WEDNESDAY 3RD JANUAEY 2019 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

Minimum Wage: Presidency Moves to Appease Labour Asks govs to plug waste to accommodate workers’ demand Pleads with NLC for more time to resolve logjam Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Following Nigerian Labour Congress’ (NLC) threat to call out workers on indefinite strike on Tuesday to protest non-

implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage recommended by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, the presidency has moved to pacify the workers, appealing

to them to tarry a while on their planned action. The NLC had asked President Muhammadu Buhari to submit the N30,000 minimum wage

implementation bill to the National Assembly for passage by December 31 last year or face a nationwide strike action. With the deadline unmet, the NLC President, Mr. Ayuba

Wabba, had said the Tuesday strike had become imminent despite a federal government offer for a resolution meeting schedule for January 8. Authoritative presidency

sources, however, told THISDAY yesterday that the president is making efforts to resolve the wage dispute, Continued on page 6

Total, Samsung Conﬁrm First Oil in 200,000 bpd Egina Field... Page 6 Thursday 3 January, 2019 Vol 23. No 8660. Price: N250

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We Are Under Armed Bandits’ Siege, Masari Cries Out Francis Sardauna in Katsina Few days after Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, backed a call for declaration of state of emergency in the Northwest state over the menace of

armed bandits, the Governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Aminu Masari, has cried out that gunmen are overrunning his domain. Bandits have held sway in Continued on page 6

“Our state is currently under serious siege by armed robbers, kidnappers and armed bandits, who arrest rural people at the grassroots at will and demand ransom, which if not paid, they kill their victims”

INEC Retains Smart Card Reader, Incidence Form Releases guidelines on Monday Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja As part of its strategic plan of action for the general elections starting on February 16, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will on Monday release its revised guidelines and voter register to the nation’s 91 political parties. The commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Festus Okoye, confirmed to THISDAY yesterday that the revised guidelines were ready and would be unveiled for the consideration of the political parties next week. “We are going to officially release voter register to the political parties on Monday and we are also going to use the opportunity to hand over

guidelines and regulations for the conduct of elections to them,” he said in an interview with THISDAY. THISDAY had obtained a copy of the guidelines from a reliable source last Tuesday. The rules, among others, retains the use of smart card reader and the controversial incidence form. The Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2018, which was vetoed four times by President Muhammadu Buhari, had sought to extensively reform the electoral process by incorporating mandatory use of smart card reader to the exclusion of incidence form as the mode of accreditation of voters. Continued on page 10

BPE Shifts Privatisation of Yola Disco, Afam Genco.. Page 10

WELCOME ON BOARD... L-R: Former Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, Mr. Johnson Kukomo; the state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; and the new Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hakeem Odumosun, during a courtesy visit by the new police boss to the governor at Government House, Benin City…yesterday

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Total, Samsung Confirm First Oil in 200,000 bpd Egina Field $1bn saved from projected cost Ejiofor Alike Efforts by the federal government to boost Nigeriaâ€™s oil production has received a boost as French oil major, Total, and global shipbuilding giant, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), yesterday confirmed that crude oil production has started in the 200,000 barrels per daycapacity Egina deepwater oilfield. Total has also stated that start-up was achieved in Egina project close to 10 per cent below the initial budget, which represents more than $1 billion savings in capital expenditure (CAPEX), due in particular to excellent drilling performance where the drilling time per well has been reduced by 30 per cent. President of Exploration and Production in Total Group, Arnaud Breuillac, said in a statement issued from Paris, France, yesterday that the oil giant started up production on December 29, 2018 from the Egina field, located in around 1,600 metres of water depths, 150 kilometres off the coast of Nigeria. Also in a separate statement, Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria (SHIN), said the Egina Floating Production Storage Offloading unit (FPSO), one of the worldâ€™s

largest FPSOs, which was built by the Korean firm for Total, achieved First Oil after the company had successfully completed the mooring, hook-up and the required offshore commissioning of the floating vessel. Breuillac acknowledged that the Egina FPSO is indeed the largest FPSO that Total Group has ever built worldwide, pointing out that at peak production, the oilfield will produce 200,000 barrels of oil per day, which represents about 10 per cent of Nigeriaâ€™s daily production. â€œTotal is proud to deliver a project of this size under the initial budget and to contribute to the development of Nigeriaâ€™s oil and gas sector by generating employment as well as building industrial capability. Egina will significantly boost the Total Groupâ€™s production and cash flow from 2019 onwards, and benefit from our strong cost reduction efforts in Nigeria where we have reduced our operating costs by 40 per cent over the last four years,â€? Breuillac explained. â€œFurthermore, some upside potential nearby remains to be developed and we are studying in particular Preowei discovery tie-back to the Egina FPSO,â€? Breuillac added. Celebrating the Egina

milestones, Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria Limited stated that Egina FPSO had arrived at its offshore location on August 29, 2018 from the fabrication and integration yard in Lagos. According to SHIN, it was at the offshore location that the company completed the remaining commissioning work and prepared the FPSO for oil production. â€œSHIN has worked towards and successfully achieved this challenging goal of achieving First Oil in 2018, as agreed by all parties. SHIN also completed the FPSO mooring well in advance - on September 17, 2018 against target date of September 23, 2018, riser hook-up activities and required offshore commissioning, putting an exemplary effort in achieving First Oil in 2018,â€? the statement added. SHIN added that it successfully completed the FPSO work in SHI-MCI yard and continued its work offshore under strict Nigerian local content regulations with similar safety and quality standards applicable in the companyâ€™s Geoje shipyard in Korea. â€œThis volume of onshore and offshore work had never been accomplished in Nigeria before now. With all these accomplished, the

high-risk portion of the Egina project has now been completed. This achievement have been followed by very good response from Nigerian authorities, international clients and earned major headlines in the press. This leads SHI to gain competitive edge in future offshore project orders in West Africa, of course including Nigeria,â€? the company added. SHIN won the order to build the Egina FPSO in 2013. The FPSO is currently installed on Egina offshore field, located 150 kilometres off the coast of Nigeria. The mega facility is 330 metres in length, 61metres in breadth, and 34metres in height. The facility boasts 200,000 barrels of production per day at the peak and 2.3million barrels storage capacity with topsides weighing 60,000 tonnes. The new-build FPSO contract was a turn-key project in which SHI covered the entire engineering, design, procurement, construction, transportation and commissioning. â€œWe are very proud to announce the successful achievement of first oil in 2018, which is adding another feather in our cap, subsequent to our completion of the first ever Nigerian Onshore Integration works for

EGINA FPSO with thorough preparation in compliance with Nigeria local content laws.â€? â€œSamsung is confident of successfully completing the remaining offshore commissioning works and handover of Egina FPSO to our client Total, along with its partners - NNPC, CNOOC, SAPETRO and PETROBRAS on schedule, through close co-operation and support from all relevant Nigerian Government Agencies including NNPC, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), with the highest levels of safety and quality control.â€?

on Christmas break, adding that there was no way the NLCâ€™s demand could have been met. â€œThe National Assembly had been on break. And so, even if the president is to overrule the governors on this, there is no way the National Assembly can reconvene before the Friday deadline given by labour,â€? he said. Wabba had called on the federal government yesterday to urgently transmit the bill on the new national minimum wage to the National Assembly for a speedy passage. He said, â€œIt is unfortunate that the federal government is

yet to transmit to the National Assembly an executive bill for the enactment of N30,000 as the new national minimum wage. â€œGovernmentâ€™s dillydallying on the issue has strained government-labour relations with a potential for a major national strike, which could just be days away. â€œI want to appeal to the government to do the needful by urgently transmitting the bill on the new national minimum wage to the National Assembly. â€œWe also would like to use this same opportunity to urge workers to fully mobilise for

a prolonged national strike and enforce their right.â€? Explaining that the strike would become inevitable as the last option for labour, the NLC president called on all Nigerians and businesses to understand and support it. He, however, assured workers that their labour, patience and diligence would not be in vain. Wabba said the NLC leadership remains committed to giving all it takes to ensure workers get just and fair wages in a decent work environment appropriate to their well-being.

Masari said the situation was so bad that some thieves stole some electrical equipment near the Government House at the Government Reserved Area (GRA) in Katsina. â€œI am calling on all stakeholders to come out with solutions that will assist the security agencies to discharge their duties,â€? he said. The governor urged the stakeholders not to hide any criminal, and reveal vital information about criminals during the meeting. â€œThis time around, we should be able to make sacrifices that will make our state safe and will allow people to go about their lawful business without fear of being arrested by armed

bandits and kidnappers,â€? he said. The Police, Department of Security Service (DSS) and other security outfits and traditional rulers attended the meeting. THISDAY had reported that the Borno State governor had told an extraordinary security meeting held on Monday night at the Multipurpose Hall of Government House, Maiduguri, that despite the worsening insecurity in his state, he would rather encourage rather than blame the military, saying the soldiers were doing their best within the circumstances they had found themselves. The governor had also urged the attendees not to engage in blame games over

the perceived failure of the soldiers, which he said would be unfair given the enormous sacrifices they have made in the last seven years. There has been a resurgence of Boko Haram attacks, especially on military bases in the state in the past few months, leading to heavy casualties on the side of the Nigerian Army. No fewer than 40 soldiers have been killed in sporadic attacks on bases in Metele and Baga. There are conflicting claims of the insurgents holding positions in some of the local governments of the state. But Shettima said despite these he was unwilling to apportion blames to Buhari and the military.

Egina Project Saves $1bn Below Initial Budget Meanwhile, Total has also stated that the startup was achieved in Egina project close to 10 per cent below

the initial budget, which represents more than $1 billion savings in capital expenditure (CAPEX), due in particular to excellent drilling performance where the drilling time per well has been reduced by 30 per cent. According to the company, the project has also involved a record level of local contractors, as six of the 18 modules on the FPSO were built and integrated locally, and 77 per cent of hours spent on the project were worked locally. Egina field will push Nigeriaâ€™s oil production, including condensates above 2 million barrels per day. Initially discovered in 2003, the Egina field is the second development in production on the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 130 following the Akpo field, which started-up in 2009. The Preowei field is another large discovery made on this prolific block for which an investment decision is scheduled for 2019. Total Upstream Nigeria Limited operates OML 130 with a 24 per cent interest, in partnership with NNPC, South Atlantic Petroleum SAPETRO (15 per cent), CNOOC E&P Nigeria Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited (45 per cent) and Petrobras Oil and Gas BV (16 per cent).

MINIMUM WAGE: PRESIDENCY MOVES TO APPEASE LABOUR which threatens to further obstruct the nationâ€™s fragile economy should the strike hold. State governors under the auspices of Nigerian Governors Forum had objected to N30,000 as the baseline wage bill for the federation on the grounds that most of the states could not afford it. Offering N22,500, the governors said anything more would send most of the states into insolvency. But labour disagreed, contending that N30,000 was a compromised figured, which if diligently pursued would be realisable.

Buhari, according to THISDAY sources, had intervened, asking the governors to reconsider their stand and find ways of acceding to the workersâ€™ demand. â€œThe president met with the representatives of the governors and appealed to them to plug areas of waste as a way of securing the funds to meet the workersâ€™ demand,â€? a source told THISDAY. He said the governors had agreed to heed the advice of the president and had gone back to evaluate their finances, adding that what was needed was some more time for the

governors to report progress to the president. â€œCertainly, the governors need to come back to the president with their revised position before he could proceed to the National Assembly with an implementation bill,â€? another presidency source told THISDAY. Stating that time, though now a scarce commodity, was what was needed to resolve the logjam, he explained that even if the president was minded to proceed to the National Assembly with the bill as requested by labour, the federal legislators had been

Continued on page 10

WE ARE UNDER ARMED BANDITSâ€™ SIEGE, MASARI CRIES OUT Zamfara for months killing and maiming hundreds of innocent citizens, whose livestock are rustled with little opposition from law enforcement agencies. Months earlier Yari resigned as chief security officer of the state, saying he had become powerless and could no longer discharge the responsibility of that office and called on the federal government to save the lives of his people. The situation would seem to have worsened with another North-west state calling for help to ward off the harassment by the nonstate actors that seem to have overwhelm the civil security forces in Katsina State. Masariâ€™s cry for help coincides with Mondayâ€™s

admission by Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, that the insecurity situation in the North-east state was worsening and asked stakeholders in the state to do more to assist the federal government and military authorities to combat the raging Boko Haram terrorism that had sent thousands of people to their graves. Masariâ€™s turn to wail came during the opening ceremony of an extra-ordinary security meeting in Katsina. â€œThe citizens are on daily basis being harassed by bandits and kidnappers that are on rampage in the state,â€? he told the bewildered participants, adding, â€œThe Katsina Government

organised this one-day joint security and stakeholders meeting to proffer solutions to the stateâ€™s current insecurity challenge.â€? He stated for emphasis, â€œOur state is currently under serious siege by armed robbers, kidnappers and armed bandits, who arrest rural people at the grassroots at will and demand ransom, which if not paid, they kill their victims. â€œThe people of Katsina in the 34 local governments now sleep with one eye closed and the other opened. â€œOur state is in a dangerous situation. Travelers are afraid of being stopped on the highway and arrested by kidnappers who demand ransom.â€?

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BPE Shifts Privatisation of Yola Disco, Afam Genco Power sector lost N530bn in 2018

Chineme Okafor in Abuja

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has amended the timeline for the conclusion of the privatisation of Yola Electricity Distribution Company (Disco) in Adamawa State and the 987.2 megawatts (MW)- capacity Afam Power Generation Company (Genco) in Rivers State, THISDAY gathered yesterday in Abuja. This is coming as data from the Office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has shown that Nigeriaâ€™s power sector could not earn a total of N530.868 billion in 2018 due to varied operational constraints, which included lack of adequate gas to power the Gencos; and poor distribution and transmission facilities, as well as water reserves issues. The countryâ€™s electricity market had ended the year 2017 with a loss of N423.529 billion. According to reliable sources in the BPE who spoke to the paper, the conclusion of the privatisation of both electricity assets would no longer happen this month, but within the first quarter (Q1) of 2019. THISDAY gathered that 11 investors â€“ eight for the

Genco and three for the Disco, have been prequalified to proceed to the next stage of the privatisation exercise, which is the Request for Proposal (RfP) stage. It was learnt that due to community disturbances at Afam, which resulted in the investors not being able to undertake a due diligence of the power generation facility, the privatisation agency was forced to amend its privatisation timetable for the plant. That of Yola Disco, it was further learnt, was however not in any way affected by the renewed insurgency in the North-east, but BPE was said to have opted to undertake the privatisation of the two assets at once. Speaking to THISDAY on the development, sources in the BPE explained that potential investors for the two power assets were aware of the situation. â€œWe had some slight delay, and it may extend a little bit because investors could not have access to the facilities, especially Afam. The community folks were demonstrating against the government - they had

â€œWe have not hidden any facts away from the investors; they are aware of everything happening in the country and I want to believe that they are confident with the process and that is why they are willing to go ahead. However, the insurgency affected only a small portion of the network and they are aware of that. We have made this known to the investors that this is what is available,â€? the source explained. Continuing, the source stated: â€œIt has been a long

process and the investors have been very patient; so, we have to move and make sure we attain what we have to achieve.â€? Asked how many investors have been prequalified for the next stage of the process, the source stated: â€œFor Afam, we have eight and for Yola, initially they were five but only three have moved to the next stage which is for them to do due diligence and produce technical and financial proposals. We are at the Request for Proposal stage.â€? Yola Disco was successfully privatised and handed over to the core-investor in 2013 when the government concluded the power privatisation exercise. However, a force majeure was declared in 2015 by the company which cited insecurity in the North-east as its reason for not been able to operate the Disco. The Disco was thus repossessed by the government. On the other hand, the transaction for Afam Genco could not pull through in 2013 reportedly on account of delay in signing key agreements such as the Gas Supply/Purchase Agreement (GSAA) and the

Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA). Meanwhile, data from the Office of Vice President, Osinbajo, have shown that Nigeriaâ€™s power sector could not earn a total of N530.868 billion in the year due to varied operational constraints which included lack of adequate gas to power Gencos; poor distribution and transmission facilities as well as water reserves issues. The data indicated that this was different from 2017 when the sector failed to earn N423.529 billion. It noted that the average volume of electricity that was supplied to homes, industries and offices in the country every day within the period was 3,806 megawatts (MW) against 3,558MW that was supplied in 2017. Similarly, the data indicated that 3,038MW of electricity was constrained from getting to consumers in the country in 2018, as against 2,417MW that was in 2017. However, a total of 250,441 million standard cubic feet (mmscuf) of gas was supplied to the sector in 2018 unlike in 2017 when 84,094mmsuf was supplied.

federal government said it would meet with the union on Friday. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said government had invited executives of the organised labour for a meeting at the Conference Hall of the ministry. General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, said the labour had received letter from the labour ministry for

a meeting on Friday. Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has issued a notice to all its structures and organs to commence mobilisation for mass action against the federal government, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP). This was contained in a statement signed by the

associationâ€™s president, Danielson Akpan. The ASUU commenced a nationwide strike on November 4 after the lecturers accused the federal government of not implementing previous agreements. The association had earlier issued an ultimatum of two weeks to the federal government, ASUU and ASUP on December 23, to call off the strike or face confrontation.

presents his/her permanent voter card to be verified by the Smart Card Reader, or as otherwise determined by the commission. It stated further, â€œ10(a) In accordance with Section 49 (2) of the Electoral Act, a person intending to vote shall be verified to be the same person on the Register of Voters by use of the Smart Card Reader (SCR) in the manner prescribed in these regulations and guidelines.â€? It warned, â€œAny poll official who violates the provision of Clause 10 (a) shall be deemed to be guilty of an offense and shall be liable to prosecution,â€? adding, â€œThe accreditation process shall comprise reading of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) and authentication of the voterâ€™s fingerprint using the Smart Card Reader; checking of the Register of Voters and inking of the cuticle of the specified finger of the voter.â€? The guidelines in Clause 11(b) retains the use of incidence form, stating, â€œWhere a voterâ€™s PVC is read but his/her fingerprint

is not authenticated, the APO I shall refer the voter to the APO II who shall: (i) request the voter to thumbprint the appropriate box in the Register of Voters; (ii) request the voter to provide his/her phone number in the appropriate box in the Register of Voters; (iii) continue with the accreditation of the voter; and (iv) refer the voter to the PO or APO (VP) for issuance of ballot paper (s).â€? It added, â€œWhere a voterâ€™s PVC is read but the name of the voter is not on the Register of Voters, APO I shall refer the voter to the PO or APO (VP) who shall issue a Tendered Ballot (TB) to the voter.â€? It said, â€œIn the event that the PVC fails to be read by the Smart Card Reader, the APO I shall refer the voter to the Presiding officer or APO (VP) as the case may be, who shall request the voter: (i) To thumbprint in the appropriate box in the Register of Voters; (ii) Provide his/her phone number in appropriate box on the Register of Voters if available; and (iii) Thereafter refer the voter to the PO for

the issuance of Tendered Ballot.â€? The guidelines also made provision for possible failure of the Smart Card Reader, stating in Clause 13(a) that, if it fails a replacement has to be procured, and where that is not achieved by 2p.m, polling would have to be postponed till the next day for a functional card reader to be provided. On the use of Cell phone on election day and as part of effort aimed at curbing vote buying, INEC in Clause 11A(iv) said that the polling officer would request the voter to remove his/her cell phone or any photographic device before proceeding to voting cubicle. INEC also made it clear in the regulations and guidelines that a Polling Agent who aids and abets election malpractices at a Polling Unit or Collation Centre would be disqualified and on the instruction of the Poll Official/Collation Official would be removed from the Polling Unit/Collation Centre and shall be liable to prosecution.

Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Babatunde Fashola promised to do their road and provide other things, and you know they blocked the access road to the facility and when we needed to allow investors go in, they couldnâ€™t go in,â€? said one of the BPE sources. The source further noted: â€œBut everything is on course, the first quarter of this year, we believe will be used to conclude on Afam and Yola. We are likely to finish in first quarter.â€? The source also spoke to the paper on how transparent the exercise has been.

MINIMUM WAGE: PRESIDENCY MOVES TO APPEASE LABOUR He added that the NLC leadership is similarly committed to social protection for workers. According to him, â€œThe new year presents great opportunities for workers, pensioners, civil society allies and their friends and families to put their numbers to good use. â€œThis is by voting out, not on the basis of tribe or religion but purely policy, any candidate that cannot serve

their interest. â€œIn the year that is ahead of us, the NLC remains unequivocally committed to the national and workersâ€™ goals which include the campaign for industrialisation, against selective enforcement of â€œNo Work, No Payâ€? policy of government, among others.â€? The N30,000 new minimum wage, which was a compromise figure arrived at by the Minimum

Wage Tripartite Committee comprised of the government (federal and states), organised private sector and the organised public sector was contained in the report forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari. Labour had initially proposed N66, 500, while the federal government proposed N24,500 at the negotiation meeting before the N30,000 was adopted. However, yesterday the

INEC RETAINS SMART CARD READER, INCIDENCE FORM The amendment bill also sought to clean up the results collation process, providing for electronic transmission of results from polling units to collation centres. Following the presidential veto and expression of disappointment by opposition parties INEC National Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had contended that the extant law was sufficient to guarantee a transparent electoral regime, stating that whatever further reforms were needed to straighten out the process would be accommodated by the revised guidelines. The revised rules obtained by THISDAY, left the opposition parties with little to cheer about as it retained the main features of the guidelines used to regulate the 2015 elections. The electoral body stated categorically that the regulations and guidelines supersede all other regulations or guidelines on the conduct of elections issued by the commission and shall remain in force until replaced by new

regulations or amendments supported by a Decision Extract of the Commission or an official gazette. It said, â€œThe Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) herein referred to as â€œthe Commissionâ€? issues the following Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of Elections (general elections, by-elections, re-run elections and supplementary elections). These regulations and guidelines are issued as a Decision Extract of the Commission of the 21st day of the month of December 2018.â€? The regulations and guidelines, it said, would apply to the conduct of elections to the office of the President and Vice President; Governor and Deputy Governor; National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives); State Houses of Assembly; Chairmen and Vice - Chairmen of FCT Area Councils; and Councillors of FCT Area Councils legislatures. The electoral umpire said that voting in any election

to which the regulations and guidelines apply would take place at polling units and voting points. It added that in the case of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), voting would take place at Polling Units (PU), Voting Points and Voting Point Settlements (VPS). INEC explained that Voting Points (VPs) are created out of Polling Units based on multiples of 500 and a maximum of 750 registered voters or as may otherwise be determined by the commission. It also noted that Voting Point Settlement (VPS) might be created by the commission to facilitate access to voters in new settlements not currently served by a PU, stressing that where a VPS is created, it shall be treated as a Polling Unit. On accreditation of voters on election day, INEC states in Clause 8(b) that; â€œNo person shall be allowed to vote at any Polling Unit/Voting Point Settlement/ Voting Point other than the one at which he/ her name appears in the Register of Voters and he/she

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

Jonathan: I Didn’t Leave Empty Treasury for Buhari Says Bakare lied

Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja and Jonatan Eze in Lagos President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday stated that he did not leave an empty treasury for his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari, describing Pastor Tunde Bakare’s claims to that effect as false and untenable. Bakare was quoted as claiming during a recent trip to Canada that President Buhari could not appoint a cabinet for six months because “he met an empty treasury.” But in a statement by one of Jonathan’s media aides, Reno Omokri, he described Bakare’s statement as lies and a figment of both the imaginations of President Buhari and Pastor Bakare. “The Jonathan administration left $2.07 billion in the Excess Crude Account when it handed over to the Buhari administration on May 29, 2015. This is an easily verifiable fact from both the Central Bank of Nigeria and is also available from other open sources”, Omokri stated. “In addition to that, the Jonathan government left a foreign reserves of $29. 6 billion for the incoming government and $5.2 billion was left for the Buhari administration by way of dividend payments from the NLNG. “Now, there is no way these huge amounts can be described as empty treasury. I challenge Pastor Tunde Bakare to disprove

these figures I have given here or take me to court and I will embarrass him there and show him to be the liar that he is.” He also disputed claims by Pastor Bakare that Nigeria no longer imports rice as untrue. Omokri said, “first of all, even the Buhari administration has not claimed that Nigeria is no longer importing rice. What they said, which is also a lie, is that rice imports have reduced. “But the truth is that Nigeria’s rice imports have actually increased by 60 per cent as revealed by no less an institution than the United States Department of Agriculture. “In fact, according to the USDA, not only has Nigeria’s rice imports increased by 60 per cent, but Nigeria is projected to be the second largest rice importing nation. “These are the exact words of the USDA “China and Nigeria are projected to remain the largest rice importing countries in 2019, followed by the EU, Cote d’Ivoire, and Iran. “You do not have to take my word for this - google it by yourself. The last time Nigeria’s rice imports went down, according to the USDA, was in 2015 under former President Jonathan.” Omokri added that Bakare’s claims that 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs) occupied by Boko Haram are no longer an issue means that Pastor Bakare is out of touch, saying that as he was granting that interview,

18 Feared Killed in Fresh Zamfara Attack Hamid Adedeji About 18 persons were reportedly killed when armed bandits invaded two communities in violence-prone Zamfara State on New Year day, sources have informed Premium Times The sources said the gunmen stormed Dutsin kure and Manasa in Tsafe Local Government Area on Tuesday leaving deaths and destruction in their trail. Nine persons were reportedly shot dead in Dutsin kure, while another nine were killed in Manasa in the early hours of Tuesday. The attackers stormed the two towns 72 hours after Governor Abdulaziz Yari held a security meeting with security chiefs and traditional chiefs after a similar bloodbath a few days ago. Sources said the attackers stormed the towns in a convoy of

motorcycles, armed with assorted weapons including AK 47 rifles. A survivor said the bandits operated unchallenged for hours after threatening to deal with anyone who opposed their movement. “Many of the survivors have fled the towns for neighbouring places,” the survivor said. “Those who are close to Katsina have gone there while those who are very close to Sokoto, like the people of Maradun have relocated there.” The attackers also destroyed large storages of farm produce, the villagers had kept hidden after the last spate of attacks. Meanwhile, the state police command spokesperson, Shehu Mohammed when contacted said the command is currently “making efforts toward bringing the culprits to book.”

Insurgency: NAF Attack Helicopter Crashes Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja As the war against insurgency rages, a Nigerian Air Force helicopter has crashed in Damasak, Northern Borno State. The helicopter crashed while providing air support to troops in the area. “A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) helicopter was lost in combat while providing close air support to troops of 145 Battalion at

Damasak in Northern Borno State. “The mission was part of the ongoing counter insurgency operations in the North-east. “The incident, occurred about 7.45 p.m today (yesterday) Details of the cause of the crash are still scanty. As soon as the details of the crash are known, they will be made available to the public”, NAF said in a statement last night.

Baga, Doron-Baga, Kross Kawwa, Bunduran, Kekeno and Kukawa towns are all under Boko Haram/ISWAP’s control. “In fact, the Governor of Borno State, a notorious political enemy of former President Jonathan, was forced to hold a press conference on New Year’s eve where he confessed that the situation has deteriorated and was worse than before.

“For emphasis, the following was the front page headline in the Punch on New Year’s eve “Residents flee as Boko Haram takes over Borno communities”, Jonathan’s spokesman said. “There has been mass movement of people out of communities in Borno State through Damaturu the Yobe State capital to Bauchi, Gombe, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kebbi and Jigawa States.” He added that unlike the

Jonathan era, the insecurity in Nigeria is almost total, arguing that “as I write this today (January 2, 2019, Aminu Bello Masari, the Governor of Katsina State, President Buhari’s own state, raised an alarm on the insecurity and breakdown of law and order in his state.” Omokri further stated, “We are not talking of Zamfara or the North-east. We are talking Katsina. If Buhari

cannot secure his own state, is it Nigeria he can secure? And then there is Zamfara State, which is becoming as bad, if not worse, than the Northe-ast.” He said that with these unimpeachable facts it is hard pressed to understand why “Pastor Tunde Bakare cannot respect himself and the calling he claims to have, by using his mouth to speak truth instead of lying like a heathen.”

NEW YEAR OUTING…

L-R: Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Tunde Balogun; APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu; and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, during a visit to Tinubu by the governor in commemoration of the New Year, in Lagos…recently

PDP Alleges Fresh Plot to Compromise Electoral Guidelines INEC dares opposition party to provide proof Adedayo Akinwale inAbuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Organisation has raised the alarm that the Presidency is planning to compromise the guidelines for the forthcoming general elections and cautioned the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Yakubu Mahmood to disentangle himself and the electoral commission from the fresh plot by the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Presidency to compromise the electoral guidelines. But in a swift reaction, the electoral body has dared the main opposition party to prove the allegation, insisting that INEC is not into rigging business. The Chief Press Secretary to

the INEC Chairman, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, said “The PDP should provide the evidence in its possession to back up this wild allegation, otherwise, it should cure itself of this recurring hallucination, which I am sure Nigerians no longer buy. Certainly, INEC is not into the rigging business.” PDP campaign organisation’s Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Kola Ologbodiyan, said yesterday at a press conference in Abuja, that the plot was to pave the way for the alteration of the results of the forthcoming elections to favour Buhari. According to him, “PDP campaign organisation cautions the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood to immediately disentangle himself and his

commission from the fresh plot by the APC and the Buhari Presidency to compromise the electoral guidelines and pave the way for the alteration of the results of the 2019 general elections to favour President Buhari.” Ogbondiyan stressed that, “Buhari Presidency is desperate to remove these requirements because the display of results at the polling units ensures that results posted at all levels remain those originally announced at the various polling units, while the electronic transmission to INEC server ensures that the results from the polling centres are not tampered with.” The PDP also demanded that INEC allows both local and international observers to its situation room to ensure that the final figures are not tampered with.

According to him, “TheAPC and Buhari Presidency are mounting pressure on INEC to drop the requirements so as to pave way for their planned alteration of results and allocation of fictitious figures to President Buhari during the collation process.” “Prof. Yakubu must not succumb to the pressure of the Buhari Presidency, because doing so will definitely set him on a collision course with Nigerians. “This demand has become imperative in the face of allegations and public apprehensions that the INEC Chairman is being offered humongous sums of money, running into billions of naira, by agents of the APC and the cabal at the Buhari Presidency to accede to their demands.”

Forbes Ranks Nigeria 110th Best Country for Business Nigeria has been rated the 110th best country for business in the world in 2019, out of 161 graded countries. Top on the list are United Kingdom (1), Sweden (2), Hong Kong (3), Netherlands (4), New Zealand (5) and Canada (6). The United States of America is rated 17th, below Ireland and Finland. South Africa, according to the list released by Forbes, came first in Africa.

With a population of 203 million people, a GDP growth of 0.8 per cent and GDP per capital of $2,000, Nigeria is ranked 14th in Africa. The rating puts Nigeria behind South Africa (59), Morocco (62), Seychelles (66), Tunisia (82), Botswana (83), Rwanda (90), Kenya (93), Ghana (94), Egypt (95), Namibia (96), Senegal (100), Zambia (103) and Cape Verde (104). Giving the criteria for the

rating, Forbes said, “We gauged the Best Countries for Business by rating nations on 15 different factors, including property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape and investor protection. Other metrics included were workforce, infrastructure, market size, quality of life and risk. Each category was equally weighted. “The data is based on published reports from Freedom

House, Heritage Foundation, Property Rights Alliance, United Nations, Transparency International, World Bank Group, Marsh & McLennan and World Economic Forum.” Nigeria rated 115 out of 153 assessed countries the previous year, with a GDP growth of -1.6 per cent and GDP per capital given as $2,200. The country was 15th in Africa during the period.

5 ) * 4 % ": t THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍąËœ 2019

COMMENT

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

COLLECTIVE APPROACH TO ZAMFARA KILLINGS Stanley C. Ebube canvasses the state of emergency if it can solve the problem of lawlessness in Zamfara

hese are clearly extremely trying times for Nigeria. The nationâ€™s current security situation can actually overwhelm any government, no matter its good intentions and level of preparedness. Just when the world is sadly getting used to identifying the North east as a theatre of insurgency, another tragic challenge is playing out in the North western part, particularly Zamfara State, in the form of armed banditry. With resources that are becoming leaner by the day, it does not require too much knowledge of economics or defence to understand that everyone should be ready to contribute, at least morally, to the efforts being made by the government and her agencies to arrest this cancerous scenario. Attempts to politicise what is going on cannot serve any other purpose than undermine the badly needed march towards resolution. Consider what the former Governor of Ekiti State, Chief Ayodele Fayose, reportedly tweeted the other day: â€œI have been reliably informed that the FG is plotting to hide under the killings in Zamfara State by armed bandits to impose emergency rule on the state. This is their response to the insistence of INEC not to allow APC field candidates for the 2019 general election in the state. With the emergency rule, there will only be Presidential and National Assembly elections in Zamfara in February while governorship and state House of Assembly elections will be postponed till May.â€? Someone said that politicians would always be politicians. How reliable is Fayoseâ€™s source of this distracting information? It is bizarre to imagine that the government would wantonly gamble away precious civilian and military lives on the altar of political power. If declaring a state of emergency can solve the kidnappings, senseless murders and lawlessness that now threaten to bring the region to its knees, so be it. Perhaps we should remind ourselves that Zamfara would not be the first state to be placed under that kind of control. Reducing the issue of restoration of peace to scheming and political calculations between the ruling party and its leading opposition counterpart is indeed unfortunate. On this occasion, the reaction of Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, to the crisis makes more sense to me. According to him, â€œWe are talking about the lives of our people and this needs the coming together of all, so that the crisis can end. If the provisions of my office had allowed me to carry arms against the bandits, I would have done so. But, if I am not around, there are capable hands that collaborate with the security team in the fight against the bandits. The security men are doing their best. But, it is sad to know that some of the people involved in the kidnappings are close relatives or associates of the victims, which is part of the reasons the problem is persisting. â€œWe must all come together and expose anyone or group that is part of these hoodlums, and we should also pray for Allahâ€™s intervention. Before Buhariâ€™s administration, we had few security personnel in this state, but today we have about 4,000 security personnel including Army, Police and Civil Defence. I held a meeting earlier today with traditional rulers and local government council chairmen. We are working hand in hand with all stakeholders to

ATTEMPTS TO POLITICISE WHAT IS GOING ON CANNOT SERVE ANY OTHER PURPOSE THAN UNDERMINE THE BADLY NEEDED MARCH TOWARDS RESOLUTION

ensure that we end this situation. I am calling on communities to always support security agencies with information on suspicious movement in their respective areas.â€? Yes, assisting soldiers and other security personnel at this point in their task of bringing sanity back is non-negotiable. This is a call to national service, nobility and patriotism. It is remarkable and commendable that not long after the Chief of Air staff, Sadiqque Abubakar, announced last month that a Quick Response Unit of the Nigerian Air Force would be established in Sokoto to boost â€˜Operation Diramikiyaâ€™ across the north western states, airstrikes were successfully launched on a hideout used by the hoodlums in Tsamari in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara State. No doubt, such decisive actions, if sustained, will provide the answers we desperately need. In this war, just about anything that can enhance the morale and performance of our men and women on the battlefronts should be pursued vigorously. While the government must bear the lion share of that responsibility, the rest segments of the Nigerian society and even individuals should also contribute meaningfully. A good example of positive response in this regard is the recent intervention of the Coalition of Conflict Resolution and Human Rights in Nigeria (CCRHRN) that came through independent investigations into allegations of abuses and extra judicial killings by the military while quelling protests. The organisationâ€™s report released by its Executive Director, Maxwell Gowon, reads in part thus: â€œProperty was destroyed and some people injured by the hoodlums. They then tried to shift the blame for this destruction on the responding security agencies that were drafted to the scenes to maintain order. â€œThe military was deployed to contain the situation when the protests became unruly and violent beyond what the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) could manage. The military, with other responding security agencies, managed the protests consistent with the recognised rules of engagement. There was no evidence that the military massacred, brutalised or indiscriminately arrested protesters. The reports carried by some online sites which reported large scale extra-judicial killings were not reflected in the mainstream and legacy organisations. The contents of such reports did not stand up to scrutiny and were totally at variance with the accounts given my respondents.â€? Equally noteworthy are some of the recommendations: â€œThat the Federal Government should review existing conflict zones in the country and properly identify the ones that warrant the deployment of military personnelâ€Ś That matters that are deemed as falling within the jurisdiction of the Police should be so assigned in order to minimise the distractions to military troops â€Ś.â€? Apart from human lives and the regionâ€™s abundant mineral resources, at stake is also national food security. Most communities in that part of the country are largely agrarian. We cannot afford to leave the fight to the already over-stretched government. Ebube, Public Affairs Analyst, wrote from Abuja

ADAMAWA AND POLITICS OF BANDWAGON

The presidential election will determine the voting pattern in the local elections, writes Mohammed Zayyad

uhammadu Buhari or Atiku Abubakar will determine who wins Adamawa the race Should President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) win a second term in the forthcoming presidential election, then, the task of Adamawa State Governor, Muhammdu Umaru Jibrilla of the APC to get a second term in the governorship election, would have been made easier. On the other hand, if Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wins, the PDP candidate, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri stands a bigger chance. However, in politics, nothing is static. Adamawa politics, since the former Gongola State, has been very responsive to what happens in the centre during elections, with the state constantly submitting to the â€˜bandwagon effect of electionsâ€™. In the 1979 general election, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) won only one senatorial district - Wukari zone, the Great Nigeria Peopleâ€™s Party (GNPP) won two - Northern and Adamawa senatorial districts, while the United Party of Nigeria (UPN) also won two - Muri and Numan/Ganye districts. But when the people realized that the NPN will form the central government, the former Gongola State despite being stronghold of GNPP and UPN, voted for NPNâ€™s Shehu Shagari. Equally, in 1983 general election, when the sequence of election was changed, and the NPN won the presidential election, the first casualty was Governor Abubakar Barde. Even his campaign Director General, late Gura Buba left him. Bamanga Tukur of the NPN won the governorship election. Again in 1999, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP defeated Bala Takaya of the ANPP with just 40,000 votes; when the Adamawa

people realised that Olusegun Obasanjo of the PDP will form the central government, the margin of vote PDP won against ANPP was nearly 300,000. Same trend of politics of bandwagon effect of election has continued in Adamawa politics up till today. Nevertheless, as earlier mentioned, politics is dynamic, so the contenders for Adamawa governorship race in 2019 are coming into the game with their peculiar strengths and weaknesses. Had the 2019 general election dates been in a reverse sequence, with Governorship and House of assembly elections coming first, then, Senator Abdul-Aziz Nyako, the Adamawa State governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) will be the biggest beneficiary. He would go into election shielded from any bandwagon effect. Senator Abdul-Aziz Nyako is a product of Hausa-Fulani oligarchy with reasonable war-chest. He has one of the most sophisticated campaign strategies and structured development plans. He is using scientific approach in facing the election and he will also bank on committed and cult-like supporters of his father, Murtala Nyako, who still enjoys strong followership. Whoever waves away Murtala Nyakoâ€™s political strength is committing a political blunder. Senators AbdulAziz of the ADC will contend with voters that will look out for the logo of the presidential election winnerâ€™s party. Emmanuel Bello of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) is coming into the race hoping on Christian bloc votes and also with the belief to take advantage of what Marcus Gundiri laid down. But things might not work that way. Gundiri has left the SDP together with his strong base and most of the Christiansâ€™ votes that would be â€˜faith-determinedâ€™ will go to Fintiri. Bello does not have the capacity to challenge any of his strong opponents. However,

if Bello wants, he can play good â€˜personal interestpoliticsâ€™ towards the time of the election by aligning with one of the three opponents for certain benefits. The PDP candidate, Ahmadu Umaru Fintri, became prominent, popular and politically influential within just three months; this is rare in Adamawa political landscape. In fact, few weeks before Fintiri became the acting governor, if he was told he will become PDPâ€™s governorship candidate in 2014 or 2018, he would have laughed it off. He changed the narrative of Adamawa infrastructure and civil service welfare in just three months of acting as governor. Even his staunch adversaries will attest to it. However, Fintiri is coming into the race with lot of baggage that may outweigh his chances. The corruption allegation against him may be used by the APC to distract him. Fintiri will benefit from his posture as champion of the minority cause. He will contend with Hausa-Fulani oligarchy - the Kautal Pulaku which controls nearly 85% of the stateâ€™s wealth and resources. Fintiri also committed three big political blunders in his choice of running mate. He was not logical and scientific in picking his running mate. He should have picked someone that will appeal to Hausa-Fulani or pick their very close cousins. Secondly, Atiku suggested Maxwelll Gidado to Fintiri, Fintiri did not honor it. Thirdly, Joel Madaki gave Afremu Jingiâ€™s name, Fintiri did not pick him. This has portrayed Fintiri as someone who wants to have absolute power. Furthermore, he is yet to send olive branches to those he defeated at the primaries- none of his opponents at the primaries follows him for campaigns. Insufficient war chest and dwindling resources will hinder Fintiriâ€™s campaign. Nevertheless, Fintiri is the man to beat. One cannot analyse the chances of Governor Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla Bindow without

recollecting how the APC was formed in Adamawa State. The New PDP which had Murtala Nyako, Atiku Abubakar and Senator Bindow and others joining with the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) which had people like Lawal Babachir, Abdulrahram Adamu and many others. Bindow was the only PDP senator that defected to APC. The APC victory in 2015 election was made possible because of this marriage of convenience. No doubt, Governor Bindow is coming into the 2019 election with absolute advantage over his opponents â€“ incumbency, ample resources and belonging to the ruling party, including the strong chances of President Buhari winning the election. However, Bindow has woefully failed to manage local political patronage and some socio-economic issues. Bindow is yet to fully win back the assurances of Nuhu Ribadu, Mahmood Halilu, Lawal Babachir, and Markus Gundiri, among others. Furthermore, Bindow made a mistake by allowing payment of salaries to become a campaign issue until recently. Many political gladiators still believe, a Bindow with a second term in his hands will still play his politics of self-interest and trust issues. Nevertheless, Gov Bindow has the best chances of winning. As earlier mentioned, if Buhari wins the presidential election, Bindow will have an easy ride, if Atiku wins, Fintiri may smile home, but if Atiku wins Adamawa but does not win the Presidential election, Bindow will still win. AbdulAziz Nyako may pull a surprise, while Emmanuel Bello may go for personal gains. All the same, Adamawa politics and political class are always for the â€˜centreâ€™- what happens in the presidential election determines the voting pattern in the local elections. Zayyad wrote from Jimeta, Adamawa State

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019

EDITORIAL Rebuilding The Northeast The AfDP recent intervention should be deployed meaningfully

n a bid to restore socio-economic activities in the Northeast, the African Development Bank (AfDP) recently made another signiﬁcant contribution of $258m (about N100m). The intervention is aimed at bolstering rehabilitation efforts in the areas of emergency transition, economic recovery and peace-building efforts. Sadly, in spite of the humongous amounts government, multilateral institutions and local aid agencies as well as the international community have deployed in the North-east, the displaced persons continue to lack the basic necessities of life. For that reason, the AfDP intervention, which entails special gender considerations, should be closely monitored. We thank the AfDP and indeed, other global bodies for their consistent support in tackling the economic and humanitarian crisis in the Northeast occasioned by the Boko Haram insurgency. The process of rebuilding the Northeast is a tasking one as it requires the collaborative effort of all the critical stakeholders. The AfDP programme is envisaged to provide training for women and youth entrepreneurs to increase their chances for employment and business opportunities. THE PROVISION OF About 9,000 internally ESSENTIAL SERVICES displaced persons AND JOB CREATION (IDPs) and heads of IN SAFE LOCATIONS vulnerable households WILL PLAY A HUGE will also receive direct ROLE IN ENSURING THE economic assistance SUSTAINABILITY OF THE while about 2,000 POST-CRISIS RECOVERY small and medium scale enterprises will receive business development support. In addition, about 2,900 construction artisans and mechanics will also get help to improve their productivity. That poverty has become an ever-present situation, especially in the Northeast should be of great concern to our leaders. With schools shut, markets burnt, homes and communities razed and all forms of economic activities crippled, the need for intervention can hardly be over emphasised. Unfortunately, there has been a high level of corruption which has exacerbated the poverty of majority of the people. By diverting scarce

resources meant for the most vulnerable of our people, living is being made increasingly difficult for them. This challenge must be addressed. To rebuild the region of the country battered by the Boko Haram inurgency, the presidency had projected the sum of about $9 billion for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of broken infrastructure in the six states of Borno, Yobe Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba. The figure was based on a pre-financing assessment jointly carried out by the federal and state governments alongside the global partners - the United Nations, the World Bank and the European Union. The figure also tallies with the estimates of N2 trillion suggested by the Chairman, PCNI, Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd).

I 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

ndeed, after almost a decade of violence in the Northeast, virtually all public and private institutions like schools, hospitals, markets, police stations, local government secretariat buildings, roads, bridges, and even electricity poles had been laid waste. The worst hit state is Borno where even privately-owned infrastructure like palaces of traditional rulers, mosques, churches, etc., were all destroyed by the terrorists. But with the AfDP intervention, some14 million affected people, including 2.3 million internal displaced persons will beneﬁt from health, nutrition, education, water, sanitation and related services, particularly now that some of the IDPs are returning to their ancestral homes. As Danjuma once rightly observed, the provision of these essential services and job creation in safe locations will play a huge role in ensuring the sustainability of the post-crisis recovery. However, the primary responsibility of returning the region to peace and security rests squarely on the states. Even so, the long-suffering people of the Northeast could still do with more funds. Besides, the management of the funds being funnelled to the region should also be transparent. Reports of diversion of materials and funds meant for the rehabilitation of the IDPs are certainly not helpful. We demand accountability on how the huge sums of money belonging to the most vulnerable people in our society are spent. Government, at all levels, must ensure that resources meant for soothing the pains of the displaced are not misappropriated by its greedy ofﬁcials.

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INSURGENCY AND EDUCATION IN NORTH EAST NIGERIA

he importance of education in any society, Nigeria inclusive, cannot be over emphasized. Education serves as a platform to impart knowledge and skills to make mankind a rational animal. Without education humans they say “would not be rational to be able to differentiate between the rights and wrongs”. Therefore, it is evident that the “purpose of education is to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed and reasonable decisions,” said Christine Howe. But education system in the North East has been in devastated state for nearly 10 years now. This is as a result of armed conflict created by the Nigerian version of Islamic State of Iran and Syria (ISIS) known as Boko Haram. Since year 2009 till date, the notorious Boko Haram terrorist group has continuously prevented children of school age in the states such as Borno, Yobe and Adamawa access to education. Many children from the above-mentioned states and other parts of the northern Nigeria are out of school as a result of evil activities of Boko Haram. This situation is a disaster not only in the affected area but Nigeria at large. Several students and teachers were killed or injured and schools razed. Evidences of these incidents include but not limited to Boko Haram attacked in September, 2013 on a School of Agriculture in Yobe where more than 60 students were killed. Reports have it that more than 900 schools have been destroyed in the North East between 2009 and 2015; and about 1,500 schools forced to close. Among the notable schools destroyed by the insurgents is Yerwa Primary School, Maiduguri in 2010 and 2013. The school noted

to be the first primary school in the North East Nigeria was established in 1915. Another attack on Zanna Mobarti Primary School in Damasak, Borno in 2014 recorded abduction of an estimated 300 students. In April 2014, no fewer than 276 school girls in Chibok, Borno State were abducted. The list is long. In addition, some schools have been converted by government security forces for military purposes. As of late 2017, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported that an estimated 700,000 school age children are among the Internally Displaced Persons as a result of violent attacks on civilians by Boko Haram. Also, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reports that Boko Haram has killed a total of 2,300 teachers in the North East since 2009. While the 2018 UNESCO global education monitoring report (GEM), a United Nations agency said about 19,000 teachers have been displaced in the region, and it is affecting access to education. The series of insurgents attacked in the North East has dramatically affected hundreds of thousands of school children at all levels of education, and thousands of teachers and education administrators also affected. All the attacks on the schools by the insurgency make one to wonder where the insurgents derived their doctrine from because Islam that Boko Haram sect claimed they are fighting for accorded more importance to education because the first word that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, according to the Qur’an (Holy Book of Muslim), verse 96:1-5, was “Iqra” which means “to read, to seek

knowledge, to be educated”. Also Prophet Muhammad said: “Acquiring knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim”. With the above mentioned evidences, Boko Haram is a self-doctrine rascal group, an uproot of devil or devil incarnate in Islamic religion. The destruction of schools, killings of hundreds of thousands of teachers and students coupled with poor remunerations have resulted in shortage of qualified teachers in the North East which has totally collapsed the education system in the region. Professor Babatunde Fafunwa, former Minister of Education, described education as the aggregate of all processes through which a child develops abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour which are of a positive value to society. Education enables individuals to acquire appropriate knowledge, values and skills for personal development and also contributes meaningfully to the development of society. Education was declared a basic human right for every individual in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But the situation of education in the North East states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa is in comatose since 2009 when Boko Haram insurgency started because the attacks were targeted at school children, teachers, schools and other education facilities and these have dealt a big blow on the education system of the region. To address this ugly situation, all hands must be on deck to safeguard the future of these school children and education in the North East Nigeria now. Agunloye Adewunmi Bashiru, bagunloye@gmail.com

THURSDAY JANUARY3, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Sack Service Chiefs Now, Former DSS Director Tells FG Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Segun James in Lagos A former Director of the Department of the State Services (DSS), Mr. Mike Ejiofor, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to relieve the leadership of some of the various security agencies of their position as a means of improving the performance of these organisations in the fight against insecurity in the country. He said a situation where high -profile military officers were kidnapped and killed showed the state of insecurity in the country. Speaking yesterday on the Arise News, a sister broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspaper, Ejiofor said the tenure of some of the Service Chiefs had expired. “For me if you continue to do the same thing, the same way you can’t expect a different result. Some of the Service Chiefs have overstayed - their tenures have expired but they are still being retained. So, I think it is time we need to try new hands but because of politics I think the government doesn’t have the political will to do this,” he said. The ex-DSS boss cautioned that the country cannot afford

to play politics with its security. According to him, the bulk of the security concerns over the forthcoming general elections is caused by the actions and behaviours of politicians from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP). “Well it is going to be a very challenging year. In 2018 you have listed the crises and challenges we have, which the government is trying to address but you know the problems and challenges we expect in 2019 because of the election, I believe, are self-made and self-inflicted because these could be avoided. You see the way politicians go about their campaigns. We expect them to campaign on issues but they are busy attacking each other. We should not forget that we have about 90 political parties but the prominent ones causing the real security challenges are the PDP and APC and the reasons are obvious.” “APC want to retain power, claiming that PDP has been in power for the past 16 years and PDP having left power for over four years want to come back. There is nothing wrong with

PDP: People will Resist APC’s Move to Take South-south Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Segun James in Lagos The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cried out that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is determined to take the South-south states by force, but warned that the people would resist the move. The National Vice Chairman, South-south zone of the PDP, Emmanuel Ogidi, stated this while fielding questions on the political situation in the geopolitical zone on Arise News, a sister broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspaper. Ogidi said because of the desperation of the APC to take some strategic states and make inroads into the region, the party would use violence to achieve its goals. “Surely there will be violence during the election. The strategy of the APC is violence, but the people will surely react,” he said. While unwilling to disclose his party’s strategy to contain the APC, Ogidi insisted that “we are going to contain them. You can’t just sit down and take power. We are going to contain them,” he declared. He accused the APC government of playing politics with Boko Haram issues even though it is almost overwhelming the country, adding that the fight against the insurgent group has become a business for some people. He stressed that the Boko Haram insurgency was festering because people have turned it to business. Ogidi said,”how do you expect a president - a former general in the army and how

he is handling Boko Haram, You are playing politics with Boko Haram; people are eating money from it. It is a serious business; that is why it is being prolonged. “They keep using all kinds of language – ‘we have contained it,’ ‘we have degraded it’. For the government to have allowed the Boko Haram terrorist issue to be festering shows Nigeria is not a serious country.” “They are playing politics with Boko Haram. It is also business for some people. People are making money from it. That is why it is being prolonged. He decried the security situation in the country under the APC government, saying that the party has no answer to the country’s problems. “There are assault rifles all over the place because we want to rule by force. We are not at war, but at war with ourselves because we want to rule by force. You can’t rule by force because power comes from God.” Ogidi faulted the call for a state of emergency in Zamfara State by the governor, saying “because the APC has no candidate in Zamfara State, that is why the governor is calling for a state of emergency; it will not work.” Ogidi also accused the former governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, of being ungrateful for leaving the PDP for the APC. He said Uduaghan benefitted from the PDP for 16 unbroken years, having risen from being a commissioner to the secretary to the state government and later governor.

that; that is democracy but my fears are that as stated in our constitutions, the primary purpose and responsibility of government is the security and welfare of the people. “You can’t divorce politics from security but at the same time we can’t be playing politics with our security, which is exactly what is happening. “People are playing politics with our security system which is very dangerous. Security

is a collective effort of the whole people and it shouldn’t be left for government alone but the government on its part also has promised as one of its cardinal projects to provide security for the people but we are not there yet. You listed the challenges; you look at Borno State for instance the Boko Haram is overwhelming the military what are the reasons? You go to Zamfara people are been

killed daily. Herdsmen whom I don’t call herdsmen - I call them terrorist, which I believe is an extension of Boko Haram, all over the country and we are preparing for an election. The problems are so much and I think the earlier the government addresses the issues the better for them as we are going into elections,” Ejiofor explained. Ejiofor disclosed that the military is ill-equipped to handle

the current security challenges in the country. “We have in place the multinational joint taskforce and they seem not to be effective anymore and then we need to change tactics and it is not just changing - the government should also come out to equip the military. I think they are ill equipped; they are not fully functional as they supposed

2019 INTER-RELIGIOUS PRAYER…

L-R: Wife of Deputy Governor of Osun State, Mrs. Titilola Alabi; her husband, Mr. Benedict Alabi; Governor of Osun State, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola; his wife, Kafayat Oyetola; and Deputy Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Akintunde Adegboye, during the 2019 InterReligious Prayer Service to Herald 2019, at the State Government Secretariat, Osogbo…recently

Kachikwu: We Have Generated over $2bn from Oil Blocks Peter Uzoho The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has disclosed that the federal government generated over $2 billion from the renewal of oil block licences. Kachikwu said the funds will be used to implement the country’s budget. “We have actually asked for

early renewals, because we needed to get money out of it to help finance the budget and from that process, we have actually gotten about $2 billion,” Kachikwu was quoted as saying by The Cable. The minister said his ministry deliberately put a policy in place to hasten renewals; so, enough funds could be put together for the budget. “I put a policy of early renewals

in place, so that even blocks that are not due for renewal before 2019 are being renewed right now,” he said. According to him, only about 30 of the fields, expected to add an about 300 million barrels of crude were granted licenses by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). Kachikwu added that about 40 others, as well as mega fields suggested to President

Muhammadu Buhari, who doubles as the minister of petroleum, were awaiting approval. He said the ministry is currently analysing the renewal applications lodge for the 2019 process, to ensure best use of Nigeria’s oil field. “We are doing analysis on what these people can bring to bear on the time limit between which you must develop the block that you asked for,” he added.

Embassy, Consulate Not Affected by Govt Shutdown, Says US AlexEnumahinAbuja The United States yesterday said its embassy in Abuja as well as its Consular General in Lagos is not affected by the US government shutdown, noting that earlier reports to the contrary were not correct. Apost on the Facebook page of the US Embassy in Nigeria, last Monday had said the embassy alongside the

consulate is “unfortunately closed” due to the current US government shutdown. The post went on to apologise for whatever inconvenience the situation may have cost its patrons. However, a statement from the Press Office, Public Affairs Section, Embassy of the United States yesterday, stated that the embassy and its consulate remain open during

the shutdown, adding that, American Spaces, such as American Corners operated by partner institutions and located off embassy or consulate grounds, however, will remain open”. “The U.S. Embassy in Abuja and the Consulate General in Lagos will remain open during the U.S. government shutdown. This includes the Consular Sections. Prior reports to the contrary were incorrect.

“American Centers and EducationUSA offices operating on embassy and consulate grounds that are managed by Mission PublicAffairs Sections will remain closed throughout the shutdown. American Spaces, such as American Corners operated by partner institutions and located off embassy or consulate grounds, however, will remain open”, the statement read.

Army Declares Man Wanted over Fraudulent Fundraising to Feed Troops KingsleyNwezeh inAbuja The Nigerian Army has said it is working with Interpol to declare Dr. Perry Brimah, a Nigerian in Diaspora, wanted over a fraudulent global fundraising to provide food for troops in the North-east. The army said in a statement yesterday that its attention was drawn to the “fraudulent and

criminal’’ venture by Brimah, tagged “Global campaign to provide food for Nigerian soldiers fighting Boko Haram.’’ The spokesman of the army, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, in a statement yesterday, urged the general public to provide any information on the whereabouts of “this fraudster.’’ Usman further alleged that Brimah embarked on the

venture “ostensibly to defraud unsuspecting members of the public, especially the international community to fund subversive activities and personal life style.’’ “The criminal is using the following contact points for the fund raising, https://www. gofundme.com/feed-nigeriansoldiers/info @ ENDS.ng Tel: +1-929-427-5305; Whatsapp: +234-903-420-3031.

“We wish to state that the Nigerian soldiers deployed to the North-east or elsewhere, neither lack logistics nor food as the fraudster wants unsuspecting members of the public to believe. “The Nigerian Army never faltered in providing necessary logistics to troops to the extent of providing extras, especially during festive periods,’’ Usman said.

5 ) * 4 % ": t THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY JANUARY 3, 2019

POLITICS

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

PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

Akwa Ibom is Lucky to Have Udom Emmanuel as Governor Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that theAkwa Ibom State Commissioner forAviation Development and Special Duties, Mr. Akan Okon is one of the loyal and trusted lieutenants of Governor Udom Emmanuel, who is frequently moved around to accomplish seemingly tough tasks for the administration Compared to your previous appointments in the Governor Udom Emmanuel administration, would you say your current assignment as Commissioner for Special Duties is more signiﬁcant? Before now I have served as Commissioner for Economic Development. I have also served as the Commissioner of Finance. I served as Commissioner for Housing and Special Duties, as well. Recently, His Excellency, because of his focus and ambition for the state, decided to have a Ministry of Aviation Development. I’m now overseeing the Ministry of Special Duties and Aviation Development. Special Duties is very wide. I believe that whatever office we find ourselves, we should do our best to ensure that we add value to governance, to add value to the way the dividend of democracy is delivered to the people. Under this ministry, I oversee some of the flagship projects for the government. There are many critical government projects. The Four Point by Sheraton Hotel is under the ministry. If you talk about aviation development, it’s the vision of the governor to ensure that the master plan of the Victor Attah International Airport is strictly adhered to, and that all the infrastructure that were planned for the airport are brought to fruition. Even the construction of the taxi way which also serves as a runway is completed. Our airport is over 12 years since it started operation and it has been run with generator, but I’m happy that today His Excellency has provided the needed support for the airport to have a power substation. This has been completed and it’s to be commissioned soon so that the airport can be efficiently run. Given that the airport has been approved by all the international aviation agencies, it has to be operational 24 hours every day, seven days every week and 365 days in one year. I believe that given the vision of the governor for the state, he believes that the various gateways to any city which can be by land, sea or air, should be able accessible. One should be able to access our states through the road and that’s why he’s ensuring that we have good and quality road network in the state. On assumption of office, he put in place the technical committee for the realisation of the seaport. That committee is headed by Mrs Usoro and many other professionals who have worked so hard. In terms of the airport, very soon I’m sure this state will have an airline. The Governor thinks ahead, he believes that once people can come into the state easily, it’s going to attract lots of investment opportunities even in the area of tourism. I don’t think it’s in terms of the size but in terms of the value you are adding to a government that’s so determined to ensure that the standard of living for people is improved. What do you know that others don’t, because it appears that you have been the most mobile personnel in this administration moving from one ofﬁce to another, and it appears to me that everywhere you go it’s to remedy a particular situation and when you are done you are moved to somewhere else What you just said is what happened when I was in the banking industry. Most times I was like a missionary, when you want to open a branch, I will be sent there to set it up. I believe the training I had in my profession, the commitment and believe in very high ethical standards and

IN THE MIRROR:

Air Peace. I think all the airlines have had issues that made it difficult for them to come. I heard you recently had a personality clash with another individual who is also viewed as a political leader in your Itu local government, what really happened? I’m not a political leader, and I have not had issues with any of the political leaders from my local government. There are other people higher than me, we have somebody who’s a senator, House of Representatives so I won’t say I’m a political leader.

Okon professionalism in the way things are done is what has seen me to the level I am today. You can only give what you have. I want say that my experience as an investment banker has been a contributing factor to the level of performance I have been able to showcase in terms of the way these big projects are handled under my supervision. I don’t see any other state in Nigeria that has ventured into owning an airline, have you counted the cost for the state? I’m happy to tell you that we are the only state in Nigeria that has created the Ministry of Aviation Development. Because the federal government couldn’t do it doesn’t mean other states can’t. Recently, I heard an announcement that in 2018 Nigeria will start producing toothpick, but this is something that we have done here in Akwa Ibom state since 2015. We have a toothpick manufacturing plant here, even a pencil manufacturing factory. I believe it’s a question of leadership. If you have a visionary leader, somebody who’s well-grounded in the financial service industry like Governor Emmanuel, it is not a problem to achieve these things, given the calibre of people in the cabinet working closely with him. The emphasis of the government, as the governor frequently says, is that he does not want Akwa Ibom children to beg for a living. He wants them to earn a living. The aviation industry is a major employer of labour and the advantage of us having an airline include providing employment opportunities for our people. We have only one airline, flying in and out of Uyo, in the last few days. A lot of the traveling public are finding it difficult cope. I believe there’s a market to capture and it’s going to be professionally run and 100 percent owned by Akwa Ibom state. These things are not rocket science. At least, in Nigeria you have a minimum number of aircrafts that you can have before you start operation. It’s our intention to go with the minimum. We will do what is allowed within the laws of the country. There are certain times

of his working career r"GUFS IJT OBUJPOBM TFSWJDF ZFBS IF KPJOFE r1PMJUJDJBO BOE àOBODJBM FYQFSU XJUI the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) where experience in the banking sector spanning he held several positions in the bank. He more than two decades, Okon, worked at various times as the assistant r)F TUVEJFE JO UIF 6OJWFSTJUZ PG -BHPT manager, International Remittance Office Lagos State, for his first degree in Business (IRO), senior supervisor, Investment OfAdministration in 1987 and University of fice (Foreign Operations Dept) and senior Calabar, Cross River State for a Master’s supervisor, Banking Office r)F XBT BU UIF 'JSTU *OMBOE #BOL 1MD degree in Banking and Finance r0LPO IBT BUUFOEFE TFWFSBM DPVSTFT JO where he served as Head Investment the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates Banking, Area Executive, South-south. His (UAE) and other countries in the course job responsibility was to supervise all the

that you need to start a business, before you let in the private sector, but it’s better for people to see your commitment and level of seriousness before you now offer some shares to the public. The intention of government is that, overtime the private sector will come in to have a significant stake in the business. Recently, there was advert in the newspaper for people who are interested in having executive position. The airline is going to offer employment to people. Employment will be created in various dimensions for our people. For 12 years this airport has been charging aviation development fee, when will that be scrapped? The airport is 100 percent run by Akwa Ibom state government but it’s used by the federal government. We pay fees to all the relevant federal government aviation agencies monthly and annually and its only source of money is from revenue allocation. The airport has to be maintained. The facilities there have to be maintained. You can imagine running such a facility with generators. The attendant cost of maintenance. Diesel price per liter is on the increase, so the issue of scrapping of the levy doesn’t arise. Maybe, if it’s get to a time that diesel is free, electricity is free, but these are levies we must receive to continuously maintain the facilities for the use of the public. How much do you get from the aviation levy? Like I said, the number of airlines that fly in and out of the airport has also significantly affected the number of passengers that can go through there. That doesn’t mean that there’s no market because each flight that’s leaving and coming here is full. Why are the airlines not coming? Uyo is a preferred destination; Aero Contractors, Arik was coming but there was a problem, Dana was also coming but I’m sure recently they are not coming. The only one that is consistent is

branches of the bank in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers and Delta states r4PNF PG UIF CBOLT 0LPO MFGU B TUVOOJOH imprint include; FinBank and Standard Trust Bank Limited now United Bank for Africa (UBA) r0LPO JT B NFNCFS PG NBOZ QSPGFTTJPOBM bodies, includeing, Fellow, Institute of Sales Management; Fellow, Chartered Institute of Leadership of Nigeria (CILN); member, Institute of Direct Marketing and member, Chattered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Fellow, Institute of Management

What state of completion would you say the Victor Attah International Airport is in now? The pace of development has slowed down due to lack of funds. When His Excellency came, that was a time when the economy was in recession. If it was the way money was flowing before now, the main terminal building would have been completed. But given the fact that the state used to receive N40 billion every month. The least was N35 billion. These days, we receive N6 or N7 billion in some moths, which is not even enough to take care of the typical government business. There are certain activities that had to slow down. Revenue has completely reduced compared to what happened in the past. When we were receiving N40 or N50 billion and the Naira/dollar exchange rate was 160/150. If you are now receiving N15 billion on the exchange rate of N370, it means that you have lost over 70 percent of value of what you are getting. The resources has come down significantly but the good thing is that we have a governor who’s a good financial manager. Akwa Ibom State is lucky to have Udom Emmanuel overseeing its affairs at this time. The airport is work in progress. It is designed to have a cargo terminal and a second runway which is on-going. In terms of percentage of completion, I think that it’s work in progress. What level of completion do you hope the airport will be in, say, 2020? We will leverage very strongly our partnership with the private sector to ensure that the MRO facilities are completed and functional. That particular aspect of the airport will give employment opportunities to our people and generate revenue for the government. It’s also believed that by then the terminal building will be in place. For the people in our neighbouring states, like Abia, our airport is closer. It now takes about one hour, thirty minutes from the airport to Arochukwu. There will be economic activities in the area of agriculture and from passenger services that’s provided. The cargo business is an important aspect of aviation business, right now I think the only major cargo business in terms of airports is based in Lagos. These days, it takes up to four months to get a container out of the seaports. The seaport and airport compliment each other, agricultural products will come through the cargo terminal. I believe it’s a service that if properly exhibited, will serve the purpose for which it was intended and will be of benefit to our people here and the neighbouring states. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

Consultants r)F XBT UIF .BOBHJOH %JSFDUPS PG 'BOUJYJT Investments Limited, a financial advisory firm prior to his appointment as the Commissioner for Economic Development. He is also the immediate past Commissioner for Finance r)F XBT $IBJSNBO "LXB *CPN 4UBUF -PDBM Government Joint Derivation Committee, Member, Akwa Ibom State Finance and General Purpose Committee, (FGPC) and Chairman Akwa Ibom State Micro Credit Committee

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY JANUARY 3, 2019

POLITICS

‘APC is Out forViolence in Kogi State’ Former Governor of Kogi State, Chief Clarence Olafemi tells Yekini Jimoh that the All Progressives Congress is jittery over the increasing popularity of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state Why have you chosen to be in Atiku’s camp? Alhaji Abubakar Atiku is one of the rare persons God has given to us in this country. He demonstrated it when he had the opportunity as Vice President between 1999 and 2007. Since he left office, he has been trying to be the president of this country, first because as an insider during the Chief Obasanjo’s regime, he has acquired knowledge on how to govern this country. As the Vice President, there are one or two things he could have done, but as second-incommand he cannot do it. If he becomes the Number One, he will have the capacity to improve on the governance of Nigeria. In my personal interaction, he told me how he encouraged his children to remain in this country and as such, he will never allow or support any thing that can plunge the country into war. Atiku is a man who has a great acumen in the area of business and he has been controlling chains of businesses within the country successfully. He has also created enormous jobs for Nigerians. So he knows how to grow the country economy. If he can manage his businesses, there is no doubt that he will be able to manage Nigeria’s economy effectively to become one of the best in Africa. In terms of security, he once told me his personal view on how to constitute a very vibrant and viable security outfit in this country. I was convinced. If you have an interaction with him you can easily be convinced. Some of us are really worried about where Nigeria is today compared to where we anticipated the country should be when we were voting for this present government, which we hoped would bring the desired change to the people of this nation. Atiku and I were among the forces that brought President Buhari to power and we had a lot of expectations that convinced us that we must change the government of PDP at that time. Unfortunately, after four years we seem to be helpless and hopeless because we have a clueless government that has no solution to any problem of this country. Coming to the area of unemployment, there is a clear evidence today that over 30 million Nigerians that are capable and strong to be employed are out of job. They have no jobs and in my own little way I have four of my children with masters’

Olafemi degrees in various viable disciplines like petroleum engineering , information technology, industrial management, but they have no job. It is pathetic and the alarming rate of unemployment is what has given birth to armed robbery, kidnapping and ritual killing because people must survive. If there are jobs, I don’t think someone will risk his life in carrying guns for robbery and people will not kidnap because they know the implications. If they have jobs they will rather go out and display their skills and earn money. I hear that the rate at which children drop out of school is growing astronomically into millions and we have a new phrase called Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) which is strange to Nigerians. This came up as a result of bad government. It came up as a result of a clueless government. We expected that by now, all these anomalies should have been fixed and the government would have start reversing the trend. Even if the present government claims to have inherited all these mess, we voted him to stop whatever was bad and to start reversing it for us. But the government started growing it negatively which is why the suffering is becoming endemic to the level that Nigerians can no longer bear. How many families can boast of feeding three times daily? How many parents can conveniently pay school fees for their children without passing through hell? That is why whatever it will cost us legitimately

and legally to change the government we will not hesitate to do it in the interest of suffering Nigerians. This government has brought so much suffering and hunger that people have never witnessed since Nigeria’s independence. One bag of rice was N8000 when this present government inherited governance from the PDP administration. Today it cost over N19,000. Every consumable item in the country has tripled in price to the detriment of the masses whose take home pay remains the same. In some states, salaries are no longer regular. Malnutrition has entered Nigeria. We must reverse poverty. We must reverse hunger. These threats should be expunged from the country before it degenerate to an unbearable situation. With the level of wealth, potential and the population of this country, we seem to be totally at a loss in finding solutions to all these problems. That is why I am earnestly supporting Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. I have not seen an alternative for now. We must change this government and bring to power somebody who will give us a better performance in terms of economic development, in terms of food security, in terms of security of lives and property and the only person that can do that among the candidates vying for the position is Atiku that is why I am supporting him come rain, come sunshine. As the Atiku Abubakar Presidential campaign director for Kogi state, how will you shoulder this herculean task considering the political situation in the state? To you it is a big responsibility, but for me it is a very familiar responsibility. In 2008, I was the Governor of Kogi state when election was cancelled. I was charged to ensure that PDP wins the election. I had no campaign council and in the history of elections in Kogi state, that was first time the state had a candidate winning with a figure of over 600,000 votes while the opponent had over 120,000. I supervised and directed all the affairs of that election which was adjudged as one of the most peaceful elections in the state. Also in 2015, I was a member of presidential campaign council of the APC in-charge of Kogi state. Meetings and planning were done in my house and we defeated the sitting PDP marginally with

over 361,000 votes against over 130,000 votes. The new responsibility given to me is a familiar job and I think the PDP has put a round peg in a round hole by asking me to do the job. I have accepted to do it for two reasons, first because of my principal, the man I believe in and trust. We went together to APC. I was his campaign director for Kogi and we defeated all aspirants, again went together to PDP I was his campaign director and he won. When you combine all these facts, you will see that it is normal to continue my support for Atiku. I am appealing to Governor Yahaya Bello who is the chief security officer of this state to take a look at the Nigeria constitution that spell out clearly that every security issue in the state lies squarely on his shoulders and he owes the state that great obligation to make sure that elections are peaceful and the will of the people is allowed to prevail. He must write an undertaking that as the chief security officer of the state, he will allow Kogi elections to be free and fair. It will not do him any good to allow innocent blood to be shed because of election. The people of Kogi state are watching with keen interest to see how the governor will handle the security of the state because nobody has the monopoly of violence. Let that be said loud and clear, that all political parties in the state need a level playing ground for all the participating parties. He should discourage violence of any type. What is your comment of the electoral amendment bill which the president has declined to sign into law? His refusal to sign the amended bill is an impeachment offence because the first question we should ask is why do we have a legislative arm? The major responsibility of the legislature is to look at events the way it unfolds especially in the past and to correct the anomalies by making laws that will improve on it and once the National Assembly has done the amendment, the president should sign into law. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

‘I’m the Credible Alternative My People Want’ Flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress in Ovia Federal Constituency of Edo State, Dennis Idahosa, who is a former a member of the state executive council fields questions from Adibe Emenyonu on his priorities in politics which include human capital development rest until it is achieved.

You have ﬂagged off your campaigns. How has it been? It has been wholesome. I am facing a lot of challenges because the election in Nigeria is expensive. God has helped us to reach a lot of families in my constituency. I have been able to put smiles on people’s faces. We have been able to overcome our challenges and we are gaining more momentum. I believe God has a hand in this project. Okada elders recently endorsed your candidacy. What does that mean to you owing to the fact that it is the stronghold of your opponent? I cherish the endorsement from Okada Odionwere and the elders in council. They were able to explain the reason I was endorsed to go to the National Assembly and replace their daughter. One was to be very active on the floor to attract a lot of development. The second one is to concentrate on human capital development and the third one is to be accessible to the electorates. In all of these, my opponent has failed. She has never moved any motion during plenary. She is not there when important issues are discussed. She has no respect for the people. My observation is that they are fed up with her. They made up their mind to vote her out of office. They have found the alternative they needed and they see me as the messiah in our constituency. I will not play politics of bitterness but I will concentrate on what will uplift the people. I pray that God brings an end to vote buying in this country so that the

How much support do you get from your party? The most important thing the party has done for me is to give me the ticket as its flag bearer. The leaders and youths have been very supportive. It is not about finance. It is the moral support that I need.

Idahosa people can vote reliable persons into power. Your campaign slogan is ‘liberation.’ Why did you choose it? It started in Okada, the hometown of my opponent. The people of Okada cried out to me that their land has been taken from them. They said they have no land to build houses anymore. They said they want to be liberated. I did a forensic analysis of their cries and I asked how the land grabbing came about in Okada. They explained to me and I found out that the father of my opponent has been unfair to the Okada people. I believe that God has brought me to liberate the people of Ovia and I will not

Ovia constituency is made up of farmers... I have been able to work with various communities. I have reached out to farm camps in Ovia and I am working with the local and state government to meet up with their basic amenities. Grading of earth roads in many of the villages has commenced and it is being funded by the local government. The few camps in Okada axis I really worried about was when I saw how they are suffering. To me that was failure and we have been able to address their problems. Are you not disturbed that the post primaries crisis may affect the APC? Not at all. In every primary, there are bound to be little crisis but the APC family has been able to address it. We are comfortable that we will win all available seats in Edo South senatorial district. In Ovia, we are getting 73 percent. How would you tackle unemployment? The things I will do as a lawmaker is to focus on human capital development. There will be job opportunities for our youths. I will collaborate

with both the state and local government and look at areas where opportunities are available. I am already collecting data of my supporters. I want to have a database so that after my victory, I do not need to collect their CVs anymore. I will have skills acquisition centres and support youths to learn skills. Soft loans will be made available to them after their training. The next one is women empowerment. My plan is to use 50 per cent of my salary as empowerment for the women. It will not be a loan but support for little businesses. You are a successful businessman. Why venture into politics? As a businessman, I was able to support people but it was not enough to carry majority of the people’s challenges and I felt that venturing into politics would give the room for more opportunities to meet their need and empower a lot of people. I am so passionate about helping people because I prayed to God when I was 11 years to bless me so that I will be a blessing to my generation. You worked with Oshiomhole and now Obaseki is in power. How do you compare both men? Oshiomhole is a great man and Obaseki is a wonderful man. Both of them brought the needed development to Edo. Oshiomhole is a fighter and he will do it openly. Obaseki is a silent fighter and he talks less but has vision and target for the people. Oshiomhole is one of the best governors we have seen before Obaseki.

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍˇ

FEATURES

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

Unveilling a Guide to Excellent Parenting In tackling lack of competent caregivers as one of the major challenges faced by parents in the 21st century, the CEO of LaPax Life Project, Emem Nwogwugwu, recently launched the â€˜Parent Organiserâ€™, to fill the lacuna, Sunday Ehigiator writes

esearch has proved that the key to raising well-rounded children is to establish a solid support system at home so that they grow up satisfied with their achievements and ambitions. Specifically, research conducted by Carol Dweck, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and a leading researcher in the field of achievement and success, discovered that a person's mindset can influence behavior. The research posited that people with a fixed mindset are usually reluctant to take on challenges because they believe their achievements come from innate abilities, adding that those with a growth mindset are usually more willing to face challenges with hard work because they believe in always learning new skills. "Above all, keep in mind that the grade is not what motivates a top student to succeed, it's his inner drive for learning", adds Dweck. And for a child to attain the required level of drive, the place of proper parenting cannot be ignored; hence the book, Parent Organiser by Emem Nwogwugwu; a guide to quality parenting. Sharing her motherhood experience at the event to launch her organiser at Radisson Blu Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nwogwugwu, a life coach, said, â€œEarly on in my motherhood journey, I noticed I was struggling to keep up with my schedule for my new business, new baby and at the same time run a family without organised domestic support at home. I had health challenges because of stress and began to lose interest in caring for myself. I knew I needed to create a plan to enable me to balance my time for God, myself, family, and a new career. "Then two years ago, I attended an event in Lagos where a mom mentioned to me that she uses a list to organise her children's daily schedule. That personal conversation with her stuck in my head. I knew I needed more structure in my interactions with my daughterâ€™s nanny and housekeeper. Eventually, I realised we could be more effective and achieve better results for my daughter using an organiser. "It made sharing knowledge easier, and besides the positive impact at home, really complimented my skills as a life coach. I also noticed a great improvement with my daughter all around, even in her academics. I might be home or out at work and my daughterâ€™s day would still go as planned. After so many years of using this technique and seeing great results, I thought it would help to share my daughterâ€™s organiser with the world. "Child upbringing is one of the most formidable tasks a parent will ever take on in life. It is even more difficult in a society like ours that is in transition. Urbanisation has brought with it many negative influences on children. We can think of TV and some of its immoral programmes, pornographic materials such as magazines and movies, the use of alcohol and illicit drugs, the practice of the occult and its negative effects among others. What training shall we give our children to enable them to live victoriously in such a corrupt and evil system? "Children are a gift from God. The raising of children starts in the home. It is there that the foundation of a successful life can be laid and built upon. When a child's personal foundations are strong, he would be able to live responsibly and contribute his quota to the development of his community and nation as well as humanity in general. If his personal foundations are weak, he could become a liability to himself, family, community, and nation. "Children are entitled to the unconditional love of their parents. A child should not be deprived of parental love because he was not born normal, is deemed to be ugly looking, and has bad habits or whatever. The doors of love may close to him in the external environment but he should find love, peace, and happiness when he returns home. A child may involve himself in unacceptable conduct, but this should not be used against him; no parent should withhold love on the basis of the disorderly conduct of their children. "Parents should respect their children. They are

L-R: The author of Parent Organiser, Mrs. Emem Nwogwugwu and Mr. Lanre Olusola, the Catalyst, at the launch

Four-year-old Miss Corazon De Dios Nwogwugwu reading her speech at the book launch

just as unique as their parents. They should not restrict but guide them to make the right choices in life. Parents should explain the importance of godly living and encourage their children to associate with godly children. They should not make them angry unnecessarily. On the other hand, they should help them become emotionally stable." In an interview with THISDAY afterwards, Nwogwugwu while speaking on the purpose

The idea of the book came into life when I was planning a parenting masters class this year. We realised that after the parents come off the class, they go back to their normal routine. Hence, I decided to write a book, that would serve as a guide even afterward; at least for four years

The Parent Organiser

of the book said, it is to help parents plan and organise their lives and their childrenâ€™s lives, and assist caregivers/nannies with providing the right care and keeping track of the childrenâ€™s all-round progress. Likewise, she said it will enable parents to achieve their personal life and career goals by making them more organised and efficient. She added that â€œI am a life coach, my company creates coaching services for individuals or organisations. We create training courses for companies based on the needs of the persons involved. We also have an advisory and consulting arm. The idea of the book came into life when I was planning a parenting masters class this year. We realised that after the parents come off the class, they go back to their normal routine. Hence, I decided to write a book, that would serve as a guide even afterward; at least for four years. "The book is one that is going to have a positive impact on the parents, children, and even the domestic supports, caregivers or guardians to children. So you have the emotionally laden questions that help you address emotional aspects of parenting. With the guide of the book, you have emotional healing and coaching sessions in your own at home without paying anyone for it. You can plan your vision for the year, with the books vision board, it also has goal setting mechanism in there. you can literally plan your goals for your family as an adult. It also has the vision board for the children as well."

"Aside these, it has the morning routine, food plan template, how to coach children in terms of how to read, create, and different ways on how to teach a child. It allows you to plan, it allows you to write; because itâ€™s like a diary and an organiser. "The major challenges of parents in this 21st century is the lack of competent caregivers. Parents donâ€™t have the time to train their caregivers. They believe that their caregivers should be just good at cooking, bathing, getting them dressed for school or other occasions, and cleaning the house. But there is so much more they need to know in terms of bringing up the child. "The book didn't necessarily throw away the traditional methods of training a child, but modified them and improved on them, based on well-researched recommendations from experts. The book is actually a structure that allows you to model the old in a much better and positive way, where the child is groomed properly, and the child is groomed with love. "There are emotional healings that help you as the caregiver or parent deal with your personal issues; because if the parents are not healed or whole, they can not take care of the child. The book is just a balance between the old ways of parenting and the modern ways of parenting. You can order for copies on our website on www. Lapaxlifeproject.com, or through our various social media platforms, and every bookstore in Lagos, Abuja and some," she concluded.

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PERSPECTIVE

National Sovereignty: Garland for the Nigerian Military

Nigerian military

Emeka Nwankpa

ecent reports revealed that 13 soldiers and two police personnel were killed on Christmas-eve while fighting through a Boko Haram ambush on DamaturuMaiduguri Roadbut Nigerian Armyâ€™s deputy spokesman, Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, quickly added that in another terroristsâ€™ attack on the same day in Kukareta, Damaturu LGA of Yobe State, the insurgents were successfully repelled and killed after a fierce battle. Curiously, the rest of the country has carriedon as if nothing happened. It is a manifestation of low civilian support to the Nigerian military. It is even sad that many donâ€™t evenbother when service men die in action. Three soldiers attached to Operation Safe Haven died as renewed tension escalated on September 7, 2018 in Plateau State. In March this year, eleven young freshly-trained soldiers who were deployed to Kaduna State as Special Forces against banditry in Birnin Gwari weremurdered in ambush. It was frightening that Nigerians especially the political class did not condemn the killings. Ithas become the lot of military information handlers currently engaged in a multi-taskmatrix of managing the psychology of troopsand the emotions of bereaved families, the aloofness of many Nigerian people ,fighting off Boko Haramâ€™s online propaganda theirritably doubtful postures of human rights platforms such as Amnesty International. Yet, in all these, the critical issues of welfare, personnel and weapons and other logistics are another matter entirely. What about the issue of public perception of the counter-terrorism war which will be ten years in 2019 after the sectâ€™s leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was extrajudicially killed in 2009? This is where the nation is right now. Clearly, Nigeria is not where it should be but it has definitely progressed. In 2015 shortly before the elections that removed former President Goodluck Jonathan, a remarkable push-back against Boko Haram was made and continues to be made in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States, the theatre of war.

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In Borno State, for example, where 27 LGAswere under Boko Haram, the military has turned the tide. Key performance indicatorssuch as the restoration of governmental authority, the return of thousands of rescued hostages to their ancestral roots, re-opening of inter-state roads and resuscitation of socio-economic activities. The fight against terrorism since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in 2015 has been phenomenal made possible by theresilient service chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin providing synergy-driven leadership to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai, Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar and the commanders of Operation Lafiya Dole as true national heroes. They have left none in doubt about their resolve to secure and stabilize the nation. The North East could have been lost to Boko Haram if they did not emerge to decimate the sectâ€™s capacity to hold Nigerian territories. Regrettably, Boko Haramâ€™s propaganda has dictated a deadly narrative to divideunsuspecting Nigerians along ethnic, regional, religious and political lines as many see the anti-terror fight as a military affair. This is perhaps why the media reports terroristsâ€™activities as though they were a State thereby giving it a larger-than-life status. Boko Haram has enjoyed the oxygen of free publicity. The perception that the anti-terror is undulyprolonged is mistaken. This is direct fallout of the war of narratives. This again raises the need for public support to the defence forces to eliminate the remnant of the terrorists. A nation moves together with its military winsa war. The Nigerian troops sacked Camp Zairo and Camp S (Shape) headquarters of the sect in the dreaded Sambisa Forest on December 22, 2016. They can do more. Such national consensus forms the chemistry of modern warfare. In 2011, Americans rallied round their military and security forces to take Osama Bin Laden down. Nigeriaâ€™s military has the spirit and soul to defend the country.But Nigerians must first know that the nationin a state of war. We must bother when the service men die in action while defending the country. Never in the history of the nation have themilitary and other security forces been engaged in so many internal security operations

as they are now. Insurgency has been curtailed in the North East. The forces are still engaged with other threats such as kidnapping, cattle rustling, farmers-herdsmenclashes, pipeline vandalism, oil robbery, illegal bunkering, ritual killing, cultism, etc. Add the possible violent fallout of the current electioneering campaigns in the country and the stakes go higher. The armed forces have aided civil authority to restore of law and order, peace and security in the various flash-points across the country. There is a steadydecimation of Boko Haram. The Nigerian Air Force has been very effective in deploying the height advantage and the ferocity of the Mi35 fighter jets to frustrate the terrorists. Consequently, thousands of rescued captives have returned to their communities to resume their normal lives. Night life has returned to Maiduguri and its environs. Regular commercial flights into the city have increased. Normalcy has returned to most of the areas affected by the insurgency. Hotel accommodation in Maiduguri today is scarce which proves that the Nigerian military has significantly fast-tracked the return of peace to the region thereby demonstrating its capacity and will to defend the nationâ€™s sovereignty country against internal and external aggression. The nation owes them a debt of gratitude. This is the same military whose personnel are doing very well in United Nations peace-keeping operations across the globe. This is the same military that prevented the last presidential elections in the Gambia from slipping into chaos thereby guarding democracy in that country and increasing the confidence of Nigerians in the resilience of our armed forces under the CDS, General Olonisakin and his capable service chiefs. Concerns are still being raised in certain quarters about when and whether the nation will eventually see the back of Boko Haram. Historically, the war against terrorism lingersbecause terrorism runs on many legs. Indoctrination makes it difficult to fight because the minds involved are, at best, disoriented. The Nigerian military is a conventional fighting force fighting non-conventional ragtag combatants. The required approach therefore is multi-pronged lending itself to arbitrary reviews, tactical adjustments and strategic manoeuvres which ultimately drags the war on end.

Nigerians have critical roles to play in the way the military has ingeniously adjusted its doctrinal focus and training programs to incorporate civilians in promoting internal security through volunteering vital information to security services as a mark of citizen duty. Unfortunately, this is not being done. The security of the nation is not the duty of the military alone but everybodyâ€™s. The Nigerian military has been betterpositioned to quell armed conflicts in aid of the civil police in the country. Under Gen. Olonisakin and the service chiefs, the armed forces have garnered remarkable global respect in the determined manner it has effectively tackled insecurity particularly terrorism and insurgency. Nigeriaâ€™s counter-terrorism strategy has also become a subject of robust discourse, deep study and increased interest in top military quarters across the world prompting a visit not long ago by a high-powered study group from the prestigious Royal College of Defence Studies in the United Kingdom to the Defence Headquarters in Abuja. Today, the military under Gen. Olonisakin and the service chiefs have employed synergy, intelligence and information sharing to stabilize the nation in the way it has tackled national security threats particularly terrorism and insurgency employing a mix of kinetic and non-kinetic measures. The various intervention operations across the country have remarkably secured and stabilized the nation. Operation Sharan Daji in the North West tackles armed banditry, the rustling of cattle and other livestock while Operation Awatse, a collaboration of the Army, Navy and Air Force in the South West region tackles militants and oil installation vandals around Arepo, Ishawo and Elepete creeks in Lagos and Ogun States. Operation Hard Punch in Kaduna currently battling kidnapping and banditry in Birnin Gwari and Kaduna-Abuja Road is complementing Operation Safe Haven in the North Central Plateau State and Operation Swirl Stroke to combat deadly herdsmen, armed robbery, cattle-rustling and banditry in Nasarawa, Benue and Taraba States. Operation Delta Safe in the Niger Delta area protects critical

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

Special Assistant to General Overseer, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Brown Oyitso (middle), distributing free rice to members of the public, during a special Christmas service, at the Police College, Ikejaâ€Śrecently

L-R: Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Mariolynnluxury, Ms. Lynda Isika; Convener/ CEO, EventsbySI, Ms Sandra Ikeji; Entrepreneur Africa Awards, Mr. David Agu, with friends, at the 2018 Entrepreneur Africa Awards where EventsbySI won the best management brand of the year in Lagos..recently

L-R; Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan; President, Fintech Association of Nigeria/Convener Africa Fintech Network, Dr. Segun Aina; and Company Secretary /Chief Legal Counsel, Ecobank Nigeria, Denike Laoye, during the presentation of recognition award to Ecobank by the Fintech Association of Nigeria in Lagos recently

L-R Company Secretary/Legal Adviser NB Plc., Uaboi Agbebaku; Brand Manager, Star Lager Beer, Onyebuchi Nwangwu; and Marketing Director, NB Plc., Emmanuel Oriakhi, at Warri again concert powered by Star Lager Beer.held in Warri recently

L-R; Financial Controller,,Lucky Fibres Ltd, Mr. Naveen Mehta; General Manager, Lucky Fibres Ltd., Mr Jitesh Pamnani; Area Sales Manager, Lush Hair,Mr. Parth Shah; and Area Sales Manager, Lush Hair, Mr Laxmipat Sethia, during Lush Hair Road Show in Lagos recently

L-R: Modern Trade Manager, Indomie Relish, Ajuma Ademu; Brand Manager, Indomie Relish, Ginny Tewatia; participant in the Indomie Relish game, Ado Adams; and Sales Team Manager, Indomie Relish Abuja, Mary Talabi, during the oďŹƒcial launch of Indomie Relish in Abuja recently

L-R: Chairman, Transformer Commissioning Committe, Mr. Fred Ezeaku;Chairman, Community Development Association (CDA),Akesan Community Rev Emmanuel Olayemi; CDA Joint Chairman,Mr Osibeluwo Ademola; Mr Fagbemi Idowu and CDA Chairman, Alawe Akesan Olorunfemi, Dr Ademeso Adebola, during the commissioning of transformer Donated by Lagos State Government in Alimosho Local Government Area, Lagos State recently

L-R: Rep. Of the ministry of Local Government and and chieftaincy matters, Lagos State, Engr. Adebola Oshikoya; Rep. of the Commissioner for Informationand Strategy, Mr. Musbau Rasak; Executive Chairman, Center for Anti-Corruption And Open Leadership (CACOL) Comrade Debo Adeniran and book reviewer, Comrade Lanre Adeleke, during Lagos Open Parliament Four (LOP 4) and public presentation of the book, LOP 4 in Lagos.or i

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BUSINESSWORLD

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Quick Takes Ericsson, Volvo Sign Five-year Deal

ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă™Ă–Ă Ă™ Ă‹Ăœ ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ăš ĂžĂ™ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă–Ă™Ă&#x;ĂŽ Ě™ Ěš ĂšĂ–Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ— ĂžĂ™ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă˜Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂŽĂ“Ă‘Ă“ĂžĂ‹Ă– Ă Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ ÍŻÍ°ÍŽ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽĂĄĂ“ĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă˜Ă?Ă˘Ăž Ă?Ă“Ă Ă? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă™Ă–Ă Ă™ Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ Ă—Ă‹Ă”Ă™Ăœ ĂšĂ–Ă‹ĂŁĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă‹Ă&#x;ĂžĂ™Ă—Ă™ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁËœ Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ě‹Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽĚ‹Ă Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă? ĂŽĂ“Ă‘Ă“ĂžĂ‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ĂŒĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă“Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?ĂŽËœ Ă–Ă™ĂĄĚ‹Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹ĂšĂ‹Ă?Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă—Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă– Ă‹ĂšĂšĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă&#x;ĂžĂ™Ă˜Ă™Ă—Ă™Ă&#x;Ă? ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Íł Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă˜Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă–Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă?Ă˜Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă™Ă–Ă Ă™ Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ™ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ăœ Ă™ĂĄĂ˜Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă Ă?ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă?Ăž ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?Ă–Ă™ĂšĂ—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ăœ ĂŽĂ“Ă‘Ă“ĂžĂ‹Ă– Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă&#x;ĂžĂ™Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă˜Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă‘Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă™ĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă“Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă?Ă?Ăž ĂžĂ™ ĂŽĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă–Ă™Ă&#x;ĂŽË› Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă Ă“Ă‹ Ă?Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă‘Ă?Ă™Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂšĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?Ă?Ëœ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂšĂ–Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ— ĂžĂ‹Ă•Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă‹Ă–Ëœ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“ĂžĂŁËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă Ă‹Ă?ĂŁ Ă™ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă‘Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹ Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă? ĚŽ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ–Ă“Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă&#x;ĂœĂ™ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă˜Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ě™ Ěš Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă‹ĂžĂ‹ ĂœĂ™ĂžĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ě™ ĚšË› Ă“ĂžĂ’ ĂŽĂ“Ă‘Ă“ĂžĂ‹Ă– Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă–ĂŁ ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‹Ă&#x;ĂžĂ™Ă—Ă™ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‹ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ?ĂšĂ?Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă– ĂžĂ™ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ? Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ë›

Internet Founder Dies at 81

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

R - L: Former President of Ghana Hotels Association, Herbert Acquaye; Arik Airâ€™s Communications Manager, Adebanji Ola and Regional Sales Manager, South-east/South-south, Henry Ejiogu, at the presentation of the â€˜Most Recognisable Airline Brand in Nigeriaâ€™ to Arik Air in Accraâ€Ś recently

Telecoms Records Steady Growth in Subscriber Base, Teledensity Emma Okonji The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said the telecoms industry recorded steady growth in subscriber number and teledensity in 2018. NCC, in its November monthly report posted on its website, noted that there was a steady growth in subscriber number, which reached its peak of 169.1 million at the end of 2018, up from 165.2 million as at October same year. According to NCCâ€™s statistics, the steady growth in subscriber base from January 2018 to November 2018, also reflected on the growth of subscribersâ€™ teledensity, which also reached a peak of 120.79 per cent in November 2018, up from 118.03 per cent in October same year.

TELECOM While teledensity is the number of active telephone connections per one hundred inhabitants living within an area and is expressed as a percentage figure, subscriber number is the number of active subscribers for telephony services on each of the licensed service providers utilising different technologies including GSM, CDMA, Fixed Wireless and Fixed Wired like Landline service. A breakdown of the statistics showed that in January 2018, subscriber number was 147.3 million with a teledensity of 105.21 per cent. It, however, grew to 148.4 million subscribers and a teledensity of 106 per cent in February same year.

In March 2018, there was another rise in subscriber number to reach 149.3 million with a teledensity of 106.64 per cent, while subscriber number also rose to 160.5 million in April 2018 with a teledensity of 114.60 per cent of the same year. In the months of May and June 2018, the subscriber base also increased to 161.5 million and 162.8 million respectively, with a growth in teledensity of 116.09 per cent and 116.26 per cent respectively. However, in July and August 2018, Nigeria witnessed a slight drop in both subscriber number and teledensity. While subscriber number slightly dropped from 162.8 million in June to 161.8 million in July, and 160.9 million in August, teledensity also dropped slightly from 116.26 per

cent in June to 115.57 per cent in July and 114.92 per cent in August of same year. Nonetheless, in September 2018, subscriber number recorded another growth to reach 162.1 million and 165.2 million in October, with a teledensity growth of 115.76 per cent in September 2018 and 118.03 per cent October same year. In November, 2018, subscriber number also recorded another steady growth to reach its highest peak of 169.1 million, with a teledensity of 120.79 per cent in the same November 2018. According to the NCC, MTN maintained the highest market share with 66.9 million subscribers, which was about 40 per cent of the market share. This was Continued on page 24

â€˜Africans Need Alternative Internet Content to Engage the Grassrootsâ€™ Emma Okonji Policy makers and developers in sub-Saharan African countries have been advised to do a lot more in 2019 in order to encourage the development of alternative local internet content that will benefit the majority of the grass-root citizens across African countries, Nigeria inclusive. The Head, sub-Saharan Africa for Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA), Mr. Akinwale Goodluck, a Nigerian, who gave the advice in an interview with THISDAY, said the need for alternative

TELECOM internet content for Africans became necessary, in order to enhance the planned 5G rollout in 2020 by global economies. He was of the view that in sub-Saharan Africa, the available contents are not relevant to majority of the people and that the generality of the people do not maximise the use of the internet and therefore have not explored the real potential of the internet, except for few. Owing to this, he called on stakeholders to come together and fashion out the kind of content that will be relevant

to the people, especially those at the grassroots level. According to Goodluck, â€œThere is need to build alternative local content for sub-Saharan African countries including Nigeria that will promote African and Nigerian languages, to effectively engage the grassroots who are mainly petty traders and artisans, to enable them maximise the full potential of the internet. â€œFor example, Nigeria has developed a great music industry but we need to localise it further to enable more people especially those at the grassroots level to take

some steps forward to embrace online music and also do great stuffs on the internet, beyond just sending and receiving emails. â€œThere is need to shift focus from concentrating on only the elites and educated who have access to the internet and refocus on the majority of the people at the grassroots level to be part of the global digital transformation process. â€œWe should also ensure that our people are able to produce and utilise local contents and when this is achieved, the we will be Continued on page 24

Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă?Ăž ĂœË› Ă‹ĂœĂœĂŁ Ă™ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ’Ă™ Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂšĂ?ĂŽ ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă“Ă–ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?ĂœĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ăœ Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă?Ăž Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă‘Ă?ĂŽ ÍśÍŻË› Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ? ÍŻÍˇÍ´ÍŽĂ?Ëœ Ă’Ă? ĂœĂ‹Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂŽĂ Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă’ ĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ě™ ĂœĂšĂ‹Ěš Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă?Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă”Ă™ĂŒ Ă™Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ&#x;ĂžĂ?Ăœ Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?ĂŽ ĂœĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă?ĂžË› Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂœĂ&#x;Ă“ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ™ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă“Ă–ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂŽĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ?ĂŽ ĂžĂ™ Ă‘Ă?Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă— ĂœĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› ĂœĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ăž ĂšĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?ĂŽ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă?Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ™ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁË› Ă™ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂžĂ? Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă‘Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă–Ă™Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ Ă™ĂŒ Ă‹Ă’Ă˜Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă˜ Ă–Ă?Ă“Ă˜ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă•Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ĂžĂĄĂ™ Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă—Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ?Ëœ Ă™ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂžĂ? ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?ĂŽĂ–ĂŁ Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂŁ ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă“Ăž ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĚ‹Ă–Ă™Ă™Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› ËŤ ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă?ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄËœ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă™Ă–ĂŽ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă—Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁËœËŹ Ă’Ă? Ă’Ă‹ĂŽ ĂžĂ™Ă–ĂŽ Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?ĂĄ ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?ĂĄ Ă™ĂœĂ• Ă“Ă—Ă?Ă?Ë› ĂĄĂ™ Ă•Ă?ĂŁ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?Ă–Ă™ĂšĂ—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂžĂ™ Ă™ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă–Ă‹ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă™ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁ Ă“Ăž Ă?Ă’Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?ĂŽ ĂŽĂ‹ĂžĂ‹ ĂŒĂ?ĂžĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă˜Ă™ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ë› Ă™ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂžĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹ ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă–Ă‹ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ëœ ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹ Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă—Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž ĂŽĂ‹ĂžĂ‹ Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? Ă?ĂšĂ–Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ Ă?Ă—Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă’Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă•Ă? Ă™Ăœ ĂšĂ‹Ă?Ă•Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă? Ă“Ăž ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă Ă?Ă–Ă–Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ™ Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë›

Nokia Names Motley as President

Ă™Ă•Ă“Ă‹ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă˜Ă‹Ă—Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂœĂ‹ Ă™ĂžĂ–Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˘Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ăš Ă?ĘĽĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂŁ ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍˇË› Ă’Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂž ĂžĂ™ Ă™Ă•Ă“Ă‹ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă”Ă?Ă?Ă Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“Ë› Ă™ĂžĂ–Ă?ĂŁ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă™ Ă&#x;Ă“Ă–Ă–Ä€Ă˜Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă™ Ă‹Ă? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă Ă“Ă™Ă&#x;Ă?Ă–ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă˜Ă‹Ă—Ă?ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ™Ă—Ă?Ăœ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĘĽĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂŁ ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍˇË› Ă™Ă•Ă“Ă‹ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă˘Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? ĘŠĂ?Ă?Ăœ Ă‹Ă”Ă?Ă?Ă Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË? ËŤ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂŁ Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă˘Ă?Ă?ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?Ăœ ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂœĂ?Ă’Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă Ă? Ă?Ă˘Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă•Ă‘ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă’Ă? ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ëœ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ™Ă—Ă?Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă“Ăš Ă?Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă?Ă˜ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ě‹Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă—Ă? ĂžĂ™ ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?Ăœ Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă™ĂŒĂ”Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă‹Ă— ĂšĂ–Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă’Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂšĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ™Ă–Ă?Ë›ËŹ Ă™ĂžĂ–Ă?ĂŁ Ă“Ă? Ă‹ Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă?ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?Ă–Ă™ĂšĂ—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă’Ëœ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ăž ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?Ă–Ă™ĂšĂ—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?Ă™Ă–Ă“Ă™ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂŁË› Ă’Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă’Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă?Ăœ Ă‹Ăž Ęś Ă?Ă–Ă– Ă‹ĂŒĂ™ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă‹ ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă™Ă? Ęś Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš ĂšĂ™Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ăž Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă–Ě‹ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ™ĂžĂ’ Ę¨Ă˘Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă˜ Ă”Ă™Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă•Ă“Ă‹ Ă“Ă˜ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍ´Ë› Ăž Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă–Ě‹ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă’Ă?Ăœ ĂœĂ™Ă–Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ë› Ë› ĂĄĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĘŠĂ?Ă?Ăœ Ě™ Ěš Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁËŞĂ? ĂĄĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă“ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ęś Ëœ Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ë›

â€œBecause we value our customers, we are raising investments to upgrade our systems and ensure their safety as they connect to opportunities and things that matter, and we will continue to invest to enhance customer experienceâ€? CEO, Spectranet,

Mr. Ajay Awasthi

5 ) * 4 % ": t THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍˇ

TELECOMS RECORDS STEADY GROWTH IN SUBSCRIBER BASE, TELEDENSITY

NCS Urged to Embrace Technology Evolution

closely followed by Globacom, with subscriber number of 43.3 million, which is about 26 per cent market share. Airtel was next to Globacom with subscriber number of 43.1 million, which is about 25 per cent market share. The least among them was 9mobile with subscriber number of 15.4 million, which was about seven per cent market share. No statistics was recorded for ntel, the telecoms operator that bought over NITEL and MTel through unbundled liquidation exercise since 2015, with focus on data subscription.

Stories by Emma Okonji

â€˜AFRICANS NEED ALTERNATIVE INTERNET CONTENT TO ENGAGE THE GRASSROOTSâ€™ sure of greater appreciation of the internet and we can then begin to look at the kind of services that Nigeria and other countries within the sub-Saharan African region could offer for 5G rollout.â€? Goodluck, insisted that countries within the subSaharan Africa region needed to build smart cities with automated homes where people can communicate with devices through automated wearables that are connected to the internet. Some of the wearables, he said, should be able to track the health system of individuals and communicate same to medical doctors who may be some distance away from the rural dwellers. According to him, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an agency of the United Nation that oversees global telecommunications activities, is currently working with GSMA to determine the kind of spectrum that will drive 5G rollout in different countries of the world. Africans for instance have identified some spectrum that they would like to propose at the World Radio Conference (WRC19), holding in Egypt in February this year. So there is a lot of work going on and Nigeria is at the forefront on its preparatory work for 5G rollout in 2020, Goodluck said.

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

In order to remain relevant in the scheme of things in 2019 and beyond, the founder of CWG Plc, Mr. Austin Okere, has called on the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), the umbrella body for all practicing Information Technology (IT) professionals in Nigeria, to as a matter of urgency, align its vision with modern technology trends. Okere, who gave the advice while presenting his keynote address at the 40th Anniversary of NCS, which held in Lagos recently, said the advice became necessary to enable NCS lead Nigeria in the right technology path in 2019, being a computer advocacy group. â€œIt is possible that the old vision of NCS has run its course and we need to craft a new direction for ourselves, in these rapidly changing times, where technology has taken the centre stage in global economic development. â€œOur foundation vision should be robust enough to stand the test of this fourth industrial revolution. We used to be a very large association and find comfort in our numbers. â€œThings have changed, neither age nor size guarantees relevance. In those days we used to say that the big fish will eat up the small fish. Today, it is the fast fish that eats up the slow fish, despite their sizes,â€? Okere said. Perhaps some of the advocacy that could make the NCS more relevant would be

championing the campaign for Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). NCS must therefore partner our local companies to shoulder their own tax burden, rather than leaving it all onto the local partner, even though the major part of the deal goes to the OEM, Okere said, adding that another advocacy point could be campaigning for the OEMs to accept their portion of payments in local currency, as it currently happens in Kenya; so that the local company is not left alone to bear the exchange

risk. Citing global organisations that have lost market relevance as a result of their inability to align with future technology, Okere said 17 years ago, Kodak had 170,000 employees and sold 85 per cent of all photo paper worldwide, but that within just a few years ago, their business model disappeared, and they were bankrupt, because they lacked the vision to see the future of technology. â€œThis may happen to our association in the next ten

years - even if we donâ€™t see it coming. Kodak was not the only casualty. There were also Sony and Fuji who made tons of money selling cameras and films; especially films, but today they are out of business and irrelevant in the present technology trends that have shaped the world of digital photography,â€? Okere added. He, therefore, called on the NCS as a body of computer advocacy, which he belongs to, to begin to align its vision with modern technology trends

and make good incursions into government dreams and aspirations in order to properly guide government in all her decisions that are technology driven. â€œWe need a diversity in leadership which will include our outstanding millennials. Our old leaders keep the history and traditions, but it is our young leaders that can point us into the direction of the future,â€? Okere who is currently an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Columbia Business School, New York, said.

CAPACITY BUILDING

L-R: Professor Dayo Ayoade of the University of Lagos and resource person; former United Nations Prosecutor/ Training Coordinator, Mr. Segun Jegede; Resource person/ Fellow National Institute of Quality Surveyor, Mr. Ifeanyi Anago and a participant, Mr. Abdullahi Zakari at a capacity building workshop for lawyers, engineers and procurement oďŹƒcers in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources that took place in Lagosâ€Śrecently

â€˜Implementation of Mandatory Use of NIN Necessary in 2019â€™ In line with federal governmentâ€™s directive on the implementation of mandatory usage of the National Identification Number (NIN), with effect from January 1, 2019, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said that the implementation has become necessary, in order to open opportunities for Nigerians to access any government service across the country. The Director-General of NIMC, Aliyu Aziz, who gave the clarification in Abuja recently, said all federal government Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs) that take records of personnel and provide services requiring the identification of a person, had since January 1, 2019, commenced its implementation and

have started demanding NIN from citizens to offer any of such services. At its meeting on September 12, 2018 chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the new National Digital Identity Ecosystem Strategic Roadmap for the enrolment of Nigerians and legal residents into the National Identity Database (NIDB). This brought into effect the immediate commencement of the implementation of the strategic roadmap for the new Digital Identity Ecosystem as approved by the federal government, Aziz said. He added that ministries and agencies such as education, aviation, office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Of-

fice of the Accountant General of the Federation, National Population Commission, National Independent Electoral Commission, Corporate Affairs Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigerian Communications Commission, National Health Insurance Scheme, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Nigeria Police Force, Security and Exchange Commission, must request and verify the NIN as already adopted by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Road Safety Commission and the National Pension Commission. Explaining how the mandatory usage of NIN works, Aziz allayed the fears of the

public that the cut-off date might pose a challenge to citizens or jeopardise their access to government services, or indeed, put their citizenship in any doubt. â€œThe process is simple and shall bring no stress to anyone. When the Federal Executive Council says mandatory usage of the NIN from January 1, 2019, it means that from that date onward, the agencies providing services listed under Section 27 of the NIMC Act and Section 1 of the Mandatory Use of the National Identification Number Regulations 2017, shall demand the NIN from citizens or legal residents before offering them any service,â€? Aziz explained. Speaking further, he assured Nigerians that no one shall be denied any government

services on account of not having the NIN. According to Aziz, individuals who are unable to access NIMCâ€™s office, were expected to collect citizensâ€™ data using guidelines issued by the NIMC and through secure approved channels of communication, send such data to NIMC to generate the NIN. â€œNIMC is empowered to ensure strict compliance with the NIN requirement and can demand evidence of compliance from a person or entity; caution a non-compliant person or entity in writing; sanction a non-compliant person or entity by the imposition of administrative fines or institute criminal or civil actions against the noncomplaint person or entity,â€? Aziz further said.

Goddy Egene

AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Ă™Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ Ă¤Ă? Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

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

Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; Ă¤Ă? (Aviation) Linda Eroke (Labour) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Cap Mkt) Ă”Ă“Ă™Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? (Energy) Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă?Ă”Ă™ (Nationâ€™s Capital) Reporters

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

Report Calls for Increased AI Adoption among African Countries With the right mix of policies, Africa and its citizens can reap the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI) transformations in the years to come. This was according to the findings of a new AI in Africa white paper released by Microsoft. With AI set to be the most disruptive technology in human existence, and an immense op-

portunity for Africa, Microsoft saw the need to further understand AI and its implications for Africa specifically. As a result, Microsoft saw fit to commission a future-facing white paper entitled, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa: An Opportunity for Growth, Development, and Democratization, which was recently released during Science Forum South

Africa 2018 in December. The AI in Africa white paper would be presented to South African government delegates at a separate event in March 2019 that will be dedicated to addressing AI policy advancements. Compiled by Access Partnership in conjunction with the University of Pretoria, the white paper takes a deep dive into

how AI can, and will, change the way we live and work across the continent, but with a strong focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Analysing the report, Corporate Affairs Manager at Microsoft Middle East and Africa, Ahmed El Essawi, said: â€œAI has the potential to solve some of the most pressing challenges that impact Africa. By enabling intelligent automation of the

workforce, augmenting both human and physical capital, and driving innovation, AI is set to unlock huge potential across the continent. If governments can successfully navigate the challenges, AI can be a driver of growth, development, and democratisation in core sectors like healthcare, agriculture and public sector applications like financial services and education.â€?

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BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Telecoms Stakeholdersâ€™ Expectations in 2019 With the attainment of 30 per cent broadband target in December 2018, industry stakeholders foresee business growth, deeper penetration of 4G in 2019, that will enhance Nigeriaâ€™s preparation for 5G rollout in 2020, writes Emma Okonji Having attained and surpassed the 30 per cent broadband target by December 2018, elated industry stakeholders are of the view that the achievement, which hitherto appeared to be a very tall order, will open access to increased online activities, and further drive 4G rollout in 2019, and also help Nigeria to actualise its 5G rollout plan by 2020. They, however, warned that Nigeria must not rest on its oars, having surpassed the 30 per cent broadband penetration target, but should strive more to boost online activities and promote government online presence in 2019, to enable more Nigerians participate in online businesses that will further promote e-Commerce in Nigeria.

4G forecast in 2019 Having migrated from 2G to 3G and recently to 4G, industry stakeholders have called on the telecoms industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to promote 4G penetration across networks and ensure that the solutions and devices that will drive 4G rollout are available, accessible and affordable. President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Olusola Teniola, who expressed his dissatisfaction over the slow pace of 4G rollout in 2018, said out of the established 45,000 Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) across the county in 2018, only 7,000 of that number were 4G enabled. He therefore called for more rollout of 4G BTS otherwise known as Base Stations across the country in 2019. According to him, the focus this 2019 should be on 4G rollout and sufficient content and capacity generation around 4G networks. â€œIt is a good thing that Nigeria is beginning to make preparations towards 5G rollout by 2020, but the emphasis in 2019 should be on 4G rollout. NCC should concentrate on 4G rollout in 2019, increase capacity in 4G rollout and populate it before driving campaign for 5G rollout by 2020,â€? Teniola said. Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said government must first conclude the migration plan of 2G, 3G and 4G in 2019, before intensifying campaign for 5G rollout by 2020. â€œNigeria should embrace 5G rollout in such a way that it will not affect the achievements already recorded in 2G, 3G and 4G rollout,â€? Adebayo said.

Digital Economy Addressing the global drive on digital economy, Adebayo said Nigeria must rise to the challenge and ensure that the country is fully digitised before the end of 2019, especially now that the country has reached 30.9 per cent broadband penetration. According to him, for Nigeria to be fully digitise in 2019, government must raise broadband penetration to 50 per cent at the end of 2019 and further raise it to 80 per cent by 2020, when we will be expecting 5G rollout. â€œIf Nigeria is able to further increase broadband penetration to 50 per cent by the end of this year, it will then be a yardstick to achieve 5G rollout by 2020, and also make Nigeria a fully digitised economy where economic growth would be driven by technology advancement,â€? Adebayo said.

IoT, AI as Solution For Nigeria to make meaningful development in 2019, industry stakeholders have advised that the country must embrace the technology of Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). According to Adebayo, Nigeria must take advantage of the benefits of IoT and AI to boost economic development in 2019. The technologies of IoT and AI are hinged on broadband availability and affordability, hence the attainment of 30 per cent broadband penetration is highly commendable. Artificial intelligence is a technology that is already impacting how users interact with, and are affected by the Internet. In the near

future, its impact is likely to only continue to grow. AI has the potential to vastly change the way that humans interact, not only with the digital world, but also with each other, through their work and through other socioeconomic institutions. As many people expect that advances in AI and machine learning will fundamentally reshape the future of the internet and society around it, industry stakeholders are saying Nigeria must embrace AI to fully advance its technology aspiration in 2019. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. IoT has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies, micro electromechanical systems (MEMS), micro services and the internet. The convergence has helped tear down the silos between operational technology and information technology, enabling unstructured machine-generated data to be analysed for insights to drive improvements. Considering the regulation of IoT and AI technologies, which many believed would stifle technology growth, Adebayo warned

It is a good thing that Nigeria is beginning to make preparations towards 5G rollout by 2020, but the emphasis in 2019 should be on 4G rollout. NCC should concentrate on 4G rollout in 2019, increase capacity in 4G rollout and populate it before driving campaign for 5G rollout by 2020

that telecoms industry regulator must not attempt to regulate any technology, but should rather canvass for the application and usage of the right technology by operators in 2019.

Right of Way charges Considering Right of Way (RoW) charges on telecoms operators by state governments and federal government agencies, industry stakeholders have called for the complete removal of RoW charges in 2019. Adebayo, who spoke the minds of industry stakeholders, said RoW charges slowed down telecoms expansion in 2018, and must be completely eliminated in 2019, to enable telecoms industry perform at its optima, especially in the area of network expansion to rural, underserved and unserved communities in 2019. Adebayo said telecoms operators witnessed ugly situations where they had need for network expansion and were ready to expand but could not as a result of the endless wait for approval of RoW from state governments to commence expansion projects. He said state governments must think differently and allow speedy development of telecoms network expansion in their states in order to allow Nigerians enjoy the full benefits of telecoms services being offered by telecoms operators. He expressed disappointment over the current situation, where most state governments have refused to implement the harmonised RoW charges of N145 per metre to lay fibre cable, and are still bent at collecting the old rate, which ranges between N4,000 and N8,000 per metre to lay fibre cable for network expansion. The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, had in July last year, announced that the federal government and the 36 states of the federation as well as the federal capital territory administration, agreed on harmonised RoW charges across the country. Danbatta said the agreement was sealed at the National Economic Council meeting chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo with state governors in attendance. Adebayo said despite the harmonised RoW charges, most state governments were yet to implement the new rate, a situation, he warned, would be inimical to telecoms growth in 2019.

FinTech and Big Data Pleased with the incursion of FinTech players in financial services delivery in 2018, Teniola has called for more collaboration between

FinTech players and financial institutions across the country. Teniola, who commended the creativity and innovativeness of FinTech players in developing several financial solutions that are currently driving online financial activities, said such gesture should be extended to 2019, where he expects more collaborative efforts from both the FinTech players and the banks. He said such collaboration would further help to bridge financial inclusion gab in the county and fast-track the process of cashless economy in Nigeria. â€œI expect FinTech to create an ecosystem for local content development in 2019, and ensure the implementation of the local content draft guidelines by government agencies like the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Nigeria Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT). In the area of big data and data generation, Teniola said government must generate sufficient data in 2019 and make them available for the purpose of research.

Business concerns in 2019 Worried that businesses may likely face some challenges in the 2019 election year, for fear of insufficient liquidity flow, the Managing Director of BCX Nigeria, Mr. Ayo Adegboye, a technology solution company, has said from past experience, businesses, including technology driven businesses, were always affected in every general election year. â€œThe truth is that during election year, it is not only the businesses that feel the heat, the customers also feel the heat because the ripple effect will definitely extend to the customers and the entire business chain is affected. But as a technology company, providing technology solutions to companies, we are fully prepared to mitigate the adverse effect that the 2019 election year will bring to businesses, through the development of the right technology solutions for businesses,â€? Adegboye said. According to him, the biggest challenge businesses had in 2018 was the issue with foreign exchange, but explained that companies were able to overcome the challenge. â€œIn 2019, we have better plans to reach out to more customers, while still maintaining our existing customers. We plan to improve on our service offerings in and we are beginning to look at how we can make good investments on behalf of our customers in such a way that they will have economy of scale in their businesses throughout 2019,â€? Adegboye added.

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Adinde: Africa Awaits Nigeria to Lead in ICT Skills Development The Administrator of Digital Bridge Institute, Dr. Ike Adinde, in this interview with Emma Okonji said the recent World Bank report that Nigeria is under-investing in human capital development should propel the nation to do more in funding information communication technology skills development. Excerpts: What is your view on the recent Word Bank report that Nigeria is under-investing in human capital development? We know it and we can say from a cursory observation the kind of skills that abound in our economy. People can be unemployed not because they donâ€™t have education but because they donâ€™t have the requisite skill that the industries need. So we can distinguish between unemployment as a result of jobs not being available, and unemployment as a result of not having the employable skills that the industries demand and that is where the World Bank report is important. The report is important to Nigeria to the extent that it also indicates that we need to begin to develop skills that the modern economy needs. There are skills that are required by modern economy and those skills are mostly digital skills. Many of our young people do not have the requisite digital skills to play in the modern economy, that is where Digital Bridge Institute (DBI)DBI comes in. Most of the programmes that we offer today are designed to help our young people, graduates across all discipline to acquire digital skills that will enable them to mainstream into the modern economy. We are hoping that with the kind of intervention the institutions of government like NCC are doing that over time we will be able to bridge this gap. There is a whole lot that is beginning to happen because developing skills is not just to sit in a classroom environment, we also recognise that there are other avenues through which skills can be built. Tell us about some of the initiatives of DBI in the last one year, especially the newly introduced National Occupational Skills system? DBI is also taking the initiative to drive what is called the National Occupational Skills system which will target vocational skills development in ICT. A lot of computer villages are scattered across the country. If you get into them, you will find out that many young men are doing some great jobs. They are doing so not necessarily because they have degrees or certificates but because they acquired skills. So, increasingly we want to focus on that area to ensure that these skills are also recognised. We want to see government begin to say that skills development is not about certificate, it is about what you can do just as we have it in the private sector. If you go to EMAB Plazain Centre in Abuja today, for example, you will notice that there are a lot of people who are fixing phones, tablets and repairing computers and they donâ€™t have degrees in ICT. That is the kind of thing we think that we should begin to encourage because there are many job opportunities in that sector. Most of those people do not need jobs, they can be on their own if you prepare them and that is where we are hoping that we will develop those skills to the extent that people will finish school tomorrow, acquire that skill and they donâ€™t look to government or anybody for paid employment, they can set up on they own and do things on their own. From there, rather than become job seekers, they become employers of labour and creators of wealth. It is a possibility that we can create oasis of millionaires, even billionaires, from these sets of people. That is possible in ICT and we will get there.

to be an important programme for supporting capacity building in this digital age. It is helping to increase ICT skills penetration, helping us to increase awareness and acquisition of ICT skill, and increasing digital literacy not just in public universities, but even the private universities have also benefitted from ADAPTI. Through this programme, we have helped in the past years, to update both the lecturers and students to contemporary global standards. ICT is a highly dynamic environment and if you donâ€™t update and innovate, you would be left behind. This is what we have been collaborating with our tertiary institutions to avoid; to make sure that they are still able to compare and compete with their counterparts from around the world.

Adinde

Is DBI targeting a particular number of people under this initiative? Our ambition is to reach as many people as possible in the next one year hoping that we can do as many as 10, 000 per year if the program that we are unleashing works as projected. That way all parts of the country will be covered. The program is currently going on, we are working with the National Board for Technical Education to get two things: the accessory and verifiers in which case DBI owns it and eventually becomes the awarding body for those skills. It means that once you pass through the assessment we can award you certification that places you at certain competences level that is if you are able to do a number of things that have been specified in the standard. DBI had an interactive forum with directors of human resources and ICT in ministry, department and agencies recently, what was the essence of the forum and what value did it bring to DBI? We were glad that the forum held because it addressed a whole lot of things. The DBI one-day interactive forum with Directors of Human Resources (HR) and Information Technology (IT) of various government agencies was held in order to interact with the key decision makers in organisations to find out how the training calendar year had gone, understand were the issues have been for capacity building particularly in the ICT sector. We feel that the feedback of the interaction will go a long way in helping DBI redesigning its own programme for this new year. Last year we did quite a lot of work, interacting with the same people to get a feedback on their training methods. Our assessment was guided by the survey that we carried out in

specific areas of work to determine where skills are mostly needed in ICT for the purpose of supporting their goals and objectives. The aggregate feedback from the programme has helped us to unveil at this time, our 2019 calendar. By interacting with HR directors and ICT directors, we hope to achieve two main things. One is to get a feedback from them on how the training activity for the year has fared. Secondly, to also solicit their cooperation and collaboration with DBI as we begin activities in 2019 so that we can work together to develop the capacity of their workforce especially in ICT skills area where DBI is very strong. It is our expectation that at the end of it all, they will go back to our training calendar and plan for capacity building for the new year, using the broad range of programmes that we have provided in the course manual. We will work with them this year to achieve their training and manpower development plans especially in building ICT skills for their workforce, which is the core in this 21st century for any organisation. Could you share the ADAPTI Programme of your agency? How was its performance in 2018? Anytime I meet the press they want to talk about ADAPTI which happens to be DBI flagship programme. ADAPTI stands for Advance Digital Appreciation Programme for Tertiary Institutions. It is a programme that had been with DBI for over a decade sponsored exclusively by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), our parent organisation. It is an intervention programme for supporting capacity building across tertiary institutions in Nigeria over the past 14 years. Since the commencement of ADAPTI, DBI has trained over 40,000 academic and non-academic staff of tertiary institutions. So it continues

Two years ago, DBI got accreditation from NBTE to award National Diploma. How is the programme going and what discipline of education is being offered by DBI? Our accreditation I can say is going to two years now. We are certified and accredited to award National Diploma by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). This is very special because our diploma is in the area of innovation. DBI is an innovation enterprise institute specialised in development of academy programme for specific areas in telecoms, computer hardware, multimedia, networking and system security. So, we began the programme two years ago, first batch will be graduating at the end of this academic session and we are doing well. We matriculated the second batch recently, about 83 of them; 104 altogether from both campuses in Lagos and Kano. We have students across the five disciplines where we are running the programme currently. I am happy to report to you that the first set of our students sat for Microsoft Office and certification exam and recorded a 100 per cent success. What it means for our students is that before they graduate they will take an ICT certification exam that enhances their employability and job prospect in the market because it is not just about the academics, the industry recognises ICT certification. DBI is working hard to make sure that as our students go through our programme, they also go through certifications before they graduate. Given the areas of speciality in the programme offered by DBI, what do you think is the way forward for Nigeriaâ€™s technology innovation? This is the 21st century. It is not just the knowledge century, it is the innovation century. Such innovation must be deliberately articulated as a national policy to get the youths and the infants digitally savvy from early school. Nigeria, I must note, is very lucky because we have fertile minds ready to out-innovate the world. That is why everywhere you go, Africa and indeed the black man is waiting for Nigeria to lead the way. All we need is the right environment, right tools and requisite skills set and this is the gap we are filling at DBI as a government-owned ICT capacity building institute. I want to see more government spending in ICT skills development. I desire that the private sector gets even more ambitious in its ICT spend in this regard. That way, creating a globally recognised silicon valley and its allied components would not be far-fetched.

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â€˜Stronger ICT Skills Needed to Connect People Everywhereâ€™ Stories by Emma Okonji International Telecoms Union (ITU), the United Nation agency for global telecoms regulation, has said although more people have access to the internet, stronger information and communication technology (ICT) skills are needed to connect people everywhere. At the same time, ICT prices have dropped globally in the last decade. Improved ICT regulation and policy-making have played a pivotal role in creating the conditions for the

reduction of prices, ensuring that part of the efficiency gains of higher ICT adoption are passed on to consumers, according to ITU recent report. According to ITU SecretaryGeneral, Mr. Houlin Zhao, â€œThe report shows how increased investment in broadband technologies is driving the global digital transformation and enabling more people to access a myriad of services at the click of a button. â€œAt the just concluded Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-18) held in Dubai, ITU

Member States approved the four-year Strategic and Financial Plan, which includes a strong commitment to ITUâ€™s statistical work. We will work together to build the ICT infrastructure and develop ICT skills necessary to foster inclusive economic growth, drive innovation and bridge the digital divide.â€? Director of ITUâ€™s Telecommunication Development Bureau, Brahima Sanou, said: â€œOur analysis shows that digital technologies are

fundamentally transforming the way we live and offering important opportunities for boosting economic growth, enhancing communications, improving energy efficiency, safeguarding the planet and improving peopleâ€™s lives.â€? In addressing the current state of global ICT, the report finds that there continues to be a general upward trend in the access to and use of ICTs. Most importantly, the world has crossed the halfway line in

terms of internet use, with 51.2 per cent of the world population using the internet by the end of 2018. The report, however, said lack of or inadequate ICT skills remained a major impediment for people to access the internet. ITU data and other cross-nationally comparative data sources show that there are considerable gaps across the board in the skills needed. A third of individuals lack basic digital skills, such as copying files or folders or

using copy and paste tools; a mere 41 per cent have standard skills, such as installing or configuring software or using basic formulas on spreadsheets; and only 4 per cent are using specialist language to write computer programmes, the report further said. The report suggested that inequalities in ICT use reflect other inequalities, such as those related to education, wealth and gender between the different regions of the world.

Dell Returns to New York Stock Market Listing Dell Technologies has returned to public markets last week, nearly six years after the companyâ€™s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Dell took it private in what was then the biggest buyout since the financial crisis of 2008. The computer maker is trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol â€˜DELLâ€™, after it bought back shares DVMT.N that tracked the financial performance of software maker VMware in which Dell held an 81 percent stake. According to Reuters, the cash-and-stock deal was worth nearly $24 billion. Buying back the shares allowed Dell to bypass the traditional IPO process, which would likely have involved grilling by investors over the companyâ€™s $52.7 billion debt pile. Dell shares opened at $46 on Friday last week, marking its market valuation at $16 billion, as per Refinitiv data. The company was seen as a model of innovation in the early 2000s, pioneering online ordering of custom-configured personal computers (PCs)

and working closely with Asian component suppliers and manufacturers to assure rock-bottom production costs. But it missed the big industry shift to tablet computers, smartphones and high-powered consumer electronics such as music players and gaming consoles later in the decade, and saw sales declining to a little over 10 percent in 2012â€™s fourth quarter on a fall in shipments. That forced Michael Dell to take the company off the public market, and look at acquisitions to transform his company from a PC manufacturer into a broader seller of information technology services, ranging from storage and servers to networking and cyber security. But Dellâ€™s strategy seems to be paying off, especially as corporates are increasingly turning to one-stop shops to help them manage their IT infrastructure on the cloud. Dell reported a 15 percent rise in revenue in its latest quarter, and said it expects total adjusted revenue in the range of $90.5 billion to $92 billion in 2019, Reuters said.

FPG Technologies Wins Tech Consulting Company of the Year FPG Technologies and Solutions Limited, one of Nigeriaâ€™s foremost information technology (IT) company known for providing IT consulting, IT security, cloud, mobile and infrastructure solutions to various sectors of the Nigerian economy, has been named â€˜Tech Consulting Company of The Yearâ€™ in the Nigerian Technology Awards 2018. The Nigerian Technology Awards (NITA) was organised to celebrate technology excellence, reward technology companies, entrepreneurs, innovators, inventors, academicians and policy makers and give country-wide recognition to technology professionals and organizations at the fore-front of building a sustainable economy using technology. FPGâ€™s Marketing Manager, Joy Ehibor, said: â€œWe are honored to be recognized, winning the Tech Consulting Company of the year award is a powerful endorsement of FPG Technologies & Solutionsâ€™ adeptness in delivering innovative IT Consulting, Security, Cloud, Mobility and Infrastructure solutions and

services that offer unparalleled competitive advantage. This award affirms the dedication of our team in forming meaningful partnerships with our clients that allows us to solve their business challenges using bespoke innovative solutions and technical expertise. This recognition is a testament to both our success and that of our clients.â€? FPGâ€™s CEO, Rex Mafiana was named â€˜Tech Company CEO 2018â€™. Head of Technology Group, Toheeb Mohammed, said: â€œThis award recognises a visionary known for outstanding leadership in advancing and accelerating the performance and progress of the IT sector and the adoption of technology in Nigeria. â€œRex Mafiana is considered a mentor; his passion has been to leverage technology to drive digital transformation by helping organizations accelerate growth while achieving extreme business agility with confidence. We are proud to have a leader who advocates technology as a means for changing lives, businesses and governance for good.â€?

COURTESY VISIT

L â€“ R: Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema, presenting a replica of the closing gong to Chairman, Board of Governors, PEARL Awards Nigeria, Dr. Faruk Umar, during a courtesy visit by Pearls Awards to the NSE in Lagosâ€Śrecently

Phase3 Wins Broadband Internet Company of the Year Award

Ericsson, Panasonic to Support Connectivity with 5G-ready Platform

Phase3 Telecom has won the Broadband Internet Company of the Year at the Nigeria Technology Awards 2018 which held in Lagos recently. The West African largest independent fibre optic infrastructure and telecommunications services provider receives this news as an auspicious development in the wake of recent network milestones. According to Chief Executive Officer of Phase3 Telecom, Mr. Stanley Jegede, the award confirms the companyâ€™s inimitable approach to amplifying regional connectivity that puts the customerâ€™s need first. That Phase3 has over the years being the indigenous firm at the forefront of increasing backbone infrastructure that will boost digital market viability and minimize the challenges of accessibility and reliability across sectors and layered connectivity needs. Hence, very encouraging is such recognitions that validate the companyâ€™s daily commitment to driving its vision for Nigeria and the West African sub-region. Jegede commended the organisers of the award, and affirmed that Phase3â€™s growing realisation of its strategic insight and blueprint to limiting the current digital divide in Africaâ€™s telecommunications

Ericsson and Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) have announced that Ericssonâ€™s Core Network as a service solution is now live, supporting connectivity services across multiple markets served by Panasonic. Ericssonâ€™s Core Network as a service solution will help Panasonic and its subsidiary AeroMobile, a global GSMA telecoms operator, provide data, voice and messaging services to the millions of airline passengers that use these services in-flight. The collaboration between Ericsson, Panasonic and AeroMobile started in 2016. It is now fully operational and delivers services to Panasonic customers worldwide. As part of Panasonicâ€™s initiative to bring a superior connected experience onboard commercial aircraft, Panasonic and Ericsson have seamlessly migrated the existing service operating across a global fleet of aircraft onto the core network, delivered as a service, while maintaining network performance and customer experience. Every passenger whose mobile service provider has a roaming agreement with AeroMobile can use the service, which is supported by mobile operators across

industry is being validated by such honours and is certainly not taken for granted. He also reiterated that Phase3â€™s continuing collaboration with key partners allows it to extend its reach in the West African sub-region thus solidifying its space as an indigenous telecom service provider of repute and one of the broadband champions of Africaâ€™s socio-economic development. According to Jegede, â€œthe win is a motivational boost to Phase3â€™s focus in the coming months to drive a network infrastructure that connects people and serves as a frontrunner in scaling a network that help grow economies and effectively support technological innovations that expand our world and make it better in all sectors.â€? Thanking the firmâ€™s supporters and stakeholders, Jegede maintained that speedy broadband penetration was also a major focus as Phase3 would continue to ensure that the region enjoys good quality of service, reliability and exceptional customer experience, riding on investment in communications technology that enables clients to share critical and big data within a secure, reliable and scalable infrastructure.

the globe and delivered in flight on board more than 20 of Panasonicâ€™s global commercial airline customers. The geo-redundant solution is delivered through Ericssonâ€™s ground-breaking Core Network as a Service and includes virtualized network applications such as packet core, unified data management, mediation, and mobile switching delivered on Ericsson Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) Infrastructure. The core network solution is part of Ericssonâ€™s as a Service offering to service providers globally, and is able to support 5G services to the passenger and airline. Announcing the initiative, the Chief Executive Officer, AeroMobile, Kevin Rogers, said: â€œOur partnership with Ericsson, and the technology provided, will allow us to better serve the communications needs of our passenger and airline customers. Furthermore, the solution enables us to grow our footprint and expand into other services offering a richer experience for the passenger and operational efficiencies for our airline customers. We are looking forward to continuing our exciting collaboration with Ericsson.â€?

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New Era of Reform, Innovation at FMBN Ikyaave Terhemen-Mark The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) is experiencing a remarkable turnaround for good. The current set of professionals led by Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, that run the countryâ€™s foremost mortgage institution have in the 18 months at the helm demonstrated that it is indeed possible to reform and revitalise the bank: Not only to serve as a more effective provider of affordable mortgage finance but also as one that is more accountable, transparent and innovative. This much awaited positive twist in the narrative of the national mortgage bank is commendable. It is important that the government and stakeholders support the team that is leading the reform agenda to ensure that it is sustained and deepened even further. At the heart of the efforts to reposition the bank is the aggressive push for the comprehensive review of the law setting up the FMBN by the National Assembly. The review will help to remove administrative and regulatory encumbrances and other gaps that have hindered the bankâ€™s growth over the 4-decades of its existence and set it on the path of efficiency, quick progress and impact. Key aspects of the review include the N500billion recapitalization of the bank to expand its capacity to provide affordable mortgage housing finance, the strengthening of the powers of the bankâ€™s Board and a friendlier regulatory regime that will aid professionalism and enhanced service delivery. In this regard, the bank has recorded remarkable progress. After twelve years of attempts to have the National Assembly act on the bills to amend the FMBN and the National Housing Fund (NHF) laws, the Senate and the House of Representatives finally did so in 2018. What is left now is for the President to sign the amended bills into law. The assent will fundamentally reset the structure, size, depth of FMBNâ€™s operations and birth a more robust national mortgage finance facility. The current executive management team has also braved several inherited challenges to record strong corporate performance. The FMBN MD, Arc. Dangiwa reported during the visit of the Senate Committee on Housing in December impressive performance scorecard for the period April 2017 to September 2018. This includes total loan disbursements totaling N40.9 billion for the creation of about 2000 mortgages, provision of Home Renovation loans totaling N14billion to 16,031 Nigerian workers, processing of N12.4billion refunds to 97,215 retirees and registration of 224,752 to the fund. Of note is the speed of processing NHF refunds which increased by over 53.44 per cent, 21.82 per cent increase in NHF collections, and 21.15 per cent spike in loan disbursements when compared to earlier trends Others include the recovery of N4.2billion outstanding debt.

Innovative Affordable Housing Products Another hallmark of the new FMBN is the emerging strong focus on innovation in the design of its housing products. Consider some of the signature initiatives that are now redefining the bank. First is the introduction of the rent to own scheme. The new housing product makes it possible for workers to move into their homes and pay conveniently via monthly or yearly rentals over a 30-year period maximum at nine per cent interest rate. Another key feature of the product is the elimination of the need for equity payment and other costs associated with a typical mortgage transaction. Access to the house is immediate. The scheme has been hailed by the Chairman Senate Committee on Housing, Senator Barnabas Gemade and the Head of Service Oyo Ita of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita as an appropriate tool that will lessen the financial burden of home ownership civil servants.

Dangiwa during the launch of the FMBN Digital Mobile Platform in Abuja recently

Second is the individual NHF construction loan product. Under the facility, a contributor to the NHF with a Certificate of Occupancy, and an approved building plan with certified bill of quantities can access up to N15million and pay back over a 15-year period at single digit interest rates of seven per cent. The third is the reduction of equity contribution requirements for accessing NHF loans from ten to zero percent for sums of up to N5 million and below and 10 per cent for loans of between N5 million and N15 million

The FMBN Digital Roadmap Besides innovating its housing product portfolio to fit the reality of the typical Nigerian worker, FMBN has taken many commendable steps towards boosting efficiency in its business operations. At the heart of this drive is the adoption of a DIGITALL philosophy which seeks to leverage technology to optimize company-wide performance and service delivery. FMBN is aggressively leveraging technology to automate its decades old business processes and building an IT driven structure that will drive the bankâ€™s operational activities. The most recent action in this regard is the launch on the 19th December 2018 of the FMBN Digital Mobile Platform which empowers contributors with real-time access to information on their NHF accounts. During the launch, the MD FMBN, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa described the platform as â€œan ecosystem of innovative mobile messaging solutions integrated into a single suite and seeking to address the challenges associated with effective monitoring, management and notification of monthly National Housing Fund (NHF) contributions nationwideâ€?. Key components of the platform include *219# USSD Short Code, Mobile Apps for Android & iOS platforms, Online Self-Service Kiosk i.e. www.fmbn.gov.ng/ nhfmobile and SMS and Emails Notifications. The platform has several features that are designed to usher in a new era of transparency and accountability in the operations of the National Housing Fund (NHF). This includes enabling NHF contributors to receive instant notifications, stay in the know of their contributions and remittances to the scheme on the go, update their records, check contributions, register and retrieve NHF numbers, request for statement of account, calculate home affordability & mortgage payment, and search for NHF related information from FMBN bulletin board service. The launch of the FMBN Mobile

platform is particularly significant given the history of the bank. It is noteworthy that since the National Housing Fund (NHF) was established in 1992 to act as a sustainable pool of funds for driving affordable housing delivery for civil and public servants, its operations have largely been defined by opacity and secrecy. Public and civil servants that on a monthly basis contribute 2.5 per cent of their salaries to the scheme with the hope of benefitting from a suite of affordable housing services including long term loans of up to 30 years and single digit interest rates of six per cent were largely left in the dark concerning their contributions. Nothing was clear. This lack of clarity fueled suspicions of fraud, mismanagement, diversion and lack of value to those whom the scheme was supposed to benefit. The FMBN digital platform has helped to break from this past and now lays a foundation for the bankâ€™s operations going forward. FMBN has also done a good job of engaging the right IT companies to deliver on the project. The IT infrastructure that supports the platform is built by a reputable local IT firm and supported by world class data storage and IT solutions providers such as NetAPP that is based in California, United States. The systems are secured, available, reliable, easily accessible and easy to use with or without an internet connection. They give each NHF contributor increased access to their contributions, greater transparency, clearer disclosure and convenient access from the comforts of their homes/offices or while on the go via phone or email. In his address at the launch event, Dangiwa had expressed delight and stated that the launch of the FMBN Digital Platform is the result of the new managementâ€™s commitment to addressing in a structured manner the challenges that have bedeviled the effective implementation of the NHF scheme. In his words: â€œon resumption of office in April 2017, we audited the system and discovered that most employers under remit deductions, remittance schedules of deductions are not provided, contribution records are updated and maintained in passbooks and most contributors do not know the status of their contributions. Having critically evaluated the issues, we decided to automate the process to give contributors unfettered access to the information pertaining to their contributions and the policies associated with the scheme for greater efficiency, transparency, accountability and service delivery. I am extremely excited that today, we are here

to witness the realization of this strategic milestoneâ€? Speaking further, the FMBN boss stated that the launch of the FMBN Digital Platforms is significant because it marks the end of over 30-year period of opaqueness in the management of NHF funds â€“ where contributors were completely in the dark about the state of their NHF accounts. He added that the introduction of the mobile digital solutions has now put the power of convenient access to information about the state of NHF accounts in the hands of contributors since they can now manage, monitor, and receive prompt/instant notifications via their mobile phones and email accounts on activities on their accounts.

Building Trust with Labor Unions FMBN has also strengthened its engagement with critical stakeholders especially the labor unions to build more confidence in the NHF scheme and provide greater value to contributors. The hallmark of this is the partnership with the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Nigeria Employersâ€™ Consultative Association (NECA) to deliver high quality, safe, decent and affordable housing to workers under the National Affordable Housing Delivery Programme (NAHDEP) . In a back to back fashion, groundbreaking ceremonies for the pilot phase of the project were carried out in Nasarawa, Kogi, Abia, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Katsina and Jigawa States. A total of 100 housing units comprising one, two- and three-bedroom flats are to be delivered within an 8-month period. Overall, there are a lot of reasons to say that the present team of professionals that are running FMBN, led by Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa have succeeded in putting FMBN on the right course. The passage of the FMBN and NHF amendment bills by both houses of the National Assembly and possible signing into law by the President, the adoption of the DIGITALL philosophy which has seen the launch of the digital mobile platform and the innovations in its housing portfolio to fit the reality of the Nigerian worker amongst others serve as strong signposts of a new FMBN. This is a good development for the countryâ€™s housing sector. A stronger, well run, transparent and accountable FMBN is critical to addressing the countryâ€™s housing challenges. It is therefore important that government and other stakeholders support the ongoing reform effort at the bank. -Terhemen-Mark is a public policy analyst based in Abuja

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Enhancing Driver-Partner Experience Oâ€™Yoma Ukueku Technology evolution especially in the area of mobile Apps development, is fast changing user experience and lifestyle in transport business As a young child, I was always fascinated with the inner workings of technology, and what one could possibly achieve through it. How was my battery powered train set operated by remote control? What was this â€œengine thingâ€? that seemed to be located within my toy cars? And the people on the radio and television - how did they get in there? And what made it possible for us to see and hear them so clearly? As I grew older and began to connect the dots, I realised a couple of things - that technology was designed for processes to run more efficiently. I also realised that for human beings incorporating technology into everyday usage increased productivity, and I saw how this had a positive impact on everyday life, businesses and communities. In my role as Greenlight Operations Manager for West Africa - Iâ€™m constantly criss-crossing the region; especially Lagos, Abuja, Accra and Kumasi - cities where the Uber Greenlight Hubs are located. The Greenlight Hub is a dedicated support centre that provides drivers with established channels of communication to raise individual questions and concerns that they may have relating to using the Uber App. At the Greenlight Hubs, driver-partners are offered information sessions, tailored workshops focusing on training and skills development Ukueku such as safety tips, crime prevention and financial tips. features of this app that make it better? Potential driver-partners are also For one, the new driver app has been assisted at the Greenlight Hubs through made to be less complex and complithe on-boarding process. In my recent cated to allow drivers to focus more interactions with them, one theme that on driving. It also provides them with has come as consistent feedback is their real-time updates on market conditions reaction to the newly launched Uber around them and opportunities for driver app. more trips nearby. They can also choose For many drivers using the app globto navigate to such nearby with just a ally and in West Africa thereâ€™s a general tap. consensus that the new features provide Also included in the app (and peran improved experience on the road haps of great importance to the drivers) and allows them to use the app more is an earning tracker that allows drivers efficiently whether on the road or off. to know how much they earned in their Thus, further highlighting my longprevious trip, to allow them to track held belief and understanding that their progress toward their financial technology shapes not just processes, goals. At Uber, we remain committed but ensures an improved level of efto creating business and economic ficiency. opportunities for driver-partners and So one might ask - what are the exact we are always looking at ways in which

we can make their experience more memorable and continue to stimulate their growth as small business owners. Earlier last year, Uberâ€™s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi penned a blog post announcing the launch of the new driver app. According to him; â€œthe new driver app was redesigned because we wanted to simplify the driver experience and the underlying engineering architecture that supports it. We knew we couldnâ€™t take the approach weâ€™d taken in the past: redesign the app based on what we thought drivers wanted, launch it, then hope for the best. Instead, we needed to listen to what drivers told us they needed, and shape the new app alongside them.â€? Improving the overall experience of using our app for driver-partners

â€˜US Companies in Nigeria Not Threatened by Chinaâ€™

Irish Manufacturing Records Slow Growth in December

United States of America companies in Nigeria have said they see China as a business opportunity and not a threat to their operations and growth in the market. The President, American Business Council (ABC), Mr Lazarus Angbazo, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.â€œChina is a real source of competition to us, but I will say that each of the American businesses here also looks at China as an opportunity. â€œWe look at China as an opportunity to leverage on what they can do; financing is a big issue and an opportunity that we leverage on, they have got a much cheaper supply chain, that we can leverage. â€œWe have a huge footprint in China and about 20,000 people in China. We have factories in China, we make things in China for the world,â€? he said.

Irish manufacturing activity eased as the year drew to a close, with output, new orders and employment growth all slowing, a survey showed on Wednesday. Irelandâ€™s Manufacturing Purchasing Managersâ€™ Index was 54.5 in December, down from 55.4 in November and the lowest level in nine months. The Irish economy was the best performer in the European Union in 2018 for the fifth year in a row, but it is vulnerable to the threat of an unruly exit by Britain from the EU, Reuters reported. The last time the index was below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction was May 2013. Underpinning the drop

According to him, doing business the right way, doing it sustainably is the most profitable way and shows in the track record. â€?We are proud of the operations and successes of American businesses in Nigeria.â€? He noted that the quality of American merchandise and marketing, branding support, intellectual property and all the benefits were priceless and unmatchable. He said that US would heighten American Business interests and investments in Nigeria, support governmentâ€™s economic policies and deepen engagement with Nigeria. Angbazo said that this would enhance governmentâ€™s diversification agenda, deepen the agricultural sector and digital economic growth and increase private sector synergy between US and Nigeria.

in the headline index was a slowdown in new-order growth among Irish manufacturers to the weakest point in eight months. The sub-index measuring new orders dropped to 55.1 in December from 57.3 in November. â€œIrish manufacturers experienced a slowdown in growth in December, with PMI data indicating weaker rises in output, new orders and employment,â€? said Amritpal Virdee, an economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the Ireland manufacturing survey. â€œWhile some firms saw signs of weaker demand, panellists are confident of a pick-up in the new year, supporting strong growth of purchasing activity and stockbuilding.â€?

remains one of our key priorities. And as such, that is why the technologically enabled Greenlight Hubs will keep improving customer service and driver support. The new driver app will benefit driver-partners in West Africa, primarily by making them more efficient, with improved efficiency means they will make more trips and ultimately more earnings. I remain excited at the possibilities and opportunities, that Uber, through technology makes available to its 9,000 active drivers in Nigeria and 6,000 active drivers in Ghana. With these new features in the app, we are ensuring that drivers and riders benefit from a seamless experience. -Ukueku is the Greenlight Operations Manager, West Africa for Uber

Austria Donates â‚Ź400,000 to Assist Developing Countries in Trade Talks The government of Austria is contributing a total of â‚Ź400,000 (CHF 450,000) to fund WTO trade-related programmes over a period of two years (2018 and 2019). The World Trade Organisation (WTO) which disclosed this on its website, said the aim was to help developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) participate more fully in multilateral trade negotiations. This donation to the WTOâ€™s Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund would finance training workshops for officials in Geneva and elsewhere to help them better understand and implement WTO agreements. Over 2,600 workshops have been organised since the fund was created in 2001. Director-General Roberto AzevĂŞdo said: â€œI want to thank Austria for supporting WTO trade-related programmes

aimed at enhancing the capacity of developing countries and LDCs to trade and to fully participate in multilateral trade negotiations. Austriaâ€™s generous donations are very welcome.â€? Austriaâ€™s Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs, Margarete SchrambĂśck, said: â€œI firmly believe that the multilateral trading system, particularly the World Trade Organization, plays an essential role in boosting international trade and helping improve the livelihoods of millions of people in both developed and developing economies. Through our contribution to the Trust Fund, we aim to help developing economies integrate into world trade and contribute more actively to the world economy.â€? Austria has donated approximately EUR 4 million (over CHF 4.6 million) to WTO trust funds over the last 15 years.

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Adejola: Despite State of Economy, Safety Shouldnâ€™t Be Compromised The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Surveillant Fire Limited, Jumade Adejola, reviews the safety sector in 2018 and why the poor state of an economy should not be an excuse for not taking safety precautions. Raheem Akingbolu provides the excerpts: Looking back, how would you say the safety sector fared in year 2018? If you want to look back, business was dull and low. But looking at the safety business, it has been average. Either business is good or not, you must ensure that your business and your environment are safe. That is sine qua non. We may say, compared with previous years, we could say the performance was about sixty per cent on the average. And this was due to the fact that most of the people we do business with too had low business performance. I can say that government actually was trying to ensure that there were greater times ahead. In the fire safety sector, I can say it has been a win-win situation. We have been able to enter into agreement with our OEM (original equipment manufacturers) to be giving us credit facilities because they too were not selling. We didnâ€™t want to go to bank to go and borrow and what we could do (and which we did) was to enter into agreement with them to give us materials on credit. We have integrity and the loyalty we have enjoyed in the past has made it possible for us to enjoy the opportunities we are enjoying today. Now, we were able to go to more clients and we told them that they didnâ€™t need to pay us at once since we already had the materials in the warehouse. We could now start the job with about forty per cent upfront payment and then spread the balance. And our clients have been very happy with that arrangement. You are an apostle of people going vertical in buildings and the need to ensure safety. How much of this message do you think actually sank in in 2018? Between you and I, people seem to have realised that safety in vertical building is key. If there is fire on say seventh floor, how do you jump out? So they too are now upgrading their facilities; especially fire safety facilities. They have been contacting us and it is no longer business as usual. There is a conference coming up in April by Securex and one of the major topics to be discussed is fire safety in tall buildings which I am going to anchor based on experience from Singapore and London. Vertical buildings could be residential or for ofďŹ ce. If for residential or

That is the ideal case. Do high earners who spend hundreds of millions on their buildings take safety serious? I have always felt they are part of the it-is-not-my portion crowd. No. They take safety serious and I can tell you they donâ€™t joke with it. Individuals who spend these huge amounts of money also ensure that they take safety serious. It is not even about them; it is about the engineers who supervise these buildings. You are very close to the Lagos State Safety Commission. What would you recommend they focus on in 2019? The Commission has been active and they know what they are doing but they have to be more proactive in the area of safety awareness and advocacy. They need to do serious safety campaign as the most populous city in the whole of Africa. They Commission needs to work more with safety consultants and agents and be more aggressive in their project monitoring. When I say aggressive, they need to ensure that people carry out safety precautions when erecting a building. They have to be sure that what they are building is according to specifications. What is even the qualification of those people saying they are project consultants? Adejola

ofďŹ ce, are we talking of same safety precautions? Yes, it is since we are talking of human being occupying same buildings either for office accommodation or residential purposes. Safety is very key in the tall building and government, especially Lagos State government, has been harping on this. And the coming conference too will place so much emphasis on this. That is why architects, design and construction engineers, consultants and so on are enjoined to attend this conference. When design engineers finish their jobs, they should look deep and see beyond just fire alarm systems. There are so many things to look at and these go beyond just fire alarm system. Government, through approving agencies, has to ensure that safety precautions are also taken care of. It is not

just about approval but also visiting the construction sites to ensure that what they approved is what they are building. And when there are deviations, there should be severe penalties which may include totally bringing down the building if need be. We are talking about human beings. The governor has said he does not have burial grounds and not ready to build more. He does not want mass burials and hence, safety is key. When there is fire in tall buildings, it is always difficult to escape. There must also be first aid facilities. There must be water for fire fighters to put out the fire. If you go to NECA building at Alausa, at the Central Business District, you see that there is enough water in that building to take care of any eventuality and that is how it is supposed to be. As they are using water in that building, it is replenishing.

At Survelliant Fire Limited, what are your projections for 2019? The first projection is to start where we stopped in the year that just ended and continue we what we were doing. We also want to help our clients in financial management. It is not easy; when people want to invest large sums of money in a project and will be looking on how to fund their projects. If our suppliers could give us products on credit, then we should extend that to our clients too. All we need is to sit down and work things out. One thing about us is that when a client gives us a project, we donâ€™t have to wait and be calling our suppliers. Reason being that we already have these things in our warehouse. That is one edge we have which others donâ€™t have. By the grace of God, when we are opening our new office some times in March this year, we will invite our suppliers and clients to come and see how far we have gone in this business.

Lagos, Star, Leverage One Lagos Fiesta to Engage Patrons

Flavour Headlines Life Beerâ€™s Owerri Party

Raheem Akingbolu

After a successful party in Ekwulobia, Anambra, Life Continental Beer has treated its Owerri consumers to a night of dance and music as it brought its year-end â€œBridge of Progressâ€? party to the capital city of Imo. Headlining the party was the highlife king himself, Flavour, who serenaded the fans with an impressive live performance. Also gracing the stage were Tipsy Kelvano, HiLife Fest King 2017, Chibest David, and other local up and coming acts. The previous â€˜Bridge of Progressâ€™ party had featured indigenous rapper, Phyno, who shut down Anambra before Life Beer took the party

The One Lagos Fiesta that was supported by premium beer brand, Star Lager, has been successfully leveraged upon by Lagos State and the star brand to further engage with patrons of both brands. The 8-day event celebrated the yuletide season as well as Lagos Stateâ€™s culture and heritage. The annual event is the official New Year countdown event in Lagos State and believed to be the biggest in Africa. Music Lovers, tourism lovers and beer lovers all gathered at the Eko Atlantic, Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu and Epe from the 24th of December to the 1st of January, 2018 to celebrate a very exciting year. Star Lagerâ€™s presence was

felt in all five locations as they were all fully equipped with entertainment, ice cold Star Lager Beer and delicious canapes. In addition to the refreshments, Lagosians also had access to a variety of Star themed games as well as raffle draws and giveaways to end each night. The beer brand also ran a promo tagged #YouTooCanShine where 30 lucky winners won N50,000 each by creating 30 - 60 seconds videos singing any song with the videos with the highest number of likes winning the cash prizes. One of the lucky winners, Ayomide Sotayo, expressed his delight, saying: â€œI am very happy to have won this prize tonight. I entered the competition not expecting to win but Iâ€™m glad Iâ€™m shining now!! I canâ€™t wait for next year!â€?

Speaking on Starâ€™s commitment to the festive season, the Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries, Emmanuel Oriakhi stated that, â€œStar Lager beer is committed to providing the best entertainment offering to its consumers. Itâ€™s been a wonderful yuletide season and our goal since we commenced our partnerships with some of the biggest events this December, was to bring our shine to Nigeriansâ€™ celebrations and weâ€™re glad we did that and much more. Next year will be even bigger and better. We truly cannot wait!â€? Tapping into the traditional Lagos lifestyle, Star also built a massive 58 feet tall Aro Meta Statue built out of over 3,000 Star crates, with a Star LED screen base. The Aro Meta connects to Starâ€™s core message of bringing people

together to enjoy the brighter life. Star is the premium beer brand that welcomed Lagos into the brewing and enjoyment world when it was introduced into the Nigerian market on June 2, 1949 as the first indigenously brewed beer in a market that was dominated by imported brands. Star Lager Beer is brewed by Nigerian Breweries, Nigeriaâ€™s pioneer and largest brewery and is largely responsible for the growth of Nigerian indigenous beer industry, as its success story has influenced the introduction of other successful brands. As a result of the brandâ€™s successful entertainment initiatives in the country, it has become a reference point for corporate sponsorships and development of homegrown entertainment in Nigeria.

to Owerri just 48 hours later. Life beer is popular in South-eastern Nigeria and speaking on the year-end festivities, Portfolio Manager, Mainstream Brands, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Omotunde Adenusi, said: â€œWe had a tremendous year at Life Beer, and we have these loyal consumers to thank for it. It was important for us to come back home and celebrate with our people as we set out to close the year. We are proud of the connection we have made with the people in the south-east and we have big plans for these consumers in the coming year. This is our little way of saying thank you.â€?

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Rewarding Creativity In line with the theme of the 2018 edition of the Lagos Advertising Ideas Festival (LAIF), agencies that flexed muscles to determine the best creative works from this part of the world, re-established the place of creativity in modern advertising, Raheem Akingbolu reports Decades after Nigeria began to appreciate advertising as a core tool for marketing; there are signals that the country will soon carve a niche on the global landscape. At the just held Lagos Advertising Ideas Festival (LAIF), practitioners, especially the new breeds, showed the way the industry should go to become a creative hub. In practical terms, the winning entries showed that the future of advertising belong to those who can re-invent. The theme of the 2018 edition is â€œFuture Forwardâ€?, According to the Chairman of the LAIF 2017 Management Committee, Steve Babaeko, the entries for last year were master piece that would go a long way in repositioning the industry and Nigerian practitioners globally. â€œWe may not be there yet but with the outcome of this yearâ€™s LAIF award, Iâ€™m not in any way in doubt that the future is bright for advertising in Nigeria. On the success of the event, I did nothing specially; rather, we (management committee and the team from the secretariat of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria) put the right team in place, from the conceptualisation stage to execution. The response of participating agencies was encouraging. In fact, we had more agencies participation compared to last year. Perhaps the most gratifying thing for me is the fact that more young agencies put in entries. That is a major achievement because every year, we try to avoid a situation whereby the small agencies will assume the competition is for bigger agencies,â€? Babaeko told THISDAY shortly after the event.

X3m Ideas and its take-away Considering its brilliant performances in similar competitions within and outside the country, it was not a surprise to industry watchers that Babaekoâ€™s X3M Ideas scored big at this yearâ€™s edition of the creative award. For Babaeko, who stated that winning awards are the icing on cake for good creative works, kudos should be given to clients who believe in their agencies. At the award, the agency once again displayed great consistency as it maintained its enviable position as one the most valuable creative and consistent agency in the country. It emerging one of the best three at the prestigious 2018 Lagos Advertising and Idea Festival. The agency confirmed its staying power, vivacious tenacity and uncanny creative prowess as its works became cynosure of all eyes, winning laurels for its clients and brands cutting across multinationals and indigenous brands as the Association Advertising Agencies

Winning team

of Nigeria held the 13th edition of its LAIF Awards at the prestigious Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. The agency which has become a recurring decimal in discussions around creativity, advertising new and digital media in the country and beyond, walked the talk by carting home 5 Gold; 7 Silver and 8 Bronze, making a total of 20 medals to place an enviable 3rd in an industry that boasts of almost a hundred agencies. Thought the awards reflects a gold draught with only 27 Gold awarded at the star studded event, 6 years old X3M Ideas breasted the tape 5 times to claim Gold medals. To observers, this indicates its consistency to break its previous record. X3M Ideas work for new client, Glo, tagged â€œSpoken Wordsâ€? won gold in the telecoms category while the work also picked Gold in the Radio Craft segment. Again, the agencyâ€™s Peakâ€™s - Always and Lacasera â€“ Moon (Eid Mubarak) also won Gold in the Digital Craft. The agencyâ€™s works for DSTV â€œEaster huntâ€? and Lacaseraâ€™s - Moon/Eid Mubarak each got a Press Silver while Peakâ€™s â€œIslandâ€?

and Peak â€œGenerationâ€? got Silver each in the film category. Gloâ€™s â€œThe Chaseâ€? , Peak Heritage and X3M Ideasâ€™ social service initiative â€œDepressionâ€? contributed a Silver each to the chest. In the Bronze zone X3M Ideasâ€™ winning works include Glo - â€œExperience the Legendary Gameâ€? Peak 456 â€œHeritageâ€?; Best Film Editing â€œPeak Heritageâ€? ; Best Production design & Art Direction â€œPeak Heritageâ€?; BetKing â€“ Blue Blood Jingle; Radio Craft - Glo - â€œSpoken Words Jingleâ€?; Glo Data Unmatched â€œUnfair advantageâ€? in the campaign category and Peak â€“ Pecadomo in the LAIF Effectiveness segment.

Agencyâ€™s reaction Speaking on the agencyâ€™s feat, Babaeko explained that one of the things that delight him is the consistency of his team and â€œfresh breath of life we have brought to bear on the Nigerian advertising industry and our clientsâ€™ businessesâ€?. â€œI am really proud of the team, since we started participating in LAIF in 2013, weâ€™ve consistently been in the top 3 or 4 bracket.

This year, not an exception, we came 3rd in the awards that becoming more competitive LAIF by the day. Weâ€™re really proud, and feel so proud of the clients we work with, for giving us opportunities to push for something newâ€?, he said. Applauding the agencyâ€™s client, Babaeko says the client as the agencyâ€™s editor and gatekeeper, should be duly acknowledged for not killing ideas that may first look extreme and allowing them see the light if the day. â€œThe glory belongs to agency and the clients because the clients need to believe in these ideas before they see the light of the day. Weâ€™re really thankful to them for really pushing us to come out with the bestâ€? Maintaining a vantage to slot on the medal table for the last 6 years is about pushing harder. Itâ€™s about team spirit, energy and cheer determination, Steve claimed. In that case, no matter who leaves or who stays, the spirit in X3M Ideas isnâ€™t to settle for anything less or mediocrity. So our people always strive for excellence because we already have a culture of excellence ingrained in our subconscious as an agency, Babaeko reaffirmed.

Singapore Economy Grows by 2.2% in Q4

Private Home Prices Slip

Singaporeâ€™s economy narrowly missed analystsâ€™ forecasts in the final quarter of 2018, according to advance estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Wednesday. Fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth came in at 2.2 per cent year on year, slightly lower than the 2.3 per cent expansion clocked in the previous quarter, in a slowdown that DBS economist Irvin Seah called â€œbroad-basedâ€? amid stronger external headwinds. According to BusinessTimes, the latest flash estimate could take Singaporeâ€™s full-year GDP growth to a tentative 3.3 per cent, as disclosed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a New Year message on Monday. Policymakers had previously pointed to growth of 3.0 to 3.5 per cent. If the government forecast holds, the economyâ€™s report card for 2018 would show growth moderating from 2017, when

Private home prices in Singapore eased 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018 over the preceding three months, according to a flash estimate provided by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Wednesday morning. However, for the whole of 2018, the private residential property price index increased 7.9 per cent, outpacing the 1.1 per cent increase chalked up in 2017, the BusinessTimes reported. The 0.1 per cent decrease in the fourth quarter comes after a quarter-on-quarter increase of 0.5 per cent in Q3 of 2018. In the fourth quarter, prices of landed homes fell 1.8 per cent over the previous quarter, following a 2.3 per cent increase in the third quarter. Prices of non-landed private homes inched up 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, after remaining flat in the previous quarter. Giving a breakdown of non-landed private home prices

GDP grew by 3.6 per cent to S$447.3 billion. Economists polled by Bloomberg had guided for 2.5 per cent growth in the last three months of 2018, and 3.3 per cent for the full year. Mizuho economist Vishnu Varathan called the flash estimate disappointing, but told The Business Times that the number is likely to be revised upwards and remains consistent with full-year growth forecasts. â€œQ4 growth momentum does not throw a wrench in the projected 2 per cent to 3 per cent growth for 2019, even if downside risks remain significant,â€? he added. Economic growth in the fourth quarter was lifted by the manufacturing sector, where the pace of expansion picked up to 5.5 per cent from 3.7 per cent in the previous quarter. Higher biomedical manufacturing and electronics production made up for declines in precision

engineering output, said the MTI. But, on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the manufacturing sector still shrank by 8.7 per cent - its first such contraction in a year - against 3.1 per cent growth in the third quarter. Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy at OCBC Bank, said on Wednesday that manufacturingâ€™s weaker performance â€œsuggested that the softening global demand environment was starting to weigh into the year-end and the front-loading activities seen earlier to pre-empt the US-China tariffs were starting to fade as wellâ€?. Still, UOB senior economist Alvin Liew, who also pegged front-loading as a factor behind the manufacturing spike, cautioned that â€œthe subsequent payback in Q2 is likely to be magnified and translate to a weaker manufacturing growth outlook in 2019â€?. The payback will come in the second quarter

of 2019 if threatened higher US tariffs set to come into effect in March are not averted. Besides the potential for a manufacturing slowdown in 2019 - from both US-China trade developments and cooling Chinese growth - Mr Liew said that the house also remains cautious about a high base effect and a global electronics slowdown, â€œwhich could eventually take a more material toll on the electronics cluster this yearâ€?. DBSâ€™s Mr Seah said a key factor would be sluggish growth in China. Non-oil domestic exports to the Chinese market has fallen in recent months, while the Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managersâ€™ Index, a private survey, showed Chinese factory activity shrinking for the first time in two years in December. â€œThe trade dilution impact of the trade war has started to bite,â€? said Mr Seah.

by region in the fourth quarter, the URA said that prices fell by 1.5 per cent in the prime areas or core central region (CCR), versus a 1.3 per cent increase in the previous quarter. Prices in the city fringe or rest of the central region (RCR) increased by 1.8 per cent after a decrease of 1.3 per cent in the previous quarter. Prices in the suburbs or outside the central region (OCR) edged up 0.8 per cent after registering a 0.1 per cent dip in the previous quarter. For 2018 as a whole, prices in the CCR, RCR and OCR have increased by 6.2 per cent, 7.4 per cent and 9.5 per cent respectively. The flash estimates are compiled based on transaction prices given in contracts submitted for stamp duty payment and data on units sold by developers up until mid-December. The statistics will be updated on Jan 25 when URA releases its full set of real estate statistics for the fourth quarter of 2018.

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Tackling Challenges of Climate Change Ugo Aliogo writes on the Katowice Climate Package established to ensure the targets agreed at Conference of Parties (COP21) Paris in 2015 to curb greenhouse gas pollution, mainly CO2 from burning fossil fuels Governments of nations have adopted a robust set of guidelines for implementing the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. This, according to negotiators at the 24th annual UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP24), Katowice, Poland, should lead to a new era of global climate action that would begin under the Paris climate change agreement. The implementation of the agreement will benefit people from all walks of life, especially the most vulnerable. The agreed â€˜Katowice Climate Packageâ€™ was designed to operationalise the climate change regime contained in the Paris Agreement. Under the auspices of the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, it will promote international cooperation and encourage greater ambition. The guidelines would promote trust among nations that all countries are playing their part in addressing the challenge of climate change. With 197 Parties, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep a global average temperature rise in this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. The UNFCCC is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The ultimate objective of all agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development. The President of COP24, Mr. Michal Kurtyka of Poland, said: â€œAll nations have worked tirelessly. All nations showed their commitment. All nations can leave Katowice with a sense of pride, knowing that their efforts have paid off. â€œThe guidelines contained in the Katowice climate package provide the basis for implementing the agreement as of 2020.â€? The Katowice package includes guidelines that would operationalise the transparency framework. It sets out how countries will provide information about their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that described their domestic climate actions. This information includes mitigation and adaptation measures as well as details of financial support for climate action in developing countries. The package also includes guidelines that relate to: r5IF QSPDFTT GPS FTUBCMJTIJOH OFX UBSHFUT PO finance from 2025 onwards to follow-on from the current target of mobilising $100 billion per year from 2020 to support developing countries r)PX UP DPOEVDU UIF (MPCBM 4UPDL UBLF PG UIF effectiveness of climate action in 2023 r)PX UP BTTFTT QSPHSFTT PO UIF EFWFMPQNFOU and transfer of technology The UN Climate Chief, Ms. Patricia Espinosa said: â€œThis is an excellent achievement! The multilateral system has delivered a solid result. This is a roadmap for the international community to decisively address climate change. â€œThe guidelines that delegations have been working on day and night are balanced and clearly reflect how responsibilities are distributed amongst the worldâ€™s nations. They incorporate the fact that countries have different capabilities and economic and social realities at home, while providing the foundation for ever increasing ambition.â€? The agreed guidelines mean that countries can now establish the national systems that are needed for implementing the Paris Agreement as of 2020. The same will be done at the international level. Functioning together, these systems will ensure that nations can act in an atmosphere of trust and assess progress of their climate actions. â€œWhile some details will need to be finalised and improved over time, the system is to the largest part place,â€? Espinosa said. The main issues still to be resolved concern the use of cooperative approaches, as well as the sustainable development mechanism, as contained in the Paris Agreementâ€™s article 6.

These would allow countries to meet a part of their domestic mitigation goals through the use of so-called â€œmarket mechanismsâ€?. Market mechanisms provide flexible instruments for reducing the costs of cutting emissions, such as carbon markets. )FSF UIF 1BSJT BHSFFNFOU SFDPHOJTFT UIF OFFE for global rules to safeguard the integrity of all countriesâ€™ efforts. These global rules are important to ensure that each tonne of emissions released into the atmosphere is accounted for. In this way progress towards the emission limitation goals of the Paris Agreement can be accurately measured. â€œFrom the beginning of the COP, it very quickly became clear that this was one area that still required much work and that the details to operationalize this part of the Paris Agreement had not yet been sufficiently explored,â€? noted Espinosa. â€œAfter many rich exchanges and constructive discussions, the greatest majority of countries were willing to agree and include the guidelines to operationalize the market mechanisms in the overall packageâ€?, she said. â€œUnfortunately, in the end, the differences could not be overcomeâ€?. Because of these, countries have agreed to finalise the details for market mechanisms in the coming year in view of adopting them at the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP25). In his opening remarks at the event, the United Nations Secretary General, AntĂłnio Guterres, noted that the planet is in deeply in trouble with climate change. )F TBJE DMJNBUF DIBOHF JT SVOOJOH GBTUFS UIBO humanity thinks and there is need to catch up sooner rather than later before it is too late, adding that for many, people, regions even countries this is already a matter of life and death. )F SFNBSLFE UIBU UIF NFFUJOH JT UIF NPTU important gathering on climate change since the Paris Agreement was signed, â€œit is hard to overstate the urgency of our situation.â€? Guterres, explained that even as the world witnesses the devastating climate impacts causing havoc across the world, humanity is still not doing enough, nor moving fast enough, to prevent irreversible and catastrophic climate disruption. According to him, â€œThe climate action offers a compelling path to transform our world for the better. Let me turn first to science. According to the World Meteorological Organisation, the 20 warmest years on record have been in the past 22 years, with the top four in the past four years. The concentration of carbon dioxide is the highest it has been in 3 million years. Emissions are now growing again.

â€œThe recent special report from the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change finds that warming could reach 1.5 degrees as soon as 2030, with devastating impacts. The latest UN environment programme emissions gap report tells us that the current nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement will lead to global warming of about 3 degrees by the end of the century. â€œFurthermore, the majority of countries most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions are behind in their efforts to meet their Paris pledges. We need more action and more ambition. We absolutely have to close this emissions gap. â€œIf we fail, the Arctic and Antarctic will continue to melt, corals will bleach and then die, the oceans will rise, more people will die from air pollution, water scarcity will plague a significant proportion of humanity, and the cost of disasters will skyrocket. â€œLast year I visited Barbuda and Dominica, which were devastated by hurricanes. The destruction and suffering I saw was heartbreaking. That story is repeated almost daily somewhere in the world. These emergencies are preventable. Emissions must decline by 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030 and be net zero by 2050. Renewable energy will need to supply half to two-thirds of the worldâ€™s primary energy by 2050 with a corresponding reduction in fossil fuels.â€? In his remarks, the Founder of Lufasi Nature Park, Mr. Desmond Majekodunmi, noted that the main purpose of the Conference of the Parties (COP24), was to establish measures to ensure that the targets agreed at COP21 Paris in 2015 to curb greenhouse gas pollution, mainly CO2 from burning fossil fuels, were firmly established. )F BMTP OPUFE QSJPS UP UIF ,BUPXJDF DPOGFSFODF reports from two of the worldâ€™s major climate agencies had been released, adding that those most alarming reports came from the IPCC (International Panel for Climate Change) and the WMO (World meteorological Organisation). )F TBJE UIF UXP BHFODJFT HBWF WFSZ HMBSJOH warnings about the implications of not meeting the greenhouse gas pollution targets set by all nations earlier in Paris in 2015. Majekodunmi, explained that the CO2 emissions targets agreed to by all nations of the world, if strictly adhered to, would hopefully keep the earthâ€™s average temperature from rising above 1.5 degrees centigrade pre industrial era levels and in the worst case scenario 2 degrees, â€œabove which we could trigger off runaway climate change that would become unstoppable and catastrophic.â€?

)F BEEFE UIBU UIF UXP BHFODJFT BMTP XBSOFE that the world were already experiencing the destructive effects of the anthropogenic global warming induced climate change with massive fire storms, rain bombs, floods, draughts and sea coral die off occurring globally. According to Majekodunmi, â€œThey warned that this was only the beginning of what could become truly catastrophic occurrences that would eventually threaten our very existence on this planet. i)PXFWFS UIF DMJNBUF SFQPSUT TUBUFE UIBU BGUFS thorough evaluation, it was clear that we are not on target to meet even the two degrees goal, that CO2 pollution which had dropped in 2015 and 2016 had been rising steadily since 2017 and other greenhouse gases like methane from modern agricultural practices and melting permafrost were now adding to the rapidly rising greenhouse effect. â€œDespite these stark warnings, attendees to the Katowice talks, where President Muhammadu Buhari had made an impassioned plea for assistance to save the fast shrinking Lake Chad, soon started sending out very troubling signals that the talks were being bogged down by the nonchalant attitudes of representatives of some of the major polluting nations, led by the USA, who actually had the audacity to openly lobby for relaxing restrictions on fossil fuel CO2 emissions. â€œAt one stage it looked like there might be no agreement at all and the COP21 Paris accord would be scuttled. It was at this stage that the UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez rushed back to the talks and made his astonishing statement that â€˜failure to take this opportunity to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions would not only be highly irresponsible but suicidal.â€™ )F SFNJOEFE EFMFHBUFT UIBU BMSFBEZ UIF MJWFT of tens of millions of people were in the balance and that the future of our children was in grave jeopardy. â€œThis highly emotional last minute effort by the SG had the desired impact and finally the delegates agreed to ramp up their efforts to ensure that we are able to keep to the agreed limits. Substantial amounts of funding were also pledged for developing nations to establish adaptation and mitigation measures. â€œMy fervent prayer is that the global governments shall rapidly walk the talk in order to beat the deadline of turning the pollution around in the next twelve years that the IPCC has warned us about. My hope however lies in the young generation, whose future is being threatened, to take up the gauntlet and enforce compliance.â€?

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Mohammed: NASRDA Not for Space Exploration Alone The Director General, National Space Research and Development Agency, Professor Seidu Mohammed, in this interview counters the common belief that the brief of the agency is about space exploration alone. He lists an array of interventionist roles that the agency plays in the nation. Kayode Fasua brings the excerpts: temperature readings without physical contact. Not done, NASRDA has what we call Environmental, Pollution and Soil monitoring (EPSm) Station. This is an advance automated weather and environmental station. The solar powered EPSm station is a oneâ€“stop device for wide scope of environmental characterisation. It is an environmental monitor that is highly integrated and boasts of about 13 real-time variables covering weather, environment, climate, atmospheric, soil, and gas pollution aerosol, etc-all in one compact outdoor unit. The advance features of the station include TFT LCD screens for visual display of real-time data and simulation results, onâ€“board simulation of real-time data, SMS real time data/ thresholds to registered phone numbers, location signature on data via GPS system; direct data push to a dedicated website for authorized public users, among other capabilities. Variables being measured by the EPSm station include: ambient temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, soil temperature, soil humidity, and so on.

What have been the major achievements of National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) in recent time? The National Space Research and Development Agency has recorded remarkable achievements in fulfilling its mandates over the last three years. The achievements over the last three years include, among others, the magnetometer for prediction of geo-hazards. As part of the International Network for Magnetometer (INM), a magnetometer worth US$2.2 Million was donated to the Agency by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA). The equipment has been installed and is functioning perfectly. The magnetometer is being used to generate data that would be useful for predicting tsunami, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other geo-hazards within the equatorial trough, and thus contribute positively to the enhancement of our research for national development. Another one is crustal deformation monitoring in Nigeria. The Agency, through the Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics, is collaborating with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on crustal deformation monitoring. Consequent upon the collaboration, NASA donated and installed GPS equipment to NASRDA, worth N5 million, to support crustal deformation monitoring and other critical research projects in Nigeria. Indeed, there are many achievements to list. Have you had any major breakthrough in your Space Application Support for Sustainable Development? Yes. Consequent upon the launch of the NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X satellites, the agency is implementing a number of satellite-based projects that are strategic to national development. Specifically, in the areas of boosting sustainable food production, resources inventory and management, and ecological and disaster management. The NigeriaSat-2 and Nigeria Satâ€“X images are currently being used locally and internationally for the development of land use/land cover map of Nigeria at a scale of 1: 50,000. There is also the development of early warning systems for national food security, the development of detailed soil map/soil information system, the development of essential maps for national security, satellite images to support the Armed Forces and national security, especially for the Nigerian peace-keeping missions all over the world; as well as other localised activities. Flood disaster monitoring and management are not also exempted. Again, NARSDA has develop capacity to build, design and develop instrumentation for scientific research capable of being deployed in universities and other institutions which is in line with the agency mandate. It will save the nation foreign exchange that could have been spent importing these instruments. We also have the Joint Global MultiNation Birds (JGMNB) code-named, â€œBIRDS Projectâ€?. It is a multinational satellite project based on lean manufacturing process, where 15 students from Japan, Ghana, Mongolia, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Thailand were enrolled at Graduate school of Engineering of Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) through innovative system engineering of designing, manufacturing, integrating, and testing. Five CubeSatâ€™s was thus launched in August 2016 to form a constellation. They are presently operated from seven ground stations across the world. The Nigerian CubeSat sings the national anthem when it passes over Nigeria.

Mohammed

Any recent contribution in the agric sector? We have the automated irrigation system. This is an automated system that performs intelligent and independent irrigation tasks. It is smart enough to know when irrigation exercise is to be triggered and the scope or extent of irrigation required at any point in time, using electronic sensor array and timing chip. It can also be operated remotely, using a mobile phone to send SMS remotely to it to perform irrigation. It is a solar-powered facility that is changing the face of agricultural practices in Nigeria. How about information technology? A lot can be accounted for, in this regard. We have the high precision GPS device. This is a portable, four-dimension Global Positioning System (GPS). It is essential for those that need point location information in up to four dimensions. It is a rare instrument in that, it relays position information in up to eight precision digits. The software running the device is written to optimise the precision of the system to up to eight digits, thereby making it unique in position information accuracy. It relays information such as latitude, longitude, altitude and speed. It could be adapted on space systems for high precision coordinate information. It is equally an essential instrument for the military, as no country wants to commercialise such high precision military gadgets. Because it is intended for field works or on space systems, it is a handheld and rechargeable system, powered by Lipo cells, and having the capacity for long haul tasks. There is also the 3â€“Axis Magnetometer. This is a versatile instrument that measures the earthâ€™s magnetic field orientation in full X, Y, Z coordinates. It also automatically computes the Declination (D), Inclination (I) and Horizontal, for force, which are essential parameters in understanding earthâ€™s orientation and magnetic coupling. The Nigerian society, today, is replete

with stories of disastrous environmental incidents. In which way is NASRDA lending a helping hand? We have intervened quite remarkably. Thatâ€™s why, for instance, we came up with the environmental monitor and gas pollution detector. This is a multifunctional and very durable device that combines the tasks of characterising the environment with gas pollution levelâ€™s monitoring. It prides on the best of digital sensors, to relay accurate information about its environment and it equally relays the level of gas pollution in such an environment. In coming up with the device, we took into consideration, the peculiarity of the Nigerian environment during design and hence it is suitable for operation at any part of the country. The design of this device is need-based and as such, an intended user is expected to specify before its production, the environmental variables of interest and particular gas pollution of interest such as CO, CO2, LPG, etc. It comes in different trims, such as standalone, solar-powered, and USB powered. Lest i forget too, we have the Range Finder. This is one unique instrument for digital measurement. It is ideal for field works, laboratory measurement, and tasks that require high-precision digital measurement. It is a portable, standalone wireless ultrasonic measuring device; that can carry out precise measurement tasks up to five metres range. It gives measurement readings in both meters and centimetresâ€™ units. It is a handheld and rechargeable system powered by Lipo cells with a capacity for long duration measurement tasks. Besides, we have come up with Infrared Temperature Meter. This is an Infrared thermometer. It is used to take temperature reading of any object â€“ humans, animals, materials or specimens without and physical contact. It is a handheld and rechargeable system powered by Lipo cells with a capacity for long haul temperature measurement tasks. It is a useful tool for health care workers or in hospitals, laboratories etc for taking

How about personal security? We have what we call Intrusion Detection and Alert System. This is a security system for intrusion detection and alert. It detects intrusion in an unauthorised place and sends intrusion alerts (SMS/Calls) wirelessly to relevant pre-programmed personnel mobile phone for immediate action. It is equipped with peripherals such as internal microphone for reaching back remotely to the environment. It uses a GSM SIM which makes it possible that only the provider/user of the SIM can operate the device. It is an essential instrument for crime deterrent. Beyond that, we have Electronic Calendar and Timing System. Basically, this is a table-top electronic calendar and timing system. It displays the Day, Month, Year, Hour, Minute, Seconds and Day of Week information on a digital display. In addition, it is customised to display ownerâ€™s/usersâ€™ information on the screen. In advance usage, it is a user-programmable system that can be deployed for time automation-related tasks, by attaching a schedule or system to it. This is done by simply setting the date and time, for instance, that a system (or remote system) should be triggered. At the set day and time, this system would trigger the peripheral/remote system as programmed. Any recent technological breakthrough? Yes, there are many. But let me dwell on a recent one. This is called Robotics Development. Space science and technology involve advance instrumentation, large data handling and assistive technologies. This huge responsibility has propelled NASRDA CBSS to embark on Robotics Development and related assistive technologies. Astronomy, which is a major research focus at NASRDA CBSS, involves round-the-clock operations and thus robotics development and assistive technologies are crucial part of astronomy research and space exploration. In line with this, NASRDA CBSS has developed a Small Experimental Rover for Terrain Characterisation (SERT â€“ X) equipped with an onâ€“board Lab for real time/ onâ€“site modelling. SERT-X is an autonomous ground vehicle that characterizes its immediate environment of deployment and relays results and modelled parameters via RF, to a remote server.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

Prioritising the Health Sector in 2019

While the world is still in the euphoria of the beginning of a new year, health experts opine that if the Nigerian government gives priority to the health sector this year, the country’s healthcare indices will improve for the better. Martins Iﬁjeh writes

he beginning of every year comes with stock taking on successes made in the previous year and the challenges that couldn’t be surpassed. For many, it is a time to reflect and re-examine mistakes made in the previous year and make amends in the New Year, to avoid a repetition of such mistakes. But for others, it is a time for renewed hope and expectations; a time to set goals and resolutions, and expect to meet them by the end of the year. As the world welcomed in another year last Tuesday, expectations among Nigerians were not only limited to individual projections and personal goals, but expectations on what they anticipate from their country, especially as Nigeria faces another election year. Generally, Nigerians are looking forward to a fair, credible and peaceful general elections come February; they expect the economy to improve and take Nigerians out of the current poverty status; while insecurity is reduced in 2019. These expectations are not limited to the economy and security of the nation only; Nigerians are also looking forward to a better healthcare. They believe for a country to be wealthy, it first has to attain good health. Specifically, this year, Nigerians are looking forward to better primary healthcare facilities, lesser disease outbreaks, reduced medical tourism, improved maternal, newborn and child health, reduced brain drain, state of the art facilities for the treatment of cancers, kidney diseases, and heart failures. Fixing Cancer Machines The 2019 wish of the Director of Nigeria Turkish Healthcare Travel Council, Dr. Adebayo Sobawomo is simple; he wants the Nigerian government to fix cancer machines such that the needless cancer deaths in the country due to scarcity of cancer treatment facilities will be averted. Nigeria presently has over two million persons living with various forms of cancers with only about seven cancer machines available for treatment in the entire country. To make matters worse, only about two machines work at a time in Nigeria, with others either broken down per time or not working up to standard. According to Sobamowo, “in 2019, I want to see that we have functional comprehensive oncology centres to tackle the current scourge of cancers in Nigeria. I expect to see multiple life saving linac machines deployed in public hospitals across Nigeria. We can also up our partnership with the private sector just as it entails in countries with better healthcare.” Call for Better Primary Healthcare It is no longer news that for a country to have a better healthcare system, its primary healthcare (PHC) must be accessible, affordable and qualitative to its people. But same cannot be said of Nigeria’s primary healthcare facilities. Speaking with THISDAY, a Medical Officer, Livingstone Medical Centre, Lagos, Dr. Richard Salu, said if the Nigerian government can fix primary healthcare in 2019, it would have solved more than half of the problems in the sector. He said: “We presently have about the worst maternal, newborn and child mortality rate in the world, with our children and mothers dying from what ordinarily can be prevented. If this is the only thing we focus on in 2019, our government will end up making a difference in the health sector. “When basic health facilities are put on ground, pregnant women will no longer give birth at home or with traditional birth attendants. If our PHCs function properly, our children will be immunised, they will not die from malaria, cholera, pneumonia or diarrhea. This is how other countries run their system.” Sobamowo, on his part, said this year, he expects to see strengthened PHCs driven by funding from the Basic Healthcare Provisions Fund (BHCPF), adding that he also wants “to see more states funding of healthcare. States

Adewale

Eliboh

Sobamowo

should also start implementing health insurance scheme”.

(NCDC) has to continue to use innovative technologies to improve surveillance on Ebola, Lassa fever and other epidemics. The return of previously eradicated polio also needs to be reversed by achieving total national immunisation coverage”, he said. Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer, EpidAlert, Dr Bakare Lawal, had told THISDAY that the Nigerian government needed to take few steps backward and redesign the health sector if it must address disease outbreaks and tackle the myriads of healthcare challenges facing the country. He said for a country to be seen to be preventing diseases, it must first have a data base of all its citizens irrespective of where they are, and that such database should include allergy profiles, biology profile, electrolyte profile, blood profile, and other profiles of every single Nigerian. He said: “How can we say we are making progress in disease prevention when Nigeria as a country does not know whether its citizens exist not to mention knowing the health profile of such citizens. “Each citizen is unique and that uniqueness must be captured in a database. For example, someone’s profile can tell whether the person can heal fast if knocked on the head. That database will then provide information to the person on what should be avoided or embraced.” He said no doubt Nigeria has built few

Tackling Disease Outbreaks Sobamowo also believes the Nigerian government needs to do more to address incessant disease outbreaks in the country. “The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control

This year, Nigerians are looking forward to better primary healthcare facilities, lesser disease outbreaks, reduced medical tourism, improved maternal, newborn and child health, reduced brain drain, state of the art facilities for the treatment of cancers, kidney diseases, and heart failures

health facilities, but that the basis should first be addressed, adding that disease prevention is a house and individual thing rather than a health facility thing. He opined, “our health system is largely waiting for those who fall ill to come in and receive care, whereas if we do the basics, many Nigerians would not need to access health facilities as often as they do now.” He said countries that have excelled in their healthcare took disease prevention seriously, and made deliberate steps to provide information to their citizens, adding that it is only when a country knows the profile of its individual citizens that it can provide information to them on risks, hazards and how to prevent diseases. Curbing Medical Tourism When President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in 2015, not few people believed he was going to stop public officials from accessing healthcare abroad at the expense of government fund. But few months into his administration, he broke that public trust; went to the United Kingdom for treatment, and this has continued till date. However, medical experts believe that if priority was given to improving the sector, Nigerians, including its president, would not need to travel abroad for treatment. A Senior Medical Officer, National Obstetric Fistula Centre, Abakaliki, Dr. Eliboh Monday Osazebemide, while speaking with THISDAY on New Year day, said if in 2019 the Nigerian government, including states and local authorities, fix the health sector, healthcare indices will improve. He said: “My expectation for the sector is for us to fix the system, improve capital development of health personnel, increase awareness on the expertise of our medical personnel and promote the services available in the country, so that Nigerians will no longer need to travel abroad for healthcare.” While every Nigerian is making New Year resolutions, we also urge our government, stakeholders and the citizens to prioritise healthcare as one of their 2019 resolutions.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019

NEWS

Group Empowers Blind People, Calls for Social Intervention Oluchi Chibuzor As part of plans to support Persons Living With Disability (PLWD) in Nigeria, Total Cooperative and Anglo-Nigerian Welfare Association for the Blind has organised training on Job Access with Speech (JAWS) for 40 persons with virtually impaired challenges. This is a computer screen reader program

for Microsoft windows that allows blind and visually impaired users to read the screen of computers unassisted, consequently gaining employable skills for living. In a statement signed by Head, Legal and Communication, Total Cooperative Society, Hector HenryAmiwero, the company noted that with the growing economical challenges people with disabilities face in the society, the need to

offer a safety net becomes imperative at this critical moment. The statement further reveals that the worrisome part is that the number of people with visual impairment is high in developing countries with Nigeria inclusive, adding that policy support is needed to increase awareness of their social well-being. According to him, “in Nigeria, the physically challenged people are seen as

inactive members of the society due to their disabilities. While a good number of them can proudly compete with sighted people, of the 285 million visually impaired people worldwide, 10 per cent are likely to get a job or have access to education. “We know by giving them an avenue to have a livelihood, every other aspect of their lives will be affected positively, especially

their health and overall well being which is more important to us, considering a lot they go through on a daily bases. With this more organisations will be challenged to assist them also. “So we thought of JAWS, which is the world’s most popular screen reader, developed for computer users whose vision loss prevents them from seeing screen content or navigating with a mouse.”

In recognition of the gesture, trustee of Anglo- Nigeria Welfare Association for the Blind, Dr Danlami Basharu, said support from Total Co-operative Society was timely. He said: “The trainees of the six months long computer training programme on JAWS screen reader has given hope to all who participated in it and we solicit for more social inclusion programs for our members.”

191m Nigerians Face Malaria Threat, Says NMEP Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

L-R: Head of Service, Lagos State, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola; wife of APC Deputy Governorship Candidate, Lagos State, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat; Special Adviser, Primary Healthcare, Lagos State, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga; Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Bolanle Ambode; Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Dr. Jide Idris; Medical Director, Shomolu General Hospital & wife of APC Governorship Candidate, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu; Medical Director, Randle General Hospital, Dr. Aduke Odutayo; and Federal Commissioner, National Population Commission, Bimbola SaluHundeyin, during a visit to the first baby of year at Randle General Hospital in Lagos on NewYear day

ASLM Harps On Diagnostic Gap, Partners Africa CDC Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) has partnered Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention towards closing the gap and advancing diagnostic initiative in the continent. This was through the launch of the Africa Collaborative Initiative to Advance Diagnostics (AFCAD) during the fourth biennial international conference of the ASLM

in Abuja, with the theme ‘Next pandemic: The role of the laboratory’. Chairperson of ASLM Board of Directors, Prof. Alash’le Abimiku, stated that there was still a lot more to be done, hence the need for collaborative effort. She said: “When we had the Ebola crisis in Africa, one major challenge laboratory experts had was the time spent in getting the samples tested. “Sometimes, it took up to four weeks just for blood samples to

get tested because they had to be taken to Germany. But with this new initiative, regulations will be accelerated to facilitate timely and wider access to essential diagnostics.” She also stated that the conference was an avenue to discuss issues that have to do with getting a healthier Africa and with emphasis at ensuring that laboratories are doing the work that is standardised. The Head of Laboratory Division, Africa Centre for Disease

Control, Yenew Kebede, in his own address, said Universal Health Coverage was a priority for African countries to attain inclusive and sustainable growth, noting that many diseases remain undiagnosed due to poor diagnostic capacity. According to him, “the limited access to essential tests and slow introduction of innovative technologies result in insufficient disease case finding and hampers access to treatment.

The National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) has disclosed that about 191 million Nigerians, representing 97 per cent of the total population, face malaria threat. Also, cases in the African countries, which include the 10 nations, especially Nigeria and Burkina Faso, rose by 3.5 million in 2017, compared to the previous year, while new cases fell steadily until 2016. The number rose from 217 million to 219 million in 2017. National Coordinator, NMEP, Mr. Audu Mohammed, who made this known at the 2018 NMEP fourth quarter media chat in Abuja recently, noted that for the fight against malaria to be won, federal, state and local governments need to increase its level of funding malaria related programmes. Represented by Head of Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation (ACSM), Chukwu Okoronkwo, he lamented that malaria remains an important public health issue in Nigeria, as it accounts for 30 per cent of childhood mortality and 11 per cent of maternal mortality. Quoting the World Malaria Report, he

revealed that both the 2017 and 2018 showed that the world was off track to meet the 2020 milestone as reflected in the global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030, as global progress against malaria has stalled. Mohammed added that the report indicated that around 70 per cent of all deaths in 2017 were concentrated in 10 African countries and India. Mohammed urged governments at all levels to redouble efforts to make an appreciable impact in the malaria landscape, even as he called on the citizenry to maintain environmental sanitation in and around the places they live and work. “We need the government to give more resources to malaria control activities in the country. This is not limited to the federal government, local or state government alone. The private sectors can also be a major contributor to this fight. “Private sector does not need to give NMEP money, but just to do something within their environment. One critical area about domestic funding is the issue of subsidy of malaria commodity. Commodities in the private sector cannot be accessed because they are too expensive.

Abimiku: Funding, Policy Formulation Can Curb Epidemics in Nigeria Prof. Alash’le Abimiku is the Co-founder, International Research Center of Excellence at the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria. In this interview with Kuni Tyessi, he spoke on how Nigeria can curb outbreaks and epidemics through policy formulations, increased workforce and adequate funding. Excerpts: Epidemics have continued to be a challenge and sometimes developing into pandemics. What is the way forward? All of us have to be ready towards preventing the next outbreak of epidemic and everybody has a role, starting from the community. We have to do a lot of education, for example, the case of Lassa virus. The community needs to know that it is caused by rats. If you keep rats within your home or within the community, you stand a risk. Another is about cholera and hygiene. So we really need to up our game within the community and this has to be sustained, so that these diseases can be addressed. The other area is intelligence. At the community, those who will be the first to inform about epidemics are members of the community. Your recent conference was on laboratory medicine within the African continent. Why the emphasis? The ASLM is focusing on laboratories. They have to know how to translate samples very safely, especially during outbreaks. If the right technology and gadget is used, there is actually nothing to fear. So the laboratories have to be equipped to do that. The clinicians also have to be trained on how to manage a person that has fever or has lost a lot of blood fluids before they get themselves right. Then our policy makers and the government have to create the workforce and environment where the individuals are happy doing their work. The epidemic might be happening in

Togo and they might not have the equipment to test the samples. Those samples should be tested in Nigeria or Ghana. Why the choice of Nigeria as venue for the conference after three bi- annual conferences? This is the fourth conference and it is every two years. The last three took place in Cape Town and there were reasons because they have better facilities, good halls that can take the kind of number we are talking about and more importantly, a lot of industries are involved. At the last one, the board decided that one of the ways of owning this project as Africans despite appreciating the beauty of Cape Town is to take the conference elsewhere. The board considered a lot of issues and apart from South Africa, the largest membership after South Africa is Nigeria and so we thought it appropriate to bring it here. Not every African country is involved in this. Are there modalities you are putting in place towards ensuring that all African states are carried along? We have to strengthen our cross country borders, because when these epidemics hit, they go across countries. What ASLM should be doing is using the facility and networking that we’ve been doing to begin to pull other countries that are not as responsive by taking these things to them. We have been working with the minister of health and he has dedicated himself to this and has

added members of his staff. We also have the NCDC Bill being passed and it’s really a plus. Is Nigeria doing enough in terms of funding for health related issues, and what are possible ways forward? Funding for health strengthening has always been difficult. It’s an area of disappointment for me. It is always very low funded. Our health systems are broken. A lot of laboratory infrastructures that has been built in the country were built by foreign funds for example; PEPFA is funding 80 per cent of what we are doing. So obviously, we are not funding it enough. The government talked about insurance recently because we all need insurance to get all our lab tests, and best care but that has been a struggle. Unless we really work on that, we are really not prepared. I think they are doing a good job in putting together the policies and trying to convene the right group of people, like ECOWAS that has been talking about the simplification of the regulatory bodies across Africa and experienced in sharing data and samples. So if you look at our hospitals and labs, we are not doing enough and we still fear the next epidemic. Can you give an estimate of what it would cost to effectively fund laboratory medicine in Nigeria? In terms of figure, I really can’t give that but will talk about the activities. Are we providing enough education to our communities? I don’t

think so. Look at Lassa; we really are not doing enough. So the government has to put funding in place to educating its people in the community and putting in place a structure that will collect the data and make policy makers to look at the data and the trend and then the labs and containment needed and then the hospitals should have the right isolation for all the people infected. Will you say that Nigeria’s population is affecting its attainment of health for all? Not really. I don’t see that as a disadvantage. The fact of the matter is that we are in a zone that is endemic for Lassa, but we also know how it is transmitted. We know it is preventable. If we can fumigate our houses, limit mice and rats coming and covering our foods, then we know we can stop it. But every single year when people are dying from Lassa, that’s the time people will go out and you will see folks talking on television and saying this is how it can be prevented. Vaccination is another thing. Why are people not vaccinated against yellow fever? There is a vaccine that works. All of these have to do with education and strengthening the health system. Another is having enough work force. If you don’t have enough work force that will go out to vaccinate 180 million people, with a big population, we are bound to have challenges if workforce is inadequate.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019

INTERVIEW

Moeti: Nigeria Can Beat Malaria through Political Will, Coordinated Response Dr. Matshidiso Moeti is the African Regional Director of the WHO. In this exclusive interview with Martins Iﬁjeh, the medical administrator said with Nigeria accounting for 25 per cent of malaria cases worldwide, there is need for increased political will and funding, as well as coordinated response in addressing the deadly disease. Excerpts: Why are we having stalled progress in the ﬁght against malaria? The World malaria report 2018 reinforces the message that more needs to be done to get back on track to end malaria. We made great progress in some areas, with a fall in deaths caused by malaria and promising declines in malaria incidences in India, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Pakistan. We are particularly concerned, however, by the report’s finding that in 2017 there were an estimated 3.5 million more cases of malaria in the 10 highest burden African countries, with Nigeria accounting for 25 per cent of malaria cases worldwide. Coverage of key interventions to prevent and treat malaria – such as insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and anti-malarial medicines – has only marginally improved since 2015. Access to preventive therapies that protect pregnant women and children from malaria remains too low. And the burden of anaemia, especially among children who have malaria, remains unacceptably high.

This year, Paraguay became the ﬁrst country in America to eliminate malaria in 45 years and 11 countries are on track for elimination in the next two years. It won’t be easy but with increased political will, strategic information, better guidance and a coordinated national malaria response, bit by bit, even high burden countries like Nigeria can beat this disease… Success in countries like Nigeria will translate into success globally

Has poor funding capacity, as in the case of Nigeria, affected the ﬁght against malaria? Funding for malaria control in most countries remains insufficient. The overall level of resources available in 2017, although slightly higher than in 2016, continues to fall short of our annual funding targets. Inadequate funding has resulted in major gaps in coverage of core malaria control tools that prevent, diagnose and treat malaria. In 2017, for example, an estimated half of the population at risk of malaria in Africa did not sleep under a treated net. Importantly, most ITNs distributed in recent years were used to replace old nets, resulting in limited quantities to cover additional populations. Nigeria presently has a huge funding gap, what is your recommendation? Strengthening country leadership and stepping up domestic financing is necessary at all levels to translate political commitments into more domestic resources and tangible action to reduce malaria cases and deaths. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London this April, the Nigerian Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole committed to secure $300 million in new financing from the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank and African Development Bank to cover significant bed net coverage gaps in 13 states. The application for these funds is currently underway. Once received, it is crucial that Nigeria follows through with making this happen, including using the funds when they come through as intended. The world is at risk of squandering years of investment in the ﬁght against malaria, it means our efforts aren’t enough, so what different approach should we look at? At the World Health Assembly in May 2018, the World Health Organisation Director General,

Do you honestly believe Nigeria can be malaria free, considering our tropical location? This year, Paraguay became the first country in South America to eliminate malaria in 45 years and 11 countries are on track for elimination in the next two years. It won’t be easy but with increased political will, strategic information, better guidance and a coordinated national malaria response, bit by bit, even high burden countries like Nigeria can beat this disease. Success in countries like Nigeria will translate into success globally. Through collective action – and with countries leading the way – we can achieve our common vision of a malaria-free world.

Moeti

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for an aggressive new approach to jump-start progress against malaria. A new country-driven response – “High burden to high impact” – was launched alongside this year’s World Malaria Report in Maputo, Mozambique. The approach will be driven by the 11 countries that carry the highest burden of the disease (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, India, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania). Key elements

of the new approach include: Political will to reduce the toll of malaria; strategic information to drive impact; better guidance, policies and strategies; and coordinated national malaria response. Catalysed by WHO and Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership to End Malaria, “High burden to high impact” builds on the principle that no one should die from a disease that is preventable and treatable. The support and engagement of all partners will be critically important to the success of this country-led approach.

What is your advice to Nigerian government and the citizens in addressing this burden? Continuing with the status quo will take us further off track in the fight against this deadly disease. Our new “High burden to high impact” response outlines key elements that governments and citizens must take. This should include increased political will to reduce malaria deaths, as ownership of the challenges lies in the hands of governments most affected by malaria. Additionally, grassroots initiatives that empower people to protect themselves from malaria, like the Zero Malaria Starts with Me campaign, which launched this year in several African countries, can help foster an environment of accountability and action.

FG to Partner Osun in Creating Model Healthcare Systems Martins Ifijeh The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has said that the Federal Ministry of Health is ready to partner the newly inaugurated Osun State Government to create a model healthcare system that other states would emulate. The minister made this known recently when he received on official visit, the Governor State of Osun, Mr.

Adeboyega Oyetola in Abuja. Adewole said: “We have just one ambition and that is to work with you and create a model healthcare system that every other state in Nigeria would emulate. What we are planning to do is to diagnose and profer some recommendations as how we can move forward. “We want to congratulate you for inaugurating health improvement committee,

which you personally took charge of. To me, this is the best that can happen in any state. I hope by chairing that committee, no one can deceive you about health indices in Osun. You can personally drive the health improvement agenda.” The minister said through Save One Million Lives Initiative, Osun State has won $20 million, which would soon be released to the governor, to

kick start the improvement of healthcare system. Adewole said Osun was also one of the pilot states to benefit from the Basic Healthcare Provision Funds (BHCPF), a special intervention to improve healthcare delivery system at all levels. The minister encouraged the governor to key into the National Strategic Health Development Plan II for synergy between the federal

government and the state. In his presentation, the National Coordinator, Save One Million Lives Programme, Dr. Ibrahim Kana, urged the governor to introduce compulsory health insurance scheme that would cover both formal and informal sector. Also speaking, Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Faisal Shuaibu, pledged to provide techni-

cal assistance for managing primary healthcare under one roof. Responding, the governor appreciated the minister for his support towards building quality healthcare system in Osun State. He assured that the $20million from the Save One Million Lives programme and the basic health financing funds would be judiciously utilised to improve the health of the citizens of the state.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019

HEALTH

With World Class Private Hospitals, Nigerians Need Not Travel Abroad John Shiklam writes that with the recent medical exploits at the Thelish Eye Centre in Kaduna, a joint partnership with Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Institute, India, Nigerians need not travel abroad for medical tourism Private initiatives in Nigeria’s health sector have contributed to the reduction of the number of Nigerians traveling abroad for solutions for their medical problems. Over the years, the private sector has taken up the challenges by investing in the establishment of hospitals or collaborating with foreign investors to set up hospitals with the state of the art equipment. With the best professionals drawn from within and outside the country, these hospitals had proven that they have the captivity to provide medical solutions to those ailments which Nigerians travel abroad for. One of such hospitals is Thelish Eye Centre, Kaduna, which was jointly founded with the India-based Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Institute, in February, 2012. Since the centre commenced operations six years ago, many people from across the country have gone there to seek for solutions to various eye problems, some of which they would have had to travel abroad for treatment. Equipped with multi-million naira equipment, the latest technology in the industry and top rated personnel from India, the centre has been able to carve a niche for itself as one of the leading eye hospitals in the country. According to the Director of the centre, Dr. Ime Etuk, it has provided the opportunity for Nigerians to stay in their country and receive world class medical treatment, which they hitherto sought abroad, thereby reducing the cost of traveling and medical expenses. Exploits Equipped with the latest technologies, the centre which is manned by expatriates has blazed the trail in breakthroughs in various forms of eye surgeries in Nigeria. One of such exploits was the recent successful surgery on a nine months old baby, who underwent corneal transplant. The transplant was done by a 27 years old surgeon, Dr. Smith M. Bavariya, the youngest surgeon to have carried out corneal transplant in the whole of Africa. “I am the only surgeon who has been doing the transplant throughout Africa, especially that small baby”, Bavariya said, noting that “before now, patients were sent to India for the transplant”. The cornea is the protective outer layer of the eye. If it is damaged by disease, infection or an injury, the resulting scars can affect vision. Corneal disease refers to many conditions that affect this part of the eye. According to him, many people were coming to India hence, the decision by Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Institute to establish the centre jointly with Thelish Eye Centre in Kaduna so as to reduce medical tourism. “Otherwise if these people are to go to India, the air travel, the accommodation, visa and so on, would have cost them a fortune,” he noted. Bavariya said the baby’s surgery, was a major breakthrough and the first in Nigeria and in Africa. “The baby was brought by the parents from Portharcourt, Rivers state, having suffered from measles which later developed into corneal opacity.” Besides the baby, Bavariya said corneal transplants are carried out six to seven times every month at the centre. New Technique He said Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Institute in India had developed a technique called Glued IoL,

Dr. Smith Bavariya, examining a patient before cornea transplant

“It is used where we cannot fix the lens in a patient in normal circumstances, especially cases like injuries, some defects or lack of proper support of the lanes.” According to him, the Glued IoL technique is very unique, saying that it is used to fix the lens in cases injuries to the eye. “It will give your eye sharp vision as a normal person. We remove the cataract and blood injury that messed up everything inside the eye. In those circumstances, we cannot put the lens as normal cataract patients.” he explained further. He said “sometimes wrong surgeries can lead to cornea problems” adding that in those cases, cornea transplant is the solution. “Every month we import five to six corneas and every month we do cornea transplants with excellent results. It is imported from Chicago, United States of America and therefore the surgery is a little expensive.” Reduction of Economic Burden

He said the centre has reduced the economic burden of the patients who would have traveled abroad, saying that the same technology and expertise used in India were also used at the centre in Nigeria. The surgeon said: “Whether it is in London or in the USA, it is the same technology, the same quality of the lenses and machines that we are using here” he added. According to him, since cornea is imported, it is expensive, adding however that, the quality of the vision is not beyond reach. “If you go outside the country to do it, the cost would be triple or more. We don’t get cornea in Africa so we get it from India or USA” he said. Cornea Patients in Nigeria He revealed that there were many cornea patients in Nigeria, saying that there were multiple causes of the problem including infection and injuries. “In some cases, blasts and sharp metals that entered the eye, messed it up and the lens cannot

be put properly. In such cases, we fix the lens with specialised glue- the human glue made of human blood. “It is not harmful, it is not like the glue we use to stick something. It is just a blood extract. We use it to fix the lens,” he explained. According to him, in most cases, the corneal transplant is done with the Glue IoL and Vitrectomy to remove the foreign body. He however said those with diabetes and hypertension were more affected with retina problems and advised that people with such problems should check their retina every year if they noticed that their vision is going down. “They should immediately see a consultant. I want to emphasise that people with hypertension and diabetes must check their eyes” he advises. Glaucoma as a Silent Killer Speaking further, Bavariya also noted that another serious problem is glaucoma which he described as a “silent killer”. “You will not know that your vision is going down because there will be no pain, no itching no irritation, nothing. The vision lost starts from the periphery and gradually you lose your sight. In glaucoma, nothing can be done rather than to control the pressure” he advised. He lamented that unfortunately, in Africa, the prevalence of glaucoma and the nature of the disease was far aggressive than the patients in Asia. “In India, if I see a glaucoma patient, it will not be that much aggressive because of the genetical presence of glaucoma in Africa. “My message is that people should go for routine eye check and glaucoma screening. You cannot cure glaucoma but you can control the pressure on the eye, and once it is controlled you can see throughout your life time. If you have a family history of glaucoma, it is important to go for regular eye check” he further advises.

Testimonials Some of the patients who spoke in an interview THISDAY said they heard about the centre after years of going from hospital to hospital in search of solution to their eye problems. One of the patients, Chizarom Azodoh, 16, from Owerri, Imo State was having challenges with his sight since he was born. His senior brother, Chibueze Azodoh, who brought him to the centre told THISDAY in an interview that Chizarom was born with cataract and the problem had lingered after surgery at a hospital in Kano. “My brother was born with eye cataract. When we went to a hospital in Kano, the doctor said he was too tender to be operated on. He was just eight weeks and the doctor said he should be three months before the operation” Chibueze said. He said when Chizarom turned 12 weeks, their parents took him back to Kano and both eyes were operated upon and the cataract was removed. “When he came back, he was alright, he was using sun glasses then. One day, a fellow student thought the glasses was just for fashion and they were dragging for it and the eye was affected. He continued bleeding, shedding tears. We took him back to Kano. We were told that the lens shifted and they had to be removed. “When they removed the lens, his eyes continued turning white by the day. We were told that the person that operated on him in Kano had gone back to India and there was no capable hand again. “So we kept on searching for a place, not until two months ago, when my younger brother’s friend said there is a place he knows in Kaduna. A month after, we came here, we thought that the eye is already condemned because it was becoming so white. “When we came they said they will conduct a test on the retina and if it is good, they could continue with cornea transplant, but if it is bad, it would not be effective. “The test was conducted and it was confirmed that the retina is good and he could do the transplant. The doctor wanted to operate the two eyes, but my father said we should first do the one that is very bad before the other eye,” Chibueze narrated. Also, Salami Pa Patrick, 60, had his eye damaged by a quack doctor who operated on him in Kaduna. “I just discovered that I couldn’t see properly. So I told my son who said he knows one doctor and that we should go there. “I asked my son how effective is the doctor? We eventually went there; the man said he can operate on my eyes. I didn’t see the instruments he used; he just started punching my eyes. The man turned out to be a traditional doctor. But after this operation now, I have regained my sight now,” he said. It was learnt that Patrick’s operation was free as he could not afford to pay for the surgery which costs over N650, 000, but was asked to take care of his drugs. There were several other patients from the Northeast with various eye problems caused by explosions and bomb blasts by the Boko Haram terrorists. With hospitals like Thelish Eye Centre and several others spread across the country, Nigerians don’t necessarily have to travel outside for medical tourism.

Strengthening Supply Chain System through WarehouseVisibility Project Martins Iﬁjeh To address public health commodity wastages across states, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, recently, requested the support of Africa Resource Centre (ARC) for supply chain in Nigeria. This request was neccessary because an effective supply chain reduces the direct cost of providing patient care, counterfeit drugs and waste, including the

availability of medicines, family planning choice and vaccines. While warehousing of medicines is a critical component of the supply chain for the provision of medicines in any system, all Nigerians states have Central Medical Stores (CMS), which serve as warehousing units for the storage and distribution of health commodities. Over the years, warehouses in Nigeria have been laden with several challenges including

inadequate infrastructure, lack of proper storage conditions, staff attrition, product pilferage, loss of commodities due to poor expiry management, and wastages including little or no visibility in warehouse operations at the federal and state levels. According to the National Coordinator, National Product Supply Chain Management Programme (NPSCMP), Linus Odoemene, the three key areas needing support are, “warehouse

infrastructural upgrade of 31 states CMSs in Nigeria. “Setting up of a visibility platform in the minister of health’s office to provide real-time online status and performance of CMSs across Nigeria through a monitoring dashboard; as well as instituting a stakeholder engagement forum to foster ownership and advocate for fund allocation to the states warehouse improvement and measure progress.”

Presenting a progress report on the Warehouse Visibility and Governance Project (WVGP), Odoemene said most CMS across states were below recommended world standards, urging them to show commitment towards improving their medical warehouses. He said: “ARC Nigeria, a partnership of Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, supported the Project

Management Unit (PMU), which was set up to advance the request of the minister who elevated the project to a special ministerial intervention in developing a strategic roadmap for the project. “The roadmap was broken into four phases: capacity development for governance and oversight, warehouse rapid assessment, dashboard development and stakeholders’ engagement for warehouse infrastructural upgrade.

T H U R S DAY Ëž JANUARY 3, 2018

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

EU, Oxfam, DEC PartnerTaraba Govt Ugo Aliogo The European Union (EU), Oxfam in Nigeria, the Development Exchange Center (DEC) and the Taraba State Government are collaborating on a new initiative aimed at increasing the productivity and income of farmers in the state. According to a statement on the Oxfam website, the project which was launched in Jalingo recently, would target about 300,000 people in 30,000 farming households in Donga, Wukari, Ardo Kola, Kurmi, Takum and Zing Local Government Areas of the state, â€œIt is funded by the EU and jointly implemented by Oxfam in Nigeria and DEC.â€? The statement noted that the project which is known as Produce and Sell (PROSELL), seeks to improve the resilience

of small-scale farmers, fishermen and livestock owners in the face of shocks from climate change, such as changing rainfall patterns, drought and desertification. Furthermore, it stated that its implementation follows the success of Pro-Resilience Action (PROACT), a similar EU-funded project that is currently reaching 35,000 farming households in Kebbi and Adamawa States. â€œPROACT has helped to increase farmersâ€™ access to timely agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertilisers; finance for farmer groups; knowledge on practices to improved their yield through farmer field training schools, and community-owned grain reserves to provide food in the lean season, tree planting for fight climate change and village savings and loans association to grow flexible financial services

for the rural poor. The net result of PROACT is at least 100 per cent agricultural yield increase across Adamawa and Kebbi States and this is what is being replicated in Taraba state,â€? the statement said. The Head of the Health, Nutrition and Resilience Section at the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Montserrat Pantaleoni, who represented the Head of Delegation, Ambassador Ketil Karlsen, at the launch, underscored the importance of the EUâ€™s focus on women and youth not only in the state, but in the country. Pantaleoni in the statement added: â€œThis project will target 50 percent women and 30 percent youth, and this is important. It is predicted that Nigeria will be the fourth most populous country in the world by 2050.

UBA Pledges Enhanced Service Delivery The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has promised its customers that it will continually strive through innovative ways to enhance its service delivery. The Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, said this in a new year message to customers of the bank yesterday. Uzoka said: â€œIt is another year and a new year always brings new opportunities for us to show how much we appreciate you for being a part of the UBA family. â€œOn behalf of the Executive

Management and over 15,000 staff of the United Bank for Africa Group in all our 23 countries of operations, Iâ€™d like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you throughout the years and 2018 in particular.â€? The bank chief executive added: â€œYour patronage and support have been the reason for our Bankâ€™s progress and success. We are honoured that you have selected us to be your financial partner over the period. â€œIt is our desire to always meet your needs with our

services and products which are developed from your standpoint as a valued customer, indeed, Our Employer. We promise to continually strive to make our products available to you, 24/7 and to seek innovative ways to enhance our service delivery in a manner that will always surpass your expectations. â€œWe look forward to our continued partnership in 2019 and beyond, as we position ourselves to serve you even better. We wish you a happy and prosperous 2019.â€?

Legacy Pension Managers Now FCMB Pensions As part of the strategy to harmonise its global brand and identity, the FCMB Group Plc has announced a change of name in the pension management arm of its business. Formerly known as Legacy Pension Managers Limited, one of the leading financial services holding companyâ€™s fund managers firm will now be known as FCMB Pensions Limited. In a statement obtained yesterday, the Group said, following the acquisition of majority shareholding in the company by FCMB Group and the approval of the Board of Directors at its meeting of October 17, 2018, the change of name would positively enhance the companyâ€™s marketing and distribution activities. In his reaction, the Managing Director of FCMB Pensions Limited, (formerly Legacy Pension), Mr. Misbahu Yola said, â€œwhat

has happened is expected and an important alignment of our marketing message. There has been a comprehensive integration of the pensions business into FCMB Group, which is known for its culture of excellence, resilience and customer focus. It is another way of welcoming it to a group that has endured and enjoyed stability and sustainable growth in the last 41years.â€? FCMB Group Plc is a leading financial services group with businesses in commercial and retail banking, investment banking and wealth management, across seven subsidiaries that was founded in 1977 and became a public listed company in 2005. FCMB increased its stake in its pensions business between 2017 and 2018 from 28.3 per cent to 91.6 per cent currently. The acquisition is expected to engender sustainable and

diversified low-risk growth momentum. The pension firm will also leverage on FCMBâ€™s extensive distribution network, alternate channels, digital innovation, investment research, and rapidly expanding customer base. On his part, the Chairman of the Board of FCMB Pensions Limited and the Group Chief Executive of FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Ladi Balogun said, â€œthe change of the companyâ€™s name will entrench a single brand identity across our pensions and retail banking businesses. Having distinguished ourselves in consumer finance over the years and gaining greater market share in retail payments solutions and savings accounts, a comprehensive suite of asset and wealth management propositions is a natural addition to our growing base of five million customers.â€?

WHO CommendsThailand for Introducing Tobacco Plain Packaging The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commended the stronger tobacco control measures being adopted by Thailand which has become the first in Asia, and the first middle-income country to adopt plain packaging for tobacco products. According to a statement by the Regional Director WHO, South-East, Dr. Poonam Singh, noted that Thailandâ€™s bold steps against tobacco is commendable and reflects the countryâ€™s earnest efforts in promoting health and well-being of its people. He expressed confidence that the new legislative announcement on plain packaging is the latest

effort of Thai government and adds to the Tobacco Control Act 2017. He noted that the control Act 2017 enforces 20 years as the minimum age for purchasing tobacco, bans single stick sale and bans tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship. The statement further noted that plain packaging of tobacco products restricts or prohibits the use of logos, colours, brand images or promotional information on packaging other than brand names and product names displayed in a standard colour and font style. Singh further noted that plain packaging is

an evidence-based policy being advocated by WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), a legal treaty that aims to protect present and future generation against the devastating health and socio-economic impact of tobacco use. According to him, â€œAs per Thailandâ€™s new legislation, by September 2019 all tobacco products will have plain packaging. Thailand already has graphic health warnings covering 85 percent packaging of tobacco products. Introduction of plain packaging is expected to further boost the countryâ€™s tobacco control efforts targeting the current and new users.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

MARCH 2018 Broad Money (M2)

24,303,049.86

-- Narrow Money (M1)

10,912,604.10

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,668,378.21

---- Demand Deposits

9,244,225.90

-- Quasi Money

13,390,445.76

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

15,619,134.18

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

8,683,915.68

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,267,136.53

---- Credit to Government (Net)

3,823,345.45

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

5,433,209.43

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

-1,609,863.98

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

22,443,791.08

--Other Assets Net

-17,583,220.85

Reserve Money (Base Money)

6,746,646.49

--Currency in Circulation

1,668,378.21

--Banks Reserves

4,357,551.58 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ Ă™Ă–Ă“Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ÍŻÍąĎą

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT THURSDAY, 20 DECEMBER 2018

The price of OPEC basket of ďŹ fteen crudes stood at $53.92 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $55.13 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

T H U R S DAY ˾ JANUARY 3, 2019

MARKET NEWS

Nigerian Equities Market Begins 2019 on Bearish Note Goddy Egene The Nigerian equities market kicked off 2019 on a negative note as sell offs in bellwether counters led to a decline of 1.15 per cent in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index to close at 31,070.06. The market had ended 2018 with a decline of 18.7 per cent contrary to expectations that the recovery recorded in 2017 would be sustained.

However, political uncertainties in the domestic economy in the build up to the 2019 elections amidst a sluggish growth in gross domestic product (GDP) from the economic recession, which led foreign investors to flee the equities market in search of high-quality lower-risk assets in developed economies notably the United States made the market to closed 2018 on a bearish note. And on the first trading day of the 2019 yesterday, the market

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

remained bearish, shedding 1.15 per cent due to price losses by bellwether stocks such as Nigerian Breweries Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc and Access Bank Plc. Consequently, market capitalisation shed N134.4 billion to close at N11.6 trillion. In terms of sectoral performance, the NSE Banking Index was the lone gainer, rising by 0.1 per cent following buying interest in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (+2.1 per cent) and United Bank for

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Africa (+1.3 per cent). The NSE Consumer Goods Index recorded the highest decline of 2.3 per cent followed by the NSE Insurance Index that sed 1.2 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index and NSE Oil & Gas Index lost 1.2 per cent and 0.7 per cent in that order. Analysts at SCM Capital Limited said their near term outlook for the local bourse remains conservative owing to political concerns ahead of the 2019 electoral cycle and the

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

absence of a positive driver. “However, stable macroeconomic fundamentals remain supportive of recovery in the long-term,” they said. Also looking ahead, analysts at FSDH Research had said: “With growing concerns about a weakening global economy, the U.S Fed providing guidance for two rate hikes in 2019 and more importantly, the elevated political risk in the domestic economy, we expect foreign investors to

O F

remain on the sidelines. Hence, we still expect a choppy theme to characterize the nation’s bourse over the short-term.” Speaking on the performance of the stock market, the Acting Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Ms. Mary Uduk had said the impact of increase in interest rate in advanced countries not just US, had impact on capital outflow thereby leading to reduced performance in our markets.

2 7 / 1 2 / 2 0 1 8 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

˾ THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019

Thursday, January 3, 2019

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index sheds 0.87%

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

Yesterday, the Thisday Afrinvest 40 index shed 0.87% at the close of trade, propped by price decline in NIGERIAN

Ticker

BREWERIES (8.4%), NESTLE (0.7%), DANGCEM (2.0%).

Equity Market Opens 2019 Gloomy͙ ASI down 1.1%

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 1,300.88

30.1%

20.8%

7.4%

6.2x

0.8x

6.6%

0.1%

-14.9%

34.1%

5.6%

5.1x

1.9x

7.8%

19.4%

Zenith Bank PLC

23.05

0.0%

13.9%

0.0%

-11.1%

23.7%

3.4%

4.0x

0.9x

12.0%

25.3%

78.30

-8.4%

6.2%

-8.4%

-42.0%

13.8%

6.4%

26.2x

3.7x

4.8%

3.8% 3.8%

market posted a weak performance as sell-ŽīƐ ŝŶ DANGCEM

Dangote Cement PLC

(-ϭ͘ϵйͿ͕ NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-8.42%) and ACCESS (ϰ͘ϰйͿ ƉƵůůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞǆ ; ^/Ϳ ůŽǁĞƌ ďǇ ϭ͘ϭй ƚŽ ǁƌĂƉ

DIAMONDBNK ;ϱϬ͘ϳŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ZENITHBANK ;ϯϲ͘ϰŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ SOVRENINS

and

ZENITHBANK

;ϯϮ͘ϵŵ

;Eϰϭϯ͘ϲŵͿ͕ DANGCEM

ƵŶŝƚƐͿ

ǁŚŝůĞ

;Eϱϵϲ͘ϱŵͿ ĂŶĚ

GUARANTY ;Eϭϴϭ͘ϭŵͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďǇ ǀĂůƵĞ͘

Bearish Sector Performance /Ŷ ƚĂŶĚĞŵ ǁŝƚŚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ŵŽƐƚůǇ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ͘ dŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚĞǆ ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶĞ ŐĂŝŶĞƌ͕ ƵƉ Ϭ͘ϭй ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ďƵǇŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ ETI ;нϮ͘ϭйͿ and UBA ;нϭ͘ϯйͿ͘ ŵŽŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůŽƐŝŶŐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ͕ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ

-0.7%

9.1%

-0.7%

-5.2%

85.8%

26.3%

26.7x

20.8x

3.2%

186.00

-2.0%

6.0%

-2.0%

-19.1%

20.1%

9.8%

19.4x

4.1x

5.6%

5.2%

FBN Holdings Plc

8.00

0.6%

6.0%

0.6%

-9.0%

6.6%

0.8%

5.7x

0.4x

3.2%

17.5%

Access Bank PLC

6.50

-4.4%

3.3%

-4.4%

-38.7%

14.1%

1.7%

2.7x

0.4x

9.8%

37.0%

United Bank for Africa PLC

7.80

1.3%

3.9%

1.3%

-25.1%

15.4%

1.8%

3.5x

0.6x

10.9%

28.3%

2.8%

35.8% 14.1%

Ecobank Transnational Inc

SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

14.30

2.1%

3.3%

2.1%

-12.1%

12.1%

1.0%

4.5x

0.5x

640.00

0.0%

3.7%

0.0%

2.2%

25.9%

15.3%

2.8x

0.7x

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

47.95

0.0%

4.0%

0.0%

17.2%

35.7%

4.6%

7.1x

2.3x

2.1%

Unilever Nigeria PLC

37.00

0.0%

2.7%

0.0%

-8.0%

24.7%

11.5%

17.2x

2.6x

1.4%

5.8%

Guinness Nigeria PLC

72.00

0.0%

2.1%

0.0%

-23.4%

8.8%

5.0%

19.3x

1.8x

2.6%

5.2%

Lafarge Africa PLC

12.00

-3.6%

0.5%

-3.6%

-72.5%

-53.7%

-7.9%

0.8x

12.1%

-52.5%

Fidelity Bank PLC

2.03

0.0%

1.2%

0.0%

-21.3%

11.3%

1.5%

2.6x

0.3x

5.4%

37.8%

Oando PLC

4.80

-4.0%

1.2%

-4.0%

-19.9%

10.9%

1.7%

4.0x

0.3x

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

14.80

-3.0%

1.0%

-3.0%

-27.3%

32.6%

16.4%

5.9x

1.7x

11.8%

16.9%

Okomu Oil Palm PLC

76.20

0.0%

1.5%

0.0%

12.6%

39.3%

29.7%

7.3x

2.5x

3.9%

13.7%

International Brew eries PLC

31.50

3.3%

0.5%

3.3%

-42.7%

24.6%

7.4%

33.0x

7.5x

Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

22.20

-3.9%

0.6%

-3.9%

-23.4%

7.6%

2.3%

7.6x

0.6x

4.4%

13.1% 16.3%

Transnational Corp of Nigeria

1.29

-2.3%

0.6%

-2.3%

-12.8%

13.6%

3.0%

6.1x

0.8x

1.6%

9.55

-2.1%

0.4%

-2.1%

-43.5%

0.4%

0.2%

75.1x

0.4x

6.8%

Diamond Bank PLC

2.15

-1.4%

0.9%

-1.4%

36.9%

-5.8%

-0.7%

0.0%

-11.7%

34.6%

7.5%

7.1x

2.3x

8.4%

14.1%

13.9%

6.7%

1.0%

2.3x

0.2x

5.6%

42.7%

4.3%

16.1%

Total Nigeria PLC

FCMB Group Plc

203.00

0.0%

0.6%

1.80

-4.8%

0.7%

0.2x

11 PLC

185.50

0.0%

0.6%

0.0%

-4.7%

38.0%

16.8%

6.2x

2.1x

Forte Oil PLC

28.00

-2.4%

0.4%

-2.4%

-33.3%

84.6%

8.3%

11.5x

2.1x

PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

12.30

1.7%

0.3%

1.7%

-41.8%

Cadbury Nigeria PLC

10.00

0.0%

0.3%

0.0%

-35.9%

4.7%

1.9%

34.9x

1.6x

1.6%

2.9%

Presco PLC

64.00

0.0%

0.4%

0.0%

-6.6%

37.0%

24.8%

2.5x

0.8x

3.1%

39.6%

47.0%

17.5%

9.4x

4.2x

8.3%

10.7%

0.6x

8.4%

0.0%

0.4%

0.0%

-6.3%

6.60

0.0%

0.3%

0.0%

-34.0%

NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-8.42%) and NESTLE (-0.7%). Other

Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

5.60

0.0%

0.3%

0.0%

-25.4%

5.3%

1.0%

10.2x

0.6x

Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

22.10

10.0%

0.3%

10.0%

-21.1%

17.3%

1.8%

6.1x

1.0x

5.0x

DANGCEM

ϭ͘ϵйͿ͕ WAPCO (-ϯ͘ϲйͿ͕ FORTE (-2.4%) and OANDO (-4.0%).

Sterling Bank PLC

1.90

0.0%

0.5%

0.0%

68.1%

10.6%

1.1%

Dangote Flour Mills Plc

6.60

-3.6%

0.2%

-3.6%

-45.7%

0.0%

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Niger

14.50

0.0%

0.2%

0.0%

-32.9%

12.1%

7.2%

Chemical and Allied Products P

34.85

0.0%

0.3%

0.0%

-2.4%

66.2%

30.2%

Beta Glass PLC

68.30

0.0%

0.2%

0.0%

33.1%

17.7%

11.5%

Transcorp Hotels Plc

6.10

0.0%

0.1%

0.0%

-15.4%

6.9%

3.8%

T o p 10 G a i n e r s

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ tĞĂŬĞŶƐ

T ic k er

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďǇ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ǁĞĂŬĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϵǆ ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϴǆ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĚĂǇ ;DŽŶĚĂǇͿ ĂƐ Ϯϭ ĚĞĐůŝŶŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ŽƵƚŵĂƚĐŚĞĚ ϭϴ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ͘ dŚĞ best ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ĚĂǇ ǁĞƌĞ JBERGER ;нϭϬ͘ϬйͿ͕ VITAFOAM

;нϵ͘ϱйͿ ĂŶĚ ROYALEX

;нϵ͘ϭйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ

NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-8.4%), LAWUNION (-8.3%) and

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

22.10

10.0%

VIT A F OA M

4.82

9.5%

T ic k er

(-7.8%)

performed

the

worst.

Ɛ ďĂƌŐĂŝŶ ŚƵŶƟŶŐ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƟĞƐ ĂǀĂŝů͕ ǁĞ ĞǆƉĞĐƚ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƚŽ ƚĂŬĞ ƉŽƐŝƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďĞůůǁĞƚŚĞƌƐ ĂŶĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƐƚƌŽŶŐ ĨƵŶĚĂŵĞŶƚĂůƐ ĂŶĚ ĂƐ ƐƵĐŚ ĞǆƉĞĐƚ Ă considerable improvement on market performance for

the rest of the week.

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

9.8% 4.5%

16.3% 20.0%

0.5x

1.1%

0.8x

3.1%

11.6x

2.0x

53.8%

8.6%

16.3x

10.9x

5.9%

6.1%

8.3x

1.4x

1.6%

12.0%

11.9x

0.8x

2.1%

8.4%

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

D IA M ON D B N K

50.7

-1.4%

Z EN IT H B A N K

36.4

0.2%

SOVR EN IN S

33.0

0.0%

T R A N SC OR P

10.9

-2.3%

0.24

9.1%

640.00

8.0%

UN ION D A C

0.27

8.0%

ST ER LN B A N K

10.7

0.0%

C UST OD IA N

6.10

8.0%

FB NH

10.5

5.3%

SEP LA T

C UT IX

1.75

6.7%

A C C ESS

9.1

0.0%

FB NH

7.95

5.3%

FCM B

6.0

-4.8%

J A IZ B A N K

0.52

4.0%

F ID ELIT YB K

6.0

0.0%

D A N GC EM

189.70

3.7%

GUA R A N T Y

5.3

0.1%

T o p 10 L o s e r s

HONEYFLOUR

1.2%

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e

J B ER GER

R OYA LEX

8.7%

1.1x

18.00

(-4.8%),

1.3% -32.6%

NASCON Allied Industries PLC

(-ϱ͘ϮйͿ͕ WAPIC

3.0%

UAC of Nigeria PLC

UPDC Real Estate Investment Tr

NEM

25.0%

22.3%

ϭ͘ϯй͕ ϭ͘Ϯй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϳй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůǇ͕ ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ďǇ ůŽƐƐĞƐ

13.0%

1,475.00

'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞǆ ĨĞůů ƚŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ďǇ Ϯ͘ϯй ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƐŽůĚ Žī

sectors – /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ͕ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ - lost

Divinden Earnings d Yield Yield

-15.7%

Eϭ͘ϲďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůǇ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďǇ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ

P/BV

21.5%

ĐŽŶƐŝĚĞƌĂďůǇ ĨĞůů ďǇ ϳϲ͘ϵй ĂŶĚ ϲϬ͘ϱй ƚŽ Ϯϭϰ͘ϰŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ

P/E

0.1%

Nestle Nigeria PLC

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ROA

34.50

Nigerian Brew eries PLC

-0.87%

ROE

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

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

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Current Price

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e

T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

78.30

-8.4%

0.55

-8.3%

H ON YF LOUR

1.18

-7.8%

C H A M P ION

1.84

-7.5%

UN IT YB N K

1.00

-6.5%

FCM B

1.80

-4.8%

J A P A ULOIL

0.20

WA P IC

0.40

NA HCO OA N D O

LA WUN ION

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

Z EN IT H B A N K

841.0

0.2%

D A N GC EM

596.5

3.7%

GUA R A N T Y

181.1

0.1%

147.0

-0.7%

D IA M ON D B N K

112.0

-1.4%

FB NH

79.3

5.3%

-4.8%

IN T B R EW

67.1

3.3%

-4.8%

A C C ESS

62.0

0.0%

3.50

-4.1%

56.0

-2.4%

4.80

-4.0%

54.9

-8.4%

N EST LE

Investment Research

Brokerage Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde |

Bolaji Fajenyo | bfajenyo@afrinvest.com

Jolomi Odonghanro | jodonghanro@afrinvest.com

romotunde@afrinvest.com

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍťËœ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÍˇ

MARKET NEWS

Vetiva Fund Managers to Re-balance Exchange Traded Funds Suite Goddy Egene Vetiva Fund Managers Limited is to re-balance its Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) suite in line with the bi-annual review of the relevant indices by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Vetiva in a statement yesterday referred to the semi-annual review of the NSE Indices which include, but not limited to, the NSE 30, NSE Banking, NSE Consumer Goods and NSE Industrial indices.

â€œWe note that the weightings of the security components of the NSE Consumer Goods Index and NSE Industrials Index were adjusted with no changes to the individual securities. However, in addition to the weighting adjustments of the individual security components, the NSE 30 Index and NSE Banking Index rebalancing reflects that Sterling Bank Plc entered the NSE 30, while Beta Glass exited. Jaiz Bank Plc entered the NSE Banking Index, just as Diamond Bank exited,â€?

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

it said. According to the statement, Vetivaâ€™s equity ETF Suite is typically rebalanced half yearly in line with the NSE Indices review, as changes to components and weights of the underlying indices will typically require corresponding adjustments to the ETF portfolios, to ensure the objective of tracking the price and yield performance of the relevant indices. Vetivaâ€™s ETF Suite comprises the Vetiva Griffin 30 ETF which

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 3112-2018, unless otherwise stated.

tracks the performance of the NSE 30 Index, the Vetiva Banking ETF which tracks the performance of the NSE Banking Index, the Vetiva Consumer Goods ETF which tracks the performance of the NSE Consumer goods index, the Vetiva Industrials ETF which tracks the performance of the NSE Industrials ETF and the Vetiva S&P Bond ETF which tracks the performance of the S&P/FMDQ Nigeria Sovereign Bond Index. The ETFs trade like any other listed stock on the NSE and units

of the ETFs can be purchased on the floor of the NSE through any broker. Speaking on the ETFs and the equities market, the Director, Asset Management at Vetiva, Mrs. Oyelade Eigbe, said: â€œETF returns in 2018 largely mirrored the performance of the respective indices they track and the broad sentiments of the equities market during the period.â€? She noted that the equities market lost 17.81 per cent in 2018 on the back of uncertainty

surrounding the countryâ€™s political landscape, capital outflows across emerging markets and declining revenue due to falling oil prices. She mentioned that the Vetiva ETFs continue to represent a convenient investment vehicle for exposure to the Nigerian equities market via a single security. Eigbe explained that in the 2018 financial year, the Vetiva Griffin 30 ETF and the Vetiva S&P Bond ETF paid interim distributions of N0.20 per unit and N3.00 per unit respectively.

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 N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 0.84 0.85 0.49% ACAP Income Funds 0.63 0.63 10.33% 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 13.15% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.22 2.24 -3.19% 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 N/A N/A N/A ARM Discovery Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 13.90% Paramount Equity Fund 11.56 11.86 4.27% Women's Investment Fund 101.28 103.88 0.65% 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 N/A N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 12.29% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 12.35% 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 N/A N/A N/A FBN Heritage Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 1.21 1.23 -6.16% Legacy Debt Fund 3.24 3.24 12.22% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.03 1.03 2.93% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 2,979.96 3,009.93 -0.18% Coral Income Fund 2,761.64 2,761.64 12.80% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.81% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 106.96 107.83 6.58% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.75%

Vantage Balanced Fund 2.15 2.17 1.98% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.45% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 124.81 125.01 8.44% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD ďŹ ncon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.22 1.24 6.47% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,098.71 1,098.71 13.67% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 11.49 11.58 -11.48% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.52% 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 1.34 1.36 12.68% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.21 12.26 10.55% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.00% 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 121.77 122.35 -6.05% 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 1.71 1.71 15.24% 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 2,320.82 2,335.08 5.58% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 190.14 190.14 9.18% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.95 0.97 -4.95% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 247.18 247.23 14.51% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 164.05 165.92 -8.39% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.62% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,539.91 8,643.74 -10.21% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.11 1.11 7.33% 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 N/A N/A N/A United Capital Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Eurobond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Wealth for Women Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 11.20 11.35 5.74% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.49 12.61 4.03% Zenith Income Fund 19.86 19.86 3.52% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.92%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

9.00 140.00 51.74

-20.11% 5.69% 1.79%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.56 118.55 89.49

10.66 121.07 91.17

-10.86% -17.00% -18.08%

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.97 7.45 14.77 12.28 143.50

4.01 7.53 14.87 12.48 145.50

-16.19% -22.08% -15.38% -37.39% 6.64%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.13

17.03%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund managerâ€™s website and FMANâ€™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.

5 ) * 4 % ": t THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019

THURSDAY JANUARY3, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Atiku Group Sponsoring Fake News against Military, Says Buhari Media Team Onyebuchi Ezigbo inAbuja

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has alleged that the avalanche of fake news, especially on social media, targeted at the Nigerian military is the handiwork of Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and his media organisation. The group stated that recent untrue claims of terrorists’ attacks on the military, desertion by police personnel, allegations of corruption scandals in the military hierarchy and the resurfacing of a 2014 claim by soldiers of lack of

weaponry were sponsored fake news by Atiku. In a statement signed by Niyi Akinsiju and Cassidy Madueke, Chairman and Secretary respectively, BMO stated that the Atiku Abubakar campaign, having no issues to bring forward, has resorted to sponsoring fake news items aimed at tarnishing the image of Nigeria’s Armed Forces and security personnel. “Atiku Abubakar’s desperation knows no bounds; his recent moves to sponsor narrative through fake news that paint Nigeria’s security personnel as weak and incapable of carrying

out their duties, is an example of the PDP candidate’s desperation and lack of patriotism.” It noted that “the PDP campaign, finding no fault in the leadership of the Nigerian Army, had began sponsoring old videos from 2014 with the aim of

selling a narrative that suggests that the military under President Buhari has not been well-taken care of like it was during their 16 year rule of malfeasance.” The group also said a recent report by an American firm that the recently killed former Chief of

Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshal Alex Badeh, was murdered to hide corruption under the current defence leadership was fake news and the handiwork of Mr. Brian Ballard, the United States lobbyist Atiku procured at a cost of $90,000 per month.

“It is shameful that a former Vice President of Nigeria would procure the service of an American lobby firm to sponsor fake news aimed at attacking the morale and credibility of Nigeria’s Armed Forces.”

NBS: Revenue fromVAT Hits N540.23bn in Two Quarters James Emejo im Abuja A total sum of N540.23 billion was generated from the Value Added Tax (VAT) deductions in the second and third quarters of the year (Q2 and Q3 2018), according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). While the sum of N266.73 billion was realised in Q2, the figure rose to N273.50 billion in Q3, and N269.79 billion in Q3, representing an increase of 2.54 per cent quarter-on-quarter, well as an increase of 9.16 percent Year-on- Year. VAT receipts for the first three quarters of the year stood at N810.02 billion. According to the sectoral distribution of Value Added Tax for Q2 and Q3 which was released by the statistical agency, yesterday, other manufacturing

category generated N31.48 billion in VAT, the highest in the distribution. The professional services and commercial and trading both generated N25.57 billion and N15.99 billion, respectively. Mining generated the least VAT of N52.70 million followed by Pharmaceutical, Soaps & Toiletries which posted N177.34 billion as well as Textile and Automobiles & Assemblies with which recorded N265.35 million. According to the NBS, out of the total amounted generated in Q3, N128.62 billion was generated as non-import VAT locally, while N58.84 billion was generated as non-import VAT for foreign. The balance of N86.04 billion was generated as NCS-Import VAT.

Lagos Lawyer Asks Court to Stop Army’s Operation Python Dance Davidson Iriekpen A Lagos-based lawyer, Malcom Omirhobo, has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to declare as unlawful and unconstitutional, the declaration of “Operation Python Dance” across the nation by the Nigerian Army. The applicants in the suit labelled FHC/ABJ/CS/01/2019, are Omirhobo and Board of Incorporated Trustees of Malcom Omirhobo Foundation. Joined as respondents are the Attorney General of the Federation, National Assembly, Inspector General of Police, the Nigeria Police Council, Police Affairs Commission as well as the various Nigerian Service Chiefs. The applicant is seeking the court’s declaration that the commencement of a nationwide “Operation Python Dance” with effect from January 1 to February 28, with the military to tackle internal security challenges during the conduct of the country’s general elections is illegal and undemocratic. According to him, it violates the fundamental rights of the applicant, as well as those of the Nigerian public, to life, dignity of human person, personal liberty, family and private life, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly

and association, and freedom of movement. The applicant wants the court to declare that it is the primary responsibility of the police force to tackle internal security challenges such as kidnapping, terrorism, militancy and proliferation of arms, and not that of the armed forces or military. He seeks a declaration that the use of the military to perform the functions of the police in the conduct of the 2019 elections is illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional. The applicant, is therefore, seeking a court’s order, compelling the respondents to respect the fundamental rights of the applicant as well as those of Nigerians, by allowing the Police Force to perform its statutory role of enforcement and maintenance of law and order. He seeks an order that the respondent clears off the military from the public spheres and stops forthwith, the use of “Operation Python Dance” in the conduct of the 2019 general elections. Omirhobo also wants an order compelling the police to take charge of the enforcement and maintenance of law and order in their various commands, before, during, and even after the general elections.

PARTY TIME…

L-R: Mr. Bosun Oredola; Chairman, Eleganza Group, Chief Rasak Akanni Okoya; All Progressives Congress (APC), Lagos State governorship candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and celebrant, Mr. Olu Okeowo, during the New Year party held in Ikoyi, Lagos...yesterday MUBO PETERS.

Ogun APC Cautions Amosun over Outbursts against Abiodun Femi Ogbonnikan In Abeokuta The Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has cautioned Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, to be mindful of his outbursts against the party’s governorship candidate, Prince Dapo Abiodun The party in a statement signed and made available to journalists by the Caretaker Publicity Secretary, Mr. Tunde

Oladunjoye, said the governor deserved to be pitied and prayed for, over his recent comments against the APC governorship candidate, a development he said is smacked of “outgoing syndrome, emanating from political amnesia and loss of touch with reality”. According to him, “but for the fact that the reported outbursts of the governor was reported by a credible online medium, we would not have taken him

serious; and for the fact that friends in the media have been asking for response, we would not have reacted.” “However, rather than exchange words with the governor, we would call on members of the public to please sympathise with the governor and pray for him, as he is obviously manifesting outgoing syndrome resulting from political amnesia, loss of touch with reality and fear of

life after office”. “For an individual to attempt to play God, and assault the collective intelligence of the wellinformed people of Ogun State, by telling them who the next governor of Ogun State will be, as if he has already written the results, shows that such person deserves our pity. We don’t need to exchange words with him, but to actually sympathise with him on his present state of paranoia on Prince Abiodun.”

ADC Hails Obasanjo as 4,000 Persons Defect to Party Kayode Fasua The African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Ogun State has disclosed that over 4,000 executive leaders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Accord Alliance, among others, defected to the ADC within two days during the Yuletide. The party particularly attributed the feat to the guidance of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and the frictions in both Ogun

APC and PDP, assuring that its governorship candidate, Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, would win with a ‘landslide’. The state chairman of the ADC, Gbolade Osinowo, disclosed this yesterday in a statement issued on his behalf by the party’s state publicity secretary, Mr. Abiola Odutola. He said, “The new converts, who held key positions at the state and ward levels in their former parties, joined the party after they had realised the importance of

joining the moving train that will legally take over power from the ruling party in the state.” He said the defectors were received by respective party leaders and other executive members in Odogbolu, Ijebu North East, Ijebu-Ode, Abeokuta South, and Sagamu, among others. According to him, key people in APC, PDP and AAwho abandoned their parties for the ADC include welfare officers, organising secretaries, ward executives and mobilisation coordinators across

12 out of the 20 local government areas in the state. “The politicians defected following the ongoing crisis, division and dwindling fortunes of their former parties, which according to them, might affect the parties from winning elections in 2019. “They have expressed belief in the ideology of our great party and willingness to work with our governorship candidate, Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, popularly known as GNI.”

IG Removes Imo CP,Three Deputy Commissioners

Appoints new police commissioner in Edo Adibe EmenyonuinBeninCity The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has removed the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Dasuki Galadanchi. Idris has also appointed Hakeem Olusegun Odumosu to replace Johnson Babatunde Kokumo, as new Commissioner of Police in Edo State. Also removed by the IG were

the three Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) in Imo State Police Command. The DCPs were in charge of the Operations and State Criminal and Investigation Departments of the Command. The IG also removed 11 out of the 14 Assistant Commissioners of Police in the Command. The affected ACPs included Area commanders and others

heading strategic departments in the Command headquarters. It was gathered that the Commissioner of Police in charge of Kogi State Command, Ali Janga, has been transferred to Imo State. Janga was in Imo State in November 2018 on election duty during the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries that ended in controversy. Meanwhile, Hakeem Olusegun

Odumosu has been appointed to replace Johnson Babatunde Kokumo as the Commissioner of Police in Edo State. Speaking during g a handover ceremony in Benin City, Kokumo declared the state as the most secured state in the country. Kokumo said he succeeded in reducing crimes, resolved herders and farmers clash, and chased criminals out of the state.

THURSDAY JANUARY3, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

400 Migrants Rescued Trying to Cross the Mediterranean within Two Days Spanish coastguards rescued 401 migrants trying to cross the

Mediterranean over the first two days of the new year, they said

Zimbabwean Alcohol Consumers to Buy Beer in US Dollars from Friday Zimbabwe’s biggest beverages manufacturer, Delta Beverages, on Wednesday revealed it would start selling its products in United States Dollars from Friday. In a statement made available to iHarare, the organisation said, it arrived at the decision due to the economic challenges of the country, which had made it difficult to access forex, resulting in a slump in its supply of alcoholic products and the prolonged unavailability of soft drinks. Part of the statement read, “Our business has been adversely affected by the prevailing shortages of foreign currency, resulting in

Wednesday. The news comes just days after a charity rescue vessel carrying 311 mainly African migrants plucked off the coast of Libya docked in Spain, ending a traumatic journey which saw them spend Christmas at sea. A spokeswoman for

Spain’s coastguards told A F P t h e y h a d re s c u e d 111 migrants on Tuesday in the Strait of Gibraltar and Alboran Sea. She added 2 90 more were rescued on Wednesday. Spain has become Europe’s main entry point for migrants, overtaking

Greece and Italy. According to the International Organization for Mig r a t i o n ’ s ( I O M ) latest figures, more than 56,000 migrants arrived in Spain by sea from January 1 to December 19, 2018, and 769 died attempting to do so.

The Spanish Committee for Refugee Aid says the number of victims is the highest since 2006. This sea route to Europe is not the deadliest — at least 1,278 migrants died in 2018 trying to reach Italy and Malta — but it is the busiest, according to the IOM.

the company failing to meet your orders and in the case of soft drinks, being out of stock for prolonged periods. “The new fiscal and monetary policy framework in place since October 2018, does not provide for easy access to foreign currency by nonexporters. The company has only received limited foreign currency allocations from the banking channels, which have not been adequate to fund the import requirements. Resultantly all our foreign suppliers are unable to continue providing credit or meet new orders as some of them have not been paid for extended periods.

Philippine President Confesses to Sexual Assault Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, has confessed to sexually abusing a maid while he was a teenager, according to a report. In a speech on December 29, Duterte said that he had confessed to a priest going into a maid’s room while she slept and placing his fingers on her genitals, TIME magazinereports, quoting the BBC. The remarks were not unusual for Duterte, who has frequently come under fire for making statements that demean or encourage violence against women. Last June and July, women’s rights activists gathered in

Manila to protest Duterte’s treatment of women, including his remarks that communist rebels should be “shot in the vagina.” The new remarks stand out, however, because Duterte admitted to sexually assaulting a woman himself. Duterte said that when he was a teenager, he walked into the maid’s room while she was asleep. “I lifted the blanket… I tried to touch what was inside the panty,” he said, according to the BBC. “I was touching. She woke up so I left the room.” He later came back into the maid’s room and fondled her genitals again, the BBC said.

Govt Shutdown: Trump to Meet Lawmakers As partial shutdown of the United States government entered a 12th day yesterday, President Donald Trump is preparing to meet top Democratic and Republican lawmakers in a bid to break the impasse over his demand for funding for a border wall with Mexico. One day before Democrats take over control of the House of Representatives, Trump showed no signs of backing away from his insistence on $5 billion for his “beautiful” southern wall. “President Trump wants an agreement that reopens the

government and keeps Americans safe,” the White House tweeted. It said senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security would provide a “border security briefing” at the White House later in the day to top Democratic lawmakers, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. Earlier Wednesday, Trump was to meet with his cabinet. It will be Trump’s first meeting with Pelosi, who will take over as speaker of the House on Thursday, and Schumer, the Senate minority leader, since an acrimonious Oval Office meeting with the pair on December 11.

Several People Killed in Danish Train Accident Several people were killed Wednesday in a train accident on a bridge connecting two islands in Denmark, police said. The cause of the accident was not immediately known,

but early media reports suggested a passenger train crashed into a cargo train on the Great Belt Bridge connecting the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen, as high winds lashed the region.

Search and rescue teams gather for a briefing during a search effort to find victims from the landslide in Sukabumi, West Java Province, Indonesia…yesterday AFP

Somalia Orders Top UN Official to Leave over Interference Somalia has kicked out the country’s top UN official in a decision likely to harm relations with foreign powers backing government attempts to restore stability after decades of turmoil. The government on Wednesday accused Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, of interfering with internal affairs. Haysom raised questions in a December 30 letter about the involvement of UN-supported Somali security forces in the arrest of a former militant of the Islamist al Shabaab group, who was blocked from running in a recent regional election. Haysom “is not required and cannot work in this country”, the foreign affairs ministry said. “He openly breached the appropriate conduct of the UN office in Somalia,” said the statement late on Tuesday,

which effectively makes the South African persona non grata. There was no immediate comment from the UN mission which also supports an AU peacekeeping force fighting al-Shabaab. Haysom’s letter to the interior security minister expressed concern over the government’s handling of the arrest of former Shabaab leader, Mukhtar Robow and subsequent unrest in December. At least 15 civilians were killed and around 300 people detained, most of them children, when protests erupted after Robow’s arrest in the southern city of Baidoa, according to the UN letter. The government said Robow was arrested on suspicion that he had brought militants and weapons back to Baidoa, the capital of South West region

where he tried to contest for president in last month’s election. His arrest sparked clashes between militiamen loyal to Robow and Somali forces. Ethiopian security forces, who are part of an AU peacekeeping force, were also involved. Al Shabaab has sought for over a decade to topple the central government and implement its strict version of Islamic law. It was driven out of the capital in 2011 but maintains a foothold in some regions including South West. Robow renounced violence and recognised federal authority in 2017. In the letter, Haysom asked the minister to explain the legal basis for Robow’s arrest. He also asked what action had been taken to investigate

the deaths during the demonstrations in Baidoa following the arrest. The UN letter also contained an annexed letter from the EU, Germany and Britain announcing the suspension of their support to the police in South West state due to their conduct during last month’s election. Haysom also detailed the UN support to the Somali police force and the South West regional police which includes the payment of stipends to the police. The UN is a major backer of Somalia, a country that has lacked strong central government since 1991. The government’s decision over Haysom could intensify a confrontation between Mogadishu and the semiautonomous regions.

Saudi Blocks Comedy Show for Criticising Crown Prince A rights group on Wednesday criticised Saudi Arabia after Netflix blocked an episode of a comedy show that lambasted powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The second episode of Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj was taken down in Saudi Arabia by the internet streaming service Netflix following a complaint by the kingdom’s telecoms regulator that it violated a Saudi anti-cyber crime law. The episode features Minhaj

mocking the actions of Saudi officials following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and condemning the crown prince’s policies. “Saudi Arabia’s censorship of Netflix using a cyber crime law comes as no surprise and is further proof of a relentless crackdown on freedom of expression in the Kingdom,’’ Amnesty International said. “Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came to power in June 2017,

many outspoken human rights defenders, activists and critics have been arbitrarily detained or unjustly sentenced to lengthy prison terms simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression,’’ it added. The organisation accused Saudi authorities of having “previously used anti cyber crime laws to silence dissidents creating an environment of fear for those who dare to speak up in Saudi Arabia.’’ There has been no official

Saudi comment on the move. Khashoggi, a Saudi national and a vocal critic of Prince Mohammed, was killed inside Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul in October. Saudi officials have repeatedly denied reports that Mohammed is linked to the murder, which unleashed global condemnation. Eleven men, out of a total of 21 Saudi nationals arrested in connection with Khashoggi’s killing, have been indicted.

ÍťËœ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÎ Ëž T H I S D AY

THURSDAYSPORTS

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

Aruna Quadri Begins 2019 as Africaâ€™s Best on ITTF Ranking ITTF RANKING Duro Ikhazuagbe Nigeriaâ€™s Aruna Quadri heads into the 2019 season as the best African player on the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) ranking released yesterday. Quadri, 30, is ranked 26th, the same position he occupied to end the 2018 season on 9,394 points. His point haul came from eight of his best performances during the 2018 season. He won the ITTF African Championship in Port Louis, Mauritius to earn his biggest points and followed it up with a runner up spot at the ITTF African Cup in Nairobi, Kenya. Quadri was the fans favourite when he stepped out at the Molade Okoya Indoor Sports Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos for the ITTF sanctioned Seamaster Nigeria Open which he also won. The African top ranked player got to the Round of 16 at the ITTF Menâ€™s World Cup in Paris, France amongst several other glorious outings. Interestingly, the Egyptian he displaced from the Number 1 spot in Africa, Assar Omar was ranked way behind Quadri in the 47th position with 7,263 points in the current standings. It was only last July that Quadri leapt over the Egyptian to be ranked Number 20 in the world and has not looked back since then.

The Nigerian who was ranked 22nd in June leapt over Assar, who dropped from 17th to 21st. With 10234 points, Quadri upstaged Assar who amassed 10233 points in the latest ranking. Two times last year, Quadri made the Top 20 in the world, having made the same spot in January 2018 â€“ being the first to be achieved by a Nigerian. However, Chinese pair of Fan Zhendong and Ding Ning head into 2019 on top of the menâ€™s and womenâ€™s World Rankings respectively. The pair hit extraordinary heights in 2018 and were subsequently crowned winners of the ITTF Star Awards in Incheon, Korea. Ding Ningâ€™s return to the Number 1 position completes a remarkable turnaround over the last 12 months. She had started January 2018 in 21st place. Having already occupied the Number 1 position for a total 48 months (Nov 2011 - Aug 2013; Oct 2014 - Oct 2015; Oct 2016 - Oct 2017), the 29-year-old sealed her place at the summit again upon reaching the semifinals of the World Tour Grand Finals last December. A productive 2018 saw her claim titles at the Womenâ€™s World Cup and Bulgarian Open, whilst finishing runner-up at the China and Australian Opens. Meanwhile, Fan Zhendongâ€™s

Aruna Quadri was ranked as Africaâ€™s best player going into the New Year yesterday at 26th position by ITTF

first stint as world Number 1 heads into its 10th month, having risen to the summit in April 2018. The 21-year-old enjoyed an exceptional past year, winning three ITTF World Tour events (Hungarian, Qatar and Swedish Opens), the Menâ€™s World Cup and the ITTF Asian Cup. After playing the best table tennis of their respective careers in 2018, Japanese Tomokazu Harimoto and Hugo Calderano

W I N T E R T R A N S F E R W AT C H

Christian Pulisic has switched from Borussia Dortmund to Stamford Bridge in the ďŹ rst major transfer of the January Winter Window

Pulisicâ€™s contract at Dortmund was due to expire in June 2020. In an emotional statement on Twitter, Pulisic said he will leave Dortmund with a â€œheavy heartâ€?. â€œIt feels like only yesterday that I arrived in Dortmund as a raw, excited, very nervous but exceptionally proud 16-year-old from a small American town called Hershey,â€? he said. â€œI would not be here without the club and their belief in giving

young players a chance. Many memorable moments stand out - to have experienced all of them before my 20th birthday, still feels at times like a dream. â€œFor the next six months, itâ€™s all BVB. Please do not doubt my passion, determination and my 110% commitment to the team right until the last ball is kicked this season.â€? Pulisic made his Bundesliga debut, aged 17, in January 2016, and two months later won his first USA cap. He has played 81 games in the German top flight and 20 in the Champions League. He has scored three goals in 18 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund this season. Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia described Pulisic as â€œone of Europeâ€™s most sought-after young playersâ€?. â€œAt just 20, we believe he has the potential to become an important Chelsea player for many years to come,â€? she said. Pulisic is the first major Premier League signing since the transfer window opened on 1 January.

Ndidi Makes France Football AfricanTeam of theYear Influential France Football magazine has listed Nigeria and Leicester City midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, in Africaâ€™s team of the year.

The combative midfielder has maintained consistent form for both club and country since moving to the Foxes from RC Genk in Belgium.

Meanwhile, Calderano remains at Number 6, but has opened up a significant gap of almost 600 points between himself and 7th-placed Lee Sangsu of Korea after he too impressed in Korea, beating world Number 1, Zhendong in a breath-taking quarter-final encounter. China maintains three of the top five positions with Xu Xin and Lin Gaoyuan occupying 2nd and 4th places

respectively, while Timo Boll of Germany drops to 5th as a result of Harimotoâ€™s jump up the pecking order. Further down the list, Jun Mizutani of Japan moves into the Top 10 after reaching the semi-finals in Incheon, Jang Woojin (Korea) rises to 11th as Ma Long (China) drops to 12th, while Dimitrij Ovtcharov (Germany) falls to 14th place just 12 months after topping the Menâ€™s World Ranking.

A I T E O C U P FA L LO U T

Chelsea Signs Dortmund Forward Pulisic for ÂŁ58m Chelsea has signed Borussia Dortmund forward Christian Pulisic for 64m euros (ÂŁ58m), but will loan him back to the German club until the end of the season. The 20-year-old United States international, who was linked with Liverpool and Arsenal, joined Dortmund as a youth player in 2015. Pulisic has scored nine goals in 23 games for the US. â€œItâ€™s a privilege to have signed for such a legendary club,â€? he said. It is the highest transfer fee for an American player, beating the 20m euros Wolfsburg paid for John Brooks in 2017. Dortmund Director Michael Zorc said: â€œIt was always Christianâ€™s dream to play in the Premier League. â€œThat certainly has to do with his American background, and as a result we were unable to extend his contract. â€œAgainst this background, we have decided to accept an extremely lucrative bid by Chelsea, given the low contract maturity.â€?

of Brazil will start the new year in their highest ever World Ranking positions. Harimoto rises two places to 3rd having won the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Incheon. At just 15 years and 172 days old, he became the youngest ever player to claim a singles title at the end-of-year showpiece event and he is now also the youngest ever 3rd-placed player in World Ranking history.

Heâ€™s the only Nigerian players found worthy in the African team by the magazine that blazed African top football award now rechristened CAF Awards .

Obiozo Drags Kano Pillars to Court over Bribery Allegation Goalkeeper David Obiozo has dragged former club Kano Pillars to court after coach Ibrahim A. Musaâ€™s allegation he was one of the players bribed by Enugu Rangers for the Kano team to lose the 2018 Aiteo Cup Final. The allegations forced the former El Kanemi Warriors shot stopper to quit Pillars and join Plateau United in the closed season. Kano Pillars Spokesman, Idris Malikawa, however denied yesterday that the Sai Masu Gida have received any correspondence from

Obiozoâ€™s lawyers. â€œWe are yet to receive any correspondence from lawyers representing Obiozo,â€? Malikawa told SCORENigeria yesterday. However, lawyers acting on behalf of Obiozo have insisted they have contacted the NPFL club in this regard. They stated that the allegations have seriously damaged the person, reputation and integrity of the player, who was very professional in the discharge of his duties at

Kano Pillars. Pillars were winning the AITEO Federation Cup final 3-0 with just about 20 minutes left on the clock only for Rangers to fight back and win on penalties after they forced a 3-3 draw by full time. Shocked Pillars coach Ibrahim Musa then went on several Kano radio stations to accuse Obiozo and some other players of the club from the South-eastern part of the country for throwing away the cup final in favour of Rangers.

GOtv Boxing Night 17: New WBF Intercontinental Champion Eyes WorldTitle New World Boxing Federation (WBF) Intercontinental super featherweight champion Segun â€œThe Machineâ€? Wahab, has declared readiness to win the boxing bodyâ€™s world title very soon. Wahab won the WBF Intercontinental title after defeating his Tanzanian opponent, Issa â€œPeche Boyâ€? Nampepeche, at GOtv Boxing Night 17, last Friday at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos. The unanimous decision victory entitles Wahab, who fought in Nigeria for the first

time, to have a shot at the world title, currently held by Rwandaâ€™s Patrick Kinigamazi. The Nigerian boxer said he was delighted at winning the vacant Intercontinental super featherweight belt, but said his attention has now shifted to winning the WBF world title. â€œIt was great to win the title in my first fight at home, a truly remarkable moment. However, I now have to concentrate on how I can win the WBF super featherweight world title. I

am now a contender for the title, so I am intensifying my preparations to ensure I get the biggest prize in the weight division,â€? he said. Wahab thanked GOtv Boxing Night for providing him with the opportunity to showcase his skills and win the title at home. He also thanked Nigerians for coming out en masse to support him during the fight, promising them that he would make the country proud by winning the world title.

Thursday, January 3, 2019

UT H

& RE A S O

Price: N250

MISSILE Ayo Fayose to Yemi Osinbajo

“There is nowhere that the VP will travel to outside Abuja that he won’t spend up to N25 million on his allowances, maintenance of presidential jet and the allowances of his retinue of aides, including security men. Therefore, of what economic sense is going to Kano to share N10,000 cash to 1,000 people? Isn’t spending N25 million to share N10 million the same as being penny wise pound foolish?” – Former Ekiti State Governor on the FG TraderMoni being shared nationwide.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Atiku, Buhari and the Prophecies A

s it is common with this season, we have in the past two days been treated to a deluge of prophecies from religious clerics about what will happen this year in our country with specific reference to the 16th February presidential election. While many of these clerics have boldly told us what God told them about who will win the election that is barely six weeks away, it is interesting that only two candidates are in the agenda of God if one believes these prophecies: The incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. That should worry all the other presidential candidates. It is also instructive that while God told many of these clerics certain things about Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, Rotimi Amaechi, Abdullahi Ganduje, Bola Tinubu, Bukola Saraki, Godswill Akpabio et al as well as the banks that need prayers, the same God had no message for the displaced people in Borno who are running from the deadly Boko Haram insurgents or the desperate villagers in Zamfara State who are now at the mercy of bandits. Against the background that recent tragedies in our country diminish all of us and corrode the fabric of our society, it is apparent that the God who spoke to these seers, apostles, prophets etc have little or no time for poor and vulnerable people. But first let us sample a few of the election prophecies. Following his communion with God, the founder of the Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry, Abuja, Dr. Emmanuel Omale does not see much prospect in the aspiration of Atiku who “will show amazing efforts in the coming elections but I see President Buhari ruling again.” But Apostle Joshua Mone, General Overseer of Voice of Liberty Intercessors Ministry in Delta State who sees “Chief James Ibori being celebrated” (that must be for his local audience) has a contrary prophecy regarding the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant: “I see the nation Atikulated in 2019.” That suggests very strongly that being ‘Atikulated’ is now a heavenly language! The General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries International, Apostle Johnson Suleman who is not known to dissemble in matters of prophecy was direct in his message: “Muhammadu Buhari needs prayer, please Sir, go and rest. Abubakar Atiku should focus on the North during campaign. I see an Igbo Presidency in 2023 but they must not have any deal with present government. Tinubu should forget 2023.” As it would happen, Apostle Suleman does not have the last say on that because the spiritual leader of Christ Deliverance Ministries Inc. (CDM) Lagos, His Grace, Prophet Ekong Ituen sees no vacancy in Aso Rock in the next four years. And for effect, he warns ‘looters’ to expect a hard time during Buhari’s second term when he “is going to be ruthless in fighting corruption.” Prophet Ituen, I must add, did not forget to enjoin Nigerian politicians to emulate the good virtues of Senator Godswill Akpabio whom he described as

Buhari – Atiku a natural giver and “an ardent advocate to the poor.” The founder and General Overseer of the Excellent Christian Ministry International, Prophet Ugochukwu Tochukwu Amaukwu predicts that the PDP will dispute the presidential election result as the “ruling party retains power by all means”, which can be interpreted to mean that President Buhari will rig himself back to power regardless of how Nigerians vote. Incidentally, that is not what God told the General Overseer, Christ Apostolic Church, Ori Oke Irapada, Prophet Christopher Owolabi. He said: “The present leadership in piloting the affairs of this great nation as was revealed to me will extend beyond 2019 and there is going to be a brighter light at the end of the tunnel, socially and economically.” In a frontal prophecy, the General Overseer of Freedom for all Nations Outreach (FANO), Prophet Samuel Akinbodunse has a word for fellow citizens regarding the president: “Please Nigerians, warn Buhari that he is going beyond his boundaries. The Lord said his tenure is once, not twice.” That is contrary to the revelation from the Spiritual Director, Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka who said, “Among all the presidential aspirants, Buhari stands in the best position in winning the presidential election” in what can be described a coded prophecy before urging Nigerians “to vote President Buhari in order to complete his eight-year tenure after which he will hand over to a younger candidate.” Interestingly, these predictions are not limited to Christian clerics. The Grand Imam of Shafaudeen in Islam Worldwide, in Oyo State, Prof. Sabit Olagoke, has declared that Buhari will be victorious at the February election, following what he described as a period of confinement and fasting as well as prayer for the country. “APC as a party would have some threat and surprises but election would tend to favour the incumbent president” said Olagoke.

As I leave readers to search for more of these prophecies online, one of the most robust findings in the psychology of prediction, according to David Arnor and Shelley Taylor in their essay, ‘When Predictions Fail: The dilemma of unrealistic optimism’ is that the forecasts most people make “tend to be optimistically biased”. Some psychologists have amplified that to mean being ‘in league with the future’ predicted. “By a number of metrics and across a variety of domains, people have been found to assign higher probabilities to their attainment of desirable outcomes than either objective criteria or logical analysis warrants” Arnor and Taylor argued. It is within this context that one can easily situate the prophecies about elections in Nigeria by clerics and marabouts. Most of these people predict their expectations while using the name of God, who is not an author of confusion, to back their claims. But let me also say very quickly that as a Christian, I believe in the ministry of prophecy as the Bible in 1st Thessalonians 5: 21 enjoins us to “Despise not prophesyings”, though we are also expected to verify them. That is perhaps because prophecy can be a tool for manipulation as we can see from the account in Nehemiah 6:12: “I realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.” That then leaves us with the question: How many of these prophecies are divine communications and how many are procured or conjured to suit the biases of the prophets for or against a presidential candidate? While faith should never be a weapon of manipulation, there seems to be but a thin line between religion, politics and business in our country such that a commentator, Obinna Akukwe once wrote: “...God hears the personal prayers of Nigerians for a better personal life but when it comes to extending such to national life, the same God shuts the door. Something is wrong somewhere.” Yet, in one Tweet last weekend, Ayo Sogunro summed up the problem of our country and it has nothing to do with God: “The most expensive cars on the worst roads. The most modern gadgets on poor power supply. The most impressive buildings with little security. Individually

great but collectively poor. The Nigerian state is proof that the whole can be lesser than the sum of its parts.” Meanwhile, the interconnection between religion and politics in Nigeria is the central thesis in Ebenezer Obadare’s recent and most enjoyable book, Pentecostal Republics: Religion and the struggle for state power in Nigeria”. Although Obadare, a Professor of Sociology at Kansas University, dwells more on the influence of Pentecostalism and its adherents, he still provides a window into understanding how the interplay between religion and politics remains “integral to Nigeria’s democratic process, and are fundamental to understanding its future.” The challenge of our country today is that rather than address the problems confronting us, we have perfected the art of outsourcing the solutions to God. As I pointed out in a previous column on this page, before every federal executive council session (and I guess it is the same in the states), prayers are said by both Islamic and Christian adherents to commit deliberations into the hands of God, even when the outcome might have already been predetermined by the hands of men! But this is not restricted to government. In some of the banks that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had to take over in recent years as a result of the greed of their CEOs, there were daily corporate supplications to God before commencement of business. At motor parks, there are all manners of charlatans who hawk the name of God and at markets, there are also prayer warriors who have no qualms cheating customers after their profession of holiness. Unfortunately, while there should be a higher purpose to seeking public office than the prospect of winning elections, it is clear from the prophecies that men of God who should ordinarily be showing the way have elected to be part of the problem of our country. But the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has taken a contrary stand. “We look forward with hope to 2019, a year when Nigerians will judge the quality of the candidates for political offices through their track records and not votes based on declaration of prophecy by men of God” their statement said. I hope Nigerians are listening.

2019 and The Father’s Hand There is this story of a little boy who visited the village store with his father. On their way out after shopping, they encountered the owner of the store who offered the little boy some free candy. “Get a hand full of candy” the store’s proprietor said to the boy. But rather than act as directed and scoop the candy, the boy just stood there looking up at his father. Apparently thinking the boy didn’t get his message, the owner repeated himself, “Son, get a hand full of candy, it’s free.” Again the boy did not move as he continued to look up to his father. Finally, the father reached into the

jar and got a hand full of candy and gave it to his son who beamed with smiles. But as they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he had to rely on him rather than scoop a handful of the free candy by himself. With another big smile on his face, the boy looked up to his father and said: “Because I know that your hand is bigger than mine.” Whatever may be the challenges we face in 2019, for those of us who believe in Higher Power, we must learn to place them in His hand. Because His hand is bigger than ours. Happy new year to all my readers.

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