THURSDAY 2ND AUGUST 2018

Presidency Dissociates Buhari from Impeachment Move against Ortom Impeached Benue speaker, two others to face contempt charge Omololu Ogunmade, James Emejo, Senator Iroegbu in Abuja and George Okoh in Makurdi

More knocks have come the way of the eight of 30

members of the Benue State House of Assembly over their moves to impeach Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom as the presidency yesterday distanced President Muhammadu Buhari from the Monday occurrence

Police evict assembly staff from complex explain partisanship

in Makurdi, the state capital, saying the president should not be associated with what it called an infamy. “President Buhari will always stand by all that is noble and fair, and will reject attempts

to drag him into infamy,� a statement by the Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said.

The veiled presidential upbraiding of what many

legal luminaries have dismissed as unconstitutionality without moment, also got put down by the APC Leader of House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who yesterday at a press conference in Abuja

said the process utilised by the eight Benue lawmakers could not pass the test of smell of the constitution.

Meanwhile, the police, which Continued on page 9

Nigeria Lost N3.8tn to Oil Theft in Two Years, Says NNRC Report‌ Page 8 Wednesday 1 August, 2018 Vol 23. No 8506. Price: N250

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Defection Alters Balance of Power in the Senate Wanted, assembly police!

Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja The movement of Senate President Bukola Saraki has altered the power configuration in the upper legislative chamber, increasing the

opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) number from 54 it was at the first gale of defections last week to 55 (using Senate record).

With the ruling All Progressives Congress’

(APC) membership declining from 51 to 50, (with Sarak's defection) the PDP has become the majority party in the Senate with five significant implications. r'PS UIF Ă STU UJNF JO UIF

political history of the country, the opposition party would form the majority in the upper legislative chamber, forcing the ruling party to relinquish its leadership of the Senate. r4BSBLJ XPVME SFUBJO IJT

presidency, effectively making the position of national leader the number three citizen an of the PDP. opposition politician. r$POTFRVFOUMZ UIF DVSSFOU r*O UIBU DBQBDJUZ IF BMTP Minority Leader, Senator becomes the highest elected person in opposition camp, a Continued on page 9 situation that catapults him to

Saraki, Ahmed, Ibeto Finally Defect to PDP

Tambuwal, 23 lawmakers to decamp in Sokoto today Fifth columnists forced me out, says Senate president Abdullahi: I’m still in the party Iyobosa Uwugiaren, Deji Elumoye, Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) continued to stew in crisis yesterday as Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed and Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa, "MIBKJ "INFE *CFUP à OBMMZ MFGU the party and returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Saraki’s defection ended weeks of speculations about his political future even as leaders

of the APC, including President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, redoubled efforts to persuade him to stay back in the party he helped to form in 2013.

But the Senate president, who first announced his exit on his Twitter handle, followed by a statement signed by him, said their interventions came a little too late, explaining that fifth columnist had done too much damage before they stepped in.

Continued on page 8

FG Appoints TCN to Manage N72bn Planned Investment in Discos ‌ Page 9

HONOUR FOR THE LAUREATE‌ R-L: Professor Emeritus, Prof. John Clark; Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka; and Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof.

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Nigeria Lost N3.8tn to Oil Theft in Two Years, Says NNRC Report NNPC, partners to take FID on $10bn Bonga South West oilfield in 2019 Ejiofor Alike with agency reports in Lagos and Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Nigeria Natural Resource Charter (NNRC) yesterday disclosed that its latest report on crude oil theft in Nigeria showed the country lost about N3.8 trillion within the last two years - 2016 and 2017 to the menace.

The UK-funded NonGovernmental Organisation (NGO) also added that the estimated financial value of what Nigeria lost through crude oil theft in the Niger Delta was higher than the current combined allocations of the country to health and education in the 2018 federal budget.

This revelation is coming as Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), ExxonMobil, Total and the other partners will take the Final Investment Decision (FID) on the development of the $10 billion Bonga South West/Aparo (BSWA) deepwater project in 2019, THISDAY has learnt.

NNRC provides policy options to guide government and societies in their use of natural resources to ensure maximum and sustainable returns for citizens.

It said: “The combined allocations for health and education amount to N189.4 billion, which translates to a mere 8.4 per cent of the estimated value of losses from oil theft two years ago.”

The ‘NNRC’s Oil Theft in Nigeria’ report identified poverty, unemployment, poor governance, pervasive corruption and the neglect of the Niger Delta region as major

reasons for the emergence and sustenance of oil theft over time.

According to it, in 2016, both government and oil companies indicated that a combined total of up to N3.8 trillion was recorded as the amount lost from crude oil theft, sabotage and pipeline vandalism.

It further stated that this was principally as a result of the force majeure declared at the Forcados terminal, combined with wider pipeline infractions and theft.

The government’s share of this loss, it explained was approximately 42 per cent or about N1.6 trillion.

“The Nigerian government passed a record budget of N9.12 trillion with a revenue target of N7.2 trillion, most of which it aims to achieve from the petroleum sector. Therefore, at a time when the country has just exited recession and the economy remains fragile, with national debt on the rise, reducing oil theft should clearly be an urgent national priority,” said NNRC in its advice to the government.

The NNRC equally observed that although oil theft was as old as the sector in Nigeria, the level of stealing rose with time.

“However, as the stakes got higher over time and with global oil prices rising above $100 a barrel in the early 2000s, oil theft evolved into a cottage industry, creating consequential socio-economic problems.

“Over the last decade, oil theft has risen to unprecedented levels, peaking between 2011 and 2014.

The inability of the government and oil companies to curb this epidemic has made Nigeria the country most plagued by oil theft in the world,” it added.

NNPC, Shell, others to take

FID on Bonga SW oilfield in 2019 Meanwhile, the NNPC, SNEPCo, ExxonMobil, Total and the other partners will take the FID on the development of the Bonga South West/Aparo (BSWA) deepwater project in 2019.

The BSWA project includes the construction of a new Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit with an expected peak production of 225,000 barrels of oil per day.

THISDAY gathered that the BSWA field straddles Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 118, 132 and 140.

However, the bulk of BSWA resources are located in OML 118 but it also extends into OMLs 132 and 140, operated by Chevron, where it is called Aparo.

SNEPCo is the operator of the BSWA project in line with the agreement between the NNPC, Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Ltd., Total E&P Nigeria Ltd., Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd., Texaco Nigeria Outer Shelf Ltd., Star Ultra Deep Petroleum Ltd., Sasol Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd. and Oil and Gas Nigeria Ltd. Reuters quoted the Managing Director of SNEPCo, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, as saying that Shell and its partners would decide next year on whether to go ahead with the development of the oilfield.

Ojulari added that the project, one of the country’s largest with an expected production of 180,000 barrels of crude oil per day, would generate profit at crude oil price of below $50 per barrel.

According to him, Shell is currently negotiating a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with the Nigerian government, which will

determine the viability of the project.

“The negotiations are expected to finish this year,” he added.

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had earlier requested the NNPC and the other partners to commence the tendering process for the execution of the project.

Kachikwu’s directive was said to have followed the April 17, 2018 meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and a delegation from Royal Dutch Shell Plc., led by the Chief Executive Officer, Bern Van Beurden, in London, where a decision was reached that the oil giant and the NNPC would begin the implementation of projects that have been on the drawing board for several years.

The London meeting, which was facilitated by Kachikwu, also had in attendance the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru.

THISDAY had reported that the meeting was said to have presented an opportunity to open investment talks of up to $15 billion to be invested by Shell in Nigeria.

Estimated to cost about $10 billion, the Bonga South West/ Aparo project, which has been on the drawing board for several years, is being executed

by SNEPCo under a PSC arrangement with the NNPC. First oil from the project, which is expected to add 225,000 barrels per day of crude oil to Nigeria’s daily production at plateaux, is expected in 2021 or 2022.

Other key projects that have also suffered delays in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry include: the 120,000bpd Shell and Eni’s Zabazaba/Etan project in

the disputed Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245, ExxonMobil’s 140,000bpd Bosi project, ExxonMobil’s 110,000bpd Uge project and Chevron’s 100,000bpd Nsiko deepwater project.

The delays in the execution of these projects, which are estimated to cost about $23 billion, are largely caused by the lack of clarity of terms as a result of the non-passage of the 18-year-old Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), and inadequate funding.

However, following the meeting between the president and the Shell executives, Kachikwu directed the NNPC to conclude all the processes leading to the execution of the Bonga South West project latest

by June 18.

The petroleum minister had stated that his directive was in furtherance to the meeting held between the president and the Shell executives in London.

Buhari and the Shell executives were said to have discussed the Bonga offshore oil field development and the expansion of liquefied natural gas projects.

Shell had confirmed the meeting, saying: “Both projects are subject to a future final investment decision and we continue to work with our partners and the government towards that in each case.”

Following Kachikwu’s directives, the NNPC, through its investment arm, the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), had also approved the Invitation to Tender (ITT) documents prepared by SNEPCo for the six packages in the project.

In a related development, the federal government and NNPC have been commended by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) for what it described

as an improved security situation in the Niger Delta.

NAOC, in a statement from the NNPC said the improvement has rubbed off positively on its operations, and it would leverage it to conclude works on two new energy projects it has in the country.

NNPC’s Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, said the Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Eni, Mr. Antonio Vella, said this when he led the management team of NAOC on a courtesy visit to the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru.

Vella reportedly said the prevailing peace and security in the region had increased investors’ confidence in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, adding that his company was considering doubling its investment in the country.

“The steps the GMD has taken have greatly improved security in our area of operations, that is very important to us as it has given us confidence to come back strongly and raise oil and gas production. And that is what we are doing, we are increasing our budget in Nigeria because we have confidence in Baru and the entire system,” he said.

He also disclosed that NAOC was redoubling efforts on the ongoing expansion of the Okpai Independent Power Project (IPP) and the Zabazaba deepwater project to achieve early completion as a result of the improved operating environment.

According to him, the Okpai IPP expansion would be completed by the second quarter of next year and would raise the power generating capacity of the plant by over 50 per cent.

for justice, equity and fairness as basic precondition for peace and unity, not only within the party, but also the country at large, were simply ignored, or employed as additional pretext for further exclusion.”

He, however, gave kudos to both Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, for their efforts in ensuring that he remained in the party.

Saraki announced that he was returning to the PDP that he left four years ago, which has learnt from his past mistakes.

He said, "For me, I leave all that behind me. Today, I start as I return to the party where I began my political journey, the PDP. When we left the PDP to join the then nascent coalition of APC in 2014, we left in a quest for justice, equity and inclusion; the fundamental principles on which the PDP was originally built but which it had deviated from. We were attracted to the APC by its promise of change.

We fought hard along with others and defeated the PDP. "In retrospect, it is now evident that the PDP has learnt more from its defeat than the APC has

learnt from its victory. The PDP that we return to is now a party that has learnt its lessons the hard way and have realized that no member of the party should be taken for granted; a party that has realised that inclusion, justice and equity are basic precondition for peace; a party that has realised that never again can the people of Nigeria be taken for granted."

"I am excited by the new efforts, which seeks to build the reborn PDP on the core principles of promoting democratic values; internal democracy; accountability; inclusion and national competitiveness; genuine commitment to restructuring and devolution of powers; and an abiding belief in zoning of political and elective offices as an inevitable strategy for managing our rich diversity as a people of one great indivisible nation called Nigeria.”

Announcing his own defection, Ahmed’s media aide said, "Following due consultations with the people, and in response to calls by major stakeholder groups in the state, Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, today defected to the PDP,” adding, "Having realised that the APC

can longer serve as a platform for achieving the aspirations and expectations of his people."

SARAKI, AHMED, IBETO FINALLY DEFECT TO PDP But in an ironic twist, the APC rose from its National Working Committee (NWC) meeting last night, issuing a query to the departed Saraki on alleged anti-party activities.

“We told you these people are irredeemable jokers,” a Saraki supporter said to THISDAY last night, “They are querying someone who is no longer under their control.”

The party may issue more queries as the Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, too moves over to the PDP today in Sokoto.

A reliable source said he would be doing so with 23 of the 30 members of state House of Assembly.

Ahmed was the first to opt out through a statement by his media aide, Dr. Muideen Akorede, in the afternoon in Ilorin, saying that his people’s aspirations and expectations were no longer realisable in the APC. Saraki in a lengthy 20-paragraph statement said he was forced out of the party by fifth columnists.

According to him, some national leaders of APC who were opposed to resolving

the crisis within the party through dialogue served as fifth columnists which led to his leaving the party eventually.

His words, "There are some people in the party leadership hierarchy, who did not think dialogue was the way forward and therefore chose to play the fifth columnists. These individuals went to work and ensured that they scuttled the great efforts and the good intentions of other leaders of the party. Perhaps, had these divisive forces not thrown the cogs in the wheel at the last minutes, and in a manner that made it impossible to sustain any trust in the process, the story today would have been different.”

Saraki said it took him a long time to quit the party, adding, "If anything at all, I have tarried for so long and did all that was humanly possible, even in the face of great provocation, ridicule and flagrant persecution, to give opportunity for peace, reconciliation and harmonious existence.

"Perhaps, more significantly, I am mindful of the fact that I carry on my shoulder a great responsibility for thousands of my supporters, political associates and friends, who have trusted

in my leadership and have attached their political fortunes to mine. However, it is after an extensive consultation with all the important stakeholders that we have come to this difficult but inevitable decision to pitch our political tent elsewhere; where we could enjoy greater sense of belonging and where the interests of the greatest number of our Nigerians would be best served.

Further justifying his defection and taking full responsibility for this decision, he emphasised that it was a decision "that has been inescapably imposed on me by certain elements and forces within the APC who have ensured that the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist.

"They have done everything to ensure that the basic rules of party administration, which should promote harmonious relations among the various elements within the party were blatantly disregarded. All governance principles which were required for a healthy functioning of the party and the government were deliberately violated or undermined. And all entreaties

Continued on page 44

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WEDNESDAY, ͹˜ ͺ͸͹΀ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

FG Appoints TCN to Manage N72bn Planned Investment in Discos Discos seek closure of N1.3tn funding gap Chineme Okafor in Abuja The federal government has appointed the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to manage the N72 billion investments it plans to sink into the 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) to upgrade their distribution infrastructure and networks.

TCN has also berated the Discos for their failure to provide stable electricity services to the consumers, when the distribution networks of Togo and Republic of Benin

provide stable power to their customers with about 80 per cent of electricity consumed in those countries coming from Nigeria.

But in an apparent response to the challenge by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, that they should either upgrade their operations or quit the business of electricity distribution in Nigeria, the private investors who bought the Discos yesterday offered to hand over their assets to the federal government within

24 hours once they are paid compensation.

The investors have, however, given fresh condition for them to meet the government’s expectations, saying the current N1.3 trillion financial gap created by the sector’s non-cost reflective tariff, must be addressed by the federal government.

Speaking yesterday with journalists in Abuja, the Managing Director of TCN, Mr. Usman Mohammed, stated that Fashola had received an approval from the federal government for the TCN to

manage the N72 billion planned investments in the Discos.

Mohammed said the TCN got the approval because it already had a comprehensive systems study and plan on Nigeria’s electricity network, adding that the investment would help stabilise the country’s electricity grid.

“Discos have low capacity; investments have not been done in the Discos, and you know it. We have commissioned so many substations; go and find out how many of these have been done by the Discos.

That is why we are begging the government and anybody that is willing to listen to us that investments need to go to the Discos. We are actually working with the government to see that the last mile which is now the weakest link in the power value chain which is distribution, that investments are directed to that sector,” Mohammed said.

He further explained: “In the past the government had not shown interest in putting money in the distribution, but recently the minister of power has approached the government

and got it to approve N72 billion which will be invested in the Discos.

“This is one milestone that will help us to also stabilise the grid. It is in our interest that distribution is rehabilitated and I can tell you we lost two transformers in Abuja because of poor distribution. If distribution is not fixed, it will affect us at the TCN. Government is investing in the Discos and it is TCN that is managing the investment. We are managing it on behalf of the minister of power,” Mohammed said.

Yar’Adua and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administrations that succeeded Obasanjo.

Although President Muhammadu Buhari in the statement by his media aide, Mr. Femi Adesina, yesterday recommitted to constitutionalism, many analysts are of the view that the legislature needs its own police in order to maintain the delicate balance of power between the executive and legislature, and preserve the principle of separation of power as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution as amended.

“There is a need to institute a balance of power and review the constitutional basis for the vesting of police powers in the executive arm

alone,” an analyst said, pointing out that elsewhere, specifically, the United States, the legislature has its own police that protect it.

Actually, the US Congress has a force called United States Capitol Police (USCP), which according to Wikipedia, is a federal law enforcement agency charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its territories.

It said, “The USCP is the only full service federal law enforcement agency responsible to the legislative branch of the U.S. government.

Continued on page 45

DEFECTION ALTERS BALANCE OF POWER IN THE SENATE Godswill Akpabio, would become the majority leader.

As majority leader, Akpabio would have the responsibility of presenting executive bills, an eventuality that leaves the ruling party in a precarious situation as the opposition party may frustrate executive bills.

Wanted, Assembly Police!

Following widespread abuse of the coercive machinery of state, particularly the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) personnel by the executive, there is a growing belief that the need has arisen for the legislature to have its own law enforcement

arm that protect it from undue interference from the executive.

According to analysts, who would not want their names in print, a legislative police that would be controlled by the legislature had become imperative given the use of the police by the executive arm of government to harass and intimidate other arms of government, particularly the legislature.

Reference is made to the perennial use of the police to brazenly interfere in the affairs of the other arms of government simply because the operational control of the security agency is vested in the executive by the 1999

Constitution.

Last Monday’s incident in the Benue State House of Assembly, where eight of 30 lawmakers initiated an impeachment proceeding against the state Governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom, with the aid of the police, despite the fact that the police ought to be under the direction of the governor as stipulated by the constitution, is cited as the most recent abuse of the police by the executive to serve political end.

They traced the recent history of the police by the executive to the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo under whose watch sitting governors, including Dr.

Chris Ngige and Mr. Peter Obi both of Anambra State; Senator Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo State; and Chief Joshua Dariye of Plateau State, were summarily harassed out of office by political opponents with the aid of the police.

Although they all got their mandates back through the intervention of the Supreme Court, their harrowing experience, said analysts could not have been adequately made up for by the justice they got from the courts.

Perhaps the intervention of the judiciary, which restored the governors’ right in harsh tones, moderated the temperament of the Alhaji Umaru Musa

Continued on page 44

PRESIDENCY DISSOCIATES BUHARI FROM IMPEACHMENT MOVE AGAINST ORTOM told THISDAY on Monday that it was still studying the situation on the role of its personnel, yesterday told the newspaper the outcome of its study and said its men intervened to prevent touts from hijacking the tense political situation in the state.

The court is also being called upon to put the touts at bay as it has been asked to rein in the impeached Speaker of the state assembly, Hon. Terkimbi Ikyange, and his co-travellers, former Deputy Speaker, Hon. James Okefe, and former Majority Leader, Hon. Benjamin Adanyi.

The 22 members of the House who are loyal to Ortom yesterday served them with notices to commit them for contempt of court.

In the statement released in Abuja, Adesina rejected any attempt to link Buhari with what he described as the inglorious past when lawmakers in their minority removed sitting governors in breach of the constitution.

According to him, attempts to drag the president, whom he said was attending a joint summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Economic Community of Central African States in Lome, Togo, into the charade in Benue, were unacceptable.

Adesina, who said the president would not interfere in the current shenanigans in Benue, argued that those making the insinuations were the same persons who had been advocating strict compliance with the principle of separation of powers, insisting that the president would rather uphold the provisions of the constitution than to allow himself to be dragged into the "infamy."

Further arguing that the

president would stand by what is noble, he insisted that his principal would be guided by the constitution as he deplored the actions of those he said had set up fire and then call on the president to put it off.

The statement read: "Even while attending the ECOWAS/ ECCAS Summit in Togo, strident attempts were being made to drag President Buhari into the unfolding drama between the executive and the legislature in Benue State.

"Statements have been issued by different interest groups, insinuating that the president may have a hand in the development in Benue. This is paranoia at its worst, coming from people who have wittingly positioned themselves against the clean-up of the country, and the way we do things. They prefer business as usual.

"President Buhari will never be part of any unconstitutional act, and any attempt to link him with the inglorious past, when minority number of lawmakers impeached governors, will not stick. It will simply be like water off the duck's back. Those with open minds know this, but those who cavil would rather source everything untoward to the president. It is murky ground in which they are now marooned, as fallout of their resistance to change in the country.

"When it suits them, they preach separation of powers and true federalism, and in another breath, they call on the president to interfere brazenly in affairs at state level.

President Buhari will always stand by all that is noble and fair, and will reject attempts to drag him into infamy.

"People who stoke fires by deliberate acts of omission or

commission, and then summon the president to come and put it out will find that this president will be guided by the constitution at all times, no matter the attempt to entangle him in unwarranted controversies."

Impeached Benue speaker, two others to face contempt charge In Makurdi, the 22 members of the Benue State House of Assembly loyal to Ortom yesterday turned the fight against the embattled Ikyange as they served him, Okefe and Adanyi contempt proceedings.

The order to serve the lawmakers, who are currently on suspension, the contempt proceedings was given by the state Chief Judge, Justice Adam Onum.

The trio would appear in court to explain why an order for committal to prison should not be made against them for disobeying the injunction earlier issued by the court.

The lawmakers and five others had Monday taken control of the assembly with the aid of the police to commence impeachment proceedings against the governor.

The former speaker, deputy speaker and majority leader were last Friday restrained by the Makurdi High Court presided over by Justice Onum from parading themselves in the capacities they previously operated pending the determination of the substantive suit filed against them.

Also included in the injunction were the Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps who are by the court injunction order advised to steer clear from the assembly complex and desist from

barricading the state assembly complex to prevent members from carrying out their legitimate function.

Justice Onum had issued an interim injunction restraining the Ikyange from parading himself as the speaker of the House.

The interim injunction order was issued following an application brought before the court by the 22 members of the House.

Justice Onum also warned Ikyange to desist from parading himself as the speaker pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also warned the security agencies to steer clear from the assembly complex and desist from barricading the state assembly complex to prevent members from carrying out their legitimate function.

Yesterday morning, however, heavily armed security operatives comprising the police and DSS ordered the Clerk of the House, Dr. Toryese Angenor, and other staff out of their offices.

The clerk disclosed that shortly after he resumed work with other staff, the security operatives asked them to move out of their offices while the assembly was sealed up.

According to Angenor, the security men told them that the order was from the state Commissioner of Police.

He said, "As I talk to you now, the police officers are still there and you can't see any staff at the assembly complex because I was chased out of my office. They told us that the commissioner of police has ordered them to let us leave the complex. No reason was given and no definite time was given to us to come back.

"The implication of this is that we were not allowed to do our

job and that is going to impede on the work of the legislature and is going to affect the people of the state.”

Also, the Security Adviser to the state governor, Colonel Paul Hemba (rtd), confirmed that the police actually went to the assembly and chased away workers.

Police Explain Role, Evict Assembly Staff from Complex Explaining the role of its personnel in the crisis in the state, the police said it intervened to stop hoodlums from hijacking the tensed political situation.

In its response to THISDAY inquiries yesterday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benue State Command, Joel Moses Yamu, said their action was to safeguard lives and property in the state.

According to Yamu, the police personnel intervened in order to douse the tensed political situation.

"The police as far as I know, only played its role of safeguarding lives and property and further ensure that hoodlums did not highjack and take advantage of the rather tensed political situation in the state," he said.

When repeatedly asked why the other 22 state House ofAssembly members were prevented from gaining access to the legislative chambers, he insisted that the police acted "to stop hoodlums not to hijack the situation.

"I have told you all that transpired and needed to be said," he stated promising to get further information from the personnel in operation at the venue.

Gbajabiamila Faults Process Also reacting to the Benue crisis, the Majority Leader of

the House of Representatives, Gbajabiamila, yesterday said the purported impeachment of Ortom by eight members of the state House of Assembly "cannot pass the smell test under the constitution."

Nevertheless, he expressed disappointment that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House Caucus would link Buhari to the impeachment saga.

At a press briefing on Monday, the House Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Chukwuka Onyema, alongside other members of the caucus, warned that it would frustrate ongoing efforts by the executive to reconvene the lower chamber with a view to considering some urgent budget matters including passage of virement among others if the federal government does not stop its show of impunity in the unfolding developments in Benue.

The National Assembly is currently on its long recess and is expected to resume on September 26.

However, Gbajabiamila, in a statement he issued yesterday said he found it "strange and hyperbolic that the PDP caucus in the House in a knee jerk reaction will try to tie the President to same."

He said: "In tandem with our party, PDP has been screaming restructuring and federalism to high heavens and one wonders why the same party will now blame the activities of an independent state assembly on Mr. President.

"As for the police the matter is serious enough and one would expect the PDP members to immediately push for the reconvening of the House so as to probe the exact role played by the police. In legislative work there are procedures to be followed."

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WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Group News Editor Ejiofor Alike Email Ejiofor.Alike@thisdaylive.com, 08066066268

EFCC Quizzes, Releases Ekweremadu PDP flays harassment of deputy Senate president Deji Elumoye, Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, was yesterday arrested when he honoured the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and interrogated by the operatives of the anti-graft commission in Abuja, over allegation of fraud and money laundry.

This is coming as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has deplored what it described as the harassment of the deputy Senate president, opposition leaders, and voices of dissent, by the federal government.

A reliable source from the commission confirmed Ekweremadu’s arrest in the early hours of yesterday, saying “he was invited for questioning.”

The deputy Senate president was in the EFCC custody for several hours.

Ekweremadu honoured the iniviation of the anti-graft agency at the commission’s headquarters and was released on administrative bail yesterday evening after being grilled by the operatives.

The commission had last Tuesday invited the Senator to its office in Abuja to respond to allegations of conspiracy, abuse of office and money laundering, which he failed to honour.

The EFCC’s invitation coincided with the invasion of the Apo residence of the Senator by both the police and the commission’s operatives who did not allow him to leave his residence in the early hours of the day.

The purpose of the invasion, it was learnt, was to prevent

him from attending the Senate plenary that saw about 14 Senators defecting from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

On that fateful day, the EFCC issued a letter dated July 24, the same day he was being asked to report to the anti-corruption agency office in Wuse II by 10a.m.

The EFFC letter dated July 24, 2018, with reference CR:3000/EFCC/DOPS/ VOL 49/40 and signed by the Director of Operations, Mohammed Umar Abba, was titled: “Investigation Activities: Case of Conspiracy, Abuse of Office and Money Laundering”.

“This Commission is investigating the above mentioned case in which your name features prominently and the need to obtain certain clarification from you became imperative. In view of the above, you are kindly requested to report and interview (sic) the undersigned at 5 Famola Street, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja on July 24, 2018 at 10a.m prompt. This request is made pursuant to section 38 (I) of the Economic and Financial Crimes (Establishment) Act 2004. Your cooperation in this regard is highly solicited, please,” the letter reads.

Meanwhile, has deplored what it described as the harassment of Ekweremadu, opposition leaders, and voices of dissent, by the federal government.

The party accused the government of misusing the anti-graft and security agencies close to the 2019 general

Doctors Have Certified Me Medically Fit, Says Obasanjo Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa Former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, revealed that doctors at the Bayelsa Specialist Hospital and state-owned Diagnostics Centre had given him a clean bill of health after undergoing a five-hour medical check-up at both medical facilities.

The ex-Nigerian leader who made good his promise to begin his annual medical examinations at the facilities when he first visited the state in February this year, noted that results of the tests carried out on him, aligned with those previously conducted by his doctors in Atlanta, United States.

Obasanjo said part of his vital organs examined by the doctors included the ones on his heart, the kidneys, liver, spleen, blood and urine.

He added that a scan was also conducted on his brain which showed that “my head is still correct,” adding that the examinations on his prostate, teeth, eyes and ears also revealed that he was still very sound.

The former president, who had earlier last Monday night attended a prayer vigil at the Government House Church, with Governor Seriake Dickson, disclosed that all he was charged was N350,000 for all the tests as opposed to the $25,000 (about N9 million) he would usually spend on his medicals in the United States.

“Last time, l was here in February, l did say that l would want to come and patronise the facilities because l was impressed with what l saw then. Having made that promise, l had to fulfill it. I started last night with the gadgets l had to wear to sleep to check my blood pressure while l am awake and while l am sleeping. This morning, l started with blood and urine tests.

“I went through the whole process of heart tests. They looked at other internal organs such as kidneys, liver, spleen and all the internal organs.

Eventually, l had a semi-sleep in the MRI where my brains were examined and it may be of interest to you to know that the doctor said my head is correct,” he added.

elections, stressing that such posed a grave threat to the country’s democracy.

Reacting to what it described as Ekweremadu’s wish-hunt by the EFCC, the party called on the international community to reign in the President Muhammadu Buhari- led administration before it becomes too late.

The main opposition party cautioned the Buhari-led administration to desist from this act of highhandedness and

witch-hunt of the opposition so as not to torpedo the country’s democracy.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan, the party said: “Just a few days after the EFCC and over 200 policemen practically held Senator Ekweremadu hostage to prevent the defection of APC Senators to the PDP, the EFCC has continued to harass Ekweremadu to cover its shame.”

“We wish to remind Nigerians and the international community that this is only the newest in the series of attempts to destroy the Senator politically in the run up to the 2019 general elections.

“It is of grave concern to us that while corruption and corrupt persons abound in the APC, the EFCC prefers to chase after innocent members of the opposition.

“While the likes of Babachir Lawal, Abba Kyari, Ayo Oke,

Kemi Adeosun, Abdulrasheed Maina and his accomplices, Okoi Obono-Obla, and scores of others in the ruling APC, with corruption and fraud related charges, walk free, the anti-graft agencies have continued in its reckless desperation to harass and dent leaders of the opposition in the name of an anti-corruption war that Nigerians and the world have to see what it is persecution of the opposition,” the party explained.

ADVOCACY VISIT

L-R: Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Mutiu Agboke, during an advocacy visit to the governor, in his office, in Ibadan...yesterday

Buhari Emerges New ECOWAS Chairman Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Lome, the Togolese capital, emerged the new Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Buhari who took over from the President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe, was elected at the end of the 53rd session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS. In a statement last night,

the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said Buhari’s election was one of the highpoints of the 53rd Session of ECOWAS heads of states and government in Lome.

The statement said Buhari in his acceptance remarks, commended his colleagues for his election, saying he did not offer himself for the office but his colleagues “refused to take my no for an answer.”

It added that notwithstanding, Buhari said he was humbled

by the election, and promised to serve and work with them in the overall pursuit of peace, security, good governance and development of the sub-region.

The statement added: “He, however, told his fellow leaders that, ‘I am truly humbled and pledge to serve and work with all of you to deliver on peace, security, good governance and socio-economic development’ of the sub-region, and ‘take our organisation to greater heights.’

“President Buhari also commended his immediate

predecessor and for successfully hosting two important meetings of the Joint Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and ECOWAS as well as the 53rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS.” “The new chairman had earlier been presented with the Emblem of ECOWAS by the outgoing Chairman, while the next meeting of the organisation will take place in Abuja on December 21, 2018.”

371 Killed, Dozens of Villages Sacked in Zamfara, Says Amnesty International Martins Ifijeh Amnesty International (AI) has claimed that at least 371 people have been killed by bandits in Zamfara State since January 2018, while dozens of villages have been sacked.

The human rights watchdog said insecurity was escalating in the North-west state, with daily killings and kidnappings by the bandits, leaving villagers to live in constant fear of unchallenged attacks.

The Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, said in a statement yesterday that thousands of people have been displaced by a conflict which began in 2012 as a result of clashes between farmers and herders.

“This is Nigeria’s forgotten

conflict. The authorities’ failure to act has left villagers in Zamfara at the mercy of bandits, who have killed hundreds of people over the course of two bloody years. When we visited the region, villagers told us that they had pleaded with the government to help them after receiving warning letters from the bandits ahead of attacks but had received no protection.

The Nigerian authorities have repeatedly claimed to be tackling the situation, but the mounting death toll tells a different story,” Ojigho noted.

He said on July 27, 18 villages in the Mashema, Kwashabawa and Birane districts of Zurmi Local Government Area (LGA) of Zamfara State were attacked, leaving at least 42 people dead, adding that at least 18,000

residents of the affected villages who were displaced over the weekend were now taking refuge at various locations in the local government headquarters.

“The following day, a further 15 people were kidnapped in Maradun LGA,” the statement added “On July 28, President Muhammadu Buhari, announced the deployment of 1,000 troops to Zamfara State. This is the third time since November 2017 that the authorities have deployed the military in response to attacks, but villagers told Amnesty International that this has not translated into protection for remote, vulnerable communities,” the statement said. Amnesty International said the previous military

interventions had failed to end the killings, especially in rural areas of Zamfara.

“At least 371 people have been killed in Zamfara in 2018 alone, and at least 238 of these killings took place after the deployment of the Nigerian air force. The government is still neglecting the most vulnerable communities in this region,” said Ojigho.

According to him, between Sunday 7 and July 12, AI visited communities in five local government areas of Zamfara state – Zurmi, Maradun, Maru, Anka and Tsafe, adding that although security forces were present in the state capital Gusau, researchers saw soldiers and air force personnel in only two of the villages they visited - Birane and Bagega.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1. 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWS

Sanusi Calls for Review of World Economic Order to Address Migration Berates Nigeria, South Africa for not signing the AfCFTA Alex Enumah in Abuja The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, has urged Nigeria and Africa in general to push for a review of the current economic world order if the issue of migration, particularly of African descent, must be addressed comprehensively.

He has also berated Nigeria and South Africa for refusing to sign the African continental free trade agreement AfCFTA. Sanusi, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who stressed that contemporary foreign policies of nations would no longer be discussed in isolation of domestic policy, maintained that the current world order is skewed in favour of Europe and other developed countries, thereby making those countries attractive to citizens of lessdeveloped countries.

He was speaking yesterday in Abuja at the formal launch of the Association of Foreign

Relations Professionals of Nigeria (AFRPN).

Sanusi lamented that Europe and the west through the trade liberalisation policy used African resources to develop their regions and yet are denying Africans dividends of the fruit of their labours.

“We have a composition in the world whereby in the last three decades we have been talking about removal of all barriers to the movement of capital.”

“But I feel a little upset when I see African leaders going to Europe and sitting down talking of how to stop the migration of labour, which is not an African problem really; it is a European problem which was created partly by the world,” he added.

According to him, the trade liberalisation policy has set up an international trade environment that impoverishes half of the world, with some persons supplying raw materials of imported or finished goods.

“We set up the world system

that transfers resources of Africa to the rest of the world. Are we surprised that we have poverty, insecurity and some people are moving from this part of the world to other part to seek better life.

“What I would like is to see is a conversation on migration that is part and parcel of a wider conversation of the world order

on what can the world do to develop Africa.

“When we go and sit with the president of France, let us not talk about how many guns or soldiers you can give us, let us talk about how many solar panels you can build in the sahel and generate electricity and create industry as well as create job to stop people from

seeking greener pasture in France and other part of the world.

“I speak as an economist, but I don’t see how we can conduct foreign policy without having these economic conversation,” he said.

Sanusi also berated Nigeria and South Africa for refusing to sign the African continental free trade agreement (AfCFTA).

“It is quite surprising that the two biggest economies in Africa withdrew from signing such economic agreement, I could not believe that we have signed GAT already signed WTO; we have trade relations with America with China but we cannot have trade within Africa, not having the two giant economies in Africa in it is serious,” he said.

Judges Boycott Swearing-in of New Deputy Gov of Imo as Court Halts Ceremony Amby Uneze in Owerri Imo State judges yesterday boycotted the scheduled swearing-in ceremony of the Deputy Governor-designate, Mr. Clasitus Ekenze as the state High Court 8 sitting in Owerri, the state capital, stopped all parties, including the Chief Judge of the state, state House of Assembly, and the seven-man panel of enquiry from proceeding with the removal of the impeached Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere, pending the determination of the suit filed by the embattled deputy governor until the determination of the substantive case.

There was also a drama in the Imo State State Government House as the judges in the state refused to participate in the swearing-in ceremony of

the newly- nominated Deputy Governor, Mr. Clasitus Ekenze, as the new deputy governor following the restraining order of the court served on the Chief Judge and other parties involved in the deputy governor’s impeachment.

Governor Rochas Okorocha and the members of the state Executive Council had gathered at the Sam Mbakwe Exco Chambers, Government House, Owerri to perform the swearing-in of Ekenze but met the absence of the Chief Judge, Justice Pascal Nnadi, who constitutionally is empowered to administer the oath of office and the swearing-in.

THISDAY gathered that the Chief Judge had advised the governor against the swearingin due to the restraining court order which hinders him from going ahead to perform the duty.

Kogi Federal Lawmakers Accuse Gov Bello of Acts ofTerror Deji Elumoye in Abuja Federal lawmakers from Kogi State have accused the state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, of acts of terror and lawlessness.

The legislators made up of three senators and five members of the House of Representatives in a three-page statement titled: ‘Mr. President stop the reign of terror in Kogi State,’ has therefore pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to call Bello to order.

According to the lawmakers, “Governor Bello is busy using the security apparatus of the state at his disposal to intimidate, terrorise and unleash violence on holders of alternative political views to his.”

The statement signed by eight out of the 12- member Kogi National Assembly caucus, including Senators Dino Melaye, Atai Idoko, Ahmed Ogembe and Hon. Omale Atayoma.

Other signatories are Hons.

Benjamin Okolo, Egwu Emmanuel, Yusuf Tajudeen

and Karimi Sunday.

The legislators expressed concern about the recent developments in the state political landscape, saying: “Persons holding contrary political views with Governor Bello can no longer move freely within the state, neither can they hold political meetings or conduct political activities such as town hall meetings without violent interruptions by the state government and its agents.”

They also wondered that if as legislators they were prevented from constituency visits and carrying out empowerment programmes “ how would it be possible for elections to hold without violence in 2019.”

The legislators cited incessant attacks by Bello’s agents on the federal lawmakers to include “molestation and harassment of Senators Dino Melaye and Ahmed Ogembe and disruption of their empowerment programmes by hoodlums allegedly sponsored by Bello on March 3 and July 29, 2018, respectively .“

WATER SCHEME

R-L: Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa; Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; Minister for Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu ; Deputy Governor, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, and Olota of Ota, Oba AbdulKabir Obalanlege, at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH), at Ota Water Supply Scheme, Arobieye-Ota...yesterday

BBOG Accuses Military of Secret Burial of Fallen Soldiers The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG), has accused the military of secretly burying soldiers killed by Boko Haram insurgents on the battlefield.

The group asked the federal government to caution the military to desist from the act.

In a statement signed by its leaders, Oby Ezekwesili, Aisha Yesufu and Florence Ozor, the group made this call while reacting to photos of mass burial of some fallen soldiers days after the Nigerian military denied its soldiers were attacked.

An online medium had reported how the Nigerian military denied that about

23 soldiers and eight trucks went missing after the troops suffered an ambush attack

by Boko Haram gunmen in Bama Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State on July 16.

The attack, which occurred three days earlier, was not made public by the military until the media published it.

A spokesperson for the Nigeria Army, Brig. Gen. Texas Chukwu, who confirmed the incident, had said it was “blown out of proportion by the media.”

In its statement, the BBOG, which has been championing the return of abducted

Chibok schoolgirls since 2014, described the military’s denial as unfortunate.

“Were Nigerians not told that the military has won the war? What then is the reason for the escalation of attacks by the terrorists and the heightened loss of life of citizens and our soldiers?

“The #BringBackOurGirls advocacy has been consistent in voicing the correlation between the wellbeing of our troops, the rescue of our #ChibokGirls and the end of the insurgency. ”It is therefore, disheartening that several months after the federal government’s

announcement that Boko Haram has been technically defeated, we still see pictures of a mass burial for our troops, killed by Boko Haram,” part of the statement read.

The movement also listed new demands: “The military authority should immediately confirm the number of our soldiers that have died within this month of July 2018.

Their families and Nigerians should have a brief on the circumstances of their deaths as a means to healing, to have closure. Their names should be released for proper honour as obtains in other climes.”

You Have No Powers to Sack Us, Kwara APC Tells Oshiomhole, NWC Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Hammed Shittu in Ilorin The sacked Kwara State Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the dissolution of its dissolution, saying the party’s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party have no powers to sack the state officers.

However, the state APC said the purported dissolution of its executives at the ward, local government and state levels was not only outrightly

unlawful but also null and void. The state APC made its position known in a statement issued in Ilorin, the state capital, and signed by its state Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Buhari Sulyman.

The statement added that, “we confirm that there is no case of lacuna in the party leadership in Kwara State and there was no ground for the purported dissolution.

Thus, the NWC erred in law.

Furthermore, the purported dissolution is null and void.

“We recall that for many weeks, party members worked assiduously and painstakingly to elect party

leadership at the ward, local government and state levels in Kwara State,” the party said.

Sulyman stated that, “The party structure was certified as duly elected by the NWC of APC. The duly elected party structure in Kwara State cannot be overthrown or dissolved by an unlawful declaration from Abuja.

“Considering the inglorious role played by Oshiomole, he has lost the respect of the leadership and members of APC in the 16 LGAs and 193 wards of Kwara State.

“He (Oshiomhole) has destroyed his human

rights credentials. It is crystal clear the emerging dictator is always willing to trample on the rights of other party members whenever his personal interest is involved”.

The statement added, “While the party will exercise legal means to protect the constitutional mandates of the party leadership at the ward, local government and state levels, we wish to reaffirm that the Alhaji Ishola Balogun Fulani - led State Executive Committee (SEC) remains the only authentic and lawful leadership of APC in Kwara State.”

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1, 2018

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COMMENT

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

HUMAN RIGHTSVIOLATIONS AD INFINITUM Sonnie Ekwowusi argues the need to arrest flagrant abuse of human rights

L

ast week was another sad week for Nigerian democracy.

Heavily-armed security operatives were dispatched to lay siege to the respective residences of Senate President Bukola Saraki and Deputy-Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.

The siege was aimed at probably interrogating Saraki and Ekweremadu and obstructing their going to the National Assembly to perform their official duties. This is another evidence of the bourgeoning human rights violations and the reign of terror in Nigeria in the last three years. The country’s security operatives are never dispatched to arrest and bring to justice the Fulani militia killing Nigerians. But they are always dispatched to harass and intimidate perceived political opponents. Last week they were dispatched to block the road leading to Bukola Saraki’s house to obstruct him from performing his official duty at the National Assembly. But apparently Saraki was smarter than the dispatched security operatives. He beat them in their own game. He had earlier found his way to the Senate to preside over the Senate’s plenary. No sooner had he sat down to chair the Senate’s plenary last Tuesday than he narrated his ordeal: “The road leading to my house was blocked and all cars going in and out were being stopped. My convoy was also stopped, then the Deputy Senate President called and said he could not come here‌As you are all aware, very late yesterday, as early as 8:00 p.m., I received a letter asking me to report to the Police on the case of the Offa robbery, it had been concluded before now‌If it had been according to plan, I also would not be here and the Senate would not have been able to sit today by the plans as of this morning,â€?

Deputy Senate President Ekweremadu similarly recounted his own ordeal in the hands of hired security operatives: “On Tuesday morning, some people laid siege to my house. They left at about 12:20pm after spending about six and half hours‌we anticipated that a number of our colleagues in All Progressives Congress (APC) would defect and join Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In anticipation of that, the APC leadership had tried to stop them. When that didn’t happen, the first thing they did was invite President of the Senate to come to the Police.

They believed that once the President of the Senate goes to the Police, I would be the one to preside and probably give effect to the letter of defection...In anticipation of that, the Police, EFCC, and other security agencies came together, about 200 of them, to stop me from going to the National Assembly. They said I should come to the EFCC to give explanation over the things I was accused of. I agreed to follow them even though there was no prior invitation, but they were not eager to let me go to answer the invitation‌The plan was to stop me and the president of the senate from going to the National Assembly today.

Unfortunately for them, the President of the Senate was already at the senate to preside over the plenary session�.

Without holding brief for Saraki and Ekweremadu, let me quickly repeat the oft-repeated refrain. In our present civilian dispensation, the rule of law ought to prevail against any arbitrary exercise of power. If we are bereft of the rule of law we are heading for anarchy. Under the rule of law the judiciary occupies a unique place to safeguard the rights and liberty of the citizenry. Such rights and regard for the rule of law are the bedrock upon which the society lays its claim to civilisation.

As instruments of social engineering, laws and court orders are most likely to be effective in shaping society than self-help, use of force or

AS INSTRUMENTS OF SOCIAL ENGINEERING, LAWS AND COURT ORDERS ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE EFFECTIVE IN SHAPING SOCIETY THAN SELF-HELP, USE OF FORCE OR USE OF SECURITY OPERATIVES

use of security operatives. As a veritable third arm of government essentially charged with the dispensation of justice, the judiciary plays an indispensable pivotal role in the sustenance of democratic governance in Nigeria. But unfortunately in the last three years we have been witnessing an executive lawlessness with total contempt for the judiciary. You will recall that on October 8, 2016 the Department of State Services (DSS) was dispatched to invade the residences of some serving Nigerian judges and suspended judicial officers including Justices of the Supreme Court, Justices Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta and John Inyang Okoro and Justice Ademola of the Federal High Court.

The raid was code-named “sting operation� even though anyone with common sense knew at that time that the so-called operation was the greatest height of executive lawlessness because the DSS is in fact an arm of the executive as well as an appendage of the Presidency. After illegally raiding the residences of the aforesaid judges at night, the DSS told the gullible public that they got evidence convincing them that the judges were mere rogues and criminals. Today all those judges have been discharged and acquitted. So why send the DSS to raid the houses of the judges in the first place when you have no evidence to convict to them?

You will also recall that prior to and after his election President Muhmmadu Buhari swore that his government would respect human rights and human freedom. But the seemingly unending human rights violations in Nigeria in the last three years attest to the contrary.

After assessing Nigeria’s 2017 Human Rights Report, the United States Department of State issued a damning report about the human rights abuses in Nigeria. In that 48-page report, it stated that impunity remained widespread at all levels of government in Nigeria in the last three years. It noted the Buhari government lacked transparency. The report also indicted the government for not adequately investigating or holding the police or military personnel accountable for the extrajudicial killings of supporters of the Indigenous People of Biafra.

This report corroborates the Amnesty International (AI) Report. On or around 12th December 2015 the Zaria massacre occurred in Nigeria.

Following the attack by the army on the Shia Muslim community ostensibly to rescue the Chief of Army Staff from alleged assassination, about 1,000 unarmed civilians were killed by the Nigerian military. On February 9, 2016 the Aba massacre took place. Nigerian soldiers shot and killed countless defenceless pro-Biafra protesters who were peacefully holding prayers inside the football field of Ngwa High School, Aba in Abia State. While investigations on the Aba massacre were still going on, the Onitsha massacre occurred on May 30, 2016. Over 30 civilians were killed and many injured by the military after the several clashes involving the military, police and members of the IPOB and members of the Movement for Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) during the Biafran day celebration at Nkpor-Agu, Niger Bridge, Onitsha and Asaba. The list of human right violations in Nigeria in the last three years is endless.

Despite the assurances of the Buhari government that it would investigate the aforementioned human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings carried out by the country’s security forces, it has failed to carry out the investigations let alone release the report of such investigations. It is obvious that Nigeria is experiencing its worst human rights violations in many years.

THE POLITICAL CONUNDRUM IN BENUE The crisis has the potential of endangering the democratic process, writes Sufuyan Ojeifo

F

ollowing the frenzy that has overwhelmed Benue State, the House of Assembly has been turned into a showground of monumental lawlessness. A mountain of illegalities is being built by the lawmakers in furtherance of selfish political agendas.

The first act of illegality was the reconvening of the state legislature by 22 of the 30 members on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 14 days after the house had, on July 10, 2018, properly adjourned sitting till August 15, 2018.

Some authority other than the speaker, Terkimbi Ikyange, had reconvened the House in a clear breach of the House rules. The House could only be reconvened by the speaker or the deputy speaker, acting on the instructions of the speaker. In either case, the Clerk to the House would be directed to issue appropriate notice, announcing to members the reconvening of the House. But that was not the case.

The clerk, Dr. Tereseer Agena, allegedly worked in cahoots with the 22 members.

The members reportedly got into the House of Assembly complex through a back door that links it with the Government House and succeeded in removing, albeit illegally, the leadership of the house.

That subterfuge was said to have been facilitated by the State Governor, Samuel Ortom, in a proactive counterpoise to an alleged plot by some other forces to use the Ikyange leadership to impeach him. It was a case of “before you impeach me, I would remove you.� A day after the removal of Ikyange and the election of a new leadership, the governor defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with 10 APC legislators. Ikyange had reported the illegal sitting to the Police authorities in Abuja, which understandably redeployed the state commissioner of police,

Mr. Fatai Owoseni, and replaced him with Mr. Besan Gwana. Policemen were deployed in and around the premises of the State House of Assembly to restore law and order. But daringly, on Friday, July 27, 2018, the morning of the day that Gwana resumed in Benue, the legislators despised the security cordon by the police and forced their way into the Assembly Complex by scaling the fence.

When they could not gain access into the chamber, they moved into the Old Banquet Hall of the Government House where they sat and suspended the “impeached� speaker, Ikyange, for six months, for what they described as “unparliamentarily behaviour�. On both occasions –the sitting of July 24 and that of July 27 - they allegedly procured a mace that was not the authentic mace of the House to confer legitimacy on the illegal sittings. Ikyange had claimed that the authentic mace was in his custody.

There was no let up in the political drama in the House as the Ikyange group reconvened on Monday, July 30, purportedly to set the stage for the impeachment of Governor Ortom. Latching on a court injunction restraining Ikyange from parading himself as speaker, the other group led by its speaker, Titus Uba, met and announced the suspension of the Ikyange eight-member group before adjourning to August 21. The drama is getting convoluted by the day amid nationwide condemnations.

It is now very clear how Benue got enmeshed in this crisis that has the potential of damaging political reputations and structures. The genesis was the precipitate decision by the leader of the APC in the state and former governor, Senator George Akume, to single-handed pick Ortom as the governorship candidate of the party in 2014 in spite of other

aspirants. Ortom had placed third in PDP’s primary where he was checkmated by the then Governor Gabriel Suswam and had crossed over to the APC where Akume ensured the ticket was given to him on a platter, without participating in the primary.

Ortom would later win the governorship election.

But a problem emerged. The leading APC aspirant who was coasting home to victory in the primary, Hon. Emmanuel Jime, before Akume upended the process and gave Ortom the party’s ticket, was primed to go to court and would have upstaged Ortom’s governorship and reclaimed the ticket as the validly-nominated candidate. However, APC’s leadership had to pacify him with an appointment as Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA). The grapevine said there was an unwritten agreement that Ortom would serve for a term to pave the way for Jime to be governor in 2019.

That arrangement probably turned out to be a veritable bugaboo to Ortom who, rather than set out to provide good governance in line with the social contract, devised a strategy to contest the 2019 governorship election on another party’s platform.

But why was Ortom owing workers salary for upward of 13 months or thereabout in a predominantly civil servants’ state in spite of regular federal allocation and the Paris Club refunds? Similarly, pensioners are also being owed. And, wait for this: no single infrastructure project has been built by the Ortom administration anywhere in the state, not even the most basic and mundane boreholes.

The governor had already lost his allure among the civil servants and pensioners who now see him as undeserving of re-election. But, somehow,

the Fulani herders/farmers’ clashes that led to the reported killings of Idoma and Tiv people in the state provided an opportunity for Ortom to rebound.

His anti-open grazing law somewhat got him the support of his people.

Ortom had explained to the National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, that he spent the greater chunk of the state funds on security issues. But that was moot.

Besides, the governor had excitedly claimed he had been given a red card. Although, there is a sense in which his claim could be validated, yet he remains indicted in the shenanigans that he resorted to in order to actuate his defection. Two things, as learnt, informed his decision: the first is the resolve by the party not to give automatic tickets (throwing the race for the ticket open) and, second, to deliberately deny tickets to elective office holders that have not performed. Ortom was apparently caught in those webs. Moreover, since he did not control the structure of the APC, he knew there was no way he would have won the primary to seek re-election.

But having moved to the PDP, will he be able to beat the 12 aspirants in the party to the governorship ticket? How will he and Suswam, who dealt him a raw blow in the PDP in 2014, relate with each other?

If the PDP prevails on Suswam, and Ortom clinches the PDP ticket, will his candidature sell statewide?

Will he be able to defeat the APC candidate in the 2019 election? Why then is the PDP excited to have him? Is the PDP simply enamoured of the politics of defection just for effects or is there a potential electoral capital it sees in Ortom’s candidature? Time will tell. ojwonderngr@yahoo.com

15

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2018

EDITORIAL KANO AND THE POPULATION QUESTION There is an urgent need to embark on enlightenment campaigns on family planning

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ast week at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, United Kingdom, Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje again raised familiar concerns about the country’s unproductive population. “The population of students in Kano State now is over three million; the population of those outside the school system is also over three million. So if we are talking about Africa, we can confidently say the level of literacy is inversely proportional to population. Are we safe?” asked Ganduje rhetorically.

Definitely we are not, especially putting into consideration the rate at which we breed children many of whom we cannot provide for. Nigeria has the notorious distinction of harbouring the highest number of out- of- school children in the world, put at over 10.5 million - more than the combined population of Libya and Liberia. What is even more frightening is the speed of growth of the entire population.

There are ominous threats wherever you look.

Presently put at 198 million, the United WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING TO Nations estimates that SECURE THE FUTURE OF the country will have the greatest concenMANY OF THESE STREET tration of people by URCHINS THROUGH 2050, except in India BASIC AND FUNCTIONAL and China. Even in the present state, the EDUCATION? country is increasingly finding it difficult to cater for the population.

Social amenities, public services and infrastructure are overstretched, and as lately reported by the Brookings Institution in Washington, Nigeria has overtaken India as the headquarters of poverty, with six people slipping into the poverty net every minute of the day.

What is more worrisome is that things may get worse because government is not doing enough to contain the looming catastrophe, and states like Kano are special culprits. Indeed, out of the 10.5 million out

Letters to the Editor

of school children in the country, about 70 per cent of them are in the northern states. For years, the various state governments are acutely aware of the problem, but many have chosen to do little or nothing to take the children out of the streets. After realising that there were more than three million Almajiris roaming his state, without homes and without any discernible means of survival except begging, what has Ganduje done to take some of the unfortunate children out of the streets?

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

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 BOLAJI ADEBIYI, 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

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.

THE PLIGHT OF RAPEVICTIMS

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ape according to Wikipedia can be defined as a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that person’s consent. It is basically just sex you don’t agree to or that is against your will and can happen to males or females, children or adults. Rape has been an issue for a while and not much has been done about it. The disheartening part is many victims deliberately refuse to report incidents for fear of stigmatisation.

Meanwhile, some rape cases reported to law enforcement agencies hardly get immediate convictions in the court. Researches have shown that more than a third of Nigerian women have been subjected to some kind of sexual assault, and one in 10 raped, according to the Mums net social networking site. Barely a third of victims go to the police, and another third tell no one at all, not even close friends.

A rape victim is likely to suffer physical and psychological trauma. Other feelings which rape victims commonly experience are hurt feeling and anger. The hurt stems from the inability to understand what would motivate someone to commit such an attack. It is common for victims to ask, “What did I do that would make him want to do that to me?”

Anger about the personal violation is probably the healthiest reaction, because it turns the pain outward

he street life exposes the almajiris to abuse since they are easily lured into all manner of crimes and have indeed constituted themselves as breeding grounds for violent conflicts. The questions therefore are: What is the government doing to secure the future of many of these street urchins through basic and functional education? What have the governors done to ensure that street children are not susceptible to anti-social vices? And more important, what have they done to educate the people on the dangers inherit in some of their cultural practices that result in the bulk of the children on the street?

Ample evidence exists that the social miscreants and religious bigots, including the Boko Haram insurgents whose operation headquarters is located in the North-east of the country today, are largely recruited from the army of uneducated people who grew up without any hope for their future.

A concerned Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi 11, last year hinted of a family law which would list conditions men are expected to fulfil before they could qualify for polygamy. It was a bold advocacy aimed at attacking the root of the problem. “Those of us in the North have all seen the economic consequences of men who are not capable of maintaining one wife, marrying four. They end up producing 20 children, not educating them, leaving them on the streets, and they end up as thugs and terrorists,” said Sanusi.

If Ganduje is to be taken seriously, this is the time to join hands with the emir and other stakeholders in finding practical solutions to this malaise.

instead of inward, but it often takes time for a victim to acknowledge such feelings. Sometimes too, fear becomes a problem in the life of the victim; the victim becomes scared of their environment, their health, people around them and even their personal relationships generally. The victims stop talking to everybody and become loners and sometimes this can even lead to psychological problems.

There was recently a trending story on tweeter calling on victims of rape to speak out and name the rapists. The movement and the campaign, to some extent were successful as it encouraged women to speak up about boys or men who have raped them. A long list was compiled and posted with the names of the rapists and some of the men denied it even after more than one woman mentioned their names.

Even if the issue of rape cannot be killed totally, I think there should be more awareness about rape.

Most times, they speak to women about trying to avoid being raped, not going to lonely or deserted places alone at night, being careful with the kind of men they move with, but they forget to speak to the men about respecting women. As Harding points out, girls are often taught how to try to protect themselves while not enough focus is given to teaching boys not to rape.

Joy Bankong, Department of Mass Communication, Covenant University, Ota

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT BUHARI

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ir, the primary responsibility of government is to protect the life and property of the citizenry. This simply means that a government, especially a democratic one, should go to any constitutional extent in the quest to ensure the safety, peace, harmony and general wellbeing of its people as to allow for their social and economic prosperity. Sir, you may wish to recall you so much stressed this in the campaigns ahead of the 2015 elections in response to the northeast insurgency which had then threatened the nation`s territorial integrity. Indeed, you may wish to agree with me here that one of the reasons why the APC got majority votes especially in the northeast was the belief that a Buhari- led administration will curb the insurgency that had ravaged the region.

Quite commendably, this administration has today considerably reduced the strength and firepower of the insurgents. There is enough evidence that the northeast insurgents have been boxed into a corner and that through time and with continued commitment, both the war and the peace will be won. However, while we commend your efforts in the northeast, we must

also express dismay over the farmers/herdsmen clashes, kidnappings, armed robbery and killings that have been going on in the north-central and the north-west. Your Excellency, the security situation in these sub regions has since assumed worrying dimensions.

As the chief security officer of this country, I am sure the president knows this better than anyone else. It therefore disturbs most Nigerians that the atrocities in the north-central and north-west have been allowed to linger for so long as if this administration isn’t the one giving Boko-Haram a run for its money. Our expectation has been that the killings especially in Zamfara State would have since been stopped. What most Nigerians expect was that things like this wouldn’t be allowed to last this long under a Buhari -led administration.

There have been conspiracy theories that the disturbances are mostly sponsored by opponent politicians who are committed to pulling you down ahead of the 2019 elections. This and any other excuses are unacceptable as reasons for the loss of lives of many innocent Nigerians.

Nigerians in all corners of the country must be protected by the government.

Mukhtar Jarmajo, Managing Editor, Pearl Magazine

T H I S D AY ˾ ͯ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

16

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WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1. 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

BBOG Accuses Military of Secret Burial of Fallen Soldiers The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG), has accused the military of secretly burying soldiers killed

by Boko Haram insurgents on the battlefield.

The group asked the federal government to caution the military to desist from the act.

In a statement signed by its leaders, Oby Ezekwesili, Aisha Yesufu and Florence Ozor, the group made this

FG, AfDB Inaugurate Youth Employment, Skills Devt Task Team Ndubuisi Francis and Udora Orizu in Abuja The federal government and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have inaugurated a task team on youth employment and skills development.

The team is a think-tank saddled with the responsibility to convene a private sector round-table engagement as an exchange platform designed for the identification and financing of eight priority projects for accelerated youth employment and skills development.

Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja yesterday, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, who was represented by the Minister of State, Prof.

Stephen Ocheni, said Nigeria has a population of about 200 million people, noting that the opportunities offered by the large population are not being harnessed through gainful engagement of the productive age of between 15 and 54 years.

According to the minister, “Although the Nigerian youths have been described as enterprising and hardworking, a recent record of 18.8 percent unemployment rate reported for the country by NBS shows that there is a disconnect in the capacity to translate these attributes to gainful employment opportunities and thriving enterprises for wealth creation and sustainable development.

“The federal government, in continued effort to respond to the unacceptable situation and reverse the trend, has therefore entered into partnership with the African development bank group to engage a broad spectrum of stakeholders in a round-table discussion on youth employment and skills development.

“The programme is planned to have a rich private sector participation due to the widely acknowledged higher potential for job creation by this sector,” he said. The minister revealed that work on the design and planning for the programme had since commenced, adding that the composition of the task team includes himself (Ngige) as the chairperson, a representative from the office of the vice president and a private sector representatives as co-chair.

call while reacting to photos of mass burial of some fallen soldiers days after the Nigerian military denied its soldiers were attacked.

An online medium had reported how the Nigerian military denied that about 23 soldiers and eight trucks went missing after the troops suffered an ambush attack by Boko Haram gunmen in Bama Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State on July 16.

The attack, which occurred three days earlier, was not made public by the military until the media published it.

A spokesperson for the

Nigeria Army, Brig. Gen. Texas Chukwu, who confirmed the incident, had said it was “blown out of proportion by the media.” In its statement, the BBOG, which has been championing the return of abducted Chibok schoolgirls since 2014, described the military’s denial as unfortunate.

“Were Nigerians not told that the military has won the war?

What then is the reason for the escalation of attacks by the terrorists and the heightened loss of life of citizens and our soldiers?

“The #BringBackOurGirls advocacy has been consistent in

voicing the correlation between the wellbeing of our troops, the rescue of our #ChibokGirls and the end of the insurgency. ”It is therefore, disheartening that several months after the federal government’s announcement that Boko Haram has been technically defeated, we still see pictures of a mass burial for our troops, killed by Boko Haram,” part of the statement read.

The movement also listed new demands: “The military authority should immediately confirm the number of our soldiers that have died within this month of July 2018.

Their families and Nigerians should have a brief on the circumstances of their deaths as a means to healing, to have closure. Their names should be released for proper honour as obtains in other climes.”

“We take exception to what is to all intent, a secret burial of our fallen heroes. Those responsible for the safety of our troops should be sanctioned for this failure and measures must be put in place to prevent further deaths and damage to the morale of our troops.

We question why the current status of our defence budget is at variance with the safety

and wellbeing of our troops in this fight against Boko Haram.

“We still stand on the demand we have made previously, for the federal government to institute a monthly CounterTerrorism Status Report to the Nigerian Public.”

The group demanded to know the federal government’s strategy to stop the killings and abductions.

“This insurgency is more than eight years, when will Nigeria’s enemy be truly defeated? When will our 112 #ChibokGirls be rescued? When will #LeahSharibu (an abductee) come home?” the group asked.

18

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2018

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG Email nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com 08114495324 SMS ONLY

THE NEWSMAKER

All Eyes on Saraki Considered as the arrowhead of dissident lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress, Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki is facing the biggest test of his political life, writes Shola Oyeyipo

S

enate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki probably possesses an uncanny intuition that fortified him for the prevailing topsy-turvy state of affairs he currently finds himself. From serving as Governor of Kwara State, he built a growing robust profile as a politician of note. In the current scheme of things, Saraki has become one of the most talked about policymakers in Nigeria.

Presently, Saraki is the cynosure of all eyes, particularly as regards the decision of some lawmakers of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to dump the party for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The APC leadership is aware that Saraki has a good number of senators who are ready to move with him. Twelve of them have gone to the PDP already. And yesterday, he played a masterstroke by quitting the APC to the PDP with majority of the elected office holders from Kwara State, thereby confirming his position as the grand master of Kwara politics.

As a scion of the late strong man of Kwara State politics, Dr. Olusola Saraki, he could be said to have learnt politics at the feet of the master. Over time, the younger Saraki became a controller himself. He even disagreed with his father and took over his efficient political dynasty. The older Saraki was respected because he was considered a fair judge in the allotment of political opportunities.

Oloye, as a he was popularly known, was a member of the 1977 constituent assembly that produced the 1979 constitution and he was also elected as a Senator of the Second Republic. He became Senate Leader and till death he exercised considerable political influence in Kwara and across Nigeria.

Concerning the affairs of Kwara State, he had a hand in the emergence of every civilian governor, minister, federal appointee, senator, House of Representatives member, local government chairman, party chairman and virtually every public office available.

Though two of his children, Bukola and Gbemisola became senators, he was still considered just; and people freely submitted themselves to his political leadership.

In the build up to the 2011 general election, the younger Saraki, who had been governor between 2003 and 2011, stood against his father.

Both men differed on the choice of who should rule Kwara after Bukola.

While the older Saraki preferred that his daughter, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, should become governor, Bukola thought otherwise. He insisted that the governorship slot must go to Kwara South, in the interest of equity. His father was forced to leave the PDP. He opted for the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) where Gbemi contested to become governor of the state, but lost to the incumbent Governor Abdul Fatai Ahmed. It was damaging blow to the old man’s ego. This was no ordinary

He started playing prominent national roles when he was appointed the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) Though former Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr. Victor Attah and former Edo State governor, Mr. Lucky Igbinedion held the NGF chairmanship previously, it was Saraki who wielded the powers of the forum during his tenure as chairman between 2006 and 2011

Saraki

political defeat. Bukola demystified his own father!

When ‘Oloye’ later died on November 14, 2012 after a brief illness, Saraki fully inherited his late father’s dynasty, which he has effectively used as a launch pad to play prominent roles in national politics.

Though he studied at the London Hospital Medical College of the University of London from 1982 to 1987 and obtained his MBBS (London), he scarcely practiced what he was trained for.

He only had a stint as a Medical Officer at Rush Green Hospital, Essex, London from 1988 to 1989.

He later became a director of Société Générale Bank (Nig.) Limited from 1990 to 2000. But the bank ran into a huge financial mess. Depositors lost billions of Naira and it brought the family name to disrepute.

On the strength of his father ’s contributions to his electoral victory in 1999, former President Olusegun Obasanjo offered him a job as his Special Assistant on Budget. He initiated the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, served on the Economic Policy Coordination Committee, and was responsible for the formulation and implementation of several key economic policies for Nigeria.

Saraki’s rise in national politics was not just because he inherited his father’s dynasty. When he served as Kwara State Governor from 2003 to 2011, he recorded some landmark

achievements that further endeared him to the people. His legacy include reforms in agriculture, health, education, finance and environment.

Worthy of note is the Shonga Farms programme, which he did in partnership with Zimbabwean white farmers.

The instant success of the arrangement was replicated by other states across nation. The policy increased the commercial viability of farming and also the volume of exports to international markets.

Apart from being the brain behind the New Nigerian Farmers Initiative that improved the technical capability of farmers and ensured that farmers had a significant financial stake in new investments in agriculture, Saraki created a commercial hub developed to build capacity for indigenous farming communities in Kwara.

He did well in power generation.

Kwara under him was the first state to complete the Independent Power Project. He collaborated with the Power Holding Company of Nigeria to re-energise the Ganmo Power Station in Ilorin. He was equally reputed to have connected over 375 rural communities to the national grid. Today, about 90 percent of people in the state have access to electricity, while the national average is 30 percent in other parts of the country.

These and other achievements as governor helped him retain the hold

on the state’s political structure. But he started playing prominent national roles when he was appointed the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) Though former Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr. Victor Attah and former Edo State governor, Mr. Lucky Igbinedion held the NGF chairmanship previously, it was Saraki who wielded the powers of the forum during his tenure as chairman between 2006 and 2011.

He got close to the powers-that-be under the late President Umaru Yar ’Adua, and became an insider in government at the national level.

Senators Rabiu Kwankwanso, Danjuma Goje, Aliyu Wamakko, Amaechi and Saraki, depending on the bloc they built in the forum, eventually led their members out of the PDP to form the nPDP. It won’t be out of place to say the way he snatched the Senate presidency from the APC leadership in 2015 was simply because he was underrated. He had silently built his political pedigree and with 21 ex-governors in the Senate he presided over, he was surrounded by a sizeable number of his old friends As Saraki has fully moved back into the PDP, the days ahead look interesting. How the current tussle between him and some forces in the APC plays out eventually would be a commentary on Saraki’s political astuteness.

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2018

POLITICS

FOR THE RECORD

‘APC Violated Basic Principles of Good Governance’

I

wish to inform Nigerians that, after extensive consultations, I have decided to take my leave of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

This is not a decision that I have made lightly. If anything at all, I have tarried for so long and did all that was humanly possible, even in the face of great provocation, ridicule and flagrant persecution, to give opportunity for peace, reconciliation and harmonious existence.

Perhaps, more significantly, I am mindful of the fact that I carry on my shoulder a great responsibility for thousands of my supporters, political associates and friends, who have trusted in my leadership and have attached their political fortunes to mine. However, it is after an extensive consultation with all the important stakeholders that we have come to this difficult but inevitable decision to pitch our political tent elsewhere; where we could enjoy greater sense of belonging and where the interests of the greatest number of our Nigerians would be best served.

While I take full responsibility for this decision, I will like to emphasise that it is a decision that has been inescapably imposed on me by certain elements and forces within the APC who have ensured that the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist.

They have done everything to ensure that the basic rules of party administration, which should promote harmonious relations among the various elements within the party were blatantly disregarded. All governance principles which were required for a healthy functioning of the party and the government were deliberately violated or undermined. And all entreaties for justice, equity and fairness as basic precondition for peace and unity, not only within the party, but also the country at large, were simply ignored, or employed as additional pretext for further exclusion.

The experience of my people and associates in the past three years is that they have suffered alienation and have been treated as outsiders in their own party. Thus, many have become disaffected and disenchanted. At the same time, opportunities to seek redress and correct these anomalies were deliberately blocked as a government-within-agovernment had formed an impregnable wall and left in the cold, everyone else who was not recognized as “one of us”. This is why my people, like all self-respecting people would do, decided to seek accommodation elsewhere.

I have had the privilege to lead the Nigerian legislature in the past three years as the President of the Senate and the Chairman of the National Assembly. The framers of our constitution envisage a degree of benign tension among the three arms of government if the principle of checks and balances must continue to serve as the building block of our democracy. In my role as the head of the legislature, and a leader of the party, I have ensured that this necessary tension did not escalate at any time in such a way that it could encumber Executive function or correspondingly, undermine the independence of the legislature. Over the years, I have made great efforts in the overall interest of the country, and in spite of my personal predicament, to manage situations that would otherwise have resulted in unsavoury consequences for the government and the administration. My colleagues in the Senate will bear testimony to this.

However, what we have seen is a situation whereby every dissent from the legislature was framed as an affront on the executive or as part of an agenda to undermine the government itself.

The populist notion of anti-corruption became a ready weapon for silencing any form of dissent and for framing even principled objection as “corruption fighting back”. Persistent onslaught against the legislature and open incitement of the people against their own representatives became a default argument in defence of any short-coming of the government in a manner that betrays all too easily, a certain contempt for the Constitution itself or even the democracy that it is meant to serve.

Unfortunately, the self-serving gulf that has been created between the leadership of the two critical arms of government based on distrust and mutual suspicion has made any form of constructive engagement impossible. Therefore, anything short of a slavish surrender in a way that reduces the legislature to a mere rubber stamp would not have been sufficient in procuring the kind of rapprochement that was desired in the interest of all. But I have no doubt in my mind,

Saraki

that to surrender this way is to be complicit in the subversion of the institution that remains the very bastion of our democracy. I am a democrat.

And I believe that anyone who lays even the most basic claim to being a democrat will not accept peace on those terms; which seeks to compromise the very basis of our existence as the parliament of the people.

The recent weeks have witnessed a rather unusual attempts to engage with some of these most critical issues at stake. Unfortunately, the discord has been allowed to fester unaddressed for too long, with dire consequences for the ultimate objective of delivering the common good and achieving peace and unity in our country. Any hope of reconciliation at this point was therefore very slim indeed. Most of the horses had bolted from the stable.

The emergence of a new national party executives

The experience of my people and associates in the past three years is that they have suffered alienation and have been treated as outsiders in their own party

a few weeks ago held out some hopes, however slender. The new party chairman has swung into action and did his best alongside some of the Governors of APC and His Excellency, the Vice President. I thank them for all their great efforts to save the day and achieve reconciliation. Even though I thought these efforts were coming late in the day, but seeing the genuine commitment of these gentlemen, I began to think that perhaps it was still possible to reconsider the situation.

However, as I have realized all along, there are some others in the party leadership hierarchy, who did not think dialogue was the way forward and therefore chose to play the fifth columnists.

These individuals went to work and ensured that they scuttled the great efforts and the good intentions of these aforementioned leaders of the party. Perhaps, had these divisive forces not thrown the cogs in the wheel at the last minutes, and in a manner that made it impossible to sustain any trust in the process, the story today would have been different.

For me, I leave all that behind me. Today, I start as I return to the party where I began my political journey, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

When we left the PDP to join the then nascent coalition of All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014, we left in a quest for justice, equity and inclusion; the fundamental principles on which the PDP was originally built but which it had deviated from. We were attracted to the APC by its promise of change. We fought hard along with others and defeated the PDP. In retrospect, it is now evident that the PDP has learnt more from its defeat than the APC has learnt from its victory. The PDP that we return to is now a party that has learnt its lessons the hard way and have realized that no member of the party should be taken for granted; a party that has realized that inclusion, justice and equity are basic precondition for peace; a party that has realized that never again can the people of Nigeria be taken for granted.

I am excited by the new efforts, which seeks

to build the reborn PDP on the core principles of promoting democratic values; internal democracy; accountability; inclusion and national competitiveness; genuine commitment to restructuring and devolution of powers; and an abiding belief in zoning of political and elective offices as an inevitable strategy for managing our rich diversity as a people of one great indivisible nation called Nigeria.

What we have all agreed is that a deep commitment to these ideals were not only a demonstration of our patriotism but also a matter of enlightened self-interest, believing that our very survival as political elites of this country will depend on our ability to earn the trust of our people and in making them believe that, more than anything else, we are committed to serving the people.

What the experience of the last three years have taught us is that the most important task that we face as a country is how to reunite our people. Never before had so many people in so many parts of our country felt so alienated from their Nigerianness. Therefore, we understand that the greatest task before us is to reunite the county and give everyone a sense of belonging regardless of region or religion.

Every Nigerian must have an instinctive confidence that he or she will be treated with justice and equity in any part of the country regardless of the language they speak or how they worship God. This is the great task that trumps all. Unless we are able to achieve this, all other claim to progress no matter how defined, would remain unsustainable.

This is the task that I am committing myself to and I believe that it is in this PDP, that I will have the opportunity to play my part. It is my hope that the APC will respect the choice that I have made as my democratic right, and understand that even though we will now occupy a different political space, we do not necessarily become enemies unto one another.

Saraki is President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

FEATURES

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com

An Economic Diversification Alternative With Nigeria producing between 400, 000 and 500, 000 metric tons of soyabean yearly, experts say the crop may be the hope of the country's diversification drive from oil to agriculture. Martins IďŹ jeh reports

I

n the middle of every difficulty lies a great opportunity, says renowned physicist, Albert Einstein. This, perhaps, best describes the current state of the Nigerian economy, which is troubled by inadequate foreign exchange to sustain domestic food security. This has forced the federal government to embark on an agricultural transformation agenda, with a focus on developing the agricultural value chain.

Within the options in trying to reverse the Nigerian story through agriculture is a miracle seed – soybean. It is referred to as the most versatile of the world’s major crops, and one of the value chains under the agricultural transformation agenda of the Nigerian government The miracle seed, experts believe, is a tool that will help in addressing Nigeria’s growing demand for oil and protein.

According to Seed Breeder Scientist at Olam Grains, Dr. Emmanuel Sangodele, Nigeria is currently producing 400, 000 to 500, 000 metric tons of soybean crops every year, with its farming spread equally between the North and Middle Belt region; Benue, Katsina and Kaduna being the largest crop production states, while others are Zamfara, Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, Nasarawa, Kwara and Niger.

Economic Importance Sangodele said the nutritive and economic importance of soybean has earned it the sobriquet “the miracle crop�, noting that the oil extracted from soya is refined in the factories and is ultimately consumed by humans as an alternative to palm oil or other forms of imported oil obtained in the country.

He stated, “Nigeria’s population is estimated to be 170 million with only $5, 000 per capital GDP. With an increasing growth and an increasing population, there will be an increased rate in the consumption of oil. “Soya is also one of the few plants that provide complete protein as it contains all eight amino acids essential for human health.

It is the cheapest source of protein and healthy domestically produced edible oil source in Nigeria. With an increasing per capital GDP, a greater number of persons will consume a protein-based diet with chicken being the primary source for human consumption. With an increased rate of chicken consumption, there will be a ripple effect on other aspects of the economy.�

According to him, soybean is the cheapest protein source available in the world, as it is the major source for animal feed business globally. He said it was the most preferred source of protein because of its high digestibility, high energy content and cost-competitiveness among other crops. “Another rapidly growing market for soybean is in the manufacture of a variety of pharmaceuticals, such as vitamin E and other anti-oxidants. It is equally used for the treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer.�

He explained that soybean was also used for industrial applications, such as basic carrier, inks, varnishes and paints, while soaps, lubricants

Some of the soyabean farmers in Kaduna State

4,000,000 to 5,000,000 metric tons for sorghum.

This, agricultural scientists say, is primarily due to lack of adequate market liquidity, which provides a limited incentive to grow this crop. They say the demand is constrained by inadequate soya crushing capacity, which in turn is limited by low demand from the animal feed industry.

Like most other crops in Nigeria, soya is a smallholder crop with the average farm holding below 1.0 hectares. The limited investment in farm inputs and low farmer know-how results in poor productivity- currently less than 1.0 MT/hectare in Nigeria versus 4.5-6.0 MT/ hectare in the USA. Head, Corn and Soya Business, Olam Grains, Mr. Ayaz Khatri, says this is attributed to the unavailability of certified seeds, adding that there is a significant opportunity to close this yield gap, boost farmers’ income, and create a virtuous cycle for continuously growing this sector.

Principal Research Scientist, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Alpha Kamara, said, “Strategic partnership has begun between IITA and industry players geared towards promoting soya production through the provision of high yielding improved varieties, thus, creating awareness, promoting sustainable seed production systems and strengthening capacities with seed companies to sell improved seeds.�

Galadinma believes with the yield from soya crop he can live a comfortable life

The average price of soyabean in current crop season was around N150, 000 per metric ton. Smallscale farmers can produce one metric ton on a hectare, with cost of production less than N70,000, and earn more than N150,000 on a hectare

and sealants also contain soybean oil. “Soybean oil shows great potential as an environmentally friendly substitute for petroleum- based diesel fuel known as biodiesel.�

Impact The crop scientist noted, “Soybean is a crop well suited for Nigeria as it is more weather, disease and pest tolerant. It also requires far lower use of fertilizers and in fact, it provides a huge benefit due to its nitrogen fixing properties.�

He said it was now one of the crops that could

be cultivated and was handsomely rewarding. “The average price of soybean in current crop season was around N150, 000 per metric ton.

Small-scale farmers can produce one metric ton on a hectare, with cost of production less than N70, 000, and earn more than N150, 000 on a hectare,� he said.

Challenges Today, Nigeria is one of the largest soybean producers in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the scope of production is relatively small – less than 500, 000 metric tons, compared to 8, 000,000 to 10,000,000 metric tons for corn and

Private Sector Intervention While the Nigerian government is making effort to address economic diversification and development, unfortunately, no government in any part of the world can single-handedly ensure food security for its citizens. In 2015, more than 195 member countries adopted the 17 global sustainable development goals (SDGS) at the landmark 70th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the private sector was enjoined to rally round their home governments to help realise the 17 goals and 165 targets.

In this regard, Sangodele said Olam, operating across agriculture value chains in 70 countries, took a strategic decision to expand into animal feed and protein in Nigeria as a natural adjacency to its grain business. He said this was led by a strong growth for the global animal feed industry, an existing gap within the country and a consumer demand

21

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

FEATURES

within the country and a consumer demand for domestically produced protein.

Sangodele stated, “In 2016, Olam established Nigeria’s largest integrated animal feed mill, poultry hatchery farms in Kaduna and integrated Poultry and Aqua Feed Mill in Ilorin, Kwara State. This sustainable drive is a clear demonstration that a new wave of patriotic support has emerged to boost the on-going efforts of the federal government’s change and food security agenda. “This will go a long way in satisfying a huge gap in the market as well as invigorate the whole industry, thereby supporting Nigeria on her way to self- sufficiency. This is not only commendable, but it also underscores the strategic importance that Olam attaches to the Nigerian state. Indeed, it is a positive indication that a lasting solution to the food insecurity may no longer be a distant past.�

Sangodele said prior to 2016, there was no export market for soybean production, but that in 2016 Olam became the largest buyer of Nigerian soybean from local farmers and traders. He added that as the supply of soybean recorded a surplus in relation to domestic need, Olam successfully created an export market for Nigerian beans and accounted for the bulk of soybean export. “The Nigerian beans suffer from a lot of negative quality perceptions – aflatoxin content, high presence of foreign matter, low oil content, excessively dried, amongst others. While Olam was able to convince global buyers to overlook some of these parameters, these remain issues that need to be resolved to make Nigeria a credible exporter of Soybean,� he said.

The scientist said Nigeria had an advantage of being a country that only allowed the farming of non-genetically modified organisms (non-GMO) which have a niche demand in global markets.

Driving Research Research plays a crucial role in fostering agricultural development but, sadly, no local seed company engages in research to boost soya production in Nigeria. Sangodele argued that the unavailability of certified seeds prompted Olam to bring on board a team of dedicated and passionate seed breeders to deliver quality seeds. He said Olam was the only seed company in Nigeria dedicated to research. He explained that they were partnering with the Nigerian government, and had identified the availability of good quality, high yielding seeds as a major catalyst for boosting farmers’ earning.

Olam, he said, has also begun analysis of several aspects of agri-processing, including energy usage, greenhouse gas emissions and fresh water usage. This initiative has enabled Olam to review their operational practices geared towards improving the use of scarce resources as well as minimize the negative impacts of production and processing across the value chains.

Supporting Farmers In Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, small scale farmers do not have the potential for increasing their productivity due to poor financial support. Often, they are usually found wanting because they cannot access loans for their operations and growth.

Isha Yusuf Galadimawa, a local farmer in Kaduna State, told THISDAY that one of the greatest challenges confronting farmers was inadequate finance. “If we are supported with irrigation systems, tractors, soft loans and timely release of fertilisers, I believe farmers will have a reason to smile,� Galadimawa said.

Sangodele noted that as part of Olam’s sustainable commitment, financial support was granted to small scale farmers in Nigeria. He

We have set an ambitious target to increase Nigeria’s soyabean production from current 500,000 MTs to 2,000,000 MTs over the next ďŹ ve to seven years.

This will not only make Nigeria self-sufďŹ cient in plant protein but also a net soybean exporter

One of the farmers, Mrs Joy

Dr. Sangodele

The soyabean plant

said, “Olam is also making direct investment to enable capacity enhancements in line with the growth of local Soybean production. Currently we are partnering with IITA, Ibadan to promote high quality seeds for farmers across Nigeria tailored to the country’s climatic conditions. “We have set an ambitious target to increase Nigeria’s soybean production from current 500,000 MTs to 2,000,000 MTs over the next five to seven years. This will not only make Nigeria self-sufficient in plant protein but also a net soybean exporter.�

Supporting Women Agenda There is no gainsaying that the empowerment of women is a key driver in any economy.

But women empowerment has tended to be

overlooked in Nigeria. A female local farmer in Kaduna State, Yankaja Joy, said her main source of livelihood was soya, which paid for most of her needs. She said the training she received from Olam had improved her method of farming and yields from it.

Sangodele said they kick-started the outgrower programme targeted at women farmers because they hoped to improve the livelihood of women through the distribution of farm inputs, training in crop management practices and assisting to access international markets. “We are also giving high yielding seeds, training materials, interest-free credit on fertilisers and buying back of produce at prevalent market prices during harvest.�

He explained that Olam was also making

substantial investments in poultry and feed mills, which has significantly increased the demand for soya meal, adding that with increased demand for soybean, Olam has successfully created over 500 permanent jobs, and over 5,000 casual jobs.

Huge Prospects Experts believe there are good prospects for soybean production in Nigeria. But considering the huge financial commitments involved, government at various levels need to adopt deliberate measures to incentivise soybean farming and encourage strategic partnerships with donor agencies, research institutes, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector.

T H I S D AY ˾ ͯ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

22

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A weekly publication of

Improving Nigeria’s Electricity Supply Industry Through Public Education

Vol. 2. Issue 4 August 1, 2018

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More Firms Eye CPs as Market Liquidity Hits N1.2tr Goddy Egene The recent sourcing of N50 billion through Commercial Paper (CP) issuance by Dangote Cement Plc has ignited fresh interest among companies to focus attention on that segment of the market, THISDAY checks have revealed. CPs are unsecured promissory notes with a fixed maturity of about nine months issued by companies to raise money to meet short term finance obligations.

The notes are backed by the promise of the issuers to repay based on certain agreed terms.

CPs present a cost-effective and stable means of sourcing scarce capital as against to bank loans.

These financial instruments also provide investors avenue to diversify their portfolios and given their short-term nature,

CAPITAL MARKET they permitting high relative return on investment, and allow investors to remain relatively liquid.

The once active CP market had its average monthly outstanding value dipped from N1trillion, in 2008 to N9.8 billion in 2013, due to an unprecedented lull.

However, the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, got the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to revive the CP market in 2014. And since then the market has become active again with financial institutions and other corporate bodies raising short term funds from the CP market.

Some of the firms that have accessed the CPs market are:

Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Access Bank Plc, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Limited and UACN Property Development Company Plc and recently Dangote Cement Plc. In all, companies have so far raised over N1.2 trillion from the CP market.

The N50 billion raised by Dangote Cement Plc was part of its N150 billion domestic CP debt issuance programme.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement, Mr. Joseph Makoju had, during the listing of the CP on the FMDQ OTC, said by promoting transparency, governance, integrity and efficiency in the CP market, exchange was encouraging issuers to explore alternative funding sources in the Nigerian

Niger Insurance Announces Premium

capital markets.

THISDAY gathered that more companies who need short-term capital are now looking to tap the CP segment of the market.

This would even be bolstered by the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee to encourage large corporates to issue CPs to the market.

The Chief Executive Officer of a leading investment bank told THISDAY that given the fact all the CPs have experienced oversubscription, it indicates there is liquidity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can tell you that more companies are coming into this space. What is important now is for companies to come into the market and be able to raise significant funds within Continued on page 24

CEOs Foresee Bright Economic Prospects Obinna Chima A survey by KPMG Nigeria has revealed that a significant number of chief executive officers (CEOs) in Nigeria (76 per cent), anticipate that the Nigerian economy will continue on a positive growth trajectory over the next few years.

The executives were even more excited about growth for their industries and companies with all CEOs surveyed expressing increased confidence about their own corporate growth over the next three years.

The report was obtained by THISDAY on Monday.

On the other hand, 84 percent were confident about the growth prospects in the industry they play in.

However, a significant number of CEOs expected moderate corporate growth, just as 88 per cent of the chief

ECONOMY executives anticipated topline revenue growth of less than two per cent over the next three years with the same percentage expecting an increase of less than five percent in their headcount in the same time period.

According to the survey findings, organic growth, outsourcing and strategic alliances were identified as key strategies growth for Nigerian CEOs over the next three years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Three in five Nigerian CEOs say organic growth is one of their top two strategies for growth while 28 percent rank it first. Twenty eight per cent also agree that outsourcing is key for their growth, but 52 per cent believe strategic alliances with third parties is the second most important strategy overall. â&#x20AC;&#x153;More than half of Nigerian

CEOs (56 percent) intend to set up accelerator programs for start-ups within the next three years to help pursue their growth objectives. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All Nigerian CEOs in the study believe that technological disruption is more of an opportunity than a threat, and they all agree it is the only significant disruption facing their businesses. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But many of them state that they are struggling to run parallel processes to transform the digital and non-digital aspects of their businesses,â&#x20AC;? the report revealed.

In addition, it showed that 88 per cent of Nigerian CEOs believed their digital and technology investments was strategic and long-term, but 64 per cent of them expected to see significant return on such investments in 12 months.

Similarly, 60 per cent of CEOs

Mr Eddie Efekoha has been inaugurated as the 49th president of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN).

Efekoha, who is the immediate past Chairman of the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), at a well attended investiture ceremony organised by the institute in Lagos, received the golden chain of responsibility of the institute, a symbol of authority of the institute from the erstwhile president, Mrs Funmi Babington Ashaye.

Until the ceremony, he was the Vice President of the institute.

He is also the Managing Director, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc. Expressing her firm belief on the ability of Efekoha to coordinate the affairs of the institute, Babington-Ashaye, described him as a reputable insurer who has contributed immensely to the growth of insurance industry in Nigeria.

In his acceptance speech, Efekoha, noted that the CIIN and its college of Insurance have recorded lots of achievements, and promised to consolidate on the achievements.

He said the theme of his leadership revolves around, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Insurance Education and Professionalism.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari, urged the new CIIN president to ensure that the review of Code of Ethics initiated by Babington-Ashaye becomes enforced.

Kari also urged Efekoha to ensure that all practitioners in the industry become professionals by being members of the institute.

Born in 1959, the new president hails from Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State. Efekoha, attended Anglican Primary School Egbo-Uhurie and Agbassa Primary School Warri from where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate in 1971.

believed that they were meeting or exceeding their customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expectations.

But it appeared there was a struggle to meet the needs of customers of the future as 44 per cent of CEOs admitted they had to reposition their brand to meet the needs of millennials.

Commenting on the report, KPMG Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Head of Tax, Regulatory & People Service, Wole Obayomi said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;2017 was a year of recovery for the Nigerian economy as growth started to kick-in from the second quarter of the year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The recovery was largely driven by steady rise in oil price, stability of oil production and forex market reform by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the importers and exporters (I&E) window.

Niger Insurance Plc said it recorded a gross premium of N8.59 billion in 2017, as against the N5.96 billion recorded in 2016.

Niger Insurance Chairman, Yusuf Abubakar, disclosed this at the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos.

He said the company recorded premium increase of 44 percent, representing N2.6 billion above the 2016 figure.

He pointed out that the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s underwriting profit closed at N1.1 billion from N888.9 million in 2016, adding that the total assets grew by one per cent, from N22.5 billion in 2016, to N22.8 billion.

The insurer grew its contract liability to N10.02 billion, from N8.86 billion in 2016, with shareholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; fund at N7.84 billion.

The Niger Insurance boss further said the underwriting firm in compliance with regulatory requirements had resolved to invest in real estate.

He noted that the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s board had reached an advanced stage on discussions with investors on how to increase the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital and bring in technical expertise.

In response to Abubakarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s address, the Coordinator Emeritus, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sunny Nwosu, urged the board and management of the firm to work assiduously to sustain the feat it had recorded in the past, adding that as one of the leading lights in the insurance industry, the company should not allow smaller firms take its position.

Shareholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; activist, Nona Awo, urged the firm to innovated so as to withstand competition. He called for fresh hands on the board of the firm to take it to lofty heights

Ghana Sells $98m Bonds

Ghana accepted all 471 million cedis ($98 million) worth of bids tendered for a 3-year domestic bond issued recently and would pay a slightly higher yield of 18 percent compared to the last sale, joint book-builders Barclays Bank Ghana said.

An initial guide price for the 2021 paper, which was open to non-resident investors, was set at between 17.25 percent and 18 percent. Settlement is due on July 30, Barclays said.

The West African major commodity exporter is seeking funds to finance the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2018 budget and restructure debt. It sold a 3-year bond in a similar transaction last month with a 17.5 percent yield, Reuters reported.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;In almost all multinational oil companies in Nigeria, there are no more direct permanent jobs for the middle level to lower level cadre.â&#x20AC;?

Minister of Labour and Employment,

Dr. Chris Ngige Continued on page 24

24

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MORE FIRMS EYE CPS AS MARKET LIQUIDITY HITS N1.2TR

the shortest period and CPs are offering that solution. So expect more companies,â&#x20AC;? the CEO said.

Directorate Head, Capital Markets, FMDQ, Ms. Tumi Sekoni had during the listing of Dangote Cement Plc CP said the decision by the cement firm to raise funds from the debt markets was testament to the restoration of confidence in the Nigerian CP market.

According to her, Dangote Cement Issuance would encourage other corporates and commercial entities to effectively tap the potential burgeoning CP market to finance their short-term funding needs, thereby adding more depth and breadth of the DCM. Commenting on the CP market, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of FMDQ, Mr. Bola Onadele.

Koko had said the platform had brought an unprecedented transparency, governance and integrity.

CEOS FORESEE BRIGHT ECONOMIC PROSPECTS

â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the trend in average oil price increase continues, coupled with stability in the FX market and full implementation of the Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), we expect the economy to attain full recovery and start accelerating.â&#x20AC;?

Furthermore, Obayomi said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every industry is impacted by the dynamic changes in the economy and in my interactions with clients, it is increasingly clear that the prospects for the company is directly linked to the health of their industry.â&#x20AC;?

On her part, KPMG in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Head of Advisory, Bisi Lamikanra said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;During the recent recession, many companies focused on squeezing a lot of costs out of their businesses. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They have had to rely on internal efficiency strategies (including outsourcing) and harnessing innovative practices to keep their customers and drive volumes up, while keeping product prices from going through the roof. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This experience has given companies the confidence to continue to grow their businesses from within.â&#x20AC;?

Firm Partners Institute on New Farming Initiative The International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) has announced a partnership with the Alluvial Agriculture, a collective farming business grouping thousands of smallholders in Nigeria.

CIAT, a research centre for the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a global research partnership for a food-secure future supported by private foundations, national governments and multilateral development agencies â&#x20AC;&#x201C; would sign its agreement with Alluvial on the opening day of the Feed Nigeria Summit, the biggest annual gathering focused on this nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frontline role in addressing global food security.

The agreement was signed in Abuja on Monday.

Alluvial is tackling systemic problems that leave most African smallholders in poverty and threaten food security across the developing world by aggregating farmers to create a nucleus of minimum efficient scale and the necessary education, mechanisation, inputs and market access. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Alluvialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s direct engagement with various value chain actors, including farmers, provides CIAT with a conduit to rapidly disseminate agriculture innovations acquired and developed through our partnerships and activities around the world,â&#x20AC;? CIAT Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Debisi Araba said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;CIAT provides Alluvial with the know-how, monitoring and evaluation framework to ensure that the investment in Nigeria is globally com-

petitive and environmentally sustainable, and ensures that the investment is able to evolve and respond to market signals.â&#x20AC;?

According to a statement, CIAT and Alluvial, jointly plan to establish a replicable model for scaling up adoption of agricultural technologies and innovations to improve livelihoods across the food value chain and foster environmental sustainability of agricultural development. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This partnership is poised to support and benefit all value chain actors, including those working in the production, distribution and consumption hubs of the food system,â&#x20AC;? Araba added.

CIATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s initial five-year plan

with Alluvial would focus on climate change adaptation, soil fertility and mapping, yield optimisation and making markets work for the poor, among other areas being explored by the two organisations.

Their findings would be reported at least twice a year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;CIATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work through Alluvial will make a difference to the lives of whole communities, as well as providing scientific and social lessons applicable to CIATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extensive network across the tropical world,â&#x20AC;? Alluvial Managing Director, Dimieari Von Kemedi said.

While poverty has reportedly been falling across the developing world, food shortages have

been rising, as evidenced by increased malnutrition rates since 2014.

Higher population growth puts Africa at particular risk of a food and humanitarian crisis with global dimensions in terms of unprecedented migration.

Nigeria is at the epicentre: currently the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seventh largest country, Nigeria will overtake the US as the third most populous by 2050, according to a 2017 report by the UNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Department of Economic & Social Affairs.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Niger Delta thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the initial focal point for Alluvial, which literally means the product of alluvium, or deposits of clay, silt and sand

left by floodwater in a river valley or delta that typically produces fertile soil.

Notorious for oil-related tensions, the Niger Delta is less known for its rich soil, supporting abundant agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture. â&#x20AC;&#x153;CIAT presents an fantastic opportunity for Alluvial as we benefit directly from many decades of research and experience that CIAT will bring to our community block model to improve yield and make markets work for the poor,â&#x20AC;? said Kemedi. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will celebrate success only when our work helps farmers to earn higher incomes and contributes to food security.â&#x20AC;?

REWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

L-R: Brand Management Meristem Securities Limited, Mrs. Omosolape Akinpelu; Group Managing Director, Meristem Securities Limited, Mr Wole Abegunde; Best Graduating Student, Economics, Covenant University Ota, Miss Alabi Joys Fopefoluwa; CEO/Registrar Meristem Registrars & Probate Services Ltd, Mrs. Mubo Olasoko and Wealth Advisor, Meristem Wealth Management Limited, Mrs. Mojisola Olorunfemi, at the presentation of annual award for best graduating student in Economics, a CSR initiative of Meristem Securities Limited in Lagosâ&#x20AC;Śrecently PHOTO: ABIODUNAJALA

Trustfund Parleys Employers on Pension Challenges Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja In continuation of its resolve to stamp out challenges faced by workers on retirement and guarantee a seamless process, Trustfund Pension Plc recently engaged employers of labour to plug loopholes arising from employersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; end.

Speaking at an employersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; forum/interactive session, organised in Abuja, in collaboration with Zenith Pensions Custodian, the Chief Compliance Officer of Trustfund, Mrs. Rachael Osa-Obi, said a lot of issues arising from documentation issues from employersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; pension desk officers

(PDOs), among others constituted challenges to seamless pension administration.

She also noted that the forum was designed to impress it upon employers to comply with extant provisions that fast-tract remittance.

She said it was in a bid to correct such grey areas that Trustfund, in collaboration with Zenith Pensions Custodian decided to parley with PDOs of employers to stamp out impediments to workers enjoying their pension on retirement.

Osa-Obi, also disclosed that the forum was designed to impress it upon employers to remit

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is why we have brought these PDOs; PDOs are pension desk officers. They are the ones responsible for remittances.

It depends probably in your organisation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are PDOs in one organisation and in another organisation it might be the accountant, but we classify all of them as pension desk officers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are the ones handling pension matters. Now what has been happening over the years is a situation where people are just not diligent enough to want to do what is needful to ensure that money can be credited into the account of stakeholders once the money hits our account with

the custodian. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For instance, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a PDO for Water Board, I have 150 employees under that account, each employee has a pin which is a unique identifier. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Each pin belongs to a different holder. Then, as a PDO, instead of reflecting my pin against my name, I will have my name and put your pin against my name and once you upload, the system immediately rejects. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incorrect. You also have situations where the money is stuck, it goes into what we call CRA (suspense account for moneys we are not able to identify the owner) so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s now be for

us as the custodian to go look for those people to come and do those connections, we have problems even after getting this people, because of who we are. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are in a hurry and impatient, just correct it now now and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it, let not they will do same exact thing. Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the system be made in such a way that once itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s correct it automatically uploads itself? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is why we talked about the system put in place, that will not allow you to pay if for instance pins are incorrect, that system will not allow you to pay if your contribution is below what you ought to contribute,â&#x20AC;? he said.

outside Nigeria at the Lagos Business School, Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, Wharton Business School among others.

Also, AbdulRazaq-Gwadabe, is a Barrister-at-Law and a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the Managing partner of A. Abdulrazaq & Co, a firm of Legal Practitioners and Notaries Public. She obtained a B.A in European Studies and Spanish from the University of Wolverhampton,England (1982) and Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain(1981). She holds an LL.B from the University of Buckingham in England (1984) and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1986. She later obtained a

Masters Degree in Law (LL.M) from the University of Lagos, Nigeria in 1992.

On his part, Gandi qualified as a Chartered Secretary from Chelmer Institute of Higher Education Chelmsford, England (now Anglia Ruskin University) in 1974.

He had an extensive working career that spanned over two decades and retired as Director General (Permanent Secretary) in the Sokoto State Civil Service.

Abbas was elected as a member of Constituent Assembly for the 1989 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. On his return from the Constituent Assembly he was appointed as Sole administrator/Chairman of Yabo Local Government Council in Sokoto State.

CCNN Appoints Three New Directors Ugo Aliogo Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; äĂ?

Comms/e-Business Editor

Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x201C; Capital Market Editor

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

Senior Correspondent

Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x; (Advertising) Correspondents

Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2022;Ă? (Labour) Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă? Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC; (Cap Mkt) Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2022;Ă? (Energy) Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2122; (Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Capital) Reporters

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The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) has announced the appointment of Senator Khairat AbdulrazaqGwadabe and Shehu Abubakar as Independent Directors of the company.

In addition, Abbas Ahmad Gandi, was appointed as a non-executive director of the company.

The appointment became effective July 12, 2018.

A statement from the company explained that the appointments were ratified during the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recently held 39th Annual General Meeting in Sokoto.

Speaking on these appointments, the Chairman of the

CCNN Board of Directors, Abdul Samad Rabiu, was quoted to have said he was confident the new board members would bring their wealth of experience and expertise to bear on the affairs of the CCNN board.

Also, he said the appointment was in line with the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to the best corporate governance practices.

According to Rabiu, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am pleased to inform you that upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors of the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), Senator Khairat AbdulRazaq-Gwadabe and Shehu Abubakar have been appointed as independent directors.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Abbas Ahmad Gandi has also been appointed as a NonExecutive Director to represent Sokoto State Government in the board.â&#x20AC;?

Abubakar had an extensive working career in the Banking Industry from 1987 to 2017 where he retired as an Executive Director of Keystone Bank Limited after putting in about 29 years in the Industry. He was also at different times a Director on the Boards of Global Bank of Liberia and KBL Health Care Limited.

He holds a B.Sc. (Business Management) from Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto and an MBA from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and has attended many courses in the course of his career within and

25

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PTDF: No More Extension of Scholarship Programmes Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has said it will no longer accept requests for extension of timelines for scholarship programmes that are funded by it from either beneficiaries or their host institutions.

The agency said going foreword, beneficiary scholars on its schedule must complete their programmes within the stipulated time, adding that it would not condone any form of extension, â&#x20AC;&#x153;except in extenuating circumstances.â&#x20AC;?

Speaking recently in Abuja when it hosted the 2018/2019 PTDF Overseas Scholarship Scheme for Masters and postgraduate doctorate scholars under the United Kingdom Strategic Partnership, its Executive Secretary, Aliyu Gusau, said the fund would not be liable for any extension beyond the recommended period.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t accept requests for extension anymore from scholars. This means that you must finish

within the stipulated time, which is about 36 months for PhD scholars and something a bit similar for those going for MSc programmes. The PTDF will not accept extension requests except in extenuating circumstances.â&#x20AC;?

Gusau, further explained that, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The universities have allocated timelines for courses. So, it is not as if it is an open-ended thing, because each university has a specific time for you to complete a course. For this particular scholarship programme, we have about 122 MSc students and 76 PhD scholars for the UK.â&#x20AC;?

He explained that the decision to cut down the number of PTDFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s partner universities in the UK from about 60 to 15, was to strengthen the PTDF and help reduce the huge cost spent on scholarship programmes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Before we allowed students to go round the UK, pick any university of their choice and we provide the scholarship. But that does not provide value for money. So, we decided that we want the best and we came up with about 15 universities, which are among the best in the UK.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;At the same time, there is an additional advantage for doing that. Now, we can sit down with the universities and guarantee a specific number and also demand for discounts from the institutions. And right now we are getting discounts of between 15 to 20 per cent from the different universities, but this depends on the university,â&#x20AC;? he stated.

When asked how many universities the PTDF worked with a year ago, Gusau said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Last year we had about 60 different universities and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very unhealthy number, but right now it has been cut down to about 15.â&#x20AC;?

He also stated that the PTDF would soon commence local scholarship programmes, and that the number of scholars would be higher than those on foreign scholarship programmes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are going to commence the scholarship programmes for Nigerian universities possibly by the end of this month and we expect the numbers to be higher than those of the foreign scholarships,â&#x20AC;? Gusau added.

Red Star Express Records N8.4bn Turnover Red Star Express Plc has released its audited reports for the financial year which ended March 31, 2018, showing a rise in turnover to N8.4 billion from the N7.3 billion the previous year.

The revenue growth was attributed to new business initiatives and expansion currently being driven by the company.

It disclosed this in a statement.

The company is principally engaged in the provision of courier services, mail room management services, outsourcing, freight services, logistics, ware-housing and general haulage.

The results released ahead of its Annual General Meeting, showed the directors recommended the payment of N236 million, which translated to 40 kobo per share as dividend.

This was same amount of dividend paid out to its shareholders in the previous financial year.

Asset of Red Star Express Plc increased to N5 billion, from N4.5 billion in the previous financial year; likewise, the shareholders fund increased from N2.4 billion to N2.5 billion.

The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s authorised share capital is currently N500 million, comprising 1 billion ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each with an issued share capital of N294,748,155 representing 589,496,760 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.

Commenting on the results, the Group Managing Director, Mr. Sola Obabori, disclosed that the company was committed to ensuring sustained and steady growth of its operations and return on investments. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In spite of prevalent challenges,

the company posted a turnover of N8.4 billion in the year under review. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our company has maintained its commitment in the creation of wealth for shareholders. To this end, the board of directors is recommending a gross cash dividend of 40 kobo for every 50 kobo share, translating to N236 millionâ&#x20AC;?, he reiterated. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Regardless of the volatile economy, we will continually invest in our resilient employees, optimise our processes, refine our strategies, engage in cost efficiency, focus on new initiatives and increase our market share across the emerging economic sectors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We believe our commitment will give us the thrust we need to achieve maximum benefits for our esteemed shareholdersâ&#x20AC;?, he added.

GE Appoints New Africa CEO GE has announced that its President and CEO, GE Africa, Jay Ireland will retire from the company effective September 30, 2018, after 38 years of service.

However, Farid Fezoua, the President and CEO of GE Healthcare Africa, has been named President and CEO, GE Africa in addition to his role in GE Healthcare.

A statement disclosed that the appointment becomes effective October I, 2018. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It has been a great honor to build GE Africa,â&#x20AC;?Ireland said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The past 7 years in SubSaharan Africa have been the most rewarding of my 38 years in GE. The opportunities across many sectors, the optimism, the energy and entrepreneurial nature of the people have all contributed to a wonderful experience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am extremely proud of the value we have created together with our customers and partners. I want to thank all 2600 employees in the region for their support and commit-

ment to making GE a valued partner for the development of infrastructure in Africa.â&#x20AC;?

Over the course of his career, Ireland held several leadership positions in GE. He led GE Asset Management (GEAM), a global investment firm with about US$120 billion in assets under management at the time.

He was President of NBC Universal Television Stations and Network Operations where he had overall executive responsibility for NBC Universalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10 television stations, the Telemundo network and its 16 Spanish language television stations.

Before joining NBC in 1999, he had been the CFO of GE Plastics. Ireland started his career with General Electric in 1980 in its Financial Management Program after 3 years as a US Army Officer.

Ireland plays a significant external role advocating for investment in Africa. He is the Chair of the US Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa. He is also CoChair of the US Africa Business Centre â&#x20AC;&#x201C; launched in 2015 to lead the U.S. business communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engagement with Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regional economic communities, the private sector, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Ireland was a member of the African Development Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s special panel on accelerating the implementation of its ten-year strategy. He was a recipient of the Africa investor Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;International Business Leader of the Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; award in 2012 and 2013 and in October 2017, he was awarded the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Princeton in Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; medal for his innovative leadership and dedication to high-impact investments and growth opportunities across Africa. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jay has been an inspiring leader, colleague and role model over the course of a remarkable 38 years with the Company,â&#x20AC;?the President and CEO GE Global, Alex Dimitrief said.

ELEVATING TO THE NEXT LEVEL Marie-Therese Phido

Why Your Sales Team is Challenged In recent times I have been training and coaching Sales people in different organizations. One thing that seems to be a constant with most of them is: if they continue to pitch their sales in the way they started and have done for years, they will continue to meet unfriendly targets because they consistently seem to market their products and services the wrong way.

I am sure by now, you are asking, so, what is the right way. As in every skill and profession in life there is a right way, and our sales people need to get educated on how to go about their profession correctly. One basic requirement is the need to educate themselves on the basics of sales and marketing. Many of them stumble into this profession and make no attempt to hone their skills and knowledge base.

Just last week, I conducted interviews for a client looking for Sales Cosultants for his business. It was an uncomfortable experience. Many of them did not know the rudiments of the profession. They could not answer simple questions and even when you gave them tips on how to proceed, they could not take the points forward and build on the prompts to deliver valuable answers. Additionally, during the interviews the candidates lacked business acumen, analytical thinking and digital skills which were some of the main competencies we required.

So, how can you improve your sales pitch and ensure that you achieve better results. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consider the following: Understand your product and service, become an expert on what you are pitching Know everything you can about the product or service you are pitching especially the benefits. Understanding the benefits is key to positioning and profiling the right customer to push the product or service to. What I see many Sales people doing in Nigeria, is telling you the name of the product or service they are selling and reeling out the various names of these products, without telling why you must have these products and services, what great benefits are in them for you and why these products and services will make your existence better. The best way to hook a target is to sell the benefits, ask the right questions to refine the customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs and then fit his needs with your product. Remember his needs come first not your product and service.

Strike a chord with your customer Put yourself in your customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shoes; donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let him think you are out for a quick buck. Research your client and educate yourself about their business and personality, this is called customer profiling. Learn about what could possibly be keeping him awake at night and be empathetic. For B2B customers, you will need to understand his industry better than he does. It is essential to offer useful information, demonstrate your unique perspectives on his business and telling your targets something they do not know about their business or their potential needs. This ability puts you head and shoulders above your competition, and increases your valuability quotient. Research, research, research is key to the success of any sales man and the only way you can achieve the above points is to spend time doing your homework, before you approach the customer.

Nurture the relationship with your customers There is the saying that it is better to sell to an old customer than trying to break in a new customer.

According to Amy Gallo, in her article in the Harvard Business Review on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Value of Keeping the Right Customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;depending on which study you believe, and what industry youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in, acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one. It makes sense: you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to spend time and resources going out and finding a new client â&#x20AC;&#x201D; you just have to keep the one you have happy. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not convinced that retaining customers is so valuable, consider research done by Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company (the inventor of the net promoter score) that shows increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%â&#x20AC;?.

Learn to cross sell and upsell to the customers you have retained. This is one area, where Sales people in Nigeria need to upgrade their skills in. Our Sales people tend to be transactional in their relationships.

Once a sale has been done, they are gone forever or for a very long time. Meanwhile, the customer would have started a relationship with another Sales person, but because you went out of the radar, the target takes her custom elsewhere â&#x20AC;&#x201C; revenue, sale and relationship is lost.

In B2B sales, understand the complex buying situation Understand the need to engage in complex and sales buying situations and that there are many different buying influences in an organization that you need to cultivate and sell to. You will need to identify and involve a pool of external and internal resources to help you with the sale. This can be demanding but very essential given the challenges that come with coordinating cross-functional and organizational buyers to clinch the sale.

Learn to quantify and demonstrate value using data Learn to measure visualize and demonstrate, in financial terms, the value of your offering. Quantifying and explaining how your products and services will improve customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bottom and top line is a challenge to Sales people. But note that quantifying the potential benefits and added value of intangibles, though a difficult task will exponentially improve your success rate.

Close competence gap between current and required talent Most Sales leaders struggle to attract sales talent with the desired skills and competencies. The ability to follow a customer centric selling approach and to communicate value are examples of competencies where the competency gap is wider. There is a need to change the mind set and behaviours of most Sales people in Nigeria. They need to learn new selling approaches and tactics; they also need to change their mindset and habits. Though this can be a difficult objective to achieve, it is doable, with the right techniques.

From the above, it is clear that sales is no longer an adhoc activity that you go into without knowledge, analytical and strategic thinking. A lot of research and effort goes into your sales prospecting, presentation and closing. Learn to put in the work and achieve the results.

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Ovia: Stock Market Downturn Not Caused by Politics The Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia, in this interview on Bloomberg TV, spoke about his new book, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Africa Rise And Shine: How a Nigerian Entrepreneur from Humble Beginnings Grew a Business to $16 Billion.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He also dissociated the downturn in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital market from political uncertainties ahead of the 2019 elections What is your new book all about?

Africa Rise and Shine was written to change the narrative about Africa.

Hitherto, Africa was portrayed as a hopeless continent as far back as 20 years ago. It was seen as a continent of wars and hopelessness. That was a quote from The Economist Magazine in 2001, the front cover of The Economist. But a decade later, they changed that narrative and they started seeing the bright side of Africa, they started seeing that Africa is rising, and African economies were doing very well. They started seeing properly elected democratic governments, from once civilian government to another civilian government. Before then, it was lots of coups and they were making reference that Africa was a continent of coups and wars. But not anymore. The narrative has changed and businesses in Africa are doing very well. African economies are rising and shinning. Hence, I thought, to help change the narrative of the perception of the international community and international media about Africa, I needed to do a book: Africa Rise and Shine, and also, to tell some amazing stories of tremendous business opportunities in Africa, particularly Nigeria. That was the essence of the book.

But does Africa have a perception problem and do investors always ask about politics and corruption in determining the underlying fundamentals of the business?

Yes and no. Yes, in the sense that because there have not been too many positive documentations about many countries in Africa, so the international media are completely uninformed and they have the mindset that Africa is still a continent of wars, a continent of famine and hunger. But, that has changed. They are beginning to change their mindset now. The paradigm is changing very rapidly. We have been having successful governments, from one civilian government to another.

There in my book, in one of the chapters, I described how African countries have now come of age and how African countries have led successful transition programmes from one democratically elected government to another. That is what Africa is now and many international media are beginning to appreciate that. So, the narrative is changing gradually and the business opportunities in Africa is also tremendous, particularly in Nigeria, and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate is rising significantly, which many international investors are very pleased to hear about. They didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know about that before. That is why the answer is yes and no.

If President Muhammadu Buhari wins a second term, what does that mean for Nigeria?

One thing that business people, entrepreneurs do all over the world, whether it is in Nigeria, Ghana, United States or any other country, investors and entrepreneurs love to have consistency, certainty and we want to appreciate the fact that the economy would continue to do well. Regardless of who wins, the economy must do well, and the most important thing is that we all love consistency. What business people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like is uncertainty. No one likes uncertainty. So, if President Buhari wins, that is consistency and the business community would also love that. So, regardless of who wins, consistency is very important. The business paradigm will continue to improve.

Ovia

If you look at Zenith Bank shares, it is down 30 per cent since January. Oil price is going up, which is a benefit to Nigeria. So, is it investors that are worried about the presidential election or investors worrying about a lack of continuity?

Regarding the stock market in Nigeria, the capital market in Nigeria mimics the international environment also.

Nigeria is not an isolated country. It is a country where you have international investors and when interest rate is rising in the United States of America. Of course, there is capital outflow to the US economy and that

One thing that business people, entrepreneurs do all over the world, whether it is in Nigeria, Ghana, United States or any other country, investors and entrepreneurs love to have consistency, certainty and we want to appreciate the fact that the economy would continue to do well

is natural. It absolutely has nothing to do with politics or elections at all.

Absolutely not! You will see that the that the capital markets in some other emerging markets are also beginning to drop slowly, just because interest rate is expected to rise in the US and other well-developed economies and that is what is affecting it. It is the same audience, its same market, it is same international market, it is same capital market and absolutely has nothing to do with elections.

And this was well covered in my book on the transition programme and how various investors perceive investment in Africa. And that there is nothing to worry waiting until there is a new government and after a new government they also decide to wait for couple months or years before making their investments. They shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do that, they should come in now and make their investments.

That was what gave some of us the opportunity to invest very quickly without waiting for any government to be elected or not elected. Take the risk and move on.

What is the advice you will give the younger ones in terms of how you started and how you got to where you are now. Would you have done anything different?

I looked at it in writing Africa Rise and Shine. The opportunities we had at the time we started the bank, so there were other opportunities that other people had in other industries.

It was a matter of time and chance.

Time and chance because at that time, many people were scared to invest in Nigeria. They were truly scared because it was during the military. We are talking about late 80s and to be precise, in 1990. Many international investors were scared to invest, simply because we were under military rule and we were in military rule for about 30 years. So, you could imagine the tremendous

opportunities that existed in Nigeria and also, some other African countries.

But because we were indigenous people and Africans, we knew that, that meant nothing. We had lived through that and we knew it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really affect the economy tremendously. Definitely, it was a matter of understanding what you do. The corporate governance issue had improved significantly. So, we were able to invest at a time of uncertainty, when the international investors were terribly scared to invest. So, we were also waiting and waited patiently to reap the benefits.

Hence, according to what had happened over those many years, the book has now addressed why there was that quantum leap and quantum benefits. We started this business with N20 million at an exchange rate of N5 to a dollar at that time. So, we actually started the business with $4 million in 1990, and that has now blossomed. We now have a total asset base of $16 billion. If you look at the simple arithmetic, there have been over 1000 per cent growth. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get that anywhere. Even in the best economies in the world, you are not going to get that kind of growth and benefit. So, that is the kind of risk entrepreneurs, businesses or international investors must take in Nigeria or any other African country and reap tremendous benefits of quantum growth in their investment.

Finally, on the banking industry in Nigeria, is it in a good place and do you worry about non-performing loans?

Non-performing loans (NPLs) always something that banks worry about anywhere in the world. Whether it is in the United Kingdom, in Africa or the US, there are NPLs in the banking industry. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily worry because it depends on how we are able to hedge against some of those risks.

It depends on the industry, if it is oil, if it is gas or trading, we would also be able to ameliorate those risks.

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Ashade: The Economy Needs Bold Reforms to Grow Mr. Peter Ashade, who has worked in the financial services for 29 years was recently appointed the Group Chief Executive Officer of United Capital Plc, an integrated financial services group. He spoke to journalists on his vision for the company and on other issues on the economy. Goddy Egene presents the excerpts: Kindly tell us about your background?

I hold a Bachelorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; degree in Banking and Finance, an MBA in Marketing and an M.Sc in Finance. I am also an alumnus of the Lagos Business Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chief Executive Programme. I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers; Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Institute of Capital Market Registrars. Also, I am an Associate of The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and Institute of Directors.

I am currently the First Vice Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN), Lagos State Branch, where I also serve as the Vice Chairman of the Membership Development and Services Committee and a member of the Grants and Funds Committee. I am a Trustee of the Investors Protection Fund of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the Treasurer of the Institute of Capital Market Registrars. I am also a member of various capital market reform committees of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

With your appointment as the Group CEO, what will be your strategy to sustain the growth trajectory recorded by United Capital over the years and how do you intend to build your own legacy?

I must start by thanking my predecessor who did a lot of work which brought the Group to where it is today, as one of the market leaders in the Nigerian financial services landscape. Going forward, we are not going to rest on these laurels; we will work on continuous improvement of products and processes structure. We will innovatively change the narrative of financial services in Africa. We will pursue with clarity our pan-African strategy, we are currently in Nigeria but building a critical mass that will enable us to operate in other African countries.

Furthermore, we shall strongly support the initiatives to improve the depth of the capital market in Nigeria and thereafter in Africa by engaging in product development as a means of broadening investment opportunities in our market. We shall equally focus on consistent increase in the wealth for our teeming shareholders while also ensuring that we keep a healthy relationship with other stakeholders. In driving all these, we shall keep in mind our three core values of Excellence, Enterprise and Execution. We shall also place premium on our people. Our people are one of our key assets. Bearing this in mind, we will ensure that our people are motivated, exposed and trained as required to deliver the expected value.

What are the factors that would drive activities in the banking sector and the broader ďŹ nancial services sector in the second half of the year?

The key challenges facing the banking sector currently include the weaker macroeconomic environment, high level of non-performing loans, asset quality concerns, pressure on capital adequacy ratios and elevated risk outlook which continue to drag credit growth.

Clearly, the performance of the banks reflects what is happening to the overall economy.

While gradual recovery in the macro space is supporting performance. So far, pre-election activities which are expected to dominate H2-2018 is a concern for loan growth. Hence, resolving the challenges confronted by the banks is rooted in restoring the economy to the pre-2014 era of solid growth. For the financial services sector, specifically on increasing investor confidence, the concerns are broadly linked to political uncertainties, absence of reforms to drive market activities and the dominance of foreign portfolio investors in our market. For instance, low capital market depth reflects the poor disposition towards the market and this is evident in the absence

create that enabling environment. The Vice Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office is doing a lot in terms of ease of doing business but more is still required. Overall, what the economy really needs now are bold reforms (in the power, infrastructure, oil & gas, healthcare sectors, among others) to spur mid-to-high single digit growth and boost national productivity.

Ashade

of operators in key sectors of the Nigerian economy such as upstream oil & gas, retail trade and wholesale, power, telecom, and agriculture in the market. On the other hand, weak local participation rate, high transaction cost and socio-political/economic concerns also constrain demand for Nigerian equities, lowering market capitalisation. To resolve this, we must stabilise the economy, drive reforms in critical sectors and boost investor education.

Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s external reserves have increased, compared to where it was last year. What is the implication for the economy?

Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s external reserves added a whopping $9.1 billion in the first half of the year to close at $47.8 billion â&#x20AC;&#x201C; its highest level since 2013. This dramatic rise in gross external reserves was driven by a number of factors including Eurobonds worth $5 billion that were issued between November 2017 and February 2018; oil export proceeds driven by stability in domestic production; higher

The central bank was able to resolve the protracted crisis in the forex exchange market by opting for a multiple window solution. The other option proposed by the market was an outright devaluation or a more marketfriendly ďŹ&#x201A;exible exchange rate regime

oil prices which rose to $79.4 per barrel as at the end of first half (H1) 2018 and net capital flow which surged over the last 12 months, thanks to the introduction of the I &E FX window. Although events in the political space ahead of the 2019 general election and the external environment (in light of the policy normalisation in the United States) may push the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to do more in terms of defending the naira, we believe the current reserve level would provide succour to any potential volatility that may arise. At $47 billion, the CBN can conveniently cover 12 months of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s import. This projects a stable outlook for the second half(H2) of 2018, given that the continuous improvement in external balances will support sustained stability of the exchange rate.

What is your take on the multiple exchange rate system in the country?

The central bank was able to resolve the protracted crisis in the forex exchange market by opting for a multiple window solution. The other option proposed by the market was an outright devaluation or a more market-friendly flexible exchange rate regime. Clearly, the gains recorded in the currency market over the last 12 to 15 months are a testimonial to the success of the CBNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategy. For instance, as at June 2018, the total transaction at the I&E segment topped $32.6 billion since it was introduced in April 2017. Similarly, FX rates across market segments have converged around N360/$ compared to pre-April 2017.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio investors (FPI) ďŹ&#x201A;ows appear to have dropped and inďŹ&#x201A;ation remains relatively high, how can the private sector thrive with this situation?

Actually, a lot has changed in the macroeconomic space over the last 12 months.

Although FDI flows have remained lean, the adoption of the I&E FX window has triggered a massive inflow of FPI funds, at least up until May 2018. And the economy has also witnessed significant improvement in terms of headline inflation, currently at 11.4 per cent. However, for the private sector to thrive, the government still needs to

What will you advise the government to do to place the economy on a sustainable growth path?

Current concerns for Nigeria in our view are long-term structural challenges â&#x20AC;&#x201C; not much of policy issues, but implementation issues. The business environment remains tough, continued focus on politics seems to be dissuading the implementation of meaningful structural reforms. For instance, the oil & gas sector remains at the mercy of badly needed policy reforms that could boost more investments into the sector. The delayed passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is the ever-present risk creating uncertainty to the long-term investment in the sector. The PIB was broken down into four separate units governing regulation (PIGB), administration (PIAB), fiscal terms (PIFB) and a host community bill (PHCB). The idea is that a clearer breakdown of the bill will enable at least certain parts of it to progress through the House of Representatives, Senate and President, unimpeded. As we speak, only the PIGB has reached the Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s desk. These bills have the capacity to add momentum to new investments given the potential improvements to fiscal terms, and clarity around local content costs that could be addressed. The downstream oil and gas sector remains crippled by policy inertia as the regulatory bodies are resistant towards deregulating the pump price of fuel. As such, fuel prices in Nigeria do not reflect the landing cost. On the agriculture sector, while policy directives such as the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS); Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI); CBNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Agribusiness Small & Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) and the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), have aided the sectorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; growth in the space, there are issues yet to be addressed. For instance, storage, distribution and processing is hampered by poor transportation network, access to finance, poor local processing facilities and low investment in technology. In addition, the recent crisis between herders and famers is a major downside risk which is already weakening the agric sector GDP as at Q1-18 while pushing food inflation northwards. The onslaught of the Boko Haram insurgents remains a concern in the northeast with economic activities in the region still considerably low. Other areas include heath care, education and the issue of brain drain, which is negative for manpower development. We need to invest in education, technology, healthcare and correct the decadence in our social system.

With crude oil price soaring in recent times, how do we best manage the proceeds?

The Excess Crude Account (ECA) is still in use, hence, proceeds from excess crude will continue to be remitted in the ECA. However, Nigeria can learn from economies such as the United Arab Emirate (UAE), where proceeds from oil were deployed into investment in tourism, real estate and so on. Oil revenues should be integrated and managed with a view to mitigating the overall impact of oil market volatility on the broader economy.

Nigeria is rich in agriculture, human capital, mineral resources and immensely blessed with historical and cultural features that can boost tourism. Accordingly, Nigeria can focus on deploying the excess from oil into investments in these sectors.

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BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Opportunities in Soyabean Farming Jonathan Eze examines interventions in agricultural value chains that has created a robust market for Soyabean production and marketing Nigeria is one of the largest Soybean producers in sub-Saharan Africa.

However, the size of the crop is relatively small -less than 400-500 thousand metric tonnes (TMT) compared to 8,000 to 10,000 TMT for Corn and 4,000 to 5,000 TMT for Sorghum.

This is primarily due to lack of adequate market liquidity providing a limited incentive to grow this crop. This demand is constrained by inadequate Soya crushing capacity, which in turn is limited by low demand from the animal feed industry, the primary use of Soya in Nigeria.

Like most other crops in Nigeria, Soya is a small-holder crop with the average farm holding below one hectare. The limited investment in farm inputs and low farmer know-how results in poor productivity, currently less than 1.0 MT/ hectare in Nigeria versus 4.5-6.0 MT/ hectare in the USA. According to Head, Corn & Soya Business, Olam Grains, Mr. Ayaz Khatri, this is attributed to the unavailability of certified seeds. There is a significant opportunity to close this yield gap thereby, boosting farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; income and creating a virtuous cycle for continuously growing this sector.

To Dr. Alpha Kamara of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), strategic partnership has begun between IITA and industry players geared towards promoting Soya production through the provision of high yielding improved varieties, thus, creating awareness, promoting sustainable seed production systems and strengthening capacities with seed companies to sell improved seeds.

In the same vein, a plant breeder at the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Dr. Lucky Omogui, buttressed this when he noted that the partnership between research institutes and industry players will drive sustainable demand and supply for the commodity.

Private sector intervention

No doubt, the federal government is making headway in addressing the imperative of economic diversification and development, but unfortunately, no government in any part of the world can single-handedly ensure food security for its citizens.

In 2015, more than 195-member countries adopted the 17 global sustainable development goals (SDGS) at the landmark 70th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the private sector was enjoined to rally round their home governments to help realise the 17 goals and 165 targets.

In this regard, Olam, a global agri-business operating across agriculture value chains in 70 countries, took a strategic decision to expand into animal feed and protein in Nigeria as a natural adjacency to its grain business. This was led by a strong growth for the global animal feed industry, an existing gap within the country and a consumer demand for domestically produced protein.

In 2016, Olam established Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest integrated animal feed mill, poultry hatchery farms in Kaduna and integrated Poultry and Aqua Feed Mill in Ilorin, Kwara State. This was expected to go a long way in satisfying a huge gap in the market as well as invigorate the whole industry, thus, supporting Nigeria on her way to self- sufficiency. This underscored the strategic importance that the company attaches to the Nigerian state.

Creating a Ready market

Prior to 2016, there was no export market for Soya bean production. In 2016, and Olam was said to have emerged as the largest buyer of Nigerian Soya bean from local farmers and traders.

As the supply of Soybean had surplus to domestic needs, Olam successfully created an export market for Nigerian beans and accounted for the bulk of Soybean export.

The Nigerian beans suffer from a lot of negative quality perceptions- aflatoxin content, high presence of foreign matter, low oil content, excessively dried,

Soyabeans

amongst others. While the company was able to convince global buyers to overlook some of these parameters, these remained issues that needed to be resolved to make Nigeria a credible exporter of the produce.

Nigeria has an advantage of being a country that only allows the farming of non-genetically modified organisms (non-GMO) which have a niche demand in global markets.

Role of Research

Research plays a crucial role in fostering agricultural development.

But sadly, no local seed company engages in research to boost Soya production.

Dr. Emmanuel Sangodele, a Breeder Seed Scientist with Olam, argued that the unavailability of certified seeds prompted Olam to bring on board a team of dedicated and passionate seed breeders to deliver quality seeds.

The Olam is the only seed company in Nigeria dedicated to research and they are partnering with the Nigerian government. Through systematic research, it has identified the availability of good quality, high yielding seeds as a major catalyst for boosting farmers earning, thereby, generating more interest among more farmers to grow Soybeans.

It has also begun analysis of several aspects of agri-processing, including energy usage, greenhouse gas emissions and fresh water usage.

This initiative has enabled the company to review their operational practices geared towards improving the use of scarce resources as well as minimise the negative impacts of production and processing across the value chains.

Supporting Farmers

In Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, small scale farmers do not have the potential for increasing their productivity due to poor financial support.

Often, they are usually found wanting

because they cannot access loans for their operations and growth.

Galadimawa, a local farmer noted that one of the greatest challenges confronting farmers is inadequate finance.

He said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;if we are supported with irrigation systems, tractors, soft loans and timely release of fertilizers, I believe farmers will have a reason to smile home to the bank.â&#x20AC;?

Furthermore, Olam identified potential government, NGO and private sector partners to jointly develop farmer support and agronomy programs, including agricultural practices to achieve this objective.

Supporting Women Agenda

There is no gainsaying that the empowerment of women is a key driver in an economy but unfortunately this has been historically overlooked.

To this end, Olam has kick-started an out-grower program targeted at women farmers.

This scheme was designed to improve the livelihood of women through the distribution of farm inputs, training in crop management practices and assisting to access international markets.

The company is also giving high yielding seeds and training materials to women.

With this, the company provided interest-free credit on fertilizers and pesticides in addition to buying back the produce at prevalent market prices during harvest.

Capacity Building

In terms of capacity building, the company is supporting further investment and capacity utilisation in the Soybean processing sector. It is currently working with several local medium sized solvent extraction units to improve their efficiencies and capacity utilisation. Olamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s substantial investments in poultry and feed mills have significantly increased the demand for Soya meal, the principal

product from processing Soybeans.

With an increased demand for Soybean, Olam has successfully created over 500 permanent jobs, over 5,000 casual jobs.

Prospects for Soybean Farming

Given the huge financial commitment involved, it would be unrealistic to assume that the transformation agenda will magically be implemented hitch-free. Nevertheless, such a vital initiative should not be allowed to crash, rather it should be consolidated through strategic partnerships with Donor agencies, Research Institutes, NGOS, and the private sector.

A partnership of this nature would not only bring a lasting solution, but it would also attract higher foreign direct investment. The government should as a matter of necessity implement policies that would pave way for a competitive, diversified and self-reliant economy.

According to Sangodele, Nigeria is currently producing 400-500 thousand metric tonnes of Soybean crop. Soybean crop farming is spread equally between North and Middle belt region, Benue, Katsina and Kaduna being the largest crop production states. Other producing states are Zamfara, Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, Nasarawa, Kwara and Niger.

Impact of Soya Production on Soil fertility

Soybean is a crop well suited for Nigeria as it is more weather, disease and pest tolerant. It also requires far lower use of fertilizers and in fact, it provides a huge benefit due to its nitrogen fixing properties. Soybean is now one of the crops you can cultivate and be handsomely rewarded. Any farmer who engages in Soya farming will smile home to the bank.

The average price of Soya bean in current crop season was around 150,000 naira per metric tonnes. Small-scale farmer can produce one metric tonnes on a hectare, with cost of production less than N70,000, and earn more than N150,000 on a hectare.

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Ojobo: Benefits of Working with Virtual Assistant are Numerous The Chief Assistant and founder of Virtual Assistants For You (VAFY) Enterprises, Paulette Ojobo, in this interview with Kehinde Lawal, speaks about the opportunities in the running a virtual office What is the nature of your business and how did you start. Did you need any working capital?

My Business is basically online, at least 90 per cent.

That is because the virtual industry is relatively new in Nigeria. So, sometimes we still do not work 100% virtually for the client unlike abroad that is 100 per cent online. I started in 2015. I was working for a company at the time in Lagos and 70-80 per cent of our work then was virtual. Although we had meetings every once in awhile, the CEO of the company preferred us to work virtually and we usually communicated via Skype and other means, so I found out that I had more time to do other things and I thought to myself I could actually do this for more solo-preneurs and more online entrepreneurs because everything we were doing was online and we were actually handling a lot. And I thought to myself I can actually do this for several online businesses and I would get a lot of work done and make money. So, that was how I started.

What about capital requirement?

I did not really need any working capital per say because I own a smartphone and a computer. Even though it was not so great at that time, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give up. I did not really need any working capital to start the business, it is a very low capital-intensive business.

How do you meet your clients and how do you market your services?

I meet some of my clients online, and I meet some of my clients a few times, face to face. Because it is still a growing industry in Nigeria some clients still insist on meeting you for the first time. But for other clients, online is fine, because I work with few clients who are outside the country and they know how it works so we just have a Skype Meeting and we start providing the services to them. We have a website: www.virtualassistantsforyou.com, where all our services are marketed. We use social media,

Ojobo

nairaland, Twitter, to market our services and reach as many audiences as possible and we are still trying to be as visible possible - so that when people think about virtual assistants in Nigeria they think about our service and our brand.

What kind of work do you do for your clients?

Is it the same thing for every client or are they based on specific request and needs?

We do different kinds of jobs or tasks for our clients.

It is not the same thing we do for every client. They are done on specific request. Anything that can be done online can be managed by a Virtual Assistant - from managing social media to, handling customer inquiries, office administration, receiving phone calls, website

and blog creation, personal assistance, transcription and so on - the world is a global village so literally everything can be done online these days. For example, we provide a phone answering service for some client, we provide whatsApp answering service, because some companies take orders via WhatsApp and their websites and it can get quite intense responding to 100-200 customers at the same time. So, they just outsource it to us. We are very well informed about their businesses; their services and we can provide the service as excellently as the owner of the business themselves. We handle social media management for a few clients as well, where we help them manage their social media accounts, by creating contents, posting for them consistently and also managing inquiries. We handle research of all kinds, so we can help research competitors in your industry, target audience, research a new business you are about to start, etc. Basically, we handle everything that has to do with digital marketing.

We also do products uploads for e-commerce store owners, uploading products to e-commerce stores like Jiji, Shopify, Amazon, Ebay, Jumia, Konga, etc. These can be very time-consuming, and most entrepreneurs would rather not deal with it so they just hire us to handle that for them.

You once worked with an advertising agency.

Did this influence your present line of business?

Working in an advertising company did not really influence my line of business. What influenced it was the previous company I worked with which was the marketing and research company. I found out I was able to work from home and get a lot of stuff done.

That was what influenced me into getting into this line of business.

How is competition in this line of business?

The competition is not that much. As I said earlier, it is still an emerging industry in Nigeria and there is actually a lot of work to be done, sometimes one has

to turn down some jobs because one can not meet up with the demands. The business is very rewarding because it is a relatively new industry and Nigerians are loving it because it is relatively cheaper, saves them more money on utilities and office maintenance. For example, if you have a full-time staff resuming at your office every day, you will have to pay for office equipment, internet, staff salary, office rent and all sorts of fees; your workers may not work on public holidays and so on. But if you work with a virtual assistant the benefits are much because apart from the fact that it saves you all these costs, a virtual assistant is also a business owner. They have a vested interest in your business, they care far more than the employee.

Many Nigerians are catching up to it which makes it a very rewarding business and along the line I had to quit my job to focus on this full time, because I could not cope anymore.

What challenges do you face on the job?

We have to insist that our clients pay at least 80 per cent upfront and even 100 per cent in some cases, before we start work on any project or task. That is because people can be sneaky sometimes. But we realised over time that after the job has been completed, they start to avoid your calls because they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to pay up and it can be discouraging. Also, like every other business in this part of the world, we have issues with power supply. So, back up electricity is a necessity - my laptop and phone cannot go off for a minute.

Then internet services arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t that great, but we manage to make it work. Also, so many potential clients donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand what the business is about - or what a virtual assistant is and you have to break it down to them about what we do. Many also want to have a face-to face meeting every once in a while before committing - I guess they believe a face-to-face meeting has more impact than a virtual meeting on Skype or Whatsapp video - but this is not so â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but we always find a way to work around it.

Sustainability as a Force for Business Success Ugo Aliogo writes on a global approach to integrate solutions to sustainable development into business operations and in addressing social issues which is being adopted by Unilever Nigeria With about seven billion people living in the world, natural resources have come under tremendous strain globally. Rising temperatures, water scarcity, double burden of nutrition and increasing gaps between the poor and the rich are some of the challenges facing the world.

Some corporate organisations have come to understand that companies must be a part of the solution to these issues. They have realised that these issues do not only affect our communities but also challenges the commercial sustainability of the business.

One of such companies is Unilever, a purposedriven company, whose purpose is simple, to make sustainable living commonplace.

As part of a globally driven approach to integrate solutions to sustainable development into business operations, a number of Unilever Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brands have adopted social missions, in which the brands help to address social issues. Unilever Nigeria then partners NGOs or governments to ensure these missions have scale.

In line with Unileverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to sustainable living, the company is spearheading efforts to help reduce the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia in Nigeria, especially among women and adolescent girls through Knorr Force for Good programme.

Globally, anaemia is said to affect almost a quarter of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population; that is 1.62 billion people.

In Nigeria, almost one in two women of reproductive age and 75 per cent of children under five years suffer from anaemia. Fifty per cent of these cases are caused by a lack of iron in the body, which is often diet-related.

Some of the early symptoms of anaemia are fatigue and decreased ability to work; and people with anaemia are also associated with an increased risk of mortality and cognitive loss in those who survive.

Knorr Force for Good initiative includes visiting schools, especially in rural areas where cases of anaemia are prevalent. The programme educates adolescent girls and their mothers on the importance of cooking more iron-rich nutritious meals through the Knorr Green Food Steps. Through this initiative, the company hopes to help decrease the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia in Nigeria.

that underline Unileverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to ensure that â&#x20AC;&#x153;business must be part of the solutionâ&#x20AC;?.

The brand social missions are integral to Unileverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sustainable Living Plan, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blueprint for a truly sustainable business, launched in 2010. They are helping to drive the vision to decouple growth from environmental impact while also increasing the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s positive social impact.

There are three clear goals for Unileverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision for sustainability: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Improving Health and well-being for more than 1 billion: By 2020 we will help more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being; Enhancing Livelihood for Millions: By 2020 we will enhance the livelihoods of millions of people as we grow our business; Decoupling growth from our environment footprints.â&#x20AC;?

Improving Health

Nsarkoh

By the end of 2016, the Knorr Force for Good programme reached 75,000 households (including mothers and daughters) through a four-week behavioral change programme.

A scientific study with the University of Ibadan had indicated that 41 per cent of respondents from the states visited - Nasarawa, Benue, Kaduna, Abuja and Kogi, had started adding green leafy vegetables and iron fortified cubes to their stew.

By end of 2017 the Force for Good programme had reached 20 million direct and indirect contacts. One State where the programme has been particularly successful is Kaduna, where Unilever Nigeria has partnered the State Government to empower women and teenage girls through Knorr Force for Good programme and the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Empowerment scheme, Shakti.

Partnerships like this are vital in helping Unilever Nigeria achieve reach and impact.

The programme is just one of the many interventions

The programme is one initiative helping people take action to improve their health and well-being.

Others include the Pepsodent Brush Day and Night Oral health campaign through which Unilever seeks to tackle poor oral hygiene and tooth decay and improve oral health amongst Nigerians.

Since inception of the Oral Health Schools Programme, Unilever has directly reached over 2.5 million pupils in 4,500 Government primary schools with products (Pepsodent toothpaste and toothbrushes), free educational materials and brand instruction ambassadors.

With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Health the firm further commits to promoting oral hygiene by educating 10 million Nigerian pupils by 2020. Another important example of how corporates can partner governments to bring their programmes and most importantly their impact to scale.

Enhancing Livelihood for Millions

With the high unemployment rate continuing to grow, Unilever Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambition is to use its business model to create 1 million job opportunities for Nigerian women and youth. The aim is to empower women and youth and ultimately help address unemployment

and poverty trends in Nigeria.

Gbemiga registers, trains, and provides women in rural communities with capital to begin trading Unilever products to households and small stores within their communities. Working in partnership with non-profit organisations such as the Growing Business Foundation, they have already reached 2,000 women across 10 States.

These women also undertake basic book keeping trainings and workshops on nutrition.

Unilever Nigeria also, recently launched its Customer Development Motorbikes Project as a means of promoting entrepreneurship by operationalising third party sub-distributors across Nigeria with two-wheeler bikes.

This initiative and the Lipton Push-Cart programme is expected to create more jobs along the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supply chain in the months ahead.

Reducing Environmental Impact

Unilever Nigeria aims to cultivate habits that reduce the environmental footprint of its customers; for example, by encouraging the recycling of all packaging and looking at ways to reduce consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; energy and water consumption.

Unilever also looks at its own supply chain and waste generated from the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s factory sites is reused or recycled.

There are systems in place to measure real time consumption of utilities such as water, steam, energy and power, enabling the effective monitoring of resources used per unit, (ensuring reduction) to keep these within acceptable limits.

In line with the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to continue to decouple growth from its environmental footprint, in 2016, it awarded a grant to Nigerian recycling company (that manages the collection and recycling of waste) to extend its waste recovery program to more communities in Lagos and Ogun State.

Undoubtedly, going into the future, businesses that address the direct concerns of citizens, the needs of the environment and the communities they live, work and sell into; will prosper over the long term as well as contribute to Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic growth. In doing what it does, Unilever continues to demonstrate that sustainability can be a true force for good.

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EDUCATION Nebo: One Remarkable Thing I Got BeingVC Was High Blood Pressure In this interview with Charles Ajunwa and Ahamefula Ogbu, former Vice-Chancellor of University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) and former Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, insists that the current educational curriculum ensures Nigeria is left behind in the global scheme of things.

He explained why he birthed the idea of Post-UTME, issue of sex for mark and the need to resist underhand practices in our ivory towers. Excerpts When you became the VC of UNN, you met a very horrible situation on ground security wise, how exactly were you able to sanitise that environment and return it to a full academic work?

You know, when I went to University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) people called it â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;National War College IIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; because two years before I became vice-chancellor, cultists assassinated the Chief Security Officer of the university. A year before I became vice-chancellor cultists assassinated the dean of the faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Occasionally, cultists would seize the entire university, take all the walkietalkies from the security people and announce that they were now running the university. So calling it â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;National War Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t too far-fetched. It was horrible! Any time there was going to be a convocation they send the students packing. So university was essentially closed down for a week or two because of convocation to avoid cultists from disrupting it. It never happened during my regime. But you ask how? I started by studying the entire situation and inviting the governor to assist me.

The governor at that time was Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani and he was very sympathetic because I took this situation to him when people started screaming at me that VCs never get out of their lodges by 6 p.m. They said if I do it, I could be lynched by the students and then I realised that almost every day there was robbery on campus and almost every week there was car snatching on campus. A lot of times, girls were also being raped on campus.

So, I pleaded with the governor and he called a security meeting of the state. He invited from the army to police, to mobile police, to civil defense, state Attorney General, and key functionaries and had a meeting in the governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Exco Hall and he asked me to say exactly what the problem was and I told him.

He told me to give them time; that the problem would be solved and the governor went to work. Within a few weeks, they were able to apprehend most of these students who were causing trouble only to find out that many of them were not even the bona fide students; and they dealt with them. Some of them didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come back to the university, they had to leave that whole environment. But again, I now discovered that more than 70 per cent of the cultists, of the rapists , of the armed robbers and all the miscreants, were people who were not bona fide students but rather they were diploma students. The mandate of the university does not include doing diplomas, it is only something you can attach. Society never do well were the diploma students are so I had to summon a meeting of Senate, presented all the facts before them and then told them I was going to ban and bar the diploma programmes.

Initially, people viewed it with mixed feelings because many people were benefitting from the diploma programme. At that time, they said it was an indication that I was actually insane because the diploma was yielding hundreds of millions of naira to the university and if I stopped it, it meant I wanted to kill the university since the federal government was not even bringing in enough money. But we needed to sanitise the entire system. So stopping the diploma programme alone cut down crime on campus substantially. The next thing, we found out that the so-called motorcycle operators on campus were the petty thieves, snatching purses from young ladies, especially taking them to bushes and raping them.

I also banned Okada operators on campus and that again drastically prune crime down. But

a feel. Regrettably, when this government came into being the first thing they did was to scrap the so-called Post-UTME only for them to turn around later to say, let there be Post-UTME again. Thankfully, every university is using that to screen students. Now, integrating school certificate results, which is something we encouraged in those days. We think there is something good happening there.

Are you satisďŹ ed with the state of education in the country?

If I tell you that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m satisfied, I would be lying.

Nobody in his right senses would be satisfied with the education system in Nigeria today.

We are in trouble and we need to come out of the woods. I think the government needs to do something and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not something that can be done in a short time. The melee has been on for many years and I think one must of necessity look at the whole system holistically and then set out a plan of action in order to eliminate all those things that are causing this incredible melee and disruption of the university system and then bringing our students up to bar with what the international community experiences.

Nebo we still had a major problem; cultism was still to some extent palpable but there was no obstruction of any activities. We now noticed that students were beginning to become fidgety because many of them were not prepared for university, they bought admission. So, I introduced the Post-UTME and informed the Minister of Education. The next thing was my brother and friend Professor Nwanze of UNIBEN followed suit. There was an uproar, JAMB would not have anything like it and National Assembly would not have anything like it. National Assembly would send you people with all kinds of scores that are not university material and tell you to admit them otherwise your budget will not be approved. All kinds of things were happening but with that PostUTME, only bona fide students would come in. So, we now found out that people who scored 300 over 400 in UTME, cannot even get up to 150 in the Post-UTME meaning that people took the exam for them or they cheated. Those were the days. JAMB is much better today; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doing a fantastic job and there is always almost a positive correlation today with your Post-UTME scores and your JAMB scores. In those days, there was a near negative correlation in most of the areas. You scored 311 in JAMB and cannot score less than a 100 in Post-UTME. It shows that it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t your brain that wrote the 311. But today, thankfully, JAMB is doing much better. When we started the Post-UTME, we now started admitting a brand new set of students who were university prepared and university materials. So cultism died at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Crime died for five years of my stay at UNN, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lose a single student to cultism and by the grace of God, UNN didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t join any national strike whether ASUU or NASU or SSANU because I always appealed to the workers and they agreed not to go on strike for five years. That was how we were able to restore the academic calendar that had been distorted completely. Now, stopping the diploma programme and starting the Post-UTME, were the two major things that killed cultism.

Then my policy was zero tolerance for cultism.

Very thankfully, I think it was during my tenure or so that the Supreme Court ruled that Senate of the university has the right to award

or deny a student a degree. Like in the UN we say â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;you are qualified by learning and characterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. So if you are qualified by learning but not by the character you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get a degree.

If you are qualified by character but not by learning, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get a degree. The two must marry. So, I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afraid of litigations.

Even before that ruling, I was not afraid of litigations because these people were wicked.

They would brutalise human beings, smash peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heads with axe , bring their brain out and splash it on the floor. That is the kind of animals we had. In fact, at Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT), I saw hell as Dean of Students and eventually as a Deputy Vice-chancellor. So, I set zero tolerance for cultism. Though thankfully creating an enabling environment and then of course for the first time in 15 years, UNN started operating from the budget and while as Vice Chancellor, every unit, every department, every faculty had budgeted money for operations. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so before I came and they stopped when I left.

The records are there. In spite of all these, stopping the diploma programme, starting the Post-UTME, we adjusted the school fees but some people said we increased it. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessary because students were paying all kinds of money; about 10 different fees from departments, faculties and so on. So we did what we called a consolidation and the school fees now ranged between N11,000 to N20,000.

The students were complaining that Professor Nebo has killed them and eventually, we published it in the newspapers and the same parents who wanted me crucified because their children had told them that we were charging N80,000, started blaming themselves. The parents got to know that the school fees were N11,500 and the highest was Medicine about N20,000 annual fee for the full session. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do anything outrageous. Even for the Post-UTME when others were charging N2,000, N5,000 we started with N500 and while I was there we moved to N1,000. It was National Assembly that said it should now be N2,000 and thank God for such intelligent, wonderful people like the late Senator Uche Chukwumerije who supported us and knew where we were going. Not those who will scrap something they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even understand or have

Why were you head-hunted to Oye Ekiti and what was your experience like?

Well, I was actually abroad on my accumulated leave and sabbatical leave. I took the sabbatical leave mostly to see if I could develop the farmland that I purchased some 32 years ago.

That farmland I bought it the year I got my Ph.D. in the U.S. So for five years of my tenure as Vice-chancellor of UNN, I did not see my farm which was just a few kilometers away. I was so deeply committed and busy with UNN that I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have time to visit my farm. Yet, I had workers and the farm was doing poorly. So, I was abroad when I got a call from honourable Minister of Education to inform me that the president had approved my appointment as Vice chancellor. I was shocked. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know they were establishing nine new universities, I had no idea such a thing was going on. I just travelled out. Many of my colleagues after being vice chancellors spend a year of their sabbatical at the National Universities Commission (NUC), but I said let me on my own and see if I could get my farmland back to work again. So incidentally, I accepted the challenge. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t an easy one. I was given the hardest one; the only one where the state governor then being ACN and federal government being PDP. They were at loggerhead. The main senator there wanted the university sited in his own village and then the governor wanted it to be sited somewhere else. There was a kind of tussle and some people had been killed in skirmishes even before I started my work as Vice-chancellor there. But I was able to convince the government to allow two campuses: Oye as the main campus and Ikole as the second campus and that brought peace. Ikole people are fantastic people and I had wonderful experience with them, very nice people, cooperative and very eager to assist that whenever we come to do some work their delectable traditional ruler, Kabiyesi, would even encourage the youths to come and offer free service to help to clear the land and do whatever we needed. They were willing to give any amount of land that the university needed. At Oye, the traditional ruler was helpful but the people were not so helpful. I think Ikole people gave us wonderful support and Oye didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give us that kind of support. So we got there and incidentally, at Oye, we were denied a take-off site. It was a harrowing experience.

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EDUCATION

WAEC: Proprietress Blames Students Poor Performance on Teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Supervision Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Proprietress of Solid Fundamentals Montessori Academy, Abuja, Mrs. Mmayen Obaigbona has blamed the poor performance of students in West African Examination Council (WAEC) on the lack of supervision of teachers, especially those in public schools.

Obaigbona disclosed this, recently, at the graduation ceremony for the class of 2018 of the school, said though government schools have more facilities than their private counterparts and also

employ the best of staff, but they are lacking in supervision.

According to her, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even if you supervise a dull child, you can turn that person to a gifted child. So, I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lack of supervision. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t follow up their staff and people who work for government donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really care. It is like national cake, they do it the way they like. It is not the same in private schools because we follow you up and make sure that you do your work. People bring their children to private schools because they know people who are there, they know people who will give account of the

performance of their children. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With much supervision, students will do well. Although it is declining, we know how to handle it to come out well.

We just have to supervise our staff, our students and this supervision is not one sided, it has to do with the parentsparents/teachers relationship.

When you follow up on a child and you discovered there is a problem, you get in touch with the parents, so that whatever you do, the parents will follow up, it is everybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work.â&#x20AC;?

Obaigbona stressed that the school started in the

year 2000, with the nursery and primary section in New Karu, Nassarawa state, while the secondary school started six years after. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For the secondary school, this is the 7th set that we have graduated. For this year, we graduated 43 secondary school students. At the primary level, we graduated 30 and the nursery we graduated about 40.â&#x20AC;?

On the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s challenges, the proprietress said bringing up teenagers is not an easy task, while also lamenting that the present economic situation is affecting the school, as the parents now struggle to pay the

tuition fees of their children. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We in private schools are just struggling alone, yet we bring out the best students making Nigeria proud outside this country. We will want government to give us teaching aids, even if it is one or two staff send them to school and pay salary, then we can carry on with others. Once in a while, they should organise training for teachers in private schools because most of their children are in private schools, they can give us resource materials, so that we will know that our government is encouraging us. We pay a lot of money

to the government to operate every year.â&#x20AC;?

The best graduating student of the school, Master Favour Ileogben, 16, thanked his teachers and parents for their important roles in achieving the success.

Ileogben who scored scored 241 in UTME, intends to study Architect at Ahamadu Bello University, Zara.

The Head Girl, Sarah Akumun, thanked God for seeing her through and the teachers for putting her through academically, adding that the school teaches morals and has good science and boarding facility.

Bayelsa, Edo, Bornu Free from Exam Malpractices, Says NABTEB Registrar Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB ), Professor Ifeoma Isiugo-Abanihe, weekend, said, Bayelsa, Borno and Edo states were the only states where the board did not record the incidence of examination malpractices in the just concluded May/June 2018 NBC/NTC examinations.

She said the board recorded 842 cases of malpractices during the period and the offender were dealt with accordingly.

Isiugo-Abanihe who disclosed this while briefing journalists on the outcome of the May/June 2018 NBC/NTC examinations in Benin City, Edo State, said out of a total of 55,480 candidates that registered for the examinations in 1,458 centres; 54,752 candidates sat for the

examinations representing 98.69 per cent of the total enrollment.

She said out of the total number of candidates that sat for the examinations, 32,697 candidates scored five credits and above including English Language and Mathematics representing 59.72 per cent of the candidates, while a total of 45,721 candidates have five credits and above with or without English Language and Mathematics representing 83.51 per cent of the candidates that sat for the same examinations.

Emphasising on the feat recorded by the examination body, she said it has been able to put to rest the problem of rejection of the certificate as an entry requirements into the School of Nursing programmes while removing other obstacles leading to the acceptance of the certificates by all institutions in the country.

Firm Donates Education Equipment to Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ibom Schools Okon Bassey in Uyo An Abuja-based Hi-tech educational solutions provider, EDUSTABL, has donated digital educational equipment to public schools in Akwa Ibom State to enhance learning.

The benefiting schools include; Northern Annang Secondary Commercial School, Utu in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area, Mary Hanney Secondary School, Oron Local Government and Independent High School, Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area.

Others were; Cornelia Connelly College (C.C.C.), Afaha Oku in Uyo Metropolis and Secondary School, Ikot Akpan Ishiet, Onna Local Government Area.

Speaking at the presentation of the items held at Kings and Kids Christian Schools, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, the Managing Director of the organisation, Mr. Patrick Inaku noted that the gesture was in support of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s government policy of free and compulsory education for its

citizenry.

He explained that the introduction of the Digital Classrooms System (DCS), in public schools would revolutionised learning by bringing cost effective ICT to all classrooms irrespective of whether or not they have internet connectivity or electricity.

The DCS, he said is a small, powerful computer and projector in one, supported by a palm size six â&#x20AC;&#x201C; hour power bank and a solar charger which enables it to operate without electricity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It involves teaching educators and students how technology can be used in the classrooms, to help them move to more experience and applications- based learning, as opposed to broad based learning thus, we see this as a success in terms of scale,â&#x20AC;? he said.

With the DCS, Inaku added that all schools and even those without electricity, can deliver consistent, interactive and engaging digital content (lectures) in their classrooms without any encumbrance.

Nursery Graduands of Riverside Montessori School, Isheri during the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prize giving day and award ceremony held recently

Aregbesola Bags Honorary Degree from Adegboyega Varsity Funmi Ogundare Adegboyega University, Ogwa, Edo State, owned by the Apostolic Church, weekend, conferred a Honorary Degree of Public Administration on the Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for his efforts in providing qualitative education and lifting his state to an enviable height.

Speaking at a special convocation ceremony, held in his honor at the institutionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s John Aluko Babatope Hall, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bernard Aigbokan recalled the governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s achievements in Osun state in the education sector noting that under his watch, the state is ranked one

of the five states in the lowest unemployment ladder.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Under the governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s watch, the school feeding programme attracted World Bank commendation.

The state is second in human capital development, second in the national assessment on infant and maternal health care delivery and first in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s subnational competitiveness index, released by the National Bureau of Statistics and National Competitiveness Council.â&#x20AC;?

He recalled how the institution was established and granted license by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in March 2011, while highlighting its key challenges which posed constraints to its rapid

growth.

The VC assured the management readiness to continue to promote and sustain healthy university tradition.

In his remarks, the Vice President, The Apostolic Church and Visitor to the institution, Pastor Emmanuel Awojide described Aregbesolaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recognition as greatness rooted in taking personal responsibility, focus , doggedness , discipline and determination. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Greatness is not ascribed but attainable through dint of hard work and time-tested universal principles,â&#x20AC;? he said, while expressing optimism that the award will spur the governor to greater performance and discovery of uncharted

paths. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The true measure of greatness is in making outstanding contributions to society. We must always find essence in the betterment of our common humanity. As an awardee of the university , you have become its ambassador,â&#x20AC;? he said The Chairman, Board of Trustees, Dr. Ebenezer Okebukola said the award on the governor was informed by the vision of its founding fathers to promote intellectual and moral leadership, adding that he has shown great commitment to giving quality Education to the students in a conducive environment and friendly learning atmosphere.

School Celebrates Pupilsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Excellence Prudence Schools Yuba, recently celebrated six of its SS3 pupils who cleared all their papers in the 2018 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The pupils, who were the second set of graduands of Prudence City College were feted alongside pre-school, primary graduates of the Prudence Private School, as well as junior secondary school (JSS3) graduates of the college at the well-attended event held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos.

The Chairman, Governing

Board of the school, Mr. Joseph Babatunde said itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success was hinged on the personal attention given to pupils and the emphasis on quality above profit, adding that the school neither compromises on standard nor cuts corners.

Babatunde who is also a former Chairman of AG Leventis saidâ&#x20AC;&#x153; The school offers an exclusive type of education in the sense that the primary school has a philosophy of one-on-one ; one teacher to one student, so also the college.

That is why we have had very good results in the primary school in the last 10 years and the five year old college has recorded 100 percent pass since last year that we started the WAEC examination. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cut corners here and that has been what we emphasis to our parents.

With my experience in the private sector, if you are not in a hurry to make money, you will not cut corners.

Last year, we presented 9 children for WAEC. We were approached by other

schools who wanted to join our children to sit for the exam, but we turn them down because we cannot guarantee the type of education that the children have received in their schools.

That is why our 100 percent is not polluted.â&#x20AC;?

The schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outgoing head boy, Toluwani Akeju, 16, thanked his teachers for the academics and moral values they taught him while in the school, while describing his three years there as wonderful. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My stay in the school has been a very wonderful one. It has been astonishing.

34

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

Leveraging on Your Network will Bring about Success, Says Fayomi Tade Fayomi, a former Vice President in the Asset Management Division of Goldman Sachs who is planning to go for a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in INSEAD Business School, explains to Funmi All Work And No â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Playâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ogundare why it is imperative for students to constantly learn new things Dulls and leverage on their network to be successful in life Ă? Ă&#x152;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013; ĂĄĂ? Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă&#x17E;ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă&#x17E;ĂĄĂ&#x2122; At a time when most of her mates are probably planning to be married or just thinking of chatting a career path for themselves , Ms Tade Fayomi, 29, had at a very young age knew what she wanted in life.

Straight from the university, she joined Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm with international offices worldwide.

She worked there for eight years during which she learnt the rudiments of doing business and rose to the ranks of Analyst to Senior analyst, and Vice President while being moved to work in the organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s London, New York, Japan, Singapore and Dubai offices.

In May this year, while she was in the Dubai office, she decided to resign from the firm to pursue a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at INSEAD Business School, Fontainebleau Campus.

She spent summer in Lagos, getting to know how to do business in Nigeria, reconnecting with her network; comprising old school and work friends and getting acquainted with the market.

In an interview with THISDAY, she talks about what it takes to get an MBA, saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It depends on the school that is very competitive and the process is really demanding. It could take you up to a year to put it together. Depending on the school, you are going to do your GMAT exam which could be quite challenging and you see that all the schools have their average GMAT. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They may not specify on their website. People do it quite a few times to get it right. They also want a mix of someone who already knows what he wants and a leader who can manage people. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is not everybody that can manage people and have that skill set. That is what they can teach you and do with different case studies, such that when you are taken to a new country, in five years time, you know what you can do. So they look out for the leadership and entrepreneur

Fayomi

skills and your ability to grow businesses.

On how getting an MBA will transform business education and management practice, she said it is about utilising oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skills to manage different minds of individuals at different sector and different situations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is not just about managing people because there are different unit with different individuals at different sectors and different situations. I learnt on the job not as a manager but I think I grew and I have to work with different teams and different stages in their different circle. I had different teams in the UK, Singapore and Dubai in the Middle East. But now I think about it from the angle of the classroom and they are all doing an MBA with other people in the classroom working on their businesses. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That is really different and I know that I when I go to a top school for my MBA, I will be able to learn from experts who have done so well in their industry and have become professionals.

So from learning from them and establishing that network, I now come to Nigeria. There are about 500 people in my class. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is a super diverse class, no one country is more than five percent of the class . we have people from Turkey, Taiwan,

such that if I go into fashion for instance, my classmate who is from Turkey knows where I can get cheap fabric . That is what I want to have; the network because that is what you are paying for.â&#x20AC;?

She said getting an MBA will add a lot of value to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career development, noting, â&#x20AC;&#x153;First from the academic perspective, it is a must thing to do. There are many jobs out there , you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even apply for them if you dont have an MBA, secondly, it is just the opportunity to learn so much especially if you have been working in one industry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For many people that I know who are in my class, it is an opportunity for you to learn a lot more and see the skills you want to acquire. From the employers perspective , managers will see that you went to a really good school to get an MBA.â&#x20AC;?

On what it takes to manage people with leadership skills , Fayomi said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good managers are people who genuinely want to learn to succeed. You need to know your strength and weaknesses and what you need to work on. If you are scoring a B, you are likely to be super successful, but if you are scoring a D, you may never get to win. You must be doing great with communication and doing presentations. People who

have been managers know their strengths and they ran with it.â&#x20AC;?

With her experience, the former vice president said it will impact the socioeconomic development of the country and the education sector adding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;More are more people are going abroad to get this management experience, that could mean more and more business schools being established in Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With my experience it is difficult to say, but it all boils down to what I want to do after school. I definitely want to have a positive impact in Nigeria and at this point am just thinking to myself that the best way to do that is to work with businesses and help them to grow and work with women entrepreneurs.

If you look at our culture, there are many other options. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Women have lots of access to capitals if you look at the statistics, women have access to networking and that is the kind of thing I want to do, that is the kind of impact I want to create, and see how these women do businesses that have been running for a couple of years and you just need that introduction and determination and actually grow. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Usually if you give money to the woman, it means more to the economy than if you give it to the man. That is the kind of thing I am passionate about.â&#x20AC;?

She advised the youths on skills needed to succeed saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Doing business has to do with being persistent, recognising what you want and so your marketing, and thinking about new creative ways to engage with clients and customers. One of those things I learnt at Goldman Sachs is strategy and think of ways to engage with people and have something impactful to convince them with . â&#x20AC;&#x153;They have to listen to it. You must be able to use your network and reach out to different people and leverage on that. I reached out to my classmates who are into businesses. All of our classmates are our first customers. You also have to constantly learn new things through conferences and empower yourself . In Nigeria, people take a lot of shortcut which harm their businesses.â&#x20AC;?

Student Wins Scholarship for Outstanding Behaviour as School Graduates 16 Kuni Tyessi, Abuja A student of Noble Hall Leadership Academy for Girls, Fatima Danjuma, has received a scholarship from her school to study in any university of her choice for her exemplary behaviour during the period of her study..

While announcing the scholarship during its graduation ceremony, a member of the board, Dr. Mairo Mandara, said the school strived to take

the training of their students seriously , not just in learning but in character, adding that Danjuma, who was among the 16 students graduating, has shown that the school was on right track.

Mandara who was also the Guest Speaker at the programme, promised to mentor Danjuma till she graduates.

In her remarks, the Director, Mrs Maryam Duba who expressed excitement about the graduation of her students,

recalled with sadness, a student, Aisha Kollore, who would have been among the graduands but died after being diagnosed with cancer of the blood. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She lived a life worthy of emulation. Even after being diagnosed, she was strong. She became a strong advocate against cancer. She was an inspiration for both young and old,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Another guest speaker and Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mrs. Aisha Ahmad, advised the graduating

students to open themselves to opportunities as they stepped into the world, while urging them to work hard and never give up until they achieve their goals.

She encouraged them to take full advantage of the internet and technology available to them to broaden their knowledge, saying that they have to be smarter than their smart phones as whatever they put out on the social media, can make or mar their image.

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Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă? Ă?âĂ&#x161;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?ĂŁ Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;ĂŁ Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ë&#x203A; Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2DC; ĂĄĂ? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁ Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă? ĂĄĂ? Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x161;Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁË&#x153; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x152; Ă&#x2122;Ă? ËŠ Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;ËŞĂ&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ËŞË&#x203A; Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; ĂŁĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ?Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă?Ă? ĂŁĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;ĂŁ Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă? ĂŁĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2022;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2022; Ă&#x2122;Ă? ĂŁĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2039;Ă? ĂŁĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x; Ă?âĂ?Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă? 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Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁ Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x2022; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;ËŞĂ&#x17E; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă? ĂĄĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x161; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;äĂ&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17D;Ă Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁ Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂŁĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x201C;ʨĂ?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁË&#x203A; Omoru writes from the UK

Research: Odugbemi Canvasses Collaborative Efforts on Medicinal Plants Funmi Ogundare Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Tolu Odugbemi has stressed the need for research efforts into medicinal plants to be intensified in the country noting that it will provide solution to a number of diseases not amenable to modern medicine.

Studies into medicinal plants, he said demand genuine inter-disciplinary approach and cooperation and that drugs from such plants may serve as answers to global challenges posed by increasing global threats caused by antimicrobials-resistant bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Odugbemi who made this call, recently at the 2017/2018 University of Lagos School of Postgraduate Studies annual lecture titled, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Teamwork and Devine Intervention: Reminiscences on research activities in a developing country setting, Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, commended scientists who have shown commitment to the scientific study of medicinal plants in research institutes and tertiary institutions in the country.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Medicinal plants have become increasingly important in our interest to provide solution for a number of diseases, therefore studies of some rare plants demand courage, determination, humility and respect for community leaders, otherwise the research would end in frustration and failure.

Teamwork , in an extraordinary ways, pays a lot to achieve positive findings, â&#x20AC;? he stressed.

Odugbemi who also a former Vice-Chancellor of Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECH), Okitipupa, emphasised on research funding especially at the tertiary level, noting that it is vital for good output and relevant to societal needs.

He highlighted some of the factors hindering good standard of education in the country

while expressing concern that all government institutions are underfunded saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The issue of funding is a critical factor hindering the standard of education. In Nigeria today, education is on the concurrent list and it is an open secret that allIn Nigeria today, education is on the concurrent list but as at today, federal universities charge relatively little or no fee for any of their programmes, inspite of the obvious reality of the huge investment needed to ensure a vibrant educational system. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The main factors can be attributed to bad planning of curricular of institutions and lack of knowledge of what education is all about by the owners of the institutions . Irregular payment of staff salaries result in workers looking for alternative sources of income and poor attitude to work. The bad and unconcerned approach of owners of institutions to the welfare of their staff is inhuman, and invariably leads to an unproductive workforce.â&#x20AC;?

Other factors, he noted , include lack of motivation that inhibit teachers from carrying out their work with the required enthusiasm for the benefit of the students, corruption that brings about misappropriation of funds meant for education in the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many of the top officials are unaware of the guidelines for their service; they thereby foster an environment conducive for corruption, â&#x20AC;? the don said, noting that there must be a reorientation among government, unions, staff and students, as well as other stakeholders to ensure effective results for products of our institutions.

The lecture witnessed a presentation of scholarship awards of the Postgraduate Trust fund to the second set of students who are indigent but delirious of carrying out their research work.

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Lagos Trains 5,000 Students on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Ready Set Workâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Initiative About 5,000 students are undergoing a 13-weeks intensive training of the Ready Set Work programme organised by the Lagos State Government to prepare students for the world of work.

Participants were drawn from institutions within the state and spread across three designated centers: The Lagos State University (LASU) , Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) and The University of Lagos(UNILAG),

Yaba College of Technology, Caleb University,Imota The programme which is the third edition also had 20,000 students in their penultimate classes training online.

At the end of the training in October, 2,000 best students would be placed on a sixmonth internship at various corporate companies with a monthly sum of N10,000 Addressing students at the second week of the programme in LASU, the Special

Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh charged the students to take advantage of the training to improve themselves. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have no excuse to fail because you have access to information to advance yourself. You are the product of your most dominant thought. The Lagos state government has given you a platform to excel. Make good use of it and always

have God in mind.â&#x20AC;?

He said the programme was in response to address issues of incompetency of graduates, reduce unemployment and to imbibe an entrepreneurship mindset among youths.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;They would learn the skills they need to succeed. So we are focused on soft skills, how to be adaptable, emotional intelligence, how to think, understand the

socio-economic setup of the country and in the end, they are well prepared to succeed and they know that we are adding value to them. We also have over 500 facilitators that teach the students.â&#x20AC;?

He added that since the inception of the programme in 2016 feedbacks from companies as regards interns performances have been positive and encouraging.

On his assessment of the programme in the last

two years, Bank-Olemoh expressed excitement about it saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have been able to place them on internship and they would be employed by these organisations . For you to know how impactful the students keeps coming.

This year, we,have over 10,000 students . The students too are excited about the programme and that is for us means that Lagos State cares about their welfare and we are willing to train them to succeed.

86 Nigerian Students Receive Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards The British Council and Cambridge International have given a recognition and outstanding Cambridge learner awards to 86 Nigerian students who have attained the highest marks in its Cambridge IGCSEs, Cambridge O Levels and Cambridge International AS and A levels.

The awards covered categories such as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Top in the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for learners who have gained the highest standard mark in the world for a single subject, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Top in Countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for learners who have gained the highest standard mark in the country for a single subject, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;High Achievementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, for learners who have achieved outstanding results in subjects which are not so widely taken and which, under the current criteria, would not qualify for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Top in Countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Awards.

Other award include; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC; Best Acrossâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; issued to learners who have attained the highest cumulative standard marks over a set number of subjects taken in the November 2016 and June 2017 Cambridge examination series.

Speaking at the award ceremony held recently, in Lagos, the Regional Director, Cambridge International, Sub-Saharan Africa, Juan

Visser congratulated the Cambridge top achievers in Nigeria, saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are delighted that learners at our accredited schools continue to excel year in and year out. For over 800 years, the University of Cambridge has been one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest centres of learning. It created our organisation, Cambridge International, 160 years ago. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now, as part of the university, we take that Cambridge standard of excellence to schools across the world.

These awards put our students in the best place possible for their future education and we wish them all the best going forward. He also commended the dedicated teachers for their commitment and passion.

The British Council also awarded partner schools from the Partner Schools Global Network (PSGN) that exemplified best practice policies for equality, diversity and inclusion as we as child protection.

The Country Director, British Council in Nigeria, Lucy Pearson expressed the councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment towards providing opportunities for young people to enhance their potential and possibilities for the future.

L-R: The Group Product Manager, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Rachel Ogolo; the Group Director, Technical and Development, Mr. Abagana Abatcha; overall winner, Vitafoam Pillow Art Competition, Miss Lois Akere of University of Lagos Women Society School; Vitafoamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Group Managing Director, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;; and the Marketing Manager, Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Funmi Lawal, at the Vitafoam Pillow Art

Author Canvasses Need to Promote Reading Culture Kehinde Lawal A poet and author, Nnamdi Agbakoba, has stressed the need for Nigerians to promote reading culture, saying that it is an important component of developing a progressively developing nation.

He said no discussion can be too much today about the importance of rediscovering the lost culture of voracious reading in an age of the internet and social media.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Books like the Bible or the Koran or other spiritual books, are

food for the soul and spirit, while entertainment programs, books, or comedy shows are food for the heart. We need to read good books that will build the mind, body and soul.

We must strive to break away from reading only books to pass exams. In the 1950s, 60s and 70s, novels of the James Hadley Chase series, Mills and Boon, the Sidney Sheldon series and a host of other good novels were very popular with the youth and students. We need to revisit those glorious days when youths and students always

had a novel in their school bags.â&#x20AC;?

The poet described education as the greatest weapon with which we can use to change the world, while quoting from popular saying from Nelson Mandela; â&#x20AC;&#x153;A child mis- educated is a child lost, John F. Kennedy; and Tai Solarin: â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you are planning for one year, plant rice, if you are planning for five years, plant trees, but if you are planning for the future, educate your children, because education is the ammunition the youths need for

their future existence, and also the life wire of every successful society.â&#x20AC;?

Analysing one of his books â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Deep Secretâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Agbakoba said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Deep secrets is written as a conversation which turns out to be a confession to sinister cult-related activities between the protagonist, Okechukwu, and his godfather, George who describes Okechukwu this way, Okey was a godson I wish I never had. All he had to offer was trouble of all sorts and exams he had to re-take again and again before passing.

Vitafoam, Berger Paints Reward Creativity among Pupils A total of 20 pupils from various primary schools in Lagos State were recently rewarded by Vitafoam Nigeria Plc and Berger Paints for their creativity at the just concluded PillowArt Competition sponsored by both companies.

The primary three pupils were asked to design plain white throw pillows to qualify for the final of the competition. The top five contenders were made to answer questions about colours, lay beds, and compete jointly with their mothers in a quiz at the event held in Lagos.

At the end of the contest, a pupil of the University of Lagos Women Society

Nursery and Primary School, Lois Akere emerged the overall winner and received a complete bed (bedframe, mattress and soft furnishings).

Her bedroom at home will also be painted by Berger Paint.

Iyioluwa Oredola of Grace School, Gbagada came second and got a sofa bed and pillow; while Serah Opute of Emerald School, Gbagada came third and was rewarded with a Vitababy sofa bed.

Precious Onwubiko of Basil School, Ilupeju came fourth, while Jessica Orabuchi of Straitgate School, Magodo was fifth; they got baby cot mats, chairs, flexi mats, among others.

The pupils that came from sixth to 20th position got consolation prizes from over 200 products donated

by Vitafoam. The schools that produced the first three winners also got crèche furnishings from Vitafoam; while Berger Paint will paint a crèche and another room of choice for them. Home and You Furniture donated a television set to the winner and gave out prizes such as lap desks, storage boxes and wall decorations to other participants, teachers and head teachers.

In his remarks, the Group Managing Director, Vitafoam, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi said the competition was organised to

encourage the young ones to be creative as it is the only thing that can stand them out in any field of human endeavour apart from making them familiar with Vitafoamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s products at early stage.

Adeniyi explained that as a creative company that believes in catching them young, Vitafoam has a wide range of products designed to meet the needs of nursing mothers and children. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is believed that one of the things affecting intelligence of children is early weaning. Many of our nursing mothers opt for early weaning of children because of inconveniences of breastfeeding in the public.

We introduced early days products to address many challenges in this regard.

For instance, we have breastfeeding cover to assist nursing mothers in the public. We also have kids mat, kids chairs, storage wooden baby cot, robust wooden baby cot nursing pillow, maternity pillow, pregnancy pillow pack and sofa bed and spring mattress among others.â&#x20AC;?

The Marketing Manager, Berger Paint, Mrs. Funmi Lawal explained that the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement in the competition was in line with its nature of business which has to do with colour and creativity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Young ones are naturally

endowed with creative power, but the way to harness this potential is by creating opportunities for them to showcase their talent. This is one of the ways by which Berger Paints can give back to the society. The mind of children has great ideas. We have a duty to develop it.â&#x20AC;?

The founder of the NGO that organised the competition, I-Create Club, Mrs. Eniola Afolayan said the competition was fun and all about creativity, which must be inculcated in children.

A parent, Mrs. Kehinde Akins commended the organisers, saying that the competition enabled the pupils to think out of the box.

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36

CITYSTRINGS

Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x161; Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ë? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă? äĂ?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013; Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ë&#x203A;Ă?äĂ?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;ĚśĂ&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă?Ë&#x203A;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;

Talents Beyond the Pulpit To many, the life of a priest is a quiet one, restricted to preaching and promoting the gospel of salvation. But for some priests with the Wow Catholic, championed by the Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a case of talents beyond the pulpit. Paul Obi writes

Cardinal Onaiyekan and Bishop Umoren at the event

C

atholic priests are generally believed to be programmed only to preach salvation from the pulpit while professing Christianity. The perception of priests is also one of a people limited to a solitary life in the monastery.

Thus, each time a Catholic priest veers from his calling to another endeavour, it comes as a sort of shock and bewilderment to the followers.

But as the world evolves, the Catholic Church has in several ways attempted to transform in many positive areas that do not erase its doctrinal foundations. This is done with an understanding that such priests who display talents outside the normal religious calling also provide an avenue for evangelism. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Priests Got Talentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; It was in the attempt to showcase the talents of these clergymen that the concept of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Priest Got Talentâ&#x20AC;? was born. Championed by Rev. Fr John Oluoma and Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, the Wow Catholic, a technology-driven platform was used as the vehicle to convey this ideology.

At the recent event, which was held at Chida Hotel International Event Centre, Abuja, the talent show went a long way to prove that, indeed, Catholic priests and reverend sisters have other talents beyond the cassock.

The priests and reverend sisters who participated thrilled the audience with their skills in dancing, football, singing, acting and even cooking, among other artistic displays. At the end of the event, three winners emerged â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Reverend Fathers Jude Agada, Sylvanus Ameh and Kelvin Anetor, who came first, second,

I am glad that my young priests are coming out and wanting to express their talents beyond the perception people have of them as good preachers or weak social workers

One of the priests displaying his culinary skills

and third, respectively.

Cardinalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Approval At the talent show, which brought together

people from all walks of life, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Metropolitan Diocese, His Eminence, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, explained that the benefits of priests showcasing their

talents were enormous. Onaiyekan said, "I am glad that my young priests are coming out and wanting to express their talents beyond the perception people have of them as good preachers or weak social workers. They can also be good musicians. It is good that they have been able to merge and coordinate it with their normal practice as priests. So that as reverend fathers, they will not think they are people brought down from heaven."

According to the Cardinal, by participating in the talent show, the priests and reverend sisters were indirectly encouraging other Nigerians to put in their best in bringing out their talents for the common good of society. He said: "There is one other aspect to this. There are many artistes out there. Some of them think that what they are doing has nothing to do with their faith. But when they see a reverend father being an artiste and performing, they are encouraged to know that they can be artistes, singers, musicians, actors and actresses, and still be very good Christians and indeed express

37

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

CITYSTRINGS

Catholic Priests displaying their prizes

their Christian faith through art.â&#x20AC;?

The archbishop stressed, "You can only witness to God through who you are and what you have. That is why I decided by all means to be present at this occasion. So as to encourage them in what they are doing.

As you know, priests here are coming from all over Nigeria. There is only one or two from my diocese. Also, this talent show is one way to make the youths feel at home with the priests. You really move with people who understand your language and the way you feel. I have been telling my priests who are young, don't forget you are part of the youth."

Also speaking at the event, Auxiliary Bishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Anselm Umoren, observed that the show afforded the priests and reverend sisters an opportunity to show their other side beyond the pulpit. Umoren, who said he is a professional motor mechanic, added that the talent show was very important given that it will assist the church to create an entertainment studio that will help the youth to develop their talents through various means.

He added that with the manner the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Priests Got Talentâ&#x20AC;? had been accepted, there was need to do more in the coming edition. Umoren stated, "A lot more people around the country would get involved. It is something we are proud of and wish to sustain, because it will help the priests a lot more in their work with young people.â&#x20AC;?

Charity Clause A highlight of the event was the noble idea of winners donating their winnings to a charitable cause. Speaking on the importance of the Rev. Fr. John Oluoma at the event

By showcasing talents through arts and entertainment, the gospel could easily be embraced, more so, the cash prize would be donated to support a charity cause, which is a laudable gesture I desire to support

talent show and awards associated with the show, Coordinator and Chief Promoter of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Priests Got Talentsâ&#x20AC;?, who also doubles as Parish Priest of Christ the King Parish, Kubwa, Abuja, Rev. Fr John Oluoma, explained that the intention was "to show the world that we can use our talent to the glory of God and for the good of mankind, because the first three winners are going to donate all what they win to any charity of their choice. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On the award, the message we want to pass is to tell every Catholic in public service that eyes are on them and the only way

they can give glory to God is for them to do their job diligently and make sure that everybody around them benefit from their good works.â&#x20AC;?

One of the participants, Rev. Fr Manzani, told THISDAY observed that he decided to participate in the show in order to show that there were other means of spreading the gospel beyond the pulpit. He added that by showcasing talents through arts and entertainment, the gospel could easily be embraced. "More so, the cash prize would be donated to support a charity cause, which

is a laudable gesture I desire to support," Manzani said.

With such display of talents, the Catholic Church is expanding the work of the priest beyond the pulpit. As stakeholders observed, the intention was to tell people in the secular world that the church is not opposed to arts and entertainment in the real sense of it, rather, the Catholic Church sees entertainment as a platform to spread the gospel and better the society. Again, the idea is not just to uplift the spirit but to also feel the pulse of Christ's followers, by keeping hope alive

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; AUGUST 1, 2018

38

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Again, Manufacturing PMI Maintains Expansion Obinna Chima The Manufacturing Purchasing Managersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Index (PMI) stood ay 56.8 index points in July, indicating an expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 16th consecutive month.

The index however grew at a slower rate when compared to the index in the previous month.

According to the PMI report for July, of the 14 sub-sectors surveyed, 13 reported growth in the review month in the following order: petroleum and coal products; printing and related support activities; paper products; electrical equipment; primary metal; furniture and related products; non-metallic mineral products; transportation equipment; textile, apparel,

leather and footwear; chemical anf pharmaceutical products; food, beverage and tobacco products; cement; and fabricated metal products. However, the plastics and rubber products sub-sector declined in the review month.

On the other hand, at 59 points, the production level index for the manufacturing sector grew for the 17th consecutive month in July 2018.

The report showed that the index indicated a slower growth in the current month, when compared to its level in the preceding month.

In all, 12 of the 14 manufacturing sub-sectors recorded increase in production level, while two remained unchanged.

Also, the report showed that at 55.8 points, the new

orders index grew for the 16th consecutive month, indicating increase in new orders in July 2018. Similarly, 12 sub-sectors reported growth, while two contracted in the review month.

Furthermore, the report showed that the manufacturing supplier delivery time index stood at 56.8 points in July 2018, indicating faster supplier delivery time for the fourteenth consecutive month.

Nine sub-sectors recorded improved suppliersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; delivery time, three remained unchanged while two contracted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The composite PMI for the non-manufacturing sector stood at 57.7 points in July 2018, indicating expansion in the non-manufacturing PMI for the 15th consecutive month.â&#x20AC;?

L-R: Head, Corporate Communications, PAN Nigeria, Haroun Malami; GM Sales & Strategy, Mr. Bawo Omagbitse, DG, PAN Learning Centre, Mrs Elizaberth Mordi; MD/CEO, PAN Nigeria, Ibrahim Boyi; European Union Auto Sector Technical Adviser, Mr. Izzet Cosgun; Executive Director, Finance, PAN, Jumaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;at Ali-Oluwafuyi and GM, Industrial PAN, Engr. Augustine Okolo, during the Multi-brand auto maintenance workshop in Kaduna...recently

NIBSS, Others Move to Boost Financial Inclusion with mCASH As part of efforts to further drive financial inclusion in the country, the Nigeria InterBank Settlement System (NIBSS) in collaboration with banks and the telecommunications companies, yesterday relaunched the mCASH solution. mCASH is an innovative solution that was designed to facilitate low-value retail payments, grow e-payments by providing accessible electronic channels to a wider range of users and to further enhance financial inclusion in Nigeria.

This solution also extends e-payment benefits to payers and merchants at the bottom of the pyramid where usage of cash has been predominant.

Speaking at an event in Lagos, the chief executive officer of NIBSS, Mr. Adebisi Shonubi, explained that the product was launched again, after some issues that constrained its acceptance by members of the public were resolved. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we started Mcash for

example, we did not anticipate the full effect of the sim swap problems that existed. So, when it came to be, we had to slow down because sim swap was a major issue from a loss and a risk perspective. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The telcos sat with us and came up with some frameworks that allow us identify sims that have been swap and therefore prevents them. Since we did that, the fraud rate has dropped. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, for us it is being a learning experience and that is why we have built in an almost perfect product, which is why we are relaunching it,â&#x20AC;?

Shonubi explained.

He said the solution was developed to support the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drive towards a cash-less society. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We talk about cashless, we talk about financial inclusion.

Really, all those conversations are about how to get people to put cash in their pocket and find other ways of doing financial transactions.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It involves two kinds of people â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the buyer and the seller, and both have to be comfortable for it to work. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The idea behind the mCASH was to make it easier and replace the use of physical cash. And for that to happen, we needed to sit down with a number of parties because every individual element in the chain has a part to play. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many times, you hear people talk about unique solutions in the world, but over the last two years we have been creating our own unique blend of what is possible in the world. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For mCASH, we would not charge any fee for the USSD. The banks said they would give access to their customers and because it is targeted at the lower value of transactions, we had to do away with some fees that we normally charge people.

The telcos have committed to provide USSD channels and to give it priority.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS Broad Money (M2)

24,303,049.86

-- Narrow Money (M1)

10,912,604.10

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,668,378.21

---- Demand Deposits

9,244,225.90

-- Quasi Money

13,390,445.76

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

15,619,134.18

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

8,683,915.68

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday made available the sum of $210 million to meet customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; requests in various segments of the foreign exchange market.

The CBN in its quest to meet customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs in the various segments of the market offered $100 million to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment

of the market while the SMEs segment got the sum of $55 million.

According to figures from the Bank, customers requesting forex for invisibles such as tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others, were also allocated the sum of $55 million.

The CBN had last Friday, following the earlier take-off of its intervention in the sale of forex

in Chinese Yuan (CNY), injected the sum $340, 507, 376.51 into the interbank retail secondary market intervention sales.

This was in addition to the sale of CNY 69,858,087.15 in the spot and short tenored forwards.

Meanwhile, the naira continued its stability in the forex market, exchanging at an average of N360/$1 in the BDC segment of the market yesterday.

26,267,136.53

---- Credit to Government (Net)

3,823,345.45

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

5,433,209.43

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

-1,609,863.98

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

22,443,791.08

--Other Assets Net

-17,583,220.85

Reserve Money (Base Money)

6,746,646.49

--Currency in Circulation

1,668,378.21

--Banks Reserves

4,357,551.58

CBN Injects Fresh $210m into Forex Market Nume Ekeghe

Ëž Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă? Ě&#x2039;

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

Fire Interrupts Operations at Ecobank Head OfďŹ ce

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Rebecca Ejifoma

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Banking activities at the head office of Ecobank Nigeria Limited were brought to a halt in the early hours of yesterday as a fire outbreak engulfed the heavy-duty generator of the bank.

According to eyewitness reports, the fire started at about 9am when a diesel laden tanker was offloading its products close to the switched on generating set.

This caused an explosion,

which engulfed the generator and would have exacerbated save for the timely response of the state fire service.

After battling to contain the flames, the bank used its Twitter page to douse tension by announcing that the fire has been put out.

Confirming the incident, General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Adesina Tiamiyu, said the agency received the distress call at about 8.54am through the emergency toll free

line 112/767.

He added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The agency and its responders mobilised to the incident scene immediately.

Upon arrival at the scene of incident it was discovered that a 33,000 Ltrs tanker laden with diesel (AGO) while transloading its content caught fire around the generator house within the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premises. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The immediate cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.

However, investigation is being conducted to ascertain the actual cause of the inferno.

(MILLION NAIRA)

MARCH 2018

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OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT MONDAY JULY 31, 2018

The price of OPEC basket of ďŹ fteen crudes stood at $73.53 a barrel on Monday, compared with $73.69 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), 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

39

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

MARKET NEWS

Nigerian Breweriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Half Year ProďŹ t after Tax Declines to N8.2 Billion Goddy Egene Leading brewing firm, Nigerian Breweries Plc has announced a profit after tax of N8 billion for the half year(H1) ended of 2018, showing a decline by 33 per cent, compared with the N12.317 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.

An analysis of the results indicated that the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revenue dipped by five per cent from N181 billion in 2017

to N173 billion in 2018.

A further analysis of the performance showed that results from operating activities declined by 20 per cent from N39 billion in 2017 to N32 billion in the corresponding months in 2018, just as profit before tax also dropped by 19 per cent from N34 billion in 2017 to N28 billion in the period under review.

Company Secretary/Legal Adviser of Nigerian Breweries

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

Plc, Mr. Uaboi Agbebaku, attributed the lower performance to the new excise duty introduced by the federal government. According to him, the new excise duty regime and higher rate of beer introduced in June 2018 further impacted on affordability in the period under review.

The government had approved an amendment to the excise duty rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco with

S E C U R I T I E S

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effect from June 4. And the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said that the new excise duty rates were spread over a three-year period from 2018 to 2020 in order to moderate the impact on prices of the products. Adeosun said that the new excise duty regimes followed all-inclusive stakeholder engagements by the Tariff Technical Committee of the Federal Ministry of Finance with key industry stakeholders.

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

According to her, the upward review of the excise duty rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco is to achieve a dual benefit of raising the federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fiscal revenues.

Meanwhile, gains by bellwether tickers such as Nestle Nigeria Plc, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and Nigerian Breweries Plc helped to sustain the upbeat at the stock market

O F

and lifted the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) by 0.19 per cent to close above 37,000 threshold yesterday. Although there were a total of 17 price gainers, lower than the 24 price losers, the NSE ASI closed higher at 37,017.78 following appreciation recorded by highly capitalised counters. As a result of the positive close, the year-to-date decline further improved to 3.20 per cent.

3 1 / 0 7 / 2 0 1 8 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͹˜ ͺ͸͹Ͷ

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THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 LEADS THE NSE ASI & NSE 30 INDEX The ThisDay Afrinvest 40 index was created over a year ago ;:ƵŶĞ ϱƚŚ ϮϬϭϳͿ ĐŽŶƐŝƐƟŶŐ ŽĨ ϰϬ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐƵƚ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƚŚĞ ǀĂƌŝŽƵƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ ^ƚŽĐŬ džĐŚĂŶŐĞ͘ dŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁĞƌĞ ƐĞůĞĐƚĞĚ ďĂƐĞĚ ŽŶ ƚŚĞŝƌ ůŝƋƵŝĚŝƚLJ͕ ƚƌĂĚĂďŝůŝƚLJ ;ŇŽĂƚͿ ĂŶĚ ƐŝnjĞ ;ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶͿ͘ ŽůůĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϵϰ͘Ϭй ŽĨ ƚŽƚĂů ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ ĂƉƉƌŽdžŝŵĂƚĞůLJ ϰϮ͘Ϭй ŽĨ ƚƌĂĚĂďůĞ ŇŽĂƚ͘ As at Tuesday, 31st of July 2018, the Afrinvest 40 index declined Ϭ͘ϭϮй ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ ϭ͕ϱϮϱ͘ϱϵ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ reduced –ϭ͘ϭй͘ dŚĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ ƐƵƌƉĂƐƐĞƐ ƚŚĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ E^ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ĂŶĚ ƚŚĂƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ E^ ϯϬ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĂƌĞ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ ŽĨ –ϯ͘Ϯй and –ϰ͘ϳй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ dŚŝƐĚĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ ǁĂƐ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƐĞůůŽīƐ ŝŶ GUARANTY ( ϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ ZENITH ( ϯ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ ACCESS ;Ϭ͘ϱйͿ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϯϳ͘ϱй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘ >ŽĐĂů ŽƵƌƐĞ ^ƵƐƚĂŝŶƐ WŽƐŝƟǀĞ DŽŵĞŶƚƵŵ͙ NSE ASI up 0.2% dŚĞ ĚŽŵĞƐƟĐ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ ŝƚƐ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ momentum in yesterday͛Ɛ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ NESTLE ;нϲ͘ϱйͿ͕ SEPLAT ;нϮ͘ϰйͿ ĂŶĚ NIGERIAN BREWERIES ;нϬ͘ϱйͿ ĚƌŽǀĞ ƚŚĞ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ; ^/Ϳ Ϭ͘Ϯй ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ƚŽ ϯϳ͕Ϭϭϳ͘ϳϴ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ůŽƐƐ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ƚŽ ϯ͘Ϯй͘ Ɛ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ͕ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ EϯϬ͘ϬďŶ ŝŶ ǀĂůƵĞ ĂƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶ ƌŽƐĞ ƚŽ Eϭϯ͘ϰƚŶ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĨĞůů Ϯϯ͘ϯй ƚŽ Ϯϰϰ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ϰϳ͘ϰй ƚŽ Eϰ͘ϱďŶ͘ GUARANTY ;ϯϵ͘ϲŵͿ͕ UBA ;Ϯϳ͘ϵŵͿ ĂŶĚ STERLING ;Ϯϲ͘ϵŵͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁŚŝůĞ GUARANTY ;Eϭ͘ϲďŶͿ͕ NESTLE ;Eϭ͘ϰďŶͿ ĂŶĚ UBA ; EϬ͘ϯďŶͿ ůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ /ŶĚĞdž >ĞĂĚƐ WŽƐŝƟǀĞ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ĞƋƵĂůůLJ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ĂƐ ϰ ŽĨ ϱ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŐƌĞĞŶ͘ dŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ůĞĚ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ͕ ƵƉ Ϯ͘Ϯй ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ďƵLJ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ NESTLE ;нϲ͘ϱйͿ ĂŶĚ NIGERIAN BREWERIES ;нϬ͘ϱйͿ͘ dŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƚƌĂŝůĞĚ͕ ƌŝƐŝŶŐ ϭ͘ϯй ĂŶĚ ϭ͘Ϯй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ D E^ Z ;нϯ͘ϭйͿ͕ EQUITYASSUR ;нϭϬ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ SEPLAT ;нϮ͘ϰйͿ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ƐĂŵĞ ǀĞŝŶ͕ ďĂƌŐĂŝŶ ŚƵŶƟŶŐ ŝŶ CCNN ;нϯ͘ϯйͿ ĚƌŽǀĞ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž Ϭ͘ϭй ŚŝŐŚĞƌ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŇŝƉ ƐŝĚĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶĞ ůŽƐĞƌ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘ϰй ĂƐ ZENITH ( ϯ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ GUARANTY ( ϭ͘ϭйͿ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ůŽƐƐĞƐ͘ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ tĞĂŬĞŶƐ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ǁĞĂŬĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϳdž ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϰdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ ϭϳ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ Ϯϰ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ƚŚĂƚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ dŚĞ ďĞƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁĞƌĞ EQUITYASSUR ;нϭϬ͘ϬйͿ͕ PRESTIGE ;нϵ͘ϲйͿ ĂŶĚ D E &/d ;нϵ͘ϭйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ / DKE ( ϭϬ͘ϬйͿ͕ K<KDh ( ϭϬ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ JAIZ ( ϵ͘ϰйͿ ůĞĚ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ͘ tĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚŝƐ ďƵůůŝƐŚ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ďĞ ŵĂŝŶƚĂŝŶĞĚ ŝŶ ƐƵďƐĞƋƵĞŶƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶƐ ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƚĂŬĞ ƉŽƐŝƟŽŶ ĂŚĞĂĚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƌĞůĞĂƐĞ ŽĨ ŵŽƌĞ ,ϭ͗ϮϬϭϴ ƌĞƐƵůƚƐ͘ EĞǀĞƌƚŚĞůĞƐƐ͕ ǁĞ ĚŽ ŶŽƚ ƌƵůĞ ŽƵƚ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƐƐŝďŝůŝƚLJ ŽĨ ƉƌŽĮƚ ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ĨŽƵƌ ĐŽŶƐĞĐƵƟǀĞ ĚĂLJƐ ŽĨ ŐĂŝŶƐ͘

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41

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

MARKET NEWS

FMDQ, Thomson Reuters Partner to Strengthen Nigerian Financial Market Goddy Egene Thomson Reuters, providers of intelligent information for businesses and FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange have entered into a strategic collaboration to deepen capacity to help drive liquidity and enhance the visibility of the Nigerian financial market to domestic and international investors.

According to the organisations, they are committed to combine forces to help drive Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global

competitiveness and visibility to global investors.

Speaking on the development, the Managing Director/CEO, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, Mr. Bola Onadele. Koko, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are pleased to be formalising our partnership with Thomson Reuters as we cooperate towards the development of the Nigerian financial markets.

Having sought a like-minded company with similar values and drive to FMDQ, I believe that this partnership will see both parties leveraging on

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sharesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on the

the knowledge, experience, expertise and uniqueness of one another, in a bid to deepen the marketsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; capacity and enhance its visibility to domestic and international investors,â&#x20AC;? he added.

Managing Director for Africa at Thomson Reuters, Sneha Shah, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thomson Reuters has been investing in Nigeria and Africa for over 100 years, and has worked closely with FMDQ and the Central Bank of Nigeria to support the development of the market over the years. FMDQ has been

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 30-July-2018, unless otherwise stated.

a key driver of many of the financial market innovations coming from Nigeria, and these are going to be important for other developing markets as well.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigeria is an economic giant of West Africa and the continent and it is vital that global companies who want to reach the fastest growing markets in the world have access to the opportunities here. We are excited about the opportunity this partnership brings to help drive sustainable long-term investment into

Nigeria.â&#x20AC;?

Part of the action plan includes conducting joint financial markets events that promote transparency and liquidity as well as skills training to educate the market.

The Chairman of FMDQ, Dr. Joseph Nnanna last Friday, at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the company listed the achievements recorded in 2017. â&#x20AC;&#x153;An impressive number 50 debt securities, up 74 per cent from the previous year, with a total value of N236.87 billion,

was admitted on the OTC Exchange. FMDQ recorded a total of 37 Commercial Papers (CPs), 10 Bonds and three Funds quoted and listed on our platform,â&#x20AC;? he said.

He added that the exchange also attracted foreign currencydenominated securities listings to the tune of $4.98 billion, with the Federal Republic of Nigeria making history by listing, for the first time on a Nigerian exchange, its Eurobonds and the inaugural Diaspora Bond on the OTC Exchange.

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 Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund Kedari Investment Fund (KIF)

MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name

Afrinvest Equity Fund Nigeria International Debt Fund ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name ACAP Canary Growth Fund ACAP Income Funds AIICO CAPITAL LTD Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name AIICO Money Market Fund ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name

ARM Aggressive Growth Fund ARM Discovery Fund ARM Ethical Fund ARM Money Market Fund AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name

AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund AXA Mansard Money Market Fund CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name

Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund Paramount Equity Fund Women's Investment Fund CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name

Cordros Money Market Fund CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name

Coronation Money Market Fund Coronation Balanced Fund Coronation Fixed Income Fund EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web:www.ecobank.com , Tel: 012265281 Fund Name

EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name

FBN Fixed Income Fund FBN Heritage Fund FBN Money Market Fund FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Equity Fund Legacy Debt Fund FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Coral Growth Fund Coral Income Fund GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name

Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund Nigeria Entertainment Fund

aaml@afrinvest.com Bid Price

180.17 262.34

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

180.44 1.26% 262.61 13.32% info@acapng.com

Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A ammf@aiicocapital.com Bid Price Offer Price 100.00 100.00

Yield / T-Rtn 12.50%

enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

18.78 389.42 28.72 1.00

19.35 401.16 29.58 1.00

2.81% 0.09% 5.11% 12.55%

investmentcare@axamansard.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

145.80 1.00

146.82 1.00

-3.89% 12.02%

investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

100.00 11.98 103.02

100.00 12.29 105.66

10.64% 8.06% 2.37%

assetmgtteam@cordros.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

100.00

100.00

12.53%

investment@coronationam.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

1.00 1.16 1.14

1.00 1.19 1.17

12.23% 11.09% 9.69%

mutualfundng@ecobank.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

N/A N/A

N/A N/A

N/A N/A

invest@fbnquest.com Bid Price

1,176.44 145.55 100.00 113.89 113.74 167.50

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

1,177.16 8.77% 146.67 4.28% 100.00 12.12% 114.37 3.23% 114.23 3.22% 169.85 4.52% fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com

Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 1.32 1.34 1.40% 3.10 3.10 7.44% coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Bid Price Offer Price 3,079.57 3,111.85 2,669.54 2,669.54

Yield / T-Rtn 3.17% 9.07%

assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

100.00 102.90

100.00 104.32

12.36% 3.15%

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 Vantage Balanced Fund

1.00 2.15

1.00 2.17

12.15% 1.77%

1.00 120.88

1.00 121.20

14.24% 5.08%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD ďŹ ncon@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 1.19 1.21 3.48% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,064.15 1,064.15 5.57% 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 12.76 12.88 -2.39% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.15% 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 11.86% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.76 11.82 6.54% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 10.97% 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 128.23 128.90 -1.04% 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 1.62 1.62 9.12% 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 Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name

United Capital Balanced Fund United Capital Bond Fund United Capital Equity Fund United Capital Money Market Fund United Capital Eurobond Fund United Capital Wealth for Women Fund ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name

Zenith Equity Fund Zenith Ethical Fund Zenith Income Fund Zenith Money Market Fund

2,330.24 184.03 1.01 241.92 173.85 100.00 9,405.72 1.08

2,349.25 184.03 1.03 241.97 175.82 100.00 9,532.52 1.08

3.88% 4.30% 0.99% 9.85% -2.92% 11.86% -2.74% 1.45%

unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

1.21 1.52 0.76 1.00 104.20 1.08

1.22 1.52 0.77 1.00 104.20 1.08

1.67% 6.90% -1.38% 11.50% 4.17% 3.28%

info@zenith-funds.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.71 13.29 20.62 1.00

12.91 13.43 20.62 1.00

0.98% 0.26% 8.98% 11.50%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 136.81 51.45

1.01% 3.28% 1.22%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.04 141.52 107.63

12.24 144.46 109.60

-0.26% -0.94% -1.50%

REITS Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund Union Homes REIT

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 GrifďŹ n 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

4.63 8.58 17.22 17.69 145.47

4.67 8.66 17.32 17.89 147.47

-2.38% -10.33% -1.60% -10.02% 6.28%

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 managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website and FMANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.

42

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

FOREIGN/DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS

Editor: VINCENT OBIA vincent.obia@thisdaylive.com 0805 468 1757

Jean-Pierre Bemba: I’m Returning to Fight through the Ballot Box Former Democratic Republic of Congo Vice President and ex-rebel leader, Jean-Pierre Bemba, plans to return to his country this week from Belgium after the quashing of his conviction for war crimes and crimes against humanity in June by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. Bemba is returning to run for the presidency of DRC in the elections slated for December 23. But the government of President Joseph Kabila says Bemba is not eligible to run because of his previous conviction for corruption.

In Brussels, however, Bemba, who has been out of the DRC for over 10 years, continues to lay the groundwork for his political comeback. He has made his political ambitions clear. He still has significant following in the DRC, with his party, Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), which has nominated him as its presidential candidate for the December polls.

Born in 1962 in Nord-Ubangi, in north-western Congo, Bemba the son of a successful businessman, Jeannot Bemba Saolona, had an extremely privileged childhood.

In 1998, in the thick of the DRC Second Congo War, Bemba began the MLC as an armed group with support from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. During the war fought in the regime of the

R: Force Police current president’s father, then President Laurent Kabila, involved outside intervention, especially Rwanda. The MLC tried to protect

communities which it felt were sympathetic to its cause during the fighting. By repelling the invading Rwandan-backed forces it gained control of much of the north-western parts of the DRC.

MLC also operated beyond the DRC. It was invited into the Central African Republic by then President Ange-Félix Patassé to suppress an alleged coup attempt. Human rights activists accused Bemba and his party of committing human rights abuses during his time in the CAR. During the peace process in the DRC following the signing of the Second Sun City deal in April 2002, Bemba became part of the country’s transitional government. He served as one of four vice presidents under Kabila, who came to power in 2003.

He ran against Kabila in the 2006 presidential poll.

Bemba rejected the results of the 2006 election won by Kabila, with the disagreements degenerating into shooting battles between his troops and those loyal to Kabila.

Many died in the process. He fled the country in 2007 after being accused of treason.

In 2008 Bemba was arrested in Brussels. His trial at the ICC began in 2010 and he was convicted in 2016 and sentenced to 18 years in jail. But in June this year, the ICC overturned the conviction after he had spent almost a decade in jail.

Bemba discusses his return to the DRC and presidential ambition with BBC, in this interview monitored by Vincent Obia. Excerpts:

On why he thinks he is the suitable candidate to lead the DRC. I don’t want to be arrogant, but my experience in the last 25 years now, I have run territory, I have organised security in a territory… I have run economy as vice president. I am very confident that I can bring solution to my country.

On his alleged involvement in war crimes committed by militiamen in the Central African Republic, crimes that remain fresh in the memories of the victims, and whether he feels a moral responsibility towards the victims.

I have my sympathy for the victims. Of course in every country, it is something horrible to be a victim. I am very sad for what I hear from Central African Republic up till now. For the last, probably, 18 years that this country are fighting among themselves. I hope that they will get a safe process to bring peace to that country because they deserve it.

On happenings in Central African Republic.

CAR is on border with Congo, north of Congo, and they are brothers and sisters.

It’s very sad, what happened there. A lot of refugees crossing South Africa and coming to the north of Congo.

On his relationship with President Kabila today.

I have been absent for the last 10 years and I have no relationship with President Kabila.

On whether there have been no contacts.

There have been no contacts with President Kabila as well.

On whether he would be ready to sit down and have talks with Kabila.

Yes, of course, I will, as always, not just for today, even for tomorrow. We can all live together with the opposition; the majority today will be the opposition tomorrow.

On his rejection of the 2006 presidential election results, the consequent armed conflict, and whether he would take up arms again if he disagrees with the December election results.

No. We gave up all our guns and arms and we became a political party. So this story of gun is over for MLC and any fight is through the votes now. That’s what we want to achieve.

In Brief Zimbabwe’s MDC Alliance ClaimsVictory

Zimbabwe’s opposition said Tuesday that its candidate, Nelson Chamisa, won Monday’s presidential election. The MDC Alliance said the ruling Zanu-PF party was attempting to rig the vote to allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to win, and decried the delay in releasing official results. The electoral commission urged patience, saying it needs time to collate the votes. The polls were the first since long-serving ruler Robert Mugabe was ousted. The election attracted a high turnout of 70 per cent and was monitored by international observers.

Speaking at a press conference in the capital, Harare, the MDC Alliance’s Tendai Biti said there was a clear attempt by Zanu-PF to interfere “with the people’s will”. He warned the party not to “plunge Zimbabwe into chaos”. The opposition announcement pre-empted official results. A Zanu-PF spokesman told the BBC he had “no clue” what Mr Biti was talking about. And Home Affairs Minister Obert Mpofu said those who violated election rules by prematurely declaring victory risked incurring the “wrath of the law”.

US: North Korea Committed To Denuclearise

The United States is holding North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un to the commitment he made during a June summit with U.S. President Donald Trump to denuclearise, a State Department spokeswoman said on Tuesday after U.S. spy satellite material showed renewed activity at a North Korean missile factory, Reuters reported. “What we are going on is the commitment that Chairman Kim made to our president, and that is the commitment to denuclearise and that is something we anticipate he will hold up his end of the bargain,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing for reporters. She also left open the possibility of follow-up denuclearisation talks between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean officials on the side-lines of Southeast Asian meetings in Singapore at the weekend.

Facebook Bans Pages Aimed At US Election Facebook said it had removed 32 accounts and pages believed to have been set up to influence the mid-term US elections in November, according to BBC. It said it was in the “very early” stages of the investigation and did not yet know who was behind the pages. It said the creators had gone to greater lengths to hide their identities than a Russia-based campaign to disrupt the 2016 presidential vote. It described attempts to erase election interference as an “arms race.” The social network said in a blog that it had identified 17 suspect profiles on Facebook and seven Instagram accounts. It said that there were more than 9,500 Facebook posts created by the accounts and one piece of content on Instagram. In total, more than 290,000 accounts followed at least one of the pages involved, it added.

Iran Rejects ‘Unreliable’ Trump’s Talks Offer President Donald Trump’s surprise declaration that he was willing to meet with Iran’s leadership without “preconditions” was met with deep distrust in Tehran, just as Washington’s top diplomat walked back some of the US president’s comments. On Monday, a week after threatening Iran and nearly three months after withdrawing the United States from a landmark multinational nuclear dear with Tehran, Trump offered to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss how to improve ties. In response, Bahram Qasemi, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, said on Tuesday that Trump’s offer contradicted his actions, pointing to the US’ moves to impose sanctions on Iran and put pressure on other countries to avoid conducting business with it. “Sanctions and pressures are the exact opposite of dialogue,” Qasemi was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1, 2018

43

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

GOVERNMENT OF AKWA IBOM STATE

RURAL ACCESS AND AGRICULTURAL MARKETING PROJECT GOVERNOR’S OFFICE MULTI-PROJECT COMPLEX PLOT 7, G-LINE, EWET HOUSING ESTATE, UYO, AKWA IBOM STATE. PROJECT ID: ISSUE DATE:

P163353 31st July, 2018

CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR DETAILED CONCEPT DESIGN, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT, PREPARATION OF BIDDING DOCUMENTS AND PROCUREMENT SUPPORT FOR REHABILITATION OF ABOUT 500KM PRIORITIZED RURAL ROADS UNDER DESIGN AND BUILD CONTRACTS IN AKWA IBOM STATE. Reference No: AKS/RAAMP/CON/QCBS/2018/VOL.1/01

ŬǁĂ /ďŽŵ ^ƚĂƚĞ 'ŽǀĞƌŶŵĞŶƚ ŶŽǁ ŝŶǀŝƚĞƐ ĞůŝŐŝďůĞ ĐŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ ĮƌŵƐ ;͞ ŽŶƐƵůƚĂŶƚƐ͟Ϳ ƚŽ ŝŶĚŝĐĂƚĞ ƚŚĞŝƌ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ ƉƌŽǀŝĚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ^ĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ͘ The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of /ŶƚĞƌĞƐƚĞĚ ŽŶƐƵůƚĂŶƚƐ ƐŚŽƵůĚ ƉƌŽǀŝĚĞ ŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶ ĚĞŵŽŶƐƚƌĂƟŶŐ &ŝŶĂŶĐĞ ŚĂƐ ĂƉƉůŝĞĚ ĨŽƌ ĮŶĂŶĐŝŶŐ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ /ŶƚĞƌŶĂƟŽŶĂů ĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞLJ ŚĂǀĞ ƚŚĞ ƌĞƋƵŝƌĞĚ ƋƵĂůŝĮĐĂƟŽŶƐ ĂŶĚ ƌĞůĞǀĂŶƚ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ƚŽ ƐƐŽĐŝĂƟŽŶ ;/ Ϳ ʹ dŚĞ tŽƌůĚ ĂŶŬ ĂŶĚ &ƌĞŶĐŚ ĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ ŐĞŶĐLJ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵ ƚŚĞ ^ĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ͘ ; & Ϳ ĂŶĚ ŽŶͲůĞŶƚ ƚŚĞ ĮŶĂŶĐŝŶŐ ƚŽ ŬǁĂ /ďŽŵ ^ƚĂƚĞ ƚŽǁĂƌĚƐ ƚŚĞ ĐŽƐƚ ŽĨ ƌĞŚĂďŝůŝƚĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ƉƌŝŽƌŝƟnjĞĚ ƌƵƌĂů ƌŽĂĚƐ ĂŶĚ ƌŝǀĞƌ ĐƌŽƐƐŝŶŐƐ͕ /ŶƚĞƌĞƐƚĞĚ ŽŶƐƵůƚĂŶƚƐ ĂƌĞ ĞŶĐŽƵƌĂŐĞĚ ƚŽ ƉƌŽǀŝĚĞ ǀĞƌŝĮĂďůĞ ŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶ ĐŽŶƐƚƌƵĐƟŽŶͬƌĞŚĂďŝůŝƚĂƟŽŶ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ĞƐƚĂďůŝƐŚŵĞŶƚ ŽĨ ĂŐƌŽ ĚĞŵŽŶƐƚƌĂƟŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĨƵůĮůůŵĞŶƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐƌŝƚĞƌŝĂ ŝŶ ĨŽƌŵ ŽĨ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚ ƉƌŽĮůĞ ůŽŐŝƐƟĐƐ ŚƵďƐ ĂŶĚ ŝŶƐƟƚƵƟŽŶĂů ĚĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ ƵŶĚĞƌ ƚŚĞ ZƵƌĂů ĐĐĞƐƐ ƐƚĂƟŶŐ͗ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚ ŶĂŵĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ůŽĐĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚ͕ ƚŚĞ ŶĂŵĞ ĂŶĚ ĂŶĚ ŐƌŝĐƵůƚƵƌĂů DĂƌŬĞƟŶŐ WƌŽũĞĐƚ ;Z DWͿ͘ /ƚ ŝƐ ŝŶƚĞŶĚĞĚ ƚŚĂƚ ƉĂƌƚ ĂĚĚƌĞƐƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐůŝĞŶƚͬďĞŶĞĮĐŝĂƌLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ŶĂŵĞ;ƐͿ ŽĨ ĂƐƐŽĐŝĂƚĞĚ Įƌŵ;ƐͿ ŝĨ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽĐĞĞĚƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĮŶĂŶĐŝŶŐ ǁŝůů ďĞ ĂƉƉůŝĞĚ ƚŽ ĞůŝŐŝďůĞ ƉĂLJŵĞŶƚƐ ĂŶLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ĚƵƌĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĂƐƐŝŐŶŵĞŶƚ͕ ƚŚĞ ǀĂůƵĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚ ĂŶĚ Ă ƵŶĚĞƌ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚ ĨŽƌ ĐŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ ƐĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ͘ ďƌŝĞĨ ŶĂƌƌĂƟǀĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚ͘ dŚĞ ĐŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ ƐĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ ;͞ƚŚĞ ^ĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ͟Ϳ ŝŶĐůƵĚĞƐ

<ĞLJ džƉĞƌƚƐ ǁŝůů ŶŽƚ ďĞ ĞǀĂůƵĂƚĞĚ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ƐŚŽƌƚůŝƐƟŶŐ ƐƚĂŐĞ͘

;ŝͿ WƌĞƉĂƌĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ĞƚĂŝůĞĚ ŽŶĐĞƉƚ ĞƐŝŐŶ ĂŶĚ ŝĚĚŝŶŐ ŽĐƵŵĞŶƚƐ ĨŽƌ ĂďŽƵƚ ϱϬϬ<D ŽĨ ŵŽƐƚůLJ ƌƵƌĂů ƌŽĂĚƐ ŝŶ ŬǁĂ /ďŽŵ ^ƚĂƚĞ͕ ƵŶĚĞƌ ĚĞƐŝŐŶ ĂŶĚ ďƵŝůĚ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚƐ͕ ŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐ Ă ƐŚŽƌƚ ƉĞƌŝŽĚ ŽĨ ŵĂŝŶƚĞŶĂŶĐĞ͘ dŚĞ ĐŽŶĐĞƉƚ ĚĞƐŝŐŶ ĂŶĚ ďŝĚŝŶŐ ĚŽĐƵŵĞŶƚ ƉƌĞƉĂƌĂƟŽŶ ƐŚĂůů ďĞ ďĂƐĞĚ ŽŶ ĚĞƚĂŝůĞĚ ĞŶŐŝŶĞĞƌŝŶŐ ĚĞƐŝŐŶ ĂŶĚ ďŝůů ŽĨ ƋƵĂŶƟƟĞƐ ƚŚĂƚ ǁŝůů ďĞ ŝƐƐƵĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ďŝĚĚŝŶŐ ĚŽĐƵŵĞŶƚƐ ĨŽƌ ƌĞĨĞƌĞŶĐĞ ƉƵƌƉŽƐĞ͘

dŚĞ ƐŚŽƌƚͲůŝƐƟŶŐ ĐƌŝƚĞƌŝĂ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ džƉƌĞƐƐŝŽŶƐ ŽĨ /ŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ; K/Ϳ ĂƌĞ ƉƌŽǀŝĚĞĚ ĂƐ ĂŶ ĂŶŶĞdž ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĚƌĂŌ dKZ ĨŽƌ ƚŚŝƐ ĂƐƐŝŐŶŵĞŶƚ ĂŶĚ ĐĂŶ ďĞ ĨŽƵŶĚ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ǁĞďƐŝƚĞ͗ www.ramp.gov.ng

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ŬǁĂ /ďŽŵ ^ƚĂƚĞ WƌŽũĞĐƚ /ŵƉůĞŵĞŶƚĂƟŽŶ hŶŝƚ ;^W/hͿ ZƵƌĂů ĐĐĞƐƐ ĂŶĚ ŐƌŝĐƵůƚƵƌĂů DĂƌŬĞƟŶŐ WƌŽũĞĐƚ ;Z DWͿ WůŽƚ ϳ͕ 'Ͳ>ŝŶĞ ǁĞƚ ,ŽƵƐŝŶŐ ƐƚĂƚĞ͕ hLJŽ dĞůĞƉŚŽŶĞͬ'^D нϮϯϰϴϬϯϲϲϳϬϯϳϮ ŵĂŝů ĚĚƌĞƐƐ͗ ĂŬǁĂŝďŽŵƌĂŵƉΛŐŵĂŝů͘ĐŽŵ ŽŶƚĂĐƚ WĞƌƐŽŶ͗ ůĚĞƌ 'ŝĚĞŽŶ ĞƉŚĂƐ ŬƉĂŶ

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Orji Kalu Loses Bid to Stop N7.2bn Corruption Trial Davidson Iriekpen The Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday dismissed the no-case application filed by a former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu.

Kalu is standing trial since he left office in 2007 for allegedly misappropriating N7.6billion belonging to the state.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed a 39-count charge against the former governor and his company, Slok Nigeria Limited and Ude Udeogu, who served under him as the Director of Finance and Accounts at the Abia State Government House.

Recently, the former governor

filed a response to the charges pressed against him by the anti-graft agency.

But in his ruling, Justice Mohammed Idris, said Kalu had some explanations to make particularly on certain documents tendered by the EFCC as exhibits in the evidence against him.

The same fate befell the similar no-case submissions filed by his co-defendants.

The EFCC first arraigned Kalu in 2007. But after the former governor challenged the charges at the Court of Appeal and later at the Supreme Court and lost, the apex court asked the High Court to continue the trial.

On October 31, 2016, the accused were re-arraigned before

Justice Idris.

They pleaded not guilty to the charges, following which the EFCC opened its case, calling 19 witnesses and tendering a load of exhibits.

At the conclusion of the prosecution’s case however, the defendants filed no-case submission, arguing that the EFCC failed to link them to any crime.

They urged Justice Idris to dismiss the charges and set

them free.

The judge, however, disagreed with them in yesterday’s ruling, holding that they have explanations to make as to the fraud allegations pressed against them.

The judge held: “The prosecution called 19 witnesses and tendered a number of exhibits which have been thoroughly examined. Going through the evidence of these witnesses, it appears to me

that if taken as unchallenged and uncontroverted, some link might be established between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants and some of the alleged offences in the light of Exhibits B1-B18; in the light of Exhibit D34; in the light of Exhibits D51-D68; in the light of Exhibits A58-F93; in the light of Exhibit H; in the light of Exhibit J2; in the light of Exhibit L; in the light of Exhibits N1-N15; in the of Exhibits P33-P34; in the light of Exhibits Q1-Q30; in the

light of Exhibits T, H and U. “I will stop there and I will say no more.… I am of the view that the defendants have some explanations to make in the light of the exhibits and the evidence so far led. Again, I will say no more. The no-case submission is dismissed.”

The judge called on the defendants to open their defence, reminding the parties that he had September ending deadline to finish the case.

SON Evacuates Unfortified Food Products from Markets Nationwide The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has commenced an aggressive nationwide evacuation of unfortified food products in the country.

The Director General of SON, Osita Aboloma, yesterday said the exercise was in line with both the present administration and international organisation’s food fortification programme aimed at ensuring that Nigerian children and women have access to basic nutrients and vitamins for good health and development.

However, SON enforcement team for Alabarago markets and its environs in Lagos, led by Bede Obayi, yesterday seized loads of unfortified bagged granulated sugar from the various markets.

Speaking during the exercise, Aboloma disclosed that the exercise was conducted simultaneously in the 36 states in the federation, including Abuja. ”We have decided to go all out to ensure that the standards for flour, pasta, sugar and salt

(food fortified products) meet the minimum requirement of the standards. After being consumed by Nigerians, we must get the quality nutrients we deserve.

“Children and women suffer malnutrition when these food items are not certified. Lack of fortification of food also leads to stunted growth and child mortality and this is why these fortified foods have been supported by the international agencies as partners to ensure that Nigerian children and women grow like other children and women in other parts of the world,” he said.

“These food vehicles have been carefully selected because they are food items consumed by every Nigerian. These products are smuggled into the Nigerian markets, and this is why our Inspectorate and Compliance department is all out to ensure that wherever these products are being smuggled into in the country, we do the needful,” he said.

Court Frees 100 Shi’ites Members in Detention The Kaduna State High Court yesterday freed nearly 100 members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shi’ites group, that were arrested at various locations in December 2015 following a clash between the group and the Nigerian Army.

Justice Shiri Nyom in his judgement in the “no case submission” filed by the defence lawyers on the case brought before her, discharged and acquitted the sect members of the charges levelled against them as contained in a statement signed by the President Media Forum of the IMN, Ibrahim Musa and made available to newsmen.

According to the statement, “This judgement has not only vindicated the members of the Islamic movement in Nigeria, but it is certainly a victory for perseverance in the face of extreme persecution. It is a victory for truth and justice against tyranny and impunity,” said the statement.

The Islamic movement further stated, “It will be recalled that the Kaduna state government sued almost about 200 members of the Islamic Movement after an attack on the movement by the Nigerian Army in December 2015 which led to the killing of over a thousand souls, including three sons of the Sheikh Zakzaky, his elder sister and a nephew.

“The attack was sequel to the unlawful invasion of the privacy of their residence and eventual destruction of the house completely. This has been aptly described by several human rights bodies as a massacre. To worsen these flagrant crimes against humanity, bodies of all the hundreds killed were hurriedly and secretly buried in mass graves about 100 km away from the scene, apparently in a shoddy attempt at hiding the crime and its magnitude.”

The sect group reiterated its call for the release of its leader Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky and his wife who have equally been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), “We are all aware of the crude tactics of the Kaduna State government led

by Malam Nasir el-Rufai all in his devilish plots at perpetuating the persecution against the Islamic movement and the continued detention incommunicado of Zakzaky and his ailing wife in spite of previous court judgement ordering their immediate release from detention, thereby further flaunting his fundamental rights and rights to liberty.

“With this victory in the court today, the false charges filed against them of aiding and abetting the culpable homicide has been punctured for good,” he said.

UNVEILING IMPRESSIVE RESULTS

L-R: Chief Financial Officer, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) Plc, Mutiu Bakare; Executive Director, Transcorp Plc, Christopher Ezeafulukwe; Managing Director/CEO, Transcorp Hotels Plc, Valentine Ozigbo; President/CEO, Transcorp Plc, Adim Jibunoh; Executive Director, Transcorp Plc, Owen Omogiafo, and CEO, Transcorp Power Limited, Kalyana Sundaram, during the analyst/media parley hosted by Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc in Lagos...yesterday

SARAKI, AHMED, IBETO FINALLY DEFECT TO PDP PDP Welcomes Defectors The PDP swiftly welcomed them into its fold yesterday.

The party in a statement the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said the coming of Saraki, Ahmed and Ibeto could not have been at a better time than this when the nation required the input of genuine patriots that would save her from an impending decline.

The party deplored the harassment and intimidation that the duo of Saraki and Ahmed had suffered in the hands of “the disintegrating APC, which they helped to build and nurtured to win elections.”

PDP said Saraki conducted the affairs of the Senate in reflection of the wishes of the silent majority of Nigerians and had emerged a hero of democracy.

“The party has no doubts that Senator Saraki, Governor Ahmed and Ibeto will contribute immensely to the new order that engender good governance in our nation,” it said, assuring all returning

members of all the rights and privileges accruable to every member of our party.

APC Queries Saraki Miffed by the move Saraki, the National Working Committee of APC yesterday asked him to respond within 48 hours why disciplinary action should not to be taken against him for breaching article 21 of the constitution of the party.

The party in a resolution signed by the National Secretary of the party, Mai Maila Buni, said the Senate president had allegedly flouted the laws of the party with his activities.

Some of the allegations raised against him included that he encouraged and facilitated by providing of an enabling environment for the defection of some senators, who are members of the APC to the other opposition parties.

A resolution of the party contained in a statement issued yesterday night by the Chief Press Secretary to the National Chairman, Mr. Simon Ebegbulem, the party accused the Senate president

of blocking the screening of Buhari’s nominees at the Senate, thereby embarrassing the party.

The party leadership also accused Saraki of organising a rally at which members of the party urged him to decamp to PDP. Saraki’s former party further accused him of deliberately causing delays in the passage of national budgets and using his official guest house to host meetings where defection plans were hatched.

The resolution demanded that the senate president responds the allegations or face sanctions.

Abdullahi: I’m Still in the Party With the movement of Saraki, speculations were rife yesterday that one of his close associates and APC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, might have resigned to join his mentor in the PDP. But he told THISDAY last night that he was still in the APC and that whatever he intended to do would be

made public in due course.

Tambuwal Defects to PDP Today with 23 Assembly Members Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State is expected to announce his movement from the APC to the PDP today (Wednesday), a close political associate of the governor told THISDAY in Abuja last night. ‘’Finally, Governor Tambuwal will announce his defection from APC to PDP tomorrow; he is moving with 23 out of 30 members of the Sokoto State House of Assembly; all his cabinet members and local government chairmen,’’ the source stated.

THISDAY further gathered his switching of party today will be followed by his declaration for the presidential race under the platform of PDP in the next few days.

Tambuwal was said to have left Abuja last night after attending the burial ceremony of late wife of the former National Security Adviser, General Muhammed Gausu (rtd) in Zamfara State.

SARAKI’S DEFECTION ALTERS BALANCE OF POWER IN THE SENATE “The United States Capitol Police has the primary responsibility for protecting life and property; preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal acts; and enforcing traffic regulations throughout a large complex of congressional buildings, parks, and thoroughfares. The Capitol Police has exclusive jurisdiction within all buildings and grounds of the United States Capitol

complex as well as the Library of Congress. It also has concurrent jurisdiction with other law enforcement agencies, including the United States Park Police and the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, in an area of approximately 200 blocks around the complex.

“Officers also have jurisdiction throughout the District of

Columbia to take enforcement action when they observe or are made aware of crimes of violence while on official duties.

Additionally, they are charged with the protection of members of Congress, officers of Congress, and their families throughout the entire United States, its territories and possessions, and the District of Columbia.

While performing protective

functions, the Capitol Police have jurisdiction throughout the entire United States.”

Analysts contend that replication of this in Nigeria would go a long way to protect the independence of the legislature and immunise it from the overbearing interference from the executive, adding, however, that this should be in addition to the creation of State Police.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1. 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Lagos Bans Hijab in Schools, Pending Supreme Court Decision Gboyega Akinsanmi The Lagos State Government yesterday noted that it would not allow the use of Hijab in all its public schools until the Supreme Court “determines an appeal seeking to upturn the decision of a Court of Appeal.”

The state government equally clarified that religious institutions were exempted from paying taxes, according

to the state laws, though any religious institution engaging in commercial activities was liable to pay taxes, accordingly.

The State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr. Abdulateef Abdulhakeem on a Television Continental (TVC) programme, ‘YourView’ yesterday, said the state government would not enforce the appellate court’s decision on the use of Hijab.

A Court of Appeal sitting

in Lagos had in July 2016 unanimously set aside the judgment of a Lagos High Court, which banned students in public schools in the state from putting on the Hijab with their school uniforms.

The court presided over by Justice AB Gumel held that the appeal was meritorious and should be allowed. Gumel held that the use of the Hijab was an Islamic injunction and

also an act of worship, hence it would constitute a violation of the appellants’ rights to stop them from wearing it in public schools.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the appellate court, the state government approached the apex court, challenging the court decision, which reinstated the use of Hijab in the state’s public schools on July 21, 2016.

Confronted with a question on the refusal of the state government to enforce the court decision on the use of Hijab, Abdulhakeem noted that the state government “firmly believes in the rule of law and will continue to uphold it.”

He explained that the state government did not enforce the judgment of the appellate court, which reinstated the use

of Hijab in the public schools on July 21, 2016 until the state government had already appealed the judgment.

According to the commissioner, the state government is awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court on this matter. We cannot enforce the decision of the lower court until the Supreme Court determines the appeal before it.

FG APPOINTS TCN TO MANAGE N72BN PLANNED INVESTMENT IN DISCOS Speaking on the failures of the Discos, and why he considered their excuses untenable, Mohammed said: “The reality of the matter is that we need investments in the Discos. Some of you may not know, but those you who have the opportunity of entering Benin Republic know that 80 per cent of electricity that is consumed in Benin and Togo is coming from Nigeria.

“Go there, you will see stable power, we at the transmission network are the one taking power to them, why is it that they have stable power but we don’t have here, it is because our distribution network is weak. Go to Togo and see how a distribution network is,” he added.

Investors Ready to Return Discos’ Assets Meanwhile, the private investors that bought the power assets have indicated that they would return the assets to the federal government within 24 hours once they get paid what is due to them in compensation.

The investors said in a media briefing in Abuja that the current environment under which they operate is not conducive for them to upgrade their networks as demanded by the power minister.

The Chairman of Jos Disco, Mr. Tukur Modibbo, who spoke on behalf of the investors, alleged that the government handed over poorly run networks to them, and promised to help them stabilise them after they took over but failed in its promise.

Moddibo also alleged that the investors were deceived by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) which asked them to conduct independent studies on the Aggregate Technical Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) loss levels and then come back to renegotiate their operational indicators. He said the NERC subsequently refused to accept the final outcome of the studies, thereby leaving them with huge ATC&C losses.

When asked why the investors were still in the business of power distribution despite the numerous complaints of poor operational conditions they had consistently put forward, Modibbo said: “We bought our distribution company (Jos Disco) cash down for $82 million in 2013. We are willing to take $72 million in 24 hours to leave.

“Yes, if you have $72 million from Fashola, we are giving him $10 million discount. Let him pay us, and in 24 hours

we will hand over the Disco. I am ready to quit in 24 hours.”

The Chief Operating Officer of Ibadan Disco, Mr. John Ayodele, also supported Modibbo’s position, saying that the investors would be willing to leave the Discos within 10 minutes of getting their monies back from the government.

“Everybody, including the minister say we know what we bought, that we walked into it consciously. Yes, agreed, but you have just been told and it is a fact I can attest to, the due diligence that we did was merely due diligence in name because I participated in it,” he said.

Similarly, the Executive Director for Research and Advocacy of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr. Sunday Oduntan, in his remarks said the investor would not just quit without getting paid their invested monies.

According to Oduntan: “In the last five years, we have twice put in for force majeure, telling the government, please, take your license, give us our money back, we are no more interested in running the business and the government on both occasions refused. The last was last year.

“So, the issue of us not quitting, and I am sure you will agree with me that somebody who has put in so much money cannot just walk away without getting his money back and we all know what happened to Yola in terms of payment after the investor had put force majeure and left long ago and promises were made to pay them their money back, up till now, payment has not been made.”

Seek Closure of N1.3tn Funding Gap Giving a fresh condition for them to meet the federal government’s expectations, Oduntan explained that the current N1.3 trillion financial gap created by the sector’s non-cost reflective tariff, must be addressed by the federal government.

“Categorically, until the tariff gap is addressed by the government, we do not see a pathway to meeting both commitments. However, we make our consumers a promise that if this gap is addressed and addressed holistically, we commit to ensuring that improvement in our service delivery is ramped up, and electricity distribution turned around in three to four years,” he added.

PENSION PAYMENT

R-L: Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, presenting cheques to next-of-kin of pension beneficiaries, Patience Iyawe (middle); and Osahenrunmwen Iyawe (left), who are next-of-kin to deceased employees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, at the Government House, Benin City...yesterday

Containerised Bulk Cargo Haulage Spikes Growth at Ikorodu Lighter Terminal Sunday Okobi As part of the efforts of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to further decongest the traffic gridlock on Apapa port axis, the Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala-Usman, in February this year flagged off the first export consignment of manganese, a solid mineral resource from the Ikorodu lighter terminal to Apapa port.

This initiative, the Authority said, had since resulted in the movement of almost 2,000 truck equivalents of containers and other bulk cargos from Apapa port access road by leading FMCG trading and manufacturing companies

moving goods mainly of solid minerals and agro commodity exports.

Since then, the operations at the terminal have been on the high, according to NPA. In 2017, the estimated cargo throughput in Apapa and TinCan Island ports, according to reports from the NPA, was put at 67 per cent of the overall country’s’ imports and exports.

The report stated that the Lagos State ports, being the preferred ports, have been faced with the problem of delay in cargo evacuation, which has led to port congestion and huge traffic queues.

It was also noted in the report that several times,

‘cosmetic’ attempts have been made to clear the Apapa traffic, but as soon as the media attention dies down, the gridlock creeps back. “It is estimated that the economy loses about N20 billion daily due to the gridlock, which is the country’s premier port,” it said.

According to the Managing Director of Connect Maritime Services Limited, Edeme Kelikume, embracing intermodal logistic solutions such as the barge services moving cargo to and from Apapa to NPA Ikorodu Lighter Terminal would significantly contribute to solving part of the chaotic traffic situation

currently been experienced in the state.

Figures from the NPA, the report noted, shows that container traffic statistics at the country’s sea ports have more than tripled since 2007.

Kelikume said: “This ordinarily should be good news as it is an indication that the economy is expanding.

However, in the case of Nigeria, this has become a challenge because the infrastructure to support this growth in cargo has actually deteriorated.”

He added that globally, Nigeria is no longer a desired shipping destination because of the longer turnaround time for ships coming to the country.

Youth Coalition Adopts BTO for House in 2019 A coalition of youth groups in the Northern senatorial district of Ondo State under the aegis of Akoko Youth Coalition (AYC) has adopted Bunmi Tunji-Ojo popularly called BTO, as its candidate to represent Akoko North East/North West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives in 2019.

The coalition in a statement jointly signed by its Coordinator, Olawale Mutiu and Secretary, Adesewa Oyewole, yesterday, said the decision to adopt BTO as its

sole candidate, among others, was reached after several months of assessing the manifestoes and profiles of the major aspirants from all the political parties jostling for the position.

AYC said: “We took our time to study the profiles and manifestos of the major aspirants who have declared interest in the seat, because we don’t want 2019 to be business as usual.

“From our assessment, Tunji-Ojo stands out, not just for his youthfulness,

but also for his credibility, competence and capability.

Among all the aspirants, he also stands out as one whose wealth of experience in the private and public sectors would be brought to bear in the office to transform the landscape of the constituency when elected.

“A candidate who is highly exposed, experienced and have strong relationship with both young and old, have contributed immensely to the development of the society is what this constituency

needs at the moment.

Such candidate when elected would no doubt be accountable to the people and also deliver greater dividends of democracy to the constituency.”

The group however, urged the All Progressives Congress (APC), which BTO belongs to, not to make the mistake of fielding an unpopular candidate in the constituency, because the youths in the constituency have adopted the most respected candidate among all its aspirants.

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WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

CAA 2018

Asaba Agog as 52 Countries Begin Battles for Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Top Athletics Honours The Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba is set for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opening ceremony of the 21st African Senior Athletics Championship where the best of the continentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s track & field stars will be on parade.

Nigeria last topped the medal table three editions ago, at Porto Novo in Benin in 2012 with South Africa winning the next two editions in 2014 and 2016 on home soil.

Already, over 52 countries have registered their presence in Asaba to be part of the continental athletics showpiece.

N i g e r i a â&#x20AC;&#x2122; s Commonwealth Games gold medalist in Gold Coast, Australia, Tobiloba Amusan, said yesterday that as the best in the women 100m hurdles from the continent this year, she was hoping to win the gold medal especially competing at home.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am really excited to race here in Asaba for the championship. It is a thing of joy to see such a facility that is of international standard,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Without any doubt, no one is better than me because I have the trust in myself and what I have been able to put in place, however, I am expecting

a stiff competition from my colleagues coming for the championships. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just want to execute my race and focus on myself, all the athletes coming are pretty good and who put up the best efforts will definitely win the gold medal.â&#x20AC;?

Also, former junior international, Divine

Oduduru, who has been making waves for his school in the American NCAA, believes the time has come for him to add the African senior title to the gold medals he won few years ago while competing as junior.

Nigeria have some strong home prospects including Ese Brume in the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

long jump, Queen Obisesan in the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hammer and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100m and 200m specialist Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor, who is set for stiff opposition from the Ivorians on parade.

It was 29 years ago in Lagos that Nigeria last hosted the African Championship.

Ikeja Golf Club Unveils 50th Anniversary Celebration Plans The management of Ikeja Golf Club has announced activities scheduled for the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 50th anniversary celebrations. The announcement was made yesterday during an interactive session with media men at the Committee Room of the club at Ikeja GRA. The anniversary celebration, according to the Club Captain, Mr. Bola Temowo,has as theme: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Half a Century of Growing Friendships through Golfâ&#x20AC;?.

Among activities scheduled to hold in the coming month as part of the celebrations are a series of golf tournaments, including a Pro-Am tournament.

The club, he also disclosed, will execute a projects aimed at improving the utility of the club.

In addition, said Temowo, the club will honour its founding fathers.

Temowo noted that the club has contributed to the society by forging long-lasting friendships that have withstood religious, political and ethnic cleavages since 1968 when it was established. He also stated that the club has assisted members to remain healthy by their continued involvement in the game, which demands

that players walk over great distances when playing the game. Walking, Temowo explained, is globally regarded as a most important form of exercise.

The club, he added, began with 20 members and a 10-hole course, but now sits astride over 30 acres.

Also speaking at the press conference, Mr. Chuddy Ubosi, Chairman of the 50thAnniversary Committee and former captain, said the Ikeja Golf Club has, over the years, been involved in a series of community improvement projects. These, he stated, extending support to a school and other public facilities in the neighbourhood.

Other members in attendance at the press conference were Messrs. Jolomi Ideh, the Vice Captain; Hakeem Akintoye, Secretary; Mr. Kehinde Afolayan, Treasurer; Chidi Tobias, Course Member; Babatunde Ojo, Competition Secretary; Uche Dimgba, House Member; Aka Annieodiong, Handicap Member; Mrs. Oby Jolayemi, the Vice Captain, Ladiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Section; and Mrs. Yeyedupe Oyeduntan.

International Pairs Golf Train Moves to P/Harcourt With the completion of the Lagos leg of the ongoing International Pairs regional qualifiers, attention now shifts to Port Harcourt, the River State capital where golfers from the South-south and South-east region will fight for the 15-slots available for the region. .

The Lagos qualifiers which featured golfers drawn from the South-west region saw the pair of Tim Ayomike and Akeem Lawal emerging victorious.

They emerge winner out of the 41-Pairs that took part in competition. The duo grossed a total of 66-stableford points to lead the pack of 20 teams that made the finals.

Other winners in the keenly contested encounter are the pair of S. Winston and Emmanuel Oluoha with 62-points, Evelyn Oyome and Biodun Oyewoga, 61-points, Amaechi Ndili and Njide Ndili 59-points, Joe Oduah and Raphael Adewale, 58-points, Charles Idowu and Keneath Osuji 58-points among others.

Speaking shortly after being crowned the regional champions, Ayomike and Lawal restated their determination to go all the way to winning the coveted International Pairs trophy in Portugal, saying they are confident that they will win in Uyo and represent Nigeria in the world finals.

The winners will be given an all expense paid trip to Portugal in November.

Satisfied by the outcome of the competition Olukoya said the numbers of qualifiers has to be increased from 15-pairs to 20-pairs. He said this became necessary in view of the numbers of participants and good showing by most of the players. He explained further that because of the good performance of most of the players, the Cut-off of 50-stableford points was eventually arrived at.

Air France, one of the event sponsors representative at the closing ceremony pledged his outfitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s continuous support for golf.

Delta State Government, Ifeanyi Okowa (middle); President of International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), Lord Sebastian Coe (right) and the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA),Hamad Kalkaba Malboum, during a courtesy call on the Governor, yesterday in Government House Asaba, Delta State.

NFF Emergency Congress Holds in Benin City Sports Ministry Perm Sec warns civil servants to stay away

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The Edo Football Association in collaboration with the Edo State Government will today and tomorrow host the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) emergency congress.

A statement from the Edo FA signed by Frank Ilaboya indicated that the two-day event from August 1 - 2, would also have in attendance, stakeholders in football administration including the Nigeria Professional Football League, (NPEL) Nigeria National League (NNL), the Nigeria Nationwide League (NNWL).

Others expected at the meeting are the Nigeria Referee Association (NRA), Nigeria Coaches Association (NCA) among other stakeholders.

The statement added that the hosting of the 88 statutory delegates to the stakeholders meeting besides justifying the Godwin Obaseki administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s huge investment in sports development, typifies the acceptance of the leadership role in the has assumed in the sports circles.

Ilaboya said the meeting is a confirmation of the philosophy of the Obaseki administration that sports if properly harnessed is a major contributor to the socioeconomic development of any society. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This bears an eternal testimony to the strategic leadership qualities of the Edo State Governor and the strengthening of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position as leader in sports development across Nigeria.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Edo people appreciate the development brought about by the special focus on investment in sports which is today transforming the lives of youths and thereby boosting the social and economic life of the people. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The multiple impacts of this hosting is unquantifiable; its impacts on Benin City and the Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy will be felt in many positive waysâ&#x20AC;?.

Edo FA acknowledged the invaluable contribution and sublime leadership of its chairman Hon Frank Ilaboya which made Edo the popular choice for the congress.

Meanwhile, in a move aimed at truncating the gathering, the Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth Development warned civil servants working at the Glass House in Abuja to stay away from the NFF Congress in Benin City.

The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Olusade Adeshola, warned the civil servants to so attend at their own risks.

The letter dated 30th July 2018 is very clear that as government officials they have no business in Benin-City.

The two-page letter titled: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Re-Invitation to Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Extraordinary General Assemblyâ&#x20AC;? and addressed to the Secretary Genera of the NFF read: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am to refer your office to the suit number FHC/3/ CS/177/2014 pending before the Federal High Court Jos and the subsisting enrolled order from

the same court giving recognition to Ambassador Chris Giwa as the Nigeria Football Federation President and restraining Mr Amaju Pinnick and all persons who were purportedly elected as member of the Executive Committee of NFF on 30th September 2014 from parading themselves as legitimate Executive of the NFF forthwith, their said election having been set aside by the Order of court. The Order has not been set aside. â&#x20AC;&#x153;it is for the aforesaid that I am constrained to honour your invitation to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Extraordinary

General Congress to be held in Benin on the 2nd August 2018. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is further to be noted that the steps presently taken by your office would mount to an affront on the Orders of court and prejudiced to the suit presently constituted before the Federal High Court Jos. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Accordingly, the matters proposed to be discussed at the said Congress would be subjudice to the proceeding of the court. You are therefore advised to suspend any action in the holding of the Congress,â&#x20AC;? concludes the statement from the sports ministry.

NOC to Honour Emoghavwe with Distinguished Merit Award The Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) will on August 5 at Asaba Delta State honour one of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost Paralympian, Monday Emoghavwe with its Distinguished Merit Award.

The event which is backed by the Delta State government, has been slated to hold at the Grand Resort Hotel & Convention Centre, Asaba.

According to Tony Ubani, the Public Relations Officer of the NOC, Mr Emoghavwe who is the President of the Nigeria Paralympic Committee will be recognised for his tremendous contributions

to the development of Para-Power sports and the Paralympic Movement in Nigeria.

Born on the 2nd of April 1963 in Abraka in Ethiope East L.G.A. of Delta State, Monday Emoghavwe attended Aevwaeke Primary School Abraka from 1973 to 1979 and also Abraka Grammar School from 1980 to 1985. He equally studied Business Administration at the University of Lagos from 1995 to 1999 as well as Physical and Health Education at Federal College of Education, Zuba Abuja in 2012.

Wednesday August 1, 2018

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Price: N250

MISSILE US to FG

“Well, since Senator Adamu became the attack dog of the executive in the Senate, using language unbecoming of a man of his age against me and other colleagues who he perceived he needs to disparage to reassure his handlers in the presidency, I have realised that he simply deserve our sympathies. I am sure those he thinks he is working for know he is a man who is only useful for the present moment .”

– The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, describing Senator Abdullahi Adamu representing Nasarawa North West in the National Assembly as a latter day selfish supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari.

ISSAAREMU GUEST COLUMNIST

How to Develop Kwara A

week ago, I made a declaration in Ilorin, offering myself to lead the electoral process in liberating Kwara state from the shackles of underdevelopment, hunger and mass poverty as the fourth democratically elected governor of the State in the present democratic dispensation.

It was a humbling experience to share with the people legitimate concern for the development of Kwara State. It was also a moment of shared hope and optimism.

The lesson for me is that today might seem uncertain, the people still believe that, God willing, tomorrow can and will indeed be better.

Despite lack of money and pervasive income poverty, the people took various means of transport (notably Okada, Keke and unworthy taxis) on the notorious Ilorin roads (read; pot holes) to be there. Despite deep worries about children who graduated from schools without jobs they found time to be there. Their children have all the degrees – BSc, MSc, sundry diplomas, PhDs but they lack the real thing: JOB and WORK! Some of my working comrades, sisters and brothers are unacceptably not paid salaries, yet they borrowed money to be counted. Many workers are callously paid in percentages as low as 50 or 60 per cent of wages. Kwara state government seems to legitimise wage theft especially of some local governments employees, contrary to the decent work agenda of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) of which Nigeria has been a member since 1961.

And that is despite the commendable bailouts offered by President Muhammadu Buhari.

In spite of the legitimate worries about sick relatives unable to pay out of pockets they still found time to be present. Many were called. Many appreciatively turned up at the shortest notice. The patriotism and remarkable commitment towards a better Kwara is worthy of salutation. All the worries about poor governance in Kwara call for action. The Kwara people should get out of slumber and murmurs. They should organize and stop agonising.

Kwara State was created on May 27, 1967 by the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon.

Kwara is one of the first generation states that include Rivers, Kano and Lagos states. Last year, the first generation states celebrated their 50th anniversary. Lagos commendably celebrated at 50 with upbeat signature projects, year longmass fanfare with tangible achievements. It was the same for Rivers and Kano. But Kwara at 50 was ‘marked’ almost unnoticed by the government At 50, the Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed- led administration- led administration listed unity, peace and development as the achievements of Kwara at 50. Other listed achievements include the federal, state and private universities, industries, an emerging aviation hub, advanced health facilities, modern recreational facilities, and comparatively good infrastructure. Why then the ”low-key” celebration?

From the various contributions of the discussants on the STATE OF (KWARA) STATE, which preceded the historic declaration, it was clear that contrary to official propaganda, Kwara suffers huge development deficits. Our state urgently begs for development and salvation

Ahmed

from bad governance. The 2019 gubernatorial election offers a unique historic opportunity to reclaim the state.

While seeking the ticket of the Labour Party, I humbly offer to lead Kwara state through selflessness, statesmanship, entrepreneurship, compassion, managing diversity, equality, inclusiveness, sense of justice and fairness.

Indeed my stewardship will be a continuation of my selfless and tested struggle within the national, African and global labour movement spanning four decades.

The 1999 Federal Constitution of Nigeria espouses eloquently in Chapter II the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state dealing with equity and fairness. Section 14b of the Constitution says the primary purpose of government is security and welfare of citizens.

These robust constitutional provisions are observed in the breach in Kwara state. My first task is to secure the territorial integrity of Kwara state against external predators who through endless states creations had Balkanized our state. Our first task is to reclaim Kwara from extinction through visible activist proactive statesmanship.

In the 1980s, Kwara state had an average of 4.8 million people with an area of about 73,000 square kilometers (making it the fifth largest state in the Federation as at August 26, 1991). The state had since been reduced considerably in size as a result of serial state creation exercises in Nigeria. No thanks to the least resistance of successive leaders in Kwara state in recent times. In 2006 census, the population of Kwara was 2.37 million, half of what it was in 1980s, 1.69% of the Nation’s total population, 30th position in the league of states compared to its fifth position before. Its present land mass is 36, 825 km compared to 73,000 square kilometers in the 1980s.

We offer to give Kwara a new bold accountable leadership that will promote national integration and oppose endless agitations for states as venues for loot by few leaders.

Despite the spirited efforts of Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, Under-Secretary-general and special adviser to the UN Secretary-General and co-chair of 2014 Confab and myself as a labour delegate, Governor Ahmed Fatai could not produce a single document on the position

of Kwara state in the Federation.

Under our stewardship, Kwara would reclaim its identity as the gate way to both the geographical north and geographical south of our great nation. God willing, we will offer leadership to revive the old network of sisterhood, brotherhood and friendship Kwara state within the context of building a united, caring indivisible developed Federal Republic of Nigeria. Kwara would be partner NOT obstacle to nation building.

Secondly, Kwara under our stewardship would unbundle arrested development, which hitherto started at creation. The other three original states namely Rivers, Kano and Lagos are among the top 10 high GDP states. Kwara miserably ranks 28th on the ranking of states

by GDP beaten to it by even newest states like, Imo, Edo and Oyo states. Under our governance, Kwara will return to the path of productivity through re-industrialisation and mass decent jobs. At creation, Kwara was the fastest growing state with bold Development Plan through Kwara State First Development Plan (1970 – 74/75) in May, 1970 (within the context of the country’s second National Development Plan (1970 – 1975) and Second Kwara State Development Plan (1975 – 1980). The plans laid solid foundations for accelerated economic growth, increased productivity in agriculture providing favourable climate for industrial development and improving the quality of life of the people through the provision of necessary infrastructure.

Kwara must return to development planning and impress on the federal government within the Council of States to improve on national planning and national vision within the context of Africa Union (AU) 2063. Industries would be revived with mass decent jobs. Kwara must once again become investment/job destination.

In the 70s, Kwara state with productivity and enterprise of Kwara farmers was food secured.

We used to produce eagle rice exported to other states of the Federation. Kwara State under our leadership will support thousands of Kwara farmers not few absentee foreign farmers whose products are not on daily menu of most Kwarans. Investment charity must start with our hard working people.

Kwara state, just like Nigeria federation, has no business with poverty. It is unacceptable that 76 per cent poverty level of Kwara is above national average of 68 per cent. We have identified as many as 22 viable projects in our great state, ranging from marble processing to fruit juice, from sugar-cane refinery to cashew nuts processing. There will be state -led industrialisation. Our vision is to have industry in each of the 16 LGAs. A Labour Party government in Kwara will reinvent the obsolete infrastructure; encourage ease of doing business as well as ease of working and living. We will get the increasing army of unemployed to work. Private sector is the ‘engine’ of growth. But government must retool the private sector engine knocked down by bad governance. Kwara used to be the cesspool of human capital with skills and integrity, which built the old Northern region and Nigeria in general.

Eminent great religious scholars and educationists include late Sheik Adam-el-Ilory,

Sheik Mohammed Kamaldeen, and David Oyedepo, Rev Gorge Adegboye, cleric. Eminent jurists are Kwarans; Alhaji A.G.F. Abdulrazaq (SAN) is the first lawyer to take silk in the whole of Nigeria’s North. His Royal Highness, the Emir of Ilorin Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, is a retired Justice of the Court of Appeal. Late Justice Saidu Kawu, was a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Alhaji Aliyu Alarape Salma (SAN). The Belgore family has made notable contributions to law; Justice Alfa Belgore, former Chief Justice of the Federation and Justice M.B. Belgore, retired Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, whose two children are also lawyers, including M.D. Belgore, SAN. Respected retired President of Court of Appeal, Comrade late Justice Mustapha Akanbi also successfully pioneered headed the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC). Others are Lateef Fagbemi SAN, Layi Babatunde SAN. Notable professionals also include Alhaji Razak Jaiyeola, 54th president, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). The Emir of Shonga, Alhaji (Dr.) Haliru Ndanusa Yahaya is a notable medical doctor. Notable statesmen and politicians include, late S A Olawoyin, late Abubakar Olusola Saraki, late General Tunde Idiagbon, late General Abdulkari Adisa, Late Rear Admiral (rtd) Mohammed Alabi Lawal, David Theophilus Bamigboye, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, Alhaji Shaba Lafiagi, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, Iyiola Okogun, Gbemisola Saraki, Bolaji Badullahi, Salaudeen, Latinwo.

Notable artists include Musician, Jayigbade, late Odolaye Aremu, Ayinla Kollington, Bisade Ologunde ( lagbaja), Usman Baba Pategi (Sanmanja!) . Great writers include, late Abdulazzeez of Herald newspaper, Segun Adeniyi, journalist, and author. Trusted and tested diplomats include Professor Ibrahim Gambari. Great footballers such as late Rashidi Yekini hailed from Kwara.

Kwara produces the best of Nigerian entrepreneurs in all fields; Chief S. K. Adedoyin, Chief E. O.Adesoye Alhaji Janni Ibrahim, Alhaji Dimeji Igbaja late Chief E. O. Adesoye, Mr. Mohammed Jaffal, Mr. Daramola, M.A. Owolabi , Hon. Kola Yusul’, Sammy Dele Ajayi, Mr. Sammy Dele Ajayi, Alhaji Abdulazeez, Usman Adisa, Mr. Adeyemi. With these notables and more, it is unacceptable that Kwara state is today personalized.

Inclusive development must replace the present elitist tokenism and corruption. There should be institutionalized transparency and accountability. A state that lacks roads and basic mass transit for millions of Kwara to go to work cannot pride itself as “an emerging aviation hub”. Public spending must reflect the priorities of the critical mass of our people.

There will be full disclosures of state assets under our leadership. “A spade must be called a spade, not some agricultural instrument”.

Kwara investment is a common wealth that must bear common wealth name. Kwara as a common heritage and commonwealth cannot be personalised and privatised by few ruining political elite. There should not be “Holdings” without public shares by Kwarans.

As the legendary Nelson Mandela said “It always seems impossible until it’s done”.

NOTE: How to Develop Kwara in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

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