TUESDAY 27TH NOVEMBER 2018

CBN Pumps $26.765bn into FX Market in 20 Months

Obinna Chima

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has pumped $26.765 billion into the interbank segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market since it started its forays into the market in February last year, figures

compiled by THISDAY have shown.

The amount of the weekly forex sales increased by $3.508 billion, from N23.257 billion as of August 8, to $26.765 billion as of November 21.

A breakdown of the forex intervention in the past three

months showed that while between August 10 and August 28th, the central bank intervened with a total of $1.290 billion; in September it sold $1.250 billion; in October only $210 million was sold and in November, the regulator has so far intervened with $757.16

million.

An analysis of the dollar sales showed that in 2017 alone, the bank intervened with a total of $15.043 billion and between January and November 21 in 2018; it has pumped in $11.5 billion in the market.

The naira exchange rate

has remained stable since last year when the central bank commenced the forex sales.

Average exchange rate of the naira to the US dollar on the interbank and BDC segments is N305.79/US$ and N362.25/ US$ respectively.

The average exchange rate

at the Investors’ & Exporters’ Window has been around N363/US$.

In April 2017, the CBN introduced a new exchange rate window, the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Continued on page 8

Nigeria Loses $6bn in Malabu Oil Deal, Says Report … Page 8 Tuesday 27 November, 2018 Vol 23. No 8623. Price: N250

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L- R: Ex-officio, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Ms. Olawale Oluwo; past President (NSE), Dr. Oba Otudeko; Acting Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms. Mary Uduk; President, African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA)/CEO, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema; Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; President, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Abimbola Ogunbanjo; Deputy President, ASEA and CEO, Casablanca Stock Exchange, Mr. Karim Hajji; Vice President and Treasurer, World Bank, Ms. Aruma Oteh; and Personal Secretary, Deputy Governor's Office, Lagos State, Ms. Yetunde Odejayi, during the 22nd African Securities Exchanges Association Annual Conference in Lagos…yesterday DAN UKANA

Buhari Demands Containment Plan on Boko Haram from Military Chiefs Meets intelligence chiefs Senior officer gives insight into security situation, explains why president rejected S’African mercenaries

Iyobosa Uwugiaren, Kingsley Nwezeh and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Worried by the security situation in the North-east, President Muhammadu Buhari has demanded for a detailed and effective counter plan of action against Boko Haram as well

as update on state of military armament from the service chiefs.

But a retired senior Army officer, who is very conversant with the happenings in the theatre of the on-going war between the Nigerian military Continued on page 6

Buhari Overrules Oshiomhole on THEIR LORDSHIPS… L-R: Supreme Court Justice, Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour; Administrator, National Judicial Institute, Justice Rosaline Bozimo; President, Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, during the 2018 All Nigeria Judges Conference of Lower Courts, in APC Primary Elections … Page 6 and Abuja…yesterday

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Buhari Overrules Oshiomhole on APC Primary Elections Says court is last option for aggrieved members

Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has an advice for members of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), ‘if anyone is displeased with the way and manner anything has been done, and feels deprived of his/her rights, then such a person is at liberty to approach the courts for redress.’ The president’s advice came against the background of the

party’s National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole’s threat to deal with aggrieved members that dragged the APC to court over the outcome of its primary elections. “We can’t deliberately deny people of their rights. We agreed that party primaries should be conducted either through direct, indirect or consensus methods, and if anyone feels unjustly treated in the process, such a person

can go to court. ‘’The court should always be the last resort for the dissatisfied. For the party to outlaw the court process is not acceptable to me,� a statement by presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, quoted Buhari as saying yesterday in Abuja.

Oshiomhole, in a decision ascribed to the National Working Committee (NWC) had last week threatened to

punish members across the country that had dragged the party to court over various issues.

The party had said in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Lanre Isa-Onilu, “The party intends to activate constitutional provisions to penalise such members as their action is capable of undermining the party and hurt the party’s interest.

“We hereby strongly advise such members to withdraw all court cases, while approaching the appropriate party organs with a view to resolving any outstanding disputes. In addition to this, aggrieved members are urged to take full advantage of the reconciliation committees the party has put in place. “APC members should understand that as a progressive party that operates

on the principle of change, it is not a matter of choice to keep to the rules.�

In a related development, the president has also advised members to work with the reconciliation committees empanelled for the six geopolitical zones by the APC, and not a purported Presidential Committee on Reconciliation, stressing that the party is the only body authorised to constitute such committees.

(IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, and members of the Police Service Commission.

Defence sources said the president at his meeting with the service chiefs on Sunday demanded from them the best strategy to win the war against Boko Haram, while also calling for an update on the purchase of arms and ammunition and the

quality and state of munitions.

"He is presently receiving security briefing on the security situation. At the yesterday's (Sunday) meeting, the Commander-in-chief wanted to see an effective work plan that would prevent this kind of breach.

BUHARI DEMANDS CONTAINMENT PLAN ON BOKO HARAM FROM MILITARY CHIEFS and Boko Haram, has given insight into the challenges the Nigerian troops are facing.

From the war zone, the Nigerian Air Force was said to have dealt a heavy blow on the terrorists yesterday, bombing their locations and killing many of them.

This came as the presidential candidate of the Peoples

Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, yesterday berated the All Progressives Congress (APC) for not paying tribute to the gallant men who gave their lives in order to secure the lives of others.

The nation had been jolted by the resurgence of Boko Haram attacks on military bases in the North-east, the last of which

occurred last week, leading to the death of the commander of the 157 Task Force and several soldiers stationed in Metele, a dusty town in the fringes of Borno State.

Buhari had expressed shock on Saturday at the scale of the attack and attendant casualties, summoning the service chiefs to a meeting on Sunday, where

he reportedly told them, for the umpteenth time, to sit up.

THISDAY gathered last night that the president yesterday received further briefing from intelligence chiefs, including the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), Director of State Security, (DSS), Mr. Yusuf Bichi, the Inspector General of Police

Continued on page 8

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NEWS

Nigeria Loses $6bn in Malabu Oil Deal, Says Report Ejiofor Alike with agency reports A new analysis by Global Witness has revealed that the deal involving Malabu Oil and Gas Limited in Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245 deprived Nigeria of an estimated $6 billion, double the country’s annual budget for education and health.

Global Witness said it had spent years investigating the

deal, which gave Shell and Eni the rights to explore OPL 245, an offshore oil field in the Niger Delta.It has commissioned new analysis of the way the contract was altered in favour of the energy companies and concluded Nigeria's losses over the lifetime of the project would amount to $5.86 billion, compared to terms in place before 2011.

BBC reported that the analysis was carried out by Resources

for Development Consulting on behalf of Global Witness.

The estimated losses were calculated using an oil price of $70 per barrel as a basis.

However, Eni has criticised the way it was calculated because the calculation allegedly ignored the possibility that Nigeria had the right to revise the deal to claim a 50 per cent share of the production revenues.

"We discovered that Shell had constructed a deal that

cut Nigeria out of their share of profit from the block," a campaigner at Global Witness, Ava Lee, told the BBC's World Business Report, adding,"This amount of money would be enough to educate six million teachers in Nigeria. It really can't be underestimated just how big a deal this could be for a country that right now has the highest rates of extreme poverty in the world."

A court in Milan is considering

charges of corruption against Eni and Shell in the controversial oil deal.

Eni and Shell are accused of knowing the money they paid to Nigeria would be used for bribes. The Italian and AngloDutch energy giants deny any wrongdoing.

This unfolding scandal, which is being played out in an Italian court, has involved former MI6 officers, the FBI, a former President of Nigeria,

as well as current and former senior executives at the two oil companies.

The former Nigerian oil minister, Dan Etete, was found guilty by a court in France of money laundering and it emerged he used illicit funds to buy a speed boat and a chateau. It is also claimed he had so much cash in $100 bills that it weighed five tonnes.

eliminated all the terrorists in the vehicles,� it quoted a military source. “The Air Force deployed the Mi-35M, multi-role combat helicopters, which delivers a more superior flight performance with high-precision weaponry in destroying ground targets.�

The report claimed that an aircraft also crossed the border into a neighboring country in hot pursuits where terrorists and stolen armoured vehicles were destroyed.

which has since assumed a political dimension targeted at key opposition leaders.

He stated, “The legislative investigation on the killing of our soldiers has become imperative given reports of compromises and alleged failure of the authorities to promptly act on a reported threat by insurgents to attack the base and other military locations in the area, few days before the attack. “This is in addition to a disturbing video, circulating in the public domain, showing soldiers, weeks before the attack, giving accounts of their neglect by the authorities, resulting in their vulnerability to insurgents.�

BUHARI DEMANDS CONTAINMENT PLAN ON BOKO HARAM FROM MILITARY CHIEFS "He is also interested, and particularly demanded a quick update on the state of armoury, recent purchases and the state and quality of the arms and ammunition available," a source close to the meeting told THISDAY. THISDAY checks further showed that Buhari is expected to take far reaching decisions after the security briefing this week.

The president's Personal Assistant on Social Media, Mr. Bashir Ahmad, later confirmed Buhari’s meeting with intelligence chiefs on his twitter handle last night.

Yesterday’s meeting is the third one Buhari would be having with service chiefs over the recent killing of over 100 Nigerian soldiers by the Boko Haram terrorist group along the Nigeria-Chad border.

However, the senior Army officer, who spoke with THISDAY in confidence yesterday catalogued the huge challenges the Nigerian troops are currently facing that may have created the failing security situation in the battle fields.

First, he attributed the frightening crisis to the federal government’s warped perception that the deadly terrorist group, Boko Haram, has been ‘’degraded’’, ‘’decapitated’’ or ‘’technically defeated.’’ He added, ‘’This misconception is not helping our war against Boko Haram; and this is also what informed the way the government has responded to the huge problem so far. As a result, there is no serious commitment on the part of the government to address the issue. It is a dirty propaganda that is not helping us; the truth is that Boko Haram is getting stronger and stronger daily.’’ The officer, who retired a couple of years ago and had consulted for the military authorities on the ongoing war in the North-east in the past, also blamed the deteriorating situation to lack of proper training by the troops in the war zone.

He explained, “Another problem that we have is lack of proper training by our troops; many of them are

from the army depots, with few months training. We need troops who are well-trained in war to engage the terrorist group. And, again, their moral is very low; boosting their moral has nothing to do with how much of financial rewards they get; but making them believe that what they are doing is for their father’s land. ‘’Check what this government has been doing: soldiers who have done nothing are being rewarded, while those fighting Boko Haram have been neglected. In many instances, the families of those who died while fighting Boko Haram were forced to leave the barracks few months after losing their dear ones. This is not how to improve the moral of the troops.’’ Using the video of the recent attack by Boko Haram on the Nigerian troops in Metele, Borno State in assessing the situation, the former intelligence officer in the Nigerian Army, said there was no proper coordination among the service chiefs.

According to him, ‘’If you look at the video of the recent attack in Metele, a territory of the theatre of war, you will discover that Nigerian troops were caught unaware; many of them were not even on their combatant uniform when the terrorists invaded the area; troops fighting in that kind of environment must be ready 24/7 because Metele is a theatre of war. ‘’There is lack of proper coordination among the service chiefs – the Nigerian Air Force and the Nigerian Army are not working together. If they were working together, the Air Force would have been able to provide intelligence report that terrorists were advancing to the territory of our troops, from about 30 kilometres to Metele, and they would have provided air cover for the soldiers on the ground.’’ He also accused the military authorities of not paying more attention to the Nigerian army.

He added, ‘’This government has not bought any arm since it came to power three and half years ago; the arms the military is still using are the ones former President Goodluck Jonathan

bought. ‘’Forget about the misinformation that the money budgeted for buying arms was used for 2015 general election by Jonathan-led government; many of the munitions, including the T-17 tanks bought by Jonathan-led government are the ones still being used by the military; however, many of the munitions are now going back to the terrorists.’’ Responding to a report that Buhari had ignored Intel on the Boko Haram from a South African mercenary group, he described the report as ‘’very disturbing.’’ He said many Nigerians were deceived by the popular euphoria that Buhari was an Army General, who is very versed in war; and who can easily defeat Boko Haram, saying because of his selfesteem, the president could not comprehend how a mercenary group could be employed to assist Nigerian military to fight Boko Haram.

The senior officer added, “And because of his large ego, President Muhammadu Buhari sent this group packing from Nigeria. But the truth is that this group was very helpful in the war against Boko Haram during Jonathan-led government. The group helped in degrading Boko Haram; that is why we were able to conduct elections in many of the areas in 2015.

Boko Haram did not carry out the kind of havoc they are doing today. ‘’During Jonathan there were wide consultation on how to engage Boko Haram; but this government does not consult anybody; only few people are running this government.’’ The source advised government to wake up, saying, Nigeria is in pressing need for solutions to the worsening security situation in the country, especially in the North-east. ‘’The earlier the federal government realises that the country is in a crisis situation the better for our nation,’’ he advised.

The Jonathan administration had engaged a South African mercenary company, Specialised Tasks, Training, Equipment and Protection International (STTEP),

to contain Boko Haram in 2014, but was disengaged by Buhari in 2015.

The company was quoted yesterday by The Cable – an online newspaper, as saying that Buhari rejected intelligence from the company, warning about operations of Boko Haram in Borno State.

Mr. Eeben Barlow, STTEP chairman, said Nigerian soldiers had been reaching out for help since his company’s services were terminated.

Pondering on the falling security situation in the Northeast, Barlow said Buhari’s administration did not allow his company to complete the objective of “degrading and destroying� Boko Haram in Borno State.

He said, “There is, in a purely military sense, no such thing as a ‘technical defeat’—something the president, as an ex-military man ought to know. Sadly, he also chose to make the successes of 7 Infantry Division and 72 Mobile Strike Force (MSF) his own, when it wasn’t. ‘’President Buhari and his team were, however, part of the political leader group that led the vocal charge about STTEP’s presence in Nigeria. Indeed, they made it known that the company’s presence would not be tolerated under his office. ‘’The initial 3-phase campaign strategy (known as ‘Operational Anvil’) to degrade and destroy BH in Borno State, was rejected by his advisors. Many of the men we trained as part of 72 Mobile Strike Force have remained in contact with us (STTEP), pleading for our return to Nigeria. They have also told us that they have been used to a point of exhaustion.’’ However, PRNigeria, a public relations outfit that had worked with the security and military agencies, quoted a top military intelligence officer as saying that the airstrikes launched by the Nigerian Air Force destroyed a convoy of vehicles linked to Boko Haram attackers involved in last week raid on the military base at Metele in Borno State. “The Nigerian Air Force is following the trail of the terrorists and has successfully destroyed about seven vehicles, including gun truck and

Atiku Berates APC for Not Paying Tribute to Fallen Soldiers Meanwhile, Atiku in a statement by his campaign organisation yesterday berated the APC for not condoling with the families of the fallen soldiers.

The former vice president said while it took him a few hours to respond to the incident and express support, it took Buhari a whole week to express “shock.�

Atiku noted that it is left to Nigerians to compare and contrast who is a leader and who is a follower based on the conduct of these two parties.

PDP Calls on N’Assembly to Investigate Killing of Soldiers in Metele

In the mean time, the PDP has called on the National Assembly to immediately commence an extensive investigation into alleged compromises that led to the killing of over 100 Nigerian soldiers by the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State.

The main opposition party said that the call became imperative since Buhari-led federal government has refused to come forth with explanations on the issue. The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, said the conflicting reports by the police only point towards an attempt to cover a case of extra-judicial killing.

The party also alleged that the move was aimed at muting vital information, and derail the course of justice in the matter

CBN PUMPS $26.765BN INTO FX MARKET IN 20 MONTHS Fixing Mechanism (NAFEX), commonly known as the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I &E) window.

The I & E window and the interbank market have been seen as the main exchange rate windows utilised in foreign currency trading.

Analysts recently predicted that the combination of tightening global financing conditions, which has resulted to capital outflows in the country, the elevated global risk aversion, 2019 election uncertainties and high services payments were likely to put pressure on the naira going

into next year.

Analysts at CSL Stockbrokers Limited and the Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), who stated this in two separate reports obtained by THISDAY recently, argued that capital repatriation by foreign investors was also expected to heighten dollar demand.

But the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had insisted that it has enough war chest to meet forex demand in the country.

To the CSL, Nigeria’s periodic currency crises are mainly due to policy makers’ inability to deal with the macroeconomic

phenomena called the “impossible Trinity.�

It said, “The impossible trinity (also known as the trilemma) postulates that it is impossible to have all three of the following at the same time: a fixed foreign exchange rate, free movement of capital (absence of capital controls) and an independent monetary policy. “We think pressure will appear in the foreign exchange market and a parallel market premium in the range of 10-20 per cent will return. Given this view, we recommend that local fixed income investors shorten

duration and remain focused on the short-end of the curve.�

Crude oil price plunged to a one-year low of $58.41 a barrel at the weekend, down more than 22 percent, following global oversupply.

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, fell close to $50 a barrel.

The development may further hurt Nigeria’s external reserves which has fallen to $41.523 billion as of last Thursday.

CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, last week pointed out that “the downside risks to global economic activity

remained the elevated financial fragilities and policy uncertainties, the gradual erosion of rule-based multilateral trading system, tighter financial conditions with latent disruptive portfolio adjustments, increased capital flow reversals with potentials for heightened exchange rate depreciation and some volatility, fiscal fragilities and increased debt burden, geo-political tensions and increasingly depressed aggregate demand in some countries. These factors will continue to shape developments for the rest of 2018 and into 2019.�

Continued on page 17

Killings Sad for Nigeria, Says Agwai Also commenting, former Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (rtd) said troops battling Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east are suffering casualties because the war is not conventional.

Agwai, who was reacting to the killing of the soldiers by terrorists, said although soldiers were originally trained to fight conventional warfare, what they were facing at the moment in the North-east was strange to their training.

Agwai, who was also a former Chief of Army Staff, therefore, appealed to Nigerians not to see the killing of troops as a sign of weakness on the part of the military.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on the sidelines of the 50th anniversary of the Nigeria Fellowship of Evangelical Students, he insisted that during unconventional warfare, troops must suffer casualties.

He, therefore, asked Nigerians not to make issues out of the ugly development even as he described it as “so sad for the nation.�

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NEWS

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

We are Running Out of Patience, Labour Tells Buhari Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday urged President Muhamadu Buhari to expedite action in transmitting an executive bill for the N30,000 minimum wage to the National Assembly.

President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, said the continued delay

in acting on the agreed N30,000 minimum wage report submitted to him by the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee is stretching the workers’ patience to their limits.

The National Minimum Wage tripartite committee put in place

by President Buhari to review the current N18,000 minimum wage had presented its report

Again, FG Fails to Reach Agreement with ASUU Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The meeting between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday again ended with both parties failing to resolve their differences.

With the non-resolution the issues, the four-week-old industrial action embarked upon by the lecturers continues.

The meeting, which started in the evening and lasted for three hours, was aimed at re-opening negotiations over the demands for improved funding and remuneration for universities by the varsity teachers.

The ASUU team which was led by its National President, Prof. Biodun Ogunbiyi, and the federal government delegation led by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, resolved to continue discussion at a later date.

ASUU president, who initially refused to speak with journalists when accosted for comments, said the discussion

was inconclusive, adding it would continue at a later date.

He said: “The meeting will continue at a later date. We will continue from where we stopped. We will continue at a later date.”

Asked whether there was any progress made at the meeting or not, he said: “We have started the discussion; we are continuing and the discussion will continue at a later date. That is what I can say for now.”

When further asked how soon they would reconvene the meeting, he said: “You will get to know about it.”

Desperate attempts made by newsmen to equally speak with the Minister of Education, Adamu, failed.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education, earlier visited the Minister of Education, where it called on the government and ASUU to expeditiously resolve their differences so that the strike can be called off.

Boko Haram Kills Four Farmers in Fresh Attack Boko Haram jihadists have killed four farmers near Maiduguri in the latest bloodshed in the restive region, witnesses and a local militia leader said yesterday.

Dozens of fighters believed to be loyal to Boko Haram factional leader Abubakar Shekau attacked a group of farmers working in their field near Jiddari-Polo yesterday a farmers who survived the attack said.

They said the Islamists hacked their victims to death and left another farmer with severe injuries.

“They came in large numbers on foot while we were picking cowpea in the field and arrested six of us while others escape.”

Mala.

“They macheted four to death before my eyes and left the other man seriously injured,” Mala Umara told AFP. A civilian militia leader in the city, Babakura Kolo confirmed the killings.

Umara, 75, was spared by the militants with a message to Nigerian troops stationed in Jiddari-Polo that they should brace for an impending attack from the jihadists.

“They asked me to deliver a message to the soldiers that they should be prepared for an attack soon.

“They told me the same message three times and emphasised I convey it to the soldiers,” Umara said.

Abba Muhammad was also among the farmers who escaped when the militants stormed the crop fields.

“Five of them armed with guns and machetes encircled me and began asking me the location of

soldiers in Jiddari-Polo.

“One of them shouted that they should attack me with machetes but I instinctively bolted.

“Two of them pursued me but I was too fast for them. They took my bicycle with them,” he said.

Authorities in the region could not be immediately reached about this latest attack.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on farmers and loggers in recent years, accusing them of passing information about the group to the military.

Last week, the jihadists killed nine farmers and abducted 12 others in an attack on Mammanti village near Maiduguri.

On November 16, the insurgents kidnapped 50 loggers near the town of Gamboru on the border with Cameroon, four days after, 15 farmers were shot dead as they worked in their fields near the garrison town of Monguno, 140 kilometres from Maiduguri.

Last month, the jihadists hacked 12 farmers to death in Kalle, a remote village 17 kilometres from Maiduguri.

Despite the government’s insistence that Boko Haram is near defeat, the group has recently carried out major attacks on military and civilian targets, killing scores.

Security sources said at least 44 soldiers were killed in an attack in Metele village, near the border with Niger Republic, last week, although one soldier who escaped gave a higher toll.

AFP has reported at least 17 attempts to overrun army bases since July. Many have been claimed by the IS-backed Boko Haram faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

to the president two weeks ago, but the state governors said they can’t pay N30,000.

Speaking at this year’s Harmattan School of the Congress holding in Abuja, Wabba said workers are now running out of patience on the implementation of the new wage.

He described as unfortunate the position of some governors who are opposed to the N30.000 new minimum wage, “but are spending billions of dollars in the name of security votes which they can’t account for.”

According to the NLC boss,

it was not true that once the Minimum wage is increased there would be an inflation.

For instance, he said in 2008, the salaries of political office holders was increased by 800 percent but it didn’t cause inflation.

He wondered why a mere N30,000 for workers can cause inflation.

“We don’t know why the president has not transmitted the executive bill, the report of the tripartite committee to the National Assembly for an enactment into law, because

workers patience is running out,” he said .

Regarding the position taken by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Wabba said: “We have maintained that any governor that said he can’t pay the N30,000 should go to his state, gather workers and tell them they are spending billions of dollars in the name of security votes but once it comes to payment of N30,000 minimum wage, they are saying workers are just 20 percent.

“How can they say that because without workers which

include health workers, police, army and others, most politicians can’t sleep. Minimum wage is not a favour but a right of a worker because the law states that after 30days, a labourer is worthy of his wage”.

The NLC president also insisted that labour would press on for the payment of two years arrears since the act stipulated that the national minimum wage shall be review every five years.

Labour movement had maintained that the national minimum wage Act 2011 was due for review in 2016.

CSR IN ACTION

L-R: CEO, UBA Foundation, Bola Atta; Winner of 2018 UBA Foundation National Essay Competition for Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria and student of International High School, Delta State, Miss Omesiri Divine Odjegba ; and GMD/CEO, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, at the grand-finale of the competition held at UBA House in Lagos....yesterday

EU, Germany May Support Power Sector Metering Programme 60m fuel generators render economy uncompetitive Chineme Okafor in Abuja The European Union (EU) and Germany may consider supporting the implementation of the Meter Assets Providers (MAP) programme and eligible customers regulation of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

MAP Regulations set to provide standard rules to encourage the development of independent and competitive metering services in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), with the NERC saddled with the licencing of pre-qualified providers who will finance, install, maintain and where necessary, replace end-user electricity meters.

The revelation on EU and Germany’s possible support in the MAP programme is coming as an impact investment firm in the off grid electricity market, All On disclosed yesterday that with about 60 million petrol and diesel generators currently in use in Nigeria, the economy has become largely uncompetitive and unproductive.

The firm, with links to multinational oil company, Shell Petroleum Development

Company (SPDC) also stated that about 70 per cent of Nigeria’s households or small businesses are currently off the national grid or affected by bad electricity supplies.

According to All On, these households or businesses rely on the estimated 60 million generators to power their operations and homes, adding that the development has created an unhealthy energy source.

In her presentation at an energy business dialogue organised in Abuja by the Nigerian Renewable Energy Roundtable (NiRER), an offshoot of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), the Senior Investment Associate at All On, Mrs. Ujunwa Ojemeni, explained that 120 million people do not have access to electricity in Nigeria.

She added that 60 million fossil fuel generating sets were now filling the energy gap in the country.

Ojemeni stated that the 60 million generators in the country have negative consequences in the country’s economic productivity, competitiveness, employment and security.

She added that the country’s

ability to guarantee food security, health, education and healthy environment for its citizens were impacted negatively by this huge number of fossil fuel generating sets in use.

According to her, All On is leveraging finance for the Nigerian off grid energy sector, and would be looking to drive long-lasting impact in the sector through its impact funding model.

At the parley, it emerged that the European Union (EU) and Germany may consider supporting the implementation of the Meter Assets Providers (MAP) scheme and eligible customers regulation of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The likely EU, German support will be extended in their next round of financial support for the country’s power sector under the Nigerian Energy Support Programmme (NESP).

The NESP is however managed by the German cooperation agency – the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), and has supported the power sector to grow its

capacities and offerings for years now.

The Head of Unit for Sustainable Energy Access at the NESP, Mr. Carlos Louis-Miro, disclosed at the meeting that the NESP funded by EU and Germany could consider using parts of the €33 million budgeted in the next phase of the NESP to support the deployment of meters by electricity distribution companies (Discos) under the MAP scheme of the NERC, as well as the implementation of the eligible customers regime.

Louis-Miro, said that funding for the second phase of the NESP would come in the form of €20 million from the EU and €13 million from Germany, to support competitive procurement of large-scale solar power generation; stabilisation of the country’s distribution networks and improvement of the Discos’ business models.

He also said: “We may cover as well eligible customers, Meter Asset Provider; Independent Electricity Distribution Networks (IEDN)/franchising.”

According to him, the country’s Discos are currently bedeviled with technical and financial challenges.

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COMMENT

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

GARLANDS FOR ATIKU AT 72

Paul Ibe pays tribute to Atiku Abubakar, PDP’s Presidential Candidate, at age 72

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ver the past few weeks, Atiku Abubakar has become the man whom Nigerians and others around the world recognise as the leading opponent in next year’s presidential elections, the man to beat President Muhammadu Buhari in the polls and rescue Nigeria from the clutches of a

heartless cabal.

But, to many of us who have known him over the past years, he is much more than what the campaign media teams or the global newspaper headlines can ever portray effectively, no matter how well meaning they might be. And I speak as someone who has experienced on a personal basis, the fullness of who Atiku Abubakar is and what he represents, which have nothing to do with whether or not the cameras are rolling or whether a microphone is thrust in his face, or whether there is an election to be won. I’d like to share some of those personal experiences with you and the world as Atiku celebrated his 72nd birthday on November 25, the same day that he was elevated from the title of Turaki Adamawa to Waziri Adamawa, in a ceremony in his hometown of Yola.

Atiku Abubakar’s rags to riches story has been in the public domain especially since his days as Nigeria’s vice-president. Much has been told and written about his rise from herdsboy to headsman; of the boy who hardly knew his father before his demise; who sold firewood, herded cattle for wealthy neighbours, receiving payment in the form of grains which his family subsisted on. At the age of 15, he had saved enough to buy his mother a mud house. Of course, he went on to acquire an education, occupy senior positions in the civil service, launch groundbreaking businesses, even before he was elected as Vice- President in 1999. The trajectory of his life shows clearly that hard work pays. But, there is still so much missing from these popular stories.

I was employed in Atiku’s media office in 2010. In 2015, I stepped into the daunting role of head of the Atiku Media Office, thus becoming Atiku’s spokesperson and one of his most visible staff.

At first, I expected this to be nothing more than a job that came with heavy responsibilities, which I determined to dispatch with excellence and without reproach. But, before long, Atiku began to show me that I was more to him than just someone on his payroll.

He showed me what it was like to work for a boss who cared for human beings, who was interested in the rise and comfort of those below him, who considered their issues as his own issues. I didn’t tell Atiku when my parents were ill but he found out and phoned me to find out how they were doing. Each time he saw me, he first asked details about my family’s welfare before he raised any pending or urgent work matters. Whenever I did anything he approved of, he expressed deep gratitude as if I had done him a personal favour, when I was merely doing my job. Anyone who has worked in our

THE TRAJECTORY OF HIS LIFE SHOWS CLEARLY THAT HARD WORK PAYS

country knows how widely this differs from the typical Nigerian boss.

Atiku constantly reminded me to ensure that his media office reflected who he is, meaning that I should accommodate the rainbow colours of our national diversity. In the past few years, the media office’s staff has comprised and still comprises people from the southeast, southsouth, southwest, north central, northwest, and the northeast. Anybody who doubts this can research the names of past and present staff on the roll of the office. During Atiku’s 70th birthday two years ago, the AMO staff were determined to get him a gift. But then, what do you buy for a man who pays your salary, who buys you rams during Sallah and bags of rice during Christmas, who can afford everything that you can’t afford?

Still, we were determined to seize the opportunity to express our profound gratitude to the best boss that one can ask for. In the end, we settled on a painting of his portrait. He grinned from ear to ear when we presented it to him. A plaque we also presented to him currently occupies pride of place in his living room. He didn’t disdain our humble gift of love.

Long before he declared his intention to contest for the 2019 election and before he was overwhelmingly elected to represent the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku shared profound thoughts with me about his concern for Nigeria. Despite being from northern Nigeria, he was worried by President Buhari’s lopsided appointments. He was alarmed at the rise of the Boko Haram insurgency, despite the government’s loud proclamations that the group had been defeated. He was embarrassed by the series of gaffes President Buhari made each time he stood on the world stage, especially one that disdained his wife and women in general.

He found it incredible that the government appeared more bent on finding a variety of excuses for the farmer-herdsmen clashes than they were about bringing the carnage to an end. When I arrived to attend a meeting with him sometime last year and noticed Atiku looking sad and sorrowful, I asked him if all was well. “In all my life, especially since the civil war, I have never been this worried for our nation,� he replied. The period under reference was the era of quit notices and counter quit notices.

Being right there in Port Harcourt to watch Atiku receive the resounding support of the PDP brought to me a joy that transcends my position in his team. Knowing that he will have the opportunity to effect his humanity and hard work on a national scale is evidence to me that God definitely has Nigeria on his mind. My prayer is that Atiku’s elevation as Waziri will be a sign of the good things to come when he eventually mounts the saddle as President of Nigeria in 2019.

Mazi Ibe is Media Adviser to Atiku Abubakar

RELIABILITY AND THE PENDULUM OF CARPET CROSSERS Ikeogu Oke bemoans the politics of anything goes

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ast week a certain friend, a northerner, mentioned to me that some djinns had – or have – been dangling on an imaginary pendulum swinging across our political landscape. To our interlocutor, who hails from the southern part of the country, they were goblins and not djinns.

But believing djinns and goblins not to convey positive images, I insisted that they be regarded as fairies – fairies dangling on some sort of imaginary pendulum swinging across the nation’s political landscape, fairies comprised of powerful politicians and leaders, current and past (but still very powerful and influential), but all eminently self-seeking as revealed by their actions, who dangled on the pendulum of Buhari supporters (in 2015) and have now dangled back to the position of Buhari antagonists (in anticipation of the 2019 elections).

We can begin with the example of Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, the Governor of the Seat of the Caliphate. He was one of those powerful PDP members who would go to no end to convince themselves and anyone who cared to listen that the immediate past president had outlived his usefulness. That Buhari was the real deal.

Whatever might have been behind this his pre-2015-election posture that was attended by a switch from the PDP to the APC, opportunism might not be ruled out – the opportunism of a politician who saw that his political future was bound to what might be called the Buhari chariot.

You either hitched your wagon to that chariot or risked death in the hot, drear desert of political oblivion. And he hitched his! Abandoning the party that brought him to power.

But did he quit his seat as Governor? No! So, we have a man who should lead by example as

a leader leading in breaking the law and a validation of Achebe’s assertion that Nigerian leaders are the country’s primary problems – exemplified in this case by their placing themselves above the law.

It remains to ask if the electorate or the people generally can rely on a leader or politician who can switch his positions so whimsically, and for apparently selfish ends? And with such leaders they can’t trust, can the fate of the people be described as bright under them or their political parties? Is there no longer a link between a leader’s reliability, the trust it should inspire in the people and good governance? But the likes of Tambuwal seem want to have their trust cake and eat it. Should the electorate allow them to?

Some people may consider the cases of the Senate President Bukola Saraki and his Deputy Ike Ekweremadu worse; and they may not be wrong. This is because of the crucial roles they have to play as heads of the country’s apex law-making institution, the Senate.

The point is that both leaders of the Senate are currently leaders of the opposition PDP and yet do not consider it right to vacate their seats as required by the constitution. I dare say that this a bad example to the young and the country taken too far, a typical case of the fish of a nation beginning its rot from the head, and another vindication of Achebe’s assertion that Nigeria’s problem is simply a problem of leadership.

In his 2014 study entitled, “Party Switching in the Senate under Nigeria’s Fourth Republic,�

Joseph Yinka Fashagba, raises these critical – and I think thought-provoking – questions about this type of scenario festering in the upper legislative chamber: “How do we explain a situation where lawmakers defect from one party to another and then defect back to their original party in the space of only one month and under circum-

stances that celebrate disregard for principles?

Party leaders in Party A suddenly move to Party B and begin to contradict everything they had done in Party A. How do we explain the claim that political office holders are paid to remain in their party? How do we explain that negotiations for party allegiance are premised on automatic ticket and pre-determined political posts?�

He then adds: “In all these types of horsetrading and deal-making, nobody is talking about the people or securing obligations or commitments on infrastructural development. Nobody is raising the issue of free education or healthcare, let alone anything remotely representative of the needs of the people. ‌ It cannot be business as usual‌ The perennial defections of politicians were not informed by the resolve to fight and protect the interest of the general public, but for their own personal interests. ‌ The driving force is how to capture state power for private gains. In search of this is the great movement of politicians from one party to the other. This trend of cross carpeting shows that Nigerian politicians possess no democratic values, credentials and our political system is awash with professional politicians and ‘entrepreneurs’ who are devoid of modern political ideology and issue driven politics. It is our candid opinion that for the purposes of deepening the practice of democracy in Nigeria, any elected politician that defects to another party should be made to stand down and seek reelection. The loopholes within our electoral system and constitution that allow this to happen must be amended to cage political party defections.â€?

Now the Nigerian Constitution clearly states in section 68. (1) that “A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if – in subsection (g) – “being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party,

he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected.�

Imagine an Ekweremadu, a lawyer and lawmaker staring at this constitutional provision and yet sitting tight as Deputy Senate President while expecting the support of the electorate together with his conniving PDP in the 2019 elections.

Obasanjo is another illustrious fairy dangling on our pendulum. Atiku, who also switched from APC to PDP between 2005 and 2008, was his deputy as a PDP president from 1999-2007.

Soon into their tenure they fell out, and their relationship became a permafrost. Then Obasanjo declared to all who co uld hear that Atiku was corrupt and therefore unfit to be president until his recent detour by which he declared him “a president in waiting.�

Things had come to a head between him and the PDP that he made a show of tearing his PDP membership card in public, declaring himself a neutral politician and a statesman. But he has reunited with the PDP in seeming desperation to make the same “corrupt� Atiku president by telling us that he has ceased to be corrupt. “Why,� asked my northern interlocutor as our conversation progressed. “You’re asking me. Didn’t you see what happened to his May 29 Democracy Day? “You mean this is all about revenge?� “You sound surprised.� “And he would execute that by mortgaging the country’s future?� “It depends on which matters to him.� “Na wa o!� “No be chinkini wa. Na ogbonge wa.�

Oke, a poet and the winner of the 2017 Nigeria Prize for Literature, sent this piece before he passed on over the weekend

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EDITORIAL Issues In The NEMA Scandal President Buhari cannot afford to be silent on the mismanagement of NEMA fund

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espite the subtle attempts to politicise it, the multi-billion naira scandal involving the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) will not go away. The allegations border on the embezzlement of N33 billion emergency intervention funds meant for the North-east. In their resolution, the House of Representatives not only indicted the Director- General of the agency, Mr Mustapha Maihaja, it went further to demand his dismissal and prosecution along with other top government ofďŹ cials. The House in the same report also found Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo liable for approving N5.8 billion earmarked for emergency intervention and food security in the North-east in 2017 without following due process.

With damning details, the House report stated that the authorisation granted for the withdrawal of the money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund Account was “highly awedâ€? and constituted serious infractions on Section 80(2) of the Constitution and Section (2) of the Procurement Act, as well as provisions of the Appropriation Act. The lawmakers were also miffed that taxes and interest IT WOULD SEEM THAT accruable to the MANY OFFICIALS IN AN government were not ADMINISTRATION THAT deducted or remitted SUPPOSEDLY CAME IN to the Federal Inland TO FIGHT CORRUPTION Revenues Service (FIRS) and no meetHAVE DIFFICULTY ing was held by the DETERMINING THE Federal Executive BOUNDARY BETWEEN Council (FEC) to approve the contracts.

RIGHT AND WRONG While both the vice-president and director-general of NEMA have rejected the report of the House, we do not believe that the cynical manner in which the issue is being treated by the federal government will help its cause. What is more disturbing is that the allegations bear uncanny similarities to the N1.3 billion grass cutting contract allegedly awarded in 2017 under the Presidential Initiative for North East (PINE) which led to the

Letters to the Editor

dismissal of the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr Babachir Lawal. Despite the damning report on his alleged role in the management of ďŹ nances for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Borno State, Lawal is now a very visible face in the campaign for the re-election of President Buhari.

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BUHARI’S ‘NEXT LEVEL LOGO’

AN EVENING WITH MINNA CHORAL SOCIETY

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nce again, I in the company of many others and quite a couple of acquaintances (and, shh, the Deputy Bursar of my university), really enjoyed ourselves to the fullest when the Minna Choral Society presented its production of Handel’s sacred oratorio, “The Messiah,� at the UK Bello Arts Theatre. Hardly anyone in that hall was unaffected; the mood was ecstatic and the atmosphere was electric that it was a thing of joy to see otherwise rejected young Muslim urchins (popularly known as almajiris) peep into the main bowl of the auditorium to see for themselves what was thrilling a motley of Christian audience who continuously trooped in with their families with kids even as young as a few months old.

The general happiness was infectious, really.

From the little I know about formal music, that Georg Frederic Handel’s piece was, well, a masterpiece in terms of the messages it conveyed and the mood it could stir and, credit to the Stephen Harrison-led chorale group for their masterful interpretation of the work of a genius.

Nigeria’s really got musical talent. On that evening, we heard in passing that a sister chorale group called “Francescan Chorale� led by an academic of the Federal University of Technology, Minna (Ms. Francisca) even invited the eminent musicologist,

he theatre of this scandal (the North-east) makes it very important for the Buhari administration to take the allegations serious enough to want to get to the root of it. In recent times, Nigeria has come under embarrassing international attention on account of the threat of starvation in the IDP camps in the area. It is bad enough that so much national and international relief resources have been committed or pledged in aid of our fellow citizens affected by the Boko Haram crisis. So far, reports of rampant abuse of these resources have largely gone unattended to, even when the president himself recently called for an investigation.

Meanwhile, it would seem that many ofďŹ cials in an administration that supposedly came in to ďŹ ght corruption have difďŹ culty determining the boundary between right and wrong. And more unfortunate still is that President Buhari seems either not interested or incapable of restoring integrity to his government.

From contract scams to the ‘Dollargate’ in Kano, the joke in Abuja is that the broom, symbol of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was designed to sweep corruption under the carpet, especially for friends of the Buhari administration. Indeed, there is hardly any difference between President Goodluck Jonathan’s weakness in dealing with some corrupt elements in his government and President Buhari’s total inertia in similar circumstances.

While it remains a big shame for an administration that was brought to power on the pretext of coming to ďŹ ght corruption, President Buhari cannot be silent on the House report of the mismanagement of NEMA fund. Anyone engaged in the criminal diversion of the funds earmarked to ameliorate the dehumanising conditions of people in distress has committed a crime against humanity and should face the full wrath of the law.

Prof. Laz Ekwueme, over to Minna for a performance by her group just two weeks before this Harrison-led performance. Here and there, you will hear snippets of comments such as, “the best in Nigeria,� “the best in West Africa,� when people pay compliments to the Minna Choral Society, but for me who has logged some 34 years in isolated laid-back Minna, I was happy that our town could be associated with an excellent work of art.

The feeling is this good. Anyone who knows how isolated Minna is would wonder how anyone could help being cooped up in this locale for years –on- end but, tell you what, if the two chorale groups I know of put a schedule of year-round musical productions at the levels they are presently operating, this town would draw in weekend tourists from Abuja, Kaduna, and other major cities.

In this case, the hospitality business would boom and the local economy would grow as a result.

It was this hospitality business, set up by former Bendelites and Southeasterners, that took the drudgery out of Minna all through the 1960s to the I990s until the sharia fire swept through this town and tanked everything. Minna would always be remembered as the birthplace of Cyprian Ekwensi and Ben Okri, two writers of international repute.

Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State

I

t appears Buhari campaign managers have little respect for intellectual property; obviate due diligence, and may be impotent of original ideas.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s ‘Next Level campaign logo’ has ticked off an avoidable controversy. The logo is said to be that of “a project of Winthrop University-School Partnership Network in collaboration with Fort Mill School District (York 4), Lancaster County School District, and Rock Hill School District (York 3). It is a Professional Development Programme grant funded by the US Department of Education and administered through the Office of English Learner Acquisition (OELA)�.

Really, a look at the Winthrop project logo shows that the “creatives� behind that of the president may have engaged in a mindless lifting of intellectual property. Did Buhari’s campaign logo not go through the rigours of vetting? Was thorough research not carried out to determine originality? Was citizen revulsion to the “plagiarised� logo not foreseen? Or was this just to irritate and annoy Nigerian citizens?

It is stupefying that at the acme of government things are still done without gravitas and grit, and without recourse to due diligence. It is even more shocking when the time taken to plan the event is considered. To me, this is just an

affliction of incompetence. Buhari now suffers the incompetence of his own managers. Chew on this.

The contract for the design of the logo might have been given to a “loyal but grossly incompetent� crony, who instead of applying his mettle, lazily surfs the internet for a published logo.

The same incompetence, which afflicted the design of the Buhari campaign logo, afflicted the cake baked for Prince Charles of Wales.

Really, this embarrassment is avoidable.

Well, “plagiarism may just be a word just as recession is�. Do not quote me, please.

But what is with the presidency and the predilection for plagiarism?

Buhari’s ‘Change Begins with Me’ speech of September 2016 was found to contain similar sentences to those in Barack Obama’s 2008 victory speech. Buhari said in his speech: “We must resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship, pettiness and immaturity that have poisoned our country for so long.�

A careless lifting of Obama’s “Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.� I think, incompetence is like a stone thrown carelessly into a market. It could hit just anybody, even you.

Fredrick Nwabufo, fredricknwabufo@yahoo. com

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TUESDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

FG, AfDB Plan $500m Fund for Fintechs Goddy Egene The federal government is working with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to establish a $500 million fund aimed at financing technological innovation that will grow the country’s financial services sector and economy in general.

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo disclosed this yesterday at the opening ceremony of the 22nd African Securities Exchanges

Association (ASEA) Annual General Meeting and Conference organised by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos.

According to Osinbajo, the fund would help to increase the competitivenes of Nigeria’s information and communications technology industry.

“We are accordingly working with the AFDB to establish a $500 million innovation fund, this will support activity in this

Osinbajo: FG Committed to Passage of PIGB N’Assembly hastens move for passage Peter Uzoho Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has stated that the federal government is committed to the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) to enable Nigeria reap full benefits of the country’s petroleum resources.

This is even as the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, reassured Nigerians that both chambers of the National Assembly were working hard to see the eventual passage of the lingering bill.

They all made the declarations yesterday in Lagos at the 18th International Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) biennial conference organised by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in conjunction with other agencies, with the theme: ‘Driving Sustainability in the Oil and Gas Industry through Improved Stakeholders Environmental Stewardship’.

Osinbajo, who was represented at the occasion by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe

Kachukwu, said the discussion about the future of oil and gas in the country cannot be separated from the PIGB, stressing that the bill “represents most ambitious and comprehensive reforms in oil and gas in Nigeria.”

According to Osinbajo, “No discussion about the future of the oil and gas can be divorced from the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which represents the most ambitious and comprehensive reform in decades of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

While there have been varied reactions to the president’s recent decision to return the PIGB to the National Assembly for slight amendments, permit me to state unequivocally that this administration remains fully committed to the passage of the PIGB, and we are working closely with the National Assembly to ensure its timely passage.

“The reforms proposed in the PIGB reflect our collective desire to entrench transparency and sustainability of oil and gas operations in Nigeria to enable the country finally realise the full potential of it hydrocarbon resources.”

sector. Given the size of our economy and the potential of technology and creative segment, I am hopeful that capital market operators will work towards innovative financing solutions to lend further support to these two sectors,” the vice president said.

Osinbajo also disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would soon be issuing licence for payment service banks which would increase access to financial services by low income earners and the unbanked.

He said the partnership was also essentially to ensure that African champions continue to rise in a sustainable manner.

According to him, such partnership must be between government, private firms and businesses association and this is something we must pay a great deal of attention to.

He restated that the government was committed to ensuring macro economic

stability in an inclusive economy with a diversified production base.

Osinbajo said: “We also realised that a conducive and supportive environment is essential for business to thrive and we have accordingly invested heavily in infrastructure while working strenously to make it easier to do business in Nigeria.

“We also realised the importance of sustainable future and we become the first African country to float the green bond to promote the environmental objective of our economic recovery and growth plan (ERGP).”

He said that government must ensure that its rising population was protected, housed without further depleting or damaging resources.

The vice president noted that African companies essentially those listed on the exchanges and those that make up the

association must also be champions on the rise.

He said companies must innovate and take advantage of the unique features of the African economy.

“It is evident that ASEA has a key role in our quest for economic growth and development.This is not only because of the vital role that capital markets play in our domestic economy but because the association reflects the right place of collaboration and partnership required of Africa countries and economic institution to bring about a more vibrant and mere dynamic continental economy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has tasked ASEA to develop a strong and vibrant domestic investors base.

Speaking through the acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, the minister said low domestic investors base was limiting African capital markets.

According to her, the capital market size of African capital markets is yet very low thereby limiting market potential, stressing that ASEA must promote world-class capital market characterised by high level of liquidity.

Stop Granting Reckless Remand Orders to Police, CJN Warns Judges Alex Enumah in Abuja The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, yesterday warned judges in the country to refrain from issuing what he described as “reckless” remand orders to the police.

Onnoghen specifically charged judges not to issue remand orders in cases where police lack concrete evidence to sustain its criminal allegations against the defendant(s) or where the court does not have the requisite jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

The CJN gave the warning while declaring open the 2018 All Nigerian Judges’ Conference of the Lower Courts at the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Abuja.

The CJN charged judicial officers, especially magistrates to regularly embark on visits to police stations and other remand homes to curtail the issue of illegal detention by police, while lamenting the deplorable conditions of prisons in the country.

“I must emphasise at this forum, the need for heads of courts, in synergy with the various attorneys-general of the states, to pay frequent visits to prison facilities within their jurisdictions in a bid to assess the situation on a first hand basis.

“In addition, reckless remand orders must not be issued by your courts where it appears that the police

lack evidence to prosecute a criminal matter or your courts do not possess the requisite jurisdiction to entertain such matter,” he said.

Speaking on the independence of the judiciary, Onnoghen, who remarked that the judiciary enjoy financial autonomy only at the federal level, stressed that funding of the judiciary is crucial as it is the most important index for assessing its independence.

“It is clear that the litmus test to determine how free and democratic any nation is would be to take a cursory look at its judiciary to find out if the executive is prepared to obey the principle of separation of powers.

“The judiciary is a vital partner in governance. The complete and real independence of the judiciary is thus a reflection of the nation and of freedom,” he said.

Onnoghen however maintained that the independence of the judiciary can only be sustained and guaranteed when there is no interference by the other arms of government in the discharge of its constitutional duties.

The Administrator of the NJI, Justice Rosalyne Bozimo, in her welcome address, described the conference as a stock taking event for judges of the lower courts from all over the country to converge and reflect upon the activities of the judiciary and to cross-fertilise ideas on the way forward.

ROYAL BLESSING...

L-R: Former Minister of State for Defence, Mr. Musiliu Obanikoro; All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu; Oba of Lagos, Oba. Rilwan Babatude Akiolu; and former Minister of Defence, Chief Ademola Seriki, during a courtesy visit by Sanwo-Olu to the Oba of Lagos, at his Iduganran Palace, Lagos...yesterday KOLA OLASUPO

NIGERIA LOSES $6BN IN MALABU OIL DEAL, SAYS REPORT It is understandable why Eni and Shell wanted to acquire the rights to develop OPL 245, because it is estimated to contain nine billion barrels of oil.

But the process of how they secured the contract is dogged by claims of corruption.

The court in Milan is weighing evidence of how Etete, awarded ownership of OPL 245 to Malabu, a company he secretly controlled.

He is accused of paying bribes to others in the government to ensure that process went smoothly.

Shell and Eni are accused of knowing the $1.1bn they paid to Nigeria would be used for bribes, claims based on the content of emails which have since emerged.

“Looking at the emails it seems that Shell knew that the

deal they were constructing was misleading but they went ahead with it anyway even though a number of Nigerian officials raised concerns about this scandalous, scandalous deal,” Ava Lee of Global Witness, said.

The Anglo-Dutch and Italian energy giants insist they have done nothing wrong, because they paid the money to secure the exploration rights directly to the Nigerian government.

Shell issued a statement to BBC World Business Report saying: “Since this matter is before the Tribunal of Milan it would not be appropriate for us to comment in detail. Issues that are under consideration as part of a trial process should be adjudicated in court and we do not wish to interfere with this process.

“We maintain that the

settlement was a fully legal transaction and we believe the trial judges in Italy will conclude that there is no case against Shell or its former employees.”

Eni has also denied any wrongdoing and told the BBC that it questions the competence of the experts commissioned by Global Witness and its “partners”, as well as raising the possibility that the report by the campaign group is defamatory.

The Italian oil and gas company said “as this matter is currently before the Tribunal of Milan, we are unable to comment in detail”.

In a statement it noted: “Global Witness together with its partners Corner House, HEDA Resource Centre and Re: Common had requested twice to be admitted as

aggrieved parties in the Milan proceedings. On both occasions, the request was firmly denied by the Tribunal of Milan.”

Eni also said it “continues to reject any allegation of impropriety or irregularity in connection with this transaction”.

Nigeria’s leader is being encouraged to intervene by Olanrewaju Suraju, from HEDA. “President Buhari should reject any deal,” he said.

The outcome of the unprecedented court case in Milan could force the oil industry to change how it conducts its business, especially in countries where corruption is rife, because more transparency about contracts and payments made would discourage fraud.

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2018

POLITICS

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

TRENDING NEWS

Of Meddlesome Policemen, Recalcitrant Legislators Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Ojo Maduekwe write that the recent infraction at the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has again raised questions on the impartiality of the Nigeria Police

IGP Idris

Luke

A

ccusing fingers have been pointed at the Nigeria Police for the recent invasion of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly (AKHA) by thugs said to be members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

The Police has been accused of bias and being selective in its enforcement of the law.

The November 19 invasion of the assembly, was allegedly backed by some police officials, and endorsed by the state and national leadership of the APC. Sources said the thugs are members of the youth wing of the state APC. Several accounts of the incident as gathered

by THISDAY investigation support the claim that the invasion was sponsored, with the aim of creating an impression that Governor Udom Emmanuel, and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) party were unpopular and not in charge.

The story began with some erstwhile members of the house defecting to the APC. In a bid to preempt the house leadership and the rest of their colleagues in the PDP, one of them, Idongesit Ituen, who surprisingly was the last of five of the members to defect, went to court to stop the house from declaring his seat vacant but instead the court ruled otherwise.

Few days before the day of the invasion, the Clerk of the House had sent out a notification of the event for the day to all the members, including the five defectors. Suspecting that the house was going to comply with the court order and declare his seat vacant, Ituen was said to have organised thugs from the state APC to

prevent his colleagues from sitting.

The thugs tried to break into the assembly complex but were prevented by security officials at the assembly gate. Undeterred, some in company of Ituen made their way into the complex.

Inside, they tried to force their way into the floor of the House where the majority lawmakers from the PDP were deliberating. Ituen himself was alleged to have damaged the glass door before they were successfully repelled by security officials manning the floor of the house.

The national chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, has tried to paint a different picture of what happened by playing the victim. According to him, members of his party were being intimidated in PDP-controlled states-an accusation that critics have laughed away as absurd.

Oshiomhole accused the PDP of “misusing the police” to undermine APC members democratic rights, citing the Akwa Ibom invasion as example, and claiming that then Commissioner of Police, Bassey Abang, colluded with the state governor to force APC members out of the state assembly.

Sources in the state said Oshiomhole was distorting facts. According to them, it was the APC members that were “misusing” the police, not the PDP. They said the house was only executing the court order that declared Ituen’s seat vacant, and that the only crime committed by the former Police Commissioner, Mr. Abang, whose redeployment was instigated by the APC, was because he did not allow APC thugs take over the assembly.

For a national chairman that purports to operate within “law and order”, his critics are

of the opinion that rather than play the victim by falsely accusing Mr. Abang of bias, he should ask his party members, such as Ituen, to seek redress from the same court that he first ran to.

Critics believe that Oshiomhole’s attempt to portray members of his party as the victim in the Akwa Ibom invasion falls flat in the face of a similar incident experienced by the legislative arm in Benue state.

The Police had sealed the Benue state House of Assembly complex in the state capital of Makurdi and provided protection for 8 out of a 30-member Assembly to sit and serve an impeachment notice to Governor Samuel Ortom.

In the recent Akwa Ibom invasion, after the house had sat, the five erstwhile members invaded the house to illegally convene and elect one of them as the new speaker, an action which neither the state nor national leadership of the APC has refused to condemn.

There are allegations that the APC wants to instigate violence in Akwa Ibom to pave the way for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the 2019 governorship, state and national assembly elections, so as to give the PDP the “Ekiti and Osun treatment”.

Proponents of this allegation say that in a situation where the APC in Akwa Ibom succeeds in instigating crisis in the state, and INEC - based on a “security report” to be provided by a partisan police - decides to postpone all elections in the state for a later date, the plan would be to flood in the police to intimidate voters and ensure victory for the APC. Speaking with THISDAY, Speaker of the state

House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke said the APC knows that they’re unpopular in the state and have nothing to campaign on, and so that was why they were resorting to violence. “I have said it before, if they think they’re popular, they should go to the people of Akwa Ibom and campaign for their votes.”

On the defection by Ituen and his APC cotravellers, Luke told THISDAY that the house was only obeying court order. “For a long time we were not bothered about their defection.

They were the ones that went to court and then the court gave judgment against one of them.

We issued a statement from the house that we were going to abide by that judgment.”

Observers of the politics of Akwa Ibom said the crisis that erupted last week in the state House of Assembly can be linked back to the immediate past governor of the state, now Senator Godswill Akpabio.

It is alleged that Akpabio that one of the conditions given to him by the party was that he must deliver Akwa Ibom to the APC. Because the pressure on him to deliver is much, Akpabio is said to be pulling every stunt to ensure he doesn’t disappoint.

Although some police officials stationed at the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly upheld the law during the invasion of the complex by the alleged APC thugs, developments that have followed, such as the quick removal of Mr. Abang suggests that in the weeks leading to the 2019 elections, the APC would try to corrupt the police in the state to do its bidding.

‘They Lost Their Seats by Operation of Law’ Rt.Hon Ime Okon, Chairman House Committee on Information, AKHA speaks on the circumstance that led to the recent declaration of some seats in the assembly as vacant What was the composition of the AKHA (along partisan lines) as at Monday, November 19?

As at 19th November before plenary PDP had 21members while APC had 4 since one of them the member for Itu then had earlier lost his seat on 14/11 through judgment of the Federal High Court, Uyo. But at the end of plenary on the 29th the 4 seats of those who had earlier defected were declared vacant leaving PDP with 21seats and APC 0.

Give us a background to the recent declaration of constituencies seat vacant in the AKHA Five members who won election to the AKHA on the platform of PDP defected to APC at different

times between September and November. All of them severally to out action in the Federal High Court to restrain the Speaker from declaring their seats vacant. On 14/11 the FHC Uyo delivered judgment against one of them Idongesit Ituen who represented Itu State Constituency ordering the Speaker to declare his seat vacant. The Speaker was served with the court order and he accordingly executed the order of court on the 15th by directing the Clerk to issue a notice of compliance to all relevant quarters including the DPO of the Assembly. On the 19th at plenary the Speaker formally announced that he had executed the court order as it had to do with Idongesit Ituen.

Thereafter the house invoked Sections 109(1)g and 109(2) to declare the other four seats vacant.

Is this the first instance of declaring a seat vacant in the AKHA? How were similar situations managed in the past?

During the 4th Assembly 5 seats were also declared vacant by the then Speaker Rt Hon Sam Ikon and heavens did not fall. Those who were affected took the decision in good faith.

When will the life of the current AKHA terminate?

The 6th assembly terminates on 8th June.

How practicable is it for the INEC to conduct elections to fill those seats, given the short period remaining on the legislative calendar?

It is for INEC to answer if they can conduct by elections within the remaining six months.

Are you exploring other options for peace and understanding with these colleagues?

Our former colleagues are still our friends. They lost their seats by operation of law. We are still relating with them.

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to explain.

Please do not hesitate to reach me to further clarify any grey areas.

Kindly note that two of those whose seats were declared vacant, Hon. Nse Ntuen and Rt. Hon Gabriel Toby actually defected to APC on 8th August 2018 more than three months before their seats were declared vacant.

19

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2018

NEWS

Social Change Actor, Abdulahi-Iya, is ANN’s Presidential Running Mate Raheem Akingbolu As part of his strategic plans to strike balance among various interests in the Nigerian political space, the presidential candidate of the Alliance for New Nigeria(ANN), Fela Durotoye, has announced a prominent female ‘social change actor’ and lawyer, from northern Nigeria, Khadijah Abdullahi-Iya, as his running mate.

At the unveiling of the vice presidential candidate in Lagos, Durotoye said the party arrived at the choice of Abdulahi Iya, after due consultations within and outside the party to identify an ideal vice-presidential material that would share the dream of ANN. “Those who believe in us and what we can make out of Nigeria if elected president, have continued to mount pressure on us to name our running mate.

We took our time because we wanted the best. We were out there consulting stakeholders on who can join us to drive the process and the exercise paid off as many quality people whose paths had crossed that of Hajia Khadijah Abdullahi-Iya, unanimously recommended her.

“We did a background check and what we saw overwhelmed us. She is an award winning

South-west Women Declare Support for Root Olawepo-Hashim Nseobong Okon-Ekong

innovator, a serial social entrepreneur, publisher, mentor and author. Perhaps because she too had tried unsuccessfully to impress on Nigerian leaders to build a country that all we be delighted to identify with, convincing Hajia Khadijah was tough. At the end, she willingly accepted, having studied ANN manifestoes, discussed with people of like minds within the ANN family and discovered that it is a platform that could bring about the difference she has been clamouring for,” Durotoye said.

Beside her intellectual attribute and strong qualification, Durotoye said his choice of running mate has also confirmed the party’s stand to run a government that would give each and everyone, regardless of geo-political zone, religious affiliation and gender, equal opportunities.

“Here we are with a strong character, a female vicepresidential candidate a lawyer, a Muslim and a northerner. It is our determination to strike a balance among all interests. With a personality like Hajia AbdullahiIya and other men and women of repute within the ANN fold, we can be sure of a virile team that will rescue Nigeria from the clutches of rulers, whose mission is to run the tap dries and leave Nigerians to wallow in poverty.

Women groups from South-west Nigeria have expressed their preparedness to work for the success of the presidential candidate of the People’s Trust (PT), Mr.Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim in the 2019 presidential election.

Meeting in Akure on the platform of ‘Women for Hashim’, chairperson for the group in Ondo State, Mrs. Folayan Adeyemi Choice, said the PT presidential candidate has won their hearts and they would work collectively to ensure that he succeeds Buhari in 2019.

The group described Olawepo-Hashim as their only hope for president in 2019 is Hashim as they could no longer rely on deceit and lies by recycled leaders.

The women leaders who

took turns to make various remarks at the event, specifically described the presidential contenders of the two major political parties in Nigeria as Siamese twins who have nothing new to offer the Nigerian women.

“We want a break, change is inevitable. We have been neglected over the past decades.

We are women for Gbenga Olawepo Hashim in 2019,” they said.

Olawepo-Hashim unveiled a very special programme for the Nigerian women on how to curb the devastating effect of cervical cancer.

He said his presidency will sponsor vaccine for all girls from nine years-old to young women of age 25.

According to him, when these vaccines reach women in that

category, there are very remote chances that they would ever have cancer.

“So we can vaccinate against cancer and that is what I’m going to do for all Nigerian girls and young women. They will have the vaccines against cervical cancer when I’m elected president in 2019. I will do it within 6 months if elected as president. This is a major programme for women that will protect them in the future against cancer. Tell the people of Ondo state that they have a candidate who has done business for 25 years, creating jobs all over the world and in Nigeria, not a parasite that has always relied on government.

I will create jobs for your children I will create 4 million jobs every year by removing the obstacles to investment in

Nigeria because it is only the private sector that can create jobs, not government civil service jobs.”

“Manufacturing and services jobs, these are the kind of jobs we are creating. If we remove the obstacles to investment in Nigeria which some people have put there, investment will flow and jobs will be created.”

He reiterated that there would be a N50,000 minimum wage at the first anniversary of his government.

“They lack creativity, that is why they think N50,000 is too much . The 125 minimum wage in 1983 is the equivalent of N50,000 today. N50,000 minimum wage will our first anniversary gift to workers.

Even that is not satisfactory, as we would only be giving what was given in 1983.”

ANRP Faults Buhari’s ‘Next Level’ Udora Orizu in Abuja The National Chairman and Presidential Candidate of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Tope Fasua has said that the campaign manual unveiled

by President Muhammadu Buhari for his 2019 re-election bid contains nothing worth building on.

Fasua, who featured on Arise TV programme, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, said, “I don’t think there’s anything the Next Level is bringing that I have not thought of, what’s there to build on. I don’t see any radical departure from what they have been doing apart from the normal promises. For the past four years they have been getting it wrong. What Next Level is that? As part of my advocacy, I note that Minister of Budget Planning also sent out a memo that they will not accommodate unnecessary and lavish purchase of SUVs in next year’s budget.”

Regarding the document by the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, he said Atiku’s policies tried to depart from the usual but in the wrong direction.

“Atiku’s document is talking about everything privatization, entrepreneurship and all of that and those are not the way forward. From what I saw, it is actually pandering towards what he believes people want to hear.”

Speaking further, Fasua stressed that there’s no government or public service in Nigeria.

“We have no government and public service in Nigeria.

Our public service is actually quite small. We have three per cent of our work force in the public service. We actually have no idea what the public service

can do. The other day someone shared something about United Kingdom, in London alone they have 14 teaching hospitals and in Lagos they have two teaching hospitals, London has a population of nine million, Lagos has a population of anything between 20 and 21 million. The person was complaining about the medical services in Nigeria being over stressed but what I saw is our refusal to invest in our own public service. The President will go and treat himself in the same London, the money he spent should have been used to build hospitals here to equip them or to pay their staff better.”

Explaining how to deal with the new tax system, he noted that reducing company income tax is possible.

“We can give a lot of rebates in some very key sectors, for example, the textile sector which I see that this government is now trying to do. I wonder why we waited this long to reposition our textile sector. How can we have 190 million people who can’t even cloth themselves, hardly feed or house ourselves?

There has been no provision for housing for people in the rural areas of this country since 1960 as if they are not part of this country.”

He advised on the need for sanctions so that things can be done the right way to triple tax collection. “If you ensure that you can’t run a company account in this country, guess what? The onus is on the bank and I trust that if you move that onus and the bank ensures that the right thing is done especially if they know that you are going to sanction them for not doing the right thing, we can triple tax in this country.”

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

L R: Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, at the dedication of Glory Dome, Dunamis International Gospel Centre in Abuja

CUPP Raises Alarm on Rise in Boko Haram Attacks Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has raised an alarm on the increase in attacks by elements of the Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) on military facilities in the Northeast, describing it as a national embarrassment.

The organisation’s National Spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere, said that the opposition parties received with shock the news of the attack on a Nigerian military base in Meitele, Borno State by Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters and the killing over 100 soldiers.

According to him, “It is most heart rending to realize that this

attack happened same week some of our nation’s military service chiefs were frolicking at the APC political party campaign function in the Presidential Villa.”

Ugochinyere expressed shock at the ‘dishonourable silence’ of the federal government on the attacks which only became prominent on the social media after the terrorist group released very gory videos of some of these attacks.

He stated, “For President Buhari to only summon service chiefs for a briefing five days after such a calamity clearly shows the slow response time of this administration to national emergencies and lack of capacity to meet up with the fast pace of developments which affect

the lives of citizens.

“We hereby call on President Buhari to salvage the last vestiges of honour left to his regime by immediately sacking the service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police, Chairman of EFCC and Comptroller General of Customs who have at one time or the other found playing politics with their offices instead of doing their jobs with every sense of neutrality.

“This action will both raise the morale of our troops in the fronts that there are consequences for Commanders who fail them and also give Nigerians and the international community the confidence that heads of security agencies will be neutral during the fast approaching general elections where the President

and his party are headed for defeat.”

“The heads of security agencies in Nigeria are now more interested in obtaining intelligence on the meetings of opposition leaders than on the activities of the Boko Haram.

“The Police and State Security Services are now more interested in hounding and intimidating opposition leaders and activists than they are in identifying and neutralizing the activities of the terrorist group.

“This is a national disgrace especially with the loud mouthing of an outgoing regime which had claimed the group was degraded and technically defeated after alleged misappropriation of billions of dollars.”

APGA Flags Off Presidential Campaign, December 6 Onyebuchi Ezigbo The All Progressives Congress (APGA) has said that it will commence its presidential campaigns on December 6 in Awaka, Anambra State.

The decision to flag off its campaign for the 2019 presidential election was reached at strategy meeting between the Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano and members of

the campaign committee of the party at the Government House in Awka at the weekend.

The National Chairman of APGA, Victor Oye confirmed to THISDAY. Oye who replied THISDAY’s enquiry through a text message said the party has consulted with stakeholders nationwide.

A source told THISDAY that the national leadership of APGA will use the occasion to formally

unveil the manifesto of the party to Nigerians.

The party will be seeking to extend its presence from Anambra to other parts of the country.

The source said that the party was hoping to consolidate on its landslide victory in the last governorship election in Anambra state by working for an impressive outing at the presidential poll as well

as governorship and legislative elections in 2019.

For the first time since the demise of its leader, late Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, APGA elected a presidential candidate, Major General John W.T Gbor (rtd) for the 2019 general elections.

Gbor hails from Benue state while his running mate Chief Chukuweke hails from Imo state.

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L-R; President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki with former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, exVice President and Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, during the founder’s day celebration at the American University of Nigeria, in Adamawa...recently

R-L: Former Chairman, All Progressive Party, Chief Bisi Akande been awarded honorary doctorate degree of letters; Pro-Chancellor/Chairman Osun State University Governing Council, Mallam Yusuf Ali; Chancellor, Dr Mrs. Folorunso Alakija and Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, during the 7th Convocation Ceremonies at Osun State University Auditorium, Osogbo...recently

L-R: One of the Resource persons, Professor Dayo Ayoade of Unilag; Former United Nations Prosecutor/ Training Coordinator, Mr. Segun Jegede; another Resource person/ Fellow National Institute of Quality Surveyor, Mr. Ifeanyi Anago and a participant, Mr. Abdullahi Zakari at a capacity building workshop for Lawyers, Engineers and Procurement oďŹƒcers in the Federal Ministry of Water Resorces in Lagos....recently PHOTO: KOLAWOLE ALLI

L-R: Marketing Manager, Hero Larger, Obumneke Okoli, Marketing Director, International Breweries Plc, Tolu Adedeji, National Sales Director, International Breweries, Godwin Oche, and Consumer Connections Manager, West Africa, International Breweries Plc, Olajumoke Okikiolu at the fourth edition of Hero Fiesta, which featured a number of popular Nigerian artists, in Onitsha...recently

Newly weds, former Miss Doyin Odutola and Modupe Johnson (middle) with Rivers State APC Chieftain, Prince Tonye Princewill and his wife, Rosemary during the couple’s wedding reception in Lagos...recently

Former Governor of Oyo State Otunba Adebayo Alao Akala[left] and Guest Lecturer Prof. Tunji Olaopa at the 10th inaugural lecture of the Lead City University, in Ibadan...recently PHOTO: FELIX ADEMOLA

L-R: Sector Commander, Federal Road Safty Corp (FRSC), Benin, Anthony Oko; Packaging Manager, Guinness Nigeria, Everest Oghonim; Zonal Commander, FRSC, Kehinde Adeleye;and Sustainable Development / Alcohol in Society Manager,Guinness Nigeria, Titilola Alabi,during the ag o of the 2018 Don’t Drink & Drive Initiative of Guinness/donation of two digital breathalyzers to the Corp in Benin, Edo State...recently

L-R: Senior Marketing Manager, GOtv; Chidozie Bede-Nwokoye; Executive Head, Sales; Akinola Salu; Executive Head, Content; Busola Tejumola; Chief Customer OďŹƒcer, Martin Mabutho; Public Relations Manager; Jennifer Ukoh, and Senior Marketing Manager, DStv, Tope Oshunkeye, all of Multichoice Nigeria, during a media launch to announce the 2018 MultiChoice festive campaign tagged ‘Festive Together’, in Lagos‌recently PHOTO: KOLA OLASUPO

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T H I S D AY Ëž Í°Íľ, 2018

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N O V E M B E R S & P INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY MONTH-TO-DATE

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Quick Takes Amaechi, Others for Infrastructure Awards

LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

L-R: Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah; Founder, Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), Mrs. Amina Oyagbola; former President of Liberia, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and, Honorary Consul General of Liberia in Nigeria, Mrs. Opral Benson, at the 2018 WISCAR Annual Leadership and Mentoring Conference held in Lagos ...recently

NigeriaRequires$3.5bnInvestment to End Gas Flaring By 2020 Stories By Chineme Okafor in Abuja Nigeria would need at least $3.5 billion investments to activate the new market-based initiative it had set up to end the practice of gas flaring at oil fields in the Niger Delta by 2020, the Programme Manager of the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), Mr. Justice Derefaka, has disclosed.

Speaking at the 36th edition of the annual conference and exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) held in Lagos recently, Derefaka, explained that the $3.5

ENERGY billion to be sought by Nigeria would be brought in by investors willing to participate in the NGFCP, which according to him, has immense benefits.

Derefaka, stated the $3.5 billion investment would give annual returns of $1 billion. “The NGFCP economic analysis also shows that with the US3.5 billion inward investments pumped in to implement the NGFCP, huge social and economic benefits would accrue to host communities in the Niger Delta, investors and the national

economy as a whole. “Benefits would include curbing pollution, climate change, global warming impacts in local communities and providing households with clean energy, particularly in unlocking LPG (cooking gas i.e. produce 600,000 MT of LPG per year),� said Derefaka.

He further explained: “In summary, this paper pinpoints the programme could trigger up to 85 projects and generate approximately 300,000 direct and indirect jobs in total. “The potential annual revenue generation, GDP impact to the federation account is estimated

at U$1 billion per annum.�

According to him, the flared gas to be monetised in the NGFCP would be harnessed from top 50 flaring points across the Niger Delta, thus reducing the volume of flared gas by 80 per cent.

He also explained that the NGFCP would reduce Nigeria’s carbon emissions by approximately 13 million tons per year, which could also be monetised under an emission credits or carbon sale programme.

Additionally, Derefaka stated that the international developContinued on page 24

REA to Connect 250 Rural Communities to Solar Power About 250 rural communities across Nigeria would soon be connected to stable electricity generated from solar based facilities, the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has disclosed.

The REA which revealed this in a note sent to THISDAY, noted that this would be undertaken under its new initiative - the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).

It explained 250 rural communities across Nigeria had been penciled down to benefit from this.

According to the agency, electricity from the solar mini girds would be safe, affordable and constant for homes, businesses, schools, places of worship and health centers of these communities.

It added that it was work-

ENERGY ing with private companies to achieve this.

Within the first phase of the NEP, the REA said 67 communities in the Niger – 13 communities; Cross River – 18 communities; Sokoto – 23 communities; and Ogun – 13 communities would benefit from the project, while others would come afterwards.

On how beneficiary communities were selected, it stated that suitable mini grid sites were selected based on data collected through remote geo-spatial studies, and that selection was made by developing a deep understanding of available data.

From the remote data collected, REA explained that

a comprehensive community survey and energy audit was carried out to determine the grid connection statuses of the communities; population density; distance to the nearest grid infrastructure; potential of economic activities in relatively high population areas and presence of farming activities and food processing; climatic conditions relating to ambient temperature and level of solar irradiation; and ability and willingness to pay.

It added that by the end of the data collection, off grid communities with high population density and presence of commercial activities as well as their ability and willingness to pay were selected.

According to the agency, private companies would be selected through a competitive

tender process to install the solar mini grids.

It stated that these companies have to be legal entities with the capacity to enter into a contract under the laws of Nigeria.

They must also be eligible to participate in the competitive tender, it added, noting that project developers will be assessed based on their experience and skill, financial capability, Integrity and reputation as well as legal compliance.

The REA noted that the NEP would be funded by the World Bank, with private developers building, operating, and maintaining the solar mini grid in the communities, while the agency would act as the implementing agency of the NEP. Continued on page 24

The Minister of Transport and Aviation, Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Works, Power and Housing Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Senator Olabiyi Durojaye, Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission and Chief John Edozien, former Permanent Secretary in the federal Ministry of Planning and former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange commission (SEC) are among top functionaries and corporateinstitutionsthathavelineduptoheadlinethisyear’sNigerian Infrastructure Development Awards (NIDA).

The event is scheduled to hold in Lagos next Thursday.

In a statement released last night, NIDA Organising Committee Chairman, Mr. Lanre Alabi, said that Mr Babatunde Fashola would be the guest speaker and would speak on the theme, “Solid Infrastructural BackboneAscatalystforNationalDevelopment:TheRoleofthePower, WorksandHousingMinistry.� Alabi,alsodisclosedthatChairmanofthe NigerianCommunicationsCommission(NCC),SenatorOlabiyiDurojaye, wouldchairtheevent.GovernorWillieObianoandGovernorAkinwunmi Ambode are among the governors that would be honoured for their outstandingperformancesattheevent,accordingtoastatementfrom the organisers. Also to be honoured are outstanding institutions that have contributed immensely to the development of infrastructure in Nigeria.The event with the theme: “Solid Infrastructural Backbone - A Catalyst for National and Sustainable Development,� is part of a broad programme to X-ray topical infrastructure issues facing the nation and boost the growth and development of infrastructure in Nigeria.

CIBN Holds Annual Bankers’ Dinner

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria will hold its 53rd Annual Bankers Dinner in Lagos this Friday.

The Annual Bankers’ Dinner is a thought-led socio-economic event of the ndustry in which the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin EmeďŹ ele, CON, FCIB, as the Special Guest of Honour, will deliver a keynote address cum assessment of the current year realities as well as provide economic insight into the monetary policy and regulatory direction of the coming year.

The Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, as well as other state governors, are expected to be the special guests of Honour and would deliver goodwill messages at the forum. The Country Vice President/National President, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Mrs. Inime Ifenyinwa Aguma, is expected to propose the toast of the institute, while Ambassador Zhou Pingjian of the Embassy of People’s Republic of China would propose the toast of Federal Republic of Nigeria. “Being the biggest high proďŹ le social forum annually organised by the institute for the banking sector, eminent personalities including captains of industry, diplomats, top government functionaries, legislators, accomplished businessmen and other stakeholders are usually gathered to interact and network under a convivial social setting.

Firm Seeks Investment in Beauty Sector

Organisers of the 2018 edition of the annual beauty West Africa exhibition and conference, Compass Global, has called on the federal government, local and foreign investors to increase investments in Nigeria’s beauty sector.The Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Compass Global, Mrs. Tokunbo Chiedu, also stressed the need for more investment into the nation’s education sector via technical colleges/ government approved beauty institutes, including the introduction of bursaries for those interested in a career path in the beauty sector.

Chiedu in a statement on the beauty fair that took place between 21st–23rdofNovember,2018,inLagos,alsonotedthatlackofadequate investment into Research and Development (R&D) to support the manufacturingofbeautyproducts,valueadditiontonaturalingredients, compliance with global standards, expertise, and technical knowledge with regards to manufacturing products were some of the challenges hindering the growth of the beauty sector.

Shesaidasaninternationalplatformforbusinesstobusinessengagements and export promotion, the event hosted over 100 companies from across the world, and local brands; including the showcasing of Proudly Nigerian brands. According to her, during the event, pertinent issues around sector growth, export, education, training, including the processing, and manufacturing of beauty products were highlighted.

“Nigeria’s under-performance is attributable largely to the many economic and political structural fault lines that limits its ability to sustain growth, create jobs and achieve real poverty reduction�

PDP, Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar

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NEWS

NIGERIA REQUIRES $3.5BN INVESTMENT TO END GAS FLARING BY 2020

FG Pledges Support for Ceramics Industry

ment partners to the NGFCP have scrutinised the initiative and subsequently proclaimed its design as detailed.

This, according to him, was an affirmation that it is an innovative, robust and scalable approach to gas flare reduction which could be replicated in many other gas flaring countries around the World. “Overall, the NGFCP has been designed as the contribution of the petroleum sector to Nigeria’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) under the Paris Agreement and it is the first market driven program undertaken on this scale globally, making it a high-impact program,� he added.

Speaking on the transactional and commercial contractual structures of the NGFCP, Derefaka, stated that there would be a Milestone Development Agreement (MDA) between Flare Gas Buyer (FGB) and the federal government with the FGB undertaking to implement its project according to a set of milestones.

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

REA TO CONNECT 250 RURAL COMMUNITIES TO SOLAR POWER

On the expected impacts of the NEP, the REA stated that communities would experience improved livelihood with clean, safe and affordable energy that is off grid and do not have to be subjected to the challenges of Nigeria’s on grid electricity. “It is intended the communities will be the beneficiaries of the Nigeria Electrification Project and will host the developers that will invest in min -grids. The local government will support the process of facilitation with the state government to deliver on the practicalities to establish the enabling environment.

Communities must adopt a level of partnership for the NEP to succeed,� the REA said with regards to communities’ cooperation for the project.

It also said: “The support of the state government is a priority towards community engagement and the ultimate development of the communities.

The federal government has assured operators in the ceramics industry of its continuous support to lift the sector.

The government, through the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Alhaji Abubakar Bawa Bwari, gave the assurance at the unveiling of Royal Marble, a product of Royal Engineered Stones Limited.

The event held recently in Abuja.The minister congratulated the West Africa Ceramics company for using such a unique technology, which he considered among the best in the world, promising that the government would support all efforts at adding value to whatever is mined or harvested in the country.

He commended the determination of West Africa Ceramics for continuing to operate in the face of adverse economic conditions and their support towards the economic diversification efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

According to him, “The fact is that if this country must realise its dream of economic diversification, the ceramics sub-sector has a crucial role to play since the main raw material, clay, is found in every nook and cranny of the country.

construction industry was growing globally and rapidly because of urbanisation projects in emerging countries and he believed that Royal Marble was set to take over the West Africa market.

According to him, the success of the company would further encourage government to consider creating ceramic clusters in different parts of the country.

This, he said would promote economic growth and to also encourage patronage from users through a local content policy.He expressed hope that the success of the Royal Marble product would inspire further

investments in the sector.

He however condemned the continued importation of ceramic wares in the country which he said had resulted in loss of massive foreign exchange.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Chairman, Royal Engineered Stones Limited, Alhaji Lawal Idirisu, said in more than three decades since he made debut in ceramic tile and sanitary ware production, the Royal brand has become a phenomenon in the lives of all stakeholders in the built environment.

He attributed the success of the launch of the Royal

Engineered Stones Limited and consequently the new product line- Royal Marble themed ‘Harnessing Engineered Marble for Value Creation in the Built Environment’ to the immeasurably supports received from Nigerians.

Idirisu said Royal Engineered Stones Limited is a wholly indigenous brand manufactured in Nigeria, by Nigerians and for Nigerians, bearing in mind the peculiarity of Nigerians as regards appreciation for aesthetics and sophisticated finishing.

He stated: “At industry level, we have consistency tried to set and defined standard, because

our mission is to make Royal a portfolio of building aesthetic in the art of finishing in style and to make it a top priority and top of mind in the finishing stage of any building project.�

In his remark, the President of the Nigeria Institute of Building, Kenneth Nduka, described the launch as another milestone in the economy, saying it would help to produce world class building materials that would market the potential of the Nigerian economy and serves as an added impetus for the implementation of the federal government Local Content policy.

“I believed that the rebirth of the ceramics industry is key to attaining economic opportunities and employment for Nigeria teeming youth. “I extolled the West African ceramics for proving that, despite the tough times, the policy of backward integration L-R: General Manager, Next Cash & Carry, Port Harcourt, Mr. Neil Papae; Winner of Pepsi ‘Pack Up & Drive,’ Mr. Ugwu Martins Onuoha and in the Mineral sector is feasible.â€? Accounts Manager, Seven-Up Bottling Company Limited, Aba, Mr. Emeka Udeh, at the presentation of grand prize (Kia Rio car) in Port Bwari, revealed that the Harcourt‌ recently

REWARDING CUSTOMER LOYALTY

Court Strikes Out Case Seeking Proscription of TCN Workers’ Union Chineme Okafor in Abuja A lawsuit filed by the national leadership of the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) at the National Industrial Court (NIC) Abuja Judicial Division, seeking to proscribe its affiliate branch in the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), has been struck out by the court, THISDAY has learnt.

Court documents obtained recently in Abuja showed that Justice Benedict Bakwaph Kanyip, in a ruling delivered on November 14 on the case with file no: NICN/Abj/215/2018, stated that the unions had prematurely approached the

court to settle their grievances, considering that they had not exhausted provisions in the Trade Dispute Act (TDA) 2004 on same issues.

The ruling was likely going to give the TCN branch of the union more leverage to pursue its request from the national body to account for a N500 million superannuation fund of the union they reportedly mismanaged. The national leadership of SSAEAC had been at loggerheads with its TCN branch over sundry claims of anti-union activities, and disbanded its branch executives which the TCN executives protested on grounds that it did not follow the content of the union’s constitution. The

national leadership subsequently followed up its action with its request from the industrial court to proscribe the branch executives. But delivering judgment on the case, Kanyip said: “The first ground of objection is that the claimants are prematurely before this court, having declared a trade dispute on issues that are same with those canvassed in this case.�

He further explained: “I read carefully the letter declaring the trade dispute written by the 2nd claimant and attached as Exhibit A (MM11), to the affidavit in support of the preliminary objection. I am satisfied that the issues canvassed these in are same with the issues presently

before this court in the instant suit.�

According to Kanyip: “This means that the processes of Part I of the TDA 2004 must be complied with before recourse to this court in its appellate jurisdiction. Support for this can be found not just in the provisions of Part 1 of the TDA 2004 but also section 7(3) of the NIC Act 2006 and the proviso to section 254C(3) of the 1999 Constitution. “As it is, therefore, the claimants are prematurely before this court in this matter. Having declared a trade dispute, they must exhaust the processes of Part I of the TDA 2004 before they can come to this court. I

so find and hold. “That being so, this case is liable to be struck out. It is accordingly struck out. I make no order as to cost. Ruling is entered accordingly.�

Meanwhile, the TCN said it has restored bulk electricity supply to its Funtua transmission substation after a fire incident which reportedly emanated from a faulty 33kV armored cable from Kaduna distribution company (KEDCO) 33kV feeder burnt along the cable into adjoining TCN substation, gutting and damaging TCN’s protection and control panel of 7.5 megavolt amp (MVA) 132/33kV transformer in the substation.

Obinna Chima

Group Business Editor

Group Seeks Adoption of Distributed Renewable Energy

Capital Market Editor

Chineme Okafor in Abuja

Goddy Egene

AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Jonathan Eze

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Linda Eroke (Labour) Eromosele Abiodun (Cap Mkt) Ejiofor Alike (Energy) James Emejo (Nation’s Capital) Chineme Okafor (Energy) Ebere Nworji (Insurance) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (e-Business

Power for All, a global advocacy campaign for distributed renewable energy (DRE) has concluded its training program for state-level policymakers, faith-based institutions, civil society organisations and trade associations on how to use DRE solutions to accelerate the rate of electrification and end energy poverty in their respective states.

Workshops on these were recently held in Awka, Anambra State and Kaduna, and were tagged: “DRE101/X-Learning

Workshops,� under the Scaling Off Grid Energy (SOGE) project of Power for All. The SOGE according to a statement from Power for All in Abuja, was designed to work with governments at national and sub-national levels to use DRE to increase electrification rates nationally and within states.

It explained that the overall goal of the SOGE was to ensure the federal government’s aim of achieving an electrification rate of 75 per cent nationally by the 2020 would be realised.

According to it, the SOGE

Grand Challenge for Development is funded by the Global Development Lab of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Power Africa, but implemented in Nigeria by FHI360 and Power for All, with an intention to provide 20 million households in Sub-Saharan Africa with access to modern, clean and affordable electricity through DRE solutions.

It explained that DRE solutions which range from pico-solar solutions and stand-alone solar systems to mini-grids and mobile solar farms, have the advantage

of being readily available, affordable, and immediately deployable. “This allows the energy access to be delivered to consumers in a number of days, versus the years it takes to site, permit, build, and manage a traditional centralised fossil fuel grid system, and can be an important tool for Nigeria to better exploit the full range of its renewable energy resources, especially with delivering energy services to last-mile communities trapped in energy poverty,� the Power for All explained a statement sent to THISDAY.

It noted that workshops held in Kaduna and Awka were the conclusion of the first phase of the state-level trainings which held in eight states - Kogi, Enugu, Kano, Oyo, Cross River, Abia, Kaduna and Anambra, from where 400 state-level policymakers across five regions of Nigeria were trained.

According to it, the workshops have increased the awareness level of the policymakers regarding DRE solutions as well as increased their options of scaling access to electricity in their domains.

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INTERVIEW

Okereke: Climate Change May Cost Nigeria $460bn by 2050 Prof. Chukwumerije Okereke, is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations, as well as a professor in environment and development at UK’s Reading University. In this interview, he speaks on the outcome of a recent continent-wide research on climate change, green economy and renewable energy he carried out under the platform of the Governing Inclusive Green Growth in Africa Research Network. Chineme Okafor presents the excerpts: What were the ďŹ ndings from your recent research on the green economy of four African countries, Nigeria inclusive?

My team looked at the state-of-play of green economy policies and projects in Africa with a focus on four African countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa. We analysed several polices and over 503 green projects across Africa and made several important discoveries.

We found that many African countries are beginning to understand the role that green economy can play in the purist of sustainable economic development while improving resource efficiency and avoiding the pollution and environmental degradation in the continent.

An increasing number of the heads of state and ministers I speak with seem to appreciate that African countries must now seek to reduce their dependence on crude natural resource exploitation which has provided the thrust for much of the economic growth recorded in previous decades as this type of economic growth is not really sustainable in the long run.

Crucially, many countries are beginning to understand that it is possible for Africa to increase their economic competitive advantage by harnessing the abundant renewable resources such as solar radiation, wind and geothermal to address the pervasive energy poverty in the continent. Given the amount of renewable energy resource available in Africa, it is something of an oddity that up to 650 million people in sub Saharan Africa do not have access to modern electricity.

The green economy offers opportunities for countries to change this story and to creatively link their national development activities with efforts to fight against climate change and inequality. There are good examples such as Ethiopia’s light rail project which is powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, and the zero liquid discharge Hawassa Industrial Park which is expected to employ 60,000 people at full capacity and generate export revenue amounting to one billion US dollars for Ethiopia.

Africa is beginning to wake up in this area but there is still quite a long way to go. The main problem is that for some countries, such as Nigeria, the green economy remains a niche and marginal idea which is not fully integrated into the core aspect of national economic development plans and programs.

Other challenges include lack of finance, technical capacity, and the absence of political will needed to make the transition to the green economy. For example, despite some important steps and programs in Nigeria, the country still does not have a coherent national green growth policy and strategy similar to what we have in Ethiopia, Rwanda and South Africa.

Part of the research showed that Nigeria isn’t a chief destination for climate change and renewable energy ďŹ nancing by OECD countries, why is it so and what can be done about it?

Actually compared to population and GDP, Nigeria is performing very poorly in attracting international climate finance. I have been crying loud about this for over five years now. South Africa, Rwanda, Ethiopia and many other countries are performing better than Nigeria in this regard and this really is not acceptable.

There are many reasons. Nigeria is too focused on the oil money and are not aggressively looking for opportunities elsewhere. Political will is weak and the prevailing institutional structure is inadequate. In our research, we found, that Nigeria is the only country among the five countries we analysed which does not have a strong and coherent national green growth plan and a strategy. This means there is no clearly elaborated goals and plan for attracting global climate finance.

I am also sad that due to lack of understanding

Okoere

of the opportunities and poor planning, Nigeria has not been smart enough to package some of the national projects that are being undertaken which have emission reduction potential in such a way that they can attract climate finance.

One example, the Abuja light rail project if properly packaged could be a candidate for climate finance since it will take many cars out of the road and result in the reduction of millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions.

At the same time, let us not forget that according to some sources, climate change could cost Nigeria between six per cent and 30 per cent of its GDP by 2050. This amounts ranges from $100 billion to $460 billion by 2050. So, you see, there is a need for strategic focus on designing major projects on renewable energy, smart agriculture, sustainable land management, livestock, irrigation, flood control measures that can attract funding from the Green Climate Fund and other sources of climate finance.

Nigeria needs to urgently strengthen its National Designated Authority and other relevant institutions that can work to increase its ability to plan and design bankable projects as well as to understand the processes for obtaining international finance. Such a body will also help to ensure that whatever fund received is effectively managed.

Does it then mean efforts by regulators and others aren’t attractive to investors?

First it is important to note that renewable energy is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world. In the UK, for example, the amount of renewable capacity has tripled in the past five years to the point that renewable capacity overtook fossil fuel capacity for the first time earlier this year. There are several public and private entities that are looking for conducive environments where they can invest in renewable

energy in Africa.

Right now, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) have committed $350 million on a joint project facility to support replicable, scalable and potentially transformative renewable energy projects in developing countries.

Other donors and international development partners such as the UK, The World Bank, the African Development Bank and a host of other private actors have programmes designed to support renewables energy investment in Africa. The key hindrance to renewable energy investment in Nigeria and indeed other African countries is the absence of the right regulatory climate for attracting international investment.

The policies are not advanced and coherent.

There is much more to do in terms of reducing the capital cost, lowering the barrier to investment, land use planning, domesticating technologies, and changing the misconceptions about distributive energy.

My advice to the government is to constitute a high level independent multi-stakeholder forum to help institutes to think through the mix of strategies and policy reforms needed to unlock public and private investment in renewable energy in Nigeria. Some of the key planks will include greenhouse inventory, energy efficiency standards, quotas and obligations, technology investments, subsidies, grants, rebates, accreditations, etc.

Here, I would like to stress, that in pursuing this goal, attention must be given to the need to encourage local entrepreneurs who are already investing in renewable energy in Nigeria. I have said many times before that we cannot import ourselves out of poverty and into sustainability.

The promotion of indigenous technology incubation, innovation and diffusion must also be central aspects of our renewable energy strategy.

This is why I am working intensively with the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology to access and categorise the technical capacities needed in Nigeria and especially by the ministry to help midwife sustainable renewable energy revolution in Nigeria.

In 2017, you told THISDAY that Nigeria’s coastal states were at the risk of been washed away on account of rising sea levels as climate change happens, how riskier is this in 2018 since we’ve seen ooding in different parts of the country over the years?

As you know the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of which I am a lead author has just released a new report on the impact of climate change at 1.5 0C global warming. It is very disappointing that despite all the talk and raft of polices at global and regional levels, the rate of global greenhouse gas emissions continues to rise. In fact, earlier in April, this year, the Mao Lao Observatory in Hawaii posted the highest monthly average concentration of CO2 ever recorded in history.

The summary is that things are actually getting worse. This mean that the threat of climate change impact to our coast and other key sectors such as infrastructural investment and agricultural production, which I spoke about last year, is actually growing. Again, I am urging the government to wake up and take very seriously the risks imposed by climate change which has been described as the greatest development challenge facing African countries.

How do you think the impact of climate change can be made obvious to governments and citizens?

There are two main interconnected reasons.

Continued on page 26

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ANALYSIS

ExaminingNigeria’sRisingDebt Profile Jonathan Eze writes on the federal government’s rising debts Some economists and multilateral organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have consistently cautioned the federal government, over its rising debt profile.

According to them, the rising debt service cost may have a negative effect on the economy in the long-run.

Also worrying is the fact that many of the states are also saddled with huge debt burden.

In 18 states, their debt profiles exceeded their statutory revenue by more than 200 per cent.

But the federal government has maintained that the country has the capacity to repay its debt obligations.

However, stakeholders who spoke with THISDAY said they have nothing against the federal government or indeed the states borrowing externally or from the capital market as this is the standard practice world over. The aim of borrowing is to help the government to attain their developmental needs in the areas of infrastructure, health, education, power and transportation.

But it is one thing to raise these funds and it is another thing to ensure accountability and judicious use, they stated.

In the light of this development, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) recently held a forum to discuss the country’s debt burden.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) had put the country’s total debt stock (Federal and States) at N22.38trillion ($73.21 billion as at June 30, 2018.

The federal government recently raised another $2.86 billion through Eurobond issuance.

Hence, the LCCI, through its President, Mr. Babatunde Ruwase, is concerned about the rapid growth of public debt and the implication on the country’s fiscal sustainability, adding that the debt service to revenue ratio which currently stands at over 40 per cent is on the high side with the implication on the country’s capacity to deliver infrastructure investment.

Ruwase, stated this at the forum organised on Nigeria’s debt sustainability.

He said: “It is an opportunity to review the debt situation, identify key implications of the rising debt stock and offer needed solutions.

Our revenue can barely cover our recurrent expenditure and that is why many state governments are still grappling with huge debt service burden and it is impeding on the deliverables of vital developmental projects.�

According to him, many states depend largely on the federal government grants and

Bihari

allocations to survive and pay salaries.

The LCCI boss further stressed that 70 per cent of total revenue in the country is for debt service. “Certainly, we need to look at what we are spending on. We are not actually investing and this has grave implications for the future.�

Ruwase urged government officials to cut cost at the leadership levels.

In the same vein, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, said Nigeria has been sentenced to an inter-generational debt.

He decried that Nigeria is in a debt trap of

borrowing in repetitive cycle.

He also noted that while the country’s debt has continued to rise, its productivity has been on the decline.

He said the country’s debt burden was reducing its productivity. According to him, if the debt is increasing and productivity reduces then there is need to structure the existing debt and move directionally. “How many bridges, roads, refineries and airports were built with the debt procured?� he asked. He however, said that the country’s debt has affected the increase of the minimum wage by the federal government.

Also speaking at the forum, the partner, KPMG Nigeria, Mr. Oyelami Adegoke, said Nigeria is a mono-economy which is largely dependent on crude oil. He said there is competition in renewable energy, “so what is the future of oil?�

He added that the cost of transporting goods from the port has multiplied with linkages in the port revenue.

He said the way forward is to seek for debt forgiveness.

According to Adejuwon, Kehinde David, et al (2010), in “Debt Burden and Nigerian Development,� a Journal of Business and Organisational Development, Volume 2, governments borrow to fill the vacuum created by the fiscal gaps in the proposed expenditure and expected revenue within a fiscal period. “If government does not want to compromise macroeconomic stability by printing more money and if government taxation capability is limited, then debt option becomes the only available avenue that the government can explore to provide social overhead capital for the citizenry, “However, borrowing should be channelled to meaningful economic activities, government should borrow to finance capital project and not recurrent expenses. In order words, government should not borrow for consumption purpose. “The increasing fiscal deficits driven by the higher level of debt servicing is a major threat to growth of Nigeria economy and the resultant effect of large accumulation of debt exposes the nation to high debt burden. “Nigeria is about the richest nation on the continent of Africa, yet due to the numerous macro-economic problems, such as inflation, unemployment, mono product (sole dependency on crude oil as a major source of revenue), corruption and mounting debt service payment, majority of her citizen fall below the poverty line of one dollar per day,� they added.

The Director in charge of Africa at the IMF, Mr. Abebe Selassie, recently listed the challenges to growth in Africa and said the countries’ debts were rising unsustainably, posing threats to their ability to deploy funds for economic development.

He also said one of the consequences of the rising debt was that countries’ resources were being channelled to debt service rather than investment into growth enablers.

Selassie advised that not only should the debts be moderated, but also that revenue generation should improve to address a weak debt servicing ratio to GDP and tax-to-GDP ratio.

OKEREKE: CLIMATE CHANGE MAY COST NIGERIA $460BN BY 2050 The first one is the lack of detailed and rigorous research that maps the impact of climate change on key economic sectors such as agriculture, health, energy, etc. There is an urgent need for Nigeria to invest in boosting significant research capacity on the science, economics and social dimensions of climate change. One of the interesting discoveries made by my team was that well over 70 per cent of international standard journal publication on climate in Africa comes from South Africa. And, we are supposed to be the giant of Africa, right?

Linked to the lack of high quality science is the lack of effective communication of climate change by the media. People sometimes tend to forget that climate change is not so much about models and scenarios; it is much more about the everyday impact on our lives. It is about increasing drought, loss of crop yield, famine, floods and erosion. It is about our sisters, mothers and wives having to travel much longer to fetch fire woods. It is about increases in malaria incidence and associated loss of productivity. It is about internal and international security. For example, many of us have spoken about the close links between climate change, the drying up of Lake Chad and the worsening clash between cattle herdsmen and farmers in the middle belt region of Nigeria. Keep in mind that despite the server and manifold threats of climate change to our fragile economy, Nigeria is yet to commission a national report that will explore these issues in detail and communicate the message in ways that will capture public

imagination and stimulate the much needed national discourse on the subject.

Talking about climate change resilient and green economy, how far is Nigeria from getting it right?

There are a number of activities here and there. One example is the green bond that has raised about N11 billion. We also have the special clime unit that has been elevated to the full department of climate change in the ministry of environment. Nigeria has submitted two national climate communication and its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) which pledges an unconditional contribution of 20 per cent below business-as-usual (BAU), consistent with current development trends and government policy priorities, and a 45 per cent reduction conditional on international support.

There is also a statement of commitment to generate 30 per cent of our energy from renewable by 2030. However, significant gaps exist between the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the government and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Nigeria’s ERGP identifies five sectors including transport, agriculture and land use, industry, services, and energy as engines for economic growth. However, these sectors, charged with stimulating inclusive and non-inflationary growth, are also major sources of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) proposes to use the country’s vast natural resources to catalyse economic recovery. But promoting growth through depletion of resources could place an additional burden on the GHG inventory, and the inability to meet

this commitment will further derail political and economic development. Preliminary investigation seems to suggest that the NDC did not take into consideration growth objectives, since 20 per cent unconditional mitigation will reduce the carbon intensity by 2020 but cannot drive the Vision 20:2020 goal. The challenge now is to come up with a plan that reconciles the ERGP with the NDC. Off grid electricity is gaining some traction in Nigeria at the moment, are we on the right track?

Yes, there are important developments but I do worry that the strategy is not clear and coherent.

We do need to examine the policy to ensure that we are on the right direction. I would like to see stronger focus on technological diffusion and leapfrogging, as well as a strategy to grow local innovation in this area.

We need an integrated plan and framework that covers training, capacity building, local innovation, job creation and support for local entrepreneurs. Crucially we need to direct our attention to how best to use renewable energy to stimulate agricultural production and boost our agro-allied industry. Look, the main reason for energy should not just be to put on another light bulb which seems to be much of the focus now. Rather, the start move is to think about how you can boost industrialisation and economic growth through the instrumentality of renewable energy. This was the focus of the recent work we did in Ethiopia and there are lessons for Nigeria in this regard.

Where lies the strength for Nigeria in the entire green economy conversation, especially with her rising population and dwindling public sector resources and ďŹ nance?

Nigeria faces a grave risk. Danger lies ahead if it continues on the track and with the pace it is going. First, Nigeria is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and the treats to agriculture, food production, heath, are all increasing. Second, from 2005 a growing list of countries have announced that they will ban the sale of passenger vehicles powered by fossil fuels such as gasoline, LPG and diesel. Examples include the United Kingdom, Germany, China and the Netherlands. This year one million electric vehicles were sold in the US and four million were sold globally. The question that few people are asking is who will buy our oil in 2030 if the growing electric car revolution takes hold across the globe. I have read the key document of the main political parties closely, and I am sorry that I have not seen serious thinking about how to diversify our economy away from oil and how to reposition the economy to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the green economy. Make no mistake, the next wave of industrial revolution is already well underway and renewable energy will be a central aspect of that wave. The simple but bitter truth is that if Nigeria fails to think ahead and innovate and make the necessary changes now, we will suffer devastating consequences. I hope this will not be our story.

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PERSPECTIVE

EmergingHydrogenEnergyWorldandImplicationfor Oil Exporters Chijioke Nwaozuzu, Hydrogen has long been used across several industries, including the process for converting heavy petroleum extracts into lighter, exploitable forms of fuel. But the objective of turning hydrogen itself into a viable and clean energy source to power vehicles and heat houses is the potential game-changing solution that could lead the way toward a full energy transition in the future. This potential game-changing energy source poses major concern and threat to oil revenue dependent economies.

Hydrogen Fuel as Replacement for Jet Fuel The first work where hydrogen fuel was used for airplanes was carried out in 1956, with USA flying a B57 bombed Canberra plane using hydrogen fuel, which is pressurized with helium in one of its engines. After B57, the Soviets tested an experimental conversion of Tu-154 aircraft which has one engine operating on hydrogen in 1988. The liquid hydrogen powered engine was tested at heights up to 7000m and accelerated to 900 km / h.

Recently, many hydrogen prototype aircrafts such as Tupolev Tu-155 and the ENFICA-FC Rapid 200-FC were all built using compression and liquefaction storage methods.

In September 2016, the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered four-seat passenger aircraft, HY4, was created, and its first flight was reported in Stuttgart Airport, Germany. This technology allows the fuel cell to convert the hydrogen directly to electricity and the only waste product that comes out of the process is water. In the near future, new technologies in storage and production of hydrogen will be developed and with gradual reduction in cost of production. If cost continued to decline, hydrogen which is one of the cleanest fuels will increasingly be used in the aviation industry.

Hydrogen will play an important role in the de-carbonization of the transport industry.

It is expected that fuel cell electric vehicles powered by hydrogen (FCEV) could represent about 3% of new vehicle sales in 2030 (about 4 million vehicles); and would likely increase to about 35% by 2050.

Currently, the leading global FCEV adopters are – Germany, Japan, California, and South Korea. The Hydrogen Council estimated that by 2030, 1 in 12 cars sold in California, Germany, Japan, and South Korea could be powered by hydrogen, and over 350,000 hydrogen trucks could be transporting goods, and thousands of trains and passenger ships could be powered by hydrogen energy.

Additionally, the report held that beyond 2030, hydrogen will increasingly be used to create renewable synthetic fuels to de-carbonize commercial aviation and freight shipping, which are harder to decarbonize using pure hydrogen and fuel cells.

In the transport sector, fuel cell buses are also gaining significant traction due to concerns about local pollution, in particular in Europe, Japan, South Korea, and China. While smaller buses and others with shorter-range requirements will run on batteries, fuel cells will allow larger buses to go longer distances and operate with fewer interruptions. Accordingly, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and China have ambitious plans to deploy thousands of fuel cell buses over the next few years.

Hydrogen Energy for Vehicular Transportation Currently, South Korea has plans to replace 26,000 buses powered by compressed natural gas with hydrogen fuel cell by 2030; Shanghai alone is planning to operate 3,000 hydrogen fuel powered buses by 2020. Hydrogen fuel cells is projected to constitute up to 20% of road vehicles by 2050, and will contribute more than a third of the transport sector carbon dioxide abatement target.

Hydrogen-powered for Diesel-powered Trains Hydrogen-powered trains are an attractive alternative to diesel trains, in particular for non-electrified railways – where roughly 70% of the world’s 200,000 locomotives operate today.

Besides avoiding carbon emissions, hydrogen trains reduce noise and eliminate local emissions such as particulates. Hydrogen-powered trains

Fashola

are already being introduced for light-rail transport and regional railways – such as the trams produced by the China South Rail. Recently, Germany tested some hydrogen-powered trains.

Estimates from the Hydrogen Council reveals that by 2030, one in ten trains sold for currently non-electrified railways could be powered by hydrogen; and by 2050, one in five trains running on non-electrified railways or one in ten trains overall could run on fuel cells.

Hydrogen for Freight Shipping In freight shipping, hydrogen could play a role as feedstock for producing synthetic fuel.

Ultimately, synthetic fuels mimic the properties of conventional fossil fuels and are burned in combustion engines.

Those syn-fuels use carbon dioxide and hydrogen to form a closed carbon cycle and are useful in de-carbonizing combustion engines.

Thus, in Norway, Viking Cruises is planning to build the world’s first cruise ships powered by liquid hydrogen and fuel cells.

Hydrogen Energy for Industrial Sector Hydrogen is viewed as the main option for de-carbonization of industrial processes requiring high heat and/or combustion.

Hydrogen can provide de-carbonized high heat for industrial processes.

Accordingly, study estimates reveal that nearly 12% of the global industrial energy demand by 2050 will be met with hydrogen.

Oil exporting countries have no option than to start making the necessary adjustments and re-alignment / diversiďŹ cation of their economies before it is too late. The time to get back to the drawing board is NOW. Oil, and to some extent natural gas may become irrelevant by 2050, or 2060 tops. It was not raining before the biblical Noah built his Ark

The projections hold that by 2030, one in ten steel and chemical plants in Europe, North America, and Japan will use hydrogen for low-carbon production.

Hydrogen as Relevant Industry Feedstock Nearly 55 million tons of hydrogen are currently used as feedstock for refining, fertilizer, and chemical production – these can be decarbonized through clean production pathways.

Other industries, such as methanol and iron production, can replace fossil feedstock with clean hydrogen.

Overall, the use of hydrogen as feedstock could grow from about 55 million tons (8 EJ) to 75 million tons (11 EJ) in 2030, and to 140 million tons (20 EJ) by 2050. As hydrogen use grows while its production is increasingly de-carbonized, it could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 700 Mt annually in 2050.

Hydrogen Energy for Household Heating There are ambitious global targets of meeting an equivalent of 6.5 million households heating need with blended or pure hydrogen using about 3.5 million tons (0.5 EJ) of hydrogen by 2030.

By 2050, nearly 8% of global building energy use for heat and power (11 EJ) is expected to be provided by hydrogen.

Hydrogen can be used to de-carbonize the natural gas grid in three ways: it can be blended with natural gas, methanized, or used in its pure form. Low percentages of hydrogen can be safely blended into existing gas networks without major adaptations to infrastructure or appliances. In line with this development, the “H21 Leeds City Gate� project in the UK is planning to progressively convert all households to 100% hydrogen before 2030.

It is important to acknowledge some startling revelations: r ,PSFB QMBOT UP SFQMBDF $/( XJUI hydrogen to power 26,000 buses. Part of the plan, which will be carried out together with South Korean automaker Hyundai, is to replace 2,000 CNG buses with hydrogen-powered buses per year and install hydrogen fuel pumps at some CNG filling stations nationwide. r *OEJB IBT JOBVHVSBUFE B TPMBS QPXFSFE hydrogen fuel station which generates power from solar energy through an electrolyzer. The station was built to serve public transportation buses and is part of a program put in place

by Indian government institutions related to alternative energy. r 6, PQFOT GJSTU [FSP FNJTTJPOT IZESPHFO filling station. The station uses electricity generated by a wind turbine to split water into its constituent parts: hydrogen and oxygen.

This energy storage and clean fuel company´s

launch was supported by Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda, and accompanied by their fuel cell electric vehicles: Hyundai Ix35, the Toyota Mirai, the Honda FCX Clarity and a British Microcab. r *O +BQBO UIF UISFF BVUPNBLFS HJBOUT Toyota Motor Company, Nissan Motor Co., and Honda Motor Co. have agreed a joint strategy of support for hydrogen station development in Japan. r &MFDUSJD BOE IZESPHFO QPXFSFE WFIJDMFT up their game as alternative fuel vehicles are taking a huge leap with the upgrade of Tesla’s electric Model S and the commercialization of the hydrogen fuel cell-powered Toyota Mirai in the U.S. market. r #Z OFYU ZFBS )POEB XJMM TUPQ QSPEVDtion of its Civic model which runs on natural gas but will focus its alternative fuel efforts on introducing a new hydrogen-fueled vehicle.

Implications on Oil Exporting Countries r %FDMJOF JO UIF EFNBOE GPS DSVEF PJM r %FDMJOF JO SFWFOVF GSPN PJM r .BDSPFDPOPNJD JNQMJDBUJPOT r 1PUFOUJBM FYDIBOHF SBUF JTTVFT r *NQBDU PO 'PSFJHO SFTFSWFT BOE potential for increased tendency for borrowing.

In summary, the deployment of transport solutions has begun around the world, with Japan, South Korea, California, and Germany leading the way. Activities in other European countries, in the Northeast US, and in China are also under way. Japan has set itself the target of having 40,000 FCEVs on the road by 2020 and 800,000 by 2030; China plans 1 million FCEVs by 2030 and is already investing in growing its manufacturing capabilities Improvements in fuel cell efficiency will likely reduce fuel consumption by 20- 35% until 2030. In addition, fuel costs per kg of hydrogen are expected to fall as distribution and retail infrastructure scale up. These improvements could give FCEVs an advantage over diesel fuel in all segments.

Oil exporting countries have no option than to start making the necessary adjustments and re-alignment / diversification of their economies before it is too late. The time to get back to the drawing board is NOW. Oil, and to some extent natural gas may become irrelevant by 2050, or 2060 tops. It was not raining before the biblical Noah built his Ark! t1SPG /XBP[V[V 'PSNFS #SJUJTI $IFWFOJOH 4DIPMBS 'PSNFS 15%' 1I% 4DIPMBS BOE %FQVUZ %JSFDUPS BU &NFSBME &OFSHZ *OTUJUVUF GPS &OFSHZ 1FUSPMFVN &DPOPNJDT 1PMJDZ 4USBUFHJD 4UVEJFT 6OJWFSTJUZ PG 1PSU )BSDPVSU &NBJM DOXBP[V[V!HNBJM DPN 5FM 4.4 0OMZ

28

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2018

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT NABDA Develops Safe Bioinsecticides, Sign MoU with BIOCROPS Bennett Oghifo The use of poisonous chemicals for the preservation of food, particularly seedlings will now be a thing of the past with the development of bioinsecticides by the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) in collaboration with BIOCROPS Biotechnology Company Ltd, an indigenous company.

The Bioinsecticides are organic and harmless to people, the environment and are safe alternatives to Snipper, a chemical that scientists believe is dangerous to human health and the environment, but popularly used as a crop insecticide.

To produce the bioinsecticides, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) and BIOCROPS in Abuja, recently.

NABDA, an agency under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, is a public institution which has the mandate to acquire, domesticate, deploy, carry out well-focused research in biotechnology, coordinate, facilitate and promote biotechnology activities in Nigeria, said the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technol-

ogy, Mr. Bitrus Bako Nabasu, at the signing ceremony.

He said BIOCROPS, an Indigenous and Private Biotechnology Company, is an ERGP Laboratory incubatee of the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning with a focus on peri-urban agriculture and novel products. Biocrops whose founding predates the establishment of NABDA, adopts a social business model to strengthening its relationship with its clients by focusing on value creation that is delivered in scaled production of assorted high-quality seeds and seedlings; scaled production of Bio–fertilizers, pesticides and nematicides; efficient supply of biotechnology services; agricultural value chain creation; biotechnology consultancy and food production.

Biotechnology is a valuable tool for addressing the several challenges of Nigeria in terms of food production, genetic improvement of living systems, as well as improved health management, environmental sustainability and industrial growth, said the Permanent Secretary.

“NABDA and Biocrops have today reached a historic landmark in their relationship by signing this MOU which will

L-R: Director, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Dr. Nasiru; Director, OFAB, Dr. Rose Gidado; DG of NABDA, Prof Alex Akpa; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr. Bitrus Bako Nabasu; Director, BIOCROPS, Chief James Awoniyi; CEO, BIOCROPS, Dr. Joseph Odusanya; and Scientific Advisor, BIOCROPS, Dr. Olushola Odusanya, at the MoU signing ceremony between the federal government and BIOCROPS in Abuja… recently

ultimately lead to immediate production of Nigerian developed and manufactured biotechnology products, such as, Biofertilizers, Biopesticides, Technology Seeds and Elite seedlings, including elite Yam varieties promoted by IITA and YIISWA programme which are grown in the Air. This

Construction Kaiser Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Strengthening Indigenous Industry Bennett Oghifo Construction Kaiser Limited (CKL), a leading indigenous construction company, is consolidating on its Kaiser Foundation for Social Development (KFSD), which was established in 2016 to spearhead change and strengthen the indigenous construction industry.

Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CKL, Mr. Igbuan Okaisabor, while addressing the media about the company’s activities, as it prepares to mark its 25th anniversary this week, stated

that beyond offering industrial, commercial and residential services, CKL is passionate about creating shared value in the society, hence the birth of Kaiser Foundation for Social Development (KFSD) in 2016.

KFSD was setup to spearhead change and strengthen the indigenous construction industry.

Okaisabor said KFSD schemes include: STEM Construction Summer Camp; Mentorship Scheme; Soft Skills Undergraduate Training; Graduate Entrepreneurship Scheme (GES); Artisan Training Program (ATP); Research Collaboration; Graduate

Scholarship Scheme.

CKL thrives on the belief that when deliberate effort is put into improving the indigenous construction sector, continuous business opportunities will be created and sustained.

The CEO was flanked by his management team comprising, Robert Oseghale, Regional Director/South South and South Eastern Region; Opeyemi OniExecutive Director/Regional Director – Western Region; Ewoma Oloye, Group Head, Human Resources, Kaiser Group; and Shaibu Ikiebe, General Manager – Western Region.

Lifemate 3,000sq Showroom Ready for Use Fadekemi Ajakaiye Lifemate Nigeria Limited, a one stop shop furniture company and a leader in providing high quality furniture products in Nigeria for over 15yrs, is organising the 2nd edition of their customer reward party on the 1st of December 2018. As part of the company’s corporate culture to appreciate their esteem customers, associates, business partners, government agencies and friends, in this regards, the company will be organizing a customer appreciation party and also celebrating the grand opening of their newest head office furniture showroom extension at plot one Ikosi road Oregun Ikeja Lagos.

The new showroom, which is about three thousand square meters, has been beautifully updated to offer the latest furniture

designs in a wide variety of furniture brands, styles, and price points. Showcasing the newest styles of Traditional, Modern and contemporary international designs for both residential and commercial at a giveaway price. The unbeatable price slashes giving to customers is to commemorate customers for their continues patronage over the years, as part of putting smiles in the faces of loyal customers, there will be a three days promotional discount sales. The three days discount promotional sales, is set to run from November 29th – 1st of December 2018 at the head office furniture showroom and customers will be giving 50% discount on home furniture, sanitary wares, outdoor furniture products and 20% discount on Royal furniture products.

The discount sales is a way

of thanking our customers for their patronage, ongoing loyalty and business support over the years.

As part of the celebration, Lifemate Furniture customers will be treated to a lot of free gifts items, the party will feature a guided tour of the new showroom, food and drinks, live entertainment, grand opening discount sales, special pricing and much more.

To top it all, there will be a raffle draw, 1st prize will go home with a massage chair, 2nd prize 500,000 voucher, 3rd prize 300,000 voucher for two people, 4th prize 200,000 voucher for two people and the 5th prize gets a Duvet for ten people. Customer who purchase furniture products worth one hundred thousand naira stand a chance to get N10,000 cash coupon.

is in line with the Economic Diversification Agenda of the present Administration under the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Biocrops today has brought synergies between farmers, top notch Research Institutions within the country, digital

finance experts, novel market ready products and indeed game changers in the agricultural space.”

He said the feat by both organisations goes to show the seriousness with which the government of the day regards agriculture. “Nigeria

today has signified its readiness to promote and compete in the global village. This collaboration has attracted an initial funding of about N3.2 billion in its phased implementation, and will produce close to 10,000 jobs that did not hitherto exist in this country.

International Training Tours Will Enhance Professional Capacity, Standard, Says NIQS President The President of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), QS. Obafemi Onashile, FNIQS has called on other professions in the Construction Industry to embrace international training tours as a way of benchmarking capacity and creating opportunities for business development in the Industry.

Onashile made the call in Doha, Qatar recently when he led a 35- man delegation of Quantity Surveyors on a training tour of the $ 261m Storm and Ground water pumping station and UNDERGROUND TUNNEL construction in Doha, Qatar.

He said the tour which was organized by NIQS provided members with two major goals.

One which is the opportunity to explore some rare gigantic civil engineering projects many of

which are yet to be embarked upon but critically required in Nigeria’s infrastructure development and two, to develop appreciation for the role that Quantity Surveyors play from inception to close out of such multimillion dollar INFRASTRUCTURE projects.

“The International training tour exposed members of NIQS especially young Quantity Surveyors to develop appreciation for the role that our great profession (QS) plays in big Infrastructure projects such as the $ 261m Storm and Ground water pumping station and underground tunnel construction in Doha which is project managed by the renowned international consultants, Mott Macdonald International,” Onashile said.

“As experts trained to provide total cost and procurement management of Capital

including infrastructure projects from conception to completion, we believe that international training tours, will improve our capacities to play our role of prudent costing of projects and procurement management in a manner that ensures better value for money,” Onashile added.

According to him, the NIQS delegation also was exposed to the importance of synergy amongst the various professions in the Construction Industry to the timely delivery of projects.

Onashile said for the professions in the nation’s Construction Industry to make a much better impact in delivering infrastructure projects that are very much in want, professionals must regularly update their knowledge in order to tap into innovative and cutting-edge cost efficient technology that are evolving in other climes.

R-L: President of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), QS Obafemi Onashile, signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Director of Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC), Mr. Meshal Al Shamari when the former led a delegation of the Institute to QGBC headquarters in Doha, Qatar… recently

29

T H I S D AY Ëž TUESDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2018

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT

Montreal Protocol Assessment Reveals Healing Ozone, Untapped Potential for Climate Action Bennett Oghifo

T

he latest Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion reveals a healing ozone layer, global warming reduction potential, and options for more ambitious climate action.

The 2018 Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion is the latest in a series of assessments prepared by the world’s leading experts in the atmospheric sciences and under the auspices of the Montreal Protocol in coordination with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment). The 2018 Assessment is the ninth in the series of major assessments that have been prepared by the Scientific Assessment Panel as direct input to the Montreal Protocol process.

The quadrennial review from the Scientific Assessment Panel of the Montreal Protocol will be presented here at the 30th Meeting of the Parties to this historic accord. Its findings confirm first and foremost that actions taken under the Montreal Protocol have led to long-term decreases in the atmospheric abundance of controlled ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) and the ongoing recovery

of stratospheric ozone.

Evidence presented by the authors shows that the ozone layer in parts of the stratosphere has recovered at a rate of 1-3% per decade since 2000. At projected rates, Northern Hemisphere and mid-latitude ozone is scheduled to heal completely by the 2030s followed by the Southern Hemisphere in the 2050s and polar regions by 2060. The ozone layer protects life on Earth from harmful levels of ultraviolet rays from the sun.

It is further evidence of the inspiring success of this environmental treaty now entering its fourth decade. The report also offers a view of the role the Protocol must have in decades to come. “The Montreal Protocol is one of the most successful multilateral agreements in history for a reason,� said Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment. “The careful mix of authoritative science and collaborative action that has defined the Protocol for more than 30 years and was set to heal our ozone layer is precisely why the Kigali Amendment holds such promise for climate action in future.�

Set to enter in to force on 1 January 2019, the Kigali Amendment calls for slashing the future

R-L: General Manager, Dredging International, Mr. von Stevan; Prof. Nwilo of UNILAG; GM, LASURA, Mr. Sholebo; Prof. Ayodeji Olukoju of UNILAG; Prof. Iyiola Oni of UNILAG; and others at the International Conference on Land and Development, held at University of Lagos... recently

use of powerful climate-warming gases in refrigerators, air conditioners and related products.

Nations that ratify the Kigali Amendment are committing to cutting the projected production and consumption of these gases, known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), by more than 80 percent.

So far, 58 parties have done so.

Authors of the Assessment found the world can avoid up

to 0.5°C of global warming this century through implementation of the Kigali Amendment, affirming its critical role in keeping global temperature rise below the 2°C mark. “These new assessment results highlight the importance of continued long-term monitoring of HFCs in the atmosphere as the Kigali Amendment begins to take hold,� said David Fahey, Co-Chair

of the Montreal Protocol Scientific Assessment Panel and scientist at the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory in the US. Full compliance would reduce future global warming due to HFCs by about 50% between now and 2050 compared to a scenario without any HFC controls.

The findings come at a time when the world is still grappling with a sobering message from

the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which found just 12 years remain to limit global warming to 1.5°C, beyond which, the impacts of a further rise in global temperatures will begin to have an increasingly extreme impact on human society and ecosystems. The IPCC report offered the clearest evidence to date of the drastic difference between the 1.5°C and 2°C scenarios.

Africa Investment Forum 2018: a new Bold Vision Tilts Capital Flows into Africa “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others,� a saying goes.

When African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina laid out his vision to tilt the flow of capital into Africa by convening the first transaction-based investment forum, many did not see what was coming ahead.

One year down the road, the verdict is undisputed. The three-day Africa Investment Forum ended November 9th in the South African capital exceeding the expectations of its conveners – The African Development Bank. Beyond

participants’ commendations, a preliminary review of the meeting leaves room for much optimism.

The Forum highlighted a solid pipeline of projects and wealth of opportunities ready for investors. After a final review of all Boardroom projects, investor interest stood at close to US$40 billion, the organizers said Wednesday.

Close to 300 institutional investors from 53 countries, including 23 non-African countries gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa from 7-9 November for the

inaugural event. “Africa is ahead of its time.

Business as usual is no longer the norm‌from now on it will be Business unusual. All is now set for global and regional investments to make a smooth landing into Africa. The Africa Investment Forum has turned the tide of investment into the continent,� Adesina said.

The value of boardroom projects tabled for discussion during the Forum stood at US$47 billion, up from US$40.4 billion announced on the eve of the closing. The updated figures

‘Slippery Floors Can Cause Permanent Disability, Death’ The Managing Director of NoSlips Limited, the sole distributor of Sure-step in Nigeria, Mr. Charles Igbinidu has stated that, more Nigerians are sustaining life threatening injuries and death as a result of slip and fall accidents.

Mr. Igbinidu who spoke with our correspondents recently said as trivial as slip and fall accidents sound, injuries sustained most times can be egregious.

According to him, a fall can occur anywhere; homes, offices, factories, churches, shopping malls, restaurants, swimming pool areas, bathtubs etc. as a result of wet and slippery floors, resulting in permanent injury or death. The NoSlips MD revealed that, everyone is at risk of experiencing slip and fall accidents especially children, the elderly and the handicapped.

He further revealed that, many companies also expose their staff to permanent injury and death when their floors are left unsafe but resort to paying huge sum of money as hospital bill and compensation after irreversible harm has been done.

In his words: “So many Nigerians

have lost their loved ones to the cold hands of death because of a ‘simple’ slip and fall accident while some companies have lost efficient workers as a result of this accident which is preventable. “The dangers of slip and fall accident is real and has been experienced in many homes, offices and public places. “Slip and fall accidents can happen in a split second, but they can leave a trail of destruction in their wake if the injuries sustained are serious, causing severe damage like traumatic brain injury, neck and spinal damage, hip and pelvic fractures, disfigurement due to facial and dental injuries etc. He further stated that, injured persons and their families have to endure physical, financial and emotional consequences of the accident. “The victim may be unable to work for extended periods or may lose working and earning capacity altogether. There are high medical and rehabilitation expenses to be met. The pain and suffering undergone by all those connected to the person can also take an emotional toll,� he said. He

therefore advised that to prevent such emotional and financial stress, it is important for homes, offices and other institutions to take proactive steps in ensuring that their floors are safe at all times.

According to him, in the past few years of No-slips’ operation in Nigeria, the demand for their floor treatment services have increased tremendously especially from corporate organisations who hold the welfare of their staff in high esteem. “Many homes and companies have experienced the effectiveness of our floor treatment and the demand for it is increasing by the day. We have treated many individual homes, offices and factories. “Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Ikeja City Mall, Midwestern Oil and Gas company etc. are some of the companies we have serviced at different times. “Though No-Slips Limited started operation a few years ago, we have recorded tremendous success in terms of customer satisfaction, which helped to increase our clientele base,� he said.

following a final review indicated that investment interest was secured for 49 projects worth US$38.7 billion, up from US$32 billion The projects ranged in diversity from infrastructure, Energy, Transport and Utilities, Industry, agriculture, ICT and Telecoms, Water and Sanitation, Funds/ financial Services, Health, Education, Hospitality and Tourism, Housing, and Aviation. A total of 169 bilateral meetings took place in the Marketplace boardrooms.

In addition, open marketplace B2B conversations went on

throughout the three days.

Notable among the deals which secured investor interest are: rB 64 CJMMJPO SBJMXBZ expansion and development project in South Africa. The investment will support the acquisition of new rolling stock trains, expansion of depot facilities and upgrades to existing signaling and train control systems. r#SBTT 'FSUJMJ[FS 1FUSPchemical Project – a US$ 3 billion investment for the construction and operation of a worldclass

petro-chemical facility to produce Methanol (1.75 mil MTPA), Ammonia (1.35 mil MTPA) and Urea (1.35 mil MTPA) In the energy sector, 400 delegates convened for focused deliberations on regulations and policy issues for the construction of the second phase of a 450 MW Power Plant in Tunisia worth US$440 million. Agreements were reached on a number of action plans designed to accelerate regulatory reforms and to unlock bottlenecks that will help facilitate investments in a sector with a potential value of US$70 billion.

Stricter Limits Required to Stop Toxic Chemicals in Consumer Products Bennett Oghifo A new study, “Toxic Soup: Dioxins in Plastic Toys�, released today, shows alarming levels of very toxic brominated dioxins in eight toys and one hair clip made of recycled plastic stemming from electronic waste.

Dioxin content in toys from Czechia, Germany, France, Portugal, Argentina, India and Nigeria was comparable to the levels found in previous studies in waste incineration fly ash or other industrial waste.

This alarming information was released coinciding with the meeting of the EU Competent Authorities expert group for Regulation on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), which will discuss rules for recycling and definitions of wastes containing persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and dioxins. “To prevent the presence of highly toxic substances in toys,

the EU and its member states have to withdraw their registration for recycling exemptions in the Stockholm Convention and introduce stricter limits for POPs in waste. We also need to get brominated dioxins listed among chemicals regulated under the Stockholm Convention,� explains Jindrich Petrlik, the main author of the study, Executive Director of Arnika - Toxics and Waste Programme, and Co-Chair of IPEN’s Dioxin, PCBs, and Waste Working Group.

Brominated dioxins are highly hazardous chemicals that are known to affect brain development, damage the immune system and unborn children, increase the risk of cancer and risk disruption of thyroid function. They occur as by-products in brominated flame retardants and as a result of incineration of brominated wastes and materials. “Bioassay analysis of dioxin-like activity has confirmed surprisingly high

toxicity of recycled plastics,� said Peter Behnisch, one of the co-authors of the study and the Director of BioDetection Systems, a laboratory based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. “To our knowledge, this is the first publicly available study to show brominated dioxins in children’s products,� added Peter Behnisch.

The consumer products analysed were bought in 7 countries on 4 continents, and had been previously analysed for the content of another group of toxic chemicals, PBDEs. The significant contamination of children’s products by dioxins ranged from 56 – 3,800 pg WHO-TEQ/g. In at least one sample from each country, values in the order of hundreds of pg WHO-TEQ/g were found, as is the case with fly ash and bottom ash from waste incinerators. It did not matter whether the toy was obtained in Latin America, South Asia, Africa or the European Union.

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

27.11.2018

ALP: A CONVERGENCE OF SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE

Africa Law Practice Partners (ALP): Atinuke Dosunmu, Uyi Giwa Osagie, Oyinkan Badejo Okusanya (left); Bello Salihu, Aisha Rimi, Olasupo Shasore, SAN (right)

2/DASHBOARD

27.11.2018

Application of the Principle of Res Ipsa Loquitor PAGE 4

Young Lawyers Brainstorm on the Future of Legal Practice in Nigeria PAGE 5

Former NBA President, Wali Celebrates 60th Birthday with Book Presentation PAGE 6

‘A Lawyer Must Abide by the Ethics of the Profession’ PAGE 6

QUOTABLE ‘....At the point of handover in 2015, 24 States were almost bankrupt. They couldn’t pay salaries. The Federal Government was borrowing money to pay salaries, at that point when they handed over in 2015.’

– Festus Keyamo, SAN, Director, Strategic Communications, Buhari Campaign Organisation

The Beauty of Politics PAGE 13

COLUMNISTS DR. MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN, OFR, FCIARB, PH.D, LL.D Constitutional Democracy, means a system of government, in which political and governmental power, is defined, limited and shared by a grundnorm called the Constitution, which provides inbuilt checks and balances.

This column seeks to fiercely discuss constitutional, legal and political issues, with a view to strengthening, deepening and widening the plenitude and amplitude of democracy and good governance, without fear or favour.

The writer of this column, Dr. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, is a Constitutional Lawyer, Human Rights Activist, Pro-Democracy Campaigner, Notary Public and Motivational Speaker.

He co-founded the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Nigeria's pioneer human rights league, on October 15,1987, the Universal Defenders of Democracy (UDD), in 1992, and with Chief Gani Fawehinmi and others in 1998, the Joint Action Committee of Nigeria (JACON), to push out the military. In his early days, he lectured at the University of Ife. Dr. Ozekhome is an author of many books. He is also a Special Counsel at the International Criminal Court (ICC), at The Hague.

ABUBAKAR D. SANI Abubakar D. Sani holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Maiduguri, and has been in active private legal practice since he was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1987.He is the Principal of Abubakar D. Sani & Co., which has offices in Abuja and Kano. " INSIGHT" aims to unravel, analyse and proffer solutions to numerous anomalies in Nigerian law and practice, particularly statutes, vis-a-vis the Constitution, International Treaties and Conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory, Judicial Precedent and other relevant statutes and issues.

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

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Behind IGP Idris’s Police Recklessness

E

The Offa Robbery veryday, we wake up and we become more convinced that, we have a government that does not give one hoot about the rule of law, and that law and order in our society, seems to be breaking down. If the President, or the Attorney-General of the Federation, or any of the heads of the law enforcement agencies could speak the Yoruba language, at their security meetings, they would probably laugh with derision and sarcasm, about the constant cry by many, for them to respect the rule of law, and respond - “Rule of law ke? Ki lon je be? Ko ni da fun rule of law” (rule of law? What does that mean or what is that? Let the rule of law go to hell); and end it with my favourite Hausa proverb, “ina rua angulu da kitso” (what concerns the vulture with plaiting of hair)! Vultures have bald heads, so obviously, they have no hair which can be plaited. The proverb is used to signify, a total unconcern for something; in our everyday parlance, “what’s my business with that?”. It’s the same thing, with our Executive.

They are absolutely unconcerned, about the rule of law.

Was I shocked when the news broke out last week, that Michael Adikwu, the Offa robbery kingpin, had died in Police custody last week? Not really.

Remember that sometime in July, on this page, I had mentioned the fact that, when some of the robbery suspects were paraded on television, they seemed to be limping (not as a result of shackles on their feet); I think one of them, even had a bandage wrapped around his foot. In the video footage of the robbery which made the rounds on social media, the robbers who were seen prancing around like ‘Rambo’ during their operation, all of a sudden, after a stint in police custody, were seen to be limping. Why? Had they been tortured in the Police

Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris

cell? No need to pretend, that torture does not happen within the confines of our law enforcement agencies. We all know that, torture is the Nigeria Police’s favourite method of extracting confessions from suspects, since their investigative skills leave a lot to be desired. So much so, that, an Anti-Torture legislation was enacted last year, to deter this habit.

I am glad that the Senate President has, however, called for an inquiry into Adikwu’s death, though we all know that, such inquiries and investigations in Nigeria, usually lead to a dead end. People already smelt a rat, when Adikwu (a dismissed Police Corporal) and another one of his colleagues, Kayode Opadokun, were not paraded on television with their group, sometime in June. I wondered, like many, whether they may have been in such a bad physical condition after being dealt with by the Police, that they were not fit to be seen by members of the public; that their condition, would certainly raise many questions about Police brutality, so it was best that they were kept away from the public eye.

Undoubtedly, anybody who was part of murdering over 30 innocent people in cold blood, deserves to be punished to the fullest extent of the law, that is, they could possibly be given the death sentence, if they are found guilty. But, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I say unequivocally, that, it is only a court of competent jurisdiction, and nobody else, that can pass judgement and sentence on them.

There is ample provision in the law for the crimes which the Offa robbery suspects have been charged for, including Section 1(1), 1(2)(a), 1(2)(b) and 1(3) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act 1990, which provide for the crimes of robbery and armed robbery, and their punishment, ranging from 21 years imprisonment to death by hanging. Therefore, no one, including the Police, is permitted

to take the law into their own hands, no matter how heinous the crime, and torture or kill any suspect, while in their custody.

Police Recruitment I must make mention of the fact that, the crop of individuals who are recruited into the Nigeria Police Force, is worrisome, and I believe that the recruitment process must be reviewed. Many members of the Force, are criminals with no scruples, who would not think twice about torturing or killing suspects extrajudicially. If not, how do you explain Adikwu, a former member of the Police Force, metamorphosing into a full fledged armed robber? Or Police Chief Superintendent George Iyamu, who was the major supplier of their weapons, and an integral member of the famous Lawrence Anini armed robbery gang of the 1980s?

I remember almost 30 years ago, some friends of mine who lived in Victoria Island, were robbed. Their cook’s wife, was also raped by the robbers. The next day when one of my friends went to report the incident at the Police Station, he said he took to his heels, when he recognised one of the Corporals on the counter, as one of the armed robbers who visited them the night before! My friend was so afraid that the Police robber would recognise him, and pay them a final visit, which they would not live to tell, that he ran out of the Police Station like a bat out of hell, and perished the thought of making any further report to the Police (‘Police is your friend’, indeed).

Separation of Powers While Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) (the Constitution), gives the Judiciary the power to adjudicate on matters (including those involving such Defendants as the robbery suspects), Section 4 of the Police Act clearly defines the general duties of the Police which include, prevention and detection of crime, apprehension of offenders, preservation of law and order, protection of life and property (not taking of life at will, by way of torture and other forms of extrajudicial killing), enforcement of all laws and regulations, with which they are directly charged.

The doctrine of separation of powers is “a model for the governance of a State”. Government is divided into branches, each branch independent, with separate functions and powers.

For us in Nigeria, this doctrine is enshrined in Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Constitution, which provides for three branches of government, the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary, respectively, giving each branch its own exclusive functions.

This doctrine, is “an essential part of the rule of law”.

The essence of separation of powers, is to ensure that power is not concentrated in one entity, and each branch performs its own duties, to the exclusion of the others. The different branches of government, are supposed to act as checks and balances on one another. The Legislature makes laws, the Judiciary interprets laws and adjudicates on all forms of matters and disputes, while the Executive is an Administrator, enforcing the law.

The Police is part of the Executive, and not the Judiciary.

However, today in Nigeria, in reality, we find that, the Executive seems to have arrogated the powers of the other two branches onto itself, like in a military totalitarian, authoritarian

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE

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

“HOWEVER, TODAY IN NIGERIA, IN REALITY, WE FIND THAT, THE EXECUTIVE SEEMS TO HAVE ARROGATED THE POWERS OF THE OTHER TWO BRANCHES ONTO ITSELF, LIKE IN A MILITARY TOTALITARIAN, AUTHORITARIAN DISPENSATION, THE ANTITHESIS OF WHAT SEPARATION OF POWERS IS MEANT TO GUARD AGAINST – TYRANNY”

dispensation, the very antithesis of what separation of powers is meant to guard against – tyranny. And, until this stops, we will continue to have confusion, and a general break down of law and order.

Examples of this usurpation of powers by the Executive, abound. Take for instance, the payment of almost $500 million for the purchase of Tucano Jets, without seeking the necessary approval of the National Assembly, or the issuance of Executive Orders which seems to be not only like making laws, but in some cases, laws that are unconstitutional and null and void ab initio, or the refusal to release on bail, Defendants who have been granted bail by courts of competent jurisdiction; these actions by the Executive, amount to the usurpation of the powers of the Legislature in the first two instances, and that of the Judiciary, in the third instance.

The Bottom Line?

The bottom line is that, where there is no proper separation of powers, the rule of law, which forms an integral part of this doctrine, cannot thrive or prevail. The mindset of an Executive, which feels free to do as it pleases, without taking cognisance of separation of powers, talk less of the rule of law, gives the Police and other agencies, the impetus to also do the same, knowing that there is no accountability, no checks and balances, and no consequences.

4/LAW REPORT

27.11.2018

Application of the Principle of Res Ipsa Loquitor

I

Facts: n May 2003, the 2nd Respondent who was driving a bus belonging to the 1st Respondent, and in the course of his employment, drove the bus in such a way that it left the unobstructed highway and crashed into the Appellant’s petrol station where it got burnt, and in the process, caused extensive damage to the station. The Appellant thereby, filed an action against the Respondents at the High Court of Anambra State, claiming damages for the actions of the Respondents.

The case of the Appellant was that, the negligent act of the Respondents in driving the luxury bus of the Respondents recklessly into its petrol station and causing same to catch fire and burn to the ground, caused injury to the Appellant. The Appellant pleaded the doctrine of res ipsa loquitor, as an alternative.

The Respondents’ story was that, the bus was taken over by armed robbers who drove the bus into the petrol station and after robbing the passengers of their belongings, set the luxury bus on fire. At the trial, the Appellant’s witnesses could not ascertain what caused the fire, as they were not eye witnesses. The trial court found that, the Appellant had abandoned the particulars of negligence pleaded, and that the Appellant relied solely on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitor.

The Court gave judgement in favour of the Appellant, holding that the Appellant could rightly invoke the principle of res ipso loquitor, and that the burden shifted to the Respondents to explain what led to the accident. On appeal to the Court of Appeal, the decision of the trial court was upturned and the appeal upheld. The Appellant therefore, appealed to the Supreme Court.

Issue for Determination: The Supreme Court adopted the following, as the sole issue for determination of the appeal: Whether the Appellant’s reliance on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitor to recover damages arising from the injury inflicted on it by the Respondents, which could not be otherwise established, is lawful.

Arguments Counsel for the Appellant contended that, though the Appellant had pleaded negligence and res ipsa loquitor in the alternative, having led no evidence on negligence, the trial court was right to have deemed that aspect of the Appellant’s claims, as abandoned. He contended that, the finding of the Court of Appeal that the trial Court had treated negligence and the doctrine of res ipsa loquitor conjunctively is erroneous. The Appellant relied on EZEMBA v IBENEME (2004) 14 NWLR (Pt. 894) 649. He submitted further that, the lower court’s finding, that the Appellant’s plea of res ipsa loquitor had been rebutted by the Respondents, was not supported by evidence on record. Finally, the Appellant submitted that, a party is at liberty to plead in excess of its case, and obtain judgement only on pleaded facts that are supported by evidence.

In his response, Counsel for the Respondents argued that, the Appellant was bound by its pleadings and having not pleaded res ipsa loquitor, it is not entitled to the judgement of the trial Court. He argued further that, granting without conceding that the Appellant pleaded the said principle, res ipsa loquitor must not only be specifically pleaded, but also especially proved. Counsel stated that, no lawful finding of liability can arise from an invocation of res ipsa loquitor, on the basis of the facts specifically pleaded by the Appellant in support of his separate claim from the Respondent’s negligence. Counsel referred to EZOMI v A-G BENDEL (1986) 4 NWLR (Pt. 36) 488.

Court’s Judgement and Rationale In determining the issue, the Supreme Court held that res ipsa loquitor, is a rule of evidence upon a claim for damages in negligence. The rule postulates that, in

Hon. Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad, JSC

In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja On Thursday, the 8th day of June, 2018 Before Their Lordships Musa Dattijo Muhammad Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun Chima Centus Nweze Ejembi Eko Paul Adamu Galinje Justices, Supreme Court SC.246/2009 Between Chudi Verdical Co. Ltd .........

Appellant

And 1. Ifesinachi Industries Nig. Ltd 2. Felix Edeoga ............Respondents (Lead Judgement delivered by Hon. Musa Dattijo Muhammad, JSC)

“THE PRINCIPLE IS INVOKED ON THE BASIS OF AN EVENT, WHICH, IN THE ORDINARY COURSE OF THINGS, WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED, EXCEPT SAME WAS CAUSED

BY NEGLIGENCE FOR WHICH THERE IS NO EXPLANATION....

THE EVENT ON THE BASIS OF WHICH THE PLAINTIFF INVOKES THE DOCTRINE, MUST SPEAK ELOQUENTLY FOR ITSELF, THAT THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE DEFENDANT HAD BROUGHT IT ABOUT, AND THE STATE OF THINGS COMPLAINED OF HAVE REMAINED UNEXPLAINED”

the circumstances of a case, the event that gave rise to the alleged negligence, tells its own story. That story must be a clear and unambiguous story, of lack of duty of care.

The rule raises a rebuttable presumption which will be successfully rebutted, where there is evidence showing that despite the mishap, the Defendant was not at fault. ROYAL ADE NIG. LTD. & ANOR v N.O.C.M. CO. PLC. (2004) 8 NWLR (Pt. 874) 206; OJO v GHARORO & ORS (2006) 10 NWLR (Pt. 987) 173. The onus therefore, falls on the Defendant to explain and show that the accident occurred without fault on his part. SPDC (NIG.) LTD v EDAMKUE & ORS (2009) 14 NWLR (Pt. 1160) 1. The doctrine is inapplicable where the cause of the accident is known. IBEANU & ANOR v OGBEIDE & ANOR (1998) 12 NWLR (Pt. 576) 1.

In the present case, the Respondents pleaded and gave evidence to the effect that the luxury bus, which was under their control and management, was attacked by armed robbers who overpowered the 2nd Respondent, drove the bus into the Appellant’s petrol station and set it ablaze; which action resulted in the damage to the petrol station. The Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeal in its conclusion that, since there is evidence of how the accident happened and the Appellant appears to know how the injury occurred, the principle of res ipsa loquitor is thereby, misconceived and inapplicable. The Supreme Court held further that, the Appellant cannot invoke the principle of res ipsa loquitor, which doctrine is dependent on the absence of explanation, against the Respondents,. on the basis of available evidence of how the petrol station got burnt.

Appeal Dismissed.

Dissenting Opinion of Ejembi Eko, JSC His Lordship opined that, res ipsa loquitor is not itself a tort, rather a rule of evidence suggesting that the injury or harm may have occurred in the absence of the alleged negligence. It raises a presumption in favour of the Plaintiff that, prima facie the Defendant was negligent, unless satisfactory explanation as to how the damage suffered by the Plaintiff occurred and that he was not in any way negligent. His Lordship found that the PW3 clearly established the fact the Appellant did not know how the Marcopolo bus operated and in control of the Respondents, came to park at its filling station, away from the highway, and subsequently, caught fire which caused the damage to its filling station. It suffices to say that, the principle of res ipsa loquitor is very apposite in this instance.

Further, going by the provisions of Section 140 of the Evidence Act 2011, the fact is within the knowledge of the Respondents, and the burden of proving same was on them. The Respondents in this case, failed to discharge the onus of providing a credible explanation of how the bus got burnt together with the petrol station. The reasonable and natural inference from the facts is that, the damage to the petrol station, was, owing to some fault, act or negligence reasonably attributable to the Respondents. The only witness called by the Respondents at the trial court, testified that he was unconscious and was dragged out of the bus, his testimony was held not to be credible.

It follows that, the Respondents did not offer a reasonable explanation, that rebuts any inference of negligence on their part. Res ipsa loquitor, a rule of evidence or presumption, therefore, applies.

Representation: K.O. Kama Esq. for the Appellant A.O. Moghoh (Jnr) Esq. with F.I. Asogwa (Jnr) Esq. and S. Agbaje Esq. for the Respondents.

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

27.11.2018

NEWS/5

SIGNING OF HANDBOOKS L-R: Nnamdi Nwizu, Busola Ogunlola, Reginald Udom, Mrs. Bolanle Animashaun, NBA Lagos Branch Chairman, Mr. Chukwuka Ikwuazom, Chairman of Young Lawyers Forum, Aderinsola Fagbure and Chinenye Oragwu at the Young Lawyers Summit

L-R: Hon. Justice Yetunde Adesanya, Lagos State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Opeyemi Oke, Chief Registrar, Mrs. Taiwo Olatokun and Dep. Chief Registrar Legal (ikeja), Mrs. Busola Okunuga at the Signing of Handbooks on Small Claims Court & Practice Directions on Small Claims 2018 at the Ikeja High Court premises recently

Young Lawyers Brainstorm on the Future of Legal Practice in Nigeria

Stop Alleged Defamatory Publication Against Udom, Court Orders

Stories by Akinwale Akintunde

Justice O. Femi-Adeniyi of a Lagos High Court sitting in Igbosere, has restrained a former House of Representative member, Dr. Emaeyak Ukpong from further publishing an alleged defamatory advertorial against Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel.

The Judge gave the restraining order, following a motion filed before the court

by Governor Udom suing through his attorney, Austin Aruoriwo Odorewu.

Governor Udom had dragged the former House of Representative member to court, over allegation of a libellous advertorial published in a leading newspaper captioned ‘Open letter to the Board Chairman and Shareholders of Julius Berger Plc’.

The Governor claimed that, the said publication was aimed at maligning his reputation, adding that the said malicious publication, was filled with lies and fictitious fabrications.

Joined, as co-defendants in the suit, are the Newspaper and its Editor.

Young lawyers from various sectors of legal practice, gathered in Lagos last week to brainstorm on the future of legal practice in Nigeria.

The event with the theme ‘The Young Lawyers and the Future of Legal Practice’, which held at the Lagos City Hall, Lagos Island, was the Young Lawyers Summit organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch.

Declaring the Summit open, the Chairman of NBA Lagos Branch, Mr. Chukwuma Ikwuazom, noted that he was pleased that the event had come to fruition, because the welfare and development of young Lawyers, is something he is keen on improving and developing.

Ikwuazom mentioned his passion for young Lawyers, and the commitment of the EXCO towards ensuring that young Lawyers’ welfare remains priority.

He therefore, urged young Lawyers to get their priorities right, by attending continuing legal education programs.

In her welcome address, Ms. Derin Fagbure, Chairman, Young Lawyers Forum, welcomed participants and enjoined them to

make best use of their presence at the Summit.

According Fagbure, the Annual Summit is one of the high points of any legal year for young Lawyers in Nigeria, and always features topical issues and fascinating debates, to help young Lawyers achieve their potentials.

The Summit was enriched with an avalanche of highly resourceful personalities, including Reginald Udom, who spoke on the Importance of Networking, Mentoring and Training; Busola Ogunsola, who spoke on Etiquette and Branding; Nnamdi Nwizu, who spoke on Managing Your Finance; Lolade Ososami, who spoke on Considerations for Specialisation and Rotimi Ogunyemi, who spoke on Specialising in ICT. Other resource persons at the Summit were Oyinkansola Fawehimi, who spoke on Specialising in Entertainment, Hamid Abdulkareem, who spoke on Specilising in Arbitration and Ahmed Akanbi, Kayode Adegbola and Jimi Disu, who all handled the Role of Young Lawyers in Politics and Nation Building,

respectively.

Rotimi Ogunyemi, the Managing Partner of Bayo Ogunyemi and Co and President of Spindlar Cyberlaw Centre, challenged young Lawyers to maximally utilise information technology (IT) tools, to enhance their legal practice in line with the 21st Century.

According to him, technology is at the core of what Lawyers do, adding that technology is becoming more prevalent within the law firms and legal departments, as the practice of law is being disrupted through the use and advances in technology.

The key message of Ogunyemi’s presentation was that, change is happening now; advances in technology are not going away, but have come to stay; and that Lawyers of tomorrow, are the ones who must come to terms with the realities of ICT and embrace specilisation. Adding that, specilisation is the answer to the impact of technology on the legal profession.

“Tomorrow’s Lawyer will not only have deep experts, but will also have enough

knowledge and appreciation of other disciplines – such as knowledge of technology, business, data analytics and security etc., to better solve complex problems and add higher value”, he stated.

For Hamid Abdulkareem of Aluko & Oyebode, Arbitration is the way to go in today’s legal practice.

He highlighted what makes Arbitration different from litigation, as procedural flexibility, ability to adopt bespoke solutions, limited basis for review of awards, amongst others.

He also encouraged young Lawyers to attend arbitration conferences, domestic and international where possible, in order to build their arbitration practice.

The young Lawyers were further advised to get involved in the community by volunteering, adding that young arbitrators’ associations, are good ways to get noticed.

Participants at the Summit, which was moderated

by Ibukun Owa of Aluko & Oyebode, commended the convener in putting together this laudable, enriching and empowering discourse.

Ruling on the motion on notice brought by Udom’s lawyer, Dr. Charles Mekwunye, Justice Femi-Adeniyi granted a restraining order on all the Defendants in the suit, from further republishing the advertorial.

“The Defendant/Respondents are hereby restrained either by themselves or their privies, servants, agents affiliates, assignors, licensors and persons acting through and/or for them, from further republishing and or uploading the false and libellous publication pertaining to the Claimant/ Applicant captioned ‘Open letter to the Board Chairman and Shareholders of Julius Berger Plc’.

“The 1st and 2nd Defendant/Respondents are hereby restrained from further supplying and/or making available to other media houses, the false and libellous publication against the Claimant/Applicant ”, the Judge ruled.

Justice Femi-Adeniyi also directed the Newspaper involved in the suit, to take down the said publication from its website, and all other websites related to it.

Lawyer Sues FG, Security Chiefs, Others, Lagos State takes Justice to the Grassroots over Operation Crocodile Smile A Lagos-based Lawyer and Human Rights Activist, Chief Malcom Omirhobo, has filed a fundamental rights suit against Federal Government of Nigeria, the security chiefs and the Governments of the 36 States of the Federation at the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking to restrain the military from embarking on Operation Crocodile Smile 111 in the Niger Delta region of the country.

Other Defendants in the suit, which also have Malcom Omirhobo Foundation as the 2nd Plaintiff, are the Attorney-General of the Federation, National Assembly, Nigerian Police Service Commission, Nigerian Police Council, Nigerian Police Affairs Commission, Minister of Defence and the Commissioners of Police across the States and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In the suit marked as FHC/ ABJ/CS/1378/2018, the Applicants are asking the court to declare that, the military operations violate their fundamental human rights to life, dignity of human person, personal liberty, family and private life, and therefore, illegal.

They also prayed for a declaration that operation Python Dance 111 in the South East, is a violation of the rights of the Nigerian public resident in the area, and therefore, undemocratic and unconstitutional.

In addition, the Applicants want the court to declare that maintenance of law and order and the enforcement of law in Nigeria, is the primary and constitutional responsibility of the Nigeria Police Force, and not the Nigeria Armed forces.

They therefore, prayed the court, to order the Defendants to evacuate the military from the zone, as well as an order mandating the Police to take charge of enforcement of law and order in those zones.

Omirhobo also asked for a perpetual injunction, restraining the President and other Defendants, from using armed forces to perform the duties of the Police.

Supported by 112-paragraph affidavit, deposed to by the 2nd Applicant, Omirhobo averred that, he is a Lawyer from Ughelli in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria.

He swore that as a Minister in the temple of justice with the commission to defend the Constitution of Nigeria at all times, it has become necessary to seek for the court’s interven-

tion, as a result of the military operations in the two zones, despite protest from members of the public.

“That the first and second rounds of both exercises, led to the wanton violation of the fundamental and human rights of the Nigerian Public in the South East Zone and Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, respectively.

“That as a result of the first and second rounds of both exercises, a lot of the Nigerian Public in the South East Zone and Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, went missing and unaccounted for.”

The Applicants averred that, further operations would be disastrous for the people, as they are yet to recover from the trauma and damning effects, of the first and second military operations.

The Lagos State Ministry of Justice, in a bid to sensitise and bring justice closer to all residents in the State, has gone a step further by enlightening residents at the grassroots of the benefits inherent in the justice sector.

The enlightenment campaign was carried out at the 30th anniversary of Igbogbo Day celebrations, where the Ministry organised a legal clinic with all its departments and agencies present, to offer legal services and advice to the people.

The leader of the delegation and Director in the department of Administrator General and Public Trustees, Mrs. Mariam Olaniyi, admonished residents not to resort to self help, but avail themselves of the opportunity provided by the State Ministry of Justice,

to settle their grievances.

She noted that, the State Government has put modalities in place to assist the people in accessing free legal services across the State. She added that " there are several windows available to access justice free of charge, as Government through its agencies, is ready to provide succour to the indigent residents in Lagos State".

According to her, agencies and directorates such as the Administrator General and Public Trustees (AG&PT), Public Advice Centre (PAC), Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Citizens' Mediation Centre at (CMC), Citizens' Right, Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSRVT), Taskforce on Land Grabbers, Lis Pendis and the Community

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

6/

27.11.2018

Former NBA President, Wali Celebrates 60th Birthday with Book Presentation Akinwale Akintunde A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Okey Wali, SAN, celebrated his 60th birthday anniversary recently.

The highpoint of the birthday celebration, which commenced with a thanksgiving service at the River State Ecumenical Centre, Abonnema, Port Harcourt, was the public presentation of his autobiography titled ‘A Life of Perseverance’.

The service which was presided over by the General Overseer, Royal House of Grace, Apostle Zilly Aggrey, had in attendance the special guest of honour, Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, accompanied by his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette NyesomWike, the Deputy Governor, Attorney-General of the State, Honourable Judges, and top government officials.

Also present at the service, were past President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Augustine Alegeh, SAN, Chief Arthur Obi Okafor, SAN, Emeka Obegolu JP, Past Secretary, Mazi Afam Osigwe, and many legal personalities.

Chief Moses Wifa, SAN, chaired the reception and book presentation, which took place at Asia Town, Forces Avenue in the Old GRA. In his Chairman’s remarks, Chief Wifa said Okey Wali is worthy of being celebrated, for his particular and extraordinary kindness

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike being welcomed to the event by the cel- Governor, Nyesom Wike, Chief Okey Wali, SAN joined by others to present the ebrant, Chief Okey Wali, SAN book to the public

to people, especially the junior Lawyers.

Speaking during the presentation of the book, Governor Wike said, Okey Wali has lived a life of service to the people of Rivers State and the country.

“Wali has influenced generations of Nigerians, including myself, positively. As a student of law at the River State University, I benefited from the law chambers of Okey Wali, because it placed me ahead of my peers at school.

“Okey Wali has supported me politically since 1998, he stood by me all through my political journey, and never wavered at any point. He is one person I can take a risk for

LAGOS STATE TAKES JUSTICE TO THE GRASSROOTS Service, are institutions funded by taxpayer's money, to harness peaceful coexistence among residents in the State.

Olaniyi commended the Oba of Igbogbo, Oba Kasali Semiu Adegboroye, for his immense effort at partnering with the Ministry, with a view to educating his people more in the area of justice delivery.

Further to this, Olaniyi hinted that, the legal

without looking back. He is my friend, and I will always stand by him at all times”, the Governor said.

Wike, who also used the occasion, to show his displeasure at the democratic turbulence bedeviling the country said, “I am disappointed that we are still struggling to have free and fair elections. I am equally pained that, the process has consistently been abused and that the current multi-party system has not worked well for the country. Rather, we are grappling with a lot of problems. One starts to wonder, whether this country is being properly led.

“I have seen that the economic opportuni-

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

clinic was aimed at reawakening the general public about the free legal services of the Ministry which cuts across the rights of women, children, the less privileged, the vulnerable, and persons living with disabilities, and to further sensitise them on new laws enacted by the Lagos State Government, to preserve their rights.

In his remarks, the Oba of Igbogbo, HRM Oba Kasali Semiu Adegoroye, commended

the State Government for providing avenues where residents can settle their disputes and obtain free legal services, without fear or favour.

He advised the Igbogbo Community and it's environs, to seize the opportunity provided by the State Ministry of Justice, as Government is committed to accommodating the grassroots in its developmental plans, of which access to justice is one of them.

ties for Nigerians via good quality of life, is not there. Instead, there is despondency and hopelessness. There is a great deal of uncertainty. Any reasonable and truly committed Nigerian, who is not exploitative and opportunistic, will not be happy with the present situation we are in, in the country.”

He called on progressive and legal minded young Riverians, to join politics so that the decadence in the country would be corrected. > In his response, Wali told his story in a marathon, and advised young Lawyers to pay their dues through hard work, rather than placing money ahead of professional competence.

“Every senior member of the legal profession, is concerned about developing the next generation of Lawyers.

“The hallmark of every profession, is the wellbeing of its practitioners, but we are not there yet in Nigeria. I am very committed to good legal values and good education, which used to be the pride of the legal profession, you don’t find that anymore. But, we shall continue to educate the young ones for a better tomorrow”, Wali said.

He urged prominent Nigerians to always write their autobiographies, as a way of inspiring young people to aspire to greatness.

Legal Personality of the Week Adedotun Habeeb Adetunji

‘A Lawyer Must Abide by the Ethics of the Profession’ very painful and disappointing, but a sure lesson in this is, not to be over-confident.

I am Adedotun Habeeb Adetunji, a Past Chairman Nigerian Bar Association Ikorodu Branch, a National Executive Committee member of the NBA from 2014 to date, member of the Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy to the Governor of Lagos State, a legal practitioner of about 23 years standing at the Bar, and Principal Counsel in the law firm of Dotun Adetunji & Co . I am married to Olayinka and blessed with four children.

Have you had any challenges in your career as a Lawyer, and if so, what were the main challenges?

The Challenges in my journey through the law profession, have been enormous, but challenges by their very nature, change and what one terms as a challenge in the beginning, often turns into blessings thereafter, especially in my own case. I started practice by working long hours, 7.30am to 9.00 pm on daily basis, except Sundays. The work hours were compulsory, and it was a serious challenge at the time, but it has become a blessing today, as I realised that, it was a good way to start, and it made me come out stronger. It was a great challenge coping with cases lost in the early days of my practice, as it was usually emotionally disturbing and made me mentally imbalanced on the few occasions such happened; but today, and in reality, I found out that it only makes one stronger and more focused.

What was your worst day as a Lawyer?

A day I will never forget in the history of my practice, and which happens to be my worst day as a Lawyer, was the first time I lost a case, having gone through the

What has been your most memorable experience, as a Lawyer?

It is very difficult to pick out any particular experience or case as the most memorable- there have been many unusual cases and unusual clients. If pressed, I would say that in my 23 years of legal practice, the most memorable experience I have had, relates to a passing off/ trademark matter which I instituted and concluded going through full trial, and eventually won same both at the lower court and at the appeal court. It was most pleasing.

Adedotun Habeeb Adetunji

rigours of trial for several years. While I narrate this story in a very short and precise manner, may I urge all Legal Practitioners to at least have confidence, but not to be over-confident in all they do. I was too sure of victory, in the matter. I even boasted to my Client that, there was no way we would not win the matter, which I later realised, is not good professionally.

It was a land matter, where the Head of the Family did not consent to the transaction. There are plethora of cases, that point to the fact that, such a transaction, cannot stand. I relied heavily on these precedents, the case of the other party was not so strong, and it appeared to me that, they didn't believe in their case.

We went through the trial, and I lost the case. It's an understatement to say it was

Who has been most influential in your life?

As a child, I wanted to be anything anyone could consider the best - Medical doctor, Engineer, Lawyer/Accountant.

When I grew up, I realised the road to achieving any of these is long and tortuous. I decided to settle for less- political science. More influential in my life than anyone is my father, my great mentor, Chief Muritala Adebayo Adetunji JP; OFR who had aspirations for me to become a lawyer. Through his efforts, I was able to change my course of study from Political Science to Law, at the end of my year one at the University of Ibadan. His influence on me, has not ceased till now, as he has remained a very strong pillar, which the Almighty Allah created for me. He has been very supportive, all through my early years in practice and to date.

Why did you become a Lawyer?

I eventually became a Lawyer as God had destined it through the grand design

of my father, who showed me that life is an unending quest for knowledge and I am so happy for it. Being a Lawyer, is one of the best things that ever happened in my life. My becoming a Lawyer was more of a divine design, as I never thought it could be achievable, but with God all things are possible.

What would be your advice to anyone wanting a career in law?

A willing soul itching to join the profession, however, must be ready to abide by the ethics of the profession, be honest and hardworking. The area of law you ultimately choose to practice, speaks volumes of who you are as a person.

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

If l had not be become a Lawyer, surely I would have become a political scientist.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Ten years is such a far period from now, but just around the corner as time waits for no one. I will be focusing on maintaining a busy practice, with the intention to remain in full advocacy, but at the same time diversify into other areas of law including arbitration/ mediation, in order to make more money without loosing focus on litigation, which ultimately, is the major path to clinching the revered and cherished title I have always dreamt about - Senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN). As one is not growing younger, I see myself having held elective posts in my Associations and Government circle, thereby contributing my quota positively to the development of the country, to the best of my ability.

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ALP: A Convergence of Skills, Experience and Knowledge In recent times, the legal world has been moving towards Law Firm Partnerships, as the way to go, for the future. In this new series, THISDAY LAWYER seeks to look into the hows and whys of partnerships, the reasons for their creation, their structure, development and sustainability, also to assist those of us who may be seeking to form partnerships. In May 2017, in the Nigerian legal industry, four successful legal practitioners came together in a merger, which in barely one year, admitted two new partners and metamorphosed into a continental law firm, now know as Africa Law Practice (ALP Legal or ALP). Onikepo Braithwaite and Jude Igbanoi visited the law offices of the firm, and had a chat with the six partners, Olasupo Shasore, SAN, Uyiekpen Giwa-Osagie, Aisha Rimi, Oyinkan Badejo-Okusanya, Bello Salihu and Atinuke Dosunmu. They let THISDAY LAWYER into why and how they started, their rules of operation, the secret of their success, how they have fared in less than two years, and their plans to conquer the African legal space

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our law firms coming together in a merger, is unprecedented in Nigeria. What informed the decision to form Africa Law Practice (ALP), especially as some of you partners have been parts of other partnerships in the past? Did each partner’s specialty and the idea of combining those areas of expertise, have anything to do with which firms were selected to come together? How do such partnerships work? How do you do profit-sharing? How are the partners’ salaries determined?

Africa Law Practice (or ALP or ALP Legal for short), is, as you have rightly noted, a merger of several practices, and recognises the experience, knowledge and different skills the founding partners were able to bring together. Some of us have been in partnerships, government, boutique practices and business. The wealth of our combined experience and knowledge, was

a motivating factor to create something that would offer wholesome legal advice, not only in Nigeria, but as the name implies, across the continent. We are building an alliance of firms across the continent that can serve the growing African Trade.

We hope to build a firm, which can grow into an institution that will outlive its founding partners. We have since coming together, grown the partnership with the addition of 2 more partners.

Partnerships take different shapes and sizes, but the essentials remain the same – knowledge, expertise, trust, honesty, respect ...It is like a marriage, albeit unusually, a functional polygamous one. In making partnerships work, it is important that each partner’s skills and resources are acknowledged and respected, but each must have something to contribute. This cocktail, once blended, must serve the common goal of advancing the firm, and of course, making a profit.

Numerous partnerships, have different profit-sharing formulas. There can be a “one for all and all for one” approach

Africa Law Practice Partners (ALP): Atinuke Dosunmu, Uyi Giwa Osagie, Oyinkan Badejo Okusanya (left); Bello Salihu, Aisha Rimi, Olasupo Shasore, SAN (right)

where everyone takes the same; it can be pro-rated based on partners’ contributions to the firm; sometimes, the partner who brings in the work or does the work, can get a larger share and so on. Some partnerships have fixed monthly drawings for partners, and some arrangements also have salaried partners. Ours is a hybrid of the numerous options, because experience has shown us that, flexibility is important.

Some of the partners have been in the public sector. As Lawyers, how does this experience come to bear in private practice The public service gives anyone, particularly Lawyers, a different perspective to legal problems and their solutions. The balance between the overall interest of the State and individual rights, certainly assist on a personal level; but above all, it gives much needed knowledge to advice clients on approach, method and legal avenues with which to manage government authority. As compliance and tax become more and more the top item in big business, risk and performance profile, public sector experience and regulatory know-how, will continue to be a much sought after skill set.

Other practices were collapsed into ALP? Were the partners not concerned about losing independence?

Each had successfully run, or been part of practices focused on all areas, ranging from corporate commercial law to government and regulatory affairs. Meeting the right partners, was all that was needed to convince individuals that, this was a partnership to be happy to be a part of.

A number of us had worked together at different times in our professional life, and knew and respected the other partners on a personal and professional level. It did not take much to convince ourselves that, this was a partnership where all our skills, experience and expertise would successfully blend and complement each other. Ultimately, in this case, it was better to be part of a big pie, than to be an independent.

Being such a relatively young firm, don’t you think that having six partners is top-heavy?

While the partnership may be rela-

tively new, our individual practices are both tested and experienced. Above all, number doesn’t matter as much as synergy. The important thing, is to have a complementary mix of people, skills and personalities. Each partner brings a unique set of capabilities to the table, in ensuring that the Firm is able to maximise output and deliver more complete legal services.

Having said that, our organisational chart is such that, we have a proportionate number of senior associates, associates and trainees, that ensures balance across all levels. Furthermore, we are growing and will continue to grow.

As an indirect follow up to the previous questions, we observe that you have three female partners and three male partners. Was this deliberate?

It was not deliberate at all. On the contrary, it was just a happy coincidence.

In finding the right mix of people, we also managed to get a perfectly balanced gender mix. We are an equal opportunity employer, and consider personality and capability as paramount. Gender, and for that matter, religion and ethnicity, do not factor into our consideration. We focus more on personality, and the ability of the person to adapt to our corporate culture.

Have you found it difficult to admit new partners and have them fit into the existing structure?

It was not difficult. We think that it is a great testament to the structure put in place here, that each partner has a unique

“THE WEALTH OF OUR COMBINED EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE, WAS A MOTIVATING FACTOR TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT WOULD OFFER WHOLESOME LEGAL ADVICE, NOT ONLY IN NIGERIA, BUT AS THE NAME IMPLIES, ACROSS THE CONTINENT. WE ARE BUILDING AN ALLIANCE OF FIRMS ACROSS THE CONTINENT, THAT CAN SERVE THE GROWING AFRICAN TRADE”

Photo: Kolawole Alli

capability and a work ethic which made it easy to fit into the existing structure.

Beyond that, they understand the ultimate goal of the partnership, and are aligned with the founding partners’ vision for the firm.

What is the focus of ALP? Transactions/Commercial Law? We know that having as partners a former AttorneyGeneral/Senior Advocate of Nigeria and an active member of the Arbitration/ ADR scene in Nigeria, part of your thrust will be litigation and ADR? What else?

ALP’s focus is on corporate, commercial law and related litigation and dispute resolution. We have the good fortune of a having a Senior Advocate and former Attorney-General, as a founding partner.

Some of our partners are actively involved in the arbitration scene, as you have noted, both locally and internationally, with our members participating in institutional (LCIA, ICC and ICSID) and ad-hoc arbitrations.

On the corporate-commercial side, we are focused on commercial transactions and have had the opportunity of rendering legal and advisory services to clients particularly in Energy & Infrastructure financial services sector, capital markets and real estate development. We also have a department, dedicated to private client work. With so much experience in regulatory work, we have a strong focus on assisting clients in risk mitigation and government relations agencies.

In our pan-Africa practice, we provide our clients with legal and advisory services, wherever our network permits across the continent.

Part of the name of your firm is Africa.

It seems as if you have affiliations with other law firms in different parts of Africa, but only anglophone countries?

What about the francophone countries?

How do the affiliations work?

We do have affiliations across the continent, and these are growing by the day. We started with anglophone countries, because it was easier to combine with those with similar legal systems, and of course, the language. That said, we are in advanced discussions with Francophone and Lusophone firms, and one particularly exciting new market.

The affiliations are by way of alliance, or co-ownership of an international business. In some countries, the firms have retained their names, and in others, have changed or will change their names to reflect membership of the ALP International group.

The encroachment of foreign law firms in the Nigerian legal industry, has become a serious cause for concern.

The NBA has come out strongly against Nigerians bringing in Lawyers who are not qualified to practice here, under all sorts of auspices, with corporate organisations particularly, being accused of this bad habit. How can this tide be stemmed?

Nigeria has an incredible number of highly experienced and competent Lawyers, many of whom have trained and worked abroad. There is absolutely no reason why foreign firms or Lawyers, should be engaged in rendering legal advice/services where the transaction is of a domestic nature, and we believe the legal services market will naturally sort this out. Foreign jurisdictions, certainly have restrictions on Nigerian Lawyers. In creating ALP, we deliberately designed expertise and connections, to be able to offer seamless legal advice and professional services, to the increasing cross border transactions that will certainly emanate from the recently signed Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). This is where the advantage of the combined aggregate of firms in Africa in our alliance, lies. We are all linked by ALP International (registered in Mauritius).

So AfCFTA for us, is important to the future of legal practice.

Besides the emerging shape of the services industry that legal practice is prominent in, we believe that, AfCFTA and the common market will reduce concerns about encroachment. As you know, the two protocols on free movement of goods and services across Africa, were part of the agreement signed by 44 countries.

This means not only a customs union, but negotiations towards reducing and standardising the ability to provide services in different countries. While we believe that several services are inherently local, such as civil litigation and property related

services, there are several other areas of practice that will open up to Nigerians and beyond.

This is not any one person’s making; it is the trajectory chosen by the nations in Africa, that dates back to the formation of the African Union (AU). In Article 3 of the AU statute, the stated objective was, and obligation of States was geared towards “accelerating the political, socio- economic integration of the continent”. Also, the 1980 Nigeria-led initiative called the ‘Lagos Plan of Action’ for Economic Development of Africa 1980-2000, proposed a regional development plan that conceived and included an ‘African Common Market’.

This all led to the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government (HOSG) of the African Union, where Heads of Government met in Addis Ababa in 2012, and they came to the decision that, a Continental Free Trade Area would be formed in Africa, and endorsed the Action Plan on Boosting Intra-Africa Trade.

So, whereas, 44 countries first of all signed the agreement, the number increased to 49 with the signing by South Africa, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Lesotho and Burundi, at the AfCFTA Summit, Nouakchott. Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Chad and Swaziland have now ratified the agreement, meaning that six countries have done so. With twenty two ratifications, the AfCFTA will come into force. To show the intent of African countries, 15 nations have ratified the protocol on free movement of persons, right of residence, and right of establishment.

It is an exciting time for Africa and African businesses; one that the world is watching, and we are all in the middle of it. It will usher in the largest free trade area since 1995; potentially multiplying the percentage of trade within Africa, and increasing the continent’s Gross Domestic Product to 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars.

It was particularly pleasing, when Nigeria announced the formation of the Presidential Committee on Impact and Readiness for AfCFTA, with the active involvement of the Minister for Trade and the Nigeria Office for Trade Negotiations. Perhaps, that will bring the total signatories to 50

“IN FINDING THE RIGHT MIX OF PEOPLE, WE ALSO MANAGED TO GET A PERFECTLY BALANCED GENDER MIX. WE ARE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER, AND CONSIDER PERSONALITY AND CAPABILITY AS PARAMOUNT” out 54 countries. At ALP, we constantly monitor the progress of AfCTA, providing updates to clients, acting as resource to several parties involved and interested in the emerging market.

What difficulties, if any, did you encounter while setting up this relatively new partnership, either from the point of the Government Authorities and ease of doing business, or just generally? Do you intend for the partnership to increase in size?

What words of wisdom do you have for those trying to set up similar partnerships?

Setting up was straightforward, as the rules for setting up partnerships are not as onerous as incorporating a company.

However, generally speaking, the only sticky point is the tax regime, which has blanket provisions that do not encourage new businesses.

Structure is one of the limiting factors for law practices, since they must be constituted as partnerships under a business name, making scale and capital an issue. Lagos State attempted to address this with the Limited Partnership and Limited Liability Partnership amendments to the Partnership Law, thereby, tending to give partnership a semblance of separate legal status beyond the individual partners.

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ALP: A CONVERGENCE OF SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE acceptance it deserves. Hopefully, when the new Companies & Allied Matters Bill is passed, its emulation of the Lagos State initiative with Limited Liability Partnerships, will allow law practices to grow and take equity capital and debt in an incorporated entity structure, allowing for more growth in scale. We have adopted a capital contribution structure, which will, in the meantime, allow for multiple partners with equity. The implication is that, it has to be absolute equity percentages – our intention is to increase at that level.

We intend to grow, and as we said, one year and a half into the partnership, we were able to elevate a senior associate to partner, and admit a new partner. Generally, the words of wisdom we have garnered over the years are; respect for one other, common goals, honesty, trust. And you should have similar ‘DNA’, which allows you to complement each other; ensure a rules-led environment with transparency, under a predictable and open atmosphere, where everyone knows what is expected of him or her.

11) Many believe that, Nigerians find it difficult to maintain partnerships that stand the test of time. Do you agree?

What mechanisms have you put in place, to ensure that this will be an enduring partnership?

Combined resources, structured in aggregates of people doing business together for a common goal, will forever be a far better structure than one key man at the top of an organisation, taking all risks and directing all decisions. So, we have a firm belief that, the business of law is best optimised in partnerships. It can therefore, never be more difficult to maintain a partnership than any other business. But, sometimes, there could be differences within businesses. It is sound advice to ensure that, both the business structure and the operating rules regime, are robust enough to withstand personal idiosyncrasies without breaking up partnerships. Individuals should have clear transparent paths to exit and re-enter the firm, if, and when, necessary. Experience has shown that, the transition from founding members to independent multiple equity holders, causes tension, particularly the tendency for firms becoming family businesses, as founding partners exit. This tension causes talent turnover, if associates feel they have no real sense of growth or progress. Things are however, changing in the industry, and firms are evolving.

We believe it is necessary, for visioners to anticipate and expect the inevitable.

We believe we have taken best practices, that allow partnerships endure. The next generation will appreciate this different approach, the growth of firms like ours, will always be as a result of their internal structures.

There has been a call for law firms, to pay their juniors better. The complaint is that, partners collect huge fees and

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Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai

L-R: Olasupo Shasore, SAN, Aisha Rimi and Bello Salihu

pay their juniors a pittance. Kindly, comment on this.

This is a really interesting, topical question. Young practitioners are the future of the profession. Nevertheless, we cannot speak for other firms. On our part, all of us having been on the other side, have a reasonable idea of Lawyers’ expectations. However, to run a successful business, these expectations must be pitched against economic realities, and the costs of managing and maintaining a modern law practice. It is important that management, fee earners and all stakeholders, see operations without opaqueness. Only then, will there be a true appreciation of costs and the fairness (or not) of compensation. In our opinion, that should be the best approach. Paying juniors a pittance, is really unacceptable.

The notion of being poorly paid because ‘we are training you’, as is often said by some senior practitioners, is - outdated; and in fact, in today’s fusion of the profession of barristers and solicitors under one roof – highly inaccurate. Once a lawyer is qualified, he or she adds value to the firm, whether or not he or she is still new to the profession. Any recently qualified Lawyer who adds no value is a wrong hire, that firm’s management has only itself to blame for that.

What can be done to ensure the independence of the Judiciary from the Executive? Recently, a Senior Advocate complained to us that, if you have a matter that is remotely connected with a State Government, it is unlikely that you will get justice at first instance,

L-R: Atinuke Dosunmu, Uyi Giwa Osagie and Oyinkan Badejo-Okusanya

at that State’s High Court. You would have to wait, to go on appeal. This is not a good report. It signifies the fear of dispensing justice, for fear of the Executive relieving a Judge that doesn’t decide in its favour, of his/ her job. Are the Senior Advocate’s fears legitimate?

There have been mixed experiences, we will always be very reticent to give blanket views without details/data, particularly, when assessing something as subjective as the judicature. However, if and when the data is available, the obvious solution will lie in the manner through which judicial appointments are made and the human capital available, starting right from the educational process. A situation where a High Court Judge sees the court as the appendage of the executive arm of government that the court must not offend, is a threat, not just to the rule of law, but to orderly society, law and order, and our constitutional democracy. The thought of it, is frightening. In such a situation, there will be no real protection for the citizen in the determination of his or her civil rights and obligations, once the government is involved. This should be borne in mind, not just by the judges, but executive as well. It is in no one’s interest, particularly the State government’s interest, to ‘enjoy’ any perceived bias from State high courts, we must protect ourselves, throw out this tendency - if indeed, it exists.

What does the Learned Silk think can be done to oil the wheels of justice, and make them run faster?

‘ALP’S FOCUS IS ON CORPORATE, COMMERCIAL LAW AND RELATED LITIGATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION. WE HAVE THE GOOD FORTUNE, OF A HAVING A SENIOR ADVOCATE AND FORMER ATTORNEY-GENERAL, AS A FOUNDING PARTNER” The working of the justice sector, is arguably one of the single most existential problems that can confront any country, and it challenges Nigeria today. In a nutshell, we believe at a macro level, that we really need a directional consensus on our expectations of justice in Nigeria – are we really done with technical justice? Or do we all want substantial remedial justice? Because, the sector players are giving opposite results, and in other parts, the ‘talk and the walk’ are not the same, even where there is consensus. On a micro level, we need altruistic and genuinely capable personnel, technology and compensation schemes.

We have bandied all sorts of reports and reforms, without wholesome change in the workings of the machinery of justice, conflicting Federal and State jurisdiction in the delivery of justice to the citizen, has reached a level of concern.

It is a huge subject that occupies a forthcoming book ‘Ministering Justice: The Administration of the Justice Sector in Nigeria’ co-authored by one our partners Olasupo Shasore SAN & Dr Akeem Bello published by QBooks, which will be released later this month. The book deals with a much needed roadmap for the justice sector.

Fears have been expressed that, Artificial Intelligence will take away the work of Lawyers in the near future, and we have already seen a bit of this happening in other jurisdictions. What should we Lawyers do, to ensure that we remain relevant in the future?

Technology has an increasing role to play in the legal services market, and we think this is to be encouraged. Globally, in all the sectors, whether it’s medicine, education or banking; law is really far behind, but this is changing. AI is a reality of the world we live in, from smart phones, to speech and face recognition, automated systems, self-driving cars and so on. However, it is unlikely that they will ever truly break the barrier of humanlike intelligence. A famous mathematician said, “I wonder whether or when AI will CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

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ALP: A CONVERGENCE OF SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE ever crash the barrier of meaning”. We subscribe to this school of thought. AI systems, whilst impressive, are not immune to vulnerabilities. Hackers and slight changes to memorised visual or linguistic abilities, have rendered systems unreliable.

Technology is needed in the institutional side of justice delivery from the courts, to records archives data, processes and support equipment for Judges. But, also within the law firms where much more targeted specialised knowledge, is required to service the creative economy.

As for the concept of just ‘automated Lawyers’ we all know that law requires knowledge, common sense, human and transactional understanding – and above all, emotional intelligence. We don’t think there is too much to worry about, for the foreseeable future.

What is your firm doing towards corporate social responsibility? Do you have any specific programmes which for instance, young Lawyers can benefit from?

We have a robust internship programme, with two intakes a year. We have a programme for 16-18 year olds, thinking about a possible career in law, and we have the undergraduate programme for those already studying law.

We believe that, legal practice is a social enterprise, a business committed to serving the public as well its obvious constituency, the fee earners. Therefore, we take “social investment”, as we prefer to call it, very seriously. We undertake programs, that give value back to the community. We have commenced an ALP biennial National Arbitration Report, that will give stake holders in the dispute resolution industry a ‘state of the practice’ look at trends and forecasts for the industry, allowing them to take decisions as it affects users and advisers alike. We offer pro-bono assistance to those who are unable to afford credible and professional legal services, and partner with government to support victims of abuse and or threat, who have little or no legal support.

What do you think can be done to improve the welfare of Lawyers?

Interestingly, this subject continues to find its way into manifestos of those seeking political offices within the Nigerian Bar Association. With the greatest respect, however, we don’t see how the answer to address this issue, can be in the hands of NBA. As you probably know, many of our colleagues are sole proprietors.

They are their own bosses, and live by what they earn.

Those in paid employment in law firms, are bound by the terms of their employment. Neither of these categories of practice, in our view, lends itself to external interference as to impact on Lawyers’ welfare. We think an enabling environment, is the answer.

Is this not a clever way of evading the question?

Of course not. But, frankly speaking, a lot of private clients in negotiating legal fees (especially in litigation matters), measure it against the prospect of reaping the benefit of a judgement including the costs of the action.

We were recently involved in a case, where an employee sued the employer for wrongful termination. The case lasted almost three years. The claimant remained out of job, during that period. Judgement was eventually given in favour of the employee – the court ordered that the employer pay to the employee one month’s salary in lieu of notice, but that parties should bear their costs. Who won?

While there have been some noticeable changes in the attitude of the courts in this regard, we still think they need to do more. We are aware of some “reforms” in the new High Court of Lagos Civil Procedure Rules, which comes into force in January 2019. The reforms introduced a sanction regime, for Lawyers found tardy in the conduct of cases. This, in itself, is already a subject of debate within the legal community. There are several cases in which the exercise of the court’s discretion could adversely affect the rights of litigants, and by extension, the well- being of legal practice.

Take for instance, the issue of security for judgement.

The court in exercising its discretion to grant a stay of execution of a judgement (pending appeal), should in the same spirit, ensure that the judgement debtor provides adequate and real security for the judgement during the life of the appeal. This would discourage frivolous appeals, and the growing false sense of entitlement to an order of stay of execution of judgement. The natural outcome is that, more judgements get to be satisfied without appeals. More cases get to be litigated, and you know what that means for Lawyers.

“PAYING JUNIORS A PITTANCE, IS REALLY UNACCEPTABLE. THE NOTION OF BEING POORLY PAID BECAUSE ‘WE ARE TRAINING YOU’ AS IS OFTEN SAID BY SOME SENIOR PRACTITIONERS, IS OUTDATED...”

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Olasupo Shasore, SAN

Aisha Rimi

Uyi Giwa Osagie

Oyinkan Badejo Okusanya

Bello Salihu

Atinuke Dosunmu

What is the state of Nigeria’s investment laws?

What is your view on the suggestion that Nigeria is not a safe destination for foreign investors?

Like all men of commerce, we believe foreign investors seek investment advice on the host nation’s investment policy, as well as existing dispute resolution mechanisms in the host nation, before arriving at an informed investment decision. They know that disputes are likely to arise. One of the key factors in making an investment decision, is security of enforcement of contracts.

Investors always seek comfort, from the dispute resolution mechanism structures available in the host State. Because of its relatively special nature, an essential element of investment law disputes, is Bilateral Investment Treaty (ies) where there is one. BITs set out the rights and obligations of the State parties. We are sure you know that, Nigeria has had its fair share of BITs with a couple of countries, most of which are key influential trading nations in their respective rights.

Where there are no BITs, the national investment law applies. Our own national investment law is the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Act. It protects foreign investments from expropriation, and guarantees repatriation of profits. There are also provisions on how disputes are to be resolved, between the foreign investor and the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Although it is one of the statutes inherited from the military government and still relevant in the scheme of things, it’s about time the statute was reviewed.

The BITs and NIPCA have not done badly over the years though, in terms of volume of investment. We have had mixed results in international investment law dispute resolution (which remains one our areas of experience), but it is in need of great focus by the Nigerian public sector, as any of its component units can incur international liability for the State of Nigeria without the mal or mis- feasance being directly attributable to the Federal Executive arm of government.

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TALKING CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY DR. MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN, OFR, FCIARB, PH.D, LL.D

SMS only to 08098898888

The Constitutionality or Otherwise of President Buhari’s Travel Ban on Nigerians (Part 4)

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Curtain Call ast week, and the weeks before, we did some comparative analysis on the operation of Executive orders, from other jurisdictions. Today, we shall continue and conclude this analysis with the position in India, having started with the legal position in the United States of America. My respectful submission on the whole, is that, Executive Order 6 (EO 6) issued by the Government and the accompanying strange ban on certain unnamed Nigerians, are clearly unconstitutional, illegal, high handed and inimical to our agreed system of constitutional democracy.

The Legal Position in the United States of America (continued) We have so far, explored some case law in the United States of America. We shall now continue with the case of United States v Guest 383 U.S. at 757- 58. (1966), wherein the Court agreed that the Constitution did not explicitly provide for the right to travel, because such a right was considered so elementary and already conceived from the very beginning, as to be regarded as a necessary concomitant of a stronger Union that the Constitution had created. Such a right is therefor, virtually unqualified.

The importance of the connectivity of interstate market and a common union, was greatly emphasised in the 1969 case of Shapiro v Thompson, 394 U.S. 618 (1969).

Here, the court held thus: “This Court, long ago, recognised that the nature of our Federal Union and our constitutional concepts of personal liberty, unite to require that all citizens be free to travel throughout the length and breadth of our land uninhibited by statutes, rules, or regulations which unreasonably burden or restrict this movement.”

The Position in India In Satwant Singh Sawhney v D. Ramarathnam, Assistant, 1967 AIR 1836, 1967 SCR (2) 525, the petitioner carried on the business of import, export and the manufacture of automobile parts, and in connection with his business it was necessary for him to travel abroad.

For this purpose, he was holding two valid passports when on August 31, 1966 and on September 24, 1966, the first and the second Respondents, being the Assistant Passport Officer at New Delhi and the Regional Passport Officer at Bombay, respectively, wrote to the Petitioner calling upon him to surrender the two passports, as the Central Government had decided to withdraw the passport facilities extended to him.

The Petitioner then filed the present petition under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution, alleging that the Respondents’ action infringed his fundamental rights under Articles 21 and 14 of the Constitution; and prayed for a writ of mandamus, directing the Respondents to withdraw and cancel the decision contained in the two letters. It was contended, inter alia, on behalf of the Petitioner, that the right to leave India, travel outside India and return to India is part and parcel of personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution; that refusal to give a passport or withdrawal of one already given, amounts to deprivation of personal liberty, in as much as, (a) it is not practically possible for a citizen to leave India or travel abroad or to return to India without a passport; (b) instructions are issued to shipping and air travel companies by the Central Government not to take passengers on board without a passport; (c) under the Indian Passport Act, re-entering India without a passport is penalised. That the deprivation of personal liberty in the refusal or impounding of a passport, is not in accordance with any procedure established by law within the meaning of Article 21, as admittedly, there was no law placing any restrictions on the citizens of the country to travel abroad. Furthermore, the unfettered discretion given to the Respondents to issue or not to issue a passport to a person, offends Article 14 of the Constitution. The Respondents contested the petition, mainly on the grounds that no fundamental right of the Petitioner had been infringed upon; that the Petitioner had contravened the conditions of an import license obtained by him; that investigations were going on against him in relation to offences under the Export and Import Control Act; and that the passport authorities were satisfied that, if the Petitioner was allowed to continue to have the passports, he was likely to leave India and not return to

President Muhammadu Buhari

face a trial before a court of law; and that therefore, it was necessary to impound his passport. Further, it was contended that the passport was a document which was issued to a person at the pleasure of the President in exercise of his political function, and was a political document, and the refusal to grant a passport could not be a subject of review in a court of law. For the same reason, it was contended that, the Petitioner had no right to have the passports issued to him. The argument sounds very much like that usually proffered by Nigerian security agencies, not so? The above argument by Indian Government authorities sounds like an argument lifted straight from some pro-government Lawyers in Nigeria, in helping the Government to brazenly infringe on citizens’ cherished fundamental rights.

It was held (per Subba Rao, C.J., Shelat and Vaidialingam, JJ.), that a writ of mandamus must issue to the Respondents, to withdraw and cancel the decision contained in their letters dated August 31, 1966 and September 20, 1966. The court further held that, a person living in India has a fundamental right to travel abroad under Article 21 of the Constitution, and cannot be denied a passport because, factually, a passport is a necessary condition for travel abroad and the Government, by withholding the passport,

“....THE SUBSEQUENT TRAVEL BAN ON CERTAIN UNNAMED NIGERIANS, AND COMPARATIVE CASE ANALYSIS FROM SOME JURISDICTIONS, IT IS MY FIRM, BUT RESPECTFUL SUBMISSION THAT PRESIDENT BUHARI’S EO 6 AND HIS SUBSEQUENT TRAVEL BAN ON CERTAIN UNNAMED NIGERIANS, ESPECIALLY FROM THE OPPOSITION AND CRITICAL SEGMENTS OF THE SOCIETY, CONSTITUTE FLAGRANT AND SERIAL VIOLATIONS OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION....”

can effectively deprive him, of his right. This case is a further validation of the Apex Court’s position in the Olisa Agbakoba case.

Similarly, in the case of Maneka Gandhi v UNION OF INDIA, A.I.R. 1978 S.C 597, on the 4th of July, 1977, Smt. Maneka Gandhi, had received a letter from the Regional Passport Office, Delhi, asking her to submit her passport within seven days from the day on which she had received such letter. The letter stated that it had been the decision of the Government of India to impound her passport under Section 10(3) (c) of the Passport Act 1967. The grounds for such an impounding, as explained to her, was “public interest”.

Maneka Gandhi immediately sent a letter to the Regional Passport Officer, inquiring about the grounds on which her passport had been impounded. She also requested him to provide a copy of the ‘Statement of Reasons’ for making of such an order. The reply sent by the Ministry of External Affairs was that, it was the decision of the Government of India to impound the passport in the interest of the general public. Also, there were orders not to issue her a copy of the Statement of Reasons. Gandhi thus, filed a petition with regard to the matter.

It was held by the Indian Supreme Court that, Section 10(3)(c) of the Passport Act confers vague and undefined powers on the passport authorities. It is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, since it does not provide for an opportunity for the aggrieved party to be heard. It was also held to be violative of Article 21, since it does not affirm to the word “procedure” as mentioned in the clause, and the present procedure performed was the worst possible one. The Court, however, refrained from proffering any formal answer on the matter, and ruled, instead, that the passport would remain with the authorities till they deemed fit.

In E.P Royappa v State of Tamil Nadu & Another, [1974] 2 SCR 348, the Indian Supreme Court had earlier held that Article 14 is one of the pillars of the Indian Constitution, and hence, cannot be bound by a narrow and inflexible interpretation. Article 14 should thus, be given the widest interpretation possible, which also includes reasonableness and arbitrariness of certain provisions of the legislations.

Based on these observations, the court held Section 10(3)(c) of the Passport Act to be violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

Finally, in the case of Satwant Singh Sawhney v D. Ramarathnam, Assistant Passport Officer, Government of India, New Delhi & Ors (Supra), the Supreme Court held, by a majority judgement, that the expression 'personal liberty' in Article 21, takes in the right of locomotion and travel abroad, and under Article 21, no person can be deprived of his right to go abroad, except according to the procedure established by law. This decision was accepted by Parliament, and the infirmity pointed out by it was later set right by the enactment of the Passports Act, 1967.

Conclusion From my humble analysis of EO 6, the subsequent travel ban on certain unnamed Nigerians, and comparative case analysis from some jurisdictions, it is my firm, but respectful submission that President Buhari’s EO 6 and his subsequent travel ban on certain unnamed Nigerians, especially from the opposition and critical segments of the society, constitute flagrant and serial violations of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, all known democratic precepts, cherished fundamental rights of citizens, and the concept of the rule of law as ably espoused by Professor Albert Venn Dicey. The Government is hereby, respectfully urged to immediately cancel the travel ban, withdraw the offensive and unconstitutional EO 6, and give Nigerians their God-given free air to breathe. It was Billings Learned Hand, an American judge and judicial philosopher (1872 – 1961), the Author of “The Spirit of Liberty”, who once wrote, “if we are to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment, thou shall not ration justice”. He also wrote, famously, “what do we mean when we say first of all we seek liberty? I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws and upon courts. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it”. I most humbly rest my case (The End).

27.11.2018

THE LIGHTER SIDE/13

LEGAL HUMOUR

We Hold Your Brief JUDE IGBANOI jude.igbanoi@thisdaylive.com Dear Counsel, Please, help with the relevant information with regard to my sister-in-law’s unfortunate death.

My sister-in-law who is a petty trader, died in a road accident, and her body was taken to a hospital along with other casualties. I personally, went there to identify her body. We then made arrangements, for her burial. But, on the day we went to pick her corpse, we discovered to our utter dismay, that her corpse had been mutilated and some vital organs removed.

The hospital was unable to offer any reasonable explanation, and we promptly reported the matter to the Police, who made some arrests. My sister-in- law was subsequently, buried.

To our greatest surprise, we went back to the Police Station only to find that, all the suspects had been released by the Police, and nothing was done about the matter. The Police allowed them to walk away, as if no crime was committed!

Kindly, advice.

P.S., Lagos.

Dear P.S., Although, you didn’t disclose the exact location where this ugly incident took place, let us assume that it took place somewhere within Lagos State.

The law, clearly criminalises such unethical practices. We hear of these kind of stories fairly frequently, especially in rural and semi-urban areas, where there have been reports of mortuary attendants removing and selling body parts, for ritual purposes.

Lagos State has a law which provides against misconduct with regard to a corpse; Section 165(b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015, punishable with five years imprisonment. Section 165 (b) particularly creates a felony offence, for cutting up or mutilating a human corpse, just as we have in the case of your deceased sister- in-law.

I suggest you employ the services of a Lawyer, to officially take the matter up with the hospital and the Police. The hospital must provide a written comprehensive report, of what happened to your sister-in-law’s corpse, as embalming does not usually require the removal of organs, unless where there is an autopsy. And even when there is an

autopsy, the organs are usually replaced, after they have been examined and a biopsy has been taken.

A couple on their way to their wedding, were involved in a fatal car crash. On arriving at the pearly gates, they are asked to wait in a queue to be seen.

Whilst waiting, they realise that they are very disappointed at having missed the opportunity to marry, and wonder if they could get married in Heaven.

When it is their turn to register, they ask St Peter if they could marry in Heaven. St Peter is dumbfounded and says “I don’t know, no one has ever asked that before, if you wait here I’ll go and find out for you”.

The couple sit back down to wait. After two months waiting on their bench, they begin to re-examine the question again.

“Should we get married?”, “what if it doesn’t work out?”, “what with the eternal nature of Heaven would we have to stay married forever?”, “could we get a divorce?” They determine that they will ask St Peter, and continue to wait for another month for his return.

After a three month wait St Peter finally returns, and tells the couple “Good news, you can marry in Heaven!” The couple reply by saying that they had had lots of time to think about it, and were unsure if they in fact, wanted to marry. They were worried about eternity, they then asked “can we divorce in Heaven?” St Peter goes red in the face and very tense. “What is it?” the couple asks. St Peter throws his clip board down on the floor and shouts “Oh come on! Now you are just taking the mickey. It took me three months to find a priest up here, do you have any idea how long it would take me to find a Lawyer?”

The Beauty of Politics Oraye St. Franklyn

I

t is my candid opinion that, Politics is about having a say in what affects us.

That’s my summarised definition, based on my experience since beginning active politics in 1998. It may not be an accurate one, but serves as a working definition for me. For instance, if we consider the necessities of this electoral season and circle, for many, politics would be about having a say in the quality of representation they get across levels, because for them, that would determine the quality of governance they receive.

Challenge I have also found that the challenge in politics, that is, in having a say in what affects one within a political system, is that one’s voice is just one amongst many, who are equally seeking to have their say and, therefore, their way in what affects them. Given this scenario, there is bound to be contention and competition that may lead to either consensus or election.

If consensus, it would mean an agreement of the collective, to act in a certain direction. If election, it would be the decision of the collective, to determine the majority outcome of their contest by voting. All of these happen in a number of ways, because we cannot all have our way in what affects us, even when we do

have our say, that is, hold an opinion.

This challenge, is also the beauty of politics and democracy. While we can each have our say, the tenets of democracy presupposes that the majority of similar or same voices will coalesce or aggregate to form the body of prevailing wishes within a political system. This is where those whose wishes do not grow into an overriding opinion of the majority, would have to accept the overriding wishes of others above theirs.

Lobbying Lobbying is one of the ways through which an idea, one person’s opinion or the opinion of the minority, can grow to become the opinion of critical stakeholders, and then that of the vast majority within the system. Lobbying is a perfectly legal way to sell ideas, and influence the decisions of critical stakeholders and the vast majority. It’s about people talking to people, and people understanding themselves. It’s one of the ways to sway and change the decisions of the vast majority and it is perfectly in order.

This is why it is not just enough to hold an opinion, or better put, have your say, even if it is a popular one. It is also important, to lobby critical stakeholders to have a buy-in on that opinion for it to hold sway. Otherwise, those opinions can lose their biting hold overnight, if critical stakeholders are influenced in a different direction. Critical stakeholders, are those whose decisions influence the flow of politics. In some

climes, they are called ‘super delegates’. In other climes, they are called ‘godfathers’ or even ‘the illuminati’. But, it doesn’t matter what they are called. What matters is their influence.

Influence Come to think of it, what is politics without influence? Influence is at the nerve-centre of good politicking. It is the tool for creating compromise, since we cannot all have our way, while having our say. This is why we should never lose sight of the fact that, no matter how well we play the game of politics, we cannot always have our way. We will win sometimes, and then lose some other times, as it is with any sports game. While it is fine to win and lose, at such times when our cards don’t turn up their right sides or we are outwitted, we are not expected to lose our heads. What is expected of good politicians and sportspeople, which we all are or should be, is to return to the drawing board, and rework the strategy for a relaunch.

That’s how game goes.

A salient point that is worth acknowledging, however, is that, there’s no good politics without good purpose. At the heart of our political decisions must be noble intentions, so that in the end, politics brings good to society. If that is done, it doesn’t really matter who gets what, when and how, society is better for it.

Oraye St. Franklyn, Senior Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor, Port Harcourt

14/IMAGES

27.11.2018

Last Friday, The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Nigeria Branch held the ‘Acknowledgement of an Icon in Arbitration’ in honour of Chief Mrs Tinuade Oyekunle, C.Arb, in honour of her immense contributions and support of the growth and development of Arbitration in Nigeria and internationally, at the Lagos Court of Arbitration, Lekki. Here are some of the personalities who graced the occasion....

L-R: Hon. Justice Adedayo Oyebanji, Hon Justice Babatunde Adejumo, OFR, President, National Industrial Court, Mrs. Adedoyin Rhodes-Vivour, C.Arb, Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch, Chief (Mrs.) Tinuade Oyekunle C.Arb, Past Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch, Hon. Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, CFR and Hon. Justice Nelson Ogbuanya

L-R: Mr. Babajide Ogundipe FCIArb, Past Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch, Mrs. Funke Adekoya, SAN C.Arb, Past Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch, Mrs. Adedoyin Rhodes-Vivour, C.Arb Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch Chief (Mrs.) Tinuade Oyekunle C.Arb, Past Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch, Mr. Mohammed Dele Belgore SAN, C.Arb, Immediate Past Chairman CIArb Nigeria Branch and Chief Bayo Ojo SAN, C.Arb Past Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch

L-R: Mr. Yemi Candide-Johnson, SAN, FCIArb, President, Lagos Court of Arbitration, Chief (Mrs.) Tinuade Oyekunle C.Arb, Past Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch, Mrs. Funke Adekoya, C.Arb, Past Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch, and Chief Bayo Ojo SAN, C.Arb Past Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch

Chief (Mrs.) Tinuade Oyekunle C.Arb, Past Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch and Mrs. Hairat Balogun OON, MCIArb

L-R: Mr. Adewale Jones, FCIArb, President, Maritime Arbitrators Association of Nigeria, (MAAN) Mrs. Adedoyin Rhodes-Vivour, C.Arb Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch, Mr. Dayo Orojo,, Chief (Mrs.) Tinuade Oyekunle C.Arb, Past Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch and Mr. Babatunde Fagbohunlu, SAN, President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Center (LACIAC)

The Family of Chief (Mrs.) Tinuade Oyekunle C.Arb

L-R: Mr. Ikpeme Nkebem, MCIArb, Mrs. Obosa Akpata C.Arb, Chief (Mrs.) Tinuade Oyekunle C.Arb, Past Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch, Ms. Chinelo Agbala, General Manager, CIArb Nigeria Branch and Mrs. Kemi Eweje, FCIArb

Hon. Justice Adedayo Oyebanji (left) and Mrs. Iyabo Oshodi, Special Assistant to the Lagos State Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice

L-R: Mrs. Adedoyin Rhodes-Vivour, C.Arb, Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch, Mrs. Folashade Alli, C.Arb, Past Secretary, CIArb Nigeria Branch, Chief (Mrs.) Tinuade Oyekunle C.Arb, Past Chairman, CIArb Nigeria Branch and Mrs. Segilola Guobadia, ACIArb

L-R: Mrs. Lolade Seidu, Mr. Dayo Orojo and Dr. Jaiye Oyedotun

27.11.2018

/15

INSIGHT ABUBAKAR D. SANI

xL4sure@yahoo.com

Senator Dino Melaye: Maverick, Enfant Terrible or People’s Champion?

F

ew legislators in the history of our constitutional democracy, have been as controversial as the Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial Zone in the National Assembly, Distinguished Senator Dino Melaye. While he seems to deliberately cultivate the image of a populist firebrand, it would be far from the truth, to presume that his colleagues are any less so, given that some of them fought the civil war between 1967 and 1970, when Senator Melaye was but a twinkle in his parent’s eyes (he was born in 1974). In other words, it is just a question of style.

The Adventures of Dino Melaye Observers of Senator Melaye’s political career, would be forgiven for thinking that he thrives on crises, either real or contrived. Since he burst onto the national stage as a member of the House of Representatives a few years ago, Senator Melaye has never been far from the news, sometimes (some might say, most times), for the wrong reasons. His sojourn in the Lower Chamber is most notable for the acrimonious manner of his exit, in full glare of television cameras, when he championed an ill-fated rebellion against Speaker Dimeji Bankole.

The latter, a Sandhurst-trained ex-soldier, apparently got wind of the plot, and beat the then Rep. Dino Melaye at his own game, as his supporters quickly rounded up the ‘coup plotters’, and unceremoniously bundled them out of the House. The abiding image of that fiasco was of Senator Melaye – his clothes in tatters - being led by the Sergeant-atarms out of the House like a sheep to the slaughter, closely followed by one of his co-conspirators, a tearful, clearly distressed, Rep. Doris Uboh.

That singular incident, would have put paid to the career of many a politician.

Not Dino. Like a Phoenix, or the proverbial cat with nine lives, he rebounded shortly afterwards, this time, in the Upper Chamber, an improbable reward of sorts, for his apparently ignominious exit from the House. In truth, however, Dino was reprieved by a judicial reversal of his legislative interdiction. Apparently emboldened by that validation, he threw himself into the fray in the Senate, first, by championing the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President, and, since then, by being the latter’s manFriday - some would say (uncharitably?) attack-dog - in his numerous face-offs with the Executive, both within and outside the Legislative Chambers.

Together, they defected from the PDP to the APC in 2014, only to swim in the opposite direction four years later. Within that period, Senator Melaye has literally fought everyone in his sight – from his colleague, Senator Remi Tinubu (and her husband, his then political leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu), the Nigeria Police, and

Senator Dino Melaye

virtually the entire Executive Branch, particularly the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN. His encounter with Mrs. Tinubu, was particularly galling. Having insulted and threatened her (allegedly in retaliation), he was forced to eat humble-pie and apologised, albeit privately, in the face of public back-lash.

While the controversy raged, Senator Melaye reportedly dared the Lion (of Bourdillon) – Asiwaju Bola Tinubu – in his den, by “strutting his stuff”, reportedly without armed protection, along that famous road in Ikoyi, Lagos, where the latter’s said ‘den’ is located. Not a few cynics wondered then, about the absence of any publicity surrounding the planned walk, ahead of time. In a subsequent, unrelated, flare-up of his volatile temper, the Distinguished Senator threatened to commit suicide, so that – in his own words – he would “put the Police in trouble”. Simply because, the Police attempted to arrest him, as they were entitled under the law to do, in those circumstances, (he lacks immunity from such process). Indeed, aided by his cohorts, he attempted to escape from Police custody.

On yet another occasion, Senator Dino Melaye mysteriously disappeared while en route to Lokoja, Kogi State, to attend a scheduled court hearing in connection with a charge of arming political thugs.

When he re-appeared in Abuja some hours later, he declared, triumphantly, that he

had narrowly escaped from kidnappers, and that he sojourned atop a tree while waiting for the “coast to clear”. Needless to say, as a result of his absence, the court case was adjourned. Very convenient.

Who says only cats have nine lives?

The current Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole was also in the line of Senator Melaye’s fire.

He took exception to the former going all the way to a foreign country, Sao Tome, to pick another wife, following the death of his first wife. According to Senator Melaye, it was unpatriotic of the good comrade to have overlooked our countless local ‘talent’ in preference for a ‘foreign breed’, with its concomitant outflow of foreign exchange (bride price, et al). Not done yet (is he ever?) he next condemned President Buhari, for conferring a post-humous national honour on Chief M.K.O Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, on the ground that the award was exclusively reserved for Nigerians and that with Abiola’s death, he had ceased to be a Nigerian!

The foregoing, are but a few instances of Senator Dino’s grand-standing and holier-than-thou posturing. Always delivered in the highest decibels which his imposing physical frame can muster, reminiscent of a Drill Sergeant barking orders at hapless soldiers in a military Parade. All this in a Chamber populated by men old enough to be Senator Dino’s biological father. Haba!

“NEVERTHELESS, SHE ADVISED SENATOR MELAYE TO TAKE A CUE FROM HIS POLITICAL LEADER, THE SENATE PRESIDENT, DR. BUKOLA SARAKI, WHO ‘NOT EVEN HIS MANY POLITICAL FOES WOULD DESCRIBE AS A THUG OR A BRUTE’ ”

A Word, or Two, of Advice Given that our subject is notoriously beholden to no one but himself, it is a brave man, indeed, who ventures to offer him any advice, let alone call him to order. Yet, a few have done just that.

One of the most profound was penned

by Mrs. Bisi Adeleye Fayemi, a Gender Specialist and writer. In a piece titled “Five Things Senator Dino Melaye Needs to do”, published in July, 2016, she conceded

that politicians like Senator Melaye, who can do and say things which others would baulk at, “are necessary when unconventional strategies are required”.

Nevertheless, she advised Senator Melaye to take a cue from his political leader, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who “not even his many political foes would describe as a thug or a brute”.

Apt words, indeed.

Continuing, she observed, correctly, that the name Dino Melaye in contemporary Nigerian politics is “synonymous with negative controversy, brawling, sex scandals, reckless statements, allegations of domestic violence, distasteful display of flamboyance – an all-round bad- boy image”. She then reeled off a list of aliases, monikers and nicknames by which the Distinguished Senator is reportedly known, including “Roforofo Senator”, Shakiti Bobo” and “Dino the Dinosaur”. This is evidently, unbecoming of a Senator of the Federal Republic.

As a panacea, Mrs. Adeleye-Fayemi recommends a brand make-over, which will recast Senator Dino Melaye as an articulate and charismatic social justice crusader, who, while being unafraid to speak truth to power, is nevertheless conscious of his age, status, diction and audience. Hopefully, such a turnaround would project him as the sort of positive role model, which our teeming youths earnestly yearn for – and desperately need.

This is merely stating the obvious, as no sane Nigerian would want his son to be enmeshed in a paternity scandal with his so-called Baby Mama (whatever that means), nor be accused of wife battering or threatening his colleagues with sexual assault. Lastly, she posited that, the Distinguished Senator would be better served by using civil language to address his elders, especially when he - not infrequently - disagrees with them. Their prayers are surely blessings, coveted in these parts. . .. And, Finally, A Challenge The Machiavellian mind-set of the typical politician, that the end justifies the means, often comes with a cost, and that is, a negative public perception. Virtually everyone agrees that, it is in Senator Melaye’s interest to de-emphasise his seeming obsession with his over-sized ego and concentrate on his primary role as a legislator – that of law-making. I believe that, Senator Melaye can yet redeem himself, by sponsoring a Bill which should be dear to his heart, as a populist politician anxious to secure the greatest good for the greatest number. That Bill is one, which seeks the abrogation of the obnoxious requirement of locus standi, in public interest litigations.

This anachronism has for too long, hindered the deployment of the law as an instrument of social engineering in Nigeria. A bold (albeit limited) initiative in this regard by a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, the late Justice Idris Kutigi, was unfortunately (but correctly) struck down by Hon. Justice Gabriel Kolawole, JCA, when he was at the Federal High Court. If Senator Melaye can deploy his unique skills to sponsor and push such a Bill until it becomes law (it requires a constitutional amendment), it will certainly secure his place as a champion of our constitutional democracy. That would be the most effective rebranding of all. And all could be forgiven.

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27.11.2018

30

T U E S DAY Ëž NOVEMBER 27 2018

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Moghalu Calls for Stronger Institutions Nosa Alekhuogie The Presidential Candidate of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has stressed the need for stronger institutions in the country.

Moghalu, said this when he appeared as a guest on ‘The Morning Show,’ on Arise TV, a THISDAY sister broadcast station yesterday.

According to the former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the ongoing fight against corruption in the country has failed. “I will set the EFCC free and it will not be reporting to the president. “The CBN in my time, when Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was the governor was independent, that was why we were able to record all the successes we achieved. “Institutions that are independent and strong are necessary to check absolute power,� he argued.

He stressed the need to have a more professional approach to the management of security in the country. “On the issue of security, I don’t make promises. I have a plan and also how to execute it.

Security has gotten worse and it is a tragedy of monumental

proportion that a man who was a General in the Army promised to secure Nigeria and security has gotten worse under his leadership. “It is not just Boko Haram, it’s also the Fulani herdsmen and so many other things. Do not be deceived by the fact that somebody is a General or civilian, I would secure Nigeria far better as the president of Nigeria in 2019. “I would come to national security with a much better conceptual understanding of what national security means.

The understanding of security in Buhari’s government is a tunnel vision which is just about boko haram, but national security is many things. It is the ever increasing rate of poverty in this country. It has national security implications.�

Speaking further, Moghalu argued that Nigeria was not yet a nation, saying “it is a nation waiting to be born.�

He added: “Right now, Nigeria is just a country. As president, my biggest vision for this country is to build it into a nation.�

He said there was need to strengthen and equip the Nigeria Police Force to improve internal security in the country. “We have 350,000 police force today and we are 200 million

people. This country has serious security issues which needs to be addressed. “We also have issues with our relations with neighbouring countries, Chad, Cameroon and so on. The army should be focused on cross border military intelligence,� he said.

He criticised the policy document launched recently by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as well as President Muhammadu Buhari’s ‘NextLevel.� “Atiku’s document made the mistake of focusing on GDP. It is not focused on transformation of the society and millions of people from poverty into the middle class.�

He also said if elected, his administration would promote gender equality. He, however, emphasised that competence would be prioritised. “We would use public education to address the root causes on why we discriminate against women,� he added.

Responding to a question on Nigeria’s rising debt profile, the presidential candidate said: “I am going to have a moratorium on foreign borrowing. This is because it is unnecessary, it is a lazy man’s’ economics.

L-R: Group Head, Consumer Banking of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr. Shiba Ghosh; Zonal Head, Lagos Island, Mr. Emmanuel Comla; Group Head, Corporate Affairs, Mr. Diran Olojo; Managing Director of Credit Direct Limited (a subsidiary of FCMB Group Plc), Mr. Akinwande Ademosu; Group Head, Business Banking/SMEs, Mr. George Ogbonnaya and Head, SME Liability, Mr. Paul Adebo, during the 2018 edition of the BusinessDay Banking and Financial Institutions Award where FCMB and Credit Direct won awards in Lagos‌recently

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

MARCH 2018 Broad Money (M2)

24,303,049.86

Nigeria’s Rising Debt Service CostWorries NECA

-- Narrow Money (M1)

10,912,604.10

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,668,378.21

Chris Uba

---- Demand Deposits

9,244,225.90

-- Quasi Money

13,390,445.76

The Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has cautioned the federal government against the rising debt service cost.

The association also warned that the economy may be edging in the direction of pre-debt relief era if the rising appetite for debt is not curtailed.

NECA, which is a key member of the nation’s organised private sector (OPS), gave the warning in the current edition of its annual report.

It also warned against raising revenue by increasing tax rate for the businesses and workers, saying it would inflict heavy tax burden on Nigerians.

NECA explained: “The national budget shows that the debt service provision

(including sinking fund) is the third (2.2 trillion) largest component of the 2018 expenditure framework, representing 24.17 per cent or approximately a quarter of the entire budget ( N9.12 trillion). “The N2.2 trillion cost of debt servicing is about 30. 76 per cent of the expected revenue (N7.1 trillion), indicating that debt service may soon be back to pre-debt relief period.�

According to the association, “the capital vote (inclusive of transfer) of N2.87 trillion is just a little higher (31.50 per cent) than debt service.� “We are very worried that for the third consecutive year, the rising cost of debt servicing is in the top three allocations in the national budget.�

NECA noted that although, the country’s debt level as a percentage of the gross domestic

product appeared to be in order, “we consider the debt to revenue ratio unhealthy and unsustainable.� “We, therefore, advise the government to tame its appetite for more leverage,� noting that the World Bank , in its recent Global Economic Prospects Report, had stated with dismay that the current optimism over Nigeria’s economic recovery is tempered by concerns over huge debt service obligations and continuous foreign exchange controls. “Specifically, the cost of servicing Nigeria’s debts on both the domestic and external fronts has risen , in contrast to the revenue earned by government , NECA further stated.

It added: “The bigger concern is the possible unsustainability of such debt servicing.�

Winner Emerges in UBA Essay Competition Sunday Ehigiator Odjegba Divine, a student of The International High School, Delta State, defeated over 6000 students of various schools across Nigeria, to emerge the winner of the 2018 UBA Foundation’s Essay competition.

The grand finale which took place in Lagos yesterday, was attended by families, friends and well-wishers of the 12 finalists The teachers from the respective schools attended the event and were all supported with an all-expense paid trip by the foundation.

This year’s edition saw over 500 per cent increase in participation from pupils across every single state of the federation.

All the 12 finalists went home with at least a laptop, and the first, second, and

third position in addition, got N2,000,000, N1,500,000 and N1,000,000 cash prices respectively.

Divine outshined Ozemoka Halimat Emesomi of University Preparatory Secondary School, Edo State, and Adiankpo Ini-Iso Christopher of the Nigerian Christian Institute Akwa Ibom State, who both won the second and third spots respectively.

Addressing Journalists, visibly elated Odjegba who was accompanied by her mother, Mrs Odjegba, said she was excited to have come top in the competition, adding that the experience has given her the confidence that she can face great challenges and emerge a winner.

While congratulating the winners, the MD/CEO of UBA Foundation, Bola Atta said: “Every student who sent in an entry is a winner. To be confident about your writing

skills and ambitious enough to enter a competition to further enhance your educational path is laudable. “For those that did not win, I would say do not be discouraged. Take it as a challenge to perfect your writing skills and enter for the competition again in 2019.�

In his remarks the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UBA Plc Mr. Kennedy Uzoka said: “We have indeed noted the increase in the cost of living and have therefore increased the prize money by 100 per cent in all the categories. “Seeing past winners tell their stories on the impact the grants have made on their education and particularly how the financial burden was lifted off their parents, gives us joy that our foundation is unique and deeply touching lives.�

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 FRIDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2018

The price of OPEC basket of ďŹ fteen crudes stood at $60.27 a barrel on Friday, compared with $62.08 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

31

T U E S DAY ˾ NOVEMBER 27, 2018

MARKET NEWS

Oteh, Onyema Task African Exchanges to Encourage Listing of SMEs Goddy Egene Vice President and Treasurer, World Bank, Ms. Arunma Oteh yesterday urged the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) to ensure listing the of 44,000 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) out of 44 million operating on the continent.

Oteh, who is a former DirectorGeneral of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),

made the call while speaking at the 22nd ASEA annual general meeting and conference hosted by the Nigerian Stock Exchange, (NSE) in Lagos.

According to her, the exchanges must nature and ensure listing of these firms on their various bourses as part of efforts to deep the markets in Africa.

Oteh, explained that SMEs are strong drivers for economic growth and development, saying that their major challenge is

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

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access to finance.

She said that African needed to build infrastructure and diversify economies beyond commodities and natural resources extraction.

Oteh said: “If we focus in areas of opportunities that abound whether in agriculture, services, retail, technology, particularly emerging technology, financial services, and hospitality, sustainability will be more granted. We must also foster innovation and entrepreneurship and I believe

S E C U R I T I E S

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that securities exchanges are the epicentre of the ecosystem,” she said. She stated that various emerging markets and Africa were still struggling with more difficult financial conditions, debt burden concerns, and weak commodity prices, among others.

“I will say that the greatest challenges of our time are extreme poverty, inequality, climate change, protectionism, populism, anti-globalisation, ethnic sentiment and uncertainty

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

over the impact of disruptive technologies,” Oteh said.

In his address, President of ASEA, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said that strategic relationships of the association had resulted in grants worth approximately $1.2 million from the Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa and the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) fund via the Africa Development Bank (AfDB). Onyema, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of

O F

Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), said that the grants received to date were targeted at the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP), ASEA secondment programme, information portal and annual conferences.

“These programmes are critical levers of success for ASEA and we aim to continue to broaden and deepen our relationships in order to create increasing value for members and the African financial market.

2 6 / 1 1 / 2 0 1 8 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

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˾ TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

32

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Eϭ͘ϵďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ UNILEVER ;ϮϬ͘ϰŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ZENITH ;ϭϰ͘ϱŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ĂŶĚ INTERLINK ;ϵ͘ϱŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁŚŝůĞ UNILEVER ;EϴϬϰ͘ϵŵͿ͕

ZENITH (N347.4bn) and DANGCEM ;EϮϴϲ͘ϳďŶͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘

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33

MARKET NEWS

Financial Inclusion will Aid Economic Growth, Says SEC DG Goddy Egene

The Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms. Mary Uduk has restated the determination of the commission to pursue initiatives that would aid financial inclusion of Nigerians as this is capable of growing the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy.

Uduk stated this at the 2018 PEARL Awards ceremony held in Lagos on Sunday.

According to her, SEC will continue to highlight and

promote developments and trends in the Nigerian capital market and drive financial inclusion aimed at reducing adult exclusion from financial services.

She said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Innovations in financial technology, has made possible the potential of using digital tools to make financial services available to a wider range of consumers and enterprises, promoting financial inclusion and the affordability of financial services. A financially inclusive society will provide

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

increased access to finance, especially for women, help support sustainable growth--and will create million more jobs.

The gains of having a more inclusive financial system are enormous, as it helps broaden financial markets and make policies more effective.â&#x20AC;?

While commending the efforts of the board of governors and management of PEARL Awards Nigeria, for giving consideration to companies with good corporate governance practice in the award nomination process,

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 2211-2018, unless otherwise stated.

Uduk also enjoined them that in future editions, emphasis should also be given to companies with technological innovation in the capital market.

Uduk also disclosed that the SEC is implementing various initiatives which are aimed at making our market deeper, vibrant and more effective. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The forbearance window for shareholders with multiple subscriptions has been extended by another year from the December 31, 2018 deadline previously communicated.

Consequently, we enjoin those who have not come forward for the regularization of shares purchased with multiple identities, to do so. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have also developed a two-pronged approach to addressing the intractable challenges associated with transmission of shares related to the estate of deceased investors. The first step would involve engagement with and enlightenment of the Probate Registry with a view to providing solutions

to the cumbersome process of transmitting shares. Secondly, rules would be developed around the time frame for transmission shares and the fee structure,â&#x20AC;? she said.

The PEARLS awards was instituted in 1995 to reward quoted companies for actual operational performance based on verifiable facts and figures.

This,according to the Chief Executive Officer of Project, Mr. Tayo Orekoya, has endeared the awards to the capital market stakeholders over the years.

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 162.43 163.69 -8.43% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 11.00% Nigeria International Debt Fund 273.58 275.05 18.35% 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 1.12% ACAP Income Funds 0.63 0.63 6.67% 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 2.23 -3.85% 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 16.67 17.17 -8.76% ARM Discovery Fund 357.94 368.73 -8.00% ARM Ethical Fund 28.20 29.05 3.23% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.39% 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 132.43 133.36 -12.70% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.18% 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 11.55 11.85 4.19% Women's Investment Fund 101.53 104.13 0.89% 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 12.19% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.85 0.86 Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.11 1.11 10.99% 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 11.89% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 12.42% 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 1,166.89 1,167.64 11.24% FBN Heritage Fund 0.00 0.00 2.41% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.56% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 112.61 113.06 3.44% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 112.36 112.81 3.32% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 146.42 148.49 -7.82% 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 1.22 1.24 -5.59% Legacy Debt Fund 3.21 3.21 10.97% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.02 1.02 1.93% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 2,954.10 2,983.13 -1.05% Coral Income Fund 2,728.18 2,728.18 11.44% 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 11.45% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 105.71 105.99 5.35% 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 120.92 121.25 0.00%

Vantage Balanced Fund 2.14 2.16 1.34% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.11% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 100.00 100.00 12.20% 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 4.38% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 105.71 105.99 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 11.17 11.26 -13.72% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.42% 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 1.69 1.69 13.50% 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 2,316.96 2,332.09 5.42% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 187.70 187.70 7.79% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.96 0.97 -4.46% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 244.80 244.84 13.43% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 161.32 163.15 -9.92% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.54% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,605.50 8,710.90 -9.53% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.10 1.10 6.65% 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 1.17 1.18 -1.53% United Capital Bond Fund 1.58 1.58 10.26% United Capital Equity Fund 0.70 0.71 -7.39% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 United Capital Eurobond Fund 106.43 106.43 6.35% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.08 1.09 3.85% 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%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

9.00 139.26 51.55

-20.11% 5.13% 1.42%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

117.11 90.17

119.59 91.87

0.00% -18.01% -17.46%

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

4.09 7.30 14.85 12.78 140.92

4.13 7.38 14.95 12.98 142.92

-13.71% -23.58% -14.93% -34.86% 4.91%

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.

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TUESDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWSEXTRA

Population of Taxpayers Hits 33m, Says Fowler Ugo Aliogo Nigeria’s taxpayers roll is set to hit 33 million, Chairman, Chairman of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) and Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Tunde Fowler, said at the 142nd meeting of the JTB in Bauchi State yesterday.

According to Fowler, the ongoing database consolidation of the JTB, an initiative being executed in collaboration with the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), a national taxpayer database with the data of well over 33 million individual taxpayers across the country is now a reality. He stated that having this consolidated database, which is clean and credible, opens the door to immense opportunities for the tax administrator at all levels.

“As we build on this data, we shall also be ensuring that the technological infrastructure that will facilitate the seamless exchange of data across levels of competent authorities are present.

This entails significant investment in Information Technology

via the provision of required infrastructure, equipment and as capacity building for personnel that will drive the processes,” he said.

The JTB Chairman expressed optimism that such investment in infrastructure will foster efficiency in taxpayer management and will align with the country being a signatory to the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA), which will trigger the Automatic Exchange of Information among Treaty Partners and two other initiatives of the Federal Government: the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), and the Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularisation Scheme (VOARS).

Fowler also celebrated the marked increase in revenue generation in Bauchi State, where the governor, Alhaji Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, launched payment of taxes through Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) and through its website.

The new e-payment system is being powered by Interswitch.

The JTB Chairman disclosed

that the Internally Generated Revenue of the state has risen from about N4 billion to over N7 billion monthly.

“You may wish to note that Bauchi State is actually one of the success stories when matters of IGR are discussed, both at the regional and at the national levels.

Your Excellency may wish to note a few of the impressive statistics on IGR collection of Bauchi State.

Computation of IGR collection for Bauchi State for the nine-month period January to September 2018 hit N7.04 billion. This figure has already outperformed the full year 2017 IGR figure of N4.36 billion with a percentage margin of 61.2 per cent.

“Average quarterly growth rates for Bauchi as at Q3 2018 is 10.01%, which places it among the top ten highest average quarterly growth rates nationwide for the period. At the regional level, Bauchi State is actually setting a healthy pace for the region as her 9-month collection in 2018 is just over 26 per cent of the entire IGR collected by the six states within the region,” Fowler said.

2019: We Support Neither Buhari Nor Atiku, Says British Govt DFID, CSO urge INEC to include PWDs in electoral system Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The British Government has clarified its position that it will maintain neutrality as Nigerians go to poll in ≠2019 to elect a new president to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.

This is as international agencies in conjunction with local Civil Society Organisation told the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fashion ways for Peoples Living with Disabilities (PWDs) to easily participate in the 2019 elections.

The agencies, which include British High Commission and Australian High Commission in Nigeria, British Department for International Development (DFID) and Foundation for Justice and Social Development(FOJSOD), stated that excluding the people living with disabilities from the electoral system is not in consonance with the global best practices.

Speaking at a one-day dialogue programme tagged: ‘Enhancing Electoral Participation of PWDs in 2019 general election’, the Political Adviser to the country’s Deputy British High Commissioner, Mr. Wale Adebajo, said the British Government is supporting neither President Buhari nor

the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other candidate in the election.

Adebajo said the National Disability bill awaiting presidential assent would help in resolving some of the issues bedeviling the group in the country.

Adebajo applauded INEC for including PWDs in its strategic plan for 2017 to 2021 elections, saying the British Government and United States Department for International Development(USAID) are favourably disposed to the action.

“When we pointed out in the Ondo State governorship election the need to make the PWDs more inclusive in our elections, INEC responded positively to our request by establishing desk officers in INEC offices to take care of the PWDs. This, to us, was a signal of INEC commitment to improving access to electoral system.

“We want to clear the air that the British Government is not supporting any candidate in the election. We are neutral when it comes to election in Nigeria,” he said.

The DFID Regional Programme Officer, Mrs. Margaret Fagboyo, said the

agency has always believed that PWDs should be beneficiary of the sustainable development in Nigeria, which unfettered access to participate in elections was part of.

“In 2019, INEC must ensure that ballot boxes are placed where they can be accessed easily; the police shouldn’t harass them, and they should be accorded respect. They should be seen as critical stakeholders in any election.

“We commend INEC for noticing where they are lapses and trying to improve on them.

We can’t leave these people behind while taking critical decisions just because they have one form of disability, so if this happens, definitely there will be problem,” Fagboyo said.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ekiti State, Prof Abduganiy Raji, said INEC has identified those critical areas where PWDs have problems in the electoral system, saying such are being tackled through policy formulation and strong legal framework.

Raji said those with disabilities were effectively sensitised before the July 14 governorship election in the state, and that it accounted for the major breakthrough recorded in the poll.

Buhari Increases Police Salary President Muhammadu Buhari has approved an enhanced salary structure for the Nigeria Police Force and given assurance that his administration would continue paying attention to the welfare and operational needs of the force Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement yesterday, said the president confirmed the approval in the State House, Abuja.

The president spoke when he played host to the members of the Nigeria Police Service

Commission and the leadership of the force who were on a “thank you” visit to him.

By the president’s approval of the Rank Salary Structure Adjustment, salaries, allowances and pension of policemen will be increased.

Buhari expressed the commitment of his administration to restoring the NPF lost primacy in the internal security framework of the country.

He regretted that the inability of the police in performing their constitutional role as the frontline force in the prevention of crime,

had led to military involvement in the maintenance of law and order throughout the country.

“From Taraba to Sokoto, to the South-south, people don’t feel secure until they see the military.

“I am pleased to make the increase in salary and allowances in the hope that it will increase the performance index of the police and strengthen Nigeria’s internal security system,” he said.

According to him, the more efficient the police is, the more confident the government and citizens will be.

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ͺͿË&#x153; ͺ͸͚Î&#x20AC; Ëž T H I S D AY

TUESDAYSPORTS

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

AWCON

Ebi: Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Motivated to Fly Past Cameroon Captain Onome Ebi has declared that the Super Falcons are in the right frame of mind to give their all and subdue Cameroonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lionesses in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Women AFCON semi final battle in Accra. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are in very high spirit. The entire team is well motivated. Our immense gratitude goes to our father, the President of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as the NFF led by its President, Mr. Amaju Pinnick. The government has done well to put us in good frame of mind and the NFF has done their own part. It is now for us to repay the good gestures.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We know that if we continue to win, it means more money in our pockets.

And surely, we want to win more and make more money.

The Cameroonians cannot stop us from the World Cup or from retaining our Cup. The Cup is ours.â&#x20AC;?

The Falcons arrived Accra on Sunday and trained at the Priesec School in Legon, ahead of the official training at the Accra Sports Stadium on Monday evening.

Reigning African Woman Player of the Year, Asisat Oshoala, added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our captain has said it all. We are here and we are very happy because our welfare is being attended to. We have received from the NFF the

things we have asked for, and we believe they are ready to do even more if we also do more. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Losing to South Africa in our first match is a big lesson we have taken to heart, but we have put it at the back of our minds having learnt from it. Any team can lose if it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give its all, or fails to come to the party.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;On Tuesday, we will come to the party strong and focused and we will do the needful.â&#x20AC;?

A 4-0 win over Zambia in Cape Coast on Wednesday zoomed the Falcons back into contention following an opening-day 0-1 loss to the Banyana Banyana of South Africa, and the 6-0 mauling of Equatorial

Guinea on Saturday sent the Nigerians into another semi final stage â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a stage they have never failed to reach at the Women Africa Cup of Nations.

The winner of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s battle will earn an automatic ticket to next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s FIFA Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s World Cup finals in France, with the loser having another opportunity as the third

placed team will also get a ticket.

The loser will take on the loser of the second semi final between South Africa and Mali (also on Tuesday evening, in Cape Coast) to determine who bags the third ticket to France.

The kickoff is 3.30pm Ghana time and 4.30pm Nigeria time.

Tinubu Backs Mikel Obiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Football Foundation Femi Solaja

It was a major breakthrough ahead of the official launch of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Next Football Superstar project of Super Eagles Captain, John Mikel Obi, following its endorsement by the National Leader of ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

At the visit to his resident in Lagos yesterday, the former governor of Lagos State said he was delighted with the project the Super Eagles captain wants to embark upon, considering the fact that it will further help to project the name of the country in good light and at the same time help to discover hidden talents in the grassroots across the nation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am very proud to receive you and honoured. I am a great fan of you but not a fan of your former club Chelsea. I watch your games passionately with the national team and you have distinguished yourself as a good leader of men. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I regard you as a one of my family members because as you have captained this country football for some years now, the youths look up to you as a patriotic leader that they will want to emulate. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You are not just a symbol to the youths but a great symbol to the elders of the nation and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m really proud of you and will be ready to assist you to reach your goal as you aim to transform as many Nigerian youths to be leaders in their respective careers in football,â&#x20AC;?

Tinubu remarked.

While thanking the APC chieftain, Mikel said it is time to give back to the kids and that his desire to help develop the youth was to ensure UCL FIXTURES TONIGHT AEK Vs Bayern Vs Hoffenheim Vs Lyon Vs CSKA Vs Roma Vs Juventus Vs Man Utd Vs

Ajax Benfica Shakhtar Man City Plzen Madrid Valencia Young Boys

that the next generation of talents will take the game far beyond the present cadre and it will further help to lift the image of the country in global football circle. â&#x20AC;&#x153;After fortunately coming through the rigorous process of the Pepsi Academy in Nigeria, I know first hand how many flames of dream died along the way and I want to help change that. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is always a struggle as a kid in Africa to reach your goal and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s part of the reason why we have come to meet Asiwaju so that we can help, guide them to be among the Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next football superstars,â&#x20AC;? he remarked.

The project which will be launched in the first quarter of next year will be for children between the ages of 13 and 16 out of which nine boys would be picked as winners and will receive two weeks training session at a top English club and a chance to earn a year youth team contract.

Aside that, the chosen players will enjoy an allexpense paid two-week trip to United Kingdom and will also have One-on-One training session with the former Chelsea star and will get pep talk from worldclass football agency and an insight into English Premier League and a chance to meet with footballing heroes.

The winners, according to Mikel would be chosen by top class coaches, scouts and footballing talents.

He said the foundation will highlight incredible talents across Africa, giving children a genuine chance to pursue their dreams .

The Foundation which is in partnership with multi-platform broadcast network, Kwese, will hold selection trials in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Lagos. Aside Nigeria, the foundation will also hold trials in Algeria and South Africa.

All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed (left) with the Captain of Super Eagles, John Mikel Obi during his visit to the residence of former Lagos State Governor for support for the Foundation due be launched soon.

Pinnick Hails Zenith Bank for AFCON 2019 Ticket The NFF President, Mr. Amaju Pinnick, has hailed Zenith Bank Plc. for its support towards the qualification of the Super Eagles for the 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) slated for Cameroon.

Pinnick made the remarks at the weekend when he visited the Head Office of the bank.

While presenting an

autographed jersey of the Super Eagles to the Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Peter Amangbo, as a thank you gesture from all the players for the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support towards the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s qualification for the 2019 AFCON, Pinnick thanked the bank for its continuous support

towards the development of football and sports in general in the country.

He noted that the story may have been different if not for the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contributions and support, which was no doubt very vital to the recent qualification of the Super Eagles for the 2019 AFCON Championship.

While responding, Amangbo reaffirmed the commitment of the bank towards supporting all the national football teams, and promised to continue to fulfill its part of the partnership with a view to ensuring that Nigerian national football teams take their pride of place in global football.

Osinbajo, Ambode to Grace Ikeja Golf Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 50th Anniversary Celebration The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, and the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, are expected to grace the Gala Night marking the 50th Anniversary of the prestigious Ikeja Golf Club on Saturday, December 1. The Vice President will be the Special Guest of Honour, while Governor

Ambode, who is the Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patron, will be the Chief Host at the Gala Night.

The Gala Night will bring to a close a week of activities to mark the Golden Jubilee of the foremost recreation club in Nigeria.

Activities around the occasion began yesterday with a Caddiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

and Staff Competition on the expansive grounds of the club located off Oba Akinjobi Way, beside Archbishop Vining Memorial Anglican Church, Ikeja GRA. Today, there will be a competition of Veterans and Golf Professionals, while the Ladiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Competition holds

tomorrow, November 28 and the Club will host a 50th Anniversary Special Kitty on Thursday.

The Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Competition for guests and players with Handicap 21 and above will take place on Friday, while players with Handicap 0-20 will play on Saturday.

Omotayo, Odusanya Bag Top Seeds at 50th Asoju Oba Cup The 2013 menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s singles champion, Olajide Omotayo and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defending champion, Bose Odusanya are the top seeds in the senior event of the 50th Asoju Oba Molade Okoya-Thomas Table Tennis Cup which kicked off yesterday at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

Italy-based Omotayo will contend with 63 other players while Odusanya will battle against 22 others in her bid to retain her title having won the title in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

2017 menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s singles runnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up, David Fayele is the number two seed while Nimota Aregbesola is womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second seeded

players.

This year also witness the return of 2013 womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s singles champion, Tolu Durosimi-Etti who is seeded number four in the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s singles.

According to the list of players, over 250 participants will be competing in the cadet, junior and senior categories with the boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

junior dominating the list of competitors.

With the exit of the likes of Azeez Solanke, Rilwan Akanbi, Halimot Ayinla have decided to team up with other states for the forthcoming National Sports Festival, the coast is clear for the likes of Odusanya and Omotayo to claim the titles.

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Price: N250

MISSILE Ayu to Akume

“It is high time the people of Benue State speak with one voice against those who want to cause disaffection between them and the government of Ortom.”

- Former Senate President, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, chiding Senator George Akume over his recent comment on the mass killings in the state.

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI Iya Kabiru and Other Stories abati1990@gmail.com

“I

ya Kabiru must be the luckiest woman in Nigeria today” “Who is that? I don’t know anybody so-called” “You don’t know Iya Kabiru? But you know Baba Kabiru?”

“Do they know me?”

“This is the problem with you. You only think about you, you, you. I am sure when I tell you now who Baba Kabiru is, you will jump up and say you know him” “Look, just say what you want to say. I have too many things to worry about other than this your D.O. Fagunwa story about Iya Kabiru. Today is a busy day for me not a day for idle talk” “Hey, don’t get worked up, chill, my friend. Iya Kabiru is the wife of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the comrade Governor of Osun State who is leaving office today after eight years in office. Kabiru is their first son. He got married last year. Many people who know the Governor call him Baba Kabiru.”

“So, what has that got to do with all the serious issues of survival that Nigerians are worried about.

You know you should be more responsible. You can’t go about gossiping about other people’s lives.”

“I don’t gossip. I am trying to say something very serious. By the time I am done, even you will learn one or two things. Essentially, I am trying to review the eight years of Aregbesola as Governor in Osun State.”

“I tried to follow his stories. The man says he did not collect salary as Governor, even though he ate government food, used government cars…Good for him. But as for me.. I don’t like the role he played in the last Gubernatorial elections in Osun State. He practically imposed his own successor on the people of Osun State. We can’t have outgoing Governors behaving like dictators and insisting that they will hold the future of the state in their palms. And to think he is a Comrade like Adams Oshiomhole.”

“That is not what I am talking about. Osun state people are not protesting. I can’t come and be weeping more than the bereaved.”

“I know. But I thought you wanted an assessment of Baba Kabiru’s eight years in office. So, let us do it, since today is effectively his last day in office” “Yes.” “For example, he says he has no bank accounts anywhere. He has no money and he has only the house that he built before he became Governor. He is happy that he was able to transform the lives of the people of Osun State.”

“With Opon Imo. The tablet of knowledge.

Ogbeni Till Daybreak. Let me help you. He also says he is leaving a state behind that has the lowest poverty incidence rate and the lowest unemployment rate in Nigeria.”

“He built roads and schools.”

“I know. I know. But what are the people of Osun themselves saying? What is the impression of the civil servants who were denied salaries for months? I will prefer to hear from the average man on the streets of Osun. But that is not what I want to talk about.”

“You want to talk about Iya Kabiru” “Yes. I want to congratulate her. And I say, Iya Kabiru, e ku oriire o.”

“What of the Governor himself? You don’t want to congratulate him on his successful completion of two terms in office?”

“I will leave that to people like you. My big take-away from the exit of the Comrade Governor is the statement he made about his wife, Iya Kabiru.

He told the people of Osun State that he has been an absentee husband for eight years. He was so busy as Governor, he had no time for his wife.

He wants to go back to Iya Kabiru and “enjoy

Aregbesola

each other”. He doesn’t want to go to the Senate like others in his shoes, he just wants to go home and spend time with Iya Kabiru.”

“And how does that affect you?”

“You don’t get the point? This is the era of women empowerment. Our Governors should not get to office and become absentee husbands.

That is an abuse of human rights and a violation of the integrity of the other room! If I had my way, I will recommend immunity for wives from the absenteeism of husbands. If there was more time, I would recommend that Mrs Aisha Buhari, the wife of the President, should lead a movement to defend the right of women who are married to politically exposed men in office, not to lose their rights of access and enjoyment with their husbands. Public service should not interfere with the rights of wives!”

“You always like to trivialize things.”

“No. When Comrade Aregbesola was asked what his regrets could possibly be, and I consider that an important question, his memorable response was that his being Governor did not allow him to enjoy his wife for eight years. He now wants to go and enjoy his wife. For me that was the most profound thing he said.”

“How profound! I thought you would raise serious questions. Will his successor become his stooge? Will Aregbesola continue to rule over the state of Osun and treat Gboyega Oyetola as his proxy? Is Aregbesola now a Godfather pulling the strings from the corner?

Will the new Governor Oyetola be his own man? Is Osun going to revert to its constitutional name, that is Osun State, or will it still bear the strange name: The State of Osun?”

“Why should those things bother me? The one that I want to reflect upon is the absenteeism of Aregbesola as husband for eight years! And I identify with Iya Kabiru on this special occasion, marking the return of her beloved husband to full-time husband duties.”

“It is not your duty to intrude into other people’s privacy. What are you driving at? What the man says about his wife is not our business. He probably was talking more about truancy rather than absenteeism.”

“Na you sabi. I am saying congratulations to Iya Kabiru, all the same. As an advocate for women empowerment, I congratulate her on the many good things ahead: this special honeymoon that awaits her, in the loving hands of Baba Kabiru.

And I say Iya Kabiru, e ku amojuba. E ku oriire, lopo lopo. In nine months, please invite us for a rice-and-soup-very-plenty-naming-ceremony.

Triplets by the Grace of God!” “You are very ridiculous. You are off limits”

“My friend, don’t be hypocritical. If our father, the Iku Baba Yeye himself, the Alaafin of Oyo, at 80 plus is still celebrating the arrival of babies, not just babies, multiple twins, Baba Kabiru must show proof of his own statement in nine months as a true son of Osun.”

“You are absolutely incorrigible. Who told you the only way a man can show affection to his wife is to put her in the family way. Is that what you call empowerment” “I am just very happy for Iya Kabiru. I am overjoyed. Politics turned her husband into an absentee husband. Now, out of office, her husband says she will now be her project. Alihamdulilali!”

“I don’t see how Aregbesola can leave politics. Politics in Lagos and Osun. He will still be busy.”

“But with Iya Kabiru fully attended to. And by the way, Aregbesola should leave Lagos politics alone. He should stay in his own state of Osun.”

“You are crazy. Did you drink anything this morning?

Can we change this subject?”

“On one condition” “What condition?”

“You will congratulate Iya Kabiru” “Okay, congratulations Ma. Thank you for standing

by Governor Aregbesola through thick and thin.

One yeye man in Lagos says you are the one we should congratulate”.

“Say it in Yoruba” “Iya Kabiru e ku oriire o. E ku ti ipadabo Baba Kabiru o.”

“Only God knows how many women out there who have to deal with the challenge of having absentee husbands because their husbands are involved in the public arena. Such women are the true heroes of Nigerian democracy.”

“You know when you say that, what comes to my mind really, is the plight of the wives of the many soldiers who were killed recently by Boko Haram terrorists in Matele, Borno State. It is one thing to have a husband go to the battle-field, if he is absent, you at least know where he is and that he is busy, but to have him die on the battle-field, never to return, that is tragic. I feel for the widows of the fallen soldiers of Matele..”

“I am not satisfied with the way the Nigerian government has handled the matter. Obviously, Boko Haram has not been technically defeated. Has Alhaji Lai come up with anything yet?”

“Alhaji Lai? No, please. I watched a video of the attack that was in circulation over the weekend. I was horrified. The Boko Haram terrorists caught the Nigerian soldiers off-guard. They ambushed them and mowed them down. Sad. Very sad. I later saw a social media tweet by someone who said he saw his father in the video and the family has not yet heard from the Nigerian military. I also saw a post by a woman who cried out over the loss of her husband. Each time a soldier dies at the battle-front, many lives are affected.”

“118 of them. Just like that.”

“The government is obviously overwhelmed.”

“What really can government do? Terrorism is the new tragic reality of the age. It is the worst form of inhumanity known to man. It leaves governments in a bind; it drives society to the edge. It disrupts the order of values.

“There is a lot that the Nigerian government can do.”

“Please, this is not about politics. Don’t bring politics into this.”

“Who is talking about politics? I am saying our soldiers need to be better equipped and better protected. When a man signs up to be a soldier, he knows that he has signed up to die for his country if need be, but that does not mean he must be served up like barbecue to the enemy.

Why are our military bases so porous, so poorly

defended? Why is it so easy for anyone to get a military uniform? When our soldiers fall at the battlefront, what are the protocols for informing their families and managing the communication process? We need to professionalize the Nigerian military. If we must rely on technical assistance from other countries, let us do so. When our soldiers die, there must be special grants for their widows and survivors, to be paid for life if possible.”

“I will add another point. Any service chief that is not ready to focus on the job should be changed. Nigeria’s security chiefs should stop attending political rallies and meetings. We want soldiers in uniform, whoever wants to do politics should remove his uniform and wear agbada.”

“Anyway, the President has said that the loopholes that led to the fatalities will be blocked once and for all. I take that to heart.”

“Yeah, he spoke a whole week after the incident. I am surprised nobody is making an issue out of that.”

“You never know. May be the President was busy at the time. And a President doesn’t just talk. He has to consult and be briefed.”

“What is that? Busy doing what? Donald Trump talks every day. He is on twitter every morning, commenting on anything that catches his attention.

He is involved.”

“This is Nigeria. This is not the United States. We have our own way of doing things here, from the Presidency to the man on the street. The President could have been busy for example, preparing for the 2019 Presidential debate.”

“Which debate? You think he will agree to participate in a debate?”

“Why not? I will like to see him in the debating hall, taking on issues with the likes of Omoyele Sowore, Oby Ezekwesili, Kingsley Moghalu, Tope Fasua, Donald Duke, Obadaiah Mailafia and of course Waziri Atiku Abubakar. Let him defend the “Next level” and let Ezekwesili and Sowore take him on.”

“I see you are not a nice man at all.”

“How? There are things the President can and should talk about. You have been lamenting over the killing of soldiers, for example, but look at what the Federal Government has just done for policemen.”

“And what is that?”

“Yesterday, the President approved more pay for Nigerian policemen. He approved the Rank Salary Structure Adjustment for policemen” “No wonder” “No wonder what?”

“There is this policeman that I know. I saw him and his wife yesterday evening. The two of them were laughing like jackass. I have never seen them look so happy. I thought something was wrong. So, it is the salary increase?”

“Let’s just say policemen deserve to be happy too. But it is not enough to increase their pay.

Nigeria is heavily under-policed. We need more policemen. Like the military, the police should also be better equipped. They need better training.

Clean uniforms. Decent barracks. An average policeman should be a university graduate, not a primary school drop-out.”

“Why are you saying policemen should be graduates, when most of your politicians don’t even have secondary school certificates? Sometimes, I don’t get you.”

“I know what I am saying. Every policeman should be a college graduate. You don’t understand.

It is a next level thing. Nigeria can only move to the next level if we all begin to think out of the box.”

“Like your thoughts on Iya Kabiru eh”.

“Ha. Iya Kabiru! A hero. Someday, she should tell her story: the story of the big sacrifice her husband made as Osun State Governor!”

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