Tuesday 1st May 2018

Fidelity Bank PBT Hits N20bn in 2017, Declares N3.2bn Dividend

Obinna Chima

Fidelity Bank Plc has delivered another set of strong financial results, posting a 94 per cent growth in profits for the year ended December 31, 2017 and is proposing to pay 11 kobo dividend to shareholders,

representing a dividend payout N3.186 billion.

Details of the full year audited results for the Nigerian lender, released yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), showed impressive growth in all key indices.

The performance capped a remarkable 2017FY for the bank, which returned to the international capital markets and successfully issued a $400m Eurobond that was over-subscribed by over 200 per cent.

A statement by Fidelity

Bank yesterday showed that gross earnings grew by 18.3 per cent to N179.9 billion from N152 billion in 2016 while profit after tax (PAT) surged by 93.7 per cent to N18.9 billion compared with N9.7 billion recorded in the previous year.

The bank’s net interest

In other indices, total expenses declined by 2.3 per cent to N65.7 billion from N67.2 billion while liquidity ratio stood at 35.9 per cent compared with 33.2 per cent in the previous year.

income (NIM) also increased by 15.4 per cent to N71.5 billion in 2017, net operating income rose by 9.9 per cent from N86 billion to N78.3 billion while total assets grew by 6.2 per cent from N1.3 trillion to N1.4 trillion in the period under review.

Continued on page 8

FG, GE-led Consortium Sign Interim Agreement on Railway Concession… Page 43 Tuesday 1 May, 2018 Vol 23. No 8412. Price: N250

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US Concerned About Continuous Killings of Christians in Nigeria, Says Trump Praises Nigerian president on security, anti-graft war, says he would like to visit Nigeria PDP laments Buhari’s response on Nigerian oil – See story on page 8

U.S. President Donald Trump (left) with a massive grin as President Muhammadu Buhari signs the register at the White House, Washington D.C… yesterday

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US Concerned About Continuous Killings of Christians in Nigeria, Says Trump Tokunbo Adedoja in Washington, Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja, Eromosele Abiodun and Obinna Chima in Lagos United States President Donald Trump played host to President Muhammadu Buhari at the White House yesterday, telling the Nigerian president that the persistent wanton killings of Christians in Nigeria was a serious problem, which must not be allowed to continue.

Buhari, who arrived Washington on Sunday for a four-day visit to the U.S., was received by Trump at midday at the White House and ushered into the Oval Office, where both leaders exchanged pleasantries before proceeding to a closed-door meeting for talks bordering on the war against global terrorism and trade.

Buhari was the first leader from sub-Saharan Africa to visit Trump when he arrived at the White House. As they opened discussions in the Oval Office, Trump said it was important to meet face-to-face, “especially on terrorism and terrorism-related� issues. “We have a very big trade deal we’re working on for military equipment, helicopters and the like,� Trump added.

Trump also told Buhari that the protracted killings of Christians in the country was unacceptable and required working very hard to put paid to it, adding that

having met Buhari before, a great relationship was being developed. “We had met before, developing great relationship.

We look forward to our discussions today (yesterday).

They are very important but again, especially as it relates to terrorism. That is terrorism here and terrorism all over the world. “It’s a hot bird and we are going to be stopping them. Also, we have had a very serious problem with Christians who are being murdered, killed in Nigeria.

We are going to be working on that problem, and working on that problem very, very hard because we can’t allow that to happen. Mr. President thank you for being here, thank you,�

Trump said while receiving Buhari.

Responding, Buhari thanked the U.S. President for inviting him. He also thanked him for agreeing to sell 12 Tucano aircraft to Nigeria and expressed further appreciation to Trump for the physical involvement of the U.S. military in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria through training of Nigerian forces.

Buhari blamed the heinous killings being perpetrated

by Fulani herdsmen on the movement of militants from Libya following the death of its former leader, Muammar Gaddafi, saying the militants had proficient skills in shooting and killing.

He said whereas herdsmen in Nigeria were hitherto known for carrying only sticks, and machetes to cut grass for their herds, they are now armed with AK47 rifles, explaining that efforts were being made to stop cross-border movement and check the proliferation of arms in the West African sub-region.

Furthermore, he said the effective operations of the U.S., which he noted had largely incapacitated ISIS, had also helped to weaken Boko Haram which had pledged its loyalty to ISIS. “Thank you Mr. President for inviting me. It’s a great honour. I am very grateful for it. Certainly, security is the main issue. We are very grateful to the United States for agreeing to give us the aircraft we asked for and the spare parts. “We are even more grateful for the physical presence of the United States military instructors that go into our institutions and train them, and go to the warfront in the North-east to see how they are performing as a result of the training given to them. “The commitment of the United States to get rid of terrorism across the world, we have had first-hand experience of that and we are very grateful for it. “The problem of the cattle rearers and herders in Nigeria is a very long historical thing.

Nigerian herdsmen never carried anything more than

a stick and occasionally, a machete to cut down foliage and give it to their animals. “These ones are carrying AK47 (rifles). So, I don’t think people should underrate what happened in Libya. In the 43 years of Gadaffi, people were recruited from the Sahel. They were thought nothing other than shooting and killing. “With the demise of Gadaffi, they moved to their countries and their regions and they carried away with them the only experience they had and their training using weapons.

And that is what is aggravating the situation. “We are doing our best to ensure that we stop crossborder movement and so on and to ensure that the proliferation of small arms in the region is checked. “But it is going to take time, and the action by the United States in trying to see the end of ISIS has helped us a lot because Boko Haram in Nigeria at one time made a statement that they were loyal to ISIS. “And now that ISIS has virtually gone with the help of the United States, we are very grateful for that and we are sure that we are stabilising the situation of security in Nigeria,� Buhari submitted.

Trump who echoed Buhari that ISIS had been decimated, noted that the story had not been the same with Boko Haram which he said had been terrible, as he proceeded to ask Buhari what he was

doing about the Chibok and Dapchi girls who are still in captivity. “We have very much decimated ISIS. Much has taken place over the last 12 months but Boko Haram has been terrible and how did you do with the young women that were kidnapped? How was that going?� Trump asked Buhari.

Responding, the Nigerian president said the kidnap of the Chibok girls took place before his administration but added that about 130 had been brought back.

Buhari also said of the 105 Dapchi girls who were kidnapped last February, 100 of them had been released, four of them died, while one was still in captivity.

Thanking the United Nations (UN) for its roles in the release of the kidnapped girls, Buhari said efforts were still being made to secure the release of the remaining girls in captivity. “The Chibok girls kidnap was before we came in 2014.

We have only a number of them, we recovered about 130 of them. But the Dapchi ones, they were 105 that were kidnapped. We got 100 back, four died, one is still held in captivity and we are very grateful to the United Nations that is acting in between us and the kidnappers and we haven’t given up. “We are trying to get everybody back to join their families and their schools,�

Buhari said.

In his final response, Trump said: “A terrible problem. Mr. President, thank you very much.�

After the closed-door meeting between the Nigerian and U.S. delegation, Trump and Buhari held a joint press briefing at the Rose Garden of the White House, where the American president said he was honoured to host Buhari in the White House, saying Nigeria is the largest democracy in Africa.

Trump noted that he had conveyed to Buhari during their discussions that the U.S. “deeply values and appreciates Nigeria’s role as a strong democratic leader in the region�.

He added: “The United States is working to expand trade and commercial ties with African nations, including Nigeria, to create jobs and wealth in all of our countries. “We hope to be the economic partner of choice for nations across the continent and all around the world, and I hope you see what is happening all around the world with respect to trade and the United States – we are being respected again. “I hope all African countries and countries throughout the world that we also will be supporting you and that they would likewise support us in our bid along with Mexico and Canada for the 2026 World Cup. We will be watching very closely and any help they can Continued on page 42

NAF Takes Delivery of Two Helicopter Gunships from Russia Aircraft to combat insecurity in Benue, other states Paul Obi in Abuja and George Okoh in Makurdi The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) yesterday took delivery of two Mi-35M combat helicopters from Russia, in a bid to combat the insurgency in the North-east and the rising wave of killings in other parts of the country.

The helicopters were delivered to the air force at the Tactical Air Command, Makurdi in Benue State.

According to NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, “The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) took delivery of two Mi-35M helicopter gunships that the federal government had since ordered from Russia.

“The Antonov aircraft, which brought the new Mi-35M helicopters, touched down on the runway at the NAF Base, Makurdi, at exactly 12.20pm today (yesterday).�

The Chief of Aircraft Engineering at NAF Headquarters, Air Vice Marshal Abdulganiyu Olabisi, received the new aircraft on behalf of the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

While taking custody of the fighter helicopters, Olabisi said that the newly acquired aircraft would in a few days time be assembled and taken to Kaduna where they will be officially inducted as part of the 54th NAF Day celebrations and thereafter be deployed in conflict zones.

According to him, NAF was aware of the prevailing security situation in the country and the effort the federal government was making to ensure that every part of Nigeria is safe and secured. “It is part of this concerted effort that the NAF is taking delivery of a second batch of two MI35M combat helicopters from Russia. “The helicopters in a few days from now will be assembled. We are happy that we have a team of Russian engineers who are going to assist in the reassembling of these helicopters. “Thereafter, they would be taken to Kaduna where they will be officially inducted as part of the 54th NAF Day

celebrations. Thereafter, the helicopters will be deployed in conflict zones.�

He expressed optimism that the new addition to the NAF fleet would go a long way in boasting the security situation in the country as well as enhance the NAF’s operational capacity.

He said the helicopters will be deployed in places like Benue and other states were insurgents and criminals are terrorising innocent people. “What is happening in Benue is regrettable and the situation here is of concern to most of us. I believe that the strategic planners also has Benue State as one of the areas where these helicopters are likely to be deployed,� he stated.

In his remarks, Adesanya

noted that the Mi-35M combat helicopters are one of the most sophisticated aircraft in the Mi-35 gunships category, with a unique feature for night fighting. “I believe with the coming of these helicopters will go a long way in enhancing the security of the nation and enhance NAF’s operational capacity and it will go a long way to ameliorate the situation in the country. “They are two of them coming now. We took delivery of two in December 2016. Those two are already deployed for operations and we have seen them recording a lot progress in the counter insurgency fight in the North-east. “These two that have been received today are also going

to be assembled, after which they will be test-flown and once they are test flown, they will be inducted in Kaduna.�

Adesanya also stated that a combined team of NAF personnel and Russian technicians were also on hand to assist in offloading the partially assembled new helicopters, some parts of which came in crates, adding that personnel of the Nigerian Air Force had already undergone training in Russia as pilots and technicians on the new Mi-35 aircraft as part of the contract. “In addition, officials of the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Immigration Service are present to ensure the necessary documentation,� he said.

and recognitions.

The bank was also ranked the 4th Best Bank in the Retail Banking Segment in the 2017 Banking Industry Satisfaction Survey conducted by KPMG. Focused on select niche corporate banking sectors as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the bank is rapidly implementing a digital based retail banking strategy which has resulted in an exponential growth in savings deposits over the last three years and a corresponding surge in customer enrollment on the bank’s flagship mobile/ internet banking products.

TOP GAINERS NGN NGN C & I LEASING 0.13 1.52 CONSHALLMARK 0.02 0.34 BETAGLASS 3.75 79.25 CCNN 0.95 20.45 VITAFOAM 0.14 3.24 TOP LOSERS NGN NGN DANGFLOUR 0.70 13.30 ETERNA 0.33 6.27 SOVEREIGNTRUST 0.01 0.22 DANGSUGAR 0.90 20.50 JAPAULOIL 0.02 0.48 HPE Nestle Nig Plc â‚Ś 1,599.00 Volume: 450.522 million shares Value: N 4.958 billion Deals: 4,699 As at 30/4/18 See details on Page 33

FIDELITY BANK PBT HITS N20BN IN 2017, DECLARES N3.2BN DIVIDEND Commenting on the results, Fidelity Bank CEO, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo expressed delight with the performance.

According to him, the bank sustained its performance through disciplined balance sheet management, strategic cost reduction, increased focus on the corporate, commercial, SME segments and continued execution of its retail and digital banking strategy. “We are delighted at the results, which showed strong growth in key revenue lines, significant traction in our chosen business segments and a corresponding decline in our

operating expenses despite the high inflationary environment,� he stated.

According to him, the implementation of initiatives from its business process review project and the bank’s digital focus, continued to impact positively on operational efficiency as “total operating expenses declined by 2.3 per cent to N65.7 billion leading to the cost-income ratio dropping to 67.5 per cent from 77.3 per cent in the 2016FY�. “The combination of the strong net revenue growth of 9.9 per cent to N7.7 billion and the 2.3 per cent decline in

total expenses which translated to cost savings of N1.5 billion resulted in our increased profitability,� Okonkwo added.

The statement noted that increased digitisation also resulted in more than 25 per cent of the bank’s fee-based income as customers’ adoption of its mobile/internet platforms improved to 35 per cent in the 2017FY and led to a 21 per cent reduction in vault cash holding.

Similarly, the Fidelity Bank’s retail banking strategy continued to deliver good results. Savings Deposits grew by 15.2 per cent to N178.6

billion, accounting for 23 per cent of total deposits from 19.5 per cent in the 2016FY. This improved the bank’s low-cost deposits ratio to 77 per cent of total deposits.

Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged commercial bank operating in Nigeria, with over 3.8 million customers who are serviced across its 240 business offices and various other digital banking channels.

The bank has in recent times won accolades as the Best SME Friendly Bank, Best in Mobile Banking and the Most Improved Corporate/Investment Bank, among several industry awards

% 9.3 6.2 4.9 4.8 4.5 % 5.0 5.0 4.3 4.2 4.0

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COMMENT

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

FIGHTING CORRUPTION IS A FARCE

Corruption will continue to bedevil the country as long as ‘over centralisation of the command structure’ remains, argues TolaAdeniyi

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orruption has become such a huge joke in Nigeria and fighting it has become a bigger joke; a melodrama of some sort. Every government that comes to power accuses the government it has replaced or rigged out of power of corruption. Fighting corruption has become the greatest and cheapest propaganda tool not only in Nigeria but all over the world. Former British Prime Minister John Major was kicked out of office

by Tony Blair because, among other accusations, his Parliamentarians were allegedly selling favours in parliament to corporations. The huge difference between fighting corruption in Nigeria and other countries of the world is instant dispensation of justice once you are found guilty of corruption by a competent court of law. In Nigeria ‘big men’ swim in corruption and the best swimmers are applauded not only by judges but also by the idiotic spectators who have been robbed silly of their patrimony.

What is really worrisome is the fact that Nigerians hardly know what constitutes corruption. Corruption is wrongly perceived and limited to stealing whereas corruption has many feathers, many fathers, many mothers, many husbands and wives, many children and grandchildren, many players and grandmasters, and of course hundreds of thousands of cousins. Corruption is a puppet as well as a puppeteer. If you have one million Nigerians assembled in a hall, every one of them would be condemning corruption and blaming every Nigerian of being corrupt, which literally translates to an admission that all the 180, 193, 198 [nobody is sure of the actual count] million Nigerians are corrupt!

Those who mouth the word corruption are probably not aware that telling lies is one fat leg of corruption. Fraud is also a fat arm of corruption. Extortion of any kind is another leg of hydra-headed corruption.

Taking advantage of or exploitation of another person is a cruel form of corruption. Forcing your employees or students or those who are not in position to refuse your bullying to submit their bodies in exchange for favours is another cancerous form of corruption. But the father and mother of corruption is NEPOTISM. Nepotism is a grand design to appropriate what belongs to all to a few in your clannish nest. And when nepotism is paraded as a national creed it breeds all sorts of acrimony, ill-feeling, disaffection, greed, impunity, mediocrity, arrogance, stealing, and backwardness.

There are many; varied and various causes of corruption depending on the society, the country, the religious inclination and indoctrination, the political system, the moral and social ethos, and the history and antecedents of the community or communities involved. In the particular and peculiar case of Nigeria, adjudged wrongly and unfortunately as the most corrupt country on earth, the root and underlying cause of the various facets of corruption is ethno-religious/geopolitical cum built-in ‘master-servant’ ideology. This has led to over centralisation of the command structure of the political terrain leading to brazen thievery of the commonwealth. All the ills and negativities of corruption shall remain with Nigeria and continue to bedevil her for as long as this ‘over centralisation of the command structure’ remains.

In a lecture I gave at Mayflower School Ikenne in 1976 to mark the end- of- year and graduating ceremonies of the college I opined that ‘corruption is a product of shortage culture’. I illustrated further that if

THE HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIGHTING CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD IS INSTANT DISPENSATION OF JUSTICE ONCE YOU ARE FOUND GUILTY OF CORRUPTION BY A COMPETENT COURT OF LAW

in a Girls School of 1000 students there were only 200 buckets of water available for their daily use, whoever was in charge of the distribution of the scarce water would per force be corrupt or corrupted. Women badly need water for their daily hygiene and would go any length to procure that necessity. Water to women is an ‘essential commodity’! But if there were 5000 buckets of water available to the1000 students, none of the girls would bother about where the water came from, except the greedy ones who would want to corner more than their normal share!

With the over flowing availability of modern telephony nobody goes cap-in-hand wooing the P&T staffers as it was in the days of yore. And with the Pay-as-you-go metering system the incident of offering bribes to NEPA people has drastically reduced. The obvious explanation is the death of shortage culture in regards to telephoning and the ‘pay-asyou-go metering has reduced the roguish intrusion of NEPA bribe extortionists.

In my generation, once you possessed the right qualifying grades you were automatically guaranteed university admission. Even though the universities were few and those seeking admission were also few, there were no politically and mischievously built in regulations designed to shackle the educational growth of a section of the country while promoting mediocrity in the other. There was no JAMBAFORITI which has ruined the lives of thousands of brilliant young men and women whose only crime is that they were born in communities that valued Western education. The same JAMBAFORITI has brought about students who were ab initio not qualified to enter university but who must now offer their bodies for marks in order to continue in class or ‘graduate’. In my time, university authorities Determined and Decided who to admit, as it is done in liberal democracies all over the world.

It is therefore no longer amusing or fashionable for any power seeker to come round telling us he is going to fight corruption when he or she is corruption- infested and does not really understand what they are talking about. How can you fight corruption in a country where parliamentary seats are skewed up deliberately and insidiously to perpetually put a section of the country in advantage over others? How do you fight corruption in a country where cows and goats are counted as human beings in population census? How do you fight corruption in a country where all those who decide who is corrupt are from just one village? How do you fight corruption in a country where all the security apparatus of the state are chosen from one tiny corner of the country?

How do you fight corruption in a country where mediocrity is the national anthem?

President MuhammaduAlekoBuhari must find a new song to sing to convince Nigerians that he is credible and fit to rule over them for another four years. His old song of ‘I will fight corruption, create jobs and fight insecurity’ has become a jerked record. Buhari was certainly not telling the truth when he submitted that for 12 or so years his 150 heads of cattle did not increase by if only one!

President Buhari must therefore ďŹ nd a new song, and with the song retire to Daura and tend his cows that have refused to multiply.

SKILLS FOR MANAGERIAL SUCCESS

Akintola Benson-Oke argues that managerial leadership trainings are vital to achieving results

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he maximisation of efficiency and the achievement of organisational goals are at the top of the priorities of the Governor AkinwunmiAmbode’s administration for the Lagos State Civil Service. This explains why training has been given primacy and also underlies the other numerous trainings tailored to inculcate, improve, and amplify the leadership abilities and skills of senior managers in the Lagos State Civil Service.

It is indisputable that organisations will make rapid progress and experience exponential growth only when its units and teams and departments are staffed by persons who understand what managerial leadership means and who have developed their managerial leadership potential and have enhanced their performance skills. To such an organisation, no problem will be too complicated, no task too herculean, no challenge too huge, and no task too humongous for it to confront head-on.

It has also been noted that “human capital resources are viewed as strategic assets, and managers in particular are often identified as a key source of competitive advantage. Given their importance, a critical question arises regarding what individuals need to learn to become more effective managers.

Are there particular skills that are more or less important for predicting overall managerial success?�

To address this question, one must first identify the types of skills that are possessed by managers.

Across multiple rating sources (e.g. supervisors, peers, and subordinates) and different instruments . . . it has been identified that there are four overarching managerial skill dimensions: technical skill, administrative skill, human skill andcitizenshipbehaviour.

Thus, the training explores the ways to enhance, on a continuous and sustainable basis, the core technical skills that managers in the Lagos State

Public Service need for success as well as the personal effectiveness skills required. I wish to briefly comment on the technical skills and the human skills. Thereafter, I will focus on the importance of managerial leadership trainings generally.

Technical skills are those skills needed to accomplish a specific task. It is the ‘how to’ skill set that allows a manager to complete his or her job.

These skills are the combination of formal education, training, and on-the-job experience. Most employees expect their managers to have a technical skill set above their own so that, when needed, an employee can come to their manager to find out how to do something specific to their individual job.

For example, let’s say that part of Ade, the financial analyst’s job is to update a balance sheet each week. Ade is a novice financial analyst and is new to the company, so she’s expecting her manager, Olu, to show her how to perform this task initially, so that she can, eventually, do it on her own.

Therefore, it is essential for Olu to have the technical skills of how to update a balance sheet so that he may, in turn, share that skill with Ade. As a low-level manager, technical skills are most important for Olu due to how close his role is to the general workforce - in this case, Ade. The next type of skills a manager must have are human skills. These interpersonal skills are what a manager will use to work with his or her employees. Some people are born with good human skills; others must work much harder at it.

Human skills are critical for all managers because they work with people. Managers with good human skills understand their role inside the manager/ employee relationship and how important things, like trust, cohesion, fairness, empathy, and good will, are to the overall success of the organisation. Human skills help the manager to communicate, lead, and motivate an employee to work towards a higher level of productivity.

For example, let’s go back to Ade and Olu. Imagine Ade’s job description was changing to include a greater deal of responsibility but for the same pay. Ade is upset and feels overwhelmed by this change. Olu is a manager with good human skills, so he is able to empathise and communicate his understanding of Ade’s frustration with the change to her. Olu quickly works to find ways to motivate Ade to continue to work at a higher level, despite the additional workload being placed on her.

From the foregoing highlights of two of the core skills required of managers, you will agree with me that a training designed to enhance these skills is of vital importance. Indeed, any organisation, including the Lagos State Public Service, can benefit from managerial leadership trainings such as this as follows: One, increase productivity. The right, consistent managerial leadership can increase the productivity of the people in an organisation.

At its primal level, managerial leadership is about understanding people emotionally. Daniel Goleman, in a book titled, “The New Leaders,� stated that emotional intelligence is critical to the success of a leader and manager. Emotional intelligence involves being smart about emotions and using empathy effectively to empower and engage employees.

Managerial leadership training that encompasses emotional intelligence can hone these emotional skills in people, managers and leaders. Two, retain people. It has also been stated that 75% of people voluntarily leaving jobs don’t quit their jobs but in fact ‘quit their managers’! This means that employees leave because of ineffective managers and managers with poor managerial skills. By investing in managerial leadership trainings, an organisation can retain its people and reduce costly recruitment expenses.

Three, nurture future managers. Organisations need to be strategic about developing and nurturing future managers. Without strategy, managerial

leadership roles are often given to the most forward candidates with dominant personalities. Quality managerial leadership is a combination of the right qualities and the right training. Identify those who have what it takes and provide them with targeted managerial leadership training. Nurturing future managers supports succession planning and offers career pathways to employees, further increasing retention. Four, increase employee engagement. We all like to know how we are progressing in our roles, receiving praise when it is well-earned and constructive feedback as necessary. In fact, 43% of highly engaged employees receive feedback at least once a week compared to only 18% of those with low engagement. Giving feedback is a skill of successful leaders. Through managerial leadership trainings, organisations can teach effective ways to give feedback to motivate and increase the skill level of their people.

Five, implement an effective managerial leadership style. Managerial leadership trainings can assist in implementing the most appropriate managerial style for organisations and the work they do. There are several managerial styles, all with their own advantages and disadvantages. Managerial leadership trainings can also help individual leaders develop their own personal leadership style that their team members will best respond to.

Six, make better decisions. Last, but absolutely not the least: managerial leadership trainings can result in better decision-making. How? Because managers functioning at a high level of emotional intelligence have the best perspective to make informed, intelligent business decisions. For that reason alone, organisations can consider their managerial leadership training investments returned.

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

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EDITORIAL UK AND THE‘WINDRUSH GENERATION’ The mistreatment of the Caribbean immigrants is sad and unfortunate

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he recent decision by the United Kingdom government to deport Caribbean immigrants otherwise known as the ‘Windrush generation’ underscores the fact that despite several rights charters which reject discrimination against people on the basis of the colour of their skin, racism still persists in the West.

Besides, the development confirms that the biennial assembly of heads of government under the auspices of Commonwealth Heads of Government of Meeting (CHOGM) is a mere charade since Britain seems interested only in exploiting its former colonies.

The ‘Windrush generation’ was named after a passenger ship known as ‘HMT Empire Windrush’ which conveyed almost 500 Caribbean immigrants to Britain on June 22, 1948 to mark the first phase of mass migration from the then British colonies after the Second World War. Their migration at the instance of Britain was meant to assist the country in the arduous task of rebuilding a nation which had been devastated by World War II between 1939 and1945.

The ‘Windrush WHAT IS THE FATE generation’ migrated to OF THOSE WHOSE Britain in several phases EVIDENCES OF ARRIVAL from 1948 to 1973 and HAD BEEN DESTROYED they deployed their AND HAVE NO DOCUMENT strength to build most TO ESTABLISH THEIR of the infrastructure, LEGAL RIGHT TO STAY IN including the London BRITAIN? Underground. Consequently, Britain granted this generation a legal stay by enacting the 1948 British Nationality Act to offer “citizenship of the United Kingdom and the colonies,” to members of the ‘Windrush generation’. The act granted anyone who migrated between 1948 and 1973 the legal right to permanently live in Britain.

However, in 2018, when the 70th anniversary of the advent of ‘Windrush generation’ ought to be celebrated, Britain opted to repay good with evil by oppressing these immigrants with many of them subjected to harassment, severe discrimination, arrests and threat of deportation

Letters to the Editor

while the sick among them have been denied medical attention. In implementing the anti-Windrush agenda, the government of Prime Minister Theresa May came up with immigration checks which mandate employers and landlords in the UK to check the identities of their employees and tenants. Against this background, many of them have lost their jobs while others are held in detention centres where they are made to face deportation.

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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

hat makes the case unfortunate is that this unjust treatment was conceived by May in 2010 when she was the British Home Office Secretary. Her office at the time destroyed thousands of original landing cards containing details and documentation of the arrival dates of Windrush immigrants. The landing cards were meant to authenticate their stay in Britain and since most of them arrived as children, they are no longer in possession of documents to prove their right to stay in the country.

Although May offered a perfunctory apology for the ill-treatment of the ‘Windrush generation’ during the just concluded CHOGM in London while addressing Caribbean leaders, that apology does not offer any hope for all the victims as she also stated without ambiguity that only those who legally came to Britain after World War II could stay indefinitely. The question arising from this is: What is the fate of those whose evidences of arrival had been destroyed and have no document to establish their legal right to stay in Britain?

Alluding to the efforts of the immigrants in rebuilding Britain, Diane Abott, Home Shadow Secretary said: “This was a generation with unparalleled commitment to this country, unparalleled pride in being British, unparalleled commitment to hard work and contributing to society. It is shameful that this government has treated this generation in this way.”

The ill-treatment of the immigrants in line with the above sincere expression of Abott only provides another platform for the examination of issues of migration and simultaneously brings to the fore the degree of immoral acts being perpetrated by some of the so-called Western countries.

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.

WHO WILL SAVE IMO FROM OKOROCHA’S CLAN?

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or Imo people, the 2019 governorship election is a very big and serious issue. Clearly, the state has been divided into two major camps: those who want the Governor RochasOkorocha political dynasty to continue, and those clamouring for tested people who have managed human resources and have achieve successes that could be verified.

Other minor camps include those who don’t want the All Progressives Congress, (APC) to continue as well as those in favour of the ruling party continuing but with a candidate who will not be Governor Okorocha’s surrogate.

Currently, a host of governorship aspirants are on the prowl. They include Mr. Chris Nwosu (APC), son- in-law to the Governor of Imo State RochasOkorocha who is contending with several aspirants in his party who have decried and declaimed the governor’s unrestrained nepotistic endorsement. There are some former PDP elected officials who are hoping to return to power in the state, as well as Mr. Stanley Amuchie, a governance expert and seasoned bank manager, among others.

Governor Okorocha has thrown his weight behind Mr. Chris Nwosu, his son-in-law. Mr.Nwosu, who is from Umuokwe, EziamaObaire in Nkwerre Local Government Area in Orlu zone is married to Okorocha’s first daughter, Uloma. Okorocha’s endorsement and insistence on Mr.Nwosu succeeding him is raising a huge dust in the state christened Eastern Heartland.

While stating his preference for Mr.Nwosu, the governor, who is stiffly opposed to a former senator who is now in his party succeeding him, also advised the extant Deputy Governor to leave the governorship race and go for Imo East Senatorial seat. But the

deputy governor, who is from Owerri zone, which has not produced a governor since the return to democracy in 1999, rejected the offer, an indication of deepening strife in the party.

There are growing calls for a complete shift in paradigm urging Imolites to completely step away from these political belligerents in the ruling party with several endorsements urging Mr Stanley Amuchie to step up and act as a new and attractive third force.

Those who make a case for zonal marginalisation contend that since 1999, Orlu and Okigwe zones have monopolised the governorship seat with Orlu zone being the most favoured. By the time Okorocha concludes his second term next year, Orlu zone would have had 16 years as Chief AchikeUdenwa also did eight years. Okigwe zone had four years under Chief IkediOhakim, who handed over to Okorocha.

Okorocha’s perceived appointment of family members and relations into key positions is one of the major reasons his opponents want fresh air at the Government House to stop Imo from being handed over to the Okorocha clan because even as governor, his wife Nkechi, is over-seeing a number of ministries.

In December 2016, the governor’s wife was in-charge of four ministries in the state. Okorocha made the revelation when the correspondent chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Imo State, recognised Nkechi with the “Most Outstanding Governor’s Wife Award” in Owerri.

The Secretary to the State Government, George Etche, who represented the governor at the event, while listing the achievements of Okorocha’s wife in six years, named the ministries under her control to include: Women Affairs, Works, Health, as well as the office of the Secretary to the State Government.”

Also, Okorocha’s younger sister, Mrs.OgechiOlolo, is the Commissioner for Happiness and Purpose Fulfilment as well as deputy chief of staff, domestic affairs. And Mr.Nwosu, his son-in-law, is currently his Chief of Staff.

Recently, Okorocha declared his interest to contest the Orlu senatorial seat in 2019 because, according to him, it would be a disservice to the nation if he failed to contest considering his “wealtech of experience” as a governor for eight years.

Okorocha also decided that one of his loyalists, who serves as the Commissioner for Information, Mr.NnamdiObiaraeri, will represent Okigwe senatorial zone after he publicly declared that the incumbent, Ben Uwajimogu, former Imo State House of Assembly Speaker, will not be given the APC ticket to re-contest.

However, a host of APC stalwarts have urged the governor to rethink his endorsement of Mr.Nwosu so as not to hurt the chances of the APC at the polls.

Former Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dr. Theodore Ekechi, who served under Okorocha described the governor’s endorsement of his son-in-law as his successor as “anachronistic, unhealthy, unacceptable and a serious threat to the development and growth of APC, in Imo State.” Ekechi, however, called for the restoration of the zoning formula in the state for equity, justice, fair play, and development.

However, justifying his endorsement of Nwosu, the governor said that Nwosu has the qualities to be the next governor and would perform better than him.

Will APC leaders allow Okorocha’s choice to stand?

EmekaChukuma, Owerri, Imo State

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2018

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POLITICS

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

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING

Opposition’s Reservations about 2019 Election With the announcement of his intention to seek re-election in 2019, Nigerians want President Muhammadu Buhari to guarantee a level playing field for all political parties, Davidson Iriekpen writes our people is election that will be transparent,

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ith the 2019 general election fast approaching, Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, last week stirred the hornet’s nest when he raised the alarm that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government was set to deploy security and anti-graft agencies to frustrate the opposition through blocking the accounts of hostile state governments.

He noted that the plot was aimed to cut off funding for the opposition ahead of the crucial 2019 general election. The governor said if the plot sails through, it is expected to weaken the financial base of these perceived “opposition governors and states” and make them ineffectual in mobilising its supporters for the crucial elections.

Wike said he had it on good authority that the anti-graft agencies; notably, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practice and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) would be used to freeze the accounts of those state governments after spurious examination of their local government accounts, the accounts of the ministries of work, special duties and the federal government intervention funds for workers.

“But the real deal is to render the opposition financially incapacitated, so that they can’t mobilise towards the polls. But this is dangerous for democracy. This will further heighten tensions in the country. We hope they jettison this evil plot. Elections should not be a do-or-die matter,” he said.

Recently, the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had raised the alarm on the plot to frame its top chieftains and elected government officials, including Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Wike himself, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and many others.

Since President Muhammadu Buhari declared his intention to 2019 election, many Nigerians have been wondering if he would ensure that the processes leading to the elections would be free from encumbrances and manipulation from agency of the federal government such as the police, military and INEC. They think that with the president in the foray, it does not only give his political party advantage over others, but makes his aides, security and INEC to be more over-zealous and desperate to win the election at all cost.

Besides, before Buhari announced his intention to seek re-election in 2019, many of his aides and state governors had on several occasions boasted to Nigerians that should he decide to contest, he would win landslide. Even when electioneering has not commenced, Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has promised the president five million votes.

Many analysts believe that Wike’s apprehension might not be out of place because when Buhari assumed power in 2015, the first thing the government did to weaken the opposition PDP was to hound those who received and distributed money for the party’s mobilisation.

While many of those standing trial today in various courts across the country were accused of receiving huge sums of money which they “reasonably ought to know were proceeds of crime,” the APC governors and chieftains who equally contributed large sums of money to their party’s presidential campaign were not even considered for criminal trial.

Moreover, since his declaration of interest to seek re-election, Buhari has not made any strong pledge to Nigerians that elections in 2019 will be free and fair. In 2014, former President Goodluck Jonathan not only made this pledge but told the whole world that

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike

his ambition was not worth the life of any Nigerian. Nigerians are witnesses to the mayhem unleashed on some persons when Buhari lost in some states in 2011 and when he lost some areas in 2015 elections.

While members of the opposition are alleging that one of the reasons why the president extended the tenure of service chiefs recently was to help the incumbent government rig elections next year, others have drawn attention to the conduct and body language of INEC which they said are far from being transparent.

For instance, until it was busted penultimate week, an internal memo by the commission on the introduction of Voting Point Settlements was said to have further revealed that it had targeted re-introducing the controversial 30,000 polling units that were rejected by the public before the 2015 polls. The move which many analysts interpreted was designed to help President Buhari and his party, the APC win the 2019 elections, sparked outrage among many Nigerians. The move, though has been denied by the commission, was clandestinely planned to re-introduce new polling units in the northern part of the country to give Buhari advantage, especially in North-east geopolitical zone. According to investigation, should INEC adopt the format used in 2014 when it attempted to create precisely 30,062 new polling units, with more units allocated to the states in Northern Nigeria than the South, this could compromise the integrity of the 2019 elections.

It is against the background that the PDP

Even when electioneering has not commenced, Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has promised the president five million votes.

recently warned the ruling APC that any attempt to rig the 2019 general election would be a recipe for crisis. It accused the APC-led federal government of muscling the opposition and refusing to respect rule of law. The party alleged that APC and INEC have perfected ploy to rig the Ekiti State governorship and next year’s presidential elections and urged the international community to prevail on the incumbent administration to ensure free and fair election.

The National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, who spoke when he received the President of the International Republican Institute (IRI), Dan Twining, said Nigerians have lost confidence in INEC for attempting to cover its alleged complicity in the widespread impunity recorded in the recent local council elections in Kano State. He added that the major concern of the party was that INEC and the APC were not prepared to conduct free and fair elections in 2019. The PDP chair appealed to IRI president to meet with INEC to ensure that the conduct of next year’s general elections is free and fair. He decried the spate of insecurity in the country, noting that Nigeria is passing through difficult times since the APC came to power but said the PDP has been repositioned to reclaim the presidency it lost in 2015. He further cautioned that lack of free and fair elections is a major cause of crisis in Africa, saying “when citizens are deprived of their right to vote that will generate crisis that might be difficult to control.”

“Our major concern is for INEC to conduct a free and fair election, because if the 2019 election is being rigged it is a recipe for crisis.

We have strategised and reorganised our party, and today we are happy that we are hitting the ground running. We have planned out our strategy on how to get to our people and our major target is the grassroots; we will get to the grassroots and to our supporters.

“Nigeria is an important country in the continent of Africa. The best we can give to

election that will be credible, election that all, both local and international will welcome.

So we urge the governing APC that the best they can give this country is to offer one man, one vote. We did that during the electoral campaign in 2015 but they are not assuring this, which means that there is a great fear in the land that the election is not going to be free and fair despite all the promises made

by INEC,” Secondus disclosed.

On his part, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement on the alleged underage voting in Kano local government election, accused INEC of registering minors as voters and as such should not in any way attempt to exonerate itself of involvement in the electoral fraud, simply because it did not directly conduct the elections. It said this showed clearly that INEC under Prof. Mahmood Yakubu was unreliable and cannot be trusted.

Also, Second Republic lawmaker and politician, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, has warned that there would be trouble if the APC rigs the 2019 presidential election in favour of Buhari, adding that Nigerians will no longer tolerate the administration’s misrule. The prominent northern politician also stated that it would be against the run of play if President Buhari was re-elected next year.

He said: “It is against national interest, common sense, and rationality for Buhari to stand for election and get the kind of crowd that he got in Kano. Tell me one good thing Buhari has done for this country?”

When asked what the next four years would be like if Buhari was re-elected, the vocal critic of the APC-led government stated: “There are a number of scenarios. One scenario is possibly that he may not contest the election.

If he’s selected as the anointed presidential candidate of his party and he didn’t win the election, it would be rigged in his favour – and if that happens, I want to assure you that from the day they announced the election results, until the end of the four years, there would be no peace in this country. If the APC government goes ahead to rig 2019 elections, there would be trouble. I cannot tell you the nature of the trouble.”

Mohammed added that with growing insecurity, grinding poverty, and corruption in high places, the president did not deserve a second term. According to him, Buhari is a glorified President under the control of a group of people and whose anti-corruption war is designed to make his relatives and friends rich.

“Buhari cannot win 2019 election on the basis of performance. Buhari has ruined the national economy; he has messed up the national security; he has lied through his teeth about integrity by promoting and supporting people who have no gravitas –those who’re related to him that have become billionaires overnight. On what basis did they become overnight billionaires? Simple: on the basis that they are related to him. Buhari cannot win a free and fair election in 2019. I challenge Buhari to tell me one thing he has done for this country. If he got re-elected, it might be because of tribal sentiments or geopolitical sentiments,” he pointed out.

“I will describe him as thoroughly incompetent. He has (always) been clueless. He is out of touch with reality. This President cannot do anything without the power of the group that has a stranglehold on him. He doesn’t have any strength intellectually. The people he surrounds himself with are only looking after themselves. We’re in very serious trouble because of a man who is timid – a glorified President who cannot explain himself well,” the former lawmaker claimed.

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2018

PERSPECTIVE

Ekiti 2018: Time to Change the Narrative As the race to the All Progressives Congress primary for the Ekiti State governorship contest gathers momentum, John Ajayi reviews the pre-primary intrigues

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he Minister of Solid Minerals and Steel development, Dr. John Kayode Folorunsho Fayemi, aka JKF must be an enigma. Reason, ever since his first term tenure as the executive governor of Ekiti state between 2011 and 2015, he has remained a major issue and a political colossus in the politics of the state which prides itself the fountain of knowledge.

Anyone who is familiar with the pedigree of the Isan Ekiti-born political gladiator would readily attest to the fact that JKF is no stranger to struggle; neither is struggle a stranger to him.

An accomplished scholar and renowned human rights activist, JKF actually struggled hard to reclaim his initial victory at the polls through a legal tango with then rival and former governor Oluwasegun Oni, hitherto of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, (PDP) in the state.

This call to service inspired Fayemi to put in his best while in the saddle.

Available records reveal that his sterling performance and quality leadership turned around the fortunes of the state which was hitherto in a state of quandary and stunted economic growth and development.

During his tenure in office, he literally transformed and repositioned the state such that the state got high ratings in terms of efficiency, transparency and competitiveness amongst the states of Nigeria, even as the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business’ report put Ekiti among the five leading states that had made remarkable progress on all indices of doing business with ease.

While the state had been ranked 34th before his administration came on board, Fayemi’s Midas touch gave the state the needed fillip that catapulted it to the fifth position on the progress index. However, his re-election bid was thwarted by the “famous electronic rigging” that brought the current governor Peter Ayodele Fayose to power.

Again, Fayose who had once served half term as governor of Ekiti under PDP, got his first term tenure truncated through an impeachment.

Now that the administration of Fayose is about to eclipse, JKF has again indicated his intention to recontest with the hope of finishing up the tasks he had earlier set for himself before the Fayose interregnum.

As it were, his attempt at a second coming has not only sent jitters down the spines of the opposition political party, PDP, the expression of interest to contest the election has become a major ache for political rivals in the fold of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

Notwithstanding that JKF belongs to the same political party with his rivals, he has not been spared the bitter bile of political players in the state, many of whom saw him as a pain in the neck because of his political prominence and inimitable political structure at the grassroots level. It is in view of this that there have been strident calls on him not to contest the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

Whereas the constitution allows him to contest for the exalted office of the governor of Ekiti State, most of his critics have been dubiously canvassing against Fayemi’s bid for a re-election.

These rivals have since dominated both the social and traditional media in the desperate move to prevent or at best discourage the human rights activist-turned politician from exercising his constitutional rights.

What is most ludicrous about the arguments and explanations on why the self-appointed critics would wish JKF not to contest is the fact that they love him so much and would not want him to be rubbished at the polls by the same Ekiti electorates whom JKF served meritoriously in his first term.

One of the critics once wrote in an article bereft of logic and reason when he argued “each time I write, I never doubted the quality and competence of Fayemi to govern Ekiti state again and again, and that is never reflected in my arguments…..I write this as someone who admires Fayemi and thinks he has had a distinguished career in Nigerian politics”.

Not done, the critic argued, “I have been particularly concerned about the timing (of recontesting) I see Fayemi as deeply soaked in

Dr Kayode Fayemi

hostilities this time around and a lot of arrows darted towards him and his ambition to govern Ekiti again. And I see Fayemi as too suave and too strategic but too naïve to face the attack. I therefore strongly wish he doesn’t swim against the tide this time.”

Judging from the aforementioned, it appears most of the critics of JKF have no issues they could hang on his neck other than their hidden agenda to coerce and possibly force JKF into a lazy submission to their whims and caprices.

Aside the mischief that hallmarks critics’ over-worn melodies that Fayemi should not contest, impeccable sources have revealed a deep seated fear and apprehension amongst some hitherto friends and ex-political aides who fear that JKF’s second coming will probably relegate them and permanently condemn them into political oblivion.

The fear, which those who are very close to JKF and his humane nature have dubbed unfounded, emanated from the series of betrayals and conspiracies which some of these old friends and associates had earlier wrought against their former principal and benefactor. Political pundits can readily attest to the politics of betrayals behind the under-currents of APC crisis in Ekiti state long before now.

The politics of betrayals began shortly after JKF ‘lost’ the re-election bid to Fayose in 2014.

Thinking that his loss in the contest would eclipse Fayemi’s political future and diminish his status, some of his ex-aides and associates jumped ship.

Fortuitously, rather than suffer political set-back, JKF’s political equity regained momentum with his appointment as a minister by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. With this ministerial appointment, JKF’s political status got a major fillip as he was not just one of those ministers, but one with the “royal blood”

It is nonsensical and unprofitable to remain unduly bellicose and evil-minded against one another

of PMB dynasty.

As a minister, he never abandoned his people at the grassroots, neither did he jettison his political structure in the state. He also never took the party for granted as he continued to pay their salaries and attend to their welfare.

This selfless and philanthropic gesture also endeared him to some members of the exco and large majority of loyal party men. Although it cannot be safely said that the state excos are one-hundred per cent loyal to him, yet JKF never gave up. He resisted all persuasions to get the state exco dissolved at all costs by desperate politicians who felt the party officials would be loyal to him.

With the betrayals that have become the lot of JKF through a few members of the party officials and some of his ex-aides, it has become crystal clear to all doubting Thomases that indeed JKF is not a political push-over as he is ever focused and strategic.

Now that JKF has indicated intention to recontest for the second time, the naysayers should hold their peace. They should desist from engaging in unsolicited counsel; after all, there can be no good reason to cry more than the bereaved. Why for God sake, should anybody in his right senses be counselling JKF, the quintessential “Omoluabi” of Ekiti origin not to contest the forthcoming elections when in actual fact his popularity has continued to soar?

His political brand equity has continued to grow in leaps and bounds as can be attested to going by the rousing welcome and the mammoth crowd that accompanied him to the APC secretariat at Ajilosun area of Ado Ekiti on 14th April, 2018 when he went to collect his expression of interest form and also declared his intention to contest the party’s primary election for the governorship election.

It was a complete lock down in Ado Ekiti metropolis on that fateful Saturday as thousands of party supporters and residents trooped out enmasse to accompany the “great son of the soil” to the party secretariat. Party supporters mobilised themselves from across all the seventeen local governments areas of the state.

How else can a politician’s popularity and acceptance by the electorates be measured than this? Which of the new and old entrants in the contest for the slot of Ekiti state governorship ticket can galvanise or mobilise such a huge

crowd? Not even an APC aspirant who hails from Ado Ekiti could garner such a huge crowd during his own declaration in the same city some weeks ago.

What is also unknown to many of these attention seeking counsellors of JKF is that the more they try to propagate their unfounded fears and malicious twist of facts, the more they help to keep the brand John Folorunsho Kayode Fayemi on top of the mind of the Ekiti electorates.

Rather than succeed in demarketing this brand, they will unwittingly end up promoting him and boosting his profile.

Those who are engaged in this type of exercise should do a rethink and allow the candidate enjoy his peace as he exercises his fundamental human rights. The choice of accepting or rejecting JKF at the polls should be left to Ekiti voters who are the authentic custodian of their mandate.

Anything short of this would be an exercise in futility or at best a mere shadow chasing.

The JKF ‘counsellors’ and their sponsors should take solace in the words of Charles Horton Cooley, the American Sociologist who said, “the general fact is that the most effective way of utilising human energy is through an organised rivalry, which by specialisation and social control is, at the same time, organised co-operation”. We should jettison unproductive labour in criticism that are self-centred and misleading.

It cannot be a hereditary curse on Ekiti people that we should continue to engage in pull-down syndrome. Even if it is a hereditary curse, our generation should break this yoke. We should reject this ugly portion. As a people and as a race, we should love ourselves and keep the brotherhood that united our forebears to fight the Ekiti Parapo wars. It is nonsensical and unprofitable to remain unduly bellicose and evil-minded against one another.

Although JKF may not be the best or the only person who can lead our people, but we should not deny him his dues. We all acknowledge he is capable. We all know he has the grace and the quality of a great leader. We have all seen all of these in him, why then are we speaking with tongues in the cheeks?

Let others who want to compete with him join the contest. No need to throw mud around.

Let them work together as members of one big family. Failure to do this will further put Ekiti state in bondage for yet another four years.

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FEATURES

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

Unveiling Lagos Bus Reforms Gboyega Akinsanmi writes that the inauguration of Ikeja Bus Terminal along with four other major terminals currently under construction in Agege, Ojota, Oshodi as well as Yaba, signals the dawn of a new era in the state’s integrated transport management system

Buhari (2nd right) and Ambode (1st right) during the inauguration of the Ikeja Bus Terminal... recently

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agos is undergoing change on a scale perhaps unprecedented in the history of Nigeria. At the core of this change is the Bus Reform Initiative (BRI) the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode introduced in early 2017. And the plan seeks to formalise the transport sector; inject at least 5,000 new buses in the state and phase out the regime of danfo from the streets of Lagos.

At its introduction, the BRI looked unworkable for many pessimists. But Ambode must have drawn inspiration from China’s aggressive transport infrastructure development or perhaps Japan’s unparalleled breakthrough in transport technologies. This perhaps explains why he then said: “If Lagos must be globally competitive, we must change the outlook of the way the city runs.�

True to the concern of the pessimists, funding the initiative was a huge challenge, which the governor acknowledged at the time the national economy ran into turbulence. But Ambode said the turbulence would not stop him from dreaming.

Then, his administration came up with a three-year radical plan to develop deliver Lagos residents what he termed intelligent transport system.

Apart from funding challenge, the initiative equally incurred enemies of its own at the inception. The initiative sparked protests among road workers and transport unions on the account that it might end up edging them out of jobs. Contrary to their concerns, the state government rolled the template of jobs, which the governor, would be created by the time the initiative came full stream.

But all these challenges could not end the dream of transforming the state’s archaic transport system to an intelligent transport infrastructure.

So, last March, it was a dream come true when President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the Ikeja Bus Terminal, one of the flagship transport infrastructure under the BRI. Unveiling the BRI At the inauguration, Buhari was marvelled at Ambode’s aggressive transport infrastructure development. Even though he did not specifically utter, the president’s countenance radiated halo of surprise. But he was also marvelled at the

number of projects the Ambode administration “has been able to conceive and develop in the space of three years.� The projects indeed inspired Buhari to observe that Ambode “has redefined the state’s public transportation.�

Aside, the president was marvelled that the projects were conceived at the time of economic recession. He perhaps did not expect the projects of such could be executed when other states of the federation could not even meet their basic obligations. So, for him, the state government had done the impossible that revenues received from the Federation Accounts could not have delivered.

On these accounts, the president made three crucial observations. First, Buhari commended Ambode for development and strides he recorded within the first three years in office.� He, also, endorsed Ambode’s bus reform, which according to him, would transform public transportation; create jobs in hundreds of thousands and formalise the transport sector in no small measure.

Buhari agreed that the plan “to deploy 5,000 air-conditioned buses will radically redefine public transport services in Nigeria.� Even though the terminal was just a fraction of the transport initiative, he observed that the transport sector would no more remain the same when other components were completed.

Buhari, thus, acknowledged that the BRI would transform the economy of the state, indeed the national economy. He said the vision to develop world-class transport infrastructure “will indeed help commute its growing population with ease.�

Like Lagos, the president disclosed that the federal

Last March, it was a dream come true when President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the Ikeja Bus Terminal, one of the agship transport infrastructure under the Bus Reform Initiative

government “has outlined its plan to develop Pan-African Railway Transportation.�

However, according to him, the federal government will complement the state’s transport infrastructure development plan. He did not specifically explain how the federal government would complement the state. But he promised that that the national government would adhere to its transport infrastructure plan, especially the ports, which he believed, would drive national development.

Apart from adhering to the apex transport infrastructure plan, Buhari assured that the federal government would order the development of Nigeria; stabilise her economy; create an enabling environment for job creation; tackle security and bring Nigeria from ignominy to acceptability locally and globally.

Before the BRI Before taking up the mantle of leadership, Ambode perhaps underrated the enormity of the state’s traffic issues. But grim realities of Lagos population growth pushed Ambode into action.

The realities stemmed from different statistics, which on the one hand showed the pattern of migration to Lagos from other states and the number of commuters that solely relied on public transportation on the other hand.

A 2016 survey of the World Economic Forum (WEF), for instance, revealed that Lagos “is the fastest growing city in the world.� The WEF, further, shows at least 85 migrants enter into the city per hour. By implication, the forum says, the population growth of Lagos metropolis is much faster than that of London and New York with a rate of 9 and 10 persons per hour respectively.

Another survey by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that in Nigeria, at large, over 80 million commuters daily depend on public transportation. In Lagos alone, at least 12 million persons use public transportation every day without standard facilities. This translates to 15 per cent of Nigerians, who have no other option than to commute through public transportation.

Likewise, the population size of the state is a huge challenge. At a recent forum with corporate citizens, Ambode disclosed that the state’s population “has risen to 25.2 million,

which indeed represents about 24.7 million according to the UN Habitat and growths at least by 3.2 per cent. In this context, commuting has been a real burden with quality man hour lost to traffic congestion daily.

Confronted with these grim realities, Ambode convened a traffic summit in 2015. The summit, first, recommended the creation of lay-by along the corridors that are prone to traffic congestion.

It equally recommended expansion of bus rapid transit (BRT) corridors to other parts of the state.

It recommended the exigency of phasing out yellow buses that dominated the state’s road transportation. With all these initiatives, commuting in the state still pose grave challenge, a reason the administration came up with the BRI. The initiative, according to the governor, was conceived to put in place intelligent transport system (ITS), which will enable passengers know the arrival and departure time of buses from the comfort of their homes, offices or anywhere and properly plan their journey.

He, therefore, said the system “will eliminate all the previous chaos and difficulties associated with boarding bus to different locations. The Ikeja Bus Terminal sits on 10,000 square metres land space, is equipped with intelligent transport system, food court, shops, rest rooms, ATM gallery, free Wi-Fi, electronically controlled shades, fully air-conditioned terminal, among others.�

Inside the BRI From its design, Ambode said, the BRI is an antidote to the long-time challenge of commuting people from one part of the state to others. Under the initiative, at least 5,000 high occupancy vehicles (HOVs) would be deployed to all parts of the state. Aside, the vehicles are all air-conditioned and environmentally friendly. By September, the governor said, 820 buses would be deployed.

But the BRI is about bus deployment. It equally focuses on developing world-class road infrastructure. Currently, the governor disclosed that the state government “has started constructing ultra-modern bus stations across the state.

Also, the Tafawa Balewa Bus Terminal has been completed. Also, the Ikeja Bus Terminal has been unveiled, though operation has commenced.�

Under the first phase, Ambode disclosed that at least 13 new bus terminals “will be constructed

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across the metropolis. These include major terminals now at different stages of completion in Oshodi, Yaba, Ojota as well as Agege.� He equally disclosed the plan “to construct 300 new bus stops and three bus depots under the first phase. At the end, we develop intelligent transport system to help commuters to plan their journeys on our public transport system.�

He, thus, explained the design of the Ikeja Bus Terminal, which according to the governor, was estimated “to convey about 200,000 passengers every day across 23 destinations. The terminal has been fitted with all aspects of public transport operations such as buses, passengers’ insurance, 13 ticketing boots, route licensing, terminal bus attendants and operating companies.�

This is just the beginning, said the governor. He added that his administration “is committed to reforming public transportation infrastructure and management in the state. The vision remained the provision of a functional, efficient and integrated transport system to support the populace and facilitate commerce. Of 5,000 new buses, we will inject 820 by September. “In the last three years, we are committed to revamping and providing a new integrated transport system to support our growing population. We have initiated and completed strategic transport infrastructure projects that are scalable.

These are critical projects that will in no small measure support the daily needs of Lagos people to meet their connectivity and mobility needs. We have put arrangement in place to start assembling the buses in Lagos within the next 20 months. This will in turn create jobs for our people.�

Beyond the BRI Unknown to most residents, the BRI is just a component of the state’s transport programmes, which was detailed in the State Transportation Sector Law, 2018. Aside bus initiative, Ambode noted that the state government “is promoting non-motorised transport – walking and cycling paths – with a view to providing residents multimodal choices to commute with the metropolis.�

Also, the governor gave insight into the state’s rail projects, which he said, had been carefully designed to convey large number of commuters along seven corridors already identified. But of the seven corridors, Ambode noted that work “is ongoing on the Light Rail (Blue Line), a 27-kilometre rail project running from Okokomaiko to Marina. Already, the Masa-Masa-Marina corridor of the Okokomaiko-Marina rail project is at least 75 percent completed.

Even though it has not started construction, the Ambode administration brokered a $1 billion deal with the Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA) between 2015 and 2016to develop a monorail that would link Marina, Ikoyi and Lekki. Although it was not officially, the development of the monorail project was one of the reasons the governor paid a visit to Japan early March.

He cited the plan to construct Light Rail (Red Line), a 30-kilometre rail project that will run from Marina to Alagbado. By estimate, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) put the project cost $2.5 billion.

Citing the cost, Ambode said his administration “is discussion with various investors and stakeholders to develop the Marina-Alagbado light rail project.�

Likewise, according to him, the state government has developed an ambitious plan to transport at least two million commuters by water every day. This explains why Ambode said the state government “has been dredging and channelising strategic waterways across the

The BRI initiative, according to Ambode, was conceived to put in place intelligent transport system, which will enable passengers know the arrival and departure time of buses from the comfort of their homes, ofďŹ ces or anywhere and properly plan their journey

A cross section of the Ikeja Bus Terminal... recently

Ticketing booths of the Ikeja Bus Terminal... recently

L-R: Buhari, Ambode, Hon. James Faleke and APC South West Women Leader, Chief Kemi Nelson, during the inauguration of the Ikeja Bus Terminal ... recently

state.� Basically, he said, the purpose is to fully explore the tourism and economic potentials of the waterways in the state for the overall benefit of the people.

By implication, Ambode said the state government would ever remain committed “to implementing the integrated transport management system designed to scale up water,

rail and land transportation.� In essence, he explained, the grand plan is to divert at least two million passengers on the waterways daily, thereby reducing traffic on the road.

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Photo Editor ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ ÔËÖË Email Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ë›Ă‹Ă”Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed (left) presenting certiďŹ cate to Adewoye Akeem, one of the graduates of the 3-Week Full Scholarship Programme in Solar Photovoltaic Technology, and Entrepreneurship Jointly Oered by the International Vocational, Technical and Entrepreneurship College (IVTEC) and the Riccofortezza-Asteven Energy Ltd. In Ajase-po Kwara State‌recently

L-R; lmmediate past conference PRO, Methodist Church Nigeria, Bro. Aramide Tola Noibi and the Prelate, His Eminence, Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche JP at the Prelate’s Thanksgiving Service at the Wesley Cathedral, Olowogbowo, Lagos, to mark the end of the 2018 Bishops Council Conference in Lagos...recently

L- R,Head Strategist, Legend & Legacy PR, Mr. Kunle Odusola-Stevenson; Chief Executive,TXB Global Business Consulting, Houston, Mr. Nuno Rosa,; Chief Executive, Energy & Corporate Africa, Mr. Sunny Oputa, Executive Director(Engineering),MORPOL Engineering Services Ltd, Mr. Felix Ayejunikanwa and Director, SDS & Associates PLLC Houston, Mr. Stefano De Stefano, during the Annual Sub Saharan Africa Oil and Gas Conference held in Houston Texas,USA...recently

R-L President, Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce, Akin Olawore; Guest speaker, Ajibola Olomola; Professor Doyin Salami of Lagos Business School and , Vice president NBCC, Uwamai Igein at the NBCC breakfast meeting in Lagos....recently Heritage Ambassador and Yeye Olokun of Yoruba Land, Princess Latifat Wuraola Momodu (middle) anked by her followers, after the traditional hommage to Ooni of Ife, during the Annual Olokun Festival, in Ile-Ife..recently

L-R: Head of Marketing, Sona Group, Mr. Devanshu Seth; Group Managing Director, Mr. Ajai Musaddi; Group Chief Operating OďŹƒcer, Mr. Ashok Manghnani; Marketing Managers, Shongai Technologies Limited, Mr. Manish Singh and Mr. Obhula Reddi, during the 2018 Nigeria Manufacturing and Equipment Expo, in Lagos‌recently

L-R: President / CEO, African Finance Coporation (AFC), Mr. Andrew Alli; Chairman of General Meeting, Mr. Emeka Emuwa;and Chief Operating OďŹƒcer / General Counsel, Dr. Adesegun Akin-Olugbade, at the Africa Finance Corporation 10th annual general meeting in Lagos... recently

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Quick Takes Lumos Introduces Aordable Power One of Nigeria’s leading solar power and off-grid solar home systems provider and pioneers of mobile electricity in Nigeria, Lumos, has announced a one-month price reduction window on its Lumos Solar Power Systems, in a move intended to empower micro and small businesses owners and households as part of its commitment to improving the quality of life of Nigerians, through reliable, accessible electricity for all.

Speaking at a recent Nigerian Energy Forum held in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of Lumos, Mr. Houssam Azem said his company was excited at the chance to stimulate economic growth and improve profitability for micro and small businesses by reducing the entry barrier for them joining our service, and in doing so, unlocking significant cost savings for them.“Our field studies show that an average micro business, say a tailor a mid-sized barbers shop, pharmacy and a small clinic only require power to run basic appliances; it is therefore important that they run those appliances in a profitable manner. When you compare spending N4,500 monthly as subscription to the Lumos Mobile Electricity Service compared to spending somewhere between N12,000 to N20,000 on fuel and minor generator repairs within one month, you can see how easily a small family or business can save betweenN7,500 and N15,500 when powering exactly the same electronic devices: charging mobile phones, lights, plastic blade fans and compliant LED TVs, these are actual facts based on actual happy customers who are using our service,� he said.

BRAINSTORMING ON ENERGY

L-R: Chairman and Technical Lead, Nigeria Energy Forum, Dr. Oluwole Adeuyi; National Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (NIEEE), Mr. Funso Adebayo; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Lumos Nigeria, Mr. Houssam Azem; Executive Director, Rural ElectriďŹ cation Agency of Nigeria, Dr. Sanusi Ohiare and Senior Advisor, Strategic Planning & Economic Services Department, OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), Dr. Fuad Siala, during the 2018 Nigeria Energy Forum held in Lagos ‌ recently

Kachikwu: FG Has Attracted $60bn in Oil Sector Within Three Years Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

ENERGY

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said that about $60 billion investments had been attracted to the sector since 2016.

Kachikwu spoke at the weekend in Bayelsa State, against the backdrop of insinuations that there has not been any meaningful development in the oil and gas industry since 2016.

The minister, who was in Emeyal 1, Ogbia Local Government, for the ground-breaking ceremony for the 25-hectare Nigeria Oil and

Gas Park Scheme (NOGAPS), initiated by the Nigeria Content Development Board (NCDMB), maintained that the sector was struggling for survival when he became minister.

According to him, with investment in the oil and gas sector hitting $60 billion, away from zero investment in 2016, the fruits of the funds pumped into the sector would soon begin to manifest.

The minister added that achieving peace in the Niger Delta was a major milestone for the

oil and gas sector in the country, noting that since calm returned to the region, daily production had more than doubled. “A lot of times, I hear people wonder what has happened over the last three years. Without getting into politics, this sector has delivered many times over.

We have built our institutions, the NCDMB, NNPC, and the DPR. These institutions were not what they were when we came. We have revolutionised the need for the sector to be open to communities where they work and to the Nigerian populace that own the assets. We have

found the peace to go back to oil production from a very all-time low number of about 800,000 barrels to today in excess of 2,000, 000 and still striving to go upward. Because of the ingenious financing concept we put in place, the oil industry has taken a big and new leap,� he added. “Over the next 2-4 years, projects like Egina, Zabazaba, projects like Bonga South, Nigeria LNG 2 to Nigeria LNG 7, we are about to see investment in excess of 60 billion dollars in the Continued on page 22

One Year After Repairs of Forcados Pipeline, OML 30 Attains Output of 75,000bpd Ejiofor Alike Exactly one year after the Forcados Pipeline was repaired in April 2017, Salvic Petroleum Resources Limited has successfully ramped up crude oil production in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 30 from zero to 75,000 barrels per day, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Ikemefuna Okafor has said.

Speaking to journalists on OML 30’s milestones in Lagos at the weekend, Okafor said the acreage is Nigeria’s secondlargest onshore oil and gas asset, located about 35 kilometres east of Warri in Delta State.

ENERGY Covering 1, 095 square kilometers, Ikemefuna said the license, which consists of 11 fields, nine flow stations, Ughelli Tank Farm, Trans-Forcados Pipeline and the reserves estimated at one billion barrels of oil, is a critical source of revenues for the federal government.

According to him, for 15 months prior to March 2017, OML 30 recorded zero production as a result of the subsea bombing of the Trans-Forcados Pipeline, the major trunkline in the 400,000 barrels per day Forcados Pipeline System, which

is second-largest network in the Niger Delta, after the Bonny Oil Pipeline System.

He disclosed that OML 30 had in 2017 presented a perfect opportunity for Salvic to demonstrate its novel approach and capabilities. “Between March and April 2018, under a Technical Services Agreement (TSA), Salvic Petroleum acted on behalf of the name-plate operator of OML 30, Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited (HEOSL), handling all aspects of operations and crude oil production, including technical support services, security,

operations and maintenance, community relations and other stakeholder management, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the management of the 87 kilometre-Trans Forcados Pipeline,� Okafor said.

He added that Salvic had recognised that restoring the TFP was pivotal to any chances of achieving the stretch production targets, adding that with the approval of the joint venture partners, his company contracted affiliate O & M company, Abbeycourt Energy Services Limited and a security firm, Eraskorp, Continued on page 22

Schneider Electric Rewards Partners Schneider Electric has rewarded performing partners and also unveiled a new range of cable management systems customised for new and modern buildings.

The company’s Head of Partner Projects, Mr. Mojola Ola said at the grand Retail Partners event in Lagos that the engineering design of the products enhances architectural finishing of structures and buildings while facilitating access to electronic devices and appliances.According to Ola, the aesthetics are improved upon by this range of desktop and flooring units, powerpoles and perimeter trunking which seamlessly blend into the dÊcor in a sleek and sophisticated way.

With its range of connected products in building automation, UPS, switch gear, as well as motion and presence detectors, Ola stated that Schneider Electric has shown its willingness to driveinnovation in energy management. “In the West African market where the building construction sector is booming, our range of sophisticated products has elicited sizeable inquiries from the hospitality and banking sectors, just to mention a few�, Ola added.

Plane Crashes Near Libyan OilďŹ eld A Libyan transport plane crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday at an airfield near El Sharara oilfield, killing three people, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said.

The military C-130 plane had been chartered by Akakus Oil, which operates Sharara, and had delivered 18 tonnes of catering and maintenance supplies to the southwestern field.

The two pilots and a flight assistant were killed in the crash, the NOC said. A fourth crew member was flown to the capital, Tripoli, for medical treatment.The plane crashed and exploded in the desert about 2 km away from the oilfield’s facilities.

Akakus was forced to charter the aircraft due to road closures and the security situation, with a road leading to the oil field blockaded, NOC said.NOC said the circumstances of the crash were being investigated.

Sharara is seen as crucial to helping Libya’s economic recovery but output has been repeatedly disrupted due to blockades by armed groups, protests and other security problems.

“We have found the peace to go back to oil production from a very all-time low number of about 800,000 barrels per day to today in excess of 2m bpd�

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu

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KACHIKWU: FG HAS ATTRACTED $60BN IN OIL SECTOR WITHIN THREE YEARS

Coronation Report Urges Bank to Increase Lending as Survival Strategy

industry. Realise that before these, before 2016, the investment in the sector had ebbed to zero. And oil companies were basically operating reflex production. There is a massive investment in the oil sector now. With those investments will come jobs, with those jobs will come peace and without peace, no development. A lot is going on and a lot still needs to happen; major policy changes and major regulatory changes in the works�, he added.

Kachikwu urged the contractors handling the project to be sensitive to the needs of the communities where they operate, arguing that host communities are largely peaceful if they are continually engaged. “A lot of times, we take the local community for granted.

But actually when you look at it, they ask for very little.

You do celebration, they come and dance, they provide a peaceful environment. All they ask for is decent health schemes, decent opportunities.

Governments in Nigeria need to collectively realise that the important people really are the 80 or 90 percent local populace who are usually very simple, ordinary, non-demanding, very focused and less the intelligentsia who are usually very complicated to manage,� he added.

As yields from federal government treasury bill continued to fall, banks in the country must find other sources of income and grow their risk assets in the real sector to survive, the Head, Coronation Research, Mr. Guy Czartoryski, has said.

In its 2018 Forecast for Nigeria Banks, Coronation Research, which is a part of Coronation Merchant Bank said the ability to support risk asset creation in the real sector will differentiate winners from losers in the Nigerian banking industry over the next three years. “For two years, Nigerian banks have had an easy time, earning good income on risk-free governmentbacked, Naira-denominated securities. That era is drawing to a close as T-bill rates fall.

Asset yields are trending south, and it is almost impossible to re-price liabilities to match.

So, banks must either find other sources of income or face an average 15 per cent drop in their profits before tax expectation for 2018. For the banks to replace the portion of income threatened by declining yields on securities, they must grow risk-weighted assets. This means a 6-12% rise in customer loans in 2018,�

Czartoryski said.

The report categorised banks into three tiers: Group

ONE YEAR AFTER REPAIRS OF FORCADOS PIPELINE, OML 30 ATTAINS OUTPUT OF 75,000BPD

all working collaboratively to provide 24-hour operations and maintenance.

According to him, the TFP was restored in record time of less than three months and subsequently sustained uptime of over 86 per cent throughout the year.

Okafor said with Forcados Pipeline restored, production was successfully ramped up in OML 30 from zero in April 2017 to 75,000 barrels per day in December 2017. “This was achieved without drilling any new wells, just a robust work programme of creative and innovative solutions that optimised production and unlocked value from old legacy infrastructure and equipment.

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Jonathan Eze

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

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

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

Goddy Egene

A, Group B and Group C. Banks in Group A, being the most well capitalised, have the biggest opportunity to increase consumer lending. According to the report, they are Zenith Bank, GT Bank and Stanbic IBTC, which have the ability to significantly expand their loan books by 69 per cent, 82 per cent and 182 per cent respectively. Group B, including UBA, Access Bank and Fidelity Bank, have moderate capital levels and some ability to expand loans books but may also pursue tier II capital raise in the

form of long-term subordinated debt. Group C, including FBN Holdings , Diamond Bank and Sterling Bank, in the short to medium term have limited ability to expand their loans books and will most likely focus on dealing with capital issues and might attempt to raise long term capital from the capital market.

According to Coronation Research, “If equity markets are sufficiently strong, some banks might attempt equity capital increases (Tier-I) this year. However, currently we

have market valuations so low as to make equity capital dilute the interest of existing shareholders. So, the preferred capital-raising route is likely to be long-term subordinated debt (Tier-II). We expect market share in customer lending to flow from banks in Group C towards those in Group A. With banks in Group B we see some, but perhaps not significant, market share gains.�

Coronation Research added leaving capital raising aside, 2018 presents a golden opportunity for the stronger

banks to expand loan books and gain market share. “Nigerian banks are coming off a low base: lending (when adjusted for currency depreciation) has hardly grown over two years, but the economic conditions look good for renewed loan growth. Loan growth, over the last two years, has been far from impressive and understandably so, since banks have remained cautious as they have grappled with the effects of oil price volatility and its impacts on their loan books,� it said.

LUCKY WINNER

Executive Director South,Unity Bank Plc, Mr. Temisan Tuedor, presenting cheque of N.5m to Tolulope Falope, winner of the ‘Builders’ category, during the launch of UniFi, a Unity Bank Digital & Youth Product held in University of Lagos... recently

NNPC, NCDMB to Adopt One-stop Approval Climate Change: Nigeria’s Desk for Nigeria’s Oil Industry Productivity Could Decrease Ejiofor Alike The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has stated that the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will adopt a one-stop shop arrangement for reviewing and approving oil industry projects and contracts before the end of 2018 in a bid to shorten the industry contracting cycle.

Speaking in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State at a meeting with top management of the NCDMB, Kachikwu said collaborative approval process between NCDMB and NNPC would ensure that the targeted six months contract approval cycle time is achieved, while the cost of crude oil production will also reduce. “if you look at the cost components we are trying to drive down; from $28 per barrel, it is now $23 and we are targeting $15.

We can’t achieve that if our bureaucracy is slow,� he said.

The Minister commended NCDMB for adopting the use of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with its key stakeholders, promising to ensure that other agencies within the Ministry of Petroleum Resources adopt the initiative which will help to drive efficiency within the organisations.

NCDMB had signed the

first SLA with the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) in May 2017 and is preparing to sign similar agreement with the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) - the umbrella body of major international and indigenous operating oil companies.

The SLA with NLNG provides specific timelines under which the Board must conclude requested reviews and approvals.

Under the SLA, NLNG can proceed with its projects if the Board fails to respond at the expiration of set timelines. “It takes a lot of courage for you to put a guaranty and tell people that if I don’t respond within a period, take it as approved. I will like to see this type of concept among all our parastatals.

We can borrow a leaf from this,� Kachikwu said.

He reiterated that the Board had enjoyed high quality leadership from inception, which helped the agency record sterling achievements over the years. “I did say when I came here the first time that NCDMB is one of the few federal parastatals that has benefited consistently at the top management level in terms of leadership. The consistency is commendable over the last two or three persons who have led here. Each one complemented what the other person has done.�

Kachikwu praised the collaboration between NCDMB and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), particularly on the development of modular refineries, which would help to address the perennial shortage of petroleum resources, create jobs and minimize the scourge of illegal refining. He tasked the Board to collaborate with other relevant institutions including Nigerian universities, some of whom have developed prototypes of modular refineries.

On the Board’s headquarters building project, which had got to the 17th floor, the Minister described it as a profound statement to the people of Bayelsa State that “the federal government did not just come to take oil and walk away but that we took oil and left something behind.�

He added that the office complex would provide a good working environment and a wonderful incentive for international and local operating companies to set up offices within the building.

He stressed that such world class buildings and other infrastructure like airports, roads, security and recreation facilities were needed so that oil companies will find it commercially sensible to move their headquarters to oil producing states.

By 30% in 2050, Says Report Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Nigeria’s economic productivity could decrease by up to 11 percent by 2020 and up to 30 percent by 2050 as a result of climate change, a new report has revealed.

The report said that while government is pursuing a vision of economic transformation and commercialisation with agriculture at the centre, small-scale farmers are not the focus of investment.

It stated that funding levels of agriculture and climate change adaptation are significantly lower than promised, stressing that money is skewed toward larger scale project and research.

This was made known in Abuja at a one-day mediaCSOs roundtable to unveil the West Africa Network for Peace-building Nigeria (WANEP) research on the ‘Impact of Investment in Agriculture and Climate Change Adaptation on Small Scale Farming in Nigeria.’ WANEP in its October 2017 report conducted in Kebbi and Adamawa States, in collaboration with Oxfam Nigeria noted that the climate change has brought additional uncertainty and risk to Nigeria’s largely small-scale food system.

It stated that the expanding desert belt along deforestation have reduced the amount of land available for farming, adding that decline in rainfall at a rate of three to four percent per decade has

negatively impacted crop yields.

The report noted: “A shortening of the rainy season means a fewer opportunities for planting and the lack of storage facilities have resulted in post-harvest losses to up to 40 per cent. “Climate change could decrease Nigeria’s economic productivity by up to 11 percent by 2020, and up to 30 per cent by 2050. Agricultural productivity is projected to decline by 10 to 25 per cent by 2080, and by 50 percent in some northern regions. “A similar picture emerges in Kebbi and Adamawa States, where about half of farmers spoke of declining harvest, cultivated area and production yields due to climate variability and extreme weather events. Farmers are losing livestock, crops and vegetables are wished away in flooding and fish do not survive in warmer temperatures.

Drought and windstorms are also causing produce losses, such as potatoes. These signify a loss of livelihood for these farmers.�

The report also stressed that running a small-scale farm in Nigeria is an uphill battle against many constraints, such as costly farm input; lack of information; limited access to technology; credits; markets and land tenure problems.

It pointed out that there is a clear disconnect between policy intention and the services that farmers are actually receiving.

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Tackling Power Rejection by Discos On account of the inability of distribution companies to strengthen their networks to evacuate electricity, power generation was limited to an average of 3,847.8MW per day in the first 104 days of 2018, reports Ejiofor Alike Before the private investors took over the electricity assets on November 1, 2013, generation was the weakest link in the electricity value chain.

While the distribution and transmission infrastructures could withstand electricity generation of up to 4,500MW, the generating plants could only occasionally attain this level as a result of inadequate gas supply and the poor maintenance of several units of the hydro and gas-fired power plants.

Low generation had resulted in constant grid instability as the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) could not guarantee the stability of the transmission network when power generation dropped below 3,000 megawatts.

Though generation first hit an all-time high of 4,402.2 on December 21, 2012, it had always hovered around 3,000MW on several occasions before the sale of the power assets, thus causing grid instability.

The frequent system disturbances at that period were partly caused by inadequate gas supply to the generating plants and the poor state of the power stations.

However, after the private investors took over the power assets, some of the new investors invested heavily in the generation assets, thus putting much pressure on the transmission assets, which became the weakest link in the value chain.

It is on records that while Transcorp Plc doubled the capacity of Ughelli Power Station from its 300MW post-privatisation level, the new investors that bought the 1,320MW capacity Egbin Power Plant have also raised the plant’s electricity generation to almost its name-plate capacity, with a clear roadmap to double it in the foreseeable future.

Many new NIPP power stations sponsored by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company have also come on stream while old power stations have recorded milestones in their generation levels since privatisation, despite the huge debts owed them by NBET for power generated.

The federal government, with the support of international donor agencies, has also strengthened the transmission grid to have the capacity to wheel the increased power generation to the distribution companies.

Today, the total installed capacity of the hydro and gas-powered generation plants is 11,165.40MW, compared to the pre-privatisation level of below 10,000MW. The available capacity, which can be generated if gas and water are available, and all the units of the generating plants working, has also increased from less than 6,000MW in 2013 to 7,139.60MW TCN also has a wheeling capacity of 7,000MW, but its actual operational capacity is still 5,500MW. However, only very few distribution companies have demonstrated financial capacity to upgrade their distribution network to be able to evacuate the increase in generation.

Available supply statistics from the Advisory Power Team in the Office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, showed that from January 1 to April 14, the country produced a total of 400,171 MW of electricity, which represented an average daily supply of 3,847.8MW. Within the period under review, the country was not able to generate 261,944 MW of power as a result of power rejection by the Discos, as well as a combination of gas, water and transmission constraints, thus bringing the country’s average daily power loss to 2,518.7MW. Investigation revealed that most of the Discos are only concerned on how to boost monthly revenue and have resorted to estimation of bills and deployment of all kinds of modern technology to facilitate bill collection, without reasonable investments to allocate more power to consumers, thus fueling the nationwide discontent.

With the apparent failure of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to enforce its well-designed guidelines on estimated billings, some aggrieved customers, including military personnel, have resorted to

Fashola self help by attacking Disco officials, who are on revenue drive to collect outrageous bills for power that was not supplied.

However, majority of the aggrieved electricity consumers nationwide have lost their rights to protest against outrageous bills, having been cowed to submission by some Discos, who engage the services of the police, Civil Defence, military personnel and even social miscreants to intimidate and in some cases, arrest and falsely charge protesting consumers for obstruction.

THISDAY gathered that the Discos’ public posturing that they lose money by estimating bills is different from actual reality as only few of them are seriously committed to providing pre-paid meters.

Even customers with non-prepaid but functional meters are all slammed with exorbitant estimated bills, without recourse to the current or previous readings on their meters, contrary to NERC guidelines.

Power rejection by Discos As electricity consumers groan under the excruciating effects of exorbitant estimated bills and poor electricity supply, the distribution companies have been accused of rejecting even the small volumes of power that are available for distribution as a result of their weak distribution infrastructure to evacuate the generated power.

TCN had, last week, raised the alarm about another looming system collapse as a result of the volume of idle power waiting for evacuation.

TCN’s Assistant General Manager, Operation, Mr. Smart Omo Omoragbon reportedly advised the Discos during a media tour of Ikeja West Transmission Sub-station in Ipaja-Ayobo of Lagos to recapitalise to boost their distribution capacity.

Omoragbon dislosed that despite TCN’s existing capacity, load rejection by the Discos, which causes frequent system collapse, would persist, unless the Discos upgrade their network to be able to distribute loads.

He added that TCN was able to expand its wheeling capacity as a result of government funding, stressing that the private investors in the distribution value chain should recapitalise to be able to distribute their power allocation.

The issue of power rejection by the Discos first took the centre stage late last year when the TCN disclosed that between August 27 and September 3, 2017 – a period of eight days, the 11 Discos refused to take up and distribute a total of 22,277.53 MW) of power produced by power generation companies.

According to TCN, the Discos had rejected

Chairman, NERC, Prof. James Momoh an average of 2,784.6 MW produced daily by the Gencos, which the TCN was willing to transmit.

Discos’ untenable claims In their initial reaction to TCN’s allegation, 11 Discos under the aegis of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) had promptly denied rejecting electricity supplied to them, stressing that it was natural for electricity demands of their customers to drop at night, pointing out also that such drop had been misrepresented by the TCN as load rejection.

ANED’s spokesperson, Mr. Sunday Oduntan, reportedly told the media that the TCN had frequently misinterpreted energy readings of the Discos by miscalculating drop in electricity demand from customers at night as load rejection.

He insisted that the Discos’ stations had capacities that were higher than the energy allocation from the grid, but often received less from the transmission network. “What has happened is the inaccurate rendering or misinterpretation by the System Operator (SO) of Discos’ minimum and maximum load readings. The SO in its recent allegation of load rejection against Discos wrongly projected the load drop/demand, during off-peak hours (night times) as load rejection. “This is not, and cannot be labelled as load rejection by Discos. Naturally, Discos take and distribute more energy during the day time/ business hours than night time when demand is generally low due to lesser demand. The unfair interpretation of off-peak energy data as load rejection is grossly inaccurate and misleading,� Oduntan reportedly said. “The unfair interpretation of off-peak energy data as load rejection is grossly inaccurate and misleading. The occasional times Discos have been unable to distribute energy received are directly due to the inadequate TCN infrastructural interface with the Discos,� he added.

Oduntan accused the TCN of indiscriminate load dumping to impractical network areas that make distribution inefficient, unviable and impracticable for technical and commercial efficiencies, due to poor infrastructure construction, substandard materials and inefficient reckless approvals of grid extensions for political considerations and interference during the days of NEPA/PHCN. Barely a month after ANED’s initial response, the association apparently indicted its members when it reportedly alleged that due to TCN’s constraint in transmitting to a particular area, the transmission company deliberately channels electricity to areas where the consumers in one

way or the other avoid payment of their bills.

According to him, since the Discos were already operating at a huge loss with the current tariff regime, it did not make economic sense for them to accept power, pay for it and distribute to where there would be no return. “The issue of load rejection needs to be put in context. We buy electricity and we sell.

We are expected to pay the cost of whatever we purchase to the generators of which we have not been able to meet up. The facts and figures are there for anybody to check. If I am buying a product at N68 and I am only legally allowed to sell that product for N31. 58 as is the case now, it then means that even if I am able to collect 100 percent of the expected, I still cannot pay for the product 100 percent.

This means, for me to still manage and stay in business, I need to have the product where I can get my money. That is not to say that we are not going to distribute electricity to everybody,� Odutan had explained.

As logical as the Discos’ argument was, their revelation further exposed the apparent lack of capacity of the distribution companies to fulfill their obligations as contained in the privatisation agreement, which provides that they must reduce collection losses and not give excuses that customers have refused to pay.

Consumers have argued that the most convenient way to reduce collection losses is not to reject power but to provide meters as only very few irrational consumers will object to the payment of monthly bills, which the customers genuinely consumed.

After all, no Disco pays for power supplied by the Gencos based on estimation as all the power supplied to the Discos by the Gencos are properly metered.

Discos will also revolt if NBET imposes arbitrarily exorbitant bills on them for power they did not purchase.

So, when consumers are arbitrarily assigned exorbitant bills for power they do not consume, it fuels public resistance as in the present circumstance where the Discos deploy the police, military and social miscreants to effect disconnection for non-payment of unjustifiable bills.

Some consumers have also held the view that rejecting power allocated to some areas because the consumers do not pay electricity bills is a convenient excuse for the Discos to deny R1 and R2 customers power and concentrate the power in areas populated by high demand customers, thus defeating the one of the major objectives of the power privatisation, which was to reduce poverty by stimulating small businesses, and entrepreneurship, to boost the country’s GDP.

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BUSINESSWORLD

ENERGY

PENGASSAN Condemns Black Soot Menace in River State Ugo Aliogo The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has strongly condemned the spread of black soot caused by the activities of illegal refineries, and called on the federal and Rivers State Government to urgently put an end to illegal refineries in the state.

According to the union, the soot in the form of thick black smoke has covered the state capital and could be the cause of some of the respiratory problems inhabitants of the city are going through.

The union also stated that the environmental hazard could be worse than Ebola, if evaluated on its long term effect on the citizens.

In a statement signed by the National Public Relations Officer, Comrade Fortune Obi, the union noted that the situation is not receiving any serious attention, pointing out that most of the people affected are still performing their daily task, while they swim in this soot

that has been confirmed by experts to be carcinogenic.

The statement also noted that the black soot has polluted the environment despite the people’s effort to stop it, as food items in city markets are not spared too.

Obi further stated that the union in collaboration with other concerned bodies and citizens have severally called the attention of the government to act swiftly and put an end to whatever is the source of this killer soot.

He stressed that majority of the people believed that the source of this soot was due to incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons as well as asphalt processing, burning of barges/vessels used for oil bunkering and illegal artisanal refinery operations in some parts of the state.

According to the statement, “There is need for collaboration among all stakeholders to end this

TellCo Europe Nigeria Rolls Out Higher Off-grid Solar Power System Ejiofor Alike TellCo Europe Nigeria has unveiled plans to introduce into the Nigerian market, TellCoSol Off-Grid Solar Power System, a Swiss technology that aims to electrify the country without stress.

TellCo Europe Nigeria is a renewable and clean energy solutions company incorporated in Nigeria under the Companies and Allied Matters ACT. The company was established as a vehicle to providing Off-Grid Solar Power Business Solutions to MSMES in Nigeria, Solar Homes Systems to households, and Solar Electricity Generation for a greener and sustainable urban future in Nigeria and Africa.

The company’s Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Olawale Akinwumi said in a statement at the weekend that the move was to bridge the energy gap in the country and to ensure that miseries associated with lack of access to electricity were mitigated. “Energy is at the heart of most critical economic, environmental and developmental issues facing Nigeria today. Clean, efficient, affordable and reliable energy services are indispensable for Nigeria’s prosperity. So, ending energy poverty in Nigeria, and indeed, in SubSaharan Africa, is a Green Movement!� Akinwumi said.

According to him, the parent company, TellCo Europe Switzerland had given its commitment to work with TellCo Europe Nigeria to succeed quickly. “Finance partners, investors and third-party companies (including Catch Energy UK, international banks and development

partners) have been invited to come to Nigeria in the first week of May 2018,� and that “Showroom had been designed for TellCo Europe Nigeria, among other background activities,� he said.

He added that TellCo Europe Switzerland was already arranging funding support for 1,000,000 Units of Off-Grid Solar Business Solution for Barbers in Nigeria. The barbers are the initial project off-takers. A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed with the National Association of Barbers and Salon Employers in Abuja, in 2016. “We are the only TellCo franchise in Africa for now.

This system is Swiss technology, a 1200W Solar power system. It may interest you to know that some of the unique features of the Solar System include 7’’ LCD touch screen, Radio with MP3/MP5 Player; Light up to 5 rooms and more at the same time; charge 2 mobile phones at the same time; Remote Control; Camera; Speakers; Wheels to ensure; complete with solar module, gel battery, and cables (plug and play); three years warranty; and available in three colours black/grey, white/grey, red/ grey. The system has some fixed options: AC standing fans; AC TV (32 inch) and AC refrigerator (70 litres).

Its daily use is from 18 to 24 hours. It is insured for two years - which has never happened in Africa and its installation attracts no extra cost,� he explained.

TellCo Europe is led in Nigeria by its Chairman, Professor Wale Omole, former Vice Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University and Chairman of Editorial Board, The Guardian Newspapers.

environmental hazard. We therefore call on the state and the federal government to put measures in place to address this situation and put an end to whatever is the source. “This is not the time to

play politics with people’s lives. The federal and state governments, security agencies as well as all agencies in charge of environment, law enforcement and other related issues should tow a defined and safe path in

handling illegal oil vessels as well as the criminal act of illegal refining of crude oil that are said to be the key reason of this menace. “The governments should also involve the locals and possibly constitute them into

environmental councils to monitor their areas for any possible illegal refining of the crude and such other dangerous acts that are inimical to human existence.

The criminals perpetrating these evils should be arrested and prosecuted.�

SPECTA INAUGURATION

L-R: Chief Marking OďŹƒcer, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Ibidapo Martins; Human Resource Manager, Fareast Mercantile Company Limited, Ms. Titi Ladipo; Executive Director, Retail and Consumer Banking, Sterling Bank, Mr. Grama Narasimhan; Head, Human Resorces, Sterling Assurance Plc, Mr. Oluwafemi Festus ; and Group Head, Strategy & Innovation, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Shina Atilola, during the inauguration of the Specta in Lagos... recently

House C’ttee on Power Commends Jos Disco’s Operations Seriki Adinoyi in Jos The House of Representatives Committee on Power and Privatisation has commended Jos Disco on its customers enumeration and metering programmes.

The committee made the commendation during a two day routine visit to the company.

Speaking at the occasion, the committee chairman, Hon. Shadimu Mutiu, said the committee was impressed by the metering and customers

enumeration efforts of the electricity distribution company.

According to him, “Jos Disco is surprisingly doing better than other Discos in the country despite the numerous challenges in the business environment. I must also commend their efforts at the current enumeration exercise aimed fundamentally at better service delivery to the customers in the Disco�.

Earlier, the Managing Director, Alhaji Mohammed Gidado Modibbo, disclosed that Jos Electricity Distribution Plc was working assiduously towards

providing qualitative service delivery, further adding that the company would continue to uphold the best global practice in the industry.

Modibbo who was represented by the Executive Director, Marketing and Investment, Mr. Verr Jirbo, assured the committee that Jos Disco was working towards achieving total metering of its customers in addition to the ongoing customers enumeration.

He said: “We are currently enumerating our customers in addition to metering them. It

is our desire to meter all our customers. And we hope to do that. We have enough meters in our stores to be distributed to customers at no cost.�

Furthermore, he said that in order to comprehensively profile all the company customers, a state of the arts data centre had been established.

The House Committee, during the oversight function visit, took out time to visit and inspect newly commissioned Data Centre for enumeration of customers, Jos Disco central stores as well as one injection substation.

Total Graduates 25Youths in Entrepreneurship/ Skills Acquisition Programme Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Total Exploration & Production (E&P) Nigeria Ltd, has graduated 25 entrepreneurs as part of its efforts to fight against poverty and unemployment, through capacity building as a way of transforming society and providing employment opportunities for the youths.

The Executive General Manager, CSR, Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Vincent Nnadi, while speaking at the graduation Ceremony of the Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition for Youth (ESAY) Programme in Abuja, said that Total has been at the forefront of the fight against poverty and unemployment.

According to him, “We do this (fight poverty) through Human, Social and Economic development program. We emphasise

capacity building as a way of transforming society and providing employment opportunities for the youths. The era of white collar jobs is gone, and it has become increasingly necessary to move from seeking office work to gainful self-employment in our chosen vocations.�

He noted that Total believed that this approach is sustainable and geared towards reducing unemployment in the shortest possible time, especially by partnering with non governmental organisations and other specialised agencies in the realisation of its CSR objectives.

Nnadi stressed that Total collaborated with Toncia Consulting and Energy Services to organise this youth empowerment program targeted at indigenes of the Middle-Belt region as part of a bigger program implemented in other regions of Nigeria.

“Today, we are graduating 25 entrepreneurs who have undergone livelihood skills training in paint manufacturing, inverter and solar systems production and installation. Some have also been trained in Computer hardware installation.�

He urged the beneficiaries to utilise the opportunity afforded them in becoming active agents of wealth creation within your community. “Be rest assured that Total shall be monitoring your progress as entrepreneurs through regular visits to your places of business. The impact assessment and evaluation will enable us do more and replicate successful outcomes in other communities,� Nnadi said.

On his part, the CEO of Toncia Energy Consulting, Prof. Godwin Chukwu, said the capacity building programme was meant

for young Nigerians who have completed their tertiary education and are venturing into entrepreneurship.

He stated: “This is the second in the series that is being sponsored by Total E&P. It is a selection of 25 young graduates from the Middle-Belt region.

The first in sequence was for FCT graduates. We are training them in the area of three skills: Paint manufacturing, Inverter/ Solar production and Computer hardware repairs. “Twenty five of them have acquired the skills to start on their own and Total is providing the starter pack. We have provided them with the hook, we have shown them the water and they have to go and fish.

We need to monitor them kin what they do for the first six months and we will send a report to Total.

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Investing in Cassava Chips and Pellets for Exports Uba Godwin writes that investing in cassava processing for chips and pellets production is profitable, given their high demand worldwide The Central Bank of Nigeria (C.B.N) is presently disbursing the sum of N26billion intervention fund for agricultural small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The scheme called the Agriculture and Small & Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGMSMEIS) was pooled together by banks and is set to provide funding for small and medium scale businesses in Nigeria.

Prospective investors into agriculture, such as cassava can benefit from the scheme.

Nigeria is the third world’s largest producer of cassava tubers after Zaire and Brazil, with total annual output of over 15 million metric tonnes per annum. There has also been an improvement in cassava varieties in Nigeria which has led to this phenomenal growth in its production.

Cassava chips and pellets are the acceptable form through which cassava can be exported.

Cassava chips/pellets are used in producing ethanol, glucose, flour, livestock feed, starch, biscuits, bread, adhesives etc.

The demand for cassava chips and pellets is worldwide. The first large scale commercial user of cassava chips as a livestock farmers of the United Kingdom; the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), Netherlands and France. The products are also widely demanded in Taiwan, Asia and USA (Details will be provided when one inquiries from the writer.)

The local market demand is also very encouraging.

Research findings indicated that demands for cassava chips and pellets are high as over 10 million metric tonnes annually. Supply of the product on the other hand is inadequate and falls short of the above demand figure. This is because there are very few companies producing these products in Nigeria and world-wide presently.

Precisely, supply of cassava chips and pellets is just 30 per cent of the total demand. In 2006 ending, a shortfall in the supply of 13.5 million tonnes existed and this increased to 15.6 million as at mid-2008.The figure has doubled in the year 2010 and bound to increase further as demand increases everyday all over the world.

This point to the fact that there are large opportunities existing for investors in the country Investment in commercial cassava farming is encouraging not only that it can generate employment opportunities; it is a crop that can grow very well in all parts of the country.

With the present government of President Muhammadu Buhari determination to generate employment through agriculture, as stated by Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, it becomes important that growing of those crops in which Nigeria has comparative advantage should be considered.

Cassava farm Processing of cassava into cassava chips & pellets for export is also considered.

The main machinery/ equipment required for this project consists of cassava peeling machine, automatic washing machine, cassava grater, motorised machine, grinding and dryer, automatic chipping system machine, automatic pelleting machine, weighing scales, washing tanks and packaging bags.

The only raw materials are cassava tubers (which is 100 per cent available and abundantly found in the country) and water.

The required machinery for this project is locally available. The spare parts can also be procured locally. We provide the required plants and machinery with guaranteed after-sales- services.

The normal capacity of the plant is over five tonnes of chip per day and five tonnes of pellet per day in one shift of eight hours. The plant will at full capacity process 1500 tonnes of chips and pellets per annum, working for 300 days in a year.

It is important to mention that this project can be sited in any part of the country preferably

‘New Investments in Sugar Sector Hit N157bn’ Jonathan Eze Five years after the federal government, through the National Sugar Development Council, formally began the implementation the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan, the overall investments in the sugar sector of the national economy have now risen to N157 billion.

This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the Council, Dr. Latif Busari, in a presentation during this year’s sugar sensitisation workshop held in Dutse, Jigawa State.

The workshop was aimed at stakeholders in the sugar sub-sector in the Northern region with theme ‘Revising the NSMP Implementation Modalities for the Achievement of National sSelf-sufficiency in Sugar’.

Busari said the essence of the gathering was to review what

impact the policy on and efforts to boost sugar production was making.

He disclosed that a 50,000 tonnes per annum sugar estate at Sunti, has been established, and that over 7000 new jobs have been created by all the three local refineries in the country, namely Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC, BUA Sugar Refinery and Golden Sugar Company.

According to him, with new policy in place and projection, total sugar production is put at 777.150mt with anticipated jobs put at 50,000.

Speaking at the event, the chairman of the occasion and President, Jigawa State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Alhaji Shehu Sanusi, said the Nigeria sugar industry has numerous benefits that should be harnessed for the country’s overall development.

where accessibility of cassava is assured.

The production process is very simple. The raw cassava tubers are automatically peeled, washed and then followed by chipping or pelleting and drying to required moisture level.

Weighing and bagging complete the processing.

The finished product can be bagged in 50kg jute bag. Since the products are always demanded in metric tonnes by the end user, it is advisable to package as such.

The packaging materials are 100 per cent locally available.

The international prices of chips & pellets fluctuate between US$2,200 and US$2,500 per metric tonne. It should be noted that this price keeps on fluctuating. It is pertinent to mention that it is very important to adhere strictly to the international standard. Failure to do so may result to rejection of the processed products by foreign buyers.

For details of the addresses and contact of the foreign buyers please contact the writer.

Locally, it is sold for N180, 000 per tonne.

Since the machine will process 1500 tonnes of

pellets and chips per annum, working for 300 days, the total sales revenue is US$93.6 million from which total inputs of N15.10 million is deducted, thus realizing a gross profit of N87.5 million in the first year of operation. For further clarification contact the writer In conclusion, this project has been found to be socially desirable, economically worthwhile, technically feasible and highly profitable.

For detailed information on the project in the areas of comprehensive & bankable feasibility studies/reports, export information’s in respect of foreign buyers and international standard required, procurement & installations of the machines, packaging requirements etc. Moreover, we are holding a training programme, which we advise that you participate to get detailed practical training on the proposed project. Please contact the writer, Uba Godwin, Global Trust Consulting, 56, Ishaga Road (1st oor), Surulere, Lagos Tel; 08023664368, 08034494437

Group Targets to Equip 500Youths Nigeria Adopt, Develop Standards with Employability Skills on Sugar Products Ugo Aliogo, Bonny Oriarehu and Amaka Akpa As part of efforts to address the unemployment challenges in Nigeria, the Executive Secretary, Knowledge Exchange Centre (KEC), Maria Glover, has stated that the desire of the group to train and equip 500 youths with employability skills required for employment in corporate organisations.

Glover who disclosed this weekend in Lagos at the maiden edition of the KEC Career Workshop 1.0 tagged: ‘Winning in the 21st Century Job Market’, organised by KEC in conjunction with the Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation, said the group is focused on bridging the skills gap in the labour. She stated that there is a mismatch in the labour market which she noted, revealed a situation where there are unemployed graduates without the requisite skills

employers are looking for.

According to Glover, the main focus of the group is to find out opportunities which would allow them bridge the gap identified in the labour, stressing that some of the activities, the group is involved include the employability skills training, entrepreneurship training, and organising workshops.

Glover explained that the workshop was targeted at unemployed graduates, noting that their focus in the conference was to try to build the skills of the graduates to the standards required by employers of labour, “giving the opportunities to expose them to employers of labour.�

She further stated that the two-day workshop has exposed the graduates to curriculum vitae writing, training, exposing them to employers of labour, personal development and career planning, interview skills and others.

Jonathan Eze Nigeria is set to adopt African standards on Sugar and sugar products as well as develop Nigeria Industrial standards for Glucose and Sucrose.

Towards this end, a technical committee (TC) meeting on sugar and sugar products held at the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Operational Headquarters, Lekki, Lagos, recently to consider the adoption of some African Standards under the auspices of African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) and the development of other Nigeria Industrial Standards.

In his remarks, SON Director General, Mr. Osita Aboloma, stated that the draft standards on sugar are very important as they affect everyday life, due to their wide usage as sweeteners for human consumption and as raw materials along the food value chain.

According to him, the current trends in the processing of sugar has necessitated the elaboration of new standards because the quality of raw materials along the food value chain, the technological procedures and the handling determines to a large extent, as well as guarantees the quality of the finished products. “It is therefore imperative for Nigeria to develop standards that take into cognizance these salient factors in a bid to forestall threat to life, waste of resources and to boost the quality of products both for local consumption and exports�, he said. The DG alluded to Nigeria’s contribution to ARSO’s efforts to harmonize Standards within the African continent to improve intra-African trading capacity, cross border products and services competitiveness and advancing the welfare of the people of the continent.

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BUSINESSWORLD NIPR Elects New President, Council Members Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Mallam Mukhtar Sirajo over the weekend emerged the President and Chairman of Governing Council of Nigeria Institute of Public Relations Practitioners (NIPR).

He won through the Electoral College process where 335 accredited NIPR chapter members voted at the institute’s annual general meeting (AGM) held at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, Abia State.

Sirajo succeeds Dr. Rotimi Oladele as president and will pilot the affairs of the Council for the next two years.

Comptroller Adewale Adeniyi of the Nigeria Customs also emerged the Vice President.

Other elected council members were Chinkwe Ikenyi, Ohaeri Osondu, Ibrahim Mohammed, Prof BAC Obiefuna, Kabiru Aminu, Joseph Fanafa and Sule Yau Sule.

The rest were Ethel

Agbeyegbe, Nkechi Alli Balogun, Abimbola Raphael, Obot Udoette, Haroun Audu, Emannuel Dandaura, Akin Ricketts and Samuel Oseluka.

Sirajo told THISDAY that he intends to run an open administration that will reflect the essence of Public Relations and particularly more about repositioning the institute in the Nigerian project.

He said he would build on the solid foundations of the Council in the past four years by ensuring an up to date register of members and intensifying the fight against quackery. “We want to change the perception of the institute by fighting quacks, who are giving the organisation bad name. We will change that by insisting that the provisions of the law are compiled with,�

Sirajo said.

The highlight of the AGM was the investiture of 10 new fellows by the Institute and presentation of awards to discerning individuals and organisations.

INDUSTRY

SON Confiscates Substandard Lubricants in a Raid on Warehouses, Markets The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has embarked on a nationwide mop up of substandard lubricants in a move seen as crucial in safeguarding the lives of unsuspecting consumers as well as boosting Nigeria’s industrialisation drive.

Speaking in Lagos during an enforcement exercise to raid different markets and warehouses in Lagos in search of adulterated and uncertified lubricants, Director General, SON, Mr. Osita Aboloma, underscored the critical role of lubricating products in the nation’s quest towards rapid industrialisation and stressed that adulterated lubricants should be got rid of.

The director general, who was represented by the agency’s Director, Inspection and Compliance, Mr. Bede Obayi said fake and counterfeited lubricants pose a threat to the nation’s manufacturing industry.

He said lubricants are important to all vehicles, industrial machines of various types, hydraulic systems, electric transformers and other things. “It is obvious that most of our daily activities depend directly or indirectly on use of lubricants and it is therefore, the massive evacuation of substandard lubricants cannot be over flogged,� he said.

He explained that the agency had been reinvigorated courtesy of its new SON Act 2015 to remove all non-complying products from the nation’s market “You can see the volumes of lubricants we have seized and they are all engine oil not been certified by SON and once they sell these products that have not been certified they will end up knocking the engines of motor vehicles and other equipment.

Any time you use this kind of substandard lubricants, your

engine is at risk and also the environment. Today, we have started the evacuation of this non-blended engine oil that is in circulation so that Nigerians will get value for their hard-earned money.

This is just the starting off of the operation to remove noncomplying lubricant oils from circulation. SON is out to make Nigeria safe for everybody,� he said.

He added that the new rigour was also aimed at improving the capacity utilisation of Nigeria’s manufacturing industry.

He disclosed that the said the special raid was targeted at markets and warehouses where suspected substandard products were stocked “The special raid is in accordance to our mandate that all non-complying products must be removed from the markets of this country and this special raid is targeted at anywhere we suspect that

there is substandard products and this is why embarked on the raiding of warehouses and markets where suspected substandard lubricants are sold to unsuspecting consumers in this country, we also seized cables and textile materials because we want to make this country a place where indigenous manufacturers can come and produce.� “We do not want these unscrupulous importers to flood this country with substandard products. We want the capacity utilisation of Nigerian companies to improve so as to employ the teeming unemployed Nigerian youths and it can only be so when these substandard products are removed from the nation’s market. This is why we have stopped at nothing in getting everything that is suspected to be substandard out of the markets.�

Q1: Dangote Exports 211kt Cement to Three African Countries Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement may soon be a thing of the past as Dangote Cement, in the first quarter exported a total of 211 tonnes of cement to Ghana, Togo and Niger.

The company’s volume in the Nigeria also increased significantly by 5.3 per cent to nearly 4 million tons for the period under review.

Announcing its first quarter audited results for the three months ended 31st March 2018 on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Dangote cement’s gross revenue increased by 16per cent, from N208.12 billion in the corresponding period of 2017 to N242.1 billion.

The company’s gross profit for the period rose from N120.36 billion to N144.76 billion indicating an increase of 20.30 percent. While Profit before tax rose by 40.2 percent, from N77.32 billion to N108.04 billion, Profit after tax for the period went up by 29 percent, from N55.8 billion to N72.12 billion.

A breakdown of the results indicated that the total volume of cement sales by the Group went up by 2.8 percent to 6.2 million tonnes with Nigerian volumes up by 5.3 percent to nearly 4.0 million tonnes.

In the reviewed period, Mr. Joe Makoju, was appointed Group Chief Executive Officer While Cherie Blair and Mick Davis also joined the Board as Independent Non-Executive Directors.

Group Chief Executive Officer, Makoju speaking on the results said: “The first quarter of 2018 has started strongly with substantial increases in revenues and profitability that drove excellent cash generation across the Group. Despite a slightly slower start to the quarter, Nigerian volumes increased

significantly in March and underpin our confidence that 2018 will be a good year for the Group. Across our PanAfrican operations, higher revenue per tons boosted revenues and increased EBITDA margins, with great potential to improve further when Tanzania switches to gas.�

Chairman, Dangote Cement, Aliko Dangote commented: “I am delighted to welcome Cherie and Mick to the Board of Dangote Cement. They bring diverse and valuable experience of emerging-market business, sustainability and governance to our Board.

Expatiating further on the capacity of the company, Makoju said “Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer with nearly 46Mta capacity across Africa.

A fully integrated quarryto-customer producer, the company has a production capacity of 29.25Mta in its home market, Nigeria. Our Obajana plant in Kogi State, Nigeria, is the largest in Africa with 13.25Mta of capacity across four lines; our Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed capacity of 12Mta and our Gboko plant in Benue state has 4Mta. Through our recent investments, Dangote Cement has eliminated Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement and has transformed the nation into an exporter of cement serving neighbouring countries.

In addition, we have operations in Cameroon (1.5Mta clinker grinding), Congo (1.5Mta), Ghana (1.5Mta import), Ethiopia (2.5Mta), Senegal (1.5Mta), Sierra Leone (0.5Mta import), South Africa (2.8Mta), Tanzania (3.0Mta), Zambia (1.5Mta).�

PROMOTING TOURISM

L-R: Member, Board of Directors, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs. Bolanle Kuku; Aare Segun Phillips; Chairman, Alhaji Mohammed S. Nanono; Director-General NTDC, Folorunsho Coker and Director, Barrister (Mrs.) Omasan Agbajoh, during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Directors at the NTDC headquarters in Abuja ... recently

Institutes to Train EdoYouth on Agric, Mineral Resource Processing Jonathan Eze The Institute of Export Operations and Management (IEOM) is to collaborate with Nigerian Export - Import (NEXIM) Bank and the Bank of Industry (BOI) to train Edo youths and also provide them with financial support for processing and packaging agricultural products, mineral resources and art and craft products for export.

Executive Secretary, IEOM, Mr. Ofon Udofia, disclosed this when a delegation of the institute, including members of the Benin Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, paid the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, a courtesy

visit at the Government House in Benin City.

He said the Institute was ready to organise training programmes for youths in the state in the areas of product development, processing and packaging to meet international standards and quality.

According to him, “The decision has been reached to complement the laudable socio-economic projects being embarked upon by the Godwin Obaseki-led administration. The plans to develop the Edo Inland Dry Port, Gelegele Seaport and the Industrial Park are credible and will open the Edo economy to international markets.

He said the partnership deals will include arrangement with NEXIM and BOI to provide funding for the processing companies, noting, “the processing companies would be set-up at the completion of the training programme.�

Udofia said all that was required for the training was for the state to set-up a centre to serve as the training ground on export commodities development, adding, “In the centre, youths would be taught and exposed to viable business opportunities and how to harness export opportunities in agriculture, solid minerals and art and craft sectors.�

The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie, said the state will support investors to drive products manufacturing to supply domestic and international markets.

Obaseki explained that the Benin Industrial park, Gelegele Sea port and Edo Inland Dry Port will boost exportation, provide jobs for the teeming youth population and create wealth. “All of these cannot be achieved without empowering youths with requisite skills to prepare them to fit into the new job opportunities that would be created in the state,� he said.

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Onafowokan: Re-investing Our Earnings Stands Us Out Managing Director of Coleman Cables, Mr. George Onafowokan, spoke with select journalists on the firm’s inroads in the manufacture of cables. Jonathan Eze brings the excerpts What has kept Coleman Cables aoat for years now despite challenges that confront manufacturers annually?

Of course, people cannot do without cable because electricity is a vital part of development in any country. The main sustainability is our own structure which has been survival based on long term views rather than short term gain. In businesses, what I have seen over the years is that as Nigerians we do not invest in ourselves, but we spend too much time looking at our profitability and how we will enjoy the money rather than long term view of reinvesting. I will say for Coleman, in the last 15 years, we have reinvested almost 95 per cent of our earnings back into the business. It is very few companies that can tell you they have done that consistently for 15 years, you rarely find those that have done it for two years and that is why we grew so fast because we kept reinvesting majority of our earnings. To me, it’s a long term view.

Where do you see the company 10 years ago and where do you see the company 10 years from now rather than where we see ourselves in two years. Nigeria has crisis and this is not our first recession, but the key is how do you survive crisis? Your business strategy must be right especially in the industry and it must be long-term based because what happens, when policy goes wrong and you have not equipped yourself to handle the fall out; most businesses close down during this period. This happens almost every five years; it is calamity in one way or the other. The key thing is what you did in between the five years to prepare yourself for the next calamity? I hope we don’t drive ourselves into calamity, but we must put our business first, take a long term view of our business and strategically that will keep us from issues when they happen.

What are some of the challenges affecting manufacturers besides power in Nigeria?

The infrastructural problem of Nigeria has never ceased to be a bane to the industry or sector in Nigeria, nevertheless, I think in the last two years, it has been worsened by devaluation and policy inconsistency, but things are gradually turning around which is good. But for us, what drives the business is the passion for what we do as manufacturers of cable and we have been in this business for the past 22 years and I have been in the business for 16 years. We have grown from a small company to be the biggest player not only in Nigeria, but in West Africa. When you leave this country and see what industrialisation is all about in other countries, it gives you a sense of pride actually by bringing those technology into your country and you apply them here and you see Nigerians get trained in it; because we are a company that believes more in local content in terms of raw materials and in terms of the people. If we do not train our people, we cannot really say we have local content. In Coleman today, we normally invite expatriate to train our people, but we put them on a short period, they must train our people. So, we depend almost 99 per cent on locals for our production. We are a highly technology based industry and that gives us the greatest pride that we are not only local content in terms of raw material but we are proud that we are one of the Nigerian companies that believe in our people.

How did you cope with scarcity of foreign exchange during recession?

We did not cope with it well; I must be sincere with you. As a business that at a point depend 95 per cent on import we could not get hold of it. During the recession, we lost a lot and we were down in capacity of about 95 per cent and producing five per cent. We were down in staff strength by almost 40 to 50 per cent at a point. So it did not go down well with us in terms of exchange rate, but the good thing today is that there is a bit of

Onafowokan stability in the exchange rate but the best part is that we move from 95 per cent dependent on importation to 85 per cent local dependence.

We are only having an exposure of less than 20 per cent of our business to foreign exchange which is far better when your business totally depend on import and that has changed the dynamics of how we think also locally. As much as exchange rate is high today, we are not too perturbed by that because it is only a minor part of our business that is still imported. I think in the next one year, we expect that to drop to five per cent. The recession in its way was positive because it forced backward integration in our industry, although it is expensive in the beginning, it has become more reasonable to buy today. If recession did not happen, most of those industries that came out as backward integration would have been very difficult to achieve because there might not have been competitive, but because they had indirectly a closed window that did not allow us to get hold of forex, it made it as a bit of protection

The infrastructural problem of Nigeria has never ceased to be a bane to the industry or sector in Nigeria, nevertheless, I think in the last two years, it has been worsened by devaluation and policy inconsistency, but things are gradually turning around which is good.

But for us, what drives the business is the passion for what we do as manufacturers of cable

without knowing and the cost likely added a lot of margin and at that point we had no choice but to buy. This allows you to think on terminologies, in a way that you never thought of in Nigeria just in time. Today, you are buying forex as you need so you are not much on working capital as you were importing a lot. It has been a great improvement to us on availability of raw materials and it has reduced our dependency on the exposure of the forex.

How do you generate power and at what cost?

The cost of power is so high. Power today is one of the major reasons industries have not grown the way they should because we depend on power for cable factory. We are one of the countries in the world that run drawing machine on generator; this machine is heavy on power. One single machine can use 500KV to run not to talk of the rest factories. In those places, this type of machine runs on power. This makes it heavy on investment. So our business is so heavy on power. If you look at it today, in Coleman, in terms of diesel power, we are generating in excess about 10MGW and eight megawatt in gas; so that is two separate ways investment in power plant. As good as what you have might be investment in power itself can build a competitive cable industry. The rest of the infrastructure, it is low on it but power accounts for almost 30-40 per cent overhead cost in your capital expenditure.

How are you coping with substandard products?

Coping with brand imitation, faking, adulteration, has become the bane of the industry not only for Coleman, but basically what we try to do is push for availability first and foremost trying to produce as best as we can to make sure that our products are seen and available because one thing about adulteration is in fighting adulteration, you must also meet capacity available for replacing what you removed as adulterated product or as fake. This means your capacity must be capable of feeding the actual market and I think that was our own first problem. Secondly, we are also actually checking the market growth. We go to the market to survey ourselves.

Surveying of market should be the function of SON or does the industry self-regulate itself too?

Unfortunately, it is not only the job of SON because we see that there is stretch on so many areas, so the industry itself almost self regulates itself and gives feedback to SON where we see any deficiency. To stop adulteration and faking and substandard cable in the market is very easy to achieve even by SON. The easiest thing to pick is the length of the cable which is 100 meters. In today’s Nigeria, the standard of SON for coil cable is 100 meters, but when you go to the market, you see 100 yards, 100 feet etc. rather than chasing them for cable substandard, first check the standard.

Today, Coleman makes every cable 100 meters because there is nothing plus or minus in the standard. I can vouch for our cable; those that have done their research said our cable is more than 100 meters. The only thing is to standardise market length because those who fake the products are making excess money more than what the manufacturers make. Here, the adulterator reduces the length of the cable and shortchange the customers. The people now want to make use of made in Nigeria brand to sell. The most annoying thing is that majority of these importers have houses, they buy standard cables to build their own houses, but they don’t want to put their own life at risk so they buy standard brand.

What percentages of local content are in your products?

Our percentage of local content after recession has improved greatly. We have gone from 80 to 85 per cent local content in our product due to backward integration in the last three years. Copper is now available, locally which accounts for 80 per cent of our product and it is still growing and about three additional manufacturers are coming up this year that is making us locally sufficient for copper.

Aluminum is also coming up, it will be produced locally this year and that will improve local content to about 95 per cent. That has greatly changed the dynamics of cable production in Nigeria, which I would say started about more than 55 years ago. For us today, we are proud to say local content is more than 80 per cent in our product.

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2018

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT Nigeria Inaugurates Committee on Non-Sewered Sanitation System Nigeria has inaugurated a committee responsible for establishing the nation’s position on issues relating to the activities of the ISO/PC 305- Sustainable non-sewered sanitation systems and ISO/PC 318- Community scale resource oriented sanitation treatment systems. They are also to act as a Technical Committee, responsible for adopting the ISO PC 305 and ISO PC 318 Standards as National Standards. Bennett Oghifo reports

N

igeria has held the inauguration and first National Mirror Committee (NMC)/Technical Committee (TC) meeting on ISO PC 305 and ISO PC 318 on Sustainable non sewered sanitation system and Community scale resource oriented sanitation treatment system.

In January this year, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, held the final of a series of workshops to develop an International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) International Workshop Agreement (IWA) on Community-Scale Resource-Oriented Sanitation Systems, in Dakar, Senegal. The IWA will serve as a crucial step in developing an international standard for non-sewered sanitation systems.

The International Workshop Agreement (IWA) on Community-Scale ResourceOriented Sanitation Systems will serve as a starting point in developing a standard that would enhance efforts to widely manufacture, market, and deploy the technology where it is needed most.

To key into this new standards, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria

(SON) inaugurated, in Lagos recently, the first National Mirror Committee (NMC)/ Technical Committee (TC) meeting on ISO PC 305 and ISO PC 318 on Sustainable non-sewered sanitation system and Community scale resource oriented sanitation treatment system.

The ISO PC 305 was established at the Technical Management Board (TMB) resolution in May 2016 to provide a standard solution to the issue of a sustainable and affordable sanitation that will alleviate the problem of open defecation. ISO PC 318 Community scale resource oriented sanitation treatment systems has just been formed.

Bringing together international experts, it will build on the information and expertise gathered to develop 1WA 28, a major step to help realise the potential of such technology and, ultimately save lives. IWA 28, Faecal sludge treatment units – Energy independent, prefabricated, community – scale resource – recovery units – Safety and performance, will help to facilitate the commercialisation and expansion of such treatment units into the market, making them safer and more accessible to those who need them.

The ISO Technical Committees have as its scope of

Director, Lagos environmental service, Dr. Iyabo Philips; Director of Standards, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Chinyere Egwuonwu; and Director, Planning, Research & Statistics, SON, Dr. Justin Nickaf, at the meeting of national mirror committee (nmc) on ISO/PC 305 sustainable non sewered sanitation system in Lagos… recently

standardization in the field of Sanitation systems for organisations of all sizes and types, groups, networks, cities, countries and regions.

The purpose of the standardization work is to enable the development of standards along the sanitation system designed to address basic sanitation needs and promote economic, social and environmental sustainability through strategies that may include minimizing resource consumption and converting human waste to safe output and a Standard on Faecal sludge treatment units-Energy independent, prefabricated,

community–scale resource – recovery units – Safety and performance.

“Today’s meeting is meant to achieve two (2) important things; inaugurate the national mirror committee which will mirror the activities of these two ISO technical committees and to establish Nigeria’s position in the ISO draft Standards on Sanitation systems and Services through a consensus of your input. The established position will be further harmonized with other inputs from the rest of NSBs at the ISO Central Secretariat. The final draft Standards elaborated will be

further circulated for comments and final voting to establish the Standards. Your esteemed contributions are required to ensure that the Standards reflect Nigeria’s position to facilitate its adoption as a National Standards to provide the necessary confidence for engagements.”

The Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Osita Anthony Aboloma stated this in a welcome address at the meeting of National Mirror Committee (NMC) on ISO PC 305 sustainable non-sewered sanitation system, held in Lagos, recently.

Aboloma, who was represented by the Director of Standards, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Chinyere Egwuonwu, said “The benefits of participation and adoption of these international Standards will, among other things, provide a basis for confidence, transparency and continuity in businesses. It will also provide global best practices in the environmental sector; promote international trade through removal of technical barrier to trade (TBT), as well as ensure sustainable economic and environmental development.”

He said, “As a Mirror Committee, you will be responsible for establishing Nigeria’s Position on issues relating to the activities of the ISO PC 305 and ISO PC 318, while as Technical Committee, you will be responsible for adopting the ISO PC 305 and ISO PC 318 Standards as National Standards.”

He urged participants from municipal sanitation organisations “to encourage their governments to particularly consider the adoption and implementation of the community scale resource oriented sanitation system, in particular the Omni processor piloted in Dakar, Senegal, not only to treat faecal and waste matter safely but also to generate water and electricity which are very scarce in our country.”

Facility Management Week Hosts Northcourt to Release Book on Lagos Waives Penal Fees on Affordable Housing Today Building Assessment Charges Policy Dialogue on Education, who are the highest decision Until August Healthcare, Technology Fadekemi Ajakaiye Fadekemi Ajakaiye Klinserv World Facility Management is set to host a National Dialogue to mark this year’s World Facilities Management Day 2018 which is celebrated annually across the globe by FM practitioners.

This year’s event is tagged “Effective Maintenance as a tool for National Development” with a focus on Education, Healthcare and Technology.

This was stated at the press briefing held at the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) office Ikoyi, Lagos recently. The event according to the conveners which will become an annual activity is set to hold on Tuesday May 15, 2018 at the MUSON Center, Lagos. Stating at the Press briefing was the Lead Convener and Executive Chairman on Klinserv Solutions Limited and Group Managing Director of the International Facilities Services (IFS) Group, Dr. Tunde Ayeye, who gave

the rationale for the Policy Dialogue.

Ayeye stated that one of the biggest challenges of our economy is the persistent inability to articulate a sustainable national, sub-national policy, and framework that will ensure the regular and effective maintenance of our public assets, buildings, utilities infrastructure and facilities.

He said the poor maintenance culture has over the years led to a perennial problem of poor functioning of these assets, wanton wastage and dissipation of our common heritage, poor economic performance, corruption and list goes on.

From bad roads, to poorly maintained bridges, nonfunctional health centers, hospitals, dilapidated school buildings, refineries, power infrastructure etc. are all evidence that the issue of poor maintenance of our public facilities demands national attention, he said.

The CEO Northcourt Real Estate, Mr Tayo Odunsi is set to release a book titled Affordable-Thinking Critically and Differently about Housing. This he stated at a press briefing in Lagos recently.

The book Affordable will be launched on the 1st of May in Victoria Island Lagos. The overview of the book is to get people thinking critically about Affordable Housing and change the notion of the average mind that looks up to the government or developer to make housing affordable. As stated by Odunsi, the book discusses the five parties to Affordable Housing, this he related to a pentagon, namely; the Government, who owns and controls land; Private sector, who are usually developers and financiers; Also involved are professionals- the architects, engineers, etc, who design and provide the offices, industrial, residential apartments etc, Community, who ensures that affordable housing provided for them remain affordable.

The fifth is the individual,

makers. The prerogative of affordable housing belongs to each single individual. Despite the five parties coming together to form this pentagon, each party is distinct in the role they play, he said. According to Odunsi, these five parties are key players who help in proffering solutions to the housing deficit paramount in our economy. The book Affordable is an applied research work, having 42 chapters, which is 41 ideas and the concluding 42nd chapter. He stated that a social mindset is required to proffer a lasting solution to the housing deficit, and only that can make housing affordable and sustainable.

He stated that all parties must look not just on the profit but keenly on impact they will have on the economy as a whole and facing the challenge. Those invited include government officials, developers, professionals and individuals to discuss the boo, he said, It is my believe that reading the book will bring about a paradigm shift in our thinking and working towards combating housing deficit and making homes affordable and

Bennett Oghifo Lagos State Government has introduced a six-month amnesty period for owners and developers of existing structures without permit to regularise their developments.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Prince Rotimi Ogunleye stated this at the 2018 Ministerial Press Briefing at Alausa, yesterday.

The amnesty period, the commissioner said would help clear the backlog of applications and encourage regularisation of developments without permits.

He said during the period, from March 1 to August 31, “Penal Fees which should be paid on Building Assessment Charges would be waived.

Developers and owners are enjoined to take advantage of this rare opportunity to obtain permits and Certificate of Fitness on their developments.

“Also developers/owners who desire to commence construction while perfecting their land documents with

Lands Bureau can do so now by applying for a Provisional Approval with their family land receipts duly stamped upon payment of stamp duty. When the Title Document is finally perfected, the developers/ owners would apply for Final Planning Permit.”

According to Ogunleye, the Ministry continues to review the Planning Permit process, stating that “he e-pp platform has eased accessibility, decreased third party interference and reduced the process of obtaining a Planning Permit to 28 working days after the application has been prescreened and cleared.

The e-pp portal can be accessed via www.lagosepp.com.ng.”

He said there was now a “premium service to fast track the grant of Planning Permit for applicants who require the document as collateral to obtain funds, This service affords applicants the opportunity to obtain their Planning Permits within 10 working days after pre-screening. This is, however, at a charge for the premium service.”

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY MAY 1, 2018

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY MAY 1, 2018

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T H I S D AY Ëž , MAY1, 2018

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Nigeria’s Manufacturing Index Expands for 13th Consecutive Month Obinna Chima The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 56.9 index points in April, indicating an expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 13th consecutive month.

The CBN disclosed this in its PMI survey report for April 2018 released yesterday.

According to the report, the index grew at a faster rate when compared to the index in the previous month.

It showed that of the 15 subsectors surveyed, 12 reported growth in the review month in the following order: Petroleum and coal products, electrical equipment, appliances and components, printing and

related support activities.

Others include textile apparel leather and footwear, fabricated metal products, chemical and pharmaceutical products, food, beverage and tobacco products, paper products, furniture and related products, plastics and rubber products, and transportation equipment.

But the cement sub-sector remained unchanged, while the non-metallic minerals and primary metal subsectors declined in the review month.

Also, at 58.6 points, the production level index for the manufacturing sector grew for the 14th consecutive month in April 2018. The index indicated a slower growth in the current month, when compared to its

level in the preceding month.

In all, 12 of the 15 manufacturing sub-sectors recorded increase in production level, one remained unchanged, while the remaining two recorded declines in production level during the review month. “At 55.8 points, new orders index grew for the 13th consecutive month, indicating increase in new orders in April 2018. “Seven sub-sectors reported growth, four remained unchanged while four contracted in the review month. “The manufacturing supplier delivery time index stood at 57.4 points in April 2018, indicating faster supplier delivery time for the eleventh consecutive month.

CBN Introduces New Anti-money Laundering Rules The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rolled out a new set of penalties for organisations that flout its Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/ CFT) rules.

The central bank stated this in a circular titled: “CBN Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (administrative sanctions) regulations, 2018.�

The new regime stipulates fines on banks, their directors and other key officials for money laundering infractions.

The circular was developed by the CBN in collaboration with the Office of the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation (OAGF).

According to the CBN, banks and board members or chief compliance officers will all be

sanctioned for 31 out of the 48 money laundering infractions listed in the new regime.

For each of the 31 infractions, the new regime stipulates minimum fines ranging from N500,000 to N1.2 million on board members or chief compliance officers or the internal auditor, and fines ranging from N1 million to N20 million on the offending bank.

It added: “Banks and other financial institutions are by this circular, informed of the attached ‘CBN AML/CFT Administrative Sanctions Regime’ the application of which comes into effect as at the date of the Gazette. Kindly ensure compliance.�

According to the CBN, failure to approve the AML/ CFT policies and procedures by a bank attracts a minimum

penalty as follows: N1 million on each member of the board and N20 million on the Deposit Money Banks (DMB).

Also, failure to review/ update the AML/CFT policies and procedures at least every three years would attract a minimum penalty of N750,000 on the Executive compliance officer in the first instance and N750,000 for each year that the contravention continues and N500,000 on the Chief compliance officer in the first instance and N500,000 for each year that the contravention continues. Similarly, N5 million fine would be levied on the bank in the first instance and N1 million for each year that the contravention continues; “Failure to communicate the AML/CFT program of the organisation to the employees.

Fidelity Bank Rewards Customers with N250m in TwoYears Nume Ekeghe Fidelity Bank yesterday disclosed that it had in the last two years, through its various promotions, rewarded its customers with over N250 million in cash prizes to 140 customers. This was revealed at the grand finale draw of its “Get Alert in Million Promo Reloaded,� that took place in Lagos.

This, the bank explained was part of its efforts to drive financial inclusion. Speaking at the event, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo said that the promo which started in October last year was to reward loyal customers of the bank.

This promo has produced 153 winners from the monthly and bi-monthly draws and yesterday N29 million was rewarded to 14 customers and 18 consolation prizes as it closes this promo.

Represented by the Executive Director, Shared Services, Fidelity Bank, Mrs. Chijioke Ugochukwu the bank CEO added: “It is a very exciting day for us at fidelity bank as today marks the last draw in the promo. “To contribute our quota towards building up our great nation Nigeria which relies heavily on domestic growth and savings to take the economy to the next level and for a bank likeFidelity which supports the central bank of

Nigeria’s financial inclusion.�

In providing a snapshot of the promo so far, She said: “In the last two years, over N250 million has been given out in prizes. The first promo, the total amount won was N105 million and in the new reloaded ending today with total amount at N110 million and today alone, N29 million would be won.�

The grand prize winners of N10 million and N3 million were Mr. Batholowen Ekenechukwu Nnalue, Augustine Glory Nkiru and Nwasike Chidera respectively.

The N2 million cash winners from the South –south and South-east zones of the bank branches were Imoedemhe Presby Osi and Jenifer Chinyere Nnanna.

FSDH Merchant Bank Posts 45.4% PAT Growth in 2017 FSDH Merchant Bank Limited has disclosed that its profit after tax (PAT) rose by 45.4 per cent to N4.74 billion in its 2017 full year results, compared with the N3.26 billion it recorded the previous year It also revealed that it achieved a profit before tax (PBT) of N5.56 billion for the financial year ended December 31 2017, representing an increase of 44

per cent when compared with the profit of N3.86 billion it realised in the comparable period of 2016. In the financial year under review, the FSDH Group recorded a total asset size of N151.7billion.The group’s shareholders’ funds stood at N34.62 billion as at December 31, 2017; a 24.26 per cent increase from the N27.86 billion it was as of 31 December,

2016. The merchant bank will hold its annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday.

The meeting will be the sixth AGM of FSDH since it became a merchant bank.

Furthermore, the results showed that earnings per share (EPS) for the group were 164 kobo, which is 55 kobo more than the 109 kobo earned in the previous financial year.

CBN Building

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

AUGUST 2017 Broad Money (M2)

21,851,454.31

-- Narrow Money (M1)

9,890,813.10

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,523,239.91

---- Demand Deposits

8,367,573.19

-- Quasi Money

11,960,641.22

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

9,732,990.89

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

12,118,463.42

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,821,446.81

---- Credit to Government (Net)

4,824,226.22

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

7,834,536.74

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

-3,010,310.52

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

21,997,220.59

--Other Assets Net

-14,702,983.39

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,486,804.65

--Currency in Circulation

1,868,735.07

--Banks Reserves

3,268,266.17 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

MANAGED FUNDS 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, FRI, APRIL 27, 2018 The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $71.24 a barrel on Friday, compared with $71.00 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

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

GANI AT 80: LEGENDS NEVER DIE

01.05.2018

Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, SAM

2/DASHBOARD

01.05.2018

Burden of Proof in Money Laundering Cases PAGE 4

How Application of ADR Can Help Solve Criminal Matters, Particularly Corruption PAGE 5

2018 Oakwell Mediation Conference PAGE 5

Lagos State Judiciary Holds 1st Bi-Annual Lecture PAGE 5

Lagos CJ Swears in New Notaries Public, Urges them to Always Verify Documents PAGE 5

QUOTABLES ‘Things are happening, and the pace is faster than it used to be....For prosecution of any criminal matter, whether corruption matter, any criminal matter at all, you need the Investigator, you need the Prosecutor, you need the Court, and all these three stakeholders must function effectively, for you to have expeditious dispensation of criminal justice ’.

– Honourable Justice Walter Onnoghen, GCON, Chief Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

‘Hardwork and Patience: Virtues Every Lawyer Must Possess to Succeed’ PAGE 6

‘Legally speaking....They (House of Representatives), have the power to summon the President before them, to explain the steps the Executive is taking to address matters of urgent national importance, such as this, where Nigerians are dying in droves in a section of the country, and also to answer other questions as relating to security generally.’

– Liborous Oshoma, Legal Practitioner, Abuja

ACJR Conference: Moving Towards a Better Criminal Justice System PAGE 14

Capital Market Solicitors, other Stakeholders, Share Ideas on Advancing Nigerian Economy PAGE 15

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

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The Road to Constitutional Crisis

Happy Workers Day All! (well, those of us Workers that are not lazy!).

Definition of Constitutional Crisis s the days go by, it is becoming patently clear that Nigeria is facing a constitutional crisis on several levels. Constitutional Crisis has been defined as “a situation dealing with the inability to resolve a disagreement involving the governing constitution of a political body. Typically, a dispute or an interpretation or a violation of a provision in the constitution between different branches of government is involved.

A constitutional crisis may threaten to break down government function”. In simple terms, it occurs when there may be ambiguities in the constitution, and people try to take advantage of it or a branch of government acts ultra vires its powers, and the way to halt this anomaly, is unclear, in short, a problem with no sure solution.

For one, there has been the clamour for a total overhaul of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)(the Constitution), due to its gross inadequacies, and a Restructuring of our nation.

A

Types of Constitutional Crisis There are several categories of constitutional crisis, and our country seems to be facing them at all levels, namely, 1) when the constitution does not make any provision on an issue, 2) when the meaning of the constitutional provision is ambiguous, 3) when the constitutional provision may be seen as not being politically workable, and 4) when the various arms of government are set against each other for various reasons including rivalry, corruption, partisanship, tribalism and the like, that is, when we have weak institutions like we do here in Nigeria, and in the last three cases, the provisions of the Constitution are simply flouted/violated, misinterpreted or ignored.

According to Wikipedia, “politically, a constitutional crisis can lead to administrative paralysis and eventual collapse of the government, the loss of political legitimacy, or to a civil war”. The three arms of government, that is, the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, please, take note of what could be the dire consequences of your actions!

included on the Exclusive Legislative List Second Schedule to the Constitution Part 1.

Item 22 on that List states “Election to the offices of President and Vice President or Governor and Deputy Governor and any other office to which a person may be elected under this Constitution, excluding election to a local government council or any office in such a council”, while Section 59(4) of the Constitution provides inter alia that, the two Houses of the NASS at a joint sitting, after the refusal of assent to a Bill by the President, can reconsider such a Bill, and with a two-thirds majority of the members of both Houses, override the President, passing the Bill into law, without the assent of the President.

Some have argued that, on the other hand, that the Third Schedule to the Constitution Part 1 Section 15 (a) empowers the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to inter alia, organise elections, and therefore, election sequence is within the exclusive purview of INEC, and not the NASS. At worst, while some may conclude that the Constitution empowers both bodies to change the sequence of elections, the court cannot decide that the NASS cannot.

I disagree! It seems to me, to be more of a political decision, than a judicial one. I also maintain that, election sequence, is different from organising elections.

This situation seems to fall within the categories of constitutional provisions being ambiguous, and also that those that are vehemently opposed to the change of election sequence (because they believe that it does not favour the President), finding it as not being politically feasible....a constitutional crisis nonetheless, as we have the Judiciary and the Executive, pitched against the Legislature in this instance. Could an over-friendly Judiciary, be aiding the Executive to rule by fiat? What happens next?

Election Sequence: Court Decision Take for example the recent court decision, that the National Assembly (NASS) cannot amend Section 25 of the Electoral Act to change the election sequence (even before the NASS amended it). With all due respect, I find the court decision faulty. How is it that, the body responsible for making the law, is not empowered to amend it? Surely, that conclusion seems to be not only illogical, but absurd.

Section 4(2) of the Constitution empowers the NASS to legislate upon all matters

Intra-Government Squabbles Then we have the most messy category of constitutional crisis, which we seem to be experiencing the most, where the arms of government are set against each other and they violate the constitutional provisions at will, or simply ignore them. The recent saga of the Executive disbursing the whopping sum of almost Half a Billion Dollars (not Half a Billion Naira), for the purchase of military hardware from the USA, without due process and the requisite NASS approval, is the best example presently. However laudable the intentions may be, a breach of the Constitution, is a breach, shi ke nan!

Section 1(1) of the Constitution, is clear and unambiguous; the Constitution is supreme and has binding force on all authorities and persons (including the President, the Governors, the Judiciary, and all Nigerians).

It is extremely worrisome, when the arms of Government make it a habit of breaching or by- passing the provisions of the Constitution. It shows a total lack of respect for the people and the Constitution, on the

President Muhammadu Buhari

Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki

part of the Executive, in this instance. A despotic decision.

At the end of 2017, the Federal Government had announced its decision to spend $1 billion to fight the Boko Haram insurgency.

As far back as December, 2017, the US Government had approved the sale of 12 Super Tucano Aircrafts for the sum of about $490 million to Nigeria. Why did the President not seek the NASS’s approval from the time the US Government approved the sale to Nigeria, so that in the event that Nigeria was called upon to make payment within a short stipulated time period, as the Presidency now claims, the approval for the expenditure would have already been sought and obtained? After all, the Exclusive Legislative List also includes arms, ammunition, explosives, aviation, defence, police and military.

I certainly do not buy the argument of the ‘doctrine of necessity’, and I do not believe that it can be used to avail the disbursement of such a huge amount of funds, without following due process. Clearly, the Executive failed to do the needful, in order to circumvent any opposition from the NASS, on such a large expenditure. To now request for approval after the fact, a rubber stamp, is an affront on democratic process. The excuse that previous governments have always made withdrawals from the Excess Crude Account (ECA), without seeking or obtaining NASS Approval, is no justification, as this Government came in on the mantra of ‘change’, that it would do things properly, not that it would improve on the wrongs of the past!

Niger Delta I, for one, had said that if such an amount was to be spent on the North East, an equal amount must be spent on cleaning up the Niger Delta, which is the source of the funds in the ECA. I visited Port Harcourt last month, to attend the NBA Section on Legal Practice Conference.

Shortly after I arrived in Port Harcourt, I developed an itch in my throat, which I certainly did not have before I left Lagos.

I could only attribute it to, the polluted air that I was breathing during my stay there. After several weeks, I have not fully shaken off the itching throat and cough. I already narrated my black soot experience last November, when I went to interview the Rivers State Governor.

Other examples of this constitutional crisis, between the Executive and the Legislature, includes the issue of appointments and Senate confirmation, for example, that of the EFCC Chairman, which remains unresolved to date.

We also have crisis between the Judiciary, and the law enforcement agencies, who have formed a habit of flaying court orders, keeping people in custody, even after they have been granted bail by the courts, contrary to the provisions of the Constitution.

Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE

THE ADVOCATE onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com onikepob@yahoo.com

“CLEARLY, THE EXECUTIVE FAILED TO DO THE NEEDFUL, IN ORDER TO CIRCUMVENT ANY OPPOSITION FROM THE NASS ON SUCH A HUGE EXPENDITURE. TO NOW REQUEST FOR APPROVAL AFTER THE FACT, A RUBBER STAMP, IS AN AFFRONT ON DEMOCRATIC PROCESS”

Consequences of Constitutional Crisis All this constitutional crisis, points to, if not a collapse in Government, huge cracks in it. As for political legitimacy, that of this Government and the ruling party, APC, seems to be on a steady decline. There is really no set way of dealing with constitutional crisis.

That is what makes it so alarming. The call by some Senators for the impeachment of the President, by invoking Section 143 of the Constitution against him, over the $496 Billion unapproved expenditure (and House of Representatives for the Benue killings), may be one of the methods that can be adopted, to resolve such a crisis.

By the way: The IG Then you have the Inspector General of Police (IG), who despite the fact that people are being slaughtered on a daily basis in Benue State and other places, preferred to ‘junket’ off to Bauchi with the President, for the commissioning of highways and so on.

The whole situation with the IG is curious, to say the least. The President, having publicly admitted that the IG disobeyed his instruction that he relocate to Benue, instead of sanctioning him for disobedience, seems to have instead rewarded the IG with a pride of place to accompany him on official trips! To say that the Nigeria Police Force has failed in its constitutional duty to protect the lives and property of Nigerians, is an understatement.

The NASS, by virtue of Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution, specifically Section 89(1) (c), is empowered to summon the IG and the President, to appear before them, if they deem it necessary. It has become necessary, for the NASS to summon the IG to explain the reasons for the declining security situation in the country, and the possible solutions he has to overcome the crisis, while the President has some explaining to do on the $496 million disbursement.

4/LAW REPORT

01.05.2018

Burden of Proof in Money Laundering Cases

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original, and not by any other body. He contended also that the trial Court wrongly admitted Bank computer generated documents, which were not admissible, because they failed to comply with Section 84(1)(2) and (4) of the Evidence Act, 2011. In his response, Counsel for the Respondent submitted that exhibits PW1G, PW1J, PW1J1, PW1J3, PW1J4 and PW1L which were obtained from the Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area, were discountenanced by the trial Court, and that their non-certification by the appropriate authority, did not affect the outcome of the case, as the conviction of the Appellant was not based on the documents.

Facts

he Appellant, who was the Chairman of Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area in Kogi State, was charged under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 208 count Charge before the Federal High Court, Lokoja. He was convicted on 75 counts, and discharged and acquitted on the remaining 133 counts. At the Court of Appeal, the Respondent challenged some of the Grounds of Appeal, which objection was upheld by the Court and the grounds struck out. The appeal to the Court of Appeal was unsuccessful, as the Court of Appeal affirmed the decision of the trial Court. The Appellant further appealed to the Supreme Court.

Issues for Determination: 1. Whether the Court of Appeal was correct in law, when it affirmed the decision of the Federal High Court, placing the onus of proving his innocence on the 75 counts of money laundering on the Appellant.

2. Whether the Court below was correct in law, in affirming the decision of the trial at Federal High Court, that all the uncertified documents and bank generated documents, are admissible in evidence and if answered in the negative, what is the effect of their expurgation from the case.

Hon. Justice Kumai Bayang Aka’ahs, JSC

Arguments Counsel for the Appellant submitted, in respect of issue 1, that in all criminal cases, the onus of proof is on the Prosecution, to prove the guilt of the Defendant beyond reasonable doubt. He relied on EGBIRIKA v STATE (2014) NWLR (Pt. 1398) 558 at 562; Section 36(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999; and Sections 131, 132 and 135 of the Evidence Act, 2011. He contended that, by asking the Appellant to establish the lawfulness or legality of each and every lodgement into his account, the trial Court and the Court of Appeal shifted the onus of proof onto the Appellant, and failed to ascertain whether the ingredients of the offence of money laundering was established beyond reasonable doubt by the Prosecution. Counsel argued that by shifting the burden of proof to the Appellant, his presumption of innocence which is constitutionally guaranteed, was breached by the trial Court. He concluded that, none of the witnesses called by the Prosecution established anything close to money laundering against the Appellant and as such, the Prosecution failed in its duty to prove the ingredients of the offence of money laundering against the Appellant.

Responding, Counsel for the Respondent submitted that, the Court of Appeal did not reverse the onus of proof placed on the Prosecution to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. He argued that a distinction should be drawn between the legal burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt which stays with the Prosecution, and the evidential burden of proof which constantly shifts from the Prosecution to the Defendant, depending on where the pendulum of evidence swings in the proceedings. He stated that, the prosecution placed sufficient evidence to prove the charge against the Appellant beyond reasonable doubt as required by law, and that the onus shifted to the Appellant to rebut the evidence presented by the Prosecution. He concluded by arguing that since the Appellant was standing trial for money laundering, the fact that he is in possession of pecuniary resources for which he cannot satisfactorily account for, and which is disproportionate to his known source of income, may be taken into consideration by the Court as corroborating the testimony of any witness at the trial. He relied on Section 19 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004.

On the second issue, Counsel for the Appellant argued that, the Appellant objected to the admissibility of all the documents that were tendered at the Federal High Court, both at the stage where they were tendered, and in their final address. He stated that the trial Judge refused to expunge the documents which emanated from the Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area, but which were certified by the EFCC and not the Local Government, in accordance with the provisions of the Evidence Act. He submitted that, certification of public documents must be done by the department or officer in custody of the

In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja On Friday the 26th Day of January, 2018 Before Their Lordships Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili Kumai Bayang Aka’ahs Amina Adamu Augie Paul Adamu Galinje Sidi Dauda Bage Justices, Supreme Court SC.744/2015 Between Gabriel Daudu .........Appellant /Applicant And Federal Republic of Nigeria......Respondent (Lead Judgement delivered by Hon. Kumai Bayang Aka’ahs, JSC)

“BY SECTION 19(3) OF THE MONEY LAUNDERING ACT, IF AN ACCUSED IS IN POSSESSION OF PECUNIARY RESOURCES OR PROPERTY WHICH IS DISPROPORTIONATE TO HIS KNOWN SOURCE OF INCOME, OR HE OBTAINED AN ACCRETION TO HIS PECUNIARY RESOURCES OR PROPERTY, THE BURDEN OF GIVING A SATISFACTORY ACCOUNT OF HOW HE MADE THE MONEY OR OBTAINED THE ACCRETION SHIFTS TO HIM”

Court’s Judgement and Rationale On issue 1, the Supreme Court held that by Section 19(3) of the Money Laundering Act, if an accused is in possession of pecuniary resources or property which is disproportionate to his known source of income, or he obtained an accretion to his pecuniary resources or property, the burden of giving a satisfactory account of how he made the money or obtained the accretion shifts to him. The prosecution is relieved of the burden of having to prove that the money so found in his account or in his possession, is proceeds from illicit traffic in narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances or of any illegal act. The Court found that, the trial Judge evaluated the evidence adduced by the Prosecution and Defence, and found that there was no issue or allegation of illicit traffic in narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances in any of the counts. That the Prosecution however, established the fact that cash lodgements from undisclosed source, were made into the private bank accounts of the Appellant, either in person or by using proxies, when he was the Chairman of Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area, thereby leading to the conclusion that, there was an intention to conceal the illicit origin of the cash. The Supreme Court held further that, an Appellate Court cannot interfere with the findings of the trial judge, except they are shown to be perverse - LAGGA v SARHUNA (2008) 16 NWLR (Pt. 1114) 427; AGBAKOBA v INEC (2008) 18 NWLR (Pt. 1119) 489. Finally on the issue, the Court held that the conclusion reached by the learned trial judge, that the oral testimony and documentary evidence of DW7 failed to address the lodgements in count 3 stands, and that the Appellant failed to give a satisfactory account of the monies which were lodged into his account, when he was the Chairman of Ogori/ Magongo Local Government Area.

On the second issue, the Supreme Court stated that the custody of any document recovered in the course of investigation, belongs to the body statutorily or constitutionally empowered to possess such documents upon recovery, and their admissibility is determined by how relevant they are to the proceedings. The Court however, stated that the documents which emanated from Ogori/Magongo Local Government Council, were discountenanced by the trial Court; therefore, the Appellant did not suffer any injury since the said documents were not considered by the Court. On the computer generated bank documents, the Court held that, the presumption is that before the banks gave them to the EFCC, they must have certified that the contents of the statement of accounts contained therein, were correct; thus, even the Appellant relied on the contents of the documents for his defence. The Court stated that, the Appellant cannot reprobate and approbate. Finally, the Supreme Court held that, the Prosecution made out a case under Section 19(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, since there was proof that the Appellant was in possession of pecuniary resources which are disproportionate to his known source of income, and which he could not satisfactorily account for.

Appeal Dismissed.

Representation: J.B. Daudu, SAN with E.C. Ukala, SAN, P.B. Daudu Esq, Adedayo Adedeji Esq. and C.E. Ogbozor Esq. for the Appellant Wahab Shittu with Abdulwahab Muhammed Esq, A.A. Abdulraheem Esq. and Rafat Olatunde Esq for the Respondent.

Reported by Optimum Law Publishers Limited (Publishers of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports (NMLR))

01.05.2018

NEWS/5

L-R: Attorney at Law, Mediation Service, Daniel Yamshon, Guest Speaker, Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN, Mediator/Discovery Referee/Special Master, Melissa Blair Elliot, Associate Director, California Lawyers for the Arts, Jody Prunier and Attorney at Law, Mediator and Arbitrator, Ken Melovos during Ali's lecture at Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Section Luncheon of the Sacramento County Bar held in Sacramento, California, last Friday Photo: Funke Olaodei

L-R: Ms. Osarieme Ezekiel; Lagos State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Opeyemi Oke; Chairman, KPMG Africa., Mr. Kunle Elebute

How Application of ADR Can Help Solve Criminal Matters, Particularly Corruption Funke Olaode in Sacramento, California A call has been made to leaders in the African continent and developed world, to adopt the use of alternative dispute resolution in resolving criminal matters, particularly corruption cases, instead of running a circuit show that would not lead anywhere.

The call was made during a lecture titled, “The use of ADR in Government Corruption Cases”, being a paper delivered by Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN at the ADR Section Luncheon of the Sacramento County Bar, held on Friday April 27th, 2018 in Sacramento, California, United States of America.

According to him, the call became imperative, as the traditional mode of addressing corruption cases seems not to have taken governments anywhere, the world over. The new increased drive towards settlement of disputes through the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanism, will do everyone a lot of good if it is extended to criminal cases, specifically corruption cases.

Speaking further, he said unlike the suits and trial cases, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) includes processes that are out of court proceedings, due to fact that pendency of court cases and

suits have gone through roofs, ADR has gained paramount significance in almost every civilised dispensation.

Shedding more light on how the model works, the legal icon who was also a recipient of 2018 Humanitarian Peace Award from the Centre for African Peace & Conflict Resolution, California State University, Sacramento, said Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is the procedure for settling disputes without litigation, such as arbitration, mediation, or negotiation.

Stressing the need to adopt ADR, he noted that the process is less formal, less expensive, and less time-consuming than a trial, just as ADR can also give people more opportunity to determine when and how their dispute will be resolved.

Are there statutory provisions for ADR in the Nigerian legal system? He answered in the affirmative, as in Nigeria, the governing legislation is the Arbitration and Conciliation Act which provides a unified legal frame- work for the fair and efficient settlement of commercial disputes by arbitration and conciliation, and also makes applicable the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards (New York Convention) to any award made in Nigeria or in any contracting State, arising out of international commercial

arbitration.

Talking on the use of ADR in government corruption cases, he pointed out that the use of ADR in the criminal justice system in Nigeria, has generated some concerns. For instance, it has been argued that the ADR option privatises disputes, in contexts in which public policy requires the clear intervention of the State with strict public scrutiny.

In other words, ADR tends to view conflict as personal, emotional, and rooted in miscommunication rather than as stemming from illegal and criminally actionable behaviour.

Citing countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, that appear to have taken the lead in the use of ADR and restorative justice in the criminal justice system, he said in Canada, it would appear that the whole spectrum of ADR in the criminal Justice system finds expression.

“These include victim-offender mediation, sentencing circles, group conferencing and community crime prevention programmes.

In fact, in Canada, legislation recognises the role of ADR in the Criminal Justice process. Section 718.2(e) of the Canadian Criminal Code, legislates recognition

of innovative sentencing practices, such as healing and sentencing circles, and Aboriginal Community Council Projects, which share a common underlying principle: that is, the importance of community based societies. The section states that “all available sanctions other than imprisonment that are reasonable in the circumstances should be considered for all offenders, with particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders”.

While critics have often argued on the plea bargaining system, which allows an offender or looter to part with some percentage of the money looted, Ali argued that plea negotiation is ADR par excellence in the criminal justice system. He stated there was no argument as to whether the American legal system recognises ADR in the criminal justice system, because it does.

“Plea bargaining is an entrenched part of the American criminal justice system. It is so entrenched, that less than ten percent of criminal cases go to trial, while over 90 percent are settled under plea bargain.

Thus, the U.S. criminal justice system countenances ADR. CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

Change of Counsel Stalls Trial of Businessman Accused of Cloning SON Logo Akinwale Akintunde The trial of a Businessman, Nonso Udoye, accused of cloning the production and registration logo of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), was stalled last Wednesday, due to his request for change of Counsel.

Udoye is standing trial, on a 15-count charge bordering

on Forgery and Counterfeiting, before Justice Saliu Saidu of a Federal High Court, Lagos.

During last Wednesday’s proceedings, his Counsel, Mr. Emmanuel Okoroafor, told the court that he just took over the matter, and needed time to study the Proof of Evidence.

He therefore, asked the court for an adjournment to enable him familiarise himself with

the case.

Responding, the Prosecution Counsel, Mrs. Amaka Allen-Ngbale, objected on the ground that the matter was listed for trial.

“The matter is for trial.

We have our witness in court, who is a police officer. We are ready to go on", she said.

However, the Judge

acceded to the Defence’s request, and consequently adjourned the matter to May 7, 2018, for trial.

Udoye was arraigned on February 25, and had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He is being remanded in prison, as he has been CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

2018 Oakwell Mediation Conference Akinwale Akintunde The2018 OakwellPartnersA DR:MediationConference,took placelast Tuesday at Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos.

The theme of the Conference ‘Business has no Business in Court’, was borne out of the significance of time when it comes to business, since as far as business is concerned, time is money.

Businesses typically are concerned with growth and earnings. So anything that impedes this, should be discouraged.

Therefore, resolving commercial disputes in an adversarial, long drawn out manner, is not the most effective way. Oakwell Partners, with their passion for Mediation and its continued development in Nigeria, hosted this third edition of its Annual Mediation Conference.

In her Welcome Remarks, the Managing Partner of Oakwell Partners and Conference Organiser, Ms Osarieme Ezekiel, encouraged all stakeholders, to see ADR as not just Alternative Dispute Resolution, but Accelerated Dispute Resolution, emphasising that sometimes, otherwise profitable transactions that started with so much promise, are derailed due to mismanagement of disputes.

Ms Ezekiel asked why anyone should be embroiled in court, in a process that damages

relationships, where only one side wins, when there is a process that supports business in terms of timeliness and ensures win-win solutions to old or bitter fights, and also ensures a mutually beneficial outcome? When the question should be, what is the best way of resolving the dispute, that still preserves the intended business objectives. She added that this is where mediation became relevant.

Ms Ezekiel cited the example of what happened with what used to be the Federal Secretariat in Lagos, and how progress with that business venture has been stalled for over 16years now, as a result of dispute, wondering if the subject-matter of the dispute was not almost eroded, if not fully eroded.

Ms Ezekiel concluded that, it is a good business decision to use Mediation as a formal process.

The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Honourable Justice Opeyemi Oke delivered the Opening Speech, while Mr Kunle Elebute, Chairman, KPMG Africa, delivered the Keynote Address. Mr Anthony Gross from Kenya, was the Guest Speaker.

The Special Guest of Honour, Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, Mr Adeniji Kazeem, was ably represented by Mrs Funlola Odunlami, Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Justice.

LEGAL UPDATE LAGOS STATE JUDICIARY HOLDS 1ST BIANNUAL LECTURE The Lagos State Judiciary, will hold a historic 1st Bi-Annual Lecture titled ‘JUDICIAL STANDARDS, INTEGRITY, RE- SPECT AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION: A Comparative Analy- sis From Independence in 1960 into the Present Millennium’, to be delivered by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen JSC, GCON. The lecture will take place on 14th May, 2018 at the Lagos City Hall, and will be chaired by His Excellency, the Vice President of Nigeria, ProfessorYemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON. This event is in fulfillment of one of the promises made by his Lordship, Hon. Mr. Justice Opeyemi Oke, Honourable Chief Judge of Lagos State, at her swearing in as the 16th Chief Judge of Lagos State on 21st October, 2017.The lec- ture will serve to provoke jurisprudential value and inspira- tion to stakeholders and the general public, and showcase the developmental progress in judicial standards in the Nigerian Judiciary, over the years.

The lecture promises to be impactful, educative and a most memorable event, and is the first of its kind, in the history of the Lagos State Judiciary.

6/

01.05.2018

Lagos CJ Swears in New Notaries Public, Urges them to Always Verify Documents Akinwale Akintunde Lagos State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Opeyemi Oke, has charged newly sworn-in Notaries Public in the State, to always verify documents presented to them before signing them.

Justice Oke gave made the charge last week while administering oath to 27 newly sworn-in Notaries Public.

Speaking at the occasion, Justice Oke noted that it was becoming very embarrassing that many Lawyers who are Notaries Public, sign documents without verifying the documents, or seeing the actual deponents of such documents.

"I congratulate all of you that have been approved as Notaries Public today. My word

of caution however, is that you must do your job responsibly. Before signing any document, you must see the maker of the document, and verify that the assertions made on the document are true.

"Recently some foreign Governments have been writing us to verify the authenticity of some documents. In going through these documents purportedly signed by Notaries Public, we realised that such Notaries Public, are fake. We are working towards making sure that this does not continue", Justice Oke added.

Some of those who were awarded the Notary Public includes, former Lagos State Solicitor-General, Mr. Lawal Pedro, SAN and Editor of THISDAY Lawyer, Mrs. Onikepo Braithwaite.

L-R: Olajumoke Taiwo Abiola; Editor THISDAY Lawyer, Onikepo Braithwaite; Lawal Pedro, SAN; Innocent A. Ovbagbedia and others, during the Oath Taking Ceremony at the Ikeja High Court

Onikepo Braithwaite (left) and Lagos State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Opeyemi Oke

L-R: Deputy Editor THISDAY Lawyer, Jude Igbanoi, Onikepo Braithwaite and Lawal Pedro, SAN

Legal Personality of the Week Orowhuo W. A. Okocha

‘Hardwork and Patience: Virtues Every Lawyer Must Possess to Succeed’ Orowhuo W. A. Okocha, also known as Oros.

I am a proud alumnus of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, and Brunel University, London, United Kingdom. I was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2008, and I am currently the Assistant Managing Solicitor at Okocha and Okocha Legal Practitioners and Notary Public, a Law Firm founded and registered in 1983 by my father and Managing Solicitor, O. C. J. Okocha, MFR, SAN, JP. Have you had any challenges in your career as a Lawyer, and if so, what were the main challenges?

Perhaps the greatest challenge so far in my career as a Lawyer, is my father. My father is an illustrious Legal Practitioner. He has done practically everything, that can be done in the Legal Profession in Nigeria: He is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, He is a Life Bencher, He has served as the Attorney-General of Rivers State, He is a former Secretary and former Chairman of the Port Harcourt Branch of the NBA, He is a Past President of the NBA, He is a former Chairman of the Council of Legal Education, etc. If you look at his C.V., the only two achievements he has not yet attained at the Bar, are being made the Chairman of the Body of Benchers and being appointed the Attorney-General of the Federation. He is still in active practice, so these may still happen!

Can you imagine being in the same profession as him? I am perpetually in his shadow. I have met Lawyers who don’t bother to ask my name, but are quick to refer to me as “OCJ’s son”, “OCJ Junior” or “OCJ 2”. When I have the time, I will occasionally point out that we don’t even have the same initials, and that I have an older brother who has the same initials as him, and is, in fact, “OCJ Junior.” Even after all these years, I still feel eyes shoot in my direction, every time I announce my appearance in court.

a Lawyer. It is my belief that a career in law is called “practice”, for the singular reason that it is a profession that requires constant learning and tweaking, in order to succeed. I have had good days and bad days in my career.

Orowhuo W. A. Okocha

I feel like my every word and action, are closely scrutinised and compared to him.

The challenge with that, as you can probably imagine, and as an older Lawyer and friend once remarked, is that people love you just because of your pedigree, and people hate you just because of your pedigree. In other words, particularly with the naysayers, I believe that I am judged and criticised, by higher standards than my peers.

Some people actually think I have it easy, and that I am being spoon-fed every step of the way.

It has even been said to my face.

I must say that, I relish the challenge and tackle it by working hard. I am grateful for the doors that have opened by virtue of being “OCJ’s son”, and I am grateful for the doors that have been closed, by virtue of that same fact.

What was your worst day as a Lawyer?

It may come as a surprise, but I do not have a single day that I refer to as my worst day as

What was your most memorable experience as a Lawyer?

Similar to my last answer, because of my passion for legal practice, every experience is memorable to me in its own way. Permit me, however, to share the experience of the first time I appeared in court alone. I was a Youth Corper serving in the Law Firm of J-K Gadzama and Partners, and had been handed a file to go to the High Court of the FCT, to argue a Motion to re-list a suit that had been struck out. For clarification, I knew at the time that such applications must be by Motion on Notice, but in my excitement over making my first solo appearance, I rushed to court the next day without ever glancing at the file.

Upon the matter being mentioned, imagine the embarrassment and shock I got when I reached into the file and pulled out a Motion Ex Parte.

I had to apply for an adjournment, to file the proper application. In retrospect, it had been a clerical error.

Who has been most influential in your life?

My greatest influence in life, generally, is my family. Everything I do, is influenced by my desire to make them proud of me, and to avoid bringing disrepute and disappointment to their lives. In the Legal Profession, I state, for the record, that my greatest influence is my father, O. C. J. Okocha, SAN. I have also been inspired and influenced by Okey Wali, SAN, Emmanuel C. Aguma, SAN, and Rufus N. Godwins, Esq. Through the years, I have not only admired these men from a distance, I have also been opportune to engage in one-on-one conversations with each of them, that has left

lasting impressions on my outlook on life and the Profession.

Why did you become a Lawyer?

It is hard to say. Immediately after that stage in every young boy’s life where he wants to be the next, great superhero or famous explorer, I settled on the idea of wanting to become a Lawyer and never looked back. In retrospect, I was almost certainly inspired by my father, but I never saw it that way.

What would be your advice to anyone wanting a career in Law? Hard work and Patience, are virtues that you must be willing to marry in order to succeed.

If you follow current affairs, there are constant discussions about young Lawyers being grossly underpaid, and a lot of Lawyers dream of being called to the Bar on Tuesday, and becoming multimillionaires by the Thursday of the same week! While the issue of young Lawyers’ allowances, is not without reason or to be quickly disregarded, it is my firm belief that the Profession in Nigeria is mostly reputation-based, and that until you have established your reputation, you will be unable to command the fee you feel you deserve; and building a reputation takes years of dedicated service and hard work.

If you had not become a Lawyer, what would you have chosen?

I am fascinated by human behaviour, so I may have pursued a career in the social sciences. I am also slightly addicted to basketball, so maybe, I might also have pursued a career as a professional basketball player.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Hopefully, conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and being recognised more in the Profession as myself, and not simply as “OCJ’s son”.

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Last Wednesday, April 25, 2018, a Valedictory Service was held at the foyer of the Lagos High Court, in honour of the late Chief Abdulfatai Idowu Sofola, SAN, MON, past Chairman of the Body of Benchers. Here are some of the eminent Personalities that attended the event. photos: Kolawole Alli

Cross section of Judges including Lagos State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Opeyemi Oke

L-R: Akarigbo of Remo, Oba Adewale Ajayi; Son of the deceased, Olusina Sofola, SAN and Lagos State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Opeyemi Oke

Olusina Sofola, SAN and widow of the late Idowu Sofola, Mrs. Sofola

Mrs. Darling Sofola and her husband, Kayode Sofola, SAN

Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Aloma Mukhtar, GCON and former NBA President, Dame Priscilla Kuye

Olusina Sofola, SAN

Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem

L-R: DCR Legal 2, A.K. Shonubi; Funmi Demi Ajayi; DCR Admin, Femi Segun and Chief Regisrar, Mrs. Abiola Soladoye

L-R: Akin Osinbajo, SAN, Yetunde Pinneiro and Kemi Pinneiro, SAN

L-R: Mr. Toyin Pinneiro, SAN, Mr. Folakunmi Pinneiro and Mr. Kemi Pinneiro, SAN

L-R: Moyo Onigbanjo, SAN, Toyin Pinneiro, SAN and Tunde Busari, SAN

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THERE WAS A GANI: WHEN COMES ANOTHER? whenever volcanic and tempestuous Gani came for our jugular.

Choosing his Clients If Gani were alive (from my deep knowledge of him), he would have since gone to court voluntarily, without even being consulted or paid by so-called corrupt people, to defend them against Buhari’s bare-faced impunity and persecution of the opposition and critical voices, and protect their fundamental rights and the rule of law. Gani would have done so, because the Nigerian criminal justice system is accusatorial (Anglo-saxon model that presumes one’s innocence), as against the French inquisitorial model, which presumes one’s guilt. He would readily cite the provisions of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, which presumes the innocence of an accused person, and his right to be defended by any Lawyer of his choice. He would remind all, that it is the constitutional provision, that it is the accuser who must prove a “crime” against an accused person beyond reasonable doubt, and that the accused has no duty to prove his innocence. He would remind all, of the immortal words that “it is better that ten guilty persons escape justice, than that one innocent person suffers”, as propounded by the English Jurist, William Blackstone, in his seminal formulation known as “Blackstone’s Ratio”, or “Blackstone Formulation”. Gani would defiantly accept the briefs from the so-called accused corrupt politicians, because they themselves are being prosecuted by Lawyers (many of them are SANs), who have been hired by the Government, to prosecute them. He would slap their faces with historical facts, that it was Lawyers who defended infamous and convicted armed robbers, like Ishola Oyenusi, Babatunde Folorunsho, Lawrence Anini, Monday Osunbor, Shina Rambo, George Iyamu, Abiodun Egunjobi, etc. He would lecture historical revision, that it is Lawyers who prosecute and defend suspected and apprehended kidnappers, coupists, arsonists, murderers, rapists, abductors, and other heinous crime suspects, because they have a constitutional right to be defended.

Gani lived for the defence of the common people (whether rich or poor), once pithed against a more powerful armada of government forces, because he would insist on observance of the rule of law, due process, and respect for cherished fundamental human rights of every Nigerian, irrespective of gender, class, tribe, religion, or station in life.

That was why and how Gani led me and other Lawyers in his chambers, to defend Colonel Peter Obasa, the then NYSC Director and Chief Kila, his Deputy, in 1984; Dr Olu Onagoruwa; Ibrahim Dikko; Isaac Idio Udoka (an Ikot-Ekpene based Businessman), all of whom were accused of acts of corruption, embezzlement and stealing of public and private funds. He also defended Chuba Okadigbo, the then Senate President, whom he defended on allegations of corruption, after he was impeached and replaced with Anyim Pius Anyim. He had cited amongst others, in his resolve to defend these people, at a press conference, he addressed with the title, “The Politics of the Nigerian Bar Association on Decree No. 3 of 1984 (Trial of Politicians and Publicans and Public Officers), the following laws that allowed him to defend these so-called politicians: Section 33(4) of the 1979 Constitution (now section 36 of the 1999 Constitution), Article 2(1) of the Nigerian Bar Association Constitution, and Rule 9(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct in the Legal Profession, which provides inter alia: “It is the right of the Lawyer to undertake the defence of a person accused of crime, regardless of his personal opinion as to the guilt of the accused; otherwise innocent persons, victims only of suspicious circumstances, might be denied proper defence”.

“The lawyer is bound, by all fair and honourable means, to present every defence that the law of the land permits, to the end that no person may be deprived of life or liberty, but by the due process of law.

“Rule 7 (A) on page 1870, provides as follows: “Every person accused of crime has a right to a fair trial, including persons whose conduct, reputation or alleged violations, may be the subject of public unpopularity or clamour.”

“This places a duty of service on the legal

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profession and, where particular employment is declined, the refusal of the brief or to undertake a defence may not be justified merely on account of belief in the guilt of the accused, or repugnance towards him or to the crime or offence as charged.”

Gani had queried the NBA: “How can the Bar attempt a lopsided discriminatory, timid and infantile hypocrisy in this matter?

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Head of the Nigerian Legal System today and the Head of the Highest Disciplinary Body in Nigeria, acknowledged the Tribunal and swore in all the members of all the Tribunals in the country.

The Attorney-General of the Federation, is the Head of the Nigerian Bar and he drafted the Decrees. The NBA paid courtesy calls to him, clinking wine glasses with him in his office.

The Judges in these Tribunals, are themselves Lawyers. The prosecuting Counsel in these Tribunals, are members of the Bar. Yet in its morbid and insensate hypocrisy, schizophrenic and chameleonic, diddling, swizzling and wangling, the NBA has no complaint against the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, the Judges who are members of the Tribunals and prosecutors. Right thinking members of the Nigerian public, I leave the judgement to you, to assess the resolution of the NBA passed on the 5th May, 1984.’’ If Gani were alive, he would have challenged in court all the “gates” in this government, and its allergy to the observance of human rights and the rule of law.

Gani was a teetotaller, who also did not smoke. But he had terrible addiction: Coffee.

He liked it black, without sugar. That was why when he was detained in Gashua prisons, the Authorities thought they could kill him by offering him coffee. He rejected the sinister plot outright. Knowing the authorities knew about coffee being his Achilles Heel, he decided altogether to quit.

It is a great irony of fate and indecipherable paradox, that lung cancer killed Gani who neither smoked nor drank. In his dying days, Gani told me when I visited him at his Ademola Close, GRA residence, in a husky, vanishing voice (I wept because of its wide difference from his well known tiny, but strong metallic voice ),"Ozek, I will not die.

I will conquer this conqueror called cancer".

He fought the terminal disease valiantly, giving thieving monstrous death a run for its luciferous money. Gani died because of poor medical services in Nigeria, because his lung cancer was not discovered early enough, as his Nigerian doctors continued to tell him his problem was heart related.

Gani, the Humour Merchant Unknown to most Nigerians who only saw the fiery side of Gani, he was an unparalleled humour merchant, who could have driven away the likes of the Ali Babas, Malekes, Bovis, I go die and Basket Mouths of this world, if he had taken to comedy. He was rancorously funny, with witty wise cracks that sent all of us reeling on our backs, whenever he opened his mouth. We all looked forward to his unending jokes.

Gani, the Disciplinarian Gani was a strict disciplinarian. He once descended on me physically before Justice Aderoye of the Ikere Ekiti High Court, during a chieftaincy matter. My offence was that, I did not simultaneously open a law Report he had cited, because I was taking down notes of his fecund legal submissions. When he grabbed me by my gown, Justice Aderoye asked him, “Gani, what are you doing?”. He answered pleasantly, “sorry my lord, I was putting my house in order”, as he gyrated from side to side as he was want to do.

Gani would call up Mr. Ojo, the then Chambers Manager, to lock up the gate and prevent Lawyers from going home. It did not matter that the time was already 11pm.

On such occasions, he would send for suya, corn, pear, coffee and other edibles. Then, we would all realise that, no one was going home that day. So, I got used to going to work on Monday, and returning home late Saturday. I slept on the well rugged floor of my office for the next six days. I always had my clothes, towels and toiletries with me. I have not been able to get over this practice till date, as I still sleep in my offices, after working till about 4am.

Gani’s Imperishable Legacies In spite of incarceration and other forms

The 44 foot Statue of the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, SAM, standing at Ojota Park, unveiled by the Lagos State Government last week, to commemorate his posthumous 80th Birthday

of violations, at the instance of successive neo-colonial regimes in the country, such as over 30 detentions, seizure of passport on 10 occasions, search of his house 16 times, the quintessential Gani remained ever undaunted, and chose to pursue the cause of social justice with equanimity and dedication. Gani’s unrelenting courage and unwavering doggedness, his sheer audacity and perseverance, his deep reverence for the rule of just law, and passion for nonviolent revolution, placed him in the class of political leaders like Mahatma Gandhi of India and Martin Luther King of the United States.

Gani was jailed or detained more than any other Nigerian, living or dead, brutalised and humiliated, not for committing any offence, but for challenging Government impunity and excesses. He was beaten, tear-gassed, injured and or ridiculed, on account of his human rights works.

It is indisputable that, Chief Fawehinmi made unrivalled contributions to legal development in Nigeria. In other words, his positive impact on the legal system is legendary. Gani’s immense contribution to the development of various aspects of the law, manifested in the numerous cases he handled, bordering on serious social, economic and political issues. Gani was a man of the law, and ardent believer in the cause of justice. While successive oppressive and repressive military regimes and civilian governments in the country, relied on the might of their weapons to confront dissenting opinions and opposing elements, the law remained the major weapon with which Gani fought to end oppression in the country. The famous Nigerian Weekly Reports, which we sat down and conceptualised together (I actually suggested the name and title, modelled after the English Weekly Law Reports) and launched on 1st October, 1985, lives on today as perhaps his greatest contribution to legal development and jurisprudence in Nigeria. Adieu Gani.

Farewell.

Gani has been rightly called: "the scourge of irresponsible governments, a sphygmomanometer with which the blood pressure of dictators is gauged, the veritable conscience of the nation and the champion of the interests and causes of the masses". Many Nigerians also took to calling him the “People’s President”.

IBB on Gani, June 12 Curiously, General Babangida, whose Government detained Gani the most, is on record as saying he has enormous respect for the fallen activist. His words: “If there is one man I respect, it is Gani. It sounds strange. I appreciate you that you have a strong conviction, and fight for it consistently. This is the context in which I see Gani. I was a consistent “evil”, and he was ... a dogged fighter and I respect him for this. In fact, there are three of them I respect like that. They are Gani, late (Professor Awojobi) and Dr. Yusuf Bala Usman.

None of them says anything, without

“IN SPITE OF INCARCERATION AND OTHER FORMS OF VIOLATIONS, AT THE INSTANCE OF SUCCESSIVE NEO-COLONIAL REGIMES IN THE COUNTRY, SUCH AS OVER 30 DETENTIONS, SEIZURE OF PASSPORT ON 10 OCCASIONS, SEARCH OF HIS HOUSE 16 TIMES, THE QUINTESSENTIAL GANI REMAINED EVER UNDAUNTED, AND CHOSE TO PURSUE THE CAUSE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE WITH EQUANIMITY AND DEDICATION”

doing his homework first.’’

In addition, General Babangida deployed a curious sense of humour, when asked by newsmen why his Government detained Gani. His reply: “What kind of question is that? Every Nigerian President arrests Gani Fawehinmi. Why should my turn be different?

It’s all in a day’s work. It’s just part of the job description”.

In the words of the former Military President: “There was one vivid meeting that has remained in my memory about Gani, and that was in 1984. I was the Chief of Army Staff. Gani, in his characteristic manner, was as fearless as ever, when we asked him to relate his own side of a particular issue as he blasted all of us irrespective of the fact that we were all generals in uniform and he was the only civilian among us, and all what we did was to clap for him as we appreciated his courage.”

Final Thoughts on Gani It was Voltaire (1694 - 1778) who said, “We owe respect to the living; to the dead we owe only truth.” The truth about Gani Fawehimi, is that he snatched the lightning shaft from heaven, and the sceptre from tyrants.

Gani took risks, even after estimating them beforehand. Others are brave out of ignorance; and, when they stop to think, they begin to fear. But the man who can most truly be accounted brave, is he who best knows the meaning of what is sweet in life and of what is terrible, and then goes out undeterred to meet what is to come.

This was Gani for you. There was a Gani, whence comes another. He came; he saw; he conquered. Adieu, farewell, the rebel with a cause.

Chief Mike A.A. Ozekhome, SAN, OFR, FCIArb, Ph.D, LL.D, Constitutional Lawyer, Human Rights Activist

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COVER/11 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 arrange for a driver to go and drop those of us who stayed late with him in the office, especially female staff, or give you money for taxi. As a Lawyer in the chambers, you were exposed to a lot of opportunities. You earned your salary as a Lawyer, and if you were proficient to be part of the law reports, you also earned your salary as a member of the Editorial Board of the weekly law reports, in addition to a copy of the publication every week.

At a particular time, I was earning my salary as a Lawyer, and earning a salary as a Deputy Editor of the Weekly Law Reports, and also earning salary as Editor of the Human Rights Law Reports of Africa. That was a largesse. So it may have been tough at the beginning, but as you grew in the office and Gani saw that industry in you, he would create enough jobs for you to do, which would compensate for your industry. So, I will score Gani satisfactory generally, and score him excellent, personally. He singled me out for favour, I must say, because I never for once had serious problem of finance.

So, as you can see, Gani was a builder of persons, and a person who builds you, cannot at the same time be guilty of lack of welfare or slave driving. He emphasised more on the person, than what is in your pocket. I will forever be grateful to God, that I was privileged to work under such a builder.

to run the firm, to be committed to all the cases, without making the clients feel his absence. And the case of the Supreme Court Justices v. Concord Press was on then, wherein General Babangida was being summoned to testify. He then filed an application for his testimony to be taken in Minna, because of alleged threat to his security in Lagos. I was assigned to prepare a counter- affidavit. It is still one of my memorable moments in the chambers, as that counter-affidavit sealed the coffin of Babangida’s application.

When Gani was eventually released, he told me that he was able to read the counter-affidavit in the newspapers in prison, and it was one of the things that kept him going whilst in detention, because he was then assured that his absence will not affect the clients and cases in the Chambers. I felt truly accomplished.

Gani v Abacha And the crowning case, was that of FAWEHINMI v ABACHA. It was about State Security (Detention of Persons) Decree No. 2 of 1984. Gani told me that, he wanted the Decree nullified once and for all, because it had become notorious as the single instrument of incarceration of activists by all successive regimes.

After we won at the Court of Appeal, the State appealed to the Supreme Court. At that time, I was in custody at the Directorate of Military Intelligence, Apapa, where I eventually spent nine months. Upon my release, I had some health challenges to resolve, so I was not prepared to resume work yet. One day, Gani called me into his office. He said he is very passionate about the appeal pending in the Supreme Court, and he wanted me to resume on time to tackle the appeal. He then handed me the files, that I should take them home, and take my time to study and prepare the brief of arguments. It was indeed a very big challenge. I remember the day the appeal was eventually argued in the Supreme Court. Justice Ogundare gave me a really tough time, as he just wouldn’t believe that we were seeking to enforce the African Charter, even over our own Constitution, even though his judgement eventually turned out to be the most profound. Justice Uwaifo was at his intellectual best, throwing questions that would suggest you rather withdrew the appeal altogether, only to come out eloquently in support of our arguments. So by now, I was ready for anything!

Gani v IGP And then came the case of FAWEHINMI v IGP, where Gani was challenging the records of the former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I was assigned to conduct a detailed research into the case, travelling through law reports of India, America and England. In court, I appeared against Aare Afe Babalola, SAN and Mr Sunday Ehindero, who represented the IGP. It was the toughest case for me, not necessarily because of the legal arguments, but rather the threat to my life and that of Gani.

On the day the case was argued, supporters of the former Governor stormed the Federal High Court, in Ikoyi, and attempted to lynch Gani. His car was smashed with a big stone, and it was only the grace of God and the dexterity of his driver, that saved Gani

Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, SAM

that day. Gani having escaped, the mob laid siege in the court, waiting for me to come out. The Registrars of the Court and some of the security men, who were well aware of this plot, smuggled me into a small room in the Court Registry, where I stayed till the close of business and I then went home from the court.

Gani, the ‘Slave Driver’:My Take Maybe I will not use the term ‘slave driver’, but I know that Gani worked very hard at whatever he is doing, and the tendency was that, if you are his partner in the office, you had to work at his own pace. And if you chose to call him a slave driver, definitely he was always driving himself, and if you were to work with him, you too would have to drive yourself along. Resumption time was 8a.m. but he preferred that you resumed earlier. So, by about 7a.m., Gani would be on the phone, monitoring the movement of staff, at Anthony Village and at the Law Report section in Lagos.

He would also monitor the courts, to know if you have taken undue time to return to the chambers. He had no closing time personally, but the official closing time was 6pm. So, you could choose to close at 6pm, but many of us gradually got used to closing late with him, as late as 10 or 11 pm. There were times that we slept in the office.

It was quite stressful, but as a young bachelor then with no responsibility whatsoever, I enjoyed it. It was part of the reasons why I married late.

So I do not consider Gani as a slave driver personally, but for some who could not measure up to his own standards, they may see it differently.

We worked on Saturdays till late in the night, and at times on Sundays, after

“NO DOUBT, HIS AILMENT WAS A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE OF HIS MANY STRUGGLES, PARTICULARLY HIS ONE YEAR DETENTION AT GASHUA PRISONS....IT WAS WHEN HE CAME BACK FROM THAT DETENTION, THAT HE STARTED COMPLAINING OF PAINS IN HIS CHEST AND LUNGS. THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS DEATH”

service. There were no public holidays, as each day meant so much to the office. So it was just work, work and work.

Gani’s Temperament Chief Fawehinmi could be very temperamental, no doubt, but I think that is normal with human beings of his kind. There were indeed, moments when I saw him in action. Ordinarily, he does not like idleness, so he was always pacing, jumping and leaping throughout the whole office. He would just get up from his seat, and pounce on you unexpectedly. And God help you, if you were dozing or chatting at that point. If you knew what was right, and you were not doing it, then he would be on your neck every day, until you agree to do what is right. He didn’t tolerate lateness to work or to the court. His philosophy was that, you should not give any excuse, such as traffic or rain, for lateness or absence.

The gate to the chambers was usually locked at 8am, and once you were late, you would have to call him on phone to explain the reason for your lateness.

If accepted, you were allowed to go in and resume, if not, you could receive your letter of termination at the gate.

Though it looked like punishment then, but looking back now, I thank God that I worked with him under those circumstances.

Gani and His Staff’s Welfare It was not static, as Gani had categories of staff, such as Lawyers and other support staff, who worked in the chambers, staff of the Law Report section, and his domestic staff.

Generally, Gani took interest in his workers, but this was based purely on your productivity. He had a general payment pattern, but he had various incentives for those who worked a little better than others. For instance, the general closing time was 6pm, but Gani stayed in the office till 10/11 pm at times. He expected you to stay in the office with him, to assist him to pick cases, to draft papers or do some other job. If, however, you preferred to close at 6pm, he would not compel you to stay beyond that time, but you would probably not benefit from his incentives.

On many occasions, he would

Lesson I Learnt from Gani Gani taught me, how to use law to challenge Anything. He didn’t believe in restrictions. He had that innate belief that any issue can be raised in court. Those times when I sat with him at home, and he would be dictating the reliefs to be filed in court, I couldn’t but wonder what kind of man he was. Asking the court, to compel Abacha to release the report of all probe panels set up by the Government, or that the court should abolish the office of the First Lady of Nigeria! And he did it with so much passion, that you are immediately infected with the virus of activism yourself.

What I learnt was that, whenever Gani gives you an assignment, it is for your own good, for an opportunity to learn. Because in all cases, before he gives the instruction, he had already concluded his research on the legal issues involved, so that you either agree with him and be part of the discovery, or he uses someone else.

Gani always emphasised Integrity.

In any meeting of Lawyers, he would always drive home the point that, intelligence alone could not sustain a law firm. That apart from industry, a Lawyer needs integrity to attract and keep clients. So Gani did not want anything shady, fraudulent or with any iota of stain at all.

The issue of disloyalty to clients, was an abomination to him. He could fire a Lawyer right from the courtroom, if there was any evidence of compromise.

He wanted clients to build confidence in the Lawyer.

Apart from integrity, he loved thoroughness and excellence, so he was always in love with brilliant fellows.

Gani also loved to be prompt and timely. He wanted you to always get to court before the court officials, and indeed, your clients. He explained to me that it is better you are in court early enough, check your case on the cause list, familiarise yourself with the court officials, and take time to resolve any issues that may delay hearing.

He was a family man to the core.

He took active interest in his children especially, and was always willing to give them the very best. But he never allowed his family, to interfere in his business at all. He didn’t mix business with domestic affairs. One day I asked him why his wives were not actively involved in business. He then explained to me that, every man should struggle and CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

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pray to God to be blessed enough to cater for his family.

That no man should ever expect to use any income generated by his wife. That business is a distraction for women, and he would rather prefer to suffer and cater for all the needs of his wives and children. That was one of his most sober moments, as we remained in the office that day till late in the night. Later on, when I interacted with his first wife, Mummy Ganiat, she told me that she used to have a flourishing bookshop and supermarket, but Gani insisted and she agreed to close the shop, so as to have enough time for their children.

So, its little wonder now that most of his children are professionals, Lawyers, Doctors and Students in some of the best schools in the world.

Gani was a shrewd business man. He wouldn’t tolerate anyone cheating him at all. When he had occasion to do so, he charged clients very outrageously, especially those of his rich clients. He needed the money, to finance the cases of his very poor and indigent clients.

Once in a while he would visit the account office, and when he discovered that sufficient income had not been generated, he would pounce on the litigation department and call for files of all non-paying clients, tie them with ropes and lock them away in an underground office where no one could ever have access to them. Of course, the following day, the clients would be all over the office to settle their bills. So he ran his law firm purely as a business entity, apart from the pro bono cases.

Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, SAM

Gani: Who He Was Perhaps the part of Chief Fawehinmi that the public may not be too familiar with, was his philanthropy. He has been a source of blessing to many. As a student leader at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, I was part of the progressive group which was pitched against the University authorities, most of the time.

It peaked in 1992, when we called out the students to protest the policies of the Nigerian Government, especially the proposed IMF loan then. At the end of the day, the University was shut down for about six months. The student leaders faced the consequences of the protest, resulting in mass dismissal of 62 students, including myself, Bamidele Aturu, Nurudeen Ogbara, Biola Akiode, Adeola Soetan, Idowu Awopetu, Adewale Sadiku and many other students, who are now successful people in their different fields all over Nigeria.

That was my first direct encounter with Gani. He came to Ife, to address all those affected by the dismissal, assuring us of his legal and financial support. True to his word, he took us to his chambers in Lagos, arranged for our feeding, and detailed Lawyers to attend to us, virtually on a day to day basis, till the case was filed in court. He personally attended to the case, and indeed secured an order of injunction against our dismissal. On the day the case was to be argued, he travelled from Ondo to Ife, and was already in court at about 8a.m., before we got there. It was later, that we discovered that he had left Ondo at about 5.30a.m., and he had been in court all morning.

We eventually won the case, and Gani went with us to the University, to serve a copy of the judgement on the Registrar, and he insisted that we be allowed to participate in the examinations. That was how we were re-admitted into the University, without missing any session. From that time, I made up my mind to work with him. So when I left the Law School, I went straight to his chambers, and I remained there until I established my own law firm in 2000.

Gani was generous to a fault. He accommodated all shades of people in his chambers, ranging from students, journalists, activists, policemen and even those in government. He had a very large heart, and was responsible for the education of many students in various schools, set up his family and even outsiders in business, without any form of discrimination whatsoever. In his chambers, for a very long time, Lawyers from the eastern part of the country, were in control of affairs; he had Mr. Asuquo from Akwa Ibom, as his personal assistant and we were mostly Christians.

When I was I arrested and locked up by the Sani Abacha regime, and kept at the Directorate of Military Intelligence for about nine months, Gani kept my salary intact and reserved my position in the office. It was the accumulated package, that I used to rent a flat when I was eventually released.

After establishing my own law firm, Gani would call me and send clients to my office, to take their briefs and prosecute their cases. When my law firm and chambers was gutted by fire in 2002, he sent me a letter, requesting for all items of books in the library. Later on, he provided me with new copies of all the weekly law reports that were burnt. He never ceased to amaze me, with his generosity. I remember a day when activists met at the home of late Dr. Beko Ransome- Kuti, and thereafter decided to storm the chambers of Gani for financial support and assistance. That day, he directed us to release his own personal computers that we were using in the office, as part of his own contribution, he offered his office as base for planning and his printing facilities. It was then with Dr. Osagie Obayuwana, that we planned and designed most of the posters used in prosecuting the June 12 struggles, in the office of Gani.

He was a caring father and boss. At a particular time in the course of the struggle to free the Ogoni

19, Gani sent me to Port Harcourt to file an application for bail for the Ogoni 19. Upon filing the application, I took it to them at Port Harcourt prison to sign. On the day of argument, the Prosecution opposed the application for bail, on the ground that I did not obtain leave of court to take the commissioner of police to the prison to witness the oath on the affidavit, and the application was struck out. I was really afraid, of what my fate would be in the office. Surprisingly, Gani got to know about it before I got to Lagos. He called me into his office to express his disappointment, and then he lectured me on the need for thoroughness in all cases. Right there and then, he asked me to sit down, and we both went through the process of re-filing a fresh application with Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, (now SAN and lead prosecutor for the EFCC). When I left Gani’s office that day, one of my colleagues in the office later approached me to oblige him the juju that I was using to charm Gani, because everyone in the office had expected that I would get the boot that day.

Gani had unusual boldness. In 1994, when Gen Sani Abacha declared all political parties illegal, Gani formed the National Conscience Party. The formation of the party in itself, was a problem, but one day, he called us together to assemble at Bariga, for an open rally. I was scared stiff. It was reported in all the newspapers, that the entire Bariga and Shomolu axis had been cordoned off by armed policemen and soldiers. But we went with Gani, and indeed, saw all the soldiers and policemen. Suddenly, Gani got out of his car, called for a table, mounted it with a micro phone and began to address us and indeed, the policemen and soldiers. I was shocked, and the armed soldiers were shocked too. Before they could recover, he had almost finished his speech, when suddenly the soldiers scampered together to arrest him and to shoot in the air, to scatter the crowd that had gathered. I was really afraid for him that day. And so it happened, on so many other days of his life.

Gani was indeed, the centre point of all struggles in Nigeria. He believed solely in merit, and was ready to put his life on the line for whatever he believed was the truth. He built confidence in people over time.

Because of this, he had no close friends that one could really call his bosom friends, apart from his Lawyers, his professional colleagues and activists from all professions.

No doubt, his ailment was a direct consequence of his many struggles, particularly his one year detention at Gashua prisons. When he got back, he narrated the story of the wickedness of that particular detention.

At first when he got there, he was kept in an open prison cell without a door, so that when the wind blew, it would blow dust, earth and dirt directly into his nose and eyes. He remained in that position for months, until we protested and filed an application in court, for right of access by his family and doctors. It was when he came back from that detention, that he started complaining of pains in his chest and lungs.

The Nigerian Government is solely responsible for his death.

The best we can do to honour Gani, is to continue his struggle for a better Nigeria, to pursue equity, truth and justice to all, without discrimination, fear or favour. We must continue to push those in positions of authority, to design and implement programmes that favour the masses of our people, to insist on democracy at all costs, governed by the rule of law and due process.

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, Legal Practitioner, Human Rights Activist, Managing Solicitor, Adegboruwa and Company, since 2000, Counsel in Gani Fawehinmi Chambers, from 1995 to 2000

01.05.2018

THE LIGHTER SIDE/13

LEGAL HUMOUR

We Hold Your Brief JUDE IGBANOI jude.igbanoi@thisdaylive.com Dear Counsel, Kindly, respond at your earliest convenience.

I am a Regional Coordinating Officer, for an EU based NGO. The West African Outreach program of the NGO, is planned to hold in Abuja or Lagos in September this year. Part of the activities of the program, is a lecture on gay rights, and it includes a talk to sensitise people about their right of choice of sex partners.

On receiving the program, I immediately sent an email reminding them that gay and same sex relations, are forbidden in Nigeria. In reply, they pointed out that they are aware of the law, but that they have information that there are many gay clubs in Nigeria, where people freely meet and interact.

Kindly, clarify the true position of the law on gays in Nigeria, because if I am unable to convince them, I may lose my position.

Mrs. O.E., Festac Town, Lagos Dear Mrs. O.E, So far your response to the NGO has been good, as far as telling them that our law prohibits same sex relationships.

Nigerian law totally forbids and prohibits gay activities, and many have been jailed since its passage in 2013.

The Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013 provides thus at Section 5(1): ‘A person who enters into a same sex marriage contract or civil union commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of 14 years imprisonment. (2) A person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations, or directly or indirectly makes public show of same sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of 10 years imprisonment.

(3) A person or group of persons who administers, witnesses, abets or aids the solemnisation of a same sex marriage or civil union, or supports the registration, operation and sustenance of gay clubs, societies, organisations, processions or meetings in Nigeria commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of 10 years imprisonment’.

You may do well, to let them know this and save yourself the serious consequences of participating in an unlawful event, which may end you all in jail.

Japan is in trouble Take heart, America. Three monkey wrenches have been thrown into Japan's well-oiled economic machine. It's only a mater of time before that powerful engine of productivity begins to sputter and fail.

What could cause such a sharp turnaround? High interest rates? Increased unemployment? Lower productivity? No, it's something much more economically debilitating - and permanent.

Three American lawyers have become the first foreign attorneys permitted to practice law in Japan. What's more, two of them are from New York!

The decline has begun.

Japan has one attorney for every 10,000 residents, compared to the U.S. ratio of one attorney for every 390 residents. For every 100 attorneys trained in Japan, there are 1,000 engineers. In the United States, that ratio is reversed.

But a law that became effective on April 1 permits foreigners to practice in Japan for the first time since 1955. Already, an additional 20 American and 6 British lawyers have applied for permission to open practices in Japan.

If anything can slow the Japanese economy, it's the presence of American attorneys.

What better way to even our balance of trade than to send Japan our costliest surplus commodity?

How's business?

Two lawyers met at a cocktail party late one night. "How’s business?" asked the first.

"Rotten," replied the other. "Yesterday, I chased an ambulance for twenty miles.

When I finally caught up to it, there were already two other lawyers hanging on to the bumper."

HOW APPLICATION OF ADR CAN HELP SOLVE CRIMINAL MATTERS, PARTICULARLY CORRUPTION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 However, notwithstanding the position of the courts that ADR is not applicable criminal matters or disputes in Nigeria, it is opined that ADR is indeed an entrenched part of the Nigerian criminal justice system, primarily because it is indigenous to the various peoples of the Nigerian State.”

Backing his argument on ADR, he said in spite of the provisions legislating against the use of ADR in criminal justice in Nigeria, there is ample evidence that ADR is incorporated in the formal criminal justice system. For instance, plea bargaining has been legislated into the criminal justice system of Lagos State.

The Child’s Rights Act 2003, has also expressly incorporated ADR into the juvenile justice system. Section 14 of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Establishment Act, empowers the Commission to compound offences, in order to obtain practical restitution. The Amnesty Programme of the Federal Government for Niger-Delta Militants, offers another important evidence of ADR in the criminal justice system.

Discussing how ADR should be used by government to solve criminal cases, he said, the world has moved from just arresting a public official that is corrupt, and jailing him. The world has moved to reparation, the focus is

CHANGE OF COUNSEL STALLS TRIAL OF BUSINESSMAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 unable to perfect the bail conditions granted him by the court.

The SON alleged that, the accused carried out the offences at a warehouse located at No. 219 Borno Way, Ebute Metta, Lagos.

The Agency said the warehouse was discovered by SON officials, sometime during a raid in the area.

A part of the charge read : "That you Nonso Udoye, Male, Adult of 36, Ayara Street, Surulere, Lagos, the Managing Director of a company known as Agastorm Limited on or about Nov. 7, 2017 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did knowingly and fraudulently forge a counterfeit production registration seal or mark of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and thereby committed an offence under section 468 of the Criminal Code Act CAP C39 LFN 2004 and punishable under section 467 Criminal Code Act CAP C39 LFN 2004.

"That you Nonso Udoye, Male, Adult of 36, Ayara Street, Surulere, Lagos, the Managing Director of a company known as Agastorm Limited on or about Nov. 7 2017,

did forge a counterfeit production registration seal or mark of the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) on 147 cartons of NSNOWS GAS REFRIGERANTS of 12 cylinders each, stored at the warehouse situated at No. 219 Borno Way, Ebute-Metta, Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent that they may in any way be used or acted upon as genuine and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 465 of the Criminal Code Act CAP C39 LFN 2004 and punishable under Section 467 of the Criminal Code Act CAP C39 LFN 2004.

"That you Nonso Udoye, Male, Adult of 36, Ayara Street, Surulere, Lagos, the Managing Director of a company known as Agastorm Limited on or about Oct. 19, 2017 did import and concerned for the importation of 1441 cartons of REGFRIGERANT GAS that did not comply with any industrial standard, and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 26(2)(b) of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria Act 2015 and punishable under section 26(2) (b)(iii) of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria Act 2015.

now on how to get back what has been stolen. “This is the challenge for present day government. A law should be sponsored, that will make the principles of tracing possible, and will protect whistle blowers. The entire hullabaloo and the criticisms that follow the issue of plea bargaining, will have to be revisited. What is important at this stage is, if X had stolen N10 billion, there should be something in our law that allows us, after tracing the N10 billion, to require him to forfeit the money to the State in exchange for minimal punishment. This is not to say that once people return money, they can go home free. No! Consequences must follow. If an individual admits stealing from the State, he should still be charged to court, plead guilty and given a minimal sentence. The stigma of being a convict is enough, even if he is not spending 100 years in prison. He may be sent to prison for a month, but the State has its money back in its coffers”.

And why are the cases failing? He noted that the number one problem, is that cases investigation starts after the person involved has been taken to court. Again, the capacity of the anti-corruption bodies to carry out investigations, is seriously limited.

“In terms of personnel and the requisite experience, they are not there. Then for the prosecution itself, when you prosecute a criminal offence, you are not the Judge, you may or may not win, so if you take an individual to court that he has enriched himself to the tune of N10 million, and for whatever reason you are unable to prove it, he goes away with the loot, once he is discharged and acquitted.

“Because of all these uncertainties, we may be better off having this kind of system in place, where we negotiate, the suspect surrenders 99% of whatever he has stolen, he is given minimal sentence, and then the money comes back to the purse for the Government to use for positive and purposeful things. So, I believe quite honestly that, other than that, we should strengthen the EFCC and ICPC and the Code of Conduct”, he concluded

14/

01.05.2018

ACJR Conference: Moving Towards a Better Criminal Justice System Jude Igbanoi The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), last week, held its 5th Administration of Criminal Justice Reform Conference in the Delta State Capital, Asaba.

THISDAY LAWYER was at the three-day event, which attracted Lawyers from all over the country.

Aptly themed ‘Criminal Justice in Nigeria: The Journey So Far’, the Conference held at the Asaba Convention Centre from April 24 – 27, and was declared open by the Delta State Governor, Dr. Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa.

The CJN’s Goodwill Message The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, who was represented by National Judicial Institute Administrator, Hon Justice Rosaline Bozimo (rtd), said in his Goodwill Message that “Much energy, skill and experience, must be devoted to strengthening the underlying principles of impartiality, diligence, competence, propriety, qualitative justice, strict adherence to the rule of law, speedy dispensation of justice and fair conduct of cases, with a view to ensuring that justice is not only done, but must be seen to be done. It is only when these factors are present, that judicial functions can validly and effectively be exercised”.

Supreme Court to Go Digital July 16, Says CJN Onnoghen also advocated direct funding of State Judiciaries.

He further said that, there would be no more manual filing of court processes at the Supreme Court from July 16. That all communication between Lawyers and the Court, would be done electronically.

He called for constitutional amendment, to end executive control of judiciary at the state level.

The Fifth Criminal Justice Reform Conference, was organised by the NBA Criminal Justice Reform Committee, chaired by Chief Arthur Obi Okafor, SAN. The CJN expressed hope that the new policy on electronic filings as well as the case management systems software deployment, would be “funded to fruition”.

He said: “In a bid to enhance justice administration and provide our citizens with the justice system that they deserve, the manual forms of communication within Nigerian courts will soon be phased out.

Henceforth, Lawyers who have acquired the legal email, can now communicate electronically with the courts. “The Supreme Court, will only serve processes by electronic means on all matters. This will become effective on the 16th of July, 2018, and mandatory. All new filings as from 16th July, 2018, must bear counsel’s legal email address. “To ensure compliance, it is also imperative that all heads of courts acquire legal email addresses for their courts from the Judicial Information Technology Policy Committee, especially for their litigation department staff. All courts are also encouraged, to start using the email for serving Lawyers.

“In addition, communication between the various judicial bodies, will very soon be through official electronic system only, thereby harnessing the benefits of the system in terms of confidentiality, integrity and availability.”

Justice Onnoghen reiterated the need for the judiciary’s independence, saying: “It is quite often said that, the litmus test to find out how free and democratic any nation is, is to look at its Judiciary, to find out what powers the nation is prepared to concede to this vital partner in governance.” He said while the judiciary at the Federal level enjoys financial independence, as it receives its funding directly from the Federation Account, it was not

L-R: Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, National Judicial Institute Administrator, Hon. Justice Roseline Bozimo (Rtd) (representing the CJN) and Delta State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Justice Marshal Umukoro

so for the States, as Chief Judges have to wait on Governors to release State Judiciary funds.

Justice Onnoghen said: “The complete and real independence of the Judiciary, can only be sustained and guaranteed when there is no interference by other arms of government, in the discharge of its duties.“The funding of the Judiciary is crucial, and is the most important index for assessing its independence. The issue of adequate funding at the State level, is one of the greatest challenges confronting the Judiciary in this nation.

It is imperative that applicable provisions of the 1999 Constitution, be duly amended to solve the problem of State Judiciaries. “Perhaps it should be included in the proposed amendment, that funds due to the State Judiciaries, should be deducted from source when the State receives the monthly allocations from the Federation Account, and be paid directly to the State Judiciaries. This bold step, if implemented, will go a long way in enhancing the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria.”

The Senate President on Prison Congestion Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, represented

by Prof Nuhu Jamo, said the problem of prison congestion and other ills affecting the justice system, must be addressed.

“The figure of 240 holding facilities in the country, points to a legal system that has long been neglected, and in need of adequate attention.

Similarly, the 66 per cent figure representing the inmates awaiting trial, supports the call for special courts that would help speed up the process, as relevant.

“The problems of congestion of prisons, unhealthy living conditions, lagging rehabilitative process, juvenile policy, trial waiting periods, investigative processes and overall credibility of the process, are all strong factors that we must address, if we are to meet a global standard of humane prison system, and an unbiased, incorruptible legal process,” he said.

HAGF: ACJA, a Watershed in Nigeria’s Criminal Justice System Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, represented by Dr. Sylvester Imanobe, said the ACJA’s enactment, marked a watershed in Nigeria’s criminal justice system, which he said was a work in progress.

Hon. Justice Ishaq Bello: Need for Adequate Funding The keynote speaker, Chief Judge of the Federal

L-R: Chairman, NBA Criminal Justice Reform Committee, Arthur Obi Okafor, SAN,Chief Ferdinand Orbih, SAN, and J.S. Okutepa, SAN

Capital Territory and Chairman, Presidential Committee on Decongestion of Prisons, Justice Ishaq Bello, said the objectives of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, would not be achieved without adequate funding. He said the FCT High Court had to buy vehicles, to enable suspects to be brought to court, because prison vehicles were inadequate.

He said funding was required in the areas of witness support, and employment of probation officers with regard to non-custodial sentencing provisions in the Act. “Most cases are lost in court, because witnesses are not there. Unless you make financial provision for them, some of them cannot come to court due to economic hardship,” he said.

Justice Bello regretted the fact that, the prisons were still filled with persons who have been awaiting trial for nearly 15 years in some instances. He said soon, the FCT High Court would review such cases, and strike out those that have been hanging for too long, even if they are capital offences. He said where the Police re-arrest any suspect whose case is struck out, the Police would be given two weeks to prosecute such suspects. “A lot of people in prison, unfortunately, have no business being there,” he said.

Chief Judge of Delta State: Overcrowded Prisons Chief Judge of Delta State, Justice Marshal Umukoro, said lack of effective collaboration by prosecuting and law enforcement agencies, poor capacity of many justice delivery institutions, and insufficient legal framework which results in operation of outmoded mandates, were some of the challenges faced by the criminal justice system.

He said prisons were ill-equipped, with no vehicles or funds to service them. For instance, he said the prison in Warri was built for 307 inmates, but currently has 1007; while the one in Ogwasi-Ukwu, designed for 160, currently houses 770 inmates.

The three-day conference also featured a Showcase Session and other sessions were on ‘Unlocking the Innovations of Criminal Justice Legislature’, ‘Arrest, Remand and Awaiting Trial Syndrome in Criminal Justice: Fixing the Jigsaw to End Prison Congestion’, ‘Speedy Trials, Timelines and Interlocutory Proceedings: Has the ACJA Helped?’, ‘Corruption, Economic & Financial Crimes: Special Courts to the Rescue?’, ‘Human Trafficking and Transnational Crimes: Institutional and Legal Remedies’ and ‘Prosecution and Punishment of Electoral Offences in Nigeria’.

The Conference Grand Finale, was the Dinner and Awards Night where Prof. Epiphany Azinge, SAN, gave an After Dinner Speech on ‘Threat of Punishment and Deterrence: The Limit of Criminalisation’.

Session on Electoral Offences At this session, the Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, called for the establishment of an Electoral Offences Commission.

The INEC Chairman was represented by a National Commissioner and Head of Legal, May Agbamuche-Mbu. He said most electoral offences were poorly investigated by the Police. “Another hurdle against the effective prosecution of electoral offences, is the abject inefficiency of the criminal investigation machinery in Nigeria. The success or otherwise of the case of the prosecution depends largely on investigation. The commission’s legal

NBA President, A.B Mahmoud, SAN and Dr. Sylvester Imanobe, representing the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN

officers, rely on the outcome of the investigation conducted by the police”, he said.

Yakubu said investigating police officers usually return to their various postings after elections, while ad-hoc staff, such as those on National Youth Service, may have passed out before investigation is concluded.

“The lack of statutory powers of the Commission to make arrest and investigate violations, has seriously impeded successful prosecution of electoral offenders.

“It is in view of the challenges to effective prosecution of electoral offences in Nigeria, that recommendations have been made by INEC itself and other stakeholders, for an independent body to be established to handle prosecution of electoral offences, with such powers as conferred on the EFCC and ICPC to arrest, investigate and prosecute electoral offenders”, he said.

Yakubu said a Bill for an Act to Establish the National Electoral Offences Commission, was being considered by the National Assembly.

“The creation of the National Electoral Offences Commission conferred with powers to arrest, investigate and prosecute all election offenders, will go a long way in reducing the spate of brazen impunity with which electoral offences are committed in this country.

“It is envisaged that the Bill, when eventually passed into law, will ensure speedy and effective prosecution of electoral offenders and strengthen our electoral process, particularly the conduct of peaceful, credible, transparent free and fair elections, consistent with international standards and best practices”, he said.

Chief Judge of Anambra State: Electoral Offenders must be Prosecuted Chief Judge of Anambra State, Justice Peter Umeadi, who chaired the session on “Prosecution and Punishment of Electoral Offenders”, noted that the courts do not have too many cases involving electoral offenders. He said, if more violators are brought to court, if even they are acquitted, potential perpetrators would be aware of the consequences. “Those cases need to be brought to court”, he said.

Ferdinand Orbih, SAN: Government’s Lack of Will to Prosecute Offenders A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Ferdinand Orbih, said electoral offences persist, because the Government lacks the will to prosecute offenders.

“How many Attorneys-General, will be bold enough to prosecute the Governor’s party men for electoral offences? Very few indeed”, he said.

He backed the calls for the establishment of the Electoral Offences Commission, saying INEC was “over-burdened” with monitoring of political parties and conduct of elections, among others.

Niyi Akintola, SAN: The Courts are Part of the Problem Chief Adeniyi Akintola, SAN, said the courts were part of the problem. He cited the example of a case in which the courts validated an election, despite clear evidence that the supposed winner bribed a Resident Electoral Commissioner REC. Akintola said that despite the overwhelming evidence of bribery provided by anti-graft agencies, the courts, including the Supreme Court, held that the fact the REC was bribed, was not enough to nullify the election.

01.05.2018

/15

Capital Market Solicitors, other Stakeholders, Share Ideas on Advancing Nigerian Economy

Akinwale Akintunde

All major stakeholders in the Capital Market, including Capital Market Solicitors, Leaders of Thought in finance, as well as Regulators, gathered at the Lagos Continental Hotel, last Wednesday, to share ideas on advancing the Nigerian economy.

The gathering was the 2018 Annual Business Luncheon of the Capital Market Solicitors Association (CMSA), with the theme: “Investing in Nigeria’s New Economy”.

The CMSA is an independent self-regulatory body of Solicitors and Commercial Law Firms, engaged in capital market practice in Nigeria.

The event, which also drew Participants from other parts of the Capital Market Community, including Issuers, Investment Bankers, Trustees and Registrars, was chaired by the Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms Mary Uduk.

Uduk, in her Chairman’s address, said no doubt the topic is very relevant to the Nigerian economy, as investment plays a critical role in the growth and development of any economy.

The SEC boss, who was represented at the event

by Mr. Reginald Karawusa, Acting Executive Commissioner, Legal & Compliance, noted that it is practically impossible to see remarkable economic progress, in the absence of adequate and quality investments.

She advised that, for effective investments in Nigeria’s new economy, constraints such as multiple exchange rates, high interest rate, regulatory bottlenecks, as well as other market imperfections, would have to be removed.

Uduk said the Capital Market, would play an important role in attracting and sustaining the needed investment in the new Nigeria’s economy, through many of its instrument vehicles, such as Infrastructure Funds, Revenue Bonds, Corporate Bonds and Equities Listings.

According to her, investments have to be analysed in the context of the economy of a country, adding that in the Nigerian economy, agriculture contributed 25.08% to the 2017 GDP, the industrial sector 22.26% and the services sector 52.66%.

“Further, the economy has seen steady decline

in the inflation rate to 13.34% in March 2018, which is now below the benchmark interest rate of 14%. The official and parallel change rates, have stabilised at N305.7/$ and N362/$ respectively. Unemployment/underemployment, on the other hand, has risen to about 40% by the end of the third quarter of 2017.

“Nigeria’s new economy, can be viewed from two perspectives. The first, is the new structural changes from the rebasing of the economy, and the second, is the planned/envisaged structural changes in the economy, especially those that derive from the government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

“The rebasing, led to the inclusion of sectors previously not captured or underreported; such as ICT, Art, Culture and Entertainment, etc.

These are definitely new and growing sectors, that require investments.

“The ERGP aims to diversify the Nigerian economy, by achieving food and energy sufficiency, doubling manufacturing output, focusing on SMEs and raising internet access, among others.

“These new areas, will require both domestic and foreign investment; since the country’s current level of investment, will not suffice to bring about the desired changes.

“At the domestic level, Government and private investments are required. Government will need to allocate more to capital expenditure, and this should cut across all tiers of government.

“The private sector should be encouraged to save more, and aggregate and channel these savings towards productive investments.

“Foreign investment, should be a mixture of Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Portfolio Investment, coupled with the right policies and enabling environment, to attract investments in the new Nigerian economy", she added.

The Keynote Speaker, Ms. Yewande Sadiku, who is the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, said investments in the new Nigeria’s economy, is a responsibility that no responsible professional in the Capital Market should leave only to a Government agency, however good that Government agency is.

Sadiku urged Participants, to embrace public/ private partnership, where both mutually work

L-R: Vice-Chairman, Capital Market Solicitors Association (CMSA), Mr. Benjamin Obidegwu, Acting Executive Commissioner, Legal & Compliance of Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Reginald Karawusa and Principal Partner, Benon Chambers, Mr. Ben Onuora

L-R: Traesurer, CMSA, Mr. Tamuno Atekebo, Ex-officio, Mr. Chinyerugo Ugoji, Chairman, CMSA, Mrs. Ayotunde Owoigbe, Mr. Benjamin Obidegwu and CMSA Assistant Secretary, Mr. Vincent Iweze

together towards improving Nigeria’s business environment.

According to her, all sectors stand to benefit from such partnership.

Work Quality Attracts Higher Earnings – Paul Usoro SAN Jude Igbanoi Paul Usoro, SAN, at the 2018 Conference of the Section on Legal Practice of the Nigeria Bar Association held in Port Harcourt last month, disclosed that good quality delivery and effective planning will earn Lawyers more fees.

The theme of the Conference, “Re-thinking and Re-tooling Legal Practice for the challenges of our time”, opened discussions to a range of topics covering disciplinary issues, problems impeding Lawyers’ fee earning capabilities, among others.

Speaking on the topic, “Problems Impeding our Fee Earning Capabilities as Legal Practitioners”, Usoro said that “the issue is essential, because it is from the fees that we are able to take care of our juniors and other overheads. It cannot be ignored or taken lightly”. He disclosed factors that affect earning fees to include quality of work, poor planning, record keeping, time of completion of work, charging of hourly fees, work environment and client relationship.

“The quality of your work determines what you earn, and it will help to put you at the top level of your earnings. You need to aim to be at the top level of your practice and that will determine the fees you command. As lawyers, we are not very good at planning, we try to go into everything and that makes one Jack of all trades, the master of none”, he said.

The Learned Silk went ahead to share his personal experience, when the GSM auction was to take place. “Argument was canvassed that, no Nigerian Lawyer had ever done it before, which is true.

But, we did it, and it was internationally rated as the best. The same argument was also canvassed

L-R: Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN, MR. Elijah Briggs, Mrs Ibioku Owugah, former NBA President, Mr. Okey Wali, SAN, and Mrs. Mia Essien, SAN

when we were drafting the Communication Act. Since 2003 that the Law was passed, there has not been a single amendment to it, because the law is adjudged to be the best”, he enthused.

Highlighting other points on fee earning capabilities, he emphasised that, Lawyers must have a safety valve when dealing with clients and companies in particular. “If you do not keep records, it will be very difficult to put a cost to your work. One of the challenges in litigation, is the timing it takes to complete it. When negotiating, it is good to have a safety valve that will enable your ability to renegotiate, if the time exceeds what you had expected.

He encouraged Lawyers to have a befitting environment for their offices, which plays a big

role in determining the type of fees they charge.

“If your office appears tattered, the client is likely to price you the way you appear. So, appearance is very key in our practice. In a scenario where a client enters your office, and it looks well kept, it automatically determines your fees”.

Paul Usoro also mentioned that, client service relationship should be top of mind for any Lawyer. “Your ability to create and maintain client relationships, is very critical to your practice. This also goes a long way to determine your fees, because the relationship with your client is very important. Make them your friends, update them regularly on the progress being made on their cases, and this will naturally give you a good working relationship”.

She said her Commission is working with other agencies of Government, to increase awareness of investment opportunities in Nigeria amongst other investors, to promote investments in Nigeria to domestic and foreign investors, and to facilitate new and incremental investments.

She noted that for this reason, her Commission in collaboration with Federal Inland Revenue Service, came up with a Compendium of Investment Incentives in Nigeria, which was published pursuant to the provision of Section 4(1) of the NIPC Act, which requires NIPC to ”provide and disseminate up-to-date information on incentives available to investors”, in Nigeria.

Panel of Discussants representing key market participants including Issuers, Solicitors, Investment Bankers and Investors, also gave robust contributions to the topic.

Panelists, which included Mr. Dave Uduanu, Managing Director/CEO of Sigma Pensions Ltd, Mr. Ayodeji Oyetunde, Partner in the Corporate and Commercial Practice Group of Aluko & Oyebode, Ms. Toyin Kekere-Ekun, Chief Executive Officer at Lotus Financial Service Ltd, and Ms. Amaka Nsofor, Vice President, Debt Capital Markets at Barclays Africa, focused on Nigeria’s current investment climate, the challenges, recent successes, and the direction in which the investment trajectory appears headed.

The Discussants, also examined precedents and prospects for Government’s financing of social infrastructure through instruments such as Sukuk and Plain Vanilla Bonds; prevailing legal, regulatory and structural issues affecting investment in Nigeria.

They also shared invaluable insights into investor expectations, concerns and the changes they desire to see, in order to better fulfill their roles in the investment matrix.

Earlier, in her welcome address, the Chairman of CMSA, Mrs. Ayotunde Owoigbe, said the business luncheon is its flagship event, organised to discuss topical issues and pragmatic ways to develop the Capital Market.

She urged Participants, to take full advantage of the forum, to learn from and contribute to the discussions, towards raising investments in the critical sectors of Nigerian economy.

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Gani At 80: Legends Never Die “To live in hearts we leave behind, is not to die. ~~Thomas Campbell (1777–1844)”.

He would have been 80 years old on April 22, 2018. Unfortunately, he died on September 5, 2009, having succumbed to cancer of the lungs, though he never smoked. Some called him The Conscience of the Nation, others called him Senior Advocate of the Masses. Born on April 22, 1938, Chief Abdul-Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi, SAN, was to the average Nigerian, a Human Rights Activist, a Legal Luminary and Publisher of Nigeria’s foremost law reports, The Nigerian Weekly Law Reports. But to the Military Dictators who jailed and detained him a record 32 times, he was more than a mere nuisance, he was a thorn in their flesh. He was recipient of many local and international awards, including being the first African recipient of the prestigious Bernard Simmonds Award of the International Bar Association in 1994. The Lagos State Government unveiled a 44-foot statue in his honour on April 22, 2018. His protégées, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa go down memory lane, to share with THISDAY LAWYER who this man Gani really was, their relationship and fond experiences, working under the mentorship of this legal icon and human rights enigma, and the invaluable lessons learnt from him

There Was A Gani: When Comes Another?

“Men and women of rare qualities are few and hard to come by. And when they depart, the sense of loss is made the more profound and the more difficult to manage”- Nelson Mandela

I

f there were a Nobel Prize for Human Rights, it would have been given to Gani. Not so many people are known by one name only. But just say ‘Gani’, and everyone immediately knows whom you are referring to.

My late mentor, the irrepressible legend and legal colossus of all times, Chief Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi, SAN, transited on 5th September, 2009. Gani was not just a Lawyer, he was the quintessential social justice crusader, avant-garde, and radical Human Rights Activist, who deployed law as an instrument of social engineering. He used law, to defend the people. He fought all repressive regimes, on the streets and in the courts. He marched on the streets, held press conferences, issued press releases, wrote tons of books, and physically confronted successive military juntas.

He belonged to the non-violent resistance school of Mahatma Ghandi. In my tribute to him, while he was lying in state, I wrote: “Gani was simply unique, and inimitable.

Gani was the only coin that did not require two sides to be genuine. If you turned either side of the Gani coin, you would still meet the same Gani, because Gani was simply ganistic!” Gani was engaging, breathtaking, deeply knowledgeable in law, fearless, courageous and incredibly daring and bold. He once told me: “Ozek Baba (that was his nick name for me, in addition to “Mobile Dictionary”, or “Mobile Library”), if you stand on a principle, stand firm, even if you are standing alone. Others will later come and join you. It is better to live standing on your feet, than to die crawling on your knees”. Those words resonate with me in my ears to date, in my taking on national issues. Because I am not on any popularity or fame contest, I usually do not care if my views, moulded by my convictions, stand alone on an issue.

Such was the icon and prodigy, who led our anti-SAP riots of the 80’s, for which he, Tai Solarin, us, younger elements, were roundly harassed and molested by the military junta of the then President General Ibrahim Babangida. He was later detained for many months, for leading this struggle, in which he said there was an alternative to IMF. Just like in many other struggles, like Gani, I have been a struggler all my life. I offer no apologies to anyone for this, just as he did not.

Gani’s Early Beginnings When on Friday, 22nd day of April, 1938 Alhaja Muniratu Fawehinmi gave birth to her only son in Okedasa Street, Ondo Town, Ondo state, Nigeria, little did she and her husband, Chief Saheed Tugbobo Fawehinmi, knew that a legal colossus of immense proportion was birthed.

Gani’s hope of becoming a Lawyer after his secondary school education at Victory College, Ikare (1954-1958), was almost dashed, when he lost his father while he was a Law student at the University of London. All efforts to raise a loan to enable him to complete his University education, proved abortive. So he had to fend for himself by cleaning toilets at Russel Square Hotel, Southampton Row, London. Although he eventually succeeded in becoming a Lawyer, bagging the LL.B in 1964, Gani decided to dedicate his entire life to struggle for the establishment of a society where every needy child would be educated, at the expense of the State.

Gani in Politics When Gani delved into politics, contesting for the Presidency on the platform of the National Conscience Party (NCP), a party he single handedly and defiantly formed and announced at Ojota Park when the Government had proscribed political activities, he did not mind that he, not being a wealthy money bag like other contestants, would gather peanut votes. To him, the principle behind the defiance of snatching democracy from the iron grip of military autocracy and dictatorship, was more important. He indeed made the point.

A Fiery Legal Career Fawehinmi gained prominence when he took on the case of a factory worker, Bala Abashe, who alleged that the Secretary to the Government of Benue-Plateau State, Andrew Obeya, had an affair with his wife. Abashe then sued Obeya, for assault and damages for adultery. Fawehinmi took on the case, as a pro bono Lawyer for Abashe, while the State Government stood behind their official. Efforts were made for Fawehinmi to drop the case, and when that failed, Obeya was forced to resign. However, Fawehinmi was detained for nine months. The publicity of the case improved the exposure of his law practice. From 1971 to 1973, he was the National Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association.

The Struggle and Awards On 11 June, 1993, Fawehinmi was awarded the biennial Bruno Kreisky Prize. This prize, named in honour of Bruno Kreisky, is awarded to international figures who advance hu-

The Gani I Knew (My Personal Experience With Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, SAM)

I

My Experience Working Under Gani t was pleasant and rewarding.

I gained in five years, what I could have spent twenty years to accomplish. And this is all because, Gani believed in merit.

By all means I was not qualified to work in that office at all, as nobody recommended me to him, no godfather introduced me to him, no Judge gave me a note to him, as was usual with very big and established law firms like Gani Fawehinmi Chambers.

One day whilst we were still in the Law School, I spoke to my bosom friend, Bamidele Aturu (we were in the same room in the Law School hostel in Lagos), that I would love to work with Gani when I finish from the Law School. So we arranged to go and see Gani on a particular day, after our lectures. He easily recalled my face, as one of the 62 students dismissed from Ife in 1992. And I had worked with the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights and Campaign for Democracy under Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, in the past. He said once I finished from the Law School, I should come and see him.

And that was all. I just left Law School and went straight to his chambers and he employed me, although I had to visit the Chambers many times.

man rights causes. In 1998, he received the International Bar Association's 'Bernard Simmons Award' in recognition of his human rights and pro-democracy work. Gani Fawehinmi was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the highest legal title in Nigeria, in September 2001.

Even though it was generally agreed on all hands, that the contributions of the Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi to the promotion of rule of law were remarkable, he was denied the rank of Senior Advocate Nigeria by the legal establishment. But the Progressive Students Union of the Obafemi Awolowo University, decided to honour the legal icon with the title of Senior Advocate of the Masses (SAM) in 1988. A few years later, the University honoured Gani with LL.D (Honoraris Causa). In 2001, the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee belatedly conferred him with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

However, one of Gani’s posthumous rewards for his contribution to the legal system in Nigeria, is the enactment of the Fundamental Rights Procedure Rules, 2009.

Under the new human rights regime in Nigeria, concerned individuals and public spirited organisations can now file actions in courts, challenging the violation of the human rights of other citizens.

Rejection of National Award In 2008, Gani rejected one of the highest national honours that can be bestowed on a citizen by the Nigerian government – Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) –in protest of the many years of misrule, since Nigeria's independence. Gani, as he was fondly called, died in the early hours of 5th September, 2009, after a prolonged battle with lung cancer. He was 71 years old. He was buried on 15th September, 2009, in his home town of Ondo, Nigeria, in the way and manner he had determined, having bought his own casket to prevent Government and Politicians from hijacking his burial, for selfish reasons. Gani Fawehinmi died a disappointed man, because of the state of Nigeria at the time of his death; he refused the highest honour accorded him by his country, on his death bed.

The Gani they didn’t know, the Gani that Defended All Oppressed People I knew Gani, very well, beyond words, not just on the job, but on his persona. I am perhaps beaten to this my deep knowledge of Gani, by only his wives and immediate family members. I will tell the world today about the Gani they did not know. He took me, not just as a Union Lawyer, who rose through the ranks to become his Deputy

Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, SAM

“IN 2008, GANI REJECTED ONE OF THE HIGHEST NATIONAL HONOURS THAT CAN BE BESTOWED ON A CITIZEN

BY THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT – ORDER OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC (OFR) –IN PROTEST OF THE MANY YEARS OF MISRULE SINCE NIGERIA'S INDEPENDENCE”

by 1985 on an unbelievable salary (then) of N500 per month, but as a son and mentee.

I was perhaps, the only junior Lawyer Gani would allow into his personal bedroom in his house at GRA, Ikeja. He would freely tell me his secrets. One of them was that he venerated his mother, “Alhajia” so much, that he could learn to carry a gun and shoot anyone who disrespected her. Gani could never say “no” to “Alhajia” on any issue, never. She became our rallying point, the Lamb of God who took away our sins, CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Gani’s Chambers Generally, Gani was a fanatic, of industry, of integrity, of excellence and diligence. He liked all things done in order, to the very last detail. So, he didn’t like to take things for granted at all. I saw in him, one who would like to get to the very bottom of everything.

That created in me a hunger, to explore and to research law to the very root of all legal principles. So with his industry and zeal, he would extract from you, all your hidden talents and abilities, except you are unwilling to let go, and in that case, you will always be at daggers drawn with him. So I had a pleasant time in the firm, throughout my stay there. He exposed me quite early in life, to quality legal practice and to progressive advocacy.

At first, I was very reluctant to dabble to into legal politics. I avoided all of Gani’s political meetings and struggles, as I felt the need to grab all that I could in legal knowledge. I perceived in my spirit then, that the reason that Gani was famous, was his brilliance in legal

matters, so I wanted to be like him in the area of legal knowledge.

The unique thing about the firm, was the team spirit of the Lawyers. There was an atmosphere of intellectualism. Gani never imposed any legal position. Because of the law reports, most Lawyers discovered new legal principles, ahead of other Lawyers across Nigeria and indeed, Judges, so that immediately a decision has been handed down from any of the appellate courts, you were already aware of and familiar with its principles ahead of time. Legal issues arising from live cases and briefs, were thrown open for debate and Gani loved it very much.

He was always open to new ideas, although he possessed an inimitable storage of legal principles, from where he guided us at all times. When you thought a case could never be salvaged, he would smile and direct you to read so and so case and apply its principles.

He had obviously worked hard in his hey days.

My First Visit to Port Harcourt So generally speaking, I had a wonderful time in the chambers. I also had very challenging moments.

After Gani must have tested and weighed my competence, he drafted me to join the Ogoni team, in defence of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni activists. That was my first time in Port Harcourt.

We were lodged in a house in Port Harcourt G.R.A. Suddenly in the night, Mr Nnaemeka Amaechina called me, that there was a file he would want me to handle the following day before I joined the team at the Ogoni Civil Disturbances Tribunal. He just gave me the file right away, some cases and a general guideline on how to present the arguments. But when I read the file, I was very disturbed. It was the case of activist Professor Jaja Chinwa of the University of Port Harcourt, who was then having problems with the Abacha regime and had been dismissed from the University, purely on political grounds. What was coming up in court, was an application for interlocutory injunction to restrain the Military Administrator, then, the dreaded Colonel Joshua Dauda Komo.

I just took it, and prepared as much as I could that night.

When I got to court, the client asked after Gani, and I said he was not around. He asked after Amaechina and I said he had gone to the

“WHEN I WAS I ARRESTED AND LOCKED UP BY THE SANI ABACHA REGIME AND KEPT AT THE DIRECTORATE OF MILITARY INTELLIGENCE FOR ABOUT NINE MONTHS, GANI KEPT MY SALARY INTACT AND RESERVED MY POSITION IN THE OFFICE” Ogoni Tribunal. He then asked who was assigned to his case, to which I could not immediately respond, as I could see disappointment written all over him. To make matters worse, when the case was called, the Attorney- General of Rivers State announced appearance for all the defendants. The arguments lasted five hours altogether and by the time we finished, students from the University carried me shoulder high throughout the court premises, calling me all manner of names. Prof Chinwa arranged a very big dinner later in the day. He was re-instated eventually. It was a glorious moment. It gave me a lot of confidence.

And then the shocker came. Gani gave instructions that I should be assigned to handle the case of State v.

Chinwa, a trumped up murder charge against Professor Chinwa in Rivers State. I remember now that, most senior Lawyers in the chambers protested my assignment, because the case was very controversial and sensitive. I went. It was when I got to Port Harcourt, that I discovered that the case was in far away Ogba, still very far from Port Harcourt.

It was the only case listed in the court for definite hearing. Indeed, that was a challenge. Looking back now, I can only say that God was at work all the while, because in a very mysterious way, the case was dismissed and Professor Chinwa was discharged and acquitted.

Gani in Gashua By this time, I had become more experienced, and was now handling very big cases in the office. But the period that I really enjoyed legal practice, was when Gani was detained in Gashua prisons for more than a year. It was a challenge on all of us Lawyers in the chambers, CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

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Nigeria Daily Stock Market Report: dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ ŐĂŝŶƐ ϭϵďƉƐ

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ϭϵďƉƐ LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ Ăƚ ϭϳϰϬ͘Ϯϭ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶƐ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ ϭϮ͘ϴй͘ zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ŵĂŝŶůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ŐĂŝŶƐ ŝŶ 'h Z Edz ;нϭ͘ϱйͿ͕ E' D ;нϬ͘ϰйͿ ĂŶĚ & E, ;нϬ͘ϰйͿ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƟŶŐ ĨŽƌ ϯϯ͘ϴй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

Ticker

ƵLJŝŶŐ /ŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ ĞůůǁĞƚŚĞƌƐ ƵŽLJ DĂƌŬĞƚ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͙ E^ ^/ ƵƉ ϲďƉƐ dŚĞ ůŽĐĂů ďŽƵƌƐĞ ŽƉĞŶĞĚ ƚŚĞ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ǁĞĞŬ ŽŶ Ă ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ŶŽƚĞ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ E^ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ; ^/Ϳ ŝŶĐŚĞĚ ƵƉ ϲďƉƐ ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ƚŽ ϰϭ͕Ϯϲϴ͘ϱϲ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ ŇĂƚ Ăƚ ϳ͘ϵй͘ Ɛ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ͕ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ Eϴ͘ϰďŶ ŝŶ ǀĂůƵĞ ĂƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶ ƌŽƐĞ ƚŽ Eϭϰ͘ϵƚŶ͘ 'ĂŝŶƐ ŝŶ 'h Z Edz ;нϭ͘ϱйͿ͕ E' D ;нϬ͘ϰйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ & E, ;нϬ͘ϰйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ŵĂŝŶ ĚƌŝǀĞƌƐ ŽĨ LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ƚƌĞŶĚĞĚ ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ϰϭ͘ϭй ĂŶĚ ϳϳ͘ϰй ƚŽ ϰϱϬ͘ϱŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ Eϱ͘ϬďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ dŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ D E &/d^ ;ϭϯϭ͘ϬŵͿ͕ h ;ϲϳ͘ϴŵͿ ĂŶĚ & E, ;ϱϯ͘ϲŵͿ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ ǁĞƌĞ h ;Eϳϴϭ͘ϭŵͿ͕ 'h Z Edz ;Eϲϴϭ͘ϬŵͿ ĂŶĚ & E, ;EϲϳϬ͘ϯŵͿ͘ ĞĂƌŝƐŚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ƌĞůĂƟǀĞůLJ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ĂƐ ϯ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ϱ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƌĞĚ͘ dŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŚŝŐŚĞƐƚ ŐĂŝŶƐ͕ ƵƉ Ϭ͘ϲй ĨƌŽŵ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ E' D ;нϬ͘ϰйͿ ĂŶĚ EE ;нϰ͘ϵйͿ͘ dŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚĞdž ƚƌĂŝůĞĚ ƌŝƐŝŶŐ Ϭ͘ϰй ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚƐ ŝŶ 'h Z Edz ;нϭ͘ϱйͿ ĂŶĚ & E, ;нϬ͘ϰйͿ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŇŝƉƐŝĚĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌƐ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ƐŚĞĚ Ϭ͘ϴй ĂƐ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ E ^d> ;Ͳϭ͘ϬйͿ͕ E'^h' Z ;Ͳϰ͘ϮйͿ ĂŶĚ E'&>KhZ ;ͲϮ͘ϬйͿ ƉƵůůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ůŽǁĞƌ͘ dŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĨĞůů Ϭ͘Ϯй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϭй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ĞdžŝƚĞĚ ƉŽƐŝƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ t W/ ;Ͳϯ͘ϱйͿ͕ E D ;Ͳϭ͘ϴйͿ͕ d ZE ;Ͳϱ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ dKd > ;ͲϬ͘ϮйͿ͘ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ tĞĂŬĞŶƐ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ǁĞĂŬĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ ϭ͘ϭdž ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϴdž ĂƐ ϭϵ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ϭϴ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ƚŚĂƚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJΖƐ ƚŽƉ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁĞƌĞ /> ^/E' ;нϵ͘ϰйͿ͕ ,D Z</E^ ;нϲ͘ϯйͿ ĂŶĚ d '> ^ ;нϱ͘ϬйͿ͕ ǁŚŝůĞ E'&>KhZ ;Ͳ ϱ͘ϬйͿ͕ d ZE ;Ͳϱ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ ^Ks ZE/E^ ;Ͳϰ͘ϯйͿ ůĞĚ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ͘ tĞ ĂŶƟĐŝƉĂƚĞ ƚŚŝƐ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ƚŽ ďĞ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ ŝŶ ƐƵďƐĞƋƵĞŶƚ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶƐ ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƚĂŬĞ ƉŽƐŝƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁŚŝĐŚ ǁŝůů ďƵŽLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͘

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

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Current Price

Previous Current Price Weighting Change

Price Change YTD

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 1,740.21

0.19%

12.8%

74.0%

22.5%

7.8%

8.2x

1.0x

4.7%

11.6%

1

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

45.00

1.5%

21.0%

10.4%

11.0%

32.6%

5.2%

7.3x

2.5x

6.0%

13.7%

2

Zenith Bank PLC

27.45

0.2%

12.4%

7.1%

5.9%

26.3%

3.6%

4.6x

1.2x

9.8%

21.8%

3

Nigerian Brew eries PLC

129.90

-0.1%

7.7%

-3.7%

-3.8%

17.4%

8.3%

32.6x

5.5x

3.2%

3.1%

1,599.00

-1.0%

7.3%

2.8%

2.8%

89.0%

21.3%

37.6x

28.2x

2.7%

2.7%

246.00

0.4%

5.9%

7.0%

7.0%

22.7%

12.0%

21.3x

4.9x

4.3%

4.7%

7.0%

42.0%

42.2%

6.7%

0.8%

9.1x

0.7x

2.0%

11.0%

4

Nestle Nigeria PLC

5

Dangote Cement PLC

6

FBN Holdings Plc

12.50

0.4%

7

Access Bank PLC

11.20

-1.3%

4.3%

7.2%

5.7%

13.0%

1.6%

5.5x

0.6x

5.8%

18.1%

8

United Bank for Africa PLC

11.55

-0.4%

4.4%

12.1%

11.0%

15.9%

1.9%

5.1x

0.8x

7.4%

19.6%

9

Ecobank Transnational Inc

3.5%

18.2%

23.5%

-14.6%

-1.3%

6.7x

0.7x

3.0%

14.9%

20.10

0.0%

765.00

0.0%

10

SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

3.3%

22.2%

22.2%

19.4%

11.1%

3.9x

0.8x

2.4%

25.4%

11

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

49.50

0.0%

3.1%

19.3%

21.0%

28.9%

3.8%

9.4x

2.7x

1.0%

10.7%

12

Unilever Nigeria PLC

54.90

0.0%

3.0%

33.9%

36.5%

19.2%

8.0%

29.4x

4.0x

0.9%

3.4%

13

Guinness Nigeria PLC

103.00

0.0%

2.2%

9.6%

9.6%

14.6%

5.6%

19.6x

2.7x

0.6%

5.1%

14

Lafarge Africa PLC

42.00

0.0%

1.4%

-6.4%

-6.4%

-36.8%

-7.7%

2.3x

3.6%

-14.7%

15

Fidelity Bank PLC

2.55

1.2%

1.2%

3.7%

-1.2%

8.0%

1.1%

2.2x

0.4x

5.5%

44.9%

16

Oando PLC

9.15

0.0%

1.8%

52.8%

52.8%

40.7%

4.2%

12.1x

0.9x

17

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

20.50

-4.2%

1.0%

2.5%

0.7%

43.2%

19.8%

8.0x

3.1x

12.2%

12.5%

3.9%

12.9%

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

18

Okomu Oil Palm PLC

77.50

0.5%

1.1%

14.5%

14.5%

39.7%

29.4%

7.7x

2.6x

International Brew eries PLC

51.80

0.0%

0.7%

-5.0%

-5.8%

24.6%

7.4%

54.2x

12.3x

34.50

-2.0%

0.7%

19.0%

19.0%

13.1%

3.0%

7.2x

0.8x

2.7%

13.9%

1.70

0.0%

0.6%

16.4%

14.9%

11.2%

2.5%

10.4x

1.1x

1.2%

9.6%

3.8%

(RC 603 315)

(A Dealing Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange)

1.8%

20

Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

21

Transnational Corp of Nigeria

22

UAC of Nigeria PLC

17.20

0.0%

0.5%

1.8%

1.8%

2.2%

0.8%

23.3x

0.6x

23

Diamond Bank PLC

2.02

0.0%

0.6%

34.7%

28.7%

2.5%

0.3%

8.1x

0.2x

24

Total Nigeria PLC

222.20

-0.2%

0.5%

-3.4%

-3.4%

31.0%

6.5%

10.7x

2.7x

7.6%

9.3%

25

FCMB Group Plc

2.47

0.0%

0.7%

56.3%

5.1%

0.8%

4.7x

0.3x

4.0%

21.3%

26

11 PLC

4.6%

11.6%

174.80

0.2%

0.4%

-10.2%

-10.2%

30.8%

11.0%

8.6x

2.3x

0.0%

0.4%

4.0%

7.6%

17.6%

1.6%

24.4x

3.8x

4.3% 12.3%

27

Forte Oil PLC

45.20

28

PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

22.50

0.0%

0.4%

9.2%

6.4%

10.7%

5.0%

21.3x

2.2x

2.2%

29

Cadbury Nigeria PLC

13.80

0.0%

0.3%

-11.9%

-11.5%

2.0%

0.8%

64.5x

2.2x

1.2%

1.6%

30

Presco PLC

69.30

0.0%

0.3%

1.2%

1.2%

39.7%

28.0%

2.7x

0.9x

2.9%

36.7%

31

NASCON Allied Industries PLC

20.25

0.0%

0.3%

9.5%

5.4%

54.6%

19.5%

10.0x

4.7x

7.4%

10.0%

32

UPDC Real Estate Investment Tr

10.00

0.0%

0.3%

0.0%

0.0%

0.8x

7.2%

33

Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

6.25

0.0%

0.2%

-19.9%

-16.8%

5.6%

1.2%

8.0x

0.4x

Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

28.05

4.3%

0.3%

0.2%

0.2%

17.3%

1.8%

7.8x

1.2x

34

4.1% 4.7%

12.5% 3.6%

12.9%

35

Sterling Bank PLC

1.61

1.9%

0.3%

49.1%

42.5%

9.0%

0.9%

4.8x

0.5x

1.2%

20.7%

36

Dangote Flour Mills Plc

13.30

-5.0%

0.2%

9.5%

9.5%

61.6%

15.8%

4.3x

1.9x

1.5%

23.2%

37

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Niger

24.00

0.0%

0.2%

11.1%

11.1%

61.2%

23.6%

37.9x

1.8x

31.3%

2.6%

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

79.25

5.0%

0.2%

54.5%

54.5%

18.4%

11.9%

11.2x

1.9x

1.4%

9.0%

40

Transcorp Hotels Plc

7.45

0.0%

0.1%

3.3%

3.3%

5.3%

2.9%

19.5x

1.0x

1.7%

5.1%

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 %

C ILEA SIN G

1.52

9.4%

GUA R A N T Y

67.4

0.6%

H M A R KIN S

0.34

6.3%

F ID ELIT YB K

14.9

-1.6%

B ET A GLA S

79.25

5.0%

FB NH

14.7

1.6%

CCNN

20.45

4.9%

J A P A ULOIL

12.9

3.8%

10.3

-0.8%

VIT A F OA M

T ic k er

3.24

4.5%

FCM B

28.05

4.3%

Z EN IT H B A N K

9.1

0.2%

SKYEB A N K

0.84

3.7%

UB A

8.2

-0.4%

VER IT A SKA P

0.29

3.6%

SOVR EN IN S

7.6

-4.3%

A IIC O

0.72

2.9%

A C C ESS

7.2

0.0%

C ON T IN SUR E

1.56

2.6%

SKYEB A N K

6.5

5.2%

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

D A N GF LOUR

13.30

-5.0%

UB A

781.1

ET ER N A

6.27

-5.0%

GUA R A N T Y

680.1

1.5%

SOVR EN IN S

0.22

-4.3%

FB NH

670.3

0.4%

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 % -0.4%

20.50

-4.2%

Z EN IT H B A N K

648.5

0.2%

J A P A ULOIL

0.48

-4.0%

NB

555.1

-0.1%

WA P IC

0.55

-3.5%

N EST LE

452.9

-1.0%

NA HCO

3.88

-3.0%

F LOUR M ILL

280.7

-2.0%

D A N GSUGA R

LA SA C O F LOUR M ILL N EM

Afrinvest Securities Lim-

8.3%

19

T o p 10 G a ine r s

/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 zͲŽͲ z ƚŽ Eϰϵ͘ϬďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Eϰϰ͘ϲďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ W d ĂŶĚ W d ĨĞůů Ϯ͘ϭй ĂŶĚ ϰ͘ϲй ƚŽ Eϭϯ͘ϬďŶ ĂŶĚ EϭϮ͘ϰďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ͘

Divinden Earnings d Yield Yield

0.36

-2.7%

D A N GC EM

139.8

0.4%

34.50

-2.0%

OA N D O

114.1

0.0%

2.80

-1.8%

D A N GSUGA R

81.1

-4.2%

Investment Research

Brokerage Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Bolaji Fajenyo | bfajenyo@afrinvest.com

Omotola Abimbola | oabimbola@afrinvest.com

35

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2018

MARKET NEWS

Vetiva Management Gives Dangote Cement Shares ‘Buy’ Rating on Improved Performance Goddy Egene Following the improved results of Dangote Cement Plc for the year ended December 31, 2017 and first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2018, Vetiva Capital Management Limited has given the stock a ‘buy’ rating.

Vetiva, in earnings review of Dangote Cement Plc, cited continued strong cement prices, ramp up in use of cheaper alternative fuels in the Nigerian operations as well as decent contributions from pan-African operations

as key performance drivers of the company’s Q1 2018 results.

The report noted that Dangote Cement Plc reported impressive earnings, with bottom line coming in at N72 billion (29 per cent higher than previous year and ahead of Vetiva’s estimate of N61 billion).

Also, the report noted that group earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 22 per cent to N126 billion, a 52 per cent margin (eight

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

per cent ahead of Vetiva’s estimate).

Speaking on the report, the Head of Research at Vetiva Capital Management Limited, Olalekan Olabode said: “Drilling down on Q1’18 performance, we highlight that on a regional basis, Nigerian operations remained strong, with Q1’18 EBITDA (N115 billion) easily outpacing Q1’17 (N99 billion) and Q4’17 (N90 billion). Driven by stronger cement prices as well as improving operations, EBITDA margins from the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 27-Apr-2018, unless otherwise stated.

pan-African operations hit a high of 19 per cent in the quarter. Furthermore, group’s bottom line was supported by a net finance income of N5 billion coming from a nine per cent moderation in finance costs as well as a N12 billion foreign exchange gain arising from translation of foreign currency denominated debt balances.”

He explained that following impressive volume roll out in Q1, they are more optimistic about cement sales in Nigeria in 2018, especially

as management attributed the bulk of growth to public sector demand.

Following the release of the Dangote Cement Q’1 2018 results, Vetiva has revised its FY’18 estimates in respect of the company.

“We raise our volume forecast for the group to 26.5 metric tonnes (MT) (previous: 25.3 MT) and our revenue to N960 billion (revious: N874 billion). We have also adjusted our cost estimates to reflect the Q1’18 run rate, translating to a N499 billion EBITDA for

the group (previous: N421 billion). After adjusting for interest and tax expenses, we estimate a higher FY’18 PAT of N278 billion (previous: N212 billion) and a target price of N289.45,” Vetiva said.

The company noted that the recent addition of Cherie Blair and Mick Davies to the board of Dangote Cement was seen as an indication of improving corporate governance in the company and expected that move and improving earnings to keep investor interests strong.

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 194.51 195.63 9.55% Nigeria International Debt Fund 244.76 245.91 6.05% 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 4.55% ACAP Income Funds 0.66 0.66 9.37% 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 14.00% 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 159.28 160.08 4.90% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.71% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.91% Paramount Equity Fund 12.24 12.50 10.15% Women's Investment Fund 103.84 106.50 3.19% 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 14.16% 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 13.77% 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 N/A N/A N/A FBN Heritage Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 1.41 1.44 8.04% Legacy Debt Fund 3.01 3.01 4.37% 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 3,195.99 3,225.13 6.98% Coral Income Fund 2,586.19 2,586.19 5.69% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.81% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.20 2.22 4.28% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.63% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 120.00 120.42 4.36%

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 3.22% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,049.15 1,049.15 4.16% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.33 1.36 11.83% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.65 11.71 5.55% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 13.41% 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 132.10 134.66 2.66% 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 1.56 1.56 5.24% 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 2,401.81 2,422.63 7.10% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 184.59 184.59 4.61% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.09 1.10 8.42% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 232.84 232.91 5.73% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 190.98 193.02 6.61% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.84% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,375.75 10,518.89 7.31% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.09 1.09 2.49% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Eurobond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Wealth for Women Fund N/A N/A N/A ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 13.44 13.64 7.17% Zenith Ethical Fund 19.99 19.99 49.64% Zenith Income Fund 14.00 14.16 -25.29% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.12%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

10.00 134.83

-11.35% 1.79%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.74 161.92 120.89

12.84 165.35 123.10

5.08% 13.36% 10.63%

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

5.15 10.09 19.15 20.56 160.08

5.19 10.17 19.25 20.76 162.08

8.71% 5.38% 7.82% 4.52% 7.70%

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.

36

T H I S D AY ˾ ͯË&#x153; ͰͮͯͶ

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY MAY 1, 2018

37

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY MAY 1, 2018

39

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TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2018˾ T H I S D AY

41

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Trump Hints at Holding Kim Jong Un Summit on Korean Border Trump should win Nobel Peace Prize, says South Korean president US President Donald Trump has dropped a major hint on Monday about the likelihood of holding his forthcoming summit with Kim Jong Un on the border between North and South Korea. It was at the demilitarised zone between the countries that Kim Jong Un and his South Korean counterpart, President Moon Jae-in, held their historic meeting last Friday and now Trump wants to holds his summit there too.

It was previously believed the summit would be held in a third country, such as Singapore or Mongolia. But Trump’s tweet on Monday morning hinted the demilitarised zone as a possibility.

He tweeted: “Numerous

countries are being considered for the MEETING, but would Peace House/Freedom House, on the Border of North & South Korea, be a more Representative, Important and Lasting site than a third party country? Just asking!”

Earlier Monday, South Korean President Moon said Trump deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in repairing relations between North and South Korea over its nuclear, Reuters reported a South Korean official as saying on Monday.

“President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize. What we need is only peace,” Moon told a meeting of senior secretaries, according to a presidential Blue

House official who briefed media.

Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday pledged at a summit to end hostilities between their countries and work toward the “complete denuclearisation”of the Korean peninsula.

Trump is preparing for his own summit with Kim, which he said would take place in the next three to four weeks.

The Trump administration has led a global effort to impose ever stricter sanctions on North Korea and the U.S. president exchanged bellicose threats with Kim in the past year over North Korea’s development of nuclear missiles capable of reaching the United States.

S’Korea Seeks Nigeria’s Support in North-South Peace Process, Denuclearisation Programme Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The government of South Korean has sought the support of Nigeria in its ongoing efforts to reach a peaceful accord with North Korea.

The Ambassador of Korea to Nigeria, Amb. Lee In-Tae made this call in Abuja yesterday during a briefing on the aftermath of the Inter-Korean Summit of April 27.

In-Tae noted that Nigeria is respected in global affairs and can provide leadership for African to support the peace processes in the volatile Korean Peninsula.

According to him, globalisation has made it paramount that a peaceful Korea will benefit Nigeria in particular and Africa in general.

He said: “As you may be well aware, the international community has shown nothing

but welcome and support to this historic summit.

“Seventy-one countries have announced written support to the achievements of the InterKorean Summit, including the US, Russia and Japan over the weekend. South African President himself issued a statement as well as Egypt and Sudan.”

In-Tae also commended the Nigerian Ambassador to Korea, Mr. Amin Dalhatu, for issuing a congratulatory message of support to the Summit.

“As the leader of Africa continent and beyond, I look forward to seeing Nigerian government’s support soon. Nigeria is a leader not only in Africa but has international influence and we seek this leverage to build the peace initiative,” he said.

Speaking on the historic summit, Ambassador In-Tae said that President Jae-in Moon of South Korea and Chairman Jong-un Kim of North Korea shared the firm commitment to bring a swift end to the Cold War relic of long division and confrontation, and move towards a new era of national conciliation, peace and prosperity.

He listed three key achievements of the Inter-Korean Summit known as Panmunjeon Declaration to include: agreement to facilitate comprehensive and ground-breaking developments in Inter-Korean relations; reduce military tension and cease hostilities; and achieve complete de-nuclearisation and build peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

10 Southern Sudanese Aid Workers Released Michael Olugbode, in Maiduguri The Red Cross has facilitated the release of ten aid workers abducted by armed group in Southern Sudan.

The aid workers were brought to the Sudanese capital, Juba on Monday after their release was effected around Yei. In a statement on Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said:“Ten aid workers taken by an armed group last week were returned to Juba today by a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).”

The statement read: “The South Sudanese aid workers were transported by ICRC aircraft from an area around Yei to the capital, Juba.”

The statement quoted the head of delegation for the ICRC in South Sudan, François Stamm to have said that: “The ICRC has a long-standing record as a neutral intermediary in these kinds of situations. We are pleased that these ten aid

workers will now be able to return to their families.”

Stamm revealed that: “The ICRC provided the transportation of the released aid workers with the consent of all the parties involved and was not involved in any negotiations. None of

the aid workers were ICRC staff members.”

“While we are relieved these ten humanitarians have been released, we want to remind all parties to the conflict that aid workers are never a target,” Stamm added.

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PAGE FORTY-TWO US CONCERNED ABOUT CONTINUOUS KILLINGS OF CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA, SAYS TRUMP give us in that bid, we will appreciate it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am pleased that Nigeria is one of our largest trading partners in the region, and we look forward to growing our trade based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But we give Nigeria well over $1 billion in aid every year and we have already started talking with the president about taking down the trade barriers, very substantial barriers in the United States trading with Nigeria, so we think that we are owed that. â&#x20AC;&#x153;President Buhari is also taking serious steps to fight corruption and improve the Nigerian business climate and most of all to me is ripping down those trade barriers.â&#x20AC;?

According to the U.S. president the elimination of trade barriers would make it easier for Nigerian and U.S companies to invest, adding that American companies would do so substantially once a level playing field is created. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These measures will make it easier for Nigeria and U.S. companies to invest and we will be investing substantially if they can create a level playing field. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I also want to thank President Buhari in the partnership and leadership in the fight against terrorism â&#x20AC;&#x201C; he has been a real leader. Nigeria was one of the first countries to join the coalition to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) and Nigerian forces are currently leading the regional effort against ISIS in West Africa and doing very well as we have. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigeria is also leading the effort in the fight against Boko Haram, another ruthless jihadist terrorist group â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you have been reading about them, they kidnapped the young girls and young women, many of whom we have never seen again. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This summer, it was my honour to meet with two brave young women, Joy Bishara and Ledia Pogu, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in April 2014 in a secondary school in Nigeria. I was deeply moved by their stories of courage, resilience and survival. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I told the two girls my administration is committed to combating the scourge of kidnapping and human trafficking and smuggling.

In the world today, there are more human traffickers and slavery than at any time in human history. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are helping Nigeria by facilitating training and providing military equipment to the Nigerian forces. For example, we recently sold Nigeria 12 A29 Super Tucano aircraft in the first ever sale of American military equipment to Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are deeply concerned by the religious violence in Nigeria, especially the burning of churches, the killing and persecution of Christians â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is a horrible story. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We encourage Nigeria, the federal, state and local leaders to do everything in their power to immediately secure the affected communities and the innocent civilians of all, including Muslims and Christians,â&#x20AC;? Trump added.

While thanking Buhari for the visit, he described Nigeria as a valued partner, stressing

that he looked forward to deepening Nigeria-U.S. cooperation and forging an even closer partnership.

The U.S., Trump added, was committed to working with Nigeria as it seeks a future of strength, prosperity and peace for both countries.

In his response, Buhari pointed out that both countries share a long history of cordial relations, which encompasses political, economic, military, social and cultural cooperation.

Both countries, Buhari added, maintain a strategic partnership for peace and security, conflict resolution as well as the global fight against terrorism. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We also share similar features as secular federal states, a similar democratic model of governance, and are committed to the universal value of fundamental human rights and freedom, free enterprise, social justice and the rule of law.â&#x20AC;?

Buhari disclosed that the two delegations, during their interaction, discussed security, trade, governance, human rights and the humanitarian crisis in the North-east. â&#x20AC;&#x153;President Trump, his team, myself and the Nigerian team discussed issues relating to security, trade, governance, human rights and the humanitarian crisis. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We congratulated the leaders of North and South Korea on their historic summit and we applaud them for the positive commitment they have made for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. President Trump deserves the credit for the state-manly role he played in transforming so dramatically the courses of events in that region. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We also congratulated the U.S. for the important role it played in the defeat of the Islamic State, although some of their remnants have found their way to the Sahel region,â&#x20AC;?

Buhari said.

Nigeria, Buhari stressed, recognised the strong role the U.S. is playing in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (Nigeria) fight against terrorism and the agreement to sell 12 A29 Tucano aircraft to Nigeria to effectively fight terrorism.

To defeat terrorism in Nigeria, he said the federal government has adopted a multi-sectoral approach involving the relevant government agencies in addressing the social and political dimensions, while the Armed Forces of Nigeria assist the civil authority to provide security and maintain law and order. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As part of efforts to address emerging cases of insurgency in the country, the Nigerian military adopted a non-kinetic counter terrorism/ counter insurgency approach code-named â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Operation Safe Corridorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, to de-radicalise, rehabilitate, and reintegrate willingly surrendered BokoHaram members into the larger society. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This programme is currently embarking on a number of projects including skills acquisition centers and integrated farms, comprising poultry, fish pond and greenhouse farming, among others. A number of international partners, including the International Organisation for Migration have contributed to the success of Operation Safe Corridor. We indicated that we

would appreciate whatever support we could also get from the U.S. He disclosed that the U.S. to date has been the biggest contributor to the humanitarian response, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and last year gave $500 million in cash and kind through the United Nations and other inter-governmentalorganisationsâ&#x20AC;?.

He said his government was doing what it could to secure the release of the remaining abducted schoolgirls from Dapchi and Chibok. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In this context we welcome the support of the U.S. in intelligence gathering, hostage negotiation and information sharing. The government is doing its best to promote the peaceful coexistence of herdsmen and farmers by enforcing security and legislation to guarantee herders and farmers access to land.â&#x20AC;?

Buhari also hailed the Trump administration for its laudable decision to launch a Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative to assist in achieving that aim and implored the U.S. to sustain its cooperation with Nigeria to effectively achieve this objective. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We thanked the U.S. government very much for the cooperation we have received in our effort to recover stolen funds. Our two governments have put the machinery in place for their respective AttorneysGeneral to collaborate in ensuring the return to Nigeria of $500 million looted funds siphoned away in banks around the world. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In this connection, we congratulated the U.S. government on the launch of the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative which was spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering. We hope that we could continue to count on U.S. support in this area,â&#x20AC;? he said.

On the economy, Buhari congratulated both Trump and his government on what he described â&#x20AC;&#x153;as the impressive performance of the US economy under their watchâ&#x20AC;?, disclosing that Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus was on diversifying its economy by focusing on agriculture and food security as well as power and infrastructure.

The Nigerian president who also said 2016 statistics showed that Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trade volume with the U.S. stood at $6.07 billion, observed that the figure comprised $4.176 billion worth of Nigerian exports to the U.S. and $1.894 billion U.S. exports to Nigeria.

He said both presidents sought greater efforts to increase these figures substantially.

Buhari added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have cut the importation of rice by about 90 per cent, thereby saving a significant amount of money. We very much welcome increased U.S. investment in the Nigerian economy, especially in the non-oil sector. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Economic relations between Nigeria and the United States are anchored on three major instruments, namely: the Bi-National Commission (BNC), Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Bi-National Commission in particular, comprising bilateral political,

economic, developmental and humanitarian partnership, is a basic economic framework for engagement between our two countries.â&#x20AC;?

On governance and human rights, Buhari said the government of Nigeria remained committed to the principles of human rights, promotion and protection of peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s freedom, even in the fight against terror, adding: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We commit to ensure that all documented cases of human rights abuses are investigated and those responsible for violations held accountable for their actions.â&#x20AC;?

After reading their prepared speeches, both leaders took questions from the press, during which Trump described Nigeria as an amazing country that he would like to visit. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I would like to visit Nigeria, it is an amazing country, and in certain ways, I hear from the standpoint of the beauty of a country, there is no country more beautiful,â&#x20AC;? Trump said.

Buhari also disclosed that both Nigeria and the U.S. had put the machinery in place for the repatriation of $500 million stolen funds to the country.

On corruption and efforts by the Nigerian government to secure the U.S.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; assistance in the repatriation of looted funds, Trump acknowledged that Nigeria has a reputation for massive corruption, but added that the U.S. will continue to offer its support for Nigeria to proffer a lasting solution to the menace.

He also said that his Nigerian counterpart had done a lot to combat corruption significantly in the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In terms of corruption, Nigeria has a reputation for very massive corruption, but I also know that the president has been able to cut that down very substantially, we talked about it, and they have made a lot of progress,â&#x20AC;? Trump said.

Asked whether he was offended by Trumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alleged denigration of African countries in the past, especially the use of a vulgar term to describe African countries, Buhari tactfully replied that he was skeptical about media reports and would rather not comment on them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am being careful about what the press says about others and myself. But the best thing for me to do is to keep quiet,â&#x20AC;? Buhari said.

Trump in turn, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t discuss it, and you do have some countries that are in very bad shape, and very tough places to live in. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t discuss because the president knows me, and he knows where I am coming from, and I appreciate that.â&#x20AC;?

Buhari said his government had done a lot to curb human rights abuses in Nigeria, especially in the ongoing war against Boko Haram. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The government of Nigeria remains committed to human rights, even in the course of fighting terrorism,â&#x20AC;? he said.

When Buhari was asked if he had any issues with the role of the U.S. as the policeman of the world, he said that he had no problem with the presence of American troops in Nigeria, adding they were only in the country to offer training and other support that are crucial to winning the war against

terrorism. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is one of the best things the United States could do for our country,â&#x20AC;?

Buhari said.

Trump at this point interjected, saying Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comments were fair, but added that he would want to see America scale back its supervisory role across the world while improving trade with other countries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to police our country. What we want to do now is to open Nigeria and other countries to trade,â&#x20AC;? he said.

On the concerns about the low patronage of Nigerian crude by the U.S. in recent years, Buhari said he would not tell another country what to do. He praised the U.S. for its technological innovations that had helped to reduce its reliance on oil. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tell the U.S. what to do. Luckily for us, we have got a market for our crude oil. But the progress made by the US in technology is certainly frightening for our mono-economy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I hope technology will allow them to use our crude for its quality for petrochemicals,â&#x20AC;? the Nigerian president said.

The U.S. president further clarified that Nigeria was interested in agricultural produce from his country, stating that plans were in place to allow exports of U.S. farm produce to Nigeria â&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x153;for the good of U.S. farmers, Nigeria, and Africaâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What we discussed today was our agricultural products going into Nigeria, which Nigeria wants. But we have certain barriers that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow that to happen. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For the good of U.S. farmers and for the good of all of Africa, it is very important that we are able to send our agriculture produce into Nigeria and we would be working on that right away,â&#x20AC;?

Trump said.

Also responding to a question on Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purchase of military aircraft from the U.S. for the fight against terrorism, as well as the need to get the aircraft delivered quickly to Nigeria, Trump said denying Nigeria the purchase of war planes before now was not good, stressing that his government sold the best aircraft in the world to Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We love helicopters, but he (Buhari) likes them more than I do. He likes buying helicopters and they buy a lot of helicopters. So, very soon we are getting them the planes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Part of the problem is that before you werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allowed to buy helicopters in your country, but now you are.

I worked that out. So, now you can buy the helicopters that you want. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The helicopters we have here are the best in the world.

We make the best military equipment in the world and our friends can now buy those equipment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are also helping our Nigerian partners by facilitating intelligence, cooperation and providing training and military equipment to the Nigerian forces. For example, we recently sold to Nigeria 12 US A-29 Super Tucano aircraft,

great aircraft, in the first ever sale of American military equipment to Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This new aircraft will improve Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to target terrorists and protect civilians,â&#x20AC;? Trump said.

PDP Laments Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Performance Reacting shortly after the joint briefing by both leaders, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday bemoaned the performance of the Nigerian president during the meeting with his U.S. counterpart, describing it as embarrassing and disturbing.

The party lamented that Buhari completely failed to project the economic interests of the country before the American government and the world.

A statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan said it was alarming that Buhari buckled during the bilateral negotiations and failed to address the issue of the drop in U.S. purchase of Nigeria's crude oil, saying it is the main stay of the Nigerian economy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigerians and the business community were aghast when President Buhari could not market our crude oil to his American counterpart even when in the course of the question and answer session, a leeway was provided for him, he off-handedly declared that he cannot â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tell America what to doâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;,â&#x20AC;? the party said.

PDP also said that Buhari had no answers to Trumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stance that the U.S. had not been investing substantially in Nigeria owing to the unconducive economic climate under his administration, further confirming the stand of the PDP that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was running a moribund economy.

More disturbing, PDP noted, was the revelation

by Trump that the U.S. has been supporting Nigeria with the sum of $1 billion annually whereas Buhari, in his script, announced that Nigeria received only $500 million last year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had expected President Buhari, as the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;African Champion on Anti-Corruptionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, to immediately respond to President Trump on the whereabouts of the shortfall of $500 million. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is also inexcusable that President Buhari had no answers to the security situation of daily bloodletting and mass killings in Nigeria, which President Trump described as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;horribleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Instead, he restricted himself to his script, which was silent on the issue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;By this, the American government has summarily indicted President Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s government on its failure to ensure security of lives and property of Nigerian citizens. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On the whole, the visit surmises photo-ops of President Buhari in the White House in a bilateral session where President Trump was committed to marketing the U.S. to the most populous black nation,â&#x20AC;? the PDP said.

43

TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2018Ëž T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

Revealed: Teleology Offered $301m to Win 9mobile Bid Emma Okonji

House of Representatives investigative hearing on Facts have emerged the collapse of Etisalat that Teleology Holdings now renamed 9mobile, Limited actually offered to the telecoms industry pay $301 million during regulator Nigerian the bid process for the C o m m u n i c a t i o n s sale of 9mobile to emerge Commission (NCC) through as the preferred bidder, as its Deputy Director, Legal against the $500 million and Regulatory Services, that was widely reported. stated that the NCC was The public was made to made aware through believe that Teleologyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a letter dated March bid price is $500 million 29, 2018 from United and that having paid Capital Trustees that a the $50 million non- non-refundable sum of refundable deposit, it $50 million had been paid now has a balance of by Teleology Holdings and $450 million to pay, failing that a balance of $251 which the reserve bidder, million would be paid Smile Telecoms Holdings, within 90 days. said to have offered a bid Viewed critically, the price of $300 million will sum of $301 million is a be invited to step-in as significant reduction from the new winner of the bid. the earlier touted bid price Going by the new of $500 million and will be revelation, Teleology easier for Teleology to pay. Holdings Limited, now The said sum of $301 has a balance of $251 million is only $1 million million to pay within above the quoted price of 90 days, beginning from $300 million that Smile March 21, 2018, which was Telecoms Holdings was the deadline given it to believed to have offered pay the $50 million non- for 9mobile.  refundable cash deposit In an apparent quest to that it had since paid, a sanitise the 9mobile bid day to the deadline. process, NCC in a letter, Reliable sources close to by its Governing Board THISDAY disclosed that signed by the Chairman, on April 12, 2018 at the Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye,

to the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr. Godwin Emefiele, espoused three criteria that would guide the emergence of a preferred bidder for 9mobile. The first is â&#x20AC;&#x153;that whichever company would qualify as successful bidder to take over 9mobile has the technical competence apart from financial

capability to turn round 9mobile and not further compound its problems.â&#x20AC;? The second criterion is that the successful bidder should come in with substantial funds (FOREX) to sustain the industry not just recycling funds facilities already within the economy, while the third required the company that would take over to

have adequate technical infrastructure on ground.

NCCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concern for the sustenance of 9mobile business post sale is hinged on the need for â&#x20AC;&#x153;the continuity of the company for the betterment of the telecom industry, subscribers, labour force and the interest of Nigeria as a whole.â&#x20AC;?

Re-affirming NCCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

position on 9mobile, the Chief Executive Officer of NCC, P ro f . U m a r Garba Danbatta, at a re c e n t m e d i a p a r l e y in Lagos, re-stated that the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s telecoms regulator will scrutinise the technical capability a n d p e d i g re e o f t h e f i r m re c o m m e n d e d a s preferred bidder in the sale of 9mobile.

US Visit: Presidency Laying Claim to Imaginary Gains, TRANSCORP HOLDING AGM R-L: Company Secretary, Mrs. Helen Iwuchukwu; Chairman, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu;; Says PDP President/CEO, Mr. Adim Jibunoh; Directors, Dr. Stanley Lawson; and Emmanuel Nnorom, at the 12th annual general meeting of the Onyebuchi EzigbĂ&#x2122; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the presidency is planning to hoodwink Nigerians by laying claims to imaginary and fictitious investments and economic opportunities as gains of President Muhammadu Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visit to the United States.

The party said its findings revealed that part of the scheme is to inject extraneous issues in their account of interaction between President Buhari and President Donald Trump in order to arrive at a predetermined impression of a successful state visit.

A statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said part of the plan includes presenting President Trump with false performance indices and claiming that the US President endorsed the Buhari administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s imaginary economic direction, its discredited anti-corruption war as well as the failed handling of security in the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is in addition to bogus claims of imaginary deals sealed with certain investors to bring in huge investments into Nigeria, a practice that has become a pattern whenever the President goes on official

company in Lagos....yesterday

visit abroad. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We invite Nigerians to note that the presidency had always claimed to attract huge investments, the latest being claims of a $15 billion investment during the 2018 Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM), whereas no sign of such investments have come to our country,â&#x20AC;? it said.

The opposition party further said it was aware that in line with this scheme, a particular cabinet minister had since last week, been moving around media houses and other interests in the United States with a view to procuring, swaying and lobbying for endorsements for President Buhari. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We note that the issue of governance by falsehood and procured endorsements in the past three years has led our country into the present predicament in all sectors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As we move towards 2019, it is imperative that Nigerians are not fed with fake performance indices, whereas the market dynamics and reality on ground shows the contrary. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We therefore charge the presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to shed their proclivity for propaganda as government by falsehood cannot yield any dividend to the people,â&#x20AC;? it said.

FG, GE-led Consortium Sign Interim Agreement on Railway Concession Following its award of preferred bidder status by the Federal Government of Nigeria in May 2017, an international consortium last Friday in Washington D.C, United States, signed an agreement to proceed with the interim phase of the Nigerian narrow-gauge railway concession.

Initiated by General Electric, (GE), the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier digital industrial company, the consortium is comprised of SinoHydro, a leading infrastructure construction services corporation, Transnet, a leader in transportation and logistics infrastructure management and APM Terminals, a global port, terminal and intermodal inland services provider.

In the interim phase of the rail concession, remedial works will be carried out on part of the narrow-gauge rail line system to make it technically and economically operable.

Additionally, a joint operation will be established between the consortium and the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) with an initial supply of 10 locomotives and 200 wagons to augment the existing rolling

stock in Nigeria.

This programme is expected to deliver an increase in the number of available locomotives, thus increasing the frequency of passenger and freight rail services. In addition, freight haulage capacity by the end of the first 12 months of the interim phase is expected to increase roughly 10-fold, from its current less than 50,000 metric tons per annum to about 500,000 metric tons per annum.

Speaking on the occasion, Lazarus Angbazo, CEO of GE Nigeria, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;GE is committed to the sustainable development of Nigeria and as such we are delighted to have reached this crucial stage of the project to revamp and revitalise the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legacy rail infrastructure system. The consortium looks forward to commencing execution of this interim phase with the continued support of the federal government and the Ministry of Transportation. As operations begin, our strong partners, such as Transnet and SinoHydro, will bring their strong operating and development skills to the forefront.â&#x20AC;?

Following the commencement of the interim phase, the consortium will conclude negotiations with the federal government on the terms of the substantive phase of the concession agreement that will expand service to up to 200 locomotives and associated rolling stock. Â This would see to the comprehensive rehabilitation of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s narrow-gauge rail infrastructure and the return of rail transport as a key element in enabling the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s socio-economic development.

The Chief Executive of Transnet International Holdings, Mr. Petrus Fusi, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are pleased to be a partner in this groundbreaking concession and look forward to the successful execution of the interim phase with the government and the opportunity to add value.â&#x20AC;?

Similarly, SinoHydro Chairman, Mr. Ding Zhengguo, noted: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This announcement is a step closer to the opportunity to transform rail infrastructure and transportation logistics in Nigeria; a country with huge potential.â&#x20AC;?

He added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are very

excited to partner this resourceful consortium to deliver value. â&#x20AC;&#x153;APM Terminals has been actively investing and participating in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s logistics infrastructure since 2006, and we are proud to be a part of this project to improve access for the Nigerian hinterland to the global logistics chain,â&#x20AC;? David Skov, Head of Terminals IMEA, added to the statements.

According to the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This milestone project is an unprecedented commitment by the Federal Government of Nigeria, which, combined with the GEled consortiumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drive to modernising Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rail infrastructure, will add immense value to Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long term economic growth and productivity. Â â&#x20AC;&#x153;This will be an important catalyst for small and medium enterprises and a key provider of almost incalculable socioeconomic benefits for the many Nigerian towns and villages through which the rail network passes.â&#x20AC;?

44

TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2018˾ T H I S D AY

WORKERS’ DAY…

WORKERS’ DAY…

NLC: Politicians Pauperising, Dividing Nigerians Along Ethno-religious Lines FG committed to economic revival, improved security, Ngige tells workers Our Correspondents The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has accused Nigerian politicians of deliberately dividing Nigerians along ethnic and religious lines so as to further impoverish them.

The accusation came as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, rpromised the Nigerian workers that the federal government is committed to revive Nigeria’s economy and improve security.

The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, made this remarks yesterday in Abuja while speaking at the joint symposium with Trade Union Congress (TUC) ahead of the 2018 workers’ day celebration today.

Wabba asserted that the Nigerian system of governance is being manipulated by politicians who use primordial means to divide Nigerians.

He noted that most of the richest governors in the country are not paying their workers’ salaries but are instead “dividing Nigerians along ethnic and religious lines.

“Benue and Kogi States have no reason to be where they are today, it is misgovernance. There is no country in which reasonable development can be made if lives are not protected. No complain or condemnation will be enough, bringing the killings to an end is paramount.”

He lamented that the Nigerian workers contributed majorly to national development and created the wealth but get little or nothing in return.

Against this backdrop, Wabba urged workers to continue to struggle for better working conditions and packages.

Speaking further, he alleged that most of the decisions taken by government were being manipulated especially by outside sources.

Meanwhile, Ngige gave the assurances yesterday in a goodwill message on behalf of the management and staff of the ministry and its parastatals, to the Nigerian workers on this year’s Workers’ Day. He recalled the historic role of the nation’s workforce across decades and urged it to further stand firm with President Buhari as he returns Nigeria to greatness.

The minister commended the resilience of the Nigerian workers and called for their continued support for the success of the present administration.

Ngige further expressed the unequivocal commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to the enhancement of workers’ welfare and prosperity for all citizens, charging them to use the occasion to reminisce on the positive outcomes of the labour’s struggle for a better working rights and decent work environment.

N18,000 Minimum Wage Embarrassing, Says Atiku Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that present national minimum wage being paid Nigerian workers is ill-motivating and embarrassing.

He lamented the continued rate of de-industrialisation in the economy, adding that it is of grave concern.

He restated the need for the restructuring of the country’s federal system as a means of refocusing the economy of the country.

In a goodwill message to Nigerian workers to mark this year’s May Day celebration issued yesterday, Atiku said: Considering the current state of things, the N18,000 national minimum wage is nothing to write home about.

“It is my firm belief that whoever works should be adequately rewarded. The reward of a service well rendered is a reasonable wage that can keep the earner sensibly motivated to put in his best. The minimum wage of 18,000 per month (less than $50), as is currently obtained in the country, considering the current economic reality is not only ill-motivating but embarrassing,’ he said.

The former vice president said while it is adequate that the federal government can set the standard for the national minimum wage, such a national minimum should however not be interpreted by respective state governments, (especially the rich states) as being the maximum wage they should pay to their workers but simply the baseline for them to build on.

L-R: Secretary to Cross River State Government, Tina Agbor; Governor Ben Ayade; his deputy, Professor Ivara Esu and Chairman, state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), John Ushie, during a tour of projects executed by the state government in the southern senatorial district.... yesterday the party said the Nigerian worker remained one of the most dedicated, resilient and hardworking in the world, and a key driver of the country’s multi-facet development.

“Despite challenges particularly on the economy, we celebrate Nigerian workers for staying positive and being a partner in nation-building as well as contributing towards efforts to take the country to its deserved heights, the party said.

NACA Calls for Implementation of HIV Workplace, Anti-Discrimination Law As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the 2018 International Workers’ Day today, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has called on employees and employers of labour to push for the implementation of National Workplace Policy on HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS Anti-discrimination Act and the National HIV/AIDS Stigma Reduction Strategy.

In a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday and signed by the Director General of NACA, Dr. Sani Aliyu, he said HIV response in Nigeria has been hindered by cases of employment-related stigma and discrimination, adding that it has continued to constitute a major threat to the goal of ending AIDS epidemic by 2030.

According to him, “The unequal treatment of workers based on their HIV status in the workplace is a clear breach of their right to gainful employment. A 2012 study of stigma among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Nigeria showed that 26 per cent of those surveyed have lost their jobs or sources of income in the past years due to HIV related stigma.”

Ayade Orders Payment of 2014 Gratuity, Donates N50m to NLC

Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, has authorised the payment of 2014 gratuity to retired civil servants in the state.

PDP Asks Workers to Defend Democracy Ayade who gave the directive yesterday, also announced a donation of N50 million to the organised labour, the Nigerian The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked Nigerian workers Labour Congress (NLC), and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to defend democracy in the country. for the completion of the Labour House in Calabar.

In its message on the occasion of the 2018 Workers’ Day celebration, The governor who was in company of the state Deputy PDP said the workers should resist the repression of Nigerians by Governor, Professor Ivara Esu, and a number of his aides, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress gave the directive shortly after inspecting the Labour House, (APC) administration. which is under construction.

The statement issued yesterday by PDP spokesman said Nigerian He tasked labour leaders and the generality of workers workers must also not spare any energy in raising a strong voice in the state to remain better organised, well structured and against the violation of human rights and manifest insensitivity of never relent in their roles to the society. the Buhari administration to the unabated mass killing of compatriots in Benue, Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa, Yobe, Borno, Plateau, Zamfara Glo Commends Resilient Spirit of Nigerian and other parts of our country by marauders and insurgents.

“Our labour force must also speak out against harsh anti-people Workers policies and the corruption ravaging the Buhari administration, As the nation joins the rest of the world to mark May leading to the collapse of our once robust economy with loss of Day, a telecommunications company, Globacom, has over 24 million jobs and attendant acute hardship, poverty and commended Nigerian workers for their resilient spirit. destitution in our country today.”

In a message of congratulations sent to workers in the public and private sectors of the economy to commemorate the 2018 International Labour Day, APC Urges Workers to Maintain Peace Globacom described them as one of the most resilient, The All Progressives Congress (APC) has extended good wishes hardworking and steadfast workforce in the world. and greetings to all Nigerian workers as they join their counterparts The company praised the doggedness and committed across the world to celebrate the 2018 International Workers’ Day. spirit of Nigerian workers not minding the difficulties and The ruling party commended them for being partners in challenges they had faced over the years, adding that they had progress with the government.

In a statement issued by APC spokesman, Bolaji Abdulahi, continued to play a crucial role in building the Nigerian economy.

Obaseki Lauds Edo Workers, Promises Better Days Ahead

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has applauded workers in the state for their contributions in the drive for socioeconomic development, noting that reforms being implemented across various sectors in the state will guarantee better days ahead for the state’s civil service.

In a statement to mark Workers’ Day, Obaseki thanked the workers for their support to his administration’s policies and programmes, noting, “As we take stock of our collective input, outcomes and impact, I am proud to say that our modest achievements could not have been possible without your full support.”

He urged workers not to relent in their effort to help develop the state, adding, “With workers’ continued cooperation, there will be no limit to how far we can go in transforming the Edo State public sector.

Kalu Tasks Govt, Organised Private Sector on Workers’ Welfare

Former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu, has urged the public and private sectors to make the welfare of workers a top priority in their organisational goal.

He acknowledged the contributions of the Nigerian labour force to national wellbeing, adding that the government must provide a conducive work environment for workers to demonstrate their intellectual capacity.

Kalu in a statement signed by his Special Adviser, Kunle Oyewumi, in commemoration of the 2018 Labour Day, reaffirmed the determination of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to take Nigeria to an enviable height.

He stressed that no country can develop without a vibrant labour force, adding that Nigeria is blessed with enormous human capital.

Barde Felicitates with Gombe Workers

Governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe State, Mr. Muhammad Jibrin Barde, has commended the state workers and the entire Nigerian workforce as they celebrate workers’ day today.

In a statement by his media office yesterday, the ex-bank chief said workers throughout the world deserve to be celebrated because they play pivotal roles in the smooth running of not only the civil service that ensure government at all levels function well but the private sector too whose contributions to the state and national economy cannot be over-emphasised.

He commended their commitment and efforts in spite of many challenges they face, ranging from what he called “salary issues to poor working condition defined by paucity of infrastructure.”

Obi Felicitates with Workers

The former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has commended Nigerian workers as they celebrate workers’ day today.

In a message made available to the press, the former governor said that workers throughout the world deserved to be celebrated because from the labour of their hands the machinery of government was perennial kept afloat.

He commended their commitment and efforts in spite of many challenges they face, ranging from what he called “salary issues to poor working condition defined by paucity of infrastructure.”

While noting that workers were among the people that make the greatest sacrifice for the good and development of the state, he advised them to also take the opportunity of the celebration and look inwards by sparing a moment’s reflection on the trajectory the country is moving and resolve to be part of positive changes that would make the country greater.

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Senior Lawyer Convicted for Perversion of Justice, Sentenced to 30 Days Imprisonment Files appeal against the judgment Akinwale Akintunde A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Joseph Nwobike, for perverting justice.

Justice Raliat Adebiyi, while delivering judgment yesterday in the criminal charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), found the embattled SAN guilty of perversion of justice and sentenced him to 30 days imprisonment.

Nwobike was first arraigned on a five-charge on March 9, 2016.

The EFCC, later amended the charges on three different occasions, each time leading to the re-arraignment of the SAN. The commission, in a 15-count amended charge, claimed that Nwobike offered two judges, Mohammed Yunusa and Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, money to allegedly pervert the course of justice.

EFCC had alleged that Nwobike offered N750,000 and N300,000 gratifications to Justices Yunusa and Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court respectively.

Nwobike was also alleged to have made false statement to the EFCC in the course of their investigation.

Counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, claimed that Nwobike acted contrary to Section 97 (3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State No. 11, 2011.

But the embattled senior lawyer pleaded not guilty.

Canvassing his final arguments during the trial, Nwobike’s lead counsel, Mr.

Wale Akoni (SAN), urged the court to discharge and acquit his client, contending that the EFCC failed to substantiate its allegations against him.

“Our contention is that the prosecution has not been able to produce any cogent or reliable evidence proving the essential ingredient of the charges – proving beyond reasonable doubts – and we urge your lordship that where there is any doubt at all, that doubt should be resolved in favour of the defendant,” Akoni said.

Akoni, had argued that there was no law that makes giving gifts to judges a crime and accused the EFCC of being desperate to nail his client at all costs.

He said in the EFCC desperation, it had amended the charges on three occasions after seeing that its case was going nowhere.

Justice Adebiyi however found Nwobike guilty of 12 count out of the 18 count allegations brought against him and sentenced him to 30 days imprisonment.

The judge held that Nwobike deliberately attempt to pervert the cause of justice by sending text message to a judicial official with instruction to influence the assignment of several cases to Justice Yunusa.

According to the judge, the fact that the six out of the 10 cases, which Nwobike requested to be assigned, were successfully assigned to the judge he wanted, showed a deliberate attempt to pervert the cause of justice.

Justice Adebiyi noted that Nwobike conviction should send a signal about the

Our Convention Budget Not Ready, Says APC Onyebuchi EzigbÙ ÓØ ÌßÔË The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said contrary to insinuations over the alleged N6 billion budget for its national convention, the party is yet to raise a budget for the exercise.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had cried foul over funding of APC convention which it alleged is to be funded by governors of the party from their state coffers.

However, in reacting to the allegations, APC’s spokesman, Bolaji Abdulahi, described it as false, adding that its convention committee was yet to propose a budget for the event.

He said: “In respect of the funding for our upcoming national convention, we also refer the PDP to our earlier issued statement and also invite PDP to note that the APC convention committee has not submitted a budget

for the convention.

“Besides, the expenses for the national convention to elect national officers and the presidential convention are duly captured in our 2018 budget. Therefore, the issue of N6billion convention expenses is neither here nor there.

The APC spokesman also referred the PDP to its 2016 published independent audit report and accompanying financial statements to get further information on its 2015 election spendings.

The statement said: “While we assure Nigerians that the APC has not adopted the PDP’s practice of dipping their hands into the public find to fund its political activities as brazenly displayed during the 2015 elections, we equally call on the PDP to emulate the APC’s best practice of financial probity and openness by making public their audited reports and financial statements, if they have any.”

seriousness of the government to fight corruption.

She observed that Nwobike was obviously motivated by the zeal for success and the will to succeed at all cost.

In considering the plea for leniency by Nwobike’s lawyer, Akoni, Justice Adebiyi stated that Nwobike, being a senior advocate, has brought shame to the legal profession.

She, however, stated that in sentencing the defendant, the court considered his no previous criminal record, his comportment in court and other factors in reducing the two years prescribed jail term

to 30 days in prison.

On the allegation that Nwobike at several occasions sent text messages to one Jide, a Federal High Court official with instruction to ensure certain case he filed should be assigned to a specific judge.

Justice Adebiyi held that there was no concrete evidence by the EFCC to prove the more serious offence of perversion of justice.

“It is curious that 6 out of the 10 cases filed were assigned as suggested by the defendant to Jide in

spite of the fact the he is not an assigning authority.

In proving the ingredient of attempt to pervert justice, act must be immediately connected to an attempt.

From the evidence before me, it is clear that the defendant attempted to pervert the cause of justice. He is accordingly convicted,” she held Justice Adebiyi also held that the EFCC failed to prove that the N750,000 given to Justice Yunusa and other judges actually influenced any case before the judges as alleged.

She further held that the EFCC failed to prove the

allegation that the defendant gave false information to its official during the cause of their investigation.

Nwobike, has however filed appeal against the judgment

by Justice Adebiyi.

In a notice of appeal, which was immediately filed by his lawyer, Akoni, Nwobike contended among other things that the allegation of attempt to pervert the cause of justice for which he was convicted was not proved by the EFCC. The appeal also insists that the judgment was unreasonable and unwarranted.

ANOTHER AWARD FOR DIAMOND

L-R: Chief Financial Officer, Diamond Bank Plc, Chiugo Ndubuisi; Deputy Managing Director, Caroline Anyanwu; Award recipient/ Managing Director/CEO, Uzoma Dozie; and Executive Director, Chizoma Okoli, at the Businessday top 25 CEO’s award ceremony held in Lagos.....weekend.

Court Orders Interim Forfeiture of Two Abuja Properties of Patience Jonathan Alex Enumah ÓØ ÌßÔË Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday ordered an interim forfeiture of two houses allegedly belonging to former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan.

The properties are situated at Plot No. 1960, Cadastral Zone A05, Maitama District, and Plot No. 1350, Cadastral Zone A00, both in Abuja.

Justice Dimgba granted the order while ruling on an ex-parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The judge in dismissing Mrs. Jonathan’s objection to the application for lacking in merit, however held that the forfeiture order last for only 45 days within which the anti-graft agency must conclude its investigations.

In addition, Dimgba ruled that the commission must conclude its investigations and charge those culpable in respect of the said properties.

He, however, stated that the anti-graft agency, if it so wishes, can file an application for the extension of the life span of the order before the expiration of the first 45 days.

The court in addition held that officials of the commission must ensure the presence of the respondents, if they must access the said properties while the interim forfeiture order last.

Dimgba consequently, ordered that an inventory of fixtures in the properties be taken and the report submitted to the court.

The EFCC had on October 20, 2017, approached the court for an ex-parte order seeking the temporary forfeiture of the properties at plot No. 1758, Cadastral Zone, B06 Mabushi and Plot No.1350, Cadastral Zone, A00 Central Business District, Abuja, linked to the former first lady to the federal government.

The EFCC also said the application was predicated on the fact that the properties are subject matter of investigation,

enquiry and examination.

However, few days before the ex-parte application was to be heard, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), counsel to Mrs. Jonathan, brought an application seeking to stop the hearing of the ex-parte on the grounds that the properties were subject matter of another suit filed by EFCC before same Federal High Court in Abuja.

Ozekhome urged the court to condemn the action of the federal government whose agent demolished part of the property while the matter was pending in court.

He prayed the court not to grant the EFCC prayer for forfeiture of the said properties because they belong to a separate entity, the Aurora Foundation.

According to Ozekhome, the Foundation has not breach any law, adding that it was illogical for the EFCC to state that the Foundation has not done any contract to have raised funds for the construction of the structure,

adding that it does not have to be involved in contracting job to raise money.

He said though the EFCC motion was filed ex-parte, the commission made Mrs. Jonathan to be aware of it, giving rise to a situation where it’s now improper and unfair ‘to shave her hair in her absence.’.

But EFCC lawyer, Benjamin Mangi, denied that the commission took part in the demolition of part of the building.

He said also the suit was different from the one determined by Justice John Tsoho of the same court.

Besides, the lawyer further submitted that EFCC has the power to investigate without any prompting from anybody.

He emphasised that the commission’s application was filed ex-parte, and prayed the court to refuse Mrs. Jonathan’s application and to grant the prayer of the commission for forfeiture of the two properties pending their investigations.

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Don’t Delve into Our Internal Matters, Senate Tells Court on Omo-Agege’s Suspension Your suspension of senator is illegal, AGF replies Alex Enumah ÓØ ÌßÔË The Senate and its President, Dr Bukola Saraki, yesterday told the Federal High Court in Abuja to resist the temptation of being dragged into the internal affairs of the legislature, particularly as regards a suit brought before it by the senator representing Delta Central senatorial district in the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.

The senator had dragged the upper legislative chamber before the court, alleging that his suspension by the Senate was unlawful and should be reversed by the court.

Meanwhile, the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation (AGF), who is also a defendant in the suit filed by Omo-Agege, submitted that the action of the Senate that led to Omo-Agege’s suspension was unlawful and unconstitutional.

Following his suspension last month by the Senate, OmoAgege had in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/314/2018, prayed the court for an order restraining

the Senate from denying him access into the Senate chamber and preventing him from carrying out his legitimate duty as a senator in the National Assembly.

Those joined as respondents are the Senate, Senate president and the AGF. At the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, Mahmud Magaji (SAN), representing the Senate, attacked the jurisdiction of the court and urged it to dismiss the suit.

He said what led to OmoAgege’s suspension was the internal affairs of the Senate and that the court should not heed the temptation of delving into the internal affairs of the Senate.

But counsel to the applicant, Alex Izinyon (SAN), said the suit, as constituted, is proper and competent.

He submitted that the Supreme Court has held that one can use any mode in challenging an infringement of fundamental human rights.

While referring the court to

the case of Senator Ali Ndume, Izinyon said the suspension of his client is not an internal affairs of the Senate as the rights of his client was violated.

Counsel to the AGF and Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata, in his submissions, agreed with the plaintiff that the suit be allowed as the mode of

Court fixes May 10 for judgment

commencement did not violate any rule.

He said the constitution vested on the AGF to defend the constitution as the Chief Law Officer and added that,“ All the actions of the Senate, leading to the suspension of the plaintiff in this matter are unlawful and unconstitutional and we urge the court to so hold.”

After hearing the submissions

of parties, the trial judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, slated May 10, 2018, to deliver judgment and directed 1st and 2nd respondents to file response to the plaintiff’s originating summons within 72 hours.

Before fixing the date, the court had earlier rejected the applications by the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics,

Privileges and Public Petitions to participate in the suit as defendants.

Justice Dimgba, in his ruling on the joinder application moved by Magaji on their behalf, held that they were not necessary parties to the suit as the matter before the court can be effectively decided without their participation.

Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Suspect Foul Play in Attack on Nwodo’s Residence Uba condemns explosion Shola Oyeyipo The bomb explosion that rocked the Ukehe country home of the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, around 5:30a.m. last Sunday, has been suspected as a targeted terror attack.

In a statement on behalf of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum, the spokesperson, pan-Yoruba sociopolitical group, Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, described the incident as a “terror attack.”

According to him, the forum had received the initial reports on the attack on Nwodo’s household when they were getting ready for the early morning mass, saying emerging facts pointed to an attack.

“What has been described as an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was said to have been hurled over the fence into the compound causing damage to the windows, the ceiling of one of the houses in the compound and air conditioning units. We thank God for Nwodo that he did not suffer any loss of life in this terror attack.”

He said further that “Five days before this ungodly attack, Nwodo was the spokesman of Southern and Middle Belt Forum Leaders at a press conference in Abuja where we bemoaned the harassments that Gen T.Y Danjuma and his community have been subjected to over his call for Nigerians to defend themselves against attacks from terror herdsmen whom he alleged have collusion from security forces and operating unhinged

and the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum therefore backed the self-defence call as lawful and moral.

“This is why we are demanding a thorough investigation whose report will be made public into the terror attack on Nwodo’s home shortly after this press conference so as to ascertain that there is no cause and effect in this incident.

“We are stiff worried at the intensification of terror in our land but will hold our breath until we have reports of the investigations.”

Meanwhile, the senator representing Anambra South senatorial district, Dr. Andy Uba, has condemned in strong term the explosion that rocked the country home of the PresidentGeneral of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia John Nwodo, at Ukehe in Enugu State.

The senator, who is the Chairman of Senate Committee, Interior, described the incident as a dastardly act.

He said the region is usually a peaceful one that must not be polluted with incidents of this nature.

He, however, sympathised with Nwodo and assured him that the good people of South-east and beyond were with him as he continues to advance the cause of the Igbos.

Uba urged the PresidentGeneral to continue to discharge his duties without fear or favour.

He called on the security agencies to as a matter of urgency investigate the explosion at Nwodo’s residence, leaving no stone unturned.

LCCI CLOSING THE MARKET

L-R: Immediate past President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mrs. Nike Akande; Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oscar Onyema; President, LCCI, BAbatunde Ruwase; Deputy President, Toki Mabogunje; and Director General, Muda Yusuf, during the closing gong by LCCI delegates at the NSE in Lagos.....yesterday

EFCC Witness Disowns Investigative Report on Demoted Director Alex Enumah ÓØ ÌßÔË A witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Bawa Usman Katungo, yesterday told the National Industrial Court in Abuja that he never wrote the Interim Investigation Report that led to the suspension and subsequent demotion of a Director and former Commandant of the EFCC Academy, Ayo Olowonihi.

The first Defence Witness (DW1), who made the revelation at the ongoing hearing of Olowonihi’s suit challenging his demotion by the commission, told the court that he was called in to sign the report, which according to him, was written by the leader of the investigation team, one Bello Yaya.

Olowonihi had dragged the commission before the National Industrial Court in Abuja over his alleged demotion from grade level 17 to grade level 16/7.

The former director, in the legal action instituted against the commission, is asking the court to restore him to his position as a substantive Director of grade level 17 and as commandant of the EFCC Academy.

The complainant in the suit marked: NICN/ABJ/347/2017 wants the court to declare his demotion as well as the

processes that led to it, illegal, null and void.

At yesterday’s proceedings, the witness led in evidence by counsel to the defendant, Ibrahim Audu, adopted his witness statement on oath as his evidence in the case.

He told the court that he was a member of the team that investigated the claimant and one Mustapha Suleiman.

He alleged that the investigation related to an online publication that maligned some senior staff of the commission, including former Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, and current acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu.

He added that based on the allegation of crime against the senior staff, a committee was set up to investigate the issue.

Katungo added that after the team completed the investigation, the case file was transferred to the Legal and Prosecution Department for legal advice.

However, during crossexamination by complainant’s counsel, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), the witness told the court that though he was part of the team that investigated the matter but that the report was written by the team leader, Yaya.

He said while investigation

was ongoing, he was transferred to Lagos, adding that there is nothing wrong in his signing of the report prepared by the team leader since he was part of the investigation.

The witness, who stated that the investigation has to do with malicious publication, however, could not tell under which law the investigation was set up. He also said he could not tell if the committee was established orally or written, but that the team leader is in a better position to tell.

Katungo also could not remember when the committee was set up.

When confronted with his witness statement where he said the committee was set up to investigate some members of staff which include the claimant, Katungo on evidence however told the court that the claimant was not included.

He said it was in the course of investigating Mustapha Suleiman that they found a link connecting Olowonihi.

According to him, “The only link is the headline that was published which was forwarded to the director and other staff,” he said, adding that the order link discovered was in his statement that Mustapha took him to one Mr. Debo where he submitted his Curricula Vitae for the position

of chairman of the commission or the NDLEA. While admitting that nothing in the report implicated the complainant in the said malicious publication, he however fingered Mustapha as the author of the malicious publication which he gave to one Abu Sadiq, a blogger for online publication.

Another witness of the commission, one Femi Gbarufu, Head of Human Resources of EFCC, in his evidence, said Olowonihi was queried in respect of breach of confidence.

He tendered exhibits showing how the claimant was first issued with a query and following his response, was suspended and then recalled from suspension and redeployed to the office of the chairman of the EFCC. He added that when the issue of the malicious publication came up, both the claimant and himself were redeployed to the chairman’s office.

Gbarufu also told the court that the Staff Regulatory Handbook that the commission used for the discipline of staff, including the claimant, was approved by the commission.

After the end of cross examination, Justice Sanusi Kadu, adjourned till June 14, 2018, for continuation of defence.

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

U E FA C H A M P I O N S L E A G U E

Real Madrid’s talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo (centre), and his teammates doing light work out yesterday ahead of tonight’s clash with Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu

Real Aiming to Overcome Bayern at Santiago Bernabeu Real Madrid Coach Zinedine Zidane has said his side will look to attack Bayern Munich quickly in this evening’s UEFA Champions League semifinal second leg at Santiago Bernabeu as they seek to remain on course for an unprecedented third consecutive European Cup. Real hold a 2-1 lead after the first leg in Germany last week, however the Frenchman insists the job is nowhere near complete.

“The key for us is think about winning the game and go onto the pitch wanting to do that. We need to go out to score quickly and that’s what

we’ll try to do,” Zidane told a news conference.

“It’s a semifinal, we know how important it is and what we have to do. We don’t have to change what we’re doing.

“Our focus and determination will be there - we don’t need to change much - what we did in the first leg was good, but we now need to show in the return that what we want is to go through.”

With regular right back Dani Carvajal missing with a hamstring problem, Zidane faces a selection headache given replacement Nacho has sat out the past month

with a thigh injury.

Local media reports indicate winger Lucas Vazquez could be asked to deputise, however no decision will be made until this morning. Midfielder Isco is also a doubt following a shoulder problem.

“Nacho has been out, but trained a lot recently, and today (Monday) he was with us and he’s ready to go in that respect,” Zidane said. “We have time ahead of the game and we’ll think about what we’re going to do.”

Real captain Sergio Ramos echoed the coach’s thoughts:

“We got a good result over there, but we need to think that it’s still 0-0. We want to defend our title, and beat the Germans, too,” he said.

“We’re making the impossible look easy. In the last four years we’ve won three Champions League titles. In such a small amount of time it’s a challenge for the squad to carry on breaking records.”

Ramos, meanwhile, also said that his side would not give Barcelona a guard of honour in their league meeting next weekend despite the Catalan outfit securing the La Liga title

on Sunday, as per the coach’s instructions.

“What Zidane says is gospel.

We’re making too much fuss out of all this. Barca have the title, which is what they wanted, but there will be no guard of honour – full stop,” he said.

“They want to enjoy their title and the same for us and ours, we need to eliminate the Germans and to reach another final.”

Real Madrid is heavy favourites to win the tournament after already beating Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus in the knock-out stages.

For Zidane, a third European crown as coach is now in sight, which would put him level with Carlo Ancelotti and Bob Paisley in the pantheon of successful managers. Even Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola have lifted Europe’s biggest prize only twice, all with more years in management under their belts.

Only the three triumphs of Paisley, however, came at one club, Liverpool, and over a single era, in 1977, 1978 and 1981. Ancelotti’s treble stretched across 11 years, with two clubs, Real and AC Milan.

Police Flood NFF’s Glass House over Supreme Court Judgment Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Police Command in Abuja yesterday deployed stern looking police officers from its Wuse Division to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) secretariat to forestall breakdown of law and order at the Glass House.

The mobilisation of policemen to the secretariat was in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court judgment that ordered the retrial of the suit between Chris Giwa and Amaju Pinnick at the High Court.

Armed policemen numbering 23 assumed strategic positions at the entrance and inside the premises of the NFF secretariat.

They came in two hilux vans and a car with registration numbers NPF 454HQ, NPF 8393C and NPF 439C. The vehicles were stationed outside the building with the policemen monitoring movement of people in the area.

Unlike in the past when policemen restricted movements into the NFF offices, when both factions laid claims to the Glass House, the police did not prevent people from entering.

After the apex court verdict of retrial at the lower court, Giwa’s faction was alleged to have threatened to take over affairs of the football federation pending the retrial. He had done so similarly when the High Court in Jos ruled in his favour.

The Supreme Court had stoked the crisis concerning who is the authentic President of NFF with less than two months to the kick off of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia with Nigeria’s Super Eagles as one of the 32 teams to feature at the Mundial.

Giwa is insisting he was duly elected the president of NFF at the election held on August 26, 2014 at Chida Hotel, Abuja.

His claims were, however, disputed by FIFA, which declared the August 26 election null and void.

Rather, FIFA upheld the

election in Warri, Delta State on September 30, 2014 that produced Pinnick.

Dissatisfied, Giwa approached and got relief from Justice Kurya at a Jos High Court.

Justice Kuya set aside

treatment of malaria.

SO Nigeria has commemorated World Malaria Day in a continuous effort to raise awareness on the need to combat malaria and reduce its prevalence among people with intellectual disability (PWID), and the community at large.

Attendees of this year’s event were invited to participate in a family health forum (FHF) where health talks on malaria, HIV and their adverse effects on the community were given as well as Voluntary Counseling and Testing on malaria and HIV. The World Malaria Day was established in May

be dragged into disrepute in the country, both the NFF and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) slammed a fiveyear ban on Giwa and his group.

FIFA upheld the decision of both NFF and CAF and extended it

to a world-wide ban from all football related activities.

Giwa also lost in the globally acclaimed Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Zurich, Switzerland in his bid to upturn his ban by FIFA.

Trump Tells Nigeria, Other Africans to Back US World Cup Bid President Donald Trump yesterday called on Nigeria and other African countries to endorse the US-Canada-Mexico joint bid for the World Cup in 2026, tying it to US support for them.

“I hope all African countries and countries throughout the world, that we also will be supporting you, and that they will likewise support us in our bid along with Canada and Mexico for the 2026 World Cup,” Trump said in a White House press conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.

“We will be watching very closely, and any help they can give us in that bid we would appreciate,” he said.

Team Doctors Triumph as Special Olympics Nigeria Commemorates World Malaria Day Special Olympics Nigeria (SO Nigeria) through her ExxonMobil Foundation sponsored Skillz For Life initiative, last Saturday held a novelty match as part of the activities lined up to mark the 2018 World Malaria Day in Lagos.

In the final match of the programme which held at the CMS Grammar School Bariga, Lagos, Team Doctors defeated Team Malaria 3-0 in penalty shoot out to emerge champions. The match had ended goalless at regulation time.

In collaboration with Grassroots Soccer, the Skillz for Life Initiative uses football as a learning tool to teach about the prevention and

the September 30 election, saying it was held in flagrant disobedience to the order of the court on September 19 , 2014 against the conduct of the election.

But with football about to

2007 by the 60th session of the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO). Observed every year on the 25th of April, it is a day earmarked to raise awareness on the need for continuous investment and support to various countries, in their efforts to combat malaria and its related problems, as well as provide information and support where necessary for communities prone to malaria.

EPL RESULT Tottenham 2 - 0 Watford

Trump appeared to tie the issue to trade, saying just ahead of his mention of the World Cup that the United States hopes “to be the economic partner of choice for nations across the continent and all around the world”.

“You see what’s happening with respect to trade and the United States. We are being respected again,” he said.

The call comes as world football’s governing body FIFA prepares to choose between the US-led joint bid and Morocco’s at a vote in Moscow on June 13, reported AFP. It was the second time in a week that Trump weighed in on the bid, suggesting a quid pro quo for the support of other countries.

“The U.S. has put together a STRONG bid w/ Canada & Mexico for the 2026 World Cup,” Trump tweeted on Thursday.

“It would be a shame if countries that we always support were to lobby against the U.S. bid.

Why should we be supporting these countries when they don’t support us (including at the United Nations)?”

Trump’s comments however risk incurring the wrath of FIFA, which has strict guidelines forbidding government intervention in football matters.

With strong infrastructure already in place, the North American joint bid has long been as the clear front-runner for what will be the first 48-team World Cup.

But Morocco has secured support from the influential Confederation of African Football (CAF) as well as countries in Europe, notably France.

Some analysts have said Trump’s heavy-handed intervention could tilt support away from North American bid.

One of the founding members of the New FIFA Now advocacy group, Jaimie Fuller, believes Trump may weigh heavily on the North American bid, while cautioning that the vote remains finely balanced.

“I wouldn’t be stunned if Morocco won this,” told AFP in an interview last week.

“And I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of that was down to the fact that Trump has waded in.”

Walelegn, Tuei Lead World-class Elite Cast to Okpekpe Ethiopia’s Amedework Walelegn and Kenya’s Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei will lead a truly world-class elite cast of athletes to the IAAF silver label sixth Okpekpe International 10km Road Race scheduled to hold next weekend in Okpekpe near Auchi in Edo State.

Walelegn is the third fastest man over the 10km race so far this year courtesy the 27:37 seconds he ran last March to win the Laredo 10km road race on March 11 in Laredo, a town in the autonomous community of Cantabria located between the cities of Santander and Bilbao in Spain.

He will be challenged for the

$20,000 top prize money for men by Kenyan trio of Timothy Kiplagat who came third (27:52) behind the Ethiopian at the Laredo race, Josphat Kiprono Menjo who came fifth (28:28) at the Valencia 10km road race in January and holds the fourth fastest time of all-time (27:04) and 2016 winner, Simon Cheprot who will be coming to chase history as the first man to win two Okpekpe titles.

For the women, Kenya’s Tuei will be the athlete to beat. She is the fastest woman over the distance so far this year courtesy the 30:57 seconds she ran to win the Valencia 10km road race in January. Her time is the 36th joint fastest on the

all-time list and she will be hoping to become the fourth Kenyan woman to win the title.

Tuei will be hotly challenged for the top prize of $20,000 on offer by compatriot Mary Waithera who won the Laredo 10km race last March with 31.48 seconds, the ninth fastest time in the world so far this year.

Also in with a chance is 2016 winner, Paulline Njeku Wanjiku who, like Cheprot will be seeking a slice of Okpekpe history as the second woman to win two Okpekpe titles.

Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Getachew Gudeta and Bahrain’s Damaris Muthee Mutua are also two women that could challenge for the title.

Tuesday May 1, 2018

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Price: N250

MISSILE NLC to FG “Honestly speaking, we are very concerned about the rate innocent people are being killed on a daily basis and the obvious helplessness of the federal government.” – PresidentoftheNigeriaLabourCongress ,ComradeAyubaWabba,calling on the federal government to stop the incessant killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen across the country.

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI abati1990@gmail.com

Buhari’s Impeachment: Mission Impossible

T

he Chairmen of the Committees on Public Accounts in the National Assembly – Kingsley Chinda (House of Representatives, PDP Rivers, Obio/Akpor Constituency) and Mathew Urhoghide (Senate, PDP Edo South) - have both had cause to ask the respective Chambers of the National Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against President Muhammadu Buhari for allowing the withdrawal of $496 million from the Excess Crude Account, without prior approval of the National Assembly and/or appropriation. This has caused much partisan rowdiness in the National Assembly and an aborted clash between PDP supporters of Mathew Urhoghide and pro-Buhari APC stalwarts at the Benin Airport in Edo State. Impeachment is a serious and sensitive political process that could lead to the removal of the affected political leader from office. The primary issue is whether or not President Buhari has indeed committed any offence, any violation of the Constitution that should warrant his impeachment?

What constitutes the ground for impeachment is defined in Section 143 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution as “gross misconduct” and further in Section 143 (11) as (a) “a grave violation or breach of this Constitution”, or “a misconduct of such nature as amounts in the opinion of the National Assembly to gross misconduct.” The first ground for impeachment is literal and unambiguous and it would only need to be proven. The main allegation for now is that the President caused to be spent a sum of $496 million without the National Assembly or appropriation. Section 80 of the Constitution dealing with “power and control” over public funds refers. Section 80(1) establishes a Consolidated Revenue Fund into which “all revenues or other moneys raised or received by the Federation (not being revenues or other moneys payable under this Constitution or any Act of the National Assembly into any other public fund of the Federation established for a specific purpose) shall be paid into, but the more relevant reference is Section 80(2) which states that: “No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation except to meet expenditure that is charged upon the fund by the Constitution or where the issue of those moneys has been authorized by an Appropriation Act, Supplementary Appropriation Act or an Act passed in pursuance of Section 81 of this Constitution.”

In other words, the government is not allowed by the Constitution to spend any money that has not been duly appropriated for, or without due authorization. The inherent and oversight role of the National Assembly is clarified in Sections 80(3), 80(4) and Section 83 (1 -2). Section 80(3) is clear enough: “No moneys shall be withdrawn from any public fund of the Federation, other than the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation unless the issue of those moneys has been authorised by an Act of the National Assembly.“ Section 80(4), for sheer emphasis it seems, reiterates the same point.

The operational word in all these Sections of the Constitution is “shall” – legally, this means “a mandatory order”. In a letter written to the National Assembly informing it of the expenditure of $496 million, without Appropriation, without a Supplementary Budget and without authorization, or even consultation, the President states that he granted “anticipatory approval.” He has no such powers under this Constitution. Nor can he seek protection under Section 82, which talks about authorization of expenditure in the absence of an Appropriation Act as is currently the case to wit: “If the Appropriation Bill in respect of any financial year has not been passed into law by the beginning of the financial year, the President may authorize

President Muhammadu Buhari the withdrawal of moneys from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation for the purpose of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the Government of the Federation for a period not exceeding six months or until the coming into operation of the Appropriation Act, whichever is the earlier…”

Note this: “to carry on the services of the Government of the Federation...” Is the purchase of 12 aircraft part of the “services of government?”. We can argue over this but given a literal interpretation, the President is clearly in violation of the Constitution. Such authorization should be in respect of services already before the National Assembly. In the absence of this, the President should have consulted the National assembly and sought their understanding, and buy-in, before spending the money. Writing a letter after ignoring them and the Constitution is an afterthought that beggars the question. The President is also in violation of the proviso to Section 82 in the sense that the purchase of the aircraft is not contained in the 2018 Appropriation Bill. Since it is not there and the Appropriation Bill has not been passed, the President has no basis to say that he has spent money. Can the President spend money in the event of an emergency? Section 83 of the 1999 Constitution addresses this – he can but only with the authorization of the National Assembly as in s. (83(1) and through the vehicle of a “Supplementary Estimate and a Supplementary Appropriation Bill as in s. (83(2).”

I have argued previously that the 1999 Constitution grants the President of Nigeria, enormous, if not excessive powers, but the framers of our Constitution did not extend such powers to cover indiscriminate spending of public funds, hence the combined effect of Sections 80 – 85 and S. 162 is to provide checks and balances against the possibility of anyone no matter how highly placed spending public funds, in a manner other than has been provided by the Constitution, no matter how well-intentioned he or she may be.

So, President Buhari is prima facie indictable in the light of the first ground for impeachment as in Section 143(11).

The second ground is a bit nebulous, for it speaks of whatever amounts to “gross misconduct” – “in the opinion of the National Assembly.” Virtually every Nigerian has an opinion, and where the opposition dominates the National Assembly, such an Assembly can form any opinion and remove a sitting President. My own opinion in this instance however, is that there are strong grounds even on this second score for commencing impeachment

proceedings against President Buhari. These include and are not limited to: his government’s routine violation and complete disregard for court order and the rule of law, human rights abuses, and his regular de-marketing of the country and Nigerians in the international community, and his apparent lack of ability to provide strategic leadership. But the reality is that the National Assembly as presently constituted is dominated by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Nigeria’s democracy has not yet reached a level where the legislature will choose to act on a non-partisan basis. The APC may be four, five parties in one, and may be imploding but I do not see the possibility of a ruling party in Nigeria impeaching its own President.

To return to the first ground of impeachment, which stands more on terra firma, and not “opinion”, I also do not see the possibility of impeachment of either the incumbent President or any other President under the 1999 Constitution. The National Assembly has set up a Committee to consider the possibility of the commencement of impeachment proceedings – it submits its report tomorrow, Wednesday, May 2 – and there may well be some persons losing sleep over that in Buhari’s quarters, but there is actually no cause for alarm. The framers of Section 143 (1-11) of the 1999 Constitution did not really hope that any sitting Nigerian President will ever be impeached.

The rules and procedure set out under that relevant Section are so cumbersome and tedious as to make impeachment impossible. The last time anyone tried to invoke Section 143 was under President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002 – notice of allegations were served on the then President by the House of Representatives to which he responded - but in the end nothing happened. Nothing will again happen to Buhari this time around. He will not be impeached because the relevant Constitutional provisions in Section 143 are too windy.

One, an impeachment process is initiated when “a notice of allegation” is presented to the President of the Senate by “not less than one-third of the members of the National Assembly” accusing the office of the President or Vice President of “gross misconduct (s. 80 (2).” As at the time of this writing, no such notice has been presented.

One-third of the entire Assembly (!) - that’s like wishful thinking. Section 143 (4) again presents this dilemma of numbers when it says, if the National Assembly decides to investigate the allegations, it can only do so if it is supported by “not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of each House of the National Assembly.” By the time we get to this stage, 21 days would have passed, and that is part of the problem with the rules of procedure on impeachment in Section 143. It would take at least six months or more for any Nigerian President to be impeached. The giver of the law created a problem here with numbers and also with time, and a bigger problem with the introduction of the judiciary into what should be purely a political process. In Section 140 (5), the judiciary is brought into the conflict, ensuring a possible clash among all three arms of government in the impeachment process.

The Chief of Justice of Nigeria (CJN) is given additional seven days (28 days now in total) to “at the request of the President of the Senate appoint a Panel of seven persons who in his opinion are of unquestionable integrity, not being members of any public service, legislative house or political party, to investigate the allegation as provided in this section.” Section 143 is thus loaded, from 1-11, with so many make or kill, elimination tests, and this is perhaps the most critical. Can we really rely on the opinion of the CJN to select seven apolitical, non-partisan persons of “unquestionable

integrity?” Where are those seven persons coming from? Heaven?, because no such persons exist in Nigeria. And should such seven persons be identified, there is nothing in this section barring interested parties or the Executive, and its agents from discrediting such persons. How many “unquestionable” Nigerians would even agree to serve on such a panel, if at all they exist?

Assuming a panel of seven emerges, the person to be impeached still has the right to be defended by legal practitioners of his choice. Thus Section 143 (6) is in pari materia with Section 36 of the Constitution which guarantees the right to fair hearing, but it is another bottle-neck which can go on for three months - (section 143(7) - or much longer by the time the lawyers exploit technicalities to prolong the proceedings. Section 143(7) (b) further presents a serious bottle-neck: the constituted panel must report its findings to each House of the National Assembly within three months of its appointment.

Section 143(8) says if the allegations are not proven, then the process stands aborted, but in the event of either this or the opposite addressed in Section 143(9), the Constitution only asks for two-thirds majority to determine the fate of the affected political office holder, it says nothing about the procedure for removal, now mentioned for the first time as a consequential effect. To the best of our knowledge, the National Assembly does not even have such a procedure in place, except it will create an emergency one, because the full import of Section 143 has not yet been tested.

Being a political process, stricto senso, the Courts are further estopped under Section 143(11) from inquiring into an impeachment process.

Section 143 of the 1999 is in our view, therefore, a jurisprudential nightmare. If we really want to prevent our Presidents from hiding under the Constitution to become tyrants, this particular section of the Constitution needs to be reviewed. The National Assembly should put in place standard rules and procedures to give live to the process in the need of activation of Section 143. The judiciary should also be removed from the process, as is the case in the United States. A compromised CJN would readily frustrate the process since his “opinion” is so important! Section 143 makes it difficult as it is, to remove a President, especially given our situation where there is so much emphasis on money-politics, political affiliation, ethnicity, religion and loyalty to the President and primordial sentiments. Some characters called elder statesmen and traditional rulers may even intervene to derail the impeachment process. The quality of legislators is also important: to protect and uphold the Constitution, we need people who understand that loyalty to the nation is more important than loyalty to the President or religious and ethnic sentiments. The present set of dancing, sleeping, singing, fibbing, cradle-snatching, compromised persons who end up in the National Assembly cannot do it.

The worst that they can do is to further damage President Muhammadu Buhari’s reputation. Mere talk about or the commencement of impeachment proceedings on its own, has negative political consequences, especially in an election season - even US President Bill Clinton did not fully recover from it although he was impeached but was not removed from office. The view has been expressed that the National Assembly should not bother to test Section 143 because this may have implications for the stability of the country in an election season, or that, well, President Buhari is almost completing his first term. I disagree. The responsibility to protect and uphold the Constitution must not be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency, even if all things considered, President Buhari needs not lose any sleep.

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