FRIDAY 17TH AUGUST 2018

CBN Unfolds Single-digit Loan Scheme for Real Sector Bank CEOs upbeat over economic stabilisation policy Nigeria earned N77.74bn from external reserves in 2017

Obinna Chima and Nume Ekeghe The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers’

Committee yesterday agreed to offer single-digit interest rate loans to operators in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors of the

economy from commercial banks’ cash reserve requirement (CRR) with the apex bank.

Data obtained from the

CBN website put the total banking industry reserves with the central bank as at June 2018 at N4.115 trillion.

The central bank explained

that instead of out rightly lowering interest rate, it opted for a system whereby the single-digit interest funds would be implemented to

long-term credit at nine per cent and a minimum tenor of seven years.

Continued on page 8

Ethiopia Airlines to Offer Shares to African Countries …

Page 41

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2019: I Won’t Interfere With INEC, Buhari Assures Nigerians Pledges general election would be free, fair, credible N’Assembly joint committee fails to harmonise positions on budget Invites INEC boss again Deji Elumoye, Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that he would not interfere with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before, during and after the 2019

general elections.

The president also gave an undertaking that he would ensure that next year's polls are free, fair and credible.

The Special Adviser to the President on Political Continued on page 8

NEC Constitutes Committee to Decentralise Police

FIRS accuses states of not remitting N41bn tax Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The National Economic Council (NEC) yesterday in Abuja resolved to constitute a committee to be headed by

the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to make fresh recommendations on how the Nigeria Police could Continued on page 10

FINE-TUNING SECURITY MATTERS… UN: FG Paid Large Ransom L-R: Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma; Secretary to Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd.); and Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, during the National for Release of Dapchi Girls… Page 10 Mustapha; Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja…yesterday GODWIN OMOIGUI

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Ethiopia Airlines Offers Shares to African Countries Chinedu Eze

Ethiopia Airlines has offered to sell its shares to African investors after several years of profitable operation.

The airline, which was established in 1945 and owned 100 per cent by the Ethiopian government, said it is targeting African governments to buy stakes in the company.

This was disclosed yesterday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by the Chief Executive Officer of the airlines, Tewolde Gabremariam, adding that the airline should be co-owned by African governments.

He said Ethiopian government should capitalise on the airline’s stature to consolidate its place in the African continent.

“As a Pan-African airline, I don’t see any reason why we should not sell the minority shares of Ethiopian Airlines to African countries if they are interested in buying,” he said.

Commenting on the development, an industry analyst and Executive Director, Zenith Travels, Olu Ohunayo said the disposition of Ethiopia Airlines is in tune with the political and economic liberalisation going on in the East African nation.

He said with stakes owned

by African governments, the airline will get stronger and all stakeholder countries will tilt their bilateral policies to open their skies for the Ethiopian carrier.

He said Gebremariam’s bullish statement is reflective

of the bold new era in Ethiopia, which also aims to make the airline build stronger capital base and enhance its operations to all parts of Africa.

Industry observers also noted that since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in April 2018, he has overseen radical reforms that have changed the country’s trajectory.

These include introducing a major policy aimed at loosening the government’s monopoly on several key economic sectors, including aviation and telecommunications.

Travel expert and organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ikechi Uko said Gebremariam’s words are also indicative of the airline’s record success in improving its

financial, operational, aircraft fleet, and annual passenger numbers.

“In the fiscal year ending July 2018, the carrier announced it bought a 45 per cent stake to revive Zambia Airways, which went into liquidation way back in 1994. To spread its regional footprint, it also kick-started negotiations to establish new hubs in Mozambique, Chad, and Equatorial Guinea in addition to the ones it already operates in Malawi and Togo.

Uko said as part of its efforts to launch and manage new African haulers, the company recently said they were the lead contestant in a tender aimed at setting up Nigeria’s new national airline.

“Looking to tap into

improving intra-African travel, ET increased its African network to over 58 out of its over 100 international destinations, introducing flights to Kaduna, Nigeria; Kisangani in DR Congo, and Nosy-Be in Madagascar. In late July, the airline announced a deal with DHL to build the leading cargo logistics center in Africa.

“To attract more than its current 10.6 million passengers, the airline introduced a plan enabling travellers to discover and experience the many historical, cultural, religious and natural treasures of Ethiopia. As of June, Ethiopia introduced an e-visa service to all international visitors, easing access for passengers with layovers to enter the

country,” Uko said.

He also remarked that Ethiopia airlines has managed this effectively and successfully even as airline performance in Africa remained weak, load factors remained inadequate, high jet fuel prices, and competition stiffened from international carriers like Emirates.

Gebremariam said the airline hopes to replicate the past “exceptional year” in the 2018/19 fiscal year.

“One thing that will aid Ethiopia’s ambition will be the opening by the end of 2018 its China-built terminal upgrade in its main hub in Addis Ababa, which would effectively improve its on-ground customer service,” Uko said.

manufacturers would be able to take fixed interest rate loans for seven years, which means they would be able to plan.

“The volatility that they fear for all kinds of risks would be taken out and I think these are very laudable steps in improving and growing the economy.”

He added, “So, it would allow people to do capital expenditure, which is more long-term. It would give people single-digit interest rate loans, where bonds could go as far as 10 years.”

Also, the Executive Director, Finance, First City Monument Bank, Mrs. Yemisi Edun, said, “The CRR that is taken from banks would be positively deployed to grow the real sector as well as the agriculture sector.

Edun added, “This is very positive for the economy and also positive for banks because we would be able to access these funds and earn on it. And because it would be coming at single digit rate, it would be positive for the

economy.”

“The focus is to ensure that the economy grows. Now that we have achieved stability, we need to see a positive trend of growth and that is what we are committed to do at this time.”

under review.

The report attributed the increase largely, to the external reserves accretion.

“This was in to the increase in income on current and repo account balances, as a result of sweeping arrangement between the JP Morgan and the Federal Reserve Bank.

“The bank maintained all the previous performance measures of its bonds.

Thus, the World Bank US Treasury Bonds portfolio was measured against the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 1-3 years US Treasury Index, while the Global Government Bonds Short-Duration (US$ Hedged) portfolio was measured against the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Government Bond G7 1-3-year Index, ex-Italy 100 per cent hedged into US$,” the report stated.

However, it revealed that aggregate foreign exchange inflow into the economy rose by 45 per cent to US$91

CBN UNFOLDS SINGLE-DIGIT LOAN SCHEME FOR REAL SECTOR This was revealed at the end of a Bankers’ Committee meeting that took place in Lagos.

CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had at the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja last month, said the central bank was working on the modalities for the scheme.

But addressing journalists yesterday, the Director of Banking Supervision, Mr. Ahmad Abdullahi, said the idea is to enhance job creation.

He said, “Although agric and manufacturing are the initial sectors that are being considered, a bank can apply if there is a job creating sector that bank is operating in, it may be considered.

“The idea is that we can refund the CRR of a bank that has engaged in lending in a new project or an existing one in the agriculture or manufacturing sector as a way of utilising the CRR. “So anytime a bank lends to manufacturing or agric sector operator, at the rate

the CBN has prescribed, it would have its CRR refunded up to the amount it has lent.

The guidelines are coming up any moment from now.

“It is in two folds, there would be commercial papers (CPs) and corporate bonds.

On the other hand, there would be direct lending by the banks to SMEs that are in those sectors.”

Continuing, the CBN director said, “Market expectation was that because of the 17 months of inflation coming down, there would be a reduction in monetary policy rate (MPR). The concern MPC has regarding capital reversals and exchange rate stability that was why we see the MPC holding interest rate.”

He also expressed satisfaction with the performance of the economy.

According to him, “The outlook for the economy in 2018 is much better than 2017.

We have seen stability in the exchange rate being sustained, gross domestic product (GDP) growth higher than 2017.

“And although there are capital reversals in our capital market, but the fact is that capital outflow in the Nigerian economy is far less compared to many emerging economies, which is a sign that there is high confidence in the Nigeria economy.”

Also, the Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said the initiative was expected to create jobs and enhance economic growth.

Agbaje said, “The CBN has been very gracious and said on these sectors, if you have companies that are doing new capital expenditures and expansions, you (the banks) would be able to lend using some of your CRR at nine per cent.

“These are not short-term loans; they are long term loans of seven-year loans and two year moratorium on principal.”

He applauded the initiative saying, “It would probably be the first time in the history of this country where

Nigeria Earned N77.74bn from External Reserves Management In a related development, the CBN has revealed that the aggregate earnings from the management of Nigeria’s external reserves in 2017 was N77.74 billion.

The central bank disclosed this in its 2017 draft annual report obtained from its website.

The above-mentioned amount, represented an increase by 44.2 per cent, compared with the N43.40 billion recorded in 2016.

This also was an increase of N36.18 billion or 87.1 per cent over the budgeted amount of N41.55 billion in the year

Continued on page 10

2019: I WON'T INTERFERE WITH INEC, BUHARI ASSURES NIGERIANS Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojodu, expressed the Buhari’s positions when he read the president’s speech at the 2018 Annual Nigeria Political Parties summit held in Abuja yesterday.

“Today, I pledge to Nigeria, my country to promote free fair and credible election devoid of any form of interference in the activities of INEC, to ensure security and promote a violence free election devoid of animosity and hate speeches, to abide by the extant laws governing political parties and adhere strictly to the code of conduct of political parties in Nigeria. So help me God,” he said in the speech read at the summit, organised by Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos with the theme, “Political Parties and Peaceful Conduct of the 2019 Elections.”

Buhari said the federal government would also ensure violent free polls devoid of rancour.

The president said, “What has brought us together is our strong desire to build a budding democracy through a peaceful 2019 general election.

No matter the nature and level of our political influences, we do not have another nation than Nigeria. These differences should not divide us but should make us stronger. With commitment

and perseverance, we will triumph.”

He said that the country had surmounted the challenges of the past 19 years of constructive democracy with wisdom, courage and sacrifices and taste for glory.

“On our part, I want to reassure the nation that this administration is committed to a democratic process characterized by free, fair and credible election.

We are committed to providing an enabling environment and a level playing ground for all political parties in the electioneering process without hindrance," he said.

The president further said that he remained indebted to all the silent patriots that had piloted the nation’s democracy to this point.

According to him, “Democracy is not an event, but a process to ensure that power is always exercised on behalf of the people by their representatives. It is the political parties that carefully select and present candidates for the electorates to choose from, while the elections present the opportunity for the people to make their choices freely through a free and fair contest devoid of violence, intimidation, hate speeches and blackmail.

“Let me emphasise here that electioneering must be approached with the highest level of decorum and strict

adherence to the rules of the game, particularly as enshrined in the constitution, the electoral act and indeed the code of conduct which the political parties freely put in place.

“Electioneering must never be seen as a do or die. All over the world, developed and developing, we see nations making huge successes of their electioneering and Nigeria must not be an exception in this global trend of peaceful and transparent election.’’

The president explained that while it is the right of political parties to freely present candidates to the electorates, the parties must also respect the right of voters to freely make their choice without intimidation and negative inducement, saying his administration was absolutely committed to ensuring that the will of the people prevail and not the will of the elites.

Buhari said the interest of Nigeria is higher than the individual interest of any person or group of persons no matter how highly placed, adding that it is the duty of government to protect and defend the life of every Nigerian while exercising his right to vote.

Stalemate as N’Assembly joint committee fails to harmonise positions

Meanwhile, the joint meeting of the National Assembly Committee on Electoral Matters yesterday ended in a stalemate as members failed to reach a compromise on the N242 billion 2019 budget proposal of the federal government.

The committee has, therefore, resolved to invite the Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmud Yakubu, to appear before it again to resolve the stalemate.

The INEC boss, who is appearing the second time within a week before the committee, is expected today by 11am.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Suleiman Nazif, told reporters at the end of the committee's close- door meeting, which lasted for one and half hours at Senate Committee Room 328 yesterday that the INEC chairman was being invited again by the committee " due to a little bit of differences that the committee has discovered in the estimates."

His words, "We have done what we needed to have done.

And we have realised that there are little bit of differences. In view of that, it is the opinion of members of this joint committee that we invite the chairman of INEC for further clarifications tomorrow at 11am."

The committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives met with Yakubu on Wednesday

separately and met jointly yesterday to review his presentations.

Nazif explained, "And today, our duty and responsibility was to try to harmonise what transpired yesterday between both houses and ensure that we cross the t's and dot the i's," recalling that the meeting was called consequent upon the letter of Mr. President requesting for supplementary and virement for the general elections of 2019.

He assured Nigerians, "This joint committee is committed to ensuring credible, free and fair elections for 2019."

Earlier, two Senate members of the committee were engaged in a shouting match as the joint committee reconvened.

Hardly had the committee resumed sitting when Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta Central) started pushing for the Committee to approve the N189 billion request made by Yakubu.

This position didn't go down well with Senator Mohammed Hassan (Yobe South) who shouted “nooo” on top of his voice and said the joint committee should recommend the release of N143 billion for INEC as contained in the 2019 Election Budget proposal letter sent by Buhari to the National Assembly in July.

It took the intervention of Nazif for the tension to die down as some other committee

members were already on their feet ready to add their voices to the raging issue.

The chairman at this point announced that the meeting would be held behind closed door and requested that the media should vacate the venue.

Some House of Representatives members of the joint committee later joined their Senate counterparts at the meeting.

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UN: FG Paid Large Ransom for Release of Dapchi Girls Says cash economy aiding Boko Haram Vincent Obia A United Nations report has revealed that the Nigerian government paid huge sums in ransom to secure the release of the over 100 school girls kidnapped on February 19 by the Boko Haram terrorist group from Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.

One hundred and ten girls aged between 11 and 19 were snatched from the school, but on March 21, the federal government announced that Boko Haram had returned 106 of the girls, insisting that it paid no ransom for their safe return.

But in the “Twenty-second report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant to resolution 2368 (2017) concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities,” which was submitted to the UN Security Council released July 27, 2018 but monitored yesterday, the world body said a “large ransom” was paid by the Nigerian government to obtain release of the Dapchi schoolgirls.

The report said, “In Nigeria, 111 schoolgirls from the town of Dapchi were kidnapped on 18 February 2018 and released

by ISWAP on 21 March 2018 in exchange for a large ransom payment.”

It frowned on the payment of ransoms to terrorists, saying it fuels terrorism.

According to the report signed by Coordinator of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, Edmund Fitton-Brown, and Chair of the Security Council Committee, Kairat Umarov, “Boko Haram (QDe.138) and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have had a similar impact in their areas of control, including the Lake Chad basin.

“The predominance in the region of the cash economy, without controls, is conducive to terrorist groups funded by

extortion, charitable donations, smuggling, remittances and kidnapping.”

The UN Security Council had last week expressed concern about the security and humanitarian catastrophe caused by Boko Haram and other armed groups in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. It said in a presidential statement, “The Security Council strongly condemns all terrorist attacks carried out in the region, including those perpetrated by Boko Haram and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Daesh).

“These attacks have caused large-scale and devastating losses, have had a devastating humanitarian impact; including through the displacement of a large number of civilians in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, and represent a threat to the stability and peace of West and Central Africa.

“The Council notes with particular concern the continuing use by Boko Haram of women and girls as suicide bombers, which has created an atmosphere of suspicion towards them and made them targets of harassment and stigmatisation in affected communities, and of arbitrary arrests by security forces.

“The Council emphasises the need for affected states to counterterrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including by addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, in accordance with obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law.”

No, We Didn’t Pay, Insists Mohammed But the federal government, reacted swiftly last night, insisting no ransom was paid to secure the release of the Dapchi girls.

In a statement in Ilorin, Kwara State, yesterday, the Minister of

No, we didn’t pay, insists Mohammed

Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, challenged anyone who has any evidence of payment to publish such. ''It is not enough to say that Nigeria paid a ransom, little or huge. There must be a conclusive evidence to support such claim.

Without that, the claim remains what it is: a mere conjecture,'' the Minister said.

Cash Economy Aiding Boko Haram The report also said the cash economy currently being operated by Nigeria is substantially aiding the activities of Boko Haram.

The report on the activities of terrorist groups was submitted to the UN Security Council committee, according to TheCable, an online news portal.

The sect was ranked as the world's deadliest terror group by the Global Terrorism Index in 2015. Since the insurgency started in 2009, the terrorist group has killed tens of thousands and displaced 2.3 million from their homes.

The UN said the number of doctrinally based nongovernmental organisations sending funds to local terrorist groups was growing, and member states were concerned that radicalisation was increasing the threat level.

The report said, “Meanwhile, Boko Haram (QDe.138) and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have had a similar impact in their areas of control, including the Lake Chad basin.

“The predominance in the region of the cash economy, without controls, is conducive to terrorist groups funded by extortion, charitable donations, smuggling, remittances and kidnapping.

“In Nigeria, 111 schoolgirls from the town of Dapchi were kidnapped on 18 February 2018 and released by ISWAP on 21 March 2018 in exchange for a large ransom payment.”

The report was signed

Buhari

by Edmund Fitton-Brown, coordinator, analytical support and sanctions monitoring team, and Kairat Umarov, chair, security council committee.

Fitton-Brown said the report was “comprehensive and independent.”

The UN security council had last week said it remained concerned at the security and humanitarian situation caused by the Boko Haram terrorists and other armed groups in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad.

In a presidential statement, the 15-country body said: “The security council strongly condemns all terrorist attacks carried out in the region, including those perpetrated by Boko Haram and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Daesh).

“These attacks have caused large-scale and devastating losses, have had a devastating

humanitarian impact including through the displacement of a large number of civilians in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, and represent a threat to the stability and peace of West and Central Africa.

“The council notes with particular concern the continuing use by Boko Haram of women and girls as suicide bombers, which has created an atmosphere of suspicion towards them and made them targets of harassment and stigmatisation in affected communities, and of arbitrary arrests by security forces.

“The council emphasises the need for affected states to counter-terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including by addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, in accordance with obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, international

refugee law and international humanitarian law.

“The security council remains deeply concerned at the grave security situation and related violations and abuses of human rights in parts of Central Africa, in particular the continuing terrorist activities of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the Lake Chad Basin.

“The security council expresses its ongoing concern at continued tensions linked to disputed electoral processes, social and economic difficulties, and conflicts between farmers and herders.”

The 15-member council noted that UNOCA’s priorities would include working closely with UNOWAS to address transregional issues such as maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, conflict between farmers and herders, and combating Boko Haram.

security problems are being collated by security agencies, adding that a team will subsequently be set up under the supervision of his office to deal with these threats.

On the issue of 17,000 missing Nigerians reported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), on August 2, the NSA said, "That report is being looked at by different agencies of government and we are awaiting their report before we can comment on that."

Responding to a question on seeming lack of co-ordination among various security agencies, the NSA attributed such lack of co-ordination to a myriad of challenges, which he said was being looked into.

In his own briefing, the Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Abubakar Badaru, said the Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, briefed the council on tax remission by states, reporting that states have hitherto failed to remit N41 billion value added tax (VAT).

According to him, the states have only remitted about N40 billion VAT and withholding tax to FIRS since January to July, adding that the FIRS

boss told the council that fresh initiatives meant to enhance tax collection and remittance from the states to the federal government had been created.

Badaru said, "We had a briefing from the Chairman of FIRS. It dwelt on the two aspects of tax. One is value added tax that is being collected by states.

He informed the states what the positions are, that there are outstanding VATs from the states to the tune of N41 billion that the states have to pay.

"FIRS also came up with new techniques/platform that will help in VAT/ withholding tax collection.

It is very important when talking of zero oil economy.

Currently, a lot is going on, on how to remit tax. With the new initiative, tax can now be transferred to the federal government.

"He said so far, from January to date, about N40 billion has been remitted from the states.

This is a significant figure from what happened last year. So the states are well notified and they are willing to pay."

NEC CONSTITUTES COMMITTEE TO DECENTRALISE POLICE be decentralised.

Briefing journalists at the end of the monthly National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in the Presidential Villa, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj-Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd), said decentralisation of the police would aid greater access to information unlike the current centralised system.

According to him, the move had become compelling in view of what he described as asymmetric threats to security in the country, pointing out that the situation has made it imperative for states to collaborate with security agencies in tackling security crises.

He said the volume of threats to security in Nigeria could not be easily overcome and hence, the necessity for collaboration between the states and federal governments in tackling the situation.

According to the NSA, the committee will have a representation from each of the six geo-political zones, adding that the move is one of the ways deciphered by the council to tackle the seeming asymmetric security challenges confronting the country.

Monguno said, "I gave a general overview of the

current security situation in the country and all the trends that we are confronted with are becoming increasingly asymmetric in nature and l stressed upon the need to deal with these problems in a collective manner. It is true that it is the responsibility of security agencies to deal with these threats but the complexities of security in the 21st century was such that you need collective efforts in dealing with these issues.

"I emphasised to the council on the needs for the states to collaborate with and support the federal government in dealing with each individual threat. These threats differ from one zone to another.

I briefed on behalf of the security agencies - both operational and intelligence.

I gave a general overview of the security situation in the country, the current situation and the trends and also the challenges that we are confronted with.

"These threats are increasingly asymmetric in nature and I stressed upon the need to deal with these problems in a more collective manner. It is true that it is the responsibility of the security agencies to deal with these threats but the complexities of

insecurity in the 21st century are such that you need a whole of government and a whole of society approach in dealing with these issues.

"I emphasized to the council the need for the states to collaborate with and support the federal government in dealing with each individual threat, and these threats differ from one zone to another, and find a way of linking with security agencies so that we can find a lasting solution.

"These things cannot be overcome within a short period. That is the hard truth. What we have decided to do is to work on certain methods. For example, the council decided that a committee would be set up with representation from each of the geo-political zone to be chaired by the IG so that we find ways of decentralising police operations so that there will be greater access to information and handling this situation will be easier rather than a centralised and cumbersome approach."

The NSA also said the federal government was looking into other security challenges coming from outside the shores of this country.

According to him, such

CBN UNFOLDS SINGLE-DIGIT LOAN SCHEME FOR REAL SECTOR billion in 2017, compared with US$62.75 billion recorded in 2016.

But the report pointed out that a disaggregation showed that inflows, through the CBN and autonomous sources, were US$42.17 billion and US$48.33 billion, constituting 46.3 and 53.7 per cent, respectively, of the total.

A further analysis showed that foreign exchange inflow, through the CBN, rose to US$42.17 billion, compared with US$21.07 billion in 2016.

“A breakdown of foreign

exchange inflow, through the CBN, showed that earnings from crude oil export increased by 1.9 per cent to $10.37 billion, above the level in 2016.

“The development was attributed to price and output of crude, both of which rose relative to the preceding period.

“Similarly, the non-oil component of the inflow, through the bank, rose by 192.2 per cent to US$31.80 billion in 2017, above the level in the preceding year,” it added.

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

Senators to Sponsor Motion for Probe of N’Assembly Siege Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Two senators have vowed to sponsor a motion at the plenary for the judicial probe of the August 7 invasion of the National Assembly by the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

The two lawmakers Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy, Senator Isa Misau and his counterpart in the Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, said the motion would urge the federal government to constitute a Judicial Commission of Enquiry to probe the invasion of the

National Assembly Complex by masked operatives.

The two Senators in a joint statement in Abuja yesterday argued that an open enquiry would enable Nigerians know what led to the siege and those behind the plot to illegally take over the National Assembly.

According to the duo, one of the priority assignments of the Senate on resumption would be a motion on the floor to debate the National Assembly siege and the rape on democracy so that appropriate resolutions would be taken to redress the situation.

“Is it not curious that the federal government has not deemed it necessary to constitute

a judicial panel to conduct an impartial and public enquiry into the recent siege on the National Assembly, which amounted to a coup against democracy in the country?

“The federal government cannot afford to sweep this treasonable act under the carpet or commit it to a secret in-house committee that may fail to do justice to the matter by treating the heist like business as usual. Sacking the former Director General of the DSS, Mr. Lawal Daura, does not

end this. That is just a knee-jerk, spontaneous reaction. We now need to understand how to cut off the cancer.

They added that, “the National Assembly must insist on getting to the root of the case. We must understand the causes of the invasion, unravel the brains behind the anti-democratic action in order to bring the perpetrators to book and prevent future reoccurrence. The inquiry must not be subjected to executive manipulation and cover up.

We must ensure transparency

and that is why an open judicial inquiry is what is needed now. A judicial commission of enquiry, holding its investigation in an open environment will help.

“This we believe would serve as a deterrent to any person or group of persons that may want to contemplate such condemnable action in future,” they stated.

While cautioning that security forces should not be used to derail the country’s democracy, Misau and Rafiu called on Nigerians and members of

the international community to remain alert in order to frustrate further attempts to truncate the country’s democracy through illegal deployment of security forces to intimidate, harass and arrest political opponents.

According to them, “The recent siege on the National Assembly must not happen again and the only way to prevent a future reoccurrence is to ensure that the perpetrators and their evil collaborators are unmasked and made to face the full wrath of the law.

DSS Appoints Substantive Spokesman Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The Department of State Services (DSS) has announced the appointment of Mr. PN Afunanya as its Spokesman/ Public Relations Officer.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Public Relations Department of DSS in Abuja, Afunanya replaced the former spokesman, Mr. Tony Opuiyo.

The new spokesman obtained the following degrees: BA. English (1997), Abia State University, Uturu; MA in English (2009), University of Uyo; and MA in Peace and Strategic Studies (2011), University of Ilorin.

He is currently pursuing a PhD in Security and Strategic Studies at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi.

He has attended several courses within and outside Nigeria namely: Innovation and Strategy at Harvard University, Boston, United

States; Security Management and Coordination, London and Investigative Journalism at City University, London.

Other courses he has attended are on leadership, arbitration, conflict management/ resolution, Negotiation and public communication among others. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the DSS’ in-house Magazine, The Triple S. The new spokesman is a member of Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (NiCarb), Nigerian Red Cross (NRC), Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), Nigerian Institute for Industrial Security (NIIS), Society for Peace Scholars and Practice (SPSP), American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), and he is a fellow of the Institute of Corporate Administration (ICA).

His hobbies include: travelling, meeting people, reading, walking and photography.

Afenifere Condemns Incessant Killings in Ekiti Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere , has decried the rising wave of killings in Ekiti State in recent times, urging the security agencies to map out strategies to nip the situation in the bud.

The organisation has also charged security agencies to do everything possible to unmask the killers of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) board member and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Bunmi Ojo, and other individuals in some parts of the state.

The Ekiti State chapter of Afenifere, in a statement yesterday by its Chairman, Yemi Alade, and its Publicity Secretary, Chief Bisi Alade, condemned what it called “seeming helplessness of the Police.” Afenifere also expressed disappointment that the traditional institution seem as in capacitated like the other security agencies, which ordinarily ought to have brought the gruesomeness of the terrifying situation to a stop.

“It is the view of Afenifere that the killers are human beings who are supposed to be traceable.

They are no spirits, hence all

efforts should be made by all who are supposed to do the needful.

“We seize this opportunity to commiserate with the APC on the murder of one of its shinning stars, Mr. Bunmi Ojo, who was until his assassination, was the Commissioner representing Ekiti on the Federal Character Commission and who had performed excellently well.

“It was more painful when we heard that his term had even been renewed for another five years. Ekiti Afenifere particularly extends its condolences to the wife, children, family of the deceased as well as one of APC leaders, and former governor, Chief Olusegun Oni, who had a special relationship with late Ojo.” The APC lawmakers in the state House of Assembly, have stated that the untimely death of Ojo had robbed Ekiti people, particularly the youths, who are benefitting from his humanitarian assistance from the late politician.

The APC legislators who spoke through the Minority Leader, Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan, during a visit to the family of the deceased, described Ojo’s killing as a “monumental loss to Ekiti State in particular, and Nigeria in general.”

INTERACTIVE SESSION

L-R: Director, Maritime Labour Services, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Ibrahim Jibril; Director General, NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, and Head, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isichei Osamgbi, during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos...yesterday

Govs: We Were Not Elected to Only Pay Salaries The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has declared that they were not elected to only pay salaries of civil servants but to also provide good roads, electricity, education and other necessary amenities for the people.

Addressing journalists last night after the meeting of the governors in Abuja, the Chairman of the NGF, who is also the Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, said there was no way the governors could perform magic if there were no funds.

The governors called for the examination of the national income in the last 14 years to enable them to agree on the

contentious issue of minimum wage implementation.

Yari said it was a pity that state governors had been limited to the payment of salaries alone in their respective states, adding that the lack of funds had hindered them from carrying out their responsibilities in other sectors such as health, electricity, education, roads, among others.

Speaking on the controversial minimum wage, he said, “We have a committee of six which represents us in discussions in the committee headed by the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige.

“The committee has yet to give us the final report. They have given us an interim report that

at the Federal Government level, over 82 per cent is being spent on overheads which cannot move the country forward in terms of infrastructure development and development that we need now.

So, on our own part, we are saying we are going to look at how our income is taken from our final account from 14 years ago so that we can come up and stay in the middle.”

He added, “I don’t think you people voted us only to pay salaries. You are looking for good roads, electricity, education and others. So, we can’t do magic. It’s only when we have the funds that we can do all those things.”

Yari further stated that the

governors also deliberated on the way the anti-graft agencies had been handling the war on corruption in the country.

According to him, the governors resolved that both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corruption and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) must adhere strictly to due process.

The governor who insisted that the agencies must not engage in illegalities, added that while the governors supported the present administration’s effort to curtail corruption, they were not comfortable with some of the actions taken by the nation’s anti-corruption agencies.

US Embassy May Resume Abuja Consular Services After Eid-el-Kabir Holidays The US Embassy has said the suspended consular services in Abuja may resume after the Eid-el-Kabir holidays.

The embassy stated this in an updated information on its website accessed by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja.

The embassy had in a statement on Wednesday, announced temporary suspension of its regular services for visas and American Citizen Services in Abuja.

It also stated that the services were suspended due to reasons beyond its control.

“We regret the inconvenience this has caused to our applicants in Abuja and hope to resume operations after the Eid-el-Kabir holidays.

“Please monitor the Facebook and Webpage of the US Embassy for the next status update of consular operations in Abuja.”

It, however, noted that other offices within the Embassy remained open.

The embassy stressed that consular functions at the US Consulate in Lagos were not affected with the development.

The mission encouraged applicants to contact the Consular Office in Lagos for immediate emergency travel.

“Please monitor the Facebook and Webpage of the US Embassy for updates on consular operations. Scheduled visa and ACS applicants for Abuja will be contacted for rescheduling.

“American citizens in northern

Nigeria with urgent travel needs who are travelling before Eid-el-Kabir and who are willing to re-schedule their travel through Lagos should contact the ACS office at the Consulate Lagos (01460 3600 and LagosACS@state.gov) to discuss their options.

“Those travelling after August 23 should follow-up with AbujaACS@state.gov to confirm their appointments closer to their appointment date,” the embassy stated.

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COMMENT

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

IN FROM THE COLD

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund is making progress, writes Jack Kalio

I

n recent weeks, there have been so much media hype and commentaries concerning fraud at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF). A lot of people have misinterpreted this to imply that NSITF is a den of thieves. This is completely far from the truth. Whatever has been termed fraud at the NSITF can only be traced to the past; not the present.

Any keen observer of the current leadership of NSITF will surely note the difference between where NSITF was before the incumbent management team came, and where it is now; not only because the present leadership is prudent and transparent in management of resources, and aggressive in achieving set goals, but there are also marked differences between making promises and taking steps to fulfil those promises.

A silent, deliberate anti-corruption crusade was initiated by the present management as soon as it took office. It successfully introduced and implemented a procurement policy which aims at practically promoting transparency and accountability in the procurement process. This has received rare endorsement from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission (ICPC).

Findings show that the management team, led by Adebayo Somefun, wants a situation where every job must be advertised and formal bidding held before awards are made to the most competent, cost-friendly bidders. The re-introduction and observance of the due process policy has saved money for the organisation. There has been complete overhaul of the procurement operations; implementation of the public procurement guidelines to promote transparency of procurement operations; and establishment of procurement planning committee (PPC) to ensure proper implementation and due process in all contracts and consultancy jobs. These steps were taken in a bid to eradicate corrupt acts.

On assumption of office on May 2, 2017, Somefun and his team came up with a four-point agenda summarised as follows: consolidating on the achievements of previous administrations and improving on them; raising the revenue base of the organisation to effectively meet its statutory responsibilities; re-branding NSITF through aggressive campaign to improve acceptance and patronage by the various stakeholders; and motivation of staff through improved welfare provision such that they can operate within an encouraging work environment and also derive job satisfaction.

NSITF anchors its statutory functions on Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS) as enshrined in the Employees Compensation Act of 2010. The ECS is structured to provide social security and insurance for injured employees in the course of work. In the case of death, it plays the part of family trustee for the dependents of the employees. The Fund seeks to lighten or completely take away the burden placed on

NSITF ANCHORS ITS STATUTORY FUNCTIONS ON EMPLOYEES COMPENSATION SCHEME AS ENSHRINED IN THE EMPLOYEES COMPENSATION ACT OF 2010

employers when their workers are incapacitated or lose their lives. Under the existing law, such burdens are transferred to NSITF. In the last one year alone, 42 artificial limbs have been paid for by NSITF to cater for workers who lost their limbs while carrying out their duties at work. This number is a huge leap compared to only 12 that were rehabilitated since 2011. Again, between 2011 and April 2017, the Fund had paid N959, 855, 531 as claims to beneficiaries. However, between May 2017 and June 2018, the present management paid N625, 686, 207 to beneficiaries as claims and compensation.

In a move to actualise its statutory vision, the management successfully lobbied the House of Representatives to initiate a motion towards enforcing compliance to the ECS. This resulted in public hearings involving stakeholders of the scheme at all levels of government. They were fully briefed on the need to comply with the act or face specified penalties. This has started yielding results. Non-compliant employers are promptly served pre-legal action notices.

In anticipation of the large volume of data collection and storage based on increased effort to raise subscription by stakeholders, the Fund decided to automate its operations.

In this regard, it contacted relevant stakeholders to assist in the areas of collation and storage of data for easy access by staff whenever required. The aim is to move operations from manual to digital in line with acceptable global practice.

Thus, a new software, Electronic Revenue Collection Compliance and Compensation (ERC3) has been introduced to galvanise enforcement compliance, claims and compensation activity, and overall operations of the Fund.

On welfare, staff promotions no longer attract protest before it is carried out. The result of the staff promotion examination conducted in 2016 has been released. Promotion interview has been conducted. It was the first since ECS started in 2011.

In addition regular payment of allowances has been restored. Also, 5,769 members of staff have so far been trained nationwide for better productivity. From these interventions, previous hostile and explosive industrial relations atmosphere has been eradicated. Furthermore, branch offices of NSITF have been revamped for better service delivery by staff.

For many years, several properties owned by NSITF were hijacked by the consultants. The present management successfully initiated legal processes for the recovery of such properties.

So, what has been the result of the above efforts aimed at re-branding the NSITF? In financial terms, there have been great harvests. There has been considerable turn around in the Fund’s investment portfolio with management assiduously committing part of the Fund’s monthly collections to improve the investment.

Kalio wrote from Abuja

OIL OVER TROUBLED WATERS

Ofem Uket writes that the federal government is equipping its workers ahead of retirement

T

he welfare of workers which includes training, allowances and other remunerations, forms part of the mandate of the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation. It behooves on the management to at all times engage workers in a dialogue with a view to resolving all forms of complaints surrounding their welfare.

Currently, all federal civil servants due for retirement at the end of 2018 are undergoing agriculture development training at the Public Service Institute on the Kubwa expressway, Abuja to equip them to be self-reliant and sustaining after retirement.

This programme was put together by the HOS as an integral part of training schemes for workers in the country, taking into account the increasing cost of living which may rapidly erode retirees’ monthly pensions that can barely take care of family needs.

However, the Permanent Secretary Common Services (CSO), Office of the Head of Civil Service, Mr. Afolayan Olaniyi had addressed the protesting workers, saying the top management of the HOS office had agreed to meet their demands, being the initial position before the workers proceeded on protest. See https://www.vanguardngr. com/2018/08/head-of-service-staff-protestpoor-welfare-remuneration Records and experience have shown that

over 90 percent of retired civil servants can barely feed and take care of immediate domestic needs like payment of school fees, accommodation and other essential needs of the family.

This simply means the monthly pension received by retired civil servants is insufficient to secure the homes, especially when there are no other sources of incomes to cushion these miserable and lean financial measures upon retirement.

Taking all this into consideration, the Office of the Head of Service prompted a one week agricultural training programme for all civil servants on retirement to equip them with necessary skills that would empower them to get involved in commercial agriculture to increase food production that will make them self-sufficient.

Nigerian status in poverty as globally ranked recently is simply a reflection of citizen’s inability to be involved in high level production of goods and services in all sectors of the economy. It is economically wise to produce more than a nation will consume to boost market stability and reduce inflation rates. But over the years, the country has remained less productive, but ironically with high level consumption indices found within working ages of 25-65. Many people around this age bracket today are redundant with no jobs, partly a creation of successive misrule and also a society that relies on government to create intervention schemes for sustained

earnings.

Statistics available to the public show clearly that less than five per cent of college and university graduates get employed yearly while the rest roam the streets for a reasonable number of years in search of jobs that are not available.

Citizens have long waited on government to roll out programmes that have direct bearing on the people to get involved in private enterprises - developing business concepts in agriculture, marine, oil and gas, road sector development, health, education, water, power, solid minerals and social investments.

Apparently, these initiatives have been reasonably considered by the present administration, which explains why the Head of Service has commenced the training programme for civil servants that would be disengaged from the service at the end of 2018, creating a future and hope for them and families.

A society with low production capacity and absence of effective measures for increased output is likely to experience increased poverty without option, and that is the scenario in Nigeria presently: the economic indicators are not strong enough due largely to redundancy that has culminated in poor living conditions and which have negative impact on the political and economic sphere of the nation.

For instance, the general elections in the country will continue to suffer unfair and

biased out come because voters are poor and can be bought for a plate of food. Not until there is food for the people to eat, Nigeria will hardly have a free and fair contest at the polls, be it local, state and federal elections.

Low productivity and output are also the reason for inflation because fewer goods in the market are being chased by many. The productivity is not commensurate with the high demand, resulting in high prices and plunging the society into abject poverty and lack.

Thus, individuals and groups must rise up to the challenge faced daily, to surmount through decisive steps the problems facing millions of Nigerians: the problems of shelter, food and clothing. Many young men and women in our society are increasingly being disillusioned because of the general atmosphere of lack.

The ongoing training scheme for retired civil servants should serve as a boost and deep encouragement by the federal government to build capacity for the public sector to determine growth and development around rural and urban communities arising from the number of persons employed by such commercial activities.

A statement from the head of service last week disclosed that the training is for batches two to seven and aimed at addressing the age-long suffering of civil servants after retirement, stressing that it is a model developed specifically to curb poverty.

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EDITORIAL TRIBUTE: ARETHA FRANKLIN HAD POWER, DID WE TRULY RESPECT IT? Aretha Franklin turned Otis Redding’s plea into the most empowering popular recording ever made.

O

fficially, “Respect” is a relationship song. That’s how Otis Redding wrote it. But love wasn’t what Aretha Franklin was interested in. The opening line is “What you want, baby, I got it.” But her “what” is a punch in the face. So Ms. Franklin’s rearrangement was about power.

She had the right to be respected — by some dude, perhaps by her country. Just a little bit.

What did love have to do with that?

Depending on the house you grew up in and how old you are, “Respect” is probably a song you learned early. The spelling lesson toward the end helps. So do the turret blasts of “sock it to me” that show up here and there. But, really, the reason you learn “Respect” is the way “Respect” is sung. Redding made it a burning plea. Ms. Franklin turned the plea into the most empowering popular recording ever made.

Ms. Franklin died yesterday, at 76, which means “Respect” is going to be an even more prominent part of your life than usual. The next time you hear it, notice what you do with your hands. They’re going to point — at a person, a car or a carrot. They’ll rest on your hips. Your neck might roll. Your waist will do a thing. You’ll snarl. Odds are high that you’ll feel better than great. You’re guaranteed to feel indestructible.

Ms. Franklin’s respect lasts for two minutes and 28 seconds. That’s all — basically a round of boxing. Nothing that’s over so soon should give you that much strength. But that was Aretha Franklin: a quick trip to the emotional gym.

Obviously, she was far more than that. We’re never going to have an artist with a career as long, absurdly bountiful, nourishing and constantly surprising as hers. We’re unlikely to see another superstar as abundantly steeped in real self-confidence — at so many different stages of life, in as many musical genres.

That self-confidence wasn’t evident only in the purses and perms and headdresses and floorlength furs; the buckets and buckets of great recordings; the famous demand that she always be paid before a show, in cash; or the Queen of Soul business — the stuff that keeps her monotonously synonymous with “diva.” It was there in whatever kept her from stopping and continuing to knock us dead.

MOST AMERICANS HAD To paraphrase of Ms. NEVER HEARD ANYTHING one Franklin’s many (many) musical QUITE AS DEPENDABLY progeny: She slayed. “ReGREAT AND SHOCKINGLY spect” became an anthem for BIG AS MS. FRANKLIN’S us, because it seemed like an VOICE. anthem for her.

The song owned the summer of 1967. It arrived amid what must have seemed like never-ending turmoil — race riots, political assassinations, the Vietnam draft. Muhammad Ali had been stripped of his championship title for refusing to serve in the war. So amid all this upheaval comes a singer from Detroit who’d been around most of the decade doing solid gospel R&B work. But there was something about this black woman’s asserting herself that seemed like a call to national arms. It wasn’t a polite song. It was hard. It was deliberate. It was sure. And that all came from Ms. Franklin — her rumbling, twanging, compartmentalized arrangement. It came, of course, from her singing.

Because lots of major pop stars now have great, big voices, maybe it’s easy to forget that most Americans had never heard anything quite as dependably great and shockingly big as Ms. Franklin’s. The reason we have watched “Showtime at the Apollo” or “American Idol” or “The Voice” is out of some desperate hope that somebody walks out there and sounds like Aretha. She established a standard for artistic vocal excellence, and it will outlast us all.

She, along with Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Tina Turner and Patti LaBelle, changed where the stress fell in popular singing.

Now you could glean a story from lyrics but also

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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

hear it in the tone of the singer’s voice — agony, ecstasy and everything beyond and in between.

Roots, soil, pavement on one hand, the stratosphere on the other.

I know. That does just sound like the art of singing. But when gospel left the church and entered the body — the black body — we called that soul. And a good soul artist could make singing for sex sound like she was singing for God. They call that secular music. But it just repositioned what else could be holy. Almost nobody — and even then, maybe just Ray Charles — did as much toggling between and conflating of the religious and the randy with as much sincere athletic imagination and humor and swagger as Ms. Franklin.

“Dr. Feelgood (Love Is a Serious Business)”, the hit from 1967 that she co-wrote, never fails to chill, arouse and amuse. Ms. Franklin performs it with a mix of exasperation and smoldering anticipation. That song’s never sounded better or more theatrical than it does on “Aretha Live at Fillmore West,” from 1971.

Its structural brilliance is that there’s no robust chorus or melody, just Ms. Franklin, her piano, a blues groove and her mood. She wants a friend to get going so she can have sex with her man.

But who’s been shown the door with this much flair?

The song starts, “I don’t want nobody always sitting around me and my man.” You could bake a pie in the pause between “nobody” and “always.” And when she gets to “sitting,” she takes a deep, five-second drag on the “s” so that it sounds less like a consonant and more like a lit fuse. The remaining six and a half minutes put you in exhilarated suspense over when her top’s gonna blow.

Almost nobody was able to switch between

the religious and the randy with as much sincere imagination and humor as Ms. Franklin.

There are so many things to love about this performance: its sexiness, its playfulness, its resolve, all the space in the arrangement for Ms. Franklin’s singing to stay low until it takes off high, the way that once she finally connects with Dr. Feelgood himself, the crowd audibly connects with the song or, really, just more deeply connects, since people had been shouting stuff like, “Sing it, Aretha!” between her pauses. You can feel in that moment the hold Ms. Franklin had over anybody who ever saw — or heard — her sing. She worked with bottomless reserves of swagger.

We tend not to think of Ms. Franklin that way — as an artist of bravado and nerve and daring, as a woman with swagger. We tend not to think of her this way even though nearly every song she sang brimmed over with it. (She sang about taking care of business — the old “tcb” — and, consequently, having her business taken care of, as much as she sang about respect.) Swagger we left to the Elvis Presleys and James Browns and Mick Jaggers. But “swagger” is the only word for, say, her approach to the music of other artists.

It didn’t matter whether it was a Negro spiritual or something by the Beatles. It was all wet clay to her. The Supremes, Frank Sinatra, Leonard Cohen, Adele, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, ? and the Mysterians, C & C Music Factory: She oversaw more gut renovations than a general contractor. In 1979, she took the occasion of B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone” to allow her backing singer to exclaim that she (and they) were “free at last.” Toward the end of her funked-up, very fun version of Sam & Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” from the 1981 album “Love All the Hurt Away,” she tossed in some “beep-beeps” and a couple of lines from “Little Jack Horner” because she knew she could make it work.

If good soul music is like good barbecue — slow cooked, falls off the bone — by the 1980s, she’d become a pit master, yelping and barking and wailing, but also talking in songs, sermonizing. You know the char and gristle, the bits of sugar and salt and fat on, say, a perfectly done slab of ribs? Most of this woman’s songs were blackened that way. Yet if Ms. Franklin told you she was going to take a classic R&B song and throw in a little nursery rhyme, you’d be nervous. Did 1986 really need a cover of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash?” Probably not. But she did it anyway — and robustly — and threw in a “hallelujah” while she was at it.

But, by that point, Ms. Franklin seemed well on her way to becoming somebody who might have relished the culture’s doubt. She loved music too much to be vestigial or nostalgic or relegated. She wanted — you know, what she wanted. And eventually respect was tricky to come by. I, at least, remember sitting on my bed watching the 1998 Grammys and hearing that she’d be filling in for Luciano Pavarotti and rolling my eyes. Ms. Franklin knew. She went out there, sang some Puccini, and left the nation in shock. The Queen of Opera, too?

Is it possible that despite the milestones and piles of Grammys (the now-defunct female R&B vocal performance category seemed invented just for her; she won the first eight), despite famously having been crowned the greatest singer of all time in a vast Rolling Stone survey, despite being Aretha Franklin, the Greatest was also rather underrated — as a piano player, as an arranger (who had a greater imagination when it came to coloring a song with backing singers), as an album artist? Despite the world’s bereavement over her death, despite her having been less a household name and more a spiritual resident of our actual home, despite giving us soundtracks for loneliness, for lovemaking, for joy, for church, cookouts and bars, despite the induction ceremonies, medals and honorary degrees, despite her having been the only Aretha most of us have ever heard of, is it possible that we’ve taken her for granted, that in failing to make her president, a saint or her own country, we still might not have paid her enough respect?

Just a little bit. r$VMMFE GSPN 5IF /FX :PSL 5JNFT

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

POLITICS

PERSPECTIVE

PARTY SUPREMACY AND APC’S STASIS

By Malachy Ugwummadu

P

arty discipline and party supremacy are twin determinant factors that provide effective guide for party cohesion and coordination towards set goals and objectives. These cardinal ingredients of party politics have eluded most political formations in Nigeria in recent history and in many ways have led to heir failures and defeats at elections.

Within this context, the nation, at large and across party lines witnessed a renewed vive and consciousness when the brand new chairman of the APC, Mr. Adams Oshiohmole recently issued a marching order to the substantive Minister of Labour and productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige to “constitute” and “inaugurate” statutory boards of his ministry with a clear threat to sack or cause the sack of the affected ministers. In his view, they had all abused the continued indulgence of Mr. President against stated party positions. Obviously, these threats, promptly rejected by the concerned minister were dismissed as statements made out of ignorance. It goes beyond the question of ignorance or arrogance and raises fundamental issues of law, procedure, processes, leadership style, rules of political engagements and general approach to party politics. For want of space, let us focus on the legal perspectives and party dynamics.

S. 147(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) suffers no ambivalence whatsoever when it proclaimed that the President has the power to appoint a Minister of the Federation of Nigeria. It provides thus: “Any appointment to the office of the Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President” The other critical role to be played in

Buhari

Oshiomhole

the appointment process of a minister is by the Senate of the National Assembly which shall be the confirming authority under S. 147(2). Indeed, by subsection 1 of Section 147 of the Constitution, Mr. President has the powers to create and establish such offices of ministers of the federation as he deems appropriate for the effective administration of the Federation.

Besides, it is a trite principle of Labour law and labour relations that it is only he who hires that can “fire”. Conversely, if you did not hire, you cannot “fire”. Where then will Mr. Oshiohmole derive his powers to sack a sitting Minister other than the sphere of influence which he wields or possibly would wield in the entire APC political calculus? Surely, the chairman of a party is expected to enforce party discipline and compliance through decisive actions and activities. This has eluded virtually all the political parties in Nigeria including the ruling party which has come under the weight of serious political indiscretion and arbitrariness where members of the cabinet act at cross purposes. It manifested in the

general absence of a coordinated Government position accentuated by unguarded conflicting responses by state actors and functionaries. At other critical times, and to the embarrassment of the nation, we even observed such contradictions in the views expressed by both the President and the Vice President all of the same Presidency.

It became worse, when inter-government agencies and departments of the same Executive arm of Government particularly the DSS and EFCC declared an all-out war against each other playing into the hands of a hostile Senate of National Assembly where the “hawks, Jackals and hyena” waited patiently to feast on the confusion created in the absence of party discipline and supremacy. It was immaterial that the leadership and control of Nigerian bicameral legislature was well vested in members of the same ruling political party.

The nation suffered much more than that, as the APC administration hardly got anything done on record time underscoring the depth of the friction. Passage of successive Appropriation Acts repeatedly defied

party consensus. We witnessed serious opposition to the policies of government by principal officers of the same ruling party. More than half the controversies and disagreements at the National Assembly, within the time under review, clearly had nothing to do with the lot of Nigerians and could’ve been averted thereby save precious legislative time and resources. It was possible if we had a functional ruling political party where party positions are conceived, debated and resolved before they are thrown to the larger state structure of parliament where party affiliations and partisan loyalty dominate discussions. Thus far, it has proved very difficult for the APC government to pursue and see through requests for Supplementary Appropriation Acts, Virament or even an innocuous Executive Orders without stiff opposition from members of their own political party save to add that I personally disapproved Executives Order No 6 for very obvious constitutional reasons.

The objective conditions to be considered in adequately appraising the state of affairs in the ruling party is not what the party stands to gain or loose by the present political developments but the inherent capacity it has to reinvent and recreate its professed ideals in the circumstance that it finds itself. This was precisely what informed and reinforced the choice of Adams Oshiohmole as against the former super permanent secretary, pro-democracy activist, acclaimed administrator and former governor of Edo. The problem with APC has a provenance.

It is with its conception, compositions and defining objectives at formation. APC was conceived right in the womb of a convoluted political environment largely defined by the ineptitude, graft, avarice NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE DSS BLOCKADE OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY Chuks Okocha

I

t is no longer news that the former Director-General of the Department of Security Services (DSS), Lawal Daura, authorised the blockade of the National Assembly ostensibly to pave way for the removal of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki as Senate president. The issue that ought to be bothering our minds is, did Daura unilaterally take the decision to shut the gates of the National Assembly or he is just being made the fall guy? It is commendable that the acting president, Prof. Yemi Oshibajo, acted swiftly to save the already battered image of the President Muhammadu Buhari government. But the real issues should be, why did it happen, and what are the motives behind it? Finding answers to these questions is pertinent to ensure that such shenanigans never happen again.

The drama that took place that fateful Tuesday was made for a purpose, as there is usually no smoke without fire. How come the pictures and narratives that are being pushed out to Nigerians are quite at variance with all premises to the main issue at hand? the case, has there been any sanction? As the president went on a 10-day break and handed over to the vice president, as the constitution demands, was it mandatory that the country’s chief spy officer should be knowledgeable enough to know that he is also statutorily expected to

maintain the same order of communication?

Sacking Daura is good but he should not be made the fall guy.

In this case, there are some pertinent questions that need to be addressed, as it would greatly help in getting to the root of this coup against the main institution that gives democracy a meaning in Nigeria. Key among these questions is, how come that during the entire period of this hi-tech drama no single senator from the All Progressives Congress (APC) was seen near the National Assembly?

Yet, the distinguished senators of the APC were earshot of the gate of the National Assembly. It was reported that they were camped at a nearby five-star hotel with a standby bus, waiting to be evacuated to the same National Assembly when the coast was clear, for a mission.

Yet, the senators never bothered to visit the National Assembly, despite the news of the blockade. They behaved like Emperor Nero who was dinning and winning when Rome was on fire. Or like the ostrich that put its head under the fire. This is the billion naira question that Nigerians should ask the APC senators.

Another question that needs to be asked is, what meeting was the sacked boss of the DSS holding with the National Leader of APC and some APC senators in the wee hours of Tuesday in Abuja? I leave you to get the answers. If late night meetings of

this nature could hold near the National Assembly, what stopped either of them from peeping through to know what was happening at the National Assembly? Or are they claiming that they were not aware of the news of the blockade?

Still on the questions that bother the mind, but not directly related to the issues at hand. When the Inspector General of Police deployed his men to block the senate president’s residence and convoy, and the deputy senate president’s residence, was it the same motive that equally prompted the IGP? Another question that needs to be addressed is the story about the DG of the SSS allegedly stopping the Clerk of the National Assembly from going on leave on Friday last week and insisting he must be in the country till Tuesday evening so he can swear in a new SP on Tuesday. For what purpose did the sacked boss of the DSS insist that the Clerk of the National Assembly should not go on leave when the Parliament was on break?

When the IGP and his men were shouting that Saraki must appear to answer questions on the Offa robbery, was it the senate president that instigated the DPP’s report? Was it Saraki that instigated the meeting by Tinubu, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, Sen. Hope Uzodimma, Sen. Omo Agege, and Sen. Ndume, who held a separate meeting outside of the APC caucus meeting by 5am that Tuesday morning? Was it Saraki that made Buhari not to have an

idea or ask about the security report on his nominee for EFCC chairman?

When the police blocked the Benue State House of Assembly, and only allowed eight out of the 30 lawmakers that were loyal to the ruling party to enter — in order to commence impeachment proceedings against the governor – was that Saraki’s fault too?

Did he call up his dear friend, IGP Idris, to ensure that the premises of the Assembly were blocked in order to embarrass Governor Ortom, who recently defected with him?

In October 2016, when the DSS raided the homes of judges in the middle of the night, President Buhari did not say anything. Vice President Osinbajo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former Attorney General of Lagos State — who should have known better — did not say anything.

When officers of the Nigerian Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) kill, assault, harass and terrorise Nigerians across the country everyday, Buhari does not say anything.

Osinbajo, who should be an advocate for human rights, does not say anything. Maybe it is because Saraki sends SARS to beat up Nigerians every single day.

All these questions begging for answers confirm that the blockade was planned long ago and not in response to any intelligence as to breach of security.

Okocha writes from Abuja.

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2018

PERSPECTIVE

RESTRUCTURING DEBATE GAINS MORE STEAM

Discussion on restructuring has retained a pervasive and feverish dominance on the polity, writes Davidson Iriekpen

H

aving taken his crusade for the restructuring of Nigeria to every political platform in the country, Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, recently reiterated at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife, that it was the only to panacea to ensure peace and development.

Dickson faulted the assertion by President Muhammadu Buhari that those clamouring for it are nursing a parochial agenda.

He wondered why Buhari could make such utterance, while maintaining that advocates of restructuring were genuine patriots who are passionately committed to the healthy growth of the country and peaceful co-existence among all Nigerians. According to him, Nigeria cannot be productive with the current structure.

The governor has been in the forefront of the crusade for restructuring, true federalism, power devolution as the foundation for a stronger, egalitarian Nigerian nation.

Recently, while receiving a high-powered delegation led by former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who paid him a courtesy call at Government House in Yenagoa, Dickson disclosed that the 2019 general election would be a referendum on restructuring, adding that only aspirants who believe in restructuring would get the support of the Ijaw nation. The governor said there was no going back on his call for restructuring, and pledged to take his consultations to all parts of the country until Nigeria achieves a true federal structure. He said the people of the Ijaw from Ondo, Edo, Delta, Rivers to Akwa Ibom States had been fully mobilised and conscientious on the importance of the 2019 general election and what it portends for restructuring.

Everywhere in Nigeria, restructuring has

Buhari

Anyaoku

become the catchword with key political leaders and socio-political groups pushing forward certain ideas and views suggesting that it may determine how certain parts of the country view presidential candidates in the 2019 election. They believe it is the way out of the cries of marginalisation by various segments of the country and impedes optimal development and the realisation of the peoples’ aspirations.

One major plank of their argument is the contention that the unification of the South and North in 1914 was misconceved.

They state that the South and North were not put together for the benefit of the development of Nigeria but for the promotion and development of the industrial revolution in Britain-production of materials for the use of companies in Britain.

However, the constitution of 1952-1960-1963 which the military suspended in 1966, was for the development of the regions created by 1914 unification of South and North, when

Dickson

tremendous progress which are still visible in South-west are the only development, in this area of the country. The army, however, took over the governance of the whole country and destroyed this structure and replaced it with a structure in which the federal government is the controller of virtually all power and all resources as well as the power to develop all resources, and in which the states have no control over their resources and must depend on federal allocations of funds to exist.

Proponents of restructuring are of the opinion that the federal government is over-burdened, controls too much money, has become egregiously inefficient and destroying the country.

The states, which are component entities of the federation are impotent, cannot develop their resources, cannot fight poverty in their domains, and cannot make their contribution to the progress and prosperity of Nigeria. The cumulative effect of all these is that Nigeria and Nigerians have become so poor that most public facilities such as roads, electricity, water

installations, public administration, are not working or have perished.

Crime has made life very unsafe all over Nigeria.

In various regions of the country, youths are demanding the breaking up of Nigeria or an alternative administrative platform, arguing that in spite of being together for over 50 years, there is still evidence of injustice, inequity and prejudice in the governance of the country.

This has manifested in varied forms of protest and agitation; some subtle and peaceful sublime like Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), while others have taken a violent form resulting most times in the destruction of lives and property as exhibited by Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) and other Niger Delta militant groups.

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

By Nseobong Okon-Ekong

AUTOGRAPH

FROM LAVISH PRAISE TO STUNNING SILENCE Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that former Governor Peter Obi obliterated his accumulated political capital when he failed to grow the All Progressives Grand Alliance into a veritable Third Force

E

veryone remembers it as one of the most celebrated intellectual events of last year, largely because of the renown of the speakers.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo addressed the distinguished audience, but the speech that got many people talking came from an unexpected quarter. As a prominent investor, banker and politician who became a governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi was one of the most anticipated presenters at the Covenant Christian Centre’s increasingly popular discourse, The Platform.

Beyond a few reported cases of selflessness in public office, not much was known of Obi. Even the tantalizing hints about him traveling light without an army of aides, carrying his own luggage and insisting on his children flying economy, were at best, taken with a pinch of the salt or waved off as a nonissue. The former Governor of Anambra State was not cast in the image of the average Nigerian politician, but many were not impressed. Indeed, his act immediately after leaving the office of the governor justified the presumption that his previous deeds were calculated to head off his future plans.

No one could have predicted that Obi, who appeared to have stabilised governance in Anambra after a period of notoriety and turbulence, during which the state became known for the bizarre like taking fetish oath at ancestral

Obi shrines in Okija, would be heading in a direction that empowered his detractors and diminished or completely obliterated whatever political capital he had accumulated.

Before he became governor, Anambra was severely damaged by vicious backstabbing and criminality. After he was saved by the courts from the brink of impeachment and being sucked into the malicious vortex of Anambra politics, he deployed his vast experience in the private sector to instill a refreshing regime of governance that changed the image of the state.

But the policymaking in Anambra is different from all other Nigerian states. Each of its 21 local government areas has loads of multi-millionaires.

More than any other state, politics in Anambra is almost always about the most affluent contestant. But Anambra presents other interesting case studies, out of its two major cities, Onitsha and Nnewi comes a glimmer of hope for unparalleled technological and industrial prosperity. Without any major government policy involvement, the economy of these two cities are conservatively estimated at over N2 trillion annually. One of the indicators is the visible presence of all the Nigerian financial institutions in these two cities.

Anambra has produced truly Nigerian political and industrial giants like Nwafor Orizu, M.C.K. Ajuluchukwu, Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, OBE, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu (Ikemba Nnewi) and Dr. Chu Okongwu.

A number of business schools have carried out extensive studies on budding homegrown conglomerates like Ibeto Group of Companies, Cutix and ADswitch, Uru Industries Ltd, Omata Holdings Ltd, Cento Group of Companies, Coscharis of Companies Group, Innoson Group of Companies, Ebunso Nig. Ltd, John White Industries, Ejiamatu Group of Companies, Chicason Group and Louis Carter Group that all have their humble beginnings in Nnewi.

The same record of impressive entrepreneurial achievements are recorded in Onitsha where the current Obi His Majesty Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe is a successful serial industrialist.

The same factors that have worked well for the accelerated development of Anambra may very well be its bane.

Where there are many strong-willed affluent men, big ego is likely to block better judgement for the greater good.

Often in Anambra we find instances like one reported of Sir Odumegwu Ojukwu who walked out of parliament because he thought it was beneath him for a fellow parliamentarian who could not match his financial and social status to speak while he was talking. Till today, there are many affluent men in Anambra who think the governor is beneath them.

Anambra has shown the capacity to lead industrial revolution in Nigeria.

Anambra could be the fulcrum of a major advancement that can be a game changer for Africa.

This is the superlative heritage of Obi, who became the Governor of Anambra State on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). He was generally adjudged to have done well.

Obi is one of the few former governors that is not tainted with infamy during and after their tenure. Many, therefore, expected he would rise above the trader mentality (he often calls himself a trader) and commit himself to being a statesman.

Obi had the privilege to do for Ndi Igbo what Senator Bola Tinubu did for the Yorubas. For 12 years, Tinubu used Lagos (even when it was the last progressive state standing in the South-west) to build bridges and gain vital access that

ensured the South-west was under one political bloc.

However, Obi undermined the smooth galvanisation of his own political goodwill by backtracking from APGA to become South-east campaign director to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015 presidential bid. It was an unexplainable gamble that questioned his previous advertised convictions. The same man who was applauded loudly at Covenant Christian Centre’s 2017 The Platform, wasted a begging political opportunity. Obi spoke on the waste that defines governance in Nigeria. It was a revealing presentation. But there were parallels to draw from what he said. Obi threw a huge opportunity to build APGA into a veritable Third Force that could give Ndi Igbo a strong voice to bargain at the centre. Ndi Igbos looked to Obi to re-enact the Second Republic scenario when the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) controlled the entire Igbo land but also gave a nationalist like the late Solomon Lar the platform to win the governorship election in Plateau State. There was a good chance that the NPP could have penetrated other states if the Second Republic had not been aborted.

By displaying the trader mentality of seizing the opportunity for a readymade market provided by Jonathan’s PDP, he lost the moral authority to lead, though he had done so very well. And he nailed his political coffin when he backed the wrong horse against Gov. Willie Obiano.

19

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ AUGUST 17, 2018

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OBB OVERNIGHT

A S

A T

REPO 9.25 % 8.42 %

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

7.17% 10.24 % 11%

A U G U S T S & P INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY MONTH-TO-DATE

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08024557078, 08091152219

1 0 , , 2 0 1 8

355.72% -0.03% 0.18%

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

0.43% 7.96%

EXCHANGE RATE N306/1US DOLLAR* ̩

Quick Takes CIBN to Induct New Members

PRODUCT LAUNCH

L-R: Regional Head, Marketing Communication, Globacom, Afolabi Otufowora; Brand Specialist, Agboola Adunola; Regional Chief Marketing Officer, Ashok lsrani; Brand Specialist, lretiola Jonathan and Head, Prepaid Activation, Kenechukwu Okonkwo, at the launch of ‘Oga Sim’ by Glo in Lagos…recently abiodun ajala

Nigerian Owned Vessels on Cabotage Register Up 33% Eromosele Abiodun There has been an increase in the number of wholly Nigerian owned vessels on the Nigerian Cabotage register following the renewed drive by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to reverse what hitherto obtains in the maritime industry.

Director General of the agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, who disclosed this in Lagos, said half year result showed that 125 vessels had been registered, representing a 33 per cent increase when compared with the 94 registered in the corresponding period in 2017.

Also, he said the number of Nigerian seafarers placed onboard vessels from January to June this year has moved to

MARITIME 2,337 representing a 58.9 per cent increase in the number of seafarers employed.

Peterside, who used the occasion to highlight achievements of his management in the last two years, said the fast intervention security vessels the agency leased under the maritime security strategy project is making impact.

Port State inspections, he added, rose by 10.53 per cent to 525 in 2017 up from 475 in 2016, adding that flag state inspections were also experiencing an upswing from 77 in 2016 up to 98 in 2017 representing an increase of 27 per cent and it’s sure to increase by the end

of 2018.

He said, “A total of 125 vessels owned by Nigerians were registered in 2018 as against 94 vessels in 2017, which is an increase of 33 per cent. Vessels manned by Nigerians, a total of 2,840 Nigerian officers and ratings were recommended to be placed onboard Cabotage Vessels in 2018 as against 1,789 Nigerian seafarers in the same period in 2017 which reflects an increase of 58 per cent.

“Also, a total of 243 graduates and 1600 cadets are at various stages of completion of the programme, 887 of which are ready for sea-time training. We are currently tackling the issue of sea time head-on; via full sponsorship. 150 cadets with full sponsorship of sea-time training by NIMASA have

commenced their on-board Sea Time training in phase 1, while another group of 89 cadets are now onboard training vessels facilitated by the South Tyneside College, UK, making a total of 239 cadets in the first phase of this programme.”

He added, “As part of the succession plan of the current leadership of the agency, an in-house knowledge transfer session was introduced where the professionals in the employ of the Agency trains the younger officers to impact more knowledge about the sector to them.

NIMASA is raising a generation of thorough bred professionals and I make bold to say that NIMASA is a knowledge-based organisation, hence we can Continued on page 20

Interlining to Save Domestic Airlines $3bn Annually Chinedu Eze If Nigerian airlines succeed in the on-going plan to interline their operations they will benefit from the $1.5 billion ticket sales on domestic and regional routes and also save over $1.5 billion in fuel, aircraft depreciation and flight allowances every year, THISDAY has learnt.

According to industry insiders, what this means is that instead of three aircraft from three airlines flying from Lagos to Abuja at low hours with few passengers each; the airlines would deploy one aircraft to that destination with all the passengers that would have boarded three aircraft.

At the end of the month the airlines would go to a clearing house and share the accrued revenue.

Interlining also involves a voluntary commercial agreement between individual airlines to handle passengers traveling on

AVIATION itineraries that require multiple flights on multiple airlines.

In addition to saving airlines huge resources, it will also benefit the passengers because it would significantly curb or put an end to delays and flight cancelations.

THISDAY learnt that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reached advanced stage in brining the airlines together to ink agreement to kick off the system.

IATA has already agreed to evolve a clearing house like Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) for the operators who have shown interest in the arrangement after several years of clamour, as industry stakeholders identified interlining as key to the survival of the airlines.

The Director of Consumer Protection Directorate of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Adamu Abdullahi told

THISDAY that the regulatory authority has made efforts to encourage Nigerian airlines to interline.

“This is something NCAA has always encouraged, and it was part of the critical discussions during the series of meeting between the agency and the airlines. We have encouraged them to go into interlining arrangement because it does not make sense for three airlines that are leaving to the same destination at the same time to fly half empty, instead of putting all the passengers in one aircraft and have a full load.

“In that way you maximise your profit and reconcile accounts later. If the airlines will do that we will be most glad. They are now in the process and they have held series of discussions among them together with IATA. IATA is spearheading it. This will be very good for the industry. It will be very good for airlines and passengers’ delays and

cancelations will be a thing of the past,” Abdullahi said.

Travel expert, Ikechi Uko who is facilitating the interlining programme in collaborations with IATA, told THISDAY that the recent plan to bring the airlines together on interline was a fall out of the aviation panel discussion at Accra Weizo, promoted by the Ghana’s Minister of Aviation.

Uko said IATA is providing the platform and all the domestic carriers have indicated interest to participate.

“Interlining will save lives of many airlines. This means that if Air Peace flies to Gambia, for example, other airlines can sell tickets to Gambia while the actual flight will be done by Air Peace.

It will expose the airlines to the huge revenue in the ticket sales market, which was about $1.5 billion in 2017. Travel agents make more money than airlines, so with interlining, airlines can Continued on page 20

TheCharteredInstituteofBankersofNigeria(CIBN)hasfinalisedplan to formally induct into its directorate a total of 784 members who successfullycompletedvariousqualifyingprofessionalexaminations of the institute in 2017. These members would consist of 241 newly qualified associates, 67 Chartered Bankers MBA, 413 MCIBs and 64 Core Diploma at its annual induction ceremony tagged, “2018 CIBN Graduates’ Induction and Prize Awards Day.” The event would hold in Lagos this Saturday. According to a statement, in preparing the minds of the newly inducted members for the challenges set ahead and to get them acquainted with essential skills to competing and surviving in the 21st century, a lecture titled, “The 21st Century Professional: Vital Skill Sets for Success” would be delivered by the Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Usen Udoh. The special guest of honour would be the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Edward L. Adamu, while Dr. Uche Olowu, the President/Chairman of Council of the institute would chair the occasion.

Resort Group Appoints Whittle Director

The board of the Resort Group has announced the appointment of Mr. Rodger Whittle as its new Group Executive Director. A statement by the spokesman of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), a member of the Resort Group and operators of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), Steve Omolale, quoted the board as saying, “Whittle is coming with a rich experience in the aviation industry having been part of the foundation of Nationwide Airlines Limited in South Africa for more than a decade before leaving as the Chief Operating Officer in 2008. He was until recently a Senior Vice-President, International Operations, for Arik Air International Limited”. It added, “The new Executive Director will, among others, lead the expected turn-around efforts towards ensuring that the commercial objectives of MMA2 are met while maintaining the vision and mission of providing high standards and service delivery as the best operating terminal for passenger facilitation in Nigeria.

He will also be expected to explore opportunities in the aviation industry for the benefit of the company”.

Airports Ready for Sallah, Says FAAN

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has assured all air travellers that Nigerian airports are ready to play host to them during the Sallah celebration.

FAAN said as part of commitment to ensure seamless facilitation of passengers during the celebrations and beyond, the VIP Protocol lounges at both the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and General Aviation Terminal, Lagos, have been refurbished to give maximum comfort and value to our customers.

Also, maintenance of conveyor belts and escalators at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos has been completed and functioning optimally. In addition, airport security and other logistics have been upgraded and strengthened to provide for the expected increase in passenger traffic in and around our airports.

“In anticipation of traffic surge owing to the season, management is set to open the Departure Hall at the Terminal D of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja to ease facilitation formalities of departing passengers at the airport before the celebrations. We have also installed new directional display units to guide travellers, especially new ones, at our airports.

SkyCargo Delivers Medical Equipment

Emirates has announced that its subsidiary, SkyCargo has delivered medical equipment and drugs to Nigeria and other African nations.

The company said it received over 800,000 units of malaria tester kits and other medical equipment from South Korea since 2015, through Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates airline and the world’s largest international cargo airline.

“This stems from the fact that Emirates SkyCargo offers one of the fastest transport times for cargo. It transports from Seoul, the capital of South-Korea to over 25 African destinations through Dubai.”

“ The only sustainable way for effective cargo evacuation is the use of roads, rails and water to move cargo into the hinterland, And we doing our best to facilitate the efforts of companies who are interested in moving cargo through barge” MD, Nigerian Ports Authority

Hadiza Bala-Usman

20

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍľËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

BUSINESSWORLD NIGERIAN OWNED VESSELS ON CABOTAGE REGISTER UP 33% say, the future is bright for the Nigerian maritime sector. “To give a boost to our inhouse capacity, we have also entered into partnership with the World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden in a four-year renewable Memorandum of Understanding setting out the areas of cooperation between WMU and NIMASA. The MoU covers academic collaborative and reciprocal activities in the field of education, training, research and other areas of capacitybuilding to be provided by Word Maritime University (WMU) to NIMASA.�

Under our Survey, Inspection & Certification Transformation Programme, he said Certificate of Competency (CoC) examinations were conducted at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron leading to the issuance of different categories of CoCs to successful candidates. “In 2017 alone, NIMASA issued 3,752 certificates to successful seafarers. Representing a 149 per cent increase from the CoCs issued in 2016. We are also enjoying the confidence of stakeholders as they now willingly verify certificates with us without prompt.

INTERLINING TO SAVE DOMESTIC AIRLINES $3 BILLION ANNUALLY become travel agents to other airlines,� Uko noted.

The interlining would also be extended to the West Coast operations and with time to international destinations, Uko observed that this plan was overdue, held back by mutual suspicion in the past.

The Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema explained, “The Nigerian domestic airlines are discussing. The discussion has been on for the past one year. We are trying to see how we can cooperate with each other so that we ensure consumer satisfaction; so that when you have one plane down it doesn’t mean that the world will come to an end. Your brother airline can come to your rescue. Interlining is the way to go in this business and we are speaking to ourselves sooner than later you will hear something from us.�

NEWS

Local MRO Will Save Huge Resources for Airlines, Says NAMA Boss Chinedu Eze The Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Captain Fola Akinkuotu has said airlines operating in the country and West Africa will gain immensely if Maintenance, Overhaul and Repair (MRO) facility is built in Nigeria. Akinkuotu said even if the cost of maintenance is the same in Nigeria and overseas, domestic airlines would still gain immensely because other costs, which include the ferrying of aircraft overseas, the cost of logistics and expense incurred in forex. “An MRO will improve the bottom line of our airlines.

We spend a lot of money on maintenance, so the cost of maintenance will be reduced, you take this business out to go and maintain it, even if the cost of maintenance here in Nigeria is the same outside Nigeria, it will still be cheaper to maintain the aircraft locally. “At least you spend $50,000 if not more and that is just to fly the airplane out of the country.

And success is about bottom lines, so whatever you save in any business is profit. If I can save that money it is profit.

And it will also give our people the opportunity to improve themselves technologically.

They understand the airplanes more; they know how to fix it,�he said.

Akinkuotu said having MRO in Nigeria would not only save money for the airlines, it would develop indigenous

technical personnel and it would improve the standard in the conduct of checks of airlines in Nigeria. “We have done engine change here. But you will be doing engine change in an ideal condition when we have maintenance facility in Nigeria. When you are doing an engine change on the tarmac like I have seen

airlines do, they can’t work at night. But in a hangar that is properly lit you can do it 24 hours a day. “You cut down the work time and time is money. The turnaround for your airplanes if you have a good hangar is easier. If you have a maintenance facility close by that you work with it will improve on the availability. Overseas you

will have a situation where you fly your airplane to France and they park it outside for some time because you have not booked at the right time,� he said.

According to him, the gains would be massive, saying that for an airline, “for you to be a big player you need to have your own maintenance facility.� “Even if you don’t own

it, it has to be close by. So, an MRO here will save the airlines money, it will bring more money to the economy, it will improve the technological know-how of the airline business and over time the bottom line will be reflected to the airlines. And a lot of the airplanes that are in the West African sub region can come here,� Akinkuotu added.

DISCUSSING GOVERNANCE

L-R: Chief of Staff to Edo State Governor, Chief Taiwo Akerele; Governor Godwin Obaseki and Lead Financial Management Specialist, Governance Global Practice, World Bank, Parminder Brar, after deliberations with the state governor in Benin...recently

‘Poor Safety Policies Hampering Businesses’ Raheem Akingbolu Lack of proper safety policies is constituting huge threat to businesses and the nation’s economy, an expert has stated.

The Chief Executive Officer of Surveillant Fire Limited, Mr. Jumade Adejola, who disclosed this in Lagos, also stressed the need for individuals, corporate organisations and governments to give utmost attention to safety for growth of the nation’s economy.

To this end, Adejola called on government and agencies to lead by example and invest in safety apparatus to forestall avoidable fire accidents. He also advised manufacturing

companies to equip their premises with firefighting equipment to guide against disasters.

While attributing some of the fire incidents and other emergencies witnessed in some parts of the country, in the last few years to lack of proper safety precautions and adequate facilities to respond to emergencies, the expert expressed concerns that despite the increase in the number of high-rise buildings in the nation’s cities, adequate facilities that could be used to respond to accidents and emergencies, are not on ground.

He therefore stressed the need for stakeholders in the

industry to make fire service engineers a key part of the building process, noting that such involvement would go a long way in averting some fire incidents and accidents, occasioned by lack of proper planning, thereby saving the nation’s economy of some avoidable pains.

According to him, to further sensitise the public on the need to reduce accidents both in private and public places, some stakeholders in the sector, would be holding an enlightenment programme, tagged, “Vision Zero,� that seeks to reduce the rate of accidents to the minimum level, in Nigeria.

“Vision Zero was a programme that emanated from the Singapore World Safety Conference 2017. It is a vision geared towards total elimination or great reduction of accidents. For instance, if the total percentage of accidents that occur in a year is 60, Vision Zero seeks to reduce it to 10 per cent. “This we hope to achieve by increasing the level of awareness and safety precaution.

For instance, in the case of high-rise buildings, imagine if everyone takes safety precautions, seriously, there would be minimum accidents. But unfortunately, what we are seeing now is

springing up of high-rise buildings without the key area of safety, factored into the building process,� he added.

While advocating for the sitting of emergency centres in the entire local government areas of the federation, the fire service expert added that governments at the state and local levels could partner with corporate organisations in their areas to enhance the smooth running of such centres. “There are private organisations willing to set up these centres as part of their corporate social responsibilities (CSR).

Government only needs to be proactive to make such things happen,� he added.

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

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AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

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Comms/e-Business Editor

Ă—Ă—Ă‹ Ă•Ă™Ă˜Ă”Ă“ Senior Correspondent

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

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

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Experts Task Entrepreneurs on Innovation, Business Management Raheem Akingbolu Business owners and managers from various fields of human endeavours recently gathered in Delta State to chart a new course for over 100 young entrepreneurs on the place of innovation and creativity in businesses. The event was hinged on the TEDx Platform – an international platform that sparks ideas and find innovative solutions to local issue.

According to a statement by the organisers, the participants, who were addressed by seven speakers, included young leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, and media representatives.

Simply tagged TedXOgunu and convened by young entrepreneur, Orode Uduaghan, the one-day event had the theme, “restructuring the future through innovative ideas,� with a diverse lineup of speakers on various topics ranging from education policy for disadvantaged communities, public health issues, digital marketing, leadership and growth, changing the African narrative through storytelling, amongst others.

Speaking on what informed the initiative, the convener, Orode, said Warri and Delta state in general have come a long way, adding that the dream to host TEDxOgunu was borne

from her childhood experiences and a burning need to reshape the narrative for Warri, Delta State and Nigeria as a whole. “TEDxOgunu is not the TEDx even where we only speak about ideas‌ TEDxOgunu is the TEDx event where we work towards implementing ideas. That was the goal when we put this together and this vision was shared on our @TEDxOGUNU handle on various social media platforms. “Warri is hardly known for anything other than the repertoire of comedians that have blossomed from there. However, a solid ecosystem of start-ups, entrepreneurs, agri-preneurs, IT and Co-creation hubs have sprouted in recent

years but have not received as much coverage. We must support them, tell our stories and present our narratives in a way that will let the world acknowledge these strides. “We also used an innovative organizational approach during the planning which led to an almost completely volunteer-managed event and ensured that local businesses and personalities had time to share their visions before introducing speakers. This has already led to some possible collaboration which my team and I are grooming,� she said To further buttress Uduaghan’s resolve towards using

the TEDx platform to bring about innovative change in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, Orode led a team that included some speakers at the event to see the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who was impressed by the level of organization. The governor also committed to supporting the implementation of the ideas as they would lead to improvements in the quality of lives of citizens of Delta State.

The speakers paraded included Segun Manuel, an entrepreneur and motivational speaker; Tonye Solomon, CEO, GidiRealtor Limited and a consultant; Charles Odii, amongst others.

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Dubai Firms to Showcase at Akwaaba Chinedu Eze Organisers of Akwaaba African Travel Market has announced that Dubai would be attending the event this year with over 15 companies.

Dubai has become the biggest destination for Nigerian travellers with over 20 flights a day terminating in Dubai from Lagos and Abuja. It is believed that over 300,000 Nigerians pass through Dubai every year. These companies include Jumeirah, Red Apple, Khimji, Sun and Sand, Apha Tours, Swissotel and Copthorne Hotel. Others are Rayna Tourism, Mgallery, Arabian Adventures, Dubai Health Authority, Wings Tours, Pullman City Centre Hotel, JA Resorts & Hotels, Ritz Carlton and Dubai Tourism.

This comes as Gambia Tourism Board seeks to renew their presence in Nigeria.

As part of latest efforts to increase awareness for The Gambia as an all-year tourism destination for discerning Nigerian visitors and prospective investors, the Gambia Tourism Board has

announced its participation at the 14th Akwaaba – African Travel Market holding in Lagos between September 9th to 11th 2018.

Also, The Gambia confirmed its participation with a 20man delegate for the event to include top stakeholders in the industry to be led by the Director General, Gambia Tourism Board.

Earlier this year, the Akwaaba travel market team had organised the ‘Banjul Bantaba’ event with a familiarization trip to the Gambia and a high powered B2b session which showed Nigerians the amazing potentials for Touristic splendor and introduced some of the new tour operators to the destination. The fall out was amazing with increasing requests for packages to The Gambia. The organisers of Akwaaba Travel Market, west Africa’s largest meetings and exhibition event is excited to announce that Gambia will be participating this year after three years of absence from the annual trade show in Nigeria.

In a statement signed by the

Marketing Director, Gambia Tourism Board, Adama Njie, the organisation promised visitors to The Gambia stand on Gambia Day an unforgettable Gambian experience.

Top hotels, Tour Operators and stakeholders would be attending from The Gambia.

He assured visitors a “taste of some of our national cuisine, music and multimedia presentation of the range of our trendy and exquisite resort facilities, cultural patrimony, ecotourism, exotic fauna and flora attributes throughout our beautiful country, which have earned The Gambia the acronym –the Smiling Coast of Africa.

The Gambia Day event is set to flow from Sunday with the Jollof rice contest into Monday where the Gambia Day proper will hold, The Gambia is keeping no secrets as they will be deploying the best of the team to meet Nigerians and see the beautiful loving tourist destination. Gambia Tourism Board wants Nigerians to know that they are welcomed at any time and the event is open for all.

NAHCO Signs New Contracts Nigeria’s foremost groundhandling service provider, NAHCO Aviance has announced its signing of new business contracts.

The company said in a statement that it had signed a series of new contracts with both local and international airlines. The signings with local airlines include Max Air which has since started operations from Lagos and Kano, and handling of Hajj operations for Medview, one of the largest operators in the country.

Aside handling of International and Hajj operations for Flynas, NAHCO also handles domestic and of recent, regional operations for the nation’s largest operator, Air Peace and Aero World, delivering service to the delight of the airlines.

NAHCO in February 2018 began to handle the Rwandan international airline, Rwandair, providing ground handling service for the fast-rising operator at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The company also said in its recently announced results for the half year 2018, that it recorded a turnover of N4.64 billion as against the N3.71 billion posted for the same period last year. The results showed a 25 percent increase over the same period in 2017. Its profit before tax stood at N500.97 million as against N203.08 million reported as at half year 2017, a 147 per cent increase over last year. Profit after tax for the half year 2018 stood at N418.57 million - a 137 percent increase over the N176.32 million reported for

the same period of last year.

Speaking on the strides achieved in recent times by the company, the Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Idris Yakubu who took over as CEO in November 2017, said it was a result of growing faith in the new management that has superintended the Affairs of the company during the period.

According to him, “We are pleased with the patronage of our Valued clients, the airlines and the agents, as well as the contributions of our hardworking and dedicated staff to this very positive result.

“Management is committed to staff welfare and will continue the negotiation of the Staff Condition of Service, and conclude before the current booklet expires end September 2018”.

Aviation College Gets New Rector Hammed Shittu in Ilorin .

Kwara state government has approved the appointment of former acting Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ((NCAA), Benedict Adeyileka as the new Rector of the International Aviation College (IAC), Ilorin.

The government said that, the new rector was expected to serve a tenure of four years which is renewable by one term.

The appointment according to THISDAY checks might not be unconnected with the recent suspension of the licence of the college by the regulatory agency of the aviation industry in the country, NCAA. It was gathered that, the issue had also led to the alleged deficiency in the day to day operations of the college which hitherto has led the supervising Ministry of

the College, the state Ministry of Works and Transport to commence reorganisation of the college following the expiration of the tenure of the former rector of the college, Captain Abdulmumin Abdulkareem(rtd).

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Tuesday on the reorganisation of the college, the state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Aro Yahaya said the state government has approved the appointment of new Rector, Adeyileka with immediate effect.

He said that, the new rector has been given a matching order to reposition the college for better result.

Yahaya, while describing the new rector as a thorough bred professional said the state government hoped to see the college more functional and

productive under Adeyileka.

He explained that the rector was appointed after the expiration of tenure of Captain Abdulkareem.

The commissioner debunked rumour that licence of operation of the college was revoked saying the license was only subjected to the normal auditing by the NCAA. Also, in his remark, the new Rector, Adeyileka who promised to address all what may be challenges of the college is expected to serve a tenure of four years renewable by one time.

The new Rector who said he had been in aviation industry for the past 32 years with experience both in United Kingdom and Nigeria disclosed that he would lead the college to look inward for solution to its challenges.

AIR WATCH Eyes on the West Coast Market

Celebrating Air Peace inaugural flight to Monrovia

From the time of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited (NAL) the west coast has been a high-yielding market for Nigerian airlines.

But unfortunately, Nigerian airlines do not survive long to benefit hugely from the market. Their lack of consistency and short life span do not give them the opportunity to reap from this route.

There was a time the defunct Virgin Nigeria Airways depended on the market for the sustenance of its operation. At that time, the airline had about 41 per cent of the market.

Airlines don’t just make money from ticket sales in the west coast, they also make money from cargo movement. Because of low capacity, the fares are always unduly high, which is a discouraging factor for passengers.

In fact, the west coast market is driven by business. Traders from Nigeria, Ghana, Code d’Ivoire, Cameroon and other states in the west and central Africa trade among themselves. It is business that has lasted for centuries.

There was a time a large chunk of wild meat consumed in Nigeria were coming from Cameroon, wild boars, buffaloes etc; clothing was coming from Senegal and Ghana and others.

During Air Peace inaugural flight to Monrovia, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the airline Mr. Allen Onyema said the Nigerian carrier was championing seamless air connectivity in Africa to ensure the economic growth of the continent and ease the travel challenges of the people.

“We began our intervention in the air travel difficulties of the West Coast of Africa with the inauguration of LagosAccra service in February 2017. A year later in 2018, we deepened our presence in the region with the addition of Freetown, Banjul and Dakar to our route network.

“The addition of Monrovia to our route network is a fitting response to the yearnings of the flying public for the Air Peace experience. The launch of Monrovia brings our regional destinations to five. We are connecting Monrovia from Abuja and Lagos through Accra. Shortly, we hope to add more destinations to our regional route map,” he added.

Also last Sunday Overland Airways marked its inaugural flight services from Lagos to Cotonou, Republic of Benin and Lome, Togo Republic.

The Managing Director of Overland Airways, Captain Edward Boyo said history was made with flight operations into Lome.

“We have come to promote trade. Trade happens when people move from one point to the other. Every evening, Overland will leave Lome at 8.30pm. Passengers will go to Lagos and do business for the whole day in Lagos and when they are ready to come back, they go to the airport by 6.30pm to join Overland.

“It is possible for prosperity and economic development to come to our lands. We have come to Lome and Togo to stay. We are here to provide service,” he added.

Analysing the market, travel expert, Ikechi Uko said Overland and Air Peace may last long in the West Coast market because they have chosen the right aircraft type. Overland uses ATR 42/72 while in addition to Boeing B737; Air Peace would be deploying its 50-seater Embraer 145 on the routes.

What is fruitful about the West Coast is that it yields revenue in foreign exchange and its flight duration ranges from about three hours to 35 minutes.

“The load factor is smaller and more profitable, so choosing the right equipment has been the problem for Nigerian airlines but Air Peace and Overland have got it right, this time.

“This is Overland’s first foray abroad. It has taken advantage of a low hanging fruit so with its aircraft type; it needs about 20 passengers to survive in the routes.

Overland has the right equipment, but it needs to connect to other airlines to take its passengers farther in the West Coast than to operate point to point,” Uko, the organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market said.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Managing Agency (NAMA), who had operated the West Coast routes for several years as a pilot, described it as high yielding market.

Well, the west coast is high yield market, so it is up to you to take advantage of it. Some of the payments are made in foreign exchange, so it makes sense.

By share population alone and the fact that you must look at the market, who are the people that travel more?

Nigerians travel more. Number one, we have the population. Number two, by our nature we travel; by our nature we are very aggressive as traders, it is not something that anybody invented, it is a natural thing. We are highly mobile, we are good traders. So, you find it that throughout the West African coast. Tell me where Nigerians are not in such numbers as dominating some of the economic activities?” he said.

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Irukera: Despite Challenges, Airlines should Satisfy Their Customers The Director-General of Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mr. Babatunde Irukera has urged airlines to prioritise the satisfaction of their customers notwithstanding the challenges they may be facing in their operations. Chinedu Eze provides the excerpts: We want to know what Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has been doing in terms of service delivery, customer relations, which has been so lacking in airlines. Do you think there have been improvement on service delivery by airlines in recent times?

I will say two things, there have been some improvements but there are still a lot of challenges and we are confronting those challenges. As a matter of fact, recently i sat in a meeting with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and obviously the meeting was a collaborative one on how to address consumer issues in the industry.

And what I was hearing from a lot of the airlines, were the challenges they face while doing their work, which include infrastructural challenges, regulatory bottlenecks. But what was clear to me and what I conveyed to them is, regardless of all these challenges, I think that airlines have to measure their responsiveness and sensitivity indexes with respect to their consumers.

One thing is that they don’t even have the appropriate mechanism for people to call in and have complaints resolved. So, one thing that I thought happened at that meeting was that it was a frank conversation and while I got a lot to understand the deficits that constitute challenges to them, they also got to understand the soft infrastructure issues.

This is because ultimately the consumer issues are primarily soft infrastructure issues.

Airport and the airside or the terminal side experiences are vital to consumer experiences also; even if you have the best airports but there is poor responsiveness, consumers will still be displeased. And airline industry is one place where you can easily satisfy consumers.

Nobody wants to fly when it is unsafe to fly, so if there is a delay for a legitimate safety reasons, consumers will appreciate that.

But what needs to happen is that; first those delays must be for legitimate reasons and your responsiveness and sensitivity to the issues must be such that you are upfront.

You provide the information and then you provide options or find a way to mitigate whatever the inconveniences that consumers will be experiencing. In addition to that is the fact that there is a sector regulator and working with that sector regulator is going to be important for us to truly provide the kind of 360-degree protection that is required.

I am also grateful that the sector regulator has agreed to work with us and has invited me to their meeting and we had an opportunity to jointly confront the airlines, so I think that is a good thing.

Recently the federal government stopped all operators in the transport industry, including aviation from paying Value Added Tax (VAT), how can this enhance the ďŹ nancial uidity of airlines and how do you think it will beneďŹ t the consumers?

When I look at it from the consumer stand point, it means it is going to translate to a better experience for consumers, fairer pricing for the consumer, I am all in support of it. So, I don’t look at things from a tax stand point; I look at it more from a business stand point.

But if that trickles all the way to benefit to consumers, both from a service stand point and a pricing stand point then I think it is an excellent idea.

In the period I have been there I don’t think there has been any inconsistent comments, but we have a working relationship where we collaborate, we cross refer complains and we address them from the two different legislative stand point. There are some mechanism for resolutions that exist in the consumer protection council act that don’t

Irukera

exist in the civil aviation act and then there are some that exist in the civil aviation act that don’t exist in the consumer protection act. All we ultimately try to do is to make sure that there is regulatory clarity for the airlines to understand what exactly they are confronted with and we also make sure that whichever approach we take is what brings the best benefit for the consumers In recent time, the CPC has delved into the aviation industry and most stakeholders in the sector are not comfortable with this because NCAA has consumer protection directorate.

What is your take on that?

Aviation is the most important catalyst for economic expansion in the world today.

Aviation today moves far more people than any other means; whether it is domestically, regionally or intercontinental. Aviation moves far more people and as many people that travel on holiday, the last time I checked, more than 65 per cent of aviation travels on international is still business travel. Business of aviation is not just a vital industry, it’s a critical infrastructure.

What kind of consumer conďŹ dence do you intend to build in the aviation industry?

Even when the aviation regulatory authority like the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has done all its work in safety and all of that; we still need to work with them to promote confidence in the industry. That’s why collaboration between NCAA and CPC is inescapable. The law is clear on this; the law establishes CPC for establishing Nigerians in every single facet of the economy even in the environment. So, we have a role in hazardous wastes, we have a role in gas flaring and others.

Then, you may ask that when we have the CPC, why do other agencies still have consumer protection departments in their

organisations? Yes, it is necessary that they have. Overlapping regulation is not confusion and it is not an error or a legislative blunder, but a deliberate design. All over the world, overlapping regulation is a deliberate design and it always underscores the importance of what is being regulated. It is a way to make sure that subject of that regulation is sufficiently regulated, that is why it overlaps.

Does CPC also ďŹ ght against narcotics?

The number one responsibility of government is to protect citizens, which is not just against insurgency, external aggressions, exploitations and even against the government itself. CPC is one of the key agencies that the government uses to protect the people. The Consumer Protection Department in NCAA is not a mutual exclusivity, it’s not an entirely of that state, it is because the government does not want the rights of the citizens to suffer.

CPC has only one consistency, the consumer.

The best working mechanism is the collaboration between the regulator and CPC. That’s the reason there is mutual responsibility for consumer protection. Also, we are backed by the law in discharging our duties.

What is the rate of complaint you get from the aviation sector?

I want to tell you that in 2017, aviation industry had the third highest complaints received by CPC. We have banking, telecommunications, cable television, food, counterfeit and substandard goods among others and I am telling you that aviation was number three.

CPC have not succeeded in aviation industry because we have not found the right regulatory tools. The delays and cancellations that we are experiencing, the approach we have will not solve it. By the time the delay occurs, the problem has already crystallised, and you

know airlines submit seasonal schedules to be approved by NCAA. Look at Arik Air for instance, when a new management came in, the first thing they did was to scale down the operations of the airline to more manageable schedules. When Dana Air lost an aircraft to runway flooding, it scaled down operations. So, it is not science, but simple that fleet capacity is directly connected to operational capacity.

That should be a consideration in what an acceptable public schedule is. I don’t think we are usurping the functions of NCAA. In fact, the first complaint that was resolved under my watch as a Director-General was aviation issue. It was the Turkish Airlines when it flew some Nigerian pupils to United States, but it was a joint resolve between NCAA and CPC. All the statements we have made in recent time on what happened in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Ghana were made after we have spoken with at least one person in NCAA. I am a protector of a mandate and I am going to fulfil that mandate. Whatever it will take to fulfil that mandate, including collaboration, I will fulfil it.

Also, in respect to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommended standards and practices, there is a coincidence of someone who knows the ICAO standards and recommended practices being the DirectorGeneral of CPC. I participated in over a period of three or four years in Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) on behalf of Nigeria, big ICAO meetings, and others. So, there is absolutely no conflict in any law in Nigeria with ICAO recommended practices and anything that CPC wants to do that conflict with ICAO practices. There is nowhere in ICAO standards that it unilaterally limits the protection of consumers to the civil aviation authority.

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Nigeria Customs Service’s Failed e-Auction Eromosele Abiodun posits that the electronic auction introduced by the Nigeria Customs Service has been marred with irregularities and sleaze After the uproar that trailed his order that owners’ vehicles in the country whose customs duties were not paid should do so or have their cars impounded, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd.) has been enmeshed in another battle.

This time, the fight was with the Nigeria Association of Auctioneers (NAA), who made good their threat of all-out war by heading to court to stop the plan by the NCS to auction seized and contrabands goods by e-auction.

The NCS had early last year announced that it would begin auction of seized and condemned goods to qualified persons on July 1, 2017.

According to the Service, the decision to reopen the suspended auction scheme after about 18 months was taken following successful test running of the new electronic auction portal.

Ali had suspended the auction of seized and condemned goods to allow for a more transparent and electronic method that would allow for equal opportunities for all participants. ‘’After repeated tests of the e-auction platform, NCS is now set to deploy the eauction portal on July 1, 2017,� the service said in a statement.

The statement added that the portal has been fully networked to designated banks to ensure that money accruing from the auction gets to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Treasury Single Account for transparency and accountability.

Ali

Many More Battles Although Ali suspended his planned duty collection drive on motor vehicles suspected to have been smuggled into the country without duty payment, the NCS boss’s much reported fall-out with the National Assembly over his refusal to put on uniform of the customs service as it’s Comptroller-General was another needless controversy.

Stakeholders believe the leadership of the NCS under Ali’s watch failed because of its desperation to drive the mandate given to it

by President Muhammadu Buhari.

On appointment, Ali was given three basic tasks: go to customs, reform customs, restructure customs and increase the revenue generation, “I don’t think that is ambiguous, I don’t think that is cumbersome,� Ali had told news men on assumption of duty.

This, analysts believe, may have forced the NCS leadership to employ measure it thought would help it meet its set-out targets.

However, the drive to meet its target set the NCS leadership against major stakeholders in the maritime industry.

It is not just the NAA that were battling the NCS leadership, last year, the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), shut down the ports over unfriendly policies by the NCS and the federal government.

In a bid to suspend the strike action, Ali and top management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) paid an unscheduled visit to the secretariat of both associations pleading for understanding and cooperation.

New Directive Few days after the peace deal was reached with ANLCA and NAGAFF, the NCS announced its decision to commence the auction on July 1, 2017.

In a swift reaction, the NAA warned the NCS not to embark on the proposed e-auction of seized and condemned goods from July 1, until the court rules over the matter.

The auctioneers said such a decision was against the law of the country and cannot stand since the court has not ruled on the suit brought by way of originating summons by the association against the NCS. The association had dragged the NCS and Ali, before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja over the plan by the NCS to conduct online auction sales of seized vehicles and

other items.

In a suit brought by way of originating summons, the auctioneers prayed the court to hold that by virtue of its incorporation, registration and accreditation pursuant to the relevant laws of the federation, an auction sale cannot be conducted by a committee appointed by the NCS. The legal counsel to the association, Wale Yusuf said since the matter was still in court, all the parties involved must not do anything that would threaten the decision of the court.

According to him, the Customs lawyer filed a motion of adjournment at the last court sitting and the matter had been adjourned to September. “Technically, the rule says every party in the dispute must hang up; nobody must do anything that will jeopardise the decision of the court; they will not force on the court a situation of helplessness by doing anything contrary to the determination of the suit. For now, the injunction is still hanging in the court till September; Ali cannot carry out that e-auction until the court decides. “He will not even try it, or we will file for contempt. I think he has been trying to monitor the matter and thought the case will finish by June, but I think he will also have to adjourn the commencement of the proposed exercise, “he said.

Similarly, the Secretary of the Caretaker Committee of the association, Goke Adedokun, said: “We are registered auctioneers and we have been paying our taxes. We have all the necessary documents, we are registered with the Customs. Recently, 120 members of the association renewed their licences as auctioneers. If the NCS have jobs like this, we are supposed to be called upon to do it because we don’t have any other job.� “If Customs goes ahead with the e-auction, it will deny our members of jobs. We want to generate revenue for the country in a transparent manner.

If we are allowed to do the job, it will be a physical exercise. “The United States of America’s system of e-auction that the NCS is trying to copy allows open bidding and allows auctioneers to carry out the bid. The Procurement Act of 2007 gives us the right

to carry out such exercises,� he stated.

The Failed Auction As against the earlier promise by Ali to increase federal government’s revenue by auctioning seized and abandoned cars, vehicles worth over N20 billion have been rotting away at various ports and warehouses of the service.

Apart from the over N10 billion worth of seized cars rotting away in customs warehouses across the country, about 6,000 vehicles worth over N10 billion have been abandoned by importers at the Lagos ports.

This is because Ali has due to inefficiency abandoned the e-auction system he introduced to auction seized and vehicles.

In the first week after the system was inaugurated, Spokesman of the service, Joseph Attah, had said that the service generated N272,115,366 from the auction of 646 vehicles under its electronic auction scheme.

Since then, nothing has been heard from the service concerning the auctions despites frequent seizures and its warehouses going out of space for vehicles.

THISDAY checks revealed that the vehicles, imported through Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports, were abandoned because of the owners’ inability to pay the Customs Duty within the stipulated period.

The Duty Paid Value (DPV) of about 1,000 of the vehicles, Customs sources said, is up to N4 billion. The market value of each of the vehicles is between N4 million and N4.5 million. Sources said that instead of the importers looking for ways to pay the duties and levies, they resorted to bribing some Customs officers. They also sought ways to ‘fly’ the vehicles out of the ports through “unscrupulous agents.�

Over 3,000 of the vehicles, it was learnt, have been moved to some bonded terminals.

Some sources believe are still at both terminals contributing to the ports congestion.

The source alleged that some of the importers delayed payment until the vehicles were declared overtime cargoes. Their thinking, he said, is that such vehicles will be sold to them later at very cheap rate through auction. An official of one of the bonded terminals where about 1,500 of the vehicles are informed THISDAY that some importers abandoned some of the vehicles declared as overtime cargoes when they realised that they

have to pay 70 per cent duty and levies to clear them.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an importer said: “As importers, part of our efforts was to ensure that we patronise Nigerian ports and don’t divert our cargoes to the ports of neighbouring countries, but rather than this gesture being recognised and compensated, the federal government through the NCS is busy breathing down on our necks, asking us to pay 70 per cent duty and 70 per cent levy on every brand new vehicles imported into the country. “Ditto used vehicles. We must pay 35 per cent duty and 35 per cent levy. When you calculate the amount involved, you will understand the reason why people abandoned their vehicles. “We have invested heavily on each of the vehicles abandoned at the ports. We ought to be encouraged. Even some of those the government is buying vehicles from find ways of bringing them out of the ports without paying the appropriate duty so that they can break even.�

A senior Customs officer at the ports, said the NCS’ position on duty collection had not changed.

The Customs, he said, would collect the duty on the vehicles, adding that the importers would be sanctioned by declaring their vehicles as overtime cargoes and auctioning them. “We are committed to the recovery of the duty payable on every imported vehicle. We have the government’s backing on this and the management has no reason whatsoever to shirk its responsibility in this regard,� he stated.

How Trouble Started Ali had introduced the process as a way of enhancing transparency, reduce human contacts and ensure that only the highest bidders for any auctioned item takes it.

Aside Tax Identification Number (TIN) by prospective bidders, other terms and conditions included exclusion of customs officers and their families from participating in the bidding process either directly or by proxy.

The guidelines also indicate that auctioned items cannot be replaced or funds paid refunded to bidders. Successful bidders, findings revealed, were expected to make payments within five working days as auctioned items whose winners fail to pay within the period forfeit the auctioned item to the second highest bidder.

Successful bidders were to be given a period 14 days from the date of payment to remove the item bided for or forfeit it at expiration of the period.

According to the NCS, “any auctioned item not removed from the warehouse within 14 days from the date of payment shall revert to its pre-bidding status which makes such item open for sale again.�

Winners in the auction process were to pay 25 per cent of the auction amount to the Terminal Operator with another 25 per cent of the auction amount to the shipping line operator. “Owners of seized items are excluded from bidding for them but may however participate in the bidding of other items while owners of overtime items with evidence of payment of duty and other charges has priority over a successful bidder of the item provided the item has not been exited out of the Customs control,� it added.

Aside being transparent, the NCS had promised that the new method will also increase the amount of revenue government makes from auctions as bidding will be competitive and devoid of bias or favouritism.

Hitherto, the service had done auctions through issuance of documents to beneficiaries with which such beneficiaries approached the warehouses before making payments to designated banks. The method was viewed as not being transparent as beneficiaries of the auctions were believed to have been selected through a non-competitive process.

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Dakuku: We Are Committed to Repositioning NIMASA The Director-General, of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside has stressed that the board and the entire management of the agency are committed to ensuring that the agency responds to its core mandate of advancing Nigeria’s global maritime goals.

Peterside, who stated this at a media chat in Port Harcourt, stressed that the board’s efforts have attracted commendations from various sections of the country including the Federal Executive Council, “who are fully committed to the new drive of the Country’s foremost maritime administration, noting however that they would not relent in the efforts to make Nigeria a leading maritime nation.�

According to him, “we are putting a lot of structures in place to ensure the Agency remains on a sound footing and our efforts have attracted commendation from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and stakeholders within and outside the maritime sector. We can only get better in our determination to make the Agency perform the functions for which it was set up and make it the leading maritime administration in Africa. This is why we are continuously working hard and poised to making Nigerians reap the benefits of the sector.�

Speaking further the NIMASA boss said that the transformation of the agency

has been phenomenal in terms of repositioning and revenue generation, stating that NIMASA is among the top five agencies contributing to the coffers of the Federal Government. Peterside further stated that NIMASA was working continuously in collaboration with relevant security agencies to ensure the protection of Nigerian waterways and by extension the Gulf of Guinea.

He particularly commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment to the maritime sector by giving the needed support to carry out reforms, policies and programmes that have had tremendous impacts on the fortunes of the industry.

On the recent boat mishaps around the country and Rivers state in particular, he expressed sadness over the incidents.

He, however, added that NIMASA would work with the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to promote safety and safer ways of water transportation. He then promised to personally donate 1,000 life jackets to jetty operators in Rivers State as a way of promoting safety consciousness.

The agency recently reinforced its commitment to safety of lives and properties in the maritime sector and this was evident by the shutting down of some facilities by the Agency for not conforming to the International Ships and Ports Facility Security (ISPS) Code.

Digital Academy to Enhance Nigerians Marketing Knowledge In a move described as the reference point for digital marketing knowledge, influence and impact in Nigeria, the Lagos Digital Academy (LDA) has been officially inaugurated in Lagos.

Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of LDA, Kunle Shittu, in a statement, said the LDA is designed to create a step-change and equip digital migrants with market-driven, dynamic and practical trainings that would prepare them for quality placement and industry exposure.

Shitu described the academy as an informatics leadership course for LDA digital migrants and leaders.

According to him, “We breed a nest of digital potentials for companies to employ and empower to contribute to organisational growth.�

On his part, the Managing Director of LDA, Dotun Babatunde, explained that the birth of the company was as a result for professional and savvy digital professional who has gone through the burn of digital training or academy in the country. “The marketing communication industry in Nigeria

is getting cluster but more importantly is that there is a huge skill gap when it comes to digital marketing. So giving the decades of experience of the LDA team, we came up with a way to equip the future generations and executives who have been in tuned to the traditional advertising and marketing platforms but do not understand how best to plug in digital to the equation as digital is part of every form of communications. This way out is LDA,� he said.

Dotun described the establishment of the academy as the “beginning of a profession.�

Shedding light on the programmes and courses of the academy, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Office of LDA, Tola Bademosi said: “The programmes and courses of the academy will be designed and tailored along different clientele, because the needs are different based on wants, professions and backgrounds.

The programmes are going to be empowering because knowledge without application is useless. Knowledge acquired must be applied so as to move from the current level to a higher one.�

SIFAX to Build, Operate Multimillion Dollar Dry Port in Gambia Stories by Eromosele Abiodun SIFAX Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Gambia to build and operate a dry port in the country’s capital, Banjul. A dry port (sometimes inland port) is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations.

The company, in a statement, said the MoU was signed by Group Managing Director, SIFAX Group, by Mr. John Jenkins and Managing Director, Gambia Ports Authority (GPA), Mr. Abdoulie Tambedou. “After the signing ceremony, the SIFAX Group delegation, which also included Group Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi and General

Manager, Business Development and Strategic Planning, Mr. Saheed Lasisi also met with the Gambian President, Mr. Adama Barrow, where prospects of extending the company’s investment plan to other sectors of the country’s economy was discussed extensively. The terms of the MOU include a multi-million dollar investment in the building and operations of the dry port to decongest the Port of Banjul in a public-private partnership business model,� it stated. While thanking the president for the opportunity to invest in the country, Afolabi assured him and the people of Gambia of SIFAX Group’s willingness to open up the economy of the country by not only building and operating a worldclass Inland Container Terminal but also invest in other sectors that will help the Gambia grow and compete favourably among her peers in the continent and

beyond. He said: “SIFAX Group believes in making Africa the focus of its investment hub. We are of the view that Africans stand a better chance to sincerely develop and tap the array of business and growth opportunities that abound in the continent.

We have been doing this in some West African countries and we are sincerely grateful to the president for opening the doors of The Gambia to us. Our promise is that the country’s economy will feel our impact as we don’t intend to limit our interventions to the maritime sector alone. We have identified other areas we will be willing to invest in the nearest future.�

On his own part, Jenkins assured them that the company would rely heavily on its 30-year-old business experience acquired working in various sectors and countries as it sets out to turn around the

country’s maritime sector. “We are delighted as a company to begin this journey of investing in The Gambia. As a company, we have a record of success in all the sectors and countries we operate. We will bring our experience and expertise to bear in the running of the dry port. The project will help in decongesting the Port of Banjul, create employment for the people of Gambia and make the port very profitable and competitive. These are some of the values SIFAX Group will bring to the table,� Jenkins said.

President Barrow thanked the delegation for choosing Gambia for their investment foray, adding that the country needed a lot of investment, both local and foreign, to grow the economy. He promised to provide the necessary enabling environment for SIFAX Group and other foreign investors to

BOOST FOR COMMERCE

R-L: President, Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji; second National Deputy President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Ide Udeagbala; President, Iyalode Alaba Lawson; first Deputy National President; Hajia Saratu Iya Aliyu and DG, Ayoola Olukanni, at a forum in Port Harcourt‌recently

NPA to Collaborate With Stakeholders to Sustain Operational EfďŹ ciency The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala-Usman has promised to continue to sustain operational efficiency in the maritime sector.

She stated this when she accompanied the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo on a working visit to the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics base (LADOL), within the Lagos Ports Complex (LPC).

She said that the successful berthing of the Egina FPSO is as a result of operational efficiency and very robust synergy between the NPA and LADOL including other stakeholders whilst reiterating that it is a testimony of enhanced capacity of the Authority to handle greater responsibilities in the sector.

She encouraged other operators to emulate the

investments made by Total, LADOL, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) adding that government venture into the provision of a level playing field through anti-monopoly policies which have yielded great dividends. “We as a result, hereby encourage prospective investors to explore this and other opportunities that the reform of our operation has engendered benefits as we assure of NPA’s willingness to facilitate these ventures.

We must however advise business organizations to ensure strict compliance with the country’s statutory rules and regulations,�she said.

According to her, the multiplier effects of local content policy is evident in visible technological transfer, accrued revenue to the nation,

as well as in employment creation, reduction in capital flight, attraction of hub status for the oil and gas sector in Nigeria amidst the cost saving attributes.

The NPA boss stressed that the Egina project is a statement by government that the quest for hub status is real adding that, “industrialisation is real and that private indigenous companies are able to thrive and support international projects and investors.�

In his speech, Osibanjo stated that the successful anchor of the Egina FPSO is not just a celebration of local content across board, but also a resounding testimonial of the success of the Ease of Doing Business in respect of the Ports industry.

Osibanjo, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, also enjoined stakeholders within the industry to compete favourably whilst appreciating the facility.

He said: “Excellent work has been done here and they would be sacrosanct industry to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (EGRP) of government in the long run as would be evident in the Nation’s GDP in no distant time.�

He congratulated the Local Content Board for contributing effectively at bringing the facility and project to fusion.

He used the opportunity to enlist the support of stakeholders in the federal government’s fight against corruption in order to join the comity of nations free from corruption.

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Price as Niche Strategy Raheem Akingbolu The last ten years marked the development and growth of the Nigerian pay TV market with players extending their frontiers through major marketing strategies.

Aside advertising, top players in the industry have explored other areas like promotion and sponsorship.

At the moment, things appear to be looking up for patrons of the various brands as the competition in the market has suddenly become blessing in disguise.

The latest news is how GOtv is using pricing and contents to change the game. Through the strategy, which involves taking into account segments, ability to pay, market conditions, competitor actions and trade margins, amongst others, the brand has appealed has taken care of the interest of its customers and competitors.

Besides, another thing that is currently working for the brand is the fact that it has cleverly combined pricing and sports -a unifying platform for Nigerians, irrespective of class and age.

Under the current regime in the market, GOtv appears to have become the cheapest way to watch premiership, LaLiga, Serie A and other football content. In a way, the price reduction appears to have played up the brand as one of the most effective pay TV brands in the market.

As the new European football season approaches, promoters of the the brand have given indication that a rich football buffet awaits fans on GOtv MAX. If the promise of the brand is anything to go by, among other opportunities, subscribers can be sure of the full complement of LaLiga matches, Italian Serie A, the new playground of the great Cristiano Ronaldo. Also, subscribers have also been promised select matches of England’s Premier league and the UEFA Champions League. “What you get is over 760 live games during the season, starting from 10 August when the Premier League begins to give you the chance of watching Mohammed Salah, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Allisson Becker, the world’s most expensive goalkeeper,� the company explained in a statement.

Meanwhile, as sports lovers await LaLiga, which kicks off on 16 August, with GOtv Max subscribers having unrestricted access to the games of the prestigious league, the expectation is high that the brand would enjoy more patronage.

Speaking on the expectation from the tournament, General Manager, GOtv, Akin Salu said; “The signing of Ronaldo by Juventus, sure, has changed the complexion of the Italian Serie A. The goal machine will seek to conquer the league branded the most tactical in the world and you can watch him do so right from the comfort of your home starting from 19 August.

“Of course, subscribers can watch two UEFA Champions League games per week this season-on GOtv MAX. “Quality entertainment has always been a key focus on the GOtv platform and we are excited to continue offering more value while widening access to quality family entertainment,� he said

Package Offerings Among other heartwarming revelations, the reduction in the price of GOtv Max, which is one of the packages on its digital terrestrial platform, from N3, 800 to N3, 200 which is 15.79 percent reduction which started on August 1, 2018, has been describe by pundits as a plus for consumers.

Considering the fact that GOtv MAX is the home of the Spanish league, with all the best games available on the package, handlers of the brand might have struck another deal with Nigerian consumers. For the Plus customers, it has also been announced that they can tune in twice a week for selected matches, while GOtv MAX viewers can catch up to two UEFA Champions League games per week from this season.

In the first series, it has also been indicated that GOtv MAX can comfortably embrace the Italian league’s introduction to the platform as they can also view all the best matches, adding that GOtv Plus customers can enjoy two games a week. In addition to the reduction, the management of the company has indicated that there would be reduction on more live football from other leagues to the GOtv Plus and Max packages. Specifically, it said GOtv Plus customers, will now have access to over 220 live games per season, with two games each from the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A. Since the announcement was made, market watchers have continued to describe it as positive response to the economic reality in the land as many customers are facing tough economic challenge.

Competitive advantage The competition in the Pay TV market has, though gotten tougher in recent time than it used to be, with each of the players churning out various marketing strategies hold on tight to the segment it targeted from the beginning. Beyond riding on friendly price, analysts believe the brand is winning the game through innovation and multiple contents that spread to entertainment, news, sports and children channel.

Speaking on the price reduction, Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe explained that the price reduction was effected to deepen customers’ access to the content on the GOtv platform. “Our goal is to give more Nigerians access to the great content on our platform without compromising on quality or variety.

Travel Agent Introduces Discounted Fares Peacock Travels Limited, in collaboration with some of the world’s leading airlines, has announced a package of promotional fares and incentives to ensure hassle-free travels.

The discounted fares, some as low as N319, 999 for return trips, were selected to cover a wide range of routes such as London, New York, Houston, Washington, Istanbul and Dubai – all very popular with Nigerian travellers.

The company said incentives package includes extra baggage,

visa assistance and free first date change on some selected airlines and routes.

A statement quoted Peacock Travels Executive Chairman, Aare Segun Phillips, to have said the promotional package and incentives were not limited to the peak summer travel season, but would run till next year on the agency’s various online platforms and its 15 travel centres across Nigeria and in the United Kingdom.

The company’s office at Twickenham, southwest London,

is also providing logistical support such as bus and taxi services to all parts of the UK to its passengers.

Phillips said the firm made the decision to work with airlines to reduce fares after successive years of observing the difficulties Nigerians have to contend with in order to travel, especially during summertime. “Nigerians go through a lot just to travel during summer. They are confronted with high season, high traffic, high fares; it need not be so. Nigerian travellers

deserve better. “That is why Peacock is teaming up with some of the most reputable partner airlines in the world to alleviate their suffering. Throughout this summer and subsequent ones, we are putting smiles on the faces of our customers; we want them to have peace of mind.�

Philips said Peacock Travels, with its reputation of 25 years in operation, also facilitates passenger travels through its office in Twickenham, London-to other destinations around the world.

With the new price on GOtv Max, our customers can now pay less to enjoy more,� he said.

The latest development has simply reminded patrons and market watchers of a series of campaigns deplored in recent time to further re-establish the brand essence of the pay TV Company.

As a platform that was introduced to democratise the market about six years ago, the new set of campaigns are tailored towards consolidating its brand promise and aspiration.

With appropriate visual illustration and captivating messages, the campaigns play up the proposition of GOtv as well as speaking directly to the patrons of the brand. To further position the Pay TV Company as a family entertainment platform, the creative work touches on Africa Magic, Sports, Movies and other areas of interest.

For instance, one of the campaigns unveiled a year ago; ‘TV Wey Go Totori You’ is cleverly used to celebrate the Africa Magic, which over the years has reconnected Africans and their culture through indigenous home videos and programmes that focuses on African culture and heritage. Another one; ‘TV that Gets You Energised’ is deplored to capture the sports channels on the platform. This is also believed to be strategic, considering the positive attitude of Nigerians to sports, especially football.

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WEEKLY PULLOUT

WEEKEND Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi... Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com 07010510430

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FILE

TOBI BAKRE BIG BROTHER FANS SHOULDN’T PIT EX-HOUSEMATES AGAINST EACH OTHER

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Tobi Bakre: Big Brother Fans Shouldn’t Pit Exhousemates against Each Other Tobi Bakre was second runner up at the 2018 Big Brother Nigeria reality show. In this exclusive interview with Martins Ifijeh, Bakre shares his thoughts on why fans of ex-housemates should preach love rather than try to pit former contestants against each other. He also talks about his brand, relationships, role models, and plan to go into politics. Excerpts: How are you coping with your many social media followers?

Before I went into the Big Brother House, I already had over 25,000 followers on social media. In the university then, I was one of those popular guys that used to do rave parties for commercial purpose. I organise parties where people pay gate fees. Then, I was this kind of guy that had hundreds of followers on blackberry messenger.

Even in NYSC then, I was made leader of my CD. So, I am very used to large followership.

realise that we are young and the unfair pressure fuels unhealthy competition. On my part, I am handling my own very well because I don't even see anybody, I'm just running my own course, and at my own pace. So I am not looking at other people but I can't say the same for every other housemate. We are all running different races, so if the society pitches us together, they then tend to measure who is doing better than the other. This may make some people try to run faster than their guardian Angel, which on the long run may be counterproductive.

I know this year's big brother was probably a lot different. Society should learn to love us and not compare us. Fans should love who they love, and basically support every one because we all went into the house to entertain. That you have your favourite housemate doesn’t mean the other person is a devil. We didn't kill anybody. When another big brother housemates come what then happens? Outside the house, we are still trying our best to continue to entertain. I tell people on my platform not to tackle other housemates on my behalf or bring anyone down. Anyone who does that on my behalf is not my friend.

Let’s all spread love.

Where did you serve?

I served in Benue State, and then redeployed to Abuja after three weeks in camp.

Now you have over 800,000 followers on Instagram. How are you coping with this change?

Personally it is challenging because I am no more able to read direct messages and reply every follower. If I had to be doing all that, it means it will be a full time job. If I live full time on social media to interact with people, it would mean I will be neglecting my actual life. But then again, to continuously get more followers I need to be active. I am still finding a way to balance it because I love my followers.

How do you cope with bashings from some followers who may be angry with your actions at the Big Brother House?

Personally, I do not like confrontations, and that is why I do not see the bashings. Most times, it is my friends that tell me what people are saying on social media. Most of the times, I just go on twitter and tweet, then sometimes I see responses. Often times I do not see people’s opinions, not that they don’t matter because it is good to get feedbacks, but I hardly see the negative ones.

A lot of my fans do not have the real picture of me and why I do what I do, so I only try to listen to the people in my inner space that knows my reality. I like my fans, but then I have another group that have gone beyond being fans, they are my friends. Some of them were fans, who found their way into my life, they see all about me, and then I listen to their perspective. So I think maybe they bash me less now because I don't respond, and a lot of them may not mean it, all they want may just be a reply from me.

But I don’t reply such because once I do that, they end up getting what they want.

I preach love and peace, so if anyone is bringing anything contrary to that, he or she won’t get my response. For instance, how will someone say on twitter that Tobi’s visit to DBanj’s house caused the death of his son? How will someone say something that ridiculous. Even if you conceive it in your mind, how would you say that kind of thing? So I just looked at it and said that this person is definitely looking for a reaction but he won't get it.

Are you now more under pressure to succeed?

In my whole life I have always been under pressure to succeed. Sometimes I feel that extra weight, but I try to shake it off because I personally chase myself to success. Anytime I succeed at something, I easily get bored and want new challenges. So in my own small life, I'm constantly under pressure to succeed. When I was a banker I was under pressure, I wanted that promotion, I wanted that recognition. I wanted that award so it has always been like that. When I was in school I wanted to be that smart guy and that same social guy, I wanted to be club chief and at the same time I wanted to be one of those guys that graduated with one of the best result.

For me it has always been more of my personal goal. I just want to be a very happy person, I want to be very wealthy and I want to be able to impact lives. So to make the impact I want for the society, I need to be wealthy and I am working towards it.

How are you working towards it?

Bakre

I am working towards it, but how exactly I’m going to achieve it, I'm not quite sure yet, for now I'm just trying to grow the principles that would propel me for when the opportunity comes to be wealthy. I have remained prayerful, focused, hardworking, and I try to do different things. That is why a lot of people believe I am jack of all trade; from photography to acting, to other things.

For me, I find it very interesting that I can juggle one or two things. They say such people are masters of none, but not in my case, I try to be a perfectionist in every trade I do. One stream will expose you or give you big bulk, but to make a lot more of impact, you have to diversify into other areas.

What are you presently working on?

I am working on a number of things right now.

I'm acting, hosting, doing stuff for fitness and then I'm still doing my social responsibility.

Since I left the house I have been focused on five major streams at least for now till probably the end of the year. Very soon I will be doing photo exhibitions. I have been working on the pictures, trying to get venue, bring sponsors on board; it’s a big project so am taking my time, because this will be the first time I will be doing something this huge.

I am also doing ‘Tobi Live, which is like a Youtube platform where I educate the society on different intellectual, funny and entertaining topics. I am also doing a programme where we go to public schools to teach them handiwork like painting, photography, among others. I am also an investment banker.

I am doing CFA, which will make me a chartered financial analyst. That is one of the toughest finance courses I have attempted. It is in three stages, but I have passed the first level. When I clear my head a little around this whole media life, I will go back to finish level two and three.

What do you intend to achieve in the next five years?

I am taking one step at a time but in the next five years, I think I should have made my mark in the Nigerian entertainment industry; acting and hosting. So right now, I am learning from great guys in the industry like Ik, Ebuka, Ramsey

Noauh and the likes, but then, I think we all have different backgrounds so I'm taking notes from them and I want to be as great as they are or even greater. I don’t just want to be a host, I want to be that guy you bring on board to do everything, such that once you get Tobi, he will take care of every other thing. I want to be a one stop shop for everything. So that way I can attract reputable and bigger brands.

I learnt you are into biking as well. What is the idea behind that?

This is one thing my parents definitely don't approve of, but the society needs to be educated on safe ways to drive bikes on our roads. I used to have a bike before I went into the Big Brother House. I am a biker, but my parents must not see me do it.

What challenges are you facing as an ex housemate?

Before now, the major challenge was that I wasn’t doing enough for myself. When I was with the bank, I had the typical 9am to 5pm job but it became exhausting and uninteresting. So the challenge then was how to break out and start to do all the things in my head. That was why in the first case I had to resign and went for the Big Brother House. I knew when I come out of the house; I will have the needed platform to do what I really wanted. And getting to the finals was just a big win for me.

Right now the challenge I'm facing is the thought of what I should do and shouldn’t do. But every time I keep reminding myself that I am human. I tell myself it is okay to fail and try harder to succeed. So I try not to put much pressure on myself even if I know the society is on my neck. My parents have been encouraging me as well. Sometimes they just ask, what are you doing now. Everybody wants to see me succeed. The fans are all hungry for the success, but for me it goes beyond success.

It is more of achieving my goal.

It seems there's a competition among the housemates to out-succeed each other. Do you feel that pressure?

That competition is been created by the society, and they shouldn't do that. The society should

Does it get to you when people try to pit you against your fellow housemates?

I do not allow people do that to me. I control my space. The friends around me know I won’t allow anyone bring up such topics around me.

Even while with the housemates that I am close to, we only talk about the things we are all doing, and everyone is okay with that. By next year even after the next big brother, I still want to be heard, that is what I am working on.

Which housemates are you still close to?

I am close to Alex, Rico, and Miracle. I still see them often. Once in a while I see Ifuenada and Leo. What has the Big Brother platform done for you since you left the house?

Aside the large social media platform, it has taught me a lot. I have learnt how to work with people from different backgrounds. This is something difficult for many Nigerians. That is why when you go to offices you can see they are having favourites base on tribe, gender, etc.

You see then in the house big brother can pair you with who you like or who you don’t like.

So I have learnt to shut what I don't like out, and focus on the goal. I have also learnt about my weaknesses and strength. So right now I'm building a lot more on my strength.

Were there things in your lifestyle before the house that you have corrected now?

Before I went into the house I was into drinking and smoking shisha, even in the house. But right now I am cutting down on those things.

You know I am promoting fitness, so I can’t be talking about healthy living and still taking in unhealthy substances. I want to be a perfect example for anybody, so that any parent can say Tobi please come and be the mentor of my children. Already, people tell me to be the mentor of their children, and it is quite fascinating.

Do you have more money in your account courtesy of your participation in the big brother game?

I didn't win the money, though I won a few challenges like the Nokia’s one million naira game. But what I know is that the platform gave us quite a lot we can do for money even if we sit in our homes and do social media influencing. For me, it goes way beyond that.

I can't sit down and just be posting, I want a situation where I am the one paying people to post for me. I want to be an ambassador for brands where I can add value, and they will not hesitate to renew my contract.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY AUGUST 17, 2018

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Excitement as Honeywell Rewards Customers with Ghana, Dubai Trips Mary Nnah For their outstanding contributions to the impressive results recorded

by Honeywell Flour Mills Plc in the last financial year, some customers of the company have been rewarded with all-expense-paid holiday trip to either Ghana and Dubai.

The lucky customers to Dubai are Alhaji Oladega Modiu and wife Alhaja Safurat Oladega of Kay-Solak Nigeria Ventures who won first position in Business-ToBusiness category. Also included in the trip are Mrs. Modinat Sanusi and husband, Kazeem Sanusi of Baking Industry Limited who came first in Business-To-Consumer category.

Those on Ghana trip are Sales Officer, Opeyemi Baking Industry, Mr. Olaiya Rilwan Oriyomi; Managing Director, Namadi Inuwa Enterprises, Mr. Inuwa Umar Namadi and Sales Analyst, Opeyemi Baking Industry, Mr. Oladunmoye Sheriff Bukola.

They have since left for their various trips and are expected to visit interesting and historical places, ac-

L-r: Area Sales Manager, Business-To-Business, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Mrs. Grace Amurun; Alhaja Safurat Oladega, Alhaji Modiu Oladega and Sales Officer, BusinessTo-Consumer, HFMP, Mr. Shola Akintola, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos…recently

cording to Innovation and Consumer Insight Manager, Mr. Lanre DaSilva.

He listed such places in Dubai to include Dubai museum, Jumeirah Mosque, Jumeirah Beach, Burj Al Arab, The Palm Island, Atlantis Hotel, Mall of Emirates, Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa. They will also enjoy Dubai city tour, Dhow cruise,

Desert Safari and Dune Bashing.The elated beneficiaries expressed their appreciation to Honeywell Flour Mills, assuring that they would double their efforts to retain their outstanding position Managing Director, Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola had, while announcing the winners during the company’s

customers’ forum, assured customers of better service and performance, saying the company has put in place processes to ensure that it meets and even surpasses their expectations.

He listed part of efforts to meet customers’ demand to include the establishment of new Honeywell’s pasta plant at Honeywell Food and Agro Allied Industrial Complex in Sagamu, Ogun State which consists of two spaghetti lines and two macaroni lines with annual capacity of about 140,000 metric tons.

According to him, the plant, which is the largest and most sophisticated pasta plants in sub-Saharan Africa, is able to produce pasta using both wheat and local grains.

Besides the Pasta plant, he said the site will accommodate over 10 additional factories all producing food products with the central theme of utilizing locally available grains and tubers to provide more affordable high quality food for Nigerians and in the process creating thousands of jobs and guaranteeing food security in the country.

Dinner with Stars set to hit TV screens Nosa Alekhuogie Dinner with Stars, a television show, aimed at encouraging young adults and growing entrepreneurs who view celebrities as inaccessible for mentorship to help guide them in their chosen paths, is set to air at the end of August.

Dinner with stars is an interactive TV show that features a celebrity guest of the day and a fan, who is selected to wine and dine with them.

The platform gives young adults the opportunity to learn firsthand from their favorite celebrities in any career field and profession.

The Executive producer, Dinner with stars, Mr. Tolu Okoro who in a statement said that; “ The Nigerian society is one in which many young people are filled with ideas but lack the right skill to mold those ideas into successful realities.

"Dinner with Stars gives such young and creative individuals the opportunity to get walked through by a celebrity who has gone through the walks of life in a particular field. This in turn reduces mediocrity, and puts the Nigerian society a step further in its entrepreneurial and business goals.”

The show focuses on the success stories of celebrities and in turn rubs off on the self-empowerment and self-development of the Nigerian youths to strive towards success and reaching her goal.

"Have you ever wondered how certain people became successful in their career and profession?

Do you have questions regarding the success ladder of a particular profession you have a flair for?

"To be selected to dine with any celebrity, information is readily accessible on the dinner with stars Instagram page and other social

media handles.” He added.

It's goal is to equip youths with the knowledge and inculcate in them the right attitudes to converting their passions and dreams into reality.

Each episode features a guest who is thriving in their career filed and a fan that has an interest for such career path.

The show which has started airing on the Youtube platform and is set to air on TV stations across Nigeria has featured some celebrities like the founder of Nairabet, Akin Alabi, Nollywood’s Actor, Kunle Remi, Dj Jimmy Jatt and a host of others since its inception.

Open Society West Africa, Gets New Head The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), has appointed Ms. Ayisha Osori as its new head.

Osori who was appointed Executive Director of the OSIWA Foundation is expected to resume work on September 4, 2018.

With her appointment as the Executive Director, Senegalese scholar, author, and OSIWA board member Ms. Felwine Sarr takes over as board chair, while the board member from Sierra Leone, Ms. Mariama Anthony-Williams, emerges as the vice chair of the foundation.

The President of the Open Society Foundations, Mr. Patrick Gaspard, in a statement yesterday, commended Osori for being in the forefront

Osori

on the fight for good governance, gender equality, women’s economic and political empowerment, and ending violence against women.

Gaspard noted that Osori who also serves on the board of directors of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, has a deep knowledge of OSIWA, having served as board chair for the past three years. "We are honoured to have the leadership of the next chapter of OSIWA’s work in Ayisha Osori’s capable hands.

“She has already built an impressive legacy of work on a wide variety of issues of concern to Open Society in the region, and she always puts the advancement of women’s rights at the fore. I look forward to partnering with her to advance our work and our values throughout West Africa,” Gaspard said. Speaking shortly after her appointment, Osori said,

promised to use the platform to promote good governance, human rights and equality.

“I can’t wait to get started.

OSIWA has been at the forefront of civil society’s work across West Africa, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help lead its efforts to promote democratic practice, economic advancement, equality, justice, and human rights; and to work with some of the smartest and most committed people in the region and the world," she said.

Osori is a lawyer, development consultant and communications strategist, who has worked in both the public and private sectors in different capacities.

Rwanda Expresses Excitement to Host AMAA As the government of Rwanda through the Rwanda Convention Bureau (RCB) and Rwanda Tourism Bureau conclude arrangement to host the 2018 edition of African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in Kigali come September 22, Chief Executive Officer, Rwanda Convention Bureau, Ms Dennis Omany, has revealed how excited her country feels to host AMMA and what preparations are on ground to ensure a hitch free event.

Speaking recently to newsmen on the role her organisation is playing as this year’s AMAA holds in her country, Omany said, “We see AMAA coming into Rwanda as an opportunity for us to grow the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences

and Exhibitions (MICE) sector that we, as a Bureau do because it fits within our agenda for MICE. Entertainment and event is one of those things that are part of MICE. "So we see it as part of what we are supposed to be doing within that sector. We are quite excited to have AMAA come to Rwanda this year, because we also see an opportunity of growing that sector.

We are hoping that a lot is being done to be able to attract people into Rwanda.”

She expressed the hope that with AMAA, the rest of the world will see Rwanda for the value it brings to the filmmaking industry across the world as a location for films and based on the infrastructure which

is already built.

“For AMAA, it is visa on arrival for the whole of the world, and that’s the major ease. AMAA already has one set of training on social media for creative industry entrepreneurs and this was basically to get them to activate a trend of people talking about why AMMA is coming to Rwanda.

"For AMAA and RCB, it’s really like how do we make sure the creative entrepreneur see Rwanda as a destination of choice within Africa.”

Speaking on the amenities on ground to ease the grand event, she said, “We have already agreed on facilities and will be hosting it in the best we have within Kigali which

is the Kigali Convention Centre. It’s currently the best”, Omany added.

“We want people to be able to come and discover Rwanda’s tourism which is one of the best you can get. We have different packages that will be available for anyone who would want to explore. Also, one of the things that make Rwanda fine is the security."

Revealing that Rwanda is actually relatively cheap, compared to Nigerian and other countries, Omany noted, “It is affordable so everyone will be able to identify what category of tourism package they want to subscribe for if they look on ticket.ama-awards.com. It’s been done in such a way that it is affordable and it’s in dollar.”

Beacon Oak Poised to Deliver Solar Power in Nigeria Nigeria remains an untapped market with an enormous potential for a large-scale renewable solar energy revolution, Kayode Adewakun, the African Regional Director for Beacon Oak, a London based private equity firm, has said Speaking in Lagos recently, Adewakun said, “With a grade 1 electricity infrastructure system and an unending demand for power due to rapid industrialisation currently taking place in big cities such as Lagos, Abuja and Enugu; it is no surprise why Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and investors alike are flocking in their numbers to be part of this new clean energy revolution.”

He noted that Beacon Oak is now one of the leading renewable energy developers focused on delivering utility scale solar power in Nigeria both on an on-grid and off-grid solution.

He said, “Beacon Oak recently signed a 1.5 MW deal with renowned oil and gas firm to deliver solar power directly to their infrastructure.

"This deal will entail leveraging existing connections with the transmission lines through separate agreements and invest in power infrastructures to deliver the power.

"The project will be carried out in partnership with the Benue State government (equity holders) and will leverage battery technology to ensure its uninterrupted supply over its term tenure period."

Beacon Oak continues to explore more opportunities in Nigeria to deliver power to large corporate clients to help them meet their energy demands.

They are currently working on a pipeline of projects in the region and will like to meet its own local target in Nigeria of 250 MW by 2020.

A Sleek Red Carpet Tribute Night for Late Ras Kimono Mary Nnah The magnificent COSON House in Ikeja will on Wednesday, August 22 witness a super classy event in honour of the great reggae toaster, Ras kimono, who passed on in Lagos on June 10, 2018.

The sleek red-carpet event, a tribute night like no other, will climax the week-long programme of the funeral of the massively beloved music legend who will be laid to rest in his home town, Onicha Olona in Delta State, on Saturday, August 25, 2018. Speaking on the upcoming event, COSON Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Chibueze Moses Okereke said “the event will be strictly by invitation. We know that people from all walks of life would wish to attend this big event especially as the sleek tribute night is being personally produced by the COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, Nigeria’s undisputed master of special events. “Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate everyone so if you get the IV, please honour the event because it means that you belong to a select group. Members of the Kimono family have met several times with our chairman over the tribute night and I have no doubt that it will be talk of the town” Also speaking about the forthcoming tribute night, the COSON General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji, said, “Ras Kimono was not just a COSON member, he was a 100 per cent committed member, totally dedicated to the cause.

"As a hyper creative person, he fought against anything that will destroy COSON as he saw the organisation as a watershed development in our country and an important legacy for the Nigerian creative industry.

Late Ras Kimono

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY AUGUST 17, 2018

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33/THISLIFE

17.08.2018

As Odili Turns Platinum at 70 Although former Governor of Rivers State, Dr Peter Otunuya Odili, has been quiet for a while, he continues to be politically relevant. As he turns 70, Davidson Iriekpen looks at Odili’s contributions to humanity, his state, and Nigeria, generally Prominent Nigerians from all walks of life on Tuesday gathered in Port Harcourt to celebrate former Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, for his contributions towards the development of humanity, his state and Nigeria in general, as he turned 70. Though the former governor has been quiet for a while, he continues to be politically relevant.

Little wonder former Kano State Governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; former Edo State Governor, Lucky Igbinedion; former Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada; former Rivers State Governor, Sir Celestine Omehia; former President, Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru (rtd); and former Akwa Ibom military governor, Col Bako (rtd), were joined by former ministers, serving members of the National Assembly, traditional rulers, professionals and renowned jurists, to pay tribute to the outstanding political leader. Also present were Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike; his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike; members of Rivers State Executive Council, state judiciary and legislature, as they celebrated Odili.

In his remarks, Odili thanked God for His mercies and for enabling him with the capacity to transform the society. He commended Wike for organising the programme to celebrate his 70th birthday and pledged to continue to work for the advancement of humanity.

Public Lecture In a public lecture organised in honour of the former governor by the Rivers State Government, Odili was hailed for investing his intellect and resources in building the country. The lecture titled: “Sir Dr Peter Odili: Defender of the Faith, Defender of the Fatherland,” was delivered by former Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), who described the former governor as an ornament of the state.

Agabi said, "Formerly, he belonged to Rivers State. Now, he has ceased to be the property of Rivers State. He is now the property of Nigeria and the world. Whatever he has done is for the benefit of mankind. Whatever he has refrained from doing, it is in the interest of society."

The former AGF said Odili is an outstanding humanist, who is courageous and committed to the growth of the country. He added that Odili used power to advance public good, noting that he never deserted his friends while in office.

He said the array of guests celebrating Odili was a proof of his loyalty to them. He also praised the former governor’s wife, Justice Mary Odili, for providing him the right support to do exploits and be a blessing to all generations.

The former AGF who advocated a united country where all Nigerians can work anywhere, irrespective of their state of origin, also called for the setting up of a National Integration Centre to build national unity.

Afenifere's Call for Revival In an epilogue, the Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said at 70, Odili and other men of goodwill should stand and work for revival of the country. Odumakin added that the country has lost track and will descend into full blown dictatorship and anarchy, unless Nigerians check the slide.

He said: "Except all men of goodwill stands up to be counted, we may witness a major cataclysm in this country.”

Encomium As expected, encomiums poured in for the septuagenarian. Among those who extoled the virtues of the former River State governor was the Secretary to the State Government, Sir Kenneth Kobani, who described Odili as an indisputable political leader of Rivers State.

Chairman of the occasion, former President Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdulahi, said Odili has created a place for himself in the history of Nigeria.

Eventful Years For Odili there is certainly every reason to celebrate. It has been an eventful 70 years loaded with God’s grace and mercy. The years he has spent on earth have been eventful and full of achievements that have made him the envy of his peers.

Born on August 15, 1948 in Ogba, Egbema,

L-R: Wife of the Rivers State Governor, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike; Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike; Former Rivers State Governor, Dr Peter Odili and his wife, Justice Mary Odili at the Special Thanksgiving Mass for the 70th Birthday Celebration of Dr. Peter Odili organised by the Rivers State Government at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Chaplaincy, Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt... recently

Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, his parents, Chief Philip Celestine and Princess Janet Okwei Odili, may not have imagined the great heights their then little child was destined for.

Like the legendary Professor Chinua Achebe would say, a chick that will grow to be a cock is known the day it was hatched. This wise saying later became manifest in the boy, Peter, when he enrolled in St. Michael’s School, Oguta II and Sacred Heart School, Onitsha between 1953 and 1960 marking the commencement of his intellectual quest that saw him pass through the famous Christ the King College in Onitsha and the prestigious University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus where he studied Medicine.

After his mandatory internship at the University of Benin, Teaching Hospital, Benin, he moved on to be a Resident Staff Physician, Medical Consultation Centre, Port Harcourt, between 1979 and 1980. Given to entrepreneurship, he went into private medical practice by establishing PAMO Clinics in 1980. He served as its Resident Clinician-in-Charge between 1980 and 1982.

He still needed to add shine to his academic laurels and for that reason, he went in pursuit

Formerly, he belonged to Rivers State. Now, he has ceased to be the property of Rivers State. He is now the property of Nigeria and the world. Whatever he has done is for the benefit of mankind. Whatever he has refrained from doing, it is in the interest of society

of a specialist programme at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom. It was an opportunity for him to hone his skills and he grabbed it. The knowledge so acquired made his proficiency in Medicine much sought after in Port Harcourt, around the country and even beyond.

It was in demonstration of his acumen in the medical field that Odili was a personal nominee of then President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton, to a 10-member roundtable committee charged with the responsibility of formulating the methodology for addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis in the workplace in Africa.

Was medicine his last bus stop? No. He was too versatile to be so pigeon-holed. He believed he possessed leadership qualities that must be made beneficial to his people. Public service, for him was the appropriate way to prove that he can replicate his knowledge of medicine in the field of politics and governance. But the military were still in charge and he bided his time.

In 1988/89, Odili was elected member and leader of Rivers State Delegates to the Constituent Assembly and was elected to the National Constitutional Conference, where he served as the Chairman of the Conference Committee on State Creation. In 1992, he was elected as the Deputy Governor of Rivers State. At the peak of the struggle for the laying of the foundation for the Fourth Republic, Odili first served as National Vice Chairman (South- South) Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN); and later as National Secretary.

He was Founder and Leader of Rivers Platform, 1998; Founder and Leader, Restoration Team as well as the State Leader of Peoples Democratic Party,PDP; elected Executive Governor of Rivers State in 1999 and served two terms. It was in that capacity that he took the country like a storm and became a reference point in the nation’s political calculations. He was at various times the National Chairman, PDP Fund Raising Committee (2000); and Chairman, Presidential Committee on Housing and Urban Renewal (2001).

Even his ardent critics concede to him that his sojourn in office garnered stellar propensities that have till date remained a yardstick for measuring performance in that resource – rich state. Before him and just as Port Harcourt, the capital of the state was, on paper, a federal territory, most part of it were not connected

to the national grid.

The National Independent Power Project (NIPP) which later became a federal fad had Odili, in his capacity as governor of Rivers State, as one of its pioneers. Before him, also, Government House, the seat of the governor, was not better than a guest house and that’s being charitable.

He built a grand and befitting edifice that is the cynosure of the people’s eyes.

Other landmark projects and policies of his administration are there today as Odili’s legacy of excellence in governance. They include the free HIV treatment designed to achieve some of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, his intensive commitment to mother and child healthcare, investments in banks, the Eleme petrochemical industry and the now aborted Port Harcourt refinery deal. One will not forget to mention that by sheer strength of character and personality, he was able to tame troublemakers and secured lives and property in the state.

One positive part of the Odili phenomenon is his large heartedness as well as his proclivity to mentor successors. But it has also led to some personal regrets as captured in his autobiography, Dr. Peter Odili: Conscience And History – My Story. A close associate of his commented that an area that one could easily empathise with the governor is his expressed disappointment over the numerous betrayals by those he so trusted and brought up socially, politically, financially, academically and even religiously. Regardless, the former governor has remained the issue in the politics of Rivers State. One may agree or disagree with him. One is either for or against him but there is no room for neutrality on matters of Odili’s politics.

Odili is married to another achiever and distinguished professional, Her Excellency, Justice Mary Ukeago Odili, a Justice of the Supreme Court. Their marriage is blessed with four children.

In terms of chronological imperative, 70, ordinarily, can hardly be said to represent a milestone. But it is not the number of years that count. It is the impact one is able to make on existence. It is often said that in between birth and death are legacies.

Looking critically at his journey of life within 70 years, Odili has his own fair share of those by which posterity will reckon with. As they say, time and posterity will not fail recognise his enduring service to humanity.

34/FEMALE CORNER

17.08.2018

Extolling the Virtues of an Amazon The wife of the Ogun State governor, Mrs OlufunsoAmosun, was recently equated with legendary Queen Moremi Ajasoro, an influential and brave queen of the Yoruba race, who fought a violent war during her time to save her people from prowling attackers. This tribute was made by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, at the unveiling of a book titled, “Queen Moremi Ajasoro”, dedicated to her. Mary Nnah who witnessed the event reports Ile Ife, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria, located in the present day Osun State, was recently agog when its traditional ruler, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi played host to an array of personalities from all walks of life at the Oduduwa Hall of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife in Osun State. The occasion was the unveiling of a historic book, “Queen Moremi Ajasoro”, which vividly re-echoes the virtues of Queen Moremi, most especially in saving the people of Ile-Ife from recurrent invasions.

Dedicated to wife of the Ogun State governor, Mrs Olufunso Amosun, the book is basically about the legendary Queen Moremi Ajasoro, an influential and brave queen who fought a violent war during her time to save her people from prowling attackers.

The venue of the event was filled to capacity with royal fathers, monarchs, government officials, members of the academia, and cultural enthusiasts from far and near.

Unveiling the book, the Ooni of Ife described Mrs. Amosun as a jewel whose deeds and merits are written in gold.

‘Moremi of Yorubaland’ The enthralling story of legendary Queen Moremi Ajasoro of the ancient of Ile-Ife appropriately exemplifies sacrifice and passion for the survival of the Yoruba race, bearing in mind her invaluable contributions in the 12th Century, which served as the harbinger of hope for the people and this, according to Oba Ogunwusi, is what Mrs. Amosun stands for in the present day Yoruba race.

The monarch described the Ogun State First Lady as an Amazon in the likeness of the legendary queen. While extolling Mrs. Amosun as a woman in the character of the legend, the Ooni of Ife described her as a courageous, intelligent, beautiful, humble, soft-spoken and selflessly useful to the society, just like Queen Moremi served in her time.

Ogunwusi said Mrs. Amosun’s generosity, humility and magnanimity in service made her a role model, while as a caring mother she remained a strong pillar in the sustenance of democracy in Ogun State, behind her husband, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, governor of the state.

“Olufunso Amosun has immensely supported cultural agenda in Ogun State, Nigeria and beyond. Her merits have been written in gold and she has become a heroine in Yorubaland”, the Ooni said.

Interestingly, the story of Queen Moremi, the beautiful wife of Oranmiyan, the Ooni of Ife, Obalufon Alayemore, summarises the heroic deeds of a woman, who dared the odds to save her people from extinction following external invasion of Ile-Ife. The invaders were said to have appeared so weird to Ife people on the battlefield that they were thought to be spirits. As the invasion persisted, the land was enveloped by perpetual fear.

Moremi, who shared in the worry of her husband, Oba Oranmiyan, and the discomfort caused the people by the development, made a bold attempt to work out a solution to the problem by expressing her readiness to offer anything as sacrifice to the goddess of River Esimirin. This was with a view to discovering the secret and strength of the enemies that killed and maimed her people in their thousands.

When the enemies came calling again, she was said to have been taken as a slave by the people and due to her beauty, the then invading king married her. Exploring her wit as a woman, she was able to extract the truth about the warriors from her husband.

After acquainting herself with the secrets of her new husband's army, she escaped to Ile-Ife and revealed this to the Yorubas who were able to subsequently defeat the invaders.

According to the Ooni, Moremi’s legendary feat brought peace that the monarch’s royal home and the entire Yoruba race enjoy today.

Oba Ogunwusi maintained that the attributes of Moremi, which were exhibited by Amosun,

Ooni of Ife with Mrs. Amosun

L-R: Olugbon of Orile Igbon, Oba Francis Alao; Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun; Amosun’s wife and celebrant, Olufunso; and Osun State Governor's wife, Mrs. Sherifat Aregbesola, at the event

compelled him to dedicate the book to her and also proclaim her as the Moremi of Yorubaland.

Heritage The book, “Queen Moremi Ajasoro”, written and produced by Princess Ronke Ademiluyi in collaboration with Oduduwa Foundation and Obafemi Awolowo University Centre for Cultural Studies, was launched as a historic book in preservation of Yoruba cultural heritage.

The 80-page book, published in both English and Yoruba languages, is a monumental documentary of the feats of the famous Yoruba Amazon, “Queen Moremi Ajosoro” who fought wars, sacrificed so much for the emancipation of her people. The book will be used in schools as a history book.

The global heritage ambassador for Queen Moremi Ajasoro (QMA) brand, Aderonke Ademiluyi, explained that Queen Moremi Ajasoro initiative was established by the Ooni as part of the House of Oduduwa Foundation.

“As the custodian of Yoruba culture, Oba Ogunwusi is committed to the promotion of the rich narrative of the legendary Queen Moremi Ajasoro of which he has demonstrated in various ways of keeping alive her rich legacy”, Ademiluyi said.

She disclosed that one of the projects in honour of Moremi was the construction of the 42-feet Moremi statue of liberty, which is the tallest statue in Nigeria. So also is the cultural pageant, which empowers young women and beauty queens into becoming future employers of labour with the sum of N5 million impact investment fund dedicated to this cause.

Women Emancipation

Addressing the gathering, the chairman on the occasion, the Olugbon of Ile Igbon, Oba Olusola Alao, said, “This is the time for women to be actively involved in government as Moremi had set the pace centuries ago. Moremi, through her historical feat stood for justice and liberty. This is a clarion call that women should be involved in governance in our nation. Women should take over the mantle of leadership.”

Mrs. Amosun, in company of her husband, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, was the cynosure of all eyes at the hall as tributes and accolades were bestowed on her by numerous speakers.

In his remarks, Governor Amosun said, “Our tradition, custom and heritage must not be forgotten. We must not forget our heroes. We have to thank the Ooni of Ife and others involved in this book launch for keeping our culture alive,” stressing that religion and civilisation should not erode African culture.

Mrs. Amosun said in the history of the Yoruba, the power and strength of a woman was aptly demonstrated by the great Heroine, Queen Moremi Ajasoro.

She stated, “She rose against all odds to save her people from harassment and invasions; it took her intuitive intervention and strong will, to restore peace in Ile Ife and save the entire Yoruba race from further intimidation and destruction.

"Ultimately, she had to sacrifice her most prized possession to save her people from further oppression, misery and torments from neighbouring adversaries. The continuous recognition and celebration of this great Amazon sincerely gladdens my heart.”

She added, “It is essential to constantly acknowledge, remember and celebrate all heroes

in whom we are well pleased. I am immensely humbled, grateful and appreciative of this honour bestowed on me today, knowing fully well that I am not worthy to hold a candle to the magnanimity of the heroine being celebrated here today.

“I therefore take solace in the belief, that this dedication is a celebration of all women especially those that believe in and promote the core values of womanhood, women that exemplify and promote integrity, dignity, courage, hard work, sacrifice, contentment, justice, humility and love.

“The story of Moremi is constantly re-enacted in our contemporary world today and a good number of mothers, sisters and daughters seated here in this auditorium are good examples of this."

Mrs. Amosun described Queen Moremi as a forerunner and trail blazer for a number of other great Yoruba icons like Madam Efunroye Tinubu, Mama Funmilayo Ransome Kuti and a host of other great amazons who fought for women emancipation and paved the way for the traction gained in women’s liberation today.

While appreciating Oba Ogunwusi for finding her worthy of recognition with the Queen Moremi book dedicated to her, she said, “Kabiyesi, I wish to assure you that I do not take this with levity neither do I take it for granted, I can only pray that God will assist me to live up to the expectations that formed this decision.

“Needless to say, dedications like this provide platforms for us to reflect on who we are and how we are living, it serves as a constant reminder to all of us that whatever we do today, is what becomes history tomorrow, may posterity record each and every one of us favourably."

35/LIVING

17.08.2018

FERTILITY WITH DR. KEMI AILOJE

Tel + 2348033083580, Email:Info@lifelinkfertility.com, Website: lifelinkfertility.com

BALANCED NUTRITION TO ENHANCE FERTILITY(Part 1) production and function • Provides the body with the abundance of essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants necessary for optimal health • May decrease the chances of miscarriage resulting from insulin resistance and damage from free radicals to the eggs or sperm and DNA • Support a healthy reproductive system and helps to build important nutrient store for pregnancy • Promotes energy and vitality

After such a concentration on the clinical side of infertility, this week, we will take a look at Nutrition and its vital role in fertility.

Maintaining a healthy diet is essential at every point in a person’s life but it is especially important and recommended for all couple trying for conception, via natural process or Assisted Reproductive Techniques such as IVF. According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), approximately 1 in 10 women will experience infertility. While there is no such thing as magical fertility diet, our nutrition plays a vital role to the body’s functions, fertility and general wellbeing.

Adequate nutrition will promote optimum weight, hormonal balance which eventually enhances spontaneous ovulation for the female and quality sperm production for the male.

Numerous studies have shown that specific changes to diet can improve fertility, prevent recurrent miscarriages, support a healthy pregnancy and enhance delivery of a live healthy baby.

WHAT IS FERTILITY DIET? A fertility diet contains natural balanced food products that are known to support your body in its reproductive functions. It includes foods which are dense in some specific nutrients needed for hormonal production/ function and balance, fetalhealth development, egg / sperm health, blood health and much more. It is a diet that is designed to help your body to balance fertility issues that may exist, build up nutrition stores and provide all of the building blocks for a healthy child.

WHY EAT A NATURAL FERTILITY DIET? DO YOU KNOW:

• The foods you eat today impact the health of your sperm and eggs 90 days from the day eaten?

• Hormones build themselves from the ingredient you provide through your diet?

• There are specific nutrients that are needed by the young fetus (growing baby in the womb) before you can even detect pregnancy and deficiency of these nutrients can cause serious birth defects?

• The number one treatment for balancing Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and getting

pregnant despite PCOS is majorly diet?

• One major cause of infertility is anovulation (lack of ovulation) and that it can often be corrected by changes in our diet? .

THE BENEFITS OF EATING RIGHT FOR EFRTILITY • Provides antioxidants, vitamins and minerals which help to protect eggs and sperm health from the damage caused by free radicals.

• Helps the body maintain hormonal balance by providing the fat necessary for hormonal

DIETARY INTAKE /FOOD SOURCES TO BOOST FERTILITY Water • Drink lots of clean water daily. Approximately 1.5-3 Liters recommended • Avoid fizzy, sugary drinks.

• Antioxidants, Minerals and Vitamins • COQ10: This enzyme is necessary for energy production at the mitochondrial level, improves eggs and sperm health and motility. Protect cells from free radical thus preventing DNA damage. COQ 10 amount in the body declines with age, hence supplementation of the prepared doses of about 200mg or more daily may be recommended after age 30 in humans where percentile depreciation of health is more visible.

Food sources: Sea foods from clean/fresh water sources and organic meat.

• Selenium: this is an antioxidant that helps to protect the eggs and sperm from free radicals which can cause chromosomal damages known to be a cause of miscarriages and birth defects.

It is an essential vitamin for sperm creation.

Food sources: liver, cod, shrimp, mushroom, turkey, Brazil nut, tuna fish, salmon fish, sardine fish.

OPINION

Dokubo Repositioning Amnesty Programme for Greater Impact in Niger Delta Barr. Mary Agbajoh The appointment of Professor Charles Quaker Dokubo as the new Special Adviser/ Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme

by President Muhammadu Buhari is one appointment critical stakeholders in the Niger Delta applauded.

Dokubo being one of those who were in the forefront of the agitations for a better deal for the Niger Delta region, in his short, but eventful stay in office has started yielding the desired results which is giving a new sense of hope to the Amnesty Office, its beneficiaries as well as stakeholders.

Stakeholders in the region believe that the choice of Dokubo for the job, couldn’t have come at a better time, having been involved in drawing up master plan for the development of the oil rich Niger Delta, hence he is eminently qualified to refocus and reposition the programme to become more impactful in order to meet needs and aspirations of the Niger Delta.

Dokubo being aware of the pains, challenges and expectation of the people of the Niger Delta was very prepare and equipped for the job, backed by sound academic qualification, with many research work and papers in on the Niger Delta question and been part of the drafter of the templates for resolving the issues, placed him in a good stand in to take the programme to the next level.

Dokubo holds a Masters Degree in Peace Studies and a Doctoral Degree in Nuclear Weapon Proliferation and its control from the University of Bradford, started as lecturer and became Director of Research and Studies at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA). In addition, he has published extensively and carried out research in the area of nuclear proliferation, conflict resolution and other areas related to strategic analysis.

Thus, his academic background and exposure which are related to issues of Niger Delta

Dokubo

region adequately equipped him to drive the very critical reintegration of the thousands of ex-agitators in the Niger Delta who have already been disarmed and demobilized under a structured Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Programme.

Before he assumed office, the disarmament and demobilisation of the ex-agitators had been completed in three phases.

He, however, was privileged to continue with the very critical Reintegration phase of the programme which largely entails providing the ex-agitators with either vocational training or formal education.

Of course, there is also the re-insertion part of reintegration, which entails adding processes

of returning already trained ex-agitators to civil society. He has started tackling issue of employment for the already trained delegates in the quickest way through provision of jobs for them and the exercise is ongoing.

As expected, on assuming office, Dokubo in urgent need of recalibrate and reboot the Presidential Amnesty Programme inaugurated an Amnesty Review Committee to produce a blue print on how to deepen peace, safety and security in the Niger Delta using the instrumentalities of the Presidential Amnesty Programme for former agitators in the region.

The review committee is comprised of four senior officials from the Amnesty Office and four experts carefully selected from outside of the office is saddled with the task of reviewing all contracts awarded by the Amnesty Office since 2015 with a view to determine the levels of work done, monies paid, beneficiaries and extent of work done so far, recommend a payment schedule for those qualified to be paid and determine the current status of all the Vocational Training Centers built or are still under construction across the states in the Niger Delta.

In an effort to uncover the depth of rot in the amnesty programme, he urged the committee to ascertain the current status of the database of the Amnesty Office with a view to determining its certainty and sanctity of the current status of all on-going vocational, educational and post-training empowerment programmes of the office within the country and offshore, The committee is equally saddled with responsibility to undertake an assessment of the current relationship between the Amnesty Office and the Presidential Amnesty Programme’s critical stakeholders with a view to suggesting ways of making the relationships even more robust.

Such suggestions include enhancement, empowerment and also setting up clusters of farms and other training centres to encourage people of the region and equally make hem

creators of wealth.

Being a listening leader and in line with ongoing retooling programme, the Professor also embarked on series of consultative meetings with critical stakeholders. The idea is to hear directly from the beneficiaries of the programme on how to make it more effective and much more impactful. This no doubt assisted in reposition the Agency.

Thus, despite inheriting a liability reported to be in the region of over N7 billion, the new coordinator has been able to fast track payments of the monthly stipends and backlogs of in-training allowances to beneficiaries of the programme in educational and vocational institutions in Nigeria and outside the country.

His commitment and achievements he made in a short time of resuming office were subsequently noted by the coalition of ex- agitators and stakeholders in the Niger Delta who applauded him for his commitment to peace building in the region.

According to them, “We are happy that today, we have an amnesty coordinator whose commitment to resolving the Niger Delta crisis is second to none. Within the short period that he has been in office, he has settled all outstanding allowances owed to ex-agitators.”

Thus, the aforementioned proposals and achievements of Dokubo open the way for peace which resulted in enabling business environment in the Niger Delta Region and increase of production of crude oil in accordance to OPEC requirement.

Consequently, the success of the presidential Amnesty programme in the Niger Delta region under the leadership of Dokubo has resulted in Nigeria being able to meet her OPEC quota of 2.2 million barrel crude oil per day compare to the production of 700,000 barrels of crude oil produced some months past. We must give kudos to the new Amnesty boss.

Barr. Mary Agbajoh writes from Abuja

36/COLLAGE

17.08.2018

President, African Public Relations Association, Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya (right) and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar during a visit to the air chief at the Nigeria Air Force Headquarters, Abuja...recently Venerable. Oludare Otoki (middle), flanked by Mr. and Mrs. Ifenna Ulasi during the child dedication of their baby, Kimberly at St Matthew's Anglican Church, Maitama, Abuja...recently

The immediate past President of Rotary Club of Benin, Rotarian Charles Otote [left] and his successor newly elected President of Rotary Club of Benin, Rotarian Nosa Edo-Osagie, at the installation/presentation ceremony of EdoOsagie as the 47th president of the club, in Benin City..recently DAN UKAN

Globacom’s Regional Head, Marketing Communications, Lagos/Ogun, Mr. Afolabi Otufowora (left) and the Chairman, 2018 Ojude Oba Festival Committee, Chief Wahab Osinusi at the world press conference to announce activities for the forthcoming 2018 festival sponsored by Globacom in ljebu Ode....recently

R-L: Business Manager, Simba Group, manufacturers of TVS tricycle, Manish Rohtagi; dancer, Don Flexx; Favour Ikechukwu; Leader of Chrystolite Crew, Joshua Akinrinoye; Iyanu Obilaja; musician, Small Doctor; Victor Ikechukwu; and dancer, Kaffy during the presentation of N1,000,000 cheque to Chrystolite Crew, the winner of TVS Confam Naija Dance in Victoria Island, Lagos...recently KOLAWOLE ALL

Founder/CEO, Jandor Foundation, Mr. Jide Adediran (middle) flanked by his 10 members of sponsored 2018 Hajj Pilgrims to holy land, after a special prayer for the foundation before their depature, in Lagos...recently

R; Group Managing Director, Sona Group of Industries, Mr. Ajai Musaddi; Chairman, Sona Group of Industries, Mr. Arjan Mirchandani; Olota of Ota, His Royal Majesty, (Prof.) Adeyemi Abdukabir Obalanlege and Group Chief Operating Officer, Sona Group of Industries, Mr. Ashok Manghnani during the visit and facility tour of the distillery giant’s corporate head office by the monarch in Ota, Ogun State... recently

L-R: Pakistan High Commissioner in Nigeria, His Excellency, Major General Waqar Ahmad Kingravi Hilal e Imtiyaz and President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Babatunde Paul Ruwase, during a courtesy visit by the high commissioner to LCCI in Lagos... recently

37/XTRA

17.08.2018

Here Comes the Revivalist Bishop of Lagos

By Folu Olamiti (FNGE) Monday, 30th July, 2018 will remain significantly and memorable for the Diocese of Lagos, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).

It was the day the Diocese enthroned a new Diocesan Bishop in the person of Right Reverend (Dr) Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye to take over from Most Reverend Adebola Ademowo who retired gloriously after serving for 29 years as bishop of the Church Of Nigeria and archbishop of the Lagos Province.

The enthronement ceremony which was quite serene was at the same time colourful due to the array of dignitaries who graced the occasion. Not less than 62 Bishops representing the heirachy of the Church of Nigeria were present joined by eminent personalities from all walks of life across the country.

Church members of the Cathedral Church Of Christ, Marina, Lagos who were present also adorned beautiful attires to celebrate the day.

The church auditorium was filled to capacity while worshippers and guests who could not find seats inside had to sit under canopies outside the church. The ceremony was by all means an historic event, a testimony to the wide acceptance of the new bishop, thus laying to rest the initial apprehensions raised in some quarters following his election.

In his inaugural address, Bishop Olumakaiye humbly acknowledged the good and unforgettable footprints of his predecessors in the diocese and promised to build and improve on their efforts to lift the diocese to the next level.

He said he would carry the priests along in this task and would make their welfare a priority. He also recognised the contributions of Right Reverend (Dr) Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye the various societies in the church and prayed undiluted gospel that will lead to a positive change that God would reward them.

He however observed that it may be a hard of the hearts and attitude of all stakeholders. task for him to surpass the achievements of " We should live the talk and allow the light his immediate predecessor, Bishop Ademowo, of God to illuminate the hearts of our leaders.

"When we have absolute faith in the words of whom he said trained and nurtured him in the Lord, there will be a major change in the the ministry.

On the state of the nation, he said the country country. He advised the country's leaders to required divine intervention in her quest for the lead the country in the path of righteousness, right and enduring solutions to her challenges. guided by the fear of God." Unfolding his plans to take the Diocese to higher He urged Nigerians, both the leaders and the led, to return to God so that the light of God level, Bishop Olumakaiye said his top priority would illuminate the nation thus paving the would be evangelism and revival of the church, way for the desired positive changes to manifest. which he noted had been a significant pillar of He urged Nigerians not to lose faith in the the evolution of the Anglican Communion since country but to continue to pray and preach the the 18th Century with the emergence of the

Church Missionary Society (CMS) that God used to bring revival and awakening to the church.

He explained that the revival will "target the total man. We will provide for the needs of the people. We will engage in the priestly, prophetic, pastoral, prayer and praise ministries. We shall have diocesan convention ground where we will hold large scale meetings. Our diocese shall exist mainly to exhibit God's glory."

Bishop Olumakaiye's emphasis on the revival and reawakening of the church in Lagos diocese is not a surprise to many people who were familiar with his activities in his previous pastoral postings. He is well known for his uncommon zeal for the spread of the gospel as well as the spiritual development and welfare of both the shepherds and the flock under his watch.

True to his words, the revival in the Lagos diocese has already commenced with a spiritually loaded 21-day Fasting and Praying programme which began on Wednessday August 1,2018 two days after the bishop's enthronement. It

is mandatory for all churches in the diocese and he has vowed to pay unscheduled visits to the various assemblies to ensure compliance.

Also in furtherance of the revival, the bishop has inaugurated a healing and charismatic service which is to hold in the evening of every first Sunday of the month at the Cathedral Church of Christ. The first edition took place on Sunday August 5 and according to worshippers, it was a glorious encounter with the Holy Spirit.

The 49-year-old bishop has had a very eventful journey of over 30 years in the ministry. He is also an excellent scholar. He holds a Doctorate degree in Religious Studies from the University of Ibadan and he has many scholarly theological publications to his credit among which is a book "Inculturation and Decolonisation of Oral Liturgy of the Anglican Communion Nigeria."

Bishop Olumakaiye is spiritually supported by his wife Professor Mrs Motunrayo Olumakaiye.

Folu Olamiti Media Consultant writes from Abuja

UNDEDSS Mourns Loss of Governor Dickson's Mother The United Niger Delta Energy Security Strategy (UNDEDSS), has enjoined all Niger Deltans to join in mourning the death of Mama Goldcoast Dickson, mother of Bayelsa Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson.

Dickson on August 10, confirmed the death of his mother, popularly known as Mama GoldCoast.

The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Francis Ottah Agbo, said the late Mrs. Dickson died of cancer at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, Texas, united States (U.S.), where she was receiving treatment. She was 72 years old.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Wednesday, UNDEDESS Secretary General, Mr. Tony Uranta described the incident as a very sad one.

Uranta commended the stoic nature which the grand old lady exhibited even as she battled her terminal illness to the end. “ Mama Goldcoast was a loving and caring mother to all who crossed her paths while she was alive. She gave succour to many and never refused to open her door to anyone in need.

"Her Death is a huge loss to our people.

We know that Gov. Dickson is a strong man,

Late Mama Goldcoast

but losing a mother can be discombobulating.

“UNDEDSS as a Coalition of Niger Delta cultural and pressure groups urge all Niger Deltans to pray for the family and the repose of her soul.

“We pray that God grants him and the whole Dickson clan, the fortitude to bear this loss at this pivotal times in Nigeria,” he stated.

Nestlé Nigeria Celebrates Youth Day With one of the youngest populations in the world, Nigeria needs to positively harness the resourcefulness and ingenuity of over 50 per cent of its population to accelerate economic development. The majority of young people lack skills acquisition and economic opportunities, which unfortunately results in the current high level of unemployment and the underutilisation of young talents.

A March 2016 publication by the African Development Bank on Jobs for Youth in Africa indicates that, “of Africa’s nearly 420 million youth aged 15-35, one-third are unemployed, another third are vulnerably employed and, only one in six is in wage employment”.

Thus for Nestle Nigeria, the annual International Youth Day provided the needed platform to find solutions to these challenges.

This year’s theme, “Safe spaces for youth”, highlights the importance of providing safe physical, emotional and digital spaces that harness the full potential of the youth to promote development. Nestlé Nigeria marked this year’s

Youth Day by hosting an interactive session to explore opportunities for youth to create a path to their own success.

Speakers included Demola Sule, MD, Powerview Group; Oreva Ethel Ogubere, CEO of Auriela’s Basket; Nicole Simon Ogan, Hot FM Media Personality and Co-founder of Jist Couture and Bili Sule, VP, Partnerships and Innovation at Jumia.

During the session, the speakers shared their real-life experiences and practical tips for navigating successful careers.

As Sule said, “Only you can decide what to do with all the gifts you have. Identify what they are, and channel them accordingly."

Nestlé, the world’s leading Food and Beverage Company, believes that communities cannot thrive if they cannot offer a future for younger generations. Therefore, in line with its purpose of “enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future”, the company is committed to help equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in any field of expertise

or entrepreneurship of their choice under its global flagship programme, Nestlé Needs YOUth Initiative. The company has set an ambition to help 10 million young people around the world have access to economic opportunities by 2030.

Rémy Ejel, Market Head of Nestlé Central and West Africa (CWA) said, “By providing opportunities, developing and harnessing talents of young people, Nestlé can successfully contribute to building sustainable communities and spurring economic growth.

This is one of the concrete ways Nestlé creates shared value for the company and for society”.

In Nigeria, Nestlé focuses on working with government, stakeholders and partners to help youth develop employability, entrepreneurship and agripreneurship skills. In 2017 alone, over 500 Nigerian Youths benefited from Nestlé Needs YOUth initiatives including career fairs, employability and technical skills development programs, internship as well as graduate and management trainee opportunities.

Evans Obayayi, one of the speakers at the Youth

Day celebration, is a beneficiary of one of such opportunities. He joined Nestlé as a graduate trainee in 2013 and in four years, has experienced upward career progression. After his one-year traineeship, Evans became an Import Specialist in 2014 before the role of Import Coordinator in 2015. In 2017, he was promoted to head the Imports and Exports department, a positon that he currently holds.

Evans described his time in Nestlé as an “exciting time, full of learning and growth”.

Another beneficiary is Damilola Adeyemi who just completed her management traineeship. She is currently the Category Development Executive for Nescafé in Nigeria. Damilola described the 21-month training as an “exhilarating period with room for development and learning”.

Nestlé also supports youth focused programs including Lagos State’s Ready, Set, Work (RSW), a skills acquisition initiative of the state’s Ministry of Education aimed at addressing skill gaps of graduates in order to address the graduate unemployment challenge in Lagos State.

Sage and Scholars Holds Seminar on Coping with Special Children Olawale Ajimotokan Abuja based resources centre, Sage and Scholars Lighthouse Academy will tomorrow, August 18, organise a break out session for parents, teachers and caregivers on raising high performing teens and coping with children with special needs.

The standout summit will address pertinent issues on parenting and it is coming at the end of the intensive five-week summer camp to equip children with the prerequisite knowledge and skills, relevant for driving them through life.

The parents’ day of the standout summit is themed: “Your Child Can be More”.

The founder of Sage Scholars and Lighthouse Academy, Mrs Adeola Remi-John, said the summit will offer parents 21st Century parenting skills, networking opportunity, in addition to meeting experts, who will offer perspectives on issues on child development.

The facilitators that will share insights at the programme are professionals and parents with years of experience.

They are Indianavon Dangaru, Alero Allagh, Kelly Benedict and Remi-John.

Dangaru, a special needs consultant, will talk on coping with the task of raising children with Down Syndrome, Autism and the support

parents need to give to children that are different.

Allagh, a school proprietress, will provide tips on disciple that work for children and the role to be played by a parent to ensure that a child is a good example, in terms of morals, disciple and character.

Benedict will advise parents on how to unlock a child’s potentials, in addition to how parents can translate a child’s creativity to become his passion. Remi-John, a life coach and career councellor, will focus on high performance particularly in the academics and the expected role of parents to see that their children excel.

“Ultimately, we want to look at the career

options for the child. From that angle, the parents will be able to direct and guild the child with the necessary support to take him to the pedestal where he will get to the top,” Remi- John said. ages and Scholars Lighthouse Academy is a book-club that impacts life skills in children through mentorship, internship and vocational training.

The summer vocation camp was for children aged 5 to 11 years and offered experience that will foster lifelong learning and help kids maintain and sustain required social and life skills.

38/INTERVIEW

17.08.2018

Akintola: My ‘Àtúnse’ Agenda will Usher in All-round Development in Osun Former Executive Chairman, Lagos State Public Works Corporation, Architect Olugbenga Akintola, is the Alliance for Democracy (AD) governorship candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State. In this interview with Jonathan Eze, Akintola who bemoaned the condition of his people, promised to lift the state to an enviable height if elected governor. Excerpts: Why do you think you are the most suitable person to lead Osun State, especially in terms of academic qualification and experience?

I trained academically as an architect with further specialisation in Project Management, Building Surveying, and Road Maintenance. My 30 plus years’ work experience is in the UK and Nigeria where I have served in senior positions requiring leading and motivating people to deliver quality results. Additionally, I am fortunate to have public service experience as a result of recognition of my professional competence by serving in the cabinets of the governors of Lagos and Oyo States. While what I have done in the past are good, the real question is how do these training and experience add value for the much-desired development of Osun State? My academic training conditions me to conceptualise, design, and build.

Osun needs someone who can conceptualise a better future, design the steps to achieve such future, and together with the people construct a state that will be the envy of all Nigerians and beyond. In this construction, my training and work experience in Project Management implies attention to details in operation especially for monitoring and evaluation – this is important in service and program delivery in government. My public service experience enriched me to know that a chief executive's role is all about strategic visioning and assembling a competent team to deliver on results. Additionally, the international and national exposure, to which I was privileged, gives me a broader view of other comparative best practices that are relevant for moving our state forward for the betterment of our people.

The Osun State governorship election is only a few weeks away. Given this short period, what are your chances?

I am a democrat who firmly believes that the decision rests with the people. Furthermore, I trust that our people are competent to make a right choice and I will be insulting them to postulate that their choice will be based on ‘political chances.’ On September 22, I believe that they would remember the good old days of Awolowo/Bola Ige and compare it to what improvements, or lack thereof, they have seen in their lives particularly in the past eight years. I identify with the aspirations of our people and our ‘Atunse’ Agenda is about them.

What is your motivation for taking part in this contest, and why do you think the people will vote for you?

Simply put, constructive dissatisfaction. Growing up and with all my entire schooling in Osun, I noticed how our citizens are of the most evolved character with a strong pride of self-reliance. Fast forward, more recently, I realised that there is high degree of hopelessness as our people were being compelled to a condition of dependency on handouts because of half-salaries and lack of economic opportunities. Can you imagine the hopes and aspirations with which we took off, in the 1960s, and if our development trajectory had continued in an upward swing? Today, we talk of how Osun’s equatorial climate makes our land very fertile for agricultural cultivation with two major ecological zones of rainforest and savannah; we have over one million ounces of gold under our land as well as talc and feldspar not to talk of water resources for the generation of hydroelectric power. All these remain a potential and I begin to wonder when they will become viable reality to create economic opportunities of jobs, industries, and wealth for Osunians. Look, a ‘potential’ is a liability if you don’t know how to exploit it. The problem is neither our people nor poverty but rather series of bad governance that have impoverished instead of enrich the people. The values that I was taught by our elders are fast eroding and we are failing ourselves by not producing with all development indices leaving a lot to be desired.

So you believe people will vote for you?

Akintola

I have passion and love for Osun people and know that they desire to be wealthy in good health. Past failed promises have left them jaded and their cynicism is a manifestation of a deeper and more diffuse malignancy: poor governance.

So, this malignancy can be corrected by honesty in governance and an effective government that addresses the welfare of the citizens. I, therefore, look at it this way, the people have a lock, I have the key; why will the people not open the door when they hear my plans and development agenda? I have trust in our people to make the right choice when they hear my message of solutions to our collective problems.

What is your major agenda for the state if elected?

My vision is that of an Osun State that is capable of creating wealth for its people and my goal is to contribute to Osun State’s ability to fulfil all of its obligations towards its people through a capable workforce for industrialisation. To achieve this goal, I will work assiduously on an Àtúnse (rebuilding) Agenda of economic development and human capital investment.

My focus will be how to maximise the human and natural resources for Osun State to prosper.

More specifically, we will follow the cardinal agenda of our party's (AD) manifesto with the following programs: firstly, gainful employment to all with our priority on workers’ welfare by ensuring that they are paid in full as at when due. We will link agriculture to manufacturing and provide incentives to SMEs to upgrade their capacities; secondly, integrated economic development by shifting our budget emphasis for industrialisation. Our solid minerals will be explored and developed to create jobs. We will increase funding for technological advancement

in equipment manufacturing and accelerate the development of Omoluabi Free Trade Zone; thirdly, quality education by improving the standards and quality assurance as well as ensuring better management and utilization of funds while also improving the relevance of curriculum for the 21st century. We will improve teachers’ welfare for motivation and ensure that our tertiary institutions move from theory to application of knowledge; fourthly, quality healthcare with an increase in budgetary allocation for primary healthcare services and shift emphasis to preventive healthcare. Our primary healthcare centres will have the appropriate supply of medication and adequately staffed with medical service providers; and finally, human capital investments with a particular focus will be on making human beings the determinants of all economic and social change. Our skills training for industrialisation will be complemented with entrepreneurship education so that those who complete secondary and tertiary education have the practical skills for self-employment and our youths can unleash their innovative talents.

The AD has been in political limbo for some time now; do you think the party has the wherewithal to upstage both the APC and the PDP in this election?

You see, more than you can imagine and more than they are given credit, Osun citizens are increasingly more enlightened and taking back their power to elect very seriously. As I move around the length and breadth of the State, from Odo-Otin in North to Ife North in the South, from Ayedire in the West to Oriade in the East, what I hear is the nostalgia of the agricultural production and farm settlements of Awo or the education and healthcare policies of Bola Ige.

When I travelled from Ejigbo to Iwo, people could not stop talking about the roads built by Baba Awolowo; go and travel between Apomu and Ode-Omu and you can assess its horrible condition. Our people, creditably, understand the nexus within an economic cycle that salary arrears or half-salary, for civil servants, implies that there is no more disposable income with attendant effect on the woman in Lagere market, in Ife, or even the family that used to buy 10 eko for a family of five now has to contend with five thereby reducing the profit margin for Iya Eleko and cascade effect that goes through the value chain all the way to the quantity of maize that a farmer in Ago Owu can sell. The other day, I heard from a plantain farmer in Esa-Oke whose post-harvest loss was not because of climate condition or storage but more because the demand has greatly reduced from Ikire because dodo Ikire is no longer selling as much because consumers have reduced purchasing power.

Recently, I was speaking with an octogenarian Baba Sadia, in Ikire, who is seriously concerned about his children instead of enjoying his old age. If you follow the discourse of our youth, particularly on social media, they are talking about the hopelessness of coming out of school without a job as much as how the quality of their education does not even prepare them for the current labour market much less the 21st century. These are the real issues that centre on putting people at the heart of development; no other political party has a clear and stated commitment to this goal than Action Group whose grandchild is AD. The truth is that our people know this as much as they know that there is no shortcut to prosperity other than economic development and human capital investments.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY AUGUST 17, 2018

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T H I S D AY •FRIDAY AUGUST 17, 2018

CITYSTRINGS

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com 07010510430

Succor for a Community Remote from Civilisation With no access road, potable water, or other conveniences of modern life, Dunawa community in Katsina State is remote from civilisation, but some succour came recently from the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Dr. Badiya Hassan Mashi.

Francis Sardauna reports

Dr. Badiya Hassan Mashi and staff of her ministry trekking to the community

D

unawa village of Gana-Jigawa is an agrarian community in Mashi Local Government Area of Katsina State. But this community, which has over 500 residents and 1000 livestock, is cut off from civilisation.

The community lacks access road and other basic amenities, such as electricity, drinkable water, health centre, and schools. THISDAY also discovered that the people still live in mud and thatched houses with little or no protection against inclement weather. Being close to the shores of a stream, the community suffers constant flooding during rainy seasons.

Pre-natal care is alien to pregnant women there, as no hospital exists anywhere close.

The sick ones whose cases defy traditional medicine often travel as far as Gana-Jigawa and Mashi to seek medical care or surrender to fate.

Farm produce, according to farmers in the community, perish seasonally due to lack of access roads, which they lamented, has not attracted the attention of successive governments since they started an agitation for better conditions in 1966.

Three Centuries Water Source Meanwhile, the over 500 inhabitants of Dunawa village depend solely on a local well sunk by late Mallam Aminu Dunawa about 300 years ago, as source of water for drinking and other domestic use. Expectedly, they frequently suffer from waterborne diseases.

The well was said to have been renovated 33 years ago by late Hassan Mashi, the father of the incumbent Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Dr. Badiya Hassan Mashi, to assuage the suffering of the residents and to ensure that they drink hygienic water. But it collapsed on August 5.

Negligence A resident of the community, Sale Dogo, who spoke to our correspondent on what he described as “total negligence” of the village,

decried successive governments’ insensitivity to his domain. Dogo said: “We are forced to send our children to other places to go to school at a very tender age. This has made our children to be wayward because they lack parental care where they are because we have to hire houses for them.

“All our children are outside and many of them have joined bad gangs and they never come home with good results to their parents.

We have children in this community that can fill three primary schools. But they are all in Mashi Local Government government and other places. We don’t have health centre in this community. We are an endangered species."

Another 66-year-old resident of the community, Hafsatu Dunawa, said, “We are peasant farmers but for all our toils, we seem not to be getting anything meaningful from it because there is no road to evacuate our farm produce. There is no water to drink and there is not healthcare centre for the

We sat down with the people of this community to discuss on problems affecting them but they said their major problem was water and that necessitated my intervention

The ongoing renovation of Dunawa well

people. The education here is almost zero.

Young men with good future end up doing farming. Even the farming they engage in is not profitable because there are no roads."

She lamented how pregnant women in the community suffer on daily basis before they give birth to their babies, stressing that most of them have to travel to far away Mashi to seek medical care, a journey she stressed made some of them suffer complications.

She, however, called on the government of Governor Aminu Masari to come to aid of the community by providing roads, portable water, market, schools, hospital and electricity.

Succour Water is the lifeblood of every household in Dunawa, as they depend on the well for critical purposes such as drinking, irrigation, livestock farming, sanitation, and other household chores. But accessing it is a challenge to the residents. Women mostly bear the brunt of the deplorable conditions in Dunawa, as they are saddled with taking care of their families and animals.

However, it was joy galore in the sleepy community on August 8, as succour came to the residents following the renovation of the over 300-year-old well to tackle their age long challenge of lack of potable water by the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development.

Mashi, who donated thousands of naira for the project because of her unflinching support for urban and rural dwellers within and outside Katsina state, said the renovation of the well was necessary considering the hardship the inhabitants of the village were facing. The commissioner, during her on-the-spot visit to the village to ascertain the level of work done, could not gain access to the project site with her car due to lack of roads. She parked some distance to the site and walked for about one kilometre.

In fact, the 18-seater bus that was conveying journalists and some staff of the ministry to the village also stopped due to lack of

access roads, thereby forcing them to join the commissioner in walking to the project site.

Speaking to THISDAY at the project site, the commissioner explained that she decided to renovate the well to help in ameliorating the water problem of the community, stressing that there is no life without water.

According to her, “The people of this community and the neighbourhood are numbering about 500 benefiting from this well and without it they must probably leave this area in search of the precious commodity elsewhere.

“There are about 100 livestock in this community that also drink water from the well.

It is the responsibility of the government to look into the problems of its people, especially those at the grassroots.

“We sat down with the people of this community to discuss on problems affecting them but they said their major problem was water and that necessitated my intervention.

The last intervention was done by our father 33 years ago.

“There are about three dams being created by the state government, so the state government is trying by providing portable water to the people of the state. For those that cannot reach the dams, they must be supported by traditional means."

While assuring residents of the community that the state government under the leadership of Governor Aminu Bello Masari would soon come to their aid with the provision of primary healthcare, access road and primary school, Mashi charged the people to protect the renovated well.

On his part, the APC Chairman of GanaJigawa, Alhaji Sale Dogo commended the commissioner for remembering the community and expressed joy that the water problem which they suffer has come to an end. The party chieftain, however, appealed to the beneficiaries to ensure proper maintenance of the well, adding that the project if maintain would go a long way to solve the perennial water problem of the community.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY AUGUST 17, 2018

41

T H I S D AY Ëž AUGUST 17, 2018

42

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

NIMASA Boss Seeks Maritime Data Bank to Spur Economic Growth Obinna Chima The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside has stressed the need for a single data window system of all activities in the maritime sector.

This, according to him would help engender economic growth in the country.

Peterside made this call in Lagos yesterday, during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos.

According to him, the Nigerian maritime sector which currently provides over 100,000 direct jobs with multiplier effects of over two million jobs, deserves adequate mention in the statistics released monthly by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). “We are pushing for a single data window system in the

maritime sector, whereby NIMASA, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and other relevant government agencies in the sector will share a common platform for data on all vessels calling at our ports and the activities.

This will make it easy for the National Bureau of Statistics to capture the contributions of the maritime sector and the GDP of the country to enable those who make use of the figures to grow the economy achieve better results,� Peterside said.

Speaking on the survey and inspection of vessels calling at Nigerian ports, he said the fast intervention vessels the agency leased last year had led to an increase in Port, Flag and Coastal State control inspections, which he noted had

increased by over 10.3, 33.3 and 27 per cent respectively in 2018, compared with same period in the previous year.

He added, “Nigeria is no longer conducive for substandard vessels, because they know that we are more vigilant and by this we are ensuring the protection of our environment. We are strict on enforcement of standards and the international fleet feels more comfortable with our maritime terrain.�

He disclosed that the agency was working with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as technical partners to improve the quality of graduates from the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron.

This, he said, was to ensure that graduates from MAN and other maritime institutions are employable.

FIRS Shuts Firms in Lagos, Abuja, Benin over Tax Default Nume Ekeghe The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has continued its enforcement exercise, sealing off tax-defaulting companies in Lagos, Abuja and Benin.

According to a statement from the FIRS, on Wednesday, the agency’s enforcement team, led by Mr. Umar Bukar Gana, sealed the premises of Repton Nigeria Limited located at 10, Olorunmbe Street, Wemabod Estate, Ikeja over a tax debt of N851.653 million. “The team also shut the

premises of Matbeny Holdings Limited, located at Plot 290, Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island in Lagos, over tax liabilities of N26.187 million. “A similar fate befell Broadview Engineering Limited, located at 9 Abimbola Awoniyi Close, Victoria Island, which owes N35 million in taxes. “On Tuesday, team shut the offices of Pinehill Limited at Onikan, which owes N17.90 million; and Livingproof Limited, which owes N20.306 million,� it added.

According to the statement, the enforcement team had, on Monday, sealed Enaled Business Solutions Limited in Lekki over liabilities of N32.772 million. “Other firms sealed include Gennex Technogies Limited (N80.117 tax debt) and Topoyz Lodge Limited (N24.21 3 million). Also, on Tuesday in Benin, the FIRS enforcement team, led by Mrs. Anita Erinne, sealed the office of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited over tax liabilities of N5.463 billion.�

L-R: Professor at Euromoney Learning , Dennis Driscoll; Nigerian Ambassador to France, Modupe Irele and Director , GTL Registrars Limited, Dr. Faruk Umar at a corporate governance course in Paris‌ recently

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)

Access Bank Raises N800m to Support Vulnerable Children Access Bank Plc has raised $2.2 million (N800 million) to support vulnerable children during the finale of the annual Access Bank’s UNICEF Charity Shield Polo tournament in partnership with Fifth Chukker held at the prestigious Guards Polo Club, Windsor, United Kingdom.

The lender sees the game of Polo as an avenue to deepen its commitment towards impacting the environment and positively affecting the lives of its teeming customers.

The event further demonstrated the bank’s commitment to making a difference. The event saw hundreds of game lovers throng the pitch to watch the Nigerian duo, Adamu Atta and Babangida Usman play alongside the number one Polo player in the World,

Argentine, Adolfo Cambiasso.

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi; businesswoman and philanthropist, Bola Shagaya; CEO of Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu; and entrepreneurs, Kola and Tunde Karim, were some of the distinguished guests present to support Access Bank’s cause by purchasing artworks worth $30,000 (N11 million).

Another $2.2million (N800 million) was raised in pledges to renovate dilapidated classrooms and provide a better learning environment for underprivileged and displaced children in Kaduna over the next five years.

The CEO, Access Bank UK, Jamie Simmonds, was quoted in a statement to have said, “The way we balance our economic, environmental and social impact

while continuing to grow our business and enhance our reputation is an area of key importance to us.�

On his part, the Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe confirmed that the bank’s continued support for the Fifth Chukker UNICEF initiative is predicated on its role as a change agent in Nigeria and Africa, which can help institute socio-economic development through responsible business practice, social initiatives, and environmental consideration. “We will continue to look for ways through which more resources can be pooled towards supporting the children. We are part of the community and as such we support its wellbeing,� he stated.

Rivers Commends NACCIMA’s Partnership with Eromosele Abiodun The Rivers state government has commended the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) for its partnership with the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), which it said has led to the development of the state.

Governor of the State, Nyesom Wike stated this when NACCIMA President, Iyalode Alaba Lawson, led a delegation on a courtesy call on him.

Represented by the Deputy

Governor, Dr. (Mrs). Ipalibo Harry Banigo, the governor commended NACCIMA for the tremendous support given to PHCCIMA. This followed the third quarterly council meeting of NACCIMA, hosted by PHCCIMA in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The governor announced the allocation of a trade fair ground to Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce at the Greater Port Harcourt City area.

He said the present administration is committed to keeping its promises to ensure an enabling business environ-

ment, made to the Chamber of Commerce in 2015.

According to him, issues like the harmonisation of taxes to end double taxation, issuance of Certificate of Occupancy, provision of massive infrastructure among others that have been fulfilled, are aimed at making Rivers State an investors’ paradise.

Similarly, he said to show commitment to stimulating the state economy, the promise of allocating a permanent trade fair ground has been accomplished with the allocation of a massive and strategically located land at the Greater Port Harcourt City.

(MILLION NAIRA)

MARCH 2018

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 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

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

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT WEDNESDAY AUGUST 15, 2018

The price of OPEC basket of ďŹ fteen crudes stood at $69.77 a barrel on Wednesday, compared with $71.33 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), 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

43

T H I S D AY ˾ AUGUST 17, 2018

MARKET NEWS

Stanbic IBTC Declares N10.1 billion Interim Dividend on N43bn Profit Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc yesterday recommended an interim of N10.114 billion for the half-year ended June 30, 2018, following the announcement of its results for the period.

The dividend translates to 100 kobo per share.

The unaudited results showed gross earnings of N114.207 billion, showing an increase of 17.6 per

cent above the N97.198 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.

Net interest income stood at N40.169 billion, compared with N41.035 billion in 2017. Net fee and commission revenue improved from N27.893 billion to N36.689 billion, while net impairment written back is N5.508 billion, compared with impairment loss of N13.953 billion in 2017.

Profit before tax stood at

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

N50.730 billion, up from N29.164 billion, while profit after tax rose from N24.112 billion to N43.084 billion in 2018. Earnings per share improved from 230 kobo to 416 kobo. Hence, the company recommended an interim dividend of 100 kobo per share, which is higher than the 50 kobo paid for the 2017 financial year. The N43.084 billion H1 PAT is 12.3 per cent lower than the N48.381 billion recorded for full year of 2017.

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Commenting on the results, the Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Yinka Sanni, said: “The operating environment in the first half of the year was characterized by rising oil prices, stable oil production level leading to accretion to the country’s external reserves, improved foreign exchange liquidity with attendant interventions from the Central Bank of Nigeria and moderating inflation amid declining yields on money market securities.”

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

According to him, Stanbic IBTC continued to deliver stellar performance with PBT grew to N50.73 billion representing a 74 per cent growth from prior year on the back of non-interest revenue growth and recoveries from delinquent assets previously impaired. “ Our credit impairment line has a write back of N5.5 billion as at June 2018 as we continue to intensify recovery efforts on previously classified loans. Interest income increased

O F

by six per cent to N59.9 billion predominantly driven by loan growth. This was offset by increase in interest expense of 26 per cent as a result of interest paid on maturing term deposits and other borrowings. We are making good progress on our drive to reduce cost of funds which has reduced by more than 100 basis points, manifesting in a 15 per cent reduction in interest cost between Q1 2018 and Q2 2018,” he said.

1 5 / 0 8 / 2 0 1 8 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

˾ FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2018

44

/-+6/' '/1< !84)0 '60+8 +5468

Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index loses 54bps Yesterday, Thursday, 16th August 2018, the Thisday ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ ŝŶĚĞdž ƐŚĞĚ ϱϰďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ ϭ͕ϰϱϭ͘ϳϴ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ĨĞůů ƚŽ –ϱ͘ϰй͘ dŚĞ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŝĐĞ ůŽƐĞƐ ŝŶ ZENITH ( Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ DANGCEM ( ϯ͘ϳйͿ ĂŶĚ FBNH ( Ϭ͘ϱйͿ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ Ϯϰ͘ϴй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘

Bearish Performance Persists͙ ASI down 1.3% dŚĞ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞĚ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ĐůŽƐĞ ŽĨ ƚƌĂĚĞ ƚŽĚĂLJ ĚĞƐƉŝƚĞ ŽƵƌ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĂƟŽŶƐ ĨŽƌ Ă ƌĞďŽƵŶĚ͘ dŚĞ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ; ^/Ϳ ĨĞůů ϭ͘ϯй ƚŽ ϯϰ͕ϲϭϳ͘ϭϮ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ƉƌŝŵĂƌŝůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ DANGCEM ( ϯ͘ϳйͿ͕ UBA ( ϲ͘ϮйͿ ĂŶĚ CUSTODIAN ( ϴ͘ϭйͿ ĂƐ ƐĞůů pressure ǁĂƐ ŽďƐĞƌǀĞĚ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ďŽĂƌĚ͘ Ɛ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ͕ zd ůŽƐƐ ĚŝƉƉĞĚ ƚŽ ϵ͘ϱй ǁŚŝůĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ĨƵƌƚŚĞƌ ďLJ Eϭϲϳ͘ϭďŶ ƚŽ EϭϮ͘ϲƚŶ͘ ĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ŚŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ ϭϯ͘ϱй ĂŶĚ ϲ͘ϱй ƚŽ Ϯϯϳ͘ϴŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ Eϯ͘ϭďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ UBA ;ϯϲ͘ϱŵͿ͕ GUARANTY ;Ϯϯ͘ϱŵͿ ĂŶĚ FBNH ;Ϯϭ͘ϬŵͿ ǁŚŝůĞ GUARANTY ;EϴϵϮ͘ϰŵͿ͕ INTBREW ;Eϰϲϭ͘ϴďŶͿ ĂŶĚ ZENITH ;Eϯϵϴ͘ϰďŶͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ.

Oil & Gas Index Emerges Lone Gainer KĨ ƚŚĞ ϱ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ǁĞ ƚƌĂĐŬ͕ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ŽŶůLJ ŐĂŝŶĞƌ͕ ƵƉ Ϭ͘ϱй ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ ETERNA ;нϮ͘ϰйͿ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŽƚŚĞƌ ŚĂŶĚ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ƐĞĐƚŽƌ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͕ ƐŚĞĚĚŝŶŐ Ϯ͘ϭй ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƐĞůů ŽīƐ ŝŶ DANGCEM ( ϯ͘ϳйͿ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ƐĂŵĞ ǀĞŝŶ͕ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ UBA ( ϲ͘ϮйͿ͕ ZENITH ( Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ CUSTODIAN ( ϴ͘ϭйͿ ĂŶĚ CONTINSURE ( ϴ͘ϱйͿ ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ Ϭ͘ϴй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϯй ůŽǁĞƌ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ dŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ĂůƐŽ ĨĞůů͕ ĚŽǁŶ Ϭ͘ϭй ŽŶ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ŽĨ ƐĞůů ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞƐ ŝŶ NASCON ( ϭ͘ϱйͿ͘

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ ĂůďĞŝƚ ƐƟůů ǁĞĂŬ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϲdž ĨƌŽŵ Ϭ͘ϰdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ĚĂLJ ĂƐ ϭϳ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ Ϯϵ ƚŚĂƚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ dŚĞ best performers were EQUITYASSURE ;нϭϬ͘ϬйͿ͕ PORTPOINT ;нϵ͘ϴйͿ ĂŶĚ LINKASSURE ;нϴ͘ϴйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ AIRSERVICE ( ϭϬ͘ϬйͿ͕ NEIMETH ( ϵ͘ϲйͿ ĂŶĚ SKYE ( ϴ͘ϴйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ͘ ůƚŚŽƵŐŚ ƚŚĞ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ƚƌĞŶĚ ƉĞƌƐŝƐƚĞĚ ƚŽĚĂLJ͕ ǁĞ ďĞůŝĞǀĞ ƚŚĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ŵĂLJ ƌĞďŽƵŶĚ ƚŽŵŽƌƌŽǁ͕ ƚŚĞ ĐůŽƐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĞŬ͘ KƵƌ ƉŽŝŶƚ ŝƐ ŚŝŶŐĞĚ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ŝŵƉƌŽǀŝŶŐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ŽďƐĞƌǀĞĚ ƚŽĚĂLJ͘

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45

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͹Ϳ˜ ͺ͸͹Ͷ

MARKET NEWS

Dangote Cement to Raise Additional N50 Billion to Boost Operations Goddy Egene Dangote Cement Plc (DCP) has announced the issuance of N50 billion Series 3 and 4 under its N150 billion CP programme announced in June 2017. The leading cement manufacturing had announced the CP programme, saying it would be either as a standalone transaction or by a way of programme to be executed in tranches, series or proportions.

The company opted for series and had already raised N50

billion through Series 1 and 2.

The company in a notification to Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday, said it would issue the N50 billion Series 3 and 4.

The Managing Director of DCP, Mr. Joseph Makoju had said:“The CP that will be issued under the programme will be deployed towards capital expenditure, working capital and general corporate purpose.”

Market operators had said capital injection would further boost the performance of the company. Shareholders of DCP

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

had at the last annual general meeting commended the board and management of the company for its improved profit and dividend payment performance for the 2017 financial year.

The company recorded a profit after tax of N204.2 billion in 2017, up by 43 per cent from N142.9 billion in 2016. Based on that improved bottom-line, the board recommended a dividend of N178.9 billion, which translated to N10.50 per share, up from N8.70 the previous year.

The shareholders of the company

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 1508-2018, unless otherwise stated.

at the 7th annual general meeting (AGM) expressed excitement at the dividend, saying DCP had continued to create value for them, urging the board and management to maintain that impressive performance.

Chairman of DCP, Alhaji Aliko Dangote said the board believed that the recommended dividend was at an appropriate level and was consistent with the company’s aim of delivering superior returns to shareholders, while at the same time balancing the company’s need to invest in growth.

According to him, as a company, DCP was accorded international credit ratings that were actually higher on a standalone basis than the sovereign country of Nigeria.

“This recognition should assure you, our shareholders, that our long-term view and prudent management are serving us well at a time when others in our industry are facing difficulties that challenge their independence and only serve to erode shareholder value,” he said.

Makoju said he was pleased with the way the company

adapted to marketing efforts to the challenges in the Nigerian economy in 2017.

Looking ahead, Makoju said the company would return to volume growth, particularly in Nigeria as the economy recovers and the higher oil price brings more cash into the country.

“We will continue to focus on improving sales and logistic so we are well prepared for when the market picks up, which we are confident it will in 2018 as infrastructure investment begins to accelerate,” Makoju said.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 175.99 176.40 -1.05% Nigeria International Debt Fund 263.43 263.85 13.82% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.83 0.84 0.97% ACAP Income Funds 0.63 0.63 4.52% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.35% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 17.86 18.40 -2.23% ARM Discovery Fund 375.28 386.60 -3.54% ARM Ethical Fund 28.38 29.23 3.86% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.38% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 142.10 143.10 -6.32% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.07% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.36% CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,182.80 1,183.53 9.32% FBN Heritage Fund 142.58 143.57 2.07% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.24% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $113.22 $113.72 2.73% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $113.07 $113.5 2.64% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 161.29 163.61 0.88% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 1.27 1.30 -1.75% Legacy Debt Fund 3.12 3.12 7.93% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.01% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 102.96 104.48 3.26% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.00% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.14 2.16 1.46% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 14.22% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 120.38 120.65 4.62%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.18 1.20 2.68% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,068.94 1,068.94 8.38% 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 12.03 12.14 -7.58% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.06% 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 1.35 11.68% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.81 11.87 6.99% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.85% 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 127.61 128.24 -1.54% 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 9.42% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,299.06 2,316.66 2.46% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 185.26 185.26 4.99% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.98 0.99 -2.48% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 237.83 237.88 7.99% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 168.29 170.15 -6.04% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.61% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 9,063.55 9,175.65 -6.33% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.08 1.08 2.08% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.15 1.16 -2.85% United Capital Bond Fund 1.54 1.54 7.85% United Capital Equity Fund 0.74 0.75 -3.12% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.52% United Capital Eurobond Fund 104.80 104.80 4.76% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.06 1.07 2.16% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 12.34 12.54 -0.83% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.91 13.04 -1.80% Zenith Income Fund 20.73 20.73 9.53% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.60%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 137.49 51.52

1.01% 3.80% 1.36%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

11.50 131.41 99.89

11.70 134.20 101.78

-4.70% -8.00% -8.56%

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 Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

SPECIALIST FUNDS*

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.41 8.31 16.38 16.84

4.45 8.39 16.48 17.04

-6.93% -13.11% -6.34% -14.31%

144.30

146.30

7.17%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

105.44

17.63%

FOR HNI & PROFESSIONAL INVESTORS ONLY

Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

46

FRIDAY AUGUST 17, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

FOREIGN/DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS

Editor: VINCENT OBIA vincent.obia@thisdaylive.com 0805 468 1757

Trump, Obama, Others Mourn as Aretha Franklin Dies at 76

U

nited States President, Donald Trump, yesterday paid tribute to music icon, Aretha Franklin, who died at home in Detroit. She was 76.

Trump described her music icon as “a great woman, with a wonderful gift from God, her voice.”

“She will be missed!” he tweeted of the legendary singer.

The legendary singer and “Queen of Soul” loved by millions whose history-making career spanned six decades.

She influenced generations of female singers with unforgettable hits including “Respect” (1967), “Natural Woman” (1968) and “I Say a Little Prayer” (1968).

She passed away at home in Detroit from advanced pancreatic cancer. The multiple Grammy winner cemented her place in US music history with a powerful, bell-clear voice that stretched over four octaves.

In a career crossing generations, her hits spanned soul and R&B, to gospel and pop.

Franklin passed away at 9:50a.m.

(1350 GMT) surrounded by her family and loved ones, her family said in a statement issued by her publicist.

“It is with deep and profound sadness that we announce the passing of Aretha Louise Franklin, the Queen of Soul,” the statement said.

“In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find

the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart.

“We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. The love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins knew no bounds.”

The family thanked fans around the world for their “incredible outpouring of love” since it first emerged earlier this week that she was gravely ill.

“We have felt your love for Aretha and it brings us comfort to know that her legacy will live on.” The 18-time Grammy award winner inspired multiple singers during her five-decade career from pop diva Mariah Carey and the late Whitney Houston, to Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige and the late Amy Winehouse. – ‘National treasure’ – In 1987, she became the first woman ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine put her at the top of its list of the 100 greatest singers of all time, male or female.

She sang at the inaugurations of Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” at the investiture of the country’s first African-American head of state.

In a heartfelt tribute from the Obamas, the former president and his wife Michelle praised Franklin’s “unmatched musicianship,” which they said “helped define the American experience.”

“Every time she sang, we were all graced with a glimpse of the

divine,” the Obamas said in a statement.

“In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade — our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect.

“She helped us feel more connected to each other, more hopeful, more human.

“And sometimes she helped us just forget about everything else and dance.”

President Trump called the singer “terrific,” saying “she brought joy to millions of lives and her extraordinary legacy will thrive and inspire many generations to come.” Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, yesterday hailed her as “one of America’s greatest national treasures.

“For more than 50 years, she stirred our souls. She was elegant, graceful, and utterly uncompromising in her artistry,” they said.

Singers and musicians quickly flooded social media in mourning her passing, which came on the same day that fellow US music giant, Elvis Presley, died at his home in Memphis, the city where Franklin was born, 41 years ago.

Paul McCartney called Franklin an inspiration and “the Queen of our souls,” while Diana Ross hailed her “wonderful golden spirit.” – ‘Unmatched’ – Fellow soul superstar Patti LaBelle praised Franklin as “a rare treasure whose

unmatched musical genius helped craft the soundtrack to the lives of so many.”

Franklin, who was widely known by only her first name, in true diva style, rose from singing gospel in her father’s church to regularly topping rhythm and blues and pop charts in the 1960s and 1970s.

Other than “Respect,” her powerful cover of the Otis Redding tune that became a feminist anthem and her calling card, Franklin had dozens of Top 40 singles, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Other hits include “Day Dreaming” (1972), “Jump to It” (1982), “Freeway of Love” (1985), and “A Rose Is Still A Rose” (1998).

A 1986 duet with George Michael, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” hit number one in several countries.

Franklin’s declining health was first disclosed on the Showbiz 411 website late Sunday by Roger Friedman, a reporter and family friend.

The Detroit News later reported that she was in hospice care, as artists from across the musical spectrum offered well wishes to the singer who lived in Detroit — the Motor City, home of Motown — most of her life.

In 2005, Franklin was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest award for an American civilian — by then-President George W. Bush.

In 2010, she suffered serious health problems, but continued to perform until late last year,

singing last in November 2017 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York.

That same year, Detroit named a street after her.

I, formerly known and addressed as LAMIDI MORIAMO MORENIKEJI, now wish to be known and addressed as SOETAN MORIAMO MORENIKEJI. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MASTER ETHAN MACAULAY, now wish to be known and addressed as MASTER ETHAN DANIEL JOHNSON. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as IBRAHIM MUAZU DANGA, now wish to be known and addressed as MOHAZU IBRAHIM MOHAMMED. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as OJEH DORA UZOCHUKWUKAMA, now wish to be known and addressed SHADRACK as DORA AYAKPO. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MORUFAT OLUBUKOLA AYANWALE, now wish to be known and addressed as MORUFAT OLUBUKOLA All former SOLOMON. documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as OBICHUKWU, now wish to be known and addressed as UDODI MICHAEL. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS NWAOGU NGOZI ODALOGBU, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. IWUOHA NGOZI ODALOGBU. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

Aretha Franklin

FRIDAY AUGUST 17, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

47

FOREIGN/DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS

Editor: VINCENT OBIA vincent.obia@thisdaylive.com 0805 468 1757

Marikana: It’s Time Ramaphosa Moved In Brief on Accountability and Reparations

Brexit: UK Seeks Positive Response from EU

T

he 2012 Marikana massacre in South Africa’s North West Province, in which 34 miners were killed by the police, remains an unhealed scar in post democratic South Africa. Two of the most important unresolved issues involve accountability and reparations.

Organisations such as Amnesty International have long called on the South African government to ensure that all those suspected of criminal responsibility for the killings are prosecuted. This is about more than justice. It speaks to the heart of the government’s credibility and legitimacy.

As academic and political analyst William Gumede has argued, if democratic institutions aren’t responsive and accountable, ordinary people will increasingly look to new ones, including populist groupings. Alternatively, they will seek answers in violence.

Accountability for crimes committed by the state is crucial for upholding the rule of law and restoring trust in government.

President Cyril Ramaphosa told Parliament in February 2018 that: “The Marikana tragedy stands out as the darkest moment in the life of our young democracy.”

And in his maiden state of the

nation address he promised a new spirit of accountability on his watch.

It’s vital for his credibility that these words be followed by action. Initiating prosecutions would show that he is serious about his intention to strengthen accountability.

Ramaphosa has also pledged that government must finalise reparations for the families of striking miners killed by police.

Although a settlement of R100 million was recently reached with the families, it can be argued that much more remains to be compensated. The protracted negotiations have left families financially and emotionally frustrated.

In the six years since the massacre, the findings of the 2015 Farlam Commission of Inquiry can be described as the main form of accountability. The commission laid the blame squarely at the feet of the South African police.

The establishment of the commission was always supposed to be only the first step on the road towards accountability.

Government’s follow up actions on its findings were dismally disappointing. It took until early this year for criminal prosecutions to be initiated. Six senior police officials now face charges, among

them murder, attempted murder, and obstructing the ends of justice.

The fact that the prosecutions followed hot on the heels of Ramaphosa’s statements in Parliament suggests that the National Prosecuting Authority is finally taking heed of his call for accountability.

The initiation of the prosecutions has been positively received by South African civil society, as well as by international groups. The newly appointed acting national head of public prosecutions should move to prioritise more people responsible for the massacre.

There’s no doubt that the R100 million settlement for victims’ families is a positive development. But families of the victims have said that reparations should include a formal apology from the police minister, criminal charges against the police and financial compensation.

In 2015 the families of 37 mine workers filed a civil claim against then police minister Nathi Nhleko.

At the time, people expressed hope that the minister would consider an out of court settlement.

Two years later the government concluded a loss-of-support settlement of R3.9-million with the family of one of those killed in the massacre. But to date, most of the settlement agreements have

yet to be finalised.

Ramaphosa’s words earlier this year were encouraging.

He is showing that he intends to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law.

There’s a great deal at stake for the president. Though he was exonerated by the Farlam Commission, he was personally implicated in the shooting that investigated the massacre given his role at the time as a non-executive director at Lonmin’s platinum mines. He wrote a series of emails in which he called for stronger action from government to bring the strike to an end.

Ramaphosa has been repeatedly attacked by opposition parties, most notably the Economic Freedom Front, for his stance during the strike. He has denied responsibility although he’s never explained the exact nature of his involvement.

But he does, finally, seem to be acknowledging the ongoing exploitation of miners. It’s hoped that this will lead to policies that won’t only compensate the families of Marikana’s victims, but also result in a more humane living standards for mine workers.

– Swart is Research Director, Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa.

Britain says the EU Commission must respond positively to the Chequers Brexit white paper to ensure continued strong economic ties among Europeans countries and avoid sustained economic damage.

Business Secretary Greg Clark stated this when he met his ministerial counterparts, businesses and investors in Austria and Finland to discuss how the Chequers white paper set the foundations for a positive future trade relationship with the EU compared to the negative impact of “No Deal” Brexit, a release on Thursday from the Department for Exiting the European Union said. Speaking after his latest discussions in Austria and Finland Clark said, “Since the publication of the white paper I have travelled to 5 EU capitals to discuss our proposals with ministers and businesses.

RAF Helicopters Ready to Support French in Mali UK Ministry of Defence said three Royal Air Force Chinook helicopters, supported by around 90 British personnel, were fully operational and supporting French counter-terrorism operations in Mali. It said the helicopters from RAF Odiham were providing niche logistical support to French combat forces conducting counter-terrorism operations as part of Operation Barkhane, adding that UK forces have built three temporary aircraft hangers on the ground, enabling the Chinooks to fly multiple missions each week. “This deployment demonstrates the vital role our Armed Forces play, working alongside our French allies to tackle terrorism and reduce threats to European and UK security,” Armed Forces minister Mark Lancaster said on Thursday.

48

T H I S D AY ˾ ͯ͵˜ ͰͮͯͶ

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY AUGUST 17, 2018

49

FRIDAY AUGUST 17. 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

50

NEWSEXTRA

PDP Urges N’Assembly to Override Buhari’s Veto on Electoral Bill Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the National Assembly to override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto on the signing of amended Electoral Act into law since his refusal is allegedly out of personal and partisan interests instead of the overall interest of the country.The party alleged that President Buhari, in his desperation to achieve a personal ambition, is holding the country to ransom by refusing to sign the Electoral Act amendment bill, passed by the National Assembly to check manipulations in

the 2019 general election.In a statement issued yesterday by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the main opposition party said President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are quavering because the draft law will effectively check all their machinations, which they have been deploying in rigging past elections and intend to use in the 2019 general election.According to the PDP, the amendment bill, which is in the overall interest of the country, will embattle President Buhari because it will eliminate openings for major malpractices, including the use

of underage and alien voters; vote buying, alteration of results and manipulation of voters’ register, which the APC intends to use to rig the 2019 elections.

According to that statement, “Such provisions include granting INEC powers to utilise full biometrics accreditation of voters with smart card readers and other technological devices, which the Buhari presidency and APC know will effectively check their reliance on dead, underage and alien voters, and intend to use, particularly in the presidential election.

“The amendment bill also

provides for instant transmission of results from polling to collation centres which ensures real-time results and reduces human interferences and election malpractices, thus effectively checking the alteration of results by the APC.” PDP further alleged that the presidency and APC are against the provision that makes it mandatory for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish voters register online, and as such, end their usual manipulation of voters’ register ahead of elections.

It said the presidency and APC are also opposing the amendment bill because of a provision which restricts arbitrary qualifications for candidates and encourages younger aspirants, “as they fear that such can jeopardise President Buhari’s chances in the APC. “President Buhari knows that having failed Nigerians in his first tenure, there is no way he can win in a free, fair and credible election, hence the desperation to manipulate the system and undermine the electoral laws.

“The PDP therefore called on the National Assembly to override President Buhari since his refusal to sign the amendment bill is out of personal and partisan interests instead of the overall interest of the country.

“This is especially as Nigerians have already reached a consensus to rally on the platform of the repositioned PDP to elect a new president with the competence and sincerity of purpose to return our country to good governance, national cohesion and economic prosperity.”

APC Asks EFCC, ICPC to Intensify Probe of Ekweremadu, Others Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) not to relent in its efforts to unravel the truth about the corruption allegations against public officials, especially that of the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu The party also asked the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and other allied anti-graft bodies to intensify efforts at investigating and recovering public funds and assets that have been stolen by public officials.

In a statement issued by its acting National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabene, the ruling party said the anti-graft agencies should ensure that it digs up all corruption cases involving politicians, so that only those that passed the integrity test can offer themselves to contest the 2019 general election.

The party said it is important that the Nigerian electorate have the opportunity to choose from candidates that can pass the integrity and corruption test.

The ruling party said fighting corruption was one of the key election promises it made to Nigerians, adding that it remained committed to its success.

“Our call to anti-graft

agencies is imperative as we prepare for the 2019 general election. We must check the use of stolen public funds to finance elections in this country.

Again, it is important that the Nigerian electorate have the opportunity to choose from candidates that can pass the integrity and corruption test.

We must ensure that we never again entrust the leadership of this great country to gang of thieves whose sole aim is treasury looting as brazenly displayed in past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administrations,” the party said.

In urging the EFCC and other anti- corruption agencies to fast track its probe against politicians, APC said it particularly interested in seeing the outcome of the probe on properties owned by Senator Ekweremadu.

The party said: “An example is a current Senate presiding officer facing EFCC investigations. It is difficult to fathom how a federal lawmaker, who before his current position, was an Associate Lecturer and local government chairman, owns 22 high-end property in Nigeria and other exclusive locations across the world. It is our hope that the anti-graft agencies investigating this Senate presiding officer make public his and other corruption probe status reports so that Nigerians can know them for who they are.”

Tuesday, Wednesday Declared Public Holidays Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The federal government has declared next Tuesday and Wednesday next week as public holidays to mark the 2018 Eid-El-Kabir celebration.

The Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (rtd), who made the declaration on behalf of the federal government, enjoined Nigerians to use the period to embrace the virtues of love and sacrifice for the unity and development of the country.

In a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Mohammed Bello Umar, the minister called

on Nigerians both at home and abroad to support the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in its determination to ensure a peaceful and united Nigeria.

“The Minister of Interior, Dambazau, who made the declaration on behalf of the federal government, enjoined Nigerians to use the period to embrace the virtues of love and sacrifice for the unity and development of the nation.

“He called on Nigerians both at home and abroad to support the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in its determination in ensuring a peaceful and united Nigeria.”

AIR OF FREEDOM

L-R: President, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Waheed Odusile; journalist detained by DSS for over two years, Jones Abiri, and his Counsel, Samuel Ogala, addressing journalists after the appearance of Abiri at the Magistrate Court in Wuse in Abuja...yesterday PHOTO: Julius Atoi

Lagos Debunks Alleged Anti-Igbo Moves by Ambode Demands probe, prosecution of culprits Jonathan Eze

The Lagos State Government has denied a report on social media alleging that the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, was making some moves against non-indigenes especially Igbos in the state, saying the report was baseless, mischievous and irresponsible.

The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan, in a statement, said the claims in the said report were nothing but absolute falsehood and a mere

figment of the imagination of ‘unscrupulous’ persons who concocted it.

The report had alleged that the governor had outlawed the position of Eze Ndi-Igbo in Lagos, and was making other moves against non-indigenes.

The report, which did not state the event where the governor allegedly made such pronouncements, also quoted the governor as saying Lagos was not a colonial settlement, but owned by the Yoruba people.

Describing the contents of the alleged report as laughable

and ridiculous, Bamigbetan said Ambode had clearly emphasised at the inception of his administration that he would run a government of inclusion regardless of tribe, colour or creed, which he had not only adhered to, but also sustained it.

“While we would have opted to totally ignore such crass report, we have chosen to set the records straight for unsuspecting members of the public who might be tempted to believe such falsehood.

“For emphasis, there is no

record anywhere of the governor making such remarks and we dare the faceless authors to come out with any evidence otherwise.

This is certainly the handiwork of enemies of Lagos State whose sole aim is to distort the existing harmonious relationship among ethnic groups in the state.

“They have totally failed in this attempt. Besides, in this season of politics, it is expected that those seeking to gain mileage would stop at nothing and cling to any straw just to score cheap points,” he said.”

FG Receives Outline Business Case for Concession of $8.5m Truck Transit Park in Enugu Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The federal government yesterday received the Outline Business Case Certificate (OBC) for the concessioning of Truck Transit Park, estimated to cost $8.5 million in Obollo Afor, Enugu State.

The move, government noted, is to reduce the menace of indiscriminate parking of tankers and trailers by drivers on Nigerian roads.

Receiving the OBC certificate

from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) on behalf of government in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Hassan Bello, while receiving the certificate, explained that the OBC signifies transparent advertisement for the expression of interest by investors.

He added that the bid process is expected to complete within a period of two month, after which the preferred bidder

would be selected.

According to him, “The initial cost of the TTP in Oboloafor is $8.5million and would create about 3,154 jobs, disclosing that the Enugu State Government had provide 16.1hectares of land for the establishment of the TTP. “The TTP was processed through the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) focus labs and the 160 projects processed through the lab, the TTP accounted for seven and the project was rated four star on

the scale of 1-5, adding that there has been a lot of response and its becoming a constituency project.”

He added that the establishment of the TTP must be an economic decision that would be led by the private sector while the federal government provides the enabling environment, saying they have collaborated with stakeholder’s collaboration from NURTW, RETEA, NARTO, NUPENG, such that they would own the project.

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Borno Leads Kano, Lagos, Others in Birth Registration Borno State is leading other states of the federation in the number of birth registrations conducted nationwide in the last five years, the National Population Commission (NPC)

says.

Head of Department, Vital Registration Department, National Population Commission (NPC) in Borno State, Emmanuel Mark said

Group Asks Court to Declare Akpabio’s Seat Vacant Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Incorporated Trustees of Dynamic patriotic Citizens Foundation has dragged Senator Godswill Akpabio before the Federal High Court in Abuja over his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The group, in the suit filed on their behalf by their lawyer, Tolu Babalaye, is asking the court to declare Akpabio’s seat at the Senate vacant and order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a bye- election within 90 days into the vacant seat. The group further urged the court to declare that Senator Akpabio has lost his seat as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, by virtue of his defection from the PDP to APC on August 8, 2018.

In the suit marked FHC/ ABJ/CS/887/2018, they argued that the former Minority Leader defected from

the PDP to the APC, without any division, crisis or faction in the PDP as envisaged by the provisions of section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 constitution.

The group formulated a single issue for determination by the court to wit: Whether or not by virtue of the provisions of section 68(1) (g) of Nigerian Constitution (as altered), and in view of the decision of the Supreme Court in the case law of Hon. Ifedayo Sunday Abegunde V Ondo State House of Assembly and 12 others (2015) LPELR -24588, which sufficiently interpreted the said section 68(1) (g), Akpabio who defected from the PDP to the APC, on August 8, 2018, without any division, crisis or faction in the PDP as envisaged by the proviso to section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 constitution and interpreted in Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde’s case, has not lost his seat as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and therefore liable to be kicked out by the Nigerian Senate.

Odili is Apostle of National Unity, Says Oshiomhole A former Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, has been eulogised as a unifying figure and an apostle of politics without bitterness.

The sentiment was expressed by the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, in a statement personally signed by him to felicitate with the erstwhile Rivers helmsman on his 70th birthday on August 15.

“It is gratifying to note that long after office, you are still widely adored. It can only be a measure of the durability of the bridge of unity you built across the nation’s divides - whether

ethnic or religious. Even critics would acknowledge your quintessence as the apostle of politics without bitterness,” Oshiomhole said.

“Even more remarkable is the seamless way you have transited from active life in partisan politics to the nobler station of statesmanship and mentoring, thus teaching us that opportunities exist for life after office.

“In the home front, you remain a role model as a romantic husband, loving father, doting grand father and a devout Christian of Catholic creed.”

Gombe Loses Assembly’s Minority Leader to PDP Segun Awofadeji in Gombe The Minority Leader of the Gombe State House of Assembly, Hon. Ahmed Usman Haruna, has formally defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Ahmed made the declaration during the House plenary yesterday where he said the decision followed the injustice that characterised the APC in the State.

He said after the APC’s faulty congresses, the party slammed an unjustified suspension on him on May 30, through blackmail because of his stand for justice.

He explained that after seeking justice through a letter he wrote to the national office of the APC, he was denied justice for the undemocratic suspension, which led him to

take the decision to defect to PDP. Ahmed said he had realised that the APC has no respect for its constitution, the country’s constitution and that its manifestoes were merely for campaign purposes.

With these reasons, Ahmed said, “I will not allow myself to be ridiculed or rubbished, I therefore announce my defection to the PDP.” The Speaker, Hon. Abubakar Nasiru Nono and the Majority Leader, Hon. Amos Fabulous, while welcoming him, assured him that he and his constituency will never regret such decision.

However, reacting to the development, the state APC Public Relations Officer (PRO), Honourable Naomi Joel Awak, described the defection as not having any negative effect on the APC.

this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday.

He was speaking at the sideline of a Media Dialogue on Birth Registration in Kano, convened by the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) in support of the Child Right Information Bureau, Federal Ministry information, Culture and Tourism.

The meeting had in attendance over 40 participants to tackle limitations hindering birth

registration in the country.

NAN reported that Borno is ahead of others in the chart of birth registration in Nigeria with 83 per cent under-one registration, and 20 per cent under-five registration within the period.

Mark noted that the organisation in realising its dream, through the support of the UNICEF, which engaged its staff with the business of registering children within the local government areas of the

state.

According to him, other organisations also give their support to Borno in ensuring that children were registered at birth.

“Apart from UNICEF, there are other organisations like the UNHCR and NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs) that supported us in the birth registration processes.

“What we also did to earn the glory was to assign our

registrars not to only register at designated centres but also register in private hospitals and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.

“So we have to take advantage of the IDP camps across the state and register the children,” he said.

Mark explained that traditional rulers and religious organisations were not involved in this registration but added that in the subsequent process they would be involved.

RETREAT

L-R: Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, Hon Henry Dauiel-Ofogo; Chairman, Hon. Femi Fakeye, and Managing Director Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Umaru Ibrahim at the NDIC Retreat for members of House of Representatives held in Lagos...yesterday

NIMASA to Domicile Maritime Data on Single Platform Emmanuella Igwe

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has stated that the agency is pushing for a single data window system of all activities in the Nigerian maritime sector in such a way that data required will be available on a single platform, as a maritime data bank to help engender the country’s rapid economic growth.

Peterside who stated this in Lagos yesterday at an interactive session with journalists also noted that the Nigerian maritime sector, which currently provides over 100,000 direct

jobs with multiplier effects of over two million jobs, deserves adequate mention in the statistics released monthly by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). “We are pushing for a single data window system in the maritime sector, whereby NIMASA, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and other relevant government agencies in the sector will share a common platform for data on all vessels calling at our ports and the activities.

This will make it easy for the National Bureau of Statistics to capture the contributions of the maritime sector and the GDP of the country to enable those who make use of the figures

to grow the economy achieve better results,” he said.

Speaking on the survey and inspection of vessels at Nigerian ports, he said the fast intervention vessels the agency leased last year has led to an increase in Port, flag and coastal state control inspections, which he noted has increased by over 10.3, 33.3 and 27 per cent respectively in 2018 than the same period in the previous year.

This is just as the agency has taken drastic action to ensure that substandard vessels do not ply and endanger our waters.

“Nigeria is no longer conducive for substandard vessels, because they know that we are more vigilant and by this we are ensuring the

protection of our environment.

We are strict on enforcement of standards and the international fleet feels more comfortable with our maritime terrain”, the DG said.

Commenting on the issue of placing beneficiaries of the agency’s Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) onboard ocean going vessels for their mandatory sea-time training, he disclosed that currently a total number of 289 cadets have commenced their training in Egypt and the United Kingdom on NIMASA full sponsorship. He also used the opportunity to assure all beneficiaries of the scheme that the Agency will ensure they all complete their mandatory sea-time training in due course.

Human Rights Group Decries Nigeria’s Political Crisis Sunday Okobi Prominent advocacy and humanitarian organisation in Nigeria, Brothers Across Nigeria (BAN), has decried the current political crisis beclouding the country, citing the recent invasion of the National Assembly as the most condemnable and shameful.

Rising from its international conference held in Asaba, Delta State capital, the leadership of BAN condemned in strong terms the recent invasion of the National Assembly by

men of the Department of State Service (DSS).

Speaking to journalists in Asaba, the Delta State capital, the newly-elected President of the organisation, Lewis Aitufe, also commended the acting President, Yemi Osinbajo for acting swiftly to defend democracy in the country.

The group, which has been in the forefront of drumming support for Nigerian military fighting terrorists and other criminals in the country, also cautioned politicians to desist

from selfish acts that would derail the current democratic gains in the country.

Speaking further, the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ken Agala, informed journalists that BAN would soon commence sensitisation of her members and the Nigerian public on the need to eschew acrimony and violence during the 2019 general elections, and help the government to build on its democratic benefits.

Agala further called upon Nigerian youths to get their PVCs, vote for candidates

of their choices during the next elections and extricate themselves from the machinations of selfish leaders who do not have the interest of the country at heart.

“We plead with all Nigerians to join hands with the leaders to build a healthy country based on economic growth and social development. All Nigerians of voting age should register and get their PVCs in order to vote for the candidates of their choice rather than indulging in acts capable of derailing the dividends of democracy.

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Lawmaker Restates Saraki’s Capacity to Govern Nigeria Senate president has adequate leadership skills, says Baraje Nseobong Okon-Ekong in Lagos and Hammed Shittu in Ilorin As more groups and individuals continue to urge Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki to formally declare his intention to UXQ IRU WKH RIÀFH RI 3UHVLGHQW of Nigeria, a Second Republic lawmaker from Adamawa State, Dr. Abdullah Umar Madidi has also said the Senate president would open a new vista of unity among Nigerians that would make the country attractive to other countries of the world.

This is coming as a chieftain of the Reformed All Progressives Congress(R-APC), Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje yesterday declared that Saraki possesses the needed leadership skills and exposures to take a shot at Nigeria’s presidency.

Madidi described Saraki as a leader with a good grasp of the challenges confronting Nigeria and with the capacity to suc-

cessfully tackle the issues.

“From his sojourn in the private sector, to his experience as a commissioner and then governor of Kwara State, his becoming a two-term senator and subsequently the Senate President, Bukola Saraki is in a world of his own and hence the PRVW TXDOLÀHG DW WKH PRPHQW WR Á\ WKH ÁDJ RI WKH RSSRVLtion Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the presidential election next year,” he said.

Speaking on his conviction for Saraki’s candidature, Madidi said Saraki can be likened to a political genius whose emergence from the North-central geo-political region would be the binding new spirit and cohesion that was vitally needed by the nation at this crucial time.

He called on Nigerians to avoid politics of mediocrity but to advance nationalistic values in the quest to usher in a new dispensation in 2019.

Also, a chieftain of R-APC, Baraje yesterday said Saraki has the needed leadership skills and exposures to take a shot at the nation’s presidency come 2019.

He said Saraki had stepped down for the immediate past

president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 and President Muhammad Buhari in 2015.

According to him, his plan to vie for the number one seat of the country should deserve the support of right-thinking Nigerians in view of the division

the current administration has plugged the country into since its assumption of leadership of the country in 2015.

Baraje who spoke with journalists in Ilorin, Kwara state capital yesterday on the state of the country on the sideline

of the graduation ceremony of the students of Baraje Institute of Arabic Studies, Ilorin, also cautioned those agitating for his impeachment as Senate president saying that, “his election as number three man in the country was ordained by God.”

Fayose’s Recruitment Exercise in Bad Faith, Says Fayemi Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

The last minute move by the outgoing administration of Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, to recruit 600 teachers into the Teaching Service Commission; 400 staff to the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and 1,000 to the Ministry of Establishment, is a deliberate effort to put obstacles in the way of the in-coming administration of the Governor-elect, Dr Kayode Fayemi, the later has alleged.

A statement issued by the Director of Media and Publicity in the Office of the governorelect, Wole Olujobi, berated Fayose for embarking on a last minute mass recruitment to deceive the unsuspecting victims and set a booby-trap for the incoming administration.

Noting that Fayose was deliberately creating obstacles for

the new administration, having not employed one person in nearly four years, the statement wondered why the governor embarked on mass recruitment in the last few days to the end of his term.

Saying that Fayose was playing on the intelligence of the people to paint a picture of a man of the masses in clear infraction on the law, Olujobi explained: “It is a grand deception and sheer wickedness for a governor that has refused to pay workers and pensioners for between six and 10 months to now turn around to recruit about 2,000 workers in a selective manner to favour his supporters only.”Olujobi described Fayose’s planned recruitment as an act of desperation by a governor who never cared for the people but would always take advantage of them in a most dehumanising manner.

COURTESY VISIT

L-R: Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Aramide Giwanson; APC Woman Leader, Lagos State, Mrs. Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas; Deputy Governor, Dr. Oluranti Adebule, and Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunsoye, during a courtesy visit by the APC Woman Leader to the Deputy Governor, at the secretariat Ikeja... yesterday PHOTO: KOLA OLASUPO

PDP Chairman, Secondus Visits Babangida Laleye Dipo in Minna National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Uche Secondus yesterday visited Minna, the Niger State capital to meet with former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd).

Secondus arrived Minna International Airport in a chattered aircraft at about 3.p.m.

He was met at the airport by some personal aides of the former military president and driven to his uphill residence with two vehicles in the convoy - a black Prado jeep and a Toyota Camry saloon.

The Toyota Camry conveyed four security men two in front and two at the back while the SUV was tinted making impossible the number of occupants in it. He arrived at Babangida’s residence at about

3.34 p.m. and was immediately ushered into the sitting room where the former military ruler was already waiting.

The private meeting reportedly commenced immediately and continued as at press time.

The purpose of the meeting was not disclosed but it might not be unconnected with forthcoming national convention of the party where a presidential candidate for next year’s election would

be picked. Among those eyeing the presidency come 2019 under the platform of the PDP are former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, a former Minister, Alhaji Kabiru Turaki, former Sokoto State governor, Attahiru Bafarawa, former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Alhaji Sule Lamido who is a former Jigawa State governor and Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi, a former Kaduna State governor.

Obaseki: We Will Not Share Stop Harassing Journalists, Media Houses, Tax Payer’s Money Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that under his watch, money meant for the development of the state will not be shared.

Obaseki made the declaration at the Government House, in Benin City, the state capital, during the first-year anniversary celebration of the Edo State Task Force Against Human Trafficking.

“All Edo State Government’s money will be used for the development of the state. This is the brand of politics I have chosen to play. Our developmental challenges are so enormous and only a frugal and prudent utilisation of tax payers’ money would ameliorate the sufferings of our people,” he said.

The governor emphasised that “no matter the pressure and irrespective of the quarters such pressure would come from, I will not break my oath with Edo people, to provide purposeful leadership.”

He assured that his administration is opening up

rural areas through the provision of infrastructure to stimulate the local economy and enhance the lives of the people.

He maintained that people will not embark on illegal and life-threatening journeys to Libya if there are structures that will support quality life at the grassroots.

“Taxpayers money is meant for development and it will be used to develop the state and make life better for our people.

We are taking development to those in the grassroots where the need is greater. We will not share money like those we displaced from government.”

He assured that his administration’s “target is for Edo State to be ranked as one of the three most developed states by the end of my tenure, in infrastructural development, education, improving the business environment especially in the rural areas, amongst other indicators of growth and development.

Ozekhome Tells FG

Saraki’s media aide seeks release of Ogundipe Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Martins Ifijeh in Lagos

A constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Mike Ozekhome has warned the federal government to stop the unwarranted harassment of the 4th estate of the realm.

This is coming as the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President of the Senate, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, has called for the unconditional release of the detained Premium Times’ journalist, Mr. Samuel Ogundipe.

Ozekhome who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the latest onslaught, assault and detention carried out by the government against Premium Times and veteran journalist, Ogundipe, and the

Editor-In-Chief of Premium Times, Misikilu Mojeed, was condemnable.

In a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday, the senior lawyer said journalism is the only entity recognised by section 22 of the Nigerian constitution, to hold government accountable and responsible to the Nigerian people.

He said, “Premium Times is a well-known pro-masses online publication, and their ‘offence’ is that this same media house that had exposed the ricocheting and never ending NYSC certificate forgery saga of Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, also published a yet unrefuted skewed interim report by the Police, forwarded to acting President, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo, on the well deserved sacking of Lawal Daura, over

his ignoble role in laying siege to the National Assembly.

“The Police has since abandoned its constitutional role under sections 214 and 215 of the constitution and section 4 of the Police Act, of protecting and defending the Nigerian people, in an aberrative preference for being an instrument of government tyranny, oppression, repression and arbitrary subjugation of the very people it was set up to protect and defend in the first place.”

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President of the Senate, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, has called for the unconditional release of Ogundipe.

Olaniyonu in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday

said he aligned with other journalists to frown at the continued incarceration of the detained journalist.

“I want the world to know that I, and my colleagues in this profession will continue to stand alongside Samuel Ogundipe. We will continue to speak up for him and demand his immediate and unconditional release. We will also continue to demand that due process must be followed and freedom of speech and that of the press must be protected,” the journalist said.

According to him, the continued illegal detention of Ogundipe, is an affront on the fourth estate of the realm and an assault on freedom of the press, freedom of speech and due process.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY AUGUST 17, 2018

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FRIDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

UNDER-20 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

Hard-fighting Falconets Bow to Spain Nigeria’s Falconets ended their campaign at the ongoing FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in France yesterday with a quarter final 2-1 defeat against Spain.

Two first-half goals from Aitana Bonmati and Patri Guijarro set the stage for La Rojita semi final berth at the Stade Guy-Piriou in Concarneau.

A second half fight back

by Christopher Danjuma’s wards yielded a goal by Peace Efih but that was not enough to cancel out the advantage of the Spaniards as they held on tight till the end of the game.

Spain that made their

early advantage count by breaking the deadlock before the quarter-hour mark through captain Bonmati. Her fine leftfooted shot from the edge of the Nigeria box gave goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie little chance of preventing Falconets falling behind.

Bonmati nearly had a second with a free-kick that struck the underside of the Nigerian crossbar and bounced away to safety, while Eva Navarro forced a point blank save from Nnadozie moments later.

Spain eventually doubled their lead before the break,

with Guijarro scoring her fifth goal of France 2018 after getting on the end of Maite Oroz’s free-kick into Nigeria’s box and scoring from close range.

Having struggled to

create much in the first half, the Super Falconets responded with a goal just before the hour mark.

Efih’s forward run saw her pick out Rasheedat Ajibabe on the left. Her

low shot forced a diving Catalina Coll to direct the ball into the path of an unmarked Efih, who duly converted into an empty Spanish goal.

Though they halved

their deficit, Falconets were unable to find an equaliser, as Spain saw out the remainder of the contest to reach the last four of this competition for the first time.

Eagles Now 49th in New FIFA Ranking, 7th in Africa Duro Ikhazuagbe

Super Eagles dropped one spot from 48th to 49th place in the August FIFA Ranking released yesterday as the world football governing body introduced a new formula for the grading of performance in the Beautiful Game.

The three-time African champions who won just one match and lost two at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, remain seventh best football playing nation in the continental ranking with a total 1410 points accumulation for August.

Tunisia is on top of the African ranking with Senegal, Congo DR, Ghana, Morocco and Cameroon ahead of Nigeria in that order. Burkina Faso, Mali and Cape Verde complete the Top 10 of the African ranking for August.

Nigeria’s next opponents in the AFCON 2019 qualifiers, Seychelles is ranked 188th in the global ranking. The Island nation is 51st in African standing.

Interestingly, 2018 FIFA World Cup winners, France, climbed to the summit of the muchchanged world ranking in the first edition of the global ladder since a new

AFRICA’S TOP 10 Tunisia Senegal Congo DR Ghana Morocco Cameroon Nigeria B’Faso Mali Cape Verde

formula took effect.

Just three points, however, separate Les Bleus from Russia 2018 semi-finalists Belgium (2nd, up 1), while World Cup runners-up Croatia (4th, up 16) have equaled their record ranking position, last reached in June 2013. Uruguay is fifth.

England occupies sixth place while Portugal is seventh, Switzerland dropped two places to eight while Spain moved up one place to ninth position, with Denmark also tied on ninth place but with an inferior point difference.

Sweden (13th, up 11), and World Cup hosts Russia (49th, up 21).

Naturally, there are losses as well as gains, with previous leaders Germany (15th, down 14) among several sides to suffer for group-stage elimination in Russia.

Poland (18th, down 10), Peru (20th, down 9) and Costa Rica and Iceland (joint-32nd, down 9 and 10 respectively) also slipped down the table on the back of disappointing World Cup campaigns.

According to FIFA, the formula, which was approved by the FIFA Council in June after a lengthy period of testing, ‘relies on adding/subtracting points won or lost for a game to/from the previous point totals rather than averaging game points over a given time period as in the previous version of the Ranking.

“The changes, of which there are several, include the fact that inactive teams now preserve their point totals, with

Falconets’ Peace Efih (centre) shields the ball from Carmen Menayo of Spain during the quarterfinal clash between Nigeria and the European U-19 champions at the ongoing FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in France… yesterday

2018 FIBA World Cup: D’Tigress to Arrive Lagos on Monday Nigeria’s women’s senior national basketball team, the D’Tigress, will arrive Lagos, in the early hours of Monday for the next phase of their 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Spain.

After weeks of training in Atlanta, USA, the team led by Hughley Otis will have their last training in the United States of America on Saturday before their departure on Sunday for Lagos.

According to the Assistant Coach of the team, Peter Ahmedu, one more player will be dropped from the

14 in camp before their departure for Lagos.

“Presently, we have 14 players including Adaora Elonu who has been drafted

by Atlanta Dreams. We will reduce it to 13 players before we leave for Lagos. We will be able to drop one more player because we have three players (Uju Ugoka, Nkem Akaraiwe and Nkechi Akashili) back home for the next phase of our preparation,” stressed Ahmedu. Commenting on life under the new coach, Peter said the team has completely settled in and

are now focused on the task ahead.

Coach Ahmedu described the experience so far as wonderful as he remains optimistic that it will translate to a good outing at the world cup.

“The adjustment has been so tremendous. The players are adjusting day by day while the team chemistry has continued to improve.

By the time we round off here on Saturday, we would have been able to achieve our set goal,” he noted.

Peter revealed that having spent more than two weeks

with the team, the players are now on the same page with the new coach.

“Coach Otis came with different dynamics and techniques for both offence and defence which has actually helped the team.

He has seen the energy and ability of the girls and we have been able to adjust,” Ahmedu revealed.

The current African Champions will start training on Tuesday at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos for the next phase of preparation for the FIBA World Cup in Spain.

Ghana Reaches Deal with FIFA to Avert Dissolution Ghana yesterday backed away from controversial plans to dissolve its graftridden football federation, as it reached a deal with FIFA to clean up football administration in the country.

Ghana’s attorney general had taken steps towards dissolving the embattled Ghana Football Association (GFA) after an explosive documentary in June showed officials allegedly soliciting bribes worth millions of dollars.

FIFA countered that it would work with Ghana to tackle corruption but would not allow the GFA’s hasty liquidation.

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, met a senior delegation from Accra on Thursday, with both sides agreeing to “establish a normalisation committee to replace the Executive Committee of the Ghana Football Association,” a FIFA statement said.

The committee will be staffed by people with

“integrity and competence,” it added.

“Satisfied with the above measures, the Government of Ghana shall take steps to discontinue the process for the winding up of the Ghana Football Association,” FIFA further said.

Ghana’s Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, had said in June that “urgent measures” were needed to protect the public against the GFA, which she described as “an instrument for self-aggrandisement by

people who run it to make themselves rich.”

Football is massively popular in the West African nation.

The graft revelations within the GFA sent shockwaves through the country just before the start of the World Cup in Russia. Ghana had failed for the tournament.

But the Black Stars captured fans across Africa during a thrilling run to the quarterfinals at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY AUGUST 17, 2018

55

Friday, August 17, 2018

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MISSILE Tambuwal to Buhari “We all know that there is a vacuum in the government occasioned by his disposition probably because of his old age or health condition. That is why Nigerians are yearning for younger ones to lead this country.”

– Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, stating that President Muhammadu Buhari is a man of integrity and impeccable character, but too old to steer the affairs of Nigeria.

SHAKAMOMODU APC’s Loose Cannons THIS REPUBLIC

shaka.momodu@thisdaylive.com

M

y article published a fortnight ago titled: ‘Oshiomhole as Buhari’s Enforcer’, provided the background to the current political troubles. In the said article, I had stated inter alia: “The truth well-spoken by him (Oshiomhole) is that ministers, heads of parastatals and security chiefs owe their allegiance to these competing power cells. You see, Buhari runs a centrifugal government with no strong centripetal authority; he hardly knows what is going on in his government but appears to always be content when told certain actions have been taken in furtherance of his ethno-religious and re-election interests.” I must state here that I don’t have clairvoyant powers. All I do is to rely on historical records and behavioural pattern to draw conclusions.

Now to the current crisis. Obviously rattled by the velocity of defections (let me put on record here that I am against defection) from its fold within the last three weeks which had reached a fever pitch, the All Progressives Congress (APC) needed a desperate win to try to cap the bleeding it had suffered. So it was some big relief for President Muhammadu Buhari who having exploited the anti-corruption war to divert attention from his unfitness for the position he clings on to, and after intense horse-trading, subterfuge, blackmail, coercion clawed at halftime to a “one-one goalless draw”, according to Lai Mohammed. The Senate Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio had finally betrayed his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and defected to the APC. But how this amounted to a goalless draw, I don’t know. This much-needed break from the steady stream of bad news was celebrated with fanfare by the APC leadership.

I will return to this later.

The security agencies, viz. the Department of State Services (DSS), the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have become willing tools in the hands of desperate politicians clutching at straws to retain power at all cost, totally oblivious of the wider implications of the damage they are doing to the institutions.

They have sadly injected themselves into the politics of 2019 and have taken sides with Buhari, the aspirant of the APC. In pursuit of their undisguised goal of having Buhari reelected, we have seen the harassment, intimidation and a ramping up of partisan investigations of the president’s opponents for corrupt practices and other criminal matters.

In their desperate desire to achieve that goal, no intrigue or manoeuvre is deemed beyond the pale as long as it achieves the desired effect. The saddest part of it all is that these guys are trying to railroad into office again in 2019 a man with a proven lack of capacity and competence to govern. I cannot help but ask the question, what is wrong with Nigerians? There is no doubt that we are experiencing a dislocation of thought and logical reasoning among many people, both ordinary and mighty of sterling credentials, some of whom we had previously thought were strong enough on principles to withstand or resist the many egregious abuses we are seeing today but have so far unravelled as willing accomplices of this tyrannical misrule.

It is a shame that they celebrate this dictator as a “reformed democrat” and a “born-again phenomenon”. It is even a bigger shame that

Ibrahim Magu a man who has failed the leadership test on all scores and exhibited the worst form of nepotism and medieval clannishness is being promoted once again for a second term.

At no time in the history of Nigeria’s civilian rule have we witnessed this robust assault on constitutional democracy, the rule of law and due process. As if that weren’t bad enough, these people would rile us with utterly preposterous explanations that defile understanding. Sadly, this is promoted by a party that claimed progressivism and adherence to democratic values as articles of faith. The pretenders to democratic values and those who for so long had condescendingly laid claim to high moral pedestal and presented themselves as custodians of the values of a good society have been exposed by current developments as worse than those they criticised in the past. A certain professor of law who is in the vanguard of Buhari’s sham fight against corruption has ditched all he ever stood for and is exhibiting senility in tub-thumping rhetoric to defend the death of our national values in a most egregious manner. Oh, the man has died in another professor of huge international accomplishment. It’s a known fact that he had harsh criticisms for the previous government. He is not outraged by this government’s stinking impunity. Instead our wordsmith has turned himself into a gossipmonger, and he is trying desperately to deflect attention to a former president’s “sins”. The assault on the National Assembly by the DSS did not outrage him. Instead he was preoccupied with providing dramatic “eyewitness accounts” of an ex-president’s sexual escapades! Well, it’s going to take a lot more to persuade some of us to fall into line concerning his agenda.

Let’s start with the disgraced former director general of the DSS. After a three-year reign, wherein he was a law unto himself, the tenure of the power-drunk former director general of the DSS and a nephew to the president, Mallam Lawal Daura, came to an abrupt and ignominious end last week. Not even himself could have contemplated his fall in such a graceless manner. After all, he had pulled off stunts in the past that outraged the nation but nothing happened to him, not even a

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reprimand. As a matter of fact, the government defended some of his notoriety (the raid on judges) as evidence of its seriousness in the fight to root out corruption.

So when he, acting in cahoots with some APC chieftains, embarked on the careerending mission to deploy some hooded DSS operatives to lay siege to the National Assembly on Tuesday to facilitate the removal of the Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy Ike Ekweremadu, to him it was just another chapter in his infamous reign.

But he didn’t reckon that he had exhausted his grace and overreached himself. And that a dramatic nay difficult chapter of his life was about to begin. To save democracy, the acting president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, had little choice but to end Daura’s reign of impunity which had been condoled by Buhari and applauded by the rude, power-drunk, lying and undemocratic party called the APC. In just two terse sentences, Lawal Daura crashed from his Olympian height into the abyss. You see, in this whole sordid drama, the APC has not disappointed us by trying to lie its way out of blame when the plan to remove the Senate President blew up in its face. Power, it is said, is transient. I had wondered and agonised for months when the torment from these medieval lords of the manor would end. Painfully, I had resigned myself to wait until Buhari’s handover of power so that we could get rid of these lawless state officials and hold them to account for their many abuses of power. It’s a relief that one is gone.

Daura was a government within a government, the head of a powerful group feared for its ruthlessness and reckless disregard for the law and institutions of state. He was the law and above the law. Of course Daura derived its awesome powers from being a blood relation to a weak president who “condoles disrespect for his office”. At a snap of the fingers last week, he lost his power and the fearsomeness he had built around his personage. With his phones seized, he was whisked away and placed under house arrest. He has suddenly realised how powerless he really is. It must be agonising for him as he reflects about his three-year reign particularly the last few days.

Fate can play cruel jokes in real time on our lives. Daura must be praying it has been a nightmare he would soon wake up from.

But this is no dream o; a new chapter of his life has just begun.

Daura’s fall should be a lesson in power politics to the chairman of the EFCC, and the unofficial publicity secretary of the Buhari reelection campaign (mind you, he now dons a campaign lapel of President Buhari) Ibrahim Magu, who has carried on like there’s no tomorrow. He seems to like the optics he generates in the media more than the substance. His fall will come one day, and we (the media) will be here to report the story. He has executed the brief of his office with unequalled impunity. Magu has shown a clear partisan bias in his investigations and prosecution of crimes, such that he has turned the EFCC into an “APC’s strike force”. It is almost mind-numbing and predictable the way he repeatedly injects the EFCC into the Buhari reelection campaign. His main task, it appears, is to decimate the opposition and clear the path for the ruling party’s success.

How can a man who wears Buhari’s reelection

lapel be an arbiter of fairness and appropriate conduct with respect to cases that concern the opposition? Of course examples abound of how Magu has overreached himself, motivated in part by political considerations.

Barely two days after Kayode Fayemi of the APC won the Ekiti governorship election, the EFCC in a very partisan tweet, gloated at the defeat of the PDP, saying it was waiting to welcome Ayo Fayose to its office because it was going to reopen his case file very soon. It only took down that tweet following outrage from Nigerians. It is noteworthy that the EFCC’s tweet was more out of its quest to exact vengeance on Fayose than seeking justice because of how he had antagonised Buhari in the last four years.

How does one explain that immediately the Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom defected to the PDP, the National Chairman of the APC Adams Oshiomhole in cahoots with the EFCC launched vicious and vitriolic attacks on the governor? The EFCC, we were told, launched investigations into the governor’s security vote expenses, accusing him of N22 billion fraud and money laundering. The anti-graft agency later went berserk as it tried to outdo the chairman of the APC in their desire to force-feed the public allegations of sleaze against Ortom. In a highly reckless, utterly irresponsible and unconstitutional action, it froze the state’s bank accounts.

Who gave Magu such sweeping powers to freeze the accounts and by extension, hindered the ability of a federating unit to function? You see, the EFCC knew about Ortom’s alleged crimes but refused to act because he (Ortom) was still in the APC. But the moment he defected from the party of “saints”, he had to be exposed, and the allegations were made public. Is that how an unbiased crime agency works? That brings me to Godswill Akpabio’s case. Reports had it that he defected to the APC to save his own hide in the face of EFCC’s investigation.

The EFCC, it was reported, had written to banks to furnish it with details of Akpabio’s financial transactions and sensing trouble, he caved in. First, he visited Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, then it was Bola Tinubu’s turn and from there, he dashed to London where he was received by “Africa’s anti-corruption czar”, President Buhari. Of course, the president could not claim to have been unaware of Akpabio’s alleged graft. Oh c’mon! Politics supersedes the anti-corruption posture of this government o o. Since then, the EFCC has quietly backed off its investigation of the senator. Clearly, the investigation was used to coerce him to defect to give the APC some consolation prize from its haemorrhage of defections. Do you still remember Senator Musiliu Obanikoro’s case? There was so much noise about the corruption allegations against him when he was abroad. He returned to the country, reported himself to the EFCC which detained him briefly and was released. Pronto, he joined the APC to hush up the scandal. And that was the end of the matter. Senator Hope Uzodinma was facing allegations of corruption and aiding and abetting smuggling. He defected from the PDP to the APC pronto and nothing has since been heard of the matter. Folks, there are many more instances of Magu’s clear double standard too numerous to recount here.

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