FRIDAY 8TH MARCH 2019

CBN, EFCC Tighten Noose on Economic Crimes Obinna Chima Officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and their counterparts from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday met with the aim of strengthening the fight against

economic crimes.

The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had few weeks ago revealed that both institutions would be collaborating to expose banks, importers or organisations that collude with corrupt individuals to flout its policy

on the restriction of foreign exchange (forex) to 43 items.

The meeting, which took place in Abuja, according to a statement issued yesterday by the apex bank’s Director of Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, provided an opportunity for the two

entities to share experiences and peculiar challenges in the fight against economic related crimes.

It said: “The two agencies adopted strategies aimed at curtailing the unwholesome activities of economic saboteurs, which include

smuggling of commodities like rice, textile materials, fertilizer, wheat and other items on the prohibition list for accessing foreign exchange through official window, as well as tracking illicit financial flows.

“Other areas which the two

agencies are collaborating include anti-money laundry and the monitoring of politically exposed persons in the country.”

According to the statement, the inter-agency meeting, Continued on page 12

Economic Cost of Violence against Nigerian Children Hits $6.1bn... Page 12 Friday 8 March, 2019 Vol 24. No 8733. Price: N250

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Air Force: Fighter Jets, Attack Helicopters on Standby against Election Violence Concludes delivery of electoral materials INEC: We are ready for the polls Situation Room calls for non-interference by security agencies Anxiety mounts in South-south over troops deployment as soldiers raid Ateke Tom’s home, hotel One feared killed, many arrested Abdulsalami, Kukah, Achebe call for peace Kingsley Nwezeh, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja, Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt and David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka Ahead of tomorrow’s governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections, the Nigerian Air Force has deployed fighter planes and attack helicopters in some

potential flashpoints across the country.

The air wing of the Nigerian military also said it has concluded airlifting of electoral materials to 31 locations in the country for onward distribution to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) locations and polling stations.

Continued on page 10

Buhari Makes U-Turn, Says Second Term will Be Peaceful, Prosperous Insists PDP has questions to answer on squandered wealth Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Barely a week after President Muhammadu Buhari said his next tenure would be tough, the president yesterday toned down his language, saying his next four years would rather be peaceful and prosperous.

Buhari, who made this

promise while hosting leaders of the organised labour in the State House, Abuja, added that his next tenure of four-year would also be corruption free.

The president also said the next administration would remain focused on his Continued on page 10

IN SOLIDARITY...

L–R: President Muhammadu Buhari; Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige; and President, Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, during the union’s courtesy visit to the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja … yesterday godwin omoigui

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FRIDAY, MARCH ΀˜ ͺ͸͹΁ ˾ T H I S D AY

PAGE TEN AIR FORCE: FIGHTER JETS, ATTACK HELICOPTERS ON STANDBY AGAINST ELECTION VIOLENCE In a chat with THISDAY in Abuja, NAF spokesman, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said attack helicopters, fighter planes and intelligence gathering platforms have been put on standby for potentially violence-prone areas.

He said: "We have other aircraft, the ISR platforms, attack platforms, and helicopters; they have been deployed in different locations across the country.

"Depending on where they are, they provide surveillance, reconnaissance in a show of force. They give feedback to operations or situation room."

On the airlifting of election materials, he said NAF had concluded delivery and was looking forward to a successful election.

According to him, "In terms of delivery of electoral materials to all the 31 locations that has been done because that is where they have airfields and we used the transport aircraft.

"From those locations, the materials are moved to the various CBN locations and local government areas that cover INEC logistics responsibilities. We are good to go."

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, had at a meeting with Air Force commanders, said contingency plans were put in place in case of any breakdown of law and order.

He said NAF hospitals and medical centres were put on the alert to assist in attending to any medical emergencies.

On election materials, Abubakar said eight aircraft were deployed in the airlift operations flying a total of about 340 hours in 257 sorties with about 120 crew members comprising pilots, technicians and other specialists operating on a round-the-clock basis.

INEC Declares Readiness for Elections Also briefing on the elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared its readiness, adding that all materials for the

elections have been delivered to all states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

There would be governorship elections in 29 states and assembly polls in 36 states, with FCT holding its area councils contests.

The commission also warned that it would not tolerate the act of holding its officials hostage and forcing them to declare winners under duress, saying that if such occurs, it would not issue Certificates of Return to any culpable politician.

The Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this yesterday during the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) meeting held at INEC Headquarters, Abuja, where he equally decried loss of its electoral materials to hooliganism and violence.

He added that all materials and relevant personnel would arrive at the Registration Area Centres (RACs) today, noting that with this arrangement the commission is confident that all polling units will open at 8a.m. nationwide.

Yakubu stated: "On Saturday, 9th March, 2019, Nigerians are once again going to the polls to elect governors in 29 States, 991 members of Houses of Assembly in all the states of the federation, 6 chairmen as well as 62 councilors for the Area Councils in the FCT. "A total of 1,082 candidates will be elected by citizens across the country. Learning from the experience of the presidential and National Assembly elections held two weeks ago, the commission has effectively tackled the challenge of logistics.

Materials for the election have been delivered to all states and the FCT. Movement to the Local Government Areas will be completed today (yesterday).

"In addition to elections into 1,082 constituencies nationwide, the commission will conduct supplementary elections in 14 states of the federation covering seven senatorial districts and 24 federal constituencies."

The chairman said that

elections in the affected areas were disrupted mainly by acts of violence involving ballot box snatching, abduction of INEC officials, over voting and the failure to adhere to regulations and guidelines.

Yakubu said the number of registered voters in the polling units involved in each constituency was more than the votes received by the candidate with the highest number of votes.

According to him, "Supplementary elections must, therefore, be conducted to determine the winners.

Consequently, the commission decided to conduct the supplementary National Assembly polls on Saturday alongside the governorship and state assemblies’ elections. Full details of the constituencies involved have been communicated to stakeholders in the affected states and will also be available on our website for public information later today (yesterday)."

The INEC boss stressed that the list of candidates that emerged winners in the senatorial and House of Representatives’ elections held on Saturday 23rd February, 2019 would be available on its website later yesterday.

He noted: "For senatorial districts and federal constituencies in which winners have already emerged, the commission will issue their certificates of return next week.

Preparations for the elections holding this weekend into 1,082 constituencies require the full attention of the entire commission.

"We reckoned that the elected candidates are also busy campaigning in their constituencies for the remaining elections. The certificates of return shall be presented at the International Conference Centre, Abuja."

Yakubu said that on Thursday, March 14, 2019, senators-elect would receive their certificates of return at 10a.m., while members of the House of Representativeselect would receive theirs by 2p.m. the same day.

He revealed that certificates of return for governors and

deputy-governors-elect, members of state Houses of Assembly-elect and Chairmen and Councilors for the FCT shall be presented in each state of the federation by the Supervising National Commissioners and the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on a date to be announced next week.

Yakubu stressed that in the course of securing the elections, security agencies, electoral officials and innocent Nigerians have suffered needless attacks resulting in casualties, including deaths and the loss of personal and official properties.

He said the commission was glad that the Police have made several arrests and investigation is ongoing, while also assuring Nigerians that the commission would work closely with the Police to ensure diligent prosecution of all violators of the electoral law.

The chairman stated that citizens are asking for effective but non-intrusive protection before, during and immediately after the elections in which their rights are respected and their choices safeguarded.

Yakubu added: "While we look forward to the same cooperation with the security agencies, I am confident that lessons learnt from the presidential and National Assembly elections will help us to more effectively secure the environment for the elections this weekend.

"The commission is concerned that many of our materials, including ballot boxes, voting cubicles, voters’ registers and Smart Card Readers were lost to acts of hooliganism and thuggery in the elections held two weeks ago. Most worrisome is the attack on electoral officials.

"Some of our staff were abducted and taken hostage in an attempt to disrupt elections or influence the outcome. In fact, some of the supplementary elections I referred to earlier were caused by such acts of thuggery.

"I am confident that working together with the security agencies, we will

consolidate on the largely peaceful conduct of the presidential and National Assembly elections while also taking decisive steps to deal with the minority of violators intent on disrupting the conduct of peaceful elections.

"However, the Commission will not tolerate the act of holding our officials hostage and forcing them to declare winners under duress.

Where such occurs, the commission will not reward bad behaviour by issuing them certificates of return."

"We have once again reconfigured the Smart Card Readers for the elections on Saturday. The use of the card readers is mandatory and there will be no exemption to their deployment for accreditation of voters.

"Under our Regulations and Guidelines, there are clear penalties for the deliberate failure to deploy them on the part of our staff. Where such happens with the connivance of communities, the result of election in the polling unit(s) will be cancelled and zero vote recorded."

The chairman noted that while the commission would still maintain its Situation Room at the International Conference Centre (ICC) to monitor the elections nationwide and respond to issues that may arise, no election results would be collated and no declaration of winners would be done at the ICC. He said that all collation and declaration of results would be done at the various constituency and state declaration centres.

Situation Room Calls for Non-interference

by Security Agencies Meanwhile, the Nigeria civil society group, the Situation Room, has asked INEC to ensure that the interference of security agents in the electoral process does not occur again during the elections on Saturday.

As a result of complaints and grievances trailing the presidential and National Assembly elections, the

BUHARI MAKES U-TURN, SAYS SECOND TERM WILL BE PEACEFUL,PROSPEROUS campaign promises to fight corruption, grow economy and fight insecurity.

He said he looked forward to receiving proposals from the labour leaders on how they could jointly build synergy that would assist in achieving the common goals of the federal government.

Buhari said: "By the grace of God, majority of Nigerians have given me another four years of continuity. We will remain focused on our promises, which remain security, economy and fighting corruption.

"I want to assure you that the next four years will be peaceful, prosperous and corruption free. I, therefore, look forward to receiving your proposals so that together, we can achieve these goals."

Buhari also thanked the labour leaders for their support and cooperation towards the conduct of the presidential election, saying their cooperation helped many to exercise their civic rights.

He also thanked them for the roles they played in voter education and prayed for

the conduct of violence-free governorship poll tomorrow.

The president, who said he understood the plights of the labour leaders and pointed out how they were under pressure to meet the expectations of their followers, said he looked forward to further engagements with them in the nearest future.

The president said: "We cannot succeed without your cooperation. I appreciate the pressure you are under from your respective constituencies, most especially if you have to submit yourself for elections.

"You have to prove to your members that you are with them rather than with the government and we understand.

"Let me start by thanking you for the support and patriotism that you have shown during the presidential elections.

"You and many Nigerians stepped in to help many Nigerians exercise their rights to vote. You intervened as patriots not for political, religious and tribal reasons.

You stood in during a very

difficult period for all of us.

"On behalf of all Nigerians who benefited from your kind support, I want to say thank you. As a result of what you did, many citizens were able to travel and vote.

"I am also aware that many of your members were very active in voters' education and promotion of peaceful elections in your various communities.

Thankfully, the presidential elections were conducted peacefully in most parts of the country.

"As we go to the polls this weekend, my prayer is that we also conduct elections in a non-violent manner.

"I very much look forward to your continued support and engagement to ensure creative ways. We cannot afford to go back to the days of violence," he added.

PDP Still Has Questions to Answer on ‘Squandered Wealth’ Buhari also told the labour leaders that the PDP owes

Nigerians explanations on how it expended the resources that accrued to the country from oil sales between 1999 and 2014.

He described the 16 years of rule of the PDP as an era of “unprecedented, irresponsible expenditure”.

According to the president, the PDP has not been able to successfully explain to Nigerians what they did with the funds during the period they led the nation “as no tangible infrastructure was built.”

Buhari said during the negotiations that led to the approval of the N30,000 minimum wage, he had to ask the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, to remind the workers what his administration met on ground and what it had been able to achieve with minimal resources.

“During your negotiation with the minister of labour and when he briefed us in council on N30,000 minimum wage, I gave an analogy of a mad woman, who went to fetch firewood but then she realised

observer group said that INEC has a duty to immediately publish the election results on its website.

The Executive Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre and Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, who read out the group's statement to journalists at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, said there is a worrying trend of increased and excessive involvement of the military and security officials in elections in Nigeria.

He said the concerns were raised following the incidents that occurred during the presidential and National Assembly election where security agents were alleged to have overstepped their bounds.

The Situation Room urged the electoral body not to allow security agents to become active participants in the voting and collation of results process tomorrow.

"Situation Room will like to restate the provisions of section 29 (3) of Electoral Act, which states that the deployment of Nigeria Armed Forces for elections shall be at the request of INEC and only for the purpose of distribution and delivery of election materials and protection of election officials," it said.

Situation Room urged the military to restrict themselves to those responsibilities as defined by INEC and the electoral law.

It said the security agencies should ensure that they provide adequate security for the elections and in a manner that does not allow or encourage violence to be used as a tool for vote suppression.

It further urged political parties to avoid perpetrating violence and vote buying or other electoral malpractices.

In view of complaints and mixed reactions that followed the presidential and National Assembly elections, the Situation Room asked INEC to release publicly the data captured by the card readers to ensure utmost transparency in the election.

It said the data should be the number of partial and full accreditation across the 36 Continued on page 12

it was too heavy for her to carry, instead of reducing it, she added more,” he said.

According to the president, “we are struggling to survive as a nation. You (workers) knew what this country was earning between 2009 and 2015, you knew the state of infrastructure when we came in. God gave them (PDP) 16 years of unprecedented earnings. Multiply 2.1 million (barrels) by $100 by 16 years. I don’t think the PDP has been able to successfully explain to Nigerians what they did with that money.”

Buhari said the opposition party spent $16 billion on power and Nigerians are asking: “where is the power?”

“Oil production from 2.1 million barrels per day went down to half a million. The militants were unleashed on this administration, and yet as confirmed by your leader, we had to ensure pensioners who were dying collected their entitlements. So, really, there was terrible management of this country in last 16 years Continued on page 12

TOP GAINERS CADBURY DANGFLOUR STANBICIBTC CUSTODIAN FCMB TOP LOSERS UPL UNITEDCAP ROYALEXCHANGE

NGN NGN 0.80 11.00 0.45 11.35 1.40 48.00 0.15 6.00 0.05 2.11 NGN 0.22 2.03 0.30 3.00 0.03 0.32 PZ CUSSONS 1.00 11.10 MUTUALBENEFITS 0.02 0.23 HPE Nestle Nig Plc ₦1,510.00 Volume: 218.899 million shares Value: N2.739 billion Deals: 3,519 As at yesterday 7 /3/19 See details on Page 43

% 7.8 4.1 3.0 2.5 2.4 % 9.7 9.0 8.5 8.2 8.0

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PEOPLESâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; DEMOCRATIC PARTY DELTA

STATE

CHAPTER

DISCLAIMER NOTICE The General Public is hereby informed that from midnight of Thursday, 07 March 2019, the PDP Delta State Campaign Organisation has in accordance with the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2015 discontinued ALL forms of political campaigns/ advertisements and/or campaign related matters on ALL channels i.e. radio, television, outdoor, newspapers, magazines, social media, internet etc.

The general public, supporters of the PDP, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other regulatory bodies are to please note that any such advertisements appearing later than the above stated date and time do not have the approval/authority of the PDP Delta State Campaign Organisation and, therefore, cannot be held liable for such.

Rt. Hon. Chief Funkekeme Solomon Director-General PDP Delta State Campaign Organisation

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FRIDAY, Î&#x20AC;Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Π˞ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Economic Cost of Violence against Nigerian Children Hits $6.1bn Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The economic impact of violence against children in Nigeria is estimated at $6.1 billion, equivalent to about 1.07 per cent of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gross domestic product (GDP), a new report has revealed.

The high economic cost of violence against children in Nigeria was revealed in an unprecedented report, launched jointly by the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the federal government, under the leadership of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

The report noted that this financial loss flows from the cumulative loss of earnings due to loss of productivity, stemming from suffering

associated with different degrees of violence, over time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The cost of inaction is high, when it comes to violence against children,â&#x20AC;? the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ifeoma Anagbogu, said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Violence affects childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health, education, and productivity. It is clear that we need to eliminate any form of violence against children â&#x20AC;&#x201C; both from a moral perspective and an economic perspective," a statement issued by the Director of Press in the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Victoria Agba-Atta, said.

The report revealed that about half of the Nigerian children surveyed experienced physical violence by parents, adult relatives, direct or indirect caregivers or

community members, before they reached 18. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The findings of this study point to the strong need for increased funding of interventions by government to reduce violence against children in Nigeria,â&#x20AC;? the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Mr. Olajide S. Odewale, added.

The study, it was learnt, may actually underestimate the economic burden of violence against children, as several serious consequences of such violence were not included, due to a current lack of data.

The evidence presented in the report indicates an urgent need to provide child protection services in Nigeria and prioritise the elimination of violence against children, which can ensure the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s human capital

has the mental, physical, and emotional stability needed to boost its social and economic development. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, giving us an opportunity to join our collective efforts to protecting children from violence, abuse and neglect. This includes a re-commitment to increase investment in child protection services,â&#x20AC;? said UNICEFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Country Representative in Nigeria, Mohammed Malick Fall.

The research on violence against children was led by the Government of Nigeria, in collaboration with UNICEF, and with funding from the US Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through USAID, the EU and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma

AIR FORCE: FIGHTER JETS, ATTACK HELICOPTERS ON STANDBY AGAINST ELECTION VIOLENCE states, including the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT).

The group added that the electoral umpire should keep to its promise of publishing the statistics, on the state by state basis, number of voters and polling units.

Anxiety Mounts in South-south Over Troops Deployment as Army Raid Ateke Tomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Home, Hotel In the meantime there is palpable anxiety in the Southsouth over deployment of troops to keep watch over tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elections in the region, with leaders of the opposition parties, fearing that the soldiers might have been sent in to suppress their supporters.

Also claiming that bands of thugs had been deployed in the region to cause mayhem while the police and the army would look the other way, the leaders were anxious that the elections might be marred by state induced violence.

Their fears became real yesterday when in Rivers

State, soldiers from 6 Division of the Nigerian Army reportedly raided an estate belonging to former agitator and Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State, King Ateke Tom. THISDAY gathered that the soldiers stormed the estate at Okochiri Community in Okrika where Ateke houses his guests at about 4pm, shooting sporadically and searching the rooms in the estate.

At the end of the search, unconfirmed reports said one person was killed, while scores of people were arrested and taken away by the soldiers. One dog was also said to have been shot dead by the soldiers.

Ateke is believed to be a strong supporter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state since the days of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The army also reportedly stormed a popular hotel, Bougainvillea Hotels in GRA II, Port Harcourt at about 4pm yesterday where some chieftains of the PDP were

having a meeting.

The soldiers were said to have invaded the hotel in a commando style; scattering everything in sight, breaking doors and seized the phones of people, ostensibly to stop people from recording the scene.

A source said the soldiers were looking for chieftains of the PDP from the Rivers West Senatorial District, who were having a strategy meeting in preparation for tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s governorship and state assembly elections.

One of the trapped chieftains was said to have sent an SOS to Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, who quickly went to the scene.

However, before the governor got to the scene about 5pm, the soldiers had left the hotel but were still in the vicinity.

When contacted for his reaction, state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Emma Okah, said he heard about the invasion of Atekeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residence but that he was yet to have details.

BUHARI MAKES U-TURN, SAYS SECOND TERM WILL BE PEACEFUL, PROSPEROUS and we are just trying to make up.â&#x20AC;?

Buhari said he was looking forward to labourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s continued support. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As we go to the polls this weekend, my prayer is that we also conduct elections in a non-violent manner,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Buhari said the government would remain focused on its promises, which remains security, economy and fighting corruption. â&#x20AC;?I want to assure you that the next four years will be peaceful, prosperous and corruption free. I therefore look forward to receiving your proposals so that together we can achieve these goals,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Wabba, in his remarks earlier assured Buhari that the workers were partners in progress. â&#x20AC;?Government and labour

are primarily partners in progress. The success of government is linked to its workers. And the success of workers is linked to government,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The NLC president said one of the finest hours of labour with any president of the country was when Buhari pressed states to pay salaries and pension. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We all remember the special bailout, Paris club refund and budget support package you introduced to support state governments during the recession.

Your directive during this intervention was state governments must offset accumulated arrears of salaries and pension liabilities.

I remember you publicly and openly asked state governors, â&#x20AC;&#x153;how do you manage to sleep at night when the salaries of

workers in your state are not paid? â&#x20AC;&#x153;For us, that was one of the finest moments we have had with any President in this countryâ&#x20AC;ŚI can stand here today and say your intervention was the difference between life and death for many workers.â&#x20AC;?

Wabba urged Buhari to inaugurate the Boards of National Pension Commission (PENCOM), National Insurance Fund Trust, the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies and National Labour Advisory Council. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These institutes are key pillars in labour-government relations. The activation of the boards will surely ensure our successes to date are taken to the Next Level. Please be rest assured we are ready to do our bit,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Special Assistant to the Governor on Electronic Media, Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu, confirmed the incident at Bougainvillea Hotels.

He, however, said it was not clear if the soldiers went away with any of the PDP stalwarts.

The state government had earlier raised the alarm that the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi; and the GOC 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Major Gen. Jamil Sharhem, had planned mass arrest of innocent Nigerians and prominent PDP members in the state ahead of the elections.

A statement issued by Okah, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The essence of the arrests is to precipitate crisis and cause the INEC to postpone the elections in Rivers State. Failing this, the minister will use the vacuum created by the absence of arrested leaders and rig the governorship election and force a candidate of his choice against the will of the people.â&#x20AC;?

He said the arrest of the state Commissioner for Education, Dr. Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja, and his family by soldiers yesterday evening in Port Harcourt confirmed the fears.

Abdulsalami, Kukah, Achebe Call for Peace Sensing possible violence,

former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd); the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah; and the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, have called for peace as Nigerians prepare to elect state governors and state Houses of Assembly members tomorrow.

The trio spoke yesterday in Awka, the Anambra State capital, during a stakeholders' meeting organised by National Peace Committee entitled: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;High-Level Dialogue on Peaceful Gubernatorial and House of Assembly Elections.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Deputy Director, Administration of The Kukah Centre, Mr. Duke Anoemuah, read the joint address of Kukah and Abdulsalami during the meeting, while that of Igwe Achebe was read by Chief Okey Ononye, who represented him at the function.

They asked politicians, monarchs, security services, civil society organisations, the media and government to be committed to the peaceful conduct of the elections.

Part of their address read: "We are here in Anambra State to extend to the good people of the state an appeal made by the NPC for a peaceful conduct of election into the state House of Assembly scheduled for next Saturday "Our distinguished

candidates contesting elections into the state House of Assembly are urged to eschew violence and hate speeches and strive to adhere to the peace accord which leaders of the various political parties willingly assented to in Abuja in December 2018 and February 2019 before the presidential and National Assembly elections.

"The goal of this forum is to sensitise and mobilise stakeholders towards peaceful elections. It is expected to build initiatives, and take measures to strengthen mutual confidence among stakeholders and political actors as well as to encourage peaceful resolution of any election-related disputes with utmost regard to the rule of law and due process. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The chairman (Abdulsalami) also asked me to convey his appreciation to the leadership of all political parties in Anambra State, especially candidates contesting for the legislative positions who have so far demonstrated their commitment to peaceful elections in the state.â&#x20AC;?

They reminded the contestants in the election to educate their followers/ supporters to conduct themselves peacefully during the exercise, stressing that it is only in a peaceful environment that elections could hold.

CBN, EFCC TIGHTEN NOOSE ON ECONOMIC CRIMES chaired by the Director, Governorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Department of the CBN, Mr. Jeremiah Abue, also agreed to improve the level of information-sharing and surveillance of the financial sector.

Emefiele had pointed out that given the remarkable success that had been achieved in stimulating domestic production of goods such as rice, cassava and maize, as a result of the restrictions placed on access to forex for the 43 items, the central bank intends to vigorously ensure that the policy remains in place.

He said additional efforts would be made to block any attempts by unscrupulous parties (both individuals and corporate) that intend to find other avenues of accessing forex, in order to import these items into Nigeria.

He warned: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The CBNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Economic intelligence and Banking Supervision Departments will work very closely with the EFCC to expose and sanction any bank, company and or its directors or forex operator who colludes with unscrupulous individuals/

companies to undermine the policy on 41 items. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Such sanctions will include, but not limited to prohibiting all the banks in Nigeria from maintaining any bank accounts for any such institutions or persons in Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you are caught as an individual or a company, we are saying that, that bank, that company and the individuals, that the central bank would prohibit all the Nigerian banks at same time, from maintaining any bank account for you.â&#x20AC;?

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COMMENT

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

WHY THE GIANT OF AFRICA MATTERS

The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;free worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; should support democracy in a world increasingly marked by dictatorship, writes Margee Ensign

T

he results are in. The giant of Africa, Nigeria, just completed its Federal election for president. The former military dictator and current president, Buhari, was re-elected. Or was he?

The 36 international and 120 domestic observers, overseeing voting in 119,973 polling places in 8,809 electoral wards, declared the election free and fair. But local civil society groups, and the opposition party, say otherwise. They claim that the election was anything but, and that it was militarized.

Why does it matter? Wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it just be easier to let the election stand unchallenged? That is what many in the West are arguing.

Since it is impossible to know the extent of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;riggingâ&#x20AC;?, they say, for the sake of stability in an unstable world, why not just let the election stand? This perspective fundamentally misunderstands both the role of the military in a democracy as well as the importance of the rule of law.

First, the complaints.

One. Voter Disinformation. It has been reported that in many of the locations, after being verified, people voted for the House of Reps and/or Senate positions on the ballot, thinking they were thus voting for the President and his party. Many Nigerians are illiterate.

The unused Presidential ballot papers were then thumb-printed by unscrupulous electoral officials for Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s party and stuffed in ballot boxes. See one case here: https://www.facebook.com/chidi.cali/ videos/10219710379808999/UzpfSTEyMDI5MDE0MTE6MTAyMTk3MTAzODAxMjkwMDc/ Two. Systematic Disenfranchisement. In many of the locations where Abubakar Atiku, Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main challenger, is popular, there were patterns of voting materials arriving late, and of card readers not working properly. Thus, many people in those locations couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t vote.

Three. Ballot Box snatching. There are many reports of ballot box snatchings in Lagos, Rivers and Akwa Ibom States. Hoodlums attacked some polling centers where there was likely to be heavy voting for the opposition PDP and burned election materials. Here is one of such cases in Lagos: https://www.facebook.com/Gbyg124/ videos/10155750910231582/UzpfSTE1NjMyMjI5OTQ6MTAyMTg0MDkwNjYyNDg5ODQ/ Four. Invalid Votes. Tens of thousands of votes were invalidated for reasons that were never specified. In Niger State, which heavily favoured opposition Atiku for example, over 40,000 votes were rejected for no apparent reason.

Five. Arrests and Intimidations. Security agents were used to arrest and intimidate voters. There are many reports in Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Kogi States where the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party

ATIKU IS CLAIMING THAT THERE WAS WIDESPREAD VOTER SUPPRESSION, ASSAULTS BY THE MILITARY ON CITIZENS, AND NOW A SYSTEMATIC CRACKDOWN ON OPPOSITION LEADERS AND THEIR FAMILIES AND STAFF

(PDP) voters and party leaders were arrested by security agents.

Six. Generally, the election was marred by many irregularities including multiple votings and over-votings. There are reports of centers and wards reporting numbers that are higher than the numbers on the voting registers.

Are there enough votes in play (in an election that was peculiar inasmuch as there was a profound increase in states like Borno, living under a state of emergency from the Boko Haram violence and not incidentally a Buhari stronghold) that these examples would matter to the overall result? That seems to me not the important question to ask, though that is what some Western government are asking, and apparently answering â&#x20AC;&#x153;noâ&#x20AC;?. The major opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, believes there are, and is preparing a court challenge to the election. He is claiming that there was widespread voter suppression, assaults by the military on citizens, and now a systematic crackdown on opposition leaders and their families and staff.

The court challenge will eventually end up at the Supreme Court, whose chief justice, in an unprecedented move, was summarily removed from his position by Buhari just weeks before the election.

It is clear that Nigeria, the largest democracy in Africa, is becoming increasingly militarized, that the rule of law is in jeopardy.

This matters not just for Nigerians, not just for Africans, but for all of us. Nigeria will become, after India and China, the third most populous country in the world in the next 25 years. While it has the largest economy on the continent, it also has the largest percentage of children out of school and the largest percentage of people in extreme poverty. Unemployment is extraordinarily high and growing. Violence between herders and farmers has increased significantly and ISIS has recently launched sophisticated attacks on Nigerian military positions in a region where the Boko Haram uprising has gone on for years. This is a critical moment in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history: will democracy prevail, or will the country return to an illegitimate autocracy under a failing regime, with all the unrest and disruption that may provoke?

The Buhari regime has been, by any measure, a failure. If Nigeria does not focus its resources on basic human development and reduce violence - neither of which has happened under the current leadership - then the possibility for widespread violence is very real. In one of the most important countries in the world. The world should be paying attention. And what was once called â&#x20AC;&#x153;the free worldâ&#x20AC;? should certainly be supporting democracy in a world increasingly marked by dictatorship.

Prof Ensign is President of Dickson College and former President American University of Nigeria

THE WAY OF STATESMEN Emeka Muruakor urges PDPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Presidential Candidate Atiku Abubakar to learn from Goodluck Jonathan

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tatesmanship is an art, a noble one at that.

Though many leaders love and desire the appellation, very few mange to achieve the status. And like time and tide, opportunities often bob up for statesmanship but only those who are imbued with much insight and wisdom get to grab it. Such is the stuff of statesmanship and such is the opportunity that presents itself to the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

How would he react? Would he play the statesman or the politician?

A few days after his Peoples Democratic Party leaders rejected the results of the presidential election announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission to have been won by incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar set up an array of Senior Advocates of Nigeria to contest the election results.

Section 134(2) of the Nigerian Constitution provides that â&#x20AC;&#x153;A candidate for an election to the office of President shall be deemed to have been duly elected, where there being more than two candidates for the election, (a) he had the highest number of votes cast at the election; and (b) he has not less than one-quarter of at least two-thirds of the States in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.â&#x20AC;?

From the records of INEC, President Buhari garnered a total of 15,191,847 votes, led in 19 states, and raked in more than 25 per cent of the votes in 13 other states, to clinch the presidency. Vice President Abubakar led in 18 states, with 11,264,977 million votes, and obtained 25 per cent of the votes in 12 other states.

From the look of things, it appears that President Buhari won the presidential election. He indeed led in most of the states that pundits thought he would win.

The upsets were in Oyo, Ondo, Edo and Imo States, where Vice President Abubakar trounced him.

But Uche Secondus, National Chairman of the PDP, insists that his party and presidential candidate will neither concede the election, nor call to congratulate President Buhari who was declared winner by INEC. He promises that the PDP will shock, maybe stagger,

President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress with facts, figures, and videos of ways that the APC, INEC, and the military, collaborated to rig the election for President Buhari. He adds that the world and the entire country will be shown the details of what happened.

To achieve this, PDP set up an ad hoc organ called the Expanded Caucus Meeting and formally briefed members of the outcome of the presidential and National Assembly elections, and to solicit support for Vice President Abubakarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quest to go to court over what they describe as the rigged election.

The PDP also said it would petition the United Nations and other global democratic institutions on the role of the military and for the killings of Nigerians during the Presidential and NASS elections of 23rd February 2019.

First, Livy Uzoukwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and leading counsel to Vice President Abubakar, announced that he has set up a legal team, as he may have also dusted his tone of legal authorities, in readiness for what former Nigerian Bar Association President Olisa Agbakoba may probably describe as a needless court appearance.

Then Charles Uche, another SAN, filed an ex-parte application at the Presidential Elections Tribunal sitting in Abuja to seek an order asking INEC to allow the PDP to inspect the Votersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Register, Smart Card Reader Machines, ballot boxes, and other materials used in conducting the presidential election.

While acknowledging that every aggrieved candidate is free to approach the Election Tribunal to seek redress on the outcome of the election, INEC had promised to provide all documents used in the conduct of the election. By law, Vice President Abubakar and the PDP have 21 days to file their petition, counting from Wednesday, 27th February 2019, the date the election result was declared by INEC. Vice President Atikuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lawyers joined the INEC, President Buhari, and the APC, as co-respondents to the suit, and aver that the results collated on 23rd March 2019 at various polling units across the federation are at variance with the result that was finally released.

Unfortunately Vice President Abubakarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wailing is turning unsavoury. The Coalition of United Political Parties, braying for blood, accuses that political parties that are asking Vice President Abubakar to sheath his sword of being bought over with N40 million apiece.

If it will not be an over-kill, the Department of State Services should investigate this allegation. And then, another political quantity named Usman Ibrahim Alhaji, who was presidential candidate of the National Rescue Movement Party, has taken a cue from Vice President Abubakar. He has taken President Buhari, Vice President Abubakar himself, the APC, the PDP, and INEC to court.

He accuses President Buhari of inducing voters with the TraderMoni loan scheme and food items, and wants the court to invalidate Vice President Abubakarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s candidacy for what he terms as breach of the electoral law.

Even though Adams Oshiomole, National Chairman of the APC, agrees that anyone aggrieved should be free to seek redress, however free and fair the election may be, he warns Vice President Abubakar that the APC may file cross-petitions on areas that the APC can dispute.

In spite of the accusation by the CUPP, the Forum of Presidential Candidates and Political Parties for Good Governance, made up of presidential candidates and Chairmen of 36 of the parties that contested the election, have asked Vice President Abubakar to move on.

They claim to have counselled the federal government to be magnanimous in victory, and appoint the best of Nigerians into the next government. Some interpret this to mean that President Buhari should form a government of national unity.

They also think Vice President Abubakar should avoid utterances and actions that may fan embers of discord, disagreement and violent conduct. They conclude that Nigeria is greater than any personal or class interest.

It is instructive to point out that foreign observers have expressed the opinion that the election was fair to a large extent. The European Union Elections Observers

to Nigeria say that though INEC operated under difficult circumstances, the 2019 election was significantly better than that of 2015 election.

They however acknowledged that the elections were marred by operational shortcomings on the part of INEC, and this resulted in delays in the delivery of election materials and officials. But they concluded that the elections were competitive, candidates freely campaigned, and there was voter turnout despite the postponement.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 91 EU Observers witnessed the opening, voting, closing in 261 polling units: They also witnessed the collation of election results in 94 collation centres across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Vice President Abubakar needs to pay attention to the caustic and potentially divisive exchanges going on between his Yoruba and Igbo compatriots, and take a cue. He must not descend from being a statesman to muddy himself in the abyss of blind ambition.

Olisa Agbakoba has asked him to phone and congratulate President Buhari, the same way former President Goodluck Jonathan did in 2015. It is a shame that Vice President Abubakar eventually followed the scent of the blood, disregarded wise counsel, and took an action that can potentially plunge the nation into chaos.

What does he really want to prove as he approaches the Election Tribunal? He should note that the statement by lawyer Femi Falana that he will face insurmountable obstacles at the election tribunal is pregnant with meaning. Lawyers who say that those will come to equity must do so with clean hands, may be pointing to reports of happenings in some PDP stronghold states But does Vice President Abubakar, who has hitherto been posturing himself as a statesman in the order of former President Goodluck Jonathan, want to create problems for his beloved Nigeria? A man who openly says that his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian, shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be travelling the road that he and the PDP have now taken.

Muruakor wrote from Lagos

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T H I S D AY FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019

EDITORIAL Nigerian Women And 2019 Polls There must be conscious efforts to promote gender balance

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or governor of any state.

Of course, there have been instances of elected female deputy governors in states like Lagos, Ogun, Anambra, Osun and Ekiti but this has been nothing but mere tokenism. At the legislative level both at federal and the component states, the number of elected legislators is also negligible.

The National Assembly has a combined membership of 469. Yet only 23 members made up of eight senators and 15 House members are female lawmakers in the current Eighth National Assembly. For the Nineth Assembly to be inaugurated in June, the figure has gone down with six female senators-elect and 13 female House memberselect. The picture in the House of Assembly in the 36 states is worse. The average number of female legislators is often as low as two in what has become a very worrisome trend.

s women today mark the International Women’s Day across the world to celebrate their social, economic, cultural and political achievements, we must salute our mothers, sisters and daughters in Nigeria for their sacrifices. Against the background that the day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity with the theme, “Better the balance, better the world”, we must also raise pertinent issues about the pervasive nature of gender inequality in both the private and public sectors in Nigeria. On a day such as this, all critical stakeholders in our country must join our women as they continue to fight all forms of discrimination, especially in a society that is increasingly patriarchal.

There are all forms of discrimination against women in our country for which we must begin to proffer different multi-sectoral and coordinated solutions. These include adopting, strengthening and implementing legislations that will promote WE MUST CREATE AN gender balance in all ATMOSPHERE THAT aspects of our national life. However, even ASSURES WOMEN IN beyond any proposed NIGERIA THAT THEY legislations, there ARE NOT IN ANY WAY are clear and definite INFERIOR TO OUR MEN constitutional provisions that entrench the rights of women that are being observed in the breach.

Unfortunately, reminding some Nigerians of these fundamental guarantees seems futile while the people expected to defend or promote those rights hardly care.

Nothing speaks to the gender imbalance in Nigeria than the number of representation in the various arms of government both in the states and at the federal level.

Since the commencement of the Fourth Republic about two decades ago, the number of elected women in both the executive and legislative arms of government had been abysmally low. At the level of the executive, no woman has ever been elected the president of the country

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

any reasons could be attributed to the low turnover of elected female members, especially in the legislature but the most plausible is discrimination. Most of the political parties set guidelines for prospective aspirants that are clearly against the interest of ambitious female members. Some parties request for a non-refundable deposit running into millions of Naira which may be difficult for the women to fulfil while political meetings are almost always scheduled to hold at night, which makes it a disincentive for women given the cultural environment under which we operate. There is also a preference for male candidates by these political parties.

If we must include our women in the governing process, dealing with these issues is therefore very important.

But perhaps much more important is that the men must see gender balance as a universal challenge. The story of women’s struggle for equality, according to Gloria Steinem, world-renowned feminist, journalist, “belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”

We must create an atmosphere that assures women in Nigeria that they are not in any way inferior to our men.

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.

PECULIARITIES OF 2019 GOVERNORSHIP ELECTIONS

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ow that the much anticipated Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are few hours away, it is expected that the political parties and their candidates are putting finishing touches to crown all their efforts.

Unlike the presidential election which cuts across all the states of the federation and FCT, the scope is limited within individual states. It is more compact and, would be much more interesting because each state is faced with its peculiarities. Though the exercise is expected to follow the same pattern as laid down by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the undercurrent politics and expectations differ from state to state.

The first category is applicable to states where the incumbent governors are seeking re-election to do a second term. The second category is applicable to those where the governors are rounding off their second term and have positioned their preferred and anointed candidates to succeed them. The third category is applicable to those that are under the `absolute control of godfathers`. The fourth category is applicable to states where there is show of electoral strength between the out-going governors and the parties` structures and leadership. The fifth and final category is applicable to states where there are deliberate efforts to change the tradition. Looking closely at all the mentioned categories, one would not be far from the truth to say that they all revolve around vested interests. It is based on this realization that I want to use this medium to draw the attention of the electorate to some crucial factors that should be considered in taking appropriate decisions.

For those states where the incumbent governors are seeking reelections, the most crucial factors that should be put into consideration are `performance` and `integrity`. How has the person performed in the past four years? Has he been able to put infrastructural developments

in place? What has he been able to do in terms of provision of basic health care and educational facilities? How far has he been able to spread the dividends of democracy to all sectors and sections of the state without partisan bias? What has been the frequency of payment of workers` salaries under his administration? Is he an independent-minded individual or not? Most importantly, is he tolerant to other ethnic groups and religion or is he an extremist? The genuine answers to these questions will be very key to determining whether he deserves another term or not; because, it is all about what he has been able to do in the last four years and what he is capable of doing to deserve being entrusted with another four years.

On the issue of governors that are rounding off their second term and are desperate to hand over powers to their anointed and preferred candidates, the electorate should consider the above listed factors about the `outgoing governors` while also considering the following factors about their anointed candidates: in what capacities have they served before? What kind of personalities are they? Can they be trusted with positions of authority? Do they have the capacity and competencies to operate independently or not? Are they better than the other candidates in the contest? Sincere answers to these questions will also determine if the `outgoing governors` have truly put the genuine interest of the state and the people into consideration or they just want to use those persons to `cover their misdeeds` and to act as conduit pipes to continue the siphoning of state funds.

For states where candidates were sponsored and foisted on their parties by `political godfathers or god mothers or whatever`; the most expedient thing to do is to reject such candidates in all ramifications except the states are exclusively owned by the `person(s) in question.

Raymond Oise-Oghaede, Surulere, Lagos

RE: NIGERIA’S ANTI-CORRUPTION FIGHT

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y attention has just been drawn to a misleading report in THISDAY of March 6, 2019 titled UK: Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption Fights Frustrated by EFCC, Others”. This is a misrepresentation of what was said at the event. Surprisingly, the event, which is a training of investigators from the different anti-corruption agencies for improved investigation of extractive industries fraud and other related crimes, had officers from the different anti-corruption agencies in attendance, most of whom have called to express their surprise at the misrepresentation.

For the records, the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme’s Anti-Corruption Manager – Emmanuel Uche, spoke on the heels of the submission by the Executive Secretary of NEITI- Mr. Waziri Adio, who pointed out that the ACAs provide the critical ‘biting teeth’ to complement NEITI’s efforts, which is simply barking to raise awareness among the critical stakeholders. Emmanuel therefore simply underscored the need for closer cooperation and partnership among the various ACAs for improved outcomes in the fight against corruption. Emmanuel further stated that such cooperation will facilitate sustainable impact at national scale.

This submission does not in any way suggest that EFCC and the other ACAs frustrate Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption Fight. Importantly also, the author’s ‘creative’ inclusion of statements by the NNPC, which was neither invited nor present at the event is baffling. Also surprising is the author’s ascription of this grave assertion to the UK government that had absolutely nothing to do with the event or persons in question.

Emmanuel Uche, Abuja

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5 ) * 4 % ": t FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019

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T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2019

POLITICS

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

O To Ge and the Making of a Revolutionary Campaign Bayo Akinloye interacts with the egg heads at The Hook Creative Agency who changed the political landscape with a brilliant one-of-a-kind advertising campaign, ‘O to ge’ that is both electric and eclectic

L-R: Adebayo Owosina (Creative Director) Ochonma Samuel (Creative Director) Akinwale Muse (Buisness Director) Toheeb Balogun (Creative Director)

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ell us about your agency, clientele and its core people’s responsibilities?

We are the Hook, Nigeria’s fastest growing agency, founded by four partners: Samuel Ochonma, Akinwale Muse, Adebayo Owosina and Toheeb Balogun. We are not a digital, ATL or experiential marketing agency.

We are shapeless. We take whatever form the solution to our client’s marketing challenges need us to be. This shapelessness allows for greater flexibility and adaptability which came into play in conceptualizing and executing the ‘O to ge’ campaign in Kwara State after we were signed on by Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to work on his election bid.

What is ‘O to ge’, how and at what stage did your agency get involved with the idea? This question is necessary because some people claimed that a musician originated the idea for the campaign. How true?

We see some of those claims too and we appreciate the fact that everyone is now trying to be the parent of the successful child. The truth is nobody can claim to have invented the ‘o to ge’ catchphrase as it has been in the Yoruba lexicon for centuries. This is why such claims are laughable. Yoruba speakers use the word every day; artistes like Ayeloyun used it in his songs decades ago. What we did was we created the ‘O to ge campaign’, not invented the catchphrase. And it all started when we heard that Mr Bolaji Ogundele was on the look-out for a creative agency that could incite a political revolution in Kwara State that will help his uncle, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq get in as the governor of Kwara State. Upon getting the brief from Mr Bolaji, we embarked on a research to ascertain the mood of the people, understand the relationship between the people and the government, the political landscape, and the media habit of the people. What we found out is that for long the people were fed up with the political dynasty in Kwara State, yet the dynasty still controlled the political structure in the state. More so we saw that there are pockets of voices against the dynasty here and there. There was the need to

harmonize these voices. The first thing we did was we concluded that ours wouldn’t be a political campaign but a movement by the people and for the people with the candidate, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, being at the head of the movement. Also, we knew we needed to speak with the people and not to the people. Lastly, in Kwara State, there are about four languages that are spoken so we had to find a simple expression in Yoruba - the language spoken by most Kwarans, which captures the emotions of the people and the voices of the different ‘rebellious’ groups in Kwara State. We found that in ‘o to ge’!

‘O to ge’! It means enough is enough in English. But it’s better expressed and understood in Yoruba that was why we insisted from the get-go that the driving idea will be in Yoruba.

What else did Hook Creative Agency do to make the campaign successful?

After the research, the next thing was to have qualitative conversations with Kwarans and fortunately, one of the founding partners of the agency is from Kwara State. He understands and fully embodies the frustrations of a typical Kwaran with the dynasty. Thes conversations and research guided us to an expression that fully captured the people’s sentiment. The campaign is beyond the ‘o to ge’ expression as that is the first part. The other part is ‘Idera de’ which means relief has come and that is the promise of the candidate, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, which is captured in his manifesto titled, ‘My Covenant with Every Kwaran’.

We can say incontrovertibly that the Hook Creative Agency created the ‘o to ge’ campaign, designed the ‘o to ge icon’, managed the digital activities of the ‘o to ge’ movement, supervised the innovative grassroots movement, launched the ‘o to ge’ billboards and radio campaigns which a lot of other groups keyed into and borrowed from to further increase the tempo of the movement.

What challenges did you envisage in pushing such indicting and revolutionary idea in a clime used

Akinwale Muse - Chief Strategy Officer

to a more or less regimented order?

Was there a validation for the concept to know it’ll work? How? It wasn’t easy but nothing revolutionary comes easy. When we launched the ‘o to ge’ billboards on the day Atiku Abubakar was visiting Kwara State, the reaction was beyond what we anticipated as the state government started using state parastatals like KWASA and KWIRS to silence the campaign. They threatened to bring down all our billboards and almost bullied APCON to withdraw their approval. But none of that worked as Kwarans rose up in defence of a campaign that has become their voice.

The people’s reaction after the threat from the state government was, for us, the first sign that assured us of achieving the objective we have set out for ourselves which stoke rebellion.

At introduction of the campaign, it looked like a normal political campaign. But lately it’s turning to a social movement idea taking a life of its own. How did you swing that?

‘O to ge’ campaign was designed to become a movement from the outset.

But a lot of well-meaning people contributed immensely to the success of the campaign. For example, Mr Muhammed Aliu is the unseen hands that ensured we worked without distraction; Mr Usman Abdulrazaq has always got our back from our first presentation to Mr Bolaji Ogundele. We won’t forget how Mr Kayode Ogundamisi and Mr Jolaoluwa Afolabi used their influences to amplify the ‘o to ge’ message. One group that was always there for us is Fresh Insight - those guys ensured we got steady supply of local insights.

All of these contributions sped up the evolution of the ‘o to ge’ campaign into the most talked-about campaign in the 2019 elections.

The idea was to sell person of the Kwara State APC governorship candidate, Abdudulrahaman. How did it snowball into routing the almost four decades-old Saraki hegemony?

Even though our primary objective was to ensure the election of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as the governor of Kwara

State we knew we couldn’t achieve that without dethroning the political dynasty in Kwara State. The candidate can’t do that all by himself that was why we went for an idea that can incite and enlist Kwarans home and abroad to support us in removing the hegemony and installing our candidate and other APC candidates in Kwara States.

Does ‘O to ge’ bear any semblance to or was inspired by any international marketing or political campaign?

The closest campaign to ‘O to ge’ is the anti-establishment campaign that was run by President Barack Obama in 2008, ‘Change’. Like ‘O to ge’, ‘Change’ captured the mood of Americans then who were tired of the establishment and needed a new government that would truly represent them.

Are you a conventional advertising shop? If not, what differentiates your team from other shops?

There’s nothing conventional about us.

We are an impact-led creative agency. We judge every idea based on how well it can create impact on the client’s business and not how it will be seen by award juries. We are fearless when it comes to challenging the status quo. We are eager to innovate and we have such a high standard that it’s sometimes difficult for us to find talents to work with us.

Our unconventionality is responsible for the huge success we have recorded in just a year which has brought in A-list businesses in oil and gas sectors, financial institutions, government parastatals, international corporations among others.

What’s your comment on global advertising and digital marketing.

How is Nigeria faring and what does the future hold for the sector in Nigeria?

Traditional advertising as we know it is shrinking. Clients are asking questions. They want result and the old model of advertising is struggling to meet this reasonable demand. This is why we have unbundled advertising as it’s known to make it more responsive to the ever changing needs of the market.

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PERSPECTIVE

What Makes Us Great?

Abubakar

Buhari

Shadrach Alawode

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merica is the greatest economy and military power on earth because for decades she has leveraged on the talents and genius of peoples of all tribes, culture, race and creed under the heaven! Until the aberration called Donald Trump, America was the land of the free and the bold…the archetypal God’s own country..!! Where an African became its first black president!! Where, even as I type this, a Somali born naturalized Muslim woman is a member of the US Congress! And she’s not the only one in that category! Everyone is welcome in America. Just live within the law, work hard and pay your fair share! And the American dream; the right to become whatever you want to be…is available to you!

Microsoft is a top 10 most capitalized company on earth, valued at roughly $859.44 billion (almost double the lousy GDP of Nigeria) yet after Bill Gates (founder), and Steve Ballmer, the third and current CEO is Satya Nadella, an Indian immigrant!! Do you think the board of Microsoft asked him who he votes or will vote for during elections before appointing him as CEO? The most valuable and world’s first Tril-

lion dollar company is Apple Inc. Its founder, Steve Jobs, was the son of a Syrian American immigrant.

What of the United Kingdom? The mayor of London, the world’s second financial capital after New York, is a certain Sadiq Khan! Yes, you guessed right! He’s the son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver! He was elected after he defeated a white British to become the Mayor of the world’s favorite tourist destination!

Today, the Pakistani, Indian, Nigerian and other African immigrant nationalities in the UK is strong and vibrant! The owner of Chelsea is a Russian. The owner of Man City FC is an Arab from Qatar. I can go on…

As America and the UK, so is Lagos; the largest economy in West Africa. She is Nigeria’s cultural and economic capital. And she is built by the talents of everyone; Yorubas, Igbos, Hausas, Fulanis, Urhobos, Efiks, Ibibios, Beroms, Tivs, Idomas, Ijaws, and every other tribe in between. Plus the Indians, Chinese, Lebanese, and so forth. When any major foreign dignitary comes to Nigeria, besides the perfunctory courtesy calls at Abuja, the place they spend quality time is Lagos.

Why? Her diversity, uniqueness and endless possibilities of what Nigeria ought to be but

for ethnic and tribal bigots! Lagos represents the specimen of the hopes and aspirations of the liberation fathers. Lagos is the proof that inclusivity and diversity is powerful and productive when we allow others come in, live and do business as they choose within the laws and not at the mercy, whim and caprices of a criminal oligarch!

I remember great men such as Sir Louis Odimegwu Ojukwu, Chief Festus Okotie Eboh, Chief Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe, Olorogun Michael Ibru and his brothers, Alex and Gody.

I remember Alfred Rewane. Lately, there are; Aliko Dangote, Aminu Dantata, Jim Ovia, Tony Elumelu, Aig Imoukhuede, Cosmas Maduka, and too many I cannot possibly recount for want of space and time! These men have helped to build Lagos and Nigeria! Their contribution is invaluable. Yet, it is these that the Jagaban mercenaries are threatening in such a primitive and crude manner! And my Yoruba kinsmen think it is funny or simply look the other way!!

What a travesty.

This patently absurd and ridiculous idea that you can intimidate, harass and threaten another ethnic block in Lagos to do your bidding is perhaps the most egregious act of insanity by the so-called landlord of Lagos! And someone

needs to call this fellow to order! I am as Yoruba as they come, and I know that our genuine heroes aren’t bigots or tribal champions! We are cosmopolitan, civilized and enlightened! Sadly, the wannabe Yoruba heroes of today, lack these very ennobling virtues! Herbert Macaulay, Fela, Awolowo, Taslim Elias, MKO Abiola, Wole Soyinka, Obasanjo, etc., these are global citizens, not tribal warlords and they are and remain forever my heroes.

And so I tell the merchants of hate and prejudice; stop your madness! Your ignorant but dangerous activities are a threat to the proud heritage and illustrious pedigree of the Yoruba people! Please get a life!! And for those elite and closet intellectuals who chose to remain quiet and not speak out against these insidious and dangerous vermins, shame on you!! You have sold your souls for a morsel of porridge that will surely finish but the evil seeds of hate and intolerance sown will continue to bud and fester bringing deaths in its wake.

To Mr. Jagaban, call your urchins, muggers and fixers to order now!! You are warned before it is too late. If you sow the wind you can only reap the whirlwind! The Igbos will and must vote whomever they will and choose to vote for and you cannot do anything about it.

Our Electoral Process Can Only Get Better Bolaji Akanni

A

t the end of the Nigeria/ Biafra fratricidal civil war in 1970, the popular saying and way of greeting in the defunct Eastern Region now South-east and some parts of today’s South-south states then was “ Happy Survival “. It was like a signature tune that lasted for many years until normalcy returned to the war torn geo- political zone of Nigeria.

In 2015, March was Nigeria’s golden month.

On the 31st March 2015, the then President of the Republic DrGoodluckEbele Jonathan, and presidential candidate of the then ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in that year’s presidential polls wrote his name into history when he called his main opponent and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) MuhammaduBuhari to accept defeat.

He also congratulatedthe former army general for winning at his fourth attempt to claim the coveted prize.

The next day, April 1, there were many who thought that people were springing “April fool” jokes on them when the news of Jonathan’s most commendable action filled the airwaves. They were most probably those who had walked away from their television sets when, in the midst of the announcement of results on live television by then Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman Professor AttahiruJega, the great “Elder” himself, GodsdayOrubebe, staged his awardwinning show of shame as he tried, screaming and cursing, to truncate the announcement process. Anyway, the results from all the states were all but in, save for Borno, which the retired general clinched by a mile. The rest is history: the 16-year reign of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had come to an end.

The old general has repeated the 2015 feat by defeating the PDP candidate in the February 23, 2019 presidential polls, former Vice President AlhajiAtikuAbubakar, by quite a

handsome margin (15.1 million to 10.7 million votes), to clinch a second-term mandate. But March has literally lost the” gold medal” it won four years ago. There would be no call from the defeated to the victor this time. And the reason is that some Nigerians are hell bent on a vicious campaign to erode public confidence and faith in the electoral process simply because their beloved candidate had lost.

Since the announcement of the final results, President Buhari has received welldeserved greetings from the international community and prominent national groups and statesmen. The United States, on its part congratulated President Buhari on his re-election and also commended Nigerians for the generally peaceful elections. In particular, the US noted “the assessments of international and domestic observer missions affirming the overall credibility of the election, despite localised violence and irregularities.”Whist congratulating Buhari on his re-election, the United Kingdom noted that “the result declared by the Nigerian election Commision is consistent with the result obtained through the civil society Parallel Vote Tabulation process. Along with our international partners, the UK believes the Nigerian people can have confidence in the result.

OhanezeNdigbo, the powerful Igbo socio-cultural organization which had one of its sons Peter Obi as Atiku’s vice presidential candidate, hailed Buhari on his “welldeserved victory” adding that “his victory as exposed by the majority of votes cast, has clearly shown that the President has been on the right course in the last four years.” The Sultan of Sokoto and President –General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs congratulated Buhari on his re-election and also commended “all the other contestants as well as the Nigerian electorate that conducted themselves peacefully and with high spirit of decorum during and after the elections.” He urged “all political contenders in Nigeria to, in

the name of Allah, take it easy and sheath their swords.”

Although President Buhari has implored his supporters not to gloat over his victory, the outcome of the election, was,in reality, quite predictable–a resounding victory for the APC flagbearer whose relentless anti-corruption campaign has been the signpost of his first term in office. Apart from his battle against sleaze and unrelenting plugging of most of the loopholes exploited for official malfeasance, President Buhari had embarked on what many have described as the most ambitious infrastructural projects in the country’s history as his government built and rehabilitated roads and rails massively across the country, stabilized many states that were on the brink of bankruptcy and invested heavily in education, agriculture and social intervention schemes targeted at poor and the most vulnerable members of society.

The New York Times called the contest between Buhari and Atiku, “ a referendum on honesty”. That reasoning is hinged on the fact that, for a vast majority of Nigerians, the attraction of integrity in leadership remainsthe strongest on the quality and desirability spectrum, far more than the primordial considerations of tribal and ethnic leanings, and even religion. And, say what you may about him, the man from Daurahas a more formidable stock of integrity in his closet than the Waziri who, as far as one can remember, has been dogged by the baggage of alleged corrupt enrichment and practices in his public and business dealings. Indeed, the New York Times had described Atiku as a “corruptionstained candidate.”

The eternally damaging testimonial and sordid verdict on Atiku’s public recordby his former boss, President OlusegunObasanjo, with whom he won an election on the PDP ticket and served as Vice President for eight years, and which the retired army general had considered vital and true enough to document

in a book for posterity, could not have endeared him to many voters depiteObasanjo’s robust turnarounds to paint his former lieutenant in glossier colours. So too, are the Waziri’s pending $40 Million alleged bribe and money laundering matters inthe United States which his hasty trip to America last December could not have erased or obviated in the minds of some voters.

Still, it is a salutary attestation to the evolution of our democracy and party politics that Atiku, in spite of his alleged unflattering credentials, still hauled in almost 11 million votes in the presidential election. His robust performance is perhaps indicative of a potential to win the prize the next time he is on the ticket – especially with help from top-drawer image-laundering. That is for the future to tell.

Thankfully, we did not witness another “Elder GodsdayOrubebe show” during the announcement of the results of the February 23 2019 polls at the INEC’s National Collation Centre in Abuja by the unflappable Professor MahmoodYakubu, INEC chairman. But what we seem to have instead of a repeat of that despicable spectacle four years ago, is, in my opinion, even more condemnable. And, that is the clearly unpatriotic attempts by some Nigerians, especially the opposition PDP and their supporters, to totally denigrate and discredit our electoral process whilst also condemning the conduct of the February 23, 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections in its entirety.

Indeed, the media, both mainstream and social, have lately been awash with an orchestrated campaign to paint the process that produced President Buhari’sre-election as heavily rigged in his favourand preponderantly tainted with irregularities. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

5 ) * 4 % ": t FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019

20

#BalanceforBetter Ecobank is proud to support the global movement to build a more gender balanced world. As we strive towards achieving 50/50 equality by 2030, we will continue and extend our efforts to promote womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advancement across our organisation.

Join us on 8 March to celebrate International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day 2019 in solidarity with women worldwide.

ecobank.com

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T H I S D AY Ëž Íś, 2019

BUSINESSWORLD

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

Í° Í° Ë&#x153; Í° ÍŽ ÍŻ ͡ MONEY MARKET OBB OVERNIGHT

REPO 18.83 % 20.25 %

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

17.50 % 15.25 % 15.38 %

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

374.79 % 0.09 % 2.77 %

S & P INDEX 1/4 TO DATE 4.99 % YEAR TO DATE 4.99 %

EXCHANGE RATE ͹͎ʹË&#x203A;͎͜˚ͯ ĚŠ ĚŠ

Quick Takes OVH Energy Acquires New Aircraft

EnergyMarketingLimited,oneofNigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sleadingproviderofpetroleum productsandservicesandlicenseeoftheOandoretailbrand,hasannounced its acquisition of a brand new aircraft, fuelling bowsers, as part of its expansionplan.

Themovewastodeepenitsserviceofferingsinprovidingfuellingsolutionsto playersintheaviationindustry.ManufacturedbyFlightlineUK,thebowsers areequippedwithlatesttechnologicalandsafetystandardscertifiedby the Joint Inspection Group (JIG), the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading organisation for the developmentofaviationfuelsupplystandards.Withacombinedcapacity of88,000litres,capableofdispensingupto3,500litresofaviationjetfuel perminute,thesebowsersaredesignedtoenhancesafetyandoperational efficiencyofpartnercompanies.

Commenting on the acquisition, Chief Executive Officer, OVH Energy Marketing Limited, Mr. Huub Stokman stated, â&#x20AC;&#x153;this acquisition is one of themanyinvestmentinitiativeswehaveforthedownstreamindustryand wewillcontinuetodeepenourinvestmentstoconsolidateOVHEnergyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leadershippositionintheaviationsub-sectorandthedownstreamoil& gasindustryasawhole. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are committed to exceptional service delivery to foreign and local airlineoperatorsintheNigerianaviationindustrysothatNigeriabecomes thedestinationofchoiceforinternationalairlinestorefueltheiraircrafts.â&#x20AC;?

STAKEHOLDERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ENGAGEMENT

L-R: Chairman, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Capacity Building and CertiďŹ cation Committee, Mr. Abdulrahman Yinusa; General Manager and Chief Compliance OďŹ&#x192;cer of Heritage Bank, Mr. Wumi Adeniyi; Executive Director, NIBSS Plc, Mrs. Christabel Onejekwe; CIBN President/Council Chairman, Dr. Uche Olowu and acting Managing Director/CEO, NIBSS, Mr Adeniyi Ajao, during an engagement with NIBSS in Lagosâ&#x20AC;Śrecently PHOTO: DAN UKANA

Nigerian Airports Record 41,745 Flight Delays Chinedu Eze Nigerian airports recorded 36,350 domestic and 5,395 international flight delays in 2018.

This was disclosed by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in its executive summary published on its website.

The records showed that two leading domestic airlines â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Air Peace and Arik Air â&#x20AC;&#x201C; topped the list of domestic flight delay.

In 2018, Air Peace operated 833 flights and had 423 delays, while Arik Air also operated 722 scheduled flights and recorded 431 delays.

On the international routes,

AVIATION Egypt Air led the list as it had 657 delays out of 921 operated flights in the country. It was closely followed by Air Cote dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ivoire with 286 flights delayed out of 516 flights operated.

In same year, a total of 59,818 flights were operated on the domestic routes by eight airlines and 30 airlines operated a total of 15,645 international flights and within the period 190 cancellations and 544 cancellations respectively were reported.

On inbound flights, 1,994,099 passengers were flown into

the country by airlines on international routes, while on domestic routes, 5, 033,669 passengers were transported.

On the other hand, in terms of outbound flights, 2,084,980 passengers left the country while 5,058,974 travelled locally.

The report showed that 44,885 baggage were reported missing on the international routes, while 173 baggage got missing on domestic routes.

The NCAA however stated that a total 41,334 baggage were later found on the international routes as 164 baggage on the local routes were found.

In the area of over booking/denied boarding, 11

such cases were reported on international routes and 58 on domestic routes as 63 and 29 cases of pilfering, discourtesy, among others happened on international and domestic routes respectively in the year under review.

The report indicated that 74 complaints were recorded on international routes while 87 complaints were lodged on domestic routes.

The report added that out of the 74 international complaints, NCAA resolved 36 of them and also resolved 63 out of the 87 domestic complaints.

Continued on page 22

Togo Overtakes Nigeria in Container Liner Shipping Services Eromosele Abiodun Despite West Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poor connection to the world through container liner shipping services over the years, Togo, a tiny West African country has overtaken Nigeria to become the first country to surpass the global average, a report by Netherlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading consulting firm, Dynamar has revealed.

Togoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth, according to Dynamar, was directly influenced by MSC and LomĂŠ Container Terminal, evidencing the increased impact of carriers on local facilities. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While Togo moved up, West Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading economic power Nigeria has moved down. Nigeria was the highest ranked West Africa country in 2015 but is now only fifth in terms of liner connectivity,â&#x20AC;? it stated.

It added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Following two dif-

ECONOMY ficult years, West Africa returned to growth in 2017, continuing into 2018 in tandem with improving oil prices. However, with carriers falling over each other to fill capacity-requirements with ever larger ships, West Africa trades still struggle to recover.

Only a quarter of the 24 carriers, which service West Africa saw the Annual Trade Capacity they generate grow since 2016. â&#x20AC;&#x153;West African ports now have to adapt to handle this increase in vessel-size, or risk losing their relevance in the area. Already, over a dozen West African outlets can or will be able to accept vessels larger than 10,000 TEU. And yet Nigeria lags behind, peaking at ships of 4,600 TEU. As well as the liner trade structure, carriers involved annual trade capacity analyses and the supporting port

and terminal developments.â&#x20AC;?

Dynamar, reported that Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Apapa Port in Lagos (1 million TEUs) lost 30 per cent of its container traffic over five years due to chronic congestion and the poor quality of its services.

Tema Port in Ghana with 0.95 million TEUs ranks 2nd, Nigeria is 3rd with 0.92 million TEUs, followed by Abidjan (0.66 million) TEUs 4th and Dakar (0.57 million) TEUs as 5th. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In 2017, Nigerian seaports accumulated a total of 922,706 TEUs according to the statistics provided by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). With a depth of 16.60 meters, the Port of LomĂŠ is the only deep-water port on the West African coast that can accommodate modern ships; while Onne port remains Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deepest with 13 meters draft. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The population of Togo is

barely 8 million with only 15 per cent of the cargoes patronizing the Port of Lome destined for Togo, while over 75 per cent is destined for the Nigerian market.

Togoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Port of Lome also services landlocked countries and it has also evolved as an important port with a free trade zone opened in 1968. It exports phosphates, coffee, cocoa, cotton and palm oil, much of the transit going to the neighbouring countries of Ghana, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. The port also holds an oil refinery,â&#x20AC;?it stated.

Maritime expert and Chief Operating Officer, Ecomarine Terminals Limited, Mr. Adedayo Balogun, said Nigeria has been doing nothing to show that it intends to be the hub of maritime activities in the region.

He stressed that the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Continued on page 22

Emirates Skywards Wins Loyalty Awards

EmiratesSkywards,theloyaltyprogrammeofEmiratesandâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;flydubaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;,was presentedwiththeâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ExcellenceinManagement,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;attheLoyaltyAwards2019 dinnerheldinParisrecently.

TheawardwasreceivedbytheSeniorVicePresident,EmiratesSkywards, Dr Nejib Ben Khedher. The awards ceremony was organised during the 15theditionoftheLoyalty&AwardsConferencebyGlobalFlight,aleading independent management company focusing on customer loyalty and loyaltyprogrammesinthetravelindustry.

In 2018, Emirates Skywards was recognised for its use of data science to optimise member engagement through relevant and timely offers.

ThisyearEmiratesSkywardsearnedtophonoursforcontinuingtotake personalizationtothenextstagebyintroducingitsindustry-first,dynamic flight upgrade and Cash+Miles promotions for members who log in and booktheirflightsviaEmirates.com Thetargetedofferswhichareeasytoaccessandpositionedvisiblyduring the booking experience, are driven by over 150 parameters linked to the memberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sloyaltystatusandflightselection.Thesystemwouldbefurther enhancedinthecomingmonthswiththeuseofadvancedpredictivemodelling andartificialintelligenceaswellasbymakingthisfunctionalityavailable onEmiratesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;mobilechannels. â&#x20AC;&#x153;AcoreprinciplethatdrivestheEmiratesSkywardsloyaltyprogrammeis toconstantlyenhancethevaluethatourmemberscanderivefromtheir Milesbyevolvingourpropositions.â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Qatar Airways Unveils Enhanced Economy Class

QatarAirwayssaiditstolethelimelightontheopeningdayofITBBerlin,the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;slargestinternationaltravelandtourismtradeshow,astheairlineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, revealed the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;snewEconomyClassexperience.

Healsoannouncedsevenupcomingadditionstoitsrapidly-growingglobal network.

Theunveilingceremony,whichtookplaceonthefirstdayoftheshow,was attendedbytheQatariAmbassadortoGermany,HisExcellencySheikh SaoudBinAbdulrahmanAlThaniandtheMayorofBerlin,Mr.MichaelMĂźller.

Also present were FC Bayern Mßnchen stars Corentin Tolisso, French internationalandWorldCupwinnerin2018,andLotharMatthäus,former Germaninternational,whocaptainedhisnationtovictoryinthe1990World Cup.LastyearQatarAirwayssignedafive-yearpartnershipagreement withleadingGermanfootballteamFCBayernMßnchen,makingtheairline theOfficialAirlinePartnerofFCBayernMßnchenuntilJune2023.

The airline said its new Economy Class experience features a seat with an innovative 19-degree recline system, additional legroom, dual trays, 13.3-inch4Kwidescreensandtypeâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;fastchargingUSBport.Theairlineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new in-flight dining experience â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Quisineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, truly redefines Economy Class service,withallnewretail-styletableware,amenuofferingmorechoices, 25percentlargermaincourses,20percentlargerappetisers,and50per centlargerdesserts.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;At this stage, Nigeria as a nation should be thinking more about building and respecting institutions and not personalities. Over the years, we have been contending with weak institutions but strong personalities and this is not good for the polityâ&#x20AC;?

MD, PRM Africa Marketing and Communications

Mike Dada

22

T H I S D AY Ëž Íś, 2019

BUSINESSWORLD NIGERIAN AIRPORTS RECORD 41,745 FLIGHT DELAYS

Compared to the previous year, there was no fundamental progress in 2018, but in 2017 international airlines operated 13, 508 flights and domestic airlines operated 48,319 flights.

In 2017 international airlines also recorded 180 cancelations, while domestic airlines recorded 872 cancellations and in the area of delays, international airlines recorded 4, 386 delays, which domestic airlines recorded 30, 214 delays.

With 30 international airlines and eight domestic airlines, foreign carriers recorded 28 air return in 2017 and domestic airlines recorded 46.

Spokesman for the NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, said the agency considers it as top priority to address passengers complaints and monitors activities of air service providers towards mitigating complaints such as flight delay, cancellation, loss of baggage and others.

TOGO OVERTAKES NIGERIA IN CONTAINER LINER SHIPPING SERVICES port sector agencies were unwilling to take critical decisions to transform the fortunes of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ports while Port of Lome, Tema Port in Ghana, as well as others in Benin and Senegal have been more strategic in developing their seaports for not just their economies but to also service landlocked countries.

Balogun said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today, the port of Douala is servicing the North Eastern part of Nigeria, which is supposed to be a captive market for Nigeria, if Calabar port was well developed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;No container line calls at Calabar Port in spite of its captive market, availability of opportunities, proximity, inherent benefits and advantages that Calabar Port enjoys.â&#x20AC;?

According to the Ecomarine boss, no Nigerian seaport can be classified as a hub port in the region as he stated that such status was occupied by the Ports in Togo, Ghana and Cameroon. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigeria is almost two-third of the West-African population and by extension two-third of the sub-regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market, yet it canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t boast of a hub port in West and Central Africa,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Group Business Editor

Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039; AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; äĂ?

Comms/e-Business Editor

Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x201C;

NEWS

CILT Commends NSCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Move to Reduce Cost of Shipping Stories by Eromosele Abiodun The President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transportation, Mr Ibrahim Jibril, has commended the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello, over efforts by the council to reduce the cost of shipping and attract more cargoes to the country.

Jibril, who stated this when he paid a courtesy visit to Bello in Lagos, applauded the NSC for the rejection of the arguments of some terminal operators for the introduction of congestion charges. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Institute has been closely following up on the giant steps of the council in protecting the interest of shippers, in its commercial regulatory function of the ports, in its resolve to reduce the costs of shipping and the huge costs allocation to local transportation of shipments, in its rejection of the arguments of some terminal operators for the introduction of congestion charges, etc. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is clear that it is in the overall best interest of our economy, that you have to embark on the full development of the Truck Transit Parks (TTPs). The establishment and use of TTPs cannot be more important than now. This can be evidenced in the increasing need for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Break Blocâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, trans shipments, truck inspection and certification, and in the listing of trucks for specific cargo lifting calls from the ports,â&#x20AC;? he said.

He added that the full functioning of TTPs would, especially for those situated near the ports, serve as the listing or take off points for all trucks heading to the affected ports. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is in administering the TTPs in that fashion that trucks,

not listed for the ports, would not obtain the necessary clearance for heading to the ports, from the affected TTPs. In a similar fashion, we clearly align with your optimism in pushing ÂŁ0, a National Transport Commission Bill. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is also our expectation that, whatever policy mechanisms for advancing transportation needs of the country is enunciated, it will be accommodated in the Bill. Accordingly, and in the circumstance of the NSC, having the NSC to advance to executing the roles of the National Transport Commission would be a welcome development. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The attention of the Institute has been drawn to

the federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s N250 billion portfolio investment in the establishment of a Special Economic Zonesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Company Limited. Although this portfolio investment seeks to integrate the NSCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original freight stations and Inland Container Depots (lCDs) into the scheme, the concern of the Institute is on the newly identified Green Zones, where huge mm facilities would be required beyond the above, our optimism hovers around how the NSC would use the zones to leverage its operations, against Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s endorsement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA),â&#x20AC;?he said.

In his response, Bello stressed the need for Nigeria to get its logistics right in order to

cut the cost of transportation, â&#x20AC;&#x153;which is high if you look at the cost of production. This we should not tolerate.â&#x20AC;?

With efficient logistic change, he said Nigeria should be able to cut this to the minimum adding that logistics is indispensable to the development of this country.

He added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am also extremely happy to make a pledge here that the way of our participation is not by design but by many changes the council is going through this time. We have had expansion of our directorates from four to five and now nine.

We are looking to solidify our involvement especially in trade facilitation apart from our looking at cargo interest

and also economic regulator of the ports. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am also happy for their solidarity on behalf of the National Transport Commission (NTC) Bill going through the legislative process because what many people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know is that the NTC is not a port council bill it is an industry bill and it happens to be the promoter of that. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There were public hearing and the institute was there and so many others like shipping companies who support the formulation of neutral economic regulator because that is what obtains globally.

So it is not a shipperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s council bills rather an industry bill and we hope you continue to support us.â&#x20AC;?

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

L-R: The Wali of Borno, Alhaji Zanna Zakari Idris; Marketing Manager, SPAR, Emmanuel Isangediok and Head of Marketing, SPAR Nigeria, John Goldsmith, receiving the award as the best â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Retail and Superstore Brand,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; during the third edition of the West Africa Brands excellence awards held in Lagos â&#x20AC;Śrecently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

Peterside: NIMASA Committed to Developing Blue Economy The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has reiterated that the agency remains committed to growing the ideals of a blue economy by bringing to the fore adequate knowledge of the sector in line with capacity building drive of the agency.

Peterside, who made this known during an interactive session with members of the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) in Lagos, said adequate knowledge of the sector would ensure fair and professional reportage.

He charged the media to embrace investigative

journalism in their method of reportage as it will benefit the maritime industry and the nation at large.

Represented by the Executive Director, Finance and Administration of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, he assured that the agency would continue to partner the media in various ways, including capacity building; adding that they the fulcrum through which the activities of the Agency can be made public, thereby attracting more participation in the sector. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On our part as an agency, we give priority to capacity building as it remains the only way the industry can grow and the media are not left out of

this. We are what we project to our stakeholders, both local and international; hence the need for the media to embrace investigative journalism to make their reportage factual and balanced,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Speaking further, he stated that the agency remains committed to the ideals of actualising the Blue Economy, which deals with the totality of all economic activity associated with the oceans, seas, harbours and coastal zones.

The concept also includes aquaculture, biomedicine, boats and shipbuilding, ship repairs, defence and security, amongst others all geared towards wealth and job creation for the growth and development of

the Nigerian economy.

He also highlighted other steps the agency was taking to ensure a robust maritime sector to include the drafting of a dedicated anti-piracy bill, which is before the National Assembly, to provide the requisite framework for the fight, prosecution and punishment of piracy and other related crimes in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea, expected to be passed to law soon. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Also, the agency has the approval for the acquisition of intelligence gathering maritime domain awareness assets and military response assets to fight pirates and make Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maritime domain safe for economic activities,â&#x20AC;? he added.

Also speaking, the President of SCAN, Mr. Yusuf Babalola commended the management of NIMASA for its strides in transforming the maritime sector, through various Stakeholder oriented policies.

While assuring the agency of its readiness to partner it to ensure it actualize its mandates, he applauded the agency for its huge contributions to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CFR) of the federal government, its increase awareness in the area of International Ships and Ports Security (ISPS) Facility Code, which has led to more compliance by the various facility operators, the berthing a modular floating dock amongst other strides.

Capital Market Editor

Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x17D;ĂŁ Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?

Senior Correspondent

Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x; (Advertising) Correspondents

Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2022;Ă? (Labour) Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă? Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC; (Cap Mkt) Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2022;Ă? (Energy) Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2122; (Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Capital) Reporters

Ă&#x;Ă&#x2014;Ă? Ă&#x2022;Ă?Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2019;Ă? (Money Market) Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x201C;Ă? (Maritime)

Flights Resume after Strike at Kenyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Airport Grounds Passengers Thousands of air passengers were stranded in Kenya on Wednesday after a strike by aviation workers at the main Nairobi airport led to the cancellation and delay of scores of flights and the use of riot police to break up the industrial action.

By the end of the day

however, most scheduled arrivals had been processed while the departures backlog was being cleared, state-run airports operator KAA said.

The strike was sparked by a plan to hand over management of the profitable airport, the largest in the country, to the loss-making national carrier.

According to Reuters, Kenya, which relies on tourism as one of its chief foreign exchange earners, deployed anti-riot police carrying clubs and glass shields.

They charged at hundreds of picketers, chasing them out of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)

and arresting their union leaders. The striking workers from KAA and flag carrier Kenya Airways were responding to a call by their union, the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU), which opposes the plan to hand over the running of JKIA. Kenya Airways wants to emulate

more successful airlines such as Ethiopian, which is one of Sub-Saharan Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest by fleet size, by paying the airport authority concession fees and running profitable services such as catering, fuel distribution, cargo and ground services facilities and maintenance.

23

T H I S D AY Ëž Íś, 2019

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Caverton Selects Thales Simulator for Pilotsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Training Stories by Chinedu Eze Caverton Helicopters has reached an agreement with Thales of France for the supply of its reality full-flight simulator for AW139 pilot training at the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facility in Lagos, Nigeria The simulator known as Reality H full-flight simulator (FFS), when installed would contribute to improving the overall safety of helicopter flights in the Nigerian and regional aviation sector.

The equipment would be installed within the brand new Caverton Flight Training Academy, built at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria.

Caverton said the Training Centre would be next door to the future Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, currently under development by the company, adding that this would be the first helicopter flight simulator training device (FFS) with European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Level D to be installed in Africa. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Caverton, a key aviation and marine logistics player for the Nigerian oil and gas industry

sector, aims to deliver AW139 Simulator training to pilots. This move is a key step forward in Cavertonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategic move into flight simulation training services. They have chosen to rely on Thalesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s AW139-configured Reality H Full-Flight Simulator to accomplish this ambition. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The simulator will be installed at Cavertonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new training centre, designed to meet the increased demand for helicopter pilot training and, in particular, to eliminate the challenges experienced by many pilots aiming to obtain initial and recurrent training. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The training centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ultimate aim is to improve the overall safety of helicopter flights in the Nigerian and regional aviation sector. The centre is being set up on the same site as Cavertonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brand new purpose-built Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria,â&#x20AC;? the company explained in a statement.

It also disclosed that the Thales Reality H Full Flight Simulator is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most advanced commercial helicopter simulator, and would be used to

provide realistic scenario-based flight and mission training to AW139 helicopter operators in the region as well as Cavertonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own pilots and crews.

Caverton explained that the simulator would support a large range of training needs, including type rating, recurrent training and proficiency checks for both Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), including offshore missions and VIP operations to unprepared landing sites. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It will be qualified to meet EASA Level D standard, the highest level of qualification for a simulator. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The simulator being delivered to Caverton will enable pilots that fly AW139 twin-engine helicopters â&#x20AC;&#x201C; one of the most popular helicopter platforms in Nigeria and the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; to be fully immersed in a realistic virtual environment representing Nigerian operational areas, and learn to handle a multitude of system failures and overcome very complex malfunctions should they arise in the real world. Pilots can thus train safely in high-risk mission scenarios in a range of weather conditions,â&#x20AC;? it added.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;No Plan to Operate UAE Flights from PHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major carrier, Air Peace has dismissed reports that it plan to originate its flights to Sharjah and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

A statement signed by the airlineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corporate Communications Manager, Mr. Chris Iwarah, said it had not altered its plan to commence its Sharjah and Dubai services from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The Lagos airport, the airline insisted, was strategic to the launch of its international flight operations.

Air Peace assured that arrangements for its longhaul flight services to Dubai, Sharjah, London, Houston, Guangzhou-China, Mumbai and Johannesburg were nearing conclusion and the development

would eventually give all parts of the country and West Africa a reliable alternative. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our attention has been drawn to reports in the media claiming we planned to operate our flights to Sharjah and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

We wish to state that there is no truth in the reports and we urge members of the flying public to discountenance the claims. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our plan to operate our Sharjah and Dubai services from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos remains unchanged. Our strategic plan is to commence our international flight operations from Lagos, with Sharjah and Dubai preceding other routes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As we have variously promised, we will eventually expand our international operations to

cover other cities and regions of Nigeria and even the West Coast of Africa. The goal ultimately is to leverage our broad domestic and regional route network in offering the flying public a reliable alternative. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This will be clearer as our long-haul route network unfurls.

But we envisage that the base of our international operations will remain the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, while mini-hubs will be created in the North, East and South of Nigeria and West Africa. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This, no doubt, will ensure we not only fully realise our vision to create seamless flight connectivity and positively impact the economies of our areas of operations, but also offer the flying public a whole new exceptional experience,â&#x20AC;? the carrier said.

SAA Voyager Launches New Mobile Application South African Airways (SAA) Voyager has launched its own SAA Voyager Mobile Application.

This means that the transactional experience for Voyager members is now in the palm of members with easy navigation whilst on the go.

The current SAA Mobile App only displays a customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s status and balance of miles, whereas the new the SAA Voyager App includes additional transactional functions beneficial to the customers namely; update of personal details, PIN reset, award requests, claiming of missing miles, converting miles and, being able to donate miles.

The SAA Voyager App is an intervention aimed at enhanc-

ing membersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; transactional experience with Voyager in the short term. It is envisaged that once SAA relaunches its Mobile App in the latter part of this year, there would be integration between the SAA and SAA Voyager Mobile Apps, whereby customers would be able to transact seamlessly with SAA, be it for check-in, printing of boarding passes, making and/or changing reservations or transacting on their Voyager accounts.

SAA Executive for Customer Loyalty, Suretha Cruse explained that one of SAAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s key strategies was to enhance the customer experience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Customer insights were a key driver in the design and

development of the SAA Voyager App with our Africa-based members in mind, where 80 per cent access the internet via their mobile phones,â&#x20AC;? she said.

SAA Voyager was Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first value-based airline loyalty programme, offering membersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; miles based on the ticket price purchased, rather than the distance travelled.

The earning velocity of miles in the SAA Voyager programme remains the best in class on the African continent whereby members receive one SAA Voyager Mile per ZAR 1.60 spent, which counts towards the status of members. The programme also allows members to spend miles on any available ticket price for flights operated by SAA.

Knocks for Sirika

MMIA

Chinedu Eze Aviation industry stakeholders have excoriated the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, for not fulfilling any of the major goals he set out to accomplish in the sector when he was appointed.

The minister had assured then that his administration would ensure the concession of four major airports in the country. The included the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.

In addition to the concession of these airports, Sirika had also promised that his administration would establish major aircraft maintenance facility, aircraft leasing company and a national carrier.

Industry experts posit that a major solution to the problem of infrastructure decay at the airports is the concession of these facilities, which would enable the private sector invest in the modernisation of airport terminals and other facilities.

Sirika had said variously that the federal government does not have the funds to embark on infrastructure renewal at the airports, so the private sector has to come in through concession.

It was also expected that when the airport terminals are concessioned, the limited resources that could be provided by government would be used to upgrade critical infrastructure at the airside, which include runways, navigational aids, airfield lighting and others which may not be included in the concession.

The absence of these critical facilities has impinged on flight operations to many domestic destinations in the country and has forced airlines to underutilise their equipment, as they cannot operate to many airports after 6:00 pm due to absence of runway lights.

Former Managing Director of Virgin Nigeria Airways and currently the CEO of Ropeways, a cable company, Captain Dapo Olumide, noted that for Nigeria to have successful airlines, airport facilities must be modernised to enable the airlines maximise their operations.

He said most airports do not even have lighted taxiways.

He said critical infrastructure should be provided first at the airports before government should consider the establishment of a national carrier.

Speaking in the same vein, the Director, Research, Zenith Travels, Mr. Olumide Ohunayo, said Sirika failed to deliver on most of his policies for

the sector in spite of the promises.

He explained that if Sirika was to be assessed based on his promise to establish the national carrier, concession of the terminals, national hangar project and aviation school among other policies, he performed below expectations.

On the other hand, he lauded Sirika for his efforts at sustaining safety and building on the existing infrastructure and facilities in the industry, stressing that he had been able to put some structures in place, while also building on the existing infrastructure in the system.

He also commended the government on the speedy release of accident reports and their implementation, describing it as the best in recent time.

But industry stakeholders, including industry consultant and the CEO of Belujane Konsult, Chris Aligbe, believed that for Nigeria to modernise its airports, effectively compete with Ghana, Senegal and others and also to successfully establish a hub for West Africa, it has to concession its airports.

Sirika had in his 2016 Aviation Development Master Plan, released about three months after his appointment, that the government would ensure the concessioning of the two airports in the first phase, while, Port Harcourt and Kano airports would follow in the second phase of the exercise.

Sirika, had at a stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; forum, also listed several other projects to boost aviation development that would be embarked upon by the federal government, but two months to the end of the tenure most of the projects are yet to see the light of day.

At the forum, Sirika had argued that the concessioning of the airports would further create more jobs for qualified Nigerians, stressing that it would also lead to the increase in size and capacity of the airports through Public Private Partnership (PPP) by attracting investments, to create the much needed hub in West and Central Africa.

He added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;In 2007, Jordan awarded a 25-year concession for the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman following a competitive bidding process. The project included rehabilitating existing facilities, constructing a new terminal with a capacity of 12 million passengers per year, and operating the airport. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The project generated more than $1 billion in foreign direct investment and lead to the creation of 23,000 new jobs over its lifespan.â&#x20AC;?

However, it has to be noted that aviation unions do not support the planned concessioning of airports by the federal government, but despite their campaign against it, Sirika has reiterated that it would be the solution to infrastructure decay in the sector.

24

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

Olumide: Nigeria Needs Strong, Privately-owned Airlines Former Managing Director of Virgin Nigeria Airways and currently the CEO of Ropeways, Captain Dapo Olumide, believes Nigeria needs to provide the needed infrastructure and maintenance facility before establishing strong airlines, so that the airlines can be profitable and competitive. He said Nigeria does not need a national carrier that has government input, but one driven wholly by the private sector. He spoke to Chinedu Eze. Excerpts:

W

hen you were the Managing Director of Virgin Nigeria Airways you were making more money from the West Coast, but the market seems to have gone done now and Nigerians are not doing so well on the West African routes and other African airlines seem to have taken over. What was the key to your success then?

That is a very good question and I will tell you why. Before I took over Virgin, we were flying to London, Johannesburg and I said we should stop the flights to these routes. Look, this was my philosophy; not that of anybody else and this was because the board had given me the freedom to turn the airline around and I explained to them that Nigerian airline has no business flying long haul. You wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make a success of it because you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t compete with the others. So it is just not going to work.

Yes, you will fill the back of the aircraft with your economy passengers and so on, but that is not going to pay for the fuel to London. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t compete with them. Your aircraft is so much older than theirs, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the in-flight services, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the frequent flier programme and you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the connectivity. When Virgin Nigeria was flying to Johannesburg, how many people were terminating their journey in Johannesburg? I think 60 per cent of the passengers were going to Durban and Cape Town. But we ended our flight at Johannesburg, so how are you competing with South African Airways?

Now, I stopped all that because I saw that the cost of economy class ticket to London, I could charge the same just with a Boeing 737 to Dakar, from Lagos and that I can actually do that twice a day. So I started making much more money doing regional than doing the long haul with cheaper aircraft. In those days, Virgin Nigeria had B767 and A340s, those things are like $800, 000 a month. And we had good B737s that were leased at the time, very reliable aircraft; expensive but very reliable and we made much more money. And that is how I was able to turn the airline around.

You noticed that I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expand on the domestic, because I have recognised the fact that yield is very low on the domestic market because no airline was charging, even till today, the correct fare based on the cost of its aircraft and overhead and so on. So if you put the correct cost you are looking at about a N100, 000 for an economy ticket but they are not doing that. So, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to play in that arena and start losing money, so I focused on the west coast.

The reason we have lost out from that initiative is the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). In the old days none of these West African countries had any airline of substance. So they had no airlines. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget there was a time when Lagos- Accra, we had four Nigerian airlines doing that route, no Ghanaian airline. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t complain then but you have to understand what SAATM stands for and actually itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a year now since we have been operating that and that was actually on 28th of January 2018, when it came into effect.

And that was as an outcome of a result of a 2015, 24th general session of the

Olumide

African Union Heads of States meeting, where they said that they were going to actually finalise and domesticate the Yamoussoukro Decision. And they said that by 2017 there should be open skies in Africa. It came a year later in 2018.

What did that mean? That means that any Africa airline can fly anywhere like it is in Africa. And that is something I am totally in support of because that is why we were losing so much money. Now our people have complained about that; we

We have been talking about the national airline since the demise of Nigerian Airways with so many ministers coming with their own plans but it hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happened yet. So investors are cautious and thinking well is it going to happen this time? And they are all sitting back and saying well, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s see if it happens or if it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen. This is because we have heard this stories so many times

didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t complain about it when we were flying into Accra with four airlines and dominating the West Africa market but we are complaining now. You say that foreign airlines have access to so many airports in Nigeria, if you want to fly to London with your Nigerian aircraft you can go to London, Heathrow, Gatwick, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, so what is the difference. Why are you just going to Heathrow airport? So they can also come to all of our airports. So, our operators have been complaining about this Single Air Transport Market, saying it is unfair. You have national airlines like South African Airways, Kenyan Airways, Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines coming into all these airports and saying we can compete if we go to their countries because they are subsidised by their government. Then have your own national airline. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing to do with the SAATM, you get your own national airline and subsidise it and then you are competing with them, but until you do that you are not competing with them.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at the private airlines, African World Airlines (AWA) in Ghana. AWA is successful because they are operating the right size of aircraft. You noticed that they havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t gone into all these big Boeing 737s. This is because the problem with an aircraft that has too many seats is what they call â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;over capacity,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and which is what we have on Lagos-Abuja route. The first flight in the morning is full, the last flight coming back in the evening full, then for the rest of the day you are operating with 50 per cent load factor. And overall, on a yearly basis you are losing money. But look at AWA; they have the right size aircraft 50 seats. And then, in fact, with 50-seat aircraft you can fill that aircraft every

day. But remember with those 50 seats they only need a 70 per cent load factor to be profitable; that means they only need 30 passengers. That one doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need business plan, so they are profitable and hence you see that they are buying more aircraft. And guess what type of aircraft they are buying? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the same thing, regional aircraft. But in Nigeria itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Boeing 737 and all that and you are using this B737 to Benin. So we keep getting ourselves into this quagmire of inefficiency. I believe that SAATM is going to be the stimulus for Nigerian airlines to get their act together. It is going to do two things to them, one, they are going to be pushed out of the market if they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t modernise their fleet with younger aircraft. Younger aircraft means more efficient engines, cheaper fuel consumption, greater reliability. Number two; they are going to have to assess their maintenance cost by putting maintenance facilities right next door to them here; that is to bring the maintenance cost down and not to spend dollars on it. They are going to have to negotiate with the spare parts vendors who have added all sorts of cost to them, political risk, currency exchange risk, so you are paying more anyway for these spare parts. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to pull with several airlines that have the same type of aircraft and letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s order plenty of spare parts and get a discount on it because we are ordering in bulk.

It is just like when you go and by tomatoes in the market, if you buy a basket it is cheaper than buying the ones on the roadside. Then you have another issue- there is a ratio between leased aircraft and owned aircraft. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lease all your aircraft because the problem with leasing is that it is a shortterm thing but it is also good because you are building a new route. There are reasons for leasing, in building a new route, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say from Lagos to Sao Tome, you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t buy an aircraft because you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if the market will be successful. So you start with a leased aircraft and use it for three years until the market is sustainable then you sell the aircraft or convert it to an outright purchase. But then you also have further challenges and that is of the structure of the lease, it is very punitive for Nigerian operators. First of all, in spite of the fact that the Cape Town Convention has been domesticated by Nigeria, it is not enforced. And I am not knocking the agency that should enforce it, but what you do by not enforcing it is you create a problem for operators who want to lease aircraft at favourable terms. Why? Because the lessor knows that the aircraft is likely to be impounded in Nigeria, therefore they need to increase the lease rental rate and they are going to ask for longer-term tenure on the security deposit. A European airline leasing an aircraft will probably have a two monthsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; security deposit. A Nigerian operator has nine months if not a year by now.

Now, imagine that kind of money in Escrow abroad, in dollar terms earning nothing for you, that is just a waste of money. But that is because the lessor perceived your environment as high-risk environment. And so you are going to pay a premium for that and therefore you get a leased aircraft at a higher rate than your competitor.

25

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Olumide: Nigeria Needs Strong, Privately-owned Airlines Many people in the industry feel that the proposed national carrier which has since been suspended, will not succeed the way they want to do it, by establishing it with government funds and then inviting the private sector. Do you think we can have private sector driven national carrier?

Let me answer your question with a short yes and no. Yes, it can work but there is always a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;butâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in everything, but it has to be done properly. And that is, it is about the chicken and the egg. If you set up a national airline now, I am not talking about ownership at this time; you bring in 10 aircraft where are you going to park them? Where are you going to maintain them? Where are the pilots coming from? Where are the engineers coming from? Maybe we should make sure that the infrastructure is in place first or maybe make sure we have the hangars ready and letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s get the pilots for training and so on and so forth.

When you have all those things, then you can bring in the aircraft. In terms of the investors, you have to remember that an investor comes in two forms.

There are investors in the stock market, so they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even need to know there is an airline, they just invest in it because they want a return. Then you have a strategic investor; that would be, for example, another airline which has the technical expertise to manage the airline.

But then you have to be careful that you are not bringing in a technical partner who also has his own airline and he would use your airline to feed his airline with passengers or he will scale back your operations so as not to compete with his. So that has to be considered as well in terms of the investor. But we also have what they call investor apathy and the more you talk about something and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t deliver the more apathy you create. If I tell you that Lagos Ibadan expressway is going to be ready in six months and every six months they tell you that it is going to be ready next month, after a while you stop listening and you take your mind off the Lagos Ibadan expressway completely. We have been talking about the national airline since the demise of Nigerian Airways with so many ministers coming with their own plans but it hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happened yet.

So investors are cautious and thinking well is it going to happen this time? And they are all sitting back and saying well, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s see if it happens or if it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen. This is because we have heard this stories so many times.

Your question to me is, do we need a national airline? Well, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to use the word national because national means like its owned by the government.

We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need that; what we need is an airline that makes Nigerians proud, and that Nigerians will willingly fly over a foreign airline. So it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be a national airline, it can be an airline that is actually 100 per cent privately owned with no individual entity owning more than 10 or 15 per cent; so they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have majority control.

But the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intervention must be in the form of sovereign guarantees.

Where they guarantee the loans on the purchase of aircraft for example. They can provide subsidies in terms of tax reduction on fuel; they can make sure that the authorities reduce their tariffs and charges, navigation charges for the airlines, for the first 5, 7 to 10 years.

That is where you need the government intervention and that is what an investor is looking for, where the government give supports in that regard. It is the same thing in terms of acquisition of aircraft; nobody is going to bring in 10 Boeing 777s or something, that is a lot of money.

But with your government supporting it, like I said with the excess crude account (ECA), providing guarantees.

The government doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even need a stake because it benefits nothing from the stake, what they should provide, like

Olumide

I said, is to incentivise. They should provide soft landing for the airlines to survive. Because they know that it is going to compete with well-established international operators, which have been operating for years.

If government supports one airline, wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it have an edge over others?

I agree with what you are saying but then at the same time if you want to have the equivalent of a national airline, as opposed to a flag carrier, you must meet certain conditions. They will be like legacy airlines. It will have advantage

Ethiopia Airlines is 100 per cent government owned but not government run. You can see that it works there. But what I am saying is that you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need the government to run it. The model you have in Ethiopian Airlines is no different from the model of Nigerian Airways; it is just that the government interfered.

If they hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t interfered, it would have been managed by the private sector

because you want to make it strong carrier and it will fly international destinations.

You can make flag carriers fly domestic routes. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t designate them that way it is not going to work.

Although private airlines never say never, but it is unlikely that they will be able to acquire the type of equipment that will make them competitive with the partners that they will be operating with internationally. So there got to be a difference between how you want to compete. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t compete based on the name of your country. You can only compete on service delivery and you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford service delivery if you are not profitable. And even if the government gives guarantees to the local airlines, for example, to guarantee their purchase of aircraft, it is not guarantee on the operation of the aircraft.

This model you are proposing has it been implemented in any country?

Yes. Again letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at Ethiopian Airlines; Ethiopia Airlines is 100 per cent government owned but not government run. You can see that it works there. But what I am saying is that you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need the government to run it. The model you have in Ethiopian Airlines is no different from the model of Nigerian Airways; it is just that the government interfered. If they hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t interfered, it would have been managed by the private sector. When I say private sector, in the military era, the managing director were all from the military. But in principle, it was run by people who are not in government.

Ghana with Senegal seems to be having headway because they are more coordinated. In the long run, say in the next 10 years, if Nigeria does not wake up what do you envisage will happen in the sub region?

Well, first of all, it is not about 10 years, is the next five years. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be a soothsayer, but I will certainly say

if we carry on the way we are going now, I can guaranty you, if we carry on this way in the next five years, we will become totally irrelevant in the sub- region. As it is now, South African Airways is departing flights from Accra to Washington. They would have done it if we had a hub in Lagos. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to go through Accra because there is no market there. But because those people have thought about the future and you hear all the remarks from the Ghanaian government on the reason they want a hub and how much they charge for fuel for foreign flights and the visa waivers and other things, it is because they want to bring traffic into Accra, which creates employment for the Ghanaian citizen.

If they have the hub they need more duty free shops, more car hires, they are going to need more people handling the fuel and drivers for the buses to take people to hotels. The hotel occupancy will go from 50 per cent to 70 per cent and they make more for the government by paying tax.

Why donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we do that? Because we are not proactive, we are reactive; we do things after it has happened not before it happens. People have been clamouring for making Lagos a hub, that was what Virgin did when they came here. It was a hub, it was done in a way that you come in from Accra into the international airport, walk into the next gate off to Port Harcourt. That is how it works in Heathrow airport and in every airport in the world you have been to. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know anywhere in the world that you have to go and change terminal drive to the other terminal. But here we still do things like in the 1860s.

So it is not 10 years from now, it is five years from now and it is not having the terminal that solves your problem.

It has nothing to do with the terminal; it is due to the system that processes it. Having a terminal is just half of the problem.

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Jamoh: Blue Economy Can Be Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Economic Mainstay The Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Mr. Bashir Jamoh in this interview with newsmen in Lagos explained how the agency is fighting piracy and the need for blue economy to be the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.

Eromosele Abiodun presents the excerpts:

T

he much talked about presidential election has been concluded, going forward, what are the plans of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)?

The first thing we did was to launch our shipping and maritime sector forecast 2019/2020.

The forecast shows our focus, what we intend to do and what we think people should know.

We have already released it to the stakeholders to be able to know how to plan ahead in the industry. The second issue, we are heading towards International Maritime Organisation (IMO) election, and we need to act on the issue of piracy. Recently, we had top management meeting and one of the top management members read out a statistical report that about 88 piracy attacks is being reported on our sea. At the meeting, I insisted that all the units should be represented so that if there are issues like this more processionals, desk officers can be able to respond to such issues to their questions appropriately. We try as much as possible to produce top professionals in the agency; we want to ensure that any member of staff is able to answer questions on the maritime sector, marine environment and shipping development.

We have top professionals who can move to any department and work comfortably without any extra training. I told you about the pirate attacks, when we heard about the 88 attacks, the first thing that came mind was what to do. During my PhD programme, my area of specialisation was maritime security. What I discovered in the course of my research at that time was that we had so much data on the issues of maritime crime in Nigeria and Gulf of Guinea. We have over 20 countries within the Gulf of Guinea and anything can happen within that circle and that environment. The international community considers Nigeria, being the biggest country around that Gulf of Guinea, as the country that produces most of the crimes that happens there. This, however, is not correct, that is why we always tell journalists that it is your duty as reporters to report correctly and accurately. We have had a situation where something happened maybe in Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana or any part of other countries, because we are all part of Gulf of Guinea, they will claim it happened in Nigeria. By doing so, we continue to send very wrong signals to international community. Already, we are paying world premium in terms of insurance and we stand to be the highest payees of freight all over the world because of the dangers attached to our territorial waters. When you check the cost in probably freight from America to Ghana, which almost the same distance to Nigeria, you find out that Nigeria pay more than Ghana. And at the end, all of us here, we pay the premium because it ends to the consumers and when are consuming, definitely what we are paying in excess, it will be distributed even among the consumers. So the accurate reporting must be there. Now, if you report accurately, you are projecting Nigeria to a very good platform. If we go for the IMO election, these are the things they would check. What are the positions last year or two years after the previous election?

Do we see any change in what they are doing in terms of these piracy and other things? So when those things are not there, definitely, we stand the chance to lose the election again. Now, the election is coming up in December, we are in March already. So we have lost about three months. So we have nine months, we have to start preparing now and we cannot prepare alone, we need your cooperation.

You talked about pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, what is the agency doing to ďŹ ght piracy in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waterways?

We have put in place a lot of measures and we are making progress. In a country like Nigeria where we have a lot of financial challenges, there is limitation in some areas like acquiring technology. However, we have deployed a lot of technology to make sure we

can be able to arrest that situation. We just got approval for the importation of special gadgets like walking-talkie and other specialised security items. So those are the things we have to deploy to those communities that can easily has access to us such walking-talking and cellular system you can even use under water. When things are going on, you can easily use it and get to our headquarters and our fast intervention vessels to come for assistance. This is how far we have gone on the issue of maritime security and piracy.

Jamoh

police our water territories. We just concluded training of our own staff not just our own staff but the joint agencies that are supposed to take care this policing, the Nigerian Police, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Army, DSS, NIMASA officials and among others. So this training is currently going on at our resource centres. Unlike what we used to do before, the first issue of this challenge started with Presidential Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PICOMS) around 2012 during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

We have put in place a lot of measures and we are making progress. In a country like Nigeria where we have a lot of ďŹ nancial challenges, there is limitation in some areas like acquiring technology. However, we have deployed a lot of technology to make sure we police our water territories. We just concluded training of our own staff not just our own staff but the joint agencies that are supposed to take care this policing, the Nigerian Police, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Army, DSS, NIMASA ofďŹ cials and among others

We abandoned the issue of PICOMS and we introduced Global West, which started the issue of policing Nigerian waters up to sometimes in 2015/2016 when they existed. Between 2016/2017, we now brought in HLS. With this HLS, we have maritime domain awareness in terms of the satellite system that can look at our territorial water. Then, we have past intervention vessels, apart from what we have locally, we have supplied a lot of boats which we have been able to use as back up and we have supplied helicopters. Now, we are at the stage one, which is human capacity development and skill guide of this training. During the time of PICOMS and Global West, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have this kind of things in terms of training of our manpower. But this HLS introduces the segment of training all the agencies that are going to be involved in policing Nigerian waters and you can see we have collaboration. We have worked together and everybody we have to bring his own expertise, only NIMASA including Police, Nigerian Navy, DSS and Civil Defence and that is what we are doing now in the issue of maritime security. As a kind of back up before the HLS process take off fully, we have past intervention vessels approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). We have about six vessels now that used to go everyday, 24 hours per day at least monitoring and striking these hoodlums and criminals around our territorial waters. The six intervention vessels may not be enough so to say but we deployed those six intervention vessels into different zones, include western, eastern zones.

What is the agency doing to engage communities around the sea to help ďŹ ght sea robbery?

That was one of the recommendations that came out of my research. You cannot address the issues of crime without the local people.

Most of the crimes, especially at sea start from the land to the sea. So you have to follow the criminals to the land before going to the sea and there is no better way of handling that issue and situation without the communities.

When you have the brief of the community, you have the understanding of the community, you

Recently, the Director General of NIMASA announced that the agency will commence the disbursement of the CVFF by ďŹ rst quarter of 2019, what stage are we now?

This is an interesting issue. The disbursement doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lie on the hand of the NIMASA. It is the responsibility of the Minister of Transportation.

The Minister of Transport has time without number mentioned why he has delayed it.

When I launched my book sometimes last year, I discussed the issue of CVFF and at the end of that book launch, the Minister of Transport specifically mentioned that all the stakeholders should meet him in his office to discuss the way forward on the issue of CVFF. After the meeting, he inaugurated a committee where the stakeholders will come up with a standard pattern on the way they have to disburse the fund. During the end of the year dinner organised by ship-owners association, the DG mentioned that the fund will be disbursed in certain framework. But like I said earlier, we are not responsible. We are responsible for collection of the money and keeping the money. The money is there and safe, nobody can touch the money as against the assumption by people that the money has been tempered with. No, we have the money and it is intact. But until the Minister of Transport is convinced that the right things are in place he will not disburse it. All I know and I can say categorically is that money is going to be disbursed this year but I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say the particular time because it is not responsibility of my agency to pay until when we get such directive. There is no fear that the money is not there, we have the money there. Once we are sure that we can release the public fund to stakeholders we will have to release it on the instruction of Minister of Transport.

Nigeria is losing huge revenue to carriage of export by FOB, what is the agency doing to change the trade policy to CIF? It is not only FOB, CIF, we have introduced a lot of measures and there are parts of things we have to envisage like cargo support. What is the essence of owning a ship and you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have cargo and anywhere to go. Ship cannot exist comfortably without cargo to lift. We are working towards ensuring that we have cargo support. Shipping companies are trying to get the CVFF, we have to make sure and guarantee that we have to give them cargo to lift. And how do we do that? The cargo support, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the government cargo and other heavy cargo that is project cargo that has to go through NIMASA onward assisting the ship-owners to lift. This is one of the things we are trying to do and we are looking for a different window in terms of foreign exchange to get favourable foreign exchange rate for the ship-owners in terms of handling, purchasing, repairing their own ships. So those are the things we put in place. The issue of CIF and FOB freight, we have gone far. We are talking with NNPC and we believe that with time, we will be able to break through ensuring some of our Nigerian shipowners will get the right to lift our crude oil. And interestingly, from our conversations, we have evidence that Nigerians are already lifting oil but we cannot unveil who and who have started lifting oil. NNPC has already given the note that some of them are already lifting crude oil without any problem.

THIS WEEKEND WEEKLY MAGAZINE

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

International Women’s Day:

Celebrating Nigeria’s Trail Blazing Amazons

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COVER INTERNATIONAL WOMENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAY: CELEBRATING NIGERIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TRAIL BLAZING AMAZONS

Globally, International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day is marked every March 8 as the focal point in the movement for womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rights.

Therefore, to mark this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s celebration themedâ&#x20AC;&#x153;Balance For Betterâ&#x20AC;?, it was only fitting for CHIEMELIE EZEOBI to profile some Nigerian amazons who are blazing a trail in their respective fields From the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which was agreed in 1979 and ratified by 189 states, the fight for equality has come a long way from the days where women played second fiddle.

THE PILOT: ADEOLA OGUNMOLA SOWEMIMO For Adeola Ogunmola Sowemimo, a pilot, who seemingly worked in a male dominated profession, it was recently a season of firsts. She recently took the social media by storm and for a good reason too. She is the first Nigerian Female Pilot at Qatar Airways, as well as the First Nigerian Female Pilot to fly the gigantic Boeing 787 Dreamliner Aircraft.

She is also the first Nigerian Female Pilot to fly the Boeing 767 Aircraft across the Atlantic.

Undoubtedly, Sowemimo definitely qualifies to be among the Amazons celebrated today and even beyond because with these accomplishments, she has joined the league of an increasing number of female pilots in Africa, who are making the continent and indeed the feminine gender proud.

DOCTOR/EMERGENCY SPECIALIST: OLA BROWN Through her Flying Doctors she has given her patients wings to fly, thereby cutting through several lawyers of paperwork and bureaucracy. Dr. Olamide Brown (Orekunrin) is a BritishNigerian medical doctor and Managing director of Flying Doctors Nigeria; a charity based in Lagos, Nigeria.

After graduation, Olamide worked for 10 years with the National Health Service, United Kingdom. As a helicopter pilot with specialised training in aviation medicine, she pioneered the first air operated Emergency medical services in Lagos, Nigeria; Flying Doctors Nigeria Ltd, which was motivated after experiencing the loss of her sister under difficult circumstances.

Brown is a member of both the American Academy of Aesthetic Surgeons and the British Medical Association. She was listed among Young Global leaders by World Economic Forum in 2013.

Flying Doctors have 20 aircraft and 44 doctors who can deliver care en route to one of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hospitals.

Notwithstanding the fact that presently, only six nations; Belgium, Denmark, France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Sweden, have equal rights for men and women, it hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stopped women across the globe from being the consummate mother, wife and at the same time, thrive in her chosen

OIL MAGNATE/ PHILANTROPIST: FOLORUSHO ALAKIJA Folorunso Alakija is a Nigerian billionaire businesswoman, one of Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s richest women, and one of the richest black women in the world. In 2014, she temporarily unseated Oprah Winfrey as the richest woman of African descent in the world. With her fingers in many pie; namely fashion, oil and printing industries. She is the group managing director of The Rose of Sharon Group which consists of The Rose of Sharon Prints & Promotions Limited and Digital Reality Prints Limited and the executive vice-chairman of Famfa Oil Limited.

Presently, she is ranked by Forbes as the richest woman in Nigeria with an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion. But despite the accolades she has garnered in the business world, for Alakija, what she would rather be remembered for is her passion for widows, orphans and the less privileged in the society. This she has achieved through her Rose of Shalom Foundation, which is a home of succor for those in need. Over the years, she has gone above and beyond duty in catering for the needs of the widows and their children.

OAP/PLWD CHAMPION: ADENIKE OYETUNDE Adenike Oyetunde is a lawyer, onair-personality and founder, Amputees United. She was diagnosed with Osteogenic Sarcoma (cancer of the bone) at age 20 when she was in her second year in university. Adenike eventually had to accept the doctorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diagnosis and go for a limb amputation, after refusing to admit that she would live without one of her limbs for the rest of her life.

She wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t deterred as she went on to become a lawyer, OAP and an activist.

She has since gone on to live her life, breaking boundaries, and most recently released a self-titled book; Adenike.

career. Perhaps, this achievement was possible because the declaration highlights the role of global agreements in advancing womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rights.

In Nigeria, it is no different as some women have continually blazed a trail in their chosen careers as highlighted by

Wikipedia- be it fashion, arts, politics, social entrpreneurship, banking, music, oil and gas, aviation, media, economist, politician and film maker, the list is endless. The underlisted Amazons are by no means the only ones blazing a trail but are just few out of many.

BANKER/MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER: IBUKUN AWOSIKA Ibukun Abiodun Awosika is a Nigerian business woman, author and motivational speaker, who currently serves as Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria. As a fellow of the African Leadership Initiative and Aspen Global Leadership Network, Ibukun is a member of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, member of the board of Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund and former Chairperson, Board of Trustees of Women in Management, Business and Public Service. In 2011, she co-founded the Afterschool Graduate Development Centre, a career centre established in order to checkmate the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria.

On September 7, 2015, Ibukun became the first woman to be appointed Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria following the resignation of Prince Ajibola Afonja. She also sits on the board of Digital Jewel Limited and Cadbury Nig Plc.

MAKEUP GURU: TARA FELA DUROTOYE Tara Fela-Durotoye is a Nigerian makeup artist and lawyer. A pioneer in the bridal makeup profession in Nigeria, she launched the first bridal directory in 1999, set up international standard makeup studios and established the first makeup school in Nigeria.

She is the founder and CEO of House of Tara International and creator of the Tara Orekelewa Beauty range, Inspired Perfume and the H.I.P Beauty range. In 2007, she was awarded the Africa SMME Award and the Entrepreneur award in South Africa and in 2013, Forbes listed her as one 20 Young Power Women In Africa.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR: TOYOSI AKERELE-OGUNSIJI Oluwatoyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji , is a social entrepreneurand human development expert whose work cuts across entrepreneurship, education, youth development and public leadership. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Rise Networks, a Nigeria-based private and public sector funded Youth Interest social enterprise focused on using tech innovation to create advocacy and learning opportunities for the inclusive growth of youths with the core objective of preparing them for leadership and social change. She is also the founder of Passnownow, a mobile learning portal with access to curriculumbased education content with standardised assessments and exam review questions in digital format distributed via web and mobile to underserved high school students and teachers.

LIFESTYLE ENTRPRENEUR: UCHE PEDRO Uche Pedro is an award-winning Nigerian entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of BellaNaija, a media tech brand known for entertainment and lifestyle content.

Under her leadership, BellaNaijaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social footprint has grown through its collective brands - BellaNaija.com, BellaNaija Weddings and BellaNaija Style - to be the largest on the African continent with more than 200 million impressions each month.

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COVER INTERNATIONAL WOMENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAY: CELEBRATING NIGERIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TRAIL BLAZING AMAZONS GLOBAL MUSICIAN: TIWA SAVAGE Tiwatope Savage, better known by her stage name Tiwa Savage, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, performer and actress. She currently has a songwriting deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

Savage signed a recording contract with Mavin Records in 2012, as well as signed a management and publishing deal with Roc Nation in June 2016, which she later confirmed via Instagram.

Her debut studio album, Once Upon a Time, was released on 3 July 2013. It was supported by the singles â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kele Kele Loveâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Love Me (3x)â&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Without My Heartâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ife Wa Gbonaâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Folarinâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Olorun Miâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eminadoâ&#x20AC;?.

Savageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second studio album, R.E.D, was released on 19 December 2015. It produced the singles â&#x20AC;&#x153;My Darlinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;African Waistâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;If I Start To Talkâ&#x20AC;?.

As a singer, her achievements include an MTV Europe Music Award, MTV Africa Music Award, two The HeadiesAwards, one Channel O Music Video Award, one Nigeria Music Video Award, and two City People Entertainment Awards.

DIPLOMAT: AMINA JANE MOHAMMED Amina Jane Mohammed is the current Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and a former Minister of Environment of Nigeria.

Mohammed once coordinated the Task Force on Gender and Education for the United Nations Millennium Project and she later acted as the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In 2005, she was charged with the coordination of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s debt relief funds toward the achievement of the MDGs. Mohammed served as Federal Minister of Environment in the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari from November 2015 to December 2016.

During that time, she was Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s representative in the African Union (AU) Reform Steering Committee.

TECH EXPERT: ABISOYE AJAYIAKINFOLARIN Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin is a Nigerian Women and Girls Advocate Social Entrepreneur. She is the founder of Pearls Africa Youth Foundation, a NonGovernmental Organisation aimed at educating young girls in under-served areas in Nigeria with technology skills. On November 1, 2018, Ajayi-Akinfolarin was named one of ten CNN Heroes of the year.

Later that month she was listed as one of BBCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100 Women.

Ajayi-Akinfolarin began her career working for E. D. P Audit and Security Associates. She worked at the company for seven years, beginning as an intern and being promoted to the level of Associate Consultant. Working in technology, AjayiAkinfolarin discovered a large gender gap. A government survey conducted in Nigeria in 2013, found that less than 8 per cent m of professional, management or technological positions are held by Nigerian women. Wanting to help close that gap and encourage more women in her field, she established the foundation in 2012 to assist girls in developing technology skills through various programs including; GirlsCoding, G.C Mentors, GirlsInSTEM and Empowered Hands. Since 2012, the organisation has trained over 400 young women to code.

ECONOMIST: NGOZI OKONJI-IWEALA Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is an economist and international development expert.

She sits on the Boards of Standard Chartered Bank, Twitter, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), and the African Risk Capacity (ARC).

Previously, Okonjo-Iweala spent a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, rising through the ranks to the No. 2 position of Managing Director, Operations (2007-2011). She also served two terms as Finance Minister of Nigeria (20032006, 2011-2015) under the leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan.

VISUAL ARTIST: NJIDEKA AKUNYILI-CROSBY Njideka Akunyili Crosby is a Nigerianborn visual artist working in Los Angeles, California. Akunyili Crosbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art â&#x20AC;&#x153;negotiates the cultural terrain between her adopted home in America and her native Nigeria, creating collage and photo transfer-based paintings that expose the challenges of occupying these two worlds. In 2017, Akunyili Crosby was awarded the prestigious Genius Grantfrom the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In 2016, Akunyili Crosby was named Financial TimesWoman of the Year.

In 2016, a solo exhibition of Akunyili Crosbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work was held at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida. Highly respected art gallery Victoria Miro also started representing Akunyili Crosby that year. In 2017 Akunyili Crosby won the MacArthur Fellowship Genius grant.

Akunyili Crosby was one of the artists featured in Nathaniel Kahnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2018 documentary The Price of Everything where she discusses her career and attitude to the art market. It culminated with her painting Drown being sold at Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;scontemporary art auction in November 2016 for $900,000.

MEDIA MOGUL: MO ABUDU Mosunmola Abudu, usually known as Mo Abudu, is a Nigerian media mogul, media personality, philanthropist, and former human resources management consultant.

She has been described by Forbes as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Most Successful Womanâ&#x20AC;? and the first African woman to own a PanAfrica TV channel. She was listed as one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Global TV by The Hollywood Reporter in 2013 and received the Entrepreneur of the Year award by Women Werk in New York (2014). In 2014, she was honoured with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (Honouris Causa) from Babcock University.

AUTHOR: CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE Chimamanda Adichie is an award winning Nigerian novelist, writer of short stories, and nonfiction. She has written the novels Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun(2006), and Americanah (2013), the short story collection The Thing Around Your Neck (2009), and the book-length essay We Should All Be Feminists(2014). In 2008, Adichie was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant. She was described in The Times Literary Supplement as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the most prominentâ&#x20AC;? of a â&#x20AC;&#x153;procession of critically acclaimed young anglophone authors [who] is succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African literatureâ&#x20AC;?. Her most recent book, Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, was published in March 2017.

POLITICIAN/ACTIVIST: OBY EZEKWESILI Obiageli Ezekwesili, popularly known as Oby Ezekwesili, is a Nigerian chartered accountant from Anambra state. She was a co-founder of Transparency International, serving as one of the pioneer directors of the global anti-corruption body based in Berlin, Germany. She served as Federal Minister of Solid Minerals and then as Federal Minister of Education during the second-term presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. Since then, she served as the Vice-President of the World Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Africa division from May 2007 to May 2012. Ezekwesili was a 2018 nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in transparency in the extractive sector. She has actively been involved in the campaign for the return of the Chibok girls, who were abducted

by Boko Haram. Her recent foray was into politics where she contested for presidency under the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN).

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E-TRENDS

MUSIC SHOWBIZ

â&#x20AC;ŚYour weekly entertainment delight

NOLLYWOOD

Review: Comedy Nites Brings a New Flavour to the Comedy Scene Vanessa Obioha

O

n the first day of this month, renowned On-Air Personality and Compere IK Osakioduwa posted a video of him on Twitter announcing his departure from Rhythm FM, the station which shot him to spotlight. He told his fans that the next 15 days would be the last chapter of his 18-years sojourn in the media outfit. That same day, he also announced the premiere of his new TV show â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Comedy Nitesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on Africa Magic. The show airs 9.30 pm every Friday evening on DStv Africa Magic Urban Channel 153.

Comedy Nites is the presenterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second attempt at TV shows. His first production â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Highlites with IKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; only enjoyed three years on air before the DStv channel paused it. For that production, IK took a late night show format, infused with good humour and spontaneity.

For his latest effort however, IK is still tilting towards a late night show format only that in this case, it is strictly comedy.

Each episode sees three comedians entertain the crowd with jokes and a little bit of ridiculousness while an in-house DJ supply the necessary music to keep the tempo.

The first episode saw IK sharing his own witty jokes on stage about what a woman really likes in a man (which in his case is a good lover). With help from DJ Sose who played the 1984â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dance and pop tune â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hear It for the Boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by Deniece Williams, IK used the lyrics of the song to buttress his point.

The first comedian to mount the stage was Larry J. Though his jokes told in a sombre voice didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite hit home, the audience applauded his efforts. The next comedian SLK however got the audience reeling in laughter with his satirical remarks on accents and how the Yoruba speaking tribe are affected by the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;râ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; pronunciation.

Before the last comedian of the night Dan D Humorous came on stage, he engaged in a ridiculous battle with others to stuff their mouths with cubes of ice.

In a way, Comedy Nites is reminiscent of good old 90s TV shows such as Friday Night Life where comedians like the late Mohammed Danjuma displayed their comedic sides. Such platforms gave birth to some of the respected names in the comedy industry in Nigeria today.

In similar vein, Comedy Nites is providing a platform for young comedians who may not be opportuned to perform at bigger shows or garner much views on social media to display their talents.

But the show is not only for upcoming

Vanessa Obioha

IK Osakioduwa

talents. The trailer showed established and prominent acts like Ali Baba and Basketmouth in subsequent episodes. That mix of fresh and familiar faces give the show a kind of authenticity and inclusiveness.

With the paucity of such shows on smaller screens and the proliferation of comics on social media, particularly on Instagram and Twitter, Comedy Nites is a breath of fresh air. The showâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s club setting allows viewers to see comedy from a different aspect than the ubiquitous broadcast messages shared on social media channels.

That ubiquity has also increased the demand for something fresh and entertaining from comedians. It places a

kind of pressure on them to create original works instead of reworking old jokes, particularly those pursuing a career in stand-up comedy. Which is why watching Dan D Humorous making jokes about DJs and their song rotation in clubs, or addressing the overzealousness of hype men reminds one of the social trends that are affecting our lives. In essence, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what stand-up comedy is built upon: addressing the social, political and cultural issues that affects our everyday lives in an amusing format. Or like the South African stand-up comedian and host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah succinctly puts it â&#x20AC;&#x153;You laugh but it is true.â&#x20AC;?

Get Ready for Knockout This Easter

This Easter, Wale Adenuga Productions will be releasing its big budget film â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Knockoutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in cinemas across the country.

Known for comedy TV flicks such as Papa Ajasco and Friends, the production company is once again waving itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s magic wand to present laughter and entertainment on the big screens.

Slated for Easter Friday, April 19, the comedy film according to the producer, Wale Adenuga Jnr, offers Nigerians the best of comedy for the coming Easter season and beyond. Directed by one of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading female directors, Patience Oghre, the filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s narrative revolves around a boxing competition that will see the winner rewarded with a cash prize of One Billion Naira. As the news hits town, it sends a group of people into a hilarious frenzy, after which they devise mischievous means to participate with firm eyes on the prize monies. The clumsy boxer they choose and the crazy characters they meet along the way result in a myriad of mayhem and madness. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Knockoutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; parades a robust list of Nollywood celebrities and comedians like Sola Sobowale, Chiwetalu Agu, Toyin Abraham, Patience Ozokwor, Odunlade Adekola, Ngozi Nwosu, Jide Kosoko, Segun Arinze, Desmond Elliot, Hafiz

Though he refused to wear the hat of a comedian, IKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sense of humour cannot be overlooked. From his radio shows to hosting events, his witty remarks and spontaneity are some of the admirable traits that shot him to spotlight. With Comedy Nites, one cannot but notice the gradual transition from radio to TV for the funny presenter.

Not that he hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hosted TV shows before.

In fact, it was his endearing charisma on Studio 53 (now 53 Xtra) TV show that fetched him its first continental deal as a host of Big Brother Africa reality TV show.

Perhaps, he may one day have his own successful late night show or be the host of the American TV show, The Daily Show.

Hello Perfect Set for OďŹ&#x192;cial Launch Vanessa Obioha

Saka,Funky Mallam and Gentle Jack in Knockout

Oyetoro, Ali Nuhu to name a few. These characters known for their funny gimmicks

will certainly lit up the Easter mood when it debuts in cinemas.

If everything goes as planned, Hello Perfect Aesthetics and Laser Clinic will be officially opening its doors to its teeming clients this weekend. The venture is fashioned to provide various medical skincare, laser and anti-aging service to Nigerians.

Located in Victoria Island, Lagos, it hopes to become a trusted player in the African medical aesthetics industry by providing clients with affordable services, efficient and effective treatments with the highest regard for personal safety.

With over three years experience as a Senior Laser Technician to her belt, founder of Hello Perfect Aesthetics and Laser Clinic, Onyeka Udechukwu returned to Nigeria after quitting her job in the States to establish the business on a relatively small scale. Seven months into its run, it now boasts of ultra-modern equipments acquired to meet the needs of its clientele. Some of the beauty services offered by the clinic include but is not limited to laser tattoo removal, laser hair removal, skin tightening, keloid removal, acne treatment and teeth whitening.

31

F R I DAY Ëž ÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

E-TRENDS

Music Meets Football as Coca-Cola Marks its EPL Deal

Zoro performing at Coca-Cola event

Vanessa Obioha Consequent to securing the deal as the official soft drink of the English Premier League (EPL), Coca-Cola organised an extravaganza to mark the partnership with lovers of football and music. At the IMAX cinemas, Lekki, Lagos where the event took place, elements of football was deployed with its green carpet and bespoke bright red Coca-Cola footballs placed on pedestal. The event saw a good turn out from football lovers who trooped in donning jerseys of their favourite club to watch the football match between

Arsenal and Tottenham. With an abundance of refreshments, a celebratory mood was attained. Also, the event had in attendance stars like Uti Nwachukwu, Small Doctor, Kaffy, Zoro and Frank Donga.

Bolstering the spirit of sportsmanship within the different fan bases, each attendee was entered in a raffle draw to predict the correct score for the match. The match ended in a draw of one goal from each team, consequently producing four persons with correct score predictions. Ify Martins emerged winner of a brand new iPhone XS Max out of the four finalists. Giving a reaction to the raffle draws that was held, Uti Nwachukwu said:

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t support Arsenal, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t support Tottenham. I was just here to enjoy a good match. My friend actually predicted 1-1; I thought Tottenham was going to win too. But it was nice to feel the energy, the ambience, the aura of the different fans here of both clubs. It was a lot of fun.â&#x20AC;?

The end of the match only marks the start of the event as it became a platform where football meets entertainment in equal doses. The merriment lingered a while longer with medley performances from the likes of Small Doctor, Zoro and Kaffy at the reception area of the venue.

Performing right after the match, Kaffy set the tone for the evening. She later joined

TelemundoPremieresitsFirstNewTelenovelafor2019 Vanessa Obioha Fans of Telemundo telenovelas can now release their bated breath as the DStv channel finally aired its first new telenovela for the year. The new series â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;My Perfect Familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is a family comedy drama that revolves round the lives of the Guerreros. The Guerreros are an interesting mix. With their mother deported to Mexico after their father â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death, five siblings struggled to achieve their dreams in the United States of America. The eldest El Patas (Jorge Luis Moreno) is caught between taking care of his younger siblings and his drug addict wife Ashley (Natasha Dominguez). Of all his siblings he and his immediate younger sister Rosa (Laura Chimaras) were born in Mexico, making them illegal immigrants in the States. Unlike Patas, Rosa never assumed the mother â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role for her younger siblings. Instead, she depended on her beauty to get her everything she needed.

On the other hand Marisol (Gala Montes), right from an early age took upon the maternal role to cater for her siblings while pursuing her football dream. His younger brother Julian (Gabriel Tarantini) however is a headache to his siblings as he is always involved in one trouble or the other.

The baby of the house Lili (Ainhoa Paz) longs for the care of her mother.

While the siblings struggle with the obstacles and hardship that most immigrant families encounter in the States, their mother Irma Solis (Laura Flores) unknown to them already has a child for another man in Mexico.

The novela strives to bring to fore the struggles of immigrants, a recent trend that is seen in most of Telemundoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

productions.

Viewers can also relish the features of some of the familiar characters

like Flores and Montes who acted in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Part of Meâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as well as Chimaras from the thrilling â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Blood and Wineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Small Doctor at the reception to reproduce a number of dance routine for the remaining part of her act. Small Doctor thrilled with his hit single â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Penaltyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which had the crowd in a frenzied state. The final performer for the day was Zoro. With rap rhymes of Igbo vernacular fused in highlife, he took the crowd down south with many adopting the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;atilioguâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; dance step to fit in with his genre of music.

Surely, the partnership deal is one that is poised to add sweetness to the Premier League experience this year. Coca-Cola joins the likes of EA Sports, Barclays, Cadbury, Carling, Nike and TagHeuer as the seventh official partner of the EPL.

JulietIbrahimReveals WhyBeautifulLadies areMostlySingle Sunday Ehigiator One might not easily believe that Juliet Ibrahim is Ghanaian simply because she is as popular in Nollywood as she is in Ghollywood. The multi award winning actress who only recently praised men who stay faithful to only one partner, has dropped another one for the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;beautiful ladiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Speaking on her Instagram page, she said that beautiful ladies are mostly single because nobody believes they are actually single.

According to her, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Beautiful girls are mostly single because no one ever believes that they are actually singleâ&#x20AC;?.

Gala Montes in My Perfect Family

Juliet Ibrahim

32

F R I DAY Ëž ÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

NEWS

TBAGroomsCoachestoMaximisePersonal,ProfessionalPotentials Ayodeji Ake Coaching is the universal language of change and learning by partnering clients in a thoughtprovoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potentials.

Coaching is a skill that will bring about positive change for individuals and organisations, as itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a journey to self-awareness, which focuses on two things: people and results.

According to the President, International Coaching Federation (ICF), Titilayo Akisanya, in her keynote address during the just concluded graduation of certified coaches held in Lagos, coaching is a ministry that enables you to achieve various levels of potentials.

The event organised by the parent company, TBA consults, was memorable as three streams of graduands were confirmed certified professional

coaches.

For Mrs. Ajibola Ponnle, a founding director, whose foresight to develop the profession in Nigeria led to the launching of the Centre for CORE Coaching, the first Nigerian owned coach training programme to follow the international coach federation competencies and standards in West Africa, coaching has come full circle.

TBA Consults and the Centre for CORE Coaching is eternally committed to the activity of raising the quality of life for every individual, team, client, coach and business irrespective of level, regardless of race, creed or circumstance to achieve their full potentials.

The task is to make it possible and the mission is to partner organisations to raise their level of performance by changing and developing individuals from the inside out.

According to Sochi Ilomechina, the Managing Director, TBA Consults,

African dream.

She said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our experience with running this indigenous and 100 per cent home-grown coach certification programmes leaves TBA consults capable and confidence on the current state and future prospects of establishing a robust coaching culture in Nigeria.â&#x20AC;?

Meanwhile, the International Coaching Federation accredited coaches have met stringent education and experience requirements and demonstrated a thorough understanding of the coaching competencies that set the standard in the profession.

They also adhere to strict ethical guidelines as part of ICFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission to protect and serve coaching consumers because being a certified coach TBA Consults Managing Director, Sochi Ilomechina

TBA consults makes bold its success in planning such events and being a solid part of building the Pan-

African Circle Procures Patrol Boats

R-L: Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) General Manager, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), Engr. Suleiman Abdulbaki; Africa Circle Pollution Management Limited (ACPML) Regional Manager, East, Pastor Olajide Oluwayemi; NPA Principal Manager, Environment, Engr. Yunusa Ibrahim; NPA Assistant General Manager, Safety, Engr. Olukayode Omiwole; NPA Manager, Safety, Mr. Faruk Abubakar and others at the formal unveiling of two Coast Guard 36 patrol boat

In order to enhance its operations in the years ahead, African Circle Pollution Management Limited (ACPML) has procured two more patrol boats.

The purchase of the boats is in addition to the ones it got earlier namely, MV Etypou, MV Muzube 1 and MV Muzube 2.

The procurement of the two Coast Guard 36 patrol boats was in line with its desire to fulfil its mandate as contained in the agreement it signed with the Federal Government through the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

The two boats named Aderinsola and Hadiza are fitted with modern technological features to cope with their functions in Nigeria territorial waters, particularly in the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seaports situated in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar. The procurement of the boats is in accordance with the requirements of Maritime Pollution (MARPOL) 73/78, one of the key guidelines of the global maritime watchdog, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) which has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom.

With the provisions of MARPOL 73/78, the management of the NPA is mandated by

the IMO to provide adequate waste reception facilities for waste generated in vessels calling in Nigerian ports.

While unveiling the boats in a brief ceremony which took place at Tin Can Island Port (TCIP), Apapa, Lagos, the Managing Director of the NPA, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman commended the management of ACPML for the strides it has made since it signed the agreement with the Federal Government over two decades ago.Usman who was represented at the occasion by the NPA General Manager, Health Safety and Environment (HSE), Engr. Suleiman Abdulbaki noted that ACPML has done well in the execution of the provisions of the agreement it signed with the government.

Her words: â&#x20AC;&#x153;African Circle Pollution Management Limited has been in partnership with Nigerian Ports Authority for over two decades in the areas of pollution control monitoring, and management of ports reception facilities, ACPML operates in the most excellent way to the highest standard.â&#x20AC;?

The NPA Managing Director noted that the acquisition of two Coast Guard 36 patrol boats by the company was a

noteworthy achievement that deserves high commendation.

According to her, the acquisition of the boats will go a long way in enhancing the effective management of ship generated waste in accordance with the provisions in the Annexes of MARPOL 73/78 convention.

She said: â&#x20AC;&#x153; I have the privilege to commission these boats for efficient and effective management of marine pollution on our water channels.â&#x20AC;?

Speaking on behalf of ACPML, its Regional Manager, East, Pastor Olajide Oluwayemi stated that the procurement of the boats was geared towards ensuring that the company surveillance operations in line with its mandate are not hindered in Nigeria waters.

Describing the boats as â&#x20AC;&#x153;brand newâ&#x20AC;?, Oluwayemi stated that the decision to procure the boats was in furtherance of the company commitment to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of Ships (MARPOL 73/78) and in line with the provisions of port reception facilities for the NPA as contained in our agreement.

The popping of wine to herald the maiden voyage of

the boats was performed by ACPML, Finance Manager, Mrs. Deborah David to the delight of dignitaries that gathered to witness the occasion.

ACPML had in 2018 procured no fewer than 16 new specialised trucks to evacuate waste generated in ships calling in the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seaports. The procurement of the trucks was in addition to the ones it had earlier acquired in the discharge of its roles and responsibilities in Nigerian ports.

The move was in line with its desire to fulfil its mandate as contained in the agreement it signed with the Federal Government through the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

The trucks which are fitted with the latest technology features such as automated discharge and collection of waste were manufactured overseas by one of the vehicle manufacturing giants, Mercedes Benz.

They were meant to enhance the operations of the company in the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seaports situated in Lagos, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Warri and Onne as contained in the agreement it signed with the government.

improves communication, increased self-esteem/ self-confidence, increase productivity, optimised performance and improved work life balance.

According to them, becoming a professional coach affords an individual the unique opportunity of partnering people to become the best versions of themselves. Coaching is something everyone should go through. You will not only learn about how to coach others but you will also learn to self-coach.

The professional coaching certificate programme is designed to give you the theory, practice, learning materials and longterm support network needed to further your abilities as a first class coach with a business focus.

Eagle Destiny Hotel Brings Night Life to Ihiala Eagle Destiny Hotel has brought night life to Ihiala Local Government Area. Before the establishment of the hotel, Ihiala Town, where the local government is located, used to be known as a town without night life. Indigenes and other people residing in Ihiala travelled as far as Owerri, Asaba or even Awka to catch their fun.

Prince Fabian Anasonye, who saw it as a let down on Ihiala, which is the largest local government area in Anambra State, decided to go into the hospitality business. Eagle Destiny Hotel is unique, serene and affordable for low, average and high income earners, but designed to provide a whole new depth of satisfaction to its guests and customers. The 70-room fashionable and sophisticated hotel is individually decorated and tastefully furnished as to actualise the sole aim of providing comfort and relaxation to guests; which is the sole priority of the management. The hotel with a soothing ambience to nourish that appetite for taste and class is immensely stylish and aesthetically pleasing to provide comfort and make customers feel right at home during their stay.

The hotel is furnished with sufficient facilities like bar and lounge, swimming pool, three wedding and conference halls, 24-hour room service, air conditioning, high speed wireless internet access in all areas, smoking and non-smoking areas, flat-screen LCD TV, on demand music and film channels, telephone and importantly maximum security. Eagle Destiny Hotel has already hosted several prominent personalities and artists, as its a place that everyone who wants to pass the night from Onitsha to Irete, a town before Owerri city, would love to be. Just recently, Kingsley Chinweike Okonkwo, popular known as Kcee the Limpopo Master stormed the hotel to entertain customers. The hotel was fully booked from second week of December 2018 to the second week of January 2019.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Nigeria Needs to Embrace Foreign Businessesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ayodeji Ake The director of Africa Canada Trade Investment Ventures, Mr. Kenneth Oguzie has called on Nigeria government and business owners to explore foreign businesses, especially in Canada. During an interview on his visit to Nigeria in preparation for a two-day summit to hold in Canada come March 23 and 24, 2019, he noted there are businesses that can attract and grow average Nigerian businesses. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigerians can import and export to increase the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s GDP as Canada is home to world-class businesses in multiple sectors ranging from agriculture and agribusinesses, unique beverages, health foods, information and communication technologies, ocean technologies to Oil and Gas services. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most of exports to Canada consist of mineral fuels and oils, cocoa, rubber, agricultural products, lead and processed foods. There are also opportunities for increased export especially in the areas of Agriculture and Agro-business. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Products such as ginger, palm kernel oil, cocoa butter, shea butter etc. are also been imported from West Africa including Nigeria, to Canadaâ&#x20AC;? he said.

He also revealed he has provide expertise to businesses across regions to develop the the business sector and not relenting until positive development in the business sector. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As an individual and the Director of African Canada Trade and Investment ventures (ACTIV), a leader in building business bridges between Canada and Africa and connecting businesses, we provide business expertise to businesses across both regions as a result of our extensive and in-depth knowledge and understanding of both markets, including regulations, culture and access to decision Makers within the private sector as well as Governmentâ&#x20AC;? he said.

33

F R I DAY Ëž ÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

ART WEEKEND

â&#x20AC;ŚFor pure art enthusiasts

Diary of a Young and Promising Art Curator The search for young and promising art curators in Nigeria wound up at Freedom Park, Lagos Island where Kennii Ekundayo, an independent curator had a chance meeting withYINKA OLATUNBOSUN It was mutual greetings first and then curiosity inspired more questions. It became necessary to sit down so we both headed towards the elevator. As the doors pulled apart, we found our way into the administrative office at the Kongi building inside Freedom Park, a cultural hub. There are just a handful of young curators with vision and a sense of purpose. Ekundayo is one of them. She usually carries two bags, full of books to satisfy her voracious appetite for reading but last Monday was an exception. The bi-lingual curator has two years of curatorial experience derived from a lifetime of art experience. Born in Lagos, her family relocated to Jos when she was only six years old. Weaned on newspapers, she was a literary wizkid at school. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was writing in secondary school and I wrote so much and during the assembly period in the morning, some of my writings were selected for students to read aloud. These could be stories or poems,â&#x20AC;? she began.

Raised by a single parent, she quickly assumed responsibility for herself at a young age, sponsoring herself through the university years. At the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife where she studied Foreign Languages with a major in French, she survived on stipends earned through ghost-writing and writing reviews. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was writing to survive. I was a research assistant to Prof.Ogunbamero and I got paid. I shuttled between Lagos and Ife. I helped friends in reviewing their works,â&#x20AC;? the bespectacled curator recounted.

Part of her artistic experience has roots in Jos, a place known for vibrant cultural life. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The kind of art I was exposed to in Jos was the traditional form such as dance, cultural displays and festivals. Jos is a place with diverse ethnic groups such as Angas and Beromand there are several languages and cultural expressions. I had friends and neighbours and school mates who belonged to certain cultural groups,â&#x20AC;? she recalled.

As a curator with eye on contemporary visual arts, her interests are not limited to paintings or sculptures. She curates music and indeed her mental catalogue of indigenous Nigerian music predates her years. Now in her early twenties, she belongs to a generation where most music fans are more familiar with afro-pop than highlife or apala , not to mention Sakara music. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have studied about the likes of Cardinal Jim Rex Lawson, Igbo Highlife

Ekundayo

Crooners such as Dr Sir Warrior of the Oriental Brothers, Emperor Teddy Obinna, Chief Oliver De Coque; Yusuf Olatunji, Tunde Nightingale, Ganiyu Kale and if we look at the Hausa region, Bala Miller, Dan Maraya Jos. I have to go to my phone for the rest,â&#x20AC;? she said to an already impressed reporter-guest who fought hard to keep the jaws from dropping.

Ekundayo has hands-on experience in music having work as a personal assistant to Ade Bantu, managing the activities of the band including concerts.

Delving deeper into other aspects of art has equipped her with an open-minded approach to curating art. She buys a lot of books on art history and philosophy, languages and language application, humanities, sociology and sometimes, gets

suchbooks as gifts.

Asides reading, interacting with artists and curators such as Jahman Anikulapo, Tam Fiofori and the likes have contributed greatly to her knowledge base. For her, finding an artist to work with is dependent on aptitude as well as attitude. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even if we are not friends at the end of the day, we should have some kind of cordiality that will make us work together,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Meanwhile, art education, which targets young school children is an essential part of her programmes to nurture those with potentials in arts and build interest in those who may later become art collectors. She also revealed the big show for April. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Next month, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be having an exhibition that will feature Dr. Bruce Onobrak-

Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again Returns to Stage Yinka Olatunbosun As a transition from the mainland to the island, the emerging artist and CEO, Sylverscreen Arts, Sylvester Aguddah is set for the threeday solo exhibition titled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sensesâ&#x20AC;? which opens on March 1 in Lekki.

No fewer than 50 exhibits are expected to be on display.

From printing his art on fabric to making paintings from cardboards, Aguddah has carefully carved a niche for his pieces in the international market as well as across the country.

While explaining the reason behind the select title for this exhibition, the former sales manager at British American Tobacco Company explained that his new collection has been largely influenced by his sensual experience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was informed by the way

A scene from the play

I feel art connects with man as influenced by the senses (sight, smell, hear, taste, touch). People are inquisitive and like to touch. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is normally not permitted for most artworks, but this exhibition, will avail my audience the opportunity to do so; exploring their sense of touch as will other exhibits that will

explore other senses,â&#x20AC;? he said.

While focusing on collage made from mixed media, other works in this show had been produced with spray on canvas, photo art and sketches with some pieces of installation in the mix.

While reflecting on his airport-based exhibition,

he expressed the views of many whom he met during the show. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is quite unconventional, however I just love doing the unusual. This platform exposed me to a lot of people who are not even conscious of their appreciation for art. Lots of people are artistic but with busy schedules doing other things that do not allow them explore their art. This exhibition was an inspiration for them and also threw more light on the beauty of African art,â&#x20AC;? he revealed.

His recent show titled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Arts and Scentsâ&#x20AC;? was staged at the departure terminal, MMA2 in February and was a social media buzz for the period.

Aguddah has been a very prolific artist in the past few years having devoted more time to studio practice than he did in previous years whilst still in the blue-chip industry.

peya with focus on installation works achieved through the use of recycled materials,â&#x20AC;? she declared.

She has curated exhibitions for artists such as Sylvester Aguddah, Raji Bamidele and Arinze Stanley. The shows she had curated include Journeys & Discoveries (2017), Banana Island Arts Alive Exhibition (2017), Inspired Art 44 (2017), Lagos Budding 50 (2017), Collage Culture (2018), Art 45 Expo (2018), National Treasure (2018), African Pride (2018) amongst others.

She has served as colloquium researcher and rapporteur for All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA).

Beyond curating arts, Ekundayo loves cycling and actuallybought her first bicycle from the artist-cyclist, Aguddah.

Goethe Institut Announces Residency Programme for Artists and Curators Yinka Olatunbosun

Goethe Institute Nigeria in partnership with the Centre for Art and Urbanistics (ZK/U) in Berlin, the cultural office of local government Berlin Mitte, Savvy Contemporary ArtspaceBerlin and the ArtHouse Foundation in Lagos is calling for artists and curators in Lagos and Berlin for a residency programme.

Since 2015, the residency has helped to strengthen the dialogue between Germany and Nigeria. Not just an exchange programme, it opens doors of opportunities for mentoring, making contacts and work presentation.

Folakunle Oshun was the first artist and curator from Lagos to participate in this project in 2015. He

supported Nigerian artist, Emeka Ogboh at working on his solo exhibition titled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;No food for the lazy man.â&#x20AC;?

The following year, the performance and multimedia artist, Tito AderemiIbitola presented her projects that centred on issues of female identity, gender roles and racism. With ArtHouse aboard this project, the residency is now a two-way project. For the first time, two artists/curators living and working in Berlin will come to Lagos for a six-week stay each in Nigeria. At the same time, one Nigerian artist/curator will start a three-month residency in Berlin. The residency targets artists and curators who have a broad range of projects as well as some years of exhibition experience and is open till March 15.

34

F R I DAY Ëž MARCH 8, 2019

FERTILITY

with DR. KEMI AILOJE Info@lifelinkfertility.com; Website: lifelinkfertility.com 08033083580

STEP BY STEP THROUGH THE PROCESS OF IN VITRO FERTILIZATION (Part 1)

I

n fertility is now a major public health problem in Nigeria. With the increasing awareness about the causes of infertility and acceptability of Assisted Reproductive Technology in Nigeria, there has been corresponding increase in the number of clinics and patients who access these services.

In vitro Fertilization (IVF) is an assisted reproductive technique in which sperm and egg is fertilized outside the body (in a specialized laboratory) for the purpose of conception and delivery of live healthy babies.

Today we will be enlightening the public on the step-by-step process involve in an IVF cycle. This is aimed at understanding what IVF truly should entail if a patient is using their own eggs or should be needing donor egg. Patient requiring donor eggs undergo what is often referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Recipient cycleâ&#x20AC;? which we would be discussing about later in this edition.

Step 1: Evaluation and Patient Selection This stage involves series of fertility investigations which enables your physician to determine what protocol or treatment method that suits you(individualized ovarian stimulation protocol) Investigations will be recommended on individual basis and may include: r 'FSUJMJUZ QSPĂ MJOH GPS UIF GFNBMF '4) -) 130-"$5*/ EPOF CFUXFFO EBZ menses) r 5IZSPJE 'VODUJPO 5FTU 54) 5 5 r *OGFDUJPVT TDSFFOJOH )*7 )FQBUJUJT # $ 7%3- 4ZQIJMJT $IMBNZEJB r (FOFUJD 4DSFFOJOH #MPPE HSPVQ BOE genotype r*NNVOPMPHZ *NNVOF QBOFM *H" *H( IgE r/BUVSBM ,JMMFS $FMMT 4DSFFOJOH "/" "1" "/$" Immunological and Natural killer cells screening are highly recommended in women with repeated failed IVF cycles and recurrent pregnancy loss

factors that may hinder easy and successful embryo transfer. r 4'" TFNFO ĂĄVJE "OBMZTJT VTVBMMZ EPOF CFUXFFO EBZT PG BCTUJOFODF *U provides information regarding sperm quality and quantity.

r1SFJNQMBOUBUJPO (FOFUJD 4DSFFOJOH 1(5 " 1(5 . 1(5 43 r 5SBOT WBHJOBM 6MUSBTPVOE TDBO XIJDI FOBCMFT "OUSBM 'PMMJDMF $PVOU "'$ BU baseline of early menses r )ZTUFSPTPOPHSBN )4/ TPNFUJNFT referred to as sonohysterogram is a detailed minimally invasive study of the XPNC VTJOH 6MUSBTPVOE HVJEFE NFUIPE to rule out abnormalities that may hinder conception or progression of pregnancies. )4/ TFSWFT BMTP UIF QVSQPTF PG NPDL embryo transfer. r.PDL &NCSZP 5SBOTGFS NBZ CF EPOF to mimic the real embryo transfer. It allows your Physician to identify and resolve

Step 2: Calendar Review and Cycle Day Calculation Your Fertility physician will review your treatment calendar and help you understand it. You will be taught how to calculate your cycle days by the fertility nurse.

4PNF QBUJFOU NBZ OFFE UP TUBSU JOKFDUJPO PO EBZ PG NFOTFT XIJMF PUIFST NBZ CF BTLFE UP TUBSU PO EBZ PS EBZ EFQFOEJOH on the protocol.

Step 3: Stimulating Your Ovaries Your specialist prescribes injections and UBCMFUT TQFDJĂ D UP ZPVS CPEZ BOE USFBUNFOU QMBO )JHIFS EPTF PG IPSNPOBM NFEJDBtions are given to stimulate the ovaries to produce more number of good quality eggs. Injection can be commenced from EBZ PG NFOTFT BOE ZPV NBZ OFFE UP CF PO JU GPS UIF OFYU EBZT :PVS GFSUJMJUZ nurse will train you and your partner on how to prepare and use prescribed dosage of injectionscorrectly at home.

The most common hormones in the medication used to st imulate follicular growth and maturation are: r'PMMJDMF TUJNVMBUJOH )PSNPOF '4)

r -VUFJOJ[JOH )PSNPOF -)

r 3FHVMBS VMUSBTPVOE NPOJUPSJOH PG UIF development of the follicles is scheduled as necessary.

As soon as ultrasound result shows that the follicles are matured, you will be given B USJHHFS JOKFDUJPO UP Ă OBMMZ NBUVSBUF BOE SFMFBTF UIF FHHT 4USJDU JOTUSVDUJPOT BSF given regarding time of the trigger injection which must be adhered to. Following a trigger injection eggs must be aspirated CFUXFFO UP IPVST :PVS 'FSUJMJUZ 4QFDJBMJTU /VSTF QSPWJEFT TQFDJĂ DXSJUUFO JOTUSVDUJPO UP FOBCMF ZPV remember when to use your medication

and when to arrive the clinic for your egg retrieval. Failure to comply with these instructions may result in rupture of the eggs and cancelled cycle.

You are also expected to avoid cosmetics and perfumes on the day of egg retrieval as these substances have been documented to be toxic to the embryos $FSUBJO XPNFO NBZ IBWF UIFJS USFBUment cancelled during this stage due to poor response to the stimulation medications being used. The decision of the physician to cancel or continue stimulation is based on the scan report. Women over ZFBST BSFEJNJOJTIFE PWBSJBO SFTFSWF which eventually may result in poor response in which case your physician would recommend a donor back up or recipient cycle.

Step 4: Egg Retrieval This is the process of aspirating the eggs from your ovaries into a tube instead of allowing it to rupture like in natural cycles.

This procedure is done under anesthesia BOE VTVBMMZ MBTU GPS NJOVUFT 5IF anesthetist will get you ready for your anesthesia. Information as to whether you are asthmatic or allergic to certain medications or other relevant history regarding previous anesthetic use. Your fertility specialist using ultrasound guidance idenUJĂ FT BOE QJDLT VQ GPMMJDMFT UIBU BSF XJUIJO the maturation diameter. Eggs cannot be seen with the naked eyes but are contained XJUIJO UIF GPMMJDMF CBUIFE JO ĂĄVJE BOE given to the embryologists to pick up.

Before egg retrieval you will be asked not to eat or drink anything for between IPVST "GUFS SFDPWFSZ GSPN BOFTUIFTJB XIJDI UBLFT BCPVU NJOVUFT UP POF hour, you will be told when to commence normal feeding.

It is always advisable you come for your egg retrieval in company of a matured adult who is able to take you home after the procedure as you may be drowsy and not able to drive to be continued

XTRA

US, NGOs Call for Concerted Action on Marine Wildlife Conservation

I

O DPNNFNPSBUJPO PG 8PSME 8JMEMJGF %BZ UIF 6OJUFE 4UBUFT $POTVMBUF (FOFSBM JO -BHPT PO Tuesday held a program in collaboration with the International $MJNBUF $IBOHF %FWFMPQNFOU *OJUJBUJWF *$$%* BOE 8JMEMJGF PG "GSJDB $POTFSWBUJPO *OJUJBUJWF %FMJWFSJOH SFNBSLT BU UIF FWFOU BUUFOEFE by leading environmental conservation BDUJWJTUT 1VCMJD "GGBJST 0GĂ DFS PG UIF 6 4 $POTVMBUF (FOFSBM -BHPT .S 3VTsell Brooks, urged Nigerians to treat the

conservation of the oceans and aquatic wildlife as an individual responsibility, in order to preserve marine habitats for future generations.

Brooks, speaking on the theme of Life below Water, observed that as much BT QFS DFOU PG UIF XPSME T PDFBOT BSF negatively affected by human activity, including overexploitation of marine species, loss of coastal habitats and pollution. )F IJHIMJHIUFE UIF DSVDJBM JNQPSUBODF PG the oceans and marine species to human development and emphasised the neces-

sity for increased conservation education. i.BSJOF XJMEMJGF IBT TVTUBJOFE IVNBO civilisation and development for over a thousand years, from providing food and nourishment, to providing material for handicrafts and construction. We cannot take their survival for granted.

We can reduce some of the negative effects of our activity on life under the water, by working hard to spread the message to reduce marine pollution.â&#x20AC;?

Brooks said. %FMJWFSJOH XFMDPNJOH SFNBSLT FBSMJFS

UIF $PNNVOJDBUJPOT %JSFDUPS BU *$$%* .S "CJPEVO "EFLPZB OPUFE UIBU FGfective climate change mitigation in the country would require concerted action by governments and individuals, with an emphasis on conservation education, recycling programs and the creation of a MFHBM GSBNFXPSL GPS UIF OBUJPO T QPMJDZ PO the environment.

8PSME 8JMEMJGF %BZ JT PCTFSWFE BOOVBMMZ PO .BSDI GPMMPXJOH B QSPDMBNBUJPO CZ UIF 6OJUFE /BUJPOT (FOFSBM "TTFNCMZ PO %FDFNCFS

Deportation of Nigerians: FG Vows to Clampdown on Illegal Immigrants Sunday Ehigiator

$

learly dissatisfied with the deportation of /JHFSJBOT CZ UIF (IBOB *NNJHSBUJPO 4FSWJDF UIF 'FEFSBM (PWFSONFOU MBTU Wednesday, revealed that it would soon clampdown on illegal immigrants in the country.

5IF .JOJTUFS PG 1PXFS 8PSLT BOE )PVTJOH .S #BCBUVOEF 'BTIPMB XIP EJTDMPTFE UIJT BU UIF #3' (BCGFTU QSPHSBNNF UBHHFE 8IFSF "SF 5IF +PCT held in Lagos, lamented the inhumane treatment of Nigerians abroad, saying the country also has extant laws to deport illegal immigrants in the country. )F TUSFTTFE UIBU UIFSF JT DVSSFOU BVEJU of workers on so many construction sites

in the country to ascertain how many &$08"4 DJUJ[FOT XIP BSF XPSLJOH JO the sites, adding that that even though they do not need a visa to come into the country, but they need a work permit.

"DDPSEJOH UP 'BTIPMB ZPV IFBSE UIBU (IBOB EFQPSUFE TPNF /JHFSJBOT *U JT the right that every country has but it is a right we have never exercised, but we are going to exercise it now. It is just the law, every foreigner who has legitimate papers to come to Nigeria is welcomed , if you want to work in Nigeria the same regulation that applies in your country that you must get a work permit here HP BOE HFU B XPSL QFSNJU A *G ZPV EPO U have a work permit here and you are in my site I will take you out. That is already happening. I refused to approve payment for one consultant two months ago because I said I wanted to see his work permit and make sure it was valid for the period the job was done and

thankfully he produced it and he was paid. These are the policies about of jobs and employment that are in place CZ UIF 1SFTJEFOU .VIBNNBEV #VIBSJ T HPWFSONFOU )F TBJE UIF JTTVFT PG KPC DSFBUJPO JO the country was hampered by policies enunciated by previous administration JO UIF DPVOUSZ %XFMMJOH PO KPC DSFBUJPO strategy of the present administration, he said the president has issued an exFDVUJWF 0SEFS LOPXO BT &YFDVUJWF 0SEFS 'JWF )F TBJE 8IBU &YFDVUJWF 0SEFS Five seeks to achieve is that anytime our economy produces opportunity we must ensure that if Nigerians are able to do that job, we should give them preferFODF 'BTIPMB SFNJOJTDFE UIBU BGUFS BCPVU /JHFSJBOT GPVOE UIFNTFMWFT JO difficult business terrain owing Nigerian CBOLT PWFS / USJMMJPO UIF HPWFSONFOU of the day then bailed the banks out with / USJMMJPO JO PSEFS OPU CSJOH UIF DPVO-

USZ T CBOLJOH TZTUFN EPXO BOE DPMMBQTF the economy.

The minister noted that while there was nothing wrong in supporting them OPU UP DSJQQMF UIF FDPOPNZ UIF people involved never showed any sign of remorse , neither did the government that was in power then deem it fit to ensure some lesson were learnt from the drawbacks their actions or inacUJPOT DBVTFE UIF DPVOUSZ )F FYQMBJOFE that the lesson from that experience informed why the Buhari led government decided to support people at the base of the pyramid by starting with social intervention funds to cushion poverty and established N-power and school feeding programme for over nine million children, among others.

Fashola said the programmes had overtime created a linkage support for farmers producing the food stuff needed to keep the programme going.

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COLLAGE EVENTS

Cleric Calls for Reformation of Polity As lecture holds March 14 Mary Nnah

L-R : Moven Vice President, Andrew Clark; Inlaks Executive Director, Olufemi Muraino; Moven International Business, Anil Uttamsingh; Inlaks Managing Director, Femi Adeoti, and, Moven Global Revenue OďŹ&#x192;cer, Kesh Talwar, during a courtesy visit to Inlaks head oďŹ&#x192;ce by Moven in Lagos...recently

L-R: Groomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father and Chairman, Vigeo Communications Limited, Mr. Victor Gbolade Osibodu; brideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother and Managing Director, 10-10 Furnitures, Mrs. Muni Sonibare; couple, Abimbola and Tobi Osibodu; groomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother and former GMD, Union Bank, Mrs. Funke Osibodu and brideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father and Afenifere Chieftain, Chief Supo Sonibare (SAN), during the church wedding at Catholic Church of Perpetual, Victoria Island, Lagos...recently

Ahead of his birthday lecture schedule for March this year, Rt. Rev. Monseigneur John Aniagwu, Vicar General, catholic Archdiocese of Lagos and Parish Priest, St Leoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catholic Church, Ikeja, has lent his voice to the call for the reformation of Nigeria and devolution of powers to the regions to give room for competitive economic advantage.

Aniagwu faulted the current constitution saying it is flawed and not good for us today, insisting that restructuring is the only viable way for Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development and stable polity otherwise Nigeria will continue to go round and round. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The current constitution was made for the elite and not for the ordinary Nigerians. It is a constitution that made the political class a master class and the citizens as subservient servants. That is where we should start. It is a constitution that vests too much power at the center and render the states beggars; they call it restructuring, I am all for it.â&#x20AC;?

He said that in the past when a lot of powers were vested in the regions, the region did many things for themselves, there was healthy competition. He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;That was before the military intruded unto the political scene to take over power, noting that the way things are now only very few states in Nigeria are viable. Let me tell you, if they do not receive subvention from Abuja, making the state to look like beggars, the states are as good gone.â&#x20AC;?

Aniagwu who will be 75 on March 15, this year, has programmes lined up by the committee of friends to honour him for his selfless service to God and humanity. Part of the birthday celebration would be a public lecture titled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tunk Et Nusâ&#x20AC;? (What was and What Is Now in Nigeria), to be delivered by Rev. Father (Prof) Anthony Akinwale, the Vice Chancellor of St. Dominic University.

The lecture, which is to explore the changing values of the Nigerian society, has been billed for March 14 at the St Leo Catholic Church, Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos.

Speaking further on the public lecture, Barr Eugene Ossai, chairman of the public lecture, said the committee of friends of father John who have been observing his good deeds over the years have decided to come together to mark his birthday with a public lecture.

Extolling the virtues of Aniagwu, Mr. Sule Ozenua, chairman of the committee of friends said Father Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first love is the welfare of the people; to see that there is justice for all in the society, the necessary condition for peace and development. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He has always campaigned for social justice and equity in the society. This is the reason the topic was chosen.â&#x20AC;?

Ozenua who described him as a widely read and travelled man of God with several international awards said the public lecture would explore the changing values of the Nigerian society and the role of church in restoring societal values for human development.

CRAN Holds Memorial Service for Osuji, Crime Reporter Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN), will on Friday, March 15, 2019, hold a memorial service for Mr. Chibuike Newman Osuji, who until his death was the crime correspondent for The Source Magazine and an active member of the association.

Osuji died after a protracted illness that kept him as an in-patient at a Lagos private hospital for months.

The 52-year-old Osuji who hailed from Amato, Avuvu Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State was said to have passed on, in the early hours of last Sunday.

Since his death was announced, journalists on the Crime beat his immediate constituency have been in mourning mood as Osuji who is survived by his aged mother, siblings and relatives was an amiable and committed member of CRAN largely loved by his colleagues.

Throughout his days in the hospital, CRAN members ably led by Mr. Odita Sunday of the Guardian Newspapers did their best in terms of prayers, financial and moral support to ensure that he recovered. Regrettably, death had its way. In a statement by the leadership of CRAN, there will be a service of songs in his honour on Friday March 15, 2019 at his No. 1 Sikiru Alimi Street, Ijesha Lagos beginning at 5pm while burial arrangements would subsequently be announced by his family.

L-R: Mainland District Coordinator (WM), Rev (Mrs.) Bright Okorie; Assistant District Coordinator, Pastor (Mrs.) Charity Awazie, and District President Lagos Mainland Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ministries, Barrister (Mrs.) Joy Ezeigbo, during the district fellowship themed â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Women of Resolution Faithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; held at Assemblies of God Church in Lagos

L-R: Founder and spiritual leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Lagos State, Primate Elijah Ayodele, while receiving the distinguished Gold Service award from Director-General of Center for Democratic Governance in Africa (CDGA), Dr. Dafe Akpocha, and Director Protocol, Pastor Chizee Awo, during the presentation in Lagos...recently

Osuji

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F R I DAY ˾ MARCH 8, 2019

POTPOURRI

Toyin Ogunbambi: I Have no Godfather Toyin Ogunbambi, the Lagos gubernatorial candidate of People’s Trust Party, is not just your ordinary politician. Prior to her foray into politics, she had practiced law for over three decades, with speciality in debt recovery, environmental laws, commercial and a bit of maritime. In celebration of the International Women’s Day, SUNDAY EHIGIATOR in this exclusive interview picks her mind on how she hopes to govern Lagos without the influence of godfatherism if elected, amongst other sundry issues. Excerpts: emerge your party’s choice?

What can you tell us about you?

I am a legal practitioner of over three decades. I am a specialist in debt recovery, environmental laws, commercial and a bit of maritime. I resigned from Nigerian Ports Authority in 1991 as the Port Legal adviser; container terminal to be precise. And since then I have been in active practice with the name Toyin Ogunbambi and Co, which later in year 2000, metamorphosed to Gracefield Solicitor and Advocate in order to go with the times and likewise accommodate partners.

Why are you running for governor?

I am running for two reasons; one has to do with the spiritual aspect, which entails correcting anomalies, and generally, when you see things that are not right, as a godly person, you need to correct them. We all grew up in Lagos.

It used to be a very clean state. We could even sleep in front of the house till the following day. But now, we have a lot of wrongs, everywhere is filthy.

But I never thought I will someday be a number one candidacy, all I kept doing was praying for Nigeria and Lagos state in particular over the years, and contributing my little quota in trying to eradicate poverty from the country through diverse humanitarian services cutting across youth and community empowerment.

But I realised that there is little you can do outside authority. To make maximum change, you need to be in control of power to some certain degrees. So after moments of prayers, I had this nudge to go into politics and put in my best and correct all these things I have disdain for. Hence I chose a completely new party; ‘Peoples Trust’, without an iota of idea that I would be chosen to carry the governorship flag for the party, till it happened.

Hence, I considered it the will of God and accepted the call to service.

Peoples Trust Party is relatively new, how has it been especially in keeping up with the popular parties?

We need to be educated. Even those of us that are well read, some of us are not educated. They went through universities but it never went through them. We need to put things in proper perspectives. We need to sensitise them to do the right things so we can have the best. We must get it right within, change peoples mindsets before we can achieve a physical change.

Personally, I thought there would be a political climate for at least one of the new parties to thrive, but I tell you, the conditions were too stringent for new parties to thrive in this country.

Everything is attached to money.

Like the issue of party agents. We can have agents without paying them for goodness sake. In Lagos state there are over 8,000 polling units. Where do we get the monies from? The minimum an agent would want to take from you for that day is N2,500.

I don’t have a godfather, and neither do I have any money, but my party has put in the best they could for me. And I know by the end of the day we can’t be a failure. We would do our best as much as we can to convince Lagosians to trust us and give us the privilege to serve them. We will show them quality governance if they vote for us.

And where you have over 8, 000 polling units, what then do you do to raise about N20 million to satisfy agents.

Where you do not have any agent at a polling boot, even if a million people had voted for you, they would record zero for you. And I think that is one of the reasons most of the new parties couldn’t make it in the presidential elections like we saw. So it wasn’t a keen competition. A keen competition would give equal leverage to everyone,

I happen to be a very optimistic person. I believe everything is possible.

I am a Christian, and if God says that He can do everything and we are created in His own image, I think I do can do everything. I believe among others, what stood me out; because I said to them, I don’t have money for politics, I just want to be a member and add value to your party. I think my being optimistic that we can make it went a long way in making them trust me to fly the party’s flag in that respect.

What are the challenges deterring women from politics in Nigeria?

First, we are mainly and usually intimidated. Secondly, most people feels that there are some positions a woman should not fill. But when it comes to bearing children and raising same, we are the ones that go through the pains and hurdles. So if we could do that, why should people think we cannot play other roles nicely?We are more careful. And from this little time I have come out, I have realised that men do not want to even give women space at all. So it is a societal construct.

Ogunbambi

so there is no superman coming with super money. These are some of our reasons we tagged our campaign ‘Lagos Rebirth’.

You mentioned sanitation as an area you would look into. Why is that?

I read environmental Law at first degree level and masters. And I know what it is for a place to be filthy. Everywhere in Lagos is filthy. The bible says cleanliness is next to Godliness.

That means for you to have God come around you, you must be clean. And for you to live healthy, you must consciously maintain a hygienic environment.

I salute the past governor ’s including the incumbent, but I want to come in and add my values to what is existing.

When we talk about cleanliness, we also need to address the issue of thugs; it is also part of sanitation. What are they doing on the streets? As a mother, I am not happy. We need to take them off the streets and put them in one vocation or another. And I know we can can do it.

If Apapa trucks can be cleared within a day during the president’s campaign visit, though they returned after he left, we can do same in the area of taking thugs off the street. We also need to sanitise ourselves. We need a lot of awareness.

Asides sanitation, what other areas would you be focusing on?

I don’t have a godfather, and neither do I have any money, but my party has put in the best they could for me. And I know by the end of the day we can’t be a failure. We would do our best as much as we can to convince Lagosians to trust us and give us the privilege to serve them. We will show them quality governance if they vote for us

Education is key in achieving a lot.

Every child must go to school. This would be mandatory in our administration. We would urge every child to go to school right from creche because we learn from the cradle to the grave.

Infrastructure as well. We can have alternative routes. While we are trying on the gigantic projects, we can make alternatives for ourselves to make things easier. We have portholes everywhere, we need to really go back to the drawing board. We will have a team that would go round Lagos and see where we need to make amends for improved maintainance culture and ease on commuters. Then power would also be focused on. If everywhere is illuminated there will be no hiding place for crime. Thank god it has drastically reduced, that is why I give kudos to the past administration and the incumbent, they tried, but I want to come in and take it further.

On economy, I think we would looked towards reducing taxes to achieve maximum compliance. Why would someone earning N100,000 be made to pay N75,000 as tax? Entrepreneurs are worst hit. Sometimes they don’t make money as much as they made the previous months, yet they are heavily taxed. They end up folding up.

I want to bring farmers to the market. I want to close that gap between farmers and the consumers.

Why must we always bring produce from the north before we eat? We can have hectares of farmlands and call it ‘The Agric Areas’ in Lagos. We will grow as many crops as we can, and get the marketers to come and buy right from Lagos. That will reduce food prices, bridge gap between farmers, create jobs among others.

As it is said, according to a local dictum, “where there is food, there is no poverty”.

Then our government would be youth inclusive. The world has gone global.

Youth-led innovations are making difference all over the world. There is a need to inculcate youths in government, so we can compete globally. We would make youth commissioners and put them in strategic positions so they can drive the state forward. Generally, the citizens welfare would be paramount.

What stood you out that made you

Do you think Lagosians are ready for a female governor?

That I cannot answer because I cannot pierce through their minds. But I know as a woman, that they had better be ready because we have to get it right and somebody has to do it. I have offered myself to serve.

If elected, what would your focus be within the first 100 days in office?

Firstly would be the environment, so we can have a base to lay other foundation on. I may maintain the PSP’s but they would be strategically modified and supervised. Also the civil service must be upgraded. They need to be trained for awareness and they need to be updated. Including every security agencies we have in Lagos-they need to be updated because crime is not static.

What does Toyin Ogunbambi represent as a brand?

I represent probity and accountability.

Until we get to that level where you can account for every kobo you spent, that is when you have a rebirth.

Will you agree for a coalition?

That’s for the party to decide. But personally, I can step down and support a candidate I believe can do a better job to form a coalition and become the third force to challenge the two existing most popular parties. This was what I expected from the last election but it was unfortunate that non of them were willing for that, which amounted to why their votes were insignificant compared to the bigger two.

Your campaign isn’t flamboyant, any reasons for this?

I said in my preamble that the narrative must change. We don’t need to be in ‘Aso-Ebi’ or exhibit too much paparazzi before we can win. What we were asked to do is to campaign either through door to door or publicly, and we have adhered strictly to that. As said, we are not a money bag party, we are here to correct abnormalities. And change comes with so many sacrifices. We won’t engage in defacing the walls of Lagos state with our posters but explore other sanitised and effective means to campaign which we have been doing. I guess that’s the reason you feel that way, but surely the end shall justify our means on that day. We would take a lot of people by surprise by our performance tomorrow.

On a side note, how do you unwind?

I read to unwind. I just pick a book with my suya and any juice or water by the side. I take my time to go through every lines with a relaxed mind.

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F R I DAY Ëž ÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

ENTREPRENEUR

Holding Brief for Gender Balance Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? ĂĄĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;ËŞĂ? Ă&#x2039;ĂŁ ͺ͸͚ΠåĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ë&#x153; ËŤ Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x153;ËŹË&#x153; Ă&#x153;Ă?Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C; Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2013;Ă?âĚ&#x2039; Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x161;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2022;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013;Ě&#x2039;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2014; ĂĄĂ?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; ĂĄĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17D;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;ĂĄ Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2014;ËŞĂ? Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x203A;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;ĂŁ Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? ĂĄĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă?Ë&#x203A; YINKA OLATUNBOSUN ĂĄĂ&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă?

Mrs Soibi Ovia

DOA Women- Group

P

erhaps, the ultimate basis for conversation with Mrs. Soibi Ovia came when she declared: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The ratio of men to women at our law firm is in equal proportion. We have slightly more women working in our legal team than we do men, however we have slightly more men working in our administrative and support team than we do women.â&#x20AC;?

That sounds fair but certainly, it is quite atypical to find a higher percentage of lawyers in a busy commercial firm to be women. Arguably, a lot of women struggle with family dynamics that may impede active legal practice.

With the harsh working conditions at most commercial law firms, late closing hours are sacrosanct. In a bid to stay aboard legal practice, female lawyers often work independently or engage in civil service where the working hours remain â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;civilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

With the hope of unearthing the age long issues of gender disparity and stereotypes, Ovia was sought after during a busy week coloured by the global campaign for gender balance.

She began with her view on what International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day means.

She said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day is significant to me as a day dedicated to celebrating women as per their achievements and successes without focusing on divisions in nationality, ethnicity, color, language, culture, class, economic or political standing in life. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day beyond being a celebration of the contribution of women to humanity and the admiration of the struggles of womankind, reflects a hope in the possible unity of humanity. It inspires thoughts of hope in the desire for a world where humans do not distinguish discriminate and divide themselves based ongender, color, nationality, ethnicity, social, economic or political standing.â&#x20AC;?

Called to the bar at about a decade ago, she had made significant progress being a partner at a leading commercial law firm even with the task of being a committed mother of three.

Many women lawyers have completely different stories to share, pursuing other interests and dreaming of wearing the wig and gown again, someday.

But the years wore on and the dream turns elusive.

For Ovia, DOAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flexible working hours for pregnant andnursing mothers has made the firm a trailblazer in gender inclusivity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our firm always feels privileged to celebrate our women talent and on the International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day as we show our unwavering commitment to a more inclusive work environment where our people are not divided based on tribe, race, colour, gender or class, but where we exist as a team of persons working towards a common goal,â&#x20AC;? she said.

What the firm is doing may seem inconsequential to someone who is oblivious of the history of gender stereotypes in legal practice in Nigeria.

A case in point is the number of women who joined the rank of senior advocates of Nigeria. Purely reflective of a male-dominated profession, it took ten years for the first woman, Chief Folake Solanke SAN, CON to be conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

That was a milestone of the period. The gender margin is still very wide every time a new list of lawyers is released by the Legal Practitionersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Privileges Committee.

In 2012, Nigeria got her first female Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloma Mariam Mukhtar who has since retired from the bench. With no female justice in sight for the role, it begs the question of gender disparity which Ovia evaluated from a factional perspective. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The mandatory retirement age for Justices means there are a number of Justices who would never become CJN including a number of female Justices.

No doubt, if we have more female Justices elevated to the Supreme Court, we may see our chances of having another Female CJN emerge in the near future,â&#x20AC;? she observed.

Another area that women lawyers are hardly seen is election petition trials.

As aggrieved political candidates head to the court for legal redress, it is most unlikely that female lawyers would be sought after in the heat of accusations and counter-accusations of electoral malpractices to represent clients in court-with the prospect of securing victory over the opponent with a favourable judgment.

Ovia explained that the prevalence of male participation in election petition matters may be approached from a deductive point of view rather than a stereotype point of reasoning. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Election petition is heavily hinged on politics which is a field with low female participation and active involve-

ment. Dispute resolution practice, particularly litigation in Nigeria is perceived as arduous and not femalefriendly, thus the female to male practice index is lower when placed side by side other practice area,â&#x20AC;? she observed.

In addition, she pointed out that the perceived stereotypes in the legal profession is not confined to the profession itself. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every industry or profession has its stereotypes, the legal profession is not an exception. For instance, there is a predominant assumption that litigation lawyers are mostly men and where female litigators exist, they deal mostly with non- contentious matters.

There is also the notion that a company secretary should be a woman. There have been various arguments proposed to defend these stereotypes, however it should not be that a person, regardless of their skillset, and experience becomes more suited for a role only based on his or her gender,â&#x20AC;? she affirmed.

Though maintaining gender balance in recruitment and promotion process is vital, Ovia argued strongly that DOA has been very transparent in building a team that reflects balance. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At Duale, Ovia & Alex-Adedipe, we ensure that we createa balanced and equal opportunity for our people and an environment conducive for every member of our team. The firm adopts a transparent performance based system for recruitment, promotions and professional development by ensuring the key performance indicators and assessment points are available to every team member undergoing the process,â&#x20AC;? she pointed out.

In the area of legal scholarship, Ovia noted that there has been an increase in the number of female legal authors citing copious examples. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the past, the legal literature was largely male. This has seen some radical change over the years as the number female legal authors are rapidly increasing. Professor M.T Okorodudu-Fubaraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Law of Environmental Protection, Mrs. Funke Adekoya SANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s multiple publications the Transnational Dispute Management Journal and Joy Ezeiloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Law, Reproductive Health and Human Rightsreflect the change in the legal literature space formerlyentirely male,â&#x20AC;? she said. International Federation of Women Lawyers with the acronym FIDA drawn from its Spanish rendition is one of the international non-governmental organisations in the world

had been proactive in championing the rights of women as well as children.

Ovia believes that have more replications of this organisation spell good tidings for women. She said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Associations with similar goals targeted at female lawyers will contribute immensely to promoting and strengthening the rights and interest of female lawyers.â&#x20AC;?

Sexual harassment is a commonplace practice in the work environment, sometimes accounting for why some women have missed out on promotions or other opportunities. Ovia has just one prescription for any woman living with this emotional burden. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Speak up! This has also been my ethos on the issues of sexual harassment and bias at the workplace generally. I believe there is no justice in silence and that the more women voice out about their experiences in the workplace and outside of the workplace, the more they lend a credible voice to the women all over the world to stand up and speak up against all forms of harassment, bias and discrimination,â&#x20AC;? she said.

The role of female-to-female mentoring towards advancingtheir careers of women lawyers was broached with Ovia who agre e d t h a t i t i s i n c re d i b l y i m p o r t a n t f o r f e m a l e l a w y e r s w h o h a v e r i s e n t h ro u g h t h e ranks- against all odds and negat i v e s t e re o t y p e s - t o t h e p i n n a c l e o f t h e i r c a re e r s t o c o n s t a n t l y s t r i v e t o empower the younger and upcomi n g g e n e r a t i o n s t h ro u g h m e n t o r i n g sessions. â&#x20AC;&#x153; T h e s e p ro g r a m m e s a re s o v i t a l t o t h e g ro w t h a n d u p l i f t m e n t o f t h e y o u n g e r g e n e r a t i o n a s i t p ro v i d e s a blue print to avoid past mistakes a n d s h o w s a ro a d m a p t o a c h i e v e s u c c e s s i n a n y c h o s e n c a re e r, â&#x20AC;? s h e added.

Ovia places emphasis on competence as key to securing gender b a l a n c e i n v a r i o us fields. While the political terrain may seem daunting for women, she affirms that DOA will not create negative stereotypes in legal practice with its culture of gender equality. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At DOA, we make it a duty to initiate ALL lawyers in any area of practice as their competence allows for. We do not see any practice area as too volatile for any gender and encourage all our lawyers to tackle issues arising in any given situation they encounter,â&#x20AC;? she declared.

38

F R I DAY Ëž ÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

METRO

â&#x20AC;ŚYour city life in print

Women as Irreversible Social Change Agents Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁ Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17D; Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă?Ă&#x;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2014; Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ë&#x153; ĂĄĂ&#x2039;Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; ĂĄĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2013;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă? Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x203A;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;ĂŁË&#x153; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁ Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă?Ă&#x;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄĂ&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D;Ă? ĂĄĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2DC; Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄĂ?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ë&#x203A; MARY NNAH ĂĄĂ&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A

s a child, I was told that life is a race, but as I grew older, it dawned on me that the female folk have more hurdles on their track. As a child, I was told everyone has a choice to make, but as I grew older, I discovered that women had their choices made by men. We should not speak in public; we must not aspire; we dare not dream; we cannot compete. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These debasing statements are well articulated in our cultural practices, and it is very wrong. Our potentials, they say, is no potential. They say we are born to be subjects, and as subjects we should forever be. The greatest error of mankind is the idea that men and women are no equal.â&#x20AC;?

The above statement set off the speech delivered by wife of Ondo State Governor, Chief Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu at the very first summit organised by the Forum for Wives of Ondo State Officials (FOWOSO), which held recently at the Arcade, Igbatoro Road, Akure, Ondo State.

Akeredolu who said the underage marriage of girl-child, incest and rape were some of the factors that contributed to the economic quagmire the nation finds itself today as women who are supposed to contribute to the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development have been confined to the kitchen. She stressed that women were excluded from some professions, adding however that women should not be discriminated against as a result of their sex.

Making a Case for Women Rhetorically, she said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;You, who say women canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be warriors, have you not heard of Queen Moremi of Ile -Ife, or are you unaware of the exploits of Queen Amina of Zaria? And who said women canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t handle science? Have you not heard that the mathematical calculations that made it possible for any human being to land on the moon was solved by Katherine Johnson, an African-American woman? Who also said that women canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be wealthy? Maybe you are yet to meet Folorunsho Alakija or Oprah Winfrey. Who said women canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lead a nation?â&#x20AC;?

Still speaking further with the force that could wake a woman with the deep desire to aspire to achieve greatness in life, Akeredolu said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;You should learn from Angela Merkel, Theresa May and more recently, Ethiopian President, Sahle-Work Zewde. To say women canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, is the most demeaning thing to sayâ&#x20AC;?.

Emphatically, she said it was clear that it is to no oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s benefit to suppress the abilities of women by denying them education, marrying them off against their will and confining them to the kitchen, adding that nations should invest significantly in their human resources, female and male alike, without bias. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone must be allowed to unleash their potentials without preference to any particular gender. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How do we expect to develop if women, who make up more than half of the entire population are restricted to kitchen duties and child rearing only and are then expected to, like serfs, totally depend on their husband for every need. It is simple economics - a high dependency ratio automatically results to stalled development. Knowing this, I have dedicated my life to driving gender equality, not because I love the female folk more, but because I seek the growth and advancement of humanity as a whole,â&#x20AC;? she added.

She therefore said that the nation cannot develop without investment, not only in education but in girl-child as women contribute to the economic development of the country.

Stressing further, the Ondo First Lady said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Women can and should fully participate in engineering the development of our beloved country, Nigeria. Although,

Mrs. Betty Akeredolu (right) explains some of her works to wife of Ekiti State governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi during the FOWOSO summit

From left, Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, his wife, Betty and wife of Ogun State Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Olufunso Amosun at the event

Some of the Ondo women at the FOWOSO event

the older women have lost many years to silence and passiveness towards national development, I believe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not too late for them to get involved.â&#x20AC;?

It was as a result of this mind-set that she initiated the coming together of women in Ondo State and indeed, they have succeeded in building an army of resolute change makers who have ignited the cause of women empowerment for socioeconomic development in Ondo State.

FOWOSO Platform Already, these l women under the FOWOSO platform have impacted the lives of thousands of Ondo State women within one year, through skill acquisition,

empowerment and health awareness programmes. The FOWOSO Women are actually proving to the world that women can drive economic growth in any nation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone should note that Ondo Women are now limitless, we are unstoppable. Whether the male folk want us to participate in developmental process or not, we will participate. Even if we are not invited to the policy table, like Meghan Markel said, we will get our chairs and squeeze it in somewhere. That time is no more where women will wait to be called before joining the conversation, the FOWOSO women are joining the conversation uninvited and it has been profitable to everyoneâ&#x20AC;?, Akeredolu said

further.

While expressing joy that Fowoso is having its first anniversary, Akeredolu said it was worthy of note that the forum has been able to build women who would make a change in the socio economic development of the state.

FOWOSO, she revealed, has provoked a social change for the protection of every child, for the empowerment of every woman and for the development of Ondo State, adding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We started this laudable cause and it is gaining global attention and trust. We acknowledge the support of a number of men who unlike others, decided to be regarded as â&#x20AC;&#x153;He For She.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;That is, men who believe in the remarkable and limitless abilities of women and are doing all they can to ensure these abilities are maximised, without any equivocation, I make bold to say that my husband is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Numero Uno, He For She.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The pursuit of gender equality is definitely daunting, many rocks of stereotypes are particularly exacting, but when more men join us, we are further Strengthened to prevail quickly. But whatever the case, we shall prevail.â&#x20AC;?

Clamour for More Representation The first FOWOSO Summit also had in attendance state governors, first ladies, World Bank personnel, and other stakeholders from public, private organisations, traditional rulers and heads of religious organisations who praised Akeredolu on her giant strides in grassroots women and youth empowerment through FOWOSO. The Executive Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, congratulated Mrs Akeredolu and appreciated the Ondo State Governor for his massive support for FOWOSO. He described women as essential change agents who are capable of making positive social change if given the opportunity in their chosen professions.

The governor said majority of â&#x20AC;&#x153;irreversible social change agentsâ&#x20AC;? are women who carry â&#x20AC;&#x153;the burden of success of a manâ&#x20AC;?, adding that the society is replete with women who are â&#x20AC;&#x153;active change agentsâ&#x20AC;? that can make a difference in governance and other spheres of human endeavours.

Fayemi was of the opinion that there was a low representation of women in government, and so appealed for a representative number of women in governance who, according to him, will make a huge difference as active change agents.

Unlocking Hidden Potentials Senior Health Specialist, World Bank, Liberia, Dr Munirat Ogunlayi who spoke on the summitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Unlocking Hidden Potentials in Girls and Women: A Task for All,â&#x20AC;? enumerated the factors responsible for hiding potentials in women to include poverty, sociocultural norms, abuse, religion, amongst others and their implications to the society, while proffering measures to unlock the hidden potentials of women through sound education, leadership development and mentoring, equal opportunities, enabling environment, and governmental support, to mention a few.

Highlights of the event included parades and march-past by women of different LGAs within Ondo State, cancer awareness displays and raffle draws, which had lucky winners, go home with over several sewing machines, hair dryers, generators and many other valuable items that could be used in generating income for their livelihood.

In just within one year of its existence, FOWOSO has given succour to many women in the state mostly in the area of empowerment, breast cancer control and early detection, liberation from poverty and host of others.

39

F R I DAY Ëž ÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

CRIME&SECURITY

Championing the Cause against Rape, Domestic Violence

Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;ËŞĂ? Ă&#x2039;ĂŁË&#x153; MARY NNAH Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2022;Ă? ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x161;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17D;Ă Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁĂ&#x2DC; ĂŁĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x201C;Ë&#x153; ĂĄĂ&#x2019;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă? Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄĂ?Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x;Ă&#x2013; Ă Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17D;Ă Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă?ĂŁ Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x17E;ĂĄĂ&#x2122; ĂŁĂ?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁ Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17D; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x2039; Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2122;ĂĄĂ&#x2DC; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2022;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x153; ĂĄĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x161;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă?ĂĄË&#x203A; âĂ?Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ë?

You were on a two-year hiatus before you came back to advocacy.

Why did you take a break?

I was having my last baby and there were some complications which put my health at risk. So it was a much needed break. I shut down everything and focused on getting better.

Now that you are back, what projects are you currently working on?

The Ochanya Ogbanje episode forced me out of my comfort zone. I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really ready to come out into the open at the time I did but hearing that a 13 year old child had died from VVF complications because she had been consistently molested sexually every night for five years was just really heart-breaking for me.

And the first thing I did was to organise a Sit-out to protest rape. That was to lend my voice to the sea of voices protesting the injustice done to Ochanya and the Ogbanje family because as a rape survivor I felt her pain and the pain of the people most affected by her demise. CODE BLACK was the name of the project. Nollywood Actress Michelle Dede also backed that project and came out to support us.

We intend to host more Code-Black Sit-outs in protest of rape and domestic violence.

I have also begun an online movement called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Girl Advocateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. We push online campaigns to foster our cause which is gender equality. Just a few weeks ago I joined the MITV train to feature regularly on Ify Onyegbuleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bumper breakfast show to anchor a segment where I just address some of these abuse issues. So thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a lot Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m doing now.

Are there things you find improved or derailed in the advocacy sector since youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been away?

I find that the advocacy community is beginning to collaborate more than ever. People within the sector are more open to team work and project collaborations than we used to experience in the past. And thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good thing.

What has derailed I think still points to systemic failures and the onus is on government to fix that. We are experiencing an alarming increase in the cases of domestic violence and paedophilia as well as rape. The advocacy community realises the threat this negative bursts portend to us as a people. I think that also informs our willingness to work collectively now instead of embarking on solo drives.

Why do you think these vices are on the rise?

Truth is: itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s somewhat of a puzzle.

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d think that with all the sensitization machinery that civil society has put in place to create more awareness, people would be more enlightened to take action and forestall these things.

In my opinion, government needs to be more proactive. Enact and enforce laws that protect girls and women.

The justice system isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as simple and accessible as it should be. Women should feel protected enough. They should know that if they run to the law it will provide a covering for them.

Some women are in abusive conditions because they cannot afford the judicial process that will keep their abusers away from them. They canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford lawyers who will push for divorce proceedings or get restraining

Eyitemi

orders for them to keep them safe.

If you look at the brazen attitude men have towards abuse in this country, you know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because they can get away with almost anything.

How will your movement tackle these issues you have raised?

Obviously we need to double efforts in our sensitisation campaigns. We must not stop spreading the message that women should choose life over marital status. My mother died of complications from domestic violence and I was just 15years old when it happened, so, I am very passionate about this message

Obviously we need to double efforts in our sensitisation campaigns. We must not stop spreading the message that women should choose life over marital status. My mother died of complications from domestic violence and I was just 15years old when it happened, so, I am very passionate about this message. Everywhere we go I tell my story so that one woman can take a preventive action to save her own life.

Nowadays, we also liaise with more NGOs to push for legislations that will improve the lot of women in this country. One more thing we have begun doing is to make ourselves really accessible. Now people just buzz me on Facebook and bring cases to me via inbox. I get my team on it, we do a thorough investigation and take prompt action. When it is a case that my team canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t manage I simply involve other organisations or even totally hand it over to them if it is not in my jurisdiction.

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be amazed at the level of ignorance in this country because a lot

of people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where children welfare offices are. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know that they can run to FIDA for help. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know that there is the office of The Public Defender where they can access free representation. So we just point people in the right directions or even help them make the call.

What are the challenges you have encountered in your work so far?

One of the biggest challenges I would say come from the victims themselves.

A child is raped, a report comes in.

You investigate, make calls, travel sometimes to see them and encourage them to press charges only for the parents of the child to develop cold feet. Sometimes the families of the rapist bribes or intimidates them into silence. So either from fear or poverty, they totally refuse to go along with you on the journey to obtain justice and there is nothing we can do about it. Until we have laws enacted that compel people to report Child Abuse cases or face jail term, we will just be dealing with these kinds of brick walls.

40

F R I DAY Ëž ÍśË&#x153; Ͱ͎ͯ͡

LIFE

The Joy of Accomplishment The Archbishop, Catholic Metropolitan See of Benin recently dedicated St. Augustine Catholic Church. ADIBE EMENYONU who was at the ceremony, writes on the overflowing joy that permeated the heart of the parishioners

R-L: Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki, Former GMD, NNPC and Chairman, Brass LNG, his wife, Roxana Mrs. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki; Mr. Taiwo Akerele, COS to Gov. Godwin Obaseki and a parishioner at the Church dedication of St Augustine Catholic Church Benin City

Archbishop Akubeze dedicating the Blessed Sacrament at the church

Archbishop of Benin Metropolitan See, His Grace, Most Reverend Augustine Akubeze surrounded by priests and altar servers, dedicating the church

Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki leading other parishioners, during a thanksgiving oďŹ&#x20AC;ering at the dedication of the church

R-L: Mr. Taiwo Akerele, COS to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, representing his boss; Mrs. Roxana Jackson Gaius-Obaseki and her husband, Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki at the church dedication

Parishioners dancing with joy at the dedication

I

Dedicating the new church, the archbishop told Christians to always spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to people of all nations as instructed in the holy Bible.

Archbishop Akubeze, noted that Christians must learn to be together in the house of God, which is the church saying that â&#x20AC;&#x153;when Christians gather together in one Church, the barrier created by society and tribe is broken downâ&#x20AC;?.

According to him, the house of God (church) is a place to worship and pray and not a place of trade.The altar, he continued, is a place of sacrifice and must be treated as a holy place where only sacramental objects of worship are allowed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We must therefore treat the church of Christ, and the altar with respect. The church should 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 praiseâ&#x20AC;?, he declared.

In his vote of thanks, chairman, St. Augustine Church Dedication Committee, Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki said the journey towards the inauguration of the church was a tortuous one, but 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 get to where it is today because one can have the money but if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the right people, one cannot

n the year 1978, the desire by the then Bishop of Benin Diocese, now Archbishop Emeritus, Most Reverend Dr. Patrick Ekpu to create another parish for the Catholic converts of Holy Cross Cathedral Church, was conceived.

This laudable idea materialised in August of the same teacher he was said to have invited Chavellier M. E. Ojo to identify and sensitise to form a nucleus of a Catholic Mass Centre at Ukhegie area of the metropolis where she already had a school, St. Angela School, a massive land donated by then Oba of Benin, One Akenzua II who was highly impressed by the zealous envangelisation efforts of then Bishop of Benin/Asaba, Bishop P. J. Kelly who lead the late Mr. Pius Enoma, and Catechist James Eghaghe now of blessed memory, for the development of the land.

It was the legacy of this well deserved gift of land that translated to a parish with the name, St. Augustine Catholic Church.

After the creation of the Mass Centre with the name St. Augustine with the first church attendance of 14 members, the idea of expansion was nurtured and expansion started creeping in until 1984 when the need for expansion from a smaller place of worship to a bigger one.

In 1986, the church was completed and dedicated. Not still satisfied, more so with the creation

of zonal system from two to seven, more converts and members began to throng the church which necessitated the building of Rev. Fr. Tadgh Youth and Social Centre and the Gaius-Obaseki Hall that was completed and commissioned in 2003.

Like their patron saint, St. Augustine, noted for his inquisitive, in 2013, the old church was demolished and the foundation was laid in 2014 while the actual construction commenced in 2016 after a fund raising committees chaired by Mr. I. Osunde, an engineer and Mrs. Roxana Jackson Gaius-Obaseki. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Seven years later, here we are with an ultramodern place of worship to the Glory of Godâ&#x20AC;?, Mrs. Gaius-Obaseki enthused.

It is this magnificent edifice that was dedicated Tuesday, February 12, 2019 by the Catholic Archbishop of Benin Metropolitan See, His Grace, Most Reverend Augustine Akubeze.

Little wonder, Catholic faithfuls, parishioners of the church, friends and other members of the society and immediate community of Augustine Catholic abandoned their daily activities to behold an edifice, second to none in Nigeria and comparable to any church in the world .

The interior decoration with ornaments and sacramentals, Both professional, artisans and market men and women left their their daily engagements and decides to devote that day which is not a Sunday to worshipping God.

succeed.

His words: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The journey is tortuous. But today, the Archbishop has dedicated the church. We owe a lot of thanks to those who through their generosity piloted us to this very achievement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;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. â&#x20AC;&#x153;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, Emeritus Archbishop Anthony Ekpu, who urged us as we progress and saw the need to erect a modern church building after 23 years of the old church.

Dr. Gaius-Obaseki however, enjoined the archbishop to prevail of those who will take charge of the church to imbibe the spirit of maintenance.

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.

With this, it is expected that development will follow St. Augustine Catholic community.

5 ) * 4 % ": t FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019

41

42

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍśË&#x153; 2019

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Enelamah: FG Determined to BoostTomato Production Nume Ekeghe The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah has assured tomato producers in the country that government is committed to boosting tomato production in line with on-going economic diversification efforts.

He said the federal government has a robust tomato policy to boost local production, stop importation of tomato paste, and create employment opportunities.

A statement yesterday quoted to have made the remark during his facility visit to GB Foods Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tomato backward integration project in Kaduna, Kaduna State. In addition to its own farm, the company was implementing an out growers programme to develop local farmers, according to the statement. Gino Tomato backward integration project operates on the tomato production value chain

from seedling growing, planting, harvesting and production of tomato paste on the farm.

The federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tomato policy, according to the minister, was to significantly reduce postâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;harvest losses of tomato fruits, boost production and attract investments into the entire value chain. The minister said the implementation of the policy would also open investment in green house farming and address some challenges faced by tomato farmers in the country.

He described the visit as a useful one and that what he saw reinforced his belief that big things can be done in the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like what I saw and I am highly impressed,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The minister applauded the support of the Kaduna State government to the company and assured that the implementation of a tomato policy was fashioned to encourage everyone in the industry.

Stressing that it was important that the industry succeeds and advised the company to approach the business with zeal, commitment and hands-on attitude. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we see genuine investors, ours is to help them grow,â&#x20AC;? the minister said. The Chairman of GB Food Africa, Alhaji Francis Ogboro, commended the minister for visiting the farm despite his busy schedule, assuring him that Gino Tomato Farm will contribute its quota towards the growth of the industry in the country.

Ogboro told the minister that the company has so far spent over N2 billion on the backward integration project on the farm in the procurement of tractors, high tech farming equipment for seedling, planting, harvesting and processing of the tomato paste among others. The project also consists of four hectares of Grreenhouse seedlings; 16 hectares of tomato planted, all of which have created over 50 jobs.

L-R: Business Executive, Retail & Consumer Banking Lagos, Sterling Bank, Mr. Olusoji Akintola; Vice President, Lagos Zone, National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies, Mrs. Adelola Adewole and National President, NANTA, Mr. Bankole Bernard, at the Monthly meeting of NANTA sponsored by sterling Bank in Lagosâ&#x20AC;Śrecently

MARKET INDICATORS

ICMC Harps on Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism Chris Uba Organisations in the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy have been enjoined to emulate the Standards Organisation of Nigeria in adopting alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms in their operations.

The Registrar of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, Engr. Segun Ogunyannwo, gave the advice at the opening of a training programme on ADR for 40 staff of the SON in Abuja.

According to him, since conflicts are inevitable in the work place, at home and in society in general, adopting the ADR mechanisms by organisations translates to developing people with skills to enhance teamwork as well as building and sustaining relationships for

greater productivity.

The ICMC Registrar posited that the more people acquire ADR mechanisms in their relationships, the better for the family, institutions and society.

He stated that lawyers at the bar and the bench among other professionals have also been adopting ADR mechanisms in settling matters even after securing judgements from courts to facilitate enforcement and execution.

Ogunyannwo, commended the SON for its foresight in adopting the ADR training as part of its human capacity development programme under which over a 100 staff have earlier been trained with another 35 scheduled for Enugu. Declaring the programme open, the Director General, Osita Aboloma, described the course as a generic one to complement the

specific technical trainings being undertaken by all staff in their specific areas of competence in the last two years.

Represented by the Director, Human Resources Management, Mr. Abdulkadir Usman, the SON Chief Executive stated that the objective of the organisation was to promote greater human relations skills of the staff to enhance productivity and effectiveness in the discharge of its mandate to the society. He asserted that ADR skills were necessary for all SON staff given that standardisation is stakeholder driven and requires internal and external interactions along the process.

The programme according to him was to complement the on-going service wide training programmes for all SON staff to address specific disciplines and competencies in the last two years.

Great Place to Work Celebrates International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day The Great Place to Work Nigeria has joined millions of Nigerian women and others globally to commemorate the International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day. The Great Place to Work Nigeria, is a part of the global Great Place To Work International network in over 60 countries worldwide, stated that it was pleased to identify with this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Balance For Better.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are excited and identify with the numerous achievements of women all over the world and will leverage on it, as a fully inclusive and gender sensitive global consulting firm, to develop schemes and work programs, in line with the objectives of bridging gender disparity.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is already an established fact that women, like their male counterparts, have made and continue to make immense contributions and attain many developmental strides in all professions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They clearly demonstrate and prove their fortitude in management, sciences and the arts, and have held sway in research and other endeavours that were hitherto, or so it seemed, the preserve of men. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even in the military that had long been restrictive, the womenfolk have since broken the glass ceiling and are now featuring in combat roles. Kudos Women,â&#x20AC;? a statement from the organisation explained.

It added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;At Great Place to Work Nigeria, we believe that the time is far gone that women should be confined to any specific roles on account of gender consideration. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is time to create a levelling playing field for women but more importantly, valuing and recognising their contributions to corporate Nigeria â&#x20AC;&#x153;At Great Place to Work, as the year unfolds, we will be recognising Women Leaders in Nigeria and around the world, in all industries across all sectors. We will be celebrating their exceptional contribution in their industries as well as in their immediate community and beyond.â&#x20AC;?

ISDA Africa Chairman, Others for FMDA Workshop The Great Place to Work Nigeria has joined millions of Nigerian women and others globally to commemorate the International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day. The Great Place to Work Nigeria, is a part of the global Great Place To Work International network in over 60 countries worldwide, stated that it was pleased to identify with this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Balance For Better.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are excited and identify with the numerous achievements of women all over the world and will leverage on it, as a fully inclusive and gender sensitive global consulting firm, to develop schemes and work programs, in line with the objectives of bridging gender disparity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is already an established fact that women, like their male counterparts, have

made and continue to make immense contributions and attain many developmental strides in all professions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They clearly demonstrate and prove their fortitude in management, sciences and the arts, and have held sway in research and other endeavours that were hitherto, or so it seemed, the preserve of men.

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

NOVEMBER 2018 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)

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

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 WEDNESDAY,6 MARCH 2019

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $65.04 a barrel on Wednesday, compared with $64.98 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

43

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍśË&#x153; 2019

MARKET NEWS

GTBank Posts N434bn Earnings, Profit afterTax of N185bn Goddy Egene Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc has announced improved performance for the year ended December 31, 2018 and recommended a final dividend payment of 245 kobo per share. The bank recorded gross earnings for the year grew by 3.7 per cent to N434.7billion, from N419.2billion reported in 2017. Its net interest income fell from N246.663 billion to N222.433 billion, while net fee

and commission income improved from N40.732 billion to N50.470 billion in 2018. Impairment charges reduced significantly from N12.169 billion to N4.906 billion,. GTBank ended the year with profit before tax of N215.6 billion, representing a growth of 9.1 per cent over N197.7billion recorded the previous year, while profit after tax (PAT) stood at N184.639 billion compared with N167.913 billion posted in 2017. The bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s customer deposits increased by

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

10.3 per cent to N2.274trillion from N2.062trillion in December 2017, while loan book dipped by 12.9 per cent from N1.449 trillion in 2017 to N1.262trillion in 2018.

The bank is proposing final dividend of N2.45 per share in addition to interim dividend of 30 kobo bringing total dividend for 2018 financial year to N2.75.

Commenting on the results, the Managing Director/CEO of GTBank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;In 2018, our focus on staying

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

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

nimble, strengthening customer relationships and driving our digital-first strategy paid off.

We successfully navigated the pressures of our challenging and radically changing business environment, recorded growth across key financial indices and reaffirmed our position as one of the best performing and well managed financial institutions in Africa.â&#x20AC;?According to him, the performance reflects, not just the fundamental strength of the

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

brand, but also its commitment to its values of excellence, creating value for all stakeholders and putting its customers first in everything that it does. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Driven by these values, we are building the bank of the future by pairing the best of our business with the massive potential of digital technologies to create Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first integrated and trusted platform; Habari,â&#x20AC;? Agbaje said.

In recognition of the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bias for world class corporate

O F

governance standards, excellent service delivery and innovation, GTBank has been a recipient of numerous awards over the years.

Some of the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s awards in 2018 included: Bank of the Year - Nigeria from the Banker Magazine, Best Banking Group and Best Retail Bank Nigeria from World Finance Magazine, Most Innovative Bank from the African Investor, and Best Digital Banking Brand in Nigeria from the Global Brands Magazine.

0 5 / 0 3 / 2 0 1 9 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

˾ FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019

44

Friday, March 08 2019

Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index Sheds 21bps

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

Yesterday, the Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index shed 21bps to ĐůŽƐĞ Ăƚ ϭϱϲϯ͘ϴϴ ĂƐ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ ŽĨ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ ƉƌŽĮƚ ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ GUARANTY (-0.8%), DANGCEM (-0.8%), and ACCESS (-

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

ϭ͘ϲйͿ͘ dŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϯϭ͘ϭй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ Ticker

index.

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

^ƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ WƌŽĮƚ dĂŬŝŶŐ ƌĂŐƐ >ŽĐĂů ŽƵƌƐĞ͙ ASI Down

56.4%

18.9%

7.0%

6.4x

0.8x

5.0%

9.3%

9.1%

34.1%

5.6%

5.6x

2.1x

7.3%

17.8%

2

Zenith Bank PLC

24.60

0.4%

12.4%

6.7%

6.7%

22.6%

3.2%

4.2x

0.9x

11.3%

23.8%

44.6%

23.2%

11.7%

6

FBN Holdings Plc

7

Cement Co Northern Nigeria PLC

2.4%

78.15

0.0%

5.2%

-8.6%

-0.2%

11.3%

5.0%

8.5x

3.4x

8.2%

#N/A N/A

3.9%

3.6%

31.7x

3.7x

3.2%

3.1%

8.15

0.0%

5.1%

2.5%

1.9%

6.6%

0.8%

5.8x

0.4x

3.1%

17.1%

19.00

0.0%

4.1%

-2.1%

-2.1%

34.2%

19.6%

4.6x

1.4x

6.6%

21.8%

3.5x

0.6x

9.0%

28.5%

0.6x

3.1%

15.5%

10.8%

0.6%

4.1%

0.6%

-0.6%

15.4%

1.8%

2.9%

-11.5%

-14.3%

-23.8%

-3.2%

10

SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

596.90

0.0%

3.1%

-6.7%

-6.7%

9.4%

5.7%

6.00

-1.6%

2.8%

-11.8%

-7.7%

14.1%

1.7%

2.5x

0.4x

14.00

2.2%

2.7%

0.0%

-2.1%

12.1%

1.0%

4.4x

0.5x

Access Bank PLC Ecobank Transnational Inc

12.4%

27.8x

0.0%

Ϯ͘Ϭй͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŽƚŚĞƌ ŚĂŶĚ͕ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ 15

6.6x 6.5x

-1.3%

40.1% 22.7%

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

48.00

3.0%

2.5%

0.1%

0.1%

35.7%

4.6%

7.1x

2.3x

2.1%

Unilever Nigeria PLC

38.70

0.0%

2.4%

4.6%

4.6%

14.7%

9.0%

19.1x

2.7x

1.3%

5.2%

Lafarge Africa PLC

13.00

0.0%

1.6%

4.4%

8.3%

-53.7%

-7.9%

0.9x

11.2%

-48.4%

14.1%

Guinness Nigeria PLC

67.15

0.0%

1.2%

-6.7%

-6.7%

8.5%

4.5%

18.8x

1.7x

2.9%

5.3%

17

Okomu Oil Palm PLC

80.00

0.0%

1.3%

5.0%

5.0%

39.3%

29.7%

7.6x

2.6x

3.8%

13.1%

Total Nigeria PLC

200.00

0.0%

1.2%

-1.5%

-1.5%

34.6%

7.5%

7.0x

2.2x

8.5%

14.3%

19

11 PLC

170.00

-5.6%

1.1%

-8.4%

-8.4%

38.0%

16.8%

5.7x

1.9x

4.7%

17.6%

20

Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

5.3%

ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ďLJ ϰ͘ϵй ƚŽ Ϯϭϴ͘ϱŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ ǀĂůƵĞ 16 ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĨĞůů ϭ͘ϳй ƚŽ EϮ͘ϳďŶ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ 18 ;Ϯϵ͘Ϭŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŽƉ traded by value were ZENITH 21

Oando PLC

19.00

-4.8%

0.9%

-17.7%

-14.4%

6.6%

2.0%

8.8x

0.5x

5.60

-1.8%

1.2%

12.0%

16.7%

10.9%

1.7%

4.7x

0.4x

11.4% 21.4%

22

Fidelity Bank PLC

2.29

0.0%

1.2%

12.8%

12.8%

11.3%

1.5%

3.0x

0.3x

4.8%

23

Transnational Corp of Nigeria

1.28

1.6%

0.9%

-3.0%

1.6%

19.3%

4.3%

4.2x

0.8x

2.3%

24.0%

24

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

14.60

-0.3%

0.8%

-4.3%

-1.4%

32.6%

16.4%

5.8x

1.7x

8.6%

17.2%

33.5%

25

Diamond Bank PLC

2.43

-2.4%

0.8%

13.0%

-5.8%

-0.7%

26

FCMB Group Plc

2.11

2.4%

0.7%

11.6%

17.2%

8.4%

1.2%

2.8x

0.2x

4.7%

27

UAC of Nigeria PLC

7.95

-1.9%

0.4%

-18.5%

-16.8%

0.4%

0.2%

62.5x

0.4x

8.2%

1.6%

Sterling Bank PLC

2.48

0.0%

0.6%

30.5%

30.5%

10.6%

1.1%

6.5x

0.7x

0.8%

15.3%

WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ǁĂƐ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ĂƐ Ăůů ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ 28

0.3x

-28.9% 36.2%

Presco PLC

75.00

0.0%

0.4%

17.2%

17.2%

37.0%

24.8%

3.0x

0.9x

2.9%

33.8%

30

NASCON Allied Industries PLC

20.00

0.0%

0.4%

11.1%

11.1%

47.0%

17.5%

10.4x

4.7x

7.5%

9.6%

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

6.95

-0.7%

0.4%

24.1%

24.1%

5.3%

1.0%

12.6x

0.7x

7.9%

17.3%

1.8%

7.6x

1.2x

3.8%

1.0x

1.4% 6.0%

ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƌĞĚ͘ dŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ 29

Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

27.50

0.0%

0.3%

36.8%

24.4%

PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

11.10

-8.3%

0.2%

-8.3%

-9.8%

35

Chemical and Allied Products P

34.00

0.0%

0.2%

-2.4%

-2.4%

66.2%

30.2%

15.9x

10.6x

36

Wema Bank PLC

0.85

0.0%

0.2%

34.9%

34.9%

6.6%

0.8%

9.7x

0.6x

33

OANDO (-1.8%) and DK /> (-ϱ͘ϲйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 34

13.1%

6.3% 10.3%

37

Beta Glass PLC

79.00

0.0%

0.2%

15.7%

15.7%

17.7%

11.5%

9.6x

1.6x

1.5%

10.4%

38

Dangote Flour Mills Plc

11.35

4.1%

0.2%

65.7%

72.0%

14.9%

4.2%

10.1x

1.4x

1.8%

9.9%

Transcorp Hotels Plc

5.95

0.0%

0.1%

-2.5%

0.0%

12.1x

0.8x

2.5%

8.2%

AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

2.20

0.0%

0.1%

20.2%

20.2%

11.5x

1.1x

2.7%

8.7%

ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ůŽƐƚ Ϭ͘Ϯй ďĂƐĞĚ ŽŶ ƉƌŝĐĞ 39 40

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

DIAMOND (-2.4%).

4.8%

1.7%

7.75

14

ƉŽƐŝƟŽŶ in GUARANTY (-0.8%), ACCESS (-1.6%) and

2.8%

7.7%

27.00

by N26.9bn to N11.9tn while YTD ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƚĞĚ ƚŽ 13

prior-ĚĂLJ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ŐĂŝŶƐ͕ ĚŽǁŶ Ϭ͘ϭй ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƐŽůĚ

8.7%

0.0%

United Bank for Africa PLC

12

and &>KhZD/>> (-ϰ͘ϴйͿ͘ ůƐŽ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚĞdž ƌĞǀĞƌƐĞĚ

-0.8%

International Brew eries PLC

GUARANTY (-Ϭ͘ϴйͿ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ĨĞůů 11

ĚĞƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ in E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ (-2.3%), PZ (-8.3%)

195.00 1,510.00

9

ƐŽƵƚŚǁĂƌĚƐ ďLJ Ϭ͘Ϯй ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƐ ŝŶ 8

ƉƌŽĮƚ ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƟĞƐ ŝŶ DANGCEM (-0.8%) while the

Divinden Earnings d Yield Yield

1.4%

ĐŽŶƐĞĐƵƟǀĞ ĚĂLJ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ;͞ ^/͟Ϳ inched

'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ĞdžƚĞŶĚĞĚ ůŽƐƐĞƐ͕ ĚŽǁŶ 0.4% due to sustained

P/BV

19.6%

Nigerian Brew eries PLC

CORNERSTONE (-8.0%), D E &/d (-8.0%), AIICO (-1.4%),

P/E

-0.8%

5

ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ůĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƐ͕ ƌĞƚƌĞĂƟŶŐ ϭ͘Ϭй ĂƉŝĞĐĞ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ losses in

ROA

-0.21%

Losses in the local bourse extended into the second

EĞŐĂƟǀĞ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ

ROE

37.65

4

;Eϴϱϵ͘ϳŵͿ͕ GUARANTY ;EϴϱϬ͘ϭŵͿ ĂŶĚ & E, ;EϮϯϱ͘ϵŵͿ͘

Price Change Index to Date

1,563.88

Dangote Cement PLC

were ZENITH ;ϯϰ͘ϴŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ACCESS ;Ϯϵ͘Ϯŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ĂŶĚ & E,

Price Change YTD

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

Nestle Nigeria PLC

DANGCEM (-0.8%), E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ (-2.3%) and

Previous Current Price Weightin Change g

1

3

0.2%

Current Price

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

C A D B UR Y

11.00

7.8%

D A N GF LOUR

11.35

4.1%

48.00

3.0%

6.00

2.6%

10.5%

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

ST A N B IC C UST OD IA N FCM B

3.3%

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

Z EN IT H B A N K

34.8

0.4%

A C C ESS

29.2

-1.6%

FB NH

29.0

0.0%

GUA R A N T Y

22.5

-0.8%

2.11

2.4%

UB A

14.4

0.6%

14.00

2.2%

F ID ELIT YB K

13.0

0.0%

T R A N SC OR P

1.28

1.6%

FCM B

12.9

2.4%

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ

UB A

7.75

0.6%

D A N GF LOUR

6.4

4.1%

;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ĨĞůů ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϯdž ĨƌŽŵ Ϭ͘ϰdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ƚŚĞ

Z EN IT H B A N K

24.60

0.4%

T R A N SC OR P

5.4

1.6%

2.54

0.0%

WA P IC

5.2

0.0%

P ric e C hg %

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ tŽƌƐĞŶƐ

ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ĚĂLJ ǁĞƌĞ hZz (+7.8%), E'&>KhZ (+4.1%) and ^d E / ;нϯ͘ϬйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ ůĞĂƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁĞƌĞ hW> (-9.8%), UCAP (-9.1%) and ZKz > y (-ϴ͘ϲйͿ͘ tĞ ŵĂŝŶƚĂŝŶ ŽƵƌ ŽƵƚůŽŽŬ ĨŽƌ Ă ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ĐůŽƐĞ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ďĞŶĐŚŵĂƌŬ index ƚŽŵŽƌƌŽǁ ďĂƐĞĚ ŽŶ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌΖƐ ďĂƌŐĂŝŶ ŚƵŶƟŶŐ ĂŶĚ ƉŽƐŝƟŽŶŝŶŐ ĂŚĞĂĚ ŽĨ ĚŝǀŝĚĞŶĚ ĂŶŶŽƵŶĐĞŵĞŶƚƐ͘

ET I

C WG T o p 10 Lo s e rs T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

UP L

2.03

-9.8%

Z EN IT H B A N K

859.7

0.4%

UC A P

3.00

-9.1%

GUA R A N T Y

850.1

-0.8%

R OYA LEX

0.32

-8.6%

FB NH

235.9

0.0%

PZ

11.10

-8.3%

A C C ESS

177.5

-1.6%

M B EN EF IT

0.23

-8.0%

UB A

111.1

0.6%

-8.0%

D A N GF LOUR

70.5

4.1%

ST A N B IC

64.6

3.0%

D A N GC EM

39.4

-0.8%

ET I

36.4

2.2%

F ID ELIT YB K

29.9

0.0%

C OR N ER ST LA SA C O M OB IL F LOUR M ILL J A IZ B A N K

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

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

0.23 0.31

-6.1%

170.00

-5.6%

19.00 0.60

-4.8% -4.8%

Investment Research

Brokerage Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde |

Bolaji Fajenyo | bfajenyo@afrinvest.com

Jolomi Odonghanro | jodonghanro@afrinvest.com

romotunde@afrinvest.com

45

FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

Vetiva Bullish on Dangote Cement, Projects Higher Revenue, Profit Goddy Egene Vetiva Capital Management Limited has said Dangote Cement Plc will record higher revenue and profit going forward has projected a price of N240.68 for the stock this year. The leading cement firm recently reported improved results for the year ended December 31, 2018 and recommended a dividend of N16

per share for shareholders.

And in its earnings report for Dangote Cement, Vetiva Capital Market said overall, the cement maker is expected to report record high revenue in 2019, which it projected at N965 billion, while profit before tax of N349 billion is being expected.

Reviewing the 2018 performance of Dangote Cement, the investment banking firm noted

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

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

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

that improved operational performance across the group as well as a tax credit were the major drivers of the company’s earnings. “ Notably, Dangote Cement reported a 91 per cent jump in net profit, after the group secured the approval of its pending Pioneer tax status application on some production lines. The Group Earnings before interest

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 06Mar-2019, unless otherwise stated.

tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA expanded 12 per cent y/y to N435 billion, with growth equally strong across the Nigerian and Pan-African region,” Vetiva said.

Speaking on the report, the Industrial Goods Analyst at Vetiva Capital Management Limited, Onyeka Ijeoma said:”That “EBITDA in the Nigerian business remained strong, rising 10 per cent

to N397 billion (margin: 64.3per cent), driven by a stronger topline and continued improvements in fuel cost management. Similarly, EBITDA across the Pan-African operations jumped 28 per cent to N49 billion, with EBITDA margin also expanding 250bps to 17.3 per cent. This was driven by higher average prices as well as efficiency improvements across many regions. Specifically, civil

unrest in Ethiopia was tamer in half year of 2018. This was in addition to the arrival of Gas turbines in Tanzania in third quarter of 2018, which led to a resumption in operations in the country.”

Following the impressive performance, Vetiva has reiterated its optimism about the long-term potential of the Nigerian Cement sector.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 162.19 162.71 2.56% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 11.00% Nigeria International Debt Fund 279.71 280.39 2.50% 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 0.85 0.86 1.65% ACAP Income Funds 0.62 0.62 11.99% 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 13.28% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.28 2.31 2.65% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Discovery Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 104.01 104.74 2.78% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.65% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.68% Paramount Equity Fund 12.16 12.26 2.95% Women's Investment Fund 106.31 106.87 2.61% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.17% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.85 0.85 Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.16 1.16 3.40% 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 12.33% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 11.74% invest@fbnquest.com FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,226.78 1,223.21 3.48% FBN Heritage Fund 145.59 146.85 1.52% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.14% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 115.93 116.40 1.79% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 115.86 116.33 1.98% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 151.59 153.85 1.06% 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 1.02% Legacy Debt Fund 3.31 3.31 2.12% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.04 1.04 0.85% 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 3,024.61 3,056.65 1.38% Coral Income Fund 2,821.61 2,821.61 3.02% 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 12.88% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 109.11 109.71 2.16% 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 13.41% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.18 2.21 1.73% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 14.77% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 123.99 124.24 -0.72%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.17 1.19 1.89% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,094.67 1,094.67 2.33% 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 11.70 11.80 1.70% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.50% 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 1.38 1.41 8.13% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.32 12.39 0.98% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.01% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 126.01 126.66 4.40% 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 1.03 1.03 2.65% 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 2,383.08 2,397.64 3.00% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 194.68 194.68 2.39% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.99 1.00 4.74% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 251.13 252.16 1.81% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 167.52 169.44 2.70% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.29% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,694.28 8,799.12 2.42% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.12 1.12 1.10% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Eurobond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Wealth for Women Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 11.35 11.50 6.96% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.48 12.62 4.09% Zenith Income Fund 21.07 21.07 9.39% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.30%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

5.95 119.16 51.94

-39.35% 0.00% 0.00%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.75 114.84 90.92

10.85 117.32 92.63

1.90% -2.08% 2.55%

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.26 7.32 15.07 12.50 152.22

4.30 7.40 15.17 12.70 154.22

6.41% -3.97% 0.77% 1.13% 6.01%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.24

17.42%

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

46

FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

French Cardinal Convicted over Sex Abuse Cover-up The archbishop of Lyon Thursday announced he was resigning just hours after being handed a sixmonth suspended jail sentence for failing to report sex abuse in

a case that has rocked the French Catholic Church and added to the Vatican’s woes.

Philippe Barbarin, 68, is the most senior French cleric caught up in

Ebola Response in DR Congo Failing to Contain Outbreak, MSF Warns Efforts to curb the Democratic Republic of Congo’s worst Ebola outbreak are stumbling, medical charity MSF warned Thursday, blaming the role of the security forces in the response and their “toxic” relations with local communities.

Seven months into the outbreak, “the Ebola response is failing to bring the epidemic under control,” Doctors Without Borders said in a statement.

It highlighted that more than 40 percent of deaths are occurring in communities rather than in Ebola treatment centres.

“That means that we have not reached them and they have not sought our care,” MSF chief Joanne Liu told reporters in Geneva.

The outbreak emerged in North Kivu last August and then spread to neighbouring Ituri province.

It has claimed 561 lives out of 894 recorded cases, according the latest DRC health ministry figures.

Security in eastern DRC, a region

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as RINO ADESUA OGEDEGBE, now wish to be known and addressed as RINO ADESUA LAWAL. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

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

I formerly known and addressed as CHIDINMA NNANNA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OZURUMBA CHIDINMA. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS UGBENE ILO BLESSING, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS MOMOH ILO BLESSING. All former documents remain valid.

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I formerly known and addressed as NOSIERE BAMIDELE PATRICK KENKWU, now wish to be known and addressed as NOSIERE PATRICK KENKWU. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as ABUBAKAR ADAMU, now wish to be known and addressed as ISA USMAN WASURU. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known as NDIFREKE EDEM PATIENCE now wish to be know and addressed as EDEM BLESSING MARTHA. And also, I hereby confirm that my correct date of birth is 25/08/1990 and not 25/08/1991. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

rampant with rebel fighters, has complicated the response.

Liu warned that growing reliance on the security services to bring people to treatment centres was spurring hostility.

“The existing atmosphere can only be described as toxic,” she said, adding that this “shows how the response has failed to listen and act on the needs of those most affected.”

Her comments came after MSF suspended its activities at two treatment centres in North Kivu after the sites were attacked.

“Ebola responders are increasingly seen as the enemy,” Liu said.

In the past month alone, she said, there had been more than 30 attacks and incidents involving elements of the Ebola response.

An attack by gunmen on one of the centres last week in Butembo forced its temporary closure, but the health ministry said Monday that the centre would reopen.

the global paedophilia scandal which Pope Francis, just two weeks ago, vowed to fight in an “all-out battle”.

A court in Lyon, in southeastern France, ruled that Barbarin, a cardinal since 2003, was guilty of failing to report allegations of abuse of boy-scouts committed by a priest, Bernard Preynat, in the 1980s and 1990s.

The priest, who was charged in 2016, is expected for his part to be tried this year.

Barbarin, who was not present for the verdict, said he “duly acknowledged the court’s decision”, but his lawyer said it would be appealed.

He is the third senior French cleric to be found guilty of failing to report sex abuse.

“I have decided to go to see the Holy Father to hand him my resignation. He will receive me in a few days’ time,” Barbarin told a news conference after the verdict.

“Independently from my own fate, I wish once again to stress my compassion for the victims,” he said.

His trial came at a time when the Catholic Church has been hit by abuse scandals in countries as far afield as Australia, Brazil, Chile and the United States.

Pope Francis held a special summit on the issue at the Vatican last month during which he compared paedophilia to the “human sacrifice” of children.

Barbarin, an arch-conservative who took over as archbishop in Lyon in 2002, was dubbed “Mr. 100,000 volts” by the press for the dynamism he displayed in his campaigns for persecuted Syrian Christians or against gay marriage.

But he has long been accused by victims’ groups in Lyon of turning a blind eye to the historic child abuse in his diocese which left dozens of lives blighted.

“I cannot see what I am guilty

of,” Barbarin told the court at the start of the trial in January.

“I never tried to hide, let alone cover up these horrible facts.”

In its verdict the court found otherwise, saying the archbishop, “in all conscience”, chose not to tell authorities of the abuse allegations “in order to preserve the institution to which he belongs”.

“By wanting to avoid a scandal caused by a priest’s multiple sex offences, and probably in seeking to conform to inadequate decisions taken by bishops before him, Philippe Barbarin preferred to take the risk that justice would be unable to uncover a great number of victims of sexual abuse and prevent them from voicing their pain,” the verdict read.

Francois Devaux, one of the priest’s alleged 85 victims who now heads a victims’ support group in Lyon, called the verdict a “major victory for

child protection”.

“It’s a signal, a strong message sent to the French Church, to the world and to Pope Francis,” he told reporters.

“It’s obvious that this verdict will hugely encourage people to speak out,” Devaux added.

But the archbishop’s resignation comes “too late for the Church”, he said, adding that “the decision should have been taken long ago. And the pope should have taken it.”

The suspended nature of the jail sentence means Barbarin will not serve time behind bars.

His defence lawyer Jean-Felix Luciani said that “the reasoning of the court is not convincing.

We will contest this decision by all the means possible.”

He also suggested that it had been difficult for the court “to resist pressure” from public opinion which h a s long been debating the case.

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as ADENIYI ADEYINKA RHODA, now wish to be known and addressed as ANTHONY ADEYINKA RHODA. All former documents remain valid. First bank and access bank. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as OMOTOLA ESTHER OMONIYI, now wish to be known and addressed as OMOTOLA ESTHER JUMBO. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as UWUJIYE NDIDI EVA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS NWAOKOCHA NDIDI EVA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as OJEABURU HENRY, now wish to be known and addressed as ANDREW HENRY MAKONJUOLA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OKON NAOMI SUNDAY, now wish to known and addressed as MRS HENRY NAOMI KEMI. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME This is to certify that OSAIGBOVO OSAMAKON SONIA and OSAIGBOVO SONIA is one and the same person, and now wish to be known and addressed as OSAIGBOVO OSAMAKON SONIA. All former document remain valid.

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CORRECTION OF NAME I, AGBOOLA BUKOLA SADIAT was wrongly written as AGBOOLA BUKOLA HALIMAT instead of AGBOOLA BUKOLA SADIAT. All former documents remain valid.

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Passengers are blocked from entering Kenya Airways’s departure terminal due to a strike by the airline workers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi…yesterday AFP

UK will Delay Brexit If MPs Reject May’s Deal, Says Finance Minister Britain will probably have to delay its departure from the EU if MPs reject the government’s proposed divorce deal in a vote next week, Finance Minister, Philip Hammond, said on Thursday.

Unless Prime Minister Theresa May can get her divorce treaty approved by the British parliament, then MPs will have to decide whether to delay Brexit or thrust the world’s fifth largest economy into chaos by leaving without a deal.

“The government is very clear where the will of parliament is on this. Parliament will vote not

to leave the EU without a deal. I have a high degree of confidence about that,’’ Hammond said.

Britain is due to leave the EU in 22 days, but if MPs reject the deal this will put in doubt how, when or possibly even if Britain’s biggest foreign and trade policy shift in almost half a century will take place.

Hammond warned eurosceptic colleagues if they fail to back the government’s deal they face the risk of a closer economic relationship with the EU. “We will then be in unknown territory where a consensus will

have to be forged across the House of Commons and that will inevitably mean compromises being made,” he said.

“The way for my colleagues to avoid that is to vote for the deal.’’

MPs on Jan. 15 voted 432202 against her deal, the worst government defeat in modern British parliamentary history.

It was the worst defeat in parliamentary history, largely due to the Irish backstop, which is intended to avoid the return of hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

Talks with Britain on amending

its divorce deal with the EU have made no headway and no swift solution is in sight, EU officials said on Wednesday.

Britain wants legally binding changes to the backstop to ensure it will not be indefinite, to allay concerns among MPs that Britain would be locked in a continued customs union with the EU. When asked if Hammond would leave the government if May decided to leave without a deal, he said: “I have always said that I believe it would be a very bad outcome for the UK to leave the EU without a deal.”

Saudi Faces Criticism at UN over Khashoggi’s Murder Thirty-six nations condemned Saudi Arabia on Thursday over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a rare censure of the oil-rich kingdom at the UN Human Rights Council.

A statement read by Iceland on behalf of a group of states expressed “significant concerns” about reported abuses in Saudi Arabia and demanded justice

following Khashoggi’s killing.

“Investigations into the killing must be prompt, effective and thorough, independent and impartial, and transparent.

Those responsible must be held to account,” added the statement read by Iceland’s UN ambassador Harald Aspelund.

It called on Saudi authorities “to disclose all information available”

about its own investigation while cooperating with separate UN inquiries into Khashoggi’s death.

The statement was backed by EU states along with Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Human Rights Watch said the statement was “the first-ever collective action” at the council on rights in Saudi Arabia, which had successfully evaded criticism

at the UN body.

HRW’s Geneva director John Fisher called it “a landmark step toward justice” and urged “more scrutiny” of the country.

Responding to the statement, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva condemned the use of “joint statements for political causes.”

5 ) * 4 % ": t FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019

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5 ) * 4 % ": t FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2019

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FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

Communal Clashes Claim 20 Lives in Kogi Landmine kills five farmers in Borno Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri and Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja The communal clashes between the people of Igburra Mozum and Bassa Kwomu in Bassa Local Government Area (LGA) of Kogi State yesterday claimed no fewer than 20 lives This is coming as five farmers were said to have been killed on Wednesday near Maiduguri in Borno State when their vehicle hit a landmine planted near a road.

The two communities in the last two years have been fighting a supremacy battle, which has claimed many lives with property worth several millions of naira destroyed.

A community leader in Sheria, Mr. Gberegu told journalists yesterday that Igburras in the early hours of yesterday attacked Bassa kwomu and killed no fewer than 20 people, while several houses were burnt.

This, he said was in spite of the January 8 appeal by the state government for a ceasefire by the warring parties.

According to him,”the bridge linking Oguma and Sheria was completely razed down by Igburra militias while Sheria village has been deserted”.

He decried the continued militancy of Igburra Mozum

against the Bassa kwomu.

Meanwhile, the Kogi State Police Command’s spokesman, Mr. William Aya, while confirming the incident, said that the police had received a report of clashes in the area and responded by drafting officers from the State Anti-riot squad and conventional police.

According to him, the police found one unknown corpse, which was evacuated immediately while the situation was brought under control.

He said that the state Police Commissioner, Hakeem Busari, has also ordered more officers to be drafted to the area to complement the efforts of those already on ground.

However, the state police command confirmed the death of one person in the clash.

Meanwhile, five farmers were said to have been killed on Wednesday near Maiduguri when their vehicle hit a landmine planted near a road.

A member of the youth vigilante, who spoke to our correspondent anonymously, said that the incident occurred at Addamari, about 20 kilometres from Maiduguri.

He said: “A truck bringing farmers and their harvest of cucumbers from nearby irrigation fields

Appeal Court Stays Order Disqualifying Taraba APC Guber Candidate Wole Ayodele in Jalingo The Court of Appeal, Yola Division in Adamawa State has granted a stay of execution of the order of the Federal High Court in Jalingo disqualifying the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State, Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi, from contesting next Saturday’s election.

The court, presided over

by Justice Chidi Uwa, also ordered all the parties involved in the case to maintain status quo ante pending the determination of the motion on notice filed before it by Danladi.

Danladi and the APC are the appellants in the suit while Usman Udi, Joshua Paaku, George Geoffrey, Tanko Muslim Munkaila and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents respectively.

The Federal High Court in Jalingo presided over by Justice Stephen Pam had disqualified Danladi from contesting next Saturday’s gubernatorial election in the state on the ground of giving false information in his particulars to INEC. The Federal High Court

also restrained INEC and APC from recognising, accepting or treating Danladi as the candidate of APC in the governorship election.

Justice Pam equally prohibited Danladi from parading himself as the candidate of APC in the governorship election for Taraba State slated for March 9, 2019, or any other subsequent date to be slated.

But setting aside the ruling of the High Court, Justice Uwa ordered: “The parties are to maintain the status quo ante bellum and are to stay all actions and steps towards the execution of the judgement of the Federal High Court delivered in suit FHC/ JAL/CS/1/2019 delivered on 6/3/2019.

That an interim order of injunction is hereby ordered restraining the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents from taking any step (s) towards the execution of the judgement/ orders of the Federal High Court in Jalingo in suit no FHC/JAL/CS/1/2019 pending the determination of the Motion on Notice filed by the applicants on March 7, 2019, and dated March 6, 2019.”

Meanwhile, Justice Uwa has adjourned the Motion on Notice to April 9 for hearing.

exploded when it hit a mine just outside the town of Addamari, some 20 kilometres from Maiduguri.”

He said the incident also

left 20 people injured.

He said: “Five people were killed and 20 injured in the explosion.”

According to him, “The

truck was returning from the fields outside the town around 12. 40 p.m when it hit the mine planted in the middle of the road.”

A resident of Addamari, Abba Yusuf said the explosive might have been planted by a terrorist group.

CREDIBLE ELECTIONS ON THEIR MINDS...

L-R: Sanusi Imam Galadima, representing the National Security Adviser (NSA); Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu; and Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu,during the opening ceremony of Inter-Agency Consultative Committee meeting on Election Security (ICCES) held in Abuja...yesterday JULIUS ATOI/THISDAY IMAGES

Tribunal Reserves Judgment in Osun Guber Election Dispute Alex Enumah in Abuja The Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal yesterday fixed judgment on a date to be communicated to parties in the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, challenging the emergence of Governor Isiaka Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 2018 Osun State governorship election.

The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo made the announcement after counsel to parties adopted their written addresses and made their final submissions in the suit.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Oyetola as winner of the September, 2018 Osun State governorship election, having scored the highest number of votes cast in the election.

However, both the PDP and its candidate, Adeleke, not satisfied with the outcome of the election had approached the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja to declare them as winner of the governorship election in Osun State.

Yesterday’s proceedings

which had in attendance, Governor Oyetola, saw both counsel in the suit urging the tribunal to aligned itself with their position and grant their reliefs sought.

Oyetola, who was dressed in a white agbada was accompanied by some officials of the state, declined to speak with the media, who sought his views at the end of the tribunal’s proceedings.

On the side of the respondents are Wole Olanipekun (SAN), counsel to Oyetola; Akin Olujinmi (SAN), APC, while Lasco Pwahomdi appeared for INEC, and Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), represented the petitioners.

In adopting their separate final addresses, Olanipekun, Olujinmi and Pwahomdi urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition on the grounds that the petitioners have failed to prove their case.

Ikpeazu on his part, urged the tribunal to uphold the petition and grant all the reliefs prayed by the petitioners.

Olanipekun in his argument posited that the petitioners’ final written address draws the tribunal’s attention to the futility of the petition, adding that the petitioners presented a

different case from what is contained in their pleadings and reliefs sought.

According to him, the petitioners wanted the tribunal to nullify the Certificate of Return issued to Oyetola, which they said was with the second respondent, yet did not give him any notice to produce it.

He told the tribunal that based on the ruling of the presidential election tribunal in its March 6 ruling, the provision of Section 105 of the Electoral Act restricts the power of the tribunal.

The senior advocate stated that electoral jurisprudence was about proof in accordance with the law and precedence.

While urging the tribunal to dismiss the petition, Olanipekun stated that the petitioners asked for something in their petition but stated another thing in their address, adding that the petition was full of confusion.

On his part, the APC counsel, Chief Akin Olujinmi, stated that the testimonies of all the 63 polling agents called by the petitioners had no probative value.

He added that the remaining witnesses called by the petitioners have nothing to do with polling units.

Responding, Ikpeazu

submitted that based on the result of the election of September 22, 2018, the first petitioner, Senator Adeleke, had satisfied the provisions of the law and ought to have been declared the winner of the election.

The senior lawyer dismissed respondents claims that the petitioners dumped documents on the tribunal, stressing that the documents were sufficiently used by witnesses called by the petitioners while testifying before the tribunal.

He stated that the petitioners tendered the pink copies of result sheets as well as the certified true copies (CTCs) of the original sheets, which were doctored, altered and mutilated and clearly showed discrepancies to the pink copies.

Ikpeazu told the tribunal that it was for INEC to defend the irregularities reported by the petitioners, adding that while the Returning Officer could not act beyond the provision of the law, the electoral body could not act outside of the provision of Section 179 of the Electoral Act. After listening to the submissions of parties, Justice Sirajo, adjourned judgment to a date that he said would be communicated to parties.

FG Closes Land Borders Ahead of Saturday’s Elections The Minister of Interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), has ordered the closure of all land borders with immediate effect from 12 noon today (Friday), March 8,

to 12 noon of Sunday, March 10, 2019.

This is ahead of the governorship and state assembly elections slated to hold on Saturday.

The interior minister said the development will help restrict movements across the borders during the elections.

In a statement by the Comptroller General (CG),

Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede, urged the public to take note and ensure compliance.

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Anti-graft War: EFCC Faults UK Agency over Alleged Lack of Cooperation Alex Enumah in Abuja The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has faulted reports by a United Kingdom Agency on anti-corruption, which alleged that the commission had been working at Cross purposes with other agencies in the fight against corruption in the country.

The anti-graft agency in a statement signed by its Acting Head of Media and Publicity, Tony Orilade, said the report credited to the Programme Manager of the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (RoLAC) Programme of the British Council, Mr. Uche Emmanuel, was full of “several illogicalities,” capable of misleading both Nigerians and the international community.

Orilade remarked that most of the claims by Emmanuel were not only unsubstantiated but underserving of the office he occupies.

“Without the slightest of attempts to cross-check his claims, Emmanuel alluded that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies in the country were frustrating the corruption fight by an alleged lack of synergy among them, and their inclination to operate as islands unto themselves.

“It is striking to note that the General Manager, Public Affairs of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, in the same forum where Emmanuel threw caution to the wind with his unsupported allegation disclosed that the corporation through the combined efforts of the Department of State Security

(DSS), EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), recently recovered assets worth over N771million from oil marketers, who had under-paid it for petroleum products supplied to them.

“As a commission, we are horrified that a ranking official of the British Council, in charge of rule of law and anti-corruption programme, who ordinarily should be abreast of the robust interface that exists between the EFCC and various local and international law enforcement organisations is the one we are painfully subjecting to this type of schooling,” the statement said.

Orilade said contrary to the claims of Emmanuel, facts abound as to the level of cooperation among Nigerian anti-corruption agencies, which the programme manager cannot comprehend.

“The commission as the designated financial intelligence unit, until recently, regularly shared intelligence with all other relevant agencies. Beyond the statutory requirement to synergize, we have a persuasion that no agency can go it alone, which is why, over the years, the Commission absorbs officers from sister agencies who come on secondment to it.

“The local inter-agency collaboration, Nigeria’s anticorruption agencies so much needed saw to the establishment of the Combined Inter agency Task Force, (CITF), domiciled in the Lagos Office of the EFCC. “The CITF, which has its personnel, drawn from all the sister agencies has since its inception, remained a very active Unit within the Commission”, the EFCC’s spokesperson said.

MTN Nigeria Hopeful of Listing on NSE as EBITDA Earning Hits N453.1bn Emma Okonji MTN Group yesterday further raised hopes of Nigerians that MTN Nigeria would list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in the first half of 2019 without raising new money from investors immediately.

The hope to list on NSE was rekindled following its impressive financial results for the end of the year in December 2018, and confirms its intention to list by introduction on the NSE during the first half of 2019.

MTN Nigeria in a statement, however, said it would simplify its capital structure prior to the listing.

The Nigerian company said its subscriber base grew to 58 million users in 2018 up by six million.

According to the statement, the financial results of MTN Nigeria was impressive, as service revenue increased by 17.2 per cent; data revenue increased by 39.3 per cent; digital revenue decreased by 58.1 per cent; Fintech revenue increased by 32.7 per cent; Earnings Before Interests, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 30.8 per cent to N453.1 billion; EBITDA margin increased by 43.6 per cent while mobile subscribers increased by

6 million to 58 million.

Commenting on the results, CEO of MTN Nigeria, Ferdi Moolman, said: “In 2018, we rebuilt the base adding another six million Nigerians to our network, thereby giving a total of 58 million people access to worldwide communication services.

“This growth was built on our sustained focus on customer centric delivery to ensure that customers get more value for their money. This included the deployment of proactive interventions to improve customer experience, together with the enhancement of network quality and coverage and the optimisation of our services portfolio.

“We also enabled an additional eight million people to access the possibilities that the internet provides, bringing our total data subscriber base to 44 million, of which 18.7 million use more than five megabytes per month.

“We are now even better positioned to ensure that everyone can access the benefits of a modern connected life. We are excited to have been given the privilege to continue playing a role in facilitating this, and are grateful to our customers, our people, our partners and our regulator for making this possible.”

He added that the result of such partnership is partly responsible for the illustrious outing of the commission in the past 15 years.

The statement denied knowledge of any situation that

would warrant the British Council or its agent to flay the commission over lack of local inter-agency synergy and collaboration.

Orilade, noted that in the international front, in the U.K

particularly, the EFCC and the DFID, (United Kingdom government’s department, responsible for administering overseas aid), the National Crime Agency (NCA), which

leads UK government’s fight against serious and organised crimes and similar UK agencies have existing collaboration in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.

HONOUR TO THE GREAT SAGE...

L-R: Keynote Speaker, Prof. Banji Akintoye; Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Afenifere Leader/Special Guest of Honour, Senator Ayo Fasanmi; at the Colloquium to commemorate the 110th Posthumous Birthday of Chief Obafemi Awolowo in Ado-Ekiti…yesterday

Kwara APC Guber Candidate in Alleged Forged Certificate Scandal Hammed Shittu in Ilorin A Kwara State High Court has given the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq 30 days to defend the authenticity of his West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate.

The court issued the ultimatum following a suit instituted against the APC gubernatorial candidate by one Adekunle Oluwafemi Abraham.

The case with suit number KWS/73/2019 has been assigned to the court of Justice Adenike Akinpelu.

In the court’s writ dated March 7, 2019, the court ordered the defendant (Abdurahman Abdulrazaq) to “within 30 days after the service of this writ on you inclusive of the day of such service, you do cause an appearance to be entered in an action at the suit of

Adekunle Oluwafemi Abraham and take notice that in default of you doing so, the claimant may proceed therein and judgment may be given in your absence.

The claimant in his statement on oath said that “while examining the personal particulars of the defendant, he was curious about the purported West African Examination Council (WAEC) school certificate No. SC180683 purportedly dated June, 1976 of the defendant particularly, the way the defendant’s name is written as” RASAQ A R” which from my personal experience, the West African Examination Council( WAEC) as a standard examination body in West Africa do not normally abbreviate names on the school certificates issued by it.

“That the way and manner the defendant’s name appears on his purported West African Examination Council (WAEC)

school certificate No. SC180683 dated June, 1976 raised my suspicion that the said West African Examination Council( WAEC) No. SC180683 dated June, 1976 could not have been issued

by West African Examination Council (WAEC) and I reported my suspicion to my political party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which promised to look into my complaint of my suspicion .

“That I also know as a fact that the defendant did not sit for West African Examination Council School Certificate and was therefore not issued with the purported West African Examination Council (WAEC) School Certificate No. SC180683 dated June, 1967 submitted to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the defendant. “The claimant in his statement of claim contended that “the West African Examination Council (WAEC) School Certificate

No. SC180683 allegedly issued to the defendant by West African Examination Council (WAEC) in June 1976 and submitted to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is a false document. The claimant shall apply to this Honourable court to issue subpoena on West African Examination Council (WAEC) to produce the original of the said certificate”.

He further contended that the documents submitted by Abdulrazaq as his educational qualification was not issued by WAEC and thus, the defendant is not qualified to contest for the office of Governor of Kwara State whose election will hold on Saturday.

Abraham further urged the court to declare that the APC candidate lied on oath, submitted forged documents and stand disqualified from contesting the gubernatorial elections.

BPE to Address Challenges of Privatised Enterprises Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has inaugurated four committees to come up with a mechanism for addressing the complexities and challenges hindering the growth and development of some privatised enterprises in the country, which were taken over by core investors over 10 years ago.

BPE’s step is a calculated attempt to ensure that privatised entities provide dividends to the citizenry in line with the privatisation policy of the federal government.

The privatisation agency said the committees are also to provide policy makers with further insight into the practical

realities facing the sectors in which the enterprises were privatised and proffer credible solutions to addressing the problems.

The four committees are those on the housing sector (the Bricks and Clay), Mines and Steel Development, Oil Palm and Automobile. The fifth committee on Paper Mills had earlier been inaugurated.

Inaugurating the committees in Abuja yesterday, the BPE Director General, Mr. Alex A. Okoh recalled that the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) at its meeting of April 12, 2018, reviewed the performances of some privatised enterprises in the past 10 years and observed that they occupied a strategic place in the nation’s economy but have remained

suboptimal since privatisation.

Okoh, according to a statement by the agency’s Head, Public Communications, Amina Tukur Othman, said the NCP also took into cognisance, the need to resuscitate and reposition the enterprises in order to enhance their market value and their overall contribution to the economy.

He, therefore said the NCP directed its secretariat, (the BPE) to organise an Enterprise Stakeholders/Investors Forum with the objective of creating a platform where the core investors of the privatised enterprises, potential investors and relevant MDAs would meet and chart a way forward for their resuscitation through partnership between the private

and public sectors; adding that the objective is in consonance with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (2017) of the federal government.

The DG noted that it has been the custom in BPE to engage stakeholders in its programme design and execution in order to solicit their cooperation, support and participation to the success of the privatisation programme and the Nigeria economy.

Okoh implored members of the committees to work assiduously and submit their report within 90 working days’ timeline.

Membership of the committees is drawn from the relevant sectors, ministries, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the private sector.

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Akwa Ibom Govt Raises the Alarm over APC’s Plot to Manipulate Guber Election Police arrest 153 thugs from Edo

Okon Bassey in Uyo Akwa Ibom State Government has raised the alarm over what it described as a desperate bid by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to manipulate Saturday’s governorship election and take over the state by force.

This is coming as the state police command has arrested 153 political thugs imported into the state from Edo State.

In a statement issued yesterday by the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Charles Udoh, the state government called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on security agencies to bring to book everyone arrested for disrupting the peace of the state.

The state government said it was worried by what it described as a plot by the APC to take over the state by all means during the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.

Udoh accused the ruling party of declaring war on the peaceful state, noting that the boastful pronouncements of the much vaunted plot to capture Akwa Ibom by force, even if

it means spilling human blood and destroying properties was worrisome.

“The pronouncements of war against the state has assumed an unprecedented dimension, especially since the last National Assembly and president elections where the PDP clinched all the National Assembly seats in the state.’’

The state government said the security agencies in the country should work for Nigerians, especially the people of the state by preventing any form of bloodshed in Saturday’s elections.

“We hope the lives of the people will be well protected. We trust that security agencies will ensure that they fulfil their social contract with the people they swore to protect without fear or favour. No election is worth the lives or blood of any human being. We don’t want anything that will disrupt elections in Akwa Ibom as this seems to be the script being acted on in order to capture the state by force.’’

The commissioner confirmed that some armed thugs who claimed to be APC youths from Edo State had been arrested by

security agents in the state.

He explained that 11 trucks carrying 153 thugs were recently apprehended by security agencies in the state, adding that they had since made confessional statements.

“It is on record that, since 2015, Akwa Ibom State has witnessed unprecedented peace in all ramifications. This peace has been instrumental to the inflows of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) which have provided jobs and created wealth for the people of the state,’’ he said.

Udoh urged the people of the state “not to bow to any act of harassment and intimidation, but

go out to their respective polling units on Saturday and cast their votes with the conviction that no amount of intimidation could subvert their collective resolve to move to newer territories of possibilities and opportunities”.

Meanwhile, ahead of Saturday’s governorship and Houses of Assembly elections, 153 political thugs have been arrested by the Police in the state.

The state Police Commissioner, Ibrahim Sani Kaoje confirmed the arrest of the thugs yesterday at a press conference held at the Police Headquarters, Ikot Akpan-Abia.

Kaoje said the thugs were brought in from Edo State allegedly

to participate in youth rally of the APC in the state.

According to him, the thugs were arrested on Tuesday night at Obot Akara Local Government Area (LGA), a border LGA between Akwa Ibom State and Abia State.

He said they were intercepted with manifests bearing names, phone numbers and next-of- kin of the thugs.

The state Commissioner of Police who spoke through the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Odiko Macdon, said the thugs came into the state in eleven buses.

He said the hoodlums were apprehended by IG’s Special Tactical Squad on patrol in Ikot-Ekpene

LGA. The commissioner said they were suspected to be thugs coming into the state for the purposes of disrupting the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.

“On March 5, 2019, at about 5.30 p.m, IG Special Tactical Squad, Uyo while on Intensive patrol, along Ikot-Ekpene LGA, arrested 153 persons in 11 buses led by one Jerry Edom who were on their way to Uyo, from Edo State.

“They were suspected to be thugs coming into Akwa Ibom State for the purpose of causing havoc during the March 9, 2019 governorship and state House of Assembly elections.

NCDMB: Nigeria’s Oil Sector to Record $25bn Investment in TwoYears Peter Uzoho and Regina Ogwuche Next two years promises to be bright for operators in the Nigerian oil and gas industry with an investment opportunities of $25 billion underway, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Simbi Wabote, has said.

Addressing journalists in Lagos yesterday, Wabote revealed that within the past two years, the NCDMB had pushed investment opportunities worth about $20 billion into the Nigeria oil and gas industry, some of which, according to him, resulted to high profile projects.

He said the achievements and opportunities recorded in the sector were captured in the Compendium of Nigerian Content Opportunities in the Oil and Gas Industry, which would be shared to stakeholders at the fair to guide the strategy of investors as they make investment decisions in the sector.

“So, within the past two years, I can comfortably say that we have pushed opportunities to up to about $20 billion into the oil and gas sector, through these opportunities that we share. And I think, also in the next two years, we also look forward to another $25 billion in the oil and gas sector going by the opportunities we have identified that we want to also share,” Wabote said.

He said there had been substantial progress in the oil and gas sector, especially with the resolution of some of the cash-call challenges faced by the joint venture operators.

“Since that was resolved a lot of opportunities are springing up in all the joint venture operations that we have. I am sure, the other day, you also saw NPDC

commissioning a significant project almost about $200 million, also adding value to the oil and gas industry.

“We also know that Total is also looking at their Prowel project, which will come on stream. They will also take FID on it within the next couple of months, and that in itself, is significant. Two years ago, we also shared the Train 7 opportunity by NLNG. As I speak to you, we are very optimistic that all things being equal before the end of the year, we hope that we will take FID on the Train 7 project; that, you are looking at almost $5 billion. So, things are looking up; investments are coming, they are not drying up, and I believe that this will only improve.”

Wabote who also highlighted some of the projects without high local content impact, said the SPDC had taken Final Investment Decision (FID) on Asa North Project, which he said worth $2 billion in terms of value addition.

According to him, Total will take FID on the $2 billion Ikike Project within the next couple of weeks, noting that Exxon Mobil will also take FID on the $1billion Iboe Project same period.

He added: “We also highlighted the potentials in the Bonga South West/Aparo (BSWA) deepwater project of SNEPCO. I am happy to tell you that the tenders have been issued, and you are looking at an opportunity of almost $10 billion that is coming into the country.

We then highlighted the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) Abo project, which they have taken FID on – Abo is ongoing. You are looking at about $1.5 billion.

I don’t want to talk about the brand field opportunities that bring $100 million to a billion dollars that are also ongoing.”

WOMEN AFFAIR…

L-R: Human Resources Director, Leadway Assurance, Kunbi Adeoti; Executive Director, General Insurance, Leadway Assurance, Adetola Adegbayi; Guest Speaker / Managing Consultant, Thistle Praxis Consulting, Ini Abimbola; and Head, Human Resources, Leadway Pensure, Titilola Bashorun, at the 2019 International Women’s Day interactive session with the theme ‘Balance for Better’ organised by Leadway Assurance in Lagos… yesterday ETOP UKUTT

Court Affirms Dapo Abiodun’s Qualification to Contest Ogun Guber Election Alex Enumah in Abuja An Abuja High Court sitting in Apo district of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday, upheld the nomination of Adedapo Abiodun as the lawful candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 9 governorship election in Ogun State.

Justice Olukayode Adeniyi upheld Abiodun’s nomination after dismissing a suit filed by an aggrieved APC member,

Abdul-Rafiu Baruwa, seeking the disqualification of Abiodun as APC governorship candidate on the grounds that he (Abiodun) lied in his form CF 001 submitted to INEC for the purpose of contesting the governorship election.

Justice Adeniyi, who dismissed the suit on the grounds that it lacked merit, described the case of the plaintiff as a mere academic exercise, which has no bearing with qualifications for governorship election under

the Nigerian Constitution.

Baruwa, in the suit, had asked Justice Olukayode Adeniyi to disqualify Abiodun from the governorship race for alleged concealment and deliberate refusal to supply details of his educational qualifications to INEC as require by law so as to escape punishment for infringement on the law.

Specifically, the plaintiff claimed that APC governorship candidate claimed in 2015 senatorial election form for Ogun East to have

graduated from the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, but in the 2019 governorship form, the candidate was said to have claimed to possess only secondary school education.

According to Baruwa, the 2nd respondent deliberately concealed his university education because of his alleged non-participation in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme for Nigerians who are 30 years and below as at the time of graduation.

INEC: 47 Card Readers Missing, 22 Recovered in Bayelsa Dickson urges to halt misuse of security agencies Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Bayelsa Mr. Monday Tom Udoh, yesterday disclosed that the commission had retrieved 22 Smart Card Readers out of the 69 stolen by alleged political thugs during the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.

He noted that the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will apply strict measures in areas where the machines are yet to be recovered.

The electoral umpire spoke even as the Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the military to ensure professionalism in next Saturday’s polls.

Udoh explained that of the 24 missing card readers in troubled Nembe Local Government Area (LGA), only 14 had been recovered as at yesterday, while in Sagbama LGA, out of eight, three had been recovered.

In Southern Ijaw LGA, he added that of the 24 snatched

by hoodlums, two were returned while in Yenagoa only three were retrieved from the six missing in the area.

Udoh, who made the revelation during a press conference at the commission’s headquarters in Yenagoa, lauded civil society groups, religious leaders, community chiefs, youths, women groups and major stakeholders for reaching out to some of the hoodlums before some of the cards were returned.

He said: “Election is not war; where there’s peace you find progress and development. So,

by the time you kill those you are to lead what is the gain and who will you lead” “Eighty five percent of the sensitive materials are already in the central bank and we cross-checked it with all party agents to show we are transparent”.

Meanwhile, Dickson has urged the President and the leadership of the various security agencies to charge their men to be professional in their duties as they resume for election duties in Bayelsa and other states of the South- south geopolitical zone.

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No Conspiracy Can Defeat Rivers PDP, Wike Insists Govt accuses Amaechi, army of targeting PDP members for arrest Ernest ChinwoinPortHarcourt Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that there is no way the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could lose the governorship and state Houses Assembly elections because the people of the state are firmly with the party.

This is coming as the state government has accused Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi,

and the 6 Division of Nigerian Army of masterminding the mass arrest of innocent Nigerians and prominent PDP members in the State ahead of the elections.

Speaking during a town hall meeting with leaders of Rivers East senatorial district in Port Harcourt yesterday, Wike charged the people not to be intimidated by soldiers as they have a duty to vote for him and other PDP candidates

Borno, Enugu Declare Today Work-free Day Michael Olugbode inMaiduguri

Borno State Government and the Enugu State Government have declared today (Friday) a work-free day to allow adequate preparation for the governorship and state House of Assembly elections.

Borno State Commissioner for Information, Mohammed Bulama, confirmed this in a statement issued yesterday.

“This is to inform the public that Friday, March 8, 2019 has been declared a public holiday by the Borno State Government. Banks and other institutions providing essential services are however exempted.”

He said: “This is to once again enable all the good people of Borno State, including public servants, to adequately prepare

to participate in the gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly Elections on Saturday.”

The Enugu State Government has also declared today, March 8, public holiday.

In a statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Gabriel Ajah, the state government however, stated that “banks, other financial and health institutions are exempted from this public holiday”.

Ajah further explained that the decision was “to enable the public servants and other residents of the state to travel to their respective registration wards and exercise their civic responsibility of casting their votes during the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections holding on Saturday, March 9, 2019”.

on Saturday.

He declared that the governorship and State Assembly elections would be used to “end the illegal activities of the political monster of Rivers State”.

He said: “There is no way that the PDP will lose Rivers State and they tell the world that the elections are free and fair. Even if we want to play politics, how would they explain it to the international community that PDP lost to an unknown party that did not campaign?

“How many soldiers will they deploy to implement the rigging? I am not worried about their bringing more troops from Sokoto and Kafanchan, God is our security. During the presidential and National Assembly elections, they

struggled for 25 percent, but they did not get it.”

The governor said Rivers State has passed the stage where a “failed politician will direct the people on who to vote three days to the election,” adding that nobody will play God in Rivers State “Nobody should be afraid come out and vote for the PDP. Your votes will be counted. Your votes will be protected”.

He said the illegal arrests by the military would not stop the victory of the PDP during the Governorship and State Assembly elections.

“If they arrest 2,000 persons, they will see more 10, 000. Our people should be security conscious about their movement because these people are very desperate,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, a

former Rivers State Governor, Sir Celestine Omehia said everything about the election has gone smoothly for Rivers PDP because of the involvement of God. He said that the PDP will emerge victorious on March 9, 2019.

He said that the people of Rivers State are solidly behind Wike and other PDP candidates.

Meanwhile, the state government has accused Amaechi, and the GOC of 6 Division, Nigeria Army of masterminding the mass arrest of innocent Nigerians and prominent PDP members in the State.

A statement issued by the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Emma Okah, said, “The essence of the arrests is to precipitate crisis and cause the INEC to postpone the elections in

Rivers State. Failing this, the minister will use the vacuum created by the absence of arrested leaders and rig the governorship election and force a candidate of his choice against the will of the people.”

He said the arrest of the state Commissioner for Education, Dr. Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja, and his family by soldiers yesterday evening in Port Harcourt confirmed the fears.

He said the Minister of Transportation has been commanding the army in Port Harcourt to do unprofessional things and that the crisis was spreading.

He also accused the minister of having boasted that he has brought soldiers from Sokoto and other states to carry out his political agenda of disrupting or rigging elections on Saturday.

Iwu Lauds Jonathan, Fashola for Funding Ebola Research Udora Orizu in Abuja A former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Maurice Iwu, yesterday in Abuja, praised the role played by former President Goodluck Jonathan, while he was in office, in funding research in the Ebola scourge, leading to its control in the country.

He also praised the then governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola, for his pragmatic approach in also putting

money into the Ebola research, when the scourge hit Nigeria.

Iwu said the quick funding of research into the scourge was instrumental to its immediate containment despite the few deaths it recorded.

Speaking in Abuja when the Nigerian Council of Physicians of Natural Medicine invested him with a fellowship of the council, alongside a fellowship of the West African College of Natural Medicine, Iwu re-emphasised the importance of research funding

in the containment of epidemics and other health challenges.

According to him, Jonathan had released N2 billion through the Federal Ministry of Health, to fund research into Ebola, nothing that a research firm linked to him was involved in the effort to find solutions to the Ebola menace.

Iwu recalled that the then governor of Lagos state, Fashola had also publicly called on him to help lead research into the menace having also made available funds to achieve same.

He called on Nigerians not to rest on their oars over the containment of Ebola, noting that the virus is still rampant in its place of origin.

According to him, “Just two hours flight and one could get in contact with a possible Ebola victim. That tells us that more need to be done to eradicate the virus.

“We must continue with the hand washing practice. It is the first major step to contain the virus.

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Appeal Court Affirms Ayogu Eze as Enugu APC Gov Candidate Party demands resignation of REC allegation against INEC

Christopher Isiguzo andGideon ArinzeinEnugu The Court of Appeal in Abuja yesterday affirmed Senator Ayogu Eze as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Saturday’s governorship election in Enugu State.

This is coming as the APC in the state yesterday asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the governorship election in the state, accusing the commission of compromise in the entire process.

But in a swift reaction, three political parties in the state have denied the allegation by the APC of an alleged plan by the INEC to hand over electoral materials to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of March 9 governorship and House of Assembly elections A three-man panel of the court, in a unanimous judgment, upheld the appeal filed by Eze, a former senator, to challenge an earlier verdict of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which removed him as the party’s governorship candidate in the state.

Delivering the lead judgment of the court, Justice Abdul Aboki held that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case on the grounds that it was not filed within 14 days of the arising of the course of action as stipulated in section 285(9) of the 4th Alteration of the Nigerian Constitution.

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja had granted the prayers in the suit filed by George Ogara challenging Eze’s emergence

APGA, SDP, PDP deny APC

as the APC’s governorship candidate in the state.

The judge had ordered INEC to substitute Eze with Ogara as the candidate of the party ahead of the governorship poll.

But the Court of Appeal upturned the Federal High Court’s judgment.

It held that Ogara’s suit before the lower court was caught by the 4th Alteration to the 1999 Constitution which made it mandatory for all preelection matters to be filed within 14 days the course of action arose.

Meanwhile, APC has asked INEC to postpone the election in the state, accusing the commission in the state of compromise in the entire process.

The party also demanded the immediate resignation of the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Emeka Ononamadu for allegedly having an understanding with the ruling PDP to manipulate the process.

Speaking yesterday during a victory match to the INEC headquarters in the state, chairman of APC in Enugu State, Ben Nwoye and the governorship candidate told journalists and party supporters that INEC should in view of the judgment place Eze’s name in the list.

Meanwhile, three political parties in Enugu State have denied the allegation by the APC of an alleged plan by the INEC to hand over electoral materials to the PDP, ahead of March 9 governorship and House of Assembly elections.

Reacting to the allegation, the state chairman of the PDP, Hon.

Augustine Nnamani stated: “It is shameful and an insult on the people of Enugu State that a party (APC) whose ambition is clearly in disarray and which has not been campaigning in the State could come out to make such outlandish and regrettable allegation”.

The PDP chairman added that “APC leadership had openly boasted that it would use “federal might” to win the gubernatorial elections in Enugu State”, stressing that “it is curious that the same party has now turned round to shamelessly and falsely accuse federal institutions of complicity in a phantom conspiracy with the PDP to deny it victory in the upcoming polls”.

In a related development, the state chapter of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and its governorship candidate, Chief Hon. Emma Nwankpa, expressed “utter dismay over the spurious and baseless media report”, stressing that “as one of the major stakeholders who have been deeply committed and involved in all the processes of the elections, APGA Enugu State chapter, wishes to state categorically that the allegation is false, baseless and mischievous”.

On its part, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) faulted the allegation

by APC, stating that it was a failed attempt by the party to sway sentiments in the face of imminent defeat at the polls.

The party’s chairman, Hon. John Nwobodo, further called on the Nigerian public to ignore the “needless distraction”.

Survey: Hardwork, God, HighlyValued among Nigerians The principle of hardwork and reverence for God are the two most highly prized values among Nigerians, a survey carried out by the Foundation for Values and Normative Change has revealed.

The survey was conducted by the foundation also known as ‘values volunteers’, on Facebook between January

27 and February 9, 2019.

According to the report sent to THISDAY by the Founder/ Chairman of the foundation, Mr. Tunde Fagbenle, while 25 per cent of the respondents or 54 of them said that hardwork was the most important value, reverence for God was next, according to 24 per cent or 51 of the respondents polled.

The report stated that a

Facebook poll conducted among 214 randomly chosen Nigerians was designed to test the value preference for a better Nigeria.

The report said: “Apart from hardwork and reverence for God, three other values highlighted in the survey are; integrity, 50, 23 per cent; honesty 31, 15 per cent; and kindness 28, 13 per cent.

Dakuku Commends Women’s Contributions to Nigeria’s Economy The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has praised women in the country for their contributions and achievements in the typically male-dominated maritime sector, calling for the involvement of more women to help grow the sector.

Dakuku stated this in his message to Nigerian women on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, being marked globally today.

He said women in Nigeria had made enormous contributions to the socio-economic wellbeing of the country that could not be wished away.

But he sought more active involvement of women in the

efforts to build a strong blue economy.

The Director-General said, “Women are wonderful builders and good asset keepers, and Nigerian women are even much more. I salute and respect you, great daughter of Nigeria, on this occasion of International Women’s Day for your monumental contributions and achievements in the maritime sector, in particular, and Nigeria, in general.

“As we strive to build a virile Blue Economy capable of diversifying our national economy and creating prosperity for the Nigerian people, I call for more active involvement of women. I seek your participation as equal partners in the collective task of taking Nigeria to the next level so

that together we all can proudly accomplish this historic duty of creating a continental paradigm for the sustainable use of the world’s ocean resources for the overall good of mankind.

“I line with the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, which is ‘Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change,’ I call on the womenfolk in Nigeria to roll up your sleeves and get ready to sail with the menfolk.

And safely we shall land Nigeria as an El Dorado of jobs, security, and prosperity.”

Dakuku has been a relentless advocate of greater women participation in the maritime sector in Nigeria and Africa, and this accords with the intense global push for professional and social equality.

55

T H I S D AY ˾ MARCH 8, 2019

ÜÙßÚ ÚÙÜÞÝ ÎÓÞÙÜ Duro Ikhazuagbe ×ËÓÖ duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

AHEAD 2019 AFCON

NFF to Educate Eagles,Others on New Football Rules Femi Solaja Determined not to be caught off guard when new rules initiated

by International Football Association Board (IFAB) come into play, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has concluded plans to educate all its national football teams on the move by FIFA. At its (IFAB) 133rd Annual General Meeting held on March 2nd, 2019 in Aberdeen, Scotland, five major changes to the rules of football were adopted and are expected to come into force from June 1st this year.

Some are minor others are a lot more dramatic. First, there will be no rebounds from penalties, meaning play will stop for a restart if a penalty is saved or hits the post. There will no longer be opportunity of a follow up to score from such rebounds.

Henceforth, handballs either voluntarily or involuntarily will no longer be allowed except if the action leads to goal.

Also, a substituted player can leave the field anywhere to guard against time wasting by advantaged team.

IFAB also ruled that players can now touch the ball in the area

IWOBI’S STRIKE NOT ENOUGH TO SAVE GUNNERS

Alex Iwobi celebrating his lone goal for Arsenal before French club Rennes fought back gallantly to inflict the first 3-1 away defeat on the Gunners on French soil in the first leg of the Europa League Last-16 clash in Rennes…last night

after a goalkeeper kicks it out unlike before that players could not touch goal kicks before they exited the box.

Finally, coaches will receive cards instead of reprimands. Now, they can be able to be given yellow and red cards just like players.

“We are ready to adapt to

the changes that will come into force in the next few months.

Nigerian football has suffered from negligence in the past but in this digital age, we are more abreast to adaptation that goes with whatever change in our dynamic sport.

“In the days to come, the

Technical Department and its Committee will soon meet on how best to educate all the teams and not only the Super Eagles, the same message will go down to clubs participating in the continental competition and also in the domestic football,” Head of Communication NFF,

Mr. Ademola Olajire revealed to THISDAY last night.

Super Falcons will be the first to face the new rules at the FIFA Women World Cup finals in France from 7th June to 7th July while Super Eagles comes next at the Africa Cup of Nations final in Egypt scheduled for 21st June to 19th of July.

The Green Eagles were victims of the ‘ball-in-flight’ rule when it was introduce late 1987.

Indomitable Lions of Cameroon were the beneficiary of the rule as the goal they scored was considered legal in the group stage match against Nigeria in the Nations Cup tournament held in Morocco in 1988.

The goal by Roger Milla canceled Late Samuel Okwaraji’s brilliant early lead for Nigeria.

The match ended 1-1 a piece.

Most local pundits and Nigerian bench felt the team was robbed, that the centre referee judgment was wrong to have allowed that goal.

The Nigerian coaches insisted that it should have been ruled an offside.

However, the new rule was later interpreted to the team to avoid such mistakes in their subsequent games.

FIFA has been striving to improve the behavior of players during matches and thus call for changes in the rules.

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino sees women as role models for male players because there is less simulation and time wasting in the women’s game.

According to Infantino, it was time for men to clean up their act to improve the image of soccer.

“The men’s game has developed incredibly, positively, but a few maybe side effects have unfortunately developed as well that we are fighting now,” Infantino said at the AGM in Scotland.

“Let’s take the example of the women’s game.”

Infantino’s admiration for the conduct of female players stands in contrast to predecessor Sepp Blatter, who urged them to wear tighter kits to make the game more popular.

“Women are nicer than men, probably, generally,” Infantino said. “Sometimes we men feel that we need to show how strong we are, probably in the human nature, and this is reflected as well in some of the behavior in society in general but also on the football pitch,” he remarked.

33Teams for 2019 Lagos PoloTournamentTop Prizes Some of the most renowned indigenous and international polo teams are set to convene on Lagos, Nigeria to compete for highly coveted trophies in the 2019 Lagos International Polo Tournament. Sponsored by leading African Financial Institution, Guaranty Trust Bank plc.

This year’s competition will begin on March 13, 2019 and will see both Nigerian and foreign teams compete in five main cups, namely; the Silver Cup, Open Cup, Oba of Lagos Cup, Low Cup and Majekodunmi Cup. The participating teams drown from all the major polo clubs across the country, include twelve Silver Cup teams, fourteen Lagos Low Cup, five medium-goal teams for Lagos Open Cup, and two heavy weight teams for the

biggest prize, the Majekodunmi Cup. Tournament Manager, Seyi Oyinlola promised that this year would get better as it has always been over the years adding that “it’s going to be a two weeks of thrilling polo experience for the lovers of the game.”

Oyinlola who commended GTBank, which is the main sponsor, stated that having gained reputation as the biggest polo tournament in West Africa, the Lagos Polo Club look forward to delivering great values for the sponsors with the coming on board of Coca-Cola and Shell which joined BUA, WAPIC Insurance and others in sponsoring the glamorous fiesta. Speaking on GTBank’s sponsorship of the 2019 NPA Lagos International Polo Tournament, Managing

Director of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Segun Agbaje, said: “We love the game of polo, the passion and the symbiosis between the players and their horses, but most importantly, we hold a strong affinity to the sport of kings because it reflects quality, competitiveness and fair play; some of the values that have made GTBank a Proudly African and Truly International Financial Institution.”

He further stated that; “Our sponsorship of the 2019 NPA Lagos International Polo Tournament, which has grown over the years to become one of the most anticipated social and sporting events of the year, demonstrates our strong belief in the role of sports in developing and uniting our society.” The GTBank chief

Special Olympics Nigeria Athletes Set for 2019 World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi Athletes of Special Olympics Nigerian are set to depart the shores of the country to join other participating contestants from around the world at the World Summer Games which will hold in Abu Dhabi, UAE from the 14th to 21st of March 2019. At a well-attended sendforth reception held in their honour yesterday in Lagos, the team was charged to excel in whichever games they were participating in.

The team will participate in eight Olympic-type sports –Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Football, Table-tennis, Volleyball, Swimming and Cycling.

The country’s contingent has been making the organisation proud as observed in the last World Games, held in 2017 in Austria where 22 athletes who represented Team Nigeria

returned home with 12 Gold and 10 Silver medals.

In a speech delivered on his behalf by a board member, Mr. Charles Akindayomi, the Chairman of the board of Special Olympics Nigeria, Mr Victor Gbolade Osibodu expressed confidence in the ability of the team to do well at the games and return victorious as they have undergone nine months of intensive training and preparation. “’Team Special Olympics Nigeria will be represented by an 84-man delegate consisting of 60 Special Olympics Nigeria athletes and 24 officials which includes coaches, caregivers and medical personnel who will assist them in the travel and competition” he stated He thanked sponsors including, Union Bank, Caverton Offshore Support Group,

Vigeo Holding Limited, Central Securities Clearing System Plc, Philips Consulting, Globacom, Sterling Bank, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service SO&U, Soulcomms, AXA Mansard and so many others for supporting the athletes and making their participation in the winter games in Abu Dhabi a reality.

This edition is to mark the 50th Anniversary celebrations of Special Olympics, and the beginning of the next fifty years of the inclusion movement.

The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games is one of the largest sports and humanitarian event in the world and it is expected to bring together 7,000 athletes, 3,000 coaches, 1,500 officials, 20,000 volunteers, 3,000 honored guests, 6,000 family members and over

executive who was represented at the event by the Head, Event Management, Corporate Communications and External Affairs,

Mr. Jide Sipo, pledged the bank’s commitment to the development of polo in Nigeria. Lagos Polo Club President, Ade Laoye said

the host club is rejuvenated with the continuous infrastructural upgrade to meet the yearnings of polo aficionados.

R-L: Tournament Manager, Mr. Seyi Oyinlola; President, Lagos Polo Club, Mr. Ade Laoye; Chairman, Nigerian Polo Association, Mr. Kenneth Edet; Representative of the Main Sponsor, GT Bank, Head, Event Management, Corporate Communications and External Affairs, Mr. Jide Sipo; Lagos Polo 1stVice President, Mr. Timi Akinwunmi; and Lagos Polo Honorary Secretary, Mr. Adeyemo Alakija; at the Press Conference to usher in the 2019 tournament held yesterday at the Lagos Polo Club, Ikoyi, Lagos

Arsenal, Man Utd Premier League Clash to Air on DStv, GOtv The classic Premier League clash of Arsenal and Manchester United is the headline game of round 30 in the 2018/19 season, though focus will also fall on the title battle between Manchester City and Liverpool. DStv and GOtv will be your home for the best action from the English top flight. Arsenal v Man United has long been regarded as one of the great rivalries in the English game, and while neither club is at the peak of their powers, their clash at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday is set to have huge ramifications for their top-four ambitions.

United’s fantastic run of domestic form under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continued this past weekend when they beat Southampton 3-2 in a thriller at Old Trafford,

lifting them into fourth place at the expense of Arsenal, who put up a strong showing in holding North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 at Wembley.

One of Solskjaer’s best wins in his tenure thus far came at the Emirates earlier this year when his side defeated Arsenal 3-1 in an FA Cup clash.

Repeating the feat will be no easy task, especially with the Red Devils’ spate of injuries, but they will fancy their chances of overrunning the Gunners again.

Elsewhere, the title race continues to burn and champions Manchester City will have the chance to open up a four-point lead at the top when they host Watford on Saturday night. This would turn the pressure up on Liverpool, who host Burnley on Sunday afternoon but will still be

feeling frustrated at having been held to a 0-0 draw by Everton in the Merseyside derby this past weekend – a result which may have handed the initiative back to City in the fight for top spot. Viewers can also enjoy one of the fiercest rivalries in the Premier League as the round opener, with Selhurst Park playing host to Crystal Palace v <Champions League berths, as the likes of Milan, Internazionale, Roma and Lazio scrap over positions three to six.

The title race seems to be all but over after Juventus claimed a 2-1 away win over Napoli at Stadio San Paolo on Sunday night, with goals from Miralem Pjanic and Emre Can securing a result which hands the Bianconeri a massive 16 point lead at the top of the log.

Friday, March 8, 2019

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Price: N250

MISSILE BMO to Obasanjo

“We hope that now that Obasanjo is 82, he would heed the words of wisdom of the Alake of Egbaland Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, and be a true statesman, after all, eligible voters in his polling centre as well as throughout Ogun State opted to ignore his advice to massively give Buhari a second term in office” – Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has said former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s statement that he will continue to criticise President Buhari is a confirmation that his pre-election criticism was fuelled by ego.

J.K.RANDLE GUEST COLUMNIST

T

The Black Monk

he “Black Monk” is the sequel to Max Chuck Black’s film: “The Black Roaring Lions” and it is a befitting extension of the theme – Generals With Nine Lives.

The opening scene captures Major-General T.Y. Danjuma who was the General Officer Commanding (“GOC”) of the Third Division of the Nigerian Army with its base in Port Harcourt in the turbulent oil rich Niger-Delta area. There he was entertaining a delegation of paramount chiefs led by ......... who was the father of the Military Governor of the State (Rivers State) twenty-nine years old Lt. Commander Alfred Diette-Spiff (from the Navy) and a member of the Supreme Military Council.

What was hilarious was that the protocol officer who had been delegated to receive them ensured that they were given VIP treatment.

Without any delay, they were ushered into the GOC’s waiting room reserved for very important visitors (VIPs).

As it was morning, the protocol officer promptly offered the visitors tea, coffee or soft drinks. The chiefs were furious. They did not mince words: “That is not what we drink in the morning.

Tell your boss it has to be gin or schnapps, otherwise we are leaving.”

In next to no time, the GOC sent one of his orderlies to procure a carton of the “vital medicaments”. Thereafter, peace and goodwill ensued!! However, this was not before the three chiefs had consumed one bottle each leaving nine bottles in the carton. The GOC offered profuse apologies for the slight delay in receiving them as he had been presiding over crucial security meetings; and also, for offering the wrong refreshments. Their response was very direct.

“You are a good man and a fine officer. Not to worry.”

They proceeded to make a dignified exit with each of them carrying a bottle of the medicament under each armpit plus an extra one in the pocket of their flowing gown/ wrapper. When they emerged from the “Military Zone”, they refused to address a press conference regarding the details of their discussions with the new GOC. Instead, the leader of the delegation issued a cryptic statement: “These military officers think they are the only tough guys in town.”

At intervals, the memorable words of General T.Y. Danjuma showed up on the screen: “No nation has ever survived two revolutions.”

The same repetition was accorded to Charles Darwin’s dictum: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent but the most responsive to change.”

What followed was a flash back to the allegations by Dr. Obarogie Ohonbamu (who was a lecturer at the University of Lagos) against General Murtala Mohammed. He claimed in an article he wrote for his magazine “Africa Spark” that General Muhammed corruptly enriched himself, engaged in illicit acquisition of properties during the civil war and had purchased a row of buildings in Kano as well as a fleet of trailers.

This was sequenced with the heart-wrenching cold-blooded assassination of General Murtala Muhammed on Friday 13th February 1976 before the matter could go to trial. The grief all over the nation was unprecedented. Special prayers were offered at Lagos Central Mosque. Before the day was over, the corpse was conveyed in a military aircraft to Kano for burial. The

Danjuma film deftly compared the burial of Murtala Muhammed with that of General Sani Abacha whose corpse was dumped into the cargo hold of the plane that flew him from Abuja to Kano on 8th June 1998. By the time the plane landed, it was almost nightfall. If there was any outpouring of grief, the film missed it.

An interesting revelation was that General Abacha had left “The Villa” in the company of General Jerry Useni at about 3 a.m. to relax at his Guest House (House 7) within the Presidential Complex.

According to the film, there were two Indian ladies waiting for him. Also, on offer were some apples. It was no secret that Abacha loved apples. He could not resist picking up one of them. It was a fatal error of judgement (almost at par with Adam accepting the apple offered

by Eve). The rest is history. Within a matter of minutes, Abacha was frothing in the mouth and gasping for breath.

His Chief Security Officer (CSO), Major Hamza Al-Mustapha delivered his own version of events as follows: “Contrary to insinuations, the sudden collapse of the health system of Abacha started on Sunday, 7th June, 1998 right from the Abuja International Airport, immediately after one of the white security operatives or personnel who accompanied President Yasser Arafat of Palestine shook hands with him, Abacha.”

Al-Mustapha said shortly after the hand shake, he “noticed the change in the countenance of the late Commander-in-Chief and I informed the Aide-de-Camp, Lt. Col. Abdallah, accordingly. He, however, advised that we keep a close watch on the Head of State.

Later in the evening of 8th June, 1998, around 6p.m his doctor came around, administered an injection to stabilize him. He was advised to have a short rest. Happily, enough, by 9p.m the Head of State was bouncing and receiving visitors until much later when General Jeremiah Timbut Useni, the then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, came calling. He was fond of the Head of State.

They were very good friends.

They stayed and chatted together till about 3:35a.m.

A friend of the house was with me in my office and as he was bidding me farewell, he came back to inform me that the FCT Minister, General Useni was out of the Head of State’s Guest House within the Villa. I then decided to inform the ADC and other security boys that I would be on my way home to prepare for the early morning event at the International Conference Centre.

At about 5a.m the security guards ran to my quarters to inform me that the Head of State was very unstable. At first, I thought it was a coup

attempt. Immediately, I prepared myself fully for any eventuality. As an intelligence officer and the Chief Security Officer to the Head of State for that matter, I devised a means of diverting the attention of the security boys from my escape route by asking my wife to continue chatting with them at the door – she was in the house while the boys were outside. From there, I got to the Guest House of the Head of State before them.

When I got to the bedside of the Head of State, he was already gasping. Ordinarily, I could not just touch him. It was not allowed in our job. But under the situation on ground, I knelt close to him and shouted, ‘General Sani Abacha, Sir, please grant me permission to touch and carry you.’

I again knocked at the stool beside the bed and shouted in the same manner, yet he did not respond. I then realized there was a serious danger. I immediately called the Head of State’s personal physician, Dr. Wali, who arrived the place under eight minutes from his house. He immediately gave Oga – General Abacha –two doses of injection, one at the heart and another close to his neck.

This did not work apparently as the Head of State had turned very cold. He then told me that the Head of State was dead and nothing could be done after all. I there and then asked the personal physician to remain with the dead body while I dashed home to be fully prepared for the problems that might arise from the incident.

As soon as I informed my wife, she collapsed and burst into tears. I secured my house and then ran back. At that point, the Aide-de-Camp had been contacted by me and we decided that great caution must be taken in handling the grave situation.

Again, I must reiterate that the issue of my boss dying on top of women was a great lie just as the insinuation that General Sani Abacha ate and died of poisoned apples was equally a wicked lie.”

What he did not disclose was that the Guest House was a two-storey building. Apart from the two Indian ladies who were in the ground floor sitting room, Abacha’s Nigerian (Ibo) girlfriend was waiting upstairs.

Perhaps the most amazing scene in the film was how Al-Mustapha whose rank was only that of Major took complete control. Without letting the most senior military officers know that Abacha was dead, he invited them to a meeting at The Villa, ostensibly on the orders of Abacha.

Once they were all inside, all that Mustapha needed to do to become Abacha’s successor was to hold the already disarmed officers to ransom with guns pointing at their heads. Had he pulled the trigger, there would have been no resistance. He must be regretting that he took Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa into confidence. Apparently, it was Marwa who quickly contacted former President General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB). IBB lost no time in outmanoeuvring Major Mustapha. What followed was an apparent deadlock over who should succeed Abacha. The controversy was over seniority by military rank or position in the government hierarchy. So, it was a tussle between Lt. General Abdulsalami Abubakar who was the most senior military officer and Lt. Gen. Jerry Useni who was the “de facto” number two to Abacha although his official position was Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. Also, in contention was Major-General Ishaya Bamaiyi who was the Chief of Army Staff.

Matters were interrupted in order to allow for the burial of General Sani Abacha. It was not until the following day that Lt. General Abdulsalami Abubakar was announced as the

new Head of State and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. Lt. General Jerry Useni’s candidacy was certainly not helped by the fury of Abacha’s widow, Hajia Maryam Abacha who was alleged to have concluded that Useni was somehow complicit in the dalliance with and entertainment of various ladies by her departed husband.

Regardless of his vigorous defence and protestation of innocence, Lt. General Jerry Useni lost out.

Several scenes of the film are truly awesome.

In one episode, Ibrahim Abacha was portrayed as the de facto Chief of Staff of his father. He had access to all the appurtenances of office – aircraft, cars, etc. Ministers as well as top government officials were at his beck and call. Once the son gave approval, the deal was done. Ibrahim took care of business plus the money trail – especially the huge sums that ended up in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Luxemburg, Jersey, Guernsey and other exotic destinations. Ironically, General Sani Abacha never set foot in Switzerland where a large chunk of the looted funds were kept.

Looming large in the transactions was Alhaji Abubakar Bagudu who is now the Governor of Kebbi State.

Abacha’s loyal wife and widow declared that the funds were not stolen. They were only warehoused so that the American government would not be able to seize the money!!

When Ibrahim died on 17th of January, 1996 along with his girlfriend Funmi, his friend Bello (a younger brother of Aliko Dangote), as well as 14 other friends, and the crew in an air crash in Kano following a spur of the moment whim to head to the ancient city for the best “Suya” meat, his father and mother were devastated and utterly shattered. Thereafter, General Sani Abacha took to wearing goggles both day and night.

Another gripping scene was when the trio of playwrights/authors Professor Wole Soyinka; Professor Chinua Achebe and Professor J.P. Clark visited General Ibrahim Babangida at Dodan Barracks to plead for amnesty for Major-General Mamman Jiya Vatsa who was a poet and former classmate of Babangida (IBB), they were warmly received by Babangida who reminded them that Vatsa was the Best Man at his wedding to Mariam. They left at about 4pm and gave a press conference which reassured those who had been anxiously awaiting the outcome of their intervention.

Low and behold, on the National Television Authority (NTA) news at 7pm on 5th March 1986, it was announced that Major-General Vatsa had been executed along with other coup plotters.

One of the fascinating episodes in the film was how Major-General Olusegun Obasanjo who was the Chief of General Staff Supreme Headquarters (the number two in the military hierarchy) dodged assassination on Friday 13th February 1976. He owes his narrow escape to divine intervention through an unexpected visit from Colonel Olu Bajowa who turned up at Obasanjo’s Ikoyi residence to announce the safe delivery of his son Yomi and that the naming ceremony would be held that morning. He requested for permission to be late in getting to Dodan Barracks where he worked directly under Obasanjo. While this was going on, another officer, Colonel Reis Dumuje arrived and he waited patiently for Obasanjo to finish his discussions with Bajowa. In the meantime, Bajowa’s driver had left on an errand.

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