THURSDAY 11TH APRIL 2019

IMF Cautions Nigeria, Others on Chinese Loans Ranks Nigeria low in sovereign wealth fund utilisation Insists on tax reforms Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja, Shola Oyeyipo and Martins Ifijeh in Washington DC Nigeria and other African countries taking loans from

China must ensure that the terms of borrowing are strictly in conformity with the Paris Club arrangements, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday.

It also recommended that Nigeria should embark on comprehensive tax reforms as a way to boost non-oil revenue generation.

The Washington-based

institution, in the latest edition of its ‘Fiscal Monitor report,’ also ranked Nigeria as the second worst country in the world in the utilisation of its Sovereign Wealth Funds

(SWF).

Presenting the Global Financial Stability Report at the ongoing IMF/World Bank Spring Meeting in Washington DC, the Financial Counsellor

and Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF, Mr. Tobias Adrian, argued that financial transactions Continued on page 8

Atiku Denies Lobbying US to Stop Buhari’s Inauguration.. Page 6 Thursday 11 April, 2019 Vol 24. No 8767. Price: N250

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Senate Raises the Alarm over Increasing Wave of Violence Votes N10bn for security intervention in Zamfara Again, bandits kill 23 in Katsina communities Buhari cuts short Dubai trip over killings Deji Elumoye, Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja and Francis Sardauna in Katsina The Senate yesterday raised the alarm over increasing level of violence across the country, saying government needs to take urgent steps to address the menace.

The upper legislative chamber also resolved to set aside N10 billion in the 2019

budget as intervention fund for tackling the problem of insecurity in Zamfara State and the attendant humanitarian crisis.

But despite the measures being put in place to curb the killings, bandits have again attacked and killed no fewer than 23 people and set ablaze many houses, shops Continued on page 6

Lawan Banks on 73 Senators’ Endorsement Coalition justifies APC’s backing

Deji Elumoye and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The spokesman of Senator Ahmad Lawan, who is vying for the office of the Senate President of ninth Senate, Senator Sabi Abdullahi (APC Niger North), has said no fewer than 73 senators-elect are backing the Senate leader to actualise his ambition.

Abdullahi has also assured that Lawan will operate an inclusive administration if

elected in June.

Speaking to journalists yesterday in Abuja, Abdullahi also assured Nigerians that if Lawan emerges the next Senate president he will run an all-inclusive government because the Senate is the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He said: "The 109 senators are individual senators representing the various Continued on page 8

MINISTERIAL CHAT...

L–R: Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige; Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and the Minister of Health, Dr. Isaac Adewole, during the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja… yesterday godwin omoigui

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Atiku Denies Lobbying US to Stop Buhari’s Inauguration Disowns Abuja posters Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has denied spending $30,000 to hire a United States’ lobby group to persuade the US Congress to stop the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in a statement yesterday by his media aide, Mr. Paul Ibe, described the allegation which was instigated by the Buhari campaign as a “total fabrication.”

He also disassociated himself from 2019 election posters being circulated in Abuja, stressing that “the campaign season is over and the tainted electoral victory by the incumbent is being challenged in court.”

The former vice president insisted that his court case has become APC’s biggest burden because it exposes its integrity as a sham, adding that instead of defending its stolen mandate in court, it is using fake news to divert public attention from the historic electoral heist it has

committed against Nigerians.

Atiku noted that no amount of diversionary propaganda and fake news campaign by the All Progressives Congress (APC) would stop him from continuing the court action he started to reclaim his stolen mandate.

He stressed that the latest dirty propaganda didn't come as a surprise because lying has so far become APC’s only bragging rights of competence.

Atiku stated: “Lying has become a culture to the APC’s administration and, therefore,

we are not surprised by their latest diversionary allegations.

“Since Atiku resisted pressure not to go to court, the APC has been behaving like a cat on hot bricks because the outcome of the 2019 elections has exposed and shattered the facade of its dubious integrity.

“The APC is behaving nervously like a thief living under the fear of being exposed and shamed. It is now using fake news against Atiku instead of focusing on defending itself in the court.

"For a party that has broken the worst record in election rigging, the APC doesn't have any iota of integrity to be taken seriously by anybody.”

Atiku Disowns Abuja Posters Meanwhile, Atiku has disassociated himself from 2019 election posters being circulated in Abuja, saying: “The campaign season is over and the tainted electoral victory by the incumbent is being challenged in court.”

He said: “Our attention has been drawn to posters of His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 election being circulated in Abuja.

“We disassociate the former vice president of Nigeria from the said posters in circulation.

“We refuse to be distracted, which is exactly the objective of our opponents, but to remain focused on diligently pursuing our election petition with a view to retrieving the stolen mandate.”

SENATE RAISES THE ALARM OVER INCREASING WAVE OF VIOLENCE and vehicles in Sabuwa Local Government Area (LGA) and Garin-Magaji village of Batsari LGA of Katsina State, leaving hundreds of residents homeless.

However, the acting Inspector General Police (IG), Mr. Muhammed Abubakar Adamu, yesterday paid an on-the-spot assessment visit to the state and vowed to fish out the perpetrators of the heinous crime in the state and other states bedeviled with banditry.

Setting aside the intervention fund yesterday, the Senate urged the federal government to set up an ad-hoc committee to be known as Presidential Initiative on Zamfara with a 10-year lifespan for co-ordination of programmes aimed at addressing humanitarian crisis in the state .

These resolution by the Senate was sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara Central).

Marafa, who came via Orders 42 and 52 of the Senate standing rules to move the motion, said the problem of insecurity in Zamfara State, is deteriorating on weekly or even daily basis, which calls for urgent national action and legislative intervention.

According to him, heinous activities of different categories of mindless criminals in the state like armed bandits, cattle rustlers, kidnappers and others are creating serious humanitarian crisis in the state that must be addressed very urgently.

He said: "Since 2011, as a result of the activities of criminals in the state, roughly estimated 11,000 males have been killed, who left behind average of 22,000 widows, and by extension 44,000 orphans. These figures are just by conservative estimates because the figures are far, far higher.

"The bandits, especially heavily armed kidnappers, operate with little or no resistance in Gusau , the capital of the state, making less than 75 per cent of people in Zamfara not to be sleeping in their houses. The situation has nothing to do with politics because my own blood sister was brutally murdered in her matrimonial home in February this year and even two of my cousins outside the state capital few weeks back.”

Contributing to the debate, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, commended Marafa for always bringing the deteriorating security situation in the state to the front burner of discourse in the Senate.

According to him, "The primary purpose of government as clearly stated in Section (1b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended is all about security and welfare of citizens. Reiterating his clamour for creation of state police, Ekweremadu declared that any government that cannot make provision for this has no business in governance.

He said: “For government to tackle the security problem

headlong, the abnormality of Nigeria being the only federation with centralised Police, must be addressed.

"It has been suggested and said in this hallowed chamber that long lasting solutions to myriads of insecurity challenges in the land is creation of state police. The earlier we embrace it, the better for the country."

On his part, Senate Chief Whip, Senator Olusola Adeyeye (Osun Central), said the problem of the country is the constitution itself, which by its provisions, puts on the ground, an over centralised federation or better put, unitary system as against federal system of government.

According to him, as long as the problematic constitution is not amended by way of removing policing from exclusive list to concurrent list to pave the way for state police, criminality at local levels will continue unabated.

“How on earth would a supposed federation have 68 items on its exclusive list and just 12 ambiguous and nebulous items on its concurrent list?

Provisions of this constitution make mockery of Nigeria as a federation and the earlier it is addressed, the better because every crime is local and solution to it is local,” he said.

Other contributors, including the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North); Deputy Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na'Allah (Kebbi South); Senator Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central); Senator Mohammed Hassan (Yobe South) and Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba South) condemned the spate of insecurity in the land.

Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, in his remarks, emphasised the need for policing to be localised in fighting all manner of crimes at the local levels.

He said: “From the contributions we have had, I think it is key that we begin to look at the problem and look for long-term solutions. More importantly is that we must go back to what a lot of us had been advocating here that there is need for us to have state or community police.

“It is the way forward.

Otherwise, we will continue to run into these problems. On the area of oversight, there is a lot also that we need to do to ensure that we hold the security agencies accountable. And we need to move very fast in this area.”

Again, Bandits Kill 23 in Fresh Attacks on Katsina Communities Despite the government’s renewed efforts to tackle insecurity in the country, bandits have again attacked and killed no fewer than 23 people and set ablaze many houses, shops and

vehicles in Sabuwa LGA and Garin-Magaji village of Batsari LGA of Katsina State, leaving hundreds of residents homeless.

The fresh onslaught on Sabuwa, according to a credible source in the local government was launched about 4.a.m. on Tuesday by the bandits, allegedly dressed in military uniform and armed with AK47 rifles and machetes, shooting sporadically.

The source said: “The attackers stormed Sabuwa and they were shooting indiscriminately and everybody started running into the bush. They killed 18 people and injured few others. Some of the bandits were wearing military uniforms. I saw them from where I was hiding.”

He said the police arrived at the scene after the bandits had run into the bush, adding: "Instead of pursuing the bandits who ran into the bush, they just turned back."

Confirming the Garin-Magaji attack to THISDAY yesterday, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Batsari LGA, Mr. Mannir Mu'azu, said the bandits killed five persons, injured 10 and set ablaze numerous houses and vehicles belonging to residents, adding that those who survived the attacks scampered for safety.

"Yesterday another tragedy happened in Batsari local government. Bandits numbering about 10 attacked Garin-Magaji in the night and killed five persons. They also set ablaze many houses, shops and burnt many vehicles in the village,” he said.

The police in the state confirmed the attack in Sabuwa LGA and said 10 people were killed during the invasion.

The Katsina State Police Command through its spokesperson, SP Gambo Isah, said only 10 persons were feared dead and their corpses were recovered, adding that six of the corpses were identified to be members of the civilian JTF, while the remaining four were yet to be identified as of press time.

As IG Vows to Bring Perpetrators to Book Meanwhile, the acting Inspector General Police (IG), Mr. Muhammed Abubakar Adamu, paid an on-the-spot assessment visit to Katsina State yesterday and vowed to fish out the perpetrators of the heinous crime in the state and other states bedeviled with banditry.

Adamu, while in audience with the state Deputy Governor, Mr. Mannir Yakubu, said he was in the state to ascertain the security challenges confronting the state, affirming that President Muhammadu Buhari had given instruction to clear the bandits in the affected states.

He said: "We felt it is important that we visit you to

look into the security challenges in the North-west in general and Katsina State in particular. The activities of bandits are a source of concern for Mr. President and he has given us instructions to make sure that we clear these bandits and kidnappers through whatever means.

"For us to be able to do the job perfectly, we needed the cooperation of the people of Katsina State. By this, I mean the law enforcement agencies will not be able to do it alone.

We know that the bandits have their camps somewhere in the forest. The strategy we are doing is to take this fight to bandits. We will identify their camps, destroy the camps, get them arrested and occupy their camps".

Responding, the state Deputy Governor, Yakubu, assured that the state government would continue to support the security agencies in the state to discharge their duties effectively.

During the visit, the IG visited Batsari, one of the eight frontline LGAs, where he charged his men and officers to rekindle their efforts in order to find a lasting solution to the predicament.

Scores of Terrorists, Bandits Killed in Air Strikes In a related development, the military yesterday sustained its onslaught on terrorists and bandits in the North as fighter jets of the Nigerian Air Force struck hideouts and other locations in Sububu, Rugu and Kagara Forests in the North-west of the country.

Acting on credible intelligence, troops of Section 2, Operation Lafia Dole successfully repelled the attack launched by terrorist group, Boko Haram, on Damaturu, Yobe State capital, Tuesday evening, which forced residents to flee to safer places.

In an update on the war against the twin menace of terrorism and banditry afflicting the nation, the Nigerian Air Force said the waves of air strikes conducted by its fighter planes decimated scores of bandits, forcing some to flee towards neighbouring Niger Republic.

It said the air strikes followed the deployment of additional aircraft geared towards flushing out armed bandits from that part of the country. The air interdictions also destroyed eight camps of the bandits.

“The Air Task Force (ATF) for Operation Diran Mikiya has continued to record successes in its renewed air offensive against armed bandits in Zamfara State and its environs. The air strikes, which were intensified on with the deployment of additional aircraft, are aimed at flushing out the bandits from their hideouts in Sububu, Rugu and Kagara Forests, amongst others, whilst ensuring the protection of the lives and properties of citizens

in the North-west of the country.

“On the first day of the intensive operation, the ATF conducted coordinated air raids against multiple identified armed bandits’ hideouts at Doumborou, Sububu, West Malamawa, Baturia Pond and Rugu Forest, where several bandits were neutralised and their camps destroyed”, the statement signed by NAF Spokesman, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said.

The update further showed that “the ATF conducted waves of attacks against several targets.

The first wave struck three armed bandits locations within Sububu Forest as well as another camp in Kagara Forest.

Targets attacked in the second wave were notable armed bandits’ hideouts at Kamarawa, Kunduma and Tsamare Hill, while the third wave focused on armed bandits hideouts in Doumborou.

“The ATF also provided close air support to surface forces of Sector 2 to enable them move into the attacked areas to mopup the fleeing survivors and recover their weapons. In all, the ATF degraded eight camps and neutralised scores of armed bandits”.

NAF maintained that “as a result of the air strikes, some of the bandits are fleeing towards the border between Nigeria and Niger Republic. Accordingly, the ATF is liaising with relevant authorities to ensure that the bandits are prevented from escaping through the Southern part of Niger Republic.

“The NAF, in consonance with surface forces and other relevant authorities, will sustain its efforts to end the scourge of banditry and other related threats to life and safety in the Northwest of our dear nation”.

Meanwhile, troops killed many terrorists who launched attacks on Damaturu, Yobe State capital.

An army statement said troops of Section 2, Lafiya Dole ambushed the insurgents, decimated scores of them and recovered several weapons.

“The vigilant troops effectively ambushed the criminals few metres ahead of Maisandari community at the outskirts of the city of Damaturu. The terrorists were overwhelmed by the superior fire power of the gallant troops and the well coordinated air support, from the Air Component of Operation Lafiya Dole.

“Consequently, many terrorists met their waterloo, some were also wounded and the following items/equipments were recovered including two gun trucks, two anti aircraft guns”, among other assault weapons”, it said, noting that “troops have embarked on hot pursuit of the fleeing terrorists, mop up/combing of the general area is ongoing.

Apparently concerned over the rising wave of killings in the

country, President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday night returned to Abuja, a day ahead of schedule.

Buhari Cuts Short Dubai Trip over Insecurity Meanwhile, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported yesterday that the president, who was initially scheduled to return to Abuja from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates returned at about 1.30 p.m. yesterday.

However, the presidential aircraft carrying the president, his aides and some members of his entourage landed at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja around 10.45 p.m. on Tuesday.

It was gathered that the president’s decision to cut short his official engagements in Dubai might not be unconnected with security developments in Zamfara, Kaduna States as well as some other parts of the country.

President Buhari had on April 4 departed Abuja for Amman to honour an invitation by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan to participate in the World Economic Forum.

He delivered an address at the opening of the plenary alongside King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein and United Nations SecretaryGeneral, António Guterres.

The president, who on Sunday moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, participated in the ninth edition of the Annual Investment Meeting.

While in Dubai, President Buhari also held bilateral talks and met with different groups of investors at the sidelines of the Annual Investment Meeting.

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NEWS IMF CAUTIONS NIGERIA, OTHERS ON CHINESE LOANS between benefitting African countries and China does not usually align with the Paris Club arrangements.

He said while such funding was needed for development, putting it to productive use remains an essential factor.

He said: “Lending and capital flows from China are of course important for development; on the one hand, what is very important in those lending arrangements are the terms of the loans.

“And we urge countries to make sure that when they borrow from abroad, that the terms are favourable for borrowers. In particular, we tend to recommend that loans to countries should be conforming to Paris Club arrangements. And that is not always the case in the case of loans from China.”

Also commenting on probity in the management of such loans, which he said the IMF is always focused on, he noted that: “Good governance is very important in making sure that capital flows are channelled to productive sources.”

He added: "Nigeria has been borrowing in international markets, but we worry about rollover risks going forward.

On the other hand, this is very good because it allows the country to invest more.

"At the moment, funding conditions in economies such as Nigeria and other sub Saharan African countries are very favourable, but that might change at some point. However, there is the risk of whether these needs for refinancing can be met in the future."

Adrian said the GFS report provides an in-depth analysis of a number of specific vulnerabilities, adding that in advanced economies, corporate debt and financing risk taking have increased.

"The credit worthiness of borrowers has deteriorated.

So-called leveraged loans to highly indebted borrowers continue to be of particular concern. In the Euro area, fiscal challenges remain in countries that have worries about the sovereign financial sector nexus. If sovereign yields were to rise sharply, banks with large holdings of debts could face significant loses. Insurance companies could also face loses on their bond portfolios," he added.

He said the report showed that this was the time for decisive policy actions since vulnerabilities were increasing in a number of countries, adding that there was no more room for complacency.

"The intensification of trade tensions and a threat to disorderly practices have dented investors' confidence.

Policy makers should resist inward-looking policies, avoid policy missteps and resolve policy uncertainties."

He also called on policymakers to ensure post crisis regulatory reform was fully implemented, adding that they should resist calls for rolling back reforms.

"Policy makers should develop and deploy macroprudential tools which can mitigate vulnerabilities and make the financial system more resilient,” he added.

He also called on emerging markets making volatile capital flows to limit their reliance on short term overseas debt and they should ensure they have adequate foreign currency reserves and bank buffers.

He also called for monetary policies to be data dependent and well communicated.

"Policy makers should act decisively to renew their commitment to open trade, to discourage the build-up of debt and to communicate clearly any shifts in monetary policy. In the maturing credit cycle farsighted policy actions to reduce vulnerabilities can help avoid more painful adjustments in the future," he said.

On his part, the Deputy Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF, Fabio Natalucci, said it was of concern that the global economy is slowing down with market gyration over the last six months affecting risk assets, adding that this has raised investor concerns about the health of the corporate sector.

"If there is a severe slowdown in the growth of the global economy, then it could be a problem for some firms, particularly because credit quality has declined, underwriting standards are weaker and debt levels are much higher," he said.

Insists on Tax Reforms for Nigeria

In a related development, IMF has recommended that Nigeria should embark on comprehensive tax reforms as a way to boost non-oil revenue generation.

The Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF, Mr. Vitor Gasper, told journalists during a media briefing at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meeting yesterday that the body strongly recommend tax reforms to Nigeria.

According to him, “Tax reform in Nigeria is a very important issue and one of our main recommendations for Nigeria is the need for a comprehensive tax reform that would sustainably increase non-oil revenue. And the reason why that is needed is that Nigeria has one of the lowest ratios of non-oil revenue-to-GDP at around 3.4 per cent in the world. And total tax revenue-to-GDP at around 8 percent is also very low compared to its peers.

“Because of that, then, the interest-to-tax ratio - because the tax is so low - is high. And so a lot of the tax is crowded out - not being able to be spent on important development needs. And does Nigeria have those needs? Of course, big time; as you know, the needs for infrastructure and for spending on human capital are very large.”

Speaking on other areas beside the VAT, Gasper noted that “There is an emphasis also on improving excise taxes. And I think there have been some steps in that direction, but there is scope for expanding the coverage of excises to other goods and also higher rates on excises.”

According to him, “Another important area is aggressive streamlining of tax incentives and exemptions. So there has been in Nigeria an effort with the strategic revenue growth initiative, looking at a comprehensive approach to tax reform, and this is very welcome.”

Ranks Nigeria Low in SWF Utilisation The Fund in its Fiscal Monitor report, stated that Qatar was the only country worse than Nigeria on its SWF Index.

It stated: “It is critical to develop a strong institutional

framework to manage these resources—including good management of the financial assets kept in sovereign wealth funds—and to ensure that proceeds are appropriately spent.

“This remains a significant challenge in many resource-rich countries that, on average, have weaker institutions and higher corruption.

“The governance challenges of commodity-rich countries— that is, the management of public assets— call for ensuring a high degree of transparency and accountability in the exploration of such resources.

“Countries should develop frameworks that limit discretion, given the high risk of abuse, and allow for heavy scrutiny.”

Apparently responding to cautions against accumulated debt profile, the federal government yesterday in Abuja said the nation's debt profile is sustainable.

Three World Bank's chiefs, the bank's Chief Economist (Africa), Albert Zeufack; Lead Economist (Africa), Punam Chuhan-Pole; and Research Manager, Michael Toman, while releasing ‘Africa’s Pulse,’ a biennial analysis of African economies in the United States last week, said whereas the African continent had been showing positive growth, its debt profile had continued to rise at a high rate.

According to Chuhan-Pole, whereas Nigeria's debt is low when compared to the gross domestic product (GDP) ratio, the interest it pays on the debt has been very high and hence, the need to exercise restraint.

According to Nigeria's Debt Management Office (DMO), the country's debt profile as at December, 2017 stood at N21.73 trillion, which is almost the double of the debt figure of N12.2 trillion as of June 30, 2015 when the current administration took over.

But while answering questions from journalists after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the State House, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, said notwithstanding

the astronomical rise in the country's debt profile in the last four years, the profile is yet sustainable.

According to him, all that is necessary is to broaden the scope of revenue generation, adding that once the revenues increase, debt profile will not be an issue.

He added that the government was currently working on ways to increase efficiency in revenue generation through tax collection and income generation from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), insisting that there is no cause for alarm because every nation borrows.

"With regards to our debts, our debts are sustainable. We do have a revenue challenge and we are focusing on that.

Once the revenues come up, it will be obvious that we don't have a debt problem at all.

"We are working on a number of initiatives to increase our revenues. We are looking at initiatives to widening the tax payments. We are looking at initiatives to increase efficiency in collections. We are looking at a single window, which will help to increase efficiency, customs collections. We are looking at many different ways to improve revenues.

"The debts are sustainable, every nation borrows. We are working on increasing our revenues," he said.

Udoma also said FEC approved about N267 million to finance N-Power built programme under the social investment programme meant for the delivery of accelerated training and certification skills to 75,000 Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 35 years.

He said while N122,800,000 of the sum is meant to implement the project in the South-east, the balance of N145,106,107 will be used for execution of similar project in the North-west.

"It aims to build a high crop of highly competent and skilled workforce of technicians, artisans and service professionals who will be trained and tooled and transitioned annually to take up jobs such as electrical installation technicians, plumbing and pipe fitting installers, masons, carpentry and gentry experts, welders, fabricators, professional painters, built technicians

and so on.

In his own briefing, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said the council also approved N2.849 billion for the installation of a digital process in the nation's prison system with a view to facilitating the process of decongesting the prisons.

"Arising from this, the office of the attorneygeneral presented a memo today (yesterday), which is web-based automated inter-connectivity system, which is a digitalises way of decongesting the prisons. The idea is to digitally connect all the prison formations to the office of the attorney-general of the federation, the police, prison service and indeed selected courts.

"The essence is to have an idea on the daily basis, what obtains at our prisons across the nation. So, at a glance at a click of the button, one can access what obtains at the prisons across the country. For instance, who is going to court today? Who is being released today? Those that have been in prison longer than their years of sentence. Who is in prison that is not meant to be there" "This will aid stakeholders in decision making on a daily basis through digital process of inter-networking. This is against an adhoc committee moving across the country to have physical presence in prisons," Malami said.

Also briefing, the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said FEC also approved N291,731,485 million for the procurement of memory access retrieval system to enhance safety in the nation's airports.

According to him, the device which will enhance Nigeria's laboratory capacity in accident investigation, "is a requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in their standard practices and applicable by local laws."

In the same vein, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello, said the council approved N368 million for the supply of water and field for Abuja Water Board.

He also said FEC approved another N226 million for the supply of 500 fire men suits for FCT Fire Services.

Advocacy and Leadership Development (CPALD) has thrown its weight behind the emergence of Senator Ahmed Lawan as next president of the Senate.

It added that his adoption by the APC was in line with global parliamentary best practices.

Against this background, CPALD alongside 10 other CSOs stated categorically that they are on the same page in advancing the course of democracy in Nigeria and, therefore, view the development as good because it’s in line with international parliamentary best practices.

The coalition disclosed this in a statement yesterday by its Director, Democracy and Governance, Mr. Joe Mesele, and expressed its support for the APC’s stance on the candidature of Lawan, saying there was nothing wrong with it.

It, therefore, called on other stakeholders to align with the initiative of the APC in order to flow along with international norms and procedures in the

election of the leadership of parliaments.

It stated: “We have watched with keen interest for some weeks now debates as to the proprietary of the leadership of the APC in nominating Senator Ahmed Lawan as its candidate for the President of the Senate of the ninth assembly.

“We at the Centre for Policy Advocacy and leadership Development alongside 10 of our sister CSOs hereby unequivocally state that we are on the same page in advancing the course of democracy in Nigeria and therefore view the development as welcome because it’s in line with international parliamentary best practices.

“We have studied Parliamentary developments in several advanced democracies and came to the conclusion that the leadership of those Parliaments are usually members with the requisite cognate experience – Usually leaders of the ruling party’s caucuses. And right now in Nigeria, the leader of the

APC caucuses in the Senate is Senator Ahmed Lawan. He is therefore, without sentiments, eminently qualified to hold the position.

“The people criticising the APC for taking the position of supporting Senator Ahmed Lawan are simply ignorant of parliamentary ethics and norms the world over.”

The coalition stressed that in order to ensure transparency of the process, the election of the President of the Senate of the ninth Assembly should be by open balloting system and not secret balloting, adding that Nigerians would know where their representatives stand during the election of the senate president.

It stated: “In every parliament in the world, the vote of every parliamentarian is made known to his constituents on the floor.

This is a way of showing that he is accountable to the people that voted him to represent him and that he is not on his own. Ours in Nigeria cannot be different. We need to know where each senator stands.”

Our Debt Profile Sustainable, Says FG

LAWAN BANKS ON 73 SENATORS’ ENDORSEMENT senatorial districts in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

They have inalienable rights to be heard and listened to for government to work for them no matter our differences and no matter the sentiments that we share.

“If we look at the record of Lawan as an opposition member of National Assembly for 16 years, he understands the feelings of the opposition and would not abuse the privilege if elected.”

Abdullahi said Lawan's ambition has continued to receive a boost with more senators-elect throwing their weight behind the dream.

He predicted that Lawan, who is the anointed candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the coveted position, would get nothing less than two-thirds of votes during the inauguration of ninth Senate in early June.

"I can confirm to you that on the day of inauguration, Senator Ahmad Lawan will garner more than two-thirds of the votes. Not less than 73 from

both the APC and the PDP. It is a matter of engagement.

We don’t need to flaunt those who are with us. We have to respect our colleagues. We are engaging them one-on-one. We want to work together with the executive, because we have just one Federal Government in Nigeria and we must move the country forward,” he said.

According to him, the Senate leader is leaving no stone unturned in talking to his colleagues across party lines.

He said: "Let me say very clearly that the nature of parliament is such that you cannot shut anybody out. It is not possible. I want Nigerians to look at those of us who are the actors and take note of what we say. That is the most important thing.

"When we took our oath of office, we pledged not to allow personal interest to override the public interest. Let me say very clearly that our aspiration is to have the senate that works for Nigeria.

"I know that given the track records of Senator Lawan

in his 16 years of being in the National Assembly, he understands the feelings of the opposition, because he was one of them before and he will not abuse that privilege.

"The notion from the PDP side that they would be excluded, should be withdrawn forthwith. What we are planning to do is to have a senate that will be for all senators.

"We are talking to our colleagues, working on our colleagues who will vote on the floor of the senate on the day of inauguration. By the grace of God, so far so good, we are very much convinced, based on the reception that is being accorded our campaigns, we have been able to reach a lot of our colleagues except those who are outside the country."

Coalition Justifies APC’s Backing Meanwhile, a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), led by Centre for Policy

THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

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

Senate to Override Buhari’s Veto on Two Bills To reconsider PIGB, 10 others

Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Senate yesterday resolved to override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto of a constitutional amendment bill that seeks to make it mandatory for the President and the governor of a state to lay the annual budget estimates before the legislature three months to the end of a financial year.

The upper chamber of the National Assembly has also said it would override the President’s veto on the Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) Amendment Bill and reconsider and pass the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill and nine other bills earlier rejected by the President and transmit same to him for assent.

It equally resolved to withdraw four other bills rejected by the President and discontinue further legislative work on them.

This followed the adoption of the report of the Senate Technical Committee on Declined Assent to Bills by the President.

Presenting the report, Chairman of the panel, Senator David Umaru ( Niger East), submitted that out of the 17 rejected bills it scrutinised, 11 of them should be reconsidered and passed by the National Assembly, even as four others should be withdrawn.

Umaru called on the National Assembly to override the President’s veto on two bills.

The two bills include: the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Fourth Alteration, No. 28) Bill, 2018; as well as the Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) Amendment Bill.

The President had in 2018 declined assent to the Constitutional (Fourth Alteration, No. 28) Bill on the grounds that Section 2 (b) and 3 (b) of the

proposal “appear not to take full cognisance of the provisions of Section 58 (4) of the 1999 constitution”.

But in a 34-page report, the panel submitted that the bill is not in conflict with the 1999 constitution, as claimed by the President.

The purpose of the bill, the committee explained, is to ensure that Nigeria reverts to the January to December budget cycle.

“It should be understood that this Bill seeks to make it mandatory for Mr. President and governor of a state to cause to be prepared and laid before parliament, estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Federation for the next following financial year, not later than ninety (90) days to the end of a financial year - and for the parliament to pass the Appropriation Bill before the commencement of the next financial year.

“The legislative intent behind this Bill is to ensure that we run a normal financial year. From the wordings of the provisions, there was no stipulation that Mr. President must assent to any Bill within a specified period.

“Therefore, the provision of section 58(4), which Mr. President made reference to, does not apply in this regard. On the whole, we respectfully submit that the Bill is not in conflict with the provision of section 58(4) of the Constitution as implied by Mr. President.

“It is therefore, our concerted view that the Senate should override Mr. President’s veto,” the report stated.

The committee also rejected the President’s decision to decline assent to the Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) Amendment Bill.

According to the committee, the President’s rejection of the bill on the grounds that there are ongoing

An Abuja High Court in Apo has struck out the name of a group – the Buhari Campaign Organisation (BCO) from a N40 million libel suit filed in the name of BCO and President Muhammadu Buhari against the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar.

In a ruling yesterday, Justice Binta Mohammed said the BCO, listed as the 2nd plaintiff, “is not known to law.”

He agreed with lawyer to Atiku, Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume (SAN) to the effect that, not being a juristic person, BCO cannot sue or be sued.

The ruling was on a motion

by Atiku, marked M/3117/19, in which he sought for an order striking out BCO (the 2nd plaintiff / respondents) as a party in the suit on the grounds that it is not a juristic person that can sue or be sued in his name.

Chukwuma-Ume, while moving the motion yesterday, urged the court to hold that the 2nd Paintiff (BCO) is improperly

joined as a party in the case.

He argued that for the suit to be properly constituted, so as to vest jurisdiction on the court, parties must be juristic persons known to law and competent.

In the substantive suit, marked FCT/HC/CV/ 804/2019, the plaintiffs accused Atiku and his aide, Phrank Shaibu of making several defamatory statement in the media, to the effect that Buhari used his position as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and head of the government, to fraudulently acquire two private companies, Keystone Bank Plc and 9Mobile Communication Ltd for himself, his family members, and friends.

The plaintiffs also stated that Atiku and his aide falsely claimed to the effect that President Buhari acquired the said companies using his influence and the control he has over the head of parastatals or organisations that are connected with activities of the companies.

They maintained that the unverified and false allegations it said was sponsored by Atiku, “caused grave pain, embarrassment”, to President Buhari, and thereby calling his

mere fact that consultations are on-going, which will enable him come up with a new Bill.

“Accordingly, it is the Committee’s view that the Senate and indeed the National Assembly should override the veto,” the report added.

The bills to be reconsidered, passed and transmitted for the President’s assent include Constitution (Fourth Alteration, Numbers 8, 15, 20, 22 and 24 as well as Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill, Petroleum Industry Governance

Bill (PIGB) and National Institute of Hospitality and Tourism (Est.) Bill.

In the same token, other bills include the National Research and Innovation Council (Est.) Bill, National Agricultural Seeds Council Bill and Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (Amendment) Bill.

Although Section 58 (5) of the 1999 Constitution provides that twothird of both legislative chambers of the National Assembly (73 senators and 240 members of House of Representatives) are required to

override the President’s veto, political commentators say this would be a tall order considering the fact that both chambers are polarised along party lines.

Speaking after the committee’s report was adopted, Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki said the Senate would try to garner the required number to enable them override the President’s veto.

“I think we have to find a date where it will be possible to muster the attendance for that,” he further said.

COURTESY VISIT…

Group Managing Director-designate of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu (right), during a courtesy visit to the Governor-elect of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu in Lagos…yesterday

NLC Faults Report Alleging Its Complicity in NSITF Fraud Ugo Aliogo

Court Rejects Pro-Buhari Group’s Name in N40m suit against Atiku Alex Enumah in Abuja

consultations to propose a new bill, does not hold water.

“However, law-making cannot unjustly suffer in anticipation of a proposed legislation. Above all, nothing stops Mr. President or anybody for that matter from proposing an amendment to an existing law or even a repeal of an existing law. There is nowhere in the world where the President can propose to stop the law-making process by an Executive Fiat or Order. The President cannot withhold Assent to a Bill on the

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Ayuba Wabba, has faulted a report published in THISDAY edition of August 12, 2018, alleging the complicity of the union in the alleged fraud at Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

In a letter by its lawyers, Abdulaziz Ibrahim & Co. the

NLC said the report which was titled: ‘Sleaze in NSITF,’ portrayed the congress and its officials as corrupt.

The labour union in the letter signed by the Principal Partner of the law firm, Abdulaziz Ibrahim, said the report was a deliberate act calculated not only at sabotaging congress and its officials in the discharge of their responsibilities as the umbrella body and members

of the organised labour, but essentially targeted at lowering their estimation, standing and respect in the eyes of other members of the NLC, staff of NSITF and members of the public at large.

It described the allegations and imputation contained in the said report to be untrue, reckless, negligent, malafide and damaging to the hard-earned reputation of

the union and its members.

The NLC stated that no member of the union has been indicted by any competent court or the investigation panel of involvement in any financial misconduct at the NSITF. It also emphasised that its President, Wabba, was never contacted at any time by the reporter or anybody from THISDAY over issues of alleged fraud in NSITF.

Sultan of Sokoto Pledges Full Support to End Armed Banditry The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has pledged to support the Nigeria Police and other security agencies in ending armed banditry and other criminalities in the North.

He gave the assurance to the acting Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Mohammed Adamu,

during a courtesy visit by the IG, Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal; Deputy Governor, Mannir Dan’iya and other top Police officers and government functionaries.

The support came as a comprehensive boost to the police boss, as quoted in a

statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba. According to the statement, the Sultan promised to use the forum of Northern Traditional Rulers to rally support of all the traditional rulers from Northern Nigeria to fight armed banditry and other crimes in the region.

The Sultan also embraced the idea of community policing and partnership by the IG to combat crime.

Thereafter, the IG paid a visit to the Police Headquarters in Sokoto and charged them to up the ante in the fight against armed banditry and other crimes in the state

446 Nigerians Currently Imprisoned in UAE, Says Ambassador The Nigerian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mohammed Rimi, has stated that a total of 446 Nigerians are currently serving different terms in the UAE prisons.

Rimi disclosed this during President Muhammadu Buhari’s town-hall meeting with Nigerians in the Emirates, saying the 446 Nigerians are serving different jail terms for crimes ranging from

possession of hard drugs to engaging in robbery.

“Although there is no exact record of our citizens in the UAE, owing to the inability to register them on arrival, the number of Nigerians resident in the country is estimated at about 10,000. Out of this number, about 2,017 are students in various universities,” he said.

“It is disheartening to state that 446 Nigerians are currently serving

different terms in prisons across UAE on account of committing various crimes including possession and consumption of hard drugs and engagement in armed robbery.”

Rimi also said in the spirit of forgiveness, tolerance and accommodation, the UAE government granted amnesty to all irregular residents in the country.

“In 2018, a total of 5,774

standard passport were issued by the embassy, out of which, 3,164 were specifically issued during the amnesty programme. Further 1,346 emergency travelling certificates were issued to Nigerians to facilitate their return home,” he said.

He added that 5,021 Nigerians were granted amnesty to enable them live and pursue their legitimate businesses in the Emirates.

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Courts Have Legitimised Vote Buying, Falana Alleges INEC chairman seeks severe sanction against perpetrators Olawale Ajimotokan and Udora Orizu in Abuja A human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, has alleged that the courts have legitimised vote buying.

This is coming as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has urged the National Assembly to properly define vote buying and selling, and make it a separate item in the Electoral Act, calling also for provision of sanction for

violation.

Speaking yesterday at the 9th Forum of the Anti-corruption Situation Room in Abuja, Falana said since 1999, the purchase of votes has been the order of the day.

He said measures should be put in place in a bid to reform the country’s electoral process “in a way that we will not be all collectively disgraced.”

The event was organised by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) in collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent

NIMASA Removes Waiver Clause to End Foreign Dominance of Cabotage Trade

Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and some civil society groups.

“Unfortunately, under the current political dispensation, our courts have legitimised vote-buying and other violations of the provisions of the electoral act,” Falana said.

“I will refer to few cases. In the case of Falae and Obasanjo, in 1999, it was proved in the Court of Appeal that bags of rice, salt and garri were distributed to entice voters for the candidate of the ruling party, General Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd).

“The Court of Appeal so found such infraction of the law; however, it turned round to

say even those distributing were said to be PDP stalwarts, the Court of Appeal said it was not proven that there were winners of the election.

“Since then, the purchase of votes, bribing of voters have been the order of the day.

“The battle ahead is how we are going to reform the democratic session in a way that we will not be all collectively disgraced. We have never gone this low where publicly people are trading in votes. We never went that low.”

Meanwhile, the INEC Chairman, Yakubu has called for severe sanctions against the perpetrators of vote-buying.

Yakubu, who was represented by INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Festus Okoye, said the National Assembly should accelerate work on the Electoral Offences Commission Bill as a way of having a separate agency to handle the investigation and prosecution of electoral offences and offenders.

According to him, vote buying and selling have become a source of worry and concern for the Nigerian people, while some political parties and candidates have sought to abridge the rights of the voters through unorthodox means and methods

that compromise the secrecy of the vote.

“The punishment for vote buying should be increased and made stiffer to act as a deterrent to buyers and sellers.

“Those that commit the offence of buying and selling should be made to pay a fine of N500,000 and be subjected to three years’ imprisonment or to a fine or both,” Yakubu said.

He also called for the restriction on the use of smart phones in the polling units to be imputed into the Electoral Act, adding that violators should be liable on conviction to a fine of N500,000 and be subjected to three years imprisonment or both.

NCDMB floats $200m facility for indigenous shipping Eromosele Abiodun In a bid to put an end to the inability of indigenous shipping companies to carry Nigeriangenerated cargo through the country’s coastal waters, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), yesterday set out plans to end Cabotage waivers for foreign ship owners within the next two to five years.

This is coming as the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) also plans to float a $200 million facility to support indigenous shipping in the country.

The stoppage of the waivers, which would be implemented in phases, would allow indigenous ship owners take charge of Nigerian.

Enacted in 2003, the provisions of the Cabotage Act made it clear that only indigenous ship owners have the mandate to carry out coastal trade and inland shipping.

The Act sets out the limitations on foreign operations of cabotage shipping and the tight conditions under which exceptions can be allowed.

Speaking during a stakeholders’ consultative meeting for cessation of Cabotage waivers in Lagos yesterday, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside said the agency was determined to bring to an end the waivers’ regime, so as to allow cabotage flourish in Nigeria.

According to him, “today is a very special day, for a very long indigenous operators that have been very concerned about cabotage waivers; their concerns coming from the fact that it appears that waivers is now a norm instead of exception and since they have been wondering when are we going to come to the end of this cabotage waivers regime.

“I want to say to them NIMASA has ended your cry, NIMASA is on the same page with you; we have decided to bring to an end the waivers’ regime so that cabotage will flourish in Nigeria and Nigerians will benefit from coastal trade.”

This is coming as the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) also plans to float a $200 million facility to support indigenous shipping in the country.

Atop official of NCDMB,Ajomaye Silas, commended NIMASA for the giant stride, but called for stakeholders’

collaboration in order to achieve the agenda.

He said the Board recognized that financing is a major issue in the drive; hence it has set aside $200 million in collaboration with Bank of Industry to support the agenda.

Dakuku further disclosed that the agency has taken preliminary steps to give Nigerian operators a strong footing in the Cabotage regime.

“We have taken a number of preliminary steps to give the Nigerian operators a strong footing in the cabotage regime. Sometimes in 2017, we published marine notice of the new cabotage compliance strategy and in that marine notice, we informed operators that we shall no longer entertain any form of application for manning waivers save for captains and chief engineers. At the time, it was for six months. It was a trial run and we noticed that on six months we literally double the numbers of Nigerians onboard vessels by simply publishing and enforcing the new cabotage compliance strategy.

“Also In 2018, we decided to extend it. After then, we have series of engagement with stakeholders to stop the waivers regime in the Cabotage trade, today is an important step in that direction. As you know, it is the desire of every operator that we end the regime of waivers in the cabotage trade. And a lot of our people are concerned that we have not been able to build vessels in this country.

But at NIMASA, we have taking strategic steps in the area of ship building, the country is looking at Ajaokuta Steel Mill again and I believe that once Ajaokuta come on stream, it will remarkably improve our fold in ship building, “he said.

He added, “Those engagements are going on. It is even going on at the highest level of government. We are engaging the office of the Vice President to look at the possibility of creating a number of incentives for those who can build vessels in this country and we believe if that is done, a number of persons and entrepreneurs will invest in building vessels in this country. We are even working in partnership with the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), to that extent, we have commissioned a survey and audit of all building yards in this country with a huge to identify a level of support we can give to enable them come back on stream fully.

ANOTHER GREAT AWARD FOR MO ABUDU...

TV Producer, and media entrepreneur, Mo Abudu (second left), and other recipients after receiving the Medaille D’honneur award at the Marché International des Programmes de Télévision (MIPTV) in Cannes, France…Tuesday

Mo Abudu Becomes First African to Win Medaille D’honneur Award TV Producer, and media entrepreneur, Mo Abudu, has made Nigeria proud as the first African to win the Medaille D’honneur award at the Marché International des Programmes de Télévision (MIPTV).

MIPTV, which takes place annually in Cannes, France is one of the most important trade shows for TV and media. This year’s edition runs from Monday, April 8 to Thursday, April 11, 2019.

Mo, as she is fondly called, is the Chief Executive Officer of EbonyLife Meadia. She shared images of her receiving the award via Instagram.

Captioning one of the picture

in which she was with three other people, Mo, who has produced movies such as Fifty, Wedding Party 1&2, and others, wrote: “Most important of all, I had to Give God all the glory. Only He makes all these incredible things possible in my life. Sharing the stage with three other incredible people honoured with this award tonight – US writer, showrunner and producer, Ilene Chaiken, chairperson of the Banijay Group in France, Stéphane Courbit, and UK managing director of Sky Vision, Jane Millichip.

“Camille Bidermann, Executive Director of the International

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, presented me with my award last night. Thank you so much Camille for your words of inspiration. Much love.

“A major part of my acceptance speech was dedicated to the creative business leaders in the room and the need for a partnership between our respective continents, so that our stories can be told with authenticity and produced to the best international standards.

If these stories are told from both our perspectives there is a captive audience on both sides of the Atlantic waiting to be entertained as never before and

with creative business leaders adding significantly to their bottom line.”

The MIPTV Médailles d’Honneur are awarded to those who have made a significant contribution to the world of television and the development of the international TV community through their talent and leadership.

Mo, one of Africa’s top producers and multiple award winner, launched EbonyLife TV in 2013 and has since then produced over 1,000 hours of original programming each year.

FG Releases N1.5bn as Death Benefits for Deceased Civil Servants Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The federal government has released N1.5 billion as death benefits to all certified next-of-kin to deceased civil servants.

This disclosure was made yesterday by the Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office, in the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, at the second edition of the permanent secretary’s quarterly forum with labour leaders in Ministries,

Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Walson- Jack said the release of the funds was made through the Ministry of Finance.

She revealed that N1.3 billion had been approved for disbursement to the next-of-kin for the 497 verified and certified claims out of 563 registered death benefits claims of deceased workers in 166 MDAs. According to Walson- Jack, the payments of the death benefits for the period not covered by the

insurance policy subscribed to by the deceased workers would begin this month.

She disclosed that the exercise to verify the claims submitted by the MDAs was carried out in January.

The Permanent Secretary also informed the labour unions that the Office of the Head of Service had also designed a robust welfare package for civil servants who are still in the service.

She added that the civil service reforms being canvassed by the

Head of Service, Mrs. Winnifred Oyo- Ita, would not succeed without commensurate incentives and motivation for the workers.

“This cannot be achieved without the use of motivation, which ties incentives and rewards to better performance. Pursuant to this laudable initiatives, the service welfare office has submitted a robust proposal for the institutionalisation of a Rewards and Recognition System (R&RS) “, Walson-Jack said.

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Kidnapped Lagos Fire Director, Six Others Regain Freedom Police arrest two alleged abductors Ugo Aliogo The Director of Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Rasaki Musibau, and six others who were kidnapped at Ketu-Ereyun, Ikorodu area of Lagos State, have regained freedom unhurt on Tuesday night.

The police have also arrested two suspects who were part of the gang that allegedly abducted Musibau and six others The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the Lagos State Police Command for the state, Bala Elkana, confirmed their freedom yesterday in a statement in Lagos.

The victims were abducted by suspected kidnappers on Saturday night at about 8p.m. at Ketu-Ereyun, along Itokin -Epe road.

The PPRO said the victims

regained freedom at about 11.45 p.m.

“The victims have since reunited with their families.

The Command’s Tactical teams are still in the creeks and forests, combating the hoodlums.

“A watertight security measures are in place across the state to forestall future occurrence.

“The command deeply appreciates the support of Lagos State Government and the good people of the state for their useful information that facilitated the prompt rescue of the victims,” he said.

Elkana, however, did not mention if any ransom was paid.

Meanwhile, Elkana revealed that the police have arrested two suspects who were part of the gang that allegedly abducted

Musibau and six others He said the two suspects, Blessing Bayo, 29; and Smart Alfred, 32, who are both from Ondo State were arrested in Ibafun, a boundary town with Ogun State.

According to Elkana, the arrest was made possible following a

A Korean employee of SHI-MCI FZE shot by an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence (NSCDC) guarding the LADOL Free Zone in Lagos yesterday died at the hospital as a result of the injuries he sustained from the shooting incident.

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) said in a statement last night that the deceased suffered multiple injuries to key organs, adding that despite the battle to save his life at the hospital by expert medical professionals, he succumbed to death yesterday evening following the horrible injuries he sustained.

According to the statement, the LADOL Free Zone armed security guard first shot and killed his colleague during an argument on Monday at the SHI-MCI FZE yard.

“The gunman then went on a rampage around the SHI-MCI yard before shooting the Korean employee who was conducting maintenance work in a crane in the zone. This was an entirely unprovoked attack, as the employee was not involved in the original argument between the gunman and his colleague,” the statement said.

Following the shooting, the Korean was evacuated to Lagoon Hospital Ikoyi, where he underwent two days of surgery.

However, he suffered severe

damage to his kidneys and intestines from the gun-shot, and sadly died on Wednesday evening despite the best efforts of the doctors and nurses treating him.

According to the statement by Samsung Heavy Industries, “We are extremely shocked and saddened at the turn of events. We send our sincerest condolences to his family in Korea and are providing them with all the support they require.

We thank all the expert medical personnel that fought so hard to save his life.

“Samsung will work tirelessly to ensure the gunman is brought to justice. We will also ensure that LADOL are held accountable for organisational and management failing that allowed the gunman to carry out this terrible crime in the LADOL Free Zone. We are conducting a full investigation and demand answers from LADOL as to how this employee was screened, and what protection they can offer to workers within the LADOL Free Zone who are now extremely concerned for their safety and welfare. This incident has exposed the security lapses in the LADOL Free Zone which has led to the loss of a Nigerian and a Korean,” the statement added.

The statement further revealed that the Korean Ambassador has contacted the Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demanding “a prompt and fair investigation into what happened and to ensure

Alex Enumah in Abuja A judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday declined to proceed with the hearing of the suit filed by the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, seeking for an order of the court compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue him

the safety of Koreans who live in Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, before the death of the Korean, LADOL had issued a statement yesterday saying it was deeply saddened by the shooting incident at the zone.

“As announced by the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Mohammed Abdullahi Gana, “a Civil Defence officer opened fire ‘in error’” at LADOL. This resulted in one fatality and one injury. We extend our deepest condolences to the family of the NSCDC officer, who tragically lost his life as well as the Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria (Samsung) staff member who was injured.

The Samsung staff member was in stable condition in hospital and arrangements are being made to return him to South Korea. We are providing every support we can to those impacted and their families” “We commend the NSCDC team in LADOL, particularly their commander on the scene who swiftly brought the situation under control. We note that this is an isolated incident which should not be interpreted to portray NSCDC in a poor light. We also commend and thank the LADOL security team who acted professionally and calmly to ensure the situation was resolved quickly.”

Poisoning Dam Act of Genocide, Says OAU Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife, Osun State, has declared that the alleged poisoning of the university dam by suspected hoodlums was an act of genocide against the university community.

On April 3, some aggrieved indigenes of Ile-Ife, who claimed ownership of some portions of the university land had invaded the university and allegedly poisoned the institution dam with dangerous chemical.

Also, it was alleged that the indigenes, who had been selling some portion of the university land were stopped by the management

of institution for trespassing before the dam was allegedly poisoned with chemicals The spokesperson of the university, Mr. Abiodun Olanrewaju, who conducted journalists round the disputed areas and the dam within the school premises yesterday, said the poisoning of the dam was genocidal.

Olanrewajunoted that the chemical used in poisoning the dam, which was the only source of water to the university has killed all the aquatic animals in it.

He however confirmed that the dam had been treated and now safe for drinking.

According to him, “The act is barbaric and wicked. How can

six others on Saturday at about 8p.m. have been arrested.

“The suspects namely, Blessing Bayo, 29, and Smart Alfred, 32, all of Arogbo, Ondo State were arrested on Wednesday at about 5.30a.m. at Ibafun along Ikorodu- Ijebu Ode Express Way, a boundary community with

Ogun State.

“They all confessed to the commission of the crime. Two single-barrel guns were recovered from them.

“Investigation is ongoing and efforts are on to arrest other fleeing members of the gang,” he said.

Judge Refuses to Hear Okorocha’s Suit against INEC

Korean Employee Dies After LADOL Shooting Incident Peter Uzoho

sustained and well-coordinated operation by the command’s tactical teams led by the Officer in Charge of Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Bulus Musa.

“Two members of the kidnapping gang that abducted the Director of Lagos State Fire Service, Rasaki Musibau and

some group of people poison the only source of water where over 36,000 people in communities drink from? The act is genocidal and wicked.

“They came through the Parakin area of the town to poison the dam, but God was so good to us that immediately the dam was poisoned, rain fell for two days which helped wash all the poisonous chemical away.

“We have treated the water and laboratory test had been carried out on it, and now very safe for drinking.”

On the disputed land, Olanrewaju said the whole land belongs to the federal government, adding that the university is not ready to concede to anybody.

with a Certificate of Return as the Senator- elect for Imo West senatorial district.

Okorocha had dragged the electoral umpire before the court for refusing to issue him with a Certificate of Return after he was declared winner of the February 23 senatorial election by the Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Francis Ibeawuchi.

Ibeawuchi had declared Okorocha as the winner of the poll, having polled 97,762 votes ahead of his closest rival, Mr. Jones Onyereri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who had 68,117 votes.

Ibeawuchi had later claimed that he announced the result under duress.

Based on Ibeawuchi’s report, INEC refused to issue Certificate of Return to Okorocha, prompting the current court action.

However, when the matter came up yesterday, Justice

Taiwo announced his decision to withdraw from further hearing of the case based on allegations of bias against him by some parties in the suit.

He further announced that the case file would be returned to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdul Kafarati, for re-assignment to another judge.

The allegations of bias were made against Justice Taiwo by the candidates of the PDP, Onyeriri and that of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Senator Osita Izunaso.

Onyeriri in his petition dated April 8, 2019 and addressed to Justice Kafarati, urged the judge to disqualify himself from the suit.

In the petition signed by him, Onyeriri demanded that the judge should withdraw from the matter because of his utterances in which he “clearly prejudged the substantive issues that will be resolved in this

matter and clearly showed he has taken sides with the plaintiff (Okorocha).”

An affidavit deposed on his behalf by a lawyer, Chijioke Nzekwe, stated that Justice Taiwo last Friday told counsel to INEC, Wendy Kuku that the commission was responsible for the problems in the election.

Nzekwe further averred that “’the Honourable Judge went further to say that he has read through the provisions of the ElectoralAct, 2010 (as amended) and found nothing therein that robs him of the jurisdiction to hear his suit.’

“That this pronouncement shocked all the counsel who were present in court and even members of the public and journalists who were in the gallery because 2nd and 3rd defendant (INEC and Onyeriri) have Notices of Preliminary Objection challenging the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court to hear this matter,” he added.

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COMMENT

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

AGRICULTURISING ABUJA’S URBANNESS Farming in Abuja makes sense, writes Okello Oculi

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n 2018 there were seasons of cows and sheep grazing near government offices, on grass alongside streets and highways. Traffic was halted when a herd sauntered across a street to reach grass patches, and either urinated or dropped dung on tarmac without offering apologies.

Public reactions ranged from disbelief and being scandalized over a desecration of urban civilization; anger at a presumed brazen impunity by a Hausa-Fulani political class asserting their ownership of Abuja as well as an assumed determination to tame the Federal Capital to their ‘’uncivilized’’ cultural taste.

Excitement and celebration by those of us long alienated from personal histories of wandering in bushes as cows under our watch roamed, grazed, and drank, was muted. Coming in the context of episodes of ‘’Fulani Herdsmen’’ hacking to death scores of villagers; torching huts and wrecking concrete houses, it was assumed that unleashing cows and sheep to desecrate urbanity was a cultural wing of an economic warfare decimating village communities across the country.

It was a difficult task persuading critics that there was some similarity between herdsmen grazing livestock in urban public spaces and rows of women roasting maize on open fires and under harsh sun or watch of night; women hawking yellowish bunches of sweet bananas long suspected of being ripened with industrial chemicals; men roasting varieties of fish -including catfish - to service appetites of beer and water-drinking customers, or those holding-up live chicken tired of protesting their fate.

The issue of urban models that are in line with fundamental African communal values has not received much creative dialogue. Colonial organisation of urban space along racial segregation, sheltered European political and business classes from locals and immigrants – Indian/ Pakistani immigrants in eastern Africa and Arab immigrants in western Africa.

Records in the National Archives in Kaduna show that in Zaria these distances were estimated by how long a mosquito could fly without a resting point. A mosquito which sucked blood from African and oriental residents was not to shoot that food into European residents in the same urban space.

After independence, former “European Areas’’ were settled by top government officials. Safe in their social distance, they ignored the explosion of slums filled by migrants from rural poverty and labour without investment in better tools and capital for improving agricultural yields and resultant income.

In Kenya, politicians subsequently hired angry slum youths for expending violence for winning elections. The option of directing this increasing numbers of unemployed slum population into agricultural production on plots marked out on urban peripheries and central areas remain ignored.

CHEAP AND HIGHLY LUCRATIVE CONSTRUCTION OF HUNDREDS OF BEEHIVES IN ABUJA’S OPEN WOODLANDS DESERVES SITTING INSIDE OFFICIAL BUDGETS

The option of engaging these population swamps in farming riverine valleys to grow and supply fresh vegetable, mushrooms, and fruits have remained either ignored or avoided due to anti-agriculture visions of ‘’civilised’’ urban spaces. Cheap and highly lucrative construction of hundreds of beehives in Abuja’s open woodlands deserves sitting inside official budgets. Bees would breed more bees for exploiting rich varieties of tropical plants for pollinating food crops like sweet potato creepers, maize, rice and fruit trees, including medicinal paw paws and mangoes.

The late Dr Mohammed Muazu at the Department of Botany at Ahmadu Bello University once proposed to use land allocated by Federal Capital Development Authorities to plant and grow plants peculiar to each State in Nigeria and create a botanical symphony in a Federal Horticultural Garden. Its potential for the education of school children in the Federal Capital Territory; and tourists would be a manifestation of Abuja as a ‘’Centre of Unity’’.

Abuja has built national religious architectural infrastructure. Rituals of major religious denominations hold major moments of worship which involve mass consumption of food, namely: livestock, cereals and root crops. In annual cycles there are mass demands for meat from rams, goats, chicken and cattle. Urban planners should provide spaces for grazing and breeding these vital agricultural resources. Celebrations of Sallah draw rams from external sources, notably Niger Republic. Yam and garri compete with petroleum for trips to Abuja. Goats from a belt as wide apart as Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Taraba States meet demands of appetites of all religious worshipers.

One group that could push for urban agriculture in Abuja are the young but active groups of literary clubs pioneered by the ‘’Abuja Literary Society’’. The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has assumed the non-formal duty of introducing visitors to Nigeria to the consumption of roasted fish as night time mini-festivals.

Staff in ministries and parastatals jog and walk long distances in groups on Abuja’s main streets on weekends when traffic is low.

Officers who work for long hours in offices, and while participating in conferences, seek to avoid ailments associated with lack of physical exercises. Notable ailments include: high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and retreat into illiteracy. Urban planners should direct these groups to consider weeding crops; breeding livestock; milking cows and other forms of harvesting produce; as healthy-food enhancing activities.

Digging flower beds, mixing plant types (to avoid diseases resulting from monoculture planting in straight lines); pruning flowering plants and hedges, provide required valuable physical exertions. Building concrete parking lots on fertile soil should be proclaimed as a crime against agriculture and urban food security.

TOWARDS A MORE CREDIBLE ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA Ken Nnamani argues the strengthening of the electoral process for free and fair elections

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s we are smarting from the joys and pains of the 2019 general election, this is the right time to begin earnest discussion about improvement of the processes of the 2023 elections. So, the third Oronto Douglas Dialogue has provided us a great opportunity to move away from incriminations and accusations and seek effective solutions to institutional problems.

Let me start by saying a few things about Mr. Oronto Douglas in whose honour the dialogue is instituted. I did not have very close walk with him while he was alive. But I observed him closely as he served the past president as a key adviser. I had tremendous respect for his sense of mission, his courage and brilliance in seeking a new direction for the country. In his short life, he exercised so much energy and intelligence that he made powerful impacts. It is for the impacts he has made in promoting human rights and good governance that we are gathered today to honour his memory.

My perspective on electoral reform is shaped partly by my experience as a politician who has contested elections in Nigeria and as a former Chairman of the Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee (CERC). As a politician I have seen firsthand flaws of the electoral system so glaring that you can be sure that the votes cannot count. Many Nigerian politicians will acknowledge that there are historical flaws with the electoral system. These flaws hinder the protection of the right to vote and the sustenance of democracy.

Democracy is based on the principle of selfdetermination and representation. In a democracy the people govern themselves through their elected representatives. Modern democracy is now representative democracy underlined by periodic elections.

These elections are not mere rituals. They are real opportunity for the people to review the performance of political officeholders and decide whether they should continue to hold office. The premise of democracy is that such opportunity truly exists. But where elections have been compromised because of such fundamental flaws, the premise and promise of democracy are compromised.

I believe that critical to strengthening democracy

is ensuring that the electoral process is free, fair and credible. Now, note that I refer to electoral process and not elections. Many Nigerians, including respectable civil society leaders consider fair, free and credible election as if it starts and ends on the election day. This is wrong. We should focus on the entire process, starting with how political parties elect or select their candidates up to declaration of results. This process involves different political and non-political authorities. Each of them must be willing to deliver according to its constitutional and statutory mandate and the highest level of public ethics for elections to be free, fair and credible.

The theme of this dialogue is: “Nigeria’s Broken Electoral System: Uwais Report and Unfinished Business”. It is obvious that the Uwais report represents a high point in the search for an electoral system that will suit Nigeria’s peculiar circumstances. The eminent members of that committee proposed many innovations that could restore credibility and fairness to our electoral system. Unfortunately, many of these innovative proposals were not implemented.

It was in this context that President Buhari appointed me and others to the Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee to, amongst other things, review the Uwais report and make recommendations for reform of the constitution and electoral law to institutionalize free, fair and credible elections. Our committee reviewed Uwais report, accepted the logic of its recommendations and proposed constitutional and statutory reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria. I will like to share two of these recommendations so that they can constitute insights for a more structured debate about electoral reform in Nigeria The most important part of a good electoral system is the credibility and independence of the electoral management body. Oftentimes we have argued as if independence is just a matter of getting a credible person as Chairman of the electoral management body. It is far more than that. The independence of the election management body is mostly determined by the mode of appointment. In South Africa and some other African countries, the process of appointment of electoral management officials is more of competitive recruitment where

those appointed will have a sense that they merited the position not that they are beneficiaries of political patronage. Therefore we recommended that although the president still appoints but another body advertises the job, interviews and recommends to the president for appointment. In this process, both the president and the Senate play a role. But the bigger role is reserved for a special recruitment body drawn from the NJC, the civil service commission, the human rights commission, professional and civil society groups and women society. The recruitment commission will advertise the position and interview successful candidates. Later it will present three nominees for each position to the Council of State which will recommend one person for the president to appoint.

This approach is almost like how we appoint federal judges. The idea is to ensure that we appoint persons who have institutional isolation to prime political actors. Here the National Judicial Council (NJC) will be part of the Electoral Commission Appointments Committee. We need such institutional redesign to help the integrity of electoral managers.

We need to be realistic about the challenges and incentive for conformity in our political environment and redesign our electoral institutions to overcome such tendencies. The strength of democracy is better defined by the quality of institution and not necessarily by the heroism of persons.

The 2019 elections also highlight a serious pathology of Nigerian elections. There is so much violence and crimes associated with elections.

Political desperation makes ordinary elections to resemble wars. We spend so much on providing security, yet we continue to witness a high level of violence and electoral crimes. This does not require religious exhortation and appeal to the conscience of politicians. In a Third World country like Nigeria public offices are very attractive so politicians have incentive to fight dirty to gain access to these political offices. Until we can reduce the financial rewards of occupying political offices through anticorruption and accountability measures, we should expect desperation from politicians. We must deal with violence and other electoral crimes through institutional redesigning.

The reason politicians sponsor violence and commit other crimes during elections is because they calculate that the benefits of criminal behaviors are more than the costs. To reduce the rate of these crimes we must reduce the benefits and make it difficult for those who sponsor or commit such crimes to go scot-free.

There is need to end the impunity in our system by prosecuting electoral criminals. In the past after elections we have failed to prosecute those who breached the electoral laws. This lack of prosecution is the biggest encouragement to politicians to breach the law. Attorneys General are political appointees.

They don’t usually have incentives to prosecute electoral offences. This is why we agreed with Uwais Committee by recommending the establishment of a electoral crimes commission as an independent body that will manage the prosecution of electoral offences.

Such body like the EFCC will have the powers to investigate and prosecute electoral criminals. Because it is an independent commission it will have better political neutrality to prosecute all those who violate the electoral laws. This will go a long way to reduce election violence and other electoral crimes in Nigeria.

I believe that we can start today to lay the foundation for more credible elections in Nigeria.

No electoral system is perfect. Our challenge is to borrow those models that have worked well elsewhere and adapt them to suit our environment.

We cannot rest on our oars. The Uwais provided a good framework for the work of our committee. We finished too late for those recommendations to reflect in constitutional amendments. Now, is the right time to pick some of the recommendations in both reports and begin a robust debate on how Nigeria can establish an electoral system that can guarantee a truly credible electoral process that will give us free, fair and credible elections in 2023 and beyond.

This gathering of scholars and advocate can focus on this challenge and propose implementable proposals to both the executive and legislative branch of government after May 29.

Excerpts from an address by Senator Ken Nnamani, GCON, at the third Oronto Douglas Memorial Dialogue in Abuja

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EDITORIAL Resurgence Of Xenophobia In South Africa The authorities could do more to contain the violence

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rom Johannesburg to Cape Town and other major cities, many Nigerian residents in South Africa no longer feel safe. With no fewer than six of our nationals hacked to death in the past one month in renewed xenophobic attacks on foreigners, it is clear that the South African authorities have lost the capacity to contain the violence. “No amount of frustration or anger can ever justify the attacks on foreign nationals and the looting of their shops. We condemn the violence in the strongest possible terms. The attacks violate all the values that South Africa embodies, especially the respect for human life, human rights, human dignity and Ubuntu,” said the South African acting High Commissioner to Nigeria, Bobby Moroe, last week. But his words are hollow.

Like previous xenophobic attacks that now define South Africa, there were warnings that the nationals of other African countries running shops, stalls and other businesses within the PRESIDENT informal economy were gradually beRAMAPHOSA MUST coming endangered.

DEAL WITH THE But the South African CHALLENGE OF authorities have not XENOPHOBIA THAT shown sufficient will PUTS A DENT ON THE for dealing with the IMAGE OF SOUTH problem. Yet, as we have reiterated in the AFRICA past, it is also in the interest of South Africa to protect our citizens from what has become hate mongering. Considering that South Africans also do businesses and are allowed to move freely in our country without let or hindrance, the federal government must make it clear to their authorities that they bear responsibility for the lives of our nationals.

It should indeed worry the South African government that their country has become notorious for this heinous hate crime. In its 2007 report, the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of the African Union

stated that “despite the solidarity and comradeship between black South Africans and the rest of the people of sub-Saharan Africa during the decades of struggle against apartheid and for liberation, foreigners, mostly of African descent, are being subjected to brutality and detention. Xenophobia against Africans is currently on the rise and should be nipped in the bud”.

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

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

t is unfortunate that 12 years after that report, the situation has only worsened. In the past six weeks, many South African nationals have taken the law into their hands and exacted brutal justice on some other foreign nationals on the flimsiest of evidence.

Many unemployed South Africans (including those with neither education nor skills) have accused foreigners of taking their jobs and with that, they have launched a series of xenophobic violence, targeted particularly at Nigerians.

Although the attacks started in the late 1990s, it was the 2008 tragedy which led to the death of 62 persons in Johannesburg townships, many of them Nigerians that first attracted global media attention. Another attack that same year also directed at African immigrants from countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Malawi, was carried out without consequences. But the violence reached a crescendo in April 2015, following the pronouncements of Zulu king, Goodwill Zwelithini, who lamented that foreigners were making life difficult for South Africans.

“We are requesting those who come from outside to please go back to their countries. The fact that there were countries that played a role in the country’s struggle for liberation should not be used as an excuse to create a situation where foreigners are allowed to inconvenience locals,” Zwelithini said at the time.

While the irresponsible statement by the Zulu king has since become the anthem for the violent men who kill and maim foreigners without any provocations, President Cyril Ramaphosa must deal with the challenge of xenophobia that puts a dent on the image of South Africa and has become a shame for the continent.

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MENTAL ILLNESS IN NIGERIA

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nowledge of mental illness is still very poor in Nigeria. Many view mental illness in the purview of the supernatural: borne either as repercussion for previous misdeeds or as an affliction from the desperately wicked. The picture of mental illness in many minds is in fact limited to the dirty, violent schizophrenic on the street.

Such is the belief in the demonic connectedness of the mentally ill that gamblers sometimes seek them to get winning predictions. And they probably have success stories.

No thanks to psychosis, mentally ill people commonly live in virtual reality.

They hear voices, they see things that are not there. So it’s understandable that a lay man would seek them for vision of the future or of baba ijebu numbers.

Because they are often deluded about the grandiosity of their own abilities, mentally ill people themselves wear such toga of supernatural powers with glee.

Thus, the misperception of the public is positively reinforced. Particularly when such delusions of grandeur come with a religious theme. For example, when a mentally ill person thinks he is a prophet.

These biases and poor knowledge of the causes, features, forms, and treatment options of the disease contribute to the stigma that accompanies it. There are not many things a Nigerian considers more denigrating than to insinuate that he is somehow not in his right senses. To call a Nigerian mad is the pinnacle of insults.

Whether it is an established diagnosis or a misguided label on those who are judged strange or unusual, people will start speaking in hushed tones of sympathy.

The stereotype can be so damning that those who are wrongly labelled find it so hard to fight off. The harder they argue they are normal, the more passionately they protest, the more the label is confirmed. People will generously compromise and defer to them in conversations. Since the mentally ill are

generally not expected to agree they are unwell.

But there is a flip side to that. Madness, as it is called in street lingo, is only denigrating to the Nigerian when it is clinically diagnosed or when the label comes from the mouth of another.

For the Nigerian, madness is considered fashionable when it is self-confessed and brandished in threats, disputes, and contentions with others. In those dialogues, madness or street craze is paraded as an exclusive preserve. Everyone tries to outdo his opponent.

The latest of such exchanges I saw was uploaded on a friend’s timeline. It looks like a protest from a lady about extra work. It went thus: ‘finish this one and prepare for the next one’; then she exploded, ‘which next one? You even know me. Me that the nut in my head is not complete. That i’m just using hand to hold the ones there in place….”

That’s it. A lady openly insinuates she’s insane. That she’s in fact a ‘patch patch’ work that can easily degenerate if provoked. And she considers it fashionable. We are supposed to admire her for it. She should be feared for it. It provides leverage in negotiations. Well, you dare her at your own peril.

The Yoruba variants are richer. The richness is almost lost in the English translation, but I’ll try. With a menacing look followed by sounds of pity, it goes ‘ hmmm. O je so ra e . Ara mi oya o. Mi o fi tara tara gbadun o. Hmmm. Ti n ba se were fun e, wa sa o ‘. ( hmmm. Be careful o. I’m not well o. I’m not completely stable o. Hmm. if I should display my lunacy, you won’t wait o ...)

An interesting twist is that not every well-dressed person is truly mentally okay. Like one out of every four people suffers one form of mental illness or the other: generalised anxiety disorder, phobias, post traumatic stress disorder, depression, substance use disorders, sleep disorders ... Mental illness is all around, we just don’t know.

‘Sola Adeyoose, Lagos

A PHONE CLOSE TO MY HEART

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pple has unveiled a watch that can detect heart problems - which were probably caused when people heard the price of the latest, biggest most expensive iPhone. It would be better to have a phone that can detect heart problems and then ring for help.

There seems to be no great change in the new iPhone to drive the expected demand except for the fact that it is the newest version and some people must have latest version.

Ahh, for the days when all phones came with a cable attached and it wasn’t to recharge but to carry the message to the wall and onwards.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

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POLITICS

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

‘In Parliament, the Laws Don’t Have Party Colours’ Kingsley Nwezeh dialogues with Honourable Mohammed Umaru Bago, representing Chanchaga Federal Constituency of Niger State in the House of Representatives. Bago who is 45 years, was first elected in 2011 on the platform of the CPC before the party merged with the All Progressives Congress. He is passionate in his campaign to have the North-central geo-political zone produce the next Speaker

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hat qualifies you for the office of Speaker that you seek?

My name is Mohammed Umaru Bago. I am a member representing Chanchaga Federal Constituency of Niger State. I have been in the Assembly since 2011. I am presently the Chairman Committee on Maritime Safety and Institution. I was elected on the platform of CPC in 2011 before it merged with APC. In Niger State, we have delivered APC all the way.

I did my primary school in Minna and Jos, went to Othman Danfodio University, Sokoto. I did my masters in University of Calabar and another masters in Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma while I was working in a bank.

I did a senior executive management course at University of Cambridge. I am experienced in banking and politics. In my first degree, I read Political Science and Administration. I have contributed to the passage of a number of bills and motions and contributed a lot to the growth of the legislature.

You are taking a shot at the speakership of the House of Representatives, what are you bringing to the table?

The parliament itself is an arm of government that is supposed to be independent and inter-dependent and the principle of separation of power has made it clear the kind of democracy that we are practicing such that we have three arms of government- the executive, an independent legislature, and the judiciary for checks and balances.

There is independence and interdependence because we must relate, but in our nascent democracy, because of the long role of the military, we have ceded so much power to the executive; so much that people think the executive is government. In other climes, you understand that the legislature actually is the pillar of democracy. The different thing we intend to bring to the table is one, the independence of the legislature.

We will ensure the welfare of legislators are taken very serious. We will make sure that the instrument of the legislature: oversight and appropriation are carried out efficiently and constitutionally.

We have seen that legislature in Nigeria is an appendage of the executive. That is why they even delve into what happens in the legislature, which is wrong. The difference between any democracy and authoritarian regime is that you have the judiciary and the legislature. The absence of the legislature is what makes the government democratic or not.

Secondly, we need to review our constitution. There are a lot of things in the constitution that are obsolete; that are not helping the growth of democracy. We must take that seriously and make sure we amend them, as soon as possible. For instance, this electoral act amendment, you cannot expect to have a perfect election when your laws are flawed. There are a lot of lacuna, people stay in that gap and perpetuate crime. These issues must be looked into very well Thirdly, as a federation, we need to understand that there are other component units of this federation, therefore we must balance power. We will make sure we balance power across all the geo-political zones in a harmonious way.

For instance, look at the issue of revenue allocation, state creation and local government autonomy among others.

All those things have been in the front

You also made mention of a lacuna in the Act and that politicians are exploiting those loopholes. Can you be specific on that?

What is inconclusive election? Where are we getting it from? What the Constitution is saying about inconclusive election is not the application as we have used it this time around. However, it turns, it is something that is new. It is not in the electoral act. I am not a lawyer, but as a legislator, I have read through the electoral act and I have been part of the process that amended the electoral act so that portion does not exist.

Bago burner but the system has not been able to let it happen because we have not had a very strong constitution. We have had very good leadership in the past, but you know the interference of some people from other areas into legislative activities have hindered that. We will make sure we look into those areas and realise them.

Your party chairman said that the Senator Ahmed Lawan and Hon Femi Gbajabiamila are the ones the party has adopted for Senate Presidency and Speakership positions. What is your take on that?

As far as I am concerned, I have heard of Senator Lawan. That of Gbajabiamila has not been announced. By and large, I am from the North-central. We have contributed very well to the success of the APC. If North-central was not part of APC, the victory of APC would not have been complete. As a zone, we frown at the statement of the Chairman and we are saying that we cannot be alienated in this nation. We should be given opportunity like any other region and to produce within ourselves the leadership of the House of Representatives.

It is even wrong to anoint a person. I expect the party to zone it. Then you leave it for people within the zone to decide instead of saying this is our anointed.

The same crisis we had in 2015 is what is looming; so we have to be very careful.

My advice for my party APC is that it should consult very well.

When he was welcoming new elected members, the Chairman said the party will consult widely even with the President and bring out a zoning formula that is in tandem with both the party constitution and the Nigerian constitution. If the Chairman is saying something else, then they are contradicting the constitution

of the party and that of the country.

You are a member of the 8th Assembly and the Electoral Act was amended before the election and the president withheld approval. If you are elected speaker, what are you going to do?

We start the process early. The response from the presidency was that the timing was so short. It was too close for comfort. INEC had already done 80 percent preparation for an election and you are bringing an election that will make those things obsolete after you have invested national resources. The only thing we can do differently is to start everything early.

You don’t wait for election. You don’t wait when it is one month to election or six months to election. Start early. When I am elected, we will start early. I know we will get it right.

Again, you must fashion your electoral body towards a particular civilisation.

Ours is in confusion. Our Independent National Electoral Commission has taken multiple models and now wants to make it one and it is bringing confusion. If you want to go the way of ballot paper, you go the way of ballot paper, if you want to go electronic, face that system. You vote and it prints out the ballot paper for you as proof or a kind of receipt. You take your print-out home, they don’t provide ballot paper.

On the screen, you see all the parties, you vote your party. It is recorded online and it gives you evidence of voting. The agent of your party can take that receipt or print out so the aggregate of that is for you to check through the system to see whether the information is accurate or not or whether you are rigged or not.

We need to understand exactly what we want. If we want to do electronic voting, then we go the whole distance.

You know that the House is not made up of only APC, how do you hope to reach out to other parties in your bid to become the next speaker?

You now bring me to this question of the sensitivity in the speech of the party chairman (Oshiomhole). For you to say winner takes all when you have the opposition, about 20 to 30 in the house, you can say that but when you have about 150 members in the House, you cannot tell them on national television that you are not giving them committees. It is wrong.

You cannot be attacking opposition when you want to have harmony, after all if they had won the election, they will not think in that manner.

To make the legislature work, there must be harmony. There is no partisan line within the parliament, only outside. The laws don’t have party colours. Nigeria does not have party colours, it is only for election.

For other parties, you know, we have been in the system for a while so we have established relations across party lines, committees are set up with members across party line, we don’t have any baggage. We are very fresh and new.

We have not been indicted. We are clean, we have good relationship with the parties, we are friends and we still maintain good relationships with them. We make sure that we extend hand of friendship to them.

Give me the opportunity and they will be given full participation in the parliament, we will give them committees so that we can get maximum cooperation in making laws for Nigeria.

We have the ongoing war against insurgency and other crimes. As speaker, how are you going to tackle them? What is the way forward?

It is called impunity at the micro level.

It is easier to deal with other things at the macro level. Impunity is the mother of all these vices. When people are arm-twisted and things taken away from them, it is not everybody that can manage it. Be that as it may, as the Speaker, we will initiate a policy and plan for the executive that will be backed by law to deal with some of these issues.

You cannot have an armed forces with a three digit arms and think you can combat crime. You have unemployment that is ravaging this country and you have youths that are capable and are interested in entering the forces. You must employ them, you must have a minimum of one million per state. To enter both police, army and paramilitary.

When you have a robust military and security, then you can combat crime.

At 45, what will you do to improve the lot of the youths?

Give me a chance.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2019

POLITICS

‘No Arm of Government Has Absolute Powers’ Ugo Aliogo holds a discussion with a lawyer, Humphrey Oboh on the implications of the recent ruling by a Federal High Court in Asaba, pronouncing a faction of the All Progressives Congress in Delta State, which produced candidates for the 2019 national elections as illegal

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hat is the implication of the judgment of the Federal High Court in Asaba that sacked the Senator Ovie OmoAgege faction of the APC? The judgment by the Hon. Justice Adegoke of the Federal High Court Asaba covered the field. It was succinct and unassailable. The judgment has put a stop to the pyrrhic victory of not only Senator Omo-Agege, but the entire members of his faction in the APC who contested the 2019 general election.

The implication revolves and still rages as to whether section 140(2) & 141 of the Electoral Act 2010 is a legislative judgment or judicial legislation of the Electoral Act 2010. Michael Numa in an extensive analysis published in THISDAY of the 24th November, 2015 stated thus: ‘Legislative Judgment or Judicial Legislation-Section 140(2) & 141 of the Electoral Act 2010’, “After the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered the landmark decision in Amaechi V INEC, declaring Ameachi the duly elected Governor of Rivers State, on the premise that he was the validly nominated candidate of his political party without necessarily participating in the general election, the National Assembly amended the Electoral Act 2010 for the sole purpose of the 2011 election and introduced Section 140(2) &141 in a bid to curtail the powers of the courts to grant such reliefs.

Suffice it to say that the pronouncement in Amaechi v INEC received a lot of commendation, as well as, criticism within and outside Nigeria, most scholars in the Commonwealth jurisdiction and indeed law schools have embarked on extensive analytical studies on the rationale behind the decision. These sections provides thus: Section 140(2), “where an election tribunal or court nullifies an election on the grounds that the person who obtained the highest votes at the election was not qualified to contest the election, or that the election was marred by substantial irregularities or non-compliance with the provision of this act, the election tribunal or court shall not declare the person with the second highest votes as elected, but shall order a fresh election, Section 14.1, “An election tribunal or court shall not under any circumstance declare any person a winner at an election in which such a person has not fully participated in all the stages of the said election.”

These provisions have been widely described as provisions beyond the scope of the legislative competence as it tends to limit and/or define the scope of the powers of the court to make pronouncement in the adjudication, therefore running contrary to the principle of the separation of power and its ancillary concept of checks and balances, The powers of the court or to declare the winner of an election is constitutional vide Section 134, 179 and 285 in particular and carries with it the power to do justice in every case. It is trite that when the law or any of its provisions is or are found to be inconsistent with any of the provisions of the constitution, the court by virtue of Section 4(8) and (9) of the constitution is, and on strength of Section 1(3) of the same constitution; empowered to declare such legislation or any of its provisions inconsistent with the constitution and will nullify such legislation. One notable case is the Public Order Act, In Akinwolemina V Ondo State House of Assembly (1985) 6 NCLR 580; the court held that, “in order not to create a tyrannical and despotic legislature, the drafters of the CFRN, 1999 as amended specifically prohibit the National Assembly from making any law (s) that, “ousts or purports to oust the jurisdiction of a court of law or a judicial tribunal established by law.

By these provisions, the drafters of the constitution consciously set out to create a government that will be strictly limited

Oboh

by law and to be made subject to the constitutional authority of the judiciary in the exercise of its adjudicatory duties.

No arm of government that has absolute powers, perhaps unreviewable powers.

The pertinent question to ask is, whether or not the National Assembly in enacting the said Sections 140 (2) & 141 of the Electoral Act exceeded its constitutional mandate?’

That fact that Omo-Agege was not a party to the suit that gave rise to the judgment of the Justice Tosin Adegoke as it stands rules him out or the APC for that matter from participating in any fresh election.

Who do you think is the Senator-elect going by the judgment given the fact that Olorogun Emerhor of another APC faction and Hon. Evelyn Oboro of the PDP are laying claim to the seat?

I am surprised that counsel representing Olorogun Emerhor has not brought to his attention the provisions of Section 31 of the Amended Electoral Act 2010 which states inter-alia that a list of candidates submitted to INEC less than 60 days before election is invalid in which case the party concerned would be deemed to have fielded no candidate. See Senator Ehinlanwo v Oke & 2 others (2008) Vol. 36 (pail 1) NSCOR 1 at 53 and Section 141 of the Electoral Act which provides that for a candidate to be declared a winner he must have participated in every stage of the election, Olorogun Emerhor did not contest the election and his name was not on the ballot paper so he cannot lay claim to the Delta Central senatorial seat. It’s too late in the day. By virtue, of section 140 (2) which provides for a fresh election thus, “where an election tribunal or court nullifies an election on the grounds that the person who obtained the highest votes at the election was not

qualified to contest the election, or that the election was marred by substantial irregularities or non-compliance with the provision of this act, the election tribunal or court shall not declare the person with the second highest votes as elected but shall order a fresh election.” As a matter of fact, the APC is out of time to conduct another primaries and the implication is that they won’t participate in the fresh election if so ordered by INEC. I can categorically state that the combined effect of Sections 13, 140 (2), 141 of the Electoral Act 2010 and the judgment of the Justice Adegoke places Evelyn Oboro as the likely Senator-elect of Delta Central constituency. Omo-Agege is no longer the Senator-elect for Delta Central going by the judgment of Justice Adegoke

When Omo-Agege disobeyed an earlier valid order, what steps do you think other factions of the APC and the PDP should have taken?

The legal maxim says, “those who come to equity must come with clean hands.”

In disobeying the valid court order which he was aware of, the Emerhor faction of APC did the right thing by following the due process of the law which gave rise to the judgment by the Justice Adegoke that dug the political grave of Omo-Agege as it stands. In their (Omo-Agege’s faction) contrived consensus judgment not once was the restraining order given by the Justice Adegoke mentioned. The PDP had no hand in it, it was an APC internal matter which infringed on the extant electoral laws.

What does the law really say in a situation such as this?

There are conflicting judgments as to APC having candidates in Zamfara and whether INEC can accept candidates presented by the APC for Zamfara elections in 2019. A high court sitting in Gusau, Zamfara State ruled that the governing APC actually conducted primaries in the state and should be allowed to present candidates for the electoral contest. An Abuja High Court, however, ruled otherwise. A Federal High Court in Abuja ruled saying INEC acted within its powers by refusing to accept the list of candidates from Zamfara State chapter of the APC, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu said it was not the fault of INEC that APC failed to conduct a valid primary within the period scheduled by the electoral body.

Ojukwu said INEC’s action was intended to curb impunity among political parties and ensure that rule of law is adhered to.

I have been informed that the matter is presently before the Supreme Court. I will not make further comments on the issue.

What did you think INEC did wrong in all of this?

This case has brought to the fore INEC’s nonchalant attitude towards subsisting court orders. Hope it will be addressed soon because if INEC had enforced the restraining order earlier given by the Justice Adegoke, the Omo-Agege faction wouldn’t have contested the 2019 general election.

The beneficiaries of this Justice Adegoke’s judgment as it stands are the PDP amazon Hon. Evelyn Oboro, Hon. Samuel Mariere and other PDP stalwarts who contested the general election. They will have another bite of the cherry without the APC. Is this case related to the Zamfara’s where the Court of Appeal sacked APC candidates who participated in the general election?

To a large extent, yes. As things stand in the Zamfara matter, there are conflicting judgments of courts with coordinate jurisdiction. The Zamfara matter is presently before the Supreme Court and thus sub judice.

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FEATURES

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

Anambra’s Elusive Cargo Airport Project On April 11, 2017, Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano made history with the story of a planned Airport City Project in Umueri, Anambra East Local Government Area. David-Chyddy Eleke who took a recent trip to the site two years after its flag-off, reports that the realisation of the project may take a long time in coming

T

he journey to Umueri, the proposed site of the Umueri Airport City Project was a smooth one for this reporter, until the sign board announced entry into the project site, then the task of moving into the vast land that will house the airport started, and the journey ceased to be smooth.

Two years back, during the flag-off of the project, Anambra Governor, Willie Obiano had boasted that the project was far beyond just an airport. He announced that the project was an aerodrome (an airport city project), which asides seeing to the touching down of flights from all over Nigeria and beyond, would also provide services like maintenance of airplanes; which is a rare service, while the deep oil reserve in Aguleri Otu community, where Orient Petroleum Company is domiciled, would offer services like refueling of aircrafts.

Flag-off An engineer, Mr Joshua Nkemdiche, who had spoken to our correspondent in 2017, after the flag-off of the project said: “This is what it means to have foresight. What Governor Willie Obiano is about to do for his state is such that Anambra would be a reference point for anyone who travels by air, and for every airline in Nigeria. Before takeoff from any airport in Nigeria, planes that are taking off in airports where there is shortage of aviation fuel can just fly down to Anambra airport and refuel their planes.

“If they notice any fault in the planes, they can also fly down to Anambra and have their aircraft checked before they continue their journey.

What Obiano will do with this project is to put Anambra in the map as far as Aviation industry is concerned”.

True to Nkemdiche’s words, Obiano during the flag-off, reading from a prepared speech said, “Three years into my first term in office, I stand before you today to answer the call of history. In Christian numerology, the number three is the number of perfect manifestation.

So, three years into my administration, the Lord God Almighty has given us a new vision and a new song! Umu nnem (my siblings), our elders say that na Ugo gbuzuo, ochakee! Anambra State has finally hit the bend in the river and our famous can-do spirit has now taken over!

“From now on, we have nothing more to fear!

Nothing! Not even ourselves! Ndi Anambra, when I took over the reins of leadership of this great state three years ago, I delivered an inaugural address titled – Expanding the Frontiers of Excellence. The historic ceremony we have gathered to perform here today is a very important step in expanding the frontiers of excellence in Anambra State! Indeed, it is important to note that my team and I have gotten a few things right in the past three years. Against all expectations and at a time

Our hopes were raised with this project, and we hoped that our children can get jobs here, and the project would help to develop our land, so that even if I decide to sell my land, the price will be good enough for me to take care of my family’s need, but now that the airport is not coming, maybe they should let us have our land

Signpost announcing the project site of Umueri International Airport, Anambra

Gully erosion separating the road to the Umueri Airport City Project

of great economic recession, we have established our beloved state as a compelling investment destination and attracted investments valued at over 5 billion US Dollars. And with this airport city project, the figure now stands at 7.2 billion US Dollars.

“What we are flagging off today is an Airport City Project with a model that will accommodate an airport with two runways, an aviation fuel dump, an airport hotel, an industrial business park, an international convention centre, as well as a facility for aircraft maintenance. The Umueri Airport City Project is conceived to join some of the most advanced airports in the world with a capacity to land any of the most sophisticated vessels known to man today.

“It sits on 1,500 hectares of land with enough elbowroom for expansion from Ivite Umueri to neighbouring communities such as Nando, Umunya, Otuocha, Aguleri, Nteje, Nsugbe and beyond.”

Cost implications On the cost he said the project is estimated to cost over 2 billion US Dollars. He said: “It

is a partnership between the Government of Anambra State, Orient Petroleum Resources Limited and Elite International Investments Limited (Sinoking Enterprises Limited).

“Under the contractual agreement, Elite International Investments Limited will provide all the funds needed for the project under the Build-Operate-Manage-and-Transfer arrangement.

However under the same SPV arrangement, the Anambra Airport City Infrastructure Limited has allocated 75 per cent equity stake to Elite International Investments Limited, 20 per cent to Orient Petroleum Resources Limited and five per cent to the Government of Anambra State.

“The host communities are entitled to three per cent of the profit from this project in perpetuity as a part of the standard corporate social responsibility. Indeed, the economic benefits of the Umueri Airport City Project are enormous.

Job Projections Obiano further said the project is expected to generate 1,200 direct jobs and 3,600 indirect jobs, just as he expressed confidence that Anambra indigenes would grab 70 per cent of those jobs

in continuation of his efforts to create wealth and prosperity for the people. The governor said the project would also provide an opportunity for training and skills transfer to the people of the state.

Potentials to Improve Supply Chain He added that, “I have no doubts whatsoever that this project will have a tremendous impact on the ease of doing business in Anambra State as it opens a direct access by air to our vast markets. In particular, I hope that on completion, the Umueri Airport City Project will wipe out the difficulties our businessmen and women often encounter in exporting and importing goods and services and help in improving the entire supply chain. Ladies and gentlemen, with this project and our subsequent plan for a light rail project, Anambra State will eventually assume its rightful place as a major commercial and industrial hub in the West African sub-region.

“As you are aware, my administration is intensely focused on building projects that have immense economic values. That is why we have concentrated efforts in building roads

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FEATURES Our hopes were raised with this project, and we hoped that our children can get jobs here, and the project would help to develop our land, so that even if I decide to sell my land, the price will be good enough for me to take care of my family’s need, but now that the airport is not coming, maybe they should let us have our land and bridges that either lead to industrial clusters or the oilfields or the agricultural belt of the state. This Airport City Project follows the same trajectory. That is why we have established a strong synergy between Orient Petroleum Resources Plc and the airport project with a view to operating an Aviation Fuel Segment that will attract both local and foreign airlines to refuel their aircraft in Umueri.

“This will no doubt open a new economic corridor for our beloved state as it is expected to stimulate growth in the oil and gas sector and multiply our revenue sources. It is my candid hope also that when this airport becomes operational, the world will have a direct and easy access to the vast tourism offerings of Ogbunike Cave and Ogbaukwu Caves and Waterfalls as well as the timeless archaeological treasures of Igboukwu! Ndi Anambra, our beloved state is fast opening its doors to the world. Let us join hands and welcome the benefits that knock on our collective door.”

Opposition The governor’s speech was a well delivered one, but shortly after the flagging off, opposition parties in the state went to work, tackling him on all fronts. In the heat of the 2017 governorship election, when Obiano was fighting for reelection, the candidate of the United Progressives Party (UPP), Mr Osita Chidoka who was an aviation minister and considered to have a good knowledge of aviation system dismissed the project as a white elephant project.

Also, the All Progressives Congress(APC) speaking through the coordinator of youth affairs, Arinze Igboeli, described the project as a political one meant to attract votes in the then election. Igboeli further alleged that the Chinese company handling the project; Sinoking Enterprises Investment Ltd, was a fake company that ceased to exist many years back. He insisted during a press conference that the airport city project was a fluke.

Chidoka on the other hand speaking with journalists said the $2.2 billion proposed Anambra Airport City project was a white elephant project. Chidoka said the cost of the project was unrealistically too high. He said, “I totally disagree with the airport proposal. Anambra does not need an airport for $2.2 billion when the Federal Government used $500 million to build four terminals. How can the Federal Government borrow $400 million from the Chinese and put its own $100 million to build four terminals with repayment of $12.5 million every quarter and Anambra government alone invited Chinese to build airport project for $2.2 billion? How much will it be paying at that amount? How much did Lagos International Airport cost us?

What we will do is to build a small airport and grow it organically. Airport is a runway, not terminal building or cargo shed.”

He said the airport project needed basic infrastructure, which was necessary to enable the facility grow according to the forces of market. “The basic infrastructure we have to put in place is the runway and landing gear. I will ask the private sector to come and build cargo sections and when I finish, I will ensure that the airport grows naturally at no cost to the state administration. The whole passenger flow in Nigeria’s airport is between five and six million passengers annually. What will be the share of Anambra from that traffic?

“Heathrow Airport grew from terminal one to terminal two and now terminal five. There is no traffic study for the proposed airport; no passengers data too. They said it will be a cargo airport and fuel dump. Where is the fuel and refining capacity for Jet A1 here? Let us come down from this high horse. There is no five-star

Obiano while speaking at a governorship debate organised by Channels Television however remained defiant; stating that because neighbouring states; Enugu and Delta have airports does not stop Anambra from having one. He maintained that the traffic in Enugu and Asaba Airports were occasioned by the large number of travelers from Anambra who patronise the airports.

He stated that what was even more beautiful about the Umueri Airport Project was that it was being financed 75 per cent by a Chinese company, allaying the fears of people like Chidoka who were complaining about the cost.

THISDAY Investigations The project which has a completion deadline of 36 months, is expected to be ready by April next year(2020). During a visit to the airport to ascertain the level of work, THISDAY found out that not much has been done on the site. Besides the initial clearing of the 1,500 hectares of land during the flag off, the project has remained the same, and now overgrown by bushes, just as herdsmen also found it a fertile place for their herds to graze.

Also, a big portion of the land has been dealt a serious blow by erosion, just as access road into the project from Nteje – Umueri road is almost being cut off by a gully, which developed as a result of persistent rainfall. The access road into the project from Nsugbe flank, where the project spanned is not different as attempt by this reporter to drive through the road, which was awarded in 2015, into the project proved difficult. Though the road was initially wide and pliable, as one drove in, the road became narrower, and later turned into a foot part that could only be accessed on foot, just as erosion had equally threatened it.

For a project that is supposed to be ready by 2020, which is just a year from now, one would expect to see work going on in earnest, but the case was not so. No equipment were seen on site, and no sign of any work having been achieved and abandoned. A farmer who was seen working on a portion of land in the project site said, “We have not seen anything.

Since 2017, the place has been like this, so some of us who do not have land outside this one, always come to farm on it, pending when work will start.”

Attempt to reach the state commissioner for works, Mr Marcel Ifejiofor was however not successful, as his telephone line remained unreachable. An email sent to the Chinese company handling the project, Sinoking Enterprises Limited, seeking to know what went wrong in the once hopeful partnership was also not responded to after one week.

Prototype of the Umueri International Airport Project

Quest for New Partnership?

But, THISDAY however learnt that the governor had begun seeking new partnership for the project. It was however not clear why Sinoking Enterprises Limited abandoned it.

During a courtesy call on him by the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr Zou Pingjian at the Governor's lodge, Awka, Anambra State, Obiano was said to have discussed with him the need to facilitate the building of the aerotropolis, which he said had suffered much delay.

The project site

THISDAY correspondent, David-Chyddy Eleke at the project site

hotel in the whole of South-east zone because the economy has not supported it. Why telling

us then that you want to build a five-star hotel in Umueri Airport?” Chidoka questioned.

Indigenes React Meanwhile, Anambra people, whose hopes were raised during the flag off of the project have started reacting to the delay. An indigene, Nzeadachie Anaedo in his reaction said, “I have been involved in EIAs, Geotech and Geophysical tests of many large projects. A rainy season and a dry season have passed since the commencement of the airport project and that's enough for the project. “With no visible construction ongoing, that project getting to 80 per cent by the end of this tenure is looking difficult. Especially without a designated budget and clear project plan that can speak to the planned versus actual Project.

It is no politics, that project is in trouble if there is plan to commission it before the end of the next three years.”

A farmer from Umueri who did not disclose his name said, “Our hopes were raised with this project, and we hoped that our children can get jobs here, and the project would help to develop our land, so that even if I decide to sell my land, the price will be good enough for me to take care of my family’s need, but now that the airport is not coming, maybe they should let us have our land. This large expanse of land you see here is not a small thing, to be left to waste for this number of years.”

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THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Quick Takes FPG Becomes Platinum Partner

Ă?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă“Ă—Ă“ĂžĂ?ĂŽËœ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“ĂžĂŁËœ Ă–Ă™Ă&#x;ĂŽËœ Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă?ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă? Ă?×ËÖÞÙ Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă— Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ˜Ă?ĂœË› Ă?×ËÖÞÙ Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ÎÓÑÓÞËÖ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“ĂžĂŁ ÞÒËÞ Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă˜ ÞåÙ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă? Ě‹ ÓÑÓÞËÖ ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ËÞË ĂœĂ™ĂžĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ÞåÙ Ă—Ă‹Ă”Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂ‘Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă?ĂŁĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂžĂ‹Ă?Ă•Ă?Ëœ Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“ĂžĂŁ ÞÒĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂŁĂšĂžĂ?ĂŽ ÎËÞ˲ Ă? ĂŽĂ‹Ă“Ă–ĂŁ Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă?ÞãÖĂ?Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? ÎÓÑÓÞËÖ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ åÓÞÒ Ă™Ă˜Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă– Ă‹Ă—Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ÎËÞË Ă™Ă˜Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă“Ă–Ă? ÞÒÓĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ–Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă™ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ă? ÎËÞË ĂŒĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă?×ËÖÞÙ Ă?ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ùà Ă?Ăœ ÍąÍŽËœÍŽÍŽÍŽ Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ÞÙ Ă Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?ĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ëœ ÞÙ ËÖÖÙå Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÙ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂžĂ?Ă?Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă—Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ÎËÞË ÞÒĂ?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ë› ÓÞÒ ͹ͳ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă’ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ͎ͯ͜ Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă?×ËÖÞÙ ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?Ăž ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽËŞĂ? ÎÓÑÓÞËÖ ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂŒĂŁ Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÎËÞË Ă™ĂĄĂ˜Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ™Ă– ĂŒĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÓÑÓÞËÖ ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“ĂžĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ËÞË ĂœĂ™ĂžĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ? ÎÓÑÓÞËÖ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŁĂ?Ă–Ă?Ë›

Ericsson Highlights Future Networks

Analysts Proffer Measures to Enhance Economic Growth

ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ˜Ă?Ăœ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Íł Ă“ĂŽĂŽĂ–Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™ĂœĂžĂ’ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Ě™ Ěš Í°ÍŽÍŻÍˇËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹ĂŽĂ Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ù××Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Íł Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă?Ë› Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ÞÒĂ?Ă—Ă? ËŠ Ă˜Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂžĂŁËŞËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÞÙÙÕ ÚÖËĂ?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ‹Ă“ ÞÒÓĂ? ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă•Ë› Ă Ă?Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ? Ă‹Ăž Íł Í°ÍŽÍŻÍˇËœ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă?âÚĂ?ĂœĂžĂ? Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă’ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă˜Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Íł Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ ËÚÚÖÓĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ëœ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ™Ă–Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă Ă“ĂœĂžĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ Íł Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ĂŽĂ Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• ÙÚĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă–ĂŁĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ě™ ̚˛ Ă•Ă?ĂŁĂ˜Ă™ĂžĂ? Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂœĂ?Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă?Ëœ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă“ĂŽĂŽĂ–Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ëœ Ă’Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–Ă?Ă“Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ă Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž ĂšĂœĂ™Ă—Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Íł Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ù××Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Íł ĂŽĂ?ÚÖÙã×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ë› ĂœĂ™Ă— Íł Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ ÞÙÎËã˪Ă? Ă?Ù××Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă‹ĂŽ ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹ Ă•Ă?ĂŁ ÚÖËãĂ?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Íł Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă? Ă‹ Ă?Ù××Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă– ĂœĂ?ËÖÓÞã˛ Ăž Ă“Ă? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–ĂŁ åÓÞÒ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ˜Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă? Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă—Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? ĚŽ Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? ÞÙ Ă“Ă—ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?âÓĂ?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?Ăœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂœĂ?Ă?Ă? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă Ă“Ă™Ă&#x;Ă?Ă–ĂŁ Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ‹ĂšĂšĂ?ĂŽ Ă Ă‹Ă–Ă&#x;Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ÎÓÑÓÞËÖÓĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ë›

Nume Ekeghe

Itex Wins CBN Award

CEO SUMMIT

L-R: Chief Risk Officer Continental Reinsurance Plc, Mr. Abayomi Oluremi-Judah; Chief Finance Officer, Mr. Nkem Odibeli; Group Managing Director/CEO, Dr Femi Oyetunji and Executive Director (Operations), Mr. Lawrence Nazare at the company’s sixth CEO Summit held in Mauritius...recently

Following a World Bank report that revealed economic growth in Nigeria has not been impressive since 1995, some economic analysts have advised the federal government to enhance investment in infrastructure and also develop policies that would encourage foreign direct investments (FDIs).

The World Bank had in the latest edition of its Africa’s Pulse stated that Nigeria’s economic growth has remained below population growth in the fourth consecutive year, adding that although regional growth was expected to rebound to 2.8 per cent in 2019, it has remained below three per cent since 2015.

However, reacting to the

ECONOMY position of the multilateral institution, an analyst at Ecobank, Mr. Kunle Ezun, stressed the need for increased government spending.

He said: “This report wouldn’t come to me as a surprise looking at the economy in the last few years. We had slipped into recession and by 2017, we recovered slightly to grow at 0.8 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and by 2018, we grew by 1.93 per cent. “So if you put that side by side with the size of the economy, and the population growth, you can completely say growth is slow and may not be adequate to support

the economy. “The economy on its own has a population growth of two per cent annually and if you have a growth of less than two per cent, then you would begin to see the gap and the threats to the economy. “So if the World Bank has said is a slow-growing economy, it is accurate because the data are in line with that argument. This would continue to widen the gap between the rich and the poor and this gap might be the fertile ground for social unrest and for insecurity.�

Speaking on measures to boost economic growth, he said: “There is need for government to rejig the economy. This can start from the 2019 budget. I think the amount in the 2019 budget is low for our economy.

“The government needs to see how much of funds you can push into the system to stimulate the output and growth.�

Ezun added: “The federal government is a big spender in a growing economy like ours. So the government could spend like 60 per cent while the private sector would do about 30 per cent or more. “So if they can fast track the approval of the minimum wage and all other reforms that would improve liquidity in the system and empower the citizenry to spend more, then we would be on the right path. “That is because the citizenry is empowered to spend more, Continued on page 24

Group Insists on Coding to Democratise Technology Emma Okonji The need for Africans to understand computer coding program as a set of computing rules executed by the computer was stressed at the recently concluded Mo Ibrahim Governance Week on Information Technology (IT) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

A former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, who is currently the President of African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, said: “Coding must be compulsory, at all levels.

The currency of the future is going to be coding. Africans

TELECOM must democratise technology through computer coding.�

Adesina, pleaded for Africans to embrace technology, and government at all levels to urgently move away from, “investing in the jobs of the past, but rather in the jobs of the future. A future that is just around the corner.�

According to him, “The people who control data, will control Africa. Coding must be compulsory at all levels.

The currency of the future is going to be coding. Information technology must not be the exclusive privilege of the

elite, we must democratise technology.�

In his welcome remarks, Mo Ibrahim urged the panellists to think about ways to address the “tsunami of young people entering the job market.�

The panellists acknowledged the role the tech industry can play in Africa’s economic transformation through the continent’s digitisation. However, they agreed on the urgent need to upgrade the skills of the past, to do it fast, and move away from the social fear of technology.

Research has shown that if governments harness the

full economic potential of just the internet, Africa could add $300 billion to its GDP by 2025. Also, 70 per cent of all jobs will have an ICT component by 2020. “Opportunities to transform Africa through technology are endless. In agriculture, drones can monitor crops, Artificial Intelligence can speed varietal selection, and the Internet of the Things (IoT) can control smart irrigation systems.

Block chains can also aid food traceability. “We must grab the opportunities. We must Continued on page 24

ĂžĂ?â Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂžĂŽËœ Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă?Ù×̋ ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁ ÞÒËÞ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă? Ă?ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ù××Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÚËã×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂšĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ‘Ă?ĂŽ ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ăœ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ËŤ Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹ĂŁĂ—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂœËŹ Ě™ Ěš Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ͱ͎ͯ͡ Ă?ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă‹Ă˜Ă• Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ě™ Ěš Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă“Ă? Ă‹ĂŁĂ—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă—Ă? Ě™ Ěš Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁË› Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽËœ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ëœ ĂžĂ?â Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂžĂŽËœ ĂœË› ĂœĂ˜Ă?Ă?Ăž ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă”Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽËœ ËŤ ĂžĂ?â Ă“Ă? Ă’Ă™Ă˜Ă™ĂœĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă Ă? ÞÒÓĂ? Ă?Ùà Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽË› Ăž Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă’ĂžĂ? ÞÒËÞ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂŽ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ëœ ĂŽĂ?ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ äĂ?Ă‹Ă– Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă‘Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?ĂŽË› Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ ĂĄĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒËÞ ĂĄĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ? ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ăž ÚËã×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă? åÓÞÒ Ă‹Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÓ×Ă?Ë› ËŤ Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄĂ˜ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă–Ă™Ăœ Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ëœ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă&#x;Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’ Ă?ÚËĂ?Ă?Ë› ËŤ Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂšĂ“ĂœĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒÓĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă‘Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? ÚËã×Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁË› Ă? Ă‹Ă“Ă— ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂœĂ?ĂŽ ÚËã×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ù××ÓÞÞĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ÞÒËÞ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă˜Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă˜Ă”Ă™ĂŁ Ă?×ÙÙÞÒ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ë› Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă‘Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă‹Ă˜Ă• Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËœËŹ ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă”Ă? Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ?ĂŽË›

IMF Trims S’Africa’s Growth Forecast

Ă’Ă? Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ě™ Ěš Ă’Ă‹Ă? ÖÙåĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă™Ă&#x;ÞÒ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂžĂ’ ÞÙ ͯ˛Ͱ ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ͱ͎ͯ͡ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÙ ͯ˛ͳ ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽËœ Ă?Ă‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÚÙÖÓÞÓĂ?Ă‹Ă– Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÚÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂŁ ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?ÞÓà ÓÞã˛ Ă™Ă&#x;ÞÒ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂžĂ’ Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă‘Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽËŞĂ? Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ëœ åÓÞÒ ÚÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă—Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂšĂ? Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă?Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă?Ă™ĂŒ Ă&#x;Ă—Ă‹ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă‹ ÚÖĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ù××ÙÎÓÞã ĂšĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă?ËÚÓÞËÖ˛ Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—ĂŁ Ă‘ĂœĂ?ĂĄ ͎˛͜ ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍśËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ͯ˛Ͱ ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? ĂĄĂ‹Ă? ĂŽĂ™ĂĄĂ˜ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă? ͯ˛Ͳ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă˜ĂžË›

Ă˜ Ă?ĂŒĂœĂ&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂŁËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂŁ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ Ă‘ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? ÎÙ×Ă?Ă?ÞÓĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ăž ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄ ͯ˛ͳ ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ͱ͎ͯ͡˛

“The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is ready to drive the process of attaining 70 per cent broadband penetration in the next couple of years, if that is set as the new target by the federal government�

Executive Vice Chairman, NCC,

Prof. Umar Garba

24

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍŻËœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

ANALYSTS PROFFER MEASURES TO ENHANCE ECONOMIC GROWTH

it stimulates local production and creates demand and when those two work together, you begin to see an improvement in the economy.�

On his part, an economist and Senior Lecturer at the Lagos Business School, Dr Bongo Adi, called for a different approach to monetary policy in the country.

He said: “We have to look at the implications of tight monetary policy which includes the tightening of liquidity, which reduces credit to the private sector. “So if you back 10 years from 2008, aggregate monetary policy has been tight and when you look at our growth, you see that Nigeria has underperformed compared with sub-Saharan and middleincome countries in Africa and our growth rate has declined significantly. “The slow growth is simply because of the way monetary policies have been managed.�

Speaking on measures the government should adopt to enhance growth, Adi said: “The truth is that we need to use monetary policy instruments to grow the economy and for that to happen, we should be approaching single-digit rates to enhance growth.�

To the Managing Director, Afrinvest Securities Limited, Mr Ayodeji Ebo, a major catalyst for growth is creating policies to secure foreign investments.

GROUP INSISTS ON CODING TO DEMOCRATISE TECHNOLOGY

democratise technology.

Africa should prepare itself.

Digital technologies, including Artificial intelligence, big data analytics, blockchains, 3D printing, are already upon us,� Adesina said.

The three-hour interactive session ended with members of the audience calling for accelerated policy reforms and creating an enabling environment for innovative technology to thrive. The issue of data protection, identity protection and fake news and how to turn population into assets, topped discussions.

‘Ease of Doing Business Will Promote Good Governance’ Stories by Emma Okonji The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has said efforts by the federal government policy to improve Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria will enhance good governance.

Senior Special Assistant to President Mohammadu Buhari on Trade and Investment, and member of PEBEC, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole said this recently, after the launch of an app by the federal government.

According to Oduwole, the PEBEC regulatory conversations series, which began in September 2018, was aimed at promoting good governance, integrity and sound practices in Nigeria through dialogue between the public and private sectors, designed to achieve best regulatory practices. “The third Regulatory Conversations (RC3.0) focused on the activities of PEBEC and its operational arm, the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES), charged with the realisation of the initiatives.

Oduwole said it was considered that PEBEC should work with agencies to engage specific identification of a number of nationally relevant pa-

rameters; be inclusive of omitted sectors, particularly oil and gas, which have such significant impact on the economy as a whole; consider a separate monitoring

and enforcement mechanism outside of the agencies, in tandem with compliance officers from within MDAs, for greater accountability and performance compliance

with initiative requirements; among others.

She said it was however important for the business community to recognise the importance of mutual

compliance with processes, procedures and standards, and to also commit to operating their businesses within an improved business environment.

EDUCATION RETREAT

L-R: Registrar/CEO, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mr. Seye Awojobi; Former Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega; President/Chairman of Council, CIBN, Dr. Uche Olowu; Executive Secretary, TETFUND, Prof. Suleiman Elias Bogoro and President, ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, during the Nigerian University Commission/Nigeria Economic Summit Group Academia-Industry Collaboration Retreat held in Lagos‌recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

Projects in 2018 Budget Not Abandoned, Minister Insists The Minister of Communications, Dr. Adebayo Shittu has said no project in 2018, whose funds were released by the Ministry of Communications, were abandoned for any reason, contrary to speculations that the ministry abandoned 104 projects captured in last year’s budget.

In a statement signed by the Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, Mr. Bolaji Kazeem, the minister insisted that contracts were not abandoned, while describing the speculations as untrue and unfortunate.

According to the statement, “The fact of the matter is that

contracts award/execution were delayed by the Minister of Communications to address petitions from participants in the procurement process which have saved the federal government the sum of N600 million from review committee set up by the minister. “The Ministry of Communications has executed projects approved by the National Assembly based on the funds made available to it and has not abandoned any 104 projects in 2018. “It is on record that budget approval was delayed for about seven months in 2018, which cascaded into

the budget implementation of every Ministry/Departments/ Agencies (MDAs) in 2018.�

The statement further said; “As we are all aware, the process of procurement has laid down rules and regulations which has nine essential steps such as procurement plan, adequate appropriation, advertisement, transparent pre-qualification, tender, bid submission/ opening, bid evaluation, tender board approval and contract award/execution/ project implementation which have to be adhered to strictly, by the Ministerial Tenders Board (MTB) headed by the

Permanent Secretary. “Not only that, many of the projects are rollover projects from the previous year which have not been fully funded due to the paucity of funds. “After the processes were completed and forwarded to the minister for approval, petitions emerged from the participants and the minister withheld the approval and set up a committee to look into the petitions in order to ensure fairness, transparency, accountability, and justice not only to the petitioners but also to the government.� “The ministry under the leadership of Shittu is very

strict when it comes to issues of justice, accountability, and incorruptibility. He has therefore ensured that all necessary rules and regulations guiding award and implementation of contracts are strictly adhered to in the Ministry,� Kazeem said, adding that the committee has submitted its report and necessary action had been taken to ensure that the whole processes are fair, transparent and incorruptible and that justice prevail so that all stakeholders would be satisfied that fairness prevailed in the award of contracts in the Ministry of Communications.

Coalition Urges Buhari to Review Decision on Digital Rights Bill

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Jonathan Eze

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

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

Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Maritime) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafo (Energy) Reporters

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

Following the refusal of President Mohammadu Buhari to sign the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill into law, a coalition of civil society organisations in Nigeria and Africa has urged the president to review his decision on the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill, and consider its assent.

In a statement, the group expressed disappointment over the president’s decision to decline assent to the bill, which was meant to protect Nigerian internet users against the infringement of their fundamental freedoms and guarantee human rights online in Nigeria.

In his explanatory letter to the National Assembly, the President declined assent to the legislation on grounds

that it covered too many technical subjects. He had also pointed out that some areas covered by the bill were also covered by various bills pending at the National Assembly.

The coalition, however, said it was important for the president to assent the bill because of its importance in protecting Nigerians online and in encouraging more Nigerians to take their business online for bigger visibility and expansion.

According to the group, “We however believe that these reasons are not valid enough for the president to decline assent to the bill. The ‘various bills’ as referred to in the letter are still merely bills which may or may not

become laws. “For instance, the Data Protection Bill (HB. 02) has been pending at the National Assembly for up to eight years. Why then would the president miss an opportunity to fill the lacuna for these subject areas when a Bill duly passed by the National Assembly has been presented for assent?

We make this assertion with the knowledge that no law or Bill is perfect.� “This is why there exist processes for reviewing laws through repeals and re-enactments. It is clear that the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill does not conflict with any existing laws or the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and

it is uncommon that a Bill would be stood down because it could conflict with laws that might exist in the future. “We also cannot overlook the fact that Mr. President did not point out clauses of concern in the Bill as it was done for other Bills against which he had expressed his decision to decline assent.

It is important to indicate clauses of concern in order for citizens and observers alike to be aware of such clauses and review as needed. “Our opinion is that the decision not to sign the Bill is nothing short of a missed opportunity for Nigeria to send an important message to the rest of the world on its commitment to protect its citizens from abuse and create

a positive regulatory environment for digital technology. “We, however, note the president’s expression of willingness to review the decision if concerns around the Bill are addressed,� they added.

Continuing, the stated that as a Coalition, “we hereby assure Nigerians that we will be consulting all relevant stakeholders, including the National Assembly, to review this Bill and carry out the required legislative exercise and submit back to the president in earnest for consideration so that Nigerian citizens can be assured of the Buhari administration’s commitment to safeguarding human rights online in Nigeria.�

T H I S D AY ˾ ͯ​ͯ˜ Ͱͮͯͷ

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BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Building Sustainable Societies with Artificial Intelligence The recent directive from African leaders to all information communication technology ministers to develop a common strategic framework is a wake-up call for Africa to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence to achieve her digital transformation agenda, writes Emma Okonji

A

t a recent African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, African Heads of State directed their information and communication technology (ICT) ministers to develop a common strategic framework for Africa-wide digital priorities and initiatives.

In response to the request and consultations with ministers present, including the Nigerian Minister of Communications, Dr. Shittu Adebayo, the International Telecoms Union (ITU), hosted a special meeting of ICT ministers on 29 March, at the ITU headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The ministers discussed how to boost ICT development, how to attract and encourage further ICT investment, and how to work together to facilitate new partnership opportunities so that Africa can reap the best benefits of the digital economy.

According to ITU Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao, “The ministers are at the forefront of building a new digital Africa that leverages the tremendous potential of digital technologies to improve lives.”

The ministers reviewed inputs submitted by the ministers themselves and discussed how to build a common strategic framework and roadmap for action and coordination.

The meeting took into account proposals on key areas such as: infrastructure, investment, digital transformation, including digital platforms and services, digital skills and entrepreneurship, cybersecurity, a common digital market — and policy and regulatory imperatives that cut across all these areas.

“I am very pleased with our preliminary outcomes on how to build a framework to work together across the continent.

“I am eager to see this discussion develop, knowing that common frameworks can help overcome the hurdles to investment that can often stifle progress. Let’s work together to make this vision a reality,” Zhao said.

Citing an example of the AI Fungus Machine that Baidu developed in collaboration with Chinese hospitals, participants at the workshop agreed that by learning from abundant precisely labelled fungus images using an interpretable evidence-based architecture, the system has achieved a comparable diagnostic accuracy of a professional ophthalmologist with 10 years above experience.

AI in health sector Addressing the potential of AI towards achieving digital transformation in health sector, the General Manager of Baidu Health, Ms. Huang Yan, was of the view that much has been said about the ability of AI to greatly enhance productivity. According to her, unlike the industrial revolution where productivity was improved for labour-intensive work, AI extends that power to knowledge-based work, helping humans make better, faster and more insightful decisions.

She said this technological advancement has great potential to address the imbalance of resources and help build a more equitable society. Speaking on how AI can improve healthcare, Yan said: “Educating and training doctors has traditionally been a time-consuming and expensive process, taking an average of more than 10 years. This long lead-time is especially problematic for developing countries where lack of resources for education can lead to doctors being undereducated, or worse, under-trained.”

ITU, WHO promote AI Considering the importance of AI in achieving digital transformation in the health sector, international bodies like ITU and World Health Organisation (WHO), played host to a recent ‘Artificial Intelligence for Health’ workshop, which held in Shanghai, China.

At the workshop, they made Africans to see how the application of AI could help address fungus diseases, which are a major cause of blindness in the developing world like Africa, if not treated properly. According to the participants at the workshop, AI helps solve this issue by studying large amounts of decision-making examples from medical experts, then putting that information into use by assisting doctors to make better diagnoses and treatment decisions.

Rather than replacing the doctor, AI is there to empower them to make better decisions.

AI and global ethical obligation According to the workshop, healthcare aside, AI also has the potential to play a pivotal role in a wide range of global issues and social causes, such as addressing poverty, dealing with natural disasters, improving education, enhancing public safety, and preserving cultural heritage, and all these are pointers towards achieving digital transformation.

quickly addressed. According to participants at the workshop, as AI technologies continue to develop and AI-powered machines assume more roles, the impact of a system failure grows exponentially. That’s why the industry is demanding – and rightfully so – that the standard for safe and reliable AI is higher than any other new technologies in the past.

“AI presents incredible challenges and countless opportunities for society. Creating an ethics framework to balance the relationship between humans and machines, in conjunction with clear lines of responsibility, are part of the foundation for developing AI. As AI continues to grow rapidly and impact more lives on a daily basis, it is increasingly important for governments, companies, academia and the public to come together to discuss and collaborate on the rule making of AI,” the workshop resolved.

Challenges of AI Although the workshop listed the benefits of AI across all sectors of the economy, it also looked at some of its challenges that must be

AI also has the potential to play a pivotal role in a wide range of global issues and social causes, such as addressing poverty, dealing with natural disasters, improving education, enhancing public safety, and preserving cultural heritage, and all these are pointers towards achieving digital transformation

AI and fear of job loss Despite the many advantages of AI in driving digital transformation, some people are of the fire that the application of AI could lead to loss of jobs. Neil Sahota and Michael Ashley, authors of ‘Own the AI Revolution’, however listed four key steps African governments could take to limit job displacement with AI application across all sectors.

According to them, ‘We see reports that AI will also create more jobs than it replaces, as there will just be different kinds of jobs.

But what we discovered when researching the book’s material, particularly interviewing thought leaders, is that there is often a flip side to everything AI-related. Like any significant tool, from the train to the computer, AI possesses both the ability to cause havoc and help at the same time.

AI as a force for digital transformation One of the founders of the AI for Good Global Summit, Stephen Ibaraki, is of the view that the application of AI is a force to reckon with while thinking digital transformation, especially in developing continent like Africa.

“This year there is actually some data indicating that, because of enhanced capabilities and productivity, as well as a growing economy, jobs may even increase rather than decrease,” Ibaraki said.

Frederic Werner of ITU was of the view

that “With AI, we can use mobile phones to detect conditions, like skin cancer or diabetes.

There’s already an app to analyze suspicious skin growth alerting users when they should go see a dermatologist.”

While acknowledging some jobs will be replaced, especially manual tasks, Ibaraki suggested an even greater number may be created in what’s being termed the coming ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ that may yield an increase in wealth of $16 trillion by 2030.

Potential breakthroughs with AI Again, providing a counterpoint to many of the concerns surrounding AI raised in public, two ITU officials described the breakthroughs this technology is having in key areas of economies.

“I see AI having a large impact on healthcare very quickly,” says Frederic Werner, the Head of Strategic Engagement Division for ITU’s standardization sector. It’s helpful in developed countries, like the U.K., where it can take up to a year to get an appointment with a specialist,” Werner said.

Nigerian perspective on AI In Nigeria, several experts in ICT are strongly canvassing for the fast adoption of AI across all sectors of the economy, which they said is a sure way of achieving digital transformation.

The Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, one of the agencies of government that is providing digital connectivity to government establishments, Mr. Yusuf Kazaure, who, spoke at a recent ITU event, disagreed with those who have apprehension about the application of AI in education, health, telecommunications, oil and gas, in the area of job loss, and advised on the need for quick adoption of AI in Nigeria and other developing countries , because of its many advantages in enhancing digital transformation.

According to him , “The way technology is fast evolving, it is obvious that everything needs to be automated in line with technology advancement and we cannot achieve this without the application of Artificial Intelligence.”

He described AI as an enabler in data analysis and the application of the results obtained from the data analytics in achieving various feats across all sectors of the economy.

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Ogunwole: Technology Application Will Enhance Learning in Tertiary Institutions Vice-Chancellor, Bowen University, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, spoke on how the university is building on its cardinal principles to drive entrepreneurship and technology innovation among students.

Emma Okonji who was at the interview session, presents the excerpts:

W

hat are the cardinal principles of the university and how have they helped in achieving its goals?

The principles on which the university is built are enumerated in our core values, which include Godliness, Excellence, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Social Responsibility. So the university runs on these cardinal principles and management tries as much as possible to instill these core values into our students. The motto of the university is Excellence and Godliness and this motto is actually driving us to achieve excellence in our pursuit for education, while being Godly in the process. The founding fathers of the university built it on the foundation of Excellence and Godliness and we are maintaining that legacy and we have won laurels through that standard. So, every Wednesday, we celebrate Excellence and Godliness on campus. We do that to motivate the students and to let them know that academic excellence can only be achieved and maintained on the foundation of Christ the King.

How is the university preparing the students in line with modern day jobs that are technology driven?

As a christian university whose core values are built on Excellence and Godliness, we strongly believe in entrepreneurship and we teach our students entrepreneurial skills that will help them fit very well into the labour market by the time they graduate. We position them for tomorrow and help them to achieve their dreams through entrepreneurial skills acquisition. It is all about developing ideas that will address present and future challenges.

Today technology is evolving because of innovation and we see innovation as critical to bring out the best in our students. In all of these, we ensure that our students are responsible to the society they live in, by empowering them with social responsibility skills, which is also one of our core values.

How has the university leveraged technology to impart learning among students?

We are aware that technology is evolving and it comes with lots of advantages in a teaching and learning environment like the school system, and we are taking those advantages into cognisance in developing our students. For us, the application of technology is critical to bring out the best in students. We have used technology to redefine the way students study on campus and it is helping the students and the lecturers to achieve more. Under my watch in Bowen University, I will ensure that the students have learning facilities that are driven by modern technology and I will allow the students to have access to modern technology tools, including smartphones that are android based.

This is because I have since come to realise that we must promote technology among the students to able them learn faster. The fact is that this present generation of students are tech savvy and our teaching methodology must take cognisance of that to bring them up to speed in the learning process.

This generation of students do research with their technology devices that are connected to the Internet and they prefer reading information on their devices, than going to read same information on any notice board on campus. So

Ogunwole

we understand all of these and we are leveraging technology to enhance learning.

How are the students effectively managing technology devices in such a way that the devices are not used for the wrong motives?

Some adults used to think that the present generation of students are not serious with their studies, unlike students of previous generations that do not condole distractions, but the truth is that technology devices are no longer distraction to studies among the present generation of students. This is because the devices have become enabler to academic research and development. The way this young generation of students think and act, is quite different from the thinking line of the older generation.

The present generation of students are

We are aware that technology is evolving and it comes with lots of advantages in a teaching and learning environment like the school system, and we are taking those advantages into cognisance in developing our students.

For us, the application of technology is critical to bring out the best in students. We have used technology to redeďŹ ne the way students study on campus and it is helping the students and the lecturers to achieve more

fast in thinking and they want to achieve things much faster, and the technology devices are enablers in achieving faster results. So instead of thinking that the students will use technology devices for the wrong motives, I will want people to realise that we are in the technology age where technology devices enhance teaching and learning.

In Bowen University, we are developing our students in line with technology evolution. For instance, as from next academic session, the university authority has decided to put all lecture notes into a software application that will enable students read lecture notes from their technology devices, including mobile phones and tablets. This will further boost learning among the students.

How does the university spur students’ reading habit on entrepreneurship?

We do that in several ways. For instance, the school authority recently wrote a cheque of N900,000 to buy copies of entrepreneurship books for our students in order to develop their entrepreneurial thinking and skills. So we approached the Chairman of Zenith Bank, Mr. Jim Ovia who is a successful entrepreneur, to buy copies of his recent book on entrepreneurship, titled ‘Africa Rise And Shine’ But to our greatest surprise, Jim Ovia gladly gave us 100 copies of the book at no cost and he told us to keep our money. We are the first university to make such request for our students, and the author of the book was happy to give students copies of his book at no cost. So what we did was to share the books among 400 level students of the university and asked each student to read two chapters of the book each day and after that, we bring them together each day on our WhatsApp platform to discuss and share ideas on what they learnt from the chapters of the book. The discussions were carried out on the social media platform, which is the WhatsApp group platform that was created for students

by the school authority. We were amazed with the high quality discussions on entrepreneurship that came out from the WhatsApp discussions. So learning and teaching methodology are changing with technology evolution and if other universities still think they will use the same old methodology that was used decades ago to teach their present generation of students, then they are missing the point, because technology is fast driving and changing academic activities of the present generation of students called the millennials who are digital natives and tech savvy.

At Bowen University, we have gone to the extent of teaching entrepreneurship skills on video and play the video in the classrooms before the students, and through this method, the students learn faster because they are able to interact and argue academically beyond the old method of teaching where the lecturer talks and the students accept everything without making their own input.

Do you have plans to have a technology hub that will enhance virtual leaning among students?

We are working towards achieving virtual teaching and learning so that anybody from any location within or outside the country can teach students on a realtime basis. With virtual learning, we will be creating a technology-based school environment. We are currently talking with friends of Bowen University to support the university in building a technology hub for the university that will enhance virtual learning among our students. Through our technology hub, we will incubate great minds and turn their laudable dreams into reality and that is where the world is moving to, through technology advancement. We are also in partnership with science-based organisations within and outside the country that will help us achieve our vision as an academic institution of excellence and high repute.

Continued on page 29

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BUSINESSWORLD

E-BUSINESS

Directors Urged to Develop Capacity on Cybersecurity Stories by Emma Okonji Partner, Technology Advisory and Market, KPMG, Mr. Joseph Tegbe, has called on members of boards of various financial institutions to ensure that pay attention to the changing landscape of cybersecurity.

Tegbe gave the advice while delivering a keynote speech at the Bank Directors’ Conference recently, with the theme, ‘Cybersecurity in Banks, The Role Of The Board’ According to him, technology disruption is accelerating and more than half of the world population is on the Internet, with 14.2 bil-

lion things estimated to be connected to the internet by 2019 and 21 billion things by 2020. The digital evolution has introduced a new dimension into the enterprise risk landscape - the cyber risk.

He, however, expressed fear that most board directors in financial institutions do not attach much importance to cybersecurity.

“In the last few years, cybersecurity has become a key focus in the financial sector. Cybersecurity is a ‘complex’ problem, it is multidimensional, unpredictable and constantly changing,” Tegbe said, and advised board members of financial organisations to give priority

to best-in-class cybersecurity measure. While cybersecurity breaches might be fixed, its potential damage on the brand can become very expensive to repair,” he said.

He explained that the various categories of cyber enemy, which he called the enemy from the inside. He said they refer to threats from employees who are either disgruntled or are in pursuit of financial gains through fraudulent means. He explained that threats could also be from competitors or from hacktivist who are attacking for fun or for the purpose of

a cause. Another category of cyber enemy according to him, is the state-sponsored category of a cyber attack which can be to sabotage or gain economic or political advantage.

Tegbe said: “The board must develop the capacity to ask the right questions.

Cybersecurity should be everyone’s responsibilities.

If employees are not well informed they can unknowingly become a back door for hackers. Everyone must stay abreast of the constantly changing world of cybersecurity as there are severe and

several vulnerabilities in our environment. Some of them are API interphase fraud, SIM SWAP, BVN compromise, among others.”

“The most common of them is email spoofing, a situation where fraudulent emails are sent using an email address that look like the original ones,” he said, stressing that while a lot of banks invest in the digital strategy, it is important for the digital strategy to align with the cybersecurity strategy.

Addressing the various cybersecurity risks, Tegbe advised financial institutions

to establish accountability for cyber risk, protect what matters, identify new cyber threats and risks proactively through threat Intelligence, assess the maturity of the cybersecurity program, manage third party cyber risk and prepare to effectively respond to cyber incidents Speaking at the event, the Chairman of GTBank, Mrs. Osaretin Demuren said globally, most sophisticated hackers attempt to attack financial institution, but that in Nigeria most of the cybersecurity breaches are more of internal.

Jumia Offers Discount in Easter Promotion Jumia has announced that it will offer up to 80 per cent discount during its Easter sale campaign which commenced last Monday and will run till April 21.

The campaign would be predominantly hosted on the Jumia mobile App, and is expected to drive a sharp upturn in the shopping habits of Nigerians across the country, including those in the far-flung rural areas during the Easter season. There will also be flash sales at up to 50 per cent off on limited stocks daily at 10am and 3pm.

While explaining the objective of the campaign, the Chief Marketing Officer of Jumia Nigeria, Salma Bencherif said the campaign was designed to give every Nigerian living in rural or urban areas, the opportunity to shop at incredibly low prices during the Easter season.

“Starting with the treasure hunt at 99.9 per cent off, which commenced Monday this week with Samsung S10 at a giveaway price of N3,200,

the treasure hunt has become a tradition now at Jumia, giving the possibility to one winner every day to access top products at ridiculous prices. These treasure hunts will happen daily at 12pm till April 19th. In addition, there will be free shipping nationwide on a selection of items,” Bencherif said.

Some of the product categories that will enjoy this massive discount during the two weeks campaign period according to her, include: Fashion, Electronics, Appliances, Groceries, Watches, Kids and Babies, Phones, and Computing.

Head of Partnerships, Jumia Nigeria, Stanislaus Martins, said: “The products selected for the campaign are in response to our customers’ demand for their favourite products. And we have our partners, such as HP, Samsung, Binatone, Xiaomi, Mooka, to thank for working with us to give our customers the best prices, amazing deals and unbeatable product quality.”

Firms Partner on Digital Transformation Simba Infrastructure Limited, in partnership with Avaya, recently organised an Avaya Innovation Day forum designed to exclusively enhance customer experience and fulfilment. The event provided insight to the needs of businesses in Nigeria in building connected experiences required for effective digital transformation.

At the innovation day which held in Lagos, Avaya and Simba showcased a variety of new products, including its flagship cloud based social media product called Avaya Ava. It is a cloud-based messaging-agnostic solution that offers Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities for social messaging integration.

Other products on display were the enhanced Avaya Equinox Softphone, Avaya Vantage Video Phones, Chatbot and several other solutions for work collaboration and secure video conferencing.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of

Simba Infrastructure, Sanjay Vaswani, assured customers and other participants of the organisation’s full commitment to providing unique information technology (IT) services across the lifecycle of business operations. According to him, “As an Avaya exclusive partner in West Africa, Simba Infrastructure has achieved the competency to provide matchless IT services around the Avaya solution portfolio. We deliver customised communication infrastructure solution to our valued customers and provide strategic partnership to Avaya in the digital transformation journey.”

Top executives from Avaya who spoke at the event, emphasised that digital transformation was a key factor in accelerating experiences and business growth through the adoption of mobile digital services, enabling next generation interactions and driving change in customer experience.

PROMOTING INNOVATION

L-R: Territory Account Manager at Avaya, Vinod Kumar Puthanpura; Territory Channel Account Manager at Avaya, Elie Turquieh; Head of Sales, Simba Infrastructure Ltd, Nneka Ewuyemi; Manager, Sales Engineering at Avaya, Omar Fahnbulleh and Executive Director, Simba Infrastructure Limited, Sanjay Vaswani, at the Simba/Avaya Innovation Day event, held in Lagos...recently

Inlaks Enhances Capacity of ATM Operators With the objective to build the capacity of Nigeria’s unemployed population, Inlaks, an information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure solutions provider, embarked on the Inlaks Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Academy, a corporate social Responsibility platform in 2016 and completed its third set of graduates in February this year.

The six-month long programme seeks to train technically inclined graduates, giving them a complete knowledge of the rudiments of an ATM service for the purpose of building a team of ATM experienced engineers who are well qualified for recruitment within Inlaks, locally and internationally. The curriculum of the programme also involves customer management, store and inventory management, logistic operation, power system engineering and printed circuit board (PCB) technology.

Managing Director/CEO, Africa Operations, Inlaks, Mr. Femi Adeoti, expressed his pleasure at the successful completion of ATM Academy 3.0 while applauding the team for delivering a world-class training and congratulating the team on their new roles

as the ATM Feeder Team.

Executive Director, Infrastructure Business at Inlaks, Tope Dare, shed more light on the significance of the programme when he said:“Unlike most things that can be searched out on the internet, adequate knowledge of ATM services will require a deliberate training to gain the status of an ATM engineer.

It is a great opportunity for the selected candidates as the ATM training comes with a job opportunity.”

Inlaks, a partner of Hyosung TNS, a global leader in ATM manufacturing services is known for supplying, installing and maintaining over 6000 ATM’s within Nigeria and Africa.

The Inlaks ATM Academy, which is free of charge, has efficiently graduated 57 students till date with 16 trainees from ATM Academy 3.0 being given an intensive and practical-based ATM training and eventually being inducted as ATM support staff in Inlaks. According to the company, applicants to the Academy are required to hold an Ordinary National Diploma in Engineering or Physics as well as scale other assessment stages to be qualified.

Gidinerd Partners EC Council on Cybersecurity Skills In a bid to position Nigeria as a global cybersecurity powerhouse, Gidinerd Limited, a marketing and technology company has partnered one of the world’s largest cybersecurity technical certification body, EC-Council.

EC Council is a leading IT and e-Business certification awarding body and also the creator of the famous Certified Ethical Hacker and Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator.

EC-Council has trained over 80,000 individuals from organisations such as the US Army, the FBI, Microsoft, IBM and the United Nations with its certifications recognised worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies including: The US Federal Government via the Montgomery GI Bill, National Security Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS).

Speaking on the partnership, Co-Founder and GidiNerd’s Enterprise Solutions Architect, Confidence Staveley said: “It is no longer a question of can

you be hacked? It is about dedicating resources to the mitigation and remediation of the cyber plague that is plaguing the world today.

Consequently, EC-Council’s e-Learning courses are designed to help organisations and individuals take preemptive measures against malicious attacks, by learning how to identify and defend the weaknesses in their own network”.

According to the statement

by EC-Council, “This partnership with EC-Council allows Gidinerd to provide industry leading, globally recognised credentials such as ANSI, Accredited Certified Ethical Hacker (C|EH), Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (C|HFI) and Certified Network Defender (C|ND); which are highly valued by employers in Nigeria, as it is globally.”

This partnership will make it easier for organisations to enroll Information Technology (IT) personnels, auditors, security professionals, network and site administrators through GidiNerd for any EC Council certification program thereby empowering them with the skills needed for the industry.

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Ndukwe: Signing AfCTA the Way to Go for Nigeria The Head, Export and Agriculture Division, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Isaiah Ndukwe, in this interview speaks on the opportunities in signing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement for Nigeria. He also advises the federal and state governments to address structural challenges that have continued to affect competitiveness by businesses in the country. Obinna Chima provides the excerpts:

T

he federal government has a zero-oil policy. What are the likely impacts of this policy on the economy?

The zero-oil plan of the government is a direct response to the realities of the volatilities of the global oil market and a step in the right direction. As I explained earlier, our economy is heavily reliant on crude oil revenues, a commodity with pricing drivers and consumption levers outside our control.

Zero Oil doesn’t mean negating oil to the back burner, it only means priming and running your economy as if there were no revenues from oil. With the zero-oil initiative, technically what you are doing is planning and setting up your economy in a manner that immunes you from the sensitivities of oil price shocks. What it does is that it prepares you for a life after oil. It changes your psyche and helps you to channel more efforts towards growing the non-oil sector and whatever you make from oil now becomes a bonus. At best you have both revenues and at worst you have significant non-oil revenues to run your economy. The major oil producing economies are already planning and preparing for life after oil. A very good example is Saudi Arabia’s diversification drive into non-oil sectors like technology, mining, tourism and healthcare.

This is a pragmatic step and helps you imbibe fiscal prudence. It is quite a tall order for Nigeria considering our high production barriers, but it helps that we are thinking about it. We now need to back up this idea with deliberate and concrete steps.

The first thing we need to do is bridge the critical infrastructure gaps and take conscious steps to break down those business growth limiting structural barriers. What does it mean for the economy? More non-oil driven balance of trade, stable exchange rate, more jobs, increased federal government revenues and overall development of the economy. This is definitely the way to go.

There has been so much debate around the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA). What is your take on it and do you think Nigeria should sign the agreement?

I think signing it is the way to go. We are talking about a market size of 1.2 billion people by population and nominal GDP of US$2.2 Trillion. In my opinion, it is going to be the single biggest free trade zone in the world by consumer population size. I hear the argument about why Nigeria should not sign yet and that is also valid but my hunch is that we are going to sign eventually.

The major concern is that because we have a large population and we don’t produce and export much, the belief is that Nigeria is going to become a dumping ground of sorts and that is a real threat. If you look at the Agro Commodity business space for example, we are supposed to be one of the leading exporters of food by virtue of our natural endowments, but we are not because our low level of competitiveness has eroded that comparative advantage.

However, there are ways to fix some of these things. We just need to prime our economy to be more competitive. We can start with the quick wins in the area of improvements in ease of doing business and then work our way up the competition ladder by bridging some of the trade critical infrastructure gaps like the Apapa Port Road and our port infrastructure. Just by working out the structural kinks inherent in our business processes and the pesky intra continental trade limiting issues like payment settlement and logistics problems, we can significantly enhance our competitiveness whilst we work on the bigger infrastructure problems. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of time as Gambia’s signature

status. While, for instance, it takes just a few minutes to wire money from one corner of the world to another, to transact business payment across borders in Africa may take days or weeks to close out. This has proved very costly for businesses transacting across borders in Africa both in terms of financial resources and time to close deals. These are fixes required to put the continent on the path of becoming a highly developed and self-sufficient market. On the specifics of the intra continental trade agreement, one area that I want tightened is the definition of rules of product origin and controls around it. You don’t want a situation where goods are imported from outside the continent and re-packaged as if they were produced in Africa, that will defeat the entire purpose of AfCTA. I believe that this will be hashed out in the substantive agreement.

Ndukwe

which is expected in the coming days will ratify the agreement. In the interim, what you want to do is to be in the negotiation room with the other countries to ensure that terms are favourable to Nigeria.

The size of the market that you are trying to protect is about 16 per cent of the global AfCTA market size of 1.2 billion people by population and 18 per cent share of the continental GDP. The size of the continental business pie sans Nigeria is one that you want to take a crack at. At the end of the day, we have to trade with other countries with or without AfCTA. How to do that competitively is the question we need to begin to find answers to. Now, back to the benefits of AfCTA for the continent, if you look at the complexion of the universe of trade that happens in Africa, you will clearly see why Africa is the backwater

With the zero-oil initiative, technically what you are doing is planning and setting up your economy in a manner that immunes you from the sensitivities of oil price shocks. What it does is that it prepares you for a life after oil.

It changes your psyche and helps you to channel more efforts towards growing the non-oil sector and whatever you make from oil now becomes a bonus

of the global economy. Out of the entire universe of trade that happens within Africa, only about 15 per cent is intra continental.

In Europe that number is 59 per cent and in Asia it’s 51 per cent. If we are not trading that much with ourselves, it means that we are trading more with someone else. And that is the tragedy and the very bane of African economies. The numbers are just indicators of the problems and if you focused on them alone, you’d miss the big picture. Our low intercontinental trade numbers are symptoms of a bigger problem. Underlying the symptoms are the real issues which are hinged on the loss of incremental value-add upsides across the production value chain like loss of employment opportunities, loss of revenues for businesses and loss of value-added tax revenues for the government. Every incremental level of value addition creates a new vista of employment opportunities, higher returns for businesses and incremental value added tax revenues. For Africa to leap frog to the league of highly developed and self-sufficient markets, we need to trade more with ourselves. And that comes with a plethora of multiplier effects which include enhanced GDP of the constituent states, enhanced human development index and increased employment generation across the continent. To achieve these, we need to systematically break down the inherent high production barriers in Africa to become more competitive globally. Infrastructure is the big elephant in the room but there are other issues. Access to financing and the pricing of credits for small and medium enterprises is imperative but that can only move the needle marginally sans the enabling ease of doing business ecosystem and structures.

Access to trade and market information is also key to hacking Africa’s low intra continental trade and increasing market penetration. The role of central payment and settlement systems is also critical in facilitating intra-African trade. Africa’s fragmented payment system has remained a key impediment to intra-continental trade integration and a barrier to the achievement of the continent’s targeted single market

Some of the arguments we have had with regards to the AfCTA, is about wanting to take up expansion on a big scale. The belief is that a regional approach would have been the best‌.?

That’s a modular approach to the problem and by that, I mean starting from a regional level and scaling to a continental level. I am not sure that’s the most effective way to tackle the problem because market size is imperative in this kind of deals. We have always had ECOWAS since 1975 but I don’t think it has actually achieved the desired economic integration levels and expected levels of development of the constituent local economies. The major consideration for multilateral trade deals like this is market size and clout and that’s the value that AfCTA brings to the table. Beyond the benefits of the wider African market integration, the size of AfCTA provides leverage to negotiate favourable cross continental deals for the benefit of the constituent member countries.

As the global economy evolves, borders and trade barriers will become less visible.

The competition will come to you one way or the other. Eventually market forces will defeat the case for market protection and the best way to be ahead of the curve is to prime your economy to be competitive.

One of the merits of AfCTA is that it will force us to look inward to learn how to swim against the oncoming storm.

But since Nigerian SMEs didn’t take advantage of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), considering what SMEs in Kenya, South Africa and Ghana did with AGOA, do you think they would fare better with AfCTA? In business, competition is the name of the game and you are competing with everyone else. The question is how are you competing?

Again, our sub-par performance under the AGOA scheme is the symptom of a bigger problem. It is not that Nigerian SMEs are not taking advantage of the AGOA window, the problem is that our high production barriers make us uncompetitive in the global marketplace. To export from Nigeria into the USA under the AGOA programme, you are competing with SMEs from the other AGOA eligible countries who are also exporting into the USA. When you don’t land your exports cheaper or at a higher quality than competition, you are automatically priced out of the market.

The global marketplace is brutal and will punish you if you are not on your A-game.

With or without AfCTA, you still have to be competitive to hack the global export market. But, like I mentioned earlier, I think the threat posed by an integrated African market under the continental free trade agreement will force us to raise our competitiveness level. If we can compete within the African continent, surely we can compete globally.

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NNPC, 2019 Budget and Baru’s Optimism Promise Ating

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t was not the first time the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) had been upbeat about developments in the country’s oil sector in the last three years. But when he told senators recently that Nigeria would meet the oil production target of 2.3 million barrels of oil per day benchmark used in the 2019 budget, he portrayed a sector that is on a rising curve of growth.

Baru, who stated this while appearing before the Senate committee on Finance, disclosed that the corporation had installed oil production capacity of over 2.5 million barrels per day to support the yardstick used in 2019 budget.

Baru, who was represented by NNPC’s Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, Mr Bala Wunti, identified the major obstacle to achieving the planned production volume as the security situation in the Niger Delta region, which he said had seen considerable improvement.

He stressed that federal government’s initiative for collaboration and effective community engagement “for sustainable partnership,� has significantly helped to douse the security challenge in the region.

He further disclosed that the improved security situation in the Niger Delta has led to a corresponding improvement in crude oil production under the current administration, adding that the “NNPC remains confident that Nigeria can achieve the 2019 budget production target of 2.3 Mbopd.�

The GMD further disclosed that the NNPC mandates on the 2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, are premised on the 3 thematic assumptions of Production volume, Crude oil price and Unit Cost of Crude Oil Production.

He also revealed that the Corporation, in collaboration with other relevant agencies have emplaced measures to ensure the attainment of these assumptions used in developing the 2019 MTEF. This is indeed gratifying news from Nigeria’s oil corporation at a time when even the most optimistic analysts had urged caution.

In recent times, the performance of the capital expenditure component of the annual budgets has been strenuous due to shortfall in expected revenue to cumbersome procurement process. These challenges were aggravated by late passage of appropriation bills into law.

The passage of the 2019 budget, like the ones before it, would also be coming in the second quarter of the year, thus raising apprehension about overall performance.

And especially implementation of the capital component.

Baru

The 2019 budget is predicated on a benchmark oil price of US$60 per barrel, oil production estimate of 2.3 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of N305 to one US dollar. Based on these assumptions, total revenue of N6.97 trillion is projected to fund aggregate expenditure of N8.83 trillion.

The oil price benchmark, seen as too optimistic, is a source of worry and experts have urged caution in the approach to oil revenue projection, bearing in mind that the international crude oil market is highly volatile.

More importantly, the 2019 budget appears to lean more on oil revenue projected at N3.73 trillion than non-oil revenue estimated at N1.39 trillion. This leaves the economy vulnerable to not only external shocks but also to volatility in the Niger Delta region.

But the remarks coming from those at the helm of affairs at the NNPC about current status of oil production and

on-going collaborative efforts is more than reassuring.

At several fora where the NNPC chief had spoken inside and outside the country, he had told the world the effort of the Nigerian government in turning the oil industry around.

Recently at Doha, Qartar, Baru told the world the transformation in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and how Africa could become an economic hug through investments in natural gas.Dr. Baru, who was represented at the event by the NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power, Engr. Saidu Mohammed, revealed that 93 per cent of current natural gas production in Africa is being produced by Members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, thereby making it imperative that efforts be intensified for in – continent conversion that will ensure value addition to natural gas for economic growth and development of the continent.

On developments in Nigeria, he

stated: “Today, our focus in Nigeria is to deliberately ensure that our Natural gas development efforts meet our twin objective of export and domestic supply. “Our thematic focus areas for natural gas development is to ensure that we meet our Gas to Power targets, Gas based Industrialisation aspirations as well as supply to the export market and we are aggressively pursuing some big-ticket projects in that regard,� he revealed.

He also spoke on some critical gas development projects in Nigeria including, The NLNG Train 7 project, the Gas Flare Commercialization Project and the Deepwater Non-Associated Gas Development Projects, which he described as “big bang� initiatives being aggressively pursued to usher in new developments for Nigeria’s gas sector and expand the nation’s economy.

Peace in the Niger Delta is fundamental to the performance of the 2019 budget since oil production is still the highest revenue earner for the country, despite marginal improvement in the non-oil sector. This is why it is gratifying to learn that there is a collaborative partnership for peace between the federal government and groups in the region.

There is no doubt that the relative tranquility in the region in recent times is a result of this effort, which is boosted by NNPC’s own engagement of oil communities for sustainable peace and development.

These efforts must be sustained by the federal government and all stakeholders in the Niger Delta.

This was acknowledged recently when the Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Eni, Mr. Antonio Vella, led the management team of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) on a courtesy visit to the GMD of the NNPC in Abuja.

The oil company commended the federal government and NNPC for the improved security situation in the Niger Delta which has rubbed off positively on the operations of international oil companies. Mr. Vella said the prevailing peace and security in the region had increased investors’ confidence in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, adding that his company was considering doubling its investment in the country. “The steps the GMD has taken have greatly improved security in our area of operations, that is very important to us as it has given us confidence to come back strongly and raise oil and gas production.

And that is what we are doing, we are increasing our budget in Nigeria because we have confidence in Dr. Baru and the entire system�, he said.

This is a piece of good news!

-Ating, a staff of The Whistler Newspapers, writes from Abuja

Ogunwole: Technology Application Will Enhance Leaning in Tertiary Institutions What are the motives behind the entrepreneurship and innovation week that the university is organising this week on campus?

This is a maiden event for the university and we are going to make it an annual event, going forward. We are planning it big and we are using technology to drive it. The focus is to develop the entrepreneurial skills of the students, irrespective of their disciplines, which is one of our core values as an academic institution. It will expose students to various skills learning in the areas of textile design, fashion design, cinematography, robotics, cosmetics, events planning, among others and all these will be driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). The one-week long event will feature talks and practical learning in entrepreneurship and technology innovation, and the idea is to build the competence of students outside of their course work in the university.

We have decided to divide the entire

university into five entrepreneurship clusters and each cluster will be made of students from various disciplines with common interest for entrepreneurial skills acquisition. They will identify the cluster that best matches their interest and the cluster manager registers them and allows them to pick their team leaders. They will brainstorm on how to develop a company, what it takes to own a company after university education and how to sustain and grow the company. So it’s going to be self learning process under the guidance of cluster managers who are successful entrepreneurs. This is the way to teach this young generation of students, using technology and innovation to develop their innate abilities to enable them learn faster. If we teach them the same way we were thought decades ago, then we will be missing it.

What does the university want to achieve with the entrepreneurship and innovation week?

We want to achieve mastery of skills among the students and at the same

time, raise students who will graduate to become entrepreneurs, who will create jobs for themselves and for others who will be employed by them. We are using it to prepare our students for the job market that is ahead of them so that as soon as they graduate from the university, they will not populate the number of job seekers, but will instead, populate number of employed Nigerians.

There is a disconnect between university graduates and the industry.

Most times the industry players have to retrain young university graduates to cope with the required industry skills. What are you doing to address this?

We are very much aware of industry demands and we at Bowen University are teaching our students with modern curriculum that will help them acquire skills that are required for the present and future jobs. The American universities have been able to perfect marriage between their students and key industry organisations known as Fortune 500,

and this has helped them to do a lot in the area of research. We are aware of all these and we are doing same to fully equip our students with the realities and demands of the industry.

Immediately our administration came on board, we identified the industry needs and immediately stepped into action to achieve these needs for the students while they are still under our care. What we did was to go to Lagos to partner key organisations to understand their needs and to tell them of our challenges and to see how we can partner to better the lots of the students as they are leaving the university. The partnership is such that the organisations will send their staff to us to interact with students and identify ways that they could be of help to the university in addressing the disconnect between the universities and industry demands. So we are spending more time to change all of that and to change the old record of BowenUniversity, in terms of modern skills acquisition among this young generation of students.

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THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Harnessing Opportunities in African Creative Industry Beyond throwing up new talents in the entertainment industry, Raheem Akingbolu reckons that the interactive online portal of the MultiChoice Talent Factory that recently went live will provide a one-stop shop for information about the African Film and Television industry

A

s the population of the African continent continues to increase, governments across the nations are concerned about how best to tackle the increasing unemployment ratio that has plunged the entire continent into deep poverty.

According to recent research the African continent is home to approximately 1.3 billion people and by the end of the century, it is believed that number is expected to jump to 4.2 billion. With this, the continent will probably overtake Asia and be home to the world’s largest labour force as early as 2040.

Not only is the continent’s unemployment rate well above the global average, but up to 70 per cent of employed Africans are trapped in vulnerable, low paying jobs, with all too many living in outright poverty.

To maintain stability and advance prosperity, African governments face the tremendously daunting challenge of tackling unemployment and creating millions of new jobs for a booming working age population.

To do so, development experts have suggested the need to add non-traditional strategies to their national development plans. To this end, many economists have suggested that creative and cultural industries are an increasingly important piece of the puzzle. These industries — design, fashion, film, television, radio, music and much more — have all too often been overlooked as legitimate avenues for jobs and gross domestic product.

But that is starting to change. African governments have started embracing and supporting the creative industries in their efforts to drive sustainable development and create jobs. Zambia, Nigeria, Uganda and others place a strong focus on agriculture in their latest development plans, while countries such as Ethiopia prioritise industrial growth. Today, findings have revealed that the creative industries would be an added layer in constructing more diverse and economically viable markets.

While there is clearly no shortage of talent in the continent, it nevertheless has been relatively poor in profiting from it. In 2010, Africa’s contribution to the world export of cultural goods was reported as marginal, amounting to less than one per cent.

Africa’s presence in global markets for creative goods and services has been stagnated by its limited supply capacity, lack of intellectual property knowledge, obsolete policies and regulations, as well as underinvestment in the industry, particularly infrastructure.

For example, in the US there are 40,000 movie theatres; India has 20,000; China 13,000; but the whole of Africa has less than 1,000 which accounts for 1 cinema per million people. Such gaps signify an untapped potential for growth. Creativity is the new money and it is time for Africa to reap its benefits.

Marina

MTF to the rescue As Africa continues to change rapidly, the entertainment industry is ever more relevant and this has shown in many instances.

By introducing a talent factory last year, MultiChoice, a Pay TV company, perhaps recognises the critical role it can play in society to be the driving force behind the development of future talent to help build and strengthen the creative industries across Africa and to play a positive role in Africa by helping to grow Africa’s creative industries into vibrant, economic powerhouses.

At the launch in Nigeria, its Managing Director, John Ugbe, stated that the company believes it can - and must - play an indispensable role alongside government, civil society and communities to solve complex global challenges and drive positive change in communities, thereby creating “shared value�

He said: “Shared Value involves using MultiChoice’s corporate assets and expertise to address stakeholder needs and create shared value for the business and key stakeholders and it’s by creating value for our customers, our employees and society that we’ll build a successful business for the future. “Through the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF), MultiChoice Africa will develop emerging TV and film talent whilst simultaneously promoting the growth of local content in key markets through a well-structured and impactful social investment programme,� he said.

He, however pointed out that the MultiChoice Talent Factory brand will be delivered through three touch points, which include; the MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy; an educational programme aimed at furnishing 60 deserving young, talented people who want to work — and innovate — in film and television production through skills development in accredited MTF Academies based in Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia. Another one is the MultiChoice Talent Factory Portal, which is a Pan-African, film industry online destination for information about the creative industry, including contacts and thought leadership.

He added that the portal would open access to film creatives across Africa to showcase their talent, access opportunities, stay up to date with industry news and expand their industry network.

profiling and connecting Africa’s creatives as well as bringing pan-African talents and opportunities together in one place. The digital portal will allow filmmakers across the continent to network, find talent and showcase their work. Access to the portal is through online registration, which will serve as an authoritative source of industry news, supported by MultiChoice’s position as Africa’s leading storyteller. Users of the portal- up, up and coming creative talents can also connect and collaborate. The MTF Portal will also provide information on the MTF Academies and Masterclasses.

The Portal forms part of the investment MultiChoice is making to improve quality and support the production of local content and storytelling across the continent. It will serve both seasoned professionals and aspiring talent in Africa’s film and TV industry.

Connecting Africans The MTF Portal, a digital hub conceived as the premier destination for connecting Africa’s creative industries, went live recently after its launch in Lagos.

The MTF Portal is the third touchpoint of the MultiChoice Talent Factory, the company’s shared-value initiative. Its launch follows that of the MTF Academy, a 12-month film training programme aimed at upskilling the next generation of young film creatives, last October; and the MTF Masterclasses, launched in January, to upskill industry professionals.

The interactive online portal is aimed at

MTF Academy and Masterclasses From day one, the company has admitted that it recognised there’s untapped talent that lack resources to develop their talent in order to contribute to the growth and future of Africa’s film and television industry, hence the need for the talent factory. “We also recognise and uphold excellence in the film and TV arts and believe that supporting this young emerging talent, will open the industry to more innovation The MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy is aimed at supporting and encouraging excellence in filmmaking at the post school education level,� Ugbe said.

Ndukwe: Signing AfCTA Way to Go for Nigeria The CBN has and MSME Development Fund, how is Fidelity Bank taking advantage of the initiative to support its customers?

Fidelity Bank has one of the strongest SME banking business franchises in Nigeria driven by our one-on-one business advisory services and other business management capacity development initiatives for SMEs. On financing, apart from our tailored on-balance-sheet lending interventions to the SME market segment, we are one of the leading disbursement banks of the CBN MSME Development Fund. So far, we have disbursed over N2.4 billion to SMEs all over the country with significant

levels of repayments. We understood right from the jump that a safe lending environment for SMEs would be one that de-risks the structural, governance and business management capacity issues that SMEs have, to neutralise or at worst keep the incident of default to the barest minimum. Hence, the all-inclusive nature of our SME banking business offering.

We take it way beyond lending. One of the areas that we have built significant capacity in-house is business management capacity development to help SMEs raise their business management game. We also help SMEs to enhance their market access via insertions in the value chains of our existing corporate clients either

on the product supply or off-take side.

On the technology side, we work with our technology alliance partners to create simple and easy to use solutions to help SMEs automate and optimize their business processes. We bring all these on board to ensure that we do not only lend safely but also to help our SME clients build sustainable businesses. On how we are utilising the CBN MSMEDF window to support SMEs, we try to focus more on the productive segments of the economy where margins are not as robust to help those SMEs optimise the performance of their businesses. The structure and pricing of the funds provide us the window to finance SME related transactions, which otherwise

would have been expensive to finance from our balance sheet for the SMEs. Our unique approach helps to drive the achievement of the dual purpose of total SME inclusion and business portfolio diversification.

We will continue to deepen our tailored advisory services, business management capacity development programmes and customized funding to SMEs, albeit, along market segment and business cluster lines for more effectiveness and efficiency. We will also continue to provide enhanced market access opportunities to SMEs as well as business process automation and optimisation tools to help our SME clients raise their game to compete nationally and globally.

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THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

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HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

Beyond Marking World Health Day As Nigeria, this week, joined the rest of the globe to mark the 2019 World Health Day, Martins Ifijeh writes on the need to prioritise universal health coverage and improve health of citizens, if the country must move beyond just ‘marking’ the day to actually celebrating the achievements recorded in the sector In many countries of the world, majority of citizens are forced to choose between healthcare, food and other necessities of life.

When they are sick, it is either they spend the little money they have on purchase of healthcare or spend it on feeding; a scenario that has ensured those who choose healthcare go home hungry, while those who choose food at the expense of healthcare suffer the consequences of worsened disease conditions or even death. Either way, their life suffers.

Sadly, those prone to these factors are the poor and vulnerable that can do nothing about the situation, given that healthcare and other basic amenities of life shouldn’t be some of the myriads of daily challenges they should worry about when there are governments in place.

While several billions of people across the globe are no doubt living their lives this way, it is said to be more common in middle and low income countries where majority of the citizens do not have the financial strength to purchase healthcare for themselves and their families in addition to other things they need money for.

Chief among countries affected by this is Nigeria where over 87 million persons are living below two dollars per day if reports by World Poverty Clock and Brooking Institute are anything to go by. These poor Nigerians juggle their two dollars daily income between feeding their families, paying for healthcare and meeting other basics of life.

Last year, the 2018 Health Maintenance Organisations Industry Report by Agusto & Co posited that of Nigeria’s 200 million residents, only 5.1 per cent of the population enjoys health insurance where they can, along with their families walk into healthcare facilities to access healthcare without worrying about paying.

This, no doubt has played out in the different healthcare indices of the country; from poor maternal and child health, to disease outbreaks, poor human and capital development, and high mortality rates, among others - making the country one of the worst places on earth to live a healthy life.

When health indices are discussed on global stages on a country-by-country basis, Nigeria often emerges one of the countries with the worst indices among key global health issues. The country sits comfortably among the 10 worst countries in the world with disease burdens.

Burden of Malaria On specifics, Nigeria has the highest burden of malaria globally, with about 40 per cent of global malaria deaths occurring in the country and Democratic Republic of Congo alone. Not only that 90 per cent of Nigerians are at risk of it, it kills over 300,000 of them yearly, with 11 per cent of maternal deaths linked to it.

Maternal and Child Deaths Also, Nigeria is rated as the second worst country with maternal and child deaths globally, just second to India. About 15 per cent of global maternal deaths occur in Nigeria alone, and the deaths of newborn babies in the country represent a quarter of the total number of deaths of children under five worldwide. In fact, a woman’s chance of dying from pregnancy or childbirth in Nigeria stands at one ratio 13, if indices from the World Health Organisation (WHO) are referenced.

Contrary to this reality on ground, Nigeria joined the rest of the world last Sunday, April 7, to commemorate World Health Day bringing to mind the state of the country’s healthcare.

Premium to Universal Health Coverage Experts however believe Nigeria has all it takes to change the sorry narrative if it

Adewole

gives premium to universal health coverage (UHC), where Nigerians, especially the poor and vulnerable would no longer have to be further impoverished by paying out of their pocket whenever they need to access health services.

A public health expert, Dr. Rufus Momoh said if the Nigerian government, including the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory give priority to primary healthcare services, it will go a mile closer to achieving universal health coverage for Nigerians, as this represents the closest connection between the citizens and healthcare services.

“Governments should give primary healthcare facilities some level of financial autonomy because thousands of PHCs in Nigeria gets zero budgets for drugs, equipments or even fixing a bad bed in their clinics.

So what happens is that such centres die natural deaths since citizens cannot go there to access healthcare. This is what happens in many of the PHCs in the country – lack of funding.

“Because of this, many Nigerians have lost confidence in the primary healthcare system of the country. I believe this is the circle; when PHCs function properly, the citizens will have confidence in them and access healthcare there, and in turn the health of the people will increase,” he said.

WHO’s Message The World Health Organisation (WHO) in

its message to mark the day, said although countries have made enormous progress against some of the world’s leading cause of deaths and diseases, there is still a lot more to be done, especially in middle and low income countries where mostly the poor still lack access to quality and affordable healthcare.

WHO said: “Today, half the world’s population cannot access essential health services. Millions of women give birth without help from skilled attendants; millions of children miss out on vaccinations against killer diseases, and millions suffer and die because they can’t get treatment for Human Immuno Virus (HIV), Tuberculosis, and malaria. This is unacceptable in 2019.

But the good news is that there is a growing movement to address these inequalities.

“In the Sustainable Development Goals, all countries have committed to achieving universal health coverage by 2030. To meet that target, we need to see one billion people benefitting from UHC in the next five years.

This is not an unattainable dream, nor will it require billions of dollars to implement.

UHC is achievable, right here, right now, for all of us,” the global health body said in a statement.

Disconnect Despite BHCPF While the Nigerian government said it is making effort to address issues around out of pocket payment for its citizens through the implementation of the Basic

Healthcare Provisions Fund (BHCPF) and the operationalisation of the 2014 National Health Act, there still remain a disconnect between this effort and the country’s national healthcare budget, which by the way is one of the lowest globally.

In 2016, total government health expenditure was 0.6 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). And as a share of total government expenditure, government health spending was also low at 6.1 per cent, amounting to just $11 per capital.

This level of spending is grossly below regional and lower middle income averages and the recommended US$86 per capita for low and middle income country benchmark needed to deliver a limited set of key health services.

Nigeria’s present national health budget is less than five per cent as against recommendation from the Abuja Declaration where all African Heads of governments agreed to increase health allocation in their national budgets to at least 15 per cent.

While it is Nigeria’s right as a world health member state to commemorate World Health Day, it is still far from celebrating the day just as is seen in many countries that have improved their health indices through expanding access to healthcare, reducing out o pocket payment for healthcare, and increasing their health budgetary allocations to significant figures. Will Nigeria in 2020 celebrate better healthcare on World Health Day? Time will tell.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

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NEWS

4,000 Persons Benefit from Air Force Medical Outreaches in Bauchi, Enugu Chiemelie Ezeobi Over 4,000 persons recently benefited from the two-day medical outreaches carried out by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) at Gwallaga community in Bauchi State and Ogbeke/ Ukuruta community in Agbani, Enugu State.

In Bauchi, the outreach, which commenced on April 5, 2019, provided health education and counseling, laboratory screening, visual acuity checks and free prescription glasses, dental health services as well as clinical services, minor surgeries and free medications to about 3,000 persons.

According to Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI), NAF, Air Commodore Ibikunle

Daramola, the programme, which is an initiative of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, is part of the humanitarian activities embarked upon by the NAF to enhance civil-military relations whilst providing succour to host communities and ‘winning their hearts and minds’.

Speaking while flagging-off the outreach, the Air Officer Commanding Special Operations Command (AOC SOC), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Napoleon Bali, who was represented by the Chief of Staff SOC, AVM Aliyu Bello, reaffirmed the commitment of the NAF to continue providing qualitative healthcare and humanitarian services to host communities and Internally

Displaced Persons across the country in order to reduce the burden of preventable diseases and improve the overall wellbeing of inhabitants.

“Over 3, 000 members of the community benefited from this outreach, which was designed primarily to alleviate the suffering the people who might not be able to afford quality medical care”, he said.

He stated that patients with minor medical issues were diagnosed and treated on the spot while those with more complex cases were referred to the 261 NAF Reference Hospital Bauchi for further evaluation and care.

He noted that the free healthcare services would also be extended to other communities in Bauchi like

Durum, Koho and Malmo in the following days. The AOC seized the opportunity to thank the government and people of Bauchi State for their hospitality and support to the NAF. Expressing his delight, the Mai Angwan Gwallaga, Alhaji Dan Dada Ahmadu, appreciated the leadership of the NAF for bringing succour to the people of the Community.

He also thanked the service for its immense contributions in ensuring security in Bauchi State.

In the same vein, NAF also carried out another outreach at Ogbeke/Ukuruta community in Agbani, Enugu State.

The two-day event, which was part of activities to commemorate NAF’s 55th

Anniversary celebration, provided healthcare and humanitarian services to over 1,000 members of the benefiting community, including women, children and the aged, and was conducted in furtherance of NAF’s constitutional role of providing military aid to civil authority.

The Air Officer Commanding Ground Training Command (AOC GTC), Air Vice Marshal Idi Amin, while flagging-off the programme also said the outreach was an initiative of the CAS, geared towards addressing the healthcare challenges and alleviating the suffering of members of host communities of NAF Bases across the country.

Also speaking during the ceremony, the traditional ruler of

Ogbeke/Ukuruta community, Igwe Okechukwu Nwobodo, expressed appreciation to the CAS for organising the medical outreach for the community.

He pointed out that given that the outreach has enhanced the relationship between the community, and the NAF, more slots should be given to their children in the Air Force Comprehensive School, Agbani.

Services provided during the outreach included free consultations and drugs, laboratory investigations, visual acuity checks and prescription eyeglasses as well as treated mosquito nets. Patients with serious conditions were referred to the NAF Medical Centre Agbani, for further medical care.

Welsh Frowns against Stigmatisation of Sickle Cell Patients Ayodeji Ake A sickle cell anaemia survivor, Anne Welsh, has kicked against stigmatisation of people living with the disease, noting that it causes more health havoc on patients than expected.

Speaking during a press conference in Lagos recently, Welsh who is saddened by the lack of appropriate care and management of sickle cell anaemia in Nigeria, said government should put in place infrastructure and funding for management and treatment of the health issue. Welsh said living with sickle cell in Nigeria was very challenging as the country’s healthcare system lacks the appropriate and basic necessity needed to manage the blood disorder.

“Sickle cell does not only cause the patients to suffer severe pain, but it is also one of the biggest contributor to mental health issues due to stigmatisation, discrimination and victimisation of the patients, who are prevented from doing certain things like their normal

counterparts.

“Sickle cell is an agonising thing. People don’t know the amount of pain patients undergo.

They look normal outside, but have invisible pain within, which is so excruciating that they want to end their lives. Some patients keep asking their doctors to give them more pain killers because they can’t endure the pains,” she stressed. On how the illness can be managed, she said patients should take more water, eat good food their body craves for at any moment, engage in exercise and avoid stress.

“A lot of people don’t know what sickle cell is and because of that, they seek remedies from religious houses, traditional homes and other places, which worsen their situation. The health sector needs to do more by creating awareness of this blood disease and giving the right treatment to people living with it to help them live longer,” she added. Welsh further emphasised the need for funding herbal medicines in the treatment and management of sickle cell, which she said helped sustained her whenever she experienced crisis from the illness.

SYNLAB Expands Phlebotomy Capacity in New Location Rebecca Ejifoma SYNLAB, formerly Pathcare Laboratories, has moved to a bigger space, double the previous phlebotomy room capacity, to reduce waiting time for clients with hopes to provide better healthcare service delivery.

Renowned for high-quality clinical laboratory testing, the company resumed service at Adetokunbo Ademola in Lagos on April 1 this year.

The Executive Director, Operations, SYNLAB Nigeria, Dr. Tolulope Adewole, said their new location was more spacious with more than double the previous phlebotomy room capacity, reducing waiting time for clients.

Reiterating that they now offer better services and conducive environment for clients, Adewole

said: “The new location offers better parking facilities, while the modern interior and improved customer care is poised for a better customer experience”.

Adewole further urged residents and those who work on the Island to “come and visit us at our new home and experience healthcare as it should be, and not what we know it as.”

According to the ED, SYNLAB presently offers access to more than 5,000 tests, including some of the most advanced genetic tests. The company prides itself in the reliability and accuracy of its test results. In line with its vision to make healthcare accessible, he added that SYNLAB has also opened a new ultra-modern laboratory in Abuja and a patient care centre in Calabar during the first months of 2019.

Representative of the Air Officer Commanding, Special Operations Command (AOC SOC), Air Vice Marshal Aliyu Bello (l), seated with the Mai Angwan Gwallaga, Alhaji Dan Dada Ahmadu, during the flag-off of the two-day medical outreach by the Nigerian Air Force at Gwallaga in Bauchi

NMA Seeks to Incorporate ICT in Health Care Delivery Jonathan Eze The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has identified the need to enhance healthcare delivery system in the country through the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and ensure its full deployment in the sector.

At a breakfast meeting held in Lagos recently, organised by the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), themed: Improving Quality Outcomes through Health Information Technology, the National Chairman of NMA, Dr. Francis Adedayo Fajuyile, noted that the traditional ways of delivering health care has led to thousands of death and serious injuries each year in the past.

He said most healthcare centres in Nigeria were predominantly on paper based health information system, adding that record retrievals and application of information technology are still at the rudimentary level in most health care centres in the country.

In his keynote address, he revealed that the gamut of the emerging 21st century medical technology is a recent development, hence should be adopted to ensure proper health records of patients, reporting all health diagnosis to the government data base and strict confidentiality of disease management.

Fajuyile maintained the need to encourage local capacity building in the deployment of information technology in

the health sector.

He added that there’s need for stringent legislation in the country that would be tasked to monitor the regulatory framework and ensure that patient security is properly managed. Speaking at the event, the President, NACC, Mr. Oluwatoyin Akomolafe, said the topic was significant in many ways; ‘’it’s becoming increasingly clear that the traditional ways of solving health problems is becoming outdated so there is need for quality investment in information technology in the health care sector to improve healthcare delivery in the country.”

He noted that the effective use of communication and technology by strategically incorporating ICT tools into

health care delivery is a great potential to improve health care quality and safety, ensure public health service delivery on information and facilitate clinical and consumer decisionmaking to build health skills and knowledge.

He further explained that lack of adequate funding in the medical sector has deepened the crisis in health-care delivery in developing countries, particularly Nigeria. Also speaking, President, Healthcare Foundation of Nigeria, Mrs. Clare Omatseye, noted that there’s a direct correlation between health and wealth.

She said the moribund healthcare centres in the country have a direct catastrophic effect on families and infant mortality.

Foundation toTrain 5,000 on Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation Hamid Ayodeji AMBSAM Memorial Foundation is set to train 5,000 residents of Epe on Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), which would enable them to be able to perform first aid treatment on victims before proper medical attention.

Speaking during the fourth year anniversary of six Epe residents who lost their lives from drowning, the

Coordinator of the foundation, Gbenga Abass said the CPR project is under construction and issue of training would commence when the project is completed.

Abass said, “The foundation’s target is to train 5,000 people on CPR over a period of three years. The idea is to support the health sector in resuscitating people around them when ugly situations arise. An individual who

slumps can still be resuscitated if such a person gets first aid treatment quickly enough.”

He explained that the foundation also aimed at providing social and financial support to the less privileged of the community and to create a scholarship scheme to take care of the educational needs of the victims if needed.

“The foundation was

established in 2016 to immortalise the sons of Epe who lost their lives due to their boat capsizing during the 2015 elections in Epe,” Abass added.

On his part, the Managing Director, Epe General Hospital, Dr. Bamidele Mustapha advocated for the government to support the initiative by providing modern equipment’s and infrastructure in hospitals across the state.

36

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

HEALTH

Preventing Child Deaths Through Accelerated Action Impact Yinka Kolawole writes that the United Nations Children’s Fund recently organised a media workshop in Ibadan, Oyo State on Accelerated Action Impact for reduction of preventable child deaths and improving overall child health and development outcome in Nigeria, but particularly in the state Doing what it knows best; championing the rights of children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), recently organised a media workshop in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Accelerated Action Impact (AAI) for reduction of preventable child deaths and improving overall child health and development outcomes in Nigeria, but particularly in the state.

In layman terms, AAI could be regarded as an initiatives that work to assist health development. Speaking on the objective of the programme, the UNICEF Communication Officer, Blessing Ejiofor, noted that the aim was to provide media partners with the knowledge, materials to support and inform media advocacy on preventable child deaths and the AAI as a game changer to fast track reduction of preventable child-deaths in Nigeria.

However, Ejiofor also noted that the expected outcome should be that media practitioners should be able to produce, publish and air accurate and informed stories and reports on preventable child deaths, high impact interventions available and the need to scale up in order to reverse the ugly trend of the preventable deaths, as well as report on improvement made by stakeholders.

Speaking on the scorecard on ‘Health, the situation in Nigeria and particularly in Oyo Some participants at the media parley State’, the Head, Quality Assurance Oyo State Primary Health, Mr. Olabode Kehinde, tion of CDA volunteers towards promoting noted that UNICEF has impacted positively immunisation and patronage adopted assisted on health developments in the state. He also in the improvement of health development. She commended UNICEF for the development and also made mention of exclusive breastfeeding, support extended to the state for the reduction which she said has assisted tremendously. of child-deaths.

Meanwhile, both Dr. David Olarinoye from Also Dr. Adebola Hassan, UNICEF health Ibarapa North and Dr. Jola Moses from Saki specialist, stressed the need for AAI and the West, commended UNICEF for providing the need to support the provisions of live-saving needed support for the local government areas information and services to address newborn in the state. They noted that the outreach was deaths using innovative Technology. difficult, but with refurbished damaged buses While noting that the AAI understands the by the UNICEF in the areas, they are able to data at a granular level and also use available perform their job well. resources, Hassan stressed that it also tracks Commending UNICEF for the development action and results. in the areas of health developments, they also On the part of National Orientation Agency made it clear that most of the problems they are (NOA), the Deputy Director Programmes, Mr confronted with includes poor infrastructure, Monshood Olaleye, said some of the strate- logistics, poor surveillance, reporting system, gies adopted to reduce death rates includes poor accountability, inefficient process. community dialogues on immunisation and But in his own submission at the media neonatal deaths, distribution of UNICEFsupport workshop, Mr. Onche Ode, a media consultant, check list as tool for tracking of compliance noted that Nigeria represents less than one per and community development. cent of the world’s population, yet accounts He said NOA enhanced awareness of the for 10 per cent of the global burden of infant, grassroots ownership, while the agency tries to child and maternal mortality. sustain and further encourage the commitment He said Nigeria has a population of about 200 of community development. He also listed some million people, which includes about 40million of the obstacles faced in the course of doing children and a birth cohort of 7.5 million. He this, which includes lack of health workers, stressed that deaths of newborns and children handling of vaccines, distances within the local in Nigeria are unacceptably high, with about government areas, and attitude of health workers. one million child deaths reported annually, a Also, Mrs Kadijat Omolara from Ibadan North, third of which is among newborns.

East, Ibarapa North, canvassed for sensitisaThough some progress was recorded in

under-five death reduction in the last decade, newborn deaths stagnated over the same period.

Therefore to achieve SDG target of 25 deaths per thousand live births by 2030, Nigeria needs to further accelerate on current rate of under five mortality reduction from 9.6 per cent annually to 3.7per cent.

Ode stressed that child deaths in Nigeria mostly occur in rural localities of highly populated states in Northern Nigeria. Ten states – Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, in the North, and Oyo, and Lagos in the South, contribute about half of the absolute number of children dying before their fifth birthdays.

Three of these states – Zamfara, Kano, and Jigawa – all in the North-west geopolitical zone, he said have the highest rates of under-five mortality.

Sixty two per cent of under-five deaths occur within households and communities, while 38 per cent of deaths occur in health facilities (NDHS 2008).

Causes of child deaths in Nigeria are well known. Malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea account for close to 45 per cent of under-five deaths. Whereas 37 per cent of all deaths are preventable through the use of available vaccines, malnutrition underlies about 50 per cent of these deaths.

That being said, Nigeria also faces immense challenges in scaling up high impact interventions for reducing preventable child deaths and improving overall child health outcomes.

In recent years, the coverage of DPT3/Penta

3, a key indicator of a country’s performance of routine immunisation has fallen from 52 per cent in 2014 to 33 per cent in 2016. Evidence from the recent 2016 MICS/NICS survey indicates that wide variations exist in routine immunisation performance across the country’s zones with the northern states recording some of the lowest figures in coverage with Sokoto at three per cent.

Whereas government and partners invest on life-saving interventions, access to essential protective, preventive, and curative services against the child-killer diseases is very suboptimal across the high burden states. Service inequity is manifest with large populations of children in rural, inaccessible areas remaining underserved.

Implementation of interventions has not been informed or guided by adequate and ongoing analyses and reviews, especially at the lower levels. The lack or inadequacy of reliable program data, and limited capacity for critical analyses of program performance negate abilities of programs to meet set targets.

Ode noted that the AAI initiative was proposed as a game changer to fast track reduction of preventable child deaths in Nigeria through an innovative data driven and implementation science approach along the life cycle focusing on continuum of care, targeting high burden states, LGAs, wards and communities with complementary packages of life-saving interventions of health, nutrition, water sanitation and hygiene, and HIV/AIDS.

Winning HIV/AIDS Battle the APIN Way Raheem Akingbolu When it started operations in Nigeria in 2001 as a project of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston Massachusetts, little did APIN Public Health Initiatives, formerly known as AIDS Prevention Initiatives in Nigeria, know that it would grow into arguably the best non-governmental organisation, dedicated to ending the HIV/ AIDS scourge in Nigeria.

And now to commemorate how far it has gone and to underscore its success story, the organisation will today in Abuja, hold a public presentation of its book, ‘Turning the Tide: AIDS in Nigeria’, with the VicePresident, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, as special guest of honour, while the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, would be the chief host.

In a letter introducing the book to stakeholders, the Chief Executive Officer, APIN, Dr. Prosper Okonkwo, said HIV/ AIDS scourge in Nigeria had evolved from a stage of denial and complacency to effective combating of the epidemic, noting that this was due to serious work of organisations like APIN. “The HIV/AIDS response in Nigeria has evolved from a stage of denial and complacency, through the establishment and implementation of multisectoral response, to the current state of scale-up of quality comprehensive prevention, care and treatment programs for infected and affected persons in Nigeria,” Okonkwo said.

He added that the gains of the enhanced and focused HIV/AIDS programming were evidenced in the recently released

reports of the last National AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey, NAIIS, which showed marked reduction in both prevalence and burden of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

It must be noted that APIN commenced its operations in Nigeria in 2001 as a project of the Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston. Operating presently with a wholly Nigerian board, management and staff and working in eight states of the federation, APIN presently provides HIV care to more than 250,000 patients, representing about 25 per cent of patients receiving Anti-Retroviral Therapy in Nigeria.

Okonkwo, speaking at a pre-event media parley in Abuja last week, said at the end of its funding cycle in 2005, APIN, in collaboration with Harvard and working with Nigerian scholars, researchers, professionals and

government officials wrote the first ever documented intervention efforts in HIV/AIDS in Nigeria-AIDS in Nigeria: A nation on the Threshold.

“About 13 years after, and with documented evidence of improvements from the massive scale-up of intervention in the national response, APIN has just written another book- Turning the Tide: AIDS in Nigeria,” the well-traveled health professional stated. In a recent interview with THISDAY, Okonkwo stated that it would neither be here nor there to determine if the mandate of the organisation had been met or not. To him, there was the need to go back to how the organisation started and how it has evolved and even extended the scope of its work to accommodate other areas of public health. “Harvard School of Public Health came to Nigeria

and started an organisation called APIN. I joined in 2004. As we moved on and started doing different things, we saw the need to become an indigenous organisation on our own. In 2007, APIN became registered in Nigeria as a local entity with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, and we had a Board of Directors. “When Harvard set up in 2001, the objective was to build capacity in Nigeria which is to build infrastructure and research around the HIV/AIDS issue in Nigeria. We were only thinking about treatment that time but in 2003 to 2004, the infrastructure, that is human resource and laboratory were in place and these became good launching pads for our treatment programme. “Today, we are one of the leaders in the treatment programme area. Today, we work in about eight states of

the federations, managing about 250,000 cases which are about a quarter of the patients in Nigeria.

“When we started, we were called AIDS Prevention Initiative of Nigeria, APIN, and then as we evolved, we became APIN Public Health Initiative because we felt that, the HIV programme we were doing has become a matured because patients are now living longer and also that we have built enough structures, systems, networks and collaborations that we felt we could use of other things. “ For instance, I wasn’t trained to do HIV but here I am. So when we wanted to do malaria or reproductive health, they would say no, your name is about HIV. But right now, we are working in the North-east on a World Bank project called N-SHIP (Nigerian State Health Investment Project).

THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

37

38

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍŻËœ 2019

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Ministry of Trade Clarifies Project MINE, SEZ Investment Company Peter Uzoho The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has shed more light on its Project MINE (Made in Nigeria for Export) and the Nigeria SEZ Investment Company Limited (NSEZCO), describing as false some reports about the initiative in some news platforms.

A statement from the ministry described the Project MINE as a presidential initiative, under the supervision of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment to develop “world-class� Special Economic Zones (SEZs) across Nigeria and boost the manufacturing of ‘Made in Nigeria’ goods for export, regionally and globally.

It noted that Project MINE’s strategic objectives are to increase manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP to 20%, create 1.5 million new direct jobs and

generate over US$30bn annually in foreign exchange earnings by 2025, amongst others.

According to the statement, given the federal government’s limited annual budgetary resources for infrastructure and SEZ development, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), Economic Management Team (EMT) and Project MINE’s Steering Committee (including various stakeholders) had endorsed Project MINE’s implementation strategy to use a sustainable Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to develop world-class SEZs across Nigeria. Nigeria LNG, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Limited and Development Bank of Nigeria Limited have adopted similar PPP models. “In line with the PPP model, a special purpose public-private partnership (PPP) entity – Nigeria SEZ Investment Company

Limited – was designed to enable institutional investors participate in Project MINE alongside the FGN, and to apply global best practices and processes to the long-term financing and development of SEZs. In June 2018, the FEC approved NSEZCO as the vehicle for implementing Project MINE and for co-investment between the FGN, development finance institutions and other institutional investors. “NSEZCO is not a privately-owned company.

NSEZCO was incorporated at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), on the 12th of June 2018 as a limited liability company under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Cap C20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 (CAMA), with the FGN represented by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), holding 25 per cent of the shares in NSEZCO at incorporation.

L-R: General Manager, Online Integrated Solutions (OIS), Abdul Momodu; CEO, Switch Nigeria, Seun Runsewe and Head, Diaspora Business, Sterling Bank, Tunji Adeyemi, at the MoU signing between Sterling Bank and OIS in Lagos‌recently

MARKET INDICATORS

Old Mutual Life Launches New Insurance Policy Ebere Nwoji Old Mutual Nigeria Life Insurance Company has launched into Nigerian insurance market a new insurance policy for financial protection against critical illness.

The life insurance underwriting specialist, said the policy, tagged ‘Old Mutual Critical illness plan,’ represents its commitment towards the provision of financial protection against critical illness for Nigerians.

Speaking at a press briefing in commemoration of this year’s World Health Day, with the theme “Universal health coverage: Everyone, Everywhere,� the insurer’s Managing Director, Mr Keith Alford, said the company was in partnership with Roche, a global research-driven healthcare and pharmaceutical company to develop the innovative insurance plan for terminal illness for Nigerians.

He urged Nigerians to embrace the Critical Illness Insurance Coverage to cater for their hospital expenses when suffering critical illness.

According to him, access to quality healthcare, is one of the most important factors for living a life of quality and one of the most critical human needs in the

world today.

Quoting the World Health Organisation (WHO) survey that says access to healthcare is often times the lowest in SubSaharan Africa where residents have to pay out of their pocket for medical expense, he added that the average spending on health per person in Nigeria was valued at N78,000 of which N57,000 was out-of-pocket and a paltry N12,000 coming from government assisted healthcare management initiatives.

He noted that the current economic downturn and the resultant reduction in purchasing power have combined to make access to quality healthcare rare for Nigerians, noting that 90.2 per cent of Nigerians cannot afford to pay for medications for their ailments. “What this means is that, for the average Nigerian, an unexpected health challenge can cause major financial disruption leaving one with healthcare bills they often cannot afford. “This problem can be further worsened if the ailment diagnosed is a critical illness, which globally involves very costly medicare, due to the extensive examinations, rare medications and prolonged complicated treatment process,�

Alford said.

According to him, critical illnesses include; stroke, cancer, heart attack, coronary artery disease, hepatitis, chronic liver disease, chronic lung disease, kidney failure, among others, adding that despite these shocking reports and the fearsome outlook for critical illness in Nigeria, in terms of severe financial exposures, these can be proactively mitigated through the financial protection which insurance policies provide specifically for critical illnesses. “We understand that close to 90 per cent of Nigerians lack Health Insurance, leaving nine out of every 10 Nigerians completely exposed to the huge and harsh financial impact of contracting any critical illness.

We know that critical illnesses such as Cancer, Heart Attack, Stroke, Kidney, and Liver diseases are eternally lurking in the corners and can spring up without warning.�

Against this backdrop, the Old Mutual Life Insurance boss, said the desire of his company was for any patient who has any of the critical illnesses to concentrate his or her will power to full and speedy recovery rather than double the grief with the financial burden for the expensive.

Stakeholders Move to Increase Financial Inclusion Stakeholders and leaders in the banking industry across the West African region are set to gather in Lagos at ‘The Future Banking Technology Summit,’ to discuss efforts aimed at increasing financial inclusion in the sub-region by 2020.

The summit which holds in Lagos on 23rd and 24th, would focus on the future of digitising banking services for central banks in West Africa. “This is as leveraging off experiences of similar regions can aid in the adoption of best financial inclusion practices, as it is becoming incumbent on banking stakeholders to be rapid, yet savvy in incorporating disruptive mobile money platforms, automated banking systems, tailored credit facilities and crypto-currencies for

this dynamic market. “The two-day summit will also tackle several paramount topics including, innovation in regulation- Overcoming gaps in rural banking strategies, supporting innovative financial institutions to improve financial inclusion, improving credit facilities to underbanked and small and medium scale enterprises, throughout main panel discussions and networking breaks,� a statement explained.

Commenting on the Future Banking Tech West Africa Summit, the Chief Information Officer, Ghana Commercial Bank, Umar EL-Farouk, said, “the summit represents a platform to converse about risk, rewards, security and transparency. How are you coping as a financial services

provider with the Board of Directors, with Regulators, with Cyber-security, with Technology integration, with internal Auditors and Compliance, with internal stakeholders and customers, with Market and Competition?�

Also speaking, the Chairman of e-Business Industry Heads Committee in Nigeria and Head of Consumer Distribution, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Stanley Jacob, said, “Technology in Banking & Payments has evolved significantly and Nigeria as a major actor has become the key factor to be considered in setting the pace for digital ideation, innovation and the application of enterprise payment systems to transform businesses and lifestyle.�

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

NOVEMBER 2018 Money Supply (M3)

31,794,803.44

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

6,333,064.28

Money Supply (M2)

25,461,739.17

-- Quasi Money

14,773,076.98

-- Narrow Money (M1)

10,688,662.18

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,711,763.59

---- Demand Deposits

8,976,898.59

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

18,990,400.78

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

12,804,402.66

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,062,986.22

---- Credit to Government (Net)

2,980,229.66

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

7,093,619.43

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

-4,144,571.43

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

23,082,756.56

--Other Assets Net

13,258,583.57

Reserve Money (Base Money

6,811,192.37

--Currency in Circulation

2,100,129.91

--Banks Reserves

4,366,259.05

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE Ëœ Íś Ͱ͎ͯ͡

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $70.33 a barrel on Monday, compared with $69.02 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela) SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

39

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͯ​ͯ˜ Ͱͮͯͷ

MARKET NEWS

Stock Market Rebounds on Bargain Hunting in Bellwethers Goddy Egene The stock market pared losses yesterday as investors embarked on bargain hunting after days of bearish run. The persistent bear run had pushed the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) to a 52-week low two days ago.

However, some investors moved in to take advantage of low valuations. Consequently, the NSE ASI appreciated by 0.15

per cent to close at 29,202.54, while market capitalisation added N16.5 billion to close at N10.965 trillion.

Buying interest in Dangote Cement Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc among other contributed to the market rebound. In all, 25 stocks gained compared with 18 that declined.

However, Livestock Feeds Plc led the price gainers with 10 per cent, trailed by Custodian Investment Plc with 9.8 per

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

cent, while Learn Africa Plc and Transnationwide Express Plc garnered 8.9 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively. NPF Microfinance Bank Plc and Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc chalked up 8.1 per cent and 5.8 per cent in that order.

Meanwhile, market analysts said the renewed interest in Zenith Bank Plc shares could be traced to the announcement of a new managing director for the bank effective June 1,

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

2019. The bank has on Monday announced the current deputy managing director, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu as the incoming MD. The bank had said that the appointment was consistent with its tradition and succession strategy of grooming leaders from within. Onyeagwu, who is a graduate of accounting from Auchi Polytechnic, began his career at the defunct Financial Merchant Bank in 1991 and later held several management posi-

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

tions in the erstwhile Citizens International Bank Limited until 2002 when he joined Zenith Bank. He obtained a postgraduate diploma in Financial Strategy and a certificate in Macroeconomics from the University.

Market operators said the succession plan has impressed many investors, hence the increased demand for the shares. Zenith Bank close 2.2 per cent higher at N20.60 per share. The demand

O F

for Zenith Bank, Access Bank Plc and FBN Holdings Plc made the NSE Banking Index to close as the lone gainer. It appreciated by 0.8 per cent.

On the negative side, the NSE Industrial Goods Index led decliners down 1.3 per cent, followed by the NSE Insurance Index and NSE Consumer Goods Index that fell by 0.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively. The NSE Oil & Gas Index closed flat.

1 0 / 0 4 / 2 0 1 9 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

˾ THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

40

Thursday, April 11, 2019 Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index Advanced 2bps

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

Yesterday, the Thisday Afrivnest 40 index advanced by 2bps ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ ϭϯϵϯ͘ϴϱ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ ZENITH ;нϮ͘ϮйͿ͕ DANGCEM ;нϬ͘ϱйͿ ĂŶĚ FBNH ;нϮ͘ϭйͿ͘ dŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ Ϯϲ͘Ϭй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘

ƋƵŝƚLJ DĂƌŬĞƚ ZĞďŽƵŶĚƐ &ŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ĂƌŐĂŝŶ ,ƵŶƟŶŐ͙ ASI

Current Price

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

Ϭ͘Ϯй ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ Ϯϵ͕ϮϬϮ͘ϱϰ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚƐ ŝŶ ďĞůůǁĞƚŚĞƌ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ - DANGCEM ;нϬ͘ϱйͿ͕ ZENITH ;нϮ͘ϭйͿ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ

ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ Eϭϲ͘ϱďŶ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ Eϭϭ͘ϬƚŶ ǁŚŝůĞ

ǀŽůƵŵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ϵ͘ϵй ƚŽ ϰϭϭ͘Ϯŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϭϵ͘ϱй ƚŽ EϮ͘ϱďŶ͘ TRANSCORP ;ϭϳϰ͘ϱŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ STERLINGBANK ;ϰϴ͘ϴŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ĂŶĚ ACCESS ;ϯϳ͘ϲŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁŚŝůĞ GUARANTY ;Eϳϱϴ͘ϱŵͿ͕ ZENITH ;EϮϰϬ͘ϱŵͿ ĂŶĚ ACCESS ;EϮϮϬ͘ϭŵͿ ůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞƐ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘

Banking Index Emerges Lone Gainer

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

0.02%

-5.0%

39.4%

20.5%

7.5%

5.2x

0.7x

5.7%

33.55

-1.3%

19.6%

-2.6%

-2.8%

31.2%

5.5%

5.1x

1.8x

8.3%

19.5%

2 Zenith Bank PLC

20.60

2.2%

11.6%

-10.6%

-0.7%

22.6%

3.2%

3.5x

0.8x

13.9%

28.4% 12.3%

186.00

0.5%

9.3%

-2.0%

0.0%

44.6%

23.2%

8.1x

3.3x

8.6%

0.0%

8.3%

-2.4%

-1.7%

90.4%

27.8%

26.7x

22.9x

4.0%

3.7%

60.20

0.0%

4.5%

-29.6%

-21.3%

11.3%

5.0%

24.5x

2.9x

3.9%

4.1%

7.35

2.1%

5.1%

-7.5%

-8.1%

6.6%

0.8%

5.3x

0.4x

3.4%

19.0%

16.00

-5.9%

3.9%

-17.5%

-17.5%

3.3%

3.1%

4.0x

0.6x

2.5%

25.2%

2.9x

0.4x

13.5%

35.0%

15.6%

5 Nigerian Brew eries PLC 6 FBN Holdings Plc 7 Cement Co Northern Nigeria PLC 8 United Bank for Africa PLC

6.30

2.4%

3.7%

-18.2%

-19.2%

15.2%

1.7%

9 International Brew eries PLC

23.50

0.0%

2.8%

-23.0%

-25.4%

-23.8%

-3.2%

590.00

0.0%

3.4%

-7.8%

-4.9%

9.4%

5.7%

6.4x

0.6x

3.2% 8.5%

10 SEPLAT Petroleum Development C 11 Access Bank PLC

5.7x

-1.5%

5.85

2.6%

3.1%

-14.0%

-10.0%

19.1%

2.1%

1.8x

0.3x

10.60

1.0%

2.3%

-24.3%

-25.9%

15.3%

1.2%

2.8x

0.5x

13 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

45.80

-0.4%

2.7%

-4.5%

-1.3%

34.5%

4.7%

6.5x

2.0x

3.3%

14 Unilever Nigeria PLC

34.00

-2.9%

2.3%

-8.1%

-8.1%

14.7%

9.0%

16.7x

2.3x

4.4%

6.0%

15 Lafarge Africa PLC

11.55

0.0%

1.6%

-7.2%

-3.8%

-53.7%

-7.9%

0.8x

12.6%

-54.5%

16 Guinness Nigeria PLC

60.00

0.0%

1.2%

-16.7%

-16.7%

8.5%

4.5%

16.8x

1.5x

3.1%

5.9%

17 Okomu Oil Palm PLC

80.00

0.0%

1.4%

5.0%

5.0%

39.3%

29.7%

9.0x

2.6x

4.0%

11.1%

18 Total Nigeria PLC

196.00

0.0%

1.3%

-3.4%

-3.4%

27.0%

6.6%

8.4x

2.2x

8.7%

12.0%

19 11 PLC

171.00

0.0%

1.2%

-7.8%

-7.8%

38.0%

16.8%

5.7x

1.9x

4.8%

17.5%

6.6%

2.0%

7.9x

0.5x

5.9%

12.7%

2.5x

0.3x

20 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

17.00

0.0%

0.9%

-26.4%

-23.4%

4.85

0.0%

1.2%

-3.0%

1.0%

22 Fidelity Bank PLC

1.84

-0.5%

1.0%

-9.4%

-9.4%

11.6%

1.5%

2.3x

0.3x

5.9%

43.0%

23 Transnational Corp of Nigeria

1.16

3.6%

0.9%

-12.1%

-7.9%

19.3%

4.3%

3.8x

0.7x

2.6%

26.5%

24 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

13.55

0.7%

0.9%

-11.1%

7.3x

1.6x

8.1%

2.42

0.0%

0.9%

25 Diamond Bank PLC

-8.4%

32.6%

16.4%

12.6%

-5.8%

-0.7%

40.5%

0.3x

1.88

2.2%

0.7%

-0.5%

4.4%

8.0%

1.1%

WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂůďĞŝƚ ŵŽƌĞ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ

-2.1%

0.4%

-28.2%

-26.7%

0.4%

0.2%

2.60

0.0%

ĂƐ ϯ ŽĨ ϱ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƌĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ

0.7%

36.8%

36.8%

10.6%

1.1%

8.0x

0.7x

29 Presco PLC

62.75

0.0%

0.4%

-2.0%

-2.0%

37.0%

24.8%

2.5x

0.8x

3.3%

30 NASCON Allied Industries PLC

19.05

0.0%

0.4%

5.8%

5.8%

47.0%

17.5%

11.4x

4.4x

5.2%

31 Forte Oil PLC

26.95

0.0%

0.3%

-6.1%

-3.8%

52.2%

5.8%

98.6x

2.1x

28 Sterling Bank PLC

Ϭ͘ϲй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϰй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ NEM (ϰ͘ϴйͿ͕ CORNERSTONE (-ϰ͘ϴйͿ͕ PZ (-ϵ͘ϳйͿ ĂŶĚ DANGFLOUR (-ϱ͘ϵйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ ĚĞƐƉŝƚĞ ŐĂŝŶƐ ŝŶ ETERNA ;нϮ͘ϰйͿ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƐŝĚĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚĞdž

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ ϭ͘ϯdž ĨƌŽŵ Ϭ͘ϴdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ Ϯϰ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ϭϴ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƌƐ͘ LIVESTOCK ;нϭϬ͘ϬйͿ͕ CUSTODIAN ;нϵ͘ϴйͿ ĂŶĚ LEARNAFRICA ;нϵ͘ϬйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ

0.2x

7.4%

39.8%

0.3x

9.1%

-33.5%

32 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

6.50

0.0%

0.4%

16.1%

16.1%

6.0%

1.1%

11.4x

0.9x

33 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

27.50

0.0%

0.3%

36.8%

24.4%

31.5%

3.6%

4.3x

1.1x

34 PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

12.5%

8.8% 7.4%

0.2%

-26.9%

-28.0%

0.8x

1.7%

0.1%

0.2%

-3.2%

-3.2%

94.3%

36.3%

11.6x

11.6x

7.4%

8.6%

36 Wema Bank PLC

0.70

1.4%

0.2%

11.1%

11.1%

6.6%

0.8%

8.1x

0.5x

4.3%

12.3%

37 Beta Glass PLC

5.4x

1.0x

2.2%

18.6%

1.0x

2.5%

-2.9%

11.0x

0.7x

2.8%

9.1%

9.5x

1.0x

3.0%

10.6%

58.35

0.0%

0.1%

-14.6%

-14.6%

21.1%

14.7%

38 Dangote Flour Mills Plc

8.00

-5.9%

0.2%

16.8%

21.2%

14.9%

4.2%

39 Transcorp Hotels Plc

5.40

0.0%

0.1%

-11.5%

-9.2%

40 AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

2.00

0.0%

0.1%

9.3%

9.3%

T o p 10 G a i n e r s T ic k er

11.6%

3.5%

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

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

LIVEST OC K

0.55

10.0%

C UST OD IA N

6.70

9.8%

LEA R N A F R C A

1.46

T R A N SEXP R

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

T R A N SC OR P

174.5

3.6%

ST ER LN B A N K

48.8

0.0%

9.0%

A C C ESS

37.6

2.6%

0.75

8.7%

GUA R A N T Y

22.9

-1.3%

NP FM CRFB K

1.47

8.1%

FB NH

22.2

2.1%

LA WUN ION

0.54

5.9%

CHA M S

20.9

0.0%

M A YB A KER

2.50

5.0%

UB A

19.6

2.4%

F ID SON

4.25

4.9%

Z EN IT H B A N K

11.7

2.2%

A IIC O

0.68

4.6%

SOVR EN IN S

8.1

0.0%

1.15

4.5%

F ID ELIT YB K

5.8

-0.5%

H ON YF LOUR

T ic k er

T o p 10 L o s e r s

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

T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

&ŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͕ ǁĞ ĚŽ ŶŽƚ ƌƵůĞ

GLA XOSM IT H

8.55

-10.0%

GUA R A N T Y

758.5

-1.3%

C UT IX

1.62

-10.0%

Z EN IT H B A N K

240.5

2.2%

PZ

8.85

-9.7%

A C C ESS

220.1

2.6%

IKEJ A H OT EL

2.05

-9.3%

D A N GC EM

213.1

0.5%

R OYA LEX

0.27

-6.9%

T R A N SC OR P

200.6

3.6%

ĞŶƚƌLJ ƉƌŝĐĞƐ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ǁĞ ŵĂŝŶƚĂŝŶ ŽƵƌ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ŽƵƚůŽŽŬ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĞŬ͘

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

23.1%

-9.7%

GLAXOSMITH (-ϭϬ͘ϬйͿ͕ CUTIX (-ϭϬ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ PZ (-ϵ͘ϳйͿ͘

ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ƉĂƌƟĐƵůĂƌůLJ ŽŶ ďĞůůǁĞƚŚĞƌ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁŝƚŚ ĂƩƌĂĐƟǀĞ

8.8% 1.0%

8.85

ďĞƐƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ ǁĞƌĞ ůĞĚ ďLJ

ŽƵƚ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƐƐŝďŝůŝƚLJ ŽĨ ďĂƌŐĂŝŶ ŚƵŶƟŶŐ ŝŶ ƚŽĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ

40.4%

33.75

35 Chemical and Allied Products P

ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ Ϭ͘ϴй ŽŶ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ŽĨ ďĂƌŐĂŝŶ ŚƵŶƟŶŐ ŝŶ ZENITH ;нϮ͘ϮйͿ ĂŶĚ FBNH ;нϮ͘ϭйͿ͘

2.5x

13.7% -29.0%

7.00

dŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƚƌĂŝůĞĚ͕ ĚĞĐůŝŶŝŶŐ

15.5%

21 Oando PLC

27 UAC of Nigeria PLC

ϭ͘ϯй ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƐĞůů-ŽīƐ ŝŶ CUTIX (-ϭϬ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ CCNN (-ϱ͘ϵйͿ͘

56.6% 35.9%

26 FCMB Group Plc

ϭ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ dŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ůĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƌƐ ĚŽǁŶ

13.6%

1,450.00

12 Ecobank Transnational Inc

zd ůŽƐƐ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƚĞĚ ƚŽ -ϳ͘ϭй͘ ĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ

Price Change Index to Date

1,393.85

4 Nestle Nigeria PLC

In yesterday͛Ɛ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ͕ ƚŚĞ ůŽĐĂů ďŽƵƌƐĞ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ

Price Previous Current Change Price Weightin YTD Change g

1 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

3 Dangote Cement PLC

up 15bps

;нϮ͘ϮйͿ ĂŶĚ FBNH

Ticker

P ric e C hg %

D A N GF LOUR

8.00

-5.9%

FB NH

163.1

2.1%

CCNN

16.00

-5.9%

ST ER LN B A N K

126.9

0.0%

C OR N ER ST

0.20

-4.8%

UB A

120.2

2.4%

N EM

2.00

-4.8%

ST A N B IC

93.7

-0.4%

C H IP LC

0.23

-4.2%

N EST LE

87.5

0.0%

Brokerage

Asset Management

Investment Research

Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Ola Belgore | obelgore@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com Oluwarotimi Ashimi | oashimi@afrinvest.com

Jolomi Odonghanro | jodonghanro@afrinvest.com

41

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

Vetiva Forcasts Crude Oil Price of $63 Per Barrel by Year End Vetiva Capital Management Limited, an investment banking firm, has projected that Brent will trade within the band of $60-$65 a barrel for the most of 2019 and average $63/bbl by year-end compared to an average of $72/bbl in 2018.

This view, according to the firm, is based on the belief that despite Oil Producing and Export Countries (OPEC)

production cuts, the United States (US) shale boom and slower global growth will likely put downward pressure on prices.

In its recent Oil & Gas report, Vetiva pointed out that increasing investments by US oil majors in the Permian region of Texas and New Mexico as key drivers of US shale production.

For instance, according to the

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

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

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

report, Chevron has earmarked $3.6 billion for shale projects at the Permian Basin in 2019.

The firm further stated that it expects OPEC and its allies to extend the existing production cuts into the second half of 2019, in reaction to the anticipated US production output increase, thus possibly providing support for oil prices through the year.

Also, the report pointed to

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 09Apr-2019, unless otherwise stated.

the crisis in Venezuela, and its impact on the country’s production levels, as likely factors that will support crude oil prices in 2019.

Speaking on the report, Vetiva Oil & Gas Analyst, Luke Ofojebe said: “While we acknowledge that OPEC and its allies have reached over 76 per cent compliance to the 1.2 mb/d cut agreed

in December 2018, we expect the impact of US rising shale output to outweigh the effect of the existing production cuts.”

On the domestic oil and gas industry, Ofojebe noted that he expects the nation’s crude production to remain relatively stable in 2019, as the Nigerian government is expected to sustain the existing peace pact reached with the Niger Delta

militants in 2016.

On recent trends in the domestic oil and gas industry, Vetiva said that the $10 billion Dangote Refinery, which has the capacity to refine 650 kb/d of crude, holds the prospect of making Nigeria a net exporter of refined petroleum products, a position that has never been attained since the inception of crude production in the country.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.88 0.89 4.98% ACAP Income Funds 0.62 0.62 12.01% 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 13.60% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.29 2.30 2.73% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 16.22 16.71 -2.24% ARM Discovery Fund 353.93 364.60 -0.76% ARM Ethical Fund 29.15 30.03 3.21% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.31% 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 99.36 100.06 -1.80% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.62% 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 13.87% Paramount Equity Fund 12.06 12.16 2.11% Women's Investment Fund 105.60 106.14 1.92% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.66% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 98.79 99.23 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 99.35 99.99 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 12.13% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.82 0.83 Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.17 1.17 4.89% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 12.26% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 12.32% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,240.96 1,241.82 4.68% FBN Heritage Fund 142.83 144.01 -0.40% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.51% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 117.67 118.13 3.32% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 117.59 118.04 3.50% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 144.12 146.19 -3.92% 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 1.15 1.17 -5.88% Legacy Debt Fund 3.35 3.35 3.27% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.04 1.04 1.28% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 2,947.11 2,977.82 -1.22% Coral Income Fund 2,853.92 2,853.92 4.19% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.17% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 106.50 107.26 -0.97% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.29% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.11 2.13 -1.71% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.16% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 124.33 124.52 -0.48%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.16 1.18 1.16% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,109.35 1,109.35 3.67% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 1.25 1.27 2.06% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.43 11.48 2.67% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.42% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 121.88 122.48 0.97% 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 1.00 1.00 0.20% 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 2,352.78 2,365.83 1.66% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 197.79 197.79 4.02% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.94 0.95 -0.53% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 255.30 255.33 3.29% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 163.44 165.20 0.16% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.77% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,270.59 8,366.55 -2.59% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.13 1.13 1.68% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.17 1.18 -2.04% United Capital Bond Fund 1.67 1.67 4.47% United Capital Equity Fund 0.66 0.68 -6.42% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.34% United Capital Eurobond Fund 109.78 109.78 2.35% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.10 1.11 1.10% 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 10.89 11.05 2.60% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.16 12.30 2.03% Zenith Income Fund 21.50 21.50 11.57% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.03%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

5.40 119.90 52.08

-44.85% 1.84% 0.66%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.05 104.84 83.21

10.15 107.08 84.75

-4.68% -10.62% -6.16%

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.66 6.49 13.62 11.38 152.67

3.70 6.57 13.72 11.58 154.67

-8.45% -14.77% -8.86% -7.89% 6.32%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.24

17.42%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

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THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

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THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2019 Ëž T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Borno Gov Meets Service Chiefs over Relocation of Jakana Residents El-Rufai attributes Kajuru killings to reprisal attacks

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja and John Shiklam in Kaduna Following the relocation of thousands of residents of Jakana in in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State by the Nigerian Army ahead of a planned offensive against Boko Haram, Governor Kashim Shettima yesterday had a closed-door meeting with the Minister of Defence, BrigadierGeneral Mansur Dan Ali; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Yusuf Buratai; and the Director-General, Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi.

This is coming as the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir elRufai, has attributed the killings and destruction of communities in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state to reprisal attacks.

The army reportedly herded residents of Jakana into trucks and ferried them 40 kilometres to a displacement camp in Maiduguri, a spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Abdulkadir Ibrahim , said.

The evacuated residents were relocated to the Bakassi IDP Camp for safety purposes to enable the military flush out insurgents from the area.

Shettima was accompanied by members of the National Assembly during his visit where he held separate closed-door meetings with the minister, army and intelligence chiefs.

The meetings discussed issues of security including the recent relocation of residents in to an

IDP camp in Maiduguri which the military in Borno State said was for operational purpose in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram.

Shettima was accompanied by chairmen of the Senate and House of Representatives committees on Defence, Senator Abubakar Kyari and Hon. Betara Aliyu, respectively; the chairman, Senate committee on Rules and Business, Senator Baba Kaka Bashir Garbai; two House of Representatives members- elect.

Shettima said the meeting was informed by the issues arising from the relocation of communities in Jakana, Auno and Mainok located in Kaga and Konduga Local Government Areas of Borno State. He said at the end of the meetings, the Borno State Government and the Nigerian military had reached a common ground. “We have accomplished our mission. The Chief of Army Staff has granted our request and some concerns raised by the Army will all be addressed. We all know that the relocation had raised dust but we felt consultation was the best approach. “We have access to all the security heads, especially the chief of Army Staff here who is from Borno. We have met with the Minister of Defence as you have seen. We have all come to a consensus. We also have assurances on other matters relating to the military’s ongoing fight against Boko Haram and we must acknowledge that the military has recorded huge

successes not withstanding some setbacks. “As I have always said, anyone that wants to appreciate the efforts on ground should compare with the past. We have seen the difference. We will continue to cooperate with and support the military. We will also remain grateful and proud of them�, Shettima said.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has attributed the killings and

The Supreme Court yesterday struck out the appeal filed by a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State led by Ishola Balogun-Fulani.

A five-man panel of justices of the apex court presided by Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, struck out the appeal on the grounds that it was incompetent, having not filed within the stipulated time allowed by law.

Balogun-Fulani and other members of the dissolved state Executive of the Kwara State APC, had approached the apex court to challenge the powers of the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, to arbitrarily dissolve the state executive committee of the party when their four-year tenure had not expired.

Oshiomhole after dissolving the Balogun-Fulani-led executive last year, inaugurated a caretaker committee, headed by Bashir Bolarinwa.

Fulani in the appeal filed on behalf of other state executive members of the party, asked the Supreme Court to restrain Oshiomhole from further recognising and dealing with Bolarinwa group as the officers of the party in the state.

However, in a unanimous ruling, the five-man panel struck

out the appeal on the grounds that it was unmeritorious.

In the ruling delivered by Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the apex court held that the notice of appeal and the manner in which the appeal were brought before it were in violation of Section 14 of the 4th Alteration Act of the 1999 constitution.

According to Justice Ariwoola, the record of proceedings was transmitted from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court after 14 days required by law for the appellant to do so.

The court said that by the failure to comply with the provision of the law, the appeal had become incompetent in law and liable to be struck out.

The Fulani-led excited had approached the apex court with a motion dated March 4, 2019, praying the court to hear the appeal on the grounds that it was a pre-election matter that must be decided within 60 days.

Counsel to the appellants, Yussuf Ali (SAN), in his argument told the court that the 60 days allowed by law for the appeal to be heard by the court would expire tomorrow (Friday).

Responding, Oshiomhole’s lawyer, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), objected to the hearing of the appeal on the grounds that the appeal was not a pre-election matter that must be heard within

the governor urged all communities in the state to reject an eye-for-an-eye stance in resolving differences.

The statement said the governor was saddened by the situation in Kajuru.

The statement quoted the governor saying: “What we saw is unfortunate, but we must speak out and tell our people the right thing to be done. “An eye for eye is not a solution to the vicious cycles of killings and

will complicate and undermine collective efforts. “Our admonition, is simple. If Fulani or Adara communities have complaints of killings or attacks, they should report and allow security agencies and government to take up the administration of justice. “ If these communities resort to taking the laws into their own hands, it will not work.

That is not the solution.�

IOM, S’Korea Provide Water to IDPs in North-east The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has completed the rehabilitation of two boreholes in Gwoza and Konduga in Borno State as part of a project funded by the Republic of Korea.

The initiative is aimed to revitalise the communities by ensuring that people affected by insurgency conflict are returned to safe and dignified living conditions. “We used to travel for about 12 kilometres to fetch water from an unprotected well before the new borehole was reopened,� Bakin, one of the beneficiaries, said.

According to the Humanitarian Response Strategy for Nigeria 20192021, an estimated 7.1 million people affected by the conflict are in acute need of protection and life-saving assistance in the region.

On the occasion of the reopening these water facilities, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nigeria, Lee In-tae, stated that in 2018, Korea donated $7.5 million to support women and girls in Borno State

Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal of Kwara APC Faction Alex Enumah in Abuja

destruction of communities in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state to reprisal attacks.

The governor urged the communities to stop taking the laws into their hands for peace to reign.

He spoke yesterday when he visited one of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Mararaban Kajuru.

Samuel Aruwan, spokesman of the governor, said in a statement that after visiting the IDP camp,

60 days by law.

Olujinmi submitted that the appellants premised their case on misconception, adding that there was nowhere in the court process they filed where they claimed that they participated in any primary election.

In his argument, lawyer to the Kwara State APC Caretaker Committee, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), while stressing that the appeal has been caught up by the 4th Alteration Act, submitted that there was no valid appeal before the apex court as the judgment being appealed arose from an interlocutory ruling of the trial court.

However, in its ruling the fivemember panel of justices of the apex court agreed with Fagbemi that the appeal was incompetent, having been filed outside the 14 days permitted by law. “This application is incompetent and liable to be struck out. It is adjudged to be lacking in merit and should be dismissed. “In the circumstances, this appeal is hereby dismissed for been incompetent,� Justice Ariwoola held.

The appellants had approached the apex court to challenge the powers of the national chairman of APC, to arbitrarily dissolve the state executive committee of the party when their four-year tenure had not expired.

while joining multilateral efforts to tackle humanitarian needs via IOM and other agencies. “The Korean Government will continue to strengthen efforts by providing support to vulnerable people, especially women and girls, continue capacity-building of government officials as well as promote education and health of Nigerian youths,� he added.

The rehabilitation project has improved the access to water for 13,500 individuals voluntarily returning to their communities of origin. Access to clean water in these areas of return has been achieved through the drilling, installation, maintenance and rehabilitation of boreholes, all of which are powered

by solar energy, he added.

Also, IOM Nigeria Head of Sub-office, Dave Bercasio, said: “Our aim is to improve access to community infrastructure and basic services and to ensure that these rehabilitation activities are sustainable. “That is why we are engaging the beneficiaries by forming community-based water, sanitation and hygiene committees.�

These committees, comprising local elders, women, men and youths, will be tasked to conduct regular water quality monitoring activities, provide maintenance of the boreholes and conduct sensitisation activities to raise awareness about the rehabilitated

facilities as well as how to use them.

IOM has completed the drilling of an additional borehole in Damboa as well as the rehabilitation of a community market in Konduga and two primary schools in Mandarari and Pulka benefitting approximately 6,000 people.

According to him, the project approach is guided by the IOM Progressive Resolution of Displacement Situation (PRDS) framework. “Starting on November 1, 2018, the project has a duration of seven months with the objective to promote pre-conditions for safe, dignified and voluntary return in identified areas of return.

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44

THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

45

46

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

THURSDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

Depleted Golden Eaglets off toTanzania for U-17 AFCON Glory Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Five-time world champions, Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets flew out of Abuja yesterday to Tanzania to take part in the 13th Africa U-17 Cup of Nations taking place in that country between Aptil 14th and 28th Acting President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Seyi Akinwunmi charged the players and team officials to do the nation proud by lifting the trophy in Dar es Salaam The Golden Eaglets secured their ticket to Tanzania after winning the WAFU B U-17 Tournament in Niger Republic in September last year, and will be aiming to be one of Africa’s four flag-bearers at the FIFA U-17 World Cup finals now scheduled for Brazil later this year.

Nigeria, Africa’s U-17 football powerhouse, edged fellow juggernauts Ghana on penalties in Niamey to secure their slot in Tanzania, and are in the same Group A as hosts Tanzania, Uganda and Angola.

However, the team has been depleted because of six first team players disqualified for failing the MRI age test last week.

Last year, the team’s Captain, Sulaiman Sani Abacha was dropped after he was disqualified at the zonal qualifiers in Niamey.

Eaglets and the other teams participating in the tournament are to face another round of age tests to be conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) today in Dar es Salam.

Tanzania made their way into the draw automatically as hosts, while Uganda won the Central East zonal finals held in Tanzania

in August last year, and Angola triumphed at the COSAFA U-17 Tournament in Mauritius a month earlier.

Nigeria is making her ninth appearance in this competition, having won it twice previously (Seychelles 2001 and Togo 2007), while Tanzania is making a second appearance. Angola is making a fourth appearance, but it is a first-ever appearance at this level for Uganda.

Cameroon, Guinea, Senegal and Morocco make up Group B. Both Cameroon and Guinea are appearing for the seventh time at the U-17 AFCON, while Morocco and Senegal are both appearing for the second time.

The Eaglets will take on their Tanzanian counterparts in Sunday’s tournament opener at the National Stadium, Dar es Salaam.

An interesting variable in Sunday’s equation is the fact that Nigeria legend Emmanuel Amuneke, who is head coach of the Tanzania national team, Taifa Stars also oversees the other national teams and would be involved in their technical preparation.

Amuneke last month qualified the Taifa Stars for a first-ever AFCON finals after 39 years Amuneke is highly familiar with the Nigeria bench, which has Manu Garba as head coach and Nduka Ugbade as one of the assistants.

When Manu Garba led the Golden Eaglets to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the fourth time in the United Arab Emirates in 2013, Amuneke and Ugbade were his assistants.

Two years later, in Chile,

L-R: Rangers’ Solomon Okpako and Akpos Adubi challenging Ebenezer Odeyemi of Kwara United during the rescheduled NPFL Match-day 6 clash in Ilorin…yesterday

Amuneke was the head coach as Nigeria won a fifth title at that level.

After Sunday’s encounter, the Eaglets will tackle Angola on Wednesday, 17th April and confront Uganda on Saturday, 20th April.

Meanwhile, Golden Eaglets’ forward, Divine Nwachukwu has guaranteed Nigerians the team will return with the trophy.

Speaking after the Eaglets received former World Cup winner, Kelechi Nwakali, the NFF Zenith U-15 Football Championship top

scorer told AOIFootball.com that the boys were ready to defend the colours of the country.

“It’s not easy to be here representing the country; we are privileged to be among the thousands that began this process.

“It’s not by our power but by the might of God and we want to promise that we are going to Tanzania not to play but to win,” Divine said.

The AYG top scorer also promised that the players will play to instructions and ensure they play as a team to achieve

success for the nation.

“We are going to make our families and the country proud in

Tanzania, we will play as a team and also ensure we bring back the trophy,” he concluded.

THE21-MANSQUAD Sunday Stephen, Shedrack Tanko, Ogaga Oduko, Samson Okikiola Tijani, Clement Chigozie Ikenna, David Akulo Ishaya, Olakunle Junior Olusegun, Mayowa David Abayomi, Wisdom Ubani, Adrian Akande, Mubaraq Gata Adeshina, Shuaib Abdulrazaq, Akinkunmi Ayobami Amoo, Olatomi Alfred Olaniyan, Charles Etim, Suleman Shaibu, Peter Agba, Divine Nwachukwu, Ibraheem Olalekan Jabaar, Fawaz Abdullahi, Ayomide Oluwabusola

NPFL: Rangers Dethrone MFM FC from Summit of Group A NBBF to Hold Training for But Ebenezer Odeyemi reduces month, chalking up valuable matches - one at home against defending champions Lobi Stars, the tally in the 65th minute, points at home and on the Technical Officials Rangers International defeated and the other two versus Rivers capitalising on a defensive slip. road that have now seen the

Duro Ikhazuagbe

Kwara United 2-1 yesterday in a rescheduled Match-day 6 in Ilorin to go on top of Group A of the 2018/19 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL). The Enugu landlords now have 24 points from 11 matches.

The Flying Antelopes, who are now one point ahead of the Lagos side, still have three outstanding

United and Bendel Insurance.

MFM will further go down if Lobi Stars triumph over Sunshine Stars in a rescheduled match in Akure today.

Two goals within three minutes through Ifeanyi George’s in the 25th minute and Godwin Aguda gave Rangers a two-goal lead at the interval.

Rangers however hold their nerves till the final whistle to run out of the Kwara State capital with maximum three points in the kitty.

The AITEO Federation Cup champions have been on a steady rise in the domestic league since exiting the continent CAF Confederation Cup tournament last

‘Oriental Landlords’ move up the Group A log to the top even with three outstanding games to spare.

Ifeanyi Egwim, the attacking sensation of Rangers who fractured his leg in the last match of the trophy winning squad of 2016 got few minutes appearance.

FIFA Officials Arrive for Women’s World Cup Trophy Tour Officials from world footballruling body, FIFA have arrived in Nigeria with the original FIFA Women’s World Cup for a trophy tour scheduled for today in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Acting President of the NFF, Seyi Akinwunmi received the officials in company with Ademola Olajire (Director of Communications), Sunday Okayi (Assistant Director, Competitions), Ruth David (Head of Women’s Football), Emmanuel Adesanya (Competitions) and other federation officials.

While Nicole Fisch (lead for women’s football project) and Sarai Bareman (chief women’s football officer) flew into Abuja aboard an Ethiopian Airline flight, Vanessa Marques (lead for marketing project) arrived aboard an Emirates Airline flight.

The Women’s World Cup trophy is on a tour of all 24 countries qualified to participate at the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals taking place in nine cities in France between 7th June and 7th July this year.

African champions Nigeria,

Cameroon and South Africa will represent Africa at the championship, with the Super Falcons the only African country to have taken part in all editions of the competition to date, and one of only seven countries worldwide with that special stripe.

The trophy will be received during a welcome ceremony at the Conference Room of the Sports Minister at the National Stadium, Abuja this morning, before the train moves to the Transcorp Hilton Hotel for a couple of video documentaries,

an address by the NFF’s Acting President and photo sessions.

Akinwunmi will be joined at the ceremony by Chairman of the Nigeria Women Football League, Aisha Falode, NFF Management officials and directors in the Sports Ministry.

Some players of the Super Falcons, who returned from a twomatch tour of Spain on Tuesday afternoon, pupils from two schools within the Abuja metropolis as well as media representatives and other stakeholders will also be part of the event.

Arrangements have been concluded by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) to organise a three-day training and refresher course for its Technical Officials ahead of the new basketball season in the country.

The Technical Representative on the NBBF board, Adamu Janlong made this known to newsmen on Monday in Abuja ahead of the federation’s stakeholders meeting on Saturday.

Adamu said, “Both old and new officials hoping to be actively involved in the 2019 season are expected to participate in this intensive training which will focus on capacity development and interpretations of some new rules.”

The training and refresher course expected to hold at the National Institute

of Sports, Package B of the Abuja National Stadium will start on Friday and end on Sunday.

“The recent training by NBBF in 2018 in Lagos has seen more Nigerian statisticians and Technical Officials take up more roles in Africa during continental assignments. As a board, we shall continue to organize trainings for our members to ensure they are qualified to compete favorably with the best in the world.”

Foremost Nigerian FIBA certified referee, Kingsley Ojeaburu and some FIBA Technical officials are expected to be resource persons.

Participants are expected to cater for their transportation , f e e d i n g a n d accommodation for the duration of the training.

Zenith Bank Proud of Delta Principals’ Cup Standard The sponsor of the just concluded Principals’ Cup Football competition in Delta State, Zenith Bank, has expressed great delight with the standard of the 2019 edition which was the third.

The competition was revived after 27 years in limbo only three years ago courtesy of a partnership initiative between the bank and the Governor If-

eanyi Okowa-led administration of Delta State.

Zenith Bank’s GM and Head, Delta Zone, Lucky Ighade, said the organisation is excited that the tournament has been getting better with every edition.

He said: “The boys are all very talented. I am particularly impressed with the standard of the final match. Our team monitoring the competition

also gave us positive reports about the standard exhibited during the early stages of the tournament even at Local Government level.

“We are happy that some of these boys will in future be good ambassadors of the country in football. That is why we are so proud that it is getting bigger and better with every edition.”

Obule Integrated School,

Sapele defeated Boys Secondary School, Obiaruku 2-1 in the final match of the Zenith/ Delta Principals’ Cup decided at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba on April 1.

Ighade added that the motive of the bank was already being realized because reports suggest that some of the products of the competition are in national teams.

“We have this Principals Cup tournament and another age grade event of the NFF we are supporting and the football federation told us that some of the players in the current U-17 team were from tournaments we sponsored.

“Our purpose of supporting the youths is being realized already and we will do much to make this become very clear in

the years ahead. Youths are the leaders of tomorrow and they deserve all the attention they can get today to realize their respective career objectives,” Ighade stressed.

Over 800 private and public secondary schools took part in the competition which started in October last year across all the 25 Local Government Areas of Delta State.

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THURS ˜ ͯ​ͯ˜ Ͱͮͯͷ ˾ T H I S D AY

THURSDAYSPORTS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Shaw Own Goal Gifts Barcelona Slim Edge at Old Trafford Ronaldo scores 125th Champions League goal in Juve draw with Ajax Cristiano Ronaldo secured an away goal for Juventus as they drew the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Ajax last night.

In the other quarter final of the night, Barcelona grabbed a valuable 1-0 away win at Old Trafford after Luke Shaw turned a Luis Suarez header into his own net.

Ronaldo, who has won the competition five times, netted his 125th goal in the competition with a diving header following Joao Cancelo’s cross just before half-time.

The goal had come against the run of play, but the hosts equalised within a minute of the second half through David Neres’ fine curling effort from 15 yards.

Both teams had late chances with Ajax’s Jurgen Ekkelenkamp having a shot saved before Juventus substitute Douglas Costa hit the post.

But neither side could grab a winner and they meet in the second leg in Turin on Tuesday, 16 April.

The winners of the tie face either Tottenham or Manchester City in the semi-finals, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side holding a 1-0 advantage after Tuesday’s

first leg in London.

At Old Trafford, Manchester United must produce another unlikely Champions League comeback to keep their hopes alive after Barcelona left Old Trafford with a slender advantage following the quarter-final first leg.

Barcelona, with superstar Lionel Messi quiet by his standards, were nowhere near their best but secured the win after Luis Suarez’s far post header from the Argentine’s pass deflected in off Luke Shaw in the 12th minute and was confirmed by the video assistant referee after initially being given offside.

New Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can take heart from his team’s great endeavour but opportunities were at a premium, the best being a first-half header from Diogo Dalot that he directed off target.

In fact United did not muster a single shot on target.

Barcelona still posed a threat, with David de Gea saving from Philippe Coutinho and Messi - and United must now repeat their last16 heroics against Paris St-Germain in France when they travel to the Nou Camp chasing a semifinal spot against Liverpool or Porto.

Juventus players celebrating Cristiano Ronaldo 125th UEFA Champions League goal in the 1-1 draw with Ajax in the first leg of the 2018/2019 edition in Amsterdam…last night PHOTO: REUTERS

Europa League: Aubameyang Likely to Start against Napoli Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is in line to start for Arsenal against Napoli in their Europa League quarter-final first leg this evening.

Illness had restricted the forward to substitute appearances in Arsenal’s past two Premier League matches.

Aubameyang, 29, is Arsenal’s leading scorer with 22 goals in all competitions this season.

“He’s getting better and can start,” said Arsenal manager Unai Emery.

“He had a small problem and he has taken antibiotics for his illness,” added Emery.

“That’s the main reason he didn’t start those two

matches.”

Emery also revealed Wednesday that he will wait until match day to assess the fitness of Laurent Koscielny who has been recovering from a foot injury, and Granit Xhaka, who is getting over a groin problem.

Both the Gunners captain Koscielny and midfielder Xhaka

EUROPA Q’FINALS Fixtures (8:00pm) Arsenal v Napoli Benfica v E’ Frankfurt S’Prague v Chelsea Villarreal v Valencia

NBA: Magic Johnson Resigns from Lakers Role Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson has resigned from his job as the team’s president of basketball operations.

The Lakers have failed to reach the play-offs for the sixth year in a row.

Johnson, who played a key role in bringing LeBron James to the team last year, broke the news before the 104-101 defeat by the Portland Trail Blazers.

“I had more fun when I was able to be the big brother and the ambassador to everybody,” the 59-year-old said at an impromptu news conference on Tuesday.

Johnson said he had not warned president Jeanie Buss of his decision to bring his two-year reign to an end.

“She doesn’t know I’m standing here because I know I would be crying like a baby in front of her, even though I’m about to cry now,” added

Johnson.

“But it’s the right thing to do, the right move to make.”

Johnson, who said he had grown tired of the “the backstabbing and the whispering” this season, also suggested he did not want to have to make a decision over the future of coach Luke Walton.

“Tomorrow I would have to affect someone’s livelihood and their life,” he said, without referring to Walton directly.

“I want to go back to having fun. I want to go back to who I was before taking on this job.”

The Lakers paid tribute to Johnson, a Hall of Famer during his playing days with the team, in a brief statement.

“There is no greater Los Angeles Laker than Earvin Johnson,” the statement said.

“We are deeply grateful to Magic for all that he has done for our franchise, as a player, an ambassador and an executive.”

trained on Wednesday, but have not played for the club since the international break in March.

“We know we need to win,”

said Emery. “Our first target is to win, but also we don’t want to concede chances for them to score.”

Forwards Lorenzo Insigne

and Simone Verdi have been included in Napoli’s squad following recent injury absences.

Insigne played the final

quarter of Napoli’s 1-1 draw with Genoa last Sunday, having missed the previous three games with a thigh injury.

Coaches Arrive for FCV Gladiators Camp A foremost coach from the English Premier League will be leading some group of tacticians to the maiden FCV Gladiators Camp scheduled to hold between April 14 and 19 in Lagos.

Also, the Olympic Value Education Programme (OVEP) will also be part of the exercise to take place at the University of Lagos Sports Complex.

The Abuja leg of the camp will take place at Aduvie International School on April 21 through April 26.

The camp, brainchild of Dynaspro Promotion with Advanta Interactive in collaboration with United Kingdom (UK)-based FCV Academy, will hold in Lagos

and Abuja with special focus on football and education.

The coaches are expected to arrive this week for the one-day training for 40 coaches from the Lagos State Football Association (LSFA) as part of the efforts to update the knowledge of the coaches.

For the Director of FCV Academy, Martin Harris, special emphasis would be laid on encouraging the participants to combine sports with education.

“At FCV Academy, we value our pupils not only as athletes, but also as students, combining both sporting and academic excellence to enhance our younger generation, giving them a platform to achieve both

on and off the football pitch.

“The unique aspect of the FCV Gladiator Soccer Camps are these core values will be directly transferred into the programme, ensuring that all participants not only focus on improving their athletics and football performance, but also stimulate and improve their mind,” Harris noted.

Several numbers of participants have signed up for the five-day camp and it is expected to expose them to the new techniques of football.

“Participants attending the FCV Gladiator Soccer Camps will enhance their individual skills both from a technical and tactical aspect; it will build their teamwork and character, but most

importantly will be fun.

“Our highly qualified and experienced coaches, supported by additional European coaches will work with the participants to help improve their performance and understanding of the requirements of the modern game.”

Harris added that besides honing their football skills, “the camp will also provide educational seminars in areas such as the Nigerian Olympic Value Programme, health and exercise, leadership, financial literacy, social skills and general etiquette.”

In conclusion, each participant is to receive an assessment and report, providing feedback to support their continued development.

B O A L AW Y E R S ’ L E A G U E

Africa Law Practice/SPA Ajibade Consolidates in Group A Africa Law Practice/SPA Ajibade maintained its dominance of proceedings in the Group A of the on-going 2019 BOA Lawyers Football Tournament with a straight third victory last weekend.

Even with a game to spare, ALP/SPA Ajibade that defeated Perchstone & Graeys 2-0 on Match-day 4 fixture has maximum nine points to lead the group. Lekan Ikuomola and Yilji Dimka got the two goals that guaranteed victory for the table toppers.

AELEX that drew goalless with George Etomi/FRA Williams is second in the standing on seven

points with Aluko & Oyebode third on three points.

The same scenario is playing out in Group C where SOOB/ NICCOM is also leading on maximum nine points from three matches.

SOOB/NICCOM also grabbed maximum points from their weekend clash with Olisa Agbakoba Legal. OAL is second in the standing on six points while Pinheiro and Templars are tied on four points to maintain the third and fourth spots. Olaniwun Ajayi is yet to record any point.

In Group B, Udoma Udoma & Belo Osagie/ACAS remain in-charge on seven points despite

observing last weekend as rest day. Former champions Falana & Falana is second on six points from three matches while another former champions, Lagos State Ministry of Justice (LSMJ) is third on four points from three matches.

Wole Olanipekun / Dele Adesina is yet to record any point after three matches.

In Group D, Advocaat consolidated its hold on the group with the 1-0 defeat of DOA Law/ Grey Chapel last weekend to stay on nine points from four matches. BA Law/Probitas, DOA Law/Grey Chapel and Banwo & Ighodalo are all on four points each with varying

goals differences. Punuka is at the bottom on just a point from a possible nine points.

For the Match-day 5 fixtures this Sunday, ALP/ SPA Ajibade have the chance to further extend its leadership of Group A when it files out against AELEX at the AstroTurf 2000 venue of the tournament in Ikoyi, Lagos Agbakoba have a date with Pinheiro while DOA Law/ Grey Chapel takes on Banwo & Ighodalo. Punuka is to play BA Law/Probitas with the fixture between George Etomi/ FRA Williams and Aluko & Oyebode capping the weekend clashes.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

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Price: N250

MISSILE Babachir Lawal to South-east

“They (South-east) marginalised themselves in this election. They went for PDP which lost. Nobody forced them to vote PDP. But they lost. So, that is politics.

Politics is a game of risk. You lose, you sit down and watch through the window when people are chopping on the dining table” – Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Bacahir Lawal, on the outcome of the 2019 general election and the reward system within the ruling APC.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI Beyond the Banditry in Zamfara THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

F

ollowing a civil protest spearheaded by respected journalist, Ms Kadaria Ahmed, over the violence and lawlessness that now define Zamfara, the federal government last weekend responded by suspending all mining operations in the state. There is a “glaring nexus between the activities of armed bandits and illicit miners, with both mutually re-enforcing each other” said the acting Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu as he launched “Operation Puff Adder” against the bandits.

But as conventional wisdom teaches, you don’t continue to do the same thing while expecting different outcomes.

In a media briefing on 30th November last year, the then Force Public Relations Officer, Ag. DCP Jimoh Moshood narrated how the police repelled attacks by bandits operating from the Mahanga Forest in Birnin Mogaji local government of Zamfara state, killing 104 and destroying 50 of their hideouts. Three weeks before that incident, Moshood had similarly claimed that a “Joint Intervention Team of about 1000 police personnel comprised of seven mobile police force units headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, counter terrorism unit (CTU), federal special antirobbery squad (FSARS), anti-bomb (EOD) squad, and conventional policemen” had been deployed to Zamfara “to rout-out, arrest and prosecute armed bandits, vicious kidnap for ransom and cattle rustling gangs operating in some parts of the state.”

Leading the reinforcement was a DIG who was deployed “to be the overall commander of the Police Joint Intervention Force and add new impetus to the operations. The DIG has already arrived in Zamfara state overnight with hundreds of police special forces personnel, counter terrorism units (CTU), additional police mobile force (PMF), federal SARS personnel, three surveillance patrol helicopters and crew members to coordinate the operation to completely rout-out all armed bandits from Zamfara and other contiguous states” said Moshood in November last year.

If these forces were deployed less than five months ago, how can the bandits still be operating freely? What does this say about the nature of the security challenge we are facing? On Tuesday, the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali claimed that some highly placed Nigerians, including traditional rulers, “were identified as helping the bandits with intelligence to perpetuate their nefarious actions or to compromise military operations.” If that is true, we have a very serious problem on our hands.

While the widening ungoverned spaces in the country should be of concern to all critical stakeholders, it is commendable that the security challenge in the Northwest is finally receiving the attention it deserves.

It has been under the radar for a while essentially because it doesn’t fit into the familiar fault lines of ethnicity and religion. Yet, so desperate is the situation that a few months ago, the Chairman of Zamfara Council of Chiefs and Emir of

Kadaria Ahmed Anka, Alhaji Attahiru Ahmad, called on the federal government to license self-help by granting them permission to begin to carry guns to defend themselves against the bandits tormenting their domains.

Before we go further, it is important to examine the state of affairs in Zamfara that has since 1999 been woefully governed by a succession of irresponsible leaders, beginning with Ahmed Sani Yerima (now senator) who used the Sharia subterfuge to gain and retain power for eight years between 1999 and 2007. Governor Abdulazees Yari, who in 2017 reacted to the outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis in his state by saying, “There is no way fornication will be so rampant and God will not send a disease that cannot be cured”, has been the worst of them all. He has spent the past eight years destroying practically all social sectors in the state due to criminal neglect.

In her interview last week, Kadaria described Yari as “the most useless governor” in Nigeria today. Hardly anybody who has visited Zamfara in recent years will disagree with that characterization. In December 2016, the Executive Chairman, Zamfara State Universal Basic Education Board (ZSUBEB), Hon Murtala Adamu Jangebe, lamented that no fewer than 300 public primary schools in the state were manned by a single teacher each.

Many more schools in remote rural communities, he added, have no teacher at all. It therefore came as no surprise when the federal ministry of education disclosed that only 28 candidates from Zamfara State sat for the 2018 National Common Entrance Examination into the 104 Federal Government Colleges in the country!

But if the state of education in Zamfara is poor, what then do we say about that of the health sector? According to the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, there are only 23 medical doctors for the 24 hospitals owned by the Zamfara state government. And we are talking of a state with a population of over three million people, where hundreds of children die yearly by ingesting lead poison as a result of illegal mining.

In November 2012, Médecins sans

Frontières (MSF)/Doctors Without Borders warned that time was running out to solve the Zamfara crisis. “More than two and a half years after the lead poisoning disaster was first discovered, hundreds of children are still awaiting critical medical treatment. MSF is ready and willing to treat these children, but cannot do so until their homes have been environmentally remediated,” said Michael White, the then Acting Head of MSF Mission, Nigeria at a period no fewer than 2,000 children died after being poisoned by dust released by gold miners in the course of breaking open rocks near their homes.

The MSF humanitarian mission which started in 2010 and included remediation of affected villages, medical treatment to the most vulnerable victims and the implementation of safer mining practices was a collaboration with TerraGraphics, a US-based engineering firm. But due to inadequate financing, the clean-up was eventually abandoned and the company moved out as more and more children in Zamfara continue to die. Meanwhile, Yari spends most of his time outside Nigeria.

When he is in the country, he stays put in Abuja as chair of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).

Kadaria is right to put Yari on the spot.

Governors must bear responsibility. The absence of governance in too many of our states has resulted in substandard living conditions. Unfortunately, I do not believe that the current approach to solving serious problems will provide any lasting solution. I read somewhere that the Chief of Army Staff may temporarily relocate to Zamfara. That may be good for optics but it does not address the challenge at hand.

At best, the bandits may withdraw for a while or relocate to neighbouring states but they will certainly come back. In any case, this is a North-west challenge that goes beyond Zamfara. On Monday, no fewer than 30 persons were killed in a clash between vigilantes and bandits in Tsamiyar Jino village in Kankara local government of Katsina state. At about the same time, scores of gunmen invaded Angwan Aku community in Kajuru local government of Kaduna state, killing about 21 persons with several others wounded.

It is instructive that there are no mining activities in these two areas that are practically being controlled by bandits.

From “A society governed by rustlers” to “Let’s kill all their men” to “The Zamfara Killing Fields”, banditry in the North-west is an issue I have engaged on this page several times in the past five years. I have also warned that with villages being deserted in the face of what looks like organized crime, there are serious threats to our national economy and security.

A respected retired federal permanent secretary, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, once put the situation in perspective: “For almost 400 square kilometers, from Abuja to Kaduna, Zaria and Birnin Gwari, there is hardly any farm with cattle [left].

It is the same in most parts of Katsina and Zamfara states. The backbone of

the northern economy is farming and husbandry. Cattle breeding and processing was a major business in these areas. Not anymore. Slowly but surely, the heart of the northern economy is being snuffed out. We cannot keep cattle on our farms.

Large scale farming is becoming less and less attractive. A huge swathe of the north is now bandit territory. Most of us know where our cattle are, but we cannot retrieve them. Abducted women and young girls hardly ever return…”

Aside the immediate response of showing some muscle, as has been done numerous times in the past, there is a need to develop short, medium and long term strategies to a challenge that goes beyond Zamfara to the entire North-west zone. As it is clear with the management of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east, this tragedy points to poor use of pre-emptive intelligence and a lack of any coherent strategy. There is a forest straddling Zamfara, Kaduna and Katsina that provides hideouts for cattle rustlers and kidnappers.

Not only is it important to scale up security presence along that axis, we also need a comprehensive approach, rather than episodic ones whenever there is a surge in attacks. For that to happen, the national security architecture must be redefined in a manner that takes into account the peculiarities of crises in different parts of the country.

The authorities must also try to understand the origin and increasing growth of this lawlessness. For instance, the violence in Zamfara started late in 2011 in Lingyado village of Dansadau district but it was in 2012 that the situation went out of control when 52 persons, mostly Vigilantes mobilized to protect the community, were brutally murdered in Zurmi, sending fears to many of the residents who fled with their families and cattle. On 7th April, 2014, Yar Galadima village in Maru Local Government witnessed a mass burial of 112 persons killed in a single attack while in 2015, no fewer than 48 people were killed after the marauders entered a village called Kizara before dawn, riding on motorbikes. In desperation, parallel vigilante groups known as “Yan Banga” and “Yan Sa Kai” have emerged in various local communities with their members identifying and arresting alleged criminals and executing them without recourse to law courts. That was what engendered a spiral of revenge killings, mostly by bandits who regroup to launch counter attacks.

It is clear from the foregoing that a discernible gangster ethos now defines living and livelihoods in Zamfara state with the crisis spreading to Katsina, Kaduna and Sokoto as sundry cartels of criminals carve out empires for themselves. That is why the pledge by the Zamfara state government to recruit 1,700 local charmers in addition to the 8,500 members of Civilian Joint Task Force, (CJTF) offers no practical solution. But my main concern is that when security is outsourced to forces over which the authorities have no control, it is the larger society that is endangered.

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