SUNDAY 17TH MARCH 2019 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

US Report: Massive, Pervasive Corruption at All Levels of Govt Says cases rarely concluded Accuses security agents of unlawful killings Tobi Soniyi Despite repeated avowals of his commitment to a fight against corruption, the United States Department of State has said there is a

climate of impunity in the President Muhammadu Buhari government that allows officials to engage in corrupt practices with a sense of exemption from punishment. The State Department’s Bureau

of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, in its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2018, said Nigeria had made little progress in efforts to limit corruption in its public service.

The US Congress mandates the executive to produce a report on the state of human rights worldwide every year. For Nigeria, the findings in the 2018 Human Rights Report, released Thursday,

were largely similar to those of the previous year’s report, indicating lack of real progress in the government’s anti-corruption war. A copy of the report obtained by THISDAY

said, “Although the law provides criminal penalties for conviction of official corruption, the government did not implement the law Continued on page 10

PDP Accuses INEC of Refusing Atiku Access to Inspect Election Materials… Page 84 Sunday 17 March, 2019 Vol 24. No 8742

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Baru: Africa Yet to Tap over 41bn Barrels of Crude, 319trn scf of Gas As Nigeria delays, Kenya’s PIB cedes 25% revenue to host communities Chineme Okafor in Abuja and Peter Uzoho with agency report Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National

Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has revealed that more than 41 billion barrels of crude oil and 319 trillion standard cubic feet of gas were yet to

be discovered in Sub-Saharan Africa. Baru said from available information, the African crude oil and gas outlook remained positive and on the upward trajectory, insisting that the

West Africa Sub-Region held all the aces in offshore Deep Water exploration hotspots. Baru spoke last Wednesday during a special session on Africa focusing

on “Foundations for New Investment”, at the ongoing 19th CERAWeek Conference in Houston, United States. But while the Nigerian government has continued to

pussyfoot on the fate of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the Kenyan government has already addressed crude oil Continued on page 8

Supplementary Polls: How the Parties Stand, INEC Reverses Self on Bauchi To complete process in Rivers as AAC protests APC berates electoral body over comment on military Olawale Olaleye in Lagos, Shola Oyeyipo and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The current state of play in five states of the North Central, North East and North West with respect to the governorship election, which was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has not only left much to be desired but would ultimately account for the balance of power when the full results finally come in. Although originally six states with Bauchi, which was later taken out of the equation in the top league, the decision by INEC to declare the elections in those states inconclusive has raised genuine concerns about plausible ulterior motives, which some of the election observers also alluded to in their reports, since they are states where the opposition

seemed to be in lead except for Plateau. Such insinuations are what have combined to exacerbate the riveting tension in the runup to the supplementary polls, already slated for Saturday, March 23, as both parties have aggressively charged up and determined to ensure the states do not slip off their grips. What this means is that whichever of the two leading parties – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) – that is able to clinch victory might be well positioned for whatever challenge that the 2023 elections eventually throw at them. There is no debating the fact that the opposition PDP appears a bit more comfortable in at least four of the five states due for supplementary Continued on page 8

Fresh Herdsmen Attack Kill 10 in Kaduna Community... Page 86

I SHARE YOUR PAIN... First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, during her hospital visit to victims of the collapsed building at Ita-Faaji, Lagos Island... yesterday

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PAGE EIGHT SUPPLEMENTARY POLLS: HOW THE PARTIES STAND, INEC REVERSES SELF ON BAUCHI elections next weekend and this is because of the current pictures that the state of play cuts, not only in terms of the chances they stand at the end of the day but more because of the votes they have locked up in their vaults since the last encounter. In Adamawa, for example, while PDPâ€™s Umaru Fintiri polled 367,471, APCâ€™s Jibrilla Bindow had 334,995. The margin of lead was 32,476, while cancelled votes were 40,988, more than the margin of lead. But juxtaposed with the presidential results, Adamawa may never go away from the PDP except the unthinkable happens, meaning if the elections were conducted time and time again, the PDP still holds the ace in the state. The situation in Benue State is a rather sensitive one, given some of the issues that shaped and defined both the presidential and governorship campaigns and how they cut deeply on religion and ethnicity â€“ two critical divisive fault lines. But as at the last election, Governor Samuel Ortom of PDP had secured 410,576, while Emmanuel Jime of APC had 329,022. Unfortunately, the margin was 81,554, while the cancelled votes stood at 121,019, the very reason INEC ordered a supplementary poll. It would not be surprising if at the end of the day, Benue still went the way of the PDP. There is presently a disturbing calm in Kano State, a situation occasioned by the insinuations that there was a move to subvert the will of the people hence the level of interests it has generated more than any other states and for strategic political reasons. Although Kano gave President Muhammadu Buhari its highest bulk votes during the presidential poll, the tide changed dramatically during the governorship election as PDPâ€™s Abba Yusuf polled

1,014,474 to lead incumbent Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of the APC, who scored 987,819. The margin between them was 26,655, less than the cancelled votes of 128,572, therefore necessitating the call for a supplementary election even as many question how such a huge number of votes could have been cancelled. There is no doubting the fact that both the PDP and the APC understand the importance of Kano, a critical North West state and as such have continued to taunt each other, leaving nothing to chance in the expectation that they would cancel out each other. Kano is however looking more like a zero-sum game between the two major parties and this is because Governor Ganduje is actually not running against Yusuf, his real challenger is his estranged boss and friend, former governor and Senator, Rabiu Kwankwaso, whose kwankwasiyya movement is â€˜another religionâ€™ in the North Western state. North Centralâ€™s Plateau State is about the only state where the ruling APC is slightly comfortable, albeit with a fragile lead. Here, incumbent Governor Simon Lalong of APC maintains a tenuous lead with 583,255 votes while Senator Jerry Useni of the PDP trails closely behind with 538,326. Their margin was 44,929, less than the cancelled votes of 49,377. Although nothing is given yet in Plateau, the APC still relishes in the understanding that in spite of its delicate lead, Plateau is its own for the taking, an assumption PDP has also dismissed with a wave of the hand. The last but not the least of the pack of five is Sokoto, another state of peculiar interests to the two parties. First, it is for its strategic location (North West) and two, for its political relevance in the quest by the two parties to swell their ranks

and buckle up ahead of 2023. Governor Aminu Tambuwal of the PDP already has in the kitty some 489,558 votes to lead Aliyu Ahmed of APC with 486,145. Again, the margin between them was 3,413, far less than the cancelled votes of 75,403, which observers considered way too high. The final battle for Sokoto would be very tough, however, and for two reasons. The first is that Tambuwal is running against his former deputy, Ahmed, who fell out with him and second, is the political score he might have to settle with his estranged ally, Aliyu Wamakko. Overall, while four out of the five states look good for the PDP, nothing is yet cast in stone or can be taken for granted, the very reason that the emerging state of play is not defined by how the parties stand now, but how they hope to stand at the end of the day, when the battle for 2023 takes the centre stage and at the fullness of time.

INEC Cancels Supplementary Election in Bauchi, Resumes Results Collation In a dramatic turnaround, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday announced the cancellation of the proposed supplementary governorship election in Bauchi State. INEC also approved the resumption and conclusion of the collation of results in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of the state, where the process had been stalemated, leading to the declaration of the March 9 governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state as inconclusive. In a similar vein, after a week of silence, INEC expressed displeasure with the role played by some soldiers and armed gangs in the last general elections in Rivers State. The commission said the collation process had

been disrupted by persons who attempted to subvert the will of the people. It, thus, resolved to complete the process, saying it is committed to expeditiously completing the collation process in areas where results had so far been announced. But African Action Congress (AAC) said it was unhappy with INECâ€™s decisions regarding the conclusion of the March 9 governorship and state assembly elections in Rivers State. AAC alleged conspiracy between the commission and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. In a related development, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State berated INEC over claims that the electoral processes in the state was disrupted by thugs and the military. APC also opposed the plans by the commission to complete the results collation process. INEC had scheduled supplementary elections to hold on March 23 in Bauchi State. But announcing the changes in a statement late Friday, INECâ€™s National Commissioner and Chairman, Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Festus Okoye, said the electoral body on March 12 considered a report submitted by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Bauchi State on the disruption of the collation process at the Tafawa Balewa Collation Centre, which led to the cancelation of results for the entire local government. Okoye recalled that the governorship and state assembly elections were held on March 9 in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area and the votes scored by candidates were announced at the Polling Units and collated at the 11 Registration Areas of the local government. He stressed that the findings of the committee set up by the commission revealed that halfway into the local government collation, armed

gangs attacked the collation centre and destroyed the Local Government Result Sheet (EC8C) and some collated results from the Registration Areas. Okoye added that the results of seven out of the 11 Registration Areas for governorship and six out of 11 for state assembly elections were affected. He noted that INEC guidelines provided that where violent disruption affected collation in this manner, results should be regenerated from duplicate copies on a replacement result sheet. According to him, â€œThe Collation Officer, under pressure from Party Agents who could not wait for the arrival of a replacement result sheet, decided to collate the result on an available RA result sheet instead of the replacement LGA result sheet. â€œWhen the result was presented at the State Governorship Collation Centre, the Returning Officer rejected the regenerated result, because it was on a wrong result sheet. The Investigation Committee established that the result in Polling Units and Registration Areas are available and in safe custody. â€œThe Investigation Committee also established that the number of cancelled votes for the four Polling Units in Ningi Local Government Area, which was recorded as 25,330 in form EC40G (1), was incorrect. â€œThe actual figure is 2,533. Consequently, the Commission has taken the following decisions: approved the resumption and conclusion of the collation of results of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area in relation to the governorship election as the duplicate and original Registration Area results are available; approved the resumption, conclusion and announcement of the result of the Tafawa Balewa State Constituency.â€?

He said the electoral body also approved â€œThe appointment of a new Collation/Returning Officer for Tafawa Balewa Local Government to continue and conclude the collation process in place of the original Collation Officer, who withdrew from the exercise citing threats to her life and those of her family members. â€œThe Collation process for Tafawa Balewa Local Government will resume on Tuesday, 19th March 2019. The Commission directed that the error in the total number of cancelled votes in four polling units in Ningi Local Government Area should be corrected from 25,330 to 2,533.â€?

To Complete Process in Rivers as AAC Protests On Rivers elections, Okoye noted that the commission met on March 15 and considered the report of its committee. The commission had on March 10 suspended all electoral processes in Rivers State, having determined that there was widespread disruption of collation of results for the elections conducted on March 9. Subsequently, the commission set up a fact-finding committee to assess the situation and report back within 48 hours. The committee, however, established that the governorship and state assembly elections took place in most of the polling units and results were announced, adding that the results from 17 out of the 23 local governments of the state were available and were in the commissionâ€™s custody. Okoye stated that the declaration and returns for 21 State Constituencies out of 32 were made prior to the suspension. The committee equally established that collation centres were invaded by some soldiers Continued on page 10

WITH 41BN BARRELS OF CRUDE, 319TRN SCF OF GAS UNTAPPED, AFRICAâ€™S OUTLOOK POSITIVE â€“ BARU revenue-sharing controversy and host community concerns in a new petroleum law signed by its President, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta, in a sense that made mockery of Nigeriaâ€™s attempts to undertake reforms in her oil industry for nearly 19 years. Throwing light on the future of oil and gas in Africa, Baru stated that a prolific find of 1.0 billion barrels of crude oil was recently made at the Owowo field, offshore Nigeria. While calling on foreign investors to explore the Nigerian Ultra-Deep terrain, which he described as largely untested, Baru told his audience that in Nigeria, NNPC was currently drilling Kolmani River-II Well in the Benue Trough â€“ one of Nigeriaâ€™s several frontier inland Basins with about 400 BCF of gas expected to be encountered. The occasion also provided an opportunity for the NNPC boss to make a case for the domestication of oil and gas technologies within the African continent. â€œIt is my belief that domesticating these cuttingedge technologies will develop the capacity of our people, improve our economies and emplace our national oil and gas companies on the path of sustainable growth and development,â€? he stated. According to him, African countries must react positively to the new reality by deploying new policies and stabilise their business environment to attract meaningful investments. He said critical to achieving that for Nigeria was the passage of the four components of the

Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), which is expected to usher in a new legislation that would not only enhance the investment climate in the country, but also change the fortunes of the nationâ€™s oil and gas business for the better. Baru informed delegates at the conference that the NNPC was opening up its business environment to ensure transparency and accountability in its dealings with all stakeholders. He also lauded the federal government for its peace initiatives in the Niger Delta communities, which he said had seen the country hitting very high oil and gas production figures in recent years. Ministers and high level energy executives from Mali, Somalia, Namibia and Uganda were among panelists at the Special Session. Organised by IHS Markit, CERAWeek is a global platform on energy trends and public policy, where over 4,000 oil and gas experts convene annually to debate the future of oil, natural gas, renewable energy, power and new technologies. Curiously, the government of Kenya has taken a major initiative ahead of the Nigerian government by addressing crude oil revenue-sharing challenges, especially the host community concerns, by signing a new petroleum law. Nigeria currently uses a 1969 law, the Petroleum Act, to manage activities in her oil industry. But industry experts have repeatedly described the 1969 law as archaic and unfit for the purpose in an industry

that has continued to evolve. The country has also failed to adequately address the impacts of oil exploration on host communities, thus resulting to frequent agitation and militancy in the oil-producing Niger Delta region. A report obtained from Reuters yesterday by THISDAY in Abuja indicated that the Kenyan Petroleum Exploration Development and Production Bill 2017 was signed last Tuesday by President Kenyatta. It granted the central government of the country 75 per cent of the revenue accruing from crude oil and gas exploited in the country, while county governments and the local host communities would take 20 per cent and five per cent, respectively, from the revenue. Relying on its 1969 law, Nigeria has mined and produced oil for more than 50 years, while Kenyaâ€™s Tullow Oil and its partner, Africa Oil, discovered commercial oil reserves in the Lokichar basin in 2012. The companies are working towards a final investment decision (FID) by the end of this year. Kenyaâ€™s enactment of its new petroleum law comes almost seven months after Nigeriaâ€™s President, Muhammadu Buhari, refused to assent to the PIGB, a bill legislated by the National Assembly to, among other objectives, address key governance issues in Nigeriaâ€™s oil industry. Stating that his powers will be reduced, Buhari in August of 2018 reportedly failed to sign the PIGB, an offshoot of the larger PIB, which the

National Assembly separated into four different bills for ease of passage. The other bills are the Petroleum Industry Host Community Bill (PIHCB), Petroleum Industry Administration Bill (PIAB), and Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill (PIFB). While Nigeria had for up to 19 years unsuccessfully attempted to reform its oil industry using the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in a September 2016 policy brief titled: â€œthe urgency of a new petroleum sector lawâ€?, explained the failure of Nigeria to pass an over-arching law for the petroleum sector after repeated attempts had continued to accrue huge costs to her with an estimated loss of $200 billion, and about $15 billion worth of investment lost annually. But the new law in Kenya was considered an improvement of a 2015 bill, which would have capped allocations to the local county and community on the basis of 10 per cent. It was however not signed by Kenyatta. The new bill also said parliament would review the percentages within 10 years to take into consideration any adjustments needed. In the Kenyan law, the national governmentâ€™s share of petroleum revenues before the imposition of taxes shall be deposited to a dedicated petroleum fund, and managed in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act. Additionally, the local

communityâ€™s share of the oil revenue shall be payable to a trust fund managed by a board of trustees established by the county government in consultation with the local community. Kenyaâ€™s new petroleum law also provided for a comprehensive contracting, exploration, development and production framework. In its 2016 policy brief on the PIB, NEITI explained that the need for regulatory reforms in Nigeriaâ€™s oil sector was based on such reasons as imprecise rules; excessive regulatory discretion; and the fusion of regulatory, policy and operator roles into several agencies. It added that prevalent corruption, lack of transparency, and accountability were also consequences of the archaic law Nigeria uses to govern her petroleum sector, stressing that these have led to the countryâ€™s economy severely underperforming, just as loss of benefits from the industry was prevalent and a large population of Nigerians impoverished irrespective of the countryâ€™s huge hydrocarbon resources. Reports indicated that deliberations in the National Assembly over host community aspects of the PIB has for many years remained controversial with arguments often divided along ethnic lines instead of on the basis of environmental and economic considerations. Putting the impacts of Nigeriaâ€™s delay in the passage of a reformed petroleum law into perspective, the NEITIâ€™s policy brief said, â€œGovernance deficiencies have been equally

prolific. NEITIâ€™s 2013 audit of the oil and gas sector revealed that a cumulative $10.4 billion and N378.7 billion was lost, under-remitted or outstanding due to inefficiencies, theft or absence of clear fiscal regime in the sectors. â€œAll these came to N1.74 trillion at 2013 value. At the current exchange rate, total losses, under-remitted and under-payments for 2013 alone sum up to N3.2 trillion. Proper governance framework and clearer fiscal regime for the sector could have resolved most of the underlying causes. â€œAttempt to capture the economic losses in a single figure is almost impossible given the scale of effects and size of the multiplier. The cost computation attempted above is therefore only a slice of the real picture, and only limited to the period that the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the PIB has persisted. â€œStretching back to the period before the life of the PIB, Nigeriaâ€™s oil and gas sector has continued to deteriorate largely due to the fact that the laws that govern the petroleum industry are either not sufficient for effective regulation of the sector, or too outdated to be relevant in todayâ€™s global energy environment. â€œFor instance, the Petroleum Act (1969) was enacted when the countryâ€™s economy revolved less around oil and when the global oil market was less competitive than todayâ€™s. Yet, the country has failed to enact laws to adapt to the changing realities in the sector, locally and internationally.â€?

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

SUNDAY COMMENT

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

2019 GENERAL ELECTION AND THE MILITARY The military increasing role in politics compromises their professionalism

wo civil society groups, the Save Democracy Women and Impact Future Nigeria on 6th March staged a protest in Abuja over what they termed “the militarisation of the 2019 general elections.” But their protest evidently did not matter in the reckoning of those deploying troops for what ordinarily should be a civil engagement. The governorship and house of assembly elections that followed on 9thMarch were perhaps more virulent as arm-wielding security personnel compromised their professional credibility in shameless partisanship that has now put to question the integrity of our armed forces. Although an apparently embarrassed Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Buratai has set up a panel to investigate the role of the military, nobody seems impressed. Never in the history of elections in Nigeria did we witness such impunity in the election process as seen in the past four weeks. Men in uniform intimidated or blocked voters from getting to polling stations, snatched ballot boxes and instigated needless violence in some theatres across the country. Like every other election in the past decade, Rivers State stood out as a sore thumb. Even though the main opposition party in the state (and ruling party at the centre), the All Progressives Congress (APC), was banned from presenting candidates in the election, the exercise was a little short of a full blown war, an unending battle of supremacy between the sitting governor Nyesom Wike and his immediate predecessor and Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi. Viral video captured soldiers overrunning the home of a state official and even chasing after female residents with guns drawn. In one of the

The role played by the military during the 2019 general election has further helped to deepen partisanship within their ranks, compromised their professionalism and polarised the polity

Letters to the Editor

videos, an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official admitted that their office was besieged by the military and results of the election were confiscated, thus rendering impossible their collation task. Though the military high command refuted the allegations, ascribing the atrocities to ‘fake soldiers’, there were no reports of any arrest and many Nigerians see the defence as an afterthought. Soldiers even blocked international observers from performing their duty of monitoring the conduct of the elections.

S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS OLAWALE OLALEYE, TOBI SONIYI 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 DIRECTORS ERIC OJEH, PATRICK EIMIUHI ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: ﬁrst name.surname@thisdaylive.com

ndeed, after a meeting at the weekend, INEC was forthright enough to condemn the actions of the military personnel and armed gangs which disrupted the collation process in some places, specifically citing Rivers and Bauchi States. In Rivers, according to the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, declaration and returns for 21 state constituencies out of 32 were made prior to the suspension when “collation centres were invaded by some soldiers and armed gangs resulting in the intimidation and unlawful arrest of election officials thereby disrupting the collation process… the commission expresses displeasure with the role played by some soldiers and armed gangs in Rivers State disrupting the collation process and attempting to subvert the will of the people.” These, no doubt are strong words which indict the military and call to question their role in the electoral process. In several of our interventions, we have said repeatedly that the police have the constitutional duty of protecting and policing the country during elections as in other civil times. The military and other security agencies can only act as back up whenever they are called upon to do so. It is an aberration of Nigerian laws for the military to be directly involved in politics as we have just witnessed during the 2019 elections. In October 2015, the Nigerian Army set up a Board of Inquiry to investigate alleged malpractices and involvement of its personnel in Ekiti and Osun States during the 2014 gubernatorial elections. “The essence of the investigation is to prevent future unprofessional conduct by officers and men in the performance of constitutional roles. It is also to strengthen Nigerian Army’s support to democratic values and structures in Nigeria”, the statement said at the time. Given what transpired in recent weeks, we can conclude that they learnt nothing from that ugly experience. The role they played during the 2019 general election has further helped to deepen partisanship within their ranks, compromised their professionalism and polarised the polity. The military must step back from politics and put an end to this worrying trend.

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 (950- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

The Collapsed Building in Lagos

n Wednesday 13 March 2019, it was heartbreaking to read about another building collapse in Lagos. Men were tucked under the rubbles, women were struck in hole and buried alive and children were thumped by the submerged concrete. As at the time of writing, 18 people have lost their lives and about 44 injured. A family lost three kids in the unfortunate incident. Another woman reportedly committed suicide after losing two children. The collapsed building brings to mind the September 12th, 2014 incidence where a six-storey guest house belonging to the

Synagogue Church of all Nations collapsed, killing over 100 people. A boy born then would be celebrating his 5th birthday in few month’s time, but little has been done since then. What reigns supreme is the unmistakable sound of bureaucrats and other stakeholders passing the buck. Despite the fact that some buildings have been marked as unsafe for living, people still live in them. When you ask them, they say it’s because of “poverty’’. Is it not better to be alive and have hope of getting out of poverty than live in a precarious building that can collapse anytime? The collapse was made worse by the presence of schools in the building. The

approval of the dilapidated buildings for school confirmed the wishy-washy way of doing things and explains partly why the education sector is failing. How many more lives of our loved ones, friends and neighbours will be lost before this very problem is corrected? How many dreams would be shattered before the crooked developers are apprehended? How many limbs would be crushed before the law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies will put an end to sharp practices? How many innocent lives will be stopped before decisive actions are taken against those found culpable of breaching building standards?

I look on with concern and I ask: Would this happen if the government agencies and regulatory bodies played their role? Would this happen if the building experts were strict in adherence to quality materials? Would this happen if the right design structure was in place? Would this happen if structurally defective buildings had been sealed? Would this happen if buildings are legally constructed with professional engineering protocols? Would this happen if owners are responsible and are concerned about their building? Would this happen if individuals shun greediness? Would it happen if the crooked developers built and developed with feelings?Would it happen if landlords consider safety rather than their pockets? The stakeholders have woven together

threads of conspiracy that could only be unknotted by the willing government. The first step is the signing of the national building code into law. Until this is done the prey will continue to saunter in the presence of an eagle. We have always been reactive instead of being proactive; the wellbeing and safety of the citizens is inextricably linked to governance. I urge the Lagos State government to take sequence of immediate actions to forestall further incidence. For most of us, we are happy seeing our children buzz like a bee, for others they have to go to the cemetery and have their heart tortured for life. How pathetic? Life is precious when alive but there is no future or dream in the grave. ––Olusanya Anjorin, Lagos.

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NEWS

US Observer Group Says Election Shortcomings Orchestrated to Benefit Incumbent, APC Military invasion and rampage in Rivers State, troublesome on several levels Clear pattern of desperation, constitutional violation of key institutions

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The United States-Nigeria Law Group, an election observer initiative, has released a damning election assessment report of the 2019 election, where it clearly stated that most of the issues that troubled the 2019 general election were deliberately contrived to assist the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to retain power at the centre. Of particular note is an aspect

of the report which claimed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, in both the Judiciary and INEC matters, violated the constitution of Nigeria, which guarantees their independence from interference. From its findings, the group posited that while the electorate prepared for elections, it was as though the incumbent was "preparing a military operation.â€? In a statement signed by Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe and

obtained by THISDAY at the weekend, the Group said it observed conscious efforts to compromise the elections and raised early warnings as well as concerns, which have now been validated and proven by the resulting self-sabotaged elections. For example, it noted that INEC announced inconclusive elections in 6 states out of which PDP was reportedly leading in all but one. â€œThis is highly suggestive and unsettling all by itself.

However, there are further indications that similar results in states in which the APC was leading were not declared inconclusive. Some states where a rerun was illogical, because the mathematical probabilities could not conceivably produce a different outcome have still been scheduled for rerun. â€œThe principle on cancelled votes versus margin of victory, which ostensibly informed the inconclusive declarations in state elections, was not uniformly

applied in the presidential elections. So far the following states have been declared inconclusive â€“ the most ever in Nigerian history â€“ Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Sokoto, Kano and Bauchi states. â€œIt is especially noteworthy that in the case of Kano State, the PDP was overwhelming leading when the Deputy Governor seized and tore the results of the last Local Government to be declared. This brazen act of brigandage was caught on video

and is perhaps emblematic of how the election results overall have been hijacked.â€? On the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections from February 16 to 23, the group said its investigations and analysis indicated that the action was orchestrated by the ruling party based on its dissatisfaction with judiciary pronouncements on cases affecting its candidates.

September the Kaduna State government had appealed the ruling. Approximately 100 additional IMN members remained in detention. â€œIn October security forces killed 45 IMN members that were participating in processions and protests, according to Amnesty International (AI).â€? The report recalled the January 2017 bombing of an informal internally displaced persons (IDPs) settlement in Rann, Borno State, by the Nigerian Air Force, which resulted in the killing and injuring of more than 100 civilians and aid workers. It said, â€œThe government and military leaders publicly assumed responsibility for the strike and launched an investigation. The air force conducted its own internal investigation, but as of December the government had not made public its findings. No air force or army personnel were known to have been held accountable for their roles in the event. There were reports of arbitrary and unlawful killings related to internal conflicts in the Northeast and other areas.â€? The report identified the following human rights issues in Nigeria: unlawful and arbitrary killings by both government and non-state actors; forced disappearances by both government and non-state actors; torture by both government and non-state actors; and prolonged arbitrary detention in life-threatening conditions, particularly, in government detention facilities. Others are harsh and life threatening prison conditions, including civilian detentions in military

facilities, often based on flimsy or no evidence; infringement on citizensâ€™ privacy rights; criminal libel; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, in particular for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons; and refoulement of refugees. The report also identified as human rights abuse corruption; progress to formally separate child soldiers previously associated with the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF); lack of accountability concerning violence against women, including female genital mutilation/cutting, in part due to government inaction/ negligence; trafficking in persons, including sexual exploitation and abuse by security officials; crimes involving violence targeting LGBTI persons and the criminalisation of status and same-sex sexual conduct based on sexual orientation and gender identity; and forced and bonded labour. The report, however, noted that the government took steps to investigate alleged abuses but took fewer steps to prosecute officials who committed violations, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government. â€œImpunity remained widespread at all levels of government. The government did not adequately investigate or prosecute most of the major outstanding allegations of human rights violations by the security forces or the majority of cases of police or military extortion or other abuse of power,â€? the report added.

he was winning until INEC stepped in to halt the process apparently to save Wike from an earth-shaking defeat." William dismissed claims that the AAC and its candidate were not popular enough to win the Rivers State governorship election, arguing that those pushing that position are being clever by half. "Can the governor and his ilk also say that APC that threw its weight behind us, for obvious reasons, are not popular and on ground in Rivers State?" he asked. Similarly, Director, Strategic Communications of the Tonye Cole Campaign Organisation, Tonye Princewill, faulted INEC for pointing fingers at the military, saying without their intervention elections couldn't have held in the oil-rich Rivers State. Princewill said, â€œWeâ€™ve seen the statement issued by INEC and I stand by my earlier

comment that even if they tried, INEC canâ€™t save Wike. Apart from spelling mistakes, the vague statement reveals a lot of things about an umpire that doesnâ€™t pay attention to finer details, refuses to take any responsibility for its failures and yet goes on to equate moral equivalence between the Nigerian Army and common thugs. "That ludicrous position is where they reveal their true colours. The statement could easily have been drafted in collaboration with Rivers State Government House. Let me reiterate again that without the Army, Rivers State would have been a bloodbath. Just like with INEC, we too have more to reveal in the days to come. "Letâ€™s not say too much. There is an old African proverb that says if the mouth goes to war too early, when the leg arrives, the enemy will grab it.â€?

Continued on page 86

US REPORT: MASSIVE, PERVASIVE CORRUPTION AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVT effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. â€œMassive, widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government and the security services. There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year.â€? The report stated that the countryâ€™s two key anticorruption agencies, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had broad powers to prosecute corruption, but rarely applied such powers to conscientiously and logically prosecute corruption cases. It stated, â€œThe EFCC writ extends only to financial and economic crimes. The ICPC secured 14 convictions during the year. In 2016 the EFCC had 66 corruption cases pending in court, had secured 13 convictions during the year, and had 598 open investigations. â€œAlthough ICPC and EFCC anti-corruption efforts remained largely focused on low and mid-level government officials, following the 2015 presidential election, both organisations started investigations into and brought indictments against various active and former highlevel government officials. Many of these cases were pending in court. According to both ICPC and EFCC, the delays were the result of a lack of judges and the widespread practice of filing for and granting multiple adjournments. â€œEFCC arrests and indictments of politicians continued throughout the year,

implicating a significant number of opposition political figures and leading to allegations of partisan motivations on the part of the EFCC. In October the EFCC arrested and indicted former governor of Ekiti State Ayo Fayose on 11 counts, including conspiracy and money laundering amounting to 2.2 billion naira ($6 million). After a Federal High Court ruling, Fayose was out on 50 million naira ($137,500) bail.â€? On financial disclosure, the report noted the constitutional requirement under the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act (CCBTA) for public officials, including the president, vice president, governors, deputy governors, cabinet ministers, and legislators (at both federal and state levels), to declare their assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) before assuming and after leaving office. The constitution calls for the CCB to â€œmake declarations available for inspection by any citizen of the country on such terms and conditions as the National Assembly may prescribe,â€? said the report. â€œThe law does not address the publication of asset information. Violators risk prosecution, but cases rarely reached conclusion." Perhaps, more chilling was the finding that arbitrary deprivation of life and unlawful killings were prevalent in Nigeria in 2018. The report cited several examples. It said, â€œThere were several reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary and unlawful killings. The national police, army, and other security services used lethal

and excessive force to disperse protesters and apprehend criminals and suspects and committed other extrajudicial killings. â€œAuthorities generally did not hold police, military, or other security force personnel accountable for the use of excessive or deadly force or for the deaths of persons in custody. â€œState and federal panels of inquiry investigating suspicious deaths generally did not make their findings public. â€œIn August 2017 the acting president convened a civilianled presidential investigative panel to review compliance of the armed forces with human rights obligations and rules of engagement, and the panel submitted its findings in February. As of November no portions of the report had been made public. â€œAs of September there were no reports of the federal government further investigating or holding individuals accountable for the 2015 killing and subsequent mass burial of members of the Shia group, Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), and other civilians by Nigerian Army (NA) forces in Zaria, Kaduna State. â€œ The report noted the 2016 nonbinding report of the Kaduna State governmentâ€™s judicial commission, which found that the Nigerian Army (NA) used â€œexcessive and disproportionateâ€? force during the 2015 altercations in which 348 members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and one soldier died. It said, â€œThe commission recommended the federal

government conduct an independent investigation and prosecute anyone found to have acted unlawfully. It also called for the proscription of the IMN and the monitoring of its members and their activities. â€œIn 2016 the government of Kaduna State published a white paper that included acceptance of the commissionâ€™s recommendation to investigate and prosecute allegations of excessive and disproportionate use of force by the NA. â€œAs of September, however, there was no indication that authorities had held any members of the NA accountable for the events in Zaria. It also accepted the recommendation to hold IMN leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky responsible for all illegal acts committed by IMN members during the altercations and in the preceding 30 years. In 2016 a federal court declared the continued detention without charge of Zakzaky and his wife illegal and unconstitutional. â€œThe court ordered their release by January 2017. The federal government did not comply with this order, and Zakzaky, his spouse, and other IMN members remained in detention. In April the Kaduna State government charged Zakzaky in state court with multiple felonies stemming from the death of the soldier at Zaria. The charges include culpable homicide, which can carry the death penalty. As of December the case was pending. In July a Kaduna High Court dismissed charges of aiding and abetting culpable homicide against more than 80 IMN members. As of

SUPPLEMENTARY POLLS: HOW THE PARTIES STAND, INEC REVERSES SELF ON BAUCHI and armed gangs, resulting in the intimidation and unlawful arrest of election officials. According to Okoye, â€œINEC expresses its displeasure with the role played by some soldiers and armed gangs in Rivers State disrupting the collation process and attempting to subvert the will of the people. INEC is committed to expeditious completion of the collation process, where results of the elections have been announced.â€? The National Commissioner assured that the commission would engage the security agencies at the national level and the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee at the state level to demand neutrality and professionalism of security personnel in order to secure a peaceful environment for the completion of the elections. He stressed that the commission would also engage key stakeholders in Rivers State with

a view to ensuring a smooth and peaceful completion of the process, noting that INEC would issue detailed timelines and activities for the completion of the election on Wednesday, March 20. But protesting the development, AACâ€™s Publicity Secretary in the state, Felix William, said his party considered the signal coming from INEC as unacceptable. William stated, "The African Action Congress in Rivers State condemns in its entirety the memo released into media space by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, by midnight purporting that governorship and state assembly elections results were available for seventeen (17) LGAs. "Sadly, we are curiously surprised and disappointed that INEC deliberately refused to name the 17 local government areas. As far as this

information is concerned, it is manifestly false and the attempt to shroud the LGAs claimed to have results in secrecy is a serious step by INEC to sway the outcome of the process in favour of Governor Nyesom Wike, its preferred candidate." AAC, which served as alternative platform for the leadership of the APC after it failed to present candidates for elections in the state following multiple court rulings, expressed fears that the electoral umpire was working to favour Wike. AAC stated, "We suspect that INEC might be working to surreptitiously bring in cooked up results credited to Obio/ Akpor to skew the balance of reality of things in favour of Wike. We vehemently reject this and will resist it with every pint of blood in us. "It is now clear to all that INEC has become deaf and blind to the fact that Governor

Nyesom Wike invaded the Obio/Akpor collation centre and ordered his security men to shoot an Army Captain and another soldier providing perimeter security to the collation centre. The Captain and his colleague are still in hospital after undergoing serious surgery. "We ask: is it so difficult for INEC to name the 17 LGAs? If INEC has agreed and accepted that four collation officers are card-carrying members of PDP and INEC have now sanctioned them, what happens to the results they collated having not been qualified to do so ab initio? "The AAC calls on INEC to stop its collaboration with Governor Nyesom Wike and the PDP. It must declare Engr. Biokpomabo Awara, our governorship candidate winner of the March 9 governorship election as it was glaring that

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

NEWS

Acting News Editor Gboyega Akinsanmi E-mail: gboyega.akinsanmi@thisdaylive.com, 08081986590

Candidates in Last Minute Scramble to Win Supplementary Elections As stakeholders ask Bindow to concede defeat By Our Correspondents Governorship candidates in states where the Independent National Electoral Commission declared elections inconclusive are making last-ditch efforts to emerge victorious in supplementary elections scheduled to hold on March 23. The Independent National

Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared governorship election in Adamawa, Benue Plateau, Sokoto and Kano States, citing electoral violence and over-voting among other reasons. In Benue State, for instance, the two major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) have been

making frantic efforts to ensure victory in the supplementary election. Members of both parties have started canvassing for support and votes in areas where the re-run will take place. Rerun election will be conducted in almost all the 23 local government areas of the state with about 121,091 votes at stake. After the March 9

election, PDP polled 420,576 votes, while APC scored 329,022. Before the election was declared inconclusive, the PDP was leading 81,554 votes. However, INEC had to declare the election inconclusive because cancelled votes121,091 were higher than the margin between the two top candidates. Benue State Governor, Dr.

PROMOTING SPORTS ...

L-R: Imo State Governor-elect, Emeka Ihedioha; his daughter, Kamsey; mother, Dorothy, and wife, Ebere, at the inter house sports of Noblehall Leadership Academy...yesterday

Samuel Ortom, who contested re-election on the PDP platform, led the race with 81,554 votes more than his closest rival, Emmanuel Jime of the APC. The margin was, however, less than the 121,091 votes in the polling units where voting was cancelled. This has necessitated the move by the two leading political parties to begin wooing voters to ensure victory. The Publicity Secretary of Benue APC, Mr. James Orguga said his party welcomed the declaration of the governorship election inconclusive saying a lots of things went wrong with the election. Orguga in a chat with our correspondent in Makurdi said even before the declaration, the party had raised the alarm over irregularities. He said the development would give his party the time to prepare more and then, come back and make up the inefficiency that was recorded during the last elections. Meanwhile the PDP has insisted that Ortom won the election and should be declared winner of the election. According to its returning agent, Mr. Alex Adum, Ortom met the condition to be declared winner even as he wondered why INEC decided to declare the election inconclusive. In Adamawa State, also, some politicians have called on the incumbent governor, Alhaji

Jibrilla Bindow and candidate of the APC to accept defeat and not to put the state on fire. The politicians expressed concern over INEC’s decision to declare the governorship election inconclusive. The state’s former governor, Mr. Boni Haruna sid, “We have reliably gathered that the total number of permanent voters cards collected in the 44 polling units is 31027, a figure that would not reverse the victory of the PDP candidate, Alhaji Umar Fintiri even after the supplementary elections in the 44 units. He noted that the registered voters in the polling units, where re-run will hold on March 23, are now only 34,101. Consequently, stakeholders believe that Fintiri, candidate of the PDP had won outrights, and that there was no basis for INEC to declare the election inconclusive. The Secretary of Adamawa PDP, Mr. Abdullahi Prambe said the party had gleaned from INEC records that 34,101 is actually the registered voters in the affected polling units, as against 40,988 declared by the state returning officer. Likewise, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), David Lawan Babachir said the only honourable thing “to do is for my party’s candidate, Governor Bindow to concede and give peace a chance.”

LASG Mulls Prosecution of Collapsed Building Owner, Developer Gboyega Akinsanmi The Lagos State Government may prosecute the owner and developer of a three-storey building that collapsed on Massey Street, Ita-Faaji on Thursday to serve as deterrence to others, top government officials yesterday disclosed. The officials, however, disclosed that the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) would not take any step until the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) and other regulatory agencies submitted their report on the incident.

Speaking in confidence with THISDAY yesterday, they confirmed that the state government would prosecute the owner and developer of the collapsed building, though both of them were currently on the run. One of the officials said the decision to prosecute became imperative after the figure of causalities from the collapsed building site increased to 20 and 45 injured including the pupils who were still on admission at Lagos Island General Hospital. He disclosed that the legal team of the state government was ready, though was still awaiting the State Police Command to

submit the case file to the DPP for onward prosecution. According to the state official, we are expecting the police to submit the file case on the case in order to commence prosecution of both the owner and developer. Despite the resolve of the state government, THISDAY findings revealed that the police had not arrested the owner and the developer, Mr Giwa, who completed the building in 2010 and was expected to handover the building to the owners after 10 years. However, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of

the State Criminal Intelligence Investigation Department (SCIID), Mrs. Yetunde Longe confirmed that the police had commenced an investigation into the collapsed building. During her visit to the scene, Longe hinted that her presence was to gathered first-hand information from the residents about the circumstances that led to the incident. She said the owner of the collapsed building “is on the run while the developer has yet to be identified.” In a bid to prevent a recurrence of the sad incident, however, the state government

has commenced the demolition of other distressed structures in the area that had failed integrity test. Officials of the State Building Control Agency, led by its acting General Manager, Omotayo Fakolujo, commenced demolition after Governor Akinwunmi Ambode ordered the demolition of over 80 buildings earlier marked to be pulled down. Fakolujo said that the 80 were among 150 distressed buildings that were identified on Lagos Island, but 30 had already been demolished in the last one year, saying, the 80 will be demolished in phases using

both manual and mechanical. He, also, disclosed that 20 of the 80 buildings earmarked for demolition were on Adeniji Adele, saying that the agency would no longer look back but ensure that distressed buildings were pulled down immediately. Within two days, Fakolujo said the agency has pulled down no fewer than nine buildings that posed threat to lives and property of residents within the community. The buildings pulled down in the last three days were: 50 Freeman street, 47 Smith street and 28 and 30 Apatira streets.

One Cop Killed, Two Shot in Bayelsa

Rewane, Gyumi to Feature on CNN African Voices

Tinubu Donates Books to 15 Nigerian Universities

Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

A Nigerian social entrepreneur, Ms. Misan Rewane will this week feature on African Voices, a magazine programme powered by Globacom Nigeria Limited on the Cable News Network (CNN) alongside two other notable change agents. The other change agents are a Tanzanian girls’ advocate, Ms. Rebecca Gyumi and the Founder of Fundi Bots, Solomon King Benge from Kampala, Uganda, both of whom have been impacting their communities through education and innovation. This was contained in a statement from the Globacom Corporate Communication Office yesterday, describingRewane as a social entrepreneur, who is equipping young adults

Olaseni Durojaiye

Suspected gunmen have ravaged Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, shooting two policemen in a popular hotel and killing another at the Joepal Shopping mall in Amarata. Also, THISDAY findings revealed that the gunmen, who are still at large, carted away two rifles belonging to the cops before shooting in the air to scare away passersby. The attack on the first two policemen, who were on duty, took place at Udeme Hotels along Diepreye Alamieyeseigha road in Yenagoa, belonging to Senator Emmanuel Paulker, cur-

rently representing Bayelsa Central Senatorial District. Eyewitness accounts revealed that the gunmen reportedly caught the security operatives unaware as they posed as customers before opening fire on the policemen. One account said the bandits “drove into the hotel in a Toyota Camry and pretended that they wanted to lodge. It was not clear if they robbed the hotel, apart from the guns they stole from their victims. While one of the policemen died instantly, the account explained that another was severely injured, currently battling for his life in a hospital in the capital city.

with the skills to build careers of their choices. The statement profiled Rewane as the Chief Executive Officer of West Africa Vocational Education (WAVE) with a resolve to ameliorate the incidence of youth unemployment in Nigeria, by teaching young people the skills required of them to be integrated into the country’s job market and subsequently, maintain successful careers in their chosen fields of human endeavour. In the case of Gyumi, the statement said she “is the Founder & Executive Director at Msichana Initiative, plans empower the girl-child through education, while addressing key challenges which limit girls’ rights to education.

The Group Chief Executive of Oando Plc, Mr. Wale Tinubu has donated 800 oil and gas books to fifteen universities and two national libraries across Nigeria with the aim of educating students and the public on the sector forming the mainstay of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. A statement by Oando Corporate Communications Office said Tinubu donated the books to mark the first-ever International Day of Education on January 24 in celebration of the role of education for peace and development. The statement quoted Tinubu saying, “I am personally vested in all things that pertain to education. Formal education is the first step to creating a brighter future.

I believe, like Benjamin Franklin, that an investment in knowledge pays the best interest. “The more knowledgeable an individual is the better; knowledge that goes beyond one’s comfort zone enlightens them and creates so much more opportunities. Thus I believe regardless of interest or calling it’s important that our youth understand the intricacies and rich history of the Nigerian oil and gas industry which accounts for a large part of the country’s foreign exchange earnings.” The statement said the Nigerian oil and gas sector “suffers from a skills shortage that is compounded by a small pool of homegrown talent, as a result of poor educational infrastructure and facilities.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

OPINION Budget for Power, Works and Housing Fidelis T. Onyejegbu argues that investments in the sectors are not enough to address the needs of the people

he power, works and housing (PWH) sectors play vital roles in the growth and development of any economy such that getting it right in these sectors (alongside a few other sectors like education, health, agric., transport and services) almost guarantees the development of such economy. These three sectors (PWH) represent a huge share of the infrastructural needs of Nigeria as a country and rightly so, there have been investments into these sectors by way of budgetary allocations and through PublicPrivate Partnerships (PPPs). The question is: are investments into these sectors enough to address the needs of the teeming Nigerian populace? We shall take a look at this by analyzing the Federal budgetary allocations to these three sectors with a special focus on the proposed 2019 FGN budgetary allocation to the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (PWH). The proposed 2019 budget for the Federal Ministry of PWH is a total sum of N408.028 billion. This proposed sum represents a 5% of the overall 2019 FGN budget proposal of N8.826 trillion. The proposed sum (N408.028 billion) represents a 2.84% decrease from the actual sum allocated to the Federal Ministry of PWH in 2018 (N682.959 billion) and also represents a 2.88% decrease from the actual sum allocated to the ministry in 2017 (N553.713). In terms of capital to recurrent allocation balance, the ministry’s trend of budgetary allocation, between 2016 and 2018, has been between 92-96% for capital expenditure and between 4-8% for recurrent expenditure. For 2019, the proposed sum is disaggregated into 92.41% and 7.59% for capital and recurrent expenditures respectively. This trend of allocation is in order considering that the constituents sectors under this ministry require huge capital investments. However, there is room for improvement looking at the current level of infrastructural deficit in the country. For power, a little over 60% of Nigerians have no access to electricity while the others that do have, do not have steady supply. In addition, there is problem of transmission capacity as the current transmission grid cannot carry more than 5,500 MW. For housing, it was reported by the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance Africa that Nigeria has about 17-20 million

housing deficit. In addition, not all contributors to the National Housing Fund are able to get funds to meet their housing needs. In the works sector, the poor state of roads in the country is reflective of the level of funds needed to ramp up the developmental efforts being made. In all, the available budgetary allocations and other infrastructural investments in these sectors have not been enough. Furthermore, for the impact of the proposed 2019 budget of the ministry to be felt, there is need to address the problem of incomplete implementation of the budget. Looking at the capital budget implementation rate of the ministry as reported by the Budget Office of the Federation, it seems to be showing a downward trend. A 71.16% of the allocated N422.96 billion was utilized in 2016; 53.56% of the allocated N553.71 billion was utilized in 2017. It is a thing of concern that the sum of N66.99 billion, out of the allocated sum in 2017, was returned to the treasury by the ministry at the end of the budget calendar year. The reason for this can best be given by ministry’s personnel. For 2018, out of the allocated N682.959 billion, only N122.18 billion

More investment into the transmission segment of the electricity value chain is overdue. The federal government should either pursue more funds to invest in this segment through PPPs or privatize its ownership to capable operators

had been released by the ending of September 2018 while only N45.07 billion of this sum had been utilized. It should be noted that the 2018 budget received presidential assent by June 2018. There is need for early release of capital budgetary allocations to guard against issues like incomplete utilisation of the allocated sum. Moreso, there are other issues that need to be addressed. First and foremost is the need to grow the revenue base of the federal government to be able to allocate more funds for capital projects. A corollary to this is an aggressive pursuit of the economic diversification agenda as oil currently contributes less than 10% to the nation’s GDP. This could be achieved by implementing policies that would enhance investments in sectors like agriculture and solid minerals. Secondly, as the constituent sub-ministries under this ministry are critical for economic growth and development, they seem to be too many to be under one ministry and to be headed by one person. It is therefore recommended that the federal government should consider demerging these three sectors under this ministry. In conclusion, a few other suggestions are needful. Firstly, the priority of developmental capital allocation over the administrative capital and other aspects of recurrent expenditure cannot be overemphasized. This is against the backdrop of several line items that are budgeted for annually to the detriment of development capital component. Secondly, more investment into the transmission segment of the electricity value chain is overdue. The federal government should either pursue more funds to invest in this segment through PPPs or privatize its ownership to capable operators to open the doors for investment in the sector so as to address the power transmission problem. Thirdly, there is need to make contribution into the National Housing Fund a basis for assessing the fund. This would ensure that more contributors would meet their housing needs through the Fund. Finally, roads infrastructure can be improved through a Road Fund and Road Management Authority Act that would raise funds from sources like toll gates, special surcharges such as fuel. ––Onyejegbu is Programme Officer, Public Finance Management, Centre for Social Justice, Abuja

A Word for President Buhari There is need for better engagements between the presidency and the people, writes Adewale Kupoluyi

resident Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been re-elected during the last presidential election across the country. No doubt, the poll was highly competitive considering the desire of the main opposition party; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to reclaim power that it lost to APC after an uninterrupted rule of 16 years. PDP has since rejected the outcome of the election and is instituting a legal action challenging Buhari’s victory. The federal government can be said to have recorded remarkable success in some areas such as waging war on corruption, fight against insurgency and insecurity, virile foreign relations and bringing prudence into public sector finance. The Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy alone has been able to rake in N8.9 trillion into government coffers. Many Nigerians are however still of the opinion that the Buhari administration has performed below expectations. It would suffice to say that as the federal government consolidates on its modest achievements, there is the need to really work harder. To begin with, the incoming administration should put in place, a functional cabinet made up of credible, experienced and committed persons, to constitute the Executive Council of the Federation. This time around, Buhari should avoid a repeat of what happened in 2015, where it took him about six months to assemble members of his cabinet, which was eventually dominated by old and recycled politicians. This should not be. The president should look beyond party considerations in choosing eligible Nigerians. It is widely believed that the failure of the president to timely appoint qualified candidates into respective offices could largely be responsible for why his government could not achieve much. In making the appointments, the president should be wary of sycophants and the so-called Aso Rock cabals; be conscious of the pluralistic nature and diversity of the country, to ensure balance as much as possible. One of the main criticisms of the Buhari administration is the perceived lopsided nature of his appointments that tend to favour northerners. Filling of positions based on ethnicity, religion and tribal sentiments should be jettisoned because it is at variance with national unity, cohesion and meritocracy. Nigeria is endowed with many intelligent, capable and resourceful men and women that can turn around the fortunes of our ailing nation within a short time, if given opportunity. I do not agree with the clamour that only card-carrying members of APC should be given appointments. Although, majority of the appointees could come from the ruling party, technocrats from other parties and non-party structures should form part of the new cabinet.

Good governance is a function of the quality of leaders; hence, nothing should be left to chance in picking the right leadership for the nation. The president should communicate better in the new dispensation by rending periodic stewardship. There is need for better engagements between the presidency and the people in general. This vacuum, which featured in the last dispensation, should be avoided. Unethical practice of keeping the people in the dark about the health status of the president, who is a public officer, is an example of bad public communication. The incessant killings, destruction of property and farms by herdsmen should be curtailed. In Nigeria, herdsmen have turned themselves into terrorists with minimal resistance from our security agencies. This is unacceptable. President Buhari should prove critics wrong, who feel that his poor handling of the herdsmen-farmers clash could mean tactical support for the heartless group. His re-election should spur him to totally nip the malaise in the bud. Sustained efforts should also be deployed to fighting Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East. It is imperative to exhibit sincerity and genuine sense of effort to end the continued bloodbath whereby innocent people are either being maimed or killed. The existing counter-terrorism strategies should be pro-active and focus more on intelligence. Our porous borders aiding insecurity should be looked into. The huge resources committed to fighting insecurity can only yield positive results when all stakeholders stop paying lip service and are truly ready to put a stop to the carnage. This deserves urgent attention by the president. The epileptic power supply across the country should be addressed. Poor electricity negatively affects economic production as many manufacturers continue to battle with high cost of providing alternative source of energy. Genuine and capable private sector operators should be encouraged to come on board while government should get less involved in electricity generation, distribution and transmission. The fusing of the ministry of power, works and housing together should be unbundled because the structure is not making the desired impact. The Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 should be revisited in relation to decentralisation of power in the country. Buhari should ensure the completion of the over 5,000 kilometres federal roads and the 5,000 kilometres of standard gauge rail lines as well as the Second Niger Bridge. In view of the declining global prices of oil, government should diversify the monolithic economy towards non-oil production by opening up the country’s ailing economy to attract huge foreign investments and reducing public debt. Under Buhari’s watch, the

economy should have a clearer focus and direction. Agricultural production should be given a boost through highly-subsidised farming, access to cheap funds by farmers and small-scale investors, improved storage system and provision of attractive incentives to unemployed young people to go into agriculture. The high rate of unemployment in the land remains a source of worry to all. This ticking time bomb should be accorded the seriousness it deserves in the next few months. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had recommended that at least 15% of the national budget should be set aside for health. Government should abide by this benchmark through improved health sector funding and expanding the scope of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), to accommodate a significant proportion of the populace from the current level of less than 5% access by mostly federal civil servants and scope covered by NHIS while access to expensive drugs by common man should be increased. Education at all levels should be given its pride of place through enhanced funding and honouring all signed agreements with parties. In the fight against graft, the government should record more successes by securing convictions. Anti-corrupt agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should be adequately funded to engage the services of sound prosecutors, to reduce losses of high profile cases on technical grounds. As at last year, the EFCC recovered over 400 mansions as well as N794 billion, £1.1 million and $261 million from corrupt practices. Prosecution of corruption cases should not be lopsided; irrespective of political, ethnic and religious affiliations of those concerned. Similarly, the federal government should also improve its human rights record by obeying all pending court decisions. In line with the intention of APC to pursue the restructuring of the country; this should see the light of the day. By that, contending issues would have been resolved like the viability of the presidential system, state police and regionalism, among others. Finally, the president should leave an amiable legacy by embarking on reforms that would strengthen our electoral process so as to drastically reduce violence and malpractices. He should walk his talk and make the people happy by fulfilling his re-election promises. However, his inaugural pledge in 2015 is still fresh in the memory, assuring that “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody”. He should live up to expectations and work assiduously with his new team in turning around the nation. ––Kupoluyi wrote from Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

LETTERS

Nigeria Population And Birth Control

ndications have emerged that Nigeria faces imminent population explosion if the country fails to address the current prevailing growth rate. Currently ranked seventh on the list of countries (and dependencies) by population,the total fertility rate (TFR) according to World Population Prospect stands at 5.67 per cent with an estimated population of 199 million, equivalent to 2.6% of the world. Paucity of imperative policies and commensurate amenities to sustain this increase over the years has made it a challenge rather than an opportunity. The overbearing challenges of unconstrained urban sprawl, inadequate and overburdened infrastructure, housing shortages, rising unemployment, inadequate funding of urban development, acute crime and physical insecurity, poor crisis management and endemic corruption are the consequences of decades of indecision. While we are obsessed with just the number of our population and ignorantly breeding and accelerating poverty, many nations are making strategic stride to stem the tide of their evaporating population. Incessant desperation of Nigerians to depart their motherland even in the most inhumane condition is the implication of this. Presently according

Buhari

to the World Poverty Clock, virtually half of the country’s population is in penury as the number of extremely poor citizens has risen from 87 million to 91.6 million in just over six months, while six Nigerians drop into the poverty net every minute. Regardless of government’s position on this sinister report, the reality is that this present mindless trajectory of population growth is destructive, a situation that might derail civil propriety and enthrone abnormality in the society. Acknowledging this

gaucherie at the 5thNational Family Planning Conference in Abuja few months ago, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo observed that the absence of basic social safety nets and pro-poor policymaking over the years has left tens of millions of citizens stranded as they only observe the statistics of economic growth from a distance, completely untouched by it. Experts have, however, pointed out that for any country to unlock and reap the gains of demographic dividend of health, educa-

tion, political stability and economy, the age of the young population and the older population must stand between 26 and 41 years while countries with very youthful populations almost never attain high thresholds. Nigeria fertility rate has remained high for so long, achieving the desired level of development across these multiple sectors is obscure as its present youthful age structure is about 65 per cent under 35 years with a median age of 17.9. Today, as countries are significantly raising the level of their development, they are simultaneously intervening policy-wise to curtail their population growth. Nonetheless, the conviction of the need to manage the geometric rise in world population gave birth to the concept of family planning. And being one of the greatest public health achievements in the 20th century, the plan has evolved so much that many families have adopted it as the entry point into the health care system and consider it as their usual source of care. The scheme which was incipiently developed to allow individuals to achieve desired birth spacing and family size has been broadened to accommodate reproductive health services thereby contributing to improved health outcomes for infants, children, women and families. Supplementary services like

Giant Statue of Dura

y search for the truth would end up a grope around without the Masters’ key, for the quest is locked in an intractable maze of lingualtravesty, figures of speech and dark sentences. Football, otherwise known as soccer, would appear to be referring to wrestling ‘mgba’, mgba-afa birth, which involves a lock of horns of two rams-head, that heard an ask of ‘what is your name’ Gen32:27. One ram of which heard the other ask, ask of what, of Joker, the king of domino, card of whot. Worth of an evil triangle-plot, by king-David, that arose from off-side of his bed to do somethings - queer. Square peg in round hole of a circle. Cycle of the plot upon which wrests He, as rod of the wicked, where-in is no peace 2sam11:2, Isa57:21. Plot as a set-up of a golden giant statue on the plain of Dura, as a goalee in earth. Goliath a euphemism for a golden world-cup, the corpse of wine in worship of gold not God Dan3:1, Dan5:4. Worship by fans with all manner of music Dan3:7, in the field, of the play. Plain of Dura upon which the statue is erected as writing pen-is Dan 5:5. Penis-hood as the head, upon witch-handkerchief-amiss, is made as ask

of what. What-ask, a-mischief, chief of Ur-bastion of mast, masturbation, the mast-Ur bu-nation of the soul of prey, iya hunted Gen28:12. Prey-iya, prayer as a witch hunt of man, man-hunted as a sport, spotted goat of Jacob, as impostor on the game of Isau Gen27:3, Gen 30:32. Isaus’ seed sewn as pillow, pill-low of all kinds, Kines drawn as pulley not as pushi-cart-van of atonement Gen27:16, 1sam6:12. A-tone-ovan, as metaphor for the stones of scrotum, called Amu. Arm, pit of which, is a euphemism for the round hole of vaginal-orifice, called Otele. O-tele-cast of stonethrow-in-come of return Dt23:1. Return match of the draw out catch with magic-net, magnetic field of play and theatric-cks of the cash net-brake-even withdrawal from a grouse, if not by the hook of the catch Mk12:13, Lk5:6. Catch by the goal-keeper of football played as soccer Ezek13:18, Judg21:21. Soccer-wrestling of Di-mgba-si what, in mgba-afa-birthday Mk6:19-30, as a day of writ of alphabet, bet on a match of asomu-mpi known as the soccer o-tele devised, televised for a glimpse into the crystal balls as foot of the bill of thy invoice Prov16:33. Bill of divorce foot-ball, the score-settle, meant as adumb-ration of testis by shearers Jn19:24, as a-fore-cast, rated works of life-time and chance in a close shave of 7-lucks of hair Judg16:19, as an

o-menu endorsed in a craft of wishes. With-craft coterminous with soccer, that involves luck, lock of horns by two rams in ozizza ogbor-agha, which is a dance to nkwa umu-agbogor, a euphemism for sweep up of war front as the field of plain in earth, planet swept by daughters. Doubters which are spectators, speculators as to head-win or tail-lose in a toss of coin-incidence as perhaps of chance. Chance as per-Cent of two mites, might of team-bet of the fathers-right on the mothers’ left palm. Palmetry of Isau, discarded as odd, in a get even-number of sperm count as Jacobs’-goal. Goal as the score of two-entry, twenty pieces of silver cup to-win, twin as, Jay-cup and Isau-mpiiko. Iko, the silver-divine-cup of Joe-self-ish. Fish known in Ehugbo as Uba coterminous with wealth, commonwealthshow-gum of King He-rod as the meeting of teams convened in earth. Convenient birthday feast of Lords of the beast-mark on earth, market plot of the lords as the referee of a-V.A.R. Aver, supposed to be of De-video, David aver-meant as the kings’ oath of orifice. Office which is the post, of goal. Goal which is a dribble of aqua-El, the spermato-ozone and sexgarment of appara-elfs-wear. Swear as the vow, of He-rod to a better-half of the kingdomland promised to her daughter

Ese, as nkwa umu-agbogor, made to her dance. Dalliance in ask-amiss known as ajuju-Ese, esem okwu okuko ndugbo, a quarrel of couples. Aqua-El of copulation in mate with Queen Herodias, of John de Baptist to ask. Tax as the charge of Ceaser, the charger of Johns’ head, as pen-ulti-mate. Penalty mate as price-son to enter veranda, prison-veranda enterprise, of van in atone-ment. Tonovan as wine of tomb bu ili nkwor, in corpse en-graved as the head of Ceaser. Ceasers’ engraving, a super-inscription on farthing by the hand as a fowl of the air in the farting of Elf. Elf-farthing, which is a half-Penny to ask. Tax by the He-rod of the stem of Jersey, for son-free-kick Isa11:1 Mt17:25-27, Mt22:19-21, sons’-re-free of charge for the born-answer, bonanza of the soccer-fans Jn6:11 Lk20:46. Fans blowing an ill-trade-wind break in farting of Elfs, Elf-father, Ephphathah Mk7:34, the Elf-fiva-cents, effervescent of the sprites known as Elf, father of whom is Jesus, ahatrick-star, Okpo-kokoror, the key of David and Christal-is man-zanna, the Amu-let into feast of soccer, Oshoka-mpi, Chef-of rollets, Corner peace of the plot of land-Lord of Lords, Domino-King of kings-cross, the whot-as-perhaps power, the Al-mighty. –– Eleje Abili-Willy, Lagos.

contraceptive and infertility audit, breast and cervical cancer screening, pregnancy testing and counselling, preconception health services, STDs and HIV prevention education, testing and referral are also integral component of the system. Nigeria is yet to be identified with it as access to the service is still a mirage to majority of families. Over 10,000 women die annually from unsafe abortion. But rather than take active responsibility of the sector as the indicators of health and life continue to go from bad to worse yearly, government waits on foreign donors to finance its health projects. Nigeria has a history of being impervious to progressive invention and this has reinforces the belief that its priority as a nation is often in discordant with its aspiration. Had government responsibly harmonise the initiative with the productive lifestyle of the citizens, it would have conveniently assuaged this growing apprehension, thereon; appreciable progress would have been recorded in the stability of the nation. This reproductive planning system is inadvertently critical to unlocking and reaping the socio-economic potential of any society but lack of awareness, limited access to the service and insurance coverage remains the profound barrier in Nigeria. The intricacy in cultural and religious sentiment on fertility discipline has further depressed the purpose of family planning particularly among rural dwellers where poverty is more dominant. Expanding access to publicly funded services is an expedient way to securing a stabilised populace because aside being an indispensable system of curtailing popula-

tion explosion; it is a pillar to achieving true sustainable development. However, rather than acceding the responsibility of birth regulation to women, the society should encourage couples to have a conjugal assessment of their reproductive life and not be influenced by circumstance. Having fewer children is a potential to increase the rate of economic growth and a path out of poverty for many Nigerian families. Similarly, in networking this therapy to the nooks and crannies of the country, a multi-dimension approach is a requisite. Through media outreach and improved collaboration among the government, health care providers and NGOs/CSOs, the probity of the plan is entrenched in every family. Such symbiotic desire must involve consistent community engagement to ensure a robustand participatory system. Meanwhile, with the universal emerging complications in family planning, an element of preconception care must be integrated into every primary care visit for women of reproductive age. This intervention will help to identify and reduce risks to a woman’s health and improve pregnancy outcomes through prevention and management of health conditions, which significantly reduce birth defects and disorders caused by preterm birth. As part of comprehensive preconception care, families should be encouraged to develop a reproductive life plan, based on personal values and resources, and must be educated about how their reproductive life plan impacts the prosperity of the country. ––Kehinde Akinfenwa, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

Is INEC Working Against Ortom?

hy is life imitating art in Benue State this election season? Recall that the head of the Miyetti Allah group of Benue State, one who hides in protected seclusion at Abuja, Alhaji Garus Gololo, boasted only recently that the PDP would soon be turned into opposition party in Benue State; this Gololo fellow is the one who does not express disdain for the killing sprees carried out by armed Fulani gangs sequestered in Benue State. To add salt to the injured pride of the people of Benue State, Garus Gololo went so far to declare that he had formed an alliance with Idoma women interest groups in Abuja in order to do the final push to oust Governor Samuel Ortom; this was a terrible lie. It is strange about this loud-mouthed Gololo, but

it is even stranger still that INEC seems to be pandering to the wishes of this Gololo and his ilk by declaring the results of the gubernatorial election in Benue State “inconclusive.” This “inconclusive” shenanigan also caught up with states like Sokoto, Kano, Bauchi, Adamawa, and Plateau where PDP was clearly in the lead at the point of collation of results got from different polling stations scattered across each of these states. The situation is especially bad in Rivers State. To the man on the street in Minna, the capital of Niger State, INEC’s actions have only confirmed the whispered suspicion that the APC is an Islamic party but is this so, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu? ––Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

GOVERNORS-ELECT.... GOVERNORS-ELECT.... GOVERNORS-ELECT.... GOVERNORS-ELECT....

Know Your Governors-elect! Below are the faces of some of the governors-elect across the federation. Just so you know them, reports Olaseni Durojaiye Abia State: Okezie Ikpeazu

Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Okezie Ikpeazu retains his seat. The incumbent governor scored 261,127 votes to coast home ahead of other candidates, including Uche Ogah of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 99,127 and their counterpart in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Alex Otti, who scored 64, 366 votes to come third in the election. However, time and the courts will tell what becomes of the rejection of the results by Ugah and Otti.

Adamawa State: Inconclusive

The governorship election in Adamawa state did not produce a clear winner. The APC candidate and incumbent governor of the state, Mohammed Bindow scored a total of 334,995 votes while his arch challenger and candidate of the PDP, Umar Fintiri scored 367,471. However, because the margin of lead was less than total number of votes in the 44 polling units, where results were cancelled which is 40,988, the election was declared inconclusive. INEC has since announced that supplementary elections would hold in the affected 44 polling units for a clear winner to emerge.

Bauchi State: Inconclusive

In Bauchi State governorship election, Governor Mohammed Abubakar of APC scored 465,453 and Senator Bala Mohammed of PDP, a former FCT Minister, scored 469,512 votes. According to the Returning Officer, Prof Mohammed Kyari who is the Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Adamawa, the difference between the two, 4,059 was not up to the number of votes in polling units where elections didn’t hold including Tafawa Balewa Local Government area with 130,240 registered voters. The supplementary election will now hold on March 23.

Akwa Ibom State: Udom Emmanuel

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State will continue as the state’s Chief Executive for a second term in office. Emmanuel scored 519,712 votes. His closest challenger was the candidate of the APC, Nsima Ekere, who scored 171, 978 to come a distant second. By the feat, Emmanuel has demystified his estranged god father and immediate past governor of the state, Godswill Akpabio, who is now with the APC.

Benue State: Inconclusive

The governorship election in Benue State did not produce a clear winner and so, the electorate in the state will wait for the outcome of the concluding election to know their new governor. The governorship candidate of the PDP in the state, incumbent Governor Samuel Ortom scored 410,586 votes and the APC candidate, Emmanuel Jime scored 329,022 votes. But the total cancelled votes was 122,019, and on account of that, the number of cancelled votes is more than the victory margin between the PDP and APC candidates, thus the election was declared inconclusive and supplementary election scheduled for March 23.

candidate of the Action Alliance (AA), Uche Nwosu, who polled a The candidate of the APC, Prof. Babagana Umara total of 190,364. Nwosu Zullum will become the is the son in-law of face of Borno State from May 29, when he succeeds outgoing governor of the state, Rochas his mentor, outgoing Okorocha, who is also Governor Kashim his main promoter. Shettima. Zullum, who Other candidates in the heads the Ministry of Reconstruction in the state, governorship election secured 1,175,440 votes to included the candidate of the All Progressives beat the candidate of the Grand Alliance (APGA), PDP, Mohammed Imam, Ifeanyi Ararume and who scored 66,115. Senator Hope Uzondima of the All Progressives Congress (APC). They polled 114, 676 and 96,458 votes Cross Rivers: Ben Ayade respectively. Incumbent Governor of Cross River State and candidate of the PDP, Prof. Ben Ayade will Jigawa State: Mohammed Badaru remain in charge in the Alhaji Mohammed Badaru of the APC will continue in state. He brushed aside office for another four all opposition on his years, having been way to staying put at the declared winner of the Government House with March 9 governorship a vote haul of 381,484 election of the Northvotes to defeat the APC west state. Badaru candidate, John Enoh, polled 810,933 votes to who scored 131,161 votes. defeat candidate of the PDP, Aminu Ringim, who scored 288,356 votes. Badaru thus Delta State: Ifeanyi Okowa has the opportunity Delta State Governor and candidate of the PDP, Senator to continue with his Ifeanyi Okowa is back in agenda for the state. office for another four years. His re-election was declared by the INEC state Collation Officer cum Retuning Kano State: Inconclusive Officer for the election, Vice The Kano State governorship election is arguably Chancellor of the Federal the most keenly contested. The PDP candidate in Kano University, Otuoke, Prof. State, Abba Yusuf scored 1,014, 747 to edge past his APC Seth Accra Jaja. Okowa counterpart and incumbent scored 925,274 votes to governor, Umar Ganduje, defeat his main challenger, who scored 987,819. The Great Ogboru of the APC, election was however who scored 215, 938 votes. declared inconclusive. The Returning Officer for the state however declared the election Ebonyi State: Dave Umahi inconclusive, because Governor Dave Umahi of the PDP retains his seat. according to him, “The total He bested a familiar foe and candidate of the APC, Sonni number of registered voters Ugbuoji, whom he is 5,426,989, accredited defeated in 2015 to secure voters 2,211,528, out of this a first term in office. number, the ruling APC scored 987,819, while the main While Umahi, who is also opposition PDP scored 1,014,474. The margin of victory the Chairman, Southis 26,655, this makes it impossible to make a return and east Governors’ Forum declare a winner.” garnered 393,043 votes to emerge winner, Ugbuoji scored 81,703 votes. As things eventually Kebbi State: Atiku Bagudu panned out, Umahi will Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State has won be content that he was his re-election to preside over the affairs of the state for not picked as the running another four years. The Independent National Electoral mate of his party’s Commission (INEC) declared Bagudu, who sought presidential candidate, re-election on the platform of the APC winner of the Alhaji Atiku Abubakar governorship election as this means he is in the state. He polled employed till 2023. 673,717 votes to defeat the candidate of the PDP, Isah Galaudu, who won 106, 633 votes. Gombe State: Inuwa Yahaya Resident of the state Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya is the governor elect of Gombe could look forward to a State. Running on the platform of the APC, he scored consolidation of a first 364,179 votes to tenure in office regarded defeat the PDP as very impactful on candidate, Usman account of the many Nafada, who polled developmental feats 222,868 votes. recorded by Bagudu, The Returning who is a former House Officer of the state, of Representatives who is also the member. Vice Chancellor of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi Katsina State: Aminu Masari Prof. Saminu Alhaji Aminu Masari Abdulrahma of the APC will continue declared him the to hold sway at the winner of the Katsina State House. The governorship former Speaker of the election. House of Representatives won his re-election with a landslide over the candidate of the PDP. Imo State: Emeka Ihedioha While Masari scored an A former deputy speaker of the House of overwhelming 1,178,886 Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha will govern Imo State votes, Yakubu Ladofor the next four years. He polled 273,404 to defeat the

Borno State: Babagana Umara Zulum

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

GOVERNORS-ELECT.... GOVERNORS-ELECT.... GOVERNORS-ELECT.... GOVERNORS-ELECT.... t ‘KNOW YOUR GOVERNORS-ELECT!’ t Continued from Page 18 Danmarke of the PDP scored 488,621.

votes stood at 49,377. The supplementary election has been slated for March 23.

Kwara State: Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq

The APC candidate in Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq will replace the incumbent come May 29, 2019. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared APC standard bearer in the March 9, governorship election winner with a vote haul of 331,546 as against his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Abdulrasaq Atunwa, who polled 114,714 votes. Abdulrahman faces a daunting challenge of meeting the expectations of the people of the state, particularly that of the promoters and supporters of the Oto ge Movement, who rooted for him in the elections.

Rivers State: Suspended!

The 2019 governorship election in Rivers State was suspended due to widespread violence, alleged complicity on the part of parties in the election and military involvement in the election. Thus, no winner or preliminary results were declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Elections in the state have always been fraught with violence, accusations and counteraccusation particularly between the PDP and APC since 2015, the latest however followed in the same pattern. Observers are of the view that there is the need to find a lasting solution to the spectre of violence and killings that has come to characterise elections in the state.

Lagos State: Babajide Sanwo-Olu

Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu was declared winner of the Lagos governorship poll, having polled 739,445 votes to defeat his closest rival, and candidate of the PDP, Jimi Agbaje, who polled 206,141 votes. The election was a case of coronation given that the APC has always had the state under its firm grip since the return of the fourth republic in 1999. More so, he had the backing of the two most influential political groupings in the state, Mandate and Justice Forum, particularly that of APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu. Sanwo-Olu is expected to hit the ground running on account of his understanding of governance in the state since he’s always been part of the state government as far back as 2003.

Sokoto State: Inconclusive

A clear winner failed to emerged between sitting governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal of the PDP, who scored 486,145 and his erstwhile deputy, Ahmed Aliyu of the APC, who polled 489, 538. In the election, a total of 1,033,081 voters were accredited. But 987, 942 votes were recorded as valid while 30,062 votes were cancelled. The scenario thus led the Returning Officer, Prof. Fatima Muktar, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Dutse, to declare that, “Due to cancellation in 22 local government areas across 136 polling units with a total of 73,403 cancelled votes, I cannot conclude this exercise and INEC will have to take a decision on this.” INEC has since fixed a supplementary poll in the affected areas for March 23.

Taraba State: Darius Ishaku

Darius Ishaku of Taraba State remains the Governor of Taraba State for the next four years. The Returning Officer, Prof. Shehu Iya of the Federal University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State, declared him winner. He secured 520,433 votes to defeat Alhaji Sanni Abubakar of the APC, who scored 362,735 and the candidate of the United Democratic Party (UDP) Senator Aisha Alhassan, who polled 16,289 votes to come third.

Nassarawa State: Abdullahi Sule

Abdullahi Sule of the APC will continue from where outgoing governor of the state, Tanko Al-Makura will sign off. He was declared the governor-elect of the state after he garnered 327,229 votes to defeat candidate of the opposition PDP, David Ombugadu, who scored 184,281 votes.

Niger State: Abubakar Bello

Yobe State: Mai Bala Buni

The Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, who contested for a second term on the platform of the APC will be in the saddle for another four years. He polled 526,412 votes to defeat Umar Nasko of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 228, 347 votes.

Former National Secretary of the APC and the party’s candidate in the March 9 governorship election in Yobe State, Mai Bala Buni is the new Sherriff in Yobe State. Buni scored 444,013 votes to defeat the candidate of the PDP, Umar Iliya Damagum, who scored 95, 703 votes.

Zamfara State: Muktar Idris

Ogun State: Dapo Abiodun

Candidate of the ruling APC, Muktar Idris, will take over from his mentor and incumbent governor of the State, Abdulaziz Yari. He was declared winner of the governorship election in the state with a vote haul of 534,541 votes while his challenger, Bello Matawale of the PDP secured 189,452 votes. Idris, a-45-year old graduate of economics from the Bayero University Kano is arguably the youngest of the governors-elect. All eyes will be on him to see how well he represents the push for youths to assume leadership positions in the country.

Mr. Dapo Abiodun of the APC defeated the candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), Adekunle Akinlade to win the keenly contested election. While Abiodun garnered 241, 670 votes, Akinlade of the APM scored 222,153 votes. Abiodun, who is an oil and gas magnate, had to fend off so many battles from both within and outside of his party to get into office. Although with the margin of lead being smaller to the cancelled votes, many had expected an inconclusive verdict, he is however expected to bring his wealth of experience from the private sector to bear on the governance of the state.

Oyo State: Seyi Makinde

The PDP candidate and governor-elect of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde won 28 out of the 33 local governments in the state with 515,621 votes to defeat the candidate of the APC, Adebayo Adelabu, who scored 357,982 votes. Makinde was second time lucky as he tried his luck in 2015, when he contested on the platform of the same PDP but failed to get the party’s ticket at the time. Pundits averred that some of the factors that caused Makinde’s victory at the polls include the incumbent Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s declining popularity with a wide section of the people of Ibadan land. Ajimobi, against huge public outcries had elevated some titled chiefs to the status of Oba, an action that drew condemnation from the Olubadan of Ibadan.

Plateau State: Inconclusive

In Plateau State, Governor Solomon Lalong holds a fragile lead with 583,255 votes over his PDP opponent, Jerry Useni who polled 538,326. However, the election was declared inconclusive given that the margin of lead was 44,929 while the total number of cancelled

Enugu State: Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi

since been marked impenetrable.

Incumbent Governor of Enugu State and candidate of the PDP, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has returned to office for another four years. His election was affirmed by INEC. He scored 449,935 votes to defeat his closest rival and candidate of the APC, Ayogu Eze, who scored 10,423 votes. Eze announced a boycott of the election after INEC refused his request for the postponement of the election. Ugwuanyi, who is a former member of the House of Representatives between 2007 and 2011, will now continue in office as governor. Enugu is one state that has

Kaduna State: Nasir el-Rufai

Controversial governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai of the APC will continue to administer the North-west state. He won the reelection with a massive 1,045,427 votes to defeat the candidate of the PDP, Mohammed Bello, who scored 814, 168 votes.

M ͹Ϳ˜ ͺ͸͹΁ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERNATIONAL Democracy á la Africana and Human Rights Violations: Revisiting Nigeria’s Option A4 as an Antidote

ay after day, democratic culture is increasingly tainted with unilateralism-driven protests in global politics. The current political crisis in Venezuela is a good reflection of this observation. Elections were held in Venezuela in May 2018, but largely boycotted by many opposition parties, allegedly because their candidates had either been barred, jailed, fled the country, or because of belief that the election would not be free and fair, or because of fear of possible imprisonment. Whatever was the case, the incumbent President, Nicolás Maduro, was not only re-elected for a second-term of six years, but also made it clear that he would complete his first tenure of six years, before the commencement of the new term, which came to an end on January 10, 2019. On this very day, Juan Guaidó suddenly woke up to the idea of contesting the election results of May 2018. Juan Guaidó is the President of the National Assembly, which is opposition-controlled. Juan Guaidó unilaterally declared himself the Interim President of Venezuela, assumed executive powers, and insisted on the organisation of a fresh election. And true enough, many countries, such as the United States, France, Canada, United Kingdom, and Spain, quickly lent support to the self-appointed interim president. This has been responsible for the political crisis in Venezuela, as Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó both enjoy different international support. This factor of Juan Guaidó’s unilateralism is manifested differently in Africa, especially when seeking to understand the conduct and management of democracy in Africa. In Sudan, for example, protesting against the president or leader of the country is prohibited. In January 2019, President Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir imposed some emergency laws which prompted anti-government public protests. The Deputy leader of the opposition Umma party, for demonstrating against the president, was sentenced to one week imprisonment. As reported by the Dailysun of Monday, March 11, 2019 on page 9, ‘Mariam Sadiq al-Mahdi, the daughter of Umma leader Sadiq al-Mahdi, was among a group of 19 arrested while demonstrating in front of Umma’s headquarters in Omdurman, across the Nile from the center of the capital, Khartoum... The court also fined her 2,000 Sudanese pounds ($42) for participating in the protest, which was calling on President Omar al-Bashir to step down.’ And perhaps more disturbingly, the report also has it that ‘another of Sadiq al-Mahdi’s daughters, Rabah, was also arrested’ on Monday, 11th March, 2019. Three issues are raised in this report. First is the question of protest. Government’s sanction necessarily points to democratic intolerance because the protester is of the opposition party. The required role of any opposition party in any democratic setting is to oppose for the purposes of checks and balances. To engage in peaceful protests cannot and should not be taken as a crime. Unfortunately, it is a crime in Sudan. The protest took place at the headquarters of the Umma party’s headquarters. It did not take place in front of the presidential palace in which case the person of the president or the image of the State would have been directly affected or tainted. This is unnecessary limitation of freedom. Second is the issue of nature of the protest: call on the president to step down. Thereis nothing wrong with the call.And true, Omar alBashir came to power on June 30, 1989 by coup d’état, ousting the then democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, to become the 7th leader of the country. He dissolved the government, political parties and trade unions and proclaimed himself the Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council. Omar Al-Bashir manoeuvred himself to be elected four times thereafter. Following the dissolution of the Revolutionary Command Council and restoration of civilian rule, Omar Al-Bashir was elected president and re-elected in March 1996 with more than 75% of the vote. In December 2000, he was again re-elected with higher votes: 85%. He won the presidential election on April 26, 2010 with 68% of the votes cast. And perhaps most disturbingly, on April 27, 2015, the Sudanese National Election Commission certified the re-election of Omar Al-Bashir with more than 94% of the vote. This is the immediate background to the various protests against al-Bashir and why on February 22, 2019, the president declared a

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Nwosu one-year long state of emergency. This is the nature of democracy in Africa. That Omar Al-Bashir became the first African president to be indicted by the International Criminal Court in 2009 for genocidal crimes in Darfur should also be understood within this type of democracy in Sudan. Put differently, President Al-Bashir has been in power for more than three decades, but the Constitution of Sudan as amended in 2005, only allows for two terms. In spite of this, Al-Bashir still wants an additional tenure by seeking a constitutional amendment that will qualify him to contest in the forthcoming 2020 elections, having been nominated on August 9, 2018 as the standard bearer of the ruling National Congress Party. The Sudan Call, which groups opposition parties and armed movements in Sudan, is strongly opposed to this attempt. In a press conference, it not only said that ‘it is the goal of Sudan Call to topple the regime and not to arrange any kind of soft landing, ‘ but also adopted a campaign slogan, according to which ‘to amend the constitution means Al Bashir’s candidacy, the continuation of poverty and ignorance, more freedoms restricting laws, more corruption and producing fat cats’ (vide allafrica.com). After more than 30 years of governance, good or bad, it is normal if people are beginning to get tired of him and are itching to have a new leader. The calling on him to step down becomes more thought-provoking when it is remembered that it was the same Al-Bashir, then a brigadier of the Sudanese army, that forcefully ousted Sadiq al-Mahdi, then the Prime Minister of Sudan. Now, the children of Sadiq al-Mahdi are asking for al-Bashir’s resignation and the government has simply decided to respond by taking another pound of flesh from the al-Mahdi’s. This experience shows one of the ways democracy is conducted and managed in Africa.

The Nigerian polity thrives on a foundation of institutional dishonesty and corruption. And yet, it is the gospel of anti-corruption that is preached by Government to Nigerians, but to which the Permanent Missions accredited to the United Nations, the Permanent Representations to the European Union and the European Union Delegations accredited abroad have different interpretations and meanings. In other words, essentially in Nigeria, the preacher is corrupt. The message of the gospel is corruption-laden.The medium of communication of the message is corrupt. How will the recipient not also be very corrupt or ‘fantastically corrupt’? Corruption is institutionally and constitutionally even protected directly under Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, under the immunity clause applicable to presidents and governors and their deputies. Consequently, one way of gradually dealing with the hydra-headed problem of election violence and vote rigging is to revisit the policy of Option A

Democracy in Africa is generally dictatorial in character, that is, it is more about the sustenance of dictatorship, using the instrumentality of the freedom provided by democracy. It is the use of democratic freedom to entrench dictatorship and this is quite common with civilianised military politicians. As it is today, military coupists have thrown away their toga of dictatorship and have put the new civilian garment, but without forgetting their militaro- operational discipline of ‘obey before complaining.’ Military politicians have been civilianised while the civilian politicians have similarly been given a dosage of militarisation, in both cases, under the cover of toga of emergency laws. If it can be argued that some Sudanese might have been fed up with al-Bashir, the same observation can also be tenable in the context of Algeria. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82 years old, went to Switzerland for a two-week medical consultation. He suffered a stroke in 2013. On his return to Algeria, he still wanted to participate in the forthcoming April 18, 2019 elections for the fifth time. There were massive protests on Monday, 11th March against his intention to seek election for the fifth time. President Bouteflika cannot be said to be medically fit to govern, because he has been on wheelchair for some time and has not been appearing in the public. He does not live in the official presidential palace but in the suburb of Zeralda, and yet, he still wants to continue to rule. In this regard, he has postponed the April 18 election and made clear his intention to reshuffle the cabinet. The Prime Minister, Ahmed Ouyahia, already tendered his resignation and was replaced by the Interior Minister, Mr. Noureddine Bedoui, who now has the mandate to set up a new government. This development does not suggest any intention to back out in spite of the president’s announcement that he had already accepted not to contest in the April 2019 elections and also in spite of continuing protests by thousands of people. Unlike al-Bashir’s three decades of sit-in tight, President Bouteflika has only done two decades, if we reckon with 1999 as starting date. Again, this is another character of practice of democracy in Africa. The observation is not simply about the duration of stay in power, but essentially about the mania of self-succession, which is what the French would normally describe as political magouille. The experience of Nigeria as recorded by Dr. Reuben Abati, former Presidential Adviser, regarding democratic election is particularly relevant at this juncture. He took active part in the 2019 gubernatorial elections. He was the Deputy Governorship Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State. The experience he had compelled him to quickly agree with the common saying that politics in Nigeria is quite dirty. In his eyes, the 2019 elections clearly showed the dirtiness: ‘dirtied, muddled up, confused, uncertain, unpredictable zone of Nigerian life and society,’ to borrow his words. Perhaps more noteworthy, Dr. Abati has it further that ‘the reality of Nigerian politics puts a lie to what they teach us in graduate school, in all those seminars we attend across the world and what we experience as political appointees. Nigerian politics does not follow the rule book, the theories, or what the book-makers say. This thing we call democracy, which Nigeria returned to in 1999, after mass protest and frustration with military rule, is not exactly the same democracy that they have in either the United Kingdom or the United States. Professional scholars of the subject may need to embark on a closer interrogation of a special sub-set called Nigerian democracy. Its features, post-1999, are unique.’ We cannot agree more with Reuben Abati. He said it all. The unfortunate thing about the international observation of Nigeria’s 2019 elections is that the observers consciously covered up this aspect of dirtiness of the elections. The observers simply noted that there were challenges and that there was substantial compliance with the electoral rules, and therefore, the elections were, most unfortunately, adjudged peaceful, fair, transparent, and credible. The truth of the matter is that the outcome of the election has the potential to become a major determinant of national unity and security or disunity and insecurity in the foreseeable future and the dynamics cannot be far-fetched. First, Nigerian politics is built on a tripod of conflicting policies: pillar of conscious policy of dishonesty, pillar of deliberate rigging and pillar of tactical electoral policy of inconclusiveness. Honesty does not appear to serve any good purpose for professional politicians in Nigeria for one obvious reason: requirements for election contesting is unnecessarily very prohibitive. Every elected person wants to recoup all electoral investments before thinking of what value to add to political governance. For example, many, not to say most, Governors are very hostile to the autonomy of the Local Governments, again for the obvious reason of the need to allow room to steal. When the Local Government reform was first carried out in 1976, the immediate objective was to ensure the autonomy of the Local Government and ultimately bring governance closer to the people. The intention was never to make them an appendage. As explained in 2018 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, ‘when in 1976 we brought in Local Government reforms, it was meant to be the third tier of the government and not meant to be subjected to the whims and caprices of any other governments; just the same way that the State Government is autonomous from the Federal Government. Local Government is meant to be autonomous from the State Government. (See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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Beoing 737 Max 8 aircraft

The Fate of Boeing 737 MAX 8 Before the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 crash last Sunday, which killed 157 persons on board, the operating aircraft, Boeing 737MAX 8 was the fastest selling aircraft in its category, with about 500 orders. But with two fatal accidents in tow, what fate would befall the aircraft?, asks Chinedu Eze

n Wednesday the European UnionAviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a statement banning the use of Boeing 737 MAX 8 in its airspace. EASA acted on behalf of 28 EU members and before then many other countries have banned the use of the aircraft. â€œFollowing the tragic accident of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 involving a Boeing 737 MAX 8, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is taking every step necessary to ensure the safety of passengers. â€œAs a precautionary measure, EASA has published today an Airworthiness Directive, effective as of 19:00 UTC, suspending all flight operations of all Boeing Model 737-8 MAX and 737-9 MAX aeroplanes in Europe. In addition EASA has published a safety directive, effective as of 19:00 UTC, suspending all commercial flights performed by third-country operators into, within or out of the EU of the above mentioned models. â€œThe accident investigation is led by the Ethiopian Authorities with the support of the National Transportation Safety Board, as the aircraft was designed and built in the United States. EASA has offered their assistance in supporting the accident investigation. â€œEASA is continuously analysing the data as it becomes available. The accident investigation is currently ongoing, and it is too early to draw any conclusions as to the cause of the accident,â€? the body said in a statement. After waiting for days for the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to suspend the aircraft type, the United States President, Donald Trump on Wednesday issued executive order and banned Boeing 737MAX in the countryâ€™s airspace. Maybe, US took a cue from Canada, which looked up to FAA, but unilaterally took a decision after reviewing the preliminary report on the Lion

Air Flight 610, which crashed in October, killing 189 persons. US suspended B737MAX 8 few hours after Canada made its own announcement. These are part of the reactions to the fatal accident of Ethiopia Airlines Flight ET302, operated by B737MAX 8, which crashed on Sunday six minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa on its way to Nairobi, Kenya, killing all 157 persons on board. The crash alarmed the world because about five months ago, the same aircraft type operated by Lion Air of Indonesia, killing 189 persons on board in a similar manner. Also reinforcing its earlier statement, the federal government of Nigeria on Wednesday said it has banned the aircraft type from its airspace. In response to the banning of the aircraft by other countries of the world, FAA was expected to ban the aircraft, but the body, which is the US civil aviation regulatory authority foot-dragged and even assured on the safety of the aircraft, forcing Trump to use executive order to ban the B737MAX jet. After the crash took place six minutes after take-off ,industry pundits had linked it to the Lion Air crash about six months ago in Indonesia, operated by the same aircraft type. The Lion Air B737MAX crashed eight minutes after take-off and after the aircraft operated a flight the previous day. The Ethiopian Airlines flight just returned from a flight before it headed to Nairobi and crashed after take-off.

Sunday, killing 157 people on boardâ€?, the second fatal accident involving that model in less than six months. So by that decision, UK has joined Malaysia, Singapore, China and Australia, in banning the aircraft. The CAA said the directive would remain in place until further notice. â€œThe UK Civil Aviation Authority has been closely monitoring the situation, however, as we do not currently have sufficient information from the flight data recorder, we have, as a precautionary measure, issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace,â€? a CAA statement said. A Tui (the airline that operates the aircraft in the UK) statement confirmed their 737 Max 8 aircraft were grounded following the CAAâ€™s decision. â€œAny customers due to fly home today on a 737 MAX 8 from their holiday will be flown back on another aircraft. Customers due to travel in the coming days will also travel on holiday as planned on other aircraft,â€? Tui said in a statement. Most of the airlines that operate the aircraft type were based in the US and some of the operators issued statements saying they were comfortable with the aircraft, but travellers in other countries were apprehensive that the US airliners should not operate their aircraft to their destinations. Trump erased that anxiety with his executive order. In fact, by Wednesday, the federal government of Nigeria, after issuing statement earlier that Nigeria did not have the aircraft type in its registry, banned the aircraft from the countryâ€™s airspace.

Challenge By Tuesday, two days after the crash, more countries have joined Ethiopia, Indonesia, China and Camay Island to ground the operations of Boeing 737MAX8 after the crash. According to BBC, the UKâ€™s Civil Aviation Authority banned the Boeing 737 MAX from operating in or over UK airspace â€œas a precautionary measureâ€?. The authority said the decision was taken after â€œan Ethiopian Airlines Boeing MAX 8 crashed on

Boeing 737MAX 8 Suddenly one of the most sought after aircraft becomes a pariah and an abandoned child. However, there is no record that the aircraft was involved in accident in the US since 2017 it was introduced to the skies and more of the aircraft, about 74 were in service in the US. According to reports, the 737 MAX generation of aircraft is an updated version of Boeingâ€™s workhorse

737 twin-engine plane that has been in operation for decades. The 737 has sold more than any other jetliner in its 50-year career, but the MAX models have very little in common with the original 737s. MAX planes are more fuel-efficient than older 737s, largely thanks to new engines, and began carrying passengers in 2017. The model comes in four different variants: -7, -8, -9 and -10, from the smallest to the largest (the -7 and -10 havenâ€™t been delivered to airlines yet). The MAX variants of the 737 are Boeingâ€™s fastest-selling generation of airplanes ever. The company has inked more than 4,700 orders for the variant of the single-aisle jet for more than 100 carriers worldwide. But only 241 of those planes have been actually delivered to airlines. The MAX 8 was the first variant to be developed and to fly passengers. The plane mostly handles short-haul flights, but it has a maximum range of about 3,825 nautical miles â€” enough for transAtlantic flights from the East Coast of the US and Canada to Western Europe. Currently the airlines that have the plane on their roster include Norwegian Air, Air China, SpiceJet, Southwest Airlines, Icelandair, Flydubai, Air Italy, TUI, LOT Polish Airlines, AeroMexico, Oman Air, SmartWings, Aerolineas Argentinas, Lion Air, Corendon Airlines, China Southern, Ethiopia Airlines, Air Canada, Garuda Indonesia, United Airlines, American Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, WestJet, Turkish Airlines, SCAT Airlines, China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Jet Airways, Okay Airways, GOL, SilkAir, S7 Siberia Airlines, Copa Airlines, Lucky Air, Sunwing Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Mauritania Airlines International, Shandong Airlines, Fiji Air, Enter Air, Cayman Airways, and Comair. So far, Boeing is reported to have delivered 350 of the 737 MAX 8 since 2017 and has orders for 5000 more. However, as airlines in multiple countries suspend the use of the plane, it is unlikely those orders will go through.

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Making Nigeria a Mining Destination Nigeria is no doubt very rich in mineral resources, which have been largely untapped because of barriers to investment. While the federal government believes it is on course to transform the country into a mining destination, Kingsley Nwezeh looks at suggestions by the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), in its latest report, on ways to improve the sector the Mining Index for Nigeria was still comparatively the lowest at 84.1 per cent, in comparison with that of the USA at 133.9 per cent, Australia at 131 per cent or even South Africa at 98 per cent. This is expected, since these are known destinations with long-tested mining cultures, and consistency in the formulation.â€?

Illegal miners at work somewhere in Nigeria

eyondoilandgasforwhichNigeria is highly ranked and known for globally, huge deposits of solid minerals abound in the country such that there is hardly any state without the resource, sufficient to power the economy, if fully exploited. Owing to lack of attention by successive administrations to reactivate the sector and the full concentration on oil and gas, the mining sector, with a huge capacity to contribute to gross domestic product (GDP) has suffered untold neglect. Minerals in Commercial Quantities Officially, there are 44 different minerals found in commercial quantities in 450 locations across the country. They include gold, iron ore, tin, gemstones, columbite, topaz, limestone, uranium, laterite, gypsum and kaoline among others. The Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in its latest report, â€œImproving Transparency and Governance for Value Optimisation in Nigeriaâ€™s Mining Sectorâ€?, outlines three categories of minerals resources to include high value commodities like gold, bulk commodities like iron ore and tin and gemstones. â€œThese minerals can also be grouped into categories depending on their usage: precious stones, metallic minerals, energy minerals, industrial minerals and construction minerals,â€? it said. A Rich History of Mining Before the discovery of oil and the consequent decline in mining, Nigeria was a hub of mining activities, dating back to 1902 with the first mining of tin ore by the Royal Niger Company in 1905. Gold was mined subsequently in the present Kogi and Niger States in 1914 and coal in present day Enugu State in 1916. Mining contributed to the development of a functional railway industry helping to transport mined coal from Enugu to the seaport in Port

Harcourt and to a power plant in Oji River. â€œWith tin ore mining and processing came the establishment of the largest smelter in Africa (Makeri smelter in 1961) as well as a power plant in Jos. Finally, the establishment of industrial complexes and behemoths (at the time) of manufacturing came with iron ore, including the Ajaokuta Steel Mill, with the capacity to produce 5.7 million tonnes of liquid steel; Delta Steel plant with a capacity of 2 million tonnes of steel products; and three inland mills in Osogbo, Jos and Katsina,â€? the report added. Low Policy Perception Index After several decades of inactivity, recent efforts have been put in place to revive the sector which is still grappling with low policy perception index, a function of poor attention accorded the sector by government. The NEITI report identifies this snag as the reason for the absence of mining majors and minor and why Nigeria is still not a mining destination but is considered a global haven for 54 unexploited mineral resources strewn across 22 states of Nigeria. â€˜â€™Given the review of Nigeriaâ€™s extensive and comprehensive mining regulations, it is obvious that the country boasts of a regulatory framework that can measure up to some of the best in the world. However, it is obvious that efforts to give Nigeria a world-class regulatory architecture have not produced the kind of investor interest and patronage that was intended. â€˜â€™It is very probable though that with increased investor awareness of the continuous reforms to fine-tune the process and address the gaps, investors will come around to the emerging reality and begin to take advantage of the huge potential presented by the Nigerian mining industry. â€˜â€™This potential is reflected in the globally referenced Fraser Institute annual survey of mining companies 2014, which also compared Nigeria with other known global mining destinations such as Chile, Australia, United States of America (USA) and South Africa.

The indices used by the institute are in relation to corporate tax, the royalty payment regime, financial incentives, lease duration, customs duty and ownership requirements,â€? the report said. The report further noted that, â€œNigeriaâ€™s corporate income tax rate of between 20-30 per cent compares favourably with those of South Africa, Chile and Australia, and is much lower than that of the United States of America at 40 per cent. The royalty regime of 3-5 per cent for metals, gold, copper, iron ore and energy mineral coal, also compares favourably with these countries and is much lower than the USAâ€™s regime of 4-10 per cent. â€œThe tax holiday incentive of an initial period of three years from the commencement of operations is very attractive by global standards, especially for a green and brown field exploration and mining destinationâ€?. While Nigeriaâ€™s efforts at attracting mining investors with the introduction of the ease of doing business policy initiative, three years tax holiday among other incentives, the sector remained largely unexploited. â€œThe government policy of exemption from customs and import duties for mining equipment is also a major incentive, as obtains in South Africa and the USA. This is unlike Chile and Australia that collect 6 per cent and 5 per cent respectively and in some cases, still collects additional import processing charges. â€œPerhaps only Chile, which allows for an indefinite leasehold duration on mining leases, could be said to be more attractive in comparison to Nigeriaâ€™s 25 years lease period. In terms of ownership and foreign participation, foreign companies are encouraged to incorporate local subsidiaries, compared to these other destinations with varying percentages of permissible foreign acquisition. While South Africa allows for a maximum of 26 per cent ownership, in Australia this is limited to only 15 per cent. â€œHowever, despite Nigeriaâ€™s extensive and globally competitive regulatory framework, Nigeriaâ€™s mining industry is largely unexploited and contributes very little to the countryâ€™s industrial output. As at 2016,

Governmentâ€™s Position The present administration, moving in the direction of reviving the ailing sector started by outlining a roadmap aimed at identifying the challenges facing the sector and moving to sanitise the sector by revoking thousands of dormant mining licenses and reallocating them. To encourage artisanal miners, N30 billion mining intervention fund was made available to enable miners overcome the near impossible interest rate placed on loans by banks. In a recent interview, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Abubakar Bawa Bwari, gave insights on governmentâ€™s efforts to revive the sector. â€œThe road map we developed was in line with the mandate we were given. And the mandate was to create jobs, generate revenue and ensure that mining was done to the best standard practice. So there was improved funding because of what was coming in here. The budget for this ministry in 2015 was N1billion and they could hardly access N300 million. â€œSo overtime, based on our efforts, there was improvement in budgetary allocation. Mr. President approved N30 billion for us from the natural resources fund. World Bank also approved N150 million for us to develop the sector. â€œWith that a lot of activities started picking up in the sector. With that we were able to fund our mine officers all over the country, provide logistics. We are now able to monitor mining activities all over the country and suddenly things began to improve and we started the collection of royalty and so on. With that, we could also monitor the activities of Illegal miners, set up surveillance task forces with all the security agencies involved,â€? he said. According to him, the ministry was able to revive Mineral Resources Management Committees that helped in addressing issues of compensation, land disputes and related issues within the local and mining communities. â€œSo when we came in we realised that Nigeria had minerals, that minerals were all over the states and that in every local government you could identify one mineral or the other. We realised that the potentials were there and that possibilities to achieve our objectives were there. â€œWith improved funding, we started exploration projects. We also realised that there cannot be mining without data. Today, we have improved data as a result of improved funding. Based on that, a lot of activities have been generated in mining. A lot is happening in the mining sector. Revenue has been improving steadily even under recession, it kept growing and when you look at the statistics in the last three years, mining revenue has been growing.â€? Attracting Investors The minister disagrees with the NEITI report and argues that a high investment inflow has commenced as a result of efforts of government. The minister, who recently returned from a mining conference in South Africa is presently in Canada to showcase Nigeria as a mining destination. â€œWe had interactions with investors, especially foreign investors at international mining conferences in South Africa, Canada, United Kingdom and China among others. Before now, Nigeria was given little attention in terms of mining and this had to do with perception. Nigeria is perceived as oil and gas destination and not a mining destination. Ours was to change the perception and that has improved and today Nigeria is on the lips of most investors.

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A view of Marina, Lagos

Prospects as Nigeria Grows VAT Revenue The contribution of value added tax to Nigeriaâ€™s revenue base has witnessed a consistent growth in the last six years. Given the trend, taxation on goods and services consumed by Nigerians should become a major source of revenue for government to drive growth and development in the near future, writes Bamidele Famoofo Revenue

here are indications that the drive of Nigeriaâ€™s government to increase revenue through other means than oil is beginning to yield some fruits. For instance, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) showed that it remitted more revenue generated from tax to the purse of the Federal Government in 2018 more than it has ever done in the history of the country. Chairman, FIRS, Babatunde Fowler, recently announced the N5.3trillion remitted as total revenue into governmentâ€™s coffers as at December 31, 2018. According to him, FIRS generated N5.3trillion in 2018, the highest in Nigeriaâ€™s history. Before 2018, the highest revenue FIRS ever realised from taxation was N5.07trillion in 2012. After the peak performance in 2012, tax revenue declined to N3.31trillion in 2016, but moved up to N4.03trillion in 2017. The figure further improved by 32 per cent to N5.3 trillion in 2018. The target for 2019, according to FIRS, is N8.0trillion. â€œWhile revenue from tax is growing, cost of collection of revenue is going downâ€?, Fowler, however, lamented. VAT The contribution of VAT is growing as total tax revenue of government is growing. In 2018, VAT accounted for 21per cent of tax revenue collected by FIRS. In the last six years, VAT has recorded a 130 percent growth from N481.58 billion in 2013 to N5.30 trillion in 2018. Aggregate contribution of VAT to total tax revenue in six years (2013-2018) is estimated at N4.63 trillion, according to figures supplied by

the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). VAT in Nigeria is a consumption tax that was instated by the Value Added Tax Act of 1993. It is a federal tax, which is managed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service. VAT is charged on most goods and services provides in Nigeria and also on goods imported into Nigeria. Businesses add VAT to the sales price of the goods or services they offer in Nigeria. They also pay VAT, just like consumers, on goods and services they consume. VAT is calculated at a flat rate of five percent of the cost of service and products and is charged on a wide array of goods and services in Nigeria. Meanwhile, there are some exemptions. Some items that are exempted from VAT include all exports goods and other products like: Medical, Veterinary and Pharmaceutical raw materials and products. Basic food items (any unprocessed staple food item. packaged or not packaged) Other items on the list are agricultural equipment and products, some diplomatic goods (based on federal government duty free concessions), Infant food, books, newspaper and magazines. Breakdown of the performance of contribution of VAT to tax revenue since 2013 showed that the figures have been on the increase in the last six years till date. VAT stood at N481.58 billion (local collections only, excluding foreign collection) in 2013. But the figure increased by 2.57 per cent fromN481.58 billion in 2013 to N493.95 billion in 2014, which also represents local collections only, excluding foreign collection. VAT revenue, however, recorded an unprecedented growth of 61 per cent to N795.43 billion in 2015 from N493.95 billion in 2014. Between 2015 and 2016, revenue dropped by 2.25 per cent from N795.43 billion in 2015 to N777.50 billion in 2016. A 25.1 per cent growth

recorded in 2017 inched VAT revenue close to the one trillion mark achieved in 2018. Revenue from VAT moved to N972.35 billion in 2017, representing a 25 percent increase from N777.50 billion level achieved in 2016. The achievement in 2018 was unprecedented at N1.11 trillion representing 14.2 per cent increase from N972.35 billion recorded in 2017. Contribution by Sector The mining sector of the economy emerged the biggest contributor to VAT revenue in 2018 with N182.54billion, which represents an increase of 34.8 percent year-on-year (yoy). As contained in the NBS report on VAT for fourth quarter in 2018, other manufacturing sector came next to mining in terms of total contribution to VAT in full year ended December 31, 2018 with N122.90billion, representing 2.76 percent growth year on year. The sectors in the top five categories in their contribution to VAT growth in 2018 include Professional services, N86.28billion reducing its contribution by -1.42 per cent year on year in the review financial year ended December 31, 2018. The commercial and trading sector, however, increased its quota to VAT revenue by 27.4 per cent year on year to N63.06 billion while VAT revenue from state ministries and parastatals moved up 5.05 percent to N42.95 billion in 2018 to emerge fifth largest contributor to VAT. Sectors that featured in the top 10 ranking in contribution to VAT in 2018 are oil producing, N37.45 billion, dropping -17.02 percent compared to its performance in 2017. The breweries, bottling and beverages sector recorded a marginal growth of 0.61percent to N35.93 billion; Federal ministries and parastatals ranked 8th on the performance list with N19.44 billion representing a 4.88 per cent decline from the

figure posted in 2017, while banks and financial institutions also recorded a drop to by 10.88 per cent in 2018 to about N18.50 billion. Other VAT contribution accounted for N12.94billion representing a growth of 32.3 per cent year on year. Notably, agricultural and plantations recorded a growth of about 32.0 per cent in the review period suggesting that efforts of government to diversify the economy through investment in the sector is beginning to yield some desirable result. The sector contributed N2.47 billion to gross VAT revenue in the review period as it recorded a quarter to quarter (Q4, 18 vs. Q4, 17) growth of 88.72 percent in 2018. Q4 2018 Sectoral distribution of Value Added Tax (VAT) data in fourth quarter, 2018 reflected that the sum of N298.01billion was generated as VAT in Q4 2018 as against N273.50 billion generated in Q3 2018 and N266.73 billion in Q2 2018 representing 8.96 percent Increase quarter-on-quarter and 17.28per cent year-on-year. Other manufacturing generated the highest amount of VAT with N28.82 billion generated and closely followed by professional services and commercial and trading both generating N24.12billion and N16.02 billion respectively while mining generated the least and closely followed by pharmaceutical, soaps & toiletries and chemical, paints and allied industries with N35.75 million, N209.33 million and N258.39 million generated respectively. Out of the total amounted generated in Q4 2018, N138.42 billion was generated as non-Import VAT locally while N47.89 billion was generated as non-Import VAT for foreign. The balance of N111.71 billion was generated as NCS-Import VAT.

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Cabotage Act: NIMASAâ€™s Bold New Steps to Protect Indigenous Operators Vincent Obia

hen recently the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) set its face against violators of the coastal and inland shipping law, after a series of engagements with stakeholders, MT Navigator Capricorn, a Liberianregistered Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) vessel, was in plain sight. Caught in the Agencyâ€™s crosshairs, MT Navigator Capricorn, which is on lease to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, and supplies cooking gas to Nigeriaâ€™s domestic market, was detained. It was later released. But the decisive statement on the enforcement of the revised guidelines on the implementation of the Cabotage Act was not lost on stakeholders. The Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003, which came into force in 2004, aims â€œprimarily to reserve the commercial transportation of goods and services within Nigerian coastal and inland waters to vessels flying the Nigerian flag, owned and crewed by Nigerian citizens, and built in Nigeria.â€? To facilitate compliance with the provisions of the Act, the Federal Ministry of Transportation, in 2004, issued a set of guidelines to relevant stakeholders. The guidelines proved to be a useful tool for the operation and implementation of the Cabotage Act. But it was not without some hiccups, as NIMASA, the prime maritime regulator, had understandable challenges in the application of the Act. Following interfaces with stakeholders, the revised Guidelines on Implementation of Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act, 2003, was produced to provide further clarification and streamline the Actâ€™s enforcement and monitoring processes. NIMASA followed up the revised guidelines with the introduction of the Cabotage Compliance Strategy in August last year to facilitate full implementation of the Cabotage Act. But the Agency continued to talk with the vessel operators in the new spirit of camaraderie that has prevailed between the regulator and the operators since the administration of the NIMASA Director-General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside. However, after several warnings, NIMASA last month commenced a clampdown on vessels that did not conform to the Cabotage Compliance Strategy. Announcing the commencement of the crackdown, Dakuku made it clear that the Agency would no longer encourage the application of any form of waivers under the Cabotage Act, particularly for oil firm operations. He said such waivers hurt the growth of the maritime sector and the economy, generally. According to him, â€œOur laws forbid foreign vessels operating in our territorial waters, save for compliance with the Cabotage Act. There shall be no sacred cow when we commence clampdown on erring vessels. We want to increase the number of Nigerians who participate in the marine aspect of your business and we are working closely with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to have a joint categorisation of vessels operating under the Cabotage Act in order to ensure the full implementation of the Act.â€? When NIMASA got down to brass tacks in the resolve to curb erring vessels, MT Navigator Capricorn, a foreign vessel, which began operation in Nigeria last year, became a major culprit. The vessel brings LPG to Lagos for the licensed off takers appointed by NLNG to distribute to the domestic market. There is no doubt that MT Navigator Capricorn is critical in the supply of cooking gas to the strategic Apapa axis from where more than 80 per cent of LPG supply to Nigeria is distributed to depots. However, in line with the current focus on building local capacity to drive national development, many believe such pivotal position in the domestic gas supply matrix should not be left to foreigners. But beyond the question of patriotic logic, MT Navigator Capricornâ€™s operation flouts the provisions of theCabotage Act, which NIMASA has a duty to enforce. The Act requires all foreign vessels operating charter services within the countryâ€™s coastal and inland waterways to be crewed by a sizable number of Nigerians. MT Navigator Capricorn was in clear breach of this requirement. And the view in some quarters that the safety standards set by the owners of MTNavigator Capricorn and NLNG are so high that it would be hard to get Nigerians with the requisite expertise to man the vessel does not reduce the weight of that contravention. It flies in the face of NIMASAâ€™s intense effort to build the capacities of Nigerian seafarers through training and placement on ships. The Agency has trained many graduates under the Nigeria Seafarers Development Programme, with about 1, 600 cadets at various stages of completion of the programme, and 887 of them ready for sea-time training. NIMASA is aggressively dealing with the issue of sea-time training through full sponsorship, in partnership with some international institutions that have access to ocean going training vessels. About 150 cadets have done their on-board sea time training under the first phase of the NIMASA fully-sponsored sea time training programme, facilitated alongside the Arab Academy of Science, Technology and Marine Transportation in Alexandria, Egypt. Onboard training for another 89 cadets was facilitated by the South Tyneside College, UK, making a total of 239

Peterside

cadets in the first phase of the programme. The Agency has allocated a number of cadets to local and foreign partners for sea-time training on their ocean going vessels. The number of Nigerian seafarers placed onboard vessels by half year 2018 was 2,337, representing a 58.9 per cent increase in the number of seafarers employed. This means significant job opportunities and economic empowerment for Nigerians. Under NIMASAâ€™s Survey, Inspection and Certification Transformation Programme, Certificate of Competency (CoC) examinations have been conducted at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, leading to the issuance of different categories of CoCs to successful candidates. In 2017 alone, NIMASA issued 3,752 certificates to successful seafarers. This represented a 149 per cent increase from the 2016 figures. NIMASA has made significant progress on the manning aspect of the Cabotage law implementation, with MAN producing the needed middle level manpower for the sector and the Nigeria Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) supplying the high-end manpower requirements. Currently, most of the vessels that trade within the countryâ€™s coastal waters have at least 70 per cent Nigerian content in terms of manning. In addition, the Agency is collaborating with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board to do a five-year skills demand programme, which would give the Agency an idea of the skills needed in the industry. â€œThe bigger picture is that when we identify the gaps, we would begin to train people to take advantage of the gaps, leading to the employment of more Nigerians in the sector,â€? Dakuku stated recently. On the other legs of the Cabotage law, ship ownership, registration, and flagging, there has been an increase in the number of wholly Nigerian owned vessels on the Nigerian Cabotage register. The 2018 half year result showed that 125 vessels were registered, representing a 33 per cent increase when compared with the 94 registered in the corresponding period in 2017. Currently, there are more than 200 vessels captured in the Cabotage register. About 68 per cent of vessels trading within the countryâ€™s maritime space are Nigerian flagged. NIMASAâ€™s policy of encouraging Nigerians to go into joint ventures and joint ownership of vessels on a 60-40 basis has started yielding fruits, as more than 20 new vessels are flying the Nigerian flag under this arrangement, as against one last year. Bareboat charter of vessels has witnessed an increase, while foreign owned vessels on Nigeriaâ€™s Cabotage register has witnessed a decline, from about 68 to 55. In the area of ship building, many of the vessels have not been built in the country because of the challenge of steel and aluminum. But NIMASA is conducting an audit of shipyards in the country, in conjunction with Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, to see how they can be assisted to build capacity. The ultimate aim is to ensure that most of the vessels in the country are built in Nigeria.

Other attempts by NIMASA to develop local capacity under the cabotage regime include the downward review of freight rates, which has fostered a harmonious relationship between the Agency and the operators and led to increased patronage. The current administration at NIMASA has also championed a change of Terms of Trade for the affreightment of Nigerian crude oil, from Free on Board (FOB) to Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF). Under FOB trade terms, Nigeria practically has no control over the distribution of its crude oil with respect to carriage, insurance and other ancillary services. But under the CIF arrangement, the tide would change in favour of indigenous operators. NIMASA is engaging the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other relevant government agencies, and the engagements are yielding good fruit. The Agency is also engaged in efforts to provide funding for indigenous operators under the cabotage regime. Besides the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), which is provided for in the Cabotage Act 2003, NIMASA has engaged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to negotiate a special single digit interest facility for indigenous ship owners to enable them acquire needed assets. The special foreign exchange intervention package would help operators acquire vessels and vessel parts. NIMASA is also negotiating with the Nigeria Customs Service and the Federal Ministry of Finance to create a special tariff regime for the importation of maritime assets. â€œThey have agreed with us in principle that is something worth considering,â€? Dakuku said. The Dakuku-led regime at NIMASA is in the forefront of advocacy for the creation of a basket of incentives, including tax holidays, to encourage Nigerians to go into the shipping sector. â€œAn average Nigerian investor needs to be given some incentives for him to compete favourably with his counterparts elsewhere in the world, who access funds at single digit interest rate, some at one per cent rate, and have incentives and some form of support from their home countries,â€? he said. â€œIf we want our people to compete favourably, we need to also give them equivalent support and that is receiving attention at the highest level of government.â€? The incentives â€“ both subsisting and sought â€“ would come to naught if the countryâ€™s maritime space is thrown open to foreign competitors, whose capacities far outweigh those of the Nigerian operators. Hence NIMASAâ€™s resolve to fully enforce the cabotage law to protect the local shippers. But the Agency is mindful of the spirit of the law, which is ultimately to protect and grow the economy as well as enhance the quality of life of the citizens. â€œWhile we will continue to do everything within our powers to enhance the economic wellbeing of Nigerians and avoid disruptions to their economic lives, in line with the spirit of the cabotage law, NIMASA will remain committed to acting against deliberate disobedience to the letters of the law,â€? Dakuku stated.

â€“ Obia writes from Lagos.

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How Nigerian Executives Can Reinvent Boardroom, Improve Fortunes amidst Volatility Corporate executives are caught in the complex maze of changes and not sure of the best step forward to create and manage a prolific board that makes a positive difference. Chair of the United Kingdom-based TEXEM, Dr. Alim Abubakre, believes Nigerian executives can survive and triumph over the nationâ€™s economic challenges as it organises a world-class masterclass for them, writes Bayo Akinloye

ew things in organisations are as important as well-managed and effective boards. But in a world that fast-changing technologies is the new normal, the composition, capacity and the role of organisational boards when optimised could be a veritable source of sustainable competitive advantage. In many emerging economies like Nigeria characterised by volatile economic and regulatory ecosystem, limited infrastructure, weak institutions and the high cost of operations, the structure, administration and strategies of boards have become even more complicated, critical and could actually make or mar the progress of organisations. Volatilities increase risks and accentuate the role of boards for organisational success. Itâ€™s critical for boards to enhance their capacity on how to provide strategic direction, optimise decisions to strike a balance between risk management and developing a culture of innovation as well as how to lead effectively to achieve profitable growth and excellent performance in this increasingly turbulent, uncertain, complex and ambiguous landscape. To address these imminent leadership challenges, The Executive Minds, TEXEM, a United Kingdom-based leading executive education provider, is organising a two-day masterclass on creating and running prolific boards and directors. The programme, TEXEM says, is designed for board members, chairpersons, director generals, executive secretaries, permanent secretaries, and managing directors, among others. Secretaries of boards, independent non-executive directors, general managers, chief human resource officers, chief financial officers, chief internal auditors or chief risk officers, regulators and standards setters, plus, general councils, and entrepreneurs will also benefit from this training. Specifically, participants will learn how to address the challenges facing boards and develop a viable approach to impactful success. Sometimes, corporate executives are caught in the complex maze of changes, and not sure of the best step forward to create and manage a prolific board that makes a positive difference. Tested and respected, TEXEMâ€™s proven, cutting-edge, masterclass will transform a corporate boardroom from a passive, less productive board into a better strategic thinking board leader ready to establish and maintain good governance practices. â€œIn this turbulent, challenging, dynamic and fast-paced operating landscape characterised by new risks and opportunities, good governance remains the bane of many Nigerian organisations success,â€? says Dr. Alim Abubakre, Chair of TEXEM. He adds: â€œDuring this programme with Prof. Andrew Chambers, former Dean of Cass Business School London, senior executives in Nigeria would learn how to clearly define the boardâ€™s purpose and move beyond compliance to value creation for all stakeholders.â€? Prof. Chambersâ€™ successful career in creating and running vibrant boards, stimulating better board performance, the masterclass participants will be learning from one of the worldâ€™s leading boardroom gurus as he will guide executives through the techniques that they need to develop and manage dynamic boards. Chambers started his career as an auditor and IT consultant with Arthur Andersen & Co, before moving on to run an internal audit function of a manufacturing company. He was the worldâ€™s first professor of internal auditing. He was awarded the IIA (UK)â€™s Distinguished Service Award (2008) and then the global IIAâ€™s Bradford Cadmus Memorial Award â€˜to honour individuals who have made the most significant contribution to the advancement of the internal audit profession. He was also recognised as â€˜an outstanding advocate, author, practitioner and subject matter expert, whose leadership and commitment to internal auditing has advanced the profession on a global level.â€™ He was twice mentioned in the UK House of Lordsâ€™ debates as â€œan authority on corporate governanceâ€? and recognised by The UK Times newspaper as â€˜a worldwide authority on corporate governance,â€™ and has run masterclasses in more than 48 countries across the world. He is currently a member of the joint UK Institute of Directors/Institute of Internal Auditorsâ€™ panel developing new guidance for directors on internal audit.

Andrew

Chambers has been a director of a large mutual insurer (The Medical Defence Union), a well-known charity (The Tavistock Institute), an FTSE250 financial institution (The Paragon Group of Companies), a bank (The National Mortgage Bank) and several smaller public sectors, private and family businesses. He was also a judge for Hawkamahâ€™s Bank Corporate Governance Awards in the MENASA region (2009-15), and (b) the ICSA-Hermes Transparency in Governance Awards (2011-15). He conducted the 2012 Board Evaluation for the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. Through group discussion, review of case studies and presentations, the participants will draw from the wealth of experience of Chambers and learn about boards that have succeeded and those that have not and how to proactively plan to prevent failure. Among the core objectives of the programme is the evolving of executives with the best skills as they will learn to identify the right strategies to expand their roles beyond conventional governance. Thus, with the use of real-life scenarios during the masterclass participants will develop insights into how to develop a viable plan, manage risk, lead more effectively in crises, and engage stakeholders for value creation. For board directors, the masterclass will bring their ideas to life and help implement best practices that contribute to effective and efficient organisations. Secondly, the programme will provide impetus for executives to get ahead of their peers with essential skills. â€œIt is newly designed to ensure that participants are made aware of the measures and approaches available to impact positively on board and director effectiveness,â€? says Chambers. He adds: â€œThe intention is to inspire participants with proven ways to re-engineer corporate governance in practice and to provide practical â€˜toolkitâ€™ advice on how to apply these state-of-the-art methods.â€? Another core objective is the pursuit of a learning path. TEXEM masterclass curriculum is designed to reflect core issues related to boards such as accountability, transparency, and strategic leadership. Therefore, participants will leave the masterclass with a profound appreciation of crucial elements of creating and

running a successful board. Away from that, TEXEM provides a veritable platform for networking which is the oxygen of growth and innovation. â€œNetworking and debating with other workshop participants will give valuable opportunities to identify the pitfalls and the strategies on how to resolve some of those challenges. â€œFurthermore, via this programme, participants are assured of bumper return of investment via enhanced social capital (which could lead to new business opportunities and strategic synergies) and steeper learning curve,â€? says Chambers. TEXEM noted that its masterclass contents will delve into areas such as corporate governance; accountability (how and to whom?); setting direction, developing the business model, strategic planning; and respective responsibilities of owners, other stakeholders, boards and management. Other areas are oversight of management; the relevance of corporate governance codes, and company law; effective board (understanding and discharging the duties of boards, leadership, board composition, board diversity, effective chairing, scheduling meetings, agendas and minutes; participating in meetings and interfacing the board with the boardâ€™s committees. The class will also explores topics of serving boards â€“ the role of the company secretary and others; evaluating the performance of boards, board committees and directors; effective directors; understanding and discharging the responsibilities of directors; dealing with the challenges executive directors experience; dealing with the obstacles non-executive directors experience; meaning and purpose of director independence, etc. According to Abubakre, TEXEM boss, the masterclass will focus on core areas like effective board committees (effectively discharging the responsibilities of audit committees; the boardâ€™s responsibility for oversight of risk, and the role of board risk committees; succession planning and the duties of the nomination committees; determining executive remuneration and non-executive director fees, and the role of remuneration committees; other board committees). In addition, the programmeâ€™s participants will be introduced to the relevance of corporate governance codes, learn about company law, distinctive qualities of public and private entities as Prof. Chambers will show executives how to create and manage successful boards in family businesses, small and medium scale enterprises, public sector and not-for-profit entities. TEXEM prides itself in the understanding of the skills board directors and members need to support the growth of boards. Therefore, the TEXEM masterclass has been designed with both individuals and organisations in mind. The course will give both individuals and organisations, valuable and relevant knowledge to create productive and progressive boards. It will also help executives gain core skills needed to make a positive impact on the board and empower them to foster better and more engaged boards. This will result in organisational benefits that include better self-starting board directors that give directions to members; more effective teams; increased creativity and innovation at all levels; improved communication skills; higher personal and group morale. On the other hand, the masterclass will benefit the individual in terms of improved self-awareness; improved Communication at all points in the hierarchy; promote best practices; increased creativity and innovation. â€œAs a board director and member, you donâ€™t want to miss an opportunity that helps you come to grips with aspects of accountability, setting direction, developing the business model, strategic planning and management oversight. TEXEM prides in their ability to customise programmes for their clients. The training scheduled for April 10 and 11 this year and will take place at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. â€œWe have world-class faculty partners with an excellent grasp of the contextual realities of Africa. Anyone that wants to find out more about the course can enquire on +447983128450 or visit our website: https://texem. co.uk/programmes/developing-efficient-and-effectiveleaders-for-success-in-an-era-of-slow-growth-and-lowperformance.html,â€? says Abubakre.

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A Peek into Kemi Adeosunâ€™s Legacies In spite of the unfortunate circumstance leading to her resignation, Ndubuisi Francis writes that the current administration should build on some of the legacies of former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun

ntil her emergence at the national scene as Minister of Finance in November 2015, Mrs. KemiAdeosun wasbarelyknownbeyond her home-state, Ogun, where she superintended over the stateâ€™s finance portfolio as commissioner for finance. However, her call to national duty was a much more demanding task, requiring a deeper and keener acumen in the planning of revenue generation and management of the nationâ€™s finances. Fiscal Operations Management Her assumption of duties as the Minister of Finance in November 2015, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has focused her attention on the initiation, development and aggressive implementation of innovative fiscal operations management policies and initiatives aimed at redressing the economic fortunes of the country, as well as facilitating the realisation of the administrationâ€™s drive for transparency and accountability. Undoubtedly, her experience in both the private and public sectors of the economy must have become handy To her credit, many novel and bold reforms were put in place to significantly curtail wastages in governance, and reduce fiscal leakages. The former minister has played leading roles in the development of various cost cutting initiatives through the pursuit of carefully thought out policies aimed at promoting transparency in the payment process, drastic reviews of the procurement process, the sanitisation of the public-sector payroll system, leading to the elimination of huge number of ghost workers, among others. She played a poivotal role in the setting up of the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), which has since become the key platform for ensuring controls and effective oversight over the utilisation of public funds under the present administration. Through PICA, she placed stringent checks on the expenditure of government revenue to ensure cost-effectiveness and accountability. Whistleblower Policy As a way of encouraging public participation in the fight against corruption, the former minister introduced the Whistle-blower Policy, which was launched in December, 2016. The policy is designed to support the fight against graft by exposing financial crimes and rewarding credible informants of such malfeasance. Working through PICA, the ministry has received 8,373 communications as a result of the Whistleblower Policy on contract inflation, ghost workers, illegal recruitment and misappropriation of funds. Out of the total communications, 1,231 are whistleblowing tips. The Ministry has undertaken 791 investigations and completed 534 of those investigations. Ten are presently under prosecution and four convictions have been secured. Under the Whistleblower Policy, the federal government said it recovered directly, as a result of tips received from whistleblowers, the sum of N7.8 billion, US$378 million and GBP27,800. From the specific information provided on companies which underpaid their taxes, the government

better management of certain recurring processes and activities relating to travels, sitting allowances, souvenirs, and others resulting in savings. Treasury Single Account (TSA) The Treasury Single Account (TSA) project was conceived by the previous administration, but its aggressive and successful implementation was midwifed by Adeosun. Under this initiative, all federal governmentâ€™s accounts with the commercial banks were transferred to a pool account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),known as the TSA. The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), an agency under the Adeosunâ€™s ministry, had the statutory mandate to drive the implementation of this policy with support from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The TSA has further brought about transparency and effective tracking of governmentâ€™s revenues and blocking of leakages and abuses. Clearing of Inherited Pension Arrears During her tenure, the government settled outstanding pension arrears up to March, 2017. The sum of 41.5 billion was released by the Federal Ministry of Finance to pay off outstanding pensions arrears of 2014, 2015 and 2016, while the sum of N12.5 billion was paid out to clear pension claims for up to March, 2017, bringing the total payment of outstanding pension arrears by the current administration to over N54 billion â€“ an unprecedented feat, which has been commended by the various workersâ€™ unions.

Adeosun

was able to recover the sum of N13.8 billion as a result of those specific tips. The Whistle-blower policy has helped tremendously in facilitating recoveries of ill-gotten funds and assets. Voluntary Assets And Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) On June 29, 2017, the federal government launched a revolutionary and bold reform initiative â€“ the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), through which citizens (taxpayers) are offered a window of opportunity to regularise their tax status relating to previous tax periods, without incurring penalties. Prior to the introduction of the policy, Nigeriaâ€™s tax compliance record was very poor with only about 14 million out of an estimated 70 million economically active Nigerians paying their taxes. This has become more compelling, given Nigeriaâ€™s Tax Revenue-to-GDP ratio of 6 per cent, which has remained one of the lowest in the world, when compared with countries in Nigeriaâ€™s peer group. The implementation of VAIDS has seen an increase in the number of tax payers from 10 million to 14 million in 2016 and 19.3 million in 2018. Some local and foreign companies are now disposed to the

VAIDS initiative, and have started to regularise their tax status.VAIDS was keenly embraced by 5,122 taxpayers which resulted in tax liabilities of over N92 billion with payments so far in excess of N34 billion. The outstanding liability of over N57 billion is to be paid in instalmentally. Adeosun believed this revenue, which may not have been realised without VAIDS, will contribute to government revenue used in implementing developing projects. She noted that VAIDS had facilitated the recovery of tax debts thereby reducing costs of compliance enforcement. Creation of EfďŹ ciency Unit The Efficiency Unit (E-UNIT) was set up in November, 2015, about two weeks after her assumption of office. The Unit was established to reduce wastages, promote efficiency, ensure prudence and add value for money in all government expenditures. The E-Unit has embarked on several cost cutting initiatives that have influenced the issuance of Circulars to all MDAs by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, and the National Salaries, Wages and Income Commission. The issuance of these Circulars has led to curtailed and

Asset Tracking and Management Project Under her supervision, the Ministry of Finance, launched the Asset Tracking and Management Project (ATM Project) in 2016. By the ATM Project, the federal government, for the first time, is able to locate, identify, assess and evaluate all its moveable and immoveable assets on a real time basis. Also, a Central Asset Register was created and domiciled in the ministry for recording the actual quantity, value, condition and location of all the capital assets belonging to the federal government. These initiatives are in line with the requirements of the International Public-Sector Reporting Standard (IPSAS), which has also been implemented under the supervision of the minister. The ATM Project and Asset Register initiatives become particularly relevant because of the importance attached to capital expenditure by the current administration. Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP) and Budget Support Facility for States In her quest to institute fiscal prudence, transparency and accountability in the management of statesâ€™ resources, Adeosun introduced the Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP). The FSP further seeks to improve public revenue, through rationalizing public expenditure, prudent financial management and facilitating sustainable debt management. The Framework has twenty-two core action points, which are expected to lead to the path of fiscal governance and sustainable economic growth. The implementation of the FSP by the states is a condition precedent for them to access further budget support facilities from the federal government, to which most states have already benefited from, in line with its terms and conditions.

Redefining Banking with CafĂŠ In its quest to support Nigeriaâ€™s growing community of entrepreneurs and millennials, CafĂŠ One by Sterling, Nigeriaâ€™s first lifestyle banking initiative has refreshed its visual identity. The ultra-modern co-working space, which doubles as a CafĂŠ, is the countryâ€™s first digital, hybrid experience centre. Located at Lennox Mall in Lekki Phase 1, CafĂŠ One is designed for comfort and equipped to provide banking services with ease and convenience. Here, also, clients are enabled to work, network and host business meetings. The space boasts of serving the best coffee and pastries in Lagos, provided in partnership with gourmet coffee brand,

My Coffee Lagos. Commenting on the new visual identity, Business Manager at CafĂŠ One, Tobi Jaiyesimi, said, â€œThe CafĂŠ One experience portrays banking as a partnership. From financial decisions to lifestyle choices, we want to serve every aspect of our clientsâ€™ lives. This intentionality is reflected in our newly recreated space and brand identity.â€? She added that CafĂŠ One is where innovation meets communityâ€”a mantra depicted in the new logo: a combination of a light bulb and people; a signal of its commitment to building communities, and Sterling Bankâ€™s resolve to proffering tailored solutions, aided

by technology, to clients. â€œMonthly, we curate sector-based events, through which our guests are able to connect with a larger community, identify areas of interest and synergy, and possibly collaborate,â€? Jaiyesimi stated. CafĂŠ One launched in May 2018, at a wellattended event headlined by award-winning soul singer, Olawale Ashimi (Brymo). It has since hosted the likes of Wana Udobang, Claire Idera, Efe Paul Azino, Ibeji and Dami Ajayi. Executive director, Corporate and Investment banking, Yemi Odubiyi, while commenting on the new space, noted that CafĂŠ One mirrors the current millennial trends and lifestyle

demands of city dwellers, saying â€œthis is the future of work and play.â€? â€œBeyond providing financial services for the present, we are also intentional about banking for the future. CafĂŠ One is what the bank of the future looks like because the line between work and play is continually becoming blurred and the business that will remain relevant is the one that understands how to serve customers in the most unconventional ways,â€? Odubiyi added. CafĂŠ One offers free Wi-Fi, a loyalty card to access discounted services, financial advisory and an array of Sterling Bankâ€™s digital products and services.

5 ) * 4 % ": t SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2019

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

NEWSFROMABROAD

Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman among 50 Charged in College Admissions Scheme The scam’s ringleader, William Rick Singer, pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon. “I am absolutely responsible for it,” Singer told a judge Tom Winter, Pete Williams, Julia Ainsley and Rich Schapiro

ollywood actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman are among 50 people charged in a $25 million college entrance exam cheating scheme, according to court documents unsealed in Boston on Tuesday. The alleged scam focused on getting students admitted to elite universities as recruited athletes, regardless of their athletic abilities, and helping potential students cheat on their college exams, according to the indictment. Authorities said the FBI investigation, codenamed Operation Varsity Blues, uncovered a network of wealthy parents who paid thousands of dollars to a California man who boosted their children’s chances of gaining entrance into elite colleges, such as Yale and Stanford, by paying people to take tests for their children, bribing test administrators to allow that to happen, and bribing college coaches to identify the applicants as athletes. “This case is about the widening corruption of elite college admissions through the steady application of wealth, combined with fraud,” U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling said. “There can be no separate college admission for the wealthy, and I will add there will not be a separate criminal justice system either,” he said. Lelling stressed that the colleges themselves are not targets of the investigation, which is ongoing. No students were charged, and authorities said in many cases they were kept in the dark about the alleged scam. Some of the parents spent between $200,000 to $6.5 million to ensure that their children received guaranteed admission at Felicity Huﬀman and Lori Loughlin the schools of their choice, John Bonavolonta, FBI special agent in charge, said. “Their actions were, without a doubt, insidious, selfish Macy has not been charged. The plot involved students who attended or were and shameful,” he added. seeking to attend Georgetown, Stanford, Yale, the The scheme’s mastermind, William Rick Singer, University of California, Los Angeles, the University of pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon to charges of racketeerSan Diego, USC, the University of Texas and Wake Forest ing conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy University, according to federal prosecutors. to defraud the United States, and obstruction of justice. Of the 50 people charged so far, 33 are parents and “I am absolutely responsible for it,” Singer, 58, told nine were college coaches. The others were a mix of U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel. “I put everything in place. I put all the people in place and made the payments standardized test administrators, a test proctor and Singer associates, authorities said. directly.” “We believe everyone charged here today had a Singer, who operated a for-profit college counseling role in fostering a culture of corruption and greed that and preparation business, orchestrated the scheme and created an uneven playing field for students trying to helped torpedo it when he agreed to wear a wire and cooperate with investigators, authorities said. “In retrospect, get into these schools the right way through hard work, good grades and community service,” Bonavolonta said. looking at everything that occurred, he is remorseful Prosecutors said the the central figure in the scam was and contrite and wants to move on with his life,” Singer’s Singer, the founder of The Edge College & Career Netlawyer Donald H. Heller said outside the courthouse. work, LLC, also known as “The Key,” based in Newport Loughlin, best known for her role in the 1980s-90s Beach, Calif. Parents paid Singer $15,000 to $75,000 per sitcom “Full House,” and Huffman, who starred in the test for someone else to take the SAT or ACT exams in 2004-12 ABC hit show “Desperate Housewives,” were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest place of their college-age sons or daughters, according to the court papers. services fraud, then later arrested. Singer facilitated the cheating by advising students to Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mosseek “extended time on the exams, including by having simo Giannulli, agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 to bolster their two daughters’ chances of gaining admission their children purport to have learning disabilities in order to obtain medical documentation that ACT, Inc. to the University of Southern California, court papers say. and the College Board typically required before granting Huffman and her husband, actor William H. Macy, paid students extended time,” the indictment says. Prosecu$15,000 to get one of their daughters unlimited time for tors said Singer used the cash to bribe two people who her SAT test, prosecutors say. administered the exams — Igor Dvorsiky, of Los AngeThe FBI recorded phone calls involving the celebrities les, and Lisa “Niki” Williams, of Houston. and a cooperating witness, according to the criminal In exchange for receiving the payments, Dvorsiky complaint. Loughlin allegedly told the cooperating witand Williams allowed Mark Riddell, a Florida man ness that she would arrange for one of her daughters to be photographed on a rowing machine to bolster the false hired by Singer, to secretly take the tests or to replace claim on the application to USC that her daughter was the the children’s answers with his own, according to the indictment. crew coxswain for the L.A. Marine Club team, according Riddell was paid roughly $10,000 per test, money to court papers. In an email, Loughlin allegedly agreed that was often funneled through a charity account set to keep the acceptance of her daughter and the scheme up by Singer, the indictment says. From 2011 to last “hush hush.” month, parents paid Singer roughly $25 million to bribe Elizabeth Much, a representative for Loughlin, told coaches and university administrators to “designate their NBC News she had no comment. In addition to putting children as recruited athletes, or other favored admisup $15,000 to get her daughter more time on the SATs, sions categories,” according to the court papers. Huffman also explored a plan to boost the test scores of a In some cases, Singer’s associates created fake athletic second daughter, according to court papers. “profiles” in an effort to improve the students’ chances In a recorded call Feb. 19, Huffman discussed the of getting accepted by making them appear to be highly possibility of having a ringer take the SAT exam for her successful high school athletes. daughter, prosecutors say. But she raised concerns about Singer would then bribe college coaches to allot the discrepancy in scores that could result from her slots meant for incoming athletes to the children of the daughter taking the SAT test in March but then allowing wealthy parents, authorities said. someone to take it in her place sometime afterward, court In one of the most egregious cases outlined in the papers say. “I just didn’t know if it’d be odd for [the tutor] if we go, indictment, a set of parents agreed to pay Singer $1.2 million to get their daughter into Yale. Singer set the plot “Oh, she did this in — in March 9, but she did so much in motion in November 2017 when he passed along the better in May,” Huffman allegedly said on the call. “I applicant’s biographical information to an associate and don’t know if that’d be like — if [the tutor] would be like, instructed her to create a bogus athletic profile, court ‘Wow.’” Ultimately, Huffman and her husband decided papers say. against it, the court papers say. A representative for Huff“[C]ould you please create a soccer profile asap for man did not immediately return requests for comment.

this girl who will be a midfielder and attending Yale so she has to be very good,” Singer wrote, the indictment says. “... Need a soccer pic probably Asian girl.” The fake profile was sent to the Yale women’s soccer coach Rudolph “Rudy” Meredith, who agreed to designate the young woman as a team recruit even though he knew she did not play competitive soccer, according to the court papers. After the applicant was accepted to Yale, Singer sent Meredith a check for $400,000, drawn on an account belonging to his purported charity, the Key Worldwide Foundation. Meredith, 51, was charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services wire fraud. He could not be reached. Yale President Peter Salovey noted in a letter to students and staffers that Meredith no longer works at the university. “We do not believe that any member of the Yale administration or staff other than the charged coach knew about the conspiracy,” Salovey said. The coaches charged in the scheme also include Jorge Salcedo, a former professional soccer player who coached the UCLA’s men’s team, and William Ferguson, who was the women’s volleyball coach at Wake Forest. They were not immediately available for comment. Word of the indictments sparked swift action at some of the schools. Stanford fired its head sailing coach, John Vandemoer, after he was charged with racketeering conspiracy. The school noted that neither of the two students, whom Vandemoer is alleged to have recommended for admission, came to Stanford. USC said it has terminated the employment of Donna Heinel, the school’s senior associate athletic director, and Jovan Vavic, its former water polo coach, after they were indicted in connection with the alleged cheating scam. UCLA, meanwhile, said it placed Salcedo on leave while the matter is under review. “The conduct alleged in the filings revealed today is deeply disturbing and in contrast with the expectations we have of our coaches to lead their teams with honesty and integrity,” UCLA said in a statement. “If the facts alleged are true, they represent a grave departure from the ethical standards we set for ourselves and the people who work here.” Besides the actresses, other parents implicated in the fraud include Gamal Abdelaziz, the former president and CEO of Wynn Resorts Development; Gordon Caplan, co-chairman of the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP; and Gregory Abbot, CEO of the International Dispensing Company. They did not respond to requests for comment. The investigation involved more than 200 federal agents who fanned out across six states. The probe was launched last May after agents uncovered evidence of “large-scale fraud” while working on a separate undercover investigation, the FBI’s Bonavolonta said. “Following 10 months of intense investigative efforts using a variety of sophisticated techniques, the FBI uncovered what we believe to be a rigged system,” Bonavolonta said, “robbing students all over the country of their right at a fair shot to getting into some of the most elite universities in this country.” ––Culled from www.nbcnews.com

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

NEWSFROMABROAD

William “Rick” Singer leaves federal court after being charged in a nationwide college admissions cheating scam in Boston on March 12, 2019

What will Happen to the Students Involved in the College Admissions Cheating Scandal? Dakin Andone, CNN

s outrage grows over the massive alleged college admissions cheating scheme, the parties involved are working to contain the scandal. Coaches accused of falsely presenting prospective students as athletes have been fired or put on leave by their universities, and schools are reviewing their enrolled students to confirm no one else was involved. The College Board and ACT Inc., which administer the SAT and ACT respectively, have said they will hold people who facilitated cheating on the exams accountable. But it remains to be seen what will happen to the students themselves. According to the criminal affidavit, some of the students were aware of the cheating, but others had no idea. Will the students be expelled or allowed to continue attending school? What repercussions will they face, if any? And what about those who may be in the middle of the admissions process, at this busy time of year when colleges are whittling down the number of applications and sending acceptance letters? CNN spoke to two experts in college admissions and higher education law about the potential outcome for students whose parents pulled strings to get them into prestigious universities. Here’s what they had to say.

Students’ fates will be determined ‘case-by-case’

Christine Helwick, the former general counsel for the California State University system, said “there’s no right solution” when it comes to the future of these students. “It will have to be a case-by-case determination,” she said. If a student is found to have cheated on an exam like the SAT or lied on their application to the school, their fate would depend on where in the application process they were and whether they were already enrolled or had graduated when the cheating was discovered, Helwick said. If they were in the middle of the application process, the school could easily take them out of consideration. At least two universities have said they will deny the admissions of students if they’re found to be connected to the scandal. And on Friday, USC said it had identified six students in the current admissions cycle who would be denied admission to the university. If they’ve already graduated, Helwick said she doubts a school would revoke a degree. Universities face the hardest decisions for students who are still enrolled, Helwick said, and she said schools should be looking at whether these students were aware of the cheating or whether it was done by their parents behind the student’s back. Ed Boland, a former Yale University admissions officer and the author of his memoir, “The Battle for Room 314,” agreed, and said a school’s dean of students would likely launch an investigation to examine whether the student was aware of the cheating -- and if so, whether the student was complicit in the process.

Those who knew should face expulsion, expert says

According to the criminal affidavit, not all the students were aware of the cheating arranged by their parents. Currently, no students face charges in the scandal. Two students who the affidavit says were aware are the

John Bonavolonta, FBI special agent daughters of Elizabeth and Manuel Henriquez, who are accused of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars and favors as part of the scam. The affidavit says their daughters actively participated. CNN has reached out to the Henriquezes for comment. According to the affidavit, a proctor, who had been paid to sit by the Henriquezes’ oldest daughter’s side and provide answers during the exam, “gloated” with her and her mother “about the fact that they had cheated and gotten away with it.” In the cases of students who were complicit in the cheating, Boland said such behavior warrants “immediate expulsion,” adding universities need to show everyone they won’t tolerate scamming the admissions process. “This scandal is undermining the public’s faith in this process,” he said, “and schools have to act firmly and swiftly to show the public that they are as alarmed as the public is.” Asked whether it was believable that some students didn’t know about the cheating, Boland said he thought it was. If fewer people were in on the process, he said, it would be easier to control. For example, according to the affidavit, one student who had been admitted to the University of Southern California as a track athlete had no idea about the arrangement and was surprised when his adviser at orientation asked him about track. Boland also pointed out that many students wouldn’t want to “benefit from this despite their parents’ desires.”

Helwick didn’t necessarily agree, pointing out that the alleged scam involved cheating on SATs or ACTs, or being presented as a prospective athlete for a team they had no intention of playing on. “It’s hard to imagine that a student would not be knowledgeable about either one of those,” she said.

Could they get a second chance?

Both Helwick and Boland indicated the students could have a chance at redemption, depending on their case. Some schools might be willing to look at whether the students in question had so far proven whether they could stand at the institution on their own merits, Helwick said, to decide if they would be allowed to stay. “How far have they progressed?” she asked. “How well have they done? Have they demonstrated they really were capable of performing at a level of someone who got in under normal circumstances?” A student could otherwise be asked to leave the university and attend another institution to prove their academic merit on their own, Boland said, which is “a very common practice,” often for a student who might have failed out or partied too much and didn’t take their education seriously enough. And, Helwick said, “community colleges are available for all manner of people.” CNN’s Melanie Schuman and Mark Morales contributed to this report.

Ëœ Ëž MARCH 17, 2019

MARKET NEWS

Flour Mills Nigeria Moves to Promote Gender Inclusiveness Judith Obaze Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (FMN) has introduced â€œWomenâ€™s Empowerment Initiativeâ€? in an effort aimed at creating an unbiased and balanced work environment and promote gender inclusiveness in the workforce. The Chairman, FMN, Mr. John Coumantaros, disclosed this

at the companyâ€™s International Women Day programme, held recently in Lagos. â€œWhile we continue to record successes in our effort to create an unbiased and balanced work environment where our women can excel with as much opportunity as the men folk, I would be the first to admit that we are not quite where we want to be. It

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

is important to mention at this point that at FMN, we have always been promoters of equal opportunity employment. We believe in creating not just an enabling environment but also investing in the development and empowerment of our employees,â€? Coumantaros said. On his part Group Managing Director of FMN Mr. Paul Gbededo, re-emphasised the

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 14Mar-2019, unless otherwise stated.

commitment of the company, saying women have come a long way in finding their rightful place in FMN to ensure a free, just and egalitarian, equalopportunity work environment. â€œWe had a female Human Resource Director (HRD), who joined as a management trainee and rose through the ranks and a female miller who has excelled both locally and internationally.

In many areas that were thought to be the exclusive preserve for men, we now have womenfolk competing for excellence. Yet there is still more to be achieved,â€? Gbededo said. According to him, FMN entered a new phase in its effort to forge a gender-balanced work force when in March 2017 a female board director was appointed in the person of

Mrs. Salamatu Husein-Suleiman. â€œThe board took advantage of this development by appointing her to mentor the womenfolk in FMN with a view to help develop their potentials and help retain these talents,â€? he said. FMN recently reported a revenue of N400 billion and a profit after tax of N7.895 billion for the nine months ended December 31, 2018.

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 157.11 157.69 -0.63% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 8.11% Nigeria International Debt Fund 281.24 282.00 3.07% 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 1.14% ACAP Income Funds 0.64 0.64 14.85% 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 13.35% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.28 2.31 2.69% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 17.08 17.60 2.96% ARM Discovery Fund 365.91 376.94 2.60% ARM Ethical Fund 29.31 30.19 3.79% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.81% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.72% Paramount Equity Fund 12.07 12.17 2.19% Women's Investment Fund 105.81 106.38 2.13% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.27% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 100.78 101.02 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 102.28 102.86 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.76% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.84 0.84 Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.16 1.16 3.79% 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 N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 0.00 0.00 -100.00% FBN Heritage Fund 144.94 146.19 1.07% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.37% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 116.46 116.99 2.26% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 116.39 116.92 2.45% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 150.28 152.51 0.19% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 1.21 1.24 -0.43% Legacy Debt Fund 3.32 3.32 2.39% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.04 1.04 0.96% 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 3,003.73 3,035.74 0.68% Coral Income Fund 2,829.24 2,829.24 3.29% 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 13.26% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 108.85 109.48 2.08% 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 13.18% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.15 2.17 -0.04% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 14.85% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 123.97 124.21 -0.74%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD ďŹ ncon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.17 1.19 1.88% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,098.89 1,098.89 2.72% 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 11.54 11.63 0.27% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.37% 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 1.40 7.94% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.33 12.40 1.09% 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 126.77 127.48 5.05% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.03 1.03 2.98% 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 2,535.52 2,549.80 9.56% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 195.90 195.90 3.03% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.98 1.00 4.21% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 252.70 252.73 2.24% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 169.68 171.58 4.01% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.19% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,629.73 8,735.76 1.67% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.12 1.12 1.25% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.19 1.21 0.23% United Capital Bond Fund 1.64 1.64 3.06% United Capital Equity Fund 0.69 0.71 -2.09% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 14.62% United Capital Eurobond Fund 109.16 109.16 1.77% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.09 1.10 0.41% 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 11.13 11.29 5.27% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.37 12.51 3.21% Zenith Income Fund 21.13 21.13 9.70% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.76%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

5.95 119.30 51.97

-39.35% 0.00% 0.03%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.63 113.65 89.49

10.73 116.08 91.15

0.73% -3.11% 0.93%

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.02 7.17 14.64 12.31 152.41

4.06 7.25 14.74 12.51 154.41

0.42% -5.93% -2.05% -0.39% 6.14%

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 managerâ€™s website and FMANâ€™s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

17.03.2019

Godwin Omene

I Am a Miracle Child Because of the Circumstances of My Birth ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R Ëž ÍŻÍľ, Í°ÍŽÍŻÍˇ

COVER

Omene with his ďŹ rst daughter, Linda and his grandchildren

Godwin Omene

I Changed the Existing Structure in Shell, No Expatriates Has Been Deputy Managing Director Since I Left Godwin Eyarubere Omene belongs to Nigeriaâ€™s league of intellectuals â€“ suave, shrewd, sensational and successful with an extraordinary depth of intellect and vision. He is a man of many firsts. It was on record that Omene was the first indigenous deputy managing director at Shell Petroleum Nigeria and became the first chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). After 52 years in the oil industry, Omene remains an expert whose opinions weigh more than gold. Following an encounter with the indefatigable Omene, Funke Olaode writes about his trajectory in life and career

Omene

man of many firsts; constantly aiming for the best and nothing less, he has always succeeded with remarkable outcomes in his academic and professional careers. He is an accomplished gentleman. Ageless in thought and vision, his trajectory and many successes are not mere coincidences. They are the results of many years of outstanding academic heights and providence. Godwin Eyarubere Omene is not just your man next-door. He is a man who has written his name in gold personally and professionally. The ambience of his home reflects a man who is at peace. Looking sharp in an army green suit, which quickly remind you of his days as a corporate guru. For 52 years, he worked in the oil sector where

he rose to become the first indigenous deputy managing director at Shell. But for providence, Omene, native of Mosogor in Delta Stateâ€™s dream would have been aborted due to circumstances that surrounded his birth which prompted the name, â€˜Godwinâ€™. Going memory lane, he says: â€œI am a miracle child and that was how my parents described me because of the circumstances surrounding my birth. Before I was born, my mother was travelling with eight other women to a neighbouring village market in a canoe. â€œShe was pregnant and was carrying me in her womb. On their way, the canoe capsized in River Ethiope and all the eight women drowned except my mother who was rescued while floating on the water, and the next day, she gave birth to me, and my father called me a miracle child and he named me

MARCH 17, 2019 ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

COVER

In his hey day! Omene with Elizabeth Omene during a safety tour to some Shell locations in Nigeria in the 70s

Birth, Accomplishments and Celebration of Life Godwin.” From being the first indigenous deputy managing director at Shell Petroleum Nigeria to becoming the first chairman of NDDC, Omene has always been on top of his game. It would be mistaken to think that his career is defined solely by the Ivy League university he attended. Not really as he has equally distinguished himself as a scholar right from the Native Authority Primary School, Jesse where he shone brilliantly, to Government College, Ughelli in Delta State where he graduated with a distinction. Later, he moved to Imperia College of Science and Technology, London and graduated with a first class in Mining Engineering in 1965. Omene earned a distinction in postgraduate diploma in Petroleum Reservoir Engineering from the same college. Omene’s feats are exhilarating; always coming first in school. Was Omene a bookwarmer or one could say he is just naturally gifted? “With a sense of modesty, I can say that I am a naturally gifted person right from my school days as a child. I always had that ingenuity of quicker understanding in my studies and that helped me to study with ease and I saw myself always coming out first in my studies and in all my examinations. I am a procedure person and it helped me a lot in life, coupled with the special love of God for me as person,” he admits. If the story of Shell is written today, Omene would surely occupy a prominent space. Since he left as the first deputy managing director of Shell Petroleum Nigeria after years of dominance by expatriates, Nigerians have continued to occupy that position. What did he do to change the structure? Beaming with a sense of accomplishment, he discloses: “Before I became the first deputy managing director of Shell Petroleum Nigeria, we were having expatriates occupying that position and Nigerians were not given the opportunity. But as soon as I came on board, I changed the existing structure and since I left, no expatriate has occupied that position except Nigerians, and that is how it is

supposed to be, even from the past.” Omene has been involved with Nigeria oil sector as he can still recall with ease, presence of mind and amazing accuracy, past and present occurrence about happenings with Nigeria’s natural resources. Throwing more light on the benefits of mining to the Nigerian economy, he states: “I had opportunity to discuss the benefits of the mining industry with President Muhammadu Buhari, when he was the minister of petroleum as an army general. I told him there were lots of benefits in mining, especially in the Niger-Delta area, and some parts of northern Nigeria. “I encouraged him to also provide 13 per cent derivation in mining of all mineral resources for the North, just the same way he gave 13 per cent derivation in crude oil to the Niger Delta area. He agreed with me and saw it as a good idea, and when it was discussed at the government level, it was accepted but they proposed it should be increased from 13 per cent to 20 per cent derivation in mining of mineral resources in the northern parts of the country.” Speaking on perceived gradual shift from oil to technology for fear that the oil may soon dry up, Omene has a different view. “I will like to correct the general impression that Nigeria’s oil well will dry up soon. The truth of the matter is that our country is blessed with natural resources like oil and gas among others, and oil can never be completely dried up. It is a natural endowment and nature has made it so. It is good the country is diversifying to technology because we need technology skills to discover more oil and also refine the oil. “As we speak, Nigeria has over 40 billion barrels of crude oil reserve in the ground and every year, crude oil reserve increases because we discover more oil than we produce and we need technological skills to discover more oil and to refine quality oil for export and for internal consumption. Without technology, we cannot discover more crude oil and without technology we cannot produce quality crude oil.” After many meritorious years in the

oil industry, Omene yielded to a clarion call to serve the nation when he was appointed as pioneer chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). How did he work towards achieving the purpose for which NDDC was set up, and how has the commission fared since he left? “In my days at NDDC, I focused on development in all the nine oil producing states in the Niger Delta region, based on the resources at hand at that time and my impact was felt greatly in the Niger-Delta communities. Remember that NDDC was set up as a platform to address all issues emanating from the Niger Delta area, with regards to oil pollution in the area,” he explains. “It was set up to empower the Niger Delta communities and ensure its people were considered and carried along by government, while embarking on oil production for the country. It was a means through which government could develop the Niger-Delta communities, where major oil production was taking place. As the first managing director of NDDC, I worked towards attaining the purpose for which NDDC was set up, and I believe other Managing Directors that came after me, did the same thing.” What then could he say is responsible for youth’s restiveness in the Niger Delta area where some groups of youths have taken up arms in protest against the deteriorating environment occasioned by massive oil production and spillage? “The youths of Niger Delta communities have their reasons why they took to arms to disrupt oil production in their region. According to them, they felt cheated that they were not treated well by government and that their environment was neglected to suffer degradation, despite the fact that the Federal Government is generating huge sum of money that accounts for the running of the country’s administration, without adequately taking care of the communities from where government is making its money,” Omene explains. “They are calling for government’s attention, which is correct. So the formation of NDDC by government then, was to address some of these issues. Nigeria presently has nine oil producing states from where government generates

income and they are all in the Niger-Delta area. For me, I still believe that the issue of youth restiveness in the Niger-Delta should be addressed the government.” In a couple of days, Omene, the only non-indigene bestowed with the traditional chieftaincy title, Olu Omo Iyanu I of Onigbongbo Kingdom, will clock 80. How would he say life has treated him in the last 80 years? “I was born in March 21, 1939. I am just happy turning 80 and I thank God Almighty for sparing my life this far. God has made it in such a way that from my youthful days, I always do things right and I achieve high level of success in everything I do,” Omene says. “Some people who attained the age of 80 are no longer physically strong, but here I am today physically strong and doing things by myself without the assistance of a walking stick or people, and I give God the glory for helping me to age gracefully. Today I am as fit as a fiddle and I give God the glory.” He can be easily described as a family man, a corporate guru, a community leader and someone who his passionate about God. The motivation to serve God, he says, was borne out of God’s faithfulness in his life trajectory. “What can a man asked for?” he asks rhetorically. God has been faithful to me and I have every reason to serve God and work in his vineyard. I have facilitated the building of church cathedral in my home town in Mosogar in Delta State, from the money contributed for that purpose. After several years of contributing the money, the person holding the money returned the money. I had to commit the money, which was in millions of naira to the building of St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Mosogar, in Delta State. My wife and I also built the Knight House of St. Luke’s Cathedral Sapele, in Delta State, and we have refurbished churches and encouraged many people to give their lives to Christ through evangelism. That has been my little contribution to Almighty who has ordered my step in every step all the way.”

5 ) * 4 % ": t SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2019

MARCH 17, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

High Life

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...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

Rochas Okorocha: The Emperor has Fallen! The ...The rise and sudden fall of Rochas Okorocha Amazing Wealth of Silent Billionaire Abdulkadir Adisa Aliu In the comity of wealthy Nigerians, there are those who are just climbing the ladder of billions and there are those who have made a permanent home atop the ladder. They are, to mention just a few, Otunba Mike Adenuga, Aliko Dangote, Chief Femi Otedola, and Rasak Okoya of Eleganza fame among others. To penetrate this seemingly impervious circle takes more than aggression and brashtalking. Abdulkadir Adisa Aliu, the Group Chief Executive Officer and a founding member of Matrix Group, is gradually inching closer to that exclusive club. It takes a determination and no little measure of cojones to wilfully climb a ladder that others have avoided for fear of falling and breaking their necks. Yet that is exactly what the enterprising dude has done which has got him where he is today. A high net worth individual that keeps a refreshing low profile in an era of big men flaunting their big wealth in big ways, Abdulkadir nonetheless does not joke with his home comforts. Little wonder he went all out to get himself a palatial mansion in the exclusive Banana Island. The luxurious home is what a devout might mistake for paradise at first glance. Furnished to the hilt with the latest gadgets and amenities, the multi-million Naira wonder-on-land, smart edifice has set many eyes bulging in admiration. Abdulkadir, who owns Bluefin Depot in Warri and Matrix Mega Plant, has also made a big move to complement his kingly living. He has reportedly taken delivery of a customised private jet. With it, he flies all over the world like a happy bird, spending his money acquiring all that wealth can buy.

Human lives are like a mist appearing momentarily; and power can be the intoxicating local gin that ensures the drunk is embarrassed when he becomes sober. The noisy breaking news in Imo State is deafening. It didn’t require Internet sharing for Imolites to know the end has suddenly come for a man - emperor who ran their beloved state as a personal dynasty. Emperor Rochas Okorocha has fallen. The one who sits atop the baobab tree has broken both his neck and back. Alas! Okorocha, from being a burning fire has become cold, impotent ash. He has become a live coal that begets cold, impotent ash. Shame! He has lost the governoship he fought so hard to get for his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu. Even his hope of going to the Senate appears to be in ruins as INEC has refused to issue him a certificate of return. Not even his threat and blackmail could force the INEC returning officer to declare him winner of the senatorial ticket. Who could have thought that the once-powerful governor’s political empire would bite the dust in the twinkling of an eye? Some months ago, he was in a long-drawn battle with APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole. All efforts to foist his political dynasty on Imolites have failed. All seems lost now. Not even his sponsored thugs, state security agents could bully voters and INEC officials to declare him and Nwosu winners of the governorship and senatorial elections. Until today, the Imo State governor believed he had the power to do and undo. In fact, that was his undoing. At every chance, he has promoted himself as President Muhammadu Buhari’s

Okorocha

closest ally, always appearing in photoops alongside Buhari like an incorrigible stalker. He brought Imolites to their knees with his coterie of statues, spending millions of naira that could have gone a long way to bring succour to his people; and his family members and in-laws feeding fat on the state’s treasury. He knew his days were numbered and he tried to become a ventriloquist and puppeteer at once by trying in vain to instal his son-in-law, Nwosu, as his successor. He failed despite dealing ruthlessly with anyone like Sir Jude Agbaso (his first deputy governor), Sir Jude Ejiogu, Nick Oparandudu, and Eze Madumere (his second deputy governor) who could

thwart his scheming. Getting them out of the way of his son-in-law became his nemesis. When an idol becomes too proud, as in the case of Okorocha, it is shown from which wood it is carved. It’ll be cold out for Okorocha after May 29, 2019 when the the governor-elect, Emeka Ihedioha, takes over from him. Perhaps, he’ll take solace hanging out with his gang of political statues. Imolites are laughing last; for Okorocha and his goons, there’s gnashing of teeth. It’s hoped that Okorocha will learn from his miserable attachment to power and others in power will learn humility and selfless as they rule their people.

How Politics Tore Gbemi and Bukola Saraki Apart The biblical prophecy of siblings turning against each other in the last days has found fulfilment in Kwara politics. There is no other way to explain the gaping rift between brother and sister who have entered another phase in their long and titanic battle for the soul of the state. Senate president, Bukola Saraki and his sister, Gbemisola are two political powerhouses who ordinarily should be getting along with each other and having each other’s backs on account of their blood relation but the reverse is the case. Ever since Bukola helped to truncate his sister’s bid to become the governor of the state, the war between them has only waxed stronger, and there is no end in sight. Saraki, the acclaimed godfather of Kwara politics, had overruled his own father, the late Oloye Olusola Saraki who had wanted Gbemi to succeed Bukola as governor. Bukola instead backed the current governor Abdulfattah Ahmed, much to his sister’s dismay. His refusal to release the Saraki political machinery for her ambition led to her suffering a sound trouncing at the polls. To add insult to injury, Bukola proceeded to take over her Kwara Central senatorial seat. Forced to spend some years in the political wilderness while making do with a role as chancellor of an obscure federal university in Otuoke, Gbemi silently vowed to get her pound of flesh. The opportunity presented itself when Saraki decamped to the PDP. Gbemi

Gbemi and Bukola Saraki

became a rallying point for opposition politicians who wanted to free the state from Bukola’s hegemony. She might have lost the battle to become governor then but Gbemi was determined to win the war to oust her brother from his pride of place as Kwara political overlord. And if she hasn’t quite totally succeeded yet, she has still scored a huge victory as the APC’s ‘O To Ge’ movement swept Bukola out of office and trounced his PDP governorship

candidate at the polls. Right now, Gbemi is on cloud nine and in no mood to listen to entreaties to bury the hatchet with her brother. While Bukola silently strategizes with a view to making a comeback in future, Gbemi is determined to crush him underfoot. As brother and sister continue to enact their own version of the game of thrones, the Saraki dynasty remains a house divided against itself, with family members forced to choose where their loyalty lies.

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HIGHLIFE

Oba Saheed Elegushi, Akinsiku Settle Riftâ€Ś Rock Olofaâ€™s Fatherâ€™s Burial

Oba Saheed Elegushi, Akinsiku

The wide chasm between two royal darlings of high society, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi and Oba Dosunmu, the Akinsiku of Lagos, has been bridged and the lifelong friends can once more revel in each otherâ€™s company like in the good old days of yore. Before they were torn apart by the scissoring scythe of manipulative

hearsay, the flamboyant monarch and the regal courtier were joined at the hip. They gambolled hand in hand from country to country and event to event. They rocked and balled together round the Lagos social scene like two complementary colours mixed to form a majestic painting. At the height of their camaraderie,

King Gush, as the Elegushi of Ikateland is fondly called, and his childhood friend, Olalekan Dosunmu became the epitome of brotherhood that transcends blood. They were always there for each other. Anytime one is at a loss or needed something doing, the other would arrive on the scene with immediate alacrity, ready to lend the proverbial shoulder to lean on. However, the beautiful garden of their friendship began to be overtaken by weeds as outsiders threw a spanner in the works. Inside sources reported that following the carefully laid plans of a mastermind â€“ rumoured to be Oba Elegushiâ€™s stunning queen, Olori Sekinat Aramide â€“ the two bosom buddies began to view each other with suspicion. The blooming mutual disdain and cold war burst open last May during the burial of Akinsikuâ€™s father, Chief Adebola Alabi Dosunmu. On that occasion, Oba Elegushi was nowhere to be seen at an event where he would ordinarily have played a prominent role. It was the same story few weeks later at the Haven Events Centre, Ikeja, venue of the wedding of Lagos big boy, Dapo Alli-Balogunâ€™s son. Although both Oba Elegushi and Oba Dosunmu were in attendance, they treated each other like sworn enemies and wouldnâ€™t even extend the common courtesy of a handshake or friendly smile. However, the faceoff has finally ended as the duo has decided to bury the hatchet. The breach is fixed and the wounds are healed. The good days are back and better for Oba Elegushi and Akinsiku who were spotted together at the burial of the father of the Olofa of Ofa a few weeks ago. The two friends were unmistakable among the throng of pillars of high society as they danced and rocked together like former times.

Emmanuel Udom Laughs last â€Ś As He Finally Tames Godswill Akpabioâ€™s Lion

Udom

In every parting there is a spectacle of death, and in treachery subsists a spectre of comradeship gone sour. Hence, when two friends go their separate ways, they drift like tramps having no conscious sympathy or loyalty to all things that bound them. The truism of the above came to the fore over the weekend as the hotlycontested governorship battle in AkwaIbom wound down towards a dramafilled and tension-soaked finale. It was a contest that pitted the political might of a godfather and his newest â€˜chosen oneâ€™ against an incumbent who

had thrown away the shackles of stoogehood and dared to meet his former benefactor eyeball to eyeball in fierce combat. It is no news that Akwa Ibom governor, Udom Emmanuel ascended to the position by flying on the wings of current senator and former governor Godswill Akpabio. From nowhere, he emerged the state executive while more entrenched candidates ate the bitter fruits of defeat in 2015. And for a while, godfather and godson enjoyed a honeymoon period as everything seemed rosy. Then came dwindling revenues and a clash of interests and Emmanuel decided to strike out on his own. This incensed Akpabio who fumed so much at the betrayal. Not only did he leave his party, the PDP in a huff and decamped to the APC, he also withdrew his support for his former protĂŠgĂŠ and raised a new lion to take over the government house in Uyo; thus the emergence of Nsima Ekere, the former DG of the Niger Delta Development

Commission and a powerhouse in southsouth politics to challenge Emmanuelâ€™s new-found dominance at the polls. Along with Akpabio, a whole host of top state officials also packed their bags from the PDP and joined the APC. Amidst the setbacks, Udom remained steadfast like a reinforced wall. While his opponents roared their impending victory, he was silently concocting his own grand plan. The student was determined to outwit the master and so it proved in the just concluded elections. First came the stunning knockout of Akpabio as Emmanuel orchestrated the victory of the PDP candidate in AkwaIbom North West Senatorial District, thus scuppering his former godfatherâ€™s bid to return to the Senate for a second term. Those wounds were yet to heal when Udom delivered another sound thrashing that is sure to send Akpabio and his chosen one into a cocoon of sober reflections. At the governorship elections on Saturday, Emmanuel of the PDP trounced his challenger, Nsima Ekere of the APC, after convincingly winning 30 out of the 31 local governments in the state.

Senator Gbenga Ashafaâ€™s Good Example Lagos Stateâ€™s man of substance, Senator Gbenga Ashafa is a prime example of someone who is able to keep his head when everyone else is losing theirs. While others see their positions as their birthright which they must hold on to by hook or by crook, Senator Ashafa is able to handle setbacks with equanimity. Recall that the two-term senator representing Lagos East senatorial district at the National Assembly got the shock of his life last October when he was defeated by Bayo Osinowo at the APC primaries. At the time, it was widely expected that the evergreen grassroots politician would mount a vehement protest, egged on by his Ashafa Action Group political machinery. Instead, Ashafa stunned everybody by not only accepting the results but congratulating his opponent. He proved that he is a true gentleman by toeing the path of honour. He saw the setback not as the end of the world but as a learning curve for him. Those close to the popular philanthropist intimate that he is going to use the lessons learned to mount a successful comeback when the time is ripe. In the meantime, Ashafa showed his true colours as a staunch and loyal party man by throwing his weight behind all the partyâ€™s candidates during the justconcluded elections. He contributed greatly to the APCâ€™s clean sweep of all the National Assembly tickets up for grabs. Those who saw how he campaigned vigorously could scarcely believe that he himself wasnâ€™t one of the candidates. Those close to the party disclosed that the senatorâ€™s exemplary conduct has impressed the APC top brass so much that he has been pencilled for a high proďŹ le appointment in the not-too-distant future.

Ashafa

Omo

MARCH 17, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

HIGHLIFE

How Prince Dapo Abiodun Humbled Ibikunle Amosun

Abiodun

“If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend,” wrote the novelist E M Forster, “I hope

I should have the guts to betray my country.” Outgoing governor of Ogun State Senator Ibikunle Amosun, had the guts all right. He just chose to betray his friend. And rising above that betrayal like a phoenix reborn from the ashes of Amosun’s fire is the Ogun governor-elect, Dapo Abiodun. He had thrown himself body and soul into the past campaigns of his bosom friend who went on to rule the state for eight years. When it was his turn to expect support, he was instead rewarded with a knife in the back. Heyden Oil boss, Dapo had thrown his hat into the ring as one of the challengers on the platform of the All Progressives Congress. As fate and his own formidable pedigree would have it, he clinched the ticket amidst fierce competition from other stalwarts, including Amosun’s own

anointed candidate. And that was where the lifelong friendship between Dapo and Amosun hit the rails. While the governor coaxed and cajoled the billionaire businessman to step down for his candidate, Dapo vehemently refused to relinquish his hard-won ticket. Subsequently, and in shocking defiance of the principles of reciprocal comradeship, the governor went all out to drum support for his own candidate, Adekunle Akinlade, who had joined the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) as its governorship candidate. Despite remaining in the APC, the governor refused to support the party’s candidate. He left Dapo in the lurch, abandoning him to sink or swim on his own. And for a little while, it seemed like Amosun would have his way as he hijacked APC machinery and even

Austin Jay Jay Okocha Celebrates 21st Wedding Anniversary Former Super Eagles captain, Augustine Azuka “Jay Jay” Okocha has added another landmark to what is already an extraordinary life. The former footballer who is regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time recently celebrated 21 years of marriage to his wife, Nkechi which has produced two beautiful children, a girl and a boy, both of whom are already grown. The man who wowed thousands with his mercurial football artistry - sharpshooting, dribbling skills, mazy runs, spectacular step-overs and flicks - got married over two decades ago while he was still plying his professional football trade in Europe. His wife, Nkechi has been nothing but loving and supportive throughout his career. Now that he is retired, he spends a lot of time with her and their two children, Daniela and Ajay. Much like in every other relationship, it has not always been plain sailing for the Okochas. There was a time when things threatened to go out of hand as unsavoury rumours flew all over the

news. But much like he eyed many an opposition wall before deftly bending a sublime free kick into the top corner, Jay Jay was able to conquer the adversity and the family is closer than ever before. The man who was made the chairman of the Delta State Football Association in 2015 tries to shield his family from the spotlight but such are the trappings of fame that he cannot be totally successful. He even indulges in the rare moment of giving his fans glimpses into his personal life like when he shared pictures of the family when they celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary last year. Nkechi and Jay Jay are one of the most popular sports couples around. She complements him and he completes her. While she maintains the home front, Okocha is out earning the big bucks even after retirement. He is reportedly worth 150 million and has numerous endorsements including a recent one with premium betting company, BetKing.

Okocha

Marriage Not Yet on the Cards for Aminu Babangida

Babangida

The bands of wedlock are so heavy that it takes two to carry them… sometimes more depending on religious orientation or personal preferences.

But there is a man who does not seem perturbed about even offering a hand to carry any wedding band anytime soon; he is Unity Bank chairman, Aminu Babangida. He has got a front row seat to the high drama of his own siblings’ marriages. Having witnessed first-hand how their unions unravelled, he is not in a hurry to put himself in the same situation. Aminu, the youngest son of former military president Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida has rebuffed all entreaties to tie the knot even though he is piling up the years. He is reported to have told whoever cared to listen that his focus for now is on taking Unity Bank, where he was appointed the chairman not too long ago, to the next stage in its evolution. He does not want to contend with any domestic issues that can distract him from this goal which he is pursuing with vigour. Recall that his elder sister, Aisha has had ill-luck when it comes to affairs of the heart. First was the romance with Kola Abiola, son of MKO Abiola, acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was truncated when their fathers came into conflict. She was later

swept off her feet by Basheer Nalabo Garba, a relative of the Abachas whom she married in 2003. They divorced just three years later. Reasoning that third time might perhaps be the charm, Aisha strutted into the harem of Alhaji Aliyu Shinkafi, then the governor of Zamfara State, only to turn tail and flee several years later, hounded out by hostile elder wives. The case of his elder brother, Muhammed Babangida is not any better. Muhammed’s acrimonious separation from Rahama Indimi, daughter of Borno billionaire, Muhammed Indimi, has not served as an experience worthy of emulation by Aminu. Even Muhammed’s rekindled romance with childhood sweetheart, Ummi Wali, is said to going through a rough patch. Little wonder Aminu Babangida doesn’t want to rush into marriage. Having been twice warned by his siblings’ experiences, he is three times shy. He is playing the long game concerning his marriage and pays deaf ears to anyone who tells him to hurry up.

campaigns to promote his own candidate even as he repeatedly vowed not to move a single muscle in support of the man who had spent so much time to actualize his own ambition in the past. Pained but undaunted by the public betrayal by someone he considered closer than a brother, Dapo Abiodun nevertheless threw everything into his campaign. He toured the length and breadth of the state, selling himself to the populace and trusting in their will to overcome the might of the governor at the polls. Now as governor-elect having handily won the polls, he can relax in the knowledge of a job well done despite the odds. Amosun, in contrast, is feasting on some bitter-tasting humble pies as he surveys the fragment of a friendship wrecked by his own insatiable thirst for power.

City Designer Bashy Kuti Celebrates Birthday in Style Rave of the moment in the fashion scene, Bashy Kuti was in high spirits on Tuesday as he celebrated another year on planet earth. The Ibadan-based designer has a huge clientele base that transcends his native state with patrons spread all over the country. His distinctive style and deep knowledge of fabrics have netted him an exclusive selection of high net worth individuals. His fame might have climbed beyond the clouds but the BKK Ultimo boss remains grounded. Not for him the high octane shindigs and ostentatious display of wealth on special occasions. Despite making a huge splash on the fashion scene since he rebranded two years ago, Bashy resisted the temptation to throw a huge party on his birthday to prove that he has “arrived”. Instead, he used his special day to show love and care to the less privileged, the dregs of society on whose welfare surplus wealth is best lavished. He visited some orphanages in and around his Ibadan base and treated the excited kids to gifts of cash and assorted provisions. His generous gesture was borne out of his belief that the best way to celebrate oneself is to impact others. A veteran of close to two decades on the scene, Bashy never fell out of love with fashion even when it seemed as if the whole world was arrayed. Even as he struggled to carve a niche for himself in the early years, he kept going and it was not long before his unique and hardly replicable designs earned him household-name status. Feted and much admired in the corridors of power, Bashy’s Sai Baba style is just one of the creative offerings that have earned him cult status among style aficionados. He is highly sought after by connoisseurs of fashion and has also become a big fixture on the Ibadan social scene. He is the clothier who is a frequent guest of the clothed.

Kuti

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

SOCIETY WATCH

Ooni of Ife’s Father Celebrates It was another moment of joy, penultimate week, when Prince Oluropo Ogunwusi, father of Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, turned 77. The broadcaster, famously known as Baba Oba of Ile Ife, held a low-key celebration in his house in Ife, evidence of his distaste for loud celebrations. In spite of this, many thronge to the venue of the event to celebrate with him. The guests were treated to sumptuous lunch after the church service at Saint Paul, Ayegbaju, Ile Ife. The septuagenarian, who is the ﬁrst father in the city to witness the crowning of his son as the Ooni of Ife,is an epitome of humility and modesty

Ibikunle Amosun’s Garment of Shame Perhaps, if the outgoing governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, had been more circumspect, he would have heeded the advice of several chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and backed the candidate chosen by the party, Dapo Abiodun, before the March 9 governorship election. He, however, shunned the wise counsel. His actions and inaction betrayed one who seemed to have a pathological hatred for Abiodun. He was even blinded by his arrogance. Today, the Owu, Ogun State- born politician, who does not have any shame or scruple wearing his flamboyant garb of arrogance, is ruing his action, as his preferred candidate, Abdulkabir Adekunle Akinlade of the Allied Progressives Movement, was defeated by Abiodun. It will be recalled that shortly after Abiodun won the APC primary, he threatened fire and brimstone, saying that Abiodun would never succeed him. In his desperate bid to upturn the mandate given to Abiodun, he visited President Muhamadu Buhari and top monarchs in the state on several occasions, all to no avail. Many have not forgotten how he usually boasted that the President would grant his wish; otherwise, he would dump APC for Accord Party. Amosun had reportedly issued this threat during a meeting with some

Ben Ayade’s Memorable Birthday Gift

Ayade

Amosun

fact that Ogun State parades a line-up of sterling technocrats and politicians with time-tested, brilliant records of public service. His choice of candidate made many to conclude that he probably has some skeletons in his cupboard that he needs a character like Akinlade to cover.

Leo Stan Ekeh’s Triumph

Oba Oyewusi

“Let your good deeds be like rain. Drop a little everywhere,’’ so says the popular quote. Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, has definitely spread his good deed everywhere and his people have benefited from it. Little wonder, he was rewarded with a gift that will remain a memorabilia of sorts till he breathes his last; he was re-elected for a second term in the office. Although the intelligent former lecturer’s 50th birthday fell on March 2, he won his re-election exactly a week later. For this, a source revealed that he has been in a joyous mood. As a governor, he has kept all his campaign promises. So, the people close to him as well as many in the state did allowed the day to go without showering encomiums on him.

party leaders and his loyalists across the 20 local government areas of the state held at his private residence located inside Ibara GRA,Abeokuta, where he lambasted some of the party leadership, including a former governor of the state, Olusegun Osoba and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for attempting to disgrace him. In one of his visits to Aso Rock, he got the shock of his life when the President reportedly told him frankly that he would not want to go against the NWC decision. In fact, Amosun’s stubbornness really unsettled leaders of the party, who had mounted pressure on him to place the interest of the party above his personal interest. This created a crisis among the leaders, particularly after Buhari was embarrassed during his presidential campaign in Abeokuta. Despite being tongue-lashed by the APC, the governor remained unperturbed, even after being suspended from the party for anti-party activities. He was said to have also berated those he termed “Abuja connection APC” for standing the rules of the primary election on its head to produce Abiodun as the party’s candidate instead of Akinlade, who emerged through a direct primary. To date, many wonder why Amosun had settled for a Akinlade, in spite of the

Ekeh

Nigeria’s number one computer guru, Leo Stan Ekeh, is a shrewd businessman. Since the Zinox Computers boss started out as a businessman, he has always turned away from anything that can drag his name into disrepute. His family knows he detests negative publicity. His friends acknowledge his genttlemanliness gentlemanly. So also his business associates love him for being savry and suceed. Perhaps, this explains the shock expressed by his ardent admirers since news broke of how one Joseph Benjamin, also a businessman, has been trying in vain to smear his reputation. Benjamin has allegedly launched a campaign of calumny and blackmail against Ekeh, while also threatening his life. But strangely, Benjamin has never met with the Ekeh. A source revealed to Society Watch that the duo of Princess Kama and Chief Igbokwe, who are appointed staff and representatives of Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, a company belonging

to Benjamin, secured a contract for the supply of HP laptops to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Having no funds to execute the contract, both Kama and Igbokwe were said to have approached Technology Distributions (an authorized HP distributor and the biggest ICT distributor in Sub-Saharan Africa), a sister company to Zinox, to supply to them the laptops on credit pending payment by FIRS. The source said: “In view of the company’s previous bad experience and in order to avoid exposing the business to bad loans, it is the normal business practice that if a client is taking products on credit for onward contractual supply to a customer, staff of Technology Distributions would have to be signatories to an account opened for the purpose of disbursement of funds as regards the contract. “This is the only security for the laptops supplied on credit. So, Technology Distributions appointed its staff, Mr. Chris Eze Ozims and Mrs. Shade Oyebode, as signatories to the account. “But nowhere did they represent that they were directors of Citadel Oracle Concept Ltd. If Mr. Joseph has evidence to the contrary, let him produce it.” It was further gathered that immediately the contract was executed and the payment effected by the FIRS, Technology Distributions simply deducted the pre-agreed invoice sum of the laptops and had its staff resigned as signatories to the said account. This, it was also learnt, was the same procedure applied to other customers who had similar contracts with FIRS for the supply of similar HP laptops at same time.

However, problems began when Benjamin could not agree on the profitsharing formula with his appointed representative, Princess Kama; hence, he reported the case to the SFU for investigation. Benjamin was also said to have reported the case to the EFCC, the Special Fraud Unit of the Police in Lagos and the Force Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters in Abuja. There was, however, a twist to the matter, following the denial by Benjamin that he did not sign the board’s resolution to the account with which the FIRS remitted payment for the supplied HP laptops. Against backdrop, the police sent the documents for forensic analysis to determine its veracity. But the result showed that the documents were actually signed by him. It turned out to be a civil case between Benjamin and his representatives, Princess Kama and Chief Onny Igbokwe, who obtained the HP products from Technology Distributions on credit. Faced with this reality, Benjamin was said to have petitioned the police that his signature was forged to execute the contract. However, it was later discovered that the said documents were not forged and that the computers were delivered to FIRS. Consequently, the police then dragged Benjamin to court in charge Number CR/216/16 before the FCT High Court, Abuja, after forensic evidence showed that the Board Resolution bearing his signature, which he claimed to have been forged, was actually his.

ÍŻÍľËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍˇ Ëž T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

SOCIETY WATCH

Ex-Ogun Speaker, Titi Oseniâ€™s Dilemma Titi Oseni, a former Speaker of Ogun Stateâ€™s House of Assembly, is considered one of the best things to have happened to the womenfolk, particularly in the nationâ€™s political firmament. Very influential, she was once the toast of the high and mighty in the society. Life was, indeed, good for her. But sadly, her journey to political greatness was halted by Hon. Tunji Egbetokun and his gang, when she was shown the exit door from her exalted office. And since that political power game that ousted her from the scheme of things, the politicianâ€™s profile has been

on a steady decline. She had sought to rescue her political career and get her groove back prior to the last National Assembly elections. She ran for the Ogun Central Senatorial district seat on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), contesting against Governor Ibikunle Amosun. Sources, who were in the know, had predicted that the move would definitely be another effort in futility. And as predicted, Oseni, the first and only female Speaker in the political history of Ogun State, suffered a huge defeat. As a result, she is said to be in a bad shape financially at the moment.

Peter Obafemi On Tenterhook

Oseni

Charles Oâ€™Tudorâ€™s Bitter-Sweet Memories

Oâ€™Tudor

Anyone conversant with advertising and marketing communications would surely know Charles Oâ€™ tudor. In fact, as a brand strategist, many brands had beaten a path to his door. His emergence was like a bolt out of the blue; everything about his brand-Adstrat- was attentiongrabbing. He was the toast of many during

the advent of GSM companies in Nigeria; and he made waves in branding, positioning and rebranding of many companies in in the country, especially financial institutions. He was one of the brains behind the popular Calabar Carnival. His rise was meteoric. He lived a colourful lifestyle that set him far apart from several others. But suddenly, he disappeared from public consciousness, thereby setting many tongues wagging about his whereabouts. While the seeming hiatus lasted, mother luck, again, smiled on him when he was engaged by former Governor, Liyel Imoke as his brand strategist during his campaign. After the election, the brand guru won the bid to brand his home state, using the power of advertising and signage. Oâ€™tudor, as gathered by Society Watch, came back to Lagos set to stage a major comeback to what he knows how to do best. But it was a kind of tough job for the brand strategist and entrepreneur. It was gathered that effort to relaunch himself met a wall and this has been his major headache.

Very resilient, in 2017, he held the Charles Oâ€™Tudor Brand Master Class Season Two (COBM02) with 460 entrepreneurs in attendance. The second edition, in 2018, coincided with his 47th birthday. It was a bang with five participants taken to Switzerland for skill acquisition. Oâ€™Tudor began his career in advertising and branding at Shops Bankole Sagie Advertising, where he had a three-year stint as an advert executive. Later, he became a deputy manager, Explicit Communications (where he managed multinational accounts) before moving to Solutions as client services manager. In 2001, he founded ADSTRAT BMC, where he has been the principal consultant. Adstrat, which has handled several accounts, has two affiliates, Axle and Strati. He is recognized for inventing such phrases as cerebral filtration processes, processed thought to finish, O2ygenation, Re-O2ygenation and O2yculturation as the terminologies employed in its day-to-day branding activities.

For some time now, many have been expressing concerns about Peter Obafemi. Some wonder what he has up his sleeves now. This may not be surprising, as he seems to be keeping a low proďŹ le after he suffered a huge loss in his electoral bid in 2014. It will be recalled that he was managing his business when he was lured to go into politics. He had contested for the number one job in Ekiti State in 2014, but lost to the immediate past governor of the state, Ayo Fayose, in the primaries. In view of this, the US-based businessman, who was left broke afterwards, had reportedly bidden farewell to politics. It was also rumoured that the businessman and top socialite was making another grand entry back into the aviation industry with his new airlines, Eagle Airlines. But nothing has yet been heard so far about the move till date. The multi-millionaire started out as a businessman in 1985 with Budget TV and Appliances Rental Service Store on Central Avenue in East Orange, New Jersey. Subsequently, he became a consultant in the opening of Heritage Spas on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. It is also on record that between 1985 and 1988, he owned one of the largest Western Union franchises in the state of New Jersey. He later made the LagosAtlanta direct ďŹ‚ight possible with his Ritetime/ World Airways.

Tayo Babalakinâ€™s Financial Mess Tayo Babalakin, younger brother of billionaire businessman and head honcho of Bi-Courtney, Wale Babalakin, is in a serious mess at the moment. No wonder, Babalakin, Managing Partner, Consultants Collaborative Partnership, is fighting tooth and nail to escape the full wrath of law. Society Watch gathered that Babalakin, who is also a member of Ikoyi Club 1938, has been dragged before Justice Saliu Seidu of the Federal High Court in Lagos by Ikoyi Club for financial misappropriation. Babalakin, also a top member of Golf section of the Ikoyi Club, was sued alongside eight others for violating the financial rules of the club with intent to defraud. Problem started after Babalakin and other members of the Golf section, contrary to the clubâ€™s rule, allegedly drew Babalakin

funds from the sponsorship account of the Golf Section to cover expenses of the Golf captains and the competition secretaries when they attended Inter-Club Match Play Tournaments, which violated the rules of Ikoyi club- they should have funded or sponsored the trips on their own. Consequently, they were asked to refund the money when an investigative panel was set up. The panel was said to have detailed serious, persistent and gross behaviour and flouting of the clubâ€™s rules against them. They are charged with the mismanagement of a sum of N56, 503, 565.00 and abuse of office in the Golf Section from February 2010 to February 2015. The matter has been adjourned to 22nd March, 2019.

Obafemi

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

Silence of the Lamb That was what Lagosians and indeed Nigerians did during the governorship and state assembly elections. They voted apathy as a collective but silent protest at the ‘funny’ things that have been going on in the name of elections. This caricature that we are seeing is nothing but an embarrassment as we throw ourselves out to the world as an unserious country. Killings, looting, rape, plunder and all sorts of mischievous things have been the lot of Nigerians as we attempt to choose our leaders. What we have seen has been a very high level of incompetence and crass malaise as Nigerians voted and that is why in my estimation, a majority chose to stay put in their homes instead of being a

part of this mess. Look, very early that morning, I woke up and went to my polling unit and met only six people. Over 500 registered and voted during the Presidential Elections and a deluge was expected this time around. Till I left, only six people had come out. The agent to one of the major parties suggested that they went to the PHCN office to ask them to switch off power so that people could come out. That was how frustrating it was for those who want to continue to lord it over us even though they have nothing to offer. As I left, I decided to tour Shomolu and I kid you not, all 12 units I visited witnessed the same shame: empty and deserted. Even at one station, they were playing football and I smiled at

the ‘unity’. PDP and APC agents, INEC Officials and policemen were involved to kill the boredom. Despite this apathy our overlords are dancing around town, backslapping and congratulating one another for winning an election where 80 per cent of the qualified voters were not interested and did not vote. The symbolism of this lost in the euphoria of wickedness that trails their every move. The good thing about all of this is the fact that at least we have wobbled and fumbled ourselves into another civilian to civilian transition without break thereby extending civil rule. So with that I smile, but if for nothing, this whole exercise can be described in one word – crap.

Buhari

El- Rufai

Yakubu

Dapo Abiodun

Udom

NASIR EL- RUFAI – MY PRAYERS FAILED

states have been rendered inconclusive. What is really going on? Why can’t you just organize a simple thing like an election abi didn’t your predecessor leave a template that you could at least have copied? Reports all over the nation have painted you in not very good light. We have seen film footages of all sorts of malfeasances going on out there and the staccato release of results also throws a lot of credibility issues on the whole exercise. INEC, to be candid una no try at all. The sad thing about this is the fact that this thing we have called election will only succeed in throwing into positions of leadership nationwide people without the true mandate of the people; people who have been thrown up by an inefficient system who will now not have the true mandate of the people and will be pandering to the interest of their ‘cabal’. We are truly in for a rough ride for the next four years. Just see the way the whole thing has been going and yet someone will be calling himself a Professor and will sleep well at night that he has done a good job. My brother no be am at all, what we have just seen is Jankara. The luck that we have is that apart from pockets of violence and loss of lives it is looking like Nigerians have majorly attained a very high level of political maturity by allowing the legal system to do its job in reevaluating some of these wayo decisions you have reached otherwise, the country would have gone up in flames. Anyways, we will not give up, I am happy the system is looking strong enough to contain all these shock and the judiciary like I have said will most likely redress some of these things. Continue to be doing inconclusive, no problem after all that money budgeted and released, na inconclusive we come

dey hear. There is God.

EMMANUEL UDOM – THE ANOINTED

To be candid, this was one candidate I prayed would fail. Me I cannot lie. I don’t know how to hide my mouth, I sincerely did not wish oga well in these elections but then again the people of Kaduna have spoken and the rest of us as true democrats must respect their wishes. As soon as I get enough money to load my phone I will place a call to His Excellency to wish him well. This was a man, I gave my hard respect. I followed his every word and up until very recently stood very much on his side on any issue and secretly wished for a presidential run. But what we have been seeing and hearing come out of his mouth recently has given me a major rethink. Why and how he fell from the high moral lectern of piety beats me, I only do hope that this second coming would see a much more state manly El-Rufai instead of the things we have been seeing and hearing. My lord, the people of Nigeria are not a conquered people and as such we deserve a huge dose of respect especially in the way, you see some of these issues that cause tensions amongst us. We expect you in this second term to be more of a uniting force, a true national leader and to work for the general interest of the nation and not just a minor few who happen to find themselves in power. Me, I don talk my own if you like listen if you no like continue. History awaits all of us and there is nothing INEC can do to stop it from recording its position in the freest and fairest manner. Once again, congratulations, I really do wish you well, thank you.

INEC – WHAT IS THIS? As I write this at about 3.30am, six

DAPO ABIODUN IS A GREAT GUY Na Hon. Chike Ogeah na him carry me go see this oga. He had just opened a nice spot somewhere in Ikoyi and that day come and see people. I was just counting all the great Nigerians you see on the pages of newspapers some of dem sef even CNN used to interview them o. I just sat on one corner and was just looking. Well anyways ever since that first meeting and several talks later I think I can say that Mr. Abiodun is very very close to me. He may not remember my name or even recognize me, that is his problem. The truth is that we are very close at least in my own estimation. So even when he panicked after the stoning incident, I sent a message to him that the stones were not meant for him and that they were meant for a certain long-necked and gap-tooth individual that he should not worry. Na him go stand for wrong place at a wrong time. So eventually he has won and I am still waiting for his call to tell me thank you. Be like say the man no go call, no problem I will send him text. Mr. Abiodun, this is a call to serve and not a call for Owambe. This is a call for unity, progress and true development of Ogun state. The place is dirty I swear. It is not just talk, the state is suffering and this vote is a cry for help by the people who happen to be my in-laws - yes I marry for Abeokuta on that road that leads to Eleweran so I am involved. Please bring urgently needed infrastructural development to the place. Your predecessor was wearing long cap every where and really not doing so much. It is not by cap sir. We have implicit confidence in your ability and do wish you well. Well-done.

You know I have a song for you: ‘When things like a river attempted my way, when things start to be funny, no matter what it is, just remember God leads the way, it is well, it is well with my soul.’ That is the song I sang when I repeated form four for the third time. As I looked at the letter they gave me to withdraw from the school and the tears as they dropped from my father’s eyes and also as I watched my mother getting ready to give me the first of 49 slaps, I just started singing that song. ‘…….It is well, it is well with my soul…..’. mbok the next time I heard that song was when Rev Chris Okotie sang it when he saw the results of the elections the first time he attempted to be our President. Only like six people voted for him. He just knelt down and wept, singing the song. So my brother you have conquered the lion of wherever he comes from. The one that calls himself uncommon politician. You have given him and his backers an uncommon defeat in an uncommon way and sent him straight into the dustbin of uncommon history. You were able to do this because of your uncommon stand against tyranny, your uncommon stand with the people of Akwa Ibom and with their destiny and that is why God has uncommonly stood by you. He has made you David against the goliath of our country; bound their mouth and render them unable to declare the elections in our state inconclusive. ‘Ettebong, Abasi adiong fi’. Now focus. The work just started, you have to deliver a legacy of performance no time to be wallowing in unnecessary celebrations. The people need immediate succor and development. We gave you

MARCH 17, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

LOUD WHISPERS

Agbaje

the vote massively so that you will have a strong pedestal to work. So work oga.

GENTLEMAN AGBAJE What drew me to this gentleman is his approach to politics. His desire to build consensus, debate, tackle issues and ethical-based approach to things. They laugh at him and say he comes out every four years and has not been able to turn his pharmacy into a Forbesrated concern. The hypocrisy of it all is belly-aching. At the centre we are hailing someone for having only one house and 150 cows for the last 100 years and say he is a man of integrity and here the same attribute is leading to abuse. Well, Mr. Agbaje the truth is that you truly do have the love and support of a vast majority of Lagosians whose voices have been muzzled by the very strong forces of local imperialism. In our hearts we know just who should lead us and that is why you notice that people did not come out to vote because they are just tired of having their voices muzzled. I thank you for making the call to your main opponent, shows you are truly a politician of grace that should be courted by all rightthinking people. We are making plans to host you to a massive afang summit where you will be hosted to a sumptuous meal of afang and fufu. I know these past few months have not been easy. Pele. I will work with the Thompson brothers to make sure this party comes to an actualization. Welldone Egbon. God bless.

Makinde

Ifeanyi Ubah

Modupe Mojuta for Speaker This lady is beautiful and elegant. Very brilliant and one of the young leaders we should be looking out for. She is the Commissioner for Education in Ogun State and has just won election into the State House of Assembly. This is no mean feat if you take the complications of Ogun politics into consideration; a state that has tried very hard to redeﬁne politics, loyalty and allegiances. A state where PDP asked its people to vote APC and where the governor said vote APC for one election and another party for another. I can just imagine the state of confusion

the average voter in Ogun faced as he tried to vote. He would just be looking at the ballot paper in utter confusion, why na, when the instruction is just too much. APC for president, PDP for governor, PMAN for senator and NFA for State House of Assembly. In all the mess, Modupe who happens to be a brilliant investment banker ﬂew high, winning the election convincingly and emerging one of the bright lights of this crap we have called elections. Well done madam, I really wish you well, you will need it.

trying to amuse the people around you at that point or if you were indeed serious. When you really come out we will know how to address that kind naked dance in the park. Please listen to me sir, Nigeria needs very serious-minded individuals with an abiding vision for the betterment of the people and with a keen interest in socio-economic development of the nation, taking advantage of the ongoing dynamics in the global economy to better position ourselves. I hope you understand what I just said and this practically rules you out. Stay in your church and monitor tithes; aren’t they dwindling? That should be of your paramount interest. Please don’t let me vex, allow us concentrate on the wahala we have found ourselves for the next four years. Don’t come and add your own sir. Thank you.

SUBOMI BALOGUN – MY ICON AND HERO

JAGABAN OF IBADAN If I don’t write this one, my madam will kill me o. You see this lady politician attended the same school as my madam, St. Annes in Ibadan abi is it St. Louis. Mbok St. something jo. Since she emerged, I have not drunk water in the house o. She is the best thing that has happened in Ibadan since Mokola. I must write something about her and we must go to Ibadan to vote even when the constituted authority had been kicked out. So last week, I was supposed to make a commentary that would have ensured she won the elections and since I failed to write the article, I was now the sole reason why her candidate lost and I must suffer. My people you see my life. So because of the pressure, I decided to listen to the lady speak. Mbok, come and see fire. This woman was strong; a powerful orator, a keen daughter of the land with sound vison and major clarity. As she spoke I could feel the fire in her --- and at the end of the speech, she screamed in Yoruba ‘I am the Jagaban of Ibadan’ and the crowd jumped and I jumped from my lap top and fell in love. This was power, this was enigmatic and this was the kind of symbol that can raise us from the lethargy of apathy that continued misrule has thrown us into. Sadly, and expectedly she did not do well in the elections and it is all my fault. I should have written that one article and all the Penkelmese of Oyo including this Makinde person would have all just fallen down. Well, that is

Balogun

Mojuta

tyranny of those who own the key to the bedroom. What can we do but to plead our case and hope that judgment is not rendered inconclusive.

and allowed to show what he can do for the nation. Today he is now a senator. let’s just take a front-row seat and watch. My lord congratulations and welldone.

IFEANYI UBAH – JUMP UP AND SHOUT

IS TUNDE BAKARE A COMEDIAN?

My former friend o. I have not seen or heard from him in years. Last time I saw him, it was in the thick of one of those fuel scarcities in 2015. He had sent for me, taken me to his base and asked his people to show me all the fire trucks he had. He did not stop at that, he asked them to start spraying water so I can see that the trucks were in good condition. He showed me huge tanks that can carry enough fuel to power Africa and in all these I just needed 50 litres of fuel. Since then a lot has happened to him, he has contested for governorship and lost and has built a stadium in his village for his soccer club. Today, he has emerged as a senator defeating the Uba brothers who were very strong contenders. Finally, Dr. Ubah now has a platform. His cry has always been to be taken seriously by the system

This is in no way to derogate the profession but to better situate this news report that I am reading. Pastor Tunde Bakare is reported to have said that he wants to succeed President Buhari and that he will be throwing his hat into the ring. Now you see why I am asking if the gentleman is a comedian. This made me laugh to the point where I fell off my seat and farted, making my daughter upset with me and shout ‘joeeeeee!!!!!!”. Mbok don’t blame me, it’s just the ludicrousness of the talk na him want kill me so. So 180 million of us will now suffer the next four years as we dey plan to suffer and after all that stroll in the wilderness, na this one we go come dey contend with. Please don’t let me kill myself with laughter. Look Mr. Bakare read my lips – DON’T TRY IT. Let me just keep quiet at this point and wait to see if you were just

You see, what most people don’t know is the fact that daddy was the one that inspired me into investment banking. I used to come from Ibadan where I was a very serious scholar of Nigerian politics and one of the leading lights in the Political science department of the great University of Ibadan. People like James Etonirun and Bode Sojobi were cotemporaries. We used to discuss and analyze Nigerian Politics while eating Amala and Ewedu with no meat at the famous Black market near the Independence Hall. In those days, I will sneak into Lagos straight to the Tinubu square to buy Okirika clothes to continue to sway the babes. It was one of those days that I stumbled on daddy. He had just come to work in his gleaming car. The chauffeur jumped out to open the door and I saw the pinstripe suit complete with pocket square and a bespectacled gentleman and I was transfixed. Mbok, I stand there looking like I had just seen my Lord and savior. I asked the Igbo man selling the Okrika who was that and they said it was the baba ‘wey get the building’. I followed him, watching his every move as he entered the building. The suit was killing me, the majestic carriage messed me up and the way he answered to the greeting like royalty with a touch of class and humility just finished me. I entered the building and saw the plaque that changed my life. It said something like ‘this building is a testament to……’ I don forget abeg, and that day, I swore to be whatever it is that he was. I found out that he was an Investment Banker and I became one vowing to work for him even if it was the last thing I did. I joined CSL stockbrokers, a member of the FCMB Group as head of business development and got my career goal fulfilled. After 15 months, I walked up to him to say I was leaving. He didn’t know me, but when I finished telling him my story, he was in tears. After 20 years as an investment banker, I had served my icon and it was time I left. As I walked away from him that day telling myself in Ibibio – ‘ awo adro’ meaning ‘that is a man’. Happy birthday sir and God will continue to keep you for us.

5 ) * 4 % ": t SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2019

MARCH 17, 2019 ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

SPECIAL REPORT

One of the victims being dug out of the rubble

Ita Faji Tragedy Crumbling Concrete, Crushed Dreams In a cruel twist of fate, a street name which translates to ‘the venue of merriment’ became the scene of an unimaginable tragedy as criminality, complacency and complicity ultimately resulted in the loss of 20 lives and injury to dozens more. Many of them were children seeking an education against all odds in tough conditions but their hopes were shattered; they were betrayed by a callous system that crushed them as their dreams came to a crashing halt. Chiemelie Ezeobi and Sunday Ehigiator write

or Abdul-Fatai Ayo-Ola, his world as he knew it crumbled like a pack of badly stacked cards on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. He might not have been the richest man in his neighbourhood, but he certainly had enough to send his son, Abdul-Fawas Ay-Ola to school. His decision to send him to Ohen Primary School at Ita -faji on Lagos Island was simple; its system of education was relatively sound, as evidenced by the academic brilliance his son showcased. That brilliance came to an abrupt end last Wednesday when the three-storey building housing the school collapsed. With the tragedy, lives were lost, hopes shattered, dreams cut short and the affected families left in numbing pain. Ayo-Ola did not just lose his son, he also lost three of his nephews in one fell swoop. The three-storey residential building with the primary school at the top, caved in at about 10am when some of the pupils were observing their Physical Education (PE) exercises in batches, while others were in the class waiting for their turn. When the building collapsed, the first responders at the scene had initially rescued some of the pupils and rushed them to the

Marina General Hospital. Present figures by the Ministry of Health however put the dead at 20. The school occupied the third floor while tenants occupied the second floor and a block of shops made sales on the ground floor. The casualty rate was on the high side because the building has over 20 rooms and had about eight persons living in a room. Preliminary investigation revealed that the cause of the collapse could be traced to the ongoing construction of a drainage around the old building, which they had just recently dug round the building a few days before and might have likely weakened the foundation. Certified Casualty After confusion about the casualty and fatality rate, the state ministry of health on Friday finally harmonised the figures. According to the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, 20 corpses were brought to Lagos state mortuaries from the site, while 45 survivors were received and were managed by government health facilities, notably Lagos Island General Hospital, Massey Street Children Hospital, Onikan Health Centre, Gbagada General Hospital, LASUTH, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi and LUTH. He said that as at Friday morning, 14 persons

(10 children and four adults) were still receiving medical attention at Lagos Island General Hospital for various levels of injury. According to the Medical Director of Lagos Island General hospital, Dr Ismail Ganikale, more survivors would have been discharged from the hospital to their families before the close of work. Day of Horror For Ayo-Ola, it was a moment of horror when the building collapsed. Recounting the horrific moment he said: “I was around when the incident happened at exactly 10:10am. I was around because I live in the area. We are three relatives whose children were involved in the incident. My son, and three other of my relative’s children. We are all from same family. “One of the children belongs to my wife’s elder sister. The boy was 10 years old. My own son also died. He just marked his sixth year birthday about two weeks ago. I took him to Ohen Primary School after noticing the brilliant performance of my in-law’s son. I noticed the change under two years of him attending the school- not just academically, but morally. He was doing very well in terms of morals at home. “You should know that I am a Muslim,

but I saw that the coordination of the school was done in a Christian manner, even in assembly but I didn’t mind because I love the outcome I see in the children going there. “That aside, on the educational aspect, they are very okay. I have the money to have taken him to the bigger schools on the island, but I preferred here because this boy is my first son and I wanted the best for him. His younger sister clocked a year and a week old on the very day of the incident.” Touching on the loss incurred by his other relatives he said: “After my son started going to the school, my wife’s elder brother was impressed with his performance, he was convinced enough to enrol his twins - a boy and girl – in the school, and that was how they all began to go there too. “They were both of the same age with my son Fawas, but my son was a class ahead of them,” he said. “The twins couldn’t have spent more than a year plus in the school before this incident happened. So after the incident, my own son was brought out dead, while the twins were initially brought out alive only for the younger the girl to die of fractured bones after some minutes in the hospital.” Continued on pg. 68

T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

SPEICAL REPORT

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle); General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Mr. Tiamiyu Adesina (left) and Chairman, Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corp (LNSC), Rtd. A.I.G Israel Ajao (right) during the Governor’s visit to the scene of building collapse at Massey Street, Ita-Faaji, Lagos Island, on Wednesday

The collapsed building

Crumbling Concrete, Crushed Dreams Continued from pg. 67

The pain he felt when his son was brought out dead will forever be etched in his memory. Initially, when his son was brought out, he D didn’t recognise him. “When they brought out my son, I couldn’t recognise him on time. When I did, he was already dead. What has happened has happened and I buried my son that same day according to Islamic rites of passage.” On how his wife was holding up he said: “What can she do? It’s her first son that just died. She is very sad and heartbroken.” Ayo-Ola is not alone in his pain, there are tons of others who suffered similar loss. Iya Idris, was one of such people. Her son Maleek Soetan Akanbi died in the collapsed building. Her loss is more painful given that her son would have been safe if she didn’t send him back to school when he came home twice during the day. More pathetic was the fact that he died on his 10th birthday. When Maleek woke up happy on that fateful day with all hopes to celebrate his 10th birthday, he had no inkling that death was around the corner. According to the distraught woman, it has been a mixed bag of emotions - pain that she seemingly sent him to his death; sorrow that he died all in the quest for learning, and submission to the will of the Almighty despite the deceased being her only son. Narrating her ordeal, she said: “Imagine someone just woke up in the morning and dressed her child, who just clocked 10 years on that same day, for school. She sends him to school without knowing that would be the last time she will ever see him alive. “My son Maleek clocked 10 on the day of the incident. He is my only child. Few days before his birthday, he told me that he wants to give his teacher a gift on his birthday and also his classmates in school. And I assured him I will give him all he wants to take to school when the day comes. “When he first went to school that morning, he forgot the things I had bought for his birthday and what he was supposed to take to his teacher in school, so he returned back home for it. “After taking that to school, he came back home again for the second time to pick another thing. I don’t know what it was but I cautioned him to return to school as soon as he is done.

After a while that I noticed that he didn’t return home again, I left for shop in Idumota. “I opened my store for business with the knowledge that he was already in school. Then I got a call that his school had crumbled to the ground. That was when I immediately picked a bike to the school from my shop. “On getting there, I met the situation on ground and those in charge of the ambulance told me to go and check for my son at the Marina General Hospital. So I went there with other parents with hopes that as they are bringing them, we would see our children alive. “I saw some injured on the head and those with broken limbs that they used oxygen on to enable them breathe. But when they brought my son, it was his corpse they brought together with corpses of children between ages one and two; those in the creche. “They brought out their bodies from the ambulance in cartons because they were very little and had been crushed by the stones. “My heart is heavy. He started the school from creche and was supposed to finish primary school in few months time. He was in primary six. The government has done me bad, in the sense that when he was rescued from the wreck, he was alive, he was still breathing. “But when they placed Maleek in the ambulance, there was no oxygen. They just left him in the ambulance without attending to him. He was still breathing. The government has done me bad and I hand them over to God. He died in the ambulance as they were moving him to the hospital.” Maria Adeyemo is the mother of the twins, Taiwo and Kehinde, who were both victims of the collapse. While the older of the twins - a boy -died in the hospital from injuries sustained, the younger one is still fighting for her life in the intensive care unit. Having lived in the building for just two years, they saw no indication that the building would collapse anytime soon. She said, “We were blessed with twins, Taiwo and Kehinde Adeyemo, and both attended the school located on the third floor of the building. Unfortunately, they were both involved in the accident and even though they were both rescued, we lost Taiwo shortly after. We buried him yesterday, while Kehinde is still receiving treatment at the hospital.” Also recounting their ordeal when the news filtered in she said: “Both their father (Sunday Adeyemo) and I had both left for work. I have a shop at Idumota and that’s where I was when

the phone call came in that our house had collapsed. “I got there and two of them were rescued alive. I was so happy until one of them died. They were just seven years. Their father is so devastated. He has just been taken to one of his friends place to change his clothes which he has had on since yesterday.” Blame Game While the government was quick to blame the residents of the area for preventing the demolition of marked buildings in the area, which resulted in its collapse, the affected families beg to differ. Governor Akinwumni Ambode, who visited the site on the day of the collapse, said most of the buildings were previously marked for demolition but the team met stiff resistance from the residents. He said: “Most of the buildings in the area had been marked for demolition, but some property owners in the area defy such notices. Going forward, structurally defective buildings would be demolished. “The building is not technically a school, it is a residential building that was actually accommodating an illegal school so to speak on the second floor. “Like we have said, we have been carrying out a lot of integrity tests on the buildings in this neighbourhood and as you can see, some of them have been marked for demolition but we get resistance from landlords. “But we must continue to save lives and we would intensify our efforts to see that those that have failed our integrity test, we would ensure that they are quickly evacuated and we bring the structures down.” In response to the government’s opinion of the school, Ayo-Ola had this to say: “This is a big tragedy in Lagos Island but the main blame is on government because the school is very sound academically. Let’s forget about the government tagging it as an illegal school of the environment it was located in. They are very okay, academically.” Debunking claims that the affected building had been marked thrice for demolition he said: “I can show you the picture of the building, it wasn’t marked at all. It was painted. Except it was marked before the building was renovated because my son just spent two years in the school, but I wasn’t aware before I took my son there.”

Another area he faulted the government agencies that carried out rescue operations was the lack of adequate oxygen to go round the trapped children. He said: “I must note here that most of the rescue team came without oxygen; which is very bad. This is part of the reason why I blame the government. They should have realised that based on the fact that most of the victims are children, they won’t have much strength as an adult and would need oxygen to aid their survival at the point of rescue before they get to hospital.” Iya Idris on her own part made some grievous allegations about the said marked buildings. She alleged that the agency in charge just arbitrarily marked buildings without conducting any tests. She said: “In the days of Governor Babatunde Fashola, there used to be machine that they place on houses to test their fitness and if the house isn’t safe, it is immediately demolished. But it all stopped during Ambode’s time. Ambode stopped it. And instead, what they do now is just come and mark any house without testing it and force the owners to settle them with bribe. “And even when they genuinely mark an unsafe house, the owner goes and settles them with money and they give him permission for renovation. This is bad. Government must look into this before we all die in this area. We tenants are innocent but we suffer the brunt the most because the landlords don’t live in the house but collect rent as high as N500,000 for a self-contained room here in Lagos Island. “Now my son is dead and I blame his death on government. As you saw when Ambode came here, they threw pure water at him and didn’t want to see him. This is because the people are angry with what they are doing to us here. Now my son is no more.” Adeyemo also debunked claims that their building was marked for demolition and they refused to move. According to her, “we had no idea because the house was just renovated when we moved in. The landlord and agents never mentioned to us anything of such.” Appeal to Government Ayo-Ola has a request. His clarion call was to the government, urging them to fix the educational system. “My advice to the government is that they should improve on our education system. Our educational system is very poor. “As you can see, the government schools are

MARCH 17, 2019 ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

SPEICAL REPORT

Eighty out of ‘1,000 Uninhabitable Buildings’ Set for Demolition This Month

Lagos State Governor-elect, Babajide Sanwo-Olu cheering up one of the victims in the hospital

not doing well. They lack qualified and passionate teach ers and care less of the wellbeing of the children unlike private schools. “It was just a day before yesterday that I was telling one of my bosses of my intention to take my son to another school outside this Lagos Island. Apart from this Ohen, most of the other schools in this Lagos Island lack the right environment which is very important in the life of children. “Apart from academics, they lack sporting facilities to enable the children thrive in sporting activities. The government should look into issue. “Secondly, the issue of collapsed building in Lagos and Nigeria entirely should be looked at. They should try as much as possible to save lives by marking and demolishing it completely before it happens.” Adeyemo’s plea to the government is for aid to be provided for the family to get back on their feet. She said: “The government should

please come to my family’s aid. I have lost a child and also been rendered homeless. I was lent this cloth that I am putting on to wear. “The one I wore while I left home, I had shredded it unconsciously when the news was broken to me about the incident. We don’t have anyone or anything to depend on as it stands now. Even to feed. We need support for housing and feeding. Nigerians please come to my aid. (sobs). “If my other son is discharged from the hospital now, we have nowhere to go. Government should please help us.” Post-traumatic therapy for survivors of the collapse and loved ones of victims is imperative. Already, there are reports that a mother who lost two children in the incident committed suicide by ingesting a poisonous insecticide after she received news of their death. However, THISDAY couldn’t confirm this story at the time of going to press.

he Lagos State Government on Friday commenced the manual demolition of buildings marked on Freeman Street at the Ita-Faji area of Lagos Island. This, after Governor Akinwunmi Ambode had during an assessment tour to the site, vowed to demolish all illegal buildings in the area. In the immediate aftermath of the story building that collapsed in Ita-Faji, Lagos Island, the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwajun Bola Tinubu, had urged the Lagos State Government to fast-track the demolition of buildings marked as structurally unfit. The collapsed building was described by residents and rescue workers, as “very old” and “marked for demolition since last year”, and it crumbled after showing signs of fatigue. Tinubu said that the children who died in Wednesday’s building collapse on Lagos Island did not deserve to die the way they did, describing the incident as tragic. “The building collapse in Ita-Faji, Lagos Island on Wednesday is a tragic occurrence. I commiserate with the families of those children who lost their precious lives. “They do not deserve to die the way they did. May God comfort their families and grant repose of the souls of those young ones. “If after the collapsed building had been found to be weak and marked for demolition and everybody had done what was required of them, perhaps this terrible incident would have been averted. “On its part, the government must fast-track demolition arrangements once a building is discovered to be weak and deserving of being pulled down to save lives,” he said. Acting General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Omotayo Fakolujo, who led the demolition exe rise, said officials were acting based on the governor’s directives. He explained that owners of some of the illegal structures were evading arrest despite disobeying the government’s order. “I can say that the owners and tenants are recalcitrant, in as much as we try to evict them, they continue to evade arrest and go through the back door and we feel that this structure might go down as soon as possible and that is why we have to bring it down today,” he told Channels TV. “Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has given a directive to go ahead and remove over 80 structures in Lagos island before the end of the month and we are doing them in phases and today, we are removing three and I assure you that life would be better for Lagosians and the security and safety of Lagosians is eminent in the heart of the governor. “There is a lot of legal tussle that relates to demolition. For this one, we just had a clearance from the court last week. We are moving to Smith, Palm Church and Adeniji Adele where we have marked over 20 structures for demolition. Fakolujo stressed further that the government was also trying to evacuate occupants of most of the structures about to collapse. Speaking on the collapsed building he said: “We were earlier

informed that it was a school. The building is not technically a school, it is a residential building that was actually accommodating an illegal school, so to speak, on the second floor. “Like we have said, we have been carrying out a lot of integrity tests on the buildings in this neighborhood and as you can see, some of them have been marked for demolition but we get resistance from landlords but we must continue to save lives and we would intensify our efforts to see that those have failed our integrity test, we would ensure that they are quickly evacuated and we bring the structures down,” he said. This comes on the heel of the revelation made by the National President, Building Collapse Prevention Guild, Kunle Awobodu, who said there are over one thousand buildings unfit for human habitation in Lagos Island. Awobodu made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria last week in Lagos. The BCPG had brought such distressed buildings to the notice of the Lagos State Building Control Agency for demolition, he said. “There are over 1,000 other distressed buildings of this nature in Lagos, which, if nothing is done to demolish them, they will still collapse, resulting to more calamities in the state. “The collapsed building had been marked for demolition about three times, but the building regulatory agency did not demolish it. We are moving round in circles and this has to stop. “Let the building control agency take the bull by the horn, by ensuring that all distressed buildings in the state are identified and demolished. “Let the state government look for preventive measures, rather than spending money for evacuation, investigation and remediation after the calamities and damages have occurred,” Awobodu said. According to him, Lagos Island which used to be the historical base of Brazilian returnees, and a symbol of magnificent buildings, has become a citadel of building collapse because of activities of quack developers. Describing Lagos Island developers as more or less businessmen, Awobodu said what the developers do is to deceive Lagos Island landlords to surrender their old buildings to them for redevelopment and at the end of the day, they end up developing shoddy structures. Lamenting the efforts of the Nigerian Institute of Building and those of Building Collapse Prevention Guild to address the incidents of building collapse in Lagos Island as regrettable, he said “We talked to them to see reasons to desist from developing shoddy structures in the area. They promised to do the right thing, but unfortunately, we are hearing of building collapse everyday.” Insisting that political influence in Lagos Island has greatly contributed to the incessant collapses in the sprawling environment, Awobodu said the way forward is for the state government to as a matter of urgency set up a special task force to check the rate at which buildings are collapsing in the area.

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

17.03.2019

AN OUTPOURING OF TRIBUTES FOR PIUS ADESANMI Adesanmi

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

ARTS & REVIEW\\TRIBUTE

AN OUTPOURING OF TRIBUTES FOR PIUS ADESANMI Yinka Olatunbosun reports on the special evening of reminiscences held at Ouida House in memory of author, educator and social commentator, Prof. Pius Adesanmi who passed away last Sunday in the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crash in Addis Ababa

he week started on a tragic note. Reports in the media bore similar news. Two Nigerians had been lost in a fatal crash with no record of survivor. It was at first terrifying and when it was confirmed that Prof. Pius Adesanmi was aboard the aircraft, there was an awkward silence on the social media space. In retrospect, it seems that a lot of his followers were in hope that there would be a miracle, the sort that happened in July 2018 when he survived a ghastly car accident where two persons died. Pius Adesanmi fondly called “Payo" by friends and associates was born on February 27, 1972 in Isanlu, Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria. He holds a First Class Honours from the University of Ilorin in 1992, then a master in French from the University of Ibadan in 1998 and a PhD in French Studies from the University of British Columbia in 2002. From 2002 to 2005, he was Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. Adesanmi joined Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada in 2006 as a Professor of Literature and African studies. Since the chilling news of his death, his Facebook profile has been a convergence point for sympathisers and followers of his writings. The unconventional Professor broke into the cyber world using the Nigerian version of English Language to reach the hearts of many Nigerian youths with his unfiltered assessment of the polity and global dynamiçs. On Thursday March 14, the Lagos literati joined their counterparts spread across the country and the world in global tributes to the rare breed. With the convener of Ake Arts and Book Festival, Lola Shoneyin as the host and compere, the Ouida House in GRA Ikeja was filled mostly with individuals who had only met Prof. Adesanmi through his viral writings. For the Nigerian writers, Prof. Adesanmi was a restless intellectual who always loved cerebral exercises in form of banters and criticisms of literary works. He is a contemporary satirist, a die-hard African with award-winning books such as “The Wayfarer and Other Poems" which won the Association of Nigerian Authors' Poetry Prize and “You’re Not a Country, Africa which won Penguin Prize for African Writing in the non-fiction category. After registering their condolences in the book provided at the point of entry into the venue by a candle-lit stand, the tone was set for “An Evening of Reminiscences” where the legacies of Prof. Adesanmi were extolled. Shoneyin began with the memories of the scholar’s laughter, which was a figment of his vivacious personality. “He was full of mischief and fun. I can only imagine how dull the last 25 years of my life would have been without Pius. I feel so blessed to have known him,” she said. The prolific writer, Toni Kan recalled how the young professor valued scholarly conversations, his regular contributions to Post Express Literary Series (PELS), the Ibadan years and how they teamed up against an intellectual war of words with two great poets, Ogaga Ifowodo and Odia Ofeimun. Another writer and visual artist, Victor Ehikhamenor, consumed by the emotions trailing the loss of a friend said in a very cheeky tribute: “Meanwhile, I am waiting for your publishers to send that email for the cover design of your new book we discussed on the phone two weeks ago. Yeye boy like you, you nor even wait make the book come out before you head out. Na so dem dey do something. (loosely translated as “Silly boy, you didn’t even wait for your book to be published before leaving us. Is this how things are done?).” A close friend to the Professor, Ogaga Ifowodo who couldn’t finish off his tributes because of the streaming tears in grief over the manner of his death. “What or Who do I curse? The day? The

Kunle Ajibade in tribute to Pius Adesanmi

Adesanmi

Plane? The makers of the new technology-driven aircraft on which my friend and my brother was flying from Addis Ababa to Nairobi? “I can’t bring myself to say ‘rest in peace’ and yet I must wish your restless, fecund, passionate and patriotic soul eternal rest,” he said. Kunle Ajibade, a seasoned journalist, editor and author, recounted the grim moment of the painful loss. “Two hours after he died, a journalist from The Nation called me to say she wanted a tribute. And my immediate response was that I’m still weeping. The last time I went like that was when Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged because of the manner in which it was done. Pius remains a treasure. I’m deeply saddened by his passing,” he said. A former Editor at NEXT Newspapers, Kadaria Ahmed recounted how she met the Professor online and then at Ake Festival, 2015. Afterwards, a strong bond was formed through the internet. She believed that Adesanmi has the scientific nature of energy which cannot be destroyed but transformed from one form to another. “Many have written about Pius Adesanmi the poet, writer, essayist, academic and public intellectual. Undoubtedly, he was accomplished in all those fields but what made him truly special was his humanity,” she said. Ms. Molara Wood, another award-winning

writer and former Arts Editor at NEXT Newspapers, shared her account of being a visiting lecturer at Carleton University, Ottawa in May 2011 on the invitation of the Prof. Adesanmi. “He was generous with his intellect and scholarship , and with his art and spirit. Pius was that rarest of persons, his heart was filled to bursting with love and affection for those around him,” she said. The Professor had plans to return to Nigeria once his term as the Director of the Institute of African Studies ends in 2021. In the printed tributes, a former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Late President Umar Musa Yaradua and Chairman, Editorial Board of THISDAY Newspapers, Olusegun Adeniyi paid tribute to Adesanmi, adding that his writings will outlive him. “In the fullness of time, when we are all buy fragments of history, future generations will appreciate Pius Adesanmi who, in his refusal to submit to mediocrity joined other compatriots to plant the seed of a new Nigeria,” he wrote. Another former associate of the scholar, who was his secondary schoolmate at Titcombe College and University of Ilorin, Phillip Adekunle recalled his years of activism. “Pius helped organise protests against injustices on Nigerians at home and abroad, including the global protest against British Airways in 2007, to the Spanish Authorities and many more,” Adekunle wrote. For Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, the death of Prof. Adesanmi and Ambassador Abiodun Bashua was an immeasurable loss. He spoke glowingly of the past deeds of Bashua and how he helped many Nigerians in Diaspora. His submission was to recommend that the legacies of Adesanmi should be rekindled through annual lectures, symposia, and prizes should be awarded in his name. The poet, Kola Olatunbosun reminisced about the lighter side of the Professor, how he loved Nigerian cuisine and movies, referring to his love of Tunde Kelani's Ti Oluwa Nile Series. While holding back tears, Dele Momodu, the publisher, Ovation Magazine, said in tribute: “Though he was younger, I never

called him Pius. I called him Prof because of what he had achieved. I met Prof first through his writings.” He recounted how he had facilitated the preparation of pounded yam for Prof during one of his diasporic visits and how he waited in vain for his response to his email as one of his three select referees. The response finally came two months later when Prof Adesanmi wrote to him: “Good to hear from you my dear brother, Bob Dee. It was serious o. (He liked to emphasise.) Two months later, I’m still in physio. I’m recovering. Two people died. I’m the only survivor.” For Kayode Ogundamisi, it was a tribute that was full of wishes. “Pius, how I wish the trouble you had in Toronto made it impossible for you to board that flight,” he wrote. On behalf of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Denja Abdullahi wrote a lengthy tribute to Adesanmi which validates the fact that the scholar demystified scholarship. “He brought unusual verve to the theorizing of Literature, African studies and the ideas that have shaped the post-colonial understanding of the African continent.” ANA dedicates the forthcoming ANA/ AE-FUNAI Conference on Literary Criticism with the theme, “Nigeria's Literary Criticism in an Expanding Space of Creative Writing and Digital Production in the 21st century,” scheduled for 2 to 3 July, 2019. One of the first tributes came from the President and Vice-Chancellor, Carleton University, Canada, Benoit Antoine-Bacon in a statement issued a day after the crash. “Yesterday, we suffered the loss of Prof. Pius Adesanmi in a tragic plane crash in Ethiopia. He was a great scholar and a wonderful person and the outpouring of sorrow, respect, love and grief from all over the world has been overwhelming.” The gathering was preceded by a slide presentation that featured his photographs, excerpts from his writings and an epitaph he wrote for himself in August, 2013 on the instruction of Chuma Nwokolo for 41 African thinkers to draft epitaphs for their future tombstones reads: “Here lies Pius Adesanmi who tried as much as he could to put his talent in the service of humanity and flew away home one bright morning when his work was over.”

5 ) * 4 % ": t SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2019

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

CICERO

Editor:Olawale Olaleye Email:wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com, SMS: 08116759819

IN THE ARENA

What Manner of Elections? Memories of the yet-to-be concluded 2019 elections are totally unpleasant, writes Olawale Olaleye

makes this year’s election oday, in many parts of even more disturbing is the country, the word on the level of violence the streets particularly perpetrated in many of the amongst the discerning states, with Rivers permais that this year’s general nently unrivalled. election is the worst in the From Rivers to history of the country. Not Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Delta, Akwa Ibom and many even the 1983 election, others, majorly the Southern which culminated in the termination of states, the desperation for the Second Republic, was this bad. power was palpable yet Talk about the 2007 election, which incomprehensible given its biggest beneficiary, the late Umaru the number of killings Yar’Adua admitted was flawed, it still that was witnessed. did not come any close. And what makes Such depressing this set of elections the more curious situation was further is that the electoral heist is being percompounded by the milipetrated on the watch of a man, whose tary’s alleged interference leadership strength and selling point is in the electoral process, integrity. Lest you forget, he promised to which was believed to be remembered for the legacy of credible have made brazen rigging elections. He just missed it. and other electoral As Nigerians await the last batch of malpractices possible. the current mess with very low spirit, To think that the hijack which has already been slated for March of electoral materials 23, there is nothing exciting about the was reported to have last set of polls except, perhaps, there is been facilitated by men the need for prayers that Nigeria crosses in uniform, cast a major this last phase without any backlash. stain on the credibility According to the Independent Naof the exercise. The tional Electoral Commission (INEC), last international observers week’s governorship elections ended in recognised this fact. a stalemate in some parts of the country Then, the overall for reasons of not meeting the minimum sin in this election is not requirements for a clean win. Therefore, located in the number of elections in six states, to be precise, were underage voters paraded, declared inconclusive and supplementary but the level the electoral polls ordered. menace was taken without The affected states, unfortunately, the authorities batting an are believed to be places where the eyelid. It was so bad that opposition PDP seemed to be leading or infants were taken out to is strong. They are Adamawa, Bauchi, vote, obviously deploying Plateau, Sokoto, Benue and Kano, while to use some of the uncolthat of Rivers was suspended for reasons lected Permanent Voter of violence. Cards (PVCs). The theory that inconclusive elections Even more were declared only in places where the heartbreaking is President opposition parties were leading was Muhammadu Buhari’s however confirmed by the Ogun State ‘sinful silence’ about all situation. While APC’s Dapo Abiodun these, which unfortunately, polled 241,670, APM’s Adekunle Akinisn’t golden. Not lade scored 222,153. Thus, the margin of only has he feigned lead was 19,517, while the cancelled votes An infant voting during the elections. This picture summarises the extent of fraud that went on during the 2019 elections under Yakubu ignorance of these were 20,969, more than the margin of clandestine operations lead. So, what’s different here? that were capable of undermining democracy, lead incumbent Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Pause for a moment and ponder the pathe has yet to utter a word since some of the the APC, who scored 987,819. But the margin tern in the six states declared inconclusive. In developments were brought to his attention, between them was 26,655, less than the canAdamawa, for instance, while PDP’s Umaru largely because he is a major beneficiary of this Fintiri polled 367,471, APC’s Jibrilla Bindow had celled votes of 128,572. monumental sleaze. In North Central Plateau State, incumbent 334,995. The margin was 32,476, while canAt the very best, he has only held meetings Governor Simon Lalong of APC maintains a celled votes were 40,988, more than the margin with some members of his party with a view to fragile lead with 583,255 votes while Senator of difference. perfecting the mess already made of the first balJerry Useni of the PDP trails him with 538,326. In Bauchi State, PDP’s Bala Mohammed had lot of the governorship elections and determined But their margin is 44,929, less than the can469,512, while Mohammed Abubakar of APC to improve their strategy during the second celled votes of 49,377. scored 465,453. The margin was 4,059 and ballot slated for this week. Sokoto is another state of peculiar interest. cancelled votes 45,312. In the end, however, it all boils down to the Governor Aminu Tambuwal of the PDP already Benue State was also not far-fetched. Samuel has in the kitty some 489,558 votes to lead Aliyu incompetence of the INEC leadership led by Ortom of PDP had 410,576, while Emmanuel Professor Mahmood Yakubu, which has failed Ahmed of APC with 486,145. But again, the Jime of APC had 329,022. The margin was all tests of trust, competence, capacity and margin between them was 3,413, far less than 81,554, while the cancelled votes were 121,019. patriotism. It is therefore pertinent to put on the The Kano State situation has generated more the cancelled votes of 75,403. record that what Yakubu has delivered so far not This scenario has naturally created tension, interest than any other state and for strategic only fell short of expectations, but a wake-up exacerbated by mutual distrust between the two reasons. PDP’s Abba Yusuf polled 1,014,474 to call for a future-yet-to-be-seen! leading parties in the country. What however

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

The Wakil Example

Wakil

he Kano State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Wakil provides a refreshing breath in a largely condemned and resented police community in the country. He ranks in the class of a few, who have distinguished themselves in the face of adversity, oppression, harassment and comes across as a quintessential figure of what not only a good police officer should represent but defines patriotism in all counts. Wakil’s handling of the security situation in Kano State during the recent governorship election was a radical mark-off from the known. He was said to have been pressured to influ-

ence many things but refused to work against his conscience. He was neither for APC nor PDP. He refused to soil his name. He allegedly declined life-changing offers that could have blemished his many years of untainted record and stood solid for what was right, fair and just in the eye of posterity. News of the alleged move to remove him and the reactions that followed were clear indications that an average Nigerian still recognises and appreciates decent living especially, amongst a category of people that do not come any close to such minimum standards. The future is promising for Wakil and he remains a worthy example each time those obnoxious stories about the Nigerian police are being told condescendingly.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

BRIEFINGNOTES Back to the Era of Inconclusive Polls INEC’s decision to declare the outcome of the governorship elections in six states inconclusive calls to question, the capacity of the electoral body, writes Olaseni Durojaiye

fter 20 years of uninterrupted democratic practice, particularly having conducted elections every four years, it is disturbing that the managers of the nation’s electoral system, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have still not been able to deal with their assignment very effectively. The current INEC under the leadership of Professor Mahmood Yakubu has not really fared well in this regards. INEC under him started shakily post-2015 elections but many excused it as a teething problem being new in the saddle. But that excuse, many have come to agree, is no longer tenable especially, with the pattern of its occurrence and the fact that it has often favoured the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Indeed, it is unfortunate that over three years after, INEC under his leadership is still not surefooted in its organisation of elections as evidenced in the inconclusive nature of governorship elections in 6 states. In light of the forgoing, the question then is: what exactly is the problem? This has led many political watchers and pundits to argue that the current leadership of INEC has regressed rather than progress from where it took off even when many expected it to build off on the achievements of its predecessor, Attahiru Jega and the successes recorded during the 2015 elections. And this is why many hold that the current leadership of INEC has not learnt anything from the conduct of that elections leading them to conclude that it is unpardonable that after three years on the job, and having conducted a handful of governorship elections in some of the states, the leadership of the electoral body is still unable to wrap up all elections in record time. Expectedly, declaring the governorship elections in six states inconclusive has sent conspiracy theorists to work. Many commentators read meanings to it with many insisting that it was a ploy by the INEC in concert with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to subvert Yakubu...too disappointing the popular wishes of electorate in those states commendation from far and wide is not enough to in favour of the APC. There is no gain saying the fact mask the reality that so many anomalies trailed the that declaring elections in states where the opposition whole process from underage voting, malfunctioning Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was leading does not card readers, which aided multiple voting in some areas paint INEC in good light. and the now familiar vote-buying. Many of the conspiracy theories follow from the exCould it be that Prof. Mahmood Yakubu lacks a perience of the Osun governorship election re-run. After proper understanding of the management of an electoral the election was declared inconclusive, the APC which process? Others wondered if the erudite professor is a was trailing the PDP went into overdrive and deployed victim of the nation’s institutional failings. Others still, all forms of tactics to ensure it won the election. Some wonder if the issue at the bottom of the spate of inconthe tactics included forming emergency alliances with clusive governorship elections under him is a function the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Senator of capacity to manage human resources and process. Iyiola Omisore and outright intimidation of supporters Yakubu tacitly admitted to the fact that there are of the opposition parties. issues bedeviling the nation’s electoral process. The Instructively, certain facts appear to support the INEC chairman had alluded to this while addressing conspiracy theory that the PDP controlled states were the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election the targets of the infamous inconclusive elections. Security, March 7, 2019. He was quoted as saying, “The Considering that of all the six states, where the govercommission is concerned that many of our materials, norship elections were declared inconclusive, the APC including ballot boxes, voting cubicles, voter registers only leads in Plateau State; in all the other states, the and Smart Card Readers were lost to acts of hooliganPDP was in the lead before the ‘Margin of lead Prinism and thuggery in the elections held two weeks ago. ciple’ was evoked. In the light of the foregoing, analysts Most worrisome is the attack on electoral officials. Some wonder what the issues are really. Apparently there are of our staff were abducted and taken hostage in an issues. For example, INEC under the present set up is attempt to disrupt elections or influence the outcome. In struggling to deliver on its mandate of conducting a fact, some of the supplementary elections were caused seamless election. That the last election has been getting

by such acts of thuggery.” It is quite disturbing that after 20 years of conducting elections, the country is still at the primitive stage of battling effective distribution of sensitive election materials. Though some analysts blame this failing on the vast nature of the country, however, some argue still that making election materials available in good time at all the polling units in the country is a teething problem that INEC should have overcome after six elections in a row. More disturbing is the fact that politicians have perfected various ways of exploiting the laxity in the electoral process to perpetrate what one analysts referred to as systemic rigging. Interestingly, even in the midst of the cacophony of noise trailing the inconclusive election declarations, analysts and commentator are in agreement that if the nation’s electoral process must be improved on, those issues encumbering INEC must be thoroughly probed and panacea found for them. These are besides the fact that the handling of issues leading to the elections being postponed and the announcement of the postponement is still fresh in the minds of Nigerians, thus, the call in some quarters that Yakubu be relieved of his job and a better hand shopped for in good time before the next round of governorship elections. Interestingly, many feel that INEC under Yakubu has not done badly. Those who share this view blame the problem of inconclusive elections in the states on the vastness of the country, adding that the nature of some terrain makes them difficult to access, thereby occasioning late arrival of electoral materials in such places. “The truth of the matter is that as the election umpire, the INEC has done well in all sincerity. The electoral laws have it that in any election where the cancelled votes are more than the difference between the first two contestants, there must be a re-run, this is exactly what has transpired in the about six states, where the elections were declared inconclusive. Continuing, Osunsanya who is the Managing Director of MediaPro Consulting Limited, added: “Don’t also forget that Nigeria is a huge country with vast land mass and high population, it will be a shock if such did not happen especially when you juxtapose it with other very developed countries in the world whose democracy have been over a century old. I give kudos to INEC,” he concluded. But not many share his views and it is easy to glean so from trends in the various social media platforms. Most Nigerians believe the INEC under its present leadership has performed woefully and should give way for a more competent leadership. Those who hold this perspective contend that it is unpardonable that the Yakubu-led INEC is taking the country back to the era of inconclusive elections. According to them, Yakubu should go as doing so would allow for his replacement to have enough time to put in place a proper mechanism to better manage the resources of electoral body and fine tune its process to guide troubling instances like inconclusive elections.

NOTES FOR FILE

Oh, Poor Children!

A trapped victim in the rubble

Away from the disturbing images that emanated from the collapsed three-storey building in Ita Faji, Lagos Island, Lagos, during the week, is the prognosis about Nigerians as a people – a social unit that is unable to govern itself or lacking the basic capacity or sense of responsibility to do things right. Indeed, those pictures are a proof of the fact that the Nigerian leadership lacks the impetus to cause genuine development to happen. As at the last count, apart from the fact that the building was not originally designed for school, an indication that the school might be illegal in the ﬁrst place, no fewer than 41 persons had been rescued, 22 of them females and 17 males, while the sex of two were un-

identified at press time. Twelve persons were confirmed dead as at the time of putting this together. Of course, a majority of them – deceased and survivors – were kids. Oh, poor, kids! However, if you worried about the unpleasant sight of the pictures, what are you going to do to those discomforting stories about the different families, who struggled to keep their wards in school but were caught in the obviously avoidable tragedy – stories that could force many to question God’s role in all of these? Importantly, the spate at which buildings are collapsing in the state could mean that the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LABCA) is definitely not living up to billings and that the agency needs some tough shake-up.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

Yusuf

Ganduje

Awaiting Kano’s Final Battle Kano State’s concluding governorship election slated for Saturday, March 23, is a major battle for the two leading political parties as too many interests are at stake. Ibrahim Shuaibu writes

he final battle to decide the future of Kano State and her politics, at least for another four years, will be fought on Saturday, March 23, during the supplementary election in some polling units that were canceled during last week’s governorship and state house of assembly elections in the state. The Kano situation provides one of the most impossible scenarios and also difficult to decide the fate of the candidate unless an election is held. But the recent scenario attested to the fact that the Kano people might have come to learn to shun the known traditional process of voting candidates from top to bottom (SAK). The idea of electing candidates without considering their capacity has been overlooked during the last governorship election in the state, contrary to how it was reenacted during the presidential and national assembly elections, which saw the APC win all the three senate and 24 house of representatives seats. Kano thus gave President Muhammadu Buhari 1,464,768 votes in the presidential election of February 23, as against the 391,593 delivered to his main challenger, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Atiku’s votes amounted to about 20% of the total votes. So, a repeat of the trend was expected last weekend. But last Saturday’s elections changed the political calculus of Kano and despite the weight of incumbency and party’s influence, APC was stunned by the electorate, who vehemently rejected the party and voted candidate of the opposition PDP, Abba Kabir Yusuf. For whatever reasons, women who came out in their large numbers to vote were reported to have overwhelmingly voted the PDP candidate and that most of the campaign slogans that influenced the women to vote for PDP were about the issue of free education, free feeding of pupils at school and free ante-natal care. The PDP candidate, Mr. Abba Kabir Yusuf received massive votes from the nine local governments within the Kano Municipality, which boosted his chances and made up for the votes lost to PDP in local governments outside the municipality. Abba is ahead of the incumbent, Abdulahi Ganduje of the ruling APC after results of 43 of the 44 Local Government Areas had been collated. However, the election has been declared inconclusive by the State Returning Officer, Prof B. B. Shehu, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Birnin Kebbi, for obvious reasons. Yusuf, the PDP candidate, had more votes than Ganduje with a slim margin. He polled 1,014,474 votes, while Ganduje got 987,810, putting the margin of lead at 26,655 votes. With 2,211,520 accredited voters, 172 polling units were cancelled making a total of 100,873 votes cancelled and 49,761 rejected votes. With the very slim margin between the two parties and very high cancellations, it was not enough to declare PDP winner in the contest and so, the cancelled units will be reviewed by the INEC. The collation had to be suspended around 1:30 am on Monday due to the delay in submitting the Nasarawa Local government area result to the collation center at the INEC headquarters. It was later reported that hoodlums had attacked the local government collation center at Nasarawa and disrupted the process thereby doing away with the result of Gama ward. INEC was able to regenerate the disrupted results of 10 out of the 11 local governments but the Gama result was cancelled due to the circumstances surrounding the loss of the result sheet by the local government returning officer. Reacting to the election outcome, Governor Ganduje said the PDP candidate and his supporters would receive the shocker of their lives in the scheduled supplementary governorship election. Ganduje boasted that he was unperturbed by the wishful thinking and slapdash deportment of the PDP candidate, considering what happened in the inconclusive election, which he claimed was widely characterised by alleged vote-buying and

voter intimidation by the party. He said the APC and its candidate remain upbeat and sure of victory as Kano remained an APC state. “I remain committed to the conduct of free and fair election, all loopholes that gave them chance of rigging, vote-buying and intimidation of voters have been blocked. “APC as a party has also re-strategised and very confident of victory because the local government areas where the rerun will take place remain the APC stronghold and the electorate in these areas have made up their mind to vote massively for the Governor they trust.” He also claimed that the APC did not believe in campaign of calumny but on issues that pertain to the development of Kano State, which endeared him to the people. “The modest achievements recorded so far by the Ganduje administration have touched the lives of the people in all sectors of development and also remain determined to continue if returned,” he said. Yusuf too has boasted that he would still win the supplementary election after INEC has declared the first ballot inconclusive. He assured his teaming supporters of victory but accused the APC of massive rigging, which he claimed resulted in over-voting and the eventual cancellation of 172 polling units. “Kano people have seen glaringly, how the enemies of democracy, who are high ranking officials of the state government, vandalised an election collation centre with the sole aim of truncating the declaration process to deny PDP’s victory”. He also alleged that PDP reliably gathered that over 500 cartons of ballot papers were printed by Kano State Printing Press, syndicated to various polling units across the state, adding that over 10 cartons of the ballot paper were arrested by the Police. “It is our prayer that all election offenders would be charged to courts at the earliest time to serve as deterrence to all antidemocracy. We call on all our supporters to remain calm. We are known to be peace lovers and so we shall remain, as we are very sure of victory during the rerun. “Our supporters should not forget that PDP is already leading in the last count of the election and interestingly, the bye-election would take place in the strongest areas of our party,” he said, adding that “We urge everyone to keep hope alive on our quest to rescue Kano from the hands of corrupt leaders and agents of distraction.” The former Commissioner for Works in the state therefore called on the people living in the areas where the supplementary polls would take place to come out in large number to cast their votes for PDP, expressing hope that the party would still emerge victorious in the poll. The election process in the state will be a rigorous campaign by both parties, even as the candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has thrown his support behind Yusuf for them to reclaim the state from the ruling APC. Politicians of the two major parties including the other political parties had since embarked on rigorous campaign to ensure their victory on Saturday, March 23. In Kano, also, the Police arrested two women and three men trying to buy votes in the disputed Gama ward in Nasarawa local government area of Kano state. Confirming the arrest in a statement on Wednesday, DSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, spokesman of the police command, gave the names of the two female suspects as Sa’adatu Ismail, 39 years and Halima Abba, 55 years, residents of Brigade and Tal’udu quarters respectively. “On 12/03/2019 at about 2000hrs, based on credible information received, two women namely (1) Sa’adatu Ismail, 39 years old of Brigade Qtrs and (2) Hajiya Halima Abba, 55 years of Tal’udu Qtrs in Kano were arrested for purchasing Permanent Voters Card from unsuspecting Voters at Gama Qtrs Nassarawa LGA at prices starting from N500.00k and above. 8 Permanent Voters Cards and cash sum of N10, 000.00k were recovered from them,”

the statement said. Kiyawa also added that two other suspects, Mukhtar Suleiman and Idris Dankanawa were arrested after they were found moving around Gama ward apparently to purchase PVCs. He said the suspects were almost lynched by a mob before they were rescued and subsequently arrested. The police spokesman said another suspect Mukhtar Shuaibu was arrested for allegedly buying two PVCs at N3,000 at Dandinshe Gabas area of Dala local government area of the state. Kiyawa, also debunked rumours that the state commissioner of police Mohammed Wakili has been transferred from Kano, describing the rumours as the “handiwork of mischief makers”. According to him, “Rumours going viral especially on social media that the Commissioner of Police Kano State, CP Wakili Mohammed has been transferred away from Kano is not true. He is still the CP in Kano State. Members of the public are advised to shun the rumours and consider it to be the handiwork of mischief makers”. Interestingly, INEC too has vowed to conduct free, fair and credible supplementary election in the state on March 23. According to INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Professor Riskuwa be Shehu Arabu, the supplementary elections would determine the winner of Kano state governorship election, explaining, that cases of violence and over-voting invoked the decision to cancel the ballots cast in some polling units. He reiterated that the gubernatorial election held in Kano was inconclusive, stressing that the election did not produce a winner. He explained that the cancellation of results in some units located within some local Government Areas was due to violence and over voting, which led to cancellations of results in 210 Polling Units, which constitutes 88 Registration Areas, adding that the affected Polling Units have a total number of 128, 572 registered voters. The Kano REC said the contenders with the highest votes are the candidates of the APC with 987, 819, while the candidate of the PDP had pouched 1,014,474 votes. He said the PDP is currently on a marginal lead with 26,655, even as he disclosed that the sum of 128,572 votes was cancelled. According to him, the cancellation action by the commission is in compliance with Section 41 (e) of the Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of 2019 General Election, which provides as follows: “Where the margin of lead between the two leading candidates is not in excess of the total number of registered voters of the polling unit(s) where election was cancelled or not held in line with sections 26 and 53 of the Electoral Act, the returning officer shall decline to make a return until polls has taken place in the affected polling unit(s) and the results incorporated into new form EC 8D and subsequently recorded into form EC 8E for Declaration and Return.” Meanwhile, ahead of the rescheduled elections, the Senor Special Assistant, Urban Beautification to Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Alhaji Hashim Suleiman has tendered his letter of resignation to Secretary to the State Government. Suleiman, who thanked the Governor for offering him the opportunity to serve, attributed his reason to the failure of Governor Ganduje to concede defeat to Yusuf, who won the election but declared inconclusive in controversial circumstances by INEC. According to him, Ganduje, as a transparent Khadimul-Islam ought to have conceded defeat, so as to serve as a precedent to other Muslims, who serve Allah in truth and sincerity. His letter of resignation dated Wednesday, March 13, 2019, which he personally signed, reads, ‘’I write to formally inform you of my voluntary resignation from the office of SSA, Beautification. I thank you for offering me the opportunity to serve under your administration as SSA.’’ In the final analysis, the electorate is the final decision makers of whom they want to govern them in the next four years but the outcome of the supplementary elections determines the winner. But some political observers are already worried about the implications subverting the will of the people in Kano State.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

CICERO/REPORT

Ortom

Jime

A Lifeline for Ortom, Jime on March 23 March 23 rescheduled governorship election in Benue State provides yet another opportunity for the two leading candidates of PDP and APC, Samuel Ortom and Emmanuel Jime, writes George Okoh

uring the 2015 primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State, Barrister Emmanuel Jime, then aspiring for the governorship ticket of the APC was coasting home to victory, when the process was truncated following a court injunction instituted by some of the aspirants in the race stopping the primary. This led to one issue or another and eventually, Governor Samuel Ortom, who was in the People Democratic Party (PDP), was invited by some APC bigwigs and handed him the ticket, supposedly under a consensus arrangement. Fast track to 2019; Jime yet again sought the APC ticket after Ortom left the party, having been shown the way out by the leader of the APC in the state, Senator George Akume. Fortunately, this time, Jime got the ticket and worked towards actualising his plan to govern the state. With the backing of top notch party members in the state and the Presidency, he went round preaching the change mantra while promising to return the state to prosperity with his planned intervention in Agriculture, healthcare services, education, rural and urban development. He also promised to clear all outstanding arrears of salaries owed workers by the incumbent. His chance of winning the race was however boosted when the APC presidential candidate, Muhammedu Buhari won the presidential election. Many pundits believed that Buhari’s victory in the presidential election could have a telling effect on the governorship election, although Akume’s loss of the senate seat also came as a burden. In the past, Benue State had always gone with the party that controlled the center. In 2015, when the APC candidate won the presidential election, there was mass defection by members of the PDP in the state with the reason that Benue could not afford to be in the opposition. However, in 2019, despite Buhari’s victory at the center, cases of defection to the APC was minimal. According to a pundit, Barrister Ejimbi Oloja, the reasons for this is clear. He said the electorate probably sympathised and aligned with the incumbent governor as a reward for his stand for the Benue people over the Fulani herdsmen invasion of the state.

The governor had stood firm in his stand that herdsmen could only operate their grazing business through the ranching system – a development many analyst believed was against the presidency’s view. The herdsmen, who were not prepared for such, resisted the anti-open grazing law, which was established by the Benue State government and this led to several deaths of innocent indigenes of the state. Ortom’s media handlers in the run up to the election continued to hammer the message to the electorate that Ortom was a better candidate who would defend the people whenever crises arises. He also promised that if given the mandate for a second term, he’d ensure that the backlog of salaries and pension would be paid. With Jime’s advantage of having the backing of Buhari going against the PDP near cleanup of the Senatorial and House of Representatives seats (PDP won two out of the three senatorial seats and seven out of eleven Federal house seats), pundits predicted a neck and neck contest between the two. However, this was not to be as the PDP machinery became too strong for the opposition APC to contend with. It was obvious that the electorate heard the message of the incumbent than that of his rival, Jime. Again, like the proverbial cat with nine lives, Jime has been given another opportunity to push for the number one seat in the state. This time around, his opportunity came from the desk of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which declared the March 9, governorship contest inconclusive, following the number of cancelled votes being higher than Governor Ortom’s margin of lead. Ortom scored the highest valid votes of 410,576 in 12 Local government areas, followed by Jime with 329,022. Benue State Returning Officer, Prof. Sebastien Maimako, who announced the result, at the INEC headquarters in Makurdi, said the commission would reschedule a date to conduct a supplementary elections in all the areas election were cancelled. Professor Maimako noted that the governorship election became inconclusive due to the fact that the total number of voters in areas where election was not held was more than the margin of lead. He further said given the 81,554 margin of lead and the total number of cancelled votes which stood at 121,019, the election could not be declared as conclusive. “By the first maximum votes of 410,576 scored by PDP and the second maximum votes of 329,022 scored

by APC, 81,554 is the margin of lead. Therefore, the total number of rejected votes in the areas, where election was not held is above the margin of lead which is 121,019. “I, Professor Sebastien Maimako, by the power conferred on me as state returning officer for the governorship election, hereby declare that the governorship is inconclusive and supplementary elections will be conducted in a date that would be announced later by INEC.” The total number of registered voters was put at 2,480,131, while accredited voters were 816,969. The valid votes were put at 790,102, while rejected votes were 14,460 and total number of votes cast was 804,662. In the breakdown, APC won in Ado, Oju, Obi, Ohimini, Tarka, Katsina-Ala, Makurdi, Apa, Otukpo, Ogbadibo and Okpokwu LGAs, while PDP won in GwerWest, GwerEast, Ushongo, Agatu, Logo, Guma, Gboko, Buruku, Ukum, Kwande, Vandeikya and Konshisha LGAs respectively With 121,019 cancelled votes now available to be contested within 21 days and with Ortom leading by 81,554 votes, it’s obviously a herculean task for Jime and his party but not impossible to get victory. Reacting to the decision by INEC, Ortom said his victory could only be delayed and expressed confidence that he would win the elections whenever it is conducted as all the places, where the exercise could not hold or results were cancelled were the PDP’s stronghold. The governor however called for adequate security during the supplementary polls, stressing that elections were not earlier conducted in those areas due to violence allegedly unleashed in the places by the opposition party. Ortom added that it was glaring that his winning margin cannot be taken away, saying “There is no need to worry about anything because I’m good to go,” In his reaction, Jime said he submit to the decision by INEC and present himself for the rerun election. He extended his gratitude to the electorate, party faithful and supporters, who trooped out in their numbers to vote for the APC. “As a law abiding party, we recognise the decision by INEC as legally binding. We remain upbeat and urge our supporters to stay calm and optimistic ahead of a rerun date. We will do the work required to clinch victory and earn the mandate of Benue people”

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

CICERO/REPORT

Protesters at INEC oﬃce, Abia State

Abia’s Collation Chaos, Protests and Howling Although Abia State’s governorship election has come and gone, the mess left in its trail is yet to clear oﬀ, writes Emmanuel Ugwu

ven though the collation of results after the election involves no more than application of arithmetic in its rudimentary level, the collation centres were usually scenes of drama. Aside the normal addition, subtraction, and sometimes multiplication, collation of results also includes omission, joggling of figures and correction of already announced figures. All these played out during the collation of results for the 2019 Abia governorship poll. The collation centre mounted by the Abia state office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within its premises at Ogurube layout Umuahia was a theatre of high drama on Sunday, March 10, 2019. The actors were the returning/collation officers and party agents. The collation officers of the local governments largely displayed lack of basic knowledge of arithmetic as they wobbled and fumbled with collated results. Before noon, results from five local governments had been collated and declared. The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was leading in three LGs, Ukwa East, Umuahia South and Ukwa West while the All Progressives Congress (APC) picked Bende. There was simmering disapproval among the state agents of the opposition political parties. It boiled over to the surface when the result from Umunneochi local government was declared. The ruling PDP got 7,004 votes while APC was credited with five votes and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) 3,190. The APC agents couldn’t take it no more. They erupted with rage simultaneously and protested the declared figures. How on earth could APC get just five votes in the whole of Umunneochi local government, where the party had posted a strong showing winning the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi federal constituency during the presidential and National Assembly election of February 23, 2019? Pandemonium ensued as agents of the opposition and ruling parties squared up in shouting match, denouncing and defending the announced figures. The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Joseph Iloh, apparently called a truce, when he announced that they were going on break. The break period offered a vantage opportunity for the aggrieved party agents to pour out their grieving hearts to the media. They were stealing the show to the envy and discomfort of the PDP agents. One of the two PDP agents, Chief Solomon Ogunji was so peeved by the media attention the opposition agents were getting and pointedly accused the correspondent of a television station of “bias”. He was later invited before the cameras to give his views on the chaotic collation exercise. About 30 minutes after the break, collation resumed. This time, figures changed. The “corrected” version of the Umunneochi result was announced with APC receiving 7,238 votes instead of the five votes initially declared. The APC had actually won the local government as neither PDP’s score of 7,004 votes nor APGA’s 3,190, was altered in the correction. If the collation officers had done their homework well they would have known that the figures they initially announced didn’t just add up since the total number of accredited voters was 18,561 while valid votes stood at 17,823 and rejected votes 726. Yet the wobbling and fumbling continued when it came to the turn of Ikwuano local government, which was the 12th LG to be declared. The returning officer declared that PDP got 564 votes, APC 683 and APGA 301 while the other parties were left with single or double digit votes. Not a few eye brows were raised, when the returning officer reeled off the figures. The total number of

votes scored by the three leading parties as well as the smaller inconsequential parties was less than 2,000. The question on the lips of people was: does it mean that voter apathy was so pervasive in Ikwuano to the extent that the people did not want to participate in choosing the next chief executive of Abia or were their votes cancelled? Another break period and another correction effected. And the “corrected” figures for Ikwuano emerged after the break. From less than a thousand votes each the PDP got a corrected score of 6,285, APC 5,619 and APGA 1,588. The APC which came first in the hitherto declared figures was beaten to second position in the corrected version. The pathetic collation officers kept dishing out equally pathetic figures for the parties. The Ikwuano result collation blunder only served to add more incendiary to the raging anger in the opposition camp. They were all the more convinced in their allegations that the poll results were conjured and muddled up before they were declared at the state collation centre. They walked out of the venue saying they could not take it no more and vowed that they would have nothing to do with the collation. But the exercise continued without the protesting party agents. When they later returned it was not to continue their participation in the collation exercise. It was to further voice their opposition to the “charade”. The opposition agents demanded that the exercise should be called off. Another chaotic scene ensued. “We will not accept it,” the agents kept shouting at the top of their voices. They made to reach the table where the state returning/ collation officer, Professor Benjamin Ozurumba and the REC, Dr. Joseph Iloh and other officials were seated but the police intervened. By now, the equally charged PDP agents had engaged them again in shouting match. It took the efforts of Assistant Commissioner of police (ACP) Gabriel Elaigwu to stop the agents from engaging in fisticuffs. He remonstrated with the opposition agents, telling them that inasmuch as they had the right to express their feelings they should do it with “decorum and follow due process”. The opposition party agents were frustrated, when the state RO, Prof Ozurumba did not accede to their demands to review the figures being reeled off from the local governments. They descended on him, launching verbal missiles at the Vicechancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN). Incidentally, it was Prof Ozurumba, who was the returning officer in the 2016 Abia governorship poll when the PDP candidate, Ikpeazu was returned victorious in a dramatic but controversial circumstance. The APGA faithful in Abia still hold it against Ozurumba for allegedly making APGA candidate, Mr. Alex Otti, lose his mandate. According to them, the UNN VC buckled under pressure and reversed hitherto cancelled results from three local governments, when Otti was leading and thereby paved the way for Ikpeazu to overtake him in the race. The APGA agents were therefore peeved to see Prof Ozurumba back in Abia as the RO for the 2019 governorship poll. “He robbed us in 2015 and he’s back to do it again in 2019,” Mike Akpara, one of the two APGA agents said in the heat of the moment. The second APGA agent, Sir Uzo Nwachukwu added that what the RO “did in 2015 was not transparent and we don’t expect anything different” this time around. Enough mud was thrown at the VC but he refused to be drawn into any altercation with his traducers. It was after the opposition agents had left the scene that he calmly observed that “election is an emotion-laden process” hence he could understand the feelings of the aggrieved agents. Ozurumba stated that the agitating party agents were not

in the field when the ballots were collated at the lower levels before the figures were brought to the state collation centre. He insisted that “we are here to carry out national assignment” and advised the aggrieved parties to submit their petition to the appropriate officers in charge. The REC also advised the party agents that “complaints in electoral process is not done orally. They are documented”. He contended that so many politicians had called him on phone to complain and I advised them to send it in writing”. The opposition agents returned to the collation arena by 2.58pm and submitted a written petition. For this, the REC thanked them “for choosing a civil way to register their grievances” and urged them to make copies available to the media. There was argument when Hon Acho Obioma, an APC agent wanted to read out the petition to the hearing of everybody with the REC advising him to just submit it. Eventually Obioma was allowed to read. In the petition the aggrieved opposition parties called for “total cancellation of the result, saying “there was no governorship election in Abia”. They claimed that “brutal force was used by the ruling PDP, using army, police”, adding that “no collation was done at the ward level “. They further pointed out that there were several incidences of ‘massive over-voting which the REC refused to address. The petitioners noted that Prof Ozurumba was specifically “brought back to wreak havoc” and therefore called for a rerun of the gubernatorial poll directly supervised by INEC headquarters, because “we’ve lost confidence in Abia REC”. But the REC picked holes in the petition after the agents had left, saying that it was addressed to INEC chairman, undated and with no reference number. The cries by the agents got out of the INEC office and by 3.24pm the state chairman of the inter-party advisory council (IPAC), Rev Augustine Ehiemere, who is also the state chairman of APGA rushed down to the collation centre at INEC and added his disapproving voice to the collation exercise. He reinforced the call for total cancellation of the poll and submitted IPAC petition to that effect. Thereafter, the REC announced 60 minutes break to enable the officials have their lunch. While lunch was going on inside INEC, protest broke out about 50 metres away. Opposition supporters had trooped out with placards, chanting solidarity songs. They called for Ogah to be declared winner of the poll, adding that they would not accept a rigged verdict. The police swung into action and barricaded the junction leading to INEC office, ensuring that the protesters did not gain access into the premises of the electoral body. The police prevailed as the protesters were eventually dispersed before the protests could turn violent. Shortly after, a group of youths came and staged a counter protest in support of the governor and his ruling party. In all the protests, no harm was done to people and property. Oblivious of the protests, INEC officials continued with the collation of results. The rest of the 17 local governments gradually followed in declaring their results as presented by the officials drawn from the ivory tower. There was less wobbling and fumbling at the later stages of the collation exercise and at the end, the figures were added up and the final result declared. The returning officer, Ozurumba declared Ikpeazu winner of the 2019 Abia governorship election, having scored a total of 261,127 votes, coming tops in 11 of the 17 local governments. The APC candidate, Ogah emerged the first runner up with 99,574 votes while APGA’s Otti scored 64,366 to become the third best in the governorship poll. Only PDP agents, Dr. Solomon Ogunji and Mr. Elondu Uchenna Elondu signed the result, the opposition agents were not even around to witness the final outcome of the collation exercise.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

CICERO/REPORT

GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION

Interrogating the Low Turnout, Curiously High Figures There was a general consensus, even among contending political groups that many Nigerians stayed away from polling centres during the governorship and state house of assembly elections. However, that did not stop the governorship election from posting curiously high vote returns, writes Samuel Ajayi

enultimate Saturday, Nigerians again went to the polls to elect their governors in 29 states as well as members of the Houses of Assembly in all the 36 states of the federation. States like Ekiti, Osun, Kogi, Bayelsa, Edo, Anambra and Ondo States did not have governorship elections since post-election litigations, after the 2007 elections, had ensured that the election calendars of these states have been permanently altered, at least, as long as this democratic dispensation lasts. However, beyond the violence that marred the exercise in states like Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta and parts of Edo, Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States, there were reports of general low turnout on the part of voters. In fact, in many parts of the country, voters simply stayed away from polling stations. Young boys exploited the opportunity of the no-movement order to convert the free roads into make-shift football pitches and ironically, most of these youngsters were of voting ages. Joyce Ogho, a lawyer and chief operating officer of a security outfit based in Lagos, wrote on her Facebook on the eve of the election that she was not sure if she would be willing to trek another two kilometres to where she registered to vote. According to her, beyond the trekking was the question of safety as the experience of the February 23 presidential and National Assembly election was still fresh in her mind. “I am not sure if I would be willing to go through that experience again. This is apart from the trekking I had to do before I could go for the last election,” Joyce wrote. Ndubuisi Oga, another voter, who resides in Lagos, said he was the first person to reach his voting centre and the next person to come after him did not arrive until forty minutes after. “After the card reader confirmed my PVC and voted, I had to sit and start exchanging banter with the INEC officials and nobody came again until after about forty minutes. The INEC officials were just redundant,” Oga wrote. Lagos was the most hit by low turnout in the entire Southwest region. However, with this low turnout, which was even confirmed by many international media organisations, the kind of figures churned out in the name of results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) across the states have left many wondering if the credibility of the exercise could be vouched for. For instance, in the presidential election in Lagos State, President Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 580,825 while Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had

If you check the results of the presidential elections, which recorded a huge voter turnout and the governorship election which everybody admitted recorded very low voter turnout, you would see that results were higher in governorship elections across the states even with low voter turnout.This shows that something does not just add up. It was obvious that ﬁgures were padded for INEC to announce

Yakubu...a crushing disappointment 448,015. The total was 1,028,840. In the governorship election, Babajide Sanwoolu of the APC polled 739,445 while Jimi Agbaje of the PDP got 206,141. The total number of votes polled by the two candidates came to 945,586. The difference in total number of votes cast in the President election for the two leading parties and total votes cast for the two leading governorship candidates came to 83,254. Yet, turnout in the governorship election was about fifty per cent lower than that of the Presidential election just two weeks before. If the turnout was that different and yet results were almost similar, perhaps, questions need to be asked on how INEC came about the results. In Kaduna State, Buhari defeated Atiku of PDP by 993,445 votes to 649,612 votes. For the two candidates, the total number of votes combined was 1,643,057 votes. Meanwhile, in the governorship election, which many Kaduna residents confirmed recorded very low voter turnout compared to the president election, the total number of votes cast was surprisingly higher than the presidential election. Governor Nasir el-Rufai, the incumbent and candidate of the APC, polled a total of 1,045,427 while the candidate of the opposition PDP, Isa Ashiru, got 814,168. Combined, these two leading candidates got a total of 1,859,595. This marked a difference of 216,538 votes higher than total number of votes gotten by Buhari and Atiku in the presidential election, which markedly recorded a higher voter turnout. This is aside reports of over-voting, which refused for the votes to tally against the number of those accredited. Fadilat Evelyn, a resident of Kaduna, told THISDAY at the weekend that she participated in the two elections and the turnout in the governorship election was much lower than that of the presidential election. She said how the number of votes recorded in the governorship election was greater than that of the presidential election beat her imagination. “I think Governor el-Rufai is the only one, who can explain how he got these results. I was a living witness to these two elections and I can tell you for free that the turnout during the presidential election was much higher than that of the governorship election. People simply did not come out during the governorship election. How the figures of the governorship election were now higher than those of the presidential election beat my imagination,” she stated. In Delta State, the presidential election was also a straight two-

horse race between Buhari and Atiku. While President Buhari polled 221,292 votes, Atiku got 594, 068. When added together, the two leading candidates garnered 815,360 votes. However, in the governorship election, the incumbent, Ifeanyi Okowa, of the PDP polled a total of 925,274 votes to defeat Great Ogboru of the APC who scored 215,938 votes. The total votes for the two candidates in the gubernatorial contest came to 1,141,212 votes. In other words, the governorship election results for the two leading candidates had more votes than the two leading presidential candidates by 215,938 votes. Yet, reports from the state showed that there was very low turnout during the governorship election than the presidential election. In Nasarawa State, the governorship election saw the APC candidate, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, winning the governorship election by polling a total of 327,229 votes to defeat the PDP candidate, David Ombugadu, who polled a total of 184,281 votes. Labaran Maku, former minister and candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, polled a total of 132,784 votes. In total, the three candidates polled a total 684,294, Meanwhile, in the presidential election two weeks earlier, the candidate of the ruling APC, President Buhari won by 289,903 votes to defeat the candidate of the PDP, Atiku, who polled 283,847. From the figures, the two candidates polled a total of 573,777 votes. This is more than 111,000 votes above what the two leading candidates polled in the presidential election. Another questionable development from the gubernatorial election was the victory of the ruling APC in Zamfara State. The party was cleared to participate in the election just three days before the polls. Not only did it win the election, the party also cleared all the House of Assembly seats in the state. A Harvard-trained health development expert and founder of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), one of the newly registered political parties, Dr. Jay Osi-Samuels told THISDAY in Abuja that the discrepancies and differentials between the presidential election and governorship election in the states showed that there were a lot of malpractices by the two leading political parties. “If you check the results of the presidential elections, which recorded a huge voter turnout and the governorship election which everybody admitted recorded very low voter turnout, you would see that results were higher in governorship elections across the states even with low voter turnout. This shows that something does not just add up. It was obvious that figures were padded for INEC to announce,” Osi-Samuels stated.

MARCH 17, 2019 ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

THE ALTERNATIVE

with RenoOmokri

Will Tinubu and Amaechi Suffer The Rochas and Akpabio Treatment?

EARN from what is currently happening to Rochas and Akpabio. Their people that they betrayed have REJECTED them. Those they betrayed their people for have also REJECTED them. Now they are DEJECTED and they have PROJECTED their DEJECTION on INEC that supervised their REJECTION. I look at what those two are going through and almost feel sorry for them. But how do you feel sorry for people who do not feel sorry for their own people? Look at Akpabio who once boasted that “what money cannot do, more money can do”. Today, where has his “more money” gotten him? A man cannot be dancing shakushaku while his people are dancing azonto. As my South-south people will say, it is impossicant. What could have possessed Akpabio to have allied himself to a man and a party that are considered political lepers by his people? A man that was once so loved after he TRANSFORMED Akwa-Ibom, ended up TRANSFORMING himself from a political MODEL to a political MONSTER. As for Rochas, I can only say that his situation would have been different only if statues could vote. By now, he would have been a Senator-elect and his son in law would have been a Governor-elect. I hope he has learnt his political lessons. Invest in real people instead of statues. And what would one say about Rotimi Amaechi? A man who is celebrating as reports surface that the military are killing his people. How can Amaechi defend what the military is doing in Rivers? Even the usually conservative European Union was forced to speak up in defence of Rivers people. Yet Amaechi hails their oppressors. Amaechi, your time is coming. Be patient. The god that failed Rochas and Akpabio will also fail you. If you like pray ten times a day in the direction of Daura, it won’t save you from reaping what you have sown. Your political sins will find you and your potbelly soon and very soon. This brings me to Bola Tinubu. What Bola Tinubu did was wrong. Having bullion vans bring cash to your house 48 hours to an election is prima facie evidence of influencing voters using money. If President Buhari really had integrity, the EFCC would have picked up Tinubu by now. Tinubu even boasted on live television that the bullion vans carried money and that it is nobody’s business. That is not true. It is the business of the EFCC by virtue of the Money Laundering Act of 2011. If the EFCC is not aware of that act, let me remind them. The Money Laundering Act of 2011 makes it illegal for any individual to make cash payments exceeding Five Million Naira. And provides that every cash transaction over N5,000,000 must be done via a financial institution. Tinubu obviously flouted this law. By virtue of the Money Laundering Act of 2011, any person found guilty of making or accepting any cash payment above N5,000,000 is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than 3

Tinubu

Amaechi

years or a fine of N10,000,000 (Ten Million Naira) or both. If I, Reno Omokri, an opposition critic of the Buhari administration was found to have received bullion vans full of cash 48 hours to an election, I would have been arrested before evening on the same day. Is the Nigerian law a respecter of persons? Is Tinubu above the law? Just imagine if someone linked to the PDP or Atiku had bullion vans going into their house 48 hours to elections. Would the EFCC have been this quiet? Would Buhari have sat idly by as he is doing for Tinubu? President Buhari has been celebrating with Tinubu ever since he ‘won’ the election. Is he not aware of #TinubusBullionVans? Does it mean that it is only members of the opposition PDP that are eligible for EFCC’s prosecution?

Reno’s Nuggets

I landed in Iceland on Wednesday March 13, 2019, only to find out that my views on divorce trended on TVC and various other media. It was also the number one Twitter trend in Nigeria, with some saying Christians can embrace divorce other than for adultery. That is unscriptural. By virtue of Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9, adultery is the ONLY grounds for divorce for a believer. Some people in their attempts to wriggle our from under this say Scripture mentions only fornication. You need to understand that Scripture was not written in English. The KJV in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 uses formication. Other versions say ‘sexual immorality’. The New Testament was written in Greek. For instance, when you see the word leprosy in Scripture, it does not only refer to leprosy. All skin diseases were loosely called ‘leprosy’. Similarly, fornication is used to refer generally to sexual immorality.

Both Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9 in KJV say you can only divorce your WIFE on the grounds of ‘fornication’. Fornication simply means ‘sexual relations between people who are not married’. Adultery is only a form of fornication. Again I repeat, IF and only IF you are a Christian, PHYSICAL and EMOTIONAL abuse are not grounds for divorce. They are grounds for separation. The ONLY ground for divorce for a believer is ADULTERY. There is NO wriggle room. But even if your wife or husband commits adultery, you DON’T have to divorce them. God HATES divorce. If you can forgive them, forgive them. After all, God has forgiven you of so much. But if you choose to divorce, it is not a sin. If your wife is a WITCH you can’t divorce her. If your husband is a RITUALIST, you can’t divorce him. Only ADULTERY is ground for divorce. But if they ABANDON you because of your faith, then by virtue of 1 Corinthians 7:15 you are free to remarry. The lower you squat before jumping, the higher your jump will be. The more time you take to know your partner before marriage, the longer your marriage will be. Most divorces would not have happened if couples knew each other before saying I do. Society is changing, but the word of God DOES NOT change. So if you are a believer, don’t adjust Scripture to suit your lifestyle. Instead, adjust your lifestyle to suit Scripture. Heaven, Hell, Judgment Day and Eternity are all REAL. #AdulteryOnlyGroundsForDivorce

Reno Omokri

Thinker. #1 Bestselling author of Facts V Fiction: True Story of GEJ Years. Avid traveler. Table Shaker. Buhari Tormentor. Sharer of the Gospel, not the gossip.

PERSPECTIVE

2019 Polls: Before We Put It All Behind Us! Olusoji Onobun explains why yielding power to the younger generation might be impossible for now

he recently concluded election is very much interesting. #NigeriaDecides2019 will shine bright light into a lot of us especially, those that are not as smart as their smart phones. I’ve always known from inception that the young lads are not ready and Mr. President in his words once said the young lads are lazy and every social media user castigated him for being blunt. But the young lads proved him right in this period. If old men like Atiku Abubakar and President Muhammadu Buhari could tour the whole 36 states to orchestrate an incessant campaign for presidential election and jokers like Fela Durotoye, Omoyele Sowore and Kingsley Moghalu decided to limit their cheap campaign to social media, where 99.9 of the users don’t even have PVCs. Some people will come with the sentiment of “Those men don’t have the financial clout to run a proper campaign”. Damn, that’s pure bullshit. Why would anyone engage in what he or she can’t give 10% effort to? To be the president of a country is beyond good English and social media. Moghalu has 30k followers, Sowore has about 40k followers, Durotoye has about 300k followers, where are those people on the ballot? Those jokers did not even hold any rally to galvanize anyone; they were only making empty noise on social media. Those jokers didn’t even auspicate anything in their respective LGAs, yet, they were there criticising the real people that mean business (Buhari and Atiku).

Moghalu

Durotoye

One of the problems of this country is that we glorify hoax. If you truly mean business, you would have held rallies in at least one state in each geo-political zone in Nigeria and that sums up to 6 states, rather they decided to stay on social media to speak nonsense English and this made me come to the conclusion that they only came in order to add “FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE” to their CVs. Fela Durotoye, Omoyele Sowore and Kingsley Moghalu, you are deceptive; you are liars. Stop misleading people. Fela, a deceptive person is not meant to be a motivational

Sowore speaker. People that see you as role model should be ashamed of you. Fela Durotoye, Omoyele Sowore and Kingsley Moghalu knew from the dept of their heart that they only came to upgrade their Curriculum Vitae. I don’t ever want to listen to Fela Durotoye, Omoyele Sowore and Kingsley Moghalu anymore. Those so-called old men will continue to rule this great country, because they are ambitious and real. This is not a prediction; it’s a damn SPOILER! - Onobun lives in Lagos

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The Senate in session

Making the 2019 Elections Their Business The outcome of some of the recent elections formed the basis of discussions in both chambers of the NationalAssembly last week, report Deji Elumoye and Shola Oyeyipo

he recent general election held in the country elicited a lot of reactions from both local and international observers, who posited that the exercise was flawed with the skirmishes that were reported in many parts of the country and canvassed necessary electoral reforms in future polls. These contentious elections therefore formed the basis of discussions among the federal legislators last week as they resumed full legislative work after the general election held on February 23 and March 9 with the lawmakers expressing concern about the way the elections were conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). At the Senate, the lawmakers agreed that the alleged flaws in the polls would be discussed at plenary on Tuesday. The upper legislative chamber had at its last sitting on Wednesday resolved to debate all allegations of irregularities and unconstitutional conducts exhibited by different stakeholders in the just concluded general election in the country. The debate was to enable the upper chamber of the National Assembly find out the causes of the irregularities and come up with solutions including the possible signing of the last electoral amendment bill that was declined assent by the President. The resolution was sequel to a motion moved by Senator Dino Melaye (PDP Kogi West), who rose through Order 42 of the senateâ€™s standing rules to move the motion

that the Senate must rise against all forms of irregularities and abuses of the law as exhibited in the general election. According to him, all legislative interventions that are required must be put to work to avert a repeat of the irregularities in future, stressing that the issue was not political, but one which would help curb electoral malpractices in future elections. â€œWhat I am raising this morning has nothing to do with political parties. I want to bring before this Senate, the elections both on the 9th of March and 23rd of February in this country and I believe that the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not close our eyes to the happenings of those elections. â€œI want that election to be debated on this floor. I want to bring a motion to be addressed by this Senate in the next legislative day so that the militarisation of the process, the abuses of this election, will not go undiscussed in this parliament for posterity sake,â€? he further said. Melaye added that the motion became imperative â€œso that solutions can be given and the president can also be properly advised and the electoral Act Amendment Bill be signed into law as we begin to prepare for future elections. This is my prayer. Let it be discussed as a Senate. We will debate and give accounts of what happened in our various senatorial districts with a view to correcting electoral malpracticesâ€?, he added. Some Senators, who objected to the motion, however, tried but failed to stop the Senate from agreeing to debate the issue this week.

Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, was able to prevail on his colleagues to allow the debate to take place even as he assured that partisanship would not be allowed during the debate. At the House of Representatives, the inconclusive elections in six states of the federation dominated discourse among members. The violence that characterised the general election and the issues of inconclusive elections in six states were extensively debated at the House. It was an issue discussed individually and collectively. Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, in his opening remarks expressed sadness over the killing of his colleague, Hon Temitayo Olatoye, during the governorship poll in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, saying: â€œIt is unfortunate we lost a member.â€? According to him, â€œFor Sugar, we say it is unfortunate, because no one should die the way he died after exercising his civic responsibility as a citizen of this country,â€? stressing that â€œassassination during elections or fighting over who should represent the people shouldnâ€™t be what we should embark upon. Rather, election should be peaceful and when we are aspiring to lead, we should do so in the best way and manner possible.â€? On his part, the Majority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, addressed the issue of the recent presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections, which he noted â€œwere keenly contested, hard-fought but largely free and fair.â€? He however did not shy away from the violence that marred the elections in many

parts of the country. According to him, â€œWe condemn those who perpetrated violence in pockets of places and regret the loss of lives. One life that is lost is one life too many. We do not believe that contests such as these should ever lead to the loss of any human life. We regret the loss of anyone. Naturally, we regret the loss of our colleague for whom we have today, in tradition, adjourned the sitting of the House. That is Hon. Temitope Olatoye (Sugar). â€œAPC caucus believes strongly that there is no victor and no vanquished, and victory only belongs to democracy and the Nigerian masses. We congratulate the president, all players and stakeholders. We congratulate our party, the APC. We congratulate the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other parties for their remarkable showing and competitiveness. Our democracy is better for it. We congratulate INEC. Despite the hiccups, the electoral umpire gave us fairly credible elections.â€? But in line with the position of the international observers that monitored the exercise and urged that there must be reforms in the electoral process, Gbajabiamila assured Nigerians that there will be improvements to the electoral laws as a way to improve future elections. â€œAs a country, we must strive for perfection and try to do better. In this regard, the legislature is key in retooling the electoral laws and processes, and perfecting them going forward,â€? he said, assuring Nigerians that necessary legislative actions would be taken in this regard. On the inconclusive elections in some

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Making the 2019 Elections Their Business part of the country, Gbajaniamila said, â€œIt is our understanding that some elections in some areas were declared inconclusive. We hope INEC will do the needful and speedily re-conduct elections in those areas so that we can move forward.â€? Advising all aggrieved parties to forge ahead and leave the election behind them, the House Leader said: â€œThere have been many disappointments on all sides as many of our colleagues have lost out across the divides during this electoral process. â€œHowever, we must bow to the emergence of our democracy as the supremacy of the will of the people. We have lost good legislators with whom we have formed strong bonds and enduring relationships. But we urge them to accept the loss as good democrats, and as men and women with abiding faith in Godâ€™s will.â€? Not satisfied with Gbajabiamilaâ€™s persuasions, Hon. Sunday Karimi representing Yagba East/Yagba West/Mopa-muro, Kogi State, in a motion moved under matter of urgent national importance and titled: â€˜The Malady of Inconclusive Elections in Nigeria,â€™ pointed out that by continuously allowing INEC to rely on guidelines the will of the electorate will continue to be subverted, a development he said is making Nigerians lose faith in Nigeriaâ€™s electoral system. â€œInconclusive elections have become a demon hunting the Nigerian electoral system, eroding the confidence of the electorate in the electoral system and has become a tool for subverting the will of the people during elections in Nigeria,â€? the lawmaker said. He urged his colleagues to urgently implement reforms that would prevent INEC from subverting the will of the people by resorting to the provisions of its guidelines (relating to inconclusive elections) but to adhere to the constitution and allow aggrieved parties to proceed to the relevant election tribunals in order to ensure peace and security and to promote the credibility of the electoral process. He noted that Paragraph 4 of Section N of the 2015 General Election Guidelines is causing apprehension and lack of confidence in the nationâ€™s electoral system, since Sections 134, 179 and 111 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provide that the winner of presidential, gubernatorial and area council elections should emerge through majority votes of the total votes cast, score one-quarter of votes cast in each of at least two-third of the votes in all states, local government and wards respectfully. It was a motion that immediately elicited reactions. Karimiâ€™s position was corroborated by a number of his colleagues, who expressed disenchantment about the number of inconclusive elections, which they considered as deliberate attempt to tilt the results in favour of the ruling All Progressives Party (APC), particularly in places where it is obvious that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates were leading. Calling the integrity of President Buhari to question as a beneficiary of an election allegedly fraught with irregularities, Hon. Aliyu Sani Madaki, representing Dala federal constituency of Kano State, who seconded the motion, also condemned the fact that the elections were more of war than civil event that should throw up credible leaders, alleging that his re-election bid to the House was brazenly truncated on the altar of election rigging. According to him, the contentious section 26 of the Electoral Act that gives INEC the power to declare election inconclusive should not supersede the provisions of the Nigerian constitution. â€œI know for a fact that the constitution of Nigeria is supreme. It is above any other laws made by us or made by anybody. And the constitution of Nigeria is very clear about what you need to do to declare a winner in an election but for one reason or the other, in most cases INEC has shown not to be independent, because in states where PDP is winning, the elections have been declared inconclusive. â€œWe know for a fact that all the ballot papers used in Kano are still there intact with INEC. Even the original result sheets that were torn; it was not the result that was torn; it was the duplicate. We submitted it to

Saraki, Dogara and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu during a joint sitting of the National Assembly

them they said it has passed through hands so they cannot use it again. We then told them the professor who collected this result is here, let him look at it, is it his document or has it been tampered with, they said no and they went and declared our election inconclusive. â€œWe are talking about the integrity of President Muhammdu Buhari â€“ his integrity, if he has any, is being questioned seriously. If he is watching, he has been declared as a winner while the margin of victory is less than the number of canceled votes all over Nigeria but he has been declared winner and election of PDP candidates in six states of Northern Nigeria have been declared inconclusive. â€œFrom the information available to me, in the next two weeks when we are going for the election they will use every resource available and declare APC as winners in these elections. Let me sound a note of warning that we will not take it! What we went through in the last one month was war. What happened in the last one month is akin to military coup.â€? On his part, Hon. Mohammed Soba representing Soba federal constituency of Kaduna State, emphasised that the INEC chairman did not know where his power starts and ends, because the Nigerian law has contemplated that the INEC has no power to declare a result inconclusive or canceled after it has been declared from the polling unit. â€œThis is where we differ with INEC. As much as there is that provision in the guidelines or in the Electoral Act, in the place where elections are canceled then you go for rerun, supplementary or whatever but at what stage could the votes be validly canceled? â€œIt is from the polling unit. Any result declared from the polling unit, nobody has power under our laws, to cancel it. So, we should not allow INEC working in tandem with other people to determine where and where to cancel elections, even at the ward level, local government level or even the collation centre. This is exactly what INEC did in many of the states, where elections have been declared inconclusive.â€? For Hon. Sergius Ogun representing Esan North-East/Esan South- East federal constituency of Edo State, it was a clarion call to his colleagues to identify areas where urgent amendments must be introduced to the Nigerian law to forestall such occurrences in the future. According to him, â€œFor one to be elected to this House there is a lot your people expected from you. I strongly believe that we should start talking about amendment to

the Electoral Act from today. We should start discussing the next amendment from today. If we cannot deplore more technology, letâ€™s just go manual â€“ Option A4. â€œIn this House, we had an amendment that would have taken care of all the problems we had today â€“ transmitting electronically from the card reader. When we presented the card reader in 2015, they said it was the game changer. The government in power today fought for it, unfortunately, they are against it today. It is a shame and disgrace to the whole world that a country as Nigeria cannot do a simple election and come out with a result that is acceptable to all.â€? The argument put forward by Hon. Abubakar Chika Adamu representing Shiroro/Rafi/Munya of Niger State was very instructive. He noted that if the situation is allowed to degenerate much further, it is capable of truncating the Nigerian democracy. He said elections should not have been declared inconclusive, when nobody was apprehended for the circumstances that brought about such situation. â€œQuite a number of places where the elections were declared inconclusive, the elections were hitch-free; there was not much rancor. You must not cancel any election at the collation centre. If there is any problem during election, that problem should be at the voting centre. If we must have an inconclusive election then how many people are we prosecuting? How many people are found guilty? For the fact that election will be declared inconclusive means there must be a problem. â€œIf it were to be at the voting centre, then, somebody somehow must have done something wrong. That person should be brought to justice because you cannot tell me that there is an inconclusive election when nobody is being blamed. We expect that somebody should be prosecuted. To every centre that election has been canceled, even if it is at the voting centre, I expect to see the people, who participated in what led to the cancelation of the election to be brought to book.â€? Wondering whether the trust and confidence reposed in university lecturers as Returning Officers was worth it considering the manner they mismanaged elections in parts of the country, Hon. Bulus Maren Solomon representing Mangu/Bokkos federal constituency of Plateau State, said there is need to re-evaluate â€œwho should be a returning officer because what we have seen in recent time is that the academia that is supposed to be well-trusted and known to be non-partisan and that INEC has often times made them the Returning Officers

are now partisan. So, what do we do if the academia is now partisan? This is because some are either acting on the fact that they want to be minister to the government that wants to come or they are looking for one appointment?â€? But Gbajabiamila was quick to shed more light on the issue. He first agreed that all the lawmakers are on the same page on the need to reform the electoral laws. This was also the position of most of the international observers. â€œI want to make it abundantly clear that everybody in this House is on the same page as regards the inconclusiveness of the elections that we have just witnessed. We are all speaking with one voice and in total agreement. However, the approach or the solution may differ.â€? He said having listened very carefully to everybody the basic issue is on the interpretation of the laws and that, unfortunately too, lawmakers are not empowered to interpret the laws they make. We run a democracy with three arms of government. While we have the constitutional responsibility to make laws, we do not have the powers to interpret the laws or the constitution, and that is what has been done here today. â€œWe are talking about INEC usurping powers; we also appear to want to usurp the powers of the judiciary. Once we agree that inconclusiveness should be something of the past, the question is, how do we get there? For me, the only way to get there is to forget this motion and debates, and within a matter of weeks or one week, let us set a crack team to amend the electoral laws to limit the powers of INEC.â€? Drawing inference from what transpired in Kogi State on November 22, 2015, when the APC governorship candidate, Abubakar Audu died during the election, he said the Supreme Court had ruled on the matter, resolving issues being raised by the lawmakers. â€œIn the case of Kogi State, INEC used its guidelines to declare the Kogi election inconclusive. Our colleague is here, Honourable Faleke; he went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court looked at the totality of the laws and the constitution and said that INEC was in order to use the guidelines to declare that election inconclusive. â€œSo, we have a Supreme Court ruling on this matter. The only way to change the Supreme Court ruling is to amend our laws and the Supreme Court will be forced to interpret that amendment that has limited the powers to declare an election inconclusive.â€?

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with DEMOLA OJO demola.ojo@thisdaylive.com

SOCIAL MEDIA BITS

Last week on social media, a senator cautioned against booty, a deputy governor was arrested and â€œGod fought forâ€? the Rivers governor...

ast week started with some bad news, as reports filtered in early Sunday morning of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashing a few minutes after leaving Addis Ababa on its way to Nairobi. Ethiopian is Africaâ€™s leading airline, and has a special relationship with Nigeria, operating out of five cities: Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Kano and Kaduna. The crash - which was a global tragedy with multiple nationalities affected â€“ had two Nigerian occupants, Ambassador Abiodun Bashua and Prof Pius Adesanmi. Adesanmi â€“ who was based in Canada â€“ was especially active on Twitter, as he frequently engaged and commented on the state of affairs in Nigeria and made his views known on pertinent issues including the just concluded elections. In fact, one of his last tweets, a day before

the unfortunate mishap, was a grammar lesson on Twitter, delivered in the jocular manner that was one of his hallmarks and endeared him to many. â€œI have cast my voteâ€? rather than â€œI have casted my voteâ€? he corrected, after noticing errors being made online. In the aftermath of his demise, videos of his lectures surfaced on social media, with many sharing his views, which mostly challenged Nigerians to rise above the prevalent bane of mediocrity affecting the country. Midweek threw up another tragedy as a storey building - with one of its floors serving as a school for young students â€“ collapsed in Lagos Island. About 20 people - many of them children - lost their lives, while dozens were injured. Amid the sorrowful stories was the revelation that 1000 houses in Lagos Island are structurally defective and therefore

MARCH 17, 2019 ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

SOCIAL MEDIA BITS uninhabitable. Hopefully, this tragedy caused by criminality, complicity and complacency won’t repeat itself. Talking about criminality, former first lady Patience Jonathan, for the second week running, had to forfeit a substantial amount of money to the federal government, this time to the tune of N2.4bn. Coming so soon after having to give up more than $8 million, questions were asked on social media if she is being forced to return as much money as former Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha. The real question however is; if she has acquired the amounts said illegally, shouldn’t she be prosecuted? Access to funds without answering questions is one reason why the battle for political office in Nigeria is so fierce. The victors backslap and congratulate each other like Ogun State governor-elect Dapo Abiodun and his Lagos State counterpart, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The vanquished sometimes throw tantrums and disrupt the process. Like in the case of Kano which was declared inconclusive with the opposition PDP in the lead. The state’s deputy governor, Nasiru Gawuna, had to be arrested after disrupting

the collation of results as the reality that power was slipping away from his party’s hands dawned on him. It is not over yet and a supplementary election will be held in Kano – and a few other states – at the end of the week. Already, it has been declared a do-or-die affair by the chairman of the APC in Kano, Abdullahi Abbas. While elections in some states were declared inconclusive, the case of Rivers is different. The electoral body, INEC, suspended the governorship and state assembly elections in the state till further notice, following “widespread violence and threat against the lives of voters and ad-hoc staff of INEC.” Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike believes he won the election but is being victimised. He called on God for protection as he shared a cartoon on social media which he believes aptly depicts the situation he’s in. We implore the electoral body to act above board regarding the suspended elections in Rivers and the inconclusive elections in six other states. Because as Senator Shehu Sani affirmed, “A booty will always remain a booty and can never be a trophy.”

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

NEWSXTRA PDP Accuses INEC of Refusing Atiku Access to Inspect Election Materials PDP needs to show some decorum, says INEC Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of denying its candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, access to inspect the documents and materials used in the February 23 presidential election. In a swift response, however, the commission said the PDP should show some decorum in the way it composed its press statement. The party made the allegation in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, alleging that the INEC leadership has refused to obey the March 6, 2019 ruling of the Appeal Court, directing it to allow the party to inspect the electoral materials and document used for the presidential election. The party, also, claimed that the commission’s act was a ‘deliberate and wicked’ ploy, acting in cahoots with the All Progressives Congress (APC) “to frustrate the peoplebacked resolve by the PDP to timeously file and mention our petition at the Presidential election Tribunal, and by so doing, ambush the case.” It said the INEC leadership and the APC “are seeking

to frustrate the party’s court option, seeing that the documents and materials would expressly show that Atiku clearly won the election by the votes directly delivered at the polling units across the country as well as expose how the commission and the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency manipulated the results. “It is imperative to inform Nigerians that upon obtaining the lawful order of the Court, directing INEC to forthwith, avail Atiku Abubakar and the PDP copies of all the documents and other materials used for the Presidential election, our legal team wrote to the INEC Chairman on the 11th and 12th of March 2019 respectively, causing the Order to be served on INEC and requesting access to the said documents and materials.” “Despite being served with the Order and several followups, the leadership of INEC has refused to grant the PDP and Atiku Abubakar access to the materials and documents, notwithstanding the urgency of the matter. “This action by the leadership of INEC has further exposed that it has been heavily compromised by the Buhari Presidency to rig the February 23, 2019 Presidential

election and to frustrate the quest by Nigerians to reclaim the mandate from President Muhammadu Buhari and save the nation from the crisis of an illegitimate government.” The party, therefore, cautioned INEC to note that Nigerians are now aware

of its manipulative tendencies and that any further delay in granting access to the materials might attract public odium. It added that INEC should therefore end its unpatriotic partisan shenanigans with the APC and immediately obey the Court

of Appeal and grant the PDP and Atiku access to the documents and materials and free itself from unholy entanglement with the APC against Nigerians. Meanwhile, the commission has insisted that it has a good record of obeying

court orders, adding that if and when the Commission receives the orders of the court, it would comply. The Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi said in reaction to the allegations made against the commission by PDP.

WALK FOR LIFE...

L-R: Assistant Business Coach, Renal Dialysis Centre, Deirdre Black; Member, Nigeria Medical Women Association (NMWA), Modupe Okoh; Business Coach, James Black Fraser; Founder/CEO, Renal Dialysis Centre, John Okoh and President, NMWA, Omowunmi Bakare, during a walk to mark the 2019 PHOTO:KOLAOLASUPO World Kidney Day, in Ikeja Lagos……recently

Finally, Police Nab Suspects of Ogun PDP Crisis Forces Daniel out of Partisan Politics to rejuvenate his charity based South Western part of Nigeria. ments, our party ran into Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja organisation, the Gateway Front “We rose from that rally trouble waters towards the end Plateau Monarch’s Murder to create a highly robust and of our administration (about the Former Ogun State Governor Foundation (GFF). Seriki Adinoyi in Jos Three years after Ron Kulere, Lazarus Agai was gruesomely murdered on his way from his farm on June 18, 2016, the Plateau State Police Command yesterday confirmed that it had recorded a major breakthrough in the monarch’s murder case. THISDAY findings revealed that the breakthrough in the monarch’s murder case was recorded after three suspects were arrested in connection with the murder of GoTV Sales Manager, Mr. Tokunbo Adeleke. Precisely on December 18, 2018, a police source told THISDAY that Adeleke was killed at about 9:15 p.m. at his residence in Rayfield, Jos under a questionable circumstance, which consequently sparked investigation. The source said investigations into Adeleke’s murder case opened almost immediately, leading to the arrest of three suspects with substantial evidence. The suspects are Mr. Mamuda Umar; Mr Ismail Abdullahi and Mr. Suhailu Musa Of the three suspects, THISDAY findings revealed that Musa “has been indicted in several other cases of assassinations, robbery, and kidnapping, and indeed the murder of Agai. While the suspects are still being interrogated, the Plateau State Police Command had filed charges against them on the murder of the GoTV sale manager. .

In a statement yesterday, the command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Tyopev Terna said the charges were filed at the State High Court, Jos on March 1. Specifically, the statement said the arrest of Musa was a major breakthrough in connection with the murder of the monarch, his security detail and one of his sons. However, according to the statement, But he is expected to first face charges over Adeleke’s murder before facing fresh ones in connection with the murder of the Monarch. Agai, a first class monarch, was gruesomely murdered on June 18, 2016 in an ambush along with his security detail and son by unknown persons while he returned from his farm in Sha village of Bokkos Local Government Area. The incident degenerated into serious violence between the natives and the Fulani in the area, who were the prime suspects, leading to more deaths in the wake of the violence. Detectives from the Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Department, Plateau State Police Command had since then painstakingly trailed the criminals but with little success due to logistical deficiencies. But a source yesterday said a private car belonging to one of the detectives which was mostly used for the investigations broke down close to achieving a breakthrough in late 2016.

and a chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Gbenga Daniels, has resigned from active and partisan politics. Daniel’s resignation was contained in a letter he addressed to the PDP National Chairman, Mr. Uche Secondus and dated March 14, noting that his decision was personal. He added that having served in various capacities, including as Governor of Ogun State, he had resolved to immerse himself in some other vocations and take on some new challenges. Despite his decision to quit partisan politics, notwithstanding, Daniel said he had decided

He claimed that the foundation “will literally continue to dispense succour to the needy, address and assist in the areas of some of their health challenges.” Besides, Daniel said he planned to resuscitate the nonpartisan Political Leadership Academy (POLA) which he established some years ago as a platform of political education to our citizens. “I joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State on Sunday, the 9th of September, 2001 at an event which was described as one of the most ceremonial political rallies in our recent political history in the

Irona: No More Sharing of ISOPADEC Funds Olaseni Durojaiye Imo State Deputy Governorelect, Hon. Gerald Alphonsus Irona yesterday disclosed that funds meant for Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission-ISOPADEC would no longer be diverted, but used for the development of the state’s oil producing areas. Irona stated this at a session with addressing stakeholders of Ohaji-Egbema-Oguta-Oru West Federal Constituency in Oguta after the announcement of the Peoples Democratic Party-PDP as winner of the just concluded governorship election in the state. He also preached forgiveness and reconciliation of

all, urging his supporters to forgive all those that may have offended them in anyway, assuring that he would reconcile all stakeholders in the area, irrespective of political and party affiliation. The governor-elect said, “We must use ISOPADEC funds to develop our place. We shall end the practice of sharing of ISOPADEC funds. We shall take care of our women, youth and elderly. We will touch the lives of our people. “Our brothers shall no longer be used as thugs. We shall not steal your money. If it is about money, we would not have won this election. We earned the confidence and trust of Imo people. We will ensure that the trust is sustained.”

effective political campaign machinery which resulted in an electoral victory for the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State in 2003; this movement and vibration affected the politics of the region positively with a victory in five (5) states of the South West. “I served as Ogun State Governor for eight years and our administration till today remains a point of reference in terms of physical, social, economic, educational and human capital development since the State was created in 1976. “Notwithstanding these widely acclaimed achieve-

year 2009) which led to the sad loss in the election of 2011 and regrettably ten years after the party has been unable to resolve those internal disputes and challenges. “Meanwhile, the PDP in Ogun State was confronted with a very difficult situation in matter of choice. Whereas the national leadership of our party, recognised one candidate for the 2019 election by court pronouncements another candidate, and in compliance with those court orders, which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognised was on the INEC list.

Ikeja Royal Dispute Worsens, Kingmakers Disown ‘Self-acclaimed Oba-elect’ Kayode Fasua The Body of Kingmakers in Ikeja community of Lagos, at the weekend, distanced itself from the claim of one of the princes, that he had been nominated as the new Olu of Ikeja. In an interview with THISDAY, the Secretary to the Body of Kingmakers in Ikejaland, Chief Olufemi Titi-Thomas, said the kingmakers took exception to a claim by one of the princes, Wasiu Adeleye, who wrote a letter to the Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, asking the governor to crown him. In a letter to Ambode on February 4, a copy of which our correspondent obtained, Wasiu Adeleye had stated, “This is to inform Your Excellency that

I am a bonafide choice of the Ifa oracle, kingmakers and the entire family (and) all these are backed by documentary evidences which we are ready to produce when the time comes.” But in his reaction, TitiThomas, the scribe to the kingmakers, said, “Wasiu Adeleye has only succeeded in telling a lie to the governor, as he has never been so nominated.” Titi-Thomas said, “About five years ago when the late Olu of Ikeja, Oba Amore, joined his ancestors, we invited all the princes for screening but Wasiu did not turn up, despite many entreaties. “We then went ahead with the screening process and also consulted the Ifa oracle, which picked his elder brother, Prince Samsondeen Adeleye.

5 ) * 4 % ": t SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2019

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 17, 2019

NEWSXTRA Fresh Herdsmen Attack Claims 10 in Kaduna Community 30 houses razed down, several wounded Buhari, el-Rufai condemn attack, call for peace Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja and John Shiklam in Kaduna Armed bandits suspected to be Fulani herdsmen yesterday attacked Nandu-Gbok village in Sanga Local Government Area (LGA), Kaduna State, killing at least 10 persons. Besides death cases recorded due to the attack, THISDAY findings also revealed that the armed bandits razed down about 30 houses in the same community. Similar attacks on many communities in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state in the fortnight had claimed over 100 lives with hundreds of residents displaced. A resident, who spoke with THISDAY in confidence, said Nandu-Gbok was attacked at about 4:00 a.m yesterday, claiming that the gunmen laid siege to the community. The resident explained that the bandits, who were in large number and armed with guns, machetes and sticks, started shooting sporadically on arrival to the community. He said, “Gunshot woke all the residents at about 4:00 a.m. There was confusion. Everybody was running to the bush. They set houses ablaze. At least,

ten persons were killed; some people were burnt to death; many others were injured and some residents are still missing.” A member of House of Representatives, Hon. Nicholas Garba confirmed the killing on the community in a statement he personally issued yesterday, condemning the gruesome murder of the villagers and describing it as barbaric and callous. Garba, currently representing Sanga-Jama’a Federal Constituency, noted that the attack on Nandu-Gbok occurred when victims of the massacres in communities in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state were being mourned. He said, “We woke up this morning to the sad news of an attack by gunmen on Nandu Gbok, a community in Sanga LGA of Kaduna State. “About 10 bodies have been recovered and about 30 Houses confirmed burnt down. “That the latest attack is coming while we are mourning and trying to deal with the devastating massacre wrought on the Adara People in Kajuru LGA has, once again, brought to the fore the plight of the indigenous people of Southern Kaduna.”

US Observer Group Says Election Shortcomings Orchestrated to Beneﬁt Incumbent, APC According to the election observer group, the Buhari regime had shown unambiguously its displeasure with both the Judiciary and INEC for not delivering its preferred outcomes. It further held that there was a clear pattern of desperation, constitutional violation and fabrication in the actions of the regime towards both key institutions that have a critical role in the elections. Thus, in this post-election report, the group detailed various instances in which it said the incumbent president had shown intent and discernible actions to undermine the elections. While enumerating several shortcomings of the 2019 election, the USNLG expressed grave concern at the brazen militarisation of the elections. It added that in furtherance of its partisan agenda in both the Judiciary and INEC, the President Buhari-led APC administration fabricated a faux court ruling on the basis of which it justified its unconstitutional acts. For instance, the USNLG report noted that: “The Buhari regime acting ostensibly on a private petition interfered with both the Judiciary and INEC regarding the removal of CJN and election postponement respectively.” It said the President’s refusal to sign the electoral reforms into law showed clearly “the mens rea or criminal intent by the president not to allow the conduct of credible elections from the word go. “Indeed, the president is on

record for having said following the passage of the ‘not-too-young to run’ law, that it should be only after his re-election. This Freudian slip cements the notion that he nixed the electoral reforms for the same self-perpetuation. “For these and other reasons, it is transparently clear that the Buhari regime had motive, opportunity, mens rea and actus reus (criminal intent and culpable acts) and declared intent and discernible actions to undermine the elections. In this respect, they were successful in premeditated failure,” it said. The election observer group therefore said it decided to share its report for the benefit of the electorate and the international community for the sake of global democracy. With regards to the issue of malpractices and activities of compromised poll officials, the observer group said it has firsthand report of what transpired in Benue State, for instance, on the eve of the rescheduled presidential and National Assembly polls of February 16. “We gathered that out of a list of about 500 names submitted by a federal institution to INEC as poll officials, a ruling party Senator selected those whom he deemed he could ‘work with’. In addition, the APC Senator doled out millions of naira, which was distributed to the INEC-trained poll officials at a location in Makurdi, the Benue State Capital. The temporary poll officials were called by phone to come and collect the serving Senator’s cash in person from the said location.”

The lawmaker noted that the Sanga Local Government Chairman and other stakeholders were assessing and trying to deal with the unfortunate situation. While sympathising the families of the victims, the lawmaker appealed “to communities in the area to remain calm and not to contemplate any reprisal.” He equally appealed “to security agencies in the state to reinforce their presence in Sanga, especially in the affected community with the

aim of stopping further attack and fishing out the perpetrators of this heinous crime. The lawmaker, also, urged then Sanga Local Government Council and the Kaduna State Government for immediate provision of relief materials to the displaced victims. “The renewed and ferocious attacks on communities in southern Kaduna call for the urgent attention of the nation and the international community. Our communities are helpless and are pleading that all persons of conscience

should speak out. However, the Public Relations Officer of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mr. Yakubu Sabo did not respond to phone calls; neither did he reply WhatsApp messages seeking the reaction of the command on the attack. Before the latest attack, the police spokesman has not been forthcoming with information on the persistent attacks, especially, on communities in Kajuru LGA. In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on the Me-

dia and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu last nigh, President Muhammadu Buhari urged perpetrators of communal and persistent violence in Kaduna State to realise that mutual violence had no winners, but losers on both sides of the conflict. The president said he was “deeply troubled by the fact that sanctity of life is now treated with such reckless disregard that people derive joy in shedding the blood of others or perceived enemies.”

TOGETHER WE STAND...

L-R: Renowned Economist, Doyin Salami; Head Corporate Banking and Treasury, Union Bank, Emeka Okonkwo; President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Uche Olowu and President, Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA), Samuel Ocheho, at the PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT quarterly general meeting of the association in Lagos...recently

Rivers Sets up Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Murder of PDP Agent Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt The Rivers State Government yesterday said he would set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to ensure that the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) operatives, who killed the collation agent of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Khana Local Government Area, Dr. Ferry Gberegbe, were brought to justice. The state government, also,

said it would set up a N200 million scholarship for the children of late Gberegbe, directing the widow of the deceased to open bank accounts for each of the four children. The state governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike disclosed the plan when he led the leaders of Rivers PDP on a condolence visit to the family of the slain lecturer. During the visit, Wike said the state “will set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to

StateCraft Celebrates Sall’s Victory StateCraft Inc., the elections and governance consulting company under the media group, RED, extended its winning streak into Francophone Africa with the reelection of President Macky Sall of Senegal. This was contained in a statement by the company’s co-founder, Mr. Adebola Williams, noting that Sall’s victory reaffirmed StateCraft’s leadership in Africa. The statement said the candidate, who oversaw seven years of rapid economic growth and infrastructural transformation, beat his two main rivals, ex-Prime Minister Idrissa Seck and Ousmane Sonko, to win the keenly contested race. He won re-election by polling 58 per cent of total votes as announced by the National Vote Counting Commission on Thursday. The statement said it was an

immense privilege “to work with the party coalition, Benno Bokk Yakkar, which has been at the forefront of political reform in Senegal, including other talented teams and individuals all working to tell amazing stories of Sall’s sterling achievements in two years via our campaign, #UnSénégalPourTous. “As a partner of democracy in Africa, having a front row view of his dedication to excellence and development for all of Senegal leaves us in no doubt that the president-elect is supremely qualified and dedicated to leading the fast-rising West African nation to greatness for the good of all Senegalese.” With deep expertise in elections, policy, governance, citizen engagement and citizen action, StateCraft Inc. continues to lead the vanguard in politically transforming Africa, one successful campaign at a time.

ensure that the culprits are brought to Justice. It is unfortunate that F-SARs killed the PDP Collation Agent. “The state government will offer scholarship to the four young children left behind by the deceased. The mother of the children should open dedicated account for each of the children. The state government will pay N50 million to each of the four children for their education.” The governor decried the shooting of the late lecturer by men of F-SARs led by Rivers F-SARs Commander, Akin Fakorede at the Khana Collation Centre, where he served as the PDP Collation Agent. He said the fatal shots led to his death. He said: “It is most unfortunate that the young man was shot dead by F-SARs led by Akin Fakorede in an attempt to cart away election results. “Instead of us to allow people to choose who will

represent and govern them, the security agencies will not allow that. Rather they prefer to kill us. “He died in the course of defending the PDP. He died in the course of defending democracy. I want to assure the family that all those who killed him will not go free”. Wike said Gberegbe remained committed to the PDP even on his sick-bed. He said the deceased sent him a text message saying that he would be very happy when Wike is declared winner of the election. The governor stated that the state government would also construct a house for the family of late Gberegbe and participate in his burial. Also during the condolence, the PDP National Chairman, Mr. Uche Secondus said the late lecturer was a victim of the calculated oppression of the oil rich states by the Army and the F-SARs.

Former DG SSS Loses Wife Mrs Temitope Ekpenyong Ita, wife of the former DirectorGeneral of the State Security Service, Mr Ekpenyong Ita CFR, mni, is dead. A statement signed on behalf of the family by the deceased son, Mr Ekpenyong E. Ita (Jnr), said she died on March 13, 2019 in Abuja after a brief illness.

Mrs Ita, a lawyer, was until her death, a staff of the Corporate Affairs Commission in Abuja. She is survived by her husband, children, aged father, brothers, sisters and other relatives. The statement said burial arrangement would be announced by the family.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍżËœ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÎ

SUNDAYSPORTS

Edited by Demola Ojo Email: demola.ojo@thisdaylive.com

FA Cup: Wolves Send Man United Packing

olverhampton Wanderers yesterday produced an outstanding secondhalf performance to overpower Manchester United and reach their first FA Cup semi-final for 21 years on an atmospheric night at Molineux. Nuno Espirito Santoâ€™s side, in their first quarter-final since 2003, fully deserved their victory as United produced their worst performance under the interim management of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. United goalkeeper Sergio Romero, in for David de Gea, had kept United level with brilliant saves from Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez either side of the interval, before the Mexican striker swivelled in the area to finally give Wolves the reward their domination merited with 20 minutes remaining. Wolves were rampant and it was no surprise when the dangerous Jota doubled their lead six minutes later, shrugging off Unitedâ€™s Luke Shaw on the break before shooting low past the exposed Romero. United defender Victor Lindelof was shown a red card by referee Martin Atkinson for a touchline challenge on Jota, but it was downgraded it to yellow after a VAR review and, even though Marcus Rashford pulled one back in stoppage time, Wolves were

African Tour: Torgah Seeks Third Memorare Title Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Vincent Torgah will be itching to claim the Memorare for a third time when the tournament tees off at the Arsenal Golf Club, Owerri from March 20- 23. The Ghanaian made light work of his title defence last year by grinding a combined score of eight under par enroute to victory. He will also be aiming to consolidate his position as the leader of the Order of Merit on the African Tour by notching up his second official title in the season. The 36-year â€“ old player began the season on a high note by winning the Eko Challenge Cup at Lakowe Golf Estate, Lagos with a gross score of 18 under par. The Memorare is one of the 16 tournaments on the schedule of the African Tour for 2019. It will be played as a 72-hole event and will attract 40 top flight professional players, drawn from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Spain, Ghana and Gabon among others. Sunday Olapade, Nigeria; Visitor Mapwanya, Zimbabwe; Franscico Perez, Spain; Mike Ubi, Nigeria and Emos Korblah, Ghana are some of the players that will contend in Owerri.

Raul Jimenez celebrates the opening goal in a 2-1 win over Manchester United yesterday to progress to the semi-ďŹ nals of the FA Cup

worthy winners. The celebrations on and off the pitch at Molineux when the final whistle sounded demonstrated what this win means to Wolves. Their resurgence under Nuno was exemplified by how they were simply too powerful,

too energetic and too inventive for United as Solskjaer suffered his second successive defeat. Wolves have real quality running through the side with the class and experience of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho in midfield augmented by the movement, pace and threat

of Jota and Jimenez. They have the backbone of captain Conor Coady and Willy Boly - and the bottom line was they were simply better than United in all areas of the pitch. Now they head to Wembley and, make no mistake, they have the quality and confidence to threaten any team left in the FA Cup. Solskjaer and United have deservedly been showered in praise for their dramatic rejuvenation since Jose Mourinho was sacked in December, the highlight of which was the stunning Champions League turnaround against Paris St-Germain in France earlier this month. This, though, was a performance that rolled back the months to the Mourinho era and was arguably worse than some of the displays turned in under the Portuguese. Paul Pogba was restored as captain as another Mourinho move was wiped away but he was poor - although he was not alone there. United barely threatened Wolves keeper John Ruddy and, slowly but surely, their performance crumbled to almost shambolic levels in the second half as Wolves were all over them and ran them ragged. Solskjaer will hope it is just a temporary slump but the fight is now right on for the top four and Champions League opponents Barcelona will not lose a wink of sleep after watching United here.

Man City Survive Swansea Scare Sergio Agueroâ€™s controversial late winner ensured Manchester City dramatically kept their quadruple bid on track as they came from two goals down to beat Swansea and reach the FA Cup semi-finals. Substitute Aguero beat Swansea keeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt with a diving header off Bernardo Silvaâ€™s low cross at the end of a superb move in the 88th minute. Replays showed the Argentina striker was marginally offside but the video assistant review system was not in use at the Liberty Stadium, despite having been used in Cityâ€™s third and fourth-round ties at their Etihad Stadium home. City had levelled in contentious circumstances too when Cameron Carter-Vickers was judged to have tripped replacement Raheem Sterling in the area and Agueroâ€™s penalty hit the post before rebounding in off Nordfeldt for an own goal. Defeat was harsh on the impressive hosts, who led 2-0 inside 30 minutes through Matt Grimesâ€™ penalty and Bersant Celinaâ€™s spectacular second. The former City player, who was mocked for an extraordinary penalty miss against West Brom on Wednesday, curled a sumptuous first-time effort beyond Ederson at the end of a tremendous, flowing move. City fielded a strong side but needed Sterling and Aguero to come off the bench to shake them out of their fatigue, the latter setting up Bernardo for the visitorsâ€™ opener, which sparked their thrilling

Aguero scored the winning goal comeback in the last half hour. Having scored 16 goals in three previous FA Cup games this season and after thrashing Schalke 7-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, Cityâ€™s bright start to this game seemed to indicate that this would be another stroll.

Yet after missing a few chances, with Nordfeldt also making two fine saves, the front three of Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez started to lose their composure - and so did Cityâ€™s defence. Fabian Delph, who was sent off in his sideâ€™s fifth-round defeat by Wigan last year, was caught

Bale, Isco Score as Madrid Welcome ZIdane with Win Premiership: Liverpool Chase Top Spot at Fulham

Gareth Bale and Isco yesterday scored against Celta Vigo to give coach Zinedine Zidane a winning start on his return to Real Madrid. Isco, out of favour under previous coach Santiago Solari, made it 1-0 when he tapped in striker Karim Benzemaâ€™s low cross from close range. And 13 minutes from time, Wales forward Bale scored Realâ€™s second when his low shot went in off the post. Real are now two points behind second-placed Atletico Madrid in La Liga. Diego Simeoneâ€™s men lost 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao later on Saturday. League leaders Barcelona travel to Real Betis today. For Zidane and Real the rest of the season is about saving face after what has been, relatively speaking, a poor campaign for them. When the former midfielder quit 10 months ago, he did so after helping Los Blancos win three successive Champions League titles and the La Liga crown.

It was a phenomenal achievement for the managerial rookie. The Spanish giants also owed a lot of that success to Cristiano Ronaldo, who has since left for Juventus. The comedown has been severe. Two managers sacked - Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari - and the Club World Cup as the clubâ€™s only piece of silverware, sums up this campaign. The return of Zidane this week lifted the spirits of the fans, who yesterday saw signs of the team who were so successful during his first stint. Midfielder Isco, attacking full-back Marcelo, Bale and keeper Keylor Navas found themselves recalled to the starting XI and took part in a display that was not â€˜vintage Zidane eraâ€™ but was an improvement on recent performances. Bale, the recipient of jeers from the home support in recent matches, received a huge cheer from a packed Bernabeu. However, it remains to be seen if he has a future under Zidane with whom he has previously had a strained relationship.

Liverpool can go back to the top of the Premier League table if they beat Fulham this afternoon. With Manchester City in FA Cup action this weekend, Jurgen Kloppâ€™s side have the chance to take a two-point lead ahead of the international break. However, the manager played down the importance of going back into first, saying: â€œPsychologically we didnâ€™t struggle because we are not ahead of them anymore and it doesnâ€™t change. â€œBeing ahead of City is not that important but we have a game at the weekend and we want to win that game. â€œObviously we are then ahead but it doesnâ€™t mean a lot. The game in hand for City is (Manchester) United, for sure not an easy one, but it is not decided at the weekend because of that.â€?

Scott Parker is yet to win a game as caretaker manager of Fulham, and he knows his side faces another big test against potential Premier League winners. â€œItâ€™s going to be a massive challenge. Liverpool is a team that is fighting at the right end, in terms of fighting for the championship,â€? he said. â€œTheyâ€™re a team full of individual quality and are up there with the worldâ€™s best.â€? Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson will miss the trip with an ankle injury sustained in the midweek Champions League victory over Bayern Munich. It means Fabinho will come back into the side, having initially been rested for the Champions League tie, while Naby Keita will be assessed after missing the trip to Germany with a minor injury.

Sunday March 17, 2019

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NBA to Security Agencies “Policemen and Nigerian Army personnel were in some places complicit in the snatching of voting materials, ballot boxes, intimidation or voters as well as perpetration of various acts of violence.” – The Nigerian Bar Association in its second interim report on the 2019 governorship and houses of election held on Saturday 9th March, 2019.

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

How to End Rigging in Nigeria

et us perform an experiment. Let us make a Super Law that says if you are an elected public officer at any level of government, you must enrol all your children in public schools. You cannot send your children to private or foreign schools. If they are already in private or foreign schools, you must withdraw and enrol them in Nigerian public schools after you are elected into office. Also, you and your family members must receive medical treatment at government-owned hospitals in Nigeria. Your wife must give birth at a primary healthcare centre. No member of your family, including yourself, can receive medical treatment in a private or foreign hospital, except treatment is not available in Nigeria, and this has to be confirmed by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA). You and members of your family must travel by road anywhere you want to go in Nigeria, expect it is more than 500 kilometres. You cannot be accompanied on the road trip by armed escorts. No elected public officer, president and governor inclusive, will be allowed to fly private or presidential jets even if they are going to Australia. They must all take commercial flights, and only the president and governor can fly first class if they so desire. No elected public officer is allowed to use a motorcade with more than three cars. No public officer is allowed to use siren — the wailing machine should be reserved for the emergency services, notably the fire brigade and ambulances. Nobody should block any road because a governor or president is visiting. Let us take the experiment further. Elected public officers should be paid only “living” wages and evidently reasonable allowances. There should be no severance package beyond a defined, realistic pension judging by global standards. There should be nothing like “estacode” for travels. The state will bear your expenses — hotel, feeding and transportation — within predefined limits. There should be no foreign trips without clearly defined goals. You must appoint all your aides from the civil service, so we are not going to be bearing extra costs to provide you with special assistants and special advisers. Let the civil service employ and train the best. We have all the technocrats in the civil service so let us make use of them, in addition to raising the standards of recruitment. Let us step it up now. We should design an accountability and transparency system that will make it virtually impossible for a political office holder to take one kobo out of the treasury. This system will be so crafted that you cannot even award contracts to your friends, families and fronts because your power will be whittled down and circumscribed. Inflation of contracts is virtually impossible as there will be predefined costing templates and predetermined profit margins. You cannot say you bought a can of Coke for N155, for example. Above all, if you steal public funds, a solitary bullet will be fired through your ear or between your eyes — depending on how you like it. Now, let us begin to catch our breath a little. What would happen if indeed we make a Super Law to enforce these rules? I can assure you straightaway: there will be almost nothing to fight over again! There will be no more rigging, no more violent elections, and no more inconclusive polls. We will not have

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman to shut down schools, impose curfews and deploy soldiers simply because we want to hold elections. The only people you will find in politics are those who genuinely want to serve the society. Anybody who wants to go to public office to accumulate wealth and walk on the heads of Nigerians will not even bother to pick the nomination form. Only genuine human beings will go into politics. There will be uncountable accidental benefits to Nigeria. If the children of politicians are forced to attend public schools, all the schools will suddenly become excellent, trust me. We will have the best public schools in Africa. If the politician’s wife has to give birth at the primary healthcare centre, even St. Nicholas Hospital will become green with envy at the new standard of the centres. If our political leaders have to regularly travel by land without armed escorts and siren, not only will the police become efficient and chase away armed robbers and kidnappers from the roads, even ordinary potholes will disappear. It is an experiment worth trying! Imagine that the punishment for awarding a contract to your fronts is a tiny bullet entering through your nostril and exiting at the back your head. You will most likely not want to kill to hold such a position. And even if you decide to seek office, the prospect of joining your ancestors so early in the day will strike the fear of God into your heart. You will not dare go into politics if your interest is not the development of Nigeria. It will not matter whether or not you are a member of the ruling party before the Super Law comes for you. Your sins will not be forgiven even if you are the founder of the ruling party. In the end, there will be enough money to spend on healthcare, education and infrastructure. In not time, we will not recognise Nigeria again. We will think we are in Japan. If you think my experiment is Utopian, then you are a stranger here. When the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, was shut down for repairs in 2017 and the Kaduna airport became the alternative, did you notice that kidnappers and potholes disappeared from the Abuja-Kaduna highway? You guessed right: the moment the elite needed to use the road, government decided to do the right thing. No governor or minister wanted to be kidnapped. That is the way we roll. The Yoruba say a wicked man does not do wickedness to himself. Even when the French President, Emmanuel Macron, visited Lagos in 2018, suddenly all the

bad roads in Ikeja were repaired and broken down vehicles were cleared from sight. Our leaders know what is good, believe you me. I am sorry if I have upset you today with my proposed experiment. Remember, it is just an experiment, so don’t be too upset. I don’t even believe in capital punishment. Let me be kind a bit then. One, we should use four years to prepare for the experiment. It shouldn’t start immediately so that we can tidy things up. The schools and hospitals should be in a decent state before take-off. Two, there should be enough guarantees to prevent abuses. Three, the experiment should not last for more than 25 years. If there is still election rigging and violence after 25 years, the experiment will have failed. We should then return to the pre-Super Law era. But I am confident that this experiment will work. A trial will convince us. Finally, I would suggest that the Super Law should also apply to ALL civil servants and political appointees, not just elected officials. As for those who don’t understand irony and might have concluded that ‘Simon has gone rogue this morning’, let me now say it in your language: elections are inevitably violent and atrociously competitive in societies where public office holders have unfettered access to public funds — with little or no accountability. By just becoming a lawmaker, even at state level, you can become a billionaire overnight. You can create perks for yourself. You can pad budgets. You can harass ministries, departments and agencies to employ your thugs, to pay for your accommodation, to buy you first class air tickets, and to award inflated contracts to your fronts. You can, overnight, move from your shack in Mushin to a mansion on Banana Island. How on earth will elections be peaceful? You see, people don’t fight over nothing. Why would elections be atrocious if you will be forced to withdraw your children from foreign schools and enrol them in Nigeria? Why would you want to kill for an office that will not allow you to fly private jets and chattered flights — even if you owned them before you were elected? Why would you hire thugs to snatch ballot boxes when you will not be able to take one kobo more than your entitlement? You cannot build an extra house, cannot use siren, cannot have a long motorcade, cannot jump queues and cannot get your family members into boards of agencies, so what are you looking for in public office if not that you really want to serve? You must really want to sacrifice for the progress of Nigeria! Check out the countries in the world where elections are treated as warfare and you will find that (1) there is crime and there is no punishment (2) there is easy money in public office. These are the incentives for bad behaviour. If there is little or no accountability, it means when you enter public office, you can please yourself and your friends without consequences. Even where there are consequences, they are not applied uniformly. If you belong to the right clique, you will get away with rape and murder. Human beings are not stupid. We take calculated risks. If the risk is low and the reward is high, bad behaviour will become the gold standard. Until public office is no longer a shortcut to wealth and crimes are punished uniformly and swiftly across board, expect more rigging and more violence in future elections. Except, of course, we pass the Super Law. Experiment.

And Four Other Things… FOR PIUS When I lost my elder sister and childhood friend, Bosede, in 2015, I despaired even of life. I kept asking: why would she die after all that she had gone through in life? A similar gloom overwhelmed me when I heard of the death of Prof. Pius Adesanmi, the respected writer and literary critic, in the Ethiopian Airlines crash. He was always so lively and extremely witty — two of the attributes that made his column unmissable. I can’t understand how Pius would survive a road accident in which every other passenger died — and then get killed in an air crash less than a year later. In my little mind, surviving the horrific accident meant long life was on the cards for him. Mystery. BUILDING COLLAPSE Twelve persons, including nine children, died when a three-storey building collapsed in the Ita-Faaji area of Lagos Island on Wednesday. The building, which housed a primary school, caved in at a time pupils were in their classrooms. The building had been marked for demolition because it was classified as “distress” but any surprises that things still ended the way they did? We were still mourning the dead when another building collapsed in Ibadan on Friday evening. The BBC report on the Lagos incident perfectly sums things up: “It is not unusual for buildings to collapse in Nigeria; materials are often sub-standard and the enforcement of regulations is lax.” Shame. FALLEN MIGHTY Although there are serious complaints about malpractices in the governorship elections, we just have to be positive and see that we made some progress, no matter how little. That at least three governors have so far failed to install their lackeys as successors should count for something. For all the anger against the ruling APC, it appears PDP has gained more states in this election. I am not a supporter of APC or PDP, but I would say we need this balance of power to keep this democracy growing. I want giant strides, not our usual story of ‘one step forward and two backward’, but maybe we can still find a silver lining in the cloud. Prospects. AND FINALLY… Nigeria has become such a dysfunctional society where senior police officers openly associate with glorified thugs and assassins. Even artistes are singing praises of political thugs, glorifying the exploits of miscreants that used to be classified as outlaws when we still had values. To be a thug and assassin is very rewarding in Nigeria. The rate at which we are going in this country, entrepreneurs will soon start registering companies to provide services of different breeds of political thugs specifically for elections. For now, it is an informal business. But we have so glorified the madness that it will soon become legit. They will even charge VAT. Calamity.

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