has said that the moment it becomes a political party he is going to withdraw. What I think he has in mind is probably a pressure group which is not a political party, it is more of a group that monitors and pile pressure on government to fulfil its campaign promises.

On whether the personalities in the third force are new or same old brigades?

When they said there was an alignment and that some parties have come together the ACN, CPC, and the ANPP to form what we call the APC, 40 percent of the people that went into the APC came from the PDP. Most of them today are governors. So basically it is almost the same thing we are having.

When somebody loses his primary from a particular party, he moves to another one to get his ticket. Take the case of Benue state, the Governor Samuel Ortom came from the PDP, Nasir El-Rufai came from the PDP, virtually most of them. Ganduje from Kano is from the PDP, same applies to the case of Kwara. So it is not that easy for you to come and say with a new movement you are going to change things. Who are those that want to change the change? You have people like Donald Duke, Oyinlola, these people have been governors before. What did they do before that they would use to change things today. What I have noticed in Nigeria is that people want all the time to remain relevant, they want to remain in control, and they want to be the ones controlling the entire country which cannot be possible because that is why you have two major political parties. Just like we have in America, the Democrats and Republicans, it depends on which party is in power and what they were able to deliver to the people. Here in Nigeria, Abubakar Rimi tried it, he was very popular, he joined the NPP at the time but he still lost the election to Sabo Bakin Zuwo. So it is not that easy for you to say you are going to bring in a new political party and also say

is going to contest or not going to contest.

All he needs to do is to put everything on a scale and see where he has gone right and wrong and take into his consideration his own wellbeing. Will it be okay for him to continue to carry the problem of 180 million Nigerians on his head? Or is he going to gravitate into a very serious problem when he faces more challenges because I am sure the challenges he faced in this first four years had taken a toll on him already. That question is better answered by the principal actor himself.

If I were in his shoes, I would not continue in office because he needs to take his health into consideration. If I were him, I would begin as quickly as possible to nurture people that would be able to take over from me.

They must be people with credibility, integrity, capacity and ability to be able to continue from where I have stopped.

On whether the PDP is capable of wrestling power from the APC? The PDP is not trying to improve on what the president has done. The PDP has its own idea, manifesto. The PDP is coming in to make sure that where these problems have been created they deal with them. For example the PDP would have to look at the crash of the dollar, and the fuel crises. These are some of the things we need to look at to make life easier for Nigerians.

Mohammed Bello

you are going to bring in a third force with the same kind of people who are familiar to Nigerians. On performance of President Muhammadu Buhari led administration?

I have seen some changes. Even though some of the promises they have made they have not been able to keep. But this is governance.

Everybody has got his own style. For example you can’t take it away from the APC that they have been able to decimate the Boko Haram insurgents. This concerns me because it came from Borno state which is where I acquired my university education. So whatever affects Maiduguri affects me. This problem also affected us in Kano, it got to a point we couldn’t even go to the mosque. Everybody was afraid, subsequently the problem got to us in Abuja. So this problem was growing out of proportion so much so that even the Governor of Borno state could not move freely not to talk about the common people. So whoever came to rescue us from this problem deserves to be commended. The only problem I have observed today is that hunger has taken over and the reason is due to the

The president needs to be more sensitive to issues in the country because he is now in charge, he is the commander in chief

policies in place. The policy of the dollar how did it become like that suddenly the exchange rate has moved from N160 to about N320. What really happened, how did we found ourselves in this mess? This was the government that promised us an exchange rate of N40 to dollar. And then is the issue of petrol. They said we were going to buy petrol at N40 per literary then today we are buying petrol at N145 per liter. They also promised us that we would buy a bag of 50 Kg rice at N5, 000 and we would stop the importation of rice. I agree we are almost at the point of stopping the importation of rice but there is still a problem. The price of the local rice is almost the same thing as the price of the imported rice. Even the president mentioned this in his last visit to Kano in spite the incentives given to farmers. So there is a need for the government to make life easier for Nigerians. The government cannot take an easy way out, it has to be responsible to the people. The downtrodden people are in real trouble today.

Additionally the president needs to be more sensitive to issues in the country because he is now in charge, he is the commander in chief. So he needs to know exactly what is happening in every nook and cranny of the country. Even if it is a single soul that dies, he needs to act almost immediately for us to understand that yes he is concerned about us, yes he cares because he is a caring person, he is a sensitive person but something is going wrong somewhere and it is unfortunate that people now have a completely different impression of who he is.

On the call on President Buhari not to contest in 2019?

There is nowhere in the constitution that says Buhari cannot contest in an election due to non-performance or due to age or for any other reasons. It is his right to say he

On whether the PDP is capable of capturing power in the 2019 poll?

The party can take control, not only back home in Kano, but even at the national level.

But it depends on the candidate they present during the election. If they have a high profile and exposed candidate, somebody that everybody knows that can address the problems of Nigeria, believe you me people would give him the chance. If they do exactly what they like, they bring anybody they feel they like that he is the right choice for us, then there is going to be a problem. They should let the people decide exactly what they want. They should allow people who are popular, people who can deliver the goods to pick the tickets at the primaries. In most cases you found out that politicians always like to manipulate, redirect, be in charge, and produce their own people, somebody they can be able to control to pick the ticket and this has not been able to solve our problems.

This is the reason why we are where we are today. In Kano right now we have serious problems. Kano people are today disenchanted because they believed that they have been over taxed. And they don’t understand what the idea of taxation means because they believe that since money comes from the federal government, they deserve good roads, hospitals and other basic amenities. But if you want to tax people, you must explain to them why you are taxing them and whatever taxes you have collected, you need to show them exactly what you have done with their taxes. You must let them know which road or any of the social amenities put in place was done with monies collected as taxes.

This is the idea of transparency. I also feel it is difficult to tax a cart pusher, the water vendor, akara sellers. I feel it is a bit too much to go to that level. We can tax them in the future but not right now. When you provide free education for them, free health care services, then you can ask them to pay taxes. The poor in the society need to be catered for. We can only do this when we bring those who have the ability to govern.

I believe the PDP can easily win election if it brings somebody that is better than the person that is there.

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POLITICS

Hagher:Buhari’sDecisiontoRunAgainisPoliticalTerrorism A former Minister of Health, Iyorwuese Hagher has faulted the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to seek a second term having failed to keep the promises he made to Nigerians in 2015. He spoke with George Okoh in Makurdi, Benue State. Excerpts:

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ou want to contest for the presidency, do you think you stand a chance?

I will be president next year because Nigerians are tired and sick of the status quo; they want a change, a real change. Nigeria has been ruled all these years by pre-modernity people who sit there and don’t look at the future. They did not plan for the youths; they did not plan for succession; they did not plan about legacy. They planned only about eating, capturing treasury and looting!

Nigerians are sick and tired of the trajectory that our nation has arrived today. God cannot hate Nigeria so much that he will allow Nigeria to degenerate and collapse; and totally become a failed country broken into pieces. We Nigerians are so God fearing, we pray a lot and some of us believe God has heard our prayers. Why I think I will win the presidency is that, of all the candidates on ground, I can’t say there is none, but there are many who do not share my passion for this country, my love for this country, my zeal for this country. And the places I have served this country, as a university professor who has watched many young people grow up to make something of themselves; and still watching young people today grow up, graduate, don’t have jobs. I am saddened.

Because they don’t have jobs, they are not married, thes young men and women have become a risk to themselves. I watch some of these young people flee the country into slavery in Libya and die on the seas. As a university professor and somebody who has, all his life mentored, taught and trainned youths, it breaks my heart. So to me it’s not even about winning because I know I have already won in the hearts of Nigerians. It is the struggle to change the status quo that it will never be like this again. It can be done because the issue with Nigeria is poor leadership, bad leadership, people who are fixed in the ways of yesterday, people who don’t have clear idea about where Nigeria should go. Nigeria has critical advantage over other countries because we have the fastest growing population of young people who are intelligent. So our focus should be educating these young people to have skills and ways that will become useful for the nation. Countries like Germany and Japan have no raw materials, yet they have developed education, they developed employment and they have developed productivity. This is what this presidency is all about. It is to give Nigerians the ability to rise above mediocrity, to be giants in the international community because we have more young people than other countries; that are our critical advantage.

In my house there are several graduates that I train that have no jobs, and they cry to me as a senator seeking my endorsement to get a job. This will not happen; this is the worst form of corruption, bureaucratic corruption, corruption in government, corruption in university system, corruption everywhere. We have become endemically corrupted and the country is not looking at the fundamentals of fighting corruption. We are dealing with the surface symbolism of corruption and we are pursuing people and raiding people’s homes without dealing with the fundamentals.

There is problem of insecurity in Nigeria, how will you solve this problem if you become the president?

The country is in a state of total collapse.

There is nowhere in this country, no state where you do not have armed robbery on the increase and kidnappings. People are being killed at will and there is no solution to the murders that are taking place and nobody is held accountable. Our security agencies have been compromised; and the criminals work in tandem with our security agents.

We have reached a state of paralysis. When

sleep, it take you anywhere you want. Primitive agriculture will not work, educate the people and also improve on the agricultural product. I am going to do one thing that no other president has done in this country. I am going to take education so seriously that every university will be actively involved in applying research and development, research and innovation. That is what doesn’t happen in this country. Professors are promoted in our universities, go and ask them what they do before they are promoted, basic research that has no relevance in the environment. We have universities of agriculture, what do we do with them? They should be on the farms teaching new methods, giving us new seeds.

Have they ever given us a new species of oranges? No. Because our people are innovative, our people are creative, every year you come, you see different names of new mangoes that they have on their own experimented.

They research on their own, work and had successful products. That is research taking place outside the university system. Now, I am not speaking out of vacuum. I have built a new University called Afe Babalola University. I have been pro Chancellor in charge of the university for eight years. And that is what we have been doing. We have won many international prices in science and technology. I am going to replicate that in every university and I am going to establish research centres in every university across the country.

Prof. Iyorwuese Hagher

I become president, it’s not just me, it’s a mind revolution. Everybody will be a security officer. That is what is done elsewhere in the world. We have technology today that can effectively map up and secure our areas, but nobody is using it. More importantly, the things that are making people criminals are unemployment, lack of education, where people in the 21th century in Nigeria are animists.

Who believe that if you kill a young woman and take out her private part or parts of her body then you can make money! Why should such barbarity continue? And they are not unaware of the modern slavery that is taking place where young people all over the world are being hunted and taken to harvest their spare parts for use in other countries, where medical practice have become so sophisticated, because they are doing kidney transplant, they are doing heart transplant. So people who are vicious and wicked come to Nigeria

I feel deeply concerned that our president is out of touch with the reality in his country, or has deliberately decided to ignore sensibility of the larger number of our people

and look at you that you are a very strong young man, kill you and end up harvesting your parts for their benefit. This is also a new reality, but with modern technology and everybody involving in security, we can solve this problem. Now, nobody really cares if we involve the local communities. I can secure ‘Benue state within a month.

One laptop can capture an entire population in a local government area, and village by village. If everybody is everybody’s security agent, the day a strange face appears in the local government from bicycle to motorcycle, we can log in that a strange person has come into village A. What is he doing? The following day somebody else reports, we saw strange movement of people. You then monitor it immediately, using information system to monitor security. You can monitor security. It has reached advanced stage. It is so easy to be done but nobody wants to do it because people are benefiting from the insecurity. With the present insecurity in the country, the president asked for $1billion, why is terrorism not finishing? It is lasting longer than the Nigerian civil war. Why? It is not a problem to me, I will finish it. All it takes is political will. If they are ready to finish they will finish it, but because they are benefiting from it they will not.

If you become the president what will be your position on farming?

Agriculture via education; that is what I am going to use to turn this country around.

With education, you don’t need oil. The monies that we got from oil have been stolen; and the oil is dwindling. If you live in the western world, you will be surprised how much research is going on. There is a car called Tesla that is already been driven in US and Canada, which does not use fuel at all. They are also experimenting with cars that drive themselves. You sit in the car and

Have you made efforts to get the attention of Mr. President to proffer solution to the herdsmen and farmers crisis?

It’s a weighty question. My answer is simple.

Buhari has been a very incompetent president; and the fact that he has declared that he wants to run again after I, former President Olusegun) Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida and a host of others including General T.Y Danjuma have advised him not to contest and leave a legacy, he refused. I told him: you have to choose between leaving a legacy and a peaceful society, or be regarded as somebody who killed democracy and promote genocide.

Apparently, he has chosen the latter. I consider his declaration to run for a second term as an act of political terrorism. When you have failed all your campaign promises, the first promise was that he would be there for one term; but today he has failed by declaring that he would contest for a second term. He promised that he would eliminate corruption, but Transparency International told us that Nigeria has never been more corrupt that now. How many people have been jailed?

He was fighting corruption the wrong way.

And most pathetically, he does not have the disposition, the will power, or the kind of empathy which a president should have in order to do the job. He is behaving as what the people are saying does not matter. He is behaving like a civilian dictator. We know that he is still a general in his mind so; maybe he is leading us to full military dictatorship.

We elected him in 2015, if he gets himself elected again, by hook or crook; it is imposition. He went into the NEC meeting of his APC party and announced himself that he is running, which is an act of intimidation.

It is like, oh whether you like or not, I am going to run. So I feel deeply concerned that our president is out of touch with the reality in his country, or has deliberately decided to ignore sensibility of the larger number of our people. As president, I will not be a Tiv president; I will be a Nigerian president.

When I am a Nigerian president, I will make sure that every ethnic group in this country is respected. There will be no favoured ethnic group, no master ethnic group. There will be no slave ethnic group that have to give up everything so that other ethnic groups must live. I am going to restructure Nigeria to work in such a way that people will be happy.

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FEATURES

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

Hidden Treasures A venture into the bowels of the South-east revealed invaluable tourist treasures. Ugo Aliogo who was part of the team that toured the region recently, reports that Nigeria could generate more revenue from tourism than oil

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he South-east region is regarded as the country’s fastest growing business hub. The people of the region are entrepreneurial and industrious. From the shoe manufacturing industries in Aba, to the consumer goods market in Onitsha and the automobile spare parts market in Nnewi, the region is truly endowed. But beyond the business history, there is a huge potential in the region that has remained underdeveloped.

A trip to the tourist sites in South-east Nigeria revealed how hugely blessed the largest country in Africa is. Every part of Nigeria has something unique to showcase to the world and the South-east region has more tourist destinations than could ever be conceived which are still untapped.

Recently, the South-east chapter of Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN) organised a tour primarily to walk journalists and tour operators through the amazing historical and cultural sites in the region using well-researched sample itineraries that would appeal to both local and international tourists.

The effort was premised on the hope that the exposure would drive tourism traffic to the zone and help generate income for the communities where these tourism sites are located and boost the businesses of members.

That is the lot of most of the historical and natural tourist sites that grace the Nigerian landscape from the Northern Savanna to the swamps of the South, glaring at the Atlantic.

Every part of Nigeria has something to showcase to the world and these artefacts, natural wonders, the flora and fauna cannot be appreciated until they are exposed. The South-east has such invaluable tourist sites which have been grossly underappreciated, but FTAN has initiated the effort to exhume these sites from obscurity. Some of the tourist sites are the Ogbunike Cave, the Long Juju Slave Route of Arochukwu, National War Museum Umuahia, Ihuezi Natural Waterfall, Ihuezi Natural Cave, Awhum Waterfall, Ojukwu Bunker, the Oguta Lake, Mbari Cultural Centre, Igbo-Ukwu Museum, and others.

Speaking during the tour, the Vice-President of the FTAN South-east Zone, Mrs. Ngozi Ngoka, said members have businesses that cover the whole spectra of the tourism value chain from transportation, accommodation,

The South-east has such invaluable tourist sites which have been grossly underappreciated, but FTAN has initiated the effort to exhume these sites from obscurity. Some of the tourist sites are the Ogbunike Cave, the Long Juju Slave Route of Arochukwu, National War Museum Umuahia, Ihuezi Natural Waterfall, Ihuezi Natural Cave, Awhum Waterfall, Ojukwu Bunker, the Oguta Lake, Mbari Cultural Centre, IgboUkwu Museum, and others

Ihuezi Cave in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State

Ogbunike Cave, Anambra State

feeding to site seeing/entertainment.

She also stated that the region is a tourism haven for so many reasons, noting that the area is naturally endowed with many historical and cultural sites, local and renowned artists, and enterprising people, good recipes and delicacies and transport system.

From research, it was posited that the region has common cultural practices for tourists to contend with which makes tour planning and guiding easy and the experience stressfree. This is the current, unharnessed and unplanned tourism scenario in the region. This is a sad development for Ngoka, therefore she explained that what happened with lack of planning is that some initiatives are not able to withstand the periodic (sometimes daily) changes that occur in unplanned business operating environment.

She argued that if the state governments

began to make optimal use of the existing environmental resources in their economic planning and include tourism development with strategic focus on improved road networks, standardisation of accommodation options, maintenance of existing tourism sites, institutional framework and proper legislation that would attract investors into the sector, “these are the key areas that the government should pay attention for tourism to thrive.”

The FTAN South-east VP lamented that the country has failed to embrace the idea of tourism as an alternative tool for economic development, adding that the private sector, through FTAN is taking a lead role with the hope that they can positively influence the tourism discourse especially by showcasing how it can be used as a tool for poverty alleviation and strategic development of rural communities for economic empowerment.

She noted: “Successful tourism development is predicated on sustained efforts to clearly mapped out tourism development objectives and integration of these objectives into the national economic planning for the country; involvement and control by local communities where tourism initiatives are sited; regional co-operation and integration of common policies by state governments and government facilitation of tourism entrepreneurship through tax reduction and subsidies for tourism startups.

“I believe that the entire advocacy that FTAN is currently engaged in is a bold step towards achieving these objectives. Investors usually research online, so we have started working on our website. When the site is ready, visitors will be able to upload downloadable ebooks and journals about South-east tourism

˾ T H I S D AY THURSDAY˜ ͯͷ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

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FEATURES and investor follow up systems. We want to know who is browsing for information about our region so we can target them in our social media marketing campaigns.

“We are regularly uploading videos, photos and podcasts to attract and educate potential investors about tourism in South-east. We also publish on portals such as YouTube, Vimeo and ITunes and run promotions on social networks such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Digg, Delicious, Pinterest and Instagram.

“We have included ‘South-east Tourism Investment Opportunity seminar’ in the programme for the food and fashion fair coming up later in the year and we also plan to launch a book about South-east Tourism written by Mr. John Paul Ezeani. We will keep advocating at seminars and speaking engagements with business associations and embassies.

“I believe strongly that the only way to effect change in the tourism sector is to actively get involved. If we all sit down and remain elegiac about our situation, nothing will get done. Our efforts will surely influence change in the sector for the better. We have received a lot of support from our member associations and some individuals and we are currently working on getting the state governments to key into the programmes, therefore we are planning for October, 2018 and beyond.”

Tourists inside the Ihuezi Cave writing their names on the walls as an indication Also, lending his voice to the need for Inside the Voice of Biafra Bunker, National War Museum, Umuahia that they visited the cave the development of the country’s tourism industry is the Obi of Ogbunike, John Umenyiora, a learned gentleman with an amiable personality. He explained that if the government is committed, the tourism potential of the region can be developed to international standard to attract visitors and investors to the region.

“If government develops the Ogbunike Cave, it is going to be a revenue earner for both the federal and state governments. But the sad story is that nobody is making efforts to develop it. The present government under the leadership of Governor Willie Obiano, made an effort, but we are still waiting. We are calling on investors who are willing to develop the cave to come to us,” he noted.

The transport sector is very crucial to the promotion of the tourism in the region and the country generally, but the potential of the sector has been under utilised, despite the efforts most of the private transport companies. However, there have been some encouraging signs from some companies such as ABC Transport Company. The company was established in 1993 by the Chairman, Frank Nneji, the desire of the chairman was to improve the way transportation was being carried out in the country.

In 2004, they established the company in West African cities; this was something spectacular. It was difficult crossing the Ihuezi Natural Waterfall, Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State border and harmonising things. However, Many tourist experts have lamented that ABC ensured that they were able to open up “Like I said, the development of tourism is ownership of that site, develop it and engage the gateway and facilitate tourism activities a deliberate effort, it is not going to happen the community. For instance, we have a blue Nigeria is losing a humongous amount amongst West African states. Regrettably, this by accident. On our part as individuals, lake known as the Oguta Lake. It used to of money leaving many of these tourist favoured Ghana more over Nigeria because the much we can do is advocacy. There be a beautiful lake, you realise that it has destinations underdeveloped.

The tourism industry in Nigeria has been while a lot of Nigerians travelled to Ghana are different regulations and rules which been neglected. The government has to put for various tourism activities, the same cannot only government can do. If there is a site, money into infrastructure. There should be described by the world largest travel guide be said of Ghana. there should be a government who can take travel bureau which would have experts to Lonely Planet (LP) as a pulsating powerhouse with deep and layered cultures and environHowever, the company is using this frantic carry people along. effort to drive the tourism potential of the “In many of these hotels, the problem is not ment. Tourism experts have described the country. But beyond playing its role as a the building, but the number of staff. When industry as an economic cash cow with a private investor, Nneji is optimistic that in the standards of these hotels are upgraded, strong potential of contributing to the country’s order to promote tourism, it has to be a people tend to be attracted. So you find out Gross Domestic Product (GDP). LP stated deliberate effort, “it does not happen by that if you have a tourism bureau to take that the total contribution of the industry to accident.” care of these things, an investor can make the global economy was estimated at over He explained that government has to a calendar that will make people come to $7.6 trillion in 2016, around 10 per cent of bring onboard experts in the sector through your city, and build facilities that can hold the global GDP of $75.6 trillion.

In Nigeria, the contribution of the tourism engagement and think of how to develop If government develops the large conferences. Here in Owerri, we have it, adding that tourism development has to Ogbunike Cave, it is going an airport and also it is as if we are in a industry is estimated at around $1.5 billion, be prepared for and combined with other confluence. In terms of positioning, we are figures that are not only a tiny fraction of to be a revenue earner for ingredients such as hoteling. well positioned. Talking about what we do the global industry but also demonstrated According to Nneji, “In Owerri, there both the federal and state to promote tourism, we have the least to the gulf between the present reality and the are many hotels. Having hotel is one do. The only thing we can do at this stage potential of tourism in the country.

Conversely, if there is public-private secthing, the other thing is having things governments. But the sad is advocacy. The government has to have a that will make it attractive to people and story is that nobody is specific goal to develop tourism and I think tor collaboration, the industry is capable encourage them to visit the city. For the it is something to consider very seriously of attracting Foreign Direct Investment government to promote tourism, it needs making efforts to develop such as job creation and to make the city (FDI) into the country, create jobs, improve infrastructure such as hotels, construction of to set up a clear-cut blueprint on what it it. The present government more popular.” wants to achieve. Another challenge is the Hoteling in the region is a thriving busi- roads, improvement in the transport system appreciation of the average Nigerian as to under the leadership of ness which is driving the tourism potential and rebranding of the country’s battered what is the importance of tourism. Many Governor Willie Obiano, of the regions. In Owerri, the numbers of image before the international community. people don’t understand the importance of hotels are estimated to be above 300 with To ensure that these efforts come to fruition, tourism. For instance, in Ghana when they made an effort, but we are some still under construction. According the Federation of Tourism Association of decided that they wanted to develop their still waiting. We are calling to some of the proprietors, the hotels have Nigeria has been working to ensure that tourism sector, everybody was carried along. facilities that are of international standards. the right policies and laws which would There is need to encourage people and invite on investors who are The proprietors understand clearly the place drive the growth of the industry are put them to be part of tourism development willing to develop the cave of hospitality in developing a region and in place. The body is at the forefront of the in the country, by creating things that will driving the growth of tourism, therefore revitalisation of the industry to expand its to come to us frontiers of competitiveness internationally. make them interested. they are not leaving any stone unturned.

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IMAGES

L-R: A former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido; Bauchi State Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar; Chairman of the occasion, Malam Mahmud Usman; and Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, who represented the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, at the 35th memorial anniversary symposium of Malam Aminu Kano, held in Kano, Kano State...recently

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Photo Editor ÌÓÙÎßØ ÔËÖË Email ËÌÓÙÎßØ˛ËÔËÖË̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙ×

Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed (right) presenting State Souvenir to Director of Operations, Defence Headquarters, Abuja, Air Vice Marshal Olusoji Awomodu during courtesy visit to the Governor at Government House, Ilorin…recently

L-R; Group Chief Executive, FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Ladi Balogun; Executive Director, Regulations, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Ms. Tinuade Awe; Chairman, FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Oladipupo Jadesimi; a Non-Executive Director of the Group, Mr. Olusegun Odubogun; Non-Executive, Director, Mr. Olutola Mobolurin and Company Secretary/General Counsel of FCMB Group Plc, Mrs. Funmi Adedibu, during the Closing Gong Ceremony in commemoration of the newly appointed Chairman of FCMB Group Plc at the Exchange in Lagos... recently.

L-R:Global Brand Ambassador, Hennessy, Maurice Hennessy; Brand Manager, Wole Awoleke; and,Business Development manager, Hennessy, China, Roch Hennessy, at the press conference to announce the 200th years anniversary of the brand in Lagos...recently ETOP UKUTT

L-R; Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola; Partner, SIAO, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo; and Partner, SIAO, Mr. Ladi Smith, during SIAO Partner Courtesy Visit to Nigeria Economic Summit Group in Lagos...recently SUNDAY ADIGUN

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Tangent Media Services Limited, Mrs Violet Nath Okoduwa; Executive Director, Tangent Media Services Limited, Mrs Bolanle Shote; Android and Web Developer, SignTech Forms UK, Mr Adewunmi Adegbesan; and CEO Strategist, SignTech Forms UK, Ms Yinka Babalola; at the formal launch of SignTech Forms UK Paperless Solutions into the Nigerian market in Lagos...recently

L-R; Principal Resident kaduna State Project, Engr, Mohammed Musa; Permanent Secretary kaduna state Works, Housing and Transport, Engr, Murtala Dabo; Director, Civil Engeneering, kaduna State Ministry of Works , Engr, Yohanna Waje, and Supervisor, ZL Global Allied, Engr, Mohammed Idris during the inspection tour to some project at Alkawa Road kaduna South Local Government Area in kaduna...recently IDRIS EGAJI.

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Community Leader Commends Oluwo

PRESIDENTIAL VISIT

L-R: Director, Access Bank Plc, Anthonia Ogunmefun; another Director of the bank, Adeniyi Adekoya; Executive Director, Risk Management of the bank, Greg Jobome; Chairman of the bank, Mosun Belo-Olusoga; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Executive Director, Business Banking, Access Bank, Titi Osuntoki and Executive Director, IT and Operations at the bank, Ade Bajomo, during the visit of the Vice President to the Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF) in Lagos...recently

Osinbajo: FG Will Partner Africa FinTech Foundry to Boost Technology Innovation Stories by Emma Okonji Impressed with the level of technology innovation at Africa FinTech Foundry (AFF), a technology hub that is financed by Access Bank, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the federal government will support AFF hub to further boost technology innovation in the country.

Osinbajo, who made the promise on Tuesday during a visit to the AFF hub in Lagos, assured Nigerians of the federal government’s commitment to establish a technology hub at the University of Lagos, and in six additional universities across the six geopolitical regions of

ECONOMY the country. The Vice President also called on well-meaning organisations to support government on the initiative, insisting that it is the best way to grow the Nigerian economy technologically. “The federal government is currently working on an initiative to take Information Technology (IT) challenges to tertiary institutions across the country, designed to groom the best technology innovators among students,� Osinbajo said.

The future is about innovation and I am happy to know that Access Bank is already ahead of technology innovation through

its Africa FinTech Foundry. I am impressed with what Access Bank is doing with its tech hub to cause a lot of disruptions in the technology space, and I am excited to know that the bank is creating job opportunities through its AFF hub, Osinbajo added during the visit.

Chairman of the bank, Mrs. Mosun Belo-Olusoga, said: “Technology has enhanced access to capital, expertise and distribution and has supported the storage of data and the way data is used. It presents opportunities of financial services to people and organisations across continents. At Access Bank, we align with global standard, best practices, while maintaining

cultural identities and digital knowledge that enable us to react to local realities.�

Access Bank is driving financial inclusion by extending banking services to new businesses and individuals. We take advantage of technology revolution that is changing the face of banking globally, she said. “Our target is to activate 35 million new customers in the next five years, and we are leveraging technology to achieve it. We recognise that access to financial services is key to national development, and as such we remain fully Continued on page 24

9mobile: NCC to Begin Due Diligence on Technical Capability of Teleology in July The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator has insisted it must carry out due diligence on Teleology Holdings Limited, the preferred bidder for the sale of 9mobile, in order to ascertain the technical capability of the company.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who made the disclosure during a media interactive session in Lagos this week, said the move became necessary in order to ensure that Teleology Holdings Limited has the technical expertise to manage a national telecoms

ECONOMY company like 9mobile.

Danbatta however said the due diligence would not begin until Teleology gets a clean bill from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), showing that it has met all its financial obligations to acquire 9mobile.

Although Teleology had on March 21, crossed the first financial hurdle, when it paid $50 million non-refundable cash deposit, as demanded by Barclays Africa, the financial adviser handling the sale of 9mobile, said it however needs to cross the second financial

hurdle by making another $450 million payment to complete its $500 million bid price for 9mobile.

Teleology was given 90 days from the March 21 date, which will elapse by July 25, to make the second payment.

According to Danbatta, NCC would wait until Teleology has concluded all the financial obligations, before it would commence due diligence on the technical capability of Teleology, which will be immediately after July 25, 2018.

Danbatta insisted that unless Teleology Holdings scales through the technical evaluation,

it would not transfer the license and spectrum of 9mobile to Teleology Holdings.

The implication of all these is that should Teleology fails to meet up with the $450 million payment or should it be financially buoyant to pay the remaining amount but could not meet up with the evaluation on its technical capability, 9mobile will be given to the reserve bidder, Smile Telecoms Holdings, who appear battle ready to acquire 9mobile whenever the opportunity comes.

9mobile, formerly known as Continued on page 24

ĂšĂœĂ™Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ ĂĄĂ™ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă?ÖÖÙå Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă?ÞÓÞĂ&#x;ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ëœ ĂœË› ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Ă‹ĂŒĂ“ĂœĂ&#x; Ă&#x;Ă–Ă&#x;Ă•Ă&#x;Ă–Ă&#x; Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă? ×Ùà Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă&#x;ĂĄĂ™ Ă™Ă? ĂĄĂ™Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËœ ĂŒĂ‹ ĂŒĂŽĂ&#x;Ă–ĂœĂ‹Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂŽĂ?ĂĄĂ‹Ă–Ă? Ă•Ă‹Ă˜ĂŒĂ“Ë› ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ Ă?ÞËÞĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË? ËŤ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă?Ă˘ĂžĂœĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă–ĂŁ ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă’ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă? ×Ùà Ă?Ă? Ă–Ă&#x;ĂĄĂ™ Ă“Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜ Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ‹Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽË› Ăž Ă‘Ă–Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă’Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂž ÞÙ Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă–Ă&#x;ĂĄĂ™ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜Ă“ ĂŽĂ?ĂŁĂ?ĂŁĂ? Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂĄĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“ ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă• ÞÙÑĂ?ÞÒĂ?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă˜Ă Ă“ĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžË› Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă‹ ĂšĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă?Ă?Ě‹ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂžĂ’ĂŁ Ă‹Ă?Ăž ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? ÞåÙ Ę¨ĂœĂ?Ăž Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă™ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂŒĂ™ĂžĂ’ ĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă“Ă—Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă? ÖÙà Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ‹ ĂœĂ‹Ă?Ă?˛ˏ Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ Ă’Ă“Ă—Ëœ ËŤ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ—Ă™Ă˜ĂŁ ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ‹ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă?ÙÙÚĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă&#x;ÖÞÓ×ËÞĂ?Ă–ĂŁ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžË› Ă? ÒÙÚĂ? ÞÒËÞ Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă?Ù×Ă? ÞÙÑĂ?ÞÒĂ?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• åÓÞÒ ĂŒĂ™ĂžĂ’ Ă–Ă&#x;ĂĄĂ™ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜Ă“Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă“Ă–ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ‹Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ Ă‹ ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă–ĂŁ ×ÙÎĂ?ĂœĂ˜ ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă™Ă˜ËŹ ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă?Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă–Ă“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă–Ă&#x;ĂĄĂ™ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă&#x;åÙ̋ÙÕĂ? Ă™Ă? åÙ̋ÙÕĂ?Ëœ ĂŒĂ‹ Ă‹ĂŽĂ“ĂœĂ“ ĂŽĂ?ÙãĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ă‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ËŤ ĂĄĂ™Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă‘ Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă“Ă–ĂŁËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ăž ÞÙ Ă&#x;Ă? ÞÒËÞ Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă?

ĂĄĂ™ ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă– Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă? ÚËÑĂ?Ë› Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ę¨Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ?Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? ÚÙĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒÓĂ? ĂœĂ‹ĂšĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžË›ËŹ

NewBrandsXPO Holds in June Ă’Ă? Ă?ĂĄ ĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?âÚĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă– Ă?âÚÙ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă?Ăž ÞÙ ÒÙÖÎ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă?Ëœ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ë› ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂšĂ™ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂœĂ&#x;Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ă?ĂŁËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? Ă‹ Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ě‹Ă?ÞÙÚ Ă?ÒÙÚ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ? Ęś Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‘Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă•Ë› Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ëœ Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂœĂ?ĂĄĂ‹Ă”Ă&#x; Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă™Ă˜ËœË? ËŤ Ă˜ Ă‹ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă– Ă™Ă? ĂŒĂ&#x;ää Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ëœ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂŽĂ?ÚÞÒ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă?ĂĄ ĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ? ÚÖËÞĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ— Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă– Ă?ÚËĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă˘Ă’Ă“ĂŒĂ“ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă Ă“Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? ÞÙ Ă˜Ă&#x;ĂœĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ę¨ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ÑÙËÖĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;ÖʨÖÖ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?˛ˏ Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ? Ă?âÚÙ ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ÞÓ×Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă“ĂšĂ? ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂžĚ‹Ă&#x;ĂšĂ? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ę¨Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă•Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă™ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂŁ ÞÙ ÚÓÞĂ?Ă’ ĂŽĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă?ÞÖã ÞÙ ÚÙÞĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÚÙĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă?ËÚÓÞËÖÓĂ?ĂžĂ?Ë› Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂĄ ĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ëœ Ă™Ă˜ĂŁ Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ‹Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ëœ Ă?Ă‹ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ăž ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂœĂ&#x;Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË? ËŤ Ă™ ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă Ă‹Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă‹ĂŽĂ Ă?ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă—Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ÙÚÞÓ×ÓäĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă&#x;ÖÞÓÚÖĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÚÖËÞĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă?Ëœ ÞÒĂ?ĂŁ Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ę¨Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁĂ? ÞÙ Ă‹Ă&#x;ÞÒĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă‹Ă‘Ă? åÓÞÒ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ?˛ˏ

“We can best create and write our programs, we can best apply standard databases and development tools, but our content must belong to us�

ISPON President, Olorogun James Emadoye

24

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍˇËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

OSINBAJO: FG WILL PARTNER AFRICA FINTECH FOUNDRY TO BOOST TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION committed to promoting financial services to the excluded and underserved Nigerians,�

Belo-Olusoga added.

The Executive Director, Information Technology and Operations at Access Bank, Mr. Ade Bajomo, in his welcome address, said in order to drive financial inclusion, the bank is ken about three initiatives about Artificial Intelligence (AI) Products and Services, PayDay Advance and Managing Bank Risks.

Our AI initiative allows customers to do banking transactions from any location, using their mobile phones.

PayDay initiative allows us to serve customers better in the digital age, while focusing on available data. It enables us to use data in a very smart way to serve our customers better. Risk Management is another initiative that we take very seriously in order to save bank customers from internal and external theft, including bank robbery. We take significant measures and steps to protect all forms of financial transactions across all our channels, Banjomo said.

9MOBILE: NCC TO BEGIN DUE DILIGENCE ON TECHNICAL CAPABILITY OF TELEOLOGY IN JULY Etisalat Nigeria, became the fourth entrant into the GSM space in Nigeria, when it rolled out its commercial services on October 23, 2008.

But for want of network expansion, the telecoms company in 2013, approached a consortium of 13 local banks for a loan of $1.2 billion for network upgrade and expansion.

However, citing economic downturn of 2015-2016 and naira devaluation, which negatively impacted on the dollar-denominated component of the loan, the former Etisalat Nigeria, fell short of repaying the loan, a situation that compelled the banks to plan possible takeover of the telecoms company.

Stakeholders Laud AUSSO Academy, Seek Participation of Business Leaders in Politics Stories by Emma Okonji Stakeholders in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector have commended the establishment of AUSSO Academy, describing it as one academy that will provide the right entrepreneurial skills for businesses in Nigeria.

They also used the occasion of the launch of the academy to woo businessmen and women into politics, insisting that their active participation in politics will redirect the Nigerian economy on the right path of growth sustainability.

Specifically, a former Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe called on business owners to consider full participation in politics, since it is the pathway to elect credible leadership in the country.

According to Ndukwe, “Active participation in the political environment of the country guarantees the requisite skills to critically assess the kind of leadership style that Nigerians truly needed to advance the Nigerian economy.

We cannot remain outside the political circle to redirect the affairs of the country, we can only achieve this when we fully participate in politics, and the time is now to combine politics with business in order to make a positive difference in our county Nigeria.�

He explained that identifying political leaders on the

basis of leadership skills is an epitome of the transformation that took place in China, insisting that in Nigeria, it is not impossible to achieve same with the right education and calibre of businesses owners operating in the country.

He however advised that the Academy should not limit itself to the mentoring entrepreneurs alone, but should also be extended to politicians that need business sense to govern the country in the right direction.

Another stakeholder, who

also is the Founder, Zinox Technologies, Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, said good legacies should be built as opposed to having the status of a billionaire without any societal impact. He stated that what is important in the Academy is the structure and process.

The Founder of AUSSO Academy, Mr. Austin Okere said his source of inspiration towards establishing the Academy was borne out of the desire to give entrepreneurs the advice for business growth, adding that if he had such

opportunity in the past, he would not have made the mistakes he made during his entrepreneurial journey.

He added that mentorship and oversight function also propelled his interest towards the establishment of the Academy. “There are so many investors within and outside the country but the challenge is that no investor wants to give his money to someone who does not know what, how and in what measure towards business plan in terms of liquidity event,

where the investor will get his money back whether it is in the form of Initial Public Offer (IPO) or Listing.

In his welcome address at the well attended unveiling of the Academy located in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; Okere averred that the idea to establish the Academy, was in line with his quest to give back to the society and to retrain already top flight entrepreneurs who are on the speed lane of their businesses to achieve more and inspire more in business development.

TECH FEST UNVEILED IN NIGERIA

L– R: Business Group Director, Microsoft, Ope Olaniran; Country Manager, Nigeria, Visa, Emezino AďŹ egbe; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Diamond Bank Plc, Uzoma Dozie; General Manager, Enterprise Business Unit, MTN, Barbara Anozia; Executive Director, Business Development, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), Niyi Ajao; General Manager, Beat FM, Deji Awokoya; and West Africa Consulting Leader, Deloitte and Touche, Yemi Saka, at the unveiling of Tech Fest at Diamond Bank Plc head oďŹƒce in Lagos...recently

Courier Institute to Train One Million Entrepreneurs in Two Years The Nigerian Courier and Logistics Management Institute (CLMI), in partnerships with the Netherlands and indigenous higher institutions of learning, has said it is targeting at least one million entrepreneurs in the next two years.

The Courier Institute said the one million entrepreneurs would be capable of generating three million jobs within a short period of time after the training, in line with the federal government’s plan on job creation.

Chairman of the Courier Institute, Dr. Simon Emeje who gave the assurance during the Investiture/Book Presentation organised by CLMI in Lagos recently, said: “What this means is that, if the Institute trains one million entrepre-

neurs, each of them would have the capacity to employ at least three persons who will be involved in Logistics, Courier, or Transport, and this will amount to three million jobs, which is the contribution of CLMI in supporting government on job creation.�

The courier industry in Nigeria is a serious industry valued at trillions of naira, yet it is largely untapped, and we as an Institute want to make it happen and this will further trigger investors’ interest in Nigeria, Emeje added.

CLMI is therefore raising the bar of harnessing talents through the partnerships to offer Diploma/Degree Certifications in Courier, Logistics, Transport and Management.

Aside the Diploma Certifications for ND and HND that

would be awarded by the participating Polytechnics, the partnering Universities will also offer Bachelor of Science and Masters Degree Certifications in Courier, Logistics & Management, and Courier & Transport respectively, after a five year period.

According to Emeje, no foreign or indigenous Diploma/ Degree awarding institution offers a quadruple course (Logistics, Courier, Transport and Management) in a single programme, a feat which has been described by many as unique.

The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu who commended CLMI for the initiative, described the Institute’s move as trailblazing, since it is the first of its kind across the globe.

In his keynote address at the Investiture/Book Presentation, Shittu said: “What we are seeing today has never happened in the world before, and the institute has done well by putting up such an initiative aimed at bridging the knowledge gap in the Logistics sector.�

The Minister applauded the Institute for providing leadership role among organisations within the Nigerian Postal Service ecosystem, which the courier sector belongs to.

He noted: “I must at this point commend the promoters of this Institute, as the Institute will not only promote professionalism and train manpower for the industry but will also breed entrepreneurs who will create jobs for Nigerians.�

He described what the Institute is doing as a buildup to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) strategic roadmap and agenda of the present government, which is designed to empowers job creation and development. “It is hoped that an Institute of this nature would be able to carry out effectively, substantive research in the postal sector, thereby enhancing efficiency, growth and competition in the global space,� Shittu said.

Highlights of the book presentation ceremony was the conferment on the minister, the Grand Patron of the Institute; induction of new members; and presentation of awards to the Netherland partners who graced the event.

Inlaks: Capacity Building will Prevent Cyberattacks, Boost Resilience Group Business Editor

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

Ă™Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ äĂ?

Comms/e-Business Editor

Ă—Ă—Ă‹ Ă•Ă™Ă˜Ă”Ă“ Capital Market Editor

ÙÎÎã Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?

Senior Correspondent

Ă‹Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă— Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ĂŒĂ™Ă–Ă&#x; (Advertising) Correspondents

Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ ĂœĂ™Ă•Ă? (Labour) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Maritime) ÔÓÙĂ?Ă™Ăœ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? (Energy) Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă?ÔÙ (Nation’s Capital) ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă‹ Ă’Ă“Ă—Ă‹ (Money Mkt) Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ăœ (Energy) Reporters

Ă&#x;Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă?Ă‘Ă’Ă? (Money Market) Ă™Ă?Ă‹ Ă–Ă?Ă•Ă’Ă&#x;ÙÑÓĂ? (Cap Mkt)

Africa’s Information Technology Systems Integrator, Inlaks, has identified building formidable structure as a way to prevent cyber security threats in organisations.

This was highlighted by the company’s Cyber Security Manager, Adeyemi Ademiluyi at the West Africa Cyber Security Summit organised by Afrocet Montgomery in partnership with KPMG Nigeria in Lagos recently.

Ademiluyi, who was a speaker at the summit explained that with Nigeria as the second on the list of the most attacked

countries in Africa after Zambia in the 2017 Global Threat Impact index, cyber-attack has become a global phenomenon that requires more technical, creativity and diplomatic approach to address. “Basic tools such as antivirus, firewall, intrusion detection and prevention systems are no longer enough to combat today’s weaponised and sophisticated malwares persistently launched by the Cyber Adversaries. The implementation of security tools are good to prevent internal and external invasion but not panacea against Cyber-attacks

and cybercrimes,� Ademiluyi said. He added that building a cyber resilient organisation is very key for any organisation , who wish to survive in the digital age. It should be seen as the collective responsibility and efforts of all stakeholders within the organisation and the cyber ecosystem in general. Since no organisation, group or person is immune to attack, capacity building is key to winning the war and reducing the cost on cybercrimes and attacks. Awareness training and education on information and cyber security

will definitely play a vital role in staying ahead of cyber thieves, Ademiluyi said. “The weakest link in the security chain should be motivated, trained and empowered to be the best line of defence.

Effective training and education will also help the staff to identify threats, avoid malicious links and downloads. The staff will also know their roles in the response plan and how to communicate effectively in the event of any attack. “Aside from those that are involved in the day-to-day

running of the organisation, other members of staff like the cleaners and security personnel need to be trained because they are all part of the organisation.

Building cyber resilience is building a room for continuity so there is a need to employ best practices like information security practices and business continuity strategies. There must be collaboration among all, especially the Management, IT team, information security team, and business operation team to form a strategy that will suit the organisation,’’ he said.�

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍˇËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

CRC Credit Bureau Introduces USSD Code for Mobile Credit Check Stories by Emma Okonji CRC Credit Bureau Limited and MTN in collaboration Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) and VAS2Nets, have introduced the USSD Code, *565*8# for mobile credit check.

CRC Credit Bureau, a leading credit bureau in Nigeria, said the service offering, in partnership with MTN Nigeria, provided an alternative medium for individuals and merchants to have easy access to a summary of their credit reports via their mobile phones.

This, it said, was in line with CRC’s mission to deliver innovative products and services that enable stakeholders to build credible profiles that enhance access to credit for strategic growth and promote financial inclusion.

The Managing Director/ CEO of the company, Mr. Tunde Ahmed Popoola, said: “The new innovation which is introduced for the first

time in Nigeria is a quick and easy way for people to carry out credit checks on their mobile phones. This service is currently available to MTN subscribers only. With Mobile credit checks your credit history is at your fingertips.

Simply dial *565*8# on your mobile phone to get your credit report instantly.� “Effective financial and credit management requires a complete understanding of an individual’s overall financial and loan status by constantly monitoring the various accounts and balances.

It also involves the ability to accurately assess and promptly address errors apparent.

Consumers, now have the power in their hands to act swiftly and positively position themselves to improve access to finance and buy products on credit,� Popoola said.

He added that registered merchants or business entities alike can also grow business volumes and increase sales

revenues by instantly knowing which customers can enjoy consumer products to pay later by dialing *565*8*3# and reviewing their customers’ credit worthiness.

This will not only give them a competitive advantage but will also build customer loyalty and retention.

CRC Credit Bureau Limited currently warehouses credit transactions and payment histories of individuals and companies in Nigeria in excess of 15 million records provided by about 1,300 institutions.

In addition to credit information, CRC also compiles public data, statutory and identity information as well as dishonored cheque information of individuals and organisations. This enables banks and creditors generally to have access to accurate and comprehensive data which empowers them to make quick, fair, responsible and informed decisions with confidence.

Diamond Bank Partners MTN, VISA, Others on Tech Fest Diamond Bank Plc, in partnership with MTN, Visa, Microsoft, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), Deloitte and Touche, Interswitch and Beat FM, has unveiled Tech Fest, designed to boost Nigeria’s technology space.

Scheduled to hold May 15 and 16, 2018 in Lagos, Tech Fest promises to feature the best talent in the Nigerian technology space. The event will showcase technological solutions for businesses, connect technology providers with new markets, provides access-to-market opportunities for tech start-ups among others.

Speaking at the official unveiling of the event, Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Bank Plc, Uzoma Dozie, said: “Tech Fest for me, is a platform that we can share with our customers to help them get the best of technology and to partner together

to run better businesses. If there is one thing we have learned at Diamond, it is that you can’t do everything on your own and you need to collaborate if you are going to win and be the best at what you do�.

Country Director, VISA, Emezino Afiegbe, expressed his company’s excitement to partner Tech Fest. According to him, “We are happy to collaborate with reputable firms like Diamond Bank, MTN and others to make Tech Fest a success. We are here to provide support to retail customers and consumers to make payment seamlessly, securely and as quick as possible.

We believe that if they can make payment quickly and safely, we are sure that GDP will grow for not just the country but also prosperity in the region. It all starts here and we are happy to be part of this journey as we go into the future.�

MTN, through its general manager, Enterprise Business Unit, Barbara Anozia, said a the company’s vision is to offer customers a whole new digital world and make their lives brighter using technology to help them grow and this informs their decision to partner with Tech Fest.

Commenting on what to expect from Deloitte and Touche at Tech Fest, the company’s West Africa Consulting Leader, Yemi Saka said: “We at Deloitte and Touche understand that business advisory is a key aspect of the entire value chain of any entrepreneurial venture. So, we are bringing to the table a global perspective, innovation and exponential technologies that we are working on as we seek to engage with a wider ecosystem.�

Corporate Brand Manager, Interswitch, Tomi Ogunlesi, expressed appreciation as one of the partners of Tech Fest.

Nokia 1, Nokia 7 Plus Smartphones Arrive in Nigeria HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, has announced the availability of Nokia 1 and Nokia 7 Plus smartphones in the Nigerian market, valued at N27, 000 and N146, 000 respectively, from 16th April, 2018.

While the Nokia 1 delivers smartphone essentials, with refreshingly familiar design and reassuring quality of a Nokia phone to fans around the world, the Nokia 7 Plus combines innovative imaging capabilities and powerful performance for up to two days with one charge.

With enhanced Dual-Sight, highly sensitive ZEISS optics and Pro Camera mode, the Nokia 7 plus captures images that are true to life, no matter the lighting. Selected by Google to join the Android

One family, the Nokia 7 plus offers a pure, secure and upto-date Android experience.

Announcing the availability of the Nokia brand of smartphones, the General Manager at HMD Global, West, East and Central Africa, Mr. Joseph Umunakwe, said: “The Nokia 7 plus is a true hero in our smartphone range.

We know our fans are capturing, watching, exploring and gaming on their mobile phones more than ever before.

From live streaming both sides of their story to bringing their favourite YTV shows, they want to see more in the palm of their hand.

That’s why we’ve designed the Nokia 7 plus to be your stylish companion that goes everywhere you go, always ready to deliver a high-quality

big screen experience.�

Speaking on the uniqueness of the Nokia 1, Umunakwe said: “There are more than 1.3 billion feature phone users around the world, many from markets in Asia and Africa.

As the value market in feature phones, we understand the barrier and challenges people face when it comes to the step up to a smartphone which is why we’ve made our most accessible smartphone ever.�

With the Nokia 1, we have combined the reassuring quality and design of a Nokia smartphone with the latest Android Oreo software to deliver exceptional value and realise our dream of creating a complete smartphone experience, accessible to everyone,� he added.

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT OLODU KEONYEDI

The Habit of Household Budgeting One of the biggest ways to be successful with your money is knowing where your money goes each month.

Every nation including Nigeria begins their ďŹ nancial year with a budget; major organĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ËšĂ?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă–Ă?Ę° Ă™Ă&#x;ĂžËœ ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă? always a budget for everything they do. But ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ Ă“Ăž Ă?Ù×Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă– Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ? ĂžĂ?Ă˜ĂŽ to run our family expenses without any budget.

One of the most diďŹƒcult things to do when setting up a family budget for the ďŹ rst time is to ďŹ gure out how much you should spend in Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă™ĂœĂŁË› Ă’Ă? åÒÙÖĂ? ĂšĂ&#x;ĂœĂšĂ™Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă‹ ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?Ăž is to set your spending habits straight and to bring you back into line whenever you miss your way.

Percentages of Household Spending Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă‹ Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă“ĂŽĂ? ÞÒËÞ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă’Ă?Ă–Ăš ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ÞÙ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? your own budget; your percentages may vary from our guide due to the size of your famĂ“Ă–ĂŁËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă‹ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă–Ă“Ă Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ’Ă‹Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ę¨Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– goals are.

CATEGORY: Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ‹Ă‘Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă–Ă– ĂšĂ?Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ě™Ă—Ă™ĂœĂžĂ‘Ă‹Ă‘Ă?ËšĂœĂ?Ă˜ĂžĚš ͓͖͔͖̋ϯ ÞÓÖÓÞÓĂ?Ă? ̙åËÞĂ?ĂœËœ ÚÙåĂ?ĂœËœ Ęś Ă‘Ă‹Ă?Ěš Í–Ě‹Í’Í‘ĎŻ ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ě™Ă?Ă‹Ăœ ÚËã×Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă‹Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ěš

Í’Í‘Ě‹Í’Í–ĎŻ Ă?ËÖÞÒĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ?

Í–Ě‹Í’Í‘ĎŻ Food

Í’Í‘Ě‹Í’Í–ĎŻ Clothing

Í–Ě‹Í’Í‘ĎŻ Saving

Í’Í‘Ě‹Í’Í–ĎŻ Investment

Í’Í‘Ě‹Í“Í‘ĎŻ Education/training/seminars

Í–Ě‹Í’Í‘ĎŻ Ă“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘

Í’Í‘Ě‹Í’Í–ĎŻ Miscellaneous

Í–Ě‹Í’Í‘ĎŻ We will be discussing about some of the different categories of the household budget.

FOODË? Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă™ĂœĂŁ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? ĂœĂ?ÖËÞÓà Ă?Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă—Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă™Ăœ Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă? ĂŽĂ?ĂšĂ?Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÓäĂ? Ă™Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă“Ă–ĂŁËœ your location and income level. If this is your ďŹ rst time of budgeting then we recommend ÞÒËÞ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂž ĂŒĂŁ Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Í’Í‘Ě‹Í’Í–ĎŻ Ă™Ă? your monthly income on food.

Studies have shown that lower income families spend a lot more money on food as a percentage of their overall budget than that of a higher income family.

If you notice that you are spending more than ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă—Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ă–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ù×Ă?Ëœ Ă–Ă?Þ˪Ă? Ă?Ă‹ĂŁ ͔͑ϯ Ă™Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ă–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ù×Ă?Ëž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ either cut your spending or get another source of income to supplement your salary.

HOUSING: Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă™ĂœĂŁ Ă“Ă? ÞãÚÓĂ?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘est monthly expense; it is advisable to spend a ďŹ xed percentage of your income on housing.

It is generally recommended to spend about of Í“Í–ĎŻ Ă™Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ă–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă™Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă˜ĂžË› Ă?Þ˪Ă? Ă?Ă‹ĂŁ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂŁ Ă“Ă? ͒͑͑˜͑͑͑ ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ëœ ÞÒĂ?Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’ Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? ͓͖˜͑͑͑˜ Ă?Ă™ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ ĂŁĂ?Ă‹Ăœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? ĂšĂ‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ͔͑͑˜͑͑͑ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă–Ă“Ă Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ë›

But if you are living in an apartment that cost ͗͑͑˜͑͑͑ ĂšĂ?Ăœ ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœËž ÞÒÓĂ? Ă—Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă? ÞÒËÞ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Í–Í‘ĎŻ Ă™Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ă–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ă™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?ÙÖà Ă? ÞÒÓĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ÞåÙ means; either you look for another source of income to make up for the balance or you look for a place that would not cost you more than Í“Í–ĎŻ Ă™Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂŁË› TRANSPORTATION: Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă™ĂœĂŁ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă Ă‹ĂœĂŁ ĂŽĂ?ĂšĂ?Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă?ÞÒĂ?Ăœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă‹ Ă–Ă™Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;ĂžĂ? ÞÙ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ™ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ëœ Ă™Ăœ Ă“Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; have your own car or not. Ă’Ă“Ă? ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ÞËÕĂ? Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă‹Ăœ ÚËã×Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă‘Ă‹Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ăœ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ‹Ă“Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëž Ă“Ăž Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ also include your transport fare if you will be using public transport.

Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ? Í’Í‘Ě‹ Í’Í–ĎŻ Ă™Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ă–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ and you can adjust as the need arise.

HEALTH: this is one category most Nigerians ÚËãĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹ĘľĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă˜ Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă– ÞÒĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă•Ëœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; may never know when you may need to go to ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ™Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœË› Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Í–Ě‹Í’Í‘ĎŻ of your budget to health.

I would advise that everyone should visit the Ă˜Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?ËÖÞÒ Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă—Ă? Ě™ Ěš ÙʊĂ?Ă?Ëž ÞÒĂ?ĂŁ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹ĘĽĂ™ĂœĂŽĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? health insurance packages. One of such packĂ‹Ă‘Ă? Ă“Ă? ÞÒĂ? à ÙÖĂ&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÚËĂ?Ă•Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ëœ åÓÞÒ Ă”Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž ͖͒˜͑͑͑ Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? Ă?Ùà Ă?ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‹ åÒÙÖĂ? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœË› Ă&#x;Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?ÞÓÖÖ Ă Ă“Ă?Ă“Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă?ďŹ ce for the current price and further enquiries.

SAVING: Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă”Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă™ĂœĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? household budgeting; we recommend allocatĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Í’Í‘Ě‹Í’Í–ĎŻ Ă™Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ă–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ë? Ă?Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂŒĂ“Ă‘ ĂšĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ?ËÖÞÒ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă“Ă–ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă?Ă™ ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ëœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜ while you are saving.

I always recommend you to save your money in an interest bearing account and my preferred interest bearing account is the money market account.

GIVING: Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă‹ ĂĄĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“ans hardly budget for. Due to the fact that you are working and receiving salary; most of your friends and family members would want to have a piece of that salary.

Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂŽĂ™Ă˜ËŞĂž ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?Ăž ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“ĂžËœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?âÒËĂ&#x;Ă?Ăž your salary on trying to help every family member in need. Ă™ ĂĄĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Í’Í‘ĎŻ Ă™Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂŁ Ă™Ă˜ Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Í’Í‘ĎŻ Ă“Ă? Ă?âÒËĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒËÞ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă“Ă–ĂŁ Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ coming for help should be moved to the next month.

Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹ ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?Ăž Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă?Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ™Ă– Ùà Ă?Ăœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŁËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă‹ ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă’ Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ’Ëœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‘Ă?Ăž ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ“Ă Ă“Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ your paycheck where to go instead of wondering where it went.

Before starting your household budgeting you must have the habit of ďŹ rst setting a ďŹ Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– ÑÙËÖ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ă™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă”Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă•Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁËœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ goal for budgeting could be to have enough Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă˘ĂžĂœĂ‹ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă’ ÞÙ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă‹ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă Ă?Ăœ Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă?Ëœ you must determine your ďŹ nancial goal.

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

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Leveraging on Technology to Advance Nigeria’s Economy With the evolution of modern technologies across the globe, the government and the private sector must leverage on new technologies to boost the Nigerian economy, writes Emma Okonji Even church apps are not been downloaded by church members and this goes to show that locally developed apps are grossly underutilised in Nigeria, and something has to be done to address that. We must move away from hype and learn how to provide factual and useful information so that people who want to do real business, will have the right information to plan better,� he said.

The large population size of Nigeria has always been a good factor for technology advancement of the country. But the paucity of specialised information communications technology (ICT) personnel like cybersecurity personnel, coupled with the poor state of ICT infrastructure in the country, tend to pose some difficult challenges to technology advancement.

Recently, the Country General Manager at Cisco, an information technology (IT) security networking company, Mr. Olakunle Oloruntimehin, decried the shortfall of trained cybersecurity personnel in Nigeria, and called for increased effort on the part of private organisations and government agencies to begin to look inward and invest in people, processes and technology, especially in people that will help mitigate cyberattacks, which he said, was on the increase.

In a related development, the country is challenged by poor ICT infrastructure rollout, a situation that is affecting the speedy expansion of telecoms networks across the country, hindering technology growth.

However, the success of technology advancement of a nation is hinged on the ubiquitous spread of ICT infrastructure and the volume of technology savvy people who are willing to leverage technology to develop themselves and the entire nation. It is for this reason that industry stakeholders have continued to stress the need for greater participation of government and the private sector to leverage technology to advance the Nigerian economy.

Government’s role in tech development The guest speaker said although government has greater role to play in leveraging technology to advance its economy, he advised that people must not wait for government to provide all the infrastructure needed to grow the economy. “Government is slow to act, so individuals and the private sector should begin to see the need to add value without waiting for government.

We know that government is big time spender but government could be slow in various ways.

Those currently in government are not digital natives, they are not born in the technology age, they are digital migrants who are only trying to learn technology. But the digital natives who are born into the world of technology, understand better, the way technology works,�

Oluyomi said, while calling on government to support the youths who are the millennials and digital natives.

Seedspace passion In line with its global mission to develop a hub that is focused on growth, technology and entrepreneurship, Seedspace Lagos, an affiliate of Seedspace Global, has continued to display its passion for technology advancement in Nigeria.

Recently, it organised the second edition of its Media Hangout, where it showcased the Founder/ Principal Partner of Mobility.ng, Mr. Adegboye Oluyomi as the guest speaker to discuss new technology trends and how Nigerian government and the private sector can leverage technology to further advance the economy.

With over 60,000 community members all over the world, Speedspace is a global hub where expertise are trained, who will in turn leverage technology to further advance economic growth of nations.

Call for technology advancement Citing recent projections about future technology development in the Nigerian technology space, Oluyomi said such projections are not always accurate because the technology landscape changes fast with technology evolution. “Before now, the country used to talk about 3G, 4G technologies, and the Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology; but today we are already talking about 5G technology, even though I do not know when that will take effect in Nigeria,�

Oluyomi said.

According to him, new media is constantly being redefined and Nigeria must take advantage of it. “When I started digital technology in early 2000, it was yahoo messenger that was in vogue then, and all of a sudden, nobody is taking about yahoo messenger today. This shows the direction and pace at which technology solutions are evolving.

Instant messaging, for instance, is fast developing and will continue to grow until another form of technology overtakes it. WhatApp is doing well today and has taken over the business space of social media across globe.

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are technologies that people are currently looking up to and one strong factor that will enhance the growth is affordable access to these new technologies. Today, the Google Map has taken over Nokia Map and technologies are evolving by the day. Initially people thought the mapping and navigation system will not work in Nigeria,

Satellite dish as broadband infrastructure but today many people are using Google map to navigate their ways, and it has helped the transportation business like Uber, Taxify, Oga Driver among others, who now develop apps around the Google map to help them navigate various routes in cities. Investing in infrastructure will therefore help the ease of use of evolving technologies,�he said.

How the media can advance technology In the views of Oluyomi, the best way by which the media can advance technology is by putting up the right content that are useful and relevant to the readers. “Technology is advancing but the media and technology solutions provider must do well to demystify technology and keep it simple always. Majority of people are not interested about the technical Jargons in today’s technology world. What they are interested in is how the technology works and how it can improve on their businesses or jobs. Users of technology solutions are not interested in knowing technical jargons, like gigabytes, megabytes, interoperability of technology solutions, among other jargons. The only thing they love to experience is in the use of the technology and how easy it is for them to deploy it. So as media practitioners, there is the need to make technology as simple as possible when writing about it.

“We need to encourage more people into technology. App developers should also try to keep their apps simple in terms of usage and in addressing challenges. When that is achieved, it will help reduce technophobic behaviour in our youths and bring in more people into the world of technology,� Oluyomi said. “The taxi drivers, the market men and women, artisans, must all understand technology and for them to understand it, the media and technology solution provider must demystify technology to their levels. Until we do this, lots of people will be excluded from the ongoing technology development. Most times in an attempt to hype a technology solution, people push out false narrative that will not actually address the true situation. For example, there is this hype about smartphone penetration in the country, which dishes out false information about the actual number of smartphone penetration in the country.

The media must learn to say things they way they really are,�Oluyomi added.

Patronising locally developed apps Oluyomi spoke on the need for Nigerians to develop interest in locally developed apps that are designed to solve specific challenges, and patronise them. “Today, apart from financial services apps, locally developed apps are not being patronised.

The role of InfraCos Commending government for the licensing of Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) to achieve faster infrastructure rollout, the guest speaker said such efforts must be sustained to further advance technology development in the country.

He said the challenges of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and InfraCos are immense and thus affecting fast rollout of telecoms infrastructure. He, however, said the way out of the challenge is through acquisitions and mergers.

He called on government to come up with policies that will empower Nigerians and the same time speed up technology development in Nigeria. “Government should begin to look at how it can use technology it drive development and create policies that will drive technology development in today’s new digital media. If all Nigerians are empowered with technology skills, and there are adequate technology infrastructure on ground across the country, the people will develop fast and the economy will grow faster.

But in the absence of these, individuals must keep pushing and contribute their own quota to national development.

Some governments are getting it right. Donald Duke of Cross Rivers State, when he was the governor of the state, got it right when he conceptualised Tinapa Business Resort Centre in Calabar. Although it was a laudable initiative that could have advanced technology and trade in Nigeria, but subsequent governments failed to see the need for continuity, even though government is a continuum. Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State got it right in Lagos State as well, by automating all government processes in the state and today Lagos State is a good example of a digital state. Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State is currently trying to revolutionise education in the state, using technology and all these are different initiatives from different state governments that other governors should emulate,� Oluyomi said.

He also commended former President Olusegun Obasanjo, whom he said, opened up the telecoms sector in his time, when he approved the GSM auction licences for the rollout of telecoms services in the county in the year 2000. “Nigerians need more of such initiatives from various governments, but the private sector must not wait for government to develop and implement new and workable initiatives all alone,� he added.

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Nkadi: Deployment of Right Tech Solutions Key to Business Growth Business Development Manager, Priority Communications Limited, Mr. Franklin Nkadi, spoke with Emma Okonji on the need for organisations to deploy the right technology solutions in order to remain competitive in business. Excerpts: What has been your experience in the telecoms business space in Nigeria?

I have been in the telecoms industry for over 15 years, providing telecoms services to oil and gas companies, health sector, as well as the small and medium enterprises (SME) market in Nigeria.

Having worked in several telecoms companies, I joined Priority Communications Limited few months ago to drive business development and logistics for the company.

munications remains a big time enterprise company, providing value added technology solutions to both enterprise and small businesses across Nigeria and beyond. My desire is to position Priority Communications as one-stop solution company that addresses the needs of its customers on realtime basis. The strategy is to continue to build on customer satisfaction, though world-class technology solution that will address the needs of customers.

So what is your role in driving business development and logistics for Priority Communications?

As a Business Development Manager, I oversee the entire business development of the company, generating workable business ideas that will bring value to its customers and to the organisation itself in such a way that it will enable the company to operate profitably in business, even in a competitive market environment like the Nigerian telecoms space. I am responsible for driving products and services as well as sales. At Priority, we have a bouquet of telecoms services that we offer to our customers.

Priority Communications have won several awards as Best IT Service Provider of the Year consecutively. What is the impact of the awards on your customers’ businesses?

Yes, we won the award twice back to back as the Best IT Service Provider of the Year, and this portends so much value for the businesses of our customers. It has helped them to add value to their businesses, knowing fully well that their service provider has been adjudged as the best in the industry. It goes to show that our customers are in safe hands and the continuous growth of their business is guaranteed.

Priority Communications will be clocking 11 years in the provision of telecoms services to a whole range of customers by June this year.

What have been the business challenges and the strategies for sustainability in the past 10 years?

Yes, we clocked 10 years in telecoms business in June last year, and by June this year, which is two months away, we will be clocking 11 years in telecoms business and we are still very strong in business, thanks to our customers who have been with us all these years. Their continued patronage and support have kept the business going in the last 10 years. I want to use this medium to thank the management of Priority Communications for its resilience in the face of business challenges all through the years. We cannot forget the financial institutions in Nigeria that have been doing businesses with us in the past years, their support and patronage have to a greater extent, kept us strong in business all these years.

So what have been the strategies for survivability in the face of recession and business challenges?

At priority Communications, we pay so much attention to our customers’ needs and we ensure that their challenges are addressed promptly. We are a technology company that researches in new technology solutions that will enhance customer business and our focus is centered around our customers. For these reasons, customers have always believed in our service offerings and it has helped us as a company to continue to survive, despite the harsh business environment. As a technology company, we are always innovating to bring the latest technology solutions to our customers.

What kind of business support do you have for partners and customers?

As an enterprise company, Priority Communications offers support services to our partners and customers in various ways that are designed to enhance business excellence. For us, partnership is the key because technology is evolving and we need to keep our customers abreast with new trends in the technology space. We have business relationships with local and international partners, to provide the best technology solutions to customers.

We offer our customers the best of training in modern technology solutions and we go as far as creating awareness on current technology solutions for both our partners and customers.

Whenever we have new solutions, we do well to invite our customers and partners to educate them on the trending technology solution.

Nkadi What are the new solutions that Priority Communications is bringing to the table for customers and how effective are the solutions?

We currently have a number of solutions we are deploying to customers. These solutions offer new ways of achieving faster results in business and at the same time, blocking financial leakages. The solutions offer improved methods of responding to business challenges and they provide ease of doing business in a way that controls operational expenditure (OPEX) of the business.

We have a solution that addresses issues associated with internally generated revenue (IGR), and most customers that have deployed the solution are fast reaping from it. We have a solution that addresses data loss and downtime in organisation and most of our customers are currently running the solution. We have a solution that addresses disaster recovery in realtime. We operate cloud technology, where we store data in the cloud and provide full protection of such data. We also provide document and archive management services to our customers. The solution helps in proper documentation of documents in such a way that they are safe and could be easily retrieved at anytime.

In spite of technology solutions available to customers, organisations and government agencies still suffer revenue leakages, which have always affected their internally generated revenues. How can Priority Communications help in mitigating financial losses in organisations?

We have a solution that is capable of not just reducing financial leakages in organisations, but will also put a total stop to any form of financial leakages. As a technology solution company, we understand the various ways through which organisations lose money and some may not even be known to the organisation and we have gone ahead to develop solutions that address all of that at minimal cost to the customer. What organisations should do is to constantly put a check on the financial team that manages organisational finances to avoid any form of financial leakages. Our financial solution is automated and eliminates physical cash handling.

Having invested in technology solutions for businesses, how affordable are your solutions?

Our solutions are tailored made to address specific challenges and the solutions are not above the reach of organisations, even small organisations with little cash flow can afford our solutions. The most important thing is that our solutions are tailored-made to address specific organisational issues.

Cyberattacks have been on the increase in recent times. What is Priority Communications doing to protect customers from malicious attacks that are launched from the cyberspace?

Yes, we are aware of the rising rate of cyberattacks on organisational data, and we have solutions to mitigate various kinds of cyberattacks. We are in partnership with global security companies to address insecurity in the cyberspace, and our customers are currently enjoying such solutions that have always kept their data protected. A lot of researches have been carried out on cyberattacks and we have solutions to address all of that. Our solutions offer first-hand security protection to customers’ data, and this is the reason why we had to invest in cloud-based technology solution that provides maximum protection to customer database.

So what will you say are the advantages of cloud computing solutions to your customers?

Cloud computing is key to data protection.

It gives customers peace of mind that their data is fully secured, aside helping to solve the challenges of getting the adequate storage space to store data on-premise. Again, we backup data in the cloud in such a way that customers could access their data outside their location, especially when they travel outside the country. In the case of disaster on organisation’s data, we are able to retrieve backup data from the cloud and make them accessible to the organisation, without its customers feeling the impact of the disaster.

As Business Development Manager for Priority Communications, what are your strategies on customer satisfaction and for quick return on investment?

My mission is to ensure that Priority Com-

What is your candid advice for business owners in search of quality technology solution?

My candid advice is for customers to remain with the best service provider to grow their business. Customers should not dabble into solutions they do not actually require. They must seek professional advice from the right technology solution company. At Priority Communications, we do consultative selling and we do not sell solutions for the sake of money. Any solution that a company invest in, must address specific challenges. Customers must therefore prioritise their Information and Communications Technology (ICT) needs to achieve better results.

So what are the bouquet of telecoms services that Priority Communications offer to its customers?

We offer a wide range of technology solutions that meet the needs of customers. Our solutions are tailor-made to address specific challenges.

We offer Point-to-Point Link solutions that connects all branch offices; we have Pointto-Multiple-Points solutions; Virtual Private Network (VPN) solution that supports Automated Teller Machines (ATMs); Last-mile connectivity over radio as well as offering mast solutions by building telecoms masts and maintaining them for our customers. We also provide Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) solutions and Metropolitan Area Network solution, among others.

What percentage of local content are embedded in your solutions?

We take the local content policy of the federal government very seriously. In all our solutions, we use local materials that are sourced from within the country. A typical example is in our telecoms masts that we build and manage for customers. The materials are standard, yet locally sourced and our trained engineers are Nigerians. Although we still import some foreign masts to meet local demands.

Do you have solutions for small businesses like the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) business?

We have solutions for both enterprise companies and SMEs. For the SMEs, there are solutions that meet their size of business that are affordable.

We have mobile LTE devices that SMES could use for their businesses that can serve fewer number of staff.

Businesses are meant to grow bigger with time. Do your solutions provide room for scalability?

Absolutely! Our solutions are interoperable and scalable at the same time, thus giving room for business expansion.

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‘Carrington Youths Initiative will Create Knowledge Economy for Nigeria’ Stories by Emma Okonji The United States Consul General, John Bray has said the Carrington Youths Fellowship Initiative (CYFI) will graduate fellows that will bring wealth of knowledge and skills to the table, and share a common vision with the goal of positively impacting Nigerian society.

Bray, who spoke during the graduation of the 2017 Fellows, said the youths came from diverse academic and

professional backgrounds in the fields of public health, medicine, technology, journalism, law, agriculture, and finance.

The CYFI fellows are grouped into four teams based on their common interests and backgrounds – civil liberties, health, education, and economic empowerment.

The U.S. Consulate General launched the Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative in 2011 with the goal of bringing together Nigerian youth to

design and implement projects focused on societal innovation.

These projects center around broader themes championed by Ambassador Walter Carrington, for whom the initiative was named. The Fellows were initially selected by a committee comprised of the Carrington Youth Fellowship Alumni Network (CYFAN) and officers at the Consulate in coordination with the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy.

At the 2017 Fellows gradua-

tion, which took place in Lagos recently, Bray thanked the Public Affairs Section of the Embassy for working so hard to make sure that the finances for the program are maintained and distributed each year. “Our objective at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos is to support efforts that address Nigerian issues, particularly economic development, access to healthcare, peace and security and transparency and good governance. To that

end, the CYFI program is an incredibly valuable program, in that it allows some of the most promising young people in Nigeria who are passionate about these issues to affect real, positive change,� Bray said.

He advised the graduating students to always remember that they are a select few chosen from a pool of the most talented and driven young people in Nigeria, adding that the friendships and partnerships they have developed over the year with

CYFI, will become some of the most rewarding. He urged them to remain in touch with their cohort and maintain the strength of the common bond they have formed together through their collaboration in this past year. “Stay committed and passionate to societal innovation and change in your society, even in the face of obstacles. As you’ve learned this year, you can run into all kinds of challenges in the course of implementing real and meaningful change.

Ericsson Report Harps on Connected Vehicles in Maiden Women in Business Challenges Women Folk Digital Transformation Operators targeting the digital transformation of industries will see immense opportunities in driving the connected vehicle agenda with 5G and Internet of Things (IoT), Ericsson has said.

In a recent report by Ericsson entitled ‘The Guide to Capturing the 5G Industry Digitalisation Business Potential’, the company explained for ICT players to achieve digital transformation in the coming years, they will need to adopt the technologies that will propel the development and implementation of connected vehicles forward.

The global market potential for connected vehicles was mainly made up by the public safety, public transport, and automotive industries – and its estimated

revenue potential is as high as $69 billion, the report said.

Analysing the report, the Head of Strategy, Technology, Sustainability and Public Affairs for Ericsson, Middle East and Africa, Alp Uysal, said however, key challenges in the connected vehicle space include providing sufficient coverage of high-speed mobile broadband, as well as developing new sales capabilities to deal with several types of customers, ranging from equipment manufacturers to public transport companies and everyone in between.

To make connected vehicles a reality for use cases like autonomous ambulances, high-speed internet on trains, vehicle-to-vehicle networking

systems, and other such applications, operators will need to overcome these challenges with innovative cloud-based solutions that utilize next generation technology from every angle, Uysal said.

Currently, the market drivers for connected vehicles include a growing car sharing market, new safety regulations such as eCall, vehicle electrification, and the emergence of new high-tech disruptors in the automotive industry. These market drivers will only evolve and expand with time, so operators will need to adapt their strategies to keep services and solutions applicable as connected vehicle use cases change, the report added.

The maiden edition of Women in Business, a networking session for women in all sectors of the economy powered by Cloudcover Limited, an innovative company delivering constant internet connectivity to Nigerians, has challenged Nigerian women to seek greater heights in business.

The women group gave the challenge in Lagos during an interactive session that brought together women from diverse industries and organisations, to address issues concerning women in all areas of economic endeavour.

Featuring women entrepreneurs, professionals, businesswomen and budding entrepreneurs, the event held at Brown’s Cafe, Victoria Island,

had the co-founder of She Leads Africa, Afua Osei as keynote speaker. Osei, an entrepreneur, investor, and a seasoned public speaker, urged women not to be overwhelmed by the harsh economic environment that seeks to limit them from attaining greater heights.

According to her, “It’s a tough society with series of odds stacked against women but we must never give up. We will find it hard going alone but our strength is in our unity.

When we collectively face challenges, we will achieve more. We should network more, share insights more and seek solutions together. We must not be overwhelmed by the institutional and cultural hurdles in our paths, we must refuse

to be limited.�

Osei who had also served in the office of America’s exFirst Lady, Michelle Obama, added that “this is a unique opportunity that has been offered to us by Cloudcover, we should do well to seize it and also look into offerings by the company that can assist us in our respective endeavours.

Whether entrepreneur, professional or businesswomen, we will find the device invaluable.�

Group Chief Operating Officer of Cloudcover Limited, Eleanor Potter, explained that the aim of the interaction was to help women surmount cultural and institutional hurdles they face in realising their career and business goals through quality networking.

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Global Advertising Body IAA, Beckons In what looks like a further confirmation of the status of Nigeria among the committee of nations and the relevance of her market to the global economy, the International Advertising Association (IAA), a global association that brings together advertisers, media practitioners and agencies with presence in over 70 countries across the world, is pushing hard to re-establish its presence in the country.

Recently, the Association of Advertising Agencies in Nigeria (AAAN), recently played host to IAA board member and IAA Ghana Chapter’s Mrs. Norkor Duah in Lagos and dropped the hint that the Nigeria’s chapter will be inaugurated in May. Duah, who is also the CEO, Mullenlowe Accra, Ghana, with the responsibility of developing the IAA brand across Africa, as IAA Board member confirmed to THISDAY that, “IAA has been pushing and hoping that we can establish a chapter in Nigeria�

According to her, April will mark the 80th anniversary of IAA and the global body thought it should be in Nigeria, because globally, Africa is considered emerging market. ‘’Africa is important, this is sub Sahara Africa and we are looking to bringing Africa together�, she stated.

In 2015, IAA organised “Africa Rising�, the first black forum to bring the voice of

Africa alive. To tie in with the inauguration of Nigerian chapter, the body is already planning to host another conference in Accra, Ghana in May; there it hopes to announce the rebirth of the Nigerian chapter.

The IAA, she pointed out, is about where the continent is going in terms of the Advertising, media, and in terms of the clients. ‘�The IAA chapter in place brings the element and benefits of cascading global trends. “The evolution that is happening across the world is something we in Africa need to hook up to and see how we can plug in and gain from it,’’ She also stated that beyond this, IAA is very passionate about education and knowledge transfer. ‘�Within the IAA, there are fractioned out ways to allow different affiliation for education, for training and in motivating young professionals as well.

Admiring the Nigerian advertising industry, she noted that Nigeria has the necessary administrative structures like the APCON, AAAN; market in terms of economy. She admitted that over the years, advertising has been able to cover enormous ground and that the expertise currently on ground is well complimented. “The marketing communications industry in Nigeria is doing well, the fact that lots of them have come together to build a solid network for

global brands, you would have known that practitioners here are forthcoming. Buying into the IAA will be a great added advantage for both the agencies, clients and practitioners.�

While disabusing the notion that the IAA Nigeria is probably

a duplication of some sorts, the IAA official insisted that the IAA is value packed. “IAA Nigeria chapter will definitely get value. “You have to pay dues to be a part of. But it’s reasonable, it’s something we in Ghana have done over the last 10/15 years

and we see and derive real value in being members of the IAA.�

Currently, in Africa, only IAA Ghana and Egypt Chapters exist, hence the series of efforts over the past few years to set up a new chapter for the country.

Though some years back,

Nigeria under the late Mr. May Nzeribe, CEO, Sunrise D’Arcy and former Chairman, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), flied the international body in Nigeria but it was not long before it went into comatose.

Nagode Foundation Partners FSD on Entrepreneurship Training Ugo Aliogo and Lawal Kehinde Nagode Foundation in collaboration with Field of Skills and Dreams (FSD) has empowered youths in its entrepreneurship training programme in fashion designing, hotel and catering management. Other areas are Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and web designing, hair styling, cake baking, catering, and electrical installation. Speaking at the induction ceremony in Lagos recently, which featured the presentation of startup equipment to the inductees, the Managing Director Nagode Industries, Sandeep Kapoor, stated that the public and private sector have failed in tapping into the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians despite having a strong work force.

He also stated that small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) are strong creators of employment opportunities; therefore government should actively support the SME sector,

while commending the FSD for organising the event.

He said as part of the foundation’s plan to support the training programme, they decided to support the FSD surmount the huge financial challenges they may be facing in training the entrepreneurs.

In her remarks, the Founder of FSD, Mrs. Omowale Ogunrinde, said that the academy began in 2003 as an idea to support teenagers in her local church, adding that she felt a longing to take the initiative to the larger society by engaging the youths. According to her, the goal of the academy has always been empowering people with skills in order to setup their own businesses or work in industries, while stressing that since inception they have focused on professional skills acquisition. “The training programme organised by the academy will help trainee get knowledge on how to start their own businesses. The success stories are verifiable and they are amazing. We have been able to get partners in Ibadan,

Kaduna, Calabar, Kuje and Enugu. Soon, we will doing a big job in Port Harcourt,

later in the year, we will be going to Bayelsa, Minna and Ogun States.

Bosch Power Tools Inaugurates Experience Centre Raheem Akingbolu Bosch Power Tools Nigeria has inaugurated its Power Tools experience centre in sub-Saharan Africa, in Lagos.

The experience centre, which was said to focus on delivering the latest Bosch Power Tools innovations to professionals and tradesmen, was established in partnership with Amicable Concerns Limited, According to the Country Sales Director, Frank Diermann, the experience centre will focus on professional users in the construction space as well as tradesmen, artisans, and craftsmen.

He also stated that it will assist users to meet the demands of the growing Nigerian economy, especially in the area of infrastructural development.

‘’Users can enjoy tailored application trainings, for example,with benchtop, impact drills and measuring tools and have the opportunity to purchase the latest Bosch power tools and accessories.

To increase user convenience, the centre offers a drop off and pick up service for all aftersales service needs. “In support of the rapid infrastructural developments in Nigeria, the exclusive first of its kind Bosch Power Tools experience centre in the sub-Saharan Africa provides professionals and tradesmen with know-how and tools that are easy to use and that will significantly increase productivity in their day-to-day work. The experience centre is essential for the Nigerian market,� he said.

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The Villager as Pathway to the African Market Raheem Akingbolu writes on the concept of The Villager, as demonstrated in a new marketing book published by the Managing Director of Insight Communications, Feyi Olubodun, and concludes that it serves as a guide for local and international brands, seeking to explore the African market felt that our own culture is inferior because we don’t have the same kind of rules and technology that the West has,�

The debate on whether marketing theories and applications can be applied the same way in all continents has been on for decades. Should there be allusion to culture? Could there be universality in campaign? Should there be any room for domestication of creative ideas?

The above questions and others often come up anytime the issue of while some brands or campaign fail in Africa, are brought to the front burner. Also, in explaining why African creative agencies have always found it tough to clinch global awards, experts are always quick to state emphatically that lack of understanding of African narratives by the foreign judges, is responsible for the challenge.

Perhaps tired of the controversy around the subject matter, the Managing Director of Insight Communication, Mr. Feyi Olubodun, has come out with ‘The Villager – How Africans Consumes Brands’, a marketing book that reflects on what international brands get wrong about the African consumer.

Globalisation and westernisation Through ‘The Villager’, Olubodun attempts to educate his readers on the need to be cautious while applying the word ‘Globalisation’. To him, globalisation, without recourse to culture, language and behavior of the people is an abuse of the word.

During an interactive session with Journalists in Lagos ahead of the public presentation of the book, Olubodun also tried to draw a line between the word sophistication and westernisation.

According to him, lack of clear understanding of the application of some of the frequently used words, is the reason while many global brands fail in Nigeria. “I argue very strongly that sophistication and westernisation don’t mean the same thing. You can be sophisticated and not be westernised,� he had stated. We need to hold our cultural identity very, very dearly and draw our authenticity from that while, at the same time, evolving ourselves so we can play significantly on the global stage,�

To him, the African consumer is a special breed. In The Villager, Olubodun points out cleverly that marketing to Africans using the construct designed for the Western world has been the bane of some marketing managers and international conglomerates’ below par performances and consistent failure for some international brands in the African space.

The Author paints a graphic picture of two conglomerates which deployed their home (country of origin) nuances in communicating with the Nigeria markets and in those instances the concerned products were seen to fall short of holding attention, trust and patronage of the local market and consumers.

Though, he admitted that marketing business is tough generally in the continent, no thanks to regulatory problems and changes in the industry, but he is quick to recognise that there is a fundamental disconnect between how brands working on the continent understand and relate to their consumers.

In capturing this, The Villager makes reference to an American airline that served a flight full of Nigerians jollof rice that had large pieces of okra in it. “In Nigeria, to put okra in jollof rice is unheard of; it is the ultimate signal of poverty and lack in a family. Nigerians don’t eat okra with any form of rice. I was tempted to explain to the Americans that this gaffe was the equivalent of putting real dog meat in a hot dog. You have to understand that to the African mind there was no justifiable reason for this,� he says in the book.

This is just one of the many case studies in the book, which Olubodun said took him about a year to write.

He pointed out during the media briefing that what he tried to do with the book was

to articulate a framework which argues that the African consumer is a villager and the village is a psychological construct and not a physical place. “That framework has eight components that make up the mind of the consumer. I say that if you understand that framework and you’re able to put it to use, you will be able to connect better with the African consumer� he added.

Some of the frameworks he mentioned are; religion, herd mentality, the role of community, the need to signal our value in life. He stated that a lot of international brands tend to have the wrong assumptions about the African consumer, especially those in the middle-class. “There is an assumption that because the middle-class in Africa is internationally exposed, they’ve travelled abroad and they’ve seen things, therefore they would be triggered by Western cues and that is incorrect.�

To support this, Olubodun quoted one of his friends, GG Alcock, who, according to him, said; ‘Africans are modernising not westernising’. Just because I have travelled to so many countries in the world doesn’t mean that I have become a white man.�

Place of data, research and population Speaking on some of the things that prepared him to write the book, Olubodun spoke about how he started his career in a research company called RMS, where he was exposed to consumer behaviours, market trends and relevant population statistics. Through the background, he was exposed early in life to the multi-faceted African culture and nuances, which to him could help in proffering solution to the issue at hand.

He did not mince words in asserting that the Nigerian market with a population in excess of 180 million – is the go-to, frontier market. It has propensity “to dust the population of the United States of America by 2030�! He further described the alluring Nigerian population as being split into a “perfect pyramid� of approximately 5 percent Upper Class, 25 percent Middle Class and 70 percent Lower Class. This trend is noted to be peculiar to all African markets.

In the book, The Villager is not seen as the physical space any longer since the consumer

has left there. “It is a psychological construct that defines the African consumer. It is his world view, the essential filter through which he engages products and consumer brands.�

Armed with these data and more, his presentations on ‘marketing to Nigerians, and Africans’ in general at different international fora have earned him the recognition as a thought leader while the subject gains traction with businesses and marketers willing to do business in Africa.

Reason is that, this appalling rate of failure needs be curtailed. Hence, the urge for new knowledge and a shift in the paradigm deployed in marketing to Africans, prevailed on Feyi to put his impressive presentations and further thoughts on the issue into a book to serve as a guide into the African market.

The future Ask Olubodun what he feels the future will look like and he will be quick in saying ‘content’. For him the future of the industry is in content. At a point during the interview, he started sounding philosophical, with reference quotes from Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart to discuss the place of storytelling in African culture. “The future of digital and advertising in Africa is content because Africa is a storytelling continent. But you can’t think of the future of anything digital without taking the youth, a big part of the continent’s population, into consideration,�

Even at this, he pointed out that the young ones within the continent population are generally facing this tension of globalisation, which he said making the world a smaller place to them.

He also pointed out that there is the tension of identity.

He states in the book that young people are discovering that if they can do more or less the same things as their counterparts in France on social media, it is their cultural identity that gives them a sense of uniqueness and authenticity. “Unfortunately in the past two or three decades, as Africans, we haven’t properly framed our culture for what it is. We’ve spent a lot of time looking to the West for our own definition.

We’ve looked down on our own culture and

Cultural diversities In The Villager, Olubodun draws the line and breakdown some salient realities that cannot be overlooked in Africa through various chapters of the book. Among them are; cultural, community affirmation, community sanctions, community rituals, herd mentality, the value of the enemy, Pillars of religion and signaling your journey; to x-ray and explain the make-up of the African consumer and what propels and motivates him. “Anytime, I talked about these with different audiences, it’s almost like the scales fell from their eyes�, he said.

For instance, in “Value of the enemy� as a sub-theme, the Author faults the age-old “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs� as it concerns marketing to Africans. “It does not apply to us, it’s a Western construct. It applies to societies that are individualistic in nature while the African society is a collective society, a “we� culture and not an “I� type of culture�, Against this backdrop, the Author believes that what actually helps Africans when it comes to success is the “need to have an enemy�. “The enemy you are trying to prove wrong is more important to you than the friend that believes in you�. The Author illustrates this with his experience with a Congolese barber he met in South Africa, who while sharing his life story, re-affirmed that when one wants to achieve something great in life, there are always enemies that are determined to stop him. The caveat here is that the enemy has to be defeated. This encounter which aptly captures the real African is in chapter 7 –The Value of an Enemy- in the book.

Also in “Signaling your Journey through life� the book posited that as Africans, as you progress through different levels of economic advancement in life, you have to “show you have arrived�. “We are not Warren Buffet that has been driving same car for 10 years, you cannot be a millionaire and do that in Africa, “the devil is a liar�, or you have been promoted at work and still wearing the same clothes, it doesn’t happen in this clime. Mark Zuckerberg uses the same type of clothes every day that is Oyinbo lifestyle, it is un-African. These were some of the Author’s quick illustrations that show a huge difference between Africans and other races.

To drive the Villager concept, the Author declared: “Nobody is a self-made man in Africa. If you lose your father an uncle will train you. The expectation is that when you are doing well, you contribute to bringing others up. The society here is both contributory and participatory�. At another instance, the Author also noted, “We are a shame based society and not guilt based�.

These are some of the thoughts put together in the book to provide a lens through which you could see why things are the way they are especially in the African nay Nigerian marketing environment. These assertions add to how not to market to Africans.

Succinctly, the book can be said to have provided the ‘lens’ that the African is a more of an aspirational consumer, which predisposes his desires towards “social mobility and generational mobility�. Hence, to guide the marketer, the Author posited three characteristic African impacts on consumption. These are futuristic consumption; symbolic consumption; and realistic consumption.

As part of what he wants to achieve with the book, he said he would be delighted when the book start to spur the CEOs, CFOs, Heads of Marketing and senior Brand people to discourse, “why the way they are marketing to us is wrong and why the current framework is actually faulty�.

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Making Online Marketplaces Safer for Consumers Sola Salako writes on the need for government to explore ways of improving standards and safety of online transactions for consumers As the world celebrated another World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) on March 15, 2018, global focus was on the fast evolving, ubiquitous marketplace enabled by the Internet. The theme set for the 2018 celebration by Consumers International (CI), the global consumer protection watchdog, was “Making Digital Marketplaces Fairer� in recognition of the growing challenges of protecting consumers in a new market that transcends physical borders, ignores geographical boundaries and confirms the age old maxim that the world has truly become a global village.

In less than twenty years, the conventional definition of markets has evolved from physically defined and geographically identified spaces of commercial activity, to multiple intangible, boundless and real time e-locations enabled by the internet. Whereas subsisting consumer protection laws and guidelines attempt to protect consumers within physical locations and the sovereignty of national policies, research shows that up to 12% of all global commercial transactions now take place on the internet; intra and inter countries, between multiple currencies and with little or no physical contact between the seller or service provider on the one hand and the consumer at the receiving end.

E-commerce, enabled by electronic financial instruments has thus become our progressive reality. According to the Director General, Consumer Protection Council, Mr. Babatunde Irukera in a Facebook post, a recent research by the Council show 67% of consumers between ages 18-40 now shop online; showing how important online markets are to commercial activity in Nigeria. As to be expected, the issues of exploitation, unfair trade practices and sub-standard products and services, which gave rise to the need for government to protect consumers in conventional markets, now occur at breathtakingly alarming rates online.

Consumer Protection regulators appear to be playing catch-up as the issues transcend the capacity of existing laws and regulations.

More so, the challenges consumers face in the new marketplaces online are sometimes new, thus existing laws are inapplicable to check the excesses of most merchants in this nascent frontier. Consumers daily fall victim to issues like lack of redress, misleading advertisement, outright frauds and scams and poor customer care with little or no regulation or intervention from regulatory agencies. Though a few of the organised formal merchants online have shown initiative by establishing their own consumer protection structures to build confidence in their store, they are not directly supervised by any particular agency of government.

The first issue raised by the global watchdog is the lack of fair access to the Internet for millions of consumers around the world. Whereas the Internet is fast becoming an essential commodity in developed countries, nations like Nigeria are still struggling to make the Internet adequately available for the majority of consumers. Even when consumers pay for data access, they rarely get value for money thus they are unable to maximise the full benefits of the online marketplace and the few who do, pay dearly for the privilege.

This challenge of access becomes even more critical as essential services like governance, utilities and financial services are now being digitized globally. Consumers now need the Internet to apply for a driver’s license or national identity card, pay their taxes and access banking and other financial services. E-marketplaces must therefore be made more accessible, affordable and safe for every consumer in Nigeria.

Another critical issue is the menace of fraudulent transactions at e-marketplaces.

The fact that businesses take place without any physical contact between the seller and the consumer creates a cover of anonymity which unscrupulous merchants hide under to exploit consumers through misleading advertisements, fake products or services, scams and poor after sales support. Due to this, most consumers find it difficult to trust e-transactions or its provid-

ers. CI research shows 49% of Internet users in Nigeria claim they are wary of e-transactions because of the trust issue.

Consumer distrust of e-markets arises from the apparent lack of regulation or adequate legislation to police marketplaces online. Government seems to be taking its time to catch up with the digital economy, as it appears to lack the capacity to fully regulate and monitor the digital marketplace. One of the challenges to regulation is the ubiquitous nature of the platform and the multiple sectors involved. While a comprehensive legislation might take years to materialize, government needs to explore options that can immediately improve the standard and safety of online transactions for consumers.

Whereas the Internet is fast becoming an essential commodity in developed countries, nations like Nigeria are still struggling to make the Internet adequately available for the majority of consumers. Even when consumers pay for data access, they rarely get value for money thus they are unable to maximise the full benefits of the online marketplace and the few who do, pay dearly for the privilege

Some options regulators could consider include increased consumer education to empower the consumer with better information on the risks of e-transactions, how to identify scams and frauds and how to insist on redress if their rights are violated. Government can also work with sectors to encourage peer-to-peer checks or self-regulation. When online markets agree to sign up to a code of conduct relevant to a specific sector on standards and consumer protection principles, digital markets in such a sector become safer for the consumer which builds trust and improves consumer patronage.

A good example of sector self- regulation is the Smart Campaign, a global effort to unite microfinance institutions around the goal to protect customers as a driving force in that industry. The Smart Campaign has developed a series of Client Protection Principles, which participating microfinance institutions can implement to build strong, lasting relationships based on trust. Once an institution subscribes to these principles, the Smart Campaign compliance team will visit to inspect and verify its compliance before issuing such an institution a certificate. Consumers can then look out for that certification as proof of the institution’s ethical and consumer protection credentials thus safe for business. The Smart Campaign Principles include Appropriate Product Design; Prevention of Over-indebtedness; Transparency; Responsible Pricing; Fair and Respectful Treatment of Customers; Privacy of Customer Data and a Mechanism for Complaint Resolution.

The Smart Campaign Principles could be adopted by financial digital marketplaces, as there has been a significant rise in online microfinance merchants who offer consumers alternative banking and microfinance services on the Internet. While their platforms provide much needed choice options to conventional banking, most consumers are wary to patronise their services because of a lack of trust.

If such microfinance service providers strive to earn a Smart Campaign certification, for instance, consumer confidence will improve because of the perceived regulation, which in turn should increase patronage. Government needs to encourage independent and credible sector self-regulating institutions like the Smart Campaign to improve consumer confidence in digital market places. Imagine if one of such is established for online stores to guide acceptable

practices for e-transactions? Consumer confidence will soar which will directly impact patronage on those digital marketplaces, improving the economy.

Another aspect of digital market place is the informal platforms of personalised selling. Many individuals offer goods and services for sale on person-to-person platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and so on. This form of e-commerce is more challenging to regulate because it is a private transaction between two individuals yet, the rate of fraud and scams are higher in these instances.

Consumer Protection in this situation must focus on consumer enlightenment and education so the consumer can make informed choices on whether to take the risk of buying goods and services from individuals without means of tracking. Government could also explore the possibility of putting checks and balances on the payment platforms for these transactions, which are mostly Internet based. A regulation that empowers a bank to take action if an account is used for online selling fraud could help to monitor these person-to-person transactions in order to shut them down once it is proven to be fraudulent or a scam.

While these issues are definitely not exhaustive, they show the enormity of action required to keep consumers safe as they conduct commercial transactions on digital platforms. There are issues of protecting consumer personal data from abuse, ensuring redress in cases of consumer dissatisfaction and peculiar challenges that a dynamic economic platform would face as it evolves into a mainstream accepted marketplace in Nigeria’s economy.

As Irukera, DG CPC rightly pointed out; distrust of digital marketplaces is not just about consumer protection, it has implications for national survival as it stifles economic growth.

Nigeria must thus take bold steps to deepen the conversation on making digital marketplaces safer beyond the World Consumer Rights Day celebrations as the digital marketplace hold more promise for employment and economic emancipation for the Nigerian youth population apart from being a vital key to the globalisation of local products and services.

- Sola Salako Ajulo is a Consumer Rights and Protection Advocate and President/Founder of Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON)

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Ensuring Sustainable Governance in Osun State The Osun State government has initiated moves to ensure continuity in good governance through some strategies on sustainable development, even beyond the 2018 election. Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo writes

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n efforts to provide sustainable governance in Osun State, the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration, through the state Ministry of Economic Planning, Budget and Development, has prepared a Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) for an all-encompassing State Development Plan, to ensure seamless development of the state, even after the 2018 elections.

To this effect, a two-day workshop was organised recently by the state government for various stakeholders in a bid to ensure that the MTSS is a success.

Devt Plan For a state to attain its goals in all spheres of development, the need for a State Development Plan (SDP), which is the overall planning document and guide for all state agencies to develop its plans, programmes, and projects within the ambit of available resources, cannot be over-emphasised.

Indeed, the SDP is the framework that ensures that state agencies establish priorities within allocated and usually limited resources to reflect the vision of the state for its citizens.

Seamless Process The need to put Osun on a smooth pedestal in launching its SDP to ensure that the state continues to follow the path of continuous development gave birth to the preparation of the Osun SDP, which was drafted to contain broad goals and outcomes in line with the core values and objectives of the state government to make life meaningful for its people in all spheres.

Aregbesola’s unwavering belief is that there are greater works to be done in line with the foundation that he has laid, as to him, the welfare of the people of the state is too important to be left for people to conduct experiments.

Thus, he initiated the process of a medium term development plan for all sectors in motion through the ministry of economic planning, budget and development.

Building Capacity And to further reiterate government’s commitment to ensuring that the plans are not just pipe dreams on paper, a two-day capacity building programme was organised recently for stakeholders from all sectors within the state for a selected Sector Plan Development Team at the Western Sun International Hotel, Ede. The timely capacity building process, which was primarily to empower sector leaders for their roles in the preparation of the Osun SDP and aid their understanding of the scope of their responsibilities, was a precursor to another strategy workshop.

Participants at the capacity building workshop held in Ede recently According to findings and feedback from stakeholders, the latter forum is also a critical part of the process, as that is where far-reaching decisions on the MTSS for all sectors are expected to be taken.

Ensuring Continuity The programme was a deep reflection of the Osun government’s desire to ensure continuity in its planned, orderly and coherent development of the state across all sectors, ensure its timely implementation through the annual budget, and also put a stop to project abandonment and stick to budget commitments.

The Aregbesola government believes that the effective production and implementation on the SDP will not only help the state economy to grow, but also provide essential services to achieve the desired development goals of the state.

It is also expected to boost objective prioritisation of projects and adequate allocation of resources towards specific strategic goals and programmes within the constraints implied by the overall fiscal targets over a three-year period.

Emphasis was laid on ensuring a linkage between government expenditures and state goals and programmes that were articulated in the SDP, ensuring that government’s expenditure reflects government priorities, promotion of transparency and accountability in government expenditure, and facilitation of monitoring, evaluation and performance assessment of government expenditures.

Crucial Lessons

The training covered various aspects of MTSS which include conceptual framework of MTSS; review of high level policy documents; sector situation analysis; introduction to strategy session; developing sector mission, vision, core values, objectives, programmes and outcomes.

There were also aspects of syndicate session and presentations, project development and prioritisation, cross cutting issues in MTSS development, introduction to projects and costing, roles of SPT in MTSS process and MTSS documentation.

The stakeholders were taught the cardinals of MTSS to give them a clear understanding of government’s policies and goals as contained in the SDP, set medium term sector objectives broken down into programmes, link them to SDP, and identify key projects that need to be executed to achieve sector objectives.

Institutionalising Devt The Commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget and Development, Dr. Lekan Yinusa, stated that the programme was designed as part of the comprehensive efforts at institutionalising development programmes and projects in Osun.

“The whole essence is first to develop a long term plan for the state, meaning that in the next three years, what do you expect Osun to be? And from this particular long term plan, we need to develop a sector strategy which will lead into actualising some of the goals of our identified deliverables from the State Development Plan.

“We believe that if we develop a State Development Plan, we know it will be implemented by the sector champions and the sector champions

are the one to develop the sector strategies. So we believe that it is pertinent for us to give the stakeholders the technical details of what they need to know on how to deliver the strategies spelt out in the SDP. “So following the retreat we held in January on envisioning the SDP, we planned a sector planning team training, which is this one, to basically leverage on the experience that we have had at the state level in January and now bring all those things we said we will achieve down to the sectoral level,” he said.

According to Yinusa, the essence of the capacity building workshop was that projects and programmes would be identified and costs put to them to form the basis upon which the state budget would be developed.

The cmmissioner added that the advantage of this was that there would be a connection between policies and programmes and the budget being developed, because, to him, “when policies are not linked with sector strategies and budget, there will be a mismatch”.

“That is what we are trying to do, to make sure that by the time our budget is prepared, it captures the overall intentions of government.

And with this programme, that vision will be fulfilled because when you develop a plan, there is a need for you to have the required human resources to deliver the implementation.

“So it is one thing to have everything down, it is another thing to have the needed human resources to implement it because you must make sure the plan is not only accepted but implemented well, and all stakeholders have the knowledge behind the content of the goal,” Yinusa stated.

RANDOM THOTS Leaders’ Achilles The legend of Achilles, a great warrior in Greek mythology, has it that he was dipped into the river Styx by his mother Thetis in order to make him invulnerable.

His heel wasn’t covered by the water and he was later killed by an arrow wound to the same ‘unprotected’ heel.

Today, the phrase ‘Achilles heel’ is used to describe a powerful person’s fatal weakness, and in Nigeria, the story is not different, where infallible past leaders have lost their holds on power due to one issue or the other.

And if care is not taken, this may happen again.

When the Generalissimo from Otta returned to power in 1999, he rode on a crest of goodwill across the country.

To be candid, he did his best to manage an almost unmanageable nation with core issues predating him.

However, the allure of power became too powerful and his subtle quest for a third term led to his undignified exit.

Although his successor from Katsina had good intentions concerning Nigeria and planned positive changes, a fatal illness didn’t allow him to achieve

his lofty aims. Into his shoes stepped the amiable leader from Bayelsa, who emerged through consistent luck; a trait similar to his name.

However, his perceived slow reaction to the issue of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls proved a major banana peel to his quest to return to power in 2015.

Now, here is another leader whose wave of popularity was greater than his predecessors and whose principled mien and personal integrity endeared him to millions of Nigerians who voted him into power in 2015,

and has granted him entry into the innermost sanctums of powerful world leaders.

But it seems great leaders in Nigeria are born with Achilles heels. To the current numero uno, the issue of killer herdsmen has assumed a frightening dimension, despite his directives.

Ironically, the actions of these vicious killers may impinge on the return of the ‘Principled One’ to power next year, if care is not taken. So much for infallibility...just saying -Abimbola Akosile

33

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍˇËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

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A political rally in Nigeria

Has Politics Sidelined Devt in Nigeria?

With political activities heating up across the country ahead of the 2019 general elections and PMB’s decision to run for a second term in office, analysts fear that development and good governance may be sidelined and put on hold in Nigeria. To you, has politics sidelined development in Nigeria and how can this be averted?

Abimbola Akosile * Nigerians should be wary of those politicians who “need more time�; but rather look towards the politician who will showcase real achievements in first four years. The governor of Ogun State has improved his state’s IGR and managed to turn the state into a growing industrial hub where incentives have attracted direct foreign investment. Nigerians should demand scorecards from politicians before the elections.

- Mr. Buga Dunj, Jos, Plateau State * Absolutely yes, because the present administration’s steps are tailored to the coming elections.

There is need for a guided constitution to outline the different developmental plans yearly for each government and the NGOs to also develop a template for proper monitoring and evaluation of government plans.

- Mr. Michael Adedotun Oke, Founder, Michael Adedotun Oke Foundation, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja * Indeed, politics has sidelined development in Nigeria, and this will continue to be so, as long as the same selfish politicians keep recycling themselves in power through rigged elections.

Nigerians must vote in the right people who will not mix politics and development unequally.

- Mr. Olumuyiwa Olorunsomo, Lagos State * Politics has indeed sidelined development in Nigeria. Most elected officials in Nigeria shy away from developmental projects that would benefit the general populace but instead engage in projects that endear them to only their political followers. This can be averted by ensuring that political office holders are made to publish and make public their source of campaign funds.

Financial activities of government should be subjected to annual audits by external reputable audit firms.

- Mr. Justus Osueke, Accountant, FCT, Abuja * Yes, politics has sidelined development in Nigeria because all efforts have shifted ultimately to 2019 election now while all other protocols and projects are suspended forthwith. Government must prevent wastage of tax-payers’ money and do or die election. Our destiny is in our hands and must not be toyed with.

- Miss Apeji Patience Eneyeme, Badagry, Lagos State * Politics in Nigeria has prevented quality development in the area of human capacity and infrastructure. We tend to play politics with serious national issues that require urgent measures. To avert this malady, let us define

THE FEEDBACK Yes, it has:

15

No, it hasn't:

0

Others:

4

Radical tip:

Vote rightly!

Total no of respondents:

19

Male:

17

Female:

2

Highest location:

Abuja (8)

politics as it should be and return political power to the people. Until we do that, politics will breed hate, confusion, division and death to Nigeria.

- Mr. Mark Ushie, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja * Yes, it has. We are now in April, and budget has not been passed into law, rain has commenced in some parts of country, and our roads are death traps, e.g. AbujaKeffi-Bede-Gidanwaya-Jos Road. We know there is no real road construction during rainy seasons; yet election campaign has started.

- Mr. Dogo Stephen, Kaduna * As is typical of Nigerian politicians and sequel to Buhari’s declaration to re-contest, governance and development will certainly take the back seat. Since the inception of this administration, the electorates have been shortchanged. The only remedy is for all Nigerians to close ranks and vote in statesmen who will give us democracy dividend come 2019.

- Mr. Paul Jideofor, Dept. of Languages, FCT COE, Zuba, Abuja * We start playing politics too early rather than concentrate on governance, which sidelines development in Nigeria. Such lukewarm attitude must stop because it is a setback for development. Every political party that violates INEC rules and regulations timetable should be banned to deter offenders.

- Mr. Gordon Chika Nnorom, Public Commentator, Umukabia, Abia State * There’s lot of interest in election because people believe election will better their lives.

But we rather haven’t seen commensurate increase in quality of governance; because citizens run off after election and pay scant attention to post election accountability and

transparency issues.

- Mr. Ezenwa Nwangwu, Convener, Say No Campaign, Abuja * Politics has affected the pace of development, where projects of no value are started and located at baseless places. For the nation to develop and grow economically, we have to separate politics from governance and set human capital development above other things. God bless Nigeria.

- Mr. Kingsley Oparah, Lagos State * Yes! And now that PMB is seeking re-election next year, many mushroom organisations like the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) of the Jonathan era will spring up.

Nigerians will have to bear this situation till the elections come and go; little can be done to cure it.

- Mr. E. Iheanyi Chukwudi, B.A.R., Apo, Abuja * Yes. This administration wants to borrow and spend $1 billion on elusive security projects etc. while the poverty level, very high cost of living, no jobs, and hopelessness e.t.c of today call for frugality, concern and rescue. No cogent projects have been completed since this government took over power in 2015; it is just trading blames, to electorates’ dismay. Leaders must always be transparently accountable.

- Mr. Apeji Onesi. Lagos State * Yes, politricks not politics has sidelined development in Nigeria. After elections in developed climes, it’s development and rapid progress for the country. But in Nigeria politics is being practised upside down. This can be averted when we start putting the people first, promoting equal rights, opportunities and justice for all; and when we start seeing politics as service to the people, country and humanity. God bless Nigeria.

- Mr. Odey Ochicha, Leadership Specialist, Abuja * For a very long time, perhaps since return of democracy, recurrent expenditure has overshadowed capital. Hardly does capital budget exceed 30 per cent year after year.

Of that miserly 30 per cent, releases are not accurate as when due. Capital projects are abandoned year after year. To be sure, politics has sidelined development.

- Mr. Anonymous, Lagos State * Politics has sidelined development in Nigeria since and selfishness, tribalism, sectionalism, religion and greed have covered our sense of reasoning. This can be averted if we have

Nigeria at heart. Unless we value Nigeria as Americans value their country, politics will forever sideline development in Nigeria.

- Hon. Babale Maiungwa, U/Romi, Kaduna State * As usual, resources meant for development would be diverted for politicking, which should not be. Effective planning and placing the needs of the people first is ideal.

- Ms. Nkeiruka Abanna, Lagos State * Politics has sidelined development in this country as politicians and those in power are trying their best to be re-elected; thereby putting every developmental programme on hold. This can be eradicated by enacting law restraining politicians from declaration or campaign for any political office in less than four months to the expiration of their tenure.

- Mr. Kriskenny Ojogbede, Abuja, FCT. * Politics and ethnicity have really sidelined development in Nigeria due to lopsided appointments by our leaders without considering the implications. The day we start doing things on merit, development will thrive in Nigeria.

- Mr. Nduanya Egbuna, Enugu State

Next Week: Can Restructuring BeneďŹ t All Nigerians? Ă’Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă? Ă?ÞÓÖÖ Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă˜ĂžĚ‹ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă?Ăœ Ă™Ă? Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă™Ă&#x;Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ĂŽĂ“ĘĽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ĂžĂ’Ă˜Ă“Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;ĂšĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă?˛Ñ˛ ÞËÞĂ? ÚÙÖÓĂ?Ă?Ëœ Ă™ĂĄĂ˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ?Ă‹Ă•Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă? ʨĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă— Ă?˛Þ˛Ă?Ë› Ă™ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ě‹ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ÚÙĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŒĂ–ĂŁ ĂŒĂ?Ă˜Ă?ʨÞ Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ëœ Ă“ĂœĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?ÞÓà Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ăœ Ă?ĂžĂ’Ă˜Ă“Ă? Ă?ÙÖÙĂ&#x;ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ËŁ Ă? ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă™Ă˜ ÚÙĂ?ÓÞÓà Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÓÚ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă?ÓÞÓäĂ?Ă˜Ă?ËŁ Ă–Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžËœ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ó×ÚÖĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ÞËÞĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă– Ă˜Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ëœ ÞÓÞÖĂ?Ëœ Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ ÞÙÎËã Ě™ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă– Í’Íš Ęś Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă– ͓͔̚ ÞÙ Ă‹bimbolayi@yahoo. comËœ greatbimbo@gmail.comËœ abimbola.akosile@thisdaylive.com. Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ě‹ ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂž ĂžĂ?âÞ Ă—Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă? ÞÙ 08023117639 Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËšĂ™Ăœ 08188361766 Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËšĂ™Ăœ 08114495306Ë› ÙÖÖËÞĂ?ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă– Í“Í—

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Apapa Wharf road rehabilitation; still work in progress

ETOP UKUTT

EdoJobs: 50,000 Youths for Microsoft, Tech4Dev Digital Literacy Training Obaseki approves payment of stipends to Libya returnees

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Based on Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki’s promise to create 200,000 jobs and equip youths to exploit opportunities in Nigeria’s evolving technology eco-system, the state government has concluded plans to partner Microsoft and Tech4Dev in training 50,000 persons on digital literacy skills.

EdoJobs, the state government’s job creation and skills development platform, is coordinating the training in the state and will, through its portal, supply participants as well as other logistics for the programme.

Of the 50,000 participants in the programme, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Job Creation, Mrs. Ukinebo Dare, in a statement, said 500 would be coached as master trainers, who will facilitate the

step-down training for others.

According to her, “We have reached advanced stage of preparation for the training programme to commence in Edo State. Microsoft and Tech4Dev plan to train about 500,000 persons across Nigeria.

Of that number, 50,000 people will be trained in Edo State.

While the two firms are conducting the training, we are here in the state to coordinate logistics and other support structures to make the training possible.”

She said the Edojobs portal, which has over 220,000 registered users, would supply some of the participants for the training programme, noting, “We are excited about the training. It serves as another addition to the series of trainings we are providing to Edo people and helping them build capacity to work for gainful employment or run businesses.

“But what is most impressive about this training is that it affords people to gain indemand skills, especially as the world is moving towards tech-driven solutions to everyday problems.”

The training programme is designed to train young people including those in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, foundational digital skills required to actively participate in the 21st-century knowledge economy. The programme will take place offline and Microsoft will supply teaching aids to the educators who will train young people in schools and communities across the country.

The module for the training includes introduction to computer, productivity tools, workplace essentials, big data and cloud technologies, cyber security and digital lifestyles.

Meanwhile, Governor Obaseki, has approved the

verification exercise and payment of three months’ stipends for new batch of Libya returnees of Edo State origin.

Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Anti-Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration, Mr. Solomon Okoduwa, disclosed this during the verification exercise, noting, “The approval for the verification exercise and payment for the new batch of returnees are part of the promises made by the governor to assist victims of human trafficking and illegal migration and reintegrate them into society.”

Okoduwa said since the first two batches of returnees were received by the state government between November 7 and 15, 2017, the state has recorded 26 other batches totalling 3,165 returnees.

“The verification exercise for

the new batch of returnees will be processed in the next 12 days, after which payment of their stipends will commence.

Each returnee will be paid a stipend of N20,000 per month for three months. Among them, pregnant women will be entitled to N25,000 each, while those with babies will get N30,000 each,” he said.

Okoduwa assured the returnees that they would get their stipends, urging them to follow the required procedures to get verified.

Assistant Secretary, Edo State Taskforce against Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration, Lilian Garuba, said “The returnees who had been verified have been paid. The verification is a precondition for getting the stipends, so we encourage them to come forward for the exercise.

She added, “Those who are yet to be verified should be

patient. We assure them that the taskforce is working to ensure that the directive of the governor is fully carried out. The exercise is to ensure that we monitor the progress of reintegration and follow up where necessary.”

One of the returnees, Idemudia Grace confirmed that she had gotten her pay for a month, adding, “I am here for another round of verification to receive the second payment.”

Oghogho Moses, who turned up for the exercise, commended the governor for keeping to his promise to pay returnees the stipends, noting, “Obaseki has done well for the returnees, he is the first if not the only governor in the country to make provision for stipends to returnees and other packages to assist the returnees’ reintegration into the society.”

Africare Distributes 130,000 Nets in ExxonMobil Indigenous Languages: FG Inaugurates Committee Host Communities of A’Ibom, Rivers for Devt Policy Okon Bassey in Uyo Africare, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) says it has distributed over 130,000 insecticidal nets and other consumables to the people in the ExxonMobil host communities of Akwa Ibom and Rivers.

The Africare Director, Malaria Programme, Dr. Patrick Adah, disclosed this in Eket local government area of Akwa Ibom during a recent windup ceremony of its malaria prevention programme in the communities.

Adah said since 2011, Africare had been working in collaboration with ExxonMobil on the project tagged ‘Malaria Prevention in Mobil Produc-

ing Nigeria (MPN)-supplier communities (MAPS-C).’

He said the second phase of MAPS-C started in 2016 had ended in March 2018 and had reached 90,000 ExxonMobil vendors and family members with malaria prevention commodities.

Adah said within the life span of the project, a total of 33,173 rapid diagnostic tests were done and over 11,280 pregnant women were given preventive treatment on malaria.

He said the project had organised 142 malaria prevention outreaches in communities while a total of 295 seminars had been conducted for health workers in the state.

Adah said the MAPS-C

project was implemented in two communities of Eket and Ibeno in Akwa Ibom and Bonny and Ogu/Bolo in Rivers respectively.

He said under AfricareExxonMobil partnership, a new device for testing malaria in individuals called Deki Reader was introduced in the two states in 2016.

Adah thanked ExxonMobil, the Akwa Ibom government and the two local government areas for their cooperation during the execution of the malaria prevention project.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Health Commissioner, Dr. Dominic Ukpong lauded ExxonMobil and Africare for assisting in the prevention of malaria in Akwa Ibom.

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The Federal Government has formally inaugurated the National Technical Committee for the development of Language Policy for Nigeria to preserve Nigerian indigenous languages.

The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who was speaking on the occasion in Abuja, recently, said that the National Language Policy was to enable government create conducive atmosphere for the preservation of indigenous languages, and to determine how language skills are developed and deployed to achieve national goals.

He stressed that National Language Policy cannot be taken for granted, because it

would produce a workable document that would promote, and enable the Nigerian child grow up with multi-lingual skills.

He said, “A well articulated language policy will enhance the international status of Nigeria, as Hausa is spoken in all the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) even in Central Africa and Cameroon, while Yoruba is spoken in Benin Republic and the Diaspora. Arabic is the official language of most North African countries and the Middle East.”

The Minister commended members of the committee and expressed the Ministry’s gratitude for accepting to partner, explaining that

their nomination was based on their wealth of experience in linguistic and educational matters.

Speaking earlier, the representative of the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Director ICT, Dr. Ifegwu Oji said the importance of language policy for Nigeria cannot be over-emphasised, explaining that the policy would not only encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education, but would also create better awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions.

He noted that it would also assist in regulating and enabling the effective utilisation of languages for the achievement of national goals.

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DEVELOPMENT QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Wecampaignedonthreemajorissues,tosecurethecountry,revivetheeconomyandfightcorruption.Wehave electionsnextyear,politiciansarealreadypre-occupiedwiththepolls,butIambotheredmoreaboutsecurityand theeconomy” - - PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI SPEAKING IN LONDON

ERGP: FCTA Moves to Complete Idu Industrial Park Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

NAZAS Fetes over 1,000 Less-privileged Persons Appoints new directors Abimbola Akosile Humanitarian organisation, NASFAT Agency for Zakat and Sadaqat (NAZAS) recently empowered more than 1,000 less-privileged persons at its office in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State.

NAZAS, a non-governmental organisation founded to care for the downtrodden in the society embarked on feeding and clothing the less privileged beneficiaries with enough food, drinks and clothing materials donated by kind-hearted Nigerians, during its quarterly programme; in an aim to bring succour to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Worried by the poor welfare, widespread and hunger in Nigeria as well as lower Gross National Product (GNP) per capita and declining purchasing power and increasing income inequality, the group organised a Feeding and Clothing Day, to keep the hope of the destitute alive.

The event at Alausa Secretariat was highly impactful, where over 1,000 pieces of clothing, shoes and other household materials were distributed to the indigent members of the community irrespective of religion.

There was also distribution of over 500 food packs and soft drinks to not less than 500 indigent persons among members and non-members of NASFAT including the Hausa community.

One of the beneficiaries, Sikirat Sulaimon, while speaking with THISDAY, expressed her appreciation and urged all charity-based organisations to embrace the same practice to keep the hope of the needy alive.

Another beneficiary who sought anonymity described the exercise as exceptional and implored the organisers to take the Feeding and Clothing Day to all indigent communities.

The programme was witnessed by dignitaries among members of NASFAT mission board, National Council of Elders and members of the National Executive Council.

The activity was achieved through the concept of Nazas Charity Drop Box, which was conspicuously designed to accept new and fairly-used clothes, shoes and other household items from the public. NAZAS later sorted the items and repackaged them with food and drinks for distribution at

Food for beneficiaries at the NAZAS event held in Lagos recently the programme.

Chairman of the NAZAS Technical Committee, Dr. Daud Oniyide, expressed his pleasure at the success of the programme and appreciated the philanthropists who donated their clothing, shoes, food and cash through the drop box and other means.

He however implored those yet to support the organisation to do so for more lives to be touched.

According to the General manager; Mr. Sulaimon Akanni, given the magnitude, and dynamics of poverty in Nigeria, NAZAS has intervened by providing support for the less privileged and indigents through provision of funds to establish basic welfare elements such as accommodation, payment of hospital bills, purchase of drugs, free health diagnosis, and general medical support.

“We also provide financial support to widows for payment of school fees of their children and to boost their trade. All these would not have been possible without the partnership of well-meaning Nigerians and dutiful Muslims who paid their Zakat and gave Sadaqat through NAZAS”, Akanni added.

He further explained that the Agency commenced operations in March 2014 and has since collected over N133 million and impacted on 508 beneficiaries across health, education, empowerment, welfare categories.

Akanni urged the Muslim community to take advantage of the coming Ramadan to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth (earnings) equal or greater than NISAB (net profit) as Zakat, a fixed and obligatory charity, which is compulsory on all Muslims who have the financial ability to do so, and give Sadaqat/ Waqf, an optional and discretionary charity at the pleasure of the donor without any limit through the agency.

In a related development, the Board of Directors of NAZAS led by Alhaji Niyi Yusuf has approved the appointment of new directors comprising Mr. Hafiz Bakare and Mrs. Sherifah Abiola Andu as Directors, with the aim of strengthening the agency as it advances the implementation of its corporate strategy.

In tune with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), the Federal Capital Territory Administration has assured investors of its determination to complete the Industrial Park Phase 2 at Idu, Abuja.

FCT Minister, Muhammad Musa Bello gave the assurance Tuesday, at the FCT Day of the ERGP Focus Labs held at the Abuja Sheraton Hotel. He said the early completion of the industrial park phase 2 at Idu would make it ready for use by local and foreign investors.

The 245-hectare park is expected to provide over 170 industrial plots of land for various categories of investors from manufacturing to retail marketing as well as create thousands of jobs.

The FCTA team comprising the Permanent Secretary, Christian Chinyeaka Ohaa; Executive Secretary FCDA, Umar Gambo Jibrin; Chief of Staff, Bashir Maibornu, and other relevant top functionaries, met investors to address inter-agency problems that could mitigate flow of investment into the Territory.

Turkish investment firm, Zeberced, is presently constructing the second phase of the Idu Park.

As part of the discussions, the non-completion of the access road leading to the park was identified as a drawback to prospective investors. Bello and the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had agreed to partner to mobilise funding for the completion of the road.

The agreement between Zeberced and the two ministers also paved way for the resolution of issues raised by other investors at the Lab. The ERGP Focus Labs at the instance organised of ministry of budget and national planning strives to achieve key main goals, which include to restore growth in the economy to a positive path and sustain it to, at least 7 per cent by 2020; invest in the Nigerian people and improve their living standards; as well as build an economy that is globally competitive.

Other strategic investors including the World Health Organisation-certified Pharmaceutical manufacturing, Liquefied Petroleum Gas and footwear manufacturer, who all sought land allocation to set up their industries, were all linked up with the industrial park developer for location of their businesses.

The FCT Minister also directed the Abuja Investment Company to enable the linkages and ensure that investors who have also expressed interest in the Abuja Technology Village (ATV) were also provided with necessary support and guidance.

The ERGP 2017-2020 was launched in April 2017 to restore the nation’s economic status following the high rate of inflation and recession. It projects that Nigeria will make significant progress to achieve structural economic change with a more diversified and inclusive economy in five key areas by 2020.

The areas are stable macro-economic environment, agricultural transformation, food security, energy sufficiency and improved transportation infrastructure.

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

Minister Bello

36

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, APRI L 19, 2018

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

Implementing the Basic Healthcare Provisions Fund

The launch of the Basic Healthcare Provisions Fund at the 2nd THISDAY Healthcare Policy Dialogue in Abuja last week has opened another vista for Nigeria’s health sector. Martins Ifijeh writes on the need for its implementation

W

hen the then Senate Committee on Health in the 7th National Assembly, headed by the present Governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, passed the National Health Bill in 2014, which included the Basic Healthcare Provisions Fund (BHCPF), no one envisaged it was going to take another four years before the federal government considers its implementation.

This is despite the widespread belief that the implementation of the National Health Act 2014, as signed by former President Goodluck Jonathan would help in tackling most of the healthcare challenges currently faced by Nigerians.

This thinking made several groups, organisations, the present National Assembly and the federal government to unanimously agree to implement the Act, especially the BHCPF, which has been widely acknowledged in the healthcare community as one of the major panaceas to tackling many of the healthcare issues in the country.

The BHCPF is a fund allocation to cater for the basic healthcare needs of all Nigerians. This means at least one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in the 2018 national budget will be deployed for the revival of the health sector.

As part of efforts to achieve this, the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole and the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus launched the BHCPF at the 2nd THISDAY Healthcare Policy Dialogue in Abuja last week, tagged: ‘The Journey to Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria’.

The BHCPC, according to Adewole, will henceforth be known as ‘Huwe’; an Ebira word which means life. He said the word was derived after an extensive crowd sourcing campaign, adding that it was easy to recall and a short syllable that depicts good health in local parlance.

With a new logo to complement the name change, Adewole noted that the first phase of the programme would soon commence in Abia, Niger and Osun states.

The logo would be displayed at accredited facilities where citizens can access the basic minimum packages of health services.

He explained that the BHCPF was intended to ensure monies are disbursed, managed and accounted for in a transparent manner. “It will also ensure that funds flow from source (at the federal level) to service delivery points, creating performance incentives for providers, increasing service utilisation and health worker productivity, and monitoring service delivery, including improvements in service delivery readiness in line with accreditation standards and operating protocols.

“The BHCPF will complement ongoing efforts of states and local governments to mobilise resources for health. It is not intended to provide excuses to underfund or deprioritise funding for healthcare services,” he noted.

According to him, “the BHCPF provides the platform to expand high impact and life-saving interventions to all Nigerians.

“It guarantees an explicit package of services to be delivered at the facility level through the NHIS and State Health Insurance Agencies (SSHIAs), and operational budgets to facilities to improve the quality of service delivery based on a quality improvement plan with quantifiable outcome measures.

“The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA) will assess on an annual basis the improvements in quality of care based on a set of metrics.”

Adewole explained further that the BHCPF

Adewole

was introduced in recognition of the fact that Nigeria’s future success depends on its ability to transform non-renewable (and often volatile) natural capital into productive wealth by investing more in human capital.

He added: “Within the health sector, we now know, based on our research in the last few years of this administration, that targeted coverage expansion for high impact reproductive maternal, neonatal, and child health (RMNCH) interventions to underserved populations have an immediate impact on the health of women and children. Several programmes piloted by government and partners across the country have demonstrated this.”

On his part, Ghebreyesus, who was very pleased with the launch of the Fund, said the implementation of the BHCPF would go a long way in making the Nigerian Government’s ambition of reaching 100 million lives with basic healthcare package of services a reality.

He said that there were many steps on the road to Universal Health Coverage, adding that the key is political commitment and for that reason, Nigeria’s Presidential Summit on Universal Health Coverage in 2014 was a vital step.

“The National Health Act passed the same year lays a firm foundation for making UHC a reality by guaranteeing a basic package of services. The government’s ambition to reach 100 million Nigerians with a basic package of primary healthcare services is truly admirable,” he added.

He congratulated the government for its commitment to allocating at least one per cent of consolidated revenue from the national budget to the BHCPF. The WHO boss, however, stressed that financial investments were required to build strong health systems that deliver qualitative services, adding that they are investments, not

costs. “They are investments in a safer, fairer and more prosperous future.”

He said the question therefore was not whether countries can afford to invest in their health systems but whether they can afford not to, saying universal health coverage was not just an investment in a healthier future but a down payment on a fairer, safer and more prosperous future.

He described the lack of access to quality healthcare as an outrage while commending THISDAY for its intervention to set the agenda on an effective and efficient healthcare service delivery system.

He noted that the step taken by the Nigerian Government, if fully operational, will help reduce healthcare issues faced in the country.

He said no citizen should get sick and die just because they are poor, or because the services they need are too far away. “No one should have to choose between buying medicine and buying food for their family. No one should have to choose between death and poverty.

There is no single path to UHC. All countries must find their own way, in the context of their own social, political and economic circumstances. But the foundation everywhere must be a strong health system, based on primary care, with an emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion.

“Such health systems do not only provide the best health outcomes, they’re also the best defence against outbreaks and other health emergencies. In that sense, UHC and health security are truly two sides of the same coin,” he added.

On his part, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Lanre Tejuoso, said the minimum one per cent provision by the government as stipulated in the 2014 National Health Act will mean almost 60 billion naira will be set aside in the 2018 national budget

for the BHCPF. He said the one per cent had already been included in the 2018 budget for the sector, adding that the lawmakers would push for its full release.

“The one per cent is more crucial to Nigeria than even the capital budget allocation for the health sector, because the capital budget may not be released in totality, but this one per cent, once it is in the budget, must be released just like the two per cent released to the education sector.

“There is no way we can continue doing the same things every year, introducing budget allocations, which may not be release in totality, and expected to have a change in the health sector.

“So we in the 8th National Assembly, the health committees, are focusing on the implementation of the one per cent guaranteed by the National Health Act and its inclusion in the 2018 budget, being the last budget before the next election.”

He further disclosed that as part of efforts to ensure the development of the sector at the state level, the Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage was launched in December to enhance communication among the lawmakers at the federal and state levels Tejuoso told THISDAY that the benefit attached to the implementation means primary health centres will be more funded and more functional. “It will also ensure basic drugs and commodities are available and accessible to Nigerians. More importantly, this will reduce mortality rates and high disease prevalence in the country.

“PHC is the closest to the communities, and lack of access for simple medical challenges has been the cause of many deaths in the country, especially in rural areas,” he added.

Governor Okowa, who chaired the Senate Committee on Health during the 7th National Assembly called on the federal government to embark on a high powered advocacy to states so that they can be supportive of the Huwe initiative, adding that a workable healthcare model is the one embraced at the local level, from the states down to the communities.

“I believe that there is a lot to be done, but very importantly, the governors need to be carried along. It is going to be a tough process trying to convince them at this time, but we can do it together and I believe that advocacy is very important and it requires a lot of pleading.

“I believe that when they start, they will be able to surmount the difficulties. We have difficulties but we are moving fast and we believe that in another three years, there will be a lot of changes in our state because this is a foremost programme that we have and we are very confident that we will be able to surmount the challenges,” he added.

The governor, said that the two health committees of the Senate and House of Representatives in his time did actually push the National Health Bill, which was later signed into law.

According to him, “seeing us talk about it today excites me. I have been very worried that in the last three years, nothing has been done.

“In my state, by the special grace of God, we have already passed the Delta State Contributory Health Commission Law, which establishes a mandatory health insurance scheme for all citizens. We passed it as early as February 2016 and since January 2017, we started the processes. The governance processes are fully on board, a lot of people are enrolling and more importantly, the public service has fully keyed into it and that is a big plus for us because that has been the challenge,” he added.

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY, APRI L 19, 2018

NEWS

DoctorsCall forIncentives, Policies, Programmes to EndBrain Drain Kuni Tyessi in Abuja Doctors have said it was long overdue for Nigeria to develop robust nationalistic policies and programmes that would promote the common good of doctors and prevent brain drain.

They said the common good was for creating a healthcare system that delivers good outcomes such that no one needs to travel out as the health of the nation is expected to be paramount to the government and the general citizenry.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by a Consultant Urological Surgeon, University of Benin School of Medicine and Teaching Hospital, Dr. Samuel Osaghae and Consultant Neurological Surgeon, Brain and Spine Surgery Consortium, Abuja, Dr. Biodun Ogungbo.

While bemoaning the spate of medical brain drain, the duo emphasised that real solutions

may be found in the courage of government intervention and legislative actions towards developing a package of measures, beginning with maximum opportunities for local training for all medical graduates under satisfactory, attractive terms and conditions of service that may dissuade emigration.

They said, “We do not have enough doctors in Nigeria. We are also losing the ones we have managed to produce and train to other countries, at the detriment of our healthcare system. Our patients including government officials and their families are leaving the country for medical tourism because our healthcare system is in distress. Some patients are even travelling abroad to see Nigerian doctors who had left the country.

“The reduced number of medical doctors and of course, other specialists is interfering with the delivery of quality of

care in Nigeria, hence, fuelling medical tourism. Lack of doctors in numbers and lack of well-trained specialists in particular, impacts on care and promotes poor outcomes. Even forgetting the huge amounts lost yearly to medical tourism, we are losing the crème de

la crème of our society.

“Right now, many young doctors are frustrated and disillusioned. Medicine has failed to deliver or meet their expectations. Poor job prospects, poor salaries, poor conditions of work and service, poor remunerations

and poor training facilities are all they have. We need to stop destroying our young doctors.

“The future of healthcare in Nigeria is in the private sector.

Hence, we must encourage entrepreneurship that delivers more hospitals in more corners of the country. This

can be through single digit loans and removal of heavy handed bureaucracy. We also need to create a soft landing for medical doctors in the diaspora.

We must encourage them to return through collaborations with the teaching hospitals and public/private partnerships.”

Dangote Advocates for Universal Healthcare Coverage in Nigeria Bags ABU’s top Corporate Award Jonathan Eze President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has vowed to prioritise Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) in the country just as he was conferred with the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University’s top Corporate Award over the weekend in Abuja.

The 2018 Corporate Award was presented to the industrialist in view of the numerous contributions of his conglomerate to the development of the educational sector in Nigeria, the University’s Alumni Association’s National President, Professor Ahmed Tijani Mora said.

Mora said the interventions of the Aliko Dangote Foundation in the educational sector over the years have been unprecedented, especially the sponsorship of various scholarship programmes.

Dangote, who was represented by the company’s Executive Director Stakeholders Management and Corporate Communication, Ahmed Mansur, at the award presentation ceremony, said the award would spur the conglomerate to scale up its intervention programmes in all sectors. He said Dangote Group would not rest on its oars in ensuring that the educational sector achieved its rightful place in Nigeria.

On the UHC, Dangote, through his foundation’s Chief Executive, Ms. Zouera Youssoufou, said the Foundation will continue to work with governments and civil society organisations for the development of impactful health sector programmes in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

Youssoufou said the Foundation over the years had expended billions of naira

in supporting the causes of health through its strides to eradicate Wild Polio Virus in Nigeria.

She said the Foundation has made significant social investments in health, education, economic empowerment and disaster reliefs.

Recently, the Foundation made a pledge to commit $100 million to fight malnutrition in some parts of the country, she said.

“Dangote Foundation in partnership with Bill and Milenda Gates Foundation has been supporting the government in the eradication of polio,” she added.

Speaking at the 2nd THISDAY Dialogue, with the theme: ‘The Journey to Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria’, she said Dangote Foundation would do all within its reach to ensure that an average Nigerian has access to good healthcare in the country.

She commended the THISDAY Newspaper for bringing together stakeholders to find solution to the country’s health challenges.

Also speaking at the event, Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, who commended Dangote Foundation and other stakeholders, said the Muhammadu Buhari administration is not resting on its oars in trying to achieve a Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

“Healthcare is a key driver of our socio-economic development and that is why our future success depends on our investment in the health sector,” he said.

The minister also launched the implementation of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) tagged HUWE, saying it is aimed at reaching eight million Nigerians in its start-up phase.

FOR BETTER HEALTHCARE

Chairman, Governing Board, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Dr. Enyantu Ifenne (4th left); Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole (4th right); Executive Secretary, NHIS, Prof. Usman Yusuf, (3rd right); and other members of the NHIS Governing Board, during a courtesy visit to the minister in Abuja recently

Vitafoam Equips Federal Flying Doctors Nigeria Steps Neuropsychiatric Laboratory up to Save Sickle Cell Patient Rebecca Ejifoma A frontline manufacturer of foam and allied products, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, has donated innovative mattresses to the Neuropsychiatric Hospital Sleep Laboratory, Yaba, Lagos, as part of its corporate initiatives to boost government’s efforts aimed at creating conducive environment for treatment of psychiatric patients in the country. This exercise held in commemoration of the World Sleep Day 2018 at the Sleep Laboratory of the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos. Speaking at Vitafoam’s celebration of this year’s World Sleep Day tagged: ‘Preserve Your Rhythm to Enjoy Life’, the company’s Group Managing Director, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi, said that sound sleep would always aid memory, repair cells and enhance physical and psychological state of an individual.

“This year, beyond providing quality sleep products like mattress, pillows, duvet, bedsheets and beds to Nigerians, Vitafoam is giving back to the society by furnishing the first Government Sleep Laboratory at Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital Yaba, with quality mattresses, pillows, beds, duvet and bedsheets, to enhance the sleeping conditions of people with sleep challenges.

The GMD, who was represented by the Technical and Development Director, Mr. Abaggana Abatcha, added that this year, Vitafoam created sleep corners in all their comfort centres in Lagos and provided sleep specialists to give free consultation to all their

customers during the World Sleep Day. His word: “We are committed to producing quality and innovative products that will support sleep and we will continue to support World Sleep Day in creating sleep awareness to enable Nigerians achieve a good night’s sleep, so we can produce better leaders for our beloved country, Nigeria. We are confident that good sleep is an achievable dream with Vitafoam.” A sleep expert from the University of Toronto, Dr. Adeoye Adefemi, emphasised on the importance of quality sleep, adding that everyone should fix a bed time for sleep.

And to achieve that, one has to avoid heavy spicy or sugary food and caffeine products four hours before bed time and always dim the light to sleep.

On the prevalence of mental health problems and its consequences, Adefemi said that most issues that make people break down mentally are traceable to sleep disorder.

“Other factors are lack of quality food and good exercise.

Quality food is key among those three. Once that one is left out, health is at risk. Because, for mental health, sleep disorder is one of the first thing noticed in people who have metal health problem,” he listed. Reacting to Vitafoam’s donation of fully equipped sleep laboratory, the Medical Director, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Dr. Oluyemi Cecilia, acknowledged the sleep laboratory as the first owned government laboratory in Nigeria and “It is something that is germane to us. We appreciate Vitafoam for helping us with it”.

Martins Ifijeh In desperate need of surgery to alleviate the ravages of sickle cell disease and previous medical care that worsened his condition, university student Abiodun Bakare was about to give up hope when he discovered the cost of his surgery would be N18 million (about $50,000).

Bakare, his family and friends had done their research and realised that a hospital in India could provide him with the care he needed, but the cost of the care and the journey was well beyond his reach.

Digging deeper, Bakare was determined to solve his challenge locally, and finally, his search connected him with a hospital in Sokoto State where medical experts agreed to perform the operation for a nominal fee.

Bakare’s friends jumped in, launched a social media fundraising campaign, and pulled together the money needed for the operation.

However, Bakare still had to overcome one huge hurdle: how to get to the hospital.

The 18-hour overland journey was out of the question due to Bakare’s critical condition.

Fortunately, a friend stepped in again and discovered a solution: Flying Doctors Nigeria, which agreed to fly Bakare to the hospital free of charge. The offer reduced a journey that would have taken longer than a day, to just over an hour.

“I knew we had to support Bakare with air ambulance services because it would have been impossible for the

student to pull together the funds to pay for the service,” explained, founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, Dr. Ola Brown.

The news came as a surprise to Bakare. “I didn’t even know there was an air ambulance service in Nigeria. I thought these services exist only in the Western world,” Bakare later said.

Brown said that there are a number of reasons air ambulance services are essential to both the patient in particular and the healthcare community in general.

“The first hours of an emergency situation are critical and the life of individuals shouldn’t depend on how far they live from the medical facility best equipped to handle their injury or illness,” she said. “And we know that the sooner patients receive the proper care, the sooner and better they recover,” she added.

Bakare remains grateful.

“I want to say thank you to Flying Doctors Nigeria for their support, and encourage other Nigerians to embrace this means of transporting critically ill patients, because if not for Flying Doctors Nigeria, I could have remained in my serious and painful medical condition.”

Dr. Ola Brown established Flying Doctors Nigeria almost 10 years ago. Since then, the firm has saved lives across the West Africa sub-region, including infants, children, and pregnant women. Corporate organisations, such as those in the construction, mining, oil and gas industries, have also come to depend on the services of Flying Doctors Nigeria.

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, APRI L 19, 2018

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HEALTH

Facelift for a Cancer Patient Adibe Emenyonu writes on Governor Godwin Obaseki’s visit to accident victims caused by a vehicle in his convoy, and his pledge to clear the medical bills and take responsibility for the treatment of a five-year-old cancer patient On Wednesday, March 14, 2018, the press unit bus in the convoy of Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, was involved in an accident due to brake failure.

The accident occurred at the front gate of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital while he was coming back from Ovia North East Local Government Area of the state where he went to inaugurate a new 11,000 hectares of oil palm plantation estate owned by Okomu Plc. Apart from journalists, three other persons were seriously injured in the accident, including a medical doctor.

Besides the injuries, three vehicles were said to have been damaged beyond repairs apart from the Government House Press bus. The medical doctor’s car and two others because of the impact generated when the government owned bus rammed into the vehicles in its front due to break failure.

Like other convoys attached to politicians and well to do Nigeria, it is expected that nobody will want to take responsibility.

A typical example was the accident that killed a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Fetus Iyayi at Lokoja, Kogi State when the convoy of a former governor of the state allegedly chased the vehicle conveying the revered scholar and his team into the bush and the man died with no one accepting responsibility.

This case was however different. The moment the governor was told, he gave orders that those who sustained injuries be taken to the hospital immediately for treatment.

This was how fate smiled on two of the victims of the accident, Mrs. Mary Okoro and her five-year-old son, Freeman Okoro, including a relation of theirs.

Before the accident, the little Okoro, a cancer patient has been visiting the teaching hospital for chemotherapy treatment unknown to Obaseki.

However, when he was notified by the medical doctor who was treating him and his mother as a result of the accident, the governor pledged to take responsibility for his cancer treatment.

Not only that, Obaseki also pledged to offset the bill of Freeman’s cousin, who had been held in the hospital for his inability to pay for his treatment.

Speaking during the visit, Obaseki said, “I came to see the condition of the victims of the

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, with Freeman Okoro, a victim of the Government House Press Bus accident, receiving treatment at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin recently

accident myself, just as we have promised on the day of the accident when the victims were admitted. The state government has taken full responsibility of their medical bills.

“We will also make sure we follow up with the full recovery of those who are still being treated for injuries from the accident.”

In his response, Consultant General and Coordinator, Accident and Emergency Department, UBTH, Dr. Nnadi Nwashile, said, “The patients are in stable condition. Six persons in the bus were treated and discharged on the day of the accident.”

He added, “The two patients in the hospital now are Mrs. Mary Okoro and her son, Freeman Okoro, who are being treated. Mrs. Okoro sustained a fracture on her upper arm and is being attended to by an Orthopaedic doctor.

The son will be discharged soon.”

It as on this note that Mrs. Caroline Enoch, sister to Mrs. Okoro and aunty to Freeman, the cancer patient, knelt down and began to thank the governor for his uncommon show of gesture.

She said, “I am also grateful to God that the boy’s condition has brought succour to

the family because my own daughter could not go home due to my inability to pay her hospital bill.

This is not just a twist of fate to the accident victims whose resources has depleted tremendously as a result of the cancer treatment as well as his relatives.

It is also a blessing in disguise for the press crew who for long has been drawing the attention of the governor to the dilapidated state of the bus to no avail before the unfortunate incident that has now brought a new bus to them.

Endometriosis Deserves Same Attention Given to HIV, Cancer Says Ajayi As Nordica marks 15 years of completing families Martins Ifijeh The Founder of the Endometriosis Support Group Nigeria (ESGN) and Medical Director, Nordica Fertility Centre, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, has called on stakeholders and Nigerians to give same attention given to HIV and cancers to endometriosis.

He said this is necessary because one in every 10 women is suffering from endometriosis in the country; a condition that may cause infertility and/or pain for its sufferers.

Stating this during the 2018 Endometriosis Gala Night in Lagos at the weekend, he said despite the high prevalence of the scourge, medical doctors were not diagnosing the condition enough, adding that there are many undiagnosed women with endometriosis in the country.

“Awareness should not only be for the citizens. Medical experts should be knowledge-

able on how to diagnose and treat it; otherwise they will continue to mistake it for other conditions.

“The reasons most doctors miss it is because they don’t suspect it. How can you suspect what you know nothing about? As a doctor, once a patient is making complaints in front of you, your head must start spinning for possible. If in the thinking there is no endometriosis, there is no way that doctor can help.”

He said this was why everyone must give priority to the scourge, adding that on its part ESGN was partnering with some experts from Germany, so that they can help in training Nigerian doctors on how to diagnose and treat the health issue.

“We need to start teaching Nigerian doctors how to treat laparoscopically. We need a lot of younger doctors and gynaecologists to get trained,” he added.

He said ESGN is involved

in the cause because it wants to write the wrongs; which is that endometriosis is not found in blacks. “And we are achieving that goal already.

More people are now aware.

This year we had more people and organisations who partnered with us because the awareness is spreading, but we need to move a bit further than diagnosis. The campaign is now growing towards treatment.”

Meanwhile, the occasion of the gala night was also used to mark the 15th year anniversary of Nordica Fertility Centre.

The MD described the feat as a milestone, adding that looking back, he was happy that they have helped in completing several families through its expertise.

“These 15 years marks the end of a phase. We are now moving into another phase, which is to expand into a mother and child hospital with the same quality and best practise. As you already

know, Nigeria is one of the worst places to give birth.

That is a gap we are now yearning to fill,” he added.

The high point of the gala night was the announcement of winners of the 2018 Nordica Media Merit Award (NMMA); which saw THISDAY journalist, Martins Ifijeh, emerging the winner in the print category; other winners are Olasumbo Modupe of Lagos Television in the electronic category, and

Olajumoke Adebayo, a blogger, in the online category.

The award focused on stories published between January 2017 and January 2018 in all newspapers, televisions and online.

The entries from the three winners were adjudged best in their various categories.

Ifijeh’s winning piece ’The Fertility Dream’, highlighted the travails of childless couples in Nigeria who spend lonely

nights trying to figure out ways out of their reproductive health issue.

The winners of each of the categories were given plaques and N250, 000 cash prize.

Members of the jury board include the Editor-in-Chief/ General Manager Publications, Vanguard Newspapers, Gbenga Adefaye, the Group Editor, The Nation Newspapers, Gbenga Omotosho, among others.

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HEALTH NEWS Dentists Call for Implementation of Oral Healthcare Policy Martins Ifijeh Worried by the low level of low oral health care awareness, dental practitioners across the country have set up a Dental Support Foundation (DSF), to galvanise efforts towards the promotion, encouragement and advancement of dental practice in Nigeria.

President of the Foundation, Dr. Bidemi Dawodu explained to journalists in Lagos last weekend that the current high prevalence of oral diseases such as dental caries and periodontal disease should be seen as a major source of concern to professionals in the health sector, the government and the Nigerian people.

The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole raised the alarm recently when he said the burden of dental disease has risen to an epidemic proportion.

Dawodu submitted that the DSF therefore seeks to encourage the government to implement the Nigerian Oral Health Care Policy aimed at ensuring the creation of at least one dental care centre in each local government with a view to improving the oral health of Nigerians.

The support foundation which was incorporated three years ago, will equally strive to encourage dental practitioners undertake measures to improve public oral health and dental education; maintain the dignity of the dental profession; protect

the rights/interests of young dentists; and create job opportunity for young dentists.

Other objectives, according to Dawodu, include reducing the burden of equipment acquisition to the barest minimum and fostering of friendship, co-operation and co-existence amongst the members of the profession both young and old.

“The starting point is to create the awareness among the people about dental healthcare.

It is so bad today that people don’t go to the dentist until there have serious pains in their mouths. But what is crucial is the implementation of the oral health policy passed by the National Assembly a long time ago,” he said.

Dawodu emphasised that the implementation of the policy will galvanise the oral healthcare and create employment for dentists, because the cardinal point is the setting up of dental clinic in all the local government areas in the country.

Apart from Dawodu, other members of the board include Dr. Ademola Ademuson, a Dental Surgeon with over 35 years in dental practice; Dr. Akanbi Oluwarotimi Olojode, a consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon with the Lagos State Health Commission and Dr. Ishaku Danfillo, Consultant General, Dental Practice (Family Dentistry) with Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos

FG Commences Second Phase of Free Medical Outreach in Ogoni Communities Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The federal government has commenced the second phase of its free medical outreach in Ogoni communities as part of activities put in place for the implementation of the United Nations Environment Report on Ogoniland.

The Project Coordinator, Hydrocarbon Pollotion Remediation Project (HYPREP), Dr. Marvin Dekil, while flagging-off the programme at the weekend, said the overwhelming success of the first phase of the outreach held in Bori, Kana LGA on 26th December, 2017 got the attention of President Mohammadu Buhari who was touched by

the poor living conditions of the Ogoni people due to the degradation of their environment by oil exploration, and therefore approved another round of medical intervention to reach more people.

The Director of Press, Ministry of Environment, Saghir el-Mohammed disclosed this in a statement issued recently in Abuja.

Dekil stressed that as a result of the intervention, many who for years had agonised under painful but treatable medical conditions because of limited access to health facilities or lack of the financial wherewithal to treat such conditions, were attended to.

He revealed that while the medical outreach is going on, plans are underway for the provision of potable water through the reconstruction of existing water facilities in the land and the construction of new ones to fill the supply gaps in the communities.

He however explained that HYPREP Health Outreach Programme explaining that it precedes the remediation of impacted sites.

“Presently, the publication for invitation for pre-qualification of contractors for remediation of hydrocarbon impacted sites in Ogoniland is in some national and international dailies. The exercise will be

the culmination of all the processes we have put in place right from the inception of the Project Coordination Office in March, 2017,” “The remediation of Ogoniland will be done only by experienced and best hands locally and internationally so as to achieve the desired results of restoring the environment back to an acceptable standard”.

“We will in the coming weeks launch the HYPREP Livelihoods Intervention Programme to give new sets of skills to Ogoni women and youths to enable them create wealth for themselves, their families and their communities”, Dr. Dekil stated.

Colours, Texture, Packaging Key in Mental Health Therapy, Says Artist Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The packaging of drugs, designs, texture and choice of colours have been revealed to play large roles in the treatment of psychiatric patients and cases as these have special effects on the complexities of the human mind.

A United Kingdom-based artist, Mr. Danladi Bankole Bako, who disclosed this in Abuja at an arts exhibition, said art works, being mirrors, have become functionality of life and play unquantifiable roles in mental health and balance.

He added that arts is a vital organ of every society and deals with the debilitating realities of life with emphasis on the creator being the greatest artist and has given the materials to have a lovely and normal life, both physical and dental.

He noted that for sound mind, nature through arts also made places where people can bathe and refresh and get back their vitality. He said even the beach sand which is alkaline-based, helps to stimulate to sole of the feet when walked on, thereby helping the blood system to function better and in addition to breathing pure oxygen.

He said: “When you go to the psychiatric hospital, you will discover most times that the colour of the uniform worn by patients is pink. Pink is the colour that calms them. It calms their temperament because it’s

a calming colour. So art plays a large role in ones mental state.

“Even in the medication that is given to the mentally ill, arts has helped the medical sector right from inception when medical science started from Athens.

The packaging of the drugs is product of arts. The designing and labeling of the package makes the patient feel more comfortable and safe. The colours of the medicines also mostly come in colours that will calm and not scare them.

The texture of the drugs too, sometimes comes to play. Some are chewy. These are all arts.

“In developed climes, and even here in our nation, you have hospitals having paintings which are a representation of what nature has done.

Sometimes when you go out door, you will see beautiful landscape and all is works of arts and that’s what the artist replicates and puts indoors and sometimes outdoor.

“So when most people want to go on vacation, they look for places with lovely serenity.

All of these are arts. What is art? It is the serenity and mood and it helps to calm them as well as their mental state and mindset. In places that are decorated with art works, you will observe that the people are happier and in places that have less of arts, like ghettos, you will always see people behaving more harshly,” he added.

L-R: Director General, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; Vice President Yemi Osibajo; Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole; and Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, during a meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja recently

PCNIHandsoverMedicalEquipment ONGA Unveils Family TV Show to Promote Healthy Worth N400m toYobe Govt Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The Presidential Committee on the Northeast Initiatives (PCNI), has handed over medical equipment worth 400 million naira to Yobe State government.

The donated hospital equipment which includes, blood banks, x-ray machines, hospital beds, furniture for patients and staff, autoclaving machines among others, were handed over to the Commissioner for Health, Yobe State, Dr. Mohammed Kawuwa.

Vice Chairman of PCNI, Mr. Tijjani Tumsah who made the presentation in Damaturu recently, said that PCNI was crossing from the humanitarian to developmental and recovery aspect of interventions.

According to him, “Yobe State is one of the states that have put emphasis on healthcare delivery. The intervention that PCNI does in all places as I have mentioned is to fill in identified gaps. “The donated equipment all cost approximately N400 million.

The implementation framework is very broad; we are crossing from the humanitarian to now the developmental and recovery aspect of the interventions.

“What we have done is scheduled programmes that would be rolled out shortly.

Some are already in place in terms of empowerment for women, farmers by delivery of items that would help them persist in settling down in their communities and go further in agriculture. “So as we go along, lots of interventions will come to play particularly with the recovery and resettlement scheme.” He stated that, in the strategic framework of implementations, medical outreaches are quick intervention schemes, helping the communities to achieve secondary help care facility optimisation, “This is a clear picture of where we in conjunction with the state government have identified the needs to furnish the hospital facilities to be able to attend to those teeming population in those places.”

Tumsah, noted that, “Yobe State is one of the states that have put emphasis on healthcare delivery, and I must say we are impressed with what has been going on so far, and not in the distance future, you will see Yobe becoming a tourist destination for medical attention.

Living Martins Ifijeh ONGAcious, a television programme sponsored by Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Onga Seasoning recently premiered on TV stations across Nigeria. The show’s three major thrusts are healthy living, culture and food.

Speaking at a press preview of the show, the Marketing Manager, Promasidor Nigeria, Mr. Abiodun Ayodeji, said the programme would inspire the audience to appreciate the health benefits of various indigenous meals and show them how such delicacies could be prepared in a healthy manner. “Each episode focuses on a specific city or town, showcasing its rich history, culture, people and traditions,” Ayodeji pointed out.

The show will also point out the different forms of aerobics, taking the audience through how physical exercise could improve their general well-being. The wellness and family talk segments will also examine different lifestyle subjects with a view to teaching families acceptable health tips

and social etiquettes.

Ayodeji, said: “We try to promote healthy lifestyle among families, and this is in line with the brand values of Onga. We want to impact the lives of consumers positively.

“ONGAcious is an allinclusive family TV show, that highlights the important lessons in healthy lifestyle, culture and culinary. It will showcase the array of local Nigerian meals that can be prepared in a healthy manner.

“Each episode exposes viewers to the unique history, traditions and culture of a specific city or town. Apart from the documentary, an individual who is grounded in the culture of the place takes the audience through its history in an engaging manner. The show also shows the audience the array of local foods they can prepare and highlights the health benefits of such delicacies.”

Brand Manager, Onga, Sophiat Bello, said a number of TV stations, selected from all parts of the country started airing it since Saturday, April 7, 2018.

T H I S D AY ˞ ˜ APRIL 19, 2018

30

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

CBN Injects Fresh $210m into Forex Market Nume Ekeghe In continuation of its intervention in the interbank segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday made available another $210 million in the market to meet the requests of customers.

A breakdown of the figures made available by the Bank indicated that the CBN offered the sum of $100 million to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market, just as it allocated the sum of $55 million each to the small and medium

scale enterprises (SMEs) segment and the invisibles segment to meet needs tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others.

Confirming the intervention, a statement quoted the CBN Acting Director in charge of the Corporate Communications Department (CCD), Isaac Okorafor, said the continued intervention by the Bank was in line with the Governor’s commitment to ensure liquidity in the market as well as reduce pressure on the naira.

Okorafor said the CBN was pleased with the current market

situation brought about by policies it had put in place to check forex speculatiors, round trippers and rent-seekers.

According to him, these policies had helped to stabilise the exchange rate in addition to the establishment of the Investors-Exporters window, which had increased fx supply with over $20 billion inflow since its inception.

According to him, the Bank would not relent in its effort to manage the country’s forex with a view to reducing its import bills and checking any haemorhage of its foreign reserves.

FIRS, JTB, SMEDAN Begin Sensitisation for SMEs Ndubuisi Francis Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Joint Tax Board (JTB) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) have begun a sensitisation exercise for Business Membership Organisations (BMOs) on tax payment and their rights as taxpayers, a move calculated at stimulating economic growth in the country The Executive Chairman of FIRS and Chairman, JTB, Mr. Tunde Fowler, who spoke during the exercise yesterday, described the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as the engine of economic growth, noting that Nigerian economy needed the well-being and improvement of the MSMEs to grow, hence the need for the sensitisation.

Fowler, who was represented

by the Director, Federal Engagement and Enlightenment Tax Teams (FEETT), Mr. Kunle Oseni, said: “The MSMEs are recognised as the engine of economic growth and development in the developing economies with the capacity to boost wealth and income distribution as well as creating jobs even in stagnant economies. “The essence of this programme is to ensure that the process of tax payment is made less onerous�, he added.

The FIRS, he stressed, had taken various steps to support the MSMEs, including supporting the revision of the National Tax Policy (NTP) to reflect the realities of the economy; making tax payment easier as taxpayers can now pay their taxes online or at the FIRS office closer to them, and creating the FIRS FEETT. In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN,

Umaru Radda,said the agency works to ensure the optimum performance of the MSMEs and to protect their interests.

Radda, who was represented by the Director Policy, Advocacy and Coordination, Mr. Monday Ewans, said: “The role of the MSMEs is for job creation and serve as a tool for economic development. SMEDAN works with them to help to reduce unemployment. The need to sensitise the MSMEs is for the MSMEs to know their right.�

The meeting which took place at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Conference and Exhibition Centre, Plot 10 Nurudin, Olowo Popo Drive, Behind MKO Abiola, Gardons, Alausa, Ikeja attracted key players in the MSME subsector who urged the FIRS, JTB and SMEDAN to cascade the programme to local levels.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS Broad Money (M2)

21,851,454.31

-- Narrow Money (M1)

9,890,813.10

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,523,239.91

---- Demand Deposits

8,367,573.19

-- Quasi Money

11,960,641.22

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

9,732,990.89

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

12,118,463.42

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

US Group, NDIC Partner on Capacity Building The Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) of the United States Department of Treasury has commended the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) on the establishment of an academy that serves as a reference point for capacity building on Deposit Insurance System (DIS) for the African continent.

The Regional Adviser of the US Treasury, Mr. Philip Morris, made the commendation in Abuja during a meeting between the NDIC Management and delegates from the Office of Technical Assistance convened to explore areas of collaboration towards the enhancement of training needs of the NDIC Academy.

According to Morris, the

corporation’s reputation in the international community was already acknowledged by the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI).

He added that several African countries now depend on the NDIC Academy for capacity building for members of their staff.

A statement from the corporation quoted Morris to have expressed his confidence that the OTA’s collaboration would further strengthen the Academy’s efforts towards achieving its vision of becoming the model Deposit Insurance Training Institute in Africa and the Asia regions by the year 2020.

In his remarks, the NDIC Managing Director/Chief

Executive, Mr. Umaru Ibrahim described the visit as a crucial step towards enhancing service delivery in the operations of the Corporation to address current challenges in the banking sector.

He expressed optimism that the OTA would collaborate with the Corporation in the areas of contingency planning and simulation for bank crisis, including failure resolution strategies such as the Purchase & Assumption (P&A) and bridge bank options already explored by the Corporation.

Umaru lauded the current efforts of the OTA to contribute to the development of expertise on curriculum development, course design, delivery and evaluation for the NDIC Academy.

Wema Bank Plans N20bn Bond Deal by July Wema Bank Plc plans to raise N20 billion from the bond market by July and aims to pay a dividend this year for the first time in a decade, paving the way for an equity sale next year, its Chief Financial Officer, Tunde Mabawonku said.

Mabawonku said the mid-tier bank was focused on selling debt this year after it raised N6.2 billion in its first tranche of a N50 billion ($159 million) debt programme.

He said the bank would start the process next month. “We would want to pay dividends first to existing shareholders before raising

equity in early 2019. It could be a combination of rights issues and private placement,� Mabawonku told Reuters.

The debt issue would help Wema boost its capital ratio above its internal guidance of 15 percent, from 14.3 percent, the bank said earlier. The regulatory minimum capital ratio for Wema and its peers is 10 percent.

In July, Wema Bank said it could issue debt assuming government bond yields dropped below 18 percent with falling inflation. Yields are now at around 14 percent.

It also talked about raising equity in 2018 to bolster its capital

ratio and cut its operating costs as its new digital strategy gains traction.

Nigerian firms are tapping debt markets this year after the government redeemed some treasury bills, instead of rolling them over, to bring down yields.

Analysts expect the central bank to cut interest rates this year as inflation slows.

Wema Bank aims to revive loan growth this year by focusing on small firms after its lending dropped by 4.9 percent last year - despite the bank’s target of 1.5 percent growth. It plans to increase lending by 10 percent in 2018.

(MILLION NAIRA)

AUGUST 2017

26,821,446.81

---- Credit to Government (Net)

4,824,226.22

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

7,834,536.74

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

--3,010,310.52

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

21,997,220.59

--Other Assets Net

--14,702,983.39

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,486,804.65

--Currency in Circulation

1,868,735.07

--Banks Reserves

3,268,266.17 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

August 2017

Inter-Bank Call Rate

22.63

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

13.35

Savings Deposit Rate

4.08

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.86

3 Months Deposit Rate

10.14

6 Months Deposit Rate

11.51

12 Months Deposit Rate

11.40

Prime Lending rate

17.69

Maximum Lending Rate

31.20

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT TUESDAY APRIL 17, 2018

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $68.36 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $68.41 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations..

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

41

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͯͷ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

MARKET NEWS

Guaranty Trust Bank Grows First Quarter Profit After Tax to N45bn Goddy Egene Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) yesterday became the first bank to release its financial performance for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.

According to the results made available through the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), GTBank Plc recorded a profit after tax (PAT) of N44.670 billion, up by from N41.471 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2017.

The bank ended the period with net interest income of N59.689 billion, down from N66.129 billion in 2017. Loans impairment charges fell from N3.412 billion in 2017 to N1.639 billion.

Fees and commission income improved from N13.68 billion to N15.22 billion, while profit before tax (PBT) grew from N50.392 billion to N52.624 billion in 2018. A further breakdown of the results showed that deposits from customers rose

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

from N2.062 trillion to N2.214 trillion. However, loans and advances fell marginally from N1.449 trillion to N1.354 trillion.

Commenting on the results, analysts at FBN Quest said the single-digit in PBT growth was driven by a 52 per cent y/y reduction in loan loss provisions and a 41 per cent growth in non-interest income.

“The growth in non-interest income was largely underpinned by foreign exchange (FX)

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

revaluation gains of N5.5 billion (vsN306.4 million Q1 2017).

In contrast, funding income declined by 10 per cent. Further down the PAT grew by eight per cent to N44.4 billion, thanks to a lower effective tax rate of 15.1 per cent vs. 17.7 per cent Q1 2017. Sequentially, PBT grew five per cent quarter on quarter (q/q), again, the reduction in loan impairment charges was the major driver. However, PAT fell by 13 per cent q/q because

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

of a 50 per cent q/q spike in taxation. Compared with our forecasts, PBT and PAT beat by six per cent and eight per cent respectively, because non-interest income surprised positively.

They explained that in terms of balance sheet trends, GTBank’s loan book declined by around seven per cent q/q, while deposits grew by seven per cent q/q. “On its Q4 conference call, management had guided to loan growth of around 10

O F

per cent year-on-year (y/y), underpinned by improvements in macro-economic fundamentals.

As such, we had expected to see some level of loan growth in Q1 2018. Management had also guided to subdued PBT growth of around 2.4 per cent for 2018E. The Q1 2018 results suggest that it may be tracking slightly ahead of guidance and imply a 2018E Return on average equity (ROAE) of more than 25 per cent,” FBN Quest said.

1 8 / 0 4 / 2 0 1 8 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

˾ THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

42

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/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ǁĞĂŬĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ ϭ͘ϯdž ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϵdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ Ϯϰ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ ϭϴ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ : / E< ;нϭϬ͘ϬйͿ͕ K E K ;нϵ͘ϳйͿ ĂŶĚ ^<z ;нϱ͘ϮйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŽĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ƚŽƉ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞƌƐ ǁŚŝůĞ h E ;Ͳϰ͘ϴйͿ͕ ^Ks Z E/E^ ;Ͳϰ͘ϯйͿ ĂŶĚ ,D Z</E^ ;Ͳϯ͘ϲйͿ ůĞĚ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ͘ ĞƐƉŝƚĞ ƚŚĞ ĚƌĂŐ ŝŶ LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͕ ǁĞ ďĞůŝĞǀĞ ďĂƌŐĂŝŶ ŚƵŶƟŶŐ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƟĞƐ ƐƟůů ĞdžŝƐƚ ŚŽǁĞǀĞƌ ǁĞ ĚŽ ŶŽƚ ƌƵůĞ ŽƵƚ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƐƐŝďŝůŝƚLJ ŽĨ ĨƵƌƚŚĞƌ ƉƌŽĮƚ ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŽŶ ƐŽŵĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ŝŶ ƐƵďƐĞƋƵĞŶƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶƐ͘

ŽŵƉĂŶLJ ŝŶ &ŽĐƵƐ͗ hŶŝŽŶ ĂŶŬ ŽĨ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ WůĐ ;h EͿ

hŶŝŽŶ ĂŶŬ ŽĨ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ WůĐ ;͞hŶŝŽŶ͟ Žƌ ͞ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬ͟Ϳ ďĞŐĂŶ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ ϭϵϭϳ ĂŶĚ ƌĞĐĞŶƚůLJ ĐĞůĞďƌĂƚĞĚ ŝƚƐ ϭϬϬƚŚ ĂŶŶŝǀĞƌƐĂƌLJ ǁŚŝůĞ ĂĚŽƉƟŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƐůŽŐĂŶ ŽĨ ͞zŽƵƌ ^ŝŵƉůĞƌ ĂŶĚ ^ŵĂƌƚĞƌ ĂŶŬ͘͟ KŶ ƌĞĂĐŚŝŶŐ ŝƚƐ ϭϬϬƚŚ ĂŶŶŝǀĞƌƐĂƌLJ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬ͛Ɛ ŵĂŝŶ ĨŽĐƵƐ ǁĂƐ ƚŽ ͞ ĞůĞďƌĂƚĞ͕ /ŵƉĂĐƚ ĂŶĚ >ĞĂĚ͟ ǁŚŝůĞ ĞdžƉĂŶĚŝŶŐ ŝƚƐ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚ ƉŽƌƞŽůŝŽ͘ dŚĞ 'ƌŽƵƉ ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚůLJ ĐŽŶƐŝƐƚƐ ŽĨ hŶŝŽŶ ĂŶŬ ŽĨ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ WůĐ ĂŶĚ hŶŝŽŶ ĂŶŬ h< WůĐ ĂŌĞƌ ĞŵďĂƌŬŝŶŐ ŽŶ Ă ƐĂůĞ ŽĨ ŝƚƐ ƐƵďƐŝĚŝĂƌŝĞƐ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϰ ŝŶ ŽƌĚĞƌ ƚŽ ĨŽĐƵƐ ŽŶ ĐŽƌĞ ďĂŶŬŝŶŐ͘ /Ŷ ϮϬϭϲ͕ ƐŚĂƌĞŚŽůĚĞƌƐ ŽĨ hŶŝŽŶ ďĂŶŬ ĂƵƚŚŽƌŝnjĞĚ ƚŚĞ ďĂŶŬ ƚŽ ƌĂŝƐĞ ƵƉ ƚŽ EϱϬ͘ϬďŶ ǀŝĂ Ă ƌŝŐŚƚƐ ŝƐƐƵĞ͘ hŶŝŽŶ ŝƐ ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚůLJ ƌĂƚĞĚ ͞ ͟ ďLJ &ŝƚĐŚ ƌĂƟŶŐƐ͘

/Ŷ ŝƚƐ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ƌĞƐƵůƚ ƌĞůĞĂƐĞĚ ĞĂƌůŝĞƌ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬ͛Ɛ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ƌĂƚŚĞƌ ƵŶĚĞƌǁŚĞůŵŝŶŐ͘ 'ƌŽƐƐ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƌŽƐĞ ϭϱ͘ϲй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ EϭϬϵ͘ϱďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ͕ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚĞĚ ďLJ Ă ϮϮ͘ϰй zͲŽͲz ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŝŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ;ĨƌŽŵ EϳϮ͘ϯďŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲ ƚŽ Eϴϴ͘ϱďŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳͿ͘ ŽŶƚƌĂƌLJ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ͕ ŶŽŶͲŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ƵŶĚĞƌƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞĚ͕ ĨĂůůŝŶŐ ϲ͘ϯй ƚŽ EϮϭ͘ϬďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ;ĨƌŽŵ EϮϮ͘ϱďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲͿ͘ dŚĞ 'ƌŽǁƚŚ ŝŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ǁĂƐ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ Ă Ϯϲ͘ϯй ƵƉƟĐŬ ŝŶ ůŽĂŶƐ ĂŶĚ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞƐ ĂƐ ǁĞůů ĂƐ ĂŶ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŝŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ĨƌŽŵ dƌĞĂƐƵƌLJ ŝůůƐ ;ƵƉ ϮϬ͘Ϭй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ EϮϭ͘ϵďŶͿ͘ DĞĂŶǁŚŝůĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬ͛Ɛ ŶŽŶͲŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ǁĂƐ ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ďLJ Ϯϭ͘ϲй ĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ŝŶ KƚŚĞƌ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ĂƐ ǁĞůů ĂƐ Ă ϵϴ͘Ϯй ĚŝƉ ŝŶ ĞͲ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĨĞůů ϲϭ͘ϱй ƚŽ EϬ͘ϳďŶ ĂƐ ĂƌĚ &y ŐĂŝŶ ƌĞĚƵĐĞĚ ĨƌŽŵ Eϭ͘ϰďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲ ƚŽ EϮϱ͘Ϭŵ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŽƚŚĞƌ ŚĂŶĚ͕ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ ĞdžƉĞŶƐĞƐ ŐƌĞǁ ϭϬ͘ϭй zͲŽͲz ƚŽ Eϰϵ͘ϬďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Eϰϰ͘ϲďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ W d ĂŶĚ W d ĨĞůů Ϯ͘ϭй ĂŶĚ ϰ͘ϲй ƚŽ Eϭϯ͘ϬďŶ ĂŶĚ EϭϮ͘ϰďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ͘

KŶ Ă ƋƵĂƌƚĞƌ ŽŶ ƋƵĂƌƚĞƌ ďĂƐŝƐ͕ Yϯ͗ϮϬϭϳ ƐƚĂŶĚĂůŽŶĞ ƐŚŽǁĞĚ ĂŶ ĞƋƵĂůůLJ ǁĞĂŬ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͘ 'ƌŽƐƐ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ĨĞůů ϭϵ͘ϰй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ EϮϬ͘ϯďŶ ;ĨƌŽŵ EϮϱ͘ϱďŶ ŝŶ YϮ͗ϮϬϭϳͿ͕ ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ďLJ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƐ ŝŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ;ĚŽǁŶ Ϯ͘ϲй ƚŽ EϯϬ͘ϮďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Eϯϭ͘ϬďŶ ŝŶ YϮ͗ϮϬϭϳͿ ĂŶĚ ŶŽŶͲ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ;ĚŽǁŶ ϯϳ͘ϯй ƚŽ Eϱ͘ϮďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Eϴ͘ϯďŶ ŝŶ YϮ͗ϮϬϭϳͿ͘ ůƐŽ͕ W d ĂŶĚ W d ĨĞůů Ϯϳ͘ϭй ĂŶĚ ϯϭ͘ϵй ƚŽ Eϯ͘ϱďŶ ĂŶĚ Eϯ͘ϮďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ ĞƐƉŝƚĞ ŝƚƐ ƵŶĚĞƌǁŚĞůŵŝŶŐ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƌĞƐƵůƚ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ďĂŶŬ ƚŽ ƚĂŬĞ ƐƚĞƉƐ ƚŽ ƌĞĚƵĐĞ ĐŽƐƚ ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞƐ ŽŶ ƉƌŽĮƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ ŝŶ ŽƌĚĞƌ ƚŽ Ɛƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĨŽƌ &z͗ϮϬϭϳ͘ /Ŷ ĂĚĚŝƟŽŶ͕ ǁĞ ďĞůŝĞǀĞ ŵĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚ͛Ɛ ĐŽŵŵŝƚŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ Ɛƚ ŝƚƐ ƌĞƚĂŝů ƐĞŐŵĞŶƚ ďLJ ůĞǀĞƌĂŐŝŶŐ ŽŶ ƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJ ƚŽ ĚƌŝǀĞ ƉƌŽĮƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ͕ ǁŝůů ďĞ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ďĂŶŬ͘

Afrinvest Securities Limited (RC 603 315) (A Dealing Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange)

Thursday, April 19, 2018

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

Ticker

Current Price

Previous Current Price Weighting Change

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 1,709.21

0.28% 0.6%

Price Change YTD

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

10.8%

70.9%

23.1%

8.0%

7.9x

1.0x

Divinden Earnings d Yield Yield

4.5%

12.1%

1

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

44.35

21.0%

8.8%

9.4%

30.6%

5.2%

7.3x

2.1x

6.1%

13.6%

2

Zenith Bank PLC

27.00

0.2%

12.4%

5.3%

4.1%

23.3%

3.4%

4.8x

1.0x

10.0%

21.0%

3

Nigerian Brew eries PLC

126.00

-0.7%

7.6%

-6.6%

-6.7%

19.2%

8.8%

30.4x

5.7x

3.3%

3.3%

4

Nestle Nigeria PLC

1,422.50

0.0%

6.6%

-8.6%

-8.6%

89.0%

21.3%

33.4x

25.1x

3.0%

3.0%

5

Dangote Cement PLC

249.00

0.0%

6.1%

8.3%

8.3%

26.3%

12.4%

21.4x

5.5x

4.2%

4.7%

1.6%

7.1%

42.0%

42.2%

2.6%

0.3%

20.4x

0.7x

1.6%

4.9%

4.4%

7.7%

6.1%

13.0%

1.6%

5.2x

0.6x

5.8%

19.3%

6

FBN Holdings Plc

12.50

7

Access Bank PLC

11.25

0.0%

8

United Bank for Africa PLC

11.15

-0.4%

4.3%

8.3%

7.1%

16.1%

2.0%

5.0x

0.7x

7.6%

19.9%

9

Ecobank Transnational Inc

19.50

2.6%

3.4%

14.7%

19.9%

10.3%

0.8%

7.3x

0.7x

3.1%

13.6%

10

SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

702.00

-3.3%

3.1%

12.1%

12.1%

19.4%

11.1%

4.1x

0.7x

0.0%

24.7%

11

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

49.00

3.1%

18.1%

19.8%

28.9%

3.8%

10.7x

2.7x

1.0%

9.4%

12

Unilever Nigeria PLC

55.00

0.0%

3.1%

34.1%

36.8%

17.2%

7.8%

31.4x

4.2x

0.9%

3.2%

13

Guinness Nigeria PLC

103.00

0.0%

2.3%

9.6%

9.6%

14.6%

5.6%

19.3x

2.7x

0.6%

5.2%

14

Lafarge Africa PLC

45.65

-2.0%

1.5%

1.7%

1.7%

-32.7%

-6.5%

1.6x

3.3%

-11.1%

15

Fidelity Bank PLC

2.52

-1.6%

1.2%

2.4%

-2.3%

8.0%

1.1%

0.4x

5.6%

45.5%

9.05

9.7%

1.8%

51.1%

51.1%

40.7%

4.2%

4.1x

0.9x

22.05

0.2%

1.1%

10.3%

8.3%

43.2%

19.8%

8.6x

3.3x

11.3%

11.6%

4.1%

13.1%

2.5%

12.9%

2.2x

16

Oando PLC

17

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

18

Okomu Oil Palm PLC

73.50

0.0%

1.1%

8.6%

8.6%

44.1%

32.7%

7.7x

2.9x

19

International Brew eries PLC

48.95

-2.1%

0.6%

-10.2%

-11.0%

24.6%

7.4%

51.3x

11.7x

20

Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

37.00

0.0%

0.7%

27.6%

27.6%

13.1%

3.0%

7.7x

0.9x

21

Transnational Corp of Nigeria

22

UAC of Nigeria PLC

23

Diamond Bank PLC

24

Total Nigeria PLC

25

FCMB Group Plc

26

11 PLC

24.5%

2.0%

1.69

3.7%

0.6%

15.8%

14.2%

8.3%

1.8%

14.4x

1.1x

1.2%

6.9%

16.95

-1.5%

0.5%

0.3%

0.3%

2.2%

0.8%

22.9x

0.6x

3.8%

4.4%

1.99

0.0%

0.6%

32.7%

26.8%

2.5%

0.3%

8.0x

0.2x

233.80

0.0%

0.5%

1.7%

1.7%

31.0%

6.5%

9.9x

2.8x

7.3%

10.1%

2.50

-0.8%

0.7%

58.2%

5.1%

0.8%

5.3x

0.3x

4.0%

19.0%

190.00

0.0%

0.4%

-2.4%

-2.4%

30.8%

11.0%

9.4x

2.5x

4.2%

10.7%

0.0%

0.4%

-13.9%

-10.8%

19.6%

1.8%

10.1x

3.3x

12.5%

27

Forte Oil PLC

37.45

28

PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

22.50

0.0%

0.4%

9.2%

6.4%

10.7%

5.0%

21.3x

2.2x

2.3%

29

Cadbury Nigeria PLC

14.50

0.0%

0.3%

-7.5%

-7.1%

2.6%

1.1%

57.1x

2.3x

1.1%

1.8%

30

Presco PLC

68.65

0.0%

0.3%

0.2%

0.2%

39.7%

28.0%

2.7x

0.9x

2.9%

37.0%

31

NASCON Allied Industries PLC

22.15

0.9%

0.4%

19.7%

15.2%

54.6%

19.5%

11.0x

5.1x

6.8%

9.1%

10.00

0.0%

0.8x

7.2%

32

UPDC Real Estate Investment Tr

0.3%

0.0%

0.0%

33

Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

6.00

-4.8%

0.2%

-23.1%

-20.1%

5.6%

1.2%

7.7x

0.4x

34

Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

27.00

4.0%

0.3%

-3.6%

-3.6%

17.3%

1.8%

7.5x

1.2x

9.9% 4.7%

13.1% 3.7%

13.4%

1.70

4.9%

0.4%

57.4%

50.4%

6.1%

0.6%

5.8x

0.5x

1.2%

17.3%

13.35

-0.4%

0.3%

9.9%

9.9%

61.6%

15.8%

4.3x

1.9x

1.5%

23.2%

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Niger

34.15

0.4%

0.4%

58.0%

58.0%

61.2%

23.6%

7.1x

2.5x

22.0%

14.1%

38

Chemical and Allied Products P

38.75

0.0%

0.2%

14.0%

8.5%

66.2%

30.2%

18.1x

12.1x

5.3%

5.5%

39

Beta Glass PLC

75.50

0.0%

0.1%

47.1%

47.1%

18.4%

11.9%

10.6x

1.8x

1.4%

9.4%

40

Transcorp Hotels Plc

7.45

0.0%

0.1%

3.3%

3.3%

4.7%

2.8%

21.2x

1.0x

1.8%

4.7%

35

Sterling Bank PLC

36

Dangote Flour Mills Plc

37

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

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

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

J A IZ B A N K

0.88

10.0%

GUA R A N T Y

67.4

0.6%

OA N D O

9.05

9.7%

F ID ELIT YB K

14.9

-1.6%

SKYEB A N K

1.01

5.2%

FB NH

14.7

1.6%

ST ER LN B A N K

1.70

4.9%

J A P A ULOIL

12.9

3.8%

UN IT YB N K

1.33

4.7%

FCM B

10.3

-0.8%

F ID SON

5.77

4.7%

Z EN IT H B A N K

9.1

0.2%

NNFM

6.85

4.6%

UB A

8.2

-0.4% -4.3%

T ic k er

27.00

4.0%

SOVR EN IN S

7.6

J A P A ULOIL

0.55

3.8%

A C C ESS

7.2

0.0%

C ILEA SIN G

1.38

3.8%

SKYEB A N K

6.5

5.2%

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

UB N

6.00

-4.8%

GUA R A N T Y

SOVR EN IN S

0.22

-4.3%

Z EN IT H B A N K

J B ER GER

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

T o p 10 L o s e r s T ic k er

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

2988.0

0.6%

245.6

0.2%

H M A R KIN S

0.27

-3.6%

FB NH

182.7

1.6%

A GLEVEN T

0.57

-3.4%

NB

120.5

-0.7%

702.00

-3.3%

UB A

91.9

-0.4%

R OYA LEX

0.30

-3.2%

A C C ESS

81.0

0.0%

M B EN EF IT

0.31

-3.1%

D A N GC EM

78.9

0.0%

WEM A B A N K

0.86

-2.3%

J B ER GER

65.5

4.0%

SEP LA T

IN T B R EW

48.95

-2.1%

GUIN N ESS

46.0

0.0%

WA P C O

45.65

-2.0%

F ID ELIT YB K

38.4

-1.6%

Investment Research

Brokerage Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Bolaji Fajenyo | bfajenyo@afrinvest.com

Omotola Abimbola | oabimbola@afrinvest.com

43

˾ THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

MARKET NEWS

Q1: United Capital Records N1.25bn Profit After Tax Goddy Egene United Capital Plc, a PanAfrican investment banking group, yesterday announced its financial results for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2018, showing growth in performance indicators.

The unaudited results showed gross earnings of N2.2 billion, up 4.2per cent from N2.113 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2017, despite the uncertain macroeconomic environment

and lower interest rates on treasury assets. Fees and commission income stood at N1.058 billion in 2018, compared with N1.057 billion in 2017, while total revenue improved from N2.113 billion to N2.203 billion in 2018. and Profit Before Tax of N1.49billion.

Profit Before Tax grew by 7.3 per cent from N1.39 billion in 2017 to N1.49 billion in 2018, while profit after tax improved from N1.17 billion in 2017 to N1.25 billion in 2018. Total

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

assets stood at N140.4 bilion, from N136.6 billion as at the end of 2017.

Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of United Capital Plc, Oluwatoyin Sanni said: “As a company, we understand the importance of starting a new financial year on a positive note. At the beginning of the year, we outlined our business objectives and developed a strategy to achieve those goals from the onset. While the market may have

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 17Apr-2018, unless otherwise stated.

sustained challenges beyond our control, we took this as an opportunity to expand our business/product offerings and encouraged innovation in-house to gain market share across our diversified business lines.

The sustained growth is a testament to the hard work, dedication and precision United Capital offers its customers across Africa.”

The company explained that the sustained growth in revenue and profitability is in correlation with the

its strategic and efficient management of investment activities across all businesses, better pricing of earning assets, gains from its equity portfolio as well as effective cost management.

United Capital Plc recently paid a dividend of N2.1 billion for the 2017 financial year. The company had last year recorded successes in key business areas. They included: the launch of two new mutual funds – Wealth for Women Fund and Nigerian Eurobond

Fund; financial advisory services to the UBA $500 million Eurobond; Issuing House and Joint Trustee Mandate to the Lagos State Government N100 billion bond issue.

“United Capital continues to pursue a clear and consistent strategy, which will always deliver a strong performance for shareholders, and we remain positive about our future opportunities within the Nigerian and African market,” the company said.

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 185.94 190.37 5.65% Nigeria International Debt Fund 244.31 245.37 5.64% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.86 0.87 4.06% ACAP Income Funds 0.65 0.65 8.20% 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 14.50% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Discovery Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.36% CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.91% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.13 1.15 7.84% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.10 1.13 6.37% 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 1,145.37 1,146.54 -0.21% FBN Heritage Fund 149.63 150.94 7.33% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.10% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $112.28 $112.68 -0.62% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $112.27 $112.67 -0.53% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 182.13 184.93 13.07% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 1.38 1.41 5.94% Legacy Debt Fund 3.00 3.00 4.02% 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 3,179.06 3,211.86 6.48% Coral Income Fund 2,575.58 2,575.58 5.26% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.75% 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 14.25% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.15 2.17 1.93% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.67% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 119.55 119.98 3.97%

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 1.18 1.20 2.79% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,045.12 1,045.12 3.78% 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 16.18 16.32 14.76% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 13.66% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.32 1.34 10.92% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.59 11.64 4.95% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.02% 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 140.03 142.59 8.77% 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 1.55 1.55 4.62% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,360.89 2,381.50 5.28% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 183.92 183.92 4.23% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.06 1.08 5.94% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 231.78 231.87 5.26% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 193.04 195.08 7.75% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.17% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,142.57 10,282.05 4.90% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.08 1.08 2.30% 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 -0.49% United Capital Bond Fund 1.63 1.63 4.18% United Capital Equity Fund 0.97 0.99 5.77% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.00% United Capital Eurobond Fund 105.28 105.28 2.32% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.13 1.13 3.57% 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 13.42 13.62 6.61% Zenith Ethical Fund 14.17 14.34 7.19% Zenith Income Fund 19.90 19.90 5.16% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.55%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

10.00 134.63

-11.35% 1.64%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.49 160.19 117.38

12.59 163.61 119.55

3.03% 12.16% 7.43%

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

5.08 9.63 18.82 21.76 159.01

5.12 9.71 18.92 21.96 161.01

7.10% 0.59% 5.97% 10.59% 6.98%

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY APRIL 19, 2018

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THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018Ëž T H I S D AY

49

NEWSXTRA

DHQ Accuses Taraba Politicians of Inciting People Against Military Denies deployment of US troops to Borno Paul Obi Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; As outrage continues to trail the incessant killings arising from clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in several communities in Taraba State, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday accused politicians in the state of inciting the people against the military and attempting to confront soldiers.

The accusation came on the heels of recent misgivings by residents of the state over the role of the military in quelling the clashes between the warring sides which has led to over a hundred deaths this year alone.

The discontent among residents recently prompted the former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), also an indigene of the state, to accuse the army of bias.

Danjuma had during the convocation of Taraba State University charged the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s indigenes to protect themselves against the brutal killings perpetuated by herdsmen.

But speaking to the media yesterday in Abuja, the Director of Defence Information, Brig.

Gen. John Agim explained that the rampant cases of conflicts across the country had overstretched the military, which had been worsened by deliberate attempts by some civil authorities, particularly in Taraba, to undermine the military. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Civil authorities at all levels such as community chiefs, local government area chairmen and state governors are often instrumental to the success of internal security operations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is because they provide information, synergy, support and facilitate a conducive environment for military operations. They also assist in winning hearts and minds of the people in support of the military among them,â&#x20AC;? Agim stressed He expressed regret, however that during the conduct of army exercise, Ayem Akpatuma, some civil authorities especially in

Taraba, did not accord the military the desired cooperation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For instance, the chairman of Takum Local Government Area in Taraba State did not cooperate with the 93 Battalion but instead projected the military in a bad light to the locals. â&#x20AC;&#x153;His actions before and during Exercise Ayem Akpatuma were clearly anti-military and he incited his people on many occasions to resist and confront the military.â&#x20AC;?

Agim further observed that political leaders must desist from politicising security issues with respect to the Armed Forces of Nigeria, adding: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The military is the strength of every nation, Nigeria inclusive. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If we talk down our military, it will dampen their morale, the enemy will be emboldened to cause more havoc and the consequences on our citizens will be dire.â&#x20AC;?

The DHQ also debunked claims that troops from the U.S. military will be deployed in Borno State to assist in the ongoing onslaught against the Boko Haram insurgency.

The DHQ spokesman explained that what was at stake between the Nigerian military and the U.S. government was the sale of arms and ammunition to the Nigerian government.

He explained that the refusal by the U.S. government during the Barrack Obama administration to sell ammunition to Nigeria was due to negative reports and unsubstantiated allegations of human rights abuse by Amnesty International against the Nigerian military. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The question is, why should we have an international organisation that wants to see us perpetually at war without having the weapons to fight that war? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can tell you emphatically that AI is against Nigeria, not the Nigerian military, they want to see Nigeria perpetually at war, they know that if Nigeria is at peace, we can take care of ourselves,â&#x20AC;? he submitted.

Buhari: Many Nigerian Youths Want Freebies Omololu Ogunmade Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday at the Commonwealth Business Forum in London spoke about the attitudes of Nigerian youths, saying many of them do not want to work because of their perception that Nigeria is an oil rich country.

The president who made the remarks during questions and answers session during the business forum at the ongoing Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), also spoke on the state of the economy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many Nigerian youths just want to sit down and do nothing, banking on the notion that Nigeria is an oil-rich nation,â&#x20AC;? he said.

According to him, out of

the estimated population of about 180 million, which he described as conservative, the higher percentage is made up of the youths.

Putting the youth population that is below the age of 30 at 60 per cent, the president said many of them are uneducated and only want free gifts. â&#x20AC;&#x153;About the economy, we have a very young population, our population is estimated conservatively to be 180 million.

This is a very conservative one. â&#x20AC;&#x153;More than 60 percent of the population is below 30, a lot of them havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria is an oil producing country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Therefore, they should sit and do nothing, and get housing, healthcare, education for free,â&#x20AC;? he said.Â

Agim also informed journalists that about 147 herdsmen were arrested during Exercise Ayem Akpatuma, including six cultists, five cattle rustlers and six armed bandits in Benue and Taraba States.

He disclosed that 13 soldiers had been killed so far during

the operation, while seven were seriously wounded in action.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) has invited the chairman of Takum LGA in Taraba State, Mr. Shiba Tikari for questioning over his alleged role leading to the incitement against and

attempt to confront the military.

According to spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Brig.Gen. Texas Chukwu, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Directorate of Military Intelligence has invited the chairman of Takum Local Government Area, Taraba State, Mr. Shiba Tikari to

report for his interview on Friday, 20 April 2018. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The interview is in connection with the security concerns where three suspects were arrested in Takum. The suspects are currently being investigated by the DMI.â&#x20AC;? Enjoy the view.

MINISTERIAL DISCUSSIONS

Lâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;R: Minister of State for Health, M. Osagie Ehanire; Minister of Comminucations, Mr. Adebayo Shittu; and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru, at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja....yesterday

17 Victims of Suspected Herdsmen Killings Get Mass Burial in Nasarawa Again, four Killed in Plateau mid-day attack Seriki Adinoyi Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Emmanuel Ukumba Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;ʨĂ&#x2039; Seventeen persons who were allegedly killed at the wake of the recent coordinated attacks on Tiv settlements by suspected herdsmen in Nasarawa State were yesterday given mass burial.

Accordingly, seven of the victims had their corpses buried at the Christian cemetery in Lafia, the state capital, while the remaining 10 corpses were buried in Keana, headquarters of Keana Local Government Area of the state.

The marauding herdsmen had, during the coordinated attacks that lasted for five days, killed no fewer than 80 Tiv villagers.

President of Tiv Youths in Nasarawa State, Peter Ahemba, told journalists in Lafia that the leadership of the Tiv community of the state was left with no other option than to bury the victims outside their ancestral abodes against the customs of the Tiv tradition.

Accordingly, Ahemba lamented that the mass burial of the slain Tiv persons was performed out of their ancestral homes because the suspected gun-wielding herdsmen were still laying siege in the Tiv deserted villages for possible attack.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are left with no other option than to bury the victims outside their places of

abodes as the Tiv villages have been invaded and taken over by the suspected armed herdsmen.

So we could not afford to risk more lives in going to bury those victims in their places of abode as demanded by our tradition. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is moreso that the corpses have already started decomposing at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia due to congestion at the hospitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mortuary.â&#x20AC;?

The Tiv youths president further explained that apart from those buried on masse yesterday, many other victims had earlier been buried at different locations across Awe, Keana, Obi and Doma Local Government Areas of the state.

Ahemba concluded that search for the recovery of more casualties was ongoing in the affected communities.

However, the police command has said it has arrested about 16 suspected Fulani herdsmen in connection to the ongoing killings in Obi, Awe and Keana Local Government Areas of the state.

Parading the suspects at the police headquarters in Lafia, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bello Ahmed, said the command, with support from the state government, critical stakeholders and other security agencies were able to stem the tide of

the senseless killings and attacks.

The police, however, confirmed the arrest of five suspected Fulani herders who were behind the gruesome killing of three policemen in the state.

The apprehended suspected Fulani herdsmen, according to the police commissioner include Bawa Alhaji, Aliyu Waziri, Muhammed Auta Riga, Sale Muhammad and Alhaji Adamu Auta.

He disclosed that the suspects were all arrested in Riga Auta, along Radio House, in Keana Local Government Area of the state.

Items recovered from the suspects were one AK 47 rifle with 30 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition.

Ahmed said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is quite unfortunate that these attacks were not only unleashed on innocent citizens, but also on security personnel who were trying to restore peace and order in the affected communities. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On April 16, 2018 there were attacks on our men while responding to distress calls in Awe and Keana Local Government Area which led to the loss of three police personnel on peacekeeping mission.

The police boss also disclosed that the command has also arrested four Fulani herders mercenaries, who migrated from the Shendam area of Plateau

State into Azara Development Area of Awe Local Government Area of the state, who came to unleash terror on Azara and its environs, adding that investigation was on going to arrest other mercenaries in the state.

He said those mercenaries apprehended were Mohammed Sani- Adamu, Shuaibu Alhaji, Saidu Mahammadu and Adamu Jatau.

Ahmed further revealed that on April 17, 2018, the 177 Battalion, Brigade of Guards in Keffi arrested and handed over to the command, one Umaru Jafaru while returning back from Yelwata area of Benue State after allegedly carrying out an attack.

Meanwhile, after a few days of respite, attacks in Plateau State have resumed in a frightening dimension, leaving four persons dead in Nche Tahuta village of Jebu Miango district of Bassa Local Government Area yesterday afternoon.

In the past, attackers were known to hide under the dark of the night to unleash mayhem, but that was not so yesterday when the gunmen suspected to be Fulani herders struck in broad daylight at about 12 noon, and opened fire on a group of people excavating sand from a stream in the community, killing four persons on the spot. Several others escaped with gunshot wounds.

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018˾ T H I S D AY

50

NEWSXTRA

IMF Advises Nigeria to Deploy Borrowed Funds in High-return Investments, Infrastructure Sub-Saharan Africa on course for 3.1% growth in 2018, says World Bank Kunle Aderinokun ËØÎ Obinna Chima ÓØ ËÝÒÓØÑÞÙØ DC The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stressed the need for fiscal adjustment in Nigeria as it urged the federal government to ensure it expends borrowed funds on high return investments and infrastructure.

The Assistant Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF, Catherine Pattillo, gave this advice while responding to a question during the launch of the Fiscal Monitor report, at the ongoing IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington DC. The fund also pointed out that rising debt levels in Nigeria and other low income countries (LICs) were creating vulnerabilities, saying it exposes the countries to interest rate and market risks. It, therefore, reiterated the need to create fiscal buffers in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s external debt stood $18.91 billion (N5.787 trillion) at the end of December 2017, while domestic debt rose to N15.937 trillion, bringing the total debt stock of the country to N21.725 trillion ($70.92 billion), according to the latest data released by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

However, in line with the federal government’s debt restructuring strategy, it had designed a plan to substitute expensive domestic short-term debt with cheaper long-term foreign debt.

But Pattillo noted: “Borrowing by countries can create benefits if used for investments of high returns. Our evidence suggests that’s not the case in some countries. So, rising debt then create vulnerabilities -there will be interest rate risks, market risks and large interest burdens that will squeeze out spending priorities.

“With high debt, countries

need to deliver on their fiscal plans for adjustments and use borrowed funds for high return investments” Responding to a question on the federal government’s debt restructuring strategy which favours more of foreign borrowings, Pattillo said: “There is merit to that strategy. Factors that support that is that Nigeria’s current external debt to GDP ratio is low. So, the external interest payments are relatively low.

“The benefits of that switch is a reduction in overall interest payments and a lengthening of maturity.

“The emphasis is that countries have these risks of very high interest payments to revenue because of large borrowing. But if you have problems repaying your debts, then it is a risk for future borrowings.”

On his part, the Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF, Vitor Gaspar, pointed out that the fund’s insistence that low income countries should be improving their tax revenue mobilisation, was because it is an instrument of sustainability and development.

“In that context, higher tax capacity could also help sustain debt service. But that is not an end in itself. The end in itself is the ability to stand on priority areas – health, education, public infrastructure, and others.

Governments are well advised to build fiscal buffers so that they are ready to tackle challenges that would inevitably come,” Gaspar added.

The Fiscal Monitor report stated how strong and broadbased growth provided an opportunity to rebuild fiscal buffers now, improve government balances, and anchor public debt.

One concern in the report was the surge in global debt,

Keyamo Explains Why he Accepted to Serve Buhari Campaign Organisation Ejiofor Alike The newly appointed Director of Strategic Communications of President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation, Mr. Festus Keyamo, has given reasons why he accepted the job.

With the appointment, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is the official spokesperson of the president’s campaigns for the 2019 presidential election.

Keyamo said in a statement yesterday that he was consulted before the announcement and he “wholeheartedly and proudly accepted the challenge to do this for the good of my country and for posterity.”

According to him, he found an approximation of the lofty values he cherishes and have fought for all his life in President Buhari.

He said the ultimate aim of every struggle was not really to enthrone a perfect, flawless

system but to enthrone a government that is “focused, determined and fiercely opposed to the unscrupulous wheelerdealers in the society, committed to protecting the interests of the down-trodden, the weak and vulnerable.

“One of the obvious ways to do this is to ensure that what belongs to all is not cornered by a few; and if they do so, to ensure that they are made to account and brought to justice. I can boldly say that no government in the history of Nigeria has recovered so much looted funds as that of President Buhari. The fact that this government has clearly chosen this path in protecting the masses of our country (as unpleasant as it has been to some) is one of the many reasons why I am so proud and bold about my support for the re-election bid of President Buhari,” he said.

which reached the record peak of US$164 trillion in 2016.

“Rapidly rising debt among low income developing countries means that interest payments are taking up an increasingly large share of taxes and expenditure.

“Countries with elevated government debt are vulnerable to a sudden tightening of global financing conditions, which could disrupt market access and jeopardise economic activities.

Importantly, large debt and deficits hinder governments’ ability to implement a strong fiscal policy response to support the economy in the event of a downturn,” it added.

Therefore, it urged countries to implement policies to support medium-term growth by promoting human and physical capital, and by increasing

productivity.

Earlier, during the unveiling of the Global Financial Stability Report (FSR), the Financial Counsellor and Director for the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF, Mr. Tobias Andrian, noted that vulnerability may make the road to global growth vulnerable.

Andrian predicted that global growth could be bumpy three years from now.

“Debt sustainability in developing countries has deteriorated and this poses challenges for any future debt restructuring.

“Countries that are building up higher debt levels and are exposed more to currency mis-matches and liquidity transformation are going to be exposed more to any adverse

developments in global financial conditions.

“The IMF is working with authorities in countries on evaluating and improving fiscal policies,” he explained.

Also, the Division Chief, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF, Anna Ilyina, pointed out that a lot of emerging countries had benefited from very favourable economic climate.

This, he said had created some rooms for them to strengthen their positions.

Meanwhile, the World Bank has predicted that sub-Saharan Africa was on course for economic growth of 3.1 percent this year, slightly lower than it had previously forecast.

According to the bank, by 2020, growth in the region

should pick up to 3.7 per cent.

“While Nigeria, South Africa, and Angola are expected to see a gradual pick-up in growth, economic expansion will continue at a solid pace in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), and strengthen in most of East Africa,” the bank said in its Africa’s Pulse report for April.

“These forecasts are predicated on the expectations that oil and metals prices will remain stable, expansion in global trade will stay robust, and external financial market conditions will continue to be supportive.”

In January, the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report projected that growth in sub-Saharan Africa would rise to 3.2 per cent in 2018.

WEDDING GUESTS

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar (left), and Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nanaemeka Achebe (Agbogidi), at the wedding ceremony of Anthony Chuka-Douglas and Whitney Erin Woods in Dubai, United Arab Emirates....recently

Falana Gives FG Seven Days to Release Spending on Fuel Subsidy Gboyega Akinsanmi A human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, yesterday asked the federal government to furnish him with the cost of fuel subsidy and volumes of petroleum products imported into the country between December 2017 and March 2018.

Falana equally rejected conflicting figures the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) claimed to have paid as the cost of subsidy between December 2017 and March 2018.

He made the request in a letter he addressed to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu, yesterday pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), faulted the country’s consumption rate of

petroleum products the NNPC management released between December 2017 and March 2018.

In the two-letter, Falana noted that the NNPC disclosed that the country’s consumption rate of fuel was 28 million litres per day in December 2017 just as the subsidy cost was N726 million per day and N261.4 billion per annum.

He noted that the NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru claimed on March 5 that the figure had metamorphosed to 50 million litres per day and that NNPC had spent $5.8 billion (N1.7 trillion) on fuel importation in January and February.

The senior advocate said the petroleum minister himself stated at a public forum held in Abuja two weeks ago that the consumption rate of fuel

has skyrocketed to 60 million and that the cost of subsidy is N1.4 trillion per month!

He said: “We are not unaware that the increasing consumption rate has been blamed on the smuggling of imported fuel from Nigeria to neighbouring countries by some economic saboteurs.

“Assuming without conceding that the story of smuggling is true, the total volume of fuel consumed by Benin, Togo, Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Ghana is said to be less than 250,000 litres per day.

According to the human rights lawyer, “the petroleum minister will agree with me that this does not explain the difference of 32 million litres per day between the consumption rate of imported fuel in December 2017 and March 2018. “

He said: “With respect to the alleged subsidy of fuel importation you failed to disclose the amount realised from the sale of the 60 million litres at N145 per liter. You have also conveniently failed to account for the sale of the 445,000 barrels of crude oil allocated to the NNPC daily by the federal government.”

He rejected the federal government’s claim that a gap of 32 million litres a day (at N145 per litre is N4.6 billion daily) was due to smuggling, saying the claim “is untenable given the billions of naira continually expended on Project Aquila Software by the Petroleum Equalisation Fund to track every litre of petroleum product evacuated from the depots and sold at retail stations in the country.”

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One Year After Termination, Lagos Set to Award Fourth Mainland Bridge Contract Completes 450 road projects under three years Gboyega Akinsanmi The Lagos State Government has initiated the process of signing a concession agreement with a preferred bidder to construct the Fourth Mainland Bridge, noting that it will announce

its decision sometimes in June.

The state government disclosed that three bidders had been selected about one year after it terminated a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it entered with a consortium of firm to construct

Development Reporting Takes Centre Stage as TheNiche Holds Anniversary Lecture TheNiche Newspaper, published

by Acclaim Communications Limited will be commemorating its fourth anniversary on Friday, April 20, 2018 with a special lecture hinged on the anniversary topic: ‘Development Reporting and Hysteria Journalism in Nigeria.’

The event will be taking place at the Main Auditorium of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos, at 10a.m.

A presidential hopeful, erudite scholar, public affairs commentator, author, and erstwhile Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Kingsley Moghalu, will deliver the anniversary lecture.

2015 KOWA Party presidential candidate, prolific writer and a university don, Professor Remi Sonaiya, will be the chairman of the occasion.

A team of professionals versed in economy, politics, media, academia and civil society has also been assembled to dissect the topic in a manner that will place Nigeria of our dream on sound development footing through the media.

The discussants include Professor Fred Aja Agwu, a

senior researcher at the NIIA who is also a journalist, author and international affairs expert.

Others are Mrs. Funke Egbemode, Managing Director, New Telegraph Newspaper and President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors; Mr. Obinna Nwosu, former Group Deputy Managing Director of Access Bank and a development expert; Mr. Edetaen Ojo, Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda and former Judicial Editor of The Guardian; Mr. Kola Ologbodiyan, National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and a former Editor with THISDAY newspapers and Chief Joe Igbokwe, Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressive Congress (APC) who is also a publisher and public affairs commentator.

The highpoint of the Anniversary will be the unveiling of TheNiche Foundation for Development Journalism.

Dignitaries expected at the event include the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, and a host of others from the public and private sector, as well as from the civil society community.

the 38-kilometre infrastructure.

The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Adebowale Akinsanya, made the disclosure at a news conference he addressed at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa yesterday, noting that the preferred bidder would be announced in June.

The conference, which was addressed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan, among top functionaries of the state, was organised to commemorate the third anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

Ambode had on May 25, 2016, signed a concession agreement with consortium of domestic and foreign firms to construct the 4th Mainland Bridge with a length of 38 kilometres at a whopping cost of N844 billion.

The consortium comprised Visible Asset Limited, Julius

Berger Nigeria Plc., Hi-tech Construction Limited, J.P. Morgan, Eldorado Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Westminster Dredging and Marine, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Access Bank.

After the concession agreement was signed, an Advance Engineering Consultant, Mr. Ger Horgan put the actual cost of the bridge at N790 billion, though the 10year follow-up programme for structural pavement between 2018 and 2033 would gulp N5 billion.

On May 22, 2017, however, the state government announced its decision to terminate the MoU it entered with a consortium of firm to construct the Fourth Mainland Bridge at N844 billion.

At the conference yesterday, Akinsanya disclosed that the state government was at the last stage of selection of a preferred

bidder for the iconic project, which was designed to provide alternative route for commuters and residents to enter and exit Lekki and Victoria Island.

He said: “In the last one year, the state received a series of proposals from prospective partners. As head of the technical committee, we look at technical proposals submitted by the bidders. After the exercise, we ended up shortlisting three bidders.

“After that, the finance and technical committee met to check bids submitted. Presently, we are at the last stage of interview session,” the commissioner added.

He added that the bidders “will be directed to submit further information, basically to convince representative of the government. By June, we will announce prefer bidder for the project. The reason we embark

on this rigorous exercise was to ensure that appropriate partner is selected for the project.

“This project is priority to Ambode. Before end of the year, work on the Fourth Mainland Bridge will commence. We are on last phase of selection,” he said.

On other projects, Akinsanya said it had completed the construction and rehabilitation of 450 major roads and 50 other impactful projects in the last three years to make life comfortable and build a sustainable environment for residents and visitors.

Aside the completed projects, the commissioner said several others were at various stages of completion and would contribute to the vision to make Lagos emerge as Africa’s model smart city and global economic and financial hub.

WORKING VISIT

L-R: Director of Informatics, British Geological Survey, Matt Harrison; Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Hon. Abubakar Bawa Bwari; Head of Business Development, British Geological Survey, Jenny Forster; and Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Abdulkadir Muazu, during a working visit to the ministry in Abuja…yesterday

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Crisis Deepens as Group Elects New President General Christopher Isiguzo ÓØ ØßÑß

days to the scheduled election into the youth and women wings The crisis rocking the leadership of the organisation. of the apex Igbo socio-cultural The youths while announcing organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo that the new President General deepened yesterday as the Youth and his team would be Wing announced the emergence inaugurated on April 21 in of a new President General for Owerri, Imo State, also distanced the parent body. itself from the proposed election The group also reaffirmed the of the women and youth wings sacking of Chief Nnia Nwodo scheduled to hold on Friday, and replaced him with Prince April 20 and Saturday, April Richard Ozobu.

21, 2018 as earlier announced In a statement signed by by Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

Okechukwu Isiguzoro, President; The leadership of former Okwu Nnabuike, Secretary President General Gary Enwo and Achuonye Obinna, Vice Igariwey had disbanded both President, and made available wings of the organisation for to journalists in Enugu, the allegedly engaging in actions youth wing also declared that considered inimical to the the parent body lacked the progress of the organisation. powers to “disband or ban” But in their latest statement, them from functioning. the youth group declared the This is coming less than three independence of Ohanaeze Youth

Wings from “Ohanaeze Ndigbo presently led by Nwodo.”

The group maintained that the “suspension” of Nwodo as President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, which they announced two weeks ago remains “sacrosanct”.

“We, Ohanaeze Youth Wing, having initially suspended Nwodo, hereby after a thorough consultations, near and wide resolved to severe ranks and relationship with the selfestranged Ohanaeze Ndigbo President, Dr. Nnia Nwodo and his suspension, remains indefinite till Ohanaeze Ndigbo is rescued.

“In view of the above, any person or group of persons or authority dealing with the suspended and self-estranged President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo

does/do so on his /its own peril and shall henceforth, not be seen speaking nor representing the interests of the Ohanaeze Youth Wing, including but not limited to his ongoing selling of forms to power mongering assuming persons to constitute Nwodo’s illegal and rivalry executives of the Ohanaeze Youth and Women Wings.”

On the emergence of a new leader, the group warned individuals and groups to desist from further dealing witj Nwodo, while asking the south east governors to extend hands of fellowship to the new leadership.

Reacting to the latest development, the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Achi Okpaga, dismissed the actions of the group as the height of mischief.

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55 Politicians, Others Stole N1.354tn in Eight Years, SERAP Alleges A new report by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has revealed how 55 politicians, high-level public officials and

leaders allegedly stole N1.354 trillion between 2006 and 2013 from Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s treasury.

According to the report, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The amount of money embezzled,

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Continue to Protest Until Our Leader is Released, Shiites Insist Paul Obi iĂ&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shiites yesterday insisted that they would continue to protest in Abuja until their leader, Shiekh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, is released from detention by the federal government. They stated this as protest continued yesterday in Abuja.

The protesters who took their protest to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) were they intercepted by the police, leading to the arrest of several Shiite members by the police. Speaking to THISDAY, IMN member, Saminu Azare. explained: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We protested at the NHRC headquarters, Maitama, Abuja around 12 noon; the

police attacked us, arrested our members, including our women. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They beat some of them, they came with their dogs, they came with their horses and started pursuing our people.â&#x20AC;?

On the protest, Azare insisted: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Definitely the peaceful protest will continue until they release our leader, there is no way we will fold our arms and watch our leader die in illegal detention, we cannot allow that, we will continue to come out everyday.â&#x20AC;?

He also confirmed that about 115 Shiite members were arraigned yesterday in court by the police. The FCT police command was not available for comment, as they did not respond to calls and test messages put across to them.

misappropriated or stolen by public officials and leaders in the private between 2013 and 2017 has galloped beyond the contemplation of average Nigerians. Evidence abound that judges, judicial officers, lawyers and military officers are participants in the frenzy of despoliation of national wealth.â&#x20AC;?

The 112-page report launched yesterday  in Ikeja, Lagos, is titled: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Letting the Big Fish Swimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; How Those Accused of High-Level Corruption are Getting away with their Crimes and Profiting from Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Legacy of Impunityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

The report presented to journalists by Dr. Esa Onoja, Senior Lecturer of Law,

Litigation and Professional Ethics at the Nigerian Law School, Abuja campus, disclosed that â&#x20AC;&#x153;while the main anti-corruption agencies secured more than 1,500 non-high profile convictions between 2000 and 2017, they could only muster 10 high profile convictions in the period.â&#x20AC;?

According to the report, â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the investigation, prosecution and trial of high profile corruption cases in Nigeria, justice is imprisoned by snares contrived by actors in the legal community in aid of looters.â&#x20AC;?

The report listed â&#x20AC;&#x153;high profile cases of corruption prosecuted by anti-corruption agencies between 2000 and

2017 as 177 out of which 167 are pending. Total convictions are just 10. Out of the 10, only three convictions were obtained after full trial while seven convictions were based on plea bargaining. Yet, one of the three convictions based on full trial was discharged by the Supreme Court while three of the seven convicted were granted presidential pardon.â&#x20AC;?

The report launch chaired by the Deputy Director Macarthur Foundation, Oladayo Olaide, had in attendance human rights lawyer, Femi Falana; Babatunde Ogala; Special Assistant to the President on Anti-corruption and

Coordinator of the Open Partnership Government, Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku; Chinedu Nwagu, Trust Africa; Mr. Joy Esezebor, Ford Foundation; David Ukagwu, Head, DFID South-West Regional Coordinator; Wahab Shittu; former Lagos State NBA Chairman, Mr Martin Ogunleye; Miss Jennifer Ogbechi representing Mrs. Mariam Uwais; Mr. Collins Okeke, representing Dr. Olisa Agbakoba; the media, civil society groups and representatives of anti-corruption agencies.

All the participants expressed commitment to ensure the full implementation of the recommendations contained in the report.

Group, Church, Strengthen Relations Between Nigeria, Israel Sunday Okobi Trinity House in conjunction with I Stand With Israel and Olive Tree Foundation in Norway, yesterday pledged to strengthen religious and sociocultural ties between Nigeria and Israel through positive advocacy, enlightenment and partnerships.

The pledge was made yesterday at a press briefing to usher in Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 70th anniversary celebration taking place on May 14 in Lagos, as the National Coordinator of I Stand With Israel, Pastor Rex Ajenifuja, recalled that Nigeria shares a lot with Israel in terms of religion, social and economy, adding that Nigeria had much to learn from the Jewish nation in terms of technology, exchange programmes and other beneficial endeavours. Â According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a recognition of the significance of the nation of Israel in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scheme of things, I Stand With Israel Nigeria in conjunction with Trinity House will be holding a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Celebrating Israel at 70â&#x20AC;&#x2122; special service on May 20, 2018, in Lagos. This is part of a series of events to commemorate the occasion. Â â&#x20AC;&#x153;The vision of I Stand With Israel is to strengthen the ties between Nigerians and Israel in every endeavour that is beneficial to both nations and to bring together Christians in Nigeria in support of Israel and its shared Judeo-Christian heritage and values. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I Stand With Israel Nigeria

aims to provide a national association through which every pro-Israel church, organisation, ministry or individual in Nigeria can speak and act with one voice in support of Israel in matters related to biblical issues.â&#x20AC;? Â Â The Church Administrator, Pastor Niyi Famuyide, who spoke in same vein, noted that both countries share a lot in common, adding that Israel, besides being the originating point of the Christian faith, has much to offer Nigeria in terms of technological advancement, medicine, tourism among others.

In her remarks, the Executive Director of Olive Tree Foundation, Mrs. Britt Lode, Nigeria remains a strategic partner of Israel in various endeavours, noting that: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our mission is to create a spiritual connection and partnership between Christians in Nigeria and the nation of Israel.â&#x20AC;?

She said today also mark a significant milestone in the nationhood of Israel, adding that the Jewish people are beginning to wake up. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t easy for Christians to direct their love towards the Jews in those days, but today, we can direct our love and close tie to the people of Israel, and they understand that people also love them which is significant historically,â&#x20AC;? Lode added. Â The highlight of the event was the unveiling of a book, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Light from Zionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, by Lode, where 12 Israeli Rabbis revealed secrets to the Christian population in the world in fulfillment of Zechariah 8 verse 23.

EVENT PLANNING

L-R: Church Admin, Trinity House, Mr. Niyi Famuyide; Executive Director, Holy Tree Foundation, Britt Lode; and the Chief Operating Officer, Istandwithisrael, Pastor Rex Ajenifuja, at a media briefing to announce the 70th anniversary of Israel in Lagos....yesterday

AIB Reveals How Poor Regulation, Pilot Error Caused Associated Flight Crash Chinedu Eze The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has revealed how poor regulation and lack of crew resource management caused the crash of Flight 561 operated by Associated Aviation on October 3, 2013 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, which led to 16 fatalities.

The crash which involved Embraer EMB 120 aircraft with registration number 5N-BJY occurred on takeoff as the flight destined to Akure Airport with the remains of the former Governor of Ondo State and one time Minister of Aviation, Olusegun Agagu, plunged into Jet A1 tank farm immediately after take-off from the domestic runway of the Lagos airport.

The Associated Aviation Flight 561 was part of the final reports of six accidents and major incidents released by AIB yesterday, which spanned the period between 2009 and 2014.

From the report of the Associated Aviation Flight 561

crash, it was indicative that the pilot-in-command of the flight received all possible signals from the aircraft to abort the flight but he decided to continue with the takeoff until it plunged nose-down and crashed.

Another accident report released was that of Westlink Airlines Limited Piper Aztec 23-250 aircraft with the registration number 5N-BGZ, which occurred at Matseri Village, Bunza Local Government Area of Kebbi State on August 11, 2014.

The serious incidents were Aero Contractorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DHC-8-400 aircraft incident with registration 5N-BPT, with the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) baggage loader on April 29, 2014 and another incident involving two Bristow Helicopters aircraft, Bell 412 helicopters with Registration numbers 5N-BGS, and 5N-BDD, at the Addax Base Helipad, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria on November 12, 2009.

Also covered in the reports were the serious incidents involving two aircraft belonging

to Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), including Tampico Club TB9 with the registration number 5N-CBE, which serious incident occurred at Zaria Aerodrome, Kaduna State on October 4, 2012 and another serious incident involving Tampico TBâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;9 Aircraft with registration number 5N-CBI that occurred at the same Zaria Aerodrome on May 23, 2012.

The Commissioner of AIB, Akin Olateru noted that the accident involving the Associated Aviation Limited aircraft, which led to a post impact fire resulting in 16 fatalities and four serious injuries identified several causal factors, some of which include the decision of the crew to continue the take-off despite danger warnings from the aircraft. The bureau also identified low altitude stall as a result of low thrust at the start of roll for take-off from engine caused by an undetermined malfunction of the propeller control unit. The agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s four safety recommendations on the crash were all directed at the Nigeria

Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). He called on NCAA to enhance the enforcement of the regulations with regards to the implementation of operators approved personnel training programme and intensification of its safety oversight function on the airline to ensure that flight operations were carried out in accordance with approved operations manuals in line with the provisions of Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs). Other recommendations include improved safety oversight on the affected airlines to ensure that remunerations were settled promptly, adding that there should be the establishment of Confidential Voluntary Reporting System, which must be implemented in line with the State Safety Programme.

On the two Bristow Helicopters serious incidents at the Addax Base (APDNL) Helipad, Calabar in Cross River State on November 12, 2009, like Associated Aviation, the bureau also made four safety recommendations.

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THURSDAYSPORTS NFF: Eagles’ $2.8m World Cup Bonus Almost Ready for Collection

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Duro Ikhazuagbe President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, revealed yesterday that Super Eagles’ World Cup 2018 qualification bonus of $2.8million (about N1.08billion) is almost ready for the players to collect.

Speaking in Abuja yesterday, Pinnick who also doubles as CAF Executive Committee member, insisted he was not the kind of president of the federation who will shy away from speaking about money at the Glass House.

“I am not one of the presidents of the federation that don’t talk about money.

We had a meeting with the team in November and we signed agreement with them that 30 per cent of the FIFA money which is $2.8million will be paid to them.

“The money we agreed with the players is almost 100 per cent already for them to collect whenever they come. We met a couple of state governments and even made presentation to FIFA in raising the money and I can assure you that the money is 100 per cent certain for them to collect,” the NFF chief stressed while fielding a question on the finances of the Glass House ahead of Russia 2018.

Pinnick said that there was nothing to worry about concerning Eagles preparations for the World Cup in Russia.

“We are not facing any challenge, and I would like to thank the government of Nigeria for creating the enabling environment for us to strive,” he noted.

“The government has given us all the support and

more importantly create that stability we always sought in football. The government has really done well by giving us financial support to reach our goal. I thank the Minister of Sports (Solomon Dalung) who has been a major supporter of our programme.”

He also revealed that he was in charge of Eagles preparation for the Mundial. “I am totally in charge of the World Cup and

I don’t delegate functions that are crucial because the desire of every Nigerian is for Super Eagles to do well at the World Cup. I speak to the technical officials, especially the coaches everyday, and I am also in touch with the technical committee.”

On the goalkeeper problem facing the team following the leukaemia ailment that sidelined dependable Carl Ikeme, Pinnick revealed plans to dispatch

goalkeeper trainers to all the national team keepers including Dele Alampasu, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Daniel Akpeyi and the Spain-based goalkeeper Francis Uzoho for one-on-one training ahead of the World Cup. He described the planned friendly between Nigeria and England at the Wembley Stadium on June as a decent effort to size up Eagles before the World Cup kicks off. The

last friendly for the team is planned for June 6 against Czech Republic.

“The tickets for Nigeria/ England match is almost sold out and it will a good game.

The match would be play at the Wembley on June 2, and from then we would go to play Czech Republic in Austria on June 6, before moving to Russia for World Cup, Pinnick concluded.”

Why I Keep Winning VAT Wonder Goals, By Ogbugh Three-time VAT Wonder Goal Award winner, Emeka Ogbugh has revealed that supporting charity work is a motivation that spurs him to put in the extra work that has seen him win the award in three consecutive seasons of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

Ogbugh won the award in the 2015/16 NPFL season with Heartland FC of Owerri and in 2016/17 with his current club, Rivers United. Last Sunday, he was presented the ceremonial cheque for winning the award for Matchday 15 after securing over 51 percent of the votes in a poll that fielded four other players.

Speaking to www.npfl. ng on the award that was presented by Rivers State Coordinator of Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Mr. Joel Nwakpo, Ogbugh was of the opinion that the innovative award is one every player in the league would love to win.

In his words, “Basically, every Nigerian league player wants to score spectacular goals and if you’re trying to score such goals, you have to try to score on a weekly basis.

So I think that innovation is very good and coupled with the fact that you’re going to give some of the money to charity, it makes you to work very hard so you can give back to the society too”.

Ogbugh’s goal for Rivers United was a hit from outside the 18 yard box and he gave an insight into how he developed the hard hitting goal scoring skills, tracing it to his years at a football academy in Owerri where the coach made him practice hitting set pieces.

“Yeah, in my academy back in those days, my coach will normally, before every training session set balls for me to be striking them to goal, so that’s how I inculcated that habit of scoring free kicks and hitting shots from outside the 18-yard box.”

The CEO of Eroton Exploration and Production, Mr Ebiaho Emafo (right), being introduced to the Nigerian national cricket team by Captain Chiemeze Onwunzulike (2nd right) just before the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 Africa Qualifier ‘A’ game between Nigeria and Ghana at the Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval in Lagos on Tuesday evening. Ghana defeated Nigeria by seven wickets to maintain unbeaten run at the competition.

Enyimba is Lone Nigerian Team Standing in CAF’s Confed Cup Like Plateau Utd, MFM FC and Akwa Utd knocked out Duro Ikhazuagbe Enyimba FC is the only surviving Nigerian team in continental inter-club campaign after MFM FC and Akwa United FC crashed out of the second tier CAF Confederation Cup competition yesterday.

Enyimba played out a 0-0 draw with Bidvest Wits of South Africa in Calabar to go through on the away goal rule after the two teams drew 1-1 in Johannesburg.

Akwa United fell to the away goal rule. Coming from a two-goal disadvantage from the first leg Akwa United failed to surmount Al Hilal of Sudan hurdle despite a 3-1 victory in Uyo yesterday. They tied 3-3 aggregate but Hilal moved into the group stage on the away goal rule.

AI-Hilal skipper Basheer stunned hosts Akwa United in the 28th minute, tapping in a rebound after goalkeeper Ojo Olorunleke had spilled

a fierce shot. Michael Ibe restored parity for the Promise Keepers in the final minute of the first half.

Four minutes into the second half, Ibe finished off Haggai Katoh’s delightful pass to make it 2-1 for Akwa United. Ibe completed his hat-trick in the 69th minute from the spot after Aniekeme was fouled in the box by an Al Hilal player. But they searched in vain for the fourth goal that would have ensured their

passage to the next phase of the competition.

Elsewhere in Mali, MFM FC became the third NPFL team to crash out of the competition in under 24 hour after champion Plateau United was similarly sent packing on Tuesday.

MFM FC could only manage a goalless draw at Djoliba AC. They thus crashed out of the competition on a 1-0 aggregate after they lost 1-0 at home to the experienced campaigners from Bamako.

the runners up.

Nigeria, according to Article 2 under General Provision of CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup regulations, is one of the 12 countries previously granted automatic two slots for the winner and runner up of the domestic league for a period of five years.

Within that period of five years from 2013- 2017, the coefficients have been counting with Nigeria having one of the lowest rating within the stipulated calendar.

The latest scenario translates to disadvantage for Nigeria that has failed to play in the money-spinning CAF Champions League for the second consecutive year.

The CAF coefficient rating for 12 countries released yesterday showed that Tunisia with 116 points and Egypt (106.5 points) are the first two power houses in inter-club business in the continent respectively.

They automatically reserve the right to have two representatives for the next five years in all the CAF continental club competitions.

Other countries in the top cadre include; Democratic Republic of Congo (90), Morocco (84), Algeria (82.5), South Africa (78.5), Sudan (53), Zambia (38), Libya (19), Cameroon (15), Côte d’ Ivoire (15) and Mozambique (15). Nigeria and Ethiopia dropped to the second group of countries with

10.5 points and below. Other notable countries in this group are; Ghana, Gabon, Uganda, Angola, Mali, Congo, Guinea, Tanzania and Swaziland.

The continental ruling body CAF introduced the format which was a template borrowed from UEFA for its inter-club competitions and the calculation is based on the strength of the respective domestic leagues.

According to CAF, from next season, the calendar for inter-club competitions will be a transitional one which allows the competitions to switch from a February-to-November schedule to an August–to-May one based on the decision of the CAF Executive Committee held on 20 July, 2017.

PwC Chess4Change Mentorship Begins Today CAF Relegates Nigeria in Continental Club Competitions Twenty schools will participate in this year’s edition of PwC Chess4Change mentorship programme scheduled to begin today and end tomorrow at Wahab Folawiyo High School, Ikoyi and Immaculate Comprehensive Secondary School, Maryland, Lagos.

The PwC Chess4Change Initiative, according to its organisers is designed to develop critical thinking ability among secondary school students in Lagos State.

“It’s aim is to inspire the students by giving them the opportunity of meeting and learning from PwC staff who will speak to them on different topics such as career choice, handling peer pressure, and

financial literacy amongst others while also interacting with their peers from other schools,” one of the organisers hinted yesterday.

The organisers have also made an arrangement for a mini-challenge where participating students test their abilities in the game to assess their progress as well as prepare for the Grand Slam tournament in May. Some of the participating schools are; Eko Akete Grammar School, Lagos Island, CMS Girls Senior Grammar School, Bariga, New Era Senior Secondary School, Surulere, Unity Junior High School, Oshodi, St. Timothy College, Onike, Yaba, Eko Boy’s High School, Mushin.

Femi Solaja Following the dismal performance of Nigerian representatives in all continental club competitions in the last five years, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has relegated the country with several others to the second cadre of its annual club competitions.

The result of the development is that only the winner of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) will play in the elite CAF Champions League and same thing applies to CAF Confederation Cup with only the winner of the AITEO Federation Cup to represent the country with no place for

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MISSILE Hussam to Trump “We have no more faith in the international community. Trump has been saying he will bomb for days now, like he’s warning Bashar (al-Assad) ahead of time to be safe. If I am coming to murder someone, will I tell him beforehand? It’s ridiculous, it’s nonsense. They are laughing at us” – Hussam, a member of the Syrian opposition, reacting to last week bombing in Damascus by a US-led coalition.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

A National Security Endangered G

iven their backgrounds in the industry, the relationship between Dr Edmund Dakorou as Minister of State for Energy and Mr Funso Kupolokun as the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was always going to be difficult. And so it proved. By 2005, it had become clear that the duo could not work together in harmony and their hostility towards each other had become known not only within the oil and gas sector but also in the media.

Against the background that working at cross-purposes in such a critical sector was detrimental to the goal of his administration, President Olusegun Obasanjo dealt with the problem through his National Security Adviser (NSA), Lt General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau (rtd).

One afternoon, Gusau invited both Dakorou and Kupolokun to his house.

First to arrive was Kupolokun and not long after, Dakorou joined. Without wasting time, Gusau asked the duo to the dining table where he served them tea. For about five minutes, Gusau said nothing and the silence was deafening since Dakorou and Kupolokun avoided exchanging any words.

After sometime, Gusau turned to Kupolokun and said: “Funsho, the president said I should tell you that you are doing a very good job at NNPC and you should continue.” For another three minutes, Gusau continued to sip his tea before he turned to Dakorou and said, “Edmund, the president said I should tell you that you are doing a very good job in the Ministry of Energy and wants you to continue.”

The interlude that followed made both Dakorou and Kupolokun uncomfortable but Gusau took his time before he finally declared: “Gentlemen, the president said I should tell both of you that if you cannot work together as a team, he will sack you together.”

While Kupolokun and Dakorou did not exactly become friends after the encounter with Gusau, that marked the end of their acrimony, at least in the public space; as they learnt to tolerate one another in the interest of the administration they were both serving.

That story becomes instructive against the background of what is currently happening within the nation’s security system where the challenge has been compounded by a fight over turf that is evident at the level of political leadership. Yet, for as long as there is no synergy between these agencies, our collective security as a nation will continues to be endangered. The pertinent questions arising from such a state of affair are: Who takes the lead in times of crises? Who has a global picture of things to ensure that everyone is on the same page? Do they have a shared database to ensure the relevant agencies get the requisite information in real time and act on them?

The manifestations of the dire national security situation can be glimpsed from the violent encounters between farmers and pastoralists in several theatres across the country; the ease with which Boko Haram

Magu

Daura

insurgents invade schools to carry away our female students in large numbers; the rate at which sundry criminal cartels are feeling emboldened as we see in the case of Zamfara State; the intermittent eruptions over religion as well as the perennial settler-indigene sectarian violence. It goes without saying that in environments of fragile peace such as ours, the interlinked nature of security and development is inescapable since the former is a necessary precondition for any socio-economic progress.

Unfortunately, it is the failure of the security and crime detection agencies which accounts for why the military that should ordinarily channel its energy and resources towards protecting our territorial integrity as a nation has had to deploy troops in practically all the 36 states of our country today. What is more disturbing is a situation where senior officials of these critical agencies constitutionally responsible for protecting us would not only be openly trading blames and damaging accusations but would indeed seek to discredit one another in a bid to score cheap advantage.

Although inter-agency frictions have long been apparent under the current dispensation,

especially following what transpired in the Senate during the confirmation hearing of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) Acting Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Magu on whom the Directorate of State Security (DSS) wrote a damning report, it is now evident that the trouble in the sector poses a serious national security threat. Yet, President Muhammadu Buhari has shown no willingness to deal with the problem that festers by the day and puts all of us in danger.

Last weekend, there were reports in some online media quoting both the DSS Director General, Mr Lawal Daura and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana M. Monguno (rtd), as trading damaging allegations. Upon enquiry, I discovered the media stories were based on the Senate “Report of the Ad Hoc committee on investigation of the arrest episodes of Tuesday 21st November 2017 among officers of EFCC, NIA and DSSS” simply dated March 2018, a copy of which I obtained yesterday.

Since President Buhari came to power with the promise to restore the economy, fight corruption and tackle general insecurity

In a situation where the personal interests and tendencies of these security chiefs are allowed to blossom uncontrolled, the agencies quickly grow into private armies that clash openly at the slightest opportunity.

It is this red line that was crossed by operatives of the DSS, NIA and EFCC on the streets of Abuja in November 2017

in the country, it is hard to believe that those who head the agencies expected to deliver on two of those main planks are not only bitter enemies but are fighting openly to subvert one another, and in the process, the system. That is the only conclusion to draw from the Senate report which then explains why the country has practically been reduced to a killing field where entrepreneurs of violence ply their nefarious trade everywhere, almost unchallenged by the state.

The story started on 22nd November, 2017 when the attention of the Senate was drawn to a botched arrest drama involving EFCC officials and operatives of the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) and DSS. Following their investigations, in the course of which the Senators took both oral and written testimonies from all the principal actors, the Senate concluded that the acrimony in the relationship between those manning our security agencies “was noticed from the outset of the investigation, leading the committee to conduct the hearings in camera as well as holding separate meetings with the Security Agencies. This lack of cooperation and cohesion is reflected at a secondary level with the EFCC and the NSA belonging to one group and the NIA and DSS belonging to another group.”

When he appeared before the Senate committee last December, Magu submitted a memorandum and also gave oral testimony.

According to the report, the highlights of his submissions were that the EFCC operatives were on a legitimate mission to arrest both Ekpenyong and Oke, for cases bordering on alleged conspiracy, abuse of office, theft and money laundering. But they were obstructed by heavily armed operatives from the two security agencies: DSS and NIA. “Upon arrival at the aforementioned address, the Commission’s Operatives met heavily armed personnel of the DSS numbering about thirty (30) with three (3) operational vehicles. In a bid to carry out our legitimate duty, the operatives approached the DSS personnel at the gate, introduced themselves and requested to see the former Director-General, Mr. Ita E. Ekpenyong.

Their response to the operatives was ‘No’.

Upon further inquiry and presentation of Warrant of Arrest, they responded as follows: ‘We are under instruction from the Headquarters’. A similar situation, according to Magu, occurred at the residence of Oke whose official residence was also defended by heavily armed NIA officials.

Meanwhile, Daura who also submitted a memorandum and appeared before the committee to give oral evidence contradicted the claims by Magu. He traced the standoff between the agencies to the events that occurred in July 2016, “in the aftermath of the inauguration of the probe Panel set up by the NSA, upon the approval of the President to investigate Defence procurement from 2014 to 2015.”

NOTE: The piece is concluded on page 14

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