FRIDAY 23RD NOVEMBER 2018

Report: Nigerian Banks’ Fortunes Tied to Oil Price Dangote’s refinery may send NNPC’s refineries packing Chineme Okafor in Abuja A report by the Financial Times yesterday stated that most of Nigeria’s commercial banks

have their fortunes tied to fluctuations in global oil prices considering that about a third of all credits they extend to the economy are directed to

operations in the country’s oil and gas industry. The report, titled ‘Investing in Nigeria,’ chronicled developments in Nigeria’s

economy and politics ahead of the 2019 general elections. It explained, among other observations, that analysts estimate that about half of

the loans of commercial banks in Nigeria were given for upstream, midstream, and downstream oil and gas operations and the supply chain,

adding that rising levels of NonPerforming Loans (NPLs) of the banks were traced to the Continued on page 10

Lagos Considers Fresh Strategies to End Apapa Gridlock … Page 10 Friday 23 November, 2018 Vol 23. No 8619. Price: N250

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CBN Warns Banks against Violation of Money Laundering Act ... Page 10

Stop Playing the Ostrich, Presidency Replies Jonathan Says Buhari’s anti-graft record is globally recognised Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja The claim by former President Goodluck Jonathan that corruption had worsened since he left office was yesterday vehemently rejected by the presidency, which dismissed

the former president’s proposition as astonishing and absolutely untrue. Jonathan, had in his book, ‘My Transition Hours,’ rated President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft war very low, saying graft had

not only worsened under the president’s watch but that his de-marketing of the country had driven away investors. He rebuked the president’s strategy of media trial of suspects, saying it worsened the corruption perception of

Nigeria and led to Nigeria’s slip in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. He said in his book, “The sundry accusations by the new administration will appear to have baited the media. Media

trials are entertaining but have little or no effect in fighting corruption and improving the economy. “Since I left office, rather than improve on our TI corruption perception record, the situation has worsened

with the nation going 12 places backward, becoming number 148 according to the latest CPI ranking for 2014, from 136 in 2014 when I was president.” The book was launched at Continued on page 8

PDP to Decentralise Campaign, Meets on Tuesday to Perfect Strategy Buhari, Atiku, others for debate on January 19 Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja Feeling a large presidential campaign council, controlled from Abuja, the federal capital city, may be ineffective, the leaders of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has opted for a decentralised structure that would see the party devolving more power and resources to the states for the mobilisation

of faithful and voters. Party sources told THISDAY that the leaders were of the view that the past strategy of a centralised campaign with Abuja as the pivot might not help the party to unseat President Muhammadu Buhari, who is thought to retain an advantage in the North-west and might still Continued on page 6

Okorocha Dares Oshiomhole, Maintains Court Action …Page 8

FROM FRYING PAN TO FIRE… L-R: Wife of the author, Mrs. Oluwatosin Adeniyi; author, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi; Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi, during the presentation of ‘FROM FRYING PAN TO FIRE’ written by Adeniyi, in Abuja... yesterday KINGSLEY ADEBOYE

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Okorocha Dares Oshiomhole, Maintains Court Action

Amby Uneze in Owerri

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and his faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state have declared that they will not abide by the recent directive of the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC), mandating all aggrieved members of the party to withdraw all court cases to allow the newly constituted national reconciliation committee to work towards peaceful resolution of all matters that arose from the party primaries. Okorocha stated that Oshiomhole was once a beneficiary of a court action as he recovered his stolen governorship mandate through the court. The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, told THISDAY yesterday that democracy without court is baseless, adding that the person who goes to court is the one that wants peace while those who want war will not go to court.

According to the governor’s spokesman, going to court is a sign of peace and for justice to be achieved, stressing that anybody who goes to court is not against peace. Okorocha argued that APC being a democratic party should encourage its aggrieved members to go to court to seek redress for justice since it is part of democratic principle to achieve peace through court. He said, "I don't think APC will go ahead to punish those members who approach the courts to seek for justice because without justice there cannot be peace. They should even encourage such members to seek justice in court for peace to reign. "Democracy cannot go without the judiciary in any part of the world. Judiciary is a major arm of democracy; so, for some members to go to court, I don't think it is bad and such members cannot be punished or described as anti-party at all. It is a sign that they want the party to grow

Okorocha further stated that having benefitted from the courts, Oshiomhole should encourage others to go to court rather than discouraging others. He said, "Intimidation is not part of our democracy. The national chairman was a labour leader and he knows the need for court action. He should even be the one to encourage aggrieved members to go to court. Having been a labour leader and a former governor for which his first tenure was through the court, he should allow others to seek redress in the court. "He recovered his mandate from the court, so he cannot kill people for going to court. He will rather urge members to go to court having been a beneficiary of such action. In fact this peace they are

talking about cannot be in place without the judiciary and luckily for us he is part of court benevolence." Also speaking on the directive to withdraw court cases, which was issued by the party, the state chairman of the Okorocha-backed faction, Mr. Daniel Nwafor, told THISDAY that peace and justice were interwoven. He corroborated the governor's position that "peace cannot be achieved without justice." But the state chairman of the anti-Okorocha faction, Chief Hilary Eke, maintained that his group - Imo Coalition would stand on the directive of the party’s NWC by withdrawing all the cases they had in courts, adding that they abide by the national decision of the party in order to achieve peace. Eke told THISDAY that the national leadership of the party was right by urging all parties to withdraw all cases from the court so that the national reconciliation committee can work unhindered.

school as well as ensure safety and security for Nigerians. He noted that the debates, which will hold at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja would be broadcast live by all BON members, adding that plans were on to forward to the ninth National Assembly, a fresh bill for the establishment of a National Commission for Presidential Debate that would make it mandatory for presidential candidates to engage in debates ahead of presidential elections. “Just a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to address a group of people who were on a courtesy visit to our global headquarters in Lagos. I reiterated the well-known fact that our country, in spite of its numerous potential, is faced with a social crisis that began way back to the military era; but which has transcended democratic rule

since the army returned to the barracks’’, Momoh stated. ‘’Today, we are experiencing a healthcare crisis that threatens our women and children, an education crisis that threatens our children’s future, a power crisis that is crippling every aspect of our economic lives, and a more fundamental crisis – a crisis of corruption, accountability and security. “One other major challenge facing us as a nation is the threat to national unity, as centrifugal tension, resource control and self-determination, ethnicity-based identity politics and religious cleavages have enveloped national consciousness. “Many of these problems stem from decisions made by our leaders behind closed doors, other times openly, from regulations removed when no one was looking,

or from the reckless actions taken while authorities turned a blind eye.� He added that Nigeria will be stronger if the nation’s leadership is transparent, accessible and accountable to its citizens, saying it is for this reason that the Nigerian Election Debate Group and the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria are organising debates. Momoh further explained that the debate group would set the format and rules of the debate, handle moderation, outline the criteria for political party participation, ensure the objectivity of audiences and steer negotiations among broadcasters and the parties. He said Nigerians expect the leaders of all political parties to be challenged in a very public and robust way in the debates, not just one of them, but a series of them.

schemes such as the Biometric Verification Number (BVN), Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPS),� asking, “Of what use is the announcement of good policies without the will to implement them?� He said, “Nigerians are witnesses to the huge success recorded through the implementation of the TSA where some government agencies that had over the years remitted peanut amounts or nothing at all are now periodically pumping billions into government coffers. “Prominent among these remittances include the ones made by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customers Service (NCS) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). He said while it was true that the BVN was introduced

in 2014 to ensure that all bank accounts had biometric identification of their owners, the lack of will and capacity under Jonathan stalled its implementation, pointing out that the policy had been auctioned by Buhari. Shehu said the Buhari administration had taken the battle against graft forward by the introduction of the whistleblower policy as a veritable tool against corruption as it gives individuals an opportunity to expose corruption, fraud, bribery, looted government funds, financial misconducts, government assets and any other form of corruption or theft. “Within six months of introducing this policy, over 5,000 reports were made through various channels, 365 actionable tips were received out of the 5.000 reports. So far more than N200bn has been recovered,� he said. He said under Jonathan, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission could

intimidate its members, adding that it is not good for the party to intimidate her members.

Oshiomhole BeneďŹ ted from the Courts

Oshiomhole

and want our democracy to be strengthened. "Even the party should encourage such people to go to court instead of involving in blackmail and propaganda. That does not stop those people from appearing before the reconciliation committee. In

fact the committee may after listening to their grievances justify such court action or suggest otherwise.� Apparently alluding to Oshiomhole’s threat to punish members of the party who refuse to withdraw their cases, Okorocha urged the party leaders not to

PDP TO DECENTRALISE CAMPAIGN, MEETS ON TUESDAY TO PERFECT STRATEGY leverage on the hold of his All Progressives Congress (APC) on the South-west swing zone. The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party, THISDAY, was told last night, has, therefore been summoned for Tuesday in Abuja to finalise the party’s new campaign strategy. An insider, who spoke with THISDAY last night, said the meeting would take a thorough look at the party’s prepared campaign strategic documents/structures and take a final decision on the way to go. This came as the Nigerian Election Debate Group yesterday fixed January 19 for the presidential debate for the candidates of the APC, President Muhammadu Buhari; former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of PDP; Mr. Gbenga Olawepo- Hashim

(Peoples Trust, PT); Mr. Yabagi Sani (Action Democratic Party, ADP); Mr. Donald Duke (Social Democratic Party, SDP); Mr. Omoyele Sowore (African Action Congress, AAC); Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili (Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, ACPN) and others. The chieftain of the PDP, who spoke with THISDAY in confidence, said the meeting would also consider ‘’the desperation of President Muhammadu Buhari-led ruling party, APC,’’ as the 2019 general election draws nearer and ruminate on the best possible ways to counter it. ‘’There are deliberate attempts by APC to create fear in us; our leaders are being blackmailed and harassed by the government through the instrumentalities of the anti-corruption agencies. And we believe we need to

sit down and examine all these happenings and find practical ways to respond to them’’ the source stated. The Chairman of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Mr. John Momoh, who spoke on the planned presidential debates yesterday, while addressing a press conference in Abuja also said that vice presidential candidates of the APC, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Mr. Peter Obi of PDP, Dr. Junaid Mohammed of the SDP and other running mates, are billed to have their debate on December 14, 2018. Momoh, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Channels TV, said the debates would focus on issues that would help restore the economy, provide electricity, create jobs, secure healthcare for every Nigerian and achieve excellence in every Nigerian

STOP PLAYING THE OSTRICH, PRESIDENCY REPLIES JONATHAN an impressive ceremony on Tuesday in Abuja. But the presidency replied yesterday, saying the former president’s claim was like playing the ostrich that buried its head in the sand in order to avoid the truth. The Senior Special Assistant to President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, in a statement in Abuja, entitled, ‘Dr. Jonathan Should Stop Playing the Ostrich,’ said the fact on the ground today ran contrary to Jonathan’s “outlandish claim�. According to the presidential spokesman, Buhari, in pursuit of the war against corruption, has set a number of local and international records, one of which is to call judicial officers in Nigeria to account. Shehu said, “He is the first to set such a record. Not only that, this is the first time that top military commanders and service chiefs are brought to trial and convictions were achieved on account of corruption.

“Also, this is the first time a ruling party is convicting high profile citizens, including former governors, who are members of the same party. This is the first time the international community is acknowledging the efforts of a government of Nigeria in this regard as manifested by the selection of President Buhari by the African Union as the Anti-Corruption Champion of the continent. “For the records, this is the first time a ruling party is investigating ranking officers of the administration, including some at the very top.� He stated further that in addition to the many firsts recorded by Buhari’s administration, the government had introduced a lot of changes, considering that the laws relating to the fight against corruption could not reasonably be static. According to him, as part of the desire to be ahead of the growing sophistication of corruption and financial

crimes, the administration initiated new legislations and proposed amendments to different sections of the laws. Some of them, he said, are the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Bill 2017; Anti-Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Bill 2017; Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Bill 2017 (NFIU); Proceeds of Crime Bill 2017; Public Interest Disclosure and Witness Protection Bill, 2017 and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, 2017. According to Shehu, owing to these efforts and support of all relevant stakeholders, NFIU Act has been passed and Buhari gave his assent on July 18, 2018. The administration is currently working with the legislature for an expedited passage of the Proceeds of Crimes Bill to make the anticorruption war more effective. He urged that “Nigerians should dismiss Dr. Jonathan’s hollow boast that he, not President Buhari, introduced

only recover N19.5 billion as at May 29, 2015, while under Buhari, the figure had gone

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Lagos Considers Fresh Strategies to End Apapa Gridlock Warns against harassment of traffic officials Gboyega Akinsanmi With the failed intervention of the federal government to end perennial traffic congestion in Apapa and its environs, the Lagos State Government disclosed yesterday that it had started working on a new approach to restore order on all road networks connecting Apapa Central Business District. Also, the government lamented the growing harassment and assault of officials of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), warning that such an act “attracts a jail term of two and half years without option of fine.� The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Ladi Lawanson, made the remarks after a strategic session held at the State House, Alausa yesterday under the chairmanship of the state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi

Ambode. The session was also attended by LASTMA’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Chris Olakpe; its General Manager, Mr. Olawale Musa; Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal; and Chairman of Lagos State Task Force on Environmental Offences, Mr. Yinka Egbeyemi, among others. After the two-hour strategy session, Lawanson acknowledged that Lagos residents had been going through some hardship, which had been occasioned by the gridlock in Apapa and its environs. Contingent on Apapa’s unresolved traffic challenges, Lawanson said the Lagos State Executive Council had come up with new measures and strategies to restore public order on all road networks in Apapa. He said, “The state government has a solution

in sight. All we are going through now is approval process that is required to activate the solution. It has resolved to immediately implement the solutions to ensure Lagos resident can commute across the state with ease.� Olakpe, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, said the trailer park in Orile would be delivered very soon, expressing optimism that it would go a long way to address the issue of trailers parking along roads and bridges and causing congestion on such routes. He added, “The trailer park is in the front burner. It has received expedited action. We are sure the trailer park will be open in a short while to cushion the effect of the standoff trailers on the bridges and other places.� Disturbed by intractable traffic situation motorists have been contending with

in recent times, Lawanson said the state government had fashioned out workable solutions to ensure free flow of traffic across the state, especially as the yuletide season approached. He said, “What we have done is that we have got feedback from men and women who have been on the frontline mainly traffic officials and then the Commissioner of Police was with us as well to give us the perspective of security. “So, most of the issues have been thrown up. We have together as a group strategised to end the gridlock. We have come up with what we think are solutions to make for better flow of traffic especially as we enter the ember months and the holiday season.� Explaining some of the strategies that would be adopted, Olakpe said the 1,000 officials recently

recruited would be trained and deployed to the road before the end of the year. He said the agency has also resolved to extend its operations from 5 am to 12 midnight on a daily basis, saying while the state government continues its palliative on potholes, LASTMA officials would be on ground to ensure free flow of traffic across those areas. On rehabilitation of deplorable roads, Olakpe said the meeting resolved to handle it in two ways: day time and night time, promising that there would be palliative measures immediately. “Don’t forget that we have recruited 1,000 more LASTMA officials. So, we are going to train them. Before Christmas, you would see them on the way and we intend to work from 5am to 12 midnight daily with the infusion of

1,000 men,� Olakpe said. Olakpe, however, frowned at the spate of destruction of public facilities, especially wire barriers and signal lights meant to make life easier for motorists and residents, appealing to those in the habit of doing such to desist or risk facing the full consequences of the law if caught in the act. He said, “We have observed to our chagrin and dismay the vandalisation of wire barriers and signal lights. They are frustrating the efforts of government. As government is moving forward, they are taking them backward by untoward conduct. “So we want to say that from now, it has been resolved that those places would be fully backed up with man power in surveillance and monitoring strategy. So warn those who are the spoilers of good deeds that the hands of the law will catch up with them very soon.�

CBN Warns Banks against Violation of Money Laundering Act Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to guard against violation of the Money Laundering Act, as various political parties gear up towards the 2019 elections. This is coming as the CBN’s Monetary Policy Meeting (MPC), for 14 unbroken times, yesterday retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) otherwise known as lending rate at 14 per cent. The apex bank said the banks that violate the Money Laundering Act under the guise of handling money for politicians risk stiff sanctions.

Speaking yesterday at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja, the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said the apex bank’s position has been handed down to chief executives of the banks earlier, adding that he has also intimated them of the likely dangers they might be exposed to as a result of the activities of politicians. He said, “On the 2019 elections, we had a meeting with the banks. We advised them to be very careful of money laundry issues. If they are caught, they will be heavily penalised. But banks have their rules and criteria; I don’t think banks will do

anything that will violate the rules. When they go wrong, we will deal with them.� Emefiele, who also spoke on lending to politicians, added: “of course, when you see banks lending to politicians, they have their acceptance criteria and I don’t think they will do that at this time.� According to him, “everybody must have learnt their lessons and I believe that the right thing for all is to conduct their businesses carefully. But we as central bank, we are staying behind and watching to make sure that when things go wrong or about to go wrong, we will deal with it appropriately.� On the controversial MTN

repatriation issue, Emefiele pleaded with journalists to give all the parties some time to tidy up loose ends. He said, “We have held meetings with the MTN Group from South Africa and we are at the verge of announcing the resolution. I am very certain that we have reached the end of the road on this issue, and I will continue to say that the sanctity of the CCI issued by our banks remain sacrosanct. “No other company or persons are being investigated on the issue of CCI, this is an isolated matter and I will also say that we have foreign investors in Nigeria like Nigerian Breweries,

Guinness and lots more who have been carrying out their businesses for over 50 years and they have conducted their businesses in a way that we instructed, and that is why there have not been issues,� he said. According to him, the MTN issue “is being resolved and there is no need for anybody to be worried. This issue will be resolved equitably and amicably for the benefit of all. “You must know that in issues like these, there are several things involved, such as whether the capital repatriation of CCI was issued in 24 hours, and several others. These issues were

dealt with over the period but the one that appears to have generated the kind of attention that we think it shouldn’t be generating is the issue of repatriation,� he stated. Meanwhile, the MPC, for 14 unbroken times, yesterday retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) otherwise known as lending rate at 14 per cent. The committee also retained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Liquidity Ratio at 22.5 per cent and 30 per cent respectively, as well as the asymmetric corridor at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR.

It, however, noted, “The rise in the oil price should help alleviate some of the pressure, although it fell back in early November. Most of the loans on banks’ books were restructured when oil was $35 to $40 a barrel. Low foreign exchange liquidity, which was a big driver of bad loans, has improved significantly as dollars return to the country via oil sales.� According to it, analysts such as Renaissance Capital said in a recent research that Nigerian banks are severely undervalued. “In fact, they are trading at valuations close to those of Turkish banks, which have suffered from rapidly increasing cost of funding and concerns about asset quality following collapse of the Turkish Lira, in stark contrast to the improving trends of the Nigerian banking sector,� the report quoted Renaissance Capital to have said. It said despite weathering the country’s first recession in a quarter of a century, many of the country’s banks still made record profits, adding that Oxford Analytica, a consulting

firm, discovered that return on equity for the sector doubled to 20.5 per cent between the end of 2016 and October 2017. According to it, the banks fed on the government’s desperation for money amid falling oil receipts and CBN’s multiple exchange rate regime which it noted created a unique arbitrage opportunity that they exploited. On Dangote’s oil refinery, it explained that its emergence could change the country’s energy balance and effectively send the three refineries run by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Warri, Port Harcourt, and Kaduna, to their natural deaths because there would not be any need for them on the back of the 650,000 barrels a day capacity production would be more than what Nigeria needs. It explained that the refinery would equally have a fiscal impact on Nigeria’s economy considering that there could be a reduction in the demand for foreign exchange to import petrol which is subsidised. According to it, experts noted that Dangote may not sell petrol at the subsidised

price of N145 per litre when the refinery comes on stream, and that Nigeria would have to scrap the subsidy, which is quoted to cost her $7 billion annually to maintain and demands about 40 per cent of her foreign exchange, because it would be cheaper for her to source fuel from the Dangote refinery. The report equally said the upcoming presidential election would be a verdict by the Nigerian people on the works President Muhammadu Buhari, said he has done since he was elected in 2015. It explained that analysts however rate Buhari’s government as mediocre. “After taking six months to pick a cabinet, Buhari’s tenure has been punctuated by long absences for treatment of a mysterious illness in London. Now 75, he faces a battle for re-election in February after a first term that analysts rate as mediocre. “Efforts to improve security, rebalance the economy and lure foreign investment have seen mixed results. But where the state has stepped back, private enterprise has often stepped forward,� it said.

Continued on page 51

REPORT: NIGERIAN BANKS’ FORTUNES TIED TO OIL PRICE oil sector. The report indicated that the 650,000 barrels of oil per day refinery plant currently being built by Dangote Group in Lagos, and set for inauguration in 2020, would likely produce more fuel than what Nigeria needs and send the dilapidated refineries of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) packing. Describing the nexus between Nigerian banks and the vicissitude of oil prices, the report said while the rally in the price of oil over the past year, “is far from a universal benefit to Nigeria’s economy, which is dependent on crude oil revenue but cannot meet domestic fuel demands from its own supply,� it has been good for the banks. “The rise has come as a welcome respite for the country’s banks, whose fortunes are tied to fluctuations in the oil market. “About a third of all domestic commercial bank credit is extended to the oil and gas industry. If its entire upstream, midstream, and downstream operations and supply chain were added together, analysts

estimate oil and gas lending would make up as much as half of bank’s loan books,â€? it stated. According to the report, “The system-wide non-performing loan ratio – a key metric for bank’s health – fell to 12.5 per cent in June from 15 per cent a year earlier, according to official figures. But by August, it had risen to 14.7 per cent.â€? The report added that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had in a recent communiquĂŠ said it was, “concerned with the rising level of NPLs in the banking system, traced mainly to the oil sector.â€? The report added that while top tier banks such as First Bank are generally improving, recovering from a slump that saw its NPLs peak at 24.4 per cent at the end of 2016 after being down to 20.8 per cent at the end of June, other smaller banks are still struggling with some even relying on the CBN to stay afloat. Quoting Olamipo Ogunsanya, a banking analyst at the Lagosbased Renaissance Capital, the report said, “The rise in oil

price has direct implications for Nigeria’s banks given their exposure to the sector.� Ogunsanya added that the NPLs of the banks were primarily driven by lower oil prices and a slowdown in the country’s economy. “But smaller banks are struggling. Last month the Nigerian government announced it would prosecute those responsible for the collapse of Skye Bank, a local lender, and several banks are still being kept afloat almost entirely by support from the central bank. “Meanwhile, Diamond Bank recently announced the resignation of four of its board of directors, amid a streamlining programme that has offloaded assets, in part because of the poor performance of its oil-heavy loan book,� added the report. The report explained that in 2017, the banking sector was shaken when telecoms operator, Etisalat’s Nigeria business, under pressure from the recession and the impact of capital controls, defaulted on a $1.2 billion syndicated loan from 13 local banks.

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COMMENT

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

WASH, BUHARI AND LESSONS FROMVISIONSCAPE Environmental solutions must harness local realities, argues Abu Dare

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he spate of increasing global and national concern over the state of the environment has rapidly shifted the responsibility from government alone to a more consensus-based approach, where all stakeholders have a role to play in environmental protection. This ever-increasing awareness of the fragility of the biosphere in which we all live, coupled with a growing desire to get involved in its protection has given rise to the state of emergency recently declared, by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, “on Nigeria’s water supply, sanitation and hygiene�. The president’s declaration is in line with the UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene initiative generally known as WASH. The UNICEF WASH programme advocates for universal, affordable and sustainable approach to managing health issues whilst contributing to an improvement in the number of people benefitting from improved water and sanitation facilities. The World Health Organisation (WHO), in 2015, estimated that “1 in 3 people, or 2.4 billion, are still without sanitation facilities,� while 663 million people still lack access to safe and clean drinking water. Recent forecasts indicate that an estimated 1.8 billion people will experience absolute water scarcity, meaning there will be little to no water resources to live off. Another two-thirds of the world will be dealing with water-stressed conditions, meaning water resources may be limited or hard to come by. Five years later in 2025, approximately 50 per cent of the world will be experiencing severe water-stressed conditions with Yemen, Libya, Jordan, The Western Sahara and Djibouti emerging on the list of the top five countries currently dealing with extreme water scarcity. Back in Nigeria, safe drinking water is a luxury, with only a negligible percentage of the population having access “to this luxury�. As a result of this challenge, 57 million Nigerians do not have access to safe water and “almost 60,000 children under five years old die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation�, according to Water Aid. The situation is made even worse due to funding inadequacies. Present realities drive home the point that government alone cannot fund Nigeria’s water needs. This challenge has enabled responsible government to initiate projects for the purpose of delivering potable water at reasonable cost. One of such was the recent move towards privatising the Lagos water sector with Metito, Veolia and Visionscape emerging as bidders to develop water distribution networks, metering and operation/ management of the new 70MGD Adiyan Phase II Water Treatment Plant on a build, finance, operate and transfer basis with a proposed 25-year concession period. In a statement, the Lagos State government noted that “We are aware of the challenges to this critical infrastructure that is one of the pivotal backbones of our society. Our strategy is to successfully execute the goals under the state’s master plan for water resources�. The first phase of the project is currently in the works and involves the construction of 2,369km of water distribution network pipelines, service connection of over 200,000 homes and metering, among others. The state of water challenge and sanitation across the country necessitated the inauguration of the National Action Plan for Revitalisation of Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene during the past week. In his resolution, President Buhari instructed “government at all levels to redouble efforts and work towards meeting the nation’s water supply and sanitation needs�. This development brings to the fore the need for a more sustainable approach in environmental protection. Little wonder President Buhari’s declaration is coming on the heels of

SOME 57 MILLION NIGERIANS DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO SAFE WATER AND ALMOST 60,000 CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS OLD DIE EVERY YEAR FROM DIARRHOEAL DISEASES CAUSED BY POOR WATER AND SANITATION

year of attacks leading to a waste crisis due to the beleaguered service contract Lagos signed with Visionscape Sanitation Solutions, which has been subject to alleged sabotage by ‘vested interests’. Some 18 months ago, the Lagos State Government developed a comprehensive ‘Cleaner Lagos Initiative’ (CLI) which was underpinned by an environmental law for the precise aim of opening up the sector to the desperately needed investment in infrastructure. Lofty aims which have since been truncated by the local political machinery of the state is controlled by a significant and vocal group within the wellestablished Private Sector Participant (PSP) waste management scheme. The advent of incumbent Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration recognised a need for a more sustainable system of waste management that transcended the mere collection and disposal services provided by the existing PSP operators. To this end, Visionscape Sanitation Solutions was contracted by the Lagos State Government to develop a world class waste management system under the CLI while also providing waste collection services, as well as the construction of the state’s waste management facilities, including the development of Nigeria’s first engineered landfill. The scheme was to be scalable with a contract duration of 10 years during which mobilisation, augmentation, and stabilisation periods were slated to span over two years while infrastructural upgrades, bin distribution, public awareness, assets and equipment acquisition, and other plans were gradually rolled out. In a lengthy exposĂŠ via their official Twitter page, Visionscape Sanitation Solutions explained the reason why none of these turned out as expected – a bitter court battle between PSPs and the new entrant, oft-repeated sabotage claims, and the infamous Olusosun fire in March 2018. “So unlike other issues, we found out that tackling waste management required a significant amount of support in complicated political conditions,â€? reported a senior management member who spoke under the condition of anonymity. “For example, what we were putting into the landfill was technology to minimise landfill usage – the plan was to introduce anaerobic digestion where organic waste would have been converted to much needed power to attempt to support the surrounding area. Environmental solutions must harness local realities and it has become evident that they will often require reverse engineering to suit and in fact, a key prong of our entrance was the gap we had identified between infrastructure provision and population growth.â€? The irony of course is that a multi-faceted environmental company that has already established a footprint and has also had a trial by fire in local politics may actually be in a position to work across the country in developing solutions for wastewater treatment, in particular which tends to be nexus of challenges in potable water supply. One wonders whether the appetite is still there after being made a political football by Ambode’s detractors. Against this political chicanery, the fact is that the Visionscape led Municipality Waste Management Company Limited (MWMCL) were successful in a green bond – the first time a bond is not being tied to the ever-fluctuating oil price, thus making it the single biggest investment in the environment ever made in Nigeria. Other states need to realise this is a pioneer move that Lagos State has embarked on, one which they equally need to emulate. It is hoped that they will leverage on the strengths of similar schemes making allowances for their political realities to enable a solution that will benefit their citizens. Dare is an environmentalist

2019 ELECTION AND STATE INSTITUTIONS James Ella writes that state institutions should be insulated from politics

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he erudite American Political Scientist and CNN Anchor, Fareed Zakaria has reviewed the incursion of undemocratic voices and elements within the United States of America, other Western countries and more recently in emerging democracies of the global south. Interestingly, those voices and elements have risen against the fundamental ideologies and democratic ethos that lay at the base of Western liberalism in consensus building, public participation, inclusiveness, open society, free media and so on. This has found expressions in the rising incidences of forced migration across the world especially to the Western countries from Middle East and Africa, where the scourges of violence and undemocratic tendencies have forced citizens to seek for asylum elsewhere. However, the emergence of President Donald Trump of the USA has caused Fareed Zakaria to equally reconsider the tendencies of liberal democratic elements within advanced democracies to express intolerance and aggression towards individuals and groups they perceived not to share their ideology. In this case, it is the rise of liberal voices against the conservatives. The current bickering within the internal structures of the major political parties in Nigeria, such as the All Progressives Congress, is without doubt the continuation of the deliberate and tenacious exertions by hegemonic and counterhegemonic forces within the country’s political space. In an effort to

keep the progressive bloc in perpetual subjugation, the hegemonic bloc, which is illiberal and undemocratic, would deploy untoward tactics to gain grounds for the maintenance of the status quo. On the other hand, the eyes of the liberal democratic bloc are always and constantly on the ball to ensure the actualisation of the goals of democracy and guarantee the basic freedoms from want and from fear. In the case of Nigeria, the leadership of the APC has not hidden its determination to meet this twin global aspirations of the human race in guaranteeing freedom from want and fear. Unfortunately, the trajectory for the deployment of ominous strategies is not only primitive but imperial as the Nigeria’s political history is replete with both colonial and post-independence accounts of manoeuvrings against democratic consolidation. While the imperial manipulation of primordial identities has satisfied the colonialists and postcolonial elites, that has resulted in weakening of the state and public institutions, since these tend to satisfy the primordial yearnings and aspirations to the detriment of the fundamental quest for open society. However, to properly interpret certain local events such as within the context of the practice of political party politics in democracy, it is expedient to appreciate the context both locally and globally. The essence of sharing global best practices in frameworks such as the always moribund African Peer-Review Mechanism and similar internal

initiatives that the Nigerian Governor’s Forum introduced, is to ensure that lessons are learned and pitfalls avoided. There are a lot of lessons for the APC to learn and derive from the events that took place before, during and after the 2016 Presidential Elections in the United States of America and the role of state institutions. For instance, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had done a thorough job in investigating the unfortunate attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi that resulted in the death of several operatives but most especially the US Ambassador to Libya, Mr. Christopher Stevens. Interestingly, the FBI exonerated the former Secretary of State, Senator Hillary Clinton of complacency or negligence in handling the incidence after an exhaustive scrutiny of documents, emails and deliberations in public hearings before the US Congress. The fascinating component of the whole saga is the sudden detour by the FBI on the Benghazi Report from a clean bill of health for Secretary Clinton to an insistence, just 11 days to 2016 presidential elections that “there was new information found, but not yet examined.� Sadly, the then FBI Boss, James Comey came again publicly, two days to the elections, with credible accounts that there was nothing new or incriminating about the purportedly new information. As these distractions by the FBI was going on, the Republicans (GOP) were having a field day, with their Presidential candidate feasting on the

unfortunate situation the FBI has subjected Secretary Clinton and the Democrats into. As the 2019 General Election gradually slides into full momentum especially with the blowing of campaign whistle by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), politicians and political parties are now at liberty to unleash their arsenals on the opponents. Strategically, the conscious achievements of the Buhari/Osinbajo government in the war against corruption is currently being under threat by elements within state institutions, the APC and without, who are aggrieved with the implementations of the anticorruption crusade and are ready to deploy untoward methods to cause destabilisation and clog the progress of the APC ahead of the 2019 Elections. The frontal engagement of the nonprogressive forces by the Adams Oshiomole since assumption of office have complemented and strengthened the commitment of President Buhari in the fight against corruption. This is important in understanding the fundamental reforms that the President Buhari- led government is engendering in building a durable structure for sustainable development, peace and security in the country. Comrade Adams Oshiomole’s clear vision and foresight indeed informed the new strategy in deploying and institutionalising policies and actions that will dispel non progressive elements and propel the emergence and coalescing of progressives to support the agenda for the next level.

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T H I S D AY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2018

EDITORIAL Fatalities On Our Waterways The authorities must ensure that minimum safety standards are enforced

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o fewer than 40 persons died recently in a boat accident along River Katsina Ala in Buruku local government area of Benue State. But it was a tragedy that could have been prevented if the boat handlers took necessary precautions. The accident was caused by overloading and the failure of the passengers to put on life jackets. Last week in Bonny Island, Rivers State, two students and an aged woman lost their lives also because of the negligence and irresponsibility of the boat handlers and indeed their scant regard for human lives. A prevailing fierce storm was not taken into account when they decided to sail out - and ended the lives of the passengers prematurely. Earlier in the month, no fewer than three passengers were confirmed dead by the Lagos State government when a passenger boat capsized after two wooden boats collided. Something must be done urgently about these recurring tragedies if we are not to continue harvesting cheap deaths on our waterways. The National Inland Water Authority (NIWA) has been repeatedly WE URGE NIWA TO accused of not living ENFORCE A UNIVERSAL up to its responsibility. It certainly could do SAFETY STANDARD. more. Established in IT SHOULD BE 1997 NIWA manADEQUATELY FUNDED ages the nation’s 3000 TO PROVIDE VITAL navigable waterways INFRASTRUCTURAL from the Nigeria/ SERVICES ALONG THE Niger and Nigeria/ Cameroon borders to WATERWAYS the Atlantic Ocean. These comprise Rivers Niger and Benue as well as the creeks, lagoons, lakes and intra-coastal waters. NIWA’s mandate includes providing regulatory, economic and operational leadership in the nation’s inland waterways system and to develop infrastructural facilities for efficient inter-modal transportation system that is safe, seamless and affordable. It is apparent that the agency has failed to live up to expectations.

Letters to the Editor

To be sure, boat accidents are inevitable, particularly in the creeks and coastlines given the fact that the people living in those areas have no alternative means of transportation. But the rate at which they occur is exceedingly high and the fatalities unacceptable. In the absence of other reliable transportation system, people tend to pile into whatever watercraft available to get to their destinations. Besides some places in Lagos perhaps, not much is known about the existence of any mandatory operational guidelines and the minimum standards that must be met to be in the business of ferrying people through the waters.

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

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

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

DOES MACRON REALLY KNOW?

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hen I first learnt that Emanuel Macron, the French president was born in 1977, that natural human-nature mix-feeling would momentarily jerk one’s consciousness as to whether, for someone born in 1970, one has failed for not being a president at Macron’s age or if Mr. Macron’s comparatively young age has ensured that he learned enough to navigate his way through the complex geo-politics of the world. Quite uncomfortably, now, Emanuel Macron is making me feel a little bit uneasy about his knowledge of 20th century European history, especially in the intervening years before the world wars. 20th century European history fascinates me immensely because I am convinced that if the two World Wars had not happened, Europe would not have been starved of colonial manpower and expansionist enthusiasm and, in truth, African nations would have fared much better today being lifted up in the mould of Hong Kong, South Korea, and shall we say South Africa? Truth is, by the 20th century, Europeans powers were not out hunting for black slaves anymore and the moral burden on their consciences was what is known as the “Whiteman’s burden,” that is, hauling Negro asses to school, literally, but our half-educated “black nationalists” spread across the Caribbean (remember Marcus Garvey?) and the heartland of Africa (Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, etc.) would yearn for rapid de-

here are of course other safety concerns. It is, for instance, a notorious fact that there is hardly any ferry or canoe that keeps to the exact passenger number specification. In some instances, boats that were constructed to carry not more than 20 persons could be loaded with 50 or more passengers, especially at peak periods when people are in a hurry to get back to their various destinations. Consequently when the canoes encounter stormy conditions along the water, the sheer weight of the human cargo and other luggage make them easily susceptible to capsize. Aside from overloading, another cause of these marine accidents is the fact that most of the boats are old and suffer from lack of proper maintenance. Perhaps more important is the obvious absence of enforcement of safety standards. Furthermore, the fact that there are hardly life jackets on board is a sure guarantee that casualty is bound to be high when accidents occur. As we stated repeatedly, there is no doubt that water transportation could be one clear source of de-congesting the roads in places where road travel could result in spending frustrating hours in the traffic. But we urge NIWA to enforce a universal safety standard. It should be adequately funded to provide vital infrastructural services along the waterways. The absence of emergency agencies often contributes to the high casualty figures since the operators have little or no knowledge of the first aid steps to take when accidents occur..

colonisation and the result of this in the first quarter of the 21st century is widespread abject poverty in Africa and the Caribbean. I use the term “half-educated” here because the law clerk-apprentice schooling that these “freedom-fighters” had blinded them to the deeper perspectives of seeing the colonial masters for what they truly were and then copying their way of government and technology; Japan and China were smarter in this regard because they did not holler “go away” at the Whiteman but they humbly sought avenues to understudy the Whiteman’s system. Emanuel Macron is oblivious to these facts and his off-the-point correlation about the present situation of the world and that of the years between the World Wars got me worrying and thinking if the French would not have gone for a greying, grandfatherly figure as their president (even a buxom greying blonde, remember Marine Le Pen?). Let us tell Mr. Macron that his multicultural worldview would not guarantee Europe peace because multiculturalism in itself is meant to be a guile subterfuge by which non-Western ways of life surreptitiously permeates the fabric of Christian Europe and then ultimately seek to overthrow core Western precepts; otherwise, why did the attacks at Charlie Hebdo, the Bataclan, and at Nice amongst other places happen? Only Christian-based nationalism can secure the preservation of European cultures and ensure ultimate peace. Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State

TACKLING THE MENACE OF ROAD ACCIDENTS

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t has become a trend over time that as the year gradually grinds to an end, road accidents become more frequent. Nigeria has recorded thousands of accidents many of which occurred during the months of September, October, November and December, generally referred to as the Ember Months. According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) report of 2017, over 4,410 deaths and 23,392 persons were injured in road fatalities. It should be noted that these road carnages are more during festive seasons. The truth of the matter is that during Christmas everyone is eager to see their loved ones, hence there is increase in both human and vehicular movements across the length and breadth of the country. Many, including drivers and passengers are guilty as everyone seems to be in a hurry and safety is pushed down the ladder. It is in the light of the above development that heavy traffic is generated from both human and vehicular activities, which will in turn put additional pressure on the roads and the attendant disobedience to traffic rules and regulations. Wrongful overtaking and over-speeding become the order of the day as veritable option to escape the traffic and get to the destination faster. Needless to state that some of the drivers plying these roads are under the influence of alcohol, which is to the detriment of the passengers’ safety, who themselves had burdened the vehicle with more than enough loads. We have had enough of bloodshed and causalities hence as we approach this year’s festive period, there is need for us to look into the road accident issues. Activities of the Federal Road Safety Corps during the ember months should be encouraged and vigorously pursued. Other sister security agencies should also be coopted during this period to assist FRSC in order to drastically reduce carnage on our highways. Many of these accidents on our roads can be prevented if collectively we seek to address the situation. Every individual travelling can take precautionary measures to reduce the level of luggage they carry. Grace Omowunmi Semudara, PRNigeria, Abuja

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THISDAYt FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2018

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T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2018

POLITICS

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

PERSPECTIVE Demarketing Nigeria as Government’s Pastime Gbenga Giwa

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hen a father continually denigrates his daughter in the presence of potential suitors, he should never lament if the daughter couldn’t eventually bring home any ‘Romeo’. Even if the daughter is a certified slay queen, the father shouldn’t consistently and persistently bring out her flaws at any given opportunity. It is the duty of a good father to cajole his audience by presenting her daughter in good light with the hope that the daughter would be remorseful and smart enough to behave herself when she eventually gets married. It is the duty of that good father to hope that her daughter’s initial behaviour is due to youthful exuberance associated with growing up, and not to condemn, especially her tantrums, publicly. But our President, General Muhammadu Buhari, is not behaving like a good father. He prefers to wash his ‘daughter’s’ dirty linen in public, even when the discussion is not about laundry. He continually veers off the lane of discussion he’s been asked to take and go on a high lane – a lane that is at variance with his real route. What has been his stock-in-trade since he mounted the saddle of Nigerian leadership in 2015, played out again this past weekend in Paris, France. The gathering of the world leaders is about finding solution to the myriads of conflicts raging virtually in every corner of the world and proffering ideas for world peace. Instead of expressing concern about the security situation and the challenge he is facing about Boko Haram – officially, the third deadliest terrorist

Buhari

group in the world, and solicit for the assistance, my President went about painting Nigeria and Nigerians in his favourite colour – corruption. He said, “corruption and fraudulent activities generate enormous unlawful profits in Nigeria, which prove so lucrative that the threat of a jail term is not sufficient to deter perpetrators.” As we all know this is not the first time President Muhammadu Buhari, will go abroad to demarket the country and her citizens. We can easily recall his attestation to the ingenious description of Nigerians being “fantastically corrupt” by the former British Prime Minister, David Cameron. Instead of challenging Cameron on this damning verdict on Nigeria, my President just sat there giggling, nodding and blushing like a girl on her first date with her crush. He then went on another trip abroad to

describe Nigerian youths as “lazy”. On another trip, he consigned Nigerian women to “the other room”. Meanwhile, back home and not to be outdone by our President in the quest to continue the ‘de-marketisation’ of the country, the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health, Abdulaziz Mashi Abdullahi, gleefully announced to the whole world that “an estimated 40 million Nigerians are suffering from mental disorders”. In other words, since our population is close to 200 millions, it means that one out of every five Nigerian, is mad! Does Abdullahi know the implication of his statement? Let’s estimate that the strength of people working in Aso Rock Villa, the seat of Government is say, 200 work-force, it follows from Abdullahi’s assertion that Mr. President is surrounded by at least 40 mad people. You know what, I think Abdullahi might just be right. Afterall, he is the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health. Come to think of it, his assertion may justify the behaviours of some of us these days. Check out my family for instance. I easily pick quarrel with my wife over very important issues like, why she put my slippers under the bed instead of under the table. My children pick quarrel with their mother over her life-changing decisions like, serving them ponmo instead of fresh fish in their soup. Poor woman. I think, she is the only sane person in my household! And we are only five. My family has reversed the national average of one mad person in five, to one sane person in five. And if we dig deep, we may find that my family’s example could be replicated in millions of families across the length and

breadth of Nigeria, which in effect would mean Abdullahi might have under-calculated the national insane index. On a more serious note, does this government, beginning with its head, President Muhammadu Buhari love Nigeria and Nigerians?. Why does it have this penchant for denigrating us in the eyes of the world? Was it a crime to have elected Buhari as President in 2015?. He is the only one that is clean. He is the only one that is upright. He is the only one that is sane. Meanwhile, right under his nose, his erstwhile SGF cut grass with N200million. His Minister of Communications admitted violating the provisions of the law when he did not participate in the mandatory National Youth Service, yet he remains a Minister. One of his Special Advisers was found to have forged the certificate that enabled his admission into the university to read Law, yet he remains his Adviser. His deputy, the Vice President is alleged to be involved in a N5.8billion scandal and had even been indicted by the House of Representatives on the issue, yet no word from Mr. Integrity. Every index points to the fact that Nigeria is in serious trouble – we are the poverty capital of the world, over 10 million jobs lost since 2015, the Boko Haram menace refuses to go. Instead of appealing to the conscience of world leaders and cry out for help, he and his team prefer to play to the gallery. However, the onus is on all Nigerians to take our destiny in our hands and vote Buhari out in the 2019 presidential election, otherwise we may be confronted with the possibility of having 200 million mad Nigerians. -Gbenga Giwa writes from Abuja.

Case for Interrogation of Governance in Gombe State Muhammad Baba Gombe

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overnment, the world over is a subject of accountability. When a government makes proper accountability a legacy with a view to ensuring that the people get value for the resources spent while in office, it becomes a foundation for subsequent administrations to succeed. In governance, it is often very inviolable to always bequeath a benchmark that will provide a soft landing for the next administration to heave a sigh of relief in terms of kick-starting the day-to-day business of providing the dividends of voting in such administration. In Gombe State, the history of legacy building has become intrinsical of governance as successive governments made it an unassailable responsibility to see to it that the next administration does not get burdened to death by any means whatsoever. By burden, it is crystal clear in contemporary times that nothing burdens a state or nation like debt. The present administration, with all sense of caution, has in all directions deviated from the norm of leaving behind legacy for the next administration through their misplaced spending that has shown that the people of Gombe do not get value for all the revenue collected in the last seven years. This article is structured to show the discrepancy between the huge revenue and the work that the present administration claimed to have done. The discrepancy is an evidence of poor accountability and financial abuse vis-à-vis all the allocations accrued to Gombe State. The state government had reeled out the achievements of the Dankwambo-led administration which included an upgrade of the 1500-bed Children & Women Hospital close to Id ground, construction of a dialysis center in Specialist Hospital Gombe, construction of the College of Nursing & Midwifery, Dukku, construction of a snake-bite treatment center in Kaltungo and the installation of eight dialysis centres. The government also claimed to have rehabilitated pipelines to Kwami, constructed a dam at Boh, Shongom LGA. In the education sector, the government was praised by paid associates for renovating more schools than constructing new schools. In the agricultural sector, the government could only boast of procuring 250 tractors and the establishment

of a non-functional micro finance bank within the last seven years for an agrarian state like Gombe. At a time when the agricultural policy of the federal government through Anchor Borrower Programme is yielding results and enriching farmers, the state government remained inactive in that sector. The state government claimed to have upgraded the International Airport in Gombe but for those of us who have had the privilege of seeing it, the airport has nothing to show, except that the government of the day has abandoned it for years. In addition, the government said it has constructed several roads within the state, built a N4 billion International Conference center as well as procured N4.4 billion hospital facilities which lies waste at the warehouse.With the huge revenue collected from the federal account, Paris Club refund and IGR for seven years, the government could only claim these achievements. Without sounding immodest, the government has not given the good people of Gombe state the right value for their money within the last seven years. In addition to the revenue, the government has a huge debt burden of several billions of naira as domestic debts and millions of dollars as foreign. As a matter of legacy, the people of Gombe must task the state government to be financially responsive for once by paying all its debts before folding the napkin of their debt-driven style of leadership in the state. With the N30 billion bonds secured, yearly average of N31 billion as FAAC disbursements to Gombe for seven years which gives at least N217 billion, the IGR and Paris Club refund, there has been an unprecedented neglect of infrastructure as evident in the Pantami stadium, International Airport, rural roads like those in Nafada axis of the state, hospitals and schools to mention but a few. Unjustifiable borrowing which is characteristic of the Dankwambo administration and a proof that good leadership has lost its definition in Gombe State has put the future of Gombe after Dankwambo in a very precarious situation that it will only take an administrative guru which the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) does not have to turn

around the ill-fortune. Little wonder everyone seems to be hooeful for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to bounce Gombe back to become the jewel in the savannah in all sectors of governance in the state. When the infrastructural developments for which borrowing was meant are absent in reality or what is on ground are not commensurate with what the state government has borrowed despite the federal allocations and Paris Club refund, then it bleeds the heart of citizens who bear the brunt of an administrative ill for which Gombe State has been reduced to by those who claim to be experts on the pages of newspaper. In 2016, according to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) which focuses on Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements, Gombe State received total FAAC allocations of N31.41 billion, while the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) stood at N3.57 billion to make total revenue of N34.98 billion. Similarly, in 2017, Gombe State received N31.23 billion and also the state government got N13.4 billion Paris Club refund. Despite similar allocations from 2011 and other IGR means of raking in more money the infrastructure that are on ground are not what the people expect to see. Shockingly, in spite of the FAAC allocations to the state government, Gov. Dankwambo on assumption of office secured N30 billion bonds in the name of the infrastructure that are either a proof of financial waste in large proportion or an evidence of a round peg in a square hole as far as governance is concerned in the state. Perhaps this is the reason Gov. Dankwambo is seeking to impose Senator Nafada to become the next governor so that the debt status of the state will remain a mystery to the people. The governor knows that in a situation whereby Dr Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna had won the primary it would have been difficult for JIG to be used as the governor’s stooge, in view of JIG’s impeccable character that has made him the Sardaunan Gombe and a vanguard of trust. The question now is what legacy will Dankwambo leave behind for the next administration? I hope the governor is not thinking of leaving behind debts burden for the next administration to bear. This is the

more reasons many across the state have been canvassing for the APC to come on board so that the anti-corruption fight of President Muhammadu Buhari will be felt in the state, and those who helped themselves to the wealth of the people would be made to cough out the money. Furthermore, despite the constant FAAC allocations, Paris Club Refunds and other IGR sources of revenue collections, the state has a debt burden N63.89 billion in 2016 and N41.9 billion in 2017 as domestic debts while the foreign debt stands at USD38.5 million. This is one reality show that Dankwambo doesn’t want to be featured in always and that’s why his praise singers have resolved to see to it that they paint the administration of this government good while failing in the area of taking responsibilities for their un-kept promises to the good people of the state. Shying away from taking the blames of an administration that is always good on the pages of newspaper but nothing to show at the grassroots doesn’t in an inch dignify the present administration in Gombe. By attacking those saying the truth instead of addressing the issues raised is nothing but a testament of betrayal of the trust of the people at the very top of leadership in Gombe State. The people of Gombe State will be more interested in the revelation of the secrets behind the state of governance in Gombe and to also know how the huge debts of the present administration will be repaid. With the infrastructural decays, neglect of projects bequeathed to this administration, huge stockpile of pensioners’ unpaid gratuities and to worsen the matter the avalanche debt burdens the self-styled administration is leaving behind, one cannot be silent but cry out now to avoid an economic mishap in the nearest future. Hence, the people of Gombe state should as a matter of urgency see this as a wake-up call to demand thorough explanation and ultimately investigation so as bring the government to account for their financial actions. -Muhammad Baba Gombe writes from Gombe and can be reached via muhdbaba@ yahoo.com

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2018

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PERSPECTIVE

APGA’s Gaffe in Imo Guber Primary

Amby Uneze explains why the celebrated All Progressives Grand Alliance in Imo State is in tatters

T

he All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) which was once the darling of Igbo politicians has found itself presently. What led to this negative view of a political party that was founded by Chief Chekwas Okorie and handed over to Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu who blessed the party can best be described as greed, wanting power at all cost and mean on the part of some of its present leaders. However, it is this type of impunity that brings a political party to its knees. While its founder, Chief Chekwas Okorie will be laughing that APGA is about going into extinction because its structure was hijacked unceremoniously from him by the Victor Umehs and his co-travelers from Anambra State; its father, late Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu however, would be disappointed in his grave that the light he brought and handed over to his brothers from Anambra is now dimming. Such is the situation in APGA presently as it faces serious challenge in Imo State prior to the 2019 general elections. The problem started when the party admitted all manner of people including those rejected by their previous parties into her fold and granted waiver to run for various elective positions through the party. At the last count, the party had over 30 governorship aspirants in Imo State alone. Most of these aspirants were the best in terms of integrity, marketability, professionalism, and acceptability. Inspite of greed which made the party leaders at the national level jacked up the Expression of Interest and Nomination fees, the aspirants went ahead to purchase the forms. The four-man adhoc delegates in each of the positions from each ward making it twelve adhoc delegates from every ward in the stated were also meant to pay for their forms at N10,000 each for a position. It then means that those who bought forms for the four positions – House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate and Governorship spent N40,000 each adhoc delegate which was paid to the party coffers. From a random calculation, Imo State aspirants under the platform of APGA in a whole

Victor

must have paid a whooping sum of over N4 billion into the coffers of the party at the national level. \It was however, expected that having collected this much from one state alone, efforts should have been made to organize a hitch-free, credible and fair primaries, so that howsoever emerges as the flag bearer in each position others would have leant their support. But, unfortunately it did not happen so, and the outcome is the current crisis, implosion that is rocking the party presently. Over fourteen governorship aspirants led by Dr. Ikedi Ohakim have gone to court seeking redress of the anomaly that pervaded the party after the aborted primaries. By hand picking a candidate and presenting same to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the governorship of the state and other positions only reduced the integrity of the party in the state and ignited public outcry leading the other aspirants to demand that the right thing should be done or their money returned back to them. The name of APGA in Imo

state today reverberates violence, cheating, recklessness and what have you. As dynamic as politics is, it has opened another vista of opportunity for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state to reap from the crisis that are rocking the other major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and APGA. To this end, some critical stakeholders of these other parties are now pledging support and to work for the successful of the PDP’s governorship candidate in the state, Chief Emeka Ihedioha. To this extent, fresh political alignment towards 2019 Imo governorship tilts towards the way of the PDP governorship candidate, Emeka Ihedioha as one of the frontline All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state, Uche Onyeagocha, had agreed to work for the victory of Ihedioha in the governorship election. This strategic alliance, according to Onyeagocha was to promote excellence, fairness and credibility as experienced in the recent primaries held across the country including Imo State by the PDP as against

the charade done by APGA as well as the crisis rocking the APC over her candidates in the state. Onyeagocha is one of the angry governorship aspirants in APGA in Imo State who opposed the manner the party handled it’s governorship primary. The former federal lawmaker has been vocal against the primary and is known for his vocal attacks on the APC. He spoke at his Obinze in Owerri West LGA country home when he received Ihedioha who came to pay him homage as a prominent leadership in the state. He said, his resolved to support the PDP governorship candidate was because the process that produced him as the party governorship candidate was transparent, free and fair compared to the political rigamarole that occurred in APGA and APC. Onyeagocha, the first federal legislator of APGA extraction between 1999 and 2003 described the former Senator that represented Imo North (Okigwe) senatorial district, also a governorship aspirant, Ifeanyi Araraume, Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano and APGA National Chairman, Victor Oye as political grabbers for the way they manipulated the last governorship primary election of the party in the state. He said, “It can never be well with the trio. They messed up our primary election after keeping us for three days under the scotching sun without achieving any meaningful result. No fewer than four hotels were used as collation centers. What they did in the end was to announce Ararume, the winner. That style is not APGA’s style from the much I knew. Owing to that, I am no longer a member of that their APGA, but of the New APGA (nAPGA) and we in the nAPGA can never allow Ararume to become or parade himself as APGA’s candidate. Let me tell you, Ararume is worse than Rochas Okorocha. We will not allow this our dear state to enter into the hands of political jobbers again. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

Still on Ogun APC Gubernatorial Primary Femi Ogbonnikan

I

n democracy, politics is a game of numbers, you either lose or win. And this is not an exception to the rank and file of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ogun state chapter. Apart from the dust raised over the emergence of Prince Dapo Abiodun as the party’s governorship flag bearer but which has virtually been laid to rest, following the prompt intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari who extended an olive branch to Ogun State Governor, Sen Ibikunle Amosun, along with his three other aggrieved co-travellers (Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo, Alhaji Yari of Zamfara and Rochas Okorocha of Imo States respectively who have similar case) to sheathe their sword and work for the victory of the party’s candidates in these states, preparatory to the upcoming 2019 general elections. But there still appears shrouded in uncertainty the fate of some nine candidates of the House of Representatives and all the 26 State House of Assembly who won all the seats by a consensus arragement the governor (Amosun) had initially and unilaterally handpicked them to fly the tickets of their respective constituencies but could not make the recently leaked candidates lists of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to qualify them from participating in the upcoming 2019 general elections. Affected prominent kitchen-cabinet members, family members and close allies of Mr Governor, include the Amosun’s preferred governorship candidate, Hon Adekunle Akinlade, who is currently the lawmaker representing Yewa South/Ipokia Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Suraj Adekunbi who lost out the ticket of the Yewa North/Imeko-Afon Federal

Constituency to the incumbent lawmaker, representing the constituency, Hon Kayode Oladele, chairman, House Committee on anti-graft, who is also seeking re-election into the lower chamber of the National Assembly and the State Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr Leke Adewolu, who failed to clinch the ticket into Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency but won by Mr Ibrahim Isiaka. Others are the incumbent lawmaker representing Abeokuta North/Odeda/ Obafemi-Owode Federal Constituency, Hon Mikhail Kazzim who lost out to Hon Olumide Osoba, son of former Governor of the state and chieftain of the APC, Aremo Olusegun Osoba; chairman, the state local government service commission, Mr Rotimi Rahman (aka Arugbo) could not make the list into the Ado-Odo/Ota Federal Constituency and was defeated by the incumbent legislator representing the constituency, Hon Jimoh Ojugbele who is also staging a return to the lower chamber of the National Assembly; the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Otunba Adedayo Adeneye (aka D1) who lost the ticket to represent Odogbolu constituency of the State House of Assembly to Mrs Atinuke Bello and the state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Modupe Mojota, who also lost to Mr Temitope Adejojo, who won the Abeokuta North 1 State House of Assembly constituency ticket and the governor’s nephew, Yussuf Amosun, who lost out to Hon Israel Jolaoso, the incumbent lawmaker representing Ewekoro constituency at the State House of Assembly who is also seeking re-election. However, on the heels of the outrage that had greeted the outcomes of the conduct of both the National Assembly and State House

of Assembly elections held on October 7, 2018, it was gathered that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party had to wade in and address the anomalies in the overall interest of all and sundry. Not left out, it was reliably gathered that southwest leadership of the APC and concerned friends have initiated several peace processes between Abiodun and Amosun towards resolving whatever differences therein, but Mr Governor has rebuffed every entreaty to be pacified, except he take all his demands. Besides, the last straw that broke the camel’s back was a letter purportedly written by a member of the NWC legislative primaries, Hon Okey Nnonyelu, posted to the state, which indicted Ogun State APC leadership of monumental fraud. According to the chronology of events of the report of the legislative primaries held in Ogun State on Sunday, October 7, 2018 and obtained by newsmen, it was said that “the entire process was heavily compromised and surrendered to the Ogun State Government officials and the party executive members”. Going by the report of the NWC, it indicted the state leadership hierarchy of hijacking the entire exercise to favour their aspirants who had all emerged as candidates, though when the results were yet to be officially declared by the NWC. The report dated tuesday, October 9, signed and addressed to the national chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, by Nnonyelu, a member of the NWC Legislative primaries, said that “the state chapter led by Chief Derin Adebiyi; recruited the returning officers, conducted the primaries, collated and submitted the results to the committee for declaration and submission to the National Working Com-

mittee (NWC)”. Rather, to their utter dismay, it was gathered that Ogun State protocol officials made a surprise visit to the Green Legacy Hotel at about 8:00 pm and evacuated all the committee members to Mitros Hotel, which belongs to the Ogun State Government within the same precinct of Abeokuta. “At this hotel, Mitros, the plan started to change with the visit of the Ogun State party chairman, Chief Derin Adebiyi, and some party stalwarts to the members of the committee and the process, including materials, logistics and all, were surrendered and handed over to the Ogun State party hierarchy. “At this state, the committee ostensibly surrendered her mandate to the stare structure (the Ogun State Party chairman). “At about 11:00 am, the chairman of the committee addressed all the aspirants and some stakeholders. “But, with a clear departure from the original position of the committee, issues about the ad-hoc and inputs by the aspirants were rebuffed by the committee. Therefore, the aspirants were dismissed to face the voters and being a Sunday, the meeting came to an abrupt end”, said Nnonyelu. The governor, who is unfavourably disposed to losing, at least a seat, but desirous of taking all, it was learnt, has vehemently objected to any form of sharing ratio, despite three meetings that have been held in Abuja at the instance of the NWC leaders with a view to brokering a peace deal. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

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T H I S D AY Ëž Í°Íą, 2018

BUSINESSWORLD

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08024557078, 08152447875

ÍŻ Í´ Ëœ Í° ÍŽ ÍŻ Íś MONEY MARKET OBB OVERNIGHT

REPO 6.33 % 7.17 %

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

5% 8.88% 9.08%

S & P INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY MONTH-TO-DATE

347.03 % 0.00% -0.25%

S & P INDEX 1/4 TO DATE 0.08% YEAR TO DATE 5.33%

EXCHANGE RATE N306.70/1US DOLLAR* ĚŠ

Quick Takes Qatar Airways Wins Award

COURTESY VISIT

L-R: Director, Business Development / Client Management Financial Services Training and CertiďŹ cation, Moody Analytics Institute, John J. Pappas;Registrar/CEO,Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mr. Seye Awojobi; Associate Director, Regulatory / Credentialing Policy Financial Services Training & CertiďŹ cation, Debbie Bell and Associate Director, Examination Design/ Measurement, Mr. Charles Mayenga, during a courtesy visit by Awojobi to the Moody’s oďŹƒce Toronto, Canada...recently

Stakeholders Lament Poor Airport Facilities Chinedu Eze Industry stakeholders have excoriated the federal government for failing to install critical airport infrastructure to ease the pains of air travel in Nigeria. The stakeholders noted that for several years majority of the airports in the country cannot allow flights to land at night because they lack airfield lighting and instrument landing system. They, therefore criticised the government for collecting revenues from aviation agencies, especially the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Airspace Manage-

AVIATION ment Agency (NAMA)and still leave the airports in deplorable condition without safety critical infrastructure. THISDAY learnt that since 2015, with the introduction of Single Treasury Account (TSA), these agencies pay 25 per cent of their earnings to the federal government and considering that the agencies are cost recovery organisations that do not collect subvention from government, it has become increasingly difficult for them to fund capital projects. For example, out of 22 airports under the management of FAAN, 18 do not have airfield lighting

so flights cannot land there after 6:30 pm. A senior FAAN official confirmed to THISDAY that the federal government does not provide funds to the agency, but noted that it was the duty of the Ministry of Transportation to embark on capital projects in the aviation industry. But so far, there has not been any project embarked upon by government, save for the new terminals being built with Chinese loans which were enunciated in 2012, while work started in 2013. At different occasions the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika had reiterated that the current administration is provid-

ing safety critical infrastructure at the airside of the airports, which include landing aids like instrument landing system, airfield lighting and others, stressing that the administration was not interested in terminal building but in upgrading and providing those facilities for safe flight operations. But at the twilight of this administration, none of the 18 aforementioned airports has airfield lighting installed. Nonetheless, stakeholders commended the Buhari administration for modernising the Abuja airport runway as well Continued on page 22

‘Nigeria Greatest BeneďŹ ciary of ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme’ Eromosele Abiodun Former Deputy Executive Secretary of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Commission), Dr. Sola Afolabi, has stated that Nigeria is the greatest beneficiary of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS). He stated this while delivering a paper titled: “The Trajectory of Intra-West Africa Trade and Travel 1975 till date,â€? at the inaugural lecture to mark the 10th anniversary of Inside Watch Africa (IWA) magazine in Lagos. He said ETLS and Free Movement Protocol are the most promising tolls for enhancing regional integrations in West Africa. “The success of the schemes today has made ECOWAS to stand out among the regional

MARITIME economic communities in Africa. “The entry of Morocco into ECOWAS and the entry into force of AfCTA should be prudently managed to achieve the desired objectives. With greater sensitisation and efficient application, the schemes can continue to contribute to the enhancement o the welfare of the ECOWAS citizens.� The ETLS, he said, was established in 1979 to encourage entrepreneurship development in the region and increase intra-regional trade and boost economic activity. “The ETLS was also established to increase West African competitiveness on the global market, increase the gross domestic products (GDP) of Member States, thus welfare of citizens,� he said.

While stressing that Nigeria is by far the largest beneficiary of the scheme, he said large companies and businesses have benefitted all across the region, adding that there was high compliance by member states during the compensation regime. The scheme, he added, allows registered companies move approved products and goods within ECOWAS free of duty and taxes. “Raw (agricultural) materials and artisanal goods move freely, however, manufactured products must satisfy country of origin requirements to benefit. “Applications for approval are made to the National Approval Agencies (Customs, Trade, Foreign Affairs, as may be applicable). Applications are processed at national level and forwarded to ECOWAS for final

approval,� he stated. Afolabi, blamed low awareness for the reason why the scheme has not been beneficial to most corporate in the region. He also stated that intending users do not understand the technicalities of the scheme blaming operational deficiencies in the national approval for this. This, he stated, resulted sometimes inordinate delays in granting certificates of origin (CoO) Highlighting some of the problems facing the scheme, he said: “Non-mutual recognition of CoO resulting from distrust in the national approval processed and language barriers creating problems for users making applications. “Parallel FTA scheme in ECOWAS and UEMOA resultContinued on page 22

Qatar Airways’ ‘Qsuite’ was named ‘Best Business Class’ in the Airline Ratings’ Airline Excellence Awards 2019. The airline’s renowned dine-on-demand in ight cuisine was also named ‘Best Catering’. The annual Airline Ratings Awards, one of Australia’s most trusted travel industry awards, acknowledges the best in the airline industry andarebasedonvotesbynationaltraveleditorswhohaveacombined experience of over 150 years. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are extremely pleased to have been awarded these accolades in the AirlineRatings’ Airline Excellence Awards 2019. “Our patented, revolutionary Qsuite has left an indelible impression on passengers who have experienced it, and we are delighted that the editors at AirlineRatings concur. “Qsuite represents our commitment to innovation and exceptional passenger experience as it continues to set the global benchmark for the Business Class experience.â€? Airlineratings.com Editor-in Chief, Mr. Georey Thomas, said: “Qatar Airways has always been a trendsetter by raising the bar, and its new Qsuite is the epitome of that drive and a natural choice as AirlineRatings.com best Business Class for 2019. Qsuite is a ďŹ rst-class experience in Business Class. Our judges rated it as one of the best overall business-class products they had seen. It sets a standard to which some airlines can only aspire. “But it’s not just business class where Qatar sets the standard; its win for Best Catering 2019 is another example of its attention to detail throughout the aircraft. The airline is rightfully in the Airlineratings. com Top Ten for 2019.â€? Qsuite, patented by Qatar Airways, features the industry’s ďŹ rst-ever double bed available in Business Class, with privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room.

Pilots’ Union Seeks Contract Negotiation

The union representing 15,000 pilots at American Airlines has called on the airline to open negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement. In a statement, the Allied Pilots Association (APA) said: “it’s timeâ€? to move beyond an agreement “borne out of bankruptcy and to pursue, collaboratively, an airline that both labour and management can be proud to represent.â€? The current American-APA contract was agreed in 2015, after American emerged from a painful Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The APA has triggered a provision in its current contract and given American notice of January talks on a new deal. In a letter to the airline, APA President Captain Daniel Carey identiďŹ ed “four simple, straightforward values that will facilitate the change we seek- safety ďŹ rst, respect, fairness, and a commitment to collaboration.â€? Carey said the union intends to conclude negotiations in months. “The sooner we reach an agreement, the better for all concerned, including our pilots, our investors, and the passengers we serve.â€?

Boeing Completes Fuselage of B777X

Boeing has completed the assembly of the major fuselage sections of the ďŹ rst ight test 777X, a major milestone as the upgraded 777 heads towards a ďŹ rst ight next year. The ďŹ nal body join mates the plane’s nose, mid and aft sections of the 77 metre (252 feet) long aircraft. The 777X ight test airframe is being assembled at Boeing’s Everett, Washington factory. The ďŹ rst 777X to be produced would be a 777-9, which would seat up to 425 passengers and y up to 7,600 nautical miles (14,075 km). It would be the longest passenger jet Boeing has produced. The 777X would be powered by General Electric GE9X engines, and has a new composite wing design with folding wingtips. Fully extended, its wingspan is 72 metres (235 feet). By introducing folding wingtips Boeing says the 777X will maintain airport compatibility with existing 777s. Boeing completed the ďŹ rst 777X airframe for static ground testing in September 2018, with three additional test aircraft to be built after the ďŹ rst ight test. Boeing has received 340 orders and commitments for the 777X from airlines including All Nippon Airways, Cathay PaciďŹ c, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines.

“I think one of the problems is that we always look for short cuts and we always try and treat symptoms rather than going back to look at the fundamentals� Executive Director, CDC Group,

Mr. Andrew Alli

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T H I S D AY Ëž Í°ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

BUSINESSWORLD STAKEHOLDERS LAMENT POOR AIRPORT FACILITIES as its airfield lighting. The Accountable Manager , Dana Air, Obi Mbanuzuo told THISDAY Nigerian airlines go through challenges daily, due to delays caused by inadequate infrastructure. “We go through day to day operational challenges. In some airports the landing aids are not there; in some places the power is epileptic. “There are agencies’ challenges, with some doing better than others. There are lots of deficiencies in different places. When you say the environment is harsh, imagine a place where you can’t land after 6:00 pm or where maybe a state government has tried to help the system or the environment by providing equipment and then sometimes the people who are supposed to look after them vandalise them. “Airports are not places where anyone on the street can get access to, so telling me that someone outside the airport environment has stolen the landing aids is not possible. “The people who work there have done that. Somebody has done that so that he gets gratification,� he said. Airlines and passengers have complained bitterly about the inability of aircraft to land at the second runway of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), known as domestic runway after 6:30 pm. ‘NIGERIA GREATEST BENEFICIARY OF ECOWAS TRADE LIBERALISATION SCHEME’ ing in selective application at borders, re-export of goods from third countries further stressing trust in CoOs are some of the problems.� He added that phase one of the ECOWAS free movement protocol guarantees right of entry making it possible for citizens to travel freely visa-free within ECOWAS. He added that provisions are also made for free movement of vehicles within the region in the ECOWAS free movement protocol. However, he said bribes and delays, especially at land borders and requirement of Yellow card is hampering the ECOWAS free movement protocol.

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Nigeria, UNIDO Sign $60m New Country Programme The federal government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) have signed a $60 million new country programme for inclusive and sustainable industrial development in Nigeria for 2018- 2022. The programme is to guide UNIDO’s programme/projects interventions in Nigeria during the period; build on the cumulative achievements of past Country Programme implemented by Nigeria/UNIDO; and to strengthen synergies by collaborating with other development partners, state and non-state actors, including the private sector. Minister, Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, signed on behalf of the federal government, while Mr. Li Yong, the DirectorGeneral, UNIDO signed for his organisation. A statement explained that the new country programme, the second in the series of UNIDO’s support to Nigeria, was aligned to the priorities of the federal government as outlined in the Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan. “It covers industrial governance, research and statistics; micro, small and medium scale enterprise development; special economic zones, industrial parks & private sector development; innovation science and technology management. Other key areas covered are agro -industry and agribusiness development; minerals and metals development; trade capacity building; renewable energy development; and environmental management programme. Enelamah, who expressed the government’s gratitude for the UNIDO’s collaboration said the programme was designed to build on the cumulative achievements of the past Country Service Frameworks and Country Programme

Chinedu Eze The Governing Council of the West African Insurance Institute has appointed the Chief Executive Officer of AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, Mr. Kunle Ahmed as a member of the Academic Board. The West African Insurance Institute was formed in 1978 by UNCTAD and the five Anglophone countries in West Africa, with commitment to

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

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) Linda Eroke (Labour) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Cap Mkt) ÔÓÙĂ?Ă™Ăœ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? (Energy) James Emejo (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)

installation of modern rice milling equipment in Ebonyi State and Benue State, and installation of palm oil processing mill in Akwa Ibom State; renewable energy development with the identification of over 200 potential Small Hydro Power (SHP) sites in Nigeria; installation of SHP plants in Enugu State, Bauchi State, and Taraba State and technical support to five Megawatts rice husk (biomass) to energy in Ebonyi State; techno-economic feasibility studies and business

plans on sawdust (biomass) to energy in 9 Local Government Areas in Ogun State and Ondo State. The statement added: “The SHP plant in Taraba State is the source of power for the Highland Tea Factory which has transformed from bankruptcy to profit; development of textile and garments common facility centres in Abia State (for leather and garment), Kano State (for leather and leather goods) and Delta State (for leather) and

National quality infrastructure.� Answering questions on the direct impact of the programme on Nigerians, he explained that, among other benefits industrial development means creation of more job opportunities. The minister promised effective collaboration with UNIDO for the success of the programme, which will enhance the implementation of the ERGP which started well and for which concerted efforts are being made to ensure it ends well.

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

L-R: the Customs Area Controller Apapa, Bashir Abubakar; General Manager HRG Nigeria, Ms. Lola Adefope; Publisher Inside Watch Africa (IWA), Oluwaseyi Adegoke Adeyemo; former Deputy Executive Secretary of ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Sola Afolabi and former Vice Chancellor of Caleb University, Prof. Ayodeji Olukoju at the 10th year anniversary of IWA in Lagos‌recently

the growth of insurance and the improvement of insurance personnel skills in West Africa. The institute provides professional insurance education and in conjunction with both University of South Africa and Cambridge Graduate University also conducts Master’s degree programmes in Risk Management and Insurance and Marketing. It also serves as a centre for the collection of technical and other

insurance data. Commenting on his appointment, Ahmed said: “My appointment as a member of the academic board of the West African Insurance Institute comes as great news to me and the entire AXA Mansard team. Having graduated with distinction from the same institution several years ago, I am excited to serve my alma matter on this board. “I will be contributing my

quota, through the Academic Board, towards the achievement of the lofty goals of the Institute for the West African Insurance Industry.� The roles of the Academic Board include overseeing all academic matters of the institute regarding course curriculum, assessment procedure and lecture delivery. The board also reviews all examination results first before they are presented to

the Governing Council for final approval and release. Ahmed added: “AXA Mansard like WAII is committed to investing in personnel development and we believe this is key to sustaining superior service standards and world class insurance practice. “I am confident my appointment will further strengthen this resolve, as well as motivate our people to continually innovate and excel.�

UN Tasks Private Sector on Humanitarian Crises in North-East Sunday Ehigiator

Comms/e-Business Editor

implemented by UNIDO. He said UNIDO was encouraged by the success of the first Country Programme which paved way for the new programme. He listed some of the achievements of the first programme, which ended in June 2018, to include support for the development of an industrial policy for Nigeria and for states including Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Oyo, Lagos, Abia, and Edo; agribusiness and agroindustry development, including value chains development with

AXA Mansard CEO Appointed Member of W’African Insurance Institute

AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Jonathan Eze

NEWS

The United Nations has partnered with leading Nigerian companies in the banking, energy, legal and consumer services sectors to assist the federal government to tackle the humanitarian crisis in the north-east. The United Nations Nigeria Humanitarian Fund-Private Sector Initiative (NHF-PSI) was launched recently in Lagos, marking the first time that the private sector is collaborating with the United Nations through a country-based fund that pools resources to deliver humanitarian aid to

people in need. The crisis triggered largely by the ongoing conflict in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, have claimed the lives of 27,000 people in the last decade. Today, more than seven million vulnerable women, men and children are in need of life-saving aid, such as food, safe water and medicine. In his address, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando Plc, Mr. Adewale Tinubu, expressed delight in being part of the initiative, noting that it was a unique opportunity for the private and public sectors to collectively offer

solutions to a local humanitarian crisis. He also stated that the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund-Private Sector Initiative created hope for the disadvantaged citizens and also promoted social development for the nation. Speaking at the event, the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, said the initiative presented a unique opportunity to create a blueprint for future private-sector engagement in humanitarian actions across the globe. He added that investing in the

vulnerable people of the north-east was an investment in humanity that would last for generation. In his address, the founder, Zenith Bank, Mr. Jim Ovia, stated that the private sector and the UN could take meaningful, high-impact decisions and actions, “merging our money and our minds, helping our countrymen, and building on the progress made so far.� At the event, 14 companies and groups announced their support for the NHF-PSI, and would join to form a steering group, the collaborative efforts of which would raise awareness

and resources, while promoting innovative solutions, to support humanitarian action in the north-east. Members of the Steering Group, co-chaired by Ovia, Kyari Bukar of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, include Group Chief Executive of Oando Plc, Adewale Tinubu; Group Head Marketing and Corporate Communications, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Folake Ani-Mumuney; Partner, Templars Law, Olumide Akpata; Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Patrick Akinwuntan; Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc Herbert Wigwe, and others.

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Air Peace Boss Calls for Unity in Nigeria Stories by Chinedu Eze The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema, has urged Nigerians to drop their ethnic sentiments in favour of building a united and peaceful nation. Onyema made the call after he was conferred with an honourary Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) at the 9th Convocation Ceremony of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra State recently. Onyema, who also donated N70 million towards the university’s infrastructure project and pledged the setting up of Nigeria’s first Centre for Nonviolence and Peace Studies in the institution, regretted that ethno-religious conflicts were pulling the country apart. “I want to help education. I want to fight the incidence of violence and ethnicity in this country. The greatest bane of our development is ethnicity. “That is why I want to set up the first Centre for Nonviolence and Peace Studies for them (Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra State) by collaborating with

the university and making it an elective course for students, so that people will start learning how to manage conflict. “Conflict is a catalyst for change but it depends on how you manage it. The institute I want to set up here will help Nigerians with the ways and means of managing conflicts to achieve better results,� Onyema said. The Air Peace boss, who said he was proud of his contribution to dousing ethnic agitations in the Niger Delta and other flash points in the country through his organisation, The Foundation for Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria (FEHN), assured that he was determined to fix the challenges of the nation’s aviation sector with his airline. He urged the federal government to resist the temptation to set up a national carrier, insisting that experience around the world had proved that the model was at best a drain on lean public resources. Ethno-religious violence, Onyema assured, could always be efficiently tackled through education and provision of employment opportunities for Nigerians.

He said Air Peace had continued to lead the way in job creation with the provision of tens of thousands of direct and indirect employment to Nigerians without ethnic considerations as part of the carrier’s contribution to the nation’s economic development. He confirmed that Air Peace currently has 27 aircraft in its fleet, besides the firm order it recently placed with Boeing for 10 brand new B737 Max 8 aircraft. He said the airline had demonstrated doubtless capacity to fix the challenges of seamless flights on the domestic and international routes. “Today, we operate into 14 domestic and five regional destinations, with plans for the inauguration of our long-haul flights to Dubai, Sharjah, London, Houston, Guangzhou-China, Mumbai and Johannesburg nearing completion,� he said. Thanking Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University for honouring him, the Air Peace boss urged the Federal Government to continue to accord Nigerian businesses the needed support to empower them to speed up the nation’s socio-economic development.

Airbus Announces CFO, COO Appointments The Board of Directors of world’s major aircraft manufacturer, Airbus has appointed Dominik Asam, to succeed Harald Wilhelm as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in April 2019. Asam, currently CFO of Munich-based Infineon Technologies AG, would join Airbus on April 1, 2019, ensuring a smooth handover with Harald Wilhelm, who remains in charge in his current role until the Annual General Meeting on 10 April 2019. “We are very pleased to have Dominik Asam joining Airbus as CFO. Dominik is one of the most highly rated CFOs of the German DAX30. He has an outstanding professional background and he will, no doubt, be a great wingman for Guillaume Faury, who will succeed me at the helm of Airbus next spring,� the Chief Executive Officer of Airbus, Tom Enders said. As CFO, Dominik Asam would report to future CEO Guillaume Faury and become a Member of the Airbus Executive Committee. Guillaume Faury, President Airbus Commercial Aircraft

said, “I am very much looking forward to working with Dominik to continue improving our company’s financial performance. A finance expert with an engineering and wide industrial background is a great choice for this mission.â€? Airbus has also appointed Michael SchĂśllhorn, 53, as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Airbus Commercial Aircraft, effective February 1, 2019. SchĂśllhorn, currently COO for BSH Home Appliances GmbH in Munich, will succeed Tom Williams, 66, who retires 31 December 2018 after 50 successful years in the aerospace industry, 19 of which were in top Airbus management positions. “Michael brings a vast amount of expertise in digitalisation, end-to-end process optimisation, manufacturing, quality and supply chain management – key assets to transition our company to the next levels of production efficiency,â€? said President Airbus Commercial Aircraft, Guillaume Faury. “Michael’s leadership will be crucial for the future success of Airbus. I am thrilled to

welcome him to the team and thank the Board of Directors for their support in this selection process.â€? Michael SchĂśllhorn will report to Guillaume Faury who will succeed Tom Enders as Airbus CEO following the shareholders Annual General Meeting on 10 April 2019. He will also become a Member of the Airbus Executive Committee. On the appointment, Airbus CEO Tom Enders said: “We are glad to welcome Michael, and we bid farewell to Tom Williams, a great personality and leader both in Airbus and the wider European aerospace industry for many years. Tom braved countless challenges during his time with Airbus, always overcoming them in the best interest of the company and its customers, and never losing his dry Scottish humour. Tom’s impressive career took him from the shop floor as an apprentice with Rolls-Royce in 1969 to the Airbus Executive Committee. I am forever grateful for his engagement, leadership and friendship. I wish him a well-deserved retirement.â€?

Ethiopian, Firm to Promote Medical Tourism in Africa, India The Ethiopian Airlines has announced the appointment of Only Merit (Merit Healthcare & Hospitality Solutions) India as its “Promoter� for Medical Travel Packages from African Territories to India, Malaysia and UAE. Vice president Marketing, Ethiopian Airlines, Ms. Rahel Assefa, said the move was to enhance the medical travel facilities across African territories, saying “our vast network in

the continent coupled with OnlyMerit’s expertise shall be of a great advantage and further strengthen the growing demand of Medical Tourism from Africa towards India.� Director of OnlyMerit, Mr. Anil Mathew on his part commented, “Our association as promoter with the largest Africa carrier, Ethiopian Airlines will further strengthen the promotion of unique medical travel facilities to India�.

Medical Travel Passengers of Ethiopian Airlines can avail twice daily non-stop services to Mumbai and New Delhi from more than 50 African destinations. Apart from Mumbai and New Delhi, Ethiopian Airlines offers convenient and economical connections on its code share and SPA to almost all metro cities in India such as Ahmadabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Trivandrum etc.

AIR WATCH Experts Caution FG over Arming Aviation Security

AVSEC oďŹƒcials on duty

Chinedu Eze A fortnight ago, at the fifth stakeholders’ forum in Abuja, the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, reiterated his earlier promise to arm Aviation Security (AVSEC) at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), which is the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recognised security agency for the nation’s airports. At the Forum, which took place this month, Sirika had said AVSEC would be armed in three months, which means that they would start carrying arms by early next year. The minister adduced reasons why AVSEC should carry arms and made reference to incidents when passengers over powered security operatives to access sterile areas of the airports, known as airside, which is a prohibited area of the airport. There are also occasions where dissatisfied passengers had beaten up airline officials, defying security rules and regulations and bringing chaos to the airport environment, which is against international security regulations. Sirika, said AVSEC would carry arms like teasers, batons, sniffer dogs, guns and stressed that the president has given approval to arm the airport security operatives. “We got the approval to train AVSEC officers to bear arms in the next three months like the Transport Security Administration (TSA) in the United States of America. “They will get new uniforms, sniffer dogs and wear new looks, safety and security is the primary concern of this administration; therefore, we are not leaving any stone unturned�, he said. The minister muted the idea of arming AVSEC in 2016 and since then, a lot of infractions had taken place including the invasion of the airside of the Sokoto airport by supporters of Senator Aliu Wammako and similar incident that happened at the Bauchi airport. He had also recalled the incident in December 2016 when passengers of Turkish Airlines invaded the Abuja airport ramp to stop Turkish aircraft from taking off because the airline did not bring back their entire luggage with the flight. Sirika noted, “Security infractions like what happened with Turkish Airlines has given further rise to this decision to arm AVSEC and Turkish Airline has not stopped this, they still come with a smaller aircraft and do not bring people’s luggage back. “That is how the Abuja infraction took place, they didn’t return the luggage after day one, they returned a few and then they people got angry and frustrated and took laws into their hands and overpowered aviation security and entered the airside. However, that is one of the many security issues we are trying to stop as a deterrent. “Also see what happened in Sokoto with

former governor Wammako. So the passengers will be cautious too and not at any provocation they beat up security personnel to access the secure area which in itself is a crime.� Many industry stakeholders have acknowledged the need to arm AVSEC and urged caution. This includes the think-tank body in the industry, Aviation Round Table (ART). Reacting to the minister’s announcement, aviation security expert and CEO of Centurion Securities, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd) said, “When I spoke with the aviation stakeholders on why caution needs to be taken on the government’s plans to arm FAAN AVSEC security personnel, I was not totally against it but against multiple liberalisation and decentralised control of arms carried by multilateral security agencies at our airports. “Presently, there are more than six of them; we have the Customs, Immigration, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Police, Department of State Security (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSDC), etc, at the airport all carrying arms and under different command and administrative control. Adding FAAN AVSEC to the list without administrative authority or control over any of them is to create a chaotic, uncontrolled arms environment.� He said if government wishes that FAAN AVSEC must carry arms “as revealed by the minister, which I support, government should do the followings: excise AVSEC away from the control and management of FAAN and form a separate entity basically for airport (border) security; take and merge with the AVSEC entity, all elements of Customs, Immigration, NDLEA, Police, DSS, NCDSC, etc carrying arms and working in the airports and form a separate and independent entity with a unified command and control under the administration of the ministry.� He added: “These suggestions are in line with the structure of the TSAof America which has the elements of all US government security agencies working at the airports under its command and control but itself under the administration of the Department of Homeland Security. “Am very much aware that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Security Programmes (NCASP) delegates the responsibility of coordinating all government security agencies at our airports to FAAN, but this has not and cannot be achieved with the manner of deployment and redeployment of personnel of these agencies into and within the airports,� Ojikutu said. He, however, noted that in addition, the annex 17 of ICAO and the NCASP suggest to, “me that aviation security is a function of the national security, hence the recommendation of the annex for the establishment of national aviation security committee where all government security agencies at the airport are members as different from national civil aviation security committee.�

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Mbanuzuo: Dana Air Has Survived Because We’ve Been Prudent The Accountable Manager at Dana Air, Obi Mbanuzuo, in this interview calls for improved regulation in the aviation industry by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. Mbanuzuo is also optimistic that Dana Air, which recently marked its 10th year anniversary will continue to meet the expectations of its customers. Chinedu Eze presents the excerpts: probably trying to reduce corruption or increase their revenue intake, sets up Single Treasury Account (TSA) system, where everyone pays into one account. The money goes in and doesn’t come back. With the PSC, they are trying to pay for the Chinese terminals; the decision to take up these Chinese terminals should have been taken by FAAN if it were a properly run airport company. FAAN should be able to finance itself from its own revenues. If it needs huge capital inflow, it can go to the bank to finance it or go to the Chinese but this is FAAN’s decision as FAAN and not someone in the ministry calling the Chinese and getting FAAN to pay back. FAAN never decided to go to the Chinese; someone sat down and made that decision. The agencies should be able have financial autonomy, so that we the users and airlines know what we are paying for. The decision is distorted as agencies pay into somewhere, not sure of what they are paying. In the past, we heard of bullet proof BMW cars being purchased and as elections approach, people will be told to produce certain billions. We are the ones suffering. As far as I know, NCAA does not have a board currently constituted and I’m not sure if FAAN or NAMA does. As far as I know, the airlines have to sit on some of those boards but there are no boards. We could also sit down and demand what we really want but because it is done in such a way that the airlines don’t contribute or see what is happening, then all of these go on.

What has the experience been for you operating in Nigeria for 10 years? The entire Dana Air family is elated. I personally was not in Dana 10 years ago when they started but I am sure when they started they expected to be here 10 years later but with the antecedents and plans in the industry, it was very serious on-going plan but after 10 years now, after going through everything that this airline has being through, the entire Dana family is elated. There is a feeling that since we have survived these 10 years, we will survive the next 10 years. What has kept you on, especially operating in a system many described as very harsh environment? The people that described the environment as harsh are not wrong. Those who are outside the industry may look at it and say what is harsh. We have actually been here for 10 years and it is not because of but in spite of the challenges. We go through day to day operational challenges; we go through the structural challenges, fuel availability, price, the policies, day to day challenges of poor landing aids simply because there is no power, not because the landing aids are not there. However, in some places the landing aids are not there; in some places the power is epileptic. There are agencies’ challenges, with some doing better than others. There are lots of deficiencies in different places. When you say the environment is harsh, imagine a place where you can’t land after 6:00 pm or where maybe a state government has tried to help the system or the environment by providing equipment and then sometimes the people who are supposed to look after them vandalise them. Airports are not places where anyone on the street can get access to, so telling me that someone outside the airport environment has stolen the landing aids is not possible. The people who work there have done that. Somebody has done that so that he gets gratification. There are also inter-agency squabbles, where for example the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) says the lightening should be our business and another agency says, ‘no it should be ours.’ We are all affected by these, so when we say the environment is harsh, it is truly harsh and 10 years is not easy but we went through it. All we do every time is we highlight these things, we say what it is. Sometimes some agencies come and harass us and say why we say them but we have to because things will not get better without us highlighting these things. On the Passenger Service Charge, (PSC) FAAN has given some justiďŹ cations on the proposed increment. What is your take on it? If I want to do something, whether good or bad, I will find a justification to back up my point of view. From a user’s point of view, those justifications don’t hold water. If FAAN is properly constituted; the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act says they should have a board and they should issue reports yearly, the International Air Transport Association, (IATA) which is the industry body has a principle which we fully support. The principle says that service providers have to charge under the system known as cost recovery. So, we are in support of FAAN recovering any cost for their business but what we are asking FAAN and all the other agencies is to show us what the costs are. Show us financial reports you have issued in the last five years. I stand to be corrected; FAAN has not issued any financial report in the last five years. What are your revenues, what are your expenses? If these clearly show a shortfall, the airlines will pay to make up that shortfall. FAAN is supposed to charge just like the Nigeria civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to cover their costs. Show us what your costs are and if that requires us to pay more PSC, we will do so but without doing that, whatever justification they give, doesn’t hold water. On passenger complaints, there seems to be a gap in communication between the airlines

Mbanuzuo and passengers. Why is this so? I once boarded a flight in London, British airline. They started the engines and one of the engines started but they couldn’t start the second one. The captain told the passengers that he could not start his second engine so there was a problem. He said the engineers will come on-board and they will look at it and fix it, after which the journey will continue. The engineers came on-board and did all they needed to do. This took about one hour and no one complained. They fixed it and everyone stayed on-board and the aircraft took off. Nigerians, for many reasons are superstitious, religious or simply afraid of something they don’t understand and I will not blame them. This is why we always try to educate people. So, if what happened in London had happened in Nigeria, I bet you that half of the passengers will have left the plane. Flying is the safest form of travelling based on the number of people travelling and the number of incidents that occur. We are still trying to encourage and educate people, which is also why we talk to the media a lot. Sometimes, certain media live on sensationalism. If they don’t sensationalise something, then it is not news. This also sends a message to the public who read the publications and say they won’t go near the airplane. When the people who have the fear of flying read that article, it will even increase their fears. Sometimes the airlines try to give them as much information as possible. I am also not a fan of ‘operational reasons’ (which airlines often give for flight delays and other issues) as a way of explaining things by airlines because operational reasons could mean various things. For instance, currently in Nigeria, there are a lot of VIP movements that delay flights. By law, the airlines cannot tell passengers that there is a VIP movement delaying their flight. We will be sanctioned if we do this because it is a security issue. Sometimes, we then have to say operational reasons. It could also be a technical problem. In essence, you are making the journey safer for the passengers but once you mention that technical problem, all kinds of discussions will go on. For example, why is a flight carrying passengers without all their luggage? Very rarely can an airplane carry the maximum amount of payload they can lift together with the maximum amount of fuel. The airplane has a maximum take-off weight which it can reach with both maximum passenger load and

fuel load. If it reaches maximum passenger load, it cannot carry maximum load (luggage). So, in that case, some bags will have to be left behind or you then have to reduce fuel. Sometimes, there is no fuel in the destination airport; so, you then have to take maximum fuel, which means you have to leave something behind. It is either you leave the human beings themselves or you leave some of their bags. In Dana Air, we always prefer to tell the passengers that they may have to go without their loads. It might be difficult to convince the passengers but things happen. Things will happen, flights will get delayed but the question is how do you deal with that problem? Not long ago, we had a problem in Owerri where the aircraft had a technical problem. We didn’t just have to tell the passengers it was a technical problem. We took all the passengers to a hotel. We paid their transport from the airport to the hotel and we took them back the next morning, because the engineers worked all night to fix the airplane and first thing the next morning, all passengers travelled. I am sure they will have loved to be in Lagos that night but we needed to take that decision for safety reasons. The aircraft was fixed by 7:00 pm but because there is no runway lights, our captain said for safety reasons, they will not go. The plane could have taken off, but there were several ‘what ifs.’ So, the airline will always try to give the passengers as much information as possible without alarming them. In five to 10 years’ time, we will probably come to the point where we tell the passengers that we have an engine that is not starting and they need to give us an hour to fix it, after which we will take off and everyone will be happy. Since 2015 the new administration came up and made it compulsory that aviation agencies that generate revenues must pay money into federal government coffers. Those monies are not brought back to develop the industry and there are so much infrastructure deďŹ ciencies. Is it that they are not sensitive to these issues? Those are some of the policy things I spoke about. By law, the 2006 Nigerian Aviation Act set up all the agencies such as the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), NCAA and FAAN. These are independent agencies and they should finance themselves. But the government comes in,

How do you evaluate the regulation of the industry by NCAA? What is happening currently is that the regulator regulates only the airlines. The regulator should regulate the industry; they should regulate NAMA and check to see if NAMA does its air traffic control well. The autonomy we have currently is that those regulators sit down on the same board, they eat eba and soup together and come down to the airlines and knock off our heads. They don’t knock each other the way they should. If the NCAA properly regulates FAAN and NAMA, these two will do much better than they do. This also relates to financial autonomy. FAAN gets enough revenue to run its business, although there are 22 airports, of which only three are viable. However, if FAAN, with all the revenues they get, still say they want to increase PSC, then what about the one they currently collect? If they say they want to pay the Chinese, is it FAAN that called the Chinese? The loans are there, it is just following the right thing. The regulator should simply regulate the system, the airlines, pilots, engineers and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) amongst others. What is the situation with Value Added Tax (VAT) removal on importation of aircraft spare parts? Is it now effective? The situation is much better now but again it requires proper executive approval. What I mean is that tomorrow someone else should not come and change it. There is still no proper gazette. The current administration has given instructions that this is what should happen but in the books, nothing has changed. The way it is now is if the Minister is changed or the administration changes, things will change. This is not the way things should be. Things should be documented and put properly the way they ought to be. When the Comptroller General of Immigration was changed, things changed. Even at this level, a new Comptroller General of Customs came, things got more difficult. It took some time for things to get ironed out. This is not the way things should be. So, things are better now with importation of spare parts. We need things to be put down in paper to back us up so that if something changes, we have certainty of what is going to happen. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

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Kelikume: Maritime Sector Holds SigniďŹ cant Opportunities Recently, the Nigerian Ports Authority commenced the first export consignment of manganese, a solid mineral resource from the Ikorodu lighter terminal, in partnership with Connect Rail Services Limited (CRSL). The Chief Executive Officer of CRSL, Edeme Kelikume spoke to Eromosele Abiodun on the company’s plans for export and the use of badges to evacuate cargo from Lagos ports. Excerpts: Your company and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) agged off the ďŹ rst export consignment of manganese from the Ikorodu lighter terminal. What are the objectives of your company, Connect Rail Services Limited? The maritime sector holds significant opportunities for Connect Rail Limited to build a robust inter-modal logistics solutions business and we are currently focused on three key objectives in this sector. The first is about providing the highest quality to our customers. We want to offer our customers the best service at all times, at the highest level of quality and at reasonable prices. To this end, we are investing in acquiring new equipment to ensure efficiency at our operating terminals. We are also investing in our trucking capacity to ensure we can provide end-to end solutions at all times. The second front is to develop our capacity to lead with technology. The evolution of technology is pushing the boundaries and changing how the world does business and for us at Connect Rail Limited, we want to be at the forefront of using technology to lead in this sector. From automation to Internet of things, shipment tracking systems, enhanced global positioning system (GPS) accuracy and predictive analytics and Uber-like delivery platforms, we want to be at the fore-front of adopting smart technologies to shape our business model and deliver value to our clients. Thirdly, we want to become synonymous with powering agro-commodities export. One of our objectives in the maritime sector is to support the federal government’s effort to diversify the economy from oil to non-oil exports. Our operations at the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal, designated by the NPA as an agricultural export terminal has significantly improved the challenges that Agro-commodities exporters have been facing moving their cargo as a result of the ports congestion in Apapa. Your inter-modal logistic solution is not the typical one that is well known within the country, what stimulated the idea? Nigeria’s internal freight mix is dominated by road haulage, as the country’s rail network is dilapidated and underdeveloped and its utilisation of inland water ways extremely poor. Nigeria’s railway infrastructure, if well-developed like other countries like South Africa can carry larger volumes over greater distances, making it more economical,

providing Intermodal logistics solutions. The combination of all transport modes (truck/ rail/barge), by using their specific advantages, cost-wise and service-wise. Our modest achievement so far can be attributed largely to a consistent focus on building our business despite the myriad challenges as well as continued support from the leadership of the NPA and the Nigerian Railway Corporation. How well has the NPA and other agencies in the sector facilitated your operations and set agenda. The NPA is an example of an agency working hard to provide an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. Their unwavering support in encouraging the emerging barging services industry is the reason why we are still in barging business today. What are the major challenges you ďŹ rst had to scale through and which are you still facing now? Like in every sector in the Nigerian economy, there are challenges and the logistics sector is no different. We have to grapple with the challenge of people, infrastructure, high cost of doing business, ports corruption etc. In the long run however, we have built considerable resilience that allows us to keep growing the business in-spite of the challenges. Kelikume

and much quicker for transporting heavy cargo. The use of rail over trucks to transport containers from maritime facilities could help ease container backlogs and reduce congestion on Nigeria’s roads. Nigeria has about 10,000 kilometres waterways, which if developed through dredging and provision of auxiliary facilities will provide all year-round navigation for transportation of bulk cargo and passengers. With Over 8, 000 km of navigable waterways, Nigeria has the second longest length of waterways in Africa. Twenty-eight of the nation’s 36 states can be accessed through water, linked to five neighboring countries (Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Chad and Niger). Globally, in the United States (US) for instance, coal for the electricity industry, petroleum products, construction industry aggregates and cement, chemicals, including fertilisers, metal ores and minerals, heavy products such as steel and many other

manufactured products are moved through its inland waterways. Shippers and consumers in the economies of 38 states in the US depend on inland waterways to move about 630 million tonnes of cargo, valued at over $73 billion annually. Moreover, 60 per cent of the country’s farm exports travel by inland waterways. The untapped opportunity to utilise barge, rail and truck for cargo transportation as a critical driver for economic growth of the Nation’s economy and the significant environmental and social impact on its people is what inspired us to setup of connect rail. What are your areas of concentration? In these times when customers are looking for cost reduction, efficiency, enhancements for their growing markets or when they have to deal with congested roads and ports, intermodality becomes more and more important to provide them with guaranteed services and capacities at reasonable prices. Our focus is on

At the moment you deal with inland water within the state, are you planning to expand? We are of course looking to build a regionally focused business especially with inland waterways as a means for cargo transportation. We intend to commence barging services across state lines with our operations that can deliver cargo to Warri, Port-Harcourt, Calabar, Onitsha, Lokoja in 2019. Our readers will like to know more about your company. Can you tell about your company? We are Nigeria’s premier indigenous specialised bulk freight firm established to provide value innovative transportation solutions for containerised and break bulk cargo. Our vision is to be the foremost provider of multi modal, integrated, logistics services in West Africa before the middle of the century. While our mission is to provide Affordable, scheduled, safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly bulk freight solutions.

NCS Seme Command Rakes in N1.9bn in Two Months

A.P. Moller - Maersk Grows Revenue by 31% to $10.1bn

Stories by Eromosele Abiodun

A.P. Moller - Maersk has announced that it recorded progresses in its strategic business transformation, reporting growth in both Ocean and non-Ocean with a total revenue increase of 31 per cent to $10.1 billion in the third quarter of 2018. The company, in a statement signed by its Africa Communication Manager, Augustine Fischer, said growth in non-Ocean was at 15 per cent, which now contributes 31 per cent of total revenue. In addition, the company stressed that synergy effects where materialised during the period under review. Commenting on the result, Chief Executive Officer of A.P. Moller – Maersk, Søren Skou said: “Well into our transformation, we are progressing with the integration of our business to better serve customers and

The Nigeria Customs Service (NSE), Seme Area Command has announced improved revenue generation over the last two months, raking in N1.948 billion and several seizures during the period. Area Controller of the command, Mohammed Uba Garba, who resumed as the new head of the command two months ago, stated this while addressing journalists at the command headquarters in Seme. “I assumed duty here in August 2018 with a clear mandate from the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) in line with his policy thrust which places strong emphasis on integrity and transparency in public service. To reinvigorate the offensive against smugglers

and similarly improve revenue, Seme officers were re-orientated to step up their actions against all economic saboteurs without any compromise. It is therefore heart-warming; to see that early signs show that our resolve is yielding positive results. “During this period, our resolute determination to succeed resulted in an, impressive revenue generation of one billion, nine hundred and forty-eight million, four hundred and eight thousand, five hundred and nineteen naira sixty-six kobo only (N1,948,408,519.66) realised for the period under review,� he said. He declared that the command under his watch will do what is necessary to put economic saboteurs out of business. Similarly, the uncompromising stance of the enforcement unit led

to the seizure of 850 items with a duty paid value (DPV) of three hundred and seventy million, three hundred and forty four thousand, one hundred and eighteen (N37 8, 344,118.00). The seizures include the following items: 16,729 bags of 50kg foreign rice which is equivalent of 27 trailers of rice valued at N302,477,049,115 cartons of imported frozen poultry products worth N728,654, 50 litres of jerry Cans of vegetable oil valued at N400,440, 111 pieces of used tyres worth N859,345 21 vehicles valued at N134,410,536 and 57 packs of Tramadol worth N11,090,832 He said already, seven suspects were arrested, explaining: “some were convicted, bailed and currently detained in connection with the seizures and are undergoing interrogation for possible prosecution.

unlock the full growth potential within Logistics& Services. As a result, I am pleased to see revenue growth in Q3 across the business, including supply chain services. Our profitability and cash flow is improving, positively impacted by the emergency bunker surcharge announced due to the significant increase in bunker price, synergies from Hamburg SĂźd and strong collaboration between Ocean and our terminal activities.â€? He added: “Compared to Q3 2017, revenue in Logistics & Services increased 7.5 per cent with supply chain management growing 16 per cent. New products are being developed to improve the customer experience, with results already seen where A.P. Moller - Maersk was first in the world to launch Instant Booking Confirmation to customers in the

container industry. “Furthermore, gateway terminals continued to grow volumes from external customers as well as from Maersk Line and Hamburg SĂźd reflecting synergy impact from the closer collaboration. Total synergies with Hamburg SĂźd of minimum $500 million excluding integration cost are expected by 2019 as the integration is progressing faster than planned.â€? Cash conversion, he explained, improved from 76 per cent to 95 per cent, adding that the free cash flow of $2.1billion compared to negative $478 million in the same period last year lead to a lower net debt. “Volumes in Ocean grew 27 per cent, 5 per cent excluding Hamburg SĂźd which is above the estimated market growth of 2.7 per cent, but lower than anticipated, “he said.

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Bannon: Chinese Investment in Africa is Predatory Capitalism Former Chief Strategist to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, Mr. Steve Bannon in this interview on Arise TV, a THISDAY newspaper sister broadcast company, described Chinese relationship with Africa as colonialism. Eromosele Abiodun presents the excerpts: doubt in my mind that the United States when it set up the Africa command, one of our central forces like the CANCOM, we have to make sure we focus on the security of Africa. I think the United States with Europe has to have much more engagement with Sub-Saharan Africa just like the United States has to have much more engagement with Central America to kind of help these people solve these problems out for themselves. When you interview any of these migrants who go through this brutal journey up through North Africa and then to Europe, none of them is saying I want to leave my homeland because I want to. They all say it is because there is economic opportunity in Africa, the working class and the social welfare system in Europe certainly cannot take the amount of people that want to come. Therefore, this has to be sorted out in Africa and I think some sort of combination with Arab nations, Europe and United States need to much more engage because the predatory capitalism of the Chinese Community Party is only going to course terrible problems in Africa in the years to come.

It is a pleasure to meet you and have a one-on-one with you We thank you for coming to the conference. We thank you for coming over here in Scotland. Let us talk about the conference. You said so many things that are going to grab the headlines. For instance, you said President Donald Trump’s emigration policy is humanitarian. Is that what it is? Yes. His zero tolerance policy is trying to be humanitarian because he realises that once we move away from that it is a magnet for all these folks to thinking that they are going to be able to get in and get economic asylum, which you can’t. It is not political asylum and there are very tight rules even though we often let in a lot of people. The migrants from Central America know this and if you read a lot of the interviews in Washington Post and the New York Times as they are coming up, they said, “hey we understand we cannot get political asylum, what we are going to try to do is made a mad dash across some of the undefended part of Southern border, hope Border Patrol pisses us up, game the system and be hope to be released into the United States and stay for a couple of years.� What we are doing is enticing the cartels; remember some of the cartels have just got out of the drug business into the human trafficking business. The same thing is happening is sub-Saharan Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa, it is the cartels that are coming from there to North Africa that are making billions of dollars on this human misery. Forget the rapes and the other conditions that are imposed upon these people. These are massive money- making operations and I think what President Trump is saying is ‘hey economic migration is not a concept to come to the United States.’ You can come through the right channel, which we understand takes years or you try to get political asylum and get a tight definition of political asylum and there certain point of entry where you can do that. My point is, I know at the beginning people said it is like caging people but I think what Trump is trying to do is stop these things like these massive caravans, which really these people don’t have any chance of entering the United States legally, they don’t have any real option of getting into the United States legally.

regards the office of the president even if you detest Donald Trump. Part of it is to avoid this kind of bickering when he is doing these press conferences when he is seating there for an hour taken 30 to 40 different kinds of questions. You don’t really have the right to seat there and get into an argument with the president of the United States or debate. You are supposed to be a journalist. If you ask a question and he doesn’t answer it, try a follow up. I think what Jim did has crossed the line and I do think the CNN should get it back and I think it will take the presidency and their team to seat down with the president and try to work this thing out. Look, I ran Brightpart, which we have very limited access, I am a big believer in free press and I believe in the press’s right way of access.

What do you think about press freedom and President Trump’s stand on this matter? I think he is for free press. Remember there is a difference between when you have a free press and the press that is sort of like an advocacy. I believe most of the mainstream media are advocates for this kind of globalist system that we have and they are clawing down Trumpism and they hate Donald Trump and in a specific case the Cable News Network (CNN). Yes, CNN does have the right to have their correspondents, they should have a senior guy like Jim Acosta whom I happen to know. But I do think Jim Acosta had to comport himself in a certain manner especially as

Let me ask you this. What do you think is President Donald Trump’s policy when it comes to Africa? The continent is opening up for business, it is the new frontier for economic growth. For some years China and Europe have been investing in Africa, don’t you think that the United States is missing in action? What I am advocating, particularly as regards these migrants coming from Sub Saharan Africa, we need both United States and Europe more engaged. I think one of the things that President Trump’s policy in Africa viz-a-viz China is he is saying watch out. The policy of China and the Chinese regime in Africa is nothing more than the British and

Bannon

the Indian company, they have used that strategy, what I call predatory capitalism. What they intend to do and what they are doing is-you see it all the way, not just in one belt one road but what they are doing in the Maldives and then into the Sub-Saharan Africa, is that they are lending money for infrastructure project that they know the countries are not going to be able to pay back. They are importing a lot of Chinese labour particularly in the high value end jobs; they are not using the indigenous population, which has a lot of well-trained civil engineers and other professionals. Do you think this is Colonialism all over again? Yes. I think it is 100 per cent Colonialism. I think when you look at China, particularly the Chinese league the CCP, it is a highly centered, hyper nationalistic society and at certain level it is quite racist. I think what they are doing in Sub-Saharan Africa is predatory capitalism. They understand that many of the loans, the projects they are funding are never going to be able to pay back on the cash flow that comes out of it. They intend to foreclose on it and gain much more active control on some of these countries. That is why I think you see many leaders in Africa today are saying, “Hey we see what the Chinese are doing here we are uncomfortable with the Chinese bringing their engineers and all the people that actually run these projects. We have to get Europe and the United States down here.� I don’t think there is any

Let me ask you one last question. You said you are not a journalist but that you have run a media organisation. There is a growing threat to journalism and journalist, what would you say the media should be doing differently and those who pose this threat what should be done to them? Here is the thing, I think that you have to realise that in tumultuous t i m e s l i k e w e a re i n a nd I k now w e a re i n v e r y t u m u l t u ou s t i m e s because the world is having a kind of g ov e r na nc e s y s t e m , t he re i s a k i nd of re v ol t t ha t i s ong oi ng . W ha t p e op l e ha v e t o u nd e r s t a nd is that for example I travel around w i t h s e c u r i t y, I ne v e r a s k e d for t hi s . You ha v e t o re a l i s e t ha t i f y ou a re i n t hi s g a m e t he re ha s to be a certain level of danger to i t . I t hi nk one t hi ng y ou ha v e t o d o i s m a k e s u re y ou r re p or t i ng i s a c c u r a t e , m a k e s u re re p or t i ng i s t ru t hfu l . W he n y ou t r a ns i t i on ov e r t o a d v oc a c y, l i k e w e w e re doing in my organisation-we were i n a d v oc a c y j ou r na l i s m , w e w e re quite partisan and we had threats a l l t he t i m e , a l l k i nd s of t hi ng s happened to us and they still happen to us. You have to realise that i t i s a d a ng e rou s p l a c e . I w ou l d have loved to wave a magic wand a nd s a y a l l t hi s i s ov e r a nd a l l will be better. It is not going to be better particularly in Africa. Africa i s g e op ol i t i c a l c onu nd ru m r i g ht now, w e ha v e t he g re a t p ow e r s just like in the colonial era coming in, we have China coming in with massive amount of capitalism, the Europeans and the Americans and clearly Africa has fought so hard for its independence and there is going to be a burden on the fourth estate to help sustain that. I think t he re a l i t y i s t ha t t he re i s g oi ng to be very very tumultuous and I think people that comes into this profession has to understand that it is going to be a very dangerous p rofe s s i on .

THIS WEEKEND

NEWS METRO THISLIFE

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ART WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com 08152252325

Kingsley Moghalu: Watching Failure of Recycled Politicians Pushed Me to Run for President

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COVER WATCHING FAILURE OF RECYCLED POLITICIANS PUSHED ME TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT

In this exclusive interview with THISDAY, the Young Progressive Party Presidential Candidate, Professor Kingsley Moghalu, speaks about his upbringing, professional sojourn and why he decided to run for the number one job in Nigeria. SUNDAY EHIGIATOR brings excepts: Who exactly is Professor Kingsley Moghalu? My name is Kingsley Chiedu Ayodele Moghalu. I am currently the Presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP). I am married to Mrs. Maryanne Moghalu and we have four children. How was growing up like? Well, growing up was lovely. I had a happy childhood and I have fun memories growing up. I had parents that were lovely but very strict also, so now that I am older, I appreciate the legacy of discipline that they left in me and a sense of responsibility, and a sense of leadership and service. Both my father and mother were civil servants and my father was originally a Foreign Service Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Of course, he was in Lagos after independence, and then he served in Switzerland and in Washington DC. So, my early childhood was in Switzerland and Washington DC. And then the civil war came and we returned to the crisis in the Eastern region. That was when I learnt how to speak Igbo and that part of my growing up was also very interesting because it was a very stark contrast with life over there abroad but being very young, I was very adaptable and I enjoyed it. We lived in Enugu in 1967, for the second half of 1967 when Enugu fell, we moved to our village, so I spent most of those next two to three years in the village really and so in that sense, I am also a village boy. Where exactly in Anambra State are you from? Yes, Nnewi North Local Government Area in Anambra State. From your proďŹ le, it is obvious that you are well learned. So how was your educational background like? After my early childhood, I did my primary school in Enugu WUTC Primary School. I then did my secondary school education divided between three schools. I was in Ezeama High School, Abia, then in Government College Umuahia before Federal Government College, Enugu. That was of course a lot of fun because it is in those schools that you make a lot of friends for life. From there I went to the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus where I studied Law and graduated in the mid 1980’s and then did my law school. I was called to the bar in 1987 and then I did my youth service as a legal officer at Shell Petroleum Development Company. After my youth service, I joined NewsWatch, which was at the time the leading news magazine in Nigeria in the 80’s founded by Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Yakubu Mohammed. NewsWatch was fun, I was lawyering and I became a journalist as well, writing legal stories for the magazine and serving as a special correspondent for several international newspaper agencies. So, it was very interesting developing a two-track career and I always loved to write and I fancied that one day I would probably be a journalist. So, although I became a lawyer, I ultimately still went back to the media. I was also at that time a frequent contributing opinion columnist in The Guardian in the late 80’s. So, those were my three main activities - working for News Watch, writing for foreign news agencies and writing columns in The Guardian Newspaper. It was a full life. Your basic education was grounded here in Nigeria despite the level of influence your father had at that time and could have afforded to send you to school overseas. So, comparing your education then and what is obtainable now, which is better? Education in Nigeria at that time was better because the state governments had more resources to support educational situations effectively. The value system was still fairly strong, although it has begun to be challenged after the civil war broadly. So, we were trained with intellectual rigor in the universities especially at that time

Moghalu

and we had professors in the universities that were really very seasoned teachers and so that helped a lot. I mean the professors in the universities at those days were very sound and it was all together a better time for education than it is today, although the 50s and 60s were better times for education than the 70s and 80s. So, it just seems as if the educational system has been deteriorating and now it’s at its worst level and this makes me very sad because I know that the educational system is what defines the strength of any society. People are only as prosperous or as well to do as the educational system impact knowledge and values in them. In seeking to be president, education is going to be my number one priority. We have to invest a lot more in education and we have to undertake some very critical reforms of the educational system. We have to reform teacher training, We have to re-train and re-certify teachers. I will lead a review of the curriculum in order to move it more towards skills, vocational skills, entrepreneurship, technology innovation, and these types of things. We will reform how children learn; there is too much emphasis on cramming rather than original thinking and research and so on. And we are going to invest a lot in educational infrastructure to create a better environment for learning, so yes, education matters. You just made an emphasis on educational infrastructure, most of the infrastructure we have in most federal institutions are things that have been there over decades, the world is revolving but this system is static, what do you think?. I am one of the biggest witnesses; the educational infrastructure today in our universities is libraries. In those days, we used to have good libraries. In Government College Umuahia as a secondary school student, I was the library prefect, so I was in charge of the library. It was a huge library, very well equipped and resourced. Today, you do not find any. But we now have Google library, don’t we? If you have Google library and it is done in a systematic way and everybody have access to it, then that’s different because I believe for example that every student should have a laptop. Now you should have both traditional libraries of books and electronic libraries, that’s the world of today. So, you have to combine the two. There is this debate about technology doing more harm to our educational system in the sense that in the 60’s and 70’s as you’ve said. You find out that students in school then will go through the rigor of picking up a book and reading, taking their time out to make research and all that, but now all we have now is cut and paste. Though we are a society that clamors for combining technology to education. What’s your view about this? The reason why we are having this challenge is because students are left to their own devices. If the teachers regulate how technology is used in learning then you will get the best of both worlds - you will get the best of the traditional books, you will get the best of research online and so on.

Abroad, there are tools to know whether you have plagiarized any text maybe you have gone to the internet, lifted it and reported it, immediately they have software that will tell them that. So you cannot abuse the use of technology, but here you don’t have such things and that’s the problem. So, it is about how technology is used and not the use of technology in itself. Technology of course does pose serious challenges for our youth today and there is no question about that. It has made a lot of people much more selfabsolved and lacking in social skills because they are always on their internet and phones. Can you give us an insight into your professional background? After my time at News Watch, I went back to the United States to study for a Master’s degree and I studied at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. The school is one of the world’s prestigious schools of international affairs and many of the world’s leaders, military generals, businessmen and diplomats studied there for their master’s degrees. From there, when I graduated with my Masters of Arts degree in 1992, I joined the United Nations service- the International Civil Service of the United Nations. I was appointed by own merit by the Secretary General at the time which was Boutros Boutros-Ghali and I spent 17 years working for the UN. I served first in Cambodia as a human right and elections officer then I served in New York, the headquarters as the political affairs officer for three years, and then I served in Croatia as the political adviser to the head of the UN mission in Croatia. I wrote the road maps, the legal framework for the elections that reintegrated the Serb- held part of Croatia back to the mainstream Croatia. So we conducted an election that reunited them back to Croatia proper. From that assignment I went to Arusha in Tanzania as a legal adviser and spokesman to the International Tribunal for Rwanda, that’s the International War Crimes Tribunal that prosecuted the architects of the Rwanda Genocide of 1994. My interest in Rwanda began 1994 when I was the political affairs officer at the UN headquarters and part of my job was as desk officer for Rwanda during the genocide. So I know exactly what happened, how and why. I was very involved in the International humanitarian response back stopping the UN peace keeping mission in Kigali, which then was headed by a Canadian general called Romeo Dallaire. I was an officer under Kofi Annan. So from New York, I went to Croatia, then to Tanzania, in Tanzania we were successful in prosecuting the architect of the genocide including the former Rwanda prime minister, Jean Kambanda, and that was the first time a head of government was convicted by an International Criminal Tribunal. We were also the first International tribunal to give judgment for the crime of genocide. I spent five years at the international tribunal and after that I was appointed to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and Malaria in Geneva Switzerland. It was a 20 billon dollar fund for social investment in developing countries against malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV AIDS; I was the

head of Global Partnerships and Resource Mobilization at the Global Fund in Geneva. Again this was a very interesting post, because for the first time, because the fund was public private partnership Even though I was a staff of the UN system, in their case the World Health Organization, but because of the way the fund operated, we had private sector members on the board, and the civil society. So working for the fund opened my eyes to the wider world beyond just traditional diplomats and ambassadors and so on. We engaged with them at the fund but we engaged with a lot more. And so I was lobbying the US Congress. I frequently had to go to the US Congress and to the House of Commons in the UK to present a case and to ambassadors at the United Nations in New York on behalf of the Global Fund from financial and political support for governments. While I was Geneva, I was appointed by Kofi Annan, who was now the Secretary General at that time as a member of the Redesign Panel on the United Nations internal justice system. This was a high level panel as part of the UN management reform in that era overhauled the accountability and transparency system of the United Nations and its dispute resolution mechanisms between the management and the staffs. The UN was about 60,000 employees around the world so labor relations was quite an important issue and so the whole question of internal justice was important. That assignment lasted for six months in New York. I was the youngest member of the redesign Panel, it was a very high level assignment, the chairman was an Australian Supreme Court judge and other members included an Egyptian who was a former AD hoc judge of the world court and a professor of International Law, a Canadian appeal court judge, the former foreign minister of Peru, and then myself. So I was quite young, I was about 43 and the next youngest person to me was 63. When we finished this assignment, the other members of the Redesign Panel secretly went behind my back and wrote a very powerful letter of commendation of my service to Kofi Annan the Secretary general said “look, without this young man who comes from within, the UN system, we would not have been successful�, so the General Assembly adopted our proposal and the systems of regulatory compliance and internal dispute resolutions and all those things still used in the UN today is the system that I was part of designing. This were the important impacts one made at the global level but after a while I began to feel that life in the private sector was a bit more appealing to me. By this time I had taken my Doctorate in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Shortly after that I did an international certificate program in Enterprise Risk Management at the Institute of Risk Management in London. I felt I was now equipped for life in the private sector and I ultimately resigned from the UN and started my own consultancy in Geneva in the field of Risk management. It was called “Sogato Strategies�. I was running this firm in 2009 when I was now invited to come to Nigeria by late President Musa Yar’Adua and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi the then Governor of CBN to come back as a deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria which I did. Again, it was a wonderful experience because we had so many successes. I led the introduction of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) into the Nigeria payment system. Sometimes the present government tries to claim credit for the BVN. But that is not true. I introduced the BVN in 2014. I introduced the BVN into Nigeria in 2014 during our reforms of the payment system. I led numerous reforms in the financial system, banks, corporate governance reforms, risk management reforms and so on, making sure that no bank failed and no depositor lost a kobo unlike what happened in the failed bank crisis in Nigeria in the late 1990’s. Of course, I was a member of

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COVER WATCHING FAILURE OF RECYCLED POLITICIANS PUSHED ME TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT the monetary policy committee and that committee was responsible for eventually achieving an eight per cent interest rate which was low compared to previous times that people had known in Nigeria, but inflation of course has since gone back up again. I spent five years as the deputy governor of the CBN and after that when I finished my tenure I was appointed Professor of Practice in International Business and Policy, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, that was my alma mater. I was made a professor there, which was a very high honor because it was one of the elite premier universities in the US. Looking at your young look, what is really your age? I am 55 years old, I was born in 1963. So, why are you running for president? I am running for president because of the vision I have for Nigeria. I am pregnant with that vision and like a woman with child; you are never comfortable until that child comes out. So I am running for president to provide the kind of leadership that Nigerians need but has not had for decades. I am running for president to address the question of poverty that is really so widespread in Nigeria today and for you to fight an effective war against poverty, you have to have some intellectual depth, some understanding of what causes poverty, how does poverty come about and how it can be addressed. You have to think about job creation for the youth that are coming out from universities, are they coming out to join the long lines of unemployment as it’s the case today? Or are they coming out with the kind of skills that makes them employable? The reasons you just stated are pivotal to the youth today because of the challenges they go through in actualising their dreams. So again, what spurred your intention to run for president? Let me tell you, it is watching the continuous failure of the old recycled politicians that actually made me decide to run. There needs to be a generational shift of leadership in Nigeria to a breed of younger and more competent persons, politicians or not, but leaders certainly. Are you for the paradigm of youth coming into power? Of course, that’s the whole point. I am a candidate on a platform that appeals across various demography. But I am essentially the youth candidate for the presidency. I am an experienced, knowledgeable and accomplished youth candidate. I like the way you emphasised on experience and being knowledgeable, but that doesn’t apply to the youth we see coming out for positions, don’t you think so? Some people believe that just the fact that they are young qualifies them to be president or senator, but no, it is not by that. One of the issues with the “not too young to run� movement and eventual bill is that it does not address two aspects of youth involvement in politics and focuses only on one and that is youth having their opportunities to run for positions, but it doesn’t address the question of youth involving in structural participation in politics. That is to say belonging to political parties, and then perhaps most importantly voting, how many youth’s votes in this country compare to the numbers? These are things we have to focus on and stop looking at the things on the surface. The fact that you are young on its own doesn’t qualify you to be president because being president of Nigeria or any country requires high level experience of leadership that you must bring to the table and of course, I have this more than most of the people in the race. Now do you think Nigeria is going to have a youth president? I believe so, but the question is whether the youth themselves know exactly what they want. They seem a bit confused between candidates; confused between the old order and the new order. You hear some young people saying they will vote for Atiku, when you hear such kind of things you know such a youth has no knowledge of perception, of what needs to happen in Nigeria and the

Moghalu

role he or she can play in making such a thing happen. So that is the problem. But my presidency will be youth friendly and would be an open door to youth who are competent and zealous to work for the state. Aside the not too young to run bill, there seem not to be enough policies to engage the youth in the sense of skills acquisitions, training and scholarship etc. What are you bringing on board? Let me tell you what I am going to do, as president of Nigeria. I intend to establish a skill training center in each of the 774 local governments. This would serve as a hub for giving young people in whichever local government area the ability and the opportunity to engage with the 21st century with skills such as wielding, carpentry, IT skills and all kind of skills. It will make them more employable or equip them to be able to employ themselves and l others. With this approach, you will have a more-skills based work pool. Then my government would also set-up a N1trillion venture capital, which will bring them capital. There would be a handshake between the skills that these young people have acquired and access to capital to start new businesses. The venture capital fund is not credit; it is not a bank loan. It is equity investments into new businesses that are being started and the venture capital fund will co-own the business with those that receive funding from them to operate. That is the way it is in all civilized countries of the world until the venture capital firm can exit because the firm has become mature. Now with this interventions, this N1trillion fund that would support a lot of people with good innovative ideas to create wealth in Nigeria. You will begin to see a structural shift in the economy of Nigeria. Which brings me to the question of dependence on oil and that’s what has ruined Nigeria because it has made us lazy and we also react badly to the shocks in the global price market. We are sort of a ram set up for slaughter by events that we ourselves have allowed to happen. How do you ensure that the N1trillion naira fund is utilised for what it is actually meant for? The setting up of the partnership between the investor and the investee will create checks and mechanisms to prevent people from just taking money and disappearing. The capital can be put in a type of account that the day to day owner of the business cannot just go and withdraw money anyhow. You talked about the youth not knowing what they want. Expatiate on this? Nigeria should aim for what I call the demographic dividends but what we have now is the demographic curse where you have millions of people jobless, not creating enough capital, no innovation in the economy. Now you find that what we have is a rising poverty rate, unemployment and population. This is a dangerous cocktail brew and it would increase if we don’t move Nigeria to the right direction, which is again why I am seeking the mandate of the presidency so that I can move Nigeria to that right trajectory of stopping its dependence on oil and truly diversifying the economy using innovation and modern agriculture. On politics, the youth and Nigerians in general would want to turn to who pays higher. How do you push through that?

I want to ask Nigerians a question, are we the children of lesser gods? Are we different from the people in America, in Britain, Brazil and in China? Who are demanding better standards of life and holding their political leaders accountable if they do not perform. Anybody that tilts to the old order based on money that they have to share is a person who is a mental slave and we should pity such a person and we should talk to a lot of persons in our society to move away from mental slavery or not to be tempted into mental slavery. When you are beginning to choose between two evils and you are calling one lesser, does the devil have angels? The devil has no angels. You are either an angel or a demon in that sphere. So it is in the political sphere, you have those who have the innovation, the motivation to serve the people of Nigeria and have the ideas, people like myself and then you have those who are in it for themselves - the typical traditional and recycled political class of which we should be tired because their track record is a record of failure. Let’s go to your party, what makes YPP different from other political parties like we have now in Nigeria, especially the big wigs? First of all the YPP was not founded around any single individual, it is a congregation of both men and women who came together under the YPP. So there is no personality cult in the YPP, it’s a party by the people, of the people and for the people. That’s number one. Number two, YPP is promoting the politics of service to the people, the true reason for leadership in the public sphere is to serve people and YPP has put service first. So the party is spread all over the country, we are present in 36 states and present in all the local government wards. So even though it’s young, the party has been moving very quickly to bridge whatever gap it perceives may exist and we would top it up by educating Nigerians of the YPP and what we stand for. We believe in an egalitarian society where the citizens are enthroned as the focus of governance but today in Nigeria, our politics and governance is to serve the vested and corrupt interest of politicians. So this is the big difference between YPP and say APC and PDP. One APC is fake change and PDP is Burundi change. Let’s take for instance that you were the president of Nigeria as we speak what would you have done differently looking at this government? If I were to be put into Buhari’s shoes? First of all I never want to be put in Buhari’s shoes because those shoes are different from my own shoes but Buhari has clearly failed the hopes that many invested in. He has left Nigeria more divided than united. He has left the economy weaker. Security is almost unavailable in Nigeria today; there is no security of lives and property. So if I were Buhari, I would regret deeply my absolute non-performance and tender an apology to Nigerians and say for my failure, I will not seek a second term. We know when the current government came to power; they came with about three agendas - corruption, security and economy. How would you rate the government so far from these three? F! I am a professor. So ‘F’ is complete and total failure. We had the worst recession in the last 30 years. Look at security today, Nigeria has become a killing field. Life is cheap in Nigeria today. Look at corruption, it is even worse than it was and it still goes on and the power that be turns a blind eye to obvious cases of corruption and they persecute the obvious cases of corruption of the opposition political elite. What are you bringing on board? Well, I am coming as a president in Nigeria in 2019 with a three-legged agenda; number one to heal Nigeria and build a nation. We are a broken country, not yet a nation. We are a nation not yet to be born, so that number one. Number two, I am coming with a vision for economic transformation, to wage war against poverty and unemployment and to take millions of Nigerians from poverty into the middle class and to create an

environment, where the private sector creates jobs for millions of unemployed youth in Nigeria today. The third is to restore Nigeria standings in the world, and if you look at my background, you will find out that I am the only presidential candidate with a track record in all three - nation building around the world, economic management in Nigeria and international diplomacy. I am the only one that has that combined background and these are the top three challenges any president would face at May 30, 2019. I am ready to be president, I have the structure for a campaign and we will give our message to Nigerians that it is time for something new, different and bold. Talking about structures in place, we known the structure of elections we have in Nigeria is party politics and not candidacy. Do you think that YPP stand a chance looking at the two big political parties we have in Nigeria? I think we do stand a chance. Of cause they do, look how long do PDP exist? 16 years and in 2 years APC kicked it out, so there is nothing to say we cannot kick out the APC in 2019 just because they are older than us or PDP is Methuselah. We have a saying that: “he who travels and has seen the world is wiser than a man with grey hairs and has gone nowhere�. Is that your strength? Of course, it is my strength because I have the exposure, the knowledge and I have the track record which you can check of consistent performance and identification with excellence. That’s my track record and that’s the kind of track record Nigeria needs today. Nigeria does not need ethnic jingoists, religious chauvinists, and sectional irredentists. Economically speaking now, what’s your take about the minimum wage debate currently going on? The minimum wage debate going on, I have put out my position very clearly. N18,000 a month is a poverty wage. It should not continue, it is impoverishing the Nigeria worker at a time where there has been significant inflation. I think the minimum wage should be between N30,000 to N40,000 at this time. If it goes significantly above that, it would create inflationary effects. So you have to balance the ability to pay, and guiding against inflation and the sustainability of whatever you arrive at. Even in paying the new minimum wage and to sustain it, there are certain things that must happen but this government does not have the political will to do it. Number one as president, I would abolish petroleum subsidy that would save Nigeria about a trillion naira every year. Do you know what that can do? Because sometimes people ask “how can you fund all of those things you are talking about?� But I have clear plans to fund those things. There is a lot of wastage in Nigeria that if you block it probably, you will have more than enough money to do most things, but this country gets maybe 30-40 per cent of those things due to it, while the rest goes to the hands of private robber bands. Talking about fuel subsidy, what we the masses see is the pump price, don’t you think removing the subsidy would further increase what we have as the pump price? Let me tell you how the economics of deregulation of downstream petroleum would work in my presidency. In the beginning it may look as if it may increase the price but as more people get into the market, competition will exhume and price will crash, that’s what happened with diesel and that’s exactly what will happen with petrol. It is people who do not have leadership ability who cannot see that this is what should be done, but they are looking for cheap popularity and you know leadership is not always a popularity contest. What’s your key message to the public? My message to Nigerians is that it is time to retire the old recycled politicians and replace them with a competent leader as president of Nigeria in the 21st century and I submit that the person is myself.

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E-TRENDS

MUSIC SHOWBIZ

‌Your weekly entertainment delight

NOLLYWOOD

Filmhouse Set to Launch Streaming Platform Vanessa Obioha

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n the next couple of months, the Filmhouse Cinemas and FilmOne Distribution and Production Ltd, will be unveiling its streaming platform, ‘Myfilmhouse.ng’. The platform is the group’s view-on-demand offering to its teeming audience. Still in its development stages, the Group Managing Director, Kene Okwuosa, revealed some of the unique features of the platform. Okwuosa said: “It is a typical and unique window that has not really existed in this market. What it allows us to do is that when movies are done in the run in the theatrical window, we can dump it immediately online so that our audiences can have access to it. “Where traditionally you would have found that audiences that are having to wait for months before the movies can get to TV and other syndicated platforms, it allows you a window where you can drop it in real time, just right after the theatrical window and it is premium content. “We are the only one offering premium Nollywood content in this region. Premium content that we produce, distribute or aggregate for third party as well as top Hollywood content. The price point is also very unique. Depending on what type of content, it ranges from N400 to N700. It is very affordable and accessible.� Already, movies like Wedding Party 1&2, which the company co-produced,

Sir Shina Peters Kene Okwuosa

are already uploaded on the app. The Managing Director of FilmOne Distribution and Production, Moses Babatope, sees it as an opportunity for fillmmakers to showcase their films He said: “Not all films can make it to the cinema, especially films that my not have that commercial appeal to the audience.

They can use this window to get to their audience.� The streaming app is one of many plans the group will be unveiling in the coming years. Recently it opened its 11th Cinema in the country at Twin Waters, Oniru, Lagos. It is also planning to host a film gala in

Niniola Makes Bold Statement with Human Radio Concert Vanessa Obioha For her debut concert, the self-acclaimed ‘Queen of AfroHouse threw all in the ring to give her fans an unforgettable experience. Over a thousand fans were given free entry to the Landmark Event Centre for the ‘Human Radio Concert’. Indeed, the event hall was transformed to fit into the theme of the event. Against a backdrop of radio with two screens on each side of the hall, the stage was built like that of a runway. Setting the mood for the night, hypeman Larry Foreman got the crowd rocking to great vibes from the DJ booth. For the night, DJ Crowd Kontroller and DJ DIPS provided an impressive mix of old and new school hits. Shody The Turn Up King was also on ground to enliven the ambience. Both hypemen did an amazing job ensuring everyone’s energy was

Niniola

at optimum level as they introduced act after act. The opening acts were an interesting mix of voices in the industry such as Tyson Noir, Immaculate, Ric Hassani, Okiemute, GreyC, and heavy weights like Slimcase, L.A.X and Reminisce. Some highlights of the opening segment of the evening were Teni the Entertainer doing a freestyle, Aramide playing the guitar and singing a new song

for the audience, Godwin Strings’ brilliant violin renditions of popular songs, and Reminisce dancing on stage with Shody the Turn Up King. With the crowd sufficiently hyped, it was time for the main act of the evening. Niniola’s entrance was as dramatic as it was majestic. Talking drums and a short play by her dancers welcomed the Queen of AfroHouse and vocal

sensation unto the stage. Niniola started her set by serenading the audience with some of her more famous love songs such as ’Oyin’, ’Moyo’, and ’Akara Oyibo’. She then eased into a fans favorite ’Start All Over’, the soulful duet featuring Johnny Drille. Following that, the audience was treated to a dance break that paid homage to Nigeria’s famous dance crazes. Niniola returned to the stage ready to turn up with ‘Jigi Jigi’, cuing a few of her dance hits such as Soke, and Shaba, and a surprise appearance by Terry Apala who joined her in performing Bale. For the finale, Niniola thrilled the audience with a Yoruba ceremony style performance, complete with talking drums, improvised lyrics, and traditional dances from Ekiti as she performed Gbowode. She followed this with Saro, Maradona, and Bana, inviting fans from the audience to join her on stage.

February 2019. The gala, which will be in partnership with Moet and Chandon, will reward budding filmmakers in the industry. So far, Okwuosa is grateful to the film industry which has made their operations successful in the past six years they entered the space. He said: “The film industry is a budding industry that has graciously opened its arms to us. We are relatively new when we think of some of the institutional Nollywood players. We are about six years and we do not take for fact that we have been able to make quite an impression in these six years and sell ourselves across the value chain. “We are partners to every stakeholder in the film industry, from the filmmakers to the distributors which is why we do not take for granted any opportunity to demonstrate ourselves.� Speaking more on the app, the helmsman said that they will supply exclusive content and also TV series. However, he pointed out that the major challenge of such platforms is data which is still on the high side in this part of the world. Nevertheless, Babatope stated that the app will be designed in such a way that will be user-friendly for viewers. “The kind of technology we have built enables us to have payment options. There will be a wallet system. We are working on various technological advancements to ensure we keep it as premium as possible. The streaming service is still untapped in Nigeria and it is one of the things we are looking at,� he added.

Uptown Skanking Debuts with SWEAT Reunion Concert Vanessa Obioha The SWEAT reggae band of 1986 that held sway with hit songs like ‘taxi driver’, ‘television data’ ‘my bele.. my head’, among other hits performed for the first time since their separation at the first edition of Uptown Skanking on Sunday, November 18. Uptown Skanking is a reggae concert that will be holding every month at Smokey Bones Restaurant. It created an environment for reggae lovers to enjoy original root reggae music from different talented reggae artistes and also relive the culture and art. According to the organisers, the reunion of SWEAT band which members include Yomi Bobby-Benson, Daddy Bee Jay, Gesso Dread and Francis Goldman, was the perfect way to launch the reggae platform.

Nigerian Prince Closes AFRIFF Vanessa Obioha Faraday Okoro’s ‘Nigerian Prince’ closed the eighth edition of Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), but failed to give the audience cavities. The movie won the AT&T’s Untold Stories program — an initiative to support filmmakers that are underrepresented in the industry — at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. The film was met with mixed reactions as audience deliberated if the movie portrayed Nigeria in a good light or gave cinematic life to

the long-held perception of Nigerians as corrupt people by the Westerners. In essence, what Nigerian Prince did was to expose the underground politics in the scammers world, which interestingly shows the culpability of the police. The story revolves around Eze, a Nigerian teenager who has lived most of his life in the US. Against his will, his mother sent him to Nigeria to live with her sister in order to learn the ways of his people. But Eze has no plan to be identified with a country that is notorious for corruption. He got the first taste of the scamming business on

arrival. At the airport, he was deceived by an immigration officer to pay extra fee for clearance of his luggage. Such experience made him to consistently tell whoever cares to listen that he is an American. However, it was Eze’s cousin, Pius played by a US-based Nigerian Chinaza Uche that set the drama rolling. Pius was a scammer and a proud one. He never shies away from any challenge and has a way of sweet talking his victims, either by email or in person. Pairing the reluctant Eze who wants to return to his country at all cost and Pius who is unrepentant in his

crimes gave the movie the needed spice. Audience follows the characters as they navigate different situations to achieve their goals. What unsettled most members of the audience was the funny accent of Pius. It was a struggle for the actor Uche who was raised in Edinburgh to deliver his lines in that familiar thick accent of Nigerians. But what really got people talking was the way the story exposed the corruption of the police as well as their brutality. Pius is heavily protected by the police, who also get a cut from each transaction.

Francis Goldman of SWEAT Band

“We want to make it known that reggae is about to take a new stand in the music industry. The SWEAT band of four haven’t played together since they disbanded, but have decided to use Uptown Skanking as an opportunity to show their support for the culture and also to come back to the supposed dwindling music genre,� said Edward Brown, owner of Smokey Bones Restaurant. An American trained Nigerian chef, Brown is known for his zest for everything cultural including food and music. His love for reggae music is unquestionable and is evident in the reggae themed night held weekly at the restaurant which attracts an impressive number of reggae lovers. He is confident that the SWEAT Band reunion is the right fillip for the disappearing genre.

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NEWS

Stephanie Linus Becomes Nollycasting Ambassador Stories by Mary Nnah Star actress, producer and director Stephanie Linus has been named the ambassador for Nollycasting, the number one casting site in Africa for film/ TV, music videos, commercials, comedy and more. This much needed online platform was created to connect both new and seasoned talents with the right people seeking to hire them. According to an official statement from the creators of Nollycasting, the website is currently accepting registrations from individuals with interest in acting, music videos, commercials, voice overs, modeling, comedy and much more. This is a sure way to put one’s skills and profile in front of several casting directors and producers who may be interested in hiring. The website is very simple to use. Simply visit www.nollycasting.com and sign up. Within a few minutes, users can create a profile, upload their headshots, reels, resume and put their name

Stephanie Linus

in front of thousands of casting directors. Profiles can be created for aspiring and seasoned actors, actresses, movie set extras, music video vixens, back-up singers, models, voice-over artists and much more. With a pool of thousands of jobs available in the movie and

music industry, content creators often have the problem of finding the right people to hire for certain jobs. This challenge also applies to talented people who find it difficult in finding the kind of jobs that helps them utilise and develop their creative talents. Nollycasting is here to make

that process easier. Nollycasting brand ambassador, Linus, said it was a timely initiative which would eliminate the huge costs and difficulties associated with finding the right people to fill certain roles. “People often ask me questions about how to get roles in acting and other jobs in the entertainment industry. I’m glad I can now tell them about Nollycasting where they can connect with the right people who need their skills. It also saves time and money for producers and casting directors as they can now get all the talents they need in one place,� she said.� This platform has been endorsed by several veterans in the film and music industry who are eagerly looking for the best talent to cast in their next projects. It provides endless opportunities for roles in: Acting, Commercials, Music videos, Modelling, Voiceovers, Reality TV and more. Make that move towards achieving your dreams now by signing up today. Nollycasting is now live on www.nollycasting.com and can also be connect to on social media platforms.

Miss Nigeria 2018: Organisers Unveil 18 Finalists

Nigeria, EzinneAkudoAnyaoha; reigning Miss Nigeria, Mildred Ehiguese, leading Nigerian influencer and entrepreneur, Laura Ikeji; popular international model and entrepreneur, Aisha Bello, among others. The guests were treated to sumptuous meals and drinks at the restaurant amid lots of fun, glitz and glamour. The 18 finalists had an interactive session with the guests where they shared their goals, aspirations and plans if they emerged victorious and won the prestigious title. Speaking about the unveiling

brunch and the selection of the 18 finalists, the Project Coordinator of Miss Nigeria 2018, Chioma Nwigwe said: “This year’s selection though gruelling, has been very rewarding. Beyond their looks, every single one of these incredible ladies brings something unique to the table and we can’t wait to see which of them wins the crown.� The Miss Nigeria Organisation selected the 18 finalists after various screening processes from 40 contestants that were pre-selected from the auditions held nationwide in Lagos (West), Owerri (East) and Abuja (North)

in October. The celebrities and influencers present commended the efforts of the organisation in maintaining the quality of queens that have been produced by the organisation since inception. The guests were impressed by the 18 finalists, who were articulate and precise about their mission to stand by the great efforts of the Miss Nigeria organisation in empowering women beyond beauty. The grand Finale of Miss Nigeria 2018 will be held at the Eko Convention Centre of the Eko Hotels and Suites on November 25, 2018.

Excitement as Airtel Launches 4G in Delta

Airtel Nigeria recently launched its 4G - LTE (Fourth Generation – Long Term Evolution) service in Delta State to the delight of customers in the South-South State. This is as part of the ongoing expansion of its 4G LTE network across Nigeria, telecom operator. The 4G – LTE is covering major cities and towns including Warri, Effurun, Asaba, Kwale, Ughelli, Sapele, Okpanam, and Agbor, amongst others. Residents and onlookers who witnessed the launch at the Airtel Showroom located at 74 Warri/ Sapele Road, Effurun by Water Resources, were full of excitement as they commended the telco for deploying 4G services in Delta State.AkpodubakayeArthur (JP), Vice Chairman, Warri South-West Local Government, said the

OHAC Records has announced the release of a new single, titled,“My Heart� by Helen Obi, the Kitikpa crooner popularly known as Olumireggae. The song was produced, and mixed by multiple award winners, Mario Scrivano, notable for his music arrangement, composition and music production which won Saremo music award in Italy in the early 80’s. The new song would be be available at all digital platforms like ITunes, Spotify, Deezer and Amazon. Reggae Genre in Nigeria seems dead, but with the consecutive annual releases of the Nigerian female lovers rock and Jazz singer, she has assured reggae lovers of the return of reggae nationwide. Olumireggae, is a Nigerian songwriter, recording artiste, dance choreographer and the CEO of OHAC records. She released her debut album ‘New Errand’ in early 2017, consecutively her second studio album “Pleasure� was released towards late 2017. The albums were produced by the late Andrea Pierino Allione who also worked with Miriam Makeba and one of famous top ten notable jazz legends Paolo Conte. Olumireggae who was born in Lagos in 1975, started her singing and dancing career at the age of 17. She was first noted in the mid 90’s at Sunday randevouz a programme hosted by Nigeria Television Authority (NTA). She has shared stages with Morgan Heritage, Andrea Allione, Luciano messenjah and other mainstream artistes. She is highly influenced by the likes of Queen Ifrica, Bob Maley, Lucky Dube, Fela Kuti and Morgan Heritage.

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Mis Nigeria 2018 ďŹ nalists

Following recent auditions in Lagos, Owerri and Abuja, Nigeria’s foremost and most prestigious beauty pageant, Miss Nigeria, unveiled the 18 finalists contending for the highly coveted title of Miss Nigeria 2018 in Lagos last week. Among the celebrities who witnessed the unveiling were Mavin Records boss and veteran in the Nigerian Music Industry, Don Jazzy; popular song writer and performing artiste, Timi Dakolo; top actor, Gideon Okeke; the Country Director of WEConnect International Shade Ladipo;?creative director of Miss

OHAC Records Announces Olumireggae’s “My Heart�

Regional Operations Director, Airtel Nigeria, Oladapo Dosunmu (middle); Major S.Y Hassan and Vice Chairman, Warri South-West Local Government Area, Akpodubakaye Arthur during the launch of Airtel 4G LTE launch in Warri

switch to 4G will help speed-up economic and commercial activities as well as boost productivity of professionals, students and even traders across the state. “We commendAirtel for its 4G

drive and for connecting Warri and major cities and towns in Delta to its 4G network. This is not just a step in the right direction but a development that will transform many lives,� he said.

Also speaking at the event, the Regional Operations Director of Airtel Nigeria, Oladapo Dosunmu, said Airtel believes that delivering a superior 4G experience is a major step in actualising its objective of making life simple and better for Nigerians. He also outlined the process of how existingAirtel customers can connect to the Airtel 4G network. “It is a simple process – you first need to upgrade your SIM card to a 4G SIM. The upgrade process is also simple as all you require is a SIM Swap, which should not take two minutes. “The other bit is that you need a device that is 4G enabled. Then, you will experience seamless and super-fast mobile Internet services on the Airtel network,� he said.

Business and Professional Women (BPW) Nigeria recently organised its annual convention with the theme, ‘Women Collaborating for Global Impact towards a sustainable framework’ in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The National President, Yinka Ajjibola, said the last one year has been eventful at the local, national and international fronts. The keynote address was taken by Dr. Keziah Awosika, gender and development expert and Director, Women, Law and Development Center (WLDCN). Women, Awosika said, are doing well in their chosen fields of endeavour, but haven’t conquered the political terrain. “Now that we are on the threshold of another election we need to do more. If we have global impact, we must ask for inclusion�, she noted. She also lamented that the poverty level in Nigeria has increased in the last 15 years, adding that is one of the MDGs that were never really achieved. The second session, “Empowering Women and Youth through Growth based Collaboration was taken by Mrs Ime Ephraim Iyang. She talked about the numerous opportunities for women and youths in the state, as well as how to maximise these opportunities for growth and development. She said: “When collaborative growth is instituted, it helps individuals and organisations to synchronise their team to align workplace to grow effectively with individual fulfillment and shared goals. “In empowering women and young people therefore, it becomes very imperative to understand the growth path as it has transitioned in Africa in the last decade.� In her presentation, Mrs. Janet Asuquo Amba, focused on women collaborating to drive political inclusion. She kicked off her presentation with two video clips depicting why some men were afraid of female inclusion in politics. To overcome these obstacles, women she emphasised, must understand the challenges and support one another. “We must each make sacrifices to be heroes�. She ended the session by pointing out at early female pioneers like Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, Hajia Gambo Sawaba and Margaret Ekpo. Dr Akon Eyakenyi, was the fourth Speaker and her presentation was titled, ‘Education as a Catalyst for Global Impact’. Awards were presented to the First Lady, Her Excellency Martha Udom Emmanuel, who was represented by the Honourable Commissioner for Women Affairs and three other speakers at the event. The day ended with a colourful Gala Night at the Government House Akwa Ibom. Members and guests were treated to sumptuous meals, cultural display, music and dance.

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ART WEEKEND

‌For pure art enthusiasts

MoAbudu’sChiefDaddyasNextBoxOfficeHit Yinka Olatunbosun argues that the new Ebony Life movie,“Chief Daddy�is built on the same entertaining model as Wedding Party I and II with its serious comedy, intrigues and the Nigerian party flavour while raising a pertinent moral question on marital values

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he shuttle between the two cinema halls that morning at Imax Cinemas, Lekki allowed some cast and crew of Chief Daddy movie to choose their seats before the much-anticipated screening and the pop-corn rush. An atmosphere of camaraderie with Nollywood’s favourites such as Chigurl, Kate Henshaw, Joke Silva and Falz the Badh guy heightened the mood of the cinematic experience which will soon be enjoyed by a larger audience across Nigeria from December 14. Directed by Niyi Akinmolayan, Chief Daddy is based on a domestic drama that ensued upon the death of a billionaire industrialist, Chief Beecroft otherwise known as Chief Daddy. His partying gift was a life of philandering and its bi-products namely mistresses and adorable children. As typical of other box office hits by Ebony Life Production, the plot was developed along the party mode. A planned funeral party for Chief Daddy and his last wish documented in his will set the pace for the drama. Starring Richard Mofe-Damijo, Shaffy Bello, Ini Edo, Dakore Egbuson-Akande, Funke Akindele, Beverly Osu, Patience Ozokwor, Rachel Oniga and Nkem Owoh, the producer for the movie, Mo Abudu, in her remarks at the press premiere said that the movie’s storyline shows that “men are by nature polygamous and that is the morale of the story.’’ The red-carpet interview session was no time to argue with producer on philosophy and moral argument. That assertion is quite popular. But, there is a marked difference between philandering and polygamy. In a polygamous culture, men are culturally accepted to have more than one wife. But in the case of philandering, the other women are not recognized as wives, instead, they are considered scaffolds not pillars in a man’s life. That’s why the knowledge of their existence is kept secret from the legal wife. But the audience is left to decide for themselves the side of the argument to take. There are other intended social reali-

Cover for Chiamaka’s Girl in the Rain

ÙÖÖĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă™Ă?Ă— Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Yinka Olatunbosun

Kate Henshaw and Funke Akindele in Chief Daddy ties thrust upon us in the visual narration. For instance, the scene of Chief Daddy’s emergency situation demonstrates what usually happens at a rich man’s house- the domestic staff may have bad phones or low call credit perhaps due to poor remuneration or sheer negligence. That looked more like a moral lesson than the polygamy

argument. Of course, the movie teaches the virtues of patience, tolerance and empathy- for a mistress may raise a better behaved child than the legal wife’s. Chief Daddy is certainly entertaining with great cinematography, opening soundtracks from Ibejii’s retro music collections.

Mental Health as Core of Unbreakable Movie Yinka Olatunbosun

The producers of the movie, Unbreakable have declared that the movie is set to deconstruct the stigma that accompanies mental health disorder, a growing scourge in our contemporary world. Unbreakable is an off-shoot of a research into a private mental health facility, The Retreat where the movie is currently being shot. Directed by Ben Chiadiaka, the movie has as a producer, Buki Campbell and Sola Osofisan as the script writer based in the US. For the screen writer, the Nollywood stereotype of persons suffering mental health is appalling. More often than not, it is seen as the punishment for an evil deed in the past. Hence, he and the director considered it necessary to educate people on mental health with the power of the screen. Starring the comeback queen, Uche Macaulay who featured in many classic Nigerian movies including Thunderbolt, Onome, Saving Alero, Unbreakable movie is a story of commitment and undying love. In the lead role is Arese, an award-winning singer and performer who expressed her thought on this profound movie. “The story is personal to me and I felt the character is a regular person and could be anybody,’’ she declared. One of the cast in the movie, Wendy Lawal remarked during a press briefing in Lagos that the role she played was

A 14-year-old secondary school student, Chiamaka Jessica has expressed her deep reflections on love, family and environment in her collection of poems titled, A Girl in the Rain. The anthology is scheduled for launch in Port Harcourt by December 2018 as announced by the publisher, Purple Shelves LTD, Lagos. Chiamaka’s literary effort x-rays her daily experiences as she grows into maturation; the psychology of the girl-child, challenges, questions, expectations and responses to prevalent social ills. “I think that the poems are inspiring� says Amara Chimeka-- CEO of Purple Shelves LTD. “Such works from the younger generation show that there is hope for our reading culture, for our literary traditions and for us as a people. Everyone should read this collection. Adults should read it to be encouraged; youths should read it to be inspired.’’ Affiong Ene-Obong, a girl-child advocate, in her blurb remarked that “the anthology has been composed to leave indelible marks in the heart of humans. The Young author ’s words will transform lives, families, nations and generations to give ideas, perceptions, values and standards a face-lift. Onumaegbu Chiamaka Jessica’s audacity is laudable.� Chiamaka was born on February 24, 2004 and is currently an SSS1 student of Hallel College, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. She started writing at the age of nine when she was a Grade V student of International School of Bearn (ISB) Pau, France. She wrote a poem titled ‘World Peace’ that received numerous commendations and was published in the school’s magazine. ‘The Girl in the Rain’ is her debut anthology.

Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă™Ă? ͚͸͸͸ Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă‹ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Yinka Olatunbosun

Arese, lead actress for Unbreakable movie a very emotional one. She is the sister to the lead character, Ikepo who suffers mental health disorder. One of the psychiatrists at the facility, Dr. Tunde Akingbola identified the causes of mental health disorder as

depression, drug abuse and psychological trauma while speaking at the press briefing. The movie will be out in cinemas by 2019.

Ogrikan Art Gallery and Iwalewa Gallery of Art are gearing up for a new art fair in Lagos. With the theme, “A tale of 1000 miniatures’’, the two galleries are poised to promote and encourage both young and established indigenous artists with a bias for emerging artists that have demonstrated exceptional talents. This maiden edition which takes place at Mega Plaza will feature at least 100 artists on December 1 and promises to be an annual fair. In addition, there will be life painting, face painting, drum performance, creative performance and free craft lesson for children.

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FERTILITY

with DR. KEMI AILOJE Info@lifelinkfertility.com; Ă?ĂŒĂ?Ă“ĂžĂ?Ë? lifelinkfertility.com 08033083580

FIBROID AND FERTILITY(Part 1)

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hen dealing with the causes of infertility in male, the focus mainly is on the sperm parameters which contrast the female where multiple factors may be responsible for infertility, examples include but not limited totubal, ovarian, anatomical, uterine causes etc. Some of these factors may develop due to genetic predisposition and increasing maternal age. The reason some women will have fibroid at some time in their life is because they are women, not because they have broken any health rule.This introduces us tothis week’s discussion centered on FIBROID AND FERTILITY

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WHAT IS FIBROID? Uterine fibroids are benign (noncancerous) tumors of muscle tissue in the uterus. They are also called myomas or leiomyoma. Fibroid occur when a single muscle cell in the wall of the uterus multiplies and grows to form a non-cancerous tumor. It is a medical fact that most women will have fibroids during their life time. Usually, fibroids development occurs when a women is in her thirties and forties. In the past, women of this age would have completed a family. But today, many women have children later in life. It is common to start a family in your thirties or even forties, rather than in your twenties. This makes understanding the potential relationship between fibroids and infertility very important. Fibroid can change the shape or size of the uterus and sometimes the cervix (lower part of the uterus/womb). Women usually have more than one fibroid tumor but single fibroids are possible. Whether fibroid may cause symptoms or requires treatment depends on their number, location and size. WHERE DO FIBROIDS GROW?

Fibroids are usually found in or around the body of the uterus (womb), but sometimes are in the cervix. r 0VUTJEF PS XJUIJO UIF PVUFS MJOJOH TVC serosal). r 0O TUBMLT FYUFOEJOH GSPN UIF VUFSVT (pedunculated) r 8JUIJO UIF VUFSJOF NVTDMF JOUSBNVSBM

r #FUXFFO UIF VUFSJOF CSPBE MJHBNFOUT (interligamentous) r *O UIF FOEPNFUSJBM MJOJOH CBCZ CFE growing intothe space inside the uterus, (submucosal). Submucosal fibroid are the type of fibroids that have clearly been demonstrated to reduce pregnancy rate, roughly by 50% and removal of which will double pregnancy rate. In some cases simply removing the submucosal fibroid solves infertility. Often, but not always, submucosal fibroids can cause heavy periods, or bleeding between periods.

r $FSWJDBM Ă CSPJET BSF SBSF NPTU Ă CSPJET develop from the uterine muscle (myometrium) r 'JCSPJET DBO BMTP CF DPOOFDUFE UP the uterus by a stalk (pedunculated), or organs, such as the bladder and bowel. Fibroid are rarely found outside the pelvic cavity. HOW COMMON ARE FIBROIDS? Fibroids are found in 20% of women of Reproductive age, but are more common in African-American women (50% - 80%). WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF FIBROIDS? The symptoms of fibroids also depend on the location and size of the fibroid r $IBOHF JO NFOTUSVBM ĂĄPX XIJDI NBZ be excessively heavy (menorrhagia) which includes blood clot, irregular menstruation, increased menstrual cramping and pain, spotting. r 1BJO JO UIF QFMWJT PS MPXFS CBDL

t5P CF DPOUJOVFE OFYU XFFL

with LEKAN FATODU

Overscenes

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CAUSES OF FIBROIDS Although the exact cause is unknown, the growth of fibroids seems to be related to a gene that controls cells growth. When the gene functions normally, cells grow normally. When the gene is not functioning, cells grow and divide at an accelerated rate in this way, one cell becomes two, two cell becomes four etc. until finally a mass of these cells or fibroid is detected. Fibroid growth is affected by the reproductive hormones estrogen and progesterone. When these hormone levels decrease at menopause, many of the symptoms of fibroids begin to resolve. However, it is not clear whether these hormones actually cause the fibroid to occur. For example, women who have had high levels of both of these hormones as a result of pregnancy or birth control pills have a lower incidence of fibroids later in life. Abnormalities in the blood vessels around the uterus may play a role in EFWFMPQNFOU PG Ă CSPJET $IBOHFT JO chemical in the body that cause tissue to grow may also be involved. RISK FACTORS FOR FIBROIDS. " OVNCFS PG GBDUPS JOĂĄVFODF UIF SJTL PG developing fibroids. These include: r /VNCFS PG QSFHOBODJFT XPNFO XJUI one or more pregnancies that extended beyond 5months have a decreased risk of fibroid formation. r 6TF PG CJSUI DPOUSPM QJMMT VTF PG CJSUI control pills can generally protect against fibroids , but the useof the birth control at an early age (between age 13 and 16) may be associated with an increased risk for fibroid.

lekantodu@yahoo.com 08060140882

Diaspora Group Lauds UN Lagos Centre on SDGs

t’s been argued countless times that for real development to occur in most developing countries, actions should not be left solely in the hands of government. And given that many of the developing countries of Africa are endowed with brilliant citizens spread across Western nations where they continue to make significant contributions to the sustenance of best practices and growth, some countries on the continent have seen the need to attract more of their best from abroad for development at home. The Future Hands (Future Hands), a group of Nigerian professionals based in Berlin, Germany, may not have necessarily identified any Nigerian government commitment attractive to them, but they are persuaded by their passion and compassion towards the plight of fellow citizens at home. They are, therefore, eager to intervene in several meaningful ways in Nigeria to deepen development. Top on the agenda of these upwardly mobile young men and women is the actualisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria. And on this, they have showered glowing tributes PO UIF 6OJUFE /BUJPOT *OGPSNBUJPO $FOUFS 6/*$ JO -BHPT The SDGs are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The 17 goals are designed to sufficiently tackle development challenges the world over. Arising from its special high-level parley in Berlin, FH made a resolution to improve on actions to reduce poverty in Nigeria and develop partnerships with

UN Director - Roland Kayanja

local organisations that will bring the vision to reality while using the avenue to commend the efforts of the United NaUJPOT *OGPSNBUJPO $FOUFS 6/*$ JO -BHPT for the SDGs. Singled out for special recognition by Future Hands was Ronald Kayanja, Direc-

UPS PG 6/*$ GPS IJT FYFNQMBSZ MFBEFSTIJQ and passion in the promotion of the SDGs in Nigeria. Sometime ago, at an event organised CZ 6/*$ GPS UIF MFBEFST PG WBSJPVT MPDBM government legislatures in Lagos State to discuss the SDGs framework and the role

PG $PVODJMMPST ,BZBOLB UIF PSHBOJTJOH chairman of the occasion, called on the local government legislators to enact laws that would support the implementation and the achievement of the SDGs in the various councils. He also emphasised that the local government administration, including its legislative arm, has an important role to play in achieving the Agenda 2030, the date set out for the attainment of the goals across the world. According to FH, the efforts of the 6/*$ MFE CZ ,BZBOLB BSF OPUFXPSUIZ because it will serve as a huge inspiration to government at various levels to gain more understanding and work harder towards reaching the goals and it will also help draw more attention from the private sector to the importance of the SDGs. During the official adoption and declaration of the SDGs by the United Nations in 2015, it was stated that all hands would be on deck towards the promotion and achievement of the goals. The global business community, which was not effectively engaged on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), became a major focus of the realisation of the new global development agenda, SDGs. Therefore the endeavours of professional groups like FH as well as the interventions of UN country offices like UIF 6/*$ JO -BHPT BSF WJUBM JO CSJOHJOH real development to our world and reducing the scourge of poverty in Nigeria.

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COLLAGE EVENTS

Crime Reporters Hold Annual Lecture Top security practitioners, politicians, business executives, traditional

L-R; Former Governors; Cross River state, Liyel lmoke; Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and Osun state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola with Gombe state Governor, Ibrahim Dakwambo at the Public Presentation and Formal Launch of “My Transition Hours�, a book by former President Goodluck Jonathan, in Abuja...recently

rulers and many others from different walks of life are expected at the 25th annual lecture/award ceremony of the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN) which holds Thursday, November 29, 2018, at Sheba Events Centre, Lagos. In a statement by the Secretary, CRAN Lecture Committee, Mr. Frank Oshanugor, this year’s lecture has it’s theme as “2019 GENERAL ELECTIONS: THE SECURITY CHALLENGES AHEAD. The lecture would be delivered by Mr. Dennis Amachree, a former chieftain of the Department of State Service (DSS) and currently a private security consultant. Like in previous events, this year’s event would also feature the recognition and honouring of personalities who have distinguished themselves in various sectors of the economy. Among them are personnel of the nation’s security agencies, private security companies, banks, agencies and business organisation. The Lagos State Governor, Akinwumi Ambode, his Ogun State counterpart, Ibikunle Amosun and Interior Minister, Abdulrahman Dambazzau are expected at the event as special guests of honour, while the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris; Comptroller-General of Immigration Service, Muhammadu Babandede and the CommandantGeneral of Nigeria Security & Civil Defense Corp, Abdullahi Muhamned are the guests of honour at the event.

Lord’sChosen’sHopefortheNeedyHoldsNovember25

L-R; Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 11, Mr. Danjuma Ibrahim; Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Professor Idowu Olayinka; Group Chief Executive, FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Ladi Balogun and Chairman, First City Monument Bank, Otunba Olutola Senbore, during the 70th anniversary celebration and awards ceremony of the University in Ibadan, Oyo State...recently

Plans have been concluded for the annual two-day power packed international programme of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Ijesha, Lagos, titled, “Hope for the Needy�, scheduled to take place on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25, November, 2018 at the Chosen Revival Crusade Ground, along Oshodi-Apapa, Expressway, Ijesha, Lagos. Holding by 8am daily, the programme, which is interdenominational, is expected not only to address the various needs of the people, but more importantly to pull participants from depression into restoration and redemption. “It is a common knowledge that the prevailing political and economic situation in the country today has given rise to multiplicity of needs. Consequently the future has become so bleak as human efforts could no longer guarantee hope for the needy. Seeing the situation of man, God has decided through this program to give hope to the needy�, said the General Overseer, Lazarus Muoka. The programme, which will be presided over by the icon of revival evangelism Pastor Muoka, will witness salvation, sanctification, Holy Ghost Baptism, deliverance from spiritual limitation, demonic possession, barrenness of the womb, intellectual and financial barrenness to needs for physical challenges such as paralyses of all kinds, diseases, sicknesses, economic and political etc. As the pastor leads the people to God during the ministration, the supernatural anointing that accompanies his messages will break every yoke of the enemies that gave rise to their need. If there is any area in one’s life that needs God’s intervention, they are assured of getting it.

HennessyArtistryConcerttoHoldDecember8

L-R: National Vice President, New Era Girls Secondary School Old Girls Association, Mrs. Abiodun Bankole; member old Student, Mrs. Oyinkan Balogun; Publicity Secretary, Omoyeni, Anikulapo-Kuti; National President, Dr. Mrs. Iyabo Runsewe-Abiodun; Chairman of Symposium, Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu; and the 1948 old Student, Mrs. Folashade Thomas Falim, at a Symposium to mark the 70th Anniversary Celebration of the Old Girls Association, held in Lagos yesterday‌.. SUNDAY ADIGUN

Leading luxury cognac brand, Hennessy Nigeria, is set to host the biggest concert in Lagos this December! The 2018 Hennessy Artistry Concert is set for December 8, at the Balmoral, Federal Palace Hotel. Hennessy Artistry is a unique integrated global platform that brings the “art of blending� to life by creating exceptional consumer moments through a fusion of music, art culture and creative talent. The 2018 campaign kicked off mid-year with VS Class Live Auditions across Abuja, Benin and Lagos – which led to 40 aspiring rappers duking it out for the right to be at the VS Class finals which will happen LIVE on the Hennessy Artistry 2018 Concert stage. We will witness an epic hip-hop finale with finalists Full Effex, Gochi, Zade, Kevinword, Barry Lane and the wildcards; OJ, Kiid Pro & Damideasy, battling it out to be the new face of Hip-hop in Nigeria. This will be the first time that the VS Class Winner will be crowned on the Hennessy Artistry Concert stage. As is custom, the Hennessy Artistry Concert, is set to once again wow all comers with a spectacular line up of Nigeria’s best and brightest Artistes and world class production. Invited guests are truly in for an unforgettable experience. This year, the audience will be thrilled with unforgettable performances from our Headliners; King of Afro-Dance Hall-Timaya, versatile rapper/ songwriter- Falz and Voice of the street, legendary rapper and YBNL general – Olamide.

TheHilltopInternationalChristianCentertoHoldAnnualConvention

L-R: Deputy Governor of Osun State, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori; Governor Rauf Aregbesola; his wife, Sherifat Aregbesol; Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Bola Oyebamiji; his wife, Dr. Sekinah and Governor Elect, Osun State, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, during the installation of Oyebamiji as Balogun Musulumi of Irewole, Isokan and Aiyedade Local Government constituency, Ikire...recently

It’s been 25 years of great spiritual experience and advancement at HillTop International Christian Centre (HICC) since its establishment in 1993. Thus, to mark its silver jubilee celebration, the hosts, Rev. Chris and Dr. Stephanie Oarhe and the entire HillTop family presents a week-long programme tagged: Exceed Enlargement and Advancement starting from Tuesday November 20 to Sunday, 25, 2018 at the HillTop Drive off Waterlines/Elekahia link road, Port Harcourt. The programme would begin at 5pm from Tuesday to Saturday, while the celebration would be rounded up during a Sunday service at 9am. The HICC through the ministries of Chris and Stephanie Oarhe has amongst others started a strong divine mandate to minister through electronic and print media. The Media Ministries Department launched the New Experience telecast in1999 and the Heart2Heart telecast in 2001. These media tools amongst which Heart2Heart stands out, have been touching millions of people weekly and is expanding. HICC is a faith-spitting megachurch with over 9,000 members, located in the garden City of Port Harcourt, in Rivers State of Nigeria. Rev. Chris Oarhe as he is popularly called was born into a celebrated family of educationists in one of the biggest local Government Areas in the then Bendel State, in Nigeria.

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POTPOURRI

Nigerian Studio Set to Make Africa’s First 2D Feature Animation Film Many of us might have grown up reading Cyprian Ekwensi’s ‘The Passport of Mallam Ilia’. Anyone remember the Sanchi battle between Usman and Ilia? The prize for that fightto-the-death was the beautiful princess, Zarah. Magic Carpet Studios, an animation, illustration and game development studio in Lagos, has set out to repackage this timeless tale for old faithfuls and a new generation.

The studio acquired the rights to the book earlier this year, and is in the process of making a 2D animation movie based on the book, the first of its kind to come out of Africa. Magic Carpet, described by industry experts and enthusiasts as the ‘Disney of Africa’, is no new entrant to crossing frontiers. Its short film projects titled, ‘The Day Morning Never Came’, ‘The Reclamation’ and ‘Corruption: The Musical’, done

in partnership with the Creative Youth Initiative against Corruption (CYIAC), powered by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission, beat over 700 nominations from 125 countries to win the Innovative category at the first UN Sustainable Development Goals Action Awards in Germany. A lineup of renowned actors in Nollywood have been assembled: leading the pack is Sadiq Dabba, who has been

signed up to voice Ilia while Mr. Makinde Adeniran of BBC’s ‘Story Story’, is playing the role of casting director. Faced with funding concerns owing to the magnanimity of this project, the studio has set up a kickstarter to crowdfund this project. They are also willing to enter partnerships with corporates and individuals. As part of the kick starter campaign to raise the first milestone of USD30,000, Magic Car-

pet released the movie teaser. You can support this project by donating via Kickstarter (international donors/PayPal) or the project’s website(optimised for local currency). The studio provides givebacks for every donation level. To participate in this project, or have the folks at Magic Carpet translate your gaming, illustration and animation needs to life, contact them at hello@ magiccarpet.studio

Magic Carpet is a subsidiary of Imaginarium Creative Global Limited, a content factory, which is listed in BusinessDay’sTop 100 Fastest Growing SMEs in Nigeria. You can learn more about the studio, its Magic Lab Project which aims to train one thousand animators in 5 years, and more, on the studio’s website. More information on the projection is available on www.iliathemovie.com

Christian Body, Stakeholders Task Govt, Others on Youth Development Ogechukwu Obi Determined to ensure that Nigerian youths are properly positioned to channel their energies towards positive national development, the Christian Students Movement (CSM), in collaboration with other stakeholders, has tasked governments at all levels on the need to invest in youth development. The National President of CSM, Oguazi Onyemaobi, speaking at a Stakeholders’ Convergence Summit, themed: “Positioning the Nigerian Youth for Cutting-Edge Development,� in Lagos on Thursday, said the summit was organised for the purpose of ironing out issues affecting Nigeria youths. Stressing that youths are the backbone of any nation considering their energy and potentials, Onyemaobi however lamented that they are being marginalised as their abilities are not properly harnessed. Continuing, the CSM President urged all stakeholders to come together to deal with the issues and prepare a great future for Nigerian youths. Calling on all top government officials, business men, the church, corporate organisations and social advocates to collaborate in tackling challenges facing the youths, the CSM president lamented that “our nation is in a retrogressive mood because we are not harnessing and channeling them to the right direction.� Onyemaobi, who called on every stakeholder to make the youth issue a top priority, said:

A cross-section of leaders at the Stakeholders Convergence Summit organised by the Student Christian Movement (SCM) of Nigeria at the Nigerian Institute of Int’l Aairs, Victoria Island, Lagos

“We cannot overlook them, we need to create time and resources for youth training and development. We should provide resources for training and mentoring, and ensure that their abilities and efforts are channeled in the right direction�. To provide the right atmosphere for this to be done, he noted that “we must sow into them the good seeds in order to reap and provide resources to ensure that their potentials are properly harnessed. “We want to build a youth

workshop centre that will provide facilities for entrepreneurship, so they can develop their own skills and build their future.� Calling on the state governors and other stakeholders to contribute to the project, Onyemaobi said: “We believe that only the best is good enough to take a people out of mediocrity to excellence, only the best can deliver people from moribund state to a state of new life. “For us to come out and emerge as a nation, we need to put in the best into our young

Femi Leye Releases New EP Project, “Asiko� Following the successful launch and production of applaudable concerts and critically acclaimed music albums, leading Guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, Vocalist and Producer, Femi Leye has announced his sophomore EP project - ‘The Highlife EP’ alongside the accompanying video to popular hit - ‘Asiko’ . The Highlife EP, according to him, is inspired by the traditional high-life sound, Femi introduced a contemporary twist to the well-known genre blending mellow stringed composition with horns, local and jazz drums; piano in a seamless, groovy musical experience. It features four tracks: Igbadun, Orisun, Abasiama and Daara all produced by Femi Leye, mixed and mastered by BigFoot and Ibukun and cover designed by IniAbasi. The Hightlife EP is available on all music platforms via http:// fanlink.to/femileye Released in December 2017, the critically acclaimed hit received an applaudable feedback from music critiques for its impeccable blend of

jazz, funk, African percussion, its simple yet deep-sited lyrics sealed with Femi Leye’s undeniable guitar prowess. The video was inspired by the urgency of time. Engaging its audience with a brilliant

view of some Nigeria’s most interesting sites, it displays the beauty of nature, people in motion and the wonder of innocence sparking a longing to explore the various cities in Nigeria.

people, bring into them the things that will change them and the change has to begin within for them to believe that they can make it. We believe that building a youth centre will take care of this.� Speaking also, the Governor of Lagos Akinwunmi Ambode, Akinwunmi Ambode, tasked Christian students on having a close relationship with God Almighty and taking their studies with all seriousness. Represented by Mrs. Bunmi Fatimekun of Lagos State Ministry of Home Affairs, the governor said youths should

endeavour to avail themselves of the various skill acquisition programmes of the state government, which he noted, will make them to be self-reliant when they leave schools. The Director General, Institute for National Transformation, Prof. Vincent Anigbogu, who spoke on “Turning Nigerian Youths into agents of change,� said that to turn the youth into agents of change, we must understand the times and seasons to be able to reach the

350 million population target for Nigeria by 2050. He said, “To survive the population explosion, our economic growth must outpace our population growth. Youth development is a must.� Lamenting that Nigeria has not for a long time witnessed the kind of tribal and religious divides that are prrsently plaguing the nation, Anigbogu noted that failure to train the youth will result in youth extremism, social vices, restlessness, hence we must harness their energy and channel it properly.

InternationalWorld Children’s Day: UNICEF Calls for Re-commitment to Child Development UNICEF has called on global leaders to commit to doing more to fulfil children’s rights, as the world marked International World Children’s Day recently. The call came with a global request asking individual to sign a global online petition asking for ‘children to be put back on the agenda.’ “We want to build a world where every child is in school, safe from harm and can fulfil their potential – and nowhere is this more true than in Nigeria. “A lot has been achieved – but there is still much to do to ensure that Nigerian children benefit from advances in child rights. At the moment, too many children are being left behind, and we need to reach them�, said Mohamed Fall, UNICEF’s Representative in Nigeria. Nigeria has the world’s highest number of out-ofschool children, and one of its highest rates of maternal, child and infant mortality. More than four million children are unimmunised and

tens of millions of Nigerians still do not have access to clean water and proper sanitation, putting children’s health at risk. Diseases like pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria – combined with underlying malnutrition – are responsible for most of the deaths among infants and children in Nigeria. Nigeria’s burden of stunted growth among children is the second highest in the world, with 16.5 million affected, and the burden of severe acute malnutrition is high, with an estimated 2.6 million children severely acutely malnourished. Fall said: “No matter where a child is born – whether into wealth or poverty – they and their parents have the same hopes and dreams for their future. And we owe it to all children to give them a fair chance to survive and fulfil those dreams. “In partnership with the Nigerian government, we are determined to ensure that stronger investment will yield

progress for all children in education, health – including ensuring routine immunisation for all, nutrition and child protection.� Nigerian children experience a wide range of abuses and harmful practices. An estimated three in five children have suffered one or more forms of violence before reaching 18, with over 70 per cent experiencing multiple incidents of violence. “This World Children’s Day, we must recommit to children – knowing that for Nigeria to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, we must invest in long-lasting institutional and communitybased systems and policies for children’s survival, growth and development. “Nigerian children have a huge role to play in the country’s national development. It is the generation of children growing up today who will take their place as Nigeria’s leaders tomorrow – and who will be able to take further – to really accelerate – the progress we make now,� Fall added.

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F R I DAY Ëž Í°ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

ENTREPRENEUR

Emmanuel Odogwu-N’epe Mpe: I Don’t Joke with Helping the Less Priviledged Ă—Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?Ă– ÎÙÑåĂ&#x;Ě‹ ËŞĂ?ĂšĂ? ĂšĂ? Ă“Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ Ă™Ă? Ă—Ă—Ă‹ĂšĂœĂ?ÞÞĂ?â Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁ ĂžĂŽËœ Ă—Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?Ă– Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂžĂ? ÞÎ Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă‹ĂšĂ™ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă‹ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂšĂ?ĂœĂžĂŁ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă‹ĂšĂ™ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă˜ ÞÒÓĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?ĂĄËœ Ă’Ă? ÞËÖÕĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă’Ă“Ă? ÚËĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂšĂœĂ“Ă Ă“Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă?ĂŽËœ Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ‹ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă?ÞËÞĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’ Ă™Ă? Ëœ Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ă?ÓÙ̋Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă™Ă˜Ě‹ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ×Ùà Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÞÒËÞ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™ĂžĂ?Ă? ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ë› âĂ?Ă?ĂœĂšĂžĂ?

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How was your growing up like? My growing up and early childhood was really amazing. I was not actually born with a golden spoon but my parents were able to put food on the table. I grew up in a family where hardwork is a norm, I have two other siblings and we value hard work, honesty and transparency. Life was not really easy when I was little, but it wasn’t that tough as well. What do you consider your greatest achievement in life? Talking about achievement is not something any one can beat his chest and say he has achieved more or less. I realised that any achievement that does not give you a peace of mind is not worth mentioning as an achievement. Back to your question, I have done quite a lot of things which up till now gives me much happiness and these are the things I consider as part of my achievements. For example, when I look back and remember what I have spent on human development and youth empowerment, how many people I was able to show a way in life, those I sent to abroad and people I gave scholarships to, I just feel satisfied and happy with these things. To some people, it might not be achievement but things like that are great achievements to the best of my understanding. I feel I have achieved much when I think of how many lives I have touched, not how much in my bank account. What are the landmark experiences that contributed in making you what you are today? Well, I would say that I have encountered a lot of things in life, but I can’t forget one incident that happened in my life a long time ago. I have been in a situation where I was in a serious need of little things that could move my life forward but I couldn’t afford it myself. I had to beg but I was not given, the people I trusted most failed me, those I looked up to dissapointed me and that incident made me take a decision never to depend on anyone. I stopped begging and started working hard. Today, I no longer beg but that bitter experience of begging instigated my zeal and passion to work hard to make a better living. I have been through hardship and difficult life that’s why I don’t play with those people that doesn’t have. I have experienced hardship and that’s why I try my best to help people that do not have. I have known how much it pains to beg and couldn’t get and that’s the reason why I try my best to give someone that begs me for anything. Despite being a successful man there are things that you encountered in life that you were not happy about. Do you have any particular regret in life? I have no regret so far and there is nothing I would have to do differently. I only ask God for more grace to do more. However, there are certain things I would love to improve on. If I have my way, I would touch more lives than I’m doing now but certainly, I have no regrets in life. I really thank God for my life and honestly I’m happy with everything about my life. In the past few years you have been involved in poverty alleviation programmes such as scholarship, helping the less privileged persons, widows and widowers. Why are you doing it? My support to people’s life is the most thing that makes me happy. I don’t like seeing people crying about the problems I can solve. It does not really matter how much you have, what matters most is how many lives you have changed. My past made me to know that I need to help those people that I am better than. So I am doing most of

Odogwu-N’epe Mpe

these things to change lives of people and to see other people grow better than me in life. In addition helping the less privileged is something I don’t joke with. I can joke with certain things but when it comes to putting smiles on people’s faces, I take it very seriously. I have one belief in life and it is that ‘’whatever is not shared with people in need is lost’’. Yes, whatever you fail to share with people is completely lost. Some people may not agree with this belief but that’s the force that drives me to do whatever I’m doing in life. And again, the people you share your happiness with matters, while some will prefer to share with fellow rich men, others will prefer to share with people for certain favor but I don’t do things like that. I share

My past made me to know that I need to help those people that I am better than. So, I am doing most of these things to change lives of people and to see other people grow better than me in life. In addition helping the less privileged is something I don’t joke with

things with the people who can’t afford for it. I share everything about my life with the less privileged people, who are rejected and dejected and those who have nobody to run to because I have passed through such painful experience in life. I chose to bring sucour and happiness to such people and that’s why you will always see me in the street eating together with many kinds of people. As a real estate guru, what have your companies done to end or alleviate the problems of housing in Nigeria? My business history started in Singapore which is the place I established the first experience into real estates and properties. During my stay in Singapore I met with a Singaporean citizen, whose name is Mr Kevin Koh, that owns one of the biggest property and real estate company in Singapore. The company specialises into building, buying and selling of apartments and different kinds of properties. I worked with this company for some years before I started my own business and registered my own company in Singapore. I started dealing into buying and renting of apartment units/flats in Singapore in the year 2008. I later invested some funds into Kevin and Koh Properties, the former company I was working under and they resumed contract with me by giving me some flats under lease and that really moved me far in life. Everything was going smoothly between Kevin andKoh Properties Pte Ltd with my own company Emmanuel Success Investment Pte Ltd. My company remains an existing and live company in Singapore until today. This is how I had experienced that

property and real estate is a good field of business / investment. That is why I have established another company in Nigeria “Emmaprettex Investment Company Ltd. I am very comfortable with this field of specialisation because properties appreciates both in season and out of season. I have some buildings under construction because I am presently dealing into buying and selling of lands, building and renting/selling of commercial houses, student’s hostels etc. I must confess that things are moving pretty well and I have never regretted entering into properties and real estates as my field of specialisation. You oated a group IPM recently. What is it all about and why did you establish the group? IPM is a socio-cultural movement and it’s non partisan. In IPM, we promote peace and humanity. When you come to the region I came from, politics have created a lot of enemities between brothers, families, even churches are not left out. The traditional institutions are all factionalised and I felt we can’t continue like this. In the quest to bring peace, I and some other persons decided to float an entirely new movement, which by the grace of God, we are actualising our goals of bringing peace to the people. Also IPM is not a group for the elites, no, this is a movement for both the elites and the poor masses (The grassroots). In IPM, we make decisions that will favour the entire local government and we are finalising our charity programs. Our vision is to stop arbitrary politics in the region so that unbalanced political benefits can be balanced in the local government for the benefit of the masses and for development purposes.

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F R I DAY Ëž Í°ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

LIFE

Triumphant Gathering of Saints for C&S Anniversary It was a truimphant gathering of saints as the members of the Cherubim and Seraphim Unification Church of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, recently marked its fifth year anniversar

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o celebrate it’s fifth year anniversary, members of the Lagos State chapter of the Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Unification Church of Nigeria, recently converged on St. James C&S Church, Aboru, forthe annual general conference and thanksgiving ceremony, to chart a new course for the church. When the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the state chapter under thechairmanship of Dr. Joseph Adagba, chose ‘Vessel unto Honor’ as the theme of the ceremony, they never had an inkling of the impact such a topic will have on theparticipants at the conference. For several months great efforts and planning were put in place to ensure that the conference turned out to be a huge success, and it was. The conference was declared open on November 8. Declaring the conference open, Apostle Dr. Emmanuel Omoniyi Owomoyela, Chairman, National Executive Council, C&S Unification Church of Nigeria representing the Supreme Head of the Church, Dr. Solomon Alao, congratulated the host state and church for the huge success of the event and the great role the chapter is playing in the development of the church. “We are proud and happy to be associated with this chapter and the role they have played over the years. This is the fifth in the series and by God’s grace it has always been an event we look forward to. You can see for yourself the huge turn-out of Seraphs all over Lagos state. “This event was an avenue for seraphs all over the state to interact, exchange ideas and deliberate on how to move the body of Christ forward. The theme of the lecture “Vessel unto honor’ was also an interesting one which was delivered perfectly. The theme could not have come at a better time as God is interested in what we make of ourselves, so we must be something God will see and rely on. It was a call for re-awakening as Christians,� he said. His thoughts were also shared by the man of the moment and the LOC Chairman, who while delivering his keynote address called for a fresh awakening amongst seraphs all over the state and the country at large. He said: “We still have a long way to go in Cherubim and Seraphim. I am a born seraph and I don’t mince words to tell whoever cares to listen that, but I am not pleased with what I am seeing and it is time to change the narrative and make ourselves useful to God and the theme “Vessel unto Honor� could not have come at a better time. I thought deeply before arriving at that theme. I want all seraphs to wake up, think and start and get going because the journey is still very far.� He further showered encomium on the guest lecturer, Dr. Adebayo Adeniji, for doing a thorough job on the theme of the conference. “I am happy that the lecturer did a great job on the topic for those who want to listen� he added. Speaking on the journey so far, Adagba said it gives him great joy to see the successful outcome of the program. “Before our regime, there has never been anything like an annual general conference, there were other programs, but when we came in, we meditated and put our heads together and put this conference together and we thank God that since we started this, we have been calling churches together and the turnout has always been massive. Some churches are still standing aloof, but I know that very soon, they will all come on board. It gives me great joy that we seraphs can come together and reason together and deliberate on how to forge ahead to chart a new course for ourselves� he said. Adagba also used the occasion to reveal that all plans have been put in motion to bring in every member of the church together under one big umbrella. “We have set up a committee that is looking at bringing everyone under one roof, we called them the Planning Development and Research committee, they are going to the nooks and corners of the state to bring in churches who are still outside, they will surely come in as their coming in will be to their benefit�. He also called on Nigerians to vote their conscience and not be swayed by money or material things ahead of the upcoming general elections in the country. “Our country has been going through a difficult period in the last few years. As true citizens, let us continue to pray for her, for those in authority and for all of us in Nigeria. I urge our members to perform their civic responsibilities to the best of their conscience. Nigerians should not allow themselves to be swayed by money or material things ahead of the upcoming general election in the country,� he admonished. This assertion was also shared by the Secretary-General of the Church, Apostle Olatunde

L-R: Bishop, Rev. Mother Elizabeth James-Ige; Chairman of Lagos State chapter, Senior Supt. Apostle Joseph Adagba, Gen. Supt. Apostolic Mother Dr. Oluwaseye Yomi-Sholoye; Supt. Apostle Niyi Owomoyela, Chairman National Executive Council of C&S UniďŹ cation Church of Nigeria and Evang. (Dr.) Rotimi Odugbesan, chairman planning committee of the ďŹ fth anniversary

L-R: Vice Chairman, Special Apostle Segun Adio; Rev. Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi; Chairman, Snr. Supt. Apostle Joseph Adagba and Chairman Planing Committee, Evang. (Dr.) Rotimi Odugbesan during the presentation of the award of Most Outstanding Personality to Rev. Esther Ajayi

Ogunkunle. He said Nigerians should look out for the pedigree of each candidate and what they have been able to achieve before making a choice. He said: “They should try and look at where we are coming from, so we may know where we are going to. I do not want us to vote based on propaganda and false promises that may never be kept. I pray that God will help us to make the right choice at the end of the day.� He was full of accolades for the host of the event for the great job that was done. “This has always been a great event as the Lagos State chapter of the C&S Unification has always been our flagship chapter and it glorious that they are having

This event was an avenue for seraphs all over the state to interact, exchange ideas and deliberate on how to move the body of Christ forward. The theme of the lecture was ‘Vessel unto honor’... it was a call for re-awakening as Christians

their fifth annual conference and God has given them the grace to put an event of this magnitude together� he gushed. He also urged all members of the church to remain steadfast as God is able to do all things. He enjoined every ember to always ensure to make themselves vessel unto honour. In her speech, Rev. Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi said the conference affords every member of the church to take stock, appraise themselves and be reawakened to their roles and contributions towards fostering unity and upholding the objectives of the great church of God. According to her, “this event is another occasion for us to take a chance at stocktaking, internal appraisal, and the reawakening of our roles and contributions to fostering unity and upholding the objectives of this great church of God. Our image is a very important weapon of evangelism, many people can be misled or persuaded based on our image.� Ajayi who is the head Minister at the Love of Christ Generation Church, London, also enjoined everyone to support and those in the drive to take the church to the next level. She was also full of gratitude to the Lagos State Chapter for making her the special guest of honor at the event. The event was also an avenue to shower recognition on deserving individuals in the church who have contributed in no small measures to the development of the church. One of such deserving personalities was Dr. Oluseye Yomi O-Sholoye who was bestowed with an award for her tireless effort to chart a new course for young seraphs and every member of the church with her various empowerment programs through her New Seraph Initiative.

Speaking after receiving the award, Dr. OSholoye, who said it gives her great pleasure to be a recipient of the award, noted that, “it surely feels so good to be appreciated and that our efforts in C&S are well appreciated and acknowledged, this will spur me to do more.� She revealed that plans are already in the pipeline to bring the women empowerment program to the Good Women Congress very soon as a follow up to the existing programme, where over 100 women received funds to go into small scale businesses. The chairman, Planning Committee of the conference, Dr. Rotimi Odugbesan was full of gratitude to God for the success of the conference and gratitude to everyone who made the event a success. “I give glory and adoration to God of heaven for making this event a success and for making it possible for us to assemble for the fifth time in the series of the annual general conference of the Lagos State chapter of this great church,� he said. Speaking further, Odugbesan expressed his gratitude to Rev. Mother Ajayi for her support and involvement, and to Dr. Yomi-Sholoye for her kind gestures and support to the chapter as well. “My profound appreciation goes to the great icons of the church, Reverend Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi whose involvement in this year’s conference contributed to the success and I cannot but mentioned Dr. Yomi-Sholoye for her kind gestures and support to the chapter� he concluded. As we look forward to the next event, according to Dr. Adagba, it will even be a bigger, better and more befitting event with another captivating lecture.

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THISDAYt '3*%": /07&.#&3 ċČ ċĉĊđ

Signed: Homeland

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THISDAYt FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2018

GCA ENERGY LIMITED

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THISDAYt '3*%": /07&.#&3 ċČ ċĉĊđ

THISDAYt FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2018

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F R I DAY Ëž NOVEMBER 23, 2018

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Lawmakers Pledge Speedy Amendment of NDIC Act The Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions has expressed its commitment towards the accelerated amendment of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Act, 2006. This is to eliminate gaps that had hindered the full realisation of the public policy objectives of the implementation of the Deposit Insurance System (DIS) in Nigeria. The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim, made the remark when he led his team on an oversight visit to the corporation recently. According to a statement signed by the Head, Communication and Public Policy, NDIC, Mohammed Kudu Ibrahim, the Committee was warmly received by the MD/CEO of the Corporation, Umaru Ibrahim, along with members of his management team. The MD/CEO updated the committee on the recent activities of the corporation including the response of the NDIC to the revocation of the licences of 153 MicroFinance Banks (MFBs) and

6 Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs), by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Members of the committee were informed that the corporation had already commenced the payment of depositors of 25 MFBs and the deposits verification of 50 others. He listed the challenges encountered by MFBs in particular to include non-performing loans, insider credit and abuse, non-compliance with extant regulations on their establishment and the overbearing indulgence in other fringe operations, along with poor earnings. The NDIC boss further used the opportunity to inform members of the Committee of the strong resolve and commitment of the corporation to assist in the investigation and prosecution of all those who contributed to the collapse of the defunct Skye Bank. On the issue of the long suffering depositors of Savanah Bank, Fortis MFB, Aso Savings and Union Homes, the MD/ CEO expressed the view that unless the enabling Act of the corporation was speedily

amended, the Corporation was handicapped in acting to end the plight of depositors of the institutions. Using the case of Savanah bank as an example, the MD/CE added that the NDIC Act, as presently enacted, inhibits the corporation to reimburse depositors since their bank licences were yet to be revoked due to protracted litigation. The NDIC boss thereafter made appealed to the committee to amend the NDIC Act. Responding, the Chairman of the committee commended the corporation for the excellent quality of its reports on the supervision of banks which have become the benchmark in the industry. The chairman however expressed concerns over the recent policy of the CBN which raised the minimum capital requirements for MFBs from N20 million to N200 million, and N100 million to NI billion, and N2 billion to N5 billion for unit, state, and national MFBs respectively, adding that the policy will be inimical to the objectives of the financial inclusion strategy.

Access Bank Harps on Collaboration toTackle e-Fraud Nume Ekeghe Access Bank Plc has appealed to commercial banks in the country to continue to strengthen collaboration and information sharing in order to curb banking sector related frauds. The Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, said this yesterday at the Access Bank Anti-Fraud stakeholders’ workshop, where most banks representatives gathered to deliberate on ‘identity theft and social engineering.’ Wigwe, who was represented by the Executive Director for Information Technology and Operations at Access Bank, Mr. Ade Bajomo, said the bank was passionate about curbing e-Fraud. He said: “The objective of this series is about sharing information and deepening knowledge about identity fraud and social engineering. “Fraud is actually one of the fastest growing sectors

in the crime industry and E-fraud in particular. Everything we are doing now is becoming more digital and as we go more digital, we have to raise more awareness because we are only as strong as our collective awareness. “So if something has happened to my neighbour, I am more aware of it I can take the right precautions do things that would prevent me from being exposed to the same crime. “Within Access Bank, we take security very seriously both for ourselves and our customers and also in the wider ecosystem and we believe our responsibility goes beyond just protecting Access Bank. “It goes to the entire industry which is why we hold this event to keep awareness in the industry. “I can only urge all the banks to participate in this watch list in participating to make sure the whole system

is as secure as possible.� Also, the Director, Banking and Payments at the Central Bank, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, urged banks to comply by flagging fraudulent accounts to avoid future sanctions. Fatokun, who was represented by the Head, Payments, of the CBN, Olubukola Akinwunmi while speaking to the participants said: “Collaboration is key and if we have all agreed that if a fraudulent account has been identified, the BVN should be watch listed and every one of us should flag such accounts. Let us keep to it so that we can manage our exposures. “Because we have collaborated this far with banks, we believe that we can still talk to ourselves. Now we have cautioned banks, the next wave would then be sanctions. “We already have the list of banks and those that need to be sanctioned and if we don’t see any changes, there would be sanctions.�

Honeywell, FRSCTask Motorists on Safety Honeywell Flour Mills Plc in conjunction with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has rolled out safety campaign aimed at reducing accident on the roads as the yuletide season approaches. Officials of both organisations yesterday took safety campaign to Maza-maza, along the Badagry Express Road, Lagos, where drivers were enlightened on safe driving culture especially on the need to drive safely into the new year. This was in continuation of safety campaign by both organisations which earlier kicked off at Owena Park,

Ojota. Tagged “Safe driving, safe arrival�, the initiative, according to Managing Director, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola, was to create awareness among road users especially as the festive season approaches, to be very careful and mindful of other commuters on the road. Jaiyeola, represented by Head, Innovation and Corporate Communication, Mr Lanre Da-Silva said: “We always partner with FRSC to ensure that people are safe at all times especially during the yuletide, to observe all the

safety procedures required at this time.� Addressing a large number of commercial transporters, the Representative of Lagos State Sector Commander, Mr. Joseph Ojerinde, assured that the commission has put in place measures that will reduce rate of crashes on the roads as well as improved response time. Ojerinde, flanked by representatives of sister security agencies, advised motorists to avoid vices like drunk driven, over speeding and disregard to general safety rules, saying safe driving will lead to safe arrival.

L-R: Head, Client Coverage Nigeria, Corporate and Investment Banking, Stanbic IBTC, Olu Delano; Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, Wole Adeniyi; Chief Financial Officer, NTA Star TV Network Ltd, Yuefeng Nan and Head, Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC, Remy Osuagwu, at the Stanbic IBTC Africa-China Connect Session, held in Abuja‌recently

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‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT TUESDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2018

The price of OPEC basket of ďŹ fteen crudes stood at $62.33 a barrel on Wednesday, compared with $64.02 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

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F R I DAY ˾ NOVEMBER 23, 2018

MARKET NEWS

Flour Mills, CHI Plc Lead Gainers as Stock Market Records Marginal Growth Goddy Egene Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc and Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI) Plc led the price gainers yesterday at the stock market as the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (NSE ASI) appreciated marginally by 0.05 per cent to close at 31,984.60 , compared with the depreciation of 0.78 per cent recorded the previous day. In all, 16 stocks appreciated compared with 13

stocks that declined. Apart from Flour Mills of Nigeria and CHI Plc, other gainers that bolstered the trading included: GTBank, Zenith Bank, FBN Holdings and PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc. Analysts at Cordros Capital Limited said the absence of a positive catalyst, as well as brewing political concerns, we guide investors to trade cautiously in the short-to-medium term. “However, stable macroeco-

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nomic fundamentals remain supportive of recovery in the long-term,” they said. Market operators said some investors are reacting to the nine months results of CHI Plc and plans to inject fresh capital into its operations. CHI Plc will hold its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on 28th November 2018 in Lagos where directors will get formal approval of shareholders approve additional capital

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raise through private placement of 1.130 billion shares at the price of 65 Kobo per share. This private placement will bring in an additional N734.5 million to the coffers of the company. The company said the private placement is next in the series of proactive efforts of the board and management to boost the working capital of the company and adequately position it as a leading player in the underwriting of big ticket insurance transac-

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tions. The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Eddie Efekoha has already expressed optimism of a very successful outing at EGM as shareholders of the company have often been delighted with the regular dividend payments over the years. Out of 10 financial years that the company has been quoted on the NSE, it has paid out dividends seven times amounting to a total of N1.22 billion.

O F

The deployment of capital raised during the rights issue is impacting positively as shown in the nine months ended September 30, 2018. Efekoha said future plans of the company includes broadening its product offerings to take advantage of the on-going market development initiatives of the industry regulator and strengthening its technology in order to deepen its footprints in the retail market whilst delighting its existing corporate customers.

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˾ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2018

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Friday, November 23rd, 2018

$ ! #

ThisDay Afrinvest Gained 10bps zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͕ ƚŚĞ dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ϭϬďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ

71(%0)16%/ )4*240%1') )64-'5 *24 $ ! 1()9

1,332.83 points as buy interests in ZENITH (+0.6%), GUARANTY (+0.4%) and FBNH ( 1.7%) buoyed the index.

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dŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϰϮ͘Ϯй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘ Local Bourse Slightly Rebounds͙ ASI up 5bps dŚĞ ĚŽŵĞƐƟĐ ďŽƵƌƐĞ ŵĂƌŐŝŶĂůůLJ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ďLJ ϱďƉƐ ŝŶ

yesterday͛Ɛ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ ϯϭ͕ϵϴϰ͘ϲ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ŽŶ account of buy interests in FLOURMILL (+10.0%), ZENITH (+0.6%) and GUARANTY ;нϬ͘ϰйͿ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƚĞĚ ďLJ Eϱ͘ϰďŶ ƚŽ Eϭϭ͘ϳƚŶ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ůŽƐƐ ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ Ăƚ ϭϲ͘ϰй͘ ĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ϭϴϮ͘ϴй ĂŶĚ ϯϯϰ͘ϰй ƚŽ ϲϳϮ͘Ϯŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ Eϭϱ͘ϮďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ ZENITH

;ϲϬϱ͘ϱŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕

TRANSCORP ;ϵ͘ϯŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ĂŶĚ FBNH ;ϳ͘ϯŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁŚŝůĞ ZENITH ;Eϭϰ͘ϱďŶͿ͕ NIGERIAN BREWERIES ;Eϭϵϲ͘ϲŵͿ ĂŶĚ GUARANTY ;EϭϰϬ͘ϳŵͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘ Oil & Gas Index Emerges Lone Loser

WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ǁĂƐ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ďƵůůŝƐŚ ĂƐ ϯ ŽĨ ϱ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƚĞĚ ŝŶ ǀĂůƵĞ͘ The Banking index advanced the most, up 0.2% on account of buy interests in ZENITH (+0.6%) and GUARANTY (+0.4%). ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƚĞĚ ďLJ Ϭ͘ϭй ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ŐĂŝŶƐ ŝŶ FLOURMILL ;нϵ͘ϵйͿ ĂŶĚ PZ (+7.8%) ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƐƚĂLJĞĚ ŇĂƚ despite gains in LASACO ;нϯ͘ϱйͿ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŇŝƉ ƐŝĚĞ͕ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ďLJ Ϭ͘ϰй ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƐĞůů ŽīƐ ŝŶ OANDO ( ϯ͘ϵйͿ ĂŶĚ JAPAUL ( 4.8%). /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ Strengthens

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ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůĂƐƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ ϭϱ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƚĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ϭϯ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƌƐ͘ FLOURMILL ;нϵ͘ϵйͿ͕ UNIONDAC (+8.0%) and PZ ;нϳ͘ϴйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ďĞƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁŚŝůĞ IKEJAHOTEL ( ϵ͘ϴйͿ͕ JAIZBANK ( ϴ͘ϵйͿ ĂŶĚ LAWUNION ( ϴ͘ϵйͿ ůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ͘ KŶ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ŽĨ LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJΖƐ ŵŝůĚ ƌĞďŽƵŶĚ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŽ ƐĞĞ ŵŽƌĞ ďĂƌŐĂŝŶ ŚƵŶƟŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƟĞƐ ŝŶ ƚŽĚĂLJ ͛s trading session ǁŚŝůĞ ŵĂŝŶƚĂŝŶŝŶŐ ŽƵƌ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ŽƵƚůŽŽŬ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŶĞĂƌ ƚĞƌŵ͘

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MARKET NEWS

Onyema: PEARL Awards Impacting Positively on Capital Market Goddy Egene The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Stock Exchange(NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema has commended the Board of PEARL Awards Nigeria for upholding the standard of the project for 22 years and expressed satisfaction that it has become a reference point in the capital market. Onyema stated this when members of Board of Governors of PEARL Awards

Nigeria paid a courtesy visit to the exchange management recently. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are proud of the composition of your team and the consistency with which the awards has been organised in over two decades; and we are particularly happy that it plays the role of an independent arbiter for this sensitive part of the Nigerian financial institution,â&#x20AC;? he s aid. Onyema added that the exchangeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s endorsement of

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

the award is the least level of recognition it can give and expressed optimism that the exchange looked forward to becoming a strategic partner of the PEARL Awards in the nearest future. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are hoping we would be able to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Board of the Awards soonest as a way of seeking deeper strategic working relationship that would ensure a stronger Exchange, and also for us

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 2111-2018, unless otherwise stated.

to contribute to the vision of PEARL Awards as a respected reward for excellent performance on the Nigerian Stock Exchange,â&#x20AC;? he said. In his response, Chairman of Board, Dr. Faruk Umar stated that the would be glad to work with the exchange to strengthen the capital market through the awards and other innovative initiatives including expanding the frontiers of the awards to the African continent. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PEARL Awards

is scheduled to hold on Sunday November 25, 2018 in Lagos. According to the President of the Awards, Mr. Tayo Orekoya not less than 90 per cent of the companies listed on the secondary market were x-rayed by the Awards technical team before the list of the nominees were released. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our process is a very meticulous process and we have professionals whose duty is to examine these figures from the Nigeria stock

Exchange year-in, year-out. The criteria for these processes are open source and that is why the award is well respected,â&#x20AC;? he said. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s award is themed: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sustaining the Winning Edgeâ&#x20AC;? in recognition of companies that, in spite of the challenges in the operating environment, local and international, have continued on the winning edge, outperforming others and emerging leaders, deserving of honour in our capital market.

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 1.04% ACAP Income Funds 0.63 0.63 6.64% 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 2.21 2.22 -3.99% 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 12.20% 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 0.00% Paramount Equity Fund 11.57 11.87 4.36% Women's Investment Fund 101.61 104.22 0.98% 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 12.27% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.85 0.86 Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.15 1.15 9.85% 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 1,166.03 1,166.78 11.16% FBN Heritage Fund 142.69 143.91 2.32% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.61% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 112.64 113.08 3.46% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 112.39 112.84 3.34% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 145.90 147.96 -8.13% 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 3.21 3.21 11.04% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.02 1.02 1.90% 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 12.12%

Vantage Balanced Fund 2.15 2.17 1.92% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 14.88% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 122.97 123.18 6.85% 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 1,084.27 1,084.27 12.31% 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 2,319.24 2,334.31 5.52% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 187.59 187.59 7.73% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.96 0.97 -4.46% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 244.67 244.71 13.37% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 160.73 162.55 -10.25% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.55% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,637.99 8,744.07 -9.19% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.10 1.10 6.61% 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 11.22 11.37 -7.28% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.10 12.20 -6.59% Zenith Income Fund 20.53 20.53 11.29% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.83%

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

10.45 117.08 90.88

10.55 119.57 92.59

-11.74% -18.03% -16.81%

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

4.07 7.34 14.96

4.11 7.42 15.06

#VALUE! #VALUE! -14.32%

13.15

13.35

#VALUE!

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.

46

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47

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

FOREIGN/DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS

WORLD OF ISLAM

Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

France Imposes Sanctions Medina Charter of Prophet against 18 Saudis over Muhammad and Pluralism - 2 Khashoggi Murder The French foreign ministry Saudi citizens over the killing on Thursday said it would of journalist Jamal Khashoggi impose sanctions against 18 in Istanbul last month. “These measures… aim to prohibit these individuals from CHANGE OF NAME entering national territory and I formerly known and addressed as the entire Schengen area” of ESTHER ODUNOLA ADEYEMI, now Europe, the ministry said in wish to be known and addressed a statement. as ESTHER ODUNOLA ELESHA. “They are conservative All former documents remain valid. The ŐĞŶĞƌĂů ƉƵďůŝĐ ĂŶĚ ^ƚĂī ŽĨ K Θ measures, subject to review ,ĞĚŐĞ ĐƚƵĂƌŝĂů ŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ;K , Ϳ or extension based on the findings of the investigation should take note. I formerly known and underway,” it said. Saudi Arabia has said that addressed as MISS IKOKO BESSY CHICHI, now wish to 21 people are in custody, with be known and addressed as death penalties sought against AS MRS MGBACHI BESSY five men. CHICHI. All former documents International pressure has

remain valid. The general public should take note. I formerly known and addressed as ABDULSALAM ABDULLAHI ABDULLAHI, now wish to be known and addressed as ABDULLAHI SULEIMAN. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as IWEHA JULIET AKUNNE., now wish to be known and addressed as EJIKE JULIET AKUNNE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note. I formerly known and addressed as OCHUKA BLESSING UCHECHUKWU, now wish to be known and addressed as OWEN BLESSING UCHECHUKWU. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note. I formerly known and addressed as AKPAN GODWIN SUNDAY, now wish to be known and addressed as AKPANUKO AKANINYENE SUNDAY. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note. I formerly known and addressed as OGUNYO ABIMBOLA MARIA, now wish to be known and addressed as AVWENAGHA ABIMBOLA MARIA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note. I formerly known and addressed as MISS OLAOGUN OMOLABAKE GOODNESS, now wish to be known and addressed as MISS OLAOGUN OMOLABAKE JENNIFER. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note. I formerly known and addressed as JOEL AFOLABI OLADUNMOYE, now wish to be known and addressed as JOEL AFOLABI OGUNYEMI. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note. I formerly known and addressed as ALI TAHIRU, now wish to be known and addressed as ALI DAHIRU. All former documents remain valid. My DATE OF BIRTH is 01/01/1988 NOT 17/05/1991. The general public should take note. I formerly known and addressed as ALABI OLANREWAJU SURAJU, now wish to be known and addressed as ARANSI SAIDI ADISA. I was born on the 14th of January 1977. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE The property known at No: 2 Cyril Emodi Street Victory Estate Iba Lagos State belongs to MR STANLEY OKECHUKWU OKAFOR

IS NOT FOR SALE SIGNED: BARR OKOLIE PHILIP.

mounted on Riyadh to find those responsible for the grisly murder of Khashoggi, a US resident who wrote for The Washington Post and had been critical of Saudi Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman. A recent CIA analysis leaked to the US media reportedly pointed the finger at Prince Mohammed, though Saudi prosecutors have said he had no role in the killing. The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on 17 people, including close aides of Prince Mohammed, while Germany imposed similar measures on Monday.

EU, UK Agree Brexit Draft, But Gaps Remain before Summit Britain and the EU agreed a draft text setting out a close post-Brexit relationship, officials said, though wrangles over fish and the future of Gibraltar must still be settled before leaders meet on Sunday. Thursday’s news sent the pound nearly one per cent higher on relief among investors that 18 months of tense negotiation were bearing fruit, keeping Britain close to its biggest market and ensuring nothing much will change for at least two years. British Prime Minister, Theresa May said in London: “The British people want this to be settled, they want a good deal that sets us on course for a brighter future … That deal is within our grasp and I am determined to deliver it.” The main question mark is over whether Spain, seeing Brexit as an opportunity to swing the EU’s weight behind its 300-year campaign to reclaim Gibraltar from Britain, can be persuaded to remain patient. After a draft treaty last week set the terms for Britain’s departure in March, May had

met EU Chief Executive, JeanClaude Juncker, on Wednesday, hoping to finalise an ambitious declaration on future ties. The ties can help her secure backing at home for the whole Brexit package in the teeth of furious parliamentary opposition, even within her own party. She is due to meet Juncker again on the eve of the summit, at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Saturday, and a spokesman for Juncker said that by then there should nothing much left to sort out. With Spain, France and other EU member states lobbying for various national vested interests in that political declaration – a 26-page wish list on future trade and security ties separate from the 585-page withdrawal agreement. There was concern in Brussels that haggling could get out of hand and derail Sunday’s tightly choreographed formal summit of the 27 leaders with May. Summit chair Donald Tusk said: “It has been agreed at negotiators’ level and agreed in principle at political level.”

Gunmen Kill Eight at French Drilling Camp in Niger Seven local employees of a French drilling firm and a government official were killed Thursday when suspected Boko Haram gunmen stormed the compound where they were sleeping in southeastern Niger. The attack shattered months of relative calm in the Diffa region near the Lake Chad basin, a strategic area where the borders of four countries converge. The victims, all Nigerien, were shot dead at a site in Toumour, a village near the border with Nigeria where they had been drilling two deep-water wells to improve conditions for displaced people at a local refugee camp. Seven of them were employees of Foraco, a French firm which specialises in drilling for mining and water projects. The eighth victim was an official from Niger’s ministry of hydraulics. “A group of terrorists attacked the building where a team of Foraco drillers and technicians were resting in the village of Toumour,” a company statement

said. “The assailants opened fire on the sleeping personnel and killed eight people.” Another five people were wounded, two of them seriously, it said, indicating that the injured were being transported to hospital in Diffa, capital of the region of the same name which flanks both Nigeria and Chad. The location where they were staying had been chosen in agreement with the Nigerien army unit charged with protecting them, Foraco said. The attackers also made off with two of the company’s pickup trucks. “There were about 15 employees there who under the protection of about 15 soldiers who had just set off to patrol the area at the time of the attack,” said Thierry Merle, head of Foraco’s Europe and Middle East division. “We know that Boko Haram is active in the region but for now we’ve had no claim of responsibility, neither official nor unofficial,” he told.

Sean William White/IslamiCity/The Fountain Magazine Continued from last week

T

he Medina Charter reflects pluralism both in the content and in the history of the document. F. E. Peters explains that “the contracting parties, although they did not embrace Islam, did recognize the Prophet’s authority, accepting him as the community leader and abiding by his political judgments”. As there is no account of an uprising in history books and because the Prophet was there at the suggestion of the tribes, we know that he was never rejected. Because of the laws he introduced, the existing groups clearly did not feel threatened by his new presence or his new governance. The society was pluralistic, and it was not repressive. The Prophet - as clause 25 shows - never imposed Islam upon the people of Medina, which meant that they could still practice without disruption their religions and customs, aspects of life that were important to them. He did not create an ummah through denouncing all ways of life except for Islam or by recognizing Islam as the singular religion; instead he united all inhabitants of the city under one banner of ethical living and moral principles - commonalities between all humans and all religions. The Prophet drew upon the essence of unity, respect, tolerance, and love to combine and create a pluralistic community. According to Sajoo, Clause 40 exemplifies this: “The ‘protected neighbor’ (jar) is as the man himself so long as he does no harm and does not act treacherously”. People were safe and respected and free to exert their beliefs and would be protected in doing so. This protection, however, could not shield them from treachery or wrong doing. The Medina Charter is arguably the first constitution ever written incorporating religion and politics. And even though the politics of the region have changed since it was written - in recent times for the worst - Islam’s values have continued to spread and are lived throughout the whole Muslim world. Despite the hold of power that some governments still have over their people, the true face of Islam shines through in how people live, communicate, and approach life. I speak from personal experiences when I traveled through Iran, Turkey, and Northern Iraq in January, 2009. And despite what the media had to say about the people in those lands, my time there was spent in the houses of complete strangers, who showered me with hospitality that transcended any I had experienced before. Although the governing body has changed, the points of the Medina Charter and tenets of Islam preached by Prophet Muhammad still exist amongst the people. My heritage was accepted with curiosity and respect - just as the Prophet implemented in Medina between the tribes. My place in the society was welcomed with honest enthusiasm, and I felt a part of a community - like the community that Prophet implemented in Medina. I was exposed to mainstream Islam, which we hear so little about in the West due to the confusion which unjustly joins Islam and extremism together. I saw tolerant Muslims who saw me as another person who wanted peace and respect - not treachery. This is what the Prophet also accomplished in Medina - a community which was not based upon religion or ethnicity but one built on unity and acceptance. One built on tolerance. One built on peace. It seems the Prophet was aware that spirituality and faith cannot be governed, and for this reason alone, he sought unity and respect as opposed to discriminating between tribes and their beliefs. In contemporary times, for Sachedina, an analysis of the Medina Charter can give us insight into Islam and religious pluralism. Medina marked the first real occurrence of coexistence between religions and groups in Islam and mirrors the Quran which “in its entirety provides ample material for extrapolating a pluralistic and inclusive

theology of religions”. The Quran is the unquestionable and the absolute; therefore, it is the key to understanding religious pluralism in Islam. Clause 39 of the Medina Charter says, “The valley of Yathrib is sacred for the people of this document”. And so too is the universe, which is sacred to all of humanity. The Quran reveals that “the people are one community” (2:213), so if we are one (which we are) in the world, in the universe, then regardless of religion, it is God’s mercy and compassion which will save us. By differentiating between beliefs, we neglect that under one sun we all pray to a greater entity, a greater being. We were all created by God, so unity seems imperative and practical. The Medina Charter is very relevant to current tensions existing between the Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Unfortunately, it seems that ignorance and fear, suspicion and disrespect plague the interaction and stereotypes that exist between these three great Abrahamic religions. In the post-September 11th era, a new wave of antagonism has arisen, and people around the Western world generally fear Islam. Sadly, people confuse the actions of nationalists and fundamentalists, who so unjustly hide behind a Holy Book claiming that their intentions are those of God, with what the actual religion promotes. As Rumi believed, the essence of all religions is the same, for they all teach love. The deep philosophical and even deeper spiritual teaching of Rumi is based on a state of mind that seeks mutual vision and dialogue, which I hope will be achieved one day, breaking down the polarized world of different religious thought. Another verse of the Quran emphasizes this need for dialogue, unity, and tolerance: “Surely this community of yours is one community, and I am your Lord; so worship Me” (21:92). The Prophet’s actions in Medina prompt us to use reason in our approach to the wide, diverse beliefs of the world - from Europe to Asia, North, Central, and South America to Africa and everything in between. For Sachedina, it prompts us to understand how “the spiritual space of the Quran [...] was shared by other religions”. Stewart also agrees that such an understanding reveals that Islam is a monotheistic religion that respects the rights of other faiths. In a globalized world where we are connected so easily, unlike any other period in history, our mutual understanding of one another and our beliefs are the most important means to achieve peace and stability. It is in a contemporary sense, in a globalized world, that the Medina Charter is of such necessity. Inter-religious discussions took place with the Prophet in Medina, for Boase writes about a time when Christians performed their prayers in a mosque after a meeting with the Prophet during their visit. We can learn how in every country, a community, an ummah, is the single most effective way to produce a pluralistic state. The Medina Charter was a fusion of attributes which all world religions teach: peace, love, freedom, acceptance, and tolerance - resulting in stability. Peace was achieved in Medina, not through the might of arms or the scale of wealth, but through the unyielding principles of Islam - tolerance, love, reason, and a belief in God - whether the God in the Bible, the Quran, or the Torah. The Medina Charter, arguably the first charter ever written, shows that Islam rejects the use of compulsion in religion and violence and that over centuries of human existence, the most effective way to resolve conflicts comes through mediation. The Medina Charter is an example that should be discussed and referred to in current conflicts. The creation of a community, or ummah, offers pluralism to everyone. For people are not judged on their beliefs, but on their actions. Persecution is the instigator of all tensions, and reason and tolerance is the essence of all peace. Just as in the streets of Medina, through tolerance and respect, we too may one day have a world-wide ummah, where a passing Christian will say, “Peace be upon you” to a Muslim, who will reply, “Peace be upon you too.” Concluded

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THISDAYt '3*%": /07&.#&3 ċČ ċĉĊđ

THISDAYt FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2018

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THISDAYt '3*%": /07&.#&3 ċČ ċĉĊđ

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

51

NEWS

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

Senate to Probe Killing of 44 Soldiers in Borno Asks police to vacate Akwa Ibom assembly Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Senate yesterday resolved to investigate the circumstances surrounding the recent killing of 44 Nigerian soldiers by insurgents at a military camp in Borno State. It also asked the Nigeria Police to withdraw forthwith its officers and men that sealed off the premises of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly in Uyo since Wednesday morning.

The Senate in adjourning plenary yesterday in honour of the 44 soldiers, including their commander, killed by Boko Haram insurgents at the 157 Task Force Batallion in Metele village, Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State last Sunday, ordered its committees on Army and Defence to investigate the killings as well as welfare and wellbeing of Nigerian troops fighting insurgency.

Presidency: Fraud Allegation against Osinbajo is Political, Misleading Emma Okonji The Presidency yesterday said the fund mismanagement allegation raised against Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was aimed at tarnishing his image and paralysing the President Muhammadu-led administration. Presidential Political Adviser, Babafemi Ojodu, in a statement, said “there is nowhere in the House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness report where there is an allegation of corruption against the vice president.” He said claims against him from some quarters regarding the report were mere political contrivances intended to distract him. “It is evident that the opposition is in search of a company for their acts of grand corruption, which brought Nigeria to its knees as of May 2015. They cannot find that company in the vice president. “First, there is nowhere in the politicised House of Representatives’ report where the vice president was accused of corruption or embezzlement of funds. I challenge them to quote any word or sentence that makes such an accusation. “It is now evident through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) report, that the opposition is indeed making frantic efforts to tarnish the image of the vice

president,” Ojodu said. He explained further that even after the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee, Hon. Ali Isa, had admitted that the vice president was not mentioned in the report, the opposition still found it expedient to continue to attack the reputation of Osinbajo. “Even the House committee chairman has said there was no allegation of corruption against him. The only allegation is that he approved funds for the emergency operations in the North-east from the Consolidated Revenue Fund not budgeted funds. This conclusion we have proved to be false. The funds approved were from budgeted funds, specifically the rice levy. “Let us remember that the approval granted by Osinbajo was in response to the threat of hunger and starvation based on information received from the United Nation World Food Programme in April, 2017. “The organisation had issued a warning that it would be reducing its vital support to about 1.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by as much as 85 per cent, due to the corresponding reduction in funding by the donor countries. Around the same time, the United Nations Commission for Refugees in Geneva also warned of the growing risk of mass deaths from starvation among people living in the conflict areas.”

Zamfara Legislator Jailed for N31m Fraud Bennett Oghifo

A Zamfara State High Court sitting in Gusau, has sentenced a serving member of the State’s House of Assembly, Lawali Attahiru Dogonkade, to four years imprisonment over N31 million fraud. Spokesperson for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Mrs. Rasheedat A. Okoduwa, said this in a statement yesterday. The statement said Dogonkade, who was arraigned yesterday by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) “on a four-count charge bordering on conferring corrupt advantage on himself admitted guilt before Justice Bello Shinkafi, thereby leading to his immediate

conviction by the court. “The convict, representing Kauran-Namoda Local Government in the Zamfara State House of Assembly, was accused of using his position to confer corrupt advantage upon himself in a N31, 290, 000 contract meant for the supply of medical equipment to the state government in violation of Sections 10, 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.” The statement said the Counsel to ICPC, Mashkur Salisu, in one of the counts told the court that the convict received N4.5 million from the Managing Director of Madaci Pharmacy, Mr. Hamisu Saminu Jibril, as percentage for the supply of medical equipment contract awarded by the state government.

It also resolved to visit officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces at the battle field, particularly in the North-east, against Boko Haram insurgency. The Senators’ decision was sequel to a motion moved by the Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah (Kebbi South) at the instance of the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki via Orders 42 and 52of the Senate Standing Rules. Na’Allah in moving the motion decried the plight of military personnel in fighting insurgency in the North-east and lamented that the murdered commandant was his cousin. He, therefore, implored the Senate to observe a minute silence in honour of the slain soldiers and their commandant, pay condolence visit to the Chief

of Army Staff and families of the murdered soldiers and conduct thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the killings and welfare of serving soldiers be carried out by the Army Committee. Contributing, Senator Andrew Uchendu (Rivers East) added that the Senate should “shut down’’ for one whole day, rather than observing a mere one-minute silence to which the Senate concurred to . His words : “Mr President and dear colleagues, I have no reason to doubt the figure (of the 44 dead soldiers), but if that figure is correct, then this Senate must come out and show massive concern, not just one-minute silence. We must shut down for one whole day in honour of those fallen heroes.”

Other contributors, including the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, bemoaned the hazardous tasks of officers and men of the Armed Forces in fighting Boko Haram insurgency . The Senate after observing a minute silence in remembrance of the fallen gallant soldiers, passed a resolution urging the federal government and military authorities to adequately equip Army formations nationwide and take proper care of the soldiers’ welfare. On Akwa Ibom House of Assembly that was invaded by policemen since Wednesday morning, Senate asked the Police High Command to direct its personnel immediately to vacate the Assembly premises. Senator Albert Akpan (Akwa Ibom North East) had alerted

his colleagues about the seal off of the state assembly premises by armed policemen for second day running. Senators took turn to speak and condemned what they termed invasion of the legislative arm of Akwa Ibom State by the operatives of the Executive Arm. The Upper Chamber of the National Assembly while describing the invasion as a very serious matter asked the police to immediately vacate the parliament saying the matter should not be politicised. Saraki said: Although police have responsibility to maintain law and order, it must allow parliamentarians to have access to the Assembly. We must stand on the right side of history by asking police to vacate the Assembly now.”

GIVING BACK TO SOCIETY…

L-R: Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwanu Akiolu; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; Donor/ Chairman, Caverton Group, Mr. Aderemi Makanjuola; his wife, Yoyin Makanjuola; Chairman, Honeywell Group, Mr. Oba Otudeko; and governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) for Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the special lecture/opening of Aderemi Makanjuola Ultra Modern Lecture Theatre at Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos… yesterday PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

Magu Writes CJN, Wants Justice Nyako to Hands off Corruption Cases Set to close case against ex-minister, Moro, others Tobi Soniyi and Alex Enumah in Abuja The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has written to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Samuel Onnoghen, requesting that all EFCC court cases being handled by Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court Abuja, be reassigned to another judge in a bid to obtain fair judgment. This is coming as the EFCC is about concluding its case in the prosecution of former Minister of Interior, Abbah Moro and three others, being tried in relation to the 2014 botched recruitment exercise of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), which resulted in the death of some Nigerians. Prosecuting Counsel with the commission, Onjefu Obe, made the disclosure on Wednesday

during the trial of Umar Audu Bida, Truth Igogori, Ifenyinwa Nwankwesiri and Ogechukwu Obaji, who are being prosecuted by the EFCC over their alleged complicity in a $1 million fraud. According to a statement from the EFCC, Obe, told the court that the concern of the Commission to reassign all EFCC cases before Justice Nyako, bothers on likely bias on the part of the trial judge, considering the fact that the EFCC was also prosecuting her husband, Murtala Nyako, a former Adamawa State Governor for alleged fraud. The EFCC had in 2017 arraigned the defendants before Justice Nyako on a nine-count charge bothering on conspiracy, forgery and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of $1 million. They allegedly defrauded Donald Latella of North Park LLC of the said sum in a business deal involving the supply of about two million barrels of Bonny

Light Crude Oil. The offence contravenes Section 8 (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act. They were arraigned alongside four companies: Universal Contractors, Lambda Energy Services Limited, Double Wonder Concept Limited, and ICS Energy Services Limited. They had pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges. According to Obe, he had come to court fully prepared with the prosecution witnesses to proceed with the case. But very unfortunately, the case (FHC/ ABJ/C12/ 266/16), was not listed in the court’s schedule for today as it is yet to be reassigned to another court. Counsel to the second defendant, Solomon Agada, also expressed his dissatisfaction that his client usually travels from

Lagos to Abuja for the case. He therefore urged the court to intervene and called for the speedy reassignment of the case in order for the case to proceed. Both counsels however agreed to await the reassignment of the case and thereafter mutually agree on the next possible adjournment. Meanwhile, the EFCC has arraigned the Coordinating Director, Guara Water Management Authority, Ibrahim Babbaji, and four others over a fraud of N48 million. They were arraigned before Justice Aliyu Yusuf of FCT High Court in Abuja. Others arraigned with Babbaji were Mohammed Admin Sadiq, Legal Adiviser, Guara Water Management Authority; Oba Justine, Head of Administration; Chorio Wonkan Philips, Salary Officer, National Lottery Trust Fund and Segun Odetoyinbo, Estate Surveyor and Valuer.

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NNPC: 45 Withdrawals Made from NLNG Dividends Account Since 1999 Deji Elumoye in Abuja It was gale of revelation yesterday as the Senate Committee on Gas, investigating the alleged $1.05 billion withdrawn from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) dividend in the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), was told that over 45 withdrawals were made from the NLNG dividend account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), since 1999. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the NNPC, Mr. Isiaka Abdulrasaq, who stood in for Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr. Maikati Baru, told the Senate Committee on Gas headed by Senator Albert Akpan (Akwa Ibom North East) at Senate Committee Room 221 that since the NLNG Dividend Account was opened with

CBN in 1999 not less than 45 withdrawals had been made from the account. Abdulrasaq who wanted to shed more light on the total cost of the withdrawals was however, cut short by the Committee Chairman who said that was not the information required from him by the committee. This led to one of the committee members, Senator Osinachukwu Ideozu (Rivers West) expressing concern about the competence of Abdulrasaq to occupy the CFO position in NNPC going by the way he had been confrontational with the committee in his answer to the questions posed to him. Akpan then told Abdulrasaq that he cannot dictate to the committee how to go about its

findings “so you must abide by our rules of engagement and not teach us our work”. He said from the brief the NNPC submitted to the committee there were a lot of missing links which the Committee will require to do its job. Akpan therefore, directed the NNPC to furnish the committee all dividends accruing from the NLNG and all withdrawals from the account since 2015. According to him, the corporation has up till November 30 to supply the

committee secretariat with comprehensive list of the 22 withdrawals totalling $3.2 billion made from the NLNG Dividend Account with the CBN since 2015. The committee chairman also told the Acting Director of Banking Services of CBN, Mr. Christopher Olumukore, who stood in for CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to also submit within one week “ all the withdrawal authorisation you had including all the originating mandates and all the approvals.”

Akpan added that the CBN should also submit to the committee by November 30 statement of account of the NLNG Dividend account domiciled with the the apex bank and that the committee will reconvene on December 1 to look at all the submissions by both NNPC and CBN. Olumukore had earlier told the committee that the Dividend account domiciled with the apex bank was being operated by both NNPC and Ministry of Finance. According to him, mandates

for withdrawal from the account were usually from the NNPC and on occasions from the Finance Minister. The Senate had last month mandated its committee on Gas to investigate the alleged withdrawal of $1.05 billion by NNPC from the NLNG dividend account with CBN without due diligence. The committee was also directed to look into other withdrawals that had been made by NNPC from the account since 2015 and report back to the Senate.

2019: You Can’t Sway South-east with False Promises, PDP Tells Buhari Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to lure the South-east geo-political zones into supporting his second term will fall like a pack of cards as the people have resolved not to follow any leader who cannot deliver on his promises. PDP’s position is coming as the Chairman of South-east Governors Forum and Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has reiterated his position that though the zone is predominantly PDP, they would support any political party that would factor the welfare of the zone seriously. The main opposition party said Buhari and the All Progressive Congress (APC) have been jittery since the South-east and other geo-political zones across board expressed an overwhelming acceptance of the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, due to his proven competence, respect for equity and all-inclusiveness in governance. The party in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, noted that Nigerians were no longer interested in fake promises and false performance claims, now that elections are around the corner. He said, “Instead of accepting his failure, which is manifest to all, President Buhari, who is reputed for not fulfilling campaign promises, is busy making a fresh list of fake promises to Nigerians. “In this desperation, the

president fails to understand that the people of the South -east, just like other Nigerians, are too sophisticated to fall for gimmicks, false promises and ethnic politics, and as such cannot be swayed from their resolve to rally with Atiku Abubakar to rescue our country from the shackles of misrule.” Ologbondiyan stated that Nigerians have since seen through Buhari’s bouquet of failures and fake promises, which in any case, cannot heal the wounds of marginalisation, nepotism, inequity, disregard for federal character principle and harsh economic policies, including obnoxious foreign exchange regulations and heavy taxations L-R: Osun Governor-elect, Mr. Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola; Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State; his Ekiti State counterpart, Dr. Kayode of his administration, which are killing businesses and plunging Fayemi; former Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Adebisi Akande; and outgoing Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, families into extreme poverty. after a meeting at the Government House, Osogbo...yesterday He said Nigerians, including those in the South-east, know that Buhari does not keep promises. Ologbondiyan added, “They know that he has not fulfilled the release of such detainees. Atiku said that while it is true Christian clerics who tell him any of the promises he made Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Atiku in a statement he that funds are scarce, he said, that in the Northeast and Middle during the 2015 campaign. As such, they cannot fall to the same In the wake of increasing terrorist personally signed yesterday, “This is an emergency and if we Belt, they now officiate over more old trick ahead of the 2019 general activities in the Middle Belt and said that the increasing deaths of do not take care of an emergency, funerals than they do marriages the Northeast, the presidential the country’s servicemen at the it becomes a crisis which can and child dedications, adding election. “Moreover, President Buhari is candidate of the Peoples hand of terrorists and criminals, lead to a total breakdown of law that this is heartbreaking. “Apart from funding, I advise yet to apologise to the South-east Democratic Party (PDP) has especially in the Northeast and and order - anarchy in essence.” He added, “It is unacceptable the federal government to and other geo-political zones over urged the federal government Middle Belt, was a clear sign his administration’s indictment to review its policy of releasing that the troops need to be better that terrorists and criminals are review its policy of releasing funded and better equipped. frequently better equipped than so called ‘repentant’ terrorists. for human rights violations, so called repentant terrorists. The former vice president members of our armed forces. It To think that the government can He said that for federal extra-judicial killings, illegal arrests, arbitrary detention, torture government to think that it could therefore called for increased is the duty of the political elite to de-radicalise these individuals and reported disappearances, as de-radicalise these individuals funding for the military, adding put aside any political differences in so short a time is wishful detailed in the reports by the in so short a time is wishful that increased funding would and take a united stand to put thinking. Many people, myself included, think that the upsurge United States Department of State, thinking, noting that many ensure that the military is well an end to this.” equipped and their morale He said he has been traveling in terror activities coming after people, including himself were of Amnesty International (AI) and boosted enough to contain all over Nigeria, and that he the release of such detainees, is the opinion that the upsurge in Transparency International (TI).” terror activities are coming after and defeat insecurity in Nigeria. has met with both Muslim and not coincidental.”

YOUR EXCELLENCIES…

Atiku Urges FG to Review Policy on Releasing ‘Repentant’ Terrorists

Beware of Fake ‘My Transition Don’t Vote for Failed Candidates, Ezekwesili Cautions Nigerians The presidential candidate reality with modern day already sponsoring and how to create millions of job Hours’ Circulating Online, of the Allied Congress Party Nigeria. attending book publications opportunities via Blockchain of Nigeria, ACPN, Dr. Oby In a statement from her that will help shore up their technology and the Internet Says Jonathan Ezekwesili, has cautioned campaign officer, HOPE 2019, battered reputation and of Things (IoT). Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has warned Nigerians to beware of “a fake document contrived by mischief makers,” which being circulated as the e-version of the just launched ‘My Transition Hours’, a book written by Jonathan, online. In a statement issued yesterday by his Media Adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan said: “We advise

the public to ignore such publication as the chapters and contents are not the same as the book publicly presented two days ago in Abuja. “We note that the e-copy of ‘My Transition Hours’ is not being marketed, and as such, the fake online version could only have been created by those out to deceive the unsuspecting public.”

Nigerians against voting for candidates that have failed Nigeria in the past or lacked innovation and creativity to move the country forward. She lamented the desperation of some presidential candidates to be in power, saying, some of them have been showcasing empty manifestos and policy documents that are not in

she said the country needs a creative leader with innovative ideas to move Nigeria forward. She said: “We are tired of manifestos that cannot take us anywhere. 2019 election should be about who will add value to Nigeria and bring development. We cannot trust those that have failed us in the past. “These politicians are

deceive Nigerians into voting them into power.” She advised Nigerians not to be deceived by empty promises ahead of the 2019 presidential elections. The statement read, “Your concern should rather be on how to elect a president who thinks globally and acts locally. Nigerians need a president who understands

“You need a president who understands the importance of cloud technology and Big Data in Nigeria’s business environment. The plan should be detailed towards electing a president who will maximise the power of Artificial Intelligence while ensuring that our youths do not lose their jobs to the AI technology.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Customs Intercepts Two Aircraft, 40 Containers of Tramadol from India Eromosele Abiodun The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) yesterday in Lagos announced that has intercepted 40 feet containers loaded with Tramadol and other dangerous drugs from India worth N7.318 billion. Also, the NCS has said its officers intercepted a helicopter and an aircraft from the United States of America over failure

to provide End-User-Certificate and other documents. Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), who disclosed this to journalists revealed that three suspect, including Customs officers, who cleared the containers have been arrested for further investigation. According to Ali, “The NCS is making concerted efforts to ensure that not only maximum revenue is collected, but also

FG Mismanagement of Economy Fuelling Migration, Says Emir of Kano Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Emir of Kano, Muhammed Sanusi II, has blamed the increasing rate of migration on the misplaced priorities, mismanagement of the economy and lack of understanding of the importance of development by the federal government, adding that Europe and America cannot be blamed for Nigeria’s inadequacies. The former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at the public presentation of ‘From Frying Pan to Fire’, written by the Chairman of THISDAY Editorial Board, Mr. Segun Adeniyi. He said there was no way a discussion on migration could be held without having a take on global inequality and globalisation of the economic system that had been established. According to him, “Migration is a big and a complex issue. The discussion on migration is the same for extremism. How much of it is a result of circumstances on economy, poverty, climate change as well as a matter of people having the wrong ideas?” The Kano monarch noted that in the last 30 to 40 years, nothing has been done to bring down barriers to the movement of capital across borders, barriers to the movement of goods across borders and manufactured

goods produce in large and high efficiency economies to African economies without duty and protection. The emir lamented that the intensification of poverty at the time when the country has intensified expropriation is amazing, stressing that the richest man in Africa is from Nigeria and Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world, “that is contradiction and typical of the world we have created.” He stated: “Now, to come back home, we have to grow up; we can’t blame Europe and America for our problems, we have mismanaged our economy, we have misplaced our priorities, and we have not understood the importance of development. We think this roads and bridges are development not human beings. “If we have opened up our capital market and our goods markets and if the result of that is that there is so much poverty, it is time to start asking what we can do to redress some of these challenges. “I don’t want to sound like a broken record. How much are we spending to give ourselves cheap fuel, $3 billion $4 billion a year? Imagine putting that money into education, power or industry, that would solve migration and create jobs for the people.

Nigerian Media Unite to Fight Misinformation ahead of 2019 Elections Ahead of the 2019 general election, a coalition of news organisations in Nigeria is collaborating to combat misinformation, fake news and other information disorders that might have negative impacts on the polls. The goal of the collaborative verification project is to help improve the quality of information available to the voting public, debunk misinformation and fake news as well as sanitise the media space in the run up to the elections. The verification project will allow several newsrooms in Nigeria to work together to investigate claims and rumour circulating fast on the social media and debunk them before they go viral or do harm. The reporting, according to the coalition, will be powered by a group of about 15 newsrooms across the country drawn from print, electronic and online media, through a central portal and then amplified by the project partners via their own channels

and publications, ensuring more Nigerians gain access to accurate information. The group noted that the verification project is powered by First Draft, a United Kingdombased organisation working at combatting misinformation across the world. First Draft, it stated, had developed a reliable technology to aid a rapid and amplified response to false, misleading and confusing information. It was gathered that a two-day boot camp has been organised for about 46 journalists, ICT and social media staff from 15 participating newsrooms to learn about the new verification technology and how to work in a coalition. “Participating journalists will investigate claims on electionrelated issues and then work together to author reports that will help the Nigerian public have a better understanding of what is trustworthy or unreliable,” the group stated.

to safeguard the security and well-being of the citizenry. “We are all aware of the dangers that the deliberate non-compliance to import and export procedures pose to our country as importers bring in all manner of items which put the security and health of the country at great risk. “Terrorists, kidnappers and other criminal elements get hold of these un-custom goods such as controlled drugs to perpetrate their heinous activities. It is in line with the determination to fight this ugly trend that the Apapa Command of the

Service intercepted 40 by 40 feet containers, mostly from India, laden with Tramadol and other pharmaceutical products with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N7,318, 978, 065.00.” He added: “The Service achieved this feat through vigilance and intelligence gathering within the system as well as information from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which is a strong ally of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). I commend the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Monisola Adeyeye, and

her management team for their collaboration in the attainment of this feat.” He explained that the second aircraft, a Cesena 182A, imported from the United States which was declared through SGD NO. C130308 was seized because of the failure of the owners to present End User Certificate from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and approval from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority. This, according to him, is in contravention of Section 46 of CEMA, CapC45, LPN 2004. Ali expressed concern over

the importation of tramadol and other illicit items which according to him pose great risk to the security and health of the country. “We are all aware of the dangers that the deliberate non-compliance to import and export procedures pose to our country as importers bring in all manner of items which put the security and health of the country at great risk. Terrorists, kidnappers and other criminal elements get hold of these uncustoms goods such as controlled drugs to perpetrate their heinous activities.

CONGRATULATIONS…

National Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mallam Mohammed Haruna (left), presenting Certificate of Return to the newly-elected All Progressives Congress (APC) member in the House of Representatives for Ekiti/Oko-Ero/Isin/Irepodun Federal Constituency in Kwara State, Abdulraheem Olawuyi (right), at INEC headquarters in Abuja...yesterday

EFCC Arraigns 22 INEC Employees, Ex-Director for Alleged N32m Fraud The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned 22 officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and a retired Director of the commission, Ahmed Stephen Ozovehe, in Kogi State for offences bordering on criminal conspiracy. They were arraigned before Justice Alaba Ajileye of the Kogi State High Court in Koton-Karefee. The information was contained in a statement on EFCC website. The EFCC alleged that sometime in March 2015, the defendants engaged themselves

in criminal act of conspiracy to fraudulently obtain the sum of N32, 120, 000 as benefits for themselves during the 2015 general election. Prosecuting counsel, G.K. Latona, informed the court that the matter was slated for arraignment, noting: “However, due to the absence of the second defendant, I will be seeking a short adjournment to enable me determine the next step to take regarding the matter.” The defendant was said to be among the INEC staff who lost their lives in a tragic motor accident that occurred in the state recently. The defence team, however,

argued that “the prosecution ought to have known by now that the second defendant cannot be in court to take his plea,” and therefore, urged the court to take the plea of the defendants in court. Justice Ajileye, thereafter, ordered those present to take their pleas. One of the counts read: “That you, Ahmed Stephen Ozovehe, a retired Director with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)/ Election Observer; Adison Mailafiya Administrative Secretary of INEC in Kogi State and Ogwudu Edeh Micheal, a Deputy Director

of INEC, sometime in March 2015 in Lokoja within the jurisdiction of this court did engage yourselves in criminal conspiracy to confer benefit of the sum of N32,120,000 from Haliru Haruna, Sase David Z, Dauda Usman Umaru, Christopher Utile, Garba Zubairu Adamu and James Yiyeh all electoral officers of INEC in the state in relation to their function of conducting the general election in 2015, thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 26(1)(i) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Act 2000 and punishable under Section 10(a) (ii) of the same Act.”

All Africa Music Awards to Air Live on DStv, GOtv Across Africa The 2018 edition of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) will be broadcast live on DStv and GOtv from November 21 to 24, 2018. According to a statement issued by Multichoice, the festival, which is in its fifth year, will be held in multiple locations in Accra, Ghana, its new host city till 2020. This year’s main event, the statement disclosed, would be hosted by a trio led by Ghanaian

polyglot, MC Anita Erskine; Pearl Thusi from South Africa and United States-based Ghanaian actor/comedian Michael Blackson. The statement noted that the awards would be screened live on DStv channel 196 to all subscribers and on channel 29 on GOtv MAX and GOtv Plus. DStv customers across the African continent can also stream the events live on the DStv Now app on their mobile devices.

AFRIMA is the biggest music awards show in Africa with participation of over 700 artists across the continent. “MultiChoice is proud to use the power of entertainment to connect our customers across the continent. We believe by sharing the magic of this award ceremony and its allied events with the world, we will not only be celebrating the rich musical diversity of our continent but supporting

Africa’s creative industries into becoming a more vibrant, economic powerhouse,” Chief Customer Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho. Other activities scheduled to take place in the event include the Africa Music Business Summit-a combination of musical conferences and trade exposwhich will bring stakeholders in the creative and arts industry together to discuss the business of music in Africa.

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Opposition Presidential Candidates Back Restructuring to Fix Nigeria Amaechi, Dino in war of words Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja The presidential candidates of some of the leading opposition political parties in the 2019 general election have assured Nigerians that if given the opportunity, the restructuring of the country will constitute integral part of their government’s agenda, saying that is the way to go in fixing the country. While incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was not present at the event, and did not send a representative, candidates and representatives of five political parties who were panellists on the Osasu Show Symposium, which held at the Nigeria Air

Force Conference Centre, Abuja, yesterday, gave a good account of themselves. The presidential candidates of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Mrs. Obi Ezekwesili; Ali Soyode of YES Party; Tope Fasua of Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP); Donald Duke of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), represented by Mrs. Derby Cole, and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of PDP, who was represented by the spokesman of his campaign organisation, Mr. Segun Sowunmi, all gave insights into what they have planned to accomplish if voted into power. Speaking on behalf of Atiku, who has made restructuring a fulcrum of his campaign, Sowunmi reiterated that Nigeria must be restructured, promising

that the Atiku’s government would create jobs. According to him, “There are structural issues that we need to deal with. “Restructuring will give constituent parts of this country the opportunity to move on at their own pace. “How come, from Awolowo down to now, the story has always been the leaders are unable to perform to the level of their optimum and in trying to answer that question, if you allow yourself the robustness of an intellectual mind like Atiku Abubakar, you will conclude that there are structural issues we need to deal with. “Therefore, the need for

restructuring of the country to give it the ability to allow the constituent parts of this country to be able to move at the pace that brings growth and prosperity,” Sowunmi stated. Similarly, Soyode said if elected, his government would restructure Nigeria, emphasising that he would accomplish the restructuring within one year. “The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, until amended, is vague. We are talking about Nigeria Constitution being defective. If we are using defective constitution to swear-in a governor, swear-in a president, which means you are using

something you do not believe in to bring them into office. So, we need to do something about the constitution. “If there is something called pre-election agreement, I will sign it today that within a year of my presidency, the restructuring that we have been talking about will be executed. Nigeria needs a leader who knows what it takes to build and unite this country and I am that man”, Soyode added. Soyode said his government will pay attention to rule of law and ensure the security of lives and property, noting that “Some people believe they are above the law. The rule of law which

we are not following is a big challenger. Every Nigerian needs to be treated equally,” and that “Government should protect everybody.” “If we can’t do that we should not be in government. We, in YES Party believe we have what it takes because something is wrong about our society.” On her part, Ezekwesili, said that the most fundamental thing is to tackle and bring down the rising rate of poverty in Nigeria, promising that given the mandate of Nigerians she would drastically cut down the cost of governance and channel the saving towards developmental projects.

Oshiomhole: How Anenih Stopped Attacks against Me Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja National Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has said that the late former Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, prevailed on the PDP leaders in Edo to stop unwarranted criticisms against him shortly before his demise. He stated this yesterday when he paid a condolence visit to the family of the late elder statesman. According to a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Simon Ebegbulem, Oshiomhole described Chief Anenih as a great son of Edo state whom Nigeria will be missed. Those who accompanied the national chairman to pay condolence visit are; National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu and his Chief of Staff, Abass Braimah. Oshiomhole assured Smith

Edoga, a relative of the Anenih’s who was at the deceased residence that he will visit again when the deceased family members are back from abroad. The statement said the national chairman of the APC, had spoken about how Anenih told the PDP leaders in Edo to stop unwarranted criticisms against the former governor. While lamenting his demise, Oshiomhole said, “I acknowledge that Chief Anenih was a strong political leader whose influence went beyond Edo State considering that he comes from Edo State, a minority, he was able to stamp his authority, dominate his party and seems to influence the direction of his party as long as he did. So for PDP family, I believe it was a huge loss but on my part, we in Edo recognized him as a father, even by mere reason of his age, he was old enough to be my father and I never hesitated to admit to that.

BPE: Privatisation Freed over $3bn in Subventions, Others Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, has said the privatisation process has freed up over $3 billion that was hitherto consumed by public enterprises (PEs) annually in terms of subventions, waivers, and unpaid taxes, among others. Speaking at a dinner/award night in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of reform, commercialisation and privatisation in Nigeria, which held in Abuja recently, Okoh maintained the programme was not designed to share the country’s national assets to a few rich people as erroneously believed. A statement by BPE’s Head, Public Communications, Amina Tukur Othman, said Okoh noted that in the execution of its mandate, the agency is reforming and privatising for the benefit of

Nigeria’s economic recovery and the social wellbeing of her citizens, He said: “We are not replacing public monopolies with private monopolies. Rather, in our determination to be unyielding and uncompromising in the pursuit of the best interest of this country, we are removing the financial burden which these enterprises constitute on the public purse and releasing resources for the essential functions of government. “This essentially is the mandate given to BPE, to pursue this vision, thereby contributing to the socioeconomic development of Nigeria,” he said. According to him, the privatisation process has freed up over $3 billion, hitherto consumed by Public Enterprises (PEs) annually in terms of subventions, waivers, and unpaid taxes among others.

LET THERE BE LIGHT…

L-R: Director of Infrastructure and Public Procurement, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mallam Sanusi Sule; Director General, BPE, Mr. Alex Okoh; Chief Executive Officer, Benin Electricity (BEDC), Funke Osibodu; and Executive Director, Commercial, BEDC, Dr. Abu Ejoor, at the press conference held at BEDC’s corporate head office, Benin City... recently

FG: No Legal Status for Illegal Refineries in N’Delta Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa The federal government has put to rest insinuations that it was in the process of legalising the business of illegal refining of crude oil in the Niger Delta region. It described the belief in some quarters, especially by ex-militants, as one of the general misconceptions of the host communities and members of the public, noting that there was also the wrong perception that the federal government would build modular refineries for host communities to operate. Speaking at a workshop in

Port Harcourt organised for civil society organisations and select media houses in the region by the office of the vice president, Senior Technical Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources on Refineries and Downstream Infrastructure, Rabiu Suleiman, said there was also the wrong notion that the federal government would sell crude oil to the refineries at discounted rates. He said: “There is the general misconception of the host communities and the public that the federal government plans to legalise the activities of artisanal refineries (or) that the government

was going to construct modular refineries and hand them over to the communities to operate. “And that there will be crude oil allocation to cover 60 percent of the refineries installed capacity; and also that crude oil will be sold at discounted price or that the investors would be the preferred bidder for oil block allocation. “That they will have crude oil lifting rights, and that immediately licences are granted to establish, they will start lifting crude oil to the refinery. “It is not the intention of federal government to legalise the ‘illegal’ refiners.” According to Suleiman, an

audit of 44 existing refineries licences holders in July 2018 revealed a general poor performance. “From DPR’s records, over 40 percent of these licences granted have expired; project owners are unable to progress their respective projects mostly attributed to funding constraints,” he added. He explained that out of the 10 licenced projects identified for possible groundbreaking, two refinery projects had commenced construction, namely: the Niger Delta Petroleum Resources with an additional 10,000bpd Modular Refinery in Ogbele, Rivers State.

CBN WARNS BANKS AGAINST VIOLATION OF MONEY LAUNDERING ACT All 11 members of the committee voted to hold the rates. “The decision to hold was also an expression of confidence in the direction of the economy which outlook is positive,” he said. The CBN governor, who read the communique at the end of the two-day MPC meeting, noted that the committee considered the drop in inflation as seasonal and not sustainable, adding that the upside risk to inflation still remains. Reviewing the economy in the last two months, the

MPC lamented that “credit to the private sector grossly under-performed below the 2018 benchmark of 12.4 per cent. The under performance of the monetary aggregate was of concern to the MPC, which impressed it on CBN to ensure credit delivery to the small and medium scale enterprises.” He observed that improvement in productivity in the oil and non-oil sectors were also expected to drive output growth in the medium term. “The committee however,

acknowledged the downside risks to this outlook to include absence of fiscal buffers, low domestic credit and weak aggregate demand.” He said the improvement in security, harvest, as well as stable exchange rate, were expected to moderate inflation. He stated, “Overall, the outlook for the economy remains positive with a growth projection of 1.75 percent in 2018.” The committee however advised Nigerians to look out for increase in inflation rate

in the coming months due to anticipated election spending, end of year spending, high cost of energy, flooding, and farmers/herdsmen crisis. The MPC cautioned that reduction in inflation figures seen in October was unsustainable. It urged fiscal authorities to work towards containing these menaces and sustain implementation of the 2018 budget, as well as the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) to ameliorate the supply side constraints.

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

OshoalaVows to Redeem Form against Eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Guinea for Sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;final Berth Femi Solaja Super Falconsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; misfiring striker, Asisat Oshoala, has promised to make up for all the scoring opportunities she had failed to convert with tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final group B match against former champions, Equatorial Guinea. Pundits and passionate followers of the feminine side of the game where left a bit disappointed with the performance of the current â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;African Woman Footballer of the Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as the player is yet to lift her head above the standard expected of a footballer in her caliber. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I play for the team and not to impress myself but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just unfortunate that those precious opportunities were missed. Together we stand and I want to assure that the atmosphere in the camp is very high and we are ready to confront any opposition after the lesson of the first match which we lost to South Africa but now that is behind us as we continue the journey here in Ghana,â&#x20AC;? she expressed last night. Super Falconsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; qualification

Super Falcons players celebrating one of the goals against Zambia on Wednesday

AWCON 201 8 for the Semifinal of the 2018 African Women Nations Cup (AWCON) means the eight time African champions must beat

Nzalang Nacional of Equatorial Guinea in their last Group B match tomorrow in Cape Coast and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about the same time the other group match between South Africa and Zambia will come up in Accra.

Edo State Bids to Host NSF in 2020 Edo State Government has declared its intention and readiness to host the 20thedition of the National Sports Festival in 2020. The Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu made the pronouncement while addressing sports journalists at the government house Benin City. He stated: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mr. Governor has directed that I declare the intention of Edo State Government to host and win the National Sports Festival in 2020 in furtherance of its transformation agenda in the sports sector. We are very serious and determined when we say we want to restore the lost glory of Edo in sports. Towards this end, the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium is undergoing serious renovation to bring the facilities to world class standard. We are also building 20 mini stadia across the 18 Local Government Areas in the state.

Comrade Shaibu disclosed that government efforts has started paying-off with the expected promotion of Bendel Insurance Football Club to the premier league, adding that the upgrading of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium and other facilities like the swimming pool, lawn tennis court, tartan tracks to world-class standard have since commenced. He said government has scrapped the state sports ministry and set up a sports commission headed by an executive chairman. The Deputy Governor stressed that 20 mini-stadia are being constructed across the 18 Local Government Areas with a view to promoting sports development at the grassroots. â&#x20AC;?we are doing all these in preparation for the big unity festival in 2020â&#x20AC;? According to the Deputy Governor:â&#x20AC;?we are not only

hosting to win but to showcase other world-class facilities in sports. We want other states to support our bid because Edo is centrally located and accessible within every part of Nigeria. We have a rich culture, it is the home of hospitality and Edo is very peaceful. Edo state is the most secured state in the oil rich south south region. We are proud to say this.â&#x20AC;? Comrade Shaibu stated that a bill for a Sports Trust Fund has been sent to the State House of Assembly for adequate funding of the sports sector in partnership with the private sector. He also used the opportunity to unveil the chairman of the newly established Edo State Sports Commission, Barr. Godwin Dudu Orumeh, a seasoned sports administrator. He assured that the letter of intent is ready for onward transmission to the minster of Sports, next week.

Although Equatorial Guinea senior women national team are mathematically out of contention after woeful performance against Shepolopolo of Zambia and Banyana Banyana of South Africa in the ongoing

tournament, however, Nzalang Nacional still pose a threat as they are the only team that have defeated Super Falcons in semi final and the in the final of the continental show piece in the past.

Before tonightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s match, Super Falcons were brought down to the earth with a shock lone goal defeat by Banyana Banyana of South Africa in opening match but came back to reckoning with a 4-0 win over Zambia to set a stage for a must win clash in the last group match for a semi final berth.L Equatorial Guinea beat Nigeria 1-0 in the semi-finals of the 2008 edition, which they hosted. The goal was scored by Genoveva Anonma Nze. Nigeria defeated Equatorial Guinea 4-2 in the final of the 2010 edition of the AWCON. Goals by Perpetua Nkwocha and Desire Oparanozie and two own goals by Equatorial Guinea players ensured that Nigeria regained its title. The Super Falcons are the most successful African national team (male or female). They have won the African Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Championship/Nations Cup 8 timee. The Equatoguineans won the championship in 2008 and 2012, the only two times that Nigeria failed to win i

OshodiTags Asoju Oba Cup as Bedrock ofTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;tennis in Nigeria Having churned out some of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest stars in the last 50years,, the annual Asoju Oba Cup has become the bedrock of modern table tennis in Nigeria. This was the view of the former Lagos State Commissioner for Sports, Wahid Oshodi who described the longest running table tennis in Africa has a breeding ground for world beaters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Asoju Oba Cup is the bedrock and foundation of modern day table tennis in Nigeria considering the fact that a great majority of our top players over the last 50 years have honed their craft playing in this tournament. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To win the Asoju Oba cup would be the crowning glory of any player and a stepping

stone into the National teams. The National Coaches over the years themselves have all come through this tournament and they in turn use it as a hunting ground for young talent. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One should also note that with the Asoju Oba Cup unlike other tournaments the prizes donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t end with the tournament but the late sponsor â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sir Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas continues to support the players education and careers. He along with Late Dr. Efunkoya and a very select few are the true fathers of table tennis in Nigeria,â&#x20AC;? Oshodi said. The former President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), said the tournament has become table tennis Olympic Games in Lagos. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This tournament was our

Olympics in Lagos. It was a week-long jamboree. Different categories of players from veterans of yesteryears to the mini cadets all had a stake l. It was always something to look forward to and it was a festival of table tennis. For us on the technical side, it gave us a great chance to see how the players performed under the gaze of the large crowds that always came to watch. It was a test not only of skill but composure also which is very important for a top player. The sponsor gave massive financial support to the tournament and the players. It just made us so proud that such a tournament existed in our city. If we were sometimes doubtful about funding for our events this was not the case for the Asoju Oba Cup,â&#x20AC;? he added.

Gov Akeredolu Lauds Motorsports,Work and Play Golfers Jostle for Lakowe 2018 Club Championship Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has commended the Mostorsports community for staging the second edition of OndoRally in Akure and says the government was impressed at the amount of resources and passion the event brought to the state. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is pleasing to the see what young and independent minded indigenes of the state are doing; to support the tourism and sports initiative of the state with this event. We are proud of it and look forward to it getting bigger and also becoming a platform

for deeper engagement with the youthsâ&#x20AC;? he said The event run by Work and Play debuted last year alongside a golf event with an off road event at Ilara-Mokin, outskirt of the state capital. The 2018 edition which held on Friday November 16 and Saturday 18 was an expanded version of the inaugural edition. Olumide Omolade, the coordinator of the event, said that the plan was to strategically position the event as a tool spike internal tourism and local economy in

Akure annually. According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We intend to keep raising the bar annually in terms of value delivery and we hope to keep getting more Motosport enthusiasts flock down to Akure for the event and eventually establish the state as a major hub for Motorsport in the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The potential is very huge for all parties and we hope to be able to help the state harness them; especially as the character of the sports fits perfectly to the potential our youth possess.

Members of Lakowe Lakes Golf Course are set to battle for the 2018 Club Championship in a 36 holes contest on the 1st and 2nd December at the picturesque course in Lagos. The event that was won last year by Tunji Adebajo and Georgia Oboh in both male and female categories respectively, will now feature a lot more contenders when it tees-off. Although, Oboh, will be missing this year; as she has gone ahead to sign-up for professional golf career, which leaves the title in that category

open for a new winner entirely. Head professional and operations manager at the golf facility, Femi Olagbenro, informed that the growing membership of the club has given rise to new challenges for participants and past winners at events at the club. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have over sixty players already signaled to take part; we expect the event to be a tough battle for the former winners in different categoriesâ&#x20AC;? he said. Olagbenro also assured that the golf course is also being primed for the event with the

greens and fairways being given professional growing in readiness for the traffick that the two days will attract. The event would be competed for in gentlemen, ladies and veteran categories. Top among this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contenders for the title include, Cubus Classen, Douglas Koebe, Peter Eben-Spiff, Frank Momoh, James Heur, Richard Smith and Winston Strasser in the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s category while Fatumata Coker, Njide Ndili and Idowu Babalakin are all tipped for the ladyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crown.

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sTime to Focus on Football, Says Leicester Boss Leicester City manager Claude Puel says it is time to â&#x20AC;&#x153;restore all focus on footballâ&#x20AC;? as they move on from the death of their owner. The Foxes have played two emotional games since Vichai

Srivaddhanaprabha and four others died when his helicopter crashed following a 1-1 draw with West Ham. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our tributes for the chairman are in our minds but now it is important to speak about

football,â&#x20AC;? said Puel. Puel thinks the international break came at the right time for the club. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a good thing for us, for some players, for their bodies, their minds and for the

international players - it was important to have this,â&#x20AC;? Puel said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;During two weeks, they can forget a little and have their mind with other thoughts. The international players come back

with a smile and are happy to come back.â&#x20AC;? The Foxes are 10th in the Premier League after a 1-0 win at Cardiff and 0-0 home draw with Burnley following the tragedy.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not pressure,â&#x20AC;? Puel said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a responsibility to continue Vichaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision. I was very proud of my team in the last two games.â&#x20AC;? Leicester City will visit Brighton & Hove Albion tomorrow.

Friday, November 23, 2018

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MISSILE Jonathan to Buhari “The kind of confusion created in 2015 should not be repeated in 2019 and subsequent elections. It will be too risky if what happened in 2015 is repeated in 2019. Not everyone will have my restraint. Not everyone would play it the Goodluck Jonathan way.” – Former President Goodluck Jonathan warning INEC that any attempt to repeat the misuse of the card reader in the forthcoming presidential poll in 2019 would be risky.

SHAKAMOMODU THIS REPUBLIC

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EFCC Fighting Elections, Not Corruption

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olitics is in the air and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is at it again. The former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke has become a pawn in the politics of President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election bid. Obviously, this failing government has nothing to sell as its achievement to promote its re-election bid. So as the elections draw near, it’s scrambling desperately in search of how to sell its re-election bid to the people. The EFCC, under the influence of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has suddenly realised that its most potent arsenal – Alison-Madueke’s alleged misdeeds – need to be brought back to public consciousness in its propaganda war on corruption. Pronto, it dug up the case file to deceive and distract the public from looking at the performance scorecard of this government with its not-so-clever ploy of extradition shenanigans. The EFCC sold this dummy to the media to deceive the people that it is on top of its game, and the headlines rolled out fast. However, we should expect to see the revving up of its media war against corruption with sensational probes into “diverted” or “missing funds” within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-controlled states in the days and weeks ahead as the elections approach. Please make NO mistake, I am not in support of Mrs Alison-Madueke’s alleged crimes as some dumb supporters of President Buhari might want to conclude. Rather, this piece is a cautionary intervention and an excursion into how the EFCC has become a plying tool to fight the election campaign for the APC. Fighting crime must be devoid of politics. The moment you politicise it, as EFCC is doing, you lose the confidence of the people and unwittingly create sympathy for the alleged offenders. Let me rejig your memory a bit: In October last year, this same EFCC surprised discerning Nigerians when it opposed an affidavit by Alison-Madueke asking a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to compel the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami to formally facilitate her return to Nigeria to enable her defend herself in a suit in which her name was mentioned. Specifically, it filed a counter affidavit urging the court not to order the former minister’s return from the United Kingdom to Nigeria. A little background on the situation is necessary: In the application she had filed then through her lawyer, Mr. Onyechi Ikpeazu before Justice Rilwan Aikawa, Alison-Madueke had said she wished to appear before the Federal High Court in Lagos to defend a criminal charge bordering on the alleged money laundering of N450million. But the anti-graft agency countered, describing her prayer to be brought back to Nigeria as a ploy to escape justice in the UK, where, according to the EFCC, she was being investigated for several financial crimes by the Metropolitan Police. According to the commission, investigation by the Metropolitan Police in Alison-Madueke’s case had reached an advanced stage and her prosecution in the UK was imminent. It therefore said it would not be in the interest of justice to grant her application seeking to return to Nigeria, and that she had designed the instant application to distract and scuttle both her investigation and imminent prosecution in the UK. The EFCC, in its counter-affidavit deposed to by one of its operatives, Usman Zakari, explained further: “That the applicant, who knows full well that she is on bail in the United Kingdom where she is being investigated for several financial crimes, and that she would not be able to leave that country in view of the ongoing investigation and imminent

Magu trial, is seeking the order of this honourable court for the charge before this honourable court to be amended to include her name on the face of the charge, in order for her to escape from investigation and prosecution in the United Kingdom under the guise that she is coming to face her trial before this honourable court and also to scuttle the trial before this honourable court.” Arguing the counter-affidavit, the EFCC lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, described Alison-Madueke’s application as a “violent abuse of court processes” and urged Justice Aikawa to reject same. Those were pretty strong words used to oppose the former minister’s demand for the court to order that she be brought back home. But Alison-Madueke’s lawyer, Ikpeazu, maintained that justice of the case demanded that her client should either be given the opportunity to defend herself, or the charge sheet should be amended and her name expunged. Now, fast forward to November 2018. The same EFCC that opposed Alison-Madueke’s demand that the court should order the AGF to facilitate her return to Nigeria to defend herself against criminal charges, was now claiming that it was pushing for her extradition because the British authorities had failed to arraign her. The government pushed out all sorts of funny narratives then that were celebrated by many including the sensational news story, ‘FG to Diezani: Face Trial in UK, No Need to Come Back to Nigeria.’ I read the articles gloating about the federal government’s response to Alison-Madueke’s demand to be brought back home to defend herself. Of course they simply parroted the EFCC’s narrative and even went further to insinuate that because she knew she couldn’t “buy” her way through the UK judiciary, as she could back home with wads of money, that was why she wanted to face trial here. Some even argued then that she wanted to escape her ongoing trial in the UK even though there was clearly no trial going on over there. Let everyone of sound mind (because I have come to realise there are so many irrational people amongst us these days) ask the EFCC: Why demand for the extradition of someone who last year, asked a Federal High Court to order the government to bring her back to defend herself? A demand that was vigorously opposed by the same agency now brandishing talk of extraditing the very same person? Does this make sense? Can anybody help me make sense of this? It was shocking beyond belief that the EFCC chose to forfeit the opportunity to have the former petroleum minister face allegations against her in

Nigeria rather than in the UK. The bulk of her alleged crimes were committed here. So why really did the EFCC choose to oppose her return then? It could be it didn’t have confidence in the evidence it had gathered against her other than whipping up the mass hysteria and lynch-mob mentality that wants blood at all cost. This brings to question the quality of legal advice the EFCC gets before decisions to either prosecute or not are reached. Who evaluates the evidence after investigation to determine whether the evidence it has unearthed establishes a prima facie case against an individual or a company under target? Is it the EFCC chairman or the legal department/ legal advisers? It could also be that the EFCC had more confidence in the UK judicial system than the Nigerian legal system. How shameful! But unfortunately, it did not reckon that the UK police will only rush an accused to court when the facts and the evidence weigh heavily against that person with the likelihood of securing a conviction, unlike here where an accused is arraigned in court on a nebulous charge before commencing the search for evidence. The chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu’s frustration essentially borders on the fact that the National Crimes Agency in the UK does not act with the same impunity that the EFCC is notorious for. They undertake diligent, painstaking investigations, make an evaluation of the evidence to see if it will stand legal scrutiny before proceeding to court. They will definitely not go to court to lose once they determine the evidence will not be enough to earn a conviction. They will also weigh the legal cost of prosecution on the taxpayers and determine if it is worth it, and whether recovery is possible. Well, the EFCC is not restrained by such standards. It is more concerned about how much media hype and banner headlines it generates than the actual evidence it has to earn a conviction in court, it is more about the optics even though it has led to high-profile losses in court. Well, the convenient excuse is usually the judiciary was “compromised”. And for an agency more politicised than at any time in our history, the optics are usually good enough for the blood-baying mob. You see, going by the statements made by top officials of this government immediately the Muhammadu Buhari presidency was inaugurated, Alison-Madueke was supposed to be the big fish in the anti-corruption war. Up till this moment, I am a bit hesitant to believe that the EFCC has done a diligent investigation that will lead to a conviction going by its pedigree. But with the radio silence on the issue from the Metropolitan Police and elections fast approaching, Magu had to flip flop on it with his extradition stunt. He would have gullible Nigerians believe that the tempo of the anti-corruption war has been upped and that the big fish will soon be in the net by giving the issue some media attention to gain votes for Buhari. The EFCC’s new-found ostensible resolve to bring her to trial so that she can pay her debt to society, if convicted, is driven solely by politics of Buhari’s re-election, nothing more! I bet you, nothing will come of it because the intentions are not noble. Again, while Magu wants to shift attention to Alison-Maduke in the UK, he continues to ignore the petition from the former Managing Director of Alpha Beta-turned-whistleblower on the alleged massive fraud committed by the company amounting to well over N100 billion, bordering on tax evasion, money laundering and outright corruption. Why? Because a prominent APC leader is alleged to own a major stake in the company. So investigating and prosecuting him won’t be in the interest of the president’s re-election.

The Kano Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, aka Gandollar, bribery film is still premiering on the social media, our political EFCC has refused to look in that direction. Each time Ibrahim Magu is asked about it, he dodges the question and switches to a more convenient and sellable topic – the Alison-Madueke extradition. Come to think of it, how would Magu investigate the Kano governor when the man has promised to deliver 5 million votes to Buhari’s re-election bid? In the presidential primary, he purportedly delivered 2.9 million votes to Buhari. Recall that even Magu himself used to wear Buhari’s re-election lapel before the public outcry forced him to drop that ill-conceived, unethical, sycophantic and hypocritical conduct. Allegations of corruption are swirling around stalwarts of the APC and threatening to choke them, but the EFCC is looking the other way as it always does on matters concerning APC members. Any attempt to move against them will not be in the best interest of the president’s re-election which has become its raison d’etre. What a shame! For the life of me, I can’t figure out how the Buhari Campaign Organisation is getting “clean” funding. There have been various reports, even though denied by the authorities, that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is providing the cash through slush funds. Under this government, we have seen an unexplained sudden jump in the consumption of petrol from 30-35 million litres to 60-80 million litres a day, despite the economic downturn and the declining purchasing power of the average Nigerian. I heard they call it round tripping. On the fraudulent 60-80 million litres we consume daily, the NNPC pays itself subsidy. Could this be the slush funds being deployed for Buhari’s re-election? Imagine what is being stolen daily by those running the state oil company. The EFCC has looked the other way pretending not to be aware of this monumental heist on a scale never seen before. In one of his media briefings I attended, I had cause to ask Magu why the astronomical increase in the consumption of petrol was not being investigated despite calls for it and, true to form, he dodged the bullet. In stark contrast, the political EFCC is putting the squeeze on elements of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, so that it would not be able to raise enough funds to finance its own campaigns. Earlier in the week, the Buhari Campaign launched a major campaign in the media, spent several millions of naira on adverts in many national dailies. How the money was raised has not been disclosed. This issue goes to the heart of campaign financing which these loudmouthed hypocrites of the APC have refused to address. I am challenging Mr President to come clean to the public on where his campaign monies are coming from. Nothing but full and transparent disclosure would be enough. It is not enough to search an opponent’s plane in search of suspected illicit cash ferried into the country from abroad purportedly for the elections. He should tell us where APC’s cash is coming from. Is it from taxpayers’ money as suspected or contributions from party members and donors? For Buhari, it is curious that a man who has carried on with pompous arrogance as Mr Integrity, and who has branded all past leaders corrupt (remember how he traduced and lampooned the previous governments for allegedly using taxpayers’ money to fund election campaigns?), but has not disclosed to the public how his campaign organisation is raising money for his re-election, in the spirit of transparency, full disclosure and simply leading by example. Examples are better than precepts, after all.

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