TUESDAY 30TH APRIL 2019

Hundreds Missing as Bandits Block Kaduna-Abuja Highway UBEC chairman, daughter kidnapped John Shiklam in Kaduna with agency report Despite the constant assurance by the acting Inspector General of Police (IG), Mohammed

Adamu, to travellers on Kaduna-Abuja expressway of their safety, kidnappers yesterday afternoon blocked the major road, forcing several motorists to abandon

their vehicles and head for nearby bushes to avoid being abducted.

The bandits abducted many travellers, including Chairman of Universal Basic Education

(UBEC), Dr. Muhammad Abubakar, and his daughter.

The driver of the UBEC chairman was said to have been shot dead when the bandits opened fire on their

vehicle.

The development has left many motorists and passengers unaccounted for just as their belongings were carted away by the kidnappers.

Nigeria’s Population Now 201 Million, Says UN...

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who narrowly escaped the attack by the kidnappers, Continued on page 8

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Tuesday 30 April, 2019 Vol 24. No 8786. Price: N250

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PDP Accuses INEC of Doctoring Servers Iyobosa Uwugiaren, Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE...

L-R: Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha; Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; and Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, during the induction of new and returning governors in Abuja… yesterday GODWIN OMOIGU

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is currently replacing all the servers in its headquarters and offices in all states of the federation in a desperate bid to obliterate the actual results of the 2019 presidential election transmitted from the polling centres across the nation.

But in a swift reaction, the electoral body has described the allegation as baseless, adding that it would not engage in media war with Continued on page 6

Brace for New Minimum Wage Payment, Osinbajo Tells Govs Asks for collaboration with FG on security Omololu Ogunmade and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has advised state governors to look inwards for ways to generate internal revenue to enable them pay the new minimum wage.

Osinbajo also tasked the governors to collaborate with the federal government and design more creative ways of decisively addressing the country’s security challenges.

This is coming as the Governor of Zamfara State and Chairman of Nigerian

Governors’ Forum (NGF), Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, warned that Nigeria stands the risk of running into a serious economic crisis, if nothing is done to diversify its economy before 2026.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of

Yari warns on looming economic crisis

a three-day induction of new and returning governors of the federation, which was organised

by NGF, Osinbajo said states should not continue to expect that the federal government can do more interventions because that may not necessarily offer much hope.

He said the federal government has intervened in the financial crisis affecting states in the last three years through loans, bailouts and Paris Club refunds to the tune of well over N1.1trillion.

"We have in the past three years, intervened through

loans, bailouts and Paris Club refunds to the tune of well over N1.1trillion. This represents the highest amount of federal government’s extra statutory allocations and interventions to states in Nigeria’s history

Fashola Seeks Elongation of Works Minister's Tenure...

Continued on page 8

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Fashola Seeks Elongation of Works Minister's Tenure Says four years too short to design, build roads Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has called for the elongation of appointment of the Minister of Works and critical directors in the ministry, saying a four-year term is too short to design roads, undertake procurement and building the roads.

Fashola made the call yesterday in Abuja while unveiling a compendium on “Proof of Infrastructural Delivery across Nigeria,” a three-year special report of the ministry.

He stated: “Government cycles in the last 20 years have been fixed tenures of four years at a time, subject to how the electorate vote.

Personnel changes are effected by retirement, deployment, opportunities and cabinet reshuffles. As a result, critical

directors, permanent secretaries and ministers are turned over in a quest for efficiency.

“In all, since 1952 to date, Nigeria has had 34 ministers of works and I am number 34 in a period of 67 years. This amounts to an average of a minister every 1.9 years.

“A further interrogation of the data of tenure shows that very few of them served for up to four years and above and the majority served a little over a year, which is barely enough time to design a road not to talk of undertaking the procurement and actually building the road.”

He said the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government as a matter of urgency needed to forge a national consensus on how to overcome some of the challenges that the nation has faced in the delivery of urgently needed national infrastructure.

Fashola also called on the National Assembly to amend the Procurement Act, saying that the country’s procurement process must be urgent and be compelling to the national need.

Reeling out some of the achievements, on the road sector, the minister revealed that there is at least one federal road under construction in each of the 36 states and the FCT, saying while some have been completed, others are still under construction.

He gave reasons why President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected, promising to take them to the Next Level and finish the job.

Fashola added that the housing sector has a similar story of economic opportunities with construction going on in 34 states, most of which are now largely completed, adding that the ministry was now

in the administrative state of setting better conditions for eligibility and offer to the public, while simultaneously planning a second phase in those states that have given us land.

The minister noted that the ministry has cleared the backlog of unsigned consent to land transactions and issuance of certificates of transparency.

According to him, “As at April 13, 2019, we have issued 1,417 consents to land transactions; and 2,400 certificates of occupancy. Some of the beneficiaries have paid for their properties as far back as the 1990s; but did not get title. Very simply, we have made this place better than we met it. That is what our mandate for change meant and still means; making it better.”

The minister also explained that while the whole of Nigeria has focused on power from

the grid for six decades in the search for a solution to the energy problem, the Buhari government has opened a new page through the ministry about the possibilities that lie in the off-grid sector.

Fashola said through this initiative and the Rural Electrification Agency, seven universities, two teaching hospitals are currently having their own independent power solution deployed at various states.

He stressed that preparatory works had been undertaken on all sites, while all the equipment have arrived in Nigerian ports and some have been cleared, while others are being attended to.

He said solar system and panels for the Ebonyi University have been installed and the plant would soon be completed.

Also, the Chairman, Senate Committee on works, Senator

Kabir Gaya, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment to infrastructural development, stressing that roads that have been abandoned for 18 years are now back on track, including Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa road.

On his part, the Chairman House Committee on Housing, Hon. Mahmoud Muhammed, said that the only reason while he won’t say the programme was coming late was because the president was re-elected, adding that the compendium was meant to inform Nigerians about the achievement of this government.

Earlier, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, said that the ministry has made his job easier than it could have been, adding that if there is no achievement there would be nothing to propagate.

observers were not allowed free passage even after full identification. There were reported cases of the security personnel chasing away observers and other stakeholders at collation centres across the country. ‘’In the history of elections in the country, the level of interference of the security personnel in our elections has never been this brazen. ‘’However, we must commend some of the officers and men of the security agencies who stood out to protect Nigerians and the ballot, worthy of mention is Commissioner of Police Kano State, CP Mohammed Wakil even though he was removed from office’’, the group further reported.

The report further revealed that the politicians, their agents and thugs constituted the greatest menace in the conduct of the 2019 general elections.

It stated that from ‘’brazen acts of vote buying, violent attacks on perceived opponents, intimidation and abduction of INEC officials, snatching and destruction of ballot boxes and papers to burning up of INEC offices and electoral materials in Plateau, Anambra, AkwaI bom, Imo, Benue and Abia states, the political parties and politicians showed their desperation for power.

It further stated, ‘’The resultant losses of lives and property in such places as Lagos, Rivers, Kogi, Plateau and so on and the widespread violence that attended these were recorded by our observers as perpetrated by politicians and their political thugs. ‘’The recruitment of thugs by the political class from one part of the country to another before the elections evidenced by the arrest of young men travelling en masse at Uyo was as never seen in the history of our elections. ‘’The violence that followed the elections was as a result of the hate speeches by the political class at campaigns and the conduct some of the party primaries ended in violence. ‘’Most political party agents seen on the field did not have proper identification tags from INEC, the parties printed their own tags for their agents. It has become a recurrent problem of the political parties not following the guidelines for

party agents’ accreditation.

The group, which deployed hundreds of monitors for the election monitoring said that ‘’vote buying was a sore point’’ in the participation of citizens in the elections, stating that it was a case of willing buyer (politicians) and willing seller (voter).

While leaving general prosecution of electoral offenders to the security agencies and the legal authorities, the group recommended that INEC has to show its strong determination to stop electoral offenders by robustly prosecuting members of its staff found to be involved in electoral malpractices. ‘’This will send out the signal to any staff and prospective staff members that the institution of INEC will never tolerate electoral malpractices in any form’’, the report added.

Making an introductory remark at the event, Ms Faith Nwadishi, the Acting Executive Director, CTA, said INEC proved ‘’quite independent in the way and manner it responded to the unexpected challenges throw its way by the political class. ‘’We saw how it bravely prevented the ruling party from fielding candidates in Zamfara and Rivers in its determination to follow the rules no matter whose horse is gored. Eventually, its actions were vindicated by the courts - even at the highest judicial level by the Supreme Court.

More crucially, on the ground, during election and voting day, it refused to be intimidated by threats and violence unleashed on its officials and ad-hoc staff. ‘’Indeed, INEC’s brave conduct may have saved our nation from conflagration because it was obvious that elements of the political class, including elements of the ruling class, were bent on mayhem if they didn’t get their way’’, she added.

said it will carry out a comprehensive review of its processes and procedures used for the conduct of the 2019 elections beginning from May. Speaking at the Civil Society Coalition Situation Room to review the just concluded 2019 general election, the INEC Commissioner for Information, Publicity and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, said the commission will propose far-reaching changes in the following areas: conduct of party primaries, and timeline for the disposal of pre-election matters.

According to Okoye, the commission will make proposals towards reforms as the crises and challenges arising from the conduct of party primaries have remained a sour point in the electoral process.

He also explained that the present timelines proposed for the disposal of pre-election matters have not solved the problem of certainty in the electoral process.

Okoye said that in the next four months, the commission will produce a report on the 2019 general election.

He listed the issues for review in the conduct of the elections to include deployment of personnel and materials, opening of polls, voting processes and performance of equipment; counting, collation and declaration of results, operation of the national

PDP ACCUSES INEC OF DOCTORING SERVERS the party.

The party in a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said the PDP had been well briefed on how the INEC leadership and officials of the Buhari presidency became jittery and resorted to the desperate measure, after they realised that the servers have information of Atiku Abubakar’s victory at the election.

To this end, the main opposition party insisted on forensic examination of all relevant documents and equipment used for the presidential election.

Ologbondiyan stated: “This is completely reprehensible and further exposes the culpability of INEC in the manipulation and rigging of the 2019 presidential election.

“Our party also has details of how the INEC leadership and the presidency agents procured and detailed computer experts to the commission’s offices to switch the servers, mutilate vital information in the system and attempt to erase all trails of transmitted results to the main server.

“What INEC and the Buhari presidency do not understand is that computer software and applications leave traces, signatures as well as footmark.

Forensic investigation of the system will reveal the real votes transmitted from the polling centres, which show Atiku Abubakar as the winner of the election.”

The party noted that it has also been informed about how the INEC leadership, several weeks after the election, used some compromised officials of the commission to manipulate voter registers in some states by ticking names of individuals who did not participate in the presidential election, as having voted.

It noted that this was with the view to using such to cover the fictitious results it wrote for the APC, stressing that the party would continue to be at alert as it stands with Nigerians to reclaim its stolen mandate at the tribunal and no amount of manipulations

by INEC would detract from this national resolve.

Reacting, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman,

Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, said that the commission would allow the legal process to run its full course.

He stated: "The allegation is baseless and uncalled for. The commission has maintained that it will not join issues with the PDP in the media on a petition that the party had already filed in court, in respect of the 2019 Presidential election.

"Rather than issuing press statements and addressing press conferences on the same petition on a daily basis, the PDP should allow the legal process to run its full course."

Election Monitors Show How INEC Aided Rigging A coalition of civil society groups, under the platform of the Centre for Transparency And Advocacy (CTA), which deployed election monitors across the country for the 2019 general elections, yesterday in Abuja presented its final report, accusing some electoral officers and returning officers of collaborating with politicians to subvert the electoral process in several places.

It also tasked INEC to review the dirty role played by some of its officials especially, the returning officers and EOs, fish out the bad eggs and deal with them according to law.

But the group also reported that there were cases of RECs and INEC Returning Officers, who against all odds stood up for the right thing to be done, commending ‘’the gallantry of several State RECs who, even in the face of threats and violence, insisted on playing by the rules.’’

It said:‘’We commend the RECs of Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Bayelsa, Imo, and Akwa Ibom States for ensuring that the elections in their states were credible."

An INEC National Commissioner, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, in company of her colleague, Alhaji Mohammed Kudu Haruna, who attended the event, however, promised to study the report, saying ‘’If you don’t work in INEC, you don’t know what the staff go through.’’

CTA said that the electoral body must come to terms with the fact that it cannot deliver credibly on its mandate if it has within the organisation

a sizeable number of people working against its intentions. ‘’It must now carry out a thorough house cleaning exercise before any future election’’, the election monitoring group added.

On the collation and declaration of results at the various levels, CTA said that most of its observers reported that they were able to access the Form EC60 known as the people’s result from their respective Polling Units but were prevented from entering the Local Government Area Collation Centres by security personnel.

Overall, the group said that there were reports of malfunctioning card readers, attributing the challenges to the fact that the staff handling them did not know how to use them.

According to the report, ‘’In some cases, the battery packs up were not properly charged; they were exposed to sunlight for long periods of time and the backups were too few to go round. We had reports of the card readers failing to authenticate fingerprints after validating PVCs in some polling units. ‘’However, there were reports of ad-hoc staff having challenges using the card readers in some areas. Most of these incidences though were quickly resolved.’’

Accessing the security arrangement for the elections, CTA added that security personnel deployed to polling units were inadequate, adding that in terms of their response to incidences that occurred in their Polling Units, they were grossly inefficient. ‘’In many places, the security personnel turned a blind eye to breaches by overzealous party agents and their thugs either because they had been compromised or they feared that they would be overpowered by these agents and their thugs. ‘’Observers witnessed the active involvement of some military personnel in the disruption of elections in several Polling Units. For instance, in Akwa Ibom, police and military men overran a Polling Unit and held ad-hoc staff and observers hostage and seized their phones. ‘’In Delta state, some

INEC to Propose More Reforms of Electoral System Meanwhile, INEC has said that it would review some aspects of the electoral system in the country to correct observed anomalies.

As part of its own review processes, the commission

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Force Majeure Disrupts Exports of Nigeria's Bonny Light Ejiofor Alike The force majeure declared by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and French oil major, Total, on the exports of Nigeria’s Bonny Light and Amenam grades of crude oil has disrupted exports of over 200,000 barrels per day, THISDAY has learnt.

Bonny Light and Amenam grades of crude are light and sweet, typically suitable for petrol production.

Shell declared force majeure on exports of Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude following the closure of Nembe Creek Trunk

Line (NCTL), one of the two major export pipelines used

by Shell and other producing companies in the eastern Niger Delta to evacuate crude oil to export terminals.

The Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) is the second major pipeline used by the upstream companies in the eastern Niger Delta.

Aiteo E & P, the operator of the NCTL, shut down the facility located around Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 on April 21, following a fire outbreak, and Shell yesterday confirmed it had declared force majeure on April 25.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu The Nigerian military had also confirmed that at least

six persons suspected to be the masterminds of the fire incident were killed during the inferno, which engulfed the facility.

Aiteo had assured that the fire outbreak reported within its Right of Way (ROW) in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, had been put out.

Aiteo’s spokesman, Mr. Ndiana Matthew, said the security team conducted further inspections at various times and confirmed that the fire had been contained.

While on a visit to the location, the new JTF

Commander in the Niger Delta, Rear Admiral Akinjide Akinrinade, told journalists that troops on surveillance at a nearby houseboat who arrived the scene confirmed that all the suspected vandals that breached the pipeline under high pressure died from the ensuing explosion.

Akinrinade, who was on the inspection with the Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command, with Rear Admiral David Adeniran, expressed regret at the development, which led to the outage of the 150,000 barrels per day.

Before the force majeure, Bonny Light exports had been planned at 222,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June and 184,000 bpd in May, but trading sources told Reuters they were awaiting new loading plans.

Shell, however, said the export terminal continued to run, despite the force majeure, which frees the company from any contractual obligations to customers.

Amenam, operated by Total, is also under force majeure, disrupting exports of about 100,000 bpd, and delaying loading by 25 days.

resolved at the meeting of the NEC that solution to the nation’s economic problem does not lie with borrowing.

"It is imperative to note that the governors’ forum under my chairmanship, and the National Economic Council under the chairmanship of the vice president have agreed that borrowing is never a reliable alternative to solving our economic problems," he said.

Yari told the governors-elect that it has become imperative that all the tiers of government must work hard to increase their revenue base so that they would be able to meet the demands of the people.

On the issue of the payment of the N30, 000 new minimum wage, Yari said the federal government should ensure that key revenue earning agencies like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Custom Service and other sister agencies are made to function efficiently and optimally to increase revenue returns.

The Zamfara State governor, who gave the president credit for saving states from economic collapse, said that in order for states to meet their obligations, tax laws must be strengthened to bring in more revenue.

He warned that Nigeria stands the risk of serious economic crisis, if nothing is done to diversify its economy before 2026.

Speaking on the activities of development partners in the

country, the representative of the Bill Gate Foundation in Nigeria said the group is working hard with states to ensure the eradication of polio.

He said 14 states are currently affected by polio.

The foundation listed some of the affected states to include, Jigawa, Kaduna, Ogun, Lagos and Bauchi.

The Foundation also tasked states in the north to do something to improve on education of its young people as a way of stemming the high rate of mortality in the areas.

Representative of United Kingdom Fund for International Development (UFID) said Nigeria received close to £500 million in aids from the UK. Representative of the United Nations in Nigeria charged incoming governors to work for peace and security without which he said there may never be any meaningful development.

He said the UN has been involved in the efforts to restore peace to troubled areas and to work to achieve sustainable peace and stability.

He said the UN office is currently engaged in collaborative ventures with the states to ensure the achievement of sustainable development goals.

The United States ambassador spoke on the issue of insecurity, admonishing the leaders to ensure that it builds trust between the security forces and the local community as a way of making their job easier.

BRACE FOR NEW MINIMUM WAGE PAYMENT, OSINBAJO TELLS GOVS and we are proud to say that there were no discriminations along party lines," he said.

Speaking on the complaint by some state governors over the difficulty in meeting the demands of the N30,000 minimum wage, Osinbajo said the states must devise a means of improving on their internally generated revenue (IGR) in order to cope.

According to Osinbajo, states must strive in the next few years to earn more in internally generated revenue.

He said states must leverage their most advantageous agricultural produce, and working with the federal government’s initiatives in agricultural credit and the recently launched Green Imperative, with the Brazilian Government, adding that it is possible for states to generate significant revenues from agriculture.

He said: "We must more effectively collect Value Added Tax and increase our agricultural output, work with the federal government to make broadband infrastructure available all over the country, so our young people anywhere in the country can do jobs from anywhere in the world, from their villages in any corner of Nigeria."

Osinbajo, however, cautioned states against going on the over-drive in the effort to raise revenue from taxation.

"If a state is charging for rightof-way from communications companies and is hindering the laying of cables and other broadband infrastructure as an IGR measure, permit me to say that that will be penny wise and pound foolish. To tap into the millions of jobs in technology and other services that a country like India, for example, has tapped into, requires broadband infrastructure across the country."

On the federal government's new policy outlook, Osinbajo said the president has made it clear that government will be

focusing attention on human capital development and physical infrastructure.

He said: "We will be working with the states on education, especially the education of girls, and we have begun some deep diving in this respect at the National Economic Council.

"We are doing the same with healthcare. We have already started to implement the one per cent of CRF in the Health Act and that was implemented in the 2018 budget and we intend to do so with the 2019 budget."

Osinbajo Asks for Collaboration with FG on Security On maintenance of law and order, the vice president said one of the very critical things that the National Economic Council (NEC) will have to do in its next meetings is to look at how to more effectively fund security.

According to Osinbajo, this has to do with collaboration between states, the federal government and the private sector.

He commended the governors for the support they have been giving the law enforcement agents through security votes.

Osinbajo told the participants: "As Mr. President has said, maintaining security is the first order of business for us as Chief Security Officers at the federal and state levels.

We must work together and seek even more creative ways of making our country completely safe for its citizens.

“I must commend the excellent support that governors have been giving the Police and Armed Forces posted to your various states. I know that large amounts of money are voted practically every month in support of law enforcement and security.

"One of the very critical things that the National Economic Council will have

to do in its next meetings is to look at how to more effectively fund security. This has to be collaboration between states, federal government and the private sector.

“I know that several private sector organisations and individuals are keen to contribute in one way or the other to funding law and order and security infrastructure in our country and I am sure working together with NEC, we can do a lot more than we are doing at the moment."

The vice president, who said security remained a top priority of the federal government, submitted that various forms of security crises, including the menace of terrorism by Boko Haram and herdsmen's violence in various parts of the country have stretched the security agents beyond capacity.

However, he said the government was committed to recruiting more hands into the security agencies, reiterating the need for more effective collaboration of the federal government with the states, particularly in the area of community policing and involvement of citizens, civil groups, traditional institutions and the police.

The vice-president also said beyond insecurity, the country was facing a myriad of other challenges in the areas of human capacity development, education, healthcare and unemployment, noting however, that as huge as the challenges may be, they are not insurmountable.

According to him, "Security remains top of our agenda.

The law and order challenges in parts of the country, for example, the opportunistic attacks of Boko Haram in the Northeast; incidents of attacks by herders and frequent clashes between herders and farmers, similar incidents now occurring in parts of the North-west, have stretched the capacity of our law enforcement agencies

PDP ACCUSES INEC OF DOCTORING SERVERS situation room and election management and support centre; issues and challenges around violence, and the disruption of electoral process.

Others include, kidnapping of key election staff, non use of smart card readers; audit of key processes and procedures; reverse logistics; storage of election materials; addressing electoral offences; handling of election petition and review of election observation report and recommendation.

According to Okoye, following the comprehensive review of elections, the commission will work with the National Assembly and propose alterations to the constitutional

and legal framework on critical issues that pose challenges to the conduct of the 2019 elections.

He said the commission will also follow closely the pronouncements and judgments of the various courts and tribunals on novel constitutional and electoral issues and incorporate them into its proposal and electoral reforms.

The Convener of Situation Room, Clement Nwankwo lamented that the 2019 elections left much to be desired in the minds of Nigerians.

He said many Nigerians would want democracy to be reflected by people making

choices but that "where circumstances are contrived and where people are forced to lose the opportunity of making those choices, then democracy is endangered.

"As we speak today, our electoral system is in danger caused by those who do not want people to make choices; who do not want to get into power by the choices that people make. And as citizens of this country, we have a responsibility to pull this back and save our country," he said.

He said the situation room called for an inquiry into what happened with the 2019 elections and correct things before the next election in 2023.

considerably.

"But we are committed to recruiting more men and women into all our security agencies and improving their capabilities to maintain law and order.

"At our discussions at NEC, we have recommended more effective collaboration with State governments; a major plank in that collaboration is Community Policing. This involves more practical collaboration between the citizens, civic groups, traditional institutions and the Police.”

Nigeria Faces Looming Economic Crisis, Says Yari Meanwhile, Zamfara State Governor and Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, Yari, has warned that Nigeria stands the risk of serious economic crisis, if nothing is done to diversify its economy before 2026.

Yari said that it has been a challenging experience managing state economies that are totally dependent on accruals from the federation account.

He said many states are facing financial difficulties due to poor internally generated revenue.

According to Yari, President Muhammadu Buhari has been able to assist states in stabilising their economy through the bailout fund.

He, however, said that governors have unanimously

HUNDREDS MISSING AS BANDITS BLOCK KADUNA-ABUJA HIGHWAY reported that the incident happened a few kilometres to Katari village in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State at about 3.30 p.m.

NAN also reported that hundreds of motorists travelling from Kaduna to Abuja as well as those going the other way found themselves stranded for more than 40 minutes as both lanes of the expressway were blocked by cars hastily abandoned by their owners.

It was gathered that the bandits left the scene of the incident and moved into the bush with some of their victims before the arrival of some security men, who later cleared the road for the motorists to continue on their journeys.

Commenting on the incident, the owner of the popular Shagalinku Restaurant in Abuja, Alhaji Umar Shagalinku, lauded the prompt intervention of the security personnel.

He, however, called on relevant security authorities to use modern technology including helicopters to track kidnappers.

“I have been hearing about

this robbery and kidnapping along Kaduna – Abuja road but today I witnessed – this is terrible and ungodly.

“I sincerely pray that authorities concerned will do something about these criminals so that motorists will feel safe while plying this important road,” he said.

Meanwhile, the bandits abducted the Chairman of UBEC, Abubakar, and his daughter, while the driver of the UBEC chairman was said to have been shot dead when the bandits opened fire on their vehicle.

The spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, Yakubu Sabo, confirmed the incident in a statement in Kaduna.

“We received information through DPO (Divisional Police Officer) of Katari that armed men in military uniform intercepted a Land Cruiser Jeep with Reg. No. 07E 04 FG, and Toyota Sienna with Reg. No. SLJ 465 TN at Kurmin Kare Village along Kaduna - Abuja Express Way, opened fire on the vehicles and in the process, the driver of the jeep was shot dead, while the occupants, Dr.

Muhammad Abubakar who is the chairman of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and his daughter were kidnapped”.

“The occupants of the Sienna - one Alowonle Olalere, and Onuka Victor, both of Ibadan, Oyo State, were injured and rescued to Katari Police Station.

“They were said to be returning from Kano where they went to shoot a film titled ‘the last step’. “ IG’s IRT was also contacted for technical support in tracking the hoodlums. At the moment, the two vehicles were recovered to police station.

“The Commissioner of Police, Ahmad Abdur-Rahman appeals to members of the public to support the Police with relevant information that could assist in apprehending the perpetrators of this heinous act. He said the command will not be deterred in its efforts to bring crime to the barest minimum in the state. CP Ahmad said the hoodlums are only testing our collectivewill and we cannot relent. Update follows in due course, please.

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NEWS

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

Nigeria’s Population Now 201m, Says UN Peter Uzoho The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has stated that Nigeria’s population currently stands at an all-time high of 201 million, representing an increase of 5.1 million from the 195.9 million it said the country had in October last year.

The UNFPA in its 2019 State of the World Population report published on its website, said the country’s annual growth rate has been at an average of 2.6 per cent from 2010 to 2019.

According to the report, fertility rate among Nigerian women has dropped from 6.4 in 1969 to 5.3 in 2019; meaning that an average Nigerian woman gives birth to at least five children.

It said global fertility rate or the average number of births per woman stood at 4.8 in 1969; 2.9 in 1994; and

2.5 in 2019.

The report further said contraceptive prevalence rate among Nigerian women aged 15-49 is only 19 per cent, adding that decision making on sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights among these women has averaged at 51 per cent between 2007 and 2018.

The report, however, implies that 49 per cent of Nigerian women still do not have the power to decide on their sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.

The UN agency estimated that Nigeria’s population has grown from 54.7 million in 1969 to 105.4 million in 1994 and 201.0 million in 2019.

It explained that of this 201 million, 44 per cent or 88.44 million are between the ages of 0 and 14, while 32 per cent, 64.32 million are within the ages of 10 and 24.

The report said: “Reproductive rights are still out of reach for too many women, including the more than 200 million women who want to prevent a pregnancy but cannot access modern

contraceptive information and services.

“Ultimately, almost all of the 4.3 billion people of reproductive age around the world today will have had inadequate access to sexual

and reproductive health services at some point.”

In 1969, world population reached 3.6 billion, up about 1 billion from only 17 years earlier, leading to the establishment of UNFPA.

The UN agency has succeeded in reducing fertility rates worldwide by about 50 per cent.

In the least developed countries, fertility was about six births per woman in 1969.

Dickson Declines Assent to Bill Seeking Life Pension for Lawmakers Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

The Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, has declined assent to the bill seeking pension for current and former lawmakers of the state as hastily proposed and passed by the state House of Assembly last week.

The state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Daniel IworisoMarkson, said the governor has already conveyed the decision to withhold assent to the bill in a letter to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly yesterday.

Earlier, Dickson held consultations with the assembly members in his country home in Toru-Orua, Sagbama local council, where he explained his reason for declining assent to the bill.

Iworiso-Markson noted that the governor refused to sign the bill into law because it was inconsistent with Section 124 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

He said the governor was of the view that the state assembly lacked the powers to expand the categories of public servants who should be entitled to pension.

The commissioner stressed that he had to withhold assent to the bill because the state which bedeviled with a lot of challenges in spite of its low internally generated revenue base and unstable earnings from the oil economy was the only state in Nigeria to come up with such bill.

The governor stressed that he was guided in the decision by the principle that government should not be for a selected class of the privileged in the society.

According to him, “The provisions of this bill granting pension to members of Bayelsa State House of Assembly and the extension of same to former members of the assembly and Bayelsa indigenes who served in the old Rivers State House of Assembly is inconsistent with Section 124 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

“I am not convinced about

the legality of this bill which seeks to expand the categories of persons entitled to pension.

While I agree that the assembly can adjust the quantum of pension payable to persons entitled to pension, I am not convinced that the assembly has powers to add to the categories of pensionable public officers.

“Evidently, there is no record of any other state in this country that has expanded the categories of pensionable public officers to include lawmakers. I do not agree that Bayelsa State which is coping with all the myriads of issues and challenges, with our low Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base and the unpredictable oil economy, should be the first to initiate this.

“Honourable members of this assembly, Bayelsans and other Nigerians following our progress as a government would clearly attest to the fact that my entire public service, actions and decisions are marked by what is in the public interest, particularly the interest of the vulnerable and ordinary people.

“It is in the service of this category of people that in the last seven years and counting, I have in an unprecedented manner, which only history will record and reward, extended the frontiers of the benefits of purposeful democratic governance.

“It is my philosophy that government should not be for a select few. In the last seven years, my actions and decisions which have sometimes elicited opposition from the elite who have been feeding fat on the resources of our state, have been marked by this singular disposition of mine.

“And I do not intend at this point to abandon that. Rather, I intend to do more and to consolidate on the policies and actions which have been taken to protect the vulnerable.

Therefore, I am unable to assent to this bill which in my view aims to expand and consolidate the class interest of a privileged few.”

Dickson added that notwithstanding his decision to decline assent to the bill, he still holds the assembly in very

COMBATING TERRORISM ON THEIR MINDS...

L-R: Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Pakistan’s Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi; and Nigerian Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, during a courtesy call of the Pakistan Chief of Navy Staff to Naval Headquarters in Abuja... yesterday Photo Julius Atoi

NLC Urges Govs to Implement Minimum Wage Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The labour movement in Nigeria has charged state governors to implement the new National Minimum Wage signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari recently.

The President of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and Deputy President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Dr. Nasir Idris, stated this in Abuja yesterday, at a pre-May Day sensitisation rally.

The theme of the Pre-May Day Rally tagged “March for Jobs, Labour Rights and Shared Prosperity,” was organised by the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

According to him, “we are calling on the governors to put machinery in place to ensure that they implement the N30,000 minimum wages for workers in the country.

“The NLC and TUC will not condone any governor that failed to implement it for his workers.

“We want to assure workers that any governor that refused to implement the new minimum wage for workers, we are going to make the state unbearable for him.

“We will do anything humanly possible and we are going to use our might and strength to ensure that they implement that minimum wage,’’ he said.

Idris called on the management of the Federal Capital Territory Administration to set the ball rolling for the implementation of the new minimum wage.

Also, NLC Deputy President, Mr. Najeem Yashin, said the rally was to sensitise workers on the May Day celebration and why they should come out

en masse to celebrate the day.

Yashin said that on May celebration the labour movement would be calling on the federal government and the State government to ensure that the new minimum wage was implemented to the letter.

“We will also be calling on the federal government to create more jobs for our teeming youth in the country,‘’ he said.

Speaking, President, Civil Service Union of Nigeria, Mr. Lawrence Amechi, said the march became necessary as the Pre-May Symposium was suspended.

“The march is important because we have suspended May Day Symposium; so, we decided to do this march so that many of our people will be aware that we want them to come out en masse on May 1.

“We have decided to go round Abuja to awaken workers

consciousness, which is what we have done today and we are happy that the turnout is very impressive. We also want to use this opportunity to urge the state governors to immediately start the implementation of the minimum wage.

“Because President Muhammadu Buhari has signed it into law on April 18, and the effective day is April so we are already in arrears of few days.

“So, by the end of May, we expect that every worker will go home with the salary, in fact, most of the problem that we are having are with the state governors and we have asked them to cut down their excesses and pay the new wage,‘’ he said.

Amechi, however, added that any state that refuses to pay would face the full wrath of the union.

Buhari Intervenes in Case of Nigerian Arrested for Alleged Drug Offence in Saudi Arabia Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has intervened in the case of a young Nigerian girl, Miss Zainab Aliyu, who was recently arrested in Saudi Arabia for alleged drug offence, the presidency revealed yesterday.

A statement by a presidential aide, Mrs. Abike DabirirErewa, in Abuja, said that the president had directed the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, to immediately act on the case of Zainab, the student, who was incriminated in drug- related matters, and detained by the Saudi Arabia authorities.

“President Muhammadu

Buhari gave the directive immediately the matter was brought to his attention about two weeks ago. My office has been working with the AGF as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in that regard,” DabiriErewa revealed.

The presidential aide assured that progress was being made in Zainab’s case, along with two others in similar circumstances in Saudi Arabia.

Dabiri Erewa said that Zainab, though detained, has not been put on trial by the Saudi Arabia government.

She noted that since those who implicated her had been arrested, a strong legal case is being made to the Saudi authorities

Mr. Habib Aliyu, the father of the alleged drug courier, Zainab, had appealed to the federal government of Nigeria, the Saudi authorities and the international community, as well as well-meaning individuals to intervene in her daughter’s case and save the “innocent’’ lady from being executed wrongly.

Aliyu, a Kano-based senior editor, who is not happy that his daughter is cooling off in a Saudi Prison, despite the recent discovery that she was framed up by some drug cartel, explained that the allegations of Zainab entering the country with Tramadol, was absolute falsehood as recent events and arrests have confirmed the girl’s

innocence.

Zainab, a student of Maitama Sule University, Kano, had travelled from Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in company of her mother, Mrs. Maryam Aliyu, and sister, Hajara Aliyu.

She was later arrested over allegations that a luggage, bearing her name tag, contained the unlawful substance.

Zainab who was accused of entering Saudi Arabia with an illegal dosage of Tramadol was later discovered to be a victim of a cartel that specialises in keeping hard drugs in travellers’ bags, some of whom are already in the custody of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

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NEWS

No Secret Recruitment in NSIA, Orji Clarifies Saves FG $300m annually in forex, N60bn in fertilizer subsidy Joseph Ushigiale As the controversy surrounding the alleged secret recruitment of persons connected to highly placed government officials, including Aisha Abba Kyari, the daughter of the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, into juicy positions in the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Agency (NSIA) continues to assume bizarre twists, the Managing Director of the agency, Uche Orji has dismissed the allegation, insisting that the agency never embarked on any secret recruitment whether in the past or present.

Speaking in a telephone chat with THISDAY last night, Orji who said he was “shocked and completely surprised at where all the rumours were coming from because all the media accounts are absolutely pointless,” added that “NSIA undertook a slow but rigorous recruitment process that was

open to the public”.

Orji has also disclosed that the agency has saved the federal government $300 million in forex and another N60 billion yearly on fertilizer subsidy through direct intervention.

“I am in deep shock because all these stories have no iota of truth and are absolutely pointless. The truth is that we recruit all the time. In 2018, we advertised for certain functions in the agency and over 26,000 applications were received. We are very slow in our process and are very meticulous to make sure no process is circumvented.

“Ms Abba Kyari is even an entry-level employee on the basis of the level she came in.

We adopt the American style designation, which is something I am used to because of my background but I see it is quite alien here and people suddenly think the position of vice president is suddenly next to me and then I am threatened.”

According to him, in NSIA’s organogram, Ms Kyari is several level down the rungs of the hierarchy ladder before even contemplating becoming Managing Director. “Her salary is far less than they are speculating and not even N2 million and she has no official car. All these speculations would have been avoided if someone took time to ask questions for clarification,” he explained.

Asked if he was afraid of being ousted, Orji chuckled and replied that “I harbour no fears; I will serve out my term, which expires in 2022 and then return back to where I came from. My

former employers are still in touch with me till today and still needs me.

“I have been here seven years’ scandal-free and my team and I have pivoted this agency profitably and through our direct intervention, saved the federal government $300 million in forex and another N60 billion yearly on fertilizer subsidy. We also revived and put to use several blending plants across the country.

“In the healthcare sector, our footprints are there for all to see in the area. We have intervened by building cancer centres across the country to

provide quality and affordable healthcare in Nigeria to stem medical tourism, save foreign exchange and to show that cancer is treatable.

“I know some people in high places may not be happy with what we are doing here but we are here to produce value for our country and our people.

For instance, few people know that through our intervention we were able to renegotiate and reduce the cost of constructing the second Niger Bridge by $200 million. The initial huge cost had inhibited the signing of that project for a very long time before we came along.

“You know, I want to serve my country and go back to where I came from.

I have worked at the top levels of global institutions from Goldman Sachs to JP Morgan in 2004, where I was its Managing Director in London to UBS, the Swiss bank in 2006 as its Managing Director too.

In fact, I was in my apartment in New York one day when my phone rang and I picked the call and told my wife: see ooo, this Nigeria people have come again ooo. That’s how I found myself in Nigeria. I was head hunted,” Orji informed THISDAY.

Amaechi, Akpabio Reconcile Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Two frontline leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the South-south region, the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, and the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and former Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, have agreed to set aside their differences and work together as a team to lift the party in the zone.

A statement issued by the Spokesman of the APC presidential campaign council, Mr. Festus Keyamo, said both met each other last Sunday to iron out their perceived political differences.

He said the meeting, which was at the instance of Akpabio, was brokered by the chieftains of the party, Alhaji Nasiru Danu, and himself (Keyamo).

Danu was one of the directors of logistics for the APC Presidential Campaign

Council and is said to be a long-time ally of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The statement said that the reconciliatory meeting, which took place at the private residence of Danu in Asokoro district of Abuja, lasted for several hours.

It said the APC leaders had frankly and honestly talked about their various disagreements from their days as governors in Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).

“They also discussed and analysed the performance of the party in the South-south region in the just-concluded elections and identified areas where things went wrong and how to improve those areas in the future.

“At the end, both leaders agreed to close ranks and work in unison for the overall interest of the party”, Keyamo explained.

Norwegian Ambassador Advocates Women’s Involvement in Peace, Security in Nigeria Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Jens-Petter Kjemprud, has advocated the participation of women in peace and security processes in Nigeria.

Speaking yesterday at the official launch of women, peace and security programme in Bauchi State, Kjemprud said Nigeria, especially the North-eastern states, has over the years been ravaged by conflicts which affect women and their children.

He said there is need for state governments, including that of Bauchi, to implement the National Action Plan on women so that they would participate in bringing enduring peace to the society.

The ambassador noted that the programme was initiated

by United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the

Empowerment of Women tagged: ‘UN Women’, adding that government of Norway is sponsoring the project in Nigeria in collaboration with the federal government.

Also speaking, the UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria, Mrs. Comfort Lamptey, explained that 11 states in Nigeria have already domesticated the National Action Plan on women, saying UN Women was there to launch it in Bauchi State, which would last for two years.

She added that the programme would work on three issues to achieve the objectives which include advocacy for the formulation of policies that are responsive to women’s security, building women’s capacity on conflict mediation and resolution and changing societal perception on the womenfolk.

EASTER CELEBRATION…

L-R: Church Administrator, Trinity House, Pastor Niyi Famuyide; Pastor Mrs. Ibidun Ighodalo; Senior Pastor, Trinity House, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo; visiting guest Minister, Don Moen; and Music Minister-in-Charge, Trinity House, Pastor Tosin Alao, during the recent Easter programme of the church in Lagos…recently

Afenifere Backs Lawan, Gbajabiamila for N’Assembly Leadership Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo The Yoruba sociopolitical group, Afenifere, yesterday supported the choice of leaders for the National Assembly by the All Progressives Congress (APC), noting that the party is supreme and its interest is above that of any member.

Speaking yesterday after a meeting in Osogbo, Osun State, which was hosted by the Second Republic senator, Pa. Ayo Fasanmi, the group noted that it “supported Senator Hammed Lawan for Senate president and

Femi Gbajabiamila for Speaker of House of Representatives.”

The group enjoined all Yoruba natives both currently serving and the incoming senators and members of the House of Representatives to abide by the decision of the APC by voting for all their candidates when inaugurated.

It also urged all Yoruba sons and daughters both at home and in Diaspora to support the federal government in order to have relevance in the Nigeria politics and derive more dividends of democracy

as the government of President Muhammadu Buhari will continue in office after May 29, 2019.”

While congratulating all the South-west governors and House of Assembly members-elect on their success at the polls, the organisation also appealed to the governors to be more security conscious and do the needful to support the federal government to fight insecurity and make the country safe for the people and foreign investors.

The group also urged President Buhari to further

intensify efforts with a view to securing the country, saying efforts of the government was appreciated with the latest war being waged against insurgency particularly in the North-east and Zamfara State.

Afenifere also congratulated the president and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on their victory at the February 2019 election, adding that “the victory is a triumph of good over evil particularly in the majority of the National Assembly members coming from the APC as a party.”

DHQ Faults AI’s Report, Denies Sexual Assault in Army Barracks Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Defence Headquarters yesterday refuted allegations of sexual assault in some army barracks in the Northeast.

A statement issued in Abuja said the allegations of sexual assault in Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri and Maiduguri Maximum Security Prison, contained in the recent report of the Amnesty International (AI) was concocted.

The statement signed by Defence Spokesman, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said the report was a poor attempt to dampen the morale of troops.

“The Defence Headquarters

has taken note of yet another ill-conceived report by Amnesty International (AI) aimed at disparaging the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) in the fight against terrorism and counterinsurgency in the North Eastern part of the country.

“The AI’s recent allegation that its investigation has revealed sexual assaults in detention facilities at Giwa Barracks Maiduguri and the Maiduguri Maximum Security Prison is only a rehash of its characteristic unfounded and ill-conceived accusations against the AFN,” he said.

Nwachukwu said “while the AFN will not speak

for the authorities of the Maiduguri Maximum Prison, we wish to emphatically state that such allegations are mere concoction of the organisation and the interest it seeks to represent. The report is nothing but an attempt to push further its campaign of calumny against the AFN, as the allegations are remotely impossible.

“It is instructive for AI and their sponsors who may be more interested in the failure of Nigeria in the ongoing fight against terrorism and insurgency to note that these accusations are unfounded and a very poor attempt at dampening the morale of

troops of the AFN”.

The Acting Director of Defence Information said “the Giwa barracks detention facility is a national facility, therefore, the suspects or inmates are jointly handled by professional investigators drawn from the Defence Intelligence Agency, Nigerian Police, Department of State Security, Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Prisons Service and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.

“It is therefore, near impossible for these team of professionals to look the other way, while sexual violations are perpetrated as wrongly insinuated by AI.”

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COMMENT

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

LESSON FROM KENYA

Alexander Ifeanyichukwu argues that the prompt manner Kenya courts disposed of issues of election dispute holds lesson for Nigeria

I

n 2017, the East African country of Kenya rewrote Africa’s democratic history. In what demonstrated patriotism at the highest level and judicial precedence which will continue to guide other African democracies on the path of sanity, the Kenyan Supreme Court within 23 days after its Presidential Election upturned the verdict of the election umpire and called for a re-run of that election.

What is notable in that September 1, 2017 verdict by the Supreme Court of Kenya is that while the whole world construed that there would be earth shaking panic with dire consequences on the East African country, the judges were convinced that, the polls were not “conducted in accordance with the constitution”, leaving “no choice but to nullify it”.

Those statements set the ground to do whatever it takes to restore the dignity of the constitution of Kenya and the people’s confidence did not ebb. Instead of an anticipated chaos, peace and cooperation took over.

A re-run of the Presidential election was held on October 17 and the incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta still won.

It has become necessary to remind Nigerians at this time while the nation awaits the constitution and proceedings of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, or in the event that the matter gets to the Supreme Court, the supremacy of the constitution far and above any interests must be maintained.

Similarities abound in both the Kenya situation and what is playing out in Nigeria presently. In Kenya, the judges averred that the election results were declared before all results from the nation’s 40,000 polling stations were received. In Nigeria, due to violence and other forms of disturbances, elections did not hold on February 23, they held between February 24 and March 9 the day of the governorship and state houses of assembly elections.

There were noticeable flawed figures, over voting, and irreconcilable figures pointed out at the time of announcing the presidential poll, yet these were not considered an infraction on the constitutional provisions for a credible election.

While the opposition candidate Alhaji Atiju Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party has approached the court with grounds upon which the elections result that gave victory to incumbent President Muham-

THE JUDICIARY AS THE LAST BASTION OF HUMAN SANCTITY HAPPENS TO BE THE LAST OF THE THREE CRITICAL LEGS INVOLVED IN ANY ELECTION

madu Buhari cannot stand and the All Progressives Congress has filed counter claim; the world is waiting on the judiciary.

The judiciary as the last bastion of human sanctity happens to be the last of the three critical legs involved in any election. The other two legs have been crossed that is, the campaign season and the voting process.

Unfortunately for the Nigerian judiciary, the objection to the result of the Presidential elections is coming at a time when its image is in near tatters and its once eminent position as the last hope of mankind has never been this threatened. This case therefore offers it (the judiciary) one lifetime opportunity to redeem itself.

One of the critical lessons to learn from the Kenyan experience of 2017 is that the apex court in the east African country was acting against the wishes of a powerful horde of supporters of the incumbent.

The judiciary was obviously under pressure and threats but, it chose to do what was right.

In the words of Chief Justice David Maraga the 14th CJ of Kenya who was only appointed into office by President Uhuru Kenyatta the year before the elections: “Senior political leaders have also threatened the judiciary, promising to cut it to size and teach us a lesson”. In bold response to threats, the 68-year-old judge affirmed that judges would not be intimidated by anyone and were indeed, ready to pay the “ultimate price” if that is the only way to protect the constitution and rule of law.

Courage to stand for the truth will be tested in the Nigerian case.

The questions on every lip include: will the Nigerian judiciary seize this opportunity to redeem itself? Will the outcome of this case restore confidence in the nation’s democracy? Will the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) live up to its name – independent?

Already, the Nigerian situation is trailing the Kenyan experience of 2017. For instance, it took only 23 days after the presidential election for the court to enter a verdict on September 1 and by October 17, the re-run has been conducted.

Nigerians and indeed the world are waiting with bated breathe.

Ifeanyichukwu wrote from Enugu

LIKE DIGITAL RIGHTS, LIKE FOI President Buhari got it wrong for not signing the bill, writes Ridwan A. Sulaimon

W

ho is the Nigerian government actually working for?

Anyone who has followed the campaign for the passage into law of the Digital Rights and Freedoms (DRF) Bill, 2016, and also followed the campaign that led to the enactment of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011, will be prompted to question the disposition of the Nigerian government towards public interests.

When the DRF bill was introduced to the National Assembly in April 2016, as civil society, we knew we were in for a long journey considering the fact that the bill is one of public interest and the ruling elite is not known to show much enthusiasm about such. As anticipated, the bill spent almost two years in the House of Representatives, Nigeria’s lower legislative chamber, before it was passed in December 2017.

However, the upper chamber, the Nigerian Senate, albeit surprisingly, also passed the bill three months later in March 2018. According to a media report, supporters of the bill had at that point assumed that the bill’s legislative journey had ended and perhaps Nigeria was about to have a law that protects human rights online.

Unfortunately, the bill spent another eight months in the National Assembly. The legal unit of the National Assembly had spotted a problem in one of the clauses and the bill had to go through another round of legislative process to correct it before it was again (hopefully finally) passed by both Houses in November and December 2018.

And two months later, it was transmitted to the President for assent, on February 4, 2019.

Having passed through this rigorous journey with heightened and sustained public and civil society interest, supposing government is working in the interest of the common people, it is only expected that such bill should receive prompt attention from the president who is elected by the people knowing that the people are not only interested but that the bill ensures the protection of their human rights online.

Sadly, the President of Nigeria said the bill “covers too many technical subjects and fails to address any of them extensively”, listing such areas to include surveillance and digital protection, lawful interception of communication, digital protection

and retention, etcetera, which he said “are currently the subject of various bills pending at National Assembly”, and as a result, he did not sign the bill.

Mr President even speculated that the bill poses a “challenge of duplication and legislative conflict in the future.” I will return to respond to this in the later part of this piece.

Anyone who is familiar with the history of public interest bills in Nigeria especially those that protect human rights will know that President Buhari’s excuse for refusing to sign the bill is nothing but what it is, an excuse, similitude of what former President Olusegun Obasanjo said to the FOI Bill when it was transmitted to him in March 2007.

According to Media Rights Agenda, when former President Obasanjo met with civil society leaders on April 27, 2007, he said he would not sign the FOI Bill for a number of reasons, the first being the fact that it was titled: “Freedom of Information Bill” rather than “Right to Information Bill,” claiming that the idea of “freedom of information” was imported “from somewhere”.

He claimed, among other excuses, that he was completely opposed to Section 13(2) of the bill, which provided that: “However, in the interest of the public the court may override the refusal by the head of the government or public institution to disclose the information applied for.” The former president argued that this means that he can be compelled by a court to disclose any information which another head of state might have told him in confidence, (apparently, public interests matters less to someone who is elected by the public).

So, President Obasanjo threw away the baby with the bath water. And the FOI Bill having spent about eight years in the National Assembly already spent another four years going through the legislative process again before it was signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011. So, President Buhari’s reaction to the DRF Bill is nothing new.

Like FOI Bill, Like DRF Bill. If public interest bills will continue to suffer setbacks in the hands of presidents, then one should ask who exactly the government is working for. Late Professor Abubakar Momoh of blessed memory seems so right when he said “laws and policies are designed to suit the whims and caprices of the ruling class.”

Is it because the DRF Bill is designed in the interest

of the common man that is suffering in the hands of the ruling class?

As Sodiq Alabi noted, “The last few years have seen tens of millions of people connected to the internet in the country. These people conduct business, have a social life, learn and teach via this important tool. They even campaign for political candidates via the internet. However, despite the deployment of the internet across the country, Nigeria, unfortunately, lacks a comprehensive legal framework that protects human rights online, a situation that makes Nigerians online vulnerable to rights abuse.”

Rather, what Nigerians currently have is the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 which has mostly been used to arbitrarily arrest people and gag freedom of expression online rather than prevent or prohibit cybercrimes.

But the DRF Bill assembles conventional rights aimed at making online spaces rights-inclusive and therefore balances the friction between security and human rights in the digital age. The bill carefully addresses and prohibits hate speech while also protecting freedom of expression online.

The DRF bill guarantees that human rights which apply offline should also be obtainable online.

Importantly, it ensures data privacy and safeguards sensitive citizens’ data held by various institutions and equips the judiciary with the necessary framework to protect human rights online. It is a people’s bill but the people’s president has failed to sign it.

To respond to the reasons provided by the president’s for his refusal to sign the bill, the position of Media Rights Agenda on the matter is especially instructive.

In a statement, Media Rights Agenda said: “The purpose of the bill was never to address technical subjects in the area of digital rights and Internet freedom in any detailed or extensive manner, but to propose and affirm a human rights-based approach in dealing with these issues and to ensure that future laws and policies as well as administrative actions are consistent with this approach.

“Given that no laws have been passed to guide the actions and activities of government and other actors in these areas and in the light of the fact that there is no certainty about when such laws are likely to be passed, it makes no sense to refuse

to assent to the bill on the ground that it may duplicate or conflict with laws that are not yet in existence.

“A more logical approach for a government that is genuinely desirous of upholding and protecting the digital rights and freedoms of its citizens would be to ensure that the spirit behind the proposed legislation and the principles recognized in it are consistent with the government’s policy stance and then ensuring that the provisions of future laws touching on the issues addressed in the bill are properly aligned with its policy approach, even where such laws seek to address technical issues in a more detailed and extensive manner.

“The federal government had ample opportunities during the legislative process to express its views on the provisions of the bill and to ensure that the administration’s concerns were adequately addressed by the lawmakers in the course of making the law. Several agencies of the federal government with specialized and technical competence and mandates in the areas covered by the bill were involved in the legislative process and did not raise any objection to the passage of the bill. Indeed, they signed off on the provisions of the bill, which was why the National Assembly was comfortable enough to pass the bill speedily.”

For the president to have waited till this moment to eventually veto the bill is not only a waste of the time and resources invested by the National Assembly and other stakeholders during the three years of the bill’s legislative journey but also an indication of the president’s insensitivity to public interests and human rights of Nigerians.

Considering that the Eight National Assembly has almost concluded its term, if the current Digital Rights and Freedoms Bill, 2016, eventually suffers the same fate as the Freedom of Information Bill which had to repeat the entire legislative process following the president’s failure to assent to it, then it presents a clear indication that government in Nigeria, regardless of who or which party is in power, works only for the selfish interest of the ruling elite.

Sulaimon, a freedom of information, freedom of expression and digital rights and freedoms campaigner, educator, youth and leadership tutor, writer and social researcher, wrote from Lagos

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T H I S D AY TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2019

EDITORIAL Undue Pressure On Public Officers Public officers should do what is right

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ne distinctive feature of democracy is the right of the people to expect and demand good governance from elected officials.

It is also the duty of the latter to perform creditably. That, in a nutshell is the whole essence of public trust. In Nigeria, however, this noble relationship has for long been misapplied such that public expectations of office holders in the country seem to be at conflict with national aspirations. It is then little surprise that many of the overpaid politicians and public officials have continued to fleece the very people they are supposed to protect and yet walk the streets free.

A former governor once lamented on national television that the inability of public officers to function well is due to the demands of money and other personal gratifications from the people they are supposed to serve. Government functionaries, he explained, often lose concentration and divert funds meant for development to satisfy the THE NATION WILL FARE need of individuals or BETTER IF PERSONS IN groups within their PLACES OF AUTHORITY various communities.

INSIST ON DOING THE In other words, public office holders expend RIGHT THINGS, AND the resources put in NOT COMPROMISE their trust to preserve RESPONSIBLE their positions AND RESPONSIVE through satisfying GOVERNANCE the personal needs of their constituents and with that, it becomes difficult to deliver on the core responsibilities of government.

Although the former governor was attacked for justifying corruption and abuse of office, he indeed expressed an unfortunate reality about our country today: Family members, friends, communities and tribesmen most often insist that the only way for a public officer to show their worth is to address personal needs. This is taken to a ridiculous extent during elections when they demand instant gratifications in exchange for votes.

However, we are persuaded by trends in the country

Letters to the Editor

to believe that the persistent pressure on public office holders is largely a product of leadership failure. Successive governments have failed to frontally address critical issues like provision of social infrastructure and security. So, in the absence of any real empowerment in such critical areas as health facilities, education, shelter and others, desperation compels the people to directly source money from persons they see as the faces of government. This option is not only beggarly but also undermines the essence of representative administration – the very soul of democratic practice.

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

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

FATHER-CHRISTMAS GIFT TO GUINEA BISSAU

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t is said: “It is better to give than to receive.” But I think, some giving(s) do not come from the quarters of charity, sacrifice, wisdom or chivalry, but from a place of deep insecurity or something else.

When the purpose of giving is to “maintain an appearance”, then that is a self-esteem problem. Over the years, Nigeria has had Africa as the “centrepiece” of its foreign policy. The country has played supportive and stabilising role in the affairs of most countries on the continent. It took the throttle in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa; it funded the ANC, and provided academic and corporeal sanctuary to the blacks of the country. Today, Nigerians are, perhaps, the most hated people in that country, routinely harassed, abused and intimidated.

Also, in the past, Nigeria provided substantial financial and material support to Chad and Niger; in fact, it has maintained this tradition. But as a matter of fact, these countries have not been very committed in helping Nigeria extirpate Boko Haram. There have been reports of both countries withdrawing their troops from the border areas, where the insurgents are secreted, over issues of “command superiority”.

It is not out of place to play the “big-brother”, but it is unwise to keep playing the role when effort is unrequited and when there is a blistering image problem. Nigeria, today, contributes 15.7 percent to the global poverty rate. It suffers from serious infrastructure denudation and its debt profile is perilously high. And the truth is our depressing situation is known to the world. So, who are we trying to impress? Why

here is therefore an urgent need for a proper re-orientation if we must reverse this detestable drift. Public officers must come to terms early with the doctrine of true service. In most cases, people are reduced to beggars by twin effects of illiteracy and poverty, so prospective office holders should be determined to discharge their responsibilities effectively rather than succumb to any shady practices, including the so-called public blackmail.

All said, no excuse should be made for corruption and ineptitude. This nation will fare better if persons in places of authority insist on doing the right things, and not compromise responsible and responsive governance. Then, on their part, the people should not unwittingly provide public officers with reasons for underperformance. Poor implementation of projects and programmes is bad enough. And linking it directly to what is now being painted as the parasitic behaviour of the public makes the situation even worse.

From whatever perspective it is viewed government patronage and begging are also caused by greed and selfishness without due consideration of the reality that such individuals stand to gain from the overall development of the country. Embracing accountability and political maturity is, therefore, urgently required by public officials to wake them up to the much-needed task of ensuring that the socio-economic development of the country is the only guarantee for improved living standards of the people and, indeed, the only true cure for poverty.

must we keep up appearances? Our charity will be counted as foolishness as long as the ranks of the poorest of the poor keep swelling.

Where is the logic in a man throwing steak in the marketplace at a time his family is in dire need of protein and suffering from kwashiorkor?

President Buhari’s $500,000 gift to Guinea Bissau for its elections may be well-intentioned, but good intentions do not make great countries. There is no morality in international relations. What does Nigeria hope to get out of this gesture?

Countries like, the US and UK, are notorious for putting strings to every act of charity; this is because they understand the law of sowing and reaping. There is no free money anywhere.

However, the $500,000, which is about N180,000,000, could have been much useful in providing about 500 water pumps for the people of Ogugu in Olamboro, Kogi state, who drink from a stream or in building about 50 classrooms in Rimin Kebe, Ungogo local government area, Kano state, where 499 pupils share a single classroom.

Our priorities have always been conflicted. I recall when our athletes had to resort to begging on social media to represent the country at an international event; yet they had a government.

It is bravery to decline a request when the weather is not favourable. And in exigent times, priority must be given to that which is most important. Charity begins at home.

Fredrick Nwabufo, fredricknwabufo@yahoo.com

THE IMPORTANCE OFVOCATIONAL EDUCATION

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he rate of unemployment amongst the youth has increased dramatically in the last decade.

Most young people from the university lack the needed skills and competencies that would enable them function in today’s emerging society.

Bridging the vocational skills gap remains a major challenge faced by many, especially young adults in Nigeria. Vocational education and training is designed to educate youths and adults with the right skills needed to survive in the ever changing labour market. The narrative of the basic academic education is gradually changing from basic paper credentials to skill-based qualifications which can be applied to specific skills required in the workplace.

The state of vocational education in Nigeria calls for urgent attention. The Nigerian educational system requires urgent, innovative and practical reform to bring it in line with international best practice and importantly, better equip the young people of this country to handle the never-ending demands of the 21st century.

Vocational education needs to be

integrated into school curriculum as this will equip students with the practical skills needed for lifelong learning. Vocational training should be taught to children from an early age. That way, they can imbibe and nurture the expertise as they grow.

Vocational, entrepreneurship, or skill acquisition programmes, as they are called, include: cooking and baking; photography; video editing; barbing; hair styling & making; musical instruments training; cobbling; make-up and gele tying; carpentry; painting; plumbing; and so on.

For vocational education to survive in Nigeria, teaching and learning must take place in an environment where all the necessary tools, machines, equipment and facilities are in place and resemble a real work environment.

Government, educational administrators and other stakeholders are therefore called upon to invest massively and urgently in integrated approaches to developing the educational system, as this will ultimately lead to building a better workforce and thus boost the development of the Nigerian economy.

Daniel Ighakpe. FESTAC Town, Lagos

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY APRIL 30, 2019

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POLITICS

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

TRENDING NEWS

The Creeping Zoning Controversy in Anambra Governorship Contest

Udora Orizu writes that former Governor Peter Obi’s recent statement on zoning in the Anambra State governorship contest has stirred heated conversations

Obi

Obiano

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head of the Anambra State governorship election, the issue of zoning is again, gradually creeping into the political discourse of the state, especially among the political elite, whom some political monitors said always use it to achieve, ‘’self-seeking political interest.’’

Already, there is on-going stubborn argument by some invested political interests that it is the turn of the Anambra South to produce the next governor of the state, in line with the purported zoning arrangement, which the promoters said was planted by former governor of the state, Peter Obi, when he was leaving office in 2011. The political discourse is currently generating heated debate among stakeholders.

Recently, the Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 national elections, Obi, was forced to deny the issue of zoning attributed to him.

A statement signed by his spokesman, Mr. Valentine Obienyem, denied the insinuations that he introduced zoning in the gubernatorial politics of Anambra State in 2011.

He argued that he had insisted that the governorship should go to Anambra North, against the position of his then party then, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Obi explained that it was in the, ‘’spirit of justice and equity’’ that he insisted that the governorship candidate should go to Anambra North, since they were at that time, the only zone yet to produce a governor.

Obi said that his position was ‘’equitable’’, and not to be confused with “entrenchment of rotation in Anambra’s Charter of Equity’’ or whatever it is.

“If at any time the state wants rotation or any form of political arrangement, it would not be the imposition of one man because, if allowed to stand, history may interpret such as a predisposition of Obi to autocracy. In a democracy, decisions are by consensus and not a one-man-show,” the statement added.

Besides, the statement condemned the reference to Obi by some elements, whenever “divisive issues’’ come up, saying, “If they are looking for noble actions of Obi to commend and emulate, they are legion. They should start by

imbibing his spirit of hard work and resourcefulness that made Anambra a reference point during his tenure.’’

In line with the former governor ’s current position, many political stakeholders in the state, hold the same view that “zoning discourse had outlived its usefulness’’ in the state’s governor seat, because each zones had at different times, produced governors in the state.

The resounding argument appears to be that what matters in the next governorship election is the credibility and sound credentials of the candidates – those who can deliver on good governance. ‘’Zoning was to correct an imbalance and it was an APGA’s thing. We cannot use it to perpetuate undesirable or ineligible candidates - based on zoning.

Governor Winnie Obiano is a typical example why zoning is not needed in Anambra State,’’ a political analyst, Chief Obi Dee Okoye, stated recently.

Another political commentator, Ikuku Amanoya, added, ‘’Why is it that my Anambra South is singing zoning as if we cannot beat any candidate from any part of the state without such argument? ‘’All zones have taken their own share of the governorship slot, including the South. This is the best time to bury zoning. If any candidate takes the seat on the basis of zoning, it would take another 25 years to stop zoning.’’

While the controversy continues, the argument that seems to be resonating with many people in the state is that for a state that has produced first class intellectuals and political players in the country: late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. Alex Ekweme, late Chinua Achiebe, late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, late Emeka Odumegu Ojukwu, Professor ABC Nwosu and others, zoning will continue to promote mediocrity in the politics of the state – as it has been witnessed in the past few years.

Describing the political culture of some of the elite in the state as ‘’disruptive”, a political scholar, Dr. Okey Nnamdi, said that the unfolding political events in the state should not surprise anyone. He argued that with the 21 local government councils of the state equally spread across the three senatorial districts: Anambra South, Anambra Central and Anambra North of the state, and each of them with seven local councils, there is no

sameness in their political behaviours.

To be sure, what is described as ‘’inconsistency’’ in the political conduct among the populations of the state, may be expounded by the political actors who held power at various intervals, right from the Second Republic till date.

For example, in the Second Republic, while Dr. Azikiwe, who was the presidential candidate of the defunct Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) hailed from Onitsha, in the present Anambra North Senatorial zone, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) presidential running mate, who later became the Vice President, Dr. Ekwueme, hailed from Oko, in the present Anambra South senatorial district.

The state chairman of NPP hailed from Ozubulu, in Anambra South, the then Presidential Adviser (Political Matters), Dr. Okadigbo, was from Ogbunike, in the present Anambra North. And when the Ikemba, Odumegwu Ojukwu, returned from exile and joined the then ruling NPN, he lost the Anambra South senatorial seat to Dr. Edwin Onwudiwe of NPP, from Ogbunike, in Oyi Local Government Council of present day Anambra North.

Political analysts had also argued that when Anambra State was created in 1991, the struggle for political power in the state had always between the ‘’conservative Anambra South Senatorial zone and its liberal democratic Anambra Central counterpart, much to the near exclusion of Anambra North, with its insular politics.’’

The argument is that those who talk about zoning today in the governorship of Anambra State may not know the lop-sidedness of political exposure among the different zones of the state in the past.

Those familiar with the tempestuous politics of the state, said that Okey Odunze from Oyi Local Council, was close to becoming the state governor on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), but for baffling political bluffing, Odunze was succeeded by Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, a retired federal permanent secretary.

And when Ezeife finally picked the SDP’s ticket, prominent players in the party, including late Okadigbo, rallied Anambra North to accept the position of running mate handed over to Chudi

Nwike from Ogbunike, a neighbouring town to Odunze’s Umunya.

Ezeife and Nwike later won the governorship election; but that administration did not last following the termination of the democratic experiment by the military.

This is the kind of political contention has played out between Anambra South and its North senatorial counterpart in the past.

When the country returned to civil rule in 1999, the political domination of Anambra South, again, played out, apparently on the account that the zone could boasts of more politicians with deep pockets. Yes, sponsored by influential business tycoons, principally the multi-millionaire oil magnate, Dr. A. B. C. Orjiako, a little known Onitshabased legal practitioner, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, emerged the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and eventually won the election.

When Mbadinuju was denied a second term in office in 2003, the political power mongers in the state replaced him with Dr. Chris Ngige.

But, Ngige was to sooner than later, fell out with those who invested in his election on account of his purported decision to break a promise on the favour sharing arrangement. They went for his jugular and removed him by releasing sensitive documents, showing the electoral fraud that robbed the APGA of its deserved victory.

And it ensued that Ngige of PDP and the APGA’s challenger, Obi, were both from Anambra Central Senatorial district.

But before Ngige was dismissed over the disputed mandate, the Alor-born Medical Doctor had occupied the seat of governor for three years.

It happened that at the tail of his eight years in office, Governor Obi looked towards the Anambra North Senatorial and favoured the zone in order to “bring about equity, fairness and stability.”

But, as some vested political interests continue to whip up zoning for “selfish political interests’’, observers are wondering what may force all the political parties to abide by zoning, suppose it is very necessary? And, again, what may influence the possible emergence of a candidate from Anambra Central in the current play of forces between the Anambra South and Anambra North?

T H I S D AY ˾TUESDAY APRIL 30, 2019

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TRENDING NEWS

In Kogi, Bello Presides Over a Confluence of Absurdities Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has enthroned a reign of infamy that has brought disgrace to the much touted inclusion of youths in governance

Bello

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ecently, former Kogi State Governor Ibrahim Idris ruffled feathers of key persons in the current leadership of the state when he boldly stated that life in the state has become a miserable experience. To a good number of indigenes and friends of the state, Idris was stating the obvious. It is difficult to be mute to how Kogi exists. The sordid stories coming out of the state since Mr. Yahaya Bello became governor has increased the pain of the people. The Confluence State as Kogi is proudly referred to by indigenes and residents has become a Confluence of Absurdities. Arguably, Bello is top on the list of governors swimming in a sea of unanimous disgust and disdain. Perhaps, this is the only meaningful convergence of opinion. On this one thing, there is an overwhelming agreement, Bello whose emergence as governor was dramatic and incidental must be shown the exit.

If ever, there were developmental gains credited to his predecessors, he has since reversed them all and driven the quality of governance many rungs down the ladder.

Though Bello’s All Progressives Congress (APC) won the majority of seats in the state house of assembly election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had a good showing in the national assembly elections, indicating that the impending governorship election in the state is open for a tough duel. Increasing pointers show that stakeholders in Kogi APC do not favour Bello flying the party’s gubernatorial flag. They are convinced that with his dismal performance, presenting him as the party’s governorship candidate is akin to entering a no-contest and giving the position away to the opposing party, the PDP. The state assembly election which, possibly indicates the wishes of the people may have favoured the APC, but it does not provide any sort of comfort to Bello.

It may be strongly argued that governance has taken a leave from Kogi since Bello entered the saddle. Like many Nigerian states, government is the largest employer of labour in Kogi, Bello committed his first and enduring blunder when he embarked on a screening exercise, ostensibly to fish out ghost workers and save funds for the state.

On the surface, the intention was good, but till today, it is doubtful if the state government knows the exact number of its employees. Different figures have been bandied between the various workers union and the executive arm of government.

The most visible and painful result of the head count of workers in Kogi is the unwarranted delay in payment of salaries and other statutory monetary entitlements for upwards of several months. Every aspect of government owned labour has been at daggers drawn with the executive arm of government, leaving the running of several MDAs in Kogi

Melaye prostrate. But Bello has recently been in the news, claiming he only owes Kogi workers four months salary.

Stripped of their collective pride, most indigenes of Kogi are waiting for the legitimate opportunity to use their vote to oust Bello. Therefore, the groundswell for the removal of Bello from Lugard House, the official residence of the governor, may have started with the insistence by interested parties in Kogi APC that Bello must be defeated at the governorship primary. As things stand today, the most important confluence in Kogi now is not a natural phenomenon like two rivers, but the confluence of a low bar. The mixture and confluence of mediocrity in governance.

Buffeted on all sides by stringent criticisms, Bello has resorted to strong arm tactics. He frequently uses instruments of state to coerce the hapless populace.

His new modus operandi is to abuse or mudsling anyone considered a possible replacement for their mediocrity.

Everyone that is mentioned as a possible replacement becomes marked as an enemy who has never done anything good. Recently, he went after a retiring Director General claiming he charged people to offer employment because that one expressed interest in running for governorship. Another time, some publication mentioned another DG as a possible consideration and his reaction was to start looking all over the place for election results of the fellow hopefully to prove that since he didn’t win his polling unit or ward in the just concluded national elections, then he is of no political value.

The story is that the DG whose polling unit in Egbe’s results he is seeking is disappointing to him. He won the presidential elections in his unit for APC, delivered APC House of Representatives by a wide margin, and lost the Senatorial to PDP by one single vote. This result is one of the best in Kogi West outside Koto and some parts of Lokoja. The state government’s handpicked and rigged candidates for the House of Representative and Smart Adeyemi their senate candidate could not deliver themselves in their homes, and this his new found foe did. A comprehensive analysis of the state appointees and the government’s candidates in the election shows that the speaker, commissioners and advisers and assistants all failed woefully and could not sell their boss or the administration they serve in almost all polling units and wards of their homes.

The governor deceives himself to claim that he delivered Kogi Central to the President. The truth is that Kogi Central has always voted with and stayed with the President in every election before now.

Natasha Akpoti is said to have won the Kogi Central elections and prayerfully

Adeyemi will have her stolen mandate restored.

In the East, where few individuals and the Audu political family worked for APC, the results are out and good, but in Olamaboro where Onoja comes from, the elections were marred by violence, ballot boxes snatching, gun shots and intimidation.

Bello’s government harassed a senator to be marooned on a hospital bed in a hospital so that a recall against the senator will take him out while he was incapacitated. Unfortunately, he wasted the salaries of workers on the failed recall.

When elections came, Bello harassed him again, kept him out of the state, prevented him from campaigning and even tried to stop him from entering the state to cast his vote but they still lost the election to him. A governor that cannot secure a recall in absentia or win an election against a candidate in absentia is an apparent political lightweight, and socially irrelevant person, who is not fit to come back as governor.

Yet the governor and his men believe they have earned a second term ticket and superiorly acquitted themselves because they delivered the president by the state voting overwhelmingly for President Buhari of APC in the 2019 presidential election.

One of Bello’s closest aides who is often blamed for the abysmal performance of the governor is Edward Onoja whose role as chief of staff is supposed to be to administer the affairs of the governor, his calendar, appointments, correspondence, dispatch, domestic issues and generally ensure he works efficiently. Instead, he has become rambunctious, making no sense but pretending to run a government. Onoja and the governor have been accused of preventing state political appointees of a certain extraction from their duty posts in the government house because there areas didn’t deliver victorious elections to the president, but even worse, they failed to stop a senatorial candidate who had become their Achilles heel, Dino Melaye, a fellow rambunctious, even if more sensible fellow, but an opposition figure and rabble rouser. Bello and Onoja had rehabilitated and propped up Smart Adeyemi in the hope and plan that he would defeat Melaye, but their prayers were unanswered; in what is really one of the most unexpected resounding and all round trumping of the 2019 elections.

The victory of Melaye instead of being perceived as what it is that is a rejection of Smart Adeyemi and Yahaya Bello because of his failure is now blamed on political appointees. They were supposed to rig the elections. Parade thugs with guns, suppress those who won’t vote for Bello’s choice, intimidate everyone, introduce violence, snatch ballot boxes, disrupt collation, rewrite results, compromise electoral officers, and where they feel

violence won’t work or no opportunity, use the money they were given to buy the votes of the electorates. To use their hard earned and unpaid salaries to buy the only thing the electorate was worth, the only thing of value they see in people, their votes. They didn’t try to buy their votes by paying them their salaries just before elections from the monies already provided by the same President Buhari for that purpose, instead they perfected a dehumanizing handouts of N500, N1000, N2000 per voter to either induce them to vote, or reward them for voting.

And when they lost both the election and their faces, it was time to punish political appointees for their own loss and failure. Many of the appointees deserve their disgrace for shielding and not speaking up when it was important, and even praise singing and defending the inhuman and the impossible.

At 43 years, Bello is the youngest governor in Nigeria, but his reign of infamy has only brought disgrace to the much touted inclusion of youths in governance. In more ways than one, Bello is a man of history. The period leading to his emergence as governor appeared to have enmeshed in constitutional logjam, as the APC’s governorship candidate, Abubakar Audu, who was poised to win in the election died before its governorship election was concluded. Bello was picked by the APC to replace him. Mr. James Faleke who was Audu’s running mate objected to the party’s decision and approached the election tribunal in the state asking it to declare him governor-elect.

But the party had persuaded Faleke to retain his running mate position, which he turned down. Thus Yahaya Bello made an unusual history as he was sworn in without a deputy. It was the first time in Nigeria’s political history that an elected governor would be inaugurated without a deputy.

Bello has since doused the flame of the prevailing sentiment and squandered the huge political capital it did not have or earn, but which was given to it free by death. Through his immature, naïve, inexperienced, callous and arrogant mannerisms, Bello has taken Kogi to the abyss of misrule that no one could have imagined.

Kogi is a confluence of absurdities that presents irrational scenarios. It is a sad commentary to note that Kogi boasts of such eminent personalities as the late Prof Pius Adesanmi, the Babatunde Irukeras of this world, Suleiman Baba Ali, Jibrin Isah Echocho, Victor Adoji, Natasha Akpoti, the current Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Late Arc. Olorunfemi; the political sages Sunday Awoniyi and Silas Daniyan and countless others. Today, there is a big move that is eager to remove the serious affliction that the reign of Yahaya Bello has brought on Kogi.

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FEATURES

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

Canvassing for Ease of Movement for the Physically Challenged Sunday Ehigiator writes that buildings, especially public structures, should as a matter of necessity factor in ramps and wheelchair-friendly mantrap doors, to create ease of movement for the over 20 million people with disabilities in Nigeria

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or pharmacist and writer, Marie Ochiedo, life as a physically challenged person is hard enough without the added difficulty in trying to access places, especially public structures with her wheelchair. Like Ochiedo, there are over 20million physically challenged Nigerians who on a daily basis are hampered by so many limitations including the non-friendly public spaces.

Although most people are quick to blame engineers and architects for failing to incorporate the physically challenged in their designs, others posit that lack of willpower by government is to blame.

For Ochiedo, right from her time in school, she has had to build her own ramps in order for her to access lecture halls, an anomaly that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Public Outcry Recently, a visit to one of the new generation banks (name withheld) in Abuja provoked an outcry from Ochiedo as the non-availability of ramps prevented her from accessing the banking hall.

In her tweet, Ocheido appealed to financial institutions that have so far unknowingly isolated her and millions of others, from performing financial transactions in the banking halls, due to lack of ramps, and wheelchair-friendly mantrap doors, to do the needful.

She tweeted, “Dear bank (sic), I use a wheelchair and needed to make use of your MoneyGram services sometime last week and upon visiting one of your facilities; the closest to my work place in Kubwa, Abuja, I realised that there were no ramps to enable me enter the building.

“Even your doors are too small to fit a wheelchair. I asked your security personnel if there were other entrances into the bank that I could use instead and they replied that there were none. So I was left with the option of waiting under the sun while they went in to make inquiries on my behalf.

“Upon his return, the security man said I would have to go into the bank to be attended to. And seeing as there was simply no way for me to do that, except maybe to be lifted up in his arms, I had to leave.

“There are over 20 million people with disabilities in Nigeria. A good number of who make use of wheelchairs. So you can imagine the large demographic of people to whom you've shut out of accessing your banking services. You would agree with me that this is not right.

“I'm speaking out on behalf of people like me and kindly request that you build disability ramps in all your facilities and make your mantrap doors wheelchair-friendly. Thanks in anticipation of your speedy response.”

Not done, she also tweeted at another bank about her concerns over the way their facilities exclude her from their services, especially given the fact that they are her favourite bank.

She said the particular bank is her favourite because she can go an entire year with zero complaints and as such don't have any reason to visit their banking halls.

“Recently, however, I needed to access my NGO's account and pick up a new debit card and I had to visit your branch in Kubwa which is the closest to me. It gave me great pleasure to see that there were disability ramps in place for people like me but on going up, I quickly realised that my wheelchair would not be able to pass through your mantrap doors.

“Some of your other branches, along with the narrow doors, do not even have ramps in place for people with special needs.“ While the first tweet prompted the first bank mentioned promise to factor in inclusive accessibility for all in their financial institution,

“#RampUpNigeria because over 20 million Nigerians live with a disability, most of whom are mobility challenged. #RampUpNigeria because using a wheelchair should not spell the end of anybody's life #RampUpNigeria because we are all potentially disabled people. Remember, natural mobility challenges come with aeging.”

The necessity of a ramp in public spaces cannot be overemphasised

Ochiedo (front) flanked by others during the recently held Project RampUPNigeria in Abuja nothing was heard from the latter bank she mentioned.

RampUp Nigeria Putting her money where her mouth is, Ocheido has through project RampUpNigeria started building disability ramps across public secondary schools in Nigeria. She also kept a promise made to one Saidu Ali, a secondary school student in Abuja, by providing him a scooter in place of his hithero rickety wheelchair.

On this she said: “We kept our promise to empower Saidu Ali with a better mobility aid as his old, rickety wheelchair was impairing his school attendance and performance. We were also honoured by the principal of Government Secondary School, Nyanya and the Universal Basic Education board of the FCT. “Also (sic), my team and I just finished ramping up Government Secondary School, Nyanya. Now students like Saidu no longer

have to suffer the indignity of crawling to their classrooms. The goal is to improve mobility and accessibility for physically challenged students in public secondary schools. #RampUpNigeria.”

On the hashtag RampUpNigeria, she said: “ #RampUpNigeria because every Nigerian deserves to live an independent, full and productive life irrespective of disability.

RampUpNigeria is not just about calling out public institutions that have failed to make their facilities accessible for persons with disabilities. This campaign is also about giving kudos to those who have shown great foresight by making their buildings disability-friendly. “#RampUpNigeria because disability rights are human rights!! Accessibility is more than just ramps. It's also about elevators, accessible doors, accessible public means of transport, disability parking and walkways #RampUpNigeria.

Necessity For the uninitiated, wheelchair ramps; also known as inclined plane, enables physically challenged, as well as the elderly, to enjoy complete freedom, as they allow users to move in and around safely and freely without being hampered by staircases.

It is a sloppy surface connecting two areas of different levels used instead of staircases in buildings, for use by people who move about in wheelchairs, scooters or to be carried on stretchers.

It is also a cost-effective and practical solution to enhance mobility. Thus, by installing a ramp, scooters or wheelchair users can access steps, doorways, sliding glass doors, showers or even raised landings easily.

Sadly, most government and public institutions in Nigeria, especially banks, are yet to embrace and inculcate the ramping system into their structures, thereby denying the physically challenged and aged access to their institutions.

It is particularly worrisome, that most Nigerian banks; which are one of the most publicly used institutions in the country, don’t have ramps in their building structures, thereby making such difficult for the physically challenged to access.

A visit by THISDAY to some of the big banks shows that, while some scantily have ramps in few of their branches, some don’t have at all. Also, for those that have ramps, you will discover that the mantrap door system isn’t wheelchair friendly, hence denies the physically challenged access into the building.

This is a major concern to the physically challenged. In a way, institutions without ramps pass a message of seclusion and isolation to the challenged.

Again, these wheelchair ramps can minimise the risk of injuries or accidents during trips to and from grocery stores, medical facilities and other places users frequent.

Provisions of the Disability Act At this point, the issue of lack of publicfriendly spaces is a slap on the face of the recently signed Disability Act, which put a presidential seal on an 18- year struggle to empower the millions of people who were hitherto marginalised and denied access to several social amenities in Nigeria.

With the Act, which was signed on January 24, 2019, the reign of discrimination on the grounds of disability should no longer exist because the bill contains provisions that would ensure people living with disabilities in Nigeria are protected against discrimination and harmful treatment, cruelty and inhuman treatment, provision of facility at public building, protection at situation of risk and humanitarian emergencies, provision for adequate standard of living and social protection.

Also, the law provided for the right of children with disabilities, right to health, education, work and employment, right to drive, right to communication, right to communal life, right to participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure/sport and National Disability Commission to address complaints of harassment, discrimination and harmful practices, amongst others.

With this Act, it is now a crime against the state to discriminate against any person with disability in Nigeria, which is key to rehabilitation and reintegration of persons living with disabilities.

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

‘LAGOS MANAGES ITS DEBT EFFICIENTLY’

30.04.2019

Tunji Bello

2/DASHBOARD

30.04.2019

Effect of Further Assurances made by a Party on Previous Legal Relations PAGE 4

Lagos AG Reels Out his Administration’s Achievements PAGE 5

‘Citizens, Government, must work together to lessen tension of Insecurity’ PAGE 5

SON Sensitises Stakeholders on its 2015 Act

QUOTABLES ‘The Constitution has already taken over those resources from the oil producing States, and vested them in the Federal Government. That is one of the reasons, why I have always believed that, we should pass the PIB, to provide for the oil producing communities. It is difficult to return them to the oil producing communities, but they must have a stake in the management of the resources, so that you can develop those areas, that are currently undergoing the worst form of environmental degradation.’

– Femi Falana, SAN, Human Rights Activist ‘The Supreme Court needs to be, in my view, firm, more courageous in its approach, less afraid of Government, demonstrating its independence, and assuming its position as the most important in society, more important than the office of the President, more important than the Legislature.’

– Dr. Konyin Ajayi, SAN

PAGE 5

‘Don’t Just Work Hard, Work Smart’ PAGE 6

COLUMNISTS DR. MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN, OFR, FCIARB, PH.D, LL.D Constitutional Democracy, means a system of government, in which political and governmental power, is defined, limited and shared by a grundnorm called the Constitution, which provides inbuilt checks and balances.

This column seeks to fiercely discuss constitutional, legal and political issues, with a view to strengthening, deepening and widening the plenitude and amplitude of democracy and good governance, without fear or favour.

The writer of this column, Dr. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, is a Constitutional Lawyer, Human Rights Activist, Pro-Democracy Campaigner, Notary Public and Motivational Speaker. He co-founded the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Nigeria's pioneer human rights league, on October 15,1987, the Universal Defenders of Democracy (UDD), in 1992, and with Chief Gani Fawehinmi and others in 1998, the Joint Action Committee of Nigeria (JACON), to push out the military.

In his early days, he lectured at the University of Ife. Dr. Ozekhome is an author of many books. He is also a Special Counsel at the International Criminal Court (ICC), at The Hague.

ABUBAKAR D. SANI Abubakar D. Sani holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Maiduguri, and has been in active private legal practice since he was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1987.He is the Principal of Abubakar D. Sani & Co., which has offices in Abuja and Kano. " INSIGHT" aims to unravel, analyse and proffer solutions to numerous anomalies in Nigerian law and practice, particularly statutes, vis-a-vis the Constitution, International Treaties and Conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory, Judicial Precedent and other relevant statutes and issues.

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE EDITOR JUDE IGBANOI DEPUTY EDITOR AKINWALE AKINTUNDE REPORTER TUNDE BUSARI GROUP HEAD OCHI OGBUAKU II ART DIRECTOR

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A Leaf from Other Countries

T

Drug Trafficking his week, I am not going to talk strictly about law alone, but also development. I received a whats app forward from my Uncle last week, that made me cogitate and excogitate. It had to do with an allegation of a drug trafficking cartel at Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, involving airport staff planting hard drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers travelling to Saudi Arabia for religious tourism. I wondered how and why, over the years, our people have become so numb and insensitive, wicked, and in fact, outrightly devilish, so much so that, they can actually make a business out of implicating unsuspecting people and sending them to their deaths, just to make illicit revenue from crime, because we are all aware that the penalty for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia, is death. Surely, individuals should be able to make the choice for themselves, as to whether they prefer to live or die!

Is the right to life not guaranteed by Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria(as amended)(the Constitution), and all the different UN and African Charters that Nigeria is signatory to?

My point? If a person decides to play “Russian Roulette” with their life by trafficking drugs to Saudi Arabia, knowing that they will be killed if they are caught, it is their choice. But, to have the mind to frame unsuspecting passengers, by planting drugs in their luggage? That is scary. When my beloved father was alive, he used to go to Saudi, usually during Ramadan, and wherever he travelled to, his suitcase was never locked – what a sitting duck!

Crime and Poverty One of the major causes of crime, is poverty, and this has been so, from time immemorial. And we all know that, not only is poverty rife in Nigeria, as of June 2018, our country took over from India as the “poverty capital of the world”!

At least, so says a report by Brookings Institute. In lay man’s terms, it means that at least 50% of our population, are living in extreme abject poverty.

It is pointless, for me to restate the reasons why Nigerians are living in abject poverty – corruption, greed, abysmal governance and so on, because by now, we all know them. What concerns me is that, as we prepare to inaugurate a new Government come May 29, Nigerians have extremely great expectations, for a better four years than the last.

So, when Comrade Oshiomhole, Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) makes statements to the effect that, APC must have all the juicy positions in the National Assembly, one hopes and prays that, it is not this same type of myopic, retrogressive mindset, that the ruling party intends to use to ‘select’ those who will likely man the affairs of our nation, for the next four years (as they did in 2015).

There are so many members of the National Assembly, APC loyalists or not, when you hear them speak on the floor, you wonder how they got there in the first place and what they are doing there! Talk less of giving them any positions of authority.

I am sorry to say that, most of our leaders or decision makers are spent, bereft of ideas, that is if they had any, to start with! What I expected to hear Comrade tell the public, is how their party/Government is actively scouting around the globe, including within Nigeria, for the best Nigerian brains in every field possible, and considering and comparing their submissions on how to tackle the myriad of problems facing our country, with a view to employing those that are able.

est and the best’ – shi ke nan! Their society is multi-ethnic society like ours, but tribe, religion, socio-economic background, are not the benchmarks for making appointments. Why can’t we study the Singapore model, and take a leaf out of their book? Take for instance, security, a serious issue that President Buhari promised to tackle in his 2015 campaign. It seems to majority of Nigerians that, for instance, the benchmark for making the choices as to who should head the security agencies these past four years, was certainly not ‘the brightest and the best’, but probably their ability to speak a particular language which the President is comfortable with, or their perceived loyalty to him, because based on the state of insecurity in the country, it could certainly not be their glowing abilities as security experts.

You will agree with me that, it is absurd and nonsensical, to put people in positions, not because they are up to the task, but because they are from your village or attend the same Mosque or Church as you! Going forward, I hope that this administration, being in its second and last term, will concentrate on making a difference and leaving a positive legacy.

Singapore I looked at some of the countries with the lowest crime rates in the world, like Sweden and Austria – both in Europe. I thought comparing them with Nigeria, may be akin to comparing apples to oranges, since they are first world countries. So, I looked at Singapore, a non- European country - South East Asia to be precise, even though it is smaller in terms of population than Lagos and Kano, I chose it because over 50 years ago, it was a colony of the British, and a third world country like Nigeria; not much more than a fishing village really.

Singapore became independent from Britain, three years after Nigeria in 1963, and from Malaysia, in 1965. How then did Singapore transform herself into a country with one of the highest GDP per capita and the third or fourth most competitive economies in the world?

How did a former fishing village become so fantastic, with an extremely low crime rate, and most importantly, virtually no corruption especially in the public sector? Under the focused and astute leadership of Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), first Prime Minister of Singapore 1959 – 1990, and his successors, who were able to chart a course of success for their country.

Singapore’s shibboleth (guiding principle)? Meritocracy – ‘the bright-

Japan I also looked at Japan, another non-European country, located in East Asia, with a population of over 120 million people, with one of the lowest crime rates in the world. I studied Japan, because from a country that was devastated during the second world war, so much so that, majority of her factories there were destroyed, Japan has developed into one of the most industrialised and economically vibrant countries in the world, with a high GDP per capita. How did Japan, a country with virtually no mineral resources like oil and gas etc (unlike Nigeria) able to achieve her ‘economic miracles’? With sound Government policy and financial aid from the United States of America.

The Japanese did not divert the aid they were given, into their private pockets, to be able use it for their own personal purposes, including staying in politics and winning elections every year, whether or not you perform for the people or improve the country.

The Japanese used it, to develop their country.

The largest economic growth in Japan, occurred in the 1960s. Their Ministry of International Trade and Industry, hand in hand with the private sector, improved the productivity of industries,

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE

THE ADVOCATE onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com onikepob@yahoo.com

“SINGAPORE’S SHIBBOLETH (GUIDING PRINCIPLE)?

MERITOCRACY – ‘THE BRIGHTEST AND THE BEST’ – SHI KE NAN! THEIR SOCIETY IS MULTI-ETHNIC SOCIETY LIKE OURS, BUT TRIBE, RELIGION, SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND, ARE NOT THE BENCHMARKS FOR MAKING APPOINTMENTS. WHY CAN’T WE STUDY THE SINGAPORE MODEL, AND TAKE A LEAF OUT OF THEIR BOOK?” which led to huge economic benefits.

Rwanda Closer to home, we have Rwanda, a Central and East African landlocked country (unlike Nigeria that is bound by water in several places), devastated by genocide just 25 years ago.

Today, Rwanda’s nickname is “the Singapore of Africa”. The country has the lowest corruption rate in East Africa, and is now one of the fastest growing economies in its neck of the woods.

Rwanda moved from the seventh poorest country in the world in 1994, to the twentieth, in 2015! How? Partly due to increase in farm productivity and wildlife tourism, and no more talk of tribalism. Call President Paul Kagame whatever you wish to, but most of the progress in his country, has been attributed to him.

Conclusion I have pinpointed several issues, drawn from the countries which I have used as examples, to evince the fact that, if we do not delete certain negatives from our system like they did, Nigeria is going nowhere, or rather, we will continue to sink further into the doldrums and deterioration. We need to delete bad governance and lack of focus, tribalism, chronyism, only APC loyalists, and their relatives (nepotism etc), corruption, greed, and most importantly, we need to seek the help of our brightest and the best. Since our past systems have been nothing more than a losing formula for us, is it not time that we try something novel, what has been a winning formula for others?

Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore

Paul Kagame of Rwanda

P.S. Happy Workers' Day all.

4/LAW REPORT

30.04.2019

Effect of Further Assurances made by a Party on Previous Legal Relations

T Facts

he Appellants, who are indigenes of Oro Town in Kwara State, instituted an action for themselves and on behalf of Oro Town and its indigenes, at the High Court of Kwara State. The action was prompted by an Executive Fiat made by the Kwara State Government in Kwara State Legal Notice No. 2 of 2008 (“Legal Notice”) contained in the Kwara State Gazette No. 2, Volume No. 42 dated 11th September, 2008, in which several decisions which the Appellants purported to be against the interests of Oro Town and its people at large, were made. By the Legal Notice, the name by which the Appellants’ town had been known, was changed and the prefix “Otun” was added to its existing name of “Oro”. The Legal Notice also expressly banned the Appellants’ community from laying sole claim to the name “Oro”, and that the Appellants’ community can only lay claim to the name “Oro” with recourse to other surrounding communities.

It was the case of the Appellants that, the Legal Notice was issued without due process and in breach of their right to fair hearing. They claimed that it was issued, based on a purported complaint by the 1st Respondent of alleged provocative acts of the Appellants’ community, and an alleged breach of peace between the Oro Community and other surrounding communities. The Appellants claimed that, though meetings were called, in which the Appellants were represented, with a view to addressing the alleged threatened and/or likelihood of threat of breach of the peace of Oro Town, the issues forming the fulcrum of the decision contained in the Legal Notice, were never discussed at the meetings. The trial court in its judgement, held that, the issuance of the Legal Notice was vitiated by irregularities, including the breach of the Appellants’ right to fair hearing, and on this basis, set aside the said Notice.

Dissatisfied, the Respondents appealed to the Court of Appeal, whilst the Appellants filed a Notice of CrossAppeal in respect of part of the trial court’s judgement, where the court disagreed with the Appellants that, certain cases earlier litigated conclusively at the High Court and Supreme Court by Oro Indigenes in that capacity and on behalf of Oro Town, did not constitute estoppel per rem judicata. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, and dismissed the Cross-appeal. Aggrieved, the Appellants appealed to the Supreme Court.

Issues for Determination The Appellants formulated three issues for determination, while the Respondents formulated three similar issues for determination. However, the Supreme Court only considered the first issue formulated by the Respondents, as being decisive of the entire appeal as follows: Whether the Appellants were afforded fair hearing by the Government of Kwara State before publishing its decision reverting the Appellants’ community to its traditional name of Otun-Oro in the Kwara State of Nigeria Gazette, Vol. 42, No. 7 Legal Notice 2 of 11th September, 2008.

Arguments Counsel for the Appellants argued that, there is in law, a presumption that every authority in the exercise of the power conferred on it, will act judicially and in accordance with the rules of natural justice. He submitted that, although there were meetings organised by the Kwara State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs between representatives of the Oro Community and other surrounding communities, to discuss an alleged breakdown of peace and order, the Appellants were not privy to the meetings or petitions that gave rise to the decisions contained in the Legal Notice. He submitted that, the Appellants were not afforded the opportunity of fair hearing before the issuance of the Legal Notice, and the effect of this was that, the basis of the Legal Notice being so flawed, same was vitiated by the lack of fair hearing ab initio.

Counsel for the Appellants urged the Apex Court to set aside the judgement of the Court of Appeal, and reinstate that of the trial court which set aside the Kwara State Legal Notice No. 2 of 2008 contained in the Kwara State Gazette No. 2, Volume No. 42 dated 11th September, 2008.

Contrarily, counsel for the Respondents rejected the position of the Appellants; he submitted that, it is not enough to allege breach of fair hearing, as it does not operate in abstract or at large, and that the Appellants’ right to fair hearing was not breached, as the issuance of the Legal Notice was validly done.

M.U Peter-Odili, JSC

In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja On Friday, the 18th day of January, 2019 Before Their Lordships Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun Amiru Sanusi Ejembi Eko Justices, Supreme Court SC284/2013 Between 1. Chief Simeon Olayioye 2. Chief Enilius Alasiri 3. Mr. Bode Oyeyiola Appellants 4. Dr. Michael Ibiwoye (For themselves and on behalf of the entire Oro Town) And 1. H.R.H. Oba AbdulRafiu Olaniyi Oyelaran 1, Oloro of Oro 2. Attorney-General of Kwara State......Respondents (Lead Judgement delivered by Hon. Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, JSC)

Court’s Judgement and Rationale The court held that, the right to fair hearing, is a fundamental right of a party to a dispute, to be afforded an opportunity to present his case to the adjudicating authority, and this authority need not be the regular court as we know

“WHERE ONE PARTY HAS, BY HIS WORDS OR CONDUCT MADE TO THE OTHER, A PROMISE OR ASSURANCE WHICH WAS INTENDED TO AFFECT THE LEGAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THEM AND TO BE ACTED UPON ACCORDINGLY, THEN, ONCE THE OTHER PARTY HAD TAKEN HIM AT HIS WORD, THEN THE ONE WHO GAVE THE PROMISE OR ASSURANCE CANNOT AFTERWARDS BE ALLOWED TO REVERT TO THE PREVIOUS LEGAL RELATIONS....”

it, but anybody so composed and filling the gap adjudicatorily.

The Apex Court referred to the case of ATTORNEYGENERAL OF KWARA STATE v ABOLAJI (2009) 7 NWLR (Pt. 1139) P. 199 at 219 where the Court of Appeal relied on the decision of the Supreme Court in J.C.C. INTER. LTD v N.G.I. LTD (2001) 4 WRN 91, 104, wherein it was held that in order to be fair, hearing or opportunity to be heard in a judicial enquiry, must encompass a party’s right - (a) to be present all through the proceedings, to hear all the evidence against him/her; (b) to cross-examine or otherwise confront or contradict all the witnesses that testified against him; (c) to have read before him, all the documents tendered in evidence at the hearing; (d) to have disclosed to him, the nature of all relevant material evidence, including documentary evidence, prejudicial to him, except in recognised exceptions; (e) to know the case he has to meet at the hearing, and have adequate opportunity to prepare for his defence; (f) To give evidence by himself, call witnesses if he likes, and make oral submission, either personally or through counsel of his choice.

The court held that, in the instant case, the Commissioner acted as an adjudicating authority on behalf of the Kwara State Government, and acting in that regard, whatever it set out to do, the principles of natural justice as embedded in the right to fair hearing, must be adhered to. The court restated excerpts of the minutes of the meetings organised by the Commissioner, between representatives of the Oro Community and other surrounding communities, to discuss the alleged breakdown of peace and order within the Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, particularly the minutes which was headed “Conclusion” – Exhibit MOJ5. The court held that, in the said Exhibit MOJ5, the 2nd Respondent had stated that, the next stage would be reached after the meetings, and the parties were dispersed with that representation, and on the clear understanding that, there would be further consultation to verify the parties’ previous representations.

Therefore, when the Appellants were informed that, the meetings evidenced by Exhibits MOJ4 and MOJ5 would be subject to further meetings, where parties will be in a position to verify what had been put down concerning them, as well as correct and rebut any wrong information that might have been recorded against them, and these expected subsequent meetings were never held, the result was that, the issuance of the Kwara State Legal Notice No. 2 of 2008 contained in the Kwara State Gazette No. 2, Volume No. 42 dated 11th September, 2008 purporting to be the report of a final outing and conclusion including the decisions, have no valid basis.

In UDE v OSUJI (1998) 13 NWLR (Pt. 580) 1 at 8, the Supreme Court held that, “where one party has, by his words or conduct made to the other, a promise or assurance which was intended to affect the legal relations between them and to be acted upon accordingly, then, once the other party had taken him at his word, then the one who gave the promise or assurance cannot afterwards be allowed to revert to the previous legal relations, as if no such promise or assurances has been made by him.

He must accept their legal relation as modified by himself, even though it is not supported in point of law by any consideration, but only by word or conduct”.

Going by the decision above, it is not enough that the Respondents are stating that the Appellants attended the earlier meetings. It is taken that, the parties to the meetings, including the Appellants, left with the belief in the existence of a state of affairs, based on the promises put forward by the, 2nd Respondent of an inchoate situation which still needed a completion or closure, before any further steps could be taken by the Respondents. The parties were therefore, denied the opportunity of fair hearing, before the Legal Notice containing the decision, was issued.

Appeal Allowed.

Representation Olabode Olanipekun, SAN with Adelani Ajibade, Shola Bojuwoye and Opemipo Olorunfemi for the Appellants.

J.S. Bamigboye, SAN with O.O. Oddom for the 1st Respondent.

Jimoh A. Mumini (DPP Kwara State) with S.O. Ishola (Asst. Dir.) for the 2nd Respondent.

Reported by Optimum Law Publishers Limited (Publishers of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports (NMLR))

30.04.2019

NEWS/5

L-R: Representative of the D.G NIIA, Mrs. Mary Agbu, Mrs. Mfom Usoro, FIDA Chairperson, Mrs. Ngozi Ogbolu, Chairman of the Occasion, Mr. Layi Bababtunde, SAN, Representative of the Hon. A-G of Lagos State, Magistrate Kike Ayeye at the opening ceremony of FIDA Lagos 2019 Law week

L-R: Mrs. Layi Babatunde, Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Layi Babatunde, SAN, Chairperson of International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Lagos, Mrs. Ngozi Ogbolu at the opening ceremony of FIDA Lagos 2019 Law week

Lagos AG Reels Out his Administration’s Achievements Stories by Akinwale Akintunde As the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration in Lagos State march towards the end of the tenure, the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, SAN, has reeled out some of the Government’s achievements in the area of the justice sector, under his watch.

The Attorney-General disclosed this last Thursday at a media parley with judicial editors and correspondents, held at the Ministry of Justice, Alausa, Ikeja.

According to Kazeem, the justice sector in Lagos State has experienced the implementation of programmes aimed at giving the people of Lagos State greater

access to justice, through dynamic law reforms and adherence to the rule of law, under his watch in the last four years.

“Owing to the cooperation and support received from State House of Assembly, the Judiciary, the Police, the Prison Services, and other security operatives, we have been able to collectively ensure that, our dear State, is a safe and secure environment for all, regardless of our different tribes, religious and political affiliations.

“Upon assumption of office as Attorney-General, my first major assignment was to work towards the expansion and functionality of the Mobile Court, in conjunction with the Lagos

State Judiciary. Through the successful running of the Mobile Court system, we have been able to reduce street trading, traffic congestion and unethical/anti-social conducts on the roads, as well as environmental nuisances, thereby improving the socioeconomic well-being of the residents of Lagos State.

“We recognised the importance of creating awareness of the laws that were being passed by the Lagos State House of Assembly, therefore, we created a web portal where all Laws & Regulations of Lagos State are available online.

The dedicated web portal, http: laws.lagosstate.gov.ng is regularly updated with all new laws and regulations,

and has since the launch recorded an average of 100,000 user hits every month, and over 10,000 downloads of the Laws of Lagos State.

“We are all witnesses to how the activities of Land Grabbers, popularly known as ‘Omo Onile, were almost completely stifling commercial activities in the State, before we came on board. In order to reduce to the barest minimum the activities of those notorious persons, who use force and intimidation to dispossess or prevent any person or entity from acquiring legitimate interest and possession of property, we created the Lagos State Special Taskforce on Land Grabbers popularly CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

Midwestern Oil & Gas Loses bid to halt Enforcement of Consent Judgement An indigenous oil company, Midwestern Oil & Gas Ltd, has lost an attempt to stop the enforcement of a consent judgement of the Federal High Court, Lagos, as a Delta State High Court, Sapele struck out the "Stakeholder Interpleader" suit it filed.

Two law firms, Perchstone & Graeys and Templars, led by Messrs Folabi Kuti and Godwin Omoaka, jointly filed the “Stakeholder Interpleader” suit on behalf of Midwestern Oil & Gas Ltd, against Seistech Energy Limited, Sapele Power Plc, and the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company Ltd/ GTE, the Respondents, respectively.

The consent judgement, arose from a previous suit between the firm and Seistech Energy Limited, who was represented by Mr. Fidel Albert of a Lagos-based firm, Aes Triplex LP. While striking out the suit in a ruling, the trial Judge, A.O Omamogho held, "the filing of this suit amounted to an abuse of court process, having regard to the various definitions of what amounts to an abuse of court process, and the fact that this court is being vested with the power that it

does not possess, to review the consent judgement.

"The only course open to this court, is to strike out the suit in the circumstances; this case is herein struck out with the cost of N200,000 to each set of Defendants in this case."

Justice Omamogho further said Seistech and Midwestern had amicably settled a windingup suit filed by Seistech against Midwestern, in the Federal High Court, Lagos on February 12, 2018.

According to him, Justice Babs Kuewumi entered the terms of settlement drawn up and executed by both parties, and countersigned by their counsels as Consent Judgement.

By the terms of the consent judgement, Midwestern was to evacuate its crude oil from Seistech's storage within a particular period, and pay storage fees at a particular rate.

It was also agreed that, if Midwestern failed to evacuate its crude within the specified period, it would then be liable for a higher storage fee, until evacuation.

Midwestern failed to evacuate

the crude within the stipulated timeline, and storage fees accrued, as per the consent judgement, to over US$3million, as at the date of Midwestern's filing of its Stakeholder Interpleader Summons in the Sapele High Court.

However, to avoid its mounting obligations under the Consent Judgement, Midwestern through its counsels, filed another suit in Sapele against Seistech and two other parties, in order to limit its period of liability for storage fees, and claiming it did not know which of the three Defendants, to pay the reduced storage fees to.

Seistech, through its counsel, Albert contended that in filing this action, Midwestern allegedly concealed the fact, that there was a subsisting consent judgement over the issue of payment of storage fees.

Midwestern then sought injunctive orders against the Defendants, including Seistech, which would have had the effect of completely varying the terms of the Consent Judgement, if granted. That followed the objections raised by the Defendants

against such orders, arguing that the suit is abuse of court process.

Both Seistech, Sapele Power Plc and Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company Ltd/ GTE, opposed the so-called “Stakeholder Interpleader".

Seistech counsel, Albert objected to the suit, as being grossly inappropriate and incompetent in the circumstances, arguing that the suit is abuse of court process.

Albert further argued that, Midwestern is bound by the Consent Judgement, and must not be permitted to use a so called “Stakeholder Interpleader” to vary or subvert the terms of the Consent Judgement.

In agreeing with Seistech’s counsel, Albert, Justice Omamogho held that, it was clear in the Consent Judgement of the Federal High Court, Lagos, that storage fees is to be paid to Seistech, and that it seemed clear that the stakeholder Interpleader Summons was instituted by Midwestern in bad faith, to prevent Seistech from executing the judgement in Suit No: FHC/L/CP/1955/2017 filed in Lagos.

‘Citizens, Government, must work together to lessen tension of Insecurity’ A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Layi Babatunde, has said that, Nigerian citizens and Government must work together, in order to be able to lessen the tension of insecurity and fear ravaging the nation presently.

Babatunde commended the Government for putting in place some social protection programmes for the very poor.

He however, noted that, only the living can prosper, and only the living can enjoy social protection.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria made this comment last Wednesday, at the opening ceremony of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Lagos, 2019 Law Week held at Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The theme for this year’s Law Week, was “Reducing Vulnerability through Social Protection”.

Speaking as the Chairman of the event, Babatunde, SAN said the theme for the Law Week was quite apposite, especially at this time in the life of the nation, adding that, it sort of compelled Nigerians to stop and think about the circumstances of the vulnerable in the country, and what can be done to remedy the situation.

The Chairman of the event noted that, access to quality education, is one of the surest means of guaranteeing social protection for children, and urged parents not to deprive their children the opportunity.

“Access to quality education, is one of the surest means of guaranteeing social protection for our children, we should never allow anyone deprive them of that opportunity, otherwise we will all sooner than later, become ‘wounded’.

“By the choice of your theme and active collaboration of your members, you have brought to bear Mother Teresa (of blessed memory)’s wise counsel, when she said: ‘Do not wait for leaders, do it alone, person to person’. I wish to applaud your efforts.

“There are several people among the wounded in our society today, prominent

among which are children and women. A germane illustration of the wounded today, are our children, who were kidnapped from school, and have remained in unsolicited capacity and unimaginable depravity (i.e. the Chibok girls and later, Leah Shuaribu); whom the search for education, turned into nightmare, not only for the girls, their parents and all men and women of good conscience, worldwide. We have a duty, to continue to remember them in our prayers and pray for their safe return, while encouraging Government to do more, towards their release.

Mr. Babatunde urged FIDA to join forces with other well-meaning bodies, groups or individuals, in ensuring that the Judiciary is not vulnerable nor lame nor beholden to any other authority, but the Constitution and the law.

He enjoined them to perform their professional obligations in a manner that behooves of them, adding that, justice delivered without fear or favour, is a major pillar of social protection.

Babatunde also admonished FIDA and other organisations, bodies or Government to have tolerance for criticism, especially constructive criticism, and be open to helpful counsel, even unsolicited, in order to succeed.

Also speaking at the event, Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, SAN, said the Lagos State Government has through many of its initiatives, worked towards reducing vulnerability through social protection in the State.

Kazeem said as a responsible Government which is always seeking ways of making life better for the citizenry, the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration, recognised the recent emergence of the social protection sector in Nigeria, and the challenges

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30.04.2019

SON Sensitises Stakeholders on its 2015 Act Akinwale Akintunde The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) last Wednesday, sensitised the general public on how they can use the SON 2015 Act, to enhance quality and harness opportunities.

The sensitisation workshop, which held in Lagos, was amongst others aimed at ensuring that the stakeholders in the nation’s production, supply, demand and consumption value chain, which include manufacturers, MSMEs operators, importers, exporters, product end-users, business membership organisations, as well as members of the public, are well informed about the SON Act. Two senior Lawyers, Mr. Paul Ananaba, SAN and Mr. Wahab Shittu did justice to the topic of the workshop, “SON Act 2015: Enhancing Quality, Harnessing Opportunities”.

Ananaba, SAN in his paper, “Promoting Business Growth through SON Act”, said the SON 2015 Act was enacted to cure the defects in the 2004 Act. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who was represented by Mr. Okey Barrah at the workshop, said the additional functions introduced by the Act was to assist SON in being more proactive in the prevention of substandard products, in Nigeria.

"This, in our opinion is very commendable, in the sense that, if the structures are put in place to register, track, maintain surveillance

and assess the quality of products produced in or imported into Nigeria, then there won't be such influx of fake and substandard products in our market”, he said.

According to Ananaba, the SON Act 2015 though started on not so good a foot, has all it takes to promote business growth.

On his part, Mr. Wahab Shittu of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, urged the SON management to live up to the Agency’s mandate of combatting adulterated products.

Shittu also called for periodic training for staff of the Agency as well as comprehensive welfare packages that will motivate them in the discharge of their responsibilities.

According to Shittu, the SON Act 2015 if well managed and enforced by all and sundry, will help to rid Nigeria of defective, fake, hazardous, and inhumane products.

“I believe that this statute SON Act 2015 if well managed and enforced by all and sundry, Nigeria shall be rid of defective, fake, hazardous, and inhumane products. What I believe in, is a concerted effort by all and sundry to implement the extant provisions of this Act”, he stated.

Earlier, the Director General of SON, Mr. Osita Aboloma, said the Agency had confiscated fake and substandard products worth over N300 billion across in the country, within the last few months.

According to him, top of the list of seizures were adulterated lubricants, electric cables and

L-R: Head, Ports and Border, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), who represented the DirectorGeneral, Mr. Yaya Burka; Managing Director, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi; Head of Chambers, Dr. Paul C. Ananaba, SAN & Co, Mr. Okey Barrah and lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Mr. Wahab Shittu at the Stakeholders Forum on the SON Act 2015 in Lagos

cylinders.

Aboloma, who was represented by Mr. Yaya Burka, Head, Ports and Border, SON, said the SON Act enacted into law by the Seventh National Assembly, is a revolutionary document which the Agency is deploying, to carry out massive measures towards sanitising the Nigerian market of unwholesome products.

"Let me inform you that, the big hauls of seizures which the agency made recently, is a

‘CITIZENS, GOVERNMENT, MUST WORK TOGETHER TO LESSEN TENSION OF INSECURITY’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 that have so far been identified in developing an effective social protection agenda.

“We are all aware of the activities of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSRVT), the Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership (LPILP), Citizens Mediation Centre and the Directorate for Citizen’s Rights in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice. In addition to the fact that, each of these institutions has its primary objectives targeted at reducing vulnerabilities in Lagos State, they also col-

laborate with one another where necessary to achieve their common objectives.

“A practical example is with sexual abuse and domestic violence, where through collaborative efforts of these institutions coupled with activities of the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and Lagos State Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development, there is assurance of social protection for survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence. The OPD also provides a social worker that will accompany the survivor to the Police Station,

and also court, depending on the level of risk involved”, Kazeem stated.

Earlier, in her opening remarks, the Chairperson, FIDA Lagos, Mrs. Ngozi Ogbolu noted that, at FIDA they have realised that, improving the national social protection system, is a major task for all levels of Government.

According to Ogbolu, the main purpose of social protection, is to make life easier, wipe away or reduce poverty, economic shocks and vulnerability, which in turn, helps the country’s economic growth.

testimonial that we mean business by harnessing to the fullest, the enormous powers which the Act has accorded us.

"We have since embarked on the arraignment and trial at various courts, of some of the suspects linked with the impounded goods. We are not resting on our oars”, he said.

Aboloma noted that, the theme of the workshop, "SON Act 2015: Enhancing Quality, Harnessing Opportunities", was very germane and in in tune with the efforts of the Federal Government to turn around the nation's economy.

According to him, the Agency decided to conduct nationwide sensitisation workshops on the Act, not only to enlighten people on its provisions, but to also strengthen stakeholders' collaboration and engagement.

He maintained that, all products manufactured in Nigeria must be certified to the Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) through the Agency’s Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP), which is subject to legal enforcement.

The DG added that, all imported products must also be certified to the NIS or other approved standards, through SON's Offshore Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP).

Legal Personality of the Week Peter Olaoye Olalere, Esq.

‘Don’t Just Work Hard, Work Smart’ Please, give a brief introduction of yourself My name is Peter Olaoye Olalere, Esq. from Agurodo in Ejigbo Local Government Area of Osun State. I graduated from University of Maiduguri with LL.B (Hons.); obtained my BL from the Nigeria Law School, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2006. I obtained LL.M in Energy and Natural Resources Law from Queen Mary, University of London in 2014.

I am a member of the Chattered Institute of Arbitrators, UK, and a Notary Public for Nigeria.

I started my legal career at G. M. Ibru & Co under the tutelage of Mr. Goodie Ibru, MFR, and the head of Chambers then, Mr. Andy Akporugo Jr. At the firm, I was involved in majorly business and commercial law practice - drafting and reviewing all kinds of agreements, legal opinions etc in Real Estate and Hotel Business/ investment management. As my focus was on dispute resolution work and experience, and given the limited avenue at the firm for litigation, I switched as an Associate, to my present office in 2010, and was promoted to Senior Associate in 2012. My areas of specialisation/expertise are in commercial dispute resolution via litigation, arbitration and other ADR mix involving Banking, Real Estate, Labour Law, Aviation, Investments, and Energy – Power and Oil and Gas. I have traversed trial and appellate courts and tribunals as an advocate since being called to Bar, with demonstrated substantial advocacy skills and success.

Have you had any challenges in your career as a Lawyer, and if so, what were the main challenges?

Many challenges exist in the legal profession, but I will single out delay in our justice administration, as frustrating indeed. Recently, I had an appeal which ought to have been heard in 2014 at the Court of Appeal. Upon getting to court on the rescheduled date in April 2019, the court did not sit, and the matter was adjourned to a 2021

is not limited to $100,000, as erroneously held in the industry. It was gratifying that our team was able to help the clients by that favourable ruling, and I played important role in the research, drafting and advocacy leading to that ruling. Also, recently I got monetary judgement for a client against a Nigerian billion-naira business conglomerate; and the court, save for solicitor’s fees, awarded all the claims we made. It is gratifying to note, how we used the instrumentality of the law to make a clear statement that everyone is subject to the law of the land, including all businesses and companies.

Peter Olaoye Olalere, Esq.

date. That was sad!

What was your worst day as a Lawyer?

On my first day in court, my senior colleague asked me to address the court just like that. So, when I informed the court of what transpired at the previous date and the court indicated that its record states otherwise, I simply said, ‘we will adopt the position of the court then’ – and the whole courtroom erupted into laughter. I also remember a day before Justice Lawal Akapo, and my Lord said ‘I cannot see counsel’. I did not understand what was amiss, until the court said the colour of my suit was not black enough.

What was your most memorable experience as a Lawyer?

In a civil aviation accident claim we conducted, the Federal High court delivered a precedentsetting ruling, affirming our submissions as Plaintiffs’ counsel, that the threshold of payment to be made to the family of a victim of such accident

Who has been most influential in your life?

My parents, both of blessed memory, taught me the wonders of hardwork and integrity. My two elder brothers, Dr. Tide Olalere and Engr.

Bosoye Olalere were (and still are) of importance influence. I follow their footsteps. They have been both benevolent/sacrificial, in their support.

My wife and children have steadfastly cheered me on to conquer, no matter what.

In the legal profession, Mr. Andy Akporugo Jr., my current boss, Dr. B. A. M. Ajibade, SAN, and Mr. Yinka Olasewere have taught me and influenced my career path a lot. I admire the intellectual fecundity and advocacy gesticulation of Mr. Femi Falana, SAN; and I even kept ‘afro’ hairstyle, like him, while in the University.

Why did you become a Lawyer?

I did science subjects in Secondary School up to the end of Senior Secondary School (SSS) 2, but changed to commercial/art subjects for lack of core science teachers in the school. Luckily, we did most relevant subjects to that point, as well. My dream was to read Law from the moment I changed to commercial/arts subjects, but I reasoned that to read law in the University, would be too expensive. Therefore, when I obtained JAMB Form, I simply filled another course, before my brother, Engr. Bosoye Olalere

convinced me to change it to Law. He told me that all courses were expensive. That was how I changed to law, and from that day, it became a passion/dream to date.

What would be your advice to anyone wanting a career in law?

Do not just work hard, work smart too.

Nowadays, the face of law practice is changing fast, with the social media in our spaces. The cliché that “Lawyers do not advertise”, is changing really fast today. So, to those who desire to join the only learned profession on earth, start at the right place even if the pay is low, but learn as fast as you can, do something consistently to build your experience in a particular area, and put yourself out there from day one. “Excellence is something we achieve, just because we keep turning up.” Turn up consistently. Today’s practice requires that one is known not only in the industry, but also in the business world. But, above all, trust God and be ‘fit and proper’, not just as a requirement for the call to Bar, but all through your career. Probity pays!

If you had not become a Lawyer, what other career would you have chosen?

When in Secondary School, I loved the suit of the Bank Manager of the Community Bank in my village, and I wanted to work in a Bank as soon as possible.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

My focus and dream, is to reach the pinnacle of my profession, and attain the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, God willing within that period. It is my dream, to follow in the footsteps of the great/respected and successful practitioners of this profession. I will like to impact my world more, not just in the legal profession, but in other areas of my gifting.

I look forward to helping the less privileged, with my human and material resources.

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30.04.2019

Tunji Bello Photos: Kolawole Alli

‘Lagos Manages its Debt Efficiently’ The complexities of managing Nigeria’s most populous and most cosmopolitan State, must be quite daunting. The multifarious challenges from security, environment, taxation to managing inadequate resources, require the best hands in Government. Mr Tunji Bello has served the Lagos State Government in various capacities, since 2003. He is a three-time Commissioner, and now, Secretary to the State Government. He told Onikepo Braithwaite and Jude Igbanoi in a recent chat, that he found those 16 years in Government quite fulfilling as a Politician, Journalist and Lawyer

Y

ou were a two-time Commissioner in Lagos State, before becoming Secretary to the State Government (SSG). Which of these roles would you say, was more fulfilling for you? Can you share your experience with us?

I think the two offices, were very fulfilling for me. I became Commissioner for Environment in 2003, in the second term of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. I was reappointed in 2011 by then Governor Raji Fashola. In 2015, I was appointed by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode as Secretary to the State Government. For me, appointment is first and foremost, an opportunity and a privilege to contribute my own quota to the growth and development of my State, Lagos State.

So, to that extent, irrespective of which office I held within the period mentioned, I have found serving Lagos State very fulfilling.

To answer you specifically, I cannot say which is most fulfilling, because the responsibilities are dissimilar. But, what I can describe as the difference is that, as Commissioner for Environment, your impact is felt directly in the lives of the people of Lagos.

You will recall that, by the time I became Commis-

“BUT, WHAT I CAN DESCRIBE AS THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT, AS COMMISSIONER FOR ENVIRONMENT, YOUR IMPACT IS FELT DIRECTLY IN THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE OF LAGOS”

sioner for Environment in 2003, the environment sector in Lagos was facing a lot of challenges. I am talking of, the beginning of the second term of Asiwaju Tinubu. On assumption of duties, I recollect that, he took me to the United States, to the cities of Atlanta and Chicago where I visited the landfill sites and interacted with those managing environment in those two cities, and I learnt a lot from their own unique experiences. That excursion inspired some of the radical reforms we later implemented in Lagos, that helped to transform Lagos environment towards the end of 2003 up till 2015.

And, I still remember something they told me then, “It is not enough for you to take off, also important, is how you land”. When you collect refuse, you must consider where it ends up. It is not enough to collect refuse, you must ensure it ends up at the right place.

So, the situation in Lagos then was that, refuse collected was being disposed indiscriminately. People were just dumping stuff by roadsides, street corners

30.04.2019 “IT IS NOT A ROCKET SCIENCE: IF YOU DON'T COLLECT WASTE, IT ENDS UP IN THE DRAINS. THAT IS WHY MOST OF THE DRAINS ARE CLOGGED NOW, AND HAVE NOT BEEN MANAGED. SOME HAVE EVEN NOT BEEN CLEARED, IN THE LAST THREE YEARS”

and intersections, such that we had refuse all over Lagos. So, what we did was to implement some of the lessons we learnt from some of the mega cities we understudied abroad, to transform Lagos environment.

Now, becoming the SSG, is a different experience altogether. You might not have direct impact on the people, because you deal more with the Governor and you also take responsibilities on behalf of the Governor as SSG. You are also Secretary, to the cabinet. So, you are the clearing house, in the cabinet. Your impact is not felt directly, by the people. You do more of administrative work. You also deal with other State Governments, Federal Government, and other State institutions. It is a different role entirely, but I must say that, I have found both, fulfilling. The most important thing is that, it has afforded one the opportunity to contribute to the development of one's State, and that, to me, is more significant than whether you play in a small or big office.

Your tenure as Commissioner for Environment saw a cleaner Lagos, drainages were almost free of sludge and dirt, you were then widely acclaimed as the man who helped Lagos environment. It is a bit surprising then, that the gains of the past seem to have been lost in the last three years.

To a large extent, you are very right in your assessment about Lagos environment. To be fair, we must acknowledge that Governor Ambode achieved in many areas. Look at the area of roads and bridges, for instance. The Governor’s footprint is

COVER/9 very visible on the Airport Road, which was recently commissioned. He has opened new communities with roads and so on.

But, one must be honest too, to admit where we failed to make a mark.

Up till 2015, I would say Lagos environment was better managed. I am not saying that, we solved all the problems at that time. There were still a lot of problems to resolve, and I think what we needed, was just to build on past milestones. But, unfortunately, in the last four years, we have not done much in terms of the environment. And, one thing about the environment is that, you cannot hide it. You cannot hide the refuse, you cannot hide the congestion, the silt in the drainage. So, to that extent, environment is a visible thing. And, we have not done much, maybe basically because, those the Governor trusted and delegated the responsibility to, were very disappointing. I believe, they really let the Governor down. First, they did not bother to understand what the Lagos environment is.

They did not even bother to enquire from those who had worked there before, and see how things were done. To the extent that, many of those with rich experiences in terms of management of the Lagos environment were even transferred from the Ministry of the Environment, to different ministries and agencies. You are talking of the special corps of officers, with deep institutional memory. The most regrettable thing is that, it took us a number of years to have built such formidable human capacity to manage the environment.

And, I recollect that four countries namely USA, Finland, Netherlands and Germany had helped us to develop the capacity of our men, to handle the Lagos environment. One of the things they told us in developing those capacities, is that we needed to keep them in the environment, so that they become masters in their fields. So, those managing waste water became masters, those who were managing drainage, pollution and others, became masters and specialists in managing the environment.

Even in terms of climate change, we were leading in Africa, promoting climate change and greenery.

I must commend Asiwaju Tinubu and the successor Babatunde Fashola, because they contributed immensely in developing the environment and in creating public awareness for a lifestyle conducive to a sustainable environment, in view of the deleterious effects of climate change. But, the gains of that era were not sustained. The momentum already created, was not sustained. In fact, some of the modest gains, were even frittered away. One area where I think we had a serious setback, was in

waste management.

We were doing a lot in terms of waste management and even waste conversion, and all of a sudden, everything went into a reverse.

I think the people the Governor trusted and gave responsibility, really let him down by seeking to reinvent the wheel.

So, I believe the incoming administration will have to tackle the challenge, head on. All of us in government, we have to assume responsibility for whatever shortcomings are recorded. It is not a rocket science: if you don't collect waste, it ends up in the drains. That is why most of the drains are clogged now, and have not been managed. Some have even not been cleared, in the last three years.

Talking about pollution management and waste management, once you cannot manage the basic things, you cannot manage the sophisticated ones.

I believe that up till 2015, the whole was taken together. We have LASEPA, we have Office of Waste Water, we have LASPARK and many others under the environment which in the last four years, were rendered largely redundant. So, I believe it will be helpful for the incoming administration, to revive such agencies. Environment also helps, to create a lot of jobs for the people. It is an opportunity to create a lot of job opportunities, which many people were deprived of in the last four years. Examples are those PSP operators who are collecting waste, street sweepers, and those clearing the drainages.

It is a common Nigerian saying that, one never leaves politics. Your tenure as SSG is ending. What next?

Well, I will say only God knows my next engagement. However, at this point, one must be grateful to God for the opportunity to serve one’s State.

But, if you ask me in specific terms, I would say I already have some fellowship offers from two or three Ivy-league institutions abroad, to come and take up residence and share one’s unique experiences in public office so far. A lot of political and administrative experiences. It is left for me to pick and choose which one I find fascinating, in view of one’s natural instinct for the knowledge economy.

So, it is quite a possibility that, one might consider one of such offers.

Concerning the soap box, I don't have any intention of mounting the soap box. I think I have passed that stage.

You hold strong views about Federalism.

Are you comfortable with the way it is being practised in Nigeria today?

Nigeria is only a federation in name, at best a centralised federation. It is a variation of a federation.

But, that is unique to Nigeria, because if you look at the other federations across the world, Nigeria is the only federation where Federal Government sits at a central point and begins to allocate everything, including money to States. Nigeria is the only federation where the Federal Government decides who takes resources in Akwa Ibom, Sokoto, Oyo or Plateau. I think this is part of what is setting Nigeria back, because we are not running a true Federal Government. Nigeria's federalism is totally skewed. Even look at our laws, Judiciary is centralised. Approval of State Judiciary officers, still needs central approval. I don't think that obtains in other federations. Under normal circumstances, only the Army, the currency, immigration, foreign affairs, should be dictated by the Federal Government.

Each State must be able to manage its own resources, exploit and manage its common purpose. Why would FG be controlling Police? Why can't Edo, Delta or Lagos have its own Police? That is why you have a lot of inefficiency. It is the IG in Abuja, who dictates what a DPO in Ajah or Alimosho does, or how he responds to emergencies. And, by the time the money gets to him, how much does he get? At times, he does not get up to N50,000 to manage a station. Imagine if Benue was to be in charge of its resources with its fertile land, they would only be required to pay dues to Federal Government for the cover up and security of all. Why must all States have a Minister? USA does not have up to 20 Ministers. Similarly, it is not the business of Federal Government and National Assembly, to dabble into Local Government administration. You have no business with Local Government. It is a State responsibility. It is an integral part of the State.

If a State likes, let it create 100 Local Governments.

We are not running an equitable federation. It is not the business of the FG to dabble into how Local Governments are run, or allocate money to Local Governments. We are not ready to redefine ourselves. That is why, we keep having problems.

So much money is allocated to agencies that the Federal Government does not need, but is spending on. All the resources that the Federal Government should use for the States, are now being used to pay unproductive wages. Until we are ready to reshape our federalism, we have not started.

Lagos is on record as one of the most indebted States in Nigeria. What could be responsible CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

10/COVER ‘LAGOS MANAGES ITS DEBT EFFICIENTLY’

30.04.2019 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

for this, given the fact that the State comes tops in internally generated revenue?

I think we need to educate Nigerians, properly.

USA, is the largest debtor in the world. All western countries owe debts. The question you should ask is that, if Lagos is owing what is debt being used for?

All the money they claim we are owing, calculate on debt per capita ratio, we are still within the line.

We have never fallen. We are taking only loans, that we think we can pay back. So, Lagos debt is efficiently managed. We are not taking money beyond our means. We are still within our means.

Go and look at the ratio of debts per capita, you will still find out that Lagos has not borrowed beyond its capacity.

What do you use the debts for? You are not using them to pay salaries. You are not using them for consumption, but for infrastructure, things that bring value to our people. You see a lot of road network, you see a lot of infrastructure around everywhere. Do you think we would have been able to cope, if we had not solicited for money?

Part of these advances have helped, in doing most of the things we are doing.

Look at the population of over 20million, which is the population of some six and seven States. We only use loans for things that will bring value to the people. We have never failed to service those debts, and we are following the lines of well managed developing countries that undertake such processes.

Are we suffocating because of the debts? No, we are managing them well. Nothing to be afraid of.

What is the vision behind Eko Atlantic City? Some are saying that it is the cause of present flooding, and may lead to flooding or environmental disaster in future.

That is totally untrue. Is there any flooding in Victoria Island, as a result of Atlantic City? I can tell you all the drainage outlets in Victoria Island.

All of them, and where they pass through. Let me give you an example, if you say Eko Atlantic is flood-prone, you know the next door neighbour is the Naval Dockyard in Victoria Island where you have the warships. They have never complained of flooding. Yet, we have our drainage channel that passes through there, and that is next to Eko Atlantic. So, ordinarily, it should have been the most affected. That is just to dispel the rumour, that it is the cause of flooding. So, forget it.

What happened before was that, the Bar Beach surged and had taken one part of Ahmadu Bello Way, when Asiwaju Tinubu administration took it over. The Federal Government was wasting money on Bar Beach. There was a time they spent almost N9 billion to sandfill the whole Bar Beach, and within six months, the whole sand was gone. Washed away, the roads were cleared off. Ahmadu Bello Way became one lane around 2004/2005. Bar Beach had encroached and eaten up the road.

When we now took it over, we persuaded the Federal Government to hand over the facility to us, and then we drove the water back, reinforced the whole place. The plan is to turn it into a city, and that was the origin of Eko Atlantic City. Turn it

“WHY MUST ALL STATES HAVE A MINISTER? USA DOES NOT HAVE UP TO 20 MINISTERS. SIMILARLY, IT IS NOT THE BUSINESS OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, TO DABBLE INTO LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION”

into a city, a very productive business environment with many components. We are building a totally new city there. You have a new CBD, leisure places, hotels within a city. So, when Asiwaju Bola Tinubu administration was planning the city, he had a plan that will not only drive back the Atlantic, but also create a new city with the land recreated. That is the project that is going on, and people tend to misconstrue it. The Bar Beach or ocean protection is a continuous process, which has even reached close to Ajah now. As you continue to drive the ocean back, it keeps moving east ward, we have to start protecting along the way the oceanline, which has gone beyond Chevron. And it will go up to Epe in the boundary of Lagos and Lekki Free Trade Zone, and so on. It has allowed us protect our shoreline, which the Federal Government had failed to do. If we were not protecting the ocean line, do you think Lekki Free Trade Zone would have come?

There have been complaints by some business owners that the tax regime is rather prohibitive and exploitative in Lagos State, and a hindrance to ease of doing business. That there is double or multiple taxation, and the State is unrelenting.

Do you think this is justified?

First, I want to disagree with people who talk about double taxation, in Lagos. Lagos is not responsible for taxing corporate bodies. It is the responsibility of the Federal Government. We only collect PAYE. Many talk of multiple taxation in the sense that, for instance, you want to do a development in Lagos, that would have an impact on the environment. Ministry of Environment (MOE) will do its assessment, same as Ministry of Commerce and Industry on factory inspection; same as Ministry of Physical Planning, if you have to do with planning.

All these processes also happen in other countries, and this is what some people call double taxation.

If you are doing something with impact on the environment, MOE will ask you to go and do an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment), and you will say double taxation. LIRS will only collect PAYE. In order to address some of the complaints of double taxation at local government level, we decided to bring the Land Use charge. We stopped

local government from collecting tenement rates, and people only pay land use charge centrally.

You mess up the environment and you say the State should not charge you fees for cleaning it up, just like polluting the environment. We clean up your mess. It is the State. That is not part of the corporate tax which you have paid, which goes to the Federal Government in Abuja. Many park trucks on the road, and still claim they have paid corporate tax. The land use charge does not preclude you from paying fees for EIA, on project that you wish to undertake.

The phenomenal hike in Land Use law generated a lot of heat in Lagos two years ago. It set the citizens against government. Many thought the Lagos State Government would revert to the old rates, but this does not seem to be happening.

How do things stand now? Any lessons learnt?

This is a government that listens. Right from 1999, Lagos State Government has always listened to the yearnings of the people. If the people complain, we must respond and I think when the new law was enacted, there were a lot of complaints from the public. I think the Government has gone back to look at it and listen, and I think the process has been reviewed now, and there is a new one in place, and I don't think there is any problem anymore. The Government has responded, and I think they have made a lot of amendments. I think it is okay now.

Do you have any plans to return to journalism at some point?

I don't see myself going back to journalism anymore, but that does not stop me from contributing to journalism in terms of being a resource person. I have always supported journalism causes. I have always been part of the development of journalism, in Nigeria. The fact that I am not going back as a practising journalist, does not stop me from contributing my own quota. You know I have almost triple responsibility. I am a Political Scientist, a Lawyer and a Journalist. I can never leave any one of them. All these three areas, I have contributed to, one way or the other. I am very proud of my contribution in journalism.

As a member of the legal profession, how do you see the recent decision of the Code of Conduct Tribunal in the case of CJN Onnoghen's matter. Some say the end justifies the means.

Do you agree?

I don't know what you mean by, the end justifies the means. Except you want to be a Machiavelli, and I don't want to be Machiavellian here. But, you see, I think the judgement has been given on Onnoghen case, and the Code of Conduct Tribunal has given its ruling, and I think the former CJN has also gone on appeal, which is also his right.

Whether the process followed due process or not, I think both sides are culpable in one way or the other. I think there were a lot of faults, from both sides. Except you want to start engaging in academic exercise, all those decisions are in the past now.

Both sides, have a lot be blamed for. Let us wait for the outcome of the appeal.

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INSIGHT ABUBAKAR D. SANI

xL4sure@yahoo.com

Is Non-Suit a Valid Outcome in Civil Proceedings?

A Introduction

peculiar exception to our otherwise adversarial civil jurisprudence, is the provision for non-suiting parties under the Civil Procedure Rules of the High Courts and Magistrate Courts across the country. To the extent that those Rules purport to deny either or both parties to a civil action, a clear-cut verdict on the ground – usually – of insufficiency of evidence, it seems that they lay down a separate standard of proof, other than the well-known one of a balance or probabilities or a preponderance of evidence under the Evidence Act. I believe that this is problematic, because under the Constitution, only the National Assembly is competent to enact rules of substantive and procedural evidence. If this view is correct, it follows that those provisions of the High Court (and Magistrate Court) Civil Procedure and Rules are ultra vires and invalid.

Am I right? You be the judge. But, first . . .

What is Non-suit and under what circumstances can it be ordered?

According to Nolo’s Plain English (Online) Law Dictionary, a Non-Suit is “a court’s dismissal of a case, because the plaintiff does not provide sufficient legal showing for the Judge to rule in (his) favour”. Another online medium, US Legal.com, defines non-suit as “a termination of a legal action without an actual determination of the controversy on the merits . . . it is (usually) a ruling that, in the Judge’s opinion, there is no evidence which could prove the plaintiff’s case”.

In Nigeria, the various Uniform Civil Procedure Rules of the High Courts, contain virtually identical provisions on the circumstances in which a court can order a non-suit.

For instance, Order 34 Rule 1 of the Kano High Court Rules 2014, provides that: “Where satisfactory evidence is not given entitling the plaintiff or defendant to the judgement of the court, the Judge may suo motu or on application, non-suit the plaintiff, but the parties’ legal practitioners shall have the right to make submissions about the propriety or otherwise of making such order”.

These provisions were interpreted, albeit inferentially, in OKPALA v IBEME (1989) 1 NSCC 567 @ 587, where the Supreme Court held that,

an order of non-suit is appropriate, where there is no satisfactory evidence that will enable the court to enter judgement for either of the parties. For the court to enter such a verdict, it must appear on the record, taken as a whole, that the Plaintiff has not failed in toto, and that the Defendant should not in any event, be entitled to judgement: A.C.B v YESUFU (1980) 1 – 2 S.C. 49.

It is important to emphasise the foregoing, because, as we shall soon see, the power of a court to order a non-suit is entirely statutory, and any order of non-suit made in the absence of a specific statutory authority to do so, is made without jurisdiction and will be a nullity: KAURA v U.B.A. PLC (2005) 8 NWLR pt. 926 Pg. 24 @ 38, C.A.; ELIAS v OMOBARE (1982) 5 S.C. 25.

Status of the Statutory Provisions From the ippssisima verba of the various provisions of the High Court Rules which deal with non-suit, I humbly submit that, they encroach on the rights of the citizen to have his cause determined by a court definitively and unambiguously.

See Article VII of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Such statutes are required to be interpreted strictly (or contra proferentum), i.e., in favour of the subject and against the interest of the lawmaker: EZE v GOV. OF ABIA STATE (2010) 15 NWLR pt. 1216 pg. 324. Secondly, the said statutes are also clearly evidentiary, in intent and purport. This is because, they expressly allude to the quality of evidence adduced by a Plaintiff (or, in appropriate cases, Counter-claimant), and purport to prescribe its seeming insufficiency, as the basis for driving

“ACCORDINGLY, ANY ORDER OF NON-SUIT MADE

BY A COURT AGAINST A PARTY ON THE ALLEGED GROUND OF INSUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE PROFFERED BY THAT PARTY, WOULD HAVE BEEN MADE WITHOUT THE REQUISITE STATUTORY AUTHORITY, AND WOULD BE A NULLITY”

him from the judgement-seat.

I believe that, the National Assembly has already covered the legislative field in this regard, for by prescribing a single standard of proof for resolving civil cases. That provision is contained in Section 134 of the Evidence Act, 2011, which states unambiguously that, “the burden of proof shall be discharged on the balance of probabilities in all civil cases”. This provision was enacted pursuant to Section 4(3) and Items 23 and 68 of the Exclusive Legislative List as well as Paragraph 2b of Part III of the 2nd Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, which confer on the National Assembly, the exclusive power to enact rules of both substantive and procedural evidence.

This interpretation is without prejudice to Section 274 of the Constitution, which empowers State Chief Judges to enact rules of practice and procedure applicable in State High Courts. This is because not only are those provisions general whilst those of Items 23 and 68 of the Exclusive List of the Constitution et al are specific, the Constitution itself expressly states that, the said powers of State Chief Judges are to be exercised “subject to any law made by the State House of Assembly”.

Using Kano State as a template, the relevant statutory provisions are Sections 103 and 116(1)(q) of the State High Court Law. A cursory look at both provisions, shows that they clearly encroach on the exclusive constitutional power of the National Assembly to regulate rules of procedures relating to evidence as aforesaid. The former, i.e., Section 103, provides that: “Nothing in this law and nothing in the rules of court made or to be made under this Law shall affect the mode of giving evidence by the oral examination of witnesses, or the rules of evidence: provided that nothing in this Section shall:(a) “prejudice the operation of any rules of court made in pursuance of the express power conferred by this law to make rules of court for regulating the means by which particular facts may be proved and the mode in which evidence thereof may be given; (b) affect the power of the court, for special reasons, to allow depositions or affidavits to be read”.

The latter, i.e., Section 116(1) (q) of the Law, provides that “(the Chief Judge of the State may make rules) subject to the provisions of Section 103, regulating the means by which particular facts maybe proved and the mode in which evidence thereof maybe given, in any proceedings or on any application in connection with or at any stage of any proceedings”.

Beyond the foregoing provisions of the High Court Law, none of the 21odd Sections of this Law, prescribes non-suit as an option for determining civil suits. However, assuming without conceding, that they can be so construed, I submit that, to the extent that the Constitution has specifically conferred that power exclusively on the National Assembly, the said provisions of the State High Court Law as well as Order 34 Rule 1 of the High Court Rules 2014 are ultra vires the State House of Assembly and the State Chief Judge, respectively. Accordingly, they are invalid, null and void. This is because, the effect of entrenching a provision in the Constitution, is that it overrides all contrary provisions in any other law, be they substantive or adjectival: UNIBIZ v C.B.C.L (2003) 5 S.C.M 191.

This fact is driven home by Section 4(5) of the Constitution which provides that, “If any law enacted by the House of Assembly of a State is inconsistent with any law validly made by the National Assembly, the law made by the National Assembly shall prevail, and that other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void”.

Conclusion To the extent that the Evidence Act, 2011 made by the National Assembly does not prescribe nonsuit as the penalty for a Plaintiff who fails to cross the evidentiary threshold, the various provisions of the High Court (and Magistrate Court) Rules which stipulate that outcome in such circumstances, are simply a Constitutional travesty. This is because, where the Constitution or a Federal enactment has already covered a particular legislative field, no State or even Local Government law can be enacted to cover the same field already covered by the Constitution or Federal enactment: MIN. OF JUSTICE & ATT-GEN. OF THE FED. v ATT-GEN. OF LAGOS STATE (2013) All FWLR pt.

704, pg. 1, S.C. The only standard of proof recognised by the Evidence Act 2011 for resolving civil cases, is a balance of probabilities or the preponderance of evidence. Accordingly, any order of non-suit made by a court against a party on the alleged ground of insufficiency of evidence proffered by that party, would have been made without the requisite statutory authority, and would be a nullity: ELIAS v OMO-BARE, supra. In case the situation is perceived as presenting an anomaly of sorts, the way out is to amend the Evidence Act, by incorporating the provisions of the extant High Court Rules, which prescribe non-suit in certain circumstances. Only the National Assembly, possesses that power – not State Chief Judges.

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TALKING CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY DR. MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN, OFR, FCIARB, PH.D, LL.D

SMS only to 08098898888

Nigeria’s Presidential System: An Unruly Bull in a China Shop (Part 3) Presidential System of Government (Continues)

I

Introduction n the last two weeks, we have been discussing this topic. Today, we shall attempt to first understand this concept very thoroughly, before coming back to the Parliamentary system of government. The reason is simple. Many Nigerians now appear to be clamouring for a return to the Parliamentary system, as against what we currently operate (the Presidential system).

Why is this so? What are the challenges?

What is it, that brings about the nostalgia to go back to a system we discarded in 1979 (40 years ago)?

Let us check out the advantages of the Presidential system, before going back to the Parliamentary model.

Strengths and Advantages of Presidential System of Government The presidential system of government, ensures stability of the government in place. Because the executive can carry on with its policies and programmes till the end of its full term, stability of a President’s administration is guaranteed. It is only a carefully planned impeachment, that can remove him from office, as provided for in Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution.

In this system, decisions can be taken speedily, and implemented effectively. The executive in a Parliamentary system, is bedevilled with indecision, due to political differences and pressures. It is therefore, difficult to take decisions promptly.

However, the presidential executive, is free from such inhibitions and hesitations. He makes his own decisions, and gets them implemented through his own Ministers, that he personally hand-picked.

In a presidential system of government, the executive is usually free from the direct control of party influence or party control, in his daily governance. This is different from the parliamentary form of government, where the party reigns supreme. The President’s Ministers, are not supposed to be political in nature. He does not lead a political party, in the legislature. This gives him free hand to carry on with his administration, without any undue influence or obstacles.

In a Parliamentary system however, everything needs to be done under political manoeuvres, because of the never-ending party pressure on the Prime Minister to do or resile from doing certain things. The President in a presidential system, could rail-road in programmes, especially if the legislature is also dominated by his own party.

The President, from the foregoing analysis, wears many caps in a presidential system. He is the Head/Chief of State, Chief policy maker, Chief of Party (Leader of his party), Chief Guardian of the economy, Commander-in-Chief of

“......THE PRESIDENT IN PRESIDENTIAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT, IS NOT RESPONSIBLE OR ANSWERABLE TO ANYONE, EXCEPT THE VOTERS. HOWEVER, DEMOCRACY COULD BE ENDANGERED, AS THE PRESIDENT COULD BECOME UNDULY DICTATORIAL AND AUTOCRATIC, DUE TO LACK OF ANY IMMEDIATE CHECKS AND BALANCES”

President Muhammadu Buhari

the Armed Forces, Chief Executive and Chief Diplomat in external relations.

As Head of State, the President in a presidential system, engages in acts and activities that inspire a nation. He is the living symbol of the nation’s hopes, aspirations and unity.

As Head of State, the President dedicates libraries and parks. He is in charge of decorating war heroes, receiving other Heads of States and Government. He goes to other countries on official State visits, representing his country. His annual State of the Nation address, is supposed to galvanise his country with greater hope and faith, even as he outlines challenges, with laid out possible solutions.

As the Chief policy maker and executioner of his country, he nudges the legislature to act on bills. He occupies the central position among public institutions, at the national level. The President, is the embodiment of the sovereignty of his people. He is the official or Chief Spokesperson in internal affairs of his country, galvanising group interests, both of citizens within the country and those in the diaspora. It can therefore, be said that, the President reigns and rules, because his powers are both ceremonial and executive at the same time. What is more, the President can grant prerogative of mercy.

The office is such that, a weak or strong President can easily be seen, since he personifies rulership and leadership. It is so easy to distinguish between the presidencies of Shagari, Obasanjo, Yar’adua, Jonathan and Buhari. The personality shapes the office, rather than the office shaping the occupant.

Nigerian Presidents: Past and Present President Aliyu Shehu Shagari was regarded as a humane, weak and reluctant President. He appeared happy, or indifferent, when he was toppled from power. He was a democrat to the core. He was simple, harmless.

President Olusegun Obasanjo was viewed as brash, bullish, achievement- oriented, but selfopinionated. He brooded no opposition. So, he attempted a third term in office, but was shot down. However, no one can deny Obasanjo of his patriotism and pan-Nigerianess. He, it was, who truly started the war against corruption by creat-

ing anti-graft agencies like ICPC and EFCC. But, he also used them optimally against opponents and opposition.

As an international statesman, his voice resonates across the world, as he is well respected, and his experience needed on issues of democracy.

President Shehu Musa Yar’adua was a simple, spartan, non-acquisitive President, who appeared rather surprised that Obasanjo pushed him up to the Presidency. He was obviously satisfied, being a former Governor of Katsina State. Two key unforgettable things he did, in spite of his failing and failed health: He started the Conciliatory Amnesty Programme, to pacify and reintegrate Niger Delta Militants, where his predecessor, OBJ, had wielded the stick and used bare knuckles.

He, it was, who publicly declared his assets. No other President has since done that, not even Buhari, who had promised to do so.

Fate thrust the Presidency (the first time) on President Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, an academic from the Ivory Tower, when Yar’adua died.

He continued and expanded on Yar’adua’s rule of law mantra, insisting that the fundamental rights of Nigerians must be respected. He was regarded as humane, simple, reticent, accommodating and somewhat weak. He once declared that, he was the most abused President (true) in the world.

He merely smiled and shrugged, when abused.

He not only tolerated the opposition, he watered the opposition field with the manure of tolerance, patience and democratic credentials.

His most famous statement, “My ambition is not worth the drop of any Nigerian’s blood”, has resonated across not just Nigeria and Africa, but across the entire globe. And he meant it.

He practiced it, when he conceded defeat to an incredulous Buhari, even whilst results of the Presidential elections were still being collated and announced.

President Buhari’s style is easy to understand, from the days of his military dictatorship.

Remember Decrees 2 and 4? Remember the retroactive death sentence, passed on Ojualape, Owoh and Ogedengbe? The Fela saga, 53 suit cases, et al?

When he assumed leadership on May 29, 2015, I wrote a piece, humbly advising him to change the public perception, that he would remain a civilian tyrant. I was very happy (and I so wrote and commended him in my Sunday Telegraph column) when he said being a democrat, he belonged to all and to nobody. That was indeed, very presidential, and I said so and commended him.

But, has he lived up to this? No. His Presidency is greatly challenged and marred by his acclaimed 97%-3% voters, prebendalism, cronyism, favouritism, sectionalism and ethnicism in terms of appointments, the “fight” against corruption and his general governance template. He broods no opposition, or dissenting voices of plurality.

He swaggers with the air of an absolute dictator, military tyrant and non-democrat. Elections held under his watch, have so far been considered to be the worst in the electoral history of Nigeria, lacking mostly in integrity, transparency, credibility, fairness or freedom. Violence, vicious violence, characterised the last elections. What will his Presidency be remembered for? I don’t know.

Presidential System in the United States In the United States of America, for example, different Presidents came with their peculiar styles of governance or initiatives, each occupying a peculiar place in history. We all remember the “Obama Care” initiative, of President Barrack Obama. George Washington lent the Presidency CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

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Lagos Pardons 14 Inmates after 20 Years in Prison …Converts Death Row for 20 Others, to Life Imprisonment Akinwale Akintunde The Lagos State Government, through the Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, on Friday, pardoned 14 inmates of the Maximum Security Prison in Kirikiri who have been imprisoned for over 20 years for various offences, while 20 others on death row had their punishment converted to life imprisonment.

Speaking while handing over the order for the release of the inmates, signed by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to prison authorities, the State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem, SAN, said the development was pursuant to Constitutional provision which provides for the constitution of an Advisory Council, and grants the Governor power to grant clemency to convicted persons on the advice of the Council.

“Prerogative of Mercy is a right recognised under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended); Section 212(2) of the Constitution provides that, the powers conferred on the Governor under Section 212(1) shall be exercised by him after consultation with the Advisory Council of the State on the Prerogative

of Mercy as may be established by the Law of the State”, Kazeem stated.

He said the inmates were considered to benefit from the prerogative of mercy after due examination of their case files, which revealed that they have been reformed and ready for re-integration into the society.

Kazeem, who is also a member of the Council, specifically congratulated the inmates, and advised them to be of good conduct outside the prison.

Also speaking, Chairman of the Council, Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo, said aside its power under the Constitution, the setting up of the Council also serves as a way of decongesting the prisons.

He equally congratulated the beneficiaries of the clemency by the Governor, and urged them to avoid acts that led them into prison, in the first place.

On his part, the Controller of Prison in charge of Kirikiri Maximum Prison, DCP Emmanuel Oluwaniyi, commended the State Government especially the State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, for the efforts to decongest the prison.

Oluwaniyi, who is newly deployed to the State, said it was particularly gratifying that he was commencing his stewardship in the State on a good note, with the release of inmates who are

L-R: Mrs. Yemisi Ogunlola, Director, Legislative Drafting, Lagos State Ministry of Justice/Secretary of Lagos State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, Mr. Adedotun Adetunji (Member), Mrs. Bolatimi Animashaun (Member), Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo (Chairman), Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, SAN, (Member), Mr. Olumide Oniyire (Member), Mr. Chris Okoye (Member) and Mrs. Musili Onasanya(Member) during the pardon of 14 inmates and 20 inmates whose Death sentences were commuted to Life Imprisonment by the Lagos State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy at Kirikiri Maximum Prison last Friday

due to be reintegrated into the society, just as he equally admonished them to be of good conduct outside the prison.

Aside Oyewo and Kazeem, other members of the Lagos State Advisory

Council on Prerogative of Mercy are Mr. Adedotun Adetunji, Mrs Musili Onasanya, Mr. Olumide Oniyire, Mr. Chris Okoye, Mrs. Bolatumi Animashaun, and Mrs. Yemisi Ogunlola (Secretary).

Kogi Judiciary Workers heed NJC, Suspend Strike Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, Kogi State Branch, has suspended its industrial action embarked upon in December, 2018.

The pronouncement was made through a communique, issued at the end of the union's emergency meeting held on Sunday, 28th April, 2018 in Lokoja, the State capital.

Below is the full text of the communique, titled "Suspension of Strike" and signed

by Comrades Emmanuel Waniko and Sule Suberu, Chairman and Assistant Secretary

respectively: "The Union wishes to sincerely appreciate the members for their patriotism, resilience and their absolute support to the course of this struggle for the past four months, in the face of untold hardship.

"Fellow members, as you all know, various mediators, including the Kogi State Elders Forum, Traditional Rulers, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Jama'atu Nasir Islam and other Government Representative agents, waded into, but could not resolve, as the Union and the Government could not reach a consensus.

"However, as you must have heard,

the National Judicial Council (NJC), in their quest to resolve the impasse, sent a sub-committee to the State and, among other things, were able to wade into the matter, with the view for amicable resolution.”

“Among other things arrived at, are as follows: "That the strike embarked upon on the 11th December, 2018 by Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Kogi State Branch, be suspended, to give room for further deliberation.

"That a Committee be set up between the Executive and the Judiciary, to work out the modalities for the payment of

‘NIGERIA’S PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM: AN UNRULY BULL IN A CHINA SHOP (PART 3)’ his personal prestige, setting precedents that marked out the office as the highest and most prestigious place in government. President Jackson, is said to have dramatised and optimised the independence of the office. It is believed that his re-nomination by a National Convention of State parties, with the electors pledging allegiance to the Convention’s nominee, more than anything else, brought about the important innovation of the President’s election being virtually direct. The twin advantages here is that, the American President is thus, provided with an independent political power base (through his national party), even as it gives him a solid independent claim upon the entire nation.

President Lincoln, when faced with civil war, invented the “War Power”. He thereby juxtaposed his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, with his duties under the “take care” clause and his constitutional oath of office, which he took upon assumption of office.

In a fast changing age of mass communication, President Wilson and the two Roosevelt Presidents, effectively made the President’s office as news source and spokesman of the nation. They impacted the

office, with primacy of diplomacy and defence. Franklin Roosevelt it was who, during the great depression, blazed the economic and labourgovernment relations, that have ever remained with the office of the American President, ever since. He also equipped the office of President with its own staff resources in the White House and office, and institutionalised it as a powerful organ.

After the second World War, and during the Cold War and Nuclear Weapons era, Presidents Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy, developed different doctrines and procedures for the Presidential use of force abroad without resorting to a formally declared war or the “War Power”.

On the other hand, Eisenhower and Kennedy, using court precedents, confronted racial crisis and breakdown of law and order with Presidential use of force at home, thus, preserving internal peace and tranquility.

It is clear to me from the above analysis, that both the Legislature and the bureaucracy, all depend on the Presidency for agenda-setting and policy formulation. States and Local Government Areas also depend on the executive or Presidency for preservation of law and order, since the President controls the entire

salary arrears.

"JUSUN has considered the NJC as the apex body that regulates the conduct and administration of the Judiciary in Nigeria, and therefore, has confidence in the Council that the matter has finally been put to rest.

"Also, in consultation with other sister Associations in the Kogi State Judiciary, i.e. the Magistrates' Association of Nigeria (MAN) and the Association of Inspectors and Area Court Judges (IAJA). are also in agreement with JUSUN. "Therefore, the strike is hereby suspended, with effect from Monday, 29th April, 2019.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

military and Police architecture.

Disadvantages of Presidential form of Government In a Presidential system of government, the executive is usually chosen by the people, independent of the legislature. In the event that the executive and legislature in such a system comprise members from different political parties, as in Nigeria, then stalemate or deadlock is often encountered, in situations where passing of key legislative decisions are urgently required. The face-off between President Buhari (from APC) and the Legislature headed by Dr Bukola Saraki (who crossed over to PDP), is instructive here. Many people believe that, if APC had effectively controlled the NASS, the President would have had an easy ride on bills and resolutions. But, the reverse side of the coin is that, this also has the tendency of turning the President into a non-consulting dictator.

Also, the President in presidential form of government, is not responsible or answerable to anyone, except the voters. However, democracy could be endangered, as the President could become unduly dictatorial and autocratic, due to lack of

any immediate checks and balances.

We have already witnessed this in Nigeria, under President Buhari. The administration has become autocratic and repressive, which in turn, affects the freedoms, fundamental rights and civil liberties of the people.

The separation of powers doctrine between the executive and legislature in a presidential system of government, many a time, creates needless conflicts and deadlocks.

The executive tries to make policies without consulting the legislature; or the legislature passes bills without the inputs of the executive. This has, more often than not, created serious conflicts between the two arms of government. We have witnessed many instances, when PMB refused to assent to important bills of national significance and urgency.

The NASS has been forced on some occasions, to override Buhari’s veto in this regard. [To be continued] "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it." Abraham Lincoln

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Protection of Intellectual Property Rights for Technology Companies This article by Cynthia Igodo and Lateef Bamidele discusses the importance of protecting intellectual property rights, and how to go about safeguarding ideas, inventions and the like, pointing out the importance of engaging the services of a Lawyer, right from the onset

I

ntellectual Property laws protect the proprietary rights of creators, over their creations. The infringement of intellectual property rights, undermines genuine investment in creativity, innovation and knowledge.

Invariably, the granting of exclusive proprietary rights, creates an incentive for creators to develop, produce, and distribute new and genuine products and services for commercial purpose.

Without a doubt, creativity and inventions are highly valued within the technology environment, as reflected by the disruptions by technology in almost all facets of human life. The use and application of technologies to the creation, production and distribution of works of the mind, has changed the way businesses operate, with the traditional concepts of intellectual property being blurred with innovators left without protection of their works.

Your Ideas, Your Rights Intellectual Property Rights protect the exploitation of ideas, information and inventions, for economic or proprietary value. While an idea in itself is not accorded legal protection in law, it can be exploited and/or be reduced in a fixed form, to come under a head of protection under Intellectual Property laws, as it is often said “Intellectual property does not protect your idea per se – it protects your expression of the idea”. Therefore, the loss of the right to these ideas by the founders of an early stage technology company, can mean the end for their business venture.

Below are a few steps that can be taken, to protect the ideas from being infringed: Share ideas, but do not share secrets: It is almost impossible to get an idea executed, without sharing it with others. However, there is need to adopt a strictly 'need to know' policy, in order to control who to share the idea with and to what extent.

Engage a Lawyer: A number of technology startups fail, not because their ideas are not groundbreaking or implementable, but because of their non-involvement of a Lawyer at the early stage of the venture. Having a Lawyer to advice and assist with negotiating the terms of any early agreements, and how to register your ideas with the appropriate authorities, will help eliminate the risk of infringement of your ideas.

Conduct adequate due diligence on potential investors: The golden rule is, never to pitch business ideas to just anyone. Before sharing ideas with an investor, there is need to conduct due diligence on such investor, to know their capacity and capability to enhance your venture.

Documentation: There is need to document all correspondence relating to discussions on your idea, so that there is documentary evidence, should there be an infringement on your ideas.

Categories of Intellectual Property Rights In the technology environment, there are four types of proprietary rights that require attention namely, Copyrights, Patents, Trade Secrets and Trademarks. Each of these rights has a distinct property and protection template; while some require registration with the requisite authority before they can be enforced, some do not require registration.

Copyright Copyright, is concerned with protecting creative works of the human intellect. It relates to literary and artistic works. It is important to bear in mind that "literary or artistic works", is not limited to literature and music; it also includes such technical expressions of human creativity, such as software design, electronic databases, multi-media productions, applications, and all other forms of technological development.

It doesn’t protect the idea behind your product, but rather, the way this idea is implemented. Copyright protection gives the owner the exclusive right to authorise or prohibit the reproduction, distribution, translation, adaptation, broadcasting or communication of the idea.

Registration is not a requirement for protection, but "depositing" a copy of the work with the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) is a prudent way to prove authorship.

It is usually notified, by an encircled "C" sign ©. While this is not necessarily a requirement of law in Nigeria, it serves as a warning to the public, of the author's rights. Copyright is an incorporeal right that may only be enforced through legal action, and the person seeking to enforce must have

sufficient interest in the work to justify his action.

Patent Patent is a right over the exploitation of an invention granted by the government, in return for disclosing the full working of the invention. An invention can be either a new solution to an existing problem, or an improvement on an existing invention. For an invention to be patentable, it must be novel, possess an inventive step and be capable of industrial application, that is, it must be capable of practical use. Patent protects the idea behind a particular product, but not the execution of the idea, and the effect of the grant of a patent is that, the patented invention may not be exploited by any person other than the owner, unless such exploitation has the consent of the owner.

Software and technological process, falls within the categories of products that can be patented; it is granted for a fixed number of twenty (20) years by the Patents and Designs Registry, and is subject to annual renewal within the period of validity. One fundamental issue about a patentable invention, is that it cannot be disclosed before registration. Once it is disclosed, the right to the patent is lost. It is pertinent to note that, while the State may grant patent rights, it does not automatically enforce them, and it is the responsibility of the owner to bring an action at the Federal High Court, for any infringement on his patented rights. Though no worldwide protection exists for patent yet, a single international application can be filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), to enjoy universal recognition.

Trade Secrets Trade secrets have to do with proprietary information, that a technology company discovers and works with; they are usually not registered with any authority, but are maintained indefinitely by members of the company or partners, until they are discovered by another company in the market.

For instance, if a technology startup develops an effective business model for its product, it is its trade secret, until

“HAVING A LAWYER TO ADVICE AND ASSIST WITH NEGOTIATING THE TERMS OF ANY EARLY AGREEMENTS, AND HOW TO REGISTER YOUR IDEAS WITH THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES, WILL HELP ELIMINATE THE RISK OF INFRINGEMENT OF YOUR IDEAS”

another company working in the same market, discovers the exact business model on their own. The best way to protect trade secrets however, is to execute a Non- Disclosure Agreement (NDA) or a Confidentiality Agreement (CA) to dispel unnecessary worry about entrusting information on your idea or project to another. NDA or CA contains a clause restricting the investor or any partner, from investing in or starting a business, or using an idea similar to that disclosed, for a period of time even after the termination of the NDA. Trademarks Trademarks are characterised by the use of distinctive names, logos, slogans, domain names, shape, sound, or combination of any of them, all of which enables the company to have a uniquely identifiable mark for optimal market penetration. It is called a Trademark when it protects goods e.g. Samsung, Infinix etc. and a Service mark when it protects services e.g. Paga (a Nigerian mobile money solution).

Given the ease of infringement, trademark is best maintained by registration, and it is valid for 7 years in the first instance and subject to perpetual renewal at 14 years intervals, thereafter. Trademark also protects domain names, that allow a company to operate in a virtual environment. While registration is not a requirement for protection under the common law, to bring an action under passing off, however, it is advisable for a technology company to register its marks with the Trademarks, Patent and Design Registry, in order to be able to enforce its rights over any infringement under the Trademark Act. International Protection of IPR IP protection is territorial in nature, and protection can only be enjoyed in the territory in which it is registered.

However, there are international treaties and conventions that recognise singular registration with the World - Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) which allows for protection in multiple countries.

Conclusion One of the key risk issues for technology startups, is intellectual property protection, because it is the most important and valuable business assets of a technology startup/company. As innovation and technology are evolving at an accelerated pace, and competition among companies including tech startups is as fierce as ever, protection and enforcement of IP is now very important, as the lack of it, is similar to operating a business without some form of insurance. For a small amount of money, you can protect your ideas against possible dangers, which include but are not limited to, the loss of name, logo, ideas, and other valuable assets to a competitor in the marketplace. This protection therefore, should be an essential component of your business plan and budget.

Cynthia Igodo and Lateef Bamidele, Legal Practitioners, Advocaat Law Practice, Lagos

30.04.2019

THE LIGHTER SIDE/15

LEGAL HUMOUR

We Hold Your Brief JUDE IGBANOI jude.igbanoi@thisdaylive.com Dear Counsel, I trust that you will assist in your usual manner, to provide information on the way I can resolve this issue.

The Police raided our section of the market, while I was away on a trip to the village for my mother in-law’s burial. On my return, I discovered that one of my heavy knitting machines, amongst other things, was missing from my shop. Others also lost some items. As we continued to make inquiries, we were informed that the Police actually took some of the items to the station.

On our visit to the station, they initially denied that my machine was amongst the items they took. But, after persistent calls, the new DPO eventually admitted that he had records to show that the machine was amongst the items sold off, as unclaimed property. Does the Police have the power to do that? I felt very bad and helpless.

Please, what can I do about this?

S.O., Akowonjo, Lagos.

Dear S.O., I am a bit surprised at your account, because it is rather unusual for the Police to sell off items in their custody, without due process. This is because the Police Act at Section 31, provides that, the Police cannot sell off any property in their custody, without a court order.

Section 31(1) Where any property has come into the

possession of the police as unclaimed property or property found or otherwise, a court of summary jurisdiction may, on application either of a member of the police force or by a claimant of the property, either order the delivery of the property to the person appearing to the court to be the owner thereof or, if the owner cannot be ascertained, make such order with respect to the property as to the court may seem meet.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section and subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section and of section 32 of this Act, an order made under the said subsection (1) with respect to any property the owner of which cannot be ascertained may direct (a) in the case of property that has not been sold in pursuance of section 32 of this Act, that the property be sold; (3) An order under this section shall not affect the right of any person to take within six months from the date of the order legal proceedings against any person in possession of the property delivered by virtue of the order for the recovery of the property, but on the expiration of those six months the right shall cease.’

Your first step, would therefore be, to immediately engage the services of a legal practitioner, who will then initiate the process of possible recovery of the said machine, if it is still within the stipulated six months after the sale.

LAGOS AG REELS OUT HIS ADMINISTRATION’S ACHIEVEMENTS known as ‘Omo Onile Taskforce’, with a mandate to rid the State of land grabbers. The Task Force has continued to receive petitions, and several criminal prosecution cases against suspected land grabbers, are currently ongoing in different Courts.

“The DNA FORENSIC CENTRE is another landmark achievement of this administration, that is worthy of being mentioned. The Centre which was set up on the 3rd of May, 2017, is of world class standard, and the first by any Government in Nigeria. Our ultimate aim for setting up the Centre, was to create an enabling environment for proper investigation, prosecution of crimes, adjudication and the administration of Justice in the State.

“Under my watch as Attorney-General, the Ministry of Justice in January, 2017 organised a Stakeholders Summit, themed the “Contemporary Trends: Catalysts for Justice Sector Reform in Lagos State”; where stakeholders from the public and private sectors critically brainstormed on the collective ways to review the existing system, and to introduce contemporary reforms in the Justice System of Lagos State.

The report on modalities to implement the proposed reforms, has since been forwarded to the appropriate authorities including the National Judicial Service Commission, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), and the Chief Judge of Lagos State, for input and contribution.

“To create a viable system for monitoring the prosecution of Sexual offences in the State, we established the Sexual Offences and Child Justice Unit, to ensure timely prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence cases, at the newly designated Sexual Offences Court, High Court of Lagos State, Ikeja Judicial Division.

“In the course of our stewardship, the Court Buildings in Badagry - Olusola Thomas Combined Court Complex and Sikiru Adagun Combined Court Complex in Ajegunle, were commissioned in 2017. We also commissioned a couple of new Magistrate Courts for Environmental, Road – traffic and allied offences in Oshodi, to support the Mobile Courts Units, thereby ensuring effective and quick dispensation of

A dog ran into a butcher shop, and grabbed a rA junior partner in a firm was sent to a far-away State to represent a long-term client accused of robbery. After days of trial, the case was won, the client acquitted and released. Excited about his success, the Attorney telegraphed the firm: "Justice prevailed."

The senior partner replied in haste: "Appeal immediately." ˾˾˾ A witness to an automobile accident was testifying. The Lawyer asked him, "Did you actually see the accident?"

The witness: "Yes, sir."

The lawyer: "How far away were you when the accident happened?"

The witness: "Thirty-one feet, six and one quarter inches." The Lawyer (thinking he'd trap the witness): "Well, sir, will you tell the jury how you knew it was exactly that distance?"

The witness: "Because when the accident happened I took out a tape and measured it. I knew some annoying Lawyer would ask me that question." ˾˾˾ An old man was on his death bed. He wanted badly to take some of his money with him. He called his Priest, his Doctor and his Lawyer to his bedside. "Here's $30,000 cash to be held by each of you. I trust you to put this in my coffin when I die so I can take all my money with me."

At the funeral, each man put an envelope in the coffin. Riding away in a limousine, the Priest suddenly broke into tears and confessed, "I had only put $20,000 into the envelope, because I needed $10,000 for a new baptistery."

"Well, since we're confiding in each other," said the Doctor, "I only put $10,000 in the envelope because we needed a new machine at the hospital which cost $20,000."

The Lawyer was aghast. "I'm ashamed of both of you," he exclaimed. "I want it known that, when I put my envelope in that coffin, it held my personal check for the full $30,000."

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

justice in the metropolis.

“In 2018, we designed and created an online platform for the Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership (LPILP), to give room for accessibility. Through the LPILP, we have facilitated easy access to justice, by firming out pro bono matters to private chambers and legal practitioners. The private chambers take up civil/criminal suits on behalf of LASG, and defend/prosecute the said suits for the good of the public, free of charge.

“In line with the commitment of the Ministry of Justice to provide adequate support to the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) on its mission to ensure that tax payers comply with tax laws and ensure full tax compliance through prosecution of defaulters, we set up the Rapid Tax Prosecution Unit. This enforcement procedure has ensured some level of compliance with tax defaulters approaching LIRS, to offset their outstanding tax liabilities.

“To enhance due diligence in property transactions in the State, in 2017, we launched the E-Real Estate Litigation Database to provide ease of access to information to anyone who wants to deal in a property, with information primarily on whether the property is subject of litigation. Since its launch on 30 January, 2018, the portal has recorded over 1,000,000 hits and over 10,000 “unique” or consistent users from Nigeria, United States, United Kingdom, South Africa and others.

“The introduction and utilisation of the Plea Bargain Protocol, has reduced the time spent on criminal cases, towards achieving Prison and Court decongestion. We launched the Plea Bargain Protocol in 2017, with a view to drive quick and effective resolution of criminal cases, and, in turn, decongest the prisons and court dockets.

“As part of efforts to overcome Prison congestion and ensuring accelerated hearing for minor offences, we facilitated collaboration between the Ministry of Justice and Prison Fellowship, to explore the adoption of restorative justice measures, as part of sentencing options for designated relevant offences. The initiative, which is expected to eliminate the excessive use of prison sentences for minor offences, is

to embark on a pilot scheme to assess the feasibility of Restorative Justice Options, rather than imprisonment.

“The Lagos Criminal Information System, also known as Criminal Case Tracking System, was initiated in 2018 by this administration. It is a crime data register, which serves as a repository of biometric data of persons who have been in contact with the Criminal Justice System. To date, more than 8,000 have been captured in the LCIS database in the Prison, Police and within the Criminal Justice Administration Sector, and this includes their personal, physical and bio-metric details.

“Working towards building a ‘citizen-centric’ criminal justice system for the purpose of ensuring efficient and effective justice delivery, we published and distributed the sentencing guidelines, to ensure uniformity of punishments imposed on convicts by all the Judges and Magistrates handling criminal cases in the State.

"In bringing into effect, major policy thrusts of the State Government to the people of Lagos State, 14 Bills were passed into law, while 12 are currently undergoing drafting process under my watch as Attorney-General.

“Dear all, all I have been doing, is trying to summarise some of the interventions and achievements of the administration of His Excellency, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, in the justice sector. The summary is by no means exhaustive, and we shall continue to engage with stakeholders to bring the public up to speed with the rate of development in this sector.

“May I at this point mention that, none of the above stated achievements would have been possible without the efforts and support of the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Directorates, Agencies, Centres and various Units in the Ministry of Justice.

“We also owe a great deal of appreciation to all the media houses, who have been active partners in this journey for the past four years. Without your efforts and support, all our aspirations and achievements could have been likened to the proverbial story of a man winking at a lady in the dark”, the Senior Advocate stated.

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CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE Dehlia Umunna, the first Nigerian to be appointed Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School (HLS). She has been a Lecturer at HLS since 2007, and is Deputy Director and Clinical Instructor at HLS’s Criminal Justice Institute (CJI)

30.04.2019

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21

FEATURES

Enugu Govt and the Decongestion of Nike Lake Resort Road

R-L: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Enugu State, Hon. Augustine Nnamani; House of Respresentatives Member-elect for Enugu East/Isi-Uzo Federal Constituency, Hon. Prince Cornelius Nnaji; Enugu State Governor and Governor-elect, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Priscilla Emehelu; Wife of State Assembly Speaker, Princess Akunna Ubosi and Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Greg Nnaji, during the flag-off of the construction of Nike Lake - Harmony Estate, Adoration Ministry, Emene Road, recently Samson Ezea

I

t seems some people are nonplussed by the jubilation andexcitement that have continued to trail the recent flag-off of the construction of the second phase of the new Nike Lake-Harmony EstateAdoration Ministry-Emene road, linking the ever-busy Nike road and Emene suburb by Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

But why the amazement, when it is obvious that Nike Lake road is gradually becoming another Ninth Mile Corner, Ngwo in terms of perennial traffic gridlock and others before Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration constructed a new bypass road that linked the area to Enugu old toll gate in 2016 to ease traffic flow.

It could be observed that since the reconstruction of the dilapidated Nike Lake road, Ibagwa Nike, down to Opi Nsukkajunction by the immediate past administration in the state, there has been increased traffic flow on the road and beehive of activities in the axis. This is largely due to the increasing influx of people to the area, a development that has brought about rapid property acquisition and development along the axis.Contributing immensely to the consistent traffic snarl on theNike Lake road is the impassable state of the MarkurdiObollo-Ninth Mile-Enugu federal road which has forced motorists and commuters coming into Enugu and other Southeast and Southsouth states from the North to make a detour at Opijunction and ply the road to connect Enugu-Ontisha and Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressways.

The only solace on the road

is the wise decision of the state government to bar articulated vehicles and tankers from plyingthe road. But even at that, property owners had before thereconstruction of the road built shops and houses too close to the road, there by contravening the building regulations and creating problems for road users. This development has adequately and adversely affected easy traffic flow, human movements and business patronages in that area, especially during festivities. Not even the traffic light at the junction that leads to AbakpaNike and Timber market has provided the needed traffic relief along the Nike road during peak times. Mostly affected by the persistent traffic congestion along the road, apart from commuters and motorists are patronisers of the state-owned legacy hospitality outfit, Nike Lake Resort, situated in a serene environment along the busy Nike road.

The resort, which ordinarily shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes’ drive from the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Emene Enugu and 10 minutes from Enugu metropolis, now takes hours’ drive due to the consistent traffic gridlock on the Nike road leading to it.

It was as a result of these growing challenges on the Nike Lakeroad and its entire axis that made Gov. Ugwuanyi’sadministration on assumption of office in 2015 to go to drawing board in search of permanent solution to the perennial traffic gridlock on the road before it gets out of hand. That was how the government came up with idea of constructing a new Nike Lake-Harmony EstateAdoration Ministry-Emene Road

that commences almost opposite Nike Lake Resort entrance and terminates at Emene to ease traffic flow on the busy Nike Lake road.

The first phase of works on the road which is the construction of five River crossings that include culverts and bridges of various sizes that connects Harmony Estate and Adoration Ground are already nearing completion. It would also be recall that 3 kilometers of the 10.5 kilometres road, which stretched from Emene to the Adoration Ground had earlier been completed and commissioned

by Gov. Ugwuanyi.

On completion of this strategic and lives impacting road project in due course, it will reduce drastically, if not eliminatescompletely the persistent traffic snarl on the Nike Lake road. It will hasten rapid and even development around the area, especially now that people are moving into there in large numbers to build and reside. Commuters and motorists plying the road from the North to other Southeast and Southsouth stateswill no longer need to get into Enugu metropolis first, before heading to their various destinations.

Even residents of Emeneand its environs coming from Nsukka, Ibagwa Nike, Isi Uzo and others need not to pass through 82 Division Junction, before heading home. Also to benefit immensely from the new roadafter completion are management and patronisers of Nike Lake Resort, residents and property owners along the axis. The road will not only open their properties for attention and patronage, it will make it to gain appreciable value.

The road which will linkthe two suburbs of Nike and Emene, will

help create new residential and industrial cities in the area. This will surely change the face of Nike, Adoration Ground, Emene and its environs. This road project a is replica of the bypass road Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration constructed at Ninth Mile Corner that has eliminated completely the age-long traffic congestion in the axis that has lasted for decades with enormous human and material loss.

But today, motorists and commuters plying the Ninth Mile road hardly witness or experience any traffic jam as they have alternative routes to avoid it depending where they arecoming from or heading to. For those heading to Ezeagu, Eke and Nsukka, and some Northern states from Enugu, the best betfor them is to make a detour after Ozungwo Comprehensive College Ngwo and drive through the rehabilitated Amankwo-Ameke-Amah junction bypass that terminates opposite Nigerian Brewery Company. Also for those driving into Ninth Mile from the North and are heading to Southeast and Southsouth states, the easy exit is the bypass road that terminates at Enugu toll gatealong Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.

This is the same solution the new Nike Lake bypass road will provide for commuters and motorists in Abakpa-Emene axis.

It is obvious that the new Nike Lake-Harmony Estate- Adoration- Emene road project is a continuation of Gov. Ugwuanyi administration’s quest to open up rural and urban areas with the provision of link and access road to relieve commuters and motorists’ plight and engender rapid development across the state.

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY APRIL 30, 2019

23

T H I S D AY ˾ ͱͮ˜ 2019

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

A S

A T

REPO 17.29 % 16.43%

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

16.50% 15.13% 15.75%

A P R I L 2 6 , S & P INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY MONTH-TO-DATE

388.29% 0.25% 0.44%

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima

Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

2 0 1 9 S & P INDEX 1/4 TO DATE YEAR TO DATE

0.44% 8.77%

EXCHANGE RATE N306.90/1US DOLLAR* ̩

Quick Takes Ade-Ojo Offers Graduates N5m Grant

GLOBAL TRADE CONFERENCE

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, Dufil Prima Foods, Madhukar Khetan; Executive Secretary & Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Yewande Sadiku; Assistant Comptroller (Modernisation) Nigeria Customs Service, Fateh Apeh Fateh and Head, Trade Transactional Products and Services, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Jesuseun Fatoyinbo, during the Global Trade Review West Africa 2019 Conference sponsored by Stanbic IBTC in Lagos…recently

Gas Flaring: FG to Hand over Sites to Investors by 2020 Stories by Chineme Okafor in Abuja Investors who get the nod of the federal government to capture and commercialise flared gas in the ongoing Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP) will be handed over their preferred flare sites by May 2020, a timeline of the programme has disclosed.

According to the timetable shared by the NGFCP Programme Manager, Mr. Justice Derefaka, at the 2019 edition of the annual Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Olobiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (OLEF) in Abuja, the government hopes to conclude the distribution of the about 178 flare sites to investors by then, after which implementation of their business plans would commence.

Between the period leading

ENERGY to the award of permit to access flare sites, the government would appoint international lawyers for the programme; hold a bidders’ conference; issue Request for Proposal (RfP) as well as open the gas flare data room to qualified applicants, evaluate investors’ proposals, make award to preferred bidders and then execute commercial agreements with them.

Recently, the government disclosed that it would put out a total of 178 gas flaring sites it had so far identified, to be commercially acquired by investors under the programme. This would be through a competitive bidding process which would include the issuance of a permit to access flare gas to successful bidders, as well as rights to permit holders to exclusively

off-take such quantities of flare gas at one or more sites, for use in an approved commercial gas project.

It also said it was expecting $3.5 billion worth of inward investments by the third party investors to drive the programme and achieve its targets of ending gas flare in Nigeria by 2020.

Similarly, Derefaka, explained that the NGFCP expects that if gas from about 50 top flare sites in the country are accessed by investors in the programme, Nigeria could reduce the volume currently flared by 80 per cent.

“Harnessing gas from the top 50 flare points would reduce volume of flared gas by 80 per cent, given 2015 gas flare locations and volumes as the baseline; over 178 flare points collectively flare about 1 billion standard feet of gas; majority of the gas flaring locations (about

65 per cent of them) are onshore; at least 80 per cent of gas from the flaring locations can be viably utilized,” said Derefaka.

He added that although pipelines present the most viable option for transporting gas from flaring sites, scalable, containerised, skid mounted or barge type ‘plug and play’ technologies, virtual pipeline and compressed natural gas trucks, would however be preferred for security and other reasons.

According to him, despite the drop in gas flaring by well over 70 per cent in the country over the past decade, Nigeria still flared about one billion cubic feet of it in 2017, exceeding the equivalent of 800 metric million standard feet per day (mmscfd) utilised for power generation and equivalent of Continued on page 24

Baru: Why Nigeria Must Unlock New Oil Reserves The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has warned that Nigeria is facing stiff competition from new oil and gas discoveries in Africa and the world.

Owing to this, the NNPC boss has stressed the need for the country to open up new barrels of oil reserves to remain competitive going forward.

Baru, who spoke at the 2019 annual Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum, charged members of the group to come up with a blueprint for energy security and sustainability in Nigeria.

He explained in his presentation entitled: “Energy Security and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: The Way Forward,” that the country had a huge energy deficit with demand for

ENERGY energy still growing rapidly.

According to him, Nigeria was facing a new challenge in the form of competition from new oil production centres across the globe, particularly Africa, adding that there was need to, “unlock new barrels as quickly as possible to stay relevant in the new emerging world.”

“Despite abundant oil and gas reserves, Nigeria experiences shortages in electric power.

Based on Nigeria’s energy consumption current and forecast, available statistics showed an increase from 6 gigawatts (GW) in 2015 to 30GW by 2025 with the primary source of the current power supply being from hydro and gas.

“The future consumption which is expected to drive

growth by 2025 would need aggressive development of gas and renewables projects to meet the exponential demand,” said Baru.

He listed efforts by the corporation to bridge the energy supply-demand gap to include accelerated development of gas resources and facilities; rehabilitation of existing refineries; investments in renewable energy projects; and focus on exploration of the frontier basins to boost reserves.

Baru, asked members of the SPE to, “proffer an industry roadmap to guarantee energy security and sustainability for the nation.”

Meanwhile, the NNPC boss has called on the academic community and industrial sector in Nigeria to embrace a new approach to sustainable industrial growth by ridding themselves of

the mentality of being perpetual receiver or giver of research grants and donations.

A separate statement from the NNPC said Baru, stated this while delivering the second convocation lecture of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Effurun in Delta State.

He noted that the industrial sector and academia could build a sustainable relationship when the industry buys profitable ideas from the academia to deploy for efficient production and service delivery.

According to him, universities contribute vital research to the oil and gas industry by finding new ways to boost efficiency and extract oil and gas from the earth in an environmentally conscious and sustainable manContinued on page 24

The Proprietor of Elizade University, Ilara Mokin, Ondo State, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo has donated the sum of N5 million to two graduates of the institution that presented best business proposals.

The duo of Adebayo Adefisayo and Olufehinti Olusegun, were presented with the cheque during the third convocation ceremony of the institution and where 131 students graduated.

Ade-Ojo said he was happy that a graduate of the institution, Mrs Abiola Animasaun, who was given empowerment grant of N5 million duringthesecondconvocationceremonywasdoingwellinherbusiness.

WhileOlufehintigraduatedfromtheDepartmentofCivilEngineering, Adebayo is a graduate of Human Resources Management. He said the Elizade University curriculum was designed to encourage students in entrepreneurship so that they can be job creators and not job seekers.

The proprietor also announced automatic employment for the best student in Automotive Engineering in his company, Elizade Group.

Also, 31 other graduates of the institution from the Department of Accounting, Electrical Electronics and Computer Science were given automatic employment by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).

The Managing Director of BEDC, Mrs Funke Osibodu is a member of Board of Trustees of Elizade University.

Ade-Ojo, who advised the graduands to go for whatever they have the flair for after graduation.

OladeleRe-electedintoGlobalAllianceBoard

The immediate past President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Dr Rotimi Oladele, has been re-elected as a member and regional-delegate-at-large for Africa on the Board of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

According to a statement, as the regional delegate-at- large for Africa, Oladele would provide advisory leadership roles for public relations bodies in Africa. He was earlier elected into the board in 2015 in Milan, Italy. At the Sao Paolo election, the Global Alliance, which is the umbrella organ of public relations bodies in the world, elected Justin Green from the Public Relations Institute of Ireland as its new president. Other members of the new board are Joe Truncale of the Public Relations Society of America as treasurer; Fiona Cassidy of Public Relations Institute of New Zealand as secretary.

Other delegates-at-lSSarge in the board are Alastair McCapra of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, United Kingdom; Sarah Hanel of the Canadian Public Relations Society; Hamilton dos Santos of the Brazilian Association for Business Communication; Prita Kemal Gani of the Asean Public Relations Network, Indonesia; Ángel Alloza of the Corporate Excellence of Spain who is an academic/researcher; and Paula Portugal Mendes of the Portuguese Association of Corporate Communications, Portugal

Dettol Appoints Brand Ambassador

Nollywood actress and multiple award-winning producer, Funke Akindele-Bello,hasbeenmadeabrandambassadoroftheDettolClean Naija campaign. She was unveiled recently in Lagos by Dettol, during the launch of the ‘Clean Naija Initiative’, a campaign which is aimed at creatingawareness,educationanddrivingbehaviouralchangetoachieve a cleaner and healthier NigeriaSpeaking at the event which attracted the leadership team of Reckitt Benser, the General Manager, RBWest Africa,Mr.DayanandSriram,expressedhisexcitementandenthusiasm about the launch and partnership. “We recognise this is an enormous task and we acknowledge the partnership of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources. It is also my utmost pleasure to unveil leading Nollywood actress and award-winning producer Funke Akindele-Bello as the Dettol Clean Naija brand ambassador. “Mrs. Akindele-Bello has been a worthy role model and an inspiration for all Nigerians,” he added.

Akindele, the new brand ambassador, who recently welcomed a set of twins also expressed her delight on the new partnership.

Speaking at the event, she said, “As a new mother, I have come to appreciatemoretheneedforimprovedhygienepractices.Thiscampaign will help sensitize Nigerians on the health benefits of adopting simple but effective hygienic practices like proper hand washing regularly.”

We will continue to work tirelessly to boost the economy of the country.

Notwithstanding the impact of the recession, Nigeria’s economy still remains the biggest in Africa. By the size of our GDP with a very well diversified economy across different sectors such as manufacturing, the central bank and the federal government are open to foreign investor” CBN Governor,

Godwin Emefiele

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BUSINESSWORLD GAS FLARING: FG TO HAND OVER SITES TO INVESTORS BY 2020

450mmscfd utilised in the domestic industry.

Turning to the health implications of gas flaring in local communities in Nigeria, Derefaka said: “17 onshore gas flare points in Bayelsa state are estimated to cause 120,000 asthma attacks, 4,960 respiratory illnesses among children and 49 premature deaths per year in the region.”

He noted that government’s political to end gas flare were strongly backed by its declared commitment to end the menace by 2020; Nigeria’s membership of the Global Gas Flare Reduction Partnership (GGFR) and the Zero Routine Flaring (ZRF) Initiative; approval of the NGFCP by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in 2016; Nigeria as a signatory country to the United Nations Framework Agreement for Climate Change (UNFCCC) with a commitment to make Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs); ratification of the UNFCC by President Muhammadu Buhari in May, 2017; as well as the FEC’s approval of the National Gas Policy in June, 2017, in addition to gas flare out being a component of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the government.

BARU: WHY NIGERIA MUST UNLOCK NEW OIL RESERVES

ner.

He equally explained that the industrial sector has to make sustained efforts in supporting higher education by helping to develop the technical skills of students for employability.

Baru, also underlined that the collaboration between the academia and the industry should be for mutual benefits, and said through development of entrepreneurship cells in universities and technology incubations centres; involvement of alumni as mentor for students; setting up of venture funds to support innovative entrepreneurship; and provision of incentives for research and development, both parties could achieve sustainable collaboration.

NEWS

Kachikwu: Nigeria Constrained to Fund $2.5bn Refineries’Repair Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has disclosed that it will be difficult for Nigeria to dip its hands into its coffers to finance the repair of its decrepit refineries in Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna.

Kachikwu, said this recently in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, where he confirmed it would take about $2.5 billion to fix the refineries and get them to work at 90 per cent production capabilities.

He was hosted by the Minister of Energy Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al Falih, at the meeting, and explained there were options available to Nigeria to fix the refineries even though the country needs to immediately make the decision of going with one. For a while now, the country has dithered on deciding on what ways to adopt to fix her refineries and end importation of petrol.

In its early days, the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration had said it would end importation of petrol by the end of 2019, when it hoped to have fixed the refineries and the 600,000 barrels a day processing refinery being built by Dangote Group comes on board. These, have however not happened.

But in his remarks in Riyadh, Kachikwu said: “I can’t make a final decision alone in terms of what options to be chosen. In terms of what options on the table for the refineries, NNPC negotiated with the investors for like one and half year after the president approved.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t reach conclusion for whatever reason, we are obviously going to revisit the discussion. I think that’s the fastest way to go.

“The second option is that,

we decided that we are going to dip our hands into our own internal funds, which we don’t have a lot of and make the money available.

“What is required is about $2.5 billion to re-kit the entire refinery and the reason why I don’t want to go that way is the fact that the country is constrained,” he added.

According to him, Nigeria’s third option was to approach countries that could set up petrol refining partnership with it.

While insisting that Nigeria was still a key oil and gas business destination due to its existing hydrocarbon resources as well as location amongst others, Kachikwu said getting the four refineries up and running was necessary without further delay.

“We are targeting those countries who want to put in investment either on a 100 per cent basis or collaboration with oil companies that have worked with them,” he explained.

According to him, his visit

to Saudi Arabia was necessary to cement ties between both countries.

He noted that his visit yielded positive results, which may lead to massive investment from Saudi Arabia, including an independent refinery.

“We want to leverage on the huge success of Saudi government in terms of petroleum. Last year alone. Saudi Aramco, an equivalent of NNPC made about $200 billion as profits last year,” he explained.

ENHANCING SERVICE DELIVERY

L-R: Chairman, Association of LicensedTelecoms Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo; President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria, OlusolaTeniola; Managing Director, Smile Nigeria, Godfrey Efeurhobo; CEO, Yfree Solutions Limited, Victor Inyang and Chief Marketing Officer, Smile Nigeria, Abdul Hafeez, at the launch of international data roaming service by Smile in Lagos...recently

‘NPDC’s Oil, Gas Reserve Now 3.6bbls, 15tfc’ Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), an upstream subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has gained up to 3.6 billion barrels of oil and 15 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves from the 29 oil blocks ceded to the agency, its Managing Director, Mr. Yusuf Matashi, has disclosed.

Matashi, in a statement from the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, explained, the amount included in the 29 assets were the 22 Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) and seven Oil Prospecting Licences (OPLs).

He added that from these assets, NPDC currently contribute up to 10 per cent of Nigeria’s daily oil production, and would by the end of 2019, raise that up to about 15 per cent.

“We are paying greater focus on our 100 per cent assets production. NPDC assets will deliver a lot in terms of meeting its (crude oil and gas) volume targets. We currently contribute 10 per cent to daily national production and by end of 2019, the company is looking at 15 per cent contribution to daily national production,” Matashi explained.

He also noted that the NPDC’s production outlook for 2019 and 2020 was bright, adding that the company was

aggressively pursuing its drilling and field development programmes as approved by its parent company – the NNPC. Similarly, the statement explained that the NPDC would in no distant time unveil a large liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and propane storage and dispensing facility in Oredo part of Benin in Edo State, to fast-track the consumption of LPG in Nigeria.

It said the facility was an extension of the Integrated Gas Handling Facility (IGHF) plant of the NPDC and has the capacity to dispense 330 tonnes of LPG and 300 tonnes of propane daily, in addition to the 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd) and

260 barrels per day condensate from the IGHF plant.

Matashi noted that the IGHF would be a game changer for the NNPC, indicating they would become huge revenue earners for it. He said the NPDC would by the end of 2019, be producing 40 per cent of Nigeria’s LPG requirements, with the facility centrally positioned to supply LPG to Lagos; states in the south-south, south-east and northern parts of the country to grow LPG consumption across the country.

According to him, the NPDC currently hold the record as the single largest supplier of gas in Nigeria’s domestic market with about 90 per cent of supply targeted at power generation

to support economic activities.

With regards to regulatory compliance, Matashi said the NPDC maintains cordial relationship with regulatory agencies, such as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), while remitting statutory royalties and Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

He stated that the NPDC and its various host communities are in peace due to the company’s commitment to sustainable community development policy, adding that over time, the company had won the confidence of the people of the Niger Delta and would continue to build on the gains recorded.

would encourage investors to come into the mining space to add value for economic growth,” he said.

Earlier, the president, LCCI, Babatunde Ruwase, said the summit was critical due to the nation’s economic diversification aspiration.

He lamented that the sector was still largely underdeveloped despite the abundance of mineral deposits in the country.

He said in 2018, the sector contributed approximately 0.30 per cent to Gross Domestic Products, stressing that the contribution was a sharp contrast to the historical higher percentages recorded in the 70s.

He stated that the sector

contribution of 0.3 per cent to national employment and 0.02 per cent to exports underscored the fact that the potential of the sector for national development and wealth creation have not been harnessed.

He also bemoaned the existing fiscal framework for investors in the mining sector, saying it was friendly enough and does not consider the peculiar nature of the sector.

“Particularly, its long gestation period. Therefore, Nigeria will need to revisit the entire fiscal framework for the taxation of mining operation, in order to attract mining majors and foreign investors.”

Illegal Mining Worries FG Jonathan Eze Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Jonathan Eze

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Eromosele Abiodun (Maritime) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafor ((Energy) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT)

The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has announced plans to establish a mining surveillance task force to checkmate illegal mining activities in the country.

The Minister of State, Ministry of Solid Minerals and Steel Development, Bwari Abubakar, explained that the task force would be made up of all security agencies in each state, to comb the entire country and identify those in the business of illegal mining.

The Minister who was represented by his Special Assistant, Davies Olapade, at the Nigeria Mining business

investment summit organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said the ministry was doing a lot to block revenue leakages, stressing that it recently collaborated with the Nigeria Customs Service and Ministry of Internal Affairs to ensure that the minerals are not smuggled out of the country.

“We have also trained the custom officials on how to identify the minerals while also providing equipment to detect minerals that are being smuggled,” he added.

He noted that plans were also ongoing to organise miners under a cooperative to provide access to loans and

equipment.

“We are also setting up cooperatives for the miners because some of them do not have money to pay for the mining license. By putting them under one umbrella would give us the opportunity to support them by way of loans and equipment,” he added.

He said the federal government has also set up the National Integrated Exploration programme to identify solid minerals that would support the government’s quest for economic diversification.

“With the programme, more emphasis on where these resources can be found and harnessing these resources

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BUSINESSWORLD

Matrix Energy Invests in Bitumen Distribution Sylvester Idowu in Warri With federal government’s determination to aggressively improve infrastructure across the nation, Matrix Energy, through its subsidiary, Aida Energy, has commenced bitumen distribution with delivery of its first bitumen vessel, MT Jin Zhou Wan recently.

Explaining the rationale behind investing in bitumen to journalists in Warri, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Matrix Energy Group, Mr. Loqman Salam-Alada, said the company identified inadequate infrastructure as well as a supply gap. “We have good relationship with most of the major construction companies, we sell diesel to them and see the stress and pain they go through in getting bitumen supply.

“We also see the way some marketers are taking advantage of the market. Our coming into the market will bring stability and healthy competition.

“The best we can do is to

support government’s aspiration of ensuring that all the materials required to make good roads and rail tracks are available in the country.

That is what we are doing now, especially as we see sincerity in the mind of the government,” he said.

He further said for the company, to meet the demand of supplying bitumen across the nation’s geopolitical zones, Aida Energy had acquired 32 distribution trucks and its expecting to take delivery of additional 20 before the end of June. Speaking on the capacity of the storage depot, SalamAlada said Aida Energy’s facility has the capacity to store up to 5,700 metric tons of bitumen, seven million litres of Aviation Fuel and 13 million litres of AGO, adding that the company intends to maintain a seamless supply culture as it would be receiving fresh cargo of the product every two weeks to ensure constant availability.

“The vessel arrived with 5,400 metric tons of bitumen.

NEWS

Maritime OperatorsTask Ikpeazu on Enyimba Economic City Project Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt The Marine Club of Nigeria (MCN) has called on called on Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, to take necessary steps towards actualising the creation of the Enyimba Economic City, a free trade zone in the state, during his second tenure.

The MCN is the incorporated umbrella advocacy association of professionals, businesses and government agencies involved in the Nigerian Maritime Economy (NIME).

In an open letter to the governor, the President of MCN, Dr. Chinedu Jideofo-Ogbuagu, noted that Ikpeazu could not do much on the project during his first tenure because of litigations challenging his election.

He stated: “It was shortly after PDP primary that produced you as governorship candidate in 2014/2015 that we identified you

as the man likely to give us the maritime and industrial city that we had since 2003 advocated for in Abia South Senatorial District, Abia State of Nigeria.

“We proceeded to do a fresh proposal for creation of a massive free trade zone in the area, which is bigger than Lagos State and has massive adjoining northward land areas for future expansion. We didn’t end there; we relocated to Abia State to campaign for your election in 2015. And you won.

“Since then, Enyimba Economic City has been further conceptualised and has received a boost from buy-in by the federal government and President Muhammadu Buhari.

Luckily, both President Buhari and you have been re-elected as President and Governor, respectively.

“We had been apprehensive that Enyimba Economic City plan would suffer from usual

policy discontinuity in Nigeria if both of you failed in your re-election bid, so we again campaign vigorously for your re-election.

“With much distractions court cases and all - in your first term of four years, your Abia State Government did not make much progress in Ukwa Maritime and Industrial City, Greater Aba City or Enyimba Economic City that this free trade zone vision is now named.

But we hope that Enyimba Economic City project will be fully actualised during your second four-year term, which, because of your clear victory over your opponents in 2019 governorship election, you will not be distracted by court cases as you were following 2015 election.”

Jideofo-Ogbuagu stated that the Enyimba Economic City project was envisaged to become a mega industrial hub

for the South-east geopolitical zone that would suck in both South-east and other investors from Port Harcourt, Lagos, Kano and other Nigerian places as well as investors from abroad.

“With ethnic and transport infrastructural crises all over Lagos, etc, you will agree with us that Enyimba Economic City has become even more urgent than when it was first conceived,” he said.

He posited that the actualisation of Enyimba Economic City would become the greatest development milestone in the history of South-eastern Nigeria.

“It will not just be your signature project; it will also make you the greatest Igbo leader since Dr. Michael I. Okpara’s administration of Eastern Nigeria. Therefore, if Enyimba Economic City is all you achieve in your second term, your place in history is assured,” he said.

Institute to Empower Commercial Bus Drivers Kayode Fasua A new body, the Institute of Road Transport Workers (IRTW) has rolled out programmes of action aimed at improving the fortune of road transport operators in Nigeria.

The institute, which has begun a biometric registration exercise for commercial vehicle operators in Lagos, under its Micro-bus Empowerment Scheme, said it was set to transform transportation business in Nigeria to a highly elevated profession, as against its current lowly rating.

Speaking in an interview with THISDAY, shortly after the launch of the biometric registration, the Chairman, Board of Directors of the Institute, Alhaji Abdur Rahman Adeyemi, said the institute, through its series of programmes, was set to empower commercial bus drivers with multiple social benefits and knowledge.

Adeyemi, described the initiative as a package of social-benefit incentives for registered trainees of the newly established Institute.

“The Institute has been incorporated as a platform of human capacity development in the road transport sub-sector through orientation, reorientation, academic and professional training.

“The Micro-bus Empowerment Scheme mobilises and biometrically registers prospective beneficiaries who undergo comprehensive medical checks, driving training/recertification course to qualify for credit acquisition and operation of a unit of micro buses, while undergoing a mandatory onthe-job training at the Institute of Road Transport Workers,” he explained.

The scheme, he added, was being implemented in collaboration with the Lagos State Government and Sterling Bank Plc, describing it as “a holistic package that also

offers the beneficiaries health insurance and home ownership benefits.”

“What this translates into is that every okada (commercial motorcycle) or tricycle rider, cab driver, unemployed graduate or even motor-park hustler now has an opportunity of socioeconomic elevation through the Micro-bus Empowerment Scheme.

“Our Institute has devised this as a public-private partnership, towards the cleansing of the very important road transport sector, which the Nigerian society has unfortunately turned into the dumping ground for its social waste.”

He argued that, “the real culprit of the mess that has, for long, pervaded the sector which is central to all socioeconomic activities in Nigeria, is the society that has no socio-economic provision for social dropouts, who are mostly forced to resort to motor parks for survival.

“In the real sense, the problem does not lie with the road transport profession or its traditional practitioners.

Rather, this noble profession has been burdened by our deficient social system. This is just why we feel it’s only a social solution that befits an equally social problem, rather than our characteristic emphasis on law enforcement approach.”

The biometric registration was designed to capture and store beneficiaries’ data offline and online, as each micro bus will display a unique identification number, the Micro-Bus Biometric Identification Number (MBIN) which uniquely identifies the bus owner cum operator, he further informed.

He said an Home Ownership Scheme would be executed by the Institute in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Housing, under a contraption tagged: Micro-Bus Rent- to Own Housing Scheme.

SUPPORTING CREATIVE INDUSTRY

L-R Governor, Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; Legal and Corporate Affairs Director, International Breweries, Michael Daramola and Marketing Director, West Africa, Tolulope Adedeji, at the African Drum Festival held in Ogun State...recently

Kano Concludes Arrangement for Multi-billion-naira BRT Project Chris Uba The Kano State Government has concluded arrangement for a multi- billion-naira Bus Rapid programme(BRT) in the state.

The move was in furtherance of effort to ensure urban regeneration and sustainable transportation.

According to the state’s Director General, Media and Publicity, Ameen K. Yassar, the initiative, which is the first of its kind in the state, is a “tip of the iceberg infrastructural project” as the Ganduje administration commences its second term in office on May 29.

BRT is a high quality bus – based public transport system designed to deliver fast, comfortable and cost effective services at metro – level capacities. It does this through the provision of exclusive lanes with busways and distinctive stations typically

aligned to the centre of the road, off – board fare collection and fast, regular operations. Already, the Kano state government, Kano Metropolitan Transport Company, Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Company, China and Zhengzhou Public Bus Communication Co. Ltd., China have signed an MOU for the supply of 100 buses for the project. The MOU further entails integrated transport solutions that includes routes network and infrastructure planning, suitable bus models, Intelligent Transport System, ITS, modern management of operation and maintenance of the fleet data analysis systems, regulation improvement and local talent improvement.

Speaking shortly after completing discussion and signing of the MOU, in Zhengzhou, Henan, China, the state governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, disclosed that his administration decided

to embark on the project “to revolutionise transport and enhance ease of doing business in Nigeria’s foremost commercial centre.” “Presently, Kano is the most populous state in the country. It has a population of over 16 million people. The main public vehicles are mini buses and tricycles which are not supportive of long – term mega city development, therefore an efficient modern system of public transportation must be established. This will reflect the position of Kano as a truly megacity,” a statement quoted him to have added.

Represented by the State commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport, Engr. Aminu Aliyu Wudil, the governor explained that the project has several benefits in terms of job creation, urban mobility and air pollution reduction besides improving the physical outlook of the state capital. “We decided to partner with Zhengzhou Yutong

because it is the world’s largest and reputed bus manufacturer with capacity providing Integrated Solution of Public bus transport system and several decades of experience”.

“Kano state government is expected to invest not more than 25 percent of the project cost while the operator, Kano Metropolitan Transport Company is the main shareholder while the Chinese company will serve as the technical partner”. The State Commissioner of Work, Engr. Aminu Aliyu Wudil, his counterpart in the Ministry of Finance, Aminu Mukhtar DanAmu and Yusuf Aliyu Umar signed on behalf of Kano state government and Kano Metropolitan Transport Company, while Mr. Zou Meikan and Guo Yuanyuan signed on behalf of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Company, China and Zhengzhou Public Bus Communication Co. Ltd., China respectively.

26

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY APRIL 30, 2019

27

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąÍŽËœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

Buhari Seeks Development of Modular Refineries, Others Sylvester Idowu in Warri President Muhammadu Buhari has tasked specialised universities, particularly the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Effurun, to rise up to the challenges of establishment of modular refineries and sustainable power generation in the country.

The president said this at the weekend, during the second convocation ceremony of FUPRE in Delta State.

He said the federal government was not oblivious of the fact that the oil and gas industry was highly technical and capital intensive in its operations and promised to create the enabling environment to encourage innovation and ingenious solutions to the

nation’s critical challenges in that sector. “Government will provide the necessary stimulant for the development of ideas, by making available research grants and other facilities that will encourage research and development,� he assured.

President Buhari, who was represented by Professor Anthony Anka, noted that FUPRE, as a specialised university in petroleum education became a child of necessity as a platform for the firm establishment of a local content policy structure to bridge the yawning gap in the industry. “Government is pleased to note that this policy is yielding positive results with the oil and gas industry focusing on increasing indigenous

participation in all facets of its operations. “Government will not relent in initiating policies that will continue to encourage indigenous companies to have even greater part in developing local technologies and expertise to drive the Nigeria oil and gas assets�, he said.

The president expressed satisfaction that the university was gaining new heights under his watch in tandem with its mandate to, “offer courses of instructions, training and research in petroleum technology and allied areas, for the production of middle and high level manpower and other skilled personnel required to run the oil and gas industry in Nigeria in particular and the world at large.�

He added: “Government notes with satisfaction that the university is dutifully and diligently fulfilling this tall order through her numerous giant strides and achievements in just a decade of its existence. “I challenge the university to be a catalyst for greater innovation and pace setter for technological revolution in Nigeria oil and gas industry.

No doubt, energy is critical to nation building and also a major challenge to our nation this time. “Nigeria has continued to be a net importer of refined petroleum products in addition to its poor levels of electricity generation. “I task the university and other agencies to rise and surmount these daunting

challenges through establishment of modular refineries and sustainable power generation to take the country to the next level.�

On his part, the Vice Chancellor of FUPRE, Prof. A. O. Akii Ibhadode, reeled out the achievements of the university in areas of accreditation of academic courses, infrastructure development, power project, grants and researches, patents, creation of new centres and others. Ibhadode, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Prekeyi Tawari-Fufeyin, however attributed lack of funds and particularly non-provision of take-off grant at inception, as slowing down the development of the university.

The Pro-Chancellor and

chairman, Governing Council of FUPRE, Prof. Shehu Abdullahi, commended President Buhari for signing the FUPRE Act and appealed to the federal government to take steps in implementing all sections of the Act both in capital project development, facilities and staff welfare to make the school a global centre of excellence with capacity to attract the best expertise. “It may be a worthwhile idea to declare a state of emergency in all facets of the development of this university. We strongly appeal to NNPC, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, the PTDF and other stakeholders to support the development and growth of the university,� he pleaded.

PETAN Set for Offshore Technology Conference Peter Uzoho The Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) is once again coordinating the Nigerian Pavilion at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) holding at Houston, Texas from May 6 to May 9, 2019.

The OTC is the premier gathering of professionals and opinion leaders in the global oil and gas industry, and it provides excellent opportunities for positive portrayal and promotion of the great potentials of Nigeria and the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

It also provides a unique platform for close interactions with leading international and major Nigerian oil service companies, indigenous oil companies, industry executives, government policy makers and political leaders, to share ideas on improving the Nigerian oil industry. A statement signed by the Publicity Secretary, PETAN, Mr. Ranti Omole, explained that member companies of the association and many other indigenous oil service companies would be part of a “robust contingent, to showcase the dynamism and potentials of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry.�

According to the statement, about 2,500 professionals and industry leaders from Nigeria and beyond her shore would attend this year’s event.

He pointed out that the association has been organising and hosting the Nigerian pavilion at the OTC since 2005.

The theme of the workshop for this year is: “Global Energy Transformation - The effect and future of the African Oil industry & Economy.�

The key highlights of OTC 2019, Omole further stated are, “the Golden Anniversary Opening Session: The Next 50 Years of Offshore Developments: Programming which reflects on our history, the current state of the industry, and what is on the horizon.�

Others include: “Faster deployment of new technologies: Solutions to reduce the development timeline and create project-ready technologies which meet current industry challenges. “Cost reducing tools and techniques: Ways to decrease costs and improve overall value, while maintaining high standards

for safety, operationability, and reliability. “Integrating to innovate: How advanced software, nanotechnology, and the digital revolution are integrating disciplines and triggering an historic transformation in the offshore energy sector. “Meeting global demand: Meeting the energy needs of fast-growing economies, while reducing carbon emissions and carefully considering the impact of digital technology. “Update on world-class projects: The latest on landmark projects which have resulted in breakthrough technologies in a low oil price environment. “Global participation: Executives from service companies and operators, including IOCs and NOCs, share accomplishments from projects in Canada, Malaysia, the Gulf of Mexico, and the North Sea.� Omole pointed out that PETAN, with industry partners are the coordinators of the Nigerian participation at this year’s event.

He listed the programme of activities for the association to include the formal opening of the Nigerian Pavilion in the Reliant Centre by GMD, NNPC on the first day of the country, adding that the pavilion would remain open from Monday to Thursday, during the OTC. On the second day, there would be a luncheon and panel session as well as a keynote speech to be delivered by the Group Managing Director, NNPC and other policy makers who would speak on topical issues impacting the local industry.

Furthermore, Omole pointed out that on May 07, the Nigeria oil industry awards dinner and cocktail would hold with opportunity for participants to network and socialise with International business partners. “We also use the opportunity to promote Nigerian culture and Nigerian artists and entertainers.

On May 08, there would be technical workshop. “PETAN is committed to the promotion and the development of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, through the organisation of and participation in conferences, seminars and workshops, as well as creating opportunities for Nigerian oil and gas companies to develop, in a highly competitive environment,� he added.

STAKEHOLDERS’ ENGAGEMENT

L-R: Chairman, Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Mr. Bank Anthony Okoroafor and Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Maikanti Baru, during an achievement award and dinner organised by PETAN in support for Nigerian Content that took place in Lagos‌recently

UN Commends FG’s GEEP for Boosting Financial Inclusion Raheem Akingbolu Barely three years after the federal government introduced the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), a microcredit scheme, the initiative has earned recognition for driving financial inclusion in the country.

GEEP, a microcredit initiative of the federal government which commenced in 2016, includes MarketMoni, FarmerMoni, and the TraderMoni. It has impacted over two million Nigerians at the bottom of the pyramid accessing credit in three years and being brought into financial services of bank account and mobile wallets,

there is consensus on the scale of impact the initiative wields.

GEEP has been described as the largest public microcredit scheme in the world and 54.2 per cent of its beneficiaries are women.

At the last session of 62nd United Nations Commission in New York, a statement revealed that GEEP was commended for pushing the envelope in technological innovations for successful last-mile delivery of credit at massive scale.

This was in recognition of the programme’s roles in building a completely digitised loan operation, positioning of Bank Verification (BVN)

as digital collateral to aid financial inclusion, use of facial recognition for de-deduplication, GPS-based mapping and profile of candidates to markets, and exhaustive data capture to truly formalise the informal sector.

In a related development, the programme’s Chief Operating Officer, Uzoma Nwagba, was said to have emerged among 22 other emerging African leaders picked across the continent, as a recipient of 2019 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellowship.

The Desmond Tutu Fellowship is set up by AFLI and Oxford to identify and cultivate young African leaders whose work has

achieved “far reaching impact on the continent.� “Selection into the lifelong Fellowship is an attestation of Uzoma’s role in delivering one of the world’s most impactful tech-based SME intervention programs, and the world’s largest public microcredit scheme,� it added.

According to the statement, Nwagba, prior to GEEP, worked as an Analyst at Goldman Sachs, Product Manager at Microsoft, and Senior Associate at African Capital Alliance. The statement described him as an individual who is passionate about running public institutions like ethical businesses.

Firm Trains Workers on Safety, Emergency Response Peter Uzoho As part of its corporate social responsibilities (CSR), Falck Prime Atlantic, a provider of safety survival and emergency response training for offshore companies has trained some domestic staff and drivers on how to help save lives during emergency situations.

The beneficiaries who came from different locations in Lagos were offered the training at no fee, during the first edition of Basic First Aid & CPR Training,

an initiative of the company.

Using both participatory and observational approach, the beneficiaries were taught step by step method of resuscitating an unconscious victim or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while waiting for the arrival of a medical expert.

Giving more insights into the programme, the Director, Business Development, Falck Prime Atlantic, Folake Sanyonwo, said the initiative came out of the need to get more people trained, to be able to “save the next man during

emergency situation,� noting that when one is able to save himself he can then save others.

She added: “We are all about safety, we are all about saving lives, and we are all about responding to health emergencies.

This training is required because the opportunity to save lives is one that we should all be prepared for. “How do we make sure that there is somebody that will know exactly what to do to help the next man? So we know with our population that

it is a huge task but if we start now we can actually save one life at a time.�

Sanyanwo, however, explained that the decision to train domestic staff and drivers was very strategic, saying “every area that we have decided to go into is a strategic decision, we have thought it out. If I use myself as an example, if anything happens to me at home, who is going to help me? So you look at your domestic staff, you look at your drivers.�

28

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY APRIL 30, 2019

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT StakeholdersValidate Draft Report Designed to Remove Risks in Expanding Renewable Energy Investment in Nigeria Stakeholders in Nigeria’s energy sector have validated a draft report of consultants designed to remove barriers/risks affecting the broadening of renewable energy investment in the country. The overall objective of the project is to assist the Federal Government in achieving a transformation in the electricity mix such that at least 20GW of Nigeria’s electricity is generated from solar PV by 2030. Bennett Oghifo reports

T

he United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), the Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Power, Works & Housing and other stakeholders is implementing a 5-Year demonstration project titled: “De-Risking Renewable Energy NAMA (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action) for the Nigerian Power Sector”. The project has three key components: Design and development of a power sector renewable energy NAMA supported by De-risking Renewable Energy Investment (DREI) analysis; Developing Policy and Institutional Framework for private investment in on-grid renewable power generation; and Demonstration of 1st Commercial on-grid renewable energy project.

The project is expected to contribute to the country’s attainment of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) mitigation targets in the energy sector, with expected direct emission reductions of 205,700 tons of CO2e during the project’s lifetime and additional indirect emission reductions of between 6.79 and 9.72 million tCO2e.

Also, the project seeks to develop Measurement, Reportable and Verifiable (MRV) framework, with appropriate indicators, to measure, report and verify the emission reductions that will be generated by the investment in low-carbon activities under the NAMA/NDCs. The 2-day workshop for the Validation of the Draft Report on the “Development of Three Comprehensive Sectoral NAMA Technology Action Plans (TAPs) for Solar PV, Wind and Biomass” and “Development of MRV Mechanism/Grid Emission Factor for the Nigerian Power Sector”. It was therefore organised to give stakeholders an opportunity to review/update and validate the reports.

At the end of the workshop, which held in Ikeja, Lagos last week, the Project National Coordinator/Manager Engr. Isaac Ierve said, “The validation workshop was very successful and it is a step forward towards removing barriers/risks affecting scaling up of renewable energy investment in the country. I implore all energy actors in Nigeria to take advantage of these studies so that development could be made in the sector.”

Participants with Mr. Raymond Caguioa, representative of Delloitte Tohmatsu Advisory consulting firm on MRV, at the workshop in Lagos... recently

Situation Report The project has identified that Nigeria’s electricity grid faces many challenges, including insufficient grid-connected capacity to meet demand; inadequate infrastructure to make the country’s abundant gas available for power generation; and an inefficient transmission and distribution system with limited coverage. Consequently, 50% of the electrical energy consumed in the country is currently produced off-grid by diesel and gasoline generators of all shapes and sizes and there is also high unmet demand amongst the rural population.

These energy gaps can be reduced with the country’s good renewable energy resource potential such as solar, wind, biomass and hydropower energy.

Thus, the project seeks to develop three comprehensive sectoral NAMA technology action plans (TAPs) for solar PV, wind and biomass. The study is expected to overcome indirect barriers to technology uptake or diffusion, produce a clearly articulated plan with specific, convinc-

ing request for financial and technical resources to help promote the uptake and/or diffusion of solar PV, Wind and Biomass climate technologies in Nigeria and propose a road map or action plan for their implementation.

The project is also expected to develop a framework that will establish “accurate measurement and accounting of actual GHG (greenhouse gas) emission reduction from mitigation actions in the energy generation and end-use sectors. Currently, many on-going energy projects do not consider the critical role of an MRV methodology in assessing the contribution of NAMA implementation to the overall national voluntary GHG emission reduction targets.

To address these issues, international consultants (ICs) were engaged to: Develop three comprehensive sectoral NAMA technology action plans (TAPs) for solar PV, wind and biomass; and develop an MRV mechanism for the Nigerian power sector.

The Consultants were in Nigeria for

their first missions, during which, many Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other stakeholders were consulted to gather baseline information needed for the successful conduct of the studies. The Consultants are to visit Nigeria for the second mission to present their draft reports to enable stakeholders make final inputs.

The main objectives of the workshop were to: discuss and validate the draft report from the International Consultant on Development of three Comprehensive Sectoral NAMA Technology Action Plans (TAPs) for Solar PV, Wind and Biomass.

They also discussed, updated and validated the draft report from the International Consultant on Development of Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) Mechanism for the Nigerian Power Sector.

Other actions the stakeholders engaged in at the two-day meeting were to discuss, update and validate the draft Grid Emission Factor Calculations for the Nigerian Power Sector.

NPA Proposes Waivers Across Board for Cargo Processed in Eastern Ports

Now’s When to Invest in Dubai Property, but Expect Little Returns

Bennett Oghifo

Bennett Oghifo

The Nigerian Ports Authority is trying to get the federal government to approve its proposal that all cargo processed at the nation’s Eastern Ports of Warri, Calabar and Port Harcourt should enjoy waivers to encourage the use of these ports by shipping operators.

Presently, waivers are given

by NPA alone, but they want other government agencies like the Nigeria Customs Service NCS, and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA to also give waivers to shipping companies as a way of encouraging them to ship their goods to these ports and decongest the Apapa ports in Lagos.

This was one of the solutions

presented to the Works Committee of the Senate, which was in Lagos last week to discuss, with other stakeholders, what was possible, in the short term, to rid Apapa of the perennial traffic gridlock caused by heavy duty trucks.

The emergency meeting, conducted by the Chairman of the Senate Works Committee, Senator Kabiru Gaya, had other members, Senators Mao Ohuabunwa, Clifford Ordia and Barnabas Gemade who took their turns to interact with various stakeholders with a view to finding lasting solution to the Apapa gridlock. It soon turned into a public hearing where various stakeholders gave accounts of their experiences that included the murder of an officer of the Lagos State

Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the near killing of a Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) by unknown truck drivers.

Stakeholders at the meeting included the Lagos Sector Commander of the Federal Roads Safety Corps, Mr. Hyginus Omeje, General Manager, LASTMA, Mr. Wale Musa, NPA General Manager, Security, Capt. Iheanacho Ebubeogu, truck drivers’ unions, truck owners’ unions, shipping companies and terminal operators.

As a short term solution, Senator Gaya ordered the Managing Director of Borini Prono to ensure that the Truck Park at the Tin Can Port gate was put into use by Friday this week.

Prospective buyers of property in Dubai’s choice market are sure to close good deals, as prices continue to tumble rapidly this year, but they will need to tread water for nobody knows how long, before they can earn good returns on their investment.

Here is what home prices look like in the market presently. According to the Property Monitor’s (World Property Journal) latest Dubai House Price Index, “the average annual house price in Dubai decreased by 12% in March 2019, with some communities registering even higher price declines.

Arabian Ranches, Emirates Living, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Jumeirah Islands and Dubai Sports City were some of the communities that registered price declines of more than 12% on average.”

The Index said month-onmonth, the price decline for March was 1.7% compared to 1.8% in February. House prices in the three months up to March were 5.1% lower than in the previous quarter. Overall, the average house price in Dubai decreased to under AED 2.6 million (AED 2.58 million).

“The rate of off-plan apartment transfers remained high in March, as has been the case over the past 12 months. However, the total volume of residen-

tial transactions over Q1 2019 was 3% lower than the same period in 2018.

Meanwhile, the volume of apartment transfers over Q1 2019 decreased by nearly 14% compared to the same period in the past year.”

According to the House Price Index for March 2019, the average apartment price remained relatively stable at AED 1.8 million, with only a marginal change from February, “while the average villa/townhouse price decreased to AED 4.5 million. In September 2015, the prices for apartments and villas/townhouses were AED 2.1 million and AED 5.6 million respectively, indicating a decline of 17% and 19%.”

29

T H I S D AY Ëž TUESDAY APRIL 30, 2019

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT

AfDB Approves US$70M Loan for Road Devt in Ebonyi Bennett Oghifo The African Development Bank Group has approved a US$70 million loan for a road project in Ebonyi State, a statement by the bank’s officials has said.

The Bank will provide US$40 million, while its co-financier, the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF), will contribute US$30 million. The Islamic Development Bank is also providing Nigeria a loan of US$80 million, while the Ebonyi State Government will provide US$17.60 million, for a total project cost of US$167.60 million.

The statement said the Bank Group’s funding would cover the rehabilitation and asphalting of a 51 km stretch between Nwezenvi and N’Doko, and part of the corridor between N’Doko and Ezzamgbo spanning 38.91 km. It is expected to be completed in five years.

The project will aid Ebonyi’s aspiration to develop special agro-industrial zones dedicated to processing of subsistence crops. It will improve road safety and accessibility of farming communities and small-scale industrial areas.

Some 1,400 jobs will be created during the construction phase, the statement said.

Once completed, the road network, which will cover a total 177.81 km, is expected to serve also as an international link between Ebonyi State and Nigeria’s eastern neighbour, Cameroun, in addition to connecting Ebonyi to Benue and Enugu.

In line with its High 5s priorities, the project attests to the African Development Bank’s commitment to improve the quality of life of Africans by improving accessibility and road safety in its member countries.

The Bank began financing transport projects in Nigeria in 1972 and has since provided the equivalent of US$630 million in financing the sector, including a US$69.9 million facility through the private sector.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has commended the Bank for its successes and pledged Nigeria’s continuous support for the institution. “I want to recognise the support that the African Development Bank has given Nigeria in recent times.

I remember the Bank’s critical

R-L: President Muhammadu Buhari; and President of AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina, at a meeting in Abuja‌ recently

gesture in 2016 during the difficult period of economic recession through a US$600 million budget support facility. We appreciate this and assure you that we will continue to work towards a diversified Nigeria,�

President Buhari said at the meeting with Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina, which was attended by some ministers and senior government officials.

President Buhari commended the Bank’s interventions in

infrastructure and agriculture, and encouraged the institution to keep supporting countries like Nigeria to grow agriculture as a business through the promotion of agro-industrial zones in the country.

African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina thanked President Buhari for his support to the Bank and pledged the Bank’s commitment to fast track Africa’s development.

Earth Day: NCF Organises Candle Lighting, Emirates Group Helps Safeguard Wildlife Bennett Oghifo Candles were lit and participants chant and sang as the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) joined the rest of the world on 30th March to observe the 2019 Earth Hour at Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC).

Also, the Emirates Group is playing its part to support and preserve biodiversity by taking its environmental responsibilities seriously and championing wildlife conservation across different corners of the planet.

Earth Hour is used all over the world to promote actions that mitigate climate change and sustainable living. At LCC, part of the activities of the day are brief introductions about the purpose of gathering, Movie Time Starring: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Earth Carpet (Video Interviews with all participants), Lights Out

(between 8:30pm and 9:30pm).

Earlier in the day, visitors were urged to sign the white board in support of the Earth Hour. Those who could not attend the event physically were encouraged to participate in the activity of this year’s Earth Hour by switching off lights and non-essential appliances at home between the hours of 8:30pm & 9:30pm.

The Director of Technical Programmes, NCF, in his address stated that “Earth Hour is a time that has been designed, led by WWF to call people’s attention to the earth.

Let us pause from our busy lifestyle and consider mother earth at least for one hour on 30th March every year so that we think about our lifestyle and the impact its having on the earth.�

Participants were also encouraged to record short video and post on social media

to make the idea go viral.

Individuals, businesses and cities in 188 countries and territories worldwide joined Earth Hour 2019 to speak up for nature and inspire urgent action for the environment. As Earth Hour rolled around the globe, thousands of landmarks switched off their lights in solidarity for our planet.

Through the global appeal of the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment, #EarthHour, #Connect2Earth and related hashtags trended in 26 countries as people across the globe generated over 2 billion impressions to show their concern for nature. Individuals pledged their support for the planet, challenging world leaders to push the preservation of nature up the global agenda.

On Emirates Group’s role to support and preserve biodiversity, a statement by

officials said, “The Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve and Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley in Australia both illustrate the Group’s long-standing focus on protecting fragile ecosystems and support for sustainable tourism in very different parts of the world. Both conservation reserves protect valuable ecosystems and at the same time provide unique and sustainable experiences for visitors from around the world.�

The Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve The Emirates Group funds the operations of the 225 square kilometre Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (DDCR), an inland desert habitat that has been protected by government mandate since 2003. This is the largest piece of land that Dubai has dedicated to a single

project and aims to preserve Dubai’s unique desert environment for future generations.

The DDCR plays an important role in ecological research, actively collaborating with both local and international universities. The findings and results of the research studies help to enhance knowledge of the desert ecosystem, gather scientific data around rare and endangered desert species, monitor its balance and preserve its natural environment.

The reserve is also a focal point for conservation programmes aimed at restoring populations of some of the UAE’s wildlife, such as the Arabian gazelle, sand gazelle and Arabian oryx. Since their reintroduction into the DDCR, the antelope species have thrived, and their populations have significantly increased, triggering the process of look-

ing into relocating some oryx and gazelle species to other protected areas within the region. Over 250 endangered Macqueen’s bustard (houbara) were also released this year with 25 of them fitted with tracking devices to monitor their movement and breeding progress.

In 2018, the DDCR was visited by more than 285,000 tourists, through Arabian Adventures, various Emirates partner tour operators, and the Al Maha Desert Resort.

The DDCR offers low-impact desert experiences in addition to desert clean-up activities in coordination with Arabian Adventures. During 2018 the DDCR was accepted as a candidate for the IUCN Green List for Protected and Conserved Areas, a global standard for the world’s most effectively managed Protected Areas.

Introducing IPBES’ 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services A definitive new global synthesis of the state of nature, ecosystems and nature’s contributions to people — the first such report since the landmark Millennium Ecosystem Assessment published in 2005, and the first ever that is inter-governmental — will be presented to representatives of 132 Governments for consideration of approval in May 2019.

Prepared by 150 leading international experts from 50 countries, balancing representation from the natural and social sciences, with additional contributions from a further 250 experts, working with the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the Global Assessment of Biodiversity and

Ecosystem Services will inform better policies and actions in the coming decade.

The report will be discussed, finalized and considered for approval at the seventh session of the IPBES Plenary (#IPBES7), 29 April – 4 May 2019.

A detailed ‘Summary for Policy Makers’ of the report, highlighting key messages, findings and options, is scheduled for public launch at UNESCO world headquarters, Paris, Monday, 6 May 2019, to be webcast live (available at http://www. ipbes.net) at 13:00 CEST (07:00 US EDT/11:00 GMT - check for other times worldwide here: http://bit.ly/2GWDJ3X).

Three years in development, at a total cost of more than US$2.4 million, the IPBES Global Assessment draws

on nearly 15,000 references, including scientific papers and government information. It is also the first global assessment ever to systematically examine and include indigenous and local knowledge, issues and priorities.

Often described as the ‘IPCC for Biodiversity’, IPBES is the global science-policy forum tasked with providing the best available evidence to all decision-makers for people and nature.

The report will offer an integrated overview of where the world stands in relation to key international goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the Paris Agreement on climate change. It examines causes of

biodiversity and ecosystem change, the implications for people, policy options and likely future pathways over the next three decades if current trends continue, and other scenarios. “The loss of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity is already a global and generational threat to human well-being. Protecting the invaluable contributions of nature to people will be the defining challenge of decades to come.

Policies, efforts and actions - at every level - will only succeed, however, when based on the best knowledge and evidence.

This is what the IPBES Global Assessment provides,� said Sir Robert Watson, IPBES Chair.

Important aspects of the Global Assessment

Building upon earlier IPBES assessment reports, especially the recently-released Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment and the Regional Assessment Reports for Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe and Central Asia (March, 2018), the Global Assessment: r $PWFST BMM MBOE CBTFE ecosystems (except Antarctica), inland water and the open oceans r &WBMVBUFT DIBOHFT PWFS UIF past 50 years — and implications for our economies, livelihoods, food security and quality of life r &YQMPSFT JNQBDUT PG USBEF and other global processes on biodiversity and ecosystem services r 3BOLT UIF SFMBUJWF JNQBDUT of climate change, invasive species, pollution, sea and

land use change and a range of other challenges to nature r *EFOUJĂ FT QSJPSJUZ HBQT JO our available knowledge that will need to be filled r 1SPKFDUT XIBU CJPEJWFSTJUZ could look like in decades ahead under six future scenarios: Economic Optimism; Regional Competition; Global Sustainability; Business as Usual; Regional Sustainability and Reformed Markets r "TTFTTFT QPMJDZ UFDIOPMogy, governance, behaviour changes, options and pathways to reach global goals by looking at synergies and trade-offs between food production, water security, energy and infrastructure expansion, climate change mitigation, nature conservation and economic development.

30

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąÍŽËœ 2019

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

ABCON Backs CBN’s Clean Note Policy Hamid Ayodeji The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has given its support to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Clean Note Policy and Banknote Fitness Guidelines meant to remove dirty, mutilated and unfit Naira notes in circulation from the financial system.

ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, was quoted in a statement to have said the launch of the clean and banknote fitness policy was not only apt, but timely giving the high volume of unfit and dirty notes in circulation across the country.

He said the policy would also increase the level of money

supply in the economy, and subsequently deepen the volume and value of credit available to real sector operators and other major segments of the economy.

According to Gwadabe, the move by the apex bank to sanitise the estimated N7.9 trillion notes in circulation would enhance transparent currency management system, promote financial inclusion and enhance confidence of the informal sector in the financial system.

The ABCON boss said that the CBN has through the new policy plans, “demonstrated its commitment to seamless payment system� adding that, “the regulator has the obligation of providing adequate supply of clean banknotes to facilitate efficient payment and settlement

of transactions by the public, government and banks.�

He said the policy remains the first step in its bid to address the sorry state of the notes in circulation and create a new culture for better handling of the local currency.

He explained that, “the clean note policy provides a uniform standard for the circulation of only clean and fit banknotes in the economy adding that the banknote fitness guidelines provide the industry with clear and acceptable criteria for determining the quality of notes in circulation.�

He said the policy guidelines is backed by the Sections 18, 20 & 21 of the CBN Act 2007 which prohibits the counterfeiting, sale and abuse of the naira.

FSDH Records 29.93% Rise in Profit After Tax Ugo Aliogo FSDH Merchant Bank Limited has recorded an increase in its profit after tax as it rose by 29.93 per cent, from N2.84 billion as at 2017, to N3.69 billion as at December 31, 2018.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank in Lagos yesterday, the Chairman, FSDH, Femi Agbaje, said the bank also realised profit before tax of N5.57 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2018, adding that the figure represented an increase of 43.93 per cent over the N3.87 billion recorded as at December 31, 2017.

Speaking to shareholders, he said: “Your bank embarked on digitalisation initiatives

embedded in its strategy. These initiatives are aimed to bring about innovation and operational efficiency. The initiatives involve development of comprehensive web and mobile payment platforms that increase payments, remittance, transfers, collections and other corporate and individual account activities options to our clients. “It also includes deployment of an enterprise data governance that will support the availability of data across the bank to improve the quality/timeliness of business decisions. It will also enhance regulatory and compliance reporting and enhances the confidentiality, integrity and availability of quality information

to our clients. “The bank attained two new international operational standards certifications during the year. These certifications further demonstrate the bank’s commitment to disaster recovery maturity and quality service delivery to our customers.�

He added: “The Nigerian equity market depreciated year on year in 2018. The Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (NSE ASI) depreciated by 17.81 per cent to close at 31,430.50 points. The bearish trend in the market was mainly as a result of continued pullback of foreign investors due to political considerations and rising global yields.

Caverton’s Pre-tax Profit Climbs to N1.22bn in Q1 Chinedu Eze Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, (COSG), a provider of marine, aviation and logistics services to local and international oil and gas companies in Nigeria, has announced its unaudited results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019.

The results showed profit before tax of N1.22 billion and an after-tax profit of N793 million, as its revenue jumped by 83 per cent, a statement from the organisation disclosed.

Specifically, the unaudited first quarter of 2019 results indicated it realised revenue of N8.3 billion in the period

under review, higher than the N4.6 billion recorded in March 2018; operating profit (excluding other income) was N1.88 billion, as against the N849.2 million recorded in March 2018; just as its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the period climbed to N2.2 billion, higher than the N1.2 billion recorded at the end of the comparable period in 2018.

Profitable ratio also indicated gross margin of 43 per cent (40 per cent March 2018). In the same vein, Caverton’s direct operating cost also climbed by 74 per cent, supporting its earnings per share which also increased by 170 per cent when

compared with same period in 2018.

Commenting on the results, COSG’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bode Makanjuola said, “With the 2019 general elections behind us we look forward to favourable government policies in the oil and gas, aviation and financial sectors that will enable us continue to provide the quality of service our clients have become accustomed to as well as positive returns for our shareholders.�

COSG is one of Nigeria’s leading oil services companies providing solutions for a range of multinational companies across aviation and marine services.

W’Bank Commends Osun on Infrastructural Devt.

Yinka Kolawole Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă‘ĂŒĂ™ The World Bank and the federal government have ranked Osun State as the best performing state among the participating states in the Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP) in Nigeria.

Speaking while meeting with Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, after the team had gone round the state for the project inspection, the World Bank Task team leader Engr.

Tunji Ahmed and the National coordinator for RAMP project, Engr. Ubandoma Ularamu, said with the level of implementation of the project in the state, Osun was in a very good position for others to emulate. According to them,

the maintenance mechanism put in place for the RAMP project by the state was sustainable and urged other states to adopt same.

Ularamu, in his submission said the way and pace in which Osun was going with the commitment and proper implementation of the project Would attract additional financing. He added that, Osun had already completed the first phase of 225 kilometres of rural roads with additional 315 kilometres and that the state would be having more than 500 kilometres of rural roads through the project. According to him, if the additional financing was granted and provided to Osun, the state would be able to have additional roads that

would make it more than 1000 kilometres of rural roads. “With the Osun model on the maintenance of the project, this will make it one of the best projects that Nigeria will be proud of,� he said, stressing that, “Osun has been doing a wonderful job on the project and others can borrow a leaf from the state.�

In his view, Ahmed attributed the good performance of state in the implementation of the RAMP project to the total commitment by the state through the timely payment and release of counterpart funds, making the project to pass through a normal due process and also by giving the state project implementation unit (S.P.I.U) a desired attention.

L-R: Head, Retail and Lubricants Marketing, Forte Oil Plc, Mr. Samuel Eze; Managing Director, Ade De Young Auto Agency Limited, Alhaji Adeleke Lateef; Executive Director, Woopet Ogbus Ventures Limited, Mrs. Chioma Anyanwu; Chairman, Elton Ventures Nigeria, Mr. Anthony Nsitem and Head, Corporate Services, Mr. Doyin Ogun during the Forte Oil Lubricant Distributors award held in Lagos‌recently ABIODUN AJALA

MARKET INDICATORS 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 Í°Í´ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $72.38 a barrel on Friday, compared with $74.04 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

31

T H I S D AY ˾ ͱͮ˜ Ͱͮͯͷ

MARKET NEWS

Minister Calls for Govt, Capital Market Operators Collaboration Goddy Egene The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah, has called for closer collaboration between the government and capital market operators, so as to boost economic growth and transformation.

Enelamah, made the call at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos, during a visit by members of Presidential Enabling Business Environment

Council (PEBEC) to sound the closing gong. The minister said the partnership should be robust in order to transcend various government administrations, and impact on job and wealth creation, economic growth and development.

According to him, there was a need for government to forge synergy with the private sector towards exploring opportunities of raising capital through the market for infrastructure projects

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

and boost industrialisation.

Also speaking, , the Secretary, PEBEC, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said there was a need for the private sector to partner with the Council to grow the economy.

She said the government, through the ease of doing business initiatives, was working on various reforms toward making the country attractive for businesses to thrive.

In the same vein, the Acting Director-General, Securities and

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms. Mary Uduk, said SEC had been at the forefront of supporting capital market operations, saying that it developed the e-dividend to boost investors’ confidence in the market. She said the NSE also evolved initiatives to ensure liquidity in the market and that operators do the right thing.

Speaking on behalf of market operators, former Chairman of Association of Securities Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) and Chief

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

Executive Officer, Trust Yield Securities, Mr. Rasheed Yusuf, hailed the call for robust collaboration between government and the market operators.

He said that government should ensure that the partnership reflected on the market’s activities and urging government to utilise the capital market to improve the economy. According to him, deficits in government’s budget could be financed through the capital market for accelerated

O F

economic growth and development.

Meanwhile, trading at the stock market opened for the week on negative note as the NSE AllShare Index fell by 0.73 per cent to close at 29,521.90. Similarly, the market capitalisation shed N82.4 billion to close at N11.1trillion.

However, activity level strengthened as volume and value traded advanced 18.7 per cent and 40.4 per cent to 290.2 million shares and N2.2 billion respectively.

2 7 / 0 4 / 2 0 1 9 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

32

˾ TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2019

33

TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

UBA Partners Mastercard to Reward Loyal Customers Goddy Egene

Open to all existing and new Mastercard holders from Nigeria UBA Platinum Mastercard holders, and 11 other African countries will The United Bank for Africa (UBA) the bank explained that the reward share the enthralling experience Plc in partnership with Mastercard scheme was to provide opportunity of watching the finals live with have announced plan to reward for customers and give them a loved one as well as enjoy the loyal customers with all-expense unique, unforgettable and priceless great ambience of host city of the paid trips to the semi-finals and experience including flights, visas, Semi-Finals or Finals (Madrid). finals of the 2019 UEFA Champions 5-star accommodation, tickets to The participating countries are watch either the semi-finals or final Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Congo League.

In all, 12 lucky UBA Mastercard matches of the UEFA Champions Brazzaville, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, holders are expected to benefit from League and so much more with Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, their MasterCard Platinum Access. Zambia,” a statement from the the reward scheme.

“A total of 12 UBA Platinum bank explained.

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. investment vehicle that allows both small and Investors with similar objectives buy units of the large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their that willl generate their desired return. investments. The assets are divided into shares that An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, GUIDE TO DATA: etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 26shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the Apr-2019, unless otherwise stated.

“As we celebrate our 70 years the all-expense paid package. To of Banking and excellence, this is get your UBA Platinum Mastercard our way of rewarding customers at any UBA Branch, a customer for their continued patronage to simply needs to contact his or the UBA brand. There will be her relationship manager at any many more this year as we want UBA branch office,” the Group to continue to appreciate all our Head, Marketing, UBA Plc, Mrs. customers for now.

Dupe Olusola, was quoted to have “Customers who qualify should explained. get a UBA Platinum Mastercard She said: “The UEFA Champions and spend a minimum of $10,000 League is the most sought-after or its equivalent in his or her local trophy in club football competition, currency to stand a chance to win and one of the most followed 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..

sporting spectacles in the world.

To this end, we decided to partner Mastercard and UEFA in bringing the most iconic and cherished moments in the history of football to our esteemed and loyal customers who are the reason why we are so successful.

“We realise that, a lot of our customers love football and we feel giving them this treasured experience while they are pampered in far-away Spain is the way to go.

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 5.31% ACAP Income Funds 0.63 0.63 12.50% 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 13.10% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.29 2.31 3.08% 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 16.37 16.87 -1.32% ARM Discovery Fund 356.53 367.28 -0.03% ARM Ethical Fund 29.33 30.22 3.87% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.21% 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 100.49 101.19 -0.69% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.70% 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 13.84% Paramount Equity Fund 12.08 12.17 2.23% Women's Investment Fund 105.70 106.21 2.00% 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 12.71% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 98.79 99.23 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 101.46 101.17 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.60% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.83 0.84 Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.18 1.18 5.15% 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 12.16% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 12.34% 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 1,173.35 1,174.16 5.19% FBN Heritage Fund 145.50 146.52 1.46% FBN Money Market Fund 0.00 0.00 0.00% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 118.51 118.96 4.06% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 118.41 118.86 4.22% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 146.08 148.18 -2.61% 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 Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.28% Legacy Equity Fund 3.37 3.37 3.89% Legacy Debt Fund 1.17 1.18 -4.53% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.05 1.51% 1.05 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 2,997.40 3,029.52 0.47% Coral Income Fund 2,867.58 2,867.58 4.68% 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 11.99% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 108.64 109.08 1.69% 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 12.33% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.18 2.20 1.37% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.30%

Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 127.98 128.27 2.48% 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 1.17 1.19 1.95% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,088.14 1,088.14 4.29% 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 1.27 1.29 3.46% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.33 11.38 1.87% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.34% 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 121.48 121.97 0.59% 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 1.01 1.01 4.63% 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 2,368.39 2,381.47 2.33% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 198.26 198.26 4.27% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.95 0.96 0.53% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 252.24 252.27 2.05% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 161.65 163.42 -0.92% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.71% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,340.56 8,435.78 -1.78% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.11 1.11 -0.21% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.19 1.21 0.18% United Capital Bond Fund 1.67 1.67 4.84% United Capital Equity Fund 0.69 0.71 -2.12% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.04% United Capital Eurobond Fund 110.06 110.06 2.61% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.12 1.13 2.87% 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 10.82 10.99 2.48% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.26 12.41 2.65% Zenith Income Fund 21.62 21.62 12.16%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

5.40 120.17 52.31

-44.85% 2.07% 1.10%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.16 104.67 85.71

10.26 106.89 87.27

-3.68% -10.77% -3.35%

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

3.84 6.69 13.93 11.38 153.13

3.88 6.77 14.03 11.58 155.13

-4.01% -12.14% -6.82% -7.83% 6.64%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

106.90

17.40%

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.

34

TUESDAY APRIL 30, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNA TIONAL

ECOWAS Court Upholds Sack of Three Supreme Court Justices in Ghana The Community Court of the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) has upheld the sack of three Justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana.

The Justices – Paul Uuter Dery, Mustapha Habib Logoh and Gilbert Ayisi Addo – were among over 30 judges secretly filmed while allegedly accepting bribes in an undercover investigation carried in 2015 by journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, In a judgment on Monday, a three-man panel of the ECOWAS Court dismissed the suit, marked: ECW/CCJ/APP/42/16 filed by the Justices and held that it was unmeritorious.

In the judgment read by Justice Dupe Atoki, the court held that the applicants failed to prove that their rights were violated in process leading to the disciplinary actions taken against them by the Ghana Judicial Council.

It held that, although the secret filming of the Justices in their offices, done without

their consent, amounted to interference with their privacy, the interference was justifiable as it was meant to expose unlawful conduct by public officers.

The court upheld the argument by the state of Ghana, to the effect that the secret filming of the Justices was supported by Article 1(1)(b) of the Whistle Blower Act of Ghana and Section 61 of the Data Protection Act of Ghana. It found that the applicants’ privacy was interfered with by the secret filming of their activities by Anas, but went further to hold that the interference, being premised on national legislation, is in compliance with the law.

The court agreed with the state of Ghana that, in engaging in the alleged act of accepting bribe, the applicants ought to know that they would be opened to secret investigation.

The court held that the interference with the applicants’ privacy, aimed at exposing the commission of a crime, was justified and necessary in a democratic society.

It said the applicants, by their position as judges, are public officers, who receive public funds and are, in that capacity, accountable to the public and could be subjected to investigation, where there is

reasonable suspicion of their involvement in the commission of a crime.

“The secret recording of the applicants is necessary in a democratic society. The claim to violation of the right to privacy fails,” the court said.

The court also held that

the applicants failed to prove their claim that the respondent violated their rights to fair hearing, non-discrimination/ equality before the law and right to work.

The court noted that, while two of the applicants failed to respond to the query handed

them by the Chief Justice, they challenged their suspension and investigation up to the Supreme Court and lost in all the six cases they filed. It said, having rightly exercised their right to access the court up to the highest court in Ghana, the applicants cannot claimed to have been denied

fair hearing.

The Justices were suspended in 2016 by the Ghana Judicial Council while a committee set up by the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo investigated a petition written against them

by Anas and his company, Tiger Eye PI Limited.

A crane working on a new campus for Google fell and pin

A ‘PRIVATE VISIT’ TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN of Nigeria is a public official.

The Nigerian taxpayer must know where he is, what he is doing at all times.”

“Very soon you people will alter the Constitution and ask for details of what the President does with his wife in the other room. You people are busy quoting the Constitution as if it descended from Heaven.”

“We are in a democracy. There are rules of engagement. We are under the rule of law, not the rule of men. We cannot have leaders who break the law. We must call them out.”

“I know you people’s problem. You are not happy losing the election.”

“That is not it. I am a Constitutional purist.

A President can only be absent from duty within the purview of the law. The law is what the law giver says it is, just as company rules and terms of contract are sacrosanct.”

“So what will you say, if you suddenly hear that indeed the President, before leaving for London already sent a letter to the National Assembly? After all, there is no vacuum. Last Wednesday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo presided over the Federal Executive Council meeting. Under his watch, FEC approved N56 billion for the e-border initiative. Other contracts were awarded. He is in charge in the President’s

absence.”

“Is he doing that as Acting President or as co-ordinator of activities as he was once described when the President delegated authority to him?”

“Semantics. You people are the ones complaining. What if a letter suddenly shows up on the floor of the Senate?”

“I won’t put that past them. But we have been told anyway that the President can rule Nigeria from anywhere in the world. And we are saying we don’t want a diaspora President. Every job has a contact address and the contact address for the Nigerian President is in Nigeria. We know about official visit, state visit and working visit. The Nigerian Constitution does not talk about private visit.

It talks about vacation.”

“You better don’t give yourself hypertension. I think lawyers, politicians and journalists are just always looking for something to talk about. Keep talking, before you know it now, Buhari will be back in Nigeria.”

“What if he extends the visit?

After all, he once disappeared for more than 100 days.”

“And what happened? I think this whole problem has been created by his spokespersons. I think they should just have told us that the President is going on a

short leave. He is entitled to vacation. But I also guess they have called it private visit, because they don’t want appointment seekers and contractors to disturb him. All those sycophants who are always seeking the eyes and ears of Presidents have been tactically told to keep off. You must always see things in context.”

“That is not an excuse to disobey the Constitution. The president cannot embark on classified trips. He cannot go on secret missions. That is unknown to the Constitution.”

“Would you be satisfied if you suddenly see him going to Selfridges to shop, or having a meal at a restaurant? You want to see him. Fine. I just hope you people will not come again and say he is using Nigerian money to have fun” “No. He cannot go to Selfridges. He will have to explain the source of the money.”

“There you go. Please can we talk about something else. Last, last, everybody will be okay in this country, because it looks like everybody is depressed.

It is just the level that differs.

People who have not seen N500 thousand in their lives will be shouting, our money, our money” “You are just a government apologist.”

Yes, I am. It is only government apologists that win elections in Nigeria. At least for now. And for your information, my long-term plan is to go and run for election in my state, Bayelsa State. That is why when you were talking about company rules and contract, I just dey look you.

See in our state, the House of Assembly has just passed a bill that says every lawmaker in that state who ever served is entitled to a life-time pension.

Next election in that state, I am there oh, my brother. N500k for life, every month. Even if I die sef, I will tell my family not to let anybody know, so they can keep paying the money into my account. I will just go on a private visit to heaven.”

“Countriman will not sign that bill into law. He must not do it. It is a vexatious piece of legislation.”

“Who is Countriman? And what is your own? Are you from our state?”

“Seriake Dickson, your Governor is the man we all call Countriman. Look, we must insist that politicians must have jobs that they do.

The job of the legislature is to make laws for order, stability and good governance, not to make selfish laws that establish a rent-collection system for lawmakers. I have it on good authority, anyway that

Governor Dickson has rejected that bill.”

“You don’t know what you are talking about. Your countryman must not try any such thing. The House of Assembly will override his veto. Leave matter. You see, in this country, everybody is looking out for himself. You are busy quoting Constitution. That is why you are still struggling.

Listen to yourself. If you give yourself hypertension, you are on your own oh. All these people with whom you make noise, you’d be surprised some of them are collecting rent somewhere. That is Nigeria for you. I am a pragmatist.”

“Certain things are just not right” “And you are the one going to correct those things that are not right. Something that Tafawa Balewa could not do.

Something that Gowon could not do. Something that Murtala Muhammad died for. Obasanjo and Buhari put head, more than twice. Na you and your noise-making go solve Nigerian problem? I beg.”

“I am a patriot.”

“Very good, congratulations.

What you don’t know is that every country has its own identity and culture. Look at New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

On March 15 in Christchurch, New Zealand, two mosques were attacked, 50 persons

were killed. The leadership of that country has used that tragedy to turn around their country, and reflect deeply.

They changed gun permit laws. Prime Minister Jacinta Arden is leading a campaign for open, secure and safe internet, to check extremism and bigotry. On April 21, in Sri Lanka, terrorists struck again killing more than 300 persons. The President of Sri Lanka has fired the defence chief and the police chief. Here in Nigeria, people are killed daily, abducted, brutalized.

Have you seen or heard that anybody has been fired? Get real, man. If you are a patriot, be real.”

“We need a people’s revolution in this country.

We need to rescue young men like you from those who have captured your minds and the Nigerian state.”

“Oh, sorry. I see you have been busy watching television.

The people who talked about revolution in the last elections in Nigeria lost woefully. Wake up, man. You better don’t go and talk revolution with Nigerian policemen when next they flag down your vehicle.

Your revolution can earn you a bullet in the leg.”

“Leave me alone. Look at you. You keep talking about Nigeria as if you are from Guinea Bissau.”

AMOSUN REPLIES REUBEN ABATI Understandably, there is no better specimen for a whining looser than a political neophyte turned desperado.

Abati woefully lost his election bid for the seat of the Deputy Governor in the State, but now vilifies another candidate for losing at the same election when in the disputed election,

the candidate he so ferers came ten of thousands ahead of him and his principal candidate, Buruji Kashamu. He calls it a humiliation. What an irony of life! He quickly jumped boat seeking for relevance and would do anything to assure his pay masters of his loyalty for the sake of crumps. In a

decent society, Abati would have recused himself from commenting on the affairs of the government of Ogun State on the platform of a journalist and columnist. At best, he would have presented himself as a politician criticising a political opponent and that would have fore-warned his

reader on what weight to attach to his(Abati’s) views.

Unfortunately, we live in a society of “anything goes” where decency has taken flight.

Abati must remember that intellectual brigandage and uncharitable statements may achieve initial ephemeral ends, but they cause more

self-damage to the individual who wields them.

While he is free to enjoy the latitude of his mischief, the public must not be underserved.

They deserve better than what Abati has fed them with. We have a duty to put the records straight and that is why we bother, at all, to respond to

his worthless treatise. More so, because Abati still pretends to write as a journalist rather than admit had he has somersaulted into a political acolyte. r Rotimi Durojaiye is the Special Adviser (Media) to Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Governor of Ogun State.

TUESDAY APRIL 30, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

35

NEWSEXTRA

Sultan Seeks Proactive Steps to Tackle National Challenges John Shiklam in Kaduna Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Alhaji Muhammad

Abubakar Sa’ad III, has called for commitment and proactive steps to address the challenges bedeviling the country.

Speaking yesterday at the

Nigeria Loses $6bn in OPL 245 as Global Witness Seeks Cancellation of Deal

opening session of the JNI Central Council Meeting and Annual Pre-Ramadan Conference in Kaduna, the Sultan maintained that the challenges have been in the increase because necessary steps and commitment to implement solutions identified were not taken.

The conference was organised to provide the Islamic solutions to the menace of poverty, insecurity

and the influence of drug abuse in the Muslim society.

According to him, “The challenges bedeviling the country require commitment and proactive steps to address them.

“These challenges have unfortunately been on the increase because necessary steps and commitment to implement solutions identified are not taken.”

He said the meeting would

discuss issues affecting the Muslim Ummah and some national issues affecting the society as well as proffer the way forward.

The Islamic monarch called for prayers for the souls of those who have been killed as a result of the security challenges in Nigeria, noting that death is inevitable for all, as he added that everybody would be accountable someday to

God for their actions.

“As human, we cannot run away from death but our activities here on earth is what will stand for us on the day of judgement,” he added.

The meeting which was attended by prominent Islamic leaders and scholars later went into closed door.

A communique is expected to be issued at the end of the meeting.

N500bn looted funds recovered, says ICPC Kingsley Nwezeh inAbuja The controversial Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245, reverberated yesterday in Abuja as an expert analysis of the deal revealed that Nigeria lost $6 billion in revenue since 2011, following poor negotiations and corruption that attended it, prompting Global Witness, a human rights and environmental advocate, to call on President Mohammadu Buhari to cancel the transaction.

The call for cancellation came as the Independent, Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said it has so far recovered N500 billion looted funds in the country.

Speaking at an ‘Anti-corruption Situation Room and Public Presentation of a New Expert Analysis of the OPL 245 Deal and High Level Training of Stakeholders,’ organised by Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), a representative of the organisation, Barnapy Pace, called on the federal government to cancel the deal on the grounds that it short-changed the country.

Global Witness said the deal was based on “military era terms.

The case is currently going on in Milan involving Shell, Eni and some Nigerian middlemen. It makes poor economic sense.

We believe Nigerian government should cancel this deal”.

In his presentation, entitled “Government Revenue from OPL 245 Impact of a ‘Sole Risk’ Contract, a representative of Resource for Development Consulting, Canada, Dr. Don Hubert, said Nigeria’s share of the contract was far lower than what was expected.

“Giving the poor share of the deep oil water blocks; I would say that when it was allocated, it was tactically very challenging to work there and costly. A company like Shell knew they would make very good profit in deep water so I would say that Nigeria’s share of the block is far lower than what is expected.

“Our job was to ask the question: what is the economic impact on Nigeria but I would say that Nigeria’s share in deep oil water blocks fall well below what Nigeria should expect. I would say that the share of the revenue from the OPL 245 deal since 2011 fall well below what Nigeria should expect”, he said.

Meanwhile, the ICPC said it has recovered N500 billion looted funds so far. Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the commission, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, said when funds meant for security and health are diverted into private pockets, the nation suffers for it.

Akinlaja: Lawmakers Lack Information on Cost of Subsidy Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja Former General Secretary of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Hon. Joseph Akinlaja, has said since there is no appropriation for petroleum subsidy in the National Assembly, lawmakers have no information on how much Nigeria is spending on it.

Worried that Nigeria and some other countries still subsidising fuel for domestic consumption have spent about $5.2 trillion globally from 2015 till date on the policy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) President, Christine Lagarde, had said at the recent World Bank/IMF Spring Meeting in Washington DC, United States, that subsidy removal would help boost revenue and improve local infrastructure development.

But when fielding questions from journalists on the advice, particularly on how much the country is expending on fuel subsidy, Akinlaja, who is the Grand Patron and Technical Consultant to tanker drivers

in Nigeria, said he lacked information on how much is being spent on subsidy.

According to him, “I cannot tell you how much is being paid for subsidy. We know that if the government had come to the parliament to ask for a specific amount, based on our specific consumption for the year for appropriation, we would have known; but if they had not come here, we cannot answer the question.

It means that it is only the Nigerian Nation Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Minister of Petroleum Resources that can answer such question.”

He however said Nigeria subsidises the price of fuel, stating that “as for the issue of subsidy, I believe that there is subsidy that is being paid in whatever name it is called. The executive is the one responsible for supply and distribution of petroleum products in Nigeria. The same executive said petrol especially should be sold for not more than N145 per litre, and the same government, specifically the NNPC, during fuel scarcity last year, said the landing cost was N171.50.

LET’S WORK TOGETHER…

Minister ofTransportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi (left), and former Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, after reconciling their political differences in Abuja…yesterday

NAFDAC: Only 17% of Drugs in Nigeria are Substandard Martins Ifijeh The Director General of National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has revealed that only 17 per cent of drugs in circulation in Nigeria are substandard.

Stating this at a press briefing in Lagos yesterday, she said the most recent study was done in 2012 by the

United States Pharmacopeia and that no other study has been done since then.

Adeyeye, who was responding to viral reports on social media and online platforms that 70 per cent of drugs in the country were fake or substandard, said plans were on the way to embark on a new study, which she believes would show that substandard drugs have been reduced to the minimum.

She said: “For essential medicine, it is much lower than the general medicine which is 17 per cent. Just March this year, the study we did showed that only 1.3 per cent of essential drugs in circulation were fake.

“In the general study we are planning, we will require at least 80 Truscans. And one Truscan cost at least $50,000.

We will also do laboratory tests for further study.”

Truscan is a device used in ascertaining if medicines are authentic or fake.

Adeyeye said while she believes the country can be free from fake and substandard products, the country has the capacity to produce at least 70 per cent of its medicines.

“I am a firm believer of local production of medicines.

We are not there yet, but it is possible,” she said.

ASUU Accuses Taraba Govt of Insincerity Wole Ayodele in Jalingo The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Taraba State University chapter, has accused the state government of insincerity and lack of commitment to end the ongoing strike embarked upon by the union.

Addressing a press conference on the institution’s campus yesterday, Chairman of the chapter, Dr. Samuel Shikaa, told journalists that the union is disappointed by the failure of the government to take concrete steps towards meeting its demands which have been lingering since 2014.

The strike, according to the chairman, was necessitated by the failure of the state government to honour

the agreement it entered with the union in March 2018 for it to suspend the strike it embarked upon in February 2018 contrary to the propaganda being peddled that the strike was due to the deductions in their January and February salaries.

In the Memorandum of Action (MoA) signed on behalf of the state government by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Anthony Jellason, and Commissioner for Education, Johannes Jigem, and dated March 21, 2018, a copy of which was made available to journalists, the state government agreed to implement the agreements in the MoA in order to resolve the issues at stake.

Though it failed to implement the funding of the university via full

implementation of law No 4 of Taraba State House of Assembly which stipulates that the institutions would be funded through five percent of state and local government monthly allocation as well as two percent of contracts awarded to contractors and two percent of revenue of hotels, the government however agreed to increase monthly salary allocation from N70 million to N100 million with effect from March 2018.

One of the agreements the government failed to implement was the security challenges which it promised to address by constructing a perimeter fence round the university and the implementation of the staff pension and gratuity scheme.

The government, according to the ASUU chairman,

equally failed to release N10million monthly for the payment of Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) as agreed pending when all the outstanding from 2013/2014 session which has accumulated to over N460million is cleared.

In the same vein, the state government failed to eject non university staff from the university staff quarters which it promised to do once rehabilitation of houses given to staff of the College of Education in Zing is completed.

Shikaa further explained that the union had embarked on several industrial actions to press home its demands and government had always entered into agreements with it refusing to honour them.

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N’Assembly May Pass 2019 Budget Today, Senate Orders Minister to Return N14.3bn Deji Elumoye in Abuja The two chambers of the National Assembly will today debate and possibly pass the N8.83 trillion 2019 budget estimate submitted to the legislative body by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 19, 2018.

This is coming just as the Senate yesterday gave the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment , Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah and the Acting Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority ( NEPZA), Mr. Terhemba Nongo, up till Thursday, May 2 to return N14.3 billion diverted from 2017 NEPZA budget into the national treasury.

Senators and members of the House of Representatives are

expected to debate the budget report with the leaders of the two chambers setting the pace for the debate at today’s plenary.

The Senate had last Thursday postponed the final consideration and passage of the 2019 Appropriation Bill to today as a result of the unavailability of details of the budget report for Senators to peruse.

Leader of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North), had in moving for the stepping down of the bill, which had been listed on last Thursday’s Order Paper till another legislative day, referred to the absence of the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation , Senator Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central ) and his Vice, Senator Sonny Ogbuoji (Ebonyi South).

However, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki,

cited non-availability of copies of details of the reports as reason for stepping it down.

According to Saraki, “some members have not got printed copies of the details and I have directed the Clerk of the Senate to make sure that latest by Monday (yesterday) we all have printed copies so that everybody can see the details of the budget, and by so doing we can now pass it next Tuesday “We don’t want to run into a problem where we pass it without details and our colleagues will start to comment. So, Clerk, ensure that everybody has copies of

the details by Monday and we will pass it on Tuesday”, he further said.

Final report on the budget estimates was laid before the Senate by the Chairman of its Appropriation Committee, Senator Danjuma Goje penultimate Wednesday before the upper legislative chamber went on one week Easter break.

Meanwhile, the upper legislative chamber has directed Enelamah and the Acting Managing Director of NEPZA, Nongo to return N14.3 billion diverted from 2017 NEPZA budget into the national treasury .

The Senate in a letter written

to that effect by Chairman of its Committee on Trade and Investment , Senator Mohammed Sabo ( Jigawa South-west), warned the minister and NEPZA boss to either comply with the directive or be ready to face legislative action against them .

Sabo explained to reporters yesterday evening that the anger of the committee was not unconnected with alleged fraudulent way the diverted N14.3billion was hurriedly transfered from NEPZA account into that of a private company called Nigerian Special Economic Zone Company Account between April 8 and

10, this year despite earlier warning .

The diverted money, he said, was first warehoused in NEPZA’s account with the CBN from 2017 budget allocations before moving it into the private company account a fortnight ago .

“To prevent this fraud, my committee wrote a letter to the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele on the 8th of this month not to release the money but very annoyingly, the money is confirmed to have been released and transfered by NEPZA in collaboration with the minister into a private company account .

House Speakership: Bago Dares APC over Choice of Gbajabiamila Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja There are growing indications that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is yet to get its acts together in determining the leadership of the 9th House of Representatives, as leading candidates from different zones of the country are still rooting for the position of the Speaker of the lower legislative chamber on the party’s platform.

Speaking with selected journalists yesterday in Abuja, a top APC contender, who has remained undaunted in his quest for the speakership of the 9th assembly despite his party’s preference for Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Hon. Umar Bago, said only some persons in the party who are working to impose the APC Majority Leader on the House of Representatives are insisting on Gbajabiamila.

The ranking federal lawmaker representing Chanchanga federal constituency of Niger State, also maintained that while his North-central zone of the country deserves to have the speakership, he is a better choice than Gbajabiamila.

This is coming as a member representing Ehime Mbano/ Obowo/ Ihitte Uboma federal constituency of Imo State, Hon. Chike Okafor, while briefin the House of Representatives media crew, contended that the ruling APC is about to make the same mistake it made in 2015 by its choices for the leadership of the two chambers of the assembly.

According to Bago, “President Muhammadu Buhari, the founders of APC with the exception of a few and members of the party, know that they will never have a better person than I in that position because I will protect the doctrine of democracy, the principle of equity, fairness and justice; and I will make sure that I uphold the manifesto of the APC.

“If you tear my veins you will see Buhari. I have been tutored by Buhari. You can say anything about Muhammadu Buhari but you cannot talk about corruption.

“I am daring you; you can say anything about me, but you cannot talk about corruption. You cannot call me corrupt. As I was telling you, the so-called Director General of Gbajabiamila’s campaign organisation, Jibrin, sued Gbajabiamila and the suit has still not been withdrawn.

“I don’t have a baggage; I am standing very straight to say, let the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the police probe me. I don’t have a baggage.”

Comparing his acceptability among lawmakers with Gbajabiamila, he said: “I am not supposed to blow my trumpet, but I have so many friends. My question is; I want to see Gbajabiamila’s friends.

I speak Yoruba, I speak Nupe, I speak Isan, I speak a little of Igbo, I speak Hausa, I speak a little of Arabic, I speak a little of Idoma, I speak a little of Igede; I speak a lot of languages.

“And I have travelled almost all states in Nigeria.

I used to be a banker. If you look at my Curriculum Vitae, you will see that I got one of my Master’s degree in Ekpoma (Ambrose Ali University) while I was in Standard Trust Bank. I got another one from University of Calabar while I was in United Bank for Africa, after the acquisition of UBA by STB. I am also a Cambridge alumnus.

“So, I don’t think that when you talk about capacity, you also have to look at what others have. In what way have we been outweighed?”

He argued that rather than impose a candidate on the House of Representatives, “we are saying leave everybody to the field, let your candidate stand for himself.”

GIVING BACK TO THE SOCIETY...

L-R: Chairman, Omodayo Owotuga Foundation, Jonathan Samuel; Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Abeokuta, Most Rev. (Dr.) Peter Odetoyinbo; Chief Matron, Sacred Heart Hospital, Rev. Sister Roseleen da Silva; and daughter of the deceased, Mrs. Mobolaji Agnes Ehinmowo at the handover ceremony of Omodayo Owotuga Centre to Sacred Heart Orphanage in commemoration of the 10th year remembrance of Matthew Omodayo Owotuga in Lantoro, Abeokuta...recently

Kachikwu Asks Judges to Update their Knowledge of Oil Industry Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, yesterday tasked the judicial arm of government to be up-to-date with the current happenings in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

The minister, while speaking at a two-day workshop organised by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) for Judges in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja, noted that the workshop

represented the federal government’s commitment to further assist the judicial arm of government in building capacity and enhancing its competence for an effective and efficient administration of justice as regards the oil and gas sector.

Kachikwu, represented by the Director of Legal Services, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Muhammed Saidu, stated that the Nigerian oil and gas industry is a dynamic one, such that the exploration,

production and contraction processes are complex and rapidly changing hence “the need for your lordship to be up-to-date with the current happening of the industry cannot be overemphasised.”

According to him, “The responsibility of effective and efficient justice system can only be achieved through training, re-training and by attending workshop of this kind.

“The workshop, which is the second for the members of the Bench, is expected to provide participants with new

knowledge and skills, capable of developing and enhancing the Judges’ competencies for speedy dispensation of justice.

And as officers of justice, it is expected that you dispense justice in a more effective and judicial manner in line with our judicial guidelines.”

He explained that for many years, the Nigerian oil and gas industry has been operating in a legislations and guidelines which sometimes are not in harmony with the current trends in the industry practice globally.

First Batch of 10 Train Coaches to Arrive from China in June, Says FG Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The federal government has disclosed that it is set to take delivery of the first batch of 10 coaches out of the 64 coaches expected from China in June 2019 to reduce the congestion at the Abuja-Kaduna rail line.

Government, through the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, made this known after leading a delegation to China to inspect the pace of work at the Chinese Railway Rolling stock Corporation (CRRC) Tangshan Company Ltd.

A statement by the Director of Press, Ministry of Transportation, Muhammad Idris, in Abuja, disclosed that the minister requested that 10 coaches be delivered to Nigeria latest June to relieve the burden on the Abuja-Kaduna line as well as the Lagos-Ibadan line which will soon be ready.

According to him, “We need coaches by June latest. We need coaches that can carry men from one point to another and we need a minimum of 10 coaches now out of the 64.

“I requested for 10 coaches now because we need to

improve on kaduna-Abuja line.

If the 10 doesn’t come, there is nothing I can do but it has to come because they have to manufacture for us to use in Kaduna-Abuja and again, Lagos- Ibadan will soon be ready, we also have to ensure that we get coaches that we can be using, pending when they finish construction of the 64 coaches.”

Amaechi, while lamenting the pace of construction of the coaches, which he described as slow, however, noted that the company needs to improve on it.

“In fact the contract has

expired, we may not have paid all the money but we paid quite a substantial sum and therefore they should construct speedily.

“The contract was signed in December 2017 and was supposed to expire in February 2019. The time has expired and there is a breach of contract but we will look at what the law says because more than one third of the money has been paid,” he said.

He pointed out that the issue is not with CRRC but a contract between Nigeria and CCECC, adding that it will be addressed in Nigeria.

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Nigeria to Take Delivery of 12 Super Tucano Aircraft in 2022 Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Nigeria would take delivery of the 12 Tucanno Aircraft ordered from the United States in 2022, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has said.

Osinbajo made the disclosure yesterday when he inducted two Augusta Helicopters recently purchased by the federal government from Italy.

The 12 Tucano aircraft, for which payment of $1 billion was made in 2017 by President Mohammadu Buhari drew a backlash from the National Assembly over the payment for the jet fighters without the

approval of the parliament.

US President, Donald Trump, had during President Buhari’s visit to the United States announced that 2020 would be the delivery date for the aircraft.

Speaking as a guest of honour at the 55th Anniversary celebration of the Nigerian Air Force, Osinbajo said government would take delivery of the aircraft in 2022.

“I have no doubt that the employment of the newly acquired platforms, in addition to the Super Tucano aircraft, which would be delivered in 2022, would add impetus to

the combat efficiency of the NAF”, he said.

The vice president, who lauded the contributions of the NAF in addressing the security challenges of armed banditry/ cattle rustling and kidnapping in the North-east, said the efforts of the service, in conjunction with other security agencies, had started yielding positive results, thereby restoring Nigeria’s pride and honour amongst the comity of nations.

He affirmed that his administration would not relent until every spot within the territory of the country enjoys peace and order.

Adeleke’s School Testimonial: Police Dragged to Court for Torturing Registrar’s Wife, Son Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo The Nigerian Police Force have been dragged to court over unlawful arrest, detention and torture of the wife of an Osun State school Registrar and her son, Rofiat Oladepo and Abdulahi Oladepo.

The police had raided and arrested the duo over an alleged offence committed by the husband over issuance of school testimonial to Senator Ademola Adeleke.

Rofiyat Oladepo and Abdulahi Oladepo have filed an originating summons against the Inspector General of Police (IG), Muhammad Adamu, Asistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Adeleye Oyebade, Police Service Commission, ASP John Faluyi and Attorney General of the Federation for the enforcement of fundamental rights to dignity, personal liberty and fair hearing.

Applicants sought the following reliefs from the court namely: “A declaration that the

arrest of the applicants by the respondents and their agents on proxy for the crime allegedly committed by 1st Applicant’s husband is in contravention of their fundamental right to dignity of human person as guaranteed by section 34 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Article 5 of the African charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act. “A Declaration that it is unlawful and unconstitutional for the respondents to arrest and detain the applicants for the crime allegedly committed by 1st Applicant’s husband for Thirty Three (33) hours on proxy arrest and same is in contravention of their fundamental right to personal liberty as guaranteed by section 35 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act.

“A declaration that arrest and detention of the applicants at Assistant Inspector General Of Police Office Zone XI, Osogbo, Osun State by the respondents and their agents on proxy is in contravention of their fundamental right to personal liberty as guaranteed by section 35 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act. “An award of N1b against the respondents in favour of the 1st applicant, being the damages for the unlawful arrest, detention and torture of the 1st Applicant.

“An award of N1bn against the respondents in favour of the 2nd applicant being the damages for the unlawful arrest, detention and torture of the 2nd applicant.

The originating summon was filed yesterday at an Ikirun High Court of Osun State by applicants lawyers, Kanmi Ajibola, Samuel Echeonwu and Musa Abdullahi.

The suit number is HIK/18/2019.

Oyo APC Tells Gov-elect to Stop Crying Wolf over New Minimum Wage Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the outgoing government in the state has the right to open discussion over the new minimum wage with the labour unions in the state.

The party, while apparently reacting to the statement by the governor-elect, Mr. Seyi Makinde, that the discussion with the labour unions should be left for the in-coming administration, also said the leadership of the unions initiated the discussion with the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration.

The state APC Publicity Secretary, Dr. AbdulAzeez Olatunde, in a statement yesterday, said it is only an irresponsible state government that will disobey the directive of the president and as well turn down the request of its workforce, stating that the organised labour in the state wrote a letter dated April 24, 2019, with reference no NLC/ TUC/JNC/OY/ADM/13, requesting for immediate implementation of the new national minimum wage in the state with effect from April 2019 salary.

Olatunde admonished that media houses in the state should always follow the

principles of ethical journalism by cross checking facts before broadcasting or going to press, noting that an analyst on a road station on Monday during the newspaper review programme, made a categorical statement to mislead the public that the organised labour did not write a letter to the government and that the Ajimobi administration never paid salaries on the 25 or 26 of any month.

He said the continuous display of unprofessional conduct by the radio station is unbecoming and indecorous of any credible news medium appealing to the media house to stop feeding the public falsehood as the assertions of the analyst are patently false.

The APC Publicity Secretary stated further that it is an unfortunate display of lack of understanding of governance for the governorelect’s spokesperson, Mr. Dotun Oyelade, to insinuate that the administration of Governor Ajimobi would set a booby trap for the incoming administration, stressing that Oyelade is being haunted by the landmines set for the Governor Ajimobi administration by the government he (Oyelade) served between 2007 and 2011.

He said that the assumption of Mr. Oyelade and his cohorts was wrong, stating that the in-

coming government is at liberty to discontinue the discussion after its assumption of office as the present administration has not agreed with the labour on the modalities of implementing the new minimum wage.

Olatunde further revealed that in the jointly signed letter by Kofo Ogundeji, Secretary NLC, Mayowa Falegbe, Secretary TUC and Kolawole Eniola, JNC Vice Chairman to Governor Ajimobi, the organised labour had requested for implementation on the new minimum wage for the April 2019 salary and requested that the governor acknowledges their letter and take quick action on their request.

He added that the organised labour claimed that its resolution for the governor to put all machinery into action for the immediate implementation of the new national minimum wage was made at its emergency meeting held on Tuesday, April 23, 2019.

He appealed to the incoming administration to stop crying wolf when there is none, emphasising that government is a continuum and no state government will disregard or ignore a bill assented to law by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, especially when it is stipulated for immediate implementation.

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Alleged N19.4bn Fraud: Dasuki’s Lawyer’s Absence Stalls Trial Alex Enumah in Abuja The trial of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) and four others over alleged misappropriation of N19.4 billion meant for the acquisition of arms to fight insurgency, was yesterday

stalled following the absence of Dasuki’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN).

Others standing trial with the former NSA are Ambassador Bashir; a former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa,; his son, Sagir; and his company, Dalhatu Investment Limited.

NBS Report on Unemployment in Akwa Ibom Voodoo Statistics, Says State Govt Segun James The government of Akwa Ibom State has described the statistics on the state’s unemployment published by the National Bureau of Statistics as voodoo statistics “which has nothing to do with the reality on ground in the state.”

The state government in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Charles Udoh, said the NBS contradicted itself by saying that between third quarter of 2017 and third quarter of 2018, only Akwa Ibom and eight other states “recorded a reduction in their unemployment rates despite an increase in the national unemployment rates,” adding that this finding contradicts the main conclusion of the NBS and renders the exercise spurious and utterly confounding.

The statistics is on ‘Labour Force Statistics Volume 2: Unemployment and Underemployment by State for Third Quarter’.

According to Udoh, Akwa Ibom State under Governor Udom Emmanuel has tackled unemployment and underemployment with great zeal and that the central plank of

the governor’s first term in office was the need to rapidly industrialise the state and create employment opportunities for its teeming youths.

He said: “So far, this policy has been achieved leading to the establishment of 16 industries that have employed thousands of our youths. The Akwa Ibom Employment and Enterprise Scheme (AKEES) has ignited in our youths an entrepreneurial and ownership mind-set, and this has seen our youths applying their creative resources to create employment for themselves as part of our Dakkada philosophy.

“Because of the achievements recorded in the job and wealth creation agenda of Emmanuel’s administration, youth restiveness has been greatly reduced, leading to the peace and safety we now enjoy in our state, which is one of the main reasons why foreign investors are trooping to the state.”

The commissioner said the “completion agenda of Emmanuel as enunciated in the 2019 manifesto will expand the job creation agenda horizon and further provide more opportunities for the people to be gainfully employed.

Ogun Inaugurates 26-man Handover Transition Committee Femi Ogbonnikan In Abeokuta Preparatory to a smooth handover, the outgoing administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has inaugurated a 26-man transition committee to interface with the administration of the governorelect, Prince Dapo Abiodun.

The committee, which comprised of 15 members from the team of the governor-elect, Dapo Abiodun and 11 members from the outgoing administration, was headed by the deputy governor-elect and the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs. Noimot Salako-Oyedele and Taiwo Adeoluwa, respectively.

Speaking with journalists shortly after the inaugural meeting of the committee, the deputy-governor elect, explained that the interface committee was to further cement smooth transition, between the outgoing government and the incoming one.

According her, the governorelect has about two weeks ago inaugurated an economic transition committee and noted that the joint 26-man committee would ensure seamless change of baton between the outgoing administration of Amosun and

the incoming government of Dapo Abiodun, come May 29.

Salako-Oyedele, who commended the team of the outgoing administration for providing necessary information, added that both teams would continue to exchange information that would help the incoming government hit the ground running immediately it assumes duty on May 29.

“We are prepared for the transition and the meeting today, with the team of the outgoing administration is to further cement smooth transition, between the outgoing government and the incoming one. We had a very robust discussion this morning and we are very glad that the incumbent administration is well prepared for the transition.

We have been working on this for quite a while and we are going to exchange information in the next few weeks, so that by May 28 when the hand over is taking place, all the things that we need, I believe, will be handed over to us. And whatever it is that we cannot see in that period, we ask from them and with this interaction, I think we will have a seamless one.

They are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on a 25-count criminal charge bordering on breach of trust, and misappropriation of public fund to the tune N19. 4 billion.

When the matter was called yesterday, Dr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), counsel to Bafarawa, informed the court that Dauski’s lead counsel, Daudu (SAN), was bereaved.

The trial judge, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, after listening to all counsel in the matter, agreed that the death of a daughter in-law was weighty enough to grant an adjournment.

He subsequently adjourned trial till June 11, 2019.

Earlier, EFCC’s counsel, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, informed the court that the case was scheduled for commencement

of trial, saying they were in court with their witness.

He informed the court further that Dasuki ‘s lawyer informed them that Daudu was bereaved.

Counsel for Bafarawa, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), was asked by the judge to brief the court on the bereavement.

Fagbemi informed the court that it was true that the matter was slated today for trial but

their colleague, Daudu, was bereaved and all counsel have been informed.

“The deceased was a staff of his chambers, as well as his daughter-in-law. All counsels have met; this ugly situation have overshadowed everything; accordingly, all counsels have agreed that the matter be adjourned until June 11 at the convenience of the court,” he said.

STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIP…

L-R: Vice President, Service Delivery, CWG Plc, Ireti Yusuf; Vice President and Head, Solution Consulting, Finacle, Mr. Rajashekara V. Maiya; and Acting Group MD/CEO, CWG Plc, Adewale Adeyipo, at the award presentation to CWG as the Business Alliance Partner for Middle East and Africa in Bangalore, India…recently

NEMA, Stakeholders to Review Contingency Plan against Natural Disasters Kassim Sumaina in Abuja In bid to reposition the country against the impact of natural disasters, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in collaboration with stakeholders has said it is set to review the National Contingency Plan (NCP).

The agency stated that the plan review would save many lives from preventable natural disasters.

The Director-General, NEMA, Mustapha Maihaja, commended his counterparts, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Nigeria Hydrological

Services Agency (NIHSA), for their efforts and consistency in releasing weather-related information, including SRP, Flood Outlook and other weather monitoring bulletin.

Maihaja, however, assured the public that NEMA in collaboration with relevant stakeholders will put together in a simplified manner the disaster risk management implication for the 2019 Seasonal Rain Prediction (SRP).

He gave the hint at a two-day Technical Workshop on Disasters Risk Management Implication of NiMET’s 2019 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) yesterday in

Abuja.

According to him, relevant stakeholders can also use the national contingency plan as justification for organisational preparedness, using the roles that had been assigned to them in the plan.

He said the impact of disasters on lives, properties and environment depends on the country’s level of preparedness, which relies on efficient early warning systems.

Maihaja, who was represented

by NEMA Director of Search and Rescue, Air Commodore Akugbe Iyamu, said: “In 2018, NiMet and NIHSA released

weather and hydrological information for the country, especially on the possibility of flooding in certain locations, upon which NEMA and other stakeholders acted on.

“Consequently, the flood affected some parts of the country, which led to the declaration of national disaster in 12 states by the agency.

“The flood affected 129 local government areas and a total of 2,321,592 people. In all, 199 deaths were recorded, while 4,107 people were injured resulting in over 600,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).”

Rivers APC Makes Peace with Wike Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State yesterday pledged their support for the success of Governor Nyesom Wike-led administration.

Led by Senator Andrew Uchendu (Rivers East), the members under the aegis of “Elected and Appointed Members of the APC,” told reporters in Port Harcourt, the state capital that the war of attrition was over.

At the press conference was the State secretary of APC, Charles Bekee and party’s spokesman, Chris Fynbone, among other party chieftains.

Uchendu expressed willingness of the opposition party to accept Wike’s call for peaceful coexistence of the all political parties.

He said this call was in tandem with Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi’s appeal in his Easter goodwill message.

The senator announced an end to all forms of hate speeches in the state, saying “it is time for governance.”

According to him: “Wike’s live broadcast marked the end of hate speeches in this state.

We want to believe that for the sake of peace in the state that Wike is sincere in the state-wide

message, and based on that, days of hate speeches are over for us in the APC in the state.

“We want to allow Governor Wike to discharge his constitutional responsibilities, primary roles of the government are provided in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide security for lives and property in the state; no other person takes that responsibility.

We are saying, we will join in that boat but only one captain will be piloting the boat and that captain is Governor Wike; we will only help him to take the boat to the shore “When two captains are in one boat, there will be no headway.

His clarion call we hope is one that should signal the end of politicking and the beginning of governance.

“It is our considered opinion that Rivers people must now become the centre of all politics and governance.

“We cannot continue to toy with the lives of our people or take them for granted any longer.

“A key indicator of good governance is the return of peace and security in the State.

On what should be the focus of Wike, Uchendus said: “Revitalisation of security architecture of the previous administration is necessary in fighting these criminal elements.

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TUESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 08111813083

Transfer: Southampton Joins Race for Osimhen’s Signature

Top goal scorer in the Jupiler Belgium league and Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen, has continued to attract big clubs in Europe with English Premiership side, Southampton one of the new suitors.

The Nigerian forward who is still yet to make a return to his base in Belgium

due to visa issues is also on the radar of top clubs like AC Millan who before now according to www.owngoal. com are at poll position to land the on loan Wolfsburg striker.

To date, Osimhen has scored 15 goals this season for his modest Belgium side, Charleroi and the

situation last night was that the forward has officially been contacted by the English Premier League side Southampton.

AC Milan had last month reached a verbal agreement with the 20-year old striker but wanted to send him on loan to French Ligue 1 side Lille for at least one year.

The decision to loan him to Lille is for him to get sufficient game time to aid his growth and the deal is expected to be rubber stamped in the summer, when his loan deal with Charleroi expires in the summer.

Charleroi are due some compensation from

Wolfsburg to wipe out the option they have on signing him permanently after his loan spell expires but AC Milan might not be his destination.

Southampton have identified the young forward as a player for their team for next season and are confident of him securing a

work permit using the other means bar the number of appearances for the senior national team of Nigeria.

A fee in the region of £20m has been quoted for the forward and the Saints won’t be troubled by the fee particularly as he is rumoured to be their top priority this summer.

U E FA C H A M P I O N S L E A G U E S ’ F I N A L

Pochettino Dreams Cup Glory with Tottenham Mauricio Pochettino has told Tottenham to shrug off the absence of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min as they prepare to face Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal this evening.

Kane headlines a lengthy injury list also including Erik Lamela and Harry Winks, while Son is suspended.

But having upset the odds to end Manchester City’s quest for a quadruple of trophies in the quarterfinals, manager Pochettino insisted Spurs’ strength as a collective can overcome Ajax’s talented group of rising stars.

“To be in a Champions League semifinal is something I dreamed about. You need to settle your dreams, to infinity and beyond,” Pochettino said at his pre-match press conference on Monday ahead of Tottenham’s first European Cup semifinal since 1962.

“The chance to play a semifinal for Tottenham has not happened often. We are in a circumstance that is not going to change and we must be ready

“It is impossible to be tired, impossible to not be excited to play. I am sure there is no doubt we will have the energy for 90 minutes.”

However, while Pochettino’s stretched squad were slipping to a sixth defeat in their last 10 Premier League games to West Ham on Saturday, Ajax have had a full week to rest as the entire Dutch league calendar for the weekend was postponed to allow them extra time to prepare.

Without Kane, who is not expected to return this season unless Spurs make it to the Champions League final on June 1, Tottenham’s goals have dried up since a thrilling 4-3 defeat in the second leg of their quarterfinal at City was enough to progress on away goals.

Christian Eriksen’s late strike to secure a 1-0 victory over Brighton on Tuesday was Spurs’ only goal in their past three games.

Son’s absence means Pochettino is robbed of another goal threat, with Lucas Moura and Fernando Llorente his only striking options.

Ajax players taking a breather in training yesterday as they prepare for tonight’s showdown with Spurs in North London

PHOTO:

Ajax Roar: We ‘re Not Dikko, Adepoju Count Gains of NPFL/LaLiga U-15 Tournament Tourists in London Ajax who touched down in London yesterday morning ahead of their Champions League semi-final first leg against Tottenham this night have insisted they are in the Queen’s land for business.

The Dutch giants are looking to make their first major European final since 1996 and are just two games away from booking their place in Madrid on June 1.

Erik ten Hag’s side were pictured stepping off their flight into London on Monday morning as they headed inside the building.

Ajax have had the luxury of a full week off to prepare for this match after the Dutch Eredivisie cancelled last weekend’s domestic round of fixtures in order to give their team maximum chance of doing well in Europe.

They cut relaxed figures when they stepped off the plane in their suits on Monday morning.

Midfield sensation Frenkie de Jong looked focused though as he strolled down the steps with his hand in his pocket.

The likes of Daley Blind, Matthijs de Ligt and Lasse Schone

all followed him off the plane looking slightly more at ease as they shared a joke.

Ajax also posted some pictures of their antics during the brief flight over the North Sea. David Neres, Hakim Ziyech, Zakaria Labyad and Bruno Varela kept themselves occupied with a board game.

De Jong once again looked in no mood for games as he sat in his seat and scrolled through his phone while Sinkgraven was all smiles. The young squad have enjoyed a remarkable run to reach this stage of the competition. They came through a group that included Bayern Munich and Benfica before going on to produce enormous upsets in the knockout rounds.

First came Real Madrid, the reigning champions and winners in each of the last three years, and they swatted them aside with a stunning 4-1 win at the Bernabeu in the second leg of their last-16 tie.

They then met Juventus in the quarter-finals but came from behind in Turin to win 2-1 and eliminate Cristiano Ronaldo and Co.

Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) in collaboration with Spanish Football League (LaLiga) over the last two weeks organised a tournament for U-15 players of all the 24 NPFL clubs, tagged NPFL/ LaLiga U-15 Promises.

The tournament is a product of the partnership between the two leagues and, the Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC), Shehu Dikko, insists it has greatly contributed to development of the country’s future players.

Former Nigerian international, Mutiu Adepoju who is an Ambassador of LaLiga also appraised the tournament and concluded that it has yielded fruits for football in the country.

According to Dikko, young talents have gained exposure in competitive atmosphere provided by the tournament and have also enjoyed the benefits of traveling to other parts of the country.

“The competitive atmosphere has been good

for the young players and they can now look forward to the level next of their career.

“The tournament is organised in consonance with international football rules and is thus a rich learning platform for the teenagers to become accustomed with organised football rules”, remarked Dikko.

Adepoju on his part pointed out that the Nigeria cadet national team, the Eaglets have players from the last edition of the tournament.

In his words, “the tournament has produced players for the present U-16 team, the likes of Akinwunmi Amao, Olusegun A., Divine Nwachukwu were picked from the last edition as part of the team that represented Nigeria in the Africa Cadet Championship in Tanzania”.

“It has really brought about discoveries of raw talent from grassroots, thanks to LMC and LaLiga for putting up this great initiative,” Adepoju further remarked.

Zenith Bank to Eaglets: Bounce Back with World Cup Trophy One of the major sponsors of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), and promoter of Nigeria’s U-13 and U-15 Future Eagles, Zenith Bank Plc, has charged the Golden Eaglets to bounce back from the disappointment of failing to win any medal at the just concluded U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Tanzania by winning the World Cup in Brazil later in the year.

Zenith Bank has been

one of the major fans of the team since the start of the competition as seven members of the squad were discovered from the last Zenith Bank/NFF U-15 Future Eagles competition.

In a statement from the bank headquarters yesterday, the team was urged to forget the past and make Nigerians happy by going all the way in Brazil.

“The major objective was achieved in Tanzania, and

that’s for them to pick a ticket to the World Cup in Brazil and they have done that,” the statement said.

“They should emulate what the 2015 squad under the tutelage of Coach Emmanuel Amuneke did.

After finishing fourth at the AFCON in Niger, they came back with the World Cup trophy and we know this team can do the same.

“We are going to be supporting the team from our own end as we have

been doing and they must reciprocate the support of all Nigerians by returning with a record sixth title in Brazil.”

The Eaglets failed to get to the final of the competition after losing 10-9 on penalties to Guinea before losing the third place match 2-1 to Angola.

Despite playing well throughout the competition, their inability to convert several chances created was their major undoing.

Tuesday April 30, 2019

TR

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Price: N250

MISSILE PDP to Buhari

“The level of bloodletting occasioned by the barrage of criminalities across the country can only be happening in a country without government. From Kaduna to Zamfara, Benue to Taraba, Plateau, Lagos to Enugu, bloodletting is continuing unabated, even the president’s home state of Katsina has lost about eight local government areas to bandits, much less the North-east.” – National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, criticising President Buhari’s 10-day private visit to the UK.

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI abati1990@gmail.com

A ‘Private Visit’ to Her Majesty the Queen

“Y

ou look dull. I hope you are good” “What else can the son of man do, with all the problems on someone’s head in this country?”

“What happened? Your team messed up in the Premier League? Is your problem David De Gea?” “No” “May be the Arsenal coach then, because that match Arsenal played against Leicester City, during the weekend, the entire team, from Manager to the reserve bench should be placed on transfer when the window for transfers open. I should ask sef, which one is your team?”

“My problem is not football, please. I am not one of those who lose their heads over football in the UK, when they don’t even know the name of a single football team in Nigeria. I just can’t stand our people’s obsession with everything European. It is a kind of colonial mentality. Neo-slavery.”

“Please don’t moralize. We live in a global village. People are free to make their own choices. If I buy a television set with my own money, I can watch whatever I like on it. So, what is your problem? What’s on your mind?”

“I am actually thinking of going on a private visit abroad.”

“So, what is stopping you? Go ahead.”

“You know how it is. I don’t want a situation where I will now travel and people like you will start carrying placards, complaining about how I travelled without telling close friends.”

“Ah come on, my friend. Must you joke with everything? When last did I even see you? If you travel quietly and you come back, what can anybody do about that?

Sometimes, it is even good to hide your movement. You know our people and their bad belle, envy and evil eye.”

“I think it is just sheer courtesy to let close friends know one’s movement. It is our culture. Otherwise, you would think I am anti-social and that I am stingy. As I don tell you now, even if na small chocolate, I go buy bring for you, make you too taste something from the abroad”.

“Well, good for you. But as for me, I don’t know about other people, every man with his own hustle. So where are you going?”

“Jandon” “Jandon. What is that?”

“You don’t know Jandon? That is the slang name for London. I will just go for about a few days. I won’t even tell them in my office. I will just steal a few days and call in sick. My boss likes to kill somebody with work. I cannot come and kill myself. I am telling you because you are my man.”

“That is like cheating your company.

The company must know where you are at any time.”

“You are my person, that is why I am telling you.”

“You are a manager in your company.

You must set a good example. I am sure the terms of your contract do not allow you to go on secret trips.”

Buhari

“All of these because I have confided in you? Even the President of Nigeria goes on a private visit. He is in London right now, nobody actually knows where he is there, what he is doing, who he is talking to, who is visiting him. That is the President. I beg, company can rest. I want to do like the President. It is a private visit to London, please.”

“I would expect that the normal thing for you to do is to apply for leave. You can just write about three lines. I am sure your office will have a back up for your position who can cover up for you while you are away. Until you resign or leave the job, you have a duty of care to ensure that you don’t disrupt your company’s operations.

You can’t just take off and say it is a private visit. Even if you are going to see Her majesty the Queen, it is unacceptable. It is just simple, straightforward commonsense.

You know I am your friend, just advising you.”

“So that what will not happen? So that the company will not sack me? They will not try it. I am the soul of the company.

I have paid my dues. They all know my integrity is intact.”

“Your integrity is not intact if you take the company for granted.”

“You can’t know my company better than me. I work there. I know my worth. But it is not your fault. I tell you something, you begin to offer advice. I am sure you are one of those people going about saying President Muhammadu Buhari cannot go

on a private visit.”

“Yes. I am.”

“I know. Of course. You are a PDP sympathizer. Must you people play politics with everything? Is the President not entitled to go away for some days after a hectic election, to just go and rest, take some time off from the madness of Nigeria, recuperate, rejuvenate and prepare himself for the beginning of a second term?”

“He didn’t follow due process. It is simple common sense.”

“Common sense. Common sense. How many of your proverbial common man voted for common sense in the last general elections? The common man rejected common sense and I tell you nothing will happen.”

“That is a different matter. What I am saying is that the President of Nigeria has a duty to respect the Constitution of Nigeria. Whenever he wants to travel, he must inform the National Assembly and hand over to the Vice President who will act on his behalf. The Constitution does not recognize “a private visit.” The President Continued on page 34

RIGHT OF REPLY

Amosun Replies Reuben Abati Rotimi Durojaiye

D

r. Reuben Abati, a one-time Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Guardian Newspaper, an ex-presidential spokesman, a former Deputy Governorship candidate on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a presenter on Arise Television, who is also a columnist with THISDAY Newspaper, does not require further introduction. He was a puritan media man turned political proselyte.

A proper digest of his back page article entitled “What’s Wrong with these EndTime Govs”, in THISDAY Newspaper of Tuesday, April 23, 2019, smacks of bare-faced opportunism, pathological fear and hatred.

Abati’s circumlocution in the prologue is a devious innuendo to disparage, spread lies and feed the public with misinformation.

In his intemperance, Abati rolled out his artillery and mortar fire (his stock in trade) against Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State. In doing this, he uncritically and in puerile fashion, ventured into extrapolations and rationalisations in contempt of his professional calling and political affiliation.

He accused Governor Amosun of deploying caterpillars to demolish stalls at the popular Kuto market in Abeokuta.

This is a clear attempt to demonize the Governor and rubbish his accomplishments which have been widely acknowledged nationally and internationally.

His Kuto market theory would only appeal to gullible appetites but certainly

not the discerning public. It beats the imagination how he could be suggesting that an intrusive telephone conversation would derail a veteran columnist in the middle of a serious task and be swept off into impulsive pontifications? It must have been an escape strategy for an unproductive mind; strange symptom!

Without doing any background check of the facts, Abati simply succumbed to sentiments. In his normal professional mettle, he would not have used the information without carrying out independent verification. If he bothered to verify, he would have discovered that the developmental project at Kuto market is the scheme of Abeokuta South/West Local Council Development Authority under its Market Re-Development Initiative. Is it possible that he cannot differentiate between the State and a Local Council as separate entities? If nepotism had not got the better of him, Abati would have learnt that the LCDA followed due process, and that the affected parties were fully notified over a year ago. As a former Deputy Governorship aspirant in the State, people should be able to look up to him for dispassionate discussion on governance issues, not for pettiness and nepotism.

Abati is perhaps even more engrossed with the scoundrel in his figmentation that he forgot he was not doing a work of fiction. Otherwise, how could it be explained that as a member of the Dapo Abiodun’s Economic Transition Committee, Abati is unaware that there had been

exchange of correspondence and telephone conversations between the representatives of the Government and the Governor-elect’s focal persons on the transition issue? He needs to come clean and let the public know that as far back as 3rd April, 2019, the 11-Man Committee representing Government side on the proposed Joint Transition Committee was communicated to the Deputy Governor-Elect in response to her letter of request dated 29th March, 2019. Government had since been waiting almost endlessly for the other side to do the needful.

There is no amount of harassment that will deter Governor Amosun from continuing with development projects in the State until his last day in Office in accordance with the Oath of Office he swore. He is unpretentious about his firm commitment to deliver on his mandate to the people, even to the last day of his administration.

Government is a continuum. He has said that he will not be distracted or condescend to nepotism. In civilised societies, transition between administrations does not necessarily fetter the outgoing administration from its constitutional duties while its tenure lasts.

The determinate of that obligation is not the number of days left for the administration in government but the job schedule of the Office as prescribed by the Constitution.

Only a lazy Governor will be taken in by the red herrings and abdicate his avowed duties.

Continued on page 34

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