MONDAY 18TH FEBRUARY 2019

Report: Compared to 2015 General Election, Aviation Records Less Patronage Chinedu Eze With less funds deployed in this year’s general election campaigns by major political parties, the aviation sector has so far recorded less flight movement both in charter and scheduled operations,

compared to the 2015 poll, THISDAY has learnt.

This was disclosed in the latest report of the Lagos Business School’s (LBS) monthly breakfast meeting that was presented by the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Derivatives Company

Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane.

The report noted that in this year’s election, there has been semi-strong booking this February, compared to the same period in 2015, adding that rotational expatriate traffic is much lower in 2019 compared to 2015.

According to the report, more Nigerians fled out of the country in 2014, few months before the election in 2015 than they did in 2018, months before the 2019 elections.

“In 2015 there was more free cash flowing than in 2019,” it said, explaining that industry

experts attributed this to the shrink in economic activities, closure of companies and lay off of thousands of workers between 2015 and 2019.

“There is increased squeeze on airline profit margin owing to higher input in costs,” the LBS report stated.

In the same period, the report pointed out that global airline share prices declined by 20 per cent in 2018, thus reflecting investors’ concerns about airlines’ financial performance.

Continued on page 10

Manufacturers, Importers Groan over Customs’ End User Certificate Abuse... Page 12 Monday 18 February, 2019 Vol 24. No 8716. Price: N250

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INEC Meets Today as PDP, APC Reject Ban on Electioneering Opposition party claims fresh facts show ruling party sabotaging electoral umpire Adedayo Akinwale and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Following the opposition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC)

ban on electioneering during the one week extension of poll, the commission will meet today to review the restriction.

INEC, according to its national chairman’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, would meet to review its position

and decide whether or not to reopen campaigns.

The two leading parties have argued that the commission’s restriction has no basis in law.

The PDP also alleged that fresh facts have confirmed that officials of the federal government and the APC

have been sabotaging INEC in a well-orchestrated plot to engineer staggered presidential election, contrary to simulated stance by the presidency and the party’s National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole.

The main opposition party also urged the electoral body

to rescind its decision on the suspension of campaigns by political parties, a position backed by the Director of Strategic Communications of the ruling party’s Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, who described as illegal, the decision of INEC

not to allow political parties to engage in further campaigns, despite the postponement of the presidential election to Saturday.

However, the South-south Coordinator, and Special Continued on page 12

Botched Poll: We Did Our Best for INEC, Say Military, Police Claim commission contacted Air Force three days to poll for airlift of materials Electoral body insiders relate how chairman resisted pressure to stagger election Iyobosa Uwugiaren, Kingsley Nwezeh and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Nigeria’s security agencies: the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Army, who are members of the Logistics Committee, set up by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the general election,

have explained their roles in the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections last Saturday.

The Logistics Committee was charged with the responsibility of facilitating the distribution of election’s materials on or before the Election Day. Continued on page 10

APC Demands More Openness from INEC... Page 10

RETURNING TO BASE...

President Muhammadu Buhari departs Daura, Katsina Sate for Abuja after the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections… weekend

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RC 611238

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Thirteenth Annual General Meeting (“AGM�) of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (“the Company�) will hold at Transcorp Hilton Abuja, 1, Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja, F.C.T, on Friday, March 15, 2019, at 10.00 a.m. to transact the following businesses:

proxy to be valid, a proxy form must be completed and deposited at the office of the Company’s Registrar, Africa Prudential Plc, 220B Ikorodu Road, Palmgrove, Lagos, not later than 48 hours before the time fixed for the meeting.

A blank proxy form is attached to the Annual Report.

ORDINARY BUSINESS 1. To lay before the members, the Audited Financial Statements of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2018 and the Reports of the Directors, Auditors and Audit Committee thereon.

2. To declare a Dividend.

3. To approve the appointments of Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, Mr. Christopher Ezeafulukwe, Ms. Obi Ibekwe and Mrs. Toyin Sanni as Directors.

4. To re-elect the following Directors retiring by rotation: Mr. Tony Elumelu, CON and Mr. Emmanuel Nnorom.

5. To authorise Directors to fix the remuneration of the Auditors.

6. To elect/re-elect members of the Statutory Audit Committee.

2. DIVIDEND If the dividend recommended by the Directors is approved by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting, dividend will be paid by Tuesday, March 19, 2019 to the shareholders whose names appear in the Company’s Register of Members at the close of business on 7KXUVday, February 2 , 2019.

SPECIAL BUSINESS 7. To fix the remuneration of Directors for the year 2019.

8. To consider and if thought fit, pass the following as special resolutions: 8.1 That the Company be and is hereby authorized to invest in, acquire or divest from any business and/or carry out as the Directors may deem appropriate and in accordance with any relevant laws, any actions, including but not limited to restructuring, reorganisation, reconstruction and business arrangement exercise and actions; 8.2 That subject to regulatory approval, the Directors be and are hereby authorized to take all steps and do all acts that they deem necessary in furtherance of the above, including but not limited to appointing professional advisers and parties that they deem necessary, upon such terms and conditions that the Directors may deem appropriate.

Dated this 15th day of February, 2019

3. CLOSURE OF REGISTER The Register of Members of the Company will be closed from )ULday, 0DUFK , 2019 to 7XHVGay, March , 2019 (both dates inclusive) for the purpose of updating the Register of Members.

4. AUDIT COMMITTEE In accordance with Section 359(5) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Cap C20, LFN, 2004, any member may nominate a shareholder for election as a member of the Audit Committee by giving notice in writing of such nomination to the Company Secretary at least 21 days before the AGM. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Code of Corporate Governance for Public Companies provides that members of the Audit Committee should have basic financial literacy and should be able to read financial statements.

5. E-DIVIDEND Notice is hereby given to all shareholders to open bank accounts, stockbroking accounts and CSCS accounts for the purpose of e-dividend. Detachable application forms for e-dividend are attached to the Annual Report to enable all shareholders furnish particulars of their accounts to the Registrar as soon as possible.

6. UNCLAIMED DIVIDEND WARRANTS AND SHARE CERTIFICATES Shareholders are hereby informed that a number of share certificates and dividend warrants have been returned to the Registrars as unclaimed. Any shareholder affected by this notice is advised to contact the Company’s Registrars, Africa Prudential Plc, 220B Ikorodu Road, Palmgrove, Lagos, to lay claim.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD 7. BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS OF DIRECTORS FOR RE-ELECTION The biographical details of the Directors standing for re-election are provided in the 2018 Annual Report and the Company’s website at www.transcorpnigeria.com.

Mrs. Helen Iwuchukwu Group Company Secretary FRC/2015/NBA/00000012716 Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc 38, Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos

8. E- ANNUAL REPORT PUBLISHED ON THE WEBSITE In order to improve delivery of our Annual Report, we have inserted a detachable form in the 2018 Annual Report and hereby request shareholders to complete the form by providing their details and thereafter return same to the Registrars for further processing. In addition, an electronic version of the Annual Report is available on the Company's website at www.transcorpnigeria.com.

NOTES

9. RIGHTS OF SHAREHOLDERS TO ASK QUESTIONS Shareholders have a right to ask questions not only at the Meeting, but also in writing prior to the Meeting, and such written questions must be submitted to the Company on or before Friday, March 8, 2019.

1. PROXY Any member of the Company entitled to attend and vote at this meeting is also entitled to appoint a proxy to attend and vote in his/her stead. A proxy need not be a member of the Company. For the appointment of the

PROXY FORM THIRTEENTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TO BE HELD ON FRIDAY, MARCH 15TH, 2019 AT TRANSCORP HILTON ABUJA, NO. 1, AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA AT 10.00AM I/WE _____________________________________________________________________________________ being a member/members of TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC, hereby appoint: _______________________________________________or failing him, the Chairman of the meeting as my/our proxy to act and vote for me/us and on my/our behalf at the THIRTEENTH Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held on Friday, March 15th, 2019 at Transcorp Hilton Abuja, 1 Aguiyi Ironsi Street Maitama Abuja, at 10.00 am and at any adjournment thereof.

A member (Shareholder) who is unable to attend an Annual General Meeting is allowed by law to vote by proxy. This proxy form has been prepared to enable you exercise your right to vote, in case you cannot personally attend the meeting.

NOTES: Please sign this proxy form and forward it, so as to reach the registered office of the Registrar, Africa Prudential Registrars Plc, 220B Ikorodu Road, Palmgrove, Lagos, not later than 48 hours before the time fixed for the meeting. If executed by a Corporation, the Proxy Form must be under its common seal or under the hand of a duly authorized officer or attorney.

It is a requirement of the law under the Stamp Duties Act, Cap S8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 that any instrument of proxy to be used for the purpose of voting by any person entitled to vote at any meeting of shareholders must be stamped by the Commissioner for Stamp Duties.

RESOLUTIONS

FOR

1

To lay before the members, the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2018, together with the Report of the Directors, Auditors and Audit Committee thereon.

2

To declare a dividend of 3 kobo per share

3

To approve the appointment of Mr. Valentine Ozigbo as a Director of the Company.

4

To approve the appointment of Mr. Christopher Ezeafulukwe as a Director of the Company.

5

To approve the appointment of Ms. Obi Ibekwe as a Director of the Company.

6

To approve the appointment of Mrs. Toyin Sanni as a Director of the Company.

7

To re-elect a retiring Director, Mr. Tony Elumelu, CON.

8

To re-elect a retiring Director, Mr. Emmanuel Nnorom.

9

To authorize Directors to fix the remuneration of the Auditors.

10

To elect/re-elect members of the Audit Committee.

11

To fix the remuneration of Directors for the year 2019.

12

That the Company be and is hereby authorized to invest in, acquire or divest from any business and/or carry out as the Directors may deem appropriate and in accordance with any relevant laws, any actions, including but not limited to restructuring, reorganisation, reconstruction and business arrangement exercise and actions

13

That subject to regulatory approval, the Directors be and are hereby authorized to take all steps and do all acts that they deem necessary in furtherance of the above, including but not limited to appointing professional advisers and parties that they deem necessary, upon such terms and conditions that the Directors may deem appropriate.

AGAINST

ABSTAIN

Please indicate with an “X� in the appropriate square how you wish your votes to be cast on the resolutions set out above. Unless otherwise instructed, the proxy will vote or abstain from voting at his KHU discretion.

RC 611238

13th Annual General Meeting

ADMISSION CARD Please admit the Shareholder named on this Card or his duly appointed proxy to the Thirteenth Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held on Friday, March 15, 2019 at Transcorp Hilton Abuja, No 1, Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja at 10.00 am

This admission card must be produced by the Shareholder in order to gain entrance into the Annual General Meeting.

_____________________________________________________________________ Name of Shareholder

_____________________________________________________ Address of Shareholder

___________________________________________________ Number of Shares Held

___________________________________________________

Signature

www.transcorpnigeria.com

5 ) * 4 % ": t MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2019

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RC611238

STATEMENT TO THE NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE AND SHAREHOLDERS ON THE AUDITED RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2018 Statement of Financial Position Group

Assets 1RQ FXUUHQW DVVHWV Property, plant and equipment Intangible assets Investment property Investment in subsidiaries Financial Assets Deferred tax assets Prepayments and other assets

&XUUHQW DVVHWV Inventories Trade and other receivables Prepayments and other assets Cash and cash equivalents

Total assets

Company

31 December 2018 N'000

31 December 2017 N'000

31 December 2018 N'000

31 December 2017 N'000

154,565,889 40,240,192 1,800,000 3,716,514 , 9 , 221,920 20 , 43,

141,835,59 39,517,340 1,706,600 4,971,353 3,348,918 53,010 191,432,81

23,032 5,075,818 1,800,000 27,529,887 3,716,514 185,648 38,330,899

18,33 5,075,818 1,706,600 27,529,887 4,971,353 39,301,99

4,811,913 83,601,905 554,275 3,628,370 92,596,463

4,646,609 83,471,801 372,800 5,598,282 94,089,492

27,938,751 58,333 110,751 28,107,835

22,672,103 788,697 339,974 23,800,774

29 , 3 ,

285,522,30

66,438,734

63,102,77

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Liabilities Current liabilities Contract Liabilities Trade and other payables Interest-bearing loans and borrowings Income tax payables Non-current liabilities Interest-bearing loans and borrowings Deposit for shares Deferred tax liability

Total Liabilities Equity Ordinary share capital Share premium Other reserves Retained earnings Equity attributable to: Owners of the parent Non controlling interest Total equity Net equity and liabilities

)HGHUDWLRQ RI 1LJHULD DQG LQ FRPSOLDQFH ZLWK WKH )LQDQFLDO 5HSRUWLQJ

29,499 68,641,953 54,174,104 2,180,348 125,025,904

35,664 66,686,310 36,509,388 1,424,147 104,655,509

3,054,475 12,075,980 245,098 15,375,553

5,577,299 10,223,021 225,015 16,025,335

57,373,723 2,410,000 6,977,463 66,761,186

75,589,945 2,410,000 7,159,053 85,158,998

13,242,511 13,242,511

11,470,290 11,470,290

191,787,090

189,814,507

28,618,064

27,495,625

20,323,996 6,249,871 1,522,942 , 8 ,

20,323,996 6,249,871 2,777,781 31,961,979

20,323,996 6,249,871 1,634,622 9,612,181

20,323,996 6,249,871 2,889,461 6,143,818

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31 December 2017 N'000

31 December 2018 N'000

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104,162,785 (5 , , )

(1 ,6 , ) 997,196

80,284,959 (43,860,652)

(11,751,949) 1,359,639

8,899,967

(3,364,982) 2,040,445

5,121,992

(2,356,599) 1,335,228

499,463 (9,578,890) (3,167,810) (12,247,237)

498,259 (9,670,480) (4,554,229) (13,726,450)

1,585,564 (3,455,477) (1,869,913)

1,483,401 (3,016,285) (1,532,884)

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4,610,999 4,610,999

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3,356,160

4,668,177

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MONDAY, ͹΀˜ ͺ͸͹΁ ˾ T H I S D AY

PAGE TEN

APC Demands More Openness from INEC Summons emergency caucus meeting Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Th The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to come up with explanations on its preparations for the presidential and National Assembly election rescheduled for Saturday.

The party has also fixed an emergency meeting of its national leadership caucus for today to deliberate on issues concerning the postponed election.

According to a notice of the meeting issued yesterday by the Publicity Unit of APC, the caucus meeting will hold at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja this morning.

However, addressing a press conference last night, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing and Director of Planning and

Election Monitoring of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, said from its recent findings there were indications that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had a pre-knowledge of the postponement announced by the INEC last Saturday.

"There are reports from the social media from our team because we are also monitoring everything. We have credible reports that the opposition party was already calling for postponement through their spokesperson and affiliates in the media," he said.

Fashola, who expressed concern over the issue of logistics challenge blamed for the election postponement, said that APC feels that INEC had enough time to put things right before last Saturday's botched poll.

He said: "Again, it speaks to logistics and this is an issue that I have spoken about publicly in 2011, 2015 when we were an opposition party.

It just speaks that we need to raise our game. INEC is an institution, managed by people. All of us just need to work harder. We have worked very hard to prepare for this election.

“All these are done through the same road that INEC is having logistics challenges. So, why is this thing happening once in four years? We hope that INEC will be ready. That is why we are saying now, come out in the open. Where did you have problems before?

What did you do about it and what are you trying to do to correct it this time?”

Among the demands being made by APC, according to Fashola, is greater openness ahead of the rescheduled

election and to know what steps INEC has been taken with CBN. Fashola, who was flanked by the Director Contact & Mobilization, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman, said the party wants the commission to confirm to Nigerians the status of its plans, and what plans to distribute materials ahead of the election "What problems encountered and steps to address them? What logistics challenged and steps to address them? Will configuration of card readers be ready before the February 23?

"What transport logistics and further materials INEC require in terms of vehicles, boats, trucks, airplanes, helicopters, manpower and funding INEC requires executing the elections of February 23rd and March 9th?

“We need confirmation that the configuration of the card readers will be completed in readiness for Saturday 23rd, 2019.

"In addition to all of these, we believe that INEC should brief Nigerians daily on an ongoing basis until this process is concluded," he added.

Fashola also said that APC regretted the inability of many voters to get their Permanent Voter's Cards (PVCs) .

"It is unfortunate that not everybody that registered that were able to collect their PVC. I would have loved to see that everybody are able to collect their voters card. As you know, there was a last date for collection and INEC will be in a better position to explain to us why all the cards were not distributed.

"From our situation room, we were ready and was

in touch with all our staff nationwide. We know what it takes to do this. But INEC will be in a better position to decide."

Regarding the poor welfare provided for the Youth Corp members serving as ad-hoc staff, Fashola urged the commission to take further measures to take care of the corp members.

Fashola, who said that the party has been engaged in extensive consultations within the leadership, also apologised to Nigerians over the inconveniences the postponement of the election may have caused them.

To party members, the minister urged them to stay calm, determined and to come out en masse on February 23 to vote for APC, President Muhammadu Buhari and all APC senators and House of Representatives candidates.

the Logistics Committee for ‘’deliberately muddling up’’ the delivery of sensitive materials to some states and later put suffocating pressure on the commission to go ahead with elections, even when they knew that deployment of sensitive materials had been hampered.

One insider said the plot was to force INEC to conduct staggered elections in order to achieve pre-determined selfish political agenda.

For example, he said the Nigerian Air Force jet conveying sensitive materials, scheduled to land at Enugu Airport, was diverted to Port Harcourt, citing bad weather, even when other commercial airlines like Air Peace, landed at the same time at the airport without any problem.

The source added: ‘’How do you explain a situation where unwholesome pressure was mounted on the INEC chairman to still proceed with the elections when it was obvious that some states would not be participating? ‘’How do you explain mysterious fires that destroyed INEC facilities and sensitive materials, few hours to election? How do you explain a situation where Nigerian Air Force’s pilots conveying sensitive materials, were asked to return to base? ‘’The postponement was the culmination of numerous concealed actions to achieve a staggered election; but the INEC chairman stood his ground, insisting he was

not ready for any staggered election.’’

The insider added that the issue of about 4,500 card readers and other sensitive materials that were burnt in Anambra, Plateau and Abia States, needed a minimum of five days to re-configure and sort out.

THISDAY further gathered that the strategy by the forces that ‘’sabotaged the election’’ was to allow elections hold in about 26 states and postpone it in 10 states.

Another source further explained: “The whole plot was to purposely allow sensitive electoral materials arrive late in some states and INEC would have no option but to postpone elections in those states. ‘’For example, the Air Force jet that was supposed to deliver materials to Enugu was told it can't land because of bad weather conditions and it had to land in Port Harcourt. ‘’With what happened, elections in Enugu, Kano, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Bauchi, Taraba, Abuja, Benue and other states would have been postponed. Do you

BOTCHED POLL: WE DID OUR BEST FOR INEC, SAY MILITARY, POLICE Insiders in the INEC Headquarters in Abuja also spoke with THISDAY yesterday relating the commission’s Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu’s, resistance to attempt to stagger the election.

Yakubu, while addressing a press conference on Saturday, cited ‘’logistics problems’’ as reason for the deferment of the presidential election to February 23, while the governorship and state House of Assembly was fixed for March 9.

However, explaining its role in the election, the Nigeria Police Force said yesterday that it did what was expected of it to ensure smooth conduct of the election, exonerating the force from any blame. ‘’We were ready for the election; we did our deployment 72 hours before the election. We did all we could do; what happened was quite unfortunate and it is a huge cost to the Nigeria Police Force; we cannot be blamed,’’ the spokesman for the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, Mr. Frank Mba, told THISDAY. Explaining the burning of some INEC’s materials in states like Plateau, Abia, and Anambra, he said some persons have been arrested and are being interrogated.

In Plateau State for instance, Mba said the matter was still being investigated, saying the suspect told the police that it was the fire he set on the nearby refuse that

affected the building that the materials were being kept.

In the case of Anambra State, he told THISDAY that 16 persons have been arrested and are being interrogated over the incident, while three persons are being interrogated in the case of Abia State.

He said the Anambra case in particular, was shocking, stating, however, that immediately the incident happened, the police sealed off the area and arrested some suspects. ‘’As security agents, we did all we were supposed to do to assist the INEC in carrying out its task,’’ he said.

Also speaking with THISDAY yesterday, military authorities said that they were not to be blamed for the logistics challenges that led to the postponement of the polls.

The Nigerian Air Force, Navy and Army were involved in the airlift and distribution of electoral materials for the election.

THISDAY checks, however, revealed that the military was blamed for not taking direct instruction from INEC officials but instead preferred to stick to directives from the military high command.

But the military held that it had no business with distribution of electoral materials but was only acting in aid of civil authority as expected of them.

The Defence spokesman, Brigadier-General John Agim, said: "We have no business

with that. The military had no business with the distribution of electoral materials. Our effort was to aid the civil authority to ensure a successful election and that should not be misconstrued.’’

In his reaction, the Navy spokesman, Navy Commander Suleiman Dahun, challenged critics to name areas where the Navy failed to deliver electoral materials. Nigerian Navy airlifted election materials to riverine areas in Bayelsa, Delta, using naval helicopters.

"They should be specific.

Tell us where we did not deliver so we can take you on that. That is a generalised statement," Dahun said.

Nigerian Air Force spokesman, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, could not be reached on phone but a top NAF source, who spoke anonymously, said INEC had four years to prepare for the election but only approached NAF three days to election.

The source said: "All of us at the NAF are pissed off; but because it is government to government, we don't want to go there.

"They had four years to do this planning and we kept telling them that we are available if they need our help, but they probably thought they could do it on their own. They only approached us three days to election."

The source added: "Many of our officers slept at different airports for many

days. There was severe bad weather for two days but we were able to deliver.

"Where they had issues, which they did not factor in, we were conveying materials by road to voting centres.

In the air force, logistics is a core issue that we are familiar with.

"The Chief of Air Staff had meetings with Air Officers Commanding and we informed INEC of our readiness. They should have known that we have been doing these things."

The source further noted that it was not the responsibility of NAF to distribute electoral materials.

The source explained further: "We are simply aiding them to ensure the success of elections. The C130 was used because it is a transport plane. Other aircraft were used to the point that seats had to be removed for it to contain the materials.

"But in spite of that they (INEC) did not appreciate our efforts and they are even trying to shift blame. They had four years to do this and they are the ones who had the funding not NAF."

Real Reason Election was Postponed However, insiders in INEC, who spoke with THISDAY before the chairman announced the postponement in the early hours of Saturday, blamed the security agencies that constituted members of

REPORT: COMPARED TO 2015 GENERAL ELECTION, AVIATION RECORDS LESS PATRONAGE It also noted that premium class passengers accounted for 5.1 per cent of total passenger traffic between January and October 2018.

On foreign airlines operation to Nigeria, the report revealed that Air France last year indicated that the French carrier would stop its Port Harcourt-LagosParis flight and now operate daily flight of Lagos-Paris flights.

Also German mega carrier, Lufthansa had also announced that it still records high load factor despite the low season that started after the Yuletide,

which has prompted promo fares across board introduced by international airlines.

Many industry experts commended the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) signed for implementation last year but its lukewarm reception in some countries like Nigeria has hampered its overall success.

However, regional carriers like Ethiopia Airlines, Kenya Airways, South Africa Airways, Africa World Airlines (AWA) and Air Cote d’Ivoire have started benefitting from SAATM. The federal government

recently disclosed that it had taken steps to designate strong, viable indigenous carriers to operate international destinations in order to grow the country’s foreign exchange (FX) earnings by $2 billion yearly through ticket sales.

It said it had also certified local aircraft maintenance organisations to stop Nigerian airlines from taking their aircraft overseas for major maintenance checks.

Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Muhtar Usman, had told

THISDAY that in all the recent Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) Nigeria entered into, the government also made it clear that foreign airlines must partner domestic operators.

He said the government also designated Nigerian carriers to operate long haul destinations, just as he projected that in the next four years, Nigeria would save over $2 billion annually through the initiative when the policy is fully implemented.

This, he said, would enable the Nigerian carriers benefit from skills acquisition,

fleet renewal and revenue generation.

“Nigeria needs very strong viable airlines to operate those routes. The government has done what it needs to do, designate the operators to operate those routes. I know airlines have been designated along the routes you mentioned such as the United States, United Kingdom and some other countries both in the Middle and Far East. It is for the operators to explore it and operate because we have other international airlines coming from those countries,” he had explained.

Continued on page 12

TOP GAINERS PRESCO ROYALEXCHANGE IKEJHOTEL TRANSCORP DANGFLOUR TOP LOSERS MRSOIL UACN ACADEMY

NGN NGN 6.00 66.00 0.03 0.33 0.16 1.81 0.15 1.71 0.80 9.15 NGN 2.30 20.85 0.95 8.65 0.04 0.37 JAPAUL 0.02 0.22 UNILEVER 3.50 43.50 HPE Nestle Nig Plc ₦1,565.00 Volume: 808.646 million shares Value: N6.486 billion Deals: 6,177 As at Friday 15 /2/19 See details on Page 35

% 10 10 9.7 9.6 9.5 % 9.9 9.9 9.7 9.0 7.4

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MONDAY, ͹΀˜ ͺ͸͹΁ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Manufacturers, Importers Groan over Customs’ End User Certificate Abuse

Eromosele Abiodun

Importers and manufacturers of chemical substances in the country have accused the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) of abuse of End User Certificate (EUC), leading to their loss of over N200 million monthly to demurrage on imported chemicals for paint and some pharmaceutical products.

An EUC is a document used in international transfers, including sales of arms, weapons and ammunition, to certify that the buyer is the final recipient of the materials, and is not planning on transferring the materials to another party.

THISDAY investigation revealed that some customs officers demand EUC on products that are not on the list of chemicals that requires the certificate issued by the

Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).

For instance, THISDAY gathered that the NCS demands EUC for Titanium Dioxide, which is not on the list of chemicals that requires the certificate.

Also, some importers told THISDAY that they have not been able to clear Glycerine, a chemical used by the oil and gas companies for drilling operations and for making cough syrup, cosmetics, paints and coatings.

Investigation has also revealed that several containers have been trapped at the ports in Lagos as a result of the customs refusal to generate Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) for importers to clear their goods.

An importer who does not want his name mentioned for fear of persecution told THISDAY that prior

Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Hammed Ali to obtaining Form M for importation of these chemicals, they were not informed that the products require end user certificate.

“Nobody told us that Glycerine, a non-explosive chemical has been included upon obtaining Form M. It was when we got to the

bank to make payment for our goods to be cleared that we were told the customs has refused to generate PAAR because the chemical now requires end user certificate,” he said.

A member of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), who is majorly affected by this development told THISDAY that they have complained to MAN, which has promised to look into the matter.

In a position paper sent to MAN and obtained

by THISDAY, the group stated, “We wish to state some negative impact of the requirement of end user certificate on further regulation of our importation of chemical raw materials. We acknowledge the wisdom and motive behind the requirement as a mode of combating especially terrorism that

seeks to destabilise peaceful habitation of our country.

“However, our business has been injured by the extension of the frontiers of this requirement in the following manners: Some chemical raw materials that are known not to be related to arms or explosives production are now under this requirement. Such materials include Glycerine and Caustic Soda. Chemical raw materials that were not under this requirement are continually being pushed into the category without adequate information to the importers.

The result is that an importer becomes aware when his products arrives the ports and clearing agent is asked to produce the certificate.

Since this certification takes between two to three months to be issued, demurrage bills gets beyond any profitability threshold.”

They added, “Customs officials presently exploit this requirement as they request the certificate for all chemical imports. Some clearing agents and importers have fallen prey to such practices by giving out various sums of money to be allowed to go with their goods.

Some importers who have resisted such ploys are made to suffer higher demurrage bills due to the unnecessary delay tactics employed by the custom officials.”

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Mr. Joseph Attah, told THISDAY that the EUC does not emanate from the NCS. When asked to comment on the alleged abuse of the requirement by customs officials, he said importers should insist on clearance from the office of the NSA before making any payments.

he explained.

Keyamo, however, said that what he offered was a personal opinion, adding that whether or not APC will continue with campaigns will have to be taken by the national leadership.

He said based on the provisions of the Electoral Act, INEC cannot possibly make any case against a political party that proceeds with its campaigns at the tribunal.

"That pronouncement by INEC is null and void, it is illegal,” he added

elections.

Eke, who made the call while speaking with journalists in Abuja yesterday, noted that electing a new Nigerian president as well as members of the national and state assemblies must not be a do or die affair.

He stressed that the election observers who serve as watchdogs for the election would discourage in no small measure attempt to rig the elections, while urging the observers to be dispassionate and non-partisan in the discharge of their duties.

He stated: “The world is watching, let us prove to other African nations that our democracy has come to stay; and will get better with each successive national election.

“The federal government must, therefore, emulate the example set by former President Goodluck Jonathan, who organised the freest and fairest elections in the history of the Nigerian democracy; and do the same for the good of the present and future Nigerians."

INEC MEETS TODAY AS PDP, APC RE JECT BAN ON ELECTIONEERING Adviser on Youth and Support Groups to the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Rev. Chukwudi Eke, has called on the federal government to ensure peaceful and credible elections.

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement yesterday said the reason for the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections was that President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to have a staggered election, where he could use security agencies to subvert the will of the people at the polls.

According to the PDP, APC sympathisers in INEC engineered actions that affected the distribution and delivery of INEC's sensitive materials to designated locations, thereby frustrating the electoral process.

The party stated: “We also have details of how a hired team of data hackers corrupted the voter register, with a view to cause mass confusion and voters suppression on the election day.

“Nigerians would have been shocked that many registered voters in possession of their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) would have arrived their polling centres on election day, only to discover to their amazement that their names have disappeared from the register in their units.

“Intelligence available to us further details how agents of the Buhari Presidency infiltrated the distribution system and ensured that sensitive election materials do not arrive at the designated locations, with a view to stall elections in several states and pave way for a staggered election.

“This is in addition to deliberate swapping of sensitive election materials between different states and local governments so as to muddle up the process and stall election in affected areas. In some of states like Edo, sensitive election

materials did not arrive at their designated points on APC interruption.”

The main opposition party urged Nigerians to continue to be alert in resisting the APC and the presidency in their plot to sabotage the elections.

The party said Nigerians would recall that it had vehemently protested the continued retention of Buhari’s relation, Mrs. Amina Zakari, in INEC. “We have been reliably informed that the same Amina Zakari and another high-ranking INEC commissioner played a pivotal role in assisting the APC and the Buhari presidency in sabotaging the operations of INEC and scuttling the February 16 elections,” it stressed.

PDP Asks INEC to Reverse Decision on Suspension of Campaigns Meanwhile, following the postponement of the general election by one week and the subsequent decision of INEC not to extend campaign period by political parties, PDP, has urged the commission to rescind its decision.

The electoral body had in the early hours of Saturday announced its decision to reschedule the general election by one week.

The presidential and National Assembly elections earlier scheduled for February 16 would now hold on Saturday, February 23, while governorship, State Assembly and FCT Area Council elections scheduled for March 2, would now hold on Saturday, March 9, 2019.

While addressing a press conference Saturday in Abuja, the Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had said that the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and campaign by political parties remained closed.

Speaking to THISDAY

yesterday, Ologbondiyan said since the election has been postponed, political parties cannot keep quiet as they need to speak with the people and canvass for votes.

He said: “What the law provides for is that campaign will stop 48 hours before the election. If the election is postponed, it can’t be 48 hours and we cannot remain silent as political parties ahead of the election.”

He said he believed that the position of the commission would not go down well with all the political parties considering the fact that this is electioneering period.

Ologbondiyan stated: “I believe INEC must try and reconsider it now because the nation cannot be silent. We are in electioneering time and politicians must campaign and speak to the people.

“So, I don’t think his (Yakubu) position is accepted by majority of the political parties. So, we urge the INEC chairman to look at his position, vis-à-vis what the electoral law provides.”

Last night the party said after due consideration of the provision of the Electoral Act, it has decided to reopen its open campaigns.

It said in a statement yesterday by Ologbondiyan that its position was predicated on the clear provision of section 99 (1) of the Electoral Act, which stipulated that “for the purposes of this Act, the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day.”

It stated: “The party rejects the wrongful administrative prohibition of open campaigns by INEC, holding that such administrative pronouncement was erroneous, directly in conflict with the provision of the Electoral Act and is not backed by any other law in our country.”

The party reminded INEC that whenever

its administrative pronouncement conflicts with the Electoral Act, such administrative pronouncement must bow before the law.

It said: “The clear import of this provision, in the current situation, is that given the postponement of the election to February 23, 2019, the 24 hours requirement for closure of all public campaigning falls at midnight of February 21.”

The party, therefore, urged INEC to be appropriately guided while directing its members to await further directives ahead of its reopening of campaigns.

Atiku Support Groups Call for INEC's Suspension Calm, Peaceful of Campaigns Illegal, Elections Says Keyamo However, despite the In a related development, APC presidential campaign spokesman, Keyamo, has described as illegal, the decision of the INEC not to allow political parties to engage in further campaigns, despite the postponement of the presidential election to Saturday.

Keyamo told THISDAY yesterday that INEC has no power to suspend campaigns by political parties, having shifted the date of the presidential election.

According to him, the Electoral Act is explicit on the days allowed for campaigns, which is 24 hours before the Election Day. “The Electoral Act says campaign should cease 24 hours to the Election Day and I think INEC cannot make any regulation different from the provisions of the electoral law. So, going by the Electoral Act, once you revise the election date, you must also revise automatically the date and schedule for campaigns. In fact, the campaign schedule revises itself automatically; INEC does not even have to take any action on it. The moment you reschedule the day of the election, you automatically reorder the period of campaigns,”

late hour postponement of the general elections by INEC, the South-south Coordinator and Special Adviser on Youth to Support Groups to Atiku Abubakar, Rev. Chukwudi Omordi Eke, has called on the government to ensure peaceful and credible

BOTCHED POLL: WE DID OUR BEST FOR INEC, SAY MILITARY, POLICE also know, for example, that materials that were being escorted to Makurdi, Benue State, by the police were hijacked?’’

Rather than blame INEC, the insider said the leadership of the commission should be commended for having the courage to resist the powerful forces that were out to achieve selfish political interests that would have undermined the credibility of the election.

Why Announcement of Election’s Postponement was Delayed Justifying why the announcement of the election’s postponement was delayed till 2:30a.m. on Saturday, an insider said when it became evident that

INEC chairman was not ready to go ahead with the election in some states, as requested by some forces, he started meeting with some critical stakeholders before the announcement.

He explained: ‘’There was the need to brief international election monitors like Commonwealth, EU, African Union, US, UK and others on why the election should be put off and Yakubu spent about four hours with them. ‘’Thereafter, he started meeting with security chiefs, who insisted that INEC must go ahead with the election in some states and that meeting lasted almost three hours and finally, he met with senior staff members of INEC, including the national commissioners and by the time he was through with all these meetings, it was about 2a.m.’’

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2018

COMMENT

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

POSTPONEMENT OF THE 2019 ELECTIONS INEC has compromised its right as an independent and trustworthy arbiter, writes Lindsay Barrett

F

our years of preparation, billions of naira expended, and loud assurances of preparedness notwithstanding Nigeria’s prime organiser of the proposed 2019 polls has displayed an incredible level of strategic impunity as far as its responsibility to the interests of the public is concerned. Its decision to announce postponement of the elections barely four hours before they were due to commence indicates that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) considers its basic commitment to ensure that voters are enabled to exercise their rights to be an expendable objective. If this was not so the organisation would have considered the consequences of its action on the confidence of the electorate totally imperative and absolutely important. In that case once the final hours had approached before the date that had been set for months INEC should have recognised public expectation and assumptions as being the core principles that needed to be preserved and respected. In such a circumstance postponement would have been recognised as being the most unnecessary and unlikely decision that could be taken after the President of the country had delivered a major address pledging that the poll would be free, fair, and proper. For the organisation to allow the public to reach the peak of its anticipation before suddenly halting the process is nothing short of official recklessness of an unprecedented level.

Among the issues that the action has provoked the prognosis that public anxiety will be exacerbated and the question of whether the INEC officials who took the decision actually planned to provoke this anxiety is an important consideration. I am not usually a promoter or supporter of the allegations and sensational assertions that often appear on social media but a list that appeared on my WhatsApp platform intrigued me greatly. It simply listed some of the consequences of the preparation for elections. Here it is;.

“List of losses: School boarders were sent home and midterm holidays were declared in almost all schools.

Airlines shut down business. No aircraft on ground for next day service.

Weddings and social events were postponed; some to 23rd Feb, which is the new date fixed for Presidential election.

Borders closed. Huge revenue lost to import and export.

INEC staff and paramilitary personnel posted to different parts of country for elections.

Large numbers of the electorate travelled to their respective homes to fulfil electoral obligations. Some can’t even be reached by phone.

Some surgeries and medical procedures might have been

FOR THE ORGANISATION TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO REACH THE PEAK OF ITS ANTICIPATION BEFORE SUDDENLY HALTING THE PROCESS IS NOTHING SHORT OF OFFICIAL RECKLESSNESS OF AN UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL

shifted because of today’s planned election.

The list goes on and on…”

The simplicity and lack of posturing and judgmental bias that the contributor of this list exhibits in his or her anthologising of problems caused by the postponement represents the common sense position that any concerned stakeholder would be expected to adopt in considering the consequences of INEC’s decision. The major issue that INEC should have been considering in the last hours before scheduled voting is what effect its operations would have on the public’s perception of the credibility and representative acceptability of the elections result. The excuse that elections have been postponed before is disingenuous to say the least. When weeks or even days before a poll, reasons are given for its postponement the public have time to absorb such reasons.

In addition any such decision should be made before the electorate has been primed to the point at which their normal mode of everyday conduct has been irredeemably inconvenienced. Obviously in this latest circumstance this was not the case. It is unforgiveable for officials who have not complained of logistic deficiencies before to offer such excuses only four hours before voting is scheduled to start.

This is especially disingenuous after they have observed the electorate doing all that it takes to meet the conditions that they claim to have put in place for the proper conduct of the polls. In such a circumstance it will be truly difficult for any objective analyst to blame those who read political mischief into the motivation behind the INEC decision.

Even if we give INEC the benefit of the doubt, since the Chief Electoral Commissioner Prof. Mahmood Yakubu explained the absolute necessity for the decision in a press conference that came several hours after the early morning announcement, the nature and timing of the announcement cannot be forgiven. Democracy is at all times dependent to a large extent on perception and once President Buhari had given his Presidential address and travelled to his hometown to vote the signal went out to the whole nation that voting would take place as and when scheduled. INEC’s own perception of its responsibility to the people of Nigeria should have been driven by this simple reality. By failing to take this obligation to manage public perception into consideration at such a crucial point in the run-up to the polls INEC has compromised its right to be regarded as an independent and trustworthy arbiter. The loss of credibility emanating from this most dangerous and ill-timed event will reverberate through all subsequent voting in the 2019 edition of Nigeria’s electoral process.

OBEAHON OHIWEREI’S MOMENT

Ezra Adeniyi writes that the Keystone Bank chief executive is a master of the game

T

he story of corporate revolutions in Nigeria will not be complete without direct reference to Keystone Bank Limited and its Group Managing Director, Dr. Obeahon Ohiwerei. This is a man with a Midas touch: he has turned things around for the financial institution within a significantly short space of time.

Ohiwerei is a rare breed. We are familiar with individuals who take over bourgeoning establishments and further increase their worth on face value along the line. But it sounds like a fairy tale to have a professional who takes over a near-comatose organization and almost makes a corporate giant out of it.

This has been the lot of Keystone Bank.

In just a little over one year after the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria’s (AMCON) divestment which saw the emergence of Ohiwerei as its managing director cum chief executive officer, Keystone Bank’s narrative changed to a financial institution to reckon with.

On March 24, 2017, Sigma Golf-Riverbank Consortium took over Ke ystone Bank in its distressed state which led to the appointment of Dr. Ohiwerei. On assumption of office in August 2017, Ohiwerei drew up a holistic and integrated approach to business modernization which elevated the bank to deliver a superior customer-centric experience. The impact of this change reflected positive results in its 2018 report card, which restored customers’ trust and confidence in the system.

Dr. Ohiwerei’s magic wand at Keystone Bank has taken industry watchers by surprise, and the industry itself by storm.

Since becoming the managing director of the lender, the game-changer has spearheaded several growth initiatives which have placed the bank on upward trajectory.

The bank has invested significantly in technology with copiously integrated service models enabling customers enjoy banking services through a wide range of channels.

From evolving technologies to changing customer expectations to new regulatory demands – it has never been more important for banks to come up with the right strategies for digital transformation and innovation; the bolstered Ohiwerei-led team nonetheless made this a reality at Keystone Bank.

This entailed initiating partnership processes with foremost technology-enabled concerns to drive its digital revolution.

Keystone Bank’s ‘Cheque Deposit’ feature in its state of the art mobile banking application, ‘Keystone Mobile App’, further describes Ohiwerei’s vision to position the bank as a technology and service-driven commercial bank offering convenient and reliable solutions to its customers. The feature which is again the first in the Nigerian banking sector, enables customers to deposit cheques into accounts from anywhere and at any time on their mobile phones.

Undoubtedly, Ohiwerei’s achievements at Keystone Bank have not gone unnoticed.

Accolades have streamed in from all spheres in praise of a man who has done what many people only dream of.

He clinched the Best Banking CEO Award 2018 at the prestigious European Global Banking & Finance Awards in London in July 2018 for his exceptional achievements

over the last year. This is an inspiration for business and government leaders working to raise Africa’s investment profile. The judging panel of the award considered excellent leadership skills, enhanced organizational image and innovation. Keystone Bank also emerged ‘Africa’s Most Innovative Bank of the Year, 2018’ at the awards event.

The bank also shone brightly at the International Banker Awards, 2018 as it emerged winner in two categories beating other nominees and carting away the prize for “Africa’s Best Customer Service Provider” and “Nigeria’s Most Innovative Retail Bank of the year, 2018”. The International Banker Awards is an annual event organized by the renowned International Banker financial magazine, one of the world’s leading sources of authoritative analysis on finance, international banking, and world affairs.

Obeahon Ohiwerei began his professional banking career with Guaranty Trust Bank Plc in 1991, and his exceptional performance saw him rise to the position of manager within six years. He later joined Standard Trust Bank (now UBA Plc) where he was appointed the pioneer group head, consumer banking in 1998. He resigned in 2002 as general manager in charge of Lagos and West to join Pacific Bank Limited (then on Central Bank of Nigeria’s holding action) as managing director. He repositioned the bank with his new team within 15 months and moved on to take up a new appointment as the pioneer managing director of Standard Trust Bank Ghana (now UBA Ghana).

He was group executive director with Access Bank Plc for seven years, and a director in three of Access Bank’s offshore

subsidiaries as well as FITC, Lagos.

Not resting on his oars, the seasoned banker in a recent interview said he would love to leave with a sense of satisfaction that he delivered on the mandate of the investors by making Keystone a Tier-1 bank.

Dr Ohiwerei who describes himself as being audacious to a fault says, “I challenge my colleagues to pursue audacious goals believing they can achieve them. There is no limit to what you can achieve as long as you believe in yourself and drive your vision strategically. Personally, I set goals for myself every five years and often achieve them within three years.

“While I do not micro-manage people, I am by nature excited by the challenge of execution and that makes it easy for me to engage hands-on with them in working through any challenges that may arise along the way.

“I want to leave behind a tested and proven team of passionate and highly motivated people that refuse to see any barriers to what they can achieve; people that are able to compete shoulder-to-shoulder/ head- to- head with any leading bank in the industry.

“At the end of my tenure, the recurrent customer feedback should be ‘my bankers are highly professional solution providers, responsive and always within reach.’”

As Dale Carnegie puts it, “You never achieve success unless you like what you are doing,” Dr. Ohiwerei’s bold innovations at Keystone Bank are borne out of his passion to succeed in his every endeavour.

Adeniyi, a financial analyst, wrote from Lagos

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2018

EDITORIAL ENDING LOSSES IN MARITIME SECTOR Government should implement existing laws for the benefit of stakeholders

A

t a period the country needs all the resources it could muster for economic development, it is losing billions of dollars annually in the maritime sector. In the last three years, importers and exporters in Nigeria have paid over $25.3 billion to foreign ship owners as freight charges on goods imported and exported out of the country. According to statistics from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian shippers paid a total sum of $9,0878 billion as freight for dry and wet cargo to foreign ship owners in 2015. In 2016, Nigerians also paid $7,55b to foreign-owned ships while a total of $8,602b fright charges were lost to foreign vessels in 2017.

The NIMASA data also shows that in 2016, a total of 2,047 vessels THE MASSIVE LOSS brought in dry CAN BE BLAMED ON THE cargo import; 987 vessels lifted FAILURE OF NIGERIAN SHIP OWNERS TO ACQUIRE dry cargo export while 2,468 vessels STANDARD OCEANGOING lifted wet cargo VESSELS WITH CAPACITY import and export TO COMPETE WITH THEIR cargoes. In 2017, FOREIGN COUNTERPARTS 1,967 vessels of dry cargo import were received at the port; 1,145 vessels of dry cargo export while 2,294 vessels of wet cargo import and export were handled in Nigerian ports. Besides, between 2004 and 2017 Nigeria recorded total vessel traffic of 25,256 with gross freight of $39 billion but the country earned a paltry sum of $1 billion as levies for NIMASA. This massive loss can be blamed on the failure of Nigerian ship owners to acquire standard oceangoing vessels in order to have the needed capacity to compete with their foreign counterparts. However, equally important is the failure of government over the years to implement laws put in place to protect Nigerians and ensure fleet development aside the

fact that the Cabotage Act, the NIMASA Act and the Local Content Act are not being implemented. By the Local Content Act, indigenous operators are supposed to be considered for any job before foreigners but over the years, government agencies have been breaching this law without any consequence.

M

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

eanwhile, a major obstacle to fleet development in Nigeria is the lack of national carrier by indigenous operators.

The national carrier is supposed to carry 70 per cent of all the cargoes coming in and out of Nigeria. Even though cargo preference laws are embodied in NIMASA for indigenous players to play in lucrative fields such as oil and gas, no country without a national carrier benefits from such cargo preference. The operators are supposed to demand implementation of the laws or seek redress in the courts because they contributed to the funds meant for fleet development. Sadly, instead of seeking ways to enforce their rights, indigenous operators prefer running to Abuja and bringing politics into matters that are purely technical.

For there to be any meaningful change, the government must draw a line between the political and professional space and urgently take steps to implement existing laws for the benefit of stakeholders. The federal government must also allow experts to run the system efficiently for the benefit of the people of Nigeria. Besides, NIMASA must urgently design a well-thought out indigenous fleet development programme, which will not involve government ownership and funding of vessel acquisition. If the agency wants to make any difference, it must create the necessary atmosphere that would encourage local and private investors to invest in vessel acquisition with the assistance and cooperation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Finally, there is need for the government to audit the three per cent benchmark rate of the value of goods for import and export which NIMASA collects from vessels calling in Nigeria to ensure accountability.

TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

Letters to the Editor

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

ELECTION POSTPONEMENT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE POLITY

T

he flurry of reactions that trailed the sudden postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections is no doubt a huge sign that its implication on election stakeholders is immeasurable. While the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has craved the indulgence of Nigerians saying the rescheduling of the elections is to enable the commission address some logistics challenges, stakeholders did not hide their displeasure as they continue to demand explanations.

The rescheduling has in no little way put the integrity of the commission under scrutiny as political parties and their supporters have continued to accuse the commission of plans to manipulate the process. Nigerians have also rightly argued that the commission had over 36 months to prepare for the election thus the excuses of logistic issues may not be acceptable.

Civil societies and election observers were also disappointed saying INEC has a responsibility to be more transparent and proactive in communicating with Nigerians and strategic partners on their logistics and operational challenges. For instance, the largest citizen observer group, YIAGA AFRICA in a statement by its Executive Director described the postponement as disappointing, saying the commission might have overestimated its own capabilities and/or underrated the challenges associated with the management of election logistics.

There is no doubt that the operational challenges that the commission is trying to fix within one week has created a lot of logistics challenge for both local and International observers ahead of February 23rd election. With high sense of patriotism and enthusiasm, election observers have all set up data centers, situation rooms and analysis rooms with observers all set to observe across the country. The postponement means these stakeholders are left to bear the cost of maintaining the data center for another week which is why the postponement has been described as a test of citizen’s patriotism and resilience.

Nigerian Citizens who have relocated to their respective location of registration to enable them participate in the process now have to return to work during the week before taking another decision to either go back or not. This in a way may lead to a certain level of apathy ahead of week’s rescheduled process. While it is encouraging that the commission recorded over 84 million registered voters even though it is yet to release the number of Permanent Voter Cards collected, it is left to be seen if next week’s general elections will be met with the same zest.

Also, the report that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members to be used as ad hoc staff are facing serious challenges of accommodation and hostile reception at the local government of deployment is another major call for concern ahead of the elections. After enduring the unpleasant situation in the name of patriotism and service to the nation, the rescheduling of elections may mean they have to do this all over again. Thus, it won’t be surprising if some of these corps members decide to pull out of the process and may affect the quality of the process.

Recall that the 2015 general elections which is adjudged the best elections since 1999 was postponed by six weeks with the preceding 2011 elections also called-off while citizens were already at the polls. While rescheduling of elections is not the best idea, Nigerians can get it right in 2019 by cooperating with the commission to ensure credible elections. This is no doubt trying times for Nigeria’s democracy, but the responsibility of ensuring credible elections does not lie with the commission alone. The security agencies, political parties, CSOs and most importantly Nigerian citizens should pick up the call of unfettered patriotism to ensure a successful poll. While it is understandable that citizens are disappointed, the best way to react is by coming out on 23rd February and 9th March 2019, to vote peacefully while ensuring that their votes count.

Moshood Isah, YIAGA Africa

INEC AND AD HOC STAFF

A

nybody who had been following the INEC tussles right from the beginning will testify that the Independent National Electoral Commission under the leadership of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu was not set for the conduct of the postponed election in spite of their so-called preparedness.

The most patent instance was the recent release of the list of INEC ad hoc staff: the fact that the commission had no definite and organised way of selecting them is enough to posit that the commission was not well organised for the task.

Having subjected the students and corps members to an excruciating stress during the screening, the commission selected randomly from the applicants and disposed of the rest without any tangible benchmark for disqualifying them.

The most surprising part of it was that the INEC list contained the names of some candidates who didn’t partake in the training or the examination. If INEC knew that they wanted to select candidates randomly they shouldn’t have subjected the applicants to so much stress. Many wasted their time, energy and money. The worst part was how INEC left the shortlisted ad hoc staff under the cold weather on the night of the election without caring about their security and welfare.

It’s sad that the commission which has no other function than to conduct election once in four years now impulsively disappoints fellow Nigerians at the eleventh hour. If the postponement will not cause any other problems, I believe that it will cause election apathy.

Nurudeen Akewushola, UDUS

5 ) * 4 % ": t MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2019

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17

18

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëž ÍšÎ&#x20AC;Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Î

Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG

POLITICS

Email: nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com 08114495324 SMS ONLY

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

Another Case of Dashed Hope Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Vanessa Obioha write that postponement of the scheduled national elections close to the Zero-hour has unleashed a gale of anger against the Independent National Electoral Commission and its Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu

Yakubu

Buhari

M

any Nigerians went to bed on Friday, February 15, with a gamut of emotions from fear and doubt to confidence on the outcome of the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for the next day, February 16.

The fear stemmed from the specter of violence which loomed large days preceding the scheduled election. The offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the regulatory body for the elections in some states were razed by suspected foot soldiers of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).

Through its uncrowned hero Nnamdi Kanu,

the footsoldiers were directed to disrupt the election process in the South-eastern states.

That directive was, however, reversed when Kanu told his votaries that the needs of the group have been met. Whatever these needs were, he did not say.

Cases of kidnappings, violent protests were reported in some states while some persons in possession of election materials were arrested.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo also voiced his concerns over the news of alleged thumb-printed ballot papers in Kano, Ondo and Lagos states at a press briefing on Friday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Although, for me, I still have apprehension.

If the news of already thumb-printed ballot papers in Kano yesterday; Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve received news

Abubakar

in Ondo today; I have received news in Ikorodu today. If these are true, we havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had anything like this before,â&#x20AC;? he said.

There were also threats from militant groups and others to unleash violence should their desired candidate not emerge winner at the election. Though there are over 70 presidential candidates contesting, only the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are considered the major contestants in the race.

Even without the fear of violence, many Nigerians doubted their votes would count.

Therefore, they decided either not to vote or

to be indifferent to whoever emerged. Out of the assumed 200 million population, a large number of eligible voters refused to pick up their Permanent Voters Card, though a good number were destroyed in the fire that razed INEC offices.

Those who believed that their votes would count went to bed, assured that the country was gradually inching closer to a true democracy.

But all of that hope was dashed when many woke up to the news of the postponement of the election.

Hours before the announcement was made, some media organisations speculated that the election would be postponed as INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu was in a closed door

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;INEC Must Truly Be Seen as Independentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Presidential candidate of Nigeria for Democracy, Dr. Asukwo Archibong believes postponement of the national elections is directly linked wrong appointment made by President Muhammadu Buhari, to serve his sectional interest Some Nigerians seem to have seen the postponement coming, with the dingdong between the Presidency and the

Archibong

QUICK FACTS: r*/&$ IBT QPTUQPOFE UIF OBUJPOBM FMFDUJPOT previously scheduled for February 16 and March. The new dates are February 23 for the presidential and National Assembly election and March 9 for the governorship and state houses for assembly election r5IF QPTUQPOFNFOU CZ */&$ $IBJSNBO Professor Mahmood Yakubu was announced about six hours to the scheduled commencement of voting. He based his decision on â&#x20AC;&#x153;careful review of the implementation of its logistics and

National Assembly, so why is there still an outrage?

The outrage is now muted. It has become self-pity and self-flagellation. Generally, Nigerians have become cynical about anything with our government. The failure of INEC is not a surprise.

After all, NEPA failed, P&T failed, NIPOST failed, Nigeria Airways failed, our transport system has failed, Nigeria Railways has failed, National Identity Card has failed, Operation Feed the Nation failed, our refineries have failed, our educational system has failed, our healthcare sector has failed, so why wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the date for the National Elections fail? Well that too has failed.

The elections were surreptitiously postponed at the last minute. The initial outrage has turned into wringing of hands, self-pity and self-flagellation. Our elites and politicians have failed us in terms of pushing for the best for Nigeria.

The painful aspect of the failure of the elections to hold on the 16th of February, 2019 is the fact that the whole world had its eyes on

Nigeria. The so called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;giant of Africa.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; The ding-dong affair between the Presidency and the National Assembly is just a matter of separation of power and a struggle for relevance. The Presidency is using its executive powers as a weapon against the other two branches of government. It has also weaponized the administrative court under its branch of government, specifically the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

The head of the National Assembly has been dragged to that court. The head of the Judiciary has been brought to that court. The ding-dong affair would have been an issue had the National Assembly withheld funds for INEC but it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. It is the sectional appointment of the President that has caused the poor performance of INEC.

operational planâ&#x20AC;? r5IF EBZT MFBEJOH UP FMFDUJPO EBUFT XFSF characterised by fear stemmed from specter of violence. The offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in some states were razed by suspected foot soldiers of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB). Through its uncrowned hero Nnamdi Kanu, the footsoldiers were directed to disrupt the election process in the South-eastern states. Cases of kidnappings, violent protests were reported in some states while some persons in possession of election materials were arrested r5IPVHI UIFSF BSF PWFS QSFTJEFOUJBM DBOEJ-

dates contesting, only the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are considered the major contestants in the race r5IF MBX DPNQFMT /JHFSJBOT UP WPUF XIFSF they were registered, therefore, many traveled long distances from their places of residence to cast their votes. Even Nigerians in the diaspora came back home to be part of the turning point in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s democracy r#VTJOFTTFT XFSF TIVU EPXO JO QSFQBSBUJPO GPS the election. The Nigerian Immigration Services

Should the blame for postponement of the election be consigned solely to INEC, if not, which other parties should receive some knocks?

The sectional and nepotic conduct of the

Presidency is what has caused the failure of INEC in administering the elections as at the time scheduled. The President appointed an incompetent chairman, in the person of Mr. Mahmood Yakubu and also the next in command in the person of Amina Zakari, his alleged relative. Both have shown that they are incompetent by the failure of the elections to hold.

Mr. Yakubu was appointed on 21st of October, 2015. That is almost four years ago. A child that came into this world on that day can now sit up, crawl, walk, run, eat and speak.

Mr. Yakubu canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even sit up and have an election.

This has brought shame to Nigeria within the international community. It has given us a black eye. The news about Nigeria is not so positive right now. All because of the Presidency and INEC. Thus the blame goes solely to the President and INEC. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

ordered the closure of borders from 12 noon on Friday r#VTJOFTTFT XFSF TBJE UP IBWF TVGGFSFE / UO loss due to the postponement r*U JT OPU UIF Ă STU UJNF FMFDUJPOT IBWF CFFO postponed in Nigeria. In 2011, INEC under the watch of Professor Attahiru Jega postponed the election while voting had commenced in many states. r"HBJO JO +FHB DJUFE JOTFDVSJUZ BT B SFBTPO to postpone the elections by one week r'PS UIF FMFDUJPOT */&$ HPU B CVEHFU of $522million

19

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëž ÍšÎ&#x20AC;Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Î

MONDAY DISCOURSE

Oshiomhole

Adamu

meeting with his staff but many shrugged off the suggestion, thinking it was too close to the Zero-hour. After all, Mahmood had reassured Nigerians on Thursday that the elections would be conducted.

However, at around 2.30 am, Yakubu told the media that after, â&#x20AC;&#x153;careful review of the implementation of its logistics and operational planâ&#x20AC;? that the commission decided to postpone the presidential and National Assembly elections to February 23, while governorship and state House of Assembly elections will now hold on March 9.

Announcing the postponement of the elections at a time when most Nigerians were dreaming of how they would queue at the polling units to vote for a better nation or apprehending the outcome of the elections shows how inconsiderate INEC is to fate of the masses.

Due to the law that compels Nigerians have to vote where they were registered, many traveled long distances from their places of residence to cast their votes. Even Nigerians in the diaspora came back home to be part of the turning point in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s democracy.

Businesses were shut down in preparation for Saturdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s election. The Nigerian Immigration Services ordered the closure of borders from 12 noon on Friday, further crumbling business activities. More pathetic was the nonprovision of welfare for the ad-hoc staff for the elections, mainly National Youth Service Corps members who had already moved to the vicinity of their polling units. Businesses wee said to have suffered N2.737tn loss due to the postponement.

It took a while before Nigerians could mute the outrage that swelled from hearing the news

of the postponement.

To be sure, it is not the first time elections have been postponed in Nigeria. In 2011, when former President Goodluck Jonathan contested for the presidential seat after occupying the position following the death of President Umar Yarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Adua, INEC under the watch of Attahiru Jega postponed the election while voting had commenced in many states.

Again, in 2015, Jega cited insecurity as a reason to postpone the elections by a week.

Condemning the postponement, PDPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S candidate, Abubakar stated that the action was, â&#x20AC;&#x153;obviously a case of the hand of Esau but the voice of Jacob. The Buhari administration had more than enough time and money to prepare for these elections and the Nigerian people were poised and ready to perform their civic responsibility by voting in the elections,â&#x20AC;?

Atiku said in a statement on Saturday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;By instigating this postponement, the Buhari administration hopes to disenfranchise the Nigerian electorate in order to ensure that turn out is low on the rescheduled date,â&#x20AC;? he added.

In defense, the APC through the Director of Strategic Communications for the Buhari Presidential Campaign, Festus Keyamo said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We condemn and deprecate this tardiness of the electoral umpire in the strongest terms possible. President Muhammadu Buhari had since cooperated fully with INEC by ensuring everything it demanded to conduct free and fair elections were promptly made available to it. This news is therefore a huge disappointment to us and to our teeming supporters nationwide and around the world, many of whom have come into the country to exercise their franchise.â&#x20AC;?

He added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lastly, we wish to draw the at-

Secondus

tention of INEC and the world to observe that the PDP has clearly and openly said it plans to announce parallel results through some funny device it has procured or developed. We wish to reiterate that it is only INEC that is legally and constitutionally empowered to declare results and it constitutes an offence for anyone to do so. We urge INEC to speak up now and warn the PDP to desist from this ignoble act that is capable of plunging the nation into a crises of immeasurable proportions.â&#x20AC;?

While the two parties engaged in a war of words, INEC is yet to apologise to Nigerians for the inconvenience it caused, sparking more outrage. Some have called for the sack of Yakubu for his insensitivity and lack of preparation.

Commenting on the issue the Director of Strategic Communications for Tonye Coleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Governorship Campaign in Rivers State, Tonye Princewill said, â&#x20AC;&#x153; I believe he (Yakubu) should apologise to Nigerians. Anticipation for the election was at fever pitch and so all eyes were on the INEC. They had to know it, well before they announced it, that this was the most likely outcome. Not apologizing after Nigerians had invested so much, time, money resources and energy is simply not good enough. I hope he does so. It will go a long way to showing his remorse and the remorse of his commission.

My only worry is if things were as bad as they looked, then maybe he is saving all his apologies for later, so he can make them all at once.â&#x20AC;?

Princewill also said he stood by the statements made by Keyamo, stating that the delay exposed the collusion between Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state and INEC. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even though the postponement of the elections did not come to me as a total surprise, I was still expecting the INEC Chairman to

stubbornly push on and try to force through the elections regardless. I still see disaster come Saturday. Unless weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on the ballot, the election wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be smooth anywhere. The God of Rivers state wants justice and He will get it. We have not even had so much as an explanation from INEC.â&#x20AC;?

Dr. Asukwo Archibong, presidential candidate of Nigeria for Democracy (NFD), linked the failure of INEC to the general incompetence of other government owned institutions. He said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The outrage is now muted. It has become self-pity and self-flagelation. Generally, Nigerians have become cynical about anything with our government. The failure of INEC is not a surprise. After all, NEPA failed, P&T failed, NIPOST failed, Nigeria Airways failed, our transport system has failed, Nigeria railway has failed, National Identity Card has failed, Operation Feed the Nation failed, our refineries have failed, our educational system has failed, our healthcare sector has failed, so why wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the date for the National Elections fail?

The elections were surreptitiously postponed at the last minute. The initial outrage has turned into wringing of hands, self-pity and self-flagelation. Our elites and politicians have failed us in terms of pushing for the best for Nigeria.

The painful aspect of the failure of election is the fact that the whole world had its eyes on Nigeria. The so called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;giant of Africa.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

Despite the uproar, the paramount question that is yet to be answered is if INEC would ever be fully ready for an election. With over four years and a budget of $522 million, it has failed Nigerians for a third time. And again, it is the masses that suffer the recklessness and insensitivity of the electoral umpire.

Excerpt of Address by Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN (Director, Election Monitoring and Planning) APC Presidential Campaign Council As a result of the common pain shared by us all, we, the Directorate of Election Planning/Monitoring, on behalf of Nigerians, demand greater openness and transparency in the Commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s preparations ahead of Saturday 23rd February. a. What steps have been taken with CBN to assess, take inventory of materials and brief the public about what their condition is? b. Has INEC confirmed to Nigerians the status of its plans to procure and provide materials for election and in particular let Nigerians know if all materials required are in country and if not what plans INEC has ensure they are?

c. What plans INEC has made to re-deploy and distribute materials ahead of Saturday 23rd? d. What specific problems did INEC encounter in the failed attempt of Saturday 16th and measures it has taken to overcome them? e. What transport logistics and further materials does INEC require in terms of vehicles, boats, trucks, airplanes, helicopters, manpower and funding INEC requires to execute the elections of February 23rd and March 9th? f. Do previously configured card readers for February 16th need to be re-configured for Saturday 23rd?

In addition to all of these, we believe that INEC should brief Nigeria daily on an ongoing basis until this process is concluded.

This is one way to elicit the buy-in of Nigerians that INEC is serious and this will replace disappointment with enthusiasm.

As President Buhari has urged that Nigerians should continue to rally round INEC at this trying national moment, INEC has the duty to now make its processes open, believable, confident and inspiring.

This is what Nigerians can and will rally round.

This is the road to free and fair elections which is a victory for Nigeria and not for any party.

Fashola

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I Still See Disaster on Saturdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Prince Tonye Princewill, Director of Strategic Communications for Tonye Cole governorship campaign in Rivers State thinks the postponement of the elections exposed Governor Nyesom Wike and the PDPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unholy alliance with INEC â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even though the postponement of the elections did not come to me as a total surprise, I was still expecting the INEC Chairman to stubbornly push on and try to force through the elections regardless. I still see disaster come Saturday. Unless weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on the ballot, the election wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be smooth anywhere. The God of Rivers state wants justice and He will get it.

We have not even had so much as an explanation from INEC.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The INEC Chairman was once a subordinate to Governor Nyesom Wike, when the Governor was supervising Minister of Education under Jonathan. As the former boss of a

major parastatal like TETFUND, he may have skeletons in his closet, that Wike can expose.

The electoral umpire is no longer immune to the Wike virus. We have two appeal court orders and one Supreme Court judgement in our favour. But if you listen to the Wike , you will think that we lost.

Concerning the postponed election, we thank God for exposing Wikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plans to use violence, technology and bribery to find his way. As it is now, even PDP wants to get rid of him, if only Tonye Coleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name and the names of our other candidates are on the ballot, Wike will lose

He knows this. Which is why he will do anything to prevent it. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an exercise in futility for him. We will overcome â&#x20AC;&#x153; I believe Mahmood Yakubu should apologise to Nigerians. Anticipation for the election was at fever pitch and so all eyes were on the INEC. Not apologizing after Nigerians had invested so much, time, money resources and energy is simply not good enough. I hope he does. It will go a long way to show his remorse and the remorse of his commission. My only worry is if things were as bad as they looked, then maybe he is saving all his apologies for later, so he can make them all at once.â&#x20AC;?

Princewill

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T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

FEATURES

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

Navyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sustained Fight Against Maritime Crimes Chiemelie Ezeobi, who takes a look at Nigerian Navyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operations in 2018, writes that the sustained fight against maritime crimes is yielding results despite daunting challenges

Platform acquired by the navy last year

W

ith a coastline of 420 nautical miles and and 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), translating to about 84,000square nautical miles, Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maritime area of interest includes the entire Gulf of Guinea (GoG), which is about 574,800 square meters and spans a total coastline of 2,874 nautical miles.

Despite the rich endowment of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maritime domain, its network of oil and gas installations and associated shipping are constantly threatened by maritime crimes such as piracy, sea robbery, crude oil theft, illegal oil bunkering, Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUUF), insurgency and hostage taking.

Given that Nigeria relies on the sea for about 90 per cent of its import and export with oil being a major part of the trade, the thorny issue of insecurity in its maritime domain is undeniably a major source of concern.

Therefore, for the Nigerian Navy (NN), the mandate to protect the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maritime domain is sacrosanct. In furtherance of this statutory mandate, it became necessary to adapt its operational concepts with the activation of new dedicated operations, in addition to routine operations, all aimed at ensuring a safe maritime domain for economic activities to thrive.

It is imperative to state that while significant gains were achieved in 2018 leading to increased output in maritime trade and particularly oil

production, those gains need to be sustained against the backdrop of an observed trend of threat migration, especially with regards to incessant illegal refining of crude oil.

Threat Assessment The navy at its first quarter assessment held at the naval headquarters had cause to review its threat assessment

With the arrest of 46 vessels and barges in 2018, it is envisaged that the Maritime Domain Awareness facilities would help to present a complete, clear, detailed and updated maritime situation of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maritime domain, and by extension the Gulf of Guinea when the whole proposed sites are completed

for last year. According to the Chief of Training and Operations (CTOPS), Rear Admiral Mackson Kadiri, who did the assessment, the reported incident of piracy on shipping in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maritime domain indicates that there has been a sustained downward trend in the number of successful attacks on shipping.

In particular, he said no attack on shipping was recorded in the nation's waters in June and August 2018 while one attack each was recorded in July, October and December 2018. The recorded cases of attacks on shipping have been mainly along the coasts of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States. These few cases of attacks on shipping he opined are indicative of the efforts of the NN. He further noted that it is also gratifying to report that there has been significant reduction in the cases of attack on OGI. The few attacks recorded took place in the swamp/ onshore areas, with none reported against OGI located offshore during the year in focus.

Scorecard The Nigerian Navy over the years has been focused on capacity development in order to improve maritime security in Nigerian waters, and the GoG. This, in order to combat the threats in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maritime domain, the NN adopted the Total Spectrum Maritime Strategy (TSMS) to guide its operational engagements.

This concept of operations is based on a proactive layered response to

five conflict spectrums characterised by distances to and from the coast.

The three operations commands of the NN are organised to carry out maritime security functions as required by the strategy. The NN fleet has an array of sea and air platforms which is regularly rejuvenated in order to achieve a balanced mix of capabilities to meet threats amongst other commitments in the GoG region.

Taking a look at the NN scorecard for 2018, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operational engagements were geared towards securing the internal, territorial and EEZ spectrums of the maritime domain and contributing to counter insurgency and counter terrorism efforts on land through several operations.

Operation Tsare Teku First was Operation TSARE TEKU, which was a dedicated naval operation with the mandate to combat attacks on shipping and other illegal activities in its designated area, as well as protect offshore oil and gas installations. As records indicate, from January to December 2018, a total of 34 pirate attacks on shipping were reported with nine successful and 25 unsuccessful.

Furthermore, a total of 20 sea robbery attacks were reported in 2018 with six successful and 14 unsuccessful.

Since the inception of the operation in April 2016, there has been drastic reduction in reported incidents of attack with even fewer successful attacks.

Additionally, a total of 46vessels and barges were arrested for involvement in maritime crimes during the period

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FEATURES

One of the platforms acquired by the navy last year

under review.

Given that the significant improvement in security of shipping in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maritime environment, the NN is in the process of rounding up Op TSARE TEKU V and plans are underway to flag off Op TSARE TEKU VI. Choke Point Management Secondly, the navy had emplaced the Choke Point Management and Control Regime since most of the attacks at sea originate from land. This involved the deployment of armed personnel in houseboats in strategic locations within the creeks supported by patrol boats. So far, nine houseboats otherwise known as Naval Security Stations (NSS) have been deployed where crude oil theft and illegal refining activities are known to be prevalent. More locations have been identified for deployment of NSSs in the year 2019.

Since the introduction of the Choke Point Control Regime, several arrests and destruction of barges and other vessels used for conveying stolen crude oil and illegally refined productshave been arrested. For instance, a total of 31 large wooden boats were arrested for involvement in illegalities in 2018 while 176 large wooden boats were destroyed within the same period.

Speaking further, Kadiri said the third measures they sustained in 2018 was the Operation RIVER SWEEP, which was activated in early January 2017 given the noticeable increasing activities of illegal refiners, particularly in Delta and Rivers States.

The operation involved air surveillance, insertion of Special Forces by gunboats, pulling down of located illegal refining sites with the use of swamp buggies as well as arrest/ destruction of boats and barges found in such locations. For instance in 2018 alone, a total of 637 illegal refining sites were destroyed by the operation.

Furthermore, a total of 104 speed boats and 340 suspects were arrested for involvement in Crude Oil Theft (COT) /illegal bunkering or smuggling. Kadiri disclosed that the quantity of crude

oil lost as a result of illegal oil refining activities in 2018 is about277,040 barrels, while about 23.1 million litres of AGO, 212,610litres of PMS and 1.2 million litres of DPK were also lost.

Maritime Domain Awareness Fourthly, the navy through its Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) centres carried out round the clock surveillance of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maritime space using the Regional and Maritime Awareness Capability (RMAC) and Falcon Eye facilities in addition to the use of vessels and helicopters.

Already, the navy has 24 MDA Centres located across the Nigerian coastline.

These centres ensure effective surveillance of all vessels in our territorial waters whether fitted with Automatic Identification System (AIS) or not.

The navy emplaced the Choke Point Management and Control Regime since most of the attacks at sea originate from land. This involved the deployment of armed personnel in houseboats in strategic locations within the creeks supported by patrol boats

Due to their availability, NN patrols are now more mission oriented with attendant reduction in operational logistic costs. Using the NN MDA facilities, prompt reporting of attacks of vessels at sea led to foiling of several piracy incidents. With the arrest of 46 vessels and barges in 2018, it is envisaged that the MDA facilities would help to present a complete, clear, detailed and updated maritime situation of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maritime domain and by extension the Gulf of Guinea when the whole proposed sites are completed. This will assist in vectoring NN ships to accurate locations of targets of interest with economy of effort, surprise and cost effectiveness.

Furthermore, the navy had an enhanced response capability last year. This was made possible through the acquisition of more platforms.

Noteworthy is the additional six OCEA Class patrol vessels namely Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) NGURU, SHIRORO, EKULU, OSE, GONGOLA and CALABAR as well as the induction of several riverine patrol boats as at December 2018 for seaward and riverine operations.

Collaborations Finally, on the issue of collaborations with other maritime nations and stakeholders, Kadiri said the NN recognises the centrality of collaboration with other maritime nations and international maritime agencies to successful maritime security operations.

Accordingly, he said they hold regular international conferences and sea exercises with navies of other nations and major maritime stakeholders for the purpose of capacity building, intelligence and information sharing.

These consultations he said have deepened stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; understanding of emerging security situations and the need to enhance collaboration.

For instance, he disclosed that the NN successfully hosted International Maritime Conference and Regional Maritime Exercise in May/June 2018.

Participation in Exercise Obangame

Express and other regional exercises in 2018 he added, were all aimed at fostering international and regional cooperation and synergy of efforts in tackling the myriad of challenges in Nigerian maritime environment.

Additional Needs Notwithstanding these acquisitions, there is however need to increase NNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operational capability by acquiring more vessels in order to enable it respond more effectively to contemporary and future threats. It is however essential to note that in spite of the federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intervention in support of the various NN operational engagements across the country, the service would still require enhanced resource allocation to sustain a balanced force capable of discharging its roles effectively.

Consequently, there is also need for the government to do much more in terms of funding in view of the various ship rehabilitation/repair programmes, all geared towards operational availability of capital ships to enable the service meet its statutory responsibilities. Also, the NN would need more Offshore Patrol Vessels, helicopters and predator drones as an immediate intervention.

Just as the scorecard highlighted the threats to legitimate activities in the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maritime environment as well as the efforts of the NN in combating them, it is imperative to note the nexus between the successes and the availability of adequate resources, including international and regional collaboration.

Again, there is still need to address other outstanding issues and capability gaps affecting NN operations like need for NNPC to impress on oil companies to emplace more effective surveillance/monitoring mechanisms on their crude oil pipeline networks is also necessary. Going forward, the navy should remains committed and resolute in ensuring safer waterways and sea lanes for Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy to thrive.

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Photo Editor Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039; Email Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ë&#x203A;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;ĚśĂ&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă?Ë&#x203A;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (left), with the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo during the APC Door To Door campaign in Epe, Lagos...recently

L-R: Director, FSS2020, Mr. MD Sulaiman; Registrar/CEO, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN),Mr. Seye Awojobi; President/Chairman of Council, CIBN, Dr. Uche Olowu; Executive Director, Diamond Bank Plc, Mr. Benedict Ndubuisi; and Head, Market Surveillance, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Abimbola Babalola, during the annual bankers dinner of CIBN held in Lagos recently

L-R: President Fs Club, Arc David Majekodunmi; Senator Reprisenting Lagos East Senatorial District and Past President of Fs Club, Senator Gbenga Ashafa; Lagos State APC Governorship Candidate, Mr Babajide Sanwoolu; Former Lagos State Deputy Governor and Past President of Fs Club, Otunba Femi Pedro; Lagos State APC Deputy Governorshp Candidate, Dr Femi Hamzat, and Vice President of Fs Club, Ashiwaju Temitope, during a courtesy visit by Lagos State APC Governorship Candidate to Friends Club Jibowu, in Lagos recently

Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara (middle) ďŹ&#x201A;anked by Hon. Ahmed Yerima (right) and PDP Chairman, Misua LGA, Bauchi, Hon. Babangida Bangaranti at a campaign rally of Hon. Yerima in Misua, Bauchi state...recently

R-L: Consultant Girls Coding School, Mr. Desmond Kajetan; All Progressives Congress Gubernatorial Candidate for Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; his running mate, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and Founder/CEO, Girls Coding School, Mrs. Abisoye Akinfolarin during a visit to the Coding school by Sanwo-Olu in Alagomeji yaba, Lagos... recently

L-R: Executive Director, General Insurance, Leadway Assurance, Ms. Adetola Adegbayi; Human Resources Director, Leadway Assurance, Mrs. Kunbi Adeoti; Divisional Police OďŹ&#x192;ce, Iponri Police Station, Mr. Ibrahim Fasesan and Executive Secretary, Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Dr. Abdurrazaq Balogun at the oďŹ&#x192;cial handover of the new police vehicle donated to the Iponri Police Division of the Nigerian Police Force by Leadway Assurance in partnership with LSSTF in Lagos...recently

L-R: Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Folorunsho Adewole, and MD/CEO, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Baker Magunda, during the courtesy visit of the Honourable Minister of Health to Guinness Nigeria Plc. in Lagos... recently

L-R: Running mate to Oyo State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Hon. Samuel Egunjobi; governorship candidate, Chief Adebayo Adelabu; Oyo South Senatorial District candidate of the party, Governor Abiola Ajimobi; and a former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, during the APC campaign rally in Igboho, Oke Ogun zone of the state..recently

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BUSINESSWORLD

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

ͯ ͳ Ͱ ͎ ͯ ͡ MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

REPO 17.50 % 15.83%

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

17.50% 15.88 % 16.08%

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

S & P INDEX 1/4 TO DATE

372.31% - 0.07% 2.09%

YEAR TO DATE

4.30% 4.30%

EXCHANGE RATE N306.75/1US DOLLAR* ĚŠ

Quick Takes SFH Appoints New Managing Director

DISCUSSING CLIMATE FINANCE

Lâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;R: Executive Director, African Incentive Partnership, Tunde Arogunmati; Minister of Environment, Suleiman Hassan Zarma; Deputy British High Commissioner, Lagos, Laure Beaufils; former Chairman of Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr Kyari Bukar, and Head, Shared Services Division, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Bola Adeeko, during the plenary of the Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) workshop hosted by the NSE in Lagosâ&#x20AC;Śrecently

Operators Record 2.5% Growth in Marine, Aviation Insurance Ebere Nwoji The insurance industry in the past 10 years (2008-2017), recorded cumulative annual growth rate of 2.5 per cent in marine and aviation insurance.

Marine and aviation insurance, after oil and gas, are among the technical line of businesses handled by the industry.

Available statistics from the Nigeria Insurers Association(NIA) revealed that the sector recorded the highest premium growth in the above two classes of business in 2011, when it posted a total of N23.41 billion. This, was closely followed by the 2017, when it achieved N22.102 billion and 2012, when it posted N20.97 billion. In 2014, the sector achieved N20.715 billion from marine and aviation insurance underwriting,

INSURANCE while in 2010, underwriters in the two classes of business raked in N20.097 billion premium.

However, the sector recorded the least premium in marine and aviation insurance in 2009, when it made only N16.728 billion, followed by 2008, when it polled N17.231 billion.

But in 2013, the figure rose to N18.686 billion, while in 2015, it rose again to N19.528 billion and in 2016 it was N19.596 billion.

In terms of reinsurance transaction on marine and aviation insurance, the NIA data showed that between 2013 and 2017, the sector ceded N44,035,578 to foreign reinsurers and N1,771,024 to local reinsurers.

According to the report contained in the latest edition

of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Digest, the ration of gross premium generated by the sector in the above two classes of business to reinsurance paid to local reinsurers in the period 2013 to 2017 were 0.02 per cent in 2013, 0.02 per cent in 2014, 0.03 per cent in 2015, 0.01 per cent in 2016, 0.01 per cent in 2016 and 0.02 per cent in 2017.

The share of reinsurance ceded to foreign reinsurers to gross premium income was 0.35 per cent in 2013,0.37 per cent in 2014, 0.46 in 2016, 0.45 in 2016 and 0.54 in 2017.

Also, marine and aviation insurance were among classes of insurance business through which the insurance sector lost substantial part of their premium.

In marine, the sector lost premium through the activities of

fake certificate sellers while the sector shed premium in aviation through preference of foreign insurers as aviation industry operators complained about high rate charged by Nigerians.

To stop the activities of fake marine insurers, the NIA had planned to extend the insurance industry database system to marine offices.

The NIA Chairman, Mr Tope Smart, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have launched the motor aspect of the USSD and we are going to extend it to the marine sector. However, we will try and eliminate all hiccups in the implementation of the USSD in the motor insurance sector before going into the marine sector.â&#x20AC;?

Smart recalled that in 2010, Continued on page 24

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Executive Order 7 Will Reduce Budget Padding, Political Patronageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; The Executive Order 7 known as the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Companies Income Tax (Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme) Order, 2019,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; that was recently signed into law will prevent budget padding, reduce contract inflation, cut down political patronage and rent-seeking.

The Head of Tax and Corporate Advisory Services at PwC Nigeria, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, stated this in a report obtained

by THISDAY at the weekend.

According to the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Nigeria has about 195,000 km of road network out of which about 32,000 km are federal roads and 31,000 km are state roads. In total, only about 60,000 km are paved leaving 135,000 km of road untarred. A large proportion of the paved roads

TRANSPORT are in bad conditions due to poor maintenance.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in January 2019, signed a 10-page Executive Order No. 007 known as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Companies Income Tax (Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme) Order, 2019,â&#x20AC;? which is described as a PublicPrivate Partnership intervention to enable government leverage private sector funding in a manner that creates value for money through private sector discipline.

The Order is accompanied by an 11-page Regulation made up of First Schedule on the Administration and Operation of the Scheme while the Second

Schedule contains a sample MoU for eligible road projects.

The Scheme would be in force for a period of 10 years from date of commencement of the Order. A management committee would be set up to implement and administer the scheme. Participants and beneficiaries must be registered by the Committee which shall have discretion over costs that may be allowed as part of the Project Cost.

In addition, there shall be an MoU and contract documents between participants and the Minister of Finance as Chairman of the Committee. Completion of each road project shall be between 12 to 48 months.

But Oyedele noted that with the impending new minimum wage bound to put more pressure on funding available for

capital spending, the initiative was a good idea.

According to him, the scheme would be a win-win situation for government to partner with the private sector.

He pointed out that if diligently implemented it can bring huge benefits to all stakeholders. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It should prevent budget padding, reduce contract inflation, cut down political patronage and rent-seeking, ensure timely project completion, reduce abandonment of projects and address sub-standard quality of work. It should however be worthwhile for the private sector and not be at excessive cost to the government. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As currently drafted it does not appear attractive except if borrowing cost is eligible as part Continued on page 24

The Society for Family Health (SFH) has appointed Dr. Omokhudu Idogho as its Managing Director. The appointment which took eďŹ&#x20AC;ect on 1 January, meant that Idogho took over from Bright Ekweremadu who retired as Managing Director on 31, December 2018, after 14 years of service. According to a statement, before his appointment, Idogho was the Head of SFH Innovation Hub which was focused on developing a sustainable community health ďŹ nancing ecosystem and social business model that brings the emerging Nigeria middle class and poor together in the quest for shared health and prosperity.

It noted that Idogho also served as the Programme Director for DFIDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Enhancing Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Response to HIVand AIDS (ENR) Programme, one of the largest single country HIV programmes in the world. Before joining SFH, Omokhudu worked with ActionAid International in South Africa as the Global HIVand AIDS Programme Coordinator overseeing ActionAidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The statement added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;He also worked as a Policy Advisor with ActionAid Alliance in Belgium focused on shaping policy making in European Union institutions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;His other positions included Health Advisor with WaterAid Nigeria in Benue State, and as a Medical OďŹ&#x192;cer of Health at Izzi Local Government in present day Ebonyi State. Omokhudu trained as a Doctor at the University of Benin and has postgraduate qualiďŹ cations in public policy and public health.â&#x20AC;?

SONA Group Inaugurates Plant

The Sona Group of Industries has inaugurated eďŹ&#x201E;uent treatment plants in Sango -Ota, Ogun State.The treatment plants were inaugurated in four of subsidiary units of Sona Group, namely: Euro Global Foods and Distilleries Limited, Sona Agro Allied Foods Limited, Food, Agro and Allied Industries Limited and Shongai Packaging Industries Limited were also inaugurated.The treatment plants are expected to treat the wastewater produced by the industries, which are undesirable by- products before release into the environment. Speaking during the inauguration, the Commissioner for Environment, Ogun state, Bolaji Oyeleye, commended the eďŹ&#x20AC;orts and investment of the group and promised that the state government would create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we started up with them, we noticed they could do better and we started engaging with them. The result is what we are witnessing today.

We want to implore them to put up this plant in any of their factories where they do not have it,â&#x20AC;? he said. The Chairman, SONA Group, Arjan Mirchandani, expressed the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to boost local food production in the country, noting that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the commitment, by the company was the surest way to save Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foreign exchange spent on food products the country had competitive and comparative advantage of producing locally.â&#x20AC;? According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigeria has over 50 per cent arable land that is underutilised,â&#x20AC;? pointing out that the country has no business being poor if the land was put to eďŹ&#x20AC;ective use. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weareheretocultivatemoreagriculturalproducewhilealsoproducing cheap and aďŹ&#x20AC;ordable food so that everybody can get something to eat.

IFAD Urged to End Poverty

Pope Francis has highlighted the importance of rural development and the essential role played by the United Nationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in achieving the ďŹ rst two Sustainable Development Goals â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ending global hunger and poverty. â&#x20AC;&#x153;None of this will be possible without achieving rural development, a development that has been talked about for a long time but has not fully materialized,â&#x20AC;? the Pope said while addressing Member States gathered at IFADâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 42nd Governing Council in Rome recently.

IFAD President Gilbert F. Houngbo, in his address, echoed the Popeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s message. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The rates of extreme poverty and food insecurity remain persistently high. The progress we once claimed in reducing hunger has stalled.Today, nearly 821 million people suďŹ&#x20AC;er chronic under-nourishment, 37 million more than in 2014,â&#x20AC;? said Houngbo.

Given this reality, Houngbo urged those present to invest more in rural development in order to prevent future crises of hunger, poverty and migration. The Pope said the world had achieved great scientiďŹ c and technical advances and now has the capacity to win â&#x20AC;&#x153;the battle against hunger and misery, if it is taken seriously.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Normally, if you have a project, you ought to be reviewing it every day.

So, the fact that they (INEC) knew and announced the postponement five hours to the election, shows total lack of preparedness and it is disappointingâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;?

CEO, Financial Derivatives Company Limited

Bismarck Rewane

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BUSINESSWORLD OPERATORS RECORD 2.5% GROWTH IN MARINE, AVIATION INSURANCE

the association took a major step towards eliminating fake insurance certificates in the market through the inception of the NIID. He explained that the database went live in 2011 and insurance policies obtained by motorists could be checked online on the Internet and through dedicated hand-held devices.

The objectives of the NIID, according to him, were to serve as an authentic database of the Nigerian insurance industry data providing qualitative statistics/ analysis of the industry data, as a vehicle for easy verification of genuine insurance certificates by all stakeholders; and to reduce incidences of fraudulent insurance transactions especially for motor and marine policies. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;EXECUTIVE ORDER 7 WILL REDUCE BUDGET PADDING, POLITICAL PATRONAGEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

of project costs. As an incentive, eligible roads could be named after the relevant company. To ensure the efficiency of the private sector, the scheme should be designed to limit discretion by the Committee and avoid conflict of interest by its members. In addition, there should be an independent audit and not just by ministries as contained in the Order. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There could be a legal challenge as granting a waiver or exemption under CITA as provided for under S23 is not the same as granting of credit for road projects. Government should consider a Plan B in case the scheme is successfully challenged. Another concern is continuity in the event of a change in government before expiration of the Scheme.

Hopefully as the Scheme idea predates the current government it would be sustained into subsequent regimes. â&#x20AC;&#x153; The scheme also states that participants shall be entitled to tax credits for the project cost incurred including a single uplift equivalent at the prevailing CBN monetary policy rate plus two per cent.

The uplift shall not constitute taxable income in the hands of a participant or beneficiary.

Costs incurred on roads under the scheme are not eligible for any other allowances or tax relief.

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Abuja Disco Acquires â&#x201A;Ź2.4m Solution to Combat Power Theft, Others Chineme Okafor in Abuja Following challenges of electricity theft and associated loss of revenue, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (Disco) has acquired and installed an Integrated Commercial Management System (InCMS) worth â&#x201A;Ź2.4 million to check repeated theft of electricity by consumers within its network coverage.

Besides reducing losses to electricity theft, the automated system according to the Disco was equally expected to improve the service experience of its consumers.

It was recently unveiled by the Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Prof. James Momoh, at a ceremony in Abuja.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Managing Director of Abuja Disco, Mr. Ernest Mupwaya, explained that with the new system, the Disco can now check instances of power theft by remote monitoring of various electricity consumption related activities of customers across its network.

Mupwaya, equally stated that the system would ensure that complaints lodged by customers are swiftly resolved, to amongst other objectives improve their service experience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The cost of this is roughly two million euros, but I think even if it sounds expensive, the value which will be derived from it is much more than that.

AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Jonathan Eze

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Linda Eroke (Labour) Eromosele Abiodun (Cap Mkt) Ejiofor Alike (Energy) James Emejo (Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Capital) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (Maritime)

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is an intelligent system, which you can use to do energy balance. You would have known at a transformer level how much energy came out and how much was sold to the customers and where the gap is coming from,â&#x20AC;?

Mupwaya said.

According to him: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It will provide visibility in all customer activities that we can enforce compliance in terms of meeting targets, the quality of work and that the processes are respected. For customers, it will help to ensure that their

complaints are resolved in a shorter time.â&#x20AC;?

While delivering his remarks at the commissioning of the system, Momoh, said the NERC was looking forward to having other Discos adopt and procure such automated processes in their service delivery to electricity users in their networks.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We as regulators are happy to see that one of us is already leading the pack and I am sure that the other 10 Discos will join to make sure an automated system is

available. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It will able to provide information in terms of metering problems, excess charges and provide solutions to why there is no power so they can provide quick fixes.â&#x20AC;?

Momoh, also said the system would improve the quality of service in terms of the energy use as well as reduce losses incurred by the Discos in their businesses, adding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe it will also provide for us the opportunity of efficient energy usage.â&#x20AC;?

Also, Mupwayaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Strategic

and Technical Advisor, Dr. George Nguni, in a presentation about the system said the system had been in use by the Disco since December 2018 on a pilot phase. He added that it was however deployed to the entire franchise area of the Disco comprising Kogi, Abuja, Nasarawa and Niger state in the first week of February 2019.

He noted that 47 staff of the Disco were trained on the use of the system, adding that they were training other staff across the business units on its use.

SUPPORT FOR AGRICULTURE

L-R: Group Head, Agric Finance, Heritage Bank, Gbenga Awe; Executive Director, Infrastructure Business Unit, Inlaks,Tope Dare; Founder/ CEO, Cash Your Passion, Africa, Lynda Omerekpe; President, Unique Women in Agriculture Cluster Initiative, Bridget Okonofua and Founder/ CEO, SoFresh NG, Olagoke Balogun, during the Agro Money Conference in Lagos ... recently

NIMET Raises the Alarm over Dusty Haze Chinedu Eze The Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) has raised the alarm that despite the end of harmattan season, which had slightly improved visibility in the northern parts of the country, another kind of dusty haze now appears on the atmosphere.

The new dusty haze, NIMET noted, lowers visibility and therefore could impair flight operations.

Therefore, NIMET in a statement at the weekend,

warned of another dust plume observed over the southern Chad and Niger Republic. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is expected to propagate into the country in the next few hours. A further deterioration of the horizontal visibilities to values below 1 - 2km over the northern parts of the country with possibilities of visibility less than 1000m (1km) especially over the north-eastern cities is expected. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The horizontal visibility

over the central states in dust haze condition is still poor with visibility ranging from 1km â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5km. Some cities over these regions are still expected to have visibility less than 1000m (1Km). â&#x20AC;&#x153;No significant change is expected in coming days over the region,â&#x20AC;? NIMET said.

It explained that over the south, the visibility ranged between 3000m to 5000m in hazy condition, adding that poorer visibility was reported over the coast

and places close to water bodies, especially in the early morning due to fog and noted that no significant change is expected in coming days over the region. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Road users are still advised to exercise caution and avoid over speeding especially during early morning period when horizontal visibility is impaired by fog, mist or dust haze. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Flight disruptions are also likely during this period especially over the north-eastern airports.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dust particles are well known for their potential to cause respiratory and cardiovascular health problems. These can also irritate eyes, throat and skin.

People allergic to dust are advised to take necessary precautions and seek medical advice if experiencing increased symptoms,â&#x20AC;? the agency added.

It pledged to continue to continue to monitor the weather and keep the public updated by providing reliable daily weather forecast.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Abuja TechnologyVillage Will Boost National Developmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

NEWS

South Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. In-tae Lee, has described as impressive, the federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Abuja Smart City Master plan, designed by the Ministry of Communications to develop Abuja Technology Village.

Lee, stated this recently in Abuja, when he led a team of South Korean communications experts on a courtesy visit to the Minister of Communications, Dr. Adebayo Shittu, in his office. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was so impressed when I

got acquainted with the Abuja Technology Village. It makes me appreciate the minister for developing Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture through ICT Technology,â&#x20AC;?

Lee said.

The purpose of the visit, according to the Ambassador, was to introduce the new Director for Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Woo Chan Chang, following the tenure expiration of his predecessor, Sook Hyun, after three years of successful service in Nigeria.

In a farewell message to

the federal government, the outgoing KOICA Director, Sook Hyun, expressed deep appreciation to the Ministry of Communications for creating an enabling environment which made her work very successful in Nigeria.

Similarly, the incoming KOICA Director, Woo Chan Chang, pledged to build on the solid foundation already laid by his predecessor, to ensure his agency partners with the federal government to advance the cause of e-government in Nigeria.

In his address at the

meeting, the minister said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the ICT Sector, there is no country that beats South Korea in terms of commitments to extend the hands of fellowship towards developing Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nobody has made the huge donations your country has made and is still making in this sector; it has not only established a physical academy here but has tremendously trained a significant number of civil servants in Korea.â&#x20AC;?

Adebayo stated.

According to him, a

partnership with the Korean government has yielded great fortunes with landmark achievements of stakeholders to build a well-equipped edifice aimed for training more civil servants in ICT with the approval of the federal government.

Adebayo, wished the embassy more successes, as they continue to strive harder for the growth of the country as well as in their collaborative quest to develop less developed partner countries.

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BUSINESSWORLD

MARKET REPORT

Equities Market Gains Further on Sustained Bullish Trading Goddy Egene

formance. The most active stocks by volume were Diamond Bank (97.6 million shares), Transcorp (41.1 million shares) and Zenith Bank (40.3 million shares) while Zenith Bank (N997.1 million), GTBank (N992.6 million) and Access Bank (N263.7 million) led in terms of value.

In terms of sectoral performance, three out of five sectors tracked advanced. The NSE Insurance Index led with 1.2 per cent. It was followed by the NSE Industrial Index and NSE Consumer Goods Index with 0.7 per cent and 0.3 per cent in that order.

On the contrarily, the NSE Oil & Gas Index and NSE Banking Index shed 0.8 per cent and 0.5 per cent in that order. The positive performance was sustained on Friday, leading to a weekly appreciation of 4.6 per cent.

The Nigerian stock market sustained its positive performance last week as foreign and domestic investors as investors played down election risk. Having appreciated 2.9 per cent the previous week, the market rose further last week, returning 3.7 per cent.

Specifically, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated to 32,715.20, while market capitalisation added N442 billion to close at N12.2 trillion.

Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the NSE Oil & Gas Index leading with 5.9 per cent. It was followed by the NSE Consumer Goods Index with 5.4 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index added 1.6 per cent, while the NSE Insurance Index gained 1.5 per cent.

Commenting on the market performance, analysts at Cordros Capital said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We anticipate a peaceful election this weekend exercise, together with the still supportive macroeconomic picture, we guide investors to cherry pick fundamentally sound stocks in a bid to ride the wave of the market rally, post-polls.â&#x20AC;?

Daily Market Performance The market rallied four days out of the five days of the week. It had opened the week on a positive note with 0.8 per cent gains on the back of price appreciation in Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and Unilever Nigeria Plc. The market rose further on Tuesday, gaining 2.1 per cent. It was a highly bullish trading day as 38 stocks appreciated compared with 14 that depreciated.

Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Livestock Feeds Plc, NPF Microfinance Bank Plc and Jaiz Bank Plc led the price gainers with 10 per cent apiece. They were followed by Champion Breweries Plc with 9.8 per cent, while Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and Wema Bank Plc garnered 9.6 per cent and 9.2 per cent respectively.

Other top price gainers included: Transcorp Plc (8.9 per cent); Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc (8.7 per cent); Royal Exchange Plc (7.6 per cent); Union Diagnostics and Clinical Services Plc (7.4 per cent); Oando Plc (7.2 per cent); Seplat (6.1 per cent), Nestle Nigeria Plc and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (6.0 per cent apiece.

Conversely, Regency Alliance Insurance Plc led the price losers with 8.0 per cent, trailed by UAC Property Development Company Plc with 7.8 per cent, while Unity Bank Plc and AIICO Insurance Plc shed 5.9 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively.

Activity level also improved as volume and value traded for the day increased by 5.5 per cent and 42.2 per cent to 580.4 million units and N8 billion respectively. The most traded stocks by volume were Diamond Bank (125.8 million shares), Zenith Bank (63.2 million shares) and Guaranty Trust Bank (57.1 million share) while for the most traded stocks by value, GTBank (N2.2 billion), Zenith Bank (N1.6 billion) and Dangote Cement (N1.5 billion) were the top stocks.

However, the market fell on Wednesday as investors locked in profits recorded in recent days of bullish trading In all, 22 stocks shed value led by C & I Leasing Plc with 9.9 per cent, trailed by Champion Breweries Plc with 9.5 per cent.

United Capital Plc depreciated by 9.0 per cent, just as Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc went down by 7.1 per cent. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc lost 6.6 per cent.

On the positive side, Berger Paints Nigeria Plc and Unilever Nigeria Plc led the price gainers with 10 per

cent apiece. Unity Bank Plc trailed with 9.4 per cent, just as Livestock Feeds Plc and Jaiz Bank Plc chalked up 9.0 per cent each.

Activity level also weakened as volume and value traded decreased by 18.95 per cent and 47.2 per cent as investors traded 470.4 million shares worth 4.24 billion. The top traded stocks by volume were Diamond Bank(131 million shares), Zenith Bank(44.08 million shares) and UBA (40.61 million shares) while the top

traded stocks by value were Zenith Bank Plc (N1.09 billion), and Dangote Cement Plc (N653.67 million) and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (N522.75 million). The market rebounded on Thursday, rising 0.12 per cent to close at 32,453.69. Market capitalisation added N14.0 billion to close at N12.1 trillion.

Associated Bus Company Plc and Livestock Feeds Plc led the price gainers with 10 per cent apiece. Unity Bank Plc trailed with 9.6 per cent,

just as Unilever Nigeria Plc. Wema Bank Plc went up by 6.7 per cent, while PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc chalked up 5.4 per cent.

Conversely, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc led the price losers with 8.3 per cent, trailed by Oando Plc with 5.1 per cent. Dangote Flour Mills Plc shed 4.5 per cent and Union Diagnostic went down by 3.2 per cent among others.

In all, investors traded 422.7 million shares worth N3.7 billion, which is lower than the previous dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s per-

Market Turnover Meanwhile, investors traded 2.834 billion shares worth N28.138 billion in 28,739 deals last week, up from 1.894 billion shares valued at N26.884 billion that exchanged hands two weeks ago in 19,213 deals.

However, the Financial Services Industry led the activity chart with 2.261 billion shares valued at N20.117 billion traded in 17,838 deals, thus contributing 79.7 per cent and 71.4 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Conglomerates Industry followed with 292.191 million shares worth N525.329 million in 1,948 deals, while the third place was occupied by the Consumer Goods with a turnover of 116.843 million shares worth N2.525 million in 4,114 deals.

Trading in the top three equities namely, Diamond Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc accounted for 1.116 billion shares worth N3.707 billion in 4,179 deals.

Also traded during the week were a total of 1.271 million units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N9.782 million executed in seven deals compared with a total of 6,590 units valued at N55,711.29 that was transacted the previous week in two deals. A total of 1,460 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N1.472 million were traded last week in nine deals compared with a total of 2,668 units valued at N2.886 million transacted two weeks ago in 14 deals.

Price Gainers and Losers In terms of price movement for the week, 60 equities appreciated higher than 53 in the previous week, while 21 equities depreciated in price, the same number of price losers the previous week.

Wema Bank Plc led the price gainers with 45 per cent, trailed

by Livestock Feeds Plc with 44 per cent. Dangote Flour Mills Plc chalked up 33.5 per cent, just as Transcorp Plc garnered 28.5 per cent. Royal Exchange Plc and Oando Plc ended the week 26.9 per cent and 20 per cent higher respectively.

Other top price gainers included: Unilever Nigeria Plc, Unity Bank Plc (17.5 per cent apiece); Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc (17.3 per cent) and Jaiz Bank Plc (15.0 per cent).

Conversely, C & I Leasing Plc led the price losers with 18.9 per cent, followed by MRS Oil Nigeria Plc with 9.9 per cent. Academy Press Plc shed 9.7 per cent, just as Medview Airline Plc went down by 8.1 per cent. UAC of Nigeria Plc lost 7.4 per cent, while Total Nigeria Plc and UACN Property Development Plc shed 6.6 per cent respectively.

Other top price losers included: First Aluminium Nigeria Plc (6.4 per cent); Sterling Bank Plc (6.0 per cent) and Forte Oil Plc (5.7 per cent).

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Axxela Gets Positive Rating Peter Uzoho Axxela Limited, sub-Saharan Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power company has been assigned national scale issuer ratings of BBB+ (NG) and A2 (NG) in the long term and short term respectively by Global Credit Ratings (GCR).

The company was also accorded stable outlook even as the ratings is valid till September 2019.

The ratings are integral to Axxelaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategic diversification plans of gas supply and trading, and the build out of power and virtual pipeline infrastructure.

According to a statement, the initiative further signifies the solid commitment from financial institutions to support the sustained growth and development of the Nigerian gas and power sector.

The gas firm achieved the credit ratings based on certain considerations including its leading position in the Nigerian natural gas distribution market, with the largest gas distribution capacity; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position which is strengthened by strategic partnerships, long term distribution arrangements, and strong relationship with technical partnership; and embarking on several gas infrastructure developments which are expected to be delivered in the short-medium term.

Commenting on the rating, the Chief Executive Officer, Axxela

Limited, Bolaji Osunsanya, was quoted to have said in the statement that: â&#x20AC;&#x153;As we implement a dynamic and focused strategy of developing high yield portfolio investments across the gas and power value chain, we are pleased with our favourable initial rating which will bolster investor confidence in our day-to-day operations and mid-long term strategy.â&#x20AC;?

Osunsanya added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;With an upturn in gas exports, and industries requiring a cleaner, cost-efficient, and environmentally-friendly energy source, natural gas is now at the fore of global energy conversations. We now look forward to delivering on our commitments, and celebrating the successes of 2019.â&#x20AC;?

Axxela is a Helios Investment Partners LLP portfolio company, and a designated natural gas shipper on the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP). It is also the pioneering private sector-led developer of natural gas distribution in Nigeria, delivering at peak, 80 million standard cubic feet (scf) per day to over 160 industrial and commercial customers via a vast network of gas infrastructure.

With over 280km in gas pipeline infrastructure built, Axxela provides unique energy solutions primarily through its subsidiaries: Gaslink Nigeria Limited, Gas Network Services Limited,

Jumia, Konga Plan IPOs to Boost e-Commerce Emma Okonji The two major players in the Nigerian e-commerce space - Jumia and Konga - are considering listing their respective shares on the international market.

Jumia had earlier announced its planned $1.5 billion initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange this year, which would reportedly see the business valued at $1.5 billion, even as MTN Group, Jumiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest shareholder is looking to raise up to $600million from the sale of its shares during the IPO. In May 2018, Jumia was said to be planning an IPO in Frankfurt or London as its mother investment company, Rocket internet was seeking an exit, a report that was neither denied or confirmed.

Konga recently announced plan for a major listing on either the London Stock Exchange or New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) by the last quarter of 2020. Konga it was gathered, was considering an IPO that would shore up the potential of the e-Commerce industry in Nigeria.

Mark Jessey, a prominent stock analyst on NYSE had hinted of the strong possibility of a Konga IPO before the end of next year, a move which, according to him, would be welcomed by investors.

When contacted on the likely listing of Konga, Chris Uwaje, a tech enthusiast and Africa Chair for IEEE World Internet of Things (WIoT), noted that the company has added huge value to the e-commerce landscape which should see its value gross over $3.5 billion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Within the last seven months, I am aware that the new owners

of Konga have repositioned the company strategically and upped the overall value of the business. Konga could claim to be unarguably the most structured e-Commerce company in Africa, with huge infrastructure and technology back-bone which is rare in Africa and which is the strength of global players such as Amazon and Alibaba. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In valuing Konga, you must consider its strategic 360 degrees Omni-channel strategy, their Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed mini bank - KongaPay which I am sure cannot be valued anything less than $750 million and best in Africa digital logistics division known as Kxpress with a nationwide network. I know Konga is likely the only company that does about 90 per cent of her long haul and last mile deliveries in the continent. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s investment climate, investors are investing strategically in quality companies that are owned by experienced and well tested local Entrepreneurs with global vision and I am sure you know Konga has all these qualities under one roof in addition to over thirty physical retail stores spread all over Nigeria and which also act as delivery, collection and payment centres, so they could ask for more than $5 billion for their sweat,â&#x20AC;? Uwaje said.

Commenting further, Uwaje stated: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have also seen the huge investment in massive warehouses across major cities such as Abuja, Enugu, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers State, Imo, Kano, Delta, just to mention a few, in addition to more than three mega structures in Lagos.

FG Pledges to Develop, Implement Water Policies, Projects Udora Orizu in Abuja The Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, has reaffirmed the federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment towards the development and implementation of policies and projects capable of enabling sustainable access to safe and sufficient water to meet the social, cultural, environmental and economic development needs of all Nigerians.

In an interactive session with journalists in Abuja recently, the minister stated that from 2015 to date, the federal government had initiated some laudable projects and programmes to better the lives of all Nigerians in the water sector.

The minister stated that over

the years, the performance of the River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) had not been desirable largely due to policy and institutional inadequacies.

According to him, with the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari administration, the RBDAs had been repositioned to perform optimally as effective vehicles for integrated rural development, as originally envisioned.

He stated that the federal government recently declared a state of emergency in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector, adding that tthe goal of the declaration was to strengthen federal-state Partnership towards ensuring that all Nigerians have access to sustainable and safely-

managed WASH services by 2030 in compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets for water (Goal 6.1) and sanitation (Goal 6.2).

He added that the federal government through the ministry had in 2016 initiated a national programme tagged, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PERWASH) as a national collaborative instrument to mobilise resources and harness the efforts of governments at all levels, development partners, private sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), philanthropists and communities towards the same objectives and targets of achieving zero per cent open defecation and

100 per cent access to water supply and sanitation by 2030 in accordance with the SDGs. He also said the wife of the President had graciously accepted to act as the champion to the PEWASH and to mobilise the wives of state governors towards eradicating open defecation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The government is vigorously implementing programmes for Nigeria to attain open defecation-free status by 2025, well ahead of the SDGs target of 2030,â&#x20AC;? he said, adding that this was being done in collaboration with development partners. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So far, there are five Local Government Areas in the country that have entirely attained Open Defecation Free (ODF) status,â&#x20AC;? he stated.

CAPACITY BUILDING

L-R: Patron, Noble Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA), Chief Timothy Adesiyan; Head, Professional Practice Department, West Africa, KPMG, Mrs. Agnes Lutukai; Head, Operations, Securities and Exchange Commission, Mrs Bukky Rufai; President, NSSA, Mr Matthew Akinlade and Head, Audit Services, KPMG, Mr Tola Adeyemi, at the 2019 KPMG audit committee seminar for shareholders in Lagosâ&#x20AC;Ś recently ETOP UKUTT

Air Peace Makes Historic Landing at Bayelsa Airport Chinedu Eze Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major operator, Air Peace has made a historic landing as the first commercial airline to fly into the newly-built Bayelsa International Airport, amidst euphoria and excitement of the people of the state.

The flight operated by Capt.

Crosby Otobo and his crew took off from the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, at about 2.50pm and landed on the 3.5-kilometre runway of the Bayelsa International

Airport at about 3.35 pm.

The flight was welcomed by a crowd of overjoyed indigenes and residents of Bayelsa, including the state Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson and top government officials.

The flight was also honoured by men of the Fire Service Department, who positioned with their trucks on both sides of the runway and sprayed arcs of water to salute the aircraft.

Air Peace commended Dickson for undertaking such a lofty project. The airlineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Chief Operating Officer, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Olajide, said the airport would be a vehicle for the industrial and economic development of the state. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Air Peace is an airline of many firsts. We are indeed honoured and delighted to make another history as the first commercial airline to operate into the Bayelsa Airport. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since we commenced commercial flight operations over four years ago, Air Peace has greatly contributed to the development of cities and states

we operate into. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have no doubt that the Bayelsa International Airport will provide us an opportunity to support the effort of the Bayelsa State Government to develop the state. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is indeed a new dawn for the people and residents of Bayelsa State. We urge the flying public and the business community to take advantage of this wonderful facility to break new grounds and realise their business and leisure interestsâ&#x20AC;?, Olajide said.

MainOne Insists on Technology Adoption to Grow Economy Emma Okonji MainOne Chief Executive Officer, Funke Opeke, has stressed the need for businesses in Nigeria to adopt new technologies to avoid falling behind the rest of the world in technological advancement.

Opeke made this known at MainOneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual tech conference, Nerds Unite, which held recently in Lagos with the theme â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Accelerating Digital Transformation.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; According to Opeke, â&#x20AC;&#x153;A connected Nigeria is a more economically prosperous Nigeria.

It is a better educated Nigeria, it is a Nigeria where access to social services and health services are able to reach more of our population which in itself adds

to more prosperity for Nigeria.â&#x20AC;?

She added that the opportunity to use technology to drive economic development is the vision of what â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;we have for a connected Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

During a panel discussion on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can revolutionise business model and create new revenue streams, the Chief Transformation Officer at MTN Nigeria, Bayo Adekanbi, said there was more to gain from artificial intelligence than there was to lose, adding that man would have to adapt to leverage these gains.

The event featured IT specialist including Toby Shapshak, ICT journalist and thought leader, Libby Barr; Chief Operating Officer, Avanti Communications,

Obinna Ekezie; CEO, Wakanow, Ife Oyedele; CEO, Kobo 360, Deji Balogun; and CTO, Terragon Group among others.

At the event, IT experts discussed the importance of applying technology to every facet of life in line with digital transformation agenda of the federal government.

The keynote speaker at the event, Toby Shapshak, highlighted reasons why a connected Africa is way to move the continent forward.

He pointed out the peculiar situation of Africa and why it is important for Africa to utilize her strength, innovate and catch up with the rest of the world.

At the first session, which was titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Connecting the

Next Billion to the Internet and Beyond to Transform the Face of Africa,â&#x20AC;? and moderated

by Shapshak, speakers for the session discussed the issue with connectivity in Africa and the use of connectivity and technology to drive development in Nigeria.

Panelists expressed their worries over the challenges involved in cloud technology and cybersecurity especially IT illiteracy, but also agreed that cloud adoption remained on the increase and emphasised the role of partnerships among global players and local cloud providers with issues such as latency and lack of government support affecting its growth.

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27

How Prepaid Bills Hurt the Economy provide the right operating environment for the growth of direct debits and postpayments in modern day Nigeria. However other stakeholders are required to focus on the following action points to take full advantage of the new regulation and the opportunities it presents: a.

Service providers (that is providers of services such as telcos, paytv, discos, mortgage, microcredits) need to encourage and promote post-payments among their customers with necessary incentives; b.

Financial institutions need to provide necessary support and guidance for their retail customers and service providers alike to ensure the efficient processing of direct debit instructions which are required to effect the payment of postpaid bills in a cost-effective manner; c.

Licenced Payment Service Providers need to provide seamless, efficient and user friendly technology systems for paperless direct debit mandate creation, management, and regular execution to the delight of service consumers and service providers; d.

Citizens as service consumers must be prepared to imbibe post-payment habits so as to derive its immense benefits i.e. enhanced quality of live occasioned by the consume now pay later feature, effortless payment of postpaid bills with direct debits, and the huge contribution this has on the growth of the national economy as it greatly reduces float in the system.

Niyi Ajao Alan Greenspan, the US Federal Reserve Bank Chairman from 1987 to 2006, wrote in his book, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Age of Turbulence,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; about his greatest worry when September 11 happened in the US that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;If you wanted to cripple the U.S. economy, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d take out the payment systems. Banks would be forced to fall back on inefficient physical transfers of money. Business would resort to barter and IOUs; the level of economic activity across the country could drop like a rock.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; This gives an indication of how important an efficient national payments system is to the development and continuous growth of the national economy.

In fact, in payments system studies, it is widely acknowledged that a 10 per cent increase in the efficiency of the national Payments System will grow the GDP by at least one per cent, ceteris paribus.

This realisation has made every country to focus on the enhancement of the national payments system in recent years. For example, the UK Payments Council had responsibility for setting strategy for UK payment mechanisms from 2007 until 2015.

The South Africa National Payments System Act of 1998 was put in place to provide for the management, administration, operation, regulation and supervision of payment, clearing and settlement systems in the Republic of South Africa; and to provide for connected matters. Here in Nigeria, the Central Bank launched the Payments System Vision 2020 in 2008 and this major project is responsible for the huge modernization the national payments system has witnessed since 2008.

Cash, cheque, electronic fund transfers (direct credit and direct debit), cards and bill payments are all components of the national payments system which have all witnessed commendable improvements in Nigeria such that the Nigeria payments system is in an enviable state at the moment compared with the payments system of other advanced economies. However postpaid billing has given way to prepaid billing in Nigeria and this is doing a great damage to the national economy.

Problems with Prepaid Bills Prepaid billing requires that the consumer makes payment ahead of the consumption of a service e.g. in the case of prepaid phone or prepaid electricity billing, the consumer has to lock cash down in form of service credits, and then draw down on the credit gradually as the service is consumed and the service is terminated as soon as the credit is used up.

On the other hand, postpaid billing permits the consumer to consume the service within a contracted period, typically a month, at the end of which the service provider will present a bill to the consumer who is at liberty to either pay in full or in part e.g. postpaid phones and postpaid electricity meters.

The prepaid billing system keeps float in the hand of service providers. In economics, float in this context is duplicate money present in the system between the time the consumer makes a prepayment and when he actually consumes the goods/ services he paid for. Cummulative float amount in an economy like Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, where prepayment is prevalent, is considerably large and the float typically lasts for days, weeks and months.

Float does so much damage to the national economy. It denies the consumer the use of his money for other needs thereby reducing aggregate purchases, aggregate sales and the velocity of money with attendant adverse effect on economic growth.

Besides, float is hardly regulated and is therefore subject to abuse. The Central Bank of Nigeria, in an effort to reduce the damaging effect of float, embarked on an aggressive reduction of float created by the cheque clearing system such that a typical cheque that would take 21 working days to clear in 2001 now takes just two

EmeďŹ ele working days.

Unfortunately, the float problem is rearing its head again with the prevalence of prepaid bills in Nigeria.

Postpaid billing on the other hand is akin to granting of consumer credit i.e. consume now and pay later. Postpaid billing benefits the economy in no small way.

It grows consumption and purchases by consumers thereby enhancing citizens quality of life, and sales and revenue for service providers with a resultant growth in profit, employment, business expansion, and indeed government tax income.

Postpaid billing also facilitates a costeffective revenue collection and an efficient liquidity management for service providers.

In fact, discerning service providers usually incentivize postpaid consumers with discounts to grow the postpaid business and derive the juicy benefits.

Postpaid Billing Must Be Promoted The volume of Direct Debit instructions processed in the banking system is often used as a measure of postpaid bills while prepaid billing is generally characterized

by Direct Credits.

The NIBSS processed up to one billion direct credit instructions but less than one million direct debit instructions in 2018, while the BACS 2017 Highlights report showed that six billion direct credit and 155 million direct debits processed in the UK. According to Althos, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Prepaid billing allows the service provider to obtain revenue for services without the risk of bad debt and it eliminates the need and cost for billing operations. Prepaid service is often associated with customers that may be credit challenged or who want more control over bills.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; It follows then that the huge gap between prepaid and postpaid bills in Nigeria could be easily attributed to the low level of trust that service providers generally have for consumers over the years i.e. the fear that consumers may accumulate postpaid bills and refuse to pay up.

This fear that is aggravated by the lack of a reliable citizens/consumers identification system â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a problem which has bedeviled the Nigeria business climate for years â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which makes it near impossible to penalize consumers for unpaid bills.

The good news is that this citizens identity problem, which has been a post-payment disincentive over the years, is largely solved in Nigeria today, with the maturity of identity schemes such as the Bank Verification

Number (BVN) and the National Identity Number(NIN) which have captured the data of about 50 million adult Nigerians into a reliable identity database with efficient identity validation and verification services.

So stakeholders now have all it takes to grow postpaid services in Nigeria as the consumer identity and identity theft excuses are no longer tenable. It is imperative to grow post-payments to further drive the growth of the national economy.

The Central Bank of Nigeria released the Regulation for Direct Debit Scheme in Nigeria(revised) in February 2018 to

Summary Some have argued that prepaid billing has become so prevalent and entrenched in Nigeria as a result of citizens identity problem which has bedeviled Nigeria in past years, to the extent that postpaid billing has no prospect in the country.

Payments system stakeholders must rise up and change this narrative because the complexity and sophistication of modern day national economies is such that the year-onyear increase in prepaid bills volume will continue to stagnate the national economy while the economy thrives as desired as postpaid bills volume grows. t "KBP JT UIF "DUJOH .BOBHJOH %JSFDUPS $&0 /JHFSJB *OUFS #BOL 4FUUMFNFOU 4ZTUFN /*#44 1MD

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; ÍŻÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

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Sims Introduces New Air Conditioner Ugo Aliogo Sims Nigeria Limited has introduced a brand new air conditioner known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Burj Khalifa,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; which was produced

by Royal, one of the global key players.

The air conditioner is in floor standing and window split categories.

Speaking during a media

briefing in Lagos recently, the Executive Director Corporate, Sims Nigeria Limited, Fab Uzor said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you see something like this adorn your office, it gives some level of aesthetics.

This is a new product that was recently brought into the market. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It cannot be found anywhere in Nigeria except our showroom.

The concern we have now is that what we have on ground,

may not be able to meet the market demand. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It took a lot of research to produce this device. The design of this product is unique that is one and it adds to the splendour of the environment.â&#x20AC;?

He also noted that the energy conservation of the new airconditioning system was 70 per cent, adding that it also comes with a green gas,

which is an eco-friendly gas (410gas).

Furthermore, he stated that the product comes with a 10years warranty, saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;before any producer gives you I year warranty on a product, it means the producer is sure of what he is selling to you.â&#x20AC;?

Uzor, explained that much efforts was been made in the area of research before the

device was produced.

He stressed that the new air conditioning system was also subjected to rigorous tests to arrive at the standard.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Within 30 seconds of powering this device, the temperature and the effect will be felt. That is the uniqueness of the product.

We take a leadership position in the air conditioning market

in Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Presently in the Nigeria market, there is no air conditioner like this and there is no air conditioner when powered on, cools the environment in 30 seconds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Presently, the industry pick for air conditioner is 140 volts, this is 130 volts. It has the eco-friendly gas (410) which comes at a cost, but which will not apply at this point in time.â&#x20AC;?

education, clean energy and social infrastructure. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a hub, we are committed to help the nation by creating value through the various ideas that will crystallise to viable business ventures through our parent organisation, Lofty Incorporated Allied Partners. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are open for people to

come into our finishing hubs and our incubation training at our branches in Ibadan, Kaduna, Abuja and Lagos. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We do not charge money for our accelerator program, except for the equity we invest into their businesses,â&#x20AC;? he explained Responding to questions from tech start-ups, former

Head of the Bureau for Public Sector Reform, Dr. Joe Abah, expressed displeasure over how some youths spend their time on issues that are not productive, while encouraging them to engage in find something beyond government as the structures of the nation does not favour young people.

Firm Opens Accelerator Hub Oluchi Chibuzor Wennovation hub, one of the premier hubs in Nigeria has opened its accelerator space in Lagos for entrepreneurs looking for opportunity to showcase their businesses.

Speaking to journalists in Lagos, the Executive Director and co-founder, Wole Odetayo, said

the company as a tech incubator and accelerator program, was set up in 2010 to tackle three major challenges- unemployment, underdevelopment and poverty.

According to him, these are issues plaguing Nigerian society which they believe as an organisation can help the nation by creating value faster

than they grow.

According to him: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We currently have four locations across Nigeria and have the advantage of being the only hub in Nigeria with the widest reach cutting across the two extremes of the country. We focus on social impact sectors including agriculture, healthcare,

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; ÍŻÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

Ekpo: Whoever Wins the Election Must Concentrate on the Economy Prof Akpan Ekpo was until last December, the Director General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management. He was a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Uyo as well as a former member of the Monetary Policy Committee. In this interview, Ekpo, who presently is the Executive Chairman, Foundation for Economic Research and Training, advises whoever wins the rescheduled presidential election expected to hold this weekend, to pay greater attention to the economy. Obinna Chima presents the excerpts: We are in the eve of a presidential election and there is so much concern about the economy. Irrespective of the election outcome, what do you think is required to grow the economy?

I think the economy in the past has had a lot of hiccups, there was a recession in 2016, we got out of the recession, the government gave an Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), which is not really a plan, but a medium-term framework to restore growth. I hope that any party that wins will concentrate on the economy. What do I mean by that? Concentrate on ensuring that 80 per cent of Nigerians can enjoy the resources of the country. To do that, they must develop infrastructure like power, quality education, quality health delivery system and so forth. When an economy does that, then such an economy is on the right path, because you can be growing and not be developed. China grew double-digit years back and sustained it to move 700 million Chinese out of poverty. And Nigeria has the resources to do that. So, any government that comes in must begin to focus on Nigerians. In fact, the ERGP has it, but they have not done it to a satisfactory level. They call it investing in people, they must invest in Nigerians. Because even if you build railways, people still have to man those things. Then, any government that wins must be strategic, in moving the country forward. What do I mean by that? First it must have a comprehensive economic plan, lets say 20 to 25 years, which will be passed into law so that no new government can come in and truncate it.

That was how the Asian countries were developed.

That happened in some years back when we had Vision 2020, but it was abandoned. So, whoever wins the election, whichever party that wins, the economy should be the main focus and that focus should be on basic needs. Give Nigerians power and they will pay for it, give them water, good roads, education good health system and other things will follow. But if you are growing and the growth is showing positive signs and these basic infrastructure are not available, then you have not done anything.

You talked about aggressively driving economic growth and provision of infrastructure, as you are aware, these things require fund to put them in place. How can the government raise the required revenue?

You know the Nigerian governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revenue is dependent on the oil sector and I call the oil revenue exogenous revenue because you have no control over the price and you are not even in control of the output. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use that to finance long-term development. You should see it as a windfall and use it as such, as they did in Norway. We have not done that over the years.

So we must diversify the economy into other areas so that we can earn foreign exchange from other sources outside the oil sector. Another way of making money is to look at the tax structure.

I am not saying we should increase tax rate, but we need to bring more people into the tax net.

A lot of Nigerians who are wealthy or rich donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay tax, you have to bring them into the tax net.

Then you have to tax luxury goods heavily. For example, if you go to Abuja and Lagos airports, the number of private jets that you see, they should pay tax. Then also you look at some government owned enterprises, and here, I am not saying privatise them, I will prefer the word commercialise them. In other words, let those companies be managed by private sector people with government still holding substantial shares.

If you have to privatise them, let it be open, and not secretly done, so that anybody can buy shares. Thirdly, people will not like to hear this, our Value Added Tax (VAT) rate is the lowest

Ekpo in the world. If you tinker with VAT to even 6.5 per cent, that will generate a lot of revenue.

So, those are the areas, because right now the government needs liquidity to do a lot of things.

But, let me say that it is good to tax because like I said, Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio is one of the lowest. But there is a limit to taxation, you have to have service delivery, I pay tax because I get service. If people

Then, any government that wins must be strategic, in moving the country forward.

What do I mean by that?

First it must have a comprehensive economic plan, lets say 20 to 25 years, which will be passed into law so that no new government can come in and truncate it

are not happy about the service delivery they will not pay tax, except those who are working and they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a choice. Again you can generate more tax by looking at people who are employed, if employment increases, people will work and they will pay tax. When you have a high unemployment figure, it means that a lot of the youths are unemployed. That is a serious problem because you are losing tax from that.

The next thing will be how will the government create employment? Nigerian cities are the least policed in the world, if you employ a lot of policemen in thousands, you are creating jobs.

They will police the citizens, they will earn salaries and they will pay tax. So the government has to think of how to do it.

You mentioned power as one of the things that anybody that wins the election has to focus on. Looking at how far we have gone with the power sector reform and we are still without regular power supply, what do you think can be done to have an improved power supply?

Well, I will like to disappoint you in two or three issues. Firstly, power in the last one year has improved marginally compared to previous years. But the problem with it is that the Nigerian elites are not interested in the power sector. The way they unbundled the existing government

plans was not transparent enough. They sold it to their own cronies. All over the world, we know companies that can give us power and we ought to have invited them during the power sales because they have the expertise.

Nigeria has all the ingredient for us to have power supply, how come we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have? Again, state capture. How come everyday people are setting up generator companies to sell generators?

They are not interested in the power because it is a struggle. If power is there 24 hours, those guys would no longer be in business. You call it power reform, but I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think there was any reform. For example, if you are selling any asset, you sell both the assets and the liabilities.

Now, you bought a power plant, you did your arithmetic very well before acquiring the assets, all of a sudden the company said that they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know gas would be a problem. Instead of the government saying that you have bought it, you should go and fix, they started bailing them out again. I was the chairman of Akwa Ibom State Investment Council for almost eight years, so I know what I am talking about. When you sell a government asset, you set a limit, say if after 5 years we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see any improvement, we will take back the asset. Rather than doing that, the central bank went again to give them CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; ÍŻÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

EKPO: WHOEVER WINS THE ELECTION MUST CONCENTRATE ON THE ECONOMY another money in form of support. (cuts in)...But in the power sector agreement there is the clause that allows government to repossess the assets?

Have they implemented it? The power sector is already in crisis. Why not get known companies to come and fix this thing. It might not be in one year, but at least they will be honest. The unemployment we talked about earlier is tied to the power sector. Britain, Germany, US, they all run 24 hours power supply, so factories run three shifts and by doing that they create jobs. In Nigeria, here a factory that runs power for eight hours on national grid is very lucky. So, power is crucial and we said from the onset that if you increase power by just one per cent, the GDP will grow by 3.5 per cent. So, the power assets were sold to their cronies. I thought this government would revisit that process because the people they sold these things were not experts. The only person who understood this thing was even removed from government- Barth Nnaji. His own company understood the power sector challenges very well, but they removed him because of the issues he was raising. So, you need a government that will fix power. No country develops by being defined as a generator-driving economy.

If you go to Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki, all in Lagos, they are all running generator. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work that way.

You earlier said the government needs liquidity. Are you advising them to keep borrowing considering the rising debt and the huge amount of money being spent to service debts?

Let me say that generally, there is nothing wrong in borrowing if you borrow to finance capital projects that will pay its way. For Nigeria, they have been borrowing into a pool and we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know whether the money is for recurrent or for capital. And it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t start with the All Progressives Congress (APC), all the other governments were doing it. Our debt service is very high, it is rising all the time, which is not too good. But if you take debt service to GDP ratio, it is low. And why is it low? It was because we rebased our GDP. We rebased the GDP and the denominator was very large. So, if you divide the denominator, you will have enough space to keep doing what you are doing. Do we have the capacity to manage the debt? At the national level they have, at the state level, they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have because statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; debts are also increasing.

For me, I always argue that with our external reserves, we should reduce our foreign borrowing drastically and use our external reserves to finance infrastructure. The government will not agree with me on this. That is why I tell them always to compute debt to revenue ratio and not debt to GDP, because GDP does not pay debt, but revenue does. If they compute debt to revenue ratio, it will show that almost all our revenues go to paying debt. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like doing that.

The International Monetary Fund does it.

If revenue is the denominator and revenue fluctuates because of oil, if you are not so sure of your revenue source, so what they do now is that you do both now. That is, you compute debt-to-GDP and debt-to-revenue.

Considering developments in the global economy, the US-China trade war, Brexit among others, what should be the structure of monetary policy in Nigeria today?

I think the global environment is important like the US-China relationship. What they are doing now is very crucial. I always argue that no country wins a trade war. China is a world power whether we like it or not. So if both sidesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tariffs go up as they are going up, it will affect us.

But are we ready for the likely impact of what is playing out in the global environment? So, monetary policy will depend on several things - the exchange rate, the growth of the economy and what we call the macro-fundamentals. If you watch in Nigeria, monetary policy has virtually been the only policy that has been making noise, that is my view, and I might be wrong. And there is still tightening the monetary policy rate (MPR) has not changed for many years. Is that good or bad? The central bank might have its reasons, but for me as an outsider looking at what they are doing, the MPR is supposed to be an anchor rate to have impact on the lending rate. But today, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have impact on lending rate. The average lending rate today is about 25 per cent. The MPR has impact on interbank rate somehow and then the cash reserve requirement has virtually remained the same. But I think the

Ekpo CBN has kept monetary policy tight so as not to temper with the exchange rate. For inflation, at 11.37 per cent, it is not bad for our economy. Any country should know its benchmark. You can have inflation of 50 per cent and still be doing well. Some countries even induce inflation in other to stimulate growth. So, for me, monetary policy should be loosened since the economy has recovered from recession and we are on a growth trajectory. This is now the time to loosen monetary policy to stimulate growth, by working with fiscal policy. In other words, I wish the CBN will not continue to tighten monetary policy.

So, there should be coordination between monetary and fiscal policy. The MPC usually has representative from the Ministry of Finance, which should be the case. Right now, the central bank is even doing fiscal policy. So, there should be coordination between the fiscal and monetary authorities to enhance growth. And then the exchange rate as well. I always ask the question, since it is stable at N360 to a dollar, what about the official rate of N305 and an investors and exportersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; window of about N362 and there are some other rates. Now, must they converge?

Some say yes and some say no. My position is, even if we have a stable exchange rate is that good enough for the Nigerian economy?

Stability means that there is a form of market equilibrium. But is it good enough for a country like Nigeria? My argument is also based on the fact that the naira itself is not a convertible currency. So, would we do better if the exchange rate stabilises at a lower level? Because I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

Let us have strong states and a weak centre that is how we can build the country. The United States is a confederation of states, but all the states were already independent before they came together to form the US. In our own case we had a centre before we started forming the states

believe in a market-determined exchange rate for an economy like Nigeria. So those are the issues that the CBN has to look at. So far they have done their best because the oil price has been going up and it has shown in our external reserves. But if oil price drops tomorrow, there would be some challenges. That is why I said that we should stop being an oil economy. Not really for us to stop entirely, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take it too seriously because it is affecting everything that we do. What we are saying here today, people said it 60 years ago. Also, they need to know how to manage the reserves. Now they have tried by moving some to Chinese currency. But I feel that why should we keep much reserves outside when you have problem of infrastructure?

Why are you borrowing too much? Use some of your reserves to do some things that you have to do. You know reserves are in dollars, if I was government, you know the CBN keeps the government earnings, I will tell the CBN to pay me my money in dollars and at N360/$.

Your new book on revenue sharing formula for the three tiers of government, what is it all about and what were the recommendations?

Firstly, the book came out as an exercise that was financed by the Revenue Commission. We bided and got the job and went all over the six geo-political zones of the country, designed surveys and the zones we went to, the governors showed interest in it because they were calling for a higher revenue formula. So we went round for months and this book is one of the results of that exercise. Because you know by law, the Fiscal Commission does the exercise and give it to government and the government takes it to the House of Assembly which has the right to tinker with the revenue sharing formula. So, we went around and interesting enough, states that have resources like oil wanted more from the allocation for derivation and states that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have wanted us to use derivation.

So, when we went round, based on the results we got, Nigerians are closer more to the states than the federal government. So if states have more money all things being equal, they will do more in their areas of jurisdiction and the people can now monitor what they are doing. Then we saw that some states cannot raise internally generated revenue (IGR) and cannot even pay salaries. In fact, the study I did for UNDP years ago, if federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s allocation stops only Lagos and Kano can survive, not even Rivers

State as at the time I did that work, and it has not changed much. So, we said let us enhance the states, and somehow all the states agreed that they need to have some increase. The issue now became how do we do it? Because I feel that the federal government is too strong. We have on paper a federal system but in practice it is not. The federal government is too strong. States donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have too much powers, you wont know until you are involved. Before you do anything in state A, you need the federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approval. So, part of it is to say let give them have more money so that they can do certain things. If you watch states are getting more than federal. Now, local government, by the time we did this work, you know the local government are still under state government. Now by the law of the country state governments are supposed to give some money to the local government but they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give. So we argued somewhere that if state government gives them what they are supposed to give them, added to what they are getting from the center they will be better off.

But we counted only about six state governments that are doing it. A lot of people used to blame federal government, but you should blame the states and the federal government. In most of our local governments there is nothing happening. So that is what influenced that project. People are closer more to the states, I believe in what they call league of federation. Let us have strong states and a weak centre that is how we can build the country. The United States is a confederation of states, but all the states were already independent before they came together to form the US. In our own case we had a centre before we started forming the states, to renew tribal tension, that was all, nothing else. The more you created the states, the more tension we had. Pray that you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t leave in a border town in Nigeria. For example, when you are going to Akwa Ibom from Cross River, have you ever seen where they erected a sign post welcoming you to Akwa Ibom or welcome to Calabar? Because each time you do that somebody in anger destroy it. That is because to them, they are the same people. Our leaders donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go down to look at these things, they just sit in their comfortable environment.

So, government should try and implement the recommendations in the book and not just keep it on the shelf. We are lucky that the book came out when states are calling for the review of the revenue sharing formula.

5 ) * 4 % ": t MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2019

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T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍśË&#x153; 2019

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

KPMG EmpowersAudit Committee Members Nume Ekeghe KPMG Nigeria, one of the leading professional services companies in Nigeria, has promised to help improve accountability and governance in organisations in the country through its focus on six key areas in auditing.

The firm made the pledge at its 2019 Audit Committee seminar held in Lagos recently.

Addressing stakeholders, KPMG Partner, Internal Audit Risk and Compliance Services, Tomi Adepoju, said the firm recently carried out a global survey and asked audit committee members to identify the greatest challenges to companies.

The survey showed that effectiveness of risk management program, legal/regulatory compliance and managing cyber security risk, were topped the chart. Therefore, to address the issues, the firm came up with six agenda which included: to have a relook of the audit committee agenda and workload, sharpen the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus on ethics and compliance, understand how finance team will reinvent itself and add greater value to

the business, monitor corporate reporting, reinforce audit quality by setting clear expectations, and by focusing internal audit on the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s key risk controls as a way of tackling all concerns.

Adepoju said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We would be increasing audit committee workload to oversee major risks in organisations. For example, cyber risks, supply chain risks, regulatory risks, etc. This is in addition to current oversight responsibilities on internal and external audit functions, financial reporting, internal control, fraud, etc. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will closely monitor the tone at the top and culture throughout organisations, as it has been discovered that most organisations lack culture audit.

They pay less attention to the attitudes of their staff. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will ensure that the companiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; regulatory compliance and monitoring programmes are up-to-date, and likewise ensure the effectiveness of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s whistle blower reporting channels and investigation processes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In understanding how the financial team reinvent itself and add greater value to business, we would aim at finding out, how the company is leveraging

technology to improve efficiencies by automating manual activities, how is finance using data and analytics and artificial intelligence to develop sharper predictive insights and better deployment of capital, and how secure are your finance data and systems, amidst other things. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We would also be focusing on the new IFRS standards and the impact on the business, systems, control, disclosure, and resource requirement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will monitor the integrity of the financial statements of the company, amidst verifying all materials presented with the financial statements.â&#x20AC;?

In her address, the Assistant Director and Head of Operations Directorate, in the Lagos Zonal Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mrs. Olubukanla Rufai, expressed concern over the increasing numbers of shareholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; associations.

Rufai said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Although, SEC does not register shareholders but only recognise them, there are 111 shareholders association already recognised by the commission as of today, and there are so many others still in the process of recognition.

TUC Calls for Review of NLAC Ugo Aliogo The National Executive Council of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has called for the review of the law establishing the National Law Advisory Council (NLAC).

Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos recently, the President, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama and the Secretary General, Musa Lawal, noted that the Union would no longer tolerate the violation of rights of its members.

They stated: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The NEC-insession reiterates that the law establishing the NLAC should be reviewed to include major stakeholders, for instance the TUC. The NEC-in-session warns that TUC will no longer tolerate

the violation of the trade union rights of its members to representation, collective bargaining and be consulted on labour matters in the country.â&#x20AC;?

Kaigama and Lawal urged the federal government to avoid all forms of intimidations and allow transparency in the conduct of the forthcoming general elections, adding that there was need for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be as impartial as possible, and promote the interest of all Nigerians.

They advised the police, the military and other security agencies to be professional in discharging their duties since no position is worth the blood of innocent civilians.

According to them: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The NEC reiterates the rate of insecurity in the country. The Congress therefore calls on government to intensify efforts to make sure that killings; kidnapping and insurgency in the country are totally wiped out and save the country from total collapse. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The NEC frowns at the proposed increase of international passport and driversâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; license by the government. It therefore calls on the government to maintain the status quo and formulate policies that will be more beneficial to the masses. NEC-in-session commended the government for the fight against corruption in the country. It therefore calls on the government to respect the rule of law when doing so.â&#x20AC;?

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS Money Supply (M3)

31,794,803.44

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

6,333,064.28

Money Supply (M2)

25,461,739.17

-- Quasi Money

14,773,076.98

-- Narrow Money (M1)

10,688,662.18

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,711,763.59

---- Demand Deposits

8,976,898.59

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

can be one of the most useful tools to help you become a better leader. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no question about it: technology is the driving force behind the new style of leadership. A great number of successful leaders in the world are those who have understood just how much technology can aid them in managing people, building teams and keeping track of work across all channels and from any location in the world.â&#x20AC;?

As an association, he disclosed that PENGASSAN embarks on constant training and re-training of its members and staff, to prepare them for these constant innovations in the oil and gas industry as it is paramount on its plans. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From the inception of this present leadership, all staff and most members have benefited from local and foreign capacity building in which huge sum of resources were expended. This year, we have lined up a number of trainings and re-trainings tailored towards making our members more productive not only to the association but to the industry and themselves. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We therefore implore the management and policy formulators

to imbibe this culture to mitigate the vagaries of the new world order that is driven by technology.

The role technology is playing in our match towards 2019 general election explains why the political class should be careful not to misapply it to the detriment of the peace and unity of our dear country.â&#x20AC;?

Johnson, however regretted the low level of reward accorded labour unions in the society despite the critical roles they play in national development. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is my view and that of the industrial community and veteran unionists that the Labour Movement in Nigeria have not been commensurately rewarded by the State for the tremendous role it had played towards political independence and national development of Nigeria whether in the past decades or present time.â&#x20AC;? In his address, the Port Harcourt Zonal Council Chairman Comrade Dr Azubuike Madubuezi Azubuike, said the workshop was inspired largely by the global trends of what he described as the hostile takeover of technology in the industries and organisations and effects of politics on policy formulation.

18,990,400.78

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

12,804,402.66

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,062,986.22

---- Credit to Government (Net)

2,980,229.66

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

7,093,619.43

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

-4,144,571.43

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

23,082,756.56

--Other Assets Net

13,258,583.57

Reserve Money (Base Money

6,811,192.37

--Currency in Circulation

2,100,129.91

--Banks Reserves

4,366,259.05

PENGASSANTasks Workers on Capacity Building The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called on companies operating in the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil and gas sector to sufficiently update their workforce on trending global technology.

This, the union stated would adequately prepare them on how to handle its effects.

A statement quoted the PENGASSAN President, Mr. Francis Olabode Johnson, to have said this at a 2-day PENGASSAN Port Harcourt Zonal Workshop, with the theme: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Impact of Technology, Politics and Leadership Skills on Industrial Relations in the Workplace,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; organised by the Port Harcourt Zone of the Association in Awka, Anambra State recently.

He described the theme of the workshop as not only apt but timely as technological innovations and political decisions greatly impact workers especially workers in the sector.

According to him â&#x20AC;&#x153;the world of technology has a powerful impact on every aspect of our lives. It has changed the way we connect with each other, how we conduct our daily affairs and how we do business. At a high management level, technology

(MILLION NAIRA)

NOVEMBER 2018

Ëž Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă? Ě&#x2039;

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&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;ĂŁ Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?ĂŁ Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ě&#x2039; ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT THURSDAY, 14 JANUARY 2019

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $64.28 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $62.94 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), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

35

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

MARKET NEWS

2018 Results:Vetiva Projects Mixed Fortunes for Companies Goddy Egene Vetiva Capital Management Limited has projected mixed performance by listed companies for the year ended December 31, 2018.

In a report, Vetiva outlined the major drivers for the key sectors represented on the exchange in the fourth quarter as well as the projected impact on the companies.

According to the Consumer

Goods Analysts at Vetiva, Ifedayo Olowoporoku, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Driven by the seasonal nature of the industry, we expect stronger topline performance across consumer goods companies for the fourth quarter period, majorly supported by volumes amid stronger consumption levels in the festive period and also mildly buoyed by stronger commercial activity during electioneering season.â&#x20AC;?

Expatiating on the impact

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

of the aforementioned factors, Olowoporoku, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;For the full year (FY) 2018 period, however, we expect mixed performance across the top names in the market, with weaker profits to be reported by the brewers, food commodity and agro-allied producers, while much stronger bottom line figures are projected for the packaged foods and home and personal care players.â&#x20AC;?

Speaking on the Industrial

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Goods sector, Onyeka Ijeoma said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We expect volumes to come in slightly weaker in the final quarter of the year, pressured by extended heavy rainfall in fourth quarter (Q4) as well as a heightened political environment.â&#x20AC;? Although that profits in Q4â&#x20AC;&#x2122;18 are expected to come in lower quarter on quarter, the report highlighted that FYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;18 figures will still come in stronger than in the previous year, driven by a

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

sturdier performance recorded in the earlier quarters of the year.

For the agriculture sector, which is majorly represented by the oil palm producers listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Vetiva is forecasting a largely unexciting performance for FYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;18 numbers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We expect lower top-line for the crude palm oil sector in Q4â&#x20AC;&#x2122;18, with global Crude Palm Oil (CPO) prices falling

O F

five per cent in the quarter.

With CPO prices also generally lower through the year (19 per cent down y/y), we also expect a slowdown in FYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;18 top-line across the industry.â&#x20AC;?

Reporting on the expectations on the banking sector, Vetiva said Tier I Banks will continue to outperform lower tier players, leveraging on their stronger balance sheets and liquidity positions to drive stronger margins.

0 4 / 0 2 / 2 0 1 9 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

˾ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2019

36

Monday, February 18 2019

ƵůůŝƐŚ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ WĞƌƐŝƐƚƐ ĞƐƉŝƚĞ WŽůŝƟĐĂů hŶĐĞƌƚĂŝŶƚLJ

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

͙ ASI up 4.2% W-o-W dŚĞ ďƵůůŝƐŚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƉĞƌƐŝƐƚĞĚ ŝŶƚŽ ƚŚŝƐ ǁĞĞŬ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ƌŽƐĞ ϰ͘Ϯй t-o-W to

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

ϯϮ͕ϳϭϱ͘Ϯ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͘ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ ƚŽ ďƵLJ ŝŶƚŽ ĐŚĞĂƉ assets – DANGCEM ;нϰ͘ϲйͿ͕ NIGERIAN BREWERIES ;нϲ͘ϰйͿ ĂŶĚ STANBIC ;нϯ͘ϮйͿ - ďƵĐŬŝŶŐ ĐŽŶƐĞŶƐƵƐ

ĞdžƉĞĐƚĂƟŽŶ ĨŽƌ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ ƐĞůů ŽīƐ ŝŶ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶƐ ůĞĂĚŝŶŐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŐĞŶĞƌĂů ĞůĞĐƟŽŶƐ͘ tĞ ďĞůŝĞǀĞ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚƐ ŚĂǀĞ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĂƟŽŶ ĨŽƌ ƉŽƐƚ-ĞůĞĐƟŽŶ ƐƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ ĂŶĚ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƌĞůĞĂƐĞƐ͘

Ɛ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ ŽĨ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ͕ ƚŚĞ ďĞŶĐŚŵĂƌŬ ŝŶĚĞdž ƌŽƐĞ ŽŶ ϰ ŽĨ ϱ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶƐ͕ LJĞĂƌ ƚŽ ĚĂƚĞ ƌĞƚƵƌŶĞĚ

Current Price

Ticker

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

Price Price Previous Current Change Change Price Weightin YTD Index to Change g Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

Divinden Earnings d Yield Yield

1,616.92

0.36%

4.8%

61.7%

20.0%

7.3%

6.5x

0.9x

4.8%

1

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

37.95

0.0%

19.1%

10.2%

10.0%

34.1%

5.6%

5.7x

2.1x

7.1%

17.7%

2

Zenith Bank PLC

24.75

0.0%

12.0%

7.4%

7.4%

23.7%

3.4%

4.2x

1.0x

11.1%

23.5%

3

Dangote Cement PLC

4

Nestle Nigeria PLC

5

Nigerian Brew eries PLC

6

FBN Holdings Plc

7

Cement Co Northern Nigeria PLC

8

United Bank for Africa PLC

9

International Brew eries PLC

10

SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

11

Access Bank PLC

12

Ecobank Transnational Inc

12.1%

194.00

1.6%

8.3%

2.3%

4.3%

20.1%

9.8%

20.2x

4.3x

5.4%

4.9%

1,565.00

-1.6%

7.8%

5.4%

6.1%

85.8%

26.3%

28.3x

22.0x

3.0%

3.5%

83.00

3.8%

5.3%

-2.9%

6.0%

13.8%

6.4%

27.8x

4.0x

4.5%

3.6%

8.45

1.8%

5.1%

6.3%

5.6%

6.6%

0.8%

6.0x

0.4x

2.9%

16.5%

21.00

-4.5%

4.4%

8.2%

8.2%

34.2%

19.6%

5.1x

1.6x

6.0%

19.7%

8.00

1.9%

4.1%

3.9%

2.6%

15.4%

1.8%

3.6x

0.6x

10.5%

27.6%

29.00

0.0%

3.0%

-4.9%

-7.9%

-23.8%

-3.2%

619.00

6.7%

3.1%

-3.3%

-3.3%

25.9%

15.3%

2.7x

0.6x

2.9%

36.8%

6.60

0.0%

3.0%

-2.9%

1.5%

14.1%

1.7%

2.7x

0.4x

9.8%

14.40

-0.7%

2.7%

2.9%

0.7%

12.1%

1.0%

4.5x

0.6x

7.1x

-1.2%

36.4% 22.0%

13

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

48.50

0.6%

2.4%

1.1%

1.1%

35.7%

4.6%

7.2x

2.3x

2.1%

ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ƚŽ ϰ͘ϭй ĂŶĚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ

14

Unilever Nigeria PLC

43.50

-7.4%

2.6%

17.6%

17.6%

14.7%

9.0%

21.4x

3.0x

1.1%

4.7%

15

Lafarge Africa PLC

13.05

-2.6%

1.6%

4.8%

8.8%

-53.7%

-7.9%

0.9x

11.2%

-48.3%

EϰϰϮ͘ϬďŶ ƚŽ EϭϮ͘ϮƚŶ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ĂƐ

16

Guinness Nigeria PLC

65.00

0.0%

1.1%

-9.7%

-9.7%

8.5%

4.5%

18.2x

1.7x

2.8%

5.5%

17

Okomu Oil Palm PLC

85.00

0.0%

1.3%

11.5%

11.5%

39.3%

29.7%

8.1x

2.8x

3.5%

12.3%

ĂǀĞƌĂŐĞ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ďLJ ϰϵ͘ϳй ĂŶĚ ϰ͘ϳй ƚŽ ϱϲϲ͘ϰŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ Eϱ͘ϲďŶ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ DIAMOND ;ϰϬϲ͘ϲŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ACCESS ;ϮϬϳ͘Ϯŵ

ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ĂŶĚ ZENITH ;ϭϵϰ͘ϭŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁŚŝůĞ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ 'h Z Edz ;Eϰ͘ϵďŶͿ ZENITH ;Eϰ͘ϴďŶͿ ĂŶĚ EGCEM ;EϮ͘ϵďŶͿ ůĞĚ͘

ĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ĞƋƵĂůůLJ ďƵůůŝƐŚ ǁŝƚŚ ϰ ŽĨ ϱ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ŐĂŝŶŝŶŐ ǁĞĞŬ ŽŶ ǁĞĞŬ͘ dŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ͕ ƵƉ ϱ͘ϵй ĂŶĚ ϱ͘ϲй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ NIGERIAN BREWERIES ;нϲ͘ϰйͿ͕ NESTLE ;нϰ͘ϯй͕Ϳ SEPLAT ;нϭϬ͘ϰйͿ ĂŶĚ OANDO ;нϮϬ͘ϬйͿ͘ dŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĂůƐŽ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĞŬ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ͕ ƵƉ ϯ͘ϳй ĂŶĚ Ϯ͘ϭй ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ŐĂŝŶƐ ŝŶ ŝŶ DANGCEM ;нϰ͘ϲйͿ͕ WAPCO ;нϰ͘ϰͿ͕ ETI ;нϱ͘ϭйͿ͕ h ;нϰ͘ϲйͿ ĂŶĚ ZENITH ;нϭ͘ϰйͿ͘ dŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ

ƚŚĞ ůŽŶĞ ůŽƐĞƌ͕ ĚŽǁŶ Ϭ͘Ϯй ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƐĞůů ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞƐ ŝŶ h^dK / E (-Ϯ͘ϰйͿ ĂŶĚ NEM (-Ϯ͘ϬйͿ͘

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ Ϯ͘ϵdž ĨƌŽŵ Ϯ͘ϱdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ǁĞĞŬ ĂƐ ϱϲ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ϭϵ ƚŚĂƚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ dŚĞ ďĞƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞƌƐ ƚŚŝƐ ǁĞĞŬ ǁĞƌĞ WEMA ;нϰϱ͘ϭйͿ͕ LIVESTOCK ;нϰϰ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ E'&>KhZ ;нϯϯ͘ϲйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ CILEASING (-ϭϴ͘ϵйͿ͕ DZ^ ;-ϵ͘ϵйͿ ĂŶĚ Dz (-ϵ͘ϴйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞƌƐ͘ tĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ĚŝƌĞĐƟŽŶ ŽĨ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƚŽ ďĞ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ĚĞƚĞƌŵŝŶĞĚ ďLJ ƚŚĞ ĞůĞĐƟŽŶ ŽƵƚĐŽŵĞƐ ŶĞdžƚ ǁĞĞŬ͕ ŶŽŶĞƚŚĞůĞƐƐ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƚŽ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞůLJ ďĂƐĞĚ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚƐ ǁĞ

ŚĂǀĞ ŽďƐĞƌǀĞĚ ƚŚŝƐ ǁĞĞŬ͘

18

Total Nigeria PLC

205.00

0.0%

1.2%

1.0%

1.0%

34.6%

7.5%

7.2x

2.3x

8.3%

14.0%

19

11 PLC

184.00

0.0%

1.1%

-0.8%

-0.8%

38.0%

16.8%

6.1x

2.1x

4.3%

16.3%

20

Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

21.00

1.2%

1.0%

-9.1%

-5.4%

6.6%

2.0%

9.7x

0.6x

4.8%

21

Oando PLC

6.00

9.1%

1.3%

20.0%

25.0%

10.9%

1.7%

5.0x

0.4x

(A Dealing Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange)

10.3% 20.0%

22

Fidelity Bank PLC

2.60

0.0%

1.3%

28.1%

28.1%

11.3%

1.5%

3.4x

0.4x

4.2%

29.5%

23

Transnational Corp of Nigeria

1.71

9.6%

1.2%

29.5%

32.6%

13.6%

3.0%

8.1x

1.0x

1.2%

12.3%

24

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

15.30

2.0%

0.8%

0.3%

6.1x

1.8x

8.2%

25

Diamond Bank PLC

2.39

0.4%

0.8%

3.4%

32.6%

16.4%

11.2%

-5.8%

-0.7%

0.2x

16.4% -29.4%

26

FCMB Group Plc

2.38

-0.8%

0.7%

25.9%

32.2%

8.4%

1.2%

3.1x

0.3x

4.1%

27

UAC of Nigeria PLC

8.65

-9.9%

0.4%

-11.3%

-9.4%

0.4%

0.2%

68.0x

0.4x

7.1%

1.5%

28

Sterling Bank PLC

2.35

-5.6%

0.6%

23.7%

23.7%

10.6%

1.1%

6.2x

0.6x

0.9%

16.2%

29

Presco PLC

66.00

10.0%

0.4%

3.1%

3.1%

37.0%

24.8%

2.6x

0.8x

3.0%

38.4%

30

NASCON Allied Industries PLC

19.00

0.3%

0.3%

5.6%

5.6%

47.0%

17.5%

9.9x

4.4x

7.9%

10.1%

31

Forte Oil PLC

28.00

0.0%

0.3%

-2.4%

0.0%

84.6%

8.3%

11.5x

2.1x

8.7%

32

Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

6.90

9.5%

0.4%

23.2%

23.2%

5.3%

1.0%

12.5x

0.7x

8.0%

33

Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

26.50

3.9%

0.3%

31.8%

19.9%

17.3%

1.8%

7.3x

1.2x

3.8%

34

PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

12.65

0.0%

0.2%

4.5%

2.8%

1.2x

1.2% 6.4%

6.7%

1.5%

11.4%

35

Chemical and Allied Products P

31.80

0.2%

0.2%

-8.8%

-8.8%

66.2%

30.2%

14.9x

9.9x

36

Wema Bank PLC

1.03

8.4%

0.3%

63.5%

63.5%

6.6%

0.8%

11.8x

0.8x

37

Beta Glass PLC

72.30

0.0%

0.2%

5.9%

5.9%

17.7%

11.5%

8.8x

1.4x

32.1%

13.6%

8.5%

38

Dangote Flour Mills Plc

9.15

9.6%

0.2%

33.6%

38.6%

14.9%

4.2%

8.1x

1.1x

2.2%

12.3%

39

Transcorp Hotels Plc

6.10

0.0%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

6.9%

3.8%

12.4x

0.8x

2.5%

8.0%

40

AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

2.03

0.0%

0.1%

10.9%

10.9%

10.5%

3.3%

10.6x

1.1x

3.0%

9.4%

T o p 10 G a ine rs T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

0.33

10.0%

66.00

10.0%

IKEJ A H OT EL

1.81

9.7%

T R A N SC OR P

1.71

9.6%

D A N GF LOUR

9.15

R OYA LEX P R ESC O

T o p 10 T ra de s by V o lum e T ic k er

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

D IA M ON D B N K

141.6

0.4%

T R A N SC OR P

117.7

9.6%

M A N SA R D

94.6

0.0%

A C C ESS

77.2

0.0%

9.6%

FCM B

49.4

-0.8%

UB N

6.90

9.5%

UB A

43.3

1.9%

LIN KA SSUR E

0.70

9.4%

F ID ELIT YB K

42.5

0.0%

LIVEST OC K

0.72

9.1%

GUA R A N T Y

39.5

0.0%

OA N D O

6.00

9.1%

Z EN IT H B A N K

37.5

0.0%

WEM A B A N K

1.03

8.4%

FB NH

23.5

1.8%

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

GUA R A N T Y

1496.3

0.0%

Z EN IT H B A N K

932.4

0.0%

T o p 10 Lo s e rs

T o p 10 T ra de s by V a lue

T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

M RS

20.85

-9.9%

UA C N

8.65

-9.9%

A C A D EM Y

0.37

-9.8%

A C C ESS

509.6

0.0%

J A P A ULOIL

0.20

-9.1%

D A N GC EM

457.0

1.6%

43.50

-7.4%

UB A

347.5

1.9%

0.29

-6.5%

D IA M ON D B N K

339.9

0.4%

UN ILEVER F IR ST A LUM ST ER LN B A N K

2.35

-5.6%

N EST LE

274.0

-1.6%

C OR N ER ST

0.20

-4.8%

NB

244.5

3.8%

CCNN

21.00

-4.5%

ST A N B IC

227.1

0.6%

-4.5%

FB NH

200.3

1.8%

A B CTRA NS

Afrinvest Securities Limited (RC 603 315)

13.9%

0.42

Investment Research

Brokerage Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde |

Bolaji Fajenyo | bfajenyo@afrinvest.com

Jolomi Odonghanro | jodonghanro@afrinvest.com

romotunde@afrinvest.com

37

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; ÍšÎ&#x20AC;Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚͡

MARKET NEWS

Transcorp Shares Rise 29% on Jump in Profit to N21 Billion Goddy Egene Shares of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcop) Plc rose 28.5 per cent last week as investors reacted positively to impressive results for the year ended December 31, 2018.

The leading diversified conglomerate recorded 82 per cent jump in profit before tax (PBT) to N22.4 billion, from N12.3 billion

in 2017, while profit after tax (PAT) soared by 94 per cent to N20.6 billion, from N10.6 billion in 2017.

According to the President/Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Plc, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, they were proud to have ended the year on a high note. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are proud to have ended the year on a high-note while sustaining a strong performance, which is a

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sharesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on the

reflection of our sound business strategy. We will continuously strive to deliver significant value to our stakeholders while achieving our long-term goals,â&#x20AC;? he said.

He further stressed that â&#x20AC;&#x153;This result was achieved due to the increased revenue from the power and hospitality segments of the group. In addition, we were able to cut down on our loss from forex arising from financing activities

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 14Feb-2019, unless otherwise stated.

by 30 per cent year-on-year as we experienced a relatively stable exchange rate during the fiscal year-ended 2018, this no doubt impacted our Profit before tax as it soared 82 per cent year-on-year.â&#x20AC;?

Ozigbo explained that Transcorp Power Limited has continued to explore opportunities created by the eligible customer framework initiated by the federal government.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are at an advanced stage of negotiations with a number of eligible customers, which will translate into transactions in the months ahead. Our hospitality subsidiary, Transcorp Hotels Plc, also maintained its history of profitability in 2018, displaying the impact of our recent $100 million upgrade at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja and the immense value placed on the hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best-in-class

hospitality services,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Reflecting on the results, the Chairman of Transcorp, Mr. Tony Elumelu, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We remain committed to our purpose of improving lives and transforming Nigeria by powering our industries and businesses while providing our local and international guests with unrivalled hospitality services. This is our way of creating sustainable value for all our stakeholders.â&#x20AC;?

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 163.62 163.97 3.41% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 11.00% Nigeria International Debt Fund 278.68 279.15 2.08% 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 0.86 0.87 2.03% ACAP Income Funds 0.62 0.62 11.37% 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 13.25% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.29 2.31 2.89% 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 17.35 17.87 4.56% ARM Discovery Fund 369.50 380.64 3.61% ARM Ethical Fund 29.00 29.87 2.69% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.47% 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 104.10 104.83 2.88% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.25% 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 14.06% Paramount Equity Fund 12.08 12.18 2.28% Women's Investment Fund 105.92 106.43 2.21% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.67% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 100.06 100.48 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 102.57 103.08 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.05% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.86 0.86 Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.14 1.14 1.96% 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 12.38% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 12.99% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,208.74 1,209.51 1.96% FBN Heritage Fund 146.20 147.53 1.95% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.16% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 115.46 115.91 1.38% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 115.42 115.87 1.59% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 153.72 155.98 2.48% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 1.23 1.25 0.97% Legacy Debt Fund 3.29 3.29 1.47% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.04 1.04 0.55% 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 3,006.64 3,036.97 0.75% Coral Income Fund 2,801.03 2,801.03 2.27% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.85% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 109.02 109.51 2.12% 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 13.64% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.20 2.23 2.39% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 16.04% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 122.22 122.44 -2.15%

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 1.17 1.19 2.14% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,087.53 1,087.53 1.68% 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 11.88 11.95 3.13% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.40% 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 1.37 1.40 7.34% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.43 12.49 1.83% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.83% 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 121.58 122.14 0.70% 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 1.02 1.02 1.81% 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 2,364.68 2,379.24 4.36% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 191.75 191.75 2.16% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.97 0.98 2.63% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 250.69 250.73 3.45% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 167.84 169.71 2.88% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.80% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,627.84 8,731.36 3.39% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.12 1.12 3.47% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.20 1.21 0.48% United Capital Bond Fund 1.62 1.62 1.51% United Capital Equity Fund 0.70 0.72 -0.76% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.18% United Capital Eurobond Fund 108.31 108.31 0.98% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.10 1.10 0.50% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 11.40 11.56 7.39% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.50 12.62 4.09% Zenith Income Fund 20.91 20.91 8.65% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.64%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

5.95 118.53 51.90

-39.35% 0.00% 0.03%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

11.01 118.79 92.39

11.11 121.36 94.13

4.35% 1.29% 4.21%

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

4.31 7.62 15.29 12.86 148.86

4.35 7.70 15.39 13.06 150.86

7.63% 0.03% 2.24% 4.01% 3.68%

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

38

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

CITYSTRINGS

Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x161; Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ë? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă? äĂ?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013; Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ë&#x203A;Ă?äĂ?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;ĚśĂ&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă?Ë&#x203A;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ë&#x153; Í&#x2018;Í&#x2122;Í&#x2019;Í&#x2013;Í&#x201C;Í&#x201C;Í&#x2013;Í&#x201C;Í&#x201D;Í&#x201C;Í&#x2013;

The Return of Jungle Justice David-Chyddy Eleke recounts the story of a sound engineer, Pascal Onyilo, who was last week mobbed to death by an angry crowd over allegation of attempt to kidnap a child, but shortly after his death, testimonies have proven the kidnap story as false

N

o one who attends public functions, especially those organised by the Anambra State government can claim not to know Pascal Onyilo.

He is usually behind his musical equipment, making sure that the right buttons are tapped to ensure good delivery as far as public address system is concerned.

Pascal is a fair skinned young man in his 30s, and known to be dutiful.

Those who know him said he started his career as a sound engineer with just few equipment, and was often contracted as Disc Jockey at events. One of his virtues is said to be patience, as he can wait for a long time after setting up his musical instruments for an event to commence. Usually, he is the first to arrive at an event, as doing so gives him ample opportunity to set up his equipment before an event begins, and also the last to leave because long after guests and celebrants or hosts have left, Pascal would be seen dismantling his equipment.

Last week, Pascal was said to be on an assignment at Obosi, and had set out early enough for a political rally that was to commence at 12pm.

A source who claims to know him well said he recently spent millions to upgrade his equipment, and also got a van which conveys them ahead of time for every job. Usually, his boys would be mounting the equipment while he joins them later in his also newly acquired Toyota Camry car.

On this fateful day, Pascalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equipment as usual had been shipped to the event venue, while he drove through Umuoji, Idemili North Local Government Area to Obosi, where the function was billed to hold. Suddenly, some children standing by the roadside pelted a stone at his car, damaging a part of it. Pascal was force to stop and chase after the children in the hope of getting their parents to pay for the damaged car. He was said to have caught one of the children, while the rest ran into a compound and told some elders that a kidnaper was pursuing them, and had caught one of them.

The elders were said to have immediately mobilised youths who went after Pascal who was already said to be interrogating the child on the where about of his parents, and without waiting for explanation descended on him. First they set ablaze his car, and then started beating him, while passersby who heard of it joined in the beating. The beating became too severe for him to carry that he collapsed.

Intervention came too late as some good spirited individuals intervened and took Pascal to Iyi-Enu General Hospital, but it was too late as he breathed his last.

But another account however was that Pascal who was rushed to Iyi-Enu Hospital was able to survive emergency surgeries, and had been thought to be stable, just as he had returned from coma and also explained to people who visited his hospital ward how his attempt to get the child who damaged his car to show him his parents for him to possibly slug them for payment for the damaged part of the car, was misconstrued for kidnap, as he was approached by an angry mob, who were not ready to listen to his story, but immediately accused him of attempt to kidnap children.

According to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Anambra

behave like savages by killing innocent people. We should find other outlets for our rage and anger. These should not be directed at human lives. In all cases we must allow the law to run its full course. Parents should continue to train their young children and inculcate in them strong moral values. They should teach them time honoured virtues of saying the truth at all times. If the young school children at Umuoji had not lied to their people, if only they had told the truth of what had actually transpired between them and Paschal, perhaps he would still be alive today. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Again we need to caution ourselves how we use social media platforms.

We must be discerning in this fake news era to know that not all that we receive via WhatsApp is the truth, we should think twice before sharing certain videos and information. The people that murdered Paschal videoed it and passed it around via WhatsApp with the false narrative that he was a kidnapper. They did this probably to cover their tracks. Paschal was not a kidnapper. He was an innocent vibrant young man working hard like everyone else to take care of his family. Unfortunately, those murderers at Umuoji cut his life short. I understand that Abatete, Paschalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hometown is the elder brother to Umuoji so â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Ndi Abateteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; have themselves a case of justice and appeasement of the lands to vigorously pursue.

Late Pascal

Broadcasting Service, Mr Uche Nworah, said the crowd started by setting his car ablaze, before they descended on him.

But just days after everyone thought Pascal was getting better, he was said to have slipped into coma again and passed on from there.

Justice for Pascal A video of the mob beating Pascal had been made, and had also gone viral on various social media platforms, stating that indigenes of Umuoji community in Anambra caught a kidnapper and also lynched him, an

Parents should continue to train their young children and inculcate in them strong moral values.

If the young school children at Umuoji had told the truth about what actually transpired between them and Pascal, perhaps he would still be alive todayâ&#x20AC;Ś..We cannot continue to behave like savages by killing innocent people. We should ďŹ nd other outlets for our rage and anger

allegation which had been hailed by many, Applauding the indigenes for being proactive. The commentator in the amateur video footage released had also claimed that Pascal was working for a top Anambra politician name withheld), with the mandate to bring children for ritual purposes.

But the claim has been long punctured as many have testified to Pascalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s harmlessness, while the politician accused of sending Pascal was only accused because his flyers were found in his car. Nworah who reacted to this said that no one in their right senses would accuse Pascal of being a kidnaper. Nworah said the flyers in Pascalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s car were because he was billed to work for the politician on that day, and was even driving to the event when the incident took place.

Nworah however demanded justice for Pascal, condemning what he called the anger in the land, which most times lead to jungle justice. He reminded Nigerians that families of the Aluu- four victims were yet to get over the lynching of their children in Port Harcourt years back, on the allegation of being robbers, which were never proven, yet people have continued to die daily from jungle justice. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Boys O-Yeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mentality and approach to life has caused many innocent lives to die in Nigeria, leaving families heartbroken and with life-long scares. The case of the Aluu Four is still fresh in our memories. The lynching of the four young vibrant men in Aluu community in Rivers state caused worldwide outrage in 2012.

The families and friends of the four men, Ugonna Obuzor, Toku Lloyd, Chiadika Biringa, and Tekena Elkanah, all students of the University of Port Harcourt are yet to recover from the trauma of their deaths.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We cannot continue to

Will Security Agents Let this Slide? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Anambra Police is already on this matter. There is wide expectation and demand that they apprehend the person whose voice could be heard in the video falsely alleging that Paschal was a kidnapper sent to kidnap children for ritual purposes. The police needs to do this and bring him and his accomplices to justice, not that this will bring Pachal back to life but at least so that his death will not be in vain.

The world should not forget Pascal.â&#x20AC;?

The spokesperson of Anambra State police command, SP Haruna Mohammed who spoke with THISDAY on the incident said the police was on top of the matter. Haruna however said Pascal acted out of indiscretion to have stopped, or even tried to apprehend the children, but blamed in totality the action of the people of Umuoji in killing him, or taking laws into their hands without contacting security agents.

He said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are still working on the matter, and we hope to resolve this too. But I want to tell the members of the public that it is wrong for them to take laws into their hands, even when the people they caught are truly criminals. There is a way you act and the law turns against you.

If you apprehend a kidnapper, your work is to hand him over to the police and let justice be done. We have been telling members of the public this.â&#x20AC;?

But now that it has been found out that Pascal is not a kidnapper, will society let him die in vain? Mr Jude Uchenna, a lawyer said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;this is the time for security agencies to prove themselves. The attempt to link Pascal with a politician and the order to provide children for ritual purposes shows that whoever it was that stage managed this knew they had done the wrong thing, and just needed to call Pascal a bad name, so that his death would be wished away. Will security agents let this happen?â&#x20AC;?

39

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

CRIME&SECURITY

No Hiding Place for the Wicked The arrest of three suspects who stripped and molested a 24-year-old girl over alleged stealing of an iPhone X in spite of her plea has again shown that there is a day of reckoning. Adibe Emenyonu who monitored the development writes on the outcry and protests that led to their arrest

P

enultimate Monday, a video clip went viral on social media, showing how six men stripped a girl stark naked and inserted pepper into her private part as a means of punishment for a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;crimeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; they had declared she committed.

The video clip, considered dehumanising, sent operatives of the Nigeria Police Force from Abuja in a manhunt for the perpetrators of the dastardly act, which was said to have occurred in Ugbiyioko, a densely populated community in Egor council area of Edo State.

The girl identified later as Favour Ada Friday and her girl friend, according to reports, were taken to a red candle inn known as Lafun Hotel located in the community for a sleepover by some guys.

Unfortunately, the supposed fun went awry as one of the men who asked them out, Joel Otoghile said he lost his IPhone X and pointed accusing fingers on Favour.

It was gathered that efforts by a search team to recover the phone had yielded nothingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and angered by the fruitless search, the man who took the girls into the hotel particularly threatened Favour with fire and brimstone if the phone was not found, but all to no avail, a development which prompted him and others to approach a native doctor who performed some ritual activities and incantations in the process.

The girl was said to have been compelled to undergo strange mystic oath taking at the end of which no result came out of the entire drama.

But not convinced, Otoghile and others dragged Favour to a lone corner where they carried out the despicable act of inserting pepper into her private part with a view to forcing her to confess stealing the phone.

Narrating her ordeal, Favour said on that fateful day, someone called her to come along with any friend of hers because some guys would want to hang out and have fun with them which she obliged.

However, she said on getting to the hotel, Otoghile introduced himself as a Nigerian businessman based in Ghana while others introduced themselves as Greg Eweka, Friday Omorogbe, Kingsley Iyany.

She added that while they were drinking and monetary negotiation was on, Otoghile excused himself. At that moment, she said the other guys began to take heavy dose of tramadol which according to her, frightened her friend who then declined the offer of sleep over by coming up with excuse that the money they offered for the night was not enough, and that they both left only to be called back that a phone was missing.

"Not quite five minutes of our departure we were called that the Ghana based business man was looking for his phone. He claimed to have kept the phone close to where I was sitting and that I must have taken it, but I told him I did not take his phone.

"It was there the manager of the hotel was alerted and they started beating me.

They took me to a native doctor who performed some magical act. He first inserted two bullets into my stomach.

He later brought out a life snake. As if that was not enough, two of them held me and the other inserted raw pepper into my private part.

"Before this time, they took me to the head of vigilante group in the area where my friends who heard about the lost phone contributed N226,000 and gave it to Otoghile as part payment for the loss which he claimed he bought for N400,000", she stated. They promised

Cross section of women protesting the dehumanising act on Favour in Benin recently that in two weeks time, they would make up the difference", Favour stated.

Following the dehumanizing incident, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu ordered a comprehensive investigation into the report to ascertain its authenticity and subsequent action where appropriate.

Consequently, the Edo State Police Command, led by its Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu swung into action, leading to the investigative breakthrough and three suspects were arrested.

Those arrested are: Otoghile, Lucky Igbinovia, the leader of the vigilante group, who is also known as "One Man Squad" in whose house the young woman was tortured, and Edobor Osemwengie, who is the manager of the hotel.

"At the moment, three of the suspects, Eweka, Iyany and Friday Omorogbe are at large, while efforts are being intensified to arrest them and bring all involved to justice" said Edo CP while parading the suspects.

Briefing journalists on the progress made, CP Odumosun said the Nigeria Police Force condemned in strong terms acts of jungle justice in its entirety and warns of dire consequences for persons who resort to criminal acts of self-help.

Additionally, he said his men have established contact with the female

Otoghile and others dragged Favour to a lone corner where they carried out the despicable act of inserting pepper into her private part with a view to forcing her to confess stealing the phone

victim, aged 24 years, on her health status and recovery rate Providing more details as the investigation progresses, he said three of the suspects would be taken to court immediately; while efforts were on to apprehend others still large.

True to his word, the three arrested persons were taken to court where they were remanded. They were arraigned on 14 count charges bothering on unlawful attempt to kill, kidnapping, attempted murder, unlawful administering noxious substance into the private part of Favour, as well as unlawful trial by ordeal.

Other charges included indecent assault, extortion by threat, publication of defamatory matters, false accusation, stripping of Ada naked and recording the scene on video.

Corroborating the statement of the prosecution counsel, CP Odumosun who spoke while addressing female protesters led by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), and Edo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, said the victim was accused of stealing the phone just to extort money from her, assuring the protesters that the police would carry out thorough investigation to ensure the case is not thrown out by any judge.

The inhuman treatment meted out to Favour has gotten the attention of the Edo State First Lady, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, who described it as a crime against humanity which shocked human conscience and would not be tolerated

by Edo people, adding that her husband was very upset and angered by the incident.

Addressing the protesters at Government House, Governor Godwin Obaseki condemned the action and said his administration will not cover anybody no matter how highly placed.

In the light of this, he immediately signed the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Bill into Law, and assured that the law will take its course.

The bill as gathered was sent to the EDHA in the fourth Assembly but suffered a setback. It also suffered a setback in the fifth Assembly but was eventually passed in the sixth Assembly.

VAP law as learnt will also eliminate

violence in private and public life as it prohibits violence against all persons and provides maximum protection and effective remedy for victims and punishment for offenders and other related matters.

Besides, in the bill, rape is properly defined while a rapist upon conviction will now spend his or her life in prison.

Notwithstanding, if a man beats his wife, he risks two years in prison if the case is proven.

In the bill signed into law, it also an offense for men to abandon their duties of upbringing as the responsibility is not for women alone. Female genital mutilation now attracts life imprisonment without an option of fine in addition.

"This meant to address all forms of violence and protect vulnerable members of the society", Obaseki said while appending to the bill. He added that he was aware that the bill touches on fundamental practices among the people, assuring that he was not only signing the bill as a formality, but will ensure it was implemented to the letter.

"We will not stop here by just signing the bill into law, but will commence the much difficult work of implementing it to the letter. It must be noted that this bill has been in consideration for over six to eight years but the time has come for us to have a law like this VAP Law, to protect the most vulnerable and weak in our society.

"As a government, we have aligned with FIDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purpose and objective and therefore have no hesitation in signing the bill into law," he said.

Addressing protesters on violence against women, the governor commended them and stressed that the time to change the way society responds to violence against the weak has come.

He added that his administration was not afraid of change and will embrace it to the fullest.

Obaseki further declared: "I want to appreciate FIDA for their doggedness, leadership and commitment to this cause. I am not sure many other states in the nation have such bills.

This bill goes to the core of some of the most pressing issues in the society particularly violence against women and other persons."

40

5 ) * 4 % ": t MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2019

MONDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

41

INTERNATIONAL

Massive Protests against Trump’s Mexico Wall Emergency Today Massive protests are being planned to be staged across the United States on Monday, the Presidents Day in response to Donald Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency for border wall funding.

USA Today reports a wave of protests have been planned from New York to California and Texas to oppose the president’s national emergency declaration.

Thehill.com reported that a number of demonstrations are being planned by the liberal advocacy group, MoveOn.org, and others have been listed on rallylist.com.

“Donald Trump has declared

a #FakeNationalEmergency—an illegal power grab from an unhinged man to push his racist, dangerous policies,” MoveOn. org states on its site for protests taking place on Presidents Day. “We are mobilising nonviolent rapid-response events to stand up against Trump’s #FakeNationalEmergency to defend our democracy and immigrant, Muslim, black, and brown communities from Trump’s dangerous national emergency power grab,” the group continues.

The site also allows users to input a zip code or city to find the nearest protest to attend on

Monday.

Trump on Friday also declared a national emergency at the border in efforts to bypass Congress and allocate nearly $8 billion for construction of his long-sought border wall.

Trump announced the move in an address from the Rose Garden shortly after he signed the declaration, is expected to be met with a number of legal challenges.

Trump has already faced fierce opposition from lawmakers and political groups who say the president overstepped his authority with the emergency declaration.

Eight Killed in Eastern DR Congo Eight people died in three shootings in Goma, eastern DR Congo, the town mayor said Sunday, while others complained authorities were slow to react to violence in North Kivu province.

“In Mugunga (district), there was shooting last night. Five people were killed and more injured. In Katoy, one was killed near a petrol station and further north towards

Buhene two people were killed,” Timothee Muissa Kiense told AFP, adding that investigations were under way.

Benin Butatunda, vicechairman of a Mugunga youth association charged meanwhile that “assailants fired on passers-by. Authorities did not intervene in time to save human lives.

“There is much tension here

in Mugunga. The population is angry at the authorities’ lethargy,” Butatunda said.

The shootings came as Martin Fayulu, controversially beaten by fellow opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi in the December 30 presidential election, was in the province for a meeting at Butembo, 266 km (165 miles) from Goma.

Kenya Recalls Ambassador in Somalia over Oil-rich Indian Ocean Boundary Kenya has recalled its ambassador to Somalia after Somalia auctioned oil and gas exploration blocks at the centre of a maritime territorial dispute in the Indian Ocean, the foreign ministry said.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is considering a claim on their maritime boundaries brought by Somalia in 2014 after negotiations over the 100,000 sq. km stretch of sea floor broke down.

Kenya said on Saturday it had summoned its ambassador, Lucas Tumbo, and asked his Somalia counterpart Mohammed Muhamud Nur to return to

Mogadishu for consultation with his government.

“The summons is a consequence of a most regretful and egregious decision by the government of Somalia to auction off oil and gas blocks in Kenya’s maritime territorial area,” the foreign ministry said.

Somalia, which held the auction in London on Feb. 7, did not respond immediately to the new developments.

Kenya said it had raised concerns with the Somali government a day before the auction after it noticed blocks in what it considers to be its maritime territory were included

in the auction.

“This unparalleled affront and illegal grab at the resources of Kenya will not go unanswered and is tantamount to an act of aggression against the people of Kenya and their resources,” it said in a statement, adding it was ready to defend its territorial integrity “at any cost”.

The two states have been co-operating in the long fight against the al Qaeda-linked, al Shabaab militants in Somalia.

Kenya said the row over maritime territory could jeopardise that.

British Teen Who Joined IS Gives Birth in Refugee Camp A teenager who joined the Islamic State group in Syria but now wants to return to Britain on Sunday gave birth in a refugee camp, as European governments grapple with what to do with returning jihadists ahead of a US troop pullout.

Shamima Begum, whose fate has stirred controversy ever since she and two friends fled London to join the terror network in 2015 aged just 15, told Sky News she had delivered a boy.

“I just gave birth so I’m really tired,” the 19-year-old said as she made a renewed appeal to be allowed back to Britain with her newborn baby.

“I’m afraid he might even die in this camp. I feel a lot of people should have sympathy for me,

for everything I’ve been through,” she said.

“I didn’t know what I was getting into when I left. I just was hoping that maybe for the sake of me and my child they let me come back,” she added.

Her case comes as European nations struggle with how to deal with jihadists eager to return home following the disintegration of Islamic State’s “caliphate” in eastern Syria.

US President Donald Trump again demanded on Saturday that they take back hundreds of captured IS fighters.

TrumpsaidonTwitterthattheUnited States was asking Britain and other continental allies “to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial”.

The demand came as he prepared — ahead of the pullout

of US troops — to declare the group’s so-called “caliphate” destroyed, with US-led Arab and Kurdish forces close to capturing its last Syrian territorial holdout.

“The US does not want to watch as these ISIS fighters permeate Europe,” Trump added.

“Time for others to step up and do the job that they are so capable of doing. We are pulling back after 100% Caliphate victory!”

Begum, previously gave birth to two other children after marrying in Syria. Both children died.

Leading politicians, including interior minister Sajid Javid, have vowed to prevent her return, pointing to her lack of remorse for joining the terror group.

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MONDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

Saudi Prince Starts Asia Tour with Deals to Invest $20bn in Pakistan Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a raft of investment deals

Sunday worth up to $20 billion for the cash-strapped South Asian

Japan PM Nominates Trump for Nobel, Allegedly at White House’s Request Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nominated US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize last autumn after being requested to do so by Washington, a Japanese newspaper reported Sunday.

Washington sounded out Tokyo over the possibility of nominating Trump for the prize after his landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in June last year, an unnamed Japanese government source told the Asahi Shimbun.

The report came after Trump’s claim on Friday that Abe had nominated him for the prize.

Trump said Abe had sent him a copy of a five-page nomination

letter delivered to the Nobel Peace Prize committee in which the Japanese leader praised his efforts in defusing tensions with Pyongyang.

“He said ‘I have nominated you respectfully on behalf of Japan. I am asking them to give you the Nobel Peace Prize.’ I said thank you,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

“Many other people feel that way, too. I’ll probably never get it. That’s okay.”

Japanese officials did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment on Trump’s claim or the newspaper report.

Malian Soldier Wounded in Firefight with German Allies A Malian soldier was seriously wounded during a night-time exchange of fire with German troops serving as UN peacekeepers in the west African nation, the German army said Sunday.

The incident took place late Saturday as the German soldiers were returning from having recovered a troop transport vehicle 50 kilometres (31 miles) from their base in Gao, western Mali, said a statement from the Bundeswehr (German army).

“A German convoy came under fire in the dark, the situation was unclear,” a spokesman for army operations command in Potsdam told AFP. The German soldiers returned fire, before returning safely to camp.

“According to current information, it only later became

by an honour guard at a military airbase near Islamabad.

The two-day visit to Pakistan comes amid high tensions in the region: India and Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival Iran — both bordering Pakistan — have accused Islamabad of backing militant groups which have carried out bloody suicide attacks on their soil in recent days.

Hours ahead of the crown prince’s arrival, Pakistan dismissed Delhi’s accusations as “well-rehearsed tactics from (the) Indian playbook after such incidents in the past”.

MBS will travel to India after his Pakistan visit, where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

He is expected to finish the trip with a visit to China on Thursday and Friday.

The Asia trip comes after the murder of Khashoggi, a fierce critic of MBS, ignited a diplomatic crisis.

Riyadh initially denied the murder, then gave several conflicting accounts of Khashoggi’s death, and now claims he was killed in an unauthorised operation.

Turkey said Friday it has not yet revealed all the information

it has uncovered in the case, which launched a global wave of revulsion and profoundly tarnished the crown prince’s reputation.

But for analysts, the Asia tour — the largest outing on the international scene for the Saudi royal since his participation in the G20 summit in Argentina last December — is a timely demonstration to the West that he still has friends in rising Asia.

He “wants to demonstrate that he is not an international pariah”, said James M. Dorsey, a researcher at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

It is a matter of proving that he still has “international access and he can function… as the most senior representative of Saudi Arabia beyond the king”.

Li Guofu, director of Middle East studies at the China Institute of International Studies, a government-affiliated think tank, noted that as the Khashoggi case continues to cause indignation in Western countries, visiting them would have been “inconvenient”.

“Not travelling to the West does not mean that he cannot come to the East. Saudi Arabia is also making strategic adjustments, and

Asia is the new main direction of Saudi diplomacy,” he said.

Asian countries, he added, “have an important special characteristic — that is, we don’t interfere in the internal affairs of other countries”.

The prince’s trip also includes an important economic component.

“China is the largest buyer of Saudi crude, and Saudi Arabia’s other largest clients are all Asian: India, Japan, South Korea,” said Dorsey.

“Asia is a source of inward investment into Gulf energy and infrastructure investment; and the future growth of the global economy will be in Asia,” said Karen Young, an analyst with the American Enterprise Institute.

The crown prince’s visit to Islamabad comes as the Taliban appeared to postpone a round of talks with the US set to be held in Pakistan this week, according to the group’s spokesman.

Neither Washington or Pakistan confirmed the latest round of talks the Taliban earlier claimed were set to take place in Islamabad.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are both involved in a monthslong push led by Washington aimed at ending the conflict in Afghanistan.

clear that it must have been an exchange of fire between the Malian defence forces and the German troops,” the Bundeswehr said in its statement.

One Malian soldier was wounded and taken to a French field hospital by the German forces, the army said. He “remains in a life-threatening condition”, the statement added.

Around 1,000 German soldiers are present in Mali as part of the United Nations stabilisation mission known as MINUSMA. Some 15,000 peacekeepers have been on the ground since a peace accord was signed in 2015 between the Bamako government and armed groups, following a 2012 Islamist uprising in the country’s north.

Court Sentences Priest To 20 Years In Prison For Raping Minor An Indian court has convicted a senior Catholic priest of raping a minor and sentenced him to 20 years in jail, the latest sexual assault scandal involving the Church in southern Kerala state.

Robin Vadakkumchery was found guilty on Saturday of raping a 16-year-old schoolgirl, with the crime only coming to light after the victim gave birth to a baby in a surprise delivery in February 2017.

Citing a lack of evidence, the court acquitted four nuns, a priest and an orphanage employee who had been accused of trying to cover up the crime and shield the influential Vadakkumchery.

After a child rights charity reported the secret delivery to the police, leading to the priest’s arrest at Kochi airport as he attempted to board a plane to Canada, many of the main witnesses in the case

country, as Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman launched his Asia tour seeking to emerge from the Khashoggi affair.

Pakistan is facing a serious balance of payments crisis and hopes the deals — seven separate agreements and Memorandums of Understanding — will provide welcome relief to its teetering economy.

The crown prince, widely known as “MBS”, is staging the high-profile three-country visit five months after he came under intense pressure following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. He got a warm welcome in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan thanked longtime ally Saudi Arabia for its support, adding: “Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are now taking this relationship to a level which (they) never had before.”

Khan has already visited Saudi Arabia twice since coming to power last summer.

Earlier Sunday, MBS was greeted with a booming 21-gun salute and was warmly embraced

by Khan and powerful army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa as he stepped onto a red carpet flanked

turned hostile.

“Almost all the independent witnesses proved non-cooperative, making it difficult for us to provide substantive evidence against all that the defence threw at us,” Inspector Sunil Kumar, who investigated the case, told AFP. Even the father of the victim testified that he, and not the priest, had raped the girl, while his daughter told the court that the relationship was consensual and said she had been an adult at the time.

Sex — whether consensual or otherwise — with a person below 18 years of age is considered rape under India’s stringent child protection laws.

Only the doctor’s official record of when the baby was born could prove that the girl had been a minor at the time of delivery, said Kumar.

Thousands of Yellow Vest protesters marching across the street to mark their three months of protest in Paris… weekend

AFP

Hamas Takes Control of Gaza Goods Crossing with Israel Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas took control of the Palestinian side of the enclave’s main goods crossing with Israel, the strip’s interior ministry and an official news agency said Sunday.

Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in 2007 in a near civil war with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’ Fatah party.

But it agreed to hand control of the crossings to the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in 2017, as part of a since-failed reconciliation attempt between the two parties.

The PA administration at the goods crossing said Sunday that Hamas had “expelled (its) employees and

banned them from entering the crossing”, the official news agency Wafa reported.

Known to Israelis as Kerem Shalom and to Palestinians as the Kerem Abu Salem, the crossing in the south of poverty-hit enclave has been a lifeline for Gazans, who have lived under a crippling Israeli blockade for more than a decade.

Hamas confirmed PA employees had left the crossing.

Security forces “put in place procedures dictated by security imperatives”, Gaza’s interior ministry spokesman Iyad al-Bozum said in a statement.

“Palestinian Authority

employees at the crossing have refused to cooperate on these procedures for a few days and today we were surprised by their departure,” he added.

He said goods continued to pass through the crossing as normal.

The Israeli defence ministry body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, COGAT, said “trucks were going through” into Gaza as usual.

Last month, Gaza’s only crossing with Egypt was partially closed for some 20 days after PA employees withdrew from the border point, accusing Hamas of interference.

Hamas employees quickly retook control of the Rafah crossing, the only way for Palestinians to leave the enclave that bypasses Israel.

Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, including Hamas, have fought three wars since 2008.

Tensions have risen again since March as Palestinians have gathered at least weekly along the border with Israel for often-violent protests, calling for an end to the blockade.

At least 250 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since then, the majority shot during clashes, though others have been hit by tank fire or air strikes.

MONDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

43

NEWS

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

Four Soldiers, Five Terrorists Killed in Boko Haram Attack on Yobe Community Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Five Boko Haram members, an army officer and three soldiers died on Saturday at Buni Yadi in Gujba Local Government Area (LGA) of Yobe State during an encounter between troops and terrorists, Nigerian Army has said.

The Army spokesman, Col. Sagir Musa, who confirmed the attack in a statement yesterday, said the casualties were recorded when the terrorists attacked a military formation in the town.

The Nigerian Army Special Forces School and 27 Task Force Brigade are both located in

Buni Yadi.

Musa said five other soldiers were wounded and were receiving treatment in the Brigade Field Ambulance.

Musa said the insurgents were armed with four gun trucks, one Mine Resistant Ambush Protection, one MOWAC (heavy fighting equipment) and assorted arms and ammunition.

He noted that nine AK-47 rifles, one anti-aircraft gun, 121 rounds of 12.7 mm antiaircraft ammunitions, two 36 hand grenades, 295 rounds of 7.62 mm special ammunition and four Improvised Explosive Devices were recovered from

the insurgents.

Musa said one IED cylinder, one RPG bomb, one RPG bomb charger, one gun truck and one Bajaj motorcycle were also recovered from the terrorists.

He quoted the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, to have commended troops for successes being recorded in recent times in the battle against insurgents in the

North-east and enjoined them to remain resolute, alert and decisive as well as professional.

Buratai also thanked all those who passed timely and credible information that aided the successful “abortion of the attempted attack on troop’s position in Buni Yadi.”

In another development, Musa said troops deployed to provide security for the

rescheduled presidential and National Assembly elections at Iwaraja Junction along Osun and Ogun axis on Saturday intercepted three hoodlums.

He said they were intercepted on motorcycle moving towards Ilesa East Local Government Area, with intent to disrupt smooth conduct of the rescheduled elections in the area.

The army spokesman said the hoodlums would be handed over to the police upon completion of “initial profiling and investigation.”

He said one locally-made pistol, one gutless, three rounds of cartridges, three mobile phones, one iPad, one Peace Corps face cap, one Peace Corps ID card and N14,300 were recovered from the suspects.

N’Assembly Shifts Resumption of Plenary to February 26 Says polls postponement will delay minimum wage bill, 2019 budget Deji Elumoye in Abuja The National Assembly, which last month adjourned plenary to Tuesday, February 19, has shifted the resumption of plenary by one week.

This is coming as the lawmakers have condemned the postponement of the general election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stating that passage of the 2019 Appropriation Bill and the New Minimum Wage Bill will also suffer further delay.

The lawmakers, according to a one- page statement entitled “Postponement of Resumption of Plenary,” issued yesterday by the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. M. A. Sani-Omolori, attributed the shifting of the reconvening date of the federal legislators to Tuesday, February 26, to the postponement of the national elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to Saturday, February 23.

The statement enjoined all senators and House of Representatives members to resume plenary by 10 a.m on Tuesday, February 26.

The Senate had on Thursday, January 24 adjourned plenary to February 19, after considering the National Minimum Wage Bill transmitted to it by President Muhammadu Buhari, which passed through second reading.

Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over plenary, had said the Senate will adjourn plenary on Tuesday , February 19 after listening to the motion moved by the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan.

The Senate had earlier this month attempted to hold a special session in the wake of the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, by President Muhammadu Buhari, but had to put it off at the last minute.

The Clerk of the Senate, Mr. Nelson Ayewoh, had invited the Senators to an emergency plenary through a two-paragraph statement personally signed by him.

But Ayewoh in another letter titled “Cancellation of Senate

Resumption Plenary,” informed all senators of the National Assembly that the resumption for Tuesday, January 29, had been cancelled.

According to him, “the scheduled date of resumption in Plenary earlier fixed for Tuesday, February 19, remains, please”.

The Senate rather than reconvening decided to approach the apex court of the land, the Supreme Court, to seek its interpretation of whether President Muhammadu Buhari acted within the provisions of the constitution in his suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen .

Meanwhile, the lawmakers have condemned the postponement of the general electionbytheINEC,statingthat the passage of the 2019Appropriation Bill and the New Minimum Wage Bill will suffer further delay.

Speaking with one of our correspondents on the telephone on Saturday evening, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, lamented that the postponement had more implications beyond the elections.

Namdas said one of the implications was that the National Assembly, which was billed to resume plenary on Tuesday to work on the national budget and the wage bill, among others, would be forced to extend its recess.

The House’s spokesman said, “For us in the National Assembly, we are really saddened by this event. We had supported INEC to the extent that we decided to postpone some of our recess and holidays just to approve the commission’s budget for this election. And we approved N189 billion for INEC, in addition to the budgets of security agencies, totalling N242 billion, so that the situation today could be averted.

“That is why we feel that it is not fair, after the support, both from Nigerians, the National Assembly and the Executive Arm of Government, for INEC to cite logistics as a reason for postponement. This is really unfair on the part of INEC.”

PRAYING FOR PEACEFUL ELECTIONS...

L-R: President of Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki; Emir of Ilorin, Dr. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari; and governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Razak Atunwa, praying during jummat at the Ilorin Central Mosque…recently

Two Killed in Kogi Women’s Protest My life in danger, deputy gov cries out Yekini JimohinLokoja The protest by Ihima women against the renewed political violence in Ebiraland by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State has claimed two lives while several houses were burnt.

The women have called on Governor Yahaya Bello to order his appointees to retrieve guns distributed to their sons.

This is coming as the state Deputy Governor, Chief Simon Achuba, has cried out over alleged threats to his life, following the alleged withdrawal of his security details by the state Commissioner of Police, Busari Hakeem.

The protest, which started on Saturday and lasted for four hours, saw the aggrieved women visiting the house of political leaders in the land, to warn them to return the guns they distributed to their sons to kill themselves and cause confusion in the land.

The women alleged that OKehi Local Government Administrator, Abdulraheem Ohiare, and the state Commissioner for Water Resources, Salami Ozigi,were responsible for the political crises that had claimed the lives of two people, with more than 30 injured and 15 houses burnt in Obeiba axis of Ihima, OKehi LGA. The women threatened to continue the protest until the political leaders retrieve the guns distributed to their children.

Speaking on behalf of the women, Hajia Abisetu, said they cannot sit anymore and watch what has been happening in the last two months to continue, adding that they will continue their protest until Governor Bello orders his appointees to retrieve the guns distributed to their sons to kill themselves and cause confusion in Ihima.

She said, “We took it upon ourselves to save our land; we went round Ihima yesterday and visited the houses of all the political leaders sponsoring and distributing guns to our sons; we warned them to retrieve their guns from our children for us to have peace in Ihima.

“Instead of doing the needful, OKehi LG Administrator, Ohiare, went and held meeting to sponsor some women from his own place in Eyika to stage another protest here in Ihima in support of his evil.

“This is why we are out again because the administrator is not ready to change and give us peace in our own land,” she alleged.

In another development, the Social Democratic Party, (SDP), in the state has raised the alarm over an alleged move by the Kogi State Government and the APC in the state to use the Nigeria Police to rig the forthcoming elections particularly in Kogi Central.

In a statement issued yesterday by the state Acting Chairman of the party, Alhaji Mouktar Atimah, the party alleged that huge sums

of money was given to the police earlier deployed to Kogi Central, before the postponement of the elections by INEC to motivate them to give cover to APC thugs to snatch election materials and perpetuate other electoral violence.

“We also call on all relevant agencies to watch out for this.

Money that ordinarily would have been used to pay backlog of salaries or invested in the provision of critical infrastructure is being wasted.

“We call on our members and supporters not to lose hope as a result of the postponement,” the party said .

But reacting to the development, the state Police Command said its men deployed for the election were trained on their rules of engagement.

The Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), William Aya, said no officer would take side with any politician, adding that the consequences of such actions are well spelt out in the rules of engagement.

He assured all the political actors in the state that the police command would remain neutral, adding that any officer who engages in any act contrary to the laid down rules would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

Meanwhile, the state Deputy Governor, Chief Simon Achuba,

has cried out that his life was in danger, following the alleged withdrawal of his security details by the state commissioner of police, Busari Hakeem.

Addressing journalists yesterday at his official residence in Lokoja, he lamented that his security details were ordered to report to Government House on February 15 for briefing by the ADC to the governor.

He said he was to travel home when the ADC to the governor called them for security briefing.

According to the deputy governor, on getting to Government House, the ADC to the governor took them to SARS office to make statement.

“They accused my ADC and orderly of gun-running but they denied the allegation. As I am speaking now, they are under detention in Government House.

I informed the Commissioner of Police on the situation but till now he has refused to take any action.

“I am a member of the APC. I reported to the national leader of the APC. My imprest has been stopped for reason by the governor.

“I live as deputy governor in the house without security, I travelled home without police; my life is in danger,” he cried out.

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MONDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Falana Asks FG to Revisit Reports of Uwais, Lemu, Nnamani’s Panels Faults INEC on banning of campaigns

Martins Ifijeh Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC)

and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to apologise to Nigerians for their deliberate refusal to implement the farreaching recommendations of the Electoral Reforms Panels headed

El-Rufai Condemns Attempts by ‘Busy Bodies’ to Deny Kaduna Killings HURIWA berates governor over fake news on alleged incident SOKAPU accuses el-Rufai of inciting violence John ShiklaminKaduna The Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has condemned what it described as attempts by some “busy bodies” to deny the killings of 66 people in Fulani settlements in Kajuru Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

This is coming as a prominent Non-governmental organisation (NGO), Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has described as despicable, reprehensible and outrageous the false and unsubstantiated claim made by the Kaduna governor alleging that 66 Fulanis were slaughtered by Christians in Kajuru LGAof the state.

The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKPU), has also alleged that el-Rufai’s comments on the alleged killings in communities in Kajuru LGA of the state, were deliberately orchestrated to inflame ethnic and religious violence.

Apparently reacting to the controversies that have continued to trail the announcement of the killings on Friday, the eve of the suspended Presidential elections, the state government in a statement yesterday “condemned in the strongest terms attempts to politicise the killings.”

Several groups, including former Chairman of National Chairman of the Human Rights Commission, Prof.

Chidi Odinkalu, had maintained that the death figures were cooked up and had challenged the governor to prove it.

But the spokesman to governor, Samuel Aruwan, who signed the statement, said the “Kaduna State Government notes the concerted and apparently coordinated efforts by bigoted busy bodies to deny the Kajuru killings, or to minimise the casualty figures, and the specious arguments being deployed in this despicable quest” According to the statement: “Only irresponsible and insensitive people can recklessly dismiss the deaths of members of a community with whom they have no contact.

“Private individuals and unelected actors cannot be allowed to reduce weighty matters of state security to the province of their limited networks, inexperienced lenses and narrow agendas.”

The statement added that “the government of a state cannot be deterred by parochial, ethnoreligious, partisan or electoral calculations from doing its duty to provide security, confirm incidents of security breaches, take steps to reassure affected communities and ensure that perpetrators are arrested

and brought to justice”.

Aruwan also said the governor visited scenes of the killings on Saturday.

The statement said the General Officer, Commanding 1 Division of the NigerianArmy, Kaduna, Maj. Gen. Farouk Yahaya, briefed the el-Rufai on the recovery of 66 corpses by soldiers in the Maro and Iri axis of Kajuru LGA. But despite the governor’s insistence that 66 Fulanis were killed, HURIWA has condemned as despicable, reprehensible and outrageous the false and unsubstantiated claim made by the Kaduna governor alleging that 66 Fulanis were slaughtered by Christians in Kajuru LGA. HURIWA in a statement by the National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and National Media Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, said it was unimaginable that the Kaduna governor who had also threatened to kill off foreign election observers should they intervene in the botched February 16 presidential elections was thesamepersonwhobriefedthemedia and dished out what has turned out as as fake news in which he falsely claimedthat66Fulanipersons,including women and children were massacred.

HURIWA alleged that the governor’s allegation was an attempt to stoke up ethno-religious civil strife and possibly disrupt the general election in a state that has remained volatile since the past three decades.

HURIWA has also condemned the news media that carried the fake information without making any effort to investigate the claims which was dished out to them without any empirical evidence or any shreds of facts or even demanding to see forensic, medical and security reports but proceeded to circulate the half baked tissues of lies and a hate filled story concocted allegedly by the Kaduna governor for purely political reasons.

HURIWA said the action of the media in running with that sensitive but fake story could have undermined national security and imperile peace and ethnic harmony in Nigeria.

The rights group stated that journalism thrives on truth and objectivity and wondered why the media practitioners never asked to see the physical evidence but chose to splashthesensationalstoryonthepages of newspapers on a day the nation was about holding one of the most hotly contested general elections in which the poorly performed President Muhammadu Buhari has displayed overwhelming tendencies that smacks of desperation and avarice for power by all means, including a claim that nobody can unseat him from power.

by retired Justice Mohammed Uwais, Sheik Ahmed Lemu and Dr. Ken Nnamani, which were set up by the Yar’adua, Jonathan and Buhari regimes, respectively.

The senior lawyer has also called on the federal government to revisit the reports of the committees, saying each of the panels had recommended the unbundling of the Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC) for effective performance.

Falana has also faulted INEC’s decision to stop political parties from engaging in campaigns, stressing that the electoral body has not paid attention to Section 99 of the Electoral Act, which provides that the period of campaigning in public by political parties shall end 24 hours before polling day.

The rights activist argued that since elections have been shifted, the period of campaign has also shifted and will end 24 hours to the new polling day.

“Therefore, the limitation of campaign imposed by INEC should be reversed without any delay. Furthermore, INEC should comply with all valid and

subsisting court orders with respect to the candidates sponsored by political parties for the general elections. Otherwise, the courts may annul some of the elections conducted by INEC on grounds of exclusion of qualified candidates,” Falana added.

Falana said in a statement yesterday that the shameful postponement of the 2019 general election would not have occured if the federal government had unbundled the INEC and ensured the practice of internal democracy in the political parties.

According to him, it is public knowledge that both APC and PDP have not committed themselves to electoral reforms.

He argued that the two parties have conveniently forgotten that the late President Umaru Yar’adua had admitted that the 2007 general election, which produced his regime was highly flawed.

“Since the system will continue to produce flawed elections all democratic forces should mount sufficient pressure on the federal government to implement the recommendations of the aforesaid

electoral reform panels, once the 2019 rescheduled elections are concluded,” he said.

Falana acknowledged that by virtue of section 26 of the Electoral Act, an election may be postponed if a serious breach of peace or violence is likely to occur or on account of natural disaster or other emergencies.

To prevent any abuse of power, he said the reasons for postponement of any election must be cogent and verifiable.

“Furthermore, section 105 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria provides that if the Federation is at war in which the territory of the country is physically involved and the President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections the national assembly may pass a resolution to postpone the election.

And such postponement shall not be more than six months at any one time,” he said.

Falana insisted that any postponement of elections on account of logistical or operational reasons cannot be justified under the Electoral Act or the Constitution.

“Since general election had been postponed on two previous occasions due to lack of adequate preparations, the Independent National Electoral Commission ought to have prevented the shifting of the 2019 general election. Even though all the political parties have blamed INEC for the postponement some of them contributed to the national shame and embarrassment. Owing to the decision of political leaders to select and impose candidates on their parties in utter violation of section 87 of the Electoral Act many aggrieved candidates rushed to court for legal redress.

Consequently, not less than 600 pre-election cases were filed and are pending in the various courts while not less 40 orders have directed INEC to accept the names of candidates who won the primaries but were shortchanged. The resort to litigation due to the impunity of majority of political parties contributed to the unwarranted delay in the preparations of INEC for the general elections,” Falana explained.

THREE HEARTY CHEERS...

L-R: President, Nsukka Professionals Association (NPA), Charles Nwodo; Vice President, Francisca C. Okolo; Managing Director, Zebra Energy/founding member, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Dr. Steve Okolo; and Founder, Kenna Partners, Prof.

Fabian Ajogwu, at the 3rd Annual Summit of Nsukka Professionals Association, in Lagos…recently

NANS Threatens Nationwide Protest Today over Polls Shift The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has threatened that its members will organise nationwide protests against the postponement of the general election by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) today.

Spokesman of the association, Mr. Azeez Adeyemi, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Abeokuta on Saturday.

Adeyemi said the students would organise nationwide protests today (Monday) against the INEC’s decision.

He stated that the association was fully mobilised for the protests and that no attempt to stop it would succeed.

He described the situation as “show of shame and disgrace to a country.”

The body lamented that countries often learnt from their past, “but, that is not so with Nigeria.”

Adeyemi, however, cautioned that the sovereignty of Nigeria should not be toyed with by selfish leaders, adding that the unity of the country should not be frustrated.

He stated that it was a shame and a bad signal to worldwide observers that the sincerity in the forthcoming elections was diminishing.

“The sovereignty of Nigeria should not be toyed with by any

leader. Our forefathers fought for this; the unity of the nation should not be frustrated.

“NANS declares Monday, February 18, 2019 as a day of nationwide protest by Nigerian students .

“We hereby state categorically that no attempt by security agencies to distrupt this protest will survive.”

The students’ body, however, asked the INEC Chairman, Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu, to tender his letter of resignation over the development.

The NANS said “Our position is that INEC chairman should resign and President Muhammadu Buhari should

strengthen Nigeria’s security”.

The body accused President Buhari of not living up to the expectations of Nigerians.

Adeyemi added that the postponement would not have been made possible without the knowledge of the President.

He said : “For over three months now, even, till yesterday (Friday), INEC has been assuring Nigerians that the commission was fully ready; why now calling off the election on the day of the election?

“NANS still holds the view and sure of the fact that this postponement is not the complete decision of the INEC chairman, but, by some cabals at the Presidency.”

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Customs Officers Shoot Passenger Dead over N5,000 Bribe Agency explains incident Chinedu Eze Customs officers along BeninAsaba road yesterday killed a young man in a passenger bus.

The deceased was said to be coming from Lagos with other passengers when the officers stopped the vehicle and demanded a N5,000 bribe.

In the ensuing altercation, one of the officers shot the passenger, a development that infuriated other passengers.

The passengers reportedly

mobilised and prevented the officers from leaving the scene.

They also disarmed them before descending on them, according to an eyewitness who spoke with our correspondent.

However, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has explained how a scuffle involving its personnel at Shagamu interchange, Ijebu Ode, led to the death of a young man it identified as Godwin by accidentally discharged bullet from an officer who was also severely injured.

Customs in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, DC Joseph Attah, said contrary to the reports making the rounds that a returnee Nigerian from eastern part of the country was killed when the vehicle he was travelling along with other passengers was stopped by the agency’s officials and a disagreement over alleged request for bribe led to the killing of the passengers, the statement denied that such incident did not take place.

NCS admitted that its officer killed Godwin in the scuffle

but further explained, “The attention of Nigeria Customs Service has been drawn to a disturbing video going viral with conflicting narratives. While it is painful and totally unnecessary to lose life in anti-smuggling operations, today (yesterday) at Shagamu interchange along Ijebu Ode, attempt to obstruct lawful performance of duty by passengers of a commercial bus (a white Toyota Hiace) suspected to be carrying bales of used clothing led to the death of a young man (Godwin) and serious injury of a

Customs Officer, ASC1, Destiny Onebamho.

“Contrary to some narratives, the young man was not a passenger of the bus but a good citizen who always come to fetch water for Customs Patrol men anytime they return to the base.

“Preliminary finding indicate that it was during the skirmishes and struggle to disarm the officer that the riffle discharged and hit the friend of the Customs (Godwin) who lost his life,” the statement said.

Customs also said that it was

already in touch with the family of the deceased.

“Sadly, it should be noted that while attention shifted to the dead and the wounded, the passengers who filmed with inciting commentaries boarded their vehicle and left, leaving the wrong impression that it was one of them that was killed.

While the wounded officer is under intensive care at the hospital, the patrol team has been recalled to the office for further investigation.”

Rivers PDP Berates INEC, APC over Election Postponement Ugo Aliogo With reactions still trailing the postponement of the general election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council has disclosed that it did not expecting anything less from the commission and All Progressives Congress (APC).

It described the commission’s action as a vindication of its earlier position that the electoral body is working with the APC-led federal government to truncate the country’s democracy.

The Director of Information and Communications of the state PDP Campaign Council, Emma Okah, noted that no matter how long INEC, working in conjunction with the APC government continues to ridicule Nigerians by postponing the elections, they would one day hold and Nigerians would certainly vent their anger on them for the frustration and hardship they have brought upon the land.

Okah stressing that the postponement was premeditated and a clear indication that the APC-led federal government is afraid of the elections having seen the hand writing on the wall

that failure was knocking at its door.

He regretted that after several assurances by the federal Government and the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu that the elections will hold as scheduled, they still made a mockery of Nigerians with the last minute postponement which shows that the APC-led government can not be trusted by Nigerians.

“We are sad that even the INEC chairman in his broadcast could not tender any apology to Nigerians for the huge embarrassment and loss which his incompetence has caused the nation by postponing the elections after the process had started,” Okah said While calling on Nigerians particularly Rivers residents to troop out in their numbers on Saturday, February 23 and March 9, 2019 to vent their anger on the failed APCled government that has inflicted them with hunger, deaths and other forms of economic hardship, he called on international organisations and civil society organisations to continue to focus their search lights on the Nigerian government to ensure that it acts within international best practices set out for the conduct of credible elections.

Anambra INEC Returns Sensitive Electoral Materials to Awka CBN The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Anambra State yesterday said it has taken delivery of all the sensitive electoral materials earlier deployed for the February 16 presidential and National Assembly elections.

INEC’s Head of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Leo Nkedife, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka that the action was necessitated to secure the materials.

The electoral commission had attributed poll shift to logistics and operational challenges.

The spokesman said, “All ballot papers and result sheets have been recalled and deposited at the CBN Awka branch, while the Smart Cards have also been returned

to our office for safe keeping.”

Nkedife said the postponed election would now hold on February 23 for the presidential and National Assembly while March 9 is fixed for the governorship and state House of Assembly.

NAN reported that the presidential and National Assembly elections were earlier scheduled to hold on February 16 was postponed in the early hours of the day of the election by the INEC Chairman, Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu.

Yakubu said in a nationwide broadcast in the early hour of Saturday that the elections had been shifted by a week, attributing it to issues of logistics and operational challenges faced by the commission.

TIME FOR ANNOINTING...

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (right), and the state Pastor of Living Faith Church, Pastor Isaac Folaji, during the annointing service of the church at D-Line, Port Harcourt...yesterday

Elections Postponement: APC Only Delaying Evil Day, Says Ortom GeorgeOkohinMakurdi Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has stated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was only buying additional time before their defeat by forcing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the presidential and National Assembly elections.

The governor who spoke yesterday in Makurdi, Benue State capital, while reacting to the rescheduling of the elections by one week, said if INEC shifted the polls to any date, Nigerians would still reject APC. He stated that the postponement was planned as evidenced in the statement credited to the leader of

the APC in the state, Senator George Akume, that they would cause the election to be postponed and write results.

Ortom described the development as unfortunate, saying for INEC to postpone the elections that it took more than three years to plan, just a few hours to the commencement of voting when people had travelled from far places to exercise their franchise, was a rape of democracy.

He stated that the action was a grand plan by the APC-led federal government to rig the elections, noting however that Benue State and North-central in general, are vigilant and would not allow any form of rigging during the polls.

Ortom stated that the people of the region are prepared for free, fair, credible and transparent elections that would usher in leaders who can anchor the country’s democracy based on the rule of law.

He said dictatorship and nepotism are some of the major characteristics of the present APCled government at the centre where the constitution of the country is no longer respected.

According to the governor, the APC, which has the resources and claims to be fighting corruption is the worst culprit of corruption in the history of Nigeria, saying it is insensitive to postpone an election in the manner the electoral

body had done.

He urged eligible voters in Benue and other parts of the country not to be discouraged by the sudden shift in the election dates and remain resolute until the current APC government of impunity is dethroned through the ballot.

Ortom urged President Muhammadu Buhari to remember the words of the late elder statesman, Maitama Sule who told him when he went to congratulate him on his victory in 2015 that he should ensure his leadership was anchored on the rule of law, truthfulness and integrity where the interest of Nigerians would be protected above personal interests.

Dokubo: Opposition Parties Jittery over Buhari’s Footprints in N’Delta Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo, has expressed dismay over what he described as unverified posts in the social media linking him to the sponsorship of political thugs ahead of the botched presidential and National Assembly elections earlier scheduled for February 16.

A Facebook user had in a post at the weekend, alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

secretariat in Abonnema, AkukuToru Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State was attacked by thugs aided by Dokubo, few hours to the postponement of the elections.

But in a swift reaction, the presidential aide dismissed the allegation as barefaced falsehood concocted by vicious mercenaries of the opposition PDP to mischievously draw sympathy and incite vulnerable youths in the area to unleash mayhem before, during or after the rescheduled election in the face of its imminent defeat.

Dokubo said in a statement by his

Special Assistant (Media), Murphy Ganagana, that he was in his hometown on the eve of the election, which was postponed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to perform a civic obligation of casting his vote, and had no business with any political thug.

“I arrived Abonnema on Friday evening to enable me cast my vote the next day, before the election was postponed. But I was shocked when my attention was drawn to a post on social media alleging that I aided thugs to attack the PDP secretariat at Abonnema.

“This is a wicked and dangerous lie as I had no dealing with any thug and didn’t step out of my residence in my brief stay in the community.

But for the presence of my security men, my residence would have been attacked over a false alarm,” he said.

He, however, noted that verbal missiles fired at him by opposition elements were expected, considering President Muhammadu Buhari’s rising popularity in the Niger Delta region based on his developmental footprints through the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

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No Elections in Rivers Without Our Candidates, APC Threatens Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship campaign organisation in Rivers State has declared that there will be no elections if its candidates are not listed in the ballot in compliance with a Court of Appeal ruling for a stay of execution.

The party has also accused the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, of working with Governor Nyesom Wike to frustrate the party in the state.

Director of Strategic Communications in the Tonye Princewill Campaign Organisation, in a statement, said they have taken to be fairly relisted on the ballot papers, including the contempt of court proceedings served on INEC. He vowed if they continue to

treat APC in Rivers State with disdain, the election will still not hold.

“Even though the postponement of the elections did not come to me as a total surprise, I was still expecting the INEC chairman to stubbornly push on and try to force through the elections regardless. I still see disaster come Saturday.

“Unless we are on the ballot, the election won’t be smooth anywhere. The God of Rivers State wants justice and He will get it.

We have not even had so much as an explanation from INEC.” He said the INEC chairman who was once a subordinate to Wike when the governor was supervising Minister of Education under former President Goodluck Jonathan may have skeletons in his TETFUND years that Wike

can expose.

“I had continued to maintain that Wike had since penetrated the judiciary, our security agencies and civil society with our money.

“Now it appears that the

electoral umpire too is no longer immune to the Wike virus too.

“All dealing with him do need to be made aware, your temporary high will eventually be replaced by very permanent lows.

“I’ve seen people vomiting ill-gotten wealth to then return it to the treasury. I’ve seen men and women lose their jobs for Wike.

“It’s not a very pleasant sight.

We have two appeal court orders and one Supreme Court judgement in our favour.

“But if you listen to the Wike paid media, you will think that we lost.”

Restriction of Movement during Elections Illegal, Says Adegboruwa SERAP blames election postponement on govt Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has warned the police against restricting human and vehicular movements on election days, saying it is unconstitutional.

This is coming as the SocioEconomic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has said the postponement of this year’s general elections should be blamed on successive governments since return to democracy in 1999.

According to Adegboruwa, the Federal High Court in Lagos had in 2014 pronounced that such movement restriction was unconstitutional.

The lawyer noted that despite the constitutional provisions and the pronouncement of the court, the Inspector General of Police had on Friday, February 15, ahead of the postponed presidential election, announced the restriction of human and vehicular movements for 12 hours.

He complained that despite that the movement restriction was illegal, the police did not consider it needful to lift the movement restriction even after the election was postponed.

Adegboruwa warned the police against a repeat of the movement restriction order on the new election dates.

He said, “The Inspector General of Police did not appeal against this judgment of the court and yet he proceeded to hold people down at home on February 16, 2019, contrary to the express order of injunction granted by the court in this case against any repeated illegal practice of keeping citizens indoors.

“We will, therefore, not condone or agree with any attempt to restrict people’s movement illegally on February 23, 2019 or indeed any other day, by reason of elections.”

Meanwhile, SERAP has said the postponement of this year’s general elections should be blamed on successive governments since return to democracy in 1999.

In a statement yesterday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said, “Given the increasing tendency to postpone elections and the cumulative failures and corruption over the years, SERAP would, after the elections, pursue appropriate legal action against the government in power and the National Assembly leadership for the catalogue of breaches of constitutional and international obligations, and seek effective remedies for the citizens.”

Alleged impersonation: Imo APGA Seeks Arrest of Amuchie The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in Imo State has initiated moves to arrest and prosecute one of its former governorship aspirants who lost in the primary election, Mr. Stanley Amuchie, for alleged impersonation of the party’s governorship candidate in Imo State, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume.

The party through its state chairman, Chief Peter Ezeobi, in a press conference yesterday, reiterated that Araraume is its governorship candidate, adding that his ticket is not in contention, as there is no court order that states otherwise.

Ezeobi urged party supporters to remain focused and keep their eyes on the prize, adding that no amount of pranks from opponents can subvert the will of the people of the state.

Amuchie was accused of allegedly campaigning with posters and banners, claiming to be the governorship candidate of APGA in the state.

However, the party in the state alleged that Amuchie was impersonating the genuine candidate of the party and currently working with opponents of the party to cause confusion in APGA by pasting his picture banners and posters asAPGA governorship candidate at various locations in the state.

The party consequently urged security agencies to arrest him, while urging the public and loyalists of APGA to discountenance his false claims.

APGAmembers were also advised to report Amuchie’s whereabouts to the nearest police station.

PROJECT INSPECTION...

L-R: Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; Programme Lead, Government Science Technical College Benin Rehabilitation Programme, Giles Omezi, during the governor’s inspection of the ongoing rehabilitation work at Benin Technical College, in Benin City, Edo State... recently

2019 UTME: JAMB Registers over 1.6m Few Days to Closure The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said not less than 1.8 million candidates would be registered for its 2019 UTME by the end of the registration exercise scheduled for February 21.

The Board’s Head, Media and Information, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos.

Benjamin expressed satisfaction at the ongoing registration exercise nationwide, adding that so far, it had been smooth with little or no hitches.

The registration of candidates for this year’s all Computer Based Test (CBT) Unified Tertiary Matriculation

Examination (UTME), commenced on February 10.

Meanwhile an official bulletin of the board tagged ‘jambulletin’ issued yesterday, said over 1.6 million candidates had registered for the examination between February 10 and February 15, nationwide, with Lagos recording the highest, with 234,259 candidates.

According to the bulletin, preparations for the successful conduct of the examination scheduled to commence few weeks from now was in top gear.

Also contained in the bulletin was the restatement of the unlikely extension of the registration deadline by the board.

“Candidates would commence

the reprinting of their examination notification slips two weeks to the examination date.

“On the examination slip are candidates’ schedule for the examination, date, time and centre, as well as other necessary information about the examination.

“Two weeks to the commencement of the examination, candidates will have their slips placed on their profiles.

“However, in the event where candidates could not access their slip, such candidates can visit the board’s service portal,onwww. jamb.org.ng to print the slip,” the bulletin stated.

It also said that messages would

as well be sent to candidates, informing them on when to reprint their e-slip.

According to the bulletin, the processes are all automated to keep candidates abreast of developments, just as messages will be sent to all candidates informing them on when to print their e-slip.

The bulletin warned candidates against coming into the examination halls with prohibited items such as wrist watches, telephones and others.

It re-assured candidates that the board was working round the clock to guarantee their full participation during the examination.

CUPP Defies INEC, Asks Coalition Parties to Resume Campaigns Keyamo: Suspension of campaigns illegal Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Udora Orizu in Abuja The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has urged member parties to resume campaigns ahead of the rescheduled presidential and National Assembly elections, contrary to the directive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

This is coming as the Director of Strategic Communications, All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), said that INEC has no power to suspend campaigns by political parties, having shifted the date of the presidential election.

Chairman of INEC, Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu, while answering a question during an interactive session with stakeholders in Abuja on Saturday,

said political parties were not permitted to resume campaigns despite the postponement of the February 16 elections.

But in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere, CUPP directed member parties to continue campaigns from today (Monday) and focus on voter re-mobilisation to ensure that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is elected and declared winner of the presidential election.

He said: “In view of the provisions of Section 99 of the Electoral Act , the over 51-member parties of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) hereby direct all members to return to the campaign fields and recommence campaigns and end by midnight of Thursday, February 21, 2019 as required by law.”

“Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act provides that public campaigns

shall end 24 hours prior to the day of polling. It is therefore wrong to expect that political parties will stop campaigns on 14th February for Polls that will open on 23rd February.”

According to him, “It is unlawful and statutorily wrong to curtail the clear intendment of this Section of the Electoral Act which is clear and unambiguous.

“Campaigning until 24 hours prior to the day of polling is a statutory right of parties and cannot be taken away, curtailed or abridged by any executive fiat.

INEC cannot on its own accord limit the period of campaigns as it is regulated by law,” CUPP said.

Meanwhile, the Director of Strategic Communications, APC Campaign Council, Mr. Festus Keyamo, has said INEC has no power to suspend campaigns by political parties having shifted the

date of the presidential election.

Keyamo, who spoke to THISDAY on telephone yesterday in his personal capacity, said the Electoral Act is explicit on the days allowed for campaigns, which is 24 hours before the election day.

He said: “The Electoral Act says campaign should cease 24 hours to the election day and I think INEC cannot make any regulation different from the provisions of the Electoral law. So, going by the Electoral Act, once you revise the election date, you must also revise automatically the date and schedule for campaigns.

“In fact the campaign schedule revises itself automatically. INEC does not even have to take any action on it. The moment you reschedule the day of the election, you automatically reorder the period of campaigns,” he said.

Keyamo, however, noted that

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Kwara Labour Party Guber Candidate Expresses Mixed Feelings over Postponed Elections Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja As Nigerians continue to react to the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections, a governorship candidate and member of the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed mixture of disappointment and

optimism over the development.

The prominent unionist and National Executive Council (NEC) member of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Issa Aremu, who is the Kwara State governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in his reaction to the postponement, said while he was disappointed, he added

PDP Alleges Plot by AIG to Rig Akwa Ibom Polls Okon Bassey in Uyo The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised the alarm over the redeployment of the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of zone six, Kimo Musa, saying that it is a plot to use security to rig elections in the state for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Musa was posted to the state on the heel of the crisis in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly when five suspended members of the House attempted to impeach the State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke and other principal members.

Following his promotion to the rank of the Assistant Inspector General of Police, zone 6 with headquarters in Calabar, Cross River State, Musa has relocated to Akwa Ibom State to work on the security architecture of the state with the newly posted Commissioner to the state, Mr. Bashir Makama.

At a press briefing, the PDP State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ini Ememobong, said the state is prepared for election, not war, alleging that the AIG is partisan and sympathetic to the course of the APC government at the centre.

According to the party, the activities of the AIG showed preference for police officers who had sympathy for APC as officers who were professional in their duty are being posted out or reassigned.

Ememobong alleged that many police officers have been threatened with delayed promotion if they do not cooperate with the partisan directives of the AIG, while complying officer are to be favoured.

He disclosed that the AIG has deployed Godswill Akpabio’s cousin, Idorenyin Akpabio, to man the Anti-Robbery Squad of the police command and has relocated to the state for the election, wondering why the police chief chose Akwa Ibom out of the six states in the zone to monitor the elections.

Ememobong stated that the AIG’s interest on the state exposes his plan to use his office to curry illegal favours for the APC, hence he should be held responsible for any crisis or violence before, during or after the elections in the state.

The PDP Publicity Secretary maintained that the AIG’s famous role in Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly crisis when he led five sacked lawmakers to disrupt the activities of the house is evident of his partisanship.

His words, “In Akwa Ibom State, some security chiefs are

clearly partisan, remaining only to have their name in the party’s register. They do not hide their partisanship; in fact they wear it as a replacement for their official beret.

“Worthy of specific mention are AIG Musa Kimo, CSP Brown and SP Idorenyin Akpabio who have displayed unbridled partisanship with the APC in Akwa Ibom State.

“We learnt that they were threatened with delayed promotion and punitive postings if they failed to cooperate, while the pliant officers and men are to be favoured in preferential postings and accelerated promotion.

“It will be recalled that under the commissionership of Kimo, he posted out officers who were professional in their duties in preference for officers who had sympathy for the APC. He deployed Godswill Akpabio’s cousin, Idorenyin Akpabio, to man the Anti-Robbery Squad of the police Command and shielded CSP Brown from transfer and queries.

“His decision to permanently and immovably relocate to the state for the election is most worrisome and can only be a pointer to his avowed commitment to use his offices to curry illegal favours for the APC. “The party is hereby alerting foreign and local observers, the Police service commission, INEC and the entire global community to the ignoble roles that the trio of Kimo, Brown and Akpabio, have assigned to themselves in the forthcoming elections.

“They are acting in concert with Senator Godswill Akpabio who now has the details of police deployment, not available to other candidates, even the Chief Security officer of the state.

“Despite the awareness of the civil population of their devious schemes, they are hell bent in manifesting their plans irrespective of the opposition to it. This will therefore be a catalyst for crisis.

“We want everyone to hold the trio responsible if there is any crisis or violence before, during or after the elections (especially the governorship election in the state.

“As a party, we are deeply committed to participating in a free, fair, credible and most importantly, peaceful elections that must reflect the wishes of the people,” he said.

Reacting, the AIG dismissed the allegation describing it as biased, mischievous and an attempt to damage his reputation.

He said there was no meeting between him and any police officer in any hotel in Uyo, and that nobody had led him to any hotel for meeting.

that the incident has opened a window of opportunity for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to present Nigeria with free, fair and credible elections.

According to Aremu, “We read the text speech of INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, which postponed scheduled elections with mixed feelings. First with disappointment for our candidates and members ready to exercise their democratic rights but could not do so.

Secondly we also received the

news with some optimism that INEC has another one week to put the proper arrangements in order for free and fair elections.”

He, however, expressed the willingness of his party to collaborate with the electoral umpire, saying “Labour Party is ready and willing to partner INEC for successful rescheduled presidential and National Assembly elections on February 23, 2019, and the governorship, state House of Assembly and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Elections on the

March 9, 2019.”

He said the expectation was that INEC must improve on its corporate governance by sticking to its rescheduled time tables in order to sustain the confidence it has commendably engendered so far in the preparations for the 2019 elections.

“It is certainly unacceptable that some voting materials are not ready after four years of preparations. It is also embarrassing that the postponement came so late in the day with all the attendant costs for poor voters who had to

travel to and fro to vote.

“There was enough notification for 2015 postponement based on security reasons. INEC is right that the postponement is “one difficult decision,” but it is even more challenging for the electorate and candidates alike who woke up for no voting show,” he stated.

Urging stakeholders to bear with INEC for successful polls next week, Aremu emphasised that it is “better late than never.

All is well that ends well in the consolidation of Nigerian democratic process.”

BREAKFAST MEETING…

L-R: Investor Relations Manager, Nigeria, EB5 Capital,Chiji Eke; President, Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), Oluwatoyin Akomolafe; immediate past Director General, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, Prof. Akpan Hogan Ekpo; Director-General, NACC, Joyce Akpata; and Senior Investment Analyst, EB5 Capital, Temi Dada, at a Breakfast Meeting in Lagos ...recently

Make Buhari, Atiku Commit to Rancour-free Polls, Group Begs EU, UK, US Ogheneuvede Ohwovoriole in Abuja Apparently disturbed by the possibility of manipulation of the forthcoming polls, a group made up of prominent Nigerians, whose membership cuts across the globe, has appealed to the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union (EU) to do all within their powers to ensure that the Nigerian elections are conducted peacefully and creditably.

The group known as ‘We The People of Nigeria,’ led by a prominent lawyer, Dr. Lloyd Ukwu, made the plea after its three-member delegation made

presentations to key functionaries of the European Union in Brussels, Washington and London on the need for them to be fully involved in ensuring that the Nigerian elections, rescheduled by a week, are conducted under a free, fair and credible atmosphere, devoid of any form of threat.

A statement made available to journalists in Abuja last night by Ukwu, who is the founder and head of delegation to the countries, said that during the visit, the team met, discussed and engaged with the US State Department, US Congress and the Senate of the United States of America and delivered a letter to the United States Ambassador to the United

Nations, Mr. Cohen, in New York, all in a bid to ensure the success of the Nigerian elections.

According to him, in all the three countries visited, the delegation insisted that their hosts should ensure that the elections now rescheduled for February 23 and March 9, 2019, are not rigged by any of the parties and that no violence is visited on anyone before, during and after the polls.

The group asked the international community to insist that Nigerians are not intimidated, threatened, killed or denied their basic human and democratic rights in the course of the elections, warning that Nigerians would not accept the result of rigged

polls.

The three-man delegation called on those countries to impress upon President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the PDP to work towards violence-free elections.

The statement said, “We ask that efforts are undertaken in advance of the elections to call upon both principal candidates and parties, incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to pledge to work towards an election that is fair and free from corruption and violence.

Marafa Accuses GovYari of Sabotaging Elections Deji Elumoye in Abuja A member of the National Assembly, Senator Kabir Marafa, has accused Governor Abdulaziz of Zamfara State of sabotaging the postponed presidential and National Assembly elections in the country.

Marafa who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) in a statement issued yesterday, alleged that Governor Yari should be held responsible for the sabotage that led to the postponement of the nation’s presidential and federal

legislative elections.

The senator while describing the postponement as unfortunate, said Yari should be held responsible for it “having boasted that if his candidates are not included in the ballot paper, there won’t be elections in the country”.

According to the senator, “during the grand finale of his illegal campaign rallies in his hometown, Talata Mafara, Zamfara on Friday, February 8, he rained abuses and said unprintable things on the person of INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood, and swore that unless his candidates were enlisted

to contest, there won’t be elections in Zamfara State and the entire country. Now it has come to pass; what next?

“I’m calling on the authorities to hold Yari and his accomplices responsible for this treasonable sabotage against the country, Nigerians and humanity in general. Just search on the internet, including YouTube, you will see the stories and videos of where Yari stated emphatically that unless his candidates were accepted, elections won’t hold in zamfara State and Nigeria.”

Marafa who represents Zamfara

Central in the upper legislative chamber of the Natiinal Assembly recalled that when Yari conducted illegal primaries, he drew the attention of Nigerians and the world to the dangers inherent in accepting that abuse of laws, instead of being reprimanded, Yari went ahead to the courts to legalise his illegality.

He said he was not surprised that immediately after the announcement of the postponement, “Yari’s boys rushed to the media, radio stations jubilating that they have succeeded.

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Delta Pupils to Remain at Home for Two Weeks over Elections Don’t rig polls for APC, state PDP warns INEC

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Students and pupils in primary and secondary schools in Delta State are to remain at home for about two weeks as a result of the postponement of the changes in the general election timetable announced by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

This is coming as the Delta State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned the electoral body not to rig the forthcoming elections for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In separate statements yesterday, the Permanent Secretary, Delta State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. S.E.O. Dietake and the State Director of Information, Mr. Paul Osahor, stated that the public and private schools across the state shall be

closed between today (Monday) and Monday, February 25, 2019.

The one-week closure in the reviewed Second Term Academic Calendar would be for Mid-Term Break, the state pointed out, while expressing regrets over any inconvenience the closure of schools for teaching and learning might cause pupils, teachers, parents or guardians.

Nonetheless, affected schools in the state would resume academic work on Tuesday, February 26, 2019, but the schools shall be closed again on Friday, March 8, 2019 until March 12, 2019 when they would reopen for teaching and learning, the statement said.

The Delta State Government had ordered the closure of primary and post-primary schools in the state on Thursday and Friday last week in anticipation of the canceled February 16 presidential and National Assembly election

in the country.

Meanwhile, the state PDP has also accused INEC of planning ‘’to use pre-loaded Card Reader’’ and substitute election result sheets particularly in Isoko Federal Constituency of the state, in line with the alleged directive from the leadership of the APC. However, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, Delta State presidential campaign spokesman, on behalf of the state chapter of the APC, denied the PDP allegation, claiming that it

was the PDP that was plotting to rig out the APC in the state.

Also, the Publicity Secretary of the Delta State chapter of the (PDP), Ifeanyi Michael Osuoza, while reacting to the postponement announced by the INEC, said that the claim of logistics challenge was unconvincing because INEC had adequate financial resources and time to conduct the election as scheduled.

Osuoza, however urged PDP members, supporters and patriots

to reject the apparent desperation of the APC-led federal government by being even more resolved to vote out President Muhammadu Buhari and to resist any attempt

by INEC to do the bidding of the ruling APC. The statement reads in part: ‘’This postponement is shocking to us first, because of the reasons adduced by the Chairman of the INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, citing logistics and operational challenges. We condemn these

by INEC as untenable, since the Commission has been given all the financial resources and has had four good years to plan and put in place adequate logistics and fine tuning of its operational plans for the elections. ‘’We therefore urge our supporters and members to remain resolute by working to achieve the plan and purpose to ensure that the PDP at all levels win the elections.”

Benin Catholic Archbishop Cautions Christians against Election Rigging,Violence Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The Catholic Archbishop of Benin Metropolitan See, and President, Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), His Grace, Most Reverend Augustine Obiora Akubueze, has admonished Christians to avoid being used as agents of rigging, destabilisation, and violence in the forthcoming elections.

The clergy urged Christians to go out and exercise their franchise without fear of intimidation and harassment.

He also advised parents to counsel their children and wards to avoid any act that would lead them to become thugs of any politician or political party.

The archbishop gave the advice in Benin City, capital of Edo State at the inauguration and dedication of the St. Augustine Catholic Church.

In a homily, he told Christians to always spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to people of all nations as instructed in the Holy Bible.

Archbishop Akubueze, noted that Christians must learn to be together in the house of God, saying that “when Christians gather together in one Church, the barrier created by society and tribes are broken down”.

According to him, the house of God is a place to worship and pray and not a place to trade.

The Alter, he stated is a place of sacrifice and should be treated as a holy place where only sacramental objects of worship are allowed.

“We must therefore treat the church of Christ, and the Altar with respect. And as you do so, may the Church be an avenue for you and your family to have spiritual comfort. May this building being dedicated to you be a house of salvation and praise,” he added.

In his vote of thanks, the Chairman, St. Augustine Church Dedication Committee, Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki, said the journey towards the inauguration of the church was a tortuous one, and thanked God that at the end of what was thought to be an endless venture, the Archbishop came to dedicate the church.

He also thanked God for those who helped the parish through their generosity, to complete the project.

His words: “The journey is tortuous. But today, we have the Archbishop dedicating the church. We owe a lot of thanks to those who through their generosity piloted us to this very achievement.

“His Grace, no matter how many persons, we owe you a lot of thanks. For your kindness, inspiration and most of all, as the highest single donor to this church project.

“We cannot also forget all those who helped us get to where we are today. We have through the generosity of Oba Akenzua II, Oba of Benin of blessed memory, who gave out the land, and Emeritus Archbishop, Anthony Ekpu, who urged us as we progressed and saw the need to erect a modern church building after 23 years of the old church.

High point of the ceremony was the offering of thanksgiving by parishioners who came in their numbers to thank God for His mercies and grace bestowed on them to build a new ultramodern house of worship.

The parishioners also went into wild jubilation when the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, through his Chief of Staff, Mr. Taiwo Akerele, announced the delivery of a tarred road leading to the church by end of March this year.

SEEKING DIVINE FAVOUR...

L-R: Chairman, Muslim Community of Oyo State, Alhaji Kunle Sanni; a former President, Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes, Chief Bayo Oyero; state Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; Special Adviser to the governor on Community Relations, Alhaji Abidemi Siyanbade; and Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Lekan Alli, during Jumat Service at the Ishaq Ajimobi Central Mosque, Oke-Ado, Ibadan... recently

Don’t Travel Back without CastingYourVotes, Ohanaeze Begs Ndigbo Christopher Isiguzo and Gideon Arinze in Enugu The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo yesterday has asked Igbos in the Diaspora who returned home for the sole purpose of casting their votes in the last Saturday’s Presidential/National Assembly before the sudden postponement, to exercise

patience by remaining at home till February 23 in order to exercise their franchise before travelling back to their base.

The organisation’s President General, Chief Nnia Nwodo, in a statement made available to journalists in Enugu said that a few days wait was more than another four years of hardship should the wrong people emerge

as leaders again.

“My dear brothers and sisters, I am aware of the immense hardship the sudden postponement of the February 16, 2019 election has brought on all of us.

This I know is one of the prices we can be called upon to make for independence.

“After all, freedom is never secured on a platter of gold.

It is a struggle. This is our

struggle.

“I, therefore, urge all Ndigbo who relocated for the purpose of the election to remain in their places and not travel back to their stations, but wait or ensure they come back if they travel, for the Saturday, February 23 election. A few days wait is better than another four years of uncertainty, hardship and slavery.”

Federal Lawmaker Sues for Peaceful Elections in Ondo Chinedu Eze A member of the Federal House of Representatives, representing Owo/Ose Constituency in Ondo State, Bode Ayorinde , has urged members of his constituency and the entire Ondo State to eschew violence and work together to entrench peace as Nigerians go to the polls.

In the wake of the announcement for the postponement of elections, Ayorinde who is seeking reelection under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) urged his people to remain calm and trust in God for a better outcome for the party in an atmosphere of peace

Ayorinde also urged his supporters not to be provoked or frustrated, but to remain resolute and cast their votes on Saturday for a better Nigeria for this generation and all future generations of this great country.

He stated that the potential for greatness for Nigeria is huge and stands to be realised when the right people are voted into leadership in both the executive and legislative arms of government in the country.

He said the vote of every eligible voter is the passport to achieving that greatness and a better quality of life for him as a citizen of this country.

He urged the people to make their votes count and pleaded

with those in his constituency to exercise their civic rights.

The lawmaker who disclosed that he was in Owo where he has come with his family to cast their votes in the presidential election, expressed his abhorrence for political violence and thuggery in elections.

“Personally, I have a huge investment in my town and in my people, The Achievers University, Owo is the second largest employer of labour in Ondo State after the state, I live among my people and their lives matter to me whatever the party inclinations, I cannot stand to see anyone brought to harm through a direct or indirect

act of mine.

One major goal driving my political activities and business development is to bring development to my community and a better quality of life for my people, a dream I have worked long and hard for.

“So I shall be grateful to my people if they conduct themselves well during these elections because it is in peace that they can elect the candidates that will represent them well. I also urge them to resist the temptation to be provoked and report any untoward activities around them to concerned authorities, especially the security agencies,” he said.

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Engineers Attribute INEC’s Logistics Challenge to Neglect of NSE Chinedu Eze The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has attributed the current logistics challenge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is facing leading to the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections by one week to the neglect of the organisation The President of NSE, Adekunle Mokuolu, in a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday, explained that the organisation had made a free offer of assistance to INEC but the commission rejected it.

“On December 27, 2018, I wrote a letter, on behalf of the Council of the NSE, to the Chairman of INEC, titled: ‘Offer of institutional support for the 2019 general election.’ In that letter, Nigerian engineers threw their professional expertise at the feet of INEC, offering to give technical advice and render other ancillary services for free, using our vast branches network across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

“In our view, such collaborations, coming from a non-

partisan and non-governmental professional organisation like NSE, would have sufficed to eliminate any incidences of logistics and operational plans failure. Logistics infrastructure can only be delivered by engineering. Unfortunately, that letter was never acknowledged,” he said.

NSE observed that the rescheduling of elections is fast becoming a recurrent element in the recent account of Nigeria’s democratic trajectory.

It cited February 7, 2015, when offer of assistance for free relied on the advisory from the security agencies to reschedule the presidential and National Assembly elections by six weeks.

“Again, on Saturday, February 16, 2019, just hours to the commencement of the polls, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu of INEC announced postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections.

“Assuming that the reasons of failure of logistics and operational plans adduced by the INEC Chairman are genuine, it is the view of the NSE that the

APGA, PDP Row over Alleged Plot by APC to Rig Abia Elections Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia The Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, (APGA), yesterday alleged that it has uncovered a grand plot hatched by the governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the 2019 polls.

State chairman of APGA, Rev Augustine Ehiemere, raised the alarm at a press conference in Umuahia during which he listed the various strategies already hatched by the ruling party to subvert the will of Abia people in the forthcoming polls.

In the 2015 poll APGA had won 11 seats in the 24 member House of Assembly and still holds the belief that its governorship candidate, Mr. Alex Otti had won the election but his mandate was stolen by the ruling party.

Ehiemere, whose prepared statement was read by his deputy, Chief Chima Onyekwere, said that the ruling party would have started implementing its rigging arranging last Saturday if not that the presidential and federal parliamentary poll were postponed by INEC. Though the PDP swiftly denied any involvement to rig the poll, the APGA chairman insisted that from APGA’s intelligence reports, the PDP rigging strategy was to be carried out in the following ways: “The use of fake military uniforms already purchased and stockpiled at a secret location which would be given to scores of carefully selected, trained and armed thugs who will work for the PDP to impersonate legitimate security agents.

“Use of Toyota Hilux vehicles fraudulently branded in army colour to carry the thugs dressed in military uniform and move

round different parts of the state on the election day to intimidate voters and others on legitimate election duties.

“Selecting INEC collation officers from the University of Agriculture Umudike, who have already been bribed to announce the results completed by the PDP.” However the publicity secretary of the PDP, Chief Don Ubani, described the allegations as “blatant lie from the pit of hell” adding that if APGA could come up with such “unfounded” allegations, it showed that the opposition party was indeed the one planning poll rigging.

According to him, the PDP had “never contemplated such “evil plot” of rigging the 2019 poll as the ruling party believes that it has continued to enjoy massive support of Abia people hence, it is not afraid of free and fair electoral contest.

Ehiemere also alleged that PDP had compromised INEC officials by “bribing them with not less than N1 billion to secure original critical sensitive INEC result sheets”, adding, “this we believe they had already done to secure the result sheets that were impounded by security agents on Friday “.

To prevent the rigging strategy from being carried out, APGA said that it has reported the matter to all relevant security agencies and also wrote an open letter to the Chief of Army Staff.

APGA also demanded that all Collation and Returning Officers recruited from the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike should be posted outside Abia State, since according to the opposition party to other states, alleging that they have been compromised to do the bidding of Abia State Government.

rescheduling of elections is sad, avoidable, embarrassing and has occasioned an enormous waste of financial resources and monumental depletion of our national economy. From

calculations by the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Nigeria has lost approximately $1.5 billion for grounding its economy for one whole day,” it said.

It suggested that in moving forward therefore, “we implore governments at all levels to take advantage of the expertise of Nigerian engineers, and indeed, other indigenous

professionals in the governance of our nation, to avoid the kind of embarrassment and wastages seen in the recent postponement of the February 16, 2019 election.”

NEW ROAD PROJECT...

L-R: Chairman, Ethiope East Local Government Area, Chief Faith Majemite; Commissioner for Works, Chief James Augoye; Omote Kelly; Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa; and Hon. Evans Ivwurie, during the inauguration of Ivie Road, Abraka in Ethiope East Local Government Area, Delta State....recently

Paucity of Anti-snakeVenom Hits Nigeria As the peak period of snakebite approaches, Nigeria is hit with the paucity of Anti-Snake Venom (ASV), according to the Managing Director, Echitab Study Limited Guarantee, Nandul Durfa.

Durfa, whose outfit is solely in charge of collecting and distributing Echitab ASV in the country, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), yesterday in Jos, the Plateua State capital, that there were “less than 200 vales left for the whole country’’.

“We have very few vales left.

Our ASV supply is depleted. What we have is less than 200.

“We are expecting the next supply of 2,000 vales from Micropharm Ltd in Wales, UK, in the middle of March. On April 22, we shall also collect more ASV from ICP University in Costa Rica.

“But, my fear is the next three

to four weeks. The quantity in the store is so little. The situation is particularly frightening because this is the peak period of snake bites. It could be disastrous.

“Snakebites are more rampant at this period because of the heat.

Snakes are cold-blooded animals and are usually forced out of their hiding places when it is hot.

“It is also a period farmers come out to clear their farms, preparatory to the farming season.

“It is also a period the rains start and people tend to clear the bushes. This period lasts till April and brings lots of farmers and herdsmen in contact with snakes.’’

He said that snakebites were also common when farmers harvest yam.

“Rats go to yam farms to eat yam; snakes go to the farm to wait for the rats. When farmers

reach their farms for the harvest, they get bitten,’’ he explained.

Durfa said that children, who hunt for rats, also come in contact with snakes.

“Very often, these children insert their little fingers into holes and get bitten by snakes,’’ he said.

He said that most snake treating centres like the General Hospital, Kaltungo in Gombe State, and the Zamko Comprehensive Centre, Langtang, in Plateau, were already receiving many cases of snakebites.

“Some of these centres sometimes receive an average of 16 cases per day. The Kaltungo centre received 3,086 cases last year. If the situation gets as bad as we had last year, some patients may not have ASV,’’ he said.

The expert, however, commended the TY Danjumaled Presidential Initiative for the

North-East, for procuring some ASV for the snake treatment centre in Kaltungo Hospital.

“That effort has brought some relief to the patients that throng that centre on daily basis. We want voluntary agencies, NGOs and state governments to also procure the ASV to help the victims,’’ he said.

He regretted that not much attention was paid to victims of snakebites, and blamed that on a claim that the poor people were mostly the victims of the menace.

“Everyone should be interested in assisting victims of snakebites because those affected are mostly the productive group – the farmers, youths and herdsmen – responsible for our food, milk and meat.’’

Group Plans Class Action against INEC over Election Postponement Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja Following last Saturday’s postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections nationwide, some groups are moving for a class action against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with a demand for financial compensation for Nigerians arising from losses suffered due to the postponement of the polls.

They will also be demanding an unreserved apology to the citizenry by the electoral umpire.

A Jean Monnet professor and current Director of studies at Centre for International

Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS), Prof. Anthony Kila, said his organisation is already planning how to ensure that people affected by the postponement get financial reward.

The renowned social commentator, who is also the founder of Common Voice Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) designed to give common voice to Nigeria, revealed that the platform is instituting a legal action against INEC over the postponement.

According to Kila, “My group, Common Voice Nigeria, in collaboration with a growing number of civil society organisations (CSOs) is planning a class action against INEC.”

He said: “Anyone that has suffered a demonstrable loss due to this abrupt rescheduling of postponement should please get in touch and join the law suit.”

Buttressing Kila’s view, an Abuja-based lawyer and former National Secretary, Labour Party (LP), Dr. Kayode Ajuola said having put candidates, electorate and observers at risks of various proportions to get to different locations for voting, they deserve apologies from INEC. “Observers with calculated expenses, candidates whose budgets have been tampered with, innocent corps member who bear huge risks in the interest of the country, all deserve a word of consolation.

“It is unacceptable for INEC, who solely bears the blame for this embarrassing development to have merely announced a reschedule which comes with such astromical costs and consequences without a word to the effect of penitence and sore apologies,” he said.

He maintained that “INEC, having shifted its timetable, lacks justification to shut out parties/candidates for failure to meet deadlines for presenting candidates as seen in Rivers, Zamfara and other states.”

He queried: “Does INEC consider these dear costs?

Does it weigh the worth of these costs and thinks of mitigating them? These are queries INEC must act on immediately.”

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Wike Seeks More International Pressure on FG for Credible Polls Ernest ChinwoinPortHarcourt Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has called on the international community to continue to mount pressure on the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct credible and peaceful elections across the country, including Rivers State.

In a statement he personally issued on Saturday night, Wike said the original plan of the federal government was to isolate Rivers State and truncate the elections in the state.

He said: “We very much appreciate the international community and the various country missions, whose spontaneous outrage truncated their original plan to isolate and prevent Rivers State from participating in the general election with all the other States of the country.

“In the circumstance, I wish to

call on the international community and especially our partners in the free democratic world, including the United States, the European Union, France and the United Kingdom, not to abandon the people of Nigeria and to continue to put effective pressure on the federal government to allow the rescheduled general election to peacefully hold in Rivers State on the new dates they have fixed”.

Wike said the APC-led federal government pressured INEC to stagger elections across the country, targeting specific states for postponement.

“Contrary to the excuses being fed on the public, we heard on good authority that the chairman of INEC was unduly pressured by the APC-led federal government to postpone the general election.

“Sensing correctly that it was going to lose the general election if held on February 16, 2019, the APC-led federal government ordered INEC to set in motion

the process to stagger the general elections by withholding elections in Rivers and other strategic States like Akwa Ibom, Lagos and Kwara States to some other dates,” he said.

Wike added: “The resistance by the chairman of INEC and the international observers to that evil directive and the ensuing confusion effectively clogged INEC’s preparations, especially in the timely distribution of election materials to local government areas across the country.

“For instance, here in Rivers State, the APC-led federal government deliberately refused to allow the election materials already in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to be distributed to any of the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) on the blind excuse that some

misguided APC members were demonstrating at the state’s INEC office.

“It is relevant to mention that there was no rational connection between the demonstrations by the APC- hired thugs and the overarching national interest to deploy election materials to the LGAs in preparation for the Saturday elections”.

Wike stated that despite the arrival of sensitive electoral materials in the state, certain security agencies frustrated distribution before the postponement.

He said: “Yet, some security personnel, including serving military officers were sent into the CBN’s premise by the APC-led federal government to prevent INEC from distributing

the elections materials to the 23 LGAs of the state.

“Furthermore, even when the elections was yet to take place, the security agencies, especially the police went about indiscriminately arresting supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Khana, Gokana and some other LGAs of the state in spite of the repeated assurance of neutrality by the Acting Inspector General of Police”.

While declaring that his administration has performed credibly across all spheres, he regretted that some unpatriotic Rivers people are collaborating with anti-democratic forces to thwart the will of Rivers people.

He said: “In the same vein I wish to appreciate the people of Rivers State for the pains you’ve had to endure in the

rational and just cause to terminate the APC-led federal government and usher in a new era of peace, hope and progress for our country.

“I urge you to remain calm and steadfast in your belief that though the dark night might seem long, the waiting is almost over as daylight is just by the corner and shall surely manifest in our State and the nation in a couple of days”.

The governor added: “At this critical point of the struggle no sacrifice would be too much to demand of every one of us in our collective quest to liberate our country fromthedestructivepath; otherwise we may have to live with the unpleasant consequences of our inability to effect the change that we all need in our country for another four horrific years”.

Postponement Attempt to Manipulate Elections, Ijaw Youths Allege Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has condemned the postponement of last Saturday’s general elections across the nation, saying it was an attempt to manipulate the polls.

According to the group comprising all youths of Ijaw descent, delaying the polls even after several assurances from the electoral body was not only suspicious, but smacked of gross incompetence.

In a statement signed in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, by its Secretary General, Mr. Alfred kemepado, the IYC described the deferment as a monumental shame for Nigeria and the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

The youth body cautioned the federal government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the

polls reflect the will of Nigerians whenever it is held. kemepado also called on the Chairman of the INEC, Prof.

Mahmud Yakubu to resign, instead of foisting crisis upon the nation by the undue postponement.

“Ijaw youths and all youths of the Niger Delta in all zones, chapters, clans and communities must compel this government to conduct a free and fair election.

“This setback has been orchestrated deliberately to rob Nigerians of their choice, but all voters in the Niger Delta must be resolute, undeterred and ready to exercise their right to vote, no matter the obstacles. “ The IYC calls on the youths of the region to resist any form of malpractice in the course of this election on the rescheduled dates”, the statement issued from the IYC national headquarters said.

Ugwuanyi Visits Victims of New Haven Fire Outbreak Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, in keeping with his administration’s commitment and swift response to issues concerning the wellbeing of residents of the state, yesterday visited victims of the fire outbreak that occurred earlier in the day at Ezeagu Street, New Haven, Enugu, to empathize with them.

The governor, after assessing the level of damage caused by the inferno, which affected two apartments, provided financial assistance and relief materials to the families and the landlady, and automatic employment to one of the victims whose Degree and NYSC discharge certificates got burnt.

Responding on their behalf after receiving the cash donation from the Executive Secretary of Enugu State Emergency Management

Agency (SEMA), Mrs. Nkechi Eneh, the elated landlady, Mrs. Victoria Igwume, thanked Ugwuanyi for the kind gesture, disclosing that they were surprised by the governor’s prompt visit and intervention.

Igwume added that the governor’s action shows he has a human face and has also gone a long way to distinguish his administration as a responsive government that is sensitive to the plight of the people.

Speaking on her contributions to the development of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State, Igwume, said that she felt so humbled and happy that her efforts have been rewarded, and pledged to continue to work for the success of the governor and party at the polls.

ITS NICE MEETING YOU…

Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (left), and new Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 9, Wilson Inalegwu, when the AIG paid the governor a courtesy visit at the Government House, Enugu...recently

Benue APC Guber Candidate Decries Murder of Party Chieftain George Okoh in Makurdi The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Benue State, Mr. Emmanuel Jime, has condemned the assassination of the Chairman of his party in Ohimini Local Government Area (LGA), Mr. Boniface Okoloho.

The late Okoloho who was reportedly shot and killed yesterday by some yet-to-be identified assailants, was said to be on his way home from a

party function, when he was hit by unknown gunmen.

Until his death, he was the leader of the party in Ohimini, a LGA in the Zone C senatorial district of Benue State.

Jime, who expressed deep sorrow over the gruesome murder of the late party chieftain, sued for peace and brotherliness in the politics of the state.

He called on the government of Benue State and security agencies, to fish out the killers of the late

Okoloho and bring them to book, to serve as a deterrent to others who may want to further the politics of violence.

“I condemn in very strong terms, this unnecessary politics of violence and bloodshed, that has claimed the life of Mr. Okloho, our beloved brother and staunch member of our great party in Ohimini.

“Okoloho was one of the very committed leaders of our party in Zone C and we regret that

he lost his life in such a horrible circumstance, in the service of his state and his party. May his gentle soul rest in peace,” Jime stated.

The governorship aspirant also commiserated with the family of the deceased, the people of Ohimini LGA and the entire Zone C, calling on them to take solace in God. The Benue State Police Command has since confirmed the death of Okloho.

Accord Party Seeks Alliance with Rivers APC Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Accord Party has declared its intention to form an alliance with the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State to boost its strength in order to defeat the incumbent Governor Nyesom Wike in the March 9 gubernatorial election in the state.

This is against the backdrop of the recent sealing of the fate of APC by the Supreme Court,

banning it from fielding candidates in the National Assembly and the governorship elections.

The governorship candidate of the Accord party, Dumo Lulu Briggs, who addressed a press conference in Abuja yesterday, said his party will be happy to partner APC in the elections in the state.

Briggs said though Accord is strong enough and has the capacity to win the election on its

own; the victory will be landslide if the party can get the support of APC in the state.

“It remains a matter for the APC to consider if they will collapse their structures into Accord; we are not endorsing President Muhammadu Buhari because we are not expecting anything in return but because we believe in the efficacy of our elections and the good work that the President is doing, therefore

we want him to have a second term,” he said.

Briggs however, said that whether the APC will collapse their structure and support the Accord, is up to the party, adding that discussions are ongoing in that regard.

“I can tell you that Accord is very strong in Rivers to win that elections, forget what you see on the television screen, the bigger they come, the harder they fall;

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Tinubu: Why I Kicked against My Wife’s Third Term Jonathan Eze The National Leader of the All

Progressives Congress (APC) and former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, has revealed how

South African Observers Accuse INEC of Poor Handling of Elections Benjamin Nworie inAbakaliki An International Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO), Pan-African Women Projects, based in South Africa, which was accredited to monitor and observe the 2019 general election in Nigeria has said it was disappointed with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The Head of the team in Ebonyi State, Mrs. Lebogang Ugorji said it was annoying that the electoral body could postpone the election barely five hours to the commencement of the election after it had assured of their readiness for the conduct of the elections.

Briefing journalists in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, the team leader noted that the postponement would tell negatively on the election as some people who had traveled earlier for that purpose may not be able to spend a period of one week in their villages, considering the fact that they have to report for their jobs and businesses.

She envisaged that there may be voters’ apathy and poor turnout arising from the postponement, as the confidence reposed on the electoral body has reduced.

The group noted that there were pocket of pre-election violence in some areas of Ebonyi State where people were attacked and properties destroyed.

some influential members in the Lagos APC Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) upturned one of his critical decisions not to return his wife, Remi, for a third term in the Senate.

Tinubu explained that the “coup” was hatched prelude to the conduct of the last primary elections across the 245 wards of the 20 local government areas in the state, last year.

He said this while addressing party leaders and members at a stakeholders’ meeting, prior to the postponed Presidential and National Assembly polls, at Police College, Play-ground, Ikeja in Lagos.

Tinubu, who was reacting to the allegations of imposition levelled against him, said some of his decisions are also being influenced by leaders in the party.

He said: “Let me tell the story of how Bayo Osinowo, APC senatorial candidate for Lagos East emerged, displacing incumbent Senator Gbenga Ashafa. I was still thinking on the way to go for the primaries.

“I told them, we will not follow the third term syndrome. No candidate will go for a third term which also affected my wife, Remi. I did not want her to go for a third term. But Prince Tajudeen Olusi, leader of the

GAC and some members led the coup against that decision.

I told them I wanted my wife back at home but they insisted that I must listen to them. And after much argument, I conceded and said I will obey you. That was how Remi got the APC third term ticket.

“Now coming to the East, where Ashafa was also bidding to go for the third term and eventually lost out to Osinowo, I was contemplating on who could be our candidate when Kaoli Olusanya led leaders from Ikorodu to my house, saying they have resolved to send Bayo Osinowo to the Senate for the East senatorial

district and that was it.”

He said the clarification became necessary following series of allegations of imposition of candidates levelled against him in some quarters, particularly, from the opposition parties.

To achieve victory at the poll, Tinubu announced the setting up of a Special Taskforce to take public complaints, mobilisation, and monitoring of the exercise.

Tinubu also urged the special taskforce, and executives of the party to embark on final reconciliation of all aggrieved members through series of meetings in order to have a consolidated electoral victory across board.

PDP Members Defect to APC in Ekiti Victor Ogunje inAdoEkiti Less than 48 hours after the presidential poll was rescheduled to February 23, no fewer than 200 members of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) on Saturday evening dumped the party and joined the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) in Ekiti State.

The defectors described PDP as a ‘rudderless’ party without strong leadership to coordinate it in Ekiti, saying they were attracted to APC because of Governor Kayode Fayemi’s free education policy in the education sector.

The PDP members from Wards 1 and 2 defected in Ikole Local Government Area (LGA) of the state at a rally organised by the leadership of APC. They were received by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Biodun Omoleye and the state Chairman of the party, Mr. Paul Omotoso , with a promise that no one would

discriminate against them in the party.

Leaders of the defectors, Honourables Sanya Babalola and Aransiola Olayemi , pledged to work hard to actualise the victory of all APC candidates in the Saturday’s elections.

Babalola said they decided to join APC owing to the confidence they reposed in Fayemi-led government.

“This postponement gave us the opportunity to make our defection public, though we had had agreement to work against PDP because the party goofed by picking him in the first place.

“Immediately Governor Fayemi came into office, he introduced free education and we are benefiting from it. This alone was enough selling point to the public about APC”.

Omoleye, represented by the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Fayemi on Mobilisation, Mr. Tunji Ogunlola , urged the defectors to continue to mobilise for the APC to be able to win the February 23 election.

Pray or Elections May Not Hold, CAN Warns Nigerians The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on Nigerians to pray this week if they want the general elections to hold.

President of the association, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, made the call yesterday during a service at the Trinity Baptist Church, Ajobo, Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

He said, “About what is happening in the country, I want you to pray very well this week. If it’s about the things we see in the spirit, it is not sure that elections will hold at all. We won’t want elections to hold like they didn’t hold; if that should happen, it would cause trouble or even lead to war.

“That is why we have asked you to pray this week. This is a week for prayers. Pray that bad people will not be involved in Nigeria’s affairs. About the elections, we will pray that they will not result in war or bring agony. People who think they are powerful and want to cause problems for us, God Himself

will give them problems and bind them. God will take power from them.

“Please, pray very well this week so that the elections might be able to hold on February 23 as the INEC has said. The postponement, to us, is a national embarrassment.”

He added, “And not only that, it is a setback for a nation that was ready to vote in their President. We believe however that God is still on the throne and the INEC chairman cannot play with the collective wish of Nigerians. He cannot joke with that. Be prayerful; gather this week to pray because prayers can do a lot within this week. If the writing on the wall, as revealed by the spirit, is anything to go by, if we don’t pray sufficiently, elections may not hold at all.”

INEC had on Saturday, few hours before the presidential and National Assembly elections, postponed the polls till February 23, 2019 and others earlier scheduled to hold on March 2, 2019 to March 9, 2019.

A BOOST TO FOOD PRODUCTION…

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Bashir Kadiri; Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security Programme, Joe Okojie; Executive Director, Elephant Group, Akin Ogunbiyi; and Chief Executive Officer, Heritage Agro-Allied (H2A) Foods Nigeria, Dr. Tony Bello, at the signing of the tripartite agreement for cassava production and processing in Edo State…recently

Eight Killed, Others Injured in Accident on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway Eight persons were confirmed dead while a pregnant woman and a child sustained injuries in an accident involving a blue Toyota Corolla Sport car around Ewekoro Area on the Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway.

The spokesperson, Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abeokuta on Sunday.

Akinbiyi explained that the accident which occurred around 12:50 p.m. was caused by excessive speeding and loss of control by the driver.

He said that 10 persons made up of four males, four females and two children were involved in the accident that killed the eight persons leaving a pregnant woman and another person injured.

“We learnt that the Toyota Corolla Sport vehicle was inbound

Abeokuta on the Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway when the accident happened.

“The driver of the Toyota marked AKD 649 FP, who was drunk and on excessive speed lost control of the vehicle and rammed into a stationery trailer parked on the road.

“Though the driver of the trailer was not in the vehicle when the accident happened, he reported and is presently at Ewekoro Divisional

Police Station with the vehicles involved,’’ he said.

Akinbiyi said that the remains of the deceased had been deposited at the General Hospital Morgue in Ifo Local Government Area of the state.

He said the injured pregnant woman and a boy were receiving medical treatment at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi-Aba, Abeokuta.

APC Chieftain Faults Poll Postponement, Berates INEC Jonathan Eze The Deputy Director, Field Operations of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Muhammad Jibrin Barde, has described the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly election as a product of sheer ineptitude of planning and implementation.

In a statement made available to journalists at the weekend, Barde stated that the reasons adduced by the Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC) Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, were flimsy and untenable.

Barde further advised that all sensitive materials already deployed to states and local government areas as in the case of his home state in Gombe and States should be withdrawn and new one, with different security features produced and re-distributed for the exercise to be seen as credible.

“The postponement of the poll is an embarrassment that connotes sheer incompetence and ineptitude of planning and implementation.

“Only PDP members have inside knowledge of the postponement. This shows political influence by the major opposition party in the decision.

“How can you explain holding a meeting late at night of the election day and simply and shamelessly announced a postponement at 2.24 a.m on the day of the election on a flimsy excuse of logistics, weather condition and court cases.

“This is a man who came out publicly months ago and few days ago announced to the whole world that INEC is prepared adding that everything they asked for has been granted and approved.

“One week is like one hour.

Before you say jack, the week is gone. How are we sure that the commission can deliver in a week?

“It was sheer gross ineptitude of planning and implementation and for the integrity and credibility of the election, I am equally calling for the destruction and reproductions of sensitive materials in a different colour other than in the current colours as the ones sent to the states have already been distributed across many states.

“In Gombe State, all election materials have been distributed across the state and to all the polling units in villages. We don’t have an idea who has access to these materials or those who will accost these materials.”

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Kogi PDP Asks IG to Warn Police against Partisanship Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja The Kogi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has implored acting InspectorGeneral of Police (IG), Adamu Mohammed, to take advantage of last Saturday’s postponement of the general election to look into police partisanship that could have marred the electoral process in

the state if the polls had held.

Making the call against the background of the Friday siege on Lokoja, Kogi State residence of a former governor, Dr. Ibrahim Idris, by hooded police officers during a meeting of PDP leaders ahead of the election day, the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Bode Ogunmola, noted that the assailants were considered as

AU Urges Politicians to Stop Blame Game over Election Postponement As reactions continue to trail the postponement of National Assembly and presidential elections, the African Union, Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC) has cautioned politicians and stakeholders in Nigeria’s political space to stop the blame game caused over the postponement of last Saturday’s elections.

It also charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to set a global standard with the February 23, 2019, adding that voters must not be discouraged as a result of the one week postponement by INEC. The council urged Nigerians to be calm, exercise restraint and support INEC in discharging the responsibility of conducting free, fair and credible election.

The AU-ECOSOCC disclosed this in an emailed reaction on the election postponement, which was made available to our correspondent through its Nigeria Chapter Representative, John Oba. It said, “We have read with concern several insinuations and blame game in the media on the postponement and wish

to caution that all stakeholders should exercise restraint and rather channel their effort at assisting the commission to organise credible polls.

“We must all understand that our words at this time will go a long way to either make or mar the process and endanger the peace of Nigeria and Africa at large. Stakeholders must therefore watch against comments that may hamper the process.”

The council said INEC should be supported to ensure it conducts elections that would send strong democratic lessons for other member states of the AU to emulate.

It also noted that the world was hoping that Nigeria would through this election set a standard and commended INEC for taking proactive steps to avert staggered elections that may give room to suspicion and legal logjams.

The AU-ECOSOCC appreciated the roles being played by international and domestic observers, especially in mobilisation and financial support towards a credible, free and fair 2019 general election in Nigeria.

Woman, 39, Nabbed for Defrauding Church N500m Femi Ogbonnikan in Abeokuta Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command have apprehended a woman for allegedly defraud a church organisation to a tune of N500 million under a pretence that she wanted to assist the worshiping centre to organise funds for its charity organisation.

The woman, Iwuagwu Onyinyechi, was arrested by the operatives in Ogun State, following a petition written by a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Godswill Ojakovo, to the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, wherein, he accused the 39-year-old woman of defrauding the church-based organisation, MIA Enterprise, through an act of forgery.

According to the petitioner, he claimed the suspect got procured an LPO from a company known as Location 3 properties and appealed to MIA organisation to fund the LPO, consequent upon which the sum of N33, 118, 000 was transferred online to her.

“While the organisation was awaiting for the repayment of

the above amount, the suspect came with another LPOs, which she purportedly got from Ancillia Catholic hospital Iju, and Holifull school Ikorodu, both in Lagos, upon which another sum of N77 million was given to her after showing relevant documents and proofs to back her claims,” said Ojakovo.

The lawyer stated further in the petition that as soon as she got the last payment in September 2018, the suspect disappeared into thin air.

“And this prompted the church to make discreet enquiries about the LPOs submitted and found out that all the LPOs were forged,” the lawyer added.

While confirming the incident, spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, according to a statement issued yesterday, said the Commissioner of Police Ogun State, Ahmed Iiyasu, upon the receipt of the petition, promptly directed the CP’s Monitoring team to go after the suspect and bring her to book.

political thugs.

He asked the IG and the Kogi State Police Command to take steps to prevent police partisanship in the elections, adding that the general insinuation was that such brazen daylight assault by unknown gunmen could not have been contemplated without tacit backing from Government House, Lokoja.

Ogunmola called for immediate inquest by the security services, to pre-empt disorder and violence, before, during and after the elections.

“Information in the public domain, confirms that the

masked hoodlums, merely took a walk into Government House, Lokoja, through the rear access, unchallenged,” he alleged.

He added that “it took a phone call from a retired military officer who was a former senator representing Kogi West in the Senate, to put a call through to the Commander, Command Army Records, Lokoja, whose men arrived the besieged home of former governor Idris and dismantled the thugs.”

While stating that “The acting Inspector-General of Police, Adamu Mohammed and the Director-General, Department

of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Magaji Bichi, have thus far demonstrated commitment to professionalism,” he charged that their professionalism must be brought to bear in the security situation in Kogi State.

Raising further concern for the safety of the people ahead of the postponed elections, he also noted that residents of Okene in Kogi Central senatorial zone where Kogi State Governor, Mr. Yahaya Bello comes from, had their night rest rudely interrupted by sustained and sporadic gunshots upon the arrival of the governor the night before the rescheduled elections.

“The shooting lasted through the night. The gunshots, which were reportedly fired by thugs dressed in police uniforms, were intended to scare residents of the five local government areas (LGAs) in Kogi Central: Adavi; Ajaokuta; Okene, Okehi and Ogori-Magongo, from participating in the earlier scheduled Saturday, February 16 polls,” he noted.

Emphasising that Kogi Central has been a major flashpoint in recent weeks and months, Ogunmola recalled that on new year’s eve, attacks on supporters of the senatorial candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP),

MEGA RALLY...

Former Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Lagos State, Otunba Henry Oladele Ajomale (middle), surrounded by party members, during a mega rally organised by Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) Chapter of the party, in Lagos...recently

Benin Residents Commend BEDC over Improved Power Supply Residents of Benin and its environs have commended the federal government and the Benin Electricity Distribution Company Plc (BEDC) for the improvement in power supply to their areas.

Some of the residents who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin, in separate interviews, said the commendation was against the background of their experience within the last quarter of 2018.

The people said that with the improvement in power supply, they had been enjoying electricity from a near zero hour daily to at least, 12 hours daily supply.

They further stressed that the improvement in electricity supply had remarkably led to the improvement in their means of livelihood as well as their lifestyle.

A resident around Abuja quarters in Ugbor, Benin, Mr. Osaigwe Aghedo, said the electricity supply to his area was constant at 12 hours daily.

“It is usually brought for every three hours, I mean three hours on and three hours off, which add up to 12 hours daily and it has been ongoing since January,” he said.

Aghedo said this was not the case between October and

November 2018, when residents practically stayed in the dark for weeks.

Another resident, Miss Jemima Osaikhuiwuomwan, who lives around Iduoriyekemwen area of Ugbowo, said that most areas around Isihor had also been enjoying 18 hours power supply daily.

“I don’t know where the electricity supply came from, but it has improved recently to the extent that sometime I have to switch off some of my electrical gadgets, “she said.

The story is the same with John Omoruyi and Festus Napoleon

who both reside at Irhirhi area, off Airport road, Benin.

They said that the area usually have power up to 12 hours daily supply.

The duo, however, bemoaned the issue of estimated billing which they described as “extortion.”

Similarly, Osato Udiase who resides at Utese, Ovia North East Local Government Area, said that the communities around his area benefitted from supply between 12 to 20 hours daily “unlike before.’’

While commending BEDC for the improved electricity supply, he also decried the excessive billing system.

happy to be associated with the deceased, who was well respected and loved by everyone who knew him.

The Social Secretary, GCIOBA, Lagos Chapter, Dr. Folarin Olowu, described the late Jegede as “a humble and hardworking philanthropist”.

The First National VicePresident, Mr Tola Obembe, said: “Chief Jegede was the life of the party. He adds colour to

any event he attends. He will drop everything to assist an old boy.

He got me a placement for my Industrial Training at Total in 1986.

He relates freely with people, irrespective of your age.”

In attendance were Architect Kola Olatunbosun; Prof. Ayo Ogunye and Mr Wale Ajomale, among other GCI old boys.

Chief Jegede passed away on February 11.

Babalakin Eulogises Jegede The Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), has described a former Director of Total Plc, the late Chief Sunny Jegede, as “a humble man , who impacted many lives”.

Babalakin spoke yesterday in Lagos when he led a delegation of Government College, Ibadan, Old Boys Association (GCIOBA) on a condolence visit to the deceased’s family home in Ikeja.

The lawyer, who is the National President of GCIOBA, said the late Jegede was “an illustrious old boy, who helped a lot of GCI old boys”.

Urging people to live purposeful and impactful lives, Babalakin said even though the late Jegede was GCIOBA’s President for only four years, he had so much impact that it seemed he was president for over 20 years.

He added that he was always

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MONDAYSPORTS

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

Mikel Stars in Boro’s Away Win against Blackburn r Fans heap plaudits on the Super Eagles captain Duro Ikhazuagbe with agency report

John Mikel Obi was part of Middlesbrough squad that grabbed a valuable away win at Blackburn Rovers yesterday.

The former Tianjin Teda midfielder who made his fourth start out of the five he has clocked for the English Championship side played all 90 minutes in the encounter at Ewood Park.

Although Britt Assombalonga’s 19th minute header made the difference for Boro to earn all three points, Mikel, no doubt has stamped his authority in the middle of the team to earn the respect of Manager Tony Pulis.

Mikel was key in the 3-4-2-1 formation adopted by Pulis. The former Chelsea star played a deep-lying role.

The 31-year-old who racked up two dribbles, made one tackle, struck one shot and had a pass success rate of ninety percent, as per whoscored earned the plaudits of his club fans in magnificent style.

Below are some of what Boro fans had to say about his performance on Twitter : @jamestate09 : ‘’John Obi Mikel is better than Messi’’. @Crookston3 : ‘’mikel_john_obi is different class #UTB’’. @IwanEvans19 : ‘’Made hard work of it, but nice to know we’ve got the best goalkeeper and midfielder in the league! @RandzOfficial

@mikel_john_obi’’. @sammfcthompson : ‘’John Obi Mikel would get in any prem team outside the top 6.

Levels.’’ @GraingerNeil : ‘’In a season of terrible transfer windows, John Obi Mikel looks like an insanely good bit of business. What a player #utb’’. @Cooky34 :’’We’ve got Mikel, Jon Obi Mikel, I just don’t think you understand..... ‘’ @SirBenGlass : ‘’John Obi Mikel is head and shoulders above any other player in the Championship #boro .’’

Speaking at the postmatch, Pulis however was worried that his wards could only put away just one out of the 27 shots on target.

“I’m pleased.

I don’t want to take the gloss off it because I thought we were very good today, but to get 27 shots on goal and just score one goal is something I’ve kept harping on about since I joined the football club.

“We’ve got to be more clinical in front of goal.

We had really good opportunities to get the second one, and if you get the second one it’s game over and you can relax a little bit.

“What we’ve got to do is replicate the intensity we showed against Leeds for home games for the rest of the season and that gives us a chance,” he concluded.

While the win moved Boro to fifth spot in the Championship standing on 54 points from 32

Anthony Joshua Bout Breaks Madison Square Garden Pre-Sale Record Anthony Joshua‘s heavyweight world title fight with Jarrell Miller has broken the Madison Square Garden record for highest-grossing pre-sale of a boxing event, though the arena did not reveal the figure.

Joshua will defend his WBA Super, IBF, WBO and IBO crowns against Miller on June 1 in New York, with the fight being broadcast live on DAZN in the US and on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK. Tickets go on general sale on StubHub at midday on Tuesday, February 19 following today’s pre-sale for Match-room Fight Pass members, and fans hoping to get the chance to see Joshua lock horns with the ‘Big Baby’ will need to move quickly to purchase tickets.

Tickets range from £80 to just under £2,000.

‘We know that AJ is a huge box office hit in the UK but to break the pre-sale record at the iconic Madison Square Garden is astounding,’ said promoter Eddie Hearn.

‘We are building a huge event on June 1 and we look forward to the all the build-up beginning with next Tuesdays press conference in New York.’

‘We are thrilled with the early excitement for tickets,’ said Joel Fisher, executive vice president, MSG Marquee Events..

‘Anthony Joshua versus Jarrell Miller will be an epic event at Madison Square Garden and we encourage fans to purchase tickets now because this fight will sell out.’

games, it was bad news for Blackburn who

are stuck in the 14th position. It also means

fourth consecutive defeat for the home team.

Boro’s next game is at home to 18th placed QPR on Saturday

John Mikel Obi (left) was in action for all of 90 minutes as Middlesbrough defeated Blackburn Rovers 1-0 in an English Championship match…yesterday

Mali Crowned Champions of U-20 AFCON Mali yesterday defeated Senegal 3-2 on penalties to claim their maiden Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations title following a 1-1 stalemate after extra time in Niamey, Niger Republic.

The Aiglons held their nerves in the pulsating shootouts to hand Senegal their third successive defeat

in the final.

Mamoutou Kane’s charges open the score at Stade General Seyni Kountche after 15 minutes when Boubacar Traore hammered home Hadji Drame’s delivery as Senegal found themselves behind for the first time in the tournament.

Youssouph Dabo’s Les

Lionceaux replied 17 minutes from normal time through FC Metz’s Amadou Ndiaye who volleyed in the equaliser from close range to force the match to extra time and penalties.

Senegal missed their first spot kick when midfielder’s spot kick hit the post.

The young Malians

converted their three consecutive penalties through Boubacar Traore, Lassana Ndiaye and Abdoulaye Diaby.

The tournament’s leading goalscorer Amadou Ndiaye missed his kick before teammate Ousseynou Niang also missed to secure Mali the title.

Pro Basketball League Planned for Africa Next Year The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation are to launch a professional league in Africa in January 2020.

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) will feature 12 teams from at least six African countries.

FIBA Africa’s Executive Director, Alphonse Bile, said the league will help players compete in the “best possible

environment”.

Charlotte Hornets’ Bismack Biyombo is one of 13 African players in the NBA. Bile said: “The implementation of this league is vital to our young up-and-coming players in Africa as it gives them something to take aim at.”

FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis added: “It’s a huge joy to see our partnership with the NBA

enter unchartered territory as we work together for the first time to maximise the potential of professional basketball in Africa.”

Former US President Barack Obama has backed the plans, while NBA legend Michael Jordan, who is now the Charlotte Hornets chairman, was at the launch event in North Carolina.

The NBA has heavily invested in Africa with

programmes such as Basketball Without Borders and Giants of Africa in addition to having an office in South Africa and academy in Senegal.

Since the end of his presidency in 2017, President Obama has helped Toronto Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri, who hails from Nigeria, with the Giants of Africa youth basketball programme.

Lagos Media Marathon Not Only for Journalists, Says Oshundun The Chairman of the Lagos State Branch of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Debo Oshundun, has said the upcoming Lagos Media Marathon scheduled for May 1 is not exclusive to only journalists.

Speaking at the weekend in Lagos, Oshundun who is the Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee said the Lagos Media Marathon though being spearheaded by journalists was opened to every member of the public to participate and have fun.

He explained that just like there is the Aviation

Marathon in Singapore that is organised by stakeholders in the aviation industry but its open to every runner and Comrade Marathon organised by miners in South Africa and participation is usually for everybody.

The Lagos Media Marathon is a 10km and 5km road race that is open to participants outside the media industry.

“It is necessary we make this clarification because some erroneously think that the Lagos Media Marathon is only for journalists, it is for everybody, everybody across Nigeria and beyond

are all welcomed to be part of the race” the Lagos SWAN chairman stated.

“The only difference is that while journalists and students will not be paying any registration fees, other members of the general public will be paying a token of N3, 000 to participate in the Lagos Media Marathon” According to Oshundun, with the N3, 000 registration fee, participants are guaranteed a quality goodie bag, quality running kits as well as medal among other things.

Oshundun also announced that the

registration for the Lagos Media Marathon will officially take off on Friday, March 1.

“The registration will begin on March 1st on our website lagosmediamarathon.com where people can pay and be entered immediately.

Physical forms will also be made available at various centers that would be announced soon,” he added.

Already, organisers have stated that they are expecting over 30,000 runners in this inaugural edition of the Lagos Media Marathon.

54

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2019

MONDAYSPORTS

La Liga: Ramos Sent off as Girona Shocks Real Madrid Real Madrid yesterday missed the chance to go second in La Liga as Girona came from behind to record a surprise away win.

Casemiro powerfully headed in from Toni Kroos’ deep cross from the right wing to give the hosts a first-half lead.

Cristhian Stuani’s penalty made it 1-1 after Sergio Ramos’ handball and Girona’s Portu then hit the crossbar.

Portu netted the winner with a diving header after Anthony Lozano’s shot had been parried, before Ramos was sent off in injury time for two yellow cards.

The defender had been booked when he conceded the penalty, and received a second caution when he attempted an overhead kick but caught Girona’s Pedro Alcala.

The red card was the 19th of Ramos’ career in La Liga, more than any other player in the Spanish top flight.

It was another controversial moment for the Real captain, who faces a UEFA investigation into whether he deliberately got booked late on in Wednesday’s 2-1 win at Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie - to receive a suspension now and not later on in the competition.

Ramos had been quoted as telling reporters he would “be lying if I said I didn’t force (the booking)”, but later posted on social media that he had “not forced the card”.

Real, who started the weekend in second place in the table, are now third, nine points behind leaders Barcelona, who won 1-0 against Real Valladolid on Saturday.

Atletico Madrid are now second, two points clear of city rivals Real, following their 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano.

Real boss Santiago Solari made six changes to face Girona, with Wales forward

Gareth Bale among the substitutes and midfielder Luka Modric missing through suspension.

Away keeper Yassine Bounou denied Lucas Vasquez before Casemiro’s header gave the hosts the lead. Karim Benzema and Marcelo had further chances saved, and Benzema also headed into the side netting as Real pushed for a second.

However, the visitors - who had not won in their previous 13 matches - fought back. Aleix Garcia wastefully shot over from six yards out and Stuani headed against the post before Ramos charged down the follow-up shot with his hands and Stuani equalised from the spot.

Bale came on in the 67th minute, but was unable to prevent his side losing their grip on the match.

Portu hit the crossbar and then scored a 74th-minute winner to severely dent Real’s hopes of becoming Spanish champions this season.

Real Madrid boss Santiago Solari said: “Girona were better in the second half, they caused us a lot of problems. We’ve been on a good run and today we did not do the same things.

“We tried to increase our energy levels with our changes but we did not achieve it - we have a big squad and a lot of good players.

“We did not take our chances when we had them and it was really difficult for us in the first 25 minutes.”

Asked if they still had a chance of winning the league, Solari added: “Always. We are always in it. We need to get good results as soon as possible, but we’re still in three competitions.”

Girona manager Eusebio Sacristan said: “It’s really important for us to win at the Bernabeu - for our fans, for our team.

“Maybe they were

Korda Wins to Join Family’s ‘ Korda Slam’ American Nelly Korda continued her family’s remarkable success in Australia by winning the Women’s Australian Open in Adelaide.

Korda finished on 17 under par, two clear of South Korea’s Ko Jin-young.

Korda is the daughter of former tennis player Petr Korda who won the 1998 Australian Open men’s singles title.

Her sister Jessica also won the golf Australian Open in 2012 while her brother Sebastian won the tennis junior singles title last year.

The 20-year-old took a three-shot lead into the final round at The Grange and shot a five-under-par 67 to win.

England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff finished in a tie

for eighth on nine under.

Korda was born six months after her father won the Australian Open in Melbourne, the Czech’s only Grand Slam title.

At the start of the week she said she felt “so left out” when her family discussed their Australian titles and when she completed her own victory she celebrated with her father’s trademark scissor kick.

“I’m finally a part of the club,” Korda said.

“I mean this win was really special for my family.

“I think there’s something in the air here, we love coming down under.

“I just got off the phone with my dad and he said, ‘Well, congratulations, you’re part of the Korda Slam now’.”

thinking they would get a second goal, but we were slowly getting back into it

and getting more confident.

At the end of the game it is a fair result.

“We had not won for a few games and had a tough few weeks. But we

showed our attitude, and what better ground to do it in.”

Sergio Ramos (backing camera) was sent off as Real Madrid suffers home defeat

FA CUP

Sarri’s Job on the Line as Chelsea Takes on Crunchy Man Utd Maurizio Sarri will be fighting to save his job when crisis club Chelsea face Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round this evening.

Sarri is in danger of being sacked after a dismal first season at Stamford Bridge and crashing out of the FA Cup would push the Italian closer to the axe.

Chelsea suffered their heaviest defeat for 28 years when they were thrashed 6-0 at Manchester City last weekend, an indignity that came just weeks after a humiliating 4-0 loss at Bournemouth.

Amid claims Sarri has lost the support of his players, the former Napoli boss held clear-the-air talks this week in a bid to convince the squad to stick with him.

It is not the first time he has challenged Chelsea’s stars after accusing them of being hard to motivate, questioning their mental strength and claiming they don’t understand even the basics of his game plan.

Sarri’s players are said to be unhappy with the Italian’s uninspiring training methods and refusal to adapt his tactics to the

players he has at his disposal.

Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso and N’Golo Kante are all being asked to perform roles that are ill-suited to their strengths and so far Sarri’s lengthy debriefs have made little difference.

While ‘Sarri-ball’ was a big hit with Napoli, Chelsea have looked laboured for much of this season, struggling for cohesion in midfield and lacking cutting edge up front.

Demanding Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and influential director Marina Granovskaia are unlikely to spare Sarri unless results and performances improve soon.

That means Sarri must lift Chelsea – beaten in seven of their last 22 games – back into the Premier League’s top four and keep them on course for silverware.

They are still in the Europa League, having beaten Malmo in the last 32 first leg on Thursday, and face Manchester City in the League Cup final next Sunday.

But first Sarri must focus on United’s visit to the Bridge as holders Chelsea look to move

Nelly Korda with the Women’s Australian Golf Open trophy…yesterday

closer to a third successive FA Cup final appearance.

“We know it’s a crucial moment. We have some very important matches. The first will be United. It’s very challenging,” Sarri’s assistant Gianfranco Zola said.

Responding to the mounting sense of gloom around Chelsea, Zola called on his squad to pull together.

“Nobody is pleased when you lose games the way we did recently. Not only the players, but the coaches and everyone,” he said.

“It’s a moment when we’ve been alternating the results, going from one good performance to a bad one.

“We have to be consistent. We all know this, and it’s important everyone understands the situation and is working on it.

“This is important. The unity facing the challenge will make the difference.”

United were beaten by Chelsea in last season’s final, but much has changed at Old Trafford since May. Jose Mourinho was sacked in

December and his replacement Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had overseen a remarkable turnaround as interim boss.

Solskjaer went unbeaten in his first 11 games in all competitions, lifting United above Chelsea into the top four.

But their momentum stalled in a big way on Tuesday when Paris Saint Germain won 2-0 in the Champions League last 16, first leg in Manchester.

United’s attempt to get back on track has been hit by injuries to Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard, who are both out for up to three weeks.

Solskjaer expects a strong response despite those key absences, saying: “I hate losing games and it seems like the boys hate losing games.

“There’s no point dwelling on it because there are big games against good teams coming up.

We need to dust ourselves down and get going again on Monday.

“You’ve got to bounce back at this club. You don’t panic because you’ve lost a game, you don’t change everything. It doesn’t change the mindset at all.”

55

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2019

MONDAYSPORTS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Umtiti Set for Barca Return against Lyon Samuel Umtiti is set to make his long-awaited return from injury after Barcelona yesterday named him in the squad to face Lyon in the UEFA Champions League.

A knee problem has caused Umtiti to play only once in almost five months but the defender resumed training at the end of January and has been included in Barca’s squad for the trip to Lyon tomorrow .

Umtiti is unlikely to start the first leg against his former club but his availability is a plus for coach Ernesto Valverde, with difficult fixtures to come.

After Lyon, Barcelona face a trip to Sevilla in La Liga before two Clasicos in four days, the first in the Copa del Rey and the second in the league, both at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Umtiti’s absence left

Barca short in central defence. They signed

Jeison Murillo on loan from Valencia in

January while Jean-Clair Todibo’s summer move

from Toulouse was also brought forward.

Robben Picks Anfield as ‘Worst Stadium’ Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben has described Anfield as his “worst stadium” as he prepares for a return to face Liverpool in the Champions League last-16 clash tomorrow.

Dutchman Robben has some unhappy memories at the home of Liverpool, having suffered elimination from the European competition twice with Chelsea in 2005 and 2007, and with Real Madrid in 2009.

“I think, if you ask (about) the worst stadium for me, it’s probably Liverpool,” the 35-year-old told The Guardian.

“You always have your favourite opponent and there always has to be a negative one.”

Robben, who is battling to overcome a thigh injury ahead of the fixture, said he remembers Liverpool

as a “cup fighter team” but during his time at Chelsea were never seen as one of the contenders for the Premier League title.

That has changed this season as Jurgen Klopp’s side are level on points with league leaders and defending champions Manchester City with a game in hand.

“In one or two games they could really live up to it and perform; just not the whole season, which was maybe too much,” Robben added.

“Now I think it changed and they developed really well.

The manager has done a great job.

“Last year they were in the Champions League final and at the moment they are top (of the Premier League).

It’s a long, long time ago that they won the league and that’s the one they’re dreaming of.”

Ferguson Back in Old Trafford Dug Out Legendary former boss Sir Alex Ferguson will manage a Manchester United XI in a 20th anniversary repeat of their dramatic 2-1 Champions League final win over Bayern Munich.

The match, which will feature players from the 1999 game at the Nou Camp, will be at Old Trafford on 26 May. United interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who scored the injurytime winner, is expected to be in the side.

Ferguson retired in 2013 and the Scot, 77, said it will be a “special day”.

The most successful manager in the history of British football, he won 38 trophies during 26 years in charge of United.

The Champions League triumph - with victory over German giants Bayern secured thanks to two injurytime goals by Teddy

Sheringham and Solskjaer - was part of a 1998-99 Treble that also included the Premier League title and the FA Cup. The anniversary match will raise funds for the Manchester United Foundation.

Manchester United managing director Richard Arnold said: “The ‘99 Treble is one of the most important and historic moments in Manchester United’s story, with a team made up of some true legends of the game.

“The final against Bayern Munich is a night etched in the memory of all our fans, and for so many of those names to be returning to Old Trafford to celebrate the anniversary of that momentous achievement is testament to the Manchester United Foundation and the work it does in our community.”

Umtiti back from injury for Barcelona

CAF Boss Ahmad Responds to Musa Bility Criticism Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Ahmad has responded publicly for the first time to the criticism levelled against him by CAF Executive Committee (ExCo) member, Musa Bility of Liberia.

Earlier this month, Bility resigned from two positions within African football’s ruling body, saying he could no longer work under a president who he claimed was ‘leading this noble organisation in the wrong direction’.

Ahmad, speaking in French, broke his media silence on the eve of the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations final in Niger yesterday, telling journalists, “We have 23 ExCo members, but it’s only one or two of them who are talking.

“You never heard from the other members.

The inclusive nature of running football was the reason behind our meetings, but no one has raised any major concerns,” Ahmad said.

Bility had written to his fellow CAF ExCo members, urging them to assess Ahmad’s decisions to redistribute the 2021, 2023 and 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Ahmad insists CAF made the right decisions to reallocate the hosting rights of the three tournaments.

“Much has been said about the decisions regarding the allocation of AFCON, but can people talk about it today?

“Who was right except the CAF with the support of our Heads of State, with our African culture based on wisdom, conciliation and solidarity?”

Bility also questioned

how CAF was able to sign a commercial deal without ExCo approval. Ahmad said CAF no longer has the right to market its own rights, and he again maintained that the Executive Committee is consulted on a regular basis.

“The statutes of the CAF oblige me (CAF President) to organise two Executive Committee meetings every year but we organise three or four since I assumed the reins.

“Regarding meetings of the emergency committee held in between meetings of the Executive Committee, there is a statutory requirement for the president to organise such meetings.

“At least every two months, there is a meeting of the Emergency Committee. How can we meet and the members of the emergency committee

not be able to make decisions?” said Ahmad.

Bility’s recent statements indicate divisions among those leading the African game, which Ahmad refutes.

“You can ask other members of CAF. It is only the President that has a mandate to represent CAF. No other person got that mandate.

I have nothing to answer to him [Bility].

“What is important is to carry on with my administration. The CAF I want to put in place is one of a united African football family. The plan is to continue in that way.

“The difference is perhaps I am more of a politician who see things differently. I don’t create any division in my management. Up till this moment everything I have on my agenda to develop football is on track.”

Chess Launches Bid to be Added to 2024 Olympic Games The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has become the latest governing body to officially launch its bid for inclusion at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich was among those in attendance at a promotional event held in the French capital.

The FIDE are campaign for the the faster formats of the game - rapid and blitz chess - to be added to the Paris 2024 programme.

Dvorkovich, the former Russian Deputy Prime Minister who was elected to lead the organisation in October

of last year, was joined by representatives from France at the launch event in Paris.

French Chess Federation President Bachar Kouatly and international master Sophie Milliet, a six-time French chess champion, were present along with Dvorkovich to promote FIDE’s bid for Olympic inclusion.

FIDE claim chess is a “sport with genuine global appeal” as the governing body highlighted how it has a membership of 189 National Federations.

The organisation also claim 600 million people around the world practice chess in some

form.

“Chess is also growing in France, where 67 per cent of the members of the French Chess Federation are aged under 18 years old,” the FIDE added in a statement.

Chess was an exhibition sport at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney but has never featured on the full programme.

Chess, turned down for inclusion at Tokyo 2020, joins others such as squash, snooker and Trial-E, an electric competition format governed by the International Motorcycling Federation, in announcing its bid for inclusion at Paris 2024.

All the new sports set to feature at Tokyo 2020 baseball and softball, karate. skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing - are also hoping to be included at the Games in the French capital.

Paris 2024 are due to submit their recommendations for new sports before the International Olympic Committee Executive Board meets in Lausanne from March 26 to 28.

The IOC Session in June will then offer provisional approval before the new additions are officially confirmed by the Executive Board in December 2020.

Monday February 18, 2019

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Price: N250

MISSILE Odinkalu to El-Rufai “You cannot on the eve of a very difficult election, stand by yourself with your publicist, and be talking about the killing of 66 people of one ethnic group and be talking about it with a celebratory air, that is beyond irresponsible” – Former Chairman of NHRC, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, berating the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai for claiming that 66 people were killed in attacks on Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.

FEMIFALANA GUEST COLUMNIST

Time to Revisit Uwais, Lemu and Nnamani’s Reports

B

y virtue of section 26 of the Electoral Act, an election may be postponed if a serious breach of peace or violence is likely to occur or on account of natural disaster or other emergencies.

To prevent any abuse of power, the reasons for postponement of any election must be cogent and verifiable.

Furthermore, Section 105 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria provides that if the Federation is at war in which the territory of the country is physically involved and the President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections, the national assembly may pass a resolution to postpone the election.

And such postponement shall not be more than six months at any one time.

Therefore, any postponement of elections on account of logistical or operational reasons cannot be justified under the Electoral Act or the Constitution. Since general elections had been postponed on two previous occasions due to lack of adequate preparations, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ought to have prevented the shifting of the 2019 general election.

Even though all the political parties have blamed INEC for the postponement, some of them contributed to the national shame and embarrassment. Owing to the decision of political leaders to select and impose candidates on their parties in utter violation of section 87 of the Electoral Act, many aggrieved candidates rushed to court for legal redress.

Consequently, not less than 600 pre-election cases were filed and are pending in the various courts while not less than 40 orders have directed INEC to accept the names of candidates who won the primaries but were shortchanged.

The resort to litigation due to the impunity of majority of political parties contributed to the unwarranted delay in the preparations

Uwais

Nnamani

Lemu

of INEC for the general elections.

It is interesting to note that both APC and PDP have traded their usual blames over the postponement of the general election by the INEC. But apart from INEC, both parties ought to apologise to Nigerians for their deliberate refusal to implement the far reaching recommendations of the Electoral Reforms Panels headed by Retired Justice Mohammed Uwais, Sheik Ahmed Lemu and Dr. Ken Nnamani which were set up by the Yar’Adua, Jonathan and Buhari regimes respectively. Each of the panels had recommended the unbundling of INEC for effective performance. For instance, as INEC lacks the capacity to prosecute electoral offenders, an electoral offences commission/ tribunal was recommended for the enforcement of laws to address all forms of electoral offences and consequently stem the incidence of electoral violence.

Even the panels had recommended that

the posts of the chairman and other members of the INEC be advertised in order to make them independent of the Executive. But in a bid to sustain the status quo of electoral fraud, these recommendations and others have been rejected by the PDP and APC-led federal government.

The shameful postponement of the 2019 general election would not have occurred if the federal government had unbundled the INEC and ensured the practice of internal democracy in the political parties. It is public knowledge that both APC and PDP have not committed themselves to electoral reforms.

Hence, they have conveniently forgotten that the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had admitted that the 2007 general election which produced his regime was highly flawed. Since the system will continue to produce flawed elections, all democratic forces should mount sufficient pressure on the federal government to implement the recommendations of the

aforesaid electoral reform panels, once the 2019 rescheduled elections are concluded.

Meanwhile, INEC which has shifted the general election by seven days is alleged to have turned round to ban political parties and their candidates from further campaigning for votes. With respect, INEC has not paid attention to Section 99 of the Electoral Act which provides that the period of campaigning in public by political parties shall end 24 hours before polling day. Since elections have been shifted, the period of campaign has also shifted and will end 24 hours to the new polling day.

Therefore, the limitation of campaign imposed

by INEC should be reversed without any delay. Furthermore, INEC should comply with all valid and subsisting court orders with respect to the candidates sponsored by political parties for the general elections.

Otherwise, the courts may annul some of the elections conducted by INEC on grounds of exclusion of qualified candidates.

CCT is not a Unit of the Presidency

I

n dismissing the allegation of judicial misconduct arising from the circumstances surrounding the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mr. Justice Walter Onnoghen, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Mr. Justice Danladi Umar has questioned the power of the Federal Judicial Service Commission to query him.

According to him, the Code of Conduct Tribunal is under the Presidency and as such the Chairman and the two other members of the Tribunal only report to the President of the Republic. To justify his queer position, Justice Umar said that a former Chief Justice had warned the members of the Tribunal to stop calling themselves judges.

With respect, the Chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal are recognised as judicial officers by the Constitution.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Tribunal Chairman shall “be a person who has held or is qualified to hold office as a Judge of a superior court of record in Nigeria...”

By virtue of section 36 (1) of the Constitution, the Code of Conduct Tribunal shall be constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.

In Federal Republic of Nigeria v Nuhu Ribadu (unreported Charge No CCT/ABJ/01/2009) the defendant was charged with failure to declare his assets before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

As the defendant’s counsel we challenged the competence of the Tribunal to try our client, as it was not independent of the Presidency whose Attorney General was the Prosecutor.

In dismissing the objection, the Tribunal made it abundantly clear that it was independent of the Presidency. However, the Tribunal severed its illegal relationship with the presidency while the then Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, SAN, withdrew the charge. Curiously, Justice Danladi Umar who was a member of the Tribunal at the material time has turned round to reduce himself to a member of staff in the Presidency.

It is regrettable to note that a Tribunal established by the Constitution as an independent juridical organ of the Federation has conveniently reduced itself to an appendage of the presidency.

Apart from the Chairman and members who are appointed by the President on the advice of the National Judicial Council, the staff of the Tribunal are not appointed or seconded by the Presidency. It is expressly stated in the

Constitution that the power to appoint the staff of the Tribunal and to exercise disciplinary control over them shall vest in the members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal and shall be exercisable in accordance with an Act of the National Assembly.

Contrary to the embarrassing position of the Tribunal Chairman, Paragraph F of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution, 1999 as amended, provides that the Federal Judicial Service Commission shall advise the National Judicial Council in nominating persons for appointment and removal of federal judicial officers, including the Chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

Paragraph 15 of Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to t1he Constitution provides that the President shall appoint the Chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council. The retirement age of Chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal is 70 years like Justices of the appellate courts. They cannot be removed from office before attaining the prescribed retirement age. Unlike ministers and staff in the Presidency who can be removed by the President, the Chairman and members of the

Code of Conduct Tribunal shall not be removed from office by the President, except upon an address supported by two-thirds majority of each of the House of the National Assembly on grounds of misconduct or for contravention of the code of conduct for public officers.

In the light of the foregoing, the Federal Judicial Commission was perfectly in order when it queried the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal with respect to the allegation of judicial misconduct levelled against him. Since the power of the Federal Judicial Service Commission to recommend to the National Judicial Council the removal of the Chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal cannot be exercised without conducting an inquiry into the allegation of judicial misconduct involving federal judicial officers, Mr. Justice Danladi Umar is advised to reply the query properly issued and served on him. If he fails to reply the query, the Federal Judicial Service Commission may wish to recommend his removal from office to the National Judicial Council pursuant to paragraph 13 (a) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution which will in turn make appropriate recommendations to the President.

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