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Delta, Oyo, 15 Others Set to Pay New Minimum Wage Take defaulting states to court, FG tells labour Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja With organised labour insisting on immediate implementation of the new minimum wage law, 17 states have agreed

to pay even as the federal government has advised that defaulting states should be taken to court by aggrieved workers for breach of the law.

The states that have agreed

NLC, TUC insist on immediate implementation

to pay are Delta, Oyo, Lagos, Ondo, Ebonyi, Rivers, Edo, Kano, Zamfara, Kogi, Niger, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna, Anambra, Ogun and Enugu.

Addressing workers at this year's Workers' Day celebration yesterday at the Eagle Square, Abuja, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Prof. Stephen Ocheni, said the

federal government has shown that it cares for the welfare and well-being of Nigerian workers by hastening action on the N30,000 new minimum wage.

The minister said the new minimum wage law took effect from April 18, 2019, and that all entities, including states Continued on page 8

Report: Nigeria’s Rising Population a Ticking Time Bomb... Page 9 Thursday 02 May, 2019 Vol 24. No 8786. Price: N250

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South-west Govs, Members-elect Endorse Gbajabiamila Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

SOLIDARITY FOREVER… L-R: President, Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Ayuba Wabba; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN; President, Trade Union Congress, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama; and Senator Victor Umeh, during the 2019 May Day Celebration in Abuja…yesterday KINGSLEY ADEBOYE

South-west governors, governors-elect and members-elect of the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday night endorsed the aspiration of Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, for the speakership of the ninth House expected to be inaugurated in June.

The national leadership of the party had picked the lawmaker from Lagos State as its official candidate for the plum position.

Continued on page 8

Kidnappers Attack Daura, Abduct District Head, Umar 17 others killed in Katsina

Francis Sardauna in Katsina and Seriki Adinoyi in Jos Katsina State came under heavy fire of bandits yesterday as the District Head of Daura,

Alhaji Musa Umar, was abducted by four gunmen.

Daura, the hometown of President Muhammadu Buhari, shared the discomfort with Gobirawa and Sabawa villages

in Safana Local Government Area, where 17 persons were reported killed in a night attack by bandits who also injured scores of people.

Said to be Buhari’s in-law,

Umar, a former customs officer, is also said to be married to the daughter of the president’s sister.

He is also reported to be the father of Fatima, wife of

Col. Mohammed Abubakar, Buhari’s aide-de-camp (ADC).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that police officers are on the trail of the criminals.

Witnesses told NAN that the kidnappers stormed his residence at 7p.m. yesterday and shot sporadically into the

IG Redeploys Kaduna CP, Others over Insecurity.… Page 6

Continued on page 6

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IG Redeploys Kaduna CP, Others over Insecurity Kingsley Nwezeh The Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, has ordered the immediate redeployment of the Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State Command, Mr. Ahmed Abdulrahman

to the Force Intelligence Bureau, Abuja.

A statement by the Force spokesman, Mr. Frank Mba, a Deputy Commissioner of Police yesterday in Abuja, said Mr. Aji Janga would take over as the commissioner in Kaduna.

Janga was until now the

commissioner of police Bauchi State Command.

Mba said that other commissioners affected by the exercise are: Mr. Habu Ahmadu, former commissioner in charge of Intelligence, who is now posted to Bauchi Command; Mr. Omololu

Bishi is redeployed from Benue Command to the Central Criminal Registry (CCR), Alagbon Lagos.

Mr. Mukadas Garba moves from the Office of the National Security Adviser to Benue Command, while the erstwhile commissioner in charge of CCR Alagbon,

Lagos has now been moved to the Force Headquarters, Abuja, to be in charge of armament.

The spokesman said that the exercise was aimed at rejigging the fight against armed banditry, kidnapping and other sundry crimes across the nation,

particularly in Kaduna and other contiguous states.

Mba said the IG charged the newly posted and redeployed officers and other strategic commanders nationwide, to take initiative and implement concrete crime prevention strategies.

Power Sector Remains Challenged, Says Osinbajo Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday in Abuja said despite years of its privatisation, the power sector has remained handicapped in the delivery of required services to various homes and businesses.

The vice-president, who made these remarks in Eagle Square while delivering a presidential speech in commemoration of the Workers' Day, however, promised that the current administration would alter the status quo.

According to him, the federal government would spend energy to reposition and re-engineer the sector with a view to enabling it deliver effective services to end users.

The vice-president also remarked that the federal government would reciprocate the re-election of this administration by Nigerians at the last general election by focusing on critical issues aimed at improving the living standards of the people.

He said this would be done by building infrastructure, roads, rail, hydroelectric power and simultaneously reforming key economic sectors of the country with a view to placing Nigeria on the path of economic growth and prosperity that is sustainable.

The vice-president further

said in line with the theme of this year's workers' day, "Another 100 Years of Struggle for Jobs, Dignity and Social Justice in Nigeria," the federal government would pay attention to the welfare of Nigerians especially those at the lowest wrung of the ladder in its economic planning and budgeting.

Furthermore, Osinbajo who emphasised federal government's commitment to the daily wellbeing of its citizens including their social justice and dignity, pledged that the recently signed minimum wage bill would be thorough implemented by the federal government.

He said: "At the just concluded general elections, Nigerians and indeed Nigerian Workers gave our administration another mandate to govern them.

We shall reciprocate this electoral gesture by focusing on the critical issues that will advance speedily and improve the quality of lives and livelihoods of Nigerians.

These include the building of infrastructure, roads, and rail, hydroelectric power, and also reforming key driving sectors of the national economy in order to put the country on a sustainable path of economic growth and prosperity.

"We are especially committed to changing the narrative in the power sector. Today that sector, after it was privatized, still remains challenged in delivering power to many Nigerian

homes and businesses. We must work as a matter of national importance and we are committed to doing so, to rework and re-engineer the sector for much more effective performance.

"So, for this administration, the theme: “Another 100 Years of Struggle for Jobs, Dignity and Social Justice in Nigeria’’ is not merely a headline for this May Day celebration, we truly believe that the Nigerian citizen, especially those at the bottom of the pyramid, must be the central focus of all economic planning and budgeting.

"The welfare and well-being of all these Nigerians who work everyday and render honest services every day is the true benchmark of our commitment as government and a people to social justice and dignity of all Nigerians.

"We will continue to commit ourselves to the cause of improving the lot of every working Nigerian and providing for those who cannot work. In this regard, the new National Minimum Wage, which Mr. President signed into law a few days ago, shall be fully implemented by the current administration."

The vice-president who thanked the leaders of the organised labour for the understanding they showed during the tortuous negotiation process for the new minimum wage, also solicited their constant support and cooperation

for the government.

He assured the workers that the federal government would continue to provide the enabling environment for productivity, industrial harmony, protection of their fundamental rights, urging them to rarely employ the tools of industrial action as weapons for resolving disputes.

"Let me once again express our deep appreciation to the leadership of the Nigerian Workers for the understanding showed during and after the negotiations of the new National Minimum Wage.

We shall continue to provide the enabling environment for higher productivity, industrial peace and harmony, as well as a congenial atmosphere for effective collective bargaining amongst trade unions and employers, while also protecting fundamental rights and other lawful rights of the Nigerian people and especially people who are at work.

"Workers shall be called upon to play greater roles in supporting the government to attain all these goals I have stated. Industrial peace is central to economic stability.

Every industrial disruption costs the national economy very dearly in money and man-hours that are lost.

"It is for this reason that I urge all actors in the industrial relations system to be more circumspect, patriotic and ethical in the use

of industrial actions as tools for resolving workplace crisis and addressing grievances.

Industrial actions, because of the huge economic and social costs, must be the last, not the first option for resolving disputes," he added.

The vice-president recalled that when the current administration came on board in 2015, it was confronted with acute economic challenges.

However, he said despite such challenges, it was determined not to retrench any worker, a principle he said has been sustained till date.

According to him, instead of falling into the temptation of retrenching workers, it rather proceeded to provide bail-out funds for states to enable them pay workers' salaries, pointing out further that the federal government paid outstanding pensions to former workers as well as various arrears and allowances that civil servants were owed.

The vice-president then proceeded to reel out what he considered as the achievements of the federal government particularly its social investment programmes which he described as the largest in Africa. “On assumption of office in 2015, in spite of the daunting economic challenges, which confronted us at the time, we ensured that no worker was retrenched across the country. We further kept

faith with this commitment by providing bailout funds for States unable to pay salaries and other benefits in order to pay accumulated arrears. We also released the Paris Club refunds owed since 2005 to make sure workers were not owed anything.

"We also ensured the payment of outstanding benefits of retrenched Nigerian Airways workers owed for decades. We also ensured the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), also paid arrears owed to parastatals and civil service pensioners covering 101,393 civil service pensioners on all grade levels and 76,310 parastatals pensioners across 186 agencies.

"This is in addition to arrears paid to pensioners in the police and customs service in 2016 and 2018.

Our administration also settled the issue of benefits of Nigerian Armed Forces and paramilitary personnel who were dismissed and later pardoned for participating on the side of the secession in the course of the Civil War from 1967-1970. All of these veterans have now been paid their benefits.

"Our social investment programmes is the largest of its kind in Africa, and it is directed at ensuring that we are able to provide opportunities in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy," the vicepresident submitted.

of houses and rustled animals."

He said police patrol team were later dispatched to the scene and engaged the hoodlums in gun duel and chased them out of the villages.

Isah added that the command in collaboration with other security agencies was doing everything humanly possible to put an end to banditry and other heinous crime in the state.

THISDAY reliably gathered that those who lost their lives were buried at 10.a.m. yesterday, according to Islamic injunctions, while those who sustained injuries are receiving treatment in various hospitals and homes.

of Plateau State.

Confirming the attacks in a statement made available to journalists in Jos yesterday, the state PPRO, Mr. Mathias Terna Tyopev, said 12 other cattle were killed, while another 11 were rustled during the attacks, which occurred in Billi and Ariri villages, Miango District of the LGAs. THISDAY gathered that the losses suffered by the herders may be a reprisal for an earlier attack in the community by gunmen suspected to be Fulani, who killed three persons and injured several others, including a seven- month-old baby.

"We received an information on 29/04 /2019 at about 8a.m. to the effect that unknown gunmen attacked Maiyanga area of Miango district. As a result, one Jummai Jah (female), and Emmanuel Ishaya (male), were killed. While a seven-month-old girl, Tabitha, survived with a neck injury and is receiving treatment

at Enos Hospital at Miango.

"The information also emphasised that Monday Audu of Rotsu village also in Miango district was shot and matcheted to death.

"While the investigation into these crimes were ongoing, the command on 30/04 /2019 at about 7.30 a.m, received information that about 319 cattle were attacked and killed, while 11 cattle were rustled.

"Two cattle rearers - one Mubarak Yakubu and one Shehu Saidu, both male of different addresses were missing. All these allegedly took place in Billi and Ariri in Miango District.

"The command has mobilised a search-and-rescue team to rescue the missing rearers, while efforts are on the way to track and arrest the perpetrators of these dastardly acts.

"The command has also mobilised a combined team of Police Mobile Force (PMF) and detective personnel to the affected areas to maintain law and order."

KIDNAPPERS ATTACK DAURA, ABDUCT DISTRICT HEAD, UMAR air, scaring the hell out of bystanders, who scampered for safety.

Umar had just returned from the mosque where he took part in the evening prayer when the incident happened.

He was sitting in front of his house with some people when the gun totting men came.

A witness told NAN that the kidnappers came in a Peugeot 406 saloon car.

After the gunmen left, the Daura Council Chairman Malam Abba Mato, and hundreds of sympathisers came to Umar’s residence, to discuss the incident.

17 Others Katsina

Killed

in

In a related development, bandits struck again on Tuesday night in Gobirawa and Sabawa villages in Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State, killing no fewer than 17 people with several others sustaining injuries.

The member representing Safana constituency at the Katsina State House of Assembly, Hon. Abduljalal Runka, who confirmed the development to journalists yesterday, said the armed bandits in their dozens stormed the villages on motorbikes shooting sporadically.

He explained that the bandits started their dastardly acts in Gobirawa village where most of the victims were killed and later moved to Sabawa in the early hours of yesterday, leaving many women and children missing.

According to him, "They entered the villages yesterday, killed people and burnt houses and shops. As of now, we have 17 corpses on the ground and we are still sorting out. On Friday they entered another village called Ilela and killed two children.

"The federal government should come to our aid.

What the bandits are doing in Zamfara is what

they are doing in Katsina.

Even yesterday, I moved a motion on the issue at the state Assembly. It is necessary for federal government to focus its attention in Katsina State."

The lawmaker reiterated that the measures taken by the federal government to tackle the menace in Zamfara State should be extended to Katsina State in order to end what he described as deadly attacks.

The state Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), Mr. Gambo Isah, who confirmed the incident said police personnel, including mobile policemen and other security agencies have been deployed in the affected areas to put the situation under control and fish out the perpetrators for prosecution.

According to him, "Yesterday at about 18:10 hours, a group of bandits operating on over 150 motorcycles attacked Gobirawa and Sabawa villages, killing 13 persons, touched unspecified number

Two Herders Missing, 319 Cows Killed in Plateau Meanwhile, two Fulani herders identified as Mubarak Yakubu and Shehu Saidu, have been confirmed missing, while 319 cows were also allegedly killed in the latest attacks in Bassa LGA

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Shell: Dutch Court Assumes Jurisdiction in Ogoni Widows’ Suit Ejiofor Alike with agency report A Dutch court said yesterday it has jurisdiction to hear damages suit brought against Royal Dutch Shell by four widows of activists from Ogoniland in Rivers State who were executed by the then Nigerian military government in 1995.

In a preliminary decision, judges at the Hague District Court said they would allow the suit to go forward, a rare win in a decades-long legal fight, though the claimants must still prove Shell’s liability.

Shell denies wrongdoing.

“This procedure will continue,” said presiding judge, Larissa Alwin, reading the decision of a three-judge panel.

The men executed were among a group that became known as the “Ogoni Nine” activists, who included writer and environmental rights activist, Dr. Ken Saro-Wiwa.

The group had protested Shell’s exploitation of the Niger Delta.

Its nine members were arrested and hanged after a flawed trial that turned

international opinion against Nigeria’s then-military rulers.

A writ was placed before a civil court alleging that Shell was complicit “in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of nine men who were hanged by Nigeria’s military government in the 1990s,” Amnesty International had said in a statement.

Saro-Wiwa, who was the president and founder of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), and eight others were executed on November 10, 1995, after a military tribunal convicted them of the murder of four traditional Ogoni chiefs.

The other eight were Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine.

The four prominent chiefs whose killings led to the executions of the Ogoni nine were Edward Kobani; Albert Badey, a former Secretary to Rivers State Government; Theophilus Orage, and Sam Orage.

However, the execution of the nine activists provoked a

Shell Managing Director, Osagie Okunbor

global outcry and led to the suspension of Nigeria from the Commonwealth.

The country was re-admitted with the return of civil rule in 1999.

Alwin yesterday ordered Shell to turn over documents that could help the claimants’

case, specifically any evidence that Shell paid people to give false information about the activists to Nigerian lawenforcement officials.

“I am glad that the court has found it has jurisdiction,” lead plaintiff, Esther Kiobel, whose husband, Barinem Kiobel, was among those executed, said outside the courtroom.

“My husband was killed like a criminal. I want him to be exonerated.”

The relatives of the nine people have sought to hold Shell partially responsible in foreign courts, after exhausting legal possibilities in Nigeria.

Shell had paid $15.5 million to one group of activists’ families, including the SaroWiwa estate, in the United States in a 2009 settlement in which the company also denied any responsibility or wrongdoing.

A second group led by Kiobel fought on in the United States until the United States Supreme Court rejected jurisdiction in 2013.

Backed by Amnesty International, Kiobel and three other widows have continued legal action in Britain and the

Netherlands.

“We’re not doing this to settle, we’re seeking to hold Shell to account,” Amnesty’s Mark Dummett said after the ruling, which he described as a “mixed decision”.

He said he was disappointed judges had rejected broader arguments that Shell was intertwined with the military government in power in Nigeria in 1995.

But he was pleased the court had accepted jurisdiction and disregarded Shell’s arguments that the case was too old to hear.

However, the judges rejected assertions by the widows that Shell should have done more to prevent their husbands’ executions.

“We continue to deny all the allegations in the strongest possible terms,” Shell’s representative and External Relations Manager of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Mr. Igo Weli, said yesterday outside the court.

“Shell was not responsible for what happened. Shell actually made an appeal for clemency (in the Ogoni Nine

case), but sadly this was not heard,” Weli added.

Weli said the company would give the claimants access to internal documents as ordered.

No date has yet been set for a next hearing to submit additional evidence or a final decision.

The civil case has been brought by Esther Kiobel, the widow of Barinem Kiobel, who was hanged in 1995 along with Saro-Wiwa and seven others.

Shell was alleged to have helped in the arrest of the men, who had sought to disrupt oil development in the region, citing health and environmental impacts.

“Shell has been dodging accountability for its complicity in these deaths for more than 20 years but now, thanks to Esther Kiobel’s determination and bravery in taking on this corporate Goliath, the past is finally catching up with it,” said Audrey Gaughran, Senior Director of Research at Amnesty.

After her husband’s death, Kiobel fled to Benin in 1998 and then moved to the United States where she still lives.

advised that the crusade should be seen as a collective battle and therefore should be pursued in a transparent and holistic manner.

It urged the federal government to ensure that recovered looted funds are transparently accounted for and deployed into the execution of meaningful projects.

Wabba used the occasion to restate labour movement's displeasure over the continued delay in inaugurating the board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

He said now that the May 1 deadline for the inauguration of NSITF board under the chairmanship of Chief Frank Kokori has expired, the workers will not allow the minister to have peace until their demand is met.

The umbrella of labour unions further commented on the just concluded general election, saying the elections were characterized by lots of electoral infraction.

It, therefore, demanded the implementation of the Justice Muhammed Uwais-led Committee Report on reform of the nation’s electoral system as a way forward.

On the mounting debt profile, the apex labour union said workers are concerned over the increasing debt accumulation by governments at all levels.

The labour group also said that the Debt Management Office (DMO) put Nigeria’s debt burden as at December 31, 2018 at N24.387 trillion, adding that the breakdown of the debt stock revealed that the federal government’s external debt increased by 42.69%, from N4.527 trillion in 2017 to N6.460 trillion in 2018.

According to the NLC president, records indicate that about two-thirds of the government’s revenues go into servicing interest payments, with the principal still waiting for redemption at maturity.

"Even the Central Bank of Nigeria through the Monetary Policy Committee, recently cautioned the federal Government against Nigeria’s rising debt level. The committee warned that except the federal government came up with measures to address the situation, Nigeria’s debt might rise up to the pre-2005 Paris Club level," he said The Deputy Chairman

of Senate Committee on Labour, Senator Victor Umeh, who represented the Senate president, commended Buhari for giving timely assent to the new minimum wage bill after it was speedily passed by the National Assembly.

He said there can be no meaningful development without the contribution and support of workers.

The senator representing Anambra Central on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), made a case for more investment in the development of human capital, adding that the future of the country depends on how efficiently and effectively the government is able to utilize the human resource potential.

In her goodwill message the Head of Services, Mrs. Eyo Etta, commended the resilience of Nigerian workers and urged them to continue to support the government She said the president has succeeded in putting a smile on the faces of Nigerian workers by not only approving funds for payment of arrears of salaries, allowances and pensions, but also signing into law the new minimum wage.

considered the experience and rank of Gbajabiamila in coming to their conclusion, explaining that his loyalty to the party over time was also a major consideration.

However, despite APC’s official position on the issue of speakership, other 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.

A top APC contender, who has remained undaunted in his quest for the speakership, Hon. Umar Bago, had insisted that only some persons in the party, who are working to impose the APC majority

leader on the House are insisting on Gbajabiamila.

The ranking federal lawmaker representing Chanchanga Federal Constituency of Niger State, had also maintained that while his North-central zone of the country deserves to have the speakership, he is a better choice than Gbajabiamila.

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.”

Also, a member representing Ehime Mbano/ Obowo/ Ihitte Uboma Federal Constituency of Imo State, Hon. Chike Okafor, had also contended that the ruling APC was about to make the same mistake it made in 2015 by its choices for the leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly.

DELTA, OYO, 15 OTHERS SET TO PAY NEW MINIMUM WAGE and local governments are to start paying immediately.

"Also, private sector employers are to do the same. We expect immediate discussions with the different Joint Negotiating Councils for consequent adjustments upstairs as a result of the movement from N18,000 to N30,000," he said.

Ocheni further stated that the federal government had converted the tripartite committee on negotiations for new minimum wage to a standing committee, which will be responsible for setting new minimum wage after every five years.

He said having assented to the N30,000 minimum wage bill, the federal government is committed to its immediate implementation.

He added that workers now have the right to approach the Industrial Court to enforce the payment of the new minimum wage at all levels of government.

He added: "The tripartite committee on negotiations for minimum wage has transformed to a standing committee with mandate to negotiate a new minimum wage every five years.

"Trade unions are now encouraged to approach the Industrial Court on matters relating to the noncompliance with the New Minimum Wage Act for adjudication."

The minister of state further explained that the tripartite committee is expected to commence talks on review of the present minimum wage six months to the end of the five-year-timeline.

In the state of the nation address jointly read by the NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, and his TUC counterpart, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama, the leadership of the labour movement said it expects immediate implementation of the new minimum wage of N30,000.

"We urge government to quickly finalize salary adjustment across the payroll of civil and public servants.

We have already wasted a lot of time arriving at the new national minimum wage, we should not waste a single more second implementing the new national minimum wage across board. We urge workers to remain vigilant till total victory is won," they stated.

NLC and TUC said they

were not only going to push for compliance on minimum wage payment at all levels, but said henceforth the national leadership of labour will also take action against states owing salary arrears to workers to ensure that it is cleared.

The organised labour bemoaned the state of affairs in the power sector, especially the poor performance of privatised distribution companies.

Wabba, who read the first part of the speech, lamented that five years after the entities were privatised none of the set targets were achieved but said these power sector entities have continued to be a burden on the federal government, with a bailout of over N233 billion.

"It is sad that the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) appears soft on operators and hard on consumers. We call on the federal government now that the tenure of the DISCOs is due for renewal to review the entire privatization exercise and come up with the best approach to deal with this challenge," the union said.

Labour also assessed the fight against corruption and

SOUTH-WEST GOVS, MEMBERS-ELECT ENDORSE GBAJABIAMILA The Ogun State governorelect, Prince Dapo Abiodun, confirmed this on his Facebook page yesterday.

“Last night (Tuesday), all the newly-elected and serving governors of the All Progressives Congress from South-west, along with members of the House of Representatives from the same region had a meeting where we unanimously endorsed the candidature of Femi Gbajabiamila as the next Speaker for the 9th Assembly,” Abiodun wrote.

He added: “We are convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that Gbajabiamila has garnered the prerequisite experience,

leadership skills and wherewithal to successfully lead the green chamber and ensure that we have a smooth working relationship with the executive arm of government at the national level.

“The state governors and governors-elect have been participating in the induction programme organised by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in Abuja. They decided to seize the opportunity of their presence in Abuja to hold consultations leading to a rancour-free election of presiding officers for the 9th National Assembly.”

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Lanre IssaOnilu, had in a statement

after a meeting President Muhammadu Buhari held with members-elect of the House, announced the decision of the party hierarchy to adopt Gbajabiamila as the party’s candidate.

The ruling APC had also moved to douse tension in the ranks of its members of the House of Representatives-elect over the selection of Gbajabiamila as speaker, explaining that he was preferred by the party leadership because he is the highest ranking member in the lower chamber of the National Assembly.

Issa-Onilu, had told THISDAY that APC’s leaders

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

Report: Nigeria’s Rising Population a Ticking Time Bomb Obinna Chima The failure by policymakers in Nigeria to match the rising rate of reproduction with a corresponding level of productivity in the country, “has set the stage for a ticking time bomb,” a report has warned.

Lagos-based investment and financial advisory company, the Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), stated this in its latest bi-monthly economic update obtained yesterday.

While Nigeria recorded Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 1.93 per cent in 2018, the country’s population growth rate is currently at about three per cent.

In fact, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Monday 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, had said the country’s annual growth rate has been at an average of 2.6 per cent from 2010 to 2019.

But the FDC in the report, stressed that Nigeria’s population “is large and growing.”

“According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), Nigeria’s population is set to more than double by 2050 to reach 400 million and

overtake the United States as the third most populated country in the world.

“This forecast of seemingly exponential growth in population is not necessarily a dire development. However, a failure to match the high rate of reproduction with a corresponding level of productivity has set the stage for what is a ticking time bomb.

“The year 2050 may still be more than 30 years down the road from today but Nigeria will not have to wait till then to be faced with the consequences of its population explosion and the lack of adequate infrastructure and development. “Much of it is clear and apparent. Nigeria was recently named the poverty capital of the world – overtaking much larger India, projected to rise sharply as the population boom continues without matching economic growth,” it added.

According to United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the number of out of school children in Nigeria has risen to over 10 million – the largest in the world - even though primary education is free and officially compulsory.

The university system is in dire need of increased capacity as less than 30 per cent of the over 10 million applicants gained admission, the FDC report stated.

For the few that manage to pass through the educational system, rapidly rising

unemployment remains a major source of anxiety.

The latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics also showed the unemployment rate has more than doubled since the end of 2015.

It currently stands at 23.1 per cent compared to 10 cent at the end of 2015. This, the report noted was likely to worsen in the years to come as population growth currently exceeds GDP growth.

“This implies that there are more people being born, and in turn, more people joining the laboußr force than there are

jobs being created,” it stated.

Continuing, the report pointed out that even the highly educated and skilled Nigerians are not left out of the scramble, “to escape the current economic uncertainty for a better life overseas.”

“Canada is the new destination of choice due to its liberal immigration policies. However, this emigrant demographic does present one of the few bright spots for Nigeria.

“Remittances by Nigerians in Diaspora have been on the rise for over a decade now,” it added.

According to PwC, Nigeria has become one of the top five nations with high remittance inflows globally, and the largest remittance-receiving country in Africa.

“Faced with dire employment prospects, Nigerians are fleeing Many Nigerians have left and are still fleeing the country in search of proverbial greener pastures.” According to the world population review, Nigeria has a net migration per day of -164.

“This number means that 164 people emigrate more out

of Nigeria than immigrate on a daily basis. “This works out to one net migrant every nine minutes. Many are sold on the promise of a better life and brave terrible odds in an attempt to reach Europe via the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea. “Sadly, many have ended up in a life of slavery or have become trapped in sex trafficking rings. The number of Nigerian men, women and children being registered at landing points in Italy has risen dramatically in recent years,” the report stated.

UK Warns against IS Attacks on Nigeria UK Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jeremy Hunt, yesterday warned against an impending attack on Nigeria by Islamic State (IS), saying that the rise of the group needed to be “nipped in the bud.”

Hunt described the area around the North-east as an “outpost of Daesh (Islamic State),” adding that the violence could “escalate quickly and... get out of control”, the Press Association (PA) news agency reports.

BBC reported that Hunt made the comments when visiting the regional city of Maiduguri, Borno State

capital, as part of his fivenation tour of the continent.

Hunt said the rise of the Islamic State group needed to be “nipped in the bud”.

Hunt said that the British government wanted to work closely with Nigeria to help deal with the problem. The UK has already trained 30,000 Nigerian troops and offered humanitarian and development support.

The foreign secretary also pledged to help tackle climate change, saying that could help prevent the escalation of the conflict.

He is due to travel on to Ethiopia and Kenya.

Jonathan Leads Observers to Monitor South Africa’s Elections Former President Goodluck Jonathan has arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa, along with election observers to monitor the South African national and provincial elections.

This comes a year after Jonathan led observers to monitor elections in SierraLeone.

“I arrived in Johannesburg early this morning to lead the Election Observation Mission of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa to South Africa’s national and provincial elections,”Jonathan

wrote on his Facebook page.

“Democracy has indeed turned the corner in Africa with many nations holding periodic and peaceful elections, which put in the hands of the people the power to choose their leaders.”

The former President, who has been celebrated around the world for his decision to concede defeat to President Muhammadu Buhari after the 2015 presidential election, has become an advocate for the promotion of democracy in Africa.

PROMOTING AFRICAN THEATRE…

L-R: Producer, Bolanle Austen-Peters Production (BAP), Mr. Joseph Umoibom; Founder/Artistic Director (BAP), Bolanle Austen-Peters; Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan; and Executive Director, Commercial Banking, Mrs. Carol Oyedeji, at the MoU SUNDAY ADIGUN signing between Ecobank Nigeria and BAP/Terra Kulture to promote African Theatre in Lagos… yesterday

Obaseki Denies Rumoured Rift with Oshiomhole Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has debunked rumours making the rounds that all is not well between him and former governor of the state and National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole.

He described the rumour as “fake news.”

Obaseki debunked the rumour yesterday while addressing journalists at the Benin Airport.

The governor is expected to resume office after his one-month annual leave, during which period his deputy, Hon. Philip Shaibu, acted as governor.

“I feel very good, refreshed and ready to resume after the break from work,” he said.

When asked what the people should expect from him after a well-deserved rest, he said, “Just wake and see,” apparently in reference to the sobriquet most people use in describing his style of leadership, where a lot of work is done without

saying much.

At the Airport to welcome the governor were members of the State Executive Council, socio-cultural groups as well as residents of the state.

Obaseki who was accompanied by his wife, Betsy, arrived the Benin airport at 11.30a.m.

Combined security operatives from the 4th Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Benin, Department of State Services (DSS), and the Police had a hectic time controlling the

crowd that thronged the airport to welcome the governor.

Deputy Governor, Phillip Shaibu; Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie; Edo State House of Assembly Speaker, Kabiru Adjoto, Chief of Staff to the governor, Taiwo Akerele, and some APC leaders were among officials who received Obaseki.

All the chairmen of the 18 local government areas (LGAs), Ward and party leaders, were on ground to also receive the governor.

Ngige Explains Absence at Worker’s May Day Rally Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has said he was not able to attend the May Day event due to ill health.

In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Nwachukwu Obidiwe, the minister said: “Contrary to uncivilized attitude and barefaced lies contained in the address of the President of

the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, I wish to state for the avoidance of doubt that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Ngige, was absent at (yesterday) today’s Worker’s Day rally

for ill-health reasons.”

The statement said the minister has been down with flu since last Sunday, adding that “he met his doctors last Monday and has since been at home recuperating.”

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Nigeria Living on Borrowed Time, Says Adeniyi Awosika canvasses export of experts to earn forex Hamid Ayodeji The Chairman of THISDAY’s Editorial Board, Mr. Segun Adeniyi, has declared that Nigeria is living on borrowed time.

This is coming as the Chairman of First Bank, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, said Nigeria can build a policy around migration, and export experts to get adequate remittances in foreign exchange.

Speaking yesterday in Lagos on ‘The Platform,’ an annual conference organised by Covenant Christian Centre, the former presidential spokesman raised the alarm that crude oil earnings are not enough to meet recurrent expenditure, warning that things may get worse for many states in the country.

“The reality is that we are in a situation in which what we

earn as a nation mostly from oil rent is not enough to meet recurrent expenditure. With the new minimum wage, things can only get worse for many of the states and maybe even the federal government that is now heavily indebted,” he said.

“That there will be a convulsion at some point is no longer in doubt. What will trigger it is what one may not be able to put his finger on.

“Therefore, it’s either we have a conversation about the future of our country in an orderly manner or it is forced upon us under circumstances in which we may have little or no control. We are already living on borrowed time.”

He compared Nigeria’s situation to that of a family who depended on income earned from a cow, stressing that the country might not achieve

Ekiti APC Suspends Segun Oni Authors of suspension letter are rascals, former gov replies Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ifaki-Ekiti Ward II, Ido/Osi Local Government Area (LGA) of Ekiti State, has suspended a former governor of the state, Mr. Segun Oni, indefinitely.

But in a swift reaction, the former governor has described those behind his purported suspension as rascals, adding that if a group of rascals signed a letter, he would not give it any thought.

According to a statement signed by the APC Chairman of the ward, Shina Akinloye, and Secretary, Taiwo Ogunyemi, Oni’s suspension followed his refusal to honour an invitation sent to him by the “fact-finding committee” of the ward over allegations of anti-party activities levelled against him.

In a letter dated May 1, 2019 and addressed to Oni by the APC, the ruling party said it took the action due to the failure of the party chieftain to appear before the ward executive to clear the allegations.

The letter was signed by the Chairman and Secretary of Ifaki Ward II, Shina Akinloye and Ogunyemi Taiwo , respectively, and 24 other executive members in the ward.

The APC executive in Ido / Osi LGA, through its Assistant Financial Secretary, and Assistant Organising Secretary, Messrs A. Suleiman and Olanrewaju Olamope, signed the letter, respectively .

Apart from being a former governor, Oni also served as the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the party under the tenure of Chief John Oyegun.

The letter, which is titled: ‘Suspension from All Progressives Congress Ward II, Ifaki Ekiti.’

The letter reads: “Subject to Article 21 Subsections I, II and X of the APC Constitution 2014 as amended, we the undersigned executive members of the APC hereby suspend you indefinitely from our great party, based on your refusal to honour our invitation for investigation and fact-finding into the allegation of anti-party activities leveled

against your person by the members of our party.

“We are by the copy of this letter informing both the local government and State Working Committee of the party for necessary information and action” APC had in a letter dated April 24, 2019, and signed by the ward executive, invited Oni to appear before a panel.

The letter reads: “We the executive members of the APC in Ifaki Ward II, hereby request your presence at the Ilero town hall, Ilogbe , Ifaki Ekiti, to clear air about the allegations by members of the APC in your ward.

“Kindly indicate by informing the APC chairman the convenient time and date to appear before members within the next seven days of the reception of this letter”.

The letter of invitation was received on Oni’s behalf by one Segun Adetunji on April 25, 2019. But in a swift reaction, the former governor said he was not sure of the said suspension.

“I am not sure. There is a structure in the party. There is a way things are done in the party,” he said.

Reacting to his alleged failure to honour the invitation of APC Ifaki Ward as conveyed in a letter dated April 24, the former governor queried the people behind the said invitation.

“Who are they? I am not a nobody in the party. So, I cannot be expected to honour such a faceless invitation.

“Who are they? What is their pedigree? If a group of rascals signed a letter, how can they expect me to give any thought to such? Let those who wrote the letter show face and levy allegations,” Oni said.

Oni had headed to a Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge Fayemi’s candidature.

In his suit, Oni had claimed that Fayemi was ineligible to stand as the APC candidate because he did not resign his ministerial appointment, as the law demands, before clinching the APC ticket.

economic diversification if it does not get to “a critical level of constructive dissatisfaction with the status quo”.

According to him, restructuring is now used as a weapon of blackmail.

“There are those who are fixated on the number of local governments in Kano as opposed to the number in Lagos or that some people are ‘productive’ just because oil is buried under their soil.

“There are also those who are obsessed about creating parity among some ethnic nationalities as well as those who, like my friend, Louis Odion would say, enjoy presiding over the seating arrangement in a sinking Titanic on a perilous sea even when it should be glaring to the discerning that the current structure is unsustainable.

“The restructuring that most of us advocate is not about north or south, east or west nor is it about the distribution of rent.

It is about how we can harness the potential of our country for the greater good of our people.”

He said that Nigeria has to migrate to a place where oil earnings are used exclusively

for capital expenditure in human and physical infrastructure.

Also speaking at The Platform, the Chairman of First Bank, Awosika, yesterday said Nigeria can build a policy around migration, and export experts to get adequate remittances in foreign exchange.

She argued that Nigeria’s population can be an asset or liability, depending on the path the nation chooses.

“How can we turn our population into an asset? We have bright minds, which is why Nigerians proffer solutions in other environments where they are nurtured,” she said.

“All we need to do is decide our population is going to be an asset. And from now, based on the goals we have identified for ourselves, we are deliberate about investing in nurturing that youthful population to deploy what is required for that vision to be actualised.

“Nigerians are migrating, good! We are many, as we say, there are many nations that need people; so, we can turn migration into a policy; we can turn our population into income-earning assets.”

She said the country can train young Nigerians to suit the needs of the world and make unimaginable income from the export.

“We can be deliberate about identifying the parts of the world that needs specific skills, and because we have a lot of young minds, we can retrain them, prepare them for those skills,” she added.

“We can have governmentto-government negotiations, or private sector-led to work, repatriating income to several parts of Nigeria. Our people can be a source of foreign exchange for us as a nation.

“There are countries who work on models that are not different from that. When you have a lot of people and you do not have the abilities, people are not accidentally getting up to go to Canada, to go to anywhere, no!

“Let’s say our people are sought after; but to make them sought after for other nations, what must they know? What must they have? What must they do?

“How do we prepare processes that allow them to be trained? I know an African nation that is

looking for 6,000 teachers.

“Nothing stops someone in that sector from building programmes or investing in finding 6,000 unemployed graduates, preparing them with teaching methodology.

“Teaching them about living in that country, telling them about how to be great ambassadors of Nigeria, wherever they go, and going to make a deal with that nation - to say we can provide you with these teachers on contract - five years, 10 years, three years, and they move.

“If you go to Dubai, most of the hotels have Kenyan in the industry. Why? They were deliberate about setting up hospitality schools, to train people to be exported into countries that need manpower for hospitality.

“We know how to greet people, we know how to be hospitable, we know how to embrace people, we have the natural culture to be right in hospitality, if our people are trained as assets for that industry.

“Our population can be a liability if we do not have specific deliberate agenda for developing them,” she explained.

TO WHOM HONOUR IS DUE…

L-R: Chairman, Island Club, Olabanji Oladapo; awardee, Ola-Oluwa Edward Akerele; former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro; and past Chairman, Island Club, Prince Demola Dada, at the club’s 2019 Easter/new members and chairman’s dance in Lagos ...yesterday ETOP UKUTT

Military Goes Tough on Presidential Committee Member over Boko Haram’s Earning Claim Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja The Nigerian military yesterday alleged that a member of Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI), Dr. Sidi Mohammed, who claimed that members of the deadly terrorist group, Boko Haram earn more allowances than the Nigerian soldiers, is a sympathiser of the group.

The military alleged that the deadly activities of Boko Haram terrorism was being “aided and abetted by sympathisers such as Dr. Sidi Ali Mohammed.’’

Mohammed was quoted as saying that “I will give you an example. The Nigerian military, for example, gets N1, 000 per day for being in the North-east, at the war front, as an allowance.

In the same North-east, if you are a member of Boko Haram you get $3,000 per day, as

allowance. So, it is lucrative.

“Sometimes they even give you money upfront. So we must do something about the youths from where they are recruiting,” Mohammed was quoted as saying.

However, in a statement issued yesterday by the spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Col. Sagir Musa, the army described Mohammed’s claim as unfounded.

Musa revealed that “steps are being taken to formally report him to the appropriate authorities to further substantiate these unfounded allegations.’’

The army’s spokesman said Mohammed’s claim “is not true, pure lie and highly irresponsible comment coming from a supposedly knowledgeable person of his calibre.’’

According to the statement, “in it, he alleged that the criminal

terrorist group members earn as much as $3,000 daily, as against the Nigerian soldier who is paid N1, 000 only.

This is not true, pure lie and highly irresponsible comment coming from a supposedly knowledgeable person of his calibre.

“It is also criminal and preposterous to compare the gallant soldiers of our Armed Forces with the rag tag terrorists’ criminal gang. Indeed, there is no such basis at all between the outlawed criminal terrorist who commits crime against humanity and our highly patriotic, courageous and brave soldiers whose sacrifice cannot be quantified.’’

Musa added that over time, the army had been alerting the world that the menace of Boko Haram terrorism was being “aided and abetted by

sympathisers such as Dr. Sidi Ali Mohammed.’’

“He must have been associated with the terrorists’ group beyond what he may want the public to know for having the knowledge of how much a terrorist earns per day to commit atrocities against fellow Nigerians and other innocent people including women and children.’’

The army spokesman alleged that Mohammed’s statement could be part of a deliberate attempt to demoralise patriotic troops serving their fatherland so that the terrorists can take advantage of it.

“It is also a way of swaying the gullible youths to believe the lies of Boko Haram terrorists as being peddled by him. And no amount of distraction or terrorists’ propaganda will dissuade it,” Musa said.

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Nigeria, UK to Explore Naira-denominated Financial Instruments Esther Oluku Nigeria and the United Kingdom have agreed to fast-track key regulation to deepen the insurance market, expand the digital economy and explore Naira-denominated financial instruments in collaboration with the City of London.

Both countries are also to endeavour to accelerate progress on franchise regulation to facilitate British brands positioning and investments that deliver sustainable new jobs in Nigeria.

These are part of the communique signed at the First Economic Development Forum (EDF) of both countries in Abuja on Tuesday by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, and Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, who led the UK delegation.

The forum was launched in August 2018 by President Muhammadu Buhari and Prime Minister Theresa May, as a platform to foster economic and development ties between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

Tuesday’s event was to take stock of progress against the joint commitments made and celebrate the successes achieved so far.

Other areas agreed in the communique include the acknowledgment of sustained improvements in the efficiency of Nigeria’s international airports, the Government of the United Kingdom’s ability to increase airfreight capacity of its national carriers, and enable Nigeria’s non-oil exporters to reach third market destinations via London.

This joint effort supports Nigeria’s export diversification drive, pending critical trade facilitation improvements in the Nigerian ports.

The forum also agreed on the need for extensive work to consult the Nigerian and British business community and identify critical joint workstreams and key actions needed to boost bilateral trade and investment.

It also expressed the commitment of UK to provide more technical assistance in support of the government of Nigeria’s efforts to diversify exports, attract investment and create jobs by improving the business environment.

The joint delegation also stressed the need for opportunities to showcase high-quality Nigerian and British goods and services in their respective markets, and for more Nigerian exports to

comply with global standards for better bilateral trade and investment.

Others are Nigeria’s commitment to continue the reforms and improvements in making the country’s operating environment conducive for businesses and investments; and collaboration to achieve a successful Africa Investment Summit in the United Kingdom in 2020 and to use the opportunity to present a strong pipeline of investable projects in Nigeria that seek partnership with British investors.

Towards this end, senior ministers shall meet in London before the end of 2019 for the second meeting of the EDF as an important step towards an Africa Investment Summit to create the conditions for more British investment in Nigeria, including in manufacturing and services.

Speaking at the Forum, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who supervised the signing of the communique, expressed his pleasure at the progress achieved in implementing the EDF since President Buhari and Prime Minister Theresa May initiated it in 2018.

He observed that despite the deep and long-standing relationship between Nigeria and United Kingdom, the current level of trade and investments between the two countries is materially below the potential the relationship suggests, given that Africa represents only two per cent of the UK’s trade relationships, and Nigeria represents only a tenth of that.

He called for all hands to be on deck to ensure that “we foster the right environment to grow the level of bilateral trade and investment between our great countries.”

He said the federal government is not unmindful of the challenges that have hindered the business and investment environment in Nigeria, adding that it has taken these challenges as opportunities and have made the extensive build-out of modern infrastructure (both hard and soft) as the main thrust of the President Buhari’s administration.

Recalling some of the achievements so far made, he said: “In the last three years, the government has allocated and disbursed over N3.5 trillion from the National budgets to infrastructure.

“We are committed to improving Nigeria’s

competitiveness and making our country one of the easiest places to do business globally.

The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) under my leadership, has made significant progress in reducing bottlenecks, eliminating redundancies and increasing transparency across government ministries department and agencies.

“There is undeniable evidence that this administration is repositioning the Nigerian economy for true growth and shared prosperity. We have seen increased investor interest in Nigeria by the investment announcements that we track,

Senator Ademola Adeleke’s classmates at Ede Muslim Grammar School , Ede between 1976 and 1981 yesterday clarified that the senator completed five-year studies with them at the college, stressing that they would not allow themselves to be used as agents of mischief by some politicians in the state.

Speaking at a joint press conference addressed by their leader, Dr, Olapade Mukaila, the group stressed that all attempts by some people to run down Adeleke were only

attempts to try God’s will.

Mukaila stressed that Adeleke gave a good account of himself as a classmate.

“Adeleke was and still one of them as a member of 1976/1981 set; unlike a top Nigerian who allegedly claimed to have attended the prestigious Government College, Ibadan, but has no classmates or set to point to as his own,” he said.

The spokesman equally noted that all the classmates sat for the final West Africa Examination and had their names, including Adeleke’s recorded in its ledger as

strategic importance to Nigeria and we will continue to foster it.”

Also speaking, Enelamah said the economic relationship between Nigeria and the United Kingdom is special and mutually beneficial.

He noted that the EDF is a practical mechanism to build on the strength of the economic relationship; address challenges and hindrances to trade and investment; and expand new growth areas.

He said “the areas of focus for improving the investment and trade relation between our countries, are clear-cut.

Subsequently, we have highlighted the workstreams

that we will work on for the next 6 – 24 months.”

Earlier in his remarks, Hunt,said the importance of the Nigeria-UK Economic Development Forum cannot be over-emphasised.

He noted that Nigeria’s current demographics require government and other stakeholders to improve efforts and other interventions aimed at tackling unemployment and other challenges.

He advised government to adopt steps aimed at improving the investment climate, one of which is the approval of the revised Companies and Allied Matters Act.

APC Vows to Take over Anambra in 2021 David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that it would take over Anambra State’s Government House in 2021, when Obiano concludes his second term.

The Chairman of the party in the state, Chief Basil Ejidike, stated this yesterday when the leadership of the party in received a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Hon. Ikem Uzoezie, who defected to APC. Ejidike described Uzoezie as the beginning of revolution that would culminate in the emergence of APC as a leading party in the state.

He expressed gratitude that APC now has a bona-fide member in the Anambra State House of Assembly, adding that APGA has failed the people of the state.

According to him, APGA has not lived up to their promises as they had only pitted the state against the ruling party in the country for a long time.

“This is just a tip of the iceberg; the revolution has started. Hon. Uzoezie is a grassroots politician with massive followership; he is welcome to APC. “We shall carry him along in the affairs of the party in the state.

“The journey has started and we are hopeful that APC will take over Anambra Government House in 2021,” he said.

In his remark, Uzoezie said he was at home with the APC and will do all that he can to support the growth and prosperity of the party.

He said he would pursue the

Adeleke’s Classmates Back Him over Certificate Saga Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

with $90.9 billion of investment announcements in 2018, a 37 per cent increase over the $66.4 billion tracked in 2017.

We are interested in these announcements, because we know that if we nurture them correctly, we can turn them into actual investments.

He expressed the hope that by leveraging the EDF, both countries will continue to build on the existing foundation and work together on recording increased trade and investment flows, particularly in the areas where we have comparative advantages.

He said, “the relationship with the United Kingdom is of

presented by the Assistant Registrar of WAEC when he was called upon by an FCT High Court in Abuja.

The spokesman wondered what further proofs the Adeleke antagonists were looking for, to confirm his attendance and participation in the 1981WASCE, having found his name in the ledger.

Mukaila added that Adeleke was the president of the School’s Old Students Association for four years, saying this could not have been possible, if he did not write WAEC and complete his studies at the school.

interest of APC in his remaining days as a member of the House

of Assembly and beyond.

He also promised to woo

his associates and supporters to join APC.

Kogi Nurtures 27, 500 Seedlings to Boost Afforestation Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja The Kogi State Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Sanusi UsmanYahaya, said the ministry had raised 27, 500 tree seedlings to be planted across the three senatorial districts of the state.

Yahaya disclosed this yesterday when he paid a visit to the state’s Nursery for Tree Seedlings at Okura in Dekina Local Government Area of the state.

According to the

commissioner, the seedlings basically comprised of two species - 16, 000 Gmelina arborea and 11, 500 Tectonia grandis.

He said that the seedlings would be distributed for planting at some earmarked locations across the three senatorial districts of the state.

The commissioner added that the land area earmarked for the locations would be prepared in the next few weeks, to enable planting to take place in earnest, to boost

the state’s afforestation drive.

He said that tree planting would boost the state’s afforestation target, thereby protecting the environment against adverse climate change.

He added that trees also help to reduce soil erosion, improve soil stability and fertility, and serve as noise absorbers, as well as wind breakers.

He commended the ministry’s Forestry Department for directly raising the seedling at the state’s nursery.

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

FILM AND ELECTIONS WITHVIRTUE

Ishaya Bako’s fourth republic canvasses virtues in Nigerian politics, writes Okello Oculi

I

n the 1966 Football World Cup in England, television pictures showed Poland’s players frantically attempting to break the leg of Brazil’s star Pele. Poland’s coaching staff had probably instructed them to injure Pele so severely that his brilliance would not benefit Brazil.

England’s coach had a player with several teeth looted from his upper gum to only grab and hug Pele, while giving him a haunting smile into the horror in his soul. The trick was to win by a crime which your opponent also commits.

Ishaya Bako’s movie titled “4th REPUBLIC’’ is the second in a series of productions funded by the MacArthur Foundation for the use of film to promote virtues in Nigerian politics. It premiered in Abuja on 11th April, 2019 to over 300 predominantly youthful and exuberant viewers; with sprinklings of politicians, academics, media practitioners, government officials and public intellectuals.

A popular politician, Mabel King, as a victim of election rigging, rises from her fall into a powerful warrior against corruption in election politics. However, after winning over the audience, she admits to committing a ‘’holy sin’’. A hideous violence and arson at a polling station that was used by an Election Tribunal to cancel the victory of a corrupt incumbent, had been carried out by her own thugs.

The star actress, Kate Henshaw, carries the narrative with an energetic, courageous and dignified sense of responsibility for carrying the flag for asserting the right of Nigerian women to contest and win elections to high executive posts of state governor. She refuses to pay out bribes and threatens to dismiss her lawyer on discovering that he had been secretly colluding with party leaders to bribe a judge.

She brims with boldness and tells her All-Male “party elders’’ that she would challenge the fraudulent election verdict announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) without their support following their advise to her to concede defeat. She exploits her tall frame, ample burst and beauty to bash their male chauvinist hints at a presumed female timidity and weakness.

Bako uses scenes of violent torture by the corrupt incumbent governor of ‘’Confluence State’’ to show his moral depravity.

An NYSC youth, Mr Lucky, is not blessed by his name. He possesses a video of the slaughter and arson at Ikuna election collation centre. He demands N10 million from agents of the governor; naively playing a dangerous ‘’get-rich-quick’’ game despite witnessing the brutality and reckless wastage of human bodies by hired thugs.

The gruesome scene of his torture turns the audience against the governor. His mangled body is later found on a roadside.

The luck in him makes that horrible sight push his female NYSC colleague into a resolve to be the crucial witness at the Election Tribunal. Her own father, a senator, had also been assassinated.

THE USE OF FILM TO EDUCATE PUBLIC DIALOGUE ABOUT ELECTORAL CONVULSIONS RECALLS FELA KUTI USING HIS MUSIC FOR POLITICAL AGITATION

Mr Lucky’s torture also disgusts the young lawyer who previously accepted a bribe in American dollars from the governor’s operative. He offers the petitioners a list of names of killer-thugs which the Police use to make arrests in a surprise raid. His moment of suffering ‘’educational torture’’ becomes another lucky occasion for a surprise police team to kill the governor’s ‘Chief of Death’’.

The movie has several delicious moments of relief. The leader of ‘’Woman Supporters for Mabel King’’ uses dramatic pidgin-speech to denounce the fraudulent election result and the governor’s loyalty only to his stomach; in contrast to generous ‘’help’’ which ordinary folk routinely got from Mabel King.

She blurts out ‘’Objection Whaaat?’’ to mobilise the court, and audience, into ridiculing the Anglo-Saxon legal lingua of the governor’s defence lawyer. Her demand for a carton of ‘’Stout’’ beer if Mabel King won the petition would turn out to be the hook that tickles her tongue into leaking, with celebratory jollity, to a shocked Chief of Staff, her candidate’s ‘’holy sin’’.

Senator Zainab Kure once reported telling an audience at Harvard University that her role in ‘’Mock OAU Summit’’ political drama as ‘’Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU),’’ while a student at Ahmadu Bello University, had given her the self-confidence to later contest and win election to Nigeria’s Senate. The theme of ‘Education –For-Political-Leadership’ for the girl-child at family level and within educational institutions did not get focus in Ishaya Bako’s lush director’s talent.

The problem of ‘Sexual Corruption’ in its canal sense is also lacking. It is a challenge that haunts African women during elections as a psychological weapon with subtle and vulgar manifestations as a sub-theme in a tapestry of violence against women.

Children are only decorative in Fourth Republic. Michele Obama, in her book “BECOMING’’, reports about taking her girls to campaign events as educational experiences. Her campaign Staff handled their fun times. This issue should role into dramatizing the educational strength of those contesting elections. In this regard, kidnapping children - as a tool for breaking the morale of women candidates – would contest for inclusion as a menace.

The overall excellence of Fourth Republic includes artistes ‘’performing the task at hand’’ with non-summoning success; turning viewers against corruption expressed as violence and financial bribes; a flowing editing and brilliant lighting.

The use of film to educate public dialogue about electoral convulsions recalls Fela Kuti using his music for political agitation. MacArthur Foundation is making good investment by supporting combative Nigerians in film.

IN PURSUIT OF TRANSPARENCY AND GROWTH Ofem Uket writes that the reform in the public service is paying off

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ersonnel audit, image capturing and profiling of civil servants through the Integrated Pay Roll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) currently being conducted across states in the North Central, North East and North West regions are deliberate policy of government to check corrupt practices in public service and ascertain genuine federal civil servants currently on the payroll.

This exercise, government said, will ensure transparency and openness in administering and tracking public funds against the age-long practice of payment to non-existing workers, popularly known as ghost workers.

Statistics from the Office of the Head of Civil Service show that over a hundred billion naira is saved annually through the ongoing reform process within the last four years, just as payment to ghost workers, fraudulent accounting system in civil service has reduced considerably.

The IPPIS was introduced by the federal government to capture staff data and profile payments in accordance with personal information provided by all employees of the federal government for the purposes of transparency and accuracy in civil service.

Accuracy by government standards is meant to monitor public expenditure made from tax payers’ money. Experience in the past has shown clearly that fraud perpetuated through faulty personnel claims in civil service amounted to billions of naira, and funds appropriated for development end up

in the pockets of individuals.

As the ongoing reforms in the public sector get strengthened by the day, positive performance indicators had over time resulted into a reduction in wastages and revenue leakages within inter-ministerial agencies.

According to government, the human resources verification for all civil servants working outside Abuja, for instance, the states of the North Central, North East and North West will reasonably address fundamental issues of financial impropriety in the accounts departments of all agencies.

In the schedule, the states of the South East, South West and South South zones verification exercise are to hold in the later part of May, 2019. The idea is to primarily determine the over-bloated expenditure of government and to further give assurance to Nigerians that the present administration will continue to demonstrate high level of preparedness to eliminate corrupt practices in public service.

A few weeks ago, over 670 civil servants of one of the states in the South West region were found to have joined the state civil service with fake certificates and fraudulent credentials; some have risen to directorate positions while some attained the status of permanent secretaries with fraudulent records of service, showing clearly that for over three decades these civil servants were defrauding the state government.

Government personnel audit is a reform process carried out to give credibility and

legitimacy to an administration, especially when the risen wage bills are not checked by government.

The new salary structure as approved by the federal government will not only multiply the current wage bill, but overstretch the appropriations of government that may certainly result in the executive branch of government forwarding a supplementary budget to parliament to be able to meet the new wage obligation of the civil servants.

The earnings according to experts cut across the entire public service, which includes the military, para-military, police force, and the mainstream civil service of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

However, the various steps taken by the federal government through the Head of Civil Service in the ongoing reforms and verification across the states in the six zones of the federation are a demonstration of the government preparedness to cleanse the public sector.

At the end of the exercise, it is expected that government will be able to identify and ascertain the number of civil servants duly employed, and are currently in service and enrolled on monthly payroll, and performing roles and responsibilities assigned to them.

The verification is part of the ongoing civil service reforms progressively streamlining the excesses in public service to add value and growth to the current administration, especially in the circumstance of continuous fall in the price of crude oil and the yet to stabilize revenue accruing from non-oil sector.

Accordingly, the new civil service will drive the needed growth and development in all sectors, considering the deliberate efforts of government to move the country from mono-economy to a diversified agro-based status.

Nigeria is on the path of advancing its economic potential as it reinvent its revenue sources through tax in withholding and income remittances, and exploring customs duties, immigration passport, property tax and other relevant revenue sources.

Similar public scrutiny has led to the recovery of funds in the past. According to Presidency sources, such funds were redeployed to build needed infrastructure like roads, water, housing, power and the health sectors. The civil service therefore toes the path to eliminate all forms of revenue leakages caused by the federal work force.

However, the university lecturers, senior and junior non-academic staff of Nigerian universities have distanced themselves from the ongoing civil service verification exercise, as declared by the academic staff union.

The declaration which was made by the University of Ibadan branch of the union has advanced reasons of its peculiar nature of employment which is conducted within the university community without the input of the federal government.

It said that its staff are likely not to be captured in the IPPIS, and has accused the federal government of embarking on the exercise to clamp down on university lecturers.

However, the head of the Nigerian civil service Winifred Oyo-Ita has called on all federal civil servants to comply with the ongoing verification exercise in the affected states and geo-political zones of the country.

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EDITORIAL The Menace Of Snake Bites Government should do more to check the menace

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fter several months of shortage, some 4,000 vials of anti-snake venom (ASV) arrived Nigeria last week.

“The period of acute shortage was agonising, but we are happy that it is now over,” said Dr. Nandul Durfa, Managing Director, Echitab Study Group, the outfit handling the distribution of ASV in Nigeria. Out of the lot half the number (2,000) polyvalent ASV were produced at the Instituto Clodomiro Picado (ICP), University of Costa Rica for bites from all venomous snakes. The remaining 2,000 monovalent ASV were produced by Micropharm Ltd, United Kingdom, solely for carpet vipers, the commonest snakes in Nigeria.

Cases of snake bites, particularly in the northern part of the country, are on the rise. Barely a year ago about 80 victims of snake bites from Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Plateau and Taraba States died following the absence of the anti-snake venom. Indeed the World Health Organisation (WHO) has put the WHILE THE IDEA TO mortality rate from INCREASE RESEARCH snake bites at 12 per ACTIVITIES FOR THE cent. Rural populations DEVELOPMENT OF ASV are frequent victims as they go about their IS GOOD, GOVERNMENT ALSO NEEDS TO EMBARK daily food production and animal rearing acON SUSTAINED PUBLIC tivities and sometimes ENLIGHTENMENT even in the comfort of their homes. Unfortunately, many of these snake bite cases go unreported and thus do not appear in official epidemiological statistics. That then explains why health workers often have little or no formal training in the management of snake bites while appropriate anti-venom is rarely available.

Regardless, guidelines for the prevention and clinical management of snake bite in Africa have been developed

by WHO/AFRO with contributions from technical experts.

These guidelines developed at the request of the federal government in 2004 are meant to assist health workers to improve medical care for snake bite victims. They also serve

Letters to the Editor

as a source of information for the general public on issues related to snakes and snake bites which can be deadly if not treated quickly.

While the right anti-venom can save a snakebite victim’s life, getting to an emergency room as quickly as possible is also very important. If properly treated, the effect of snake bites is minimal. But the treatment is expensive. A vial of the anti-snake venom costs about N28,000 while medical practitioners put the average cost of treating one case at about N62,000. Since most of the victims are unable to afford this amount because they are mainly subsistence farmers, it is important for the government to subsidise the treatment or even better, provide it for free and make the anti-venom available in primary healthcare facilities.

I 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

ndeed, in 2011, the federal government had said it would make available and affordable ASV but insisted on preventive strategies. That led to the establishment of the Nigeria/UK Echitab Study Group to research and develop ASV, as well as looking into ways of providing free treatment for snake bite victims. The inauguration of the structure that houses the Echitab Snakebite Control and Research Centre in Kaltungo in Gombe State was part of the collaborative efforts aimed at finding lasting solutions to the menace of snake bites in the country. It has over the years developed three different brands of ASV, using venom extracted from local snakes purposely to address the Nigerian situation.

While the idea to increase research activities for the development of ASV in the country is good, government at all levels also needs to embark on sustained public enlightenment, particularly among dwellers of rural communities.

They should be informed on how to prevent snake bites and what to do in an emergency situation. Besides, to ensure the availability of the ASV before local production of the drugs begins, government should import large quantities. It is also important to train medical personnel to effectively manage cases of snake bites early since the venom usually worsens the health of victims by the minute and increases their likelihood of succumbing to death as a consequence of its potency.

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.

MISCHIEF-MAKERS AND THE FIRS

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he social media was recently awash with wild insinuations about “widespread, massive sleaze” in the Federal Inland Revenue Service. This was apparently based on unverified accounts by some online media platforms.

A true picture however came following indepth reports by leading national dailies detailing what really happened. The earlier impression created was that the financial malfeasance permeated the top echelon of the service. Humongous figure of “several billions of naira” was being bandied about.

But we now learnt that it only involved a few junior and middle-level officials and that credit for ensuring that the erring workers answered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) actually belongs to the management of the service.

Again, the figure later authenticated to be involved was a far cry from the amount the social media had put in their screaming headlines. In anyway case, considering the massive scale of the service’s operation involving more than 300 outstation offices, it would have been humanly impossible for the organization to achieve zero-infraction.

What really happened? Since the current management came on board three years ago, a lot of institutional mechanism has been put in place to plug leakages so much that the bad eggs increasingly began to find it difficult to game the system.

Even at the management level, a murmur was beginning to grow that the “fat cats” no longer had discretion to incur expenses under the guise of maintenance. For instance, profes-

sionals are now engaged to maintain scores of outstation offices the service run across the country at a reasonable cost, far below the amount being spent in the past when such responsibilities were in the hands of the sitting administrative heads.

The result was that some elements became desperately ingenious by filing bogus Duty Tour Claims (DTA) claims for trips. Thanks to the automation of processes by the new management, it was discovered that, fairly on a regular basis over a period of time, the accused officials were collecting DTA for trips not embarked upon.

It is therefore curious that the impression created initially by the social media platforms was to paint the management of the service black when it should be praised for ensuring that the erring officials were being made to cough out the money they had gamed from the system.

Given the persistence of such false narrative in a section of the social media, there is no prize for guessing that some elements are out with a sinister agenda aimed at discrediting the service. Of course, the goal could only be to distract the management from sustaining ongoing reforms which has led to tax revenue almost being doubled within three years that the Muhammadu Buhari administration came on board, thereby enabling governments at the federal and state levels to deliver on their development agenda to the teeming populace.

Rather than be demoralized, one can only hope that the board and management of the service will continue to keep their eyes on the ball in order to improve on the mileage already achieved.

Ibrahim Idrisu, Asokoro, Abuja

A FAIR SPORTING CHANCE?

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here was a recent release from the ICC (International Cricket Council), for many an obscure sport, that Steve Smith, the Australian Captain, is now the Top Batsman in the world rankings, as has occurred before.

The difference now however is that he is a banned planner as a result of cheating during a match.

He is banned from representing his country for a full year and yet he is the best in the world?

He and two other players were banned for an attempt to damage the ball so that it would swing differently through the air. This sport like many has been subject to accusations of cheating, unfair conduct on field including racial taunts and a number of other misdemeanours although if people are caught there can be significant penalties. It has been a long time from the baseball cheating and the supposed plea of ‘Say it ain’t so, Joe’ and everybody wants a clean sporting event when victories are rightly won and champions are cheered. Sports have also moved into the political arena with the kneeling to the national anthem so derided by President Donald Trump.

In a world of fake news and unrest why is it so difficult to have a sporting environment when the best team wins and the champion players have earned their praise and titles fairly earned?

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY MAY 2, 2019

POLITICS

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

Nigerians are not Interested in Petty Fight Between the Executive and the Legislature Chairman, Forum of First Time Members of the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who is elected to represent Akoko North-east / North-west Federal Constituency of Ondo State, says the best way to avoid chaos and controversies in the choice of principal officers is to stick to the position of the party

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resently, about seven members are jostling for the speakership position of the House representatives. As a Chairman of the Forum of First Time Members, what is the position of your forum?

Our position as a forum is not different from the position of the party. I am a party man. I have the blood of the party running through my vein. The leader of the party, President Muhammadu Buhari has spoken, the National Chairman has spoken, the NWC has spoken and all other organs of our party are fully aligned to the choice of the party which is Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives. On that position of the party, we stand.

But some members of your party still ignored the decision of the party on the anointed candidate. What is your view on this?

I don’t think their agitation or their position is tenable and I will tell you why? One, the party has to zone the position because of fairness and equity. It is hypocrisy for you to say the party must zone the position again to the North. That is the peak of hypocrisy. Having said that, we all know that Nigeria is broken into two different parts. That is, Northern and Southern regions. The North has the Senate Presidency already, so it will just be fair if the highest position in the House of Representatives should go to the South. If you look at it critically, Mr. President is from the North, while the Vice is from the South. Likewise, the Chairman of the National Assembly is the Senate President. The position has been zoned to the North. And the Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly is the Speaker of the House of Representatives. And this has to go to the South. So that both regions can balance. There should be no marginalisation.

I do not see any issues on that.

Part of their disagreement with the arrangement of the party is that ordinarily, the position of the Speaker should have been given to the North-central or any other zone apart from the Southwest that already produced the Vice President?

Whenever politics is on ground, we politicians play with figure and statistics too much.

Nigeria is broken into the North and the South. Either North-west, North-central and North-east, they all North. On the other hand, South-east, South-west and South-south are all South. The senate presidency, to the best of our knowledge, has been zoned to the North. In that instance, it has been zoned to the North-east. It is just normal, just fair that the Speakership should come from the Southern part of Nigeria. When it comes to the Southern part of the country, we have South-east, South-west and South-south, I think the party, maybe, looked at their strength in various zones. This, I don’t know. APC has only four members in the entire Southeast. In the South-south we have just seven members. I think we have about 39 or 49 from the South-west. Apart from that, the party looked at the personality involved. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has been in the House for the better part of 16 years and 12 years out of the 16 years, he has been there as a Principal Officer. He was the Minority Whip, Minority Leader and is the current Majority Leader.

He has the leadership experience. It is just conventional when a party in the opposition wins the majority in the House, the Minority Leader ordinarily becomes the Speaker. So, this is just normal. He has the experience. No doubt that all the contestants are qualified, but even in the animal kingdom where all

me, you don’t need to rubber stamp to have harmonious relationship. The executive should be able to complement the legislative arm and the legislative arm should be able to complement the executive arm of government. Don’t forget, we are still talking about separation of power. We focus much on separation of power and we forget the interdependency of government. What makes government work is interdependency. That is, Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. Although, we are arms of government, but, we are still one government. The ability to work together, putting the interest of Nigerians forward is what will actually move Nigeria to the next level. I am looking at a house after four years that will be able to come up with bills, motions and resolutions that will take Nigeria to the next level. We can’t continue to crawl as a country. If we can’t fly now, at least, we should be able to run. Criticism is allowed. Executive can criticise us. We can criticise them, but it has to be constructive criticism. Criticism that will bring better results. Nigerians are not interested in this petty fight. They are interested in having better lives. They want the economy to be better. They want jobs to be created. They want a secured environment.

They want this country to be the country of their dreams. That is what the National Assembly will be focus on.

Tunji-Ojo animals are equal, some are still more equal than the others. Gbajabiamila is much more qualified by the virtue of his experience at leadership positions, by virtue of bills, motions and his interpersonal relationship with all members of the House. For us as a forum, we are happy that the party took the right position. We are happy that the party gave us somebody that can be a bridge between the executive and the legislative arms and not a wall.

Don’t you think that the way things are going, a repeat of the 2015 scenario is imminent?

Anybody that thinks that will happened must be day dreaming. The indices are not the same. Yes, the two scenario might be similar, they might be identical, but they are not the same. One, APC has about 225 members in the House of Representatives now and PDP has about 119 members if I am not wrong. With the crop of Representatives on the platform of APC that I see, I can bet that we don’t have legislators that will rock the boat. We are united in our quest to position the party effectively. Two, in our Forum of the First Timers, total in APC, we are 164. Out of the 164 APC first term members, I tell you, we are united in making sure that the party position prevails. In any developed democracy in the world, the party is always stronger than the government. Because it is the party that has the manifesto. Government is meant to implement the manifesto of the party. So, the party is in position to know the best person among its members that can implement the manifesto of the party to reposition Nigeria.

Don’t forget that as Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, I was not on the ballot paper. My name wasn’t there, neither did my picture appear on the ballot paper. My constituency voted for APC and voted for the broom as a logo. We’ve had Supreme Court interpretation saying that it is the party that wins elections. It means that people voted for the manifesto and they entrust the party with their mandate to be able to better their lives. If a particular candidate disappoints the people, it is the party that has disappointed. The party has a lot to lose if anything goes wrong. The party has a lot to gain if everything works out fine. So, it is just the norm that the party must take

centre stage and take charge of the situation like this, because the party is going to be affected either positively or negatively. For us, I want to assure you that we are all loyal party members and I want to tell you that even our PDP members will join us, because a lot of them want this government to go to the next level. A lot do not want constant confrontation between the executive and legislative arm of the government. A lot of them are not happy with the delay of budget passage for seven months out of 12 months. A lot of them are not happy with unnecessary clog in the wheel of the country’s progress. A lot of them are not happy that many of the nominees of Mr. President are not confirmed which is the core responsibility of the National Assembly. We have so many nominees for strategic positions that have not been confirmed. I believe that a lot of our PDP brothers are not aligned with that type of style. Most of them that genuinely love this country perhaps more than us, will join us in making sure that the leadership of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila is properly enthroned for the betterment of Nigeria and above all to give a better country and future as a people.

What are you doing to pacify those that are not in line with the party on the choice of Gbajabiamila as the next Speaker?

I am not speaking for the party, but I know that that we have very responsive leadership in the party led by our National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. We have a lot of confidence in his ability to trouble shoot.

Don’t forget that he was a former labour leader and crisis management and crisis resolution is part of his call or his area of competence.

I want to assure that a lot of work is going on behind the scene. At the end of the day, you will be shocked that we will go into the election as a united family.

What kind of House are we looking forward to in the Ninth Assembly?

An interesting house. A house that will do things right for the betterment of Nigerians, a house that will prioritize the interest of Nigerians and in all, a house that will be loyal to the people of Nigeria. Above all, we are looking forward to harmonious relationship with the executive arm of government. To

Presently, the country is facing as serious security challenges. Some people are of the opinion that the federal government is not doing enough on this. Do you have any plan to bring this to the House when you are inaugurated?

The federal government is trying to address some of this security challenges. We have to understand that Nigeria is a diverse and very big country. And the security situation before this government came on board had deteriorated so much that we lost so many territories in terms of local government to insurgents. The level of crime was at alarming rate before this particular government came on board. But now, we have no territories under the control of terrorists and that is a big plus for this government. Moreover, security is a continuum. Every day of our lives we have to keep improving on security because the insurgents are also improving on their methods. Before crime process was synonymous, now you don’t know who you are fighting. And I think our armed forces are doing very well in adapting to the new challenges of security. But nevertheless, there is still room for improvement. We can say we’ve gotten there, but as a government, I think we are doing very well and I think the next National Assembly will be able to collaborate with the executive towards bringing up innovative ideas that will give us a better result on our security challenges.

The government is doing very well. We can do better, but we are not doing badly.

What do people of your constituency expect from you when the House resumes in June?

I aim to give them a voice at the national level which I think I have started doing. I will continue to do and improve. Two, I hope to give efficient and effective representation to the people of my constituency. I should be able to facilitate developmental projects to my constituency. One that is very important to me is the road between Ikare to Oke-Agbe to Oyin to Omuo. It is a road that links the South-west region to the North-central region.

It is a death trap. Our people are suffering and it is a federal road. We want to ensure that the federal government intervenes.

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POLITICS

‘Politicians Exploit Division in Different Ethnic, Religious Groups to Perpetuate Dominance’ Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Cally Ikpe engage Senator Adamu Aliero, a former Governor of Kebbi State and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory on issues around electoral violence and restiveness in the country

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they want to control political power. This has been happening since we gained independence.

The only way we can stop is by embarking on enlightenment, constant education of the electorates to know their right. When we know this, we will have a mature political culture and people will vote based on the credibility and perceived competence of the person they are voting rather than on ethnic, religious or geographical divide.

This is the Nigeria of our dream and I believe very strongly that we will see light at the end of the tunnel soon.

ou that you’ve been around for a very long time especially in our political history since 1999, I don’t know what you’re feeling right now when you hear issues of electoral violence from many parts of Nigeria as was the case in the just concluded general elections. Are you concerned about this?

Certainly, I feel very worried, very disturbed because really, elections should not cost the life of any human being, in fact even if the prize is the exalted office of the president. It should not be so.

I believe in a violence-free election because it is only when the process is devoid of violence that you can claim to have a government that can be said to be legitimate.

A government from a violent process cannot be respected and will likely do things that are completely out of touch with the people. Really, they will struggle all through and everyone will lose in the end.

Inordinate and unfounded ambitions are believed to be at the root of some of these situations which ultimately manifest as insurgency, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and in some cases electoral violence.

Does this worry you as a stakeholder in the Nigerian project?

Talking about banditry, kidnapping, insurgency and also youth restiveness particularly in the Niger Delta, these are common challenges that are slowing down governance. I am however consoled knowing that government is doing everything possible to ensure that it gets to the root of all the issues. Concerning insurgency, for instance, when the government came in 2015 there were over 17 local governments under the control of Boko Haram with their flags hoisted everywhere. In fact, there was no other authority except that of Boko Haram. You were unlikely to see any police man or soldier anywhere around these local government areas. However, President Buhari like the true General that he is, moved swiftly by reinforcing the military capability and enhanced their morale. In no time, the 17 local government areas were liberated. At present, there is not a single local government under the control of Boko Haram.

The president is also doing his very best particularly on the issue of banditry, in Zamfara, Kaduna, Kastina states in the north western part of the country. In the North-central, a lot has been done but unfortunately these challenges still prevail. It’s definitely not something that can be cleared overnight. I will give an example, the challenge of Irish Republican Army took the British government over 40 years of serious trouble to overcome. Consider what happened in Iraq before Saddam Hussein was deposed by allied forces led by America. To this day, you don’t have peace in that country. Same thing with Afghanistan, insurgency is not something we can overcome overnight. I believe with the kind of antidote the government is providing, we will soon be out of the woods.

With regards to the war on insurgency by the Nigeria government, billions of naira have been expended between 2002 to date.

Many people think this has become some sort of industry from which many people including those in government are profiting.

Is this a real war going on or it is just a business venture?

I do not think it is business. I remember when the National Assembly was approached to improve the purchase of Tucano aircraft from United States of America this was a deal sealed between the government of Nigeria and government of the United States of America. No intermediary was involved at all and we needed this aircraft to fight insurgency not only in the North-eastern part of the country, but also fight restiveness in the Niger Delta and cattle rustlers in both North-western and also North-central of the country and this Tucano aircraft has been put into very good use. I cannot say that people

Aliero have made money out of it.

Sometimes people who are taken hostage, ransom is demanded and in many instance paid. In some situations, so much money is released for IDPs which is not judiciously utilized. All of these resources could have been channeled into building super infrastructures. Don’t you see the gap here?

You should understand that North-eastern part of Nigeria was completely destabilized and government has to come in and ensure that these insurgents are booted out. Government has succeeded in debasing them. They lack capacity to control any local government.

The lack capacity to even attack. They are now limited to what do you can call hitting soft target.

Using bomb to go to market places, to go to motor park and kidnap people to get ransom to continue with their notorious activities, quite a number of them have been arrested, quite a number of them are being put under the program of the deradicalisation and some of them have become good citizens.

Do these measures justify huge sums of that money has to be spent? There are still some people unduly benefiting from this and they are committed to making sure that this war rages on, which probably leads me this question of cooperate conspiracy: Yes, people in high places or position of authority orchestrate violent situations so they can benefit from it, materially or politically. Do you believe this?

I believe that government is fully committed to restoring law and order in this country and that’s why a lot of resources have been committed to maintaining security. Somehow, one cannot rule out the possibility Bad eggs using this opportunity to make money but again if you

On many occasions we have brought out motions to expose corruption and we advise government on the action to take and I am happy to say that we did it at one time regarding the Secretary to the Government of the of the Federation, Babachir Lawal and the presidency acted

look at the posture of this government, you will know that they will not tolerate such tendencies.

We have a leader that epitomises integrity and love for country. If such happens, it will not be to the knowledge of the leadership. As you, its human nature to exploit institutions to their own advantage. That can happen but where it is known to the people in National Assembly, it will be exposed. In fact, on many occasions we have brought out motions to expose corruption and we advise government on the action to take and I am happy to say that we did it at one time regarding the Secretary to the Government of the of the Federation, Babachir Lawal and the presidency acted. They conducted investigation and he is currently being prosecuted. Note too that it is one thing to make allegations, it’s another thing to prove it. Seriously, a lot of things have been exposed and what the National Assembly did was just a tip of the iceberg. There were many infractions in the welfare of IDPs; even transportation of relief materials and purchase of relief materials. We found so many irregularities and we exposed them so that the executive can do the needful and they did.

That takes us back to the issues of electoral violence, Elections have always come with tales of violence in Nigeria since the early 60s to the extent that Nigeria’s disintegration was predicted to come with the 2015 polls. Luckily, it didn’t come to pass. But elections have always been seen as a delicate affair in Nigeria. Why is this so?

Those who are advocating for the dismemberment of this country because of election are prophets of doom and to a large extent they have been proven wrong. With their doomsday prophecy, they believe Nigeria will not survive beyond 2015 because of the way the country is captured. I am happy we proved them wrong.

We had an election in 2015 and the winner was congratulated by the loser. That was the first time it happened in Nigeria. We are growing.

This is happening simply because the political culture in Nigeria is still not mature. There is need for political consciousness. There is need for political awareness and there is need for the elite to enlighten the electorate on their rights and their responsibilities particularly when it comes to election. This issue is the main reason politicians are exploiting the divisions among the different ethnic groups along with the different religious groups to perpetuate their dominance.

When you see two leaders quarrelling, they simply want to control political power. When it doesn’t work for them, they exploit our differences; ethnic, religion, geography and what have you but when they meet they don’t show those differences. They only use it to control the electorate. The electorate are ignorant of the main reason they are struggling is simply because

In the North-west, you are revered as a political father which places extra responsibility on your shoulders. One state from that region, Zamfara State, appears to be worst hit, particularly with the challenges of terrorism, banditry, how are you responding that?

I feel very concerned and very worried about the situation in Zamfara state. Zamfara is next door to Sokoto and Kebbi. Zamfara was carved out of Sokoto state just like Kebbi where I come from. We are one. Whatever affects one also affects the other. If you have destabilized Zamfara then you have certainly destabilized Sokoto and Kebbi. Some of this bandits are under heat now so they have extended or spread to both Sokoto and Kebbi, They are kidnapping, maiming and killing people in that axis. We are however doing everything possible to check the situation before it extends to other parts of the country. That’s why we suggested that there will be aerial surveillance of all the formations where this bandits are situated and I am happy the air force has responded positively they are conducting aerial surveillance and they have been identifying places where this bandit are stationed and they have been striking quite a number of them and they have been communicating to the ground troops who have made remarkable progress by making many arrests. A lot is going on, but people don’t know. We want is a total cessation of hostilities and return to normalcy to the area within the shortest possible time. Note too that these elements come from various places, Mali, Chad, Niger Cameroon, and many other places in Nigeria to team up with local criminals to perpetrate violence on the good people of the North-west.

Do you also have a militia in zamfara state?

The bandits are generally stationed in Zamfara state but because of the heat, which they have been subjected to constantly and recently by the military, they are now leaving Zamfara for Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Kaduna state. They are spreading. Fulanis, generally are migratory, they don’t stay in one place; they are never sedentary so they move with their cattle looking for pasture so some of this cattle have been rustled by bandits, they have been dispossessed of their cows, monies and quite a number of them don’t have even a own place they can call village or town. They move from one place to another. As a result, some of them have embraced violence as a way of life and it is adding to what we have in Zamfara state and Kastina state. The Fulani you see that are rearing their cattle are harmless as far as we know but this phenomenon of bringing people from Niger, Mali where they give them training and carry AK 47 is giving Fulanis the attribute of a violent tribe, otherwise Fulani are peaceful people. They just move with their cattle and sticks. Occasionally, we see them with their knives but certainly not with AK47.

In virtually every hamlet in Zamfara state and even in neighboring states, we have vigilante groups who are able bodied men that have been charged with the responsibility of monitoring movement of people and reporting any suspicious person for possible interrogation and if necessary handing over of such persons to the police or the military.

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

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FEATURES Pioneering Transformation in Edo

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi

Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, Tel: 08152252325

Rebecca Ejifoma reports that the gradual but steady improvement in Edo State’s education sector, is a testimonial of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s drive to tackle the root cause of academic impoverishment, which is by changing the way teachers impact knowledge

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, speaking to 7000 new digital teachers who are graduating from the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST) programme at the main bowl of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) Sports Complex, in Benin City, the Edo State capital

Obaseki, with primary school teachers who were trained on the use of Information and Communication Technology for teaching, during the launch

E

ducation, as one of the key indices for development, remains a veritable parameter for gauging any government’s commitment to societal progress. With the gradual but steady improvements to the education system, a number of states in Nigeria are pioneering innovations to ensure that children are properly moulded to better contribute to societal growth.

This is cast against the backdrop of when public schools were overcrowded, with school buildings dilapidated, and learning aids in short supply. It was a cause for concern that school leavers were a far-cry from what was expected of them, with many lacking in basic literacy and numeracy skills. Hence, government and other stakeholders across the country sought for ways to change the narrative.

In Edo State, since the return to democracy,

concerted efforts to restore the glory of public education have recorded varying degrees of success. As is still fresh in the memory of residents of the state, under Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the red-roof revolution brought about massive infrastructure development in primary and secondary schools. But Oshiomhole’s administration could only do so much to reverse a damage that had festered for decades.

When he assumed office, Governor Godwin Obaseki continued the revamp of public education in Edo, but with a focus on the root cause – changing the way teachers impact knowledge. Many analysts argue – and a number of parents agree somewhat – that the teaching method in public schools was anachronistic and the workforce had lost touch with the times. So, they preferred private

schools.

Obaseki, given his private sector background, knew things had to be done differently. He was unequivocal about his commitment to primary education, with the understanding that fixing the rot in education from the root would drive a bottom-up revolution of the basic education sub-sector. He had to bring in modern technology to classrooms and retrain the teachers to adapt to the new technology. “To fix basic education, you need to look at all aspects, the training of teachers, review of curriculum and refurbishment of the physical environment of the schools,� the governor said, while justifying his decision to invest heavily in education in Edo State.

To kickstart his plans, the governor reconfigured the Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (Edo-SUBEB) and inaugurated a new, forward-looking board with a mandate to

revolutionalise basic education in the state.

Launch of Edo-BEST Governor Obaseki’s overhaul of the basic education sector is driven by the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-EST) programme, a multi-prong initiative that migrates teachers from analogue to digital pedagogy, drives infrastructure development, ensures better monitoring and community ownership of schools.

Early in 2018, Governor Obaseki gave insights into how reforms of basic education would transform primary schools in the state. According to him, “Our teachers will be supported, and the school curriculum adjusted to make it more relevant. We are overhauling our basic education system by introducing technology to our primary schools and enhancing the capacity of our teachers

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FEATURES

Cross section of Edo teachers undergoing training on the use of ICT tools for improved teaching and learning outcomes, a component of Edo-BEST

Obaseki, with pupils of Emotan Primary School in Benin City during a visit to the school. With them are the chairman and members of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB)

Pupils taking lessons in one of the primary schools under the EDOBEST Programme

to instruct our children by using modern technology tools.�

Fast forward to April 2018, Governor Obaseki, known for keeping to his promises, kick-started the overhaul of the basic education sub-sector with the launch of Edo-BEST programme.

The initiative commenced with the pilot training of over 2,000 teachers drawn from over 300 public primary schools across the state on new teaching methods, which involved deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in teaching; harmonisation of teaching and

learning outcomes in primary schools as well as the adoption of interactive classroom management model among others.

In the last one year, part of the gains recorded, according to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Basic Education and Executive Chairman Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Joan Osa Oviawe, include training of 8700 teachers; improving reading and numeracy skills among pupils in not less than 931 public primary schools across the state. She said as a result of this, pupil enrollment in primary school increased by 20,000 in just one year.

Teachers Testimonials After one of the training programmes in Benin City, elated teachers were impressed with the new approach to education introduced by the governor, so much so that they conceded that the old method of teaching belonged to another era.

A cross-section of the teachers said they learnt vital skills in managing pupils, noting that the new pedagogue will not only bring them up to speed with teaching methods but also strike a stronger bond between them and their pupils.

A teacher from Buwa Primary School, Ikpoba

Okha, Mr. Okerenkporo Paul said that the training changed his perception about teaching despite being in the profession for years.

Noting that he has learnt new methods of impacting knowledge to pupils, he said, “When I get into the classroom, I will scan the class and narrate the positive. I will encourage and motivate my pupils to learn in such a manner that they will long for knowledge.�

Bazuaye Hope, a teacher in Aghahowa Primary School in Egor, said a high point of the training was the charge for teachers to discontinue corporal punishment as a corrective measure in instilling new behaviour. They were encouraged to adopt a more humanising approach that makes the learning experience more rewarding.

According to her, “Before now, in our various schools, we applied corporal punishment and we felt it was the best way to correct a child. But from this training, I have learnt that corporal punishment is not the best measure to correct a child.�

The hallmark of the new system is digitalising the teaching experience for teachers, which makes for efficient class management and interaction with pupils. “We have been put through the new regiment of digital teaching system. We now use the Teacher’s Computer to deliver lessons, which is a great drift from the old system,� said Ekogiawe Fedrick, a teacher in Oba Primary School, Ovia South West Local Government Area (LGA).

Community Participation A key feature of the basic education reform in Edo State is the inclusive structure set up to ensure that members of the schools’ host community contribute to administration and management of schools.

Called the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC), the structure is made up of members of the host community and others appointed by the state government, who have been trained to monitor quality, protect infrastructure and ensure efficient management of the schools to assure quality.

There is a total of 11,688 members of the SBMC in Edo State, who help the school management in administering the schools, providing the needed community input to promote good governance.

Confident that the SBMC will ensure that the schools are better managed, Governor Obaseki said the ongoing renovation of schools will be based on the constitution of the SBMC in the schools.

According to him, “We will not invest in any school without the involvement of the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) and the communities. SBMC will now take charge of maintenance after construction with the support of the communities.�

Renovation of Schools’ Infrastructure Part of ongoing renovation work being carried out in over 230 schools considered as critical component in the overall vision of Obaseki to reposition basic education for improved outcome, with Edo SUBEB leading the charge.

The remodeling of the 230 schools is part of the Obaseki-led administration’s commitment to improved teaching and learning methods, and provide conducive environment for teachers and their pupils.

Some of 230 schools where renovation work is ongoing to improve infrastructure include Ojirami Primary School in Ojirami, Akoko-Edo Local Government Area (LGA); Ugbogo Primary School in Igarra, Akoko Edo LGA; Amegor Primary School in Uwelu, Egor LGA; Eweka Primary School in Egor LGA; Olua Primary School in Egor LGA; Ivbiyeneva Primary School in Ikpoba Okha LGA; Aduwawa Primary School in Ikpoba Okha and Uhie Primary School.

Others are Egbokor Primary School, Idunmwingun Primary School, Iguere Primary School, Evboeghae primary school and Oza Primary School, in Orhionmwon Local Government Area, and over 200 other schools across the three senatorial districts.

In his innovative approach in providing solutions to problems, Obaseki noted, “We are committed to ensuring that the schools in Edo State are in good shape. We wanted the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) to be in place so they can play a critical role in ensuring that the schools are well run and that whatever is provided for the schools are not vandalised�.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY MAY 2, 2019

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‘Collaboration, Investment Will Drive AI Technology in Africa’ Emma Okonji in Dubai, UAE Counting on the gains of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in nation building and development, participants at the just concluded AI forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), have insisted that effective collaboration between government and the private sector will speed up development among African countries.

They also called for proper investment in AI technology.

The forum, which was organised by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in partnership with the Minister of AI and Dubai Police, was designed to showcase the benefits of implementing the AI strategies among nations of the world, especially

TELECOM nations that are skeptical of the perceived negative implication of AI strategies like retooling of social culture and job loss.

Dubai’s Minister of State for AI, H.E. Omar Bin Sultan, who spoke on the macro economic impact of AI in nation building, said AI technology holds a lot of promises for African nations if their governments collaborate and invest properly in the AI technology that is currently shaping the world. “With the advent of satellitebased internet connectivity, wireless connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT), and broadband penetration, which are largely driven by AI technology, Africans can grow from zero

level to significant level in technology advancement, if the AI strategies are implemented across different sectors of the African economy,� the minister said, adding that the UAE is close to Africa and would be happy if African countries benefit tremendously through the adoption and implementation of AI strategies. “Our approach in Dubai towards AI is to ‘talk-the-talk and walk-the-walk’ in the most committed manner that will bring about rapid development in the country. “If there are envisaged issues with AI, governments should be able to handle such issues with proper regulatory framework,� the minister added.

According to him, AI technology could be applied to

different sectors of the economy like health, where it is known to reduce the time of patient diagnosis and cure of specific ailments. “With AI, human errors will be greatly reduced and the impact will be enormous in terms of national development.

AI can increase the efficiency in governance and make the citizens happy, which is key to development,� the Dubai minister added.

Allaying concerns of possible job losses, the Director General, Smart Dubai Office, Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, said application of AI would only eliminate few unnecessary jobs and create new jobs that are digital, in line with Continued on page 24

FG to Deepen Tech Innovation in Tertiary Institutions Emma Okonji In a bid to foster rapid revolution, innovation, industrial growth, and sustainable development, the federal government is to facilitate greater linkages between the academia, stakeholders in the ICT sector and the international Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The Minister of Communications, Dr. Adebayo Shittu, made the disclosure while addressing participants at the international conference on Information Technology in Education and Development (ITED-2019) in Abuja, recently.

According to the minister, “We count on the continued

TELECOM engagements of the private sector and interest groups of ICT professionals to support the economic policies of this administration. Our destiny with regards to national development, is in our own hands as ICT professionals.�

Shittu, who was represented by the Technical Assistant to the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Patricks Oghuma, maintained that the Ministry of Communications would ensure that Nigeria continues its good work within the ITU and also ensure that her interests in relation to the national ICT policy was protected

and enhanced, which explains why it has identified the need to collaborate with the academia in the area of research and national development.

He charged the academia to undertake focused research, targeted at solving specific problems, leveraging on its huge students and talent capacity, adding that they should allow the outcome of their research findings to be relevant and useful for the market and national development in the long run.

The minister expressed displeasure over the current norm where universities lecturers are being evaluated based on the number of papers they write and

publish, rather than on practical knowledge and result oriented techniques that companies need.

He described the “mathematics-based science� as a mismatch, stating that the trend must be changed in tandem with the creative economic paradigm of the 21st century.

He however assured Nigerians that his ministry would ensure that ICT professionals are always consulted and engaged, as well as liaise with research think-tanks, relevant scholarly communities for national development.

Highlighting the significance of the conference, the President, Continued on page 24

Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– ÚËã×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă–Ă— Ă‹ĂŁËœ Ă‹ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ ÚÖËãĂ?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ă?Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš ÞÙ Ă‹ĂŽĂ Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÙ ÎÓÑÓÞËÖ ÚËã×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă? ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“ĂšËœ Ă‹Ă–Ă— Ă‹ĂŁ ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă˜ ËÚÚ åÓÞÒ Ă‹ Ă—Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜Ă¤Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă‹Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă—Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ăž ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÙ×Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ ÚÖËÞĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ— ÞÙ ÞÙÚ Ă&#x;Ăš Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă™Ăœ Ă Ă“Ă‹ Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂšĂ™Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ëœ åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁ ÞÙ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?ÚÞ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă– Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ăž ÚËã×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă“Ă?Ă‹ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂŽĂ’Ă™Ă–ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? ÞÙ Ă“Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă‹ĂžĂ? ÚËã×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ËÚÚ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? ÚËã×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? ĂŒĂŁ ËÞÞËĂ?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂŽ ĂŽĂ?ÞËÓÖĂ? ÞÙ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă‹Ă–Ă— Ă‹ĂŁĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă“Ă–Ă?Ë› Ă™Ă˜Ě‹Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂŽ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂœĂ“Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă‹ Ă Ă“ĂœĂžĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă?Ă‹ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂŽ Ă&#x;ĂšĂ™Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› ĂŽĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă–Ă— Ă‹ĂŁ ËÚÚ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ? Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă‹ Ă Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă?Þã Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ĂžĂ’Ă“ĂœĂŽ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă‹Ă–Ă— Ă‹ĂŁ Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ÖÙãËÖÞã ĂšĂ™Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă‘ĂœĂ‹Ă—Ă—Ă? ÞÙ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă Ă“Ă¤Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂžĂ’ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ë›

SAA Agrees for Debt Rollover

Ă™Ă&#x;ÞÒ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“ĂœĂĄĂ‹ĂŁĂ? Ě™ Ěš Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă?ÓÚÖĂ? åÓÞÒ Ă–Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? ÞÙ ĂœĂ™Ă–Ă– Ùà Ă?Ăœ ÍœÍ´Í˛Í° Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ĂŽĂ?ĂŒĂžËœ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă’Ă“Ă— ĂœĂ™Ă™Ă— ÞÙ Ă?âĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂ? Ă‹ ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă“Ă—Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ăž ĂĄĂ?Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă“ĂœĂ–Ă“Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă?Ă? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŒĂ‹Ă“Ă–Ă™Ă&#x;ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă™Ă&#x;ÞÒ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž ĂŁĂœĂ“Ă– Ë×ËÚÒÙĂ?Ă‹ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ? Ă‹ ĂšĂ™Ă“Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ÞËÞĂ? Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ—Ă? Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ Ă“Ă Ă? Ă™Ă˜ ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă’Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ™Ă&#x;ĂžĂ?Ëœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?âÞĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă&#x;ÖÞÓĂ?Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă—Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ăž Ă?ÖÙå ĂšĂœĂ™Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ë› Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ? Ă‹ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă“Ăž Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă? Í°ÍŽÍŻÍŻËœ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŽĂœĂ‹ĂĄĂ˜ Ă&#x;Ăš Ă‹ Ă?Ă“Ă Ă?Ě‹ĂŁĂ?Ă‹Ăœ ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ ÞÒËÞ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;ĂžĂ?Ă? Ă‹Ă? Ă“Ăž Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂšĂšĂ–Ă?Ă? åÓÞÒ Ă?Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÒËÞ Ă?Ă‹Ăœ Ă™Ă&#x;ĂžĂ?ĂžĂœĂ“Ăš ĂœĂ?Ă Ă?Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂžĂ’Ë› Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă›Ă&#x;ÙÞĂ?ĂŽ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă? âĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;ÞÓà Ă?Ëœ Ă&#x;ĂŁĂ‹Ă˜Ă“ Ă‹ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă‹Ëœ ÞÙ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ÞÙÖÎ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ăž Ă‹ Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă—Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ‹Ă“ ÞÒËÞ Ă’Ă‹ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă?ÓÚÖĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă?âÞĂ?Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? ͡˛Ͱ ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă˜ ĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ě™ÍœÍ´Í˛Í° Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ěš ĂŽĂ?ĂŒĂž ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂœĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ë› Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĂŽ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă? ĂŽĂ?ÞËÓÖĂ? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă?Ă‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞËÖÕĂ? åÓÞÒ Ă–Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă˜Ă‘Ă™Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› ËŤ Ă’Ă? ĂšĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă?ÓÚÖĂ? ÞÙ ĂœĂ™Ă–Ă– Ùà Ă?Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?ĂŒĂž Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?Ă• ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž ĂĄĂ? ĂŽĂ™ Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă—Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă?ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?ËœËŹ Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË› Ă’Ă? ĂŽĂ?ĂŒĂž Ă’Ă‹ĂŽ ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă? Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă’Ë›

Agbaike Wins Award

Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ě™ Ěš Ă?ĂœĂ“Ăž ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ Ͱ͎ͯ͡ Ă?ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă˜Ă‹Ă—Ă?ĂŽ ĂœË› Ă?ĂœĂœĂŁ Ă‘ĂŒĂ‹Ă“Ă•Ă?Ëœ Ă‹ Ă?ĂœĂ—Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?ÖÞË ÞËÞĂ? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ě‹ Ùà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹Ăœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡˛ Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÞÙÙÕ ÚÖËĂ?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁË›

Ă˜ Ă’Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽËœ Ă‘ĂŒĂ‹Ă“Ă•Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË? ËŤ Ă‹Ă— ĂŽĂ?Ă?ÚÖã Ă’Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ–ĂŁ Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă– ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă‹ĂœĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă• Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ“Ă Ă“Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜ Ă—Ă?Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ͱ͎ͯ͡ ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?ÞÓÑÓÙĂ&#x;Ă? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ Ă™Ă? ËŠ Ě‹ Ùà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœËŞ Ă“Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă‘Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă—ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ÞÙ Ă?̋ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÚÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁËœ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš ĂœĂ™Ă–Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă?ÖÞË ÞËÞĂ? ĂĄĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă? Ă‹Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ—Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ÞËÞĂ? ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ë› ËŤ ĂĄĂ“Ă?Ă’ ÞÙ ĂŽĂ?ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ? ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÖÞË ÞËÞĂ? Ùà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžË› Ă‹Ă— ×ÙÞÓà ËÞĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ăž ÞÒËÞ ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜Ă?ÞÓÞĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă–ĂŁ Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂŁ Ă‹ Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– ÚÙÚĂ&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ;˛Ͳ ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă˜ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?ÞÓà Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă?Ě‹ Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?˛ˏ

“In Nigeria and in most sub-Saharan African countries, telecoms operators are encouraged to tap into the utilisation of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) for rural rollout�

Head, sub-Saharan Africa at the GSMA,

Mr. Akinwale Goodluck

24

T H I S D AY Ëž Í°Ëœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

‘COLLABORATION, INVESTMENT WILL DRIVE AI TECHNOLOGY IN AFRICA’

the current technology evolution that is fast driving AI across globe.

Different panel sessions at the forum came up with options in recent survey that 41 per cent of consumers believe that AI would enhance business life someday and that AI technology could actually enhance productivity by 40 per cent.

The panellists explained that 84 per cent of global business organisations believe that AI would give them competitive advantage.

Issues were however raised on government policy and regulation on up-coming technologies like AI. The panellists argued that any country that regulates AI technology, is likely to stifle its growth.

The Chief Technology Officer and Director of IBM-MIT Lab for IBM, David Cox was of the view that regulatory guideline would help in controlling grey areas of the AI technology, but warned that over regulation may likely stifle its growth.

He said public trust on private sector players that would drive AI growth must but maintained to grow AI adoption in every nation. “Countries must develop ethical framework through the private sector operators, about regulation that will drive growth through AI adoption,�

Cox said.

FG TO DEEPEN TECH INNOVATION IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS Academic Information Technology Professionals (AITP), Prof.

A.A Obiniyi, said the aim of the AITP was to enhance quality education and ensure high impact research in computer science, information technology and related disciplines, with interest in use of information technology to enhance national development.

He pointed out that the time has come for Nigeria to set a pace for the establishment of professionalism in the Information Technology (IT), teaching and related discipline and must therefore brainstorm on how to put Nigeria on the global map by looking into what we have to get what we need.

NCC Advocates Unifying Mechanism for Telcos, Stakeholders Stories by Emma Okonji The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called for a unifying mechanism between telecoms operators (Telcos) and industry stakeholders that will serve as alternative source of revenue and boost their financial capacities.

NCC said the re-examination of their current business model should also be done in order to break new grounds.

Executive Vice Chairman/ CEO of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, made the call at the Vanguard Economy Forum, which held in Lagos recently, with the theme: “Unlocking the Revenue and Growth Opportunities in the Telecoms Sector in a changing Business Model and Digital Technology Environment- Role Of Regulator, Operators and Over the Top Technology (OTT) Service Providers.�

According to Danbatta, “Telcos should begin to work closely with vendors and other stakeholders in the value chain in figuring out new models that best serve their mutual interest while delivering maximum value to customers. “Telcos need to re-examine their business model and break new grounds. They should move from providers of connectivity to facilitating and creating content which can be passed through the Value Added Service (VAS) aggregator. “They should continue to stretch the boundaries of what current revenue models allow and consider to start exploring Business-to-Business-

to-Customer (B2B2C) models, which seems to be where the future is going as against the B2B and B2C models of today.�

Danbatta who was represented by the Head, Head, Technical Standards and Network Integrity at NCC, Bako Wakil, emphasised the need for telcos and vendors to continue to utilise their core assets such as the ability to implement complex Information

Technology (IT) systems and connectivity in order to provide ecosystem to other sectors.

He urged the regulator to innovatively put all industry players in the telecom system on equal pedestal. “The communications regulator has to figure out innovative ways on how to create a more level playing field for all industry players in the telecom industry ecosystem.

Telcos and other players in the Information and Communications a Technology (ICT) ecosystem need to constantly challenge their business model and the notions of the role in the ecosystem if they are to truly innovate new business models. “Agility must be their watchword. Vendors must exert effort to assist Telcos to come up with Win-win business

models with other players in the value chain, as success in such ventures will mean increase in data traffic going through the Telco network. “This translates into more business for the vendors.

At the end of the day, the innovative partnership of all players in the telecommunications ecosystem will result in a win-win solution for all�

Danbatta said.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

L-R: Wealth Tech & Reg Tech Advisor, Bolt.Now, Urs Bolt; Group Executive, Retail Banking North, FirstBank,Shehu Aliyu; Group Executive, Retail Banking South, Nnaemeka Ejeh; Deputy Managing Director, FirstBank,Gbenga Shobo; Group Executive, Retail Banking Lagos and West, Tunde Owolabi and International Resource Director, The Asian Banker, Gordian Gaeta, at the presentation of an award to FirstBank during Asian Banker Award in Lagos‌recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

CBN to Establish Collateral Management Regime to Regulate Fintech In order to encourage more innovation in the payment system, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is putting in place a Collateral Management Regime (CMR) to regulate the activities of fintechs and other technology start-ups in the country.

The Director, Payments System Management Department (PSMD), Sam Okojere, who represented the Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed in his keynote address at the inaugural Lagos Fintech Week in Lagos, that

the, “CMR is being developed in line with on-going efforts to evolve a robust collateral management regime which will be proportionate to transactional level of participants within the payment system�.

According to him, the consequences of the new regime are that both incumbents and new entrants will operate without unnecessary collateral burden.

In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer, Xpress Payment Solutions, Oluwadare Owolabi, noted that as

a brand the focus of the company was to provide end-to-end experience, and smarter way of doing things for clients. “All that we have put together is to ensure we give you a product that will enable you to improve on your processes, because the experience the customers have with us determines the trust. We seat with our clients to procreate.

Procreating means we come to you and understand your processes, it is about layering your business on payment,�

he added.

Owolabi, who was represented the Group Head, Switching and Terminal Service, Oluwatoyin Albert, noted that fintechs have been able to innovate, collaborate and ensure that there are products that meets the needs of the consumers, because of changing behavioural patterns.

Also, a fintech lawyer and partner, Private Equity Capital at the chambers of Aluko and Oyebode, Oludare Sembore who also spoke at the event, said: “The Nigerian

approach to fintech regulation is somewhat similar to the United States and South Africa. Fintech in these countries are not governed by any specific legal framework, as the regulators are currently taking steps to understand the concept.�

He added that the current Fintech landscape in Nigeria is largely regulated by circulars and guidelines published by the CBN and a host of existing regulations that apply to “traditional financial service institutions.�

‘Nigeria Progressing in Software Development’ Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Jonathan Eze

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

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

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

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

The Managing Director, SystemSpecs, Mr. John Obaro, has said Nigeria is making significant progress in software development, despite challenges posed by the economy and government regulation.

Obaro, who made the assertion shortly after he received the award of ‘Indigenous Software of the Decade’ on behalf of SystemSpecs at the BoICT Awards, which held in Lagos recently, cited an example with Remita, a product and software payment solution that was locally developed in Nigeria and been adopted by the federal government to drive

the country’s Treasury Single Account (TSA). According to him, Remita has been able to address the challenges of financial leakages in government circles and has helped the federal government to harmonise the hitherto scattered government accounts into a single account, with the opportunity to have a good idea of government funds at a single glance. “Remita has been on for 14 years but we were operating at the corporate level in a quiet manner until TSA brought us to limelight few years ago. “The federal government showed interest in Remita

and took it up from there and since then, a number is states have shown interest in Remita, which is a payment solution software, designed to address issues of financial leakages. “So we need more of such software technology to drive businesses in Nigeria.� Obaro said.

He explained that there were lots of locally developed software solutions like Remita in Nigeria that have not been discovered, adding that in spite of the many challenges facing the software industry, Nigerians are tech savvy and innovative especially in software development, but

lack government support and patronage. “Software quality in Nigeria has improved significantly, especially in the last three years, with a good number of Nigerians trained abroad on software development. “Although there are still challenges, but we are gradually overcoming them,� Obaro said.

Speaking on the award, Obaro said the BoICT Award, had in the past ten years, established itself as a significant industry award player, and people appreciate the depth of research work that goes into the award. We have been recognised as the Indigenous

Software of the Decade and we are privileged to be honoured with such an award. “With this award, customers’ expectations about our service delivery will no doubt double, but we are equal to the task because we are in an industry that supports continuous race in competition and it has helped us to always compete against our latest achievements, in order to improve on our existing standards. “So the award for me serves as an encouragement to do more and as a challenge to upcoming people who want to do things in the right way,�

Obaro said.

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ANALYSIS

Overcoming Abnormalities in SIM Card Registration The recent discovery of anomalies in the Subscriber Identity Module card registration exercise, which commenced since 2011, calls for serious concern on national security issues, writes Emma Okonji

L

ast week, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), released the statistics of the total number of SIM cards registered across the country.

According to regulator, since the exercise started in 2011, “a total of 151,449,837 registration data of subscribers have been processed, with only 55,749,652 records valid, making 63.2 per cent of the total records invalid based on invalid face capturing and fingerprints,� underscoring the importance of proper SIM registration.

From the statistics of the total number of processed subscribers data and the total number of valid data that were released by the NCC, it was clear that a total number of 95.7 million invalid SIM card registration was recorded within the same period, which calls for serous national security concerns, following the rising rate of kidnapping across the country.

Reports had indicated that kidnappers use improper registered SIM cards to put calls across to families of kidnapped victims, in demand for ransoms.

Since the figures were released last week, industry stakeholders have been worried and have called on NCC to take immediate action to correct the irregularities in SIM card registration.

The Statistics The NCC disclosed that since the SIM card registration exercise started in 2011, a total of 151,449,837 registration data of subscribers have been processed, with only 55,749,652 records valid, thus bringing the total number of invalid SIM card registration to 95,700,185, since the exercise started eight years ago across the country.

NCC put the number of invalid SIM card registration from mobile network operators (MNOs) at 63.2 per cent, attributing it to invalid face capturing and fingerprints, which it said, underscored the importance of proper SIM registration.

The NCC, however said it would no longer be business as usual for perpetrators of fraudulently-registered SIM cards, and has threatened to henceforth try those indulging in the illegal activity as felony with 25 years imprisonment, as prescribed by the law.

According to the Commission, henceforth, once an agent engaging in pre-registered SIM cards is arrested, the culpability in such a case would cascade to other players in the SIM registration value chain including the super agents, the heads of marketing of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and possibly the Chief Executives of licensees, who illegally benefit from such illegal SIM registration activities to meet their marketing targets.

The Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management at NCC, Mr. Sunday Dare, who stated these during the South-south regional sensitisation workshop on the dangers of fraudulently-activated SIM cards organised by the Commission in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, insisted that the right things must be done by the registration agents and their MNOs to curb the dangers posed by the menace.

According to Dare, who was represented at the forum by the Director, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement at the Commission, Mr. Efosa Idehen, the move followed eight years of continuously fighting cases of fraudulently-registered or activated SIM cards by the Commission starting from 2012, without appreciable compliance by the MNOs and their different layers of registration agents across the country, thereby constituting threats to national security and jeopardising national interests.

Pitfalls Idehen, highlighted some of the dangers in improper SIM card registration and its implication to national security.

According to him, “Today, cases of fraudulently-registered SIM cards have been aiding and abetting robbery cases, kidnappings, financial frauds and all manners of criminalities where the anonymity of the registered subscribers makes criminal investigation difficult for the

law enforcement agencies. “That is why we will now be pleading breach of national interest in the prosecution of arrested perpetrators of pre-registered SIM cards.�

He explained that aside other requirements, the only four identity cards that should be accepted by SIM registration agents who help operators to sell SIM cards are the national identity cards, the voters card, driver’s licence and the international passport while also warning that fingerprint capturing of the subscribers must be done properly.

According to him, “agents must ensure that clear pictures of the subscribers are properly captured, that their finger prints are well taken and that only four ID cards are recognised for now any of which must be presented and confirmed by the registration agents before doing SIM registration,� stressing that MNOs and their agents should accept the mantra:�No valid identity card, no SIM registration.�

Stakeholders’ Reaction Worried about the development, industry stakeholders have called on the NCC to take urgent steps in addressing the situation.

The Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, said 95.7 million invalid SIM cards could threaten national security, especially in the areas of kidnapping and armed robbery.

President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS) Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said he was not surprised at the huge figure of invalid SIM card registration because the issue of improper SIM card registration has been lingering for too long.

According to him, “The fact that subscribers are still subjected to give the same information about their identity each time they have need to register a new SIM card, is an indication that the same information that telecoms operators demand for in every new SIM card registration since the inception of SIM registration in the country, has not been properly captured in their database.�

In the same vein, the President of the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria, (ATCON), Mr. Olusola Teniola, blamed the lapses in SIM card registration on improper planning from the very beginning of SIM card registration in 2011.

Teniola said: “The minimum information for SIM card registration was not planned and stipulated correctly right from the beginning in

2011. So you have different telecoms operators going about SIM registration in the way they thought was necessary and convenient for their systems and networks, bearing in mind that it was not to be used as a national database for the country.�

According to him, at the initial stage, the purpose of SIM registration was meant to recognise each subscriber on a particular network. “The telecoms operators were involved in SIM card registration because they were told to do so by the regulator for the purpose of identifying each subscriber on their different networks. “So using the same data from SIM registration for national database of the country was not the initial plan of the regulator, and as such, there was no pressure on the operators to capture the data of their subscribers correctly, which is the reason the operators captured their subscribers in the manner that they did, leading to millions of invalid SIM card registrations,� Teniola said.

He clarified that when the operators got the initial mandate to capture the registration of their subscribers, a time frame was given to them to complete the exercise and subscribers were threatened to be disconnected from the network, if they fail to register within the stipulated time, and that again, he said, brought a lot of pressure on the telecoms operators in managing the huge crowd that came for SIM registration at that time. “All these could have added to invalid capturing of subscribers, coupled with wrong information that was deliberately given by some subscribers. “So operators had to device different methods of capturing data in order to attend to the large number of subscribers that visited their offices on a daily basis for SIM card registration,�

Teniola said.

Harmonising SIM card registration Teniola explained that the idea to harmonise SIM card registration to be used for national database, was actually prompted by the rise in kidnapping and political assassinations across the country.

According to him, the idea of SIM card registration harmonisation was to use the information given during SIM registration to trace and arrest kidnappers, but along the line, it was discovered that it was difficult to trace kidnappers who use their mobile

phones to perpetrate heinous crime, because the information about their identity which they supplied during SIM card registration, was false and incorrect. “Again there were discrepancies in the data captured because the operators could not verify the true identity of their subscribers from a single database, which is supposed to be provided by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). “So for me, several factors contributed to having as much as 95.7 million invalid SIM card registration within a period of eight years, Teniola said.

NCC’s Reaction Worried that subscribers may have misunderstood the figures it released on SIM card registration, NCC said the deduced figure of 95.7 million invalid SIM card was incorrect.

According to a statement from regulator, “the Commission therefore wishes to clarify that the process of scrubbing registration data submitted by operators is an ongoing one and that so far, over 60 million records have been “scrubbed� successfully. “We also wish to assure all stakeholders that the Commission will continue to aggressively pursue the national interest objectives of delivering an accurate database of telephone subscribers in Nigeria. “We expect all players in the subscriber registration value chain to support the national security objectives of the exercise as NCC will continue to show zero tolerance for deviations from the process.�

The Solution ATCON President said its members were concerned that Nigeria is now placing the lapses of national security on SIM card registration database that was not initially built for the purpose of national security.

He, however, said the solution to the current issue was for NCC to intensify collaboration with National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to get a true national database that will address security issues in the country, and also address the issue of multiple registrations of individuals each time they have need to register a new SIM card.

Meanwhile, Idehen has said the NCC has been working with NIMC in ensuring that data collected from mobile subscribers are in line with national specifications.

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Teniola: Why NCAA Can’t Destroy Telecos’ Masts President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria, Mr. Olusola Teniola, in this interview speaks on the need for right policy adoption to grow the Nigerian economy. Emma Okonji brings the excepts:

A

key thing that will drive broadband penetration is investment in the technologies that will help to drive it, and we need government to do the needful that will enhance the ease of doing business in the telecoms sector.

TCON had its AGM last week, and some vital issues like fund repatriation were raised. What are the strategies to address the issues raised?

There is no sector of the Nigerian economy that has no issues to address, and we had reasons to address our own issues at our AGM last week. The truth is that our members are in business to make money and in the process, serve the nation, but they need clear direction from the regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Our members invest in building their networks and therefore are legally permitted to make profits and spend such profits at their discretion. So the issue of funds repatriation in business is not out of place. What our members need is actual direction to know exactly their limits to national investment. The recent threat by Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to destroy 7,000 masts belonging to telecoms operators, which the government did not invest in, calls for concern and this is one of the national issues raised at the AGM. It is an act of impunity for government agency to threaten investment made by telecoms operators, which the government has no input, and this calls for serious concern. Government must create the enabling environment for our members to operate upon, and we will not relent in bringing these worrisome issues to government’s attention.

Based on the threat from the NCAA, what does ATCON expect the NCC to do in addressing the situation?

NCC must rise to intervene and stop the NCAA from carrying out the threat, for the purposes of maintaining better service quality and for national security. NCC should also warn the NCAA to stop threatening investment that they did not contribute to build. I am aware that NCC has intervened and I hope the threat is reversed, based on the intervention because we cannot sit back and watch our investments destroyed by those who do not contribute in building them.

What is your view about the proposed merger and acquisition in the telecoms sector?

Merger and acquisition in the telecoms sector have become necessary for the purpose of business continuity, and they will come in various ways. Some will be mergers between two financially strong telecoms operators in order to present a formidable force in the telecoms sector, while some will be outright acquisition of financially weak telecoms companies, by the financially strong to avoid business extinction.

Whichever form it takes does not really matter, because the end result is about consolidation for better telecoms services delivery. Consolidation is necessary because the telecoms sector is currently passing through a transition phase, with technology disruptors emerging, and riding on the networks of others to achieve success in their business models. So the bottom line is that telecoms operators must consolidate, innovate and come up with new business models in order to survive the current transition phase. Data centric is gradually overtaking over voice centric and operators who initially depend heavily on voice centric service deliveries, must begin to innovate in the areas of data and data analytics in order to remain in business, and acquisition and merger are sure ways to achieve this.

What actually triggered the need for merger and acquisition. Could it be that the telecoms market is shrinking and no longer attractive?

Not really so, because the market is not shrinking and it is still attractive, but the truth is that technology is evolving and disruptive solutions are equally emerging, which calls for innovative thinking about survivability and business continuity. One of such innovative thoughts is about consolidation among members

What is your take on 4G rollout in the country when Nigeria is predominantly covered by 3G services?

The 4G rollout is ongoing and it is a gradual process. Before 3G network, Nigeria survived with 2G network. It is better to look at the progress made in the telecoms sector than to begin to compare Nigeria’s telecoms growth with developed nations of the world. So technology evolution is in phase and I am sure that in no distant time, the entire country will be covered with 4G services before looking at 5G network that is existing in some advanced countries of the world. The 4G network offers 21 megabits per second, which comes with high speed video streaming, with opportunity to download documents in seconds. But the challenge is that if we have infrastructure that is not backed by fibre, and we rollout 4G or 5G network in such area, what it means is that services will run at the weakest links. It is for this reason that we kept emphasising that 4G and 5G networks are not really about speed of delivery only, but also about fibre that demands the rollout of fibre infrastructure.

Teniola

through merger and acquisition. Consolidation will help the telecoms industry to grow in line with technology transformation and to create more jobs for the country.

What is ATCON doing to promote digital transformation in Nigeria?

Digital transformation and digitisation are no longer new to us, but they are things that shape the mind-set of our members in the telecoms industry. We have since been playing big in the entire process of digital transformation and our financial transactions in the country have gone electronic and digital. Government has a major role to play in promoting digitisation through better policy

It is an act of impunity for government agency to threaten investment made by telecoms operators, which the government has no input, and this calls for serious concern. Government must create the enabling environment for our members to operate upon, and we will not relent in bringing these worrisome issues to government’s attention

formulation and implementation that will boost infrastructure development. Our members have been promoting digital transformation, through innovative solution and they are also using their resources to provide the basic infrastructure, but we need government to do more in providing the enabling environment through basic infrastructure that will drive digital transformation in Nigeria.

Broadband penetration is on the rise according to recent statistics, but Nigerians need ubiquitous broadband to access the internet to enable them do more businesses online. What is ATCON doing to promote broadband access in the country?

Broadband is key to national development and Nigeria has already achieved 33 per cent broadband penetration, with plans to achieve 70 per cent penetration by 2023. After Nigeria achieved 30 per cent broadband penetration in December last year, ATCON came up with a new target for the next five years and government bought into the idea and then set another target of 70 per cent broadband penetration for the country by 2023, and our members are working towards achieving this new target. So influencing government’s position on national issues like broadband penetration and access, is actually one of the ways we are promoting ubiquitous broadband access in the country.

So what are your members doing to help the country achieve its 70 per cent broadband penetration by 2023?

Our members are already investing in 4G network rollout, which offers higher broadband speed than the 3G network. Already most parts of the country have been covered by 4G network and by the time the country is fully covered by 4G network, it will bring online activities to speed and also access to the internet will be cheaper, thus enabling more Nigerians to become digitally inclusive, which is a pointer to further growth in broadband penetration. Our members are playing their roles well, but we need government to provide the enabling business environment in the area of infrastructure development that will further boost broadband penetration and access. The

Are you concerned about the views of some of your members who are not pleased with the idea of shopping for foreign investors by the telecoms industry regulator, when some of them have the capacity to invest in the country if given the level playing ground to do so?

The federal government, through the NCC had always shopped for foreign investors at international fora. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had done same in the past. Government has its reasons to sell Nigeria to foreign investors because government believes in the power of foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the growth of the Nigerian economy. But historically, Nigeria has been known as a trading nation because the British colonial master that colonised Nigeria, had no intention to develop the country but to position the country as a trading nation that imports virtually everything via trading, and that has been ongoing, even after we were gained independence 59 years ago. But our members are saying that we have local players that can invest in the country if given the enabling environment. We have the capability and if given the right playing field, we can actually contribute to GDP of the country for national development.

Today, India is the leading country in software engineering because their government invested in ICT and provided the enabling environment for rapid growth in software development. So the idea of government getting money from foreign investment to grow the Nigerian economy must stop, and government must begin to look inwards to invest in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and support local investments in ICT in order to grow the Nigerian economy.

What kind of investment in broadband infrastructure for instance, do you expect from the government?

Broadband infrastructure is a national asset that needs to be invested in through tax payers’ money. But what we see today is that government has left telecoms development in the hands of the private sector. Backbone infrastructure that is expected to transport national broadband from the shores of the country where we have avalanche of submarine cables, to the hinterland where the demand is high, is being left in the hands of the private sector to provide, which is a mismatch for a country like Nigeria. So I expect government to invest in national backbone infrastructure that will transmit broadband capacity from the shores of the country to the hinterlands, where demand for broadband connectivity is on the rise.

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E-BUSINESS

MainOne Announces Plan to Build Data Centre in Cote D’ivoire Stories by Emma Okonji Following the issuance of a submarine cable landing license to MainOne by the government of Cote D’Ivoire, the company has announced plan launch its services in Abidjan by October this year.

The Nigerian broadband company said it has made significant progress in the project implementation process and that all critical survey had been completed. It added that work was ongoing at the Cable Landing Station and Data Centre in Abidjan.

MainOne’s Regional Executive, Kazeem Oladepo, made this known during the company’s Annual General Meeting in Abidjan, where members of the Board of Directors of the Group visited the VITIB location to observe the on-going construction of the data centre and the cable landing station.

The data centre and landing station would provide the necessary infrastructure to support the growth of the broadband ecosystem in Cote D’Ivoire and the Francophone region, improve internet access in the region, reduce

bandwidth prices and make digital services more accessible. “By investing in this infrastructure, we hope to bring meaningful and muchneeded technology solutions to businesses and enable them in their quest for improved productivity and efficiency through dedicated and reliable connectivity services. “We are prepared to collabo-

rate with operators to expand capacity in Cote D’Ivoire and neighbouring countries to enhance regional integration and global access,� Oladepo said, adding that the strategic location of the data center in the Grand-Bassam technology free trade zone, VITIB, would further strengthen the digital ecosystem in the zone, and attract more businesses and

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the region.

MainOne is committed to deepening broadband access across West Africa via fibre infrastructure and data centres.

With service delivery in 10 countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, Cameroun, Benin, Niger, Senegal and Chad, MainOne operates up to 10

Tbps international submarine cable system, which guarantees highly reliable connectivity to support the growing demand for internet access and bandwidth-intensive applications such as eCommerce, Content providers, Over the Top Technology (OTT) players and electronic banking and payment services, Oladepo added.

Customers Commend Vodacom Customers of Vodacom Business Nigeria have commended the company for its quality service delivery that is focused on total communications solutions to large, medium and small enterprises.

The customers who, spoke in Lagos at the BoICT Awards, where Vodacom clinched three major industry awards as the ‘Enterprise Broadband Services Provider of the Year, Internet of Things (IoT) Focused Company, and the Beacon of the ICT Hall of Fame in Enterprise Solutions.’ IT Operations and Governance Manager, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Uzoma Okonkwo, said: Vodacom is our internet service provider and we are proud of their quality service delivery to the company. Their incidence response time is quick and commendable, which is a true reflection of their professionalism. “For us a company, we are happy that Vodacom Business was recognised with three awards at the BoICT Awards for the company to sweep three awards at once, shows that they are good in service delivery and we commend them for their efforts in quality service delivery. “We expect them to maintain the standard and improve on

the existing standard because customers will always want the best from their service providers,� Okonwo added.

Head, IT Operations at First Bank, Mr. Rotimi Famakun, who equally commended Vodacom Business on the three awards, said the connectivity services that Vodacom Business provides for the bank’s African subsidiaries, have been very good, and have helped the bank to maintain its leadership position in the banking sector in terms of service delivery to its large customer base. “For us as a company we are proud that our network connectivity service provider is recognised by the industry and this will spur them to improve and do more in the area of connectivity, which is key to business survivability. “Vodacom has achieved over 98 per cent of network availability across its African branches and that has helped to maintain steady business without downtime, Famakun said.

Speaking on the award, the Managing Director, Vodacom Business Nigeria, Mr. Wale Odeyemi, said: “Vodacom Business is set out for societal transformation and the sets of awards we clinched at the BoICT Awards, crystalise the successes we have made over the years.�

Institute to Assist Regulatory Bodies on Information Governance The Institute of Information Management (IIM) has indicated its readiness to assist regulatory agencies to identify information gaps, information management needs and develop the required framework for effective data/information governance.

The institute said it is also poised to assist the regulatory bodies on setting the parameters for data/ information management and usage, creating processes for resolving data/information issues and enabling regulatory bodies and other stakeholders make decisions based on high-quality data and well-managed information assets.

These, according to the

President/Chairman, Governing Council, IIM Africa, Dr. Oyedokun Oyewole, were part of the move to promote data and information management standards and governance across sectors in Nigeria.

Oyewole, also said the IIM plan to host the 2019 IIM Africa Information Management and Literacy Week, with activities lined up at different locations in Lagos.

The Information Management Literacy week, he said, was designed at promoting information management literacy across cultures, peoples, educational institutions, organisations, policies, professions, initiatives, and nations.

REWARDING EXCELLENCE

L-R: ED, Business Development and Operations, Global Accelerex, Kayode Ariyo; GM, Corporate Services & Administration, Kehinde Adisa and President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Engr. Olusola Teniola, at the Beacon of ICT Award presentation in Lagos...recently

OPPO Mobile Launches in Nigeria

Firms Launch Tech Learning Centre

Global smartphone giant, OPPO Mobile has officially announced its presence in Nigeria with the launch of its 2019 flagship devices, the OPPO F11 Pro and the OPPO F11 Pro Avengers limited edition.

This launch took place in Lagos, recently. OPPO is ranked among the top five in the mobile phone brand in the world according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

The company provides cutting edge smartphones to over 200 million people all over the world.

OPPO is popular for its stylish smartphone designs, quality photography experience and the status symbol it provides to its users.

Marketing Manager, OPPO Mobile Nigeria, Nengi Akinola, while speaking at the event said: “OPPO is a brand that is involved in ‘many firsts’ globally and is also expanding in not just making smartphones but also providing superior smartphone technology to every single person all over the world. “From 5G to internet of things, OPPO is constantly innovative, one of the reasons we are launching the F11 Pro in Nigeria is to mark a major step which is OPPO coming into the market to

STEMCafe, in partnership with ENYO Retail and Supply, officially launched a creativity play space for kids in Lagos, a non-linear learning centre for kids and young adults between the ages of 5 -18 years old.

The initiative is to enable the kids experience amazing world of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematic (STEM) in a fun and interactive way.

The STEMCafe, a brainchild of the CEO and Founder of CcHUB, Mr. Bosun Tijani, was designed to showcase the various engaging activities that will help the kids develop lifelong learning and interest in STEM. “At the Cafe, the kids will spend time creating various projects and a wide array of fun interactive activities as well as design and print 3D models to experiment with amazing creations and ideas, all under the guidance of trained STEM educators. “In the modern global economy, STEM is closely linked with a nation’s economic prosperity. Nations who have become global leaders, in large part, have done so through the genius and hard work of its scientists, engineers and innovators. “Nigeria’s position will continue to decline unless more kids pursue expertise in STEM fields,� Tijani said.

He added that Nigeria

make a bold statement.�

During the product presentation, the brand’s key opinion leaders spoke about their personal experiences with the phone.

Anny Robert, a paramount professional photographer, described the OPPO F11 Pro as “the device that shoots portrait pictures just like a DSLR camera. The camera quality and its features are second to none, I’ve never seen anything like it on any smartphone. I was impressed with the 48MP+5MP dual rear camera setup, especially the F1.79 aperture.� “Its performance in low light conditions is very impressive! The camera sensor can increase the area of a single photosensitive unit by four times in low-light conditions, to significantly improve the light-sensing capability and capture more details. It’s an experience you need to have to understand this mind-blowing feat,� he added. “The OPPO F11 Pro is super fast and is built to give users an outstanding performance; fast charging, not lagging, not heating up while in heavy or moderate use, superior gaming experience, and a long battery life to ensure you’re always in power,� says Oladotun Ojuolape Kayode (Do2tun).

must expand the capacity and diversity of the STEM workforce pipeline to prepare the younger generation for the best jobs of the future that will see Nigeria become innovative, secure and competitive.

According to him, “There is an urgent need for an extensive application of scientific and technological breakthroughs to leapfrog development across Africa. Exposing our young people to STEM at an early age is one sure way of building a generation of innovators and thinkers who will sustain and strengthen the evolving position of Africa in the world. “I am extremely excited to once again contribute to building a fun platform that will build a new generation of leaders for science and technology across Africa through the STEMCafe.�

Speaking on the partnership, the CEO of Enyo Retail and Supply, Mr. Abayomi Awobokun, said: “We believe the two organisations are partnering because we believe in learning and creating a conducive learning environment for young people, specifically learning around science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “We see the linkages; we like the partnership with STEMCafe, and together we will support the capacity of our younger generation in STEM towards the growth of the continent.�

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Rising Beer War With an annual cumulative capacity of over 17.72 million hectoliters, Nigeria’s alcoholic beverage segment is huge, but the competition is fierce, writes Raheem Akingbolu

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hese are not the best of times for handlers of various beer brands in Nigeria. Aside economic challenges that have affected purchasing power among consumers, thereby forcing them to reduce beer consumption, entrants of new brands and companies appear to have dealt a big blow on dominant beer brands. Today, the spin doctors behind top beer brands appear to be working with anxiety and panic in order to remain relevant. Perhaps mostly hit are premium brands like Star, Heineken, Gulder and Guinness Stout, that have lost market shares to mid-range brands like Golberg, 33, Trophy, Hero, Life Beer and other cheaper brands.

A brand analyst and co-founder of Radi8 Ltd, a marketing communications firm, Mr. Toni Kan, though admitted the strong competition in the beer market, pointed out that the market was still active and command huge potential.

He said: “In any competitive market, it is natural for players to deplore strategies that can connect with consumers. Much as I agree that there is unrest among the players, I don’t agree totally with the belief that beer consumption has dropped. “To me, what happened is that consumers have shifted from some brands to another set of brands. It used to be Heineken, Stout and Star but the paradigm seems to have shifted to mid-range and regional brands like Trophy, Goldberg, Life and Hero. “No doubts, the premium brands are challenged but their promoters were smart enough to quickly key in and offer products that could compete well with those in high demand. “That explains why Guinness recently launched Gold while Nigerian Breweries continue to make waves with Goldberg, 33 and Life.�

Emerging trend For Nigerian Breweries and Guinness, the two leading alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage makers, they can no more sleep with their two eyes closed as a new entrant -AbInBev Nigeria, seems determined to conquer the market. Eight years ago, AbInBev Nigeria, believed to be one of the biggest beer manufacturers in the world, entered the market and breathed life into Hero and Trophy. The two regional brands, which were until then inactive, quickly gained acceptability and became consumers’ delight.

Guinness and NB are though long-standing rivals, the feud between them heightened with the launch of Legend Extra Stout in 1992 by Nigerian Breweries.

The cold war, could however be dated back to 1962, when Guinness brewery was established in Lagos. Before then, the NBC (which became the Nigeria Brewing Limited, NBL, and now the Nigeria Breweries Plc was the major manufacturer in the beer sector, while a company was formed to import Guinness extra stout into the country from Ireland.

But since 2011, when AbInBev Nigeria, acquired majority share in the International Breweries Ilesa, manufacturers of Trophy Larger and took control of the ownership of Hero, a popular brand in the Eastern market, the game has changed.

Within short period, Trophy was believed to have moved to the top on the priority list of beer consumers in the South West while Hero is also performing wonder in The Eastern market but not without resistance from Goldberg and Life Beer.

Despite the growth recorded with the launch of its Orijin brands few years ago, Guinness was also caught in the web, as sales of Stout also dropped. Left with no option, Guinness had quickly run to the drawing board and introduced a new beer brand –Guinness Gold to tackle Trophy and Goldberg.

Of course, observers have continued to argue that Gulder and Harp remain struggling brands and burden on Nigerian Breweries and Guinness respectively. But

while Guinness appeared to have given up on Harp, Nigerian Breweries is still making frantic effort through rebranding and activations to boost Gulder, even though such moves appeared to have been unsuccessful.

Response to competitions Heineken and Trophy are primarily not targeting same segment of the market, the ‘Honourable’ credential campaign launched by the promoters of Trophy was a calculative move to pooh-pooh Heineken’s chairmanship title.

With a popular Yoruba actor, Femi Adebayo, as the face of the brand, the Trophy team had moved swiftly to push Trophy to various quarters.

Nigerian Breweries had promptly reacted by launching a similar campaign to position Heineken through ‘Your Excellency’ title.

With it, handlers of Goldberg are simply saying the ‘Honourable’ will simply take a back seat when ‘Your Excellency’ enters.

To help propagate the campaign, NB had settled for Odunlade Adekola, another rave of the moment in the Yoruba movie industry, as Goldberg ambassador.

Two months ago, handlers of Trophy made another surprising move by signing on three ambassadors (Falz, Joseph Yobo and Femi Adebayo) for the 2019 marketing year.

Adebayo is an existing ambassador whose contract was only renewed, while Yobo

According to a recent survey, Nigeria leads the top 10 biggest beerdrinking countries in Africa with an annual cumulative production capacity of over 17.72 million hectoliters

and Falz were signed anew. According to a source close to the manufacturers of the brand, the decision to appoint two additional ambassadors was an outcome of a brainstorming session held at the boardroom of Culture Communication Limited, an advertising agency appointed few years ago to reposition the then local brand, last year. Both the brand managers at the company and the eggheads at the creative agency were said to have agree to the new innovation. The unveil heralded a 5-a-side football competition sponsored by Trophy, which started in March this year.

Last week, Nigerian Breweries fired back with the appointment of Olamide, a leading Nigerian music sensation as Ambassador of Goldberg. He is joining Odunlade Adekola, to woo new consumers for Goldberg.

Earlier in the year, Afrobeat sensation, Burna Boy, was also appointed as Star Ambassador. It was the first time the 70 year old brand would get an ambassador.

In the last three years, the management of Nigerian Breweries has made conscious effort to rescue Star, whose fortune is believed to be currently dwindling.

In September 2016, the company made history with the announcement of unprecedented partnership with not one but five of the biggest European football clubs –Arsenal, Juventus, Real Madrid, PSG and Manchester City, having a combined history in football of 544 years.

Though, the then Marketing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Franco Maria-Maggi, described the partnership as a commitment from Star to bring new football experience to consumers and loyal fans of these clubs, THISDAY investigation revealed that it was a misadventure for the company.

According to the findings, the poor result recorded due to the partnership led to the way the management wielded its big stick and showed the way out for at least 10 of its top management staff, including MariaMaggi last year. A step, which has been condemned by many analysts, who felt NB goofed by throwing out most of the people in charge of its external communication the same time.

A brand analyst and Chief Executive Officer of Brand Expression, Fadare Adekanmi, who shared this prejudice, told THISDAY that NB only compounded its problem with the mass sack. “The company may have its reason but I think it supposed to be a piece meal, those fired last year by Nigerian Breweries were the face of their brands. Today, you

see many of the new brand custodians struggling to communicate the values of the brands they are managing. “There are some of these new guys, who do not even understand the brands they are managing. To worsen the situation, as common to brand managers in this part of the world, the new comers have started changing those working with the company. From experiential businesses to PR, Advertising to other businesses, new firms are emerging to manage Nigerian Breweries businesses,� he said.

Bright Future Despite the odds against beer manufacturers, the Managing Director of Precise, a PR and Reputation management firm, Mr. Bolaji Okusaga, has argued that the future is bright for manufacturers. “What is going on in the beer market has only given the players signal that marketing strategies, packaging and distribution should change. “Nigeria has expansive market with many potentials and this will settle the whole feud because there are rooms for expansion. “I agree with the fact that Nigerian Breweries and Guinness numbers are dropping but there is no cause for alarm, handlers of their brands only need to re-strategise.

We have seen what innovation can do with the market influence of Hero, Trophy and Budweiser; it can be repeated by other players. “The two traditional manufacturers –Guinness and Nigerian Breweries only need to go back to drawing board and rejuvenate their strategies. For a long time, we have dominant player and market leader in Nigerian Breweries and in most cases it competed with self until it came out with Legend to challenge Guinness Stout. What is happening now is good for consumers.�

He added: “According to a recent survey, Nigeria leads the top 10 biggest beer-drinking countries in Africa with an annual cumulative production capacity of over 17.72 million hectoliters. I only hope the companies and their ambassadors like Burna Boy can strive to appeal to young consumers because we have a young market, as 70 percent are below the age of 40. “There’s need to capture new consumers, innovate in the area of packaging, distribution and messaging. Truth is that consumers of brands like Star are ageing, it needs new set of consumers to maintain its leadership position,� Okusaga said.

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As Operators, FG Bicker over Unpaid Grants The federal government determination to enhance non-oil revenue may be under threat as stakeholders in the sector are lamenting the delay in releasing the accumulated Export Expansion Grant, Raheem Akingbolu reports

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n assumption of office in 2015, one of the promises of President Muhammadu Buhari and his team was that they would diversify the economy.

To this end, the government listed sectors, including agriculture and other non-oil exports that would be given proper attention. The declaration was well received in various quarters, especially among economic experts, who had before then advocated the need for economic diversification.

As part of the moves to jack up revenue in the non-oil sector, the federal government had in 2016, indicated its resolve to ensure the nation’s tax system reflects the commercial activity levels in Nigeria.

In order to achieve this, the federal government had said it was committed to the process of mobilising revenue from the non-oil sector.

In a related development, Federal Government, through The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), has consistently explained that bureaucratic bottlenecks in accessing funds for export of non-oil products, made the federal government to create a new funding scheme. The funding scheme was said to be part of efforts at diversifying the economy to non-oil export to make the country survive at zero export of crude oil.

Unfulfilled promises Last year, the government stated that it had gone beyond the revival of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) incentive scheme to introduce a new basket of incentives for existing and new exporters.

According to the Acting Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Abdullahi Sidi-Aliyu, the new basket of incentives were designed to boost the growth of the Small and Medium Enterprises sector.

Sidi-Aliyu, had revealed that the government had already made funds available for the implementation of the new incentives.

He added that unlike the EEG, which was a post-shipment incentive where exporters were required to export before accessing, the new basket of incentives was pre-shipment and exporters would be given the grant before carrying out the export.

But despite the assurances, players in the non-oil exporters sector of the economy, have cried out that their members are still suffering in silence as the accumulated EEG, from 2007 – 2016 were yet to be paid. As a result of this, they have called on government to accord them the needed recognition, in view of the fact that they play a vital role in the economy through generation of foreign exchange via export revenue. They have also impressed it on government that the determination to diversifying the economy through revamping of the non-oil sector can only be materialised if the payment of the accumulated grant is given urgent consideration.

In a letter dated 10 April and signed by the Executive Secretary, OPEXA, Mr. Jaiyeola Olanrewaju, and directed to President Muhammadu Buhari, the association had pointed out that the federal government had earlier approved the promissory notes programme in 2017 at its FEC meeting and forwarded to the National Assembly for their approval in 2018.

It was stated that National Assembly had also conveyed its approval for payment of N195 billion of claims in January, 2019. “We, the exporters have been waiting

Broad Street

anxiously, since the approval from NASS for the PNs to be issued. It was only on 4th April 2019, almost 70 days after the approval from NASS that the DMO (Debt Management Office) called the exporters to brief us on the implementation of PN program,� the letter stated.

It went on to condemn the sudden move by the DMO to issue the PNs through a Reverse Auction Process, adding that the DMO has not been forthcoming with any further details about the mechanism of Reverse Auction Process.

Consequently, the association made a three-point demand on the issue. First is that the Reverse Auction Process (RAP) for issuance of Promissory Notes (PINs) should be reconsidered by the government. Secondly, the government (including

OPSEA members play vital role in economic diversiďŹ cation through their contribution in generating the much needed foreign exchange earnings through export and creating numerous job opportunities via their operations throughout the country

the Debt Management Office, DMO) should restrict themselves to issuing the PNs as the shortest term feasible for payment, while equal treatment should be meted to all beneficiaries of all categories of PN. The third demand by OPSEA is that exporters should be issued PNs with shortest tenure (spread evenly over a maximum period of three years) bearing in mind that payment has been delayed for a period of three to 12 years for member ’s claims.

Their position was stated clearly in the letter as the association averred that members are becoming very unsettled in their businesses more than ever and unable to carry out their vital roles.

The association says government’s inaction is causing mounting challenges to their members.

One of such major challenges is the accumulating interests on loans which is said to be making their investment and pricing decisions in their businesses very difficult. “We have taken up debts to service the receivables and these debts are incurring further interests with the continuing delay in the payment of EEG claims,� the exporters stated.

OPSEA members play vital role in economic diversification through their contribution in generating the much needed foreign exchange earnings through export and creating numerous job opportunities via their operations throughout the country.

This is seen in the renewed interest in agriculture and solid mineral sectors with the hope of meeting domestic consumption and enough to export to earn foreign exchange.

In line with this objective, the federal government promised to beam searchlight on the export sector, how to expand and promote the sector for the much needed foreign exchange, industrial growth as well as job and employment creation.

This policy direction has since catalysed activities in the non-oil sector, including exports. But it appears there is currently

a clog in the wheel of progress.

According to OPSEA, the inability of government to meet up with the promissory notes for non-oil exporters for dues owed them for over nine years may so well undermine the successes recorded so far by the policy.

In a letter to the president appealing for his intervention into the matter, OPSEA recounted that before now, the previous administration commenced the issuance of EEG to genuine exporters but the grant was later suspended in 2007 due to duplicitous claims and counter-claims by stakeholders over who and who should indeed benefit from the package.

It was learnt that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in one of its weekly meetings gave approval for the payment of the EEG Promissory Notes. It was equally gathered that the EEG claims by the non-oil exporters have been processed and prepared by the federal government implementation committee with members drawn from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Ministry of Budget and Planning, Federal Inland Revenue Service as well as Nigeria Export Promotion Council.

Even the N350 billion EEG claim is said to have been audited by officials of Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) since last year but exporters are bewildered that even with all the said inputs on the matter, nothing positive is yet to come their way in terms of payment.

In Nigeria, operators in agricultural and agro-allied sector form the bulk of non-oil exporters that contribute to over 80 per cent of the nation’s non-oil earnings. According to experts, the federal government needs to carry along the private sector players in order to realise its economic diversification agenda.

They believe that faithful implementation of the EEG policy is the needed elixir to help track performance in the non-oil sector and accelerate the rate of industrial growth in the country.

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Those NSIA Figures are to Prove Something Tayo Oni

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he audited financial results for the year 2018 announced by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), manager of Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund, on Monday, sends a clear message to the financial world: Nigeria is ready to be a global economic player.

The NSIA results show a strong performance at a time when expectations were less domestically and globally; in a year when many international markets struggled, and the global economy experienced a moderate pace of expansion.

By the results it posted for 2018-a year acknowledged as a difficult one globally- the Authority has invited the world to under-study its investment strategy and the robustness of his operations.

Within a year, the Authority was able to grow its total assets by 16 per cent, from N533.88 billion in 2017 to N617.70 by the end of 2018.

Total income, including the impact of foreign exchange gains, moved up to N44.34 billion from N27.93 billion of the previous year.

The impressive figures made nonsense of concerns over international trade flows, slow growth in key economic indicators and increased volatility across financial markets. It showed, more importantly that NSIA is one of the best well run sovereign wealth funds in the world.

Its operations and investment strategy have undoubtedly proved robust with headline numbers maintaining a favourable trajectory across the three funds – The Stabilization Fund, Future Generations Fund and Nigeria Infrastructure Fund.

The NSIA is a corporate body established by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (Establishment, etc.) Act 2011 mandated to manage funds in excess of budgeted hydrocarbon revenues. Its mission is to play a leading role in driving sustained economic development for the benefit of all Nigerians through building a savings base for the Nigerian people, enhancing the development of Nigeria’s infrastructure and providing stabilization support in times of economic stress.

There is no doubt that this is a serious mandate that, rightly, puts the Authority in the limelight. When Vice President Yemi Osinbajo inaugurated the board of the Authority in May 2017, he re-iterated NSIA mandate and what the Federal Government expected from the board chaired by Babajide Zeitlin. “As we navigate the pathway out of recession and into a self-sufficient and diversified economy it is our expectation that the NSIA will remain increasingly strategic to our nation’s growth and development. “As representatives of the people, our charge is simple: we require you to fundamentally improve the performance of the authority and strengthen its operations.�

The vice president also noted that members of the board were carefully chosen because “the bar� set for them was high, but the government and the people expected them to deliver.

Two years on, it would seem, neither the board nor the management of the Authority had disappointed.

NSIA has raised the bar for public enterprises and shown that profitability and efficiency are not operational ethos for the private sector alone. It has demonstrated that given the right political atmosphere and highly skilled manpower, state enterprises be more efficiently and transparently managed for profitability.

The three mandate funds of the Authority: the Stabilization Fund,

Orji

the Future Generations Fund and the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund were deployed in varying quantities to meet domestic infrastructure targets in agriculture, healthcare, and infrastructure enabling financial institutions.

A comprehensive strategy for manager selection has ensured that investments from the Stabilization and the Future Generation Fund were effective and profitable despite market volatility and softening that characterized most markets during the year.

By end of 2018, the SF had been fully invested.

On the other hand, a sophisticated deployment strategy also ensured the FGF remained evenly apportioned across global public equities, private equity, hedge funds and ‘other diversifiers. By December 2018, the Authority had deployed about 81% of its capital across all the strategic asset classes of the FGF. In healthcare, completed projects include a Cancer Centre at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Advanced Diagnostic Centres at Federal Medical Centre Umuahia (FMCU) and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH). The LUTH cancer Centre

The NSIA is accountable to the National Economic Council and reports about stewardship of the Authority would be assessed by it. But when the times comes for such assessment, the balance sheets would certainly speak for the board

had already been commissioned and the world class facility would soon be fully open for clinical operations.

In agriculture, the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative has increased output by approximately 12 million bags of fertilizer produced to date with a total of 18 blending plants participating. As at end of 2018, an addition 5.5 million bags of NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer had been produced and sold in Nigeria bringing the total project output from inception to date at over 12 million bags.

Furthermore, 2 additional blending plants were accredited in Kaduna and Zamfara respectively bringing the number of plants to 18 in total. With PFI, NSIA is helping to reduce input induced food price inflation. This has enormously facilitated the revolution in agriculture in the last two years, especially in rice production.

In addition, under a joint venture with UFF Agric Fund, the NSIA reached financial close on Novum Agric Industries Ltd which acquired a fully integrated farm located in Panda, Nasarawa State. Development of the farm land has commenced. Farming activities are expected to start in late 2019 with the completion of irrigation facilities expected to be finalized soon.

The National Economic Council (NEC) also appointed the NSIA as the programme manager of the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) and provided the sum of US$650 million. From this, funds were disbursed for construction works on; (i) Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, (ii) Second Niger Bridge; and (iii) AbujaKaduna-Zaria-Kano Road.

To date, NSIA has disbursed 77.6 billion under the PIDF programme.

Other projects being undertaken under PIDF include Mambila Hydro-Power Project and East West Road. The NSIA’s involvement is principally to ensure an increased inland road stock while creating cross-country arterial roads to catalyze the flow of economic activities.

The programme is an initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari which is designed to facilitate the rapid completion of key infrastructure projects that have been stalled for years.

The NSIA is accountable to the Na-

tional Economic Council and reports about stewardship of the Authority would be assessed by it. But when the times comes for such assessment, the balance sheets would certainly speak for the board.

Members of the board from the six geo-political zones in the country include Halima Buba (North-East), Bello Maccido (North–West), Lois Laraba Machunga-Disu (North Central), Babajide Zetilin (South West), Urum Kalu Eze (South East) and Asue Ighodalo (South-South). Others include Uche Orji, the Managing Director of NSIA, Stella Ojekwe-Onyejeli and Hanspeter Acheermann.

It is an indication of how critical and prominent the NSIA has become is that staff appointments now generate intense scrutiny by the financial world and other informed members of the public. The recent appointment of Aisha Abba Kyari, daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, immediately generated controversy, with a civil society group alleging the appointment was against due process.

But subsequent media reports on the issue showed that Ms. Abba Kyari passed through a rigorous selection process and is indeed highly qualified for the position for which she was employed. It further highlighted the transparency of the organization’s processes, including staff recruitment.

Uche Orji, managing director of NSIA, who used the occasion of the financial report presentation to speak on the controversy, declared it ‘fake news.� He said hiring staff at the Authority is a tedious process, stressing that recruitment is not directly handled by NSIA. “We have consulting firms that advertise these roles for the NSIA and this too (Abba Kyari’s position) was advertised.�

It is to the credit of the management and board that the Authority has been spared the operational and financial scandals that usually plague state agencies. It is an eloquent testimony to the professionalism of the team at NSIA. It is this professional integrity of those at the helm that is responsible for the positive signals coming from the Authority. Nigeria is on the match.

-Oni, writes from Abuja

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New Force in Fintech Space Oluchi Chibuzor writes on the growing influence of financial technology companies

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intech is the future of payment and to some, that future is already here. In a world extensively characterised bytechnological evolutions across all spheres of human lives, social, economic, political, business, among others, it is unsurprising that these pervasive technological evolutions, have slowly but surely crept their way into the fintech space in Nigeria.

Fintech, a fusion of finance and technology, is in lay man terms, the use of technology to deliver financial services and products to consumers. Although a relatively novel word, fintech is by no way a novel concept, as technology has always been a defining factor in the evolution of finance. And if you factor in the prevalence of smartphones and tablets, you would understand the accelerated speed in this development.

In Nigeria, fintech is a rapidly growing industry as multitudes of the population are increasingly reaping the benefits of sending and receiving money without necessarily having a bank account. Nigeria particularly is home to some well-grounded Fintech establishments such as Interswitch, Flutterwave, e-Tranzact, Unified Payments, just to mention a few.

However, there is still a growing concern in the rate of financial exclusion in Nigeria.

According to a report by EFInA in 2018, 36 per cent of Nigeria’s adult population are financially excluded, and although that figure is an improvement on the 2016 figures which put financially excluded Nigerians at 41.6 per cent, the desire to drive financial inclusion has led to the establishment of myriads of fintech services in Nigeria. And though within their ambits, these start-ups have all contributed in no small measure to the financial inclusion drive, one of these new start-ups standout in a rather outstanding fashion; Xpress Payments.

In what has become a battlefield to pique, sustain and satisfy the financial interests of consumers, Xpress Payments Solutions Nigeria Limited is surely holding its own in the ever increasing fintech space.

Standing on an Easy, Fast and Secure tripod of transactional operations, firmly rested on a mission and vison that speaks to ideals; the organisation aims to simplify and enable smarter living, a task they are well on course for.

Incorporated in 2016 as a private company limited by shares, an Authorised Share Capital base of N5 billion issued and fully paid up, as well as an asset base of N6 billion, the firm is a financial technology company that specialises in the design, implementation and provision of electronic payment solutions.

Licenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the company offers services including but not limited to Payment Solution Service Provider, Transaction Switching and Third-PartyProcessing, Payment Terminal Service Provider with notable clients and partners as well as a platform that provides financial/banking services to customers where there are no sufficient initiatives or capacity to establish formal branches- Agency Banking.

Also, Xpress Payments comes in with a rather unique understanding of the needs of the customers, which underlies her customer targets - youth and millennials.

The commitment to further drive financial inclusion prompted Xpress Payments Solutions to its tentacles of services, with a functional VAS platform, a Collections Platform (e-cashier), a Funds Disbursement Platform(XpressPayout), Account Balance View Platform(XpressView) and the Agency Banking Initiative (Xpress Agent), designed particularly to widen the scope of Financial Inclusion in Nigeria.

Beyond these, the company boasts of sound partnership with heavy weights in the Banking Industry; Access Bank Nigeria Limited, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, United Bank for Africa Plc, Zenith Bank Plc among a host of others.

Though relatively young in an already

saturated and increasingly competitive industry, Xpress Payments are already making some achievements in their strides.

Notable among these is in Delta state, where the state internally generated revenue needed a system that could secure, restructure and manage their funds.

The solution to this was found in one of Xpress Payment’s products, e-Cashieramulti-account and multi-bank collection platform designed to enable public and private clients collect and pay funds. In the end the organisation succeeded in helping Delta State realise an increase in the state revenue allocation, reduce revenue leakages on the state collections.

In a similar vein, Xpress Payment also provided solutions in Ogun and Oyo States. In the former, it did so with the deployment of a Revenue Monitoring and Collection Platforms for Ogun State Internally Generated Revenue and Stateowned Tertiary Institutions using various channels.

While in Oyo State, it employed an effective collection platform, provision of POS and a fund disbursement platform.

Another remarkable feat worthy of mention is Xpress Payments’ Commencement of PTSP Operations in Nigeria, and how in a short space of three years, are remarkably ranked 6th in transaction value as per monthly ranking by NIBSS out of 20other players.

Currently managing POS terminals for 16 merchant acquirers, Xpress Payments also boasts of a robust, flexible and scalable transaction switching and processing platform which is designed as an open development platform, with a broader spectrum of transaction processing and retail banking task automation, to meet the contemporary payment challenges such as mobile payment, prepaid card customization, payment with use of tokens such as account, card, code etc.

Perhaps the most obvious question is how a supposed start-up would flourish in an already saturated Fintech Industry in Nigeria.

But the Managing Director/C. E. O of Xpress Payments, Oluwadare Owolabi, in his response said, “at the inception, few things were at the very core of our objectives; the solutions we brought to bear, which are quite essential in the consumer domain, we equally gave a careful thought to products and services that are not rendered by our competitors, which gave us an insightful edge into

the minds and needs of the consumers. “A fitting example would be one of our products; e-cashier; this product was developed to enable public and private clients collect and pay funds, monitor what was collected from the desk of the merchant and sweep to a designated account. “Also, a detailed study of the challenges fazing the customers has been at the forefront of our concerns at Xpress Payments. “The outcome of this study has prompted the establishment of a Reconciliation and Settlement Platform, which has birthed a formidable team of human and technological resources, all geared towards making reconciliation and settlement relatively easy for our customers.�

Owolabi added: “It is our mandate to provide top notch services to our customers.

Hence, in every product that we’ve built at XpressPayments, we ensure the availability of certain elements; customer service, close customer interaction, quality services and products, to mention but a few. “In this regard, we consider the needs of the customers and integrate our excellent service if need be. We also go a step further by bundling our services & enablement of

In Nigeria, ďŹ ntech is a rapidly growing industry as multitudes of the population are increasingly reaping the beneďŹ ts of sending and receiving money without necessarily having a bank account

technology to address some bottlenecks within their operation.�

The feel-good story of Xpress Payment is essentially a by-product of understanding of the needs of the consumers, as well as a desire to maintain an enviable level of flexibility and simplicity of products and services rolled out to consumers.

This point was well emphasised by the Group Head, Switching and Terminal Services, Oluwatoyin Albert.

Albert said: “It is not enough to consistently roll out products. There must be a need to suit the processes and requirements of the client, hence the need to display a healthy dose of flexibility. “Flexibility allows you the room to customise your products and services to appeal to the taste of the client. When You make simplicity your watchword, you are concomitantly ensuring smarter living. And that is what we are all about at Xpress payments� “In the line of service delivery, especially as it relates to simplifying our services, we are absolutely on track. In the process of rolling out a product we have made it a point of duty to adopt the simplest patterns possible without reducing the quality of the said product.�

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DEVELOPMENT

‘Technology Will Reduce the Leakages in Government’ Ugo Aliogo The Vice Chairman, Xpress Payment Solutions Limited, Dr. Awa Ibrahim, has said the deployment of technology will play a key role in reducing the leakages in government revenues.

Ibrahim, who disclosed this in Lagos, at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) 1st Accounting Technology Summit with the theme: ‘Disruptive Technologies: The Game Changer for Businesses,’ said if government was committed to reducing the leakages, it is necessary to block such loopholes through technology. “When you deploy technology, such as real time, and online reporting, the leakages will be greatly reduced. For instance, if you pay money to government

account in the bank, as you are paying the money, someone in the office is looking at it and monitoring it, then the money is entering into government account, therefore there is no chance for someone to take out of it. “The process is highly sustainable. If I open the portable here you can see it in real time as money is money is going into the account,� he noted.

He also stated that there was need for government to create an online interactive portal which helps to drive seamless transaction.

Ibrahim, explained that the states that have deployed technology should be commended, adding that some states have been using technology for the past 10 years, while others have

been using it 14 years ago and sustained it.

He said challenges faced by states in deploying technology are infrastructure and the human capital, “because information and communication technology is something that is relatively very new.�

He added: “For the interactive portal, there must be a time on your platform or computer such that when you open it, the interactive portal promotes seamless transaction. “The states that have deployed technology should be commended. Some states have been doing it for the past 10 years, some for the past 14 years and they are still sustaining it. “Only very few states are not using technology now. The challenges faced by states in

deploying technology are infrastructure and the human capital aspect because Information and Communication technology (ICT) is something that is relatively very new. “The internet started 25-30 years ago. In a developing country, when anything is new, it takes time for people to adapt, so we are still in a learning process. Presently, there is serious shortage of manpower in ICT. However, we will manage with what we have until there is an improvement in the human capital level.�

It was also learnt from the event how the deployment of technology would help states governments grow their Internal Generated Revenues (IGR) and improve the lives of the citizenry.

COURTESY VISIT

Founder, Nigeria and Entrepreneurship Summit & Honors (NESH), Emeka Ugwu-Oju (right), presenting to the Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon Seriake Dickson, the Communique of the second NESH Oil and Gas Roundtable held in Yenogoa... recently

Aiteo Reorganises, Announces Senior Leadership Appointments Chineme Okafor in Abuja Following a review of its operational and investment objectives and in reaction to prevailing business environment, energy outfit, Aiteo has announced its restructuring and appointment of persons into its executive management cadre.

A statement from the firm, quoted its Executive Vice Chairman, Benedict Peters, to have confirmed the restructuring.

Peters explained that the organisation had undertaken the exercise driven by the necessity to realign its considerable interests across the various sectors within which it currently operates.

He added that this was necessary, “to make the investment arms of the various businesses more effective; galvanise and enhance collective productivity to demonstrate visibly profitable outcomes for the ultimate benefit of its considerable stakeholders.�

Peters further noted that, “the uniqueness of the Group demands that an infusion of important impetus is given the necessary momentum by recognising as well as empowering key positions within the Group and realigning its considerable person-capacity to fit operational demands.� “I am delighted to confirm that we have been able to harmonise such a talented team to deepen and embolden the growth and future of our businesses, direction of which has been predicated on the urge to enhance innovative, new approaches to the beneficiation of resources across the Energy landscape,� Peters added.

He stated that the appointments were in line with the company’s ethos of housing a strong blend of skills which he added has been central to the attainment of its investment objectives. “These appointments bring together important experiences as well as industry initiative, policy,

technical and financing skills.

Most importantly, it maximises the strong energy among the team to provide material impact in sustaining refreshing, creative conviction to our approach to achieving the very lofty goals that we have set for ourselves,� he explained.

According to the statement, Mr. Chike Onyejekwe, was the pioneer Managing Director of Aiteo E&P Limited will be retiring from the company, and replaced as Managing Director

by Mr. Victor Okoronkwo, who was its Senior Vice President, Commercial and Gas and has put in over 30 years in the oil and gas sector.

Similarly, Mr. Emmanuel Ukegbu, the Chief Operating Officer of Aiteo E&P Limited will be retiring from the company, while Mr. Emmanuel Ogagarue, currently General Manager, Assets will become the Director in charge of Asset Development and

Engineering.

Mr. James Iwoh, it said will become the Director in charge of Production and Operations, from his current position as General Manager, Operations, while Mr. Mitchell Uchegbulam, the current Chief Financial Officer, becomes Group Head, Planning, Budget and Implementation.

The statement also said there was the appointment of Mr. Taiye Eyewuoma, who is presently the General Manager Joint Venture and Project Management, to the Acting Chief Financial Officer, Aiteo E&P Limited.

Mrs. Osareme Archibong, who is the current Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Head Corporate Finance, would become the General Manager, Joint Venture Finance of Aiteo E&P Limited, just as Mr. Uzoh Anijah–Obi, currently Treasury Manager becomes Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Aiteo E&P Limited, the statement further explained.

East Asia, PaciďŹ c Growth Expected to Moderate, Says World Bank Growth in developing East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) is projected to soften to 6.0 percent in 2019 and 2020, down from 6.3 percent in 2018, largely reflecting global headwinds and a continued gradual policy-guided slowdown in China.

According to a statement on the World Bank website, the region’s economies weathered the financial markets volatility of 2018 relatively well largely due to effective policy frameworks and strong fundamentals, “including diversified economies, flexible exchange rates, and solid policy buffers.�

The statement explained that while trade policy uncertainty has abated somewhat, global trade growth is likely to moderate further.

The statement also noted that domestic demand has remained strong in much of the region, the report adds, partly offsetting the impact of slowing exports.

The World Bank Vice President for East Asia and Pacific, Victoria Kwakwa, said the region’s resilient growth should bring about further poverty reduction, already at historic lows.

Kwakwa, also noted that by 2021, there was expectation for extreme poverty to dip below three per cent, adding that at the same time, however, half a billion people in the region remain economically insecure, “at risk of falling back into poverty, an important reminder of the scale of the challenges facing policymakers.�

According to the statement, “China’s ongoing, policy-guided slowdown will lead to 6.2 percent growth in 2019 and 2020, down from 6.6 percent in 2018. Growth in Indonesia and Malaysia is projected to remain unchanged in 2019, while growth rates in Thailand and Vietnam are expected to be slightly lower in 2019. “In the Philippines, a delay in approving the 2019 national government budget is expected to weigh on GDP growth in 2019, but growth is anticipated to pick up in 2020.Growth prospects among the smaller economies in EAP remain favourable. “Large infrastructure projects are expected to accelerate growth for Lao PDR and Mongolia.

Cambodia’s growth is projected to remain robust, although at a slower pace than in 2018, mainly due to weaker-than-expected external demand. Expansionary fiscal policy is expected to boost growth in Myanmar in the short term, while recent structural reforms are expected to support growth in the medium term. Growth is expected to pick up in Papua New Guinea in 2019 as the economy recovers from a catastrophic earthquake in 2018.�

First Bank Restate Commitment to Digital Banking Hamid Ayodeji The Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria, Adesola Adeduntan, has expressed the desire of the bank to remain committed in its drive for digital banking.

The move, he said would improve customer experience and promote seamless online banking across its branches worldwide.

Speaking at the future of CX/UX in West Africa’s Banking Sector -Whatsapp Banking event organised by Greater Minds events (GM) in Lagos, Adeduntan said the bank was focused on the needs of customers and user experience.

He expressed assurance hope digital banking would lead to a shift from the old mindset to an experienced mindset.

Adeduntan, who was represented at the event by the Group Head of Financial Institutions, First Bank of Nigeria, Timi George, disclosed that the future of customer and user experience in the banking sector would be driven by specific trends that would ultimately lead to the unlocking of greater potentials in the financial services sector.

He also noted that the banking behaviour has changed therefore customers would seek real time interactions and effective personalized engagements.

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INTERVIEW

Ryan: Our Focus is on Wealth Creation In this interview, the Managing Director, Emerging Markets Africa, Atlantic America Partners, Daniel Ryan, speaks on an exciting investment opportunity it provides for investors. Ugo Aliogo presents the excerpts:

C

an you tell us about your organisation and your key focus in the investment space?

We are part of a 45-year old investment banking firm known as CEA Worldwide and we have been involved in transaction over those 45 years of over $40 billion in equity transactions. We got involved in EB5 programme which is employment-based fifth version (EB5) programme. It is a job creation programme; it is not a lottery, but an investment programme. The law was written 28 years ago, at the set amount of $500,000 for each investor from any country around the world that wants to come to America for a variety of reasons. They may want to come to expand their business, educate their children, or simply because they want to live in America. The beauty is that our programme has a 10-year track record and 100 per cent approval of the applicants have gone through this process and received green cards.

There are few companies in America that do what we do and can say that.

The other thing that makes us unique is that we invest the $500,000 in brand new high quality trophy commercial real estate investments and because we have a team that has been doing this for long period of time, we form joint ventures with property developers, the highest quality in the country. We act as the money merchants; we act as the trustees because our specialty is money and financial management. We generally exceed the 10 jobs per investor by 130- 150 per cent. The most recent project that is currently under construction looks like we will probably be at 180 percent over what is required for job creation, so we are experienced at what we do because of that we have this success 10-year track record. We have been involved in 30 projects, helped 600 families and invested over $300 EB5 capitals and it is all in America. It is not in Africa and the jobs are created in America.

How long will it take for investors to get their $500,000 back?

The total process from application to the temporary green card is between 14-18 months, but what we tell people is to plan on two years in order to play safe. After that there is a waiting period of two and half years and then you get a permanent card application in place, so that gives you five and half years.

Then, there is another six months waiting period for that to be approved. Once that is approved we have a sunset clause in our document and that is a six-year period after the start of the application.

Six years thereafter we will liquidate or sell the property and portfolio. When the applicants have received all the

Ryan

approvals, they get their $500,000 back, during those years; they get a return of two per cent interest on the $500,000 which is equal the $10,000 yearly. So if it takes six years, they will get $60,000 in interest that is $560,000 plus they will get percentage of their capital gains, and then we will liquate or sell the portfolio.

Can you explain the relationship between EB5 and Atlantic America Partners?

We are what is known as a regional centre and EB5 is the law. We are what is known as the EB5 that works with the federal government and acts as a money manager for investors to utilise this programme that is a federal law, so we are a private entity, we are not affiliated with the government. But we work within the confines of the government laws, we work in conjunction with the government programmes, but we also have the applicants hire a grade A Immigration lawyer that does the legal paper work with the US government known as the USCIS and they do all the legal paper works and we handle

all the money.

By the way in each quarter, we provide our investors, a quarterly newsletter, we tell the status of the construction company, what jobs have created, what issues we are having each year we provide them an audited financial statement by a CPA or ACCA firm.

We keep our investors fully informed and transparent because we are an investment banking firm. We by law has to be transparent and our job is to make sure that investors’ money is held in trust.

can sell property in certain markets.

For instance, in South Africa right now which is one of the market we started with, there is a land right issue going on. It is called the procreation without compensation. It is a big problem in South Africa, so we have a lot of clients in South Africa that have signed with us to go through the process, and they are in the process of trying to sell some of their real estate property, but because this law is coming into place, there is a fear that they don’t know what the new constitution might be.

How long have you been in existence and what challenges have you faced so far in attracting the right investors?

We have been in existence for 45 years as the holding company, CEA worldwide, APP which is Atlantic America Partners was formed 10years ago. The challenges we run into in this programme are that people that want to come to America to invest in this programme, they are struggling with creating and coordinating their assets so they can actually they

Where do see yourself in the next 10 years?

I hope we have expanded our company’s growth to all countries throughout Africa. As I mentioned I lived in Malawi for 12 years, and there is not a lot of people that have $500,000 in their homes, there are few. But i would like to help the people in those countries little by little become wealthy and that want to come into America and again I want say a dual citizenship is a very unavailable to with every African country with America.

Falling Costs Make Wind, Solar More Affordable Christian Bogmans

Harnessing wind and solar energy for low-carbon electric power generation was once considered uneconomical. Now, rapidly falling costs for these technologies are boosting global renewable energy capacity. Renewable energy sources can help reduce carbon emissions substantially and the effects of global warming.

As the Chart of the Week from the April World Economic Outlook shows, solar and onshore wind turbines saw the biggest price declines among low-carbon energy sources between 2009 and 2017. Prices dropped 76 percent for solar panels

and 34 percent for turbines during that time, making them competitive alternatives to fossil fuels and more traditional low-carbon energy sources such as hydropower and nuclear.

The numbers are based on the so-called levelised cost of electricity, a method of calculating the cost per unit of power that would be needed to recover the investment in building and operating different generating technologies.

Global investment in renewable energy capacity has accelerated in the past decade, as wind and solar have emerged as cost-effective power sources. While hydropower attracted the most investment in

renewable energy up to 2008, wind turbines took the lead in 2009, and solar panels became the dominant investment choice by 2016. In 2017, more was invested in solar than in all other low-carbon technologies combined.

While the cost of wind and solar power generation declined, nuclear and hydropower costs rose 21 percent and 9 percent, respectively, during the same period. Unlike wind and solar power, nuclear and hydro are mature technologies that require large investment in structures with low standardization, similar to other large-scale civil engineering projects such as bridges and railroads. These factors tend to

limit the potential for cost reduction for these kinds of projects.

In contrast, research and development in solar and wind technologies, their standardization, and economies of scale in manufacturing have resulted in increasingly efficient solar panels and larger wind turbines.

While predictions are difficult, the experience with wind and solar technologies may suggest a similar path for the cost of producing electric batteries, whose production could become significantly more efficient with standardisation and economies of scale.

-Culled from the IMF website

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019

34

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

2 0 1 9 I N T E R N AT I O N A L W O R K E R S D AY

Improving Welfare of Health Workers in Nigeria In commemoration of the International Workers Day which held on May 1, Martins Ifijeh writes on the need for the Nigerian government at all levels to give priority to the welfare of medical doctors, nurses and other health workers if they are serious about fixing the sector and reducing the burgeoning menace of brain drain on the economy

Prof. Isaac Adewole

It is no longer news that at least seven in every 10 medical students in Nigeria only wish to benefit from the educational system and look for greener pastures in other countries, especially in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, United Arab Emirates, and even South Africa, where the profession is better appreciated.

Alarming Statistics At least, about 70 per cent of Nigerian resident doctors and nurses are either on the verge of leaving the country or are writing various examinations to that effect. To them, there is no need spending the remaining decades of their career in a system that would not profit them and the sector they represent. ]No wonder reports suggest an estimated 35,000 Nigerian doctors are practicing abroad out of the 72,000 medical doctors registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), with the United States and United Kingdom taking a major chunk of the percentage.

This exodus is not likely to stop anytime soon, as about 2000 medical doctors still leave the country every year, thereby depleting the remaining tens of thousands of their kind still in the country; a scenario that has in no small measure taken a huge toll on the health sector and by extension the health of the citizens.

Gaping Disparity in Pay Figures released in February 2018 by the British government showed that over 5,000 Nigerian-trained doctors and nurses were currently working with the British National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom, constituting 3.9 per cent of the 137,000 foreign staff of 202 nationalities working alongside British doctors and nurses.

A physician in Canada is paid $260,924 ($339,000 Canadian) for clinical services by the government’s ministry of health per year

Dr. Chris Ngige

on average, according to a report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information published in September 2017. On average, a family physician is paid $211,717 ($275,000 Canadian) for clinical services and a surgical specialist is paid $354,915 ($461,000 Canadian) These figures when compared to the abysmal poor renumeration of Nigerian doctors, which ranges between N150, 000 for entry level doctors and N500, 000 for consultants, show one of the major reasons why many doctors are leaving the country in droves.

NOI Polls While the statistics is alarming enough, the situation could get worse, as a survey by the Nigerian Polling organisation, NOIPolls, in partnership with Nigeria Health Watch (NHW), revealed that about eight out of every 10, representing 80 per cent of medical

The implication is that only one doctor is available to treat 30, 000 Nigerians. In the North, it’s even worse as many states have one doctor to about 50, 000 patients. In some rural areas, patients have to travel more than 30 kilometres to get medical attention

doctors in Nigeria are currently seeking work opportunities abroad.

The poll findings cut across junior, mid and senior levels in both public and private medical institutions such as house officers, corps members, medical and senior medical officers, residents, registrars, consultants and medical directors.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), for any country to be deemed to have enough doctors for its population, it should have one doctor for every 600 persons.

However, there are about 35,000 working in the country currently, according to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA). That means Nigeria needs more than 237,000 medical doctors to meet WHO standard doctor-patient ratio.

The implication is that only one doctor is available to treat 30, 000 Nigerians. In the North, it’s even worse as many states have one doctor to about 50, 000 patients. In some rural areas, patients have to travel more than 30 kilometres to get medical attention.

Priority for Health Workers Speaking with THISDAY, a Public Health Physician, Dr. Rufus Ogbeifun, believes as the new government births next month, the president, governors and other stakeholders in the nation’s affair should quickly put series of steps in place to curb brain drain and ensure doctors no longer see it as lucrative practicing outside the country.

He said two things must be addressed for this to happen: “Renumeration of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, and other health workers should be given priority as we mark Workers’ Day within few days.

We all know what obtains elsewhere. The disparity in the pay is too wide. Gone are the days doctors are regarded as middle class Nigerians. They are now among the poor Nigerians because they work round the clock daily to feed their families, yet their pay cannot take them home.”

Addressing Poor Health Facilities As part of measures to address brain drain, Ogbeifun said: “The second is for government and its partners to address the poor health facilities in the country. Assuming that Nigerian doctors have agreed to come home, what facilities are they going to meet on ground. Where are the cancer machines, where are the world class machines for the treatment and management of cardiovascular diseases?

“Where are the facilities for the management and treatment of kidney diseases? Where are the world class facilitie in our primary health centres, general hospitals and even the tertiary hospitals? How are our research institutes fairing? These two areas are priority.

Once addressed, our people will no longer travel abroad. Even those abroad would love to come home and serve their country.

Charge to Government He called on governments at all levels to bring into the system public private partnership, adding that this would enable the system work more effectively and give room for employment of more health workers, adding that in addition government should build more health facilities to absolve the thousands of jobless health workers in the country.

Harmony Among Health Workers On disharmony in the healthcare system, he said there was no island in the health sector as every profession, including doctors, nurses, anatomists, among others have their own unique jobs which on the long run is for the advantage of the patient.

“The more united the workforce is, the better for the system. A security guard in the hospital is also a vital part of the workforce. That is why every profession must be treated with respect. Divisions of labour should be respected as well,” he said.

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NEWS

Health Minister Makes Case for Patient Safety Commission Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City In order to address issues arising from the nation’s care system, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has advised the Federal Government to set up a ‘Patient Safety Commission’ in the country.

Adewale made the suggestion at Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, shortly before delivering the maiden public lecture of Oba Okunade Sijuade Olubuse II College of Health Sciences of the University with the theme “Patient Safety in Nigeria”.

He said it was his dream that an agency for patient safety would be established in the country in no distant time.

The minister, who in his lecture, defined patient safety as the prevention of errors and adverse effects to patients associated with healthcare, stressed that it was essential that all members of healthcare practioners be safety minded.

According to him, “this is why the Patient Safety Institute being established by

the Igbinedion University is commendable. I appreciated the university for remaining relevant and for making significant contributions to higher education since its establishment in 1999 as the first private university in Nigeria.”

Disclosing that the field of patient safety has emerged in response to a high prevalence of avoidable adverse events, Adewole noted that many organisations do not use a clear definition or have a clear model of understanding of the field.

“I call n organisations and management of healthcare to adopt a defined model for patient safety,” he said.

The minister announced that the Federal Ministry of HeaLth under his watch was providing leadership and a conducive environment for change in practices, regulation and coordination of patient safety interventions and efforts.

“The ministry is also in the process of providing strategic direction and sustained political will for the institutionalisation of patient safety culture in our healthcare system,” he added.

Ikeja ElectricTakes KickOut Malaria Campaign to Lagos Community Over 100 residents of Ojota recently benefited from a kick-out malaria campaign organised by electricity distributor, Ikeja Electric (IE).

The campaign, which was part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), was organised to enlighten members of the Hausa Quarters in Ojota on the dangers of malaria and the need for environmental hygiene.

The event which featured distribution of treated mosquito nets to the residents, had in attendance representatives of Hygeia, a health management organisation.

Speaking at the event, Chief Technical Coordinator, IE, Sunday Oyewole said the company was interested in the health and wellbeing of its customers, which explains its people-centred CSR projects.

He appealed to the residents to always keep their environments clean, avoid blocking drainages and to use the mosquito nets availed them since malaria, a tropical ailment, is transmitted to humans by the female anopheles mosquito.

Oyewole said: “The net is to be used to protect and prevent bites from mosquitoes, not to be kept under the bed. The net should be let out of the pack and exposed to sun before usage to avoid suffocation.

“There are over 100 million estimated cases of malaria and 300,000 deaths yearly in Nigeria. People fall sick because of mosquito bites. We

want to reduce the number of malaria deaths, that is why we visit different communities yearly.

“At IE, we celebrate the World Malaria Day and join in the global campaign against the disease. That is why we came here to educate the residents on the dangers of malaria and mosquito bites. We usually visit the communities ourselves. “ Last year, we were at waterside communities in Okota and Amuwo Odofin areas. We want our customers to know that we are not just giving them electricity for their money but also interested in their wellbeing.

“We deemed it fit to come and talk to them on the hazards of malaria and also distribute thousands of mosquito nets to the people.

These nets kill mosquitoes once they perch on them because they are already treated with insecticides,” he said.

Appreciating the gesture, Seriki Hausa, Alhaji Attahiru Hassan, said the nets would be put to good use, noting that some of their kinsmen sleep outside.

He said: “I really appreciate IE for doing this for our community. I pray God bless them more. The mosquito nets will really be of help to us especially some of the boys who sleep outside. It will prevent bites from mosquito. I also appreciate them because light has improved in our area unlike before. They shoukd keep it up.”

Nigeria Accounts for 25% of Malaria Burden Globally, Says BACATMA Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi The Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/ AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Malaria (BACATMA) has disclosed that Nigeria accounts for 25 per cent of malaria burden globally, and 19 per cent of malaria deaths across the world.

It also stated that children accounts for 61 per cent of all malaria deaths globally.

The Executive Chairman, BACATMA, Dr Mohammed Sambo Alkali, made this dis-

closure recently while briefing newsmen on malaria response in the state to mark the 2019 World Malaria Day. He said Africa accounts for 90 per cent of global cases of malaria and 91 per cent of malaria deaths, adding that as part of measures to combat malaria in the state, it has distributed 3.8 million mosquito nets across the 20 local government areas of the state. Alkali who explained that malaria was a disease caused by a protozoan called plasmodium said the disease commonly

affects children under five years of age, pregnant mothers, sicklers and people with low immunity.

The BACATMA chairman enumerated the symptoms of the disease to include fever, headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, loss of appetite, adding that severe malaria causes confusion, convulsions, loss of consciousness, lack of blood, yellow discoloration of eyes and bleeding.

“The treatment is with Artemism Based Combination Therapy (ACT). Malaria can be prevented through health

education, early diagnosis and treatment, use of Long Lasting Insecticidal Treated Nets (LLITNs), intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) for pregnant mothers, environmental management which include Indoor Residual Spray (IRS), outdoor spray of mosquito and other measures,” he said.

He said as part of activities marking this year’s world malaria day, they would embark on a five-day programme in communities within the state capital and train personnel on the disease.

L-R:ProjectsCoordinator,SickleCellFoundation,Nigeria,EbenezerAdeleye;CSISpecialist,MultiChoiceNigeria,AkaomaOnyeonoru,AkaomaOnyeonoru; Chairman,SickleCellFoundation,Nigeria,ProfOluAkinyanju;PRSpecialist,CorporateAffairs,MultiChoiceNigeria,TimothyOkwu;andResourceConsultant, SickleCellFoundation,Nigeria,Mrs.AyoOtaigbe,attheopeningofthe18theditionoftheSickleCellGeneticCounsellingWorkshop,sponsoredbyMultiChoice Nigeria,andheldattheSickleCellFoundation,NigeriaCenter,IdiAraba,Lagosrecently

OAUTHC Performs 70 Open Heart Surgeries inTwoYears Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo The Chief Medical Director, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH) Ile-Ife, Prof Victor Adetiloye, said the institution has performed over 70 successful open heart surgeries in the last two years.

Speaking at a press conference to herald four and half years of

being at the helm of affairs in the institution recently, he said over 600 laparoscopic (pin-hope) surgeries were equally performed in the hospital. Adetiloye who showered encomium on the Federal Government, as well as the Ministry of Health, for the role they played in the development of the health sector, noted that the hospital was the leading

institution that has achieved such a record.

He said: “High points are the successful laparoscopic gastrectomy and colorectal surgeries pioneered in the hospital. “Over a thousand endoscopy procedures have been carried out under one year of the acquisition of the modern and equipped endoscopy suite.”

He said OAUTHC Ile-Ife was the only centre in West Africa that has performed this procedure, with 75 procedures performed within the last one year that the institution started. The CMD who stated that health system was capital intensive, urged the federal government and stakeholders in health sector to assist in the area of funding.

Firm Kicks-off Free Basic First Aid, CPRTraining Peter Uzoho As part of its corporate social responsibility, Falck Prime Atlantic (FPA), a subsidiary of Prime Atlantic Limited, has kicked-off its free basic first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training, an initiative aimed at equipping 400 Nigerians with skills to save lives during emergency situations.

The programme with the tagline: “Saving Lives. One Nigerian at a Time”, commenced last weekend in Lagos,

where some domestic workers and drivers were trained on CPR application – a step by step process of reviving an unconscious/breathless person.

CPR is a life-saving technique which is useful in many emergencies including a heart attack or near-drowning during which someone’s breathe has stopped.

Speaking at the programme, the Director, Business Development, Falck Prime Atlantic, Folake Sanyanwo, said the initiative was borne out of the need to get more people

trained to be able to save the next man during any emergency situation.

She said: “We are all about safety, saving lives, and responding to health emergencies. This training is required because the opportunity to save lives is one that we should all be prepared for.”

Sanyanwo explained that the decision to train domestic staff and drivers was very strategic, adding that “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”.

She also said the company hopes to continue offering such training for a long term so that it would be remembered to have contributed to increasing the population of those out there that can actually help other people. Sharing his experience, one of the beneficiaries, Famous Favour, said the training has opened his eyes to know more about first aid.

Osun Ambulance Agency Parleys Stakeholders on Road Safety Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo Osun State Transport Unions have been urged to comply with road safety regulations in order to reduce road crashes and accidents in the state.

The General Manager Osun Ambulance (O’Ambulance) Services Agency, Dr. Olusegun Babatunde made this known at

the maiden edition of Sensitisation/Advocacy on Road Safety with transport stakeholders in the state, held at the National Union of Journalists Press Center, Osogbo. He said the agency wants to ensure its response time to emergency call is reduced to five minutes or less, adding that the lofty ambition can only be achieved through the coopera-

tion of transport stakeholders to alert the agency and give the right of way to ambulances.

Highlighting the core mandate of the agency, he informed the gathering that apart from rescue, treatment and prompt evacuation of accident victims, the agency also offers referral services to patients across all levels of health facilities as may

be necessary. Babatunde while responding to the complaint that, O’Ambulance does not carry corpses said, it is designed for transporting accident victims to the nearest hospital, but however explained that the ambulance can be used to carry only dead bodies of fresh accident victims and deposit same at the morgue.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019

INTERVIEW

Tejuoso: For Human Capital Development, Address Malnutrition, Brain Drain Senator Lanre Tejuoso is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health. In this interview with Martins Ifijeh during the just concluded 2019 IMF/World Bank Spring Meeting in Washington DC, he spoke on the need for government to prioritise human capital develpment, address malnutrition and improve healthcare of Nigerians. He also addressed the implementation of the BHCPF, school feeding programme and other sundry issues. Excerpts: How can we address issues around human capital development in Nigeria?

There are different areas of human capital development, but let me first of all talk about my own profession, which is medicine. You can see that all our medical doctors are leaving because they are looking for greener pastures.

Our salary system cannot be compared to what obtains in other countries. The difference in salary structure is too much. Meanwhile, the medical profession is needed like oxygen in the country. There must be a way to address the salary structure in Nigeria so that our doctors and other healthcare workers will be encouraged to stay.

Even the nurses and other healthcare professionals are leaving. Many countries, including those in Europe know the need of healthcare, so they have reduced the stringent measures for our doctors and nurses to come into their countries. In the United Kingdom now, they are doing everything to have our nurses and other healthcare professionals work with them. Meanwhile, we are doing nothing to keep them in Nigeria.

Another area of human capital development we need to address is malnutrition. Today, we have about 11 million stunted children.

Meaning that in about 15 years time, these children will be around 25 years old, and they will be the ones manning the civil service and other areas of the economy. But their brains will not be developed enough to cope with what their age mates have to offer. This in turn will tell on the economy of the nation as well as their individual lives. Stunting is an irreversible damage because it cannot be corrected.

Meanwhile, if we know that there is no correction, then why don’t we just stop stunting from increasing? Look at the 2.5 million children that are malnourished in the country. Once you miss the first two years in a child’s life, the brain is permanently retired and that child becomes stunted. So there is nothing you can do again after the first two years. Even if we have forgotten these 11 million children, what about the 2.5 million who urgently need interventions?

To treat one already malnourished child takes about N50,000 per year. So let’s say two years will cost N100,000. Do you know we have to import these treatments? The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is supporting us, but they are catering for 500,000 children. So we still have about two million malnourished children to sought for.

Two million times N100,000 is the amount needed. This means we must set our priorities right during healthcare budgeting. We can’t talk about human capital development when we are not talking about the future of our children.

Before you came on board as Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, there was no budget to address malnutrition.

But few years ago, it was included in the budget. How far has this gone in addressing malnutrition?

Yes. About N600 million was put into the budget, but around N350 million was released.

How many children will that treat?

The way forward is for us to re-prioritise in a very strict way. There are some things now that we need to cancel. For example, we are doing school feeding, which is good, but those children have passed the age, their brian is already formed. If we are going to feed them in the school, let us feed the ones whose brains still have the window period to develop optimally.

The school feeding programme is a laudable project but we must go to the basic, which

Apart from the vaccine issue, we can also locally provide treatment for addressing malnutrition. These malnourished children can only be fed with the replacement therapy (RETF). Meanwhile, we are finding it difficult to manufacture RETF in Nigeria because 25 per cent of the content is soecika groundnut.

Though we have groundnut in Nigeria, the World Health Organisation said the specfic content of our own is not good enough, so we have to import groundnut again to do it.

But why can’t we develop our own agricultural process with the support of international communities. They have been supporting anyway, now they should help us to have plants that manufactures RETF. It will save us a lot of foreign exchange. If organisations are winding down support for instance on vaccines and other areas, we should be able to say we are ready to produce these things ourselves.

Tejuoso

is addressing malnutrition in children below two years. Those children under the school feeding programme will survive whether you feed them or not in school because they have passed that window stage. But a child of one year and six months that cannot get the food needed to develop the brain should be targeted.

You know this thing starts when the child in his or her mother’s womb. From onset, the mother should take the ideal food for the development of the fetus. That is why Bill Gates Foundation launched a programme to that effect. He saw the emergency and he said the first 1000 days should be addressed, which means that nine months plus two years.

So we first of all focus on feeding the mother and the baby with correct nutrients for the baby to develop.

That is why we say it is very important that we develop our primary health centres for antenantal care, as this would be a channel to educate the parents on the importance of feeding in pregnancy. There are certain medicines they are supposed to be taking during pregnancy, for instance iron and folic acids.

The baby must have all these to assist the development of the brain because that is the engine of the baby and of anybody. Once you don’t have the brain you are gone. So the brain is crucial for development.

So are you proposing that the incoming government re-channel the school feeding programme for children below two years old?

Yes. I am letting the government know that the school feeding program is fantastic, but

ABIODUN AJALA

it should be targeted at giving the child well balanced maintenance. I will also encourage poor families to send their children to school.

But then if the already stunted children are the ones targeted in schools, there is a likelihood they won’t learn well at the same level with their counterparts who are well nourished, because their learning process will be slow and retarded.

What effort is Nigeria taking as some development partners are winding down their interventions in the country?

Our aim is for Nigeria to have a recipientfocused investment. You know World Bank and other development partners are always talking every year on how to increase their support for us. So we are saying they should now refocus on how they will make us self sustainable. For instance, GAVI has given us a two-year notice that they are going to withdraw their support in about eight years time in the provision of vaccines. Meanwhile, Nigeria is not prepared to supply its own vaccines itself.

Aren’t they withdrawing because government says Nigeria’s economy has improved?

Yes, but we don’t have any vaccine production plant in Nigeria. While we are receiving all these supports, we are also encouraging them to help us in establishing our own vaccine factory. Companies benefiting from the purchase of vaccines into Nigeria should be able to talk to World Bank and other partners to fund such productions. They must have a vision of coming to set up a plant. We have investors in Nigeria who only require technical partnership.

But Nigeria has Bio-Vaccine; an organisation trying to start a vaccine production company in Yaba. Can’t that be a replacement?

If GAVI for instance had left when they proposed to leave, would we have had any replacement? At first, they told us they would leave in two years time, we pleaded for them to extend it to another eight years. Vaccine is a life saving product for Nigeria, and as such, we should have it manufactured in our country.

There are so many organisations that want to do corporate social responsibilities but they want these products (for instance, vaccines) for immediate disbursement, which means they won’t have to wait for three months to get them imported into the country. They will rather go and buy indomie or whatever is on ground. So we have a lot of Nigerians that are ready to invest.

We must concentrate our efforts into getting genuine technical partnership. This way, people will be encouraged to invest. Vaccines, nutrition therapies, and related products are technical and sensitive products. You can’t just wake up and say you want to start producing RETF because the conditions are very strict.

While you were presenting at the Palladium in Washington DC, you mentioned that the implementtion of the BHCPF is still very much on paper, and that it is not running the way you and your colleagues expected it to run. Can you expatiate on that?

Its very simple. We appropriated money a year ago for 2018 and the money is still intact. It is better with full implementation so that that money budgeted is utilised as planned within the time frame. The struggle last year was to convince all my mates to make sure that the money was enmarked. Now, to defend it for this new year, they will tell you why should they put in another money when that of last year was not used.

So what then happens to the BHCPF earmarked for last year?

The thing is, it will be transfered to the next year so that it doesn’t go back to the treasury.

The way we made the policy is such that the money is supposed to be into a basket. It is a minimum contribution in Nigeria to a basket.

Now Bill Gates too is giving us money to put in that basket. So that is the idea. Our own contribution is to help our technicians. Its our own contribution as a country. That is why immediately the World Bank saw our effort, they gave us 20 million dollars to put and every year it is billed to increase once they see that we are serious about funding BHCPF.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019

37

HEALTH

Giving Back to Alma Mater through Free Medical Mission As part of concerted efforts to give back to their Alma Mater; members of the Obafemi Awolowo Muslim Graduates Association in partnership with the National Council of Nigerian Muslim Organisations USA, recently concluded a five-day medical outreach, held at Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife School clinic, with over 1000 persons benefitting from free medical treatments, including 45 free eye surgeries. Sunday Ehigiator reports For those with good health and sight, understanding what it feels like to live with an impaired vision, or inability to move around at will, is like asking a food vendor if she is hungry because they can never relate to what the sufferer goes through.

Testimonials Like the biblical woman with the issue of blood who had to defile all stumbling blocks to touch the helm of the garment of Jesus for healing, downtrodden Oderinde Kafilat; one of the 45 beneficiaries of the free cataract surgeries provided by the Obafemi Awolowo Muslim Graduates Association and the National Council of Nigeria Muslim Organisation (NCNMO) USA, decided to defy her denigrative in-laws, the scorching sun, and other obstacles to arrive at the venue for the free medical outreach with the help of her 10-year-old son, Mutiu.

Although she had to wait for about 400 others ahead of her to be attended to, she was filled with hope that she wouldn’t return home the way she left, and eventually, she got a testimony to share to the world at the end.

Kafilat narrated to THISDAY, how she endured the pains on her eyes for over six years till it was finally operated on.

According to her, “I woke up from sleep about six years ago and I started feeling pains in my eyes. I have tried every local means possible to relieve myself without knowing I was further injuring myself. I applied traditional means because when I went to the hospital, the amount they called for the treatment was too outrageous and we couldn’t afford it. Few of my husband’s family members started tagging me a witch because of the circumstances surrounding how the eye problem occurred.

Saying, only witches wake up from sleep and develop eye problems out of their sojourn in the spirit world.”

“But I thank God that it is all behind now.

I did the operation yesterday and the pain has stopped and I can feel my eyes. I would be going back to the clinic in two days time for post operation checkup. And I can’t wait to tell those that had laughed at me before that I am fine and that I am not a witch,” an elated Khafilat said.

In the case of Mr. Gabriel Christopher, he first thought the medical outreach was too good to be true even though he hoped it was. You wouldn’t blame Gabriel for his initial resolution

Cross section of beneficiaries

if you consider the cost of a cataract surgery which is between N30,000 to N50,000 in a reputable hospital.

Of course, this excludes few consumables needed after the operation, and charges for bed space if required.

According to Gabriel, “I was diagnosed of cataract two years ago, but based on financial incapability, I wasn’t able to operate it. But I thank the organisers here. They have really helped me in a lot of ways. Sight is life. If you can’t see, you are as good as not living. My sight has been operated on, and I am very grateful to UNIFEMGA and the NCNMO,” he said.

Another beneficiary, one Saidat Ibrahim said, “I never knew I was hypertensive and my blood pressure wasn’t reading normal till I came for checkup. They have been able to place me on some supplements to normalise my blood pressure and also my heart condition.

They also educated me on its management.”

Giving Back For UNIFEMGA members, giving back is the best way to show appreciation to the school which made them. Years in the University of lfe they said was the best days of their lives.

It was days of making friends, learning and embracing life with a passion. They gained so much more than just an education from their lecturers, so it is natural they try to give as much back as they can. Either in donations

or volunteerism.

In his welcome address, Board of Trustees Chairman, UNIFEMGA, Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti, said the five days medical outreach which begun April 13 to April 16, was an offshoot of the collaboration between the NCNMO and UNIFEMGA during 2018 reunion of UNIFEMGA in Ile-Ife. According to him, “the partnership is centred on three areas of common interest which include health, family matters and education. I am happy that about a year after that decision, it has become a reality.”

Speaking with THISDAY, NCNMO Medical Team Lead, Dr. Fatai Ilupeju, explained that the turn out from the mission was amazing, adding that they have so far, successfully carried out 45 cataract surgeries.

Commendation The Vice Chancellor, OAU, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, lauded the joint effort of UNIFEMGA and NCNMO. He said: “This is a laudable effort we would always be a part of as an Institution. UNIFEMGA, NCNMO and other alumni have at several times taken up and completed laudable projects for the school without any external funding or support; but within themselves, they took care of it.

Working Partnership Also speaking, National President, UNIFEMGA,

Abdulwaheed Odeyimka said, “This medical mission is an offshoot from the last UNIFEMGA conference held here. It’s a joint effort between us and NCNMO, USA. Health is a very critical aspect of living. In fact as you know, health is wealth but not everybody can afford this.

Because it is not cheap and the poverty rate in the country is on the high.

“The programme started on March 30 with free eye screening for over 220 patients in preparation for 45 cataract surgeries which we have successfully conducted within the periods as stipulated for the medical mission. We are in collaboration with five team members of NCNMO, as led by Dr Ilupeju; an anesthesiologist in Westwood, Massachusetts affiliated with Boston Medical Centre.

“They worked alongside UNIFEMGA team, as led by Prof. Akeem O. Lasisi, Consultant Otolaryngologist at the University College Hospital, Ibadan and Chief Medical Director, LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, and other volunteers to provide free medical services to people in Ile- Ife and its environs.

And we are grateful to Allah for making this mission a very successful one,” he said.

A member of the NCNMO USA five-man delegate, Ms. Medina Ope expressed her passion for humanity. According to her, “From the outcome of this event, it is important to hint that there cant be enough of these kind of gestures. We all need to come together and give a helping hand. Even with the little resources at our disposal, a lot can be done to help out. I am glad to have been a part of this and I would definitely want to continue being a part of this because this is the whole essence of humanity; helping the less privilege in the society”.

Chief Medical Director, Lautech Teaching Hospital, and Head of Medical Mission Team, Prof Akeem Lasisi said, “all those checked upon and confirmed to be having treatable medical challenges within the ranges as planned for, have been well treated and taken care of, while we have referred those outside the range to trusted specialist hospitals.

“We have also made necessary provisions and fully paid for further checkups on those we treated after the period of the medical outreach elapses.

All they only need to do is make themselves available to the designated medical centers in the school that they have been assigned to.”

Tele-medicine Will Aid Universal Health Coverage, Says Chibundu Martins Ifijeh The Founder, Doctorcare247, Dr. Chuks Chibundu, has stated that tele-health will help Nigeria move faster towards achieving Universal Health Coverage and access to improved and qualitative healthcare in the country.

He said it was in addressing issues around accesibility to healthcare professionals and their services that an online application, Doctorcare247 was birthed, as Nigerians,

anywhere, anytime can get healthcare services as long as they have a mobile phone.

Stating this at the launch of Doctorcare247 platform and the unveiling of its ambassador in Lagos recently, the CEO said the new innovation was an integrated tele-health platform that enables doctors and other healthcare specialists educate, diagnose and treat patients online. He said the primary reason for creating the online platform is to bring convenience to the people,

especially now that patients clamour for convenience and quick access instead of spending long hours on queues in hospitals waiting to access treatment. Chibundu said: “This platform provides roundthe-clock e-health consultations through doctors and specialists certified by the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council and by our own thorough checks.

“What this means is that the platform provided by Doctorcare247 can help users to break the barriers of distance, travel

time, logistics and long waiting hours in hospitals because its features allow patients to access quality healthcare services from medical providers online, anytime and anywhere.

“What we have done is to make sure that patients can get healthcare services whenever and wherever they need them.

People are searching for convenience; they want everything delivered to their doorsteps.

“So, imagine you don’t have to go to the hospital and wait for hours just to see a doctor.

That is what Doctorecare247 will do for you. You can easily consult your doctor via audio, video calls and text, instead of going to the hospital.”

While acknowledging that tele-health was an entirely new thing in Nigeria, Chibundu said he is optimistic that the platform was an idea whose time has come as experience has shown that Nigerians, like their counterparts abroad, want convenience in everything they do, including shopping.

The Chief Retail Officer, Health-

Plus Ltd, Foluke Akinniranye said her organisation has investigated Doctorcare247 and can confirm that it is credible, adding that it was what Nigeria needs at this time to address issues of lack of access to healthcare, self-medication and self-prescription.

She attested to the efficacy of tele-health and stressed that Doctorcare247 can help the government in fulfilling its mandate of providing quality healthcare services as well as in achieving universal health coverage for the country.

Dogara Offers Free MedicalTreatments to 10,000 Bauchi Residents Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has sponsored free medical treatment for 10, 000 people in Bauchi Local Government Area (LGA) of Bauchi State.

The medical outreach which

commenced earlier in the week at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) Bauchi was carried out by specialists under the aegis of ‘Doctors on the Move Africa’.

Speaking with journalists shortly after the flag off of the

exercise, Team Leader, Doctors on the Move Africa, Dr. Haruna Joseph Kigbu, explained that this was the first phase of the annual free medical outreach being sponsored by the speaker, adding that the second phase would hold in Azare, Katagum LGA.

‘’We are here today to implement a free medical outreach programme that is being sponsored by the speaker of the Nigerian parliament Dogara. Our projection for the next six days is to treat about 10, 000 patients. Last term we were able to treat 18,

000 patients in this hospital,’’ he said According to him, the services to be provided to patients include, general consultation, administration of free drugs, laboratory service, untra sound scanning, test and treatment of diabetes,

hyper tension and surgery on people with cataracts, fibroids, Hernia etc.

He called on the incoming governor of Bauchi State to commit funds into such project opining that many people die of ailments because they cannot afford health services.

THURSDAY MAY 2, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

38

INTERNA TIONAL

Julian Assange Sentenced to 50 Weeks Jail for Skipping Bail WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, who spent almost seven years inside the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK before his arrest last month, has been sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching his 2012 bail conditions.

The Australian national was

given refuge at the residence in 2012 while on bail in the UK over charges of sexual assault and rape in Sweden, which he denies.

But on April 11, Assange was arrested after the Ecuadorian government withdrew his asylum claim.

Theresa May Sacks Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has sacked Gavin Williamson as Defence Secretary.

Downing Street said the PM had “lost confidence in his ability to serve” and Penny Mordaunt will take on the role.

The inquiry followed reports over a plan to allow Huawei limited access to help build the UK’s new 5G network.

Williamson, who has been defence secretary since 2017, “strenuously” denies leaking the information.

In a meeting with Williamson on Wednesday evening, Theresa May told him she had information that provided “compelling evidence” that he was responsible for the unauthorised disclosure.

In a letter confirming his dismissal, she said: “No other, credible version of events to explain this leak has been identified.”

Responding in a letter to the PM, Williamson said he was “confident” that a “thorough and formal inquiry” would have “vindicated” his position.

“I appreciate you offering me the option to resign, but to resign would have been to accept that I, my civil servants,

my military advisers or my staff were responsible: this was not the case,” he said.

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said Williamson was “sticking to his story that it was nothing to do with him.”

She said the leak from the security council was “unusual” and “clearly she (the PM) felt that she had to take action in this case”.

But security correspondent Frank Gardner said the BBC had been told that “more than one concerning issue” had been uncovered regarding Mr Williamson during the leak inquiry and not just the Huawei conversation.

The inquiry into the National Security Council leak began after a Daily Telegraph report on the Huawei decision and subsequent warnings within cabinet about possible risks to national security over a deal with Huawei.

The National Security Council (NSC) is made up of senior cabinet ministers and its weekly meetings are chaired by the prime minister, with other ministers, officials and senior figures from the armed forces and intelligence agencies invited when needed.

Attorney General Barr Defends Handling of Mueller Report Amid Furore The United States Attorney General, William Barr, has defended his handling of the Russia inquiry amid complaints he misrepresented the special counsel’s findings.

Barr was grilled about his decision to clear the president of obstruction of justice while appearing before a Senate panel.

His testimony came after revelations that Mueller expressed frustration over the summary of the report.

Mueller is expected to testify to Congress later this month.

The attorney general, the nation’s top legal official, testified for the first time on Wednesday since releasing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 448-page report, which found there was no collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump’s campaign in the 2016 election.

But the report did not exonerate the president of obstruction of justice in his alleged attempts to undermine Special Counsel Mueller.

Barr, who was appointed

by Trump, told the Senate Judiciary Committee he was “frankly surprised” Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether the president had tried

to obstruct justice.

He added that he was “absolutely” confident in his own judgment that Trump did not unlawfully attempt to impede the investigation.

“I think that if he felt that he shouldn’t go down the path of making a traditional prosecutorial decision, then he shouldn’t have investigated,” he said.

The attorney general’s testimony to Congress came after a letter he received from Mueller was made public, in which the special counsel said Mr Barr’s summary “did not fully capture the context, nature and substance” of his report’s findings, and caused “public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation”.

The letter, dated 27 March, expressed Mr Mueller’s frustration that Barr did not release the executive summaries prepared by the special counsel’s team. Mueller said he shared these concerns two days earlier.

During the hearing, Barr said that Mueller was not concerned with the accuracy of the summary but with how it was being reported by media.

Assange was found guilty of breaching the bail act last month and was sentenced today.

The 50-weeks handed down by judge Deborah Taylor was just short of the maximum one-year sentence.

Assange told the court he had been “struggling with difficult circumstances,” and apologised to those who “consider I’ve disrespected

them.”

“I did what I thought at the time was the best or perhaps the only thing that I could have done,” he said.

His lawyer added that Assange was forced to take action as he feared “kidnap and torture” by the US. Because of his work on WikiLeaks, Assange was said to be “gripped” by fears of rendition to America.

Judge Taylor told Assange that “by hiding in the embassy you deliberately put yourself out of reach, while remaining in the UK.” “You exploited your privileged position to flout the law and advertised internationally your disdain for the law of this country,” she added, noting the policing resources outside of the embassy during the time he

was there cost the taxpayer £16 million.

Assange will face a hearing on Thursday related to his potential extradition to the US over allegations that he conspired with former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to download classified databases.

If found guilty, he could be sentenced to five years in prison.

Venezuela’s opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, addressing his supporters after mass protests in Caracas…yesterday

AU Threatens Sudan with Suspension The African Union (AU) has said that it is “with deep regret” that the military authorities in Sudan have not handed over power to civilians, Reuters news agency reports.

The AU had, shortly after former President Omar al-

Bashir was overthrown three weeks ago, given the military 15 days to transfer power.

Now it has given the coup leaders another 60 days to step down in favour of civilians.

If they fail to do this Sudan will be suspended from the AU, AFP news agency reports.

The AU’s Peace and Security Council said it “reiterates its conviction that a military-led transition in the Sudan will be totally unacceptable and contrary to the will and legitimate aspirations, to democratic institutions and processes,

as well as respect for human rights and freedoms of the Sudanese people,” AFP quotes it as saying.

The military leaders have been holding discussions with protest leaders and opposition figures on how to manage the transition to democratic rule.

Venezuela crisis: Defiant Maduro Claims Victory over Guaidó ‘Coup’ Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro has said he has defeated an “attempted coup” by opposition leader Juan Guaidó.

Dozens of National Guardsmen sided with the opposition in clashes on Tuesday that injured more than 100 people.

But in a defiant TV address, President Maduro said Guaidó had failed to turn the military against him.

Guaidó insists that Maduro has lost control of the armed forces. The opposition leader called for more streets protests on Wednesday.

“Today we continue,” he tweeted. “We will keep going with more strength than ever, Venezuela.”

Guaidó has been recognised as interim leader of Venezuela by more than 50 countries, including the US, the UK and most in Latin America.

The US reiterated its support for Guaidó on Wednesday, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying “military action is possible” if necessary.

But Maduro, backed by Russia, China and the top of the country’s military, has refused to cede leadership to his rival.

Pompeo is scheduled to speak with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday, National Security Adviser John Bolton said.

In his televised address, flanked by military commanders, Maduro accused protesters of “serious crimes” which he said would “not go unpunished”.

Both the president and Guaidó have called on their supporters to take to the streets, setting up more potential violent unrest in a nation already beset by economic crisis, chronic power cuts and widespread food shortages.

Maduro lashed out again at the United States, which he accuses of plotting against him.

He dismissed a claim by the US that he had a plane ready on the tarmac to take him to Cuba, a staunch supporter of the beleaguered president.

“They had an airplane on

the tarmac,” Pompeo said. “He was ready to leave this morning [Tuesday], as we understand it.

Russians indicated he should stay.”

A three-minute video by Guaidó published in the early hours of Tuesday showed him standing alongside a number of men in military uniform.

He announced that he had the support of “brave soldiers” in the capital, Caracas.

He urged Venezuelans to join them in the streets, and appeared alongside another opposition leader, Leopoldo López, who had been under house arrest since 2014.

Supporters on both sides then gathered in different places of Caracas throughout the day, and there were clashes between Guaidó’s supporters and armed military vehicles.

Protesters were also seen throwing rocks, but being repelled by tear gas and water cannon. At one stage a military vehicle was filmed driving into protesters.

Guaidó, the president of the opposition-controlled

National Assembly, has called on Venezuela’s military to back him ever since he declared himself interim president in January.

He argues that President Maduro is a “usurper” because he was re-elected in polls that had been widely disputed Tuesday marked the most violent episode of the Venezuelan political crisis this year. Venezuelan health officials said 69 people were injured in the clashes, including two with bullet wounds.

Broadcasts from a number of news agencies, including the BBC and CNN, were apparently suspended amid the violence.

Later on Tuesday, it emerged Mr López had sought safety in the Chilean, then the Spanish embassy, along with his family.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency prohibition against all US carriers flying below 26,000ft in Venezuelan airspace.

It also said all US operators should leave the country within 48 hours, due to increasing political instability.

THURSDAY MAY 2, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

39

NEWSEXTRA

FAAN Withdraws Services from Gombe, Kebbi Airports over N800m Debt Chinedu Eze Flight operations may have stopped at the Gombe and

Kebbi airports as indications emerged that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) may have withdrawn

Borno NLC Seeks Compensation for Victims of Boko Haram Attacks Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri The Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Borno State chapter, Comrade Bulama Abiso, yesterday called on the state government to pay compensation to the families of workers killed in the decade-old Boko Haram crisis.

He also asked the outgoing governor of the state, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, to ensure that he did not hand over the burden of the payment of the over N20 billion gratuities owed retired workers to his successor, Prof. Babagana Umara.

Speaking during the May Day rally in Maiduguri, the state capital, Abiso lamented that over 800 workers were killed during the crisis, insisting that their families were made to live in penury as no compensation was paid to them.

He disclosed that out of the 800 workers killed, 500 were primary school teachers, 200 worked as local government staff and the 100 others were health workers.

He also called on the state government to hasten the implementation of N30,000 minimum wage to local government staff, while urging for more employment opportunities.

Abiso said creation of more job opportunities for the youths remains the panacea for many of the societal ills, including arresting the Boko Haram crisis.

On the need for the present

administration to pay the over N20 billion owed in gratuities before exiting office, Abiso said: “We are asking the outgoing government of Borno State to pay up all the outstanding arrears of allowances, pensions, and gratuity before May 29.

“If that is not done, we demand a commitment from the incoming government in that regard.

“Our demands from government consist of payment of leave grants, and promotional benefit for state civil servants, which have been stopped in the past three years.

“The non-payment of retired workers’ pensions, which are up to N20 billion must be addressed at once.

Governor Shettima, represented by his Head of Civil Service, Muhammed Hassan, said it has become too late for his government to make up for the pains caused but assured that his successor would correct his wrongs.

“Let me, therefore, apologise to the Borno State workers over the shortcomings of this administration, which shall be corrected by the incoming administration of Professor Babagana Umara Zulum.

Shettima explained why the government could not pay the workers.

“We are all aware that about 20 local government areas of the state have been affected by the insurgency; schools were

its services over N800 million unpaid debt owed it by the two airports.

FAAN for several months have requested that the two airports and the other stateowned airports in the country, which owed FAAN a total sum of N4 billion, should liquidate the debts incurred as charges for security and fire services.

A source from the agency, which confirmed the withdrawal of services yesterday, said FAAN may have made good its threat of shutting down any state-owned airport that didn’t pay up its debts on or before May 1, 2019.

It was gathered that in

response to the withdrawal of the services by FAAN, airlines could not fly to any of the two airports yesterday because without security and fire cover any airport is automatically closed for operations.

THISDAY also learnt from Gombe that a meeting was ongoing between FAAN and Gombe airport to resolve the issue.

FAAN had urged the indebted airports to offset their bills and threatened that without the payment of the debts, it would withdraw its services.

The agency issued Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to inform airlines that it would withdraw

its services from yesterday.

This followed expiration of the last one-week ultimatum issued to them by the agency, which said it had exhausted the option of amicable settlement.

This was confirmed by the General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu who said the agency had issued a NOTAM to the airports and airlines operating there.

She explained that the withdrawal of service would take place mid-night of yesterday and it would be indefinite until the debts owed the agency were paid.

According to her,

management of Osubi and Akwa Ibom Airports had paid up parts of their debts as at Tuesday, but regretted that Gombe and Kebbi airports refused to comply with the directive.

With the services withdrawn, no airline can operate to the airports, which currently enjoys the services of Arik Air, Azman Air and Max Air. Operation Manager, Azman Air, Saminu Tanko confirmed that the airline had received the NOTAM on the closure of the airports, saying their flights to the two airports would be suspended if the NOTAM were implemented.

Lagos Launches New Buses, ALUTA CONTINUA… Chairman, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Enugu State, Igbokwe Chukwuma Igbokwe; Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Offers Free Service on Five Routes L-R: Ugwuanyi; and state Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Virginus Nwobodo, during the 2019 Workers’ Day celebration, in Enugu

The Lagos State Government yesterday launched the new buses under the Bus Reform Initiative (BRI) with free service on five routes, assuring that the development would redefine public transportation and make the state globally competitive.

Specifically, the free service was launched across five routes including Berger to Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS); Berger to Oshodi; Oshodi to TBS; Ikeja to Alausa; and Ikeja to Oshodi, to commemorate the Workers Day, after which normal service starts today.

Speaking at Ikeja Bus Terminal, one of the modern terminals constructed as part of the BRI, an official of the Lagos Bus Services Limited, the operator of the buses, Mr. Timi Olajide, said it was a good thing that the buses have now been finally launched for the use of the people.

He said out of the 5,000 buses planned for the initiative, the government was launching the scheme with 820 high and medium-capacity buses, adding that aside the intelligent transport system component of the initiative, which will aid Lagosians to plan their journeys, comfort and safety of the people have also been factored into the whole process.

“In each of the buses, we have

six emergency exits and First Aid Box, while every seat has a dedicated USB port for charging of phones, free Wi-fi, television and CCTV cameras, which are linked to our control centre to monitor everything going on in the buses, among other features.

“We have also taken the issue of people with disabilities specially and there are seats reserved for them in the buses,” Olajide said.

At the Oshodi Transport Interchange, a cross section of Lagos residents who enjoyed the free service, lauded the state government, especially Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, for the buses and the infrastructure provided to support the transport reforms, saying the development was commendable.

A resident, Adewusi Oluwatobi Emmanuel said: “I am very happy to enter this bus today because it is a thing of joy that something like this can happen in Nigeria. I am happy that I can enter a beautiful bus with free Wi-Fi, free USB port, free air-conditioning and so on.

“With this, I know that this country is going to greater heights. One thing I believe we should do is to work together, love ourselves and before we know it, Nigeria will be one of the best countries in the world.”

… yesterday

INEC Lacks Power to Reverse My Election Victory, Okorocha Insists Imo State governor and Imo West senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last National Assembly elections, Rochas Okorocha, has said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lacks the power to withhold his certificate of return or reverse his election vctor after being declared winner of the Imo West senatorial election.

This was contained in a petition filed at the commission

by Okorocha on Tuesday.

The petition titled “Need to Avert Abuse of Office and Political Corruption by my Political Opponents with the Active Collaboration of INEC’s Leadership in Clear Violation of the Law” was addressed to the INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.

INEC had refused to issue a certificate of return to Okorocha despite being announced the winner of the election because the Returning Officer for the election, Professor Francis Ibeawuchi, said the declaration of Okorocha as winner of the election was made under

duress.

But according to the governor, going by the laws governing elections in the country, since the election had been concluded and a winner announced, INEC had no right not to issue him a certificate of return.

He added that if there were issues with the election after the announcement of a winner, recourse ought to be made to the election tribunals.

Okorocha cited Section 285 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, which states that, “there shall be established for the Federation one or more elections tribunal to be known as the National Assembly Elections Tribunal which shall, to the exclusion of any court or tribunal, have original jurisdiction to hear and determine petitions as to whether (a) any person has been validly elected as a member of the national Assembly.”

He also pointed out that Section 133 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) provides that “No election and return at an election under this Act shall be

questioned in a manner other than by a petition complaining of an undue election or an undue return presented to the competent tribunal or court in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution or of this Act, and in which the person elected or returned is joined as a party.”

Okorocha wondered where INEC derived the power to withhold certificate of return after a winner in an election had been announced.

The Imo State governor stressed that by toeing this line, INEC “is setting a bad precedent, which could make it to deny anyone it does not approve of electoral victory even when such person is the preference of the voting public.”

Arguing that the step taken

by INEC is not known to law, Okorocha advised the commission to seek redress in the law court, rather than taking laws into its own hands.

Okorocha also stated that INEC, in its counter-affidavit to the suit he filed at the Federal

High Court to compel it to issue him his certificate of return, did not mention any allegation to the fact that his declaration was made under duress.

According to him, “in the replies filed by INEC to the petitions filed against me by Osita Izuanso, Jones Onyeyeri, Peoples Democratic (PDP) and Uche Onyeoma Ibeh, at the Election Tribunal in Owerri, INEC actually stated that my election was duly conducted and that the declaration and return made in my favour by the Returning Officer was voluntary and not due to any duress or coercion exerted on the Returning Officer.”

While urging the commission to release his certificate of return to him, Okorocha counseled INEC leadership to refrain from reducing the commission to a willing tool in the hands of political manipulators, advising the chairman and national commissioners to preserve the sanctity of the commission as a way of strengthening the nation’s democratic process.

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THURSDAY MAY 2, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Rivers Lifts Embargo on Employment, Promotions DErnest Chinwo inPort Harcourt Rivers State Government has said it has lifted the ban on employment and promotions in the state Civil Service.

The State Governor, Nyesom Wike, announced the lifting of the ban yesterday during the 2019 International Workers Day Celebration at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium Elekahia, Port Harcourt, the state capital.

Represented by his deputy,

Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo, Wike said the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission had already been directed to conduct interviews and effect the promotion of Civil Servants to their next salary grades, noting that he has also approved the recruitment of Rivers indigenes to fill existing vacancies as part of efforts to strengthen the Civil Service for effective service delivery to the Rivers people.

Wike said the state

148 Workers Redeployed in Presidential Villa Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja In a major shake-up few weeks ahead of the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, about 148 workers have been redeployed from the State House.

Sources at the State House who gave insight about the exercise, described it as unprecedented, given the number of those affected.

THISDAY gathered that majority of those affected were mainly civil servants and security operatives.

A circular from the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, which THISDAY sighted, put the number of civil servants affected at 71.

They were on SGL 07-14.

The circular was dated April 24, 2019 and signed by Director,

He is trying to ‘demarket’ me, says Senator A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, alleging threats to his life by the senator representing Rivers South East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe. But Abe has described the allegation as not only false but an attempt by Eze to “demarket him.”

In a statement issued and circulated in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Eze alleged that some followers of the senator had called him and threatened that his entire family would be wiped out for his utterances against Abe. “Senator Magnus Abe has been angry that I exposed how he teamed up with elements within and outside Rivers State to ensure that APC in Rivers state did not field a candidate in the just concluded general election and how he has ceaselessly castigated and impugned the personality of Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the immediate past Governor of Rivers State and the incumbent Minster of Transportation. This is the same man who happened to be his benefactor and mentor.

I have been severally threatened by the senator and his boys over my defence of the Minster and my exposing their plots against him by teaming up with PDP elements within and outside Rivers State to promote the candidates of PDP in the last elections including

further stressed.

He also disclosed that state government has started implementing the N100, 000,000 interest-free loan to civil servants in a bid to advance their welfare and wellbeing.

He promised to pay the new minimum wage as soon as he receives the official transmission from the federal government while noting that the Pension Reform Bill recently passed by the State House of Assembly would bring into existence a seamless and positive scheme for workers in the state.

Wike who described his administration as workerfriendly, said despite the financial challenges, his government is up-to-date in the payment of full salaries and pensions to working and retired civil servants, stressing that his promise to construct befitting secretariats chapters for the state chapters of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress has been fulfilled and would soon be handed over.

In her address, the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Beatrice Itubo

who congratulated Wike and his deputy for their victory at the election, said the election was a referendum on the performance of the governor in the last four years, noting that the victory was an indication that a large number of the voting public in the state are happy with the Governor.

Also speaking, the Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Austin Jonah, reiterated the commitment of the labour to continually seek improvement on existing working conditions of workers.

Employee Mobility, M. S. Naibi.

The circular said all handing and taking over process should be completed on or before May 3, 2019.

“Any disregard of this deployment shall be treated in accordance with provision of PSR 030301(b),” the circular stated.

It was gathered that the affected staff have since been informed about the development.

Some of them were said to have been in the Villa for over two decades.

A source disclosed that the affected staff will be redeployed to the Ministries of Education, Health, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Environment, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the Head of Service, among others.

APC Chieftain Accuses Senator of Threatening His Life Nseobong and Okon-Ekong and Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt

government under his watch is committed to tackling social issues by creating the enabling environment for the private sector to create jobs and empower our youths.

“We are also strengthening our educational system to ensure that our graduates are imbued with appropriate skills and the mindset to become job creators rather than job seekers and will also continue to implement effective policies and programmes that will address and lift our people from poverty to economic prosperity,” Wike

even the presidential ambition of Atiku Abubakar all because of a desperate hope of making Atiku’s ministerial cabinet.

“Senator Abe and his group got more incensed by the recent press statement by me, exposing how he (Abe) is assisting Governor Wike of Rivers state to recruit other Nigerians to malign and destroy the person of the Minster of Transportation, so that he will not be renominated by President Buhari into his second term tenure.

An exercise in futility.

But in his reaction, Abe said recent publication against his person on the social media accusing him of alleged assassination plot is false and does not have anything to do with him, saying the said Eze is only playing a game, which he (Abe) is not prepared to dignify with a response.

Speaking on a radio programme monitored in Port Harcourt yesterday, Abe said, “Why should I be angry about this and go into any kind of argument with Eze, I know the game he is playing and he is not a threat to me and my politics, the last thing I want is for anybody to associate me with what I will consider to be stupidity because first of all Augustine, his name is known, his identity is known if he calls you and have a discussion with you and you have your own perception of what you think he said and you feel threatened by it, you take it to the police.

“They had a discussion and nobody threatened him but if he feels that, they are both adults.

How does that involve senator Abe? So, what Eze is trying to do is to demarket me,” Abe explained.

DISCUSSING MINIMUM WAGE…

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki (left), and his deputy, Hon. Philip Shaibu during a rally to mark the 2019 May Day celebration at the University of Benin Sports Complex in Benin City…yesterday

Ogoniland Clean-up: Minister, Other Top FG Officials Begin Tour of UK Udora Orizu in Abuja To equip themselves with international experiences and best practices on the clean-up of large-scale contaminated sites, including Ogoniland, the Minister of Environment, Suleiman Hassan Zarma is currently leading other senior government officials to the United Kingdom (UK) on an international working visit, facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The international site visit will allow the delegates to observe an extensive range of in-situ and exsitu remediation techniques, such as soil washing, bioremediation, thermal desorption, and separating techniques, among others.

It is envisaged that these demonstrations and visits will build Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), a dedicated institution to manage

the clean-up process under the oversight of the Environment Ministry.

In a statement signed by the Ministry’s Director of Press, Saghir el Mohammed: “The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) assessed the extent and severity of the contamination in 2011 and found severe and widespread contamination due to oil production spanning several decades.”

“Experts have said that the restoration of Ogoniland initiated by the Federal Government of Nigeria could prove to be the world’s most complex and longest oil clean-up exercise ever undertaken.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria has committed to follow the United Nations Environment Programme’s recommendations.

Thus, upon assumption of office in 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari underscored his resolve

to restore livelihood in the oil-contaminated Ogoniland, by creating the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), a dedicated institution to manage the clean-up process under the oversight of the Federal Ministry of Environment.”

“It is in order to equip them better to deliver on their mandate that the minister is leading members of HYPREP’s Governing Council as well as other senior stakeholders currently on working visits to five sites in the United Kingdom, as part of a series of international site visits,” the statement said.

Acccording to the statement, these include Biogénie’s Trecatti and Redhill soil treatment facilities in South Wales and South East England respectively; the Coed Darcy regeneration project in South Wales; the former Avenue Coking Works in the East Midlands, and ALS Laboratories

in North West England.

“Biogénie’s Trecatti contaminated soil treatment facility in Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales is able to clean-up a variety of contaminants with a specific focus on soils impacted by petroleum hydrocarbons. In addition, the Biogénie’s Redhill soil treatment facility in South East England operates at a larger scale and can accept a wider range of types of waste.

“It also acts as the main treatment facility for London and the South East. In addition, the visit will be an opportunity for the delegation to visit Coed Darcy, one of the largest regeneration projects in the United Kingdom.

It was formerly occupied by the BP Llandarcy Oil Refinery until operations ceased in the mid-80s. St. Modwen is currently working with Atkins to clean up and redevelop the site in a sustainable way.

Benue Assures Contractors of Adequate Security Okoh in Makurdi The Benue State Government has assured contractors handling its road projects in the Sankera area of the state that adequate security would be provided to enable them return to site to complete the ongoing projects.

The state’s Commissioner for Works, Transport and Energy, Hon. Emmanuel Manger, gave the assurance yesterday in Katsina-Ala during an inspection tour of ongoing road projects

in the area.Manger who was accompanied by the Special Adviser to the governor on Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Alhaji Isa Usman, said the state government would address perceived cases of insecurity in the affected areas to ensure the safety of workers and equipment.

He reaffirmed the resolve of the Governor Samuel Ortom’s administration to guarantee the safety of lives and property and provision of good governance

for Benue people.

Manger charged the contractors to ensure the completion of work within stipulated time for the benefiting communities to enjoy government presence, even as he advised such communities to cooperate with the contractors.

The commissioner expressed satisfaction with the quality of work so far done, stressing that the perceived flaws should be corrected. Some officials of the contractors, Joseph Zendesha

of Zabet Nigeria Limited and Erukaa Imoter of Ghas Integrated Services Limited, promised to complete the job according to specifications of the contracts.

The roads inspected included 37-kilometre Wannune-IkpahIgbor road, four-kilometre Lubona Junction-Bristow Roundabout-Union Bank-Tor Tiv Palace road in Gboko, as well as Atim Ateze Street and Takum Junction -College of Education Roundabout roads in Katsina-Ala.

THURSDAY MAY 2, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Police Invite Gbenga Oyebode over Allegations of Money Laundering Chiemelie Ezeobi The Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) of the Nigeria Police has invited Gbenga Oyebode, one of the founding partners and Chairman, Management Board of Aluko & Oyebode (A&O), to answer some questions bordering on money laundering offences.

In the letter of invitation served on Oyebode and his firm, he was also accused of economic sabotage.

The invitation letter, which was obtained by THISDAY and signed by the Commissioner of Police, Intelligence, Habu Sani, on behalf of the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB), said it was based on allegations of fraud, embezzlement of public funds and economic sabotage.

He was also accused of allegedly influencing the movement of $4.3 billion out of Nigeria to JP Morgan Chase Bank in London, in disregard of the Federal High Court order on April 26, 2010 and on December 10, 2010, which ordered that all monies, revenue, income, funds, proceeds, earnings or however called derived from all offshore oil fields shall remain within the jurisdiction of the court in Nigeria and not to be expatriated to Equinor of Norway or any other foreign

entity.

Again, he was also allegedly fingered when MTN was accused by the Central Bank of Nigeria of illegally repatriating $8.1 billion by allegedly using irregular Certificates of Capital Importation (CCI) on behalf of some offshore investors.

The letter read in part: “The Nigeria Police, Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) is investigating the above case involving the incorporation and operations of Nigeria SEZ Investment Company Limited and release of N14.3 billion appropriation to the company domiciled with the Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority in which the name of Oyebode’s company, A & O Secretarial Services Limited, featured prominently.

The letter read in part: “The Nigeria Police, Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) is investigating the above case involving the incorporation and operations of Nigeria SEZ Investment Company Limited and release of N14.3 billion appropriation to the company domiciled with the Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority in which the name of Oyebode’s company, A & O Secretarial Services Limited, featured prominently.

The allegations against the lawyer also include money laundering against MTN and International Oil Company

Suspension: Akeredolu will Not Succumb to Intimidation, Says Aide James Sowole in Akure Following the reported suspension of the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Special Duties and Strategy, Dr. Doyin Odebowale, yesterday declared that the people of the state and the governor would not succumb to intimidation.

Odebowale, who blamed the current APC crisis in the state on the plan of some people to govern the state by proxy, said those accusing the governor of anti-party activities in the last general election were the architect of the situation in the state.

A former Commissioner for Regional Integration in Osun State and former Chairman of Alimosho Local Government in Lagos State, Mr. Bola Ilori had in a reaction blamed Akeredolu for the crisis that led to the defeat of the APC in the last election.

Ilori had alleged that the primary election that produced Akeredolu in the 2016 governorship election was fraught with irregularities, adding that the governor did not forgive those who did not support him in the primary that produced him as governor.

But Odebowale in a statement said Ilori and his sponsors laid the foundation for anti-party activities and was using their control of the APC at the centre to vilify their perceived opponents across the states in the country.

He said those that were against Akeredolu were doing

so because of their belief that the control of the party at the centre is firmly in their grip.

“They are correct to a great extent. The party leadership at that level has been able to isolate and victimise all those perceived to be antagonistic to pernicious expansionist tendencies.

“Their hyper activities have never been for service; and the irrepressible people of Ondo State are acutely aware of the lie, freely bandied by these strange progressives whose sole motive for participating in politics is to gobble the people’s commonwealth.

He said that the people of the state are independent and know what is good for them at any point in time.

“It is the people of the state that would determine who govern them and would not succumb to those who have the expansionist tendencies to rule over territories outside their domains.

“Any true indigene, including some of us who hold an insurable interest in the progress of the state through an established degree of contiguity and residency, should work for her advancement.

“The people of Ondo State will be responsible for choosing their leaders. No foreign gods will be allowed to dictate to a land whose resources contributed, immensely, in the quest for the development and sustenance of the defunct Western Region. This point has been made consistently and repeatedly. They have left no one in doubt that they will do so again”, he said.

(IOC), Equinor, which was hitherto known as Statoil.

“You are requested to report for an immediate interview with the Assistant InspectorGeneral of Police, FIB through the Commissioner of Police (intelligence) at Room 3, Second Floor, Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Complex, Garki, Abuja, on April 30, 2019 by 11a.m.“All documentation

regarding the incorporation of Nigeria SEZ Investment Company Limited; terms of engagement between the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and your company, A & O Secretarial Services Ltd in relation to Nigeria SEZ Investment Company Limited; Memorandum of Understanding/agreement between the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment

and your company A& O Secretarial Services Ltd and any of your directors.

“Copies of all correspondences between the ministry, your company and Nigeria SEZ Investment Company Ltd; Details of payments made by A & O Secretarial Services Ltd regarding the shares acquired by the company in Nigeria SEZ Investment Company Limited, details of all bank accounts held

by A & O Secretarial Services Ltd and signatories to the accounts.”

Efforts to reach the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, proved abortive as his number was switched off.

As at press time, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, transferred CP Habu Sani, who is in charge of the case to head the Bauchi Police Command.

HONOURING THE WORKFORCE…

L-R: Osun State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Jacob Babatunde Adekomi; Osun Deputy Governor, Mr. Gboyega Alabi; representative of Speaker of State House of Assembly, Hon. Abiodun Awolola; and Chief of Staff to the governor, Dr. Charles Akinola, during the celebration of Workers Day, at the Osogbo City Stadium, Osogbo…yesterday

Abe Preaches Respect for Internal Democracy to End Squabbles in APC The senator representing Rivers South-east senatorial district in the National Assembly, Magnus Ngei Abe, has declared that respect for internal democracy rather than impunity will end the raging squabbles in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.

Abe, who made the declaration when he appeared on a live radio programme monitored in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State, also declared that he will continue to champion the cause for the enthronement of internal democracy within the ranks of the ruling party even as he pledged his unalloyed commitment to the party.

The senator maintained that his resolve is anchored on the fact that they left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because of impunity and high-handedness and would not allow the same character to permeate the APC. He said: “You know this was the same struggle that took us out of the PDP, it was the same struggle for internal democracy, for the respect of human rights.

Respect for the citizens, respect for constitution, respect for due process rather than impunity.

“That’s what made us to live the PDP and that’s why we’re in APC. So if we made all that effort, all that sacrifice and then we get this far and we abandon this struggle, what was it about?

“So, I believe that, it is not only justified, it is necessary today, it will be necessary tomorrow and as long as there are human societies the fight to make the world better and make it function better for everybody will continue, nonstop.

“If a party is to win, everybody in the party needs to be part of that victory and when you don’t follow a process that accommodates everybody, then that’s not a victory for everybody, because a victory for one person or a victory for few people; that’s not a victory for the party.

“The victory for the party is when all members of the party are enthusiastically included in what the party is doing. When all members of the party feel a sense of victory when the party wins; if you initiate a process in the party that exclude party members and then you claim victory at the end of the day; how are they going to be excited by that victory? How are they included in it? How are they allowed to contribute to it?

“That’s what the struggle is about. It’s about all of us, is about you, is about Rivers State, is about Nigeria. How do we make this country better? How do we make it more inclusive?

We do that simply by following the rules.

“You know, when we talk

of the supremacy of the party, we’re not talking about the supremacy of any individual in the party. Is not the supremacy of the party chairman; it’s not the supremacy of the party leader. It’s supremacy of the party constitution; is the supremacy of the understanding that brought everybody together, because people left their houses and are making sacrifices in pursuit of a dream.

“So you don’t kill their own dreams and then say that the party has won. How will the party win without People?”

Speaking further, the senator said: “I am a committed member of the APC and I came into this party because I believe that a better Nigeria is possible and this party is committed to the idea of building a better Nigeria. I mean the APC to fight for a better Nigeria.

“And I will continue to do that no matter what happens, no matter how it happens. The idea that black people can actually run a society based on rules that work for the majority of the people is an ideal for which people should be prepared to suffer whatever inconvenience that will bring it to fruition.

“And I want to assure you that in our lifetime we will create a society that will work for the majority of people in this country.”

Abe, who is the Chairman,

Senate Committee on FERMA, stated that he never had plans to return to the Senate in 2019, adding that he has a flourishing career in politics.

The senator said: “I never wanted to return to the Senate.

No, I didn’t want to return to the Senate. If this was about me returning to the Senate, I have every opportunity to return to the Senate.

“I have a career in politics and I still have it. The Senate is not a career. I have a very promising career in politics.

Politics is about people. And I’m surrounded by people. I have the support of my people.

So I still have my career. You know, whatever you see is based on things that happen.

“You have to have the resilience. You have to have the commitment. You have to have faith in what you are doing. And what I’m doing is not about me. If it was about me, what am I looking for?

“You know, it’s about the dream that we can build a better Nigeria. It’s about the vision that Rivers State can be better than it is. We can do better. So when people keep personalizing something, oh, you are losing your seat. Oh, you’re not going to the Senate. I’m not the only person who didn’t go to the Senate. I didn’t even want to go to the Senate. I wanted to be governor of Rivers State.”

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THURSDAY MAY 2, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

MAY DAY RALLY...

MAY DAY RALLY...

Delta will Pay N30, 000 Minimum Wage, Okowa Assures Gives ‘honest worker’ brand new car for returning N50m Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has described labour unions as great defenders of the welfare of workers and assured them that his administration would continue to treat labour issues with utmost commitment.

Okowa, who addressed members of the organised

labour under the auspices of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Asaba at Workers’ Day celebration yesterday, expressed readiness of his government to pay the N30,000 new minimum wage in Nigeria.

The governor said: “The efforts of the trade unions

toward the promotion of the interests of Nigerian workers have not gone unnoticed, and I wish to reiterate the determination of the state government to pay workers

the N30, 000 new minimum wage approved by the federal government.

“I therefore call on workers in the state to re-dedicate themselves to the service of our

beloved state for the benefit of all. The prevailing cordial industrial relations in the state have encouraged government to sustain its welfare and training programme.

Highpoint of the occasion was the presentation of a brand new car by Okowa to a civil servants, Mr. Benson Ekotor, who was erroneously paid the sum of N53 million which he

Bayelsa Awaiting Wages Commission’s Modalities, Says Dickson Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa The Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, yesterday said he was awaiting the National Incomes and Wages Commission (NIWC) to work out the modalities for the payment of the N30, 000 Minimum Wage.

Dickson told the workers, who had gathered at the Peace Park at Onopa, Yenagoa, to celebrate May Day, that unless details are sent to all the states, including Bayelsa, implementation of the new Minimum Wage Act would not commence.

“The government of Bayelsa State has announced again that

we are not against N30, 000 minimum wage in principle.

We has announced that severally at different times and place.

“What we are doing now is that we are waiting for the wages commission to work out the modalities. ‘’There is something called the National Income and Wages Commission. Having agreed to pay, we will still have to wait for them to work out the details and send to every states.

He reminded the workers that he was delivering his last May Day address as the governor and urged them to put the state first in all their decisions.

Policemen Beat NLC Official in Akwa Ibom Okon Bassey in Uyo In Akwa Ibom State, Workers’ Day celebration was that of a bitter tale as overzealous policemen yesterday brutalised an official of the state chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) during the May Day celebration held at the Uyo township stadium.

The armed policemen were said to have brutalised the NLC official identified as Mr. Essien, who is the Secretary of the Youth Wing of the NLC, in an attempt to control the crowd when the state Governor, Udom Emmanuel, was delivering his speech to the workers.

The victim with a bloody face oozing was further dragged to security van for detention and

further punishment.

The incident caused commotion at the main entrance to the stadium as his colleagues who witnessed the assault protested and blocked the security van from leaving the stadium.

While efforts were made to draw the governor attention to the development, some of the officials of the sister unions intervened and the victim was taken to the Government House clinic for treatment.

However, the governor, while addressing the workers, reaffirmed his commitment to pay the new minimum wage of N30, 000 as approved by the federal government and other allowances to the state workforce.

C’River Workers Protest Early Payment of May Salaries Bassey Inyang in Calabar Workers in Cross River State under the umbrella of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) yesterday protested the payment of May salaries on the first day of the month by the state Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade.

Despite the state receiving the least revenue allocation from the federation account and being third most indebted state in the country, Ayade has made a habit of being the first to pay salaries in the country.

In the last three years, Ayade has been consistent in ensuring that workers in the state get their May salaries on the first day of the month.

Commenting on the development, the state Chairman of TUC, Clarkson

Otu, said workers and the leadership of labour were unhappy over the early payment of salaries by the state government.

According to the labour leader, even though the government means well, labour was not happy with the situation.

“As labour leaders, we do not support it (early salaries payment). We have told the governor that it is not proper.

April salary was paid only last week and on May 1, he paid May salary. We are surprised he still paid early this month in spite of our protest. We will continue to engage him on that,” he stated.

Speaking in a similar vein, the state Chairman of NLC, Ben Ukpepi, decried the early payment of salaries by the state government.

SOLIDARITY FOREVER…

L-R: Lagos State Chairman, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Francis Ogunremi; representative of Lagos State Governor and Commissioner for Physical Planning & Urban Development, Mr. Rotimi Ogunleye; State Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede; and other Labour Union Leaders during the 2019 Workers’ Day celebration at the Agege Stadium, Lagos...yesterday

Ganduje Pledges Immediate Payment of New Wage Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has reaffirmed his pledge to pay workers in the state the N30,000 minimum wage signed recently into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaking at the May Day celebration held at Sani Abacha

stadium in Kano yesterday, the governor revealed that his administration had completed all necessary arrangements for the implementation of the new salary structure to civil servants in the state.

He said his administration was working assiduously to ensure the enhancement of welfare of civil servants in

the state.

Ganduje explained that in an effort to boost the morale of civil servants, the state government had abolished the dichotomy between bachelor degree and HND holders working in the state.

“We know we were in difficult situation on the issue of minimum wage,

but you too you are in a very difficult situation. “We know there is no money in the hand of government, and that you too are hungry. We know you are disturbed, we know you are worried and we know you are destabilised and not in healthy position as far as present salary scale is concerned.

Oyo Committed to Payment of Minimum Wage, Ajimobi Reassures Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan Workers in Oyo State are in joyous mood as the state Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, yesterday assured them of the resolve of his administration to pay the N30,000 minimum wage recently approved by President Muhammadu Buhari without

delay.

Ajimobi, who addressed the workers at this year’s May Day rally held at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex in Ibadan, said as soon as the ongoing negotiations initiated by labour leaders with the government are concluded and documented, the enhanced salaries would

be paid to elevate the living condition of the workers.

Adeyemo thanked the workers for their dedication and support in the past eight years, stating that they were the engine room of his administration’s successful implementation of its restoration, transformation and repositioning agenda.

He used the occasion to assure workers affected by the recently-concluded certificate verification that those with genuine cases would be given a second opportunity to prove their innocence, stressing that those unable to defend their credentials would not be spared.

Jubilation as Akeredolu Promises to Pay N30,000 New Wage Bill James Sowole in Akure The Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Arcade was yesterday agog as the Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, declared that the state would pay the N30,000 minimum wage as approved by the law.

The yesterday’s situation

was contrary to last year’s celebration when the governor was booed when he declared that he could not turn himself into money to pay the workers’ leave bonus that they requested him to pay.

Akeredolu, who was lively throughout the celebration, said workers’ welfare is paramount,

adding that the workers cannot work without getting their dues.

The governor, who reiterated that what the workers were getting as take home cannot take them home, said the salary of workers and the issues of minimum wage are not negotiable.

He also promised that workers would soon receive the remaining one month out of the seven months arrears of salaries inherited from his predecessor.

Equally, Akeredolu promised that the outstanding leave bonus would be paid very soon.

Ortom Calls for More Allocation to States George Okoh in Makurdi As the country marks the 2019 Workers’ Day, a call has been made by the Benue State Government for an increase to states in the sharing formula of resources between the federal government and states.

The state Governor, Samuel Ortom, made the call yesterday at the event marking the Labour Day celebration at the Ibrshim Babangida Square in Makurdi.

Ortom, who was represented by his Deputy, Benson Abounu, said most states are struggling to pay workers due to inadequate

revenue, adding that a situation where the federal government takes over 60 percent of the country’s resources to the detriment of the states does not augur well for the state.

He called for an increment in revenue allocations to states if they are to meet the new

minimum wage.

The governor said his government has a high premium on the welfare and wellbeing of its workers even as he announced that modalities have been put in place to implement the new minimum wage in the state.

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THURSDAY MAY 2, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

MAY DAY RALLY...

MAY DAY RALLY...

Delay in Release of Minimum Wage Template Hinders Implementation, Says Kwara Gov Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, has revealed that the delay in the release of the minimum wage template by the National

Salary, Income and Wages Commission is the only setback to the implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage for the workers in the country.

Ahmed made the disclosure

in Ilorin yesterday in his speech to mark the Workers’ Day celebration in the state.

Represented by the state Head of Service, Mrs. Modupe Oyewole, the governor said the minimum wage template

is the basic working tool for the committee to determine the new minimum wage to be implemented by government.

He explained further that the state government had constituted a minimum wage

reviewing committee to enable workers enjoy the new salary as soon as implementation commences.

Ahmed assured the people of the state of the determination of his administration towards

ensuring better welfare for the workers.

He also commended the workers and the labour leaders for maintaining good working relationship with the state government.

Kogi NLC Calls for Sack of State, Local Government Auditors-General Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja The Kogi State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the state government to sack the state and local government auditorsgeneral from service.

Addressing workers in the state during the Workers’ Day celebration held at the Confluence Stadium, the state Chairman of NLC, Onu Edoka, said the state Auditor-General, Mr. Yakubu Okala, and the local government Auditor-General, Alhaji Ahmed Ododo, were responsible for the pathetic situation of workers in the state.

According to him, the

two compounded the fate of workers during the screening exercises, adding that when people were cleared, they failed to pay them.

He stressed that they messed up the whole exercises, noting that they confused the state government.

Edoka said although it was a good intention from the state government, sadly, the exercise was messed up which brought hardship to workers in the state.

The labour leader added that the committee that handled the screening exercise misinformed the state government by not telling them the true position of things.

Don’t Delay Implementation of Minimum Wage, Workers Tell Fayemi Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The organised labour in Ekiti State yesterday urged the state Governor, Kayode Fayemi, not to delay the implementation of the N30,000 new minimum wage.

It charged the state government to pay its workforce without negotiation or delay, as the wage bill has been signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The workers, who said this in Ado Ekiti, during the 2019 May Day celebration, however

lauded the governor for prompt payment of salaries since he assumed office in October last year.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Chairman in the state, Olatunde Kolapo, who said workers in the private and public sectors would soon experience increased salaries, said: “More than 20 states have shown their commitment and their readiness to pay the minimum wage. We therefore encourage Ekiti State Government to implement without re-negotiation.”

UNITED WE STAND…

Workers displaying placards during the 2019 May Day celebration in Abuja...yesterday

Kingsley Adeboye

We’ll Dialogue with Labour Leaders, Says Masari Francis Sardauna in Katsina As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the International Workers’ Day, low turnout of workers characterised the celebration in Katsina State yesterday.

THISDAY observed that many workers stayed away

from the event which was held at Muhammadu Dikko’s Stadium, Katsina.

This is even as the state government said it would dialogue with Labour leaders in the state over the N30,000 minimum wage to arrive at a conclusion that is “realistic” for the state and its workforce.

Addressing the workers, the state Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, who was represented by the state Head of Service, Idris Tune, said the N30,000 minimum wage was a process which would not be concluded without a dialogue with Labour leaders in the state.

“This is a process; we cannot conclude that we are going to pay N30,000 minimum wage. We are going to dialogue with Labour leaders and arrive at a conclusion that is realistic to Katsina State Government and the welfare of workers,” he said.

Obiano Restates Readiness Ugwuanyi Restates Commitment to Workers’ Welfare Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi held at the Michael Okpara The governor added that the show of understanding, to Pay New Wage Ugwuanyi, has reiterated his Square in Enugu, Ugwuanyi, state government “will continue love, patience, goodwill and David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State yesterday reaffirmed his commitment to implement the new minimum wage.

Obiano, who spoke during the 2019 Workers’ Day celebration at Ekwueme Square in Awka, said he would commence the implementation once the guidelines for the payment of the minimum wage are released by the federal government.

He said his administration was ready to offer better opportunities that would promote workers’ welfare in the state.

“I have formally declared the intention of my administration to pay the newly approved minimum wage in Anambra State. “I will begin the implementation once the guidelines for the payment of the minimum wage are released by the federal government,” Obiano said.

Umahi Approves N30, 000 for Workers Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has approved the N30, 000 new national minimum wage for the state civil servants with promise to continue to work for their welfare in the state.

Addressing workers yesterday during the Workers’ Day celebration at the Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium, Umahi commended the civil servants

for their role in his emergence as governor for the second term in the last governorship election, and consequently approved the payment of the new minimum wage to workers in the state.

According to the governor, “In my presentation, I did make promise that our state shall not be the first or the last to pay the new national minimum wage.

“Therefore, I approve the new minimum wage for our civil servants in the state.”

administration’s commitment to the welfare of workers of the state, stressing that the determination “has become even more fortified.”

Speaking at this year Workers’ Day celebration

who promised to ensure that the state remains a model for peace and good governance, stated that his administration would continue to pay salaries and other emoluments as at when due.

to provide more conducive working conditions and all that is necessary to ensure that industrial harmony continues to prevail in the state.”

Ugwuanyi, who applauded the jubilant workers for their

cooperation as committed allies in the quest to make the state a better place for all residents, also thanked them for their prayers, solidarity and overwhelming support.

Obaseki Lauds Labour’s Dedication, Dexterity Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has commended the ‘immense’ contribution of workers in the state to the development strides recorded in the last two and the half years of his administration, noting that their dedication, dexterity

and focus in transforming the state deserve commendation.

He restated the state government commitment to paying the new minimum wage of N30,000, noting that modalities are already in place to ratify the increase.

The governor said this in commemoration of the Workers’

Day celebration marked every May 1.

He said the state government was committed to the welfare of workers and has demonstrated it with the reforms and revamp of infrastructure to ensure a better working environment, work-life balance and after service benefits.

According to him, “As we celebrate Workers’ Day, we appreciate the dedication, dexterity and steadfastness of Edo workers in transforming the state. We reiterate our commitment to building a globally-competitive workforce and commit to sustaining revamp of the civil service.”

We will Pay Minimum Wage, Lalong Reassures Workers Seriki Adinoyi in Jos Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, has reassured workers in the state that he will pay the new minimum wage of N30,000, but charged them to expose the various leakages which money is syphoned

from the state resources and also to uncover the ghost workers in their midst in order to save more money to take care of their wages.

The governor, who gave the assurance yesterday on the occasion of the 2019 Workers’ Day celebration at Rwang

Pam Township Stadium in Jos, disclosed that he was a member of the National Minimum Wage Committee representing Governors’ Forum and had pledged to stand by the resolution reached by it.

According to Lalong, “We

would assiduously work hard with you workers to improve on the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state to meet up with the payment of the new minimum wage.

With God on our side, we will definitely achieve our set objective for the good of all.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY MAY 2, 2019

THURSDAY MAY 2, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

45

THURSDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 08111813083

Rohr Not Certain Mikel Will Make Eagles’ AFCON 2019 Squad Reveals Uzoho may lose Number One jersey Duro Ikhazuagbe Super Eagles Head Coach, Gernot Rohr and his assistants will in the next couple of days decide on whether to extend a valedictory chance to Captain of the team, John Mikel Obi at the next Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to hold this summer in Egypt.

Since after the World Cup in Russia last June, the Middlebrough midfielder has not been part of the Nigerian senior national team. Mikel played no part in Eagles qualification for the 32nd AFCON. The Franco-German tactician told top British-Nigerian reporter, Osasu Obayiuwana on phone yesterday that he was going to have a meeting

with his technical assistants very soon on whether Mikel should be part of the Nigerian party to Egypt.

“This is the question that I and my team will resolve.

I will soon go to see him at Middlesbrough. There are many things to consider but I respect him (Mikel) and what he has done for Nigeria, he remains an important player,” observed the gaffer.

Rohr however admitted that since Mikel did not play any role in Eagles qualification, it was important for him to have a heart-to- heart talk with him before making any decision.

“He has been away from the team for a year but we qualified for the AFCON without him.

“His absence as our captain

has been evident but he has had to deal with a range of issues after the World Cup in Russia,” stressed the coach.

Rohr who is a fervent believer in Nigeria’s first choice goalkeeper to the last World Cup in Russia, Francis Uzoho, was however hesitant in confirming the place of the Anorthosis FC of Cyprus on-loan player in the Egypt bound team.

He admitted dispatching his goalkeeper trainer to work with Uzoho in Cyprus.

“I have sent Enrico Pionetti, my goalkeeper trainer to Anorthosis FC to work on him. At the moment, it is not a question of him being number one but of his being one of our three goalkeepers for the AFCON.” In line with the wishes of Nigerian ball fans calling for the inclusion of Villarreal forward, Samuel Chukwueze, in Super Eagles final squad for AFCON 2019, Rohr said he would have wished to have the exciting lad in his party.

“He (Chukwueze) is a great talent and I would like him in my team, although, I don’t know if he will be an immediate starter.

“The challenge, of course, is that he is also wanted for Nigeria by the Under-20 team going to Poland for the FIFA World Cup...

“I have had a chat with the coach of Villarreal and they don’t want him to exhaust himself at the U-20 World Cup and the AFCON, so they want him to choose one tournament.

“We shall see how best we can manage this situation but no doubt, he is a talent for my team,” concludes Rohr who warned Nigerians that Eagles are not favourites for the title.

“I have a young Super Eagles team full of potential but we are not the favorites for the AFCON. We don’t have big players like Senegal and Egypt, so the Super Eagles must work collectively as a team. This is where our strength lies.”

NFF Lists Zimbabwe, Senegal Friendlies for Eagles Super Eagles have been confirmed to play Zimbabwe and Senegal in their pre-AFCON 2019 friendly matches next month.

The three-time African champions will open camp in Asaba, capital of Delta State on 2nd June, ahead of the clash with the Warriors of Zimbabwe at the Stephen Keshi Stadium on Saturday, 8th June.

Zimbabwe, who have in their ranks globally –acknowledged talents Knowledge Musona and Kharma Billiat, finished top of a qualifying group that included two-time African champions, Democratic Republic of Congo, a resurgent Liberia and 1972 AFCON winners, Congo Brazzaville.

The day after the match with the Warriors, the Super Eagles delegation will depart Asaba aboard a chartered flight for Ismailia, Egypt where they will set up a final training camp.

On Sunday, 16th June, the

Eagles will file out against Africa’s number one –ranked team, Senegal at the Ismailia Stadium in their final tune –up game. This is a match to look forward to, between Africa’s number one and number three –ranked teams, just few days to the kick –off of the 32ndAfrica Cup of Nations.

President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Melvin Pinnick said yesterday that these two friendly matches have been confirmed.

“We have sealed the matches with the Warriors of Zimbabwe and the Lions of Teranga and these are two matches we are really looking forward to. There cannot possibly be a better way to get into the AFCON spirit than playing the number one-ranked team in Africa just before the finals begin.”

His Senegalese counterpart, Augustine Senghor, also confirmed the game with Nigeria.

La Liga Eaglets Thrill NFF Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is thrilled by the progress of some players discovered at the 2017 NPFL/ La Liga U15 Tournament into the Golden Eaglets team that came fourth in the just concluded Africa U17 Cup of Nations in Tanzania.

This was disclosed by Mallam Shehu Dikko, the 2nd Vice President of the NFF and Chairman of League Management Company, who added that the partnership between the LMC and La Liga is to create platforms that will develop Nigerian young players into playing for NPFL clubs, national teams like the U17, U20, U23, the Super Eagles and possibly for clubs abroad.

He stated that the Federation is satisfied with the trio of Akinkunmi Amoo, Olakunle Olusegun and Shedrack Tanko that featured for the Eaglets at the cadet AFCON. “We are happy that some of the players that featured at the first edition of NPFL/La Liga

U15 tournament are already making progress. Some of them are in the U17 National Team and it shows that the players are developing and taking their game to the next level. We want to have more players progress to the next level of their careers,” Dikko told thenff.com “We are also interested in seeing these players feature for some NPFL clubs as well.

We want to see these players progress to play for U17, U20, U23 and in the Super Eagles.

If we are consistently doing this, the future of Nigeria football is very bright.

“That is the plan all over the world. You can see players developing at the UEFA U21 Champions League and Premier League U21 and the LMC started with U15, hoping that in the future, we will move to other age levels with our partnership with La Liga,” he said.

John Mikel Obi (centre) will have a one-on-one discussion with Super Eagles head Coach Gernot Rohr this week to decide his international duties for Nigeria

Amuneke Lists 15-year-old in Tanzania’s 39-man Squad Tanzania’s Nigerian coach Emmanuel Amuneke has included 15-year-old Kelvin John Pius in his initial 39-man squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

John, who is nicknamed Mbappe after the French star Kylian, impressed at the recent Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations that Tanzania hosted last month.

Another youngster Claryo Boniface from the under-20 side is also on the list.

“I believe it is time we start to build a team and think of the future,” Amuneke said.

“We need to start to think of the youth and see how we can start to integrate in the system.”

John scored in the Tanzania’s opening game as they lost 5-4

to Nigeria and went onto play in the losses to Uganda and Angola as the hosts failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.

Amuneke also pointed out that Tanzania have an African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier against Sudan a week after the Nations Cup. As well as the youngsters

the squad includes both overseas-based players and those from the local leagues for the CHAN. “The squad is not just for the AFCON but also the CHAN after that,” he explained.

“So as the technical team we are planning how we can switch straight to CHAN after the AFCON.

CBN JUNIOR TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ibrahim, Ekpeyong Survive Decisive Encounters Rebecca Ekpeyong, top seed of the Girls 16 event, won a testy and decisive round-robin match against Oiza Yakubu yesterday to effectively secure her place in the semifinals of the 2019 CBN Junior Championship.

The match which got the attention of Nigerian junior tennis followers who took advantage of the May Day holidays to attend the event, pit the current Girls 16 champion against an opponent just back from the African Girls 14 Championship in

Togo and it lived up to its billing.

Ekpeyong, from Akwa Ibom, took the first set 10-3 but fell behind 3-9 in the second set. A surge of four straight points was aborted

by Yakubu who hit a strong forehand winner down the line to win the set.

Yakubu then led 4-5 in the final set with parents of both players screaming encouragement to their daughters. However, it was the champion who peeled off to 9-5 conceding two of

the four match points to win 10-3, 7-10, 10-7.

The number three seed in the Boys 16 event, Suleiman Ibrahim from Abuja also faced some scary moments as Michael Akinmusere from Oyo State took the first set 12-10 and had the final set tiebreak decider locked at 8-8 before Suleiman showed some superior mental toughness to win 10-12, 10-6, 10-8.

The fourth seed in the boys 16, Sunday Ameh of Lagos is in danger of losing out of a semifinal place as he lost his

second round robin match to Joshua Maxwell from Rivers State 10-5, 4-10, 11-9.

The final set of roundrobin matches to determine semifinal places will take place Thursday followed by semifinal matches on Friday - all at the national stadium tennis centre starting at 10 am.

The grand finale will however take place at the prestigious Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Race Course on Saturday, May 4, commencing at 12 noon.

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THURSDAY MAY 2, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

THURSDAYSPORTS U E FA C H A M P I O N S L E A G U E

Messi Scores Twice as Barcelona Dim Liverpool’s Hope Lionel Messi’s two second-half goals - including a stunning free-kick - earned Barcelona a handsome advantage and left Liverpool with an almighty task in their Champions League semi-final.

The Reds were in the ascendancy despite going behind to Luis Suarez’s first-half strike - but they were then hit by a double sucker-punch from the Barcelona number 10.

The Argentine forward’s first was instinctive, as he followed up Suarez’s shot that came off the bar, but the second was majestic as he found Alisson’s top-right corner from 25 yards out. That was his 600th goal for the Spanish giants.

Liverpool came agonisingly close to a potentially crucial away goal when Roberto Firmino’s strike was cleared off the line, before Salah somehow struck the post rather than scoring with the

follow-up.

Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele should have put the tie out of the Premier League side’s reach in the closing seconds, but he scuffed it straight at Alisson from a few yards out.

What more could Klopp ask of his men in the second leg on Tuesday (20:00 BST kick-off) after

a display where they constantly probed and pressured the competition favourites?

Maybe some luck could have gone their way. Sadio Mane, with 15 goals in his past 18 games, missed from eight yards out after he was found by Jordan Henderson’s ball from the right in the first half.

And in their period of domination after the interval, Ter Stegen was at full stretch to push away Milner’s shot before the German dived low to his right to make a one-handed stop from Salah’s drive.

Liverpool refused to let their heads drop after Messi’s minishow which took him to 600 goals

for the Catalan club. However, they must have thought the gods are not shining on them this year after both Firmino and Salah missed clear-cut chances you would have put money on them to score.

The Reds have been known to produce miracles with a 3-0 deficit. They will need to produce another next week.

Chelsea: Eintracht Frankfurt’s Toughest Opponent Eintracht Frankfurt coach Adi Huetter has said that tonight’s semifinal first leg against Chelsea will be the toughest challenge yet on his team’s epic Europa League journey this season.

Frankfurt have knocked out the likes of Marseille, Inter Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk and Benfica on their way to a first European semifinal in nearly 40 years, but Huetter said on Wednesday that Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea were a “class above” such opponents.

“They are favourites, there is no doubt about it,” said Huetter.

“We need to do everything right, and play bravely and positively.”

Huetter, 49, claimed to be an admirer of Maurizio Sarri in an interview with kicker last year, and he said he was looking forward to his first meeting with the Italian.

The Frankfurt coach said he had a plan to deal with Chelsea, and identified Belgian star Eden Hazard as the biggest threat.

“We will have to try and play him out of the game, because he is one of the three best wingers in the world in my opinion,” said Huetter.

Yet he also warned that Chelsea were a “Champions League level team” who had quality all over the pitch.

“With players like David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta, Gonzalo Higuain, they have an unbelievable amount of experience,” he said.

“We are the most inexperienced team in the semifinals, but we deserve to be here nonetheless.”

Frankfurt have won hearts across Europe with their fearless football and passionate support in the Europa League this season.

“We are like Ajax in the Champions League, nobody

expected us to be in the semifinals ahead of the season,” said Huetter.

“It has been a long, hard road to get here, and the fans have given us incredible support,” he said.

Frankfurt’s Serbian midfielder Mijat Gacinovic also said his team were underdogs, but could pull off a surprise on Thursday with the fans behind them.

“I watch a lot of Premier League football on TV and Chelsea are one of the best teams in the world for me,” he said.

“But with our fans, we can beat anyone.”

Gacinovic, 24, is something of a cup specialist. He scored the decisive goal in Frankfurt’s German Cup final win over Bayern Munich last season, and has notched up two goals and six assists in this season’s Europa League campaign.

The Serbian is expected to start tonight, as Croatian attacking midfielder Ante Rebic is serving a one-game suspension.

Frankfurt are also without injured French striker Sebastien Haller, and having won none of their last three Bundesliga games, there are concerns that Huetter’s side may be running out of steam.

“We have to be fresh and alert against an opponent like this,” said Gacinovic.

“The coach always says that everything is in your head, and if you are fresh up there, your body will be fresh too. We won’t be tired tomorrow.”

Huetter said his team would have to “suffer” if they were shock Chelsea in the first leg.

“They move unbelievably fast in both directions, so we will have to think quickly,” he said.

“We need to suffer, to throw ourselves into tackles and to stay

Barcelona players celebrating the 3-0 defeat of Liverpool in the first leg of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League semi final clash at the Camp Nou last night

Emery Turns to Europa League to Salvage Arsenal’s Season Unai Emery’s first season in charge at Arsenal is in danger of imploding unless the Spaniard can again prove himself to be a Europa League specialist and cover up an alarming dip in the Gunners’ Premier League form.

Arsenal have lost four of their past five league games to Everton, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City to slip down to fifth and relying on more favours from Chelsea or Tottenham to have any chance of a top-four finish.

However, winning the Europa League would also offer a muchneeded return to the Champions League next season after a two-year absence.

For 20 years under Arsene

Wenger, Arsenal enjoyed the riches and the glamour of the Champions League and the impact of missing out has had serious implications on the budget Emery has had to work with.

In January, he revealed the club could not afford to make any permanent signings.

Emery is a specialist in Europe’s second-tier competition, winning it three times when at Sevilla, and he is also well acquainted with Arsenal’s semifinal opponents, Valencia, who he managed between 2008 and 2012.

Emery also did a stellar job at the Mestalla, leading Valencia to three consecutive third-placed finishes behind dominant Barcelona and Real

Madrid sides managed by Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.

“Emery was inducted into the Valencia hall of fame as one of the managers to have spent most time at Valencia, qualifying the team for the Champions League and performing well in it,” Valencia-based journalist Luis Cortes told AFP. However, doubts remain over his ability to lead Arsenal’s rebuild back to the heights they once enjoyed under Wenger.

The same defensive issues that haunted the Frenchman’s final years in charge have been in evidence in recent weeks, conceding three times in three consecutive league defeats for the first time since 1967.

Emery has constantly changed personnel and formations, but is yet to find the right balance with one of his two star forwards Alexandre Lacazette and PierreEmerick Aubameyang often left out.

Yet, there have been notable successes. Top-four rivals Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United were all beaten at the Emirates this season and Emery’s men won home and away to Napoli in the Europa League quarterfinals.

Arsenal go into the final two games of the league season just two points off the top four, compared to languishing 12 points behind in Wenger’s final season.

HiFL 2019: PACE Signs Five-Year Sponsorship Deal with Stanbic IBTC As preparations for 2019 edition of the Higher Institution Football League (HiFL) heat up, Stanbic IBTC and league organizers, PACE Sports and Entertainment Marketing Limited have announced the signing of a five-year deal that will see Stanbic IBTC continue in its role as one of the marquee sponsors of HiFL. Speaking on the historic partnership, Group Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Mr. Yinka Sanni, elaborated that the sponsorship is in tandem with the company’s determination to help grow and develop a vibrant and productive youth populace in Nigeria.

Sanni further stated that “So far, we have been impressed with the organisation of the league. The inaugural edition in 2018 set a standard that we

as an organisation are proud to be associated with. At Stanbic IBTC, one of our core objectives is to engage the youth through initiatives, which will contribute to talent-molding and characterbuilding. We have committed in long term to this project because we sincerely believe that its course is aligned with our strategic vision”.

In his remark, the Director, PACE Sports and Entertainment Marketing Limited, Mr. Sola Fijabi explained that the partnership was shaped by shared values of authenticity and innovation, and a genuine belief in youth empowerment and development. “These values will drive the partnership to change the game beyond the pitch, pioneering new ways to push forward the university communities, teams, and

development while also bringing students together at both local and national levels”.

He went on further to emphasize the sponsorship as laudable and beneficial especially as it concerns the sustenance of the league.

“HiFL is getting bigger and better. We sincerely appreciate Stanbic IBTC for demonstrating commitment in this regard. They have laid a good example for other companies in terms of fuelling their passion and supporting the aspirations of the Nigerian youth.

“PACE and NUGA remain committed to partnerships that will ensure the sustainability of HiFL as one of the most veritable platforms for grassroots football development in Nigeria and Africa as a whole”, Fijabi enthused.

L-R: Chief Strategy Officer, PACE Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Olamide Adeyemo; Head, Global Markets, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Samuel Ocheho; Director, PACE Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Sola Fijabi; and Head, Marketing and Communications, Stanbic IBTC, Bridget Oyefeso-Odusami, at the MoU signing ceremony for Stanbic IBTC’s sponsorship of Higher Institutions Football League (HiFL), held in Lagos…recently PHOTO: Abiodun Ajala

THURSDAY MAY 2, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Semenya Loses Landmark Appeal against IAAF Testosterone Rules Caster Semenya has lost a landmark case against athletics’ governing body meaning it will be allowed to restrict testosterone levels in female runners.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yesterday rejected the South African’s challenge against the IAAF’s new rules.

But CAS said it had “serious concerns as to the future practical application” of the regulations.

Olympic 800m champion Semenya, 28, said in response to the ruling that the IAAF “have always targeted me specifically”.

Now she - and other athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD) - must either take medication in order to compete in track events from 400m to the mile, or change to another distance.

“For a decade the IAAF has tried to slow me down, but this has actually made me stronger.

The decision of Cas will not hold me back,” said Semenya in a statement.

“I will once again rise above and continue to inspire young women and athletes in South Africa and around the world.”

Previously, she had said that she wanted to “run naturally, the way I was born”.

CAS found that the rules for athletes with DSD were discriminatory - but that the discrimination was “necessary, reasonable and proportionate” to protect “the integrity of female athletics”.

However, CAS set out serious concerns about the application of the rules, including: Worries that athletes might unintentionally break the strict testosterone levels set by the IAAF; Questions about the advantage higher testosterone gives athletes over 1500m and the mile; The practicalities for athletes of complying with the new rules.

CAS has asked the IAAF to consider delaying the application of the rules to the 1500m and one mile events until more evidence is available.

Semenya is still eligible to compete at the Diamond League meet in Doha on Friday and can make an appeal against the CAS ruling to the Swiss Tribunal Courts within the next 30 days.

Their hormones, genes, reproductive organs may be a mix of male and female characteristics, which can lead to higher levels of testosterone - a hormone that increases muscle mass, strength and haemoglobin, which affects endurance.

The term “disorders” is controversial with some of those affected preferring the term “intersex” and referring to “differences in sex development”.

The new rules come into effect on May 8, which means athletes who want to compete at September’s World Championships - also in Doha - will have to start taking medication within one week.

Those affected by the rules will have to have a blood test on 8 May to test their eligibility.

A statement from the IAAF said that no athlete “will be forced to undergo any assessment” and that any treatment was up to the individual athlete.

Athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD) have higher levels of natural testosterone, which the IAAF believes gives them a competitive advantage - findings that were disputed by Semenya and her legal team.

Her lawyers had previously said her “genetic gift” should be celebrated, adding: “Women with differences in sexual development have genetic variations that are no different than other genetic variations in sport.”

They have also suggested that Semenya “does not wish to undergo medical intervention to change who she is and how she was born”.

The rules, applying to women in track events from 400m up to the mile, require athletes to keep their testosterone levels below a prescribed amount

“for at least six months prior to competing”.

However, 100m, 200m and 100m hurdles are exempt, as are races longer than one mile and field events.

Female athletes affected must take medication for six months before they can compete, and then maintain a lower testosterone level.

The rules were intended to be brought in on 1 November 2018, but the legal challenge from Semenya and Athletics South Africa caused that to be delayed until 26 March.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has called the plans “unnecessary, harmful and humiliating” and South Africa’s sports minister called them a

“human rights violation”.

On Friday, Semenya won 5,000m gold at the South African Athletics Championships - a new distance for her, and one outside the scope of the IAAF rule change.

It was only the second time Semenya had run the distance and she finished more than 100m ahead of defending

national champion Dominque Scott.

However, Scott said she was unsure whether Semenya could be a serious Olympic contender over the longer distance.

Semenya is national and Commonwealth champion at 1500m, and also broke the African 400m record in August.

Semenya...loses appeal against IAAF

Oliseh Hails Ajax’s Victory against Spurs Former Ajax and Nigeria midfielder Sunday Oliseh on Tuesday night was ecstatic with the 1-0 slim win of the Dutch side over Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg clash of the UEFA Champions League semifinals duel at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Oliseh who made a total of 54 appearances in the Eredivisie for the in-form team between 1997 and 1999 scoring eight

goals took to Twitter to express his elation at the victory in the first leg.

“Extremely happy for Ajax.

Great day for Amsterdam!!”

“Once an Ajacied, always an Ajacied!!” the onetime defensive midfield maestro who won the Dutch league with Ajax in the 1997/1998 season and the KNVB Cup in the 1997/ 1998, and 1998/1999 seasons tweeted.

Ajax claimed the bragging rights after the first leg meeting thanks to a 15th minute goal scored by Donny Van De Beek.

On April 17 Oliseh had tweeted the following as Ajax overcame Juventus that paraded five-time world player of the year winner Cristiano Ronaldo: “Ajax in the Champions League semis is probably the best news,for saving world club

football as we know it in a long time: a built team and playing its style as opposed to buying stars to win. “ Purposeful team, hard work pays, if u know how!

Extremely pleased for my ex club and d fans.”

The return leg of the semifinals holds next week Wednesday with Spurs needing two clear goals to reach the final.

B O A L AW Y E R S ’ L E A G U E

Casillas Stable after Suffering Heart Attack at Training Agbakoba Legal Hammer Aluko Iker Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas two successive European at the Hospital CUF Porto. incredible challenges to enhance been taken to hospital after Championships, in 2008 and Casillas is well, stable and the glory of our club. & Oyebode 4-0 to Make Reverse has suffering a heart attack at their 2012, and the World Cup in his heart problem (is) solved.”

“It has taught us that training ground, the club has 2010.

His former club Real Madrid giving up does not fit into said.

A Porto statement read: published a statement, sending our philosophy of life and has Fixture ‘Ceremonial’ The 37-year-old is “stable” “Casillas suffered an acute their former keeper “all the shown us countless times that Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL) sent out strong signals of its intentions to go far in this year’s BOA Lawyers’ Football Tournament with a convincing 4-0 defeat of Aluko & Oyebode in the second round first leg fixture last weekend.

Two goals each from the boots of Dare Owolabi and Tunde Ogabi ensured that OAL secure maximum three points going into the reverse fixture on Sunday at the AstroTurf 2000 facility in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Interestingly, it was not only Agbakoba that triumphed with wide margin. SOOB/ACAS also defeated George Etomi/FRA Williams 3-1 to pick three points.

Udoma Udoma & Belo Osagie (UUBO)/ACAS was the third team to record victory in the weekend fixtures characterized by four drawn results.

ALP/SPA Ajibade settled for one-all draw with Pinheiro while AELEX and Templars

battled to a goalless result.

Falana & Falana and DOA Law also recorded another barren draw with the one-all draw recorded in the fixture between BA Law/Probitas versus Lagos State Ministry of Justice (LSMJ) capping the weekend games.

All the teams that played home last weekend are to play away in on Sunday.

According to the organisers of the tournament, the top four teams in each group will proceed to the next stage which promises to be even more exciting with home and away matches for the qualified teams.

“After the home and away knockout stage, eight teams will automatically qualify and proceed to the quarter finals. In the event of a draw, penalties will be deployed as a decider. Each team is to play three penalties during the shoot out,” observed the statement from AstroTurf 2000.

in hospital and remains under observation.

Spain goalkeeper Casillas won three Champions League titles, and La Liga five times, at Real Madrid.

He was also part of the national squad that won

myocardial infarction during Wednesday morning training session held at the PortoGaia training centre in Olival.

“The work session was promptly interrupted to provide assistance to the Porto goalkeeper, who is currently

courage of the world”.

“Real Madrid wants to transmit all their support to their beloved captain Casillas,” the statement read.

“Casillas has taught us throughout his professional career to overcome the most

being stronger the harder the challenge is, the way to achieve victory.

“Real Madrid want to see their eternal captain recovered as soon as possible and send him all the courage of the world.”

Anambra Dethrones Enugu to Win S’East Cricket Anambra State emerged champions of the 9th edition of the South-East Cricket Championship tagged Chuma Anosike Cup played at the Government College, Afikpo, Ebonyi State.

Team Anambra defeated Enugu, represented by University Of Nigeria’s Cricket team in a keenly contested final by five wickets to dethroned the defending champions.

UNN Cricket team batted first and scored 96 runs for the loss of six wickets, Obinma Chisom scored 26 runs off 24 balls, Onwuliri Nnaemeka scored

12 runs off 9 balls while Pascal Okoye could not scored beyond 14 runs off 22 balls.

Team Anambra’s Nwundike Nzubechi took 2 wickets in 3 overs, Chisom Adaogu also 2 wickets in 2 overs while Chijioke Ezeaguba and Okoye Dumebe all took 1 wicket each to end the first innings.

In the second innings, Team Anambra scored 97 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in 14.2 overs.

A sensational 14-year-old Ndekwe Chiemelie Emmanuel of Regal Secondary School, Nri, Anambra unleashed his talent at the competition, scoring 35

runs off 16 balls. Madu Victory augmented the tally with 23 runs off 17 balls while Adaogu Chisom could not score beyond 5 runs off 10 balls.

Izunna Onwuachu of Team Enugu took 2 wickets in 2 overs, Walter Omefuchkwu took 2 wickets in 3 overs, Henry Okafor and Prince Ogue got a wicket each which was unable to stop the Team Anambra forces of Madu Victory and Ndekwe Chiemiele.

Team Ebonyi defeated Team Anambra by 1 wicket in the female category.

The sole sponsor of the South

East Cricket Championship, Chuma Anosike described the 9th edition as amazing and a big success.

Anosike said the talent displayed by cricketers showed that South East players could not be over looked when it comes to the business of cricket, pointing out the 14-year-old’s performance in the tournament was really exciting.

“Chiemele did beyond my imagination and it takes someone that has lion heart to stabilise the team at the verge of losing and this boy turned around the fortune which is so amazing.

Thursday, May 2, 2019

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Price: N250

MISSILE CAN to Buhari

“We are aware that many innocent citizens of our country have been arrested, some killed and others are still in detention; but we have not heard any directives from Mr. President to his Attorney General to take action about them with this kind of urgency.” – Northern CAN urging President Muhammadu Buhari to double up efforts in securing the freedom of Leah Sharibu, following the release of Zainab Aliyu from Saudi Arabia detention.

OKEYIKECHUKWU EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS

okey.ikechukwu@thisdaylive.com

Stocktaking: As May 29 Looms M ay 29, the day a new government will be inaugurated in Abuja and several state capitals, looms.

Perhaps ominously, in its lumbering approach! Not reassuring, not covered in any sacramental dignity, not even possessed of a passably coherent defining, or celebratory, ambience! It is just coming. Only those who have peculiar designs around new government portfolios, headship of various agencies and, especially, headship of the National Assembly, are prancing about with cheerful disregard for introspection. You do not need a soothsayer to tell you that the National Assembly is not a department of the executive arm of government and that it should see itself in that light. The limited maturity of our democracy shows in the current inattention to propriety and separation of powers.

What will change about our lives and our country on May 29? Will the date suddenly remove the rot in the land, which rot has been, perhaps inadvertently, nurtured over the last 20 years? Will it do anything about the declining gains of our democratic enterprise? Will a political elite that is born of the rot, feeding off the rot and reveling in the rot suddenly become any different? Will May 29 remove the fact that all indices of development are in the red – and still dropping? Will it take away the misery and perplexity walking the land, as most states brandish massive backlog of unpaid ` salaries. Will it help one particular governor, a man who would have been the best argument for youthful leadership because of his biological age, but who has over two years of unpaid salaries to his credit? This governor has shown that the biologically young can be steeped in the old evils and thus not belong to the knowledgeable and forward-looking youth of the 21st Century.

But the political elite is still upbeat, in a strangely delusional sort of way. Is there something they see that we do not see? How many of them really believe in God? Will an elite class that is densely populated by people who pay marabouts to bury live cows for their electoral victory, or performs all manner of rites and visit sundry fake prophets, take any modern governance template seriously? Many business organizations are still being owed monies for services rendered, products delivered and advertisements put out and acknowledged during the elections.

This is costing jobs everywhere. But it is all part of politics, they say.

Our people say that a man who sets out on a journey with a bag of salt on his head, and who simultaneously gets a rainmaker to bring down a downpour, is his own worst enemy. That is what our leaders who are threatening to deliver good governance, but who are doing everything

Buhari

conceivable to abort it, are doing. This is like someone procuring a talisman to protect him from being killed by others, but forgetting that the talisman is not primed to prevent him from deliberately or accidentally killing himself.

And, amid this incubus of un-calm, the decibel of elite clamour for positions in government rises ever higher. Widespread acts of murder and the routine wiping out of villages all over the nation is also proceeding apace. The Kaduna State governor`s convoy had a shootout with kidnappers on Abuja-Kaduna expressway the other week. Two days ago, scores of travellers were kidnapped, and many killed, on the same route. Should this be happening after 20 years of trillions of dollars presumably spent on education, job creation, youth empowerment, social infrastructure and much more? Should malignity continue to claim wider frontiers, after two decades of allegedly wonderful leadership?

Did the PDP not score itself very highly in its 16 years in power, even as many PDP governors were said to have reexecuted the same water schemes and other infrastructural projects allegedly completed and commissioned by their predecessors?

Is the APC, which is partly an alliance of aggrieved PDP members and sundry political interests, not doing the same?

Is it right that we should receive regular assurances about government not being happy about the insecurity in the land, while marauders overrun the polity? Is there really anything to celebrate now, or look forward to after May 29?

The PDP today epitomises the refusal to learn and mature into a genuine political party with a clear ideological focus, after 20 years. Small mindedness, lack of cohesion, mistaking newspapering and low-grade public relations pranks for political mobilisation, in-fighting for pointless visibility, absence of a measurable vision, and a never-ending epidemic of wordy,

windy and painfully hollow press statements are being passed off as indices of political vibrancy. When will all the big men in that party realise that a mongoloid is a retard and not a giant? Who will tell the mostly self-seeking individuals and consumptiondriven leaders that the distended stomach of victim of kwashiorkor indicates a nearterminal state of malnutrition, rather than a “big man`s stomach”?

The report, two days ago, was that governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State had declined assent to a bill seeking life pension for members of the state House of Assembly. But should it require the governor`s refusal for the lawmakers to know that the bill is inconsistent with Section 124 of our constitution? Does it fall within the remit of a state House of Assembly to determine the categories of public servants who are deserving of pension?

But these are not the real questions. The real questions for us here are (1) Are the Bayelsa lawmakers actually creating any precedents in leadership tomfoolery here?

(2) Did Jigawa State speaker not say, in the past, that the reason for their bill giving every former governor, speaker and their deputies the basic salaries of the incumbent as pension was to curb corruption? (3) Did the bill in question not provide for a fully furnished six-bedroom apartment, drivers, two personal assistants, a furnished office and two vehicles, renewable every four years? (4) Were we not told that this was in order to “…discourage stealing and looting of government treasury.”

Brilliant! We must bribe “leaders” who stepped forth to serve, so that they do not steal!

The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) is said to provide 300 per cent severance package for former governors, brand new cars renewable every four years, accommodation in the state capital and sometimes Abuja, 30-day paid holiday outside the country, etc. Yet, the aggregate cost to states of the jumbo pensions provided for former governors runs into billions every year. Former labour leader, and now Chairman of the ruling party, Adams Oshiomhole, caused a law to be passed under his watch, which entitled him to the provision of a building worth N200 million for himself, and N100 million for his deputy. Obaseki who took over from him had massive protest on his hands when he approved the construction of the buildings.

It took sustained protests for Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to stop collecting his pension as governor, in addition to his entitlements as Senator and Senate President. After eight years as governor, Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State signed into law a pension Bill that granted him and all former governors of the state N200 million annual pay. For Lagos State,

the Pension Law of 2007 provides that a former governor is entitled to two houses at state expense, in Lagos and Abuja, respectively. This is in addition to six brand new cars, replaceable every three years, furniture allowance of 300 per cent of the annual salary (payable every two years), free medical treatment for himself and members of his family, utility, house maintenance, car maintenance allowance and other personal and domestic staff.

After 20 years, and trillions of dollars down spending street, ostensibly in the name of the people and the nation, Nigerians have mostly a new string of billionaires who produce nothing and sell nothing to celebrate. These new owners of Nigeria are on both sides of the strongest political divides of today – and also two sides of the same coin. Yet the PDP is blaming the ruling APC for everything that is wrong with Nigeria, while the APC is claiming that it is dealing with the mess left behind by the PDP. It is against the background of the foregoing that we state and declare as follows: (1) Most of the beggars and herders all over the north are within the age brackets of four and 15 years. (2) Most of the young men and women arrested, or shot, for armed robbery, kidnapping and sundry crimes all over the country today fall within the age bracket of 16 to 40 years. (3) The number of jobless Nigerian youths has grown progressively over the last 20 years.

(4) Most of our youths will not be beggars or criminals today, if they had education/ vocational skills, economic opportunities, funding, security, social infrastructure and responsible leadership and good societal role models in the last 20 years.

The beginning of another four years of democracy will not remove the fact that members of our National Assembly live on a roundly unconscionable pay packet.

The privileges are inconsistent with our economic realities and also with the profile of a National Assembly that displays a record number of vacant seats at every sitting.

As Adolf Hitler once said in contempt for some aspects of the modern European legislature: “…these men, otherwise decent all along in their lives, simply get used to being paid for doing nothing; and this is what ruins their character.”

We are walking into a looming inauguration with governors and states Houses of Assembly that are completely at home with massive “security votes”.

This discretionary slush fund which makes no impact on state security, and which is also not accounted for, will be re-inaugurated on May 29. It is democracy without democratization. It is a democratic enterprise with questionable democratic credentials. It is perhaps even a grand scam. But these are not the worries of the elite – as May 29 looms.

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