THURSDAY 22ND NOVEMBER 2018

Nigeria Spends $2.5bn Annually on Aircraft Maintenance Overseas Chinedu Eze Nigerian airlines, presidential fleet, Nigerian Air Force and the Nigerian Police spend an estimated $2.5 billion annually in conducting C-check and other levels of aircraft maintenance overseas, THISDAY’s investigations have revealed. THISDAY gathered that most

of the funds are expended on the technical personnel, airframe maintenance, landing gear, engine overhaul and aircraft spares. Aeronautical engineers, airline operators and pilots told THISDAY that this amount would have been

halved if Nigeria has major Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, a leasing company, which could also supply spares and simulators for the training of pilots. THISDAY gathered that the high cost of maintenance

is responsible for the short lifespan of Nigerian carriers, which operate for average of 10 years. The long time spent in taking aircraft overseas has forced airlines to incur losses, making it difficult for domestic airlines to survive.

Former Aero Contractors’ Maintenance Engineer, who is now the Chief Executive Officer of Seven Star Global, a major maintenance facility that just berthed in Nigeria, Mr. Isaac Balami, told THISDAY that airframe maintenance alone costs Nigeria $1 billion

Offa Robbery: I'm Vindicated, Says Saraki ... Page 10

annually at the average of $1 million per aircraft. “Airlines expend about $1 million on the maintenance of airframe alone and not to talk about the maintenance of landing gear and engine, which have different maintenance programme. These amounts are spent by Nigerian airlines, Continued on page 6

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PDP Cries Out, Says APC Plots Akwa Ibom Takeover by Force Senate orders investigation Deji Elumoye, Adedayo Akinwale and Mercy Apollos in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of causing mayhem in Akwa Ibom State in order to take control of the state by force. The accusation by the main opposition party is coming as Continued on page 6

HONOUR FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR... L-R: Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Chairman, Modandola Group, Chief Bode Akindele; Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar III; Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede; and Minister of Health, Dr. Isaac Adewole, at the conferment of an honorary Doctor of Letters on Akindele by the University of Ibadan, in Ibadan… recently

INEC Warns Parties against Breach of Electoral Regulations Vows to enforce the law Iyobosa Uwugiaren, Adedayo Akinwale and Yesin Victoria in Abuja As the campaign for the presidential and National Assembly election kicks off, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned against any

contravention of the Electoral Act and its election regulations, vowing to strictly monitor campaigns by political parties. The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this yesterday during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) at the commission’s

headquarters in Abuja. He told them that the campaign for the 2019 presidential election officially commenced on Sunday, November 18, 2018 as provided for by the Electoral Act, in line with the commission’s timetable and schedules of activities,

urging them to ensure strict compliance with the extant rules guiding the election. “The commission is committed to closely monitor the campaigns pursuant to our statutory mandate and to ensure compliance with the extant laws and regulations,” he said.

Continuing Yakubu said, “We are pleased that the focus in the last few days, since the commencement of the campaigns has been on policies rather than personalities. We sincerely hope it remains this way.” Multiple sections of the electoral law regulate the

conduct of campaign by political parties and politicians, who are enjoined to keep the polity safe from injurious statements. Specifically, Section 95 of the Electoral Act (2010) prohibits certain conduct at political

Buhari Appoints Musa Abaji as S’ Court Justice … Page 11

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Atiku Awards Scholarships to Slain Soldiers’ Children Condoles with Army over death of officers Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has condoled with the Nigerian Army over attacks by Boko Haram on Sunday that led to loss of officers and men of the 157 Task Force Battalion in Maitile, Borno State. He also declared an endowment to provide full financial scholarships to five children of the slain

soldiers of the battalion up to whatever level they are able and willing to reach at the American University of Nigeria, Yola. The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a faction of Boko Haram, had on Sunday attacked a military base in Maitile, a remote village in Borno State. The insurgents dislodged the troops from the base before it was reclaimed with aerial support. The former vice president described the deaths of the

officers as very painful, stressing that the loss of even one member of the armed forces pierces his heart, saying they did not have to die, because they volunteered to do a job that keeps this nation safe. Atiku, in a statement he personally signed yesterday, called on the federal government to think about setting up a benevolent fund for the support of widows and children of the fallen military heroes, run by an independent body, to which the public and

corporate bodies could pay in funds, saying this is the least that we owe these gallant heroes. He stated, “The gallant men and women of our security services are our first and last line of defence against enemies of our nation and deserve the support and confidence of all Nigerians. We sleep well at night in our beds, because they stay awake uncomfortably in the fields. “I feel immense sadness when I think of the families they leave behind and pray

for Almighty God to grant their surviving family members fortitude to bear up in a time like this. “These men and women gave their best and we must reciprocate their sacrificial giving. Therefore, instead of celebrating my birthday this year, which is coming up in a few days, I choose to rather celebrate our fallen heroes. “As such, I hereby declare an endowment to provide full financial scholarships to five children of our fallen heroes from

the 157 Task Force Battalion in Maitile up to whatever level they are able and willing to reach at the American University of Nigeria, Yola.� Atiku also called on those who desire to celebrate his birthday to instead of sending him gifts, should donate their gifts and money to the widows and orphans of the fallen military heroes, also calling on all Nigerians, rich or poor to do what they can for the families of our fallen heroes.

Albert Akpan (PDP-Akwa Ibom North-East) on the development through Order 43 of the Senate standing rules, alleging that the police action was meant to pave the way for the removal of Governor Udom Emmanuel from office. Akpan informed his colleagues that over 1,500 policemen invaded the premises of the House of Assembly in the early hours of Wednesday and sealed it, thereby preventing the lawmakers from carrying out their legislative duties. According to him, reason for the police’s action is still unclear, but warned that security agencies should not involve themselves in partisan politics. He, therefore, urged the upper legislative chamber to direct the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to order his men out of the assembly complex so that the state lawmakers could have access to their offices and the chamber and discharge their legislative functions. Contributing, Senator Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central) described the sealing of the assembly as "a breach of principle of democracy, clearly ambiguous and an aberration, which should not be supported by any senator because of politics". He urged the Senate to take a strong position on the police action so as to send a serious signal to the security agencies against interference in legislative

functions. Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, therefore, directed the Committee on Police Affairs to investigate the alleged sealing of the assembly complex by the police in order to ascertain the reason for their action. He said, "What is wrong is wrong. It's wrong for a parliament to be sealed by security agents. We should not be partisan about it, but it's necessary we allow the Committee on Police Affairs to investigate it because it's still an allegation by a member, which should be investigated." He, therefore, mandated the Police Committee to thoroughly investigate the allegation and report back to plenary within 48 hours "after which the Senate can now take action." Akpan told journalists after plenary that five out of 26 lawmakers in Akwa Ibom state, who claimed to have sacked the assembly leadership, are trying to remove the governor by causing trouble through the police invasion in the state. According to him, "There were no cases of armed robbery, kidnappings and criminal activities in the state until the defection of my leader, Senator Akpabio from PDP." The lawmaker said he had informed the Senate on the alleged orchestrated plan by the APC to disrupt peace of the state ahead of next year's general elections.

PDP CRIES OUT, SAYS APC PLOTS AKWA IBOM TAKEOVER BY FORCE the Senate yesterday ordered a thorough investigation into the alleged invasion of the state House of Assembly by officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in the early hours of the day. PDP said Nigerians were all witnesses to volatile outbursts by the Buhari Campaign Organisation and APC leaders and their use of violent images and outright threats of war on Akwa Ibom State. Its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, while addressing a press conference yesterday in Abuja, stated, “The PDP has invited you to intimate you and the nation of a looming danger, imminent violence and breakdown of law and order in Akwa Ibom State as well as other littoral states, following attempts by President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC to forcefully take over control of these states. “Part of the plot is the forceful attempt to take over control of the Akwa Ibom State legislature, for which the presidency and the APC have been sponsoring the invasion of the House of Assembly complex and seeking ways to violently oust the duly elected leadership of the state assembly.� Ologbondiyan recalled the outburst by the former governor of the state, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who vowed that the APC would

take over the state the same way Hitler overran Poland, swearing, “War shall see Warsaw and Warsaw shall see war� in the state. He said, “Given that this statement is the policy of the APC and the Buhari presidency against Akwa Ibom and other parts of our country, where they are not in control, the president, as chief security officer of our country, never issued a reprimand nor has Senator Akpabio been pulled in for questioning by security agencies.� The party said recently, the National Chairman of the APC, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, who has been under fire over allegations of corruption, threatened and directly accused the erstwhile Akwa Ibom Commissioner of Police, Mr. John Abang, of refusing to carry out APC’s orders to provide security cover that would enable three legally sacked members of the 26-member legislature to effect a change of leadership. Ologbondiyan added, “The PDP has information of how the APC hierarchy thereafter, ordered the Inspector General of Police, who in compliance, summarily redeployed Abang and replaced him with Mr. Hyelasinda Musa Kimo. He added that it was needless to say that Abang spent just one month as police commissioner and had to be removed for not carrying out APC’s directive.

Ologbondiyan noted, “Since the arrival of Kimo, there has been mounting tension and escalated siege mentality in Akwa Ibom State, particularly in the state legislature where thugs, backed by the police, have been invading the premises, disrupting legislative activities, harassing staff members and hindering them from performing their responsibilities.� He said their plot was to forcibly take over the state or any other PDP-controlled state, warning that this would be firmly resisted by the people of those states and could lead to a crisis of unprecedented magnitude that has the capacity of truncating democracy in the country. The party stated that Buhari and the APC should be ready to take full responsibility for any breakdown of law and order as direct consequences of the people’s resistance to their plot to forcefully take over control of Akwa Ibom or any of the PDP-controlled states. On his part, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state, Mr. Ini Ememobong, said the premeditated plan, which was unfolding in phases was aimed at ensuring that the security situation in the state portrayed the governor as being overwhelmed because of his gentlemanly disposition to issues of state and governance.

When that happens, he said, it would attract seemingly the attention of the federal government to come in aid of APC members, who are absolutely unable to win any election on the ground. According to him, “The end point of that plan is to ensure that on the day of election, Akwa Ibom State as well as other states controlled by the PDP will be selected as flash points and kept for a separate day. Either as will be announced by the INEC or on the day of the first general ballot, that they will make it impossible for elections to hold there, so that the Ekiti example and Ekiti style of election can be brought, where 30,000 policemen can be brought from other parts of the country there.�

Senate Orders Investigation into Invasion of State Assembly Meanwhile, the Senate yesterday ordered a thorough investigation into the alleged invasion of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly. Its Committee on Police headed by Senator Tijani Kaura (Zamfara North) has, therefore, been given a 48hour ultimatum to urgently look into the reported police seal up of the assembly and report back to the Senate. This is sequel to a motion moved by Senator

NIGERIA SPENDS $2.5BN ANNUALLY ON AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE OVERSEAS the Nigerian Navy, the Nigeria Air Force, the Nigeria Police, the Presidential Fleet and others that operate fixed wing aircraft. Maintenance cost is in terms of hardware and software,� Balami said. He explained that huge cost of conducting checks on aircraft overseas does not jeopardise the safety of the Nigerian fleet because concerning commercial airliners, the regulatory authority, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is monitoring all the airlines, but the huge cost has ensured that no Nigerian airline has existed for over 10 years, noting that Aero Contractors, which was established in 1959 started having problems 10 years after it went into scheduled commercial operation. “The high cost of maintenance may not have any effect on aircraft safety but it is one of the

reasons why Nigerian airlines cannot fly for more than 10 years. You can recall that Arik and Aero started having problems after they were 10 years. Aero was established in 1959 but went into commercial operations and 10 years after, it started having problems. This is difficult because after expending 40 per cent of your resources on fuel and you spend 30 per cent of your resources on maintenance, it becomes very difficult for you to survive,� he said. He said that one major reason Nigerian airlines go under is because of the delay in ferrying the aircraft overseas, noting that every day a Boeing B737 is left on ground, the airline loses $100,000. Boeing B737 is major aircraft type used by most Nigerian airlines. “If you don’t fly a Boeing

B737 a day you lose $100,000 and because you don’t have maintenance facility locally, you have to park the aircraft for about three weeks. That alone can kill an airline. That is why there is urgent need for Nigeria to have a maintenance facility and our MRO, Seven Start Global Hangar obtained licence from NCAA last August and we would start conducting checks soon; that will save Nigerian airlines and others huge amount of money spent overseas on maintenance,� Balami said. The Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, told THISDAY that he spends about $2.5 million on heavy checks on one aircraft. Also, the Account Manager of Dana Air, Obi Mbanuzuo, said the airline spends about $1.2 million on conducting C-check on each of its aircraft. Mbanuzuo also said

Nigeria loses hugely conducting maintenance checks overseas. “For heavy check, which is done between 15 to 18 months, each time we fly that aircraft abroad, just the flight alone cost us close to $80,000. Your crew flies the airplanes; so that crew is out for three or four days. The cost of each C-check is about $1.2 million and then we fly it back here. “If there were maintenance facility here, we won’t go through this. For instance, if the Uyo maintenance facility that is being constructed were available; we will just fly the aircraft from Lagos to Uyo and park the aircraft there. Even if initially it is run by expatriates and foreigners, after a short period of time, locals will get the expertise to do the work and the cost of flying the aircraft out is reduced,� he said.

He also explained that main input cost of a C-check is man hour cost, which is about $70 to $100 per hour, noting that the cost would drastically reduce if the maintenance is conducted locally. “So, having a repair facility in Nigeria will save millions of dollars annually to all the airlines. In addition, pilots go for simulator training every six months. All the airlines in Nigeria send all their pilots for simulator training every six months. Imagine what we will be saving if we had simulators locally,� he said. The Chief Executive Officer of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, said that maintaining aircraft locally would save Nigerian airlines at least 35 per cent of the cost of maintaining the aircraft overseas and save Nigeria so much foreign exchange.

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NGN NGN 15.00 165.00 0.06 0.67 0.02 0.25 0.02 0.25 2.00 50.00 NGN 0.08 0.85 0.04 0.45 1.00 15.00 PRESCO 4.10 62.15 CADBURY 0.35 9.20 HPE Nestle Nig Plc â‚Ś1,500.00 Volume: 237.746 million shares Value: N3.503 billion Deals: 3,359 As at yesterday 21/11/18 See details on Page 41

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Trump Praises Saudi Arabia for $63 Crude Oil Price Ejiofor Alike with agency reports As crude oil price rose by one per cent to $63 per barrel yesterday after slumping six per cent on the previous day, the United States President, Donald Trump, has praised Saudi Arabia for helping to lower oil prices as pressure intensified to impose tougher sanctions on the Middle East ally following the murder of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. In a tweet, Trump thanked Riyadh for the recent drop in oil prices and called for prices to go even lower, likening it to “a big tax cut� that could boost the United States and global economies. Oil bounced above $63 a barrel yesterday to claw back some of the previous day’s six per cent plunge, lifted by a report of an unexpected decline in United States crude inventories. Iraqi Deputy Oil Minister, Fayadh al-Nema, said yesterday that OPEC would

work to stabilise oil markets, crude prices and supplies at its next meeting. “OPEC and non-OPEC producers will work together to restore balance to oil prices and supplies to make sure prices stay stable,� he told journalists at an oil exploration conference in Baghdad. The American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday that US crude stocks last week fell by 1.5 million barrels, easing concerns for now that a supply glut is building up. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up $1 per barrel to $63.53 per barrel after it traded as high as $63.77. The US crude gained $1.01 to $54.44 per barrel. However, yesterday’s bounce did little to reverse overall market weakness as crude fell more than six per cent in the previous session and world equities tumbled as investors grew more worried about economic

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu growth prospects. Brent has fallen by more than 25 per cent since reaching a four-year high of $86.74 on October 3, reflecting

concern about forecasts of slowing demand in 2019 and record supply from Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US. Trump has repeatedly

blasted high oil prices, criticised the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) over its production and pressured Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer, to act. On Tuesday, he pledged to remain a “steadfast partner� of Saudi Arabia even as he said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may have known about the plan to murder Khashoggi last month. The CIA believes Khashoggi’s death was ordered directly by the crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler widely known by his initials MbS, sources familiar with the matter have said. With US lawmakers calling for tougher sanctions, Trump said he would not cancel military deals with the kingdom. He said it would be a “foolish� move that would only benefit Russia and China, competitors of the US in the arms market.

A number of US lawmakers, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans, pushed back sharply on his assessment. Worried by the prospect of a new supply glut, OPEC is talking about reducing output just months after increasing production. OPEC, Russia and other non-OPEC producers are considering a supply cut of between one million barrels per day (bpd) and 1.4 million bpd at a December 6 meeting, sources familiar with the issue have said. Still, Saudi Arabia may find taking action to support prices harder, analysts say, with US pressure to keep them low. Riyadh could feel more inclined to heed US demands after Trump had promised to be a “steadfast partner� of Saudi Arabia despite saying Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may have known about a plan to murder the journalist at Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Offa Robbery: I’m Vindicated, Says Saraki Calls for probe of prime suspect's death Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, yesterday said he had been vindicated by the latest revelation by Police High Command that the principal suspect in the armed robbery attack, Michael Adikwu, had died in custody. He, therefore, called on the presidency to probe the death of Adikwu "so as to know how and when the suspect died". No fewer than 32 people were killed in the robbery operation which involved five commercial banks on April 5, 2018. Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser, Yusuph Olaniyonu, in Abuja noted that the new disclosure by the police has vindicated his earlier claim that the suspect had been murdered in police custody and that the investigation was politically-motivated

to implicate him (Senate president), Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State and a few others. According to him, the inquiry would help to thoroughly examine and interrogate how the investigation into the robbery incident was conducted by the police and whether the investigation followed the normal process and comply with global best practices. He added that the police needed to confirm why it took them so long to make the disclosure about the death of the principal suspect after they categorically denied it at the time he (Saraki) disclosed the information and it was reported in the media. He said, "It should be recalled that when we mentioned it that the principal suspect had been murdered and that

investigation into the Offa robbery attack was politically-motivated and targeted at implicating me and other individuals, the Police Public Relations Officer, Moshood Jimoh said: 'Michael Adikwu is in police custody. You know that he is the one that led the killing of 22 people. The firearms that were carted away, he is helping the police in the investigation to recover them. There is a state in the South-west where they kept him. I can't mention the state. It is in one of the South-west states'.� Saraki added that the fresh facts have now thrown more light into why there had been inconsistencies in the various statements by the police. "The police initially told the Attorney-General of Kwara State that the principal suspect was alive and they only later reluctantly disclosed that

he died in the course of arrest. How can a suspect confirmed to be in custody now be said to have died in the course of arrest? This contradiction shows a deliberate attempt to cover up something. "It is obvious that the police have orchestrated the information they give to the public on the Offa robbery only to tarnish the image of the Kwara State Governor and myself. Justifying his call for the probe of the suspect's death, Saraki declared "we are calling for a public inquiry to probe the issues of extra-judicial killing, the cover-up of this killing with the aim of framing up some individuals for political purpose and politicising of criminal investigations. The Kwara State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), yesterday had disclosed at the state High Court that the prime

suspect and gang leader in the Offa bank robbery, Adikwu, had died. Five of the six principal suspects -Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salaudeen Azeez and Niyi Ogundiran were brought to court yesterday for arraignment. However, Michael Adikwu, a dismissed police constable who was said to have confessed to being the mastermind of the bloody operation was not in court. When the case came up yesterday, Ajibade, who said that his office received the case file of the robbery operation on Monday evening, explained that the head of the police investigation team, Mr. Abba Kyari, informed him that one of the suspects, Michael Adikwu was dead. Ajibade said the police were yet to give details of Adikwu’s death and that the five suspects brought to

court could not be charged until an amendment was made on the charge sheet. According to him, “We have the names of six suspects on our charge sheet, but they brought five suspects, we cannot go on with the case until we amend the charges because we can not prosecute a dead person.� The attorney-general also said that the case could not go on because the suspects had no legal representation. He, however, urged the court to adjourn the case so that the charges could be amended and the suspects could get legal team to represent them. It would be recalled that two lawyers who were representing the suspects announced their withdrawal from the case last week. Justice Halima Salman adjourned the matter till November 30, 2018 and ordered that the suspects should get a legal team.

and non-Nigerians, who may have registered as well as deceased persons and multiple registrants. He said yesterday’s meeting enabled the RECs report on the outcome of the exercise in their various state, adding that the reports would be shared with the general public.� The chairman said the meeting would dwell on the progress made on the collection of outstanding Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) by citizens as well as new modalities for a more efficient administration of the collection process. He added that the meeting would consider the recruitment and training of election duty staff, discuss the ongoing review of the framework for voting by Internally Displaced (IDPs), explore additional

administrative measures in support of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in the electoral process. “We will also examine additional ways to safeguard the sanctity of the ballot against the menace of vote-buying at polling units, appraise issues relating to electoral logistics and generally and generally access facilities and preparations for the general elections,� the chairman added. The chairman, however, regretted the loss of four of the commission’s staff members in Kogi State and one in Edo State, adding that it would work with security agencies to ensure the arrest and the prosecution of those involved in the attack and vandalisation of electoral materials at a polling unit in Kwara State.

INEC WARNS PARTIES AGAINST BREACH OF ELECTORAL REGULATIONS campaigns, with subsection (1) saying that “no political campaign or slogan shall be tainted with abusive language directly or indirectly likely to injure religious, ethnic, tribal or sectional feelings.’’ Subsection 2 of the section is more emphatic, “Abusive intemperate, slanderous or base language or insinuations or innuendoes, designed or likely to provoke violent reactions or emotions shall not be employed or used in political campaigns,� while subsection (3) says, “Places designated for religious worship, police station, and public offices shall not be used for political campaigns, rallies and processions; or to promote, propagate or attack political parties, candidates or their programmes or ideologies.� The law also prohibits the

abuse of culture for political purposes. For instance, Section 95 (4) says, “Masquerades shall not be employed or used by any political party, candidate or person during political campaigns or for any other political purpose,� while Subsection (5) says, “No political party or member of a political party shall retain, organise, train or equip any person or group of persons for the purpose of enabling them to be employed for the use or display of physical force or coercion in promoting any political objective or interest or in such manner as to arouse reasonable apprehension that they are organised, trained or equipped for that purpose.� Subsection (6) also says, “No political party, person or candidate shall keep or use

private security organisation, vanguard or any other group or individual by whatever name called for the purpose of providing security assisting or aiding the political party or candidate in whatever manner during campaigns, rallies, processions or elections.� On the consequences of the breach of the Act, Subsection 7 stipulates penalties for infringement as N1million or 12 months imprisonment for individuals and N2million in the first instance and N1million for subsequent offence for a political party; while subsection (8) says aiding and abetting of contravention of subsection (5) by any person shall warrant N500,000 fine or three years imprisonment or both.

At the meeting with the top INEC officials yesterday, Professor Yakubu stressed that the last meeting held with the RECs, two months ago focused on the preparations for the 2019 general elections, especially on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise. He noted that the commission had been working on the clean-up of the voters' register, describing it as the foundation for the conduct of credible elections. He explained that the recently displayed voters' register in all polling units nationwide was for claims and objections, and ensuring that citizens help the commission to identify any ineligible registrants, such as persons below statutory age of 18 years

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

UNESCO: Boko Haram Killed 2,300 Teachers, Destroyed 1,000 Schools Segun James The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has said Boko Haram has killed 2,300 teachers in the North-east since the start of the insurgency in 2009. In the 2018 UNESCO global education monitoring report

(GEM), the UN agency said 19,000 teachers have been displaced in the region, affecting access to education. “In north-eastern Nigeria, as of late 2017, there were 1.6 million IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons), including an estimated 700,000 school-age children, as a result of violent attacks on civilians by Boko

Haram, which began in 2009 (UNOCHA, 2017b),” said the report. “Boko Haram has destroyed nearly 1,000 schools and displaced 19,000 teachers (HRW, 2016). Reports indicated it had killed almost 2,300 teachers by 2017 (UNOCHA, 2017a). “The latest education needs assessment found that out of

260 school sites, 28 per cent had been damaged by bullets, shells or shrapnel, 20 per cent had been deliberately set on fire, 32 per cent had been looted and 29 per cent had armed groups or military in close proximity.” UNESCO decried the shortage of qualified teachers in the zone, citing security and poor remuneration as reasons

the teachers are emigrating from the region. “Ongoing safety concerns, coupled with teacher salaries that do not cover even basic expenses and delays in payment, perpetuate a shortage of qualified teachers,” UNESCO said, adding that “most of those who remain work on a voluntary basis”. The report, according to

TheCable, also revealed that there is a shortage of teachers in the Almajiri school system, predominant in northern Nigeria. “In the almajiri system, a teacher can be responsible for up to 100 students, predominantly poor boys who often end up on the street begging for alms,” the report added.

South-east Govs, Ekweremadu Meet with President Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari; Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and some South-east governors held a closed-door meeting yesterday to discuss issues relating to the development of the zone. Apart from Ekweremadu accompanied the governors of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states to the meeting. Briefing journalists at the end of the meeting, the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, said the meeting was basically about issues relating to the development of the South-east. Umahi said there was nothing political about the meeting with President Buhari. “It has no political intentions because these are economic issues and they are not new,” Umahi said. Umahi noted that “He (President Buhari) has assured us that he is going to look into the issues and of course on the issue of railway, we were given a cheering news that not only that the railway will be awarded to touch all states capitals in South-east, it will also touch most of other state capitals as it moves from South-east to Maiduguri. “And there will also be a port that will be added to it and it will cost about $12 billion. He said they are yet to bring it to Federal Executive Council meeting; so, they intend to do so. “And of course with the borrowing plan being approved by the senate, they are going to fast track the issue of construction in the South-east.” According to him, “We came to thank the president on behalf of South-east for the award of the second Niger Bridge to Julius Berger at the sum of N206 billion. We understand that N7 billion has been paid as mobilisation. So, we came to ask the president if there is the possibility of paying up to 50 per cent of the sum and secure the other 50 per cent as bond so that we can sleep with our two eyes closed and be assured that the job will not be abandoned. “We also requested that the construction period be reduced from 42 months to 24 months. We made it clear to Julius Berger that it is achievable. “We are also asking for economic free trade zone in Eyimba in Abia State and

he promised to come and commission it. The license has been issued.We also thanked him for that economic free trade zone. “And then we talked about the Enugu International Airport. We asked him to deploy the cargo section of the airport, complete the building and extend the runway and also rebuild the runway because it is very bumpy and the tarmac light is not functioning. “Now that the rains are gone, the contractors are complaining of lack of funding. So, we requested that he (President Buhari) should do something about the funding. “Of course, we talked about the Geometric Power Plant in Aba so that he can assist in resolving whatever the issues are and ensure that power is deployed to the industrial clusters in Aba and environs. “We reminded him that the Enugu State Government has done quite a lot on the issue of relocating major infrastructure that has been obstructing smooth operations of lives. We requested that he should take over the compensations of the affected lands. “Of course, the issue of gas distribution should be linked to the five eastern states to the industrial clusters, so as to boost economic activities. “The railway of course, we complained that the western corridor is going on and the eastern corridor has not been awarded. And the eastern corridor goes through Port Harcourt, Aba, Ebonyi, Enugu and Maiduguri. We requested that the contract should be awarded so that we can benefit from that project.” Meanwhile, a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu noted that the president has assured that all ongoing federal projects in the South-east will be funded, saying that the seven-month delay in passing this year’s budget will not serve as an excuse. Garba said in course of the meeting with South-east Governors, President Buhari pledged that the federal government will sustain the support to the South-east in terms of infrastructure. ‘‘I assure you that we are doing our best and will not default on the agreements signed on ongoing projects,’’ the president told the delegation.

THE UMPIRE GETS SET…

L-R: Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu; INEC National Commissioners, Mr. Festus Okoye and Dr. Muhammed Lecky, during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja… yesterday PHOTO: JULIUS ATOI

Buhari Appoints Musa Abaji as S’ Court Justice Jonathan Eze President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Musa Abaji as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He made this announcement via a letter he sent to the Senate last Tuesday. In the letter which was read by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, he said the appointment was according to the advice of the National Judicial Council (NJC). “In line with 1999 Constitution upon the advice of the NJC, I hereby refer for confirmation the appointment of Justice

Musa Abaji as the Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. “While hoping that this is expeditiously considered by the Senate, accept the assurances of my highest regard,” the letter read. In another letter, the president declined assent to the Institute of Chartered Biochemist and Molecular Biology of Nigeria Bill 2018. He said his decision to withhold assent to the bill was because if passed, the bill would infringe on the mandate of the National University Commission (NUC) and the National Board for Technology Education,

adding that there are drafting issues on the bill. “In pursuant of section 68(4) of the constitution, I hereby convey to the Senate the decision on the November 5, 2018, to decline presidential assent to the Institute of Chartered Biochemist and Molecular Biology of Nigeria bill 2018 recently passed by the National Assembly for the following reasons: “The provisions of section 13(3) would give the chartered biochemist and molecular biology power to approve academic programme and even close down programmes in tertiary institutions, which

would infringe on our mandate of the National University Commission and the National Board for Technology Education. “Secondly, there are certain drafting and administrative issues in the bill, including the failure in section 13(8), 14 and 22(2) to designate a chairman for both the practice and publicity committee and or specific process for how a chairman should emerge for either of the education, practice and publicity committees. “This can lead to confusion in the administration of the council,” the president wrote in his letter.

12 Feared Dead as Farmers, Herders Clash in Katsina Raheem Akingbolu

A clash between herders and farmers in Gora Village of Katsina State has left about 12 people dead, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports. “The violent clash took place when a herdsman pushed

his cows into the farm of a farmer who was harvesting his beans,” the Katsina police spokesperson, Isah Gambo, told NAN. A source told the agency that the incident occurred late Tuesday evening during which the herder allegedly killed the farmer.

The source further alleged that the relatives of the farmer retaliated and also killed the herder. According to the source, when the relatives of the herder got the information that their brother had been killed, they trooped to Gora and started shooting at the

farmers in sight. No fewer than 12 persons were feared dead and nine injured during the clash at Gora Village of Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State. The police, however, said the violence has been brought under control.

EFCC Quizzes Ex-Abia Gov, Orji, over Alleged N27bn Fraud Over three years after leaving office, Governor of Abia State, Senator Theodore Orji, was yesterday interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Orji, who was governor

from 2007 to 2015, arrived at the EFCC office in Abuja, along with his lawyer, in a cream long-sleeve Niger Delta outfit popularly referred to as ‘senator.’ Orji, who represents Abia-

Central senatorial district at the National Assembly, was invited over allegations that he mismanaged about N27 billion. The invitation, it was learnt, was sequel to a series of petitions written against the

former governor shortly after he left office in 2015. The EFCC was said to have commenced investigation soon after, but was waiting for enough evidence before inviting him.

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THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Labour Threatens to Demand Two Years Arrears of Minimum Wage Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The organised labour has threatened to demand payment of two years arrears of the proposed new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers from the federal and state governments. The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Ayuba Wabba, said this yesterday when he received the General Secretary, Public Service International (PSI) Rosa Pavanelli, in his office in Abuja.

Wabba said the delay by President Muhammadu Buhari in transmitting the executive bill to the National Assembly was becoming worrisome, adding that workers may be forced to insist on payment of arrears of those two years already lost. “Workers in the country have made tremendous sacrifice and I think going forward, we are going to demand for arrears of those two years we have lost,” he said.

Oshiomhole: APC Still Better than PDP Despite Primary Election Crisis Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has said despite the high-wire tussle trailing its primaries, the ruling party still enjoys more popularity than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Oshiomhole said the situation in APC cannot be compared with the flawed reputation of the PDP. He said anyone with good memories will have no difficulties in comparing the previous 16 years of PDP rule and the past three and half years of APC rule. Speaking yesterday during the inauguration of the six reconciliation committees at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Oshiomhole said there was no doubt that the success of the party attracted more members with the attendant stiff competition. “Four years ago, around this time, we were in opposition and therefore, the value of our ticket was certainly not near where they are today. More and more women and men of conviction now subscribe to contesting election on our platform.” While justifying the

The NLC president said all fairness and justice, requires that such time lost due to delays in negotiations should be taken account of by government. “I also want to inform you that we have passed the first hurdle and it took us almost a year to be at the tripartite negotiation table for a figure, and we have agreed on a figure of N30, 000. “That figure has been transmitted to the president who set up the committee and we have also told them to forward an executive bill

immediately to the National Assembly”, he said. Wabba said the labour movement was aware of the new tactics by the state governors to arm-twist what has already been done. He further insisted that six state governors were part of the negotiation process, with each representing their geopolitical zones. According to Wabba, public hearings were held in the zones, where the state governors were invited to make their inputs “So, mutually on the

negotiation table, we have looked at all other factors, especially factors that were provided in convention 131 and 95 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on the minimum wage in which five factors were considered. “The issue of the purchasing power parity, inflation, ability to pay, all those factors were considered and that is how our demand of N66, 500 was then agreed mutually on N30, 000,” he said. In her remark, the PSI official said she was in Nigeria to show support for

competition that trailed the APC primaries, Oshiomhole said the party’s growing popularity has brought in more members, including political activists. “As they say, success has many fathers and failure is an orphan. The fact of these accomplishments have enlarged the house and brought in more political activists and political leaders who are people of huge electoral value across the states. “The internal democratic process, which we were obliged under our constitution to go through was getting more intense and competitive with more people showing interest in the affairs of our party,” he said. Oshiomhole said credit should go to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, for their hard work in delivering on the promises made to Nigerians. In his remark on behalf of members of the reconciliation committee, Borno State Governor, Ibrahim Shettima, L-R: Regional Bank Head, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mrs. Pamela Shodipo; former Military Administrator of Ondo State, Chief Bode said the party’s main target is George; General Manager and Editor-in-Chief of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye; and Executive Director, UBA Plc, Mr. Liadi to ensure the victory of President Ayoku, during the conferment of the Bank of the Year Award on UBA at the New Telegraph Awards in Lagos…recently Buhari at the next election. He also said the party will target to increase the number of states it controls from the present 23 to 30 states. The main prosecution witness, counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo. indicted companies,” Otedola said never applied to withdraw from Femi Otedola, in the trial of a Shortly later, the prosecution while explaining the events that the petroleum fund,” Otedola said. former member of the House of played a video where Lawan prompted his alleged payment of The witness also denied an Representatives, Farouk Lawan, was seen receiving $500 000 $500,000 to Lawan in April 2012. allegation by Lawan that he yesterday testified before a High from Otedola. When asked by the prosecution (Otedola) offered to pay the Court in Abuja. counsel about the claim by Lawan money so that his name would be The witness then addressed Otedola, the founder of Zenon Insurance and other Financial Oil, was allegedly pressured by the court on the events narrated that the witness forced him to removed from the list of indicted Institutions and Diaspora for Lawan to part with a $3 million in the video, following questions take the money, Otedola denied it. companies. Otedola said: “I did not offer “I could not have put pressure consideration within two weeks. bribe while the latter was chairing from Awomolo. According to Otedola, the on him because Zenon Oil was any $3 million because I was one The Deputy Senate President, a subcommittee investigating a Senator Ike Ekweremadu, had while multi-billion dollar fraud associated accused had indicted his company not involved in the theft of the of the biggest players in the business. And I reported the matter raising a point of order anchored with government fuel subsidy in the alleged fraud and demanded subsidy fund. “He did demand it. And if initially when I found out about on rules 42 and 52 of the senate during the administration of $3 million to exonerate him. The witness added that after the he did not demand, why will he the scam. And he mentioned to standing rules drew the attention former President Goodluck initial deposit of $500,000 was paid collect and expect a balance of me that several companies that of the Senate to the alleged neglect Jonathan. of the zone in rail lines project. Lawan was re-arraigned in into his account, Lawan declared $2.5 million? He mentioned to were involved in the scam were He stated that as the ongoing December 2016 by the Nigerian Zenon Oil and Gas free of the me that the $3 million will be paying, so I reported to the SSS.” He also denied a claim by shared by himself and some other rehabilitation and modernisation of Government for the alleged initial indictment. Lawan that Zenon Oil and Gas “After the early hours of April members of the House. rail lines by the federal government offence. “Moreover, the company in was exonerated on the basis of is commendable, the obvious neglect On Wednesday, Otedola entered 24, 2012 (the time the money was of the south eastern zone in the the witness box after he was paid), he left and removed the question was not involved in the documents later provided by the project is worrisome. introduced by the prosecution name of Zenon Oil from the list of importation of petrol and as such, company. According to him, for a country to survive, there must be equity and fairness which is glaringly lacking in the ongoing rail lines projects with the exclusion of the Two members of the House of North/Obafemi-Owode/Odeda his counterpart, Kazzim, did in the 2019 general election. Representatives on the platform federal constituency of Ogun not state the party he was He added that it was not only south eastern zone . undemocratic, but also goes of the All Progressives Congress State, made their resignations defecting to. Also contributing, the Senate (APC) yesterday announced known in separate letters to the In the letters, both lawmakers against relevant sections of the Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan their defection from the party. Speaker of the House, Yakubu pointed to irreconcilable issues constitution. (Yobe North) in his contribution The House had in the last affecting the APC from its The two lawmakers, Dogara. , disagreed with earlier speakers Babatunde Kolawole who Dogara read the letters at primaries as part of the reasons one month witnessed several saying the eastern lines have not represents Akoko North East/ plenary yesterday. for their defection.Kazzim stated defections after dozens of been abandoned based on recent West federal constituency of While Kolawole announced that ‘god-fatherism’ played a members, mostly from the disclosures to this effect by the Ondo State and Mukaila his defection to the opposition vital role in who emerges as ruling APC, defected to other Kazzim representing Abeokuta Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), candidates to represent the party parties in August. minister of transportation.

WELL DESERVED HONOUR…

Otedola Appears in Court, Insists Lawan Demanded $3m Bribe

Rail Lines: Senate Summons Amaechi over Alleged Neglect of South-east Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Senate yesterday flayed the alleged marginalisation of the South-east in the ongoing laying of railway lines across the country. The upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly has therefore mandated its Committees on Land Transport, Local and Foreign Debts to summon the Transport Minister, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, before the joint committees to explain the alleged marginalisation of one of the six geo-political zones in the execution of the nationwide rail projects. The Senate also yesterday condemned the rampant kidnapping incidents particularly in some parts of Zamfara State as well as the alleged culpability of policemen in the last weekend’s by-election in Kwara state. The Senate also yesterday referred the nomination of both Ronke Sokefun and Abike DabiriErewa as Chairmen of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NDC), respectively to its committees on Banking,

trade union movement in the country. “Working for months, providing services to people without being paid is something that is unacceptable and this unfortunately what is happening here. “In a country which is rich of resources that can have wealth distribute but it is oppressed by the greater international capital that wants to grab the resources and forget the people who create wealth for the country. This is very wrong and unacceptable,” she said.

Two APC Federal Lawmakers Abandon Party

THISDAYt THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018

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COMMENT

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

SARDAUNA OF SOKOTO AT 80

Ibrahim Muye Yahaya pays tribute to Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji, technocrat, administrator and Sardauna of Sokoto, at 80

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ccording to primordial folklore, God preserves humanity regardless of its many misdemeanors because at any era there are individuals who, without being aware of their role, redeem mankind. Alhaji (Sir) Abubakar Alhaji is such a man propelled into fame by a sequence of unpredictable events with an impact so profound that can rightly be considered providential. Unassuming and without guile, never having aspired to national office, he is not consumed by driving aspiration. The Sardauna of Sokoto is endowed with the virtues of a full-blooded prince: sincerity, serenity, persona and integrity. He is not effusive as he always speaks of substantive matters. Triple “A� as he is fondly called is not a run-of-the-mill persona. He is extraordinary. The peculiarity is decisive when discussing the man widely recognised as one of Nigeria’s finest, famous and influential princes from the seat of caliphate. His footprints are literally everywhere. For more than three decades of his service to his fatherland, he rose through cadres to the positions of government holding key offices and portfolios. He was a model in the public service, ranking in the memory of those that witness their generations who have devoted their lives to the ideals of the country. He was a rare technocrat with dispositions that enabled him stand for his country without losing sight of the larger interests of the nation. Unlike so many of his contemporaries, he knew that simplicity and concentration produce lucidity and decision. Among his notable deeds under his leadership were strengthening supervision of banks, private sector participation (liberalisation) of the economy and establishment of regulatory agencies. He was involved in managing Nigeria’s relationship with its external creditors and on the Nigerian negotiating team for “Lome II Agreement� and signing on behalf of Nigeria’s IMF loan request from the Republic of Ireland in 1974. Perhaps this was one of Alhaji Alhaji’s roles for the betterment of Nigeria. Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji was born to the family of Alhaji Muhammad Sani Ibn Khaliru Barau Ibn Abdullahi Barau Ibn Muhammadu Buhari Ibn Shehu Usmanu Danfodiyo in Sokoto State on 22th November 1938. After his Islamic and primary education at Barau Primary School Dogon-Daji, he was at Government Provincial College Kano briefly and later to the famous Katsina College where he completed his secondary education. Upon completion, he left for the Bournemouth College of Commerce, United Kingdom. In 1961, he gained admission to the University of Reading where he graduated with BSc Degree in Political Economy in 1964. He joined the Federal Ministry of Finance in 1964 as an Assistant Secretary (External Finance). In 1965, he left for the IMF Institute Washington DC for a course in Public Finance and upon his return; he was promoted to the position of Exchange Control Officer at the same ministry. In a quest for additional know-how, he left to attend Hague Institute for Social Sciences, for a course on industrialisation. From 1969 to 1996, Sir Alhaji served in the following capacities: Under Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Director of External Finance, Deputy Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Finance; federal Permanent Secretary in the following Ministries: Trade, Industries, Finance, National Planning, Special Assistant to the President, Minister of State (Budget & Planning), Minister of Budget and Planning, Minister of Finance and Economic Development and Nigeria High Commissioner to United Kingdom. He was the Board Chairman in the following agencies: Tourist Company of Nigeria Ltd, Nigeria Hotels Ltd, Durbar Hotels Ltd, Price

ALHAJI ALHAJI NEVER ABUSED THE PRIVILEGE NOR USED THE INFLUENCE OF THE OFFICES HE OCCUPIED FOR SELF-ENRICHMENT OR ILLEGALITIES IN CONTRAST TO WHAT WE HAVE BEEN WITNESSING WITH ELECTED, APPOINTED AND CAREER CIVIL SERVANTS IN NIGERIA TODAY

Control Board, Price Intelligence Agency, Nigeria Produce Marketing Agency, Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd, Delta Steel Company Ltd, Iwopin Paper Mills Ltd, Ashaka Cement, Benue Cement, Savannah Sugar, Sapele Salt Company, Nigerian Security Printing Minting Company (NSPMC), Technical Committee on Producer’s Price, G.24 Committee of World Bank, G.24 Committee of IMF and served as a member in the following committees; Board of NEPA, Council of Ministers, Security Advisory Council, Economic Finance Committee, Transition Committee, General Purpose Committee, NNPC Board, NITEL Board, IMF/World Bank Task Force on Multilateral Development Banks, OAU Group of Ambassadors, Interim Committee of IMF, National Boundary Commission, Nigerian Tariff Commission, Presidential Committee on Mineral Producing Areas, Advisory committee on Global Coalition for Africa, Joint Committee on Remuneration of Executive Directors and their alternatives at IMF/World Bank and Advisory Committee on third world debt under Non-Aligned Movement. Sir Abubakar also served as the Governor for OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), Governor for Nigeria (World Bank), Governor (IDEF) Dakar, Governor for Nigeria (AFDB), etc. He led Nigeria economic and trade delegation to IMF, World Bank, IDB, AFDB and countries of Europe, Asia, North America, Africa and Middle-East. Even while on retirement from public service, he was appointed jointly by the Governor’s of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara in 1999 as their honourary economic adviser, a position he held until May 2015 when he voluntarily resigned. In 1974, his uncle, the 17th Sultan of Sokoto, Sir Abubakar III conferred on him the title of Sarkin Shanun Sokoto and in 1991, he was further elevated to the title of Sardaunan Sokoto by his uncle and father in-law, the late 18th Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki of blessed memory. At the community level, he was the Special Adviser, Gamji Old Members Association (GOMA) 1988 and Patron of Sokoto Emirate Development Association. Alhaji Alhaji was conferred as a Knight of British Empire (KBE) and a Spanish Knighthood in 1989, Commander of Order of Niger (CON) 1992 and was awarded with a honourary Doctorate Degree of Science by Usmanu Danfodiyo University in 1991. Triple “A� left the public service with no qualms. All those that worked and came across him will bear witness that the Sardauna of Sokoto has paid his dues in his quest to renew our country and restore hope to it. As we look back to remember this awe-inspiring man, we are proud of today, a sense of ethics, patriotism and a deep sense of objective thinking, attributes still traceable in him as he led by example and left behind a profound legacy of hard work and honesty - traits that Nigerians today need most. On 9th April 1990, African Concord Magazine ran a special edition on him titled “The Prince with the Power in his Pocket�. Even with the power in his pocket then, Alhaji Alhaji never abused the privilege nor used the influence of the offices he occupied for self-enrichment or illegalities in contrast to what we have been witnessing with elected, appointed and career civil servants in Nigeria today. He is blessed with one wife - Hajiya Amina Abubakar and six children: three females and three males with 13 grandchildren. Among his children is Hajiya Aisha Abubakar, current Minister of State (Industry, Trade and Investments) and overseeing Ministry of Women Affairs. May Allah grant Sardauna of Sokoto many more peaceful years in good health. Yahaya wrote from Abuja

THE BOOK OF JONATHAN

‘My Transition Hours’ by Goodluck Jonathan is short on details, argues Olusegun Adeniyi

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n Tuesday in Abuja, the former president of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, launched his book, ‘My Transition Hours’. As to be expected, the event attracted the high and mighty in Nigeria as well as former presidents of Ghana, Benin and Sierra Leone. The book itself is more interesting for what it conceals than for what it says but I guess the essence is for the former president to respond to some of the accusations from those he described as purveyors of ‘fake news’. However, let me say straightaway that Jonathan’s book vindicated everything that I wrote on the 2015 general election, ‘Against The Run of Play’. Even the recollection of his concession telephone conversation with his successor tallies with mine since all the people I said were with him were the same names he mentioned. Besides, the reasons I gave for his defeat were the same he cited though his perspective is that these issues were manipulated against him. In all, it is a book worth reading even when it is short on details and does not shake any table. Except perhaps for President Buhari who may not like a recall of his ‘dog and baboon’ statement which preceded the violence that followed the 2011 presidential election as well as the rehash of the speech General Ibrahim Babangida

gave on why the military ousted him (Buhari) from power in 1985, I doubt if anybody would find the book offensive. The former president was even gracious to those he believed conspired against him in 2015, perhaps because many of them are now back in the PDP. But there are grand omissions. It is, for instance, curious that there is not a single mention in the book of Alhaji Adamu Muazu, the PDP National Chairman during the election. The only reference to Prof Attahiru Jega was: â€œâ€Śone of my party’s agents at the INEC National Collation Centre in Abuja, Elder Godsday Orubebe eventually got into a heated argument with the INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega.â€? Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke also got only one mention in the book: â€œâ€Ś the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Petroleum Minister, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, the then Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (now the Emir of Kano), all spoke on the issue of subsidy.â€? There were three references to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and they had to do with his (Jonathan’s) ascension to power. Not even his main traducer, Alhaji Lai Mohammed will feel uneasy with a single mention over his statements during the Chibok girls’ abduction saga nor would Mallam Nasir el-Rufai be

disturbed about the rehash of a past Tweet ‘on the metamorphosis and variants of Boko Haram’. Meanwhile, the current All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who doesn’t spare the last administration, got a positive mention as Jonathan recalls the former Edo State Governor as “the only opposition governor who stood by what we agreed. He told his colleagues that it was not fair to turn against the president when they even wanted the deregulation to have started months earlier.� I suppose the main idea behind the book was for Jonathan to offer a defence on sundry issues: allegation of corruption which the opposition used (and are still using) to define his era; the management of Boko Haram insurgency and the Chibok girls affair which he believed (and still believes) was ‘psychologically programmed’ to bring down his government; the January 2012 fuel subsidy removal saga that became another weapon in the hands of his opponents; the conspiracy by some northern politicians against his administration essentially based on religion and the fact that he comes from the minority group as well as President Barack Obama’s ‘decision’ to effect a regime change in Nigeria. While readers will make their own judgment on whether the book answers their questions, what I find most profound in it is the prologue

and that is the message that should resonate, especially in times like this. I leave readers with excerpts: “There is nothing wrong in seeking power. I have learnt from political ascendancy in the sixteen years that I served from Deputy Governor to President that power is a shield, for those who wield it and for the people it serves. I understand that power will protect you and enable you protect your charges. It will provide a shade from the blistering heat of the sun. When it is raining you can use it as an umbrella to protect yourself and the people you are meant to serve. And when you come to a river, you can convert it to a vessel that will help you and those who you lead to cross. “I learnt from history and personal experience that if you use power as a sword, instead of as a shield, it will begin to drain the life out of you and cause untold hardship on those you serve. Too often, many people who see power from the side-lines erroneously believe that the man who uses power as a sword is the strong man. But this is not true. Real power is strength under control‌I believe that any leader who insists on exercising most of the powers assigned to him in the constitution will end up being a nuisance to the society and a problem to himself.â€? Truer words were never spoken! Adeniyi is Chairman, THISDAY Editorial Board

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2018

EDITORIAL Osinbajo And The Case For State Police It’s time to have state police

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roponents of state police got endorsement last week from Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo who argued that such a force would help tighten security situation across the country. “For a country of our size, to meet the one policeman to 400 persons according to the UN prescribed ratio, we would require almost triple the number of our current police force,” said Osinbajo: “We cannot police a country the size of Nigeria centrally from Abuja. State police and other community policing methods are clearly the way to go.” While we believe that Osinbajo’s proposition makes more sense within the context of the overall restructuring of the country rather than another cost-cutting measure by the federal government, we nonetheless agree with the vice-president that “securing Nigeria’s over 900sq/km and its 180 million people requires far more men and materials than we have at the moment.” As we have argued on several occasions, the call for the establishment of state police is an expression of concerns about the present structure and management of the Nigeria Police THE POLICE HAVE Force. The police FAILED IN ITS DUTY have, especially in recent times, failed in OF MAINTAINING its duty of maintainLAW AND ORDER, ing law and order, INTERNAL SECURITY, internal security, INTELLIGENCE intelligence gathering GATHERING AND and in checking the IN CHECKING THE increasing wave of crimes in the country. INCREASING WAVE OF CRIMES IN THE COUNTRY The entire police force is so overwhelmed to the extent that a huge slice of the military asset has to be deployed to perform police duty with serious implications on professionalism, not to mention the effects of its exposure on civil–military relations. Meanwhile, the governors who have also canvassed the idea of state police have very compelling reasons

Letters to the Editor

to ask for the decentralisation of the Nigeria Police Force as currently constituted. They, as the chief security officers of their states, more or less bear the huge responsibilities for the upkeep and maintenance of the police in form of logistics, allowances and other forms of assistance. But they have no control or power over the police command in their states, until they get clearance from Abuja.

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

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BUHARI’S NEXT LEVEL CAMPAIGN

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resident Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday launched his re-election campaign entitled, “Next level”. During the launching, Buhari took time to explain the achievement of his administration in the last three and half years. He extensively provided details of his score card particularly in the areas of security, youth empowerment and fight against corruption. There is every reason for Nigerians to assess and study the “Next level” campaign documents. In developed democracies, elections are lost and won based on candidates’ policy documents. The electorate will make an informed decision and vote candidates who have good policies for their well-being. Looking at the contents of Next Level campaign strategy, it seemed comprehensively formulated or prepared to unlock the country’s potentialities and sustain the gains recorded in the first tenure. Buhari efforts to secure the country, tackle corruption and reposition the economy deserve applause from Nigerians. These are the promises Buhari used in riding to power in 2015. Even before he seeks re-election, Buhari’s performance in the area of security has earned him national and international recognition. As succinctly captured in his Next level speech, Buhari stated that when the

he case of the governors was aptly put by the Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi who said that besides making responses to security needs immediate and fast, the call for state police is an extension of true federalism where each federating unit is supposed to have control of its security apparatus. “Each of the federating units (which are the states) should have control over their own security apparatus. That is not to say that we still won’t have a federal police which responds to federal issues but in terms of wider knowledge of what obtains in my locality, the best person to use is somebody from that locality who has a better, much richer understanding and will be faster in response to the immediate needs of that environment,” he said. In lending their support, some retired top police officers have also at different times argued that such men and officers would have local knowledge of the environment and would be more effective in dealing with local crimes, protecting law and order and in intelligence gathering. The argument could not have been better marshalled considering the current national security realities. But we will also add that the current institutional arrangement with the police does not allow for transparency and accountability because the federal and the state governments often claim to expend so much money on the force, claims which are difficult to establish or verify. While we are aware of its potential pitfalls, we believe that the merits of having state police far outweigh its demerits. With the active support of the media, the civil society, the legislature and indeed the judiciary, genuine concerns can easily be addressed. But we are of the strong view that the country is overdue for the establishment of state police.

administration came to power, the menace of Boko Haram had reached an alarming rate. With the high level of commitment, 17 Borno local governments which were under the grip of Boko Haram have been liberated. What about the violent Fulani herdsmen who were on the rampage sacking villages? They have disappeared like thin air. The war against corruption under this government is a success story. Within the period under review, many corrupt politicians who have skeletons in their cupboards surrendered themselves to the anti-corruption agencies. No wonder billions of naira and valuable assets were forfeited by them. Many Nigerians will not forget in hurry the giant strides recorded in the area of fixing the country’s hitherto comatose economy by this government. This is achieved through social intervention programmes such as school feeding programme, the N-power and tradermoni. These programmes have empowered millions of Nigerians and stimulated the economy. With these glaring evidences of Buhari’s exceptional performances, Nigerians should key into his Next Level campaign. By supporting the Buhari candidature, Nigeria will indeed move to the next level. Shamsu Gide, Katsina State

WHY ATIKU ABUBAKAR IS BEST

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have rubbed shoulders with several African Presidents and VicePresidents. I have participated in many conversations with these men – both formally and informally. Some of these conversations have attracted attention and many have been amusing – but very few have included intellectual and analytical discussions of substantive issues. Seldom in these conversations does one hear about the conditions and needs of the country’s poor. In 2005, I met a man at his residence in Abuja, Nigeria, who surprised me. He welcomed me with a guarded smile and went straight to business. He was smart, eloquent and very knowledgeable. I was struck by his consistent reference to “my people.” He was so concerned about the poor. He discussed impacts of educational injustices and weakened agricultural practices in Nigeria. Our conversation ended and we parted. While I left him with some traditional Ugandan gifts, he left me with much to contemplate. This Nigerian “big man” had sounded so earnest and completely devoted to “his people”. Surely, I was surprised and he has left a lasting impression. We have remained friends over the years and I have observed his business and political dealings over time. I have noted the tremendous value that this man, Atiku Abubaker, has contributed to Nigeria’s development. He has been a philanthropic leader and a determined and passionate advocate for improving the national educational system. I heard recently with great pleasure that he is running for the Presidency in the upcoming Presidential elections. I immediately thought, “what an extraordinary opportunity Nigerians have to elect Atiku as president of Nigeria.” If I were Nigerian, I would vote for Atiku Abubakar without hesitation or reservation. On an individual basis, he is unequivocally the best candidate. Dr. Gilbert Bukenya is a former Ugandan Vice President

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THISDAYt THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018

POLITICS

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

PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

‘Buhari Will Ensure Credible Elections’ Chief George Moghalu is the National Auditor of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He recently addressed journalists in Abuja , including Udora Orizu, on many national issues, including the seeming crisis in his party , arising from the party’s primary elections varies from person to person. The point is not how you arrive at 10 but the important thing is arriving at 10. It is not the vehicle you use, the concern is the determination to solve the crises. It is not a one-man-show or what many may call cabal. This thing about cabal has been over used. I grew up to hear about Kaduna mafia, Kano and or Anambra mafia. It is about two or three persons agreeing to do something. I agree with you that it could be about perception.

What machinery did the party put in place to manage the fallout of the primaries? In any human organisation of which APC is one, interests are bound to clash. There must be disagreements after every major primaries because in every contest involving two or three persons, only one person will win. Having clearly established that fact, it is incumbent on us, who by the grace of God and the will of the people, assigned the responsibility of managing the party to set up the machinery to reach out to every concerned person in the reconciliation process. It is not an individual’s specific responsibility and as you must have seen in the media that Mr President met with some of our aggrieved colleagues that did not get the party ‘s tickets and that are not happy with the process. These are all parts of the reconciliation. Committees will be set up to reach out to as many people as possible but the most important thing here is that we are a very large family. It is a viable platform and it is incumbent on us to ensure that we reached out to as many people as possible to assuage the aggrieved ones.

Is it true that humongous amount exchanged hands to help aspirants during the primaries? I am not aware of that money exchanged hands to favour one aspirant or the other. I am not also aware that Mr President has directed a refund of any money collected to help any aspirant during the primaries. Anybody who collected money from any aspirant but failed to deliver should return it to him. However, as I said, I am not aware anybody collected money from any aspirant. Do you share the feeling that former National Chairman of APC John Odigie Oyegun would have managed the situation better than Oshiomhole? It boils down to the same speculation. We are trying to create an impossible situation. For me, God gives power at His own time. He determines who He wants to give it and at his own time. No leader emerges because he is good or bad.

Is it true that there is strong division among members of the APC National Working Committee? Sincerely speaking, I am not aware of any such division and I am just hearing it from you. What is your take on the allegations of corruption against the party leadership by the Ogun, Imo and Zamfara governors - after the primaries conducted in their states and the report that the party’s national chairman was grilled by the DSS? I saw the grilling of the national chairman by the DSS in the media. I am not aware of his invitation and questioning. I think that the National Publicity Secretary has issued a statement regarding the issue. On the states you mentioned, you will understand that there are many court cases already and as such commenting on it will be subjudice. It is not wise, politically speaking, for me to comment on the issue in the court of competent jurisdiction. Is the recent report that the Federal Government wants to hire the services of US National Guard to tackle the security challenges in the country an admittance of failure by the APC-led government? I may not agree with your view because if you want to talk about security, we should look at it from where we were before we get to the present state. You will agree with me that we were in a very difficult situation as a country. But I am surprise that some of us have forgotten that 14 local government area councils were under the total control of Boko Haram to the extent that their flags were in the seized territory. The then government lost absolute control of the situation. President Buhari anchored his campaign during the 2015 elections on three key areas, comprising the issue of insecurity, fighting corruption and addressing economic problems. Everybody knows that no inch of Nigeria soil is under the control of Boko Haram today. Insurgency has been dealt with sufficiently to the extent that they only operate by attacking flash points. Government is addressing that challenges. I agree that there are new security developments, like herdsmen attacks and the challenge we are having in Zamfara today. They are new development that are being comprehensively addressed. The president has expressed dismay and has demonstrated commitments. Not too long ago, he deployed troops to Zamfara. He has equally summoned the Service Chiefs and issued them a commanding directive to address the issue completely. These security challenges were not there when we campaigned four years ago. But the good thing is that government is determined to fight that. You may say that it is not new, but the case of Jos then was previously an ethno-religious crisis. It quietened down when it was addressed. You and I should be honest enough to give credit where it deserves

Moghalu and criticise where and when necessary. In the case of involving the US National Guard, we should understand that security challenge today is not a peculiar Nigeria problem. It is everywhere in Africa and all over the world. So, when government share information and interrelate with the intention of stopping a global security phenomenon, it is a welcome development. Security is a global challenge that requires global interaction. If for no other thing, the morale of the Nigeria Army is very high now unlike before. What will the APC be campaigning on in 2019, apart from insecurity — especially as many Nigerians believe it did not do well in terms of good governance and economy? Government has done really well and I will be bold enough to say that we have done well even though we may not have achieved our own heart desire and we may not have arrived where we

Everybody knows that no inch of Nigeria soil is under the control of Boko Haram today. Insurgency has been dealt with sufficiently to the extent that they only operate by attacking flash points. Government is addressing that challenge. I agree that there are new security developments, like herdsmen attacks and the challenge we are having in Zamfara today. They are new development that are being comprehensively addressed

want to be as a nation. However, it is a work in progress. We should not forget that this government is only three and half years but we are comparing it with the monumental corruption that took place in the past 16 years. It is not something you can get up and conclude in one year. It is like we are forgetting too fast that when this government came into office, the highest oil was sold was less than $30p/b. We took over from government that sold oil at $140p/b. There was no saving for the rainy day. There was no infrastructural development. As we talk now, work is going on in the Southeast at the second Niger Bridge. The repairs of federal roads are currently going on. There is concentration on the development of our rail lines. Government is making serious commitment and investment in it. We are seeing the returns but these things have gestation period. The major thing that should concern everyone is whether there is the will, commitment and determination to achieve that. I want to emphasise that we have not got to where we want to be; but this government has done much in the various aspect of our economy. Today, we are no longer major importer of rice because we have practically reached to a point of sufficiency in terms of rice production. We are no longer talking about rice importation in the country. Do you think the rate at which APC is approaching the crisis will help the party in 2019? We must continue to talk because politics is collective. You cannot do it in isolation because it involves human beings and interests. It has gotten to the point we have to dialogue and address the issues. Any politician like me will not wish to lose any party member at all. We have to lean over backwards to accommodate our personal interests. The window for dialogue is still open and we must get to the point we all have to agree. The APC is one big family but if we must retain power, the fight is not in the party but outside the party. Do you share the feeling by many people that the combative attitude of the party’s national chairman is not helping in the resolution of these crises? You know that everybody has their own style. The way one will handle a situation may be entirely different from the way another will. Handling issues

What are the chances of President Buhari in 2019 considering the formidable opponent contesting against him? His chances are very bright and I can take a bet. I am very confident because of his performances, report card and commitment. You will see an honest person in him. I don’t believe that his strongholds like Kano, Kaduna, Kwara are uncertain. Anybody who watched Buhari’s arrival at Kaduna unannounced and the crowd that received him will also know that the same thing will happen in Kwara and Kano States. The commoners and average Nigerian feel the impact of what he is doing. You can see the man’s determination and commitment. He is willing to deliver and making every effort, despite the challenges. We have to take into account where we were, where we are today and the likelihood of where we will be in the next four years. Don’t you think that the body language of the international community seems not supportive of him? Do the international community have a body? Let them conduct a poll in Nigeria and see what will happen. People are free to make assumptions but if there is any legacy Buhari wants to live, it will be a credible 2019 elections. Ordinarily, one would expect that he would direct that the states be delivered but APC lost in the 21 local governments during the Anambra state governorship election. We must give credit where there is need for it and criticise when there is need for it. Why there was issue with Osun is because APC won. Many would have celebrated Buhari if APC had lost Osun. But now that his party has won, we should give him credit. What are your fears for Buhari’s re-election in 2019? To be honest with you, I really don’t have any fear. However, what we need to do which is also good for our democracy is that we need to work hard as a party. We need to improve on our marketing and we need to consolidate on our area of advantage. We must continue to reach out to the people, doing what is expected of us considering the limited resources available to us. If there are healing process to take place internally to avoid any more cracks, we must concentrate on it until they are done with. We must ensure we tidied up our house first. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018

POLITICS

‘Kaduna Senators Spent Time Fighting the State Government’ John Shiklam interacts with Uba Sani, former aide to Governor Nasir el-Rufai, on the controversial “automatic ticket” granted the incumbent Senator Shehu Sani, representing Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone and how he (Sani) eventually emerged as the All Progressives Congress candidate for the zone Before your emergence as the candidate of the APC in the Kaduna north senatorial election, there was controversy between you and the incumbent Senator Shehu Sani, who was initially given automatic ticket. What actually happened? I am one of those who fought for the return of democracy in Nigeria. We fought to ensure that the tenets of democracy are respected. The controversy was over automatic ticket, we went through our constitution and we noticed that there was nothing like automatic ticket. Even if you are contesting election alone, assuming nobody bought the nomination form, just like in Kaduna state, where Mallam Nasir el-Rufai was the only one who contested the governorship primary or President Buhari who was the only contestant in the presidential primary, there must be affirmation. The delegates must come and vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to your candidature. You can be the only candidate and the delegates may vote no. That is the constitution (of the party). I am not sure whether the party ever said that officially because I could not remember were the National Chairman of the party or any member of the National Working Committee spoke of giving anybody automatic ticket. The whole idea of automatic ticket, I think, was a creation of some people to make them happy or to confuse members of the public. You challenged this in court by obtaining a court order stopping Senator Shehu Sani as the sole candidate. Delegates had arrived Kaduna for primary elections, only to be told that there was only one person cleared to contest the election. We realised that even if we insist on election, it will not be possible because we were not cleared. Myself and many others felt it was the height of injustice and we rushed to stop it and I got an order that very day from the court and the election was stopped. Before going to the court, I called the leaders of the party in Abuja, they told me that the list they had showed that I was also cleared. But the list in Kaduna showed that I was not cleared. As a law abiding member of the party, I wrote two letters, appealing for clearance to participate in the primary. One letter was sent to the National chairman (Comrade Adams Oshiomhole) and the other to the Chairman, Primary Elections

Sani appeal committee, in the north West zone. I wrote these letters before going to court. I wrote a second letter to the National Chairman of the party, telling him that, I met all the requirements for contesting election in APC and I requested to know the reason I was not cleared. Therefter, I got in touch with the National Legal Adviser who was not even in the picture of what was happening. Having exhausted all avenues within the party, I decided to go to court. Two days after they went through my letter, I was cleared. Other aspirants were also cleared because of my appeal and they directed that we can go ahead and have an election. The committee sent to conduct the election called all aspirants and announced that we should come and contest the election. Some people that are now calling for justice, did not know that preventing us from contesting the election was the height of injustice. When I was cleared to contest the primary, I went back to the court to vacate the order before the election. The National Legal Adviser of the party wrote a letter commending me for following due process. The election took place the next day. That was what happened. Some of us who believe in democracy and rule of law, want to win election through proper election, not through automatic ticket.

If today somebody tells me that he has disqualified other people and I am the only one to stand for election, I will reject it. I am a democrat. Some of us fought for this democracy, we were detained. Why did we have to go into detention, fighting for democracy? It is because we want it to be practiced. But when you are saying people should be disqualified for you, then you don’t believe in democracy and you don’t know the meaning of democracy. We believe in democracy and we want people to vote for us. When people vote for you, you will respect their wishes. You will listen to them beacuse they are the ones that made you win election. I was talking to my journalist friend in Lagos who is always talking on the TV programme, “Journalists Hang Out” without coming to Kaduna or even a phone call to know the realities on the ground. I know journalism, I was telling him that, 13 years ago, I was speaking for the president of Nigeria and I attended several media chats with the BBC, Voice of America, CNN... When you refused to participate in an election and call it kangaroo, you cannot challenge it anywhere. Senator Shehu Sani has left the party, what steps are you taking to unite the party? With due respect, the party is very united. Don’t forget that five people bought the form. Among the five people, was a former senator. He and two others came out openly and supported what happened after the election. For me, they are the most important people because they put up a very strong fight. They have a lot of supporters in the senatorial zone and I am working with them. Some of them offered to donate their (campaign) offices to me. Sardaunan Badarawa has donated his office and campaign vehicles to me. Gen. Sani Sale, the immediate past senator has offered to campaign for me in all the seven local governments in the zone. Shamsudeen has told me that he would be part of my campaign team. All of us went into this election, believing that whoever wins, we will support the person. If any of them had won, I would have supported them also. It is not a do or die affair. I had contested elections in the past and I lost and I supported the person that won. That is democracy, you either win or loose. These three other aspirants who lost came

to me unsolicited, that is why I am happy. I believe in our party and I will act in the best interest of our people. Upon all the speculations about our National Chairman, I have no doubt that he is a man of strong character. He believes in democracy, anybody can say anything about him, but I have so much respect for him and members of the National Working Committee. From day one, I believed they will take the best decision. How did you feel when the acting spokesman of the APC Yekini Nabena was issuing statements, insisting that Shehu Sani was the candidate of the party? Don’t forget that I was also a spokesman to the President of Nigeria. When a statement is genuine, I know, that was why I didn’t comment on statements by the acting spokesman of the party. When you have that kind of experience (as spokesman to the president), you don’t panic. That was why I didn’t bother. From time to time I sent messages to my supporters and friends who were jittery, asking them to calm down. What is your agenda for the people if you are elected in 2019 as their senator? Of all the issues that happened in Kaduna central, the one that touches me more was the issue of €350 million (World Bank) loan. Without any fear of contradiction, the rejection of that loan (by the three senators from the state ) was very unfortunate. Anybody who does not know what the rejection had caused our state, does not know why we requested for the loan. The loan was approved to us by the World Bank to improve our hospitals, schools and infrastructure and create jobs. The money is about N110 billion. The World Bank is proud of what we do in Kaduna, they believe we need the money to do more. Denying the state the loan, was a great disservice to the 9 million people of the state, not only Kaduna central zone. That is what really made me to contest for the senatorial race. I feel our people need better representation. Whatever will bring about the improvement of the living condition of our people, we should put politics aside. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

‘INEC Should Not Drag VCs, Corps Members into Politics’ Mr. Usman Ibrahim, Presidential candidate of the National Rescue Movement fielded questions from Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole on the risk involved in the use of National Youth Service Corps members as ad hoc staff and Vice Chancellors as returning officers by the Independent National Electoral Commission What is your take on the use of corps members as ad hoc staff by INEC during elections? The lives of those people should not be put at risk. INEC should go back to what we know: civil servants and volunteers. Like in other countries it is volunteers. If you go to Australia, Britain and others it is volunteers who sincerely want to conduct elections that contribute their quota. On training of ad hoc staff it shouldn’t be during election period only when election is near that INEC will train hoc staff. The training information should be in the public domain. So that anyone who is interested can go to the commission’s website and see the rules of the game. Application for ad hoc staff should be done online. Interested volunteers can register their details and contribute their quota if picked by INEC to work as ad hoc staff. On the use of Vice Chancellors (VCs) as returning officers for elections Initially Jega (former INEC chairman) brought this idea of Vice Chancellors but

I have my reservations. Don’t drag our educational institutions into the hands of politicians. VCs are great people, VCs are people of integrity. But look at what is happening. They will corner a VC and ask him to announce the result that has never been done. And then the VC will be forced to announce result and when he gets home he finds it difficult to sleep. In 2015, there was a similar experience where they had to withdraw a result and re-present it for the VC to announce. The VCs should not be dragged into such. They are manipulating the VCs because they are in their(federal government) payroll and if they refuse to dance to their tune they will be removed. Can’t the volunteers find themselves in the same trap? If someone is a volunteer he cannot be forced to do what he/she doesn’t like. They should open it to the public so that people such as retired judges and permanent secretaries with impeccable character can be a volunteer/ returning officer. It should not be restricted to a particular group of people only.

Don’t you think politicians or INEC can corrupt the process? If you open it people will see who you are bringing and they will make noise. Because there should be a system after the volunteers have put their names, there should be a display of the names and anybody that has anything against any of them can raise it. just like INEC does with the voters register and list of candidates which is displayed before an election for people to see and make corrections or point out any illegality or raise a petition against it. On your ambition of becoming the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come 2019, how are you taking it to the grassroots? By the grace of God, we are mobilising the grassroot and we are going to every corner of this country. Mobilising them and telling them your future is at stake because if you allow the PDP come back after 16 years of looting it means you want to give them another four years to loot. And if you are

inviting APC to rule again with this four years of confusion you want to add another four years of confusion. We should be thinking of an alternative and the NRM is the alternative. This is the honey we are offering to Nigerians. There is so much bitterness in the land and we are now offering honey let Nigerians come taste the honey and it will get better. On the current security crises in the country, how do you hope to solve it if elected? The best way is to alleviate poverty and create employment for the youths because they are vulnerable and we cannot solve the security situation as long as the recruitment chain remains vulnerable. Therefore we have to cut the recruitment chain first. For now people can go and corrupt the idle mind to do any crime but when you alleviate poverty and create employment by providing electricity for the industries to come up and for artisans to spend less on buying petrol. You would have solved security problems by 50 per cent.

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FEATURES

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, Tel: 08152252325

Putting Nigeria on the Global Stage It was jubilation galore, as two students of Corona Secondary School, Agbara, Ikenna Uruakpa and Anna Adobamen, put Nigeria on the world stage, having emerged second at the globally-recognised Special Area’s Teams Award. Sunday Ehigiator reports

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or Corona Schools, its mission statement is “to provide world class education to children�, with the consciousness of inculcating high moral and ethical values in them, even as they are being prepared for a life-long learning and service, and fulfillment". Over six decades after, the mantra still lives through with several records making and breaking all-round academic and non-academic excellence. November 18, this year, was another day set aside by Corona Secondary School, Agbara, to celebrate the excellent performance of her students, and the glory they have bestowed upon the school and Nigeria. It was no other occasion than the speech and prize giving day. The event was put together by the school management at the beginning of a new session, with the view of celebrating excellence among the students and likewise creating the consciousness of an all-round excellent pursuit in the mind of the students, as they begin the new session. Laurels Themed: "Exploring Creative Excellence�, the event further went to show why Corona Secondary School is regarded as the best among the top secondary schools in Nigeria, and arguably in Africa. At the event, it was an opportunity to showcase a host of her students, who thrived in several competitions; both national and international, bringing to the school and country, several awards and accolades. It didn’t end with Ikenna Uruakpa and Anna Adobamen emerging as second best in the prestigious Special Area’s Teams Award (SAT) award, it continued with Ibukun Oduntan scoring an impressive score of 344 out of 400 in JAMB UTME, to emerge as second highest score nationwide. Also, two other of her students emerged amongst the top five in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Essay Competition, amongst others. Celebrating Excellence While delivering her welcome address, the principal of the school, Mrs. Chinedum Oluwadamilola, shared light on several achievements of the school, even within the shortest time. She said: “It is good to celebrate excellence in various forms, and excellence in all aspects. It is a time to celebrate our commitment to values and purpose. We celebrate example, we celebrate efforts of those students who have made huge and commendable progress in their fields of learning. We celebrate each child's determined effort. "Not only in academic pursuit, but in all spheres such as sports, arts, behavior and the likes. Just to mention that our speech and price giving day, is about what happened the previous session, so this is the speech and price giving day for the 2017/2018 academic session. So in the year under review, our students; some of whom are alumni's now, performed fantastically well in their public examinations, and many of them exceeded their own expectations. They made excellent grades in the last May/June West African’s Senior Secondary school Certificate Examinations (WASSCE), with about 96 per cent pass at distinction level; in English, Math’s, and other subjects. "Among that set, we had Ibukun Oduntan, who achieved an impressive score of 344 out of 400 in JAMB UTME, making her the candidate with the second highest score nationwide. I will also add that she wasn’t a lone figure or a one eyed man in the valley of the blind. I would add that 10 of our students scored above 300, and 19 of them scored between 280 and 299. We are proud to say that many of them have since moved on to top brand global schools, and they are doing very well. "Also worth mentioning is the outstanding results of these students in the IGCMCE. While many individual students obtained enviable

L-R: CEO, Corona School Trust Council, Mrs. Adeyoyin Adesina; Winner, second position in Nigerian Stock Exchange 2018 National Essay Competition, Miss Oluwalaonoayo Ashiru; Winner, ďŹ fth position, Miss. Ifeoma Osakwe; Principal, Corona Secondary Schools, Agbara, Mrs. Chinedum Oluwadamilola and Chairman, Corona Secondary School Board, Mr. Niyi Yusuf at the 2018 annual speech and prize giving day in Agbara

L-R: Falodun; Mrs. Oluwadamilola; second best students in 2018 SAT I result in the Universe, Master Ikenna Uruakpa and Miss. Anna Adobamen and Trustee and Immediate Past Chairman, Corona Schools Trust, Mr. Dotun Sulaiman

results, two of our students currently in year 12 now, Anna Adobamen and Ikenna Uruakpa, were all stars in all the subjects they registered for. And a star is 90 and above over a total mark of 100. "CSS had the second highest essay quiz score in the universe for October, and of course, the best school in Nigeria. Two students, not one, made 1550 marks out of maximum of 1600. Last year, our highest was 1480, that played among the top 99thpercentiles. While we bring close 1550, we have other of our students who score 1410, and quite a number of them who

On the international stage we are making giant strides as you can see. As impressive as our results in statistics abound, it is important to remind ourselves that complete education transcends at any intellectual ďŹ ts; it includes other aspects of life. And a well-rounded student is one who is educated in cognitive, affective and sample of all domains

scored over 1400. "On the international stage we are making giant strides as you can see. As impressive as our results in statistics abound, it is important to remind ourselves that complete education transcends at any intellectual fits; it includes other aspects of life. And a well-rounded student is one who is educated in all domains, cognitive, affective and sample of all domains. And I dare say that world class education like the one we offer in CSS, it shows that a child is intellectually sound and morally upright. We believe the development of individual character, confidence and personality is equally important. And we plan to break legs and continue to do so to instill values and morals into our students, as we place premium on educating our students on the six pillars of character, and strive to sustain their emotional, psychologically wellbeing through thoroughly planned and painstakingly designed system of mentoring. "In CSS on building a total young men and women through our extensive curriculum programs, we strongly encourage all our students to get involved in various activities outside the classroom and find their own name. It’s important that in sports, public speaking, music, drama, dance, and a whole lot of other activities, that key character traits are equally emphasised, and proven beyond their creative skills, build on their natural strength, and find opportunities to improve themselves in areas of weakness. "Before I conclude, I will like to share what happened in the past seven days in CSS. Last Saturday, our students attended a competition; National History Competition and we emerged first. On Wednesday through Saturday, our students were at various competitions. On

Thursday, they were at TVC for a Program; “Your View�. On Wednesday, two of our students were announced to have made the Semi-Finals for The Nigerian Stock Exchange essay completion. The NSE Essay competition for this year had over 200,000 entries, and our students didn’t only make the semi-finals, but after rigorous exercise, including being called on a Thursday night at about 8pm in the night that the students should come in the next day to rewrite an essay, just to be sure, nobody helped them; with the glory of God, two of them made the top five of the NSE essay. One of them emerged second best, while the other was fifth. This is simply amazing, considering the over 200,000 entries received for that competition. "That is not all; still last week, five students of CSS made the top 20 teams in STERN Technology, Engineering and Math’s Competition. And, on Friday, November 16, at Lagos Business school, out of over a hundred teams, with their beyond the class room tabs, those five girls were second in the nation. And just yesterday, some students went for sport competition. Basketball U17 competition in ICSL; the girls team came third, and the boy’s team came first. I have taken time to take you through all these so you see that we allow students to do various things. So, the things we are celebrating is not just academics, but all round success." Exploring Creative Excellence Speaking on the theme for the day; “Exploring Creative Excellence�, the Guest Speaker, Mr. Adam Nuru, Managing Director of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), said, “Every time I come to this school, I feel butterflies in my tummy, and I still get them now several years after. I am not sure I am the right person to speak about excellence because having heard all the things said about the achievements of the school, I would say excellence only is born here. This is where you have it. And every year I come I see more and more progress being made, and I feel that I must pause to say a very big thank you to the council and faculty of the school, they have made parents of wards in this school a very proud one and full of respect, a big thank you to them. The theme of today’s speech borders around excellence which is born here, and because it’s about the children, my focus is on them. How many children do you know are born in Nigeria on a daily basis? UNICEF says, 20,136 are born every day. How did I know? I knew that by using my best friend, who is our best friend of today; Google. So, it’s the world of Google, internet, artificial intelligence and robotics. So, how do we excel? I mean all your answers are there, and that is the difficult thing surrounding what I would talk about. What is excellence? For me, it is really when you becoming good at something, and it could be anything. You are said to have exceled when you become best in what you do. We all have our callings and peculiar areas of interest where we use our strength. So just tell yourself that ‘I want to be the best in what I do’. You don’t achieve excellence by just being you; it’s by beating the person that is in you, and even doing better. It’s about achieving a goal; it’s all about winning, and about taking part and commitment in becoming better at something. "Now how do you achieve excellence? First of all you have to be determined. You have to be determined to lead that great force to excel. You have to be committed to that course. And then you have to keep on practicing and practicing until you make it better and better. There are few keys to excellence. The first one is integrity. We must align attachments with our values. A person with integrity must strictly follow a strict fold of personal values, in a way that exhibit moral excellence. The things you learn here, would take you through life. So each time we are being corrected with certain things,

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PERSPECTIVE

EFCC and Akwa Ibom Government's Commitment to Foster Transparency Godwin Ubong

R

eports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is again investigating the finances of the Akwa Ibom State Government have drawn strong reactions from different segments of the polity; including the state government and some advocacy groups. In the latest development, it was alleged that the commission is investigating the state government over alleged withdrawals of N6.5 billion from the accounts of the state government. As the state commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Charles Udoh said: "For the records, the current administration has made Akwa Ibom State one of the few states; if not the only state that publishes its annual audited financial statements. This underscores the state government’s commitment to transparency, accountability and integrity in governance. Copies of the state’s annual audited financial statements are available in the public domain. "We wish to state emphatically as follows; that this is a malicious allegation and a desperate face saving effort by the EFCC to justify the several illegalities it has allowed itself to be used by the opposition to perpetrate against the Akwa Ibom State Government which have attracted widespread condemnation within and outside the country. "For avoidance of doubt, the constitution and laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria authorizes only the state House of Assembly and the state Auditor-General to pry into the financial dealings of a state government. It is ludicrous that the EFCC has allowed itself to degenerate into a tool of lopsided political mudsling and witch-hunting used by the opposition in the state to cast aspersions on the integrity of the Akwa Ibom State government. "This story was earlier published in the same newspaper by the same author on August 12, 2018, and since it did not have the intended effects, EFCC has sadly condescended to regurgitating the story in a flagrant act of impunity against existing laws

Governor Udom Emmanuel

of Nigeria. "The Akwa Ibom state Government will do all within its lawful limits to protect the integrity of governance in the state. Recall that the Akwa Ibom State Government had served notices of contempt to the EFCC and would not be dragged into a public discourse on a matter that is patently sub judice. This matter is before the Federal High Court Uyo." The assertions of the state government were also echoed by the group, Akwa Ibom Media Advocates which also speaking in the same vein drew attention to what it claimed was the prospect of tarnishing the international image of the EFCC through such actions as the witch-hunting of political enemies of the ruling party in Abuja. The group in a statement drew attention to the recent newspaper publications of invitations of state officials and of investigations of the financial affairs of the state government. Noting that the EFCC was established to fight financial crimes and lift the glory of the nation above what it used to be at the beginning of the century, the group in the statement drew attention to what it claimed had become a rehash of reports of investigations of the accounts of the state government. “We did not react to the first report in

August of the investigation of the accounts of the state government as we thought that it could have been a mistake. That the state government even went to court was reassuring. However, the latest report clearly indicates an agenda that is out of place with the purpose of the establishment of the commission. “We believe that the commission has fully delved into the political arena and is carrying out a partisan agenda aimed at destabilising the state government. If not, we wonder why the agency left the investigations of the period between 2007 and 2015 despite the lack of immunity of the senior officials at that time. “It is trite that the power to investigate the finances of a state government is domiciled in the State House of Assembly and this is a fact that has been proved by the courts. “We are not aware of any petition that may have triggered the EFCC in its present mission other than the now popular notion of a partisan interest to destabilise the government in favour of the ruling political party at the federal level. “The EFCC was built on the solid pedestal of clearing graft and not on the pursuit of political goals as it is now seen to be doing in Akwa Ibom and the present efforts will in no small way diminish the agency both locally and among its international peers.� “We call on the commission to be unbiased in all their efforts in order to leave a lasting legacy for posterity. It is pertinent to state that this latest report was a rehash of the earlier report in the same newspaper published in August this year just about the time that a former governor of the state, Senator Godswill Akpabio moved from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC. As the movement of Akpabio did not spark the kind of political meltdown that was expected given that he moved alone, the report at that time was believed to have been instigated to spark a crisis in the state to facilitate more defections. Apparently it didn’t work. So when the same report was regurgitated it became obvious to discerning minds that

the report was part of a political strategy by those who control the EFCC to reinvent the narrative in the state. The focus of the anti-corruption agencies in the affairs of Akwa Ibom State did not start today. We are of course aware of the initial investigations and pressures brought upon the former governor of the state, Akpabio by the commission and other agencies of the Federal Government. At one point the commission did not deny the fact that it was probing Akpabio. However, when the special assistant to the president on prosecution, Mr. Okoi ObonoObla became the first to announce that the former governor was going to join the APC, we did not need any one to further tell us of the close knit relationship. Now that the former governor has been successfully recruited by Obono-Obla into the agency, one is not much surprised that the EFCC has all of a sudden gone cold on the prosecution of the former governor despite the lack of immunity. However, the failure of the former governor to bring his successor, Udom Emmanuel and people of political worth with him into the APC seems to have fired the prosecution agencies into an overdrive that has been exposed to all to be a malicious effort in stampeding the Udom Emmanuel administration in the state into political surrender. It is in that light that we see the rehashed reports of an investigation into the accounts of the state government. The state government and even concerned stakeholders have risen to the rebuff the EFCC and its operations. For one, the EFCC does not have the latitude under the laws to go to a state government and investigate or act as an oversight over the affairs of the government. That is the express duty of the State House of Assembly and the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has not been derelict in its functions. As the state government said earlier last week, the annual audited accounts of the state are regularly published and no one has come forward to fault any published.

–

Ubong wrote in from Lagos

PUTTING NIGERIA ON THE GLOBAL STAGE these are ways that help guide your person and guide you to the best thigs of life. Integrity is about doing what you say you will do, it’s about acting the benefits of yourself also with the beauty around you. "How do you reconcile failure with success or excellence? If you don’t try, you don’t fail. Do you think the light bulb was developed on the first day of try? Sometimes you fail, but never forget your goal, and keep trying until you get it right. If you don’t fail, you may never learn the best way to achieve your goals. So failure is something that would happen, but we must keep on trying harder and harder, and doing better and better every day. "You must learn to take responsibilities of your thoughts, feelings or actions. Ownership means to know that we can’t always control what happens, but we can control how to respond. You must speak with good purpose. Often times, people tend to speak words of negativity around them. They will say A is bad, B is bad. In Nigeria, we always say Nigeria is this, Nigeria is that, we never speak about the good things that we have around us. You have to develop a positive mind and positive feelings, only then can you get a positive outcome. Then would the sky be your starting point. You also need endurance and balance. Focus on what you want to do, and balance your life. A little bit of this, and a little bit of that, would give you the physical, emotional, psychological and academic balance. "In the generation we are now, things have become very easy to do. In those days, if I want to know about the number of children born in Nigeria on a daily basis, I would have to ask my father, then he would in turn go to the library and go through series of achieves and doing some mental calculations before arriving at a figure. If I want to come to CSS for instance, I would have to ask people around, or go through some kind of physical map before locating my way here; unlike now that we can easily do that

through google maps on our phones. Technology is changing and shaping the world. You guys even know that than I do. On the internet, Facebook and all other social media, you use it more than I do. But the point is, these things are shaping our environment. As they are shaping our environment, the demands of the future and in academic excellence are also being changed. So, it is very important to have a very sound education, but I think the tomorrow is more about other kinds of social skills that are also required. Things around computer literacy and collaboration "I have a banking background and I will give you firsthand information as regards that field. In the bank, there are certain jobs that people do, which today are been done by computers. One is account reconciliation. It used to take seven days or one week to do that before manually, but today, it’s been done within one second using technology. So the staff who are trained in that aspect and don’t have any other skills, what other jobs can they do now that technology has taken over? So, as the environment begins to change, you also should move with it, as regards what are the requirements of the future. "You are coming into a world where a lot of things are moving with a very fast pace. A world where three dozen of children are born daily in Nigeria alone; it is a very competitive environment, and what type of skills must I have to meet that future? And in doing that, how can I excel in what I do? It may not be in academics alone. And I think the question you should ask yourself as you enter this phase of life is, how will I achieve excellence in the area I chose to? How do I distinct myself in the area I chose to pursue? I will end my speech by reading a quote from an anonymous writer about excellence. Excellence is not a skill, it is by attitude. It is the attitude that you put into what you do, that would determine if you will excel in it or

not. Imbibe the right attitude.� Winners In an exclusive interview with THISDAY after the event, Ikenna Uruakpa, a co-winner of the SAT award said, “I want to thank my teachers, my parents and my peers. They actually helped me a lot, especially the external teachers that came to help us. If it were by my efforts alone, I wouldn’t be here at all. I am so happy to be this celebrated. Corona is a very lovely and great school with a history of excellence, which still reflects in this present day. Ill only advise every other students to work hard and put in more efforts in whatsoever they find difficulty in doing, and with enough practice, they will definitely become perfect in it." Also speaking with THISDAY, Anna Adobamen, the other co-winner of the SAT award could not curtail her joy as she said’ “I feel really excited and happy about being one of the best in the world at this level. I owe all thanks to God almighty, the school in general, our ever supportive teachers and my parents. I appreciate the fact that the school went extra miles to get external teachers to come help us prepare for the SSCE examination; it was really awesome to learn from top professionals you can ever find in different academic fields of Nigeria. They were really encouraging. I believe with the milestone I achieved in my academic pursuit, other students could be encouraged by these by putting in more efforts to get the best results, even one better than mine," Raising Stars Addressing THISDAY after the event, the principl said, “We say in Corona that there is a star in every child. And by that we mean children have different abilities and attitudes, and we give them the opportunity to excel, nurture and discover those abilities. As you can see, when we talk about awards, we are

talking about merits, performing arts, visual arts, dance drama, sports, academics, community service and so on. There are many avenues and the students have the opportunities to thrive in different things and find what they are good at. And you would be amazed as you saw today that someone is a very good athlete, wears what we call a sport tie, wears an academic tie, and then goes on ahead and very good in music. That’s a totally of a child and not just do one particular thing. We give students the avenue and we ensure we nurture those abilities and that’s what makes us different. "Corona school is 63 years old with all round success stories over six decades. Corona schools are built on the culture of excellence, hard work and merit. The ownership structure doesn’t allow us have a proprietor or a proprietress even though it’s a private school. It’s run by trust in various men and women in different field of life who give of themselves in other to see that quality education is provide for children. So, there is no profit sharing. Everything is about how best can the school get? What is the best that we can give our students? What is the best working environment we can give staff. You know, I do say it that these students are excelling not because their parents just threw them into this compound and went home, there are people who are working to ensure that they do well, and these people working are giving what I consider an enabling environment. So people are happy to work here. And our strength is in the quality of Staffs that we have here and there level and years of experience in Corona. We have many people who have worked here for over 20 years, 15 years, some have worked here for almost 30 years, and they are still here happy doing this work. So, there is an enabling environment and people will thrive. And if people thrive, then the children we are looking after would strive."

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IMAGES

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

L-R: Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; and Director-General, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr Asishana Okauru, during the DG’s visit to the governor, at the Government House, Ibadan...recently

Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara[right] consoling Mr. Samuel Adekunle Jegede over the death of his wife, late Mrs. Victoria Olubukola Jegede during the Service of Songs for the deceased in Abuja...recently

L-R; Regional Manager West Africa, Emmmirates, Afzal Parambil; Nigerian celebrities, Omotoke Makinwa; and Uti Nwachukwu, shortly before their departure to Dubai courtesy of Emirates Airline in Lagos..recently

L-R: Wife of Oyo State deputy governor, Mrs. Janet Adeyemo; wife of the state governor, Chief Florence Ajimobi; and wife of Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Halima Alli, at this year’s Mualid Nabiyy (celebration of Holy Prophet Muhammad’s birth), at the Remembrance Arcade, Agodi, Ibadan..recently

All Progressives Congress Governorship Candidate in Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu (left) with his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, during an interactive session with members of social media operators, Photo Editors and Cartoonists, in Lagos‌recently

L:R: Managing Director, American Tower Company Nigeria, Errol Ambler - Smith; CEO/Executive Secretary, American Business Council, Margaret Olele; Senior Partner PWC/ Vice-President, American Business Council, Darrell McGraw; US Consul General, John F. Bray;and US Ambassador to the African Union, Ambassador Leonard Mary Beth,at the reception of new members in Lagos... recently

L-R: President, Association of Advertising Agencies in Nigeria (AAAN), Ikechi Odigbo; Brand Manager, Airtel Nigeria, Tayo Adesokan; Director, Brands & Advertising, Airtel Nigeria, Enitan Denloye; Senior Brand Manager, Airtel Nigeria, Oluwaseun Adaramola; Digital Media Manager, Ibiyinka Dada and Chief Operating OďŹƒcer, DuďŹ l Prima Foods Plc, Girish Sharma, during the presentation of the Campaign of the Year Award to Airtel for Smart Recharge campaign at the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) Awards for Marketing Excellence 2018 in Lagos...recently

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Quick Takes Group Convenes Policy Dialogue

CFOs’ BREAKFAST SEMINAR

L-R; Partner/Head, Consumer and Industrial Markets, KPMG in Nigeria, Goodluck Obi; Partner/Africa Head, Deal Advosory/Private Equity, Dapo Okubadejo; Senior Partner, KPMG in Nigeria/Chairman, KPMG Africa, Kunle Elebute; Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Yemi Dipeolu and the Partner/Head, Audit Services, KPMG in Nigeria, Tola Adeyemi, during KPMG chief financial officers’ breakfast seminar in Lagos‌recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

NCC Moves to Curb Broadband Price Competition Emma Okonji The recent broadband price war between bigger and smaller operators will soon come to an end, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said. To address the industry challenge, NCC said it would soon release a new cost-based pricing for retail broadband that would give smaller operators competitive advantage to remain in business. The Director, Licencing and Authorisation at NCC, Ms. Funlola Akiode, who made the disclosure at the recent stakeholders’ consultative forum held in Lagos, said the decision to release a new cost-based pricing for retail broadband,

TELECOM arose from a forum held last year, where the issue of anticompetition in retail broadband services was raised. “We are currently in the process of finalising the determination of cost-based pricing for retail broadband and data services aimed at addressing the issue of competition in this segment of the industry. “It is heart-warming to note that arising from the stakeholders’ consultative forum held last year, the commission came up with some initiatives to address some of the challenges identified,� Akiode said. The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umaru Garba

Danbatta, reminded selected operators who were invited to the forum that there were existing Service Level Agreements (SLA) and codes of conduct that, when appropriately implemented, would guarantee conducive operating environment that would significantly reduce the need for regulatory intervention. Danbatta, who was represented by Akiode, particularly mentioned the Code of Corporate Governance for the telecoms industry, and expressed the Commission’s concern that much of the problems bedevilling the industry could, arguably, be traced to lax governance standards. “We expect all licensees, including those for whom the Code is not yet mandatory, to

review their governance practices to better conform with the Code,� Danbatta said. Akiode, who listed some of the challenges in the telecoms sector to include competition with major operators in the retail segment, inadequate frequency spectrum allocation and interference on the unlicensed frequency bands, fluctuations in foreign exchange and access to loans/funding to roll out service or sustain their business, said as a responsive regulator, NCC has reviewed some of the concerns and issues and would soon address them amicably. Akiode who called for the cooperation and support of industry stakeholders and licensees with Continued on page 24

ÞËÕĂ?ÒÙÖÎĂ?ĂœĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă“ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă&#x;ĂœĂ‹Ă– ÚÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ ÎÓËÖÙÑĂ&#x;Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ™ĂšËšĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ă?ÞÙĂ?Ă• Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă‹Ă“Ă—Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ăž Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ—Ă™Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ëœ Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ÞËÞĂ?Ă?ËŞ ÚÙÖÓĂ?Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ăš Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?Ă?ÞÙĂ?Ă• ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ Ă™Ă‘Ă“Ëœ Ă?Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă‹ ÞËÞĂ?Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? ÎÓËÖÙÑĂ&#x;Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă’Ă™Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ĂŁĂ˜Ă?ĂœĂ‘Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă‹ Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– Ă˜Ă™Ă˜Ě‹ĂšĂœĂ™Ę¨Ăž Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒËÞ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă? ÞÙ ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă˜ ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžËœ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ Ă?Ă™Ă–Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ™ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ ÞÙ Ă?ÙÖà Ă? Ă?Ù×ÚÖĂ?â ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŒĂ–Ă?Ă—Ă? Ă™Ă? ÚÙà Ă?ĂœĂžĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă™ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? ÞÙ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ“Ă Ă?Ë› ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă Ă?Ă?ÞÙĂ?Ă• Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?Ëœ Ă‹ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÙÑÓ Ă?ÞËÞĂ?Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă—Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ?âÞĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă– ÚÙÖÓĂ?Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĘĽĂ™ĂœĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă“Ă—Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĂŁĂ—ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂžĂ“Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă“Ăš ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ăš Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?Ă?ÞÙĂ?Ă• ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁËœ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ăš Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ—Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă?ĂœĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă Ă?Ă?ÞÙĂ?Ă•Ëœ Ă?Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă? ÞËÞĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁ Ă™Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂœË› ĂŽĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÞËÞĂ? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă?Ù××ÓʾĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă? ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ÞåÙ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ă‘ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÞËÞĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ÚÙÖÓĂ?Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒÓĂ? ĂŽĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă˜Ă‹Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ě‹Ă™ĂšĂ?Ă˜ Ă‘ĂœĂ‹Ă¤Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă–Ă‹ĂĄËœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă“Ă–ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă– Ă¤Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÞËÞĂ? åÓÞÒ Ă‹ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂšĂ™Ă?Ă‹Ă– ÞÙ Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă•Ă&#x;ĂœĂŽĂ“ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? ÞÒËÞ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă‹ ĂĄĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă—Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?Ë› ËŤ Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÞÙ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ě‹Ă™ĂšĂ?Ă˜ Ă‘ĂœĂ‹Ă¤Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă–Ă‹ĂĄ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă˜Ă™Ăž ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂ‘Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ăœ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă—ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă“Ăš ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹Ă˜Ă“ Ă’Ă?ĂœĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ăš Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ—Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă™ĂŒĂ”Ă?Ă?ÞÓà Ă? Ă“Ă? ÞÙ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă˜Ă Ă“ĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÞÒËÞ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ? ÚËĂ?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ËʾÖĂ? åÓÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ăž ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂžĂœĂ™ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ™ĂšĂ? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ—Ă?ĂœĂ?Ëœ ËŤ Ă—Ă‹Ă–Ă“ Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽË›

Fujitsu, Ericsson Collaborate on 5G

Ă&#x;ÔÓÞĂ?Ă&#x; Ă“Ă—Ă“ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÞÙ ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĚ‹ĂžĂ™Ě‹Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ Íł Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• Ă?ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ăœ Ă‹ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă? ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ˜Ă?ĂœĂ?ÒÓÚ˛ Ă’Ă? ÞåÙ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă”Ă™Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă? ÞÙ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ ÞÒÓĂ? ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?ÙÖÓÙĂ? ĚŽ Ă?ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ“Ă™ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• ĚŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂŁĂ˜Ă‹Ă—Ă“Ă? Íł Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ëœ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– Íł Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă?ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă—Ë› Ă’Ă? ÞåÙ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă“Ă— ÞÙ Ă“Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ? Ă?ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă—Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă• ÞÙ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă™Ă–Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ™ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ ÙÞÒĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÙ×Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁË› Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă&#x;ÔÓÞĂ?Ă&#x; Ă“Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?ĘĽĂ™ĂœĂžĂ? ÞÙ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂž ÙÚĂ?Ă˜ Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă‹Ă?ÞÓà ÓÞÓĂ?Ă? ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă Ă?Ă˜ ĂŒĂŁ Ă—Ă‹Ă”Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă“Ă—Ă? ÞÙ Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă Ă? ĂŒĂœĂ™Ă‹ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ™ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ“Ă™ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă–Ă?Ă™Ëœ Ă‹Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Íł Ëœ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–ĂŁ åÓÞÒ Ă—Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? ÙÚĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Íł Ëœ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă¤Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ ĂžĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂžĂ™ĂžĂŁĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă&#x;ÔÓÞĂ?Ă&#x;ËŞĂ? Ă?ĂžĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă‘ĂžĂ’ Ă“Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă’ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ăž ÚËÞÒ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– Íł Ă?ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ÞÙ Ă‹ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ–Ă™ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂĄĂ“ĂŽĂ?Ăœ Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Þ˛

US Consulate Oers Grants

ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă‹Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂŁ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś ÞÓÖÖ ĂŽĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ÞËÞĂ?Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ?ĂŽ ÍœÍ˛ÍłÍąËœ ͳʹ͜ ÞÙ Ͳͳ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă˜Ă™Ă˜Ě‹Ă‘Ă™Ă Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ě™ Ă?ĚšËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ÞÓÞĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂž Ă‹ Ă Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă?Þã Ă™Ă? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂžĂ’ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă&#x;Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’ĂžĂ?Ëœ ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?ÎÙ× Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă?×ÚÙåĂ?ĂœĂ—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? åÙ×Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ĂžĂ’Ëœ Ă’Ă?Ă‹Ă–ĂžĂ’Ëœ Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“ĂšËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă—Ă&#x;ĂžĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă– Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁËœ Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă– Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă–Ëœ Ă™Ă’Ă˜ ĂœĂ‹ĂŁËœ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă‘Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ù××ÓÞ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‘ĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă? Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ Ă“Ă—ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ? ÞÒËÞ ĂŒĂ™Ă–Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ ÑÙÙÎ ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă?ËÖÞÒ˛ Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ Ă’Ă“Ă—Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?ËŞĂ? Ă‘ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ăž Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă‘ĂœĂ‹Ă— Ă“Ă? ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ë› Ë› ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËŞĂ? Ă?ĘĽĂ™ĂœĂžĂ? ÞÙ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂž Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă“Ă—ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă? Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?ÖÓÒÙÙÎĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă‘ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă˜ Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?Ë›

Report Unveils Rise in Hacking, Cyberattacks Emma Okonji A UK-based research firm, SophosLabs has launched its 2019 Threat Report on cybersecurity, providing insights into emerging and evolving cybersecurity trends. The report, produced by SophosLabs researchers, explored changes in the threat landscape over the past 12 months, uncovering trends and how they are expected to impact cybersecurity in 2019. Speaking on the SophosLabs report, the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Sophos, Joe Levy, said: “The threat landscape is undoubtedly evolving; less skilled cyber criminals are

TELECOM being forced out of business, the fittest among them step up their game to survive and we will eventually be left with fewer, but smarter and stronger adversaries. “These new cybercriminals are effectively a cross-breed of the once esoteric, targeted attacker, and the pedestrian purveyor of off-the-shelf malware, using manual hacking techniques, not for espionage or sabotage, but to maintain their dishonorable income streams.� The SophosLabs 2019 Threat Report, which focused on key cybercriminal behaviours and attacks, revealed that capitalist

cybercriminals were turning to targeted ransomware attacks that are premeditated and reaping millions of dollars in ransom. The report said 2018 saw the advancement of hand-delivered, targeted ransomware attacks that were earning cybercriminals millions of dollars. These attacks were said to be different than ‘spray and pray’ style attacks that are automatically distributed through millions of emails. Targeted ransomware is more damaging than if delivered from a bot, as human attackers can find and stake out victims, think laterally, trouble shoot to overcome roadblocks, and wipe out back-ups so the ransom

must be paid, the report said. This “interactive attack style,� where adversaries manually maneuver through a network step-by-step, is now increasing in popularity. Sophos experts believe the financial success of SamSam, BitPaymer and Dharma to inspire copycat attacks and expect more to happen in 2019, the report said. It further explained that cybercriminals are using readily available windows systems administration tools, adding that this year’s report uncovers a shift in threat execution, as more mainstream attackers now employ Advanced Persistent Continued on page 24

“9mobile is transiting into a new phase that will be defined by optimal value delivery: value to our employees, value to our customers, value to local communities and indeed to all stakeholders� Non Executive Director, 9mobile,

Adrian Wood

24

T H I S D AY Ëž Í°Í°Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

NCC MOVES TO CURB BROADBAND PRICE COMPETITION regards to compliance with extant laws and subsidiary legislations, noted that most operators were not compliant with the laws “With respect to compliance with licence terms, conditions and obligations, our recent audit checks revealed that some licensees were not in compliance with obligations such as payment of Annual Operating Levy (AOL), approved Individual Consumer Code of Practice (ICCP), Type approval of equipment, submission of statistical data and informing the Commission on their change of address. “Another important concern is in the area of licence renewal. We also observed the issue of delay in licence renewal by licensees whose licences have expired or about to expire,� Akiode said. REPORT UNVEILS RISE IN HACKING, CYBERATTACKS Threat (APT) techniques to use readily available Information Technology (IT) tools as their route to advance through a system and complete their mission, whether it’s to steal sensitive information off the server or drop ransomware. The report further revealed that cybercriminals were utilising essential or built-in Windows IT admin tools, including Powershell files and Windows Scripting executables, to deploy malware attacks on users. “Cybercriminals are playing Digital Dominos by chaining together a sequence of different script types that execute an attack at the end of the event series. “Hackers can instigate a chain reaction before IT managers detect a threat is operational on the network, and once they break in it becomes difficult to stop the payload from executing,� the report stressed. According to the report, cybercriminals have adopted newer Office exploits to lure in victims, and Office exploits have long been an attack vector, but recently cybercriminals have cut loose old Office document exploits in favour of newer ones.

BPP to Digitise Public Procurement Process Emma Okonji

6J, emphasise the need for classification and categorisation of federal contractors, consultants and Service Providers, in order to enhance specilalisation, high performance in public procurement and reduce cost of tendering. Former Senior Special Assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Professor Kunle Ade–Wahab, who was Head of the defunct Budget Monitoring and Price Intel-

ligence Unit (BMPIU) which later metamorphosed into the BPP, who spoke at the event, said the registration and categorisation exercise were designed to help produce a template to ensure that contractors and consultants are able to exercise their core competence for the purpose of right placement in whatever class or category they belong to. “In this regard, objectivity will be a watchword and the

rules of the game declared without any shade of ambiguity,� Ade-Wahab said. The Managing Director of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Nigeria (ACEN), Abolaji Ogunsanya, also lent his voice to matter, saying there is need for the inclusion of indigenous Nigerian Engineers in the development of the public procurement process for the sake of infrastructural development of the nation.

The General Manager, Lagos State Bureau of Public Procurement, Fatai Idowu Onofowote, emphasised the fact that public procurement has come to stay in Nigeria and that the business of government must be done through ‘due process.’ He stated that Lagos State was happy to align with the federal government in the use of modern technology in the development of the Categorisation Matrix.

The Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Mamman Ahmadu, has said the agency will deploy the use of modern technology in public procurement to further drive reform. According to him, “the digital lane is the way to go in public procurement process as it also affects other areas of human endeavours.â€? Ahmadu, who made the disclosure at the third zonal stakeholders’ workshop on the Development of the Category Matrix for the National Database of Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers (CCSP) in Lagos recently, stated that Nigeria has also joined the rest of the world to ensure that best global practices in public procurement process is strictly adhered. He emphasised that going digital would allow for more participation, efficiency and transparency to ensure that the public procurement reform receives the needed attention and to deliver ultimately for the good of the country. Ahmadu, who was represented by the Head of Regulations and Database of the BPP, Mr. Aliyu Aliyu, further emphasised the need for all the professional bodies to be fully involved in the reform process. He said the Public L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan; President, ADVAN, Mrs. Folake Ani – Procurement Act (PPA, Mumuney; Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Arjan Mirchandani and keynote speaker, Mr. Femi Odugbemi, at the ADVAN awards for 2007) Sections 5J, 5Q and marketing excellence 2018 held in Lagos‌recently

REWARDING EXCELLENCE

NCC, Varsities Collaborate on Research Emma Okonji The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reiterated its commitment to promote and improve innovative academic research among universities. The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who said this, a meeting with stakeholders in the south -west region held at the University of Lagos recently, said NCC had directed funds to universities to encourage advanced academic research that would boost national innovation in the country. Danbatta, who was rep-

resented by the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services at NCC, Mr. Ubale Maska, said the commission partnered universities to boost research and development in innovation. He said the advancement of technology across several spheres of human endeavour has created new industries, opportunities, new knowledge areas and challenges. According to him, this has increased the speed at which alignment between the different stakeholders in the economy needs to take place to ensure no aspect of development is left lagging.

‘’Innovation is seen as a way to breakout from the old and embrace the new technologies. ‘’Innovate or Die’’ is a slogan used by many business enterprises. In order to survive, the industry needs to embrace innovation. ‘’Innovation to telecommunication companies can be a linear machine to deliver what they deliver best. “Every telecommunications provider will aspire to transform into that new agile futurelooking telecommunication company. ‘’Recognising this increasing phenomenon, the commission has, among other things,

directed funds to encourage innovation by boosting research and development in universities across the country. ‘’I am glad to say that our universities are making good progress in Information and Communication Technology research and development,’’ he said. Danbatta, said the academia remained key driver of innovation in all spheres of human endeavour. He said ideas, inventions and improvements that emanated from the academia were required in the industry for improved efficiency and productivity.

The NCC boss noted the growth of new technologies such as Internet of Things (loT), Artificial lntelligence (Al) and Cloud Computing, which he said, led to the increased delivery of speed by various broadband technologies like 4G and 5G technologies, advancement in processor and other electronics technologies had led to huge opportunities and risks. ‘’Hence, the need for collaboration between academia, industry and regulators to ensure these technologies can be properly harnessed and standards built in such a way that it is beneficial to all stakeholders,’’ Danbatta said.

Efekoha Urges Insurers to Improve Customer Experience Group Business Editor

ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă‹ Ă’Ă“Ă—Ă‹

Ebere Nwoji

Capital Market Editor

Insurance industry operators have been urged to recognise the importance of value creation and promotion in their service offerings. The President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria(CIIN), Eddie Efekoha, who stated this at the recent seminar held in Ibadan, Oyo State, said creating and promoting values in insurance service offering has become necessary because in the current digital age where the customer is king, insurance companies need

ÙÎÎã Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă? AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Ă™Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ äĂ? 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

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

to focus on delivering value to their customers in order to create ultimate customer service experience. He said this would in turn increase the number of persons who embrace insurance, turning them into worthy ambassadors of the industry. He said the seminar theme “Increasing Insurance Penetration through Value Creation,� beamed a spotlight on value as the core essence of what operators do and focuses on the need to communicate this value in all that they do.

“Even the smallest molecule of our operations should translate to value to our target audience, only then can we truly retain top of mind awareness and agree that we have taken a significant step in what we collectively desire to achieve,� Efekoha stated. He informed participants at the seminar that as risk managers, it was their lot to increase the tempo of campaigns for insurance awareness and professionalism in order to get more people to stand up and take notice and for

more Nigerians to embrace insurance as a profession and as a service offering. “The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria will continue to leverage on all platforms to ensure the propagation of insurance education, awareness and the highest levels of professionalism obtainable in the industry. “The institute’s creed is centred on its mandate to provide world class manpower with the highest standard of professional and ethical training for the Nigerian and international

business community. “I would like to mention at this juncture that the institute is reinventing itself to become even more relevant in the larger scheme of things�. He said the institute and its training programs were being retooled to make them more applicable to the challenges faced in everyday lives of insurance practitioners. “We are creating new channels and programs to engage the younger generation to ensure that they embrace insurance consciously as a course of study,� he said.

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ICT as Key Driver of Informal Sector Information and Communications Technology has become a catalyst for sustainable socio-economic development and a key driver of the informal sector growth of the Nigerian economy, writes Emma Okonji Nigeria, like most developing nations of the world, has come to realise the importance of information and communication technology (ICT) as a catalyst for sustainable socio-economic development. This recognition is well captured in the country’s National Development PlanNigeria’s Vision 2020 and ICT Strategic Roadmap 2017-2020. The increasing globalisation driven by ICT makes it imperative for Nigeria as an emerging market to irreversibly consider the application and promotion of ICT strategy to facilitate its rapid growth and development in both formal and informal sector of the economy. The period of erratic service offerings from telecoms providers is gradually giving way to improved service offerings. The expansion of telecoms coverage areas, increase in the number of lines and connectivity, as well as the 22 per cent broadband penetration level in Nigeria, are all testament to the fact that ICT is fast transforming the informal sector and the entire Nigerian economy.

ICT contribution It is on record that the contribution of ICT to the informal sector of the Nigerian economy has not been captured unlike the formal sector that has data to show for its activities. Although one can quickly and correctly say that the country is not where it is supposed to be in terms of ICT development, but it is evident that the rapid adoption of digital technology, coupled with the rising number of telecoms subscribers and internet users, which is put at 165 million active lines and 100 million internet connectivity respectively, are signs of the importance of ICT in driving the informal sector of the Nigerian economy. Nigeria has a huge population and ICT is consistently contributing about 10 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) thereby showing the world that there is potential in telecom market in the country. The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umaru Garba Danbatta, had said that telecoms investment to GDP was $70 billion as at 2017, but explained that the figure has since been surpassed, following the steady growth in telecoms contribution. He added that telecoms contribution to Nigeria’s GDP rose to 10.5 per cent in 2018, up from the initial 9.1 per cent in 2016. ICT has been silently promoting friendship and unity among numerous tribes, thereby engaging the informal sector of the economy despite the isolated crisis in some parts of the country. Just as the game of football which breaks barrier across board regardless of demography and geography, ICT is equally playing a major role in uniting the informal sector of the Nigerian economy. It has immensely aided trade and building confidence among different tribes, loyalty and dedication on the part of people in commerce and industry especially in the informal sector.

ICT and Trade The use of ICT in trade has brought smiles on the faces of many businessmen, women and households, which could be likened to a call made to the owner of goods to claim at designated point in which both parties from different background share happiness through GSM. The use of Facebook and WhatApps, which represent new media for business transactions, have gained traction in the informal sector of the economy which has provided income opportunities to many Nigerians. Not only that, it serves as displayed shops for numerous sellers that do not have capacity to rent a shop. The power of ICT has manifested in both urban and rural areas that have internet connections, thereby providing platform for people to share their joy and happiness through exchange of video chatting and thereby reinforcing family ties in the country. ICT infrastructure has brought about the fastest means of exchanging ideas, educating the populace and also serve as a drive-in knowledge

Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu

sharing among the people of Nigeria. On our highways, people traveling can transact businesses while in the car, through the use of mobile phones because there a strong presence of telecoms network on routes outside cites like Lagos-Ibadan road, and Lagos Abuja road, among several other long distance routes.

ICT and government regulation The determination of the present government through regulatory agency like NCC, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) and Galaxy Backbone (GBB) as well as stakeholders in the ICT sector, to meet up with the 30 per cent broadband penetration, has opened opportunities for Nigerians to be engaged in business activities, reinforce family ties, promote inter-ethnic relationship and engender unity in the country. However, the impact of these efforts is lost on shallow memories of human beings because more ground still exists for stakeholders and regulatory agencies to cover the expanse of land in the country. But be that as it may, Nigerians

Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umaru Garba Danbatta

must learn how to applaud the efforts being put in place to serve the unserved areas in the country.

ICT roles in schools Schools, including tertiary institutions are provided with Base Transceiver Station (BTS) project, Community Resource Centre Project (CRC), E-Accessibility, Information Resource Centre, Innovative ICT Solutions and Services, School Knowledge Centre, Stakeholders’ Initiated Projects and University Intercampus Connectivity thereby improving access to ICT service in the country, through schools. That is why the forthcoming National Council on Communication Technology (NCCT), which has its theme as: ‘Leveraging ICT as a Vehicle for Economic Recovery and Growth,’ is apt for the present situation that gives room for ICT education and potential opportunities derived from adopting digital operations in all facet of our economy in the country. The NCCT is a consultative body for the government in matters pertaining to ICTs with a view to achieving some degree of uniformity in the ICT sector and to provide a pool of information on all ICT matters for the government.

Government’s support for ICT

ICT is equally playing a major role in uniting the informal sector of the Nigerian economy. It has immensely aided trade and building conďŹ dence among different tribes, loyalty and dedication on the part of people in commerce and industry especially in the informal sector

It is imperative for the states and local governments to move and be on the same page with the federal government and stakeholders in the ICT sectors in order to fast-track the digital system in Nigeria. The knotty issue of the harmonised Right of Way (RoW) has to be permanently thrashed out and implementation strategy commence in the first quarter of 2019 to advance the effort of stakeholders in the provision of infrastructure in the country. The Ministry of Communications’ harmonised RoW charges and implementation strategy should be supported by stakeholders especially the state government in the country. The harmonised RoW strategy will involve the utilisation of a shared duct strategy to deploy all public utility infrastructure such as gas pipeline, power cables, optic fibre cables, among others. The benefit of the share duct strategy includes economics of scale, reduced cost of infrastructure deployment and fast network deployment. Also, a firm commitment has to be obtained from state government on the establishment of State Information Technology Development Agency (SITDA) in order to accelerate development in the federation through collaboration between NITDA and different states in Nigeria. Additional critical decisions that stakeholders

need to pursue to logical conclusion is the implementation of e-Government programme and setting up Digital Centres by all tiers of government in Nigeria in order to promote capacity building in the country. Other initiatives that stakeholders in ICT sector need to promote and ensure full implementation are development of National E-Health, improving access to education through ICTs, optimising ICT local content, use of ICT in agriculture and deployment of ICT for transport development. The development of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) technology will tremendously improve conventional transport systems and services by making them safer and more effective.

Industry Position on ICT Devt The Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, who spoke on the impact of telecommunications and ICT, told THISDAY that ICT and telecoms have contributed immensely to economic growth as well as to the informal sector of the economy. According to Adebayo, from 2001 to 2017, the telecoms industry significantly impacted on the Nigerian economy in the area of GDP growth, infrastructure development and job creation, despite being a late starter in technology investments. He said the progress made by the Nigerian economy since 1960, largely depended on ICT investments. “Governments at all levels and the private sectors, all depend on ICT for their growth and development. This is true because ICT has since become the fundamental and most reliable public infrastructure that we have in the country today,� Adebayo said. He, however, called on government to guard against wilful destruction of telecoms facilities and urged the National Assembly members to facilitate the passage of the telecoms bill that is before it, which seeks to make telecoms infrastructure a critical national infrastructure that must be protected by law. There is no doubt that ineffective ICT infrastructure and service delivery will take Nigeria back to primitive era, a situation that calls for full protection of telecoms facilities across the country. The Nigerian ICT sector has recorded significant growth over the years which is as a result of deliberate policies and programmes developed by the government, targeted towards the citizens of the country. It is therefore important that Nigerians and the Nigerian government consider the importance of ICT in driving growth of the Nigerian economy and make haste to protect and promote ICT development in the country.

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Azzi: Effective Data Storage, Key to Business Transformation Senior Manager, Sales, Africa Business at Western Digital, Mr. Ghassan Azzi, spoke with Emma Okonji on the company’s plan to transform data storage business in Nigeria through its latest devices. Excerpts: is the number one brand in storage facilities globally and organisations in Nigeria will have the opportunity to experience quality and durable products from our company. Solutions from SanDisk and WDC, which we are introducing to the Nigerian market, are flagship solutions that will make business experience a whole lot of fun, with the potential to drive growth and sustain competition. We have the best cutting-edge technology in the world and our products are tested and accepted globally.

Technology evolution in Nigeria has led to big data analytics, where data is generated and analysed to make informed decision. How well will Western Digital use its storage facilities to further drive technology transformation in the country? With technology evolution, storage is becoming a necessity for organisations. With the new development, organisations do not need to purchase storage devices from stores each time they are in need. Organisations should be thinking of how best to install the latest data storage devices around their premises because the demand for storage is on the increase, which has been propelled by technology evolution. The demand for data is huge, which calls for increased demand for storage of data and other essentials, and we have the latest storage devices to address the increasing demand for data and storage facilities. We have our storage devices in USB, SD, Micro SD and Hard drive and these devices are readily available. Western Digital is making in-road into the Nigerian market space with its latest data storage devices. What must have informed this move? Western Digital is the number one storage company globally that manages organisation’s storage using the USB devices. We are new entrant into the Nigerian market, trying to penetrate the market through our distributors to gain significant share in the Nigerian technology market. As a business organisation, our decision to penetrate the Nigerian market was informed by our desire to transform data storage business in Nigeria and at the same time, grow our market share as quickly as possible. We have commenced business through our distribution structure, which we have put in place and we hope to grow the market fast as technology evolves. We are beginning with Lagos from where we will cover other parts of Nigeria. Mobile phone penetration is on the increase in Nigeria, which calls for increased storage facilities for data. How will Western Digital help to address this need? We are delighted that mobile phone penetration is on the increase in Nigeria and we can see most individuals carrying more than one mobile devices with dual SIMs. So our product is best suitable for the Nigerian market, where mobile phone penetration growth rate is high. As people browse the internet with their mobile phones, they need storage facilities as backups and that is what we provide at Western Digital. We have two types of devices, the hard drive storage facilities and the flash storage facilities. With the Flash storage facilities, we begin with the small Universal Serial Bus (USB) and we can grow the capacity to as much as 200 Gigabyte and 256 Gigabyte and with the Micro SD, we start with 8 Gigabyte and can increase its capacity to as much as 400 Gigabyte. With our SD, we begin with 512 Gigabyte and grow its capacity to one terabyte. For the Hard drive storage facilities, we cover all segments and organisational needs. We have external hard drive that can store huge data, which equally serves as backup for the computer and laptop. Our solution addresses the need of systems integrators and value added service providers. We have specific storage device for surveillance that does long hours recording and storage. This storage device is good for the African market, especially the Nigerian market. In your view, what is the importance of storage facilities to organisations? The importance of storage facilities cannot be overemphasised, because of its critical role in organisational growth. Data is key to any

Despite the global acceptability of your solutions, how affordable are the solutions for Nigerian businesses? Our products are not only affordable, but also pocket friendly. What is important to Western Digital, is the value add that we bring to any business, through our solutions. So SanDisk and WDC are brands of Western Digital that attach value to all our products. Yes, we are not the cheapest, but we are not the most expensive. What matters to us is the value and our products are pocket friendly, considering the value we are bringing to the storage business. Digital archiving of documents is currently trending in Nigeria. How related is your business model to digital archiving? Although digital archiving is about document storage in the digital format but what we are introducing is different from digital archiving. But if those involved in digital archiving are storing their products somewhere, then it should be in a storage device produced by Western Digital, even though our business model is different from document archiving. Our products can store large information ranging from photos, albums, music, bank accounts, and some confidential information. Any information that is data driven and created from laptops and mobile phones, can be stored in any of our storage devices.

Azzi

organisation, and the effective storage of the data will give organisations the full assurance that their data is secured. Data must be stored as backup and ready for retrieval at any point in time. Any organisation without effective data storage devices is still far from the realities of digital transformation business, and there is need to store every data for business continuity and for future reference. Data is about information and information is key to organisations, which means that proper storage of information is also key to organisational growth. So it gives an organisation peace of mind when they know that their data and

Although digital archiving is about document storage in the digital format but what we are introducing is different from digital archiving. But if those involved in digital archiving are storing their products somewhere, then it should be in a storage device produced by Western Digital, even though our business model is different from document archiving

information are in a safe place where no one can tamper with them. For how long can information be stored in your storage devices? Information stored in our storage devices can remain there for several years without getting damaged before it can be retrieved at any point in time. For out Flash storage facilities, it could store information for a period of over 25 years, hence we give 25 years warranty for our storage facilities. What are the security features that keep data secured in your storage devices? Technology is in stages and also evolving fast. Based on this fact, it becomes very obvious that nothing or rather no facility has 100 per cent security, which of course is a factor of management and usage as well as exposure to vulnerability. But with our products, customers are rest assured that their data is secured if properly stored in our storage facilities, and properly managed as well. We consider security key to any business and we take security issues very seriously. One of the products that Western Digital is bringing to the Nigerian market is iXpand Flash Drive, which is driven by SanDisk, one of the sub-brands of Western Digital. Tell us more about the compatibility of your product to existing devices? Our flash drive solution is highly compatible with all exiting devices in the Nigerian market. The truth is that any device that has inbuilt memory or memory slot, can use any of our SanDisk flash drive. What are the beneďŹ ts of Western Digital solutions to organisations operating in Nigeria? The benefits are numerous. Western Digital

What are your plans to have ofďŹ ce in Nigeria to further drive the data storage business in the country? For now, we have no office in Nigeria, but we plan to have offices in Nigeria as the business grows. So the setting up of offices in Nigeria will largely depend on the growth of our storage business in the country. How do you perceive the Nigerian market in terms of growth and adoption of new solutions, vis-a-vis the solution you are bringing to the Nigerian market? The Nigerian market is a place to do good business because of the massive population of the market and technology is evolving fast in the Nigerian market. In terms of technology evolution, I think Nigeria is next to South Africa within the African markets. Today the demand for technology solutions is on the increase in Nigeria and this shows the growth rate of technology adoption and usage in Nigeria. Aside the big enterprise business, do you have solution for the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), that are seen as engine growth of any economy? In designing and manufacturing of our solutions, we do not focus only on the enterprise business, but also on SMEs who are significant factor for rapid economic growth of a nation. Do you have plans to partner government on your products drive in Nigeria? At the moment, our focus is on private sector development and partnership, not on government, but with time, that can be extended to government for partnership. We are establishing our consumer business in Nigeria with chain of distributors at the moment.

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NIMC Holds Sensitisation Exercise on NIN January Deadline Emma Okonji Ahead of the January 1, 2019 deadline given by the federal government for the mandatory use of the National Identification Number (NIN), the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Aliyu Aziz has held wide consultations with the leadership of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the country under the aegis of Association of Licenced Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON). Aziz, said he considered

the meeting with ALTON to be central in the implementation of the recently launched Digital Identity Ecosystem spearheaded by NIMC, given the association’s membership, which are the mobile subscribers with a total number of over 150 million. Speaking further on the meeting with ALTON, Aziz said the MNOs in Nigeria “are already undertaking data capture subscribers’ information including biometrics for any SIM to be active. This information is sent to a central database

managed by NCC. “The NCC being a stakeholder in the identity ecosystem is required by the NIMC Act and Regulation, to ensure the use of the NIN for access to services including SIM utilisation. NCC is a key partner in the Identity harmonisation process, and was one of the earliest government agencies to handover to NIMC data available to it from SIM registration for warehousing by NIMC in the National Identity

Database,� Aziz said. The NIMC boss also used the opportunity to explain the effect and implication of the ‘mandatory use of NIN’ in the Federal Government’s directive. “Some people have the wrong impression that by January 1, 2019, the mandatory use of NIN means everyone in Nigeria must have the NIN. This is not correct. Rather, what it means is that to access any services as specified under Section 27 (1) of the

NIMC Act 2007, a person must have the NIN; where one does not have it, any government agency or private sector operator to be licensed by NIMC offering such services that fall under the mandatory use of the NIN, must immediately enrol the person and generate the NIN under the Digital Identity Ecosystem,� Azuz stated. On his part, ALTON, led by its Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, had earlier chronicled the fears of the

Association and its members against the backdrop of inadequate enrolment centres across the country pursuant to the issuance of NIN. He however pointed out the importance of the national identity system, saying: “A credible national identity database enables effective planning, increases financial inclusion by easing access to financial services, enhances the electoral process and helps improve national security.�

9mobile Boosts Local Content with CodeLagos Hackathon In furtherance of its commitment to leveraging technology to bolster knowledge and skill acquisition among Nigerians, 9mobile has rewarded winners of the first CodeLagos Hackathon. The event was an initiative of the Lagos State government aimed at encouraging local content and technology innovation among Lagos residents, with tech-driven ideas and solutions that solve local challenges. As a CodeLagos partner, 9mobile supported the initiative by awarding high-end devices to winners in the junior category of the CodeLagos Hackathon, a competition designed to source best tech-driven ideas and solutions from among Lagos residents with the theme, ‘Towards a Smarter Lagos.’ The junior category comprised students at the secondary school level between the ages of 14 and 17 years, while the other category for the competition - senior category, which comprises interested members of the public and participants of the CodeLagos Out-of-School programme between the ages of 18 and 30 years. The winners were presented with fantastic prizes including tablets and smart phones at the CodeLagos Hackathon Demo Day event, which held in Lagos recently. In the junior category, Badagry Senior Grammar School came first to emerge the category

winner; Technical College, Agidingbi, Ikeja was the first runner-up while Childville Senior Secondary School emerged the second runner-up. For the senior category, Sharkbytes was the first prize winner; CodeDivas was the first runner-up while Secured Wellness Challenged (SWC) emerged the second runner-up. Commenting on the initiative, the Acting Director, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, 9mobile, Oluseyi Osunsedo, said the telco was proud to partner Lagos State government on the initiative and appreciative of the opportunity to empower more Nigerians by upscaling their skill-sets and providing them the leverage to be able to take up the jobs of the future, which technology is enabling. “9mobile is passionate about enabling a prosperous future for Nigeria and the youth segment is the main anchor of that future; technology is the driver. Our commitment to promoting initiatives that empower and enable the youth to fulfil that role is dear to us. Therefore, we have supported CodeLagos project since inception two years ago, because it aligned with our vision that the future is a society where anybody, every child in every school, regardless of socioeconomic status is given access to the knowledge and skills to compete in a technology-driven world�, she stated.

Smile Incentivises Customers Emma Okonji Smile Nigeria has taken steps to further delight its teeming customers by introducing the All-in-One SIM offer to its customers. With this, customers can connect and enjoy free Smile to Smile voice and video calls and best rates to call any local operator and affordable data plan on reliable network. The All-in-One SIM offer comes in an attractive N3, 000 package which gives unlimited on-net calls, 250 minutes to call any local network, 250 SMS, 1.5GB data and zero roaming charges while abroad. Customers can make calls from abroad at local rates. A statement by the Head, Brands and Communications at Smile Communications Nigeria, Lotanna Anajemba, disclosed that the offer would

be available to existing customers and new customer prospects through all Smile distribution channels including retail shops, kiosks, Field Sales Representatives (FSRs), Independent dealer outlets and online. On activation, the customers would receive their respective activation data GB, Voice minutes and SMS. Smile became the first to launch VoLTE on its network and has continued with its innovation, having introduced Smile Voice, which is a free mobile app that enables customers with any Android or Apple handset, including those which are not VoLTEenabled, to make super clear voice calls over Smile’s 4G LTE networks. Smile was also the first to introduce an Unlimited offering, which enables SuperFast and SuperReliable data and SuperClear voice, all from one data plan.

DISCUSSING TECHNOLOGY

L-R: Managing Director, General Electric, in charge of Gas and Power, Mohammed Mijindadi; Regional Director, African Resources Centre for Health Supply Chains, Azuka Okeke; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Nigeria/World Bank Climate Innovation Centre, Bankole Oloruntoba; General Manager Techplus, Eniola Edun; Executive Director, SystemSpecs Limited, Deremi Atanda and Group Managing Director, Republicom Group, Tunji Adeyinka, at the Techplus 2018 Breakfast Series held in Lagos...recently

MainOne Partners Institute NITDA Raises Stakeholders’ Hope on Local Content on High-speed Internet Emma Okonji One of West Africa’s leading connectivity and data centre services providers, MainOne, has partnered the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) to provide high-speed internet access to the MEST Incubator in Ikoyi, Lagos. MEST is a not-for-profit organisation which provides technology training, seed investment and mentorship for the next generation of globally successful African software entrepreneurs. The partnership would leverage MainOne’s fiber connectivity, as well as MEST’s seed fund and incubator to foster the growth and success of entrepreneurs by providing work space, high-speed internet, hands-on support, resources and a vibrant community to help start-ups succeed. According to MainOne’s Chief Executive Officer, Funke Opeke, the company remains committed to powering up the start-up and technology ecosystem in Nigeria which remains underdeveloped, to foster socio-economic development of Africa through the creation of sustainable businesses and enterprises. “We will continue to support initiatives like the MEST with investments in fibre-optics

infrastructure to deepen broadband penetration and create enabling environment for these companies�, she said. Director of Investor Relations at MEST, Neku Atawodi-Edun, said: “Our expansion into Lagos was in response to the vast amount of talent present combined with the surge in the development on technology in the country. “Our pan-African network of incubators is aimed at discovering the best tech talent on the continent and providing our existing entrepreneurs the support they need as they expand into new markets across the continent.� Speaking on the partnership, she applauded MainOne’s support in enabling the hub with the capacity to meet the requirements of entrepreneurs who just need the space to focus and work on their big ideas. “The MEST Incubator is a hub where different tech and digital start-ups, are availed seed funds and resources essential to the success of their business. We wanted to create a space to enable entrepreneurs in Africa build scalable businesses by providing access to work-spaces, electricity, a community of ideators and super-fast reliable internet, thanks to MainOne,� AtawodiEdun said.

Adoption Emma Okonji Director General of the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has hailed Zinox as an indigenous technology giant with the human capital potential and technological prowess to grow the adoption of local content in Nigeria. Pantami who paid a working visit to the headquarters of the company in Gbagada, Lagos recently, expressed his delight with the massive infrastructure and technological facilities on display, noting that Zinox has the capacity to rival other global tech giants and extend its products and solutions beyond Nigeria to other markets. Accompanying the DG was a technical entourage including Director e-Government Development and Regulatory, Dr. Vincent Olatunji; Director, IT Infrastructure Solutions, Dr.Usman Gambo Abdulahi and National Coordinator – ONC, Kasim Shodangi. Other members of the entourage were Mrs. Chioma Oke-Agugo, Mr. Yusuf Yisa-Doko and two members of the media team. “I am impressed with the huge capabilities, human

and material resources and technological innovation available here in Zinox, which has remained an unassuming indigenous company that has recorded so many landmark strides in the Information and Communications Technology sector. “In addition to the excellent work done with INEC in improving the electoral process in Nigeria, we are also aware of the acceptance of Zinox products in other countries which they have been exported to and in major multinationals operating here such as Shell, Total, Chevron, among others. “The federal government is eager to correct the imbalance in the consumption of local content by encouraging and supporting indigenous capacities in the IT sector,� Pantami said. According to him, “We are focused not only on increasing local content adoption but also ensuring that a major percentage of our indigenous technology software and products are exported to other African countries. “Zinox possesses the resources, products, human capital and sheer equipment capacity to take the lead in this area.�

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APCON’S Debacle and the Enemies Within Close to four years after, the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria has remained like a ship without a captain. Raheem Akingbolu writes on how the development has dealt a blow on the operations of the regulatory agency It was thought to be a temporary setback but four years after, stakeholders in the marketing communications industry are battling to explain why their regulatory body - the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), has been left in the limbo. There have been many questions but no concrete explanation has been given on why government has not constituted a council for APCON. As a result of this, concerned advertising practitioners are daily expressing the pain of not having a council. To them, while the profession is growing in the area of creativity and market acceptability, regulation is becoming weaker than before. The council has been without a constituted board for over three years and this is said to be affecting the growth of the multi-billion-naira industry as many advertising practitioners and operators in other sectoral bodies are showing reluctance in fulfilling their professional responsibilities. The council comprises the Advertising Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), the Association of Advertising Agencies in Nigeria (AAAN), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Federal Ministry of Information, the Federal Ministry of Health as well as universities/ polytechnics offering advertising-related courses. Meanwhile, fresh fallout from the crisis is that it has fuelled suspicion among stakeholders on whether there are individuals or organisations, within and outside government working to frustrate various efforts being made to get a council. It has also forced top players in the industry to come out of their shells and demand for better understanding of APCON status. Between 2014 and now, the leadership of various sectoral bodies have explored many opportunities, including visiting the state house and the office of the Minister of Information and Culture, to impress it on the federal government on the importance of the council, but nothing has been achieved in this regard. As the highest regulatory body in the advertising industry, operations are believed to have become weak in the last three years because of lack of constituted authority to sit down and take decisions on sundry issues. In 2014, the administration of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, appointed a nonpractitioner as APCON Chairman and the appointment was rejected by stakeholders in the industry as an affront. President Jonathan, had immediately reversed the appointment and constituted another one headed by the Group CEO of the SO&U, Mr. Udeme Ufot. Despite the acceptability of the Ufot-led council, it was dissolved again alongside other parastatals boards in July 2015. As a result of the strategic importance of the council to the effective operation of APCON, pressures were mounted on the Buhari administration to quickly reconstitute the board, but nothing was done until December last year when another set of non-advertising and marketing practitioners were again appointed into the board. Those appointed then were Hon. Jacob Sunday (Chairman), Chief Dayo Abatan, Aloysius Okafor, Sani Tulu, Akor Sunday, Ismaila Umar Sifawa and Murtala Adamu Atiku. The appointment was said to have run contrary to the APCON law which demands that council members must be fellows of the regulatory body. The Nigerian Advertising Laws, Rules and Regulations Act 55 of 1988 (as amended), states that a chairman, who should be appointed by the President, shall be a distinguished fellow of the profession. Immediately the announcement was made, practitioners in the country were quick to condemn, in strong terms, the alleged appointment of non-advertising and marketing practitioners into the council and move ahead to advocate

Mohammed

autonomy for APCON. Top practitioners had stated that the exercise was in clear breach of the Act setting up the institution, insisting that government should not be seen to be flouting the constitution of the country.

Knotty issues Having experienced same problem under the previous administration, whereby the appointment of APCON council was delayed, the habitual development has forced the public and some advertising operators to demand for the removal of APCON from government grip in order to obviate distortions in running the multi-billion-naira industry. Today, players in the industry are advocating for a professional advertising institute in place of APCON or to have both exist side by side. Top professionals who spoke in the past supported an independent apex body while others believe that as long as APCON collects yearly subvention from the government, it shall continue to remain a lackey on government political chess board. The desire in some quarters to, perhaps, have APCON run as an institute instead of a council is strong among some stakeholders as they compare APCON with some professional institutes that are run independently. The call, without first understanding the difference between a council and an institute and their respective roles clearly justifies the frustration with the current impasse over the government delay in the appointment of APCON council. Speaking on the issue, the Deputy Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, Mr. Jide Johnson, said the development was worrisome as the Registrar, who serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the can only perform administrative function. “It is unfortunate because the roles of the registrar are different from that of APCON chairman. Registrar oversees the secretariat while the chairman has executive power to lead the council, take decision and liaise with government at the centre on issues that would boost the image of the industry, just like in any civil service set up. Succinctly speaking, going by the laws setting up APCON, there are certain key decisions and regulatory approvals that cannot be taken or effected without a substantive chairman of council in place. “APCON was established by the Advertising Practitioners act 55 of 1988, as amended by Act No. 93 of 1992 and Act No. 116 of 1993

AAAN President, Ikechi Odigbo

(now Advertising Practitioners Registration Act Cap A7 of 2004). “Specifically, the law specifies that APCON shall have a council consisting of a chairman who shall be a distinguished fellow of the profession to be appointed by the President; seven persons to be appointed by the Minister, one of whom shall be from the Ministry and others from among other interests in the field of advertising, which in the opinion of the Minister ought to be adequately represented,� he stated He stated further that the acts also stipulates that ten persons are to be elected by the Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria (in this Act referred to as “the Association�) in the manner for the time being provided by its constitution; and two persons to represent institutions of higher learning in Nigeria offering courses leading to an approved qualification, to be appointed by the Minister in rotation. He however pointed out that the two persons shall not come from the same institution. Going by this provision, a former APCON Chairman and Group CEO of Prima Garnet Africa, Lolu Akinwunmi, emphasised that whoever that would become APCON chairman must be a registered practitioner and a fellow of the profession; not even a honorary fellow but a professional Fellow. “The government appointees must come via the Minister for Information. The other members must come from the sectorial groups, with the AAAN supplying the majority,� Akinwummi said.

Stakeholders’ Concern Now, that the law is being ignored by government by its failure to re-constitute the council, it is believed in some quarters that it is intentional since government has not indicated that it cannot find competent person among the marketing communications professionals in Nigeria to be appointed. There is also the fear by some practitioners that government may be looking for someone within the advertising community that is proAPC or a practitioner that is sympathetic to the current administration. As the debate continues, some concerned stakeholders have blamed the Ministry of Information and Culture under whose purview APCON resides for negligence. An industry analyst, Mr. Adekanmi Fadare, specifically heaped the blame on the current Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, for not taking active move to restore back the glory of the regulatory body.

“It is retrogressive and a slow poison for advertising community to remain without a council for close to four years, especially when the minister in charge is supposed to be a friend of the industry, considering his background as a communication person. “We shouldn’t forget that Mr. Lai Muhammed started off as a communication person before venturing into politics. One would have expected him to champion the course of the industry by mounting pressure on the federal government about the implications for APCON not having a council. “It is also sad that Mr. Muahmmed has not for once considered it important to explain to the Nigerian advertising community why the long impasse in the APCON council. “I also share the believe of some practitioners that the delay in constituting the APCON council is as a result of fifth columnist within the industry who is working assiduously to frustrate the agitation. “These are powerful individuals who also have close affinity with some persons in power. These individuals believe that APCON is too powerful and therefore need to be checkmated and reduced to just regulating the practice and vetting of advertisement materials before exposure, while the other professional affairs such as licensing, registration and membership should be left for a body like Nigerian Institute of Advertising Practitioners, just like the NIPR, NIMN, NIM among others,� Fadare stated. As things stand, some industry players have called for the establishment of bodies like the Nigerian Bar Association, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria ICAN and Nigeria Medical Association to determine who and who are advertising practitioners. They, however, expressed displeasure at any attempt to replace APCON with the institute. When this happens, they believe APCON can cede its professional functions including member registration and professional development roles to the body while it maintains its regulatory functions. Another suggestion being pushed by some concerned members is that the status quo can be maintained but with proper education of government functionaries to respect the APCON law by appointing advertising practitioners to the council. Those who believe in this have advised the government not see APCON as another patronising board appointment since it created the law that established APCON which requires appointment of advertising practitioners to the council.

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Emerging e-Commerce Market in Nigeria Raheem Akingbolu takes a look at the growth and challenges facing both operators and consumers in the e-Commerce market as another brand enters the market Among other opportunities, the birth of online shopping that came with the internet boom has redefined Nigerian purchasing patterns over the years. Of course, it has also continued to deepen operations in the financial sector as the banking public and consumers of insurance products now do more online than physical appearance in the banking hall. Like in every new thing, embracing e-Commerce as alternative shopping experience was, at the beginning, tough for Nigerians. In the last few years, both the operators and consumers have recorded both their good and low moments. While it has eased the mode of transaction, there have also been stories of scammers and attacks on delivery agents. But today, despite the hitches, it is obvious that consumers who buy into the system are growing in folds every day. Trust has not only been built, but many Nigerians have also seen it as the easiest way to shop. The recent upturn in e-commerce enterprises across Africa is believed to be revolutionising not just the retail market but also business in general. The growth potential of this niche, as demonstrated by several e-commerce firms showcases the enormous opportunity under tapped. As one of the continent’s leading IT markets, Nigeria has seen a rapid surge in the development of ecommerce businesses.

New market entrant

Early in the week, another brand –Wepay, from the stable of BODC Trading and Investment Company Limited, birthed in the market with the promise to surmount the challenges being faced by consumers in the area of security and goods collection. At the unveiling of the brand in Lagos, its promoters promised to offer great customer services to Nigeria’s online shoppers on its platform. Stylishly, the company took a swipe at the joke that e-commerce operators promise lions but deliver cats. Perhaps that became necessary because of the disparity between what some online companies have on their sites and what they deliver after payment. The company’s Managing Consultant, Akin Kehinde, in his welcome remarks, stated that the focus of the company was to empower digitalisation in Nigeria with special focus on financial inclusion through flexible payment solutions. He stated that ‘Wepay’ as a platform would offer a wide range of products including the latest of the mobile devices available at cash or credit term payment option driven by a robust credit check technology. While pointing out that the brand was focused on driving the best customer experience leveraging

after sales and support as their expertise in the industry, the consultant pointed out that the platform was poised at offering unmatchable sales deals and amazing after-sales services to customers to ensure that they have the best customer experience. He said: “We pride ourselves as a platform that offers a wide range of products including the latest of the mobile devices available at cash or credit term payment option driven by a robust credit check technology. “It is our focus on driving the best customer experience leveraging our strengths in the after sales and support in the industry. “As a matter of fact, the purchase of a mobile device from our platform marks the beginning of a rewarding journey with us.� Kehinde, listed some of the various extended warranties and after care services that come with the WePay e- commerce platform to include repairs and maintenance of customers’ devices, free accessories like battery chargers, Bluetooth earpieces, hands-free cords, beautiful device casings, external speakers, pouches, table holders etc. “Our platform will offer the customers extended warranties of three to six months beyond the manufacturer’s warranty, screen protection insurance, opportunities for device upgrade as well as trade-in programs,� he added.

He stated that the Wepay e-Commerce platform was created to deliver to Nigerians the same worldclass services their counterparts in the developed countries of the world enjoy in the area of online shopping. “We are bringing to Nigeria and Nigerians the same quality services that their contemporaries in most developed countries of the world have been enjoying for years,� the managing consultant stated. He said the company relies on the combination of its cutting-edge technology deployment and knowledge of the Nigerian market to deliver to the consumers the flexibility that allows them live their full potentials.

Surmounting the challenges

Speaking on possible challenges that could come with logistics, the company’s Chief Client Services, Martina Medac, disclosed that the platform offers for various pick-up locations or the option to and have these devices delivered to them at their various locations nationwide within the shortest time possible. According to her, this is necessary to address some of the frustration expressed by shoppers of e-Commerce in the area of logistics where it takes forever for customers to receive the products they ordered and paid for. She also touched on the complaint by Nigerians in the area of the difficulty in getting their complaints

resolved in online transactions as the service providers’ phone lines are always engaged and they are held for too long before customer care personnel even get to hear their complaints. To solve this, she pointed out that ‘Wepay’ has a robust customer care system driven majorly by the best technology, ensuring timely resolutions and effective tracking of results and customer feedback. On cybercrime and security, the General Manager, Technical, Ravi Narain, said Wepay operates international standards that would ensure several measures towards security & cybercrime issues. Apart from multilevel authentication, he also revealed that its system will keep data encrypted, secure and safe. Reviewing the growth in the Nigerian market, he appreciated the fact that Nigeria still has a good internet penetration of more than 70 per cent. He, however noted that wepay has ensured to overcome such hitches by offering services both via Web & USSD. “Customer can now shop on wepay via USSD at his/her own ease without any internet required, that’s why we called Wepay as “smarter way to shop� he said. Speaking on the new thing the company was bringing into the table, its General Manager, Operations, Abayomi Fashe, said the brand’s USP is driven by its slogan “Smarter way to Shop�.

Ekundayo: Trustees Critical in Investor Protection The Chief Executive Officer, STL Trustees Limited, Funmi Ekundayo, in this interview with Ugo Aliogo, speaks on the roles of trustees in the financial market Can you explain to us in details the roles of corporate trustees in business transactions and how it has changed over time? The role of trustees in business varies based on the structure of a transaction and our role also cuts across several types of business transactions. Trustees play critical roles in bonds and debt issues where we represent the interest of the bondholders and where there is a sinking fund, we manage same for the purpose of paying the investors their coupons and principal investment as and when due; in Collective Investment Schemes- we represent the interest of Unit holders and also ensure that the Fund Manager complies with the terms of the Scheme; for Debentures Trusts, Syndications and Consortium lending, we hold the security pledged for loans/ facilities to ensure repayment by the Borrower(s); in Real Estate/Construction/Project Finance, trustees act as intermediaries to ensure that the terms of the necessary agreements are kept while they hold title to the property on behalf of the all stakeholders to ensure that there is a seamless transfer of the asset to the ultimate off-takers. In Private Trust, trustees hold assets and manage same for the benefit of third parties (including the settlor in some cases). As for the question on how the role of trustees has changed over time, this has been quite significant and impressive when compared with where we are coming from. Trustees have come from being perceived as “fringe players� to being recognised as major players playing a critical role of protecting the interest of investors, as well as ensuring and safe-guarding the transparency and integrity of transactions.

planning structure adopted.

Ekundayo Talking about Private Trust, how well can corporate trustees help solve problems associated with succession planning? Succession planning is one of the main businesses of corporate trustees. As corporate trustees, our duty is to ensure that the assets left behind by the client is properly managed in accordance with the specific instructions and wishes of the client and also to ensure that such assets are preserved for the next generation. Where the beneficiaries have not come of age, the corporate trustees will oversee the assets with disbursement to the beneficiaries as provided in the trust deed to ensure that the needs of the beneficiaries are met at all times without the assets being eroded and when they attain the appropriate age same is transferred in accordance with either the trust deed or the will depending on the estate

STL Trustees emerged as the “Non-Interest Trustees of the Year 2017� during the third African International Conference on Islamic Finance. What factors do you think helped you to achieve this recognition? At STL Trustees our core values are integrity, professionalism, commitment and innovation and these values ensure that in dealing with clients, whether individual or corporate, we strive to always deliver trust solutions that are guaranteed to meet their needs on a continuously satisfactory basis. Also, because we operate in an industry that is extremely dynamic, we train and retrain ourselves towards ensuring that we continuously deliver quality and innovative services with the required speed to excite our clients. STL Trustees is a Delegate Trustee to the first Sukuk Issuance in Nigeria, the State of Osun Sukuk Al-Ijara which was issued by the government of the State of Osun to finance the construction of modern elementary, middle and High schools in the State. We are also a Delegate Trustee to the first sovereign Sukuk to be issued in Nigeria, the N100B FGN Road Sukuk 1 which was issued by the Federal Government to fund the construction and rehabilitation of some roads across the six geo-political zones in the country. Can you give an insight into some of the products on offer at STL Trustees? In order to simplify the concept of trusteeship for our customers and make same readily available no matter an individual’s income level, we have a bouquet of customised retail products tailored

to meet the needs of individuals across a broader spectrum. These products are: Controlling you Retirement Voluntarily (STL CRV). STL CRV is a savings product which has been designed for income earners who are mindful of preparing ahead for post-retirement from paid employment, in addition to the mandatory Pension Contributions under the Law as well as self-employed individuals who want to secure their future, when they would be less active and earn lower income. The product is targeted at the middle to lower income group and ensures that they are able to maintain a lifestyle akin to what they enjoyed while active. It is pertinent to also add that this product has an insurance benefit and the contributor gets a specified amount on the happening of certain events. The insurance premium is separate from the funds contributed and the income generated from the management of the funds as the premium for the insurance is paid by STL Trustees. There is also STL Target which is specifically designed for persons who would wish to set aside some funds to meet a particular need at some determinate time in the future. The advantage of this product is that it simplifies savings for events by the client and ensures that the funds are available for the required purpose. We also have an educational product tagged STL CET. STL is a CET Child Education Trust designed to enable you set up a Trust Fund for the education of your child or children. STL Trustees will hold such funds under a trust instrument as trustees to the named beneficiaries and preserve the funds, including all accumulated income thereon in trust for your named beneficiaries.

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Improving Access to Financial Services Ugo Aliogo

Two key factors which separates the rich from the poor are the decisions they make about finance and access to credit. Consequently, tools and products focused on savings, credit history, low-cost loans, ease of transaction, and options such as mortgages - all of which are elements of retail banking, are crucial to lifting people out of poverty on a massive scale. Simple tool such as bank account means one can receive payment from anywhere in the world without wasting time to physically go collect it. This frees up more time and energy for productivity. An active bank account means the owner, whether a farmer in a rural area or a businessperson in the city, with a healthy balance sheet can access loans to boost productivity and earn more. And a tiny app on your smartphone, or a proxy financial agent or ATM, means the end of needless hours spent in banking halls to make transactions. Banking tools are empowering and thus lead to financial liberation. It is no coincidence that the number of Nigerians without access to financial services in Nigeria, at 70 million, almost equals the 80 million Nigerians living in extreme poverty. There is obviously a correlation and this reality places a huge responsibility on banks as major players to facilitate economic development in Nigeria. It is to this end that the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2012, under its National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) set a target of financial inclusion rate of 80 percent for Nigeria’s adult population by 2020. The CBN initiated the move, actively pushing for more citizens to enjoy access to formal financial services and thereby increase their chances of financial empowerment. Diamond Bank, since its inception in 1990, has always been about retail banking, financial inclusion, and catering to the finances of ordinary people. Currently, we by a wide margin lead other in financial inclusion, thanks to our innovative efforts, growing the market share by offering 10 million, previously unbanked individuals, financial services. In recognition of our efforts, we were voted “Best Bank for Financial Inclusion� in Nigeria in last year. Diamond Bank has targeted campaigns for Nigerians living in remote parts of

Dozie

the country. One of the campaigns, exclusively targeted at financially excluded people, helps to put faces on Nigeria’s unbanked. While so much has been said about financial inclusion, many people often don’t know what people who need to be banked look like. Partnership Diamond Bank recently partnered with African telecommunications giant MTN to roll out its hybrid savings account, Diamond Yello account. This service combines both financial and telecommunications functions. Diamond Bank was one of the first Nigerian banks to employ the use of the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) for its Yello account, allowing users to open Diamond bank accounts and carry out financial transactions on their mobile phones, without data or credit. Since its launch in 2014, before commercial banks were forced into retail banking, the Yello account has been able to register more than nine million bank accounts consisting mostly of

young people, and women (women are the demographic most hindered from financial inclusion; the Diamond Yello account has solved that conundrum in Nigeria) in northern Nigeria whom have never owned a bank account. Presently, Diamond Bank controls a large share of USSD transaction volume in Nigeria with 40 percent. Nigerians have benefitted from these innovative products. One of them is Tasiu Mansur, a tailor in Kano who received 2 million naira from Diamond Bank in 2016, for being the 2 millionth Nigerian to open a Diamond Yello account and was also featured in a documentary. For someone who admitted to have never stepped foot in a banking hall before, opening a bank account and receiving 2 million naira for it enabled him to rent a shop, purchase equipments, and hire staff, thereby creating a value chain in that part of Nigeria that has been synonymous with high unemployment. Another of Diamond Bank’s important service is geared towards SMSEs. Its Emerging Business Installment loans

Firm Restates Commitment to Maritime Sector Kayode Fasua The XPO Marine Services Limited has described the company’s dealings with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) as robust and professional. The company also expressed its determination to be a key player in federal government’s projection of growing the Nigerian maritime industry by at least five per cent between 2018 and 2019. In readiness to partner with the government to grow the sub-sector, XPO Marine, being West Africa’s frontline sub-sea and marine support services outfit, said it had moved to boost its workforce. Disclosing this in a statement, the spokesman for the firm, Mr. Princewill Ubani, refuted a recent motion filed by three House of Representatives members accusing it of an underhand dealing with NIMASA, in an alleged leasing of six speed boats at $173,930 monthly, without need assessment. Ubani, in the statement,

noted that the: “The Committee was misled and wrongly informed. Following our interaction with the committee, we, XPO, and five other companies rendering the same services had responded to the allegation and refuted the wrong allegations by providing them with more information to assist them to be better informed. “The committee has thus been better informed. This has led to the building of a better relationship between XPO Marine Services and the Committee, looking at the entire matter, and considering the fact that they are all joint stakeholders in the federal government project. “We are also building human, financial and technical capacities to meet the increasing needs of the various IOCs, including ongoing acquisition efforts of various classes of vessel and other marine assets to meet the demanding needs of the Nigerian oil and gass offshore operations. “The business shall implement the lean six sigma methodology throughout

its operations, to improve turnaround time and reduce operational cost. And for your information, XPO Marine Services’ asset acquisition strategy has been to ensure that its assets are made up of predominantly of dual purpose and multi-use vessel capabilities, in order to reduce asset under-utilisation, to the barest minimum.� Ubani added that in line with the new policy, XPO Marine Services would ensure that its vessels’ crew were technically and operationally competent and that in the short term, the company would contract out vessel management to professional managers, while it would also begin to recruit and retrain experienced Nigerian crew members. “Our business strategy is predicated on becoming the leading provider of sub-sea and marine support services to the West African oil and gas industry. XPO Marine Services understands the trends and forces that will shape its business in the future and is moving swiftly to prepare for

what is to come. In order to achieve this, it has crafted a long-term roadmap. “Besides, we intend to focus on providing services to blue-chip oil and gas companies, and to achieve this, the company is building its competencies and processes around the key issues that influence the client/vendor selection decisions,� Ubani stated. He stressed that the firm would, within the next 12 months, build a comprehensive IMR support vessel fleet, so that the oil majors can find it easy to contract end-to-end operations out to it, without having to worry about managing different vendors. In terms of boosting its operations, being a fledgling concern in the maritime industry in Nigeria, the XPO Marine Services’ spokesman explained that the company would institute best-class operational process, and proper management of tools and techniques, to enhance process efficiency and reduce wastage in the system.

gives SME owners, who are looking to expand their businesses, financing for up to 3 years to purchase fixed assets that would help. The bank also helps with financial advisory services for these small businesses thereby enabling them to scale. One of its most innovative products is its mobile app. The bank’s mobile app has over two million subscribed users, mostly Nigeria’s increasingly digitallysavvy youth, helping them to access some of the bank’s services and giving them inclusiveness into the Nigerian banking system. While the Diamond mobile app harnesses digital technology in smartphones to bank Nigeria’s youths, the Diamond Yello account harnesses mobile phones and USSD to bank the less digital-literate in the informal sectors of the country. Diamond bank’s solutions to financial inclusion have solved two of its key problems; instilling trust in banking institutions, and bringing the bank closer to the people, and has made its over 10 million retail customers much happier.

Report: Africa World’s Next Big Growth Market Africa will become the world’s next big growth market, akin to the Asian boom, McKinsey, a management consulting firm has said. “While other geographies are seeing incremental growth, global companies that get in early and join the African champions shaping the right strategies, can sustain double-digit profit growth over the next few decades,’’ it noted. The report drew the conclusions from a survey of 3,000 McKinsey client engagements, in-depth proprietary research and interviews with 40 of Africa’s most prominent business and development leaders. The report, examining several examples of African businesses that have translated opportunities into enduring business value, revealed how companies can better understand the African market. It also seized the opportunities for building profitable, sustainable businesses. “Africa has a fast-growing, rapidly urbanising population with big unmet needs. “It means that there is a trilliondollar opportunity to industrialise Africa, to meet rising domestic

demand and create a bridgehead in global export markets,’’ the report said. According to the report, there has been a big push by governments and the private sector to close infrastructure gaps. The report pointed to continued resource abundance in agriculture, mining, and oil and gas, with innovation and investment in these sectors unlocking new production on the continent. “The rapid adoption of mobile and digital technologies could leapfrog Africa past many obstacles to growth. “With over 400 African companies earning annual revenues of 1 billion dollars or more, we can identify what works,’’ the report said. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the report noted that highly successful businesses are often African companies, but many are entrepreneurial firms with Western, Indian, or Chinese founders. The report, however, pointed out that building a successful business in Africa requires a long-term approach.

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Leadership, Structural Complexity and Cannabis Economy Glenn Ubohmhe In the immortal words of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States of America, “the stream will not permanently rise higher than the main source and the main source of national power and national greatness is found in the average citizenship of a nation. Therefore, it behoves us to do our best to see that the standard of the average citizen is kept high and the average cannot be kept high unless the standard of the leaders is very much higher�. The statement rings true, and without a shred of doubt, embodies the first order differentiating factor why nations fail or succeed. This is true for corporate entities as it is for sovereigns. Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson did argue elegantly, in their book titled “Why Nations Fail�, on the role of inclusive institutions in bringing about sustainable growth. Implicit in the “institution theory� by Acemoglu and Robinson lies the central role of leadership because, in the final analysis, both inclusive and extractive institutions are direct consequences of leadership – this much is axiomatic in the Latin truism that says nemo dat quod non habet (you simply cannot give what you don’t have). Leadership is about ideas (bold ideas, I must say), ability to make difficult choices for the common good, penetrating vision, strategic acuity with execution capacity, developmental mindset and a global worldview. Sadly, our sense of achievement in this part of the world has been thoroughly subverted to the extent that production of a few bags of rice that cannot feed internal refuges in an IDP camp is touted as rice revolution and every conceivable project as ridiculous as 10-feet water borehole (of course, usually executed at colossal costs that can fund several space missions in other countries), is commissioned with so much fanfare and worn as a badge of honour for (re)election. In saner climes where quality of ideas matter, by now the queue behind new breed of presidential aspirants in Nigeria like Professor Moghalu, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, Fela Durotoye, Omoyele Sowore should be the farthest. And where are the likes of Sanusi Lamido and Professor Charles Soludo? Where quality of ideas matter, shaku-shaku dance steps at campaign rallies will never pass as a proxy for robust policy debates - even Omoluabi is in shaku-shaku dance rehearsal mode, I heard. As usual, as the campaign season begins, the two major political parties will again serenade us with wild gyrations and incoherent vituperations targeted at opponents (dead or alive) with little or no focus on policy issues in scenes reminiscent of rancorous wresting contests in ancient Rome. We can do better than this. That there is a crying need for root and branch reform of the Nigerian economy is abundantly clear with over 70 million trapped in grinding poverty. Therefore, the minimum we expect from current and aspiring political leaders are concrete steps on how to resuscitate the comatose economy, bridge the huge level of infrastructure gap, rescue the educational system from total collapse, reverse the cyclical fiscal deterioration and avoid fiscal expansions that have little or no bearing with the state of infrastructure and social-economic well-being. Pray, how can any serious country lay claim to economic transformation when it expends over one hundred percent of public revenue on recurrent expenditure and total allocation by MDAs for newspapers in the annual ritual called budget rivals the entire

Buhari

revenue from sale of newspapers by local media organisations (does this make sense to you? I leave it for you to figure out). Let’s be clear, this is not to suggest that political leaders must be world-renowned economic experts. However, such a person must be sufficiently equipped with the knowledge of the workings of a modern economy, understands the primacy of structural transformation and the use of appropriate policy choices

In saner climes where quality of ideas matter, by now the queue behind new breed of presidential aspirants in Nigeria like Professor Moghalu, Dr Obadiah MailaďŹ a, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, Fela Durotoye, Omoyele Sowore should be the farthest. And where are the likes of Sanusi Lamido and Professor Charles Soludo? Where quality of ideas matter, shaku-shaku dance steps at campaign rallies will never pass as a proxy for robust policy debates - even Omoluabi is in shakushaku dance rehearsal mode, I heard

to cultivate and promote the kind of complexity that creates a virile economy, guarantees long term sustainability with a view to inclusive prosperity. In sum, the capacity to conceptualize the future economy, where key developmental indicators in Nigeria are consistent with what obtains in other prosperous nations, is a sine qua non. In this age, no serious country dwells in the triumphalism of exportation of a few tubers of yam as a mark of economic diversification, assuming such claim is even true. Today’s knowledge economy does not lend itself to the tokenism of commodity-to-commodity diversification. Lifting millions of youths from the poverty trap requires much more than simply focusing on low value products. Agriculture in critical in providing food sufficiency and security. Indeed, an economy that cannot substantially feed itself has little capacity for external competitiveness but to compete on a global scale and to provide the kind of jobs that will push unemployment rate to lower digit region requires a much more complex economy. The sort of rapid economic growth and steep reduction in unemployment witnessed in developed and emerging economies has consistently followed a discernable path and that is the path of structural economic complexity. Economic transformation is driven by policies and policies must bear relevance to the existential realities of an economy. The quest for structural transformation and economic growth requires new perspectives etched in the understanding that our economy needs growth models that underpin the peculiarities of our environment and national interest as Professor Kingsley Moghalu rightly concludes in his book “Emerging Africa: How the Global Economy’s Last Frontier Can Prosper and Matter�. Crucially, we sometimes need to interrogate and dispel age long economic orthodoxies or where necessary, reframe it. This again brings into focus the near fixation on Mundell-Fleming as the reference model and proximate policy tool for exchange rate management and macroeconomic stability in Nigeria by some economic experts, intellectuals and opinion merchants each time there is fiscal crisis in Nigeria always as a result

of oil price slump. For the uninitiated, the classical Mundell-Fleming model suggests that weak domestic currency encourages investment and spurs export and therefore brings about macroeconomic stability. It is true that the model has some validity, albeit with major drawbacks, one of which is its lack of general applicability. Hence, allusion to Mundell-Fleming without corresponding reference to Marshall-Lerner condition either smacks of intellectual dishonesty or is a conscious propagation of a single story with its inherent danger (apologies to Chimamanda Adichie). Marshall-Lerner condition essentially states that for weak domestic currency to spur investment and export, the sum of the elasticities of demand for imports and exports must be greater than one. Clearly, in the case of most developing economies, import and export demands are generally inelastic due to underlying structural constraints and this does not require complex economic models to appreciate. Empirical studies have shown that while firms in developed economies including some parts of Asia increase investment when the domestic currency weakens, the reverse is the case for firms operating in countries with low degree of structural complexity. It has further been established that in economies where capital goods are mostly imported, a stronger real exchange rate reduces investment costs for domestic firms. Therefore, devaluation-export linkage assumption is not likely to hold (in fact does not hold) particularly for structurally weak economies. It may even worsen the fiscal condition of an economy and accentuate macroeconomic instability. Meanwhile, as part of the economic diversification debate, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, one of the presidential aspirants in the forthcoming elections, recently stirred the hornet’s nest when he launched “cannabis for export� campaign in view of its forex potentials. Though illegal, cannabis is cultivated in some southern states in Nigeria. It is popularly known in the local parlance as igbo, Indian hemp, kaya, wee-wee, abana, morocco, ganja, grass, shunk, lala amongst other cryptic appellations. According to online sources, Nigeria occupies the eight position on the log of highest cannabis consuming countries in the world. Perhaps unbeknownst to Sowore, Nigeria has been running a cannabis economy for decades – crude oil is the cannabis. Cannabis has the essential qualities of crude: the Indica and Sativa strains have tranquilisng and energising effect respectively - does this remind you of the high and low of oil price and the impact on the economy? We have had enough of this cannabis economy. There is no righteous reason why we are stuck in the past when other countries at the same developmental stage with Nigeria at the time of independence have literarily migrated to space. The gods are not to blame. Therefore, while all options for economic diversification should be explored, it is high time we moved beyond commodities and away from “crude economy� in our policy discussions. What I required is a robust and an integrated strategy that addresses funding of R&D, infrastructure, healthcare, public service reform, institutional capacity building and national cohesion with education as the bedrock all geared towards building a complex and virile economy. Without these, the economy will continue to hover on the point of crisis. Therein lies the role and required standard of leadership at both national and state levels that Theodore Roosevelt talked about. r(MFOO B GJOBODJBM UBY DPOTVMUBOU BOE BO FY CBOLFS QMBZT HPMG

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Olawepo-Hashim: I Will End Crony Capitalism in Nigeria Businessman and presidential candidate in the 2019 general election on the platform Peoples Trust (PT) party, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has promised to return the economy on the path of growth by floating a new economic development programme that will increase the manufacturing sector’s share of GDP to 40 percent within 10 years. Among other things, he vowed to issue executive orders to eliminate obstacles to investment and leverage sovereign instruments to give comfort to prospective investors. He spoke to James Emejo What makes you the right candidate to fix Nigeria’s economic problems? Look, I have been in business for 27 years: energy business, oil and gas, power generation, communication and public affairs. I’ve done publishing, printing etcetera. I have travelled by the grace of God and I have visited more than 29 countries- and I have lived in about two or three countries- in the West and in Asia. So, I’ve been doing business as an investor globally, creating jobs, organising investments and I do understand what investors want to see in an economy before they put their money there. It is very critical that you create an environment where people can put their money. If you put money in the hands of civil servants as the APC is doing, taking loans and putting it in the hands of civil servants, 80 percent of the money will disappear and that’s why they have taken so much loans and we’ve not seen the infrastructure because the civil servants will take the money to the foreign exchange market the next day. So the more loans they take, the more bankrupt the economy becomes. You won’t see any infrastructure on the ground. Now, the one reasonable thing to do is for you to provide sovereign notes to support investors who already have been managing wealth and resources perfectly. What they have been doing is scaring investors, fighting investors, making it difficult for those who want to invest in Nigeria and then using the balance sheet of the country to borrow and borrow and filtering the money away and putting pressure on the value of the naira. Because that’s what public spending in a corrupt system entails. On one hand, you say you have corruption, where’s the corruption? is it not in the public and civil service? And then you’re putting all the money in the public and civil service. They’re not even allowing businessmen to have money from banks. They issue out bonds and mop up all the money and put the interest rate very high and therefore banks are not willing to even lend to entrepreneurs because they think it is a big risk and there is no sovereign coverage for it. So, they’re not even taking the ordinary risks that they should take as bankers on day to day that would grow the economy and create employment because government is engaged in too much public borrowing. Which bank will give a private individual any loan when he knows that he can buy government bond and make as high as 18 per cent. So, why do you have to take risk on the economy? Everything that they’ve done, they have done everything to bankrupt the economy and the results are showing. What’s your position about Nigeria’s rising debt stock which has elicited public debate in recent times? This is my position: Nigeria is not having too much debts considering the size of the GDP. Let’s be honest with ourselves. Most middle income countries have up to 40 percent debt to GDP. Nigeria is still around 22 percent. It used to be around 12 percent before

is so high yet we have lost about $4 billion from the reserves. We have high oil price yet the Brooklyn Institute has just said that in the past four months 1.1 billion Nigerians moved into the poverty bracket. How can any sane human being explain this?

Olawepo-Hashim

Buhari came. They have moved it up, but we are still within the threshold and that is correct. So, that is not the problem. The problem is what they use the money for. That is the problem. Are you investing in projects where the money can come back? That’s the problem. So can you pay back by the project you’re investing in? Do those projects have a credible business plan to return the cash back or you’re going to be paying from future receipts from crude oil? That is the issue. If you take money to build a road to nowhere because a politician’s house is in that village and there is no economic activity

They said they want everybody to become a farmer, less than four per cent of Americans are engaged in farming. So it’s the question of what kind of farming are you talking about? You don’t need every Nigerian to be a farmer

generated in that place, how do you pay back the money? That’s a useless loan. That is number one. When you are making social investments, you can take money for social investment but do you have small scale industries locally that will supply that social investment? You can say fine, If I take money for health, I will reduce maternal mortality among others but when you take that loan who are the suppliers of the services in 5hat sector? You could say there’s lots of expenditure at the NHIS in England from the taxes that are collected but the English companies are the ones doing the beddings, they are the ones doing the bed cover, they are the ones supplying the syringes, the needles- so in a sense, social spend may be a way of government indirectly investing to spur economic activity if indeed they’re tied to the local economy. But, if you are taking the money to go and import those items, as a matter of fact, you are going to be worsening the balance of payment issues of the country. So, the question is what are you taking the loans for? I would rather use guarantees for uptake investments to the power sector and say hey, if anything fails, you have me as last resort. This government has refused to issue any guarantee even for the responsibility that they have signed up for- for investors who have committed their money. But they will rather take bonds and distribute the money to their friends in the civil service and the money will disappear. And they have refused to bring the sovereign notes in support of investment. So, they’re funding corruption. Why should our reserves be depleted in a regime of high oil price? Oil price

You have criticised the present administration’s economic diversification strategy. What would you do differently? Look, diversification into what? They said they want everybody to become a farmer, less than four per cent of Americans are engaged in farming. So it’s the question of what kind of farming are you talking about? You don’t need every Nigerian to be a farmer. You need few people with high productivity with modernise farming and agriculture that’s tied to industry and manufacturing for it to be value added. So, even their conception of diversification is very stupid. Any country where more than 10 per cent of the citizens are involved in farming must be living on the 13th century as an agrarian economy. If you are a modern economy, you shouldn’t have a high percentage of your citizen engaged in agriculture. Secondly, primary production whether it’s solid minerals export or what have you, is not the way to create value in a modern economy. You want to join Zambia to compete for copper export? The more you export, the less you earn- because you are exporting primary product. So the key of diversification is to tie the solid minerals sector, the agric sector, manufacturing and industry so they are producing for existing industry. The aim should be to have policies that would increase the share of the manufacturing sector in the economy. That is how to create sustainable job. Not to be talking about diversification to produce primary products for export because the more you export, the less you’ll earn. The more cocoa that you have in the international market, the less you’re going to get in terms of value- so, it contributes nothing. So it also shows that they don’t have any economic management strategy. The key about diversification is to make Nigeria a knowledge -based economy; increased manufacturing share of the economy. The share of manufacturing to the economy is about 11 percent; China is 40 percent. But our new economic development programme aims to make manufacturing share of the economy to be 40 percent within 10 years. That is the agenda. So if we are talking about diversification, we should be talking about how to ease doing business in Nigeria. Nigeria is the worst place to do business now because regulatory officials see investors like enemies. They are trying to show you why your investments cannot happen; looking for all the rules in the book to tell you that infrastructure that you want to build, that it’s possible to do it- instead of promoting business and making things easy. You want to build a power plant; you can build the power plant in 18 months; it will take you six years in Nigeria to apply for licence even when the Electricity Sector Reforms Act says it should not take more than three months.

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OLAWEPO-HASHIM: I WILL END CRONY CAPITALISM IN NIGERIA So do we have an SOP that’s ramming everybody- even the regulatory sector are measuring output: whether they close any infrastructure project or not, they get paid and they travel for conferences from time to time, abandon their offices and don’t attend to files and they have to wait on them until they come and there’s so much red - tape that over a simple matter, you have about 10 or 15 review officers who will never be in their offices. They are meeting like witches all the time- and no results. So because I’ve been an investor myself and I am building infrastructure, I know these issues and I am able to dismantle the obstacles within a short time. If you do that, Nigeria can net a lot of investments. As I said to some people: a recent study by the Oxford Economics and PWC about two years ago showed that in the next 10 years, $78 trillion would be spent on infrastructure worldwide by pension funds, hedge funds and all kinds of financing sources. That is about $7.8 trillion in a year. Nigeria is a destination that pulls to over 18 percent IR ordinarily on infrastructure projects- that’s very good returns for investors and every fund will like to invest in Nigeria because of the returns. What’s the problem? We can spend 10 years pushing papers for a project that should be accomplished in 18 months. So which investor wants to stay in that kind of environment even though there’s a supposed promise of high return? They will walk away and go to other places. So if we do what we need to do, we can net at least five percent of global infrastructure funds that’s estimated: that is going to be about $3.5 trillion in 10 years. Imagine that even Nigerians who are in the diaspora are very enthusiastic about investing in the country: in 2013 alone, remittances from abroad was as high as $27 billion. If we do all we need to do we can increase that to about $100 billion in a year. That would be $1 trillion investment in 10 years. We are just talking about two sources now and we are already on $4 trillion investment alone. We are not talking about tourism and all that. We have a structured new Nigerian Economic Development Programme that is targeted at infrastructure investment from private sector sources. We will leverage our sovereign instruments to give comfort to investors- not to engage in unintelligent direct borrowings. The passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill has been anticipated to transform the oil and gas sector of the economy and yet appears to have been politicised. How will your government treat this all important piece of legislation? Let me tell you, PIB or no PIB- there are existing laws that govern investments in Nigeria and PIB doesn’t need to be passed before we attract new investments. An investor is interested in how much tax am I going to pay? And you must know one thing that Nigeria is not the only oil producing country in Africa now; virtually every African country has some qualities oil or the other and I am not sure that Nigeria right now has a competitive tax policy. There are countries where in other to attract investors, the taxes you’ll pay in those countries are like half of Nigeria’s. And so when you come to Nigeria, you face so much problems with the regulatory issues; permits and applications, they’ll wait for eternity. So, you don’t need PIB to deal with those issues. So, while we are still dealing with PIB as a government, I will roll out policies to immediately deal with these ones that have nothing to do with law because there are still existing laws that are applicable and all that I want is to spur investments in that sector because to be honest with you, even the oil and gas sector in Nigeria which is the mainstay has not been managed efficiently. We

Olawepo-Hashim

have not really done projects that we should do. Even when private sector people are doing projects and they have agreed among themselves- to get regulatory approval, you will wait for three, four years- and they will be crying that they don’t have gas. There are thousands of investors who want to invest in gas. Even with the sale of power assets, stable electricity still remains a huge challenge in the country. How does your government plan to fix this critical sector of the economy? Number one, no investor will put money in a process where you cannot see traction and how your money is going to come back. And right now, the revenues are collected by the Discos and there is problem at that end because sufficient investment have not been put in that sector to put them in a position where they have the confidence of the consumers as to be able to collect revenue or revenues are collected and other people in the value chains such as generation, transmission companies, gas producers cannot get the revenue for their services. So payment issue is very key and the critical area is distribution because you find out that other categories of investors like generators, suppliers of gas to generators- they only get paid when the discos make remittances. So if you don’t fix that level, that is the bowl where everyone gets the revenue, then you can’t have any investment

No investor will put money in a process where you cannot see traction and how your money is going to come back. And right now, the revenues are collected by the Discos and there is problem at that end because sufďŹ cient investment have not been put in that sector to put them in a position where they have the conďŹ dence of the consumers

in the sector going forward. I believe that particularly the privatisation of the distribution sector has not been well handled. And government has some recourse which they should have acted upon through the BPE since they noticed that there was problem with having enough investment. They should have used the recourse they had in the agreement to correct it. So it is not a difficult thing but some people have said that some of the people running the system are also friends of those people who bought the distribution companies. So when you have a captured regulatory environment, it’s very difficult for people who err in transaction to be sanctioned. One thing I want to assure you is that I will fix that and then the reform in the sector can become recalibrated. The other point is also the question of new investments. I think the tariff we have now relatively should be able to support good investment if only we eliminate this issue of non-payment in the sector. But if you want to account for losses, maybe generators will be more comfortable with 10 cents per kilowatt which would come to about 30 cents per kilowatt per hour...but I bet you that most people, if you have to do your diesel and petrol yourself, you will be generating between N70 to N90. So I’m sure that if you can have a transparent way to measure your bill, there are people who wouldn’t mind to pay N50 rather than use diesel that would come to about N70. So I think there’s a confidence gap. We must have a fair tariff system that guarantees that investors would continue to put money in the sector. Two, we must deal with the issue of non-remittances of even what is collected and then we must correct the confidence gap between the consumer who feels that he’s being cheated in his bill or some people who even feel that power should be free service - they should not pay any bill. All these are issue that the reforms now need to address. I understand these issues and there are very simple issues but they can look very complicated when people don’t do what they need to do. Do you believe in the current social protection scheme by the Buhari-led government whereby cash is handed directly to vulnerable groups in the society? Or what better alternative programme would you offer Nigerians? I think vulnerable people can be helped more intelligently than what we have now. And I believe that acutely poor people must be the people we must immediately save from poverty

by giving them things to do that will give them more value than the small cash that is being handed to them. So we have plans to do that. What is your agenda towards tackling poverty and unemployment which remained major snare in the society? Within 90 days of being elected president, I will come out with executive orders, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that will eliminate all the obstacles to investment in Nigeria. And within the first year, as a result of doing that, we estimate that about four million jobs will be created in the economy. And it will be so consistently for 10 years. So, there will be jobs not handouts that will take four million people from unemployment market each year. And this will be kick-started within 90 days through the SOPs, executive orders and critical appointments that I will make in regulatory sectors because I believe that it’s the private sector that can create sustainable jobs and what I need to do is to remove the obstacles to job creation. I can do it because I have been creating jobs for 27 years. People who have never created jobs before don’t know how to create jobs and most of the people including the incumbent who are running to be president again have been parasiting on government since their early twenties; they have been collecting salaries, pensions- some of them multiple pensions even when they claim that they’re businessmen; the nature of their businesses where businesses they were organised for them through political contacts and they now masquerade as private sector operative. That is what they called chronic capitalism- when some people get concessions, get special privileges on the economy to the detriment of their competitors. I am going to end the reign of crony capitalism where some businessmen in cohort with government officials edge competitors and some people look like superstars. I will create a truly competitive economy where any investor does not need to know any president, any governor before he can make investment in Nigeria and that’s the environment that we need that will create a $4 trillion economy in 10 years and move Nigeria from a GDP of $510 billion which was the highest in 2013 to $4 trillion economy and bring Nigeria to an income bracket per capita that will be comparable to Malaysia- a country that Nigeria was at par or one step ahead at its independence. So I’m not setting an objective and a task which is unachievable.

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THISDAYt THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018

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T H I S D AY ˾ ,NOVEMBER 22, 2018

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HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

ÜÙßÚ ÏËÞßÜÏÝ ÎÓÞÙÜ˝ ÒÓÏ×ÏÖÓÏ äÏÙÌÓ ×ËÓÖ chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, Tel: 08152252325

Celebrating Unsung Heroes of LUTH Healthcare personnel are sometimes seen by average Nigerians as unkind and uncaring. But behind the stereotype lies a crop of workers who go above and beyond the call of duty to save the lives of their patients. Martins Ifijeh examines and celebrates such unsung heroes in Lagos University Teaching Hospital

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n a country where healthcare personnel are often seen as the most unkind set of workforce in Nigeria, hardly is the humanity served by this crop of workers noticed because of the stereotype already existing in the minds of patients. To many, these healthcare personnel are seen as those responsible for several complications occurring in hospitals; they give injections ‘without minding’ how painful the piercing discomforts the patients; they do diagnosis and then declare the patient only has three months to live; they do a test and tell you cancer cells are growing in your system and that you may need at least N5million to treat it even if you are poor. To others, they are the bringers of the ultimate bad news. They tell you your loved ones are dead, turn their back, and then face the next patient; others wonder why healthcare workers don’t cry with them when their loved ones are gone. In their minds, these set of people are heartless, lacking in empathy. But away from the stereotype healthcare personnel have been labeled, lies a people who are giving their best to save others, even with the uphill condition they face in the health sector. Many work all night so patients do not die during the day; others have their own health, financial and family challenges to contend with but mask themselves so patients do not see that side of them and lose hope. Some do not see their loved ones often, because the hospital has become their first home. In all of the sacrifices they make, the profession does not give them the leverage to talk about the good they do or how much work they put into saving lives and bringing new ones on board through childbirth. Like teachers, our society believes their reward is in heaven, hence not meant to receive accolades in the course of their jobs here on earth. Beyond the Call of Duty As THISDAY looks at the flipside of the stereotype healthcare personnel have been subjected to, a focus on these crops of workers from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, shows that many even go beyond the call of duty so patients can live. They slowly leave out their youthful and social lives so patients do not die from pre-eclampsia, childbirth, cancer, pneumonia, Lassa fever and malaria, amongst other ailments. For instance, in LUTH, many doctors have had to donate their own blood so women having internal bleeding during childbearing could

In many cases, we write to the hospital management through social works, so we can foot the bills of indigent patients, who after receiving treatments are unable to pay for the cost. In another instance, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), LUTH, Prof. Chris Bode has had to pay for treatment of patients during his routine checks on patients across different wards

Some of LUTH’s unsung heroes: Benedetto, Tolulope and Kehinde

Ephraim and Ochuwa

Going beyond the call of duty to save lives

live. They have shared bills of patients within themselves so that patients can buy drugs, get treated and enjoy healthy lives. Others have

had to spend their hard earned little monthly pay to buy walking sticks and wheelchairs so patients are not immobile when discharged.

Unsung Heroes One of such unsung heroes is the Senior Registrar, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, LUTH,

T H I S D AY ˾ ,NOVEMBER 22, 2018

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HEALTH CELEBRATING UNSUNG HEROES OF LUTH Dr. Osunwusi Benedetto, who at one point pleaded with his team members to volunteer in saving the life of an otherwise dying woman by donating their own blood. The woman had lost over four litres of blood due to internal bleeding, and LUTH blood bank was exhausted due to high demand of blood by other patients. A physiologic person has only about 6.5 litres of blood, which means even if what was remaining in the woman amounts to 2.5 litres of blood, there was no way she might have lived beyond a certain amount of time pending when blood is sourced for within Lagos for her, coupled with the fact that the family had no single money on them for treatment or even to purchase blood outside LUTH. Benedetto could have simply insisted on doing his official job, and refer the woman to other hospitals where she would get blood, but his conscience and that of his team members wouldn’t consider those options. “This is coupled with the fact that the hospital has insisted no health worker must turn his or her back on patients no matter how bad the situation is, or even if they are unable to pay for treatment in cases of emergency,’ says the gynaecologist, who spoke to THISDAY as one of those randomly picked to share their thought. He said in many of such cases, especially when he knew the person may die if nothing extra was done, he often went beyond the call of duty to save lives. “In the case of this particular patient, my team members and I rallied among ourselves for blood. Eventually, some of us were eligible to donate, so we went straight into the process and gave her some pints of blood. That line of action was what her body needed first before any form of treatment instituted would work. The woman within days was hale and hearty, and I had this fulfillment that we were able to save her. “A week after, the woman brought baskets of gift for us, but we simply told her we were only doing our jobs, hence there was no need for them,” said Benedetto. In another instance, a woman with a deranged body system with septic arthritis and several other issues was brought in for emergency, but with the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) already full, Benedetto and his team members could not let her go because she had no dime for treatment. “We approached the hospital management and we were graciously allowed to do the work of ICU for 48 hours. We abandoned our homes, sleep and other schedules so we could do the work of the machine.” He said despite the fact that they became human ICUs, the hospital gave the patient five pints of blood without replacement; a gesture he believes if rendered to every patient, the hospital blood bank will dry up. “Two of my team members thereafter donated two pints of blood as replacement, while we contributed money among ourselves for her drugs. She left the hospital in health,’’ he added. Benedetto believes these were just few among the sacrifices rendered daily by his team and other healthcare personnel to patients, especially the indigent ones. For Consultant Obstetrics and Gynaecologists, LUTH, Dr. Babah Ochuwa, many doctors, nurses and other healthcare personnel make similar sacrifices at their expense just so patients can get the best. Sharing one of his experiences, he recalled how a woman who had had three previous caesarian sessions was rushed to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit of LUTH due to complications from her present pregnancy. In the course of carrying this fourth pregnancy, the said lady did not register for antenatal anywhere and did not put precautions in place considering that anyone who has had three caesarian sessions was at risk of endangering her life and that of her baby if she eventually becomes pregnant again. He said while she was brought in at week 34 of pregnancy, her placenta was already severed prematurely and she was bleeding profusely. “We realised her blood type was rare, which made it much more difficult to replace the lost blood. At that point, we were at a fix, whether to allow her bleed to death or device something outside the box”, the consultant said. While the patient was due for urgent surgery to rectify the severed placenta, she had no blood left in her to sustain the surgery. But the humanity in the health workers didn’t allow them fold

CMD LUTH, Prof. Chris Bode

their hands. They did all they could until she got enough blood needed for the surgery. “We went into the surgery without her family depositing a kobo for her treatment.” Ochuwa said in many cases he has had to pay for drugs for patients out of his pocket so they do not die. “I can’t count how many times I have donated my blood for patients. I have had to stay in the hospital for days without seeing my family because I feel I am responsible to my patients. This is one thing LUTH leadership has taught us, and every doctor you see here has made unimaginable sacrifices,” he added. For Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, LUTH, Dr. Ohazurike Ephraim, the narrative is not any different. She said in addition to physically providing funds, blood or extra time, health workers have also, at some point, been infected with communicable diseases in the course of their jobs. She said: “In many cases, we write to the hospital management through social works, so we can foot the bills of indigent patients, who after receiving treatments are unable to pay for the cost. In another instance, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), LUTH, Prof. Chris Bode has had to pay for treatment of patients during his routine checks on patients across different wards.” The senior staff of the hospital also spoke glowingly of the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, Prof. Olufemi Fasanmade, who she said has become a father to indigent patients in the hospital. Taking Advantage of the Gesture However, she said many patients are now taking advantage of the gesture to say they won’t release money for treatment, adding that this on the long run would affect the hospital because it needs every fund in its purse to effectively run the hospital. She said: “Few weeks ago, an incidence in the ICU accumulated a bill of N1.4 million despite other private donations from doctors and other health workers. The pregnant patient came in moribund, which means she was just minutes away from dying. She was brought in by

someone who claimed to be a Good Samaritan and had met her by the road side gasping for breath, not knowing the man was her relative. He brought her in with the intention of not paying for her treatment. “The case was an emergency, and there was no history to work with. With no ‘relative’ to work with, we took her to emergency and operated on her. By morning, the person who claimed to be a Good Samaritan disappeared, and then her husband, a spiritualist came in. But having accumulated a bill of N1.4 million, we asked him how he intended to pay, he in turn told us he was interested in knowing what the doctors will do to clear the bill. I was surprised. After then the man ran away. Before we knew it, the patient also absconded. “Even if she didn’t abscond, there was no way we would have held her against her will. So many patients take advantage of this gesture from hospital management and staff because we have continued to err on the side of compassion. No day passes in this hospital without having an indigent patient in my ward alone in LUTH,” she said. She also narrated how recently, the CMD donated his personal funds to a patient whose rhesus factor was negative, but her relative pocketed the money. “After the CMD left, a relative of the woman still pocketed the money and denied that anyone gave him money. It took the intervention of health personnel there before he brought out the same money given to him by the CMD for treatment to save his own family member’s life.” She said patient know they have to pay their bills, but they just believe once you are in LUTH you are not supposed to pay for bills. “There is also another case of a man who held on to N30, 000 in his pocket while his wife was dying. As at the time the wife was suffering brain death, the man had that money in his pocket, but refused to bring it out. It was when he saw that the woman had lost it that he brought out the money, and at that point it was too late,” she added.

Holding Patients against their Will The consultant said as painful as it seems, some patients do not like paying for services rendered, given that it was against hospital policy for patients to be held against their will. “We do not have wards where we detain patients. If we want to prosecute those who owe us, they will run into several hundreds,” she said. Health Insurance as Way Forward On the way forward, the CMD said while it is encouraged in the hospital for doctors and other health personnel to go beyond the call of duty to save lives, and for the hospital to support indigent patients, the practices were not sustainable, adding that if it continues, the hospital might end up packing up one day because the fund for maintaining the hospital is now channeled into paying hospital bills. He said the way forward was health insurance, adding that all over the world healthcare is being paid for, whether by the patient or by pool from insurance. He said there was nowhere in the world where good healthcare and free healthcare work together. “Somebody must fund it in a way. That is why we are advocating for all Nigerians to be under health insurance scheme, so that even if the patient is poor and unable to pay for healthcare, there will be someone else somewhere paying for the bills. “This morning I have waved N350, 000 for some patients. Monthly, we wave millions of naira, and some will tell us they will pay over a year, and we let them, but often than not, you won’t see them again. This practice is not sustainable because if we continue to use our running cost to pay for treatment, soon there may no longer be LUTH. “It is somehow frustrating that after rendering services, we will now be the ones to pay for patients’ treatment. We are not in the business of making profit, but we must recover cost. “So the cheapest way is health insurance. All our cars have insurance, but less than five per cent of Nigerians have health insurance. Within six months, at least one person in a family must have had something with the hospital. This makes health insurance very important for every family,” he said.

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THISDAYt THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018

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T H U R S DAY Ëž NOVEMBER 22, 2018

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

‘Improved Regulation, Competition, Game Changers for Africa’ Obinna Chima The Director-General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mr Babatunde Irukera has called for robust regulation and stronger competition as a core strategy in the quest for Africa’s economic renaissance. According to a statement, the CPC boss made the call during a recent presentation at the Africa Policy Forum of the Leeds University Centre of Africa Studies (LUCAS) of the University of Leeds. Describing Africa’s market as its greatest economic asset, Irukera advocated for the implementation of simple widely acknowledged principles of asset management and strategies to maximise the benefits from markets, in order to overcome poverty and achieve significant economic growth. He noted that “asset management essentially refers to a systematic approach to governance and realisation of value.� In the presentation titled “Africa’s Emerging Market: A matter of Asset and Access,� Irukera stated that the increasing value of the African market was underscored by rising consumer spending across the continent which was about $1.4 trillion in 2015, and projected to reach $2.1 trillion by 2025.

out of Africa, there should be a stronger focus on robust regulation and competition regimes to overcome current challenges and maximise existing opportunities. He stated further: “Coordinated policy and execution that recognise our asset, and regulate access in a manner that advances our causes and economies is the curve we need to turn to see continent wide growth. “The kind of growth that connects the numbers to people and lives such as moving people up from poverty to shared prosperity. “Therein exactly lies the secret, rule and purpose of governance. At the heart of this is promoting a robust market and asset management modified only by market regulations that catalyse but protect,� he stated. According to Irukera, the positive impact of improved competition and regulation regimes on the continent are real and are felt by all strata of society from the highest levels down to the lowest rungs. To highlight the gains that can be derived from tackling anti-competitive practices and reforming policies to enable competition, Irukera cited figures from the World Bank and other sources.

This growth, he said was driven by key factors such as a young and growing population, rise in incomes, rapid urbanisation and widespread adoption of technology. Irukera, cited statistics to underscored the burgeoning population which is driving the growing expansion and importance of its market as including 16 per cent of global population (1.2 billion) living in Africa; more than half of global population growth between now and 2050 expected to occur in Africa; and Africa’s population to reach 2.5 billion by 2050 (more than double of current population). He said: “Considering population and age, it is clear that Africa’s greatest assets are its people and skills. Sadly, they are also our greatest export. “Africans are key applicants to nations with skills acquisition immigration policies which focus on highly skilled migrants, whether it’s USA, Canada or U.K. Essentially these countries benefit from people who have acquired certain skills they need without the time and resource required to invest in development,� he added. Irukera, posited that rather than engage in unproductive handwringing over the export of talent and skills

CBN Intervenes in Forex Market with $210m The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday intervened in the interbank foreign exchange market by injecting the sum of $210 million into the market. The central bank offered the sum of $100 million in the wholesale segment, while the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) segment received the sum of $55 million. Similarly, the invisibles segment, comprising tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA),

among others, also received a $55 million boost. The Director, Corporate Communications at the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, while confirming the figures, said the CBN was pleased with the state of the forex market, adding that the Bank would continue to intervene in order to sustain the liquidity in the market and guarantee the international value of the naira. He said the Bank was determined to achieve its objective of exchange rate stability, thus

the continued injection in the foreign exchange market. According to him, the level of transparency in the market was also a confidence boost for the market. The CBN in its intervention last week injected the sum of $318.03m and CNY 62.18m into the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS). Meanwhile, the naira continued to maintain its stability in the forex market, exchanging at an average of N361/$1 in the BDC segment of the market yesterday.

Ecobank Supports Orphanages

R-L: Natural Medicine Practitioner, Mr. Olufemi Kusa; Family Bond Nurse, Julie Mogbo; Nutritionist and Health Coach, Daniella Akpakwu and husband of convener, Mr Akpakwu, at the Diabetes Demystified Event held in Lagos‌ recently

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

MARCH 2018 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)

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‹

Nume Ekeghe Employees and management of Ecobank Nigeria recently displayed their commitment to their local communities by supporting orphanages in Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu and Abuja. This was to mark the Ecobank Day 2018. The bank staff gave out food and household items to the selected orphanages. The staff also spent time with the children of the centre. The Ecobank Day was set aside by the bank for its staff across Africa to serve in communities in which the pan-African bank operates. This year’s event, the sixth in

the series with the theme: “Supporting Young Lives - it’s your day to make a difference,� had an internal initiative where the bank’s employees were encouraged to turn their attention from just servicing customer needs towards their local community. Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan, who was guest at the Modupe Cole Memorial Child Care and Treatment Home, Lagos spoke of how important it is for businesses and their staff to give back to their local communities. He added: “I am so pleased that we at Ecobank Nigeria have the opportunity to demonstrate our compassion and support for

orphans. “We are by this able to touch children’s lives directly with the provisions and other items donated to the homes as well as the short but memorable time we’ve shared with the children.� Akinwuntan explained that the bank decided to support the school because of their antecedents in catering for deprived people, making them better citizens and more useful to the society. “We thank the management and staff of the school sincerely for the good work. We are pleased to mark our sixth Ecobank Day with at the school,� he added.

Group Holds Forum on Peace The president and founder of Asabe Shehu Yar’Adua Foundation, Dr.Hajiya Asabe Shehu Yar’Adua , the presidential Candidate of the All Grassroots Alliance, Chuks Nwachukwu, Ambassador to the United Nations on Sustainable Development Goals and Executive Director, Community Agenda for Peace, Barrister Phillips Obuesi, the Principal Business

Development Manager, Service Provider Resourcery Plc, Olajide Oshingbade, are among speakers for the second edition of national peace speeches and drama day. A statement revealed that Eze Ngozi Ibekwe would be the royal guest on that day while the Chairman, Today’s Car Limited, Albert Ezenwane would be among the expected guests of honour.

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

The topic for the programme is: “Treating the Threat to National Security: Social-Political Cum Ethno-Religious Crises Perspectives.� The event is scheduled to hold Friday, November 23 in Lagos and would also feature a scene performance from ‘Cry for Change,’ a play text on political, ethnic and religious crises in Nigeria.

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT TUESDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2018

The price of OPEC basket of ďŹ fteen crudes stood at $64.02 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $65.46 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

41

T H U R S DAY ˾ NOVEMBER 22, 2018

MARKET NEWS

Vetiva S&P Bond ETF Investors Receive N3 Distribution Goddy Egene Vetiva Fund Managers Limited has announced the final distribution of N3 per unit of the Vetiva S&P Bond ETF for the period ended 30, June 2018. This would be the fourth distribution made by the Vetiva S&P Bond ETF since its listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in October 2016. The fund had made an interim distribution of N2.50 per unit in respect of

the same corresponding period in 2017 and a total distribution of N15 per unitholder for the full year of 2017. The VS&P Bond ETF is the first bond ETF to be listed on the NSE and the FMDQ and is designed to track the performance of the S&P/FMDQ Nigeria Sovereign Bond Index. The Index tracks the performance of local currency denominated sovereign debt publicly issued by the Federal Government of

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R

DEALS

Nigeria. Speaking on the distribution, the Director, Asset Management of Vetiva Fund Managers Limited, Mrs. Oyelade Eigbe, said: “The distributions are in line with the structure of the fund to remit distributions to Unit Holders twice a year.” According to her, the Vetiva S&P Bond ETF continues to represent a convenient investment vehicle for exposure to Nigerian Federal Government

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Sovereign Bonds. “Prior to now, access to federal government long dated securities, in practical terms, has been restricted to institutions who can buy or sell wholesale lots of these securities. “Even for individuals who purchase these securities from the primary market, avenues to sell and trade at will are restricted. “The Vetiva S&P Nigerian Sovereign Bond ETF, however, gives all investors exposure to

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

Federal Government Bonds for less than N200 per unit. This, with the ability to buy or sell at any time on the stock exchange, creates a convenient platform for every Nigerian to save and invest for the future,” she explained. Vetiva Fund Managers Limited, which is a subsidiary of Vetiva Capital Management Limited, also manages the Vetiva Banking ETF, Vetiva Consumer Goods ETF, Vetiva Industrial Goods ETF and the

O F

VG 30 ETF. These ETFs track the performance of the NSE Banking Index, NSE Consumer Goods Index, NSE Industrial Goods Index and the NSE 30 Index respectively. Meanwhile, trading at the stock market returned to bearish mode yesterday as the NSE All-Share Index depreciated by 0.78 per cent to close at 31,969.79 compared with the appreciation of 0.51 per cent recorded on Monday.

2 1 / 1 1 / 2 0 1 8 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

˾ THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2018

42

dŚƵƌƐĚĂLJ͕ EŽǀĞŵďĞƌ ϮϮŶĚ͕ ϮϬϭϴ

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

ThisDay Afrinvest Sheds 88bps zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͕ ƚŚĞ dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ƐŚĞĚ ϴϴďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

1,331.55 points as investors͛ ƐĞůů ŽīƐ ŝŶ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďĞůůǁĞƚŚĞƌƐ - ZENITH (-0.4%), GUARANTY (-3.0%) and

Ticker

DANGCEM (-1.7%) - ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘ dŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϰϮ͘Ϯй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘ ^Ğůů KīƐ ŝŶ ĞůůǁĞƚŚĞƌƐ ƌĂŐ >ŽĐĂů ŽƵƌƐĞ͙ ^/ ŽǁŶ

78bps dŚĞ ůŽĐĂů ďŽƵƌƐĞ ƐŚĞĚ ϳϴďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ ϯϭ͕ϵϲϵ͘ϴ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ŽŶ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ŽĨ ƐĞůů ŽīƐ ŝŶ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďĞůůǁĞƚŚĞƌƐ - DANGCEM (-1.7%), GUARANTY (-3.0%) and ETI (- 3.1%) - in yesterday͛Ɛ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ͘ Ɛ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ͕ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ĨĞůů ďLJ EϵϮ͘ϮďŶ ƚŽ Eϭϭ͘ϳƚŶ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ůŽƐƐ ǁŽƌƐĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ -ϭϲ͘ϰй͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ϲϬ͘ϱй ĂŶĚ ϵϱ͘Ϭй ƚŽ Ϯϯϳ͘ϴŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ Eϯ͘ϱďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ OANDO ;ϱϴ͘ϲŵ units), ZENITH ;Ϯϰ͘Ϭŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ĂŶĚ & D ;Ϯϭ͘ϲŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ ǁĞƌĞ GUARANTY ;ϳϱϵ͘ϲŵͿ͕ ZENITH ;Eϱϳϳ͘ϲďŶͿ ĂŶĚ ^d E / ;Eϰϳϳ͘ϰďŶͿ͘

ƵůůŝƐŚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ďƵůůŝƐŚ ĂƐ ϯ ŽĨ ϱ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŐƌĞĞŶ͘ dŚĞ Kŝů Θ Gas and Insurance indices advanced 1.1% and 0.3% ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ

ŽŶ

ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ

ŽĨ

ďƵLJ

ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚƐ

ŝŶ

DK /> (+10.0%) and WZ ^d/' ;нϵ͘ϴйͿ͘ dŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ƚƌĂŝůĞĚ͕ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŶŐ ďLJ Ϭ͘Ϯй ĂƐ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ ŽĨ gains in /Ed Z t (+1.8%) and &>KhZD/>> ;нϯ͘ϯйͿ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŇŝƉ ƐŝĚĞ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ƐŚĞĚ Ϯ͘ϲй ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƐĞůů-ŽīƐ ŝŶ DANGCEM (-1.7%) and t W K (ϲ͘ϯйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚĞdž ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ďLJ ϭ͘ϲй ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ GUARANTY (-3.0%) and ETI (-3.1%).

Current Price

Price Price Previous Current Change Change Price YTD Index to Weighting Change Date

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 1,331.55

ROA

P/E

P/BV

-13.7%

33.2%

19.4%

7.3%

6.0x

0.7x

6.7%

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

35.85

-3.0%

21.8%

-12.0%

-11.6%

34.1%

5.6%

5.3x

2.0x

7.4%

18.7%

2

Zenith Bank PLC

24.00

-0.4%

14.1%

-6.4%

-7.4%

23.7%

3.4%

4.1x

1.0x

11.4%

24.3%

85.00

0.0%

6.6%

-37.0%

-37.1%

13.8%

6.4%

28.5x

4.0x

4.4%

3.5%

1,500.00

0.0%

9.0%

-3.6%

-3.6%

85.8%

26.3%

27.1x

21.1x

3.2%

3.7%

3

Nigerian Brew eries PLC Nestle Nigeria PLC

5

Dangote Cement PLC

6

FBN Holdings Plc

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ

-1.7%

6.3%

-13.0%

-13.0%

20.1%

9.8%

20.8x

4.4x

5.3%

4.8%

7.55

-0.7%

5.5%

-14.2%

-14.1%

6.6%

0.8%

5.4x

0.4x

3.4%

18.5%

7

Access Bank PLC

7.70

-0.6%

3.8%

-26.3%

-27.4%

14.1%

1.7%

3.2x

0.5x

8.4%

31.2%

8

United Bank for Africa PLC

7.85

0.6%

3.9%

-23.8%

-24.6%

15.4%

1.8%

3.6x

0.6x

10.9%

28.1%

9

Ecobank Transnational Inc

15.50

-3.1%

3.5%

-8.8%

-4.7%

12.1%

1.0%

4.9x

0.6x

10

SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

652.70

0.0%

3.7%

6.8%

4.2%

25.9%

15.3%

2.8x

0.7x

2.8%

35.1% 13.5%

ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůĂƐƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ ϭϬ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƚĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ϮϮ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƌƐ͘ dŚĞ ďĞƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁĞƌĞ DK /> (+10.0%), WZ ^d/' ;нϵ͘ϵйͿ ĂŶĚ UNIONDAC ;нϴ͘ϳйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ UNITY (-ϴ͘ϲййͿ͕ : / E< (ϴ͘ϮйͿ ĂŶĚ t W K (-ϲ͘ϯйͿ ůĞĚ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ͘ /Ŷ ůŝŶĞ ǁŝƚŚ ŽƵƌ

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

50.00

4.2%

4.1%

20.5%

22.2%

35.7%

4.6%

7.4x

2.4x

2.0%

12

Unilever Nigeria PLC

39.50

0.0%

2.8%

-3.7%

-1.8%

24.7%

11.5%

18.4x

2.7x

1.3%

5.4%

13

Guinness Nigeria PLC

74.00

0.0%

2.1%

-21.3%

-21.3%

8.8%

5.0%

19.9x

1.8x

2.5%

5.0% -43.2%

14

Lafarge Africa PLC

15.00

-6.3%

0.6%

-66.6%

-66.6%

-53.7%

-7.9%

1.0x

9.6%

15

Fidelity Bank PLC

1.98

-1.0%

1.2%

-19.5%

-23.3%

11.3%

1.5%

2.6x

0.3x

5.6%

16

Oando PLC

5.10

0.0%

1.3%

-14.9%

-14.9%

10.9%

1.7%

4.2x

0.3x

-0.8%

0.9%

-35.5%

-36.6%

32.6%

16.4%

5.1x

1.5x

13.6%

19.4%

4.0%

13.8%

5.3%

15.7% 18.0%

17

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

12.90

18

Okomu Oil Palm PLC

75.75

0.0%

1.4%

11.9%

11.9%

39.3%

29.7%

7.2x

2.5x

19

International Brew eries PLC

30.75

1.8%

0.5%

-43.6%

-44.1%

24.6%

7.4%

32.2x

7.3x

20

Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

18.60

3.3%

0.5%

-35.9%

-35.9%

7.6%

2.3%

6.4x

0.5x

LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͕ ǁĞ ŚŽǁĞǀĞƌ ĚŽ ŶŽƚ ƌƵůĞ ŽƵƚ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƐƐŝďŝůŝƚLJ ŽĨ ďĂƌŐĂŝŶ ŚƵŶƟŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƟĞƐ ŝŶ ƚŽŵŽƌƌŽǁ͛s trading session ǁŚŝůĞ ŵĂŝŶƚĂŝŶŝŶŐ ŽƵƌ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ŽƵƚůŽŽŬ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŶĞĂƌ ƚĞƌŵ͘

Afrinvest Securities Limited (RC 603 315) (A Dealing Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange)

38.7% 23.5%

3.1%

21

Transnational Corp of Nigeria

1.17

-0.8%

0.5%

-19.9%

-20.9%

13.6%

3.0%

5.6x

0.7x

1.7%

22

UAC of Nigeria PLC

9.50

0.0%

0.4%

-43.8%

-43.8%

1.4%

0.6%

74.5x

0.4x

6.8%

23

Diamond Bank PLC

0.86

-3.4%

0.3%

-42.7%

-45.2%

-5.8%

-0.7%

-13.2%

-13.2%

34.6%

7.5%

7.0x

2.2x

8.5%

14.4%

-4.4%

6.7%

1.0%

2.5x

0.2x

6.5%

40.3%

5.5x

1.8x

5.0%

24

Total Nigeria PLC

25

FCMB Group Plc

26

11 PLC

27

Forte Oil PLC

199.50

0.0%

0.5%

1.51

-2.6%

0.6%

165.00

10.0%

0.5%

-15.2%

-15.2%

38.0%

16.8%

19.00

0.0%

0.2%

-56.3%

-54.8%

29.7%

3.0%

0.1x

1.3% -81.6%

1.5x

18.1% -11.0%

28

PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

9.00

0.0%

0.2%

-56.3%

-57.4%

0.9x

1.6%

29

Cadbury Nigeria PLC

9.20

-3.7%

0.3%

-41.3%

-41.0%

4.7%

1.9%

32.1x

1.5x

1.7%

3.1%

30

Presco PLC

62.15

-6.2%

0.4%

-9.3%

-9.3%

37.0%

24.8%

2.5x

0.8x

3.2%

40.7%

31

NASCON Allied Industries PLC

18.00

0.0%

0.4%

-2.7%

-6.3%

47.0%

17.5%

9.4x

4.2x

8.3%

10.7%

32

UPDC Real Estate Investment Tr

8.10

0.0%

0.3%

-19.0%

-19.0%

0.7x

6.8%

33

Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

5.05

0.0%

0.3%

-35.3%

-32.8%

5.3%

1.0%

9.2x

0.5x

34

Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

21.35

0.0%

0.3%

-23.8%

-23.8%

17.3%

1.8%

5.9x

0.9x

4.2x

35

Sterling Bank PLC

1.61

0.0%

0.4%

49.1%

42.5%

10.6%

1.1%

36

Dangote Flour Mills Plc

6.00

0.0%

0.1%

-50.6%

-50.6%

0.0%

0.0%

37

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Niger

13.25

0.0%

0.2%

-38.7%

-38.7%

12.1%

7.2%

38

Chemical and Allied Products P

26.60

0.0%

0.2%

-21.8%

-25.5%

66.2%

30.2%

39

Beta Glass PLC

62.10

0.0%

0.2%

21.0%

21.0%

17.7%

11.5%

7.5x

40

Transcorp Hotels Plc

6.10

0.0%

0.1%

-15.4%

-15.4%

6.9%

3.8%

11.9x

10.9% 4.7%

16.9% 23.6%

0.4x

1.2%

0.8x

3.3%

10.6x

1.9x

56.8%

9.4%

12.4x

8.3x

7.3%

8.0%

1.2x

1.7%

13.3%

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11.6%

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Investment Research

Brokerage Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde |

Bolaji Fajenyo | bfajenyo@afrinvest.com

Jolomi Odonghanro | jodonghanro@afrinvest.com

romotunde@afrinvest.com

43

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; ͺͺË&#x153; ͺ͸͚͜

MARKET NEWS

Senate Committee States Commitment to Improved Capital Market Investments Goddy Egene The Senate Committee on Capital Market has stated its willingness and commitment to encourage legislations that will improve investments in the capital market by ensuring the regulator is able to perform its responsibilities efficiently. The Deputy Chairman of the committee, Senator Foster Ogola stated this when members of the committee visited the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

in Abuja as part of its oversight function. Ogola stated that the senators were on oversight visit which is done periodically to assess what the commission is doing and see how the areas it needs support. He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are here to look at your performances within the year, challenges you encountered and explore ways the Senate can help to make you perform better as the Apex Regulator of the Nigerian capital market.

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return. An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sharesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on the

â&#x20AC;&#x153;As the apex regulator of the capital market, we expect inputs from you on ways to deepen the market and make it more vibrant and if there are ways we can assist with relevant legislations we are willing to do so to grow the capital market and ultimately our economy.â&#x20AC;? Ogola reiterated the determination of the Senate to make laws that will encourage new listings as well as help to revamp the capital market and make it more vibrant.

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 1911-2018, unless otherwise stated.

Earlier in her remarks, Acting Director General of the SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk commended the senators on the efforts they have made so far in ensuring adequate legislation for the capital market. Uduk, however, appealed to the lawmakers to assist in ensuring that government owned companies list on the exchange. This, she said, will boost investorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; confidence as well as attract investments from foreigners.

She said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have very big government corporations that can be listed and that will give foreigners comfort to list too on the exchange. If this happens, it will be good for our market and also give confidence to investors. She disclosed that the commission has embarked on a number on initiatives to boost investorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; confidence as well as deepen the market. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We just ended our Capital Market Committee Meeting last week and one of the decision

reached was to give an extension in the deadline for regularisation to December 31, 2019. This is in a move to ensure more investors regularise their accounts thereby reducing the volume of unclaimed dividends in the Nigerian capital market,â&#x20AC;? Uduk said. She said told the senators that the CMC considered the issue and decided itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best to give investors more time to regularize their multiple accounts in order to derive the benefits from their investments.

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 162.96 164.18 -8.14% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 11.00% Nigeria International Debt Fund 273.31 274.74 18.22% 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 0.92% ACAP Income Funds 0.62 0.62 6.59% 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 12.45% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.20 2.22 -4.24% 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 16.39 16.88 -10.29% ARM Discovery Fund 353.83 364.50 -9.06% ARM Ethical Fund 28.21 29.06 3.25% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.27% 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 132.41 133.34 -12.71% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.88% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.34% Paramount Equity Fund 11.59 11.89 4.54% Women's Investment Fund 101.50 104.10 0.86% 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 12.14% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 99.21 99.31 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 97.59 97.92 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.24% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.85 0.86 Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.15 1.15 9.78% 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 100.00 100.00 11.72% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 12.48% 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 1,165.09 1,165.85 11.08% FBN Heritage Fund 142.49 143.72 2.18% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.52% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 112.80 113.44 3.61% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 112.56 113.20 3.49% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 146.08 148.14 -8.03% 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 1.23 1.25 -4.90% Legacy Debt Fund 3.20 3.20 10.88% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.02 1.02 1.87% 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 2,952.57 2,981.42 -1.11% Coral Income Fund 2,725.67 2,725.67 11.34% 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 12.21% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 105.68 105.96 5.15% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.90%

Vantage Balanced Fund 2.15 2.17 2.01% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 14.90% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 122.71 122.92 6.62% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD ďŹ ncon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.20 1.22 5.00% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 105.68 105.96 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 11.25 11.34 -13.16% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.43% 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 11.61% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.04 12.09 9.02% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.14% 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 126.71 127.11 -2.32% 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 1.68 1.68 13.19% 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 2,329.32 2,344.59 5.98% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 187.42 187.42 7.63% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.97 0.98 -3.47% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 244.58 244.62 13.33% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 162.06 163.90 -9.51% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.54% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,717.44 8,824.92 -8.36% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.10 1.10 6.58% 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 1.16 1.17 -2.17% United Capital Bond Fund 1.57 1.57 9.93% United Capital Equity Fund 0.70 0.71 -7.86% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 0.00% United Capital Eurobond Fund 106.31 106.31 6.23% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.08 1.09 4.01% 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 11.23 11.39 -7.66% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.06 12.17 -6.95% Zenith Income Fund 20.53 20.53 11.24% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.67%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

9.00 139.21 51.55

-20.11% 5.10% 1.42%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

117.49 91.50

119.98 93.21

0.00% -17.75% -16.25%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund Union Homes REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva GrifďŹ n 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

SPECIALIST FUNDS*

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.13 7.33 15.06 13.50 143.56

4.17 7.41 15.16 13.70 145.56

-12.72% -23.36% -13.74% -31.22% 6.68%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.13

17.03%

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 managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website and FMANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

44

THISDAYt 5)634%": /07&.#&3 ċċ ċĉĊđ

THISDAYt THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018

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THISDAYt THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018

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THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

FOREIGN/DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS

Turkey Accuses US of Turning Blind Eye to Saudi Killing of Khashoggi Turkey has accused the United States of trying to turn a blind eye to the murder of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in Istanbul. Numan Kurtulmus, the Deputy Chairman of President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party, made the accusation on Wednesday, in Istanbul. He also described the comments made by President Donald Trump on the issue as “comic”. “Yesterday’s statement is a comic statement,’’ he told state broadcaster, TRT Haber. “It is not possible for an intelligence agency such as the CIA, which even knows the colour of the fur on the

cat walking around the Saudi consulate’s garden … to not know who gave this order. “This is not credible either for U.S. public opinion or the world public opinion,’’ Kurtulmus said. Trump had vowed on Tuesday to remain a “steadfast partner” of Saudi Arabia. He affirmed this despite saying that Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, may have known about the plan to murder Khashoggi. The murdered journalist was a U.S. resident and Washington Post’s columnist. Of the possibility, Prince Mohammed had a hand in the murder, Trump said: “Maybe

he did, maybe he didn’t’’. His comments contradicted the CIA, which believes Khashoggi’s death was ordered directly by the crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler. Since Khashoggi’s killing at the Saudi consulate in

Istanbul last month, Turkey has repeatedly said the order came from the “highest levels” of the Saudi government. Turkey has, however, not directly accused Prince Mohammed of engaging in the crime.

at today’s verdict,” May told parliament. She and Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said they were raising the case at the highest levels of the UAE government. “Today’s verdict is not what we expect from a friend and trusted partner of the United Kingdom and runs contrary to earlier assurances,” Hunt said in a statement. He said the handling of the case by Emirati authorities would have repercussions on relations between the old allies and urged them to reconsider their decision. “I am in complete shock and I don’t know what to do. Matthew is innocent,” said Hedges’ wife, Daniela Tejada. Tejada who was present in the Abu Dhabi courtroom said he was shaking when he heard the verdict. A Reuters journalist was barred from entering the hearing, which was closed to the public.

The European Commission on Wednesday took the first step toward disciplining Italy over its expansionary 2019 budget after Rome refused to change it. It raised the stakes in a dispute that has alarmed the whole euro zone and could eventually lead to fines.

A court statement about the verdict was carried by The National. A life sentence for a nonEmirati entails a maximum of 25 years in jail and is followed by deportation, according to The National. The court ruled that his devices and research would be confiscated, the newspaper reported, adding that Hedges could appeal the ruling within 30 days. Emirati authorities could not immediately be reached for comment. Hedges was released on bail in late October, but had been held in solitary confinement for five months before that, his family said. He was made to sign a confession statement in Arabic that he did not understand and experienced deterioration in both his physical and mental health during his detention, they added. The National reported

Gunmen Kidnap Italian Woman in Kenya An armed gang abducted an Italian woman from a village in southeast Kenya, shooting and wounding five residents in the raid, police said Wednesday. “The attackers fired indiscriminately at residents” before kidnapping the 23-yearold, who worked as a volunteer for an Italian charity, during the attack after dark on Tuesday at Chakama, a small village in the coastal Kilifi county, police said in a statement. Three children were among those injured, with one, a 10-year-old boy, shot in the eye, according to police. The wounded have been taken to hospital and police

have been “deployed to track down the criminals”. Italy’s foreign ministry named the victim as Silvia Romano. Africa Milele Onlus, the small Italian charity for which Romano was volunteering, posted a statement on its website saying: “There are no words to comment on what is happening. Silvia, we are all with you.” Ronald Kazungu, a Chakama resident who witnessed Romano’s abduction, said the gang had come to the village looking for “the foreigner”. “Six men came asking for the foreigner. I told them she had gone (out). They began

arguing, saying they had seen her in the house. It was then that I showed them where she was,” he said. Another witness, James Alexander, said the gunmen had thrown an explosive device during the attack. “I found something on the floor. Suddenly it blew up and I saw someone in front of me with a gun,” he said. “Immediately he started shooting so I had to run away. Coming back I saw them taking the lady down towards the riverside. They were asking her for money: ‘We need money, we are not going to hurt you’,” he said.

California Billionaire Bids to Succeed Trump California billionaire, Tom Steyer, made another move on Tuesday toward launching a potential 2020 presidential bid with an announcement that he’s planning to return to early-voting South Carolina next month for an event in Charleston. In a news release published by NBCNews, the wealthy investor said that he plans to talk about the importance of equal voting. That’s one of what he calls the “five fundamental rights” for which Democrats should advocate ahead of the next presidential

election and that “should be at the core” of the party’s platform. On Tuesday, Steyer said he would place a full-page ad in USA Today and Gannett newspapers across the country to outline his proposed five rights, which also include clean air and water, health, the right to learn and a living wage. “These rights are fundamental to our shared belief in the promise of America, a promise of the freedom and power to pursue our dreams and earn a fair share of this country’s vast wealth,”

“negotiations” to persuade him to return to Saudi Arabia failed. Trump said Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer, was an important business partner and a “great ally” in the fight against Iranian power in the Middle East.

EU Moves to Discipline Italy over Budget, Rome Stays Defiant The commission said the Italian draft raised the 2019 structural deficit, which excludes one-offs and business cycle swings, by 1.0 per cent of gross domestic product rather than cut it by 0.6 per cent as required by EU laws. “It also failed to trim

UAE Sentences British Scholar to Life Imprisonment for Spying A UAE court on Wednesday sentenced British academic, Matthew Hedges, to life in prison on charges of spying for the British government. The family of the convict and a state-run newspaper, The National, disclosed this on Wednesday. The evidence presented against him consisted of notes from his dissertation research, his family said. The hearing lasted less than five minutes and his lawyer was not present, his family said. The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, described the sentence as deeply disappointing. Hedges, a 31-year-old doctoral student at Durham University, has been held in the UAE since May 5, when he was arrested at Dubai International Airport after a two-week research. “We are of course deeply disappointed and concerned

Saudi Arabia has denied that the crown prince ordered the killing. After offering numerous contradictory explanations, Riyadh said last week Khashoggi had been killed and his body dismembered when

Steyer said. “A hostile takeover of our democracy by large corporations and their enablers in politics has eroded that promise, and we must act to reclaim that power and put it back in the hands of the American people.” Durham released a joint statement with Exeter University, where Hedges completed his Master’s degree, expressing concern over his welfare and attesting that he had conducted his research in accordance with its policies.

that he was arrested after an Emirati man told police he had been asking for sensitive information and confessed to the charges during questioning. According to Durham University’s website, Hedges is a doctoral student in the School of Government and International Affairs whose research interests include civil-military relations, political economy and tribalism.

Italy’s huge public debt in a particularly serious case of noncompliance with the rules,’’ the commission said, warranting the launch of an excessive deficit procedure. Italy’s debt, at 131 per cent of GDP, is proportionally the second highest in the euro zone after Greece’s. Under EU rules it should be falling every year towards 60 per cent, however, the Commission said it would be stable for the next two years. Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told a news conference that the opening of a debt-based excessive deficit procedure is thus warranted. “In a situation of very high debt, Italy is essentially planning significant additional borrowing, instead of the necessary fiscal prudence,” Dombrovskis said. Italy believes its borrowand-spend policy – which the

commission regards as profligate would boost economic growth, helping reduce the country’s debt ratio, while reducing unemployment, which was at 9.7 per cent in August. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, scheduled to meet Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Saturday, said the government was convinced the budget was excellent and in the interest of Italy and Europe. “However, with memories of the sovereign debt crisis that almost destroyed the euro still fresh,’’ the Commission noted.

THISDAYt THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018

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THISDAYt THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018

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THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

52

NEWSEXTRA

You are Responsible for Your Defeat, ACF Tells Jonathan Shettima: Former president’s book, an elementary book of fictions

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri Northern leaders have faulted the claim by former President Good luck Jonathan in his book, ‘My Transition Hours,’ that the leaders and some groups in the region

worked against him, leading to his defeat in 2015 election. This is coming as the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, yesterday described the details contained in Jonathan’s book as a clever attempt to

Amosun Presents N402bn Budget for 2019 Governor Ibikunle Amosun, yesterday presented budgetary proposal of N402.633 billion christened “Budget of Enduring Legacy,” to the Ogun State House of Assembly for the 2019 fiscal year. Amosun, accompanied by members of his cabinet and other top political office holders, including the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman in the state, Chief Derin Adebiyi, and traditional rulers, did the budget estimates presentation during the sitting of the House of Assembly presided over by the Speaker, Hon. Suraj Adekunbi. He said the proposed budget is consistent with the mission to ‘Rebuild Agenda’ of the state and how it will serve to position Ogun State for its next growth trajectory. “The. Speaker, honourable members, the 2019 budget has been appropriately titled“Budget of Enduring Legacy”,to reflect our determination to deliver on our electoral promises to the optimal level, even as our tenure wraps up. We therefore propose a Budget size of N402.63 billion which represents an increase of 17 per cent compared with the 2018 budget”, he said. “Our Expenditure consists of Capital Expenditure of N254.055 billion or 63.10 per cent and recurrent expenditure of N148.577 billion. personnel cost, made up of salaries and allowances stands at N74.43 billion while pension and gratuities accounts for N22.2 billion which is 22.97 per cent of total recurrent expenditure and 5.51 per cent of total expenditure. The balance of N44.447 billion

which accounts for 10.29 billion is set aside for the overhead costs,” Amosun said, pointing out that his administration has taken important strides with respect to growing revenues and directing it towards expanding the economic base of the state. While giving a breakdown of the budget, he said it would be allocated to the five cardinal programmes of his administration in the following ratio: affordable qualitative education to take N88.579 billion (22 per cent), efficient healthcare delivery, N22.547 billion (5.60 per cent), agricultural production that will lead to massive industrialisation to gulp N20.131 billion (five per cent). Others, according to the governor include Affordable Housing and Urban Renewal, taking N53.147 billion (13.2 per cent), rural and infrastructural development and employment generation, N82.539 billion (20.5 per cent), with other sectors budgeted to gulp the remaining N135.687 (33.7 per cent) On government’s plan to finance the budget, the governor said N161.24 billion will be from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), N42 billion from the federal allocation purse, N101.388 billion from capital receipts and N80 billion from other receipts. While reviewing the 2018 budget performance, the Ogun State helmsman disclosed that his government had attracted almost 700 companies, developed the state in the areas of security, infrastructure, and ease of doing business amongst others.

Amaechi Humiliated Me in Presence of My Wife, Says Magnus Abe The All Progressives Congress (APC) senator representing Rivers South East constituency, Magnus Abe, has alleged that the Minister of Transport and Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Rotimi Amaechi, has humiliated him in the presence of his wife. Abe further stated that the dictatorship of the minister may hurt the party badly in the forthcoming elections. In an interview in the recent edition of The Interview magazine, Abe accused Amaechi of running a one-man show and stoking a personal cult. “My grievances with the transport minister,” Abe said, “have nothing to do with him supporting me or not supporting me. I have told him clearly that he is free to support who he wants to support. My disagreement with him is that he said I should not run, and I said I will run.” Abe narrated how the feud between him and Amaechi, who used to be his ally and friend, spilled into his family circle when the minister visited him at home. “To come to my house, call me

in front of my wife and tell me not to try contesting was the height of it. I said no, I will not accept that one: I will contest!”, Abe said. Commenting on the Abe interview, the Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief of The Interview, Azu Ishiekwene, said, “the Abe interview plumbs the recesses of the problems with the APC in one of the most strategic southern states and gives more than a hint of the dire consequences ahead for the ruling party.” Abe also spoke of the APC’s riotous primaries in the Rivers State and the subsisting court judgment which potentially rules out the party from fielding a candidate in the governorship election next year. Also, in this edition, Julia FortuneJohnson, a Stage 3 cancer survivor shared her experience and lessons learned; leading public speaker, Niyi Adesanya offered tips on how to overcome the fear of death on the big stage; while Italian-based Nigerian fashion entrepreneur, Ijeoma Meribe-Nnorom, talks about how she is putting Nigeria firmly on the Italian couture map.

sweep incontrovertible facts on the abduction of Chibok schoolgirls under the carpet. The northern leaders under the aegis of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) said in a statement yesterday that the former Nigerian leader should be held responsible for his defeat. The statement, which was signed by the National Publicity Secretary of ACF, Muhammad Ibrahim Biu, accused Jonathan of not keeping to his words. Though ACF said it was yet to get hold of the book, the group said it had become necessary

for the forum to respond to the said statement. According to the statement, it was on record that Jonathan contested the 2011 and 2015 elections against the zoning arrangement of his party that zoned the presidential slot to the North. “Therefore, his assertions that Northern leaders and Sociopolitical groups in the North worked against his presidency is rather odd, considering the circumstances at that time. “Yet he won the presidency in 2011 and the ruling party also

secured 25 per cent in some states of the North in the 2015 presidential elections. It may interest you to know that his party has since admitted the oversight in the party’s 2015 winning game plan. “This clearly means that leaders should always honour their words with deeds if they want to earn the respect of their followers, the statement maintained,” ACF explained. Meanwhile, Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, yesterday described the details contained in Jonathan’s

book as a clever attempt to sweep incontrovertible facts on the abduction of Chibok schoolgirls under the carpet. The governor described the book, ‘My Transition Hours’, as an “elementary book of fictions, lacking courage.” In a statement issued yesterday by his spokesman, Mallam Isa Gusua, the governor berated the former president, who in the book, among other allegations, said Shettima and the All Progressives Congress (APC) conspired in the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls.

SEALED AND DELIVERED…

Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State (right), presenting the 2019 Appropriation Bill, to the Clerk of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Lanre Bisiriyu, at the chamber of the Assembly, in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta...yesterday

Shutting Down Telecoms Facilities Based on Court Orders, Says Kogi Govt Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja The Kogi State Government yesterday gave reasons for shutting down telecoms facilities in the state, which it said it’s based on court orders.The shutting down of the Telecoms facilities by Kogi State Government has affected four other states. The Director of Legal and Enforcement of Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KSIRS), Jamil Isah, made this known while speaking with journalists over the

closure of the telecoms facilities in the state. He noted that KGIRS has since this administration came to existence been sending several demand notices to the Telcoms firms but that they have continued to refuse paying the fees and levies while only paying their PAYE. Isah said based on this, the state Internal Revenue Service proceeded to court in accordance with the law and obtained an order to lock the business premises of Airtel

and MTN to recoup the money owed, after the court adjudged that they were due and owing. “The major telecoms firms that are affected for now are MTN and Airtel. The sites that have been shut for Airtel are just five while for MTN, I don’t believe are up to 10, so the reported 150 figure is not correct. “The demanded levies, rents and fees are also not illegal. In the case of Airtel, they have not paid their Right of Way permit

fee which allows them to lay fibre optic cables in the state. “This payment has been due since 2006. There are also outstanding yearly rents payable on the Right of Way permits for the years 2017 and 2018. “There is also the Annual Social Service Development Levy and the Employee Economic Annual Development Levy. Penalty for failure to pay for Right of Way permit and some other penalties are included,” he noted.

Buhari Attributes Nigeria Security Challenges to Internal, External Factors Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has attributed the security challenges confronting Nigeria to internal and external factors. The president made the assertion at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday after he received security report from the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) at the Council Chamber. According to Buhari, the security challenges that his administration had to confront

when he took over power in 2015 constituted threat to lives and property, and that NIPSS was commissioned to take a holistic look at the problems so as to come up with sustainable solutions. “In November 2017, I tasked the management of NIPSS with the responsibility of strengthening the country’s internal security framework through community policing by proposing borders, policy, offence and strategy. And I think this is what the report is all about.

“The decision of government was borne out of sincere desire to find sustainable solutions to the many security challenges inherited by this administration. These challenges have not only threatened the security of lives and property of our people but also the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country. “We are confronted by Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast and worrisome conflict with respect to farmers and herdsmen which has resulted in wanton destruction of lives and property

across the country. Furthermore, there is the crisis of separatist agitation in the Southeast and militancy in the South-south. “Government is convinced that these security challenges are rooted in both internal and external factors. Most importantly, the government is also convinced that finding sustainable solutions to these challenges will require the support and collaboration of security agencies and communities,” Buhari said.

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Inflation Declines Marginally to 11.26% in October Nume Ekeghe The Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is used to gauge inflation rate in the country declined slightly year-on-year to 11.26 per cent in October, compared with the 11.28 per cent recorded in September, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed yesterday. It showed that food prices in four states in the country experienced negative inflation between September and October 2018. The states were Akwa Ibom, Benue, Kwara and Ondo. According to NBS, “On

month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 0.74 percent in October 2018, down by 0.09 percent points from the rate recorded in September 2018 (0.83) percent. “The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12 months period ending in October 2018 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period was 12.78 percent from 13.16 percent recorded in September 2018. “The composite food index rose by 13.28percent in October 2018 compared to 13.31 percent

in September 2018. “In October 2018, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Bayelsa (16.36 percent), Abuja (15.85 percent) and Taraba (15.27percent), while Bauchi (12.17 percent), Oyo (11.76 percent) and Plateau (11.36 percent) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation. “On month-on-month basis however, October 2018 food inflation was highest in Kogi (2.28 percent), Plateau (2.42percent) and Nasarawa (2.17percent), while Akwa Ibom, Benue, Kwara

and Ondo States all recorded food price deflation or negative inflation (general decrease in the general price level of goods and services or a negative inflation rate) in October 2018.” Urban inflation rate was at 11.64 per cent, compared to 11.70 per cent recorded in September, while rural inflation increased to 10.93 per cent in October from 10.92 per cent in September 2018. Commenting on the latest inflation numbers, the Head of Research at Agusto and Co,

Mr. Jimi, Ogbobine, said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would still be vigilant especially as electioneering begins. The two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would end today and latest inflation numbers would be one of the factors to be considered by the MPC members. Therefore, Ogbobine said: “Even though the inflation rate is fluctuating, it is still high, and the outlook for it remains high because we are going into the crunch period for the election

over the next four to five months. So electioneering spending should spike higher. What that means is that the MPC would have a hawkish stand because of the high inflationary outlook. “The outlook for this MPC would not be towards lowering interest rate and what we would tend to see is that there could be extra tightening without the use of MPR and there could be a higher outlook for tightening other monetary policy tools outside MPR.”

Again, Marketers Seek Removal of VAT on Gas Peter Uzoho and Nitzack Nwadigwe Marketers of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) commonly known as cooking gas, have raised further concern on the Valued Added Taxes levied on gas produced in the country, calling for the federal government to remove such charges to enable the industry grow. The marketers who made the call in Ibadan at a one day seminar organised by the Ibadan chapter of their affiliation, Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) with the theme: “Promoting a Sustainable Environment for Best Practices in LPG Marketing”, also kicked against the importation of gas products into the country.“It is a thing of shame that in Nigeria we produce gas but we are ranking low in LPG usage. One of these is attributed to this unnecessary VAT charges on gas we produce here while the imported gas is not VATed. We VAT what we produce here and you now allow some people to bring in products and you don’t VAT it, you are not making the market conducive for investors in the business,” National President, NALPGAM, Mr. NosaOgieva-Okunbor, said. Ogieva-Okunbor, however, pointed out that the major objective of the association was to deepen the usage of gas by bringing the

product closer to the people. He also contended the importation of gas product into country, arguing that such amounted to wasting resources that ought to be used to fix the country’s infrastructure deficit.According to him, it is one of the challenges we are battling and I know with cooperation of members we will be able to surmount these challenges. The NALPGAM boss described the theme of the seminar as apt and most appropriate, adding that it is expected that the federal, state, and local governments produce a sustainable environment for the marketers. “It is our responsibility to ensure that the awareness of the usage of gas is brought to every Nigerian because we gain from it.” Also lending his voice on the call to end gas importation into Nigeria, the Chief Operating Officer, ALPGAM Investments Plc, Mr. Gbenga Falusi, said there was no moral or legal justification for the importation of gas into the country. Falusi said: “The LPG industry is becoming so dynamic; interest along the value chain of LPG is diverse and we have to leverage on them. There is no moral or legal justification that LPG should be imported into Nigeria. We should engage the government to formulate policies that will lead to the end of LPG importation into the country.”

Foundation Lauds Julius Berger for Consistent Operational Standards Engineering construction firm, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, has been commended for consistently maintaining requisite high operational standards in line with global best practices by a NonGovernmental Organisation, Foundation for Transparency and Accountability. The Foundation, made the observation in a statement of commendation it addressed to the company’s Executive Director, Administration, Alhaji Zubairu Ibrahim Bayi. It said Bayi had overtime made immense contributions to the constructiown industry in Nigeria, adding that he has demonstrated a high level of professional discipline, honesty and transparency in the discharge of his official duties as Director of Administration of Julius Berger Plc”. The statement further highlighted that the foundation was impressed with the operational standards of

Julius Berger after it assessed its activities, which revealed that they are “in line with best practices”. The Foundation concluded that Bayi’s professional and career antecedents represents a clear testimony that he is a man of integrity, adding that civil society organisations would continue to offer Julius Berger all the necessary support the company deserves. Bayi, a fellow and Deputy Chairman of the College of Fellows of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) and a certified member of the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) is also a Fellow of the highly respected Institute of Management Consultants. He thanked the Foundation for their fair words for Julius Berger on the merit, saying that it was with a deep sense of honour and privilege that he received the statement of commendation from the Foundation.

FOR HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT…

L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti; General Manager, RB West Africa, Dayanand Sriram; Marketing Director, RB West Africa, Aliza Leferink; and Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Environment, Mr Abiodun Bamgboye, PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT at the 2018 World Toilet Day event organised by Lagos State Government in partnership with RB in Lagos...recently

EFCC to Conduct Due Diligence on Entities Interested in Buying Govt Assets Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) has expressed its readiness to begin carrying out due diligence on any entity that indicates interest in the purchase of government assets in order to prevent corrupt elements from using the privatisation process as a means of laundering illegally acquired funds. Acting EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, gave the indication when the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja. Magu told Okoh that “we will be willing to support you against any threat that will discourage investors from coming into the country, and in order to achieve this, I think we need to establish

a common desk for a seamless synergy. “Once again, I seize this opportunity to thank the BPE, and I am happy to tell you that the baby you nurtured has now outgrown its parents as the EFCC today can boost of a befitting head office complex which was made possible by our determination and support from the current administration.” He thanked the BPE for its support during the evolution of the commission, saying the N100 million received from the BPE as takeoff support helped the commission to start its operations, adding: “If we hadn’t gotten that money, we wouldn’t have been able to kick start.” The money, he said, brought some seriousness into EFCC’s operations and “we started

arresting those fraudsters who hitherto were seen as ‘untouchable’ moving around with convoys and sirens. Many of them were arrested and jailed and the commission recovered substantial amounts of money on behalf of so many victims from them which were restituted to the victims.” A statement issued by the Head of Public Communications of the BPE, Amina Tukur Othman, said during the visit, Okoh had expressed the willingness of the Bureau to partner the EFCC to ensure transparency in all the processes of the reform and privatisation programme of the federal government. He stated that the activities of the bureau reflected the principles of transparency that the EFCC

is known to propagate. Okoh commended the antigraft agency for its recorded achievements over the years, especially in the sanitisation of the country’s economy which he said has increased investors’ confidence. The BPE boss, who was decorated during the visit as Anti-Corruption Ambassador by Magu, said he was at the commission to solicit the EFCC’s support in ensuring that the activities of the BPE are better monitored. According to him, “the EFCC has provided a platform and atmosphere that have enhanced comfort and confidence in the investors who we directly deal with on a regular basis-the kind of comfort to engage and invest in this economy.

NEMA DG Denies Embezzling N33bn Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The embattled Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Mustapha Maihaja, yesterday in Abuja, condemned what he called “false allegations” levelled against him by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness on November 8, 2018. He denied embezzling the sum of N33 billion as alleged by the House, adding that at no point also was he queried by the Office of the Vice-president for any misgivings. Maihaja told journalists yesterday that “As you are

aware, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is an agency charged with the responsibility of Disaster Management in Nigeria and coordination of responses to emergencies. “Disasters either natural or man-made, always have adverse consequences to the people in the impacted areas. Disasters or emergencies can be in form of famine, flooding, fires, draught, epidemic, earthquake etc which often result to displacements of people, as well as massive repatriation of stranded Nigerians from other countries.” He explained that the responsibilities as provided in

the NEMA’s enabling Act, is to respond to disasters in a more effective, efficient and transparent manner “Therefore, to insinuate this sacred duty of saving lives and provision of livelihoods was abused is a very difficult pill to swallow, not only for me, but for many members of my team as well as our partner agencies such as the military, police and international humanitarian agencies.” He stated that to provide context on the funding of North East humanitarian response, the budget of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA)

for the period January to April 2017 was $1.05 billion. “The sum of $590 million was for food and nutrition. As at April 2017, only the sum of $94.8 million was provided by the donors. See the Report of UN-OCHA on the Nigerian Humanitarian Dashboard published on May 23, 2017. “This meant that we had a shortfall of $495.8 Million in food funding. “For the period May to October 2018, when the Federal Government Emergency Food Intervention for the North East was being implemented, the World Food Programme netfunding requirement was $230 million.”

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Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

AFCON: Super Eagles Richer with $50,000 from Okowa Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

team also returned to the country through the Asaba International

Airport. At a state banquet held in

honour of the Super Eagles at Government House, Asaba, on

AFCON 2019 qualifier, the Super Eagles of Nigeria became $50,000 richer as the Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, on Tuesday evening redeemed his pledge of $25,000 per goal scored by the team in their African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match against the South African football team, Bafana Bafana. Although, the Super Eagles encounter with their South Africa opponents in Johannesburg ended one goal apiece, Okowa decided to reward the Nigerian players with the sum of $50,000 apparently to compensate the Super Eagles for two goals they scored by controversially denied by the centre referee of the match. According to the Delta State governor, he was convinced that the Super Eagles performed well enough to claim the maximum points from the weekend match in Johannesburg, in spite of the 1-1 score-line at the final whistle signalling the end of clash. The Nigerian football ambassadors had trained at the Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba, the Delta State capital, before jetting out to Johannesburg last weekend through the Asaba International Airport. After the match, which saw Nigeria booking a place during the AFCON Championship to be hosted 2019 by Cameroon, Francesca Ordega voted Woman of the Match in Super Falconsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; AWCON 2018 clash with Zambiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Nigerian national football Shepolopolo yesterday in Ghana

Tuesday night, the governor disclosed that though the match ended 1-1, what he saw was the Super Eagles scoring more than one goal. Okowa said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a state government, we did make a promise to give $25,000 per goal in the AFCON qualifying match in South Africa (and) in my mind, I know we scored two goals, not one goal; because the second goal was wrongly disallowed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, we will fulfil our promise with what we saw, not with what was announced by the referee,he remarked. Moreover, the governor described the camping of the Super Eagles in Asaba as a blessing in several ways. Shortly before their departure to South Africa through Asaba airport, Okowa motivativated the team with a pomise to reward them with the sum of $25, 000 for every goal scored against Bafana Bafana. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are very happy that you left for South Africa from Asaba because you enabled us to witness the first international flight from the Asaba International Airportâ&#x20AC;?, Okowa noted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are truly excited this evening that we are hosting our dear Super Eagles as a state government and the Ugandan team (The Cranes) with who they earlier played a barren draw with the Super Eagles at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, we truly enjoyed ourselves because the

two teams played good football. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was good to host the Super Eagles, they have been with us for some days now, and I believe that the people, Deltans and Nigerians in general, are excited. Though they drew the match with the Cranes of Uganda, both teams played good game and it was gladdenjng to know that both team have also qualified for the African Cup of Nations,â&#x20AC;? he said, disclosing that the coming of the Super Eagles to Asaba greatly gave a boost to socio-economic life of Deltans. Okowa assured that his administration will continue to invest in the development of sports and sporting activities, noting that Principalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cup and the Headmasterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cup football championship were designed to encourage the development of football in secondary and primary schools in the state. He congratulated the Super Eagles for qualifying for AFCON, assuring that his administration would continue to support the Pinnick Amaju led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to succeed. Stand-in Captain of the Super Eagles, Ahmed Musa on behalf of members of the team, thanked Governor Okowa and the people of Delta State for their support. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will love to come back here again and on behalf of my team mates, we say thank you,â&#x20AC;? Musa said.

Sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Falcons Bounce Back with 4-0 Win over â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Boastfulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Zambia Cup holders, Super Falcons of Nigeria shot back to contention at the 11th Women Africa Cup of Nations after a 4-0 thrashing of Group leaders Shepolopolo of Zambia in Cape Coast. A one goal defeat in their opening match against South Africa on Sunday had marooned the champions in third place on the Group B table, following Zambiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 5-0 win over two â&#x20AC;&#x201C;time champions Equatorial Guinea.

GHANA 201 8 But the Zambians could not hold a candle to the Falcons when the die was cast yesterday evening. The scoreline was only two goals short of the 6-0 hiding the Zambians received from the Nigerians in Namibia four years ago, but that would not have been the case had reigning African Woman Player of the Year, Asisat Oshoala not, inexplicably,

failed to put away any of one dozen giltâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;edged opportunities that came her way. After Oshoala failed to get enough purchase on her shot in the 9th minute, Captain Onome Ebi and Rita Chikwelu came close with headers, but Zambia also side â&#x20AC;&#x201C;netted as a tight game played out at the Cape Coast Stadium. Desire Oparanozie, who scored the lone goal in the

PwC Chess4Change Mentorship Programme Excites Pupils Femi Solaja It was an exciting moment for 18 different chess playing schools in Lagos that attended the 1st edition of the Mentorship Programme put together by Pricewaterhouse Coopers with its PwC Chess4Change initiative. Aside the regular chess tournament among the schools, PwC Chess4Change Programme intends to add value and change the lives young student to be leaders in their respective discipline in the nearest future. The high point of the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programme was the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Queen of Katweâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; movie which was a classic example of a humble beginning and later transformation into success in life. Aside the guest speaker, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ajamalaya Olusegun Ifetayo who mentored the students against moral vices in the society, other personalities at the one-day event includes; the Senior Manager, Clients and Market Development, Mrs. Delia

Asuzu and Senior Manager Advisory Services Mr. Eyita Otudoh both of PwC Nigeria together with Chess Coordinator, Ministry of Education in Lagos State to inspire the students. In his submission, ACP Ajamolaya urged the students against criminal activities most of which are committed out of exuberant of the young lads of today. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Crime is becoming rampant among our younger generations and many engages in it for fun without realizing the consequences of their actions. These crimes are not victimless, as such law enforcement agents view them seriously,â&#x20AC;? he stated. He advised the students to desist from vices like cyber crime, obtaining money by tricks or violent crime like robbery and offenses affecting public order. He also urged them against fake news. In his own posit, Mr. Otudoh puts the student through a movie review â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Queen of Katweâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; where they learnt that with chess, the small one can become the

big one just as the Pawn hit the last rank and transformed into Queen which is the most powerful piece on the board. He mentored them with the film on how chess could teach them on how to plan, survive and analyze threats and overcome immediate obstacles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Losing does not translate to failure and that if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to fit in to win and that other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life pattern does not determine how you shape your life,â&#x20AC;? he explained.. Among the schools that participated in the programme includes; Euba Junior Secondary School, CMS Girls Secondary school, Jubilee Model Senior Secondary school, Sari Iganmu Senior Secondary School, Immaculate Heart Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Unity Junior School, Eko Akete Senior Secondary School, New Era Senior Secondary School, Eko Boys High School and Government Senior College, Eric Moore among others.

final of the last edition of the championship in Cameroon two years ago, which was enough for the Falcons to retain their trophy, blasted past goalkeeper Nali in the 41st minute after a good pass from Francisca Ordega to register Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first goal of the tournament. In the second half, the Falcons created chance after chance, but Oshoala either blasted them away from goal or Nali simply

foiled her efforts. The entry of Josephine Chukwunonye, for injured Faith Michael, appeared to reinvigorate Nigeria. After Oparanozie rounded the goalkeeper but saw her shot blocked from going in, Oshoala missed a string of sitters and Ordega saw her good chip saved. Ordega would get the second goal in the 70th minute, cashing in and rolling a volley past Nali after Oparanozieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shot came

off the upright. Substitutes Rasheedat Ajibade and Amarachi Okoronkwo got two more goals, Rasheedat scoring with a spectacular screamer that saw the ball come in off the underside of the bar. Okoronkwo finished beautifully after picking up a loose ball from a corner kick. Next up for Nigeria is their final group game against Equatorial Guinea on Saturday.

Ikeja-All Stars Win Betway 5s League After 12 weeks of exciting football action in the Betway 5s League, last Saturday, Ikeja AllStars defeated G12 on penalties at The Landmark Beach Front, Victoria Island, Lagos to win the NGN 1 Million grand prize. Since the start of the Betway 5â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s League, the competition has helped boost the popularity of 5-a-side football in Nigeria as 24 teams took part in the games which were held across four locations in Lagos. At the finale, the Special

Eagles, Nigerian Amputee football team fresh from the Amputee World Cup in Mexico, thrilled spectators to some beautiful football, showing many why they got the opportunity to represent Nigeria and qualify for the prestigious event. Football lovers were not left out as cash prizes and other gift items were won on the final day of the league. Excited fans participated in ball juggling competitions and showed their knowledge of football by taking

part in quizzes. A football freestyle competition also held between 2 top free-stylists. At the end of the final match, awards were presented to players who distinguished themselves during the season. The Golden ball went to Chidi Nwankwo of Ikeja All-Stars as the best player of the league, Emeka Asogwa of Vic FC was presented with the Golden Shoe as the highest goal scorer of the league. Adelana Ademola of Ikeja All-Stars was presented with the Golden Gloves.

Dalung Advocates School Sports Development Policy Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has clamoured for a holistic approach that will incorporate sports and education in Nigerian schools. He said the blending of sports and education will result in optimum development of sports at the grassroots in the country. Dalung made the call on

Tuesday while declaring open the National Conference on Sports Education In Nigeria, jointly organises by the Federal Ministries of Education and Sports. The minister, who was represented by the Head of Public and Private Partnership at the Ministry of Sports, Bolaji Oladejo, said the initiative will upgrade sports in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s educational sector and help the

country in uncovering hidden talents at the grassroots. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The main objective of the conference is to complement existing efforts on formulation and implementation of policy and legislation geared towards stimulating geometric upgrade of sports in our educational and occupational sector and diagnosing the pathways to advancing sports in Nigeria,â&#x20AC;? Dalung said.

THISDAYt THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2018

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Thursday, November 22, 2018

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MISSILE Jonathan to Nigerians “Some governors wanted to be Vice President whilst others strived to be the President. If I contested none could realise his ambition. This muffled implosion would fully manifest in the buildup to the 2015, which each ship-jumper calculating how much he or she would take from the PDP or the most opportune moment to cause maximum damage and based on that, plot their exit” – Former President Goodluck Jonathan on the conspiracies that led to his loss of the 2015 general election.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI Atiku, Buhari and 2019 Fantasy Island THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

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very election season in countries well-governed, citizens expect that the policy documents of the leading candidates will contain not only promises but also what would come from their pockets to fund such plans. That is basically what the phrase, “no taxation without representation” connotes since it also presupposes that there can be no effective (and accountable) representation without taxation. But in Nigeria, our people have been conditioned to believe that government is a Father Christmas that dispenses the goodies of life free of charge without demanding anything of citizens. It is within that context that I will situate the campaign documents of the ruling APC candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari and his opponent in the main opposition PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. I have read both documents and they lack rigour because there is no coherent funding plan that ordinarily should be tax-based unless of course the essence is to deceive. Given a low revenue problem compounded by dependence on oil, it is not enough to promise infrastructure, which we sorely need, the question is how? Meanwhile, I understand the predicament of the candidates. Atiku, a very wealthy man who owns a Private Jet, claimed in his INEC form that he earned only N60.2 million in three years and paid the sum of N10.8 million as tax for those three years (between 2015 and 2017), an average of N3.6 million per annum. Another presidential candidate and former governor of Cross Rivers State, Mr Donald Duke reportedly earned a combined sum of N5,618,419 between 2015 and 2017 and from that he paid a tax of N400,000, which means he paid an annual tax of N133,000. We don’t even know whether President Buhari has ever paid any tax on his legendary 150 cows that neither increases nor decreases with every election cycle for almost two decades now! More than at any period in our history, the manifesto and other public documents of those who seek power must have realistic funding plans at the heart of which must be taxation. Sadly, the current tax regime in the country makes little sense which explains why less than a thousand Nigerians are paying tax of N10 million per annum, according to Mr Babatunde Fowler, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Chairman. I must commend Fowler for the expertise and tenacity he has brought to the whole tax matter, even when I believe he is relying on a model that cannot work. In a revealing interview in March this year, Fowler gave an example that summarises the problem with taxation in Nigeria, although he couldn’t see it: “If your turnover is N100 million, we assume that you make N20 million profit and we charge that N20 million at 30 per cent, then you pay about N6.6 million in tax.” How does such an assumption make sense within our environment when people supply their own electricity, erect their own boreholes for water, pay for their own security and sundry social services that government should ordinarily be

Fowler providing? On top of that, we have built a social security system around the most financially secure person in a household who bears the responsibility of members of the extended family. Should we not factor all these into the plan if we want to bring everybody under the tax net? Can’t we design what suits our own environment rather than copy wholesale what obtains in America? Are we not better off with flat rates as they do in Russia or Hong Kong? Given the foregoing, the number one issue on the agenda of the candidates should be tax. Not only because we need all the money we can get to fix our infrastructure and pay for essential services but also because we will never be able to successfully tackle corruption and crime or instill any modicum of transparency in the governing process until we bring more income earners into the tax net. Besides, with a tax to GDP of 5.9 percent as against more than 20 percent by South Africa, it means more than 90 percent of Nigerians are outside the tax net. To bring in this people, mostly in the informal sector, we have to review and simplify the tax codes and create incentives for compliance. One day, I am going to write about my experience with taxation in Nigeria but the lesson I have drawn is that the current regime does not encourage honest citizenship that is committed to meeting civic obligations. To compound the problem, tax has now become a weapon to kill small businesses. I know many people who are on the verge of closing down their businesses because they are better off without them due to these charges and taxes that are disincentives to small scale entrepreneurship in Nigeria. It is almost as if the regulatory environment is designed to stifle business in the country. For two days last week, Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila, new Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) shut down the offices and business premises of Nigeria Brewery Plc across the nation despite a restraining court order. At issue is the definition of promos as

distinct from lottery but the new NLRC took the laws into his own hands. The action of Gbajabiamila forced the NECA Director General, Mr Olusegun Oshinowo, to express shock “that a public servant will rashly shut down business premises of a multi-billion dollar investment without considering the dire implications on the economy.” These are some of issues you expect in a campaign year but what we hear are empty promises. It is instructive that when Atiku ran for the PDP presidential ticket against then incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, he had pledged that if elected, his medium-term (a four-year period) strategy would be to finance recurrent expenditure with non-oil revenue while every kobo earned from oil revenue is devoted to investment in infrastructure, security, education and health. “We would also encourage all state governments to set an agenda and timeline within which they would no longer depend on oil revenue for recurrent expenditure” Atiku said in a statement that elicited two columns from me when I returned to the country after the election. Right now, where he stands on issue of fuel subsidy in the downstream operations and the full deregulation of the entire sector is a matter of conjecture. When the news broke early this year that the federal government illegally diverted $1.05 billion (N378 billion at N360 to a dollar) sourced from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) dividend funds to secretly fund subsidy payment, there was a statement from the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation that “the subsidy regime as it is currently being administered is inefficient and shrouded in secrecy”. But there is nothing in his current plan about what he would do differently. In fact, the PDP said early this month that Atiku has worked out a pricing template that will immediately crash the pump price of fuel in the country to less than a hundred Naira per litre because “the appropriate pump price of fuel in the Nigerian market, under the current subsidy regimes of the Buhari Presidency, should be within the borders of N87 to N90 per litre as against the N145 currently being charged.” If that statement is true of Atiku’s intention, then it is safe to conclude he does not even understand the problems

in the sector. Buhari of course does not disappoint. We know the position of his government on subsidy on which hundreds of billions of Naira have been wasted and are still being wasted with the NNPC acting as though above the law. Last year, the three moribund refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna recorded a loss of N10.79 billion. Meanwhile, in September 2015, the current Minister of State, Petroleum, Mr Ibe Kachikwu, then in his capacity as Group Managing Director (GMD) had said most memorably: “Personally, I will have chosen to sell the refineries, but President Buhari has instructed that they should be fixed.” What Kachikwu said is what most reasonable people have said for years. Why should we continue to pump billions of Naira into what has become a waste? But Buhari likes subsidy which is why his government is borrowing to finance infrastructure without thinking of how to repay while taking more loans to meet recurrent expenditures. The Kaduna train project on which a loan was taken from China, is being run on subsidy. “We spend N56million per month and we get N16 million; so we are augmenting for both rich and poor—N40 million per month under the directive of the president because he fears that the poor might not be able to afford it’’, said the Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi who does not see the problem in such an arrangement. There are other questions begging for answers: At a period the Sahara Desert is inching gradually towards the South, what is the position of both Buhari and Atiku on the issues of environment? How would Buhari tackle education beyond refurbishing some primary school classrooms and where will the money come from? How will the new minimum wage be funded by Atiku who has endorsed it? In all, the campaign documents being celebrated by the supporters of Buhari and Atiku are loudly silent on these and other questions. I know there are many candidates in the presidential race and I intend to look at some of them and what they bring to the table in the coming weeks. But it is safe to predict that the next president will be Buhari or Atiku. That is why it is very important that we scrutinise their policy prescriptions.

The Book of Jonathan On Tuesday in Abuja, the former president of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, launched his book, ‘My Transition Hours’. As to be expected, the event attracted the High and Mighty in Nigeria as well as former presidents of Ghana, Benin and Sierra Leone. The book itself is more interesting for what it conceals than for what it says but I guess the essence is for the former president to respond to some of the accusations from those he described as purveyors of ‘fake news’… In all, it is a book worth reading even when it is short on details and does

not shake any table. Interested readers will find my take on page 14. Meanwhile, my latest book, ‘FROM FRYING PAN TO FIRE: How African migrants risk everything in their futile search for a better life in Europe’ will be publicly presented in Abuja this morning at the Shehu Musa Yar ’Adua Centre. The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, will chair the occasion while the Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki will present the book after the review by Mr Dike Chukwumerije. Time is 11AM.

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