MONDAY 3RD DECEMBER 2018

PDP Rallies Governors Behind Atiku, Unveils Policy Document Competition

Iyobosa Uwugiaren and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has intensified efforts to rally its governors behind its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, whose electioneering formally begins today in Sokoto with a rally the

party said marks the start of its move to grab power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). There have been media reports that Atiku’s bid to become Nigeria’s president might be much tougher than envisaged as some governors elected on the platform of the

party have become hurdles standing imposingly between him and his aspiration. According to the reports, the former vice-president’s travail is said to have started the moment he settled for former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, as his running mate. Atiku is believed to have

struck a deal with some prominent South-east politicians, amongst them, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, and the Ebonyi State Governor, Chief Dave Umahi, as likely running mate if they support him to emerge as the party’s candidate. Atiku is, however, being

accused of settling for Obi without consulting with Southeast and South-south leaders of the party, thus fuelling intense mistrust amongst majority of them, who then chose to stay away from his presidential affair, because ‘he cannot be trusted.’ The governors are believed to be facing intense lobby

from the president’s men and their colleagues in the APC, a development believed to have given rise to their recent meeting with Buhari at the Villa. But speaking with THISDAY yesterday, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Kola Continued on page 10

Fuel Crisis Looms as Marketers Issue Seven-day Ultimatum over Outstanding Payments … Page 54 Monday 3, December, 2018 Vol 23. No 8629. Price: N250

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N2.3trn Stock Market Losses, an Opportunity Goddy Egene

L-R: Chairman, Forte Oil Plc, Mr. Femi Otedola; Chairman, Board of Directors, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Ernest Ebi; President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; and Managing Director/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, at Fidelity Bank’s end of the year party with the theme, ‘Doing Good,’ in Lagos…weekend

One month to the end of the year, the Nigerian stock market has shed N2.348 trillion following persistent weak demand for stocks in a bear market. Specifically, in the last 11 months, N2.348 trillion has been eroded from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) market Continued on page 10

Onaiyekan: Nigeria Faced with Two Undesirable Presidential Candidates Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Archdiocese, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, at the weekend took a critical look at the nation’s political landscape and concluded that the main challenge before Nigerians is making a choice between two well-known but undesirable candidates in the forthcoming presidential election. In his speech presented at the weekend in Abuja during a sensitisation programme towards the 2019 general elections titled, ‘The Church in Politics, Towards Election Year-2019,’ Onaiyekan said the new political parties that would have joined forces to produce a credible alternative presidential candidate failed to do so due to selfishness and ego. He said that at the moment, it would not be in the interest

of the church to support one political party against the other; but to identify and stand behind those who can offer good governance for the people. According to Cardinal Onaiyekan, the church and the clergies must come out clearly to support efforts to sanitise the political climate. He said, "My dear brothers, our country is deeply in a great dilemma as we move towards the 2019 general elections. It would appear that we are faced with horrible tragedy of a choice between two wellknown undesirable candidates. ‘’This is not only because both of them are Muslims but because we have seen both and we have no reason to be enthusiastic that they will do wonders. But this does not mean that we will completely give up interest, if we do,

Continued on page 54

EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES… Chairman/CEO, BUA Group, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu (left), and Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Philip Baker, during the high commissioner’s courtesy visit to BUA Group to explore opportunities for partnership and forge stronger ties between Canada and BUA Group…weekend

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PAGE TEN

Buratai Charges Special Forces to Prove Their Mettle

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

The Nigerian Army has challenged its Special Forces to prove that they have better training and tactics than terrorists by making the difference and positive impact in

the on-going counter-terrorism operations. However, THISDAY gathered that the killing of 23 soldiers in Metele, Borno State by insurgents and the angry response from Nigerians have stirred up an already simmering

disquiet in the military over the continued stay in office of the service chiefs and the handling of the war against insurgents in the North-east. The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, who charged the soldiers in

Maiduguri yesterday, while addressing the Armed Forces Special Forces and Army Strike Group deployed in the Northeast, said they were selected specially and deployed in the troubled region after being given special training, saying that is

Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade (right), receiving a product of the state Garment Factory from Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, shortly after the factory's products were certiďŹ ed for export by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in Calabar... recently

why they are called Special Forces. Buratai said, “I am here to tell you that you have a great job to do and you must do it properly. You are deployed in the North-east to make a difference because of your special training. If there will be any challenge in terms of capacity, I believe you will fill that gap and you have all it takes to do that. “If you apply the training that you are given, we will all have cause to be proud to belong to the armed forces of our great country.’’ He warned them against exhibiting cowardice, saying, “We do not have time for the chicken-hearted, the cowards; you all must brace up and be brave. We have done the greatest job so far in the Northeast; the greatest in terms of degrading the terrorists. “We are better trained, better equipped. We know tactics better than them and what is remaining for us is to dominate everywhere and dominate our areas of responsibilities. We must dominate the whole of the North-east.’’ The Army chief added that the terrorists must no longer be allowed the freedom to move about and commit heinous

crime and escape, enjoining the soldiers to deal squarely with the insurgents and say no to their vain and invalid threats. “Henceforth, there should be no dull moment in our operations. There should be no gap, but make a difference,’’ he said. Meanwhile, a top military source has described the retaining of Service Chiefs as ‘’explosive,’’ saying the implication of their continued stay in office could be seen in what he called the disaffection among the officer corps with the attendant consequences in the war front. He said, "My friend and others have tried to convince us and give excuses that it is Mr. President that extended their tenure but you still make your subterranean efforts to continue. "And I have told them that when you are busy receiving awards in order to continue in office, what is going on in the North-east shows you are not fully in control." Another source noted that extension of tenure of officers in such positions even when the president constitutionally reserves the right to do so is another way of "looking for trouble.�

challenged by developments in the political scene. Based on the developments, which include defections and utterances capable of heating up the polity, the Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), the umbrella body for chief executive officers of stock broking firms, said more investors were exiting the capital market. ASHON said, “For the umpteenth time, we strongly appeal to the political class that rather than indulge in unwholesome activities, actions, attitudes and destructive utterances, they should support all efforts aimed at creating the much-needed enabling environment for

accelerated economic growth and development.� According to the association, the unguarded activities and unrestrained utterances of our politicians are heating up the polity with dire consequences on the economy as a whole and the capital market in particular. “Perhaps we may remind the political class that uncertainties and all sorts of insecurities that currently pervade our country affect investors’ sentiments, asset valuations and market as well as country risk profile and portfolio allocation decisions. “In recent times, trading statistics on the securities markets in Nigeria have been reflecting investors’ apathy to unprecedented level of tension that portends likely breakdown of law and order in the 2019 general election.�

N2.3TRN STOCK MARKET LOSSES, AN OPPORTUNITY capitalisation.While the market shed N1.766trillion in 10 months to October 31, 2018, N582 billion depreciation was recorded in the month of November alone. Hence, the total of N2.348 trillion decline in 11 months. After closing negatively in 2014, 2015 and 2016, the market recovered in 2017 with a record gain of 42.3 per cent. Following the recovery and past trend, some market analysts had envisaged a continued bull run into 2018. But 11 months into the year, the market is down by N2.348 trillion. The Nigerian Stock Exchange All-Share Index (NSE ASI) has lost 19.27 per cent as a result

of the continuing sell down. However, the erosion of value of stocks has made most of the equities to become cheaper and providing a very good entry opportunity for discerning investors with long term focus. Some stocks with strong fundamentals and bright prospects have suffered significant value erosion, which is a very good entry window for investors. For instance, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, which is a regular dividend paying bank and posted improved results for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, has shed 15.7 per cent. This means, the stock is 15.7 per cent cheaper than its opening price for the year.

Similarly, Access Bank Plc, which ended the nine months with higher bottom-line is trading 25.8 per cent lower than its opening price, while Fidelity Bank Plc is 19.5 per cent cheaper. United Bank for Africa Plc has shed 27 per cent, while Union Bank of Nigeria Plc is trading 34 per cent below the price at which it commenced the year. FBN Holdings Plc and Dangote Cement Plc are also trading 19 per cent and 18.7 per cent lower in that order. Forte Oil Plc, Oando Plc, Total Nigeria Plc and Double One Plc 58 per cent, 21 per cent, 13.8 per cent and 10 per cent cheaper respectively. These companies had

reported impressive results that are capable of attracting increased demand for their stocks. However, some exogenous factors have continued to affect demand by investors. Although many of the emerging and frontier markets were affected by the flight to safety by investors due to increase in rates in the United States, the Nigerian case was compounded by sell down by some investors to guide against negative impact of the forthcoming general elections. Stockbrokers had said whereas some investors have remained confident in the strong fundamentals of the market, such confidence has been

PDP RALLIES GOVERNORS BEHIND ATIKU, UNVEILS POLICY DOCUMENT COMPETITION Ologbondiyan, insisted that there is no in-house fighting in the main opposition party, as the party is committed and united to assume leadership of the country in 2019. Ologbondiyan said that the party has been carrying along all its stakeholders and that the governors have been part of all the major decisions on the presidential campaign. Admitting that there were initial misgivings in some quarters, he, however, told THISDAY that everyone had been brought up to speed and all misunderstandings straightened out. According to the party’s spokesman, “They are all in the realm of speculations and I want to say that one governor or the other is not in the party’s presidential plan is not correct. The Governor of Ebonyi State attended National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting. So, how do you say some governors in the East are not in the support of our candidate? “Enugu State governor

travelled officially and the party is aware that he travelled. The position of the PDP is that there is no in-house fighting and all our governors are supporting our presidential candidate.� Meanwhile, the main opposition party said that its North-west Presidential Zonal Rally billed for Sokoto, Sokoto State, today would focus on issues as well as address the concerns, plights, fears and aspirations of Nigerians in the geo-political zone, in line with the policy document of its presidential candidate. Ologbondiyan, who is also the Director, Media and Publicity of the PDP Campaign Council in a statement yesterday said that the party would also use the rally to touch base with leaders in the geo-political zone on further consultations on the national consensus to rescue the nation from the misrule of the APC- led federal government. According to him, “The campaign has revealed that the zone is hugely disappointed in President Muhammadu Buhari,

who has failed to fulfill any of his 2015 campaign promises, even as it is piqued by his 2019 next level campaign mantra, which shows Mr. President’s lack of remorse for his failures.� He said that the North-west bears heavy imprints of neglect by the Buhari’s administration, adding that the president and the APC cannot point to any key development project articulated and completed by it in the last three and half years, despite the huge resources it claims to have channelled to the zone. Atiku Unveils National Competition on Policy Document The former vice-president of Nigeria has unveiled a national competition that would allow Nigerians interrogate his policy document. The competition, tagged ‘Voice of the People Competition,’ which kicked off yesterday, would end on December 24, 2018. Atiku had during the unveiling of his policy document via a Facebook Live broadcast

on November 19, said, “I want these policies to be our policies - yours and mine. I want to hear your ideas to get Nigeria working again. So I will give the opportunity to anyone in Nigeria to have their say on national television." In a statement yesterday, the campaign council boasted that this idea is the first time in the world that a presidential candidate would be calling for a national debate on his policy action plan. The party added, “Atiku, as a candidate who keeps his campaign promises, will on Sunday 2nd December at 1pm launch a competition via a video broadcast on his Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/atiku. org) that will see six members of the Nigerian public given a one minute slot on national television to say what they think needs to be done to help get Nigeria working again. “Contributors are to state their names and location and one winner will be announced from each of all the six geo-political

zones of Nigeria who will have the opportunity to have their recording played in a national telecast between January 1 and 6, 2019. “Any Nigerian can enter the competition by simply recording a one minute video and posting it on their respective Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account by December 24. ‘’Competitors are requested to add to their post the hashtag, #LetsGetNigeriaWorkingAgain and the state where they reside. Interested individuals can post a video selfie or any other form of video - the only limit is your imagination. “The judging panel, led by Senator Ben Murray Bruce, will review the entries and select one winner from each geo-political zone. One key criterion for the winners will be the number of engagements their entry generates. “Contributors must be Nigerians and must agree to terms and conditions that their entry video can be used in any manner by the PDP Campaign Organisation in all media.�

TOP GAINERS FCMB DOUBLE11 NAHCO UBA FIDELITY TOP LOSERS CAP PLC NIGERINS CUSTODIAN

NGN NGN 0.13 1.45 15.00 175.00 0.27 3.60 0.45 7.50 0.11 1.98 NGN 3.45 31.50 0.02 0.22 0.40 4.90 ETERNA 0.30 4.20 UNITYBANK 0.04 0.69 HPE Nestle Nig Plc â‚Ś1,485.00 Volume: 249.423 million shares Value: N2.393 billion Deals: 2,909 As at yesterday 29/11/18 See details on Page 37

% 9.8 9.3 8.1 6.3 5.8 % 9.8 8.3 7.5 6.6 5.4

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COMMENT

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

BUHARI, CRITICS AND NEXT LEVEL

Emma Umohinyang writes that the Next Level 2019 is part of a strategy aimed at putting Nigeria back on stream

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ne of the attributes of great leaders is the mastery of the art of pro – activeness, especially at very critical moments of nationhood. Unfortunately, this art is almost alien to most of our leaders as they are caught napping at times when they are expected to rise to the occasion, leading to a yawning gap between African countries and the developed world in terms of growth and technological advancement. This no doubt has been the bane of most of African countries, including Nigeria, leaving unpalatable consequences which impeded and continues to impede our growth and development. It was therefore a thing of joy when President Muhammadu Buhari, not wanting to be bitten by this terrible bug launched Next Level, 2019, a compilation of his achievements and plans for a second term. One of the most striking features of the event was that it took place almost as soon as the curtain on political activities for 2019 was raised which is very instructive. This no doubt is remarkable as it is a demonstration on the part of the president that he is truly serious about leading the nation again to consolidate on the achievements of the last few years. Given the fact that a lot of efforts must have gone into the project, it also underscores that he is not taking Nigerians for granted and a demonstration of the fact that he clearly identifies with their hopes and aspirations. This is a clear departure from what we used to see in the recent past when aspirants at various levels approach us to vote for them without any level of seriousness. Curiously, these are people who we entrust our destiny into their hands as they are naturally saddled with steering the ship of state. It is therefore safe to say that our decisions and indecisions in the recent past are largely connected to the unfortunate rape of our commonwealth by these leaders. This is the major reason why the launch of next level 2019 by President Buhari needs to be applauded by all men and women of goodwill who truly love the growth and advancement of our nation, especially at this critical moment. Aside from providing an insight into the journey of the present administration so far, next level 2019 gives detailed information about the administration’s plans for the future. The document therefore presents Nigerians and all lovers of Nigeria, ample opportunity to score the Buhari administration based on its promises especially the landmarks recorded in the fight against corruption, agric revolution, diversification of the economy, infrastructural development, economic emancipation for the poorest of the poor, fight against Boko Haram and more. This no doubt is very crucial as it lets the reader into the much – needed details that could be used in assessing the performance of the Buhari administration in all critical sectors as opposed to speculation or hearsay. Aside this, the document is a veritable research material which is

ONE OF THE MOST STRIKING FEATURES OF THE EVENT WAS THAT IT TOOK PLACE ALMOST AS SOON AS THE CURTAIN ON POLITICAL ACTIVITIES FOR 2019 WAS RAISED, WHICH IS VERY INSTRUCTIVE

bound to be useful to voters, students, academics researchers, etc., who may need critical information about the government. Perhaps, for the first time in our national history, “Next Level 2019� presents Nigerians with critical information needed for decision making at a very critical period in our national history. This is not surprising as the Buhari administration has never hidden its desire to run a transparently open system for the benefit of Nigerians both at home and in the diaspora. Though some members of the opposition have criticised the document, the good thing about it is that they have not been able to rubbish the facts presented. Worse still, it is doubtful whether anyone remembers the title of the document launched by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar same day President Buhari launched next level 2019. This no doubt speaks volume especially when one compares the policy documents of other opponents of Buhari. The question really is: can the achievements of Buhari over three and a half years in critical sectors of our economy – agriculture, solid minerals, power, infrastructure, health, anti – corruption, etc., be waved aside by discerning Nigerians? For the first time in our nation, the country has made more money than it has made from non-oil exports since independence. From agriculture to solid minerals, the profile of the Buhari administration keeps rising by the day and winning global applause. This is not forgetting the giant strides made in power, job creation, road construction and more for which Nigerians remain grateful. Consequently, next level 2019 is most expedient at this time as it is a story of what the Buhari administration hopes to achieve in the next four years as part of strategies aimed at putting Nigeria back on stream to make her regain our lost position in the comity of nations. Can anyone say he does not desire railways working across the nation as being carried out by the Buhari administration, especially since this government kick-started this project some years back? Would anyone kick against the on-going efforts to make our airports world-class as demonstrated with the Port Harcourt Airport, and the successful construction of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja second runway by this administration? Does anyone hate the on-going social intervention projects aimed at breaking the artificial wall between the rich and the poor through Tradermoni and other empowerment schemes to lift the poor out of poverty as demonstrated by the Buhari administration? Even the South-East where President Buhari administration recorded the least votes has about 70 on-going projects across the zone, with more to come. This is what the next level 2019 is all about as it is all about the Nigeria of our dreams. Now is the time for all hands to be on deck by supporting PMB for a deserved second term in office. Umohinyang wrote from Lagos

APC AND ATIKU’S AMERICAN VISA

The APC is not in a position to dictate to the United States who to admit into their country, argues Phrank Shaibu

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he desperation of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to stop the growing popularity, acceptance and political momentum of Atiku Abubakar in the race to become the next suitable President of Nigeria in 2019, obviously took an absurd yet very disturbing and dangerous dimension recently, when the Information Minister Alhaji Lai Mohammed practically issued a warning to the United States of America, not to issue a Visa to the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP). Speaking during an interactive session with media men in Abuja recently, Lai Mohammed said that the Nigerian government was aware of the move by the former Vice-President to lobby the U.S. to lift the visa ban imposed on him, adding that while the U.S. had the prerogative of whom to issue visa, it should be mindful of the timing, in order not to give the impression that Atiku has been endorsed by the U.S. government. The first question any discerning Nigerian or proud advocate of democracy is bound to ask with this position by the Buhari government is: “Why this and why such remarks should arise at all at this time?� It is bad enough that President Buhari, instead of helping to build a positive image of Nigeria in the global space, has rather consistently embarked on a deliberate policy of de-marketing Nigeria in the eyes of the international community by describing Nigerians as criminals and youths as lazy, including applauding when his country was labelled as fantastically corrupt. This new ploy to surreptitiously threaten and blackmail the United States with the matter of issuing a visa to Atiku Abubakar is so barefaced and yet quite instructive as it is revealing of the panic which is consuming the Buhari administration in its realisation that they are going to be defeated in 2019. The stark reality is the reality of Atiku’s probable victory over the APC with every failure of their dubious antics to frighten or intimidate the PDP Presidential

candidate out of the race crumbles with each passing day. This unnecessary distraction by the APC is not new as it had reared its ugly head in several deliberate acts of intimidation and panic-driven measures by the Buhari administration, including an unwarranted search of Atiku’s aircraft when he returned from holidays in Dubai. Furthermore, the noise of sending Nigeria’s security agencies to go and scratch out some non-existent misdemeanour in Dubai with which to trump up spurious allegations of wrong doing against Atiku are all shameless actions that demonstrate nothing else but fear. Howbeit, on the shameless remarks of the Lai Mohammed it is not quite difficult to identify where his courage to attempt this blackmail derives from. Nigerians will recall that in March 2015, President Barack Obama of the United States released a video where he practically told Nigerians in veiled innuendos who and how to vote in the Presidential election between incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and erstwhile serial contestant General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd). That video, which later received the opprobrium and denouncement of Nigerians who saw Obama’s intervention as condescending and in keeping with the familiar theme of the West telling African nations how to conduct their affairs, was orchestrated by the propaganda machinery of the APC at that time and it was indeed ironic that Nigerians had bought into such an insulting warning couched like a piece of information or advice from a controversial figure like Obama, who presided over what is the most divisive political climate in the US, for decades, just as this present administration has been the most divisive in Nigeria since after the civil war. The sad reality of the day is that Nigerians have never been more divided in our history than we are at this time and it is perhaps a reflection of that disruptive temper and spirit of anarchy that a Nigerian Federal Minister of Information, will have the boldness to tell another country not to issue visa to its citizen because of the supposed advantage such an action will be interpreted to give the person in an

election. The rudeness of such a request made by Lai Mohammed can only be understood in the fact that this is a government whose outright quest and agenda is to diminish or suffocate any opposition in a democracy by all means. Luckily, the American government should know better than to listen to this rant by an administration that is frightened by the prospect of losing an election it won in the first place with such dubious manipulation and twisting of logic into the realms of blackmail. The truth is that those in leadership that prompted Lai Mohammed to act in the manner he did may either hugely ignorant of modern realities on democracy, perverse or acting in bad faith to believe that it can demand or instruct another country’s government on what to do in relation to its travelling policies. The fact that Obama bought into their deceit in 2015 does not mean that President Donald Trump will do the same in 2019. In fact, what Donald Trump thinks about our ‘lifeless’ President is of common knowledge. From every reasonable angle of logic, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed spoke too soon and with bias for misinformation as he exhibited gross ignorance of the conclusion reached by the same administration he serves regarding the bogus unsubstantial allegations of corruption on Abubakar Atiku. If Lai Mohammed was not mischievous, he should have even paused to listen to his compatriot, Prof. Itse Sagay, the Special Adviser to President Buhari on Corruption Matters, who has stated clearly that the Nigerian government has no concrete evidence to support its bandied claim of corruption against Atiku Abubakar and that the campaign for the 2019 election should be issues based and not smear campaigns filled with attacks and slander on personalities. From Lai Mohammed’s comments, it is now obvious that the APC had planned to use the outcome of Atiku’s visa request to confuse the electorate into believing that America is against him. But the obvious positive signals of neutrality

and non-discrimination coming out of the United States has led to growing frustration in the Buhari administration which has now led Lai Mohammed to cry out in fear and desperation as obvious defeat stares them in the face in 2019. Interestingly, Atiku Abubakar is going about his campaign with admirable zeal and conviction by refusing to join issues with his detractors and engaging in a mud-slinging exchange, irrespective of tricks by Lai Mohammed and his ilk to infringe on his human rights and cast aspersions on his personality. That Atiku Abubakar has maintained his impressive discipline and authority like a seasoned statesman befiting of the status of a former vice -president by taking firm and decisive positions on issues, even in campaign mode, should constantly reassure Nigerians that we already have a president in waiting who will not be a “Baba Go Slow� and may not take six months to form a cabinet or another one to sign a budget. There is absolutely no doubt in the minds of many Nigerians now that the Buhari government has failed woefully especially in all the things they deceived Nigerians that they will do if elected into power. Even the most rabid supporters of this government know that they are worse off now than they were in 2015. Everything has simply collapsed in Nigeria. Food is so expensive and we cannot even see the power they claim to have generated. The government claims that it is doing roads in the South East, but those who travel from Onitsha to Ebonyi will confirm that virtually all the roads in the South East are nightmares. Only four columns have been constructed on the site of the second Niger Bridge in three years, the school feeding programme is a complete mess, the railways need trillions of dollars to be completed and we have been borrowing from the Chinese to the extent that the next three generations may not be free from that debt if Buhari returns for a second term. Shaibu, a Public Communication Consultant, wrote from Abuja

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T H I S D AY MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2018

EDITORIAL Piracy In The Gulf Of Guinea The authorities could do more to ensure sanity in the Gulf of Guinea

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hen in August the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), an arm of the International Chamber of Commerce, released its latest report on the state of piracy in the world for the first half of this year, it was no surprise that there were more incidents in Nigeria (31) than any other country. And that should worry the authorities especially since the increase of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, according to the report, has led to higher shipping costs since vessels are now compelled to insure their crew aside paying for higher security costs. Describing them as “unacceptable”, the Director of IMB, Pottengal Mukundan said reports indicate more violence against ships and crews in the Gulf of Guinea, particularly around Nigeria than anywhere in the world. That the cost of this menace to the country is very high is evident. Early this year, the United Nations Security Council disclosed that Nigeria is losing about $1.5 billion a month due to piracy, armed robbery at sea, smuggling and fuel supply fraud in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG). AcTHE ROOT CAUSE OF cording to AmbassaPIRACY IN THE REGION dor Michele J. Sison, the United States’ ARE INEFFECTIVE Deputy RepresentaGOVERNANCE tive to the UN, the STRUCTURES, root cause of piracy in WEAK RULE OF LAW, the region are inefPRECARIOUS LEGAL fective governance FRAMEWORKS AND structures, weak rule of law, precarious INADEQUATE NAVAL, legal frameworks COAST GUARD, AND and inadequate MARITIME LAW naval, coast guard, ENFORCEMENT and maritime law enforcement. “The absence of an effective maritime governance system, in particular, hampers freedom of movement in the region, disrupts trade and economic growth, and facilitates environmental crimes,” she said.

Letters to the Editor

To say the least, this spate of attacks is worrisome as it has given Nigeria and other countries in the Gulf of Guinea a very negative image in the comity of maritime nations. It has also led to the high cost of freight as ship owners and crew members often demand for high insurance premium before embarking on any voyage to Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. In the first half of this year, according to the EOS Risk Group, there were dozens of Nigerian pirate attacks on merchant and fishing vessels in the Gulf of Guinea. “Most concerning this year has been the resurgence of ‘petro-piracy’, involving the hijacking of tankers for oil theft,” said Jake Longworth, senior intelligence analyst at EOS Risk. “The return of petro-piracy has been accompanied by an associated increase in the geographical reach of Nigerian pirate gangs, leading to attacks in the waters of Benin and Ghana.”

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

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

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

CURBING THE BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY

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ccording to Malala Yousafzai words “with guns you can kill terrorists, with education you can kill terrorism.” This connotes that an irresistible force may only defeat people behind terrorism while education is the most effective counterterrorism policies. Al-mourabatiun terror group in Senegal, Ansar dine in Mali and Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya in Egypt were once technically suppressed in the 1990s but later roused and currently at the vanguard of terrorizing their nations. In fact, the Boko Haram sect ideology can be traced to the Maitatsine group crushed in the 1980s and Al-Shabaab sect established in late 1995 by Mallam Abubakar Lawan in Maiduguri but subsequently crushed by the Nigerian Army. Since antiquity every terrorist group has been guided by an irrational and unsound ideology. In a bid to successfully quench any terrorist group with firearms, its ideology must be well mastered followed by formidable, relentless and coordinated campaigns against it on mass media and public debate. Moreover, public institutions curricula at all levels must entail and encompass broad and accurate ideological teachings and researchers while private institutions curricula must be guided with established principles to avoid teachings that might endanger the society. This method has prevented terrorism from reigning in some European and Arabian nations. The increase in unemployment rate over the years

ut the negative impact on our economy goes beyond oil theft. Apart from reducing the number of vessels calling at the nation’s seaports due to the fear of an imminent attack, it has helped in no small measure to increase the cost of doing business in Nigeria as ship owners and the consignees now charge higher than they do for other countries. The huge costs are eventually passed off in the cost of freight to the final consumer. The high number of lives lost to such crime aside, piracy drives fear into shipping practitioners, especially ship captains and master mariner. While there is unanimity among shipping practitioners that sea piracy cannot be totally eradicated, it is also a fact that with concerted efforts by all the relevant stakeholders, the menace can be minimised in our country. In addressing the challenge, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr Dakuku Peterside said recently that a legal framework that prescribes stiffer sanctions, a more vigorous and vigilant military-led patrol and better intelligence gathering network would be required. We hope Dakuku and his team will help to put such measures in place so that the Nigerian territorial waters will not continue to harbour criminals.

in Nigeria has been contributing to the prevalent proliferation of criminality and terrorism. A popular saying posited that “the devil finds work for idle hands to do.” The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report 2017 presented the total numbers of unemployed and underemployed Nigerians as 40%. It is pertinent that this vacuum is filled by creating job opportunities and empowering the masses to drastically reduce or prevent the able-bodied men and women from surviving on criminal acts or being drawn into terrorism for livelihood. Terroristic approaches are mostly adopted by the affluent individuals or groups who are willing to accomplish certain political interest. In a bid to aggressively pose threats and adequately mitigate the strategies and capacity of these forces, the Nigerian security intelligence must maintain an effective cooperation with its international allies in combating terrorism. Also, the country must embark on technological advancements and projects such as the installation of CCTV and other detective machines in strategic public places with proper monitoring. In conclusion, the consolidated effort of Nigerian governments at all levels to exterminate terrorism would amount to vanity without the citizens’ unalloyed support. Therefore, to build a final nail in the coffin of terrorism, Nigerians must be vigilant, compliant and supportive of the government anti-terrorism policies. Binzak Azeez, Faculty of Law, O.A. U, Ile-Ife

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JEWELLERY THEFT IN PARKS

ickpocketing and jewellery theft is an old game, comparable to prostitution. Enumerated as an offence against property by NPACS (Nigeria Police Abstract of Statistics), pickpocketing and jewellery theft are carried out by petty criminals who leave victims in a state of anguish as most often, realisation is at the point of effecting transit fares or while on a journey, whereas some lucky folks get to know before embarkation. Painfully, valuables like passports, tickets and credit cards are alongside stealthily taken with victims’ wallet. Just like pickpocketing, most jewel thieves perpetrate their acts in parks and garages where distraction is rife. Whilst a passenger is inside a vehicle they stretch their hands from outside the window, grab a watch, bangle or necklace and zoom off; in alleyways they confront victims head-on brandishing small knives, broken bottles and other small arms. Ladies are target victims for head-on confrontations, offering little or no resistance and for any slight struggle they mercilessly inflict injuries to incapacitate. They sneak behind unsuspecting victims in the dark after trailing them for minutes, swiftly execute their mission and into thin air they vanish! Property offences according to NBS (Nigeria

Bureau of Statistics) posted a staggering 68,579 of the 134,663 crime cases in the country in 2017. Statistics for 2018 could be more given the increased surge in drug abuse amongst youths. Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah, chairman of NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency) during the 2018 UN day against drug abuse and Illicit trafficking reiterated that, “It is in the same vein that the entire society is battling with the litany of social vices and extreme violence, aggravated by substance abuse...” Over three million bottles of codeine which causes psychosis when addicted to, is reportedly sold on daily basis in two states alone- BBC Africa Eye, (Sweet Sweet Codeine – inside Nigeria’s deadly cough syrup trade), 2nd May, 2018. In parks and garages there is preponderance in the sales and use of psychotropic substances which assure users of some form of invincibility and a trigger to exhibit deviant behaviour. Sales and usage are blatant or coded depending on the tolerance of law enforcement agents. Some street names include; Charlie, Dope, Ice, Rock, Roachie, Thailand, T.M, Worlcup. Patronage too cuts across all strata. People embrace drugs for a number of reasons, to escape reality but end up with the realisation of being addicts. Odike Ezemonye Kingsley, Port Harcourt, Rivers State

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THISDAYt MONDAY DECEMBER 3, 2018

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

M O N D AY D I S C O U R S E

The Blame Game Continues

Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Ojo Maduekwe write that the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress are trying to hold each other responsible for the broadening crisis in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly

Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Uyo

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fter the initial invasion of the Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly on November 19 by thugs belonging to the youth wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, and backed by officers of the Nigeria Police, the APC again invaded the state assembly on November 27. The thugs were allegedly led by the five former members of the House, who are members of the opposition APC in the state, namely; Nse Ntuen, representing Essien Udim; Idongesit Ituen, representing Itu; Gabriel Toby, representing Etim Ekpo-Ika; Victor Udofia, representing Ikono and Otobong Ndem, representing Mkpat Enin. The first invasion of the house was said to have been led by Ituen, who had gone to the courts to stop the house from declaring his seat vacant but instead got ruled against. The second invasion was alleged to have been sponsored

by Ituen and his four defecting colleagues. But the APC has a different narrative. According to its National Vice Chairman, South-south, Chief Hilliard Eta, the party frowned at the brutalisation of APC lawmakers and the interference of Governor Udom Emmanuel in the affairs of the state assembly. He said, the party’s position, especially at the zonal level was it would not sit idle and allow the impunity of the PDP to derail the democratic structure in the state. Eta further said the governor should approach the courts if he felt strongly about certain happenings in the assembly and reiterated that the party will do everything within its powers to protect the citizens of the state. The APC chieftain warned that the party will not stand aloof to watch the intimidation and harassment of APC members and citizens of communities in the state by those who are bent on remaining in the office at all cost using the power at their disposal as the governor of the state.

Following the second invasion, thousands of Akwa Ibom women were said to have marched out in the state capital of Uyo to demand the immediate sack of the state police commissioner, Musa Kimo, who was only recently deployed to the state in the heat of the first invasion. The women, led by the Commissioner for Women Affairs in Akwa Ibom state, Dr. Glory Edet; the PDP women leader in the state, Mrs. MmemeAkpabio, and a former Minister of Lands and Housing, Dr. Akon Eyakenyi, stormed the assembly complex at 9am to express their solidarity with the governor over what they described as “intimidation by the federal government.� According to Edet, “For the sake of peace, we want the removal of the Commissioner of Police, Musa Kimo. We have always had peace, and we want that peace to continue. We cannot have a police force that will abet the level of illegality that we have witnessed in the House of Assembly. Introducing anything other than peace in Akwa

Ibom is alien to our people. When there is crisis anywhere and women step in, there is always peace. This is why we have stepped in.� Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke, while addressing the women, urged them to pray for peace and not be afraid but to always rise to defend the country’s hard won democracy. He described the invasion as the most scandalous desecration of the state legislature yet. The state governor, Udom Emmanuel, and Luke have repeatedly accused the police as abetting the two-time invasion of the House of Assembly by the ousted members and thugs allegedly hired by them. The national chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, and the police commissioner, have tried to downplay both invasions. While Oshiomhole tried to paint the embattled former members as victims, accusing the PDP of “misusing the police� to undermine APC members democratic rights, Kimo said the police officers

‘Emmanuel Instigated This Crisis by Pressuring the Speaker to Declare APC Legislators SeatVacant’ Hon. Ini Okopido, Akwa Ibom State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress lays the charge for the crisis at the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly at the feet of Governor Udom Emmanuel and Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke r8F FYQSFTT BCTPMVUF DPOGJEFODF in the new Commissioner of Police who arrived the State only a few days ago on his new posting. We ask him to perform his duties creditably well no matter the inducement and intimidation from Udom Emmanuel.

QUICK FACTS: r"LXB *CPN 4UBUF )PVTF PG "TTFNCMZ has 26 legislators representing the 26 state constituencies. The state has 31 local government areas r"T BU /PWFNCFS CFGPSF QMFOBSZ PDP had 21members while APC had four members. Hon. Idongesit Ituen representing Itu, who had defected the APC lost his seat on November 14 through judgment of the Federal High Court, Uyo r*U XBT *UVFO XIP BQQSPBDIFE UIF court ostensibly to preempt losing his seat, but the judgment turned against him

r *U JT POMZ UIF *OTQFDUPS (FOFSBM PG Police that can deploy the Commissioner of Police, and so the call by Udom Emmanuel for the transfer of the new CP is a misplaced flippancy and abuse of office and privilege r 4JODF 6EPN &NNBOVFM JOTUJgated this crisis by pressuring Mr

Onofiok Luke to declare the seats of the APC legislators vacant, both of them should solve the problems. Calling on the President to intervene in the crisis they created is childish and amateurish. r4FOBUPS (PETXJMM "LQBCJP IBT OP hand in this crisis; and so the gover-

nor ’s resort to heaping insults and abuse on him is amounts to creating distraction. Since Senator Akpabio left the PDP in August, our governor has been so psychologically deflated that he blames the distinguished senator for all his afflictions, including his family problems.

r5IF 4QFBLFS BOE UIF )PVTF TJNQMZ enforced the judgment of the court not only against Ituen, but the other APC legislators since they were in a similar situation. At end of plenary on November 29, the four other seats of those who had earlier defected were declared vacant leaving PDP with 21seats and APC 0 r 5IF IPVTF JOWPLFE 4FDUJPOT H and 109(2) to declare the seats vacant r0G UIF Ă WF "1$ MFHJTMBUPST UISFF Ntuen, Tobby and Udofia-are from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district, represented by Senator Godswill Akpabio. Ndem is from the same Ikot Abasi federal constituency as APC governorship candidate, Mr. Nsima Ekere. Ituen is from Uyo senatorial

district. r" )JHI $PVSU TJUUJOH JO 6ZP "LXB Ibom state on Wednesday ordered Hon. Nse Ntuen to stop parading himself as the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly until the motion filed by the counsel to Speaker Onofiok Luke, is determined r5IF "1$ MFHJTMBUPST IBE QSFWJously held a ‘session’ in which Luke was removed as Speaker and Ntuen installed in his place r0O /PWFNCFS (PWFSOPS &Nmanuel stormed the House of Assembly accompanied by a large crowd of some policemen, officials of the DSS, commissioners and other government officials.

The five APC lawmakers were forcibly removed from the premises of the assembly. One of them, Ntuen allegedly sustained in the course of the ensuing melee r%VSJOH UIF UI "TTFNCMZ Ă WF TFBUT were also declared vacant by the then Speaker Rt. Hon. Sam Ikon. Those who were affected took the decision in good faith r-BTU ZFBS UIF POMZ "1$ NFNCFS JO the our house of assembly elected on the platform of the party, Hon. Asukwo Archibong, representing Urue Offong Oruko defected to the PDP. His seat was not declared vacant r 5IF UI BTTFNCMZ UFSNJOBUFT PO +VOF 8, 2019

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MONDAY DISCOURSE

Emmanuel

aiding the five former lawmakers are security aides attached to the embattled lawmakers. Speaking on the Akwa Ibom invasion, Oshiomhole said the police sided with the PDP in the state. “We have law and order. If a governor wants extra legal assistance with the police, the Commissioner is not meant to oblige but that is what has happened in Akwa Ibom,� he said. Kimo on his part said, “It is totally false. Mind you all the House members have police men attached to them, this is not peculiar to Akwa Ibom state. For now we have no right to prevent ‘A’ or ‘B’ from accessing the House. That can only be done by the court of competent jurisdiction. I did not send any policeman to the assembly. Do you know that, if we did not deploy police to stay, not far from the assembly, possibly by now the structure might not have been there.� But, in an exclusive interview with THISDAY, the house chairman on information and member representing Ibiono Ibom state constituency, Rt. Hon. Ime Okon said, “I would have thought that the invasion was a normal police arrangement but the reaction of the APC both at the national and state level have shown that there’s credit to this allegation. I read that the national chairman

Luke

of the APC was supporting what his members who had been ousted from the house by the operation of the law, and telling stories as if he was in the premises when the thing happened. “Again I was also surprised that the state chairman of the APC was even congratulating the three members who sat on that day to purportedly bring out an imposter claiming to be the speaker.� On the day of the second invasion, the 21 members of the state House of Assembly, sat and passed a 7-point resolution, chief amongst them being the immediate arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the break-in into the chambers of the legislature and desecrating same. The lawmakers also banned their former colleagues from going near the premises of the assembly; passed a vote of confidence on the leadership of Luke for his leadership qualities; asked Kimo and other security agencies to protect the institution of the house and its members. They also asked for the immediate redeployment of Kimo for aiding and abetting the criminal activities of the five sacked lawmakers and for supplying them with over 50 policemen to break into the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.

Akpabio

There are allegations that the invasion of the house by the APC members is sponsored by Senator Godswill Akpabio and targeted at Luke, who is considered as one of the strong backbones of the state governor. The insinuation linking Akpabio to the crisis in the AKHA may have found some substance since Hon. Nse Ntuen, the member representing the former governor’s Essien Udim constituency was propped up as the ‘factional’ speaker. Of the five APC legislators, three-Ntuen, Tobby and Udofia-are from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district, represented by Senator Godswill Akpabio. However, a High Court sitting in Uyo has ordered Ntuen to stop parading himself as the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly until the motion filed by the counsel to Speaker Onofiok Luke, is determined. Akwa Ibom State Chairman of the APC, Hon. Ini Okopido unwittingly confirmed the fears of those who alleged that the crisis in the state house of assembly was contrived to enable the APC secure control of the state through the backdoor. Okopido had issued a statement saying that law and order may have broken down irretrievably in Akwa Ibom State. He said, “Should the gov-

ernor fail to address this problem, we call on the President to declare a State of Emergency in Akwa Ibom state and subsequently remove Udom Emmanuel from Office. Udom Emmanuel has flouted the law and breached the principle of separation of powers by invading the House of Assembly with murderous gang of thugs.� TheAPC and its lawmakers, apparently, did not anticipate the backlash it got. They were banking on assumed precedence in other states and at the National Assembly. Okopido was emphatic on this. He stated, “In many Houses of Assembly across the federation, and indeed in both the Senate and House of Representatives, there have been many cross defections across party lines in the last several months. It is only in Akwa Ibom House of Assembly that the Speaker, goaded and pressured by the governor, has been intolerant and immature enough to declare seats vacant.� He further argued that Luke. Last year, the only APC member in the house of assembly elected on the platform of the APC, Hon. Asukwo Archibong, defected to the PDP. Mr Onofiok Luke did not declare his seat vacant. The Governor was happy about it. As a party, we handled the loss of the only lawmaker with calmness and fortitude.�

‘Policemen Helped Former Members into the House to Carry Out the Comedy We Witnessed’ TheDeputyHouseLeaderoftheAkwaIbomstateHouseofAssembly,chairmanoninformationandmemberrepresenting IbionoIbomstateconstituency,Rt.Hon.ImeOkon,saysthepoliceoverreacheditspowersinclosingtheassemblycomplex What do you make of the invasion of the Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly, and the senate’s intervention during the invasion? We thank the senate for behaving as true democrats, guarding democracy, which was hard earned. We know that the legislature is the symbol of democracy which has to be protected. So we thank them for the resolution they took to guard the legislature in Akwa Ibom state. We were surprised however that the police could come to seal the assembly premises without recourse to even the speaker. None of us knew why they came. For the two days they were there they didn’t tell us anything. We thank God they’ve now left, and, we believe it’s in compliance with the resolution of the senate. Critics of the invasion say the police overreached its powers. Others say it fell within their duty to maintain peace. what’s your opinion? In terms of crisis, yes, the police can come in to maintain the peace, but, in this case there was no crisis that had to bring in the police to the house of assembly premises. Because, the event that happened on Monday November 19 was a normal one, such that we are even worried that some members of the police aided our former members to come into the house to carry out the comedy that we saw which they claim was a sitting of three members. It is that complicity that bothers us. Because, as to what happened, I think it was a normal event in the house. If the police came because they wanted to forestall further crisis, then they should have had recourse to the speaker of the house. In any case, most times it should have even been at the invitation of the leadership of the house, but it wasn’t the speaker that invited them, they came on their own. And since they came on their own, then they ought to have discussed

with the speaker. Assuming the members had any issues, that did not affect the members of staff of the assembly; but everybody, including the staff were barred from going inside the premises. So to a certain extent they overreached their powers. But, they have the intrinsic power to take any action to forestall crisis. But in this case there was no crisis in the house in the magnitude that brought them to seal up the assembly premises without recourse to the leadership of the house. What do you make of the allegation that the APC wants to instigate crisis in the state to gain an upper hand in next year’s elections? I would have thought that the invasion was a normal police arrangement but the reaction of the APC both at the national and state level have shown that there’s credit to this allegation. I read that the national chairman of the APC was supporting what his members who had been ousted from the house by the operation of the law, and telling stories as if he were in the premises when the thing happened. Again I was also surprised that the state chairman of the APC was even congratulating the three members who sat on that day to purportedly bring out an imposter claiming to be the speaker. I believe that we are all democrats and beyond party lines we should take steps and be serious in guarding this democracy that was hard earned. So, they should not support that sort of illegality where you have a situation that three members would go in without a sergeant at arms or clerk and force themselves into the hallowed chambers of the house. How true is the allegation that in the coming days more lawmakers will defect to the All Progressives Congress in the state? As far I’m concerned, I know that the 21 of us who are members of the PDP and are

currently members of the house of assembly are intact. There is no indication that any of us is leaving. I would be surprised at the situation that someone would now leave a winning team and majority to join the minority who are not even members of the house as we talk. So it is not true. What do you make of the allegation that Senator Godswill Akpabio, hoping to deliver the state to the APC, is poaching PDP members? Akwa Ibom is a PDP state, predominantly, and there is no fear of the APC taking over the state. In a situation like this, there may be overtures made by certain persons to some members to come over. I won’t be surprised at that, but at the moment, nobody out of the 21 members have indicated interest to join the APC. In retrospect do you think the expulsion of the members was the right thing to do, and is there precedence for the house action? What happened was an operation of the law. The 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, Section 109 gives us the reasons where someone could lose his membership. The part that talks of defection says that if you do, it means you’ve lost your membership, except in a situation where there’s a division in your party or there is a merger. And in this case you know there has been no merger or faction in the PDP. Whatever problems we had has since been sorted out. That same constitution even goes further to say that the speaker has a duty to enforce that section of the constitution. But in this case it was even a situation where a member who had defected was the one who went to court to get an order to restrain the speaker from declaring his seat vacant, because he knew that by his defection, he ought to have lost his position. Now, when he went to court, he failed in court and rather the court made an order that the speaker was restrained henceforth from

recognising him as a member of the house. What happened on Monday, November 19, was formalising a decision that had already been taken. So I think it was a question of law and the constitution being the supreme law of the land, the speaker was right. Especially when it was now the defecting member who went to court. You cannot now pick and choose. In any case, if for any reason that member whose seat has been declared vacant believes strongly that his right has been trampled upon, as a lawmaker that you were, you don’t take the laws into your hands. There must be rule of law. If you think your right has been trampled upon, then go to court. There are allegations that the house is doing the bidding of the state governor. How independent of the governor is the house? There is a close working relationship between the Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly and the governor for the interest of our people. Not that we don’t have differences. The mere fact that we don’t exchange fisticuffs does not mean we don’t have problems. But, because PDP is the majority in the house of assembly, and the state government is PDP, where we have issues and differences, we sit, talk and agree. We’ve had course to disagree. For instance, we were told that the position of the governors in the 36 states of the country was that they did not support financial autonomy for the state houses of assembly. But you will recall that the Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly voted for financial autonomy. So if we are under the control of the governor, why did we not listen to the story that the governor was against financial autonomy for the state legislature? But we voted against it. We have issues but we’re not rascals. You don’t expect the kind of scene that we saw on the 19th and carried out by members of the APC to happen between us and the governor simply because we disagree.

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FEATURES

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

Neighbourhood Watch: Army in Double Standard What could have been the official birth of the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency in Rivers State was scuttled by the Nigerian Army, when it invaded the camp, brutalising and chasing away everybody in sight, claiming it was a militia camp. Davidson Iriekpen writes

The recruits of the Rivers State Neighourhood Corps leaving camp after they were sent packing by the army

PHOTOS: GOOGLE

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ivers State Government and the Nigerian Army are at daggersdrawn followings the disruption of the further selection, screening and training of applicants for the state Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency at the State NYSC Orientation Camp, Nonwa in Tai Local Government Area of the state last Thursday by the officers and men of the army. From nowhere, soldiers from the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, suddenly invaded the camp, beating, brutalising and chasing away everybody in sight, particularly the newly recruited Neighbourhood Safety Corps personnel who were undergoing training at the camp, describing the outfit as “an illegal militia training camp� and subsequently shut it down for preliminary investigations.

Intended Objectives Trouble started when the state House of As-

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State

The Rivers State Government patterned its Neighbourhood Safety Corps after the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Law, which is currently in operation in the state. Apart from Lagos, states such as Cross River State, Kano, Zamfara, Kogi, Taraba, Benue, Imo, Enugu, Edo have theirs too

sembly, recently enacted the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency Law No. 8 of 2018, which empowers it to set up the Neighbourhood Safety Corps, aimed at complementing the efforts of the security agencies in tackling the security challenges in the state. According to the framers of the law setting up the agency, its main objective is to enhance security all over the state and foster community policing and crime control at the municipal level and ensure that the security of lives and property is guaranteed. It is also to “gather information about crime, crime in progress, every suspicious activity and crime suspect� to the police or any other security agency that requires it.� In order words, officials of the agency are to timely report any suspicious activity or crime in progress to the police; provide the police with relevant information that will enhance their understanding of how to effectively police the disparate communities in the state; improve the relationship between the police and the disparate communities in Rivers State as it concerns law enforcement; and contribute to maintaining

Chief of Army Sta, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai community peace. The law further provides that the agency will totally and completely be subservient to the Nigeria Police Force in that no person can be employed by the agency without security clearance of that person by it. This is to ensure that no hoodlum or criminal can be a member of the agency. It also enjoins it to assist, complement and collaborate with the Nigerian Police Force and every other security agency to ensure peace, law and order. It is also to regulate all vigilante groups to ensure that they are not cult groups or criminal gangs in disguise.

Criticisms In view of the cynicism that usually trail virtually everything in the state no matter how well conceived and intentioned, no sooner was the law enacted, than it elicited criticisms by member of the opposition who felt that it was illegal and usurpation of the functions of the police. They petitioned the police, Army, DSS and other security agencies, arguing that ignoring the law would amount to allowing the government to set up

a secret army with the toga of legitimacy and use them to intimidate opponents in the state. No doubt insecurity has been one of the challenges facing the country. Besides the deadly Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and herdsmen attacks have been giving the security agencies serious concerns. This is why in recent times the clamour for state police has heightened. It is for this reason that state governments despite the billions of naira they have committed to security with no substantial results, decided to fashion a way of keeping their people safe.

Blueprint from Other States It was for this purpose that the Rivers State government patterned its Neighbourhood Safety Corps after the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Law, which is currently in operation in the state. Apart from Lagos, states such as Cross River State, Kano, Zamfara, Kogi, Taraba, Benue, Imo, Enugu, Edo and others have since copied the model to complement the efforts of the security agencies in tackling their peculiar security concerns.

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FEATURES For instance, last year, Cross River State set up Forest Guard to checkmate the activities of illegal loggers in the state. In the North, most states have Hisba, which is Sharia Police, whose duty is to enforce Sharia laws and tackle petty crimes. Others have various enforcers of traffic laws and rules. In Benue and Taraba States for instance, they have laws establishing vigilante groups to assist the police in tackling herdsmen attacks. In Borno State, there is the Civilian Joint Task Force, otherwise called the Civilian JTF, which is helping the military to battle the Boko Haram insurgency in the state. In all of these states, the opposition did not raise any eyebrow as they are doing in Rivers State, despite the fact that they are also the ones complaining of rising insecurity in the state.

Analysts Many analysts have argued that because of the peculiar nature of the Niger Delta in general and Rivers State in particular where cultism, kidnapping and armed robbery have persistently been on the increase, setting up an agency to assist an over-burdened and overwhelmed police force in crime control and prevention was inevitable. Observers believe that insincerity of opposition was further exposed when it failed to talk about the efforts the state government had made in assisting security agencies in the state to tackle insecurity. Moreover, at a time when President Muhammadu Buhari has clamoured for community policing methods to support over-stretched conventional security agencies as canvassed by him through the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo during the two-day summit on national security organised by the Senate of Nigeria last February, many analysts are wondering why the army would turn around to invade a camp of an agency recognised by law?

The Lagos Neighbourhood Corps

Logistic Efforts For instance, since Governor Nyesom Wike assumed office in 2015, he has provided every logistics needed to enhance the capacity and efficiency of the police and other security agencies in the state despite the fact that security is the responsibility of the federal government. So far, the governor has provided over 400 Hilux vehicles fitted with communication equipment and 10 armoured personnel carriers at the cost of N200,000,000 each. He also gives diesel and financial support to the army, the navy, the air force and Department of State Service (DSS), on monthly basis. Yet, the crime rate is not abating, hence the need to seek an alternative in order to have peace in the state.

River's Government React Reacting to the invasion, the state government called on the army to stay away from the state’s affairs. In a statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Emma Okah, it wondered why the army would prefer an ambush given that before embarking on the screening exercise, the agency had written to it (army) and other relevant agencies asking for security, drill and physical training instructors. He noted that the army ignored the request and never advised against it, but preferred an ambush. "We have every reason to believe that the action of the soldiers is politically-motivated. By the illegal actions of the army, the Rivers State Government is constrained to believe that the

The Nigerian Army has been transformed into a political weapon that has abandoned her security responsibilities... the disruption of the training of the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency training programme was the worst act of irresponsibility, aimed at instigating insecurity in the state

Some of the recently inaugurated civilian JTF in Zamfara State federal government of Nigeria does not mean well for the state. It shows that there are different laws for different states in Nigeria," Okah said The statement further accused the federal government of double standard on the issue of neighbourhood security outfits in Nigeria, reminding it that Lagos, Zamfara, Borno, Kano, Cross River and other states have security outfits that are currently helping the police and the military in tackling one form of security or the other. “On November 13, 2018, Zamfara State Government inaugurated the Civilian Joint Task Force who are armed. Their photograph was reported in the front page of Guardian Newspaper of November 14, 2018. Lagos State has the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps; Kwara State has Operation Harmony and Kano State has Neighbourhood Watch (Hisba). Other states like Imo, Enugu, Edo, have security support agencies which are the equivalent of the Rivers State's agency. So where did Rivers State go wrong?,� Okah asked. He noted that the agency is a body created by act of parliament to assist security agencies in local intelligence gathering and the Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) are represented in the board of the agency. He urged President Buhari to call the Nigerian Army to order and avoid provoking the peace loving people of Rivers State. In his reaction to the incident, Governor Wike declared that the Nigerian Army has been transformed into a political weapon that has abandoned her security responsibilities. He stated that the disruption of the training of the

Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency training programme was the worst act of irresponsibility, aimed at instigating insecurity in the state. He noted that Zamfara and Kogi States have vigilante outfits which were commissioned by the Army and the federal government, wondering why it would disrupt a legal training exercise. “The army is not concerned about the killing of soldiers in Borno. They are only interested in creating insecurity in Rivers State. If you don't want Rivers State to be safe, then Nigeria will not be safe. They want to use their guns against us. Zamfara and Kogi States have vigilante groups. "They commissioned them and the Chief of Army Staff did nothing. The House of Assembly passed a law approving the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency. The Chief of Army Staff did not challenge the law in court, but today he sent troops to invade the training camp,� he said. The governor accused the Nigerian Army of stoking insecurity in order to attract huge security votes. He explained that the state government worked with the police, the DSS and other federal agencies to ensure that only law-abiding citizens were recruited by the state Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency. “We did not hire boys for political reasons. This has been a transparent process and that is why the personnel are trained at the NYSC Orientation Camp at Nonwa. We involved the police and the DSS to ensure that the trainees are profiled for the good of the society. The main aim of this agency is to assist the security agencies with intelligence and information, since there is a lacuna in this regard,� he said.

Army's Reaction But the Army in its reaction, said it shut down the training camp because the Neighbourhood Safety Corps is an illegal militia group. In a statement issued by the Deputy Director Army Public Relations, 6 Division Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Colonel Aminu Iliyasu, and titled ‘Discovery of an Illegal Militia Training Camp’, the army said investigations were on to unravel those behind the camp. It added that similar illegal militia training camps were discovered and disbanded in Benue and Taraba States earlier in the year and measures were promptly taken to forestall breach of security and safety of citizens. The statement said, “Troops of 6 Division Nigerian Army on November 29, 2018 while on a routine surveillance at Nonwa Gbam, (NYSC Orientation Camp) in Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State, discovered an illegal militia training camp. The troops met over 100 recruits undergoing military type of training. “Preliminary investigations into the discovery has commenced in conjunction with sister security agencies in the state to fish out the sponsors of the militia and the training camp.� However, many observers believe that the army acted wrongly and should not have frustrated the noble effort of the state to tackle lingering security challenges in Rivers especially when the same army was believed to have inaugurated the Lagos and Kogi Neighbourhood security agencies. It is also in support of the Civilian JTF in Borno and other states. Why is the Rivers State agency different? It is for this reason that many observers are accusing it of double standard.

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

L-R; State Head, SME- Lagos Zone, Globaom,Marie Macfoy; Regional Marketing Manager, Globacom, Kenechukwu Okonkwo; Director, Secondary Sales, Glbacom, Raj Narayan ; CEO, Top 50 Brands Nigeria, Taiwo Oluboyede, and, Head, Enterprise Sales, Globacom, Eric Uwaoma at the formal presentation of the ‘Most Innovative Product of the Year’ award to Globacom for its ‘Glo Yakata’ tari plan at the IamBrandNigeria Award/Gala Night in Lagos...recently

L-R: President/CEO, PEARL Awards Nigeria, Mr. Tayo Orekoya; Group Managing Director, Rainoil Ltd, Mr. Gabriel Ogbechie;and Memeber, PEARL Awards Nigeria, Mrs. Eniola Fadayomi, at the 2018 PEARL Awards Nite in Lagos... recently

L-R: Services Delivery Manager, HPE operated by Selectium (Nigeria), Segun IďŹƒe; Senior Financial Controller, Midis Group Ali Fawaz; Country Lead, Sales, HPE operated by Selectium (Nigeria), Ifeyinwa Kojo; member of the advisory board, Midis Group, Louis Guelette; General Manager, HPE operated by Selectium (Nigeria), Edwin Callen and Finance Manager, HPE operated by Selectium (Nigeria), Ejike Onyenokporo during the HPE Partner Event in Lagos ...recently

L-R: Husband of the newly inducted chairman, Patrick Onefeli, former commissioner for planning and urban development, Lagos state, Toyin Ayinde, newly inducted 5th chairman of Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), Lagos state chapter, Lynda Onefeli, out going chairman of APBN, Wasiu Akewusola and Presodent, APBN, Alade Ajibola at the investiture and inaguration of the executive members in Lagos...recently

L-R: Chief Core Operation OďŹƒcer, Interswitch Group, Oremeyi Adeola Akah; General Manager, Enterprise Marketing, MTN Nigeria, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka; Founder, MumsAtWork, Lilian Odim and Chief Enterprise Business OďŹƒcer, MTN Nigeria, Lynda Saint-Nwafor during the Mums At Work symposium in Lagos...recently

L-R: Marketing Director, International Breweries Plc, Ms. Tolu Adedeji, Nollywood Actor/Director and Hero Brand Ambassador, Nkem Owoh; a winner of the ongoing Hero National Consumer Promo tagged ‘HEROnaires Mega promo’, Mr. Ugwuanyi Emmanuel; National Sales Director, Mr. Godwin Oche and Marketing Manager, Hero Larger, Obumneke Okoli, both of International Breweries, at the presentation of prizes to winners in Onitsha, Anambra State‌recently

L-R: Managing Director of Polaris Bank, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru; Executive Vice Chairman of Techno Oil Limited, Mrs. Nkechi Obi; a Nigerian based in the Diaspora, Bola Joda; an Executive with Sterling Bank, Mr. Tunde Adeola, and Mary Okwechime at the 30th anniversary reunion of the Lagos Sate University (LASU) Pioneer Class of 1988, in Lagos...recently

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

A S

A T

REPO 17.36 % 16.57%

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

20% 18.50 % 18.75%

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima

Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08024557078, 08152447875

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

350.57% 0.25% 0.82%

3 0 , 2 0 1 8 S & P INDEX 1/4 TO DATE YEAR TO DATE

0.99% 6.46%

EXCHANGE RATE N306.80/1US DOLLAR* ĚŠ

Quick Takes Akomolafe Emerges NACC President

PROMOTING E-BANKING

L-R: Vice Chairman, Committee of E-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH), Kayode Olubiyi; MD/CEO, Sterling Bank Plc, Abubakar Suleiman; Chairman, CeBIH, Stanley Jacob and Deputy Director/Head of Payment System Oversight, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Musa Jimoh, at the 2018 annual CeBIH retreat held in Abeokuta, Ogun State‌recently

Report: 5G to Reach 1.5bn Subscriptions in 2024 Emma Okonji The latest edition of Ericsson’s Mobility Report has projected that 5G is expected to reach more than 40 per cent global population coverage with 1.5 billion subscriptions for enhanced mobile broadband by the end of 2024. According to the report, this would make 5G the fastest generation of cellular technology to be rolled out on a global scale. Nigeria, which is part of the global population to experience 5G growth, last week, announced its readiness to rollout 5G services across the country by 2020. Currently Nigeria operates on 3G and 4G services that are being provided by telecommunications operators. 5G is expected to increase speed of internet connectivity and also boost machine to machine communication as well as human to device communication, where humans will communicate and remotely control 5G connected

TELECOM devices. Humans will also be able to use dedicated 5G devices to check their health status. The Ericsson Mobility Report predicted that cellular Internet of Things (IoT) connections would surpass four billion in the next six years. This is just as global mobile data traffic grew 79 per cent year-on-year in Q3 2018. Key drivers for 5G deployment include increased network capacity, lower cost per gigabyte and new use case requirements. North America and North East Asia are expected to lead the 5G uptake. In North America, 5G subscriptions are forecast to account for 55 per cent of mobile subscriptions by the end of 2024. In North East Asia, the corresponding forecast figure is more than 43 per cent, the report said. In Western Europe, 5G was forecast to account for 30 per cent of mobile subscriptions in

the region by the end of 2024. Analysing the report through video conferencing, the Head of West Africa at Ericsson Middle East and African operations, Nora Wahby, said of the 4.1 billion cellular IoT connections forecast for 2024, North East Asia was expected to account for 2.7 billion – a figure reflecting both the ambition and size of the cellular IoT market in this region. According to her, mobile data traffic grew 79 per cent between Q3 2017 and Q3 2018, with China a key engine. “Mobile data traffic in Q3 2018 grew close to 79 per cent year-on-year, which is the highest rate since 2013. Increased datatraffic-per-smartphone in North East Asia– mainly in China – has pushed the global figure notably higher. “With a traffic growth per smartphone of around 140 per cent between end 2017 and end of 2018, the region has the second highest data traffic per

smartphone at 7.3 gigabytes per month. This is comparable to streaming high definition (HD) video for around 10 hours per month,� Wahby said. The Executive Vice President and Head of Business Area Networks at Ericsson, Fredrik Jejdling, said: “As 5G now hits the market, its coverage build-out and uptake in subscriptions are projected to be faster than for previous generations. “At the same time, cellular IoT continues to grow strongly. What we are seeing is the start of fundamental changes that will impact not just the consumer market but many industries.� The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, las week said trial testing of the rollout plan for 5G has commenced in the country beginning with the Eko Atlantic Project, where broadband data would drive connectivity and allow humans to interact with

The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) is set to hold its 2018 Annual Dinner and Inauguration of the 18th President of the Chamber, Oluwatoyin Akomolafe. The event would be held on Friday, December 14, 2018 in Lagos. The Annual Dinner Dance would present an opportunity for members of the Chamber and invited guests to interact in a relaxed environment, while networking and discussing initiatives to further encourage cross border trade and investment. Akomolafe, was the Deputy President, NACC prior to his election as president. He is the Chairman, Index Brook Limited and has devoted his career to nurturing of Index Brook into a Group of Companies operating in dierent Countries, providing consultancy services, project management and engineering services to the major oil and gas companies in the industry and across the world.These companies include Index Brook Nigeria, Index Brook Guyana, Canyon Oshore Mozambique, Pasedena Exploration and Production, Index Brook Angola and Index Brook Ghana. Akomolafe is also an active member of societies, social clubs, and professional associations; Christian Friends Society; Arch BishopVining Memorial Church, Ikeja; Ikoyi Club 1938;The Metropolitan Club; Regents Park Club, London;West Lake Country Club, Houston; Negotiation and Conict Management Group amongst others. The NACC is the ďŹ rst and oldest bilateral chamber of commerce in Nigeria and for more than 58 years on, the NACC has grown intoadynamicorganisation.Itstandsasapillaroftherelationshipbetween the United States of America and Nigeria, serving as an important catalyst in bringing together people and ideals to bolster bilateral commercial relations between Nigeria and the United States.

Winners Emerge in MultiChoice Awards

Winners have emerged from the 2018 edition of the DStv Eutelsat Star awards. They were Tirzah Ikiri of Zamani College, Kaduna, winner in the Essay category of the award while Prosper Okarike of Graceland International College, Port-Harcourt came ďŹ rst in the Poster category. ThedevelopmentthusmadeOkarikeatwo-timewinnerofthecompetition at the national level. The runners up for this year’s awards were Micheal Okwutu of the Heavenly College, Lagos won in the Essay Category and Wandoo Ayabam Hill Crest School, Jos won in the Poster category. Whilecommendingthejudgesformakingouttimetoconductatransparent adjudication,CEO,Multichoice,Mr.JohnUgbe,explainedthattheawardwas meanttoinspireinnovativethinkingamongstsecondaryschoolstudentsin Africa, to create awareness on how science and technology can be applied to everyday life, and to showcase the many ways that satellites already impactthedevelopmentoftheAfricancontinent.â€?Theannualawardswhich received a total of 70 entries including 57 essays and 13 posters this year, tooktheformofacompetitionopentostudentsbetweentheagesof14-19 years old. Nigerian winners of the award have now qualiďŹ ed to compete at the continental level for the emergence of Africa’s best in the essay and poster categories of the awards. The award was established in 2011 by MultiChoice Africa in collaboration with Eutelsat; a leading satellite operator for broadcasting, broadband, and data services.

Amstel Malta Promotes Healthy Living

Promoters of Amstel Malta, a premium malt drink, from the stable of Nigerian Breweries, have advocated the need for healthy living among Nigerian consumers. They stated this as the brand hosted hundreds of ďŹ tness enthusiasts at the 2018 FitFam Fest. The exercise attracted ďŹ tness pundits and fans from dierent parts of the world and international and local ďŹ tness celebrities, who shared their experiences and wealth of knowledge regarding the ever-growing ďŹ tness industry. This year’s edition showcased an array of healthy food vendors, ďŹ tness exhibitorsandevents,ďŹ tnessandwellnessspeakers,conferencesessions and nutrition chefs at the FitFam nutrition master classes. AmstelMalta’ssupportplayedapartindeliveringfun-ďŹ lledexperiences to participants in consonance with the brand’s commitment to always encourage people to be their best.The event also provided a very unique Continued on page 24 avenue for the brand to interact with its esteemed consumers and fans. Speakingattheevent,theSeniorBrandManager,AmstelMalta,NBPlc., Ugo Ahukannah said, “In a bid to drive ďŹ tness as a lifestyle, Amstel Malta hassupportedanumberofactivitiesacrossNigerialiketheOkpekpeRace and its support of the NFF. With the FitFam Fest, we’re going further to encourage Nigerians to go all in and be their best in every area of their out, would play critical roles lives, especially in health and wellness.â€? in strengthening micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) growth in the country. Stronger MSME growth creates greater room for job “If the banks are not lending, it is creation, reducing the level of because of certain bottlenecks and unemployment, and therefore they need to be resolved. Of course, reducing poverty. the CBN Governor is right to say he Poverty alleviation remains a wants banks to lend, but they really need to find a way to resolve the oil persistent focus in Nigeria despite and gas debts noteworthy programs over the years such as: Operation Feed the Nation (1976), the Green Revolution (1982), and the National Poverty Eradication Program (2001). While the initia-

Govts Urged to Establish Entrepreneurial Hub toTackle Poverty Obinna Chima The federal and state governments have been advised to set up private sector-led initiatives such as an entrepreneurial hub to tackle the rising incidence of poverty in the country. The Financial Derivatives Company Limited stated this in its latest bi-monthly economic update obtained at the weekend. The report noted that the relationship between poverty reduction and the expansion and development of SMEs cannot be overemphasised. It also urged federal and state governments to look beyond

ECONOMY access to finance and prioritise empowerment through developing a strong support network for entrepreneurs, access to skilled resources and shared collaborative spaces that reduce overhead expenses. “To complement the government’s efforts, there is the need for private sector led initiatives such as the establishment of an entrepreneurial hub. “Such a hub could be an association of entrepreneurs that co-fund or co-source relevant technical and managerial skills,

which are germane for business sustainability. “Given the huge cost that may be associated with training and skill acquisition, the train-thetrainer model could be adopted. This is a situation where a few entrepreneurs are selected and sponsored to attend special training programs and expected to train other members of the group upon completion of the program,� the report explained. According to the FDC, there is also need for sensitisation to arouse the entrepreneurial spirit in young and talented individuals. These initiatives, it pointed

CIBN President, Continued on page 24

Uche Olowu

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BUSINESSWORLD REPORT: 5G TO REACH 1.5BN SUBSCRIPTIONS IN 2024

connected devices to check their health status and remotely control home appliances without physical contact. Danbatta, acknowledged the deficit in infrastructure rollout and spectrum availability in the country but added that the NCC was already working to address the challenges. He said NCC would begin with the available 26GHz, 38GHz and 42GHz to drive 5G rollout in the country. Danbatta said, “NCC is already working on the three key factors that will drive 5G deployments, which include infrastructure, spectrum and regulation ahead of the 2020 rollout date. “We will rely on existing policies and regulation and still come up with additional policies and regulation that will address any hiccups.� Also speaking, the Head, subSaharan Africa for GSMA, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck, said although Nigeria still operates 2G and 4G networks, they will gradually give way for 5G as demand increases among the millennial, who are the digital natives.

GOVTS URGED TO ESTABLISH ENTREPRENEURIAL HUB TO TACKLE POVERTY

tives were well intended, their impact was and continues to be stalled with a lack of continuity by successive administrations and a limited focus on MSMEs, which are the engine of growth of any economy. According to the report, the level of poverty, unemployment and misery in the country remains alarming. Approximately 87 million people now live on less than $1.90 per day, with Nigeria surpassing India as the country with the poorest people in the world, it stated. “Unemployment and underemployment is at 40 per cent and the misery level (unemployment + underemployment + inflation) is 51.2 per cent. It is high time to focus and develop strategies to aggressively combat this chronic syndrome,� it added. One of the targets of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is to end extreme poverty by 2030. This is not far away and Nigeria still has a lot to do.

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

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) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (Maritime)

NEWS

‘Tax Reforms Should Be Targeted at Consumption’ Ugo Aliogo The Partner, Advisory, West Africa, EY, Ben Afudego, has stated the need for the federal government to pursue tax reforms policy to focused on consumption tax, which according to him should not be differentiated. Afudego, who disclosed this in Lagos during a media parley recently, said the products and services that are consumed more by the high net worth individuals should attract more tax, while the products and services that are consumed by those with low income should attract little tax. “Why can’t we have a tax regime that is targeted at consumption and VAT is a consumption tax. If VAT is properly structured, money can be realised from it. I think the challenge is not about Nigerians paying tax, it is about governance. When you pay the tax, you are not sure of how the money is used,� Afudego noted. Earlier in his remarks, the Partner and Advisory, Africa, India and Middle East (AIM) EY, Hennie Human, noted that two years ago, they started to consider their businesses across Africa, India and the Middle East market and identified that the real drivers exist specially from a client perspective. He also stated that due to their clients’ need for a seamless integrated service in the emerging markets; they started with the integration of the advisory businesses across Africa, India and Middle East, “this has pulled together more than 7,000 consultants across

these three areas.� Human, who disclosed that they have the largest emerging market consultancy in the world through the integrated vehicle, noted that some of the key reasons for the integration of AIM was to look at how to accelerate growth across all three markets of Africa, India and the Middle East. He added that they are also looking on how to improve profitability of delivery across

these three markets. According to him: “We are also looking at leveraging investments and making sure that we get the most from our investment from these markets. An important driver was to increase resilience at any point in time for any of our markets because there are different cycles. “We have an incredible amount of intellectual property across these three

markets. Like what happens in business, it is not integrated, the intellectual states local. “This AIM integration vehicle gives the opportunity to utilise the intellectual property that gets created in a Nigeria market, Egypt or the India market. What it also gives us a vehicle to assess very specific skills across the different markets. “It gives us the ability to utilise very specific skills in

the different needs that our clients have by pulling more 7,000 people across these three geographical regions. “What we have found is that our needs and our client needs are becoming more specific, as our advice to them go deeper into the different sectors, that gives us the ability to put the right person at the right place; to make sure we optimise the value to our clients.�

REWARD FOR CUSTOMER LOYALT

L-R: Executive Director, Shared Services and Products, Fidelity Bank Plc, Chijioke Ugochukwu; promo winner, Ogene Prince Udoka and Divisional Head, Operations Fidelity Bank, Martins Izuogbe at the first prize presentation ceremony of the bank’s Get Alert in Millions Season 3 (GAIM3) savings promotion held in Lagos‌recently

Dana Air Resumes Operations after NCAA Re-certification Chinedu Eze One of Nigeria’s major carrier, Dana Air has announced that it would resume operations after concluding its recertification exercise conducted by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). While undergoing the process of renewing its recertification for Air Operator Certificate (AOC), Dana Air suspended its flights. But the airline which announced its flight resumption, assured its passengers of additional flights to ease the pain of travellers who have had to bear the high cost of tickets as a result of flight shortage across the country.

The airline also revealed plan to acquire more aircraft in the coming year as part of its strategic route and fleet expansion programme as well as its desire to continue to provide its customers with the best in terms of in-flight service, on-time performance and customer-centric products. The airline’s Media and Communications Manager, Kingsley Ezenwa, during a chat with newsmen in Lagos at the weekend said: “We have finally concluded our re-certification exercise with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. “Re-certification in Nigeria’s aviation industry is a standard

practice conducted every two years by the NCAA and during the period, an airline’s operation is totally reviewed from ground handling to quality assurance and particularly safety standards and we are glad to have scaled this rigorous process,� he said. The Dana Air spokesman while thanking the NCAA for carrying out a thorough check on its operations before re-certifying the airline, said it has ready fleet for its flight operations. ‘We wish to commend the NCAA for doing a thorough job and for giving us a clean bill of health which on its own reassures our guests that our 10 years experience in Nigeria’s

airspace is no fluke. “We are however worried about some orchestrated and baseless reports against our operations. We wish to state that re-certification is a compulsory exercise. “For the records, Dana Air presently has five aircraft out of which two are undergoing mandatory maintenance which in aviation is called C-checks. “The safety and comfort of our guests come first before any other consideration and we find such report really unnecessary. We have served Nigeria for over 10 years and counting and showing massive commitment to changing the narrative about

domestic airlines and Nigeria’s aviation industry as viable. “In the interim, our smart scheduling team have created additional flights to ensure that individuals, friends and families traveling this Yuletide for business or leisure are not stranded or suffer unreasonable hike in fares for poor service “Our position having gone through the review is to continue to maintain our operational efficiency which we have come to be known for, and we wish to sincerely apologize to our guests for the slight disruption in flights during the course of our recertification,� Ezenwa said.

Group Advocates Gender Inclusion in Infrastructural Sector Raheem Akingbolu The Women in Infrastructure Community Africa (WICA), a professional women advocacy platform with focus on sustainable infrastructure delivery in Africa, has called on the government and corporate organisations to always consider policies that will benefit women operating in the infrastructure sector. According to the group, this would provide an enabling environment for women to

operate in a male dominated field as stakeholders. It also pointed out that it would enhance sustainable social economic development, structured women empowerment, mitigate poverty and boost the emergence of sustainable and resilient cities and communities in the face of current climate challenges. This submission was made known during the Consultative Forum of women in the infrastructure sector to discuss ways of advocating for women

inclusion in the industry and in Private Public Partnership (PPP) with the theme: Diversity in Infrastructure. The Keynote Speaker, Ms Thelma Ekiyor, who is the CEO of Afrigrants Resources Limited, emphasised the importance of capacity building for WICA members and the need to be strategic and focused on what needs to be changed. Mrs. Doris Mbadiwe, the Executive Director of Inter Bau Construction Limited, in her paper presentation on Diversity

in Infrastructure, highlighted what women experience as stakeholders, end-users and workers in the infrastructure sector and the need to ensure policy formulation that changes the prevailing male-centred narrative. She underlined constraints to women participation in the construction industry such as family obligations, gender discrimination, the preference for other jobs, the absence of mentoring opportunities, poor career progression, discriminatory recruitment policies, unequal

opportunities for women and the lack of a support network. Also speaking, Mrs. Onyeche Tifase, CEO of Siemens, stressed the need for WICA to be active in changing gender stereotypes around the workplace, beginning with the young women who need to start thinking differently about career opportunities, the value of hard work and competence as well as their life priorities in order to bridge existing gender gaps among infrastructure professionals.

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BUSINESSWORLD

MARKET REPORT

Equities Market Sheds 4.9% in One Month on Continuing Investor Apathy Goddy Egene

up by 4.1 per cent. India’s BSE Sens gained 3.5 pe cent. Russia’s RTS gained 1.2 per cent, just as South Africa’s FTSE/JSE All Share and China’s Shanghai Composite grew by 0.8 per cent and 0.3 per cent in that order.

The persistent bear run at the stock market led the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) to decline by 4.9 per cent in November, as it closed at 30,874.17. Similarly, the market capitalisation of equities went down by same margin or N583 billion to close at N11.271 trillion. The decline in November was higher than that of October when the market shed 0.9 per cent. Analysts said while the market had maintained a downtrend for months, its fall was marginal in October due to positive impact of the nine months corporate earnings that hit the market in that month. However, the absence of immediate incentive in the market made investor apathy to continue in November and made more shares to tank. Consequently, the NSE ASI closed the with a decline of 4.9 per cent. And 2.54 per cent of the decline was recorded last week. Apart from NSE ASI that went down by 2.54 per cent last week, all other indices finished lower with the exception of the NSE ASeM, NSE Insurance and NSE Consumer Goods Indices that finished higher by 0.09 per cent, 4.71 per cent and 0.08per cent respectively. Commenting on the performance, analysts at Cordros Capital Limited said: “We reiterate our negative outlook for the equities market in the short-to-medium term, amidst political concerns surrounding the 2019 elections, and the absence of a positive market trigger. However, positive macroeconomic fundamentals remain supportive of a recovery in the long term.� Daily Market Performance Looking at the daily performance of the market, the week started off on a negative note as the ASI dipped 0.3 per cent due to sell offs in market bellwethers such as Dangote Cement Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc on Monday. That negative performance was sustained in the subsequent three trading days. For instance, the market declined 1.3 per cent on Tuesday, and 0.5 per cent on Wednesday and 1.3 per cent on Thursday. However, it rebounded on Friday with growth of 0.9 per cent as gains in Dangote Cement and Nigerian Breweries Plc bolstered the performance. Other Markets In Africa, there was a mixed performance as three of six indices tracked were positive. Kenya’s NSE 20 appreciated by 1.1 per cent, followed by Morocco Casablanca MASI that went up by 0.6 per cent. Similarly, Mauritius SEMDEX Index rose 0.4 per cent. On the negative side, apart from Nigerian NSE ASI that shed 2.5 per cent, Egypt EGX30 shed 2.6 per cent. Ghana’s GSE Composite shed 0.1 per cent. In Asia and the Middle East, there was a bearish performance in the market as four of five markets recorded losses. Turkey’s BIST 100 recorded the worse return of 2.6 per cent to lead laggards, followed by Thailand SET index 2.0 per cent. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul ASI went down by 1.2 per cent, while Qatar ’s DSM 20 Index went down by 0.3 per cent. United Arab Emirate’s ADX General Index emerged as the lone gainer with a return of 4.5 per cent. The performance of the developed markets was largely bullish across board. In the US markets, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ

closed the week higher, up 4.0 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively. Similarly, the UK FTSE gained 0.5 per cent while France’s CAC 40 added 1.0 per

cent. Germany’s XETRA DAX gained 0.5 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 appreciated by 3.3 per cent, just as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2.2 per cent.

Also, across the BRICS markets, performance was largely positive as all indices trended northwards. The largest gain was recorded in Brazil’s Ibovespa, that went

Market Turnover Meanwhile, investors traded 1.199 billion shares worth N14.277 billion in 15,841 last week compared with 1.282 billion shares valued at N23.142 billion that exchanged hands in 11,467 deals the previous week. However, the Financial Services Industry remained the most active leading the activity chart with 963.315 million shares valued at N7.536 billion traded in 8,871 deals. Thus, the sector contributed 80.38 per cent and 52.79 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Consumer Goods Industry followed with 83.001 million shares worth N4.213 billion in 2,802 deals. The third place was Industrial Goods Industry with a turnover of 60.782 million shares worth N1.976 billion in 1,639 deals. Trading in the top three equities namely Diamond Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, and Universal Insurance Plc, accounted for 512.535 million shares worth N1.367 billion in 1,437 deals, contributing 42.7 per cent and 9.5 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. Price Gainers and Losers The price movement chart displayed 25 equities that appreciated in price during the week, lower than 30 in the previous week, while 41 equities depreciated in price, higher than 24 of the previous week. Continental Reinsurance led the price gainers chart with 33.3 per cent. The gain followed market reaction to the proposed acquisitioned of the company by foreign parent firm. Continental Reinsurance African Investments Limited (CRe Investments), which is the parent firm of Continental Reinsurance (CRe Nigeria)Plc, had proposed to buy all the outstanding shares of CRe Nigeria. According to company, CRe Investments is making this offer in order to initiate a much needed restructuring exercise for CRe Nigeria, with a view to consolidating the CRe Nigeria’s operations and repositioning it for enhanced competitiveness in the global insurance market. Beta Glass Plc closed the week as the second highest price gainer with 9.9 per cent, while Cutix Plc and Glaxosmithkline Consumer Nigeria Plc chalked up 9.4 per cent. Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc and CAP Plc went up 8.7 per cent and 7.8 per cent respectively. Other top price gainers included: PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc (7.0 per cent); AXA Mansard Insurance Plc ( 6.3 per cent)Double 11 Plc (6.0 per cent) and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc ( 4.9 per cent). Conversely, Diamond Bank Plc led the price losers with 31.5 per cent, trailed by Prestige Assurance Plc with 30.3 per cent. Unity Bank Plc and Associated Bus Company Plc shed 12.9 per cent. A.G Leventis Nigeria Plc and Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc depreciated by12.0 per cent. Other top price losers were: NEM Insurance Plc (11.3 per cent); Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, Law Union and Rock Insurance Plc (9.6 per cent) and John Holt Plc (9.0 per cent).

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Strengthening Economic Recovery Process in Nigeria Godwin EmeďŹ ele In my inaugural address after assuming office as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in June 2014, I indicated that my mandate would be to ensure that the Central Bank of Nigeria is more people focused, as its policies and programs would be geared towards supporting job creation and fostering inclusive growth, in addition to key macroeconomic concerns such as inflation and exchange rate stability. I hope to use this opportunity tonight to convey a sense of the strong commitment of the Central Bank of Nigeria towards supporting measures that would wean the nation from its dependence on imported goods, create wealth and jobs for our teeming youths, and promote a more stable and resilient financial system. Several economic and financial experts continually attempt to analyse and pre-empt the policy actions of the CBN. To the extent that these endeavours are based on rational expectations, we wholly welcome the effort. Notably, some of their conclusions are incongruent to ours. As I have always maintained, I am not surprised at this outcome since most of those analysts, unfortunately, rely on limited or utterly incorrect information. Let me reiterate that the CBN will always act in good faith, with the best available information and in cognisance of current economic conditions, to pursue the goals of price and financial system stability, as well as EmeďŹ ele in supporting job creation on a massive scale and 64 JO 'FCSVBSZ UP BCPVU /(/ 64 inclusive growth in the country. After a wave of scathing criticism that trailed today. Rates at the I&E window also appreciated some of our past policies, many of these measures GSPN OFBSMZ /(/ 64 JO .BZ UP KVTU are today widely applauded as brilliant and PWFS /(/ 64 The measures taken by the CBN also had an conscientious actions. As policymakers, our perspectives are typically impact on inflation. Following a period of rising different from those of the public; but our data, inflationary pressure which peaked at 18.7 per cent information and outlook remain superior. I therefore in January 2017, the Nigerian economy witnessed enjoin our critiques to avoid being hasty in their eighteen straight months of disinflation, as inflation dropped to 11.1 per cent in July 2018. condemnation of our policies. A slight uptick to 11.25 per cent was, however, Given the structure of our economy, CBN’s attention is primary focused on three factors, SFDPSEFE JO 0DUPCFS EVF UP SJTJOH GPPE QSJDFT Activities in the manufacturing sector also including; r 0OF SJTJOH USBEF UFOTJPOT CFUXFFO UIF 64 witnessed significant improvement between and China could taper global growth, and by August 2016 and August 2018, as the Primary extension demand for commodities such as crude oil Manufacturing Index rose from a low of 42 per r 4FDPOE IPX UP FOTVSF UIBU /JHFSJB T FDPOPNZ cent in August 2016 to 57 per cent in August 2018. is insulated from the adverse consequences facing This development was attributed to sustained emerging and frontier markets, due to rising rates supply of foreign exchange and stability of the naira. JO UIF 6OJUFE 4UBUFT We were also aware that in order to ensure r 5IJSE XIBU JT UIF MJLFMZ JNQBDU PO UIF DSVEF PJM NBSLFU GSPN UIF TIBSQ SJTF JO 64 PJM QSPEVDUJPO sustainable growth, efforts must be made to which currently stands at 11.7 million barrels per address factors that constrained the growth of day and is likely to rise to over 14 million barrels businesses in Nigeria. This led to the set-up of the enabling business committee PEBEC, chaired in two years? by His Excellency the Vice President. PEBEC was Road to Recovery The country’s overdependence on crude oil for mandated to unlock bureaucratic constraints to FX revenue meant that shocks in the oil market doing business in Nigeria. The CBN and PEBEC were transmitted entirely to the economy via the worked together to improve access to credit for FX markets as manufacturers and traders who underserved Nigerians, through the set-up of required forex to purchase their inputs as well a National Collateral Registry and the passage as goods, were faced with a depleting supply of of the Credit Bureau Act. As a result of these initiatives in addition to other reforms, Nigeria foreign exchange in the country. The impact of this decline on our reserves was moved up by 24 points in the World Bank’s 2017 FWJEFOU JO UIF SJTF JO UIF WBMVF PG UIF 64 %PMMBS %PJOH #VTJOFTT 3BOLJOHT GSPN JO

Key Takeaways relative to the naira; and a rise in the Consumer The ongoing global tensions as well as the Price Index due to the increase in the cost of imported inputs and goods. In a bid to contain economic recession in 2016 provided us with rising inflation and to cushion the impact of the some key lessons on some of the steps we need drop in FX supply on the Nigerian economy, the to take if we intend to improve the wealth base of the nation. Bank took three bold steps; 0VS VOEFSTUBOEJOH PG UIF OBUVSF PG /JHFSJB T First, The CBN tightened money supply in order contain inflation while improving yields domestic imbalances indicates that two key factors in local bonds, which attracted the attention of accentuated our vulnerability to global shocks. The foreign investors. Second, we analysed our import first is the diminished total factor productivity in bill and encouraged manufacturers to consider Nigeria due to a low and inadequate infrastructural local options in sourcing their raw materials, by base. The second is our overdependence on imports restricting access to foreign exchange on 41 items. for both capital goods and domestic consumption. With regards to the inadequate infrastructural Third, the Investors and Exporters FX(I&E) window was introduced, which allowed inves- base, I am aware of ongoing efforts being made tors and exporters to purchase and sell foreign by the fiscal authorities in constructing critical roads networks such as the 2nd Niger Bridge, exchange at the prevailing market rate. The impact of these three measures led to an Lagos – Ibadan Highway, Abuja – Kano road increase in foreign exchange inflows into the network, and the rail lines between Port-Harcourt country; Transactions in the I&E FX window - Maiduguri, Itakpe - Ajaokuta and Lagos – Kano. reached $24 billion ($6 billion net inflows) in 2017 These measures will go a long way in reducing and Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves rose to the logistics cost of doing business in Nigeria, over $48billion at the end of May 2018 from $23 while opening up new markets for farmers, traders and manufacturers. CJMMJPO JO 0DUPCFS With regards to our overdependence of imports, With improved availability of foreign exchange, the exchange rate at the I&E FX window has the economic recession triggered mainly by the remained stable over the past 12 months and drop in crude oil prices, only strengthened the the parallel market exchange rate premium has case for the need to move from a nation wholly dependent on consumption, to a nation that narrowed significantly. "U UIF #%$ TFHNFOU XF TBX B TJHOJà DBOU produces a large proportion of what it needs, appreciation of the Naira from over NGN525/ particularly in areas where the resources or inputs

needed for production are widely available across the country. This thought process shaped our decision to impose the restriction on access to forex for 41 items that can be produced in Nigeria. There has been considerable discourse particularly on whether the restriction on access to foreign exchange for 41 items is driving local production, with some nay-sayers stating that it has constrained productivity and growth in the economy. Based on our internal research conducted at the Central Bank of Nigeria, there is strong support that the recovery of our economy from the recession may have been much weaker or even negative, without the implementation of the restriction on 41 items. 0VS SFTFBSDI TVQQPSUT UIF DPODMVTJPO UIBU UIF combination of the restriction on 41 items along with other measures imposed by the fiscal and monetary authorities has helped to promote the recovery. Any attempt to reverse the course of this actions may have untold consequences on the growth trajectory of our economy particularly in our push to diversify and restructure our economy. In fact, recommendations are being made to the CBN that the list of 41 items be expanded to include other additional items that can be locally produced. Second, many entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this policy to venture into the domestic production of the restricted items with remarkable successes and great positive impact on employment. The dramatic decline in our import bill and the increase in domestic production of these items attest to the efficacy of this policy. Noticeable declines were steadily recorded in our monthly food import bill GSPN 64 NJMMJPO JO +BOVBSZ UP 64 NJMMJPO BT BU 0DUPCFS B DVNVMBUJWF GBMM PG QFSDFOU BOE BO JNQMJFE TBWJOHT PG PWFS 64 billion on food imports alone over that period. Most evident were the 97.3 percent cumulative reduction in monthly rice import bills, 99.6 percent in fish, 81.3 percent in milk, 63.7 percent in sugar, and 60.5 percent in wheat. We are glad with the accomplishments recorded so far. Accordingly, this policy is expected to continue with vigour until the underlying imbalances within the Nigerian economy have been fully resolved. %FWFMPQNFOU 'JOBODF *O DPOUJOVFE SFDPHOJUJPO of our role as an agent of development and aimed at ensuring self-sufficiency to reduce Nigeria’s excessive dependence on imports, the CBN invigorated its development finance activities. We have maintained a particular focus on supporting farmers, entrepreneurs as well as small and medium scale businesses, through our various intervention programs such as the Anchor Borrowers Program, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and the National Collateral Registry. The CBN recently introduced the Real Sector Support fund; a facility meant to provide cheap funding at no more than 9 percent to new projects in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors; aimed at boosting output and creating jobs. In the agriculture sector, the Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP) has ensured that Nigeria emerged from being a net importer of rice to becoming a

major producer of rice, supplying key markets JO OFJHICPSJOH DPVOUSJFT "T BU 0DUPCFS B total number of 862,069 farmers cultivating about 835,239 hectares, across 16 different commodities, have so far benefited from the Anchor Borrowers programme, which has generated 2,502,675 jobs across the country. It is in light of the success of the Anchor Borrowers Program with regards to cultivation of rice and maize that the Monetary Policy Committee in its last meeting on the 21st of November, 2018 recommended that the Anchor Borrowers program be applied to other areas such as palm oil, tomatoes and fisheries to mention a few. 0VS FGGPSUT BU TVQQPSUJOH TNBMM TDBMF GBSNFST and SMEs is based on our awareness of the critical role they can play in supporting our economic recovery and growth, as well as in creating job opportunities for millions of Nigerians. So far, the CBN has through its MSME fund disbursed over N100 billion to the MSME sector, but we still GFFM B MPU DBO CF EPOF 6OEFS UIF BVTQJDFT PG UIF Bankers Committee, the sum of over N60 billion has so far been set aside under the AGSMIES fund to fund Micro Small and Medium enterprise businesses in the Agriculture and Manufacturing sectors of our economy. The CBN recognises that the greatest challenge confronting the MSMES and local farmers is access to credit, and that to unlock the growth potentials in our country; these group must access funding seamlessly. In response to this challenge, the CBN will in due course take action that will directly bring banking services to the rural communities through licencing of a national microfinance bank to be located in all local governments in Nigeria, through which credit can be channelled to our rural communities. We will continue to explore ways, in partnering with the fiscal authorities, on how we can best provide farmers and SMES with the support they need to expand their operations. The other day when I visited an unnamed popular supermarket in Lagos, there was a big contrast between my visit to the shop 5 years ago, and my visit in November. What was apparent was the huge increase in the number of made in Nigerian processed goods that were being sold in this store; from locally produced rice to well packaged ready to use tomato stew, dried fruits and also cassava chips. As I walked round the shop I could see the huge potential of Nigerian entrepreneurs, as they developed products which could compete with their peers in other climes. I could also imagine the number of people who are being employed by these entrepreneurs to support production of these goods. For us to grow as a nation, we must continue to encourage these businesses as they do more than just provide goods, they help to sustain the vitality of the communities in which they live and work. Financial Inclusion – Cognizant of the fact that close to 40% of adult Nigerians do not have access to financial services, the bank implemented a series of steps that will help drive our efforts aimed at building a more financially inclusive society. Some of these measures include the Agent Banking Guidelines and the Shared Agent Network Facility (SANEF), both of which are intended to deepen penetration of agent networks in underserved locations across the country. The recent launch of UIF QPMJDZ PO 1BZNFOU 4FSWJDF #BOLT JO 0DUPCFS 2018, is an additional step aimed at leveraging on the distribution networks of non-bank entities, such as Fast-Moving Consumer Good companies, Fintechs, and Telecommunication firms, in providing financial services to under-served communities. With these schemes in place, we believe that in the next 2 years, over 80% of Nigerians will have access to financial services. Credit Allocation: As part of its long-term strategy for strengthening the Nigerian economy, the Bank established initiatives to resolve the underlying DIBMMFOHFT UP MPOH UFSN (%1 HSPXUI FDPOPNJD productivity, unemployment and poverty that had pervaded the economy over the past decades. Hence, the CBN established the Credit Bureau and the National Collateral Registry to improve access to credit in the domestic economy. We believe these measures will help to instil a stronger credit culture and unlock access to finance for deserving Nigerians, including those who may not have fixed assets to provide to banks as collateral. Furthermore, to spur bank lending to high-impact sector, the Bank, at its July 2018 MPC, pledged to refund CRR to banks under certain conditions. Banks CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

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Aero Unveils Training School for Manpower Development Chinedu Eze Nigeria’s oldest airline, Aero Contractors has launched a training school to end the dearth of skilled manpower in the aviation industry. The training school slated to start in January was launched by the company after obtaining Approved Training Organisation (ATO) licence from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Aero said the school would kick-off with the training of cabin crew and dispatchers and later

other courses would be added to the curriculum, noting that it aims to be aviation training facility for the West and Central Africa. It also aims to partner with the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria and similar international institutions to give Nigeria the best skilled manpower for the industry. The CEO of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, while commenting on the initiative said: “We have just got Aviation Training Organisation license. We have been on this for

a long time because we wanted to get it right; we wanted to make sure we have a training organisation that is based on a solid foundation, which can be grown into a centre of excellence. “Now, we are starting with two approvals on our ATO, which are flight dispatcher and cabin crew. We intend to grow that into a bigger school and eventually into a research centre. “We want to build Aero Contractors to be a one-stop shop in aviation. After the training organisation approved

by NCAA, we have maintenance organisation that is also approved by NCAA; we have maintenance facility, charter business and scheduled flight service. These are four strategic business units that we would like to grow separately so that they can feed the market. The market is under served in all these aspects that I have mentioned. We intend to build all these strategic business units into full business organizations that can sustain themselves and be profitable.� The Head of the ATO, Rex Okunor, said the aim

of Aero Contractors of opening the school is to use it to support the industry. “We want to use the training school to support the industry. What we want to do is to partner with all the training centres in Nigeria and run programmes. We have also plans to extend to the West and Central African sub-region. “Aero as a company has been existence since 1959, so we are deeply rooted and to have a training school is unparalleled. And I think that when we start fully, hopefully in January, the

industry will see what I would want to call, quality. “In the aviation industry there is really dearth of manpower, especially for pilots and we believe we can partner with international organisations that are involved in this kind of training. We will also partner with the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology. This will help close the gap by training and keep retraining the aviation workforce. With that we think we can contribute our quota to the industry,� Okunor said.

New Pharmaceutical Brand, Pyramax, Enters Market Raheem Akingbolu A new pharmaceutical brand, Pyramax, has been introduced into the Nigeria market with the promise of giving consumers a new experience. Speaking at its unveiling in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of Dovizia Pharma Services, Mr. Oladipupo Ojo, said the need to “innovatively prosecute the war against malaria, in Nigeria, was the key reason for introducing Pyramax.� He explained that the company was partnering with a Korean-based drug manufacturing company, Shin Poong Pharma, manufacturers of the Pyramax drug, to help distribute the anti-malaria drug in the private sector, such as pharma centres and other private sector outlets in the country. He added that it had become imperative to introduce Pyramax into the nation’s pharma sector, going by the increasing incidents of malaria-induced ailments in the country. Oladipupo, expressed the hope that the new anti-malaria drug would go a long way in addressing a major challenge facing the people in the continent.

Commending Dovizia Pharma Services for its commitment to address the problem of people living in the tropics, the chairman of the event, Professor Akin Osinbogun argued that despite spending close to $35 billion over 32 years to fight malaria in this part of the world, the efforts were still not enough. “But, I’m excited that a Nigerian pharma company has deemed it fit to partner a strong Korean pharma firm to tackle a major issue confronting us in Nigeria. “I’m happy that a Nigerian company has chosen to take an innovative and disruptive strategy to check this scourge by introducing unique anti- malaria drug, capable of fighting the ailment,� stated the professor of public health. Speaking on the development, the Operation Director, Shin Poong Pharma, manufacturers of the Pyramax drug, Rene Cazetien, explained that the decision to partner with Dovizia to combat malaria in Nigeria was informed by the company’s rich pedigree in sales and marketing of pharma products in the country. Cazetien, added that one of the unique selling points of the

‘PoS Innovation Summit Will Drive Agent Network’ Nosa Alekhuogie Organisers of Point of Sales (PoS) Summit has said the fourth quarter edition of PoS Summit, is designed to further boost the establishment of Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility (SANEF), powered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks, with the aim of accelerating financial inclusion in Nigeria. The event with the theme: ‘Pricing and Shared Agent Network Viability,’ is to examine the dynamics of the SANEF program and its capability to accelerate the achievement of financial inclusion goals by 20:2020. Global Accelerex Limited, the leading Payment Terminal Service provider and Payment Solution Service provider, who is the organiser, announced that the event would hold December 12 in Lagos. The Executive Director, Business Development and COO of Global Accelerex, Kayode Ariyo, said: “To achieve the lofty ideals and objectives of SANEF, there must be concerted effort towards

promoting agent banking through the shared agent network approach. “This requires the attention of relevant industry stakeholders who will convene, deliberate and educate participants at the summit.� The SANEF project seeks to deepen financial inclusion through an integrated ecosystem with strong regulatory oversight, consumer protection and interoperable payment system with limited concentration risk. The initiative involves onboarding 40 million low income and unserved Nigerians into the financial system, increasing financial access points from the current 50,000 to 500,000 by 2020 and deepening access to mobile and digital financial products and services such as savings accounts, micro loans, insurance and pensions. Keynote speakers at the event include the Director, Payments System Management, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Sam Okojere, a new department at the CBN and the Head, Agent Banking, Kenya Commercial Bank, Mr. Edwin Otieno.

MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT

L-R: Chief Finance Officer, Aero Contractors, Taofeek Sanni; Head of Aviation Training Organisation (ATO), Rex Okunor; Chief Executive Officer, Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi and Editor, Mama J Blog, Joy Ogbebor, at the launch of Aero Training School in Lagos‌recently

House Committee Applaud NIMASA for Efficient Budget Implementation Eromosele Abiodun The House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration has commended the Management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for its efforts in repositioning the country’s maritime sector for greater efficiency. The committee gave the commendation in Lagos, when it paid an oversight visit to the Agency’s headquarters. The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Mohammed Umar Bago, who led the House delegation, expressed confidence in the Management of NIMASA, saying his committee was impressed with the Agency’s budget performance in 2018. Bago, however, noted that

there was room for improvement in the remaining part of the year and in 2019. The House Committee Chairman’s remarks followed a presentation by the agency on the 2018 budget performance, which was based on the fivepoint transformation strategy of the Dr. Dakuku Peterside-led Management. Bago observed that there had been improvements in the Agency’s activities, saying it is a welcome development for the country’s maritime industry. “We wish to assure you that as a responsible Committee, we are poised to continue to give NIMASA the required legislative backing in ensuring that it achieves its mandate in order to realise a robust maritime sector,� Bago said.

He also expressed delight in the operation of the Satellites Surveillance System put in place by the Agency to check and monitor the activities of vessels on the Nigeria’s territorial waters. He assured that the National Assembly was working on the speedy passage of the Anti-Piracy bill proposed by the Agency, noting that it will help to nib illegalities on the country’s waterways in the bud. He also applauded NIMASA for the successful berthing of its recently-acquired modular floating dockyard in the country, describing the facility as an asset that should be promptly put into operation for revenue generation. “Let us put that asset to use and generate revenue,� the Committee Chairman stated.

He used the opportunity to commend the Management of the Agency for its commitment to staff welfare, promotions and trainings, and urged that the tempo should be sustained, as it will help the Agency realise its vision of being the leading maritime administration in Africa. Responding, the DirectorGeneral of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, expressed gratitude to the Committee for their support to the Agency. Dakuku, who was represented by the Agency’s Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Mr. Bashir Jamoh, reiterated NIMASA’s commitment to working together with the Committee to achieve the common goal of growing the maritime industry and developing the country.

Firms Partner to Boost Efficiency Segun James As part of efforts to ensure that oil equipment installed under the sea do not fail at critical time, a situation which can easily cause in the environment, the Royal Niger Emerging Technologies Limited and its technology partners – Viper Innovations Limited, recently went in to partnership. The move is expected to reduce maintenance cost for subsea electrical equipment maintenance and electrical integrity in the upstream industry.

While introducing the new technology to the Nigerian oil industry community in Lagos, the Managing Director of Viper Innovations, Neil Douglas said “We see Nigeria as one of the growing areas and there are lots of business opportunities if you can provide leading-edge technology coupled with local content.� At the event, Viper Innovations expressed excitement at the opportunities presented by the agreement with Royal Niger Emerging Technologies Limited. “As part of our collaboration objectives, we will be training

Royal Niger Personnel to provide the in-country support for our services and installation of our hardware. This will help Royal Niger build on their current capabilities and capacity. “We are all looking forward to the future with not only Viper and Royal Niger benefiting from the collaboration but also our clients will benefit from award-winning technologies to extend field life and reduce operational costs.� The event was attended by the NNPC, industry majors, and their deep-water operations teams, among others.

At the event, Viper Innovations expressed excitement at the opportunities presented by their distributor agreement with Royal Niger Emerging Technologies. In introducing the technology, the Chairman, Royal Niger Emerging Technologies, Mr. Olu Adewunmi, commended the operators and regulators for continued support of Local Nigerian Content. Royal Niger Emerging Technologies is one of the leading indigenous supplier of umbilicals and controls equipment to the Nigerian upstream industry.

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THISDAYt MONDAY DECEMBER 3, 2018

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STRENGTHENING ECONOMIC RECOVERY PROCESS IN NIGERIA that bring proposal for funding of new projects or expansion of existing ones in agriculture and manufacturing sectors will, accordingly, qualify for CRR refund of up to 100 percent. It is our expectation that banks would use this opportunity to expand credits to the real sector. Risk Based Supervision: The recent weakening of the naira, following the shift to a more flexible foreign exchange mechanism, impacted somewhat on the balance sheets of domestic banks. To guarantee financial stability as Nigeria continues with flexible exchange rate system, the CBN took a number of steps, including: r .POJUPSJOH DPNQMJBODF PG supervised institutions with the foreign exchange management framework issued in June 2016 through our risk-based supervision methodology, which also involved reviewing international trade and foreign exchange operations of local banks; r .POJUPSJOH UIF à OBODJBM position and performance of supervised institutions; r "TTFTTNFOU PG UIF SJTL QSPà MF and governance management practices of banks r *O UIF FWFOU PG NBKPS EFUFSJPrations on any key risk indicator, we engaged with the affected bank in order to mitigate concerns and shore-up their capital base. "T * IBWF BMXBZT FNQIBTJTFE it is our collective duty to ensure that the potentials and prospects of the Nigerian economy is optimally realised. The ongoing economic recovery requires the joint efforts and wise counsel of everyone seated here, if we must make giant strides forward. The CBN is more determined now than ever to remain at the forefront of the effort to ensure that the rebound is not overturned. Peer Review of Emerging Market Economies In assessing Nigeria’s recovery efforts and performance, it is essential to conduct a comparative assessment of our peers. Strikingly, it will be discovered that Nigeria did not fare badly vis-à -vis other emerging market economies like #SB[JM 4PVUI "GSJDB 5VSLFZ BOE "SHFOUJOB UIBU IBE TJNJMBS economic experiences. "NJETU UIF HSPXJOH DIBMMFOHFT Nigeria has managed to keep real GDP growth positive and has avoided a double-dip recession in contrast to some other emerging markets economies. In comparison and following its 2016 contractions, the South "GSJDBO FDPOPNZ SFDPSEFE a double-dip recession with renewed contractions of 2.6 and 0.7 percent in the first and second quarters of 2018, respectively. In "SHFOUJOB UIPVHI UIF FDPOPNZ was in recession throughout 2016, moderate upticks which peaked at 1.9 percent quarter two of 2017 ended that recession. However, UIF "SHFOUJOJBO FDPOPNZ TISBOL by 4.0 per cent in quarter two of 2018, bringing the country to the brink of another recession. The Brazilian economy had been in recession since 2015 and only emerged from it the first quarter of 2017 with a growth rate of one per cent. Since then the growth has slowed progressively until the last quarter of 2017 when growth remained flat. However, the economy is gradually rebounding and has recorded 0.1 and 0.2 percentage growth rates in the first and second quarters of 2018. Given rising yields in advanced markets, capital outflows from

emerging markets have increased tremendously. This has led to substantial exchange market pressures in many emerging markets with FX reserves falling BCPVU QFSDFOU JO "SHFOUJOB 9.6 percent in Turkey, and 2.1 QFSDFOU JO 4PVUI "GSJDB TJODF UIF CFHJOOJOH PG UIF ZFBS "MTP significant currency depreciation XBT SFDPSEFE JO "SHFOUJOB CZ QFSDFOU 5VSLFZ QFSDFOU #SB[JM QFSDFOU 3VTTJB QFSDFOU BOE *OEJB QFSDFOU even as the naira remained TUBCMF "T B NBUUFS PG fact, a recent Bloomberg data on financial market performances shows that Nigeria bond market remains one of the most attractive investment destinations -In the Bloomberg’s Emerging-Market Local-Currency Government Bonds index, which covers major emerging markets such as /JHFSJB 4PVUI "GSJDB "SHFOUJOB China, and Russia, in the 2nd Quarter of 2018, Nigerian local bonds topped the chart with an BWFSBHF UPUBM SFUVSO PG JO EPMMBS SFUVSOT 5IF JOEFY DPWFST Nigerian Government Bonds with NBUVSJUJFT GSPN UP The total return is a combination of the price changes in the bonds over the 2nd Quarter of 2018, the

interest returns and the changes in the currency. Nigeria’s dominance over this period was due to the stability of the I&E FX rate and the yields being high by emerging-market standards. Investors are also sure that they can exit their positions if they want, which has been crucial in driving other investors into the market. Outlook and Policy Thrust for 2019 Global growth projections both for 2018 and 2019 have CFFO SFWJTFE EPXOXBSE UP QFSDFOU GSPN UIF QFSDFOU earlier projected. Growth momentum in US is projected to remain strong as fiscal stimulus continues into 2019. In emerging markets, growth forecasts are SFWJTFE EPXOXBSE GPS "SHFOUJOB Brazil, Iran, Turkey, and South "GSJDB SFåFDUJOH DPVOUSZ TQFDJà D factors, uncertainties in the financial conditions, and rising geopolitical tensions as well as higher oil import bills. In light of the current developments in both the global and domestic economies, and based on extensive simulations, the CBN is of the view that the short-term outlook of the Nigerian economy

remains good. We expect that: r .POFUBSZ QPMJDZ TUBODF will remain judicious, research driven, adequate and supportive of the real economy subject to underlying fundamentals. The current tight stance is expected to continue in the near-term, especially in view of rising inflation expectations and exchange market pressures. Though we will act to appropriately adjust the policy rate in line with unfolding conditions and outlooks, the CBN will continue to ensure that the policy interest rate is delicately set to balance the objectives of price stability with output stabilisation; (%1 8JUI GBWPVSBCMF r oil price developments and continued efforts at driving indigenous production in high-impact real sector activities, especially agriculture and manufacturing, GDP is expected to pick-up in the remaining two quarters of 2018. This will be buoyed by the anticipated budgetary and electioneering spending in the near-term. From 1.5 percent in quarter two of 2018, growth is projected to quicken to 1.7 percent in quarter three and 1.9 by the fourth quarter; r *OĂĄBUJPO *OĂĄBUJPO FYQFDUBtions are rising on the backdrop

of anticipated politically-related liquidity injections. For the rest of 2018 and towards mid-2019 Nigeria’s rate of inflation is projected to rise slightly to about 11.4 percent and then moderate thereafter; r &YDIBOHF 3BUF 5IPVHI the CBN has so far managed to maintain exchange rate stability, the current capital flow reversals from emerging markets is expected to continue to exert considerable pressure on market rates. This pressure could be amplified by the forthcoming elections, especially as the political market place heats up. Notwithstanding these pressures, the CBN is determined to maintain its stable exchange policy stance over the next few months given the relatively high level of reserves. Gross stability is projected in the FX market given increased oil related inflows and contained import bill. I will like to make it categorically clear that “sustaining a stable exchange rate is of overriding importance to us even as we continue to put measures in place to shore up reserves�; r #01 0WFSBMM PVS CBMBODF PG

payments is expected to remain positive in the short-term. Hoping that oil prices continued to recover, we expect the Current "DDPVOU #BMBODF UP TUSFOHUIFO even further. This will be supported by improved non-oil performance as diversification efforts begin to yield results to reduce undue imports. r 4VQQPSUJOH %PNFTUJD 1SPduction: Given the remarkable success that has been achieved in stimulating domestic production of goods such as rice, cassava and maize, as a result of the restrictions placed by the CBN on access to forex for 41 items, the CBN intends to vigorously ensure that this policy remains in place, and additional efforts would be made to block any attempts by unscrupulous QBSUJFT CPUI JOEJWJEVBMT BOE corporates) that intend to find other avenues of accessing forex, in order to import these items into Nigeria. An address delivered at the 2018 Annual Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria

NOTE:Interestedreadersshouldcontinueinthe onlineeditiononwww.thisdaylive.com

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Air Peace Pledges to Deploy More Aircraft Chinedu Eze Air Peace has urged members of the flying public not to panic over the shortage of scheduled flights on domestic routes, assuring that it will soon deploy more aircraft to service destinations currently experiencing air travel difficulties. A statement issued by Air Peace Corporate Communications Manager, Mr. Chris Iwarah, said the carrier was concerned about reports of shortage of scheduled flights across the country and was ready to do everything within its capacity to ease the pain of air travellers. The airline confirmed that the nation had been facing air travel difficulties since it reviewed its flight schedule downward on account of five aircraft it pulled out of service and sent abroad for C-check. “In the last few weeks, we have been inundated with demands for flights by members of the flying public who wish to travel but could not secure seats as almost all our flights on major domestic routes are fully booked. We are genuinely concerned about the plight of the travelling public and sincerely empathise with them. “The situation became dire after we recently pulled out five of our aircraft from service for maintenance abroad and had to necessarily review our flight schedule downward to avoid delaying our valued customers. A check on our reservation platform indicates that almost all our flights

are fully booked till the end of the year. “We, however, are aware of the role we play in ensuring seamless air travel in Nigeria and are not going to let down our dear country and members of the flying public now that they need us the most. We urge members of the flying public not to entertain any fear. Beginning from Sunday (December 3, 2018), most of our aircraft that went for C-check will start to return to join our operations. We are soon going to schedule more flights and deploy more aircraft across our domestic routes. Iwarah, said the airline has also made plans to cater to the upsurge expected during the Yuletide, disclosing that a lot of flights would be scheduled from around December 17, 2018 to seamlessly take those travelling for Christmas and the New Year to their destinations. “As an airline that prioritises safety and places a premium on the lives of our valued guests and crew, we have undertaken comprehensive maintenance of most of our aircraft to ensure their readiness for our end-of-year operations. This is the least we can do for our esteemed customers and nation for their support for us. We will do everything within our capacity to rise to the challenge of air travel currently facing our nation and deliver exceptional service that is sure to leave the flying public truly comfortable, proud and satisfied,� Iwarah said. Meanwhile, in preparation

for international operations, Air Peace has deployed slides worth $1 million to demonstrate emergency on the Boeing B777 on the final tests that would qualify the airline to carry out international operation. This was in compliance with aviation safety procedure for induction of aircraft into operations and it spent 10.5 seconds in deploying the slides which takes standard 16 seconds. These were part of the requirements for the airline which would soon take to the skies for its international operation. The airline carried out the emergency simulation on its B777, which is the first time it will be done in Nigeria. With that exercise, the airline has demonstrated its preparedness and it would now carry out the last test, which is ‘Demonstration Flights’. The emergency exercise carried out on one of the four newly acquired B777 would cover for the rest of the aircraft meant for the international operations. The airline has acquired four B777 for its international operations of which it has taken delivery of two. In a telephone conversation, Iwarah said, “This is a test that we are ready for international operations which will be launched soon, starting with Dubai and Sharjah. The emergency exercise was carried out at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos where we will be launching our international operations.�

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Fitch Upgrades UBA to ‘B+,’ Stable Outlook Fitch ratings has upgraded United Bank for Africa Plc Long Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘B+’, with stable outlook. The global rating agency also upgraded the Viability Rating of the pan-African bank to “b+� from “b�. The rating upgrade came on the back of consistent improvement in financial performance metrics, funding and liquidity. According to Fitch, UBA’s IDRs are driven by its intrinsic creditworthiness, as defined by its viability rating (VR). Like all Nigerian banks, UBA’s VR is constrained by the operating environment in Nigeria (B+/Stable) where the fragile economic recovery restrains banks’ growth prospects and asset quality. The VR reflects UBA’s position as one of Nigeria’s largest banks, as well as its sound financial metrics and reasonable capital buffers. It controls an overall market share in Nigeria of approximately 10 per cent and its well-established franchise is a

rating strength. UBA is also Nigeria’s most international bank, operating in 20 other sub-Saharan African countries. Its objective is to operate as a pan-African commercial bank. “Our assessment is that geographic diversification is credit positive because it provides growth opportunities and can reduce exposure to Nigeria’s cyclical economic growth trends,� Fitch explained. Further discussing the diversification of UBA, the rating agency noted that the bank’s international subsidiaries contributed 40 per cent of the Group’s earnings in first half of 2018, even as Nigerian assets dominate the group, representing around 70 per cent of consolidated assets. In assessing the Group’s funding and liquidity profile, Fitch noted that “UBA’s local currency funding profile is a rating strength. Its loans/ deposits ratio (57% at end1H18) is low compared with peers (69%).

CPC Calls on Discos to Address Arbitrary Billing System Peter Uzoho The Director-General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mr. Babatunde Irukera, has called on electricity distribution companies (Discos) to address the issue of arbitrary billing which he described as one of the major concerns always raised by electricity consumers in the country. He therefore, urged the Discos to entrench transparency in their billing process. Irukera, gave the advice at the customer engagement/ town hall meeting in Lagos, that was organised by the Eko Distribution Company (EKEDC) in collaboration with the CPC. “It’s very clear to us, we have taken a very clear position that there are a few things that we think are absolutely unacceptable. One of them is the arbitrary bills

– billings that have no rational basis or support from the use standpoint. “Secondly, group disconnection, because what that does is to penalise some of the people who have behaved appropriately for the conduct of those who have behaved inappropriately,� Irukera said. The CPC boss also urged the Discos to address excessive outages, adding that illegal escalation and mechanism that allows things that have gone wrong to remain for a significant period of time needs to be addressed. He specifically urged the Eko Disco and other distribution companies to be always transparent in their billing process, saying they should be sensitive to what consumers are experiencing. He also urged them to be responsive and always intervene in customers’ complaints and

challenges with electricity. Also speaking to the press on the sidelines of the meeting, the Managing Director of Eko Electric, Mr. Adeoye Fadeyibi, said the meeting was refreshing and fruitful. Fadeyibi noted that the end goal of the company was to ensure it delivers regular power supply to its customers under a safe environment while also ensuring that the deserved bill was paid. Reacting to the CPC boss’ position that customers should pay only what they consume, Fadeyibi said as a business that is accountable for the whole market – the Gencos, TCN, NEC, Discos, the system must rightfully pay for all the power that come from the grid to the people. “So who then accounts for the losses?� he asked. “We all agreed that there is

a problem, we all agreed to face the problem together. So issues of those by-passes, issues of overloaded transformers, issues of group disconnection, issues of arbitrary billing. Yes, we define each of those problems, so how do we now reduce or even eliminate them. So for us today was fantastic. “We talked about the Meter Access Providers (MAP) as something that will create a lot of relief to the system; we can do faster under a separate kind of agreement as being managed also by the regulator (NEC). But we are also clear to state that an ideal situation will be everywhere from the feeder to the transformer down to every enumerated customer is metered, that’s the ideal situation. Continuing to meter arbitrarily at different locations doesn’t solve the problem.�

Phase3 Reaffirms Support for Displaced Communities Emma Okonji West Africa’s largest independent fibre optic infrastructure and telecommunications services provider, Phase3 Telecom has said it will continue to support efforts targeted at sustainable economic growth. The company made its intention known at the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit 2018 with the theme: “Activating Diaspora Investments for a Diversified Economy�. According to the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Stanley Jegede, it was a great honour for Phase3 Telecom to join hands with government bodies and institutions that are focused on engendering the active participation of the nation’s diasporas in socio-economic development, particularly through the ICT sector. “Such platforms are positive markers and promotional vehicles that will not only stimulate the right discussions but can peak diasporic community active involvement in maximising the huge opportunities available in the Nigerian ICT sector,� Jegede said.

He added that such event helped shed imperative light on the potential of integrating the inventive tools to amplify access as well as to improve the value and competitiveness of products and services across the nation’s formal and informal sectors, which is made available by ICT in other countries no matter the structure of their ease of doing business models. “Phase3’s contribution to this year’s programme stems from the understanding and the fact that there are very few players exploring the vast opportunities in the Nigerian ICT sector and diasporas can play an important and multi-layered role in its consistent growth to be at par with foremost global economies. “As to attain 30 per cent broadband penetration by 2020; capitalise on local innovation for ICT sector improvement; provide winning solutions to cub Infrastructure deficiencies; leverage on ICT for content delivery in health, education, agriculture, oil and gas, banking and other sectors - more CAPEX is required and the Nigerian government cannot do it alone,� Jegede added.

Glo Wins Top 50 Brands Awards Glo Yakata, the tariff plan of Globacom, was recently adjudged the ‘Most Innovative Product of the Year.� This is just as the telecom company got recognised as the “Third Most Valuable Brand in Nigeria� at the 2018 Top 50 Brands/IamBrandNigeria Awards ceremony. At the ceremony held in Lagos, Globacom and the Glo Yakata tariff plan got the awards after an assessment of the country’s strong brands by the organisers, Top 50 Brands Nigeria, using their proprietary tool, Brand Strength Measurement (BSM) index. Glo Yakata is a prepaid plan which gives Globacom’s existing and new customers’ bonuses every time they recharge their

Glo lines. The free bonus could amount to a total value of N2,200 for a N100 recharge, which gives a minimum of N500 to call all networks plus up to 6GB of data. The organisers said Globacom has rolled out a series of innovative products and services in the course of the year, noting that Glo Yakata has been particularly outstanding in terms of the value it adds to the company’s subscribers. Globacom was the cynosures of all eyes as the award was presented to top officials of the company in front of marketing communications and branding experts from all over the country by Bunmi Oke, a former President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN).

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

L-R: Head, Oil & Gas, Linkage Assurance Plc, Mr. Tony Saiki; General Manager, Marketing, Mrs. Joyce Ojemudia; Acting Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Daniel Braie and President, Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers, Adedapo Adekoje, when Linkage Assurance won the Pearl Sectoral Leadership Award in Insurance Category in Lagos...recently

Governor Commends NBC onYouth Empowerment Raheem Akingbolu The Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has commended the management of Nigerian Bottling Company(NBC) Limited for its commitment to the socio-economic well-being of the nation particularly in the areas of youth empowerment aimed at reducing the growing level of unemployment in the country. He made this assertion while delivering the opening remarks at the 3-day NBC Youth Empowered Programme held recently in

Enugu. Ugwuanyi, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Mrs.Cecilia Ezeilo, expressed delight in the Youth Empowered programme which he noted would complement the government’s effort towards addressing the challenges of unemployment and underemployment confronting the youths in the state. According to her, the initiative was another laudable effort by the private sector to support the state government in achieving its target for youth development

and empowerment. “We are particularly pleased to learn that by 2020 this initiative would have supported over 100,000 young unemployed persons between the ages of 18-30 years to build life skills, business skills and long-lasting networks to facilitate their transition to employment� she said. She charged other corporate entities to follow in NBC’s footsteps and make their own contribution towards addressing this important and urgent necessity. Also speaking during

the workshop, the Country CSR Manager, Nigerian Bottling Company, Mr. Ekuma Eze, described the company’s investment in the youth empowerment programme as a further demonstration of the its faith in the youths. Eze, explained that the initiative was designed to empower Nigerian youths to realise their full potential. He said: “The future of this country belongs to the youth. If we do not give them the opportunity to develop, many years down the line it would tell on the progress of the entire nation.

Bodylikemilk is known for its all-round care ranging from skincare, haircare and lip care with a variety of services and deals in organic products and raw ingredients of all kinds. The brand has been inspected and finally approved by the National Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and is registered with its own trademark. Speaking to THISDAY on a

phone interview, the excited Obah said: “I was so happy wining the competition because we went through a lot during the 10 weeks and each task was more difficult than the other. “Everyone that entered the Next Titan house was talented and unique, but I feel I had that edge over others with my experience and also my knowledge of how to create my own product.

‘Next Titan’Winner Emerges Peter Uzoho A certified beautician and founder of Bodylikemilk Skincare & Cosmetics, Ogechukwu Alexis Obah, has emerged winner of the season five edition of the Next Titan, an entrepreneurial reality TV show sponsored by Heritage Bank Plc. The nurse-turned entrepreneur, Obah, outshined over 10, 000

young entrepreneurs who began the race with her in the fight for the N5 million cash prize and a brand new Ford car put forward by the sponsors for the winner in the yearly competition. Obah, who launched her business two days before the day of her victory, was declared the winner of this year’s edition at the grand finale of the show in Lagos recently in an emotion-filled atmosphere.

THISDAYt MONDAY DECEMBER 3, 2018

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M O N DAY Ëž DECEMBER 3, 2018

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Nigeria’s Manufacturing Index Rises Further in November Nume Ekeghe The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 57.9 index points in November, indicating an expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 20th month. The index grew at a faster rate when compared to the index in the previous month. All the 14 sub-sectors surveyed reported growth in the review month in the following order: electrical equipment; furniture and related products; cement; food, beverage and tobacco products; paper products; transportation equipment; plastics and rubber products; chemical and pharmaceutical products; printing

and related support activities; petroleum and coal products; fabricated metal products; nonmetallic mineral products; textile, apparel, leather and footwear; and primary metal. Also, at 59.9 points, the production level index for the manufacturing sector grew for the 21st consecutive month in November 2018. The index indicated a faster growth in the current month, when compared to its level in the preceding month. In all, 13 of the 14 manufacturing sub-sectors recorded increase in production level, while one remained unchanged. At 58.1 points, the new orders index grew for the 20th consecutive month, indicating

increase in new orders in November 2018. Eleven subectors reported growth, one remained unchanged, while two contracted in the review month. The manufacturing supplier delivery time index stood at 56.9 points in November 2018, indicating faster supplier delivery time for the eighteenth consecutive month. Twelve sub-sectors recorded improved suppliers’ delivery time, while one remained unchanged delivery times and one recorded worsening delivery time. In addition, the employment level index in November 2018 stood at 55.4 points, indicating growth in employment level for the nineteenth consecutive month.

TEF Entrepreneurs Emerge Winners in Google Impact Challenge Two organisations from the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme – HelpMum and Project Enable Africa – have been named among the 2018 winners of the Google Impact Challenge. They both won $250,000 each. The Google Impact Challenge supports organisations with game-changing ideas to create economic opportunity in their communities. While HelpMum is a 2016 TEF entrepreneur, Project Enable Africa was among the 2017 cohort. Another winner, the Budgit Foundation, was a 2012 grantee of the TEF Innovation Fund. The winners praised the TEF and its Chairman, Mr. Tony Elumelu, for his role in discovering, unleashing and

empowering the next generation of African entrepreneurs. The initiative aims to help 10,000 young people continentwide quench their thirst to become entrepreneurs. With the TEF Entrepreneurship program, Elumelu intends to invest $100 million over 10 years to identify, train, coach and finance 10,000 entrepreneurs. The initiative was launched in 2015. HelpMum, one of the winners, uses low-cost innovation and the power of mobile technology to tackle maternal and infant mortality in underserved and remote areas in Nigeria. The firm provides clean birth kits to ensure any pregnant woman is given the best possible care during delivery, no matter where

she lives. This helps prevent infection during childbirth - one of the major causes of maternal mortality in Nigeria. HelpMum also provides life-saving health information to pregnant women and nursing mothers in their own indigenous languages. In the next year, HelpMum aims to impact 100,000 pregnant women directly with their clean birth kits, and to economically empower 2,000 community health workers and traditional birth attendants. On the other hand, Project Enable Africa, is a disabilityfriendly digital hub that was created to promote access of persons with disabilities and their caregivers to ICT skills and opportunities.

Suleiman Urges CeBIH to Deploy Digital to Solve Socio-economic Problems The Managing Director/Chief Executive, Sterling Bank Plc, Abubakar Suleiman has called on members of the Committee on E-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH) to deploy digital competencies used in developing Nigeria’s payment system to solve other socio-economic problems in the country. He gave the charge while delivering the keynote address at the 2018 annual CeBIH retreat held in Abeokuta Ogun State. “All the intellectual power that was used to attack payment now needs to be moved elsewhere,� he said. Speaking on the theme of the retreat: “Exploring Opportunities in the New Digital Economy,� Abubakar noted that while there is crisis in critical sectors

of Nigeria, namely education, agriculture and transport, banks and others, digital payment professionals have the capabilities and solutions to accelerate the solution to the crises in these sectors. “I think we live at a time when we have new tools and these tools are so powerful, that all we need to do is to decide we are serious about solving any number of problem and we can solve them in record time,� he said. Speaking on the impact of digitisation as a tool for addressing socio-economic issues, Abubakar was quoted in a statement to have said: “Digitisation is on one hand data, and on the other hand how you transmit data. Every

single work we do in digitisation has to do with data and how it is transmitted and what it does. “The pace of the commerce will determine the pace of payment. So if we don’t solve for payments we would not have been able to solve for commerce or increase the pace of commerce which is essentially what drives your GDP, the velocity of money, of transactions cannot be higher than velocity of transaction in the real world. “There is one thing I am hoping to see, it is taking all of these competencies that we have built in the payment space and recognising that it is the same processing data in a manner that is reliable, trusted, instant, and using that to change lives in other sectors of the economy.�

Branch Wins Award Branch, a start-up focused lending firm in Nigeria has won the Artificial Intelligence (AI) excellence award at the African Fintech Summit in Lagos recently. Branch was awarded for the best use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in financial innovation. Reacting to the award, the General Manager of Branch Nigeria, Maria Rotilu, expressed gratitude for the recognition and reaffirmed the Branch’s commitment

to its users. “We are committed to continuously offer worldclass financial services to our esteemed users, through continuous advancement of our technology to allow every Nigerian access to best in class financial services via their mobile phone,� a statement from the organisation explained. Artificial Intelligence sits at the core of Branch’s operational processes in its goal to deliver world-class financial services to its customers.

AI allows Branch to leverage smartphone data to make lending decisions and eliminate the need for a collateral, paperwork, or guarantors. “It also allows Branch to serve customers who are traditionally unable to receive loans from traditional financial institutions. “As a result, millions of underserved customers in Nigeria now have an opportunity to access quick loans in minutes and build credit regardless of their banking history,� the statement added.

L-R: MD/CEO, STL Trustees Limited, Funmi Ekundayo; MD/CEO, Rack Centre, Tunde Coker and Publisher/CEO, BusinessDay Media Ltd, Frank Aigbogun, at 2018 edition of the BusinessDay Banking and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards where STL Trustees won the ‘Best Trustees of the Year Award,’ in Lagos...recently

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

MARCH 2018 Broad Money (M2)

24,303,049.86

-- Narrow Money (M1)

10,912,604.10

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,668,378.21

---- Demand Deposits

9,244,225.90

-- Quasi Money

13,390,445.76

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

15,619,134.18

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

8,683,915.68

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,267,136.53

---- Credit to Government (Net)

3,823,345.45

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

5,433,209.43

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

-1,609,863.98

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

22,443,791.08

--Other Assets Net

-17,583,220.85

Reserve Money (Base Money)

6,746,646.49

--Currency in Circulation

1,668,378.21

--Banks Reserves

4,357,551.58 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

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

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OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT THURSDAY, 29 NOVEMBER 2018

The price of OPEC basket of ďŹ fteen crudes stood at $58.09 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $59.25 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

˾ MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2018

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˾ MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2018

39

MARKET NEWS

Vetiva, CBI Partner to Develop Liquid Green Bonds Market in Africa Goddy Egene

Vetiva Capital Management Limited has signed a partnership agreement with Climate Bonds Initiative(CBI), United Kingdom(UK) to develop a liquid green and climate bonds market in Africa. This initiative is in line with Vetiva’s commitment to make the African continent more attractive to capital flows, in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner, necessary for long-term infrastructure projects.

Speaking on the partnership, Group Executive Director at Vetiva, Mr. Damilola Ajayi, said: “Our engagement with CBI is on a basis of a shared vision to not only channel long-term funding into Africa, but to do so whilst addressing the challenges posed by Climate change.” Ajayi explained that “It is our firm belief that Africa is positioned to lead the climate change conversation, globally, whilst deepening the continent’s capital markets, and this collaboration is a step in the

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

right direction.” Also commenting on the partnership, Deputy CEO and Director of Market Development, CBI, said: “Nigeria is uniquely placed to have one of the largest pension fund schemes in Africa that if presented with attractive sustainable investment opportunities has the potential to drive the future development of the Nigerian economy.” At the signing ceremony in Lagos, Africa Markets Programme Manager, CBI, Mr. Olumide Lala, said:“This

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 2911-2018, unless otherwise stated.

partnership with Vetiva Capital is a positive and encouraging first step to having investors in the Africa region help drive the demand for climate related investments.” A three-year a Nigerian Green Bond Market Development Programme was formally launched in Lagos last June by FMDQ OTC Securities, CBI and Financial Sector Deepening Africa(FSDA). Leigh-Bell had said: “We are very excited about this significant milestone. Working

with FMDQ and FSD Africa will provide a platform to open up the Nigerian economy to a wider investor universe as we commence our journey to deepen the local capital markets by entrenching financing instruments such as green bonds.” On his part, Director, FSDA , Evans Osano, said: “This partnership will provide the opportunity to work closely together in developing Nigeria’s debt capital markets. This programme will improve access

to a complementary source of longer-term capital, alongside traditional, shorter-term bank loans, while also contributing to the financing of ‘green’ investments and improving the environment.” The Managing Director/CEO of FMDQ, Mr. Bola Onadele. Koko said a developed green bond market would assist in the issuance of green instruments to take care of infrastructure gaps and environmental challenges in a sustainable manner in the country.

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 158.20 159.20 -10.88% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 11.00% Nigeria International Debt Fund 273.90 275.43 18.49% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.83 0.84 0.50% ACAP Income Funds 0.63 0.63 6.79% 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 -3.86% 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 131.26 132.18 -13.47% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.22% 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 11.50 11.80 3.74% Women's Investment Fund 101.30 103.89 0.66% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.14% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 99.21 99.31 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 97.59 97.92 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.24% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.83 0.84 Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.16 1.16 10.10% 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 10.59% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 11.02% 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 1,170.23 1,170.98 11.53% FBN Heritage Fund 140.87 142.07 1.01% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.66% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 112.04 112.43 2.93% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 111.75 112.14 2.78% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 145.16 147.20 -8.57% 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 1.20 1.22 -6.99% Legacy Debt Fund 3.21 3.21 11.17% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.02 1.02 2.22% 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 2,938.18 2,966.83 -1.59% Coral Income Fund 2,732.93 2,732.93 11.64% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.27% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 105.55 105.87 5.22% 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 2,938.18 2,966.83 #REF!

Vantage Balanced Fund 2,732.93 2,732.93 11.64% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.27% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 100.00 100.00 12.10% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.19 1.22 4.16% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 105.55 105.87 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 10.97 11.06 -15.14% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.27% 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 11.55% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.08 12.14 9.43% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.25% 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 2,296.75 2,311.51 4.52% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 188.13 188.13 8.04% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.94 0.95 -6.44% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 245.07 245.11 13.55% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 159.53 161.32 -10.92% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.80% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,383.00 8,484.31 -11.83% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.10 1.10 6.75% 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 12.65% 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 11.04 11.20 -8.27% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.08 12.18 -6.34% Zenith Income Fund 20.56 20.56 11.44% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.37%

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

114.07 87.15

116.48 88.79

0.00% -20.14% -20.22%

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

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

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

SPECIALIST FUNDS*

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.90 7.24 14.37 12.33 141.46

3.94 7.32 14.47 12.53 143.46

-17.55% -24.19% -17.64% -37.14% 5.27%

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 manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

40

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CITYSTRINGS

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Fresh Clamour for Release of Chibok Girls, Leah Sharibu With the 2019 general elections in view, Catalyst for Global Peace Initiative in collaboration with other pressure groups, has re-engineered a fresh call on Nigerians to mount pressure on the federal government to rescue the remaining Chibok girls and Leah Sharibu, who are still in captivity. Sunday Ehigiator reports

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tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been over 1,500 days since the abduction of the Chibok girls. For the uninitiated, on the night of April 14, 2014, four years ago, terrorist group, Boko Haram, invaded the premises of Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok, Borno state, and kidnapped 276 female students from the school hostel. The attacks on schools intensified in 2014, with the most high profile incident happening in Federal Government College of Buni Yadi in Yobe state where 59 male students were killed in February 2014. Some died from gunshots or knife stabs, while others were burned to death. The abduction of the 276 Chibok girls happened just a few weeks later. After the abduction of 276 of the girls, 57 of them escaped by jumping off the trucks and running into the bushes before their captors caught on. In the end, a total of 219 girls made it to Boko Haram's nest in Sambisa Forest. Amid waves of public criticism of the then federal government's lukewarm reaction to the abduction, former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili spearheaded the viral #BringBackOurGirls campaign on social media, that became an advocacy group pressuring the government for the return of the girls. The campaign reached far and wide into the corners of the world, all the way into the White House of the United States of America when then-First Lady, Michelle Obama, held up a sign to demand the girls' return. The BBOG campaign kept the government more on its toes, but the rescue of the girls became more elusive especially after Shekau displayed them in a video and threatened to sell them off. It took two years before another Chibok girl regained her freedom. Another four months passed before the first mass release of the girls happened after Boko Haram reached an agreement with the federal government. 21 girls were released in October 2016 before a further 82 regained their freedom in May 2017. The deal allegedly cost the government the release of five Boko Haram commanders who were in the military's custody, amidst rumours of the federal government also paying a demanded ransom of â&#x201A;Ź3 million for their release.

The conveners for the civil society groups clamouring for the release of Chibok girls and Leah Sharibu

Dapchi Girl's Abduction

On February 19, 2018, 110 schoolgirls aged 11â&#x20AC;&#x201C;19 years old were kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group from the Government Girls' Science and Technical College (GGSTC), Dapchi, located in Bulabulin, Yunusari Local Government area of Yobe State. After several calls and pressures from concerned Nigerians and groups, on March 21, 2018, the Federal Government of Nigeria announced that Boko Haram terrorists had returned 106 of the kidnapped children, including 104 girls who went to school. However, Leah Sharibu, wasn't released by her abductors, due to her resistance to be forcefully converted to Islam. Sharibu was in SS1 when she was kidnapped, along with the other girls.

Calls for Governmental Intervention

With the recent killings of over a 100 soldiers fighting against insurgency in the North eastern part of the country, Catalyst for Global Peace Initiative (CPI) in partnership with, Realm of Glory International church, the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR), Bring Back Our Girls Movement (BBOG), Our Mumu Don Do Movement (OMDD), The Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), and Citizens Monitoring Group

The theme 'Not forgotten; not forsaken' is to let every girl-child out there currently suffering one form of abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuses or molestation by these insurgents, or from their cruel guardians, know that though it seems nobody cares about them or they are voiceless, we will be their voices and they are not alone. To those that we have lost, we will not forget, and for the others still suffering, we will not forsake them

The awareness campaign (CMG), thereby came together to put the government on its toes, by taking responsibility of the security of lives and properties of the citizens of Nigeria. The event started with an awareness march to the venue of event by the various groups involved, with each of them able to draw attention the attention of onlookers to the messages carried in their displayed placards and banners, before the speech session kicked off officially. In his introductory remarks, Convener CPJ, Catalyst Abraham Aiyedogbon said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my conviction that Nigeria will not remain the same after this movement, because it has been said, that all that evil needs to triumph, is for good people to watch and do nothing, say nothing, and pretend like they see nothing. But now that there is a forthcoming election, there is a great effort to awaken the Nigerian people and youths from their slumber; it is time to bring back the real change; not the change that have changed. "So on behalf of CPJ, it is our pleasure to welcome you all to this great occasion. I think the fact that this event is holding in the premises of a church, speaks volume. For a long time, the church has been like an army parked. Being armed; either properly, or not sufficiently; but not deployed, you and I will agree, that if religious people have been mobilised, and they have been right there deployed, and informed about their civic responsibility, and of the fact that the office of the citizen is higher than any political office in the nation, about the fact that power belongs to the people and not to the government, as itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the citizens that make the government and not the government that makes the citizens, you will discover that these political looters, or executive thieves would have long been over-throne. "The theme 'Not forgotten; not forsaken' is to let every girl child out there currently suffering one form of abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuses or molestation by these insurgents, or from their

cruel guardians know, that though it seems nobody cares about them or they are voiceless, we will be their voices and they are not alone. To those that we have lost, we will not forget, and for the others still suffering it, we will not forsake themâ&#x20AC;?. Founder OMDD, Charles Chukwuemeka Oputa, popularly known as Charly-Boy the Area Father in his charge, admonished participants on the need to realise that if they keep silent about their plights, the oppression and insurgencies would continue to triumph in Nigeria, nothing that it is just a matter of time before it spreads to other major cities like Lagos, in Nigeria if people fails to sincerely come together and mount pressure on the government to be more responsive to the killings in Borno State, before declaring a minute silent for the departed soldiers who recently lost their lives weeks ago, in the fight against insurgency. In her address, Mobiliser BBOG, Aisha Yesufu, heightened the tempo of the atmosphere as she shed light on the plights of some of the young girls who have lost their lives through several forms of abuses asides insurgency. She said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we talk about these incidents happening in the North-east, I feel pained when some persons say it is no real. Some even say the stories are fabricated; this is so unfair. We vote in this people to secure our lives and properties, but what they only care about is their fat bellies and rich bank accounts, even at the detriment of innocent livesâ&#x20AC;?. Speaking further, she referenced 13-year-old Elizabeth Ochanya, who was sexually molested by her uncle and cousin from eight till 13 when she passed on, as she couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t withhold the suffering any longer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ochanya could have being rescued and still be alive if Nigerians had cared about her plightâ&#x20AC;?. She ended by given a strong warning that there are several Ochanya's out there waiting to be heard and rescued. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since they are regarded voiceless due to their poverty state, Nigerians should rise

up to their rescueâ&#x20AC;?. In her address, the Chairperson, WARDC, Mrs. Abiola Akiyode Afolabi said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Women have become the most vulnerable in our present day Nigeria. Talk about sex slave, under education, illiteracy, societal relegation and victimisation and even in the activities of this Boko Haram; they are the worst endangered and affected. This is so because; we are yet to realise the real value of a girl child and women to every society. We are home builders, wealth managers and even wealth creator. Of the out-of-school children, the girl child holds the highest percentage. They are married off early at a very tender age and even sold as slaves and sex toys to the highest bidder. This is not right. We as Nigerians need to condemn these acts against the girl child all together. When you train a woman, you are building not just a home but a nation. And without woman, there is no nationâ&#x20AC;?.

Hand of Fellowship

While delivering the last speech of the day, before the groups proceeded for a joint awareness march, Pioneer, CMG, Mr. Gideon Para-Mallam, placed a call through to Leah Sharibuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father, Nathaniel Sharibu, to express solidarity of the group to the family, as the groups promised to be of assistance to the family in any way possible to ensure the release of Leah. Responding to the call, Mr. Sharibu, appreciated the supports of the group and every concerned Nigerians who have shown support to the family in this trying moments, praying that, â&#x20AC;&#x153;May God protect every single one of us in Jesus Nameâ&#x20AC;?. The highpoint of the event was the non-fictional, but dramatic illustration of the killings and kidnap activities of the sect, and the agony the parents of the abducted girls are going through, by the drama group of the Realm of Glory International, which left a strong feeling of empathy and will to show concern for the abducted girls still in captivity, as if they were our own children.

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CRIME&SECURITY

Police Arrest Teenage Househelp for Allegedly Killing Boss Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

A 16-year-old househelp, named Zakaria Chiahemba, has been arrested by the police for allegedly killing his boss and stealing her properties at No 25 Osazuwa street Oluku in Ovia North-east Local Government Area. Police said the suspect killed his boss, 51-year-old Rejoice Odogwu, with an axe, cutlass and stick. The accused was said to have cut his boss on the neck and other parts of her body and escaped with the deceased's money, handset and jewelries,

after committing the offence. Zakaria who was arrested at Wukari in Taraba State on November 23, 2018, however, denied killing his boss when he was paraded before newsmen in Benin City, capital of Edo State. He said he was brought from the village by his brother for the deceased to help him go to school, claiming that the deceased was killed by some of her customers who were angry that their phones were stolen at her shop. Edo Police Commissioner, Babatunde Kokumo, said the suspect would be charged to

court after investigation has been concluded.

CP Babatunde Kokumo

One Dead as Police, Mourners Clash in Edo Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

A dramatic clash between policemen and mourners in funeral procession, has left one dead and the corpse arrested in Benin City, capital of Edo State. According to THISDAY investigation, the victim of the clash, one Osakpamwan Agbons, was shot dead when the alleged gun-wielding mourners in a motorcade, encountered a team of policemen on TV road, Oliha quarters, Benin City, last Friday. It was further learnt that Agbons was killed by a police officer who fired back, after he allegedly shot at a team of policemen, who tried to disarm

him and two others now at large. They were alleged to have been shooting into the air as they drove behind the long convoy conveying the corpse from a mortuary to a funeral ground in Useh quarters, Benin City. A cut-to-size English double barrel was allegedly recovered from him after other gun-wielding mourners and undertakers abandoned their cars, which are now in police custody, with one Osama Maldona, arrested and now helping in investigation. Consequently, the victim's corpse has been deposited in a mortuary by the police. The alleged gunshots were said to have drawn the attention of the policemen, who coincidentally

operated in a private car along TV road that Friday morning. Confirming the incident, the Commissioner of Police in Edo State, CP Babatunde Kokumo, warned against illegal possession and open display of prohibited firearms. He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;They did not only openly brandish prohibited firearms, they also shot at policemen who were on patrol.The policemen fired back at one. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think this is one of the instances a policeman is justified to use his firearm. It should be seen as an act of self defence." He however called on members of the public to turn in their illegally acquired firearms to avoid arrest and prosecution.

Nanny Abducts Boss' Kids Days After Employment Barely eight days after she was employed, a nanny simply identified as Busayo, has abducted the two children left in her care. Bidding her time, Busayo worked for seven days for her employees, thereby gaining their trust before she disappeared with the two kids after picking them from school, last week Monday, in Gbagada Phase II, Lagos.

The nanny had abducted them on November 26 and up till now, the whereabouts of the children, who were identified as six-year-old Nadia Mutana and three- year-old Khalifa Mutana, remajn unknown. The matter has since been reported to the police and the public have been urged to call 08067428244 to report any sighting, or go to any nearest police station.

The nanny

CRIME SITUATION REPORTS

SECURITY TIPS (PART 31) ...Security arrangement for campaign and rallies towards 2019 election includes (i) r5IF JNQMFNFOUBUJPO PG B SPCVTU BOE FMBCPSBUF TFDVSJUZ BSSBOHFment and measures to ensure adequate security and safety for the electioneering campaigns and rallies throughout the country. r5IF $PNNJTTJPOFST PG 1PMJDF JO UIF 4UBUF $PNNBOET BOE UIF Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and their supervisory Assistant Inspectors General of Police in the 12 Zonal Commands have also been directed to protect and safeguard all venues of campaigns, rallies and other INEC approved electioneering activities of all political parties. r5ISFBU "TTFTTNFOU BOE EFQMPZNFOU PG QPMJDF QFSTPOOFM UP ĂĄBTI points and vulnerable areas have been carried out to prevent and nip in the bud any form of inter-party frictions, political thuggery and clashes that can lead to disturbance of public peace anywhere in the country. SOURCE: Police Force Heaquarters, ABUJA

EMERGENCY NUMBERS FOR IMO STATE POLICE COMMAND (a) Police Control Room Nos: 08034773600 or 08098880197 (b) Commissioner of Police: 07065679050 (c) Deputy Commissioner of Police (Admin): 08034895142 (d) Deputy Commissioner of Police, SCIID: 07032537681 (e) Deputy Commissioner of Police (Ops): 08036139111 (f) Area Commander Owerri: 08034501453 (g) Area Commander Orlu: 08033280491 (h) Area Commander Okigwe: 07037527225 (i) Police Public Relations Officer, Imo State: 08081574002 SOURCE: Imo State Police Command

LAGOS CP AND PRINCIPAL OFFICERS 1. CP Imohimi Edgal, Commissioner of Police Lagos State 08033040870 2. DCP Ayuba Elkanah Nabuni, Deputy Commissioner of Police Administration 08033422152 3. DCP Muhammed Ali Ari, Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations 08073666669 4.ACP Mohammed Danladi, Area Commander A, Lagos Island 08034668470 5. ACP Sani Sabo, Area Commander B Apapa 08038452224 6. ACP Godwin Eze, Area Commander C Surulere 08023407772. 7. ACP Akinbayo Olasoji, Area Commander D Mushin 08037140083 8. ACP Yusuf Ajape, Area Commander E Festac 08037073372 9. ACP Ibrahim Zungura, Area Commander F, Ikeja 08052058001 10. ACP Arumse J.D, Area Commander G Ogba 08033464144 11. ACP Miller Dantawaye, Area Commander H, Ogudu 08036695572 12. ACP Felix Oben, Area Commander J Elemoro 08033320682 13. ACP Hope Okafor, Area Commander K Morogbo 08026279242 14. ACP Ishola Olarenwaju, Area Commander L Ilashe, 0810321160 15 ACP Agbaminoja Toyin, Area Commander M Idimu 08081776484 16. ACP Mohammed Ahmadu, Area Commander N Ijede 08055554664 17. ACP Abdulsalam Gazali Alade, Area Commander P Alagbado 08033539984 18. CSP Chike Oti, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), 07065246927 Source: The Lagos State Police Command

KNOW YOUR POLICE OFFICERS (1) - The IG of Police: Ibrahim Idris Kpotun

The abducted kids

Until his appointment as the 19th Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotun Idris, was an Assistant Inspector-General of Police. The indigene of Kutigi, Lavun in Niger State, was born on January 15, 1959, and was enlisted into the Nigerian Police Force in 1984, after graduating from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria with a Bachelors degree in Agriculture. He also holds a degree in Law from the University of Maiduguri. He also led the Police Mobile Force as well as the Kano State and Nasarawa State Police Commands in Nigeria while serving in the rank of Commissioner of Police. He was also at the United Nations Mission in Liberia and East Timor and was awarded â&#x20AC;&#x153;Medal of Meritâ&#x20AC;? by the President of the Republic of East Timor in recognition of his service. Idris

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MONDAY DECEMBER 3, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

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FOREIGN/DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS

Macron to Hold Crisis Meeting after Anti-government Riots French President, Emmanuel Macron, is to hold a crisis meeting after anti-government protests in Paris that left 133 people injured and a trail of destruction around the capital. Macron is set to fly into Paris late morning after attending a G20 summit in Argentina and will meet the prime minister, interior minister and top security service officials at the presidential palace. New figures released from the Paris police service showed that 412 people were arrested on Saturday during the worst clashes for years in the capital and 378 were still in custody. A total of 133 had been injured, including 23 members of the security forces who battled rioters for most of the day in some of the most famous parts of the capital. “I will never accept violence,” Macron told a news conference in Buenos Aires before flying home. “No cause justifies that authorities are attacked, that businesses are plundered, that passers-by or journalists are

threatened or that the Arc du Triomphe is defiled,” he said. In a fresh incident on Sunday morning, a motorway pay booth was set on fire by arsonists in southern France near the city of Narbonne, a judicial source told AFP. The main north-south motorway in eastern France, the A6, was also blocked by protesters near the city of Lyon on Sunday morning, its operator said. The capital was calm, however, but as groups of workers moved around cleaning up the mess from the previous day, the scale of the destruction became clear. In famed areas around the Champs-Elysees, the Louvre Palace, the Opera or Place Vendome, smashed shop windows, broken glass and the occasional burned out car were a testament to the violence. Dozens of cars were torched by the gangs of rioters, some of whom wore gas masks and ski goggles to lessen the effects of tear gas which was fired continually by police.

One person was in a critical condition after protesters pulled down one of the huge iron gates of the Tuileries garden facing the Louvre museum, crushing several people. Nearly 190 fires were put out and six buildings were set alight, the interior ministry said. At the Arc de Triomphe, a monument to France’s war dead, graffiti had been daubed, saying: “The yellow vests will win.” This was a reference to the so-called “yellow vest” anti-government protests that have swept France over the last

fortnight, sparked initially by a rise in taxes on diesel. The movement has since morphed into a broad opposition front to Macron, a 40-year-old pro-business centrist elected in May 2017. Violent anarchist and far-right groups have since infiltrated it and are thought to be behind Saturday’s clashes. Macron faces a dilemma in how to respond to the “yellow vests”, not least because they are a grassroots movement with no formal leaders and a wide range of demands.

Some representatives have also insisted on public talks broadcast on TV. “We have said that we won’t change course. Because the course is good,” government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux told BFM television defiantly on Sunday morning. “It’s been thirty years that people change course every 18 months,” he added, referring to Macron’s presidential predecessors who have often caved in to pressure from French street protests. Macron has so far refused to

roll back taxes on fuel, which he says are needed to fund the country’s transition to a low-emission economy. And he remains a fervent defender of the tax cuts he has delivered for businesses and high-earners, which he believes were necessary to lower the country’s chronic high unemployment. “We’re at a time when a bit of national unity around our security forces, around those who are really struggling would be a good thing for the country,” Griveaux added.

Court Grants Netanyahu Govt More Time to Pass Key Law Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday extended a deadline for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to pass a law related to military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews, a measure that could potentially provoke early elections. The court agreed to extend the deadline, which was on Sunday, until January 15, rejecting the government’s request for it to be moved back to the end of March. Netanyahu’s government has been seeking to have a law passed that could gradually see ultra-Orthodox Jewish students serve in the military like their secular counterparts, as mandated by the supreme court. Ultra-Orthodox parties that form a key part of Netanyahu’s coalition reject such measures and a compromise law given initial approval earlier this year

has not been advanced further. Netanyahu’s government is now in a much more precarious position, left with only a oneseat majority in parliament after defence minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned last month. The premier says he wants his government to last until the end of its term in November 2019, but tensions surrounding the issue of ultra-Orthodox Jews and the military could derail those plans. Ultra-Orthodox parties control 13 seats and at least some could withdraw from the government over the issue. The need for a new bill arose after the supreme court in September 2017 struck down a law allowing ultra-Orthodox men to be exempted from military service until 2023. The court gave parliament a year to pass a new law, before an initial extension pushed that back to December 2.

Falana Drags Benin, Ghana, Six Others to African Court over Western Sahara Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has dragged eight African Union member states to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights over “the failure of the countries to discharge their legal duty to defend the sovereignty, territorial, integrity and independence of Western Sahara.” The case brought on behalf of Bernard Anbataayela Mornah, a Ghanaian citizen and the National Chairman of the Convention of People’s Party, a political party in Ghana against Burkina Faso; Cote D’Ivoire; Ghana; Mali; Malawi; and Tanzania relates “to the legal duty on the defendants to defend the sovereignty, territorial, integrity and independence of Western Sahara.” The suit with application number 028/2018, read in part:

“The territory known as Western Sahara in North Africa was forcefully and illegally colonized by Spain for several years until it pulled out and relinquished its claim as a colonial power over the territory in February 1976 as a result of the violent resistance of the Saharawi people. “The defendants are members of the African Union which have accepted the competence of the Protocol of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. “Despite the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco not less than 84 countries have accorded diplomatic recognition to the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, a member state of the African Union.

Streven Grimes who served in the Gulf war from 1990- 1991 and served in the military from 1975 to 2007 salutes, in tribute to former US President George H. W. Bush, at the makeshift memorial formed outside the home of President George H.W. Bush in Houston, Texas… yesterday

New US Congress Members Battle for Office Space One woman flexed her biceps and performed push-ups, another thumbed her rosary beads and several danced energetic jigs. Incoming members of Congress will try anything, it seems, to win plum office suites on Capitol Hill. Friday’s lottery for lawmakers-elect was a raucous, lighthearted bipartisan game of chance for a scarce commodity: a spacious, well-positioned workplace in the House office buildings. Eighty-five members of the incoming freshman class gathered to draw numbered chips from a box, with the thrill of victory going to Virginia

Republican Ben Cline, whose lucky number one gave him first choice of available office space. The event occurs every two years as a new class enters the House of Representatives. Following a particularly tense 2018 in Washington, the lottery saw incoming lawmakers playfully letting off steam, as when Max Rose of New York bowed down and offered his head for fellow lawmakers-elect to rub for good luck. But it is actually a high-stakes affair, as the difference between suites can be vast. Some have sprawling lobbies and lawmaker’s offices with

envious views of the US Capitol. Others, like those on the Canon House Office Building’s dreaded fifth floor known as the “freshman dorm?” Not so much. Superintendent of House Office Buildings William Weidemeyer kicked off the proceedings by positing a “direct correlation” between good luck rituals and the number drawn. “Gyrations, dances or visible praying is highly encouraged,” he said. Sharice Davids, a former mixed martial arts fighter from Kansas, received a huge cheer when she dropped to the floor and did pushups before

drawing her chip. It didn’t help. “Oh my god,” she said, looking at her inauspicious number 64. “Don’t do pushups!” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the liberal Democrat from New York, crossed herself and recited a Spanish-language nursery rhyme. (She picked number 40.) Kim Shrier of Washington performed the popular “floss” dance, a social media sensation for kids. One congresswoman wore red slippers. Serendipity smiled on soon-to-be congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who leapt around the room and offered high fives after drawing number 8.

US, China Agree to Trade War Ceasefire, More Talks US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping agreed Saturday to suspend any new tariffs in the escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies, even if huge existing duties will remain in place. Following more than two hours of dinner talks between the two leaders, the White House said an increase of tariffs from 10 to 25 per cent due to kick in on January 1 would now be put on hold, providing room for intense negotiations. The agreement, hashed out over steak in the Argentine

capital Buenos Aires, lowers the temperature in a conflict that has spooked world markets. The two leaders, who were in Buenos Aires for a summit of the G20 countries, called it “a highly successful meeting,” a White House statement said. “The principal agreement has effectively prevented further expansion of economic friction between the two countries and has opened up new space for win-win cooperation,” said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. “It’s an incredible deal,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on the flight

home to Washington, adding it would have an “incredibly positive impact” on American farmers. Under the agreement, Trump is shelving a plan to raise existing tariffs of 10 percent to 25 percent from the start of next year. Xi avoids further immediate pressure on China’s slowing economy, while Trump — scarred by last month’s midterm elections that saw the Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives — can ease damage to agricultural US states that export to China, particularly soybean producers.

“China will be buying massive amounts of product from us,” Trump said after the talks. For Beijing-based political consultant Hua Po, “this was a rare opportunity for China” to capitalize on what they saw as Trump’s compromised position after the midterms. “At this time, it was acceptable for China to maintain some bottom lines while making some major concessions.” But Brad Setser, a former Treasury official and now senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, told Bloomberg that much remains to be done.

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NEWS

Fuel Crisis Looms as Marketers Issue Ultimatum over Outstanding Payments Peter Uzoho Motorists and other users of petroleum products may experience scarcity of the products as oil marketers have issued a seven-day ultimatum to the federal government to settle with cash all outstanding payments arising from unpaid subsidy claims, including forex differentials and interest, which it said amount to about N800 billion. The marketers, under the aegis of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) and the Independent Petroleum Products Importers (IPPIs), said if the government fails to meet the deadline, they would be forced to disengage their workers and shut down their depots. Speaking yesterday on behalf of the marketers, the Legal Adviser to the

Independent Petroleum Products Importers (IPPIs), Mr. Patrick Etim, said the seven-day ultimatum became necessary as all investments and assets of oil marketers are being taken over by banks, while payment of workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; salaries has been difficult to make. According to Etim, marketers have asked some of their workers to stay at home from December 1, 2018 as salaries of workers could not be paid due to huge debts owed by government on subsidy. Etim said, "The only way to salvage the situation is when government pays the outstanding debts through cash option. Other forms of payment instrument like promissory note would not save the intended mass retrenchment. "As at the tail end of 2018, several months after the assurances were received from

government that it would pay off the outstanding debts, it has not paid. "The oil marketers have requested that forex differentials and interest components of the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s indebtedness to marketers calculated up to December 2018 be paid within the next seven days from the date of the letter sent to them." Etim said several thousands of jobs are on the line in the oil and gas industry, as oil marketers have begun to cutdown their workforce due to their inability to pay salaries. "At the inception of the current administration, marketers engaged the government with a view to secure approval for all outstanding subsidy induced debts handed over to the current administration,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; he said. He said the Muhammadu Buhari administration paid

part of the debts with a substantial portion of the subsidy interest and foreign exchange differentials still pending, in spite of the directive of the then Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to the former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, to intervene. Also, the Executive Secretary of DAPPMA, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, confirmed that the ultimatum letter had been served on November 28 to the Debt Management Office (DMO); Minister of Finance; Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream); Department of State Services (DSS) and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, for urgent payment of marketersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; outstanding debts. He said this became necessary to avert the imminent collapse of the industry and also help to stop sack of workers as marketers

can no longer afford to pay beyond November 30 with such financial constraint. He stated that the DMO's prompt response would stop the wastage of government resources, which he said, continues to increase in the form of interest on unpaid amounts, which is currently in excess of N118 billion. "We urged the DMO to process and pay marketers in cash for their outstanding forex differentials and interest component claims, together with the amount already approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the National Assembly. "Marketers are not in a position to discount payment on the subsidy induced debt owed as proposed by DMO; the expected payment is made up of bank loans, outstanding admin charges due to Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), outstanding bridging fund

due Petroleum Equalisation Fund (Management) Board (PEF(M)B) and in a few cases AMCON judgment debts. "We urge that the FEC's approved payment instrument, (the promissory note), be substituted with cash and paid through our bankers to stop the waste of public funds through these debts accruing interest,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; he said. According to him, the DMO's brief to marketers renders the proposed financial instrument inadequate to the industry and nullifies the principle of full restitution to the subsidy scheme participants. "And it does not achieve the purpose of reliving the industry from the unsupportable financial burden arising from its participation in the importation of product under the subsidy scheme of the Federal Government,â&#x20AC;? he explained

Concerns Mount as Buhari May Not Sign Electoral Act Amendment Bill Davidson Iriekpen With just three days to the deadline for President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill transmitted to him early last month, strong indications have emerged that he might not sign it into law, THISDAY has learnt. President Buhari had thrice this year refused assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. The development had forced the National Assembly to rework the bill before transmitting a cleaner copy to the executive earlier on November 7 for the presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assent on or before December 6. But a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) told THISDAY yesterday that the presidency was uncomfortable with the insertion of a clause which allows for the use of smart card readers in the 2019 general elections. The SAN who did not want his name in print, said the president and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) are still not satisfied with the last version of the Bill transmitted to the executive on November 7 by the National Assembly. He also argued that the section of the Bill, which provides for the transmission of counted votes from the ward level to the state level, could be a great impediment to rigging and other electoral frauds. He equally called on the National Assembly to veto the bill if President Buhari refuses to sign it into law.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The president has always touted that it was the card reader introduced by INEC under Prof. Attahiru Jega that facilitated his assumption of power and unfortunately, he does not want to replicate same. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He is very uncomfortable because he knows that the card reader and transmission of counted votes from the ward level to the state level would end rigging,â&#x20AC;? the senior lawyer said. A former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), had recently called on President Buhari to assent to the bill if he is truly committed to transparent electoral process in 2019. Agbakoba, the Convener of Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM) in a twopage letter to the president asked him to endorse the Electoral Act Amendment Bill as a show of his commitment to transparent electoral process. He expressed concern that the bill was yet to be signed into law less than three months to the general election. Agbakoba, therefore, stressed the need for President Buhari to sign the bill without any further delay and cited diverse implications his refusal to endorse it would have on the capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct credible and transparent elections. The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, had also challenged the president

to sign the bill into law if he is truly committed to conducting a free, fair and credible elections in 2019. Atiku, who spoke at the inauguration of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, said signing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law was necessary because elections were governed by laws and that good laws were required to ensure credible elections. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Such laws constrain the behaviour of all who are involved in the electoral process, including the candidates and their supporters, security agents and the electoral umpire (in this case the INEC),â&#x20AC;? Atiku said. He stressed, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are facing an APC government that is desperate to cling to power at all costs, which means that this will be a tough presidential election.â&#x20AC;? Last Friday, the chairmen of about 70 registered political parties under the aegis of Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), threatened to pull out of the 2019 general elections if the president failed to sign the Electoral Bill into law. The councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Publicity Secretary, Ikenga Ugochinyere, disclosed in a statement in Abuja after the councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meeting, saying the bill, if signed into law, would ensure free, fair and credible elections. The statement read, â&#x20AC;&#x153;IPAC resolved that in view of the fact that Nigerians want free, fair and credible elections in 2019 which the new Electoral Bill before President Buhari promises, we as major stakeholders in the electoral

process call on the President to sign the bill into law. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Should he refuse, then we will not be part of the electoral process in 2019 that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t promise credibility and fairness. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The delay/refusal to sign the bill will throw the country into the worst bloody electoral conquest and put INEC in a tight situation that will make free and credible election impossible in 2019.â&#x20AC;? However, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, had assured that the Electoral Act Amendment Bill was receiving due attention. Enang added that while the government appreciated the concern of the citizenry on the need for the president to assent to the bill, there was no cause for alarm. He said Agbakoba by the

call was exercising his right as a citizen of the country. However, the Senate Majority Leader, Ahmed Lawan, said on Friday that the President was at liberty not to append his signature to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2018 if he found a reason to do so. Lawan, who spoke with State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, argued that Buhari could choose not to sign. He claimed that mounting pressure on Buhari to sign the bill without first studying its provisions could be counter-productive. He stated, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I will advise, even though I am not one of his advisers, that he goes through what has been sent to him line-by-line, understands whatever his advisers will tell him and if what we have sent will make the elections in 2019 better, then he signs.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;But, if he discovers some provisions that will bring contradictions and controversies, he can withhold assent. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am not advocating that he withholds assent but if he does, that is his right. I want to tell you that the APC caucus in the National Assembly stands with Mr President on this.â&#x20AC;? The Senate leader made a reference to a 2006 Electoral Act, which he suggested should be used to conduct the 2019 polls if Buhari did not sign the 2018 version. The 2006 Act had long been set aside by the 2010 Electoral Act, from where the amendments in the 2018 bill were drawn. He added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The president is willing to sign the bill provided it meets certain conditions that will make our electoral process better. I believe the president is studying this bill.â&#x20AC;?

ONAIYEKAN: NIGERIA FACED WITH TWO UNDESIRABLE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES others are busy working. All it takes for evil to thrive is for the righteous to stay quiet and do what they call minding their own business, which means doing nothing. "It is a pity that whereas there are over 90 political parties, there seems to be no viable alternative to the two mega parties that have failed us. Where is the alternative? It is a pity that they cannot come together to form a viable alternative. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;In my opinion, this is mainly because of their selfishness. Everybody wants to be president and wield power. No one wants to step down and join hands

with others of like minds. We need to pray that there will be a way forward. We need to seriously tackle the devil of selfishness.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He charged Catholic Church faithful who belonged to the APC and PDP to realise the need for a conversion of hearts and a change from selfishness to a sense of solidarity. The Cardinal, who expressed fears of a looming crisis facing the country in view of forthcoming general elections, advised that one of the ways to avert it is for religious leaders to act responsibly by addressing issues and speaking clearly to political elites no matter which sides

they belong. He added, "We need to change from deceit and lies to truth and honesty. We should encourage our Catholics that it is possible for politicians to be honest.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Onaiyekan stated that part of the inter-religious peace and cooperation that the Catholic Church is preaching is for its members to join other men and women of goodwill in pursuing justice, love and peace. He further enjoined Christians to pray fervently for God to intervene and to ensure peaceful elections in view of various crises threatening to tear the country apart.

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NEWS

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

Eight Soldiers, Two Suicide Bombers Killed in Boko Haram Attacks IG deploys 2,000 policemen, others to tackle terrorists Army yet to access $1bn approved to fight insurgency Kingsley Nwezeh and Alex Enumah in Abuja Eight soldiers and two suicide bombers were killed in separate

attacks in Borno and Yobe states, THISDAY has learnt. This is coming as the Inspector General of Police (IG) has deployed additional 2,000 Police

INEC: Conflicting Court Orders May Affect Procurement of Sensitive Materials Compiles data of validly nominated candidates Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised the alarm that conflicting court orders may affect the schedule for procurement of sensitive materials ahead of the 2019 elections. The electoral body has also revealed that with the conclusion of party primaries and the closure of the window for the substitution of candidates, it is compiling data relating to validly nominated candidates preparatory to the release of the final list of candidates. This, the agency said, was in accordance with the legal requirements and its schedule of activities. INEC’s National Commi-ssioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Festus Okoye, who made these disclosures to THISDAY yesterday, added that the Chairman of the electoral umpire, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had pointed out that the acrimonious nature of the party primaries and the refusal of some parties to follow constitutional stipulations in the nomination of its candidates had thrown up challenges for the commission. Okoye reiterated that the electoral commission is irrevocably

committed to the rule of law and due process and has consistently maintained that it would obey the orders of properly constituted courts of law. “Unfortunately, there are some orders that have gone against wellestablished judicial precedents and the commission in the true spirit of a constitutional body has to obey such orders until set aside by a superior court. “The setting aside of such orders after the conclusion of the 2019 elections may lead to fresh elections or by-elections thereby increasing the cost of elections.” “There are other conflicting orders that are really incapable of being obeyed and a decision one way or the other may affect the preparation for elections. But the commission has to obey one of the conflicting orders.” “Conflicting orders may affect the schedule for procurement of sensitive materials including ballot papers since parties with validly nominated candidates will be on the ballot.” “Procurement of ballot papers and sensitive materials requires careful planning and preparation and unless some of the contentious and conflicting orders are resolved by the judiciary, planning with certainty will be very problematic,” he explained.

Mobile Force (PMF) and Counter Terrorism Units (CTU) personnel of the Force and the Sniffer Dog Sections to the North East in the last few days to fight Boko Haram insurgency under the Operation Lafiya Dole. The Nigerian Army has however, confirmed that it has not accessed the $1 billion approved to fight insurgency and other security challenges in the country. Military sources within the theatre of war said eight military personnel were killed when the insurgents attacked a military base in Burni Gari town in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State. THISDAY gathered that an Armoured Personnel Carrier and a gun truck were lost to the insurgents. The terrorists were, however beaten back when the Nigerian Air Force jet fighters pounded their locations. Meanwhile, two unidentified suicide bombers suspected to be agents of Boko Haram died near Mina garage in Maiduguri, Borno state.

Nigerian Army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, disclosed this yesterday in a statement issued in Abuja. According to him, the suicide bombers, a male and a female, on a mission to infiltrate the garage hurriedly, detonated one of their suicide vests upon sighting troops of 195 Battalion on patrol. Usman further said the incident, which occurred at about 8 p.m. on Saturday, left no fewer than five members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, CJTF, injured. “Subsequently, the area was cordoned off and the Explosive Ordinance Device Team were drafted to defuse the other unexploded vest, while Borno State Emergency Management Agency and the Red-cross evacuated the mutilated body parts of the suicide bombers. “The wounded persons were rushed to 7 Division Hospital for medical attention.” In another development, the Inspector General of Police (IG) has deployed additional 2,000 Police Mobile Force (PMF) and Counter Terrorism Units (CTU)

Personnel of the Force and the Sniffer Dog Sections to the North East in the last few days to fight Boko Haram insurgency under the Operation Lafiya Dole. A statement from the Force Public Relations Officer, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Jimoh Moshood, which noted that the move was to support the strength of the military to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency, said the new deployment was consistent with Section 4 of the Police Act and Regulations which allows them to perform such military duties both within and outside Nigeria as may be required of them by or under the authority of the Act or any other. The statement disclosed that before now, the Nigeria Police Force has on ground 47 PMF Units ( 2, 961) in Borno State in addition to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron in the state. “Twenty six units (1,638) on ground in Yobe State in addition to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron in the state “Eighteen units (1,134) on

ground in Adamawa State in addition to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron in the state,” part of the statement read. The statement added that the Counter Terrorism Units of the Force have deployments of over 1,250 specially trained Counter Terrorism Police personnel, the Police Anti-Bomb Squad 300 personnel while over 100 Sniffer Dogs are working with the military in the fight against Insurgency in the North East. Moshood said, “It is of significant to note that the Police Mobile Force (PMF) personnel, Counter Terrorism Units (CTU), Anti-Bomb Squad (EOD), Sniffer Dog Sections, the Federal AntiRobbery Squad (FSARS) and conventional Police personnel have been fighting along with the military in the front line against Boko Haram insurgency and also providing security for restoration of law and order in the North East, security for all the liberated towns and villages in the North-East, escort of foreign and local humanitarian workers and relief Cont’d on pg 61

Osinbajo, Gowon Urge Nigerians to be Prayerful Sharon Emi The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), yesterday in Abuja, thanked God for his goodness to Nigeria and also prayed for a more prosperous country. Osinbajo and Gowon were at the State House Chapel for the annual End of Year Thanksgiving Service. Speaking with State House correspondents after the service, Osinbajo said Nigerians had every reason to be extremely thankful to God. “It has been a year where God has shown his faithfulness in some many ways; I think what God is also telling us that the coming months and the coming years will be even better. “Our country is going forward; our country is getting better and better; our country will prosper; our country will be a place of abundance; all of us will enjoy the fruit of this land. “So, my message is that we should continually thank God

because God has helped us a great deal and he is set to help us even more,’’ he said. The vice president had earlier during the service offered a special thanksgiving prayer to God for His mercy, grace and kindness to Nigeria. On his part, Gowon said his message to Nigerians was to pray ceaselessly. He prayed God to accept the genuine prayers offered by Nigerians. “Let God answer all the good prayers for Nigeria; what he thinks is best for Nigeria. “That is my message and prayer; so that we contribute to the peace of Nigeria,’’ he said. Assistant General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Ezekiel Odeyemi, who delivered the sermon, argued that the fact that Nigeria was still a country was a good reason to thank God. He said Nigeria had passed through quite a lot as there were lots of signs and signals pointing towards disintegration but Nigerians still remained together.

CELEBRATING AN ACHIEVER…

L-R: The Chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka/Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi; Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc, Dr. Herbert Wigwe; Vice Chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Professor Benjamin Chukwuma Ozumba; and Mrs. Doreen Wigwe, at the conferment of award of Honorary Degrees on Wigwe by the university in Nsukka...recently

19 Children Drown in Kwara Boat Mishap Hammed Shittu in Ilorin No fewer than 19 children have been reportedly drowned in a boat mishap on Saturday in Lafiagi, Edu Local Government Area (LGA) of Kwara State. The boat, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt, was conveying the victims across River Niger for a programme at a traditional wedding ceremony in a community in Niger State. The boat, conveying about 22 people mostly children, capsized while crossing the

river. A source said while two of the passengers were rescued, the 19 others drowned and died. According to him, all effort to rescue other passengers proved abortive.“As at yesterday evening, four corpses have been recovered from the river. “Effort would resume this morning again to ensure that others also are found. “Both men of the Nigeria Police and the State Fire Service were there yesterday in the rescue mission.

“Unfortunately only two of them survived,” the source said yesterday. Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Lafiagi Traditional Council, Sulyman Aliyu, has confirmed the incident. Aliyu said the number of the victims could not be ascertained yet, noting that there was a conflict in the number. “Definitely they are up to 12. The figure is between 12 and that 19 that you said,” he said.The secretary also confirmed that four corpses

were recovered on Saturday and that efforts to remove others would continue yesterday. The Public Relations Officer of the Kwara Police Command, Ajayi Okasanmi, also confirmed the incident. He said the officers of the force and other security agencies had joined the local government council to recover the corpses. He, however, said the number of the passengers and the victims could not yet be ascertained as the recovery exercise was still ongoing.

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Obasanjo Commiserates with Trump over George Bush’s Death Femi Ogbonnikan in Abeokuta Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has condoled with the President of the United States of America (USA), Mr. Donald Trump, over the death of the country’s former President, Mr. George H.W Bush (Snr). The 94-year old former US

leader died on Saturday. In a letter of condolence, which was made available to journalists by Obasanjo’s media Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, yesterday, the former president said he received the news of the death of the erstwhile US president with rude shock. According to Obasanjo,

“President Bush’s death is a loss, not only to his immediate family and to the United States of America, but also to the entire world.” The former Nigerian president described George’s tenure as one that “marked a significant departure from the traditional relations between Africa and the

United States. “With the refocused and renewed emphasis on market reforms, political and social accountability, and stronger trade relations, his legacies have continued over the years to shape Africa’s relations with the United States.” Obasanjo further noted that,

“President Bush’s special interest in Nigeria was reflective of the special relations between our two countries. “We join you and the American people in mourning the loss of a political giant, an astute administrator, a courageous leader, an erudite international statesman, and a great American

hero. “Though the world would miss him, his legacies would continue to inspire many to reach the highest points of their productive, political and creative abilities. “Once again, accept our deep sympathies. May God grant his soul perfect peace and rest,” Obasanjo added.

Kogi Judiciary Workers Kick against ‘Table’ Payment Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja Following the accumulation of unpaid salaries of judiciary workers in Kogi State, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), has described the table payment being implemented by the state government as a fraud. Chairman of the state’s branch of JUSUN, Emmanuel Waniko, in a statement issued yesterday said the state government’s decision to embark on table payment of part of the arrears of salaries owed the workers was not acceptable. He stated that the union would maintain its stand on compliance with the constitutional provisions that prescribe financial independence for state judiciaries. Waniko also argued that the government’s refusal to implement an upward review and timely remittance of the age-long monthly subvention

due to the state judiciary could worsen the looming crisis between the union and the three courts in the state. According to him, the combined management of the state’s High Court, Sharia Court of Appeal and Customary Court of Appeal was reportedly requested by the union to explain the modalities and time of payment of the five months’ outstanding salaries owed staff of the judiciary. The union said it frowned at the attempt by the executive to muscle the state’s third arm of government against the constitutional provisions that guarantees the financial independence of the judiciary. According to the union, the development contravenes the recent legislative amendment to the constitution assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, which strengthens the financial autonomy of state judiciaries and legislatures.

Fasehun was a Patriotic Nigerian, Says Saraki Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, yesterday described the late founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Frederick Fasehun, as a patriotic Nigerian who served his country meritoriously during his lifetime. Saraki in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Yusuph Olaniyonu, in Abuja, said Fasehun was a man who transcended childhood limitation of late enrolment into school, became a medical practitioner of repute and joined in the struggle to enthrone democracy in the country. According to him, Fasehun served the Yoruba nation in particular and the country in general through his cultural

renaissance movement - the OPC and political struggle, respectively. Saraki said the late OPC leader was one of the people who deserved to be called the heroes of Nigeria’s present democracy as they fought against military rule. “Fasehun worked to preserve the health of the high and low in society. He worked to free Nigeria from military dictatorship. He worked to promote the cause of the Yoruba Nation. We have lost a star and a man of ideas. We shall all miss him,” he stated. Saraki commiserated with the immediate family of the deceased, the government and people of Ondo State and the Yoruba Nation over the sad loss.

Aspen Energy Holds Roundtable Aspen Energy, an integrated energy consultancy company, will host the second Aspen Energy Roundtable in January 2019. The event, which will hold in Lagos, is a platform for thought leadership in Nigeria’s energy sector. According to a statement by the company, the event will attract leading operators in the energy sector in the country as well as top policy makers. The theme of the proposed Roundtable is“Gas Business in Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities”. It will feature deliberations on the full spectrum in Nigeria ranging from the Nigerian gas

master plan- the journey so far, to financing natural gas projects in Nigeria among other topics. The Managing Director of Aspen Energy, Mr. Benjamin Ofodile, said in a statement that the Roundtable would articulate the organising logic for building a vibrant and sustainable energy sector in Nigeria. He added that the intellectual content is usually very rich, stressing further that the output is distilled and communicated to various stakeholders, including government. “We look forward to the second edition of the Aspen Energy Round table as it promises to be bigger and better”, he added.

SEASON OF SURPRISES...

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mazen Mroue; Chairman, MTN Nigeria, Pascal Dozie; Sales and Distribution Executive, Kunle Adebiyi, and Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, Rahul De, at the launch of the 4th edition of MTN Season of Surprises in Ikoyi, Lagos...recently

APC Faults PDP’s Call for INEC Chair, IG’s Resignation Sharon Emi The All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted the call by the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, for the resignation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Yakubu Mahmoud, and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Idris Ibrahim.

The ruling party said in a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lanre Issa-Onilu, that the PDP’s call was baseless and suspicious. The statement said, “We are amused by the latest utterances of the PDP chairman, Secondus, calling on both the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, and the Inspector-General of Police,

Mr. Idris Ibrahim, to resign on account of the PDP’s baseless suspicions ahead of the 2019 general elections “It is a pity that the once boisterous PDP, having undermined the country for 16 years through mindless undemocratic actions, has now become a caricature of a political party. “This latest outburst is yet another reminder of how the

PDP government serially abused state institutions in the pursuit of selfish political and economic interests. “The PDP is now being haunted by its sordid past and the ruinous party is now scampering from its own shadow.” The APC said it would continue to follow the path of hard work to develop the country.

2019: 20 Political Parties to Form Coalition with Olawepo-Hashim Presidential candidate of the Peoples Trust (PT) in the next general election, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, yesterday revealed that no fewer than 20 political parties are teaming up with his party to back his presidential aspiration. The candidate stated this yesterday while addressing journalists when a former presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Party (ADP), Matbias Sado, announced his defection to the party.

Olawepo-Hashim, said his party would soon unveil the identities of the 20 party coalitions, adding that in the next few days the country would get to see the details. Sado, at a press conference in Abuja, said he decided to support and collaborate with Olawepo-Hashim to rescue “Our bleeding nation from the incompetence of the All Progressive Congress-led administration under President Muhammadu Buhari.” He called on President Buhari

to step down on account of his inability to give better life to Nigerians. According to Sado, “I have studied the mission statement of Mr. Olawepo-Hashim and his commitment to the task of rescuing Nigeria. His immense capacity to engender trust and the audacity of his promise to transform Nigeria into a $4-trillion dollars economy are fundamental.” He said he would submit his document and political structures to Olawepo-Hashim

in the joint task of working to realise a batter Nigeria. He urged the PT presidential candidate to reach out to other like-minded patriots in order to build a formidable and credible third force that would defeat the APC and the PDP in the 2019 general election. Olawepo-Hashim commended the magnanimity and sense of patriotism of Sado, assuring him of his commitment to bring everybody to the negotiating table to build a better Nigeria.

Insurgency: Immigration Services Deploys e-border Patrol Says each prisoner’s feeding costs less than N200 daily Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja As part of efforts to curb insurgency, the federal government has approved the deployment technology-enhanced measures to monitor the country’s borders. The Ministry of Interior has also clarified THE issues of prisoners’ feeding, saying that contrary to insinuations that

prisoners consumes N14,000 daily, the actual amount spent on each prisoners’ feeding is less than N200. The Special Assistant to the Minister of Interior, Hon. Aliyu Ibrahim, made the disclosures during an interactive session with journalists at the National Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (PAC) in Abuja at the

weekend. He said in view of the federal government’s determination to stop the activities of insurgents, approval has been given for the ministry to deploy special technology for e-border management system in all border areas in the far north areas, particularly the North-east. “The borders have been

looked at; we have approval for deployment of technology, which is what people will say is E-border management system. Again the concept has been proven and has been tested, at the back end we’ve deployed a full command and control centre or situation room in the Ministry of Interior where all our borders are monitored online real time by the minister.”

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FG Certifies Cross River Garment Factory’s Products for Export Davidson Iriekpen The federal government has granted licence to the Cross River State Garment Factory to export its products. This follows the export registration certificate to the state Governor, Senator Ben Ayade in Carlsbad, United States, at the weekend by the Executive Director/CEO of Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Mr. Olusegun

Awolowo. Awolowo who was represented by the regional coordinator of the council, Babatunde Flake, said the organisation’s major interest was to put the factory on the export platform as “the multiplier effect of this garment factory is so much as a lot of accessories can come out from here. “I am excited to say that you have formidable trainees who are smart to learn. All that you

NULGE Threatens to Vote out Governors Opposing Autonomy Bill Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has warned it would mobilise its members against state governors allegedly interfering with the process for actualising local government autonomy in the country. National President of NULGE, Ibrahim Khaleel who addressed a pre-40th anniversary press conference yesterday, said the union was worried about the continued delay in the passage of the bill, which is intended to impact positively on the affairs and operations of local government administration in the country. He said NULGE and local government workers were greatly pained by the delay and foot-dragging, which the Autonomy Bill has been subjected to through the connivance of governors and some Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly. “We are accusing the governors of frustrating the process by instigating the delays. We are going to explore all avenues to the get the bill

passed into law. We believe we have the capacity, the strength and the grassroot population to change a lot of things in the 2019 elections. “Our members and wellmeaning Nigerians will be mobilised to vote them out in the 2019 elections,” he said. Khaleel said part of expected outcome of this year’s anniversary celebration would be to secure a clear mandate of the union members on the next line of action to get the local council autonomy bill passed by majority of the state Houses of Assembly. He said the aim of union is to ensure that the bill is signed into law before the end of the tenure of the current government. According to the NULGE president, the Local Government Autonomy Bill was already on the verge of scaling through the hurdle in most of the state Houses of Assembly until the leadership of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) coerced the speakers to drop it. He said out of 15 states where the bill has been presented, 12 passed it while three rejected it.

SERAP Asks Agric Minister to Refer Cross River Basin to EFCC, ICPC

Udora Orizu in Abuja

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, urging him to use his good offices and leadership position to urgently refer the allegations of widespread and systemic corruption involving the management of the Cross River Basin Development Authority (CRBDA) to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for investigation. The organisation urged the minister to ensure that anyone involved is brought to justice if there is relevant and sufficient admissible evidence and also to push for the publication of the outcome of any investigation carried out by the anti-corruption agencies. SERAP said it received reports and huge documentation from whistle-blowers on allegations of corruption at the CRBDA, including illegal conversion and misappropriation of funds meant for water projects, lack of proper disbursement and utilisation of project funds, illegal

auctioning of the agency’s assets, harassment of staff members who expose these allegations, abuse of office, payment for projects not executed and by-passing the government’s policy on the Treasury Single Account (TSA). In the letter dated November 30, 2018 and signed by SERAP senior legal adviser, Bamisope Adeyanji, the organisation said Adamu’s intervention would help to improve public confidence in public agencies, minimise the risks of bad government and improve access of citizens to essential public services. SERAP said: “Referring the allegations for investigation by the EFCC and ICPC and pushing for suspected perpetrators to be brought to justice would be entirely consistent and compatible with the Constitution of Nigeria, anti-corruption legislation and Nigeria’s obligations under the UN Convention against corruption.” It asked Adamu to suspend senior management and leadership suspected to be involved from their positions at CRBDA, pending the referral to the EFCC and ICPC, and the outcome of any investigation by EFCC and ICPC.

see here were designed by them with little supervision after demonstration.” Continuing, Awolowo said: “We constituted this team, believing that they will be sustained, continue to work together and dictate the pace for the rest of the factory. “We want them to set the standard internationally and the focus will not just be the local market but ultimately export, taking advantage of the African Growth And Opportunity (AGOA).” On her part, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa described the export-licensed garment factory as a pride to the state and nation, having engaged a large number of widows.

She said the factory has the capacity to not only turnaround the economy of the state but also capable of filling the vacuum created by the loss of the state’s oil wells. “Because it is now set for export, it will turnaround the economy of this state. Most times we cry over the loss of oil wells but Ayade came, never cried over the loss and went on. This is a confirmation of his earlier statement that Cross River is not a poor state as with this, we will not be poor any longer,” Ita-Giwa assured. “I think there are more reasons for Ayade to come back than Ayade not to come back,” she added in apparent

reference to the governor’s re-election bid. Reacting to the development, an elated Ayade was full of gratitude to the federal government. “Having trained our people, we have reached a point of maturity and it is against that maturity that we receive this certificate today. We, therefore, on behalf of the government and people of Cross River State, thank the federal government and NEPC for assisting us get to the export level that we are today,” he said. While enjoining local patronage of the garment factory, the governor said: “When you are creating an export market for us, please

look at the domestic market. The Nigeria Customs, Immigration, Civil Defence, Army, the police, NYSC - the list is endless. We have the capacity to meet both local and international markets,” adding that “NEPC has made us real proud and has given us the international footing.” Disclosing that he was celebrating the authorisation with mixed feelings, Ayade said: “If Ghana can do 35,000 T-shirts a day and Sri Lanka, with a population of 20 million people can do $1.5 billion turnover of garments alone, it will be a shame that today, Nigeria, indeed a giant of Africa has no garments to export.”

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Shell Signs Gas Supply Agreement for Aba Power Project Sharon Emi The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and its joint partners at the weekend signed a gas supply and aggregation agreement that will support the 140 Megawatts Aba Integrated Power Project in Abia State. The agreement, signe in Abuja, was between SPDC, Geometric Power Aba Limited (GPAL); and Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN). By the agreement, SPDC will supply gas from the SPDC joint venture gas plant in Imo River traversing Abia and Rivers States to the power producer, Geometric Power Aba Limited (GPAL) via a gas pipeline network which is already installed. “This is a further demonstration of our commitment to supporting Nigeria’s industrialisation

through gas,” said the Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor. Okunbor, who was represented by SPDC’s General Manager, Business and Government Relations, Bashir Bello, noted: “For more than 50 years, Shell has been in the forefront of the campaign to develop and monetise Nigeria’s huge gas resources and it is good to see more players joining the fray to grow the gas market and help improve lives and the earnings in Nigeria.” Speaking at the agreementsigning ceremony, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, described the Aba Independent Power Project as a potential catalyst for opening up the Aba market for economic growth. Represented by his Special Adviser on Fiscal Strategy, Dr. Tim Okon, the minister said the

government was determined to ensure commercial sustainability of any such project with the potential to grow the gas market. Chief Executive Officer of GAPL, Prof. Bath Nnaji, said the project was structured to incentivise gas suppliers to invest in gas production for the domestic market, adding that: “We are confident that the structure will serve as a model for other gas-to-power-projects in Nigeria.” The Managing Director of GACN, Morgan Okwoche, who signed on behalf of the company, described the project as the foremost private off-grid gas supply and aggregation agreement that would enhance industrial growth and economic development. The SPDC JV owns the 650MW Afam VI power plant in Afam, River State which in 2017 supplied 15 per cent of Nigeria’s grid-connected electricity.

PDP Condemns Presidency’s Fixation on Atiku Presidential candidate appoints four aides Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Presidential Campaign Council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the fixation, and lies spinning of the presidency on its presidential candidate, AlhajibAtiku Abubakar, but insisted that it would not lose focus. This is coming as the presidential candidate of PDP, Atiku Abubakar has appointed, three youths and a woman as aides. The Director of Media and Publicity of the campaign, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement yesterday, said that it is ludicrous that the presidency has abandoned its statutory duties and turned itself into a lying, “monitoring spirit” on Atiku and his movements, without producing any documentary evidence to

substantiate its claims. He said Atiku is a global figure and is not inhibited, in any way whatsoever, from traveling to any part of the world. Ologbondiyan added, “The attention of the PDP Presidential Campaign has been drawn to fresh fabrications allegedly being sponsored by the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency, in its unrelenting bid to tarnish the image of our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.” “It is indeed despicable that President Buhari will continue to endorse the spinning of lies by his handlers against another presidential candidate, including its false claims that Atiku Abubakar cannot travel to the United States, which Nigerians have since seen to be mere fabrications. “President Buhari’s fixation on Atiku Abubakar, to the extent

of sponsoring fabrications in a section of the media, only goes to show that he is intimidated by our candidate’s resume, his overwhelming popularity and policy direction, which have since amplified his (President Buhari’s) incompetence and lack of direction, as a result of which he is being rejected by the majority of Nigerians.” “However, he is not prepared to make the sky his office, unlike President Buhari, who unleashed a widely condemned taste for very expensive and wasteful gallivanting with our national fleet, while Nigerians wallow in abject poverty for neglect and abuse of resources.” Meanwhile, Atiku has appointed three youths and a woman as aides. The new appointments are contained a press statement issued yesterday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, in Abuja.

Bayelsa Govt Raises the Alarm over Worsening Insecurity Davidson Iriekpen The Bayelsa State Government has condemned in strong terms the worsening security situation in the state, occasioned by the frequent change of Commissioners of Police posted to the state. The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, stated this while briefing the media. He said the erratic deployment of security operatives across the country, ostensibly for political reasons in opposition states like Bayelsa “Calls for serious concern and demands the need for urgent action to be taken to address the situation.” Iworiso-Markson stated that in the last three months, Bayelsa State has had eight commissioners of police, which is very worrisome and called for caution. The government spokesman said they view the action as highly subversive, capable of threatening the existing peaceful, harmonious, united and conducive environment the state government has worked so hard to put in place, which

has also ushered in rapid and massive development in the state. “We, therefore, call on citizens of our State to be wary of the subversive tendencies of some persons, who have all in the name of politics, set out to create and carry actions, that are intended to undermine the security and stability of our state. “All Bayelsans must be at alert and be ready to reject the return of the deadly “Operation Famou-Tangbe” in whatever guise, shape or form. We will also not allow Operation Doo-Akpo which was created by the Restoration Government and which has in the last seven years earned the respect, trust and confidence of our people as a reliable, professional, quick response and credible crime fighting outfit devoid of politics to be rubbished by anyone. “Those who want to terrorise our people should set up their own crime fighting outfit like they did with “Operation Famou-Tangbe.” But on our part, we will continue do all in our power to keep our state safe and secured”

“We wish to sound a clear note of warning to all, that in the interest of peace, even as the elections draw near, that this state is bigger than every one of us and nobody, no matter how highly placed, will be spared from facing the wrath of the law, if found wanting. “Those who are interested in taking control of the state by seeking to undermine the security should be ready to face the consequence of their action should there be any breakdown of law and order.” The information commissioner called on the political leadership and other key players in the country’s political space not to truncate the peace in the state through subversive means as shown in the incessant deployment of police chiefs. He stressed that the exploitation of state security apparatus to harass and intimidate perceived political opponents is not healthy for the state, adding that it is simply a display of excessive use of political power which will be challenged by the state government.

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Falana Urges FG to Withdraw ‘No-work, No-pay’ Threat to ASUU A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana, yesterday described as illegal the circular issued by the federal government threatening to begin to implement a no-work-nopay policy against the striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Falana asked the federal government to immediately withdraw the “illegal circular” which he said was in violation

of various judgments of the Supreme Court. He said the federal government was “not properly advised “in resorting to the desperate measure.” “Otherwise, it would have realised that even under the defunct military junta the application of ‘no work no pay’ rule, threat to eject lectures living in official quarters, promulgation of a decree which made strike in schools a treasonable offence and

Industrialists Decry Harsh Operating Environment in Ota-Agbara Axis Industrialists have decried the poor state of infrastructure and operating conditions at the Ota-Agbara areas of Ogun State. Members of the Ota-Agbara Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture(OTAGCCIMA), who raised the alarm after a recent statutory meeting to deliberate on the state of the operating environment, cited the poor state of most roads in Ota and Agbara, multiplicity of taxes, illegal collection of tolls and epileptic power supply. The Ota-Agbara Axis parades one of the highest concentrations of industries in Nigeria, and is well known as the commercial nerve centre of Ogun State, with businesses collectively generating billions of naira monthly and supporting the local economy. But OTAGCCIMA said the disturbing lack of government presence in terms of provision of social infrastructure poses a great threat to the survival of businesses in the areas. The crucial meeting to review the conditions was attended by the President of TAGCCIMA,

Mike Akingbade; First Deputy President, Dr. Kayode Bowale; and the Treasurer, Evang. Bello, among others. The members lamented that the harsh operating conditions were already affecting their productivity, profitability, and the continued survival of their businesses. According to them, the problems have also resulted in high cost of production. The business owners made a passionate appeal to Ogun State and the federal governments to address the situation urgently in line with the policy of Ease of Doing Business. Expressing grave concern for life and businesses, Akingbade said: “Ota and Agbara are the hub of businesses in this part of the country but there has been a total neglect, and the parlous operating conditions are crippling businesses. But beyond the stifling effect on businesses, the carnage on the Atan-Agbara road, in recent times, is better imagined due to auto accidents caused by falling of big trucks and trailers on a daily basis including loss of lives.

EIGHT SOLDIERS, TWO SUICIDE BOMBERS KILLED IN BOKO HARAM ATTACKS materials, protection of IDP camps and security of public and private infrastructures. “The Police Air-wing Surveillance Helicopters and crews are also deployed to support most of the operations of Operation Lafiya Dole throughout the North East in the fight against insurgency in the North East”. He reiterated the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to the fight against insurgency, adding that the Force will do all it takes in collaboration with the Military to bring a quick end to Boko Haram insurgency and crisis in the North East. In a related development, the Nigerian Army has confirmed that it has not accessed the $1 billion approved to fight insurgency and other security challenges in the country. In 2017, the National Economic Council (NEC) approved the request of the current administration to withdraw $1 billion from the excess crude account (ECA) for the fight against insurgency. Fielding questions on Weekend File, a news programme on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), spokesman of the army, Brig-General Sani Usman, said the money is still being processed. “People should understand also that this is a democratic

system in which procurement and of course funding of defence related issues takes such a long time,” he said. “Take for instance the issue of the $1 billion approved recently by the president - up till now, the process is ongoing. The ministry of defence is still pursuing the matter to the point that when it is done, the armed forces will definitely get more equipment, more arms and ammunition.” He added that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Tukur Buratai, and the hierarchy of the army have been going round to meet with the troops in different locations. In an interview with journalists in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, at the weekend, Buratai also confirmed that the army has yet to access its share of the fund. “You know the process of funding is another major issue. The bureaucracy and so on is another issue. Approvals are given but before you really get the money out is another challenge. “So, the people are talking or the media have been talking of $1 billion that has been approved but I tell you up till today the fund that is supposed to come from that amount to the army in particular, is still in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” he added.

the proscription of ASUU did not collapse any of the strikes called by ASUU,” the senior lawyer added. Faulting the justification of the strike with the federal government’s reference to section 43 (1) of the Trade Disputes Act, Falana said that going by the decision of the apex court in Olufeagba & Ors v Abdul-Raheem in 2010, the Vice-Chancellors lacked the power to seize the salaries of the striking university teachers as directed by the Federal Government. He said, “The implication of the judgment is that a university lecturer whose employment enjoys statutory flavour cannot be disciplined or sanctioned without being afforded the right of fair hearing by the Governing

Council. “With respect to the current ASUU strike, no university governing council has accused any lecturer of misconduct to warrant the seizure of salaries and allowances. ”Therefore, the federal government, acting through the National Universities Commission (NUC), lacks the vires to direct vice-chancellors to seize the salaries and allowances of striking lecturers. “That is a decision which can only be taken by the Governing Council of each university after due process must have been observed. If the federal government disagrees with our position it is at liberty to pray the National Industrial Court for an interpretation of the application of the ‘no work

no pay’ rule to lecturers for participating in the ASUU strike.” He insisted that “the latest strike embarked upon by ASUU has complied with the provisions of section 31 (6) of the Trade Disputes (Amendment) Act, 2005”. He added, “Since the law does not punish acts which are lawful in any democratic society section 43(1) of the Trade Disputes Act cannot be invoked to justify the seizure of the salaries and allowances of members of the ASUU who have decided to participate in an industrial action that is legal in every material particular.” Asking the federal government to withdraw its threat, Falana cited the case of Attorney-General of Lagos State v Attorney-General of the Federation when the

Supreme Court in 2005 held that the federal government lacked the power to seize the funds accruing to the local government in Lagos state without an order of a court. He stated, “Since the seizure of the salaries and allowances of academic staff of federal universities for participating in an industrial action called by the ASUU cannot be legally carried out by any vice-chancellor without a court order the federal government is advised to withdraw the illegal circular. “In addition, the federal government should commit itself to the faithful implementation of the 2017 FG/ASUU Agreement to enable ASUU to call off the strike without any further delay.”

PROMOTING MADE-IN-NIGERIA GOODS…

L-R: Regional Manager, South East, Premium Pension Limited, Mr. Paddy Ezeala; Secretary, National Defence College, Air Vice Marshal D.L. Sanda; Chief Executive Officer, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited, Chief Innocent Chukwuma; and Brigadier General Patrick Eze, during a visit by a team from the National Defence College to Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company in Nnewi, Anambra State…recently

Oando, JV Partners Celebrate Farmers in Niger Delta Major indigenous oil company, Oando and its Joint Venture (JV) partners, including the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) have given impetus to farmers by boosting modern agriculture practice in Nigeria. This was celebrated at the weekend when the company along with its partners held the 22nd edition of its annual Green River Project (GRP) / Farmers Day celebration in Igbo-ogene Bayelsa State. The Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari who spoke through video recording, commended Oando and its partners and said there was need to fully exploit agricultural

potential in the country, saying that it was the only way Nigerians can feed themselves. “Agriculture is the only way we can feed ourselves in a sustainable manner. Active participation in agriculture is our patriotic duty. It will create millions of jobs in the future. We cannot keep feeding ourselves with imported food when God has blessed us with natural resources, we cannot continue to create jobs abroad at the expense of young, energetic, willing and able youth.” According to the President, to support the agricultural sector, the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guaranteed a total of N1, 422.4 million to 12,524 farmers under

the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS) in the third quarter of 2018. In his speech at the ceremony, the Chief Operating Officer of Oando Energy Resources, Dr. Ainojie Irune said, “We have built this initiative to outlive our generation. My hope is that future generations will experience the growth of this endeavor and the value it brings. The nation has a lot to learn from this initiative; in how you can take something small and transform it through unity and collaboration into something this successful and on such a grand scale. The onus lies on us as private sector partners and you to take advantage of this unique opportunity and propel your state to become an

agro-export state.” He disclosed that to date Oando and its JV Partners have distributed over 2,711,536 fish fingerlings, 37,669 cassava bundles, 200,563 plantain suckers, 400,051 maize seeds and 87,003 seed yam to the GRP farmers. In 2017 they trained over 5000 women and youth in various vocational skills and 275 youth in agro skills acquisition, following its mantra to leave a lasting positive impact on its host communities. The President of African Development Bank, Akinwunmi Adesina said at the event that unless Africa uses modern technologies, “our farmers output will remain low and we will remain dependent on others to feed us.”

Osun Governor Rescues Accident Victims Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola, yesterday rescued accident victims along the Sagamu axis of the Lagos Ibadan expressway. The governor and his

entourage, whose convoy had arrived at the scene of the accident, alighted from his vehicle to join the rescue team in efforts immediately called for an ambulance to take the victims

to the hospital. No fewer than twelve passengers going to Lagos from Ibadan in Oyo State sustained various degrees of injuries. The accident which occurred at

about 12.30 p.m, involved a black Toyota corolla and a commercial Mazda 12 seater bus. The commercial bus somersaulted after it collided with the car.

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MONDAYSPORTS

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

Presidency, NFF Welcome Super Falcons Back Home r Saraki, Dalung, Okowa, NB Plc congratulate team The Chief of Staff to the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), Alhaji Abba Kyari, was at the head of a delegation of prominent Nigerians and top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation that received the Super Falcons on arrival in Abuja yesterday. Nine –time African champions, Super Falcons, flew into the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport minutes before 4pm, aboard an ASKY Airline flight from Accra, and were received by Alhaji Kyari, NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, as well as other officials of the NFF. On Sunday, at the Accra Sports Stadium, the golden girls prevailed over a resilient South African Banyana Banyana side 4-3 on penalties after a scoreless 120 minutes, to lift the top African women football diadem for the third successive time and ninth time overall. Holding aloft the Women AFCON trophy, the Falcons were wildly cheered by Nigerians at the airport and responded gracefully before they entered the bus that conveyed them to their hotel in the Federal Capital. At the Starview Hotel, Alhaji Kyari commended the girls for a job well done, praising them for their tenacity, energy, determination and patriotic fervour. “On behalf of Mr. President, who is not in the country at the moment, we say welcome and well done to you. We are proud of you and your representation of the country. Infact, as we were leaving the airport, two eminent Nigerians called and donated the sum of N50million and N25 million respectively to

your team. Please rest very well. We will get back to you with the activities lined up for you in the coming days.” Thenff.com learnt that the two eminent Nigerians who donated money are Alhaji Aliko Dangote (Chairman of Dangote Group) and Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu (Chairman of BUA company). It was also learnt that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Mohammed Musa Bello, will host the team on Monday, 3rd December 2018. Also at the hotel to receive the Super Falcons was the Honourable Minister for Women Affairs, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar. General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, said: “On behalf of the leadership of the NFF, we are grateful for the support from the Nigerian Government which has seen the team excel at the Cup of Nations. The girls have promised to do their best to represent the country very well at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.” Meanwhile, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki , has described the victorious team as embodiment of the winning mentality and resilience of Nigeria against any challenge. Saraki in a statement by his Media Adviser ,Yusuph Olaniyonu, in Abuja on Sunday while congratulating the Falcons who defeated the Banyana, Banyana of South Africa in Ghana on Saturday described the team as the real “Champions of Africa”. The Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, expressed happiness to the team for their display of hard work. “Your supremacy in African football has been reaffirmed with this victory over South Africa and

AWCON 2018 FALL OUT

Oshoala, Ordega Dropped, Oparanozie Missing from Africa XI The Super Falcons may have won a ninth AWCON, but African Footballer of the Year Asisat Oshoala faces a tough task retaining her individual title after she and compatriot Francisca Ordega were dropped from the Official CAF 2018 Tournament XI. Both players had featured in the first round selection, but were only named as subs in the final competition fantasy team. Falcons heroic goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi and defender Onome Ebi retained their places in the main selection. However, Oparanozie, who was in the first round team, was left out altogether. The bulky striker, who was the match winner when Nigeria won an eighth AWCON at the expense of hosts Cameroon, was also missing for the Super Falcons in Saturday’s final against South Africa. Oshoala, Ordega and Oparanozie could face a Herculean task in the race for this year’s CAF Women’s Footballer of the Year after they were named alongside Oluehi

and Ebi. South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana, who was both 2018 AWCON MVP and top scorer, will now be hot favourite to topple Oshoala as the best African player for the outgoing year. Best XI Goalkeeper: Tochukwu Oluehi (Nigeria) Defenders: Lebohang Ramalepe (South Africa), Janine Van Wyk (South Africa), Onome Ebi (Nigeria), Claudine Meffometou Tcheno (Cameroon) Midfielders: Raissa Feudjio (Cameroon), Marlyse Ngo Ndoumbouk (Cameroon), Elizabeth Addo (Ghana) Forwards: Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene (Cameroon), Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa), Bassira Toure (Mali) Substitutes Kaylin Swart (South Africa), Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria), Linda Motlhalo (South Africa), Genevieve Ngo Mbeleck (Cameroon), Francisa Ordega (Nigeria), Fatoumata Diarra (Mali)

winning the competition for a record ninth time. “Though the victory was a difficult one, it was a sweet revenge against South Africa who they lost to in the opening match. “ He eulogized the team for not only qualifying for every edition of AWCON but for also clinching one of the Women’s World Cup tickets for France 2019.

While Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, expressed happiness at the discipline and commitment exhibited by the players despite the pressure and stiff competition from their South African counterparts. “I commend the Falcons for their resilience and determination. They have made us proud and it is my hope that they will consolidate on this victory to

represent Nigeria effectively at the FIFA Women World Cup tournament in France next year,” he stated. One of the major sponsor of team, Nigerian Breweries Plc makers of Amstel Malta the premium malt drink,hailed the team. In his congratulatory message to the team, Marketing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Emmanuel Oriakhi, said “as the Official Malt drink of the Super Falcons and all the other national

teams, we congratulate the team for a historic 9th conquest of Africa and qualification for next year’s Women’s World Cup tournament in France. “We commend the team for holding its collective nerve in a second successive penalty shootout to clinch the trophy and be the best female national team on the African continent yet again. We congratulate you all for this feat and look forward to your further success on the global stage next year.

Alhaji Abba Kyari, Hon. Aisha Abubakar and Dr. Sanusi Mohammed in a group photograph with the Falcons players on arrival from Ghana ... yesterday

Kiddies Win Exciting Prizes at CDF Boxing Tourney Raw boxing talents set the Brai Ayonote Boxing Gym on fire on Saturday, December 1, for the 7th edition of the Child Dignity Foundation (CDF) organized Kiddies Boxing Competition. The one-day event organized by the Child Dignity Foundation (CDF) tagged “Potential: Showcasing with Boxing Talents” featured 12 bouts and one

exhibition fight which attracted boxers all over Lagos State. Speaking at the event which was the 7th edition of the talent discovery Programme, the CEO of CDF, Amaka Awogu expressed satisfaction over the turnout of talented boxers as the competition grows in leaps and bounds. “I am really excited and I

want to thank everybody who has made this event worthwhile for the past seven years. The event is growing and we are really encouraged with what we have been able to achieve.” On the challenges being faced by the organizers, Awogu said having to screen out interested boxers as the competition continues to grow has been

the biggest challenge. “To accommodate the increasing number of entries we receive every year is becoming more difficult because we feel everybody deserves a chance to participate and showcase his or her God given talents. Sadly, we are left with no choice because of our purse and time,” she remarked.

Fayele Wins Car as Men’s Smith, Boyo, Babalakin Shine Champion at 50th Asoju Oba at Lakowe Club Golf Event Tourney Seven handicapper, Richard Babalakin shot 183 (86, 97) to coast Femi Solaja Hundreds of David Fayele supporters were the major winner of the just concluded 50th Asoju Oba Molade Okoya-Thomas Table Tennis Cup last weekend in Lagos. The event which brought back the memories of Atanda Musa/ Yomi Bankole Peugeot car was and rivalry back was truly celebration of excellence as other deserving winners also had a great pay day courtesy of the family of the late Mongol that kept the flame of the annual event burning. The winner, who was a finalist at the last edition defeated Olajide Omotayo 4-2 (4-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 12-10) to win his first major tournament in his career while in the female section, three-time champion, Bose Odusanya won her fourth consecutive title after beating Nimota Aregbesola 4-2 (11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-9, 12-10). For claiming the titles, Fayele and Odusanya drove home brand

new Peugeot 306 saloon cars alongside their trophies. A delightful Fayele told journalists after the victory that he was excited winning his first title in the competition. “Finally, I feel so delighted wining this title and especially the car because I was so afraid when I heard Olajide Omotayo was going to participate in this competition which made me added two more hours to my training time. So I already had it in mind that I will surely win this year, because a civilian cannot come from somewhere else to come and beat a military man. I want to say a very big thank you to the organizers and family of Late Sir Molade Okoya-Thomas for keeping this competition running and for developing young ones and table tennis in Nigeria. I have never dreamt of having a car by this stage of my life, so I am grateful for this very gift I have received,” said Fayele

Smith was the run-away winner of the 2018 Lakowe Lakes Golf Club Championship in Lagos yesterday, after shooting 163, (81, 82) nineteen over gross score after 36 holes. Smith, who finished his first round of the two days championship outside of top-three yesterday, rode on his stable consistent scoring on the par 72 course to claim the club’s most revered honour and replace Tunji Adebayo as the 2018 Champion on Sunday. “The course was very well set up and I believe, the great atmosphere helped me to return these great scores. I also think I had good playing partners who helped my game” he said while receiving his winner’s trophy at the closing gala. Olawale Olatunde trailed smith with one stroke having returned 164 (82, 82) at the event leaving Cobos Clasens to grapple with the third place. In the ladies category, Idowu

home with the lady’s title, leaving Njide Ndili with a distance runner up placement at the event. Omamofe Boyo also got rewarded for his two days golf as he emerged the best net player in the Men’s category, having edged Vivek Changrani on countback ruling after they both returned 147 at the event, Campbell Eliot, Director of Golf at the facility says that there are quite a number of improvements in this year’s event compared to previous edition and it includes the quality of play resulting from improved playing conditions. “There is no gain saying that Lakowe is the best facility in this part of Africa and our culture of constantly keeping the facility at tip-top shape all year round has won for us some of the most committed golf players and also raised the rating of the club among members and guest. We sure do have lofty plan for the future of the game and the club,” he said.

Monday, December 3, 2018

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Price: N250

MISSILE US to FG

“We don’t discuss visa status of any person, whether it be a highly rated official, a presidential candidate or an average citizen. Anyone who applies for a visa should know that there will be some records that are confidential. It is classified as a private document by the United States Government, and we never discuss them in public.” – United States Consulate in Lagos clarifying its position on the issuance of visa to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar

AKINOSUNTOKUN DIALOGUE WITH NIGERIA

akin.osuntokun@thisdaylive.com

The East-West Dichotomy I

have never had the impression that the Yoruba are particularly keen in securing the occupation of the Nigerian Presidency - certainly not at the expense of returning Nigeria to the practice, in letter and spirit, of federalism-(as the Yoruba faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC, implicitly proposes). This indifference was further bolstered by the indisposition of President Olusegun Obasanjo towards viewing his incumbency as an obligation to give preferential treatment to his ethnic kith and kin. Other than serving a vicarious compensation for the annulment of 1993 presidential election won by Chief Moshood Abiola, I doubt the Obasanjo Presidency meant little else to the South-west region. The relative irrelevance of the Vice Presidency of Yemi Osinbajo, more or less, reinforces the Obasanjo precedence. Against the immediate backdrop of Nigeria’s dysfunctional political syndromeexemplified by the disastrous outing of the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency, the desire and demand for the restoration of Nigerian federalism now borders on an article of faith for the South-west zone. Extrapolating from this background, I projected that the choice of a running mate from the South-east by the presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, would not elicit a sense of deprivation from the South-west political elite. Although it was temporary, I was nonetheless taken aback at the sense of disappointment I got in random inquiries from Yoruba political leaders when the announcement was made. In addition to the attribute that the South-west seldom looks upon the federal government with covetousness is the question of equity and fairness. Love your neighbor as you love yourself; do unto others as you wish done unto you, admonishes the scriptures. Given the combined 12 years tenure of Obasanjo and Osinbajo in the Nigerian Presidency (and virtual absence of same for its Southern rival in the fourth republic) is it really morally defensible to see this moment as another antagonistic instance of the South-west ‘gain’ corresponding to a loss for the South-west? Didn’t President Obasanjo interpret the Nnamdi Kanu secessionist gambit as tantamount to seeking better accommodation within Nigeria? Is this a valid interpretation? And if it is, should we not perceive the Peter Obi choice as a positive development and timely intervention to assuage political alienation and boost the prospects for national integration? Moments and occasions like this constitute a vital test of our resolve to advance the project of Nigerian nationhood and halt the momentum of a deepening ethno-regional schism and antagonism. How far we can go on the ascending ladder of nationhood will be determined by our ability to forge a golden mean between real politik and aspirational politics. Individually and collectively, we must strive to transcend

Atiku

momentary anxieties and short term concerns to do that which is right and leave the rest to God and providence. It is the recurrence and multiplication of this kind of attitude that will, in time, work together to propel Nigerian politics beyond the regression and morass of the political status-quo. Yes it takes two to tango and (without any interest whatsoever in playing the blame game), the Yoruba can come up with a thousand and one reasons to view the Igbo as a Cain rather than an Abel; and vice versa. The adversarial relationship has long taken a life of its own and become a vicious cycle to our mutual detriment. Each side holds fast to its self-righteous obduracy even when there is little or no factual basis for such. In one instance of the Igbo narrative, my father, the late Oduola Osuntokun, was supposed to be one of the elected six National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), parliamentarians who cross carpeted to the Action Group, AG, (to deny the status of majority party to the former) and thereby preclude the Party leader, Nnamdi Azikiwe, from becoming the first Premier of the Western region in 1951. The truth of course is that Osuntokun was elected as an independent candidate from the Ekiti division and not as a member of the NCNC and so did not defect from one Party to another, let alone on the basis of Yoruba parapo. Yet as recent as a year ago, a group of political leaders from the South-east would not let this inconvenient fact stand in the way of the preferred narrative when I stood on the authority of my father’s memoirs-‘My view of the coin’ to correct the mistaken notion. It bears reiteration that the other five parliamentarians (so accused), similarly contested and won elections on the platform of the Ibadan Peoples Party not NCNC.

Unfortunately, it is this troubled and muddled relationship that the South West faction of the APC has elected to exploit. Their response to the choice of Obi as potential Vice President of Nigeria was a doubling down on crass Yoruba irredentism-to the effect that the Yoruba/ Buhari proprietors of Nigeria would reward the South-west with the Nigerian Presidency in 2023-thereby sentencing other Nigerian stakeholders to the status of spectators. At the vanguard of those deploying this poisonous gambit is a friend I hold in high esteem, triple headed ministerial holder, Babatunde Fashola. How crass and insensitive can our political leaders get? Where we should be pulling together, they have chosen to tear Nigerians apart. This is nothing short of a 21st century exhibition of the scriptural Rehoboam complex-‘My father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will make it even heavier, my father scourged you with whips; I will scourge with scorpions’. In the fullness of this segregationist political culture, is there still any basis for the Igbo and similarly repressed groups to remain in the APC? Pray, how does this emergent political apartheid serve the cause of Nigerian nationhood?

The Civil War Background

Nothing better illustrates the poverty of the history of Nigeria than the absence of a comprehensive and fairly balanced accounting of the Nigerian civil war. The attitude that has been fostered and taken by many Nigerians ranges from indifference, dismissive ignorance to a general interpretation of the war as a typical rebellion of the bad guys against the good guys wanting to preserve the precious unity of Nigeria. The latter is the dominant narrative and bears out, once again, the universal observation that history is as written by the victors. To the post-civil war generation and a large chunk of the unthinking consumerist Nigerian elite, the civil war is akin to the order of Adam and Eve rebellion in which the rebels were subversive villains and violators of the idyllic setting of the Garden of Eden. In this analogy, it is a given, that all rebels are deemed outcasts, who, haven failed in their insurrection, should duly cultivate guilt conscience and remain eternally apologetic. If a poll is conducted in Nigeria today, majority of Nigerians (in their fixation on the Igbo as sinners) are likely to express the opinion that Nigeria has been generous and magnanimous to the former Biafrans. Like many things Nigeria where cacophonous obsession with superficial understanding has become second nature, it is a herculean task trying to wean people away from this received wisdom. Let me just say, with my arm across my chest that in so far as it is amenable to logic, the underlying premise of the civil war was nothing nobler than the survival of the fittest within the context of balance of terror. The outcome was not a vindication of any ennobling virtue or

the triumph of good over evil. Nonetheless, I have sympathy, not exculpation for the Biafrans. At the minimum, they were vicariously responsible for setting in motion the chain of events that culminated and stampeded them into a secessionist recourse for which they were ill prepared. There is, however, the extenuation that, in 1966, all the three regions were, for different reasons, in a secessionist frame of mind as clearly attested in their separatist posturing and vocabulary. Were the Western region not lacking in sufficient boots on the ground capacity, it is doubtful the region would not have seized the opportunity and follow suit on a confederacy proposal as its inflexible position. On account of this vulnerability, its options were limited to the choice between the devil and the deep blue sea. On the contrary, the Northern region had the freedom and latitude, secured by its superiority in the balance of terror context, to pick and choose what it intended to do with Nigeria. Persuaded not to exercise the secessionist option, the region ultimately chose to remain in Nigeria but on its express terms. A lot of propaganda capital had been made of standing for the political correctness of keeping Nigeria one as against a disintegration minded Eastern region. This is not an entirely correct rendition. According to the Aburi peace accord, to which all attendees subscribed, the Eastern region also had a vision of one Nigeria but lacks the wherewithal to impose and enforce the choice. We are all mostly wiser for it after the privilege of hindsight-which is why we can now categorically say that the Biafran leader, Odumegwu Ojukwu made a number of cumulative poor choices that precipitated and compounded the civil war tragedy. First and perhaps most consequential was the precipitate declaration of war that was long on hot airs but defective in real time combat readiness. Second was the rigid posture on the total implementation of the Aburi accord especially when a compromise might have averted war and afforded a constitutional federalism whose only shortcoming was that it fell short of a confederal arrangement. Third, a year into the civil war and dramatically exposed as lacking in fighting fit capacity (resulting in unspeakable human carnage and lacking momentum) a sober and prudent warlord would have contrived a truce-and live to fight another day. In the end he staked all and lost all and bequeathed an outcome that degenerated into a permanent subversion and strangulation of federalism. It is an outcome that has cast a permanent political pall on the South-east and one in which the North/South-west victorious alliance are never far from pulling ranks on their defeated compatriots. To have a sense of what the civil war portends for Nigeria, we need not look beyond the apt title of Alabi Isama’s war memoirs-‘The tragedy of victory’

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